Cage yawned as she crossed the hall to the coffee pot. She poured a cup and wrinkled her nose. It was old enough to count as turpentine. She braced herself and prepared to drink the brew when she took in the hall. Cage slipped the cup back on the counter and pulled out her Sig P226. For a long minute she had no idea what bugged her. She slipped closer to the wall and studied both ends of the hall.
The lights were bright and everything looked normal. Cage glanced at Mac's room and scowled. The door was closed. She edged toward it then paused. The corridor had the same timeless, mechanical feeling of every hospital she'd been in, but there was no noise. Cage studied the hall more carefully. No one. No nurses, no CNAs, no doctors...Shit.
Cage sprinted to Mac's room. She listened. Nothing. She eased the door open peering inside scanning for movement. She could hear Jack's easy snoring and breathed out holstering her sig. She turned to go then stopped. No lights. She whirled and snapped on the light.
Mac had once told her about what his brain did to him in the dark as a kid. He would deny it all day, but Cage knew that kind of imagination didn't evaporate with puberty. She had seen his house filled with neon lights. Bozer claimed he'd bought them because they were cool. Cage suspected he covered for Mac's latent fear of the dark. Add that with the nightmares this job naturally caused...There was no way in hell Jack would leave Mac in the dark, especially when he was frozen in his own body. Cage shuddered at the thought. She couldn't image how terrifying that would be, let alone with someone with a brain like Mac's.
Cage dashed to the bed.
"Jack? Jack!" She leaned over the older man. Jack looked like he was sleeping restlessly, but he had a bloody nose and black eye coming out. Cage turned to Mac. She took in the box of paper clips an inch from his face. Who the hell...Cage saw a white coat and mangled pile of latex. She shoved the table aside and crouched to look into Mac's face as she pulled out her phone.
"Matty, Murdoc's here." Cage hung up before Matty could say anything. She knelt and looked into Mac's blue eyes. His pupils were huge, his eyes unfocused, "Hey, Mac. Can you hear me?" Cage put a hand on the side of Mac's head and gently ran her fingers through his hair. Her heart sunk when she remembered he couldn't feel it.
The door burst open, Bozer and Riley ran in. They took in the room with wide eyed panic.
"Mac?" Bozer yelled circling to land on his knees beside Cage. Riley bent over Jack. She checked his pulse and let out a deep sigh of relief. She brushed his scruffy face with her hand. His head thrashed back and forth and he moaned.
"Jack? Jack! Hey it's ok, we're here. Mac's ok, he's leaning on you." Riley murmured into his ear. Jack paused and sank down relaxing. Riley ran her fingers through his wiry hair. She looked up as Matty entered the room a phoenix team clomping after her. She looked grim.
"We have to get them out of here." Matty declared.
"But the surgery…"
Dr. Sanha and her team ran into the room wheeling a stretcher.
"Prep Mac for transport to surgery. What is going on? All the staff were found unconscious in the med room?" She paused long enough to take in the room. "Never mind." She leaned over Jack and shined a light in his eyes, " I need .6 mg Adrenalin, now." Sanha crossed to Mac and gently turned him to face her. She frowned looking at his pupils and pulled out her light. She looked up at the others.
"What happened to him? He's in shock." Everyone turned to Matty. She stepped forward.
"He is in a lot of danger from an old enemy we need to move him now." Sanha stood up her eyes narrowing. She glared down at Matty.
"That is impossible. He already has been moved more than I am comfortable. We need to do surgery as soon as possible." Before Matty could respond, a nurse came racing in with a syringe, "Ok, let's get Mac onto the cart, this will probably be quite a jolt for Jack."
The group in surgical scrubs carefully bent over Mac and lifted him onto the gurney. Dr. Sanha's team rolled Mac across the room where they started prep for surgery. Dr. Sanha leaned over Jack and rolled over his arm. She bounced a finger on the inside of his arm. She slowly injected the medicine then wiped the site. Everyone stared at Jack. For a long minute the room was silent. Then his eyes snapped open and he bolted to sitting.
Cage pulled Dr. Sanha back before the woman got belted in the mouth by Jack's swinging fists. Jack's face was red and sheened with sweat.
"Mac! Where's Mac?" He bellowed.
"It's ok, Jack, he's right here." Cage said. Jack staggered to his feet. Bozer took an arm over his shoulders and helped Jack hobble to the gurney Mac laid on. Jack's breath was ragged; his heart was fast and throbbing in his neck and ears. He felt as if he'd been sprinting a marathon. He shoved it all aside and took a guppy breath when he saw Mac all in one piece. Jack wiped his forehead and let out a big breath.
"Mac? Brother?" Jack felt like he'd just had an IV of a gallon of coffee. He wiped sweat out of his eyes. Mac laid face up, his eyes open and staring at the ceiling. Even with his face frozen Jack could see Mac was in the middle of an endless loop of a panic attack. Aw kid. He leaned his hip on the gurney and leaned forward cupping Mac's head and looking directly into the younger man's face. Mac's face was wet. Tears. What had scared the kid? Jack felt his heart sink.
"I was dreaming that Murdoc…" Jack began his voice shaky.
"It was no dream." Bozer said. Jack's head snapped to look at the younger man. Jack's body shook with the strain of the adrenaline fueled by his anger.
"Murdoc here? How?"
"He dressed like a doctor and gave you some drugged food." Matty said crossing to Jack. She stood in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. Jack remembered the hook nosed doctor. That had been Murdoc? Jack's head began to throb. A balloon was being over inflated inside his skull and he was sure it was going to burst.
"How did he even know we were here?" He heard Cage ask behind him. Jack tuned the others out focusing on the only thing that mattered.
"Hey, brother? I need you to look at me, let me know you're in there." Mac blinked but it was obviously automatic. Was Mac even in there?
"What did that bastard do to him?" Jack growled over his shoulder. The others felt quiet. Cage walked to Jack's side and put a hand on the older man's shoulder. She described what she saw when she came in. Jack felt a knot of wood in his throat. He knew how formidable opponent Mac's brain could be, he'd seen it in action enough times. It could do more damage to Mac than Murdoc could imagine.
"Well shit, buddy. I'm sleeping and you have to go and do something like that." Jack began in a louder than normal voice.
"What the- We don't have time for this." Dr. Sanha said briskly as she waved at her team. Matty whirled and put a hand out stopping the taller woman.
"Just give it a minute." Matty's voice was friendly, but her eyes were steel. She and Dr. Sangha stared at each a long minute. Dr. Sangha nodded.
"We'll go prep OR. When he's ready bring him to OR 7." Matty nodded. Dr. Sangha nodded at the medical team who left the building. Matty waved her hand and the silent TAC team faded out the door like a fluid shadow. Some would protect the surgical team the rest would keep the room secure. Jack shot Matty a grateful glance then focused on Mac.
"Forget that creep, kiddo. You're ok, I'm fine, everybody's fine. See they're all here." Jack glanced over at the others who came and crowded around Mac so he could see them all. Mac blinked.
"That's it, Mac. Come back to us." Riley said.
"Yeah, you're holding up everything." Bozer added obviously near tears. Mac blinked again. Jack smiled. The blinks were too close together to be automatic.
"That's it, open those baby blues."
"They are open." Cage said softly in Jack's ear. Jack glared at her, she offered a small smile.
"Don't you listen to her, you know what I mean." Jack said sweetly to Mac. Mac blinked three times in succession and slowly focused on Jack. Jack took the kid's hand and leaned forward to cup his cheek. He knew Mac couldn't feel it physically, but hoped it gave him comfort somehow.
Light. Mac chanced a glance over his shoulder. He'd been curled up naked in a black hole somewhere deep in his head. He blinked. For a long minute, his brain replayed the slaughter of his friends again as it had been for infinity. From far away he heard Jack's voice, a siren call of safety and home. Was it really Jack? He reached out a hand, then remembered he was trapped inside a useless clay pile of a body.
Shadows crept out of the fog. Mac blinked until they became faces, familiar faces. If he could have, Mac would have sobbed with relief. His gaze travelled from one to the next to the next. Safe, not hurt. Mac focused on Jack who grinned down at him. Everything blurred. Tears. For once Mac didn't mind. They were cleansing tears of relief. Jack gently wiped them away. He gazed into Mac's face. Jack nodded, his eyes saying more than his mouth ever could. Mac blinked away the blurriness.
"Ok, kiddo. Are you up for surgery?" Jack asked softly. Mac's brain froze. Surgery? Crap. Mac had forgotten about that. Mac felt phantom fear gibber down his spine and settle in the pit of his stomach. He blinked once. He knew he faced long odds, but this was the only chance he had of ever being able to feel anything or move. What choice did he really have? He blinked once slowly. When he opened his eyes Jack nodded down at him. His eyes were pools of worry and fear, but the older man smiled.
"Ok, bud. Let's get this done so I can beat your ass, right?" Mac half rolled his eyes. Jack laughed and leaned forward hugging Mac. Mac closed his eyes. His body may not be able to feel it, but his heart did. He felt more brave as each of his friends, his family, leaned forward and gave him a hug. His hoard of pearls overflowed. Mac felt like he could face anything.
The ceiling above him swirled and he could hear the clank of wheels. He was on a gurney rolling. Mac counted 15 different ceilings until he faced one that wasn't moving. Two ceiling arrays of four lights the size of manhole covers hovered like suns over him. He could hear the murmurs, the echoes. The room tilted as his body was repositioned.
"Hello, Mac. My Name is Sandra Sanho, I'm your surgeon. We're getting you prepped. Anestesia will put you out then we're going to put you on a special table face down. The surgery will probably be three hours or so, but you won't know about it until it's over, OK?" Mac studied the woman. She had harsh angles and jutting ridges on her face, but her eyes were warm and concerned. Mac blinked at her once. She smiled then talked to others in the room. Mac heard a loud squeal and the lights were focused directly over his head. Mac closed his eyes. He knew it wasn't true but felt like his heart was racing.
He opened his eyes and froze. Black eyes looked down at him. Mac's eyes widened. Murdoc smiled.
"Don't worry, Angus. Just count backwards from ten, take a deep breath and you'll go to sleep." Mac mentally screamed as the murderer lowered a mask over his nose and mouth.