This chapter illustrates an example of why I love these two guys together. Even if they end up in some disastrous situations, they always help each other--true friendship and teamwork.
Happy Hour with Jack Dalton Part Three
Rated: PG
“This was never about Jack, was it?” MacGyver asked, staring into the piercing eyes of Robert, challenging him. “You wanted me all along.”
“Yes, well due to a miscalculation, your friend here just happened to unwittingly get caught up in my business of retribution. It’s rather a shame, but sometimes innocent bystanders get hurt, too.”
He pushed Jack forward and waved his gun at both of them. “Move, now,” he said.
“Man, I am never going to a bar for a good time again,” Jack said.
“Shut up!” Robert snapped. “Keep moving!”
As they walked through the series of tunnels, MacGyver wondered how intricate the network of them was, how far they extended, and how deep below ground they were.
“Impressive,” he said, glancing back at Robert. “I love what you’ve done with the place.”
Robert smirked contemptuously. “I’m glad you like it,” he said. “You see, when I discovered these caves burrowed beneath my estate, I decided to use them to their fullest, taking advantage of everything they had to offer—privacy, security. I used to transact a lot of my personal business down here. All my archives were here—that is, until the Feds raided this place. I’m surprised they found it. They were so busy ransacking my house. Still, they found it anyway, removing everything I treasured, every trace of my life—thanks to you, MacGyver.”
“Yeah well, if you had to conduct business in a cave, hidden away from public view, then what you were doing was probably illegal,” MacGyver said. “I’m sure some of your colleagues who were prepared to testify against you and met unfortunate accidental deaths probably met them down here too, huh?”
Robert scoffed. “There was never enough proof to substantiate the allegations that I had anything to do with their deaths,” he said. “However, since you’re about to meet your end, I might as well confess that I…helped them along.”
They reached Mark and Tom, who stood waiting with their guns drawn.
“What do you want to do with them?” Tom asked.
Mark, the more sullen and quiet of the two, pointed his gun at MacGyver’s head. “I say we blow them away now, fast and painless,” he said.
“No, it would be anything but painless,” Robert said. “They could trace the weapon back to us. Their deaths have to appear accidental, just like Thompson’s and Riley’s. I have an idea.”
***
They tied MacGyver and Jack up, binding both their wrists and ankles. Attached to both their ankles was a large, heavy boulder. They were placed inside a small, cramped area of the cave network that was barely large enough to accommodate both of them and was difficult for a single grown man to maneuver around in, the rocks jutting overhead reaching low, causing anyone who entered the area to bend over considerably in order to avoid knocking their head against the sharp stones. Seawater seeped in from a narrow opening, reaching up to MacGyver’s and Jack’s legs, shallow for the moment.
“As you can see, this portion of the cave is partly submerged by the ocean,” Robert said. “When the tide comes in, this whole section fills with water—quickly.” He smiled viciously. “So you see, weighted down and tied up, you’ll be defenseless against the onrushing water, and well, you’ll drown. Simple as that.” He shrugged, as if it was an insignificant matter. “When the tide recedes, we’ll merely dump your bodies in the ocean and make it appear as if the two of you had a boating accident. I really hate it when a leisurely afternoon turns into a tragedy at sea. What a pity.”
“If this part of the cave fills with water during tide, why doesn’t the rest of it?” MacGyver asked.
Robert laughed a hollow, toneless laugh. “You always mistook me for a simpleton, didn’t you MacGyver?” He asked. “You figured you were so brilliant and shrewd to uncover my…extracurricular activities that would put me away forever, and you nearly succeeded in destroying me completely. After all, you saw what was once my estate, crumbling to ruins. Still, you never understood that I have never been completely defeated and I never will be. I’m a survivor, and I usually get what I want, somehow. After all, I’m out of jail, and I finally have you where I want you.” He turned and pulled on a heavy steel partition, getting Mark and Tom to assist him. He paused and looked at both MacGyver and Jack. “Once this door is closed, you’ll be effectively sealed in, trapped. I knew the ocean had to leak in here from somewhere, which is why I installed this. So, as you see, I prepared for all contingencies. I would think you would rather admire me for that, MacGyver.”
Laughing another mechanical, forced laugh, as if he had no concept of the true meaning of laughter, only imitating it from what he observed in others with a conscience and feeling, Robert finished pulling the partition shut, locking MacGyver and Jack inside the small cave that was already beginning to fill with water, starting to reach their waists, and then their chests.
“Well boy, this is another…”
“Fine mess, I know,” MacGyver said, wriggling against his ropes. They were tight, restricting his blood flow and cutting roughly into his skin.
“Do you think that door is really sealed as tightly as he says?” Jack asked.
MacGyver tried to squirm over towards it to look at it, craning his neck. “Yeah, it looks pretty watertight,” he said.
“Oh man,” Jack said, sighing. “How are we going to get out of this one, Mac?”
“I don’t know yet, but it looks like the only way out is that opening where the water is coming in, and it looks pretty small. It could be tight. We’ll just have to work on getting loose from these ropes first, which won’t be easy, either. These boys have tied them pretty tightly, and of course they took my knife.”
“Hey Mac?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m…sorry to get you into this.”
“Jack, this time it wasn’t your fault. They were trying to get to me from the very beginning, anyway.”
“I know, but if I hadn’t crashed at your house, they would never have…I shouldn’t have been as drunk as I was.”
“Well, you were just having your version of fun, which I still don’t understand, since you always wind up feeling terrible in the morning.”
“Yeah, not to mention winding up in some strange places,” Jack said, laughing slightly.
“Don’t worry about it, Jack. I’ll get us out of here.”
More water entered, filling in the confined space and swirling around them, creeping higher up their chests.
“You’d better hurry,” Jack said. “The water’s rising.”
“I see it, Jack. Just stay calm.”
MacGyver strained to reach some sharp rocks behind him, the weight of the boulder dragging him away from them. He grunted and had to bend unnaturally to keep in contact with them, the low ceiling of the tiny cave growing lower every minute as the water began reaching it. He rubbed the ropes encircling his wrists against them fiercely, desperate to loosen them, especially as he saw the water reach up to their necks. He was surprised that so much water could fill such a small space so rapidly when the opening for it to enter through was not very big itself.
“Hurry!” Jack shouted.
“I’m going as fast as I can!”
“Well, go faster!”
“Jack, work on loosening your ropes, too. I’m not doing everything alone, here!”
“Fine, Mr. Bossy!”
“Jack, just do it!”
Jack began rubbing against his side of the rocks, his struggles becoming more frantic and urgent when he noticed the water reaching their chins. Soon, it covered their mouths, and they had to bend their heads back to speak, coughing up the water that filled them.
“Okay, I think I’m making some progress,” MacGyver said. “How about you?”
“Yeah, and not a moment too soon,” Jack said.
“I’m still bound, though. The ropes are thick and haven’t completely snapped yet. At the rate the water is coming in, we’re going to have to work even faster and take deep breaths, because we’re going to be partly underwater while we’re doing this.”
“Just like scuba diving, right?” Jack asked.
“Right, except we don’t have the oxygen equipment,” MacGyver said gravely.
Water splashed into his mouth and he spluttered, trying to remove it.
They decided not to speak much more, concentrating on liberating themselves from the ropes, the water fully at their lips now. It wasn’t long before it reached their nostrils, creating bubbles around them as they breathed. MacGyver arched his head back, coughing.
“Jack, take a deep breath! We’re going to try to swim out the opening once we’re free! Follow me!” He shouted.
Jack nodded, trying to hide the panic he felt. The water reached their noses, then their eyes. Soon, it completely enclosed around them, and they were both holding their breaths, their lungs bursting with the desire for new oxygen. MacGyver felt the ropes around his wrists finally give, and he worked quickly to undo the knot tying his ankles and securing him to the boulder, feeling weaker with each minute that passed. He held onto the ropes after seeing how long they were, figuring they could serve a purpose later on after they escaped. He saw Jack struggling to remove his ropes, so he swam over to help him. Within seconds, he was free as well, and MacGyver took his long ropes also. They rushed towards the small opening, hoping it was wide enough to allow them through it. It was barely open enough for MacGyver to push his body through, so he helped Jack, taking his hands and tugging him until he passed through it as well. Looking up, MacGyver saw light, and he knew the surface was not too far up, so he began to swim towards it, Jack following him.
Something happened on the way up, however. No longer able to hold his breath, MacGyver involuntarily released a gasp, sucking water into his lungs in the process. Struggling for air and growing lightheaded, he began sinking, blackness overcoming him. Seeing that MacGyver was drowning, remembering how it looked when he cut his air hose, Jack instinctively grabbed his arm and pulled him up to the surface, making sure his head broke through before his. Gasping, gratefully taking in as much air as possible, he looked at MacGyver. He was still unconscious and turning blue.
“Oh God Mac, don’t do this to me! Not now,” he said. He looked around and saw the shore not too far away. He swam as fast as he could towards it, clutching MacGyver tightly against him. The ropes MacGyver had saved were still in his hand, trailing behind them like a tail.
Once they reached the beach, Jack collapsed on the sand, exhausted from carrying MacGyver as he swam. He recovered quickly though, knowing he had only a few crucial minutes to save his friend’s life. Trembling with adrenaline and fatigue, Jack hovered over his friend’s motionless body, pressing on his chest and breathing into his mouth, for once glad he listened to MacGyver’s advice about learning CPR, it once again proving useful.
“Come on, Mac, spit it up,” he said, continuing his intervals of pressing on his chest and breathing into his mouth. MacGyver remained unresponsive, turning bluer and growing colder. “Mac! Mac, come on, wake up!” Jack shouted, slapping him on the cheek. “Mac!” He shook him violently and then began CPR all over again.
It seemed like an eternity before MacGyver began choking, water bubbling and gurgling from his lips. His dark eyes fluttered.
“Oh, thank God!” Jack shouted, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. “Mac, Mac can you hear me? It’s all right now, it’s Jack. We made it! MacGyver? MacGyver, come on! We’re okay! You’re alive! Mac?”
MacGyver was unconscious again, but this time he appeared to be breathing. Jack felt for his pulse, relieved to feel a weak but steady beat against his fingertips. Color was returning to his blanched skin. Jack knew he would be fine. He sat beside him, watching him sleep.
“Good idea,” he said. “Let’s rest for a minute.” He looked up at the cliffs that towered over them, hoping that Robert and his associates hadn’t noticed they were gone yet.
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
