Here's chapter 7! Sorry if it's rough, I'm so tired I hardly know if it's day or night anymore xD I feel like the sentences are a little rough, so if you guys have ways that you think they could be edited more, let me know :)

Lemme know what you think!

MacGyver and Jack made their way to a back door that Riley had found on the schematics to the building, moving as quickly but as quietly as they could. There was a little less than two hours on the clock that Habib had given them, and while Mac wasn't worried about meeting their deadline, he was worried about the fact that they hadn't run into any problems to make them miss their deadline.

"Hold up guys," Riley said through their comms. The two men froze and backed up against a wall, waiting for Riley to give them the all-clear, and while they were waiting, MacGyver turned to his partner.

"Does this feel too easy to you?"

Jack looked at his partner like he was crazy. "Even if it did, is that a bad thing?" he asked, though he did actually have a feeling that something was off.

"Jack, you can't possibly tell me that you don't think something's wrong?"

"Fine, I guess it does feel a little odd," the older man finally confessed after a few moments. "We haven't hit any snags, and as much as I want to say that it's just our skill that's kept us out of trouble so far, it does seem too easy. But what do you wanna do? We can't turn around now, dude."

"I know," Mac said, looking around them in frustration. "Just...we need to be—"

"Careful? Yeah yeah yeah, I know," Jack cut in. "How many times do I have to tell you that that's my middle name?"

"As many more times as it takes for me to believe it," Mac quipped. Jack made a face at him, but they both knew that they were only trying to look out for each other. Mac checked his watch again, even though he knew how much time they had left on the clock almost by heart.

"Okay, you're clear now," Riley said after the boys waited a few more moments. She and Aadela had stayed behind by the car to watch Mac and Jack's backs, even though Aadela had wanted to come with them to get her nephew. Thankfully, Mac and Jack had been able to convince her to stay behind with Riley.

Once they got the all-clear, the two agents crept out from behind the wall and continued on their way to their entrance. Once they finally reached the door, MacGyver gripped the handle and looked at Jack, waiting for his signal to open the door. Jack held his gun at the ready in one hand, holding up three fingers on his other. He began putting his fingers down while he and Mac silently counted down together, and when the last finger had been lowered, MacGyver turned the handle and opened the door. Jack hurried inside, holding his gun out in front of him, but after a few moments, he stuck his head back outside.

"There's no one in here," he announced. Mac's brow furrowed in confusion, but he followed his partner inside. Sure enough, there were no guards at all, and it made MacGyver extremely uncomfortable.

"Riley, aren't there supposed to be guards here right now?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Riley replied, sounding confused, as well as a little hesitant. "I'm looking at all the cameras right now, and it looks like you've got a clear shot through the building to Atar's room," she added. MacGyver and Jack looked at each other; this was definitely too easy.

Jack seemed to read his partner's thoughts. "You wanna turn back?" he asked. "Wait until we know exactly what's goin' on and maybe call for backup?"

Mac shook his head. "No," he said. "There isn't time to wait, and besides. Who would we call for backup? We're here going after a terrorist on unsanctioned mission; nothing about this is legal, and while the military would probably appreciate getting Habib back, there's no guarantee that we'd get Atar."

"You got a point," Jack conceded. "Shall we?" he asked, gesturing down the hallway. Mac nodded, and the two of them began moving again. They'd only gone a few dozen feet though when Riley came in again.

"Uh, guys?"

"What is it, Ri?" Jack asked, halting his and Mac's progression again.

"I just lost the cameras."

"What?" Mac asked, his eyes going wide. "Can you get them back?"

"I'm trying, but it's almost like they've been cut; I'll keep trying, but for now, we're blind."

"There's no way we're giving up," Mac said as he saw Jack open his mouth.

"I wasn't gonna suggest that," Jack responded, almost sounding hurt that his partner thought he would suggest such a thing. "I was just gonna say time to go to plan B."

Back at the truck, Aadela looked at Riley. "What is plan B?" she asked, worry for her nephew reaching an all new high.

Riley, who was still working on recovering the cameras, took a moment to glance away from her screen and towards the frightened woman. "Improvise."

0-0-0

It was only a few minutes after Riley lost access to the cameras that Mac and Jack were on the move again. Mac had found a bathroom close to them, and he removed part of the mirror to use as a periscope to peer around corners. It wasn't as good as Riley having the all-seeing eye, but it was better than walking around completely blind.

Thankfully, Riley losing the cameras didn't mean that she'd lost access to the rest of the schematics; she still knew where they were holding Atar, and she still had her friends on GPS, so at least they wouldn't be wandering the building searching every room for the young man.

"Okay guys, just take the next left, and it's the third door on your right," she said as she watched the dots representing her friends get closer to the room where Atar was being held. Jack and MacGyver followed the young woman's directions, and when they came to the door, Jack went first. He opened the door and stepped inside, prepared to shoot any guards if he needed to, but just like before, there were no guards in the room.

Mac hurried inside and saw a single chair sitting in the middle of the room; tied to that chair was Atar. The chair was facing the door, and the teenager looked like he was expecting someone different, but when he saw the blond enter, his eyes lit up. The brightness only lasted for a moment though, and he began trying to speak to MacGyver through the gag, straining at the ropes around his wrists. MacGyver began to move forward to undo the boy's restraints, but Mac suddenly heard Jack say, "Hey, uh, Mac?" followed by the sound of his gun cocking.

"Hello, Mr. MacGyver," a familiar voice said from behind them. Mac whirled around and saw Jack pointing his gun at a man standing just outside the room who had his hands behind his back. Mac's face hardened as he recognized Habib, though the terrorist looked different than the last time Mac had seen him.

The last time, the man had only had the small beginnings of a beard, but in the four years that had passed since they'd seen each other, the bomber had let his beard grow out in full force, and it was almost down to the man's chest. He was also wearing an eyepatch over his right eye, and for a minute, Mac wondered what had happened before he remembered that when he and the terrorist had been fighting, Mac had jabbed his thumb into the other man's eye. He didn't realize it had done that much damage, but apparently it had.

"Lemme guess," Jack said, stepping forward slightly so that he was beginning to put himself between the terrorist and his friend. "You're Habib?"

"In the flesh," the bearded man responded with a sickly sweet smile. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time, MacGyver," he continued, completely ignoring Jack after confirming who he was.

"You've got me here," Mac said. "Let the kid go."

"This sounds familiar," Habib said, pretending to try and remember where he'd heard the argument before. "Ah yes, that's right. That's what you said to me last time we saw each other. But unfortunately, just like last time, I'm afraid that both of you are required for this. This time, though, no one is coming to back you up."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Jack asked, sounding slightly offended.

"I don't know who you are, and to be honest, I really couldn't care less," Habib said, addressing Jack. "Killing MacGyver and this brat is the only thing I have on my to-do list today, but if I can kill more Americans and traitors while doing this, I am more than happy to take that win as well."

"Man, there's only one of you. That just ain't even a fair fight for you," Jack countered.

Habib smirked and brought his hands out from behind his back. Mac's stomach plummeted when he recognized what the object was. "Oh, but I'm not staying around to fight," he explained, confirming Mac's suspicions. Jack stared at the device in the man's hands as well, but before either of the agents could do anything about it, Habib pressed a button on the remote and dropped it. The remote hit the ground and bounced a few times, but to make sure that they couldn't use the device again, Habib brought his foot crashing down onto it, breaking it into a dozen pieces. With that, the terrorist turned and fled out the door.

As soon as the button on the remote had been pressed, an ominous beeping began to sound close by. Mac knew what that sound was by heart, and he immediately began looking for the bomb.

"Jack, go after him!" Mac shouted as he scanned the room, then got down on his hands and knees, hoping against hope that his hunch about the bomb's location was wrong.

"What about you?" Jack asked, not wanting to leave his friend. Mac looked up at him gravely from his position by Atar's chair.

"I've got my own stuff to figure out here," he replied. "Go," he insisted. "Don't let Habib get away!"

Jack hesitated for a moment more, but then let out a growl of frustration as he turned and ran off towards the retreating terrorist. Mac turned his attention once more to the Atar and the chair he was sitting on. Or, more accurately, the underside of the chair, where a bomb was strapped. The first thing MacGyver did was check and see how much time they had, and his stomach dropped when he saw they had less than ninety seconds on the clock.

His brain, which had been running about ninety miles a minute, kicked its processing into overdrive while the blond tried to figure out what to do. First things first, he thought to himself, pulling out his pocket knife and cutting through the ropes keeping Atar secured to the chair. Once his hands were free, the teenager reached up and removed his gag.

"Mr. MacGyver," he said as Mac cut through the bindings on his legs as well. "I am sorry, I tried to tell you to go, tried to warn you that it was a trap, but-"

"Hey, you're fine," Mac cut him off. "I wouldn't have left you anyway. I figured it was a trap," he admitted. "I'm just a little disappointed that I was right."

Atar got off the chair and stood back, watching as the blond American he'd rescued all those years ago slid under the chair to work on the bomb. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, crouching down and peering at MacGyver.

"Uh, yeah. You can get out of here," Mac said as he peered at the bomb, trying to isolate the wires he needed to cut.

"What?" Atar asked. "I'm not leaving you, I can help you!"

"Atar," Mac cut in, trying not to sound too impatient. "My friends and I came here with your aunt to get you out. If you don't leave and get out, then this whole thing's been for nothing!"

"I am not leaving without you," Atar insisted. "You had me hide last time we met, and I'm not doing it again this time!"

MacGyver was going to argue with the teenager more, but just then Jack cut in on the comms.

"Hey, uh, Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember how I was chasing Habib?"

Worry for his partner and friend immediately rose in Mac's chest, and he answered, "Yeah? You alright?"

"I am, but uh, while I was chasing down our friendly neighborhood terrorist, he slipped out a back door. I went to follow him, but I happened to glance in one of the other rooms, and it looks like the bomb you're working on isn't the only one in the building."

Mac's stomach dropped at the revelation of a second bomb, and he looked at Atar, who looked confused. Once again, Mac did the calculations in his head, but this time he came up with a different result.

"Come on," he said, getting out from under the bomb, which had a little more than forty-five seconds on the clock. He stood up, grabbed Atar by the arm, and began running with the teenager through the building. "Riley?" he asked. "I need an exit."

"Got it," the hacker replied. "Twenty feet ahead of you, there should be a door that leads outside. You'll be on the southwest side of the building, so you'll be on the opposite side of us, but it's the quickest way out for you."

"Perfect. Jack, what's your twenty?"

"I chased Habib back towards where we first came in, but when I stopped to look at the second bomb, he got away. I'm sorry, man," Jack said.

"It's fine, just get out of the building!" Mac said. They could worry about Habib later. At the moment, the only thing Mac was concerned about was getting the people he was with to safety. "Riley, you and Aadela should be a safe distance away from the explosion, but I'd get to cover just in case."

"Are you guys out?" Riley asked, worry leaking through her voice.

"I am," Jack replied. "Mac, I'm comin' around to help you and the kid."

"Jack, don't," Mac insisted as he pushed open the door that Riley had directed them to. "We're just getting out now, and there's no time to waste. Get away from the building, get as far away as you can!" Mac grabbed Atar and pushed the young man in front of him as the two of them ran in the opposite direction of the building. There was no confirmation from Jack, and Mac could only hope that his friend was doing what he'd instructed.

There was no warning before the bomb went off; one minute, Mac and Atar were running, and the next second there was a huge BOOM, followed by a blast wave that threw MacGyver and Atar into the air. The last thing MacGyver thought as he flew through the air was that he was grateful that Atar was in front of him because hopefully it meant that the teenager wouldn't get as hurt. Then the blond hit the ground, and everything went black.

0-0-0

Muffled voices and sounds floated around MacGyver's head, and he struggled to grab onto what was being said. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness, the voices fading out as well. One of the times he was awake, he tried to open his eyes but for some reason he couldn't seem to pry his lids open, because all he saw was black. He thought he could hear Jack yelling his name, but when the blond tried to respond, all that came out was a rattling cough.

"Hang in there, bud," he heard Jack say.

Smells, sounds, basically everything that Mac's senses could pick up were muddled and confusing, so when Mac felt himself being lifted up, he wasn't sure if he was imagining things or not.

"Jack?" he asked in a raspy voice, trying once again to open his eyes. He tried to sit up, but a hand on his shoulder prevented him from moving.

"Hey Mac, I'm here," Jack's voice said from above him; or at least, what Mac assumed was above him. Directions didn't make much sense to him at the moment either.

"Jack, I can't...why won't my eyes open?" Mac asked, reaching his hands up to force his eyes open if necessary. Jack answered before he could though, and his friend's words sent a chill through Mac's spine.

"Mac, your eyes...your eyes are open, man."

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