Mac was trapped in a cage! Belts tied him down; hands shoved him to the floor. Mac screamed and kicked out knocking his captors back. He saw a set of doors. He snapped them open and jumped. Mac landed on the hood of a moving car. He relaxed his body and rolled with the movement of the vehicle. Mac bounced onto the roof, pushed over a set of police lights and tumbled off the back of the car. He landed hard on the tarmac. Screeches of vehicles, breaks, and horns circled him. He covered his ears and blindly ran. He climbed down from an aqueduct. He paused catching his breath. He was outside. He could breathe. Mac noticed a blaring horn on his wrist. He smashed it against a steel handrail. He blinked at the late afternoon sky, got his bearings and loped into an easy run heading west.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Jack roared hopping out of the ambulance when it finally managed to stop. Lee Warren and Cage stepped out of the flashing squad car that had been following. Cars whizzed past them honking.
"I can't believe he just did that." Cage said breathlessly looking across traffic for any sign of Mac.
"He sure did. Like god damned spiderman!" Lee said running his hand through his hair spiked upright in the wind.
"Where would he go?" Cage asked pulling her long hair back from her face. Jack shook his head. He'd told Matty this was a bad idea. He speed-dialed medical.
"Jack, what happened?" Doc Carl greeted with a breathless worry.
"He freaked out, jumped out the back of the ambulance, and took off. Can you trace where he is?"
"Normally, but the signal just went off the system." Jack closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath.
"Ok, he was panicking. How far would he be able to go?"
"I have no idea, Jack. His adrenaline will counteract the poison for a while, but without vitamin k? I'm worried Jack. We have to find him soon, or he won't last until tomorrow morning." Jack rubbed dampness out of his eyes.
"I know, Doc. I know." Jack stared at the vast sprawl of the city around them. Where would Mac go? Jack felt his heart tumble in pain; he wanted to scream.
"Jack." Cage said softly. Jack turned to her. She reached up and took the phone from his hand. Jack frowned. Somehow he'd cracked the phone. He shook his hand until he could feel it again, "Let's go to Phoenix. We can regroup and use cameras to see where he went." Jack narrowed his eyes radiating anger. Cage kept her gaze level and calm. "I know you want to go searching for him, but which direction? Where is he going? He is in a blind panic right now. He probably doesn't know where he's running either. We have to use our heads, Jack. We don't have much time." Jack nodded and took in a shaky breath. He rubbed his forehead.
"Yeah. I hate it when you're right." He grumbled. Cage smiled but didn't say anything.
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"Oakland," Riley growled as they left the private Phoenix hangar toward the black SUV assigned to them. Bozer grinned hopping on the driver's side.
"I've never been here. Obviously, you have." Riley glared at him.
"My Dad is a huge Raiders fan." Bozer winced.
"Ok, you got me there. Ok where to?" Riley programmed the address into her phone's GPS. Bozer rubbed his eyes and yawned. He looked at the clock and shook his head. It'd taken them 90 minutes to fly from LA. It was now edging toward 4:00. Boze sniffed blinking away tears. Time was going to damn fast! Bozer felt a hand rest on his arm. He glanced over to see Riley looking at him with moist eyes.
"There's still time." She said. Bozer thought she was trying to reassure both of them. Bozer wiped at unruly tears that escaped his eyelids.
"Not enough! Damn, Riley. Mac can't die...he can't…" Bozer shook his head and wiped his face with the back of his hand. He glanced at Riley, "He's been there my entire life, well all the important parts, Ri. How am I suppose to go on without him?...I can't even imagine my life without him, ya know? All those times he'd been hurt, and I didn't know...now I'm in this world, able to help him. And I still might…" Bozer looked away softly crying.
"I know, Boze, but look, do you think Mac would give up if it were one of us?"
"No, of course not. You're right." Bozer rubbed his face and straightened his shoulders, "Ok, let's do this." He said nodded at Riley. She nodded back biting her lip which quivered with the threat of an onslaught of tears. We can do this, Riley told herself. She looked out the windshield. We have to. The GPS quickly led them to their destination, and both eyed it with disbelief and worry. They shared a nervous look.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Bozer squeaked. Riley nodded and braced herself. The warehouse was little more than a skeleton covered in graffiti. All the windows were misshapen smashed black eyes. Piles of rusted metal lay strewn across the overgrown parking lot tall vegetation pushing through. The two Phoenix agents climbed out of the SUV and approached the building. There was a burnt metal salty smell in the air. The doors hung off their hinges, the handles broken. Riley ducked into the vast space pulling out her flashlight. Bozer followed her lead. Pidgeon flew across the collapsing roof and out the broken skylights. Riley jumped as Bozer ran into her back.
"Bozer!" She hissed.
"Sorry." Neither raised their voices above a whisper. The dim sunlight seemed to bounce off the drifting cloud of dust. The broken cement under their boots stained their soles with thick grease and other things the two agents didn't want to imagine. When they passed through the darker shadowed places the floor was more springy, like wet moss. Riley swore she heard moist footsteps echo after them and they crept into the central throat of the building.
Rusted machinery and crates in various stages of construction filled most of the central area. Chains hung from the ceiling, and both could see the metal braces where conveyor belts had once run.
"This a manufacturing plant," Bozer whispered. Riley nodded and smiled. She pointed. Across the room beside a dirt-crusted water fountain was a rotting wooden door with a broken sign that said, "...ice."
"Office?" Bozer asked.
"I hope so." Bozer wrinkled his nose as they moved closer. The smell of mold and other unhealthy things clung to his tongue making him gag.
"I don't think this is...whew, that is awful." Bozer tucked his nose under the neck of his shirt. Riley covered her nose with the back of her hand. She shared a disgusted look with Bozer.
"Mac had better appreciate this when he's all better! " Bozer grumbled. Riley stood to the side of the door and turned the knob. The wood was so moist the door didn't open so much as disintegrate. Bats flew out. Bozer squawked and ducked low hiding behind Riley. Riley glared at him. Bozer shrugged. Riley rolled her eyes and stepped into the muck-buried room. Bozer got one step in then had to retreat. He moved away from the office and bent over wondering if the chicken sandwich he had on the plane was going to stay down or not. He heard a wet splat then Riley cussed. Bozer crept closer to the door. He couldn't see Riley's face behind the glare of the flashlight, but he could feel her angry glare.
"You 'k?" Bozer asked pinching his nose.
"No, I'm not ok! I just ruined my Givenchy boots! Damn, Matty is so going to buy me new ones." Bozer nodded turning to look over his shoulder.
"Did you hear something?" He asked softly. Riley was too busy cussing and trying to shake spongy brown refuse off her black boots. Bozer turned. He could feel eyes watching him. He scanned every corner of the factory but didn't see anything.
"Boze!" Bozer screamed spinning. Riley stared at him from the top of the rotten mound. She stretched over the back of rusting filing cabinets covered with white stalagmites of bat guano. She grabbed a metal lock box. Riley worked it into her arms then stepped back. Bozer retreated gratefully. Both coughed as they moved to the center of the main area and studied the box. It was more of a portable safe with a number combination. Riley whistled and rubbed her dirty hands on her pants, "Not bad, it shouldn't take…"
"Riley!" Bozer hissed. Riley looked up to see Bozer pale and petrified staring behind her. Riley stood and spun. A half-dozen flashlights angled toward them from every direction.
"Just fucking great," Riley mumbled raising her hands in surrender. Bozer swallowed silently agreeing.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
The cool sand conformed to the contours of his body. Mac closed his eyes and took deep breaths of the salty ocean air finally relaxing. The ocean bellowed as the surf crashed on shore. Mac cracked his eyes and watched the white underbelly of seagulls as they circled overhead. The day was starting to pinken with the coming night. Mac sat leaning his arms behind him. The farthest edge of the earth's round belly gleamed bright reflecting the smudges of pinks and purples smeared into the wispy clouds overhead. Mac leaned forward wrapping his arms around his knees. He ducked his head and started crying.
"Hey, are you ok?" Mac looked up and wiped his face clean.
"Uh...yeah, sorry. It's been a shitty day." He managed. The girl was blond and had a perfect tan and smile. She wore a hoodie and shorts. She sat beside him and looked out at the ocean.
"Do you live around here? I live over in Venice Beach."
"You come out here a lot?" Mac cleared his throat taking a deep breath.
"Not really. I visit every Christmas. My husband lives out here."
"Oh?" Mac looked out to sea. He took another deep breath and leaned back feeling the dimming sun on his face.
"Yeah, we're separated but working on it, ya know? And if you can't be home with your family at Christmas? What is Christmas for, right?" Mac couldn't answer. He watched as a seagull dove into the waves and yanked out a fat writhing fish, "Do you come out here a lot?" She asked studying every feature of his face. Mac offered a half smile.
"Not as much as I'd like to, but...well it doesn't matter now." Mac's voice strangled off into a whisper.
"It's never too late! Anything can happen on Christmas. It's magic. You believe that, don't you?" Mac met the girl's sparkling eyes and shook his head.
"I used to." He murmured. She cocked her head puzzled. Mac scratched his jaw and sat up running his fingers through the sand. He shrugged, "Life, you know? You go through every day doing your best thinking there's still time, there's going to be plenty of time. Then...then it's gone, and you have nothing." The girl laughed.
"Well, aren't you mister Debbie Downer?" Mac shot her an amused smirk.
"Mister Debbie Downer?"
"Well, Davey downer just doesn't sound right, does it?" Mac laughed and shook his head. They sat in companionable silence a long minute. Mac sighed and held out his hand.
"I'm Angus MacGyver." She smiled sweetly and took his hand.
"My name is Stacy, Stacy Larson."