A/N: And now for a brief interlude with the other players in this GORRAM FRAKKIN' NOVEL! Jeez...
Chapter 17
Kolya was back in his office when Chaya found him. He looked up from his work after a moment and wasn't at all surprised she was angry. "Tatiana, dear – you seem upset."
"You didn't hurt it, did you?" she asked sharply.
"No, it is fine, just simply detained for its own safety." Kolya leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands over his stomach. "Which, I might add, would not have been necessary if you had stayed away from it like you were supposed to."
Chaya crossed her arms and lowered her gaze. "It was in a public area. You said nothing …."
"I told you to stay away." His voice rose and Chaya flinched away. "Two days. Can you control yourself for two days?"
Her eyes narrowed and she didn't reply right away. "It called me cold, Acastus. I am not cold." When he openly laughed she uncrossed her arms and clenched her fists by her side. "It isn't funny."
"Actually, it is," Kolya said. "You are cold – that is why you were the perfect choice for this project. I knew I could get unbiased results from you, and you have no problem seeing these things for the animals that they are, not the 'people' others mistake them for." He watched the anger leach from her features. "Now, go get the lab on level seven ready – I understand we may actually have clear skies the first night of the full moon." He pushed away from his desk and stood.
"Clouds have never made a difference with these things before," she replied. "But it would be nice for a change." She crossed her arms and pouted. "I hate the weather here. It is … depressing."
Kolya took her by the elbow and led her to the door. "Yes. Well, until the scientists here discover some way to control the weather, I am afraid you'll have to suffer like the rest of us." He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Now, go, and be a good girl."
Chaya looked up at him through her eyelashes and nuzzled the palm of his hand. When she flicked her tongue briefly across the base of his thumb she heard him draw in a short breath and smiled. "I always am," she purred as she backed away. The smile stayed on her face as she walked through control, and she didn't even notice that everyone seemed inordinately busy.
Kolya noticed, however, and frowned briefly. They had been acting like this since he came back after relieving the major of his duty, and he did not like it at all. It just struck him as terribly immature. They were professionals, they should fully understand that if someone isn't doing their job properly, they should not be doing it at all. Simple concept, and popularity should have absolutely nothing to do with it. If they continued in this fashion, he would have to say something. But for now he was too busy for this childish crap. He closed his door and returned to his work.
Shortly after Chaya left and Kolya's door closed, Chuck couldn't hold back any longer. "God damn – where's a stake when you need one?" he muttered. That brought a few nervous laughs from the other techs present.
All except Grodin. He was frowning as he fired off a quick encrypted e-mail to Zelenka. Vampira will have wolfman in glass lab in two nights. Then he quickly erased all traces of the correspondence and went back to his diagnostic program for the green house's climate controls. It had been running a little warm in there lately, and he hadn't been able to figure out why.
-oOo-
For the remainder of that day the atmosphere in the rest of Atlantis could easily be described as cool. Conversations were done in soft tones in the cafeteria, and Lorne's absence was definitely noticed. Carson himself made a point to not miss lunch or dinner. As a matter of fact, he sat at the table closest to the end of the line, so when people turned around with their trays he and his left cheek were going to be the first thing they saw. That was actually Rodney's idea. Kolya wasn't the only one who knew how to manipulate people.
Rodney was just more blatant and less tactful about it.
He was sitting with Carson at the moment and thoroughly enjoying the double-takes and nearly dropped trays. Word had gotten around about what had happened to the doctor, but apparently it wasn't believed until they saw the proof for themselves. And with the exception of a few Marines, the people walked on by with the same expression on their faces: close lipped anger. Carson squirmed a little at first, but as more people saw the evidence of Kolya's instability, and the more Rodney just beamed in triumph, the more he relaxed. "See, told you this would work better than waving a scalpel around and giving a rousing speech in a kilt," Rodney said around a maniacal grin and a bite of chicken kiev. "And that purple around your eye could be considered a darker shade of blue."
Carson grimaced. "Enough with the Braveheart analogies," he said as he sipped his coffee. "Jenn should be smacked for repeating that to you." He set his cup back down and tackled his own meal. He was surprised he was actually hungry for a change.
Rodney just happily chewed away. "Um, do you even have a kilt here?"
"Settle," Carson growled. But he was fighting his own smile.
Ronon and Zelenka came in a moment later, and soon they were sitting down next to them. Zelenka pushed his glasses up, and as he unwrapped his silverware he said very quietly, "I've been told by little birdie that Sheppard will be taken to the astronomy lab on level seven in two nights."
"That is the first night of the full moon," Ronon said. "Psycho Barbie is up there right now."
"Crap," Carson muttered and sat his fork down. "Any chance we'll be able to get him free before then?"
"Hard to say," Ronon replied and leaned forward on his elbows. "Ford's been put in charge of the security detail, and I know he'll pick men loyal to Kolya." He ate in silence for a moment. "We could intercept when they take him up, but there could be casualties."
"No, God no. I definitely don't want that." Carson sighed and glanced between Rodney and Zelenka. "Were yae able to find out what he's done with Elizabeth?" he asked in a whisper.
Rodney nodded spastically. "She is alive, but he's taken the computer out of her room."
"I think he's kept her drugged," Zelenka added. "She did not look … well." He lifted a hand and waved it by his head. "Very zhubnout – thin, and, and …."
"Spacey," Rodney supplied. "She didn't sound drugged the few times I've spoken to her."
"I imagine it's surprising how coherent one can be with a gun pressed to your head," Zelenka added under his breath. The little Czech looked absolutely devastated – they all knew he had an unrequited thing for her. They ate in silence for a moment after that, and it was Zelenka who broke the tension. "The woman they are holding in the brig seems unharmed." Atlantis didn't really have a 'brig' – that is what they called the four secure observation rooms on the second sub-level. They were originally designed as quarantine rooms with airlocks and extra thick walls, but Kolya found a new use for them.
Rodney looked at Ronon, his mouth open for a moment before he spoke. "Why didn't you tell me she was so hot? Holy crap."
Ronon smirked. "McKay, you wouldn't last two seconds with her before she'd break every bone in your body." He attacked his chicken and quickly chopped it into a half dozen bites with his fork. He speared one and held it up. "You would look like this," he said and waggled it before he stuck it in his mouth.
Rodney gulped. "Oh." His attention focused on his own food. "She, um, didn't look that tough."
"We'll get her out, too," Carson said. "And any other 'specimens' that woman may have in her lab." Rodney started to open his mouth but Carson scooped up some pudding and said, "So help me, if you say 'freedom' I will be flingin' this at you."
"Now that would be a sorry waste of perfectly good pudding," Rodney said with a smirk. Then that suddenly disappeared as he was distracted by the doors to the cafeteria opening. Everyone at the table turned that way and saw Lorne enter with Bates as an armed escort.
Lorne calmly got in line, he and Bates both got dinner, and as he turned to go to a table he did pause briefly and his mouth settled into that tight grimace. But he walked past their table calmly and nodded to them. "Doc," he said. Bates cleared his throat.
"Major," Carson replied with a nod of his own. He watched as the two men went to an empty table and sat across from each other. When he turned back around he saw Rodney's eyes were practically glittering.
"Oh, he just screwed up again," Rodney said. "What does Col. Cuckoo think he's doing? Playing checkers?"
Zelenka was even smirking. "He should have let the major come alone, not under armed guard. He's clearly mistaking a, a Bishop for a pawn." He chuckled. "The major is too well liked for this."
"Yeah," Ronon said. He glanced around the room quickly and saw a lot of irate glares from the few off-duty enlisted men he could see. "Not smooth at all."
Carson had to clamp down on his lips to keep from smiling – it pulled to much at his stitches for comfort. "Gentlemen, this is looking better and better. Ah, bloidy hell – screw it." He picked up his coffee and made a very quiet toast. "Freedom."
They all lifted their cups in return. "Freedom," they echoed just as softly.
End Note: My, um, apologies for that opening scene. If it's any consolation, I kinda squicked myself out...
