John, Teyla, and Lt. Ford had only been waiting outside Mackush's building for ten minutes before they spied what they had come for - Kolya.
He strolled out of the building and down the street like he didn't have a care in the galaxy. In fact, he looked damn pleased with himself. That just made John ten times angrier than he'd already been.
With a signal for Ford to watch their backs, he and Teyla burst out of their hiding place in the shadows, grabbed Kolya, and dragged him into a nearby alley before his entourage appeared. He didn't even get the chance to cry out, as John threw a hood over his head and drew it tight across his face, cutting off his air and stifling any sound he might have made. He tried to fight them off, but the enforced blackness and lack of oxygen made him falter just enough for them to gain the advantage.
Moving as fast as lightning, John threw Kolya face-first against the side of the building and watched as Teyla yanked his arms behind his back and fastened his wrists together. Then John turned him around and pressed a gun to his chest as he removed the hood. "Hello, Kolya."
Kolya seemed about to cry out in indignation at first, but then he narrowed his eyes at John and all but smiled. "Major Sheppard," he said in that annoying, superior tone. "I did not expect to see you here."
"Likewise. For some reason, though, the fact that we found you hanging around with Mackush doesn't actually surprise me."
Kolya chuckled. "What are you doing, Major? What can you possibly gain from..."
John cut him off with a fist to the face. "I don't have a whole lot of time to waste here, so I'm going to ask you straight out - where is Dr. McKay?"
Kolya worked his jaw from side to side and glared at him. "I have no idea."
"Wrong answer." John lowered his gun to aim it at Kolya's leg. The silencer was attached, so he wasn't afraid to use it if he had to. In fact, he was just waiting for an excuse. "Where is Rodney McKay?"
Kolya smirked. "You are not going to shoot me, Major Sheppard."
"You of all people should know by now that I will." John gestured to Teyla to put the hood back over Kolya's head, and once it was securely in place, he pulled the trigger.
The heavy hood muffled the resulting wail of pain as Kolya fell to the ground, so John waited patiently for him to quiet down before he snatched it off again. "Are you ready to cooperate?"
Kolya's eyes were practically shooting lasers his way they were so full of rage. "You will pay for this, Major Sheppard," he said in a pain-filled voice.
"Oh please, I only shot you in the thigh," John drawled as casually as he could. "Tell me where Dr. McKay is, and I won't do the same to the other one."
Kolya shook his head. "Why does it matter so much to you?" he asked. "Dr. McKay committed a crime for which he must pay. That is all you need to know."
"Don't give me that bull. I know all about the set up, and how you then took advantage of the situation to get your revenge for losing Atlantis. The only thing I don't know is where the hell you're keeping him. And if you don't tell me within the next ten seconds..."
"Then you will shoot me again? Don't be a fool, Major Sheppard. We both know that shooting me will gain you nothing."
"It might give me a sense of satisfaction, at the very least," John said in a low tone.
Kolya smiled. "Yes... that is exactly what I feel every time I hear your Dr. McKay scream in pain. Satisfaction."
John froze for a second or two after these words met his ears. Images of Rodney in pain and dying with Kolya standing over him grinning like a lunatic flooded into his mind and left him seeing red.
Before he even knew what he was doing, he was pounding the smug look off of the bastard's face.
"Major!"
The sound of Teyla's voice pulled him back down to the ground, but didn't stop him from giving Kolya one last kick in the gut. Then he turned to her, panting from the anger and exertion. The horrified look on her face was enough to make him realize what a stupid move that had been. Kolya wouldn't be able to tell them a damn thing if he was unconscious.
Luckily, he wasn't.
"Tell me where he is, you bastard," John demanded between gasps for breath. "Is he on your world? Is he here on Decaria? Where?"
Kolya spat out some blood and squinted up at him through rapidly swelling eyes. "No and no," he said, his voice hoarse and barely more than a whisper. "Where he is, you will never find him."
John just stood there staring down at the son of a bitch for a few moments, trying to calculate what the best course of action would be. He knew they'd never be able to take him back with them through the Stargate, and they wouldn't have long here before they were discovered. There had to be some way that they could get him to talk without it taking forever.
In the meantime, though, it couldn't hurt to see if he had any clues on his person.
"Teyla, search him," he said.
She seemed hesitant to even touch the man at first, but soon she knelt down beside him and started going through his pockets and patting him down for anything he may have concealed. She came away with a couple of devices that John had never even seen before, some papers, and what looked like money.
"Anything interesting?" John asked as Teyla examined the items.
"Yes," she replied, holding up a notebook of some kind. "I believe this may be a listing of all of the planets in the confederation. It also seems to contain information about each one."
"There is nothing in there about your friend," Kolya said.
"Keep your mouth shut unless I ask you a question, alright?" John said.
Kolya just grimaced and looked away.
"Does it have the Stargate addresses listed?"
Teyla nodded. "Commander Kolya seems to be very well organized," she said in a dry tone, with a pointed glance in Kolya's direction.
John stepped closer to Kolya so that he towered over him in what he hoped was an intimidating way. "Is Rodney on one of these planets?"
No answer.
"Which one is it, Kolya?" John demanded. "Don't mess with me, okay? I am a very angry man carrying a gun. That is not a good combination."
"I have already told you, Major Sheppard," Kolya said slowly, "you will never find him. Do what you want with me, but I will not tell you another thing."
John somehow managed to keep his temper under control, and squatted down to come face-to-face with Kolya. "Why?" he said. "Why is it so important to you that McKay pays for this crime that you know he didn't commit? I can understand that you wanted to have some fun with him... maybe feel like you've made up for the fact that he prevented you from taking Atlantis... but why are you willing to die in order to keep him there? You do know that if you die, you won't be able to play with him anymore, right?"
"Do you take me for a fool, Major Sheppard?"
It was all John could do to keep from laughing out loud at this question. "At the moment... yes."
"You are not going to kill me. If you did, you would lose any possible chance of finding your friend, and that is a risk the likes of you would never take."
"Oh, I don't think you're my only chance at finding McKay," John said with a sneer. "There's always Mackush."
"You could never get near Mackush."
"I got near you."
"He is much more protected than I."
"Isn't that a shame?"
"Major!" Ford's voice finally interrupted them. "I think the party's over, Sir. I count six men heading in our direction. I think they're looking for Kolya."
John swore under his breath and jumped to his feet. Aiming his gun at Kolya once more, he demanded, "Tell me where he is."
Kolya just smirked and shook his head.
He wanted to pull that trigger. He wanted the bastard to die, and he wanted to be the one who made it happen. He was a hair away from doing just that when he felt a gentle hand on his arm.
"Let it go, Major," Teyla said. "We have to leave. Now."
"Help! I'm over here!" Kolya cried.
John swung at Kolya with the butt of his weapon, striking him in the temple and knocking him out cold. Even so, it was too late. The sound of voices and rapid footsteps grew louder and louder as Kolya's men ran to his aid.
"Let's get out of here," John whispered, leading the way down the alley and away from the approaching men.
The three of them ran for the Stargate as quickly and stealthily as they could, not even stopping to collect the three members of Teyla's team that they'd left in the alehouse. They could inform them of their find when the men contacted Atlantis the next day, and tell them it was time to come home. Until then, their first priority was getting the hell out of there before the alarms started to sound.
It wasn't until they were safely back on Atlantis that John realized he'd failed yet again.