A/N: I'm really sorry for how long it has taken me to update! I will admit, I lost motivation and only recently found the energy to attempt this again. On that note, I don't know what my posting schedule is going to be yet, but I will try to update slightly more if I can. Anyway, leave a review if you'd like to and enjoy the chapter!
Long Live BRUCAS: Yeah, I totally agree with what you're saying about Mac choosing between the two of them. Although, I doubt it would ever get to that point. Anyway, thanks for the review!
Chapter Sixteen ~ Good Help
Babette didn't want to admit, but she was rather exhausted. She had slept poorly all night and had been woken up by a nightmare far earlier than any human being should actually be awake. So, when she found herself falling asleep with her head resting in Mac's lap, she wasn't all that surprised. Mac simply watched with a smile, waiting until she was completely asleep before he reached over and once again tucked the blanket around her shoulders. He turned down the sound on the TV so that Babe could sleep and then began to gently card a hand through her hair. Bozer had headed to the Phoenix to do some work a bit earlier, leaving Mac and Babe as the only two in the house, although Mac expected that would change soon.
Sure enough, the sound of someone at the door brought Mac out of the doze he had fallen into. He was about to stand when the front door opened and Jack stepped inside, a wide smile on his face. He had a box of pizza in hand, causing Mac to grin slightly in amusement. The older man had probably met the pizza delivery man at the door and taken it upon himself to bring the pizza inside. Mac just hoped that Jack would let him pay for it because he had a tendency to ignore Mac's efforts to pay for those sorts of things. Either way, he was about to find out as Jack entered the living room and set the pizza on the coffee table.
"Thanks for bringing it in," Mac thanked him quietly, one hand still carding through Babe's hair as he watched Jack take a seat on the couch across from him.
"No problem," Jack said quietly in response, a small smile on his face as he looked between Mac and the girl's sleeping form. "Matty told me to leave once she finished talking to me, but I figured I'd stop by and see how you're doing."
"I assume there's nothing for you to do back at the Phoenix since Matty took you off the case?"
Jack simply nodded in response, a faint sigh escaping him as he stretched his arms above his head. He then leaned forward, quickly opening the pizza box and taking a piece for himself. Mac chuckled and picked up a piece as well, careful not to wake Babe up as he leaned forward to reach the coffee table. Once he had a slice in hand, he leaned back on the couch and watched as Babe turned so her face was buried in Mac's side.
"Yeah, thought so. Matty told me not to head in until Monday and we're also not supposed to leave the house, so..." Mac trailed off, shoulders bouncing up and down in a slight shrugging gesture.
"Mhm... Matty's probably right though." Jack paused to eat some of the pizza in his hand before he spoke again. "We don't know where F.A. is and we have no idea if he's going to try and get to you again."
Mac nodded slowly, eyes flickering downward as he slowly ate the slice of pizza he was holding. He had no idea how to respond to Jack's comments, especially since he knew that everything he was saying was true. He glanced at Jack, his free hand fidgeting with the edge of the blanket that was wrapped around Babe's shoulders. Jack had mentioned a while ago that he wanted to try and convince Matty to put them back on the case. He wondered if he still meant it now that he knew exactly what was going on. Even if he did, would Mac want to be put back on the case? Maybe it would be safer to stay away from it until the situation was resolved.
"Matty might have us stay in a safe house if this goes on for any longer."
"You? In a safe house?" Jack laughed, shaking his head as if that was one of the most absurd comments he had ever heard. "You'd die of boredom before F.A. could even think about finding you."
Mac laughed, a small smile appearing on his face as he placed one hand gently on top of Babe's head. The girl rolled over onto her back, squinting up at Mac for a moment before she closed her eyes again. She muttered something under her breath before lifting a hand to grip the front of Mac's shirt, fingers twisting the fabric as she buried her face in his side again. Mac smiled and put his arms around her, moving to sit her up and then letting her rest her head against his chest. He supposed it wouldn't be so bad if he had to stay home for a few days.
F.A. - Unknown Location
"Good help is so hard to come by," he said as he grabbed a knife from the table. Examining it in the light, he continued speaking to the two men standing in front of him. "You two are the only ones that haven't got themselves caught and that's only because you decided not to go find the escapees like I specifically told you to do. So, seeing as you are not exactly good help either..."
He trailed off, suddenly throwing the knife at one of the men. He was caught off guard, breath escaping him in a gasp as his hands lifted to claw at the wound in his chest. Suddenly, he fell to his knees as he continued to claw at the wound. F.A. laughed faintly to himself as he watched the man slowly topple onto his side, still gasping as blood continued to leak out of the wound. The other man watched fearfully as F.A. tugged the knife out of the man's chest and then turned to him with a devilish grin. He wiped the blade of the knife on his shirt before he held it up to the light, watching his warped reflection in the blade.
"Shall I kill you too? Or are you actually capable of helping me find my prisoners?"
"P-please sir, don't kill me. I c-can... I can try to f-find him for you."
"Mm, that's what everybody else said and look where that got me."
F.A. stepped up to him, the tip of the knife pressed to his neck as he grinned. The man's eyes widened as it dug into his skin, a small drop of blood running down his neck. He held the knife there for a moment longer before he shook his head and stepped back once again. F.A. would give this man one last chance and if by then he still had not retrieved his prisoner, he would have to kill him. The silly Morris family had failed to gather any information on this... MacGyver, so he had yet to find where he lived, but it would only be a matter of time. The girl had just been his way to get MacGyver's attention and, if he had to pull some strings to ensure she was fostered by a Senator so that the Phoenix Foundation would be put on the case, it had been worth the extra work.
Now that he had killed the Morrises (what else were you supposed to do with bad help?), he could put all his focus on finding MacGyver. The Morrises had been interesting, he would admit. He had heard of them, of course, seeing as they ran one of the most successful smuggling businesses. He had been completely unaware, however, of the fact that the woman was actually a skilled hacker. The man apparently handled personal interactions and dealt with physical transferring stolen goods while the woman handled anything online that needed to be done to facilitate the movement. It was an interesting set-up, F.A. had to admit, and he would gladly take all of their business now that he had gotten rid of them.
But no, he didn't need to focus on getting business right now. What he needed to do was find somebody who could get him MacGyver's home address. His men had only managed to find the man out on the street by chance and he was not likely to get that lucky a second time. No, he would need to find a better hacker than the Morris woman. One who could actually get him some information from the Phoenix Foundation. And then, once he had that information, he would get his revenge.
