Director of Intelligence
Posts: 7,214
Joined: 3 Dec 2005
Gender: Female
Country: USA
SAK owned: Camper&Swissbit
Favorites
Season: season 5
Episode:Serenity
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: House boat
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Note from Loth:
Much thanks to 'Beth for her invaluable editing skills. Kind Readers... please enjoy!
The Rainmakers, ch 23
Cloudbusting
A layer of dirt settled on MacGyver and Barbara, clinging to their damp skin and clothes as they waited for their ears to stop ringing. When the air cleared a little they could see that MacGyver’s little bomb had made a tidy hole appear in the wall.
MacGyver squeezed Barbara’s shoulder. “Wait here!”
He crossed the room quickly and stepped through the hole one leg at a time. The room beyond was full of rubble and smoke and darkness. Surveying the damage, MacGyver found himself surprised that Marlow and Steubens had survived the explosion at all – the room was a complete wreck.
“Marlow?” MacGyver called out, hoping that in creating an exit he had not inadvertently finished off the two men he was trying to rescue. “Steubens? Y’awright?” He coughed, waving his hand through the thick air which burned and bit at his eyes.
Across the room, from behind a pile of debris, a voice wheezed, “Here! We-we’re over here.”
MacGyver shoved his way through the makeshift barricade, picking up some pieces and throwing them aside. A short, battered man emerged from the wreckage, once-elegant suit ruined but with his dignity intact. Behind him a taller, older man with wild grey hair matted with blood and ash staggered to his feet.
Marlow knew a level of relief he had never felt before as he looked upon this lone young man. He’d been hoping for a squad from the RAF – or an acceptable American equivalent – but he found himself just as please to see even one new face, even one so streaked with dirt. “Oh… oh, thank you…” he tottered as he came forward; hours of bad air and physical exertion finally catching up with him; his legs nearly gave out.
MacGyver caught him by both arms. The scientist recovered himself quickly, steadied by the younger man’s strength. They weren’t out of here yet, and relief gave hope new energy; Marlow’s eyes sparkled with it.
MacGyver saw that spark. Time was slim… if it wasn’t already too late! He gripped Marlow’s arms and said, “Right, get on the intercom. Try to reach the surface.”
Marlow nodded and moved with new purpose. MacGyver turned back to help Steubens through the tangle of ruined equipment, but Steubens had already moved; he had reached a cabinet along the wall. Leaning heavily against it, he pulled open a file drawer and drew out a small, ugly revolver.
Steubens swung the gun around, barely managing to summon the strength to raise the thing, and pointed it at MacGyver.
“You. Back.” The man’s weak voice would have held no command but for the weapon clenched in his fist.
MacGyver spread his hands and moved back. The sight of the gun triggered an icy feeling in his stomach – reawakening a dreadful memory of regret that followed him through his life. It also triggered a rush of adrenalin. As it pulsed through him, MacGyver fought to keep his appearance calm even as his body prepared for action. He took a deep breath and the fear in his belly evaporated.
Steubens swung the gun a few inches to MacGyver’s left. “Sidney. Get away from that intercom.”
Marlow had turned around when Steubens ordered MacGyver to retreat; he gaped at his friend, unable to understand his strange behavior. He stepped back until he stood at MacGyver’s side. Steubens, watching the two men closely and still leaning on the cabinet for support, did not notice the movement on the other side of the lab, or he would have seen his assistant Barbara preparing to crawl through the opening in the wall.
Barbara couldn’t stand it any longer. She could hear voices – first Marlow’s British stutter, and then Karl’s darker intonation – but she couldn’t make out the words. Disregarding MacGyver’s entreaty, she folded herself through the hole in the wall and entered the lab just in time to see her idol and mentor wielding a gun against his best friend and the man who had risked his life to rescue them all.
⌂
“Okay, people,” Burke said, loud enough so that his voice carried easily to all the technicians and engineers who remained in the control room. Gantner looked away from the clock toward him. Behind him, Pete had returned quietly, and stood listening. “We’ve got four minutes until we begin to – begin the flooding.” Burke coughed, trying to ease the constriction in his throat. “There’s going to be a ground strike missile fired simultaneously that is going to fuse the rock – well, all that doesn’t matter. The facts are that there’s not much reason for any of you to stay here. You can all join the evacuation if you choose… though there should be no danger to us… up here on the surface.” Burke swallowed, not meeting the eyes of his Operations Manager or poor miserable Gantner.
There were about a dozen technicians and engineers still in the room, Burke's assistant Gus among them, as well as Gene, the first assistant engineer to Andy Colsen; they all looked around at each other, and a wordless agreement passed among them. Gus turned to Burke and said, “If it's all the same to you, Dr. Burke, we'll stay. We've still got a job to do here.”
This display of stubborn loyalty caused Burke to bit his lip and blink. He nodded to show his appreciation, quite beyond the ability to speak for at least a few minutes.
Gantner looked around desperately. Seeing Pete, he walked up to him and whispered, “We’ve got to get them to wait just a little longer! Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“Believe me,” Pete said evenly, “everything that can be done… has been done. All we can do is wait…” Pete lifted a cigarette to his lips as he raised his eyes to the clock. Three minutes and fifty-five seconds. Come on, MacGyver! You’re running out of time…
⌂
Marlow couldn’t believe this was happening! His friend seemed to have gone mad… perhaps the blow to his head? But why would he have a gun in his filing cabinet? – peaceful, gentle Karl who had once berated Sidney for his hobby of sport hunting! This was a preposterous situation!
Gently, desperately, he spoke to him. “Karl, what is this? What are you doing? Have you gone clean out of your mind?”
Barbara Spencer ducked through the opening, prepared to berate Mac for leaving her in suspense for so long. “MacGyver? Is everyone all right?” Her eager expression froze as she took in the tableau, the color in her face draining from beneath the soot and dirt.
MacGyver threw down in exasperation. “Spencer! Gosh darn it! I told you to wait outside!”
Steubens regarded his assistant mournfully. “I’m sorry, Barbara.”
Barbara started toward him, but Steubens swiveled the gun to include her. She stared at it without comprehension. “Karl . . . I don’t understand.”
“The explosion down here.” Steubens moved the gun back to MacGyver as he spoke. Mac didn’t like it, but he preferred that to having it pointed it at Marlow or Spencer. “It wasn’t an accident.” Barbara moved her bewildered gaze from Steubens to Mac as he continued, “Everybody kept lookin’ for an ‘accidental’ explanation because nothing else made sense. With all the security in this place, who could possibly get a bomb to this level?”
Mac looked at Steubens and all his suspicions were proved in the man’s mournful expression. “You and Marlow . . . you weren’t supposed to survive.”
“No.” It was not a denial; Steubens almost looked relieved that someone understood what he’d been trying to do; however, the gun did not waver.
Barbara’s voice broke as she cried, “Karl – this makes no sense!”
MacGyver was still calm, though he was nervous. If any of them makes any sudden moves… that revolver looks like it’s got a hair-trigger. He spoke gently, reasonably, trying to ignore the countdown in the back of his mind. “Doesn’t it? You told me Syndrex ordered a whole new series of experiments, but that Steubens refused to accept the results. So, he invites the only other expert in the field to visit. One – ‘accidental’ explosion, and all this research is set back twenty years. Maybe more.”
“They wanted it to become a weapon,” Steubens croaked. “I’ve spent my whole life to stop suffering…” The barrel of the gun dipped toward the floor a little. MacGyver considered rushing the man, but it was too dangerous with Barbara standing so close.
Understanding broke across Barbara’s face, and then it wilted into a look of horror. “A weapon… chain reactions in the ozone.”
“Without the ozone layer, the sun’s ultraviolet rays would kill everything on earth.” MacGyver said. “I think Karl here discovered the key to make the ozone layer self-destruct. Didn’t ya, Karl?”
Steubens was a man in a waking nightmare. “The ultimate doomsday weapon. I couldn’t give them that. I still can’t. Sidney… we’re the only ones who can stop this…” The gun came up again, pointing at Marlow.
MacGyver grabbed Marlow by the shoulders to push him out of the way just as Barbara screamed “NO!” and the gun went off –
MacGyver turned around to see Barbara collapse on the floor, clutching her side. He darted over to Steubens and stripped the gun from his hand, pushing him aside. Steubens went down like a log, the shock at what he’d done paralyzing him.
MacGyver kneeled beside Barbara. “That was dumb, Spencer… very, very dumb!” He pulled off the piece of shirt that she still wore around her neck to make a hasty pressure bandage.
Barbara gasped, “Yeah. It also hurts like hell.”
“Ah, stop talkin’, will ya?” Carefully he pulled her hands away and examined the wound. He pressed the cloth over it, hoping it wasn’t as serious as it looked. He glanced at his wristwatch and managed not to wince when he saw that they had only two minutes left.
 Everyone, sometimes, needs a camel.
Old troubleshooters never die...
They just wait til the last moment and then rescue themselves!
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Two minutes? Ouch! Talk about tight situation! Don't wanna be in their shoes... on the other hand, if it means being with Mac... danger is my business! 
