Evan's first thought was that he didn't remember falling asleep.
His second thought was that he definitely didn't remember falling asleep on the ground. And a cold ground at that.
He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling… wooden slats. Walls. Wood. Boxes. Crates. Storage?
He sat up quickly, his brain sucker punching the inside of his skull with the remnants of whatever hell they'd been drugged with.
"Ouch." Williams groaned, rolling over beside him.
Evan shoved Edison, who was sprawled out face down, near his feet.
Edison grunted.
"Wakie, wakie sunshine." Williams poked him when the Lieutenant closed his eyes again.
"What the hell?" Edison glared, then his eyes widened as he realized where he was. Or rather. Where he wasn't. "Where are we?"
"Better yet, how'd we get here?" Williams added. "Last thing I remember is eating…" he trailed off.
"Yeah…" Evan moved slowly to his feet. "Next time I vote we pass on the soup." He looked around. "Where's the Doc?"
Heads turned.
"Just us." Williams shook his head quickly. "Maybe they left her?"
Evan didn't want to answer that so he left it alone. Maybe she was fine. And maybe she wasn't. Either way they weren't going to get any answers in here.
"Where are we?" Edison looked around.
Evan glanced at the walls and ceiling. "No windows. And either the storm is over, or we're below ground. My guess? Someone's cellar.
Once on their feet they eyed the crates and supplies stacked against the walls around them. As a unit they moved to stand in front of a jail-like grid of iron bars. In front of them they could see a narrow hallway that disappeared around a sharp corner.
Edison rattled the bars. "Hey!" He shouted out into the corridor, but his yell was met with silence.
Evan eyed the lock set in the door. "Who's got what?"
Edison and Williams both withdrew knives from their boots. Clothes may have changed, but boots remained. Evan nodded, knowing he had his blade as well.
"Those won't get us out." He nodded towards the crates. "Start digging. See what we can come up with."
"Why'd they drug the soup?" Edison asked as he dug into one of the crates, lifting up several packages of seed. He dropped them in disgust. "I thought we were supposed to be friends with these people?"
"Who knows." Williams ripped into a second crate, pulling out spools of thread. "And who cares." He dropped the lid in disgust and moved to the next crate. "As long as we get out of here."
A few minutes later they'd pretty much written off the boxes as any help, unless they wanted to eat themselves a way out.
"Well," Edison sighed, frustrated. "We won't starve to death."
"Someone's coming." Evan quickly dropped his knife into his boot and stood up, moving away from the lock he'd been digging at.
Williams and Edison joined him at the bars.
Marna moved around the corner, stopping when she saw them all staring at her. She hesitated, her fingers reaching to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
"Marna." Evan reached for the bars.
There was something in the woman's expression. She wasn't… sad… The tears were… anger. Frustration. The woman was royally pissed off.
"What's… going on?" He asked, trying to keep his voice casual.
Marna stepped forward, her fingers trembling as she reached into the pocket of her cloak.
Evan tensed and felt both Lieutenants react in kind.
When she withdrew her hand, all three men instantly recognized the weapon she gripped tightly between he fingers.
A wrath stunner.
"Okay." Edison muttered under his breath. "Didn't see that coming."
Marna pointed the stunner at them and each man took a step back.
Evan raised his hands, palms out. "Uh, Marna. You really should be careful with that."
"How did you do it?" Marna's eyes narrowed. "How did you move everything so quickly? You have others here?" She stepped forward, wriggling the stunner back and forth.
Evan wasn't really sure she knew how to use it… but didn't want to find out either. "Marna." He tried again. "Why don't you just… tell us what this is all about?"
"Marna!" A hissed whisper from the end of the corridor.
Marna turned to face a cloaked woman. Yanking back her hood, Inta strode quickly towards her sister.
"What are you doing?!" Inta looked shocked. "Why are they here?"
"She's gone." Marna turned towards her sister. "They're up to something! They've done something to her."
"Done something to who?" Evan asked, but his question went unheeded as the two women began to argue.
"Who's gone?" Inta asked, her forehead wrinkled with confusion. "Oh, the Ancients! Where did you get that?" She stared in horror at the stunner in her sister's hands.
"The woman." Marna hissed, wriggling the stunner behind her. "They've done something to her. He said they couldn't be trusted."
"Who's done what to her?!" Evan asked loudly. "To who? Where's Dr. Keller?"
"Marna." Inta grabbed her sister's arm and turned her back around. Her voice climbed in volume with each question. "What are you talking about? What are they doing here? Why are they locked in the storage room? What's going on?!"
"She was in no condition to leave." Marna shook her head stubbornly.
"Who?" Inta asked. "Who's in no condition? Marna, what are you talking about?"
"Their doctor." Marna answered.
"What do you mean, no condition?" Evan asked sharply.
Marna pointed the stunner at Evan. "She's gone, and so are their weapons. I knew they couldn't be trusted."
"Damn it, Marna." Inta stepped in front of her sister, blocking the stunner. "Put that thing away before you hurt someone."
"They're going to spoil everything!" Marna wailed.
"Look." Evan stepped forward and reached for the bars. "Why don't you tell us what's going on and maybe we can help."
"Oh you'll help all right!" Marna hissed, trying to step around her sister.
Inta blocked her path. "Marna! Please! Tell me what's going on."
"We're trading them." A voice sounded from the end of the hallway.
Marna and Inta turned to face the newcomer.
"Turne?" Inta frowned and stepped towards her husband. "Trading them? Trading them for what? I… I don't understand." She glanced between her sister and her husband.
"Inta." He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. I know. I tried to keep you out of it. I did." He stopped in front of his wife, tucking her dark hair in behind her ear. "I did not want you to think any less of me. But it is for the best."
"Turne." Inta shook her head. "What are you talking about? These people are our friends. Why have you locked them up?"
"We're trading them for Byron." Marna smiled triumphantly and walked past her sister to stand next to Turne.
"Marna." Inta said softly, shaking her head. "Byron… Byron is dead."
"He's not!" Marna stepped forward, waving the stunner threateningly. "Don't say that!" He's just… different. He recognized me! I know he did. He promised he'd fix him… return him to me… all I had to do was tell him if the Lantians came back."
"Marna." Inta stepped back, her hand to her throat in horror. "Tell me you didn't make a deal with a… a… a Wraith! You can not possibly trust him!"
"I did." Marna nodded, looking at Turne. "And I do."
"It's not too late!" Inta stepped back towards the bars. "Let them go. Please, Marna. Stop this foolishness. Let them go before it's too late."
Turne pulled a palm-sized object from his pocket. It was small and oblong, coated in dark purplish skin. All eyes fell to the pulsing red light in the middle.
"Oh, shit." Edison muttered, his eyes locked on the beacon. "Is that…"
"Wraith tech." Williams frowned.
"Long range transmitter." Evan added. "And it's activated."
"Oh, husband." Inta shook her head sadly, tears welling in her eyes. "What have you done?"
"I am sorry, dear wife." Turne tilted his head sadly. "Perhaps some day you will forgive me. Until then… I… we… can only spare you from having to see the rest."
Turne nodded at Marna.
Marna pulled the trigger on the stunner, blasting her sister in the abdomen.
Jen slid the TAC vests to the floor, hoping to god she could keep herself from falling over. Marna had returned to the house, and had left in a fury within seconds. She'd been so angry she hadn't noticed Jen following her through the narrow alley and into the small building behind. It was some kind of store, with items stacked and piled on shelves and behind display cases.
Marna had run to the back, down a set of stairs, and disappeared.
When the front door opened, Jen ducked behind a large pile of feed grain, holding her breath as Inta rushed past, chasing her sister.
Then she'd almost made it to the stairs when the door opened again, and she'd had to hide in a broom closet to let Turne pass by.
As soon as the man had disappeared down the stairs, Jen took a deep breath and moved to follow, hoping the parade was finished. She could hear the voices clearly, and hoped to god it was her fever talking, and she wasn't really hearing what she was hearing.
Because Marna had made a deal with the devil himself.
Michael.
And Michael was on his way here.
Jen had to think of something. Maybe if she could offer up a distraction. Something to give Evan a chance to do… well… to do something.
She lowered the TAC vests slowly to the floor, and freed her arms. Standing up slowly, she closed her eyes and took several slow, deep breaths.
Jamming the heel of her hand against her throbbing temple, she rubbed hard and wished she could kill off the pressure long enough to move without falling over.
The distinguished sound of a blaster discharging made her jump.
She peered quickly around the corner, in time to see Turne holding his wife, and Marne holding a blaster. Jen leaned back and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the cold wooden wall. With another breath she peered again.
Evan, Williams and Edison were in some kind of storage area. Behind bars? Locked in?
Oh crap.
She leaned back.
"It's time to go." Marne's voice floated down the hallway.
Not good. Jen rolled her forehead along the wall. Not good at all. She had to move. And she had to move now. Marne had a stunner, but she couldn't see Turne's hands. If he had a stunner… two blasts… maybe she could distract one of them, which meant that at least two of Evan's team should be able to take them down. Worst case scenario, Jen would have a nice nap and forget about the fact that she felt like complete shit.
Well, okay, maybe worst case would be that Turne had a gun, not a stunner, and she'd end up with a bullet and not a nap.
The sound of keys jingling brought her around.
Time's up.
She angled her head around the corner. Turne was laying his wife in the corner, while Marne waved Evan, Williams and Edison back from the door. When Turne straightened, he was holding only the transmitter. No weapon.
That she could see.
Marne opened the door.
Jen stepped slowly around the corner.
She pushed her hood back, and the motion made her head swim. She shouldered the wall, and took a deep breath, waiting for the room to tilt back to a more reasonable angle.
She saw Evan's body tense and knew he'd seen her, but he wasn't watching her. Not directly.
He stepped out the open door and moved several feet to the side, effectively splitting Marne's blaster between him, and Edison, who was now in the doorway.
Jen took another step closer. Then another.
She was almost directly behind Turne when Marna finally noticed movement and spun towards her.
Edison dove at Marne, yanking the blaster away while trapping her arm, much to the woman's vocally shrieking dismay.
Jen drew her arm back and at the same time as Evan grabbed Turne's shoulder, she let fly with a perfect right cross, smacking her tightly scrunched knuckles into the man's face.
Unfortunately the she also spun herself right around with it.
Turne staggered, grabbing for his now very bloody nose, and found his chin on the receiving end of Evan's fist, coming in from the other direction.
He didn't get up.
Jen made a complete circle, and the weight of the weapons still hanging at her back swung her around another half turn. Her mind kept going in a dead-end spin and she hit the wall dizzily and slid down, landing hard on the bundled blanket.
"Ow…" She muttered, closing her eyes with a frustrated sigh.
"Help!" Marna screamed, her voice echoing through the tiny space. "Let go of me!" She wailed at Edison, her fingers clawing for his face while she struggled to get away.
Evan grabbed the stunner from Edison and fired.
"Thank god." Edison muttered, catching Marna and placing her on the ground next to her sister.
Evan knelt on the floor next to Jen. "You okay Doc?"
Jen shook her head. "Well… not really."
Evan's hand landed against her forehead, his palm beautifully cool. She pressed his cold skin against hers and sighed. "Oh, that feels good."
"Shit, Doc." He muttered. "You're burning up."
"I know." Jen nodded, releasing his fingers and opening her eyes, giving Evan a barely-there glare. "Now help me up. Your P90's are jabbing my tailbone."