Hi- Another installment. Sorry to continually keep people hanging, but Jack (and thus we) will start to figure out what has/is happening once I get us to a hospital scene in Chapter 5.
::Matty- Personal Office::
Matty growled over the phone, "With all due respect Assistant Director, two of my men just went down apprehending some of the highest ranking members of this gang. A gang, might I add, that has been smuggling weapons through YOUR railyards right under YOUR nose for over six months! Now, you either corporate with Phoenix, or I will make sure a letter from the Vice President himself is ready and waiting for you on your desk by tomorrow morning asking for your resignation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Comprende!"
There was stunned silence on the other end of the line followed by the clearing of a throat.
"Miss Webber, I don't know who you…"
"It's Director Webber, Security Code 591001. Just run my credentials through the national system to confirm damn it."
Matty strategically decided to take this 'conversation' down a notch.
"Look, Assistant Director Caffrey, I do not have time to start from the top of the FBI food chain right now. I called you, because you can provide the most effective ground team in less time than it takes for any other agency to get their people pulled together. If you play this interdepartmental engagement right, we both can come out of this with a pretty solid alliance. You scratch my back I scratch yours. This is your territory David. Help me help you clean these guys out of your gutters."
More silence on the other end.
Matty knew from experience that this type of heavy, pensive pause meant that the balance of the argument was starting to tip in her favor.
So, she waited…..
Finally, AD Caffrey pulled in a deep breath, "Ok Director Webber. I don't know exactly who you are, or why you felt the need to operate in my city without consulting me first, but results from you security check show that you are somehow lightyears above my current clearance. I still don't have the foggiest idea of who or what your organization is, but if you personally come to the field office to get me and my team up to speed…"
The AD trailed off into another tense pause.
"…we can get the ball rolling immediately from this end. But, I WILL NOT put the men and women of this office…"
In a manner that belied her immense relief, Matty interrupted the older man with a curt, but heartfelt, "David, I have no intention of sacrificing your people. I won't lie to you by assuring you full transparency concerning my department, but I will provide you with everything we have on these Armenians. I will NOT leave you or your people blind during this operation."
Matty could hear Caffrey let out a big sigh of acceptance on the other end of the line, "Ok Director Webber, what do you need from me?"
::Matty and Riley-War Room::
Matty burst through the War Room doors.
"Riley, update."
"They got'em Matty. The other two Phoenix ground teams have both Hyak Pertrossian and the second target in custody. I'm waiting on a visual of the second suspect to run for a positive ID."
She then looked up to face her boss.
"And Mac and Jack...'
Matty's eyes instantly burned into Riley's.
"I found them."
It took everything Matty had to not lean against the nearby armchair for support as she absorbed the news.
"About 15 minutes ago, a police cruiser broadcast an ATL after being the first to arrive on scene here at Lower Landing Park."
The hacker's fingers flew over her keyboard as she pulled up a 3D Earth view of downtown St. Paul. She pointed to what looked to be a small river side picnic area just half a mile downstream from the bridge Jack and Mac had had their encounter with Temar.
"The initial description over the radio of the reported victim described Mac to a tee. It sounds like a second victim was located shortly after down by the river's edge here. Both required EMS transport, but no other details were transmitted on the police scanners."
"Can we track where they are being taken?"
Riley nodded, 'Sort of, I have my laptop setup to automatically ping us when any of the nearby hospitals receive admissions matching Mac and Jack's descriptions."
Hope mixed with apprehension crossed Riley's face.
"They're alive Matty. They did it. They survived it."
Matty closed her eyes and nodded, not quite ready to let herself slip into any state of relief quite yet. She needed more information before her worry for her two agents could be alleviated, but that would have to wait.
"What about Temar?"
Riley's face turned hard, "No sign of him yet, living or otherwise."
Matty nodded, "Ok good job Riley."
The Director then began barking orders as she strode briskly towards the War Room's exit.
"I need you to coordinate with Jill for getting the jet prepped. Gather everything you need to operate remotely. We are going to St. Paul to work out of the local FBI field office. I want wheels up in 30."
She then paused at the door's threshold and looked back at her young agent.
"And Riley…Let the Phoenix ground teams know that I want those two Armenian mob sons of bitches tossed into the darkest hole the FBI has on-site. No contact. I'll be doing the interrogations myself."
With that she disappeared down the inner corridors of the Foundation.
::Jack::
His eyes flickered open to the sound of a mechanical wailing. He hadn't meant to close them in the first place. He had tried his damnedest to stay conscious while Mac went to go find help, but he just couldn't do it. His head hurt, his torso hurt, his whole being hurt and he had eventually passed out in exhaustion.
Where was he now?
Someone to his right (not Mac) was speaking to him.
He blinked a few times trying unsuccessfully to decipher what was being said. The best he could do at the moment was let out a muffled, "What?..ugh..::cough::...Where…..?"
Damn. He had an oxygen mask on.
Jack reached up in an attempt to pull it away.
Immediately, a light feminine hand gently stopped his progress.
His eyes followed the hand up to the sleeve of what looked to be an EMT uniform. As he continued to follow the arm up towards its owner, he could see a distinctly female face. It was in fact an EMT, and a pretty brunette one at that.
Ah, he was in an ambulance.
With a calming voice, the gal requested that he please not remove the mask. She then looked sternly towards another individual to Jack's left. The other person (again not Mac) was saying something gruffly to the EMT. Jack tried to bring the other man's image into focus. He was definitely male, maybe in his late forties. He had a badge and was dressed in the typical navy uniform of a street duty cop.
Where was Mac?
Again, the officer hovering over him said something. Jack could just barely make out what it was.
"He might be our only witness. I need to talk to him now! We don't know what happened here, who the other patient is, or whether or not there might be other people involved. If he doesn't make it we have nothing!"
The EMT scowled at the officer, but after a few moments abdicated to the older man's position.
She leaned over Dalton.
"Mister, you've been in an accident at the bridge. Do you know your name?"
Jack moved to lower his mask again, this time with no interference.
He tried to breathed deeply and with a scratchy voice replied, "Dalton, Jack Dalton."
The officer leaned in closer, clearly eager to start some sort of interrogation.
"The other man. The blonde, in his late 20's. Did he do this to you?"
Dalton frowned confused, "No, he's with me."
Again another gruff question, "What is his name?"
Dalton didn't understand the line of questioning, "MacGyver. He is my partner."
Why wouldn't Mac have already told them his name? In fact Jack was surprised that Mac wasn't actually in the ambulance with him. His boy was stubborn as a mule and would have kicked and brayed his way into that vehicle come hell or high water to prevent Jack and him from being separated.
"Where…..where is Mac?"
The officer shot a hesitant glance at the EMT causing Jack to feel the first twinge of anxiety.
The officer looked at the patient again, "Jack, you have sustained a severe cut to your abdomen not consistent with a simple fall from a bridge. Do you know how you got this injury?"
Simple fall from a bridge? What the hell. There was nothing simple about Mac and Jack getting out of that river alive.
"Where is my partner?"
The officer tried again, "Do you know how you got this injury?"
"A guy came at me out of nowhere with something sharp on a…on the bridge. I can't remember what happened after that."
Jack took in another deep breath, "Then Mac….Mac left me to find help. He…."
The officer interrupted, "Can you give me a description?"
It hurt Jack to breathe and he was starting to become agitated.
"No. Came out of nowhere. Didn't see a face. Where's my partner? Where…::breath in::...where is Mac?"
Again there were glances exchanged that conveyed some deeper meaning that Jack didn't understand. A tightness now gripped his chest that was starting to build into a vice-like grip. Jack knew this feeling as fear. Pure unmoderated fear.
"Tell me where my partner is."
Some alarm began to sound off to Jack's right causing the EMT to launch into a series of movements that Jack could only see out of his peripheral vision.
"Where's Mac?"
This was real fear. Mac had looked like death as the young man had bent over him talking by the river side. Trying to calm him- Jack the Delta, Jack the protector. He hadn't even checked to see how hurt his partner actually was. Aside from the blood running down the side of Mac's face, he had seemed on top of things, sharp and clear headed. Jack remembered telling the young genius that he'd be ok. That no matter what happened, Mac would be ok. Why wouldn't these people tell him that Mac was ok?
He could hear people arguing above him.
"Where is Mac?!"
Jack's mind started to spiral. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. He didn't understand how this could be happening.
All his anger and fear finally broke through to the surface as the ex-Delta screamed, "WHERE…IS…MAC!"
There were now multiple alarms going off in the small compartment.
"He's too agitated! He's going into shock! Get out of the way and stay back. No more questions!" shouted the brunette.
A prick in his neck was the last thing he felt before something sluggish in his veins carried him down into darkness.
To be continued...
Next chapter will start tying together a more coherent timeline for Jack. Poor guy, gets shanked, drowned, left, and he barely knows what happened.