Evil Intent
Chapter 4
As Nash prepared to extract the other gene carriers from their electronic prison, Sheppard started to panic. His situation had become incredibly surreal, and the reality of how much trouble he was in was hitting him hard. He had been kidnapped from his home in another galaxy by, of all people, a crazed businessman. He was being held against his will because he was descended from aliens who had visited Earth thousands of years ago and who had passed on to him a very rare, would-it-ever-stop-getting-John-into-trouble genetic structure. He was going to be coerced into using said genetic ability in an insidious experiment in mind control that could ruin or even kill people. He was being made part of a machine.
How the hell was he – and those two innocent people – going to get out of this? He couldn't afford to wait for Atlantis to send in the cavalry. He struggled to maintain his composure even as his heart began to pound and his fists began to clench.
Sheppard watched apprehensively as Nash made keystrokes on the ersatz Nintendo. With a brilliant flash of light, a man and a woman rematerialized before them. Almost immediately, they started to faint; two people who looked like doctors caught them and laid them on cots that had been set up earlier. From what John could see, the two were a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s. To his surprise, they looked like people who were very poor, or perhaps homeless.
Nash directed his attention to him again. "I kidnapped you, John, because you have the strongest ATA gene, second to General O'Neill, in the Stargate program. But I took a tremendous risk in doing so, because people are desperately trying to find you as we speak."
"Ideally, the people I want because of their gene have to be people who won't be missed. I have a network of medical professionals who have been collecting and testing blood samples all over the country, even internationally, from the homeless, the down-and-out who sell their blood, the indigent who visit free clinics. We've identified a fair number of carriers and have kept tabs on them. In the past few months we started to…(he tapped the fake Nintendo)…uh, build up our inventory. Those two over there will be your…co-workers (he smiled at his own sick joke). If they die 'on the job,' I have many others in reserve."
"You're one sick bastard, Nash," said John. His tone was low and ice cold.
"Yes, I am," Nash agreed. His features were like stone. He turned towards the physicians. "Strip them and prep them for integration. It's time." Nash then removed from his jacket a slim case containing a syringe. Before John could say a word it had been plunged into his neck. "Why don't you go first, Sheppard?" was the last thing he heard before he passed out.
TBC…