An: Thank you for the lovely reviews! But without further ado, let's get on this.

xxx

The blood mixed with the spit in his mouth, and all he could taste was the disgusting iron. His head lolled on his chest, too tired to lift it up, and silently he tried to fight through the nausea and the clouds filling his head. It was hard to concentrate. Maybe Crowe had hit him once too much.

"As you can see", Crowe's voice broke into his ears and Wyatt was grabbed by the hair before his head was forced up. He opened his eyes, and a blurry view of Grimsbane holding a camera connected to a laptop opened up. Mac's face filled the screen. "I'm not fucking around, McAllister."

"Just leave him the fuck alone", Mac hissed, his voice barely comprehensible as it echoed through the crappy speakers of the old laptop. "I'll do what you asked. Just don't fucking touch him."

Wyatt let his eyes fall shut. He had zoned out for a while there, when the pain had gotten too much to handle fully awake. He had no idea what Mac was talking about, but right in that moment, he was too exhausted to care. He wanted to fight back, but couldn't. He just… couldn't.

Crowe smirked, releasing Wyatt with a little shove. "Good. And I promise to not touch him."

Opening his eyes, Wyatt forced his head up. He looked at Crowe and then at Mac, not really feeling anything in the moment. He just wanted out.

He felt as if his and Mac's eyes met, and for a second they just stared at each other, like a silent communication. Neither said anything; Mac probably too afraid that talking to Wyatt would get him hurt, and Wyatt just unable to find words to say. There was nothing he could say that would make the situation better, only worse, for both Mac and himself.

"Tomorrow at noon", Crowe said with a cold stare before turning his head to Wyatt. "Right, Wyatt? Noon is going to be a special hour unless your buddy does what's right."

"Fuck you", Wyatt muttered, barely louder than a whisper. He turned to look at Crowe, a tired, yet defiant look on his face. He wasn't giving up, just retreating. Whatever it took to survive. Even though he had no idea what it was they were talking about, knowing Crowe, it was nothing good.

Mac looked as if he was fighting an urge to toss himself through the screen and kill Crowe with his bare hands, but somehow managed to ignore his first instinct and do as he knew was best; play along. And so he cleared his throat before talking. "Crowe. Let me speak to him. Make sure he's not dying."

"Why?" Crowe asked, snapping his head back to Mac's direction.

"So I can make sure you're not bullshitting me. I'm not doing shit for you if it turns out he dies anyways, no way", Mac insisted, the look in his eyes cold. "Just me and him. One minute."

Crowe burst out laughing. "One minute? You're not in the position to make any requests, McAllister. You really want to see where my limits are?"

"And if you want me to do anything for you, you're going to let me talk to him."

"Oh, you want to make sure he's not dying?" Crowe asked, something changing in his eyes. And with that, Crowe spun around and punched Wyatt.

Wyatt grunted, his head snapping to the side from the strength of the impact, and a familiar stinging pain flared in his cheek as he bit down on his lower lip not to groan.

"He's gonna be dying alright if you don't stop barking orders at me", Crowe screamed as he turned back to Mac.

"Don't fucking touch him, you hear me?" Mac yelled from the other end of the video call, obviously ignoring Crowe's threat. "If you want me to do anything for you, take a fucking step back and let us talk", he continued, his eyes turning to Wyatt. "You okay?"

"I'm okay", Wyatt muttered, lifting his head back up. The truth was that he wasn't, and they all knew it. He was missing two teeth that Crowe had swiftly yanked out, and probably one fourth of his blood, but he had to suck it up and act like everything was okay. Not just for Mac, but for himself, too. He couldn't give up.

Glaring at Wyatt, Crowe fell silent. He eyed the face he'd covered in Wyatt's own blood, the bruises across his cheeks and jaw, the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth; something that Crowe probably thought of as a piece of art or an achievement.

"Fine", Crowe finally said, looking back at Mac. "I'm feeling generous today. Thirty seconds, just you and him."

"Good", Mac replied.

Crowe looked at Grimsbane with a displeased look on his face, but even for him, a promise was a promise. "Put the camera somewhere so they can see each other. Quick now."

Doing as he was told, Grimsbane grabbed the other kitchen chair and pulled it near Wyatt, lowering the camera on the arm rest before exiting the room behind his boss, leaving Wyatt and Mac alone.

Mac sighed. "I'm so fucking sorry, Wyatt", he said, shaking his head a little as he lowered his gaze for a second. "If I'd known they'd do this, I would've-"

"Don't", Wyatt interrupted him. Talking stung his jaw, an uncomfortable feeling, but he ignored it. "Just listen to me. He's getting paid to kill the whole team. I don't know what it is he needs you to do, but it's all a plot to get to you guys."

Mac nodded, obviously pushing aside his emotions to give space for his training. They didn't have time to cry. They needed to act. "You know where you are?"

"No. It's a small hunting cabin in the middle of the forest. Apparently five minutes from some sort of shop or a gas station", Wyatt explained. They still had a few seconds before Crowe would return. "Just get me the hell outta here, Mac. I can't—"

The front door was flung open, making Wyatt involuntarily flinch, as Crowe and Grimsbane stepped in again. Wyatt glanced at them and then turned his head back to the laptop.

"Just hang in there", Mac said quickly. "I'm gonna get you out."

Wyatt nodded. He didn't doubt it for a second; he just really hoped Mac and the rest of the team were able to come and get him before Crowe decided to put a bullet through his brain.

"Good thirty seconds, huh? Now, McAllister", Crowe said as he walked to the camera and picked it up, filming himself. "You know what you need to do. Get everyone off our backs or the bomb goes off. You don't want the lives of tens of children on your hands, do you now?"

Mac looked like he was ready to rip that asshole's throat out, but calmed himself as Wyatt did the exact opposite - a bomb? Children? What the hell was going on? Was Crowe blackmailing Mac to get him to tell the others, what? That Wyatt was dead and there was no use going after Crowe again?

Did Crowe really believe Section 20 would believe those lies?

"There won't be a bomb going off", Mac hissed. "I'll do what you asked me to. Just don't fucking kill anyone, and don't touch him."

A sick smile rose on Crowe's thin lips as he eyed Mac, still holding the camera right in front of his nose. "Oh, I won't touch him, I promise."

xxx

Mac pocketed his phone as he shot up from the bench and headed for the door. The deal was obviously a plan of some sorts to get to Section 20, he'd realized that the second Crowe had proposed it, but Mac was certain the bomb wasn't a joke. And even if it was, he wouldn't risk it.

He pushed open the door and stepped into the hall. Novin was standing by the table, arms crossed in front of her chest, looking pissed as she noticed Mac.

"You decide to take a quick shower?" Novin asked as Mac approached her. "We've got to move, Mac. What the hell were you doing in there?"

Images of Wyatt flashed through Mac's head. Crowe yanking out his tooth. Punching him. Cutting him. He forced them out, shaking his head to Novin. "I was talking with Wyatt. Where's everybody?"

Novin's eyes widened and she let her arms fall down as Mac passed her, about to go search for the rest himself. She jogged after him. "What do you mean, talking with Wyatt? Did he call you?"

"Yeah", Mac simply said as he headed for the locker rooms Novin beside him. His plan had to work. If little lies were what it took to save tens of innocent children and hopefully Wyatt, he wouldn't hesitate to do it. "Where is everybody? We need to have a talk."

Mac found Reynolds from the locker room and Novin jogged off to haul Jensen and Donovan in from wherever they had disappeared off to, and in a couple of minutes they were all standing around the biggest table again.

"You talked with Wyatt?" Donovan asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow at Mac. "How did that happen?"

"Crowe made him speak on the phone", Mac said. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that he was aiding a wanted criminal, and that he could be held partially responsible if Crowe ended up doing something horrible before Mac had time to locate him. "Felt like Crowe was using him to get his message across. Wyatt told me they were heading away and that we'd never find 'em again. That Crowe's not planning a new strike but just wants to live as a free man and Wyatt is his ticket to getting to safety. Said Crowe's gonna kill him if we go near."

Jensen's face twisted in a mix of fear and disgust. "So what are we going to do?" he asked.

"He's gotta be lying about the strike", Reynolds said. There was anger on her face, but she was trying to contain it. "Why would he suddenly just want to fall under the radar and start a new life as a honest man? He's not that kind of guy and we know it."

"You're right", Novin said, shooting a glance at Reynolds. "He's lying to us. But why?"

Donovan looked at Mac, her eyes narrowing a little in suspicion. "Did Wyatt say anything else?"

"Yes", Mac said. He had to get this right. "He told me that there was a bomb somewhere, and if Crowe thought we were going after them, they'd set off the bomb, killing tens of children."

Mac saw horror rise on everyone's face and they all opened their mouths to speak at once, but Novin was first, silencing the others. "He's willing to kill a bunch of kids just to get away?"

"Are you sure he said children?" Donovan asked, and Mac nodded. She then turned to Jensen, who had already whipped out his laptop. "Pull up every place that fits. Places were tens of children stay at once. Orphanages, safe houses, playgrounds."

Jensen nodded and got to work as Reynolds shifted her gaze to Mac. There was anger in her eyes, and Mac couldn't blame her. He felt the same. "We need to catch this psycho", she said.

"First, the bomb. Then we go after Crowe and Wyatt", Donovan pointed out, turning back to Mac. "Can you call them back?"

"No. Already tried after the call cut off. They'd turned it off or destroyed the phone", Mac explained.

Jensen cleared his throat as a sign he was ready to talk, and all of the others turned to look at him. "I have three possible places the bomb could be, assuming Crowe wasn't lying about the children. Two orphanages and a children's hospital. All three have tens of children residing there around the clock."

Donovan nodded. "Jensen and Novin, you two check out the hospital. There's a lot of ground to cover so split up and be quick. Mac and Reynolds, you both take one of the orphanages. Stay undetected and find the bomb."

xxx

Grimsbane lifted the cup up and brought it to Wyatt's lips, tilting it a little to give Wyatt a sip of water without making him cough and suffocate on it. As embarrassed as Wyatt was to accept water from the guy who had thrown him out a window less than a day ago, he was way too thirsty to refuse.

As Grimsbane pulled back the cup, Wyatt sighed. Much better.

"Don't get used to it", Grimsbane muttered as he headed for the sink to throw out the rest of the water. He disappeared from Wyatt's line of sight as the kitchen was behind his back. "Crowe told me to keep you alive. I don't want you to pass out on me, 'cause if Crowe sees that…"

Wyatt couldn't help a grimace. He'd never hated anyone as much as Crowe, but Grimsbane was a very close second. "Yeah, sucks working for a fucking nutjob, right? But I guess people prefer the company of similar people."

The grunt from Grimsbane's direction told Wyatt he hadn't enjoyed the little joke. "Yeah, you keep on joking. Because I will be the one who ends your life when the time comes", Grimsbane said and suddenly slapped his hands on Wyatt's shoulders from the behind, making Wyatt flinch. He hadn't heard Grimsbane approaching. "And the more you talk, the slower I'll go."

Not pushing his luck, Wyatt kept quiet. He wasn't looking forward to getting punched again, because his jaw was already painful as it was. He hadn't seen himself since the whole thing started, but he had a pretty clear idea of what was causing the pain in his cheek and jaw. First getting repeatedly stabbed through the cheek, and then getting punched around like a human punching bag did cause some pain.

Grimsbane let go and circled back in front of Wyatt, sitting down onto the chair he'd used as a tripod a little bit earlier. He leaned in, smirking as he eyed Wyatt. "So, what'd you and your dear Mac talk about, hm? You warn him about the plan?"

"No, we just talked about the weather. It's been pretty, hasn't it?" Wyatt replied and grinned himself, never taking his eyes off Grimsbane. He was feeling a lot better now than before, but he knew that that was mostly thanks of staying still for some time. One step and he would take a nose-dive onto the floor, he was sure of it.

"You really like being a smartass", Grimsbane said, leaning back in the chair. "How'd you survive this long?"

"Skills. Something you wouldn't know about."

"Oh, did I or did I not easily throw you out a window?"

"Sure, but I would've gotten away if it wasn't for your friends", Wyatt said. He didn't like reminiscing or thinking about the mistakes he'd done in life, but if there was one thing he would change, it'd be deciding to bash in Grimsbane's skull. That recklessness had gotten him stabbed, cut, beaten, and shot. If he could turn back time to the moment he fell from that window, he'd simply cut his losses, warn Mac, and get the hell out of there.

Grimsbane grinned and nodded, lowering his gaze as he sighed. "I'm definitely disappointed you're working for Section 20. We would make one hell of a team, Wyatt", he said and looked up at Wyatt. He was surprised to see honesty in Grimsbane's stare - he actually meant what he said.

Wyatt snorted. What the hell was this guy babbling on about? The two of them, a team? Never. "Well, what can I say? I've always been more into saving lives than taking them and saving the world instead of destroying it. You know, not being a dick to the whole humanity."

"And the joking never stops", Grimsbane said, standing up from the chair. "I meant what I said. Keep talking and I'll make sure your death is slow and very, very painful."

As Grimsbane walked off, Wyatt sighed and let himself relax a little. He had no doubt Grimsbane meant his words, and that actually scared him. He didn't want to die, and the worst part was that he couldn't do anything to stop it. He'd failed his only chance to get out, and now it all depended on his team.

xxx

Mac jogged towards the beautiful orphanage in front of him. It rose tall and great, like it was from a film set in the 40's. Huge, beautifully carved pillars stood on both sides of the entrance, a pair of heavy wooden doors with an old-school golden knocker in the middle of the other door. The windows were tall, allowing Mac to see inside as he neared the building. He could see children of all ages on both floors, and the thought of them dying amidst tons of burning rubble from an explosion sent cold chills down Mac's back. He couldn't let that happen, but he needed to be quick.

He only had so much time before noon - only seven hours - and he still had to make sure the bomb was located and safely defused, then find out where Wyatt was, and drag his ass back. Crowe had told Mac to lie to his team to get them to stop looking for Crowe, but Mac had known that to be an impossible task, and this had been the second best option. Telling his team about the bomb had given Mac the solitude he needed to go and track Wyatt down on his own. He knew that if Donovan knew what Mac did, she'd send all the available resources after Crowe, to hell with Wyatt.

To her, Wyatt was an expendable soldier and all that mattered was catching Crowe, and so she wouldn't hesitate to drop a drone on them - that had been proven once earlier. And Mac couldn't allow her to do that. After seeing and talking to Wyatt, he now wanted to find him more than ever. Wyatt had been tortured right in front of him and there had been nothing Mac could do to stop it. He'd already lost one team - he wouldn't lose Wyatt, because this time he refused to be helpless. He refused to just watch from the sidelines as his friend got slaughtered. He needed to act, to hell with consequences.

But the problem was that the bomb wasn't the only threat Crowe had made.

If Crowe thought someone was coming after them, he'd detonate the bomb and cut off Wyatt's finger. Then another and another until there were no more to cut off. And then he'd move on to the toes.

If by noon - so seven hours later, Mac reminded himself again - Mac hadn't showed Crowe proof of Section 20 stepping down and letting Crowe be, he would detonate the bomb and then go on with cutting off Wyatt's fingers and toes.

Crowe was serious about getting Section 20 off his back, but whatever long con he was trying to pull, it would fail.

Mac would make sure of it.

He slowed down and walked up the few stairs to the door and grabbed the knocker, banging on the door a few times. Donovan had been right - he needed to be discrete. If this happened to be the place, some of Crowe's men might have been watching the place. He couldn't warn the employees about the bomb, because the kids would run out and that would definitely alarm any guy keeping an eye on the place.

The door was opened by a woman in her mid thirties. She looked confused for a moment as she stared at Mac, but then the look was replaced by a relieved smile. She said something in her native language and fell quiet, as if she was waiting for a reply.

"Sorry", Mac said. "I only speak english."

"Oh, that's alright", the woman said with a slight accent and smiled. "You must be the electrician! We've been waiting for you all day. Come on in", she said, stepping aside to let Mac walk in.

Taking advantage of the situation, Mac smiled politely, nodding his head as he walked in. "Yes. I'm sorry it took so long, there have been some hellish customers today. My name's Bill."

The woman closed the door behind Mac. "No, don't worry about it. The kids have been going crazy without the electricity but it's a beautiful day and there's plenty of light through the windows. About the time they did something else than played all day on their playstations and phones. I'm Mari. Follow me."

They walked through a huge lobby with a high ceiling. The place was a lot more homely on the inside than it had looked on the outside, with a soft carpeted floor and toys all over the place. Eleven or twelve kids between the ages of six and fifteen hung out on the floor and on the many couches, drawing, reading, playing with little toys, or playing catch. There were two huge tv's mounted on the walls, the other on the opposite side from the other, and a long shelf full of books on one wall.

They exited the room and came to a long hallway with stairwell leading upstairs as well as to the basement. They stopped at the top of the other stairwell, and Mari turned to Mac. "The fuse box should be in the basement, as well as all the other gadgets. I don't really know anything about this. If you need something else, just find me or anyone else of the adults, or feel free to look around yourself. Just don't give the children any sweets", she explained and then smiled. "Some of them have severe allergies, and if one gets sweets then all have to get sweets, you know?"

Mac nodded reassuringly. "I know, thank you. I'll see what I can do."

Mari looked pleased and left with a nod as Mac headed towards the basement, thinking it to be the first place to start looking for the bomb.

xxx

He'd gone through the basement and most of the first floor and found nothing when suddenly his earpiece came to life and Jensen's voice echoed into his ear. "I found the bomb."

Sighing in relief, Mac checked the time. He'd wasted nearly half an hour here, and now he only had six and a half hours before Crowe would start cutting off limbs - maybe even more when he discovered the bomb had been disabled. Who knew what he might do in his anger? Wyatt was in serious danger, and Mac had to move.

He was jogging for the exit when Mari's voice called out his fake name. "Bill?" she asked. "Are you done already?"

Mac stopped, turning around to face her. He put on a shocked, scared face that he didn't actually need to fake all that much. "No, I'm afraid not. My wife just called me and there's a family emergency. I'll send someone else to come check your electricity, okay? I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"I understand", Mari said. "I hope every-"

"Thanks", Mac interrupted her and hurried out, not hearing her finish her sentence.

Just as he reached outside, his earpiece crackled again shortly and Donovan's voice echoed through. "Jensen is disabling the bomb. Get back to the base."

Mac grimaced, tapping on his earpiece so he could speak to Donovan as well. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"What is going on?" Donovan asked. Her voice wasn't amused - she was demanding an answer.

"You need to trust me on this", he said. "The rest of you focus on finding Crowe. I need to deal with something."

Donovan sighed, disapproving. "What is more important than finding Crowe?"

"Trust me, ma'am", Mac repeated himself. "I'll see you tonight, okay? Something came up and I need to be there."

"Fine", Donovan finally said. "Go do your thing, but if I need you, you come back the second, you hear me?"

"Of course", Mac replied and then turned off his earpiece. He reached his car and sat in, pulling the laptop from the shotgun seat onto his lap. Jensen might've been the computer wizard of the team, but Mac wasn't half bad either, and he knew how to run a simple search.

Typing in the things Wyatt had mentioned - a hunting cabin in a forest but near a market of some kind - Mac hit enter and let the software do its magic. It quickly narrowed down the search to eleven individual small cottages, but it was still too much for Mac to cover on his own.

He opened up a list of information on each cabin, looking for something that could tell him where Wyatt was being held, and after fifteen minutes he had been able to narrow down the search to five cabins.

Six hours and thirteen minutes left.

Going through the last five cabins, he couldn't narrow it down any more, because the info he had on each was identical. Each cabin was owned by someone who lived further away and wasn't currently on a vacation, aka the cabin was empty. Each cabin was within a seven minute walk to a gas station or a little shop, and each cabin had been built more than ten years ago.

Five cabins could've been possible for him to go through if they'd been near each other - but the furthest two cabins were almost three hours apart from each other and there was no way he could visit every single one until the time ran out.

He needed help.