::Mac::
Mac's chest was so tight from running and likely a bit of panic that he didn't think he could mouth-out a complete sentence. Despite this, he tried his best to keep the War Room informed of his status.
"Matty, I lost visual after Jack crested the top of the overpass. Riley…::catching of breath:: do you have him?"
"There aren't any cams on the bridge Mac, I'm trying to switch to DOD's satellite network."
Mac continued his sprint forward when suddenly his heart seized at the sound of a women's scream some distance ahead.
As the young agent finally approached the lee side of the bridge, he could see a ripple of pedestrians begin to scatter away from a point along the footpath. The source of the disturbance was a tall man in a long dark peacoat standing over the supine form of a clearly injured second individual. As Mac continued to draw closer, he recognized the form on the pavement to be none other than Jack.
"Jesus, Matty. Jack's down!"
His earpiece cracked as Matty's voice came through, "Mac, what the hell happened? The fence has a visual on Temar currently coming off Wabasha onto Harriet. Why is Jack down?"
Mac's mind was spinning both from a lack of oxygen as well as shock as he continued to run straight towards his partner's position.
"Matty, this whole thing is wrong. Something is wrong!"
As his long runners strides brought him closer to his friend he noticed that the nearby civilian was unnaturally cool considering all the chaotic hysteria that had begun to spread from one by-standard to another as they fled the scene.
It was then that he realized what felt so wrong. There was a pair of box cutters loosely gripped in the man's hand. Both it and the sleeve of the peacoat were soaked through with a slick deep burgundy color. All the pieces finally came together as Mac realized that the tall, dark haired man was covered in what was most likely the blood of his his friend.
"Oh God, that isn't Temar on Harriet Matty. He's here. He's on the bridge. This whole thing was a coordinated ambush."
Riley's voice was filled with strain as she reported, "Satellite is up. We have visual."
Mac could hear her nearly sob at what she no doubt was now witnessing on the War Room's big tactical screen.
"Jack? Jack respond. Come on big guy. You're scaring us dude. Jack this is Riley, respond."
Mac was now close enough to see how ghostly pale the ex-delta had become.
"Matty, get a medic team together, Jack's been…No!"
Mac could faintly hear Matty in the background giving orders. Whether they were meant for him or some sort of exfil coordination, he didn't know. All he could focus on was the dark man, the real Temar, bending down to grab Jack's impossibly still form and dragging him towards the railing.
Mac shouted again in an attempt to distract the assassin from the task he was determined to carry out, "Stop! Negotiate! Getseer! Getseer!"
He wasn't going to make it. God, he wasn't running fast enough to make it. Nothing seemed to deter the Armenian's methodical movements.
If Mac could just make it 20 more strides.
Please don't let this happen. Not to Jack.
Now only 10 more strides until he could end this nightmare.
At only 5 strides away from his partner, Mac was helpless to prevent Temar from hoisting Jack onto the edge of the handrail and releasing him into thin air.
Mac's world collapsed even as his feet continued to carry him forward.
He was only vaguely aware of orders being screamed through his coms. Strangely, the only thing Mac could hear was a voice in his head whispering something. Something important. What were the words? He forced his mind to clear away everything in the world around him and simply began to focus on the five words repeating over and over in his head.
Neutralize the target, save Jack.
Neutralize the target, save Jack.
Neutralize the target, save…
The force of the collision was crushing as he carried his left shoulder up into the surprised Armenian's solar plexus. Mac could hear ribs cracking under his advance. A small grunt escaped the man's lips as the blonde continued to push up and forward with everything he had.
Abnormally strong hands clawed at Mac's leather jacket, while feet kicked out trying to gain some sort of purchase to no avail. Temar's eyes widened as he realized that the young American he was clinging onto for dear life was, much like himself, in no way anchored to solid ground. They were both air born.
Mac had made damn sure that physics was going to win this fight.
::Mac::
As Mac sensed gravity take hold, he felt oddly calm. Neither of the men made a sound as they both fell towards the water's surface. A sense of control washed over the young agent as his brain instantly snapped into analysis mode.
'Task #1 Find landmarks along the shore in case you survive the fall. Orientation is going to be key.'
'Task #2 Mark the location of the ripples where Jack hit. Assuming a current around 3 knots, I'll have to swim approximately 60 feet to the north east to reach him.'
'Task #3 With my body weight, falling from a height of 49 meters means the force of impact is going to be…'
The first wave of fear finally hit Mac. On pure instinct he reached out to the flailing Temar and tucked him in close during the last few seconds of the fall.
'I will drown you myself if we both survive this' was the last thought Mac had before he used the larger man to cushion the force of impact.
Decided to just go ahead and get this chapter out. More to come. Thanks guys!