Well, after the debate and controversy surrounding my last story, I'm back with a story that might have broader appeal.
I live in Colorado, so I like to write about it a lot. In this story, I've used some of Colorado's issues--mining pollution, land rights and sprawl, and some of my dad's experiences as a hydro geologist studying these kinds of mountain towns and their water tables.
There is a lot of suspense and mystery in this one, so I think you'll have fun reading it! Enjoy!
No Trespassing Part One
Rated: PG
The gentle summer breeze that had earlier been caressing MacGyver’s hair grew
more aggressive, rattling the aspen leaves. He looked up and saw a massive, ominous bank of thunderclouds developing over the towering mountains. The hot, dry July air grew unsettled, and he could feel that a major storm was about to erupt, transforming what had up until then been a perfectly clear, pleasant summer day into a chilly, windy, and wet landscape. Such abrupt thunderstorms were a common occurrence in the Colorado mountains in summer, but MacGyver wished that they would have waited until he was finished with his research for the day.
He was collecting water samples as part of a Phoenix Foundation sponsored study on the effects of old mining operations on the ground water. For years, people in the nearby town of Pine Grove had complained of poor health, and MacGyver wanted to see how much pollutants from mine runoff were the cause of these ailments. From what he could tell based on the burnt orange color of the sediments in the stream he was collecting the samples from, the mine caused significant harm to the environment. He picked up a vial of water and swirled it around, watching the orange silt settle to the bottom.
“There is a definite presence of contaminants in the water,” MacGyver said into his tape recorder. “Most likely, it includes arsenic, but I will conduct more tests to be sure.”
He clicked off the tape recorder and looked up again. It was growing darker, and thunder began to rumble. Bright lightning illuminated the sky, slashing across the clouds. He counted how long it would take before more thunder sounded, and it wasn’t long. The storm was gathering directly above him. Large raindrops began to fall, pelting him.
“Great,” he said, zipping up his jacket.
Carefully, he placed his samples in their protected case and headed toward his jeep. The rain had already thoroughly soaked him, and he got inside quickly, starting the engine and driving down the muddy, rugged path toward the paved highway. Once he reached the highway, the storm increased in intensity, the rainfall so heavy that MacGyver had to keep his wipers on their fastest setting in order to see through the watery, blurry windshield. Sometimes, these kinds of storms were brief in their duration, but MacGyver figured his day of work was finished. He would have to return to his hotel, perform some tests on the samples he had already collected, and wait out the storm until the next day.
As he reached the quaint mountain town of Pine Grove, the rain had already slowed, but it was still falling at a steady, fast pace. He turned the speed of his wipers down slightly, and as he did, he saw a group of people huddled outside one of the town’s many restored old west looking wooden buildings wearing yellow rain ponchos and carrying signs, the ink on some of the cruder signs bleeding and fading from the rain. They were approaching passing cars and handing out pamphlets. Even in the rain, MacGyver could hear them shouting. Curious about what they were protesting, he decided to pull over and talk to them.
***
A man wearing glasses who appeared to be the leader of the group approached MacGyver’s jeep. MacGyver rolled down his window.
“What’s going on, here?” He asked.
The man with the glasses handed him a pamphlet. “Have you heard about the new subdivision planned around here?” He asked. “Read up on it, and you’ll know why you need to oppose the building of it.”
MacGyver studied the pamphlet, and as he did, the man with glasses watched him. He recognized his features.
“MacGyver, is that you?” He asked suddenly.
MacGyver looked up and studied the man with the glasses a little more closely. His lenses were fogged up from the moisture, but he could still see who he was.
“Chuck? Chuck Hayes?” He asked, smiling.
“Hey, MacGyver!” Chuck said, laughing and shaking his hand. “I knew it was you! What are you doing here?”
“I’m conducting some tests on the water around here,” MacGyver said. “What are you doing here?”
Chuck looked around the town. “Remember that trip we took here in college?” He asked. “I told you I was going to live here someday. Well, now I do.”
“That’s terrific.”
“Well, maybe it’s not so terrific,” Chuck said. “Come on, let’s go to the café across the street. I need to tell you what’s been going on around here.”
MacGyver thought about it. He really needed to get back to his hotel, but seeing his old friend Chuck after so many years and finding out that he was protesting a subdivision left him wondering and wanting to hear more.
“All right,” he said. “Let me park my jeep. I’ll see you over there.”
Chuck smiled and patted MacGyver’s hand. “It’s good to see you again, old buddy,” he said. He turned to his group of protestors. “Come on, guys! Let’s get out of the rain.”
***
The rainfall continued, pattering on the roof of the small café where MacGyver and Chuck now sat, having coffee and tea to warm up from the chill outside. MacGyver read through the pamphlet as they sat there, and when he was finished he looked up, tossing the pamphlet to the side where it landed near the bottles of ketchup and the salt and pepper shakers.
“So Chuck, tell me more about this Rock Point Ridge subdivision,” he said.
Chuck leaned forward. “All right,” he said. “It’s a proposed new construction project that will include giant luxury condos for the rich fat cats.”
MacGyver grinned. “That’s not subtle at all,” he said. He blew on his tea and took a sip.
“Look MacGyver, it’s the truth,” Chuck said, sighing. “GH Development Corporation wants to turn Pine Grove into just another mountain resort town where the wealthy can use it as their own private playground. They’re already building some of them as we speak! We’ve got to stop them!”
“GH Development?”
“Yeah. It stands for George Howard. He’s the big shot CEO of the company. The whole thing is his brainchild,” Chuck said in disgust.
“So, I don’t understand, Chuck,” MacGyver said. “What difference does it make to you if this George Howard decides to build condos up here?”
Chuck’s eyes widened. “MacGyver, you read the pamphlet,” he said. “Think about it. If the rich move up here, prices will go up on everything, making it harder and less affordable for people like me to stay. I mean, they’ve already got the ski resort a few miles from here. What do they need this town for? They’ll drive us further and further away from this area, which we love. The mountains belong to everyone, for everyone to enjoy, not just the wealthy.”
“All right, I see your point,” MacGyver said, “but don’t you also think there could be a benefit to having those condos built? You know, jobs, tourism…that could improve the town’s economy, couldn’t it?”
Chuck shook his head. “I can’t believe you, Mac,” he said. “All those years of protesting social injustice in college and suddenly you’ve turned into a yuppie?”
“No, I’m just playing devil’s advocate,” MacGyver said. “I’m trying to get you to see both sides of the issue.”
A waitress came over and refilled Chuck’s coffee. She looked at MacGyver and winked at him flirtatiously before she turned and left, leaving him feeling a little perplexed by her surprising move.
“Well, I don’t need to see both sides,” Chuck said. “This whole project is just plain wrong. It will destroy this community. Come on, MacGyver. You’ve been collecting water samples near here, right?”
“Yeah, I’m studying the environmental effects of mining on the ground water.”
“So you already know how serious this could be. Our town has suffered adverse health effects for years from the left over mining operations. We don’t need more people coming up here to destroy this place any more than it already is. We’re just trying to preserve the simple beauty of this place before it’s too late.”
“Spinning your garbage again, aren’t you, Chuck?” A man asked, entering the café.
He was with another man. Both of them were relatively young and wore crisp new blue jeans, clean flannels, and neat haircuts. They had the appearance of city men trying to blend in with country dwellers. When they entered, the entire café grew silent. Everyone stared at them. Some whispered hateful words. Others looked like they were prepared to lunge at them and start a brawl, but they restrained themselves with great difficulty, clutching their chairs tightly.
“Who are those guys?” MacGyver asked.
“Tom and Mark Howard,” Chuck said angrily, glaring at them. “George’s precious boys and shareholders in his company.”
Tom and Mark strutted toward MacGyver and Chuck’s table proudly as if they owned the café. They placed their hands on the table and leaned forward, trying to intimidate Chuck.
“Why don’t you two get out of here?” Chuck asked, trembling with rage.
“We know what you’ve been saying about our father’s project, making it sound like a disaster for the area,” Mark said. “Frankly, I don’t think that’s fair. You’re doing quite a disservice.”
“Yeah, why don’t you try telling the truth for once, Chuck?” Tom asked.
“The truth is that you’re going to drive people out of here, people who have been living here for years just so rich people can have one more beautiful place to themselves. That’s what’s not fair.”
The brothers grinned and exchanged glances. “Well, out with the old, in with the new,” Mark said.
Chuck tried to stand, wanting to fight these men as desperately as every other angry resident of Pine Grove in the café, but MacGyver shot him a warning look and held him back.
“When are you going to face the facts?” Tom asked. “Rock Point Ridge will bring this area into the modern age, where it should have been for years.” He sneered at Chuck. “It means increased tourism to the area.”
“You’re going to ruin the charm of this town,” Chuck said. “That charm is what brings tourists to Pine Grove, not the same old cookie cutter, fancy behemoths you’re building.”
The brothers laughed. “Charm?” Mark asked. “You call this place charming? All I see are a few hicks and some backwoods shacks.”
Someone across the café pushed their chair against the floor and stood, looking prepared to fight, but he remained still, clenching his hands in fists. The outraged whispers increased in volume.
“Besides, the more tourists come, the more jobs will be available to fine people such as you,” Tom said, his smile filled with condescension.
“Yeah, as slaves to the rich people,” Chuck said. “No thanks.”
“Well, you’d better get used to it,” Mark said, pushing away from the table. He looked around the café, met with dozens of angry eyes. “You’d better all get used to it, because it’s coming. You can’t stop it, not even with your pathetic campaign. Tom, let’s go.”
Chuck watched angrily as they left, squirming in his chair. Other people in the café booed loudly at them as they left, and others threw used napkins and bottles of ketchup at them, all of which missed them. For awhile, the angry chatter increased, but soon everyone in the café calmed down again and returned to their meals, discussing the Howard brothers among themselves heatedly.
“They do this all the time,” Chuck said. “They like to come into local establishments and stir us up, intimidate us.”
“So, why do you let them get to you?” MacGyver asked.
“What?”
“Chuck, there are other ways to fight them.”
“Yeah, how?”
MacGyver shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe I can stick around town for awhile and help you figure out a way.”
Chuck smiled and looked down at his coffee. “I appreciate it, MacGyver,” he said. “I guess you still have a bit of the protestor’s spirit inside you, after all.”
“Yes well, whatever we do, it’s going to be legal, okay?”
“MacGyver! What are you implying?”
“I remember the old days when you’d get thrown in jail for fighting,” MacGyver said. “This has to remain a peaceful protest. No revolutionary stuff.”
“Come on, MacGyver, you have to know me better than that by now,” Chuck said. “I’m a peaceful man. I want what everyone here in town wants—to see those guys out of here.”
***
That evening, MacGyver was busy conducting his tests on the water he had collected earlier that day at his hotel, using his portable lab testing equipment when his phone rang. At first, he wondered who it was, but then he realized that it might have been Pete or Chuck. Both of them knew where he was staying. Before he answered it, he closed his eyes, hoping it was Pete. Chuck was an old friend, and he sympathized with his newest cause, but after his confrontation with the Howard brothers that afternoon, he was worried something serious was about to happen. He barely got a chance to say anything before he heard the panicked voice of Chuck on the other end.
“MacGyver, you have to get here quickly,” he said. “Something went wrong.”
“Here? Where’s here? Where are you, Chuck?” MacGyver asked.
“I’m at the Rock Point Ridge building site.”
“What? What are you doing there?”
“Just…come, please. The front desk can tell you how to get here. Everyone in town knows the location of this eyesore. Please, Mac. You’ve gotta hurry!”
The connection went dead.
***
The building site for Rock Point Ridge lived up to its name, resting on a high mountain ridge surrounding the town of Pine Grove. It was on Elk Way, an unpaved and unfinished road. In the dark, MacGyver could see little, but as he got closer to the building site, he smelled acrid smoke and saw flames glowing bright orange, shooting high into the night sky. Police and fire lights flashed all over the area.
“Oh Chuck,” MacGyver said, sighing. “What have you done now?”
He parked his jeep as close as he could get to the site, which was cordoned off with police tape. He got out, and instantly a police officer rushed over to him.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” He asked. “Clear this area immediately!”
“Is Chuck here? Chuck Hayes?” MacGyver asked.
“You mean our suspect?” The police officer asked.
“Suspect?”
“It appears that he tried to commit a small act of vandalism on the property, but it turned into a full blown case of arson.”
“Can I talk to him? He’s a friend of mine.”
The police officer looked MacGyver up and down suspiciously, as if anyone associated with Chuck was dangerous. “This way,” he said, leading MacGyver through the tape. “He’s in custody.”
MacGyver saw Chuck being held by two policemen in handcuffs. He was struggling violently and shouting.
“But, I didn’t do this, I swear!” He said. “Ask the Howard brothers! They told me to meet them here, and when I got here, the place was on fire!”
“He’s lying!” Mark Howard shouted, pointing his finger at Chuck. “I caught him throwing gasoline all over the structures and setting them on fire!”
“We did find a can of gasoline and some matches in your trunk, Chuck,” one of the policemen said. “How do you explain that?”
“What…I…I can’t! It must’ve been planted there, don’t you see?”
“By us?” Tom Howard asked. “Yeah, that’s a good one.”
The policemen looked up at the brothers, admonishing them to remain quiet.
“I’m not saying anything else until I have my attorney present,” Chuck said.
The policeman looked soberly at him and nodded. “That’s your right,” he said, “but for now, you have to come with us.”
“MacGyver!” Chuck shouted, noticing his friend. “MacGyver, you can straighten this out for me?”
“How can I, Chuck?” MacGyver asked. “I wasn’t here. I don’t know what happened.”
“Well…you don’t believe I did this, do you? Come on, Mac!” Chuck asked, his eyes wild.
MacGyver looked at the blaze, and then returned to his friend. “No Chuck, I don’t think you did this,” he said.
“Huh, that’s typical,” Tom said. “This guy’s his friend. I saw him in the café today. What else is he going to say?”
“Mr. Howard, please,” one of the policemen said sternly.
“Look officers, the Howard brothers did it, not me,” Chuck said.
“Why would we burn down our own construction project? He’s lying, I tell you!” Mark shouted.
“All right, Mr. Hayes, come on, it’s time to go,” one of the policemen said, leading him toward the squad car.
“No! Oh, come on! Please, I didn’t do this!” He yelled, struggling.
“Don’t resist arrest, or you’ll be facing more serious charges,” one of the policemen said, pushing him toward the car.
“MacGyver! MacGyver, you have to help me! Tell them I didn’t do this! Prove it to them!” Chuck shouted as he was placed inside the squad car.
“I will, Chuck,” MacGyver said. “I’ll do what I can.”
As he watched the car leave the site, Tom and Mark Howard were watching him closely.
To be continued…
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
--Henry David Thoreau
brains+brawn+beauty+personality=MacGyver
Sound like the actual begining of an actual episode. Well done! 
