With her palms on the railing, Jen stared out across the lights of downtown Washington. They'd retreated to the anonymity of their hotel suite to wait for the others to arrive. Agent Marks would be arriving as soon as the auction was completed and the statue earmarked for its new owner. Agent Ryan would most likely arrive sooner, his posting as a fake bartender ending with last call, and Colonel Sheppard was due to arrive any moment, courtesy of the Daedalus.
As it stood, the auction would be over in less than an hour, and from there, the statue would be on the move, it's dummy contents hopefully taking them closer to finding the initial thief.
It bothered Jen that someone on the inside, someone in Atlantis, someone she knew, and talked to, and possibly even worked directly with could be willing to trade hundreds, potentially thousands of lives – for money. Although she couldn't believe anyone on her staff would be capable of such an atrocity, she couldn't rule it out. If there was one thing she'd learned being in Pegasus… nothing was ever what it seemed, and nothing was ever simple.
For now, their traitor had managed to steal a container of Wraith enzyme… but would it stop there?
She shivered, and scrunched her toes, the bottoms of her bare feet stinging on the cold cement patio. She crossed her arms over her front, then jumped with a gasp when warm cloth suddenly landed against her shoulders.
"Sorry." Evan apologized as he straightened his jacket around her. The bowtie was now hanging loosely around his neck, and he'd undone the top buttons of his shirt.
She gave him a slight smile and flicked the end of the hanging bowtie with her index finger. "Didn't take you long to lose the tie."
"Like wearing a noose."
She laughed softly, but it wasn't heartfelt.
"You okay?" He asked with a slight frown, helping her thread her arms through the sleeves of his jacket.
"Yeah." She nodded. "I was just… thinking." She stared down at the length of material completely covering her hands, then smiled to see how far down her hips it dropped.
"Sounds serious." He said, turning to lean against the railing.
Jen stared at his broad back and shoulders, the leather bands of the double holster sharply contrasting the bright white of his shirt. The tuxedo and the guns. The contradiction, coupled with the way the muscles in his shoulder's moved as he rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, made her feel a lot warmer than she should have been under the cover of his jacket alone.
They'd stepped over a line tonight.
Somehow, the glass walls that once stood between them were now useless and shattered, and the flirt-but-don't-touch rule had been tossed to the wayside. Jen knew it was the evening, the dinner, the tux, and the dress, but she found herself hoping… no, praying… that the walls weren't replaced when they returned to Atlantis. She had a feeling she wasn't going to be able to put hers back up anyway. Evan, she wasn't so sure about, but for herself, it would be almost impossible.
She didn't want to go back to the way it was. She wanted to find out about the way it could be.
Their forever conversation replayed in her mind and she felt herself blushing to think of how close she'd come to making out with him in the middle of the dance floor. Then she thought about how it would have been horribly inappropriate and really bad timing. But then she had to wonder what it would have been like, and that lead right back around to his comment about her dress and she was suddenly feeling very, very… unsure and inadequate. Even if he did think she was beautiful, in a forever kind of way.
But forever wasn't something that would come so long as Atlantis was the gatekeeper, and the only protector standing between the Wraith, and the holy-grail of feeding grounds – Earth.
If the Wraith ever discovered Earth's location… Jen shuddered to think of what else their traitor had revealed.
"You sure you're okay?" Evan asked, glancing over his shoulder and breaking into her thoughts.
Pulling the edges of the jacket closed around her like a robe, she stepped forward and joined him at the railing, their shoulders almost touching. They stared into the night, watching the city spread out beneath them, before she eventually broke the silence.
"I can't figure out who could possibly think this whole thing was a good idea." She admitted quietly, leaning over the railing to watch the flow of traffic on the street below.
Evan shook his head, and stared up into the sky. "Whoever it was, obviously wasn't thinking. They had to know we'd figure out the container was missing, eventually. And if they know enough about Atlantis and the SGC to take it in the first place, they would also have to know we'd stop at nothing to prevent them from succeeding."
The sound of her soft sigh pulled at Evan's heart. He turned towards her, the sad, worried, look on her face making his chest tight.
"Hey." He frowned, reaching for her. "What's wrong?"
She stepped forward, her arms locking tightly around his waist. He felt the pull of her need for contact and tugged her tightly against his chest. She bent her head and tucked herself against him. Without the added height from her heels, she seemed smaller. More delicate. Fragile. He knew it wasn't the truth, she hid an incredible strength behind that small frame, but he also couldn't help but wonder if maybe she shouldn't be here. She was a doctor, not a trained operative. He tucked her head under his chin and stared up into the night.
"What if they don't stop there?" She asked softly. "What if the enzyme is just the beginning? What if-"
"Jen." He adjusted his hands, tightening his grip around her. "There's no reason to think they've given up Earth's location. We've had no records of any transmissions, and no indication from any of our external resources to the contrary. We're looking at a black market sale, pure and simple. Okay?"
Jen nodded slowly, hearing the truth in his words. She sighed and let herself relax into him, his strength and warmth seeping in beneath the tension. She hadn't realized how much the night's blocking had gotten to her. She'd managed to push everything aside – Franks, Wilsher, the enzyme – but at a cost. And with a huge yawn, Jen realized she was absolutely exhausted. Mentally and physically.
She felt Evan's chest moving before the laughter escaped.
"Am I boring you?" He asked.
"Nope. I'm good." She shook her head slowly, and adjusted her head against his shoulder. "I'm just going to have a little nap."
"Right here?"
"Mmm." She nodded. "You're warm."
"I, personally, have absolutely no issue with that…" He whispered over the top of her head. "But the Colonel might."
"Colonel?" She muttered.
"Damn, Major… now this is what I call a hotel room." John's voice carried out through the open patio doors.
Jen gasped and jumped back. John walked onto the balcony in time to see her swat Evan across the shoulder.
"He giving you trouble, Doc?" The Colonel grinned.
Jen felt her face heating and she stumbled over her words. "I… no… yes… I'm just…" A knock sounded at the door and she stepped towards the inside of the door. "Going to answer the door."
"That'll be Agent Ryan." John called over his shoulder as he moved to the edge of the balcony to look out over the city. "Nice view."
"It's passable." Evan shrugged.
"So… how was dinner?" John glanced sideways at Evan, then turned to watch Jen and Ryan chatting just inside the doorway.
Ryan had changed out of his bartender's outfit and back into his suit. Whatever story he was telling Jen had her laughing. Evan made a face, staring at the two of them. He was suddenly damn glad he'd given Jen his jacket. He'd set it on her cold shoulders for a bigger reason than being a nice guy – a purely selfish reason actually – because the jacket was so big on her it hid just about everything except the slit up the back.
"Fine." Evan finally answered. "Dinner was fine."
"Hmm." John raised his eyebrow. "That all?"
Evan narrowed his gaze. "What."
John shook his head, not bothering to hide his smirk. "Nothing."
"So, what's the plan?" Evan changed the topic.
John took the hint and turned towards the Major. "The transmitter McKay used will give us the statue's location, as well as a constant audio feed. As soon as the auction is over, our guy Franks will hopefully take it home, crack it open, and find himself with one very expensive piece of nothing. Depending on who he calls and what he does after finding out he's been double crossed will hopefully lead us to the source. Then it's just a matter of dropping in and cleaning it all up."
"Sounds easy enough."
John snorted. "With McKay and Keller here? We'll be lucky if we can make it through the next ten minutes without something going catastrophically wrong."
Evan couldn't hold back the smile. The man did have a point.
The sharp chirp of a cell phone had Agent Ryan digging into the pocket of his suit jacket. Jen stepped away, moving out of view, and Ryan walked slowly towards the balcony doors.
"What do you mean he's gone?" The expression on the Agent's face was not a happy one, and his sharp tone had both John and Evan watching him intently. "Tell him to keep his distance. We don't want to lose him." Ryan ordered, his tone clipped. "No, I'm at the hotel with Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne. As soon as you have a location, call me." He dropped the phone from his ear.
"Franks left."
"Left?" Evan frowned.
Ryan nodded. "Half-way through the auction, he excused himself and headed for the men's room. Never returned to his table. One of our guys was parked on his limo. We're following it now."
A knock sounded at the door, and Jen called out she'd get it.
"That should be Marks." Ryan called out to her.
"What about the container?" John asked.
"Still there." Ryan angled his head. "We're leaving two agents on it in case we're looking at some kind of bait and switch."
"We follow Franks while someone else takes the container?" Evan surmised.
"Possible." The Agent admitted. "That's why we're watching both."
"Sheppard!" Rodney's voice sounded from the living room.
"McKay?" John frowned, turning towards the patio doors.
"We've got a problem." Rodney rushed onto the balcony.
"Yeah we know." John nodded. "Franks left without taking the container."
"Franks... what? No... no." Rodney shook his head and dropped his tablet onto one of the deck chairs. "It's empty."
"The statue?" Evan frowned.
"No, the container." Rodney answered.
"I thought you filled it with ball-bearings?" John shook his head, confused.
"Not that container," Rodney held out the one he'd carried with him. "This container."
"It's empty?" John frowned, watching as Rodney released the seal, and lifted the top off the container. The scientist then made a dramatic show of dumping it upside down and shaking it violently. "See? Empty!"
"Where's the enzyme?" Evan took the container and stared into the hollow, empty inside.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you." Rodney shook his head. "Gone. Missing. Not inside. Not there in the first place!"
"Well then what the hell happened to it?!" John exclaimed.
"I don't know!" Rodney shrugged dramatically. "I was going to put the enzyme into one of the medical storage units on the Daedalus, but the container's the wrong size. I opened it up to transfer the vial and poof – no enzyme!"
"Did someone else remove it?" Agent Ryan asked.
Rodney shook his head. "It hasn't been out of my sight since we cut it out of the statue."
"Shit!" John cursed, as a knock sounded on the door in the living room.
"Someone double crossed our double cross?" Evan asked.
John angled his head and looked expectantly at Agent Ryan. "If Franks knew it wasn't there to begin with, that would explain why he left early."
"Left early?" Rodney looked from Evan, to John, to Ryan.
Ryan quickly re-explained Frank's departure from the auction.
"Then why go in the first place?" Rodney asked.
A repeat knock on the door.
John angled his head to see into the main room. "Doc?" He called out.
No answer.
"Are we sure he's the one we're after?" Rodney asked.
Agent Ryan nodded. "Oh we're sure, all right. But a guy like Franks doesn't get as far as he has without being incredibly cautious. We know who and what he is, but we've never been able to directly tie him to anything."
Evan followed John across the patio when another knock sounded up front, this time with more force.
"Doc?" John called again, moving towards the door.
Evan turned towards Jen's half of the suite, her door still standing open. Maybe she'd gone to change. But… why was her door still open. He stuck his head into her room. "Jen?"
No answer.
He glanced over his shoulder as John let Agent Marks in.
Evan stepped into Jen's room, eyeing the open bathroom door. "Jen?" He called again. When there was no response he checked both the bathroom, and the bedroom area, but she wasn't there. He left her room and made a beeline for his.
Empty.
He stepped into the main area, an uneasy tension knotting his chest. "Where's Jen?"
Sheppard, Ryan, and Marks shook their heads.
"I don't know." Rodney shrugged. "She wasn't here when I beamed down."
"Wait." John stepped in front of the scientist. "Beamed down? You didn't knock at the door?"
Rodney snorted. "Why would I knock when I was already inside the room?"
"If you didn't knock…" John frowned…
"Then who did?" Evan finished.
John looked at Evan, and both men rushed to the door. Ripping it open, they stepped into the hallway. Glancing left, then right, there was nothing but empty corridor.
Each man ran in opposite directions, checking the stairwell and the elevator bay. Returning to the middle, they both shared the same worried and concerned look.
"So, where is she?" Rodney stepped into the hallway.
John pushed past him and back into the room, reaching for his com. "Daedalus this is Colonel Sheppard. Can you locate Dr. Keller's transmitter?"
Evan reached for his own com, then realized with a groan it was still in the front pocket of his jacket. The jacket Jen was wearing.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Colonel Caldwell. We're not picking up Dr. Keller's transmitter. Is something wrong?"
John stared directly at Evan. "What do you mean you're not picking it up?"
Rodney cursed, and Evan suddenly found it a lot harder to breathe.
"You're not picking it up in the hotel?" John clarified.
"Negative." Caldwell replied. "We're not picking it up on the continent. What the hell's going on? Where's Dr. Keller?"
"Shit." John cursed. He turned to Marks and Ryan. "This hotel have security cameras?"
Marks nodded. "Every corridor, stairwell, elevator, and public access area."
"Colonel, the minute you get a lock on Dr. Keller, beam her directly to the bridge." John said to Caldwell, then he looked at Rodney. "Get back upstairs. Do what ever you need to do to get a lock on her transmitter."
Rodney nodded and rushed to the balcony to grab the empty container, requesting the Daedalus beam him back to his lab on the Daedalus.
Evan turned to Marks. "How fast can we see those tapes?"
"How fast can you get to the basement?" Marks turned towards the door and proceeded the others as they rushed into the hallway.