No comments or feedback so far? I´d been hoping for some...
Well, let´s get on with the next part - so Pete has been dropped off in some wilderness area of the Rocky Mountains, close to the Canadian Border, and has a mountain to climb ahead of him... and while doing so thinks back to how he has met the young man again, in his office...
Part 1
A few months ago…
MacGyver tried his best not to be too impressed when he entered the Federal building. Needless to say, this place was supposed to be high security. Peter Thornton had asked him to meet him in his office, to give his statement about their encounter with that darn assassin, so Thornton would be able to complete his files.
Mac still had trouble wrapping his head around what he had stumbled into a few days ago. Just trying to keep Jack´s cab in business, he had felt compelled to help some lady chased by a gunman, only to find out ‘she’ was actually a man – no, a top-level hitman – and the gunman was a government agent. He had been close to getting killed twice that day and only barely gotten away the first time thanks to his ingenuity.
But the bomb placed under Jack´s bed had scared him. More than it should have. He had been used to dealing with bombs during his time in the military. But that had been many years ago. Back then he would have been prepared, mentally and emotionally. Being confronted with the sudden threat to his life now had caught him off guard. He was grateful that Thornton had kept his cool on that occasion. In the end, they had chased the killer into the building that had been blown to rubble only seconds later.
MacGyver sighed deeply as he approached the entrance counter. He´d help Mr. Thornton get his statement written down with all the details he could remember and then, hopefully, this nightmare would be over for him. Murdoc had been killed under the collapsing building, so there was no impending threat anymore. He could go back to helping Jack while he was laid up in the hospital. He could go back to finally getting used to living an ordinary life.
MacGyver had had his share of excitement and special jobs during the last ten or twelve years. His service in the military for a start. He had joined the bomb disposal teams in Vietnam right after graduating from High School. He had worked together with his partner Charlie Robinson for quite a while, but his commanding officers had noticed his resourcefulness real soon. They had sent him off to different places, on special, sometimes top-secret missions, as soon as he wasn´t needed all too desperately in ‘Nam. He´d been to Afghanistan, the Middle East, also North Africa, at times even assigned solo if confidentiality had called for it.
MacGyver had gotten used to being in dangerous situations during that time. Back home, after he´d left the military, while he´d attended college, he had sometimes missed the thrill, the adrenaline rush. Maybe that had been why he´d spent some time fighting oil well fires. Maybe that had been the reason why he´d started traveling around the world. He´d also been curious to meet different people, and he´d very much enjoyed sharing a lot of his travels with his best friends, Mike and Jack. Maybe it had also been the reason why he´d gotten into scuba diving. The adventure, the exploring, the thrill.
Well, one of those adventures had nearly cost him his life due to the diving accident Jack had only barely been able to save him from. It had been a frightening ‘just in time rescue’ from drowning. Mac had been done with adventures afterward. He´d been kind of a mess mentally and emotionally when he had returned home from this last journey.
He had been lucky to meet Booker and Cynthia soon, as working at the Challenger´s Club had grounded him again, and had helped him rely on and trust his abilities once more. Helping and taking care of those kids had given him an objective in his life and a reason to carry on. Since he had lost his mother totally unexpectedly during his service in the military, people like Booker and Cynthia and friends like Mike and Jack were kind of his family right now. He had done his best to settle into a ‘normal’ life after his job at the Challenger´s Club, although MacGyver had to admit that he missed the excitement and the special experiences every once in a while.
MacGyver straightened himself when he stepped up to the guard behind the entrance counter, who looked up at him expectantly but also measured him.
“Good morning. How can I help you?” the guard asked.
“Morning,” Mac answered the greeting. “Name´s MacGyver. I´ve got an appointment with Mr. Thornton.”
The guard checked a list hidden from Mac´s sight and nodded after a moment. Then he handed Mac a clipboard with a sheet where MacGyver had to leave his name, address, and signature and checked Mac´s driver´s license.
“Thank you, Mr. MacGyver.” The guard took back the clipboard and handed Mac a visitor´s pass. “Please keep this visible all time while you´re in the building.”
Mac nodded and clipped the pass to the front zipper of his jacket.
“The elevators are over there.” The guard told him with a brief gesture. “Do you know which floor you have to go to?”
MacGyver´s eyes followed the man´s hand and then returned to the guard with a little smile.
“Yes, thank you,” he said.
“I´ll inform Mr. Thornton that you are on your way up.” The guard stated and turned to his phone.
MacGyver nodded once more and then walked off toward the elevators. He took a deep breath as he stepped into the next open car and let himself be taken upward. Dealing with government authorities of this kind made him slightly nervous. He really looked forward to getting this done and over with.
Mac took a moment to orient himself once he had departed the elevator on the correct floor and searched for some board that would tell him where to turn to when he heard Thornton´s voice from behind.
“MacGyver! I´m glad you could make it!”
Mac whirled around surprised but relaxed quickly when he saw the government agent coming down the corridor toward him together with another man. MacGyver managed to smile at Thornton and shook his hand.
“Of course. I´d rather deal with this sooner than later,” he replied and looked expectantly at the second man.
“Right.” Thornton agreed quickly. “Speaking of which – this is Agent Carlyle.” he introduced his colleague. “He´ll record your statement about what happened.”
Mac nodded a greeting to Carlyle and then raised his eyebrows questioningly at Thornton. “I thought, you´d be the one to…”
“I can´t since I´ve been there myself.” Thornton cut him off. “I can´t take the risk of influencing your testimony. Not with Murdoc´s file. It´s too important.”
MacGyver nodded his understanding and focused on Carlyle again. He gave the man a quick once-over and tried not to let his nervousness about having to go through all this with yet another government agent show.
“Just tell him everything you remember,” Thornton added after a moment. “Every little detail… so we can finally close this file.”
“Yes, Sir.” MacGyver nodded again.
Carlyle half-turned and invited him to come along down the corridor.
“Shall we?”
MacGyver followed the man, realizing that Thornton didn´t accompany them, that he walked off the other way. Somehow, while he strode down the corridor behind the agent in his suit and tie, Mac felt the notion that this day might hold another surprise for him settle in the back of his head. The notion that he might not be done here after giving his statement. It made the hair on the back of his neck rise.
++++++++++
“All right, that´s it from me.” Agent Carlyle said as he handed the print-out and pen over to MacGyver. “I´ll give you a couple of minutes if you want to go over it again before signing…”
“No, thanks.” Mac interrupted the agent.
He leaned forward, took the pen, and just skipped quickly through the pages, before signing his statement on the last one. Inwardly, he sighed with relief. It had taken hours to get to this point. It had taken hours until Carlyle had been satisfied and stopped pestering him with even more new questions.
“We spent quite a while getting all the details correct,” Mac stated.
He returned the pen and papers and saw how the agent shot him a quick, apologetic smile.
“I know,” Carlyle replied, more serious again. “But since the Murdoc file is particularly important, I had orders to…”
Mac cut him off with a small wave of one of his hands.
“It´s alright.” He accepted the man´s apology. “I´m just glad we´re finally done.”
“We are.” Carlyle nodded in agreement and got up behind his desk.
Mac also pushed himself out of his chair while the agent walked around the desk.
“Thank you for taking time for all this, Mr. MacGyver.” The agent thanked him.
He shook Mac´s hand, but then held on to it a moment longer than necessary. The hair on the back of MacGyver´s neck – which had calmed down in the meantime - stood on end instantly. There it was again. The feeling in his gut that he was in for another surprise today. Mac raised his eyebrows questioningly. Why had Carlyle stressed the ‘we’ a few seconds ago?
“Something else you need me for?” Mac queried cautiously.
“Not me,” Carlyle explained and let go of Mac´s hand. “Agent Thornton asked me to take you to him once we´re done.”
Mac straightened himself and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Really? Why?” He frowned.
“I don´t know.” The agent shrugged. “I´m just under orders to…”
“Alright, fine.” MacGyver cut the man off and sighed. “Let´s go see Mr. Thornton.”
He followed Agent Carlyle out of the room they had occupied for the last hours, down the corridor and past the elevators, until the man knocked on a blank door.
“Come!” Mac heard Thornton´s voice call from inside.
Carlyle opened the door and led MacGyver into an office slightly bigger than the one they´d just been in. Peter Thornton was seated behind a desk and looked up from the files he´d been working on. A bright smile widened on his features as soon as he saw Mac coming in behind agent Carlyle.
“You´re through?” he asked expectantly.
“Yes, Sir.” Carlyle nodded dutifully. “I am going to update the file with the new information immediately.”
“Very good… Also check with the search team and the forensics if they got any new details.” Thornton ordered. “Thank you, Agent Carlyle.”
The man quickly left Thornton´s office, only nodding a brief goodbye to MacGyver. Mac stood somewhat clueless for a second, but Thornton waved him closer as soon as they were alone.
“Have a seat, MacGyver.” Thornton offered with a gesture toward the chair across his desk. “You´re probably wondering why I called you here… since you´re done with giving your statement.”
He closed the folder lying in front of him and pushed it away, while Mac dropped into the chair and shrugged tiredly.
“A little.” Mac sighed.
A glance at his watch told him it was around midday. No wonder, he felt a bit exhausted and quite hungry by now. He hadn´t expected, that giving his statement would take that long. Especially since the assassin was presumed dead. How could he be anything but dead… a whole building had collapsed onto him.
“I´ve got a few important things I need to discuss with you.” Thornton continued as soon as Mac had settled. “But first… Do you have any further questions?”
“Just one…” Mac said after a moment of consideration. “The payment for Jack´s cab and bed are on their way?”
“Of course,” Thornton confirmed. “You´ll be able to get a new bed for him in time… before he´s released from the hospital.” Then he grinned. “Has he calmed down in the meantime?”
“Sort of,” Mac replied. “Yesterday he wanted me to confirm several times that Murdoc is really dead… I had to tell Jack about the building that had been blasted just seconds after he ran into it.”
Thornton leaned back in his chair and his face went serious.
“Seems, I need to talk to Mr. Dalton once more… myself,” he said slowly. “That´s the first point I needed to discuss with you… I know, I already told you about it, but… any information about Murdoc is classified at this moment. If someone asks you what happened a few days ago, you´ll have to come up with another story. Do you understand? Can you do that?”
“Of course, Sir,” Mac assured
MacGyver squared his shoulders while shifting a little in his chair. This whole setting and Thornton´s underlying air of authority subconsciously reminded him of his time in the military.
“Do you think Jack Dalton will be able to understand this as well?” The older man wanted to know.
“Yes, Sir,” Mac replied quickly. “He was just overly surprised by the whole … thing … and also a bit scared, I guess.”
Thornton nodded silently and measured MacGyver probing for a few seconds.
“How about yourself?” he then asked. “Have you had time to digest it?”
Mac nodded a bit hesitantly. “I guess so,” he answered slowly. “I had time to think about it while straightening up Jack´s apartment during the last days.”
“Good.” Thornton seemed satisfied. “Any different answer from you would have surprised me.”
“What?” Now MacGyver raised his eyebrows surprised. “Excuse me? … Why would…?”
“I took the liberty of running a background check on you.” Thornton cut him off. “You do have quite an interesting past, kid.”
All of a sudden, MacGyver felt trapped in the office. Again, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“You did?” he asked cautiously. He didn´t like the idea of some government agent digging through his life… even if the older man had saved him from Murdoc´s bomb under the bed only days ago. “But why?” he then continued a little firmer and a bit annoyed. “And what would be so interesting about my past?”
Thornton pulled a manila folder close to him and flipped it open. He drew in a deep breath.
“Your military service to begin with,” he stated calmly. “Right after High School. On a bomb disposal team in Vietnam, but regularly sent off with the Special Forces real soon. Way too soon for someone your age back then.”
He eyed MacGyver for a moment, but Mac chose not to respond. The uneasy feeling had settled in his gut again. What the heck was Thornton getting at?
“You must have impressed your COs.” The agent carried on a couple of seconds later. “Although there are a few cases of insubordination stated in your file.”
MacGyver sat up a little straighter in his chair. Yes, he had refused to follow orders here and there. He remembered most of the situations quite clearly. The first time had been when he´d still been relatively new on the bomb disposal team. He´d refused to let his unit pass a street… because it hadn´t ‘felt’ safe to him. He´d insisted on checking it for hidden mines or bombs first. He remembered his commanding officer dressing him down after he hadn´t found any hidden explosive device but cost his unit a lot of time. He also remembered his partner Charlie scolding him later in the barracks. The second time he´d slowed down their progress but turned up with no result the scolding and repercussions from his CO had been even worse. But it had stopped after the third and fourth time, when he´d found and defused hidden land mines that would have torn half the men in his unit apart.
After those incidents, he had earned the respect of Charlie, his fellow soldiers, and especially his commanders. They had rolled their eyes at times but had allowed him to follow through with closely checking any place he doubted the security of. He had saved his unit several times during his service there. But he´d never considered it as ‘impressing his COs’.
His assignments with the Special Forces on the other hand… He´d argued a few times with his team leader. Had clearly overstepped the line concerning his place in the chain of command. Mostly when it had come to how to proceed. But he´d willingly faced the punishment for it because he´d never agreed with the military way of ‘shoot first, ask questions later’.
During an early assignment, he had once refused to plant a booby trap in a house that wasn´t only used by some warlord they had been after, but also his family. He´d come up with an alternative plan that his team leader had reluctantly agreed to and they´d been able to catch the man alive – without endangering his kids and wife. Mac recalled that after this occasion he´d been sent off alone on many of his missions… and he also remembered that after this experience he had realized that he couldn´t wholeheartedly agree with what the Army forced him to do at times.
MacGyver felt a sting in his heart when the memory of his mother dying while he´d been away on assignment flashed through his head. No one had told him until he had completed it and returned – although he´d been in contact with his CO during his mission. ‘The mission had been too important to jeopardize it’… had been the only explanation or ‘apology’. He hadn´t even been able to attend his mother´s funeral. He´d spent a lot of time thinking back then – whether or not the military was the right path for him – and had ended his service shortly afterward.
He saw Thornton watching him, trying to gauge him, but as he still knew very little about the man opposite to him and his intentions, he remained silent and did his best to keep his thoughts from showing on his face. Why on earth should he discuss his decisions from long ago with the agent anyway?
Thornton noticed Mac getting uncomfortable with his last words. He smiled to ease up the tension a little bit.
“Don´t get me wrong, I´d rather respect a man who chooses to follow his own judgment than one who chooses to blindly follow orders.” he clarified. “I´ve had to learn that the hard way in ‘Nam as well.”
MacGyver saw regret and pain briefly flashing in the older man´s eyes, but Thornton quickly regained his composure. Mac only nodded quietly, waiting for what was to come next while Thornton concentrated back on the file in front of him and turned over a page.
“You quit relatively soon, went to College, and got yourself a science degree.” The agent stated a moment later. “With your grades, you could have easily continued as a scientist … but you chose otherwise … and spent a kind of ‘unsteady’ life over the last years.”
MacGyver drew in a deep breath. “I´d rather call it ‘full of variety’.” he defended his decision firmly. “I was curious to see more of this world … to meet people … and got caught up in helping out friends once in a while.”
“Hell fighting … social work with kids … taxi cab driving.” Thornton smiled at him a little amused. “I´d call that quite a stretch concerning jobs – especially with your background, your knowledge, and your abilities.”
“So?” Mac replied tensely. By now, he was annoyed with the older man seemingly judging his life choices. “Why would you care about my jobs?”
“Because I think, you´re wasting your talents, kid,” Thornton answered seriously. “And your intentions. You could help far more people, given the right opportunities.”
“What?” MacGyver frowned at the agent, not quite understanding yet. “What are you talking about?”
“You were really helpful in taking Murdoc and his goons,” Thornton explained while leaning back in his chair again. “You´re a do-gooder – we´ve already established that a few days ago. You care about what happens around you.”
Mac shrugged warily. The uneasy feeling in his gut had gotten a lot stronger during the last moments. His hungriness from before was gone.
“So?” he repeated curtly. “What´s your point?”
“I could give you a lot of opportunities to use your resourcefulness to right at least some of the wrongs of this world if you´d team up with me … if you´d join the department.” Peter Thornton continued with an encouraging smile.
MacGyver froze with surprise at the older man´s words. For a couple of moments, he was speechless. The sudden terror, he had felt facing the bazookas and later sitting on the bomb-rigged bed, flashed back into his mind. He stared at the agent, but Thornton just sat there smiling quietly, expectantly waiting for his answer.
“You´re serious, are you?” Mac asked cautiously, incredulously.
“Of course,” Thornton assured. “You could put your talents to good use … and you´d be able to help a lot of people.”
Slowly, MacGyver´s paralysis loosened. He sucked in a sharp breath and wiped his suddenly sweaty palms dry on his jeans.
“I helped you because Murdoc was trying to kill me,” he replied resolutely. “I am glad that threat is gone. I certainly do quit the volunteer business now.”
“I am not talking about volunteering.” Thornton clarified. “I am offering you a job … on a regular basis … with regular payment.”
“No!” Mac declined impulsively and straightened himself even more in his chair, ready to get up and end this conversation. “Almost getting killed twice a day was it.”
Now Thornton leaned forward again and rested his forearms on his desk, not willing to let the young man off his hook yet.
“Well, that day was not quite what we´re usually dealing with,” he said. “Murdoc´s always been kind of ‘over the top’. But you handled yourself very well … and I know, you could use the money.”
For a second time, Mac was rendered speechless. Again, he felt trapped. Was there anything that man didn´t know about him? He couldn´t honestly deny that he was in need of a regular job – with a regular payment. When he didn´t respond, Pete Thornton continued.
“Our daily business is mostly about gaining and retrieving information. You´d get to travel a lot. You´d get to meet a lot of people. You´d get a lot of variety.”
MacGyver remained silent. His initial shock and fear, along with the initial surprise eased up bit by bit. He inwardly had to admit that some part of him still missed the excitement the top secret missions during his military service had posed. That he had truly enjoyed the adventure, the thrill. That the prospect of being able to help people on a greater scale appealed to him. Thornton´s offer started to intrigue him, but he wasn´t ready to admit it to himself … or even the government agent … yet. There was no way he could decide this here and now.
“You don´t need to answer right now,” Thornton said suddenly as if he´d read Mac´s thoughts. “I´ll get back to you soon … and I´ll be here to answer any questions you might have.”
MacGyver nodded warily, still refusing to give away his inner turmoil.
“Just promise me, you´ll give it some thought,” Thornton added with a smile, got up, and walked around his desk. He reached out with one hand when Mac also pushed himself out of his chair. “Will you, MacGyver?”
“Yeah,” Mac replied hesitantly as he shook Thornton´s hand. “I´ll think about it.”
“Good.” Thornton´s smile grew even wider. “And thanks again for sacrificing half of your day for giving us all the details concerning Murdoc.”
“No big deal.” Mac waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “It´s just the last legs of cleaning Jack´s apartment that are waiting for me.” He grinned lopsidedly.
“Of course.” Thornton nodded. “Wouldn´t have expected anything else… well, goodbye for now, but … we´ll stay in touch.”
“Yeah, sure.” MacGyver´s smile sobered before he agreed. “Bye.”
He left the agent´s office, quickly found his way back to the elevators, and let himself be taken down to the lobby. MacGyver hurried to return the visitor´s pass to the security guard and quickly left the building.
++++++++++
Two days later, in the early evening, MacGyver sat down on the sandy beach, keeping a little distance from the people bustling around Santa Monica Pier. He stared at the Pacific Ocean and its waves and allowed himself to reflect on the events of the last days. The Murdoc incident to begin with… meeting that government agent because of it… and finally being offered a job by him.
Mac had tried his best to bury any thoughts about it in the back of his head since then, to keep himself busy with other things. He had made good progress in straightening up Jack´s apartment, but after two days of working down there, in the basement of the huge office building, he was in desperate need of fresh air and sunlight. Mac felt the light ocean breeze as well as the comfortable warmth of the sun´s rays on his skin as his mind wandered off. Several years back.
Thornton´s offer to join the department reminded MacGyver of his service in the army. Of the classified missions, he had been assigned to. It took him back to when his CO had sent him off solo, to retrieve information about warlords in the middle east, to sabotage a weapons dealer ring in Afghanistan, to locate the bases of terrorists in North Africa that had been building bombs, and to track down their suppliers.
MacGyver delved into those memories for some time; thought back to why he had been chosen for these missions in the first place, why he had at times even volunteered to take them… and why he had ended his service. He still felt, that he had been able to make a difference back then, to make changes for the better, to help people, to make this world a more peaceful place. He still felt, that he had done the right things back then. But in the end, the military way of thinking and the rigid discipline enforced by some officers had conflicted with his intentions. Those had been the main reasons why he had quit his service and returned back home.
To an uncertain future. With no family left to support him since his mother had died unexpectedly while he´d been away on assignment. He had been lucky to be able to attend college thanks to a scholarship and get his science degree. A small smile crept onto his face while all those memories passed before his mental eye. A lot of decisions throughout his life had rather followed his heart than his head.
A small part of him was still annoyed by how Thornton had recounted his choices. Also by how he´d accused Mac of wasting his talents and abilities. MacGyver let his eyes wander over the rolling waves, stretched out his legs in front of him, and balanced himself on his hands behind his back. He sighed deeply.
Maybe I wouldn´t be that annoyed if another part of me didn´t think he´s right, Mac mused. I can do a lot more than driving Jack´s cab… hadn´t it been blown up… my idea with the shoelaces, the paperclip, and the wrench saved us from the bazookas… and I also reacted quickly to Murdoc turning up in the hospital… maybe a ‘normal life’ isn´t what suits me…
The warm sand he was sitting on and feeling between his fingers reminded him of one of his last assignments for the army. Sent off to the desert, it had taken some effort from him to blend in with the locals, so he could move around the region without drawing any unwanted attention. Until he had stumbled across a man trapped in a patch of quicksand. MacGyver had been quick to save the man with a rope and some help in pulling from his camel, but as soon as he´d realized he´d been dealing with another US American, Mac had been very careful in keeping his incognito. He had never taken off his protective scarf with the man around, had told him to call him just ‘Mac’, and had been quite sure the man hadn´t told him his true name as well.
Just finding an American all alone in the vast sea of dunes, in bad shape already, had aroused MacGyver´s suspicion back then. Mac had taken care of him nevertheless, had shared his water and food with him, but the man had also been cautious and hadn´t shared a lot of information – especially not about how he´d gotten into his predicament.
Mac had put the weakened man onto his camel and had been truly relieved when they´d met a group of locals early on the following day. They had been able to join the caravan, and after a few hours, Mac had persuaded their leader to take the American with them to the next city. He had negotiated to switch his stronger camel for another one, and the leader had even had him promise he´d return that camel as soon as he was done with his business in the desert, but MacGyver had just been focused on getting back to work on his mission after losing at least 24 hours. He had trusted the band of locals to safely guide the man back to civilization and had left the caravan as soon as possible on the same day. He had only thought back to the man after he´d completed his assignment.
Mac sat up on the beach and concentrated on his hands while he let some sand rinse through his fingers. Since he hadn´t been sure about the man´s true name, Mac hadn´t been able to track down his fate after he´d returned the camel and come back safely from the desert. When he reflected back now, the man had vaguely resembled Agent Thornton, but with different clothing, several pounds less, his bad condition back then, and a memory from many years ago, MacGyver dismissed the thought quickly.
Couldn´t be, now could it? That would be too much of a coincidence, Mac mused and silently shook his head. He raised his eyes back to the ocean. He had to admit he had liked his work with the Special Forces. Especially the ones when he´d been sent off on his own. Especially because of the adventure, and the thrill.
Would working as a government agent be similar to it? What would be the differences with the ‘department’, as Thornton had called it? Would I enjoy it as much? Would the chain of command be as strict as it had been in the military?
The questions rotating in MacGyver´s mind were cut off abruptly when he noticed steps in the sand approaching him. Instinctively, his body stiffened a little, and he quickly turned to see who was behind him.
Peter Thornton.
He had stopped a few yards away when he´d noticed MacGyver tense up, and now held up his hands to signal his harmlessness.
“Whoa, easy… it´s just me.” Thornton hurried to say with an apologetic smile. “I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to startle you.”
MacGyver relaxed when he recognized the agent and let out the breath he hadn´t realized he´d been holding.
“It´s alright.” He returned the smile. “I guess, I was too lost in thought.” His words trailed off while Thornton stepped up to his side.
“I promised, I´d stay in touch.” The agent stated calmly.
Mac returned his gaze to the waves and straightened himself a little.
“Yeah… you did,” he replied slowly, but then another thought popped up in his mind and he looked up at Thornton. “How did you know where to find me?”
Thornton shot him a lopsided grin. “I´m a government agent, remember?” he chuckled. “It´s part of my job to find people.”
MacGyver´s eyes stayed fixed on him and his eyebrows curiously raised. He waited silently.
“All right. You were neither at Jack´s nor at your apartment… but I happened to meet one of your neighbors.” Thornton gave in with a sideways glance after a moment. “She told me where you usually go… if you need time for yourself… I just had to search Santa Monica beach to find you.”
“Of course.” Mac nodded his understanding. He took a deep breath. “So? What can I do for you?”
“I think, you know very well what you can do.” The agent replied instantly.
Their eyes met quietly for a couple of moments, both knowing what Thornton was talking about.
“Take a walk with me, MacGyver.” the older man then asked, breaking the silence. “Please.” He took a step aside to allow Mac more room to get up.
MacGyver eyed the older man probingly from below. Thornton was wearing a suit, similar to the one he´d been wearing two days ago, only the tie was missing today. It looked awkwardly misplaced on the beach. He probably came here directly from his office… aw man, would I be forced to dress like this as well? The thought crossed MacGyver´s mind as he nodded and slowly got up. He brushed some sand off his jeans, straightened his shirt and jacket, and then fell into step alongside the agent as he strode even further away from the pier.
“You said, you were lost in thought,” Thornton stated quietly. “Did you consider my offer?”
Straight to the point, Mac noted internally. No beating around the bush. Good… I prefer it that way. “Yeah,” he answered slowly. “I did.”
Thornton nodded and gave Mac a few seconds to continue. “Glad to hear that… did you come to a conclusion?” he asked when Mac remained quiet. “Or have I arrived too soon?”
“Don´t know… I´m not sure… yet.” MacGyver sighed.
“Any questions left that I can help you with?” Thornton shot him a measuring sideways glance.
“Maybe…” Mac admitted a bit hesitantly. “I was thinking back to my time with the Special Forces.”
Thornton noticed the little smile crossing Mac´s face before he schooled his features again.
“You´re wondering about the differences,” he stated. “And the similarities.”
Mac nodded. “Yeah… I was…”
“You thought about why you liked the work.” Thornton continued, not waiting for MacGyver to finish. “And what made you quit.”
MacGyver remained silent. He managed to hide it, but he still felt a bit uncomfortable with how the older man was seeing through him at times.
“You´ll like the investigative work.” Thornton carried on after a few moments. “You´ll like the traveling and the countries you´ll get to see… all the special places.”
MacGyver drew in a deep breath and lowered his eyes to the sand they were walking through. He wasn´t ready to put his cards on the table… not yet.
“You´ll have to undergo some special trainings before you´ll take your first assignments,” Thornton explained further. “Your chain of command wouldn´t be as tight as in the army, since you´ll be working alone quite often… and since you´ll be answering to me.”
A little relief flooded through MacGyver, although he still did his best to conceal it. He had to acknowledge that he had come to have a high opinion of Agent Thornton over the past few days. So far, he could very well imagine working together with him.
“Since I was the one who recruited you.”
Thornton´s last sentence made Mac stop dead in his tracks and stare at the man baffled.
“Wait a minute… I haven´t said yes.” he protested resolutely.
Thornton turned to face him and held his gaze with a serious expression.
“Let´s be honest… You´re intrigued by the offer… What does it take to get you to agree to it?” the older man queried.
MacGyver´s perplexity grew with the question. “Why are you so insistent on this?” he frowned and straightened himself.
“Because I think, it would suit you well.” The agent replied instantly. “With your background and knowledge, you´d be a great addition to the department.”
MacGyver sighed inwardly. For a moment, he had forgotten that the agent possibly knew almost everything about his past life. He took a step back and turned to the ocean, watching the waves again, trying to sort his thoughts and feelings.
“You´ve been to missions for the Special Forces that were quite alike to the work we do. Don´t you pretend it´s the occasional danger that holds you back.” He heard Thornton say from behind.
“Well… no,” Mac admitted hesitantly before he could stop himself. “It´s not.”
His mind ran wild with all the pros and cons circling in his head. Intelligence work? Really? Back to the adventurous life, I´ve lived before that diving accident? Would it allow me enough time to still be there for my friends, and to pursue my other interests? Would it raise conflicts as it had in the military?
Thornton gave him a couple of moments for internal consideration before he walked up to MacGyver´s side and looked out to the Pacific next to him.
“Level with me, MacGyver… What ‘is’ holding you back?” he asked quietly, patiently.
“Will I have enough spare time to spend with my friends… and for myself?” Mac asked back.
“Well, it´s not an ordinary 9 to 5 job.” Thornton chuckled at first but sobered up quickly. “But I can assure you, you´ll get your time off between assignments.”
“Will I be able and allowed to do it my way?”
“Certainly.” the agent agreed. “Your unique approach and resourcefulness are the main reasons why I want you with us.”
“Will I get to choose which assignments I take?” MacGyver continued, his eyes still glued to the rolling waves. He heard Thornton draw in a deep breath.
“Maybe not at first,” he admitted. “I´d be the one to decide and send you off… But as soon as you´ve proven yourself in the eyes of our department chiefs – of which I have no doubt you will – we should be able to work out something for you. Some special contract.”
Mac let out a breath, he hadn´t noticed he´d been holding. “Part-time maybe… or freelance?”
“Probably.” The older man agreed. “Something like that. It´s highly unusual but I promise you, I´ll talk to all the decision-makers I have to to make it possible.”
By now, the sun was nearing the horizon. Mac took in its orange glow before he looked sideways at the agent.
“You´re really determined to get me, are you?” MacGyver asked.
Their eyes met and Thornton nodded assuringly. His face was serious.
“Yes, I am.” He held out his hand to MacGyver and repeated his words from a couple of days ago. “So, what do you say? Partners?”
MacGyver gazed down at the hand and then at Thornton´s expectant face again. He felt his doubts fade away. He felt he could trust that man and his promise. He felt the excitement of getting into a new adventure, the thrill of an impending challenge. He took Thornton´s hand.
“Alright… Yes,” he said. “Partners.”
A relieved smile widened on Peter Thornton´s features. He squeezed Mac´s hand.
“That´s great. Thank you,” he replied. “Could you meet me in my office tomorrow afternoon, so we can go over the details?”
“Yeah, of course,” MacGyver answered and let go of Thornton´s hand. He shot his watch a glance and realized how late it had gotten. He still needed to do some grocery shopping, if he didn´t want to remain hungry tonight. “Listen, I gotta get back…” he added slowly and turned to the pier.
“Yes, me too.” Thornton agreed, and they fell into step alongside back to the parking lot. After a couple of moments, Thornton broke the silence.
“May I ask what you were thinking of when I arrived?”
“One of my last assignments for the Special Forces. A classified one.” MacGyver recalled. “Don´t know if I am allowed to tell you about it… But I remembered, I had to take a little detour on that one. Because I had to rescue some guy out of the quicksand. Fortunately, my camel helped me pull, and we met a band of locals on the next day, so I wasn´t delayed all too…”
He broke off when Thornton all of a sudden stopped and gaped at him perplexed.
“What?” MacGyver asked confused and turned back to the older man. “What´s wrong?”
Thornton cleared his throat. “Out of the quicksand?” he repeated Mac´s words exasperatedly. “Your camel helped you pull?”
“Yeah,” MacGyver confirmed. “In the Wadi Nafud… probably an American, but I´m pretty sure he wasn´t using his true name. I never got the chance…” He trailed off when Thornton held up one hand to interrupt him.
“And my savior was a cautious fellow that never took off his scarf and didn´t tell me his full name either.” The agent stated. “I was on that darn camel for another five days with those locals before we reached civilization of some kind.”
They stared at each other silently for seconds when realization hit home.
“That was you?” Thornton then gasped, still baffled.
“Seems, our paths have crossed before…” MacGyver agreed, also surprised by the revelation. Hadn´t I dismissed the idea only a short while ago?
“Seems, I already owed you my life before the ‘Murdoc incident’,” Thornton replied. “You were gone so soon after we met the caravan… I never got the chance to really thank you.”
MacGyver waved his thanks off with a self-effacing gesture. “I just did what I had to.” He shrugged and continued his way to the Santa Monica Pier. “It seemed like the right thing to do… at that moment.”
Peter Thornton nodded and caught up with the younger man.
“I´m glad you did. I appreciate it.”
They walked together in silence, both engrossed in their memories of those days, but just as they reached the parking lot, Thornton stopped once more. MacGyver turned to him and raised his eyebrows questioningly. “What?”
“I just realized something else, MacGyver,” Thornton said slowly and drew in a deep breath. “Apart from my life… seems, I still owe you a camel.”