AN:

Enjoy! It would be great, if you would leave a review.

Chapter 5

Riley had accompanied Mac to his dads home. It was a nice little house on the outskirts of LA. According to Matty James MacGyver had had a small bedroom behind his office at the Phoenix where he had spent many nights. He hadn't been staying in his home very often. It was Macs job now to go through his things and decide what would happen to everything.

„Will you keep the house? It's nice." Riley wanted to know as she took in the bright living room.

Mac shook his head. „No, I've already arranged for it to be sold and the money transferred to a veterans fund. I don't want his stuff. It … it just doesn't feel right, you know? I don't even know what I'm doing here. We should go." The blond was upset and was struggling with his emotions.

„Hey, come on Mac. Let's sit down for a moment." She took him by the arm and led him over to a bench right before the glas front that led to the garden. „Nobody expects you to shake it off. It's ok to be sad, but it's also ok if you don't feel much grief. I know you had a difficult relationship with your old man, if you even can call it a relationship. It wasn't your fault that he left. It wasn't on you that he loomed over your life and interfered without you knowing about. He choose not to be an active part of your life, that's his loss not yours. Like my dad had chosen to leave. He came back regularly and to be honest it was horrible. I almost wished Jack to be there and beat him up again. I know that's not a nice thing to say, but that's how it is. Jack once told me that it's easy to become a father, but it's a tough job to be a dad. I didn't understand it at first, but I understood it once I acknowledged to myself that I wished Jack was my dad."

Mac felt warmth spread through his chest. His expression relaxed and he was so grateful he had a friend who understood him so well. As much as he missed Jack, being with Riley made it more bearable.

„Thanks Ri. This means a lot to me. When I learned that he was Oversight, I almost wished he was dead. It hurt so damn much. After the news of his death I felt bad about thinking it. It is sad that he died, but I begin to realize, that we would have never been able to form a solid relationship. I could have never trusted him. I would have liked to know him, really I was curious about him, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to love him. I think that part of him died with my mum."

Riley nodded and pulled him into a hug. They sat in silence for some time until Mac spoke up. „I'd like to see if there are any pictures of her."

They spent the next two hours going through James MacGyvers belongings and found several photo albums as well as Macs mums favourite rocking chair. They packed the items into Macs Jeep and left the rest to be dealt with by the realtor.

Jack and his team had entered the maze of caves in the Delak area over two hours ago. They were moving slow as the terrain was difficult to traverse.

Berkman who was acting as their navigator spoke up. „Thank God we have GPS. Without it we would've been forced to use a fucking cord to find our way back."

Jack agreed, slowly inching forward with his rifle at the ready. „I wonder how many men died in here, because they got lost. Did you see the skull at the last corner Babyface?"

„Ha, ha boss, very funny. The hairs on my neck are fighting for a standing room already. No need to give me the creeps." The big blond was clearly uncomfortable.

„Don't wory Babyface, it shouldn't be much further." Berkman placated his young team mate.

Their path led them into a bigger room, with a high ceiling. On the far side a man was sitting on the floor. He immediately stood up and asked. „Are you the ones sent to get me?" He was a big bulky guy, as tall as Babyface.

Jack rolled his eyes. „No, we were just strolling around looking for a nice place for a picnic." He waved with his rifle not lowering it. „Identify yourself." He ordered and the man slowly took out his ID card. Berk went over to him and read out aloud. „Joseph Kolber, CIA. I guess we're your escort then."

„Why couldn't you pick a better place?" Jack demanded to know. „This is a fucking maze and it doesn't look overly stable. I'm not happy about leading my men in here." The Delta didn't even try to hide his distaste for this particular mission, but he lowered his rifle.

„I've got some crucial intel on the new Taliban training camps, but I got spotted and had to hide. This is the perfect place." Kolber shrugged. He had crossed the room and stood beside Hanson. They were the same height, but the CIA agent was older and more muscled.

Jack nodded curtly. „OK, then lets get out of here."

It all happened in a split of a second. Kolber pulled his gun, grabbed Babyface in a choke hold and positioned his gun at Hansons temple. Jack cursed and brought his rifle up, Ferrari and Berkman mirrored his action. The CIA agent ordered Babyface. „Take your gun out slowly with two fingers and throw it over into the corner. Hanson obeyed, his gut feeling told him to follow the orders and hope for his boss to handle the situation.

Jack spoke up. „Easy there Kolber. There's no need to blow your stack. Just put your gun down and we talk about it."

Kolber laughed. „Nice try Delta, but in vain. I got you exactly where I want you."

Jack cursed. „You're a fucking double agent, aren't you?"

The CIA man nodded. „Yeah the Taliban pay good money to take out some of Americas finest elite troups."

The truth dawned on Jack. „You've done this before. Over in Gardez a few months back and Farah a couple weeks ago." It wasn't even a question. There had been special teams lured in a trap and ambushed. Not a single man had survived. His eyes were roaming over the room and he wished to have Mac by his side. The blond would have found a way to set up a distraction and take Kobler out.

The CIA agent inched his way back to the entrance of the cave. „Stay put or Pimples here gets it." He pressed his gun harder into Hansons temple. When they were out in the tunnel Kolber took out a grenade and threw it into the cave. A moment later an ear drum shattering boom swept them from their feet. Obviously the CIA agent had overestimated the stability of the structure as not only the ceiling in the cave came down with the blow but also the tunnel he and his victim were currently in.

Jack had seen the grenade, but he was too far away to cover it with his body and save his friends. There was nowhere to go, no alcoves in the wall where they could seek shelter. The detonation felt like a fist of a giant had hit them. They were sitting ducks was the last coherent thought Jack had before he was slammed into the wall and his world went dark.

The tunnel was filled with dust that made Hanson cough immediately when he came too. His whole body hurt, but after taking a short inventory he decided that apart from a broken collarbone and a few cracked ribs he was mostly fine. Holding his breath he slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. The dust started to settle and he could make out Kolbers body, well the rest of it. Where his face should be there was only a big rock and a puddle of blood and something that looked like … Hanson gulped … brain matter. „Serves you right asshole," the blond soldier muttered under his breath. He pushed away some loose rubble from his lower body and turned back to the cave where the rest of his team had been. „Shit, shit, shit" was all he managed to say when he saw that the entrance was completely blocked. Hanson stumbled closer, but he instantly knew that there was no way he would be able to free his friends with his broken collarbone. The rocks were so big, it would take at least two men to move them. „Hey guys, can you hear me?" He called out and waited anxiously for an answer. Nothing. His heart sank. That couldn't be. Ten minutes ago they had been joking. Babyface kept yelling and knocking on the rocks for the next fifteen minutes. When he couldn't hear anything he decided to get out and get help. He wouldn't give up on his friends until he saw their dead bodies with his own eyes. His radio didn't have receiption here, but at least his GPS was working. The young soldier cradled his injured arm to his body and started his treck out of the maze.

Mac walked into the war room with mixed feelings. He had so many great memories about successfully accomplished missions, but there was the other side of the coin as well. Failed ops where agents got hurt or even worse, when they couldn't save the people they were supposed to rescue. And then there was his last meeting with his dad. The room had been filled with a load of emotions. Disappointment, regret, anger, pain, sorrow, accusation. A whole kaleidoscope of feelings and none of it a positive one. Mac closed his eyes for a moment and tried to get his emotions back under control. But then he thought of Jack and how the confrontation between the Delta and his dad might have went down. The others had refused to reveal the details, claiming that it was Jacks story to tell. Mac assumed it wouldn't shed a good light on his father and his friends didn't want to speak ill about a dead man.

The blond jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. Surprised he registered, that he wasn't alone anymore. Matty and Bozer were talking in front of the big screen and Riley had approached Mac.

„I didn't mean to startle you Mac." The hacker apologized.

Embarrassed the blond mumbled. „I guess, I was lost in thoughts." He forced a smile on his face and sat down on the familiar worn couch. „You wanted to talk to me Matty?"

„Yes, I want to make you an offer. Please promise me to at least think about it before flat out refusing. I'm aware, it's probably too soon after your fathers death, but I'd like to make you an offer. Would you work for the Phoenix again? It's not a secret, that we haven't been as successful as we used to be when you were doing your magic. So, what do you say? Are you willing to give it another go?" Matty ended hopeful.

Mac frowned. He wasn't surprised about the offer, but something wasn't right about what Matty had said. „It wasn't me that guaranteed a fulfilled op. If it hadn't been for Jack, I would have never been able to do my magic as you stated. It was him, who took care of the bad guys so I could get out victims or evidence, whatever."

Matty nodded. „I'm aware of that, although I think you're selling yourself short here Mac. It was a team effort I would say, as Jack wouldn't have been able to complete the missions with his gun and fists alone. Anyway, his tour will be up in a little over three months and maybe he'll be willing to join us again."

„So you would give him a job, despite the fact that he hit my … Oversight?" Mac couldn't hide his surprise.

The director smiled. „This was a personal thing between the two and to be honest James had it coming."

Not for the first time Mac wondered what had happened that day, but decided to let it go for now. Could it really be possible? Working in his old job with his family, without his father interfering? Mac liked the idea. The blond loved his job, it was simply his calling. A broad smile spread over his face when he said. „You're ready for the unpredictability of team improvise?"

Riley cleared her throat loudly and stood up. She didn't start to speak right away, just paced the length of the war room a few times. The others observed her curiously. Mac sensed her unease. „What is it Ri?"

Finally the hacker looked at him with a sad expression on her face. „I'm not sure, if … if it is the best for Jack. Don't get me wrong, he would love to work with you again, but these last months … they'd been incredibly hard on him. I don't know how he was on his last tour, but right now he's struggling." She didn't know, how to explain it in a better way. Bozer was frowning, but Mac understood.

He sat down with a heavy sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, there was still pain present in his glance. His voice was silent and he choose his words carefully. „When we came back from war, we were doing pretty good. At least that's what we thought the first few days, but then we crashed. Hard. It's like when shock sets in after an injury. At first you don't feel anything, but then you're starting to tremble, you feel cold and the pain sets in, when the adrenaline leaves your body. It was pretty similar, although we came off from a year long adrenaline high and so crashed much harder. We helped each other through the worst of it. It was something, that took us by surprise, we felt fine while we were over there, so why did we feel so bad when we were finally home safe and sound? An old veteran once told me that a soldier may come back from war physically healthy, but he always comes back a different man. To be honest it scares me what you just told us Riley. I've seen guys fall apart in the middle of a battle. They laid down their packs and their weapons and simply walked out in the desert or they …" Mac shook his head and couldn't end the sentence. He had heard about soldiers comitting suicide, because they couldn't take it anymore. Agitated Mac grabbed Riley by the shoulders. „Ri, how bad is it? Was he talking about … fuck …"

The hacker shook her head. „No, no he's not suicidal Mac. He's just so sad all the time and he's missing us all so much. Asking about you and worrying. There's so much bad stuff happening and it gets to him. He's not able to distance himself from everything as he used to and it eats him alive."

Mac sacked into her embrace. „Oh God, what have I done?" He couldn't go on, but he didn't need to. All the guilt and pain he felt bled from this one sentence.

Bozer stepped beside him and laid his arm around his shoulder. „It isn't your fault Mac. Jack would be the first to tell you that. He'll be back soon and we put him back together. Jack's the strongest man I know beside you and he's not a quitter. He'll need time and his friends, maybe even a few good meals and pizza and skeeball with Riley. And he will get it and anything else he might need. Jack has taken care of all of us. It's about time we return the favour."

Please review!