AN: I asked, and you guys answered! Due to popular request, this story has officially changed to an M rating. I know the last chapter was suuuuuuper dark, but things are looking up now, I promise. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review :)
More progress had been made in the last half hour than the entire investigation before then. Riley had hit pay dirt on the robbers' laptops. All of the money they had received from Phelps for Mac had been wired to a bank account in Arkansas, and it was collected into evidence the moment Matty called it in. She had confirmed - thanks to Bozer's sketch - that the man really was Lawrence Phelps, a disgraced businessman from Luxembourg who was spending his retirement in a mansion in upstate New York. The one downside was that there was no given address. Since he was involved in dark web activity, the only thing they knew about his location was the half of the state it was in. But they could work with that.
"If I were a billionaire involved in human trafficking, I would stay as far away from people as possible. I would be able to afford anything and everything since I'm a billionaire, and by the sounds of this guy, he's not gonna spare any expense," Riley said as she typed the new parameters into her rig. Jack had no idea what she was doing or how she was searching for whatever it was, but that's why she was the computer hacker, and he was the guy who used the gun.
"Baird said he left on a seaplane, so he has to live near a lake large enough to land one in," Jack added. At least, if he were a billionaire, he would have his own lake for it, or at least live on a lake like one of the Great Lakes in order to have ample room.
Riley nodded as she began typing again. They were all huddled around her as she sat at the table in the small house. Bozer had been pretty silent since he finished the sketch of Phelps, but he stood behind the hacker, watching the laptop intently. Maybe it was time someone talked to him.
"Boze, come here a sec'," Jack said, motioning for Bozer to join him in the other room. He walked over and could hear the younger man following him. "How you holdin' up?" he asked. Bozer wouldn't make eye contact.
"What do you expect, Jack?" he said, crossing his arms and looking out the window. "My best friend was kidnapped and sold on the black market to some sick freak. How exactly am I supposed to be feeling?" Bozer's voice rose slightly as he finally looked at Jack, only to drop his gaze again, along with his arms. "I've been looking out for that kid since the fourth grade, and now, all I've done to help find him is sketch the guy who took him. That's it. I feel so useless, Jack. I'm not like the rest of you. I may have passed spy school, but I'm not used to this, and I don't know what to do."
Jack wasn't surprised that Bozer had unloaded all of that onto him with such little prompting. Bozer has always been much more open with his emotions than Mac - Jack had always hoped that maybe Bozer would rub off on the kid in that way.
"Hey, we're gettin' him back, okay? I swear on my life that we are getting him back. I will die before I let Mac live in the hands of a monster," Jack swore, ducking his head to catch Bozer's gaze. "And you are a part of this. We wouldn't have a positive ID on the guy if it weren't for your amazing sketching abilities, okay? And you are gonna be with us when we find Mac. You're gonna be right alongside us, and I'll even give you a gun, okay? It's about time that you start carrying one anyway," he finished. He may regret what he said about giving Bozer a gun later - he seemed to have a bit of a trigger finger - but he knew it would help in the moment. "Now come on, I'm sure Riley's gonna have something any minute." Jack clapped Bozer on the back and walked past him, back to where Matty and Riley were staring at the laptop. "We have a location yet?"
"Not quite," Riley replied, not taking her gaze away from her rig.
"We've got several possible locations. Three different mansions fit our criteria, and they're all occupied, but the records about them are confidential. That isn't uncommon for businessmen like Phelps, even if they're clean," Matty explained. She turned away from Riley to face Jack and Bozer. "I was just about to call Oversight and get him to authorize teams to check each house. We have three teams that are already en route, and no matter what Oversight says, they'll be going undercover at the houses with whatever maintanence worker identities we can backstop in the next ten minutes. Once we know which one is Phelps', those teams will draw back and wait for us." Matty pulled out the sat phone and moved into the other room. Jack could hear her giving a code to whoever was on the other end before she was out of hearing range.
That sounded as good a plan as any Jack would have come up with. As long as it got his boy back to him, Jack was okay with pretty much anything.
Less than a minute later, Matty was walking back into the room with a look of resolve on her face. Jack looked at her with a question on his lips, but she answered it before he could even ask.
"We're wheels up in twenty," she said. Jack - and everyone else for that matter - breathed a sigh of relief. "We fly back to San Juan, then board the Phoenix jet to New York. By the time we get there, we should know which mansion we're storming."
Finally - freaking finally - they were getting Mac back. They were almost there.
Matty let them know that the seaplane would be returning to Culebra to pick up the TAC team and the robbers, as well as all the evidence, but the first priority was getting the team on their way to New York. Everything else came second. All that mattered was getting Mac back as quickly as possible. No one wanted to even think about what could have been happening to him, but it was all that was going through Jack's mind. He couldn't help it. The kid meant everything to him, and Jack was terrified that something terrible was going to happen that kid before he got there to save him. Low level or not, it was human trafficking. That wasn't something to ever be taken lightly.
Soon enough, they were back on the seaplane to San Juan, then on the Phoenix jet to New York. By the time the jet had taken off, the first team was in position at the first mansion and was preparing to figure out who owned it. Their play was that there was a gas leak, and the house needed to be evacuated and checked for exposure. The covers were backstopped, and Riley had already forged any reports they could possibly need. Riley had barely taken her eyes off her laptop since they landed on Culebra, but Jack could tell that was more out of nerves than actually having something to do every second.
"Hey, Ri, come here a second," Jack said, using the same tactic he'd used on Bozer only an hour earlier. it worked, and Riley got up from her seat to follow Jack to the back of the plane. "I'm proud of you," he said. From the face Riley made, she was clearly surprised to hear Jack just say that so casually. "I am. You have done so well, and we wouldn't be able to find Mac without you. You've done so well, sweetheart, but you have to rest a minute. You've only gotten one night of sleep since Mac was taken, and that's just not gonna be enough."
"It's not like you've been sleeping either," she grumbled in reply, wrapping her arms around herself defensively. "Whenever you try, I know you have nightmares about Mac, about what could be happening to him, about all of the other things that have actually happened to him over the years, about never seeing him again, about finding him but it being too late..." she trailed off, not making eye contact.
"Are we talking about me, here, or you?" Jack asked, ducking his head to catch Riley's gaze. He reached out and put his hands on her slim shoulders, grounding her. Riley looked up at him, tears in her eyes.
"What if it's too late, Jack? I know what goes on on the dark web and what people get sold for. If Mac is still alive, then there's really only one other thing he would be bought for. What if the Mac we know is gone? Jack, I can't- I can't even imagine not having the Mac I've always known." She shook her head and wiped at her eyes. Jack's heart was breaking even more that it already had. "I just want him to be okay. He's the closest thing to a little brother I've ever had, and I can't lose him, Jack, I- I can't," Riley said, shaking her head again and turning away from Jack. She paced around and let out a deep breath. Jack stopped her where she was.
"It's gonna be okay," he said, wrapping her in his arms. In most circumstances, Riley would not accept an embrace from Jack, but these were not most circumstances, and both of them knew it. "We're gonna find him, and no matter what, we are gonna be there for him and make him okay. It might take a while, but I know I'm never gonna give up on him, and you're never gonna give up on him, and I doubt Matty or Bozer would either. Once we get him back, there aren't any better hands Mac could be in for his recovery. We're gonna make him okay, I promise." Riley tightened the embrace, and Jack could feel her nodding against his shoulder. "It's all gonna be okay," Jack whispered. "Come on, baby," he said, leading Riley towards the couch. Jack took a seat, and Riley joined him, lying down with her head on his lap. It was muscle memory, and Jack soon found himself running his fingers through his hair. This was a move typically reserved for Mac after a particularly harrowing mission, but Jack didn't think his partner would mind, considering the circumstances.
Oh, Mac. Thoughts of comforting his partner after past missions brought Jack's mind back to the present. He had a pretty good idea of what that monster would be doing to Mac, and if he were right, then Jack would have to do more than just comfort the kid. He might need more than Jack could provide, and that thought terrified Jack. How was he supposed to help the kid if he shut him out? That happened more times than Jack could count, when Mac thought that Jack wouldn't be able to handle whatever it was he was going through. Jack would make it his personal mission to make sure that Mac knew that no matter what, there was nothing that Mac could go through that Jack wouldn't be there for. Jack was always going to be there, always.
They had positive confirmation on the mansion. The second team had found it. When they got to the mansion, they were able to convince the butler that the house really did need to be evacuated while they checked the area for gas. Phelps himself had gone outside with his staff, but he kept asking when he could go back inside, and kept staring up at one of the windows. After staying a convincingly long enough time, the team had assured Phelps that his house and the immediate area were clean, and left. Jack and the team were about fifteen minutes out when the recon team called it in. Now, two hours later, they were all just out of sight of the mansion, gearing up for the extraction. In most cases, Jack would be admiring the beauty of the area, and Mac would be spouting off all kinds of nerdy things about the birds and the logs and that stuff. But this wasn't most cases, and Mac was the one they were there to save.
"We've got three teams. Alpha team will be going in the front. I will search for MacGyver, the rest of the team will take out hostiles and secure the staff," Jack commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. This was battle strategy. This what he excelled at. "Bravo team will go in through the back. Matty will join me in searching for Mac, while the rest of the team clears the house. Charlie team will remain outside and pick up any stragglers. You're the biggest, and need to have people surrounding the house. Am I understood?"
A chorus of "yes, sirs" could be heard, and Jack nodded. It was finally happening. They were finally getting Mac back.
The teams that had done recon had joined them, and helped to comprise the makeshift TAC teams. Bozer would be in Charlie team due to his lack of experience in the area, as well as Riley. Jack gave them both weapons, but wanted them to remain relatively safe. He could not - would not - lose anyone he cared about today. Everyone had comms, and both Riley and Bozer were instructed to wait outside until all threats were neutralized. Jack wasn't sure how well they would follow that command, but he could hope.
It was go time. All three teams stealthily made their ways through the dark treelines. The heavy cover would help to conceal them from both the cameras and the light coming from inside the mansion. Jack's heart was beating faster than it did on a normal mission - because this wasn't a normal mission, it was Mac - but he felt an eerie sense of calm. This is what he was good at. He had the utmost confidence in himself in these situations. He was in control of himself and his emotions. He was military, pure Delta, and he never appreciated that more than in that moment.
Creeping up to the front door, Jack took a deep breath, and whispered into his comms, "breach."
Everything was a flurry of activity after that. Jack kicked the door down and tossed in a flash grenade. He could hear the screaming of the staff and the shouts of the security as doors were busted down and the gunfire started. Jack quickly began clearing the mansion as he searched for Mac. The security was no match for the three teams of highly trained agents. This man really thought he was never going to be caught. Jack couldn't help but grin at that, not at all sorry to burst his bubble.
After clearing the first floor, Jack carefully made his way up the stairs, with Matty following shortly behind him. He went right at the top of the stairs, and let Matty take the left. On the second floor, the sounds from downstairs were much more muffled. Jack strained to listen to possible sounds coming from the upstairs that maybe he hadn't been able to hear earlier. So far, he hadn't seen any sign of either Mac or Phelps. Creeping into the office room, Jack remained as quiet as he could, and worked to block out all sounds he knew were coming from the commotion downstairs.
That's when he heard it, the small whimper coming from- from the wall? Jack crept towards the bookcase, and quickly realized that it wasn't just a bookcase, but a door as well. He could see the hinges on the side. Putting his ear to the "door", Jack took a deep breath, and listened. Everything was muffled - the room was likely soundproofed - but Jack would know the sound of Mac's cries anywhere. Jack's heart lept in both relief and fear. He had finally found his kid, but from the sounds of things, Phelps was hurting him, and Jack would not wait another moment for backup.
"I need backup in the upstairs office, immediately," he said into his comms. Without another moment to lose, Jack pulled the bookcase-door open and leveled his rifle, but he froze at what he saw.
He'd finally found Mac, but there were tears flowing from the kids eyes, he was bound and naked, and there was blood. There was Phelps, too. The man was also naked, but he was wearing a sick smile and possessively running his hands through Mac's blond hair. Mac was whispering for him to stop, to leave him alone, and his eyes were screwed shut as he flinched away from every touch.
Jack took all of that in in a matter of a millisecond, and Phelps' eyes widened when he saw the intruder.
"You get away from him now, or I'll kill you," Jack growled through clenched teeth. He was going to kill the man anyway, but he didn't need to know that.
"Now you put your gun down, or I'll hurt the boy again," Phelps said, slowly raising one hand, in which he was holding what looked like a small remote. Mac only stared at Jack in disbelief, as if he couldn't quite believe that Jack was really there. He kept mouthing Jack's name, but didn't say anything.
"You're not in a position to be making demands. If you hurt him, it'll be the last thing you ever do," Jack said, deadly serious. His rifle was aimed directly at the man's forehead, and he knew he would hit him on the first shot.
"Well, if I'm dead anyway..." the man trailed off, then pressed a button on the remote. Mac started screaming, and Jack shot Phelps immediately. The billionaire fell back, dead, and Mac relaxed against his bonds.
"Oh, Mac," Jack said, rushing up to the kid and pulling out his knife to cut the ropes. "You're okay now, you're okay." Jack would've been lying if he said he wasn't close to tears himself.
"J-Jack?" Mac stuttered, looking up at his partners with tears in his eyes. "Are you really here?" he asked, his voice breaking at the end.
"Yes, kid, I'm here. I'm here and I'm never leaving you, okay?" Jack reassured, taking a gentle hold of Mac's bloody wrists after freeing them from the ropes.
Mac launched himself at Jack and clutched the back of his Kevlar like a lifeline. He buried his face in Jack's neck as he began to sob. Jack held him as tightly as he felt he could without hurting the kid. He'd clearly been through a lot.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm here, I'm never leaving you, I've got you. You're gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. I've got you now. I'm gonna keep you safe now," Jack said. He kept up his litany of reassurances as Mac cried into his shoulder, and couldn't stop the tears that were flowing from his own eyes. He finally had his kid back, but he'd just been through so much. He had been hurt so, so badly, and Jack just wanted to fix it for him, but he knew it wasn't that easy. All he could do was be there for him. And he would be there for him until the end of time.