Here we are once again! I would like to send a shout out to all my lovely followers and reviewers who have stuck in out with me, especially Cornish Pasties, Lily Moonlight, RhizOneill, tlh45, iluvonelife, TheDeep and all others...you know who you are, you amazing human beings
Mac waited for one heartbeat before he sprinted from behind the container. He heard the distinct sound of a weapon reload as he ran for the shadow of the scaffolding ahead. Heavy boots shifted on the metal above as Mac dove for the relative safety of the scaffolding's stairway. He waited for the gunshots to begin again, but heard only a loud crash from above. Mac looked upwards and could see two men struggling on the scaffolding. He hoped that Whitner had found the shooter and not Sid. Mac clambered onto the metal stairs and stepped as quickly as he could up each shaky step. He kept his arm stretched out to feel when the makeshift staircase ended. As he reached the top, Mac felt the rumble of heavy fighting in front of him. Two rails on either side of him were all that kept him from the painful fall to the concrete below. Mac watched the shadows of the two men dance in front of him and easily recognized Sid's smaller and shorter frame. The other man was bigger and bulkier than Whitner and unfamiliar to Mac. Mac hoped his assumptions were correct as and he put all his body weight into a heavy tackle on the larger man. Mac felt the heavy metal of a rifle against his ribcage as he landed on top of the man with the weapon stuck between them. Mac pressed all of his weight into the weapon and forced it down onto its owner. The shooter exhaled sharply in pain and the stale smell of smoke rose from his breath. Mac tried to get a sturdy hold on the large man beneath him but pain pulled from his sling and his arm protested the movement. The shooter twisted out of Mac's grip and Mac felt his body hit the cold metal of the scaffolding. In an attempt to keep the shooter from Sid, Mac reached out with his good hand and grabbed blindly for the weapon. He heard the soft metallic click of the weapon as his hand circled around the barrel. He could see Sid's dark shadow only a couple of feet away and the weapon was aimed close in his direction. Mac felt the slight tug of the weapon as the shooter's finger circle around the trigger in a gentle squeeze. Using all of his strength, Mac tightened his hold on the barrel of the weapon and jerked it up in the air in an awkward stretch. The movement sent the bullets ricocheting off the ceiling and the shooter stumbled to regain balance as the recoil hit him. Mac dug his shoulder into the man's gut and shoved all of his weight forward. There was a brief moment of complete silence before the shooter's body hit the metal rail of the scaffolding and it collapsed under his weight. The metal screamed as it tore off and sent the burly man to the concrete below. Mac heard a sharp gasp from Sid's shadow and watched as the railing he had been using for support collapsed.
"Sid!" Mac threw himself forward completely as he watched his friend tip backwards. His hand swung out in a painful dive forward that sent his sling flying off his arm and a sharp burst of pain that shot straight to his head. He blinked, his vision swam and dots danced in his vision. Mac's outstretched hand wrapped around Sid's wrist and he felt the scaffolding sway as Sid's body stopped its fall and slammed into the side of the metal hold. The bandage on Mac's hand scraped against his burns as Sid's weight dragged his arm down.
"I've got you, Sid," Mac said through gritted teeth as the metal groaned beneath them. Sid's fingernails dug into Mac's skin as he clung to his friend as a lifeline.
"Mac," Sid gasped and Mac hated that he could hear the fear in his voice.
"You're not going anywhere, Sid. Just hold onto my hand," Mac kept his voice strong even as his body shook in pain. He took a deep breath and momentarily squeezed his eyes shut against the wave of nausea that hit him. No one was coming to save them. He had ran off on his own and now there was no help. He wouldn't let Sid pay for his mistakes.
Mac took another deep breath and scrambled to focus against the panic rising in his chest. He slowly stretched out his legs behind him to where the metal railing on the opposite side of the scaffolding still remained. His feet circled around the base of the railing and braced as leverage. He tightened his grip on Sid's wrist and started to pull his friend to safety. The pain in Mac's arm rippled down the right side of his body as it sustained all of the weight. He turned their conjoined hands and pulled up, turning his body towards the scaffolding for leverage. Mac felt Sid grab a hold of the scaffolding with his free hand and a moment later they both collapsed onto the metal floor, breathing heavy.
"Are you okay?" Mac asked as his arm throbbed and his heart rate slowed. Sid replied by wrapping his arms around Mac in a tight hug. Mac patted his old friend on the back, aware of the slight tremor in the man's body. Sid released him and let out a nervous chuckle.
"Mac, I hate to say it but we're getting too old for these shenanigans," he said with his ever present humor. Mac clambered to his feet and smirked in Sid's direction.
"Speak for yourself, Old Man," he said as he patted his back and they headed towards the exit on shaky legs.
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"I cannot believe you two!" Stella exclaimed as she threw her hands up into the air and paced in front of Mac and Sid. She turned sharply and pointed a finger at Mac.
"I expected this for you," she accused, her eyes narrowed. Mac opened his mouth defensively, but wisely snapped it back shut without a word. She turned again and placed her hands on her hips, her eyes boring into Sid.
"But you? I expected a hell of a lot more from you," she growled and Sid ducked his eyes from her scolding gaze. Stella turned back on Mac.
"You could've been killed not to mention you almost got Sid killed," she yelled.
"In Mac's defense, I was told to stay in the car," Sid piped up with a hand raised lightly in the air to interrupt her, but it quickly dropped as she snapped her sharp gaze back to him.
There was a moment of silence as Stella looked away from them and took a deep breath, clearly trying to gather some patience.
"Well, now we've got a unidentified dead body and Whitner is in the wind," Stella sighed, feeling every bit as exhausted as she probably looked.
"That shooter isn't connected to Whitner," Mac said, looking at her from where he sat on the back of the ambulance.
"What makes you say that?" She asked, keeping her tone hard so he knew he was still in the doghouse.
"He scattered right as the first shots were fired. If he hired the guy, he wouldn't have been surprised and he certainly wouldn't have left...you know how much he likes a show," Mac explained. Stella glanced at Sid as she purses her lips. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and was still looking pale.
"How'd he know about where Whitner wanted to meet?" She asked, not totally convinced that the shooter wasn't just another one of Whitner's crazies.
"Followed us. He wasn't there when I first walked in," Mac said. Stella sighed heavily...every time they got closer to the truth more trouble popped up in front of them.
"Okay, so our first step needs to be identifying our shooter," she suggested after a brief moment of thought. Mac nodded silently in agreement. Stella paused and stared at the two men in front of her again. She shook her head. "You both need to go and get some rest. Can I leave you alone for a little while without you getting into trouble?" She asked, her voice stern but her mouth twitching with humor.
"Scout's honor," Sid grinned.
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"Sid," Mac released a heavy sigh as the older man stopped the car and shut it off. Mac knew perfectly well where they were.
"What? You never specified where to take you, so I figured you wouldn't mind a nice warm meal and some good company," Sid said innocently, knowing perfectly well that Mac would have objected if he had told him where he was headed. Mac had assumed Sid was going to drop him off at the lab.
Mac's face was a slight grimace of indecision. "C'mon, Mac, Paula's been bugging me to drag you over for a visit for months now," Sid said, opening his door and getting out. Mac sighed, but had no choice to follow. Sid waited at the front of the car and led the way to the front door of his house. Mac followed behind carefully, somewhat familiar with the small path up to Sid's house. Despite his initial protests, Mac was already warming up to the idea of a nice dinner and he could already smell Paula's homemade goulash. They barely made it through the doorway when he heard a laugh of joy and hurried footsteps. A moment later, he felt himself being pulled into a hug. He had to duck slightly to hug Paula, who was a couple of inches shorter than him, but was grateful for the warm welcome...even if he didn't feel one hundred percent deserving of it. He doubted Paula would be as happy to see him if she knew about the trouble he had gotten her husband into today. Mac swallowed back the guilt curling in his stomach and forced a small smile.
"Look what the cat dragged in!" She kissed his cheek as she pulled away. "Mac Taylor, you are a sight for sore eyes," Paula's voice was the epitome of kindness. She was a wonderful woman and he had known her for just as long as he had known Sid. The Hammerback household had always been one of his favorite places. It held a warmth he could associate with very few things in his life.
"It's great to see you, Paula," Mac said softly. He could make out more of her face than he had of any other in the past months, which held promise that he was healing. He doubted there was a more welcoming face to see. She was just as charming as her husband and possibly even more inappropriate.
"You two have perfect timing. The goulash is ready and I've been dying to have some mouths to feed," she said as she walked back into the kitchen. Mac smiled in Sid's direction as they both headed into the warm room.
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Mac pulled up his jacket against the cold and gave Sid a small wave as he dropped him off in front of the precinct two hours later. Mac hadn't gotten any sleep, but goulash and good company had warmed him up inside and had convinced his body that he was well rested. Mac walked carefully up the stone steps. He felt as though his vision had improved enough to walk without his cane even though he knew Stella would disagree. It wasn't easy walking around with shifty shadows with limited color,but it was better and Mac just had to move at a slower pace.
Mac was almost too lost in his thoughts to notice the small figure in front of him. He turned his body to avoid a collision with a small girl who cried hysterically while being pulled along by her mother. However, his shoes weren't as lucky as he felt liquid splash on them. He smelled fruit punch and could imagine it sloshing out of the cup behind the little girl. He stopped for a moment and glanced down out his feet. He could almost make out the red splash of juice on his leather shoes.
Suddenly, realization hit him and his gaze snapped up. He shook out his shoes and headed to the precinct at a quicker pace, suddenly grateful for the little girl and her red juice.
"Did we find any blood at the scene?" Mac asked as he stood in front of Flack's desk.
"What?" Flack muttered as he looked up from the papers in front of him.
"Blood. Was it at the warehouse?" Mac huffed. Flack paused for a moment.
"Other than the dead guy, you mean?" Flack asked. Mac grimaced at the bad joke and followed it up with a pointed glare. "I dunno. Lindsay is still working with Stel on the evidence. I'm busy trying to find out who this guy is," Flack grumbled. Mac reached out and grabbed Flack's phone. He punched in Stella's familiar number and leaned on the desk as he waited, his shoes sticking to the floor slightly as he tapped them impatiently.
"You got an ID for me?" Stella's voice answered, assuming it was Flack.
"It's me, I'm at the precinct with Flack. Did you find any blood at the scene that wasn't the shooter's?" he asked quickly.
"I've got a couple of untested samples here, yes," she replied stiffly.
"Run them first," Mac said. There was a moment of silence.
"What're you thinking?" Stella asked.
"I think Whitner was hit by one of the bullets. I think that is why he left so quickly," Mac said.
"Okay," Stella said slowly. "It obviously isn't too serious because I would have noticed a larger pool of blood and it's not like Whitner is going to be stopping at St. Anne's for some proper treatment."
"He's got to stop somewhere to patch himself up," Mac said. "This is where we get him, Stella, we know he has to stop moving and he is going to go somewhere he trusts... somewhere he knows he will be alone." his voice had jumped in intensity.
"I have a feeling you have a place in mind," Stella said.
"When I first ran the case with Sam, we looked into relatives of Jake's. No real connections came up, but there was an ex boyfriend of his mother's who we talked to. We tried to get a location on Jake through this guy, but apparently Jake hated him with a real passion. The guy was a ER surgeon, Stel," Mac finished. He heard Stella's voice break into a smile.
"Oh, I bet Jake wouldn't have any trouble dropping by to see an old friend," she said.
"My thoughts exactly," Mac said.
"I'll grab my coat and you grab that address. I'll meet you in ten," she said before she hung up.
Well, I introduced another character that doesn't actually exist on the show, but I like the idea of Sid and his charming wife. I may write about the a little on the sly. I adore your thoughts and opinions. Feel free to message me with your ideas and please review!