Chapter Two

Jack might be slightly older than his young EOD and he was still in shape, but the panic fueled run had caused his legs to burn and his lungs to feel like acid. In fact, by the time he got close to the minefield, or what was left of it, Jack's heart, lungs and legs were at war with each other. His heaving lungs and fluttering heart had way more to do with his fear for the kid, than it did with the mad dash across the desert.

'Angus!' he shouted as he got close to their camp and crouched down. He wanted to find his friend… who was not dead. Nope defiantly not dead, because he wouldn't allow it. But he also didn't want to be a target for their friendly neighborhood sniper. 'Angus!' he called again, but there was no reply.

Dropping to his belly he crawled towards the mines he knew were already disarmed. Jack could see part of the ravine's cliff had given away. It looked like while the sniper was taking pot shots at his EOD he had hit one of the land mines, hence the big boom.

While Jack studied the landscape, he heard a few small rocks falling. He looked towards the edge and sure enough, there was a rope going over the edge. Remembering his friend's climbing gear, he crawled towards the edge as fast as he could. He only slowed slightly when his elbows caused the dry loose dirt at the edge to give away. Peering over the edge, scared at what he might see, he let out a deep breath when he saw a patch of blonde hair.

''Oh thank god!' Jack rested his forehead on his arm just for a moment as some of the adrenaline left his system. After a second, he took a deep breath and focused; the kid still might be hurt and he was going to have to haul him up the cliff somehow.

Angus was clinging to a small ledge about 20 feet down, his face was pressed against the rock, the climbing gear had totally saved his life. Jack could see the kid was peppered with blood spots, he had probably been closer to the exploding mine than either of them would have cared for.

Then Jack paused for a moment, trying to understand what he was seeing: the kid's hands were shaking. Bomb techs where like surgeons, their hands were always steady as rocks no matter how unnerved they were. Jack strained a little farther than was probably safe, looking over the cliff.

'Angus, look at me!'

'Jack, I don't want to move, I can't…'

'Specialist look at me now!' It wasn't often Jack pulled out the 'I'm the boss' voice, and it was startling enough to cause Mac to shift slightly and meet his eyes.

The light was poor and Mac was some ways down the cliff but there was no denying what Jack saw. MacGyver was panicking, and it was something he had never seen his partner do. Jack and Mac had been a team for a while now, but no matter how much he had pried and pushed he could only get minimal information from the kid about his family, his feelings, his life plan. The kid had emotions alright, but he kept a very tight leash on them. So no matter how tight-lipped his friend was, Jack learned early on to watch Angus' eyes, and right now they were screaming.

'Deep breaths brother, I'll get you out of this.'

'No,' it was a hoarse whisper at best. Mac tried to take a deeper breath, but it came out as a choking gasp.

'Mac, it's going to be okay, you trust me, right?' Silence except for the sound of his friends gasping breaths.

When Mac didn't respond Jack felt he had to try, and change the kid's focus, break him out of the thoughts that Jack could almost see swirling around Mac's head. So, Jack went with his 'annoy Mac mode.' Whenever the kid went silent or had become so overly focused it was unhealthy, Jack would purposely say something stupid or annoying. It caused something in Mac's brain to twitch. And like a moth to the flame, it bugged the kid so much that he couldn't just leave it alone. It was actually fun to watch, most of the time. It was like it actually pained the kid not explain a scientific inaccuracy or anything else along that nature. But right now he just needed the kid's attention on something other than his situation.

'Oh man, I was so worried, but dammit now I got to say it! Soooo, Carl's Junior, how's it hanging?'

Sure, it was a lame joke but he was trying to make the kid feel more normal.

'Go away.' Mac gasped

He got actual words that time so Jack took it as a win, 'Go away? Dude, I know you are smart and all, but unless you can fly I don't think you are climbing up on your own.'

'Not moving.' Mac whispered.

Jack sensed the irrationality of his usually extremely rational EOD tech; the usual tactics weren't going to work here. He took a deep breath and started to treat his friend like one of the spooked colts back on the family ranch in Texas. 'It's okay man, I've got a plan.'

Mac still wasn't wasting his shallow breaths with a reply.

Jack let his eyes scan around for a moment, sussing out their options. 'You got climbing gear on, so you won't fall. I'll just pull you up, I'll just find something to brace…..'

That's when Jack got the biggest response from his friend yet.

'No! Please, no! Jack! It's loose! Don't touch anything. The rope will slip!' The kid's breaths came in short staccato clips, as his panic seemed to get worse. Which was just the opposite of what Jack was trying to achieve.

'Dude, okay chill just a little, brother. Come on, when have I ever let you down?'

'Don't touch anything' Mac gasped again, leaning his face back tightly against the rocky cliff. 'I'm not moving, ever.'

Jack glanced around quickly looking for the climbing ropes anchor point. And sure enough, the damned kid was right again. When the explosion went off a large piece of the ledge must have been blown away, sending Mac flying and knocking his rope anchor lose. The anchor was still in the dirt but it was right on the edge now, which was loose and crumbling.

Just as Jack was sorting out his next steps, the loud pops from the sniper's rifle returned peppering the ground near where Jack crouched. Swearing, he rolled to the side, but things didn't get better as the sniper changed his focus to Mac, who was a sitting duck.

'Shit, hold on kid, I just got to take care of this asshole, then we will be getting you up. Hold on and don't move'

A couple more shots echoed through the canon, this time Mac grunted and suddenly slipped a few feet.

'Jack!' he screamed trying to grab on to anything he could, the dirt kept crumbling in his hands and now all his weight was hanging off the rope.

The anchor point started to shift.

Jack grabbed the rope and dug in his heels.

'Kid? You get hit?' Jack called

'Oh god, don't look down….'

'Mac! Focus did you get shot!'

'Ummm, n-not sure, maybe, the back of the leg, stings. My legs are kind of numb... Jack?'

Jack looked around spying a rock, he had to keep the kid talking while he fixed the situation. 'Yeah, buddy?

'I don't like heights.'

Jack knew this was hardly the situation but he couldn't help it and burst out laughing. 'No shit, Sherlock.'

Still smiling Jack came up with a plan of sorts. Kicking back with his feet he pulled on the rope and dragged up slightly.

Bullets flashed around his feet again causing him to swear as he reached a nearby group of rocks. Sweating from the heat and exertion. Jack wrapped the rope around the largest bolder. A small cracking sound near his hand nearly caused him loose grip on the rope before he secured it though. One of the sniper's bullets hit the rock and sent rock shards flying, a few sliced through the back of his hand.

'Hold on!' he shouted towards the cliff, so his friend didn't feel like he had been forgotten.

The rocks Jack had taken refuge behind were not large. In fact, he could see them shifting slightly from Mac's weight. It also wasn't much for protection, but beggars can't be choosers and he needed to take care of that damned sniper before he could get the kid up and call for help. If anything, the rock just bought him some time he desperately needed.

Keeping low with one hand on the rope, he was in full Delta mode now as he flipped his own rifle from behind his back. Setting up the tripod and focusing the scope all with one hand, he searched the other side for the thorn in his side. It took a moment, but he steadied his breathing and focused, and there he was, lying in a patch of tall grass.

Jack didn't relish taking a life, but sometimes he understood the necessity of it. He tucked his chin against the stock and squeezed the trigger letting out one very precise shot. The sniper's body jumped slightly then quit moving. Jack waited for a heartbeat then fired again, one for safety. And as the sound of his rifle faded away there was silence. Jack had done his job, and nothing more.

Shaking himself out of the focus required for the shot, it was only then he realized, how much both his hands hurt and how much strain was on the arm holding the rope. 'Crap!' he needed to get the kid up fast before his muscles started to give way.

He saw the rock shift a bit more and gauged he had a minute before it gave way completely.

Quickly he reached over and clicked on his walkie. 'TOC this is this is Gamma one, how copy?'

'Go for TOC, what's your Sitrep Gamma one?'

'We're in a bit of jam at our assigned location, sir. I am going to need a helo with a medic, and a couple of strong guys.'

'Details, Master Sargent!'

'Yes, sir; we had a sniper across the ravine hit one of the mines. Caused my EOD to go off the edge. The sniper has been taken care of, but the kid's hurt and hanging on a string. I'm going to try and haul him up, but I am not sure I can. We could really use your help.'

'Oscar Mike Gamma one, we will have transport there in about 15 mikes. Can you hold on?'

'No choice sir, but the sooner the better.'

'Copy that.'

Jack dropped the radio so he could shift his pweight and hold on to the rope with two hands He was going to have a bad case of rope burn by the end of this, he could feel the blisters already, but he didn't have time to pull on his gloves.

'Mac!' he shouted. He wished he could see the kids face. It was impossible to gauge how he was doing while holding on to the damned rope.

After a moment when the EOD didn't reply he called again. 'Mac, dammit you answer me!'

A quiet voice floated up over the Cliffside. 'Deep breaths make the rope move.'

Mac just turned nineteen, despite the fact that he looked twelve. Mac's brain and demeanor made it easy to forget his age. Right now he sounded as young as he looked. Jack's heart ached for his friend. Back on the ranch he took in every stray he could get away with, and now that he was half a planet away from Texas he was still doing the same thing. This kid needed him and he wasn't going to let him down. He had dropped the ball with his ex's kid a few years back and he swore he wasn't going to let that happen here and now.

'I know you are in a rough spot bud, but I got the rope. I won't let you fall. I know you don't trust easy but you trust me, right?'

The was a pause again, Jack was sure the kid was giving that one a good hard think.

'Y-yeah. I trust you, Jack. Are you going to leave to get help?'

There was a lot of undercurrent to that question, and it had a lot more to do with the bigger picture then it did their current situation. 'No way kid, I ain't leaving ya. You're stuck with me.'

'You sure?'

'Hell yeah, I'm sure. We're brothers now. I would never leave anyone behind, especially not family. You hear me?'

'Yeah.' There was a pause before Angus continued. 'Being scared of heights is irrational.'

'We all got our thing, Mac. It's just a part of life, it's alright. No one is going to think badly of ya, especially not me. You just need to think of something else until the chopper comes.'

'There's a helicopter?'

Shit, Jack forgot to tell him. 'Yup, should be here shortly. We just got to hang out till it gets here.'

'Haha. You know helicopters crash thirty-five percent more often than your average aircraft. So, I am not sure if that's an improvement or not.' Even over a cliff, Jack smiled at his friends sarcastic know it all tone. Then surprising Jack, Mac voiced a bit of his fear. 'My legs are numb from this harness. I can't climb up. What if you can't hold on?'

There was no way in hell he was going to tell his friend just how much his hands burned or how much his legs ached. 'Mac, I told you, I am not leaving you. I won't let you fall. You just need a distraction. Okay so talk to me… what's the square root of three hundred and thirty-three.'

'W-what? Now is not the time to….'

'Come on man, that's an easy one...erm, I think.'

'Eighteen, point two, four, eight, two, eight.'

'That's my boy.'

The wind picked up a little bit causing Mac to sway and the rope to vibrate.

'Jack!'

'It's okay one second … one second.' Jack adjusted his grip slightly. 'Okay, what's your favorite geek formula?'

There was a slight pause as mac thought it over. 'L-Lagrange's standard model, it describes all elementary particles and forces, except gravity. W-which is okay because gravity kind of sucks right now.'

Jack smiled, and everyone thought he was the jokester. 'Funny!'

There was a quiet thump, thump in the distance and Jack craned his neck searching the sky. Sure enough, he could see they Calvary coming.

'Mac! I can see the Helo!'

Jack turned, craning to watch the helicopter, as he did he put extra weight on his right foot which caused the rock he had his foot braced on to crack. Jack's whole body was jerked forward, but he refused to let go. Jack was being slowly dragged towards the edge of the cliff.

Mac, let out a frightened shout. 'Jack!'

As Jack was pulled forward he tried to scramble for some purchase, but there was just nothing, crumbling rocks, and dirt and…Oh crap! Mac never did finish disarming all those bombs.

Mac and Jack both screamed.

To be continued….