Just when I thought I had no more stories to write. Okay, so when I started "Disruptions" my first offering was fixing ATW - when Harm rescues Mac and we don't get any… well anything from them. I fully expected when Harm busts in on the shack for him to kiss her or hug her.. SOMETHING. Nope, business as usual which is very much them but, so not. I mean, you have that scene in "Silent Service" where they save each other and then hold onto each other after Harm breathes life back into Mac.
I just can't fathom Harm giving up his career, risking his life and not being all like "I love you." at that point. Especially since he's kept awake by thoughts of her being shot with Webb. TPTB what were you doing? ARGH!!!
So, essentially this was gonna be another re-write of Paraguay… I have an obsession with it because of the angst you can pull out of those episodes. Best friends were sorta turned into enemies but seeing as I've beat that horse to death (I adore Final Destination so much!!! Yes, I am allowed to like my own stories!!) I"m taking a different approach.
You know me, I love the angst but there is a rainbow at the end or towards the middle or somewhere… So here goes.
Summary: Three years after Mac is taken Harm meets someone who may have answers. The quest to find her reveals memories of a hidden past and a way to save their future.
Chapter 1 - World On Fire
Electricity. Harm could feel it pulsing beneath his veins, the electric current that was impossible to measure. He knew they were close; she was near. Behind closed eyes, he swore he could see her, feel the fear washing over Mac dished out by some psychotic terrorist hell bent on revenge.
Yes, she was near, getting closer with each grip of tires on the gravel beneath. "Sir, you may need to prepare for the worst." Gunny said and Harm opened his eyes to regard the other man.
He didn't know. Because not even Harm and Mac could understand their connection, the otherworldly link that assured him she was still alive. It was something he didn't understand until Mac rescued him from the middle of a storm tossed sea. Then he stopped questioning - it was what it was - and this thing was stronger than ever.
"She's alive, Gunny. I can feel it." Although, if the ride to the hacienda took any longer, she may not be for long. Harm swallowed hard, trying to ignore the thought of not making it of finding her dead...or worse. And there were things far worse than death and it scared him to death the unimaginable horrors that men could inflict on women. "I sense it."
"How long have you been in love with her?" The question was innocent enough as Victor had seen Harm and Mac interact for several years. The push and pull was painful to watch as was the hurt on his favorite Marine officer's eyes when she and Harm had one misunderstanding or another. Off of Harm's shocked expression, a wide grin spread on Gunny's lips. "You do love her don't you, sir? Hell, you can deny it all you want."
"Yes." Harm said, finding no use in denying to another. "Yes, I love her."
Gunny brought the truck to a stop far enough from the hacienda for them to stay hidden. The two men checked their weapons and put the plan into action. Carefully, they traversed the wooded area near the home, coming to a stop at an area that overlooked the compound. Harm could feel the sweat dripping down his spine as he pressed himself against a tree and shouldered the rifle in favor of using binoculars. He heard the two shots, watched as a man and a woman crumbled to the ground each with a bullet to the head.
"They just killed two people, a man and a woman." Harm told Gunny who shook his head in disgust.
The electricity beneath his skin began to awaken, crackling through his nerve endings - a warning that she was near. He wasn't wrong and through binoculars he found several men heading towards a small, wooden shack. "She's in there."
"How can you know that?." Gunny wasn't sure that she and Webb had survived the explosion or anything else that Sadik had to offer. He came with Harm to protect his friend, to be there if and when the inevitable had happened.
"I just do. She's there and she's alive...But she won't be for long unless we do something." Harm handed Gunny the binos and spun the rifle around so that he held it tightly in his hands. "Let's go."
They each went separate ways, Harm heading towards the small shack and Gunny around the larger building.
Instinctively, he knew where Mac was and that the chances of her being alive much longer were starting to slip away. He took aim at one of Sadik's men that was situated just outside of the shack. Harm could smell something foul wafting from inside – the smell of death, excrement and sizzling skin. A mixture so potent it nearly made him sick. He was going to shoot but thought of a better alternative that would not alert the other guards that they were being ambushed. Instead, he made his way through the woods and unsheathed a Bowie knife which was attached to his belt. He'd make this quiet.
Harm rounded the shack and once the coast was clear, descended upon a man who was a full head shorter than he. It didn't take long for him to ram the knife home and end the bastard's life right then in there. He pressed himself up against the shack and tried to listen to the voices inside. Two men were speaking Farsi and laughing.
"Please, don't do this." It was Mac, her voice almost recognizable as she begged. "You won't get a damned thing from me!" She spoke again and this time he could hear when the Marine in her had come back, not letting her weaker self-win.
The men still worked, rubbing together the steel wool that was attached to automotive jumper cables and into a battery. The wool sizzled and sparked, a white/orange light emanating from them as they made to press the contraption onto her skin. It caused the lights to dim and flicker inside the torture chamber and Mac looked around, trying to find a viable way out. There wasn't one, she knew as the restrains were wrapped tightly around her ankles and wrists. This is it. This is how I'm gonna die. She thought and couldn't help the tears that pooled in her eyes. Mac wasn't afraid of death but, there was so much she wanted to do and this wasn't the way she was supposed to go. "Stop making a show and just do it." She yelled and braced herself when the crackling steel wool came closer.
"Now or never, Rabb." Harm said, taking his rifle firmly in his hands before kicking down the door. Immediately, he pressed himself against the frame and took a shot at one man and then the other, killing both of them. His eyes scanned the small room and once he realized there was no one else inside, he looked down at the woman tied to a makeshift table. "Mac. Thank God."
This isn't real. Mac thought, wishing she could rub her eyes and see clearer. The man stepped in, closed the door behind him and then began working on her restraints. "This can't be real."
"It's me, Mac. It's Harm." He said, in a rushed voice as he used the knife to cut off the ropes that bound her wrists. Once she was free, he helped her sit up and then handed her the rifle.
"Anyone coming through that door, shoot to kill, Marine. I'll get your legs." He cut the ropes there as well, tossing them on the ground before taking a look around the shack. There was dry blood everywhere and a bucket filled with water covered in swimming larvae of some sort. There were various items attached to the walls, hooks, ropes, chains, a machete. A team of car batteries lined the back wall, waiting for their turn to administer the pain that the shack was designed for. "Jesus."
Beneath the table, he could still hear the crackling coming from the steel wool and he kicked the cables aside as he stepped close to Mac. "Are you alright, Marine?"
Mac stared at him in bewilderment. "How are you here?"
"Long story. Let's go." He went to help her off of the table she was sitting on when she settled the rifle to the side and pulled him to her.
Mac held Harm in a fierce embrace, crying into the crook of his neck when she felt his own arms wrap around her. "I thought I'd never see you again." She couldn't help the sob that escaped her and relished in the feel of his arms tightening around her. One of his hands moved up and down her spine, offering a silent comfort and reassurance that she was still alive. "How are you here?"
Because I love you He wanted to say but the words stuck in his throat. Instead Harm pulled away for a moment and raised her head up, searching for signs of a concussion before his hands ran gently over her body. "Anything broken?"
"No." She shook her head.
"Did they…" He looked her in the eye, unable to finish the sentence.
"God, no."
Harm pulled her off the table and settled Mac on her feet before pulling a pistol from the small of his back and handing it to her. "Can you walk?"
"Yes."
"Good, let's get out of here." His voice was full of anger and something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was almost as if he weren't happy to be there, saving the day. When she didn't immediately follow, Harm turned around and found her staring at the pistol as if she didn't know what to do with it. "Mac, we gotta go."
She raised her head and looked straight into his ever expressive eyes, noting the dark blue that they held. Mac could usually tell when something was wrong just by looking at them. She could tell that her taking on this mission had hurt him. She didn't know what to do and couldn't even begin to figure out how to fix it. So, she took a breath and closed the distance between them as she came up her toes, leaned in and kissed him.
Harm wasn't expecting the kiss. All he wanted to do was get her out of the damned place and to safety. They needed to get moving and any tender reunion would have to wait. Once he'd walked into the shack and seen her tied up all he wanted to do was hold her and kiss her. He needed to tell her how he felt but, he couldn't be selfish, not now when their lives were at stake.
"We can't do this now." He said in a sad tone as he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. Harm took one of her hands in his and squeezed gently, hoping to convey the words that he had practiced over and over and yet, couldn't formulate. "I have so much to say to you."
"I know...I know." She released his hand, racked the pistol and motioned towards the door. "Let's get the hell out of here."
They rushed out of the shack and into a firefight. Bullets whizzed by as they ran behind a metal tank for cover. "God damnit. There weren't this many men when we got here."
Through the woods he spotted Gunny hunkering down behind the door of an old Ford truck which was more battered and rusted than anything. The Marine was working hard on getting her started, cursing when the cables would crackle but not turn over. Laying inside and barely hanging onto consciousness was Clayton Webb. "We need to get to them." Mac pointed out realizing that salvation was in that steel heap which refused to start. Another bullet slammed into the tree behind them and Mac came to her knees, returned fire, wounding one of the assailants.
Harm peeked out and quickly had to duck as another barrage aimed at them. He did a quick calculation, noticing that the truck Gunny had finally managed to start was just a mere hundred feet away. They would never make it unless they started running. "Run. I'll give you cover."
"No. I'm not leaving you behind."
"Mac, I'm right behind you, I promise. We need to run now." Harm could see Gunny waving them over, rifle in hand and also ready to give them cover. "Go, Mac. Run."
She looked him in the eye searching for a lie, a sacrifice that she wasn't willing for him to give. If he was staying behind to save her, Mac wouldn't move, wouldn't run. She knew what Sadik's men would do to him and the horrors would have been far more unpleasant than whatever Webb went through. That couldn't happen to him, she was prepared to die here with him. "You're right behind me. Say it!"
"Yes! Yes, I'm right behind you. Now go, please." Harm came to his knees and motioned for Gunny. "Cover!" He began blasting away at anything that moved spraying a barrage of bullets to the men hiding in the dense forest.
Mac had taken off in a dead sprint managing to make it to Victor before another collection of bullets slammed into the side of the car. One hit her on the right bicep and she ignored the searing pain, taking a rifle from Gunny in order to help Harm move out of his hiding place. "Harm!" Hidden behind the door, they aimed at the woods firing round after round.
Behind the metal tank Harm said a prayer as he crouched down and fired what was left of the ammunition. He rushed off as the shots from the opposite side ceased keeping his eyes on the truck and the two people giving him cover. He almost made it, almost until one well placed shot sliced through his thigh and made him lose his footing. Then came another that hit him in his abdomen as Harm tried to come up to his knees.
"NO!" He could hear Mac screaming, see Gunny trying to hold her back but she wrestled free and hurried towards him.
"Mac, no." He groaned out her name, trying to stop her from coming to him. "Leave me." Pain seared through his body when another shot slammed into his chest. His vision tunneled although he tried to focus his eyes on the woman who'd finally made it to his side. No. Not like this. Stay awake, stay awake.
A pool of warm darkness descended from the edges of his mind, there was peace there, no more pain. The only reason he didn't succumb immediately was because of her; she wouldn't join him in that warmth, he'd be without her. Harm fought hard to stay awake but his eyes drifted shut anyway and although Death had come to claim him, he could hear Mac scream his name. "Harm, I love you. I'll always love you!"
"I love you too." The words spilled out on a whisper and then the pain ceased as Harm's body gave into a deep slumber.