For Family
By: Ridley C. James
A/N: First, so sorry this did not get posted earlier. I should know better than to put myself on a timeline. I am so grateful for all the reviews and encouragement for this universe. As long as you guys want to explore it, I'll keep writing. I do have a missing scene for Episode one of season 2 coming up tomorrow! It is in my lovely beta's hands so it is completely finished. I hope that somewhat makes up for this being a bit late. For any readers who may be from the states, including Puerto Rico, that have endured the recent tragedies my prayers are with you.
RcJ
Mac looked out from Bozer's front window for what was sure to be the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. It was after 9 in the morning and Jack was an hour late. Mac's mind raced with numerous scenarios that could have caused his brother to break the promise he made to pick Mac up at eight.
They went from the plausible, like Jack merely oversleeping after working into the early hours of the morning, to the illogical, that involved ninjas and a government plot to force his brother to rescue the President of the United States, who'd been taken from The White House by said ninjas. Bozer might have influenced the latter one because it sounded a lot like the story line to the current screenplay he was writing which he insisted on reading to Mac the night before after they had watched Roadhouse, even though Jack had strongly discouraged the viewing.
Mac could feel his best friend's eyes on him as he continued to survey the circle drive out front as if by his intense focus alone he could will Jack to appear. Mac tried not to think of how many times he'd stared out the front window of his own home, hoping his father might miraculously show up. He fought off the fear that like his dad, Jack might have simply vanished.
"We could call him again."
Mac turned at Bozer's suggestion, giving a slight shake of his head. "I just did a few minutes ago."
"Maybe he overslept." Bozer moved to the couch, taking a seat next to Mac when the blond let go of the curtains and slid onto one of the cushions. "The bar didn't close until 2:30 this morning. I read the hours on the door when we were there."
"Jack's always up early." Mac bit his lip, considering the other possibilities. "He doesn't sleep that good because he has bad dreams about all the war stuff."
"Then he could have gone by to get you all breakfast for the road." Bozer was trying to help, but adding his own postulations to Mac's was only adding to the other ten year old's building anxiety. Mac could feel his heart pounding and his chest felt tight, making it harder to breathe. He fidgeted with the cuff of the flannel shirt he'd put on over his Dodgers tee trying to focus his nervous energy.
"Something's wrong." The words seemed to escape of their own volition and Mac longed to take them back now that he'd spoken his concern out loud. Just as Mac couldn't change what he'd said, he also wasn't able to stop his runaway train of thought. "Jack wouldn't break a promise unless something happened to him."
"A flat tire?" Bozer offered, ever the optimistic. It was no coincidence that all his screenplays- despite the body count or gory content- always ended happily.
"He would have called me." Mac moved to the edge of the sofa, looking down at his watch, the one Jack had given him that told military time in all the different time zones. "He's never been late for anything- except once."
"When was that?"
"The day he forgot to pick me up from kindergarten." Mac looked at the other boy, giving a slight shrug of his shoulder as if it hadn't been that big of a deal. Only it had. Mac could recall the October day in vivid detail although it had been over five years before. In fact, if he tried he could still see the panic in Jack's eyes when he'd dashed onto the playground where Mac's teacher, Mrs. Harley, had waited with him after reaching Jack by phone. Mac also remembered the way Jack had hugged him hard to his chest and said he was sorry over and over again. Mac could especially recall the smell of Jack's shirt from when he'd buried his head against his brother's shoulder trying not to cry. It was unfamiliar, foreign and harsh, a scent Mac would soon recognize and come to associate in the weeks and months to follow as one belonging to the ICU of a hospital. He'd forever label it in his olfactory spectrum as the smell of death.
"What caused him to forget you?"
"My mom collapsed in her classroom at the high school and had to be taken away in an ambulance," Mac said resolutely. He glanced away from Bozer, realizing his friend now understood Mac's hesitancy about being in the science lab of the school the day before despite the prospect of all the cool equipment. "The hospital called Jack because my dad was out of town on business."
"Oh." Bozer seemed unsure of what to say next, which was an unusual occurrence for him to say the least. He and Mac had rarely talked about Mac's mom. Not too long after they'd become friends, Bozer had asked why Mac lived with his dad and grandfather. Mac had explained about the cancer, the way his mom had gotten sicker and sicker and how she'd become too tired to fight anymore. It was not a happy story and Mac learned quickly that people didn't like to talk about anyone's dead mother. If they did, it was usually to say something stupid. Like she was in a better place. Or she was somewhere watching over Mac leaving Mac to always wonder what place could ever be better than the one where they were still all together, him, his dad and mom, and Jack, as a family and where Mac's mom not only watched over him, but made him peanut butter sandwiches, took him to school, read to him and tucked him in every single night. Mac decided early on never to mention his mother to anyone unless they asked, which they rarely did.
"It's probably nothing like that this time, Mac," Bozer assured, putting a hand on Mac's shoulder.
Mac stood suddenly, unwilling to sit around and find out. After all, he wasn't a five year old baby anymore. He was practically a grown up. "I'm going to find him."
"How?" Bozer followed Mac off the couch. Mac caught the worried look he flashed him as Mac grabbed his back pack and slid it over his shoulders with determination. "My mom and dad have already left for the golf course. They won't be back until after lunch, and Marcela doesn't even have a license."
Marcela was the Bozer's housekeeper and she was officially in charge of the boys anytime Bozer's parents were out. Mac liked the way she would talk to them in Spanish, teaching them names for everyday items. She also cooked authentic Mexican meals like her secret family recipe for churro doughnuts. Once after Jack had tried her huevos rancheros, he threatened to marry the woman for her cooking alone. A statement that had made Marcela blush and giggle like the girls in Mac's fifth grade class despite being as old as Mac's grandpa Harry. It had started a habit of her sending leftovers home with Mac. Mac was just glad his brother hadn't asked to stay over at Bozer's when Mac did. But despite her skills in the kitchen, Marcela ran a tight ship, watching the boys like a hawk.
"We have our bikes."
"Again, Marcela is in charge." Bozer put his hands on his hips, slowly shaking his head. "She is not going to let us take off to your place on our bikes. She has to say a Hail Mary when we ride to the clubhouse. Even if she doused us in Holy Water and made us both wear a Rosary for protection she wouldn't let us go all the way across town."
"I don't want to go to my house. I want to go to Colton's." Mac had made up his mind to go with or without Bozer.
"Are you crazy?" Bozer cried, and then lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "Colton's is even farther away and we'd have to ride on the highway."
"But Mama's Diner is close by." Mac already had a plan in mind. "When we tell her Jack is missing, she will take us to the bar."
Bozer folded his arms over his chest, doubt clearly written in his dark eyes. "But I still don't think Marcela will go for it."
"We could tell her that we're going to Penny Parker's to return the book you borrowed from her last week and that we'll stay in the neighborhood. Mama's is technically a neighborhood restaurant, just not specifically this neighborhood." Mac knew he was asking a lot of his best friend, but Jack was his brother and Mac would do anything for his family. "Marcela loves you, Boze. She calls you her pequeno angel de ebano."
"The woman is crazy about me. I'm the only one who gets into her Spanish soap operas." Bozer was far from modest when it came to the fact he tended to win people over with his personality without even trying. Mac was always in awe, and maybe a little jealous, of the ease Bozer had around not only teachers and other adult, but the other students at their school as well. He'd even made friends with the high school students in their summer class, talking to them about everything from the latest movies to bands. Mac sometimes felt more akin to Marcela, like he was from a foreign country, often speaking a language those around him barely understood. "I guess I could charm us a pass out of here for an hour or so, but if she finds out, or my parents do, it's going to cost me big time." Bozer's face turned completely serious. "The last time I did something un-Bozer-like when we broke into the school so you could try that experiment, I lost not only my television time for a week, but my rental privileges at Video Gallery."
"I will make sure Jack recognizes your sacrifice." Mac patted his best friend's shoulder. "It might just earn you the Dalton Merit Badge of Courage."
"Does that mean Jack will finally tell me some of his war stories and maybe even show me a few of his Chuck Norris moves?" Bozer looked excited at the prospect of learning any type of hand to hand combat skill, not to mention getting a firsthand account of any fight scene he could put in a future film.
"I doubt it," Mac answered truthfully. Jack liked to talk about the war almost as much as Mac was willing to discuss their mom. He had showed Mac how to throw a punch and more importantly how to block one after Mac came home from school with a bruise on his face, but Jack, despite what most people might think, didn't encourage Mac to be aggressive. Instead, he assured Mac his best weapons were going to be his brain and his heart. "But he might let you come with us to Disney Land."
"Cool." Bozer seemed appeased. "I'll go tell Marcela we're going to take a few laps around the neighborhood, and then stop by Penny's house to give her a book that she leant me the last time I was over and that I want to borrow another one in the series because the main character was left dangling in the last one and it might take a while so we could be late and…"
"Maybe I should be the one to talk to Marcela." Mac held up a hand cutting off Bozer's rambling. Despite Bozer's aptitude when it came to conversing with adults, he was terrible at any kind of deception. Mac, on the other hand, often found talking around the truth rather easy. Sometimes he worried it was a skill he'd inherited from his father, but like Jack always said, a guy should play to his strengths. Maybe one of Mac's weapons was also going to be his ability to pretend what he was saying was the complete truth, sort of like an actor in a play. Bozer always said Mac did a good job when he performed the different roles from his screenplays. He put a hand on Bozer's shoulder, making sure he had the other boy's attention. "I can ask her in Spanish, which she always likes, and you just stand there and look like whatever an ebony angel looks like."
"Gotch'a." Bozer nodded, making a locking motion over his lips while miming throwing away the imaginary key.
No one was more surprised than Mac when the pretend seal actually held and Bozer stayed quiet throughout Mac's explanation about them going to Penny's. He felt slightly bad when Marcela sent some churros along for the girl, who, from what Mac could tell had not bothered to learn even one word of Spanish, but had somehow entranced the Bozer's housekeeper. Like Bozer, Penny had no problem winning over adults. Mac thought it might have something to do with the way her hair always sparkled like it had somehow trapped sunlight in the individual strands and how she oddly smelled like strawberry ice cream, but he had no quantifiable evidence to say for certain, nor did he really care to find out. Jack said one day Mac would be more interested in experimenting with girls than he was with his chemistry set, but Mac highly doubted the probability of that prediction. It was as likely as the one Jack made each year about The Cowboys winning The Super Bowl. Any guilt Mac felt had vanished-right along with the churro donuts the two boys split- by the time he and Bozer reached the diner.
Mama Colton's was busy as it typically was on a weekend morning. Mac hadn't been able to help the wave of disappointment he felt when he didn't catch sight of Harry's jeep or Jack's GTO as he scanned the crowded parking lot. The bell rang over the door as he pushed his way in to be greeted by no other than Riley Davis. She was standing in the entrance with its gumball machines and a rack of newspapers, blocking the way to the main dining area like some kind of gatekeeper. Riley was holding a stack of menus and gave Mac a frown as he and Bozer made their way to stand in front of her.
"Table for two?" She arched a brow, looking over Mac's shoulder as if she were expecting someone else to appear. "Or is your big brother the bully coming too?"
"My brother's not a bully." Mac clenched his fists, the sudden jolt of anger surprising him.
"Right, he only shoots people for a living." Riley gave Bozer a sharp look, using his words from yesterday to make her point.
"Jack's a soldier," Mac defended heatedly. "He fights to keep our country safe."
Riley rolled her eyes, and Mac was surprised when Bozer stepped alongside him. "Didn't you tell me you moved here from New York?"
"Yeah," Riley answered, glancing down to her shoes as if she suddenly got Bozer's point without him having to mention the attack on the city that prompted the war in which Jack now fought. When her eyes met Mac's again, they weren't quite as hard. "So, do you two want a table or not?"
"We want to talk to Mama."
"Get in line. So does every hungry person in Mission City." Riley stood her ground, jerking her thumb over her shoulder to the many tables and booths behind her, most of them filled with waiting customers. Mac caught site of Mama Colton across the room, taking an order. Riley lifted the menus in her hand. "We're slammed, which is why Mama's probably breaking some kind of child labor law by letting me work this morning but I'm still making money to get my new game controller so I'm not going to turn her in."
"It won't take long." Mac thought about just going around Riley even if she looked as if she might tackle anyone who tried to bypass her post, but Bozer caught his sleeve.
"How about you just give us a table, Sunshine," Bozer jammed his free hand in his jeans pockets, pulling out a very wrinkled dollar bill which he offered to Riley with a winning smile. "In Mama Colton's section please?" When Mac shot his best friend an incredulous look, Bozer shrugged. "What? It's what my dad does when he wants good service."
"My name is not Sunshine," Riley snapped, snatching the dollar from Bozer's fingers, "but I will take your money and show you to your seat, gentlemen."
She spun on her heel, her ponytail swinging behind her. Riley wove her way through a crowd of exiting patrons like a tiny pro offensive lineman. Mac and Bozer moved to catch up as she didn't slow until she stopped at the very last booth at the back of the diner. Mac and Bozer had no sooner slid into the booth, Riley placing the menus in front of them when Mama Colton appeared at their table.
"Well good morning, boys." Mama smiled at Mac. "I thought you'd be on your way to the museum by now, young man." She looked around the restaurant. "Where is that scoundrel brother of yours?"
"Jack didn't come home last night." Mac blurted out. "He won't answer his phone. Jack always answers his phone."
"Okay." Mama propped a hand on her hip.
"What's the big deal?" Riley piped up. "My dad didn't come home last night either."
"Your dad didn't come home?" Mama asked and Mac's bad feeling was suddenly back full force.
"It's nothing new for him." Riley shrugged a shoulder, moving her dark gaze to Mac. "He stays out with friends sometimes. Maybe your brother did the same."
"Jack wouldn't forget our plans because he was hanging out with his friends."
"Of course not," Riley rolled her eyes. "Because Jack is perfect."
"Riley, baby," Mama interrupted before Mac could respond. She put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "How about you run upstairs and ask your mom to come down here a minute. Maybe she can shed some light on this situation for us."
Mac noted that Riley gave Mama a look like she really wanted to say no to the restaurant owner's request, but decided against it when the older woman returned a narrowed glance that spoke to the fact that opting out was not a wise choice. Riley gave a put upon sigh before turning and moving towards a door marked 'Staff Only' situated in between the two restrooms. Mac knew that beyond the exit was a spiral staircase that led to the apartment over the restaurant. Jack had lived there for a while after their mom had died, when he and Mac's dad weren't getting along.
"Riley's dad and Jack got into an argument yesterday," Mac supplied as soon as Riley had disappeared behind the door. He looked up at Mama, not wanting to get Riley's family in trouble but needing Mama Colton to understand why the fact Randy Davis hadn't come home the night before made it even more important that they find Jack.
"Mr. Davis almost ran over Mac with a car, and Jack was about to show him some of his best Delta commando moves but Mrs. Davis broke it up before the show got started," Bozer supplied. Mac gave his best friend an exasperated look. He wasn't going to tell the entire story.
"Really now?" Mama lifted an eyebrow, eyes locking on Mac. "How did you happen to almost get struck by a car?"
"I was trying to help a stray dog I found at Colton's," Mac explained, unhelpfully if Mama's look of confusion was any indication. "Riley's dad might have been trying to run over the dog when I did so."
"I see." Mama glanced over her shoulder to the tables full of customers and the two other waitresses darting around like worker bees in and out of a hive. When she turned back to the boys, her smile was tight and appeared almost painful. "I'm sure we can get this all cleared up, and have you on your way to the museum in no time, Angus."
Mac didn't even bother to correct Mama Colton concerning his name, too concerned by what he could tell was her 'I'm really worried, but I'm not going to tell the little kid that I'm worried' look on her face.
"You must be Bozer?" Mama continued when Mac didn't respond.
"Yes, Mam." Bozer replied, casting a quick glance to Mac before smiling up at the woman. "Mac says you have the best buttermilk pie in town."
"One, you can call me Mama," Mama said, "and two, I have the best buttermilk pie this side of the Mississippi. You'll have to have come back and try it for yourself sometime." Mama laid a hand on Mac's hair, "Unlike Jack Dalton, I don't believe in feeding growing boys pie for breakfast. Although I could rustle you two up some pancakes?"
"I'm not hungry." Mac shook his head. "I just want to find Jack. Can you take us to Colton's?"
Before Mama could answer, Riley returned with her mother in tow. Diane looked as if she had just gotten out of bed, only half awake. She was wearing the same t-shirt she'd had on the day before at the bar and her hair was pulled up in a messy knot on top of her head. Mac remembered his mom wearing her hair in a similar way. She called it her 'simply don't care Saturday hair'. Diane dropped both her arms over Riley's shoulders pulling the little girl against her as she stood in front of Mama with a drowsy expression. Mac noticed she was wearing pink fuzzy slippers instead of shoes. For an instant Mac no longer felt sorry for Riley for having a rotten dad, instead he envied her the mom she still had. He felt tears prick his eyes and blinked to keep them at bay, feeling an even more urgent need to find Jack.
"Is everything alright?" Diane asked around a big yawn.
"I hope so," Mama replied. "Did Jack leave before you last night?"
Diane shook her head. "He was still closing the bar area when I left. I told him that Wallace and the kitchen staff would lock up. Why?"
"It seems he didn't make it home last night. What about Randy?" Mama asked, an edge to her voice that Mac hadn't heard before.
"What about him?" Diane's voice changed as well and she stepped away from Riley, folding her arms over her chest as her body went perfectly straight. It was a posture Mac had watched teachers use sometimes when the principal would unexpectedly step into their classroom. "He was home before me. He's upstairs asleep."
"Is that so?" Mama Colton mimicked Diane by crossing her arms as well. Mac and Bozer exchanged looks and Mac was pretty sure Bozer had a gleam in his eye as he entertained the idea that Mama Colton might demonstrate some fighting skills of her own. Riley kept her gaze on the floor, scraping her black Converse shoe in a circle.
"Why wouldn't he be?" Diane challenged.
"I didn't see your car outside this morning," the diner owner explained without exposing Riley as her source of information. "I know you caught a ride with Rowena from the bar last night."
"I don't understand what my husband's whereabouts have to do with Jack Dalton." Diane ran a hand over her hair with a huff of air. "He seemed to be popular with his customers last night. Maybe he chose to go home with one of them."
Mac was about to object to Diane's suggestion when Mama quickly untied her apron, tossing it to Diane. "Maybe you should take over my shift while I just go check on things at Colton's for myself?"
"I'm not exactly dressed for work," Diane pointed out.
"Then it's a good thing Mission city isn't New York," Mama said, handing off her notepad and pen to the other woman. "I'm pretty sure our patrons will be just fine with your wardrobe as long as you keep their coffee refilled and get their food to them while it's still hot." Mama turned to the boys. "Are you two coming?"
Bozer and Mac quickly slid from their seats to follow after the diner owner. Riley surprised Mac by catching his hand as he started after Mama Colton.
"I hope you find your brother," the girl said, quietly.
Mac glanced to Diane who was fumbling to get the apron around her waist, then back to Riley, giving her a little nod. "Me too."
Mac was hopeful even after Mama Colton stopped by his house to make sure Jack hadn't overslept and turned off his phone. Like Mac had suspected, his brother was not at their home, nor was Harry's jeep in the driveway. He tried not to let the panic that had been threatening him since his brother didn't show up that morning overtake him completely. Mac worked on keeping his breath steady just like Jack had coached him when he'd go to visit their mom at the hospital, when Mac had been frightened by all the machines and wires that made her seem like a stranger. Even when Mac's heart sped up, pounding against his chest as they pulled into Colton's and the only car in the parking lot was the silver one Randy Davis had been driving when he nearly ran Mac over the day before, Mac was determined to stay calm and to be brave.
"Bozer, how about you go around back and make sure Jack didn't park his car there while Mac and I check inside." Bozer gave the woman a sharp salute and took off around the building as Mac and Mama Colton started for the front door. Mac kept step with the bar owner even when every instinct urged him to run. Mama placed a hand on Mac's shoulder as if she could read his mind, and wanted to keep him at her side. "I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for all this, Mac."
Mac wanted to believe her, even when they made it to the door and found it already open; but as they walked in to the bar and Mama Colton turned on the lights his mind ran wild with all the worst case scenarios he'd been fending off. Randy Davis was sprawled on the floor in front of the bar, several empty glass bottles scattered around him.
"Is he dead?" Mac asked, his voice catching as he let his eyes frantically search the room for any trace of his brother.
"We should be so lucky." Mama let out a loud harrumph, glancing to Mac. "He's more than likely sleeping of his bender, but he might wish he was dead when I'm finished with him."
Instead of kneeling and checking the man's pulse like the people on television typically did, Mama gave Riley's father a swift kick to the side. He let out a low groan, his eyes fluttering a few times before they finally opened. Randy gave another louder groan when Mama leaned over him so her face was right above his.
"What's going on?" He demanded, rubbing at his eyes.
"That's a very good question indeed, Randall." Mama straightened, continuing to glower at the man on the floor. "Maybe you should scrape yourself up from there and fill me in."
"Where's Lou?" Randy rolled over and made a huge effort to push himself to his knees. "Did that stupid shit leave me here?"
"Is Lou the one who helped you drink all my expensive whiskey and then left my bar unlocked on his way out?" Mama took a step back as the man made it to his feet, swaying. "Because I'd like to have a little chat with him myself."
"I'll pay you for your liquor." Randy had steadied himself enough to kick one of the bottles, sending it skittering across the floor. He reached his hand to his back pocket, frowning when he didn't find what he was looking for. "Sonofa…"
"Watch your language," Mama cut him off, taking a step forward. "I don't want your money. I want to know if you've seen Jack Dalton."
"Who?" Randy seemed to still be having a hard time following. He rubbed a hand over his face. When he did Mac noted the nicks and bruises on the man's knuckles. There was also a splattering of red on the front of his shirt, which Mac hoped might have come from one of the bottles he'd been drinking from, but that Mac knew looked a lot like blood.
"My brother," Mac stepped forward, his fists clenched so tightly he could feel his nails cutting into the palms of his hands. He looked up at Riley's dad, not caring if the man towered over him and looked like he could topple at any time. "Did you do something to him?"
Randy smirked at Mac. "I don't know what you're talking about, kid."
"You better hope you don't," Mama said, gesturing to Randy's hand, which he made an effort to cover with his other.
He opened his mouth to say something just as Bozer bounded in the door.
"Mac!" Bozer leaned forward, hands on his knees, panting. "You need to come out here. Now!"
"Did you find Jack?" Mac's heart started to race again as Bozer gave a quick shake of his head, taking a few gulps of air before he gestured over his shoulder.
"No, but I found your dog."
Mac started to tell his best friend he couldn't worry about Archimedes at the moment but Bozer didn't give him the chance nor did he take the time to explain further before turning and dashing back out the door. Mac followed, not waiting for Mama Colton, even when she called for them both to hold up a damn minute.
Bozer skidded to a stop once they were behind the bar, close to the trash bins. "Over there," He pointed to a stand of high grass that lay between the garbage containers and the woods in the distance. Archimedes was sitting just outside the tall strands, something firmly clamped in his mouth. "See him?" Bozer asked. "Look what he has."
Mac took a few steps forward as he heard Mama calling to him. He ignored the bar owner as he realized what had wound Bozer up. Archimedes had a hat gripped between his teeth. An Army baseball cap that Mac easily recognized as his brother's. "Jack."
"What's wrong?" Mama came alongside Mac, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Mac didn't answer. This time he gave into his instincts telling him to run. He started for Archimedes, the dog waiting until Mac was only a few feet away before turning and taking off into the brush with Jack's hat. Mac could hear feet pounding behind him as he pumped his legs to keep sight of Archimedes in the thick weeds. The down-hill grade caught Mac off guard and he nearly fell before balancing himself and readjusting to the slope. Mama was calling for him to stop, to please wait, but the easily detectable fear in her voice did nothing but propel Mac to move faster. He was good at running. Jack said he was quick and lithe like a deer. It was a skill he'd developed out of necessity but came to enjoy, in sort of the same way Forrest Gump had, but Mac was so intent on keeping his eyes forward, locked on Archimedes as he roughly pushed through the grass that he wasn't minding the terrain he was covering as closely as he should. Mac tripped, landing hard enough on his hands and knees to send pain jarring through his whole body. It wasn't the jolting fall however that stole his breath, which caused his heart stutter to an abrupt stop for a brief second inside his chest, but the sight of Jack's bloodied face before him.
"No!" Mac gasped, pushing himself up to his knees, backpedaling away from the gory sight that was the thing of his nightmares. He'd had ones just like this. Vivid, terror-inducing dreams of stumbling across Jack's broken body on a battlefield strewn with soldiers who'd been ambushed by shelling or surprised by a landmine. Sometimes Jacks limbs would be torn from his body, half his face missing, like in the pictures of war someone had cruelly taped to the inside of his locker door last year. Those were the nights Mac woke up screaming, nights he made his grandfather promise not to tell Jack about how Mac had cried himself back to sleep, completely inconsolable because Harry had no way of guaranteeing that Jack was completely safe, that he was even alive because there was no way to contact him. Mac's sleep had only gotten worse after Mac's father had left. And now the thing Mac feared the most, the horror Mac only faced at night, had escaped his nightmares and followed him into reality, taunting him in the bright light of day. "No. No. NO."
"Mac!" Bozer had stopped a few feet away, doubled over again, breathing hard. Mac couldn't bring himself to look at his best friend. He only had eyes for his downed brother. Jack was lying on his stomach, his face turned towards Mac, one hand reaching forward as if he was searching for something to hold onto, the other trapped somewhere under him. Although his body seemed intact, there was dried blood covering one side of his pale face, and his neck. Jack's hair glistened wetly in the sun with what Mac suspected was more blood. There were bruises on his brother's cheek, a jagged cut above his eye, another across his top lip. More importantly, Mac couldn't tell if Jack was breathing.
"Mac?" Bozer tried again, dropping to his knees this time. "Is he okay? Is he alright?"
The quiver in Bozer's voice snapped Mac out of his momentary shock, temporarily releasing him from fear's grip. He scrambled forward to press a shaking hand against his brother's throat, placing his fingers over the carotid artery just like his gym teacher had taught him when they were practicing for their President's Fitness test in PE. It took a moment in which Mac was pretty sure he himself had forgotten how to breathe but finally he felt the quick flutter of a pulse beneath his fingers.
"He's alive." Mac glanced to Bozer. "Go get help. Hurry."
Bozer didn't have a chance to push himself up or turn around before Mama was there, right behind him. Her sharp intake of breath brought Mac's gaze from Jack once more and he felt hot tears slide down his face as he blinked up at the woman. "Do something!"
"Bozer," Mama Colton's voice was calm but forceful. She gripped Bozer's shoulders and practically lifted him off the ground. "I need you to go back up to the bar. Run. Use the phone in the kitchen to call 9-1-1. Then tell Randy to get you the first aid kit off the wall and bring it down here." Mama turned Bozer to face her, her voice growing sharp. "You be sure and tell him if he doesn't do as I say I will personally send my boys to collect that sizeable loan I made him last month and have them take the interest he owes me out of his miserable hide. Do you understand, baby?"
"Yes, mam." Bozer gave a nod and took off back towards the high grass.
"Mac," Mama Colton moved to Mac's side, carefully making her way to the ground. "How about you…"
"I'm not leaving him!" Mac snapped, interrupting the woman before she could tell him to go help Bozer or do some other task that was meant to protect him from whatever happened next, his fingers twisting in the fabric of Jack's tshirt.
"I was going to say, why don't you move over just a bit so I can get a better look at your big brother?"
Mac looked up at Mama Colton, moving a little to the side so she could get closer to Jack. When he did, he caught sight of the little stray dog, sitting on its haunches only a few feet from them, Jack's hat laying in front of it. He gave the dog a small smile, before moving his gaze back to Mama, who was hovering over Jack.
The little boy watched the woman move her hand over his brother's hair. She winced when her fingers reached the back of Jack's head. Mac understood why when she pulled her hand away and blood smeared each finger. Mama didn't seem fazed even though Mac's stomach turned at the sight. She deftly wiping the gore on the grass before continuing to run her hands over Jack's shoulder and along his side.
"He's hurt bad," Mac said, a quiver in his voice.
Mama took her eyes from Jack for long enough to flash Mac what he could tell was a fake smile. "Now, I'm not a doctor, but I did raise a husband and three boys so my vast expertise is telling me that what we're looking at is one unlucky participant in a good old-fashioned brawl. In my experience boys get into fights all the time and are just fine."
"Jack hasn't been fighting." Mac lifted his brother's hand in his. He might not have agreed with Bozer's ideas about what Jack was capable of when it came to hand to hand combat, but Mac did know his brother was more than capable of defending himself. "He's not used his fists."
"I didn't say he was an active participant, baby." Mama held Mac's gaze, patting his hand that was now wrapped firmly around Jack's. "I'm guessing this big knot and gash on the back of your brother's head made it pretty hard for him to take his part."
"A sneak attack?" Mac surmised, his fingers tightening around Jacks hand. He'd watched enough of Bozer's cop shows to understand what Mama was saying. It didn't take Mac long to put the other pieces of the puzzle together. "Do you think Randy did this?"
"Maybe." Mama hedged, "Some of it at least."
Mac now understood the kind of anger he'd seen overtake his brother on occasion. The way Jack had exploded on Mac's dad the day Mac had gotten hurt while in The Cave of the Wind suddenly made more sense in his young mind. Before this instant, realizing that a person had purposively hurt one of the people Mac loved most in the world, Mac couldn't ever remember wanting to hit someone, not even stupid Donnie, who he knew was responsible for putting the pictures of the dead soldiers in his locker. But now, Mac could think of nothing he wanted to do more than to unleash what Bozer might call a Chuck Norris style smack down on Riley's dad.
"Jack, can you hear me?" Mama had put her hand on Jack's shoulder, giving it a little shake. "Jack Dalton!"
Mac jumped at the harsh tone, and was about to take his new found wrath out on the woman who was currently yelling at his injured brother but then Jack let out a low groan much like the one Randy had earlier, a A rush of relief instantly overshadowed Mac's fury. Much to the ten year old's disbelief, Jack's eyelids fluttered before managing to stay open just a slit. A pained frown appeared on his face. "What…"
All it took was the sound of his brother's voice, albeit barely audible, for Mac to nearly crawl over Mama to get in his brother's line of sight. He tightened his grip on Jack's hand. "Jack? Wake up. It's Mac."
"Mac?" Jack blinked again, his hand curling tightly around Mac's fingers for a moment, as his breathing increased. He tried to move but pain seemed to stop him and he groaned again. "What's going on?"
"I wouldn't try any big moves if I were you, son," Mama warned, keeping her hand on Jack's shoulder as he struggled to push himself up off the ground. "In fact, it might be smart if you just stayed where you are until the ambulance comes. I don't know what might be broken."
"No." Jack growled, tugging his hand out of Mac's grip to continue his effort to make it to sitting. Mac was torn between wanting his brother to listen to Mama's advice, and needing to see Jack up and looking more like himself. When Jack was mostly to a semi-upright position, he leveled a slightly unfocused gaze on Mama, one of his eyes completely swollen shut. "No ambulance."
"Jack?" Mac brought a hand up to his brother's face, but wasn't sure where he could touch and not hurt Jack more. There was blood smeared under Jack's nose and the bruises across his cheek looked worse now that Mac could see the other side of his brother's face. He twisted his hand in Jack's shirt instead, trying not to let the tears he could feel building in his eyes overflow. "Are you okay?"
"Hey now…" Jack said breathlessly, reaching for Mac with the hand that wasn't tucked across his stomach, tugging him closer. "I'm good, bud. Just a few cuts and bruises that's all."
Mac felt guilty for latching onto his brother with a fierceness he couldn't quite seem to help. Even when Jack made a small hiss of pain as Mac buried into his chest, Mac couldn't quite convince his arms to let go. He pressed his face against the side of Jack's neck, not caring if it smelled like copper and sweat. There was still the faint, familiar scent of Jack underneath, one that represented safety and comfort.
"Easy," Jack soothed, rubbing a hand up and down Mac's back. He made shushing noises against Mac's hair when Mac tried to bite back the sob that had been building since Jack had awoke. "Mama, could you…"
"Come on, Angus." Mama reacted instantly to Jack's words, her hands gripping Mac's shoulders as she gently eased him away from his hurting brother. "Let's see if we can get this mule-headed man on his feet."
Mac reluctantly let his brother go, wiping his hand roughly over his face. He scooted back on his knees so Mama could get close enough to Jack to pull one arm over her shoulder. Mac stayed on the other side, lending his own shoulder so Jack could keep himself steady.
Jack cursed under his breath as he made it upright. He teetered, leaning on Mama as he curled his arm around his middle again with a gasp. "Give me a minute," he bit out, his voice strained and laced with pain.
"Jack?" Mac looked up at his brother, trying to convince himself that the fact Jack was standing meant he was going to be okay, even if under all the bruises and smeared blood Jack's skin was the color of notebook paper.
"Don't worry, little brother. I'm not going to throw up on you." Jack tried to joke though the lines on his face deepened.
"It's okay," Mac assured. "You still owe me from the last time I had the flu."
Jack gave a small chuckle, which was quickly followed by another loud groan. "Don't make me laugh."
"Your ribs?" Mama asked, quietly.
Despite the hushed tone, Mac still heard the woman's question and searched his brother's face as Jack gave a sharp little nod. "I think I'm busted up pretty good."
"Who did this?" Mama demanded, her icy tone bringing Mac's gaze to her.
"I don't remember, but I could make a guess," Jack said still a little breathlessly. "I was focused on the dog, thought I'd been shot…" He straightened suddenly, letting out another string of curses. "The dog…is he…"
"Archimedes helped me find you," Mac was quick to tell his brother, glancing behind Jack to see that the pup was gone. Jack's hat the only sign that he'd been there. "He's fine."
"Then I owe him some more of Wally's leftovers." Jack forced a smile, his clenched teeth and the blood on his lips making it a little more frightening than comforting, but Mac understood the attempt his brother was making and he leaned closer to Jack as he swayed slightly.
"Can you make it to the bar?" Mama asked.
"If we go a snail's speed, maybe." Jack's voice was shaky and Mac had to blink back more tears, realizing his brother was in pain. He looked at Mac, giving a wink with his good eye. "With your and Mac's help that is."
"We could wait for Randy…" Mama Colton offered.
"No," Jack said quickly and Mac watched his brother swallow reflexive a few times as if he was working hard to keep his earlier promise about not throwing up on them. "Let's just do this while I can."
It seemed to Mac it took them an hour to cover the ground it had taken him mere minutes to cross. Jack's pained grunts and labored, shallow breathing hadn't helped the warped since of time and the fact he'd started to rely more and more on Mama's help to remain standing slowed them down considerably. They'd nearly made it to the steepest part of the hill, the incline that they'd have to manage if they were going to get to the pavement, when Randy appeared above them. He was carrying the first aid kit, looking extremely put out by the task he was performing.
"Ambulance is about five minutes out," he informed them gruffly, dropping the medical supplies on the ground by the trash dumpsters. "That kid you sent is staying on the phone with them and I called a ride. I'm out of here."
"You are not out of here," Mama snapped, her icy gaze narrowing. "We need your help."
Mac could tell the woman was struggling with bearing most of Jack's weight now. She was sturdy, but considering Jack was over six feet tall and weighed almost two hundred pounds Mac knew it would be hard for her to get his brother up the hill, even with Mac's help.
"No." Jack lifted his head and looked at Mama. "I can do it."
"You heard Mr. Big and Bad Army Ranger," Randy sneered. "The hero can make it up here on his own."
Mac didn't want Randy Davis touching his brother, but he wanted to get Jack help which Riley's dad was all too capable of providing. Another surge of anger washed through him as Randy ignored Mama's order for him to get his ass down there immediately. Mac let go of his brother, scrambling up the hill. He latched onto the back of Randy's shirt with no other thought than to stop the man from going.
"Get off me, brat." Randy jerked roughly to pull away from Mac's grasp, stumbling on his still unsteady feet when Mac continued to hold on. Davis whipped around, swinging his arm out to keep his balance. As he did his hand caught Mac on the side of the head with a glancing blow. The hit stunned Mac more than it hurt, but it had the little boy seeing stars and was hard enough to dislodge his grip on Davis's shirt and to knock the ten year old to the ground.
Mac heard a roar and Mama Colton's sharp exaltation of 'Jack' before he saw a blur of black rush past him. He wasn't sure how his brother managed the hill on his own, but he'd read stories about adrenaline giving people super human strength. Jack had not only found the ability to run in his condition, but he threw a punch to Davis's face with enough force that the man dropped to the ground as if the pavement was suddenly magnetized and he was made of solid metal. Mac wasn't sure if Jack fell as well then or purposefully went to the ground but he landed on top of Randy, delivering one blow after another.
"Jack!" Mama had also made it up top, standing just to the side of the men. "Stop it right now! Do you hear me?"
Randy was attempting to get away from the attack, and Mac wasn't sure if his brother hadn't heard Mama or just didn't care for the woman's command because he continued to straddle the other man, striking him over and over again.
"Jack!" Mac was suddenly afraid, mostly for his brother, but also for Riley's dad. He had wanted him to pay for hurting Jack, but he didn't want Jack to kill him. He suddenly wondered if Bozer might have been right about Jack's hand to hand combat abilities because Mac's brother had stopped hitting the other man, only to wrap his fingers around Randy's neck and he worried Riley's dad would soon have his throat ripped out, a scene Mac had barely made it through in the movie version, especially when Bozer played it back in slow motion.
Fortunately for Davis, Jack only lifted the man from the ground and slammed him back onto the pavement, leaning over so their bloodied faces almost touched. "Don't you ever put a hand on my brother again, you sorry sonofabitch or I will end you."
"Let him go, Jack!" Mama ordered, gripping Jack's arm and trying to propel him to his feet. "Now, son. Get up."
Jack finally stood, pulling from Mama's hold as he turned towards Mac.
"Mac? You okay?"
For one brief second, Mac felt a flash of fear race through him as his brother weaved and swayed his way towards him, covered in his and Randy Davis's blood. He fought the initial instinct to back away, instead scrambling to his feet to plow headlong into his brother, nearly sending both of them back to the ground.
"Hey," Jack held onto him. "Are you alright? Look at me."
Mac felt a laugh bubble up inside him at his brother, who Mac could feel trembling from the sheer effort of staying upright. Jack asking him if he was okay was so completely Jack, that another sob escaped instead. He fought to keep his emotions in control as he pulled away from his brother, looking up to give a nod. "I'm okay." It was a lie. Mac was far from okay, but what ailed him had nothing to do with Randy knocking him to the ground.
"That's good, bud." Jack reached out, running a hand over Mac's hair. He let his fingers rest on the back of Mac's neck, giving the little boy a tremulous grin, which Mac valiantly returned. "Because I'm going to pass out now, kiddo… and I really need you to be okay."
Mac's smile was dashed under by a wave of panic. He reached out to try and catch his brother as Jack's face went slack and he started to sink to his knees. Mama suddenly appeared on Jack's other side, helping Mac ease his brother back to the ground.
"Uh, Mama," Jack ground out, eyes squeezed shut, his breath catching. It seemed to Mac he was having trouble with drawing in the next one. "I think…I might need that ambulance after all."
"Never doubted it, baby," the woman patted Jack's shoulder. "Just take it easy, try to breathe in nice and slow. Mama Colton will take care of everything."
Mac gripped Jack's hand, staying as close to him as possible. He scanned his brother's face, afraid that if Jack passed out again, he might not wake up.
"Don't be afraid, bud…" Jack seemed to read his mind. He managed to look at Mac through narrowed slits, clearly struggling to breathe now. "It's okay…I promise."
"Please don't go. Don't leave," Mac whispered, ducking his head. He closed his eyes, not caring if tears fell from his lashes now. The words brought tiny stabs of pain to Mac's heart as he realized he'd once uttered the very same things to his mother, curled at her side, head on her chest, his back pressed up against the cold metal railings of her crowded bed as he breathed in the chemical smells of her hospital gown.
Jack's shaking hand brushed Mac's cheek, the touch saying what Jack no longer could. Mac lay down, resting his head on Jack's shoulder as he heard the wail of an ambulance in the distance. A lone howl from the woods echoed the siren. Mac gripped his brother's shirt, unable to stop thinking about their mom as he listened to Jack's raspy breath, felt his fingers card through Mac's hair before abruptly going still.
Mac squeezed his eyes shut. Sometimes having a perfect memory was not fun, even if it allowed Mac to recite events he'd read only once, recall formulas he'd seen briefly. Right now he'd do anything to forget, to have no sense he'd done all this before. Mac had only been five, but he recalled exactly how he'd asked over and over again for his mom to stay with him as Jack had held them both from their mother's other side. Mac's father had been in the chair across the room his head bowed, shoulders shaking from the silent tears he was trying to hide. Mac's mother hadn't listened, hadn't heeded her son's begging. Mac's pleas and Jack's arms were unable to keep her tethered to their world. She'd closed her eyes one last time, slipping away like smoke, leaving Mac forever. His dad had pulled a similar feat, vanishing like vapor. And now…Mac glanced up at Jack's face, letting his tears fall freely now as it appeared his brother might have done the very same thing.
To be continued….