Not by blood, but by fire and water

Chapter 10

Jack!" Mac yelled, feeling utterly helpless to do anything for his brother, but relieved beyond words that he was still here with him.

Jack, with his eyes squeezed shut, was trying to gain control over the pain and his breathing. He opened his eyes and looked at the knife pinning his arm to the chair. "Oww," he breathed raspily.

"Are you okay?" Mac questioned, knowing how dumb it sounded, under the circumstances.

Jack half chuckled and answered with "I've been better, but could be worse." Regretting his reply when he saw Mac grimace reminding him how close he came to losing his partner. He looked back to the dagger in his arm, it was nearly touching the zip tie! "This is really gonna suck, kid, but I think I might be able to get loose."

Mac looked at him somewhat confused.

Jack steeled himself for the gruesome job ahead, he just hoped he wouldn't pass out. He lifted his hand bending it back as far as the tie allowed, simultaneously pulling his arm towards his body. "Aaaaaarrrrr!" he growled, as he felt the sharp slicing burn of the blade cut through his flesh. Sweat beaded on his brow and his whole body shook from pain and exertion.

His brain screamed at him to stop, but his will to get them out of this hell overrode the command. The knife was halfway through the thick plastic when he heard Mac saying his name over the roar of blood rushing in his ears.

"Jack stop!" Mac said pleadingly, concern etched on his bruised face. "No can do, bud. We are getting out of here," Jack panted, not bothering to look up.

"You're losing too much blood!" Mac replied, staring horrified at the blood steadily dripping from the armrest. Jack looked to his friend, "Almost through, brother, then you can fix me up, okay?" Mac didn't like it, but he knew this was probably their best chance of escape.

With his teeth clenched and eyes squinted, Jack pulled up and back on the zip tie as hard as he could manage, until it snapped and fell to the floor in a small puddle of Jack's blood. He let himself take a few deep breaths, before he continued, in hopes of quelling the nausea that had presented itself.

He still had to get the knife out of his arm, which hadn't budged yet.

His hand shook and he couldn't feel his fingers, but he was spurred on by thoughts of freedom and killing the sadistic bastard who had held them captive and tortured them for the last three days.

In order to get more leverage Jack raised his right arm slowly up the blade to the hilt, took a couple quick breaths and pulled back, holding his breath and with his eyes opened to little more than slits, he pulled. The knife wound was now twice as wide as it was when Sinclair had shoved it in there. All the sudden the dagger shifted in the direction Jack was pulling. Jack let out a relieved somewhat hysterical breathy chuckle.

He knew that Sinclair would be back soon and it would be over for Jack and Mac if he didn't get the blade out before then, he didn't have time to take a break. Just thinking about Sinclair turning his fiendish attention on his brother gave Jack a sudden burst of hell-bent urgency. He pushed his arm forward, and let loose a strangled high pitched moan. The knife moved a little easier this time. Two more times back and forth and the knife was free from the chair.

Not wasting any time Jack brought the handle to his mouth and gently bit down, then he lowered his arm sliding it off the blade. He rolled his eyes and one last muffled moan escaped his lips. Finally his arm was free!

He gingerly reached up, his joints stiff from the lack movement. He tried grasping the hilt, but his fingers weren't obeying the command. He could still move his thumb and forefinger, so he gripped it the best he could, letting go with his teeth.

The agents looked to the door when they heard movement and voices outside of it. They looked at each at the same time each sharing a wide eyed nervous look. "If you could hurry this up, it would be appreciated, Man." Jack cut the zip tie holding his left hand and passed the weapon over to his good arm. Reaching over to Mac he slid the blade under his forearm and sliced through the thick plastic with ease. Mac took the knife from his partner and cut his other arm free then his legs. Mac quickly dropped to the floor and cut his friend's legs loose.

Jack cradled his right arm protectively against his chest, gravity pulling the stream of blood along his arm and dripping off his elbow.

His number one priority was to stop the bleeding, Jack couldn't afford to lose more of the vital substance. Mac looked around the room for anything to use as a bandage. He spotted what was left of Jack's shirt lying in a heap in the corner. It may not be very sanitary, but it should slow the bleeding. He grabbed it and tore it into two large squares and three strips. The large squares he folded and placed over the entry and exit wounds then tied them firmly into place with the strips.

Mac kept glancing up at him worriedly while he worked bandaging his arm. "I'm gonna be fine, brother," Jack said.

"You look like you are about to pass out," Mac said, unconvinced. They both jerked their heads to the door, hearing noises outside again.

Mac scrambled to the torture table, scanning the contents in full Macgyver mode. Jack stood as quickly as his body allowed and picked up the knife Mac had left on the floor in front of him. The voices got louder.

To be continued…