*******This is a quick one-shot based on a prompt by Raine2460**********
MacGyver winced as laying flat on the rocky ledge aggravated the bruises on his chest and abdomen. He wiped at the horseshoe gash over his forehead that kept leaking blood into his eyes. He frowned. It was weird to break into a place he'd just escaped from, but there was no way he was going to leave his partner and best friend behind.
Mac had long ago learned that when a mission went to crap for him and Jack, it usually went to hell fast and hard. This wasn't Cairo bad, but close enough. They had been tasked with breaking into a compound and destroy the computer servers of a particularly nasty supremacist group that had a computer virus set up to crash the worldwide bank. Riley had been back at ops holding the virus at bay so they were on the clock.
Mac built an ad hoc EMP device, but it was more of a small bomb than a cannon. He'd snuck into the server room while Jack led the guards on a 'merry chase' as Jack insisted on calling it. Mac had managed to destroy the servers and escape, after a few bruising fights and was at the rendezvous point for half an hour before he crept to a ledge that was about 100 feet over the compound. He had watched in horror as Jack, evidently on his final run out had gotten caught, beaten then dragged unresponsive back into the compound.
Mac frowned. From his vantage point, he could see the candy cane shape of a duct vent, not the most comfortable way in but he could make it work. Getting out would be more difficult, but not impossible. The servers were probably still on fire or they'd be trying to get something running to launch their virus. They had sent out a time clock and if they didn't make it they'd lose terrorist cred.
The main obstacles were the two guards on the roof. They were not very attentive grouping together to smoke or talk. They assumed no one could get on the roof, and as Mac's eyes scanned his environment, he saw very little in the way of a solution. There was a small sappling as wide as his thigh that would either bend or break to slow his descent-Mac corrected himself, fall, but that would leave a good 20-foot drop onto the wooden roof. He would not be able to land, fight the guards then get into the vent before other guards would come swarming, especially since they were now on high alert. Mac huffed, he needed a diversion.
Then he and Jack had to find a way out, then their specially made dirt bikes were two miles behind them and Mac could already hear the baying of dogs with patrols scouring the forest around him, then ex fil was an hour away...Mac cut off the list of future problems focusing on the immediate ones. He went to turn back into the woods to see what he could find when his right hand ran into a sturdy v-shaped branch. Mac smiled remembering all the trouble he and Bozer got into when Mac tried to make an automated sling shot. This wouldn't be automated, but maybe he could make some sort of crossbow. He lifted the branch already looking for more wood for the project he had in mind when he heard a sound that caused terror in anyone that heard it. Mac froze, moving only his eyes he searched. His throat went dry, his heart ran wild as he saw the curled up zig zag of a diamond back rattler. The snake's warning rattle seemed to go in time with his pounding heartbeat.
Normally if he backed away slowly the rattler would probably flee in the other direction. Unfortunately with the open overhang behind him-well he wouldn't have to worry about getting on the roof...or walking again. He desperately searched for something to use as a weapon, but all he had was the branch in his hand. He could pin the snake, but there was no way he could move faster than a pissed off rattler. Mac let out a slow breath to steady him then slowly inched to the side. The rattler raised its head. Mac froze again.
Mac blinked as blood stung his eye. He blinked trying to clear his sight. He saw a flash of movement, he moved as fast he could but knew a man was no match for a pissed off rattler. He bit his lip as agony flared in his left forearm. Before the snake could strike again Mac slammed the y-branch down pinning the snake behind its angular head. Mac rolled away closing his eyes and biting his lip to stop from crying out. He forced his breathing to slow down then looked down. Two puncture marks glared at him weeping blood. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit up. He could already feel the burning tingle of the venom. Time was really not on his side now.
Mac smiled looking into the cold brown-yellow slitted eyes of the snake. He had an idea how the snake could help him. Mac figured it was only fair. He carefully grabbed the writhing serpent behind its head and smiled even as he felt a cold sweat break out. Glancing down he could see the skin around the bite turning a deep rose color and start to swell. He had to hurry.
Every movement was an agony. He slowly climbed the sapling feeling it tip toward the roof. He was half-way up the sapling when the tree started to creak in protest. Mac gritted his teeth and forced himself to move his left arm to hold the tree and pull him as his feet wrapped around the trunk pushed. He was trembling with exertion and pain, every time he moved his arm. He tasted blood from where he fastened his bottom lip firmly between his teeth to keep from screaming.
The groan of the tree became a small snap. Mac didn't dare look back. He inched forward. He froze when the tree gave a solid shrug and he began dipping toward the roof. He watched the guards amble over to the side of the roof below him. Mac smiled, finally, something was going to go according to plan. Mac instantly cursed himself and closed his eyes as instant karma played out. The tree cracked like a knuckle and Mac felt himself dipping toward the roof. The guards whirled bringing their rifles up. Now or never. Mac took a breath and flung the snake at the men. The men screamed when the rattler hit one's chest then fell onto the roof between the two. The snake was stunned, the men were not. They took off for the roof door screaming. Mac only had half a second to enjoy that small victory when the sapling gave up and he was falling.
Mac cried out as he hit, he'd relaxed his body and tried to land in a roll, but it ended up being more of flip, sprawl, and slide. Mac lay on his back trying to will his pain-wracked body to move or at least suck in air. He closed his eyes as the burning from his snakebite competed with roof burn and bruising. He shook his head and put a hand to his forehead as the animals in the clouds above him jumped on a fast merry go round. He finally sucked in enough air to stagger to his feet. He glanced at his forearm, it was now bright red and badly swollen. His fingertips were numb and he could barely make a fist.
Mac staggered to the vent. He felt like he was trying to walk on a carnival funhouse floor. He finally sagged against the cool metal. He winced as he put out his hand to catch himself and cut his palm. He mentally cataloged it with the other agonies and tried his best to ignore them. He wiped his forehead which was soaking from sweat or blood. He took his Swiss army knife out of his pocket, opened it with his teeth and fighting dizziness unscrewed the vent covering. He leaned against the gray steel and took deep breaths. He felt his mouth start watering and stomach start flip-flopping.
Mac lurched up, swaying on his feet. He managed to lift himself into the duct. The duct was about six inches bigger than he was on all sides. Mac thanked his luck, but then reminded himself not to crow about it. Too late, instant karma again bit him. He'd planned on easing down the shaft, but guards came spewing out onto the roof and for once were very good at their jobs spotting the vent laying on the ground easily. Mac ducked back and suddenly was falling and sliding in a dizzying direction at a blistering rate. Being the inside of a vent no one ever took the time to bend or cover rough edges and Mac accumulated a whole new batch of pains.
He felt himself freefall as the vent went straight and vertical then his fall was abruptly stopped by a screen of a huge fan. He barely had time to curl into a ball and cover his head before he slammed into it. It bent under his weight but didn't collapse into the huge slow-moving wings of the fan below him. Mac jackknifed and vomited bile and drool. He laid back closing his eyes. The fan blew fetid air up at him, but it felt good against his body which had completely soaked his clothes. His trembling was worse.
Glancing down he saw his left arm was now almost twice its normal size. The bites had stopped bleeding and were now oozing a sick yellow fluid. Mac sighed. Maybe all this movement which moved the venom throughout his body fast would at least shake a little out. He couldn't feel his hand anymore and could only flap his arm. No time for self-pity, he sternly told himself. It took four falls, but eventually, he made it to his feet. By the falls the center of the giant fan caved in and was close to hitting the blades themselves. Mac wiped blood or sweat from his face. There were four horizontal vents leading out to the points of a compass.
Everything went blurry. He fell again and for a long minute couldn't move. He rolled on his side and lost more bile. He looked down at the fan. Below it was the cinders of the server room. Made sense, Mac chided himself. With all that computing power overheated would be a huge worry. The thought brought an idea. He closed his eyes and tried to force his brain which felt as useful as a ball of hard clay to work. He tried to picture the layout of the floor below them. The top floor of the compound was used mostly for storage of weapons, but Mac remembered the room they had started dragging him toward was down the hall and to the right from the servers.
Mac braced himself. His adrenalin surged when he remembered the single metal chair bolted to the floor, the brown stains on the cement floor and splatter patterns on the dirty wooden walls. He'd been in enough interrogation rooms-torture chambers, to know one when he saw one. And Jack was there. He went to the middle of the fan and jumped. The top of the fan caved in further. Mac fell to the grating and it gave way with a sickly grinding noise falling into the blades below. Mac forced himself up and jumped landing half in and out of the duct he thought led to the area he wanted. He scraped his feet desperately and managed to push himself mostly into the duct. Mac's soggy clothes actually had a fairly good grip on the rough interior of the duct. This gave him enough traction to inchworm his way all the way into the duct. He lay there panting a moment before everything went dark.
Jack winced as another fist plowed into his already bruised and bloody face. These guys were professionals focusing only on one side of his head. Blood ran from his nose and mouth as his head dipped forward.
"I can keep this up all day and night, tell me who you are?" The worst thing about all this is he was probably going to be killed by a redneck nazi-wannabe, somehow that was just...well undignified. At least Mac had gotten away. He'd smiled and taunted his captors when he heard the sound of heavy boots running down the hall outside and voices yelling in part panic, part fury. That's my boy! Jack said to himself. He hoped the kid was smart enough to keep running, contact Phoenix then return with a tac team to blow this house up. Jack grunted as another punch came. He could barely see out his right eye and had already spit out two teeth. Good thing Phoenix had good dental.
Jack looked up as he heard the loudest god awful noise. Jack closed his eyes and looked down sighing in frustration. One of these days, the kid will learn self-preservation. Although if Jack was being honest, his heart did thrum with a new hope and excitement. He heard a yell that ended suddenly outside and down the hall. The two guys who'd been working him overlooked at each other. One of them nodded to the door. The other one hefted one of the two rifles that they had leaned on the wall beside the door and opened the door to go out.
Jack's eyes widened as the man staggered back. Mac swinging one of the boots wrapped in one of the guard's utility belt swung again catching the guy in the sweet spot on his temple. Mac spun to the floor. The other guy came over and leaned down. Mac managed to grab the rifle with his feet and kicked upward. It caught the guy in the neck then he dropped gurgling landing unmoving directly on Mac. Jack blinked his brain trying to catch up with the brief violence.
"What the hell are you doing here, man? I told you to run and get back to ex fil…" Jack ranted. He trailed off as he heard the moaning and painful cries of Mac rolling the man off of him. Mac laid on the ground gasping for air, eyes closed. Jack looked him over and didn't like what he saw at all. The kid was pale, really pale, dripping sweat and covered from head to toe with cuts and scrapes. He seemed to be bleeding from everywhere. What held Jack's attention was the football hot red swelling of his left forearm. Jack recognized the two oozing puncture marks immediately.
"Snakebit? How the hell did you get snakebit?" Jack demanded, more than a little pissed. Mac cracked open an eye and focused with difficulty on Jack's face.
"Seriously?" Mac said. Jack winced at the hoarseness and pain in his partner's voice. Mac tried to rise to crawling but immediately fell over. With a hiss of pain, he crawled to the chair Jack was tied to.
"Seriously! Dammit, Mac, I told you to get the hell out of here and bring back reinforcements, the key word being reinforcements."
"Shut up, Jack." Mac sighed tiredly. Jack reigned in his irritation, but when they get out of here Jack was going to have a very, very long talk about self-preservation. He felt his hands cut free then Mac cut his right leg free. When he didn't feel his left leg getting free, he looked down to see an unmoving Mac sprawled alongside the chair, the Swiss army knife loose in his limp hand. Jack stood up, finally able to get a position of leverage. He grunted and was able to break the plastic cuffs easily. He crouched beside Mac and felt his forehead. Mac was cold and clammy. Looking down at his left hand, Jack saw that the hand was the same shade white.
Despite what all the movies show, cutting and sucking out the venom was not a good idea as it would impair the rescuer as much as the victim. A tourniquet was an equally bad idea not really doing much to stop the spread of the venom and probably cause Mac to lose his arm. The best solution was to get Mac the hell out of here and to medical help. Jack looked up when he heard boots heading their way. He became aware of the sickly smell of burnt electrics. Smoke began to billow down the hall. Jack smiled. At least he would have cover. Jack grabbed Mac by the front of the shirt and raised him to sitting up. Jack grunted as he lifted his partner and ducked his shoulder under the kid's middle. Mac groaned and Jack felt his body heave again.
Jack grabbed the rifle then stood. He shrugged adjusting Mac to a better position and crept into the hallway. Jack coughed at the thick blue-grey smoke and keeping low and to the side of the corridor so he wouldn't get lost moved as fast as he could reversing the path of their original entry. He only ran into three remaining opponents and zipped them in less than the time it took for him to step over their corpses. Jack gagged, then finally reached the door. It was still unlocked from where Mac had picked it earlier.
Jack didn't wait for subtly he took off at a run for the tree line shooting until the rifle ran empty. He dropped it, held onto Mac tighter and ran faster. He could hear shouts as the neo-nazis started to organize themselves for a chase. Worse, he heard the baying of dogs on their trail.
"Dammit!" Jack knees and ankles painfully complained as he pulled himself up with roots and small saplings and forced his fatigued legs to pump like pistons up the steep incline. He was out of breath at the top and paused to look down at the compound. The dogs were having a harder time navigating the steep incline which bought him a few minutes. Jack wasn't about to waste it. He turned and began to lope through the forest taking extra time to avoid tripping.
Jack remembered they had crossed a small creek on their way in. It was a myth that dogs couldn't track across water, especially across such a narrow water path, but something grew there that would work even better. Jack didn't know its official name, but he'd always heard it called skunk cabbage. It was a small wide leafed plant that literally smelled like a skunk when the leaves were broken. It was nasty but perfect for fooling dogs.
Jack's chest was heaving with exertion as he reached the creek and found what he was looking for. He found a small grassy area beside the creek and gently laid Mac down. He crumpled up the leaves pulling his head aside wincing at the acrid smell. He rubbed it over the both of them as much as he could. The smell caused Mac to stir. Mac's lip raised and he began to heave again. He blindly held his arms across his chest as he managed to flop onto his side to lose more bile. Jack gently rubbed his back. He knew they didn't have time to waste, but he didn't hear any of the dogs too close yet.
"Hey, bud." Jack murmured gently. Mac's unfocused gaze fixed on Jac's face after a moment of effort. Mac managed a tiny smile as his eyes went to sag shut again. Jack gently shook him, Mac's eyes opened and his arms again hugged himself. Jack frowned and moving the kid's hands he lifted Mac's shirt and grimaced at the multihued bruising. Jack shook his head. "This really has been a shitty day." Jack murmured. Mac hummed agreement, trying to stay awake. Jack lifted him closer to the creek and sat him up against a boulder.
Jack wished their phones had not gone into the EMP bomb. He sighed thinking of spilled milk and the past. He frowned not having anything to hold water. He had to settle for cupping his hands and dribbling water into Mac's mouth. Mac drank greedily and opened his eyes more alert. Jack gave him water until he heard the dogs getting too close. He bent to lift Mac bridal style. Mac weakly pushed against him.
"Can walk." He burbled. Jack looked down as he shrugged Mac's head against his shoulder. He could feel Mac's shaking.
"I know, kid, but we need speed and you aren't up to it." Mac blinked up at Jack's chin as Jack carefully made their way across the creek.
"Terrible pun." Mac slurred. Jack frowned, pun? When did he make a pun? He mentally shrugged glad Mac was with it enough to chide him.
"It's what I do," Jack grunted as he jumped from a rock to the far side of the creek, the jump jarring his hip and knees. Jack talked as he hiked as fast as he could.
"So what bit you?"
"Sn...ke." Jack rolled his eyes and huffed.
"I know a snake. What kind?"
"R...ttler." Jack didn't like how Mac's voice was getting weaker and more slurred.
"Rattler, really?" Jack paused leaning against a tree to catch his breath and listen. He could hear the dogs, but they didn't seem to be getting any closer. "I hope you killed it." He grunted as he began to hike again.
"Helped you….scape." Jack frowned. A snake helped him escape? He figured Mac was either delirious or he'd have one hell of a tail to tell. He sighed in relief as he saw the camouflage netting they'd hidden the bikes under. Jack laid Mac down gently checking his pulse. Very faint. His breath was getting shallow and his eyes showed only slivers of blue through their white lids. The arm seemed to have stopped swelling, but the redness had seeped along his entire forearm. Jack frowned. How the hell was he going to keep Mac on a dirt bike? He frowned trying to force his brain to think like his partner. Jack felt like a literal lightbulb lit up over his head as two ideas occurred to him. He went over to Mac's bike and slowly, thinking through what he'd seen Mac do, rigged it to explode if moved. He hoped it would work, but figured it wasn't a big loss if it didn't. He then took the netting and using Mac's knife cut it into wide strips. These the tied firmly but gently around Mac. Huffing with effort he awkwardly tied Mac to his back like a papoose. Mac's head slumped against Jack's back and Jack could hear him hum.
The dogs were getting closer. Jack gunned the motorbike and rode through the woods at a dangerous-almost insane pace. He almost wiped out twice and once had to reposition Mac to keep him from tumbling off. He cleared the woods zipping into the clearing where the ex fil helicopter sat. The rotors were just starting to turn. Jack had almost missed ex fil. He dropped the bike, cut Mac free with Mac's knife, caught the younger man and ran for the chopper. He'd just shoved them both in when he heard the loud pop of an explosion. He slammed the door shut and nodded at the pilot. He leaned back sucking in air a second before he slid on the headphones the pilot handed him.
"Almost didn't make it." The pilot said with a smile. The pilot was a local contractor who was getting an obscene amount of money to pick them up. Despite that Jack suspected the easy going man had waited as long as he dared and then some.
"Thanks for waiting." Jack breathed.
"What happened to your friend?"
"Rattler bite," Jack said seriously. "Do you have a first aid kit?"
"Strapped under the seat, you're lucky this is rattler country, there's some antivenom and snakebite kit in there." Jack cried out in delight and broke it open. He glanced at the pilot. The man answered the unspoken question.
"The distances are so far out here, I usually work as transport for medical emergencies." Jack grinned. He popped the cap of the prefilled syringe and stabbed Mac above the bite in his left arm. He took out the tiny suction bulb and tubing and began to pump it against the wound. Watery blood came out after a few pumps. Jack didn't know if it was really bringing out any venom, but he hoped so.
"It'll be 30 minutes to the closest hospital." The pilot announced grimly. Jack scowled but knew the man was pressing the helicopter to its limit. Jack repositioned Mac and pulled the younger man's sweat soaked shivering body against his chest.
"Hang in there kiddo." He murmured. "If you die, I'll kill you myself." He thought he heard Mac vocalize an answer, but he couldn't tell. Jack clung to the idea that it wasn't his imagination.
A burly blacksmith was bashing an anvil in Mac's skull as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at the familiar sight of a hospital room. He slowly blinked sluggishly remembering what had happened. A familiar grinding sound drew his eyes to Jack. His friend was sprawled in a fold out recliner a blanket thrown over him. His face was swollen and several small white bandages were taped to his face. Otherwise, he looked to be in good shape. Mac sighed in relief and glanced around the room. A glass double door was open at the foot of his bed and a curtain half pulled across it. On the other side, he could hear the familiar bustle of a nurse's station. He glanced up and saw monitors of all kinds. ICU-huh. He looked down at his left arm. A brace held it snug against his chest. His hand was white, his nailbeds bloodless and it was swollen. He tried to move it and only got his thumb to wiggle. Mac's cry woke Jack up.
Jack sat up with a snort and blinked focusing on Mac. He could easily read the kid's alarm as he looked down to his left arm Jack was up and standing by the bed in seconds. He put a hand on Mac's good arm.
"Hey, it's ok Mac. The doctor's say that it'll come back to full functioning with medicine and physical therapy. " Mac breathed out with relief and looked up at Jack smiling. He held out his right fist and Jack fist bumped it with a grin. Mac yawned fighting to keep his heavy eyes open. "You know, " Jack began in a stern lecture voice, "when I tell you to get to safety, you are supposed to get to safety. When I tell you to bring reinforcements, you go out and get reinforcements." Mac yawned again.
"I followed your orders, I got out," Mac said groggily.
"Yeah, but you didn't bring back reinforcements," Mac smirked up at him.
"What am I, Lassie? Besides I had help." Mac sighed almost asleep. Jack frowned trying to think through what Mac could be talking about. He scowled.
"A snake is not help, especially after it bit you and injected you with neurotoxic venom," Jack growled with pretend anger. Mac smiled weakly a murmured something about it saving Jack's ass. Jack rolled his eyes and straightened his partner's covered. He brushed Mac's bangs out of his face.
"Thanks, kid." He whispered squeezing Mac's good hand. Mac squeezed back then drifted off to a deep sleep.