Hey, guys! So this is my first fanfic, like... EVER... so please go easy on me :P. I'd love any sort of reviews you guys have to offer and please if the formatting isn't right or something, can you tell me? This is my first time posting here and so I'm not all familiar with everything. Constructive criticism would be awesome along with what you guys think of the story! I'm expecting some Mac whump and possible Jack whump so be prepared! Will be a multi-chapter fic (not sure how long yet!). I just wanted to post the first chapter to see if I get some good reviews and should continue or not. Tell me what you think! :)

Chapter 1

Mac was running out of air, and fast. He couldn't hold his breath forever and it didn't help that 5 other guys were surrounding him, all ready to beat him to death. Behind him was the already unconscious girl. He'd given her his DIY pop bottle gas mask but it wasn't going to do her much good if he couldn't get them both out soon. And where in the world was Jack at?

One of the men began to approach, his own gas mask obscuring most of his features. Mac curled his fists and balanced on the balls of his feet, readying himself for an attack. It was stupid, really, and he knew that any attempt to fight these men off was going to be unsuccessful. A single punch in the gut and he would be a goner; the second he breathed in the deadly fumes he'd pass out in a matter of minutes. But he wasn't going to give up without a fight. If he could buy himself a little bit more time maybe Jack would show up and he'd have a chance of escaping.

The man took a swing and Mac blocked it, quickly ducking to avoid another punch thrown from a man behind him. The two goons nearly collided and Mac took this opportunity to duck beneath them. Muted cussing came from behind the men's gas masks and they turned, only to see Mac attempting to fight off three of the other goons. He was throwing punches wildly, but his lips were pursed and jaw clenched in an obvious effort to resist drawing in a breath that would most certainly kill him. His lungs were on fire, but he knew that the pain was far less worse than what he'd experience if he took a breath.

Mac lost the fight all too quickly when he attempted to block a punch too late. The man's fist pounded into his gut and Mac involuntarily opened his mouth to take a breath. He was met by an icy burn that began to fill his lungs. He broke out coughing and wheezing, his vision suddenly blurring. Whether it was the fumes or the sheer pain that was making him faint, he didn't know. What he did know was that if he didn't get fresh air soon, he was dead.

If he hadn't been struggling to take in every single breath, he might've laughed at the whole stupid situation. Of course, it was his own dumb luck that would get him killed in the very room he had gassed. Who knew the bad guys would have gas masks with them? What were they planning on doing with the girl anyway?

The men started to approach the girl, leaving Mac to suffocate, knowing that in a matter of minutes he'd lose consciousness and shortly after he'd be dead. There was no need to shoot him or beat him anymore; the fumes would take care of him soon enough. Their main priority was the girl, not some government agent who had tried to stand in their way.

The largest of the men, Walton, scooped up the girl's unconscious body, cradling her in his arms. The rest of the men began to file out of the room, not even bothering to glance back at the dying agent who was desperately clinging to a metal post, coughing and wheezing.

That was their first mistake.

Mac was losing consciousness quickly, but he wasn't dead yet. He whipped out his Swiss army knife, pulling out the blade and gripping it tightly in his fist. He didn't generally resort to weapons like knives or guns, but he was low on options now and injuring his enemy was probably his only chance of getting out alive at this point.

Mac lunged at the men, taking them by surprise, and his blade buried itself into Walton's back. The man screamed in agony and dropped the limp body of the girl onto the floor. He whipped around, fists searching for a target. Mac attempted to duck down but his movements were already sluggish and clumsy. Walton's fist connected easily with his gut, catapulting him against the wall. Mac tried to cry out but he was met by a fit of coughing instead. He crumpled against the wall, black spots floating through his vision. Actually, 'floating' wasn't really the right word; the spots were punching him, so hard that he had to squeeze his eyes shut just to ward off the pain. But even through his semi-conscious state, Mac heard the gunfire and the sound of the men falling around him.

Jack had finally shown up.

Mac forced his eyes open, coughing and wheezing, searching for the girl. She wasn't far from him. He threw her arm around his neck and started to crawl, dragging her limp body behind him. He wanted so desperately to take her gas mask off and use it, but he didn't know how much of the fumes the girl had already breathed in before he had gotten to her; he couldn't risk permanently damaging her lungs or brain.

Instead, he focused on getting to the door. 5 more feet. 3. 2. He was only seconds from getting outside. He could already taste the fresh air when he felt Jack's arms around him, pulling him and the girl from the room. The bright sun blinded him, but he welcomed it gratefully as he heaved in gulps of fresh air. The air burned his throat and lungs but either way, it felt amazing. Consciousness slowly returned and the world came into focus. Jack was leaning over the girl, removing her makeshift gas mask that Mac had hurriedly made while sneaking worried glances back at Mac who was coughing and gagging, attempting to steady himself as he stood up.

"Mac, please tell me you didn't kill her," Jack teased as he gingerly removed her gas mask. Mac shook his head and grinned, stumbling over to where Jack was crouched. The girl was breathing normally; the only signs of what happened was a small gash on her forehead which was most likely from Walton dropping her. She was going to be perfectly fine once she regained consciousness. She was already starting to stir.

"I think she'll be just fine," Mac mused. He plopped down as the adrenaline slowly wore off and exhaustion started to take a hold. "Now can I ask why it took you so freakin' long to get here?"

Jack squinted and turned to Mac, shielding his eyes his with hand. "Long? I was here in under ten minutes!" Mac opened his mouth to complain but Jack quickly shushed him with the finger point. "And let me tell you this: getting here in that kind of time was like a record cause I was nearly halfway across town!"

Jack beamed with pride but Mac just stared, jaw dropped and visibly unimpressed. He leaned his head back against the brick wall and snorted. "So maybe you'd like to relay that information to me next time before I gas a room full of bad guys and run in with a homemade gas mask. Riley told me that you said you'd be here in a couple of minutes."

Jack frowned. "Well, I forget about the construction on the bridge so it took me an extra four minutes. Unless, of course, you'd have preferred I ran over the nice construction workers who, by the way, were not impressed when I drove through their road block."

Mac just laughed. More than anything, he was happy he wasn't dead yet.

Jack quickly turned his attention back to the girl. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she reached up for her head, fingering the gash that was trickling blood down her face.

"Wha-?" she began, then she took sight of Jack and shrunk back, opening her mouth to scream.

"No, no, no, no!" Mac hissed, jumping into her line of sight. She relaxed suddenly when she saw Mac.

"How..?" She glanced around the alleyway, taking in the smoking room and the motionless bodies of her captors. "Last I remember the whole room was filled with some sort of smoking bomb and he came in. I couldn't breathe." She pointed at Mac.

Jack jabbed his thumb back at Mac. "Yeah, well, this pinhead's got a bad habit of playing with funny bombs that nearly kill him in the process. He's just lucky I showed up when I did or he might be like those other goons in there."

Mac chuckled and smacked Jack just hard enough for him to lose his balance in his crouched position. "Sure. Sure," he mumbled. He reached out a hand to help the teen to her feet. "We've got to get back to headquarters and get this all sorted out."

The girl took his hand and got up, swaying on her feet slightly and holding her head.

" Sorry. My head's kinda foggy," she murmured.

Mac smiled sympathetically. His own head was pounding mercilessly. "Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized, waving his hand towards the smoking room. "It's the only diversion I could think of at the time."

The trio headed back towards the black Mercedes waiting at the curb. Matty, Riley, and Bozer were sure to be waiting for them when they got back.