"So how are we supposed to find him?"

"Dalton!" Matty was definitely pissed now, "If you keep on asking the same questions all over again, you can pack up your stuff and drive home with your ugly muscle car! I don't need you here!"

Jack's reaction was priceless. "Did you just call my car ugly?!"

Riley knew Jack's intention as she allowed herself to smile about this stupid conversation. They were all on the edge and he wanted to lift the spirit. And as stupid as it was, it actually worked.

But sadly he was right. How were they supposed to find Mac? His communication was off, the phone crashed and he disappeared without any clue. All they got was a victim, that was actually a lackey from begin with, and an underground maze going all over the city. They were sure by now that Mac and who knows who took the maze to leave, but they could only guess which route they have chosen.

How are we supposed to find him?

Everyone was sure by now that their mission went sideways. Mac was in extreme danger, they could all feel it. The only problem was, was he still safe and sound or - ?

Riley shivered. She couldn't bring herself to believe that Mac actually might be hurt or worse – fighting for his life.

Suddenly a screen popped up at her laptop. It was a mail, a video file attached to it.

"Guys, I got something", she informed her team. With fast fingers she swiped the file on the large screen in the briefing room.

Matty eyed the file wearily, Jack's face got grim. Even though they couldn't be sure everyone thought of Mac in an instant. Bozer rubbed his hands together.

"It's safe, I can't find any virus or tracking software", Riley said as she studied her laptop, "It's just a video file."

"Who sent it?", Matty wanted to know. She knew Riley already checked that.

"I'm on it", Riley answered immediately, "The signal is jumping over the whole city. I can't track it."

Matty cursed internally. "Open it", she finally said.

The moment the file started everyones' heart stopped.

It was Mac.

He was tied to a metal chair, zip ties visible at his feet. His hands were secured behind him, so Jack was sure they were tied as well. In his mouth a gag, it looked like a black tie was tied around his head.

But all this was the least shocking.

Mac was wet all over. His shirt, his hair. The blond strands were sticking in his face, almost covering the only half lit blue eyes. Mac looked so exhausted.

"They didn't - !", Jack started, but the rattled and shaky breath Mac took taught him better. They did waterboard him! They waterboarded his boy! Jack balled his fists in a desperate attempt to drive out some of his rage.

"Hello, Phoenix."

Everyone's look darkened. They knew who they were. Who Mac was.

"This is dangerous, Matty", Jack sounded so light headed he was actually surprised about his own voice.

"As you can see, I have your agent", the voice kept going. A man with a clown mask moved into the picture.

"You sick a**hole! I'm gonna rip you apart!", Jack growled. He knew it was no video chat so the man couldn't hear him, but he needed to make it out clearly. For the man. For himself. For Mac.

The man circled Mac. The blond agent tried to focus on the movement around him, looking as strong and grim as he could. But Jack could see the panic in those baby blue eyes. And Jack felt helpless about it – utterly helpless.

"And you see, we have little problem here", the clown continued, resting his hand on Mac's shoulder. Jack could see the flinch in his partner, "He doesn't want to answer a simple question. And this is getting really stressful here, doesn't it Angus?" The clown leaned forward, so his head was in the same line with Mac's. Mac's breathing sped up.

At the same time Jack felt like he's losing ground. This sick clown just called Mac by his given name! Was using it in a way he would actually know the kid. This was just sick! The helplessness of the situation was about to crash Jack's chest.

"Maybe you could help us?"

The curiosity the man under the clown mask used in his voice was disgusting. This was no normal kidnapper, this was a professional. A man who did nothing other in his life than kidnapping innocent people, driving them on the edge and sucking out every bit of information possible, before he kills them in the most painful way. And Jack didn't even have to see the eyes, the gate to his rotten soul, to understand all that. It was the way he talked, the way he stood there beside Mac, the way he had chosen this ugly mask. The way he was overpowering the situation. This man was sure of what he was doing. Was sure about every move. Was even sure about the fact using a video to contact them. Playing himself on big screen. The only thing that didn't want to fit in the picture was the tied he used for Mac's gag. Jack didn't know why but it seemed so unclean, not stylish. Why not duct tape?

"Riley?", Jack asked helplessly.

"I'm not getting a steady signal", Riley sounded as desperate as he, "It's jumping all over!"

"We are looking for someone", the clown kept going, and Jack saw Matty going in alert mode. "But little son Angus here can't help us, he doesn't know where he is."

Even though he didn't say the name, everyone knew they were looking only for one person – Mac's father. And it was true, Mac didn't know anything. As did they. Jack was helping Mac best as he could to find his dad, so he was on the same knowledge as his partner. Bozer couldn't help in their search, so he definitely knew less and Riley searched everywhere she could without finding anything.

And the only person who could actually help them was standing right in front of them – Matty. She knew something about Mac's dad, Mac told them she was in a reflection on the video tape Mac found. But there was a reason why she didn't help them from the beginning. Would she tell them now? Would she broke her silence for Mac?

Jack starred at Matty who was turning her back to him, so he couldn't make out her face.

"We need to talk with him about something very important, so it would be great if you could get him on the line for us. Wouldn't it, Angus?", the clown moved his hand and slapped Mac on the cheek lightly. Mac froze in terror.

"And the sooner the better", the clown continued. And with this sentence the whole mood of the situation changed. Like somebody just knocked down a switch. The grim and ice cold voice gave Jack a shiver down his spine. "Because I don't know how long Baby-Mac can keep up with us."

Even though the face was not visible, Jack could actually see the sick smile on the clowns face. The cold eyes, lunging for his partner, inflicting him as much pain as possible. Getting his kick when Mac was struggling in his bondings. Jack felt like throwing up.

"Should we give them a little taste about how urgent this is for us, Angus?" Almost friendly he caressed the cheek, the blond hair of Mac. With one finger he actually brushed some of the wet strands away from Mac's eyes. And Jack knew why: to show them the fear and terror behind those baby blue eyes. To make them feel more helpless. To overpower them all.

Mac's breath sped up. His look wandered between the man with the clown mask to the camera and back again. In a desperate attempt to seek strength. But there was no one to give it to him. Just his imagination. Just a virtual picture of Jack sitting behind the camera and watching in despair.

And now Jack was watching. But he knew it was too late for his partner. In the moment he needed him the most he had not been there. Now it was just like a deflection of his own miserable fail, the biggest fail in his life.

The panic in his partner's eyes was vivid as the clown left the picture, then roaming was audible. Frightened Mac locked eyes with the camera.

Jack's heart died. There was only on thing written all over Mac's face: "Jack, save me! Save me please!"

Jack wanted to look away, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop looking in those pleading baby blue eyes. The rattled sounds of Mac's lungs gave their best to make him feel more miserable.

"I cannot watch that", Bozer said short bound and stormed out of the room. Jack couldn't be angry at him and if he could he would have followed him. But he couldn't. He couldn't let Mac life through what ever was coming for him all by his own. And even though Jack knew this happened like minutes, maybe hours ago, he wanted to be strong for his partner – for his boy.

The roaming stopped all the sudden. "Wait, before we start we should make this more exciting, don't you think Angus?"

The way the clown interacted with Mac at this point was so disgusting. So sick.

The clown came back in sight, walking strait up behind Mac. Jack got the feeling Mac was about to hyperventilate. And with what was about to happen Jack would have done so too.

With fast moves the clown tied a second cloth around Mac's head – around his eyes. He blindfolded him.

"Oh my god - ", Riley sobbed and followed Bozer out of the briefing room.

Mac began to panic immediately. He couldn't see anymore so he didn't know what was about to happen to him. He could not process his surroundings anymore, at least adjust to the situation or threat that was about to come. Now, he was nothing more than a victim of his own imagination. And with what happened the last hours to him, Jack was sure Mac had a very livid imagination by now.

And now Jack understood why the clown didn't go with duct tape as a gag: so they could see Mac's jaw working nervously with the cloth.

This was so sick!

Mac's nostrils flared, his body was on the edge, straight up, like it would explode every second. It was only because of his training that Mac could keep himself together up to now, but it was only a question of mere seconds till he would break down.

If Jack could he would just jump right trough the screen, beat this freaking clown to the ground, giving him the most pain possible and then hug his partner and never let go of him. Yes, he would definitely do so when he got his hands on this clown! And he would inflict the cruellest pain he could think of. Slowly and deep.

"Now we can start", the clown concluded and Mac's breath stopped. He tried to hear what was going on around him, but with only his ears he couldn't process what Jack and Matty could see right now. The clown pulled a pair of garden scissors out of his suit. Jack recognized it as one everyone used to style their gardens and to cut plants. And Jack didn't want to know what the clown was to cut on Mac.

The clown waved the scissors in the camera as if to make sure that they've seen it perfectly. Then he tapped it on Mac's cheek.

The reaction was heart tearing to watch. Mac flinched at the sudden touch, almost jumped in his chair as he felt the cold of the metal at his cheek. The whimper that followed was ripping Jack's heart out of his chest. Mac's teeth burried themselves into the black tie in his mouth, the pressure visible at his jaw line.

"Maybe you need a little piece of your favourite agent."

What?!

With that being said the clown pulled the scissors away from Mac and lunged for his hand. Because Mac was sitting frontal to the camera, Matty and Jack couldn't see what was happening, but because of the lively action in front of them they could imagine it perfectly. Mac was shaking his head violently, clearly hyperventilating through his nose, whimpers made it past his gag. He struggled, tried to pull his arm away, but had no chance. Jack could firmly see the scissors finding their way around the boy's finger. It was then that he heard himself screaming at the screen.

All of the sudden, the clown stopped to move. Mac was still shaking, gasping and whimpering behind the gag. The man stood up, the scissors in his hands. But Mac didn't scream. He didn't cut?!

Instead he lowered the scissors. With the other hand he caressed the boy's cheek softly. "Sssshh", he tried to calm Mac. But the boy was beyond helping now. He was in absolute panic. His breath was so shaky that Jack thought he would pass out every second.

He wished it for him.

With a swift hand move the blindfold was gone. Mac kept his eyes shut, breathing heavily through his nose. The caressing continued. "Are you scared?", he asked the boy, whose chest was moving in an extreme way, drawing in any oxygen available, "This is how it works. Losing a finger is not the scary part, it's even scarier before the cut."

This sick bastard!

Mac didn't listen anymore, he was just staring ahead in the camera. Jack felt like locking eyes with him. Jack felt like Mac was searching him, searching him for his strength, blocking out everything that happened around him. His body and mind where about to go into shock, Jack could see it, so Mac tried everything to pull himself away mentally. To bring himself ease. To bring himself happiness.

Jack was his happiness.

Jack felt like crying. He was overwhelmed with the situation just by watching it. He was nothing more than a bystander and he felt exhausted, what about Mac then?

The clown looked in the camera as well. As he looked back to Mac he seemed to process what was happening right now. "He can't save you right now", he said plain. Jack's heart stopped, "In a few hours maybe when they give me the information I want, but not now."

But Mac didn't react. He kept his eyes locked on the camera, sucking in a virtual picture of Jack, standing there, looking strong.

"The next video will be a live call, 1900, no second later", the clown informed them, "And we want information, or –" with this he grabbed Mac by his hair and yanked his head back. The sudden pain and the interruption of his strong gaze made Mac hiss in pain. It was followed by whimper as the clown pressed the scissors at his throat. He drew blood with the sharp metal. Jack could see the heavy swallow. "I'm really cutting your cute agent here in pieces. Did I make myself clear?"

The screen went black.

As Matty turned around, Jack had left the room already.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for following my story so far - I'm glad you all enjoy it!

As for this chapter, this is my personal favorite, it was so much fun writing this one! Please give me your feedback about it!