"You were right, Dr. McKay really does prefer blondes," Kate says, smiling as she pulls off her gloves – they're silky and black and they come up to her elbows – just the way Dr. McKay likes it. He doesn't like to be touched, skin on skin, except where it's absolutely necessary. He wouldn't even kiss her – something about the kiss of death or other such nonsense. Classic narcissistic paranoia. She's not surprised. If she'd known him, even long before, she might have predicted all of this.

Radek looks up from the papers he's working on, barely noticing her. "Ruler of the known world and he will still come in his pants if beautiful woman gives him time of day." He shakes his head.

Kate frowns. He should give her a little more credit than that. After all, everyone knows that Dr. McKay hasn't taken the time to pick out a bride, or in the very least a respectable harem because he's married to his work. Or his paranoia. "It wasn't easy, you know." She slinks over to him, dropping the gloves on the table as she makes her way over. "You weren't just asking some high class whore."

"Yes, yes, I know, I ask trained psychiatrist." Radek, it seems, is also married to his work. Kate wouldn't expect anything less from Dr. McKay's second in command. "Besides, whore would be too obvious."

"Yes, it would." Kate moves around behind him, reaching out to knead the tight muscles of his shoulder blades. "You seem tense."

"And you were supposed to be an idealist," Radek responds, still not looking up. Kate tries to check out the papers he's working on, just in case things go south and their little plan is exposed – she needs a bargaining chip.

"Don't bother. Written in Czech."

Kate sighs, walking back around to sit herself on the corner of his desk. At least maybe that way he'll look at her.

"You got it, yes?"

Kate sighs, reaching into her bra to pull out the thin chain and the flat crystal attached to the end. "Right here."

"Good. That will be all, thank you," Radek remarks.

Well, this is going to take a little more effort than she'd anticipated as well. Kate plasters on her biggest smile. "I agree with your cause, Radek. I'm not just a warm body for hire. I don't think that chair and the associated weaponry should go into anyone's hands, let alone a man like Dr. McKay."

Radek looks up then, eyes trailing briefly over her body before meeting her eyes. "Rodney is no different than any of us – a scientist, with an academic's ego, ill-equipped to deal with the power handed to him."

Stockholm syndrome – identification with your captor. "But you won't do the same, will you?"

Radek shakes his head. "I cannot operate the chair." He smiles. "The man I have chosen as my deputy is a medical doctor."

Kate nods. Radek is the exact kind of wise they have all been waiting for. "You are scared of your own power?"

"I would be a fool not to be."

"You'd be a fool anyway," a voice booms from out of the shadows. Kate spins around so fast she almost falls off the desk.

Kate doesn't need to see the figure to recognize the voice. "General Sheppard." The man slinks out of the shadows, wearing black from spiked hair to combat boots.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," the voice responds. Sheppard is the classic Peter Pan. Even when he's murdering and torturing in McKay's name, he does it with a laugh and a grin on his face.

"What are you doing here, Sheppard?" Radek asks, calmly. "I thought Rodney sent you out to take care of that uprising in Siberia."

Sheppard laughs. "Come on, Radek. You of all people should know that Rodney would never send me to Siberia. You, maybe. In fact, you'd be lucky right now if that's what he'll decide to do."

Radek looks back down at his papers. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sheppard. What does McKay do last time you accuse me? Oh, yes, he sends you off to finish war in Iraq. Had fun there, didn't you?"

Sheppard looks away a bit at that, eyes going dazed for just a second. Interesting. Kate had always thought of Sheppard as this invincible madman – unshakable and deadly, the only one of McKay's soldiers not constantly hyped-up on tretonin. It's good to know that there are some things left in this world that can still get to him.

"Rodney apologized for that. Besides, it's not every day a man gets to single-handedly win a war." Sheppard shrugs. "Well, not since Rambo. But, how about we cut the crap, Radek? Maybe that time I was getting a little trigger-happy. I'm not too big a man to admit my mistakes. But there's a difference between then and now. You see, then you were just setting a trap for would be revolutionaries under Rodney's instructions. Now, you are the revolutionaries."

Sheppard stalks over, making Kate flinch as he pulls the access crystal out of her hand. "Naughty, naughty. You don't think Rodney's so stupid as to fall for a beautiful head of hair and little flattery do you? It's a bit naïve, even for you, Radek" He takes the crystal, lays it down on the table and then smashes it with the butt of his pistol. "But what's even more naïve is that you think I need a goddamned crystal to operate the chair weapon."

This, finally, finally gets Radek's attention. "What?"

"I've got the gene, Radek – the strongest gene out there. Even if you did get poor bumbling Carson Beckett into that thing, it wouldn't respond to him. We've recoded it to respond to me only."

"And Rodney's not concerned that you might turn against him?"

Sheppard actually laughs at that, throwing his head back long enough for Kate to shift her hand back to her own thigh, right next to the miniature revolver she keeps fastened under her dress there. She can feel the tretonin thrumming through her, making her itch for action. But she has to wait for her chance, wait until Sheppard's got his own gun pointed away from Radek.

"I take that as a ‘no,' then," Radek grumbles.

"Why would I ever betray Rodney? After all he's done for this planet. Sure, we've made some mistakes, Radek – everyone does. But in the period of a couple of years we've virtually eliminated domestic war and soon we'll be ready to take on the Ori. Rodney's doing the right thing, Radek. I thought you knew that."

"Sheppard . . ."

"Shhh . . . Radek, it's okay. You just have to trust us."

"Like you've trusted me?"

"Come on. Rodney's an important guy. We have to be careful. Look, just don't make me kill you, okay? Come willingly and I'll make sure Rodney will be lenient."

"And her?" Radek asks, looking over towards Kate.

Sheppard shrugs. "I don't care either way. What's a whore like that going to do to people like us?"

Kate shifts forward at this, pulling her skirt up almost to where she can reach the gun. "Hey, I'm not just some nameless . . ."

Radek swears in Czech, but Sheppard is smiling, turning towards here. "So you'd rather be exiled to . . ."

He doesn't have time to finish, because by the time he's got the gun pointed at her, she's already drawn and fired, the tretonin washing through her like pride.

"Good job," Radek says, bending down and removing a silver chain from around Sheppard's neck. "I knew Rodney would never be so stupid as to carry the real crystal on his person." He pulls out a handkerchief. "Now, it is a shame it had to get so bloody."