Moles
Chapter 1
"Colonel Sheppard, I need you and Dex to come to my office ASAP," came Mr. Woolsey's voice over John's com.
"We are preparing to go on the mission to that planet-can't recall the name. The one McKay is all excited about. Some kind of ore deposits," John replied.
"I have notified Major Lorne that his team now has that mission," Woolsey replied, then disconnected.
"What am I, the ugly step child?" complained Rodney.
"I wonder what is going on? I am not included either," Teyla said, looking pointedly at Rodney.
"Sit down please, and close the door," Woolsey said.
"So what's the big deal?" John asked.
"You have been assigned a top secret mission. You will be traveling thru the wormhole to Earth and meeting with Generals Landry and O'Neill. No uniforms, you will wear civilian clothes. Suits not necessary, jeans will do. Ronon you will leave your blaster and sword. Weapons and clothing will be provided," Woolsey said tersely. "This is not my idea and I'm not at all happy about it!"
"More top secret than Atlantis?" John asked.
"You will be briefed at Stargate Command. Now get going!" Woolsey replied.
They quickly returned to quarters to change clothes. Ronon felt uncomfortable wearing Earth clothes, and always asked Amelia if he looked dumb. But she was at her console in the control room, so he put on jeans and a black T shirt, and called it good. He stopped by to tell her of the change in plans, but John was motioning him to hurry. He kissed her cheek and hurried to the Gate, giving John his best glare.
Arriving at SGC, the generals were waiting in the conference room.
"I suppose you two are wondering what's going on," Gen. Landry said.
"You could say so," replied John flippantly.
"I will let Gen. O'Neill brief you on your mission," he replied.
"You will be going to Portland, Oregon, a city on the west coast of this country," he added for Ronon's benefit. "This mission is so far below the radar, it could be called subspace," O'Neill said, chuckling at his own joke. Then he became serious. "Ronon, are you familiar with the term wet work?"
"Yes," Ronon replied. He said a Satedan word the others could not pronounce.
O'Neill continued, "An operative has infiltrated a domestic terrorist group, and has been keeping us apprised of their activities. They are becoming more violent and destructive, but it has taken a turn for the worse. They are in contact with a big time illegal arms dealer from the Middle East. Military grade weapons-assault rifles, rockets, flame throwers, etc. But they don't have enough money to make the deal. They have abducted the 13 year old son of the wealthy CEO of one of our largest corporations, and are holding him for ransom. There are loosely connected cells of this group all over the country, but the largest group is in Portland. Your mission is to rescue the boy and make the terrorist group disappear."
"Why isn't the government handling it?" John asked.
"Two reasons," O'Neill replied. "Many people in this country are sympathetic to the terrorists, who call themselves revolutionaries. The 'powers that be' in the government fear civil war if word gets out the federal government moved against them. The second reason is that some of the terrorists are tech workers, and have hacked into systems at Cheyenne Mountain. They have some vague info about Stargate, and want to know more. That's why we picked you two for our team."
"So the two of us are going to do it all?" John said. "We're good, but that's a bit much!"
"No, you two, myself, and the operative. He's ex special forces, ex convict, claims he was framed. I think he was. Distrusts the government, but patriotic toward his country at the same time. Hates the terrorists. Been a mercenary for years. He's good at what he does, like you guys, and me, of course!" O'Neill answered.
Chapter 2
They met up with the operative in a grocery store in an affluent suburb of Portland. Remodeling was being done to the exterior of the building, where it had been damaged by the terrorists. He was dressed like a construction worker, with a ball cap and dark sunglasses. They got in a rental SUV and drove to a secluded park outside the city.
Earlier, O'Neill had told them he was now Jack, John was Shep, and Ronon was Dex. No other names or ranks spoken aloud. The operative's name was Shark. He was almost as tall as Dex, muscular, with collar length, unkept brown hair, and an eye patch. He had a surly and dangerous look about him. He and Dex glared at each other, reminding Shep of the first meeting between Ronon and Teal'c. He hoped they would become friends, or at least allies. A pissing contest did not make for a good team!
A large duffel bag was in the rental, containing clothing and weapons. Small but powerful submachine guns, sidearms, and assorted knives, which pleased Ronon greatly. Casual pants and shirts, sneakers, and backpacks. Plus all black pants, shirts, jackets, hats, gloves, socks, and balaclavas. Also black Nike sneakers. The uniform of the terrorists. All in the appropriate sizes. There was also a set of black apparel in a smaller size, for the boy. Canteens, energy bars, first aid supplies, flash lights, and sleeping bags completed the kit.
They drove back to Portland, left the car after loading their backpacks, and walked to a rundown house in a seedy section of downtown. The house was filthy, the smell hitting them as Shark opened the door. A large male lounged on the broken down sofa, several females hovering around. A group of males sat on the floor, the sofa being the only furniture in the room. The male on the sofa motioned to the others, who quickly left the room, with the exception of four armed individuals.
"So these are your friends," he said, giving them a disdainful look.
"They want to join us," Shark replied. "They are good fighters. They can teach skills we will need to bring about the revolution."
"If you say so," the large male replied, with contempt. "I am The Overlord." He seemed to expect them to bow. No one did. He had a flabby gut, manboobs, mean looking beady eyes, and a weak mouth. His body odor was overpowering.
The other males were either thin and puny, or fat and soft. Same with the females, who made themselves as unattractive as possible.
"Why did you bring Grandpa?" said The Overlord, looking contemptuously at O'Neill.
"He can kick ass with the best of us," said Shark.
"I want to see that," said The Overlord, with a smirk. It took all of Ronon's self control not to smash the smirk off his fat face!
Dirty plates with food scraps, and dirty clothes littered the floor. Rodent and roach droppings were evident. An overflowing garbage can graced the kitchen, along with more food scraps. A rat was busily chewing on a piece of pizza crust. The three were all thinking the same thing-"do we have to sleep here?" But Shark said, "I will show them to their room."
They went to the house next door, which was the guest house for visitors. It was not too clean, but better than the main house. No food or critters were seen. Shark explained that both houses were owned by The Overlord's parents. He was supposedly renting them but never paid any rent. The parents were afraid to say anything.
They shared one room, no beds, which they were OK with. A bedroll on the floor was better than a bed full of bedbugs! A bathroom was down the hall. The toilet had not been cleaned in recent history, and the sink, tub, and shower all had a thick layer of dust, and produced rattling pipes but no water. Shark shared their room, ostensibly to keep an eye on them for The Overlord. He had given them a signal not to speak in case the room was bugged. It was fortunate Rodney was not along! They were also glad Teyla did not leave Pegasus since Torren's birth. She would have been horrified at the filth!
Chapter 3
The team had questions for Shark, so he suggested they go for a run, inviting all to join them. A few went along, but soon tired and turned back.
Nearby was a small park with a few stone picnic tables and a concrete block restroom. The door and single small window were boarded up. They sat at the table to talk. Shark explained that the core group was a dozen people who lived at the main house. Most of the members did not work steady and lived with parents, tho some had their own dwellings, mostly the tech workers. Most were college age, but some were in their 30's, a few in their 40's. A person Jack's age was rare. High school kids sometimes joined the rioting.
"Where are their parents?" the three asked at once.
"Some come with them," Shark replied. "Or else too drugged up to give a shit!"
Shark had no idea where the captive boy, Mike, was being kept. The Overlord had an inner circle of two males and two females who were armed and with him at all times. They were the only ones who knew the boy's location. Shark had searched when he was able but no luck.
Mike's father had not given a definite answer about the ransom, tho he was willing to pay it. The authorities were against paying it, fearing they would kill the boy anyway. Most feared he was already dead. So the CEO stalled them about the money, and The Overlord was becoming desperate. The arms dealer had told him, "Remember, we know where you live!"
Shark had overheard a conversation regarding Mike. He had been nearly caught searching a storage room, and hid behind some crates. The arms dealer also dealt in child sex trafficking. The boy was to be delivered with the money, "unblemished," or no deal. So at least he was not being injured or molested.
Word was sent out via the internet when a riot was planned. They didn't care who saw it. The big riots were on the weekends, with smaller ones during the week. The team decided they would take turns sneaking back to the house to search for the captive boy. The remaining team members would mill around among the rioters.
Shark had not trusted the others at first meeting, as Ronon had not trusted him. But they had gotten used to each other, sort of gotten each other's measure, and were less hostile. John was grateful for that.
Chapter 4
The next day Shark suggested they do some training in hand to hand fighting. The group looked uneasily at Shark. A few had sparred with him and did not want the experience a second time. They looked even more warily at Ronon. A few wanted to spar with John, most wanted to spar with Jack, smirking at the idea of beating up "Grandpa." They looked disappointed when Shark reminded them sparring was one on one, not ganging up on one.
Jack's first student was a hulking young man, tall, overweight, with a baby face. He rushed at Jack and found himself flat on his back before he knew what hit him. He lay there, looking confused. Then the others started yelling insults at him, and he lumbered slowly to his feet and swung a fist at Jack, who again put him on the mat. He lay there crying, then began kicking his feet like a toddler. "Someone get this shit out of here!" Shark yelled, trying not to laugh. Several people half carried him off the mat, as he screamed profanities at Jack, threatening to sue him.
The next student approached Jack, a skinny guy with "badass" tattooed on his narrow chest. He swore he would do better than "that fat ass." He swung and missed several times, then found himself on the mat, his legs swept out from under him. He got to his feet, cradling his wrist, and charged Jack head first, and got his legs swept away once again. He also cried, and cursed that the fight was unfair.
Then a shrill scream was heard, and a female ran at Jack, screaming obscenities. She did a high kick toward his crotch, which he blocked, grabbing her foot and landing her on her butt. She continued to scream more obscenities about oppression of women, until she was also carried off the mat.
"I've had enough," Jack announced. "You people are too tough for this old Grandpa! How about you three younger guys taking over this class." The group left, not looking back.
Chapter 5
Every night thru the week, the group had a small event planned, in downtown or a suburb, to smash windows, start fires, and generally cause trouble. Sometimes they were met by armed citizens and turned back. Other places the home owners hid in their houses as the punks screamed at them, vandalized, and left graffiti. Police stood by but were not allowed to interfere. Ronon could only shake his head in disgust!
The team made the excuse that they only participated in the large weekend riots, the smaller ones being beneath them. That way they could mill around with the black clad mob and not really participate in the violence, and take their turn sneaking back to look for Mike. The Overlord was not happy but did not argue. Under all the posturing, he was uneasy around the team, especially Shark and Ronon. But so far, they had found no trace of where the boy was being kept.
The weekend arrived, and it was Ronon's turn to search. Sheppard had an idea. He had heard that the two houses were built by a gangster in the 1920's, during the Prohibition era. The Overlord loved to entertain the group with stories, so John asked him about the houses' history. He told the story of how one house had been a speakeasy, the other a brothel. "What's a speakeasy?" Ronon whispered to John. He knew what a brothel was.
John whispered back, "an illegal drinking place. Booze was outlawed then."
"Another weird Earth thing!" Ronon whispered.
The Overlord gave them a dirty look. "Sorry," said John. He continued the long drawn out tale, the group listening attentively. John had read about the Prohibition days, and his grandfather had talked about it. He remembered hearing that underground tunnels were sometimes used to keep illegal liquor, and for people to hide in during police raids. Could there be a tunnel between the houses? That would make sense-liquor hidden, people could escape the cops, and men could avoid being seen entering the brothel!
When the story was finished, the group began preparing to leave for downtown, this time with homemade Molotov cocktails. John was holding his stomach. "You OK?" Ronon asked.
"I feel sick," he answered. "Damn! I've been looking forward to this all week! But now I feel like I have the flu." He doubled over, groaning. "Help me, I'm going to puke!"
Ronon grabbed John as he seemed to be falling over, and hurried him to the bathroom. John leaned over the toilet and vomited loudly.
"Shut the damn door before I get sick too!" yelled The Overlord. Ronon kicked the door shut, realizing that the toilet was empty. John made more vomiting sounds, then whispered, "Play along!"
"Gotcha," Ronon replied. After more fake vomiting, he helped John out of the bathroom. "He's too sick to go. I'll take him to our room, then catch up with you."
"Whatever," said The Overlord, as they all left for downtown.
Back in the bedroom, Ronon asked, "what's going on?"
John explained his theory about tunnels between the houses. The basements had been searched, but they headed down there for another look.
Chapter 6
The basement walls in the guest house were bare concrete blocks, damp and smelling of mildew. The room was filled with broken down furniture and appliances, some looking very old. A ragged mattress was leaning against one wall, on the side next to the other house. They set it down and examined the wall with flash lights. There was a bare bulb overhead, but they did not want light to be seen from the small high window. There was a slight difference in the color of the blocks on that wall, they looked newer. Ronon pulled out a small knife and scraped at the mortar between the blocks. It was less dense than the rest of the walls, like it had been applied quickly, and was not fully cured. John began scraping too, and soon they were able to push a block loose. It fell inward with a crash. "Shit," both men said in unison. But fortunately the house was empty. They worked to get more blocks loose, pulling them out rather than letting them fall, and crawled thru to an underground corridor which ended in a blank wall. It had the same look as the wall they had climbed thru, so they began digging at the mortar, this time attempting to pull the block out to avoid it crashing down. But it was difficult, they could not get a grip, and the block was not moving. Then suddenly the block came toward them and they grabbed it as it fell, almost on their feet. Two wide, frightened eyes looked out the hole. "Mike?" John asked. He shown his flashlight into the hole and the boy hid his eyes. "Don't be scared, your father sent us to get you out of here."
The boy backed away and went to the other side of what looked like a small room. "You might be with them," he said, his voice shaky.
"We're here to take you home," John said, "but you have to help us pull out a couple more blocks so you can climb thru." Silence, then hesitant footsteps.
The men began digging in the soft mortar again, then the second block was pulled out. One more block and the opening was big enough for the boy to squeeze thru. He was tall for his age, but slender. His face was dirty, with smears that looked like hastily wiped tears.
"Who are you?" he asked. "You're dressed like those bad guys!"
"We're sort of undercover cops," John said. "Shark is too."
"Wow, he's a mole like on the TV shows!" said Mike, his fear being replaced with excitement.
"Mole?" said Ronon, thinking of a small burrowing creature. He would ask John about that later.
John pulled the smaller black attire from his pack, handing it to Mike. "You need to put these on."
"I don't want to dress like them!" he said, with disgust.
"Play like you're a ninja," John said.
"Okay," said Mike, actually smiling for the first time.
"Ninja? Something else to ask John about later," thought Ronon.
Mike quickly put on the black attire, the men turning their backs to give him privacy.
Back in their room, they discussed what to do with Mike. "Sick" John had to stay in the bedroom, and Ronon needed to be seen joining the rioters. Later that night, Shark would take care of the second part of their mission. But until then, Mike needed a safe place to hide. "What about that boarded up restroom in the park?" said Ronon. That was the best they could come up with. Ronon and Mike left in their "ninja" attire, and headed for the nearby park.
The park was deserted, everyone was either headed for downtown, or hiding from the violence. Ronon pulled the board off the small window, the screen was long destroyed.
"Do I have to stay here?" Mike said, looking fearful. It was dark and dirty inside.
"Sorry, but this is the safest place for you right now," Ronon said. He boosted the boy thru the window, and handed him a flashlight. "Keep the light covered and be quiet. We'll be back for you but it will be a few hours. We are in contact with your father." He handed Mike's regular clothes thru the window, and asked, "have you had dinner ?"
"No, just a PBJ for lunch. I'm hungry and thirsty," the boy answered.
"What's a PBJ?" Ronon asked.
"Peanut butter and jelly sandwich," said Mike.
Ronon scowled, thinking of the chunky Overlord. He stuck the board loosely back over the window, and headed for a burger place they had passed. He returned with a burger, fries, shake, and a bottle of water. Mike's eyes lit up. "Don't worry," Ronon said, as he replaced the board again. "We never leave a man behind!"
Chapter 7
Ronon headed back toward downtown. Already he heard yelling and glass breaking in the distance. Suddenly a car turned the corner, pursued by five black clad people. Another car came from the opposite direction and turned sideways, blocking the first car's escape. The driver slammed on the breaks. The small mob descended on the car, smashing the windows and dragging the driver out. Two more jumped out of the second car and joined in beating and kicking the now downed driver, as they screamed obscenities. Ronon ran toward them, the man on the ground looking up with horror at a giant coming to help kill him. But to his astonishment, the big man swept the legs out from under two of the assailants, flipped another two over to land hard on their backs, whirled and got another with an elbow to the face, and a fist to the gut of another. As they got to their feet, more kicks and punches laid them out again. Meanwhile the driver of the second car retrieved several baseball bats from the car, threw them to the others, keeping one which was studded with nails. He charged but Ronon sidestepped, grabbed the man's arm and broke it, the bat falling to the ground. The man fell to the pavement, screaming shrilly. Two went stumbling away, while the passenger half dragged the screaming man toward the car. He was limping badly and fell twice, causing more screams. They made it to their car and drove off, weaving badly. The remaining three surrounded Ronon, waving baseball bats. He avoided the blows, aiming kicks which swept their legs or landed hard blows. One managed to connect with Ronon's cheekbone before his elbow hit the man's throat. He fell and did not move again. The remaining two struggled to get on their feet and staggered away, holding each other up.
The astonished man sat on the ground staring at Ronon. He could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked.
"A long way from here," Ronon replied, helping the man to his feet. "Can you drive?"
"Yes," he replied. "I just want to get home to my family!"
Ronon cleared off the broken glass from the driver's seat and dash with gloved hands, and helped the man into the car. "Don't stop, no matter what!" he said, as the car took off.
Ronon felt blood running down the side of his face and his eye was beginning to swell. It would be colorful by morning. He headed toward the increasing noise downtown, then decided it was okay to go back to the house. His injuries were proof he had joined in the riot. He stopped at the burger stand, buying a large cold drink which he drank down, then put the ice on his face. Then he headed for the house.
"Well, you look like shit!" John said as Ronon came in the room.
"Thanks," Ronon replied, flipping him off. He had a towel with more ice from the kitchen held to his face.
John was concerned about the cleanliness of the towel. He got the first aid kit and went to work on Ronon's injury. Disinfectant, butterfly bandages, an ice pack, and Ibuprofen for swelling. Ronon lay on his bedroll and fell asleep. He was awakened by Jack and Shark's arrival, with more bantering about Ronon's face. In spite of the smart ass remarks, they were concerned, but Ronon had endured much worse. He would have another scar but Amelia said his scars were sexy.
They went to the main house for what The Overlord called the "After Party." He insisted everyone attend after a riot, even those who lived elsewhere. They bragged long and loud about who they beat up, what they destroyed, and how great it would be after the "revolution." Food was served but the team did not eat it, preferring food Jack and Shark brought back from the burger stand. Not that great, but certainly cleaner than food from that house! Cheap beer and various drugs were brought out. The team had one beer each, clear heads were needed, plus the beer was bad!
They worried about Mike, alone in the dark, and felt more and more impatient, especially Ronon, who was not known for patience. The party seemed to drag on and on. But gradually they began drifting off to bedrooms in couples or groups. Only The Overlord was allowed to sleep, or do anything else, in the living room. Some of them had hit on the team, but they refused, hiding their revulsion. When they left to go to their room, The Overlord gave them a sly, smirking look. Ronon made a fist and John could see he was ready to spring. He elbowed the big man in the ribs. Ronon stopped, realizing that would be a bad move. The POS would soon get his!
Chapter 8
Eventually the houses became quiet. They packed up and prepared to leave for the last time. Outside, they headed for the nearby park where Mike was hopefully safe.
"I got it all taken care of," Shark said, when they were away from the houses. "The lots are large enough that there won't be collateral damage."
Approaching the restroom, Ronon hurried to the window, pulling off the board. Mike was curled up in a corner, asleep, but started awake at the sound. "Time to go!" Ronon said. He helped the boy out the window and they all began walking away from the downtown area.
Jack sent a text, a code indicating they had the boy. After a few more blocks, he said to Shark, "I think we're far enough away."
Shark pulled a small metal box from his pack, and pushed a button. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a series of explosions, then twin fireballs, in the distance. Jack texted again, a different code.
"What was that?" asked Mike.
"Something exploded," Jack answered, as they continued on. Sirens were heard in the distance.
The SUV they had left over a week before suddenly appeared, the driver rolling down the dark window. Jack recognized him, and they climbed in, headed for the Portland airport.
Mike's father was waiting there, and they had a tearful reunion. As they drove off in the long black limo, he was telling his dad about being a ninja and the badass guys who had rescued him.
Four plane tickets were waiting for the team. Shark's to LAX, and the other three to a Colorado airport. They shook hands in farewell, Shark saying he was headed from LA to another job in an undisclosed location.
The flight was uneventful, and an airport limo took them to Cheyenne Mountain, and a debriefing with Gen. Landry. Jack asked about the computers of the now deceased hackers.
"Their residences were searched and all devices were confiscated by Homeland Security. They had come close to hacking into Atlantis," the general said. "They had a mole inside here, but he is locked up in the brig. The key might happen to get lost."
Then Jack shook hands with John and Ronon, and the two went thru the Gate, then stepped into the familiar Gate room of Atlantis. It was after midnight, and Ronon saw one of the new techs at the console. John wondered if Teyla and Torren would be back from New Athos.
They headed for the infirmary for their post off-world medical checks. Dr. Beckett clucked disapprovingly at Ronon's injury, and the unpleasant smell that preceded the men. John described the filthy and vermin riddled house with no working facilities for washing. Beckett ordered them to shower immediately with disinfectant soap, and not forget their hair.
Ronon's wound was cleaned and sutured, and he was given an antibiotic shot. Their clothes and boots were put in a laundry bag marked hazmat. Beckett told them to take a few days off and rest.
Ronon was tired and wanted nothing but to crawl in bed next to Amelia and sleep til the next day. She was asleep and he quietly slid into bed. But she had other ideas and soon Ronon discovered he was not so tired after all!