A/N: For those of you who are following this story, I thank you for your continued patronage. The previous chapters have been the prelude or overture, if you prefer, to what is coming up. John and Evan will now take center stage with the other characters in supporting roles and the occasional guest appearance.
FYI - If you have a favorite team member or OC that you'd like to see, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to accommodate where and when possible.
Special thanks go out to ladygris for her continued encouragement and support as this has the makings of being one of the most daunting storylines I've undertaken.
Namaste,
~Sandy
Not a Hero
Chapter 18
Sound and Fury
"So it's all set. We'll meet in your office at 2200." John looked at Jennifer waiting for her agreement. He had stopped calling her by the nickname mostly because he only thought of her as Angel now and the slip-up before was sure to bring about a heart-to-heart with his partner. Something he wanted to avoid for the foreseeable future.
Jennifer nodded. "So what should I wear to this clandestine meeting of Operation: Weasel Hunt? All black? Knitted cap to cover my hair? Rubber soled shoes? I can bring latex gloves so we don't leave fingerprints. You'll have to give me some advice 'cause I've never been involved in this sort of, uh, op."
John covered up a grin by scratching the end of his nose and resisted an eye roll when Evan did the same. "Won't be necessary. But there is something you can do. The guy in IT kinda likes you. Think you could get us some tools and help?"
"Let me get this straight. Evan flirts with Sheila and I flirt with Orval."
"Yeah." John shrugged as if it was a given.
Jennifer crossed her arms. "I'm just wondering what your role is in this. All you've done so far is give orders."
Relaxing back in his seat, John crossed his arms and grinned. "Lorne said it at lunch. I'm the brains. Giving orders is my job."
"Uh-huh. So you ordered Evan to fight with you this morning?"
"Not…exactly." Now John was looking uncomfortable and a bit awkward.
Turning to Evan, she was surprised to see him with the same expression. "Okay, guys. Who started it?"
Without even glancing at each other, both men said at the same time, "He did. What? I didn't start it, you started it!"
Rolling her eyes, the medical doctor stood. "Fine. Don't tell me. I'll get Orval to help us and meet you at ten. Try to behave until then." Look who I'm talking to! Grrr!
~~O~~
When John left his co-conspirators, he went directly to Woolsey's office rapping on the open door.
"Come in. Have a seat." Once John was seated, Richard turned from his computer. "What can I do for you, Special Agent?"
"I need to know how to get to wherever McKay is."
Richard's smile said "Is that all?" Opening the drawer to his right, he took out a device no larger than a dog tag. "This is a GDO. When you activate it, it sends a signal to whichever ship is in orbit, Daedalus, Apollo, Odyssey, or Prometheus. You're beamed aboard then on to your destination." He pushed it across the desk where John just looked at it with mistrust. Finally, he picked it up, turning over to examine it from all sides.
"This little thing will get me…" he pointed at the ceiling, "…onto a spaceship?"
"It will indeed."
After a deep breath, John had only one more thing to say. "Cool. So I just press this and I'm…" he disappeared before he could finish the sentence.
Aboard the Daedalus
"…on a…Whoa!"
"Welcome aboard the Daedalus, Special Agent Sheppard." A man with light brown hair and a boyish grin stepped forward, hand extended. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Marks, commanding."
John took the other man's hand automatically, his eyes staring around at everything. "Sonofa…" his eyes landed on the viewport. "Is that Earth?"
"It is." Kevin's hands were clasped behind his back as he stood next to John, a proud smile on his face. "Would you like the fifty-cent tour?"
"Uh…not right now. I, uh, gotta go see…" John snapped his fingers.
"Dr. McKay."
"Yeah, him." Pulling his eyes away from the view, he finally looked at his host. "He's at Stargate Command, right?"
"Yes. General Carter just gave birth so he's taken an LOA." Kevin nodded to his helmsman, Lieutenant Reyna Chavez. She touched a few controls and John disappeared.
Area 52
Infirmary
Now that the only patient had been released the Infirmary was quiet, almost as if there'd never been a patient within its walls. Lights were on and machine noises whispered unknown words to the afternoon sunlight filtering in through the windows. No dust particles danced in the sun's rays as the entire facility was equipped with a state-of-the-art environmental system that kept the air clean and allergen free.
The beds were neatly made with crisp white sheets and light blue blankets folded over the footboards, but the ward was empty as were ICU and the nurse's station.
Jennifer stood in front of the desk tapping her foot. She'd already been to the office but Derek wasn't there and now Ana was MIA. The situation puzzled her because both knew better than to leave the area unattended even if there were no patients.
Maybe they've gone to the Commissary.
Heading in the direction, Jennifer stopped when a muffled thump reached her ears as she passed the supply closet. She yanked the door open to find her assistant and head nurse engaged in a passionate embrace. Arms still around each other, Derek and Ana looked at Jennifer, their eyes wide at getting caught.
After about ten incredibly uncomfortable seconds, Jennifer pulled the door closed and went to the IT office. She didn't see either of them for the rest of their shift and that was fine with her.
Stargate Command
Following the directions to General Carter's quarters given to him by Senior Master Sergeant "call me Walter" Harriman, John got out of the lift on the Barracks level. When he got close, he slowed down, suddenly reluctant to disturb the family though it was necessary as neither he, Lorne nor Angel had the skills needed to perform this part of their plan.
There were also some things you never forgot because they'd been drummed into you for so long they'd become second nature. John smoothed his unruly hair flat as much as possible then checked that his clothes, though casual, were neat and presentable. He tapped the door just hard enough to be heard and hopefully not loud enough to wake the kids. A moment later, Sam's face appeared in the opening.
"Captain Sheppard."
John caught himself before he saluted. "I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but could I speak to Dr. McKay? I won't keep him long."
One corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile, gesturing at a closed door at the other end of the room. "He's communicating with Atlantis at the moment. Something I can do for you?"
"Yes, ma'am, if you would. I need a couple of computer programs created. One-time use only."
With a nod, she stepped back and allowed him to enter. In a darkened corner as far from the door as possible sat two cribs made of honey-colored wood surrounded by matching dressers and changing tables. He must have been staring for a while because he jumped when Sam spoke to him.
"Would you like to see them?"
"Um, sure." John followed her over, leaning down to peer into the gloom. Both little ones were on their backs, propped with softly cushioned wedges of memory foam covered in ultra-soft material to keep them from rolling over onto their stomachs. He remembered hearing something about it preventing crib death. The girl was in pink, covered with a pink crocheted blanket, one little fist pushed into her cheek giving her the appearance of smiling in her sleep. The boy wore blue with a blue blanket identical to his sister's, both arms flung out to the sides. The awe John felt was reflected in his voice. "Wow. Are they…"
"They're both perfectly healthy, Captain." With a nod, she drew him over to the desk area. "What do you need the programs to do?"
It was just the opening John was looking for and he quickly outlined his requirements. Opening her computer, Sam waited for it to come out of power saver mode then worked the device like a concert pianist, her hands flying over the keys faster than he could see. Within a few minutes, she ejected the CD, slipped in another and continued typing. When she was done, she ejected that CD too, inserted them into a plastic case and handed it to him.
"I'll be getting a copy of your report, right, Captain Sheppard?"
Her tone indicated that he should agree but a sudden need to be willful came over him. His mouth turned upward in a smile similar to the one Olivia appeared to be bestowing on the world. "On one condition, General." Sam's smile changed to her dangerous one, her blue eyes getting that glint that had made many a seasoned soldier inwardly cringe and had frightened more than a few civilians. "Please stop calling me Captain."
"What should I call you? Special Agent Sheppard is too cumbersome and Captain…"
"No longer applies so just call me John. And I'll call you…" he waited for her to respond with a request to call her by her given name.
"General, General Carter or ma'am." The firmness behind those words didn't escape John's notice.
"Yes, ma'am." John lifted the CD case. "And thank you. I'll get these back to you as soon as this op is completed."
"No need…John. I've inserted commands that will render the programs inert after three days. So whatever you're gonna do, do it quick."
Area 52
Keller's Office
2200 Hours
Jennifer took out the tool kit she'd acquired from Orval. She hadn't even had to flirt with him. All she did was ask and he'd given her all the tools he thought she might need after extracting a promise to return everything in the same pristine condition. Naturally she'd agreed. He then set a pair of laptops in the server room leaving a printout on how to use them in this configuration as well as how to disconnect them. The last item on the list ordered them to just unhook the computers and leave them there for later retrieval.
Their little project still wasn't finished when 0130 arrived and Jennifer was doing her best not to let the men see her yawning. It didn't work and once again John sent her to his room. All she'd been able to do was give advice on the placement of the equipment and hand them tools as they needed them. She was a brilliant surgeon but her mechanical abilities were rudimentary at best.
After protesting more out of habit than because she wanted to stay, she finally went to bed.
And once again John was left with the vision of her sleeping in his bed to distract him from his purpose. Though knowing that Lorne would be watching everything he did kept his mind focused…for the most part. They finally finished around 0300 and took themselves to bed. Evan to his room and John to the Infirmary where Dora welcomed him with a smile and a clean set of scrubs.
The Next Evening
Just Before Sunset
The next step in their plan was to make sure that Magee knew Jennifer would be alone in her office. John and Evan let it slip within his hearing that they would be at the SGC for a meeting until nearly midnight. They pretended to transport out then went to the server room where they'd already set up monitoring equipment that had been tapped into the video feeds for the entire complex. Now all they had to do was wait for him to pounce in order to commence Operation: Weasel Hunt. And the man didn't disappoint. Within minutes he was lying in wait for Jennifer to come out of her office.
~~O~~
The wireless headset in Jennifer's right ear clicked twice signaling that Magee had taken the bait and was on his way. She pulled it off and stuck it in her pocket leaving it activated so John and Evan could hear what was going on just in case. Taking a drink of water hoping to calm her nerves, she reflected on an incident from high school.
At her father's urging, she'd joined the drama department and six weeks later she was back in the counselor's office begging to switch her elective to Culinary Arts. She didn't do well but at least she didn't have to get up in front of the class and pretend to be someone else.
Standing, she undid the top button of her top almost as if it were an accident, letting just enough cleavage show to get his attention. Pulling the elastic from her hair, she shook it loose letting it frame her face the way it had the day John had first called her Angel. Reaching into the middle drawer of her desk, she pulled out lip gloss and smoothed a thin coat over her lips. One last check in the mirror and she was ready.
~~O~~
Magee sat in his office watching the video feed from outside Jennifer's office. She was carrying that goofy cup she seemed to love so much. Hurrying down the hall, he made it to the break room before she could escape into her office again. "Jennifer."
She whirled around, her eyes wide and a hand to her chest as the air rushed in and out. "Oh, Mr. Magee, you scared me. I thought I was alone."
He moved in close trapping her in the corner of the counter, one hand on either side of her. "As I've mentioned on more than a few occasions, if you're with me you'll never have to be alone." As before, he used one hand to lift a strand of her hair and twirl it around his finger.
"I-I don't really mind it that much. Until I left medical school I'd never been on my own so it's a nice change. My dad still worries though. If he only knew."
Her voice was tremulous as if she was frightened of him and he wanted to do something to alleviate some of that fear, maybe even endear her to him. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew his iPhone. "Just to show you I'm sincere about only wanting your happiness…" he fiddled with his phone then held it up for her to see, "…that video of you and Sheppard? I'm deleting it."
~~O~~
The second Magee entered the break room Lorne began recording everything through the video cameras hidden strategically in cabinets and light fixtures in order to capture the action from as many different angles as possible.
Though it had been planned as a set-up, John's entire body tensed up and refused to relax as soon as Magee got close to Angel. He hadn't wanted her to be involved though he had no idea how they would have pulled this off without her. Keeping his eyes on the monitors in front of him, he and his partner watched and waited for just the right moment.
"Come on, Angel. You can do it. Let's get the sonofabitch."
~~O~~
Evan kept his eyes and ears focused on what was taking place in the break room though a small part of him was also tuned in to Sheppard. There it was again. Angel. He probably didn't even realized he'd said it out loud.
"Sheppard."
"Yeah?"
"Why do you call Jennifer Angel?"
Sheppard turned an unreadable expression on Evan, staring at him for so long he was about to ask again when the man uncrossed his legs and leaned forward squinting at the screen. He tapped the monitor with a finger. "I don't think the one above the sink is working. Let's hope they stay where we can see them."
That was obviously Sheppard's way of changing the subject so Evan let it drop.
~~O~~
"You're really deleting it?" Jennifer's smile was sincere for the first time since their initial meeting. "Thank you."
Magee shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Now that I've shown you my good intentions, it's time for you to reciprocate."
"Pardon?"
"Let me take you to dinner tonight." His eyes dropped to her chest and stayed there. "Afterward we can go to my place. I have a Jacuzzi and a swimming pool."
"It's kind of you to offer but I don't know how to swim and don't own a bathing suit." His laughter made her want to slap him, her fingers curling with the need feel in the impact of her palm on his disgusting face.
"Not a problem. We can skinny dip and stay in the shallow end."
No thanks! And you're from the shallow end of the gene pool if you think I'd ever let you see me naked. "As generous as that offer is, Mr. Magee, I'm going to have to decline."
He finally backed off from her taking the fog of wintergreen with him. "But why? You have turned me down every time I've asked you out. Why?"
Jennifer took a step toward him, laying her hand on his shoulder in pretend sympathy. "I'm sorry. It's just that, uh, I'm kind of…interested in somebody else."
"Sheppard!" Magee shrugged her hand away, pacing back and forth in short rapid steps, and muttering under his breath. "He should've been left in the desert for the vultures."
He faced away from her and Jennifer took an angry step forward, just barely managing to keep from hitting him. "How can you say that?"
"I can say that because he is the biggest waste of…"
The medical doctor finally had enough of the man's insults, affronts, slurs and general rudeness. Her temper came to a full boil as she uncurled her fingers and drew back only to be stopped by John wrapping his arms around her from behind.
~~O~~
John and Evan saw it at the same time. Angel had finally had enough of the man and her temper was about to blow. Snapping the first CD out of the case, Evan dropped it into the player in the side of the main workstation while John tapped in the command to execute the program. Thankfully, Carter had made it easy for him to remember. By the time John finished, Evan was already in the hall. His partner didn't wait for him but allowed him to catch up so they arrived at the break room at the same time. Seeing the look in Angel's eyes, he rushed forward to stop her by pinning her arms at her sides, surprised when she began struggling.
"Let go!"
Magee had begun inching toward the doorway, Evan blocking his retreat. "Going somewhere, Magee? Stay. You're gonna love what we have planned next."
When Angel calmed down, John released her, turning to face Magee who looked like a caged animal. Now you know how it feels! "You seem to like videos so we've made one just for you." Pulling an iPad from where he'd shoved it into the back of his pants, John turned the monitor toward Magee. "Just touch there to start it. Go on. It won't bite."
With a loud exhale, Magee did as requested. What he saw there made his face turn white as a sheet. "How…"
Evan opened cabinets and pointed to the ceiling. "We set up cameras here, here, there, over there, in here and, uh, there."
"And they've been broadcasting everything that happened since you came in here. So you see, your days at Area 52 are about to be reduced from years down to, oh, I'd say hours at most." Looking very satisfied, John stood with Angel and Evan awaiting Magee's reaction.
But he didn't say anything, not a word. Just turned and headed for the exit.
"Wait! I have a few things to say before you go." Again Evan moved to block the exit so Angel could have her say. "You know, all this time I've been afraid of you, of what you'd do to me, to my career because you held a position of authority around here and the fact that your family is powerful force in Washington. But you're just a bully, a pathetic parasite feeding off of the fear you build when you beat down women's self-esteem. You threaten not only their jobs but their enjoyment of life and barely qualify as a human being." By the end of her rant she was standing toe to toe with Magee and he didn't like the look in her eyes at all.
Before anyone could move to stop her, assuming they wanted to, she slapped him. "That's for me." Her hand came up and got him again. "That's for Marie, the nurse you chased off though maybe I should thank you because she's one of the best nurses I've ever worked with." Magee started to relax thinking she was done when she slapped him again even harder. "And that's for Melissa because you used her in the worst possible way. To get your jollies." She paused a moment. "And I HATE wintergreen!"
~~O~~
Woolsey sat back when his monitor blinked and changed to a live feed of Magee, Dr. Keller, Sheppard and Lorne in one of the break rooms. Turning the audio up, he listened to what they were saying, his normal light scowl deepening as his level of anger increased. Making a few calls he discovered it was on every monitor in the building including the ones in the Commissary and the gym.
Pushing away from the desk, he headed for the heart of the action just as Sheila stuck her head out. "What's up, boss?"
"That's what I'm going to find out. Inform everyone to stay where they are."
~~O~~
"I never realized what a b***h you could be, Jennifer." Magee's normal condescending expression had returned.
John took a step forward ready to hit the man himself, stopping when Jennifer touched him on the arm.
Crossing his arms, Magee scoffed. "I don't know whyyou're so upset about Melissa, Sheppard. You didn't miss anything by turning her down. She was…"
"Do NOT finish that sentence." John was on the verge of losing control. He really, reallywanted to hit this guy, but because Angel had made a silent plea, he didn't. However, Magee's next comment overwhelmed her influence and he acted instinctively.
"Or what?"
His continued arrogance caused John to lunge at Magee, intent on his face and in the darkening of his hazel eyes only to be stopped when Evan got in front of him, grabbing the taller man and holding on tight. His voice was low enough that Magee couldn't hear.
"Don't. He's not worth it."
John's hands gripped Evan's upper arms, attempting to push him out of the way but the shorter man was much stronger than he looked.
Smirking now, Magee kept talking not comprehending that he was digging himself deeper with every word. "I just don't get it. You know as well as I do that women are just w****s out to take a man for whatever they can get. Shouldn't we be able to do the same without making a federal case?"
John felt the hostility he felt for Magee coming from his partner climb to a nearly unsustainable height even after he'd released him and taken a step back. Though he hadn't changed his facial expression, his eyes had gone so dark with rage they no longer looked blue. He watched his partner take several deep breaths to bring himself under control and turn.
The last thing Magee saw before everything went dark…was Evan's fist.
TBC