Disclaimer: I do not own this film or the characters
Mac stared straight at Walter, his gaze unflinching while his father glowered back at him. Walter begrudgingly lifted his hands in the air, a sign of surrender while he gave everyone else a disgusted look. He didn't say anything, he merely slumped in his position while Mac pondered pulling the trigger or not. Mac glanced over at Audrey briefly, his eyes softened at the image of her sobbing quietly while she held Mitchell as he clung to his life.
He lowered his gun, clicked his tongue for Harley's attention and inclined his head towards Walter. "Tie him up," He mumbled.
"I always knew you were piss weak!" Walter growled. Harley quickly tied his hands up with a pair of spare cuffs, he was sure to step away from Walter as he lashed out angrily. "Such a fucking disappointment Mac, couldn't even get this right." He snarled.
Mac glowered at him, "This is the only thing I've done right," He hissed.
Walter scoffed and glanced over at Audrey, "Or is just because you want another piece of her ass?" He snarled.
Mac slammed the handgrip of his pistol across Walter's head, knocking him unconscious in one swift hit. "Piece of shit," Mac spat, he kicked Walter's side before walking towards Audrey. She was pressing down on Mitchell's wound, clearly panicking while his eyes started to flutter. She pressed down even harder, whispering incoherently while Mitchell tried his best to stay awake.
"Help me Mac," She pleaded. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with nothing but fear and pain. "Please." She whispered.
Mac felt his heart lurch, he nodded and he grabbed a few first aid items from around his lab. He had kept a kit around ever since his last encounter with the Ashton family and the death of his friend Rick. He swiped up the anti-bacterial wipes and kneeled down beside Mitchell's body. This was definitely the last thing he would of expected to be doing, helping Mitchell Harrison of all people.
"This might sting," Mac warned, before he quickly wiped over Mitchell's gushing wound. Mitchell hissed in pain, his body instinctively cowering away from the burning sensation. "Hold him down baby," Mac instructed Audrey.
She used both her arms and legs to hold Mitchell down, straddling his legs to keep them from bucking and using her arms to pin down Mitchell's. She watched protectively while Mac dabbed around the wound, before peering into it. "What's wrong?" She croaked, noticing his small frown.
"The bullet's still in there," He murmured. He beckoned for Harley to grab him a pair of small tongs on the silver table across the room. Once he received them from Harley, he turned to Audrey. "You're gonna have to hold him down tight," He warned.
Audrey winced as Mac brought the tongs to Mitchell's collar. "Mitchell this is really gonna hurt," She told him quickly. "Try to be as still as you can, alright?." Mitchell nodded weakly, he was on the edge of unconsciousness, until Mac pushed the tongs deep into his wound. He let out a loud yelp, bucking his legs up as his eyes squeezed shut in pain. Audrey used all her remaining strength to keep him down.
Mitchell writhed beneath Mac and Audrey, gasping breaths escaping his mouth as his hands curled into fists and released over and over again. He buckled again, while Mac cursed lowly. "Can you hurry up?" Audrey begged quickly. She crashed her arms down on Mitchell's, causing him to open his eyes with open panic. "Relax Mitch!" She pleaded.
Mac worked quickly, let out a triumphant sound as the tongs gripped the bullet. "Don't move!" He snapped at Mitchell. On command, Mitchell didn't move but Audrey felt him tense beneath her. Once Mac pulled the bullet from his wound, he made a small noise of relief. "For a second there, I thought the bullet was in shards," He sighed. Mitchell relaxed beneath Audrey and let out a small sigh.
Audrey shook him briefly, "Mitchell?" She asked urgently. When there was no reply, she leapt off him and placed her ear next to his mouth. The familiar feeling of dread pooled in her stomach, almost flooding up her throat. "Mitchell?" She croaked.
"Shit!" Mac swore. He quickly cleared away the fresh blood pouring from his wound. He glanced over at Harley, "Get me that salt by the vials!" He ordered. He put pressure on Mitchell's wound until Harley passed him the salt. He put a large helping onto Mitchell's wound, thankfully getting a brief reaction from Mitchell. His hands flinched quickly and it was a sure sign he was still alive.
Mac put a dressing over the wound, before propping Mitchell's neck up with a bundle of clothing. "We need to get him some help," Harley panicked from beside Mac. "He isn't gonna make it!" He added.
"No shit, Sherlock!" Audrey snarled irritably. "Mac did you bring your car?"
"Look we just need to-" Mac started as he rose from his crouched position.
There was silence in the cave as there was a sudden rush of noise from outside of the cave. The abrupt sound of oncoming vehicles and the crunch of feet against stone echoed towards them. Mac retrieved the pistol from the floor, pointing it directly towards the entrance. "Get down, everyone!" He hissed. Anxiety spread throughout the alive members of the cave, as the sound of approaching people became clearer and clearer.
Was it Braxton's men? Did they hear the fight? Are they coming to finish them off? There was no way that the group would be able to make it out of this one. There were too many people coming through the cave entrance.
Just as Mac fired off a warning shot, a rubber bullet pierced his arm. "Freeze!" A authoritative voice shouted out. "FBI! You're under arrest for the involvement with James Braxton, for first degree manufacture of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia."
Mac dropped his gun, a defeated look in his body language. To Audrey's relief, a group of agents and officers came through with padded raid attire. They grabbed Mac and placed cuffs over his wrists, escorting him out of the cave. They then dragged Walter's unconscious body out after him, before gently escorting Harley and Regina out as well. Audrey stayed with Mitchell until the ambulance crew came through and lifted him out of the cave, escorting Audrey in the process.
When Audrey got outside, she blinked in surprise. There was a whole crowd of people, FBI agents and their dogs searched the area, Officers from local surrounding counties were scoping out the area and the local towns people were watching from behind the police tape. There were different sets of news crew people, ones from big cities and others from small towns nearby.
As soon as they got glimpse of her, reporters were shouting across the plain to her, asking question after another. She shielded her eyes from the bright lights of snapping cameras, panic rising in her stomach while she tried her best to get away. She jumped in surprise when a soft blanket was placed over her shoulders, and a familiar face appeared in front of hers.
"You alright Jacks?" Milton asked gently.
She nodded quickly and he gave her a tight smile. "I'm so sorry for this ordeal you went through," He apologised. "It's my fault, we weren't able to track him fast enough. By the time we got security locked up around Utah's border, he had already slipped through and taken you." He murmured.
He led her towards an ambulance truck, letting her sit down on the back of it. "Where's Mitchell?" She asked quickly.
"He's getting air lifted out of here." Milton informed her. He pointed up towards the sky, where the faint outline of a helicopter approached. She nodded doubtfully and Milton squeezed her shoulder gently. "He'll be alright, he's stable. You did a mighty good clean up on him." He praised.
Audrey shook her head, "That was Mac. He'd probably be gone because of him." She mumbled.
Milton frowned, "The meth cook? Wasn't he involved with all of this?" He asked.
Audrey remained tight lipped, instead changing the subject. "How did you know I was here Chief? It isn't exactly the first place an agent would look." She asked curiously. Milton looked grim for a brief moment.
"Well it took us a while to find you Jacks." He mumbled with embarrassment. "Once my men called up and said you were no where to be found, I knew something was up. So we called in our forces and came straight down here, we did a search of the place and there was no trace of you anywhere. It wasn't until this guy named Tommy called up, claiming a few people were missing, and you too."
Milton paused, and rubbed his chin. "So the local police came in and we all went down to the Police Station, found it really odd that the place was empty." Audrey frowned and shook her head.
"Surely Pratt was there?"
Milton shook his head with a forlorn expression. "He got stabbed, was lying in a puddle of his blood for about a day Jacks." He mentioned quietly. "So that meant Officer Harley was also missing. So we all scoped Cainneville and I sent out crews to go search in neighbouring counties. Then this Tommy kid tells us about a meth lab that was raided the night before, and here we are."
Audrey stared up at him surprise, "I don't think you realise how amazing you did Jacks," Milton praised. "Not only have you taken down Braxton, you've ended control over his manufacturing of controlled substances and brought down his biggest associates."
Audrey glanced over at the a large van where Walter was getting piled onto. He had finally awoken from his unconsciousness, and he was thrashing against the police's hold. "I ain't in control of this! This was all him!" He screeched, pointing directly at Mac. "It was all him!" He shouted again.
Milton shook his head, "The desperation of a criminal," He remarked in disgust.
She ignored him, her eyes locking with a familiar pair of icy blues. She watched him get lifted onto the truck and she rose quickly. "No!" She called out. Milton gripped her shoulder gently while silence spread over the buzz of Officers. "You've got the wrong guy." She remarked sharply.
There was a murmur of disbelief and Audrey slowly walked towards the large police van. Mac was staring at her wide-eyed, his mouth almost dropping open. "He wasn't involved in this," Audrey murmured quietly, "It was him," She pointed at Walter, "And them." She pointed at Devon and Jim's limp bodies in their body bags. "They are Braxton's associates." She called out.
Milton rushed forward, shaking Audrey's shoulders. "You sure Jacks?"
"Positive," She replied, her eyes never leaving Mac's.
Mac's cuffs were removed and he was apologised to briefly. "We'll need statements from all four of you." Milton informed before he beckoned to his crew, "Take him to the Station, so we can charge him." He gestured to Walter absently.
"No!" Walter screamed, "He was involved too! He's been involved for years."
"He also killed Sheriff Pratt," Mac added. In which Walter released a loud outcry of protest, "Look who's going to the state prison now Walter," Mac replied cruelly.
Walter thrashed against the van, and as the doors closed on him, he cursed Mac to hell. It didn't faze Mac, he knew that he wouldn't see his father for the rest of his miserable life. The charges that were going to be placed against him, were going to make sure he never left his prison cell for a very long time.
Mac glanced quickly at Audrey, he was speechless, entirely unsure of what to say. He hadn't expected her to do this for him, hell, he thought he was done for when the FBI rolled through. He looked at her awe, almost reaching out for her, but she was already distracted by something else. While Milton kept the reporters at bay, replying with a series of "No comment", Audrey crept towards Mitchell who was being prepared to be placed in the helicopter. He was barely conscious now, but he was able to briefly smile towards her. She gave him a crooked wave and kissed his temple gently.
"I'll see you in a bit Mitch," She whispered.
He was placed in the helicopter and Audrey stepped back, her hair whipped around her as the helicopter restarted and slowly rose from the ground. She watched the helicopter leave until it was a small speck in the sky and she could no longer see it. She turned back around, quickly being informed that Mitchell's family knew and was on the way to meet him at the hospital.
She sat back down in the ambulance again, incredibly exhausted while her small wounds were patched up. She closed her eyes as a kind woman from the ambulance crew gently wiped down her face, removing all traces of Jim's blood. There was a slight pause before a new hand came in and started to remove the blood from her face. She opened her eyes quickly, surprised to find Mac crouched in front of her.
"Audrey, what you did. You-" He started.
"I didn't do it for you Mac," She whispered. "I did it for me."
Mac frowned in confusion, he cocked his head to the side curiously. "The last thing I need on my conscious is you rotting in jail. You may have lied to me, kept this whole meth lab a secret, but you saved Mitchell and I. I think that's a fair make up." She murmured.
"Audrey, I never knew you were what Braxton was after. Hell I didn't even know Braxton wanted something other than meth. Walter and Devon never told me nothing, I was just a foot soldier!" He told her. "The last thing I'd want to do is hurt you," He added more quietly.
She stared back at him, "I wanted to kill you," She whispered. Mac blanched with surprise but he kept ridding her of Jim's blood. "When I first found out you were involved, I wanted to do nothing but cry. But when you came into the cave, I wanted to ring your neck Mac. I thought you were-" She trailed off and sniffed.
"I'm glad it's over," Mac mumbled.
"For you maybe," Audrey replied. "But for Regina and Mitchell, it's just the start. She needs serious help and he needs to recover."
Mac stared at her, "And you? What will you be doing?" He asked her.
"I'll be going back to Atlanta, theres really no threat keeping me from there." She replied quietly. Mac looked at her, several emotions flitting through his eyes at one time. He dropped his gaze and nodded.
"You won't be coming back?" He whispered.
She touched Mac's shoulder tentatively, "I've been through a lot Mac, and right now the last thing I want to do is go back to playing house. Right now my main concern is Mitchell and getting that girl help," She pointed over to Regina, "And sorting out my shit in Atlanta." She added quickly.
"And where do I fit into all this?" He asked. "How do you feel about me?"
"I'm so unsure of how I'm feeling right now Mac," She murmured. "I need to go, I need to rethink things through. I need to check on Mitch."
Mac nodded and rose from his crouched position, his face a blank facade. "Will I see you again?" He asked, his voice broke on the last word, but he chose to ignore it. He stared straight at her, and he could see tears pooling in her eyes. She looked away quickly, and took a deep breath.
"I don't know," She whispered and Mac inhaled sharply.