Collateral
By AntaresStar
Chapter 3: Taken
Rated PG-13: For some character whumping, blood, ickiness, and language.
Summary: A trade mission to a planet turns into a kidnapping when rebels capture part of the SGA team as collateral for their cause.
A/N Keep those reviews coming! They really inspire me to write. Hugs to TJ, highonscifi, illman, nebbyJ, Espiritu, Lillie23, M.N.Talbert, wjc, goatcheese, Merlin 71, preparefortrouble.
"Look, I'm sure we can reach an understanding, just hold on here-" Sheppard said, sounding much calmer than he felt.
"No!" The tall rebel exclaimed violently. "No talking, we are tired of talking and getting nowhere! Now, or else." McKay grimaced as his captor savagely twisted his arm. It still ached slightly from the wound he had received from the Genii. Sheppard held still, not dropping his weapon.
The tall Talvin let out a frustrated growl and stepped over to Sanly's bed. "Then he will be the first." He held a knife at the boy's throat, who began to cry.
"Get away from him!" Beckett shouted, pulling from the rebel that held him and lunging towards Sanly's bed.
Several things happened at once:
Beckett's rebel made a grab for him but missed.
Sanly yelled and scrambled off his bed in a heap.
Sheppard let loose a bullet that nailed McKay's captor in the forehead, splattering the shocked Canadian with blood.
The tall Talvin turned abruptly and stabbed blindly at Beckett, trying to ward off the angry Scotsman.
Then all was quiet, except the thump of McKay's rebel as his body hit the ground. For a moment, everyone just stared around at each other.
Then Beckett moaned painfully, clutching his stomach and slid down the straw bed to rest heavily beside Sanly.
The tall Talvin held up his dagger, covered in blood, and showed it pointedly to Sheppard. Then he placed it swiftly against the fallen doctor's throat. Sheppard was panting. McKay gasping, face covered in blood, trembling slightly.
"Put. It. Down." The rebel said one last time. Sheppard slowly lowered his weapon, swung the strap from his shoulder and surreptitiously pushed the safety latch on, never losing eye contact with the rebel. He placed it down and nudged it away with a foot.
"Very good. Bring them. And that." He pointed at Sheppard's gun. Two more Talvins had entered; they took Sheppard by the arms and tied his hands behind his back. McKay was dragged out by the remaining rebel while the leader grabbed one of Beckett's arms in each hand and yanked him to his feet. He studied the man. "Shame, we wanted you all alive, bargaining chips, you know? Oh, well."
Beckett gasped as he was pulled up, wondering how he had ever ended up here, in the middle of an alien terrorist event. He was a doctor for God's sake. Well, he thought, good thing because I'll be needin' one about now.
He stared at the stab wound on his abdomen through bleary eyes, feeling decidedly faint. It was nasty looking with jagged tears on the bloodstained fabric of his tunic. The blood was escaping at an alarming rate and had already soaked his entire midsection.
The pain was enormous. It ate away at him, burning, moving up to his chest and creeping down to his thigh. It felt like he was on fire and when his heart beat all his insides were being squeezed to bursting point. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think.
He was aware of Sanly whimpering and the rebel leader speaking to him angrily, but he couldn't understand. Nurse Jennings approached them and conversed with the rebel, who shook his head. The woman seemed adamant, gesticulating madly at Beckett and his ugly wound. Finally, the rebel held out a hand and accepted something from her. Beckett squinted to bring his hazy world into focus. It was bandages and a packet of painkillers. He would have laughed out loud if the pain wasn't so overwhelming. Tylenol wouldn't be quite enough for this kind of wound.
His arm was draped around the tall leader's shoulder. He couldn't walk, so was being mercilessly dragged, feet flailing for purchase. He was aware of Jennings and the healers and patients staring at his back as he was drawn roughly out of the healing house. They were looking at him like he was already dead.
He was dragged to the middle of the square along with the other off-worlders. The sun was just beginning to set and it cast an eerie glow around the square. The leader pushed him at McKay who caught the wounded man, not caring about blood for once. "God, Carson…" McKay breathed, gently lowering the doctor to dusty cobblestones.
The rebel threw the bandages and pills at Sheppard, who couldn't catch them with his bound hands. They bounced off his chest and hit the dirty ground. "He did that on purpose, the bastard. How is he, McKay?"
Beckett's breath hitched and he coughed harshly. Blood stained his teeth and trickled from his mouth. He licked his lips, turning them crimson and drew a harsh breath. "Ya gotta…stop..bleeding.." He attempted.
"Yeah, I know, just be still." Rodney said worriedly glancing around. The rebels were milling; the townspeople had been forced into their homes. There were only the dozen foreigners, who were watching Beckett with concern, and eight rebels in sight. Ford and Teyla were no where to be seen. "What are they waiting for? What do they want from us?" He asked Sheppard, unraveling the bandage.
Sheppard shook his head. "Hey untie me, I can help." McKay quickly untied the Major, glancing anxiously at the rebels as he did so. But they paid them no attention and seemed to be discussing something important.
Bending down next to Beckett, whose eyes were lidded and face was ashen, McKay noticed that the doctor looked positively white against the tanned cobblestones. Rodney continued to prepare bandages while Sheppard carefully peeled the doctor's soiled shirt from the wound. It looked bad. Although the knife had been small, it had been yanked quite forcibly. The blood trickling from Carson's mouth was a dead giveaway to internal bleeding.
Sheppard gently lifted Beckett's torso from the ground and checked the doctor's back. The knife had not gone all the way through. He sighed in relief. Beckett would already be dead if it had. Rodney began to wrap the wound, pulling the dressings gently and carefully covering the wound.
Beckett lifted a trembling hand, covered in blood and whispered, "That's not tight enough, lad. It has gotta be…tight…it should…arg!" He arched his back and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Whoa, quiet, its all right, you're gonna be fine." Sheppard gritted his teeth in worry. Atlantis couldn't afford to loose its chief medical officer, and he didn't want to loose a friend.
Rodney unwound the bandage and began again, pulling it taught. Beckett gasped in pain, but nodded his head jerkily.
When they were done Sheppard offered him a painkiller. "Nay, I can't…" Beckett coughed.
"Take it. It'll help, even a little." Sheppard proffered the pill.
"Can't swallow...I think…my stomach was hit…" Beckett moaned, a harsh gurgling in his throat. "Turn…!"
The two men stared at each other in desperation then hurriedly turned Carson onto his side. The man seemed to breathe easier.
The rebels had been joined by several more, all yielding swords or bows. "Everyone up, come with us. Don't show us any trouble and we won't harm you. Some of you learned that the hard way." He smirked at the Atlantis team.
"Come on Doc, we got you." Sheppard took one arm and Rodney the other. They hauled him painfully to his feet and dragged him to follow the others. They were led into the nearby religious building.
The rebels shut the door and blockaded it, keeping guards posted on the inside and out. They then proceeded to tear down all the wraith paintings and statues. They looked angry but purposeful.
The building was garnished with rich wood and beautiful pictures. Bright pictures of wraith lined the walls and a wraith ship was depicted on the ceiling. The SGA team went into a far corner by a wraith statue, and slid slowly to the ground. It looked like they would be here for a while.
Sheppard didn't want to admit how worried he was. Beckett didn't look good and although they had stopped the bleeding, the blood loss had weakening him and there was always a worry of infection. Rodney was acting funny too, completely silent and leaning against the wall on the other side of Beckett, arms wrapped protectively around himself.
John reached over and nudged Rodney. "Hey, its ok, we're gonna get out of this. Nothing we haven't been through before. I mean, at least there isn't a giant tick attached to my neck, right?"
McKay turned his head to Sheppard, eyes haunted. He looked eerie, with blood covering half his face and a dark bruise forming where he'd been hit. "Yeah, right."
"And Ford and Teyla are out there, they'll notify the base. Soon enough a whole team of armed men will come running in here ready to break us out. We'll be out of here before you know it." Sheppard smiled wanly but did not feel half as confident as he sounded.
A./N Please review.