I just watched the season premiere of MacGyver and of course, it inspired me to write some more as I have to wait an entire week for another episode. :P So, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy and thank you sooo much to everyone who has left reviews! Your feedback means so much to me. :)

Chapter 10

Pain and blood.

Those were the first two things Mac was aware of when he awoke. The horrible metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and basically every muscle in his body was tight and throbbing. There were muted voices talking in the background, blurring together with the pounding of rain on a metallic roof.

Mac slowly opened his eyes, wincing when the light made his head pound. Whoever had knocked him out had definitely kicked him hard enough. The air around him was cold and stale, infused with the smell of rubber and gas. When he looked around he realized he was in an old warehouse. There were empty storage containers at the far side of the room and the men who were talking were to his left. Several of them glanced his direction when they saw he was awake then one of the largest ones began to stroll towards him. Gabel.

Mac instinctively tried to get up. He was yanked back down by the wire on his wrists that was binding him to the chair. Pain lanced through his arms and into his shoulders. He didn't know how long he'd been here, but he'd obviously been wired down to the chair for quite some time judging by the soreness in his shoulders and around his wrists.

"Well, good morning Mac. Or maybe I should be saying good afternoon?" Gabel teased. He rounded the chair before coming to rest directly in front of Mac.

Mac squinted at Gabel, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light in the room. Somehow everything seemed 10X brighter than it should be.

"Why am I here?" Mac asked His voice was hoarse and his head was swimming, but the only thing he was wondering was where Jack was. Why hadn't he come to the rescue by now?

"Well, Mac, I happened to come across some prudent information just this morning that kind of ticked me off," Gabel replied. The man began to pick at the dirt under his nails examining each wad of grime as if it held some sort of important information.

Mac let out an airy laugh. "And what kind of information would that be?

Gabel rummaged inside of his pocket, pulling out a dark brown wallet. Mac's breathing hitched. That was his wallet. Gabel casually flipped it open, revealing the government ID displayed in the tiny plastic-screened pocket.

"Care to explain?" Gabel mocked, anger creeping into every facial feature.

Mac clenched his fists. He took in a breath then slowly let it out through clenched teeth. His cover had been blown. Yet, even as Mac knew that Gabel would most likely kill him right there, that wasn't his main concern. What really bothered him was that the last place he had left his wallet had been at home. In the kitchen- a kitchen that Bozer spent 70% of his time in.

Mac tilted his head back, squeezing his eyes shut. "Where is he?" He whispered.

Gabel began to laugh, flashing his strikingly white teeth at Mac. "Him? Or do you mean her? Riley Davis. You're little hacker girl. She was hacking into the syndicate's main server when my hacking guy caught her. It wasn't hard to get a location on her. My man is very talented. Either way, we tracked her to a little house in Los Angeles and caught up with her there. And that's where we found this," Gabel said, waving Mac's wallet in front of him.

Mac would have lunged forwards if he hadn't been restrained. Instead, he ground his jaw and, breathed deeply; if only to get his emotions in check.

"She's ok, don't worry. As for the little guy, he got away, along with one of your men. What's his name again, Jack? He's a good shot, that one is. But the thing is, I've got the girl. She's got talent too. I won't deny it," Gabel continued, obviously pleased with himself. Mac suddenly understood why Jack hadn't been there to help when Dan had jumped him at the motel.

Gabel crouched down, bringing himself down to Mac's level. "I want her to access certain information that my men haven't been able to hack. I want her to give me intel on the government's moves, what they're planning and what they know about me. That way, I can stay on top of the game. The thing is, she won't do it willingly. And, being the gentleman I am, I'm not going to hurt her to get her to do what I want."

Mac shifted angrily, then leaned forward and spit in Gabel's face. "You're no gentleman," he sneered. Gabel's adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't move to hurt Mac. Instead, he casually wiped the spit from his face as if it were no more than a droplet of water.

"You may not think so, but listen Mac. I don't hurt people unless they ask for it. I hurt Dan Vanteen because he physically meddled in my work. I want to hurt Avery because she did the same. But Riley, dear Riley, she was only doing her job. She was doing what anyone in her position would be doing when they had an agent in the field depending on them. You, on the other hand, chose this job. You chose to get in my way. And for that, you must pay."

Mac shivered. He pursed his lips then let out another long breath.

"I want her to get me information and I want you to pay. Isn't it quite complementary? I'm sure she has an attachment to you, Mac, as a close colleague and all; maybe even as a friend. Somehow I think she'd hate to see you hurt. And if I'm correct, I can bargain with her: her service in exchange for your life. It's simple and effective."

Gabel gave Mac small smile that almost looked sympathetic, then he pulled a syringe from his pocket. He gingerly flipped off the cap then plunged the needle into Mac's neck. Mac jerked involuntarily, pulling on the restraints and cutting even deeper into his wrists.

"Call it a small taste of what's yet to come," Gabel said, waving the syringe in front of Mac's face.

The took its effect incredibly fast. Mac felt his muscles tighten. The floor swayed and even while seated on the chair, Mac was sure he was going to fall. He pushed his body against the back of the chair, planting his feet on the floor to prevent him from leaning too far to his left or right. The warehouse was becoming as haze. Gabel said something inaudible and two men descended on Mac, untying his wrists and forcing him to his feet. Mac tried to fight, but his body was no longer his own. His moves were uncoordinated and restricted by whatever drug was in his system. Any attempt to fight only resulted in a fresh pain blossoming in his chest and his airways constricting.

Tears had completely soaked Mac's face and shirt collar by the time the two men threw him into the back of a truck. He was wheezing and shaking uncontrollably and as he reached out to the side of the truck to steady himself, he was quickly thrown off balance as the vehicle lurched forward and threw him to the ground. Mac didn't know where they were taking him, but as the drug began to fully take over his system, he knew it was going to be a long ride.