Authors Note:
WARNING - This is one of those bordering on M rated chapters ... some language plus a few moments of what could be considered somewhat graphic violence ...
Chapter 4: I have no idea what you're talking about
"Thank you for that demonstration Ms Scott," Walker said in a smooth cultured voice.
"You set that up!" I shook my head as all the pieces fell into place – the easy exit from the house, a rake just lying around for me to use, Gravel Voice having his own set of fighting sticks.
"The rumours about your abilities are impressive but I always like to confirm these things for myself," Walker replied in a casual tone like we were talking about the price of milk instead of classified information he shouldn't have had access to. He turned and walked back to his chair on the porch, waving a hand to invite me to sit in Gravel Voice's chair. Deciding to play along for the moment I strode up the steps and threw myself down beside him.
"I'm not sure how ordinary martial arts skills could possibly be of interest out here," I commented nonchalantly, stretching my feet out casually in front of me, "unless you've got some recalcitrant cows you'd like me to whip into line?"
"Your ... personality quirks were also well documented," Walker said with an amused smile. "Mr Brown might have been provoked by your attempts but you can rest assured I will not be so easily led."
"Mr Brown huh?" I glanced across at Gravel Voice, still stretched out unconscious in the yard, in feigned amusement. "I'm guessing that's not his real name."
"Aren't you interested in why I brought you here?" Walker asked when I didn't say anything else.
"My only interest lies in being anywhere else," I admitted. "I'm not sure what you think you've got but you've been misled ... I can't see any reason why you'd want me here. But if you let me go now I'll forget I was ever here."
"Come now Ms Scott," Walker seemed amused by my continuing act of innocence. "There's no need to be modest. If my sources are correct you could be the most unique person on this planet."
"You're joking right?" my laugh was genuine as I found myself unexpectedly entertained by this guy's smarmy Doctor Evil act.
"Oh I assure you Ms Scott," Walker's expression turned suddenly grim and ... deadly. "This is no joke ... unless you know of someone else with both Wraith DNA and multiple Ancient genes."
Crap! I struggled to keep my expression blank as I registered what he'd said. This guy was more than just well informed. He knew things only a handful of people knew – a very small handful at that. Most people at the SCG and IOA knew I had the ATA and Wraith genes but it wasn't common knowledge that there was actually more than just one Ancient gene responsible for the skills of the Ancients ... or that I had at least two of them.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said innocently.
"Of course you do, but let me spell it out for you anyway," Walker was suddenly amused again. "You arrived back on Earth through the Stargate this morning from the Pegasus galaxy – your home of the past three years. After spending only a few hours at Stargate Command you and your soon to be fiancé Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard of the United States Air force travelled by car to Colorado Springs Airport, thereby making yourself available for my employee to issue an invitation to visit here."
"Well you certainly are well informed aren't you?" I frowned, trying to compile a list in my head of all the people who had the level of knowledge he'd demonstrated. The most confusing detail was the soon to be fiancé part. To my knowledge no one but John and I knew that detail ... and maybe Rodney could work it out if he put two and two together based on other stuff he already knew. "I don't suppose you'd like to tell me who your source is?"
"I am very well connected and information is always available to those with the resources to pay for it," Walker replied, smugly evasive.
"You may think you've got yourself something valuable in me but you should know the Air Force won't negotiate for my release," I informed him in all seriousness.
"And Colonel Sheppard?" Walker raised an eyebrow at me quizzically.
"He's career military!" I said incredulously. "I'm not saying he wouldn't try to meet your demands but you've probably spent more already on getting information than he'd have available to bargain with. That doesn't exactly spell profit for you."
"Perhaps you don't know your fiancé as well as you think you do," Walker replied in amusement. I frowned at that – was this guy trying to imply that John had significant financial resources he'd never mentioned?
"You're mistaken," I said, trying not to let him know that what he'd said had found its mark. "And he's not my fiancé – yet."
"Semantics," Walker dismissed. "It doesn't matter in any case – you're not here to earn me a ransom."
"Okay I'll bite," I gave in abruptly, shooting an intent gaze across at him. "Why am I here?"
"My company is in competition for a very lucrative contract with one of the most powerful organisations in the country," Walker revealed.
"So it is all about money," I said insultingly. "And there I was hoping you had some kind of noble sentiment, like trying to save a life."
"Everything is about money Ms Scott," Walker drawled in a voice that said he was schooling me on the harsher points of life. "And you, well your unique blend of genes in any case, are the key to ensuring we get a contract that will earn us rather a lot of it."
"That doesn't sound very attractive from where I'm sitting," I admitted freely.
"My title of doctor isn't just for show Ms Scott," Walker replied. "I'm fully qualified to extract the information we need from you."
"Assuming you did this," I put a hand over the bandage on my arm, deliberately insulting him since I was pretty sure he hadn't been the one to remove my transmitter, "I've already had a sample of your ... skills. I think I'll pass."
Without pause or warning I surged from my chair and slammed an elbow into his face, breaking his nose and causing a satisfying stream of blood to appear. While he was occupied with screaming in pain I jumped off the porch and sprinted across the yard. Skirting warily past Brown, already up on his knees and moaning himself to wakefulness, I headed towards a large shed I'd noticed before. Fingers crossed there'd be some kind of vehicle inside.
Another unlocked door ... gotta love the arrogance of this guy ... and the pleasant discovery that yes there was an impressive four wheel drive parked and hopefully ready to go. The driver's door was open too but that's where my luck stopped. No ignition keys under the seat, in the glove box, or behind the sun visor. Damn! Luckily my misspent youth had included the requisite lessons from 'the bad boy' on how to hotwire a car ... if I could just remember how that went. Bending low over the steering wheel I pulled out all the wires, searching for the ones I needed and ripping them apart so I could reconnect them and hopefully start the engine. I was almost done when I heard an ominous clicking sound directly above me. I looked up reluctantly; already pretty sure I knew what I'd see.
Crap! Doctor Walker stood on the other side of the door, blood soaked tissue still held to his nose and an expression in his eyes that sent chills running down my spine. Not the good kind – the 'as soon as he's done with me I'm dead' kind. He wasn't the one responsible for that clicking sound though. That was Gravel Voice .... sorry Mr Brown, and another guy who was a cookie cutter version of him ... no idea where he'd been lurking. Brown distinguished himself from his copy by looking bruised, dusty, and extremely pissed - I was certainly doing a great job of ensuring none of these guys went easy on me! Both men held shotguns, primed and ready to shoot me. Although at that close range any shots fired would more likely splatter me all over the inside of Walker's impressive vehicle ... not an image I needed in my head right then.
"Doctor Walker would like for you to exit the vehicle," Brown said almost pleasantly. "Doesn't matter to me if you do it – I get to hurt you if you don't cooperate and to tell you the truth I'm almost hoping you don't."
Keeping my eyes on them I slowly opened the driver's door and got out of the car. Mr Brown's cookie cutter colleague grabbed me roughly and turned me so that I was facing away from them. They then proceeded to do something else I'd seen on numerous televisions shows – pushing me harshly up against the car Mr Brown searched me for weapons, even though the bastard knew I didn't have any. And then he handcuffed me – another first I could have done without – before pulling me back around to face them.
"Mr Brown, Mr Smith, take Ms Scott back to her room," Walker ordered in a thick, nasally voice. "We'll let her sleep on it, give her time to consider her circumstances." And then he got right up in my face. "Let us be clear Ms Scott. No one knows you're here and no one is coming for you. If you're hoping for a rescue from your precious Colonel think again. I have created a false trail more than sufficient to fool a military grunt – even one as deceptively intelligent as Colonel Sheppard. Having said that I am prepared to treat you fairly ... if you cooperate."
"Forgive me if I don't believe you," I spat out, trying to jerk my arm out of Brown's grasp.
"You expect retaliation for this?" Walker gestured to his own face almost casually. "And well you should ... a lesson learnt now will ensure mistakes are not made in the future. Brown, Smith – see to it."
And then he walked away, leaving me alone with his grunts. My stomach clenched with fear, made only worse by the anticipatory grin on Brown's face. This was gonna be bad.
oOo
I dragged my feet and made myself as much of a dead weight as I could the whole time Brown and Smith were dragging me across the yard and back into the house. Instead of going up the stairs I knew, we went down a different set to the basement – and what a cliché that was. Yes, they actually had a cell set up down there, complete with chains on the walls and bars on the windows. I didn't get a chance to check out the whole room because Brown tied a blind fold on me as soon as we stepped inside. That was enough to send the fear ratcheting up another notch. I was still trying not to let them see they had me scared, still trying to convince myself they wouldn't do anything too dramatic because they needed me alive and presumably well enough to participate in their little experiments.
And then they switched from the handcuffs to using those wrist restraints I'd glimpsed on the wall. So now I was chained up and blind ... as well as shit scared and probably doing a poor job of hiding it.
"Doctor Walker has already given me carte blanche on any punishments," Brown informed me casually, "as long as I don't do anything that spills too much of that valuable blood of yours."
"Anything you do to me will be done to you tenfold when Colonel Sheppard catches up with you," I promised, proud that my voice shook only slightly. And maybe that was a cliché too – my boyfriend's gonna get you – but I totally believed it. I had to believe it to brace myself for what I feared was coming.
"Ooh I'm scared," Brown laughed, his companion joining in. "I was going to gag you too but your witty little comments, not to mention the screaming you'll be doing soon are too entertaining to miss out on."
"If you bore all the ladies like this then it's no wonder you've been reduced to consorting with the likes of these guys," I taunted stupidly. "Just get on with it already!" I'd gotten into that self destruct mode – you know, where you can't believe the crap coming out of your own mouth but at the same time you can't seem to stop it.
"If you insist," Brown replied snidely. "Mr Smith, perhaps you could begin."
"Sure," Smith's voice was deeper than Browns, less gravelly, but no less frightening, especially when I realised he'd moved silently and was now standing directly in front of me. His breath wafted down the side of my neck as he leant in too close. "You know, you're attractive ... for an Air force whore." He ran a finger down the side of my neck and had me pulling desperately at the chains trying to get away from him. Grabbing my head he forced his lips down on mine in a sickening parody of kissing. Fighting the urge to gag I used the fact that my legs were still free to good purpose, going for half of the SING principle by slamming one foot down on his instep and then punching my knee up into his groin. The sounds of him groaning in pain and writhing on the floor satisfied me at a deeply primal level.
"Not entirely unexpected," Brown laughed at his colleague's condition. "Don't worry – I won't make the mistake of getting that close. Besides, you're not my type!"
"I'm crushed," I spat out.
"You've never heard the one about making more friends with honey than vinegar have you?" Brown laughed again at my futile attempts to pull free from the chains.
"I'm really picky about my friends," I replied grimly. "I kind of like it if they're not psychotic hired grunts incapable of independent thought."
"Enough," Brown said purposefully, obviously tired of humouring me. The feel of his knife slashing a long gash across my right thigh came with no warning. "That's for my head," he ground out as I struggled to contain the overwhelming urge to cry out in pain.
Another slash just below the last registered before I'd dealt with the first one. "And that's for my friend's manhood."
"What, nothing for your boss?" I got out, shifting uncomfortably at the pain but otherwise giving no outward sign that my leg was on fire. The pain was intense, the feeling of blood flowing from both wounds making me shudder weakly inside.
"If this alien DNA you possess is what makes you capable of belligerence under these circumstances I'm not surprised Doctor Walker wants to study you," Brown commented almost academically. Again there was no warning as he drew a painful line of fire across my right cheek just below the cheekbone. "The good doctor prefers a more visible reminder for his retributions," Brown revealed. "You'll see the scar every day for the rest of your life ... however short a life that might be."
This time I said nothing ... I'd either run out of smart arse remarks, or the distraction of trying not to cry like a baby made it impossible for me to think of any.
"Ah, silence at last," Brown laughed. "Mr Smith, perhaps you'd like to make the final comment before we take Ms Scott back to her room."
A fist immediately slammed into my stomach ... I wanted to curl up against the pain but of course I couldn't because I was still chained to the wall.
And then my hands were free and I dropped to the floor, struggling to regain the breath Smith's fist had forced out of me. At that point I did curl up, clutching my stomach as I tried not to vomit. That turned out to be a losing battle and some detached part of my brain wondered if one of these guys would be charged with cleaning up my mess. Before I was ready they dragged me up from the floor and back up the stairs. This time I was a real dead weight, hanging limply from their hold as they 'escorted' me to my room and threw me to the floor inside.
"There's a first aid kit in the bathroom," Brown said before the door closed quietly behind him.
Pushing the blindfold weakly up and off my head I decided it was finally okay to cry. Curling up on the floor where they'd dumped me, I did just that.
Authors Note:
SING – I saw this first in Miss Congeniality although I'm guessing it's a principle wider than just that movie. SING refers to the four sensitive areas of the male body. Solar plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin.
Next Up? "The Other Side of the Story: John's Point of View" Interlude 3 ... probably not tomorrow though ...