Then

Jack crossed his arms and studied Mac. He glanced at his watch. The kid had been out for five hours and hadn't moved a muscle.

"Ri-?"

"He's ok, just heavily sedated." Riley replied before Jack finished. He turned and walked to the desk. Riley had her rig connected to Ingra's desk computer. Jack glanced at her computer. The screen was split between scrolling info and an outline of Mac's body with lights and graphs blinking around it. His heart rate and blood pressure were really low. Not surprising. What worried Jack was the EEG. Mac's brain activity was a lot less squiggly than it had been.

"He's fine, Jack." Riley put her hand on his and squeezed. Jack nodded and looked down with a wane smile.

"I believe you, but since I've been back-"

"I know. Me too." Riley glanced at the sleeping man, "On the plus side he'll be well-rested and no bad dreams." Jack nodded and sighed. He looked up as Desi and Bozer walked closer. Bozer was dressed in kitchen whites. Desi wore all black. The contrast between the two was disconcerting somehow.

"I don't like this." Bozer said. He matched Jack's stance. His face was unusually grim. Jack braced himself.

"What?"

"There are less than a quarter of the patients as there should be." Boze said scowling. He waved a hand at the ward around them, "All of them are here."

"The rest are in a mass grave." Desi's face was completely neutral but Jack could see the shadows. This was not Desi's first encounter with disappearances and mass graves. Jack raised an eyebrow. Desi nodded and turned to face Riley.

"How is that even possible? All of the security used in Red Houses-"

"I don't think this is an official Red House." Riley said slowly. She leaned back, "The names that are registered as patients, I think are actually the local guards."

"Why would they have rentals like that?" Bozer asked pinching his lip. Jack took a step toward Mac his brain firing. He turned back around.

"In order to maintain the illusion of being a Red House, they have to have some official staff."

"But they don't want too many for them to see what is going on here." Riley added.

"That makes sense, where do they get the locals?" Bozer asked. Jack shrugged and rubbed his eyes.

"The closest port of civilization is the Rosebud Reservation, and things there are pretty grim." Desi said.

"Regardless, we have to find out what's going on."

"And get the hell out of here, Riley anything?"

"Most of this is in some sort of code, it looks like therapy notes." Riley stared at the computer and leaned forward. She looked up horrified and glanced at Mac.

"They have Mac's old file from the other Red House he went to." The others stared at each other.

"They know who he is, we're blown." Desi said pulling out her pistol. Jack followed suit.

"They know who he is, but I can't see anywhere where they know who we are." Riley said shaking her head.

"They have to have suspicions." Desi pointed out.

"I don't like this we need to bug out." Bozer said.

"If we do that, we'll never close this down." Jack growled, "Dammit."

"Jack this is MAC!" Bozer almost yelled. Jack narrowed his eyes.

"You think I don't know that? You think I like this?"

"Mac would demand to stay." Desi added softly. The others stared at her. She shrugged, "Well he would." They were all silent for a long minute.

"Ok, what did they do to him last time?" Jack asked.

"Jack, we can't-" Jack met Riley's eyes. He tried to swallow a bitter taste, but it didn't go away. She nodded and typed.

"It doesn't say much here. Only that he was dealing with post traumatic syndrome involving crippling guilt."

"Go on." Jack growled. His glare stopped Boze and Desi from asking more questions.

"They did something called Desensitization therapy with a new technology. I can't break the code here. All I can see is what looks like POs for some sort of modified sensory deprivation tank. That's all they have. I'll erase this...and gone."

"Sensory deprivation tank? Those are bad news. They can drive you insane!"

"Desensitization? Mac mentioned that one time. I googled. It's when your afraid of something they expose you to it over and over until you don't react as strongly to it. Theoretically you eventually lose your fear completely." Desi said pacing.

"What was he trying to desensitize to?" Bozer asked. Jack closed his eyes and turned away from the other's expectant gazes. He thought of the village, the screams, the blood...and they made Mac relive that over and over and over? Jack thought about the guarded shadows in Mac's eyes when he'd returned. He'd been stunned. They had stopped him from reacting by overwhelming his beautiful mind. Jack cracked his knuckles. He wasn't sure he hated anyone more than those people that had done that to his boy. And they had been legit. Jack turned back to the others.

"If they did that to Mac in an official Red House-?"

"What are they doing here?"

"Nothing good, all of these patients here are severely dehydrated husks. I couldn't wake any of them up." Desi said.

"They aren't far from death." Bozer's voice was soft and sad. They all stared at Mac.

"If they kept them out like Mac and kept dumping them in this tank or whatever-"

"They would lose touch with reality and...starve to death?" Bozer's horror held a hopeful denial in it.

"Everything has to be tied in with that tower."

"And everything behind the doors that seal off the secret halls."

"That can't be all of it, though." Riley said. The others stared at her. She waved a hand, "Look they have managed to pass off as a real Red House for years under a ton of security. The security is legit. They have to be smuggling the information out past the dampening field somehow."

"And they have new patients and staff coming in-" Jack checked his watch, "About two hours."

"The good thing about that is they can't suspect us too much if they aren't shutting everything down." Desi said thoughtfully.

"Unless their rocking up to a bug out." Jack said. He leaned over the desk and tapped it with his fingers, "Look, they do have some legitimate staff coming in, but they could also bring in more local help under the guise of new patients."

"They could be working up to some endgame." Bozer said nervously looking around the room. Suddenly he felt exposed.

"We have to shut this down."

"And protect Mac."

"Especially protect Mac."

"Maaaac, wakey wakey." Jack's voice seemed to slice through ripples of blackness. Mac mumbled and raised a hand to push the intrusion away. Jack chuckled.

"Gmnfay!"

"No, come on, brother. We have to get you up and out of here." Mac frowned. Jack's voice had a tone in it he was familiar with and didn't like. He grumbled and forced an eye half open. He frowned at the white blur around him. Was he in a hospital? He didn't hurt anywhere.

"Mgonon?"

"Come on, bro." Mac blinked and forced both eyes open. He winced at the bright light around him. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't get his muscles to work in unison, "Oky-Dokey." Mac squinted up at Jack with a full watt annoyed glare. Jack smiled and helped Mac sit upright. The world spun around them.

"Hnnn-oooh." Mac grumbled. His empty gut twisted. He shook his head trying to shake the cotton out of it. Mac licked his dry lips and rubbed his eyes. He and Jack were in his cubicle at the Red House. Mac took a steadying breath and wiped his face. He itched his arm then glared at the needle mark he found there. His irritation was obvious.

"Wha-appened?" Mac coughed, trying to get the mucus out of his mouth. Jack handed him a cup of water. Mac nodded and drained it in one gulp. He felt a little more awake. Mac took in the ward. It was eerily quiet. The other patients could be pillows piled on the bed. They didn't look alive.

Jack crouched in front of Mac his hands on Mac's forearms. Mac pulled free with a grumpy snort. Jack grinned. He handed Mac a set of new brown scrubs. Mac smiled. He could feel his SAK in the pocket. Mac bent to dress. Jack stood up and ruffled Mac's hair. Mac shoved him away with a venomous look. Jack chuckled.

"You let them drug me." Mac mumbled. Jack sighed. Mac studied him as he took off his shirt, "What else?" Jack stared at the healing scar of the stitches he'd sewn into his partner's side only a month ago. Mac pulled down his shirt.

"Jack?" Jack nodded.

"We might be blown." Mac froze and met Jack's eyes. Now that he was more awake he could see worry. It wasn't worry about failing the mission, it was a worry for him. A familiar expression, only this one was laced with a seriousness that made Mac's skin crawl. Jack started pacing as Mac slid out of his old scrubs and skinned into the new ones. He listened as Jack caught him up.

After he slid on the rubber soled slippers, Mac leaned forward eyes closed. Mac held up a hand before Jack could say a word.

"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy."

"Right. So are we swimming or cutting bait?" Mac shot him a raised eyebrow but managed for once not to correct him. He pinched his lip thinking. He glanced around the ward.

"Where are the others?"

"Riley, is in the file room pulling info, Boze is in the kitchen and dining room making food and getting to know the new recruits. Feeling out who's real and whose not." Jack paused. Mac rolled his eyes.

"And Desi?" Jack's smile said it all. Mac shook his head but refused to rise to the bait. Jack look disappointed.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. She's...around." Mac nodded and stood up. He closed his eyes and sat back down with a humph. Jack steadied him with a hand on his shoulder.

"You ok, bud?" Mac blinked his eyes wider and looked up at Jack owlishly.

"Just dazed." Jack's worry lines creased deeper. Mac waited for the world to stop spinning. He swallowed and nodded squaring his shoulders.

"So did we hear anything on the earbud I put on Xander."
"Not really, he and Marvilla were busy working some machinery last night. Couldn't hear anything until this morning. They're all in the dining room going through orientation with the new recruits."

"I don't suppose Matty managed to bring in a TAC team or two?" Jack laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Mac shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Seriously, I think we should-"

"We aren't pulling out."
"-see this through." Mac froze and leaned back giving Jack a surprised look. Jack frowned, "Riley found some info on your file, I think I know a little of what happened at the last Red House." Mac's face lost emotion. Jack squeezed his shoulder.

"Look, I don't know any details or anything, the others don't either, but we can't let them keep doing this to folks…." Jack waved a hand indicating the ward. Mac grimaced. He felt like he was in a mausoleum, and that didn't count the people in the mass grave on the grounds.

"And there's the whole national security thing." Mac added. He thought of his past experience with the Red House system. He narrowed his eyes. This one may not be an honest Red House, but they were certainly using the same technology with some upgrades. Mac shuddered as memory brushed chilled cobwebs through him. He was aware of Jack watching him, ready to panic.

"We are going to stop them, all of them." Mac said. Jack smiled at the determination and anger in Mac's voice. Mac looked at him his silver-blue eyes sharp as daggers, "No matter what."