A/N: I know I'm not the only one who is wondering why Mac was honorably discharged from the Army. In my head it was because of an injury (also an excuse for some shameless Mac whump). I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it.
I have used some elements of a previous story that I wrote as inspiration, but I will readily admit that I know very little about the military or medical procedures. I have done a good bit of research, but I am bound to get something wrong. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Enjoy!
"How many more times are you going to do that?" Andreas Devlin asked, leaning over one Angus MacGyver. Andreas had been in the Army for five years, and he'd never met anyone like Mac. The younger man was quick on his feet and more than impressive.
"Until I get it right." Mac replied, using his knife to turn a few more screws. Andreas rolled his eyes and sat down next to Mac, pushing the fake bomb out of the young man's grasp and replacing it with a bag of chips.
"Wife sent those from home, try them." Andreas said. Mac's glare didn't last long, he took the chips and popped open the bag.
"You can't continue to bribe me with food." Mac said. Andreas just grinned in reply. The sound of trotting feet brought Andreas' head around and he saw Ben, one of their team members trotting toward them.
"What's up?" Andreas asked, lifting his eyebrows.
"Captain wants our team, now." Mac said. Andreas felt his heart begin to beat a little faster as he reached behind him and wacked Mac's shoulder.
"Jeez, I heard." Mac huffed out a laugh and stood up, getting out of Andreas' reach.
"Get the rest of the guys." Andreas said to Ben. Andreas jumped up with Mac right behind him. They joke and shoved one another the entire way to the meeting room, but when those doors opened, all playful demeanor went out the window and seriousness replaced it. The rest of the team arrived quickly, and they all shuffled into the meeting room, sitting down in the chairs that fell into rows in front of the podium and projection screen. Andreas whistled low, they had a podium and everything, whatever the mission was, it had to be important. Andreas settled in and Mac sat down next to him. A few moments passed before a second team filed in, Andreas raised his eyebrows and glanced at Mac, they'd both seen the men roaming around every once in a while, Andreas knew the team as a search and rescue team. The Captain came charging in with his specialists trailing after him, the entire room stood to show their respect, but the Captain waved his hand quickly, telling them to sit. The Captain laid out a folder on the podium while the specialists hooked a computer up to the projector.
"At thirteen hundred hours we received a distress signal from a nearby group of humanitarian workers." Andreas saw some pictures pop up of a group of people working in a small village, doctors, Andreas immediately noticed.
"This group was working in a nearby village, patching up some refugees, treating sick children, etcetera, the village was targeted and attacked by rebels around eleven hundred, unfortunately, they killed most of the men in the village, and they took a good many of the women and children hostage, we aren't sure of exact numbers just yet. What we do know, is that two of the people from the humanitarian group were taken. This is Doctor Grant Vickers." A picture popped up on the screen and Andreas looked the man over. He was tall, dark skin, brown eyes, fairly average features, and had a mouth full of bright white teeth, looked like a nice guy, Andreas thought.
"Vickers has worked with this group for six years, he's thirty years old, 6 feet 3 inches tall, no tattoos or distinguishing marks. The second hostage is Noelle Dillon." A new picture popped up on the screen, Andreas smiled, it was a picture of a woman holding a small child she'd clearly just worked on. The woman was stunning, her black hair was cropped to just above her shoulders so that it fell around her face and neck. She was short and had the build of an athlete. Her face was slim and her high cheekbones made her look smaller than she was, while her small button nose just made her adorable. Her full lips were light pink and made her look as if she were wearing lipstick, they stuck out against the pale shade of her skin. The woman's skin tone and the dusting of light brown freckles across her nose gave her the appearance of a doll, and Andreas thought it odd how eerily similar she was to a small porcelain figurine. And even though the picture wasn't an up close shot, Andreas could still see her brilliant emerald green eyes. He'd seen the woman before, something was very familiar about her.
"Dillon is a nurse and has worked with the group for one year. She's twenty-two, five feet two inches tall, no tattoos or distinguishing marks. However, she wears dog-tags that have the name 'Nathan Dillon' on them." Andreas knew that name, why did he know that name?
"Your mission is to rescue Vickers and Dillon by any means necessary. These are United States Citizens, and we will not abandon them. Sergeant Cho, Sergeant Devlin, you two have been assigned this mission because you and your men are the very best and we need to very best. We will reconvene at sixteen hundred hours to discuss our plan for rescue. Until then I need you men packing and ready to go." Andreas joined the rest of the men in giving a shout of acknowledgement before the Captain left. Before Andreas could move, Mac put a hand on his forearm and stopped him.
"That's the Secretary of State's daughter." Mac said quickly in a hushed tone. Andreas felt his eyes widen and he glanced back to the picture that was still up while the specialists worked to unhook the computer. He knew the girl looked familiar. Now that he was looking at her, he could see Joseph Dillon all over her. The black hair, the green eyes.
"Her brother was one of the men killed a year ago in the bombing at the mall." Mac said. Andreas nodded quickly, Mac was right, Andreas remembered the bombing, he remembered that several soldiers were killed at the mall because they'd been there as extra security for the Secretary of State, and Andreas remembered the broadcast of the speech Joseph Dillon made after the death of his only son.
"Damn. What the hell is she doing over here?" Andreas asked. Mac shrugged and stood up, looking back at the other men in the room.
"I don't know, but my guess is, getting the doctor back isn't nearly as important as they're making it out to be. They want her back." Mac said.
"Of course they do kid. Can you imagine how hard her daddy must have fought to keep her from coming over here? It's where he lost his son, now he doesn't know whether or not he'll ever see his little girl again. I'd be moving heaven and earth." Andreas said with a shrug. Mac nodded and the men headed for the door.
"Why do you think they're hiding it from us?" Mac asked. Andreas shrugged, the kid was always thinking, he never stopped.
"I don't think they're hiding it, I think they're purposefully leaving it out. I think if they told everyone, all the men would feel a certain pressure." Andreas shrugged.
"We work under pressure everyday." Mac grinned. Andreas chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, but those rescue flunkies don't." Andreas jerked his head back toward the other group. He and Mac shared a few more laughs before they reached their lockers and began getting their equipment together. Andreas knew the pressure that was on them, it was much more suffocating than usual. He knew what could happen if they didn't get her back, and he knew they needed to do it soon, because none of them were certain what was happening to her while she was being held captive, but all of them knew that it wasn't good.
Noelle Dillon was afraid of the dark, she'd been that way since she was little. Her father always told her that she wouldn't worry so much if she wasn't so mean, which usually made Noelle grin, but his words were of no solace to her in her current situation. The black cloth over her face deprived her of all light and no matter how much she thrashed, it would not come off. The dark wasn't what scared her most currently, the hands dragging her forward scared her. The sound of water being poured into a bucket scared her. The stomping footsteps next to her scared her. Most of all, the shouting voices she hardly understood scared her. She didn't know what they were going to do to her, all she knew was that it was not going to be pleasant. Noelle was forced to take a few more steps before rough hands shoved her down onto a piece of concrete.
"Stop." Noelle pulled away from the hands, but her movement caused them to become angry. Someone shouted and Noelle's hands and feet were pulled taunt quickly. Noelle fought back, she jerked hard against the hands holding her and she let out a scream of frustration.
"Let me go!" she shouted again, this time though, a fist slammed into her jaw, whipping her head to the side. The pain was instant, but quickly faded into a throbbing ache. Zip ties were slipped over her hands and feet and closed tight, the material instantly bit into her skin, and then firm hands held her ankles and wrists in tight grips, pressing her barefeet and small hands into the concrete. When the hood was snatched from her head, the bright white light above her assaulted her eyes, causing her to pull back and blink hard against the invading source. Someone said something else and then a head blocked the bright light and Noelle squinted to make out the face in front of her. She didn't recognize the man, but his deep brown eyes said that he wasn't playing games, and his animalistic grin told Noelle that he was enjoying what he was doing.
"Tell me about the base." He said. Noelle just stared up at him, she hated to answer because she honestly didn't have a clue what he was asking about.
"I don't know about a base." Noelle said. The man frowned and then nodded to someone next to Noelle. A cloth was placed over her face and before Noelle could wonder why, water was poured over her head, soaking through the cloth and flooding her nose. Noelle gagged reflexively and sputtered in a desperate attempt to get away from the water. Her throat burned and she coughed hard, trying to expel the water as soon as it came in. It felt like hours before the water stopped and the rag was pulled away. Noelle hacked and turned her head to the side, spitting and gagging. She sucked in air frantically and her vision spotted.
"The base!" the man above her shouted. Noelle coughed and shook her head, she felt tears gathering in her eyes.
"I swear I don't know!" she shouted back. The cloth was shoved back over her face and water poured over her again. It felt like someone was pouring fire into her throat and the only thing she could think about was Nathan, her brother. Noelle gagged and jerked against the restraints and when black spots dotted her vision and unconsciousness was imminent, she knew that even if she knew what base the men were asking about, she'd never tell them. She'd never risk the lives of hundreds just so she could get some relief. She was strong, and she could handle this, she could survive this.
The teams reached the abandoned town late that night, their intel was severely lacking and no one felt comfortable with the plan, but Mac knew why they were acting so quickly. The longer Noelle was out there, the higher the chance she wouldn't make it out alive. The SOS didn't care about intel when his daughter was being held hostage. They weren't even really sure it was a hostage situation, no one had contacted to SOS or even posted a video. Mac knew he wasn't alone when he hoped they didn't find out who she was, it might prolong her life, but them knowing who she was would only result in an even more dangerous situation. Mac was only there in case they ran across a bomb, because according to the intel, this cell was prone to using landmines and homemade devices. Mac walked beside the team, slightly in front, his trained eyes scanning the ground for any signs of a device. They were moving slowly in between the tall buildings that had once been stores and apartments. The intel said that the cell was holed up in the last building, there weren't many of them and hopefully the teams wouldn't encounter much resistance. It wasn't Mac's job to watch for movement or shoot a gun, he just relied on the people with him to pay attention. The sound of a running vehicle made them all freeze, and then a gunshot, followed by a shrill scream moved them forward quickly.
Noelle was dumped unceremoniously onto the cold hard ground. She looked around quickly, taking in her surroundings while the binds on her hands and feet were cut. The room was large and a lot of the women and children from the village were gathered in the open space. Five men with guns walked around the room, keeping their eyes moving, constantly watching. Noelle rubbed her wrists where they were bleeding from the ties. The cuts were small and would heal, but she didn't know how much more waterboarding she could handle.
"What's your name?" The woman beside Noelle spoke and Noelle was a little stunned, she knew some women in the village spoke English, but she didn't think anyone would be willing to talk.
"Noelle." She answered.
"I'm Aya." The woman said, slowly looking Noelle up and down.
"Are you alright?" Aya asked. Noelle looked down at herself, she was dirty, barefoot, wet, and bloody, but she wasn't dead.
"I will be." Noelle nodded. Noelle looked around, searching for a familiar face, but she didn't see Grant anywhere.
"Do you know where they took the Doctor?" Noelle asked. Aya looked at one of the men carrying guns and she shook her head.
"No, you're the only one they brought in here."
"Are there other buildings?" Noelle asked. Aya nodded and they both looked up as the door opened and the man who had been questioning Noelle stomped out.
"Do you know his name?" Noelle nodded to the man.
"He's called Nabil." Aya whispered and then glanced toward the front door.
"His friend with the scar on his cheek is Fawwaz, those two are the young ones, Khyri has the green eyes and a bad temper, he is violent. The other is Salim and he's as kind as he's allowed to be. He doesn't belong here, he was forced by Khyri." Aya said. Before they could talk more, Nabil returned and said something to Aya, she averted her eyes and nodded.
"He wants you to sit against that wall." Aya pointed to a wall opposite the group.
"Now?" Noelle asked. Aya nodded, so Noelle slowly stood, but that wasn't what he wanted, he wanted her to move right when he said it, and because Noelle didn't move quickly enough, Nabil slammed the butt of his gun into her face. Pain erupted through the left side of her face and she fell backward, slamming hard into the ground behind her. He shouted something at her, and even if Noelle spoke his language, she still wouldn't have heard him, the taste of blood was enough to distract her from everything. She felt a firm hand grasp her hair and jerk her upward.
"GO!" he shouted in her ear and slung her roughly toward the wall. Noelle went, nearly crawling toward the corner. She was feeling too much to decipher, she knew she was terrified, absolutely, gut wrenchingly terrified, but before she could lose it, Noelle felt a gentle hand on the side of her head. She hadn't even noticed Aya following her to the wall. She was looking at Noelle with gentle and compassionate eyes.
"You'll be alright. Here." She'd managed to grab a cloth and she pressed it into Noelle's palm. Noelle pressed it to her lip and winced.
"They don't like to wait, when they say do something, they mean right that moment, do you understand?" Aya asked. Noelle nodded, she didn't know when or how, but she had to get herself, and the others out of this.
