Mr. and Mrs. part 15

[kariesue]

.

Chapter 15

xoxoxoxox

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“Make sure you behave this time,” Ronon growled facetiously as John and Teyla gave TJ a kiss goodnight and got ready to leave for the Traynor’s house for the dinner party.

John glared at his friend knowing Rodney had tattled about what had happened a few days earlier at the pool party.  Not that the scientist knew exactly what John and Teyla had done but he had heard enough of the passionate noises to take a really good guess as to what had been going on there throughout the night.

Luckily some of the conversation between Tariq, John and Philip had also gotten captured and filled in a few of the missing pieces of the puzzle.  They now knew Tariq’s full name and had some background on him and what he was most likely going to do with the weapons Philip had arranged for him.   But John had to admit to being a little nervous since the guy was well known for brutality in his own country.  He didn’t even want to think what he would have done with Teyla.  Apparently Charlotte had enjoyed it if her cries of passion were anything to go by.  But then she seemed to like a lot of things that John wouldn’t think were normal.

“We’ll behave,” John snapped at him then looked to where Teyla was giving Torren a last snuggle.  She was wearing a much more conservative dress tonight than the last few times they had seen the Traynors.  It was navy blue silk with thin straps that crisscrossed in the back and a full skirt that floated around her knees.  And she looked absolutely gorgeous as usual.

John looked down at his black dress slacks and white button down, rolled up to his elbows and hoped no one was dressed fancier than this.  He really hated the idea of putting a tie on again.  Hopefully this mission would be over soon and he could go back to his BDU’s.

He gave TJ another snuggle and kiss and took Teyla’s arm to guide her next door.  He wanted this to be the last time they did this.  He could tell she seemed tense this time, more so than any time before and he couldn’t blame her.

Camillia answered the back door when they knocked and she gave them a wry smile.  “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Sherman.  I trust you had a nice time the other night.”

“Oh, yeah, peachy,” John muttered back.  “Would have been nice to have a little more detail as to exactly what wild meant.  We managed to survive though, fairly intact.  Any little surprises tonight that we don’t know about?”

Camillia looked carefully through the doors into the dining room.  “Not that I’m aware of.  I’ve been told to go enjoy myself with your man Lorne once the dishes are cleared.   I think I may do just that.  He and I have fairly similar tastes in movies.”

Some of the noise from the other rooms drifted into the kitchen and Camillia motioned for them to go on through.  “I’m sure Mr. Traynor will offer you a drink before dinner is served, which will be in about thirty minutes.”

“Thank you, Camillia,” Teyla replied sweetly and she and John moved through the doorway.

Philip was again talking to Tariq while Elise chatted with Charlotte and Angelo.  The only other couple there was one he recognized as Philip’s business manager, Stan and his wife, Donna.  John had met them a few times but hadn’t really had an opportunity to speak to them much.

Elise looked up when they walked in and immediately smiled a warm and welcoming smile.  She excused herself and moved quickly to their side.

“Teyla, John, I’m so glad you came tonight.  I hope this will be a little more to your liking than the last one.”

“We are happy to be here, Elise,” Teyla told her though John could tell that Elise still doubted her.

“Can I get you both a drink?”

Teyla smiled but declined.  “My stomach was not well this morning and so I think I will forgo alcohol tonight.  Perhaps just some iced tea or water with lemon.”

“Of course,” Elise agreed and looked at John for his request.

“Maybe I’ll join my wife in some iced tea if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll go have Camillia put some out.  It’ll just be a few minutes.”

Elise hustled into the kitchen and Charlotte made her way over to greet them.  John stepped closer to Teyla and placed his arm around her shoulder.  He would try and avoid her hand on his ass if at all possible tonight.  Teyla seemed to read his mind and slipped her arm around his back and hooked her thumb through his belt loop.

“John, Teyla,” Charlotte gushed.  “It’s so great seeing you so often; yesterday at playgroup and the day before at the pool party.  I hoped you enjoyed yourself.  I know you were a little shy about indulging like the rest of us but you seemed very comfortable with each other in the pool.  Maybe next time we can get you to loosen up a bit and really enjoy the company.”

“Thanks for the invite,” John replied as pleasant as he could manage with this woman, “but it’s not really our thing.”

Charlotte shrugged one elegantly bare shoulder.  “Your loss.”

Elise came back in at that moment and John could have kissed her.  “Camillia just brought some fresh iced tea and it’s on the table.  Would you like me to get you a glass?”

“Thank you, Elise,” Teyla responded as she touched the woman’s arm.  “But we will help ourselves.  Please do not feel you must serve us.”

John grinned at Teyla’s ability to get them away from Charlotte.  Although he had to admit there weren’t a whole lot of people to socialize with tonight.  A few more couples had made their way in but it still was a small affair.  Maybe they could hang out with Elise.  She seemed the best one of the bunch.

But socialization didn’t last long as Camillia came in a short time later and announced dinner was being served.  John had to chuckle at how subservient this woman was and knew it must be killing the agent who probably just wanted to kick ass.  He figured she must be chomping at the bit to get this assignment over with too so she could get back to what she did before she spent seven months being a cook for this rich, pampered couple.

Dinner was great and he made sure to thank Camillia several times and he tried not to grin at her when he gave her the compliments.  But he knew he was getting on her nerves when she accidentally bumped him in the back of the head with a serving tray.  She apologized profusely but John saw the twinkle in her eyes as she did.  He wondered if he could get her to give up her job and join the Atlantis team.  He could use someone with her spirit and dedication, though she wasn’t military.  But then neither was Ronon or Teyla and they fit in perfectly.

More drinks were served and conversation started up between John, Tariq, Philip, Angelo and Stan while the others moved slightly away to have their own conversations.

“I’ve got some of the logistics sketched out on my laptop,” Philip informed the group as they discussed the deal they were cooking.  “Let’s go into my office and take a look.”

John happily followed and they spent the next twenty minutes gathered around Philip’s laptop on his desk in his office checking out plans.  John made sure to pipe in what he would contribute and how and asked relevant questions.  He especially wanted to know how and where the guns were coming into.

“I’ll bring you over there in the morning, John,” Philip suggested.  “You probably don’t know the area all that well and it can be pretty confusing with all the different warehouses that are nearby.”

John noticed Philip skim over a few files but also noticed they had the same code name as what they’d been looking at.  He knew he needed to get a better look at that and wondered if he could slip back in here later and take a peek.  He’d been diligent in noticing Philip’s password when he entered it into the laptop.  And he just happened to have a flash drive in his pocket for just such occasions.

The men finished their conversation and went back into the living room to congregate with the others again and Elise put some soft music on in the background.  John immediately closed in on Teyla and pulled her into his arms and began to sway to the music.

“I need to get into his office again to check a few of his computer files.   He’s got stuff on there that I think is vital to this case,” John whispered in her ear as they moved softly in each other’s arms.

“We will watch for an opportunity and I will assist you in not being seen.”

John pressed his lips quickly to hers and mouthed, “You’re the best.”

They spent the next hour chatting with the other couples there and at one point John noticed that Philip seemed in a very deep discussion with Tariq once again.  He decided to make his move.

He guided Teyla to the drinks table which was near the door to the hallway and poured her another iced tea.  He had been having the same all night though he had made sure to look like he was spiking it with booze so no one suspected he wasn’t as sloshed as most of the other guests.

After refilling their glasses he snuggled her against him and kissed her soundly then slowly eased her back so they were in the hall.  The office was the next door down and they quickly slid inside, John immediately going over to the computer.  Luckily it was still on and only needed the password entered to bring up his screen.  John accomplished this with ease, Teyla standing near the door.

It took John a few minutes to find the files he was looking for and he quickly added them to his flash drive.  He grabbed a few more that looked like possibly interesting ones.  He continued to check to see if there was anything he missed when Teyla ran to the desk and frantically whispered, “Someone is coming!”

John quickly whipped the flash drive out of the computer and pocketed it then closed the laptop.  As they heard the door open, John pushed Teyla back on the desk and slid one of her straps down to attach his lips to her throat.  Teyla immediately understood what he was doing and raised her legs to wrap around his waist and reached for his belt.

The door opened that second and Philip gave a startled exclamation.  “Oh, John, Teyla, …?”

They both flashed guilty eyes at him as John straightened up and lifted Teyla’s strap up over her shoulder again.  He then rebuckled his belt.  Teyla slid off the table and flushed red as she brushed her skirt over her knees again.

“Philip,” John tried to slur his words so the man thought he had imbibed in a few too many.  “Sorry, man, I just sometimes get these urges and thought a little quickie might keep me in check until we can get back home.”

Teyla played her part and smiled and giggled as if she had also had too much to drink.  “John!”

Philip just shook his head and grinned.  “The guest bedroom’s down the hall if you really need it now.  It might be more comfortable than the desk.”

John smiled sheepishly then moved toward the door, Teyla right in front of him.  As he passed Philip, he confided, “Teyla just really likes living dangerously and doing it in atypical places.  Again, sorry.”

“No problem, John,” Philip waved off then watched as John closed the door behind him.  Philip walked over to his computer and opened the top.  He checked on a few things then started to close it when he noticed something off.   It wasn’t much but one of the files was in the wrong order.  He wondered if he had moved it when he’d opened it up last but he didn’t remember doing that.

He looked up and toward the door where Sherman and his wife had just left and a thought came to him.  He opened the top drawer remembering something.  They had found a necklace by the pool the other day and Elise thought it might be Teyla’s.

Now that he thought back he remembered her wearing it when she was in the pool but why would she have taken it off when she and her husband had started having sex?  That made him more than a little curious.  He opened another drawer and took out a magnifying glass and carefully studied the crystal on the middle of the necklace.

His mouth tightened as his eyes narrowed and he knew he had a bit of thinking and planning to do.

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“We should probably head home, too,” John said to Philip as Elise showed the last of the guests to the door.  It was a little after midnight and he and Teyla were the last ones to leave.

“Actually, John, I wanted to show you something,” Philip told him as he put his glass down on the coffee table and stood up.  “This might be important for our meeting with the supplier tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” John agreed and followed the man to his office.  Maybe he would give him some information on who this mystery supplier was.  That was the information they really needed before they closed this case up.  They certainly had enough evidence to convict Traynor but without his supplier, this misappropriation of weapons could continue with someone else.

John entered the office and looked curiously at Philip when he locked the door behind him.  He swallowed hard and tried to appear casual as Philip walked over to the desk.  He opened the laptop then reached inside one of the drawers.  John expected to see a file or some sort of disc but when Philip’s hand came up and in it was a handgun, John’s heart almost stopped and he knew he was screwed.

“Philip,” he asked innocently, “What’s that for?  I swear Teyla and I didn’t actually get very far on your desk.  Heck, I’ll buy you a new desk if it’s that big a problem.”

“You know, John,” Philip started casually but John had a feeling he was anything but casual, “I really bought the whole picture.  Your international connections, the foreign wife, every little thing was done just perfect.”

John’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement and he wondered how the hell he could play this and not end up dead.  “Philip, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Philip moved closer and pointed the gun at John and indicated he sit on the couch against the wall.  John’s wary eyes never left the weapon as he did what he was told.

“I really fell for the whole package deal, even up to the point of walking in on you and Teyla in here on my desk.  But you made a little mistake, my friend and I’ll tell you what is was.  There was one file in there that hadn’t automatically been put in alphabetical order yet.  When you opened my files and called them up then shut them down, the computer did it automatically.  I almost didn’t notice.”

Philip reached behind him on the desk while still keeping the gun trained on John.  He held up his hand and John saw Teyla’s spy necklace dangling from his fingers.

“Elise found this by the pool the other day and I didn’t really give it any thought.  I put it in my desk drawer to keep it safe but after you and Teyla walked out of here, my mind started thinking back to a few days ago.  I didn’t understand why Teyla would wear the necklace into the pool but then take it off when the two of you started getting hot and heavy.”

Philip lifted the chain and let it swing a few times.  “Then I took a little closer look at this piece of jewelry and you know what I found?”

John’s jaw clenched and he remained silent.  There was no use pretending anymore.  He knew what the man had found.

“This intriguing piece of jewelry has some very intricate circuits inside it.  I don’t think they work anymore because I stuck a screwdriver in the back.  Although I’m assuming no one was watching on this one right now since you haven’t had it for a few days.  Did you get in trouble for losing it?  I can imagine your superiors might be a bit upset at a nice piece of technology like this going astray.”

John wondered if he could try and overpower the man but from his sitting position and Philip’s standing, with a weapon pointed right at him, Traynor definitely had the upper hand.  So he remained where he was and hoped Teyla would get suspicious and come to his rescue.   Although the more he thought about it he actually hoped Teyla would just leave for home and get Ronon and Lorne.  He didn’t want her getting hurt and even though she was a force to be reckoned with, she still couldn’t outrun a bullet anymore than he could.

John started to reach over to try and touch his watch to send Rodney a picture of Traynor holding the gun on him, though he wasn’t sure McKay was still up.  The night had been fairly calm and he may have just left his computer to do all the work.

But Traynor was watching him like a hawk and immediately shouted, “Stop!  Put your hands on your head.”

John carefully lifted his hands and rested them on his head as Traynor unstrapped his watch and removed it.  He then dropped it on the floor and stepped on it hard.

“Can’t take any chances.  But now I’m wondering what exactly I should do with you.  And I guess I’ll have to do something with your wife too.  Is she even your wife?  Or just another agent who doesn’t mind fucking you for the job?”

John sucked in a deep breath as his jaw clenched tighter.  He didn’t like Traynor maligning Teyla that way but knew anything he said would probably just get him in more hot water.  He was boiling enough already.

Traynor backed up a bit and pulled open another drawer and withdrew some handcuffs. He smiled rather crudely as he threw them next to John.

“I keep these for when I want a little fun with the cleaning staff.  There are a few girls who really like that kind of thing.”  He wrinkled his nose.  “Elise wants nothing to do with it so I save it for others.  Seems they’ve come in handy.  Put one on your wrist and snap it tight.”

John slowly did as told and spit out, “You really are a pig, you know that.”

Philip just snorted with derision.  “Put your hands behind your back and move them close together.”  Philip pushed him up a bit with his non gun hand and reached down to attach the second cuff to John’s other hand.  John knew he was now royally screwed.  He’d never be able to do anything with his hands bound this way.

The man then pushed John on his back and patted him down, reaching in his pocket when he felt the flash drive.  He almost snarled as he pulled it out and stuck it in his laptop.

“You got anything to say for yourself, Sherman?  Of course I’m sure that’s really not even your name.  What is it?  Do you want to share it with me now?”

John just snarled at him, “Go to hell.”

“After you,” Philip responded politely as he shut down his laptop again.  “You know you’ve really screwed up this deal, John.  I had big plans and you’re sending them down the toilet.  That really doesn’t make me very happy at all.  You should know by now that I really hate not getting my way.”

Traynor moved toward the door saying, “Maybe we should get your wife in here and see if she has anything to say about this whole situation.”

“No!” John called out hoping to spare Teyla though he seriously doubted Traynor would listen.  But it was worth a try.  “She doesn’t know anything about this.  Tell her to go home and I’ll go wherever you want.  But leave her out of this.”

Traynor chuckled an evil laugh.  “Do you really expect me to believe she isn’t in on this little sting operation?  She was the one wearing the little video spy cam.   And now that I think back she asked Elise so many questions and was so curious about all that we did.  Maybe not just curiosity about this country, huh?”

Philip unlocked and opened the door and called out, “Teyla, can you join us for a minute?”

He pushed John up to a sitting position again then turned as Teyla walked.  He had lowered the gun to his side so she couldn’t see it at first.

“May I help you with something, Philip?” Teyla asked as she came into the room, Elise right behind her.

“Close the door, Elise,” Philip ordered, his tone firm and demanding.

Elise seemed puzzled but did as asked.  “These people are tired, Philip.  Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

Philip raised the gun and pointed it at Teyla.  “No, it really can’t.”

“What!” Elise squeaked as she saw the weapon. “Philip, what are you doing?  Where did you get that?”

Philip’s mouth twisted into a sadistic smirk.  “Seems our friends here aren’t really who they seem to be.  And they want to take all this away from us.  I for one don’t want to let them.”

Elise’s eyes opened wide with fear but John wondered if it was fear of them taking everything away or fear of what her husband seemed to be doing right now.

“There must be some mistake, Philip.  Put the gun away and let’s forget all about this.  John, Teyla, you’ll forgive him, right?  He’s been under a bit of stress lately due to some business problems.”  Elise’s voice was desperate and panicked.

“Oh, shut up, Elise!” Philip snapped out then waved the gun at Teyla and ordered, “Sit down. I need to think.”

Teyla sat next to John and threw him a worried look.  She glanced behind his back and he shook his hands to show her they were bound.  He wouldn’t be much help in a fight.

“I’m fine, sweetie,” John whispered to assure her and saw Philip glare at them.

“Oh, you can drop the act,” Philip snarled as he threw another set of handcuffs to Teyla and ordered her to put them on.

“Where did you get those, Philip?” Elise asked scandalized as Teyla slipped her hands into the cuffs.

She had put them on the front and waited for Philip to tell her to change them to the back like John.  He didn’t.  Apparently he didn’t think Teyla was as big a threat as John was.  Wouldn’t he be surprised, although with handcuffs neither one of them would be much good.

“Your husband uses them for his kinky sex life with the cleaning staff,” John informed her.

Elise’s eyes grew dark but certainly not surprised.  Philip walked toward John and backhanded him across the face.  “You feel like doing some talking, how about you tell me what agency you work for and what exactly they know about me.”

John shrugged innocently.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Philip backhanded him again, John’s head swiveling back with the blow.  Elise flinched and cried out as he did it again.

“Philip, stop!  What are you doing?  This is crazy!”

“Shut up, Elise, or I’ll find a pair of cuffs for you and add some duct tape to your mouth.”

Elise shut up and John saw the fear in her eyes.  Apparently she knew her husband wasn’t kidding.  Philip shoved the gun against John’s head and looked at Teyla.

“So, Teyla, maybe you want to be a little more talkative than your ‘husband’.  Who do you work for and what kind of information do they have on me?  If I don’t get some answers soon, I’ll just have to blow a little hole in John’s head.”

Teyla’s jaw grew tight and John interrupted.  “You’re not gonna shoot me here, Philip, so you can cut the tough guy act.  Your kids are upstairs along with the nanny and my staff would hear the gunshots from my house.  You know if you just surrender right now and are willing to give up your supplier in the military then maybe we can cut a little deal for you.  You know, you help us and we help you. Interested?”

Philip snorted.  “Yeah, I give you my supplier and then you hang me out to dry along with him.  No, I think I’ll go with killing you and your partner here and hiding your bodies where no one will find them.  But I still need to know who you work for?”

He moved over to Teyla and stuck the gun in her face.  “Just curious, are you really from Tanzania?”

“No,” Teyla replied honestly.  “Though I am not from your country either.”

“She’s from another planet,” John filled in with a grin.  “One in a galaxy far, far away.  And her people don’t take kindly to anyone hurting her, so really …  you should just give yourself up, it’s your only hope, Obi Wan.”

Philip gritted his teeth at John’s baiting and blew out a big breath of air.  “”You’re right, John, I really can’t get any information from you here.  Which means we’ll need to take a little trip.  Get up!”

Teyla rose easily but with John’s hands behind his back it took a few more seconds for him to slide to the edge of the couch and stand.  As they did, Philip came a bit closer and leaned in toward Teyla, looking at her earrings.

John knew she had turned them off after their initial perusal of the guests but he was hoping that if they went missing, Rodney would turn them back on from his location.  Now it looked as if that might not happen.  And sure enough, Philip scowled as he reached up and pulled the wires from Teyla’s ears.  He dropped the pair on the floor and stomped on them as he did John’s watch.

“You people are just covered with technology aren’t you?  Anything else I should know about?  Maybe I should just check for myself.”

Philip moved closer and with a smirk patted Teyla down over all of her curves and even reached under her dress to check that she had nothing strapped to her thighs.  He could see Teyla tense and grit her teeth as he did this and John muttered a string of expletives that made Philip smile even wider.

“Don’t like me touching the little woman, John?” Philip suggested smugly then pushed them toward the door, Elise standing there with her mouth wide open.

“What are you going to do, Philip?”

“We,” he emphasized the word, “are going to take them on a little trip.  Claire is with the kids so they should be fine until we can get back here.  And you’ll shut up and do as I say if you want to keep your luxury lifestyle the way it is.  If you don’t then I can just dump you in the trunk of the car and keep you there until this is all over.”

Elise’s eyes went bigger than ever and John saw how scared she was.  It seemed this woman knew perfectly well what her husband was capable of.   The question was would she go along with it or maybe give them a hand.  He could tell she was horrified but she was also terrified and he wondered which emotion would win out, if any.

Philip hustled them outside and John thought about shouting out but Traynor had his gun trained right on Teyla and John didn’t want to take any chances.  The man made Elise get in the driver’s side of the car with John and Teyla in the back seat while he sat up front in the passenger’s seat with the gun pointed back at them.  John wondered what he thought they could possibly do with their hands cuffed together.

John had looked around frantically as they got in the car wondering where Lorne and Ronon were.  But Amelia’s rooms faced the other side of the house and Lorne’s faced the back.  Unless they were looking out another window they probably wouldn’t suspect anything from a car starting up.  Many cars had been driving away the last hour or so with the other guests leaving.

But it was getting late and he hoped that soon they would be missed and someone would come looking for them.  He had no doubt Lorne and Ronon would get on the hunt right away if they actually realized they were missing but he wondered if they’d be able to figure out where they had gone.  All their little gadgets had been located and crushed but they still had their sub-q’s and if the Apollo hadn’t left orbit yet, they’d be able to locate them easily from above.

As Philip gave Elise stilted directions through the darkened night, John leaned over and rested his head against Teyla’s.  “Are you okay?” he breathed out softly.

Teyla looked at him and nodded then lifted her face to allow her lips to press against his, her hands rising to rest on his chest.  John closed his eyes tight and responded to her kiss, gently and sweetly.  He cared so much for this woman and he was scared to death something would happen to her.  He knew he would fight to the end to keep her safe but he wasn’t sure how successful he’d be with his hands cuffed behind his back.  He could feel her anxiety as well and tried to reassure her with softly spoken words.

“You’ll be fine, I promise.”

Philip turned around again after giving Elise more directions and groaned.  “The jigs up.  You two can cut the act; unless you really are a couple.  That would be interesting and possibly helpful.  I’ll have to think about that.”

John understood what Philip was implying so straightened up and pushed himself away from Teyla.  He hated to do it since he didn’t know how much longer they’d have together but he didn’t want Traynor to get any more ideas of using them against each other.

Soon enough they were pulling up to a building and Traynor got out and pulled John out behind him.  He ordered Elise to help Teyla out then marched them all inside the big warehouse.  John had been trying to keep track of exactly where they had gone but San Francisco wasn’t exactly well known to him, especially this dockside warehouse section.  He hoped Elise knew where they were and would try and get some help for them.  But he and Teyla needed to somehow talk to her and convince her it was what she needed to do.  She seemed petrified of Philip and what he would do.

Philip turned on a few lights as they walked through the large empty building then opened a door and shoved John inside.  John stumbled and fell to his knees as Teyla and Elise walked in after them.  Teyla rushed to John’s side and helped him to his feet then they both stood looking at the angry man who held their future in his hands.

Philip didn’t seem like he was all that certain of what he wanted to do so he looked around and grabbed two of the metal chairs that were near the desk near the wall.  He slid them to the middle of the room and ordered them to sit down.  John watched as the man ran his hands through his immaculately coifed hair and paced a bit.  He saw his wife standing nervously near the door and yelled, “Sit down on the couch and rest for a little Elise.  We’re gonna be here for a while.”

“Philip, I can’t ….” Elise started to complain but Philip just blew up at her.

“I said sit down and shut up!”  Elise followed his orders immediately, her eyes filled with fear.

She cast a glance at Teyla and John who sat next to each other facing away from the door, their eyes also anxious and worried.  John tried to catch her eye but she looked away almost guiltily.   John didn’t know what she had to be guilty for, she wasn’t the one waving a gun and threatening to kill them.

Philip took another deep breath and moved to stand in front of John.  “I’m gonna try this again.  You tell me what I want to know and I may not kill you.  I can keep you locked up here for a few days until I get my assets in order and move us down to South America.  Elise always did like our little place on the coast.   Just think, honey,” Philip’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “you can bask in the sun all year long if we live down there.”

He then turned toward John again and added, “And no extradition in that country.  Sorry.”

“Now,” he started again and shoved the gun right into John’s cheek, “Who do you work for?”

John’s mouth twisted into a crooked smile and he just shrugged.  Philip’s jaw tightened and he smashed the weapon against John’s head.  John’s head snapped back and he let out a small groan as both Teyla and Elise cried out with concern.

Philip let go again and again until John’s head was lolling to the side and his eyes were barely open.  Blood dripped from cuts to his forehead, cheeks and lips.  Philip was raging and spittle dripped from his lips.  “Tell me, dammit!”

Elise by this time was hunched in a ball on the couch trembling and Teyla was clenching her jaw as she watched the man she loved abused this way.  John was attempting to raise his head and glare at Traynor as he lifted his hand to strike again.

One more blow smashed across John’s face as Philip bellowed, “Damn you’re stubborn!  Why the hell won’t you just tell me what I want to know?”

John gave a raspy cough and choked out, “Because you didn’t say please.”

Philip’s eyes narrowed and his hand flew one more time knocking John completely out of the chair and onto the floor.  Elise made to get up but Philip threw a deadly look at her and she shrank back into her crouched position.

“Get up!” Traynor screamed and Teyla feared the man was losing it.  She did not think he had ever entertained the thought that he would be found out in his illicit business transactions and the idea of it was making him illogical.

John rolled over and managed to shrug onto his knees where he paused to catch his breath.  He had blood dripping from his mouth and Teyla could see he was more than a little shaky.  Her fears were starting to grow as she realized that no help was coming and their options for escape were limited.  She thought of Torren who was sleeping soundly at the place they had come to call home for the past five weeks.  If she and John did not come back then he would be left without anyone to parent him.

She knew Ronon, Rodney and Jennifer would absolutely take care of him but it was still not the same as his mother.  And none of them was as close to the child as John was.  She watched carefully as John stumbled to his feet finally and tried to gain his balance.  She saw him throw a tiny glance in her direction and wondered how unstable he truly was or if he was just putting on a show for Philip.

She found out soon enough when John took a wobbly step toward the chair he’d been in and plowed straight into Philip knocking him back a few steps.  Teyla immediately launched herself out of the chair and swung her clasped hands in the direction of his head.  She managed a good clip but felt she had not gotten the leverage that was truly needed to render them man unconscious.

Philip staggered back a few steps but somehow managed to grab her hair to pull her close and slip his left hand around her throat.  His right hand held the gun to her temple.

“Enough!” he roared.  “Or she gets a bullet in the head.”

That was enough to make John back off from where he was planning on kicking out at Philip.  He threw anxious eyes at Teyla and panted, “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.  Just leave her alone.”

Traynor’s eyes ran frantically around the room then he nodded at his wife.  “Elise, pick up that rag on the floor by the filing cabinet.  Tie his hands to the back of the chair so he doesn’t get any more stupid ideas.”

Elise merely shuddered and shook until he screamed, “Do it or I’ll splatter her brains all over the floor and you’ll have to watch.”

Elise scrambled to grab the rag and waited for John to sit back in the chair.  She looped the fabric through his handcuffs then around the middle rung and tied a knot.  John tested the strength and knew she hadn’t really tied it too tight but he struggled a little to make Traynor think that she had.

Philip slipped his hand from Teyla’s throat and trailed it down her chest making sure John saw exactly what he was doing.  He kept the gun to her head and held her against him closer and rubbed his groin against her backside.

“Get your hands off her, you slimy piece of dirt!” John growled low and dangerously.

Teyla struggled as Philip continued his exploration but he just seemed to become more excited as she moved against him.

“I can see why you didn’t take the others up on their offers, John.  She sure does feel sweet and there’s nothing fake or artificial about her.  Everything she has Mother Nature gave her.  Now the two of you are going to sit quietly and not move or I swear I’ll just shoot you both and dump your bodies in the harbor.”

Philip tossed Teyla in the direction of her chair and she sat quietly, her gaze going right to John’s battered face.  Philip sat in the chair in front of the desk and glared at the two who were causing him such trouble.  But when Teyla twisted sideways in her seat to get a better look at John, Philip just closed his eyes and rested his head against his clenched hands.  Teyla moved even closer and lifted her bound hands to gently touch John’s cheek.

Traynor continued to keep his head down, though every now and then he lifted it slightly to check them but he didn’t yell anymore or ask them any questions or tell them to stop touching.   He just sat as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders and they knew it really was.  The man was used to having his own way about things and it had all just gone to hell in a hand basket.

The next few hours passed uneventfully as Elise alternated between shivering in her huddled position and sleeping.  Philip kept his head in his hands for much of the time but also left the room a few times, locking the door behind him.  John could hear him talking in the hallway and figured he was making some phone calls.  He wished he could hear what was being said but knew it probably wouldn’t matter anyway.

One of the times that Traynor left the room, Teyla had scooted her chair right up next to John and leaned her body against him.  She rested her head on his shoulder and he pressed kisses against her hair then let his own head lay against hers.  When Traynor came back in Teyla was afraid he would make them split apart but he merely sighed and went back to resting against the desk.

The next time he left, John whispered as loudly as he dared to Elise who had just shifted on her makeshift bed.  When she turned sad eyes on them he pleaded, “Elise, you need to help us.  Just pick up the phone on the desk and call our house.  Let them know where we are.”

“I…  I can’t,” she stammered with fear plainly evident in her expression.  “He’ll kill me.  Then who’ll take care of my children?  I don’t want them raised by that monster.”

Teyla used her own miserable eyes to get the woman to understand.  “And what of Torren?  Is he to be left without parents?”

Elise looked startled for a second.  “Is he really yours?”

“Yes,” Teyla whispered back painfully but broke off as the door opened and Philip walked back in.

Elise immediately curled up into her protective ball again and tried to keep from looking at the couple sitting resting against each other. She knew now that they really weren’t who they said they were.  But she wondered if they actually were a couple.  She didn’t know how they couldn’t be.  It was very obvious they were deeply in love.  And they both loved that little boy.  Elise had seen that much.

She had tried so hard for so long to not see what she had been married to.  But now it was being presented to her in a very clear manner.  Philip was a beast.  He had been vicious to John, beating him unmercifully.  But in his favor he hadn’t really physically hurt Teyla, just manhandled her a bit.  And she honestly didn’t think he would resort to beating a woman but she wouldn’t put it past him to have someone else do it.  And she had a bad feeling that one of his phone calls had been to Tariq.

She shivered when she thought of him and what had happened the one time she had reluctantly agreed to be with him so Philip could close a deal.  The man was hardly gentle and she saw the cruelty in his eyes as he had taken her forcefully and without remorse in a very rough manner.   She didn’t imagine he would be gentle when dealing with two people who were obviously here to stop their illegal activities.

And Elise had to admit that maybe she had known, somewhere deep inside, that Philip may have walked a fine line between legal and illegal.  But she liked her lifestyle, was used to being taken care of her whole life and she was scared of even thinking of being out on her own.

But now she wasn’t sure what to think.  She had been able to brush off Philip’s little affairs and sexual liaisons but to actually threaten to kill someone.  And then poor John, the man’s face was a pile of bruises and cuts.  Philip had been relentless.  It was a side of her husband she had never seen.

Elise casually glanced around the room and saw the phone sitting on the desk.  She wished she had thought to take her purse.  Her cell phone was in it.  Not that Philip would have allowed her to use it but it would have been a little easier to hide and perhaps take and use in the restroom.

An idea popped into her head and she sat up and looked at Philip.  “Philip, do you have a restroom in this place.  I really need to use it, please.”

She kept her voice very soft and subservient knowing her husband hated dominance in women and was more likely to grant her request if she spoke that way.

Sure enough he looked up at her and sighed.  “It’s down this hallway at the end.  And don’t even think about going anywhere, Elise.  I know you too well and will hunt you down and take the kids from you and you’ll never see them again.  Don’t think I won’t do it.”

Elise moved toward the door and said, “I’ll just use the bathroom and be right back.”

Elise crept softly down the hall and did use the toilet but then peeked inside a few of the other rooms.  As she walked she noticed a phone on a desk by a wall near the door to the warehouse section.  She cautiously stepped toward it intending to call the house and talk to Camillia.  She could get a message to Lorne and hopefully get them out of this mess.

She was almost to the phone when she heard the outer door open.  Her eyes flashed up quickly and she took a few steps back near the bathroom.  Her luck, John and Teyla’s luck, had just run out.  Tariq was here.

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xoxoxoxox

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go to part 16:
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