A/N:Hey again, we're at the halfway point! Our SEAL team friends will appear in the next two chapters, and I'm super excited for ya'll to read them! As always thanks to my amazing beta, bkworm4life4! I love to hear what you think, even if it's to tell me how cute your dog is or unending praise also works, lol! Hope you enjoy!
Two Weeks Ago, en route to the new mission
The bumping of the plane landing woke the two slumbering passengers. Both men got up, stretched, grabbed their respective bags, and waited until the steps were lowered. "I could use a gallon of coffee, right about now," Jack mumbled as he rubbed his face in a vain attempt to be more alert.
Mac wasn't sure if he had heard right, "But you don't even like coffee?" He asked, genuinely confused.
Jack gave him a look, "I don't, but you banned me from those energy drinks and I need something to wake me up. I'm 'bout to go back to sleep standing up."
"Did you know-" Mac started to say.
"Stop right there hoss, I haven't had enough sleep to deal with Professor Mac yet." Jack said around a yawn. The door of the jet opened revealing a man standing on the tarmac in front of an older parked Hyundai He was very average looking, of average height and with brown hair, which was perfect for a spy as it made them easily forgettable.
The man walked up to the plane, "Agents Dalton and MacGyver?" He asked. At their nod he continued, "I'm Agent Owen Price from the CIA. What exactly is it that you do? Director Webber was a little scant on the details."
Jack shot Mac a grin, he loved being asked that question. "A little of this, a little of that." Jack answered.
Agent Price looked perturbed. "No offence, but that one." He said pointing at Mac, "Looks like he's fresh off a collage kegger, and you." This time he pointed at Jack. "Look like every spec ops soldier I've ever met. For me to adequately utilize your skills I need to know what skills you possess. We need this mission to succeed, and your Director guaranteed my boss that you both were the best in your field."
"Well, sir," Mac started out. "I can guarantee you that I haven't 'just come off a 'kegger'' as you put it. We were on our way home from another mission when we were re-routed here because we were the closest and you needed help ASAP." Mac took a breath, he didn't want to anger the guy, but he wanted Agent Price to know who he was dealing with. "I'm Agent MacGyver, you can call me Mac if you want. You are correct that Agent Dalton has been with the Army for several years, and he is a first-class sniper and a Delta. He also was in the CIA for a time. I'm more of a problem solver, when you need a unique solution to a problem that's where I come in. I also served and was an EOD tech in Afghanistan. We now work mostly as covert agents for our agency, does this help you in your assessment?" Mac was a bit touchy, but he felt that it was deserved.
Price nodded, stroking his beard reassessing them in light of the new information, "Yeah, I think it does. If you'll get in I'll brief you in what we know, and what we need to know." He gestured at the car as he stepped into the driver's seat. Mac stowed his bag in the back and sat beside it while Jack circled around and climbed in the passenger's seat beside Price.
As they drove off the airfield Mac could hear the engines of their jet whining as it departed. 'Well there goes sleeping in my bed for the next couple of days.' He thought wistfully, then, with a soft sigh, Mac turned his attention back to Jack and Agent Owen just in time to hear Jack ask, "So what's happening with the King and what do we need to know and do?" That was Jack, straightforward and to the point.
Agent Price nodded and said, "The King is very pro-America. One of his top generals has taken offense at this and to some other things that the King has done and has now decided that he wants to overthrow the King and take power. The general is most decidedly not friendly towards Americans, so the name of the game is to keep the King in power and stop the general's plan as discreetly as possible without alerting the citizens as to what is going on."
"Like Mac told you I was a sniper in the army. I could take care of our problem with a bullet." Jack offered with a shrug.
"We had thought about that, but at this point we believe that one of his lieutenants would just take the general's place. His followers are very dedicated to him, and we're afraid that if we outright kill him then he would become a martyr and improve the chances of the King actually being deposed and getting kicked out of the country." Owen replied. "Right now, we have enough chatter on the coupe to fill six notebooks, but we have no actionable intel. What we need is something that we can base actions off of."
"So essentially we need to put boots on the ground and set up surveillance around the General and his top aides to get the information you need. Correct?" Mac asked.
Owen nodded, "That's the plan right now. We have a friendly attempting to work their way inside to give us an in, it might be a long gamble, and it's a bit of a long play. However, we are cultivating another source." They continued discussing plans until they pulled into a ramshackle looking farmhouse on the outskirts of town. "This is far enough out of town as to not raise suspicions, but still close enough to be there quickly if we need to be." Owen explained as he parked the car in a barn around the back.
They gathered around the kitchen table where a white board was set up with what Mac assumed were the important people in play. Jack walked over to look at all the information on the board while Mac walked over to the table to look at the files that were there. Agent Price picked up two manila folders that had been sitting on the table, and handed one to each agent. "This is all of the information that we have on the General, and in your folders is all the chatter we have picked up. Like I said earlier it's a lot of talk, but nothing concrete." Owen pointed to a black and white picture of an unsmiling man in a suit, posted on the board. "This is Edgars, one of the General's top aids, he has reached out to us indicating that he might be willing to help us." Agent Price sighed and sat in one of the chairs around the table. "It's also very probable that this is a trap or another way to prove that the US is involved in the politics here."
Mac leafed through the papers in his folder while he listened to what Agent Price had to say. "So basically, what you're saying is that you have a fat load of nothing." Jack said as he pulled out a chair beside Own.
"Yeah," Owen nodded, "basically. Our mole is still very low level, in fact we're not sure if she'll be able to provide any help at all. At this point all she has been able to give us is that the General is extremely paranoid."
"And this Edgars guy could be a plant or he could be helpful." Mac summed up.
"Exactly."
Jack finished thumbing through the papers in the manila folder, "Well I see a few leads I can follow up on."
"I can take the meeting with Edgars." Mac volunteered.
"But this," Jack indicating the manila folder in front of him, "is way too much work for just three guys."
"I have been promised more people as they become available. A SEAL team should be joining us within the next week or so. They are currently on an op in the area and will be sent here once that is completed."
Jack grinned, "Oh those wimpy water babies."
Mac groaned and pleaded, "Please don't try to pick a fight with a SEAL, again."
"Hey! It wasn't my fault that they decided those were fighting words." Jack grinned, but the smile fell off his face and he became serious. "So, you're sure you want to take the meeting with Edgars?"
Mac nodded, looking at both Agent Price and Jack, "I figure our best way to get some traction on this would be a division of force. If you start running down some of those leads, then I can take the meeting. If it is a set up, I'm pretty good at getting myself out of tight spots, rather than your method of shooting everybody then asking questions later." Ignoring Jack's eye roll Mac continued on. "When do you think we could get the meet set?"
As Mac was laying out his plan, Owen was nodding at what he was saying. At Mac's question he hesitated for a second to think and then said, "I think, we could probably get it set up for around lunch tomorrow, so about twenty-four hours?"
"Good, that gives us enough time to get some grub and some sleep." Jack said as a large yawn split his face. "Then we can hit the ground running in the morning."
Owen looked confident for the first time since Mac they had met. "Okay, this might just work. I've got some food in the fridge, or I can go get something from a local restaurant.
"We'll take the food in the fridge, but if you could get us the full spread in the morning?" Jack answered as he stood up.
"I don't think they have what you would call the full spread," Mac said with a smirk. "I don't think any of the cooks around here took Southern cooking 101." He followed Jack into the tiny kitchen to scrounge up some food.
"Hey you never know." Jack protested good naturedly.
"Help yourselves to whatever you can find, and the bedrooms are through the door and to your right." Owen said as he disappeared out the door, no doubt to get the meeting set up for tomorrow.
When Jack woke the next morning to the sun hitting him in the face he was happy to feel somewhat well rested, but then he had hit the hay earlier than was normal. He noticed that Mac was already up and quickly got himself ready and headed toward where he could hear voices. Mac was at the counter fixing himself a plate from where several different containers of food were laid out. Jack joined him and grabbed a plate and started heaping food onto it as well. He wasn't quite sure what some of the choices were, but with how hungry he was at the moment he didn't care food was food.
Owen came over and joined them at the table as they were eating. "I was able to secure another vehicle for you to use Agent Dalton." Owen slid over the keys to Jack. "But I'm afraid you'll have to walk and ride with me Agent MacGyver."
"It's just Mac, and that's fine. So were you able to get the meeting set up?"
Nodding Owen said, "You'll be meeting Edgars at the Bosco Café at 11. I've instructed him to look for a guy with a red baseball hat." Owen pushed a red baseball cap over to Mac. "Okay, now for you Agent Dalton…"
"Jack." Jack said firmly
"Sorry, Jack. Let's go over some of the places I'd like for you to check out while Mac is doing this meeting."
"And you'll be keeping an eye on him the whole time?" Jack questioned Owen.
"Ye-" Owen started to say, but Mac cut him off.
"I'm not some rambunctious child that needs minding. I'm a fully trained agent who can operate independently if need be." Mac said crossly. "It's not our first mission, or even tenth."
"I know, but you do have a penchant for getting into trouble." Jack responded.
Before more could be said, Agent Price's phone started ringing, "Price," he answered as he moved into the other room.
"I appreciate that you care Jack, but I am an adult. As I said earlier I'm great at getting out of tight spots." He grinned at Jack as he popped a piece of food in his mouth. "You should know that."
Chuckling Jack nodded, "I just worry, it's my job to keep an eye on you and when were split up like this…" He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air.
Owen came back to the table, "So that was the Boss, I'm supposed to pick up some new info at the same time that Mac is meeting with Edgars. I'm sorry Mac."
Mac shook his head, "No problem."
"Send me a text when you're done and I'll come pick you up." Owen ordered. Mac nodded and they moved on.
Jack hated that neither he nor Owen could be there when the meet went down. It went against everything ingrained in him from being Mac's Overwatch, but at least he would be able to listen in on the comms. He felt bad that they didn't have three so Owen could be in the loop, but he promised to call if something happened. The morning passed quickly and soon Jack was bouncing his way down an old road while he listened to Mac at the meeting with Edgars. He had given Mac a flash drive and said that he wanted to help more, but he felt like he was already pushing it, "there are spies everywhere". He had said cryptically, before quickly leaving their meeting. Jack laughed to himself, 'of course there were bud, you were talking to one.' Jack's good mood evaporated when Mac called out to him.
"I think I've got someone on my tail." Mac said quietly. "I'm going to see if I can shake them." Pulling over to the side of the road Jack held his breath as he heard his partner's speed up. "Shit, I see another one." Mac's breath was even faster now. "And there's a fourth, I think they're going to grab me!"
Present Day
Pain flared through his side, startling him into wakefulness. "Wake up." Then another pain filled jab along his ribs. "If you don't get up I'm going to grab you by your girlie hair and drag you down to the interrogation room." Mac's brain finally came back online as he registered the voice of Brutus and slowly blinked. "You are still alive, good. Now get up, we've got places to be."
Mac reluctantly blinked his eyes open because he felt like absolute crap. He was now positive that the cut on his side was infected, and as he breathed the ache in his chest reminded him of the potential pneumonia that was brewing in his lungs. Despite getting some food and being able to sleep he still felt tired, sick, and utterly drained of any energy. Any last reserves he had were gone. Taking a deep breath, well as deep as he could without exploding into a coughing fit, Mac slowly stood up hanging onto the wall for purchase, while ignoring how the room spun around him. Brutus roughly grabbed his upper arm. "You look like you're about to kiss the wall, so I'll be nice and help you." Without waiting for a response he proceeded to more or less drag Mac down the hallway to the interrogation room where he slammed Mac down in his usual chair. Mac held on tight to the table trying to keep himself upright and not pass out from the room spinning.
A voice came down to him, sounding like it came from a great distance, "You must know how awful you look today Angus." Time and space righted themselves and Mac saw that Lazlo was sitting across from him sipping from a dainty tea cup with a delicate rose painted on the side, it was a dusky pink color with hints of a darker pink towards the stem. Realizing that his mind was wandering Mac refocused on Lazlo. "I would call for the doctor to come look at you like I did last week" Mac vaguely remembered a man with a mustache coming to make sure that they hadn't killed him. The 'doctor' had given him two shots and then he had slept hard for a while. "But your usefulness, I'm afraid is quickly coming to an end. We've rounded up your three traitors, and…" Lazlo stopped and shook his head.
Mac had realized the same thing and tried to count how long he had been in here, he hoped it had been long enough. "My team will be coming for me you know."
Lazlo laughed and took another sip. "All that no man left behind, I assume."
"That's the Army. But the CIA doesn't like leaving their people behind either."
Another chuckle, "But will they come for you after they realize that you have betrayed them? You sang like the proverbial canary once we figured out the right tools to use. Yes, you gave a very valiant effort of not talking Angus, but everybody has a breaking point including you. Do you think they really want you back after that?"
Mac bit his lip, shame coloring his cheeks, or was that the fever, he wasn't sure. "They're my friends. They'll come."
"And they say American's have no imagination. You are ours, mind, body, and soul."
A/N2: Next update will be on the 22nd!