The team had fully secured the room. By John's count, there were about 30 armed men. They were skilled, and the operation was well-organized.
It was only a few minutes before the leader spoke, "Dr Weir…I am looking for Dr. Weir" he said as he searched the crowd.
The crowd remained silent. No one moved. John was shocked. How did they know her name? Why did they want her? He looked carefully at Elizabeth, silently motioning for her to stay where she was. She nodded in agreement.
"I know you are here. If you do not come forward, I will have to resort to some very unpleasant methods to find you." He paused, waiting for an answer. Silence.
He violently grabbed a woman standing nearby. "You have 30 seconds to come forward. If you do not, I will kill this woman. And, I will continue to kill others until you reveal yourself."
Elizabeth sighed and closed her eyes. She couldn't let this happen. She must step forward. She looked up at John. He met her gaze, and then looked back at the man who was holding a gun to the head of his terrified hostage.
"I am Dr. Weir" he said.
The man turned his head quickly to look at John. He released the hostage, pushing her to the ground. He smiled slowly as he walked towards John. "Nice try...but, we know that Dr. Weir is a woman." His cold eyes locked on to the attractive woman standing slightly behind John. "So, you must be Dr. Weir – Dr. Elizabeth Weir."
She stared coldly at him, but didn't respond. John stepped forward, carefully placing himself in between Elizabeth and his adversary. "What do you want? Who are you?"
"Colonel Sheppard, I presume?" John frowned. How did this man know so much about them?
"You know a lot about us," Elizabeth finally broke her silence, "What is this about? We have come here to help your people – to be allies. Why are you doing this?"
He ignored her questions and motioned to his men, "You will come with us now."
As the guards moved towards Elizabeth, John suddenly pulled a gun from underneath his suit jacket. He aimed it at the leader's head and said coldly. "Dr. Weir isn't going anywhere."
The guards responded, lifting their weapons and pointing them at John and Elizabeth.
"Think about it Sheppard" he paused and said smugly, "You could shoot me, but my men would kill you and they would take Dr. Weir anyway."
John stared intensely into his dark eyes, but he would not yield.
"I recommend that you stand down."
"No" John clenched his jaw. He would not let them take her. It was an impossible situation. His mind was working quickly, trying to think of a way to get them out of this, but he was clearly outgunned and disadvantaged.
"Kill him"
"No..stop" Elizabeth cried. She walked forward and put her hand on John's arm, gently lowering his weapon. "I will go with you."
John looked at her incredulously, "Elizabeth…" His dark, intense eyes locked with hers. He feared for her safety. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her, but there was no choice. She had to go, and he knew it. John glanced over at Ronan and Teyla hoping for some help, but there was nothing they could do. None of them, except John, had brought a gun. They didn't think they would need them at such a formal affair – at a celebration of their new alliance.
They were wrong.
As Elizabeth stepped in front of John, one of the guards grabbed her, jerking her off-balance. John instinctively stepped forward to protect her. As he did, the other guards cocked their weapons and took aim. He froze. Elizabeth glanced back at him, hoping that he would not do anything extreme.
John glared at the leader, who smiled coldly, grabbed Elizabeth and ushered her out of the room.
TBC…