Hello all! This is my first fanfiction story so constructive criticism is appreciated, but flames are not. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Obviously I do not own MacGyver or any of the characters. I can dream, but such is life.
"All I'm sayin' is if we'd done it my way we'd be on our way home right now," Jack grumbled, glancing tentatively around the corner of the crate he, Mac, and Riley were hiding behind. Mac sighed and rolled his eyes.
"No Jack, if we'd done it your way, we'd all be sleeping with the fishes right now," Mac griped back exasperatedly. Jack made a face.
"I still say I coulda swam that…and it's 'fish' not 'fishes' smarty pants," Jack shot back, looking nervously over his shoulder again. They were still being fired at, but the shots had slowed down. Either the goons they'd come to take down were conserving ammo or they were reloading. Jack had a bad feeling he knew which they were doing. Mac fought down a groan.
"I don't care how badass you think you are Jack, you could not have held your breath for the nine minutes it would have taken you to get to shore without being seen. This island is guarded from all sides. It was a miracle we could even sneak in up that cliff face. I mean they're not just going to leave a stolen nuke unguarded Jack….And it's 'fish' if it's one species. There are multiple species in that water, therefore the technical term would be 'fishes'," Mac groused, his eyes flitting around in search of useful objects to get them out of their current predicament. Finding an open box, he smiled. Jack leaned over and fired a few shots to keep them at bay, then checked his gun.
"I'm about out of ammo dude, so if you're gonna do somethin' I suggest you do it soon. And since you're so sure I couldn't have made it without breathin', why couldn't you have whipped me up some scuba gear out of some plastic baggies and straws or somethin'?" Jack asked, trailing off with a mutter of something that sounded suspiciously like 'Grammar Nazi'. Mac rolled his eyes again, reaching for a bundle of colorful wires and an old radio.
"I could have made you an aqualung out of our boat, Jack, but in case you've forgotten, we kind of need it to get out of here, so I'm sorry but this was the best plan. There was no way for us to have known they booby-trapped the warehouse," Mac said, his voice softening just a little. He felt somewhat guilty for not seeing the trip-wire until it was too late. For crying out loud if it had been a bomb instead of an alarm they'd all be dead. He suppressed a shudder.
"Look I'm sorry," he said quietly, not even sure if the older man had heard him, "Both of you are in danger because of me." Riley glanced away from her frantic typing long enough to roll her eyes and smile her forgiveness. Jack just cracked a small grin and winked at Mac.
"Eh, it ain't your fault and we've been in tougher places than this before man, we'll make it out just fine," he said, checking his gun again. The smile disappeared, replaced with a grimly serious look. "But man I only got two rounds left so rig up your doohickey and let's go," he said, gesturing to the mass of twisted wires connected to the old radio in Mac's hands. Mac frowned in contemplation.
"See that's the thing…" he began tentatively. Jack's frown deepened.
"Now's the part where you're gonna tell me I'm not gonna like it, right?" Jack asked, resignation and apprehension in his voice. Mac shot him a smile that was closer to a grimace.
"I'm going to have to get this wired directly into the control room's mainframe. That way, I can disable their outside control and disarm the warhead without them setting off the bomb," Mac said with reluctant look. Jack met his eyes and seemed to grasp what that entailed.
"So you're sayin' we're gonna have to fight our way through at least fifteen armed goons with only two bullets and our good looks?" Jack asked skeptically. Mac closed his eyes for a moment and wrinkled his nose. Opening them he saw the look on Jack's face and knew what he was about to say.
"No, aw hell no man. Not gonna happen," Jack said, setting his jaw. Mac shot him a helpless shrug and widened his eyes.
"Jack come on, I know you want to protect me and all, but there are way more lives at stake here. Besides, I'm safer if you cover me to the control room, then I'll just barricade the door and from there…" before Mac could finish, Jack interrupted.
"Yeah yeah yeah, 'Improvise,' I know," Jack grouched. Mac raised an eyebrow and stared him down. Jack glared back for a bit before sighing deeply.
"I want it on record that I don't like this," he said exasperatedly. Mac shrugged his agreement and squeezed Jack's shoulder.
"I'll be fine Jack," he said with a reassuring grin. Then he turned to Riley. "Riley, do you have the specs for the building?" he asked, knowing she would. Pausing in her typing she flipped her laptop around.
"Yeah, here's the blueprints. I'm working on a code to patch us into the bad guys' coms over the wireless, but it's going to take a few more minutes," she said, resuming her typing after Mac snapped a photo of the blueprints on his phone. Mac nodded determinedly and stood, still crouched behind the crate.
"Cover me Jack," he said determinedly. As soon as Jack had his gun up, Mac set off across the room toward the door to the control room with Jack timing his last two bullets well enough to get him across without getting shot, having the vague notion that the bad guys must have been trained by the Imperial Stormtroopers.
Mac had just made it to the door and had it halfway open when Jack saw him flinch and heard him let out a yelp of pain. Panic welled in his chest and he craned to see him.
Jack sighed in both relief and worry when he saw blood trickling down Mac's left arm from a bullet graze. Mac got inside the door and closed it, Jack feeling the slightest amount of relief knowing he was barricading the door against them. Glancing at Riley, he held up his empty weapon for emphasis.
"I'm all out kid, so I hope you've got a plan," he said tensely. Riley ignored him, still typing frantically. After a moment she hit a key and stopped, reaching for headphones.
"I got it! We're patched in to their coms now Jack," she said joyfully. She put one earbud in and immediately frowned.
"Jack? These guys are supposed to be Russian right?" she asked, confusion tingeing her words. It was Jack's turn to frown.
"Yeah, that's what Matty's intel said," Jack said slowly, really not liking where this was going.
"Then why are the all speaking with American accents?" she whispered. Jack blinked a few times at this new development. Suddenly Riley's eyes went wide and her face paled.
"Never mind, I know why," she whispered, her eyes full of horror. Wordlessly she held out the other earbud and Jack put it in. As soon as he heard the voice on the coms, Jack swore and moved to go before Riley grabbed his arm.
"What are you going to do Jack?" she asked desperately. "You're out of ammunition." Jack gave her a hard stare then cracked a small, wolf-like grin.
"Then I'll just have to improvise won't I?" he said determinedly. With that he took off toward the shooters, jumping from cover to cover behind crates and old machinery. It occurred to him that he didn't even know what kind of warehouse this was, but at the moment he was busy not dying.
He'd just gotten close enough to start swinging when the door to the control room opened. Jack heart plummeted to his stomach. MacGyver walked out slowly, holding his hands up in the universal sign of surrender and staring at the ground chagrined. Jack felt his anger flare and fought to control himself when he saw the person holding a 12-gage shotgun on him. Gritting his teeth, he spoke.
"Hey Nikki," he growled, staring at the woman who'd screwed them over not once, but twice now. She smiled sweetly.
"Hey Jack, long time no see," she said with a smirk.
"Not long enough," Jack growled, trying desperately to think of a way out of their situation. He knew Mac was doing so too. Glancing at him, Jack frowned. He could practically see the kid kicking himself for not realizing the truth about Nikki. They were definitely going to have to have a long talk about this later. Shifting his attention back to Nikki, Jack scowled.
"So what's your game plan here? Old team reunion? Cause that ship has sailed chica," Jack snarked, taking a careful step closer. Nikki pressed the gun to the base of Mac's skull.
"One more step Jack and I'll blow that gigantic brain of his right out of his head," Nikki said coldly. Jack froze and slowly lifted his hands, not willing to risk Mac's life. He knew what that gun could do to a human head.
"Alright what do you want?" he asked just as icily. Nikki smirked again.
"I want you to make a decision Jack," she said, clearly anticipating this moment, "See, you do realize was a hacker right? So if someone say…patches into my coms, don't you think I'd be able to find where that person was?" Jack felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He turned and saw three of the goons drag in a furiously struggling Riley. She looked from Mac to Jack and hung her head.
"I'm sorry guys, I didn't notice her tracking me until it was too late," she said shamefacedly. Jack shook his head.
"Don't beat yourself up Ri, she had all of us fooled," Jack said in disgust. Mac didn't respond, but offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile. Nikki nodded to the guys holding Riley and they dragged her over beside Mac. Jack faced them and felt a sick feeling begin to creep into his stomach. Surely she couldn't…
"Choose," Nikki said simply, waving the gun between Mac and Riley. Jack's mouth fell open.
"Say what now?" he asked incredulously. Nikki glared at him and gestured between the two with the gun again.
"Choose one," she said again, "One dies, the other goes free with you. Who's it going to be Jack? Mac, your brother in arms and the man you've vowed to protect, or Riley, the girl you love like your own daughter and would also give your life to protect?" Nikki finished, raising an eyebrow pointedly. Jack stood in silence for a moment then opened his mouth. Before he could speak however she interrupted him.
"And before you gallantly offer your life for theirs, I'm going to tell you if you ask or even beg me to take you instead, I will shoot them both right now. You have to choose; Mac or Riley," she said, her voice leaving no room for argument. Jack opened and closed his mouth. He met Mac's eyes then Riley's. He knew each wanted him to choose the other to live. In Mac's eyes he saw grim determination and valor. In Riley's he saw bravery masking deep fear. Glancing at Mac again, Jack saw him give an imperceptible nod toward his hand. Jack forced himself not to sigh in relief; Mac had a plan. Facing Nikki and setting his jaw, Jack closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard.
"Made your decision?" Nikki asked, her voice indifferent. Jack nodded stiffly.
"Mac," he whispered, his throat tight. Riley's eyes flew open wide and she shook her head.
"Jack no!" she cried, but he silenced her with a look. Nikki raised a brow.
"Mac lives or Mac dies?" she asked, clearly knowing the answer but wanting to hear Jack say it. Jack grit his teeth so hard he was certain they'd snap off.
"Mac…dies," he choked out, wanting more than anything to shoot Nikki and her goons and go home. Nikki raised her eyebrows; Mac simply nodded determinedly as Riley immediately began to protest. Mac lifted a hand to silence her.
"It's okay Riley," he said calmly, "You guys will be okay. Please take care of Bozer…and Jack," he began, meeting Jack's eyes, "Whatever happens, it is not your fault, okay?" he saw a flicker of fear cross Jack's face and he nodded complacently. With that, Mac slowly turned around to face Nikki.
"So we meet again," he said sarcastically. She simply smiled and gestured to the room next to the one they'd been in. This one had a large window between the room and the open part of the warehouse they were in now. Wordlessly, Mac went in, being prodded with Nikki's gun.
As Nikki's cronies dragged him and Riley across the room, Jack watched the ordeal with growing apprehension. What happened next would haunt Jack forever. Time seemed to slow down into a series of moments. Mac twisted around to try and grab on of the goon's guns…Nikki saw him…raised the gun…whacked him in the back of the head…he fell to the ground behind the window…Nikki aimed the gun…she fired.
Jack's world stopped. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think. He was vaguely aware of someone screaming and somewhere in the recesses of his brain he felt Riley's grip on his arm as she began to sob. He stared in utter shock, unable to process what had just happened. She'd shot him…she'd shot Mac…no…maybe it wasn't' a kill shot…maybe it was a bluff…they couldn't see Mac so maybe…
Jack stepped determinedly forward, his legs only carrying him on pure instinct. For some reason no one stopped him as he made his way toward the room. He didn't want to look. He wanted to cling to hope. Reaching the door, he clenched his teeth and stepped inside.
Jack immediately felt his heart stop. He wanted to scream, to vomit, and to kill someone all at once. There lay Mac on the floor, face down, his head mangled by the gunshot, blood dripping from golden hair. Jack felt his knees go weak and he sagged to the floor. Closer now he could see the scene in gruesome detail; the khakis they'd so mercilessly teased him about, one of his nice button-down shirts; this one light blue, his hands…the long slim fingers always creating the impossible…stilled forever. Looking closer, Jack felt whatever was left of his heart shred inside his chest. Clutched in his death-grip was a tiny piece of silver: a paperclip.
Jack closed his eyes, unable to think, to process what had just happened. He heard a female voice, but couldn't process the words it was saying.
Jumping to his feet, Jack flew at Nikki and wrapped a hand around her throat, glaring viciously and fully intending to kill her. What he didn't see however, was one of the other bad guys sneaking up behind him, courtesy of Nikki. Suddenly, pain exploded in the back of his head and he sank into merciful darkness.
When Jack awoke, it was from a horrific nightmare about Mac. Opening his eyes and looking around, Jack frowned. They were on some kind of rescue plane. Sitting up, his eyes found Riley, who was sitting pale and wide-eyed wrapped in a blanket. When she saw him staring at her she got up and moved stiffly over to him, like a deer learning to walk. As she knelt beside him, Jack didn't miss the way her knees seemed to give out. His muddled brain tried to recreate the moments before being knocked out, but he could only seem to remember his nightmare.
"Ri? What's going on?" he asked, because he knew…he just knew that his nightmare couldn't possibly be true. Riley's eyes widened.
"They…they just loaded us up onto this plane. I don't know where we're going, but Jack…they blew up the warehouse," Riley said in a small voice, as though she was afraid if she talked too loud she'd shatter him. Jack blinked. Warehouse…but that meant…his nightmare…
"No," he whispered, tears springing to his eyes, "No…he can't…he's not…" Jack could no longer form words. He saw tears begin to fall from Riley's eyes too, and enveloped her in a crushing bear hug, feeling her body shaking with sobs…or maybe that was his, he didn't know and he didn't care. Mac was dead. His brother, the man he'd vowed to protect with his life, was dead because of him. Nikki's face swam into Jack's mind and he felt a white-hot rage envelop him. He was going to find her and he'd make sure his face was the last thing she ever saw.
When they finally arrived at their destination, Jack was prepared to fight whomever would come through the door. What he wasn't prepared for however, was being met with his own men, in full tack gear and holding guns on them. He realized with a start that they were at the Phoenix Foundation's private landing pad on top of the building.
After they got past all the confusion, Jack and Riley were immediately taken to Matty's office, while the pilot, who insisted he was just hired to take them to these coordinates no-questions-asked, was taken in for questioning.
As they walked toward Matty's office, Riley took Jack's hand and did her best to hide her tears. Jack did the same, nearly biting his lip bleeding.
Walking into the office, Jack saw Matty and one of the techs turn around. They'd had to go in dark, so Matty had no idea what had transpired. As she faced them now and immediately noticed who was absent, he saw the horrified disbelief flash in her eyes before she composed herself.
"Where's Baby Einstein?" she asked, clearly hoping they'd say he'd be there shortly. Jack swallowed hard and looked at the ground. He was having a very hard time trying to find words. He felt Riley squeeze his arm and met Matty's gaze.
"He's not comin' Matty," he said in barely more than a whisper. Matty's jaw clenched.
"What are you saying Jack?" she asked with a softness he didn't know she could posses. He swallowed again.
"I'm saying…he's gone…" Jack managed to choke out. "Nikki Carpenter shot him, then they blew up the warehouse. We couldn't recover the…" Jack couldn't bring himself to say 'body."
Matty leaned heavily on a nearby table, putting her face in her hands. At that moment, Bozer walked in.
"Hey guys! You're back! Man, we were getting really worried when we couldn't get ahold of you…hey where's Mac?" he asked, quickly realizing who was missing. Then Bozer seemed to take in all the red eyes and sadness in the room. His face fell to an expression of disbelief.
"No…no no no no," he said, slowly backing out. Jack stepped toward him but he flinched away, "NO!" he shouted, and with that he fled the room, knocking over a chair as he went. Jack decided to let him process on his own. He really couldn't handle any more emotion right now. Matty was already on the phone sending teams to the island and contacting the necessary people.
Jack sat down on the couch, pulling Riley down to sit beside him. Tomorrow he was going to start hunting Nikki down if it took everything he had, but right now he just needed time to mourn with his family.
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He opened bleary eyes, taking in his surroundings through slightly blurred vision. Looking down at his hands, he found them handcuffed to the arms of a metal chair. That felt familiar. Looking closer at his surroundings, he saw that all the buttons had been removed from his shirt, the chair had been sanded smooth, and they'd taken his shoes.
He jumped when he heard a noise at the top of the stairs. Footsteps clanked slowly down the metal staircase until he saw the person making them standing in front of him. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eye.
"I'm only going to tell you this once," she began, her nails digging into his cheek, "You will do exactly as I say. No one is coming for you," she said standing and turning to go. At the top of the stairs she stopped, "See, to them you're dead MacGyver."
That's all for now but not to worry, Mac will be back! Please feel free to review!