NOW
"Wait...do you hear that?" Riley asked. Desi raised her P226 holding her maglight beside it. Full night had fallen almost an hour ago. The night was cold. Her breath fogged in front of her mouth. A low ground fog swirled along the floor of the forest. The Phoenix trio froze listening.
"I don't-" Bozer broke off when he heard it. Auf Auf Auf. Echoing in the dark night it was creepy as hell.
"What is that?" Riley asked aiming her flashlight in front of them. Desi led the way in cautious low steps.
"Animal... mineral... or vegetable…" She murmured softly.
"Those guys with the dune buggies have been too quiet."
"No, this isn't them...they sound like...Guinea pigs?"
"Wild Guinea pigs in South Dakota? I think they're from...I don't know, Guinea?" Riley shot Bozer a cold look.
"Here, over here." Desi said. They came out on a flat area. They were surrounded by loud barking. They whirled their flashlights around them, just barely catching movement.
"What the hell-" Bozer muttered loudly. Riley gasped then started laughing. The other two shot her in the face with their maglights.
"Prairie dogs! They're prairie dogs." The flashlights moved down to the ground. Sure enough they were in a ring of small gopher looking animals. They disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.
"South Dakota, man." Bozer said stepping carefully around a constellation of holes, "You could break an ankle out here."
"No kidding." Desi said.
"We-"
"Jack." The trio froze and waited. A low moan came from behind them. They whirled.
"I don't see him!"
"Here, he's here. Mac! Mac!" Light bounced up and down as the three agents ran toward a pile of leaves. It moved. The three dropped to their knees and dug under the leaves. Mac was grey-blue and shivered. His eyes cracked open and he murmured. Riley looked around them.
"Where's Jack?"
"Where's his clothes?"
"Jack?" Mac cried out as Desi gently checked his shoulder. He squinted against the lights and held up a hand to block the light, "Wha-?" Mac's eyes opened with fear and he tried to bolt up and away.
"Hey, easy, bro it's us." Bozer said as he took off his coat and covered Mac. Mac leaned back confused.
"Jack?" He breathed as he slumped back moaning in pain. His shoulder was swollen enough that the hand made lashing dug into his skin. Mac slowly opened his eyes and took in the others.
"Where's Jack?" He asked around chattering teeth.
"Don't know, we have to get this off-" Desi grunted as she ran a hand under the woven fibers. Dried blood caked the thin twine. Mac hissed in pain and pushed Desi away.
"We need to find Ja-"
"Looking for me?" A familiar voice said from the dark behind them. Desi whirled pistol aimed at the Delta as he slowly stepped forward with hands up. Desi let out a breath. The prairie dogs chorused as Jack joined them. Jack smiled at them.
"Thanks, little dudes. " He said. His team mates shared a confused look as Jack didn't face them, but something above him. Jack's grin shone bright in the dark.
"I am happy to see you guys." He knelt beside Mac and took Mac's hand. Jack frowned at how cold it was, "Especially you, brother. How are you feeling?" Mac managed a weak smile.
"C-cold. B-but s-s-shoulder's b-better."
"Like being inside a giant ice pack, huh?" Mac nodded. Jack laid down a big cloth bundle. He bent and cut the string holding it together.
"That's ok, I got our stuff back-Riley make us up a fire willya?" Riley nodded.
"I'll get wood." Desi said following her. Bozer leaned over Mac and worked the knots holding the bundle together apart. Jack winced when he saw how swollen Mac's shoulder was. He pulled off the poultices and let out a breath. The bleeding had stopped and there wasn't any obvious signs of infection, yet. That was something. He didn't like how swollen the kid's shoulder was.
"Here." Mac said pulling his SAK out of his pant's pocket. Jack took it and held onto Mac's shaking hand a minute to warm the fingers.
"Desi, stole weapons and stuff from somewhere." Bozer said kneeling on Mac's other side. He opened one of the duffles and pulled out a bag full of medical supplies.
"Yes!" Jack enthused as he opened the bag and fished around seeing what he had to work with. He pulled out a thick elastic bandage, some dressings, antibiotic cream and Tylenol. He laid out Mac's clothes and spread the supplies out.
"Here, bud, let's sit up." Jack nodded at Bozer. They worked in unison lifting Mac to sitting. Mac's head dropped and he closed his eyes lost in a world of pain and spinning. Jack glanced at Bozer. Neither liked Mac's pale blue coloring in the flash's light. Bozer sat closer and let Mac lean back against his chest.
"You with us?" Jack asked ducking to meet Mac's eyes. Mac nodded and bit his lip, "Ok, at least you managed to get your other shoulder for once…" Mac barely listened to Jack's familiar drone. Jack cut the woven fibers. He gave Mac the Tylenol. Boze pulled out a bottle of water and Mac sucked it dry. He closed his eyes and sighed. He didn't think anything ever tasted better in his whole life. Mac cried out when his hand fell into his lap. He couldn't feel his shoulder and his arms had fire burn along its length.
"Easy, kiddo, easy." Mac shot Jack a quick glare. Jack smiled.
"Can you move your fingers?" Mac shook his head.
"They're all pins and needles." Jack frowned and felt for a pulse.
"You still have a pulse in your wrist."
"Probably the edema." Mac gritted.
"If you mean it's swolled up, then yeah, I think so too. Sorry, kiddo." Mac opened his mouth. His question turned into a full scream as Jack palpated his shoulder and collar. He slowly bent Mac's arm up across his chest.
"Here, Boze, hold this, ok?" Boze nodded. His eyes were wide with worry. He winced as Mac whimpered. Mac took deep fast breaths. Jack put dressings over the gunshot holes then wrapped Mac's shoulder and arm with the elastic wrap. He checked Mac's pulse the whole time. Mac shuddered. Jack looked at Boze. When he was done, he ducked to meet Mac's hazy eyes. Mac blinked at him then smiled.
"Fucking ouch." He grumbled. Jack smiled and leaned forward giving his boy a gentle half hug.
"I hear you bro, let's get you warm." Mac insisted on standing up and putting on his own clothes, as much as he could anyway. It took some finangling but Boze and Jack took turns steadying Mac and helping him into sleeves and shoes. They helped Mac over to a log close to the small fire Riley and Desi had made. Mac slumped to the ground, his back to the log. He closed his eyes and pulled his coat closed.
"Here, Mac." Desi said handing Mac another open bottle of water and protein bar. Mac scowled at it. His gut was questionable at best, but he didn't remember the last meal he'd eaten. Mac sighed taking the water and cardboard tasting bar. Mac closed his eyes. His teeth ground against the dried nuts like stones. His scalp burned. Mac laid down the bar and drank water feeling more alert than he had in a long time. His eyes roved the small dark circle and his team mates. They looked like they'd been through the wringer. Mac shifted and grunted when he moved his shoulder. Four sets of eyes shifted to him automatically. Mac rolled his eyes and sipped his water. The others turned back to the fire. Desi and Jack were pulling things out of the two duffles. Jack grinned as he pulled out three pistols and one long rifle.
"Desi, you always get me the best toys!" Jack's eyes gleamed. Desi laughed as she placed small grenades in her jacket pocket. Boze and Riley sorted through piles of medical supplies and food. A moth flew close to the fire. Mac watched it as it flitted too close to the fire. It exploded into flame and vanished. Mac blinked frowning. Above the fire the high pitched screeches of Bats accompanied their flight through the pine and oak close enough Mac could make out their speeding shadows. The river roared not too far behind them. Mac frowned. He set aside his empty bottle and sat up straighter. He studied the vegetation around them. No prairie dogs. He narrowed his eyes and pushed to his knees slowly circling.
"Mac?" Jack asked his voice pitched low. Picking up on his partner's unease Jack moved without looking like did. He curled a Beretta and a Smith and Wesson in each fist. Desi tilted her head and listened. She glanced at Mac.
"I don't hear anything." She hissed. Mac nodded and managed to push himself to standing.
"Something's coming." He murmured. He nodded to the north, "From that direction, I think."
"What?" Boze asked. He stood and kicked dirt on the small fire. Mac swallowed. Blackness. The roof...Mac shook his head and forced himself to breathe calmly.
"Dunno...not natural."
"I don't hear the motors of those dune buggies." Riley added. There was a thunderous snap and three forms hurtled past them.
"WHAT THE-"
"Shhh. Bozer, they're deer." Riley hissed. Mac could hear her move, but couldn't see a damned thing.
"Des-"
"Yup."
"Jack?" Mac's heart pounded. It was completely dark out and chill hung in the air like a skeleton of ice squeezing them. His breathing sounded loud in the near silence. No one answered. Mac fought panic. Jack and Desi would be slinking into the shadows searching the perimeter for-
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Mac screamed as a tight claw dug into his bad shoulder. Everything wobbled and he fell to his knees. The small clearing exploded with light. Mac scrunched his eyes closed and lost the fight against nausea. He leaned to the side and puked up dry peanuts and water. He tried to take a breath in but the claw in his shoulder dug in forcing him to remain upright. Squinting against the glare, Mac looked up into the expressionless face of Marvella Ingra. Mac closed his eyes swaying. He shook his head forcing himself to stay awake. Bozer and Riley knelt with their hands on their heads staring at the white clad pregnant woman with hatred. A circle of Red House soldiers surrounded them, but Mac couldn't see Jack or Desi. That was a good thing, he reminded himself. The hand unclamped from his shoulder. Everything flickered black and white a minute, before Mac was pulled upright by a claw in his hair.
"Where are the others?" Ingra's face looked pale and waxy in the bright light. Mac closed his eyes fighting to ignore the sparks of agony exploding through his head and shoulder.
"What others?" Riley demanded. Ingra smiled at Mac, ignoring her.
"We'll get them eventually, Mr. MacGyver." Mac pulled against the hand holding his hair. He could feel the hundreds of tiny holes the probes had put in his scalp open and bleed. His eyes teared with pain. He ignored it and dug into his pants hiding the move by an exaggerated cry of pain. He pulled out his SAK and quickly pulled out the largest blade.
"Now, Jack!" Mac turned and sliced at the woman's wrist. Mac threw himself to the side and covered his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Riley grab Bozer and do the same. Mac closed his eyes taking deep breaths trying to make sense out of the activity exploding around him. There were three gunshots, the spotlights exploded. The soldiers were the professionals, they held positions in total darkness. Mac could hear impacts of weapons against flesh, a scream of pain, a hail of bullets, another scream-this time a woman,he thought. Then as quickly as it started, it was over. Mac groaned and rolled over when a flashlight shone in his face.
"Easy, brother. You all in one piece?" Mac grinned and held out a hand. Jack grinned back and slapped it.
"Help me up." Jack shot him a sour look but did. Mac staggered. Jack stood beside him a steadying hand on his good shoulder. Mac took a deep but shaky breath and staggered over to the pregnant woman's body. He leaned against a stone and bent over her.
"Who's got the flash?" He asked. He slumped to his knees. Jack jumped forward. Mac pushed him back and took the flash from Bozer. He blinked the fallen woman's face into focus. The woman's one eye met his tears running down her face. The woman tried to talk, but only a gurgle came out. Jack or Desi had shot her dead in the heart. Mac nested the flash between his knees and leaned forward running his fingers across her face.
"Mac, I know you feel bad-" Mac tuned out Jack. He pinched her skin between his fingers. It was warm, soft and had pores. Normal. Mac reached for the eyepatch. He pulled it up and leaned back hissing at the motion.
"She's a robot?!" Jack squealed stepping back. Mac looked into the deep blue of the woman's eyes. He saw the terror.
"No, she's not." He murmured. He pulled out his ska and dug into her empty eye socket. He winced. A nest of tiny fibers filled the eye orbit and led back to her brain. Mac closed his eyes feeling the prickly blood in his own scalp. It was the same controls they had used, only worse. Mac swallowed took a steadying breath.
"...a Stepford wife!" Boze was saying. Riley knelt beside Mac.
"You alright?" Mac nodded and crawled back until he was near her belly. If they had done that to her brain, what did they do with her baby? Mac's hand shook as he pulled up her shirt.
"Nooo, no, no, no-we are not taking out a zombie baby!" Jack's voice was high pitched. Mac shot Riley a grim smile. He lifted his SAC and stabbed into the woman's abdomen. Riley, Jack and Boze cried out in shock and horror. Mac swayed feeling dizzy and sick. He shook his head and forced himself to keep cutting. A thin line of blood oozed out of the incision, but not enough. Mac could see remnants of previous faint scarring.
"Here help me." He turned to Riley. Riley stared at him wide-eyed. Mac offered a comforting smile, "I know it sucks Riley, but-" Riley held up a hand cutting him off.
"I get it, here let me…"Riley reached over and turned her head away in disgust pulled the incision open.
"I'm gonna be sick."
"What the hell is that?"
"I think we found out how they got the information out." Mac reached his entire hand in Marvella's body twisted and pulled. Mac cried out as he flopped onto his back. Jack caught him enough to slow him down. Mac arched his back lost in rows of pain. In his hand he held a complicated box of lights and wires. His hand dropped. Riley neatly caught the box. Mac huffed in air fighting to hold onto consciousness.
"Hey, you guys alright? Mac?" Everyone jumped as Desi jumped from a rock to the ground beside them. She was out of breath and sweating. Jack looked up at her with relief.
"Did we get them all?" She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.
"That Xander guy led a retreat toward the house." Mac opened his eyes and smiled the smile he sported when he solved a problem.
"Of course." He murmured. The others turned to look at him puzzled. He lifted a hand.
"We have to go…" Jack wrinkled his nose as he grabbed Mac's slimy hand. Bozer stepped forward and helped support Mac as he wobbled to his feet. Mac's head dropped and his knees folded. His SAK fell to the rock strewn sand.
"Whoa, easy, easy." Jack said as he caught Mac and supported him. Mac blinked and slowly lifted his head. He closed one eye to get rid of double vision.
"Cars, have to get to the cars." He murmured. He tried to take a step and his knees gave out. Bozer grabbed him around the waist and Jack held him by the shoulder. Mac let out a soft moan, but didn't open his eyes.
"Ok, here we go, kid." Jack grunted as he bent and leaned forward draping Mac over his shoulder. Bozer zipped up Mac's coat using it to help hold his bad arm so it didn't drop or sway. Mac groaned as Jack stood.
"We ok?" Jack asked looking at Bozer. Boze shrugged and gave him a worried look.
"It's not far." Desi reassured. She led the way deeper into the woods. She moved slowly allowing Jack to avoid jostling Mac more than was absolutely necessary. It only took them ten minutes, but it felt like hours. Desi grinned and shined her flash up to a massive shadow ahead of them.
"What the fuck is that?" Jack asked. Boze grinned at Desi.
"Our transport."
"Bu-wha-son of a bitch." Jack growled. He bent and gently lifted Mac down to the ground. Riley helped and checked his bullet wound.
"It's bleeding again."
"How the hell are we getting out of here in...those things!" Jack paced his eye taking in the vehicles the Phoenix agents had appropriated. Parade floats. Fucking parade floats. One was a giant truck with a scene of a miner waving a pickaxe and holding a loop of rope that spelled out something. Jack couldn't make out what it said. The smaller truck had a building made of corn with the words Corn Palace on a hand-painted sign. Jack shook his head. He turned to Desi at a loss for words. She rolled her eyes.
"It was the only thing with wheels we could find."
"How the-"
"Perfect. That's perfect!" Mac said softly. Everyone turned to him. He laid on the ground eyeing the floats. He grinned at them his blue eyes shining, "They'll work perfectly."
"For what?" Jack asked confused. Mac's face hardened.
"For taking this house down once and for all."
"Sounds good, what do we do?"
"Desi, do you still have those grenades?" Desi smiled and pulled them out.
"I think I'm going to like this plan." She said with a grin.
"Are you telling me, antifreeze is flammable?" Bozer asked as he used a roll of bandaging to tie a grenade to the miner's ankle. Mac sat on a log his back against a boulder sipping water.
"Well, my world just shifted." Riley mumbled. She was under the truck following the power cords from the neon sign to a large generator under the truck, "Ok, Mac, I got the generator."
Mac closed his eyes and gestured with his hands as if he were moving the machine himself.
"Ok, find the coolant tank."
"Uh...ok, got it. Should I connect the flow tube to the gasoline line." Mac smiled.
"Yeah, make sure it's the reserve tank."
"How can you tell?" Mac leaned forward a flare of agony splitting his head apart.
"It should say." He said softly. The others shared a worried glance. Mac was running out of steam.
"Ok, yup I got it. What next?"
"Hand the...the ignition wires...up…" Mac sagged forward his hand opening to drop the bottle of water. He fell forward. Desi was closest. She caught him and eased him back. Mac moaned. She tapped his face.
"Mac? Mac?" He slowly opened his eyes. They looked in her general direction.
"Connect starter...to...bombs. Plaster...perfect." Mac managed a weak smile then his head fell forward his face slack. Jack jumped down from the truck bed and ran to his side. He checked the blond over.
"We have to get this train on the road." Jack's voice snapped with Delta command. He looked at Desi.
"Let's bundle him up in the Corn Palace." Desi shook her head.
"That is one sentence I never thought I'd hear."
"What's a Corn palace anyway? South Dakota's weird, man."
Mac jerked awake as the truck bounced over a deep rut in the road. He cried out his free arm moving to his shoulder.
"Easy, brother. It's ok." Mac turned his head confused. Riley smiled at him. Mac frowned and looked at the others in the truck. Jack drove leaning over a giant truck wheel. He glanced at them in the rear view mirror.
"You awake, Mac? How are ya feelin'?" Mac blinked and swiveled his head. There wasn't a copilot's seat. The area was filled by some sort of lift controls. Maybe a crane? Mac leaned his head back. He was so tired.
"It's ok, Mac. We're almost at the top of the hill." Bozer's voice was so close Mac could feel his breath against his ear. He turned to look and stiffened in shock. He was sitting on Bozer's lap!
"What the-" Bozer gently pulled Mac closer careful of his shoulder.
"Ease up there, Angus." Bozer's voice turned to stone. Mac leaned back and looked over at his friend puzzled. Bozer smiled, "Besides where are you going to go?" Mac finished scanning the interior of the truck and had to admit his roommate had a point. Riley was crammed into the corner of the half-seat. His legs draped across her lap.
"Where's Desi?" Mac asked closing his eyes against waves of pain.
"She took the big truck ahead. She should be about ready to jump off the cliff." Mac's eyes widened and he stiffened.
"Jack's being dramatic." Riley said shooting a glare at Jack.
"Oh, yeah she'll be fine." Jack wasn't overly reassuring.
"She's good at jumping out of the moving vehicle thing." Bozer reassured. The truck rocked back and forth. Mac leaned forward holding his arm. Riley leaned forward and supported him. It was another five minutes of the truck struggling up a steep hill before it levelled off and Jack stopped the truck. He opened the door and hopped out.
"There she is." Riley pointed. Mac followed her finger and could just barely make out the outline of the float. It was on the dirt road at the top of the cliff the Red House was built into. Jack and the others waited around the corner a level down. The beep of Desi's truck backing out seemed to echo like a Banshee. The diesel engine growled as Desi shifted it into gear. The giant motor roared like a dragon. Desi held it back, wheels spinning in the dust until the whole float shook. The truck lurched then roared as it jolted forward.
It seemed to go in slo-mo. It snarled as it took the corner of the cliff and went forward nose aiming downward. The plaster miner looked like a crazed god bringing his pickax down on the building below. The front of the truck crinkled, there was a loud boom, the float jackknifed then exploded. Even built into stone, the house didn't have a chance. Mac squinted his eyes as the explosion mushroomed then flowered into firebrands hitting everything in their path. Pine trees burst into spears of flame. The tower beside the building partially crumbled then an electric corona lit the sky around it followed by a bigger buzzing fire that rattled the truck. Mac groaned and ducked his head. Every jostle of his shoulder felt like a blow torch running up and down his chest, back, and neck.
The trio watched the house as it exploded with smaller fires inside its depths. Mac leaned back eyes closed.
"It's over." He whispered. He thought Riley said something, but his head was full of fizz. Bozer said something. Then the door burst open and Desi hopped inside. She curled up and climbed on top of the crane controls. Jack hopped in his eyes roaming over his team. He shared a grin with Mac then pulled himself in the driver's seat. Mac gasped as he was pushed against Boze then folded forward. Blackness wobbled around his vision.
"Hey, Matty-" Desi on her phone. That's ok, that meant they were done, they could go home- Mac slumped lost in blackness before he could finish his thought.