Jack couldn't believe that they were too late, he was beating himself up and no one was going to convince him it wasn't his fault.
"We don't know when they left Jack, it's possible they left before we even knew about this place," Cage said, trying to be the voice of reason.
"Matty what do you want us to do?" Jack asked. He was tired and all he wanted was to go home and sleep, but that wasn't going to happen, not now they hadn't found Mac.
"Tear the place apart Jack, see if there are any clues as to where they've gone. I'm sending Riley and Bozer to help."
Jack nodded, knowing the Matty saw him through Cage's camera. He turned to his team and told them to search the place from top to bottom, recording anything that might be important.
"He chained him up in the basement Cage, his own son," Jack said, walking back down there, knowing that was where Mac had been.
"It's horrible I know, but we need to try and stay focussed."
"I'm not like you, I can't just push down my emotions. That kid is like a son to me and he's been missing almost a week. Now I know his father was treating him like he was a prisoner."
"I'm feeling it too Jack, I'm not a monster," Cage said, her voice cracking slightly.
"I'm sorry, this is just hard."
Cage nodded, looking around the room, she couldn't believe Mac had been kept down there, there wasn't even a mattress or a blanket, the chain wasn't even long enough for him to move around much. James MacGyver was a monster, plain and simple. Just as she was going to leave Jack on his own, she thought maybe he needed some space, something caught her eye. She walked a little closer and realised what it was.
"Jack, there's a camera."
"What, where?"
"Just up there, it's so small I almost missed it, it's pointed directly towards the centre of the room. My guess, James was keeping tabs on Mac while he was down here, maybe he recorded it."
They both made their way upstairs, searching for any kind of surveillance equipment, Jack was unsure if he wanted them to find it or not. At least if there were recordings he could see Mac, see that he was alive, see what he'd been through. Although that meant watching as the kid was hurting.
"Here," Cage said, finding a set of monitors in a cupboard. "I don't know much about this; it's probably best we wait until Riley gets here."
Jack nodded, staring at the screens, there were two, although both showed the same room. He guessed one could be used as a live feed, the other could watch previous footage. When he found James MacGyver, he was going to kill him, he hadn't yet watched the footage and he knew that it was going to be bad. He had to pull himself together before Riley got there, he knew she was going to be upset, and he had to be strong for her.
It was another hour before Riley and Bozer arrived and another half until Riley was ready with the footage.
"Are we ready for this?" Riley asked, not sure if she could go through with it.
"I don't think any of us are ready Ri, but we need to watch it, go on play it from the start," Jack said, taking a deep breath.
They were all sat around the monitor, trying to ready themselves, they wanted to see Mac, but none of them knew what was going to be on the recordings.
Riley pressed play and the screen came alive, showing Mac lying on his side on a mattress, she gasped slightly at the sight, knowing her friend was just asleep but finding it hard to look at. Her eyes kept focussing on the chain that was attached to his ankle, Jack her told her about it but it didn't make it any less horrible.
"This must have been just after he'd been taken," Cage said. "The display says 5am. What's also interesting is that he started with a mattress."
"What do you mean by that?" Bozer asked.
"There isn't one down there now, something obviously happened to it."
"I'll fast forward, until he wakes up." Riley did just that, playing again when Mac sat up.
They watched him look around the room, then notice the manacle on his ankle and all saw the look on his face.
"I can't even imagine what he was feeling right then," Bozer said. "Being kidnapped by your dad is one thing, finding yourself in that position. It's crazy."
They noticed when Mac did that someone else was in the room, but the camera didn't move.
"Is there no sound?" Cage asked.
"It doesn't look like it."
All of them winced when Mac was hit and fell backwards, all saw the look of shock on his face, but only one of them was vocal about it.
"Son of a bitch." Jack exclaimed, getting up and pacing. He wasn't sure he could watch anymore.
"It's ok Jack, he's gone." Riley said, hoping that Jack could keep himself together. She turned back to the monitor to see Mac curl up on the mattress and go back to sleep. "God, he looks like a little kid!"
She fast forwarded once more and then they watched Mac search the room, seeing how far he could get with the chain attached.
"That chain looks longer," Cage commented, not going any further when they saw that James had returned.
All of them were tense, even more so when Mac sat down, but they relaxed when a plate of food was put on the floor. Mac sat for a while, he was clearly talking to his father, he then ate the sandwich and without much of a break he got up. They watched him find the nail and pick the lock, heading up the stairs.
"Only Mac," Bozer said, impressed that his friend had escaped so quickly.
"We know he doesn't get anywhere though, that worries me," Riley said.
And she was right to be worried, not even two minutes later something came back into frame, James dropped Mac onto the mattress and walked off.
"Oh god," Riley said, biting her lip.
"Could have been choked out, or maybe drugged again," Cage said, quite emotionless.
"He doesn't look like he's hurt, that's the main thing," Jack replied, not liking how still the boy was.
Riley once again fast forwarded, stopping when a shadow appeared on the camera, she didn't like the idea that James was in the room when Mac couldn't defend himself, she just hoped he didn't hurt him.
"What's he doing?" Bozer asked, squinting at the screen.
"He's shortening the chain; he obviously doesn't want him to be able to reach the stairs," Cage spoke again. They could now see that she was right.
A bit later they watched as Mac realised it himself, seeing the defeat that came with it, when he went over to the bucket Riley averted her eyes.
"I don't need to see that!"
Jack laughed, a hard thing to do in the current situation. "You can't even see anything."
Riley looked back and Mac was walking away, by the looks of it his was testing his new reach. Next thing they knew James was back again, it was a short meeting, they had no sound, so they didn't know what had happened. Once James had gone they watched Mac lay back on the mattress and close his eyes, becoming still almost instantly.
"He's sleeping a lot." Jack said, not sure if that was a good or bad thing.
They fast forward through most of the next few hours, nothing happened except Mac getting more bored by the second.
"God that must be hell, his hands are always doing something!" Bozer exclaimed, the others silently agreeing.
When they thought that was nothing left to watch for that day Mac looked up and it was clear his father was coming in.
"At least he's feeding him," Riley said, as they watched Mac eating. She watched as he started blinking his eyes and then he fell onto the mattress, his eyes closing.
"Dammit," Jack cried. "He drugged him again, surely that can't be good for him."
"It depends on the dosage; the body can metabolise certain drugs fairly quickly." Cage responded, just as worried as Jack was.
"I'll move to the next day," Riley said, setting it up. She realised that this would take a while and she wasn't sure how much her heart could take.
She was right, no sooner had day two started and she wanted to look away, James had come again, and they'd talked for a little while. Mac looked freaked out and quite tense, his breathing was off, she saw James approach and the camera panned out a little. None of them said a word as they watched James tie Mac's wrists behind him and blindfold him, after the manacle on his ankle was removed they both stood up and then went off camera.
"What the hell was that?" Riley couldn't believe it, she turned, and Jack looked like he wanted to hit someone and Bozer looked sick.
"The only reason I can think of, apart from to keep him in line, was to keep him off balance," Cage spoke, her voice a little unsteady.
"Off balance?"
"Interrogators do this to their prisoners to keep them disorientated, makes them more reliant on their captor, makes them easy to control. James had to guide Mac from point A to point B, Mac had to rely on his father completely, he couldn't hold on to the railing, he couldn't see where he was putting his feet."
"I think I might be sick," Bozer said, covering his mouth. "Mac isn't a prisoner like you're talking about, James is Mac's dad, how can he think of doing those things to him."
"He's not necessarily Mac's father at that point, a personality might have emerged that doesn't see Mac that way."
They all shuddered when she said that, hoping that if it was true then the personality didn't come out for long. They waited for a while and then Mac was led back into the room, a reverse of when he left.
They started fast forwarding the parts when Mac was alone, maybe they'd watch them properly later but unfortunately the wasn't much to see.
Hours later and Mac turned around, pausing and then sitting down before once again a plate was put in from of him.
"That's another interrogation tactic, make the person do something before they get the food, for Mac it's to sit down. If they don't comply the food gets taken away."
Cage knew a lot about these things, she was a professional interrogator after all, it wasn't nice to see these techniques used on a friend though.
They all couldn't believe what happened next, Mac cutting the mattress open, pulling out the spring, it was such a Mac thing to do, improvise with what you have. None of them wanted to watch what happened next though as they knew it was another failed escape attempt.
They saw James come into shot, picking up the mattress and pushing it away, wondering where Mac was. Not long after they found out when he was dropped to the hard floor in front of them, the bruises on his face clear to see.
"And that's where the mattress went," Cage said, now knowing why James had removed it.
Once again they watched Mac wake up, and it pulled on all their heart strings when he sat looking so vulnerable with his knees up to his chest. Riley felt a tear fall down her cheek, closing her eyes briefly. She opened them to see Mac flinch and look up, oh no James is back, Mac immediately got up to his knees, looking defiant.
"Good boy," Jack said, proud that his kid wasn't going to back down. Watching that defiance falter a few times, especially when James came right up to stand over him.
Soon James went again, and Mac curled himself up on the floor, closing his eyes. The days seemed to be much of the same, Mac spending a lot of time pacing in the basement. It was getting to the end of the day again and Riley was about to switch to the next day when Mac's head went up, the way it does when there was someone at the top of the stairs. She pressed play and they watched again how Mac sat down, there was no plate this time just a bottle of water.
Again, she thought that might be it, but Mac was still talking, he obviously wasn't happy with something that was just said, but the look soon changed to something she didn't like, he looked defeated. He laid down on his side not in his usual position, her heart raced a little as James came over, he was carrying something small in his hand. They all watched as he jabbed a needle in Mac's neck and then walked away, Mac's eyes closing and his breathing evening out.
"I can't believe he drugged him, again." Riley said, setting up the next day, there weren't too many left.
All of them were shocked at how many times Mac had been drugged and that was only the times they'd seen. Riley could understand the sedative at night, James couldn't keep an eye on Mac while he was sleeping, so it was the best way to keep him where he was, didn't mean she liked it though.
The next day started like all the others, Mac had a bit of a routine, it didn't look like the blows to the head were affecting him so that was something. His head went up again but this time he sat straight down.
"He's learning," Cage said. "Anticipating what James wants before he has to say anything."
Mac ate his breakfast, talking while doing it so James must have stayed, he had a strange look on his face, possibly disbelief, he then closed his eyes, looking like he was trying not to cry.
"What's that bastard said to him!" Jack exclaimed, hating to see his kid in pain.
"I'm not sure, but he's just unlocked his ankle restraint and stepped backwards, that's strange, for someone who's trying to garner control and compliance he shouldn't really have done that."
"Maybe because he knows Mac won't fight back," Bozer said.
"It wouldn't matter, he'd still keep up the same routine, so that the prisoner would get used to it."
"Can you stop calling Mac that?"
They turned back to screen as Riley gasped, Mac was taking off his clothes.
"Now it makes sense, he's found another way to unbalance him, don't worry he won't make him strip all the way."
Cage was right, they watched as Mac sat down after stripping to his boxers, he then put his hands behind his back straightaway, the same routine as Cage called it happened again and then Mac was gone.
"He's breaking him," Jack said, his emotions getting the better of him. "I'm not sure how much more I can watch."
"I hear you Jack," Bozer said. "I think I'd feel worse not knowing though, my imagination is pretty wild."
Riley fast forwarded again, most of the day going by with no sign of Mac, maybe they had left? Riley realised there was more footage so that obviously wasn't the case. It was horrible not knowing what had been happening to Mac, there was only a camera in the basement so there was no way to know what happened when he got out of shot. Finally, Mac came back into view, James was gone before Riley could even press play. They watched Mac stand near the stairs, it looked like his was listening for something, then after a while walk away. Once he got settled on the floor Riley sped up once more, stopping when the food arrived.
"We know he's gonna be drugged again, maybe we shouldn't watch," Riley said, watching Mac stop eating after a few mouthfuls, it looked like he didn't want to continue.
"Leave it Ri, just in case."
She wished she had skipped past after Mac's head almost smacked into the concrete; he was out before his head even got all the way down.
"Do you think he gave him too much?"
"Maybe on purpose for some reason, Mac didn't look like he wanted to eat after he was told something," Cage replied.
The next day was hard to watch, Mac struggled to get up, the drugs obviously still an issue, he was then left alone for most of the day. One thing they noticed which they thought was a good sign, James bought Mac a few books. It was nice to watch Mac do something other than pace. He was brought some food late in the day and it looked like James stayed, Mac was eating slowly and talking. Soon though the meal was finish and Mac lay down, soon falling asleep.
"This is the last day by the looks of it," Riley said, playing it.
It was like all the other days, pacing, reading and then James took Mac upstairs, thankfully this time he didn't make Mac strip.
Their hearts were all racing when Mac appeared back in the room though, James shoved him down to the floor and they noticed marks around his neck, Riley shot up from her seat when James viciously kicked Mac twice in the stomach, only sitting down once he'd let.
"I'm gonna kill him," Jack said, if looks could kill they would all be dead.
"Something obviously happened upstairs," Bozer said. "Oh Mac." They all saw the tears drip down his face.
It was sometime before James came back, none of them knew what to expect, but Mac obviously thought the worst as he struggled to his knees.
"I just noticed his hands are still tied, that's gotta be painful," Riley said, wincing in sympathy.
Mac sat still and straight for a while no doubt listening to his father, James then came around walking behind him, Mac looked so tense, finally James and Mac seemed to relax, and James took off the ropes. Mac then lifted his shirt and they all saw the bruises. Riley was surprised Jack hadn't lost it. James left and Mac relaxed, there wasn't a lot left to watch, Mac fell asleep and Riley thought that was it.
She stopped herself from shutting it off though, after what had happened to Mac she highly doubted James would choose that night to not give him any sedatives. She was right to stop, a little before midnight, a bit late for a sedative James came into the room and Mac sat up. There were obviously some words said and then Mac was putting his hands behind him, James came over and tied them, he then blindfolded him, and they walked out of frame. Riley's heart was beating so fast she thought it would beat out of her chest, the time stamp was 12:06 that morning. The final image was James coming into the room to look around, he then looked up at the camera and smiled, the lights turning off as he left. The tac team had arrived at 1:15am, they had literally just missed them.
Riley could feel Jack behind her, knew that he'd come to the same conclusion, she turned just as he put his fist in the wall. He slid down to the floor and started crying, she thought she might join him.