Thanks again for the great feedback – giving me goose bumps.
The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time - Chapter 4
John and Nick found themselves once again shackled in what they had come to refer to as the torture room. The Enforcer was waiting for them, grinning as he fingered the neurodisrupter sitting on the table. Nick pretended not to notice John flinch at the sight of the torture device. The Enforcer lifted the object and strolled over to John, holding the prongs in front of his face.
"So, how did you like my little toy?"
John had tucked his fear away and defiance once again broadcast from his stance and tone of voice. "Great. I'm assuming you take it to all the good parties."
The Enforcer sneered. "Still insolent, I see. We'll see how long you last. Once again, why did you kill the Chancellor?"
Sheppard glared at the man for several seconds before smiling broadly and saying, "Go to hell. Go directly to hell. Do not pass go and definitely do not collect $200." Nick's heart literally jumped into his throat. If they ever made it out of this, he was making sure John spent some serious time on Heightmeyer's couch. McKay had not been exaggerating.
The Enforcer circled Sheppard once, twice, building the tension as he went. John was refusing to follow him with his eyes, instead staring straight ahead. He tried to tense himself, waiting for the blow. It came from behind on the Enforcer's third round, jabbing him in the center of the lower back as hard as he could. A strangled cry escaped Sheppard as his body began to shake and jerk. His torturer held the stick against him forcefully as Sheppard's body convulsed, finally removing it after what seemed to Nick like an eternity.
"Stop, stop, stop!" It took Nick several seconds to realize it was him screaming in panic as he watched the horror in front of him. "Please stop, take him down." The manacles holding him up had already scraped his wrists until the blood ran freely down his arms. The severe movements had stopped, but John still twitched and shook as he hung limply from the shackles.
Nick was sweating profusely with fear, his stomach clenched down in a tight knot. He was terrified for John and he was becoming afraid for himself, remembering the Enforcer's earlier words that they would both get it this time. He took a deep breath. If John could endure it, so could he, although he'd prefer a rescue team broke through the door about now. He looked hopefully toward the door. Nope. No rescue team there.
"All right Dr. Strauhan, let's see if your manners are any better than Colonel Sheppard's. Tell me what I want to know."
Nick looked like a light had just gone on in his head. "Oh, tell you what you want to know, not the truth. Well, why didn't you just say so earlier. Okay, what you want to know . . . okay, how's this? Even though we had no idea if this planet even had people on it when we got here, as soon as we came into town and met the Chancellor, we decided to kill him. We didn't really have a plan or a reason. So we sent two of our people away to get medicine for him, you know, since we were about to kill him and all, that way we'd be more likely to get caught and tortured when the guy died. And we carefully timed it so our people wouldn't get back in time to help us escape. We did all this in the interest of creating chaos and getting to meet you and your torture stick personally because we're raving lunatics. So, did you like that fairy tale any better than the truth, because that seems to get us nowhere."
The Enforcer had lost his smile by now and Nick didn't figure that was a good thing. His eyes narrowed at Nick as he drew his mouth up into a smirk. "You think you are funny. How funny do you think this is?"
Nick prepared to have the stick jabbed into him like John had. But the Enforcer pulled a cruel joke. He walked over the stand behind John's hanging form and grin at Nick.
"No!" cried Nick as loud as he could just as the man stabbed the prongs of the stick into the base of John's neck. John's body began to convulse violently once again, strangled attempts to breathe the only sounds he produced. The Enforcer continued to hold the stick against John, setting the thing off again and again.
Nick could watch it no more. He pulled back and swung forward, striking out at the Enforcer with his legs. He connected even more soundly than he had hoped, knocking the stick out of the Enforcer's hands as he tumbled to the ground. Guards were on Nick in a second, hitting him in the face and stomach until he was barely conscious. Nick's world grayed out for a few minutes, but came back into sharp clarity as someone jerked his head up by his hair. The Enforcer, red faced and obviously infuriated, stood before him.
"I have had enough of both of you. I have never seen such defiance and foolishness in those being interrogated. The questions are over. You will both be put to death tomorrow. I have a parting gift for you to enjoy while you await your execution." He laughed as he stood back and thrust the prongs into Nick's chest, causing Nick's world to explode in pure agony.
oOo
Elizabeth entered the conference room quickly, talking as she made her way to her seat. She was wearing a tac vest and a side arm, an unusual look for the expedition leader, and it took those present a little off guard.
"All right, Major Lorne, why don't you explain what we've come up with."
Lorne immediately began filling everyone in. "We have four jumpers full of marines. We all go through the gate cloaked. When we get to the town, your jumper and one more will land and the marines will escort you to the Council. You make our plea to get Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Strauhan released. If they refuse, you threaten to take them by force. If they still refuse, the cloaked jumpers will give them a sampling of our fire power. That should be enough to convince them to release our guys. From what Teyla and Ronon have described, they don't seem especially advanced in military weapons."
Elizabeth nodded. "Does anyone have any questions or suggestions?"
"Where will we be?" asked Beckett nervously.
Lorne turned to Beckett. "Doc, you and the medical team will be in one of the cloaked jumpers. You should be safe there since we're pretty sure they don't have the firepower to come after a jumper, much less the technology to find a cloaked one. Your jumper will land when we find the colonel and the doc to take them aboard."
McKay frowned and looked around the room, coming back to Elizabeth. "Why do you need to go? It could be dangerous. Surely Ronon or Teyla or Major Lorne could deliver the ultimatum."
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, I'm sure they could. But I'm the leader of the expedition and I should be the one to do this. Anything else?"
No one else said anything. "All right, let's load up. We have two men probably being tortured as we speak. They've already been there far too long and we need to get them out of there." On the way out, Elizabeth stopped beside Rodney. "Rodney, don't worry. I'll be careful and we'll bring them both back."
Rodney grunted before looking up at her. "I wish I was going. I think it's my turn to rescue Sheppard and I'm missing my turn."
Elizabeth grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "You can make it up to him later. I'll tell him you wanted to come help."
"Not the same," he muttered as Elizabeth hurried from the room, heading for the waiting jumper. He had no doubt they'd bring Sheppard and Strauhan back, he just wondered what shape they'd be in.
oOo
It seemed forever after Nick came to before he could actually move his limbs enough to pull himself up into a sitting position. His head felt like it was going to explode and nerve tremors racked his body. Once the room had settled a bit, he looked around for John. He saw him lying face down about three feet to his right, his body occasionally twitching. It was several more minutes before he could make his way over to his friend.
Nick snagged John's arm and pulled him over closer, so he could continue to lean against the wall for support. He wasn't sure he was capable of sitting up unaided just yet. He put his hand on John's neck to feel for his pulse. He could feel the twitching muscles underneath his fingers as he timed the racing pulse. A few minutes later, a low moan caused him to open his eyes again, making him aware he'd almost dozed off. He glanced down at the figure beside him.
"John . . . can you hear me buddy?"
John's eyes fluttered open and he opened his mouth, inhaling deeply. Nick put his hand on John's arm. "Just take it easy for a minute. Get your bearings."
John could feel his heart racing and his breaths coming too fast. Muscle tremors raced through his body, making him shake all over. He didn't feel like he had any muscle control yet, and the random muscle contractions were laced with pain, shooting down his legs from his lower back and up into his head from the base of his neck. There was a loud buzzing in his ears, making it hard to hear and his thoughts seemed fogged and unfocused. He tilted his head to one side to see Nick better, and hot fire stabbed into the back of his neck, momentarily taking his breath away. He closed his eyes and gasped for a moment.
"Easy, John, just lay still. He hit you twice with that torture stick of his and I'm sure it's probably compounded the effects."
It was several minutes later before John was able to open his eyes and try looking at Nick again. He was afraid of what might have happened after he'd passed out. He saw new bruises on Nick's face and relatively fresh blood. His nose had obviously been bleeding, along with a new cut on his cheek.
"Wha . . . wha . . . " John found he couldn't seem to form the words he wanted and his anger and frustration grew.
"It's okay, it'll come back in a few minutes. Just be patient. I'm afraid you're rubbing off on me and I've gotten us into even more trouble. I told him a fairy tale and he wasn't amused. He took it out on you first and hit you with that bloody torture stick in the back of the neck. I'm hoping he didn't fry your brain or spinal cord. I sort of kicked it out of his hands, so he announced he was tired of us and that we would die tomorrow. And then he introduced me to his toy."
Sheppard's expression changed to worry as his brow furrowed and he looked like he was going to try to speak again. Nick intercepted him.
"Oh, by the way, you remember that conversation we had earlier that you found so embarrassing? I think I may have joined you on that one," he said smiling.
"S'okay," John managed to slur. He concentrated on what he needed to say, telling himself he could do this. "Need . . . sit up."
Nick started to tell him no, but then thought better of it. They would either get rescued tomorrow or die. Or was it tomorrow already? He had no idea how much time had passed, much less whether it was day or night. While running these questions through his mind, he leaned over and helped John sit up against the wall next to him.
John was barely able to hold himself in an upright position, even leaned against the wall. He knew they had to get out of there soon or there wouldn't be anything left to rescue. He wished he knew how much time they had, because he wasn't going anywhere for a while. He focused his energy on trying to control his body enough to function while he tried to figure out how to get them out before they ended up dead.
oOo
Elizabeth stood as tall and firm as she could before the counsel members sitting at the table. "I have explained this several times and, frankly, it's getting old. I honestly can't tell if you people are stalling or if you really are this stupid. The team led by Colonel Sheppard was merely looking for trade partners. If you were not interested, all you had to do was say so and they would have left. From what Teyla and Ronon have told me, all they did was try to help your Chancellor Gaylen, who was already very ill. It was not their fault they got here too late to help him. All we want is to get our people back and we will be very happy to leave and never visit your planet again."
"The fact still remains that some of our people feel your Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Strauhan may have done something to hasten the Chancellor's demise and therefore, by our law, they must be interrogated and punished." The old man that was speaking sighed as if highly annoyed and sat back in his chair.
"And tell me about this interrogation. Exactly what are they doing to my people? They've been in your hands for nearly two days now. I want to see them and make sure they are unharmed," demanded Elizabeth, her patience all but gone.
"That is not possible. They have yet to confess to their deeds, so the Enforcer is finding it necessary to encourage them. He reports that they are very stubborn."
A young man entered the room and went over one of the council members and began whispering to them. Elizabeth turned to Major Lorne. "I'm about ready to start with the threats. It's like they don't hear anything I say."
Lorne nodded. "I agree. They just keep repeating the same arguments without regard to any of the points you've made. They have their mind made up and they aren't going to waver."
Elizabeth noticed that the message runner had left, so she turned her attention back to the counsel.
"I have just received some news of your men," stated the old man. "They have refused to cooperate and attacked the Enforcer. He says this proves their guilt and he has called for their execution later today."
Elizabeth's expression hardened and voice became cold. "You will release my men immediately or we will take them by force."
The old man stammered and looked to the other counsel members, all of them shocked. Apparently they were used to getting their way without question. "Dr. Weir, I have just explained to you –"
"You have explained nothing. You just keep rattling on about your ways. Well your ways are archaic and barbaric and completely unfair. My people did nothing but try to help and if you are too arrogant and backwards to see that, then I'm through negotiating. You will deliver Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Strauhan to me now or we will take them by force, even if we have to destroy every building in this town to find them. Do I make myself clear?"
The old man stood up, trying to look defiant. "We are not afraid of you."
Elizabeth nodded to Lorne, who tapped his radio. "Time for a demonstration. Try to start out with an unoccupied structure, just to make our point."
"Roger that."
The Lanteans stood smugly as a few seconds later, the sound of an explosion rocked the building. The counsel all jumped up and ran to the door, while Elizabeth and Lorne smiled knowingly at one another. Now maybe these people would listen.
oOo
"They're coming," whispered John.
"I know," said Nick quietly, the fear beginning to clamp down his stomach and flow through his veins.
"I don't know if they're coming to get us for another torture session or lead us to our execution, but it doesn't really matter. I'm not going another round with that Neurotorture device thingy and I'm not going quietly to my own execution, so either way, we make our move now."
Nick took a deep breath, trying to fortify his courage and resolve. "Okay, so what's the plan?"
John chuckled. "There is no plan. We're winging it."
Nick's eyes widened. "What? What do you mean, there is no plan? I thought there was always a plan. I thought there was a plan A, plan B, and sometimes a plan C."
John shrugged his shoulders. "What can I tell you? Sometimes we have the time and info to make a plan and sometimes we don't. This is a don't. I'll look for an opening and you just follow my lead."
Nick nodded and mumbled to himself. "Follow your lead, follow your lead." He suddenly looked up and opened his mouth to ask John what in the heck that meant, but it was too late. The guards opened the door with its usual bang. He drew in a deep breath and hoped he could figure out what following John's lead was when the time came.
The two guards walked in and each grabbed a prisoner by the arm and jerked him up. John doubled over, as if in pain, and when the guard tried to compensate for the shift in weight, John suddenly straightened, plowing the back of his clenched fist into the man's nose. The guard immediately dropped to the ground in agony and John slammed the man's head over, smacking it soundly against the wall. The unconscious guard slid over to his side and lay still.
As soon as John hit the first guard, the second dropped Nick's arm and headed over to help restrain John. Nick kicked the man in the side, knocking him over, and then jumped on top of him, pinning his arms to his side. The two struggled for several seconds before John came over and hit the downed man in the face, knocking him out. Nick leaned over on the man, panting partially from the exertion and partially from the adrenalin coursing through his body.
John was standing, leaning heavily against the wall, muscle tremors still causing his hands to shake. Both men were near collapse from exhaustion, the beatings, and lack of food and water. John stepped forward and took Nick's arm.
"Come on . . . gotta get outta here."
Nick stumbled to his feet. "Okay, coming. Was that okay?"
"Yeah, great. See, you don't always need a plan." John weaved and leaned against the wall as they made their way down the hall.
"Guess not. It'd be easier on the nerves though."
"Shhh." John put his fingers to his lips as they neared the door to the torture room. He slowly peeked around the corner. The Enforcer was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room, his head dipped down to his chest as he snored. John grinned at Nick, the wild look in his eyes scaring Nick just a bit. "One more thing," he whispered. "Wait here."
Nick watched as John slipped quietly into the room. He moved like fluid swiftly across the floor to the table and picked up the neurodisrupter. Standing back from the Enforcer, he watched the man for a few seconds, deciding whether or not to wake him. He was spared the decision as the Enforcer snorted and lifted his head to look into John's eyes just before he stabbed the prongs into the man's belly and activated the device. John jumped back as the man began to twitch and jerk, plopping helplessly onto the floor.
"How does that feel, you yellow-bellied sack of shit?" John raised the stick over his head and brought it down hard on the end of the table, breaking the device into several pieces. Throwing the part remaining in his hand across the room, he turned and made his way back to Nick, rushing past him without so much as a backward glance. Nick just grunted and hurried to catch up.
They found themselves at the door to the underground prison, looking out into the edge of a forest. They had to shield their eyes and squint for several minutes as their eyes adjusted to the increased brightness. The prison was apparently at the far end of town as they didn't see many buildings near this one. They thought it odd that they hadn't encountered any more guards, but chalked it up to a lack of experience dealing with prisoners trying to escape. The one guard they found outside was easily dispatched by Sheppard and then they were running into the forest.
They ran for a long time, until they both collapsed into the dirt and leaves on the forest floor. They panted heavily and curled up against their burning lungs and aching ribs. John was still fighting pains shooting down his legs and up into his head and neck, but he didn't say anything for fear of alarming Nick. He still had residual muscle tremors, but he had seen a few in Nick as well.
"We . . . need to . . . find . . . shelter," John managed to get out between gasps.
"Can we . . . catch . . . breath first?"
"Yeah . . . just a . . . minute."
They actually lay there almost ten minutes before either of them could catch their breath enough to even consider getting up. They leaned on each other as they struggled to their feet.
"Gotta keep moving," said John.
"What about our rescue?"
"We couldn't wait. We'll rest tonight and try to start working our way back to the gate tomorrow." John led the way through the trees, hoping to find a source of water and somewhere they could rest. They hadn't slept more than a few hours over the last two or three days and they were both exhausted. They walked another hour before they found a clear running stream.
"Finally, some water." John got down on his hands and knees and prepared to scoop up a drink.
"Wait," said Nick. "Just because it looks clean doesn't mean it is."
John just looked at him "Do you have any way to clean it?"
Nick stared at him several seconds, then sighed and hung his head. "No."
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm thirsty and we're both probably dehydrated. I have no idea when we'll be getting back to Atlantis. I'll take my chances."
He scooped up some water in his hand and began drinking.
Nick looked longingly at the water. He eventually sat down and began drinking too. "Oh well, we can't be in much more trouble that we're already in."
John grinned. "That's the spirit."
oOo
"What do you mean they're gone?" demanded Elizabeth angrily as she was led down the long, dark hallway to an empty cell. Two guards were there, being treated by some of the town's version of medical personnel.
"They knocked out their guards and escaped," explained the skinny, pale man who was escorting them.
"Look," said Lorne, pointing to smears of blood on the floor. The blood was dry, but obviously not very old and was nowhere near the two injured guards. Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath.
"You're men are lucky he didn't kill them," said Elizabeth to their guide.
The pale man snorted and smiled. "They could not kill the guards, they were unarmed."
Elizabeth arched one eyebrow as a cold smile spread across her face. "You aren't listening to me. I said your men are lucky Colonel Sheppard didn't kill them, weapons or no weapons. He chose to leave them alive. Personally, in light of the way they were being treated, I think he showed great restraint."
The man paled even farther as he stammered, the meaning of Elizabeth's words sinking in. "He . . . he can kill with his hands?" His voice squeaked slightly and his eyes were wide.
"Easily," said Lorne. "And he's put down more than two scrawny guards at a time. I'm surprised he didn't break out sooner. He was probably hoping to get you people to listen to reason so it wouldn't come to this."
"Oh my," sighed the man.
"Where is this Enforcer? I want to speak to him, now," said Elizabeth.
"I don't think that is possible. He was also injured by your people."
"Show me," she demanded.
The skinny man led them part way down the hall to a room. When they entered, they could smell blood and sweat and urine. Two sets of shackles hung from the ceiling and none of them missed the blood on both sets. A medical person was tending to a large man sitting propped up in a chair. He was trembling and shaking, muscle spasms randomly causing parts of his body to twitch. Several pieces of a broken device littered the floor and table.
"Is this him?" asked Elizabeth, taking note of the obvious use of the room.
"Yes, ma'am, but he can't speak right now. One of them hit him with the neurodisrupter and the effects take several hours to wear off. It causes severe muscle spasms and tremors and loss of muscle control."
"And how many times did he use that thing on Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Strauhan?" asked Major Lorne, knowing they would not have been spared that.
"I. . . I don't know. You would have to ask the Enforcer."
Elizabeth's jaw line tightened. "I've seen enough. No wonder they escaped. They were being tortured for trying to help a dying man. We will be searching your planet until we find our men and no one had better get in our way or hinder our search. When we find them, we will be taking them home. I do not expect there to be any interference."
Ronon and Teyla had come up to stand beside Lorne, their faces reflecting their worry and anger. Ronon growled at the man.
The skinny man nodded, obviously terrified. "I will go inform the counsel of what has happened and about your . . . warning." He hurried out the room and down the hall.
"You do that," mumbled Ronon.
Elizabeth turned to face them. "We've got to find them and it's not going to be easy. They'll be running and hiding from these people, not knowing it's us looking for them."
"We'll find them," said Teyla confidently.
Ronon nodded. "We won't quit until we do."
Elizabeth smiled, glad the two of them were on her side "Okay, let's go get them. Like John always says, we don't leave people behind."
TBC
