"Any news McKay?" Sheppard asked again as he paced restlessly in the lab.
"No." McKay answered irritably. "As soon as I know, you will know and … what are … not good."
"McKay? What is happening?" Sheppard asked, now restless and concerned.
"Someone is trying to overwrite the city protocols." McKay replied as he furiously typed.
"Why?"
"I don't know yet, but I am guessing we won't like the answer. Wow they are good."
"How good?" Sheppard asked growing more and more concerned.
"Good. I mean it is almost like there is a clone of me doing it. Ok this should hold them for now."
"For now?" Sheppard asked.
"If we are lucky a few hours if not and they are as good as they seem to be twenty minutes."
"Ok Rodney, change of plan. You are to go into hiding and monitor their activities. Do whatever it takes to block whatever it is they are doing and make sure you don't get caught."
"How exactly am I meant to do that?"
"I don't know. You are the genius." Sheppard pointed out as he radio bleeped.
McKay looked on nervously as Sheppard answered the caller in the affirmative, whilst pulling faces. When Sheppard finally finished the communication he looked to McKay and said.
"That was Dyson, he sounded pissed."
"How can you tell?" McKay asked causing Sheppard to roll his eyes.
"Just try to do whatever you do without drawing to much attention." Sheppard said as he left for the control room, with dread welling up in his stomach. He was unsure what concerned him more, the fact that he was being called to the control room or the fact it had not been Young doing the requesting. He walked down the corridors, hoping to meet Young on route. When he finally reached the doors to the control room and had no contact with his Lieutenant he feared the worse.
"Colonel, what the hell is going on? Why is Dr McKay blocking our access to the systems?" Dyson bellowed as Sheppard climbed the stairs of the control room. The colonel noticed that several sets of eyes, as well as the barrels of the P90s, were following his every move.
"Blocking access?" Sheppard asked. "I don't think he is deliberately blocking access."
"Really?" Dyson asked clearly not believing a word the Colonel said.
"As soon as the city came under martial law certain security protocols get activated. Any unusual system requests are denied."
"Security protocols? What security protocols?" Dyson asked.
"Umm, the number of authorised users are cut right back and certain systems have no access."
"I was not aware of these protocols."
"Well we try not to advertise them, just in case." Dyson looked at Sheppard with swirling, mad eyes, clearly disbelieving every word the Colonel was saying.
"Jones." Dyson finally barked. "It's time."
"Time?" Sheppard asked just as every gun became obviously trained on him.
"This city has been corrupted to the highest levels. I am left with no choice." Dyson explained as Jones approached carrying a case. Sheppard's eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he saw that it was a bomb.
"There are innocent civilians in the city." Sheppard tried, hoping that Young was somewhere around to initiate plan C.
"No one here is innocent." Dyson replied as Sheppard tried to take a step towards him.
"I wouldn't do that Colonel." A voice said from behind as Sheppard felt something small, cold and narrow jut into his back.
"This is murder." Sheppard replied as he raised his hands.
"No this is salvation." Dyson replied manically, as Sheppard was relieved of his side arm and knife.
Seeing that Dyson was beginning to play with the keypad of the bomb, Sheppard knew he had no choice. He dived away from the man standing behind him. The speed of his movement taking the henchman by surprise allowing Sheppard the two seconds required to reach his head set and shout. "Speedway. I repeat Speedwa-"
Before he could repeat the codeword for a second time he was hit by a small metal projectile. Gasping in pain he tried to get a view of Dyson who was standing calmly over the bomb. What Sheppard did not see as blood began to pool beneath him was the armed reinforcements he was expecting. Although he was sure he could hear distant explosions.
"I am afraid Colonel you have failed. The control room is locked down. No matter what you had planned, it has failed. What ever it is that caused you to turn away from humanity will end right now." Dyson said as lifted the remote trigger mechanism out of the box containing the bomb. "May your soul find peace in the afterlife." Dyson said as Sheppard used the last of his strength to lunge at the insane IOA representative, desperately trying to gain control of the trigger.
