Chapter six
Teyla had followed closely in Ronon's wake as they had started off on Sheppard's trai,l with Rodney staying close behind, his attention fully focused on the LSD even though the signal had already disappeared from its small screen. Ronon hadn't needed the LSD to tell him the tale of what had happened to their CO before they had arrived by the riverside area, he had clearly seen the point at which Sheppard had been attacked and he had been left in no doubt where Sheppard had actually fallen, the blood not withstanding.
His years on the run from the Wraith had honed the Satedan's hunting and tracking skills to an extremely fine degree and there were very few tracks that he couldn't decipher easily, so he had had no problem when it came to following the tracks of his own friend. The distinct tracks had been gouged deeply into the gravel top surface and Ronon could see almost immediately that Sheppard had been taken against his will; the signs of a struggle evident in the markings on the ground. The blood spatters that accompanied the scuffed gravel only served to reiterate that their friend had been seriously injured when he had been dragged away, so Ronon had wasted no time in heading off towards the lofty grain silos, with Teyla and Rodney in tow.
The looming buildings that had been seen in the distance, now offered plenty of opportunity for cover as Ronon led them towards the location where the signals on the life signs detector had been lost.
Ronon reached the buildings first, pausing only when he could duck into the darkened cover offered by the first of the towering grain stores. As they stood waiting in the dark shadows of the silo, they were forced to finally take stock of what they had been able to deduce about their situation, and it wasn't good. Their CO and friend had been abducted against his will by an unidentified assailant who it seemed had connections with the security division of the towns council and they had no idea why he had been taken or where.
Teyla stood sullenly against the battered and stained metallic sheeting of the silo's towering side and laid her head gently back against the cool surface, closing her eyes momentarily as she waited in the darkness. Rodney moved unconsciously from one foot to another as he watched the small scanner in his hand, waiting for the reappearance of the signals that they had lost previously. Ronon just waited, his breathing shallow and controlled, his eyes fixed on the area directly ahead of the group. He knew that if they waited long enough, an opportunity had to present itself and he would be ready for that chance. The man inside one of those buildings had taken his friend and Ronon would do pretty much anything to get him back.
"What now then, do we just wait here until Mr 'Hi, I'm the bad guy' turns up!" Rodney took his eyes off the screen and looked at his team mates in concern.
"No, we just need to wait until Mr Bad Guy decided to make a mistake." Ronon lifted an eyebrow as he turned and responded to the scientist.
"And what then Conan! We don't know how many there are in there or even," he swallowed and turned his eyes to the ground, "or even if Sheppard is still alive." His voice tapered off as he put voice to everyone's fears.
"Rodney, we must stay hopeful that Colonel Sheppard is not too badly injured, we don't know what has happened, but we must continue to hold onto hope." Teyla moved over to the fretful scientist and placed a comforting hand on his arm, "John is still alive Rodney, we would not be here if he had been killed, they would have left him behind."
"Yes, you're probably right, why hang on to a dead man…"
"Keep your voice down McKay," Ronon's whispered voice silenced the conversation between his team mates and they looked over towards where he was pointing. The wall of one of the silos had changed as they stared and where before there had been only metal sheeting, now appeared a doorway.
"Its shielded!" Rodney hissed at his team mates, "That's unbelievable, the technology here is way, way behind the level needed to create a shield mechanism of that design, someone here has access to technology way above their means and that's not good!"
The door shone brightly with the light that shone from inside and as they continued watching from their concealed position, a figure appeared silhouetted in the framework, paused looking around the immediate area and then lit a thick cigarette. Inhaling the dense smoke that the cigarette created, the man leant against the door frame, obviously savouring the moment. As the team waited and watched, the figure took a final deep pull on the cigarette, then with obvious reluctance, stubbed the burning end out on the ground and turned back into the confines of the towering storage building pausing only to pull a small panel from his pocket and press the screen. The doorway vanished as swiftly as it had appeared and the only evidence that there had ever been of activity there was the glowing cigarette butt that lay in the gravel, a thin stream of smoke lifting into the air as the breeze caught the grey smoke in its cool fingers.
"We need to find the control panel for that door, there's got to be an external access point!" Rodney started forwards, but was caught in Ronon's hard grip.
"Yes we do McKay, but first we need to wait until we can be sure that there's nobody else around. Let me scout the area first.."
"Ronon wait…" Teyla's words fell on deaf ears as the Satedan melted away into the mist shrouded air.
"Teyla, if I can get close enough to the doorway, I should be able to find the right frequency to open the door, depending on the technology that is and of course that is if we can…"
Teyla interrupted Rodney's anxious babble, "I understand Rodney, but first we need to wait for Ronon, then we will know if it is safe to proceed any further."
"Sheppard's in there, possibly bleeding to death as we stand here and, …. that is if he's not already…" Rodney left the sentence unfinished, but Teyla smiled gently at him all the same.
"I know Rodney, but without knowing if there are others around, we must wait."
Teyla hated the waiting as much as Rodney. She was just as anxious as anyone in her need to find John, but she calmed herself as she waited, knowing that panic and concern led to mistakes being made and lives being lost.
She had always been able to control her emotions to a certain degree; leading her people had instilled in her the need to consider all sides of a situation and to maintain a level head, whatever happened. She was finding her control stretched to the absolute limit now as she waited for Ronon to complete his sweep of the area, she needed to be moving, she desperately needed to find out why John had been attacked in the first place.
Finding out that the security council were involved in whatever had happened to him filled her with a dread that sat deeply at her stomach, churning over and over as she considered the ramifications of that discovery. They would have to trust only each other again, as so often happened when they ended up in trouble off world; trust in each other and their individual skills. She trusted Ronon with her life, his skills in a fight the stuff of legends. She trusted that Rodney would always 'pull the rabbit out of the hat', he was a genius and there didn't seem to be any technological problem that he was unable to overcome. And then there was John… she trusted him completely. He had proven himself so many times in the past. He had shown his fierce loyalty on many occasions, his courage and his selflessness; even to the point of giving up his life to protect his people, a quality that he had demonstrated on far too many occasions.
Ronon reappeared suddenly at Teyla's shoulder, and she found herself shaken out of her reverie.
"We're alone at the moment, so McKay do you think you can open the door?"
"What, have I even looked at it yet, do I know how the shield works yet…so that would be a no, well… a 'not yet'.." the final addendum brought a smile to Teyla's lips, Rodney just wasn't capable of turning down a challenge of any description, and that was one of the reasons he was so good at what he did, because his ego wouldn't let him fail.
"Ok, so do we go" Ronon looked between the two of them, waiting for agreement. Teyla opened her mouth to reply, but then a frown spread deeply across her forehead and she turned away from the group and stared into the dark swirling mist further up the dockside.
"Teyla, what is it.. what's wrong" Ronon was confused and looked to Rodney for an explanation. Rodney shrugged.
"There is something there, I can feel it" Teyla closed her eyes as she concentrated on her thoughts, "It is not quite the same, but still…."
"What Teyla, what do you see!" Rodney could feel the stress building in his body and his voice betrayed him, "Are there others out there, is that it!"
"No Rodney," Teyla opened her eyes and looked at her team mates, "I can feel a Wraith presence," her face contorted in confusion once more and then, "oh no, it's cannot be possible…. he cannot be here!"
"Who, who is here…" Rodney was getting nervous and looked to Teyla as she stood transfixed, then he suddenly realised what she had said "What do you mean 'HE'…is here?" Rodney looked down to his hand as the small scanner blipped for his attention, "Oh no…we've got company, I've got a definite signal heading this way!"
Teyla turned to the two expectant faces, her face a picture of shock and anxiety, "Its Michael, he is here, I can feel him!"