Do you take prompts for your writing as I have had the same thing going round my head for days. So the team don’t trust Mac not to go rogue & join Codex, so they put him in protective custody. Last time we saw Mac in protective custody he got out of the room pretty quickly. Was thinking how would you keep him in one place - drugging him seems a little boring (not enough angst!) but you could try to restrain him? Maybe put mittens on and then he wouldn’t be able to us his hands? Thoughts?!
Oooh, I like it!
I would go for MAXIMUM ANGST and have *both* happen. Russ is so convinced Mac’s turned traitor, and he’s also well aware of what he’s capable of, that Russ calls Mac into a meeting under false pretenses - to check on his welfare. After all, Russ has had serious doubts for a while now, and the whole incident with The Merchant in the fake prison has only made them worse. Russ doesn’t like that he can’t tell where the act ended and the real Mac started. They’ve got a big Codex mission coming up, one that could put an end to the group, and Russ can’t run the risk of Mac blowing it. So yeah, he calls him into a meeting, says he just wants to talk after how hard everything’s been for Mac lately. He pours out a couple of glasses of water, surreptitiously lacing Mac’s with a sedative. They talk, Mac tries to convince Russ he’s wrong, but the more water he drinks, the stranger he’s feeling. Heavy. Thoughts too slow. And then it dawns on him.
Russ has drugged him.
Mac falls back against the sofa in the war room. Russ crouches down at his side, telling him this is for the best, that Codex is dangerous and they can’t run the risk of Mac leaking critical intel. Mac wants to argue back, but the drug’s taken hold now. He can’t speak. His vision’s fading. The last thing he sees is the door to the war room opening.
It all goes black.
When he wakes up, he has no idea how much time has passed. He’s on a bed. His head still feels too heavy with the aftermath of the sedatives. He sits up, vision clearing. He’s in one of the Phoenix’s holding cells. He reaches for his aching head.
Soft cotton touches his face. He looks down and sees his hands encased in mittens. Out of the sleep fog clouding his mind, he realizes he can’t move his fingers.
He’s trapped.
Which means his friends, his family, are out there alone.
And it’s Russ’ paranoia to blame. Looking up, he sees Russ standing on the other side of the glass, watching him.
“Let me go,” Mac says.
Russ shakes his head. “You have to trust me. This is for your own protection.”