"Colonel, I think we have found something!" Teyla's voice was a welcome relief to those waiting in the Infirmary.
"What is it?" John asked, trying not to get his hopes up.
"It's a bloody rag," Ronon answered. "Looks like the Doc patched himself up."
"Where abouts are you?" John asked, already heading towards the empty corridors. He followed Ronon's directions until he found the small group of people in one of the deserted rooms.
"Okay," John said as he took a good look around. "Ronon, are you able to track him from here?"
"It's tough," the big man replied. "Lotsa footprints."
Despite his words, the former Runner headed off to the northern edges of the city, with a steady determination. John and Teyla plus the small group of marines who accompanied them, all followed him. He would stop from time to time, checking the footprints in the dust that covered this area. Sometimes he would sniff the air, like an animal hunting it's prey.
The trial took them to the edge of the ocean, and a series of interconnecting rooms. Somewhere in the back of his mind, John made a mental note to investigate these rooms at a later date. They might make good living accommodation. But it was just a passing thought, as his focus was on finding Carson.
Elizabeth's voice sounded in his ear.
"John, we've not been able to find Thomas anywhere. His quarters have been stripped as if was ready to leave, and all his uniforms were neatly folded on his bed."
"Who saw him last?" John asked.
"Someone saw him in the Infirmary just before Rodney was attacked, but they didn't think anything of it. And there's another thing. We found traces of GHB in his quarters."
"How the hell did he get that?" John asked.
"Apparently, it's fairly easy to manufacture, if you know how. And he would know how."
"Any ideas why he's doing this?" John asked.
"Not yet," Elizabeth confirmed. "But SGC are sending us copies of all his records, to see if there is something that might help us. We don't even know if his target was Carson or Rodney."
"How is Rodney?" Teyla asked.
"He's recovering very well," Elizabeth replied, relief evident in her voice. "He's been awake and giving Stanton hell for letting this happen." There was a small laugh in Elizabeth's voice as she responded.
"Don't worry, Elizabeth," John said. "We'll find Carson, and bring him home."
"Bring him home safely," she whispered in reply.
oOoOoOo
"Steady on, lad," Carson said, trying to keep the shake out of his voice, and out of the hand he held up towards Thomas. "I'm sure we can sort this out."
"It is already sorted, Dr Beckett," Thomas replied, his grin not quite reaching his eyes. "I have you exactly where I want you. I've worked for two years to get to this point, and now I'm here, there is nothing you can do or say to stop me."
In the background, Carson could hear the voices of other approaching. He breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe there was a way out of this after all. But Thomas seemed not to notice the imminent arrival; he was focused solely on Beckett.
"At least you can tell me why you did all this," Carson said, trying to buy himself more time.
"You don't remember her, do you?" Thomas asked, tears in his voice, though his eyes were dry. "She was just another statistic for you. But to me she was everything. My baby sister. I should have protected her. I couldn't be there for her. But you could have!"
Carson tried to focus his drifting mind on what Thomas was saying, but his words didn't make any sense.
"I'm sorry, lad," Carson said, a frown on his face. "I've not got a clue what you're talking about."
Just at that moment, Carson saw John slowly and silently enter the room, keeping to the shadows, Ronon and Teyla followed him.
"She was only 19," Thomas said. "When they raped her. They drugged her, and then they raped her. And you could have helped her. You could have said she had been drugged. And then they might have believed her story."
Carson vaguely remembered the case. It had been one of several rape cases where he'd had to testify. The problem was, by the time the victims came to the hospital, there was little that the rape kit could collect as evidence, and all traces of GHB would have left their system.
"I wished I could have helped her," Carson said, genuine grief in his voice. "But it was too late to get any evidence, lad. She'd washed it all away, trying to get the filth of their bodies out of her system."
"So it was her fault!" Thomas said, his voice becoming harsher, more strident.
"Of course not," Carson replied. "But, unfortunately, it meant there was no evidence against them."
"But you could have said there was," Thomas said. "You could see what she went through."
"Lying wouldn't have helped her," Carson said.
"It might have saved her life," Thomas said.
"And what does this do?" Carson asked.
"I want you to suffer the way she suffered," Thomas said. "At the trial she was made to feel it was her fault. She was made to feel the criminal. They blamed her. Said that she was asking for it."
"I'm sorry about that, Thomas," Carson said, trying to keep an eye on the others as they maneuvered themselves into a position to try to bring Thomas down.
"So I wanted you to feel guilty, to see the accusing stares of your friends. To feel the helplessness of not being able to prove your innocence."
"And what did Rodney have to do with it all?"
"He was just convenient," Thomas said, dismissing the scientist in a sentence. "If Lieutenant Cadman had been here, I would have used her. But since she wasn't, I used him. You seemed to be friends. I thought it would hurt more, to be accused of killing a friend."
Carson sent up a silent prayer of thanks that Laura was on Earth at that time, then immediately felt guilty because it meant that Rodney had suffered instead.
Taking a deep breath, the Scot tried to gather his thoughts. He was getting weaker by the minute, and his grasp on consciousness was weakening. Already the edges of the room were fuzzy, and indistinct.
"And what do you plan to do with me now?" he asked, hoping to get to the end of this confrontation while he was still on his feet.
"You will suffer the same fate as she did. You will die. And your friends will think you killed yourself, because you couldn't face what you had done. Then my revenge will be complete."
With that, he lifted his gun and pointed it at Carson. The Scot stood his ground, trying not to sway, trying to look Thomas in the eye, trying to convince him, without words not to do this. But the other man refused to meet his eyes.
"I have to do this!"
"No you don't!" Sheppard said, jumping out of the shadows. Ronon dove at the ex-marine from the other side. But neither man reached him before he'd fired the shot.