Thanks again for the comments and thanks to musik-luvr for letting me know about McKay's correct spelling – always wondered but kept forgetting to check. Also, discovered Wallace's girl is Sharon and not Sarah so sorry for that too. Important lesson, not to be so hasty. Thank you again. Section 3;
Sheppard walked out of Landry's office and walked to the nearest gents. Locked himself in a cubicle and leant against the door, his face looking upwards towards the ceiling.
He took deep breaths. Things were moving fast but the next step had to be perfect in everyway. If Wallace said no then there was only one other option and although he would sacrifice himself for Rodney in an instant he would still rather an alternative. Protecting Rodney (usually from himself) was an ongoing assignment that Sheppard trusted only to himself. He wondered if Landry suspected he had a plan B and if his access card still worked, he looked straight ahead. One step at a time he thought to himself.
He left the Gents a short time later and headed to Rodney's allocated rooms. He found the photographs he had seen Rodney pack before they left Atlantis. He was lucky. He had thought Rodney would have them on him but luckily thought it was worth checking. The bad news was that this meant Rodney had all thought processes on how to get to the wraith. Sheppard just hoped that the emotional stress was keeping Rodney from thinking as fast as normal as it was usually Sheppard who made him focus when he was emotional.
He went to the interrogation room that Landry set up for him and found Wallace already in place. He sat opposite Wallace and watched him silently. Wallace started to fidget and to break the silence he asked how Jeanie was. Inside Sheppard smiled.
"We're going over the data, we don't understand what happened, sorry"
"And Jeannie is?"
"She's not gonna make it" Sheppard paused, "We brought in a…..er…..specialist but he needs to eat, he collapsed, he's too weak to finish the coding modifications"
"I don't understand, if it means saving her life why not just feed it?"
"He has ..special ..dietary needs" Sheppard smirked. "He feeds on humans, on the life-force. It's a little hard to find volunteers"
Wallace lent back, paled, "So Jeanie will….."
Sheppard finished the sentence, needed Wallace to hear "She gonna die" Sheppard wanted to start out softly, increasing the pressure, giving Wallace no where to turn.
Sheppard theatrically pulled the photos from his inside pocket. He looked at the photo of Jeanie and momentarily experienced flashes of her visit to Atlantis. He slid the photo across the desk to Wallace.
He watched Wallace swallow and hesitantly pick up the photo and look at it. Good thought Sheppard, Jeanie had had her usual effect on Wallace too and he was emotionally linked to her, this saved time. Sheppard looked at the second photo and got a flash of Rodney pinning up a picture of a crayoned orange dinosaur at his work station in his quarters and then turning to Sheppard with embarrassed features daring him to say something. Sheppard hadn't said a word.
He slid the photo of Caleb and Madison across the desk. "You probably know about her husband Caleb and her daughter Madison" He saw guilt register on Wallace's face knew he was thinking of his daughter Sharon. Sheppard was creating emotional ties, trying to make Wallace care about these victims. He saw Wallace reach out slowly, with a morbid fascination, wanted to retract from what he had done but unable to resist reaching for the picture of Jeanie's daughter Madison, like prodding a painful injury.
Sheppard lounged opposite him. He started, his voice deceptively calm and casual "Now, McKay is blaming himself, but I know better" Sheppard paused. He changed his voice to steel "you know better" and he glanced up at Wallace his eyes as cold and calculating.
Wallace flinched. "I am so sorry, I never intended for any of this"
Sheppard looked at Wallace silently for at least a minute, then he looked down at the table and said quietly "What do you think will happen to you?" He looked up again into the face of Wallace
"What do you mean?"
"You have no-one left. No-one will try to track you, no-one will ask after you and with the top secret information you have in your head, do you honestly think you will be going to a mainstream prison where you can tell others about the Stargate Programme?"
Panic flittered across Wallace's face, he paled slightly.
Sheppard looked at the tabletop. Busied himself arranging the photos just so in-front of Wallace and then he said quietly "we have cells here you know. I wouldn't be surprised if you lived out the remainder of your life in the bowels of Cheyenne mountain"
"You Cant…I have rights" Wallace stammered half-heartedly. Inside Sheppard smiled knowing Wallace had already given in to his guilt.
Sheppard interrupted, his voice quiet steel "You kidnapped a man who, although only known to a few, is a hero in two galaxies, you have sentenced his sister to die and investigated the military to uncover a state secret" Sheppard paused, only for a moment to be sure of himself "and you killed your own daughter"
Sheppard watched anger and guilt fill the man's face. He watched his tears track slowly down his cheeks. He saw the bottom lip quivering. He had noticed slight similarities between Wallace and Rodney and when it came to Rodney, Sheppard knew exactly where the buttons were.
"I Was Trying To Save Her" Wallace said brokenly, pleading with Sheppard to understand, and that's why this was so hard. Sheppard did understand. He agreed with doing everything necessary to save someone you love. He would have kidnapped the President himself if it meant saving Rodney, but in doing so Wallace had put Rodney's life in danger and that meant he had to deal with Sheppard.
"She's still dead" Sheppard stressed "now you have no-one to live for" Sheppard pushed the photo of Jeannie forward again "but you do have someone to die for, you still have time to put something right"
Wallace blanched but seemed transfixed by Jeanie's photo. Sheppard stayed silent for a while. Let Jeanie work her own magic and then he leant forward. "You're life will be worthless from now on but with this sacrifice you can save Jeanie and Rodney, who as we speak is trying to get to the specialist to give his life for the sister you condemned to death, with this your life can mean something, you couldn't save Sharon, but you can save Jeanie" Sheppard pushed forward the photo of Caleb and Maddy "Send her home, Send her home to Maddy"
Sheppard raised his eyebrows, questioning.
Wallace was pale now, eyes glassy and tearful, his bottom lip trembled and then he nodded and inside Sheppard sighed with relief. Now for the final step, choosing his words carefully so that he would not scare the man out of the decision Sheppard had needed him to make.
"I have to hear you say you understand that I am asking you to die and that you do it of your own free will" Sheppard said quickly and quietly.
In a quiet broken voice Wallace uttered "I understand and I…I agree" Wallace swallowed heavily, "freely
Sheppard contacted Landry and had to wait for the President to sanction the murder Sheppard had coerced into action.
While he waited, lying on his bunk in his quarters, the guilt started to set in because Sheppard did understand so very well. He had implied to Wallace that he had no life that everything he had done had to be atoned for with this sacrifice. That there was no way out, he had pushed and coerced so that the Wallace thought that the only way left was to die, just so Rodney could live. One day Sheppard would have to atone, and when that time came he hoped God could save his soul, but he doubted it.
The phone rang. Landry had received the sanction from the President. Sheppard was relieved...and dammned.
Section 4 to follow...