I know this part is short, but it serves to end this story and hopefully lead into my next story where Mac will be dealing with some of the same issues, just in a different setting and a different story. That one isn't completely formed in my mind yet, but I'll post it as soon as I can. For now, enjoy the ending of this story!
Thanks again to ghostdoll for her help and continued support throughout this story! You helped make it happen!
Shake Hands with the Devil Part Nine
Rated: R (Epilogue)
The Present—Several Months Later
MacGyver entered Pete’s office, dressed more casually than he usually was in dusty, torn jeans, a T-shirt, scuffed boots, and his worn brown leather bomber jacket. Sunglasses dangled from the front of his shirt, his honey blonde hair looking as if it had recently been tossed by the wind, a slight tan and a broad, beaming smile on his face. Pete had never seen him look happier or healthier, the anxiety from his torture and his recovery that had etched worry into his face and made him look drawn and pale had completely vanished.
“I just heard,” he said.
“Yes, I’ve been watching it on the news,” Pete said. “It seems that Enrique’s people wanted him to do more than simply organize elections. He was officially voted in as their new leader. They were inspired by his integrity and courage, for once finding someone they could truly believe in, someone who wouldn’t mislead them. He has an enormous task ahead of him, rebuilding that country, but I just spoke to him over the phone to congratulate him, and he tells me he’s ready to meet that challenge.”
“I’m sure he is,” MacGyver said. “He’ll be the best leader his people ever had, as far as I can tell, partly because he was so reluctant to take the position. His humility will make him a more effective leader because he has no interest in inflating his own sense of importance. He just wants what’s best for his people.”
“If only we had more leaders like that in this world,” Pete said.
“Well, we’re one step closer with Enrique.”
“I guess we are. On a different note, I suppose you also heard what happened to El Diablo.”
“He hung himself in his cell. That doesn’t surprise me. Once he realized nothing would ever go his way again, he chose suicide over facing the ignominy and indignity of being punished for something he felt justified in doing. It’s just like some of the Nazi war criminals who killed themselves during the Nuremberg trials after World War Two. Their pride and power stripped from them, they just couldn’t take it, turning out to be cowards in the end, just like El Diablo. He used to kill others to get what he wanted. When he couldn’t do that anymore, he turned to himself, finding one final escape.”
Pete listened to him, hearing the anger and disgust in his voice. “Yes, well he’s dead now. It’s over. You’ll never have to see him again,” he said.
“I know, Pete. I’m still planning on taking some time off for awhile, though, to get away from all this. I’m going on vacation.”
“Well, that explains the duds,” Pete said, smiling.
“Hey, it’s better than a tuxedo any day,” MacGyver said with a lopsided grin.
“I think it’s a good idea for you, Mac, to take some time so you can get some more rest after all you’ve been through. Where are you planning on going?”
“You know, I really don’t know yet. I guess I’ll know when I get there. I’d like to visit Enrique someday to see how his country is doing, but for now I think it would only bring back too many painful memories, even with the knowledge that he’s running the country and that it’s now a free democracy. For now, I’m just going to go somewhere remote, somewhere where I don’t have to be reminded of any of this.”
“That sounds great,” Pete said. “I wish I could go with you, but I have a lot of work to catch up on here, and I know how sometimes you need to trek alone.”
“I’ll be thinking of you,” MacGyver said, pulling something out of his pocket. “I’ll try to keep in touch when I can.” At last succeeding in retrieving the object he wanted from his pocket, Pete saw that it was the knife he had bought for him. MacGyver held it out and smiled. “Thanks again for this,” he said. “I think it’ll come in handy on the trail.”
He winked, showing Pete he was thankful for everything he had done, not just the knife. The two men embraced.
“I’ll miss you while you’re gone,” Pete said, growing tearful but trying to hide it, not wishing MacGyver to see him getting sentimental. He cleared his throat and quickly wiped away the tears that threatened. “Have fun, all right? And take it easy.”
MacGyver grinned. “That’s what I plan on doing,” he said, “for the first time in a long time.”
The End
"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
