Warning for torture and bad language. The story takes place just before and during "The Storm" episode. Atlantis is not owned by me, I just borrowed it. (Author's note: Apologies that the first version of this story that I uploaded had typos and errors - that's what comes from posting at 5am in the morning. I then tried to do corrections in the editing software but they seem to have disapeared so completely I suspect the Wraith beamed them up. Gentle readers I thank you for your kind reviews, I am a review junky so was very pleased with the feedback. Very special thanks to NatalieJ - you made a bad day turn good).
Hang Gliding Over Hell
Sheppard had stood close and 'in your face' with Rodney McKay. It was not something he liked doing, he had grown to respect the eccentric scientist, but Rodney's propensity for saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time to exactly the wrong person had made the man management part of Sheppard's job of command mandatory. And to ensure Rodney really took it on-board, John had made it official by calling it a briefing and involving Elizabeth Weir – but nobody else, he wanted to give McKay some amount of dignity.
"Dr McKay, when the bad guys grab us, you, and I mean all of you, e-v-e-r-y time, shuts up! No snide comments. No sarcasm.No telling 'em how they are doing it all wrong. No talking, no speaking, no muttering, right?"
McKay was a little in shock at the hard attitude from Sheppard, the scientist kinda nodded in agreement. Dr Weir spoke up. "John, did he have his fingers crossed behind his back?" Rodney gave her an 'Oh, thank you for blabbing' look.
Sheppard continued. "What you have got to remember, Dr McKay, is that Lt Ford and I have had training to deal with hostage situations, and basically we are far better equipped verbally, at not making the bad guys pissed at us enough to shoot us in the first 5 minutes of the negotiation."
"When have I made the bad guys shoot at me, other than the Wraith that is?" Rodney asked innocently.
"Rodney, your own people want to shoot to half the time." Weir said.
McKay shot her a look and opened his mouth to deny it but Sheppard had not finished. "And as someone who is at daily risk from being shot by his own side for his 'smart' tongue - you do not need to add to your bad karma by antagonising the real enemy." Again Rodney opened his mouth to speak, but John forestalled him. "Do-you-read-me??" Sheppard got really 'in your face' so McKay had no choice but to meet him eye to eye. "Do you both comprehend and understand and accept that you cannot play venom-tongue with whoever wants your head that day on that planet?" Rodney drew breath but Sheppard said. "Just nod." Rodney looked daggers at Sheppard for not letting him respond… for now and for in the future.
McKay was about to speak when Elizabeth said. "John is right and you know it Rodney, for all our sakes, next time keep your own council."
And McKay folded – he knew his smart mouth got him into trouble, and he seriously regretted it, but… "Discretion will be my middle name from now on." He said. Sheppard raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" Rodney asked exasperated.
"Seeing will be believing." John muttered backing down a little and turning taking a step away. "No, actually, in your case, not hearing will be believing." He turned back, again in high dudgeon mode. "And another thing; I never want to hear you tell some thug again that 'you know everything about everything' and thus making yourself the Number One hostage bargain bucket asset of the month kind of captive. Do you hear me?" Sheppard didn't say 'Soldier?' at the end of the sentence but the military term of command was still there.
"Well I do know almost everything…" The scientist started to justify himself.
"Rodney!" Weir said firmly.
And Rodney had backed down. He hadn't told them how he could not back down from the bullies at school. How he had taken beatings for having an ego twice the size of his puny 10-year-old body, and that even at that age he had known that sarcasm and irony were wasted on those mindless thugs. But his Scottish heritage just demanded that if he could not beat them with his muscles then letting them bloody their knuckles on his chin while he berated them was another kind of victory.
So here he was now, awaiting the storm of the century with another kind of bully. Commander Kolya of the Genni who was trying to steal Atlantis from them. A thug and a bully who was threatening his friends. A thug whose intervention was stopping McKay from saving Atlantis from the storm. Atlantis, which, despite its dangers and endless challenges and terrible responsibilities, had become the one place in his life where he had been happy, the place and the people he now called home. And Sheppard had told him not to fight back verbally – and so far he had grit his teeth and looked on and let Elizabeth, the trained diplomat, do the talking. But hell, it was just too damn hard keeping silent in the face of these Neanderthals, and now Elizabeth was out of the room.
Kolya stood close, his unpleasant breath in McKay's face, and had the man even heard of soap? "They tell me you are very talented Dr McKay." McKay had just given himself leave to respond when his arms were grabbed by Kolya's lackeys, he had not then seen the commander signal his men but now he saw Kolya's eyes move and the men holding him began twisting McKay's arms in opposite directions, twisting his fingers and hands in ways that they just were not designed to go. Rodney cried out, panting and squirming at the sudden intense pain but he was held fast and the pain was getting worse.
"If you want my help…" McKay managed to say through the hurt. "… argh! Stop that!" They were twisting harder, but his body had nowhere to go, he arched upwards on his toes but it didn't help, he felt like his shoulder joints were being twisted out of their sockets. They paused the twisting, but the pain did not stop. All his muscles and sinews were beyond the extreme of their natural movement and the pain throbbed into his brain with every heartbeat, he fought to think logically, but the pain was… and then he looked into Kolya's eyes and realised the creep was enjoying this. The Commander was staring at him with calculating predatory eyes, but there was something else in those black shark-eyes other than a curiosity about how much pain it would take to break the man in front of him. Rodney realised he was being tortured by a sadist. Suddenly McKay was right back in his childhood, being beaten up by someone using him as an amusing toy, but this was worse, he was an adult now, he was supposed to be in control, but here he was completely helpless. Suddenly life had turned into a nightmare – and when Elizabeth came back what would the bastard do to her? Shit, what bargaining chips did he have? How could he save them? And could he still save Atlantis?
He panted desperate words out through the hurt: "If your people want me to help them build a bomb, or other weapons, I am going to need to be fit…." Blinking sweat out of his eyes he suddenly saw the knife, a long curved cruel blade, one of Kolya's subordinates passed it to his commander. Kolya took the blade and admired the way light glinted off of its fine honed surfaces, he held it close to Rodney's face. Silently Rodney's inner dialogue warned; 'Not the eyes! Please, not the eyes!' Rodney pleaded silently inside himself. 'And for god's sake don't let him see your weaknesses!' He told himself. He tried to straighten, to move away from the slowly advancing blade but his hands and arms and shoulders were excruciating as the men who held him exerted more pressure on his poor abused limbs. He could not help the groan that escaped through his tightly clenched teeth. Who was he trying to fool, he was no hero, he wanted to scream like a girl, but his bloody-minded addiction to bating-up the lesser breeds of humanity would not let him give in, not yet.
"We only need your mind to be intact and for you to be able to give instructions." Kolya said quietly, obviously enjoying the view. "I have a lot of leeway with the amount of damage I can do to your body." With that the Commander punched McKay hard in the stomach. Rodney has been so focused on the knife – gods, Kolya hadn't knifed him had he? The thought ran through his head just before the pain of the blow to his stomach tore through his mind. It felt like fire agony rushing up through his guts. It felt like Kolya's fist was slamming through his organs. Like the bastard was punching through to his spine. As the wave of pain faded with relief McKay saw the unblooded knife in Kolya's other hand. And then Kolya puched him again. This blow, to his solar plexus, knocked the air out of his lungs, he felt like vomiting. And he could not move with the punch because they were holding his arms outstretched by his sides. The energy of the blow to his stomach just wrenched his shoulders even more. He would have screamed with pain but there was no air in his lungs to scream with. He felt the beginnings of a black-out; bright points of light in his eyes, the sound of air rushing past his ears, no oxygen in his lungs. 'Yes, if I pass out the pain will stop...' His addled mind reasoned. '...and I won't have told them anything.' Not that they were asking him questions. But the feeling of blacking out faded, damn, too much adrenaline in his system. And then he realised they were just softening him up, and there was more and worse to come – damn, damn, where was a low pain threshold when you needed one? Hell, he wasn't going to stand for this.
"Now, Dr McKay, I am sure you know that every man has a breaking point, and from what I have been told you have many weaknesses…"
"Typical fascist regime – you offer to build the Genii an atomic bomb and all they can do is bad-mouth you." He panted through his pain, blue eyes meeting black in mad defiance.
"I do not think you are taking this seriously enough Dr McKay."
What was it they always said in the movies? "Go to hell Kolya!" He would have spat the words but his mouth was dry with terror.
"Dr McKay, if you haven't noticed you have crash landed in hell, and I am your own personal demon." And the knife moved and suddenly it was protruding from McKay's forearm. Rodney looked with astonishment and sick fascination at the hilt of the blade standing out of his arm. He thought it curious that it did not hurt at first – the knife must be very sharp and the blow had been swift – he was totally certain that that absence of hurt would change all too soon. "I am sure you are aware that you have two bones in your lower arm, I have just placed my blade between them." Kolya gloated.
'Ah, so that's what had happened to the pain,' the scientist mused sickly, it had decided to wait around for a few moments so it could build to a screaming agony, instantly assaulting his already over traumatised mind. Rodney felt his entire body break out in a cold sweat as his body began to lose its battle against the torture. He fought words out. "Building bombs is delicate work, I will need both my hands to do it." He reasoned. The pain was pulsing through his arm now, wave on wave of it in time with his thundering heart, surely he would pass out soon, 'Dear god let me pass out soon!' He swallowed down on nausea. 'Crap this can't be happening. The Wraith are the threat – not other humans, but these Genii seemed willing to go to any lengths, any savagery to gain Atlantis.' Adrenaline pumping, cold sweat running down his back, blue eyes starring at his maimed arm. One thought still rang in his brain. 'I must save Atlantis.'
"My people are very good at taking instruction Dr McKay, as I say, I can cripple you and as long as I leave your tongue…" Kolya paused to let the horror of his words sink into the vulnerable scientist's already overloaded brain. "…and, lets say, one eye intact, then we can still exploit your talents."
Rodney closed his eyes. He prayed to whatever deity would listen to him in the Pegasus galaxy for relief, for inspiration, for anything that would make this torture end. With his eyes closed he heard Kolya's movement as the commander moved closer to his arm. "Lets say we start with prying the bones apart in your arm."
At first Rodney's pain drenched mind did not comprehend what was about to be done to him, and then in a heartbeat he descended into hell as the knife blade was twisted between the bones of his arm, he screamed and screamed and….