AN: So I was planning to post this one tomorrow afternoon, but the reviews overwhelmed me and well, I got excited and decided to post it now. However, updates will probably not be as quick, especially now that the school/work week is upon us. But rest assured, the story is basically done so... it will be posted eventually.
Disclaimer: Forgot one last time... but as you may be able to guess, I own pretty much none of this and the only payment I recieve is through wonderful reviews from wonderful people. Oh, and I like writing, of course.
Thanks: To a very amazing beta, nat.am.drachen/sandgnat10 as I like to call her. Either way, she rocks. Thanks, hon.
Everything else is about the same as before...
In the Arms of Angels - Part II
As soon as the gun connected with Sheppard's head, Jeannie was grabbing Madison and forming as much of a shield as she could over the girl. The safety and well-being of her daughter immediately took precedence, and John's very precarious position was pushed to the back of her mind.
However, she had no idea what to do next. The only thing her brain was telling her was to keep Madison covered and keep her alive at all costs. She could hear the gunman barking orders and some of the diner's customers and employees shouting. But it was the whimpering of Madison that captured her attention, and despite all of her previous religious doubts, she suddenly found herself praying for her daughter's safety.
She was vaguely aware of the two gunmen forcing all the diner's occupants into the seating area so they could keep an eye -and a gun- on all of them. It didn't appear any of the others were in as dire a situation as John, but guns were slinging all around the room, threatening to shoot at any sudden movements. The gunman closest to her booth, the shortest of the assailants, was keeping the gun trained mostly on the next booth over, which she knew housed two large, burly soldiers.
Suddenly, it occurred to her, she was in a diner surrounded by people who had signed their life away to protect others. People who were trained, in various levels of various fighting techniques, and most of all, a certain Lt. Colonel who not only conquered this world, but many others. It didn't make the situation go away, but if ever she was being held hostage with someone, he would be her choice.
Which brought up another question, why the hell would anyone want to hold a diner full of trained soldiers hostage?!
"On the ground! Everyone!" the one with the gun to John's head yelled. And immediately, his partners began to enforce it. Before she knew it, Jeannie was being pulled from her booth by one of the gunmen, Madison screaming helplessly as the distance between the two increased. Jeannie yelled to her, told her come into her outstretched arms. And before Jeannie hit the ground, Madison was being tightly embraced. Jeannie leaned over, covering her small body as much as she could.
"Hey! Hey!" she heard John yell, though he seemed so far away. "Don't touch them!"
The next sound she was aware of was the clunk of something hard making contact with a body part, then "oomph!" She felt tears slip between her tightly clenched eyelids as she realized that they had just hurt John.
"You're not making the calls here, soldier," someone spat.
Jeannie felt her grip on Madison tighten.
"That's right, flyboys! From here on out, you'll listen to me. If you don't, someone will die, got it?"
She heard more people murmuring, but from the glances she dared to make, none of the soldiers looked too scared. There were a few of the really young-looking ones that appeared frightened, but they weren't much more than kids themselves.
"Alright, alright," she heard John speak up again, his voice raspier than the last time he had spoke. She didn't know whether his attempts to talk made her feel better, or scared her even more. "Apparently you have an issue with the military, huh?"
Oh, he sounded so confident. She knew he had been through a lot, but she just couldn't think of any experiences that would ever warrant such nerve and calmness in this kind of situation.
"Well, aren't you a genius?" John's gunman sneered. Jeannie was now peaking over at the two of them, positioned in the center of the diner. John was on his knees, his arms in the air. There was a thin trail of blood running down the right side of his face. At the gunman's comment, she was sure she saw John roll his eyes.
"Not so much the military, though. No, I have a problem with the Air Force and what better way to get what I want, than to attack their precious pilots," the man answered. "And a little birdie told me this is where a lot of you like to flock to."
"Oh, well then you're terribly mistaken," John replied. "Birds are our buddies. They wouldn't have given away our position."
Jeannie once again heard the sound of the man hitting John, only this time, it was a kick to his ribs, and she actually saw it happen. He hunched over immediately, but just as quick, he was back up. His face was scrunched in pain, but believe it or not, and Jeannie couldn't seem to believe it, he was laughing.
"Sorry, sorry," he choked, "just some Air Force humor."
And sure enough, there were small grins on the faces of the few soldiers she could see.
"Enough," the gunman spat before addressing his people. "Pull out their dog tags and Riley, look up their ranks. I want to find the top dog in here."
Jeannie had no idea who Riley was, but she didn't see anyone with a computer in the diner, and briefly wondered whether there were more people working with this guy in another location.
The room then erupted with the sounds of dog tags being pulled from shirts and names of the soldiers being called out. Jeannie was pretty sure whoever they were yelling the names to were communicating via a communication device.
"We got a second lieutenant, here Doc," the gunman furthest from Jeannie shouted out.
"A captain."
"Another captain."
"Oh, we got a Major, here!"
A few more shouts were made, but none higher than a major. Jeannie knew John's rank and was pretty sure it was higher than a major, but didn't want to find out what would happen to the person with the highest rank.
As the shouts of names and ranks died down, Jeannie turned her attention back to John, who was in the same position he was in the last time she saw him. She watched as his gunman circled around him once, came to a stop in front of him, and squatted down so that they were at eye-level. The guy, using his gun, pulled John's collar down to see the chain of his dog tag.
"Something tells me your special," the man said. "It takes a very gutsy and arrogant man to backtalk a guy with a gun," he continued, his gun staying trained on John while his free hand pulled the dog tags closer to his face.
"John Sheppard," he read aloud.
The gunman's eyes went up to the ceiling, looking distinctly like he was listening to something no one else could hear.
Finally, a mischievous grin spread across the gunman's face. "Is that so?" he asked, obviously to whoever was on the other line of the headset. "Well, well, well. It looks like we got ourselves a Lt. Colonel, boys," the man proclaimed triumphantly through the diner.
The guy turned his attention back to John, who stared defiantly back. "My guy can't seem to find anything on you, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. Looks like you're an important S.O.B.." John shrugged smugly. "Well, then it looks like you'll be worth more then, won't it?"
"That's right," John agreed, surprising everyone. "I'm quite important. So much, in fact, that several national governments will be contacted when they found out who you're holding here, because I know so much that simply cannot be released to the public," he continued, leaving Jeannie completely lost as to where he was going with this, but his confidence filling her with an odd sense of hope.
"So I'd say you picked a good time hold the place up if you wanted something from the government. However," he said, his tone changing, "the fact that you are also holding civilians is a problem."
"Is that so?" the man repeated, still right in John's face.
"Yes it is, Steve. Mind if I call you Steve? You remind me of an old friend of mine back home," John stated. "Anyway, because you have civilians in here, it makes the possibility of leaked information greater, and therefore, it would not be unheard of for an 'accident' to occur. Probably the whole place accidentally blowing up," John finished, still looking very defiant and completely unafraid.
Steve did not respond immediately to this. "So, you're really worth that?"
John chuckled. "That and more."
"And if I keep the civilians here, we'll probably all blow up?"
"Probably."
"Well, then why don't I just get rid of you?" Steve inquired, now smiling himself.
"Nope, nope. Wouldn't work," John replied quickly, shaking his head. Jeannie could detect the fear in his voice that things were not going in quite the direction he wanted, but it was very slight and well hidden.
"And why not?" Steve asked, now slightly annoyed.
John shrugged. "Simple, really. Then all you'd have is a group of civilians and a few officers. You'll have no chance at getting what you want, but I can help you."
"I'd still have the kid," Steve countered. "The media goes crazy over kids." At this comment, fear and panic pierced through Jeannie's body like a knife slicing her insides. She felt her eyes clamp shut once again, and her grip tighten on Madison.
"True, but again, it would still be just another hostage situation," John replied, emphasizing the last words as if they constituted a boring, every-day situation. "Some of your most memorable hold-ups had a ton of kids, and none of the ended in favor of the bad guys. Think about it."
The gunman did seem to consider this possibility.
"Okay, and even if I did let the civilians go, how could you help me? Who's to say they wouldn't kill me after the civilians were gone?"
John smiled and pointed his finger at Steve"That's a good point, Steve. You're very smart," John stated, still speaking with such ease. "You see, I knowa lot of important people, and I'm quite useful to the government. So, when it's just you, your henchmen, and me, they will be more likely to give you what you want in return for me. Alive. So, everyone would get what they wanted and would live happily ever after."
Jeannie honestly did not know what to think. In all the things she had heard about John Sheppard - which wasn't a whole lot, come to think of it - and the short amount of time she had spent with him, she knew he was an amazing soldier and a good man. But nothing could have prepared her for his behavior now. And it apparently surprised everyone else in the room, including Steve.
"So, what you're saying is, the best way to get what I want is to release everyone, except you?"
"Yep."
Steve stared down at Sheppard, almost as if he was actually considering his suggestion. And once again, Jeannie found herself praying for it to be true. She hated the thought of leaving John in there, alone, with those guys, but if it meant safety for her daughter, then she would do it.
When she thought about it, what he was saying was pretty accurate. She wasn't sure just how much attention his capture would get, but when it came down to it, John Sheppard was very important and knew a lotMuch more than any government was willing to let slip. And, he was very useful. He had the strongest known ATA gene, which was extremely handy to the SGC, which also meant the IOA, and therefore Earth in general. Other galaxies, too, of course, but Earth would be everyone's top priority.
It was then that she heard the sirens. Multiple cop cars, presumably coming for the diner. She knew it wouldn't take long for people to realize something was going on in the diner, and judging by the choice in location, the gunmen weren't interested in money and probably didn't mind the publicity.
"If you know all these important people and things you claim to, then the government will be trying to silence the media," Steve said suddenly. "What if I don't want that?"
"That's what I like about you, Steve. You think things out completely," John said, still not caught off-guard by any of Steve's scenarios and objections; always ready to twist it in his favor. "But the more the government tries to silence them, the more publicity. I mean, think about it, if the government is trying to keep something secret, the hounds will swarm harder. In the end, you'll get more airtime."
The cop cars and other 'official' looking vehicles, probably military officials, had the place surrounded and were speaking on loudspeakers, but no one in the diner seemed too interested. They were all too enveloped in this odd conversation.
Steve seemed to be out of questions now, and was left only to the possibilities in his own mind. "Riley," he called into his headset, in one last moment of decisions. "Does his story hold up? You've got no information on him at all?" He waited for a moment, then continued. "Not passed Afghanistan, eh?" He paused again to listen, then frowned. "Well, its not really up to you, now is it?"
He stopped talking to 'Riley', and returned to John. "I'm highly considering your offer, though I know what you're doing," he said with a sigh. "Noble of you, really, trying to get these people out. I respect that. Of course, I'll be doing what's best for me and my boys, here. But I like you, and that helps."
He began to circle around John, then started to walk deeper into the room and began to address the other soldiers. "And how do you all feel," he yelled, "about leaving your ranking military officer?"
"Keep your mouths closed, all of you," John ordered, but Steve made no acknowledgment of it. Jeannie couldn't help but smile, though, when no one said anything. Steve made his way back to John, and without warning, slammed his foot into John's gut. Jeannie heard him grunt, but made no noise otherwise. She ducked her head down lower over Madison.
"What about letting him get hurt?" Steve continued. "He's trying to save all of your sorry asses, and you're just going to sit there and let him bleed?" Steve bellowed as his knee crashed into John's chest, just as he had recovered from the last blow. Once again, John doubled over, gasping for air. While the faces of the soldiers had grown angrier by the second, no one uttered a sound.
Jeannie realized then just how many people were in the room at that moment. Not just the soldiers, but the diner employees, as well; all of them, innocent. And all of them (well, the civilians, at least) were hoping for John to get through to Steve. Even with the odds in their favor, they were up against guns. With the way the diner's patrons and employees were lined up, the gunmen had control of everyone in the room, so if the hostages tried to do something, they would end up gaining the upper hand, but not after several casualties at least. And no one was ready to go there just yet.
"Nothing?" Steve barked at the men. "Well, Colonel, you got some good little grunts."
Just then, a telephone within the diner rang, making everyone jump, except for John who was still trying to control his breathing. Steve walked towards the ringing phone, but all the while keeping his gun trained on John.
"Yes?" he answered menacingly. Everyone in the diner held their breath as they waited for him to say something. His face changed suddenly to something Jeannie couldn't quite read. "Yeah, he's here."
"Mommy," a small voice whispered, reminding Jeannie of the precious bundle beneath her.
"Shh, baby. Just a little longer," Jeannie cooed, hoping her promise could be upheld.
"You want to speak with him?" Steve asked the person on the other line. "Well, General O'Neil, I've actually been talking the Colonel myself, and I've found him to be quite an interesting person. Persuasive son of a bitch, as well." Steve listened for second, then chuckled. "Yes, I would agree with you there. He says he knows a lot of important people, one of which I assume is you? Well, he has informed me that he is an important person. Top secret kind of guy. Said that it would be in my best interest to let the others go, and keep him. What do you think of that, General?" Steve asked, grinning wryly at John who had made a recovery.
"Yeah, I think so too," Steve finally said. "I'm just going to make a slight change to the orders. You'll get all of your men, except Colonel Sheppard. They'll be sent out, you intercept them, and then we continue negotiations a little later."
The atmosphere improved some, but the tension was still very much there because the fact was, not everyone was going to leave. As long as her daughter was one of them, Jeannie didn't care.
Steve had already hung up the phone and was now walking through the room, staring everyone down.
"Well friends," he began. "I have to say, this was an unforeseen turn of events, but you know what they say about life giving you lemons. And thanks to Colonel Sheppard, here," he said, smiling at John. "I'll hopefully be making some pretty nice lemonade."
He stopped near the cash registered and for a quick moment, took his gun off John.
"Alright, here's how this is gunna go. When I say so, you will all stand. Civilians will exit first, then our soldiers here, except for Colonel Sheppard. None of you will make any sudden movements, and you will keep your backs to us. All you do is simply walk out."
Hushed whispers broke out within the room, some excited, some not so much. Jeannie's heart was pounding with anxiety. Again, all she wanted, all she needed, was for her daughter to get out of the diner; out of the reaches of these heinous people.
"Alright civilians, up!" Steve bellowed. Hesitantly, half a dozen people slowly rose from the ground, Jeannie included. She kept Madison against her chest, her arms wrapped around the small body as much as possible. She looked quickly to John, who nodded to her. She knew he would be staying here and it was his bravery that was getting everyone else out; she suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude towards him. She felt tears fill her eyes as she shared a meaningful look with him.
"Wait," Steve said, interrupting their profound moment by pointing at Jeannie. Her body froze, along with her heart. "She stays," he said.
"No, they go," John said, his previous serenity gone. "They go! That was apart of our deal! You can't do that…" John protested. But Jeannie had been ready for this. In fact, a part of her had even wanted it. As the others continued to flow out behind her, Jeannie gathered every bit of courage she had.
"It's okay, John. I'll stay," she said firmly as she rubbed Madison's back, trying to sooth the crying child. But Jeannie was taken off-guard when Steve only laughed.
"Not you, sweetheart. You go," he said, causing Jeannie's heart to jump in her throat. "The girl stays."
EN: Interesting twist, eh? Hehe, was for me to as I was writing it. Hmm... I wonder what will happen?!!? Have a great week everyone!