Jack yawned and rolled over. He squinted at the clock beside his bed. He sat up and rubbed his face. It took him a minute to remember what had happened last night, or earlier that morning. Jack shook his head and padded to the kitchen. He put coffee on then went to wake Mac up. The others would be there-
A tapping at the front door made him smile. About right now, he thought. He retrieved his Baretta from the table by the door and held it ready.
"Jack, it's us." Matty said softly. Jack opened the door and scanned the hallway as his three teammates entered. Old habits had kept him alive and he was too old to change now, even if he wanted to, which he didn't.
"Where is he?" Bozer asked. Jack turned and his eyes widened. Bozer's chin was swollen and his lip was cut.
"What the-?" Jack started. Bozer rubbed his chin. He shot Jack a miserable look.
"I know, right? Where's-" Jack tilted his head and Bozer vanished toward the back bedroom. Jack turned questioning eyes to Matty and Riley.
"We need to-"
"He's not here!" Bozer cried running from the back room. Jack closed his eyes and ground his teeth. Dammit, Mac! Bozer handed him a folded paper, "He left this."
"Jack, Sorry, Mac." Jack read. He frowned. Succinct even for Mac and Mac's normal scrunched writing looked like teeth eating the page.
"We have to get after him, we have to-"
"Bozer, calm down." Matty growled she looked at Riley.
"I'm on it." Riley sat in one of Jack's barber shop chairs and worked her rig. Jack pulled out an array of mismatched cups he'd stolen from hotels around the world, and a few other places. He sipped his black coffee and winced. It was strong enough to slap the snot right out of his head. He took a steadying breath moving to the living room as the others sugared and creamed their coffee.
"Ok, what the hell is going on?" Jack demanded his eyes focusing on Matty. Matty climbed onto one of the bar stools and took a long sip of coffee.
"It's my fault, it's all my fault, if I hadn't-"
"Enough, Bozer!" Matty snapped. Bozer slumped against the kitchen counted and held his head in his hands. Jack eyed Matty. She sighed.
"Just after you left for Venezuela, we got a tip that a skinhead Nazi militia had stolen extensive information about the entire Mexican cartel network. We didn't know if they were going to work with the cartel to advance their version of the Silk Road-"
"Weird for Skinhead Nazi Militia-types."
"-Or if they were going to use it against the Cartels. Either way we needed to get that information to use ourselves or prevent a full out street war between Nazis and the Cartel affiliated gangs." Matty paused to sip her coffee and pulled hair back from her face.
"I found his Jeep, it's been impounded since last night."
"Where from?" Jack asked curious.
"Giovanni's." Jack's eyebrows skyrocketed. Not only was it one of the toughest biker bars in LA, it was more than ten miles away. Mac had walked here last night, hammered and beaten up. Jack rubbed his face. He noticed Riley's face pale a shade.
"What?" She turned the laptop. The others gaped at a picture of Mac's Jeep. It had been beaten more than Mac had been. All the windows were broken, the paint was blackened and curled and the side panels were dented in enough Jack knew they wouldn't be opening ever again.
"Any surveillance inside the bar?" Jack asked. The others stared at him a long second. Jack realized they hadn't seen Mac, and he hadn't really told him what condition he'd arrived at Jack's door.
"He showed up here drunk off his ass and pretty beaten up. I think he was in a bar brawl."
"Mac was drunk?" Bozer's eyes were wide and he look a whole shade paler. Jack nodded at him grimly.
"He wasn't in a bar brawl, he started a bar brawl." Riley announced.
"What?" Bozer and Jack asked at the same time.
"There's no cameras there, but they did file a police report-"
"Giovanni's filed a police report?" Jack asked. His gut churned in worry.
"Apparently so, they say that Mac came in and drank almost a whole fifth of whiskey. A guy hassled him. Without warning, Mac slammed the guy with the bottle and all hell broke loose. Mac must have fought like Wolverine because the police report said he left and no one was either motivated or able to follow him out the door. He also stole another bottle of whiskey."
"Holy shit." Jack said softly.
"Yeah." Matty agreed in the same tone. She turned to Jack.
"Let's get this debrief done so you can go get blondie back into the fold." Jack nodded.
"I'm guessing he was set to infiltrated the skinhead nazi militia?" Matty scowled.
"Yeah, unfortunately he was the only one who looked Aryan enough." Matty's nose wrinkled with disgust. Jack ground his teeth together. He was liking this less and less, and to say he started off hating it was a serious understatement. Mac was alone, forced to pretend to be a Nazi-probably the worst thing the kid had ever been asked to do-and it went wrong. Jack rubbed his eyes not that surprised to find them a little damp.
"How long was he in?" Jack had been gone almost a month, surely it hadn't been that long.
"Almost the entire time you were gone, Jack."
"Son of a-! You should have pulled him out way before that!" Jack roared, "You know how he feels about that Nazi bullshit!" Matty narrowed her eyes.
"I tried, Jack. Two weeks in, he stopped reporting."
"He what?" If Matty had told him Mac had flapped around Pluto, Jack would have been less surprised.
"We took turns watching him." Riley said. Her eyes were moist, "He wasn't doing so well after the first week."
"Then why the hell-?"
"Jack, I tried, ok? I tried to pull him out, but he stayed saying he was close to finding the information." Jack huffed and started to pace.
"Ok, Mac can handle himself." Jack said it to reassure himself more than the others.
"He could have, if it wasn't for me." Bozer said softly.
"What do you mean?"
As Bozer crept quietly through the woods, he felt like a deer with a huge target on his chest. Every sound around him made his skin flinch. He paused at the edge of the wood and crouched behind a small copse of pine trees. He was high enough on a bluff to see over the compound wall. He pulled out his pocket field glasses.
"I don't see him." He whispered. He paused, "Wait, yeah I got him. He-" Bozer's voice was lost in his gasp of alarm. Mac strode with the upper brass of the militia. He wore the same paramilitary uniform as the others around him. Seeing his oldest best friend sporting a leather coat covered with racist slogans, skulls and swastikas almost made him puke. Worse, Mac's face was hard and cold, like the other nazis. The commander came out and Mac snapped to attention and did a Nazi salute.
"Heil, Fuhrer!" He barked. Bozer groaned.
"I think I'm gonna puke." He hissed.
"Boze, you know it isn't real, right?" Matty reminded him. Bozer nodded forgetting the others couldn't see him from where they had hid the van.
"Yeah, but this is Mac and-" Bozer broke off at a sound behind him, "Shit!" He cried as he whirled and ducked a butt stroke. Three skinheads circled him."
"What are you doing up here little N-" Bozer kicked out and caught the speaker in the balls. He bounced to his feet and took off running. He didn't get far. Another skinhead close-lined him across the chest. If Bozer hadn't jumped over a branch at the same time it would probably have crushed his throat. He flopped back to the ground, heart pounding, desperation bringing out a cold sweat. This was his worst nightmare. It got worse. He got the traditional Nazi greeting of an asswhooping. Bozer got dragged inside the compound. He was dropped at the feet of the Commander and Mac. He glanced up unable to hide his panic. Mac's eyes roved the circle around him. If Bozer hadn't known Mac his entire life he'd have thought Mac looked bored. But Mac had that worried frown that wrinkled his brow, just a little.
"So, Boy, what are you doing up here?" The commander asked. His eyes were those of a rabid wolf, cold and crew.
"I got lost." Bozer managed to wheeze. The commander laughed.
"Since there isn't another Monkey for miles, I'd say that's true. Are you an agent? FBI? NSA?" Bozer licked his lips trying to think of something that would buy them time. The commander stared at Boze then shrugged.
"Doesn't matter." The man pulled out a Smith and Wesson. Boze had no idea what type it was, but it was a giant cannon eye staring at him, sucking away what little air he had left.
"Sir-" Mac said. The commander paused and smiled, turning to the blonde.
"You are absolutely correct, you are my newest child. I shouldn't hog all the fun. Here-you kill him."
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" Jack roared. Bozer cringed and ducked, staring at the counter. Jack shook his head and chewed back his fury, "It's not on you, Boze. Matty-?"
"I know, Jack."
"It gets worse." Bozer whispered. Jack wiped his face and took in a long slow breath.
"Ok, go ahead."
Bozer shook as he was pulled to his knees. The commander handed Mac his pistol. Mac closed his eyes as he took it. Bozer could see his Adam's Apple bob as he fisted the weapon and brought it up to Bozer's face. Mac's face was an expressionless mask, but his eyes screamed in anguish. Boze opened his mouth to tell Mac it was ok…
Mac snarled and slammed the pistol into the side of Bozer's head. Bozer collapsed into blackness.
"Mac hit you?" Jack said wide eyed. Bozer winced as he licked his sore lips.
"I think he was shutting me up from giving away the fact that he knew me."
"What happened next?" Jack's fists hurt from the tightness he curled them with.
"We don't know." Riley said.
"What? What do you mean you don't know?"
"We were coming in fast and hard with full TAC," Matty explained, "But there was gunfire and an explosion. We found Mac covered in blood carrying Bozer on his back out of the compound." Jack smiled despite himself. He put a hand on Boze's shoulder and squeezed it. Boze didn't look up.
"He was a mess." Boze said. Jack nodded. Of course, how could he not be.
"He was quiet, too quiet. You know." Jack nodded.
"Yeah, I get the picture."
"He got the info, the entire command team of the militia were dead and the compound was pretty much destroyed." Matty didn't try to hide her pride.
"And he saved me." Bozer added wiping his eyes.
"He never showed up at the debrief and we've been looking for him since the day before yesterday." Riley finished. Jack shook his head. What the hell had Mac been doing all that time, other than drinking and getting into bar fights? Jack nodded and finished his cold coffee.
"Ok. Ok, I'll find him and bring him back." Jack said reaching for his keys.
"Where, Jack? We looked everywhere." Matty huffed. Jack gave a reassuring smile.
"No, Matty, no one knows everywhere."
"Except you?"
"No," Jack said as he stepped out into the hallway, "But I know more than Mac thinks I do. I'll get him." Jack nodded and strode down the hall his brain already ticking off places he had to look.