Blood on the Wall

Chapter 4

Jack sat there, head in his hands, still trying to process, what had happened. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up startled to see it was his boss, who glanced at him. Obviously she had said something to him, her lips were moving and Jack had to blink several times to concentrate on her words. Mattys expression was full of concern. Pull yourself together Dalton! She was still speaking, getting more worried by the lack of awareness of her agent. The grip on his shoulder tightened and that physical contact brought Jack back to the present. He gulped.

„Jack. You're scaring me Jack. What's going on? What happened to Mac? Talk to me Jack! Are you alright?" The assault of questions made Jack dizzy. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He heard Matty call for a medic. „No, I'm fine. It's Mac. He ... I don't know how ... he acted strange ... we argued ... I left ... thought he didn't want to work with me any longer ... then I found that glass shard ... bloodied bandage ... I went back to his house and found him ... there was so much blood ... he must have lain there for hours ...he had such a high fever and didn't wake up ... I shouldn't have left him" Jack was totally rattled.

Matty rubbed his arm. „OK Jack, slow down. Take a minute to breathe. Sort your thoughts and start from the beginning." Jack leaned his head back against the wall and tried to slow his rapid breathing. He balled his hands into fists and relaxed them several times unconsciously, an old Delta trick to calm his trembling hands. He vaguely was aware of someone running down the hall and Rileys and Bozers agitated voices, demanding answers. He heard Mattys reply. „Mac's in the ER, they're working on him. Just give Jack a minute to pull himself together. Don't rush him, he'll tell us when he's ready."

An impatient snort was her answer. Riley. Jack had to smile a little. Patience was not one of Rileys strong suits. He took another gulp of air and opened his eyes. Jack ran a hand through his hair and looked at his friends.

„I'm not 100% sure what happened. Mac fell of the ladder yesterday, when we were painting my living room. He crashed into the coffee table, it broke. There was a bottle sitting on the table and I think Mac was hit in the side by a shard of glass. I started checking him out, but he shoved my hands away and seemed to be fine." Jack shook his head. „Hell, we had a good laugh about the mess he'd made, paint running down from his head and everywhere. Mac went to shower and I cleaned up the living room. It took him quite some time, but I didn't think any of it. Damn it! Why didn't I check on him?" Jack jumped up and hit the wall with such force one of the tiles broke.

„Jack!" The scream came from three sides at once. Exhausted Jack leaned his uninjured arm against the wall and buried his head in it. His right arm hang loosely by his side, blood dripping down from his injured knuckles. His hands were still covered with Macs dried blood, so were his clothes. The smell suddenly became overwhelming. Jack turned away and vomitted into the trash bin next to the chairs in the hall. It wasn't the smell itself that made him retch again and again, but the knowledge, that it was his brothers blood. When his stomach was empty, Jack straightened up. He was wobbling, pale and clearly in pain. No wonder throwing up with bruised ribs was hell. Riley steadied him, exchanging worried glances with the others. Nobody had forgotten, that Jack had nearly been killed only two days ago and wasn't fully recovered from the incident. The hacker guided Jack to one of the chairs and forced him down gently, she sat down beside him and pulled him into a hug. „Hey, it's ok Jack. This wasn't your fault. We all know how he is. Don't beat yourself up about it."

Jacks voice was muffled against Rileys shoulder. „But it happened right in front of my eyes. I should have seen it, should have checked him over thoroughly. Let's face it. I didn't do my job. What if I hadn't found that glass shard? He would be dead by now." Jack laughed a humorless laugh. „Do you know how I found it? I was angry and kicked the trash bin in my bathroom and there it was, along with a bloody gauze." The Delta raised his head, tears were running down his face and his expression could only be described as tortured.