Thirteen
Well… doesn't look much different from all the other planets they have been to. Beneath them, trees and other vegetation rush past as McKay navigates them to the coordinates Michael's Genii has given them. He can just barely withstand the need to check and double-check his weapon, because he knows that the thing doesn't need any checking and it's just a nervous habit. And the last thing he wants to show to anyone in here is nervousness.
Then, finally, Sheppard lands the jumper facing a structure that looks like an abandoned industrial complex, like the ones the Genii usually prefer as hideouts. Immediately, everyone gets ready and exits the jumper. When they are all set, Sheppard gives out the mission objectives. "We'll break into two teams. Teyla, Ronon, Meyers, you're with me. Major, you get McKay, Simmons and McPherson." Oh great. Why the hell does he always get McKay? "We'll enter the building together, then break up. Fire at will, but don't kill on sight. If Cadman and Keller are really here, there's a good chance we can get to them by using one of the guards. No regular check backs, but radio as soon as you encounter something unusual. Watch out for everything only remotely resembling booby traps. Let's go."
They advance the building and yes, one of the doors gives way. It leads into a vast hall with gangways crossing all over it in various heights. Sheppard signals for them to turn right and takes his own team to the left. Quietly, they make their way to the next door that leads them into a corridor. For the first few doors, they don't encounter any resistance, and that's starting to make him edgy. McKay, who has their life signs detector told him shortly after entering the second door that he could make out several life signs, but all of them stationary. So obviously they haven't been detected yet, but that could already be part of the trap.
Plus it makes it nearly impossible to find out which of these are Laura and Keller. So his decision had been to get to the nearest life sign to see who it is. They are only two corners away from it now, and he feels his adrenalin levels start to climb. Simmons, who is up front, gives them the all-clear for this corner, and they follow. Right in front of him, McKay is moving with his Beretta in one and the life signs detector in the other hand, and he has to admit that the Doc came a long way from a clumsy scientist to being able to keep up with three elite soldiers.
Shortly before they can round the last corner, McKay suddenly stops them and shows them the life signs detector. There's movement on it now, with five life signs clustering in front of another one and moving quite nervously… what the hell? And then the sound of bullet shots rings through the building. Immediately, he signals his team to change direction and they run to where the shots are coming from.
When they arrive, they encounter five Hybrids pummeling a steel door to death with Genii weapons. Without any delay, all of them, McKay included, open fire on the Hybrids. Four of them turn around to return it, but the fifth keeps hammering the door. So who- or whatever is inside there seems to be mighty important.
Their combined firepower takes out the Hybrids pretty fast, but they can't keep them from maiming the door enough to get it open and get a few shots inside. But, as if by miracle, suddenly there are stunner shots coming from inside the room and take out one of the remaining two Hybrids. A pretty well aimed shot from McKay takes out the last one.
Cautiously, he signals Simmons and McPherson to secure one direction of the corridor and McKay to get behind him. With his P90 raised, he kicks the door open again. And nearly gets hit by a stunner shot… from Dr. Jennifer Keller. Huh?
For a moment, it's silent, because obviously, all of them still have to process what just happened. Then McKay is the first one to break the silence. "Jennifer?"
That seems to shake Keller from her paralysis and she jumps up, exclaiming: "Oh thank God, Rodney."
McKay on the other hand, rudely gets past him to engulf Keller in a hug. Well, well... McKay's lucky that Ronon isn't here, he thinks and takes a look around. The room seems to be full of technological equipment, but what gets his interest in an instant is a fairly big screen showing the interior of a cell… and a figure slumped against its bars. Laura!
He turns back to McKay who's making a fuss about the lacerations on Keller's face. Reminding himself that he's on a mission, he tamps down the impulse to simply grab McKay's arm and drag him over to the computer to make him find out where exactly they're holding Laura and clears his throat to utter a polite: "Hey, uh, not to be rude or anything, but… could you two please save the tearful reunion for later? We still have a Lieutenant to rescue."
McKay whips around and snaps: "Hey, cut it out, Romeo. You're not the only one around here who missed someone."
Okay, he's had it. Any respect he grudgingly paid McKay is gone now, because this kind of egoism is really misplaced at the moment. "Don't you get off on me like that. And could you please just stop calling me "Romeo", Dr. McCoy?" There. He's always wanted to do that, and it feels incredibly good, because for a moment McKay is looking seriously pissed.
Then he gets back his usual arrogance and smirks. "What, you rather want me to call you "Major Shortie"?"
What, that's all he gets as a comeback? A joke about his 5' 9"? He snorts. "Knock yourself out. After all, it's not the size that matters. It's what you can do with it."
"Oh God, I so didn't need to hear this."
And that is his problem exactly how? He shrugs his shoulders. "Tough luck."
Before McKay can snap something back, Jennifer Keller steps between the two and the look on her face tells them both very clearly what she thinks about their little bout of getting at each others' throats. "Guys, stop it! On that screen there's a severely wounded soldier, and so help me God if you continue to delay finding my patient…"
He swallows, feeling awfully like having been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Thankfully enough, Simmons and McPherson are still guarding the corridor and didn't get to see how easy their CO can be distracted when being under too much emotional stress. "Alright. Sorry, Doc." Then he nods to McKay. "I'll radio Colonel Sheppard and tell him what we found. You think you can pull Lieutenant Cadman's position from this?"
McKay has a short scrutinizing look at the equipment in the room and the screen and then nods. "Sure. This will be a cake walk, compared to the usual demanding-the-impossible-from-me."
Before he radios Sheppard, he gets outside to tell Simmons and McPherson to guard the door and alarm them of everything suspicious. Then he hails Sheppard and the Colonel reacts immediately. "What is it, Major?"
"We found Dr. Keller alive and relatively unharmed in what appears to be a surveillance room, sir. One of the screen shows what appears to be live footage from Lieutenant Cadman's cell. McKay's already trying to…"
"John, I have her. From what I can see, she's underground, directly below you. Three guards at her door, another two at each of the two trap doors further ahead of you.", McKay interrupts him, and just for once he's glad someone did. In fact, the relief at those few words and the fact that she's still alive make him nearly dizzy enough to faint. It feels like he's been holding his breath for an eternity and now that the air is rushing back into his lungs it's almost too much for him.
"Understood. We've already found a trap door leading down and taken out the assigned guards. Any information on Cadman's condition?" Rodney taps a few key on his data tablet and then shakes his head. But before either of them can say anything, Keller grabs McKay's radio.
"John, it's me, Jennifer. I've treated her an hour and a half ago. I gave her painkillers, stims and antibiotics, because she was suffering from a fever most probably caused by two inflamed bullet grazes on her right thigh. She… When she helped me to get out, she… took quite a beating. When I got here, that Genii was talking to her… I think they planted a bomb on the lock of her cell. It looked like she tried to disable it, but didn't get very far." Oh God. Oh God. At the moment he has a hard time deciding which of all the things he just heard is the worst. When he heard "fever" he was already ready to run down to her cell, when Keller mentioned the word "beating" he'd wanted nothing more than to take Laura in his arms and try to make all her pain go away by simple force of will and when there had suddenly been talk of a bomb he'd nearly let out a frustrated shout. So close… so close.
"Got it, Doc. Major?" He blinks. Buck up, idiot, he thinks. This is a rescue mission, not different from the countless other rescue missions you've been on before.
"Yes, sir?"
"Get your team down here. Is anyone of your team members familiar with disarming IEDs?" As far as he knows… no. Simmons is a computer wiz and McPherson's specialty is urban warfare. And Albright… no, wait, Meyers is his third team member.
"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Cadman has given regular in-depth cross-training lessons to Sergeant Meyers for the last three months." Who would have thought. The very reason why he pulled this stupid fight that made his life hell for the last few days will now probably save all their lives. He hopes so very much for Laura to survive this because he wants to see her smug face and hear her say "Marine instructors are simply the best."
"Great. See you down here. Sheppard out." He looks back at McKay and Keller.
"Alright, you heard the Colonel. We're moving again." He steps out of the room and nods toward his men. "Simmons, you take point again. McPherson, you and Dr. McKay take care of Dr. Keller. I'll bring up the rear." With that, their group gets moving again.
While they're cautiously making their way towards Laura's cell with sidestepping three booby traps on the way, Jennifer Keller quietly tells them how she got to the surveillance room. Seems that Laura had taken a chance at distracting their captors with starting a fight in the cell and making it possible for Keller to escape, telling her to get to the 'Gate. It makes him both infinitely proud of Laura and infinitely mad at her. Proud for the enormous amount of strength, sense of duty and courage she displayed with this and mad for sacrificing herself and playing hero. Damn stupid stubborn Marines, he thinks, always thinking they are invincible.
As they sidestep another booby trap, McKay quietly asks Keller why the hell she didn't just do what Laura told her. Keller answers with: "I… simply couldn't leave her. She's injured, and I can't leave a patient." It's all she says, and it makes him see her in a whole new light. Only now he realizes that Laura was right every time she told him that there's more to Keller than people like to admit. That doctor may whine and grumble about having to wear a sidearm or having to walk distances over two miles and she may still face danger with big eyes and trembling lips, but try to stop her from doing her job and she becomes a lioness. When this is over, he promises himself, he'll take Keller aside and thank her for not leaving Laura behind.
A/N: Good morning, everyone! :D I really hope that gets this mail problem under control and that it informs everyone of you with alerts fast enough.