Social Conscience – Part One

The phone rang as he pushed the door shut with his foot. He plunked a couple of brown grocery bags on the counter, letting the machine answer it.

“Mac? You there?”

“No, I’m not,” MacGyver said to Jack’s voice, shrugging out of his jacket.

“Hey, you gotta call me…I really have a legitimate business opportunity, and I know a do-gooder like you won’t be able to resist…”

MacGyver flinched. Not again. He would not pick up. No way. He did not need another one of Jack’s… He picked up. “Hi, Jack.” He’d regret this later…he just knew it.

“MacGyver! Buddy! You’ll never guess…”

“Jack, listen to me.”

“…what I…What?”

“No.”

“No? No what? C’mon, Mac, you sleep-deprived or something…you’re not making any sense.”

MacGyver couldn’t help bringing out that reasoning-with-a-child-tone he used with Jack all too frequently. “I’m making perfect sense. Whatever it is, Jack, no.” Stopping Jack when he had one of his brilliant ideas was like stopping a freight train. Not impossible, but always messy in the end.

“Aw, c’mon…at least hear me out, Mac!”

MacGyver shook the phone since Jack wasn’t at hand. “Go for it, Jack. And that doesn’t mean yes.”

MacGyver arrived at the hangar an hour later. He’d been briefed in classic Jack style…very lean on details. He realized actually getting in his Jeep and driving here would reinforce his friend’s plan to hijack his weekend. But he was resolute. He had a date with a backpack and a tent, and he didn’t intend to miss it. But, as usual, Jack had given him just enough information to make him curious…and string him along.

The big hangar door was open and he went in. He found Jack closing up the cargo doors in the back of the plane.

“Mac! I knew you couldn’t resist!” Jack headed up the rickety metal steps to the open side hatch, waving for him to follow. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

MacGyver took a deep breath, counted to 10, and followed.

“All we’ve gotta do is fly to Bolivia and drop off this here crate I told you about.”

“What’s in the crate and just how do you know this guy’s legitimate?”

Jack looked at MacGyver in mock offense. “I’m hurt. You don’t trust my instinct. Have I ever intentionally led you astray?”

Mac’s eyes narrowed. His mouth moved. Nothing came out.

Jack quickly added, “Don’t answer that.”

MacGyver finally found his voice. “Instinct?! I’m supposed to get on this plane and fly to South America with a crate of who-knows-what based on your instinct.” He threw up his hands as if imploring the ceiling of the hangar to impart reason.

“I know what’s in the crate…you just didn’t give me a chance to tell you what’s in the crate.” Jack managed to look properly indignant.

MacGyver gave in, gesturing expansively toward the big wooden box.

“What we have here, Mac me-boy, are supplies for a clinic. Our man Vernon directs the relief organization in charge of sending this stuff…problem is he suspects the distributors at the usual drop-off point are pirating the supplies, sellin’ everything on the black market. He wants me to fly the crate directly to the clinic…well, as close as I can get and keep the plane in one piece…”

MacGyver’s resolve was crumbling, even as he cringed inwardly. He had to admit it was a noble cause, especially for Jack. It still made him suspicious. “What’s in it for you?”

Jack was getting surprisingly better at the I-can’t-believe-what-you’re-implying-look. “Haven’t you ever heard of storing up your treasures in heaven, Mac?”

“Not from you.”

Jack relented. “So, there’s a tidy little sum involved…but not to worry! I might even have enough left after my expenses to pay you back for those parts.”

MacGyver shook his head, rolling his eyes. There were so many parts, it didn’t matter which parts any more. “Do you know how sophisticated these distributors are?”

“You mean, will they try to stop us?” Jack shrugged. “Apparently, this kind of thing brings a pretty penny if you know the right people, which they do. So, to answer your question…I don’t think they’d shoot us outta the sky and draw attention, but since we can’t rule out anything, we hope they don’t figure us out, and if they do, we hope you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve!” Jack clapped him on the back and climbed out of the plane.

MacGyver was painfully aware that Jacks’ left eye hadn’t twitched once.