Left Behind
Chapter 5: Realization

It had been a week and Kevin had pretty much done nothing but read the file that Michael had given him; going over it and over it. He needed to keep his mind occupied even if his heart wasn't; when it had to do with him being a soldier it always worked—just like a peach. And even if Major Lorne was his real brother, Kevin had made the decision that even if they did come across each other, he would never confront his brother.

Kevin and Michael had met for lunch as usual though, just like they had one the Daedalus. It was all fine, but Kevin was starting to get a little worried about the looks that Michael came giving him; like he knew something that Kevin kind of wished he didn't. Michael was very smart, Kevin knew, he saw things that others didn't and kept his playing cards close at hand, knowing exactly when to reveal them.

"Have you read the file?" Michael asked.

"Yup," Kevin nodded.

"And you understand it?" he asked, "No questions."

Kevin silently shook his head as he took a sip from his juice.

"Don't hold back," Michael told him, "It's important that you voice any concerns, Kevin; one slip-up because you didn't speak-up can jeopardize this whole operation."

Kevin set his glass down, and stared at Michael; his face set. "I have read the file, Michael. I understand how important this is; we need to find out what the Genii are planning. This may be my first time doing something like this, and it's pretty big—I'm sure that I can pull off my cover ID." he promised.

And it would be easy for Kevin to slip into someone that he wasn't, especially when he wasn't really anyone in the first place. It was a sad fact, but a true one; the only real relationship that he had was with Michael, and even then they hadn't really shared anything personal with each other—so in a way this counted as a work-relationship too.

The look that Michael was giving him said that he knew what Kevin was thinking, and didn't like it one bit.

Kevin gave him a reassuring smile. "I can do this, I swear."

"Good," Michael said, making sure that Kevin was listening. "Because Atlantis and our people are counting on us, and I'm counting on you as my partner to have my back."

"And I do, Michael. I can swear it,"

That had been the day before the end of the week, and now it was the day of their operation. Kevin was nervous—it was expected of course—but he hid it very well; he was good at that kind of thing, but he was sure that Michael could see through it.

This was really big, and while they were going over the mission once more, Kevin realized that this was the first thing that anyone had ever relied on him for. That realization though didn't wrack his nerves, it just mad him determined to succeed—and he knew that he wouldn't be able to live it down if he let Michael down—let alone be the cause of this op. to back-fire.

The objective of this mission was to see if the Genii were up to something hinky—several times before they had tried to commandeer Atlantis several times and it was becoming a real problem. Not knowing when and if they were going to try again, and even how they were going to try. People had been hurt, and Atlantis was damaged because of their other failures, and repairing the damage wasn't an easy fix, and the officers irreplaceable.

So they would dial the planet, go through with the cloaked Jumper, while Colonel Carter distracted them about making peace—which was what the people of Atlantis wanted in the first place—but wasn't going to happen in the long run. The Jumper would land and drop off Kevin and Michael, they would infiltrate the Genii base—unnoticed mind you—gather the Intel they needed and be out before anyone knew. Incase caught, they were dressed in the Genii uniform, and had Tokra rings, that if you prick a person with the needle on the end, they think that you're someone else if you tell them so.

If anything went awry, Major Lorne's team would be there for back-up. This fact made Kevin a little on edge, but his personal business had nothing to do with this so he pushed it to the very back of his mind.

The material against Kevin's skin felt odd and stiff, the uniform awkward and uncomfortable. Michael wore it well, as if he were one of the Genii himself; and this was when Kevin realized that he needed to get into character, to become the person beneath the uniform. They may have been in the Jumper and still on Atlantis, but it was easier to get into character if you are them before you even start to play the game.

They gated to the planet where the Genii had taken new refuge, the Jumper scanning the planet's surface for any life signs. Finding none, and knowing that the Genii always went under ground, Lorne parked the Jumper in some brush. The Genii facility had all but been undetectable, but for the worn down area from where the hidden entrance was.

As it turned out, the Intel that they had had been faulty and old—the place had to be abandoned. There were no Genii, and the equipment that did find, had no information—nothing. Kevin and Michael searched the whole place, keeping in contact with Jumper 1, but there was nothing to report.

Well, that was what Kevin had thought when he and Michael were deep in the bowels of the facility. There was nothing, but that turned out to be wrong too.

Kevin wasn't even sure how it had happened, what had happened. One second they were walking down the hall, ready to leave the bunker and go back to Atlantis, the next there was the echoing gunshot going off in close quarters. And then Kevin was falling to the ground, a warm wetness spreading across his chest and his back. There was an answering shot from Michael's gun, and quick voices in the radio.

Next thing he knew, Michael was carrying him from the bunker, and to the Jumper that at Michael's call, moved closer to the entrance. He had help dragging Kevin in and then they were off towards the gate. Michael putting pressure on the wound, Kevin choking on the blood in the back of his throat and the pain. . . The Genii didn't have the same kind of guns that Earth did, but they packed a pretty good punch. And Kevin was positive that it had hit something really vital—like maybe his heart! And through all of the pain and blood, Kevin had yet to realize that it must have hit his picture, the one that he always tucked in his breast pocket.

Kevin was sure that he must have blacked out because the next time he opened his eyes he was surrounded by medics and Dr. Beckett, being thrown onto a gurney and rushed down the halls. He blinked again and found himself now in an operating room, his clothes being torn off and a mask being placed over his nose and mouth. He welcomed the darkness that dragged him under and away from the pain.

Michael was covered in his blood, more upset than he had been a real long time. He wasn't allowed in the operating room for obvious reason, but he found himself holding Kevin's discarded and bloody jacket in his hands; his face hard. He couldn't believe that he had allowed this to happen, especially to Kevin of whom he not only considered his partner, but also his friend.

Something fell to the floor from the jacket, and Michael bent and picked up the bloody piece of card from the floor. He tucked the jacket under one arm and unfolded the piece of card, which turned out to be a photograph. He tried to wipe away the drying blood on the surface, finding a worn picture of a family underneath. Michael stared at it for a long moment; he had read Kevin's file—of course he had, it was standard—it had said that Kevin didn't have any family, and from the way that the Captain talked Michael knew it to be true.

Michael stared through the smeared blood at the boy in the picture—at the most obvious place to look. The eyes were the same from what he could see, were just like Kevin's. But Michael knew that this wasn't Kevin Lorne, but someone else of which he had seen recently—a man with the same last name; the nose wasn't Kevin's, and neither was the smile, even the tint of the hair wasn't quite the same.

Michael tried to wipe as much of the blood away as he possible before he folded it again and tucked it his own pocket; Kevin had this picture and had kept it for a reason, and Michael was going to find out why—but he knew for a fact that Kevin would be devastated if he found that anyone had saw it, so he was going to keep it hidden—and he would give it back to Kevin when he came out of surgery, because he knew that the kid was a survivor . . . it took one to know one after all.