Part 5 - A Dangerous Bluff

After keying the door's locking mechanism, Wade turned to John. "Okay, I've kept my end of the deal so let's get down to business, shit face."

"Firstly, will you kindly stop calling me that, and secondly, the women aren't all free."

Wade clenched his jaw and stormed over to stand above John, threateningly. "And I told you she's my guarantee!" Then he seemed to calm down. "Besides she's good to look at."

"And I told you, you'd only get the information when all the women were freed."

Never far below the surface, Wade's fiery temper erupted again. He spun the revolver and placed the barrel against John's temple, pulling back the hammer with an audible click. "I want that information now!"

Rachel went cold. Although, she'd only known John for less than twenty four hours, she felt a need to protect him. "Please…put the gun down, Wade. Killing him won't help your situation or get you what you want."

Wade glared at her. It took several heartbeats before he slowly moved the barrel away from John's temple. However, he still kept the revolver aimed in John's direction. "No, I guess it won't. Now why don't we start over again? Who do I contact to get the ransom money?" For once, he didn't call John shit face.

John waited for his pounding heart calmed down. Having someone as volatile and as temper driven as Wade hold a loaded gun to his head had scared him to death. John tried not to show his alarm as weighed up his chances of overpowering the thief. Clive still hovered in the background, an unpredictable factor. Then there was the matter of his aching head, which still throbbed in time to his heartbeat, and the gun to the head episode hadn't helped, at all. His vision may have cleared and the bleeding had stopped, but he had the feeling that he may not be too steady if he tried to stand up. He smiled at Rachel to thank her. Upset that he couldn't get her out of this right now but he swore that he would, somehow.

After a few minutes, he found the ability to answer Wade. "You know even if you get money for me, you'll still be in the same situation. To get a ransom you really need to hold your kidnap victim in an isolated spot while you contact the family and arrange for a drop off. At least that's how it's shown in the movies."

"So what are you saying?"

"That you still need to get out of here and that's not going to be so easy, is it?"

"Why?"

John slowly turned his attention to Clive. "Because the minute you step out of that door someone with a sniper gun is liable to take you out."

"They won't if I'm holding a cocked revolver against your head."

"Maybe not you but what about your brother? He doesn't have a revolver and I'm thinking that he may not be able to get off a shot with that small handgun before he gets a hole in his head."

Clive looked about ready to wet his pants. "Is he right, Wade?"

"Of course not! You'll be holding your gun against…." He glanced at Mr. Franks and then Rachel, "her head," he finished pointing at her.

That's what John had been afraid of. Meaning that he would have to act soon or risk a possible bloodbath if Wade managed to get them outside. He addressed the younger brother again. "Are you willing to take that risk, Clive? Is it really worth endangering your life for a few thousand dollars? If you give yourself up now, I'll put in a good word for you. Tell them how willingly you released the others."

Wade smirked. "Don't listen to him. It'll be more than a few thousand because we'll get the ransom money, eventually."

John shook his head. "I don't own a company, Wade. I don't own anything."

"You're lying!"

"No, I'm not."

"Then why the fuck did you make all that up?"

"So that you'd release the child."

Wade felt his temper surge again but he allowed his thoughts to override it for once as his slow brain considered this new development. "I don't believe you 'cause you drive that fancy car."

"Rental. Doesn't cost so much more than any other. As for my profession, I'm a Wraith slayer."

"What the fuck is that?"

"You know, those shape shifting aliens that appeared on Star Trek Enterprise." Wade still didn't get it. "I'm a computer programmer. It's just a game that I'm hoping to get onto the market sometime this year. You see…"

John never saw it coming. His head suddenly exploded with a renewed burst pain as Wade struck him again, this time with a heavy, square shaped, marble paperweight that had been adorning the manager's desk only moments before. The savage blow was brutal enough to instantly knock John out.

-oOo-

Ronon Dex was bored out of his mind. He'd been in the infirmary now for four whole days and it was slowly getting him down. Amelia had kindly set up one of those TV sets near his bed but there was only so much of that stuff he could watch without wanting to pull his dreadlocks out. In frustration, he stabbed the remote once more, only to end up on a station that he'd already passed over, twice before. With a growl, he made to stab to remote once again but before he got a chance, Amelia walked in.

"Hi," she greeted cheerily. "How's the TV watching?"

"Don't ask."

"That bad huh?"

"Yeah. You know when I was here with Sheppard that time McKay's sister got taken. There was this great program on that TV. I don't seem to be able to find it on this TV."

"That's probably because they aren't showing anymore."

"Oh." Ronon paused and grinned. "You know, I think Sheppard thought I'd really lost it that time because I wanted to go help the people fight these badass alien robot things. I kept asking him how I could get there and he had to explain that it wasn't real. But it seemed pretty real to me."

"Yeah, some programs can be very realistic." Amelia added, although she couldn't think of one right now.

"Well, that was better than the stuff that's on right now. I mean this is so boring. How can they say its entertaining?" Ronon looked at the TV screen and pointed. "I've accidentally switched to this program a couple times already and it's always shown the same thing. It's just a load of people surrounding a place called a bank. They're just standing around while some female person repeats the details over and over again."

Puzzled, Amelia looked towards the TV set and smiled. "Ronon, that is real. It's a news station and it's about an actual bank robbery that's happening this very minute in some place called Bracton."

Ronon looked mystified. "Then shouldn't we go and help them?"

Amelia shook her head. "No that's what the police are there for."

Ronon Dex looked mystified. Earth was a very strange place indeed.

Tbc.

Thanks again for all the super reviews. Sorry this chapter was a bit short but will try to get the next bit posted tomorrow.