Title: Hunted
Chapter 1 - From Bad to Worse
Summary: Mac & Stella are ambushed on the way back from a case outside the city. Cold weather; barren forest; two vengeful brothers and a fight for survival. Can an injured Stella rescue an injured and captured Mac before it's too late? SMACKED Fluff/Peril
Disclaimer: I don't own Mac Taylor but I wish I did (course then I'd have no time for writing)! This is a piece of fan fiction. It is written for pleasure and not for profit. The characters of CSI New York and any other regular cast and supporting cast members all belong to CBS, Paramount & Jerry Bruckheimer and Anthony Zuiker. All other characters are my own. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.
A/N: okay so the muse decided I needed to write for you all another short action/adventure ficlet with our fave couple in peril (lol...what I love of course!). And hey who argues with the muse? Not me! eek! Enjoy!
"Jackson was just arrested and booked."
"Who made the arrest? Sheriff Walker?"
"He knows better than to cross us. Detective Taylor and his partner came up from Manhattan to personally to take care of it."
"Rotten bastard! Why the hell didn't he just stay away as he was warned?"
"Don't worry little brother, Jackson won't be behind bars for very long."
"Derek, I want those two dead!"
"When do they head back to New York?"
"Probably on their way back right now."
"They have to drive by Red Crow pass right?"
"That's...right...are you thinking what I'm thinking Randy?"
"Well if you're thinking of setting a trap and killing two city Detective's then we are thinking the same thing brother. Besides with the Sheriff on our side, who's going to stop us? They are all alone out here."
"Let's go hunting."
"And is Stella still pissed with you?" Flack asks Mac as Mac hovers outside the small courthouse; their latest case finally wrapped up and time for them to head back to civilization.
"No big deal," Mac answers with a heavy sigh and slight frown as he watches his partner making small talk with the local Deputy.
"That's a yes," Flack smirks.
Mac's eyes narrow slightly as the man gently touches Stella on the shoulder and offers a small curse, forgetting that he is still talking to Flack.
"Who's she talking to?"
"No one, I have to go."
"Mac?"
"Yeah."
"I am saying this to you as a friend. Pull your head out of your ass, swallow your damn insecurity and ask her out already. You know you want to," Flack states firmly but follows his words with a slight laugh.
"Trust me Don, it'll take something pretty amazing for her to say yes after this morning. And I mean like pain of death or something; mine," Mac mumbles fatefully as he watches Stella finish up with the Deputy and head back to him with a frown. Damn it, she's still pissed at me! "Stella's coming back I have to go."
"Right, well I know it's almost snowing up there so drive safely and see you both tomorrow."
Mac watches Stella near and feels his body immediately start to tense. "Everything wrapped up?"
"It is," she answers with a tight lipped smile and he offers a small cringe. However, when she says nothing more, all Mac can do is nod in return and turn and head for the Avalanche in silence. Both of them get into the warm cabin of the truck, locking out the cool fall weather but not their own misery. Silence starts to stifle the two bodies inside the truck before Mac is the one to finally break the ice.
"You seriously can't still be pissed about this morning?"
"You mean when you basically overstepped any arresting authority I might have had and made the arrest after all the hard work I did to bring Jackson Turner to justice? Making me feel like every other man out here does? Oh we don't want the pretty girl to get hurt, we'll do the arrest for her. This is man's job little lady; stand aside and let me take care of that for you! Making me feel inferior!" Stella's voice ends with a small shout.
"Yes that," Mac resigns with a heavy frown.
"Yeah nothing to be pissed about there."
"Right."
"Are you offering an apology?" Stella queries with a kinder tone after a few minutes of silence, as she notices his knuckles turn white as he grips the steering wheel in anger. Mac finally looks over at her with a softer expression before he slowly nods his head.
"Only way to keep the peace right?"
"So you are only telling me what I want to hear?"
"Damn it Stella I wasn't questioning your abilities this morning!"
"You just didn't think I could make the arrest on my own? Maybe you should take up with the rest of the red necks up here. Most of them didn't think I could take Jackson Turner on my own either."
"Fine, I'm sorry."
"Yeah thanks," Stella huffs as she turns and looks out the window, leaving Mac to offer an angry curse as he starts up the truck and heads out of the small courthouse parking lot. It was lunch hour and they still had hours of driving time ahead of them, but it was overcast skies and the temperature outside was hovering around zero, snow could threaten to fall at any time. The dullness of the weather outside was mirroring the sullen tension inside the warm truck cabin.
Stella eases herself back into the seat finally throwing a sideways glance at her tense partner. "Were you also one of the guys who didn't want a female solider at your side on the front lines? Afraid they'd complain if they broke a nail?"
"That's it!" Mac shakes his head as he slams on the breaks and looks at her in anger. "Are you done?"
"Can I make my own arrest next time?"
"I said I was sorry for making you feel incapable in any way but I guess I let my concern for your safety overshadow the fact that I know you could have kicked his ass and made the arrest if I wasn't there. I am sorry that you felt lessened to any degree by the obvious red neck Neanderthal attitude up here. Their attitude, however, did not affect mine. I was there and when I saw him lunge at you, my damn instincts took over. I was worried he was going to hurt you. Fault me for what you want! But I did what I did and I'm not sorry for that!"
Stella looks at the anger flashing in his blue eyes and finds herself allowing a heavy exhale to slowly escape her lips. "You were worried?"
"I was worried," Mac states flatly before he turns to face the front once more and continues driving.
Stella studies her partner's tense frame for a few more minutes before just shaking her head and then turning to look out the window, wanting both of them to cool down and hopefully the next time they speak will be about something other than Jackson Turner.
"And I was very proud to have female marine's at my side," Mac mentions in a quiet tone as they head toward a deserted road and a waiting trap. "Just like I am proud to have you at my side."
"I know Mac. That was my emotions getting the best of me. As usual right?"
"I of course will not answer that for the sake of my own mental sanity and the next several hours we are trapped together in this truck."
"Trapped," Stella whispers softly as she just shakes her head and looks out the window once more, her eyes taking in the barren landscape around them; cold and harsh.
"Did you want to drive?"
"You'd let me?" Stella asks and Mac's face is quick to offer a wince. "Okay it wasn't supposed to sound like that," she resigns as she pushes herself back into the leather seats. "But if you need a break let me know."
"Sure," Mac replies with a slight frown, his eyes fixed firmly ahead. The night before, over dinner, they had finally reached an understanding or so Mac thought in which he felt comfortable enough to want to ask her for their first official date. Seeing her nearly attacked by the large killer earlier today, forced him to act on instinct but now wonders if she'd even want to say yes to his invitation. She'd probably say no, his brain tells him. Yeah unless something drastic happens and forces her to change her mind.
"Mac?"
"Stella, it's no big deal, its over."
"But you aren't going to talk to me are you?"
Mac looks over at her and sighs heavily. "It's over."
"Friends again?" She asks in a meek tone and Mac's face finally relaxes.
"Actually I was going to ask you if..." he starts.
'Here they come, get ready.'
'One shot Derek, that's all it'll take.'
'Get ready. Now! Take the shot. Aim low.'
"Mac I think I would like us to..." Stella starts only to be cut off by the sound of a loud gunshot.
BANG!
"What the..." is all Mac manages before the blown tire of the fast moving vehicle decides to send them on another course; heading straight for a deep ditch and a head on collision. Mac tries to turn the Avalanche so that it will land on his side, but with the slippery road and the tires locked, it slams into the ditch almost head on; the force not strong enough to deploy the airbags however.
"MAC!" Stella's voice cries out just before her head hits the side of the window, opening a small cut and forcing an instant bruise. The seatbelt locks, forcing a painful gasp from her lips, her body jerking in response to the sudden impact as she's thrown forward and then back into the plush leather seats.
"STE..." is all Mac manages before he too feels the painful forces of the large vehicle coming to its sudden halt. As the truck ends up with most of the impact on Mac's side, the left side of his head sustains a large gash, his chest feeling the sudden jerking of the seatbelt and his body slamming into the steering wheel; winding him instantly before sending him backward into the front seat. For a few seconds the cabin of the truck is still, smoke and liquid escaping the damaged engine outside; dancing with the harsh elements that await them.
'Perfect shot!'
'Think we'll need Rex?'
'Keep him in the truck for now, unless we need to track them. But trust me, from the impact of that truck and the way they are probably dressed, this hunting trip will probably be short.'
'Are we going to kill them right away?'
'Hell no, I want some fun with em first.'
Stella was the first to quickly pull herself from her painful stupor, offering a small curse as her eyes finally force themselves open. Her lips utter a soft angry curse as her fingers fumble with the seatbelt, her head turning to see what happened to her partner.
"Mac..." she manages with a soft cough as she gently touches him, praying he's okay, forcing her watery eyes to focus. A soft moan escapes his lips, his head still pressed up against the glass. Her fingers finally get the seatbelt undone but as she leans forward she notices fresh blood trailing down the cool glass from Mac's head and panic takes over.
"Mac!" She tries in a firmer tone, trying to get him to pull himself awake. "Mac wake up."
"Ste..." he tries in a soft tone as his watery eyes try to force themselves to open. Panic seizes his brain as he remembers the last few seconds and feels his body instantly jerk awake, pain seizing him instantly.
"Mac, just relax, you hit your head really bad. Just relax okay," Stella instructs in a soft tone as she fishes for some soft tissue and then leans in a bit closer. However, the pain from the seatbelt forces her to offer her own soft cry of agony, making Mac look at her in concern.
"Stella, what is it?" He manages hoarsely.
"From the seatbelt. I'm okay," she quickly assures him as she gently turns his face to see the condition of his wound. Mac's lips offer a slight wince as she applies some pressure to the open gash. "The first aid kit is in the trunk. Just hold..."
"I'm coming with you..." Mac lightly wheezes as his fingers fumble with the door handle, his vision still a bit blurry.
"Mac, you have a concussion and your head is really bleeding. Stay put."
"I'm...coming with you..." he coughs for fresh air, his chest on fire.
"I guess arguing with you to stay put is moot," Stella frowns as she too struggles to get her side door open. She offers it a good kick with her boot and the slightly dented door finally opens. "I smell gas. Think it could blow?"
"Think we should wait...by the road..." Mac manages once more. However, with the side impact on Mac's side, his door refuses to move.
"Mine is stuck..." he mentions with a heavy frown and another painful wince as his fingers gingerly touch his forehead and then come away with fresh blood. "We need that kit."
"Come this way Mac," Stella instructs as she finally steps down into a few inches of dirty water and looks around, her head pounding and her heart racing. Straining her hearing, her brain rests upon faint voices in the distance.
"Hear anything?"
"Yeah. Could be help; coming toward us," she mumbles to herself as she turns back to see how Mac is doing. However, not being prepared for him to exit the truck when he did she is unable to help him. Mac's foot gets snagged and he finds himself falling forward into the muddy water, landing on his hands and knees, phone into the water, but thankfully pushing Stella backward onto dry ground.
"Damn it," Mac lightly curses as Stella hurries to help him stand up.
"Hold on to me Mac."
Mac's body slowly unfolds and another cry of agony escapes his lips as Stella allows him to put his weight onto her until they can get around to the back of the truck and assess the damage. "Lost my damn phone," Mac grumbles as he leans up against the back of the Avalanche's bumper section, his head still pounding and the world around him lightly spinning.
Stella looks at him in concern before handing him a small cloth to dab his head. "Talk to me Mac."
"Concussion," he groans. "Blurry vision, dizzy, throbbing head..." his voice lightly coughs and his face scrunches with pain. "Chest hurts but my ribs aren't broken."
"Mac..."
"Trust me, just sore."
"Close your eyes for a few seconds but keep talking to me. Wait here," Stella tells him as she leaves Mac at the back and then heads toward the side passenger door to get the first aide kit, pulling her phone in the process. She pulls a little too hard and allows another cry of pain to escape her lips.
"Stella?" Mac asks in haste, his eyes opening at her cry of pain.
"I'm okay. Hold on a sec."
She walks back and he gently touches her arm. "Are you okay?"
"My chest hurts too," she huffs as she pulls out her phone. "Damn it Mac no cell service here!" She curses as she comes to his side once more. However, no matter her anger from earlier, when she looks at the tormented expression on his handsome face, her heart softens in an instant.
"Here let me see you," she starts in a soft tone as her slightly watery eyes rest on the ugly wound above his left eye as she tries to gently wipe away some fresh blood. Mac looks at her in remorse, his blue eyes begging for some kind of forgiveness for his earlier harsh words.
"Sorry we argued earlier," he offers in a small tone as he winces once more as she applies some cool disinfectant to his wound. Another curse follows and Stella's hand quickly retreats. "Sorry," Mac states in haste as he takes her slightly trembling hands in his cold ones and holds them as tightly as he can; given the fact that his too are also lightly shaking. "I'm sorry I yelled."
"Me too," she puts his mind at ease with a tender smile.
"Are you okay?" Mac asks in concern, stopping her actions so he can see if she's okay.
"I am thanks to you. Next time it's my turn to save you," she whispers and his lips tug into a slight smirk; which sadly ends in a scowl as he takes another sharp intake of air. "Mac? Are you sure they are not..."
"Trust me my ribs aren't broken, they are just sore from the impact of the seatbelt and the side door," he assures her. "Check to see what got us," Mac lightly instructs.
"My duty is to make sure you..."
"Stella please. We need to know," Mac insists and she can do little more than shake her head and regrettably comply.
"Stubborn," she offers with a frustrated growl as she leaves his side and heads for her side of the truck; allowing Mac to give himself the once over to ensure that nothing is indeed broken. A few minutes later, however, her eyes rest upon something that makes her heart nearly stop. "Oh my g..." her voice trails off in horrible realization as she hurries back to Mac's side and starts to stuff the first aide items back into their carrying bag.
"Stella what is it?" Mac asks in haste.
"We were shot at Mac," Stella informs him.
"What?"
"That's what took us out. We have to get out of here. It could just be a stray bullet from a hunter, but it might be more," she mentions looking at him firmly.
"I know that look. You think the words earlier..."
"Words? Mac, Derek Turner threatened your life straight up. It could be payback for the arrest of his brother."
"Aren't you glad I made it then?"
"Damn it Mac, that's not funny," Stella curses. "We have to leave now."
Knowing her skills were never to be doubted, he offers a firm nod and offers his hand. Biting back his pain, he starts for the edge of the ditch and both slowly climb out, wet, dirty, injured and running on adrenaline only. Mac looks at the skid marks and then lets his eyes map out a trajectory course to see where their sniper might have been situated.
"Over there," Mac points in the direction of the Turner brothers, not realizing that right now, they are about to become targets in a game with their very lives on the line. However, Mac does get a glint of red in the distance moving toward them.
"Mac?"
"We have to get out of here," Mac tells her in haste, his heart still racing in wonder as to who could have taken the shot and if it indeed could be Derek Turner. Then his mind trails back a few hours earlier when they went to arrest Jackson Turner.
'Who the hell are you?'
'I'm his brother Detective Taylor. My brother is innocent.'
'DNA says he murdered that girl. I'm going for an arrest warrant and then I'll be back in an hour.'
'You come back and trust me you'll be next.'
'Is that a threat?'
'Yes it is.'
Mac's cold fingers grip Stella's hand as they head for the road, thinking it would be the best option in flagging someone down for help.
"Phone's still dead out here," Stella moans as she stuffs it back into her pocket and hurries after Mac, her breathing just as shallow and raspy as his; her body in just as much pain. She lightly stumbles and Mac's arms are quick to reach out and pull her back against his rapidly beating heart, allowing a few extra minutes of much needed body heat to be built up. He looks at her in concern, a small frown on his blood stained brow.
"Stella?"
"I'm okay Mac," she mentions lightly. "We should keep moving."
Mac casts his gaze past the truck but realizes that the voices up ahead could be the very men they are now trying desperately to avoid.
"Why are we stopping?"
"The shot came from the right. But I'm betting that piece of red we saw in the distance on the left side of the road is just fabric placed there to try and send is into the direction of...well whoever. But we can't stay on this road either. Too open. We need places to hide."
"Mac, you're wet and shivering and I can tell by each painful breath you take you sustained more than a painful jolt in that accident; plus you have a concussion and a bad head wound. We need to stay on the road and flag someone down."
"We wait by the truck and if those are the Turners out there we are as good as dead. I don't want to argue but trust me on this, we need to get off the road. As long as we stay relatively dry and together and find someplace to hide, we should be able to survive until that damn phone starts working or help arrives."
"What help? Mac..." Stella stars and then stops. She looks into his concerned face and feels her start to soften once more. He's taken cold weather survival training, trust him, her brain urges. So with a firm nod, she offers her hand once more for him to take.
"This way," Mac tells her firmly. "And keep your gun ready."
Mac leads them back toward the truck and then up onto the other side of the ditch and into the unfamiliar landscape before them. He knows that darkness will come in a matter of hours and with neither of them dressed to brave the elements and only a small first aid kit and a few extra supplies to help out, spending the night in this desolate area was not something he was looking forward to.
They run a few more yards and then stop, the pain in Mac's chest from the crash now starting to take its toll, making him lightly gasp for air.
"Mac...we need a place to rest," Stella lightly pants, her chest also feeling the adverse affects from the accident. "My phone has been in and out of service so maybe if I can text Flack a message to track the truck's GPS he'll find us in time."
Mac leans up against and tree, swallows hard and nods at her to proceed. His eyes dart nervously around, quickly surveying the landscape before them to see what they can use as any means of shelter or hiding place if indeed the bullet was sent into their tire on purpose and they are now being hunted by a madman out for revenge.
"They could just be hunters with a stray bullet," Mac tries as he peers out from behind the tree. He squints past the truck and sure enough sees two men dressed in what appears to be dark camouflage jackets slowly moving in their direction. Knowing that during hunting season, most, if not all hunters wear something bright so as to avoid being hit by other hunters, the two men heading for them aren't coming to offer an apology for a stray shot; they are coming to finish what they started.
"We have to go now," Mac states as he grabs her hand once more and heads in the opposite direction, his chest still in pain and his head pounding.
"I didn't have time to..."
"The two men behind us aren't hunters. Hunters wear red these guys are dressed in camo. Trust me it's the Turner's," Mac informs her as his ears now pick up faint angry shouts and his adrenaline starts to surge once more. "They reached the truck."
"Damn it," Stella gently curses as she casts a glance backward and sure enough two dark figures where now hurrying in their direction. "Here they come Mac."
They run for about ten more minutes before Mac once again has to stop to catch his breath, his mouth dry from breathing hard and his head pounding from the gash that won't seem to stop bleeding. He finally spies a thick hedge and makes for it, not daring to look back and create further panic in his mind and the mind of the precious life at his side that he knows he has to protect at any cost.
"Mac..." Stella lightly pants.
"We'll stop...there..." Mac gasps as he drags her toward the hedge and then forces himself to his knees, Stella at his side, her hand on his back. She gently wraps her arm around him and pulls him close, his body gently trembling from the dampness that has now started to permeate through the fabric of his suit.
"Think it's the Turners?"
'Randy go around to the south, I'll keep on them like this. We'll head them off.'
'No where to run...no where to hide,' he laughs as he takes his leave, hoping to cut off their escape route.
"Would bet my life on it," Mac manages as he pushes himself to rest on his heels, looking at Stella in torment. "How are you?" He asks looking at the small wound on her forehead, thankful that it has stopped bleeding.
"I'm okay but your head is still bleeding," Stella frowns as she quickly pulls out another tissue and dabs it. "The Band-Aid is too small."
"It'll have to do" Mac shakes his head, gesturing for her to put the kit away. "Stella, in the event that we get separated or I send you on ahead to..."
"Forget it Mac, I'm not leaving you here to deal with those two killers. And I'm certainly not letting you offer yourself as bait! They want us both dead and we are sticking together and that's final," she tells him firmly.
"Damn it, why can't I win with you," Mac huffs as he glances around, his eyes constantly surveying the landscape for anything they can use to give them some kind of leverage. "We still have some daylight and need to..." Mac starts only to be cut off as the voices draw closer.
"We have to keep going," Stella insists as she pokes her head up to see where their two hunters are. But as she does a bullet whizzes past and she lets out a small gasp as the bullet nearly misses her right shoulder.
Mac yanks her hand as he starts to run further into the barren forest before them, his mind now showing him terrible images of Stella at the mercy of the two merciless brothers. "We can't stop..." Mac wheezes as his chest starts to remind him of the force it endured not too long ago and that he should be resting.
But as another shot rings out, terror forces him to push aside his pain once again and keep going. Stella lets out a small cry as her foot gets snagged and she stumbles to her knees. But she's up in a matter of seconds, urging Mac to keep going.
"We need to find some place to draw them in," Mac huffs as another shot rings into the cold air around them.
"I think they're gaining," Stella mentions in a panic.
"Don't look back," Mac instructs.
"I don't think we sho..." Stella starts just as another shot rings out, this time it hits its target. Stella lets out a small cry in agony as her body immediately falters to the ground in pain.
"No..." Mac states in horror as he kneels at her side. "Stella...oh god no..." Mac gasps as his cold fingers quickly pull her sweater away to reveal an ugly graze into her soft side. His eyes follow the path of the bullet that has seared the perfect skin and for a split second he looks away in anger before turning back and allowing his mind to focus on offering at least a quick fix. He takes out a cloth and then applies some pressure and another moan of agony escapes her lips as he tries to stop the blood.
"Sorry."
"It's okay," she huffs.
"It's not that deep and thankfully just a harsh graze," Mac informs her.
"Just bandage it up for now Mac," Stella whispers as she blinks away fresh tears.
"Stella..."
"Mac, they are coming. I'll be okay...please just fix it for now."
"Right," Mac frowns heavily as he reaches for the first aid kit she's offering. "Okay, apply pressure," Mac instructs as he quickly pulls out a large bandage and pushes it down, knowing it'll have to do until he can get them someplace safe and warm.
"Save the other large bandage for later Mac," Stella tells him as she stops his actions from opening another bandage. "This is fine for now."
"Okay. Hold your side while you run and have your gun in your other hand. We are not going down without a fight," Mac tells her firmly as he gently brushes a stray tear away. "Can you run?"
"Just get us someplace safe," Stella states with a firm nod of her head as she quickly pushes herself up and both turn to see Derek Turner a few hundred yards away and closing fast.
"No where to run Taylor!" He shouts as he fires off another shot that once again narrowly misses them. "No where to hide," his laughter rings out as he fires again.
"We need to take one of them down and we need to stop to do that," Mac tells Stella as they near a large tree. "Here," Mac instructs as he stops them behind the tree and pulls his gun. He glances back to see that Derek has taken cover also, probably now waiting for them to make a move.
"Damn it!" Mac curses as he tries to ignore the pounding in his head and the fact that his vision is starting to lightly blur once again. He looks at Stella who offers only a weak expression and curses softly once more. "Stella I'm sorry."
"For what? You didn't shoot me," she answers with a soft voice, her face wearing a look of concern and worry for her partner. "Your head is bleeding again."
"And you call me stubborn," Mac shakes his head as he gently pushes aside Stella's fingers to inspect the gunshot graze. "Just keep applying pressure and try Flack once more."
Stella pulls out her phone, praying for even a weak signal so she can send even a small message, asking for some much needed help.
Mac peers around the tree once more and finally sees Derek remove himself from his hiding spot, moving in closer. "I only see one."
"Where do you think the other one is?" Stella asks in fear.
"Don't know and thats what now has me worried. Could be behind him or..." Mac's neck turns to look behind them. "Or coming from behind us. Watch my back and keep trying Don."
"Mac..."
"I'm going to wait until he's closer before I shoot. Any luck?"
"The signal is weak and it's trying to send," Stella huffs as she feels a sharp pain in her right side.
"Stella?" Mac asks in concern as she sharply inhales and slightly falters.
"It'll pass," Stella tells him in haste. "Just get him Mac."
Mac offers a firm nod before he turns back to see where Derek has gotten to. Derek ducks back behind the hedge they were at previously and Mac looks in the opposite direction, someplace he can let Stella just rest until he takes at least one of them out.
"Okay there is what appears to be a shelter of sorts up ahead, probably a hunting shack. We need to run for it."
"Mac, you take my hand and don't let go until we are there," Stella instructs with a firm nod as she stuffs her phone and gun away, one hand on her side, the other gripping his fingers to add some warmth to his cold hand.
Mac pushes himself away from the tree, heading for the shack with Derek Turner now hot on their trail. Breathing hard and feeling his ear drums about to burst, Mac knows he can't stop for any reason until they are in the shack and Stella is out of the harsh elements; his own personal health he'd deal with later.
They reach the shack but find it almost fallen down and unable to offer any kind of solid protection from the vengeful brothers only minutes away.
"Stay here," Mac instructs Stella as he readies his gun and helps her sit down on the ground. "Just hold your knees to your chest and..."
"Mac, you are not going out there to fight him alone," Stella tells him firmly. "You take any hits to the chest and you are done for."
"I won't let them get us. You need to..."
"Let me fight with you," she tries again. "Don't discount..."
"Stella, this has nothing to do with me thinking less of your fighting skills. We can't both be caught. You are wounded and they intend to kill us or...worse," his voice ends in misery. "I will not let them capture you. Stella if I had to watch them...well do...anything, it would kill me. Just stay out of sight."
"It could be a trap Mac."
"I have no choice."
"They'll do you harm as well. Think that will be easier for me to see? You being hurt by them? You can hardly stand! Damn it Mac, listen..."
"I'm not shot. Stella, you need to take care of that side. But promise me one thing; if I am caught you will get the hell out of here and..."
"No way Mac. I will not leave to their mercy!" Stella insists.
"Go for help," Mac gently growls. "Don't argue."
"Mac, I..." Stella starts only to have him quickly silence her with a brief but warm kiss before pulling back and looking at her with a firm expression; her face displaying a shocked one.
"Please keep yourself out of sight and safe. If I can take out at least one of them, we'll have a fighting chance. I'll be fine," Mac assures her with a brief smile as he touches her soft cheek. "Please," he begs as he pushes himself back up and heads for the door. He slowly pulls it open just to see Derek take cover. "Keep your gun ready," Mac tells her as he gently closes the door behind her and heads for a nearby tree, hoping to flush out Derek and take him out for good.
"Forget it Mac. I'm not leaving you to their mercy," Stella mumbles to herself as she pushes herself to go and help Mac. A few shots and that would be it. She knows it'll attract the other brother but they need to end this and fast. She prepares herself to go and help but, just as she prepares to join Mac, Stella hears Randy's voice outside and knows things are going to get a lot worse before they get better and she has to be ready to help Mac. Biting back her pain, she slowly stands up and heads for the back door, letting herself out just as Randy draws closer.
"Damn it!" She hears Randy curse and knows she has only seconds to make a decision. She could reveal herself but it she's caught she knows they'll make Mac suffer by forcing him to watch...well whatever they force on her; and she'd rather die herself than force her beloved partner to face that kind of terror. Mac wouldn't want that and so with a curse of her own name, presses herself into a small stone alcove just as Randy hurries past, his rifle already ready. However, she has no intention of leaving Mac in their grasp, so knows she's not going far.
Mac watches Derek make another move and takes a few shots. Offering a brief exhale as the third one hits its target, taking Derek to his knees; the bullet in his leg. Mac watches the rifle fall from Derek's hands as Derek stumbles to his knees before he leaves his hiding place and rushes toward him, firing off a few more shots, one embedding itself into Derek's upper arm.
Derek offers a foul curse just as Mac lunges as him, taking them both back to the ground in an angry jumble of arms and legs. Derek manages a hit to Mac's tender chest, forcing Mac to cry out in pain. However, Mac is quick to offer a hit to Derek's wounded shoulder, making Derek also yell out in agony before his body slams backward into the harsh ground.
Mac loses his gun in the scuffle only to spy it a few feet away and makes a play for it. However, just as his fingers are about to rest on the handle of his gun, he's struck from behind by the butt end of Randy's gun, his body slamming into the ground on top of Derek Turner. Randy Turner, who had been waiting for Mac to leave his hiding spot to attack his brother, smiles at the fallen CSI before he kicks him once more.
"Got you now Taylor," Randy sneers down at Mac.
Mac's lips offer another cry of agony as his side sustains a harsh kick from Randy's boot; his body being forced off Randy and onto the cold ground, his arms clutching his chest. However, just as Randy's boot is about to come down on him again, Mac rolls to the side, Randy's leg crashes to the ground and Mac kicks at him in the leg.
Mac's fingers finally grasp his gun but as he turns to look up and fire off a shot, the butt end of Randy's rifle is slammed into the already tender wound on his forehead and his head snaps back and he's taken down, eyes watering, heart racing and gun being kicked aside.
"Damn bastard shot me! Twice!" Derek bellows as he snatches Mac's gun and sticks it into his cheek. "Where is your pretty partner Detective Taylor?"
"Go...to hell..." Mac wheezes as he rolls onto his side, his vision starting to blur once more.
"Check the shack and bring her out here to join the party," Randy tells his brother as Derek slowly stands up.
"Me?"
"I'll watch him. Now stop whining and move your ass!"
"I was shot!"
"MOVE!"
"Fine, but take his coat. I want him to suffer," Derek sneers as Randy bends down and roughly pulls Mac's warm coat off his body, leaving only his suit jacket; which much to his horror is also ripped off his body, leaving only his dress shirt and undershirt as protection from the biting cold. And thanks to working up a sweat from the run and the fight, his body is damp and losing heat by the second. Hypothermia will now be inevitable.
"Better. Be right back," Derek growls as he tosses Randy some rope and goes in search of Stella. "Make sure he can't escape."
Mac feels his wrists being pulled behind his back and tries to twist himself around to keep from being captured. However, another agonizing grunt escapes his lips as he's hit once more in the chest, winding him, which allows his captor to finally yank his wrists behind his back and tie them tightly together with rope.
"She's not here!" Derek bellows as he hurries back to Randy and their captive. "Shall I check..."
"Get back here! We have what she wants; him! She'll come to us."
Randy gets Mac to his knees just as Derek grabs a handful of hair and jerks Mac's head painfully back. "Where is she?" He shouts in anger.
"Go to hell," Mac growls in return, knowing he'd rather die than give them any idea as to where his beloved partner has gotten to. He knows Stella's instincts for survival are as strong as his, but as much as he'd like to tell himself she's gone for help, he knows that she won't stray too far; not as long as he was their prisoner, that thought gave him comfort but also frightened him if she was caught. He knows inside he'd rather die than watch her endure anything they have in mind.
"We'll find her," Randy smiles to his brother as he pulls something from his pocket. "She's a woman and a city slicker at that. She'll never last."
"She could kick both your asses!" Mac hisses in anger; a hint of pride in his voice when referring to his stong willed partner. His tightly bound wrists clench in hatred but with him being immobilized there is little he can do but listen to their insults and pray his partner isn't found.
"Yeah right," Derek sneers. "She's a girl. She'd never best me," he boasts fatefully. "Randy, now what? Where the hell do you think she is?"
"We'll set a trap and we have the perfect bait," he laughs offering Mac a firm slap on the back; Mac still on his damp knees on the harsh ground.
"Yeah, make her come to us," Derek nods in agreement as he ties a cloth around the grazed wound on his leg.
"She's gone for help," Mac snaps; lightly strugging against the ropes keeping him captive.
"And left you here all alone?" Randy goads. "I'm not stupid!" He shouts down at Mac. "If you're here, she's here. Too bad for both of ya. We'll find her and then you'll be sorry. What do you say to that!"
"As I said before, go to hell," Mac curses once more, gently shifting his head to keep the blood from trickling into his eye.
"Already been there Detective Taylor; the next ride is yours."
Mac's eyes glance in the direction of the shack, darting around, trying to find where Stella has gotten to; mostly for his own piece of mind.
"I think I see her," Randy lies, hoping to draw Mac out.
But Mac looks in the direction of Randy's voice and feels his heart staring to race once more. "STELLA RU..." is all Mac is allowed to get out before Randy stuffs the thick cloth he had pulled from his pocket into Mac's mouth before tying it tightly behind his head, silencing him. Mac mumbles angrily into the gag and curses his silence when the knot is tightened; his stomach starting to churn as he's forced to taste his own coppery blood in his mouth. Stella if you are here, I pray you play this smart. Wait for the perfect moment. Please...oh god please let her be okay.
"Not fair to ruin our fun Detective Taylor," Randy sneers as he looks down at Mac, still on his knees; his body now starting to lightly tremble from the cold, his adrenaline almost spent. "And when we find her, we are going to kill you both, nice and slow. After we have some fun with her first."
"Hope you said your goodbyes Detective Taylor," Derek adds as pats Mac on the cheek before he roughly hauls him upright.
"She's alone and injured and probably scared. An animal like that don't last long out in these woods."
"Let's go hunting."
To be concluded/...
A/N: okay I know my muse is evil lol...but you all knew that right? Want the exciting conclusion? Please review and let me know and ye shall be rewarded! Lol thanks again!
PS: Promise of Tomorrow updated tomorrow!