MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
Re: MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
This is amazing. I can really see and hear all the characters right in front of me. Thanks a lot for writing and posting! I really enjoy reading your story and am looking forward to the following stories.
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Re: MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
Welcome to chapter 6. After a daring escape above the Himalayas, MacGyver, Sam and Jack ended up in a strange country where they find one of the kids parents and meet the highest placed ruler of the nation. But is he willing to let them leave and have them carry on their assignment? You'll find out below.
(We fade in with the opening music of Mountain of Youth)
Chapter VI
Thimpu, Buthan
From the western sky a tiny dot was floating down on a parachute. It was a blue parachute with a white Phoenix Foundation logo on top of it. The man was steadily steering the parachute to the ground below and like a pro he made his touchdown. The parachute covered him partially during his landing. The man crawled up right from underneath the parachute and it's no one else then MacGyver. He shook his head and took off his parachute. While doing so he looked around to scan his surroundings. He was somewhere in the wilderness surrounded by mountains. He grabbed the parachute and rougly folded it together in a pack, placed his jacket over it and he hid it in a bush near the mountain. When he walked back to where he landed he took out the PDA and shook his head again to get that lock of hair out his eyes. He tapped the screen and went to 'options'. Scrolling down the screen he found the option he was looking for and pressed: 'intiate tracking device.' (The music becomes more mysterious)
A beeping sound was heard and on his screen a compass appeared with a blinking white dot pointing north of where he was. The white dot made a continous beeping sound. MacGyver started to make way to the white dot, when another white dot appeared that also seemed to becoming down from the sky, not too far from the first white dot. It was on his way so he just continued down the path he took. He kept following the PDA tracking device and after a five minute walk he saw a familiar face... hanging in a tree. MacGyver placed his hands in his sides and with a smile he studied the person hanging there. (The music fades away here)
'Hey, Jack.'
'Hey, Mac.'
'What are you doing up there?'
'What does it look like I'm doing up here?'
'Hanging?'
'Egg-xactly.'
MacGyver tried to keep back his laugh but barely couldn't.
'You're going to help me out there, or what?'
'Just a moment. I want Sam to see this.'
From his right he heard a faint voice yelling. 'Heeeeeey!'
MacGyver looked at where the sound came from and saw Sam carrying his parachute and waving at them. MacGyver waved back and signaled him to come closer. Sam walked up to them.
'Check it out,' MacGyver said.
Sam chuckled when he saw Jack hanging in the tree. 'I got to take a picture of this.'
Sam took out his camera.
'Come on, Jack, give us a smile,' MacGyver said.
Jack grinned in the camera and Sam took the picture.
'Now, MacGyver, get me down from here, I'm getting dizzy.'
'Alright, alright. Just let me get up there.'
MacGyver climbed into the tree and noticed that the parachute was torn up and the lines were tangled up pretty good in the branches.
'You know, Jack, you're tangled up pretty good here,' he said while getting in a good position to cut the lines.
'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just take out that trusty knife of yours and cut me loose. I've been hanging here for ten minutes now.'
MacGyver took out his Swiss Army Knife and started to cut the lines.
'Be careful, Mac, you know I have a tender body.'
MacGyver stopped cutting and looked at Jack from up top. 'Just one more.'
'And watch my head!' Jack yelled.
At exactly that moment MacGyver cut the last one sending Jack down.
'Wooohooooo, oeh!'
'Touchdown!' Sam cheered.
'Give me a hand.'
Sam helped Jack up while MacGyver jumped out of three.
'Now, wasn't that a fun party?' Jack asked.
'It sure made me feel alive,' Sam said. 'What about you, dad?'
'Danger is my middle name,' MacGyver replied.
'Mine's Angus.'
'So what do you think happened to them?' Jack asked.
'We dumped the fuel on them and bailed out,' MacGyver said. 'What do you think?'
'They crashed?'
'Maybe. I think we're rid of them for now but I don't think they're dead yet. Murdoc survives everything.'
'So where are we?' Sam asked.
'I don't know yet,' MacGyver said, 'but we were flying east. And we haven't flown that long either. If I retrace back our steps and if I remember my geography classes well, I think we're in Buthan.'
'This is where Anonda came from.'
'Right.'
'So, where do we go from here?' Jack wanted to know.
'Well, if I look at the PDA, we're near the capital of Thimpu. I'd say we scout out.'
MacGyver, Sam and Jack started to work their way to Thimpu.
'Dad, do you think we'll find Anonda's parents here?'
'I don't know. We found everyone else, why not them?'
'You're right. Interesting, we ended up here. Anonda is about the only one who didn't cause trouble at the camp so far.'
'Mac, why don't you contact Pete from that thing and tell them to send James with a plane, so we can get out of here?' Jack wondered.
'As long as we're here, we might scout out the place. From as soon we found a place to stay, I'll contact Pete.'
As they walked through the wilderness, MacGyver got this uneasy feeling they were being watched. Sam noticed this. 'What is it, dad?' (Tense music comes up)
'I don't know,' he said and looked at the trees. 'I feel like we're being watched.'
Sam and Jack looked at the trees. 'I don't see anything.'
'Neither do I,' Jack said.
'Ssshhh,' MacGyver said and pointed his finger to a treetop. 'Right there.'
Jack and Sam followed his finger and saw indeed movement in the trees.
'If there is one there then the other or others must be...'
Suddenly a group of soldiers surrounded them with rifles. (The music intensifies)
'... around us.'
They walked right into an ambush.
'Oh, great,' Sam said.
The leader of the group said something in Buthanese and signaled with his gun that they had to raise their hands.
'Now what, Mac?' Jack asked.
'We surrender,' he said.
(Military music is heard here and then fades away)
MacGyver, Jack and Sam were brought the Royal Palace. The king was sitting on his throne on the inner court surrounded by servants and military men. He was watching an archery contest between two contestants. One of them was a woman. She took an arrow, placed it on the bow, aimed, pulled the arrow and fired. The arrow went straight into the bullseye. It was hailed by applause. The other contestant was a man. He was clearly nervous because he was losing. He had one more chance to get even. He wiped off his forehead with his handkerchief and took his last arrow and got ready to fire. He was a little shaky but tried to stay focussed. The crowds held their breaths. He fired... and missed. The crowd showed their disappointed. The king stood up and went to the female contestant and declared her winner of the contest. The crowd cheered again but it didn't last long when MacGyver, Jack and Sam were pushed in the inner court. The other military men also drew their guns.
'This reminds me of Ammukash, Mac,' Jack said.
'Not really,' MacGyver replied.
They were pushed to the middle of the inner court. The king walked up to them.
'Soldier,' he said firmly, 'explain yourself. What is the meaning of this?'
'We found them in the woods,' the soldier said.
'The woods?' the king asked. 'Is that a reason to bring in strangers to the palace?'
'They were on military grounds.'
'I see.'
'Your Royal Highness, if I may?' Jack started but MacGyver interrupted him.
'Jack, shush.'
'Are you the leader?' the king asked observing MacGyver.
'Your Majesty,' MacGyver bowed. 'I'm sorry if we were trespassing in your country. We meant no offense.'
'Walking through the woods is no crime here. Only you were found on military territory. Who are you and why are you here?'
'Name's MacGyver.'
'MacGyver? You're a westerner? An American?'
'That's right. This is my son, Mr. Malloy and my friend, Mr. Dalton.'
Sam and Jack both bowed now.
'Put your guns away,' the king ordered and the soldiers obeyed.
The king walked back to his throne and MacGyver, Sam and Jack followed him.
'Explain yourself,' the king said.
'We're on our way to India, unfortunately we lost our plane over the Himalayas,' MacGyver explained.
'Crashed?'
'You could say that. We were simply passing through and tried to reach Thimpur when we bumped into your troops.'
'Yes, my troops. As I said, you were walking on military territory, that is off limits. Yet, there was no way of you to know, especially not after you lost your plane. How did you lose your plane?'
'We were hijacked, sir. We jumped ship, sort to speak.'
'Hm,' the king said, 'and then you landed on our military zone. I understand.'
The soldier came closer. 'Your Majesty, the law says we have to punish those who break it.'
The king raised his hand to shut him up. 'Before we get to that, I like to give our guests the chance to explain themselves. You acted the way you had to soldier. But now, Mr. MacGyver, tell me, what are you doing here?'
'Well, Your Majesty. We're actually not supposed to be here but in India. We work for an organization called the Phoenix Foundation.'
'The Phoenix Foundation?' the king said as if he heard that name before. 'I think I've heard of that organization.'
'It's pretty likely. We work all over the world.'
'Tell me. What do you do for this Foundation?'
'Currently we're working on a special assignment in the South Pacific.'
'Yes, I've heard of it. Camp United?'
'You know it?' Sam asked suprised.
'There is very little I don't know,' the king said. 'One of Bhutan's sons is there to talk about world peace with other children of the world. He will put our country a little more on the map.'
'You know Anonda?' MacGyver asked.
'Anonda?' the king thought for a moment. 'Yes, I believe that's his name.'
'And he's your son?'
'Not in the actual sense of the word.'
'He is in fact my son,' the female contestant said.
MacGyver looked at her: 'Really? You're Anonda's mother?'
'Yes, have you seen him? Is he alright?'
'I've met him the day I started there. He was alright then.'
'Good. I just hope he takes his medication for his allergies. He's really allergic.'
'That's weird. He never said anything about having allergies to us,' Sam said.
'That is weird,' Anonda's mother said. 'Maybe he forgot.'
'Since you know one of Buthan's sons,' the king said, 'you have nothing to fear here. Please, be welcome in our country. Feel free to stay at the Royal Place if you wish.'
'We're very grateful, sir, but we really have to get to India as fast as we can.'
'Do you have any means of transportation?'
'Well, we might be able to call someone but it will take a day or two for them to get here.'
'Until they do, feel free to stay.'
'Thank you, sir.'
'Your Majesty,' the soldier said.
'What is it, soldier?'
'The law.'
'Oh yes, the law. Before we continue, Mr. MacGyver, I do have to say that as a king I have to abide by the laws of Buthan. Even though you had no way of knowing, you were caught trespassing on military grounds. The law says trespassers should be punished either by death or incarceration. The powers invested in me by the Buthanese people, I sentence you to...'
Everybody held their breaths.
'An archery competition.'
The crowd gasped in surprise.
'What?' the soldier said. 'Sire, you can't mean that.'
'Soldier, I am the king of this country. I may not be above the law but I will abide by them as I see fit. Mr. MacGyver, Mr. Malloy and Mr. Dalton are no threat to this nation and were trespassing without knowing. Still the laws says to punish them, well this is their punishment. If they can win the competition they are free to go. If not they will be send to the dungeons. Fair enough, Mr. MacGyver?'
'Well it sounds better then knightly combat.'
'Pardon?'
'Nothing, Your Majesty. I will accept the challenge. Who is my opponent?'
'Me,' Anonda's mother said.
The king signaled to one of his servants who brought a new basket full of arrows.
'Mr. MacGyver, you may begin,' the king said.
Anonda's mother gave him the bow.
'I don't even like shooting guns,' MacGyver mumbled.
'It's just target practice,' she said. 'Just place the arrow on the bow, aim and fire.'
She took a couple of steps backwards to give MacGyver some room and everyone became quiet. MacGyver began to focus and pulled the string to aim. Only the sound of the wind was heard. He closed his left eye to adjust his vision and fired. The arrow went into the target... right under the bullseye. The crowd applauded.
'Not bad,' she whispered. 'Now watch this.'
Anonda's mother swiftly took an arrow, placed it on the bow and fired. The arrow hit right in the bullseye. The crowd applauded even louder now.
'Just aim straight for the middle and let go.'
'Right,' he said. 'Straight for the middle.'
He took another arrow and aimed straight for the middle. A whistling sound was heard when he let go and the arrow flew into the bullseye next to the other arrow. There was a louder applause now.
'Alright, dad,' Sam cheered.
'Nice one, Mac,' Jack said.
MacGyver nodded at them.
'See?' Anonda's mother asked.
MacGyver gave her the bow back.
She fired another arrow which also hit the spot. MacGyver's next arrow was also a hit. Her third arrow went in but MacGyver missed his. The score was 3 to 2. She scored again and so did MacGyver. 4-3.
'Final arrows,' the king announced.
'Don't worry,' she whispered and winked at him.
She took her final arrow, aimed and fired but she missed the bullseye. The crowd responded a little disappointed. MacGyver looked at her and she just shook her shoulders.
MacGyver took his last arrow and fired. The arrow hit the target's bullseye straight in the middle of the other arrows. The crowd cheered.
'Final score, 4-4,' the king said. 'We have a tie.'
'Your Majesty,' MacGyver said. 'I would like to give her another shot. A winner-takes-all shot, if that is alright with you?'
'I see no harm that. Servant!'
One of the king's servants provided MacGyver and Anonda's mother with another arrow.
'It's your move,' MacGyver said.
Anonda's mother aimed and fired again but she missed once more. MacGyver took his turn and the arrow went again in the bullseye. Final score: 5-4 for MacGyver.
'Well, Mr. MacGyver, it seems you and your friends have earned your freedom. Congratulations,' the king said.
'Thank you, sir.'
'Now, feel free to stay at the palace if you like. I'll arrange transportation so you can go to India as soon as possible.'
They bowed to each other and the king and his entourage left. Also the people started to head home.
Anonda's mother approached him and congratulated him on his victory.
'Congratulations, Mr. MacGyver.'
'Thanks,' he said, 'but why did you do it?'
'Do what?' she asked seemingly not knowing what he was talking about.
'You deliberately missed those last two arrows. I notice those kind of things.'
'Mr. MacGyver, I did this for my son. You are clearly one of the last people I know who saw him. I can't afford they would throw you into the dungeons.'
MacGyver nodded in approval.
'Besides, I want you to see him again if you go back to the island. I have something you need to give him.'
'What?'
'Follow me to my chambers.'
'Wait, you live in the palace?' he asked suprised.
'Yeah, I live here and work here. I'm part of the staff. Follow me.'
She walked ahead.
'Sam, Jack, come on.'
MacGyver, Jack and Sam were brought to the chambers of Anonda's mother in the palace. The whole room was designed in Buthanese style.
'Please, sit,' she said and pointed them to a couch. 'Tea?'
'Sure,' MacGyver said.
The PDA beeped in his pants. 'Excuse me, I gotta take this.'
MacGyver got up and walked away from the couch. He pressed transmit.
'Pete!'
'Mac, are you alright? Where are you?'
'We're in Buthan.'
'Buthan?'
'Yeah, a slight detour.'
'What happened? Jack still hasn't got back yet.'
'No, he's here with me.'
'Hey, Pete,' Jack said.
'Well?' Pete wanted to know.
'We got hijacked by Murdoc and his HIT-friends,' MacGyver explained.
'What?'
'Yeah, we bailed out of the plane in mid-air.'
'What about Sam?'
'We all made it but we landed in Buthan. Have you seen Anonda?'
'Yeah, Cynthia is with him now. She's trying to give her classes.'
'Did you notice anything weird about him?'
'Like what?'
'Sneezing, Pete. Was he sneezing?'
'Uh, no. Why?'
'I found his mother. She claims her son has allergies.'
'Allergies? Well, I haven't noticed anything.'
'I see.'
'MacGyver, what are you thinking about?'
'That the plot is thicking, Pete.'
'Do you need help? Shall I send a plane?'
'That won't be necessary, Pete. The king of Buthan is arranging our transportation.'
'The king?'
'It's a long story, Pete.'
'Well, if you need anything, let me know.'
'I will, Pete.'
'I'm glad you're safe.'
'Thanks, Pete.'
MacGyver walked back to the couch were Anonda's mother brought them their tea.
'And?' Sam asked.
'Ma'am, I just talked to my boss on the island,' MacGyver said, 'and he said your son wasn't sneezing at all.'
Anonda's mother sat down and took her own cup of tea. 'I don't understand.'
'What is it exactly that he is allergic of?'
'He's mostly allergic of long-haired creatures.'
'There you have it, Mac,' Jack said.
'Yeah, it might explain why he's not sneezing.'
'How's that?' Anonda's mother asked.
'Most of the animals have been transported off the island.'
MacGyver thought for a moment. 'Still, I don't get it.'
'What do you mean, dad?' Sam asked.
'He never said anything about allergies.'
'True.'
'I can't imagine why my son would hold that back from you,' Anonda's mother said.
'Neither can I. That's why we need to get back to the island as soon as possible and ask him after we've been to India.'
'Good plan, Mac,' Jack said.
Somebody knocked. Anonda's mother opened the door. It was the soldier that had captured them earlier. 'Gentlemen, your transportation have been arranged.'
'Good,' MacGyver said. 'Than we better get going.'
They walked out the door. MacGyver stopped and turned around. 'Don't worry, ma'am. I will figure out what's going on. I'm sure your son is safe.'
She smiled at him and nodded. They bowed and MacGyver left.
'Come on,' the soldier said.
On their way to the location of their transport the PDA beeped again. MacGyver answered the call. 'What is it this time, Pete?' Only it wasn't Pete it was Endrani.
'Endrani? Where's Pete?'
'Don't you worry about him. He was kind enough to give me his PDA.'
'What do you want, Endrani? I'm on my way to India. Didn't Pete tell you what happened?'
'Oh, he did. I just wondered if it was so hard to put those damn flowers on the grave of my poor grandfather?'
'Endrani, first of all, watch your mouth. I'm doing what you asked me too. Just try to have a little fun there.'
'Fun? Fun? That sounds familiar but very vaguely.'
'I got to go, Endrani. From as soon we're airborne, I'll be in India in no time.'
A little annoyed MacGyver turned the PDA off. 'Nice kid, huh, Mac?' Jack said.
'Once you get to know her, maybe.' (Music comes up)
They passed the area where they landed earlier. MacGyver, Jack and Sam took their parachutes back. A little up ahead, on an open field there was helicopter waiting for them along with the king. They got a royal send off and the helicopter took off bringing our three friends to...
(The music reaches it's peak and we fade out here)
(We fade in with the opening music of Mountain of Youth)
Chapter VI
Thimpu, Buthan
From the western sky a tiny dot was floating down on a parachute. It was a blue parachute with a white Phoenix Foundation logo on top of it. The man was steadily steering the parachute to the ground below and like a pro he made his touchdown. The parachute covered him partially during his landing. The man crawled up right from underneath the parachute and it's no one else then MacGyver. He shook his head and took off his parachute. While doing so he looked around to scan his surroundings. He was somewhere in the wilderness surrounded by mountains. He grabbed the parachute and rougly folded it together in a pack, placed his jacket over it and he hid it in a bush near the mountain. When he walked back to where he landed he took out the PDA and shook his head again to get that lock of hair out his eyes. He tapped the screen and went to 'options'. Scrolling down the screen he found the option he was looking for and pressed: 'intiate tracking device.' (The music becomes more mysterious)
A beeping sound was heard and on his screen a compass appeared with a blinking white dot pointing north of where he was. The white dot made a continous beeping sound. MacGyver started to make way to the white dot, when another white dot appeared that also seemed to becoming down from the sky, not too far from the first white dot. It was on his way so he just continued down the path he took. He kept following the PDA tracking device and after a five minute walk he saw a familiar face... hanging in a tree. MacGyver placed his hands in his sides and with a smile he studied the person hanging there. (The music fades away here)
'Hey, Jack.'
'Hey, Mac.'
'What are you doing up there?'
'What does it look like I'm doing up here?'
'Hanging?'
'Egg-xactly.'
MacGyver tried to keep back his laugh but barely couldn't.
'You're going to help me out there, or what?'
'Just a moment. I want Sam to see this.'
From his right he heard a faint voice yelling. 'Heeeeeey!'
MacGyver looked at where the sound came from and saw Sam carrying his parachute and waving at them. MacGyver waved back and signaled him to come closer. Sam walked up to them.
'Check it out,' MacGyver said.
Sam chuckled when he saw Jack hanging in the tree. 'I got to take a picture of this.'
Sam took out his camera.
'Come on, Jack, give us a smile,' MacGyver said.
Jack grinned in the camera and Sam took the picture.
'Now, MacGyver, get me down from here, I'm getting dizzy.'
'Alright, alright. Just let me get up there.'
MacGyver climbed into the tree and noticed that the parachute was torn up and the lines were tangled up pretty good in the branches.
'You know, Jack, you're tangled up pretty good here,' he said while getting in a good position to cut the lines.
'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just take out that trusty knife of yours and cut me loose. I've been hanging here for ten minutes now.'
MacGyver took out his Swiss Army Knife and started to cut the lines.
'Be careful, Mac, you know I have a tender body.'
MacGyver stopped cutting and looked at Jack from up top. 'Just one more.'
'And watch my head!' Jack yelled.
At exactly that moment MacGyver cut the last one sending Jack down.
'Wooohooooo, oeh!'
'Touchdown!' Sam cheered.
'Give me a hand.'
Sam helped Jack up while MacGyver jumped out of three.
'Now, wasn't that a fun party?' Jack asked.
'It sure made me feel alive,' Sam said. 'What about you, dad?'
'Danger is my middle name,' MacGyver replied.
'Mine's Angus.'
'So what do you think happened to them?' Jack asked.
'We dumped the fuel on them and bailed out,' MacGyver said. 'What do you think?'
'They crashed?'
'Maybe. I think we're rid of them for now but I don't think they're dead yet. Murdoc survives everything.'
'So where are we?' Sam asked.
'I don't know yet,' MacGyver said, 'but we were flying east. And we haven't flown that long either. If I retrace back our steps and if I remember my geography classes well, I think we're in Buthan.'
'This is where Anonda came from.'
'Right.'
'So, where do we go from here?' Jack wanted to know.
'Well, if I look at the PDA, we're near the capital of Thimpu. I'd say we scout out.'
MacGyver, Sam and Jack started to work their way to Thimpu.
'Dad, do you think we'll find Anonda's parents here?'
'I don't know. We found everyone else, why not them?'
'You're right. Interesting, we ended up here. Anonda is about the only one who didn't cause trouble at the camp so far.'
'Mac, why don't you contact Pete from that thing and tell them to send James with a plane, so we can get out of here?' Jack wondered.
'As long as we're here, we might scout out the place. From as soon we found a place to stay, I'll contact Pete.'
As they walked through the wilderness, MacGyver got this uneasy feeling they were being watched. Sam noticed this. 'What is it, dad?' (Tense music comes up)
'I don't know,' he said and looked at the trees. 'I feel like we're being watched.'
Sam and Jack looked at the trees. 'I don't see anything.'
'Neither do I,' Jack said.
'Ssshhh,' MacGyver said and pointed his finger to a treetop. 'Right there.'
Jack and Sam followed his finger and saw indeed movement in the trees.
'If there is one there then the other or others must be...'
Suddenly a group of soldiers surrounded them with rifles. (The music intensifies)
'... around us.'
They walked right into an ambush.
'Oh, great,' Sam said.
The leader of the group said something in Buthanese and signaled with his gun that they had to raise their hands.
'Now what, Mac?' Jack asked.
'We surrender,' he said.
(Military music is heard here and then fades away)
MacGyver, Jack and Sam were brought the Royal Palace. The king was sitting on his throne on the inner court surrounded by servants and military men. He was watching an archery contest between two contestants. One of them was a woman. She took an arrow, placed it on the bow, aimed, pulled the arrow and fired. The arrow went straight into the bullseye. It was hailed by applause. The other contestant was a man. He was clearly nervous because he was losing. He had one more chance to get even. He wiped off his forehead with his handkerchief and took his last arrow and got ready to fire. He was a little shaky but tried to stay focussed. The crowds held their breaths. He fired... and missed. The crowd showed their disappointed. The king stood up and went to the female contestant and declared her winner of the contest. The crowd cheered again but it didn't last long when MacGyver, Jack and Sam were pushed in the inner court. The other military men also drew their guns.
'This reminds me of Ammukash, Mac,' Jack said.
'Not really,' MacGyver replied.
They were pushed to the middle of the inner court. The king walked up to them.
'Soldier,' he said firmly, 'explain yourself. What is the meaning of this?'
'We found them in the woods,' the soldier said.
'The woods?' the king asked. 'Is that a reason to bring in strangers to the palace?'
'They were on military grounds.'
'I see.'
'Your Royal Highness, if I may?' Jack started but MacGyver interrupted him.
'Jack, shush.'
'Are you the leader?' the king asked observing MacGyver.
'Your Majesty,' MacGyver bowed. 'I'm sorry if we were trespassing in your country. We meant no offense.'
'Walking through the woods is no crime here. Only you were found on military territory. Who are you and why are you here?'
'Name's MacGyver.'
'MacGyver? You're a westerner? An American?'
'That's right. This is my son, Mr. Malloy and my friend, Mr. Dalton.'
Sam and Jack both bowed now.
'Put your guns away,' the king ordered and the soldiers obeyed.
The king walked back to his throne and MacGyver, Sam and Jack followed him.
'Explain yourself,' the king said.
'We're on our way to India, unfortunately we lost our plane over the Himalayas,' MacGyver explained.
'Crashed?'
'You could say that. We were simply passing through and tried to reach Thimpur when we bumped into your troops.'
'Yes, my troops. As I said, you were walking on military territory, that is off limits. Yet, there was no way of you to know, especially not after you lost your plane. How did you lose your plane?'
'We were hijacked, sir. We jumped ship, sort to speak.'
'Hm,' the king said, 'and then you landed on our military zone. I understand.'
The soldier came closer. 'Your Majesty, the law says we have to punish those who break it.'
The king raised his hand to shut him up. 'Before we get to that, I like to give our guests the chance to explain themselves. You acted the way you had to soldier. But now, Mr. MacGyver, tell me, what are you doing here?'
'Well, Your Majesty. We're actually not supposed to be here but in India. We work for an organization called the Phoenix Foundation.'
'The Phoenix Foundation?' the king said as if he heard that name before. 'I think I've heard of that organization.'
'It's pretty likely. We work all over the world.'
'Tell me. What do you do for this Foundation?'
'Currently we're working on a special assignment in the South Pacific.'
'Yes, I've heard of it. Camp United?'
'You know it?' Sam asked suprised.
'There is very little I don't know,' the king said. 'One of Bhutan's sons is there to talk about world peace with other children of the world. He will put our country a little more on the map.'
'You know Anonda?' MacGyver asked.
'Anonda?' the king thought for a moment. 'Yes, I believe that's his name.'
'And he's your son?'
'Not in the actual sense of the word.'
'He is in fact my son,' the female contestant said.
MacGyver looked at her: 'Really? You're Anonda's mother?'
'Yes, have you seen him? Is he alright?'
'I've met him the day I started there. He was alright then.'
'Good. I just hope he takes his medication for his allergies. He's really allergic.'
'That's weird. He never said anything about having allergies to us,' Sam said.
'That is weird,' Anonda's mother said. 'Maybe he forgot.'
'Since you know one of Buthan's sons,' the king said, 'you have nothing to fear here. Please, be welcome in our country. Feel free to stay at the Royal Place if you wish.'
'We're very grateful, sir, but we really have to get to India as fast as we can.'
'Do you have any means of transportation?'
'Well, we might be able to call someone but it will take a day or two for them to get here.'
'Until they do, feel free to stay.'
'Thank you, sir.'
'Your Majesty,' the soldier said.
'What is it, soldier?'
'The law.'
'Oh yes, the law. Before we continue, Mr. MacGyver, I do have to say that as a king I have to abide by the laws of Buthan. Even though you had no way of knowing, you were caught trespassing on military grounds. The law says trespassers should be punished either by death or incarceration. The powers invested in me by the Buthanese people, I sentence you to...'
Everybody held their breaths.
'An archery competition.'
The crowd gasped in surprise.
'What?' the soldier said. 'Sire, you can't mean that.'
'Soldier, I am the king of this country. I may not be above the law but I will abide by them as I see fit. Mr. MacGyver, Mr. Malloy and Mr. Dalton are no threat to this nation and were trespassing without knowing. Still the laws says to punish them, well this is their punishment. If they can win the competition they are free to go. If not they will be send to the dungeons. Fair enough, Mr. MacGyver?'
'Well it sounds better then knightly combat.'
'Pardon?'
'Nothing, Your Majesty. I will accept the challenge. Who is my opponent?'
'Me,' Anonda's mother said.
The king signaled to one of his servants who brought a new basket full of arrows.
'Mr. MacGyver, you may begin,' the king said.
Anonda's mother gave him the bow.
'I don't even like shooting guns,' MacGyver mumbled.
'It's just target practice,' she said. 'Just place the arrow on the bow, aim and fire.'
She took a couple of steps backwards to give MacGyver some room and everyone became quiet. MacGyver began to focus and pulled the string to aim. Only the sound of the wind was heard. He closed his left eye to adjust his vision and fired. The arrow went into the target... right under the bullseye. The crowd applauded.
'Not bad,' she whispered. 'Now watch this.'
Anonda's mother swiftly took an arrow, placed it on the bow and fired. The arrow hit right in the bullseye. The crowd applauded even louder now.
'Just aim straight for the middle and let go.'
'Right,' he said. 'Straight for the middle.'
He took another arrow and aimed straight for the middle. A whistling sound was heard when he let go and the arrow flew into the bullseye next to the other arrow. There was a louder applause now.
'Alright, dad,' Sam cheered.
'Nice one, Mac,' Jack said.
MacGyver nodded at them.
'See?' Anonda's mother asked.
MacGyver gave her the bow back.
She fired another arrow which also hit the spot. MacGyver's next arrow was also a hit. Her third arrow went in but MacGyver missed his. The score was 3 to 2. She scored again and so did MacGyver. 4-3.
'Final arrows,' the king announced.
'Don't worry,' she whispered and winked at him.
She took her final arrow, aimed and fired but she missed the bullseye. The crowd responded a little disappointed. MacGyver looked at her and she just shook her shoulders.
MacGyver took his last arrow and fired. The arrow hit the target's bullseye straight in the middle of the other arrows. The crowd cheered.
'Final score, 4-4,' the king said. 'We have a tie.'
'Your Majesty,' MacGyver said. 'I would like to give her another shot. A winner-takes-all shot, if that is alright with you?'
'I see no harm that. Servant!'
One of the king's servants provided MacGyver and Anonda's mother with another arrow.
'It's your move,' MacGyver said.
Anonda's mother aimed and fired again but she missed once more. MacGyver took his turn and the arrow went again in the bullseye. Final score: 5-4 for MacGyver.
'Well, Mr. MacGyver, it seems you and your friends have earned your freedom. Congratulations,' the king said.
'Thank you, sir.'
'Now, feel free to stay at the palace if you like. I'll arrange transportation so you can go to India as soon as possible.'
They bowed to each other and the king and his entourage left. Also the people started to head home.
Anonda's mother approached him and congratulated him on his victory.
'Congratulations, Mr. MacGyver.'
'Thanks,' he said, 'but why did you do it?'
'Do what?' she asked seemingly not knowing what he was talking about.
'You deliberately missed those last two arrows. I notice those kind of things.'
'Mr. MacGyver, I did this for my son. You are clearly one of the last people I know who saw him. I can't afford they would throw you into the dungeons.'
MacGyver nodded in approval.
'Besides, I want you to see him again if you go back to the island. I have something you need to give him.'
'What?'
'Follow me to my chambers.'
'Wait, you live in the palace?' he asked suprised.
'Yeah, I live here and work here. I'm part of the staff. Follow me.'
She walked ahead.
'Sam, Jack, come on.'
MacGyver, Jack and Sam were brought to the chambers of Anonda's mother in the palace. The whole room was designed in Buthanese style.
'Please, sit,' she said and pointed them to a couch. 'Tea?'
'Sure,' MacGyver said.
The PDA beeped in his pants. 'Excuse me, I gotta take this.'
MacGyver got up and walked away from the couch. He pressed transmit.
'Pete!'
'Mac, are you alright? Where are you?'
'We're in Buthan.'
'Buthan?'
'Yeah, a slight detour.'
'What happened? Jack still hasn't got back yet.'
'No, he's here with me.'
'Hey, Pete,' Jack said.
'Well?' Pete wanted to know.
'We got hijacked by Murdoc and his HIT-friends,' MacGyver explained.
'What?'
'Yeah, we bailed out of the plane in mid-air.'
'What about Sam?'
'We all made it but we landed in Buthan. Have you seen Anonda?'
'Yeah, Cynthia is with him now. She's trying to give her classes.'
'Did you notice anything weird about him?'
'Like what?'
'Sneezing, Pete. Was he sneezing?'
'Uh, no. Why?'
'I found his mother. She claims her son has allergies.'
'Allergies? Well, I haven't noticed anything.'
'I see.'
'MacGyver, what are you thinking about?'
'That the plot is thicking, Pete.'
'Do you need help? Shall I send a plane?'
'That won't be necessary, Pete. The king of Buthan is arranging our transportation.'
'The king?'
'It's a long story, Pete.'
'Well, if you need anything, let me know.'
'I will, Pete.'
'I'm glad you're safe.'
'Thanks, Pete.'
MacGyver walked back to the couch were Anonda's mother brought them their tea.
'And?' Sam asked.
'Ma'am, I just talked to my boss on the island,' MacGyver said, 'and he said your son wasn't sneezing at all.'
Anonda's mother sat down and took her own cup of tea. 'I don't understand.'
'What is it exactly that he is allergic of?'
'He's mostly allergic of long-haired creatures.'
'There you have it, Mac,' Jack said.
'Yeah, it might explain why he's not sneezing.'
'How's that?' Anonda's mother asked.
'Most of the animals have been transported off the island.'
MacGyver thought for a moment. 'Still, I don't get it.'
'What do you mean, dad?' Sam asked.
'He never said anything about allergies.'
'True.'
'I can't imagine why my son would hold that back from you,' Anonda's mother said.
'Neither can I. That's why we need to get back to the island as soon as possible and ask him after we've been to India.'
'Good plan, Mac,' Jack said.
Somebody knocked. Anonda's mother opened the door. It was the soldier that had captured them earlier. 'Gentlemen, your transportation have been arranged.'
'Good,' MacGyver said. 'Than we better get going.'
They walked out the door. MacGyver stopped and turned around. 'Don't worry, ma'am. I will figure out what's going on. I'm sure your son is safe.'
She smiled at him and nodded. They bowed and MacGyver left.
'Come on,' the soldier said.
On their way to the location of their transport the PDA beeped again. MacGyver answered the call. 'What is it this time, Pete?' Only it wasn't Pete it was Endrani.
'Endrani? Where's Pete?'
'Don't you worry about him. He was kind enough to give me his PDA.'
'What do you want, Endrani? I'm on my way to India. Didn't Pete tell you what happened?'
'Oh, he did. I just wondered if it was so hard to put those damn flowers on the grave of my poor grandfather?'
'Endrani, first of all, watch your mouth. I'm doing what you asked me too. Just try to have a little fun there.'
'Fun? Fun? That sounds familiar but very vaguely.'
'I got to go, Endrani. From as soon we're airborne, I'll be in India in no time.'
A little annoyed MacGyver turned the PDA off. 'Nice kid, huh, Mac?' Jack said.
'Once you get to know her, maybe.' (Music comes up)
They passed the area where they landed earlier. MacGyver, Jack and Sam took their parachutes back. A little up ahead, on an open field there was helicopter waiting for them along with the king. They got a royal send off and the helicopter took off bringing our three friends to...
(The music reaches it's peak and we fade out here)
Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you.
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- Posts: 228
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- Location: Belgium
Re: MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
Welcome to chapter 7 of my story. MacGyver, Sam and Jack have finally made it into India to bring flowers to Endrani's grandfather's grave. While travelling through India they bump into an old friend whose future was predicted by a palm reader and apparently came true.
(We fade in with some Indian-style music and then fades away)
Chapter VII
Bombay, India
In a covered marketplace
That same day
'So, what are we doing in Bombay?' Sam asked. 'We should be in Varanasi.'
'The helicopter was running out fuel, so they were kind enough to drop us off here,' MacGyver explained. 'Where's Jack?'
'Mac! I'm over here. Wait up,' Jack said and walked up to them.
MacGyver waved at him. 'Let's stick together here, alright?'
'I just saw the most beautiful woman standing there. For a brief moment, it was just me and her. Like a dream come through.'
'Right,' MacGyver said. 'I've heard that before.'
The marketplace was pretty crowded and filled with stands. There was a florist, sellers of spices, vegetables, fruits. Another stand where you can taste all sorts of curry dishes. A man was selling tea and providing his costumers with samples and next to him there was another men selling sugar canes. There was also a man meditating on a spike bed surrounded by incense and further away there was a snake charmer.
'India is a strange country isn't it?' Jack said as they walked by the snake charmer.
The snake charmer was playing his pungi and the snake appeared from the basket following the moves of the pungi.
'Yeah, you're right, Jack,' MacGyver said.
'How does it do that?' Jack asked looking intrigued by the snake.
'The snake doesn't actually hear the music. They sense the sound and it just follows the movements of the pungi. Actually they consider it as a threat.'
They kept walking around the marketplace.
'Have you ever been here before, Mac?'
'Yeah, once. A long time ago.'
'What happened?' Sam wanted to know.
'Nearly missed my train.'
Sam and Jack squinted their eyes.
MacGyver smiled at their reaction. 'I was here to stop a guerrilla raid. I needed to catch the train to Rajamehar on my way home. I nearly missed it if it wasn't for the cab driver who drove me to the tracks. The machinist was kind enough to let me on board.'
'Then what?' Jack asked.
'We got hijacked by a man named Hassan. He was looking for two people who sold bad medicine to his village.'
'And let me guess,' Sam said. 'You saved the day?'
'I indeed figured out who did it and delivered them to the man. At least the one who didn't die. Then we were let go.'
They walked around and stopped by the curry stand.
'Care to try some Indian food, fellas?' MacGyver asked.
'I'm up for some Indian food,' Sam said.
'I don't know, Mac. You know me, I'm a burger-and-steak-man,' Jack said.
'Come on, Jack. Don't knock it, till you try it,' MacGyver said.
Jack groaned hesitant.
'Just think: when in Rome, Jack. When in Rome...'
'Do as the Romans do,' Sam filled in.
'Alright, then,' Jack said.
The stand owner greeted them. 'Good day, men. Care for a free taste? I have rice Bhel-Puri or Masala Dosa.'
'I take the Bhel-Puri,' Sam said.
'Then I'll have the Masala Dosa,' MacGyver said.
'Give me a bit of both,' Jack said.
The men got their foods in a cup and continued walking around the market.
Jack took a bite of his food and started to breath out loud. 'Ooh, that's quite spicey.'
'Yeah, that's the thing about Indian food. It is spicey,' MacGyver confirmed.
'I need a drink. Water or something, quick.'
'Tea stand is right over there, Jack.'
'I'll be right back,' Jack said hoarse and left for the tea stand.
MacGyver shook his head.
'That's funny. I thought Jack usually like spicey food,' Sam said.
'Well, he does,' MacGyver said.
The PDA beeped inside Mac's pocket again. 'Hold this,' he said and gave his cup to Sam before answering the PDA. 'Hello?'
'Mac?'
'Pete. What's up?'
'You need to hurry up, Mac. I'm worried about the children. Things are getting really ugly here.'
'We're in Bombay, now, Pete. The helicopter pilot from Buthan dropped us off here. We're on our way to Varanasi.'
'Good, that's good.'
'What do you mean by: "things are getting ugly"?'
'There's another storm coming and it looks like it's going to be bad. All communication systems are down in the control tower and I am not going to be able to send you information on Varanasi. That's why I called.'
'How far are we from Varanasi?'
'From what I've found on India, you're still pretty far away. You might need to take the train.'
'Great. Do you know how stuffed these trains can be?'
'Yeah, but you don't have many options.'
'I understand, Pete. Send James this way immediately, alright? I know there's an international airport outside Varanasi. He can fly there.'
'You got it.'
'I'll find a way get to there, Pete. I'll be back as soon as I can.'
MacGyver turned to PDA off and Sam gave him his cup back.
'What did he say?' Sam asked.
'That things were getting ugly.'
'Ugly how?'
'Well, there appears to be a storm coming and everything in the control tower seems to be down.'
'You know, dad, I do wonder how this whole situation will turn out.'
'So do I, Sam. So do I. It all started with a boy feeling homesick. We travelled all around the world trying to solve this thing and now we're here in India to place marigold flowers on a grave for a girl's grandfather. This may not be the biggest mess I've been into but it certainly is one of the most oddest. I suggest we just do what we're told and place those flowers on the grave and then get back to the island.'
'I'm with you, dad, all the way.'
'Good.'
MacGyver and Sam finished their food and threw the cups in the garbage can. In the crowds they saw Jack coming back. 'Jack! Come on, let's go.'
Jack was waving his hand near his mouth. 'Wow, that Indian food is spicey. And I like spicey food.'
'Did you put out your mouthfire, Jack?' MacGyver asked.
'Yeah, whew. Wow. So what's the plan?'
'Pete just called. We better get moving to Varanasi. He's getting worried about the children and I'm getting more and more the need of going back to the island. So let's find some marigold to put on that grave and get out of here.'
MacGyver turned around but in doing so, he bumped into a woman dressed in a sari. 'Oh, excuse, ma'am, I...'
'That's alright, I...'
They looked at each other for a moment and there was recognition.
'MacGyver! Hi!' the woman said and practically jumped him in a hug.
'Penny Parker? What are you doing here?' he said trying to sound enthousiastic.
'I live here now.'
'You do?'
'Yes. Remember your birthday? Well, it's at least ten years ago. Anyway, I told Jack once I had my palm read by Madame Bourguiba over on Melrose and she said that I would live in India in a little hut on the Ganges. And look at me now. She was right.'
'Great.'
'I guess, she was,' Jack said.
'Jack! How good to see you,' she said and hugged him as well.
So how long have you been living out here?' MacGyver asked.
'About five or six years. We haven't seen each other in a while, you know?'
'Well, you left without telling me.'
'Well, you never returned my calls.'
'I was busy.'
He was not. He was just ignoring her.
'So who's your friend? He's cute,' she said eyeing the dark haired young man.
'Boy, she's in for a surprise,' Jack said.
'Great. I love surprises.'
'Penny Parker, I like you to meet Sam.'
'Hi, Sam. I'm Penny,' she said and they shook hands.
'I've heard,' he said.
'So, how do you know, MacGyver?' she said still holding his hand.
'Well,' he said still smiling, 'he is my father.'
Penny bursts out in laughing. MacGyver, Jack and Sam all forced a laugh.
'Don't be silly,' she laughed. 'MacGyver doesn't have any kids.'
'He does now,' he laughed back at her.
Again they forced a laugh.
'Yeah, right, that's a good one,' she said still laughing.
'Tell me about it. You should've seen his face when he found out about me.'
They laughed again and this time they were not faking it. Jack coughed from laughing.
'He was like: "huh?" Weren't you, dad?'
'Yeah, I was,' MacGyver laughed. 'Surprised, I didn't have a heart attack.'
Sam laughed even harder now. Jack was shaking all over from laughing.
'This is the best I ever heard,' Jack said.
'Get out of town,' she said laughing.
They all kept laughing and the people walking around started to gawk at them.
'Well, I will, but it doesn't make it any less true,' Sam laughed.
'Wait, you're not kidding,' Penny said.
'No, he's not,' Jack said while wiping tears of laughter.
'I really am his son, Penny,' Sam said trying to get a hold of himself.
'Really?'
She still couldn't believe it.
'Wait, I'll show you.'
Sam took out his locket and showed her the pictures of MacGyver and Kate.
'That's my mother, Katherine and here's my dad.'
Jack walked up to MacGyver and patted him on the shoulder. 'I haven't had a laugh like this in years, Mac.'
'Me either, Jack. Never thought I would have this much fun with Penny Parker.'
Sam and Penny got a hold of themselves again.
'You really are his son,' Penny said.
'Yep.'
'So what happened to your mom?'
'She died when I was a kid.'
'I'm sorry,' Penny said.
'She got killed in China but that's a long time ago. Then I found dad. We've been hanging out ever since.'
'He works as photojournalist for the Foundation,' MacGyver said who also got a hold of himself again. 'We work together on several assignments.'
'Like now?' she asked.
'Yeah.'
'So what are you doing in India then?'
'We're working on a assignment for Phoenix.'
'Is Mr. Thornton still director of field operations?'
'Yeah, he is.'
'Give him my regards.'
'I will,' he said. 'So we're actually here on a mission. We're on our way to Varanasi.'
'Really? That's where I live.'
'You're kidding.'
'No, I really live there. That's where my hut is at the Ganges.'
'No way.'
'Yes way. Why don't you come along? I was on my way home anyway.'
MacGyver looked at Jack and Sam, who seemed to agree.
'Fine, then.'
'But we better get moving or else we miss the train,' she said.
'Won't be the first time I had to catch a train with a cab,' MacGyver said.
Varanasi
At the Ganges
An hour later after an uncomfortable trip in a chockfull train, MacGyver, Jack, Sam and Penny arrived in Varanasi. Penny brought them to her little hut. Despite the heavily polluted Ganges her hut was located in a seemingly paradise on earth. She had a view on the buildings on the other side of the riverbank.
'Please, come in. Make yourself comfortable.'
The hut itself was fluffy, real Penny Parker-like.
'Cosy,' Jack said.
'I would call it: fluffy,' MacGyver responded.
'Let's sit outside in the garden,' Penny suggested.
They went outside. The garden was also typical Penny Parker-style with lots of flowers and a small fountain. They all sat down around a garden table. Penny brought a plateau with cups and tea. She gave everyone a cup before she sat down.
'So, what's the assignment?' she asked.
'Well, we've been working the past few weeks on a special assignment,' MacGyver explained. 'Ever heard of Camp United?'
Penny shook her head while drinking her tea.
'It's a camp located on an island in the Pacific.'
'What sort of camp?'
'Children from all around the world can gather there during the summer to talk about political and other world issues,' Sam said.
'Like a government?'
'More or less,' MacGyver said. 'But in the past few weeks things went awry. This is all still in an experimental phase. We have six children in our care for now and ever since my first day there things have gone wrong. The children are intolerable. We've been in England, Egypt, China, Buthan and now we're here. All for the sake of the children.'
'How come they are intolerable?'
'We don't know. We thought one was homesick, then another one went missing, another one had anger issues. Now we're here because one of the girls asked us to deliver some flowers on her grandfather's grave. We're actually looking for a graveyard.'
'Well, that might a problem,' Penny said.
'How's that?' Jack asked.
'Because there are no graveyards in Varanasi.'
'What?' MacGyver was shocked.
MacGyver, Jack and Sam all shared a look.
'What?' Penny wondered.
'I don't believe this,' Sam said. 'Endrani is from Varanasi herself. Why wouldn't she know something like that?'
'That's a very good question, Sam,' MacGyver said. 'This whole thing just gets more and more bizarre.'
'What do you mean, MacGyver?' Penny asked.
'Just a lot of contradictories. We've had unhappy kids who claimed to be happy, we've had happy kids who claimed to be unhappy and the list goes on and on.'
'That is weird,' she said.
'Not to mention, we were being followed,' Jack said.
'By who?'
'Jack,' MacGyver said as if he said something he shouldn't have.
'What? It's true.'
MacGyver sighed. 'We were but we lost them in the Himalayas.'
'Who followed you?'
'Murdoc.'
Penny gasped. 'Are you saying that terrible man is still alive?'
'Afraid so.'
'I remember how he pulled off his face in front of me in that big scary old theatre.'
'Pulled off his face?' Sam asked shocked.
'It wasn't his face,' MacGyver said. 'He was wearing a mask. Half of his face was covered in scars from burning wounds. When he tried to kill me and Pete in the theatre, he was disguised as Jacques Leroux. He used half a mask to cover the scars in order to be someone else.'
'And now he's back?' Penny asked.
'Yeah. Murdoc's organization HIT, also had plans for the island, to make it a training ground. Only Phoenix got the island first. They've been following and sabotaging us ever since. Last we saw them they hijacked our plane. We jumped ship and haven't seen them after that.'
'That must've been terrifying.'
'It sure gets the old adrenaline kicking,' Sam said.
'So HIT is trying to get their hands on the island?'
'Exactly,' MacGyver said, 'and I'm beginning to think they're using the children to get what they want.'
'Are you saying they're brainwashed,' Jack asked.
'Interesting choice of words, Jack. But no, not brainwashed. Maybe they're manipulated or forced to do act like that.
'But they said they wouldn't hurt the kids,' Sam said.
'Maybe not physically. Maybe they're holding their parents captive in order to get to the children to do what they want.'
MacGyver tapped the sides of his chair thinking. 'Penny, you said there are no graveyards in Varanasi, right?'
'That's right,' she answered.
'How do the Hindus remember their passed away ones then?'
'Well, actually, they honor their deceased by throwing flowers on the Ganges.'
'They, what?' Sam asked.
'In our world, we put flowers on graves. Here in India they put flowers on rivers. You see, the Ganges is a holy river and belongs to the river goddess Ganga. Hindus believe that bathing in this river will wash away their sins.'
'That river didn't look exactly clean.'
'I wouldn't drink of it either,' Penny said, 'but it's the way things are here.'
'I've known about the Ganga Action Plan but that didn't exactly work out as it should be. I guess, this would be an interesting assignment for our environmental programme,' MacGyver said. 'But now, we need to get those flowers and throw them into the river then, if that's the costum here.'
'What sort of flowers?' Penny asked.
'Marigolds.'
'Ah,' she said and pointed behind MacGyver. 'Look behind you.'
MacGyver turned around and saw marigolds right behind him. 'Of course, you would have those flowers.'
'Of course. You can take some of them, if you'd like.'
'Really?'
'Sure, if it helps that little girl, I'd be glad to help.'
'You're a doll, Penny.'
Penny smiled at him.
'We'll throw it in the river right away then.
They returned to the river and MacGyver threw the flowers in the river.
'For your grandfather, Endrani.'
The PDA beeped again.
'What's that?' Penny asked.
'A PDA. That's how we stay in touch with the camp.'
MacGyver answered the call but the transmission was very blurry.
'MacGyver? Can... ou... ear, me?' Pete asked.
'Pete? Pete! The connection's bad, I can barely make you out.'
'The weather... is... ting... bad, again. I have... some... portant... to... ell, ou. Mac... ver?'
The connection went broke.
'What?' Sam asked.
'We lost connection. The weather must be getting bad again at camp. He had something important to tell me.'
'What then?' Jack asked.
'He didn't say. But we really need to get back to the camp.'
'Any word on James?' Sam asked.
'I assume he left, last time we spoke, but who knows how long it'll take for him to get here.'
'You really are neck-deep in trouble, aren't you?' Penny said.
'It's a big mess, that's for sure,' MacGyver said and looked up at the sky. It was getting late in the afternoon. 'We'll lose light in a few hours and I doubt James will be here before that. Penny, can we spend the night at your place if necessary?'
'Sure, that's no problem. You can freshen up and I'll make my Indian curry dish for dinner. If I don't put the stove on fire again.'
'Huh?'
'Just kidding.'
'Ah.'
'Come on, let's go back.'
On their way back to the hut Sam noticed this signpost with two arrows pointing in each direction. One said: "Taj Mahal this way." The other one said: "Temple of Doom that way."
'Hey, dad, look.'
MacGyver turned around.
'Want to go see Temple of Doom?'
'Nah, I've already seen it.'
'That temple is real?' Jack asked.
'Jack, I've seen Lara Croft and a mummy chasing someone who looked like Indiana Jones. Why wouldn't the Temple of Doom be real?'
'Good question.'
MacGyver rolled his eyes which made Penny smile.
'Come on, let's go,' he said.
'Too bad, we're so far away from the Taj Mahal. I really wanted to get a snapshot of that,' Sam said.
'The Taj Mahal is way in the West from where we are,' Penny said.
'Maybe next time.' (Music comes up here)
MacGyver, Sam, Jack and Penny returned to the little hut where the three guys stayed for the night. The next day, they said goodbye to Penny and went to the international airport outside of Varanasi where James was indeed waiting for them to fly them back to the camp.
(The music reaches it's peak and we fade out here)
(We fade in with some Indian-style music and then fades away)
Chapter VII
Bombay, India
In a covered marketplace
That same day
'So, what are we doing in Bombay?' Sam asked. 'We should be in Varanasi.'
'The helicopter was running out fuel, so they were kind enough to drop us off here,' MacGyver explained. 'Where's Jack?'
'Mac! I'm over here. Wait up,' Jack said and walked up to them.
MacGyver waved at him. 'Let's stick together here, alright?'
'I just saw the most beautiful woman standing there. For a brief moment, it was just me and her. Like a dream come through.'
'Right,' MacGyver said. 'I've heard that before.'
The marketplace was pretty crowded and filled with stands. There was a florist, sellers of spices, vegetables, fruits. Another stand where you can taste all sorts of curry dishes. A man was selling tea and providing his costumers with samples and next to him there was another men selling sugar canes. There was also a man meditating on a spike bed surrounded by incense and further away there was a snake charmer.
'India is a strange country isn't it?' Jack said as they walked by the snake charmer.
The snake charmer was playing his pungi and the snake appeared from the basket following the moves of the pungi.
'Yeah, you're right, Jack,' MacGyver said.
'How does it do that?' Jack asked looking intrigued by the snake.
'The snake doesn't actually hear the music. They sense the sound and it just follows the movements of the pungi. Actually they consider it as a threat.'
They kept walking around the marketplace.
'Have you ever been here before, Mac?'
'Yeah, once. A long time ago.'
'What happened?' Sam wanted to know.
'Nearly missed my train.'
Sam and Jack squinted their eyes.
MacGyver smiled at their reaction. 'I was here to stop a guerrilla raid. I needed to catch the train to Rajamehar on my way home. I nearly missed it if it wasn't for the cab driver who drove me to the tracks. The machinist was kind enough to let me on board.'
'Then what?' Jack asked.
'We got hijacked by a man named Hassan. He was looking for two people who sold bad medicine to his village.'
'And let me guess,' Sam said. 'You saved the day?'
'I indeed figured out who did it and delivered them to the man. At least the one who didn't die. Then we were let go.'
They walked around and stopped by the curry stand.
'Care to try some Indian food, fellas?' MacGyver asked.
'I'm up for some Indian food,' Sam said.
'I don't know, Mac. You know me, I'm a burger-and-steak-man,' Jack said.
'Come on, Jack. Don't knock it, till you try it,' MacGyver said.
Jack groaned hesitant.
'Just think: when in Rome, Jack. When in Rome...'
'Do as the Romans do,' Sam filled in.
'Alright, then,' Jack said.
The stand owner greeted them. 'Good day, men. Care for a free taste? I have rice Bhel-Puri or Masala Dosa.'
'I take the Bhel-Puri,' Sam said.
'Then I'll have the Masala Dosa,' MacGyver said.
'Give me a bit of both,' Jack said.
The men got their foods in a cup and continued walking around the market.
Jack took a bite of his food and started to breath out loud. 'Ooh, that's quite spicey.'
'Yeah, that's the thing about Indian food. It is spicey,' MacGyver confirmed.
'I need a drink. Water or something, quick.'
'Tea stand is right over there, Jack.'
'I'll be right back,' Jack said hoarse and left for the tea stand.
MacGyver shook his head.
'That's funny. I thought Jack usually like spicey food,' Sam said.
'Well, he does,' MacGyver said.
The PDA beeped inside Mac's pocket again. 'Hold this,' he said and gave his cup to Sam before answering the PDA. 'Hello?'
'Mac?'
'Pete. What's up?'
'You need to hurry up, Mac. I'm worried about the children. Things are getting really ugly here.'
'We're in Bombay, now, Pete. The helicopter pilot from Buthan dropped us off here. We're on our way to Varanasi.'
'Good, that's good.'
'What do you mean by: "things are getting ugly"?'
'There's another storm coming and it looks like it's going to be bad. All communication systems are down in the control tower and I am not going to be able to send you information on Varanasi. That's why I called.'
'How far are we from Varanasi?'
'From what I've found on India, you're still pretty far away. You might need to take the train.'
'Great. Do you know how stuffed these trains can be?'
'Yeah, but you don't have many options.'
'I understand, Pete. Send James this way immediately, alright? I know there's an international airport outside Varanasi. He can fly there.'
'You got it.'
'I'll find a way get to there, Pete. I'll be back as soon as I can.'
MacGyver turned to PDA off and Sam gave him his cup back.
'What did he say?' Sam asked.
'That things were getting ugly.'
'Ugly how?'
'Well, there appears to be a storm coming and everything in the control tower seems to be down.'
'You know, dad, I do wonder how this whole situation will turn out.'
'So do I, Sam. So do I. It all started with a boy feeling homesick. We travelled all around the world trying to solve this thing and now we're here in India to place marigold flowers on a grave for a girl's grandfather. This may not be the biggest mess I've been into but it certainly is one of the most oddest. I suggest we just do what we're told and place those flowers on the grave and then get back to the island.'
'I'm with you, dad, all the way.'
'Good.'
MacGyver and Sam finished their food and threw the cups in the garbage can. In the crowds they saw Jack coming back. 'Jack! Come on, let's go.'
Jack was waving his hand near his mouth. 'Wow, that Indian food is spicey. And I like spicey food.'
'Did you put out your mouthfire, Jack?' MacGyver asked.
'Yeah, whew. Wow. So what's the plan?'
'Pete just called. We better get moving to Varanasi. He's getting worried about the children and I'm getting more and more the need of going back to the island. So let's find some marigold to put on that grave and get out of here.'
MacGyver turned around but in doing so, he bumped into a woman dressed in a sari. 'Oh, excuse, ma'am, I...'
'That's alright, I...'
They looked at each other for a moment and there was recognition.
'MacGyver! Hi!' the woman said and practically jumped him in a hug.
'Penny Parker? What are you doing here?' he said trying to sound enthousiastic.
'I live here now.'
'You do?'
'Yes. Remember your birthday? Well, it's at least ten years ago. Anyway, I told Jack once I had my palm read by Madame Bourguiba over on Melrose and she said that I would live in India in a little hut on the Ganges. And look at me now. She was right.'
'Great.'
'I guess, she was,' Jack said.
'Jack! How good to see you,' she said and hugged him as well.
So how long have you been living out here?' MacGyver asked.
'About five or six years. We haven't seen each other in a while, you know?'
'Well, you left without telling me.'
'Well, you never returned my calls.'
'I was busy.'
He was not. He was just ignoring her.
'So who's your friend? He's cute,' she said eyeing the dark haired young man.
'Boy, she's in for a surprise,' Jack said.
'Great. I love surprises.'
'Penny Parker, I like you to meet Sam.'
'Hi, Sam. I'm Penny,' she said and they shook hands.
'I've heard,' he said.
'So, how do you know, MacGyver?' she said still holding his hand.
'Well,' he said still smiling, 'he is my father.'
Penny bursts out in laughing. MacGyver, Jack and Sam all forced a laugh.
'Don't be silly,' she laughed. 'MacGyver doesn't have any kids.'
'He does now,' he laughed back at her.
Again they forced a laugh.
'Yeah, right, that's a good one,' she said still laughing.
'Tell me about it. You should've seen his face when he found out about me.'
They laughed again and this time they were not faking it. Jack coughed from laughing.
'He was like: "huh?" Weren't you, dad?'
'Yeah, I was,' MacGyver laughed. 'Surprised, I didn't have a heart attack.'
Sam laughed even harder now. Jack was shaking all over from laughing.
'This is the best I ever heard,' Jack said.
'Get out of town,' she said laughing.
They all kept laughing and the people walking around started to gawk at them.
'Well, I will, but it doesn't make it any less true,' Sam laughed.
'Wait, you're not kidding,' Penny said.
'No, he's not,' Jack said while wiping tears of laughter.
'I really am his son, Penny,' Sam said trying to get a hold of himself.
'Really?'
She still couldn't believe it.
'Wait, I'll show you.'
Sam took out his locket and showed her the pictures of MacGyver and Kate.
'That's my mother, Katherine and here's my dad.'
Jack walked up to MacGyver and patted him on the shoulder. 'I haven't had a laugh like this in years, Mac.'
'Me either, Jack. Never thought I would have this much fun with Penny Parker.'
Sam and Penny got a hold of themselves again.
'You really are his son,' Penny said.
'Yep.'
'So what happened to your mom?'
'She died when I was a kid.'
'I'm sorry,' Penny said.
'She got killed in China but that's a long time ago. Then I found dad. We've been hanging out ever since.'
'He works as photojournalist for the Foundation,' MacGyver said who also got a hold of himself again. 'We work together on several assignments.'
'Like now?' she asked.
'Yeah.'
'So what are you doing in India then?'
'We're working on a assignment for Phoenix.'
'Is Mr. Thornton still director of field operations?'
'Yeah, he is.'
'Give him my regards.'
'I will,' he said. 'So we're actually here on a mission. We're on our way to Varanasi.'
'Really? That's where I live.'
'You're kidding.'
'No, I really live there. That's where my hut is at the Ganges.'
'No way.'
'Yes way. Why don't you come along? I was on my way home anyway.'
MacGyver looked at Jack and Sam, who seemed to agree.
'Fine, then.'
'But we better get moving or else we miss the train,' she said.
'Won't be the first time I had to catch a train with a cab,' MacGyver said.
Varanasi
At the Ganges
An hour later after an uncomfortable trip in a chockfull train, MacGyver, Jack, Sam and Penny arrived in Varanasi. Penny brought them to her little hut. Despite the heavily polluted Ganges her hut was located in a seemingly paradise on earth. She had a view on the buildings on the other side of the riverbank.
'Please, come in. Make yourself comfortable.'
The hut itself was fluffy, real Penny Parker-like.
'Cosy,' Jack said.
'I would call it: fluffy,' MacGyver responded.
'Let's sit outside in the garden,' Penny suggested.
They went outside. The garden was also typical Penny Parker-style with lots of flowers and a small fountain. They all sat down around a garden table. Penny brought a plateau with cups and tea. She gave everyone a cup before she sat down.
'So, what's the assignment?' she asked.
'Well, we've been working the past few weeks on a special assignment,' MacGyver explained. 'Ever heard of Camp United?'
Penny shook her head while drinking her tea.
'It's a camp located on an island in the Pacific.'
'What sort of camp?'
'Children from all around the world can gather there during the summer to talk about political and other world issues,' Sam said.
'Like a government?'
'More or less,' MacGyver said. 'But in the past few weeks things went awry. This is all still in an experimental phase. We have six children in our care for now and ever since my first day there things have gone wrong. The children are intolerable. We've been in England, Egypt, China, Buthan and now we're here. All for the sake of the children.'
'How come they are intolerable?'
'We don't know. We thought one was homesick, then another one went missing, another one had anger issues. Now we're here because one of the girls asked us to deliver some flowers on her grandfather's grave. We're actually looking for a graveyard.'
'Well, that might a problem,' Penny said.
'How's that?' Jack asked.
'Because there are no graveyards in Varanasi.'
'What?' MacGyver was shocked.
MacGyver, Jack and Sam all shared a look.
'What?' Penny wondered.
'I don't believe this,' Sam said. 'Endrani is from Varanasi herself. Why wouldn't she know something like that?'
'That's a very good question, Sam,' MacGyver said. 'This whole thing just gets more and more bizarre.'
'What do you mean, MacGyver?' Penny asked.
'Just a lot of contradictories. We've had unhappy kids who claimed to be happy, we've had happy kids who claimed to be unhappy and the list goes on and on.'
'That is weird,' she said.
'Not to mention, we were being followed,' Jack said.
'By who?'
'Jack,' MacGyver said as if he said something he shouldn't have.
'What? It's true.'
MacGyver sighed. 'We were but we lost them in the Himalayas.'
'Who followed you?'
'Murdoc.'
Penny gasped. 'Are you saying that terrible man is still alive?'
'Afraid so.'
'I remember how he pulled off his face in front of me in that big scary old theatre.'
'Pulled off his face?' Sam asked shocked.
'It wasn't his face,' MacGyver said. 'He was wearing a mask. Half of his face was covered in scars from burning wounds. When he tried to kill me and Pete in the theatre, he was disguised as Jacques Leroux. He used half a mask to cover the scars in order to be someone else.'
'And now he's back?' Penny asked.
'Yeah. Murdoc's organization HIT, also had plans for the island, to make it a training ground. Only Phoenix got the island first. They've been following and sabotaging us ever since. Last we saw them they hijacked our plane. We jumped ship and haven't seen them after that.'
'That must've been terrifying.'
'It sure gets the old adrenaline kicking,' Sam said.
'So HIT is trying to get their hands on the island?'
'Exactly,' MacGyver said, 'and I'm beginning to think they're using the children to get what they want.'
'Are you saying they're brainwashed,' Jack asked.
'Interesting choice of words, Jack. But no, not brainwashed. Maybe they're manipulated or forced to do act like that.
'But they said they wouldn't hurt the kids,' Sam said.
'Maybe not physically. Maybe they're holding their parents captive in order to get to the children to do what they want.'
MacGyver tapped the sides of his chair thinking. 'Penny, you said there are no graveyards in Varanasi, right?'
'That's right,' she answered.
'How do the Hindus remember their passed away ones then?'
'Well, actually, they honor their deceased by throwing flowers on the Ganges.'
'They, what?' Sam asked.
'In our world, we put flowers on graves. Here in India they put flowers on rivers. You see, the Ganges is a holy river and belongs to the river goddess Ganga. Hindus believe that bathing in this river will wash away their sins.'
'That river didn't look exactly clean.'
'I wouldn't drink of it either,' Penny said, 'but it's the way things are here.'
'I've known about the Ganga Action Plan but that didn't exactly work out as it should be. I guess, this would be an interesting assignment for our environmental programme,' MacGyver said. 'But now, we need to get those flowers and throw them into the river then, if that's the costum here.'
'What sort of flowers?' Penny asked.
'Marigolds.'
'Ah,' she said and pointed behind MacGyver. 'Look behind you.'
MacGyver turned around and saw marigolds right behind him. 'Of course, you would have those flowers.'
'Of course. You can take some of them, if you'd like.'
'Really?'
'Sure, if it helps that little girl, I'd be glad to help.'
'You're a doll, Penny.'
Penny smiled at him.
'We'll throw it in the river right away then.
They returned to the river and MacGyver threw the flowers in the river.
'For your grandfather, Endrani.'
The PDA beeped again.
'What's that?' Penny asked.
'A PDA. That's how we stay in touch with the camp.'
MacGyver answered the call but the transmission was very blurry.
'MacGyver? Can... ou... ear, me?' Pete asked.
'Pete? Pete! The connection's bad, I can barely make you out.'
'The weather... is... ting... bad, again. I have... some... portant... to... ell, ou. Mac... ver?'
The connection went broke.
'What?' Sam asked.
'We lost connection. The weather must be getting bad again at camp. He had something important to tell me.'
'What then?' Jack asked.
'He didn't say. But we really need to get back to the camp.'
'Any word on James?' Sam asked.
'I assume he left, last time we spoke, but who knows how long it'll take for him to get here.'
'You really are neck-deep in trouble, aren't you?' Penny said.
'It's a big mess, that's for sure,' MacGyver said and looked up at the sky. It was getting late in the afternoon. 'We'll lose light in a few hours and I doubt James will be here before that. Penny, can we spend the night at your place if necessary?'
'Sure, that's no problem. You can freshen up and I'll make my Indian curry dish for dinner. If I don't put the stove on fire again.'
'Huh?'
'Just kidding.'
'Ah.'
'Come on, let's go back.'
On their way back to the hut Sam noticed this signpost with two arrows pointing in each direction. One said: "Taj Mahal this way." The other one said: "Temple of Doom that way."
'Hey, dad, look.'
MacGyver turned around.
'Want to go see Temple of Doom?'
'Nah, I've already seen it.'
'That temple is real?' Jack asked.
'Jack, I've seen Lara Croft and a mummy chasing someone who looked like Indiana Jones. Why wouldn't the Temple of Doom be real?'
'Good question.'
MacGyver rolled his eyes which made Penny smile.
'Come on, let's go,' he said.
'Too bad, we're so far away from the Taj Mahal. I really wanted to get a snapshot of that,' Sam said.
'The Taj Mahal is way in the West from where we are,' Penny said.
'Maybe next time.' (Music comes up here)
MacGyver, Sam, Jack and Penny returned to the little hut where the three guys stayed for the night. The next day, they said goodbye to Penny and went to the international airport outside of Varanasi where James was indeed waiting for them to fly them back to the camp.
(The music reaches it's peak and we fade out here)
Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you.
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- Location: Belgium
Re: MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
Welcome to chapter 8. In today's chapter Nikki and Pete are trying to figure out what Eric's plans are with the island while MacGyver, Sam, Jack and James are on their way back from India. However it seems everything is over the Phoenix-team but will they have to admit defeat and why is MacGyver going to Australia? You will find out below.
Despite MacGyver Online is down for the moment, I decided to post chapter 8 here anyway. I'll post chapter 8 on MacGyver Online from as soon it's back online. I'd probably keep it on my schedule of posting on Wednesdays and Sundays. So I'll post chapter 8 next Wednesday if it's back online by then and I will post chapter 9 which is the finale of the story next Sunday on both forums then. For now enjoy chapter 8.
(We fade in with Carla's Main Theme from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de5ONSJ_e2Q
Chapter VIII
Return to the Camp
Eric's plans
It was another cloudy and rainy day at the camp. Nikki was standing in her office looking outside the window to the rain and the damages. The bad weather from the past few days severely damaged the island. Trees fell over, the lake went out of it's banks and three of the children's cabins were completely destroyed. Luckily they weren't in there when it happened. This whole project has become a big failure in her eyes and Phoenix will have to answer for it big time. Not only this bothered her but she was also thinking about MacGyver. He had been gone for about four days now since he left to China. Pete reassured her MacGyver was alright despite of what she heard about what happened on the plane. She knows he always pulls through but she can't help but to think about him. Then there was this other matter that kept bothering her: the deal Eric Woodman made with whoever he was talking to on the phone. Ever since MacGyver left again Eric remained very calm about the situation but she knew she couldn't trust him. If Eric gets his hands on the property papers everything will be over for good. The island will go to HIT then and all their work has been for nothing. But Eric hasn't made a move so far. Somebody knocked on her door. (The music fades out here)
'Come in,' she said.
It was Pete. 'Nikki?'
'Pete. What is it?'
'I just got word from James. Our boys are on the way back here.'
'Well, that's a relief. When will they be back?'
'I don't know, with this weather? Maybe by tonight.'
'Good.'
'Just wanted to let you know.'
'Thanks, Pete.'
Pete noticed a troubled look in her eyes. 'Are you alright?'
Nikki sighed and sat down behind her desk, offering Pete to sit down as well. 'Pete, I don't know how to tell you this but I think Eric might be up to something.'
'How's that?'
'A couple of days ago, I heard him on the phone talking to someone about bringing the island over to HIT.'
'What? Why didn't you say this earlier?'
'Because I can't prove it.'
'You think he has connections to Murdoc?'
'That I doubt but maybe with whoever is running HIT now.'
'Nicholas? Sonya? They were chairman of the board once, now they appear to share that position.'
'Maybe there is someone else? Someone behind the scenes.'
'Who, then?'
'I don't know. But seriously, out here, would you bother to call someone who is at the island with you?'
'We have our phone system for a reason.'
'The island is not that big, Pete. Everything is at walking distance. If you need something of someone, you might as well go there instead of calling.'
'You think he called someone from the mainland? Someone directly from the HIT branch?'
'Maybe.'
'It's possible.'
'I also heard he wanted MacGyver out of the way but not dead.'
'If he made a deal with HIT, guess how that's going to turn out.'
'They'll kill him.'
'They probably both get killed.'
'Where are the property papers, Pete?'
'In my office.'
'You have them here?'
'That's right.'
'And those are the only copies we have?'
'Yes. Why?'
Nikki started to panic. 'Oh, not good Pete. Not good.'
'What?'
She stood up and left her office with Pete on her tail.
'Nikki, wait up.'
(The track Dennis Steals The Embryo from Jurassic Park begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuiOQYDvXwM
At the same time Eric stuck his head outside his office door and looked around. There was nobody in the hallway. He went back inside, kept his fist near his mouth and thought for a moment. Maybe he should wait a little longer until it's dark or maybe he should've acted sooner. There was no point in waiting any longer. He would get the property papers, make a few adjustments and fax them over to HIT with a price of sale. Recent events were bad enough to close the camp so the sale wouldn't be much of a problem. He would sell for the same price Phoenix paid plus his extra fee. Phoenix loses and he will make a quick buck on the side. But then he would have to move fast and now.
'Oh, what the hell,' he figured and quickly went to Pete's office and closed the door behind him.
He began checking Pete's desk and drawers but found nothing there. Then he started to search the file cabinets. He opened the first one. 'Camp United. C, C, C.'
His fingers went past every file with a C on, but he found nothing. He closed the cabinet drawer and opened another one. 'Maybe on Property Papers.' Again he went past the files with the letter P. He found a big file that said: 'Phoenix.' He took it out and placed it on Pete's desk and started to browse through it. It was pretty thick.
'Come on, come on.'
He kept flipping pages until he saw what he was looking for. 'Aha! Phoenix Property Papers. Camp United. That's it.'
Eric took out the pages he needed and placed the file back on his place in the cabinet. He quickly stashed the papers in his vest and went back to the door. The hallway was still empty. He was so lucky that his office wasn't too far away from Pete's and ran back. He shut the door and went to his desk. All he had to do was scan it in, erase a couple of names and signatures and then fax it to HIT. Afterwards he would have to get rid of the original and the island will belong the HIT and Phoenix can start packing.
Nikki and Pete entered the hallway. Pete was a bit out of breath.
'Nikki, will you slow down a bit?'
'No, Pete, I'm sorry.'
'If I was only twenty years younger.'
They entered Pete's office. Pete tried to catch his breath.
'Where do you keep the property papers?'
'In that file cabinet over there.'
'Which one?' she said while going to the cabinets.
'Try the letter P. There's a big file that says "Phoenix".'
Nikki opened the cabinet with the letter P and flipped through the files until she found the one she was looking for.
'Got it.'
She placed it on Pete's desk and flipped the pages pretty quick.
'Can you find it?' Pete asked.
She pulled up her shoulders while she kept flipping the pages. 'Not immediately.'
The file was ordered alphabetically. She was about to reach the letter D in the file when she noticed something. 'Do you keep it under C or U?'
'C.'
'It's not here.'
'What?' Pete said and went to take a closer look.
'We're too late.'
Nikki left the office again.
'Nikki, wait!'
Nikki went to Eric's office and barged in there, startling Eric.
'Gotcha!' (The music fades away here)
'Didn't you ever heard of knocking, Ms. Carpenter?' he asked.
'You, son of a bitch. You got the papers, didn't you?'
'Papers? What are you talking about?'
'The property papers, damn it. You stole them didn't you, you bastard?'
'Ms. Carpenter, I don't what's gotten into you, but I haven't stolen anything.'
Pete walked in. 'Nikki. Eric?'
'Mr. Thornton, could you please escort Ms. Carpenter out of my office?'
'I heard you talking on the phone the other day. You're going to sell us out to HIT. You, goddamn traitor.'
'Eric, is this true?' Pete asked.
'My dear Ms. Carpenter, I don't know what you think you heard but I was talking on the phone with my daughter.'
'No way. You were on the phone talking about selling us out to HIT and you wanted MacGyver out of the way.'
'Ridiculous, Ms. Carpenter. Despite what you might think, I care about this project as much as you do. I wouldn't benefit at all of selling you out. Now, please, I have work to do.'
'Nikki, come on. Let's go,' Pete said.
'No, Pete. I know he took the papers. You saw the papers were gone.'
'Yes, I did but...'
'The papers are gone, I heard you talking and you want MacGyver out of the way.'
'Honestly, Ms. Carpenter, I've just had about enough of you. Those are serious accusations and I won't stand for them. Leave this office, immediately!'
'Like hell I will...'
'Get out! Now!'
'Nikki,' Pete said and started to pull her with him outside.
They left and Eric slammed the door shut behind them, hard. Pete and Nikki walked back to Pete's office. They both sat down on opposite sides of the desk, sharing a long silenced look. Finally Nikki said: 'He stole them, Pete.'
'I know,' he replied quietly.
'Than why didn't you...?'
Pete raised his hand and said: 'Nikki, you need to calm down first. You can't just barge into somebody's office and accuse them of stealing.'
'Pete, we're almost all that is left on the island and you know MacGyver doesn't fully trust him. Or are you questioning his judgement?'
'No. I don't question his judgement, Nikki. I think we need to be more diplomatic about this, instead of pointing fingers.'
'Diplomatic? If we're not too late now, I don't know it anymore.'
Nikki lowered her head and shook it. 'As far as I'm concerned, it's all over. We can start packing.'
'Maybe not. But I'll go talk with Eric and smooth everything out and try to find out if he stole the papers. Just stay here and calm down.'
'Fine. It's too late anyway.'
Pete sighed and got up from his chair and returned to Eric's office. He knocked on the door.
'Who is it?' Eric said from behind the door.
'It's me, Pete.'
Eric got up and opened the door: 'What do you want, Thornton?'
'To talk about what just happened. Can I come in?'
'If it doesn't take too long,' he said and let Pete in.
'Eric, we're all frustrated here,' Pete began, 'and we're all very worried about the future of this project. The chances it has a future is very slim right now. If we also have to deal with theft the board will shut us down. If you stole those papers at least show the decency to admit that and I'll make sure the consequences will remain limited but if you don't I'll make sure you spend time in jail. Now, what's it going to be?'
'Pete, I'm the biggest investor in this project. I've got most to lose here. If this fails, you and MacGyver and Ms. Carpenter go back to your science labs and high rise building. I will go bankrupt. Do you really think I would let that happen or make some dumb move by stealing something?'
'No. I don't think so.'
'I'm a businessman, Pete. This is what I do.'
'We just have to check out everything. It was nothing personal.'
'I understand that. Ms. Carpenter seems to have it in for me lately. I don't know what has been bothering her but she doesn't like me.'
'Don't let it get to you. I'll take care of Nikki. Besides, MacGyver will be back soon and then we can start thinking about our next move.'
'Very well. Now, Pete, if you'll excuse me, I like to get ahead with my work.'
'Of course.'
Pete left again for his office and Eric closed the door behind him. He had to move fast now after being interrupted twice. He went back to his computer and started to work on the papers he scanned in earlier. He erased a couple of things first like names and company names. Then he scrolled down the screen and removed the signatures. The property papers were now completely blank again in the right places. With his mouse he went to "file" and pressed "print". The printer started to buzz and a couple of seconds later a copy of the papers came out. 'Excellent.'
Eric went to the phone and called the person he was on the phone with earlier.
'It's Woodman. I've got the papers. Give me your fax number and I'll fax it to you.'
The person on the other side gave him the number. 'Thanks, you'll have them in a moment.'
Eric took the copy of the papers, placed them in the fax machine and faxed them to HIT. He succeeded in his little plan and smiled self-conceited. He will sell the island to HIT, earn his share and Phoenix will have to pay the piper. After he faxed the papers, he turned on his shredder and destroyed the original papers. Once the money is made over to his account, he would be an even more richer man then he already is. There was no way out for Phoenix this time.
'What did he say?' Nikki asked.
'He denied everything,' Pete replied.
'And you believe him?'
'I believe him that he has the most to lose here.'
'Unbelieveable.'
'Nikki, I'm not saying I don't believe you, but this man can go bankrupt if this project doesn't work out. Why would he steal something then?'
'Money, Pete. It's always about the money.'
Pete didn't say anything.
'Pete, I'm sorry for insisting like this. We can keep debating about this but I can prove he stole those papers. If I'm wrong, I'll quit my job then.'
'Nikki, that is not necessary.'
'Will you let me prove it?'
'If that's what it takes to get you off my back, yes, I will let you prove it.'
'Good. Is Eric still in his office?'
'He was there when I left.'
'We wait till he leaves the office and then we'll snoop around.'
'That can take hours.'
'That's why we have to stay here. If he took the papers, he can't bring them back as long we're here ourselves. Eventually he will have to leave his office sooner or later.'
Pete sighed again: 'Fine, Nikki.'
'Good, I'll be on the lookout and will make my move when he leaves.'
Nikki went to the door and began to keep an eye on Eric's door.
'Nikki, what if Eric is planning the exact same thing and waiting on us to leave?'
'That's a good question,' she said. 'Then we can be standing here for a long time.'
However it didn't last a long time. Only a few minutes after Nikki stood by the door, Eric's door opened and she saw him leave. He walked in the other direction with his back to her. He never saw her. She waited until he left the corridor and was out of sight. 'OK, come on.'
Nikki and Pete went back to Eric's office. 'Keep an eye out for him while I look for the papers.'
Pete remained by the door and kept an eye out for Eric while Nikki began searching. She went to his desk and lifted the computer's keyboard. She started to open the drawers but found nothing. During her check of the desk, her hand hit the mouse and the computer screen went on. There was nothing to be seen but the wallpaper. She opened his files but there was nothing out of the ordinary. She checked out the deleted files in the bin pictogram but also there nothing. 'Of course, he deleted everything.' She looked at her right and noticed the file cabinet. She opened those drawers but they were stuffed with pretty much the same files Pete had. She did check the files with the letters C, P and U but there was nothing there either. Next to the file cabinet was the fax machine. There was a little red light blinking.
'Pete, do you see him?'
'No. We're all clear.'
'OK.'
She started to tap the buttons. The display blinked on and then she pressed "last dialled number". A number appeared along with the date and time of use. She checked her watch. It was only ten minutes ago. 'Gotcha.' Then she pressed "print last fax". A paper came out which was the adjusted version of the property papers. 'I knew it.'
'Did you find anything?' Pete asked at the door.
'Oh, yeah. I found something alright.'
'Then come on, let's go.'
She folded the paper up and stuck it in her pocket. When she turned around on her way back to the door, her foot hit the shredder. She looked down and saw something in there. 'Wait. What's this?'
'Nikki, hurry up. I think he's coming back.'
Quickly Nikki opened up the shredder and took out the shredded papers. 'Alright, I got it. Let's go. Come on.'
Pete and Nikki left Eric's office and hurried back to Pete's office just when Eric came back in the corridor.
'That was close,' Pete said.
'Yeah.'
'So what did you find?'
Nikki placed the shredded papers on Pete's desk and took the fax out her pocket. 'I found this and this.'
'Well?'
'He faxed this, no longer then ten minutes ago. It's a copy of the property papers, but it's blank. He erased whatever we filled in and our signatures. And I think this shredded piece of paper was the original.'
'So he is guilty?'
'I never doubted that, Pete. I know what I've heard that day. This is proof.'
'But even if we can proof it, it still might be too late. If he gets paid, he can still be gone soon.'
'That's why we need to make sure he can't leave this island.'
'I'll call the control tower and have them tell Jack and James they cannot fly Eric out of here.'
'Good. Even if he gets paid then, he can't just simply walk out of here.'
Pete immediately made the call. 'Control tower? This is Pete Thornton. If Eric Woodman attempts to charter a flight out of here, tell our pilots they can't take off until further notice, alright? Alright.'
'Now, all we have to worry about is how we can counteract HIT's claim on the island.'
'I wouldn't worry about that now we have this. If necessary we'll take it out to court. I think we best now wait on MacGyver's return and tell him what happened here.'
'And I think it's best we keep Eric in the dark about this. He doesn't know we can prove it now. All he knows is that we have our suspicions.'
'Great. You did good, Nikki. I'm sorry for doubting you.'
'Thanks, Pete and no apology necessary.'
A couple of hours later MacGyver, Sam, Jack and James arrived back on the island. It was still raining when the plane drove into the hangar.
'Well, we're back, guys,' James said. 'Thank you for flying Camp United Airlines.'
'Oh, man. What a week,' Sam said and stretched out. 'I'm going to take a long nap.'
'That's a good idea, Sam,' MacGyver said. 'We have some catching up to do.'
A loud snoring came out of the fuselage. MacGyver, Sam and James turned their heads to the sound. It was Jack sitting there with his pilot cap over his eyes and fingers clenched on his belly, making snoring and hissing sounds. MacGyver walked up to him and hit his cap of his head. 'Jack, come on. Wake up. We're back.'
'Huh? What? We're back? Already?' he asked sleepy and moaningly he yawned so wide it astonished Sam.
'Yeah, we're back,' MacGyver said. 'Let's go find our beds, huh?'
'Alright,' Jack got up a little creaky and the foursome left the plane.
They left the hangar and as if they were struck by lightning they noticed the destruction that has occured in the past few days.
'What the hell happened here?' MacGyver asked.
'Bad weather,' James said.
'Aw, man.'
'At this point, I just don't care,' Sam said. 'I want to sleep for a few days and that's what I'm gonna do. If you need me, I'll be in my cabin.'
'I'm with you, Sam,' Jack said and left for his own cabin.
'I guess, we all are,' MacGyver said.
'Later, Mac,' James said.
'See ya, James.'
The men parted ways and MacGyver walked around the lake, past the puddles and mud. He reached the little bridge which was now missing a part and jumped over it to the other side. All he cared about now was sleep and went to his own cabin. He went in and saw Nikki sitting at his desk, going through the papers she found earlier.
'Hi, baby,' he said.
She looked up from her papers and smiled. 'MacGyver.'
MacGyver walked up to her when she stood up and they hugged intensely.
'Where have you been? I was so worried about you.'
'Pete didn't tell you?' he asked when he let go of her.
'Yeah, he did, but I was still worried. What happened?'
'After we left China, Murdoc, Nicholas and Sonya were waiting for us. They hijacked Jack's plane. We jumped the plane and lost them somewhere over the Himalayas. We ended up in Bhutan and from there on we went to India. That's the short version. What happened here?'
'The weather here has been just plain awful. That caused most of the damages and I've caught Eric with his hand in the cookie jar.'
Nikki gave him the copy of the paper Eric faxed through. 'Look at this. This is the property papers he faxed to most likely HIT. He sold us out.'
MacGyver quickly glanced at the paper. 'Uh, yeah, look, Nikki. I'm pretty tired right. I've been in three countries in four days and I really need to sleep. Can it wait till morning?'
Nikki sighed. 'Very well. The damage has been done anyway.'
'Hey. I'll look at it in the morning.'
'Fine,' she said. 'I'm just trying to save what's left to save, which isn't much by the way.'
(The Love Theme of Metro begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OumeKLmVxrQ
'Nikki,' he said and placed his hands on her shoulders, 'I'm too tired right now to look at this. Go tell Pete that I'm back and that I will see him tomorrow morning. Then we'll have our briefing and you explain me what you have there. Just you, me and Pete, like before.'
'I'm sorry. I'm just too stressed out at the moment. I really have the feeling we're losing this one, baby.'
'And you can't stand to lose, can you?'
'Poorly.'
'Just go to Pete, tell him what I said and then I'll hit the sack. Tomorrow is a whole new day with a fresh set of new possibilities.'
They kissed and Nikki left while MacGyver dropped himself onto the bed and dozed off in a deep sleep.
The following morning, MacGyver woke up. He rubbed over his face and yawned while checking his watch. It was eighth-thirty in the morning. He slept for 14 hours straight. His long hair stood up in every direction. Moaning he sat up straight at side of his bed. He was still so tired and the time differences started to take effect on him. Wobbling he stood up and went to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He shook his head and turned on the faucets. His hands filled with cold water and splashed himself a couple of times in the face until he was awake. He freshened up and changed his clothes. After he finished tying his shoelaces he went to the Phoenix building and to the briefing room where Pete and Nikki were waiting for him. (The music fades away here)
'MacGyver,' Pete said, 'good morning.'
'Morning Pete,' he said back and they shook hands.
'Glad to see you're alright.'
'Thanks, Pete. It's been an exciting couple of days.'
MacGyver went to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup of coffee before he sat down at the table.
'So,' Pete said as he and Nikki took place, 'fill us in. What have you found out?'
'Well in China, I've met Yung Li's father who said his son never had any anger issues and speaks English very well. Mei Jan says hello.'
'That's it?' Nikki asked.
'Mei Jan arranged everything. Then after I received Endrani's message, we went on our way to India.'
'And that's when you got hijacked?'
'Exactly, Murdoc and company were waiting for us when we took off. A struggle happened on the plane and we had to jump over the Himalayas. We haven't seen or heard them since.'
'Jumped in mid-air?' Pete asked.
'We didn't had much choice. We bailed out with parachutes and we can only assume they crashed in the mountains. But they could very well still be alive.'
'Where did you land?'
'Outside Thimpu in Bhutan, where I met Anonda's mother.'
'The one kid that hasn't caused any troubles so far.'
'Yeah, she's working in the Royal Palace of Bhutan and she told me Anonda suffers from allergies, yet he hasn't been sneezing here at all.
'Then what happened?' Nikki asked.
'The king of the country arranged our transportation to India. But get this: Endrani told me to bring flowers to her grandfather's grave only there are no cemetaries in Varanasi.'
'What?' Pete asked.
'How can she not know that?' Nikki wondered.
'My thoughts exactly. She is from Varanasi herself and doesn't know that?'
'Well, how did you know?' Pete asked.
'Penny Parker says hi.'
'You saw Penny there?'
'Yeah, she lives there now.'
'So what did you do then?' Nikki asked.
'I did what she asked but I threw the flowers in the Ganges as it accustomed there. But the fact Endrani didn't know this, is something that keeps bugging me.'
'Are you saying Endrani may not be who she says she is?' Pete asked.
'I don't know what to make of that, Pete. Having a kid infiltrate on a island like this? For what purpose?'
'Espionage?'
'So the expression of: "Why send a man to do a woman's job?" has turned into: "Why send a grown-up to do a kid's job?"'
Nikki smirked a little. 'I'll tell Cynthia to talk with Endrani about this.'
'Good. That's about what I had. So what happened here while I was away?'
Nikki and Pete shared a look.
'Like, I told you yesterday, MacGyver,' Nikki started, 'Eric sold us out and we can prove it.' She shoved him the copy of the property papers and shredded papers under his nose. 'I tried to confront him first but that wasn't a good plan. I found this afterwards in his office.'
MacGyver observed the papers. 'These are indeed our property papers. And what is that shredded thing?'
'The originals.'
'Oh yes, I see. He made a copy, erased whatever we filled in and than send a blank copy to HIT. That's how he does business.'
'MacGyver, tell us we aren't doomed,' Pete said.
MacGyver looked at the copy again. 'Well, Pete, from the looks of things, I say we are.'
Nikki and Pete sighed.
'That's it then,' she said. 'It's over. We lost.'
MacGyver surpressed a smile. 'Not quite.'
'What?' Pete asked.
'Eric can try a sell us out as much as he want, he won't get away with it.'
'What do you mean?' Nikki asked.
'Way before the school hostage when we signed these documents, I immediately made a copy of the ones we signed. I've been keeping them ever since in a safe at Phoenix. Eric doesn't know about that.'
Nikki and Pete sighed in relief this time.
'Why didn't you tell us about this?'
'Because it was our insurance. Besides those documents are dated, unless they forge it, they can never get their hands on this island.'
'Well, that's first the good news in weeks,' Pete said.
'Yeah, but we're not out of the woods yet. This place is a giant mess and we still need to figure out what's wrong with children.'
'So what's next?'
'I don't know, Pete,' MacGyver said while putting the copy aside. 'We might wanna keep Eric in check. He still doesn't know about this, does he?'
'No,' Nikki said, 'he doesn't.'
'Good. We want to keep it that way. Make sure he can't leave the island.'
'I already notified the people at the airstrip not to let him get on a plane,' Pete said.
'I can't believe, I'm going to have to turn him in.'
'You don't have much choice, MacGyver,' Nikki said. 'He sold us out, he'll have to suffer the consequences.'
'MacGyver, what about HIT?' Pete asked. 'You're sure Murdoc is not dead?'
'Well, he didn't yell my name yet or I didn't hear it. No, I think Murdoc is still around and we haven't seen the last of him either.'
'What are we going to do about it?'
'I think we're going to have to confront him. Murdoc, Nicholas, Sonya and Eric.'
'How, where, when?'
'Probably here. They're after us, remember? They're bound to catch up on us sooner or later. With the evidence we've got so far, I think I can begin to point out they've been sabotaging us from the start and maybe I can start to figure out what's going on with the kids. If we can connect the children's behaviour with HIT's plans, there might be a shot to solve this whole thing.'
'How are you going to do that?'
'I don't know yet. I got a feeling, I don't know everything yet but I will soon.'
'Was there anything else?' Pete asked Nikki.
'Not that I can think of, no.'
'That's it then for this meeting.'
'Just go about your day and pretend everything is normal. Especially around Eric. We'll solve this thing soon, alright?' MacGyver said and got up, finished his coffee and then left.
(Music comes up here)
MacGyver went back outside and looked around the terrain. He shook his head. He knew they would have to start all over again from the beginning to give this project another chance. Trying to avoid the puddles and mud MacGyver walked back to the supplies basement. Since his escape with the lawnmower, the door was completely gone. The stairs were wet and dirty. Carefully he went back down to look for the loose board in the floor. He found it and couldn't believe it. The mechanical arm and bag with the evidence was still there. Out in the open, yet out of sight. MacGyver picked up the bag and looked at it. Everything was still in there. As far as he knew, nobody didn't know about what he hid underneath the boards. He placed the bag back underneath the board and walked back up outside where he bumped into Sam. (Music fades away)
'Dad.'
'Morning, Sam.'
'What were you doing down there?'
'Nothing, just checking. Is there a problem?'
Sam pulled up his shoulders. 'Just want to know what the plans are now?'
'Well, Eric sold us out.'
'What?'
'Yeah, he tried to sell us out to HIT.'
'What a bozo.'
'I know, right? But he think he sold us out. He did and he didn't actually.'
'What does that mean?'
'When we signed the property papers, I made copies of that and kept them in a safe at Phoenix.'
'That was smart.'
'You mean resourceful.'
Both of them smiled.
'So they can't have the island?' Sam asked.
'We can fight them legally if it comes to that.'
'Now what?'
'I don't know. I'm a bit at a loss here. We have Eric here. He can't leave the island. To get HIT we're going to have to confront Murdoc and company.'
'But we left them over the Himalayas.'
'Yes, but they're bound to show up, like bad pennies.'
'You just want to sit here and wait for them to come to us?'
'I don't think we have much choice on that, Sam.'
'Dad, that can take weeks if they're still alive. What do we do in the meantime?'
'Starting to figure out our story on what's going on with the kids and pinning Eric on his connection with HIT.'
'So, go figure,' Sam said.
'But there is still one thing bothering me.'
'What is it?'
'We never got really into why Kumoken locked me up there.'
'He wanted to play a game. You said it yourself. And he understood he was out of line.'
'I never thought more of it at the time but I do want to know more now.'
'You want to go talk to him?'
'No, I was actually thinking of going to Australia.'
Sam laughed because of the way it sounded but MacGyver's look meant he was serious. 'Oh, you're serious.'
'Yes, I am. It's not that very far from where we are. What do you say, Sam? Are you interested in a trip to kangaroo land?'
'You got that right, mate!' he said while mimicking an Australian accent.
'Good, now let's notify the others and be on our way outta here,' MacGyver said with his own Australian accent.
(The track Nullah Rides To Faraway Downs from the movie Australia begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4laYk6EHCPE
Australia
The Outback
MacGyver, Sam and James were flying over the Australian outback. The outback was a vast territory that covered nearly three quarters of the country. From out of the cockpit they saw several animals running over the plains.
'Wow, this is great,' Sam said and made a snapshot from out of the cockpit.
Kangaroos were jumping all over the place. James took the plane lower to have a closer look. They zoomed over the animals before going back up.
On the plains an Aboriginal man curiously looked up at the metal bird. He was going to keep an eye on it for sure if it was to come back.
James circled the plane around for another round.
'One more round and then we're going to land,' James said.
'Great,' MacGyver said while going through the intel on his PDA. 'We must be near the coordinates Pete gave us.'
'Then we're almost there?' Sam asked.
'Yep. Kumoken's parents must live in the neighborhood here.'
'What? Out here, in the outback?'
'Yeah. I know it's weird. This place is so isolated from the rest of the civilised world. Everything is so far apart from each other. You know that in case of medical emergency people have to fly down here?'
'The Flying Doctors,' Sam said.
'Exactly. Now, look here,' MacGyver said and pointed to a bleeping dot on the screen. 'That's an Aboriginal village. Kumoken's parents are Aborginals and living in the traditional lifestyle.'
'But if the camp only gave access to the kids of bigshots how come Kumoken got in?'
'They have connections within the Australian government. Kumoken's grandparents belonged to the Stolen Generations. They brought his family back together and as a sign of goodwill they allowed Kumoken to come to the island. He was send to tell about his family and preserve his heritage of the Aboriginals.'
'OK, boys, it's time to set her down,' James said. 'Just make sure your seatbelts are fastened and that your tables are back up.'
James landed the plane as a pro and brought it to a stop. 'Thanks again for flying Camp United Airlines.' (The music fades away here)
'The village is not that far from here,' MacGyver said. 'You mind waiting for us here? This shouldn't take long.'
'Sure, I'll be here. I got to go over the checkings list anyway.'
MacGyver patted James on his back when he got up. Sam left the cockpit first followed by his father. MacGyver opened the door and they both got out.
'Wow,' he said both impressed by the landscape and the heat. He put his sunglasses on as did Sam.
'Man, it's hot out here,' Sam said.
'Come to think of it, it's actually winter down here.'
'I prefer snow in the winter.'
'Only it's summer on our half of the world.'
'Climates.'
'Yeah. We better get moving.'
'Too bad this is only going to be a quick in-and-out visit. This country looks awesome.'
'Yes it is. This is actually one of the few nations we hardly have any relations with. At least out of Phoenix's point of view.'
'You think we'll see Crocodile Dundee here?'
'Who knows, Sam. Let's get going. The sooner we find Kumoken's parents, the sooner we might be able to solve this whole thing. It's starting to become a drag really.'
MacGyver and Sam hardly left the plane or the Aboriginal man appeared in front of them. Curiously he looked at the plane and at them.
'Howdy,' MacGyver greeted him.
The man stared at him.
'Do you speak English?'
The man kept staring at him.
'I guess not,' Sam said.
'We're looking for an Aboriginal village of our friend Kumoken.'
The man's face cleared up when he heard the name Kumoken.
'Kumoken,' he said.
'That's right. Kumoken. You know him?'
'Kumoken. Village nearby.'
'So he does speak English,' Sam said.
'Kumoken, good friend of mine. I bring you to family.'
'I guess we beter follow him then,' MacGyver said.
After a little walk, MacGyver, Sam and the Aborginal man arrived in the Aboriginal village. Through their walk in the jungle, they noticed a man wrestling a crocodile in a lake and being cheered on by the local natives. Sam quickly took a picture. The village itself was not that big but MacGyver and Sam were greeted peaceful. They felt like they were in this old movie where explorers find these villages in the jungles far away from the civilised world. MacGyver and Sam were brought to the chief of the tribe who turned out to be Kumoken's father. Everyone gathered around the tribesman near the fire in the middle of the village. There was a kangaroo broiling over the fire.
The tribesman raised his hands to get everyone quiet and spoke: 'I was told, you know my son, Kumoken.'
'Yes, that's right,' MacGyver said. 'That's why we're here.'
'My son is far away to a summer camp.'
'We know,' Sam answered. 'That's where we came from.'
'I never agreed for him to go to that camp.'
'Why not?' MacGyver asked.
'The only thing Kumoken knew as a boy was our land, our people and our language. Now he wants to live in urban cities. I don't know why. He hasn't been traditionally initiated into manhood yet and if he never is, he can never carry on his heritage.'
'Traditionally initiated? You mean going on walkabouts?'
'Yes. We have our customs and traditions. You see, a long time ago before Australia was colonized, this country was ours, of the Aboriginees, that was until the white man came.'
'So the same thing happened here as when Columbus discovered America and the colonists took away the Indians their land?' Sam asked.
'Yes. Only one percent is what is left of the Aboriginees in Australia. The colonists murdered our people while we always embraced strangers. We accepted the outcasts of the white people but in return they attempted to exterminate our race like the Tasmanians. Completely extinct.'
'And when your child is away from his homeland...' MacGyver began.
'He's helping to complete the genocide. We must keep our history alive. It was not so long ago the white man tried to take our children away from us...'
'The Stolen Generations.'
'... and forced us to live on reserves.'
'Like the Indians,' Sam added.
'They took us there in chains and beat us for speaking our language and for practising our religions. Infecting us with their deceases broke our spirit.'
MacGyver and Sam shared a look.
'I'm sorry,' MacGyver said.
'For what?' the tribesman asked. 'This was way before your time.'
'So you don't approve of Kumoken being at the summer camp?'
'Not before his initiation. Once he becomes a man, he can do as he pleases.'
'That's understandable,' MacGyver said. 'Sir, how well-behaved is Kumoken?'
'He acts his age but has fairly wild ideas. Why do you ask?'
'In the camp, he locked me up in the supplies basement.'
'What?'
'Yeah, he wanted to play a game, he said and locked me up in the supplies basement.'
'That doesn't sound like my Kumoken at all.'
'Pretty much every parent we talked to said that,' Sam said.
'Kumoken respects every living creature. He adores the animals from here, takes great pride in his tribe sign the crocodile.'
'Then why did I saw that man wrestling a crocodile back there?'
'Oh, him. Forget him. He does that all the time. But he doesn't kill the crocodile, he does it for sports.'
'Okay.'
'Kumoken never did any of that stuff here like pulling pranks on people?' MacGyver asked.
'No.'
'I don't know how much more unbelievable this can get.'
'Wait,' the tribesman said, 'I'm receiving a message.'
'A message,' MacGyver asked.
The tribesman threw some powder in the fire causing a big flame and looked up at the sparks and into the fire.
'Dad, what's happening?' Sam asked.
'Ssshh. I don't know.'
Almost hypnotised the tribesman looked into the fire. The other natives held their breaths while the tribesman began to nod. 'There is something wrong at the camp. There is danger where Kumoken is and you two are needed there.'
'Kumoken said that?'
'Yes.'
'Well, tell him we're on the way,' MacGyver said and stood up.
'Before you do, please, first eat with us. We have kangaroo meat and larvas.'
MacGyver and Sam observed some of the younger tribesmembers eating larvas.
'Mmm, maybe some other time,' Sam said.
'Oh, come on, Sam. I can go for some kangaroo meat. We haven't eaten in a while now either.'
'OK, dad, fine. You're right. I am hungry anyway.' (Music comes up)
MacGyver and Sam stayed with the tribe for about twenty minutes to eat and even took some kangaroo meat for James who was still waiting by the plane. After James finished his kangaroo meat, the three of them took off again to go back to the island.
(The music reaches it's peak and we fade out here)
Despite MacGyver Online is down for the moment, I decided to post chapter 8 here anyway. I'll post chapter 8 on MacGyver Online from as soon it's back online. I'd probably keep it on my schedule of posting on Wednesdays and Sundays. So I'll post chapter 8 next Wednesday if it's back online by then and I will post chapter 9 which is the finale of the story next Sunday on both forums then. For now enjoy chapter 8.
(We fade in with Carla's Main Theme from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de5ONSJ_e2Q
Chapter VIII
Return to the Camp
Eric's plans
It was another cloudy and rainy day at the camp. Nikki was standing in her office looking outside the window to the rain and the damages. The bad weather from the past few days severely damaged the island. Trees fell over, the lake went out of it's banks and three of the children's cabins were completely destroyed. Luckily they weren't in there when it happened. This whole project has become a big failure in her eyes and Phoenix will have to answer for it big time. Not only this bothered her but she was also thinking about MacGyver. He had been gone for about four days now since he left to China. Pete reassured her MacGyver was alright despite of what she heard about what happened on the plane. She knows he always pulls through but she can't help but to think about him. Then there was this other matter that kept bothering her: the deal Eric Woodman made with whoever he was talking to on the phone. Ever since MacGyver left again Eric remained very calm about the situation but she knew she couldn't trust him. If Eric gets his hands on the property papers everything will be over for good. The island will go to HIT then and all their work has been for nothing. But Eric hasn't made a move so far. Somebody knocked on her door. (The music fades out here)
'Come in,' she said.
It was Pete. 'Nikki?'
'Pete. What is it?'
'I just got word from James. Our boys are on the way back here.'
'Well, that's a relief. When will they be back?'
'I don't know, with this weather? Maybe by tonight.'
'Good.'
'Just wanted to let you know.'
'Thanks, Pete.'
Pete noticed a troubled look in her eyes. 'Are you alright?'
Nikki sighed and sat down behind her desk, offering Pete to sit down as well. 'Pete, I don't know how to tell you this but I think Eric might be up to something.'
'How's that?'
'A couple of days ago, I heard him on the phone talking to someone about bringing the island over to HIT.'
'What? Why didn't you say this earlier?'
'Because I can't prove it.'
'You think he has connections to Murdoc?'
'That I doubt but maybe with whoever is running HIT now.'
'Nicholas? Sonya? They were chairman of the board once, now they appear to share that position.'
'Maybe there is someone else? Someone behind the scenes.'
'Who, then?'
'I don't know. But seriously, out here, would you bother to call someone who is at the island with you?'
'We have our phone system for a reason.'
'The island is not that big, Pete. Everything is at walking distance. If you need something of someone, you might as well go there instead of calling.'
'You think he called someone from the mainland? Someone directly from the HIT branch?'
'Maybe.'
'It's possible.'
'I also heard he wanted MacGyver out of the way but not dead.'
'If he made a deal with HIT, guess how that's going to turn out.'
'They'll kill him.'
'They probably both get killed.'
'Where are the property papers, Pete?'
'In my office.'
'You have them here?'
'That's right.'
'And those are the only copies we have?'
'Yes. Why?'
Nikki started to panic. 'Oh, not good Pete. Not good.'
'What?'
She stood up and left her office with Pete on her tail.
'Nikki, wait up.'
(The track Dennis Steals The Embryo from Jurassic Park begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuiOQYDvXwM
At the same time Eric stuck his head outside his office door and looked around. There was nobody in the hallway. He went back inside, kept his fist near his mouth and thought for a moment. Maybe he should wait a little longer until it's dark or maybe he should've acted sooner. There was no point in waiting any longer. He would get the property papers, make a few adjustments and fax them over to HIT with a price of sale. Recent events were bad enough to close the camp so the sale wouldn't be much of a problem. He would sell for the same price Phoenix paid plus his extra fee. Phoenix loses and he will make a quick buck on the side. But then he would have to move fast and now.
'Oh, what the hell,' he figured and quickly went to Pete's office and closed the door behind him.
He began checking Pete's desk and drawers but found nothing there. Then he started to search the file cabinets. He opened the first one. 'Camp United. C, C, C.'
His fingers went past every file with a C on, but he found nothing. He closed the cabinet drawer and opened another one. 'Maybe on Property Papers.' Again he went past the files with the letter P. He found a big file that said: 'Phoenix.' He took it out and placed it on Pete's desk and started to browse through it. It was pretty thick.
'Come on, come on.'
He kept flipping pages until he saw what he was looking for. 'Aha! Phoenix Property Papers. Camp United. That's it.'
Eric took out the pages he needed and placed the file back on his place in the cabinet. He quickly stashed the papers in his vest and went back to the door. The hallway was still empty. He was so lucky that his office wasn't too far away from Pete's and ran back. He shut the door and went to his desk. All he had to do was scan it in, erase a couple of names and signatures and then fax it to HIT. Afterwards he would have to get rid of the original and the island will belong the HIT and Phoenix can start packing.
Nikki and Pete entered the hallway. Pete was a bit out of breath.
'Nikki, will you slow down a bit?'
'No, Pete, I'm sorry.'
'If I was only twenty years younger.'
They entered Pete's office. Pete tried to catch his breath.
'Where do you keep the property papers?'
'In that file cabinet over there.'
'Which one?' she said while going to the cabinets.
'Try the letter P. There's a big file that says "Phoenix".'
Nikki opened the cabinet with the letter P and flipped through the files until she found the one she was looking for.
'Got it.'
She placed it on Pete's desk and flipped the pages pretty quick.
'Can you find it?' Pete asked.
She pulled up her shoulders while she kept flipping the pages. 'Not immediately.'
The file was ordered alphabetically. She was about to reach the letter D in the file when she noticed something. 'Do you keep it under C or U?'
'C.'
'It's not here.'
'What?' Pete said and went to take a closer look.
'We're too late.'
Nikki left the office again.
'Nikki, wait!'
Nikki went to Eric's office and barged in there, startling Eric.
'Gotcha!' (The music fades away here)
'Didn't you ever heard of knocking, Ms. Carpenter?' he asked.
'You, son of a bitch. You got the papers, didn't you?'
'Papers? What are you talking about?'
'The property papers, damn it. You stole them didn't you, you bastard?'
'Ms. Carpenter, I don't what's gotten into you, but I haven't stolen anything.'
Pete walked in. 'Nikki. Eric?'
'Mr. Thornton, could you please escort Ms. Carpenter out of my office?'
'I heard you talking on the phone the other day. You're going to sell us out to HIT. You, goddamn traitor.'
'Eric, is this true?' Pete asked.
'My dear Ms. Carpenter, I don't know what you think you heard but I was talking on the phone with my daughter.'
'No way. You were on the phone talking about selling us out to HIT and you wanted MacGyver out of the way.'
'Ridiculous, Ms. Carpenter. Despite what you might think, I care about this project as much as you do. I wouldn't benefit at all of selling you out. Now, please, I have work to do.'
'Nikki, come on. Let's go,' Pete said.
'No, Pete. I know he took the papers. You saw the papers were gone.'
'Yes, I did but...'
'The papers are gone, I heard you talking and you want MacGyver out of the way.'
'Honestly, Ms. Carpenter, I've just had about enough of you. Those are serious accusations and I won't stand for them. Leave this office, immediately!'
'Like hell I will...'
'Get out! Now!'
'Nikki,' Pete said and started to pull her with him outside.
They left and Eric slammed the door shut behind them, hard. Pete and Nikki walked back to Pete's office. They both sat down on opposite sides of the desk, sharing a long silenced look. Finally Nikki said: 'He stole them, Pete.'
'I know,' he replied quietly.
'Than why didn't you...?'
Pete raised his hand and said: 'Nikki, you need to calm down first. You can't just barge into somebody's office and accuse them of stealing.'
'Pete, we're almost all that is left on the island and you know MacGyver doesn't fully trust him. Or are you questioning his judgement?'
'No. I don't question his judgement, Nikki. I think we need to be more diplomatic about this, instead of pointing fingers.'
'Diplomatic? If we're not too late now, I don't know it anymore.'
Nikki lowered her head and shook it. 'As far as I'm concerned, it's all over. We can start packing.'
'Maybe not. But I'll go talk with Eric and smooth everything out and try to find out if he stole the papers. Just stay here and calm down.'
'Fine. It's too late anyway.'
Pete sighed and got up from his chair and returned to Eric's office. He knocked on the door.
'Who is it?' Eric said from behind the door.
'It's me, Pete.'
Eric got up and opened the door: 'What do you want, Thornton?'
'To talk about what just happened. Can I come in?'
'If it doesn't take too long,' he said and let Pete in.
'Eric, we're all frustrated here,' Pete began, 'and we're all very worried about the future of this project. The chances it has a future is very slim right now. If we also have to deal with theft the board will shut us down. If you stole those papers at least show the decency to admit that and I'll make sure the consequences will remain limited but if you don't I'll make sure you spend time in jail. Now, what's it going to be?'
'Pete, I'm the biggest investor in this project. I've got most to lose here. If this fails, you and MacGyver and Ms. Carpenter go back to your science labs and high rise building. I will go bankrupt. Do you really think I would let that happen or make some dumb move by stealing something?'
'No. I don't think so.'
'I'm a businessman, Pete. This is what I do.'
'We just have to check out everything. It was nothing personal.'
'I understand that. Ms. Carpenter seems to have it in for me lately. I don't know what has been bothering her but she doesn't like me.'
'Don't let it get to you. I'll take care of Nikki. Besides, MacGyver will be back soon and then we can start thinking about our next move.'
'Very well. Now, Pete, if you'll excuse me, I like to get ahead with my work.'
'Of course.'
Pete left again for his office and Eric closed the door behind him. He had to move fast now after being interrupted twice. He went back to his computer and started to work on the papers he scanned in earlier. He erased a couple of things first like names and company names. Then he scrolled down the screen and removed the signatures. The property papers were now completely blank again in the right places. With his mouse he went to "file" and pressed "print". The printer started to buzz and a couple of seconds later a copy of the papers came out. 'Excellent.'
Eric went to the phone and called the person he was on the phone with earlier.
'It's Woodman. I've got the papers. Give me your fax number and I'll fax it to you.'
The person on the other side gave him the number. 'Thanks, you'll have them in a moment.'
Eric took the copy of the papers, placed them in the fax machine and faxed them to HIT. He succeeded in his little plan and smiled self-conceited. He will sell the island to HIT, earn his share and Phoenix will have to pay the piper. After he faxed the papers, he turned on his shredder and destroyed the original papers. Once the money is made over to his account, he would be an even more richer man then he already is. There was no way out for Phoenix this time.
'What did he say?' Nikki asked.
'He denied everything,' Pete replied.
'And you believe him?'
'I believe him that he has the most to lose here.'
'Unbelieveable.'
'Nikki, I'm not saying I don't believe you, but this man can go bankrupt if this project doesn't work out. Why would he steal something then?'
'Money, Pete. It's always about the money.'
Pete didn't say anything.
'Pete, I'm sorry for insisting like this. We can keep debating about this but I can prove he stole those papers. If I'm wrong, I'll quit my job then.'
'Nikki, that is not necessary.'
'Will you let me prove it?'
'If that's what it takes to get you off my back, yes, I will let you prove it.'
'Good. Is Eric still in his office?'
'He was there when I left.'
'We wait till he leaves the office and then we'll snoop around.'
'That can take hours.'
'That's why we have to stay here. If he took the papers, he can't bring them back as long we're here ourselves. Eventually he will have to leave his office sooner or later.'
Pete sighed again: 'Fine, Nikki.'
'Good, I'll be on the lookout and will make my move when he leaves.'
Nikki went to the door and began to keep an eye on Eric's door.
'Nikki, what if Eric is planning the exact same thing and waiting on us to leave?'
'That's a good question,' she said. 'Then we can be standing here for a long time.'
However it didn't last a long time. Only a few minutes after Nikki stood by the door, Eric's door opened and she saw him leave. He walked in the other direction with his back to her. He never saw her. She waited until he left the corridor and was out of sight. 'OK, come on.'
Nikki and Pete went back to Eric's office. 'Keep an eye out for him while I look for the papers.'
Pete remained by the door and kept an eye out for Eric while Nikki began searching. She went to his desk and lifted the computer's keyboard. She started to open the drawers but found nothing. During her check of the desk, her hand hit the mouse and the computer screen went on. There was nothing to be seen but the wallpaper. She opened his files but there was nothing out of the ordinary. She checked out the deleted files in the bin pictogram but also there nothing. 'Of course, he deleted everything.' She looked at her right and noticed the file cabinet. She opened those drawers but they were stuffed with pretty much the same files Pete had. She did check the files with the letters C, P and U but there was nothing there either. Next to the file cabinet was the fax machine. There was a little red light blinking.
'Pete, do you see him?'
'No. We're all clear.'
'OK.'
She started to tap the buttons. The display blinked on and then she pressed "last dialled number". A number appeared along with the date and time of use. She checked her watch. It was only ten minutes ago. 'Gotcha.' Then she pressed "print last fax". A paper came out which was the adjusted version of the property papers. 'I knew it.'
'Did you find anything?' Pete asked at the door.
'Oh, yeah. I found something alright.'
'Then come on, let's go.'
She folded the paper up and stuck it in her pocket. When she turned around on her way back to the door, her foot hit the shredder. She looked down and saw something in there. 'Wait. What's this?'
'Nikki, hurry up. I think he's coming back.'
Quickly Nikki opened up the shredder and took out the shredded papers. 'Alright, I got it. Let's go. Come on.'
Pete and Nikki left Eric's office and hurried back to Pete's office just when Eric came back in the corridor.
'That was close,' Pete said.
'Yeah.'
'So what did you find?'
Nikki placed the shredded papers on Pete's desk and took the fax out her pocket. 'I found this and this.'
'Well?'
'He faxed this, no longer then ten minutes ago. It's a copy of the property papers, but it's blank. He erased whatever we filled in and our signatures. And I think this shredded piece of paper was the original.'
'So he is guilty?'
'I never doubted that, Pete. I know what I've heard that day. This is proof.'
'But even if we can proof it, it still might be too late. If he gets paid, he can still be gone soon.'
'That's why we need to make sure he can't leave this island.'
'I'll call the control tower and have them tell Jack and James they cannot fly Eric out of here.'
'Good. Even if he gets paid then, he can't just simply walk out of here.'
Pete immediately made the call. 'Control tower? This is Pete Thornton. If Eric Woodman attempts to charter a flight out of here, tell our pilots they can't take off until further notice, alright? Alright.'
'Now, all we have to worry about is how we can counteract HIT's claim on the island.'
'I wouldn't worry about that now we have this. If necessary we'll take it out to court. I think we best now wait on MacGyver's return and tell him what happened here.'
'And I think it's best we keep Eric in the dark about this. He doesn't know we can prove it now. All he knows is that we have our suspicions.'
'Great. You did good, Nikki. I'm sorry for doubting you.'
'Thanks, Pete and no apology necessary.'
A couple of hours later MacGyver, Sam, Jack and James arrived back on the island. It was still raining when the plane drove into the hangar.
'Well, we're back, guys,' James said. 'Thank you for flying Camp United Airlines.'
'Oh, man. What a week,' Sam said and stretched out. 'I'm going to take a long nap.'
'That's a good idea, Sam,' MacGyver said. 'We have some catching up to do.'
A loud snoring came out of the fuselage. MacGyver, Sam and James turned their heads to the sound. It was Jack sitting there with his pilot cap over his eyes and fingers clenched on his belly, making snoring and hissing sounds. MacGyver walked up to him and hit his cap of his head. 'Jack, come on. Wake up. We're back.'
'Huh? What? We're back? Already?' he asked sleepy and moaningly he yawned so wide it astonished Sam.
'Yeah, we're back,' MacGyver said. 'Let's go find our beds, huh?'
'Alright,' Jack got up a little creaky and the foursome left the plane.
They left the hangar and as if they were struck by lightning they noticed the destruction that has occured in the past few days.
'What the hell happened here?' MacGyver asked.
'Bad weather,' James said.
'Aw, man.'
'At this point, I just don't care,' Sam said. 'I want to sleep for a few days and that's what I'm gonna do. If you need me, I'll be in my cabin.'
'I'm with you, Sam,' Jack said and left for his own cabin.
'I guess, we all are,' MacGyver said.
'Later, Mac,' James said.
'See ya, James.'
The men parted ways and MacGyver walked around the lake, past the puddles and mud. He reached the little bridge which was now missing a part and jumped over it to the other side. All he cared about now was sleep and went to his own cabin. He went in and saw Nikki sitting at his desk, going through the papers she found earlier.
'Hi, baby,' he said.
She looked up from her papers and smiled. 'MacGyver.'
MacGyver walked up to her when she stood up and they hugged intensely.
'Where have you been? I was so worried about you.'
'Pete didn't tell you?' he asked when he let go of her.
'Yeah, he did, but I was still worried. What happened?'
'After we left China, Murdoc, Nicholas and Sonya were waiting for us. They hijacked Jack's plane. We jumped the plane and lost them somewhere over the Himalayas. We ended up in Bhutan and from there on we went to India. That's the short version. What happened here?'
'The weather here has been just plain awful. That caused most of the damages and I've caught Eric with his hand in the cookie jar.'
Nikki gave him the copy of the paper Eric faxed through. 'Look at this. This is the property papers he faxed to most likely HIT. He sold us out.'
MacGyver quickly glanced at the paper. 'Uh, yeah, look, Nikki. I'm pretty tired right. I've been in three countries in four days and I really need to sleep. Can it wait till morning?'
Nikki sighed. 'Very well. The damage has been done anyway.'
'Hey. I'll look at it in the morning.'
'Fine,' she said. 'I'm just trying to save what's left to save, which isn't much by the way.'
(The Love Theme of Metro begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OumeKLmVxrQ
'Nikki,' he said and placed his hands on her shoulders, 'I'm too tired right now to look at this. Go tell Pete that I'm back and that I will see him tomorrow morning. Then we'll have our briefing and you explain me what you have there. Just you, me and Pete, like before.'
'I'm sorry. I'm just too stressed out at the moment. I really have the feeling we're losing this one, baby.'
'And you can't stand to lose, can you?'
'Poorly.'
'Just go to Pete, tell him what I said and then I'll hit the sack. Tomorrow is a whole new day with a fresh set of new possibilities.'
They kissed and Nikki left while MacGyver dropped himself onto the bed and dozed off in a deep sleep.
The following morning, MacGyver woke up. He rubbed over his face and yawned while checking his watch. It was eighth-thirty in the morning. He slept for 14 hours straight. His long hair stood up in every direction. Moaning he sat up straight at side of his bed. He was still so tired and the time differences started to take effect on him. Wobbling he stood up and went to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He shook his head and turned on the faucets. His hands filled with cold water and splashed himself a couple of times in the face until he was awake. He freshened up and changed his clothes. After he finished tying his shoelaces he went to the Phoenix building and to the briefing room where Pete and Nikki were waiting for him. (The music fades away here)
'MacGyver,' Pete said, 'good morning.'
'Morning Pete,' he said back and they shook hands.
'Glad to see you're alright.'
'Thanks, Pete. It's been an exciting couple of days.'
MacGyver went to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup of coffee before he sat down at the table.
'So,' Pete said as he and Nikki took place, 'fill us in. What have you found out?'
'Well in China, I've met Yung Li's father who said his son never had any anger issues and speaks English very well. Mei Jan says hello.'
'That's it?' Nikki asked.
'Mei Jan arranged everything. Then after I received Endrani's message, we went on our way to India.'
'And that's when you got hijacked?'
'Exactly, Murdoc and company were waiting for us when we took off. A struggle happened on the plane and we had to jump over the Himalayas. We haven't seen or heard them since.'
'Jumped in mid-air?' Pete asked.
'We didn't had much choice. We bailed out with parachutes and we can only assume they crashed in the mountains. But they could very well still be alive.'
'Where did you land?'
'Outside Thimpu in Bhutan, where I met Anonda's mother.'
'The one kid that hasn't caused any troubles so far.'
'Yeah, she's working in the Royal Palace of Bhutan and she told me Anonda suffers from allergies, yet he hasn't been sneezing here at all.
'Then what happened?' Nikki asked.
'The king of the country arranged our transportation to India. But get this: Endrani told me to bring flowers to her grandfather's grave only there are no cemetaries in Varanasi.'
'What?' Pete asked.
'How can she not know that?' Nikki wondered.
'My thoughts exactly. She is from Varanasi herself and doesn't know that?'
'Well, how did you know?' Pete asked.
'Penny Parker says hi.'
'You saw Penny there?'
'Yeah, she lives there now.'
'So what did you do then?' Nikki asked.
'I did what she asked but I threw the flowers in the Ganges as it accustomed there. But the fact Endrani didn't know this, is something that keeps bugging me.'
'Are you saying Endrani may not be who she says she is?' Pete asked.
'I don't know what to make of that, Pete. Having a kid infiltrate on a island like this? For what purpose?'
'Espionage?'
'So the expression of: "Why send a man to do a woman's job?" has turned into: "Why send a grown-up to do a kid's job?"'
Nikki smirked a little. 'I'll tell Cynthia to talk with Endrani about this.'
'Good. That's about what I had. So what happened here while I was away?'
Nikki and Pete shared a look.
'Like, I told you yesterday, MacGyver,' Nikki started, 'Eric sold us out and we can prove it.' She shoved him the copy of the property papers and shredded papers under his nose. 'I tried to confront him first but that wasn't a good plan. I found this afterwards in his office.'
MacGyver observed the papers. 'These are indeed our property papers. And what is that shredded thing?'
'The originals.'
'Oh yes, I see. He made a copy, erased whatever we filled in and than send a blank copy to HIT. That's how he does business.'
'MacGyver, tell us we aren't doomed,' Pete said.
MacGyver looked at the copy again. 'Well, Pete, from the looks of things, I say we are.'
Nikki and Pete sighed.
'That's it then,' she said. 'It's over. We lost.'
MacGyver surpressed a smile. 'Not quite.'
'What?' Pete asked.
'Eric can try a sell us out as much as he want, he won't get away with it.'
'What do you mean?' Nikki asked.
'Way before the school hostage when we signed these documents, I immediately made a copy of the ones we signed. I've been keeping them ever since in a safe at Phoenix. Eric doesn't know about that.'
Nikki and Pete sighed in relief this time.
'Why didn't you tell us about this?'
'Because it was our insurance. Besides those documents are dated, unless they forge it, they can never get their hands on this island.'
'Well, that's first the good news in weeks,' Pete said.
'Yeah, but we're not out of the woods yet. This place is a giant mess and we still need to figure out what's wrong with children.'
'So what's next?'
'I don't know, Pete,' MacGyver said while putting the copy aside. 'We might wanna keep Eric in check. He still doesn't know about this, does he?'
'No,' Nikki said, 'he doesn't.'
'Good. We want to keep it that way. Make sure he can't leave the island.'
'I already notified the people at the airstrip not to let him get on a plane,' Pete said.
'I can't believe, I'm going to have to turn him in.'
'You don't have much choice, MacGyver,' Nikki said. 'He sold us out, he'll have to suffer the consequences.'
'MacGyver, what about HIT?' Pete asked. 'You're sure Murdoc is not dead?'
'Well, he didn't yell my name yet or I didn't hear it. No, I think Murdoc is still around and we haven't seen the last of him either.'
'What are we going to do about it?'
'I think we're going to have to confront him. Murdoc, Nicholas, Sonya and Eric.'
'How, where, when?'
'Probably here. They're after us, remember? They're bound to catch up on us sooner or later. With the evidence we've got so far, I think I can begin to point out they've been sabotaging us from the start and maybe I can start to figure out what's going on with the kids. If we can connect the children's behaviour with HIT's plans, there might be a shot to solve this whole thing.'
'How are you going to do that?'
'I don't know yet. I got a feeling, I don't know everything yet but I will soon.'
'Was there anything else?' Pete asked Nikki.
'Not that I can think of, no.'
'That's it then for this meeting.'
'Just go about your day and pretend everything is normal. Especially around Eric. We'll solve this thing soon, alright?' MacGyver said and got up, finished his coffee and then left.
(Music comes up here)
MacGyver went back outside and looked around the terrain. He shook his head. He knew they would have to start all over again from the beginning to give this project another chance. Trying to avoid the puddles and mud MacGyver walked back to the supplies basement. Since his escape with the lawnmower, the door was completely gone. The stairs were wet and dirty. Carefully he went back down to look for the loose board in the floor. He found it and couldn't believe it. The mechanical arm and bag with the evidence was still there. Out in the open, yet out of sight. MacGyver picked up the bag and looked at it. Everything was still in there. As far as he knew, nobody didn't know about what he hid underneath the boards. He placed the bag back underneath the board and walked back up outside where he bumped into Sam. (Music fades away)
'Dad.'
'Morning, Sam.'
'What were you doing down there?'
'Nothing, just checking. Is there a problem?'
Sam pulled up his shoulders. 'Just want to know what the plans are now?'
'Well, Eric sold us out.'
'What?'
'Yeah, he tried to sell us out to HIT.'
'What a bozo.'
'I know, right? But he think he sold us out. He did and he didn't actually.'
'What does that mean?'
'When we signed the property papers, I made copies of that and kept them in a safe at Phoenix.'
'That was smart.'
'You mean resourceful.'
Both of them smiled.
'So they can't have the island?' Sam asked.
'We can fight them legally if it comes to that.'
'Now what?'
'I don't know. I'm a bit at a loss here. We have Eric here. He can't leave the island. To get HIT we're going to have to confront Murdoc and company.'
'But we left them over the Himalayas.'
'Yes, but they're bound to show up, like bad pennies.'
'You just want to sit here and wait for them to come to us?'
'I don't think we have much choice on that, Sam.'
'Dad, that can take weeks if they're still alive. What do we do in the meantime?'
'Starting to figure out our story on what's going on with the kids and pinning Eric on his connection with HIT.'
'So, go figure,' Sam said.
'But there is still one thing bothering me.'
'What is it?'
'We never got really into why Kumoken locked me up there.'
'He wanted to play a game. You said it yourself. And he understood he was out of line.'
'I never thought more of it at the time but I do want to know more now.'
'You want to go talk to him?'
'No, I was actually thinking of going to Australia.'
Sam laughed because of the way it sounded but MacGyver's look meant he was serious. 'Oh, you're serious.'
'Yes, I am. It's not that very far from where we are. What do you say, Sam? Are you interested in a trip to kangaroo land?'
'You got that right, mate!' he said while mimicking an Australian accent.
'Good, now let's notify the others and be on our way outta here,' MacGyver said with his own Australian accent.
(The track Nullah Rides To Faraway Downs from the movie Australia begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4laYk6EHCPE
Australia
The Outback
MacGyver, Sam and James were flying over the Australian outback. The outback was a vast territory that covered nearly three quarters of the country. From out of the cockpit they saw several animals running over the plains.
'Wow, this is great,' Sam said and made a snapshot from out of the cockpit.
Kangaroos were jumping all over the place. James took the plane lower to have a closer look. They zoomed over the animals before going back up.
On the plains an Aboriginal man curiously looked up at the metal bird. He was going to keep an eye on it for sure if it was to come back.
James circled the plane around for another round.
'One more round and then we're going to land,' James said.
'Great,' MacGyver said while going through the intel on his PDA. 'We must be near the coordinates Pete gave us.'
'Then we're almost there?' Sam asked.
'Yep. Kumoken's parents must live in the neighborhood here.'
'What? Out here, in the outback?'
'Yeah. I know it's weird. This place is so isolated from the rest of the civilised world. Everything is so far apart from each other. You know that in case of medical emergency people have to fly down here?'
'The Flying Doctors,' Sam said.
'Exactly. Now, look here,' MacGyver said and pointed to a bleeping dot on the screen. 'That's an Aboriginal village. Kumoken's parents are Aborginals and living in the traditional lifestyle.'
'But if the camp only gave access to the kids of bigshots how come Kumoken got in?'
'They have connections within the Australian government. Kumoken's grandparents belonged to the Stolen Generations. They brought his family back together and as a sign of goodwill they allowed Kumoken to come to the island. He was send to tell about his family and preserve his heritage of the Aboriginals.'
'OK, boys, it's time to set her down,' James said. 'Just make sure your seatbelts are fastened and that your tables are back up.'
James landed the plane as a pro and brought it to a stop. 'Thanks again for flying Camp United Airlines.' (The music fades away here)
'The village is not that far from here,' MacGyver said. 'You mind waiting for us here? This shouldn't take long.'
'Sure, I'll be here. I got to go over the checkings list anyway.'
MacGyver patted James on his back when he got up. Sam left the cockpit first followed by his father. MacGyver opened the door and they both got out.
'Wow,' he said both impressed by the landscape and the heat. He put his sunglasses on as did Sam.
'Man, it's hot out here,' Sam said.
'Come to think of it, it's actually winter down here.'
'I prefer snow in the winter.'
'Only it's summer on our half of the world.'
'Climates.'
'Yeah. We better get moving.'
'Too bad this is only going to be a quick in-and-out visit. This country looks awesome.'
'Yes it is. This is actually one of the few nations we hardly have any relations with. At least out of Phoenix's point of view.'
'You think we'll see Crocodile Dundee here?'
'Who knows, Sam. Let's get going. The sooner we find Kumoken's parents, the sooner we might be able to solve this whole thing. It's starting to become a drag really.'
MacGyver and Sam hardly left the plane or the Aboriginal man appeared in front of them. Curiously he looked at the plane and at them.
'Howdy,' MacGyver greeted him.
The man stared at him.
'Do you speak English?'
The man kept staring at him.
'I guess not,' Sam said.
'We're looking for an Aboriginal village of our friend Kumoken.'
The man's face cleared up when he heard the name Kumoken.
'Kumoken,' he said.
'That's right. Kumoken. You know him?'
'Kumoken. Village nearby.'
'So he does speak English,' Sam said.
'Kumoken, good friend of mine. I bring you to family.'
'I guess we beter follow him then,' MacGyver said.
After a little walk, MacGyver, Sam and the Aborginal man arrived in the Aboriginal village. Through their walk in the jungle, they noticed a man wrestling a crocodile in a lake and being cheered on by the local natives. Sam quickly took a picture. The village itself was not that big but MacGyver and Sam were greeted peaceful. They felt like they were in this old movie where explorers find these villages in the jungles far away from the civilised world. MacGyver and Sam were brought to the chief of the tribe who turned out to be Kumoken's father. Everyone gathered around the tribesman near the fire in the middle of the village. There was a kangaroo broiling over the fire.
The tribesman raised his hands to get everyone quiet and spoke: 'I was told, you know my son, Kumoken.'
'Yes, that's right,' MacGyver said. 'That's why we're here.'
'My son is far away to a summer camp.'
'We know,' Sam answered. 'That's where we came from.'
'I never agreed for him to go to that camp.'
'Why not?' MacGyver asked.
'The only thing Kumoken knew as a boy was our land, our people and our language. Now he wants to live in urban cities. I don't know why. He hasn't been traditionally initiated into manhood yet and if he never is, he can never carry on his heritage.'
'Traditionally initiated? You mean going on walkabouts?'
'Yes. We have our customs and traditions. You see, a long time ago before Australia was colonized, this country was ours, of the Aboriginees, that was until the white man came.'
'So the same thing happened here as when Columbus discovered America and the colonists took away the Indians their land?' Sam asked.
'Yes. Only one percent is what is left of the Aboriginees in Australia. The colonists murdered our people while we always embraced strangers. We accepted the outcasts of the white people but in return they attempted to exterminate our race like the Tasmanians. Completely extinct.'
'And when your child is away from his homeland...' MacGyver began.
'He's helping to complete the genocide. We must keep our history alive. It was not so long ago the white man tried to take our children away from us...'
'The Stolen Generations.'
'... and forced us to live on reserves.'
'Like the Indians,' Sam added.
'They took us there in chains and beat us for speaking our language and for practising our religions. Infecting us with their deceases broke our spirit.'
MacGyver and Sam shared a look.
'I'm sorry,' MacGyver said.
'For what?' the tribesman asked. 'This was way before your time.'
'So you don't approve of Kumoken being at the summer camp?'
'Not before his initiation. Once he becomes a man, he can do as he pleases.'
'That's understandable,' MacGyver said. 'Sir, how well-behaved is Kumoken?'
'He acts his age but has fairly wild ideas. Why do you ask?'
'In the camp, he locked me up in the supplies basement.'
'What?'
'Yeah, he wanted to play a game, he said and locked me up in the supplies basement.'
'That doesn't sound like my Kumoken at all.'
'Pretty much every parent we talked to said that,' Sam said.
'Kumoken respects every living creature. He adores the animals from here, takes great pride in his tribe sign the crocodile.'
'Then why did I saw that man wrestling a crocodile back there?'
'Oh, him. Forget him. He does that all the time. But he doesn't kill the crocodile, he does it for sports.'
'Okay.'
'Kumoken never did any of that stuff here like pulling pranks on people?' MacGyver asked.
'No.'
'I don't know how much more unbelievable this can get.'
'Wait,' the tribesman said, 'I'm receiving a message.'
'A message,' MacGyver asked.
The tribesman threw some powder in the fire causing a big flame and looked up at the sparks and into the fire.
'Dad, what's happening?' Sam asked.
'Ssshh. I don't know.'
Almost hypnotised the tribesman looked into the fire. The other natives held their breaths while the tribesman began to nod. 'There is something wrong at the camp. There is danger where Kumoken is and you two are needed there.'
'Kumoken said that?'
'Yes.'
'Well, tell him we're on the way,' MacGyver said and stood up.
'Before you do, please, first eat with us. We have kangaroo meat and larvas.'
MacGyver and Sam observed some of the younger tribesmembers eating larvas.
'Mmm, maybe some other time,' Sam said.
'Oh, come on, Sam. I can go for some kangaroo meat. We haven't eaten in a while now either.'
'OK, dad, fine. You're right. I am hungry anyway.' (Music comes up)
MacGyver and Sam stayed with the tribe for about twenty minutes to eat and even took some kangaroo meat for James who was still waiting by the plane. After James finished his kangaroo meat, the three of them took off again to go back to the island.
(The music reaches it's peak and we fade out here)
Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you.
- lesliekretchmar
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Re: MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
You're doing a great job
I'm really enjoying the way you weave the past adventures into the new ones; and, of course, including all of our beloved characters
Thanks for writing, thanks for sharing ![Exclamation :!:](./images/smilies/icon_exclaim.gif)
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![Exclamation :!:](./images/smilies/icon_exclaim.gif)
![Exclamation :!:](./images/smilies/icon_exclaim.gif)
![Image](https://i.ibb.co/tPhQrDT/headwall-canyon-natl-geo-explorer-2000.png)
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- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:09 pm
- Location: Belgium
Re: MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
Thanks and you're welcome.
I always liked to use references to old adventures and quotes from the show itself when the opportunity pops up.
I always liked to use references to old adventures and quotes from the show itself when the opportunity pops up.
Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you.
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- Posts: 228
- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:09 pm
- Location: Belgium
Re: MacGyver - Children of the United Nations
Welcome to the final chapter of my story. In the final chapter MacGyver returns the island for the last time to fully figure out HIT's plans with the island and explain this to everyone. HIT however will not give up that easily and will pull all the plugs to get the island in their hands no matter what.
(We fade in with no music)
Chapter IX
Final Return
Investigation
Unveiled Plans
Night
Night had fallen when MacGyver, Sam and James were on their way back to the island. The sky was pitch black and below them was the South Pacific ocean. In the cockpit everything was silent. James was flying and MacGyver was helping him out while Sam was playing with his camera.
'We're almost back,' James said.
'Great,' Sam said.
'We should be able to see the island, now,' MacGyver said.
'Indeed,' James said, 'it's time to bring her down.' James took the radio and called up the control tower. 'Control tower, this is captain James Holland requesting clearance to land, over.'
No response.
'Control tower, I repeat, this is captain James Holland requesting clearance to land, over.'
Again no response.
'Is it on?' MacGyver asked.
James looked at the radio. The light was on as it should be. 'Yeah, it's on.'
'Try again.'
'Control tower, come in. This is captain James Holland requesting clearance to land. Do you read me, over?'
'What's going on?' Sam asked.
'The dog is not barking,' James said.
'What?'
'It's a term in aviation,' MacGyver explained. 'If a pilot can't make contact with the ground below they say the dog is not barking.'
'That's right,' James confirmed and tried the radio again. 'Control tower, come in. Jack, are you there? Jack?!'
'Maybe he went to the bathroom,' Sam said.
'With Jack you never know,' MacGyver added.
'Well, it was his shift. One of us always has to stay there when the other one is out flying,' James said.
'A lot of things could've happened. You know something is off at the camp.'
'That I know.'
'You can put the plane down in the dark, right?' Sam asked.
'Yeah, and that's what I'm gonna do. Putting this plane down without Dalton's help. Strap in. I'm gonna land.' (Tense music comes up)
MacGyver and Sam strapped in as the plane started to descend. James pushed the steering-wheel forward. The plane took a nose-dive and James activated the landing gear. Squeaking the landing gear came out and than they made a wobbly landing. The wheels got grip and the plane drove towards the hangar. But MacGyver saw a big problem coming.
'What the hell?' he said.
'Dad, what is it?'
'It's the hangar doors.'
The double hangar doors seemed to be blocked. They were not fully open and sparks from the door rail flashed up.
'We'll fit,' James said confident.
'No, we're not,' MacGyver said.
'Believe me. We will. Trust the pilot.'
MacGyver looked at him: 'You do know I sometimes have a problem with that?'
'Than trust me.'
James steered the plane towards the door and started to slow down the plane. 'We'll fit. We got to fit.'
'I sure hope so,' Sam said.
The plane neared the hanger and drove in there. The doors were just far enough open for the plane to ride in where James put the plane to a full stop.
'I told you, we'd fit,' he said proudly.
'You were right,' MacGyver said. (The music stops here)
'James, you're a better pilot than Jack,' Sam said and unbuckled himself. He got up and went into the fuselage.
James turned everything in the plane off and it became silent again in the cockpit. MacGyver loosened his straps and looked around. He suddenly felt this creepy feeling getting into every bone of his body.
'What's the matter?' James asked.
'I just got this very creepy feeling. Let's check things out,' he said. (The track Investigation from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_R-s0RI17Q
MacGyver, Sam and James left the plane. Inside the hangar MacGyver's feeling became worse. Everything just seemed so quite, too quite. As if they were the only three people left in the world. The island felt so desolate and deserted. They looked around.
'Dad,' Sam said, 'do you also have this creepy feeling?'
'Yeah.'
'What are we gonna do then?'
'Check things out. Let's split up.'
'Split up? Dad, shouldn't we be, you know, sticking together?'
'No. Just don't go into the jungles by yourself. Stick around the buildings. Let's do a quick check of the buildings and we meet back in front of the Phoenix building.'
'Alright, I go look for Jack. Maybe he's hiding here somewhere,' James said.
'Good, we'll check out the camp. Let's meet up at the Phoenix building in ten minutes.'
'Got it.'
MacGyver and Sam walked out of the hangar to the camp. The island looked like it had gone through a typhoon. All the cabins on top of the hills were gone now, the waterslides were destroyed and the lake had turned into a massive mudpit. MacGyver and Sam looked at each other.
'You go that way,' MacGyver said. 'I'll check out this area.'
'OK, dad.'
Sam walked to the building where the Phoenix-scientists were working while MacGyver walked around the muddy lake. He was near his own cabin and passed the supplies basement. He was about to go down when he noticed something hanging upside down a tree.
'Yung Li?'
'That's right,' Yung Li said in a metallic sounding voice.
'Wanna come down from there?'
'Coming.'
Yung Li dropped himself from the tree and with a sickening sound his head ended on the ground breaking his neck.
'Oh, my God! Yung Li!!!' MacGyver ran up to the little boy and looked at him. Yung-Li had an open skull fracture. MacGyver examined the wound but dropped him immediately when he saw something shiny inside. Confused MacGyver got up and tried to understand it. 'Shiny bones?'
He looked up the tree again and saw bits and pieces of Endrani hanging between the branches. 'What's going on here?'
MacGyver turned around and went to the supplies basement. Also there, there was something different then before. MacGyver noticed how the backwall was breached and wooden boards were screwed in front of it. MacGyver looked at the floor but no boards were used from there. He quickly opened the board he hid the evidence under and found they were still there. He took the mechanical arm, and the bag and stuffed it his pocket. But now he was curious what was behind the backwall. MacGyver examined the boards and saw the screws. With his Swiss Army Knife he unscrewed the boards and placed them aside. In the opening he found the remains of Nigel. Nigel was sparking out of his head. He also had those shiny bones. It started to make sense. MacGyver felt with his hand in the opening but there was nothing there. MacGyver took Nigel's head with him and left the supplies basement. Outside he placed it in the plastic bag along with the arm. The wind was blowing and MacGyver looked up at the treetops and listened to the rustling between the leaves. He followed the sound of the wind and went to the storage area behind his cabin and the Phoenix building. The SUV's were still parked there and the tents were lying on pile with the damaged Phoenix logo on top of it near the gasoline tanks. He walked to the edge of the cliff and saw what was left over of the scaffolding that fell over during the night of the storm. But there was not much else to see nor that he could see. There was only the sound of the rustling leaves and the sound of silence in between. The place just felt so dead-like. As if the inhabitants just vanished into thin air. MacGyver turned around and walked back to the lake. For the first time he noticed the flagpole with the yellow flag saying Camp United with the United Nations peace logo on it was also down. He looked to his cabin and saw something fluttering in the wind that was stuck in his door. MacGyver took it from between the door and noticed it was a blueprint. A blueprint of HIT's training ground that was supposed to come in place of the camp. 'That's it,' he whispered. 'More evidence.'
MacGyver's attention got drawn from high-pitched whistle from across the lake. It was Sam and James coming to him.
'And?'
'I didn't find anything,' Sam said.
'Jack is nowhere to be seen,' James said.
'If no one is in the Phoenix building this is like the weirdest thing I've ever been into,' MacGyver said.
'What do you mean, dad?'
'Come. I want to show you something.'
MacGyver brought Sam and James to where Yung-Li broke his neck. 'See that?'
'The kid broke his neck?'
'Not just that. Look. Look here.'
MacGyver showed them the open skull fracture and went with his finger in the opening.
'Oh, Jesus, dad, don't.'
'Listen.'
MacGyver tapped his finger against the skull and it sounded hollow.
'That's impossible,' James said.
'You better believe it. See?'
Sam and James both now saw the shiny bone structure.
'Robots?' Sam asked.
'Living skin tissue over a metal endoskeleton.'
'Holy sh*t, dad. You mean like, they're little Terminators? Seriously?'
'After everything we've seen, this surprises you?'
'You got to admit, dad, that is amazing.'
'It sure is.'
'Are we really that far advanced in science?' James asked. 'Fully operating little robots?'
'I would say, it looks like it,' MacGyver said. 'Unless it says: "Made in Japan."'
'This is worse, then I thought,' Sam said.
'Look above you.'
Sam and James looked up and also saw Endrani's remains in the tree.
'And I also found robotic remains of our friend Nigel in the supplies basement.'
'Far more worse.'
'What about the other children?' James asked.
'No trace.'
'So, what do we do, now?' Sam asked.
'If nobody is in the Phoenix building, I'm out of explanations.'
'Then what?'
'I don't know. Take the plane back home and continue our search there. They have to be somewhere.'
'Oh, but that won't be necessary,' a voice said and a familiar laughter was heard. Murdoc came out of the Phoenix building with his gun aimed at them. 'We're all right here. Waiting for you in the conference room.'
Murdoc waved his gun in the direction they should go. (The music fades away here)
MacGyver, Sam and James were brought the conference room where Pete, Nikki, Jack, Cynthia, Eric, Nicholas and Sonya were waiting. Pete, Nikki, Jack and Cynthia were sitting at the table held at gunpoint by Nicholas and Sonya while Eric has shown his true colors to everyone now.
'MacGyver,' Nikki said when she saw him.
'Hey,' he said back. 'Is everyone alright?'
'We are,' Pete said, 'but we're at their mercy now.'
'Sit down, all of you,' Murdoc said.
MacGyver, Sam and James sat down around the table. Every seat was taken now. Murdoc, Nicholas, Sonya and Eric stood around the table. Murdoc remained close to MacGyver. 'Well, now,' he said. 'It's been a fun couple of weeks now, hasn't it?'
'What do you want from us, Murdoc?' MacGyver asked.
'Well, I've always wanted to kill you but now there is something more important here at stake.'
'The island.'
'That's right. The island. The island that wrongfully ended up in Phoenix's hands.'
'The island belongs to us,' Nikki said.
'Not anymore.'
'Actually it does,' MacGyver said. 'And I can prove it too.'
'In that case,' Nicholas said, 'tell us.'
'Before I do, tell me how you survived the plane. We lost you over the Himalayas.'
'Took the scenic route,' Murdoc said. 'We parked the plane in the Himalayas, walked down the mountain on foot and booked a flight out of there.'
'Why didn't you just follow us?' Sam said.
'Because we didn't know your flightplan,' Nicholas said. 'Dalton here never said anything and we didn't care. We were just after you.'
'And it doesn't matter anymore either. We've got you here, we've got you now and it's time to finish our plan,' Sonya said.
'Before you take over the island, I need to explain something first,' MacGyver said.
'Get on with it,' Nicholas said impatient.
'You mind if I walk around a bit?'
'Whatever.'
'Great.' (The track The Witness from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjNMSD8BLRU
MacGyver stood up and walked around a bit in front of the table choosing his words on how to start. 'The day I arrived here at the island, I found a children's paradise on earth. Phoenix has been planning this project for several years now and the final touches has been done when I was recovering from the school hostage, seven months ago. In the past few weeks we went into an experimental phase by allowing some kids to come to the island to try it out and everything seemed to be going alright. Only the day after I arrived, troubles began. Little Nigel was feeling homesick, or so we thought at least. So I took the trouble of flying to England on the other side of the world to pick up some toys of his to make him feel better. I met his father as I met most kids their parents and most of their parents told me contradicting things. In Nigel's mansion I found a hidden Guy Fawkes doll. Nigel is fond of that doll but when I came back, he simply burned it right in front of my eyes. Not only I found that doll but also this card. Exhibit A.' MacGyver took the postcard out of the bag and placed it on the table. 'Supposedly Nigel wrote this postcard but it's full of spellings mistakes. A kid of Nigel's age doesn't make those kind of mistakes anymore. Plus the post stamp dates from before the camp was even open.'
'Can I see that?' Cynthia asked.
MacGyver gave her the card.
'He's right and at that time we didn't even know which kids were going to come over.' Cynthia passed the card over to Nikki and it went all around the table.
'Then we went over to Egypt. We heard Cheone had disappeared so we went to look for her there. We've met her parents there who said Cheone disappeared more often and that she would go the countryside in Upper Egypt. We looked for her there on the riverbanks of the Nile and received this postcard. Exhibit B.' MacGyver took Cheone's postcard out and placed it on the table as well. Cynthia reached out to see the card.
'What's it saying?' she asked.
'It's written in hieroglyphics. Cheone claims that she was having the time of her life. Wherever she is. Two contradicting postcards. One of a boy, who is not happy at all here and a second one of a girl who couldn't happier.'
'That doesn't mean anything, MacGyver,' Murdoc said.
'Not yet, but I'll get there. Something tells me this card was written by the real Cheone.'
'What do you mean, Mac? "Written by the real Cheone?"' Jack wanted to know.
'I'll get to that in a moment, Jack.'
The card went around the table again.
'When we got back from Egypt, things started to get worse on the island. The kids were misbehaving and nearly showed criminal behaviour. Kumoken for example, locked me up in the supplies basement. Then we started to have our suspicions that Mr. "Steel" over there was trying to sell us out. And we can also proof that, Eric.'
'You better believe it,' Nikki said and gave him a sharp look.
'Then it was the night of the storm,' MacGyver continued. 'That night, I saw Murdoc creeping around the camp. I followed him into the jungle but I never found him there. When I came back the tents behind the building went flying in the storm and the scaffolding went over the cliff. The Phoenix logo fell on a couple of our workers. Despite what Eric wanted we let them go home. It was just too dangerous for them to remain here. The following morning, we discussed what happened the night of the storm. Cynthia then told me Yung Li was acting up. He showed real anger issues. Bad enough to get us worried.'
'So we flew to China,' Sam said.
'That's right. Thanks to my contact, Mei Jan, we found Yung Li's father working for the Chinese government who told us Yung Li doesn't have any anger issues. Yet he threw a rock through my cabin's window. Did it again in his own cabin and threw a fit when we talked to him about it.'
'Got any proof of that in your bag?' Nicholas asked.
'The rock is out there somewhere. I didn't go look for it after he threw it the second time, but I still have a broken window in my cabin to show it for. Anyway after we talked to Yung Li's father, I received a message of Endrani, the Indian girl. She practically ordered me to bring flowers to her grandfather's grave in Varanasi. So we asked for a plane flown by Jack to come and pick us up. Only when we took off, it appeared the flight was fully booked. You three showed up, taking Jack hostage and hijacking our plane. Good move, by the way. Trying to kill us skyhigh.'
'You all took a big risk to escape,' Sonya said. 'Jumping the plane from that altitude.'
'I know. It's as crazy as trying to kill three people at that altitude. But because of that incident we had to take a little detour to India since we ended up in Buthan where we met Anonda's mother. She also had something interesting to tell about her son.'
'And that was...' Murdoc said.
'That her son suffers allergies, though he never sneezed once since he was in the camp. Unfortunately I never got the chance to ask him myself when I came back. When we are about to leave Buthan, Endrani called again urging me to bring flowers to her grandfather's grave. So with the royal helicopter we got to Bombay, still a long way from Varanasi. We bumped into Penny Parker there. She lives there now.'
'How was she?' Murdoc asked.
'Good, now that she's far away from you.'
'Maybe I should pay her visit.'
'Try and I'll find you.'
'I ought to shoot you right now!'
'Murdoc, back off!' Nicholas said. 'I like to hear the rest of this.'
Murdoc looked at Nicholas and backed off.
'Good,' MacGyver said, 'because things are getting more interesting.'
'Lets hear it.' (The music changes into the track of Talking To Markus from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEjDLWaF8ZM
'Penny brought us to Varanasi and she told us there are no graveyards there. In India it is custom to throw marigold flowers into the Ganges. Now, tell me: how can a girl of Endrani's age, who comes from Varanasi herself, not know that?'
'Wait, are you implying that Endrani is not Endrani?' James asked. 'Just as you were hinting that about Cheone?'
'I'll get to that shortly. After our return from India, the bad weather caused more damage to the island then the night of the storm did and our suspicions about Eric selling us out just grew bigger. Nikki?'
Nikki opened her file and took out the evidence she found. She got up to stand right next to MacGyver. 'I found this copy in Eric's office.'
'You've been into my office?' Eric asked. 'What gave you the right?'
'What gave you the right to sell us out?!'
Eric didn't say anything.
'Oh, that's right. Money. This copy, ladies and gentlemen, is a copy of the property papers, we, the Phoenix Foundation, signed on the day we requiered this island. Only this copy has been tampered with. Eric scanned the originals in removed the necessary parts including our signatures to make a blank copy again and than faxed it to HIT to close the deal. This is all the is left from the original,' she said and showed them the shredded piece of paper. 'I give you, exhibits C and D.'
'So, that's it, then?' James asked. 'We no longer own the island?'
'Not quite,' Sam said.
'What do you mean?' Eric asked.
'Eric didn't sell anything.'
'How so?' Nicholas asked. 'Woodman?'
'I don't know what he's talking about. I did everything we agreed on.'
'Gentlemen,' MacGyver said, 'if I may? Without everyone knowing, I had made copies of the original document the day we signed them. Those copies are hidden in a safe back home at the Phoenix Foundation.'
'Damn you, Woodman,' Nicholas and cocked the trigger.
'I wouldn't shoot him just yet,' MacGyver said. 'He already confessed and besides me there are six other witnesses. Eric is looking at a long time in jail. That should do it and I am not finished here yet. That thing with Kumoken kept bothering me so we took a quick trip to Australia. I found his father in an Aboriginal village who told me Kumoken is never into any tricks like locking people up. He cares about nature and the environment just as much as Phoenix does. There are so many contradicting stories here, that it can't be a coincidence anymore. Then I found exhibit E. This is a blueprint that shows the plans of turning the camp into a training ground for hitmen.'
'That blueprint, the forged property papers, the postcards and six witnesses will put a stop to that,' Nikki said. 'Your case have no merit. We can stop you, legally.'
'But the real shocking truth about all this, I have just found out when we got back from Australia. And Pete, please don't tell me you didn't notice anything outside?'
'I wish I could but I can't,' Pete said. After you left for Australia, they've been keeping us here.'
'Pity. But I've got enough evidence to go around. The following exhibits are monstrous.' MacGyver opened up the bag and Nigel's head and the mechanical arm rolled out of it. Cynthia got startled a bit.
'I give you exhibits F and G.'
Everyone curiously looked at the head and the arm.
Pete was shocked. 'Are you saying the kids were robots?'
'Yeah, and pretty good ones too. Living skin tissue over a metal endoskeleton.'
'Like in that movie?' Jack asked.
'Where'd you had them made?' MacGyver asked really wanting to know. 'Might as well tell us now. Cat's out of the bag.'
'Where do you think?' Sonya said. 'In Japan of course.'
'She's right,' Sam said pointing to a bit in the arm. 'It says right here: "Made in Japan."'
MacGyver rolled his eyes.
'How did you find out?' Murdoc asked.
'Outside I saw Yung Li hanging in a tree. He fell on his head and broke his neck. When I went to check on him, his skull got fractured and I saw something shiny in there. In the supplies basement I found the remains of Nigel with the same shiny bones.'
'When did you found the arm?' Pete asked.
'Actually the day everything started but I never got the chance to get fully into that since the kids started to act up. I wasn't much wiser at the time I got Cheone's postcard. I got really suspicious when Endrani didn't seem to know her own Indian customs. Things started to fall in place but it was only the beginning of the puzzle until I found out Yung Li was a robot and that Nigel's remains where in the supplies basement.' (The music stops here)
'So, MacGyver,' Murdoc said. 'Now what? Are you going to call the cops on us?'
'Haven't I yet?'
Murdoc and Nicholas aimed their guns at him.
'He's bluffing,' Nicholas said.
'Proof it.'
'Doesn't matter,' Murdoc said. 'In case you haven't noticed, we still have the leverage over all of you.'
'What are you going to do with us?' Cynthia asked.
'Well, we can't have seven witnesses who can turn us in, now can we?'
'Eight,' Nicholas said and aimed for Eric.
'Helman, come on. I told you. I didn't know they had copies of the property papers.'
'But you should have,' he said and fired three rounds in Eric's chest. (Dramatic music kicks in) Eric staggered against the wall and collapsed on his side. Everyone was shocked.
Eric!' MacGyver yelled and ran up to him.
Eric was shaking all over. MacGyver tore up Eric's vest to see the wounds. 'MacGyver... I'm sorry.'
'Eric, come on, stay with us.'
MacGyver looked around for something to press against the wounds. He found napkins at the coffee table.
'Forget it. It's no use. I'm a goner.'
'Eric, don't say that, come on.'
Nikki squatted next to MacGyver.
'Ms. Carpenter, I'm sorry. You were right about me.'
'Just relax, Eric. MacGyver will get you out of here.'
'No. Tell Lisa, I love her.'
Eric closed his eyes and shook all over until he stopped. Upset MacGyver looked at Nikki. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
'Now, it's seven,' Nicholas said. (The music intensifies)
Angrily MacGyver stood up. 'Helman!'
'I wouldn't!' Murdoc said and aimed his gun at him.
'What are you going do, Murdoc? Shoot us all?'
'It should get the job done. Easy as pie.'
'Dad, I say, we overpower them. There's seven of us against three,' Sam said getting ready to get into a fight. 'Your odds are not so great, Helman.'
'There will be no fight,' Nicholas said, 'and there will be no more shooting. I only shot Woodman because I wanted to kill him anyway. When it comes to you peoples, a terrible accident is going to happen.'
'Why?' Murdoc asked. 'Let's just kill them already and dispose of the bodies.'
'We will, but I'm going to do this my way. Let's take them below to the boiler room.'
'You heard him. Come on.'
Murdoc grabbed MacGyver's shoulder and pushed him towards the door. Nicholas pushed Sam to the other men and Sonya followed them with Nikki and Cynthia.
MacGyver and the group were taken all the way down inside the Phoenix building to where the boiler room was.
'Get in there,' Nicholas said.
MacGyver went inside first, followed by Sam, Pete, Jack and James and then by Nikki and Cynthia. Nikki took hold of Cynthia. 'Are you alright?'
'I'm OK, Nikki.'
'Well, gentlemen,' Nicholas said. 'Welcome to your grave.'
Nicholas fired a few rounds into the pipes of the boiler causing steam to come out of and making the room very hot.
'Goodbye, MacGyver,' Murdoc said and then they left locking the door.
MacGyver ran to the door and pressed his ear against it.
'They're gone,' he said and turned around.
All eyes were aimed at him. 'What?'
'MacGyver, how are we going to get out of here?' Pete asked. (MacGyverism music begins here)
'I'm thinking. For starters everybody stay away from the steam as far as you can. Go into the corner over there and stay low.'
'Dad, that's not going to help very long.'
'I know, Sam. If we don't get out of here soon, the heat will kill us all.'
MacGyver looked around. 'Damn it.'
'MacGyver, hurry,' Nikki said.
'Yes, yes. Now, what do you do when things get too hot.'
'You cool them down, Mac,' Jack said.
James loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. 'Water. We need water.'
'Exactly and I know how. Sam, come with me, I need your help.'
MacGyver and Sam shuffled some things around and in another corner of the room they found a fire extinguisher. 'Oh, great idea, Dad. We can extinguish the steam.'
'No, that's just a part of the plan. Take that extinguisher and start spraying foam on those pipes.'
Sam did what his father said. MacGyver went to a table and found big rags of cloth.
'MacGyver, whatever you got in mind, hurry up. This place is getting hot,' Pete said.
'I'm working on it, Pete,' MacGyver said while taking out his Swiss Army Knife. He cut off a couple strips of cloth and tied them together to make a long strip of cloth.
'How's it going, Sam?'
'Still spraying.'
'You can stop now.'
Sam stopped spraying when MacGyver came back to him and tied the piece of cloth around the holes in the pipe. 'That's not going to hold but ought to take care of it for now.'
'Nice going, Mac,' Jack said.
'Thanks, but we're not out yet,' he said and walked back to the door. 'Pete? This door, it's a firedoor isn't it?'
'Yeah, we had them installed according to the standard procedure. In case the boiler room blows up the fire can be contained,' Pete explained.
MacGyver examined the door again. 'It's just a simple doorknob. Sam, you still have that extinguisher?'
'Right here, dad.'
Sam gave him the extinguisher.
'Everybody get back.' MacGyver rose the extinguisher high above him and let it come down with a lot of force on the doorknob.
Nothing happened.
He hit the doorknob again but still nothing happened. MacGyver looked over his shoulder with a frown. Everyone just looked back at him and then he went for a third blow. The doorknob fell off completely. MacGyver took the lock out and the door was open. (The music becomes uplifting before becoming dramatic again)
'Nice going, dad.'
'Come on, let's go back up.'
MacGyver and the group went back up to ground floor. They reached the entrance door of the Phoenix building. MacGyver stuck his head outside and looked around. Everything was still dark, empty and silent.
'Alright, here's what we're going to do,' he said. 'Jack and James, I want you to go to the control trower and try and establish contact with the mainland. Call the nearest authorities and give them our coordinates. Say that we have one casualty already and need help. Sam, Pete, girls, we'll see if we can put a stop to Murdoc and his friends.'
'How?' Cynthia asked.
'I don't know, but I think it's better to split up to cover more ground. But Jack and James, you better go first. Stay low and move fast. We don't know where they are, let alone if they're still here, so let's not take any chances. Go, now.'
James and Jack went outside. They ran up to Mac's cabin and stayed low.
'Are you ready, Jack?' James asked.
'Guess, I'll have to be,' Jack replied.
'Good, because you don't have a choice.'
James moved as quickly and as low as he could to the lake followed by Jack. They moved around when bullets started to fly around. James and Jack quickened their pace and eventually began to run like hell. The bullets missed them barely but they made it to the control tower.
'Alright, they made it. Now, let's be careful out there.'
MacGyver, Sam, Pete, Nikki and Cynthia went outside to the same place where Jack and James were.
'You know the drill. Stay low and move fast. Go.'
Sam and Pete took the same route as Jack and James did while Nikki and Cynthia ran the other way.
MacGyver kept an eye on the both of them when the bullets started to fly again, aimed at Sam and Pete. They both hit the dirt. Also Nikki and Cynthia hit the dirt.
MacGyver mouthed the words: 'Keep going,' to Nikki and Cynthia.
'Pete, are you ok?' Sam asked.
Pete was clearly out of breath. 'I may be old and slow but they still can't hit me from a distance.'
Sam nodded. 'Let's keep it that way and crawl, huh? Just breath in and out and you'll be alright. Let's see if we can find Helman.'
Bullets were fired again and MacGyver noticed they were coming from above him. It had to be Murdoc on the roof of his cabin. MacGyver crawled away to the storage area. A ladder was placed against the backwall that would lead up to his roof. MacGyver crawled up the ladder. (The track Underwater Fight from Lethal Weapon 4 begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ah-Y1cZpgc
His head slowly rose from below the edge and he saw Murdoc in the middle of the roof with a sniper rifle. Quietly MacGyver got on top of the roof. Murdoc didn't seem to notice him and on the right moment, he charged at him. Murdoc got startled and they both screamed when they went off the roof. With a soft thud they ended up in the mudpit that was once the lake. They tried to catch their breath.
'MacGyver, you sure are one crazy son of a bitch,' Murdoc said in-between breaths.
'Not as crazy you.'
Murdoc began to look for his rifle.
'Looking for this?' MacGyver asked.
'Give me that back.'
'Nope.' MacGyver threw the rifle away into the nearby trees.
'You bastard, you're going to pay for that.'
'Then give me everything you got.'
Murdoc charged at him and tackled MacGyver. They struggled through the mud, arms locked around their heads. MacGyver got on top of Murdoc when they got up. Suddenly Murdoc launched his elbow in MacGyver's stomach followed by his right fist and another right against Mac's mouth. MacGyver stumbled backwards and fell in the mud, holding his hand against his mouth. Something warm came out of it and saw blood on his hands.
'Come on, Mac. Surely, you can do better then that?'
'You have no idea, Murdoc.'
MacGyver took a handful of mud and threw it Murdoc's face. Murdoc grunted. MacGyver attacked him and gave him a headbutt followed by a right-left-right combination. Murdoc stumbled in the mud now.
'What do you got to say now, eh?'
The headbutt caused a wound above Murdoc's eyebrow.
'Very good. How about this?'
Murdoc kicked MacGyver behind his knee. MacGyver went through his knee and got another right hand against his jaw. Murdoc jumped on top of him and managed to hit MacGyver again three times with his right.
'Do you know if people can drown in mud, MacGyver?' he asked and began to push MacGyver's head in the mud. MacGyver struggled to get Murdoc off of him when suddenly his leg went up and kicked him in the balls. He broke Murdoc's hold on him and with a hard right, he punched Murdoc backwards. MacGyver got up, grabbed Murdoc by his head and kneed him in the face. Murdoc's tongue got caught between his teeth and nearly bit it off in the impact. There was blood everywhere. MacGyver launched his right fist in Murdoc's face followed by his left, another right, another left and another right. Murdoc plunged in the mud and spat out blood.
'Had enough?'
'Not quite, MacGyver,' Murdoc said and reached out for his knife. Shaky he got up and spat some more blood out and showed him the knife. 'Bring it on, you bastard.'
They circled around each other before Murdoc lashed out. MacGyver dodges the knife by taking a step backwards. Murdoc came closer and lashed out again. MacGyver dodged to his right and then to his left. There was an opening and MacGyver launched his right forearm straight into Murdoc's face. Murdoc retaliated by cutting his arm. MacGyver screamed when the blade cut his sleeve and skin. He reached for the wound and blood dripped between his fingers. They looked at each other waiting for the other one to make the next move. Murdoc made the next move by lashing out again but MacGyver grabbed his arm so Murdoc punched him with a hard left. MacGyver responded with his right and twisted Murdoc's arm any way he could. Murdoc pushed him away and saw his chance to lash out again and the tip of the knife cut in MacGyver's face on his left side from the eyebrow down. MacGyver staggered backwards but he didn't go down. The cut gave him an adrenaline rush and he charged back at Murdoc who swung the knife again but MacGyver ducked and hit Murdoc in the stomach followed by another right hook. Murdoc was dazed and saw MacGyver's left fist coming at him and another right hand uppercut busted his nose. Murdoc tried to get his senses back and unfocused he lashed out again only MacGyver kicked the knife away now.
'Why don't you give it up, Murdoc? It's over.'
'Because I rather die.'
'Then do what you got to do, I'm done.'
MacGyver turned around to leave.
'Oh, no, you don't.'
Murdoc ran after him and jumped on his back. MacGyver tried to get him of his back and swung in all directions but Murdoc didn't let go. MacGyver saw only one option and dropped himself on his back. From the impact Murdoc loosened up and MacGyver got himself free.
'I...' MacGyver hit him. 'Said...' He hits him again. 'I'm...' Another blow. 'Done!' Another one.
'But, I'm not,' Murdoc said and hit him back.
They rolled in the mud again and Murdoc got and start to kick MacGyver in the chest. He kicked him four times when Nicholas and Sonya appeared. (The track Ferris Wheel from Passenger 57 begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbde8LclYIE
'Murdoc, come on, let's go!'
'Dad!' Sam's voice came from the same path where Nicholas and Sonya came from.
'Sam?!'
Murdoc kicked him the face and took off. Sam appeared and ran up to his father.
'Dad, are you alright?'
'Where's Pete?'
'He's right behind me.'
MacGyver looked in the direction Sam came from and saw Pete coming.
'Alright, stay with him. Find Nikki and go get the others, I'm going to try and stop them.'
'OK. You good?'
'I'm fine. Go get the others, now.'
Sam did what he was told while MacGyver ran after Murdoc, Nicholas and Sonya. He saw them running down the path behind the cliff. His body was aching but he was determined to catch them no matter what. He ran out of the lake and past his cabin and supplies basement back to the open storage area and stopped by the cliff. Murdoc, Nicholas and Sonya were nowhere to be seen.
On the moment MacGyver wanted to walk down the path a loud noise was heard in the jungle like the start-up of an engine. The humming sound of rotors were heard and the treetops started to wave in the wind. A helicopter appeared from between the trees. Nicholas and Sonya were flying it while Murdoc sat in the back holding a machine gun. MacGyver and Murdoc looked at each other. Murdoc smiled and opened fire on MacGyver. MacGyver jumped over the hood of one of the SUV's that were still parked there. The bullets ricocheted around him. MacGyver hid behind the car. The helicopter circled around and Murdoc kept firing around the camp. He hit the buildings, MacGyver's cabin. They even circled as far over the lake to shoot up the control tower as well before returning to the storage area. Murdoc kept firing and started to aim for the gasoline tanks that were stored there. MacGyver saw how dangerously close he was and ran to another SUV when Murdoc unleashed another rain of bullets that hit the target. One of the tanks blew up and got torpedoed in the air. Other tanks blew up as well with the same effect. One of them crashed through the roof of MacGyver's cabin followed by an immense explosion. The roof got blown off, the windows shattered and one wall got blown away. The rest just collapsed in debris and fire blocking the way back to the camp. MacGyver was surrounded by fire and a helicopter that kept circling over him. He tried to think fast on what to do. Murdoc reloaded and continued firing. He was now aiming for one of the SUV's. The windows were bulletproof so they just ended up full of holes. The helicopter circled around again when MacGyver noticed the winch and a grappling hook in front of the SUV.
'Burma!' he said and pushed the button to unfold the cable.
The helicopter went back to the other side of the camp to give a second salvo on the control tower. Only nobody was there. Sam, Pete, Jack, James, Nikki and Cynthia had run into the hangar and were on their way back to the camp. They saw the destruction the helicopter caused. Pete was visibly shocked.
'It's coming back,' Sam said. 'Get back in the hangar.'
The helicopter flew over one more time with Murdoc firing at will before returning back to the storage area. On their way back over, MacGyver had climbed up the ruins of his cabin holding a long of leash of cable. The helicopter passed him but Murdoc was unable to shoot him.
'Damn it,' he said. 'Circle around again and fly in low. I'll have him this time.' The helicopter circled around again and flew in low. MacGyver jumped on the strut. Murdoc aimed and fired.
*Click*
'No!' His rifle was empty and had to reload again.
MacGyver was hanging on the helicopter and swung the cable halfway around the strut. He tied it with the hook.
Murdoc finished reloading and was about the aim when MacGyver let go of the strut and fell a couple of feet down. He ended back on the roof and rolled into the storage area, near the SUV. He got up and pushed the button to reel in the capture of the day.
'What is he doing?' Sonya asked.
'He's reeling us in,' Murdoc said.
'Just kill him already!' Nicholas barked.
Murdoc opened fire one more time aiming mostly in the direction of where the cable came from. He was going for the car and screamed while firing. The bullets ricocheted all around the car while MacGyver ducked. Suddenly the car caught fire and blew up. The cable yanked at the helicopter but because of the explosion the winch got blocked and stopped reeling. The helicopter got anchored to a burning car!
'Do something, Murdoc. Cut the wire.'
'I don't have a my knife.'
'Shoot the cable, Murdoc, come on!' Sonya said.
'Give it a yank, the cable might snap.' Murdoc said.
Nicholas tried to steer the helicopter as good as he could and pushed it to his limits. Slowly the car began to give in and got dragged with the helicopter. The car slid over in the mud towards MacGyver who got caught between the surrounding fires, the burning car and the cliff. He ran in the only direction he could and that was towards the cliff. MacGyver jumped over the cliff straight into the darkness. He landed unsoftly several feet below and got hold of some vines. He looked up and saw from how high he fell and then he looked below which was nothing but a dark bottomless pit. MacGyver saw the helicopter above him struggling to get rid of the car but the only result they got was that the car got pulled closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Holding onto the vines MacGyver managed to face the cliff and began his climb back up when the edge got lit up by the burning car. The front of the car became visible right above him.
'Aw, man! No!'
In a final attempt to get rid of the car, Nicholas pulled the helicopter up and the SUV went over the cliff. MacGyver saw the burning colossus coming right at him at an incredible speed. MacGyver thought he was done for, when the car hit a bump in the rocks, bounced off and flew over him, missing him with hardly an inch. MacGyver screamed when the SUV passed by him with a thunderous sound. Inside Nicholas and Sonya screamed when the weight of the car pulled down the helicopter. For a brief moment Murdoc stuck his head out and saw MacGyver in the light of the fire hanging on the side of the cliff.
'MMMMMAAAAACCCCCCGGGGGYYYYVVVVVVEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!'
The burning SUV dragged the helicopter down with it to the bottom of the cliff where it exploded in a massive fireball that turned into mushroom-like cloud. The earth was shaking from the impact and MacGyver held on as hard as he could when the cliff vibrated. In the explosion one the car's wheels flew up right behind MacGyver before falling back. MacGyver sighed and let his head rest against the cliff. (The music ends here)
On top of the cliff, Sam, Pete, Jack, Nikki, James and Cynthia managed to move some of the debris aside to get through to the storage area. They saw the explosion happening when they came back from hangar.
'Dad!!!'
'Mac!!!'
They stood on top of the cliff but couldn't see anything except for the burning wreck below next to the remains of the scaffolding.
'Oh, God, no,' Nikki said.
'You think he went over the cliff?' James asked.
'If he did, there's no way he could've survived that,' Pete said.
'Oh, no, no, no, no, no,' Cynthia whimpered. Nikki hugged her.
The six of them all stood there in silence.
Softly groaning MacGyver reached the top of the cliff, little out of sight of his friends and dunked his head the mud. He was muddy, he was bloody and he was very tired. He got up and joined his friends who still hadn't noticed him. He looked at them and then looked over the cliff himself. He saw the helicopter and burning there.
'That's a long way down,' he said nodding.
'Dad?'
'MacGyver,' Nikki said and let go of Cynthia.
'Mac!' Jack cheered. 'You made it.'
Pete was stumped. He pointed at MacGyver and then to the cliff.
Nikki hugged him despite he was muddy and bloody.
'Careful,' he said when she hugged him. 'I need to go to the hospital... again.'
'How did you survive that?'
'I jumped into the cliff before the helicopter blew up.'
'Why?' Sam asked.
'Because I attached the grappling hook from the SUV to the strut of the helicopter. They dragged the car with it which pulled them into the cliff.'
'I hope they're dead now,' Nikki said.
'I know, what you mean.'
A noise came from somewhere behind the Phoenix building.
'What's that?' Cynthia asked.
'I don't know,' MacGyver said. 'Let's find out.'
Behind a couple of stashed barrels a door became visible. A pounding sound was heard. MacGyver looked at the others and opened the door. (The track My Name Is Lincoln from the movie The Island begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iu-t1n821M
A kid's face was became visible. Everybody was stunned of what they saw. It was a young girl.
'Cheone?'
'Yes, that's me. Who are you?'
'Name's MacGyver. How did... what? Is everyone in there?'
'Yes, Nigel, Yung Li, Anonda, Endrani, Kumoken and a bunch of others are in there.'
MacGyver stuck his head in. 'Alright, you can come out now.'
The other kids followed and they ran outside cheering they were finally free.
'Cheone, what happened?'
'That awful man locked us up in here for like weeks now. He gave us food and drinks but he never told us why he locked us up.'
'It's a long story, Cheone. We'll explain later. Go on, have fun with your friends.'
Cheone joined her friends as they began to play. Meanwhile the sun slowly rose over the island. A new day has begun.
'So, now what?' Pete asked.
'Back to the drawingboard, I guess and I'm going to have to explain Lisa her father is dead. This was not exactly part of the plan. We're going to have to start all over again.'
'How? Who's willing to invest in us now?' Cynthia asked.
'Oh, we'll manage,' MacGyver said reassuring.
'There's nothing we can't do,' Nikki said.
MacGyver placed his arm around her. 'I'll talk to the investors from as soon as I'm patched up.'
'You need any help with that?' Sam asked.
MacGyver patted his face. 'I'd like that.'
'You probably need an airline too,' James said.
'And a pilot,' Jack added. 'Two pilots.'
'You got it.'
'And I'll talk to the chairman of the board to arrange a meeting,' Pete said.
'That would be great, Pete. You see, if we all do our part we can make the world a better a place.'
MacGyver kissed Nikki on her head and placed his other arm around Sam, while they looked at the kids playing in what was left over of the camp. These were the real kids the robots were based on and MacGyver would make sure the same kids would be able to return from as soon the camp is rebuilded so they can talk about world peace. But first they would have to go back to the drawingboard and start from scratch. Knowing that MacGyver will be leading that project with the Phoenix Foundation, that shouldn't be a problem at all.
(The music reaches it's peak and launches into MacGyver's end credits)
(We fade in with no music)
Chapter IX
Final Return
Investigation
Unveiled Plans
Night
Night had fallen when MacGyver, Sam and James were on their way back to the island. The sky was pitch black and below them was the South Pacific ocean. In the cockpit everything was silent. James was flying and MacGyver was helping him out while Sam was playing with his camera.
'We're almost back,' James said.
'Great,' Sam said.
'We should be able to see the island, now,' MacGyver said.
'Indeed,' James said, 'it's time to bring her down.' James took the radio and called up the control tower. 'Control tower, this is captain James Holland requesting clearance to land, over.'
No response.
'Control tower, I repeat, this is captain James Holland requesting clearance to land, over.'
Again no response.
'Is it on?' MacGyver asked.
James looked at the radio. The light was on as it should be. 'Yeah, it's on.'
'Try again.'
'Control tower, come in. This is captain James Holland requesting clearance to land. Do you read me, over?'
'What's going on?' Sam asked.
'The dog is not barking,' James said.
'What?'
'It's a term in aviation,' MacGyver explained. 'If a pilot can't make contact with the ground below they say the dog is not barking.'
'That's right,' James confirmed and tried the radio again. 'Control tower, come in. Jack, are you there? Jack?!'
'Maybe he went to the bathroom,' Sam said.
'With Jack you never know,' MacGyver added.
'Well, it was his shift. One of us always has to stay there when the other one is out flying,' James said.
'A lot of things could've happened. You know something is off at the camp.'
'That I know.'
'You can put the plane down in the dark, right?' Sam asked.
'Yeah, and that's what I'm gonna do. Putting this plane down without Dalton's help. Strap in. I'm gonna land.' (Tense music comes up)
MacGyver and Sam strapped in as the plane started to descend. James pushed the steering-wheel forward. The plane took a nose-dive and James activated the landing gear. Squeaking the landing gear came out and than they made a wobbly landing. The wheels got grip and the plane drove towards the hangar. But MacGyver saw a big problem coming.
'What the hell?' he said.
'Dad, what is it?'
'It's the hangar doors.'
The double hangar doors seemed to be blocked. They were not fully open and sparks from the door rail flashed up.
'We'll fit,' James said confident.
'No, we're not,' MacGyver said.
'Believe me. We will. Trust the pilot.'
MacGyver looked at him: 'You do know I sometimes have a problem with that?'
'Than trust me.'
James steered the plane towards the door and started to slow down the plane. 'We'll fit. We got to fit.'
'I sure hope so,' Sam said.
The plane neared the hanger and drove in there. The doors were just far enough open for the plane to ride in where James put the plane to a full stop.
'I told you, we'd fit,' he said proudly.
'You were right,' MacGyver said. (The music stops here)
'James, you're a better pilot than Jack,' Sam said and unbuckled himself. He got up and went into the fuselage.
James turned everything in the plane off and it became silent again in the cockpit. MacGyver loosened his straps and looked around. He suddenly felt this creepy feeling getting into every bone of his body.
'What's the matter?' James asked.
'I just got this very creepy feeling. Let's check things out,' he said. (The track Investigation from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_R-s0RI17Q
MacGyver, Sam and James left the plane. Inside the hangar MacGyver's feeling became worse. Everything just seemed so quite, too quite. As if they were the only three people left in the world. The island felt so desolate and deserted. They looked around.
'Dad,' Sam said, 'do you also have this creepy feeling?'
'Yeah.'
'What are we gonna do then?'
'Check things out. Let's split up.'
'Split up? Dad, shouldn't we be, you know, sticking together?'
'No. Just don't go into the jungles by yourself. Stick around the buildings. Let's do a quick check of the buildings and we meet back in front of the Phoenix building.'
'Alright, I go look for Jack. Maybe he's hiding here somewhere,' James said.
'Good, we'll check out the camp. Let's meet up at the Phoenix building in ten minutes.'
'Got it.'
MacGyver and Sam walked out of the hangar to the camp. The island looked like it had gone through a typhoon. All the cabins on top of the hills were gone now, the waterslides were destroyed and the lake had turned into a massive mudpit. MacGyver and Sam looked at each other.
'You go that way,' MacGyver said. 'I'll check out this area.'
'OK, dad.'
Sam walked to the building where the Phoenix-scientists were working while MacGyver walked around the muddy lake. He was near his own cabin and passed the supplies basement. He was about to go down when he noticed something hanging upside down a tree.
'Yung Li?'
'That's right,' Yung Li said in a metallic sounding voice.
'Wanna come down from there?'
'Coming.'
Yung Li dropped himself from the tree and with a sickening sound his head ended on the ground breaking his neck.
'Oh, my God! Yung Li!!!' MacGyver ran up to the little boy and looked at him. Yung-Li had an open skull fracture. MacGyver examined the wound but dropped him immediately when he saw something shiny inside. Confused MacGyver got up and tried to understand it. 'Shiny bones?'
He looked up the tree again and saw bits and pieces of Endrani hanging between the branches. 'What's going on here?'
MacGyver turned around and went to the supplies basement. Also there, there was something different then before. MacGyver noticed how the backwall was breached and wooden boards were screwed in front of it. MacGyver looked at the floor but no boards were used from there. He quickly opened the board he hid the evidence under and found they were still there. He took the mechanical arm, and the bag and stuffed it his pocket. But now he was curious what was behind the backwall. MacGyver examined the boards and saw the screws. With his Swiss Army Knife he unscrewed the boards and placed them aside. In the opening he found the remains of Nigel. Nigel was sparking out of his head. He also had those shiny bones. It started to make sense. MacGyver felt with his hand in the opening but there was nothing there. MacGyver took Nigel's head with him and left the supplies basement. Outside he placed it in the plastic bag along with the arm. The wind was blowing and MacGyver looked up at the treetops and listened to the rustling between the leaves. He followed the sound of the wind and went to the storage area behind his cabin and the Phoenix building. The SUV's were still parked there and the tents were lying on pile with the damaged Phoenix logo on top of it near the gasoline tanks. He walked to the edge of the cliff and saw what was left over of the scaffolding that fell over during the night of the storm. But there was not much else to see nor that he could see. There was only the sound of the rustling leaves and the sound of silence in between. The place just felt so dead-like. As if the inhabitants just vanished into thin air. MacGyver turned around and walked back to the lake. For the first time he noticed the flagpole with the yellow flag saying Camp United with the United Nations peace logo on it was also down. He looked to his cabin and saw something fluttering in the wind that was stuck in his door. MacGyver took it from between the door and noticed it was a blueprint. A blueprint of HIT's training ground that was supposed to come in place of the camp. 'That's it,' he whispered. 'More evidence.'
MacGyver's attention got drawn from high-pitched whistle from across the lake. It was Sam and James coming to him.
'And?'
'I didn't find anything,' Sam said.
'Jack is nowhere to be seen,' James said.
'If no one is in the Phoenix building this is like the weirdest thing I've ever been into,' MacGyver said.
'What do you mean, dad?'
'Come. I want to show you something.'
MacGyver brought Sam and James to where Yung-Li broke his neck. 'See that?'
'The kid broke his neck?'
'Not just that. Look. Look here.'
MacGyver showed them the open skull fracture and went with his finger in the opening.
'Oh, Jesus, dad, don't.'
'Listen.'
MacGyver tapped his finger against the skull and it sounded hollow.
'That's impossible,' James said.
'You better believe it. See?'
Sam and James both now saw the shiny bone structure.
'Robots?' Sam asked.
'Living skin tissue over a metal endoskeleton.'
'Holy sh*t, dad. You mean like, they're little Terminators? Seriously?'
'After everything we've seen, this surprises you?'
'You got to admit, dad, that is amazing.'
'It sure is.'
'Are we really that far advanced in science?' James asked. 'Fully operating little robots?'
'I would say, it looks like it,' MacGyver said. 'Unless it says: "Made in Japan."'
'This is worse, then I thought,' Sam said.
'Look above you.'
Sam and James looked up and also saw Endrani's remains in the tree.
'And I also found robotic remains of our friend Nigel in the supplies basement.'
'Far more worse.'
'What about the other children?' James asked.
'No trace.'
'So, what do we do, now?' Sam asked.
'If nobody is in the Phoenix building, I'm out of explanations.'
'Then what?'
'I don't know. Take the plane back home and continue our search there. They have to be somewhere.'
'Oh, but that won't be necessary,' a voice said and a familiar laughter was heard. Murdoc came out of the Phoenix building with his gun aimed at them. 'We're all right here. Waiting for you in the conference room.'
Murdoc waved his gun in the direction they should go. (The music fades away here)
MacGyver, Sam and James were brought the conference room where Pete, Nikki, Jack, Cynthia, Eric, Nicholas and Sonya were waiting. Pete, Nikki, Jack and Cynthia were sitting at the table held at gunpoint by Nicholas and Sonya while Eric has shown his true colors to everyone now.
'MacGyver,' Nikki said when she saw him.
'Hey,' he said back. 'Is everyone alright?'
'We are,' Pete said, 'but we're at their mercy now.'
'Sit down, all of you,' Murdoc said.
MacGyver, Sam and James sat down around the table. Every seat was taken now. Murdoc, Nicholas, Sonya and Eric stood around the table. Murdoc remained close to MacGyver. 'Well, now,' he said. 'It's been a fun couple of weeks now, hasn't it?'
'What do you want from us, Murdoc?' MacGyver asked.
'Well, I've always wanted to kill you but now there is something more important here at stake.'
'The island.'
'That's right. The island. The island that wrongfully ended up in Phoenix's hands.'
'The island belongs to us,' Nikki said.
'Not anymore.'
'Actually it does,' MacGyver said. 'And I can prove it too.'
'In that case,' Nicholas said, 'tell us.'
'Before I do, tell me how you survived the plane. We lost you over the Himalayas.'
'Took the scenic route,' Murdoc said. 'We parked the plane in the Himalayas, walked down the mountain on foot and booked a flight out of there.'
'Why didn't you just follow us?' Sam said.
'Because we didn't know your flightplan,' Nicholas said. 'Dalton here never said anything and we didn't care. We were just after you.'
'And it doesn't matter anymore either. We've got you here, we've got you now and it's time to finish our plan,' Sonya said.
'Before you take over the island, I need to explain something first,' MacGyver said.
'Get on with it,' Nicholas said impatient.
'You mind if I walk around a bit?'
'Whatever.'
'Great.' (The track The Witness from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjNMSD8BLRU
MacGyver stood up and walked around a bit in front of the table choosing his words on how to start. 'The day I arrived here at the island, I found a children's paradise on earth. Phoenix has been planning this project for several years now and the final touches has been done when I was recovering from the school hostage, seven months ago. In the past few weeks we went into an experimental phase by allowing some kids to come to the island to try it out and everything seemed to be going alright. Only the day after I arrived, troubles began. Little Nigel was feeling homesick, or so we thought at least. So I took the trouble of flying to England on the other side of the world to pick up some toys of his to make him feel better. I met his father as I met most kids their parents and most of their parents told me contradicting things. In Nigel's mansion I found a hidden Guy Fawkes doll. Nigel is fond of that doll but when I came back, he simply burned it right in front of my eyes. Not only I found that doll but also this card. Exhibit A.' MacGyver took the postcard out of the bag and placed it on the table. 'Supposedly Nigel wrote this postcard but it's full of spellings mistakes. A kid of Nigel's age doesn't make those kind of mistakes anymore. Plus the post stamp dates from before the camp was even open.'
'Can I see that?' Cynthia asked.
MacGyver gave her the card.
'He's right and at that time we didn't even know which kids were going to come over.' Cynthia passed the card over to Nikki and it went all around the table.
'Then we went over to Egypt. We heard Cheone had disappeared so we went to look for her there. We've met her parents there who said Cheone disappeared more often and that she would go the countryside in Upper Egypt. We looked for her there on the riverbanks of the Nile and received this postcard. Exhibit B.' MacGyver took Cheone's postcard out and placed it on the table as well. Cynthia reached out to see the card.
'What's it saying?' she asked.
'It's written in hieroglyphics. Cheone claims that she was having the time of her life. Wherever she is. Two contradicting postcards. One of a boy, who is not happy at all here and a second one of a girl who couldn't happier.'
'That doesn't mean anything, MacGyver,' Murdoc said.
'Not yet, but I'll get there. Something tells me this card was written by the real Cheone.'
'What do you mean, Mac? "Written by the real Cheone?"' Jack wanted to know.
'I'll get to that in a moment, Jack.'
The card went around the table again.
'When we got back from Egypt, things started to get worse on the island. The kids were misbehaving and nearly showed criminal behaviour. Kumoken for example, locked me up in the supplies basement. Then we started to have our suspicions that Mr. "Steel" over there was trying to sell us out. And we can also proof that, Eric.'
'You better believe it,' Nikki said and gave him a sharp look.
'Then it was the night of the storm,' MacGyver continued. 'That night, I saw Murdoc creeping around the camp. I followed him into the jungle but I never found him there. When I came back the tents behind the building went flying in the storm and the scaffolding went over the cliff. The Phoenix logo fell on a couple of our workers. Despite what Eric wanted we let them go home. It was just too dangerous for them to remain here. The following morning, we discussed what happened the night of the storm. Cynthia then told me Yung Li was acting up. He showed real anger issues. Bad enough to get us worried.'
'So we flew to China,' Sam said.
'That's right. Thanks to my contact, Mei Jan, we found Yung Li's father working for the Chinese government who told us Yung Li doesn't have any anger issues. Yet he threw a rock through my cabin's window. Did it again in his own cabin and threw a fit when we talked to him about it.'
'Got any proof of that in your bag?' Nicholas asked.
'The rock is out there somewhere. I didn't go look for it after he threw it the second time, but I still have a broken window in my cabin to show it for. Anyway after we talked to Yung Li's father, I received a message of Endrani, the Indian girl. She practically ordered me to bring flowers to her grandfather's grave in Varanasi. So we asked for a plane flown by Jack to come and pick us up. Only when we took off, it appeared the flight was fully booked. You three showed up, taking Jack hostage and hijacking our plane. Good move, by the way. Trying to kill us skyhigh.'
'You all took a big risk to escape,' Sonya said. 'Jumping the plane from that altitude.'
'I know. It's as crazy as trying to kill three people at that altitude. But because of that incident we had to take a little detour to India since we ended up in Buthan where we met Anonda's mother. She also had something interesting to tell about her son.'
'And that was...' Murdoc said.
'That her son suffers allergies, though he never sneezed once since he was in the camp. Unfortunately I never got the chance to ask him myself when I came back. When we are about to leave Buthan, Endrani called again urging me to bring flowers to her grandfather's grave. So with the royal helicopter we got to Bombay, still a long way from Varanasi. We bumped into Penny Parker there. She lives there now.'
'How was she?' Murdoc asked.
'Good, now that she's far away from you.'
'Maybe I should pay her visit.'
'Try and I'll find you.'
'I ought to shoot you right now!'
'Murdoc, back off!' Nicholas said. 'I like to hear the rest of this.'
Murdoc looked at Nicholas and backed off.
'Good,' MacGyver said, 'because things are getting more interesting.'
'Lets hear it.' (The music changes into the track of Talking To Markus from the game Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEjDLWaF8ZM
'Penny brought us to Varanasi and she told us there are no graveyards there. In India it is custom to throw marigold flowers into the Ganges. Now, tell me: how can a girl of Endrani's age, who comes from Varanasi herself, not know that?'
'Wait, are you implying that Endrani is not Endrani?' James asked. 'Just as you were hinting that about Cheone?'
'I'll get to that shortly. After our return from India, the bad weather caused more damage to the island then the night of the storm did and our suspicions about Eric selling us out just grew bigger. Nikki?'
Nikki opened her file and took out the evidence she found. She got up to stand right next to MacGyver. 'I found this copy in Eric's office.'
'You've been into my office?' Eric asked. 'What gave you the right?'
'What gave you the right to sell us out?!'
Eric didn't say anything.
'Oh, that's right. Money. This copy, ladies and gentlemen, is a copy of the property papers, we, the Phoenix Foundation, signed on the day we requiered this island. Only this copy has been tampered with. Eric scanned the originals in removed the necessary parts including our signatures to make a blank copy again and than faxed it to HIT to close the deal. This is all the is left from the original,' she said and showed them the shredded piece of paper. 'I give you, exhibits C and D.'
'So, that's it, then?' James asked. 'We no longer own the island?'
'Not quite,' Sam said.
'What do you mean?' Eric asked.
'Eric didn't sell anything.'
'How so?' Nicholas asked. 'Woodman?'
'I don't know what he's talking about. I did everything we agreed on.'
'Gentlemen,' MacGyver said, 'if I may? Without everyone knowing, I had made copies of the original document the day we signed them. Those copies are hidden in a safe back home at the Phoenix Foundation.'
'Damn you, Woodman,' Nicholas and cocked the trigger.
'I wouldn't shoot him just yet,' MacGyver said. 'He already confessed and besides me there are six other witnesses. Eric is looking at a long time in jail. That should do it and I am not finished here yet. That thing with Kumoken kept bothering me so we took a quick trip to Australia. I found his father in an Aboriginal village who told me Kumoken is never into any tricks like locking people up. He cares about nature and the environment just as much as Phoenix does. There are so many contradicting stories here, that it can't be a coincidence anymore. Then I found exhibit E. This is a blueprint that shows the plans of turning the camp into a training ground for hitmen.'
'That blueprint, the forged property papers, the postcards and six witnesses will put a stop to that,' Nikki said. 'Your case have no merit. We can stop you, legally.'
'But the real shocking truth about all this, I have just found out when we got back from Australia. And Pete, please don't tell me you didn't notice anything outside?'
'I wish I could but I can't,' Pete said. After you left for Australia, they've been keeping us here.'
'Pity. But I've got enough evidence to go around. The following exhibits are monstrous.' MacGyver opened up the bag and Nigel's head and the mechanical arm rolled out of it. Cynthia got startled a bit.
'I give you exhibits F and G.'
Everyone curiously looked at the head and the arm.
Pete was shocked. 'Are you saying the kids were robots?'
'Yeah, and pretty good ones too. Living skin tissue over a metal endoskeleton.'
'Like in that movie?' Jack asked.
'Where'd you had them made?' MacGyver asked really wanting to know. 'Might as well tell us now. Cat's out of the bag.'
'Where do you think?' Sonya said. 'In Japan of course.'
'She's right,' Sam said pointing to a bit in the arm. 'It says right here: "Made in Japan."'
MacGyver rolled his eyes.
'How did you find out?' Murdoc asked.
'Outside I saw Yung Li hanging in a tree. He fell on his head and broke his neck. When I went to check on him, his skull got fractured and I saw something shiny in there. In the supplies basement I found the remains of Nigel with the same shiny bones.'
'When did you found the arm?' Pete asked.
'Actually the day everything started but I never got the chance to get fully into that since the kids started to act up. I wasn't much wiser at the time I got Cheone's postcard. I got really suspicious when Endrani didn't seem to know her own Indian customs. Things started to fall in place but it was only the beginning of the puzzle until I found out Yung Li was a robot and that Nigel's remains where in the supplies basement.' (The music stops here)
'So, MacGyver,' Murdoc said. 'Now what? Are you going to call the cops on us?'
'Haven't I yet?'
Murdoc and Nicholas aimed their guns at him.
'He's bluffing,' Nicholas said.
'Proof it.'
'Doesn't matter,' Murdoc said. 'In case you haven't noticed, we still have the leverage over all of you.'
'What are you going to do with us?' Cynthia asked.
'Well, we can't have seven witnesses who can turn us in, now can we?'
'Eight,' Nicholas said and aimed for Eric.
'Helman, come on. I told you. I didn't know they had copies of the property papers.'
'But you should have,' he said and fired three rounds in Eric's chest. (Dramatic music kicks in) Eric staggered against the wall and collapsed on his side. Everyone was shocked.
Eric!' MacGyver yelled and ran up to him.
Eric was shaking all over. MacGyver tore up Eric's vest to see the wounds. 'MacGyver... I'm sorry.'
'Eric, come on, stay with us.'
MacGyver looked around for something to press against the wounds. He found napkins at the coffee table.
'Forget it. It's no use. I'm a goner.'
'Eric, don't say that, come on.'
Nikki squatted next to MacGyver.
'Ms. Carpenter, I'm sorry. You were right about me.'
'Just relax, Eric. MacGyver will get you out of here.'
'No. Tell Lisa, I love her.'
Eric closed his eyes and shook all over until he stopped. Upset MacGyver looked at Nikki. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
'Now, it's seven,' Nicholas said. (The music intensifies)
Angrily MacGyver stood up. 'Helman!'
'I wouldn't!' Murdoc said and aimed his gun at him.
'What are you going do, Murdoc? Shoot us all?'
'It should get the job done. Easy as pie.'
'Dad, I say, we overpower them. There's seven of us against three,' Sam said getting ready to get into a fight. 'Your odds are not so great, Helman.'
'There will be no fight,' Nicholas said, 'and there will be no more shooting. I only shot Woodman because I wanted to kill him anyway. When it comes to you peoples, a terrible accident is going to happen.'
'Why?' Murdoc asked. 'Let's just kill them already and dispose of the bodies.'
'We will, but I'm going to do this my way. Let's take them below to the boiler room.'
'You heard him. Come on.'
Murdoc grabbed MacGyver's shoulder and pushed him towards the door. Nicholas pushed Sam to the other men and Sonya followed them with Nikki and Cynthia.
MacGyver and the group were taken all the way down inside the Phoenix building to where the boiler room was.
'Get in there,' Nicholas said.
MacGyver went inside first, followed by Sam, Pete, Jack and James and then by Nikki and Cynthia. Nikki took hold of Cynthia. 'Are you alright?'
'I'm OK, Nikki.'
'Well, gentlemen,' Nicholas said. 'Welcome to your grave.'
Nicholas fired a few rounds into the pipes of the boiler causing steam to come out of and making the room very hot.
'Goodbye, MacGyver,' Murdoc said and then they left locking the door.
MacGyver ran to the door and pressed his ear against it.
'They're gone,' he said and turned around.
All eyes were aimed at him. 'What?'
'MacGyver, how are we going to get out of here?' Pete asked. (MacGyverism music begins here)
'I'm thinking. For starters everybody stay away from the steam as far as you can. Go into the corner over there and stay low.'
'Dad, that's not going to help very long.'
'I know, Sam. If we don't get out of here soon, the heat will kill us all.'
MacGyver looked around. 'Damn it.'
'MacGyver, hurry,' Nikki said.
'Yes, yes. Now, what do you do when things get too hot.'
'You cool them down, Mac,' Jack said.
James loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. 'Water. We need water.'
'Exactly and I know how. Sam, come with me, I need your help.'
MacGyver and Sam shuffled some things around and in another corner of the room they found a fire extinguisher. 'Oh, great idea, Dad. We can extinguish the steam.'
'No, that's just a part of the plan. Take that extinguisher and start spraying foam on those pipes.'
Sam did what his father said. MacGyver went to a table and found big rags of cloth.
'MacGyver, whatever you got in mind, hurry up. This place is getting hot,' Pete said.
'I'm working on it, Pete,' MacGyver said while taking out his Swiss Army Knife. He cut off a couple strips of cloth and tied them together to make a long strip of cloth.
'How's it going, Sam?'
'Still spraying.'
'You can stop now.'
Sam stopped spraying when MacGyver came back to him and tied the piece of cloth around the holes in the pipe. 'That's not going to hold but ought to take care of it for now.'
'Nice going, Mac,' Jack said.
'Thanks, but we're not out yet,' he said and walked back to the door. 'Pete? This door, it's a firedoor isn't it?'
'Yeah, we had them installed according to the standard procedure. In case the boiler room blows up the fire can be contained,' Pete explained.
MacGyver examined the door again. 'It's just a simple doorknob. Sam, you still have that extinguisher?'
'Right here, dad.'
Sam gave him the extinguisher.
'Everybody get back.' MacGyver rose the extinguisher high above him and let it come down with a lot of force on the doorknob.
Nothing happened.
He hit the doorknob again but still nothing happened. MacGyver looked over his shoulder with a frown. Everyone just looked back at him and then he went for a third blow. The doorknob fell off completely. MacGyver took the lock out and the door was open. (The music becomes uplifting before becoming dramatic again)
'Nice going, dad.'
'Come on, let's go back up.'
MacGyver and the group went back up to ground floor. They reached the entrance door of the Phoenix building. MacGyver stuck his head outside and looked around. Everything was still dark, empty and silent.
'Alright, here's what we're going to do,' he said. 'Jack and James, I want you to go to the control trower and try and establish contact with the mainland. Call the nearest authorities and give them our coordinates. Say that we have one casualty already and need help. Sam, Pete, girls, we'll see if we can put a stop to Murdoc and his friends.'
'How?' Cynthia asked.
'I don't know, but I think it's better to split up to cover more ground. But Jack and James, you better go first. Stay low and move fast. We don't know where they are, let alone if they're still here, so let's not take any chances. Go, now.'
James and Jack went outside. They ran up to Mac's cabin and stayed low.
'Are you ready, Jack?' James asked.
'Guess, I'll have to be,' Jack replied.
'Good, because you don't have a choice.'
James moved as quickly and as low as he could to the lake followed by Jack. They moved around when bullets started to fly around. James and Jack quickened their pace and eventually began to run like hell. The bullets missed them barely but they made it to the control tower.
'Alright, they made it. Now, let's be careful out there.'
MacGyver, Sam, Pete, Nikki and Cynthia went outside to the same place where Jack and James were.
'You know the drill. Stay low and move fast. Go.'
Sam and Pete took the same route as Jack and James did while Nikki and Cynthia ran the other way.
MacGyver kept an eye on the both of them when the bullets started to fly again, aimed at Sam and Pete. They both hit the dirt. Also Nikki and Cynthia hit the dirt.
MacGyver mouthed the words: 'Keep going,' to Nikki and Cynthia.
'Pete, are you ok?' Sam asked.
Pete was clearly out of breath. 'I may be old and slow but they still can't hit me from a distance.'
Sam nodded. 'Let's keep it that way and crawl, huh? Just breath in and out and you'll be alright. Let's see if we can find Helman.'
Bullets were fired again and MacGyver noticed they were coming from above him. It had to be Murdoc on the roof of his cabin. MacGyver crawled away to the storage area. A ladder was placed against the backwall that would lead up to his roof. MacGyver crawled up the ladder. (The track Underwater Fight from Lethal Weapon 4 begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ah-Y1cZpgc
His head slowly rose from below the edge and he saw Murdoc in the middle of the roof with a sniper rifle. Quietly MacGyver got on top of the roof. Murdoc didn't seem to notice him and on the right moment, he charged at him. Murdoc got startled and they both screamed when they went off the roof. With a soft thud they ended up in the mudpit that was once the lake. They tried to catch their breath.
'MacGyver, you sure are one crazy son of a bitch,' Murdoc said in-between breaths.
'Not as crazy you.'
Murdoc began to look for his rifle.
'Looking for this?' MacGyver asked.
'Give me that back.'
'Nope.' MacGyver threw the rifle away into the nearby trees.
'You bastard, you're going to pay for that.'
'Then give me everything you got.'
Murdoc charged at him and tackled MacGyver. They struggled through the mud, arms locked around their heads. MacGyver got on top of Murdoc when they got up. Suddenly Murdoc launched his elbow in MacGyver's stomach followed by his right fist and another right against Mac's mouth. MacGyver stumbled backwards and fell in the mud, holding his hand against his mouth. Something warm came out of it and saw blood on his hands.
'Come on, Mac. Surely, you can do better then that?'
'You have no idea, Murdoc.'
MacGyver took a handful of mud and threw it Murdoc's face. Murdoc grunted. MacGyver attacked him and gave him a headbutt followed by a right-left-right combination. Murdoc stumbled in the mud now.
'What do you got to say now, eh?'
The headbutt caused a wound above Murdoc's eyebrow.
'Very good. How about this?'
Murdoc kicked MacGyver behind his knee. MacGyver went through his knee and got another right hand against his jaw. Murdoc jumped on top of him and managed to hit MacGyver again three times with his right.
'Do you know if people can drown in mud, MacGyver?' he asked and began to push MacGyver's head in the mud. MacGyver struggled to get Murdoc off of him when suddenly his leg went up and kicked him in the balls. He broke Murdoc's hold on him and with a hard right, he punched Murdoc backwards. MacGyver got up, grabbed Murdoc by his head and kneed him in the face. Murdoc's tongue got caught between his teeth and nearly bit it off in the impact. There was blood everywhere. MacGyver launched his right fist in Murdoc's face followed by his left, another right, another left and another right. Murdoc plunged in the mud and spat out blood.
'Had enough?'
'Not quite, MacGyver,' Murdoc said and reached out for his knife. Shaky he got up and spat some more blood out and showed him the knife. 'Bring it on, you bastard.'
They circled around each other before Murdoc lashed out. MacGyver dodges the knife by taking a step backwards. Murdoc came closer and lashed out again. MacGyver dodged to his right and then to his left. There was an opening and MacGyver launched his right forearm straight into Murdoc's face. Murdoc retaliated by cutting his arm. MacGyver screamed when the blade cut his sleeve and skin. He reached for the wound and blood dripped between his fingers. They looked at each other waiting for the other one to make the next move. Murdoc made the next move by lashing out again but MacGyver grabbed his arm so Murdoc punched him with a hard left. MacGyver responded with his right and twisted Murdoc's arm any way he could. Murdoc pushed him away and saw his chance to lash out again and the tip of the knife cut in MacGyver's face on his left side from the eyebrow down. MacGyver staggered backwards but he didn't go down. The cut gave him an adrenaline rush and he charged back at Murdoc who swung the knife again but MacGyver ducked and hit Murdoc in the stomach followed by another right hook. Murdoc was dazed and saw MacGyver's left fist coming at him and another right hand uppercut busted his nose. Murdoc tried to get his senses back and unfocused he lashed out again only MacGyver kicked the knife away now.
'Why don't you give it up, Murdoc? It's over.'
'Because I rather die.'
'Then do what you got to do, I'm done.'
MacGyver turned around to leave.
'Oh, no, you don't.'
Murdoc ran after him and jumped on his back. MacGyver tried to get him of his back and swung in all directions but Murdoc didn't let go. MacGyver saw only one option and dropped himself on his back. From the impact Murdoc loosened up and MacGyver got himself free.
'I...' MacGyver hit him. 'Said...' He hits him again. 'I'm...' Another blow. 'Done!' Another one.
'But, I'm not,' Murdoc said and hit him back.
They rolled in the mud again and Murdoc got and start to kick MacGyver in the chest. He kicked him four times when Nicholas and Sonya appeared. (The track Ferris Wheel from Passenger 57 begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbde8LclYIE
'Murdoc, come on, let's go!'
'Dad!' Sam's voice came from the same path where Nicholas and Sonya came from.
'Sam?!'
Murdoc kicked him the face and took off. Sam appeared and ran up to his father.
'Dad, are you alright?'
'Where's Pete?'
'He's right behind me.'
MacGyver looked in the direction Sam came from and saw Pete coming.
'Alright, stay with him. Find Nikki and go get the others, I'm going to try and stop them.'
'OK. You good?'
'I'm fine. Go get the others, now.'
Sam did what he was told while MacGyver ran after Murdoc, Nicholas and Sonya. He saw them running down the path behind the cliff. His body was aching but he was determined to catch them no matter what. He ran out of the lake and past his cabin and supplies basement back to the open storage area and stopped by the cliff. Murdoc, Nicholas and Sonya were nowhere to be seen.
On the moment MacGyver wanted to walk down the path a loud noise was heard in the jungle like the start-up of an engine. The humming sound of rotors were heard and the treetops started to wave in the wind. A helicopter appeared from between the trees. Nicholas and Sonya were flying it while Murdoc sat in the back holding a machine gun. MacGyver and Murdoc looked at each other. Murdoc smiled and opened fire on MacGyver. MacGyver jumped over the hood of one of the SUV's that were still parked there. The bullets ricocheted around him. MacGyver hid behind the car. The helicopter circled around and Murdoc kept firing around the camp. He hit the buildings, MacGyver's cabin. They even circled as far over the lake to shoot up the control tower as well before returning to the storage area. Murdoc kept firing and started to aim for the gasoline tanks that were stored there. MacGyver saw how dangerously close he was and ran to another SUV when Murdoc unleashed another rain of bullets that hit the target. One of the tanks blew up and got torpedoed in the air. Other tanks blew up as well with the same effect. One of them crashed through the roof of MacGyver's cabin followed by an immense explosion. The roof got blown off, the windows shattered and one wall got blown away. The rest just collapsed in debris and fire blocking the way back to the camp. MacGyver was surrounded by fire and a helicopter that kept circling over him. He tried to think fast on what to do. Murdoc reloaded and continued firing. He was now aiming for one of the SUV's. The windows were bulletproof so they just ended up full of holes. The helicopter circled around again when MacGyver noticed the winch and a grappling hook in front of the SUV.
'Burma!' he said and pushed the button to unfold the cable.
The helicopter went back to the other side of the camp to give a second salvo on the control tower. Only nobody was there. Sam, Pete, Jack, James, Nikki and Cynthia had run into the hangar and were on their way back to the camp. They saw the destruction the helicopter caused. Pete was visibly shocked.
'It's coming back,' Sam said. 'Get back in the hangar.'
The helicopter flew over one more time with Murdoc firing at will before returning back to the storage area. On their way back over, MacGyver had climbed up the ruins of his cabin holding a long of leash of cable. The helicopter passed him but Murdoc was unable to shoot him.
'Damn it,' he said. 'Circle around again and fly in low. I'll have him this time.' The helicopter circled around again and flew in low. MacGyver jumped on the strut. Murdoc aimed and fired.
*Click*
'No!' His rifle was empty and had to reload again.
MacGyver was hanging on the helicopter and swung the cable halfway around the strut. He tied it with the hook.
Murdoc finished reloading and was about the aim when MacGyver let go of the strut and fell a couple of feet down. He ended back on the roof and rolled into the storage area, near the SUV. He got up and pushed the button to reel in the capture of the day.
'What is he doing?' Sonya asked.
'He's reeling us in,' Murdoc said.
'Just kill him already!' Nicholas barked.
Murdoc opened fire one more time aiming mostly in the direction of where the cable came from. He was going for the car and screamed while firing. The bullets ricocheted all around the car while MacGyver ducked. Suddenly the car caught fire and blew up. The cable yanked at the helicopter but because of the explosion the winch got blocked and stopped reeling. The helicopter got anchored to a burning car!
'Do something, Murdoc. Cut the wire.'
'I don't have a my knife.'
'Shoot the cable, Murdoc, come on!' Sonya said.
'Give it a yank, the cable might snap.' Murdoc said.
Nicholas tried to steer the helicopter as good as he could and pushed it to his limits. Slowly the car began to give in and got dragged with the helicopter. The car slid over in the mud towards MacGyver who got caught between the surrounding fires, the burning car and the cliff. He ran in the only direction he could and that was towards the cliff. MacGyver jumped over the cliff straight into the darkness. He landed unsoftly several feet below and got hold of some vines. He looked up and saw from how high he fell and then he looked below which was nothing but a dark bottomless pit. MacGyver saw the helicopter above him struggling to get rid of the car but the only result they got was that the car got pulled closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Holding onto the vines MacGyver managed to face the cliff and began his climb back up when the edge got lit up by the burning car. The front of the car became visible right above him.
'Aw, man! No!'
In a final attempt to get rid of the car, Nicholas pulled the helicopter up and the SUV went over the cliff. MacGyver saw the burning colossus coming right at him at an incredible speed. MacGyver thought he was done for, when the car hit a bump in the rocks, bounced off and flew over him, missing him with hardly an inch. MacGyver screamed when the SUV passed by him with a thunderous sound. Inside Nicholas and Sonya screamed when the weight of the car pulled down the helicopter. For a brief moment Murdoc stuck his head out and saw MacGyver in the light of the fire hanging on the side of the cliff.
'MMMMMAAAAACCCCCCGGGGGYYYYVVVVVVEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!'
The burning SUV dragged the helicopter down with it to the bottom of the cliff where it exploded in a massive fireball that turned into mushroom-like cloud. The earth was shaking from the impact and MacGyver held on as hard as he could when the cliff vibrated. In the explosion one the car's wheels flew up right behind MacGyver before falling back. MacGyver sighed and let his head rest against the cliff. (The music ends here)
On top of the cliff, Sam, Pete, Jack, Nikki, James and Cynthia managed to move some of the debris aside to get through to the storage area. They saw the explosion happening when they came back from hangar.
'Dad!!!'
'Mac!!!'
They stood on top of the cliff but couldn't see anything except for the burning wreck below next to the remains of the scaffolding.
'Oh, God, no,' Nikki said.
'You think he went over the cliff?' James asked.
'If he did, there's no way he could've survived that,' Pete said.
'Oh, no, no, no, no, no,' Cynthia whimpered. Nikki hugged her.
The six of them all stood there in silence.
Softly groaning MacGyver reached the top of the cliff, little out of sight of his friends and dunked his head the mud. He was muddy, he was bloody and he was very tired. He got up and joined his friends who still hadn't noticed him. He looked at them and then looked over the cliff himself. He saw the helicopter and burning there.
'That's a long way down,' he said nodding.
'Dad?'
'MacGyver,' Nikki said and let go of Cynthia.
'Mac!' Jack cheered. 'You made it.'
Pete was stumped. He pointed at MacGyver and then to the cliff.
Nikki hugged him despite he was muddy and bloody.
'Careful,' he said when she hugged him. 'I need to go to the hospital... again.'
'How did you survive that?'
'I jumped into the cliff before the helicopter blew up.'
'Why?' Sam asked.
'Because I attached the grappling hook from the SUV to the strut of the helicopter. They dragged the car with it which pulled them into the cliff.'
'I hope they're dead now,' Nikki said.
'I know, what you mean.'
A noise came from somewhere behind the Phoenix building.
'What's that?' Cynthia asked.
'I don't know,' MacGyver said. 'Let's find out.'
Behind a couple of stashed barrels a door became visible. A pounding sound was heard. MacGyver looked at the others and opened the door. (The track My Name Is Lincoln from the movie The Island begins here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iu-t1n821M
A kid's face was became visible. Everybody was stunned of what they saw. It was a young girl.
'Cheone?'
'Yes, that's me. Who are you?'
'Name's MacGyver. How did... what? Is everyone in there?'
'Yes, Nigel, Yung Li, Anonda, Endrani, Kumoken and a bunch of others are in there.'
MacGyver stuck his head in. 'Alright, you can come out now.'
The other kids followed and they ran outside cheering they were finally free.
'Cheone, what happened?'
'That awful man locked us up in here for like weeks now. He gave us food and drinks but he never told us why he locked us up.'
'It's a long story, Cheone. We'll explain later. Go on, have fun with your friends.'
Cheone joined her friends as they began to play. Meanwhile the sun slowly rose over the island. A new day has begun.
'So, now what?' Pete asked.
'Back to the drawingboard, I guess and I'm going to have to explain Lisa her father is dead. This was not exactly part of the plan. We're going to have to start all over again.'
'How? Who's willing to invest in us now?' Cynthia asked.
'Oh, we'll manage,' MacGyver said reassuring.
'There's nothing we can't do,' Nikki said.
MacGyver placed his arm around her. 'I'll talk to the investors from as soon as I'm patched up.'
'You need any help with that?' Sam asked.
MacGyver patted his face. 'I'd like that.'
'You probably need an airline too,' James said.
'And a pilot,' Jack added. 'Two pilots.'
'You got it.'
'And I'll talk to the chairman of the board to arrange a meeting,' Pete said.
'That would be great, Pete. You see, if we all do our part we can make the world a better a place.'
MacGyver kissed Nikki on her head and placed his other arm around Sam, while they looked at the kids playing in what was left over of the camp. These were the real kids the robots were based on and MacGyver would make sure the same kids would be able to return from as soon the camp is rebuilded so they can talk about world peace. But first they would have to go back to the drawingboard and start from scratch. Knowing that MacGyver will be leading that project with the Phoenix Foundation, that shouldn't be a problem at all.
(The music reaches it's peak and launches into MacGyver's end credits)
Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you.