Author's Note: For those wondering, this story is finished. I'm publishing as I edit and there are six chapters total. Everything should be posted soon!
Chapter Two: Recaptured
It was only with the utmost care that Elizabeth was able to control her disappointment when the team returned without John.
She ran down the stairs to confront Ronon, who was seething, and Teyla and McKay who looked more sad and defeated than angry.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"We were too late!" Ronon roared. "Just five minutes. If we'd been there five minutes sooner we would have had him."
"Where's John?" she questioned.
"Kolya still has him," Teyla broke in. "He escaped on a small ship they had hidden in the trees and took the Colonel with him. Ronon saw him and said that he was no longer aged."
"What?" Elizabeth was incredulous.
"It is a mystery to myself as well," Teyla continued.
"It could have all been an illusion Kolya was playing with us," McKay suggested. "We didn't see Wraith anywhere and we searched the facility they were holding Sheppard in. It was clean. Just some recording and transmitting equipment."
"And the ship?" Elizabeth pressed. "Could you track it?"
"Unfortunately, no." McKay pushed past her, uncharacteristically non-McKay-like, and all business. "Not with the equipment I had. I need to get to work. There has to be a way to track them. I'm going to need some things and then we need to go back. I'm hoping we can pick up their trail before it gets too cold. He might have just been moving Sheppard to another part of the planet, or it could have been something like a puddle jumper. It was small enough to fit through a gate."
"Then get to work, people," Elizabeth announced. "And the rest of you, gear up to head back through the gate as soon as McKay is ready."
The mission had only lasted two hours. She knew the team was fresh and ready to hunt down Kolya. The sooner they had Sheppard back, the sooner they could all breathe again.
As far as Sheppard could tell, he sat alone in the cell for nearly two days. His watch had been taken, but based on his hunger level and need for sleep, as well as an uncanny internal sense for time, he knew that the door was going to have to open soon or he was going to die of dehydration.
On the third day, Sheppard sat listless in the corner, stomach growling, lips cracked, and mouth dry. The humming in the floor hadn't changed since he first woke in the cell, but an imperceptible feel in the air made him look around, wondering what had changed.
The air was suddenly more humid, with a sweet hint that made Sheppard immediately cover his mouth with his shirt.
Gas. They were gassing him.
He struggled to his feet, searching the walls to find the source. After a few moments, he looked at the ceiling and realized that anything could be behind the grating and there was no way he could stop the gas.
His limbs were feeling heavy, and he staggered, bashing his shoulder into the wall as he slowly collapsed to the floor. It was getting harder to take a deep breath, and his eyelids were drooping.
Before he gave in and closed his eyes, Sheppard knew that it was likely the gas wasn't poisonous. They'd kept him alive this long. Why kill him now?
The third day of Sheppard's re-kidnapping, Atlantis received another transmission from Kolya. The signal was encoded, and it was likely that they were using some kind of technology to bounce from address to address, so the chances of tracking him were slim to none once they were able to re-dial.
Weir called Sheppard's team to the control room where Kolya appeared on a grainy screen as before, in a room very similar to the last one he had called them from.
"Dr. Weir. Let's try this again, shall we?"
Weir folded her arms. "We don't negotiate with terrorists, Kolya. I thought you had learned that by now?"
"The problem, Dr. Weir, is that I still have your precious Colonel Sheppard. And I know you will do anything to get him back. You will even hand over Ladon Radim. I just have to find the right buttons to push."
"Where is Colonel Sheppard?" Weir demanded.
"He is with me, and on the whole is in good health."
Kolya stepped back from the screen.
They saw Sheppard strapped to a table, apparently unconscious. One side of his head was covered in dried blood and a leather gag covered his mouth.
"He sustained a minor injury, but I think we can clean that up," Kolya said, motioning to the guards standing in the shadows.
The guards stepped forward and tilted the table so Sheppard's head was down on a 45 degree angle, the straps keeping him on the table. He didn't react, but then the guards brought a hose and held it over his head, splashing water all over his face.
Sheppard spluttered awake, coughing and struggling against the bonds. The water flow did not stop.
Ronon shouted in anger, throwing the first thing he managed to get his hands on and smashing a coffee mug against the wall. Teyla bit her hand. McKay looked on in dismay, speechless.
Weir took a breath before finding her voice to speak. She had to be strong for Sheppard.
"Water torture, Kolya? You think our soldiers aren't trained to withstand that?"
Kolya's face filled the screen, blocking their view of Sheppard, although they could still see the water splashing and hear his muffled coughs and gasps in the background.
"On the contrary," Kolya answered, "I'm sure Colonel Sheppard has experienced the best your world has to offer. I am curious as to how far I can go until he breaks. The Wraith was only to test you initially. Now, I can test him, as well as get Ladon from you when I know you will finally give in. You won't be able to watch this forever, even if Sheppard himself is unbreakable."
Kolya stepped back, watching the water cascade over Sheppard's face as he continued to struggle, barely able to breathe.
The Genii pulled a long stick from his belt and pressed a button. A jolt of visible energy danced from the end, reminding Weir of a cattle prod. Her stomach dropped as she realized what Kolya was going to do next.
"But I won't bore you, Dr. Weir. I'll call you again."
Kolya turned towards Sheppard, his back to the camera, the stick raised, and the transmission ended.
Sheppard didn't know how long he felt like he was drowning. At first, the water was a welcome relief to his dry throat. But he knew what water torture was. He was surprised it had made it to the Pegasus Galaxy, but a tiny part of him was grateful that it had been part of his Black Ops training. Except now, he couldn't tap out when he couldn't take anymore.
Water burned his nostrils and his eyes. It filled his ears. The leather gag kept him from taking in air through his mouth. His wrists felt raw from struggling upside-down on the table. It went on and on. When he finally felt like he couldn't take one minute more, he heard a sharp command, and the water stopped.
Coughing through the gag, he was returned to a horizontal position but could barely catch his breath, fighting against the strap across his chest that pinned him down when all he wanted to do was curl up so he could breathe.
Kolya stepped into view and Sheppard glared daggers at him, wishing the gag was off so he could swear at the Genii.
Smiling, Kolya waved a stick in the air between them. Sharp bolts of electricity leapt from the stick to the table and Sheppard jolted in sharp pain, realizing what was next.
"I just had a lovely conversation with Dr. Weir," Kolya said. "She assures me you are a strong man and can withstand anything." He traced the edge of the table with the stick, and the electricity danced across Sheppard's body, throwing him into an involuntary seizure. Blood roared in his ears as his eyes rolled back in his head. His hands scrabbled on the table, not finding anything to hold onto. The energy danced mercilessly for long moments, then finally stopped.
The world had turned flat and grey around him as he struggled to see again. It took some moments for him to realize that Kolya was still talking to him.
"… And then, of course, we would move on. In the meantime, I will ensure that your people on Atlantis know how you are doing."
Kolya's face swam into view as Sheppard struggled to keep his eyes open.
"Ah. I see we have forgotten to take this off." Kolya unfastened the gag. "Sometimes I forget that conversations can go two ways."
"We don't … give in … to terrorists," Sheppard gasped. "They won't … give you Ladon."
"To be honest," Kolya murmured, leaning in closer, "I'm hoping they won't. I will enjoy getting to know you better."
Kolya smiled, leaned back, then pushed the stick into Sheppard's ribs. His world exploded painfully into white light.
Weir paced as McKay worked. Both hadn't slept since the botched rescue, and Weir could feel her synapses were fraying.
"Do we know what sort of engine the ship had?" she asked.
"Ladon said it's positron based. I'm working on creating a program where we return to the planet and cast a sort of digital net to see where it went. It's the best I can do right now."
"You're doing fine, Rodney," Weir patted him on the shoulder. "Once you finish, load everything up and let the team know. And see if you can get a nap somewhere in there."
"A nap?" Rodney was incredulous. "I can't sleep right now. Who knows what Kolya is doing to Sheppard! We have to find him yesterday!"
"And neither of us will be able to do our jobs properly if we don't rest. I don't want any mistakes," Weir replied. "We made too many mistakes on the last mission. We can't afford anymore."
Sheppard woke back in his cell, his entire body aching. Gingerly pushing himself to a sitting position, he found under his t-shirt his skin looked quite singed. There were a few more bruises here and there, but on the whole he was fine.
On the floor in front of him was a tray of food and a cup of water. He hungrily ate what looked like a piece of dry bread - tasteless - and gulped down the water. So they weren't planning on starving him to death. But he did feel like they were boring him to death.
Hours on end were spent in the faceless cell. There was no noise, no motion from the door. Nothing but the steady hum from the floor.
Black Ops POW training had taught Sheppard that he needed a routine to stay sane. Anytime he was awake he went over a sequence of mental mathematical problems that he found fun, then would always add one extra difficult problem at the end. When he finished, he would play a mental chess game with himself, but sometimes he got bored and wouldn't finish, remembering to pick up where he left off the next time he was awake. He also went over song lyrics. At first, he only sang inside his head, but eventually, the silence started getting to him, and he sang loudly and without abandon. He could sing for hours, anything from classic rock to country. No one ever came to stop him, so he figured he either had a nice enough voice, or the Genii really weren't listening to him.
After another day (he guessed) of solitary, the gas started up again. Within moments, Sheppard was unconscious.
When he woke, groggy and limbs feeling slow and heavy, he found himself back in the same room as before. This time he was strapped into a chair, not the table from before.
"Ok, so no water torture then?" he said aloud to the room. Apparently, he was alone as no one answered. He tugged on the straps encircling his wrists, ankles, and chest. They were tight enough that breathing was a bit difficult, and there was no way he was going to escape.
In front of him was the familiar Genii camera from before, but otherwise, the room was faceless and similar to his cell.
The door behind him opened and Kolya walked into view flanked by two Genii officers.
"I'm sorry for our last session, Colonel," he said. "We didn't have time for pleasantries. But this time, I wanted to prepare you. I'm going to call Dr. Weir again. I'm going to ask for Ladon. And I need you to tell her that you will be untouched from this point on if she cooperates."
"You know that's not happening, right?" Sheppard rolled his eyes.
Kolya smiled. "I thought I'd try. Perhaps if she heard it from you she would be more cooperative. And honestly, it isn't just you that I'm trying to break at the moment. But I'm afraid that you might be running out of time. I may no longer be in possession of a Wraith, but I know of many more ways to kill a man. And I won't be doing it quickly."
The hair on the back of Sheppard's neck rose. He knew without a doubt how cruel Kolya could be, and was certain that the Wraith was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Gag him," Kolya commanded.
One of the officers fastened the now familiar leather gag, effectively cutting off any protests.
Seething, Sheppard watched as Kolya dialed commands into the console next to the video monitor, which crackled to life after a moment. The monitor was fuzzy, with no video feed being returned, but Sheppard knew that Weir was there.
"Once again, Dr. Weir," Kolya began, "I ask for Ladon in return for Colonel Sheppard's life. I have given you plenty of time to track us down, but now I know for certain that we are invisible to your dear Dr. McKay and you will not be rescuing the Colonel anytime soon."
He reached for something on the table in front of the monitor, but Sheppard couldn't see what he was doing.
"The Genii have a particular method of … persuasion that we like to use on our enemies. I've been told it is unique to my people, so I would like to educate you on our ways."
When he turned from the table, Sheppard could see a needle the length of his forearm in his hand, glowing white hot.
The screen behind Kolya was blank, and Sheppard could not hear Weir's responses, but he noted that Kolya was wearing an earpiece, likely so that she couldn't give Sheppard any clue as to where they were in the search - nor could Sheppard reply if he had any idea where he was.
Kolya sauntered closer with the needle, and Sheppard's breath unwillingly quickened.
"You see," Kolya continued, "it's just thin enough that it doesn't do any permanent damage, but it's hot enough that he will feel every bit of it, from tip to tip. Depending on where I insert it, it can do lasting damage, too. You're fortunate that I'm a master at this, as a more inexperienced person might nick an artery or pierce something vital."
He hovered dangerously close to Sheppard's eye, and John could feel the heat radiating from the needle.
"Let's start with somewhere easy."
In one smooth motion, Kolya inserted the needle into Sheppard's right side. He moved so fast that for a full second, Sheppard didn't feel anything. Then his side was on fire with white hot pain, and he gasped, biting down on the gag, barely able to draw a breath to scream. He squeezed his eyes shut, hands gripping the arms of the chair, trying to anchor himself to something solid as the pain threatened to steal his breath completely away, digging deeper and deeper inside of him.
Kolya stood back, watching him struggle, a small smile on his lips.
"Oh no, Dr. Weir," he murmured into the ear piece, "I think you will listen to me now. Because this is only the beginning."
As he turned back to the screen, Sheppard saw through eyes filled with tears of pain that the table was full of burning needles.