Chapter Six

The sound of the key grating against the lock informed them all they were about to get company, four sets of ears were pricked up as they waited.

Booted feet made their way down the hard floor of the corridor and stopped out side John's cell. Whoever it was remained silent, happy to wait until John turned away from the wall and faced the bars of his cell. Upon seeing who his guests were he practically sprung up off his cot and rushed closer to the bars.

"Major Lorne, what are you doing here?" John gave himself a mentalkick for asking such a stupid question. Elizabeth had obviously arranged for them to come and speak with the people in charge.

"Well sir, I didn't think it would do my reputation any good if I didn't even try to get you out of here."

From somewhere down the hall a lone voice called out, "Hey, hey, Major Lorne, is that you? Its about time somebody came, I was starting to think..."

"Just a second Rodney, I'll send him up in a minute." John called back then spoke to the Major, "That's great Lorne, but I never really figured you as the negotiator type, so I hope you've been practising, 'cause it gonna take something special to get these people to overcome their urge to strangle the life out of me." He absently raised his hand to rub his neck, belying how much the thought of being hung troubled him. "Oh, you didn't happen to pack an extra shaving kit did you? This stubble is killing me."

"Sorry sir, you're just going to have to put up with the itch for now, and I'll try not to take offence in your lack of faith in me. But I guess you're in luck seeing I did bring something special with me."

From behind the other men in Lorne's team there was a distinct cough. Lorne muttered, "Sorry, someone special." At that they all moved aside to allow the person who had been hidden behind Lorne and his men.

John's wide eyes flicked between Lorne and the now revelled Elizabeth. Quickly schooling his features into something that could pass for anything that wasn't reflecting what he was really feeling, he forced out, "Elizabeth, you didn't trust anyone else to get us out of this misunderstanding?"

"This misunderstanding that's going to see you hung?"

John visibly winced at the mention of his likely punishment if this situation couldn't been resolved reasonably, but shook it off, he would never let that happen.

Major Lorne, sensing the sudden tension between the two leaders, tried to defuse it by asking, " How've they been treating you and your team sir?"

Thankful for the distraction Lorne's question posed, Sheppard used it to update them on their conditions. "We all got our own room and look, it's en suite too," he indicated to the toilet in the back corner. "Great for privacy, not so great for communicating and making plans for a prison break." His frustration at their separation was clear, he took a deep, steading breath. "As Rodney just demonstrated there, we can hear each other, but it can get loud, and I'm closest to the door so at least I know everybody's still here, but we've not seen each other since we were brought in. We've been fed and watered, but they've kept us in the dark as far as what they're planning, with exception to their desire to hang us. That Athen guy really enjoyed telling us that part." John paused, then indicated down the hall as he said, "Major, I think they'd appreciate it if you'd take a few minutes to go round and see each of them, let them know what's going on."

Lorne gave him a tight nod then motioned his men to move out, leaving the Colonel and Dr. Wier alone.

John watched them leave, running a hand through his hair, searching for the words to calmly let Elizabeth know that while he was extremely grateful for her help, he was less than pleased that she'd put herself in a potentially dangerous position. Failing to find any he settled on leaning one hand on the bars and fixing her with a stare and waited for her to speak first. From further inside the cell block they heard an exasperated cry come from where Mckay was being held, obviously relieved to see some friendly faces.

"Why are you staring at me like that John?"

John finally looked away, down at the hand supporting him on the bar. He straightened after a minute and when he looked back up at her she could see the worry written all over his face. "Elizabeth, you do remember that visit you had with the Doc last month? What are you doing coming off world?"

She had expected this but it still made her angry that he'd brought it up, she folded her arms defensively, taking a step closer to the door, her voice was hushed as she spoke. "John, I thought we agreed it wouldn't be a problem. I told you it wouldn't affect my work and it hasn't, that is why I'm here. Don't forget what my job description involves. You said it yourself, you need a negotiator, a good one and now you've got the best available."

"I appreciate that, I just wasn't expecting your work to involve you travelling to a town full of crazies, that want to kill us over an unfortunate accident and putting yourself at unnecessary risk."

"It's not as though I came running in right behind you. You realize its been three days since you've been gone?"

John nodded that he did.

"I've spent that time having teams trying to gather intel on your position, while I've been conversing with this planets' officials in an attempt to find out what they plan to do with you. The whole of the first day they effectively put me on hold, They only barely told me that you were alive and being detained pending some sort of trial. Unfortunately, one of the men who died was husband to the daughter of a very powerful man. The family used it's influence with the government to have you thrown in here. You should consider yourself lucky really."

John had to scoff at this. "Lucky?"

"No really. The council in charge on this world can be reasonable when it suits them, however if it were strictly up to the dead man's family, you and your team would have been killed already."

"Oh." That was all he could think of to say at hearing this, so he proceeded to pace the short distance across his cell a few times then came to a halt again opposite Elizabeth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that your expertise was unneeded or unrequired here. The only things I've seen of these people are their prison guards and an angry, yet strangely silent mob. Y'know, that was just a little bit creepy, they marched us all the way down here without a word. Anyway, you can understand how I see them as a threat to anyone who would come here."

"I know." She gave him a small smile letting him know she wouldn't hold a grudge at his misplaced worry.

Reassured, he gave her his own quirky smile and asked, "So, you wouldn't have the keys to this lock so you can spring me out of here or is that too much to hope for?"

"I'm working on it. I promise. You think you can make a couple more days in here?"

"Me, sure. On the other hand I wouldn't be surprised if Ronon chewed through his bars by then."

That managed to get a laugh out of both of them even if it only lasted a moment and was a little forced.

"I believe we'll be able to come to some sort of agreement that will see you released back to Atlantis, however it won't come without some concessions. They've been very interested in our technology, more specifically, our weapons."

"I suppose that was to be expected. You're not considering it are you?"

"No. I've been trying to get them to take medical assistance instead, or help with their relocation project, rebuilding some of their warehouses, but we've been at logger heads since we arrived this morning."

"Why were they moving the gate anyway, did they say? And why did they abandon all their stuff up there? Anyone could have come through and taken it."

"They're traders John, it just wasn't practical to have the gate so far away. They'd been planning it for a while, so all their business associates were told in advance not to contact them. They had the day off and didn't see the need to pack everything up, just to bring it all back the next day. We just got unlucky with this one."

"Unlucky, yeah. So how did you manage to arrange a visit?"

"The younger councilman, Maten, persuaded the other two that once we see that you were being treated well, it would make us more obliged to deal with them. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but its clear there's some kind of internal power struggle happening. The out come of this situation may affect who gets the upper hand."

"I thought I got the sense of that on our first day. Watch out for the foreman, Athen, he has some sway over this council, especially Goran."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Elizabeth turned at the sound of Major Lorne's team returning from their visit to the other cells. "How's everyone doing?" She asked.

"Dr McKay was a little distressed at the lack of real contact with anyone, Teyla is probably the most patient of you all, she said she knew there was little else to do but wait for a rescue, but Ronon..." Lorne had to look at the ground to hide the grin on his face. "Ronon is climbing the walls. Sergent Matthews here got a bit too close, Ronon made a grab for him to make sure he got some answers about what was being done to free him. For a second there I thought he was going to have him pulled through to his side of the bars!"

John just looked back to Elizabeth. She was the only one who successfully hid the smile the others were all sharing now. He shrugged his shoulders and said "Told you."

Tactfully she changed the subject, "We should probably be getting back, we've still got quite a way to go. Unless there's anything else you need?"

"No, don't want to delay you any longer. We'll be fine, but thanks for taking the time to come by. I think we needed itmore than I realized." This time when he smiled it made it to his eyes.

"You'll be out of here before you know it. Just stay out of trouble." One of her eyebrows arched at this, as she returned his smile then proceeded to lead the way back out.

A thought came to him as the footsteps started to recede and he called out, "Wait, Elizabeth."

She appeared outside of the cell again, Lorne had carried on down the hall to the door.

"When we landed, I cloaked the Jumper not far from where the stargate was."

"I know. Don't worry it's already been recovered."

"How did you get it back without these guys finding out? They must've been all over that place trying to find it."

"They were and they had already found it for us. When we got there they had covered it in white wash so they didn't loose it again. Fortunately, they couldn't get inside."

"They painted my Puddle Jumper! White?" John hung his head one hand cupping his forehead. "But you got it off them?"

"Yes, that was easy."

John looked at her, "You're going to make me ask how?"

She gave him a wicked grin. "Has being idol also made you forgetful? Zelenka's control..."

He cut her off the second he remembered. "Right, the control." After his near suicide mission when they were under siege, Zelenka had gone to work trying to find a way to fly a puddle jumper by remote, in case they ever had to do something like it again. It had taken the best part of a year just to get it to work using the Chair on the base, but with a little help from Rodney and the rest of the science lab, it had worked. The real trouble had been getting it to work using an actual remote control. The end product had only been finished a few months ago and until now, there hadn't been any cause to use it.

"Apparently the locals got quite a scare. The team sent to retrieve it were in their own cloaked Jumper that came through with us this morning. The way I hear, they made a bit of a show of it. They hovered the Jumper a few inches off the ground then spun it around, stopped it dead then shot it up into the air so fast it was gone in seconds."

"Show offs." Reproached Sheppard, but his smirk told of his approval.

"They landed a few miles off and manned it. Both the jumpers will come through with us later when we go home. The MALP on the other hand was gone long before we got there."

"Well, from what I've seen they haven't got the equipment or expertise for it to be of any use to them, I don't think it should be a problem."

"In that case I'll leave it up to you to do the explaining when it comes to submitting the requisition for yet another MALP."

John gave a humph, then it was quiet for a few seconds while they just looked at each other and a private moment passed between them.

John broke the silence softly, "I thought you were on your way to get me out of here."

"I was just going now." Her fingers brushed his where they held on to the bars of his cell door and with a smile, she was gone.