Impact plus 19 hours 48 minutes
She couldn't believe it was actually going to be this easy.
Cora followed McKay across the cargo bay, her mind awhirl with nervousness. The constant fear of discovery had been bad enough, but this ... this was terrible. Her stomach was tied into a roiling knot of anxiety. Worst of all was the dread that when it actually came time to do the deed, she wouldn't be able to. Though technically combat-trained, she'd never actually killed anyone ... unless you counted poisoning Elizabeth, and that hadn't really worked. She tried to remember how she'd calmed herself before injecting the drug into Elizabeth's IV, concentrating on hatred in order to push herself through the fear.
She nodded to the two airmen guarding the rip in the hull, and they nodded back. It was daylight and she had a gun strapped prominently to her leg; she could obviously take care of herself. She climbed out of the hole, dropped to the snow, and gave McKay a hand down, while looking surreptitiously around to make sure there wasn't anybody else out here.
There was a region downwind of the cargo bay, sheltered from sight by a thick stand of pine trees, which had been designated their temporary latrine area. Cora was startled to discover that the wind was blowing so hard she could barely see the trees through the blowing snow. It was developing into a regular blizzard out here. She could just make out two figures heading back from that direction, resolving themselves into two people she knew, Airman Jones and Airman Davis. In a minute, they'd be back inside, and then she and McKay would be truly alone.
And he would die.
She'd come up with an explanation, a story of some kind. Cora knew that there was one person on the ship who'd give her an alibi ... the one person who understood, who shared her goals. All she had to do was ask.
McKay, his shoulders hunched into his jacket, had started scrambling down the rough path to the engine room. Cora followed him quickly. Her hand slipped beneath her jacket and loosened the gun in its holster. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw dimly, through the swirling snow, that the figures of Jones and Davis had vanished -- back into the cargo bay, she assumed.
They were alone in the snow.
Cora went quickly, half-running, coming up behind McKay before she could lose her nerve. "Dr. McKay," she said quietly, although with the wind sweeping down from the mountain and blowing away from the ship, she could probably have shouted.
"Yeah, what?" he demanded irritably, half-turning around -- and then went stock-still as his widening eyes traveled from her face to the muzzle of the .9mm pointed at him.
"Don't speak," Cora ordered, her heart hammering so wildly that she felt sure he must be able to hear it even over the wind roaring overhead. This was the moment where everything could go wrong. If he screamed ... if he was armed ... if someone else chose this moment to give in to the urgency of his or her bladder ...
But no one came, and McKay didn't even move, just kept staring at the gun in her hand. "I gave you my coat," he said finally, in a tone of disbelief and hurt.
"I know. Thank you." Cora jerked the gun at him, gesturing away from the ship. "This way."
Slowly, haltingly, he came, one step at a time. His gloveless hands were tucked under his arms as protection from the cold and snow. He wasn't even wearing a hat. She might not even have to shoot him -- the cold would do her work for her. But first she had to get him away from the ship, where no one could hear the gunshot, where the wolves would come quickly to dispose of the evidence.
"You know, kidnapping me is a very bad idea," he said, dragging his feet in the snow. "I talk a lot when I'm scared, for one thing, and I have it on good authority that it's very annoying. Just ask any of the people who have kidnapped me. Kolya. Ford. Those convicts on Ole --"
"I said shut up." She jammed the gun into his ribs to punctuate her words.
"Ow! I already have enough bruises, thanks! As far as the shutting up, I can try, but I don't shut up very well." He sounded a little bit high -- adrenaline, Cora thought, and possibly lack of sleep.
"Then I'll shoot you."
"Shutting up," he said in a small voice.
"And move it." At this rate, someone was going to show up before they could get out of sight in the blizzard. They had to move faster. She used the muzzle of the gun to shove at him, urging him to a stumbling trot, away from the ship and down the side of the hill. He slipped and stumbled; she caught hold of his arm and propelled him forward, with the gun tucked against his back. Tearing off her radio, she dropped it in the snow and then ripped his from his head and did the same with it.
"Hey!"
Cora froze at the yell from behind them, involuntarily dragging McKay to a stop. Looking back, she saw someone through the wind-blown snow, standing at the base of the ship's great curving bulk. Squinting, she recognized Airman Jones, and her heart sank straight to her boots. He hadn't gone inside -- he must have gone back to the latrine, or maybe he'd come back out for some reason.
"Hey! You two! The ship's this way!"
And he actually thought he was helping -- thought the two of them had become lost in the storm. Next to her, she could feel McKay's body tensing. He was going to do something: scream, try to run, it didn't matter because this was all falling apart. I could shoot Jones too ... The thought came with surprising ease, along with a sick twist in her stomach. But, this close to the ship, a gunshot would bring others running; that was why she needed to get McKay away.
A sudden, inspired idea occurred to her.
"Help!" she screamed. "He's kidnapping me!"
Jones stopped in his tracks. From the corner of her eye, Cora saw McKay's head whip around in shock.
"Help!" she screamed, and, thrusting the gun more deeply into Rodney's side, she hissed, "I'd like to get out of here without killing him -- or you." Yet, she added inwardly ... but she'd already figured out that a hostage was a lot more likely to cooperate if they believed that good behavior might enable them to survive. It was best if McKay didn't know she was going to kill him anyway. "You shout something about go away or you'll kill me -- and do it now, or I'll shoot you."
Rodney just stared at her. "Now!" she whispered viciously, seeing Jones start to move, and her finger tightened on the trigger.
"Stop!" Rodney's voice was a high-pitched shriek of terror. Cora wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to Jones, and suspected he might not know either. She ground the muzzle of the gun into his ribs and bore down hard on his arm with her other hand, backing away step by step. Between the wind-driven snow and the way their bodies were so close together, she didn't think Jones would be able to see that she was the one with the gun, not Rodney.
"Stop! I, uh, I have a hostage! Stop or she'll shoot me! I mean, I'll shoot her!"
Cora groaned. Rodney was the least convincing liar she'd ever met, and now, on top of everything, he was mouthing with exaggerated motions: Help! She's kidnapping me!
Jones, however, seemed to completely miss the subtext; he just stood there with his gun wavering back and forth. In the blowing snow and wind, armed only with a pistol, he was obviously unwilling to try a shot, since the odds of his hitting Cora were probably better than hitting McKay.
"Help!" Cora wailed, shoving Rodney along. He seemed to be trying to put up passive resistance, setting his feet and making himself difficult to move, but as they were going downhill, gravity was on her side and he kept having to move or fall. By now they were far enough away that she could only see a dim outline of Airman Jones through the blinding snow and wind.
Another minute, and they could no longer see Jones at all -- which meant he couldn't see them either. Turning, Cora propelled Rodney forward with a hard thrust. "Okay, now move it!"
"I really hate you," he muttered, slipping and sliding in the snow. His fingers and ears were already bright red from the cold. "By the way, I definitely want my coat back."
------
Impact plus 20 hours 0 minutes
"He did WHAT?"
"Kidnapped Airman Ludwick and took off into the storm, sir." Jones repeated the words, standing at attention with his hands locked behind his back. "I take full responsibility, sir. I saw them come out, I just didn't realize --"
"At ease, Airman," Caldwell said wearily, turning away. "It wasn't your fault." I was the one who told her to take him outside.
He raised his eyes to meet the dual, horrified stares of Perry and Ling. "I suppose that settles the case about McKay," Perry said.
"I don't think so," Ling replied. "There's something else going on here. Has to be."
One of these days, Caldwell was going to have to get a full, detailed report from Ling. He wanted to know just what, exactly, had happened between her and McKay to change her mind so thoroughly. But in the meantime, he agreed with her. Rodney McKay might be capable of doing some very underhanded things. He could definitely see Rodney as an evil genius sitting in a lab somewhere churning out death rays and weather control machines. But holding a gun to a young woman's head -- which Jones swore up and down he'd seen, despite the fact that in the falling snow he could hardly have seen anything -- and dragging her off into a blizzard? It just wasn't ... McKay.
Still, that was the situation he had to deal with. Right now the evidence pointed overwhelmingly to McKay, and he couldn't ignore that.
"Perry, I need someone who can follow tracks -- Armstrong's a good choice -- and a couple of reliable soldiers. We have to go now, before the blizzard wipes out any chance of being able to follow them. You'll be in charge back here."
He could see shocked realization dawn on the other man's face. "You're going out there, sir?"
"Yes, Major."
He could see Perry struggling with himself, swallowing back objections. Ling had no such compunctions.
"Sir, that's insane. It's far too dangerous out there. You're needed here."
Caldwell snorted. "I'm not sending men into a situation that I won't go into myself, Doctor." As she dropped her eyes, he added, "Besides, I have a responsibility to every man and woman on this ship -- and I obviously haven't done my job at keeping them safe. I need to be out there, Doctor. I intend to be in charge of this rescue mission." Although he had no idea, at this point, who exactly was going to be rescued.
"I suggest you take Lt. Cadman with you, sir," Perry said quietly.
"Cadman? Explain, Major."
"She's Atlantean, sir." Perry wet his lips. "I hate to say it, but however this works out, when it comes down to the legal process it might be a good idea to make sure that we have one Atlantean in the rescue party. And Cadman's a good choice -- I've seen her record, and she's very competent in the field."
She also knew McKay in a way that few other people did. Caldwell had read her file, too. And Perry was right about the political angle, dammit, especially after that meltdown in the cargo bay. The last thing they wanted was to have the international backers of the Atlantis expedition trump up charges that McKay had been framed. "I think you're right, Major. Get Cadman down here, and find me a tracker and some backup. Everyone in Arctic gear and well armed. Rendezvous in front of the ship in ten minutes."
"Yes, sir."
Ling was watching him. She spoke softly, her voice pitched for his ears only. "Don't do anything rash, sir."
"You've changed your tune about McKay, Doctor."
"Yes, sir."
"You understand that if McKay isn't the saboteur, that leaves only one possibility."
Ling nodded, and swallowed. "If it is Cora, then I've made ... some grave mistakes, sir. I understand that and I will have to live with it. And Cora has always been a very competent medic; I would never have believed her capable of something like this. But sir ... just keep an open mind. Ask questions first, and then shoot."
"Sometimes that's not possible, Doctor."
"I know, sir. I'm only asking you to keep an open mind. By the way, speaking of which ..." A faint smile creased her tired face. "How's your head?"
"Hard as ever," Caldwell said softly, smiling at her as he touched the bandage.
"Good." She saluted. "Be careful out there. We'll be waiting to hear from you."
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TBC