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Chapter Three: Reparation
Kolya was told later that the Wraith had disappeared. It was quite unfortunate, as the creature had served as an excellent device of persuasion. In fact, he was fairly certain that even if it had killed Sheppard all those days ago, it might have helped Kolya make his point to Weir in a way that pure torture may not have been able to. Sending the Colonel's shriveled corpse back to Atlantis would have been the icing on the cake.
Now, he wondered at the man in front of him. Sheppard's dark head sagged as he hovered on the edge of unconsciousness, but his hands still gripped the chair, the knuckles white with the strain.
Throughout it all he had not screamed.
For nearly two hours, Kolya had worked on Sheppard. He had kept the monitor on, knowing that Weir could see and hear everything he was doing. Her protests became muted, and finally trailed off altogether, but he knew she was still watching.
His men kept the connection open, quickly redialing every time the gate turned off. Kolya didn't want Weir to miss a single moment.
The needles cauterized every wound they made, so there was little blood, but he knew that if they wanted to keep Sheppard alive the doctor would have to work his magic after this session. A man could die from shock alone, although Sheppard had somehow managed to keep himself conscious, flashing dark eyes communicating murder without words to Kolya.
Every flinch at the thrust of a needle gave Kolya great pleasure, even if he knew it was involuntary. Every tear of pain squeezed from Sheppard's eyes gave him delight. But still, Sheppard didn't scream.
The chair creaked as Sheppard listed to the side, bone white knuckles still clinging to the arms as he fought unconsciousness. Why the man didn't give in Kolya didn't know.
The monitor was still on, and although the recipients on the other side had gone silent, the blinking light told Kolya they were still there. He stood behind the chair so that Sheppard was in full view of the camera, his hands lightly brushing his shoulders.
"Now for my favorite part," he said softly. He reached down to the first needle that he had inserted, grasped, and pulled.
Sheppard jerked under him, a soft sob escaping his throat, but muffled by the gag.
The needles were no longer hot, but it didn't make the pain any less bearable. The wounds had cauterized upon insertion, but without the heat, removal would reopen them.
This was the part that Kolya found most men broke. This was the part that could drive a man mad with pain.
But not Sheppard.
Kolya took his time, savoring every moment, waiting for Weir to break on the other end, to give in. Waiting for Sheppard to finally scream at the agony he was enduring.
But Sheppard kept enduring. Even when his eyes went glassy and unseeing, those hands kept gripping the chair as though it were his anchor. Even when blood started to coat his body, trickling slow and warm down to the chair beneath him, Sheppard stayed silent.
When Kolya pulled the last needle from Sheppard's thigh, he looked at the monitor, wiping the blood from his hands as he indicated towards the nearly unconscious man.
"Is this what you wanted, Dr. Weir? I'm rather enjoying myself, so if you want to prolong this standoff I can be a patient man."
He stood beside Sheppard's chair again, observing the blood beginning to pool on the floor, the sticky surface of the chair and the dark stains that covered Sheppard's shirt and pants. The bone white knuckles were caked with dark blood, now beginning to dry.
Kolya removed the gag, finding that blood had even found its way there. Maybe the man had chewed the inside of his mouth or his tongue to keep from losing control.
Leaning in closer so that the earpiece was close to Sheppard's face, Kolya asked, "Do you have anything to say to your teammates, Colonel?"
And Sheppard still managed to gather his strength, lift his head, and glare at him. He then turned his eyes to the monitor behind Kolya.
"Don't … give … in," he said evenly, his face dark.
Kolya leaned back, face twitching. The words were for Weir, but they were also for Kolya. He understood that it would take much more than this to break the man in front of him.
Turning from Sheppard, he could see the man's reflection in the monitor as he listed to the side once again, gasping with the effort of those three words.
Kolya stared at the monitor, knowing Weir was on the other side.
"This will continue, Dr. Weir," he said. "This will continue until I get Ladon. What is one man's life for another? Would you sacrifice this man for one you don't know?"
He stabbed the button that turned the transmission off, then turned back to Sheppard.
The man finally appeared to be unconscious, his skin pale and clammy and his pulse weak under Kolya's fingers. His breath was coming in ragged gasps.
Kolya pressed the button to summon the doctor.
When the gate opened and they received Kolya's transmission, Elizabeth was alone in the gate room with only Carson Beckett and the night crew. It was 2am, and Sheppard's team was off world on the planet where they had almost gotten him back, searching for any clues as to where Kolya might have taken him.
When the Genii showed them Sheppard sitting in a chair, bound, gagged, but alive and apparently well, Elizabeth nearly sobbed in relief.
"Once again, Dr. Weir," Kolya said, "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."
Kolya indicated the table in front of him that was lined with what appeared to be glowing needles about a foot long.
"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."
Elizabeth had steeled herself for a moment like this. After Kolya had used the Wraith on John, and then the water torture, she was sure that it was not the last time she would see the Genii torture her first in command.
"Kolya, anything you do or say isn't going to change our minds on the fact that we do not give in to terrorists," she said, in as strong of a voice as she could.
She knew that she couldn't let the Genii hear any hesitation or weakness in her voice, although it was slowly killing her with every call from the command center that the Genii were transmitting.
Kolya ignored her completely, picking up one of the needles from the table with a thickly gloved hand.
"You see," he continued, indicating towards John with the needle in his hand, "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." He turned back to the monitor with a rakish grin on his face. "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 over Sheppard's face, and Elizabeth could see John flinch, pulling away from the hot needle.
"Let's start with somewhere easy."
She didn't see what Kolya did, or where the needle went, but John's muffled gasp told her everything.
Despite the terrible reception from the Genii transmission, Elizabeth could see John's eyes screw tightly shut against the pain. And she could do nothing.
"Kolya!" she shouted. "Kolya, listen to me —"
"Oh no, Dr. Weir," Kolya said quietly, breaking her off. "I think you will listen to me now. Because this is only the beginning."
And he turned from John to take another needle from the table, and another, and another.
Elizabeth found Carson's hand and gripped it tightly, both of them shocked to silence as they watched John and Kolya. She prayed that John could feel their presence and take some sort of strength in knowing that they were there for him.
Carson exclaimed softly at every needle, trying to hide his distress and anger unsuccessfully, swearing viciously in Gaelic and English. Elizabeth herself could not bite back sobs as they watched, gripping each other's hands as though it would anchor them to reality and give John strength.
When Kolya finished, he turned back to the monitor, his eyes grave.
"Now for my favorite part."
And when she had thought it was over, Elizabeth realized that Kolya had only just begun.
Through nearly four hours, Elizabeth and Carson and the night shift watched, the gate redialing when 38 minutes had expired, and the transmission going on and on. The technicians were not able to out-dial Kolya's side, shell-shocked and hindered by the computers. The transmission was not coming from any planet Kolya had used before, and Elizabeth was sure that when they sent a team to investigate they would find nothing.
As the morning shift came to replace the night team, no one was able to leave, drawn to Sheppard and Kolya's silent vigil.
Despite everything, John never screamed. And Elizabeth knew that he wouldn't give Kolya that satisfaction.
When Kolya pulled the last needle from John's thigh, he stepped back so she could see him fully. The man was drenched in sweat and blood, body limp and tilting to the side and eyes closed. Only his hands showed that he was still conscious as they gripped the arms of the chair.
Kolya looked at the monitor, wiping the blood from his hands as he indicated towards John.
"Is this what you wanted, Dr. Weir? I'm rather enjoying myself, so if you want to prolong this standoff I can be a patient man."
Elizabeth could find no words in a throat dry from horror, and next to her, she could see that Carson was also struggling to find something to say.
Walking away from the monitor towards John, Kolya removed the gag, revealing blood around John's mouth, too. Elizabeth could not imagine what John might have been doing to keep from screaming throughout the ordeal, but his eyes opened as Kolya leaned in closer to his face, looking directly at the monitor as he asked, "Do you have anything to say to your teammates, Colonel?"
And John somehow found the strength, lifted his head, and said with fire in his eyes, "Don't … give … in."
And Elizabeth knew those words were for her, and that she could not even consider giving in to the Genii now.
Kolya approached the monitor, staring evenly at it, although she knew that he could not see them.
"This will continue, Dr. Weir," he said. "This will continue until I get Ladon. What is one man's life for another? Would you sacrifice this man for one you don't know?"
And then he ended the transmission. The gate closed, and everyone watching felt as though they had been holding their breath for four hours.