A/N Thank you all so much (again!) for your wonderful, wonderful reviews! What a way to start, endure, and end my day! You guys ROCK! :-D This is my first time trying to capture the voices of the CSI team... I hope it works! And, of course, Special Thanks to Gib and Ridley C. James for their invaluable help! :-D

CHAPTER NINE

"Nothing useful from ballistics," Nick told his former supervisor, who was studying him from the other side of the desk. "I'm about to check some prints from the van with A.F.I.S. but from what Mac tells me about this guy—"

"You need to follow the evidence, Nick. The second you get too emotional, mistakes get made, evidence gets missed." Gil Grissom gazed up at his protege from his seat, still able to picture when Nick had first joined the team seven years earlier. He'd grown a lot since then, but occasionally had to be reminded to think like a scientist when working on particularly heartbreaking cases. Still, Gil couldn't deny his own curiosity at the young agent's well-being. "How's your new friend?"

Nick glanced over his shoulder, past the specimen jars and shrunken heads, his gaze finding MacGyver sitting in the hallway, knee bouncing with a mixture of impatience and anxiety. "He's holdin' up okay, I think. But from what Jack told me in his letters, this kid is used to compartmentalizing. So, he could just be pushing everything aside until it's safe to feel it. To see his own father killed like that…"

Grissom vaguely heard Archie and Ecklie argue about something as they passed by his office but was too focused on Nick's current state of mind to pay the dispute any attention. "Letters?" he probed.

Turning back to face the night-shift supervisor, Nick had a small smile on his face. "Yeah, Jack used to write me when he was over in Afghanistan. He wrote his folks, too, but he had to censor those letters quite a bit, so as not to scare Auntie Viv with what was really happening around him. Gris, man, it was really bad over there and this kid was Jack's one shining light in a world filled with a whole lotta darkness."

"That's where they met? In Afghanistan?"

When he looked back into the hall, Nick's eyes filled with concern as he watched the blond genius become increasingly antsy. While he continued talking about the letters, the young CSI was completely oblivious to being studied in the same manner by his mentor. "Jack said, before that, he'd never known how much devotion he could feel towards one person. All he wanted to do was protect him from every bad thing in the world."

"I know how he feels," Gil said quietly, gaze still locked on Nick.

Nick spun back around, peering at Grissom with a now inquisitive gaze. Head cocked to the side, he said, "You do?"

Shaking his head with fondness, Gil stood, gathering his paperwork together before joining Nick on the other side of the desk. "So, tell me, Nick - how are you holding up?"

"Me? I'm fine. MacGyver's the one who we need to be worried about. I don't know what he'll do, if we don't find—"

"Just as MacGyver is Jack's responsibility," Grissom cut in. "You, are mine."

"Gris—"

"Jack is your cousin, Nick. And the two of you are pretty close from the sounds of it—"

The faint chirping of a phone had Nick's attention snapping back to the hallway; Gil followed his line of sight.

Mac sat in a glass walled hallway, feeling much like a fish in a proverbial fishbowl. The cushions and chrome arms of the chair did nothing to quell his need to keep moving as his knee bounced in beat with his pounding heart.

They were wasting time. He wanted nothing more than to get up and leave but, if Nick was right and this team would be willing to help, then he owed it to Jack to stick around for a little bit longer. He watched through the window as Nick spoke with a slightly older man sitting in an office which appeared to be filled with rather odd paraphernalia. The specimen jars and framed insects actually reminded MacGyver of Jimmy Hampton, one of his roommates from M.I.T.

He'd only been in that dorm room for a couple weeks before requesting a transfer to a different room. He had nothing against Jimmy. But waking up from one of his frequent nightmares to find a tarantula who'd escaped from it's Plexiglas enclosure had taken up residence on his pillow was just a bit too much for Mac to endure.

Thankfully, Jimmy hadn't taken offense. In fact, to this day, they still chatted once every few months.

"The object of the game is to make it to Uncle Jesse's farm without running into Roscoe."

MacGyver's ears perked at the odd statement coming from one of the rooms a few doors down from where he was sitting. All he could see were labs, and everyone inside the labs appeared to be working. So, the conversation he was overhearing must've been taking place in the one room without glass walls which lay to his right. The door was open slightly, allowing for the voices from inside to carry a bit.

Mac had grown up watching old reruns of The Dukes of Hazard with Bozer. Before he was able to catch any further snippets of nostalgia, a slightly balding man in a suit navigated the hallway, seemingly on his way home for the night. He stood out because, to the best of MacGyver's recollection, he was the only one he'd seen wearing a tie. As Mr. Suit passed by, he discussed budgeting constraints with a much younger man in a hoodie.

Unable to break old habits, Mac looked at each ID badge filing their names away for future reference. The suit's name was Conrad Ecklie; the younger guy's ID said Archie Johnson.

"Come on, you can't un-fund me now," Archie protested, as they rounded the next corner, moving away from Mac. "I'm committed to presenting the paper at SWAFS next month."

They were out of MacGyver's field of vision now, but he could still hear Conrad Ecklie's response: "If it means that much to you, pay your own way. Show a little dedication to your discipline."

Ecklie went on to lecture Archie about how some guy named Grissom puts his own money into his passions. A moment later, Mac watched the young man in question come back around the corner. He nodded hello to MacGyver as he passed. Mac nodded back. He didn't really feel like chatting and must have put off that vibe because, although the guy appeared quite friendly, Archie made no attempt to strike up conversation.

MacGyver knew SWAFS to be the acronym for Southwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, and wondered briefly if Archie would be the one processing the evidence from his father's house. He surprised even himself at how detached he was. But, as much as he hated to admit it, Murdoc had been right about one thing. MacGyver had to stay focused.

As James' only surviving family member, Mac had been the only one available to ID the body, but Nick had managed to have that duty postponed for the time being. His father was dead, there was nothing Mac could do to about that now, and ID'ing his body wouldn't change that fact. But he could still save Jack.

His phone chirped inside his coat pocket. He pulled it out, hoping to see some kind of contact from Riley, but the text on the screen was from a Blocked Number.

'Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques; Dormez-vous, dormez-vous?'

Just as Mac realized it must be from Murdoc, another text popped up.

'You have exactly nine hours.'

A third text came with another link. Mac closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to fortify himself for what was to come, then tapped the link.

It was another video, this one had Jack playing the lead, though. He was stretched out in a coffin. His eyes were closed, and Mac's breath caught in his chest! No! Jack couldn't be dead; he just couldn't!

Seconds later, the brown eyes slowly opened, as if from a deep sleep. MacGyver watched as Jack tried to sit up, hitting his forehead against the lid of the coffin. Then Jack's gaze became much more alert as he studied the walls surrounding him. A barely contained panic showed in the brown orbs but the former Delta Commando controlled it with practiced skill. Likely knowing who was behind his kidnapping already, Jack would be loath to show any weakness that Murdoc might see. One of the many things Mac and his partner had in common.

Suddenly, the walls around Mac looked far too much like those around Jack; he felt them closing in on him. An all too vivid memory of his father being shot bounced around in his brain, along with fragments of his nightmare about Jack being swallowed up by the earth. Dropping the phone onto the seat next to him, he quickly lurched to his feet and down the hall, making a hard left into the first Men's room he encountered.

He barely made it into the incredibly clean stall before dropping to his knees on the floor and losing his meager late-night supper into the pristine porcelain bowl. When he was finally done, he rose up on shaky legs and exited the stall… and came up short when he saw Nick leaning against one wall, arms crossed over his chest. Waiting.

"You followed me to the bathroom?" Mac asked, head pounding even worse now. He moved to the sinks to wash his hands, then splashed cold water up onto his face before cupping some into his mouth and spitting it back into the sink. He grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser to dry his hands and face, then tossed the crumpled towels into the trash.

Nick held up Mac's phone, which was still playing the video of Jack in the glass coffin - the countdown revealed 08hrs 55mins remaining. "You dropped something in your 10-meter dash."

Mac took the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "More like seven meters, actually."

"Is this Murdoc guy for real?" the CSI asked, tone coloured with disbelief that someone could be this cruel.

"You have no idea," MacGyver confirmed as they exited the bathroom.

Mac stood across the meeting table from Nick's old boss, Gil Grissom. Also at the table were Warrick Brown, Catherine Willows, and Sara Sidle. The video Murdoc sent of Jack was still on Mac's phone - 08hrs 31mins remaining. His heart breaking for his best friend, MacGyver was unable to take his eyes off the video, until he felt someone else's eyes on him.

It was Grissom. Mac was certain the man was used to having people squirm under his scrutiny—well, if that's what he was expecting from MacGyver, he was going to be sorely mistaken. Mac held the other man's gaze with a confidence he didn't have to fake. He was clearly being tested and Mac never failed tests. In the end, Grissom smiled. Actually, it was more like a smirk, but it was a friendly smirk tinged with approval. Though, approval for what exactly, Mac wasn't entirely sure.

A moment later, Nick came through the door and MacGyver couldn't help the flinch and sudden intake of breath. The guy looked so much like Jack, it was uncanny. Stokes didn't miss the effect either, and canted his head to the side, silently asking if Mac was okay. Instead of answering, Mac averted his gaze, deciding it would be the perfect time to check his phone for any contact from Riley. His concern ratcheted up a few notches, realizing that his friend was continuing to hold her silence. Where was she? he wondered as he quickly navigated back to the video.

"Thanks for coming in," Nick said to Catherine and Warrick. "Cath, I know you were probably spending time with Lindsay."

"Lindsay's at a sleep over tonight. And, even if she wasn't, this is your cousin, Nick," she told him matter-of-factly. "Your family is our family, you know that."

"Yeah," Warrick added. "There's no place we'd rather be."

Nick smiled appreciatively at both of them, then stepped over to the computer keyboard and pulled a map of Nevada up on the large view screen which almost completely covered one wall of the room.

"Greg and Hodges are still processing the evidence from the house," Grissom told Nick. "Did anything come back on the prints you found in the van?"

Mac's head whipped around to face the lead CSI. "We don't need prints," he insisted. "We already know who took Jack."

"Don't mind Grissom, Mac," Nick returned lightly. "He's just a big believer in following the evidence. We all are, actually. It's kinda what we do."

"And the word of a scientist like yourselves doesn't qualify as evidence?" Mac challenged, gaze remaining on Grissom.

"Not really, no," Grissom told him, though not unkindly.

Mac visibly bristled at the lead CSI's words, "Nick was with me when I got the call," he insisted. "Don't you trust him?"

"Of course, we do," Gil continued. "But it's not about trust. This Murdoc character could be behind the kidnapping, but don't you want to know if he's working with someone?"

"You said yourself, this was a contract hit," Catherine cut in. "What if the person who hired him is working alongside him?"

Nodding reluctantly in agreement, Mac conceded, "Then that person's prints would be in the van, as well."

"But Murdoc is our only lead," Nick said. "Archie wasn't able to get an exact location with the trace but he was able to confirm Murdoc was in the state of Nevada when he called you."

"Is that supposed to be good news?" Mac asked. "Nevada is close to 300,000 square miles."

"MacGyver has a point, Nick," Sara added.

Warrick took a sip of his coffee, wincing at the taste. He nodded a thank you to Catherine when she grabbed the sugar and handed it over to him. It sometimes baffled him that she knew him so well—then again, she was a first-class investigator. And a stunningly beautiful one at that.

Surprised at his unintended train of thought, Warrick cleared his throat as he added some more sugar to his coffee. "It's a lot of area to search, man," he told Nick. "And we don't know for sure this guy hasn't changed locations since the time of the call."

But Nick was not going to be thwarted. "No, we don't. But, until the rest of the evidence is processed, it's all we have to go on at this point. Unless…" He turned to MacGyver. "You said Murdoc likes riddles, right? Word play?"

"He pretty much lives for playing on people's emotions with his extravagant games," Mac confirmed.

"Yeah, I've seen his work first hand," Nick said with a sympathetic smile.

"What are you thinking, Nicky?" Warrick asked.

"Well, if we take everything Mac knows, all the things Murdoc has said so far, maybe we can type them into the computer—"

"And find a correlation to narrow our search area," Grissom finished. "Good idea, Nick."

The flush of pleasure Mac saw on Nick's face at Gil's praise told him how important this man's opinion was to the CSI. It made him miss Jack all that much more.

"Mac?" Nick prompted. "Are you ready for this?"

Straightening his back, and effectively firming his resolve, MacGyver nodded. "What do you need to know?"

"Think back to your conversations with Murdoc," Grissom suggested. "Did he say anything out of the ordinary? Anything odd?"

Mac's lips quirked without humour, earning a quizzical glance from everyone else in the room. "Murdoc lives for 'odd'," he explained.

"Sounds like someone we know," Sara teased, locking eyes with Grissom, who pretended to be completely oblivious to her meaning.

"Yeah, well, Murdoc's kind of 'odd' typically ends up with innocent people dying," MacGyver clarified.

"So, what stands out?" Catherine asked.

Mac thought for a moment. "He called me Prince Charming."

Nick quickly typed Prince Charming into the database.

"Prince Charming? And why is that unusual?" Sara queried, unable to deny the fact that MacGyver was quite attractive and she could totally see him being someone's Prince Charming — though, not hers, she thought with a surreptitious glance at Grissom.

"Well, on top of being a sociopathic serial killer," Mac explained, "Murdoc has a classic case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder — "

"And a narcissist would put himself in the lead role of any story," Grissom added, the glint of interest in his eyes telling Mac that he was committed to this investigation, after all. "What else? It doesn't matter how trivial it seems."

"Just before he hung up, he mentioned something about Jack always saying 'don't try anything hinkey'. In the six-plus years that I've known him, Jack has never said that."

"He never said it when we were kids, either," Nick said, adding 'hinkey' to the word search. "He said something about a creek, too, didn't he? And a Swiss Army knife?" he added with a quirked brow.

"Murdoc knows that's my tool of choice. Never leave home without it."

MacGyver grinned slightly at his own bit of wordplay, but Nick couldn't help but notice the smile didn't reach his eyes. Knowing his concern stemmed from Jack's obvious affection for the kid in his letters, Nick tapped the words creek and Swiss Army knife into the computer—and, if anyone noticed he hit the keys a little harder than necessary, they didn't say anything.

"What about the correlation your friend found with the logo on the hat?" Warrick wondered.

"No," Mac said, shaking his head. "That was what led me to Paradise and the van."

"Someone who likes to work with riddles, rarely limits themselves to one meaning per riddle," Grissom advised.

Right. Mac grit his teeth, jaw muscle pulsing, as a self-deprecating anger ran through him. Why hadn't he thought of that? If Jack were there, he'd tell him to get some rest—'Even Brainiacs need their sleep, bud.'

Mac shook himself out of his reverie because Jack wasn't there. And this Brainiac wouldn't be taking any more of his advice until he was there to give it in person!

"There are lots of places called 'Paradise' around here," Catherine added, stepping closer to the screen and peering up at the map. "Whether it's irony or argument against Vegas being called 'Sin City' is anyone's guess."

Warrick began counting off their different options. "Like Mac says, there's Paradise itself, which contains a good portion of the strip. But there's also Desert Paradise Resort; Paradise Road—"

"Not to rain on anyone's parade, but there's also Paradise, California; Paradise, Utah; even a Paradise in the Virgin Islands; and probably close to 30 other places across the continental United States. How do we know Murdoc didn't take Jack to any of those places? Or, worse, overseas?"

"Murdoc likes seclusion, so I doubt it would be anywhere in the downtown core," Mac told Warrick. "And I've been to Paradise, California," he added, turning his gaze to Sara. "At approximately 600 miles from Las Vegas, it's almost ten hours away."

Nick looked up from his map search for Paradise, California. "608 miles, nine hours and 53 minutes. How did you—?"

MacGyver shrugged. "I remember stuff," he said, dismissively as he glanced at the digital countdown on the video. "Anything out of state, or especially out of the country, would negate any chance I'd have at finding Jack—and basically ruin Murdoc's fun." His teeth clenched at Jack's increasing panic as the former Delta Commando's defenses began to wear down. "Half the enjoyment for Murdoc would be having me think I actually had a chance and still failing. The original countdown gave me exactly nine hours to find Jack. We need to find a place within that time and distance."

Nick punched in Paradise Falls, Thousand Oaks, California. "310 miles, four hours and 50 minutes," he said, excitedly. He clicked the mouse a few times and the map showed the route to get there from Vegas.

Grissom eyed Catherine who was still studying the map closely. "You have another place in mind?" he asked.

"Maybe. Everything this guy says and does means something, right? Do we know the name of the person Murdoc stole the van from?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, fingers flying over the keyboard once again as his gaze moved to a smaller monitor directly in front of him.

"Bradley Stonehouse," Mac said. "Riley told me," he explained.

Nick watched closely as Mac averted his eyes from scrutiny. The hacker's continued silence was just another thing that was weighing on MacGyver's mind, and Nick found himself wondering how much more the kid could withstand before cracking completely.

Catherine's grin widened. "That's it. There's a place called Stonehouse Inn up north. Nicky, can you pull up Paradise Valley on a separate map. It's been closed for a while but it used to be a nice B&B." She turned and saw all eyes on her, then shrugged. "Money was tight when Eddie and I first got married, so he used to take me up there for our anniversaries."

Nick pulled the Stonehouse Inn up on a second map. "509 miles, 8 hours estimated travel time." He watched as MacGyver finally set his phone down on the table and stepped closer to the large screen, coming to a stop next to Catherine.

"Can you apply the search criteria?" Mac requested. Clearly, he was seeing something that no one else saw.

"Yeah, give me a second," Nick replied. After a moment, he added, "Prince Charming and Swiss Army knife are the only parameters that don't correlate." Hinkey Summit Road and Big Cottonwood Creek started to glow on the map as the computer revealed the matches within the borders of Paradise Valley.

"That's got to be it," Mac said excitedly. "That's where Murdoc is keeping Jack. We need to get there before he buries the coffin and—"

Grissom had moved to stand over Mac's phone and something in the video caught his eye. "Nick, can you put this video up on the view screen?"

"Sure, Gris," Nick told him quizzically.

"What is it?" MacGyver asked, turning to face Nick's mentor and feeling the knot of dread in his stomach grow exponentially.

Instead of answering, Grissom drew everyone's attention to the large screen.

A collective gasp sounded throughout the room. Mac's eyes filled with barely suppressed tears as the enlarged view of the video revealed the horrible truth. The sides of the coffin that had looked like a dark pine or maple on Mac's phone proved to be glass on the much bigger screen. The soil on the outside of the glass was what had given it the appearance of wood on his phone.

Murdoc hadn't just locked Jack in a casket as a taunting device for Mac—he'd actually buried Jack alive!

Nick's hand gripped MacGyver's shoulder, wincing when the contact elicited a surprised gasp from the younger man. He watched as one tear slipped past the kid's defenses.

"Excuse me," Mac said, stuffing his cell phone back into his pocket and stumbling out of the room and down the hall.

Nick started to follow, only to have Grissom take him by the elbow just a few feet outside the room. The younger CSI whirled to face him. "What — ?"

"I think, maybe he should stay behind for this. We don't know what we'll find out there."

The rest of the team appeared in the doorway behind Grissom. "Gris is right, Nicky. He's too personally involved," Warrick added.

"Aw, come on," Nick argued, incredulity shining in his eyes. "How would you feel if it were me buried alive out there? Would you allow yourself to be sidelined?" His gaze moved from Grissom, to Warrick, to Catherine and Sara. "Would any of you?" Tearing himself free from Grissom's hold, he rushed after MacGyver.

Several minutes later, Nick finally found Mac out on the back patio used by the lab employees for the occasional breaks where they were able to actually step away from their work for a bit. Right then, the patio was empty but for one blond genius who was barely holding himself together, pacing back and forth, shoving his hands through his hair in a way that spoke volumes of the torment brewing inside him.

MacGyver kept his back to Nick while the CSI studied him carefully. "You know," Nick began, "I've been thinkin'. Jack used to write me letters when he was over in Afghanistan." Mac canted his head a bit, watching Nick through the corner of his eye. Intrigued despite himself, but unwilling to face Jack's doppelgänger just then. "He told me that he'd met this kid who looked barely old enough to drive, let alone be dealing with the atrocities that came with a war. Well," he amended with a grin, "he didn't use the word 'atrocities' per se, but that's what he meant."

Mac's laugh came out sounding more like a choked sob. He grit his teeth, defiantly pushing his emotions further down.

The CSI took a hesitant step towards him. "He said, he and this kid became fast friends; and soon enough, the kid came to be like the son he never had. He also said that this kid's painful childhood had created the need for strong walls of defense, the likes of which no war had even seen before. But, see, these walls were built around this kid's heart. Making it so that he didn't trust anybody." Nick took another step closer. "Jack never mentioned any names, mind you; but you and I both know who he was talkin' about." He took Mac gently by the arm and turned the blond around to face him, much like Grissom had done to him only moments before. "Don't we?"

Mac didn't have time for this. He needed to find Jack before it was too late. He made a move to pass Nick, but the CSI inserted himself directly into his path.

"See, Jack has this way of getting past the strongest defenses. Has something to do with his gigantic heart, I think." He reached out, placing a hand gently on Mac's arm. "I'm not tryin' to replace him, Mac. And I'm not even asking you to trust me enough to let me all the way into that little Fort Knox of yours. But you're a ticking time bomb, waitin' to explode, man."

MacGyver was shaking now. His head was pounding so hard, it felt like it would fall from his shoulders any second. He finally made hesitant eye contact with Nick, and his breath caught in his throat again at the uncanny resemblance to Jack. One more tear slipped past his walls. "I have to find him!" he managed to choke out.

"We will," Nick assured him. "But something else Jack told me was that, although the kid he met never carried a gun, he could disarm a bomb like nobody's business. You need to release at least some of the pressure building up inside you, or that explosion is gonna happen at the worst possible time. Maybe even undermining any attempt to save Jack." Watching MacGyver carefully, not wanting to cross any boundaries, Nick took one final step forward, placing his arm around the quaking shoulders and gently pulling Mac close. The kid remained tense in his arms, but he didn't pull away. Nick took that as a win, and a few minutes later, the shaking in the slight frame started to ease bit by bit. Maybe he was actually getting through to him—

And then Mac's phone rang. He pulled away from Nick, embarrassed, averting his gaze once again. Glancing at the cell phone screen he saw that it was Bozer calling back. He accepted the call and put the phone up to his ear. "Bozer, now is not a good ti—" he cut himself off, eyes widening in shock. "Wait, what? When?"

Nick watched as Mac once again pushed a hand through his already mussed hair, turning away from him again as fresh agony formed in his eyes. 'Man, would this kid ever catch a break?'

"Uh, okay, keep me posted okay? Jack and I will get back as soon as we can!" He disconnected the call and locked eyes with Nick. "Riley's car went off the road," he revealed quietly.

"Aw, man! Your hacker friend? Is she okay?"

"They don't know yet. She's in surgery. But it doesn't look good." Mac's mind traveled back of its own accord to the day before when he'd snapped at her for no good reason. Then Murdoc's voice sounded in his head—'Focus, MacGyver. Focus.' Tucking his emotions into a tight little bottle of fortitude, Mac said, "It was a hit and run, Nick."

"An accident?" the CSI asked hopefully.

MacGyver shook his head, pacing away as he tried to process this new turn of events. "There are no accidents when it comes to Murdoc. He must have known Riley was helping me, and took the necessary measures to stop her. Now, she could die." His gaze found Nick again. "Thanks for your help, Nick. But I need to handle the rest of this on my own." Once again, he tried to move past the CSI but Nick banded one muscular arm across his chest, hauling him back to face him.

"No way are you dealin' with this guy on your own!" he said. "Jack is my cousin—"

"Exactly!" Mac insisted. "How would he feel if I got you killed!?"

"Did I not just tell you that he thinks of you as a son?" Nick demanded. "How do you think he'd feel if I let you get killed? He'd never forgive me! Heck, I'd never forgive myself!"

That pulled Mac up short. After a moment, he finally backed down. "Fine," he said. "But just you. I don't want to have to worry about any other deaths ending up on my conscience."

'I cannot do my thing, if I'm worried about losin' you every minute! The last thing I need is your death on my conscience. Don't do that to me. That'd kill me.'

"No one's dyin' today, kid."

Nick's voice yanked MacGyver back to the present. "Yeah," he said, clearing his throat. "Let's go."

TBC

A/N 2 Thoughts? One more chapter after this one, methinks! ;-)