Chapter Text
Part 4 of the Fire and Rain Series
Walk On
Chapter 1
Mac, Bozer, Leanne and Riley walked into the War Room where Desi was waiting.
"Where's Matty?" Mac asked.
"No idea." Desi shrugged from her place in the chair, standing as their boss came in.
Matty closed the door and frosted the windows.
"I received word at 0715 of a raid taking place in the Alps." Matty put it on screen.
"It was believed the compound belonged to Tiberius Kovac."
"Belonged to? As is past tense?" Mac asked.
"It exploded earlier this morning." Matty answered.
"So Kovac is dead? Jack can come home!" Bozer grinned.
"Matty?" Mac looked at his boss closely when she didn't reply.
"The task force breached the compound...it exploded seconds later." She shook her head and looked at Mac, "All hands were lost...Jack...Jack led the team that breached it." She blinked back tears.
"Search and retrieval?" Desi fell back to her military training mode.
"It's still too hot to get inside...there won't be any bodies recovered...just ashes."
Kovac rigged it, he waited for them to come, lured them there, something, then blew it up. He killed them, Mac thought.
"Jack's dog tags?" Riley asked.
"He wasn't wearing any." Matty told her.
"Can we have a memorial?" Bozer asked softly.
"Of course." She nodded.
"I need to call my mom." Riley said and rushed out followed by Leanne after a nod from Matty.
Riley found a quiet corner and broke down.
"I can't believe he's gone." She sobbed as Leanne held her.
"I didn't know him very long...or well but he made me feel included." Leanne said.
"When you were in, you were in, but if you did anything to hurt someone he loved you really had to work to get back on his good side. Like my dad did." Riley wiped her eyes with a watery smile.
"Somehow he always made his way past my defenses then disappeared. I was so mad at him. I didn't want to let him back in. The big jerk. But he did it again." Riley cried.
"What would he tell you now?" Leanne asked.
"Everybody has a finite time on this earth and you gotta make it count." Riley wiped her eyes again.
"Did he make his life count?"
"He packed a lot into his life. Touched me, Mac, Bozer, Desi, Matty..."
"Then remember that."
"I will." Riley hugged her, "I need to call my mom."
Leanne nodded and gave her privacy.
Bozer found his girlfriend looking out the window.
"Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that?" She replied turning to him.
"Jack has just...it's like he's always been in my life but it's only been like seven years really." Bozer answered.
"I remember the first time Mac told me about him...they were not fast friends.
" 'Loud mouth knuckle dragger', that's what Mac called him.
"Jack saved Mac's life then Mac saved his and the whole Wookie life debt started."
"Have arrangements been made?" Riley asked coming over to them.
"They were discussing everything when I came to check on you guys." Bozer answered.
"I'll call you back when we know Mom, okay? I love you too." Riley hung up and they headed back into the War Room.