Part 18 – Escape

The Genii home world, five weeks ago

Cowen stood watching as Sora and McKay walked slowly back from the jetty. McKay had an arm wrapped possessively around her and he was smiling a wide unguarded smile. Cowen's eyes narrowed as he watched their progress. He heard someone step up besides him and he glanced around to see Kolya standing besides him.

"I think our problem might be resolving itself, Kolya, old friend," he said as he raised his glass again in the direction of Sora and McKay.

"I am not so sure, Cowen," replied Kolya. "I don't trust him." They stood for a while watching as Sora and McKay rejoined the crowd.


Atlantis, the present day

McKay looked around the room at the faces of his friends. Elizabeth looked fascinated by his description of the Genii culture, Sheppard looked sick and Caldwell, well he looked as implacable as ever. He decided to keep the rest of his story as short as possible, filling in only the briefest of details about the work he had done in his final few weeks with the Genii he focussed on telling them how they escaped.

"We planned our escape at night; it was the only time we could talk without being overheard," he said. He didn't elaborate on where they were holding their conversations but could see that they understood.

"There was another hand-fasting ceremony but this time we stayed on the farm overnight. That was when we agreed we would make our move. In their minds I was safely guarded by Sora and she was beyond suspicion."


The Genii home world two days previously

McKay lay on the straw mattress trying to ignore the prickles that irritated his skin no matter how he lay. Sora lay with her head on his shoulder with her hair spread out over him. Her hand traced lazy circles on his chest and a stray curl of her hair was tickling his chin.

Realising she was awake he whispered, "Is it time yet?"

"Not yet," she replied softly. "The guard at the Stargate changes over just before dawn. We shouldn't leave for another two hours."

He sat up. "I can't just sit here and wait!" he exclaimed quietly. He started drumming his fingers nervously on the sheet and then ran them through his hair.

"Relax, Rodney, you'll need your strength."

"How can you be so relaxed, Sora? I can't stand waiting. I never could."

Sora propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him, a smouldering look. "How about we do something to take your mind off it?" Laughing at his expression she drew him towards her and kissed him deeply.

Two hours later they silently climbed out of the window and down into the garden surrounding the house. Sora looked around, eyes straining in the darkness. She nodded and indicated that McKay should go first. He walked cautiously along the side of the building making his way through the long grass that was heavy with dew. It was nearly dawn and the light was flat and grey with deep shadows although there was the faintest tinge of rose was colouring the horizon.

"Where are you going, Dr McKay?" Kolya stepped out of the shadow cast by the barn.

McKay leapt out of his skin. "I'm walking, just walking," he stammered. "Please, I'm just walking." He held his hands open in front of him to show they were empty. Kolya's eyes were dark and glittering. McKay backed away slowly, eyes casting around desperately looking for somewhere to run, to hide. His back came up against the barn wall. He had nowhere to go, he couldn't fight Kolya, the man was a trained killing machine, and he wouldn't have a chance.

"Turn and face the wall, Dr McKay, hands above your head," ordered Kolya. He complied with a sinking heart, panic filling his stomach. Kolya had been waiting for him. She had betrayed him. This had all been a test. He would go back to re-education. They would break him again and completely this time. He would betray all he knew, all he had been. He should never have trusted her.

"There's no need, Kolya, please. I'm not going anywhere," McKay stammered out instinctively trying to talk his way out of it.

With a snort Kolya reached up, grabbed one of McKay's hands and pulled it roughly behind his back snapping a handcuff onto it. McKay flinched, then shifted his weight slightly and was suddenly thrown forwards hard against the wall, his breath knocked out of him. He winced in pain.

"Don't move unless I order you to, Dr McKay. Understood?" Kolya's voice was a low threat. McKay nodded.

Then Kolya reached up and grabbed McKay's other wrist, pulled it down and fastened the handcuff tightly around it. He leant forward and whispered in McKay's ear, "If you have done anything to hurt her I will kill you, Dr McKay. Do you understand?"

Confusion swept over him. Hurt her? Hope rose in him and he felt a sudden rush of shame for doubting Sora. He squirmed against the grip of the stronger man. "I haven't done anything, I said, I'm just walking."

Kolya tugged at the handcuffs forcing a gasp of pain from McKay who instinctively pulled away from him earning himself a sharp slap around the head. "Stop it, Dr McKay. I knew it was wrong to trust you and I've been watching you. You are coming back with me. If you were just walking, then I will apologise to you. If not, then we will see what you have done and, believe me, you will pay for it."

He pulled roughly at McKay's arm and started dragging him back to the farmhouse. McKay resisted, trying to buy Sora time to get back into the house, anything, "Look, it's a mistake, I couldn't sleep, I'm just walking, that's all," McKay was stammering and he knew it. "I.. I.. I.. don't sleep well, and… and… and… I thought that a walk might." Kolya cut him off with a blow to the side of the head. He went down on his knees. "Ow," he complained, "that really hurt."

He knelt in the wet grass staring up at Kolya. It was still dark but he could definitely see a movement behind Kolya. McKay started to talk again, to babble, anything to hold Kolya's attention whilst Sora circled around behind him. "Look, I said I was Genii and I am, I… I… I'm not going to try to get away again, I promise, please just take these off and we can forget this….."

Kolya stood staring down at the man kneeling in the grass puzzled. He didn't buy this panicked act for a moment. "What are you doing, Dr McKay?" he asked mere seconds before Sora brought down the log she was armed with on his head as hard as she could. His eyes turned up in his head and he pitched forward to lie in the long grass, silent.

McKay watched in horrified fascination as Sora hit Kolya again. Then she rolled him over onto his back and searched his pockets for the key to the handcuffs. A few fumbled seconds later and the handcuffs and keys were lying in the grass next to Kolya's inert form and they were off, running for the Stargate as quickly and as silently as they could.

It was a matter of seconds until Kolya regained full consciousness. He was lying in the grass, a half rotten log lying next to him. He could feel the blood running down his forehead into his eyes. He blinked to clear his vision and then with a gargantuan effort of will he pushed himself upwards until he was propped up against the wall of the barn. He could see the two figures running in the direction of the Stargate. He lifted his gun and aimed for the middle of McKay's back, he had a clean shot. He held it for several seconds and began to squeeze the trigger. He knew McKay hadn't broken, he knew he wasn't integrated – it had been wishful thinking from Cowen. He knew the man couldn't be trusted. Re-education wouldn't work on someone like him. He could hear the voice of his first commander, the man who had taken in the raw recruit, the man who had re-educated him.

"Who are you?"

"I am Acastus Kolya of the Genii."

"And what is your duty?"

"I serve my people. I fight for my people. I die for my people."

"Who are your people?"

"The Genii. They saved me from the Wraith and gave me a home."

"What will you do to enemies of the Genii?"

"I will kill them."

Then suddenly, unbidden, the memories of his life before he became Genii flooded over him. He blinked to clear his mind, to drive them away but failed. He remembered the small holding where he had grown up. He remembered his parents and his brothers. He remembered his golden haired sister whom he had sworn to protect. He remembered her suitor that he and his brothers had beaten to pulp and with whom she had run away with anyway.

He remembered losing them all.

He remembered accepting the loss.

He remembered the pain of that acceptance and the cold fury he had channelled into his life and work for the Genii.

He raised his arm again, they were still within range, and he could still bring them both down. For several long seconds he held his aim and then, with a strangled groan, he carefully lowered the weapon. He closed his eyes and slumped down against the side of the barn. He decided he would stay here until he was found. He would say he didn't remember what had happened and he would be believed. He opened his eyes and could faintly see Sora's golden hair as she ran besides McKay towards the Stargate back to his people.

Sora and McKay were running for their lives. Dealing with Kolya had cost them time and the noise of it had aroused suspicion and they could hear the shouts of the patrol alert to their presence.

"I won't have time to disable the DHD," gasped McKay as they ran. "We'll just dial and go through."

Sora gave him her agreement with a brief nod as she ran.

Oh God, oh God! I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead thought McKay as he ran struggling to keep up with Sora. Their plan was about to fail.

"Just dial it, McKay!" Sora hissed at him as he staggered up to the DHD wheezing for breath. He dialled as quickly as he could. He could hear voices, shots, the adrenaline surged in him and he turned. Sora was running towards him, he saw the soldier pause, lift his rifle to his shoulder and then he heard the shot. Sora leapt in front of him and pushed him towards the event horizon. He heard the impact of the bullet in her side, her sharply exhaled gasp of pain and then she was thrown heavily against him and they both fell through the shimmering blue surface.

They hit the ground heavily on the other side of the wormhole and he lay for a second winded. Trembling from the adrenalin rush, he struggled out from beneath Sora's limp body and ran to the DHD to cut off the incoming wormhole. He quickly redialled; ripped off his jacket, tore off the sleeve and stuffed it into her shirt as a makeshift bandage. Then he dragged Sora to her feet and plunged into the event horizon once more.

McKay couldn't run, not supporting her weight and so he let her drop to the floor, where she lay blood bubbling from her lips with every breath. He ran to the DHD, killed the incoming wormhole and dialled another address. He ran back to where she lay, pulled her up with him and dragged her with him through the event horizon. He repeated the manoeuvre four more times before he dared to dial the Alpha Site address. She was conscious again, although barely, and they staggered through the event horizon together. Once the wormhole deactivated he gently lowered her to sit leaning against the DHD facing the Stargate. Then he collapsed onto the ground next to her and then turned to kneel looking into her face.


Atlantis, the present day

"And the rest you know," McKay ended quietly.

The telling of the tale was not as traumatic as the living of it but the memories and the feelings were so fresh and so strong that it had exhausted him. He sat there and waited for Elizabeth to speak. When she didn't he looked up and asked, "Well? What next? What are you going to do? Can she stay? What am I going to do now?"

Elizabeth smiled. "There will be time for that later," she said. "We've got some thinking to do first."

"Oh yes, um," McKay got to his feet, "I'll leave you now, I guess you've got a lot to talk about." He moved as if to leave the room.

"Rodney, sit down!" Sheppard sounded exasperated. "We're not going to talk about you behind your back."

"But I've got to go. You wanted me to see Heightmeyer. You know, to check if I'm a crazy man or not. Well I'm due there in 15 minutes," McKay was gesturing weakly with one hand.

Elizabeth winced at his words and then nodded. "It's OK, Rodney, you go. We can talk when you're finished," she said.

McKay nodded and then headed purposefully for the door. When he got there he hesitated, turned to face his friends and then spoke. "There's one other thing you should know. The hand fasting ceremony we were at when we escaped. Well, it was ours."