Step three: failed!
Again!
He climbed up the hills behind the buildings about three hundred yards before the usual shot in front of his feet stopped him. For one moment he thought about going on, but nevertheless he wasn't ready to die. Especially not like this! So he scrambled down again. His back didn't recover from the mistreatment two days before, but this time Brown saw no need to whip him for this attempt. His men pulled off Mac's boots and socks. Barefoot another try to escape would be much more difficult, because the rocky surface could cut his soles. At least he was allowed to keep his trousers on. That was something. He was glad about that little bit of dignity that they left him.
Again his hands were tied with a rope and two men held him right in the courtyard. One of them pushed his legs a bit wider.
„You're stronger than I expected. I will give you that." Brown noticed appreciative.
Blue eyes looked back at him without any expression.
"But your fire isn't burning anymore. It doesn't matter what I do to you, you won't work for us, right?"
Mac stayed silent. He didn't bother to answer.
"You would bring me a lot of money for an exchange, I think. But then maybe you heal and do your job here and therefore destroy our work. I can't let that happen."
Brown went around Mac. With a baton he pressed brief but forceful on one of the still swollen welts on Mac's back. Mac arched away from the painful touch but didn't react in any other way. When the man stood again in front of him, he saw him deep into his eyes. The captive looked back without any emotions shown in his face.
"Until I know what to do with you, I don't want you to try once more to escape. You're very smart and intelligent and no locks or cuffs would hold you back. I'll have to make sure, that you stay with me as long as I'm thinking about your future."
With a fast movement Brown raised the baton and smashed it with full force against Mac's inner side of his left knee. Mac screamed out loud and got down to the ground. A second hit struck against the outside of the same knee. Mac cried again. He lay in the dust and squirmed in pain.
"That will help you not to try another escape."
The leader turned around let the baton fall down and went away. The other men grabbed Mac, dragged him over the ground and threw him carelessly into his small cell. Mac had reached his breaking point, he cried in pain, anger and despair. It was over now. The patience of his kidnappers was finished. He knew they wouldn't let him live much longer. Maybe he should have climbed up without stopping.
Jack was on edge, but they made great progress. After he found the Pick-up, they located a lonely complex of four buildings surrounding a courtyard another eighty miles north in a lonely valley, ending in a small gorge. In former years it must have been an interesting place for agriculture, when there was a river following straight through that valley. But now the river was dry and the place seemed to be left behind. Only when they looked closer to the compound they saw some men on a few satellite pictures. They concentrated on the feeds and finally they got their proof. On one of the pictures was Mac. The boy didn't look wealthy and Jack wanted not less than to storm into this place, beat everyone on his way and free the kid. But it wasn't that easy. They needed a strategy to surround the buildings before they could start their mission. To go through the valley wasn't an option. Long before they would have made the halfway they would have been detected. They needed a sneak attack otherwise maybe the Taliban would take away their prisoner or even worse, kill him. Jack didn't want to risk Mac's life. Their plan turned to the better side, when they found a dry water canal through the mountains they could use behind the compound. So, they decided to start early in the morning with their rescue. Twelve men and four women hopped on the vehicles and headed north. Everyone knew what to do. They were on their way for nearly two days to reach their destination at the backside of the hills. If everything went smooth they could break Mac free at the tenth day of his abduction.
Finally Jack drew hope!
The team members stood next to the humvees. Everyone checked again the weapons and gear, quick but thoroughly. Jack had the command over the team as Mac's partner. Just now he wanted to storm in and fetch his bomb nerd. He wanted to see him alive and tell him that he was back for him, never letting him go alone again. On that picture Mac looked thin and exhausted. For Jack's liking the kid was too young to endure so much pain!
But Jack was professional enough, with his background in the Army and most of all as a former leader of a Delta unit, to know exactly who to fulfill a rescue mission.
Succinct he repeated the strategy, gave his orders and code words for different situations. Without making any noise the team sneaked through the mountains to their aim. The dawn was short and the soldiers started when it was dark. At the time when they attacked the Taliban group in their building complex the sun shone bright into the valley.