The Final Countdown
The raid went like clockwork.
The intel was solid. The sky cloudless, so the satellite view, along with infrared, was perfect. Mac, with Jack's help, was able to disarm the few booby traps scattered around the property and perimeter of the house without incident or injury.
The team operated seamlessly to take down the nest of assassins. That included Agent Briggs, who despite being attached to Milton as a temporary partner, not only acted like they'd been working together for years and had a strong rapport with Riley after only a few times out together, but also took down the first of Murdoc's people with a perfectly placed shot to the man's knee.
So why, as he wandered around the place, looking for any additional traps, or hidden spaces where evidence might be concealed, did Mac feel so unsettled?
He knew. But he didn't really want to think about it.
Letting Murdoc walk out of there, climb into his big black SUV and drive off into the sunny afternoon. That was what was eating him. And he was the one who'd come up with the plan. Tag Murdoc with one of the chips he and Riley developed – LoJack him, as Riley said – letting him think he'd just been drugged for capture, then let his people rescue him, and track him until they knew what his network looked like. Then use the information to take down Murdoc's weird league of assassins, and finally take him down for good.
It had seemed like such a good idea when he came up with it.
Now, checking closets' back walls for secret doors and going through drawers, examining window sills, it felt like the worst in a long line of half conceived plans that wound up getting him or people he cared about hurt. Sure, it would get the job done, but at what price?
The fact that Murdoc had diverted his private jet to visit this safehouse only hours before they scheduled their operation to take it down made Mac extremely uneasy. Matty, Riley, Rodgers, Milton, Briggs, all the core members of this organizationally constructed ops team waved it off, saying Murdoc had done erratic things like that in the months since they'd been dogging his steps.
But Mac still didn't like it. He also didn't like how strangely quiet Jack had been during the conversation. Jack was almost always the first one in the fray with an opinion, an argument, hell, just a joke to lighten the mood.
But not today. Today, Jack had sat back in his chair thoughtfully, rubbing the stubble along his jaw with the backs of his scarred knuckles.
He hadn't said anything in response when Matty had come over the comms and ordered him to do a perimeter sweep once the killers were in custody either, despite the fact that she'd ordered Mac to stay in the house and check for more traps and hidden rooms like they'd found in several of the other houses.
Mac smiled to himself when he remembered the pointed look Jack had given Milton when he was on his way out. It was his 'watch the kid's back or else' look. When Mac was younger, that protective bent used to drive him a little crazy. Sometimes it still did, but he tried to keep a lid on his annoyance. He knew it came from a good place, a place of wanting to make up for wrongs someone else had done.
He was shoving aside some clothes in a closet in one of the bedrooms and feeling along the paneling when Jack spoke from behind him, causing him to jump and Jack to chuckle.
"Hey, how's it goin'?" followed by soft apologetic laughter. "Sorry, kid. I figured you heard my big clomping boots."
Mac stepped backward out of the alcove and turned to Jack with a sheepish smile on his face. "I was too focused. And …" he trailed off.
"And you're still a little jumpy about this op after the monkey wrench that almost gone thrown in it by our very own Big Bad showing up earlier?"
"Yeah, I guess," he admitted.
"Being jumpy is permitted. Slacking off on the job isn't, Blondie." Matty's voice cut in over the comms.
"Not slacking, Matty. I just finished all the peripherals. This place is clean. Unless you want me to go behind the team combing over the basement?" he asked, hoping she'd say no.
Since last fall when Murdoc's people had managed to grab him more than once, he found confined spaces with limited escape to the outside bothered him vaguely. Not as much as heights, but it was a smaller version of the same feeling.
"And the perimeter's clear, too, Matty," Jack interrupted.
There was a pause. "Okay, then. Pack up and come on home." She paused again. "There's a storm over the Atlantic so we've lost tracking on Murdoc directly, but the jet has resumed its previous flight plan, so it seems like we can proceed as planned on our end."
"Thanks, Matilda, for that super encouraging info," Jack drawled. "We're out." Jack took out his ear piece and waited for Mac to do the same. "Well, ain't that some shit?" he frowned.
Mac shrugged. "We can't keep tabs on him 100% of the time. The transmitter on the tracker isn't perfect. They've got the jet. It's fine."
That was more words than Mac usually strung together if he was actually fine. "That why you just got pale there all of a sudden, kiddo?"
Mac smirked and shook his head. He spoke in purposely unconvincing tones. "The lighting is terrible in here. And you have a very active imagination."
Mac started out the door and Jack slung an arm around him as they headed downstairs to catch up with the rest of the team. "I get it, kid. I do. I hear his name and my stomach drops."
"Maybe that's just old age," Mac grinned now, ready to drop the subject already.
"And maybe you're all pale because you don't have me around in the morning to remind you to eat breakfast. It's probably low blood sugar because you haven't figured out how to take care of yourself like an adult," Jack teased back, willing to let it drop, if that's what Mac needed.
They waved at the other team members and headed outside to the waiting SUV. Mac gave Jack a little shove and a mock glare. "I'll have you know that I was up an hour early and cooked an excellent breakfast for Mel and I. Home fries, steak and eggs, fresh veggie juice. French press coffee. I did the works."
Jack laughed a little. "I told you she was a good influence."
Mac climbed into the back of the SUV, chuckling as he closed the door. When Jack got in on the other side, he found Mac on his phone, grinning like a teenager.
"I swear, no new bullet holes this time." Mac was shaking his head, close to laughing. "No grazes either. You can ask Jack!" Mac held up the phone in Jack's direction. "Tell her I kept my promise."
Jack took the phone. "Hey, there, Melody. How are ya? … You bet … Our boy is all in one piece … I know, surprised the hell out of me, too." He grinned, his affection for his soon-to-be sort-of-daughter-in-law, readily apparent. "I'm good, too, but I'd appreciate it if you maybe asked about it in a slightly less nuresey tone." Jack chuckled again. "Yes, ma'am. Safe and sound and right on time. Actual not-kicked-out-of-them Scout's honor."
He handed the phone back to Mac, who seemed torn between glaring and grinning at the moment. "See?" he said, and it was reassuring, rather than defensive. "I'll call you when we're in the air ... I should be back at Building Two before your shift is over … I'd love that. Tacos on the beach would be great. Is it going to be warm enough? … Okay. I love you, too."
Mac ended the call and looked at Jack, almost embarrassed. "What?" he asked in response to the look Jack was giving him.
"Five to go, Mac. Five more of his little nests of death and then we'll take him down, just like we planned when we tagged him, kid."
"I know," Mac said, then he cleared his throat. "I know. It's a solid plan. I just … Wish it was done and then again … part of me doesn't. Mostly because I'm constantly thinking about all the ways this could go wrong and screw up what we want."
"I can tell. You don't usually worry about the little things like whether it's a good idea to eat dinner on the beach … or tiny details of our plans … or having a plan at all."
Mac nodded. Maybe he was overly focused on the little things. He'd folded the napkins at breakfast into elaborate origami shapes. Mel had raised an eyebrow at him, but she hadn't commented. "True enough."
When they got to cruising altitude a while later, Mac tried to call Mel, but got the message that she was transporting a patient from the wellness clinic to the hospital with an acute case of appendicitis. He looked a little dejected but left her his "I'm safely coming home to you" message. Jack called Sarah and they spoke briefly. She was home with Fred, staying off her swollen feet, getting used to the idea that by the time the holidays rolled around there would be two new Daltons filling their apartment. Which even though it was an executive suite, was perhaps not ideally suited to a growing family.
The rest of the team was still chatting about the mission, but Mac and Jack just shared a look and each grabbed a blanket out from under their respective sofas. As they got comfortable, Jack asked, "Planning on being up late tonight?" with a smile.
Mac grinned, blushing a little. "She said dinner at the beach. Hotel room off the beach is a pretty short walk."
"Practicing for being newlyweds?"
Mac laughed. "If it's already good, it doesn't change so much when you get married, does it?"
"Nah. Well, a little … It gets better."
Jack closed his eyes.
After a minute, Mac asked, with a smile in his own voice, "You got a big exciting night out planned, too?"
"No, I've got a toddler running her mama who is supposed to be resting right ragged, and a wife who is exhausted from carrying around the babies she isn't already chasing, the hard way. I'm taking a nap so I can hold up my side," he chuckled. On a lot of people it would have been said with a bitching and complaining tone. Jack actually sounded like he was looking forward to it.
Mac closed his own eyes, sighing a little. It was mostly a content sound, mostly related to his plans for the evening and to being pleased that Jack was getting the things he'd always talked about, getting a little more than being a surrogate parent to the guy he shared a Wookie Life Debt with.
Jack was drifting off when he heard Mac mumble sleepily to himself.
"Only five more. And we're free."