editing complete! thnx, 'Beth!The Rainmakers
Chapter 5, Storm WarningPete Thornton was an experienced field agent, accustomed to working in different places and doing a variety of jobs, while simultaneously (and covertly) doing his real job. Pete was very successful at this because he was good at working with people—all kinds of people.
But even Pete’s experience and gregariousness could not help him get along with some particularly difficult people.
People like Dr. Karl Steubens. To say that the man was difficult was a gross understatement. Pete had met him the same day that he had started his job at the KIVA. Steubens was a tall man, older in appearance than his actual years.
He has eyes like a spaniel, Pete had reflected while shaking the man’s cool, dry hand: expressive, observant, and more than a little sad, as if they had seen things too terrible to be spoken of. He was polite and well-spoken. He was a brilliant scientist. But he also had coldness about him—not uncommon with other research scientists that Pete had encountered—but this chilly disposition seemed contagious, somehow; it spread out in invisible waves, leaving everyone who worked with the man depressed or edgy.
Luckily, Pete did not have to work directly with Steubens. A brilliant, observant man, Steubens knew that his personality did serve him well in the atmosphere of bureaucracy integral to being a successful research scientist, so he had hired a personable and charismatic assistant: a bright, friendly woman named Barbara Spencer. She effervesced where Steubens stewed; they were perfectly opposite personalities. She handled Steuben’s appointments as well as his public and private correspondence, with one exception: Steubens had his own Telex machine in his lab with which he sent regular messages to his friend and colleague Sidney Marlow, the text of which was always headlined with the next move in their ongoing chess tournament.
Pete decided to join Burke, who was heading down to the third level of the KIVA to present the news of the recovery of the data to Steubens. There was something ‘off’ about Steubens’ research, and Pete wanted to observe first-hand how the news was received.
Steubens was in his lab, as always; he lived at the KIVA like many of the members of the staff, and had a modest set of rooms on the first level. He was more often found in his lab, however, either working late or musing over the chessboard in the corner of his office. That was what he was doing when Pete and Burke arrived, head bent over the board with a wrinkle of concentration bisecting his brow.
Burke was nearly bursting with excitement as he handed over hard copies of the data that had been retrieved, but the surf of his enthusiasm crashed against Steubens’ stony indifference. The scientist accepted the files without comment; by the expression on his face, he appeared more mournful and despondent than ever. He did rouse himself to thank Burke for bringing him the information, then he dismissed both men by turning his back toward them; he hadn’t even acknowledged Pete. Burke shrugged and led the way out of the lab.
“Kind of excitable, isn’t he?” Pete commented dryly as the elevator lifted the two men back toward the surface.
“You know how it is with scientists, Colsen,” Burke said tolerantly. “Sometimes they’re like little children... sometimes nothing makes them happy but a well-cultured Petri dish.”
Pete nodded, but he didn’t forget the incident.
The odor of fish, he privately reflected,
is surprisingly strong out here in the desert.When the elevator doors parted, the two men found themselves confronted by a simmering Barbara Spencer; her usually pleasant demeanor was completely obliterated. She stood with her clenched fists propped on her hips and glared at Burke and Pete.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded curtly.
“Um,” Burke murmured, unsure of what sin he had committed and unwilling to make things worse with more words.
“What’s the matter?” Pete asked cautiously.
“All of Dr. Steubens’ correspondence and documentation goes through me, gentlemen… I thought that was understood. He just called me and he’s very upset!”
“Ah, he seemed fine when we were talking to him a few minutes ago…”
Barbara cut Pete off sharply, her eyes flashing, “He has a lot on his mind and he doesn’t need to be interrupted with petty paperwork—especially in the dead of night!”
“We thought that he would like to see that his work hadn't all been lost,” Burke finally spoke, nonplussed by her violent reaction.
She had no verbal response for Burke’s words; she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one side, as if to say without saying that they were free to pass her, but she was still very angry.
Burke filed past her obediently, but Pete paused as he stepped near her. “I’ll be sure not to make the same mistake again, Miss Spencer,” he said placatingly.
Barbara stepped into the elevator and firmly pressed the button to close the doors without uttering another word. The heat of her fury seemed to fade slowly from the usually cool corridors of the KIVA.
“Wow.” Pete turned to Burke, who was standing against the wall as if stunned. “Was that a desert storm named Spencer or what?”
Burke shook his head slowly, then reached up and massaged his aching forehead. “It’s been a long day, Andy. Let’s call it a night and then get started first thing in the morning on analyzing that new data. Dr. Marlow is going to arrive about 10 o’clock… we’d best have something to show him.”
“Sure, Charlie,” Pete agreed. “We’ll get it all sorted out tomorrow.”
⌂
Barbara Spencer found Dr. Steubens in his office, slumped in a chair staring at the chessboard. There was a pile of paperwork in the middle of the checkered board, and chess pieces were scattered all around; some had fallen to the floor and rolled beneath the table.
“Are you all right, Dr. Steubens?” she asked gently, her hand pausing just short of touching his shoulder. “I came as soon as I could.”
Steubens looked up at her and offered her a tired smile. She was probably the only resident at KIVA who had ever seen him smile.
“Barbara. I didn’t mean for you to come all the way down here in an instant!”
“It’s okay… I hadn’t gone to bed when you called. What happened to your game…!” She bent to begin picking up the pieces, but Steubens stopped her.
“Never mind that, Barbara. I can pick them up. Go back to bed and get some rest. Tomorrow…” he paused and swallowed, then he gave her another faint smile, “tomorrow Sidney will be here… and all this nonsense will finally be dealt with.”
Barbara was confused; that was hardly how she expected things to be. With the new data available, tomorrow would be the beginning of a very long and tedious series of program analysis and testing to verify the recovery of the research. Yet Karl Steubens seemed strangely content… almost relaxed.
When she hesitated, her concern clearly written across her face, Karl warmed up his smile a few degrees. “Trust me, Barbara. Everything will be fine after tomorrow.” He stood up and took her gently by the shoulders, his touch no more than a fatherly guidance, and steered her toward the door.
“Good night… Dr. Steubens,” Barbara said. Her eyes were shining with admiration as he closed the door behind her.
It was almost more than Karl Steubens could bear. Slowly, he returned to the table and straightened up the chessboard. He shuffled the papers together and placed them inside his desk, locking the drawer with a key which he slipped into his pocket. He took his coat from the hook behind his desk and slipped out of the KIVA unseen by anyone other than the night security guard, who gave the scientist the keys to his Land Rover and quietly pocketed the wad of cash that Steubens slipped him to "forget" to note his departure in the security log.
Steubens drove through the night, racing the light cast by the headlamps on the dusty truck, heading to a certain place he knew of near the border of Mexico, where he could obtain everything he needed to finally finish his research… once and for all. He planned to be back in his lab before the guard changed and anyone noticed he was gone.
⌂
Jackie had custody of MacGyver’s room, while her brother and MacGyver took their places in the living area. Reggie had bounced around inside the Observatory when they had first arrived, but the lateness of the hour caught up with the young man and he soon collapsed on the sofa with a pillow and a blanket.
Mac unrolled his sleeping bag on the floor and lay in the semi-darkness, his mind wandering lightly over the mission he had just returned from. He could hear the faint sounds from behind the closed door of his bedroom, of textbook pages turning and a voice chattering softly on the telephone. He was pleased the Jackie had gotten herself into college—against all odds—and he hoped that her headstrong little brother would follow in her footsteps.
Sometimes the assignments he accepted kept him too long out of his own country. He loved traveling and the excitement of his work, but it was easy to forget that many of the people who needed help were right next door and not across the oceans. That was why MacGyver had signed up to be a Big Brother for inner-city children. He had found the experience to be more rewarding than he had imagined it could be, and in some cases, more challenging than his most difficult government assignments.
Finally he let his arm fall across his eyes and surrendered himself to sleep. The alarm was set for a ridiculously early hour, but the window for the observation was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he didn’t want to miss the show.
~~~
Link to Chapter 6
Everyone, sometimes, needs a camel.
Old troubleshooters never die...
They just wait til the last moment and then rescue themselves!
