Okay guys, as promised, here's part four! Enjoy!

Guilt Part Four
Rated: PG

“When did this happen?” MacGyver asked, following Pete to his office.

“Just now,” Pete said, turning on a TV in his office. “Take a look.”

“Apparently, the terrorist known simply as Scorpion somehow managed to overpower the guards at the federal penitentiary where he was being held for charges of conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism against the United States,” the reporter on television said, her voice over the scenes of carnage at the prison, showing ambulances taking several stretchers of covered, dead bodies or badly injured and bleeding guards away. “It is unclear at this point how he was able to do this, but all federal authorities have been placed on high alert.”

MacGyver remembered the sinister look on Scorpion’s disfigured face as he shot Fred and Andrew. He shook his head, trying to return to the present. Dr. Walker was with them, and she noticed his reaction. She had seen enough PTSD patients to recognize a flashback, even when it was minor as MacGyver’s had just been.

“This is the man responsible for the deaths of Rogers and Williamson,” she said to him. “Not you. Don’t forget that.”

MacGyver nodded slowly, thinking he began to understand what she meant. Just because he was present didn’t mean he pulled the trigger. Still, he knew it would be a long time before he fully accepted that he was unable to help those men. Pete looked at him, and for once MacGyver felt that his friend didn’t pity him. He was trying to help him recover, too.

“What do we do now, Pete?” MacGyver asked.

Pete smiled to himself, relieved to see his friend finally pulling through his survivor’s guilt. His confidence was restored. Gone was the quiet, depressed MacGyver he had hoped he’d never see again after Mike’s death, replaced by the in control MacGyver he knew he could count on in the toughest situations for his calm and his humor and grace under pressure.

“Well, our building is completely locked down and secure, as is every other federal building,” Pete said. “Those are the most likely places Scorpion would target if he’s planning on any kind of attack. Also, we have people looking for him, along with every other federal agency out there. It’s just a matter of time before they find him again.”

“Pete, last time it took ten years to find him,” MacGyver said.

Along with the confident MacGyver, Pete had the realistic MacGyver back as well. “They’re working on it, Mac,” he said. “Just rely on that optimism of yours.”

MacGyver smiled slightly.

“Authorities are warning that Scorpion could have altered his appearance to avoid detection,” the reporter said, “so searches of everyone entering or leaving these federal buildings have become mandatory.”

“How easy would it be for him to disguise himself? He has a glass eye, for God’s sake!” Pete said.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” MacGyver said. “Remember Piedra? Murdoc?”

The last name mentioned in particular sent icy chills up both men’s backs as they remembered their dealings with that madman.

“Right,” Pete said. “Well, we’d better get on this, too.” He looked at MacGyver. “Are you…uh…up to it?”

Dr. Walker looked at him.

“I’m staying, Pete,” MacGyver said. “Where do you want to start?”

***

Scorpion managed to escape detection long enough to make it to his destination—a small, run-down duplex on the quiet side of the city. Inside, he found his second group of willing followers, all of them awaiting his appearance. The lines of communication were tight among his men. They never moved unless they knew of his whereabouts, and somehow, they were always able to know where he was and what next move he was planning. He watched each of them carefully, trying to see if there were any signs of any of them being traitors, but all of them appeared loyal. The duplex was well-stocked with weapons, and one man was finishing a bomb. He looked up and grinned at Scorpion.

“Is it ready?” He asked.

The man nodded.

“Let us go with you,” another man said. He had been sitting on the edge of a table and he stood, as if attempting to show his bravery and his willingness to die for the cause.

Scorpion looked at him. “Not this time,” he said. “These buildings are swarming with security. I will be able to get in much easier and much more quickly if I do this alone. We want to surprise them with this first attack, and to do that, we must be invisible, sneaking in directly beneath their eyes.” He looked at the man finishing the bomb. “Did you happen to learn what agency it was that set up the sting against me?” He asked.

“Well, it was the usual government agencies—the FBI, the CIA…but the leader, the one to organize it, was The Phoenix Foundation. It seems those men you killed worked there.”

Scorpion nodded and clenched his jaws, his anger surging. “Well then,” he said. “They will be the first target.”

***

“Anything new?” MacGyver asked, watching Pete pour over records and computer files on Scorpion.

“No,” Pete said, rubbing his head with his hand in frustration. “It’s never easy to read the mind of a terrorist. I mean, we don’t know what his next move is or if he plans to strike.”

MacGyver nodded. “I’ll keep looking myself,” he said.

Pete sighed heavily. “What’s the use?” He asked aloud. “If he is going to do anything, it won’t be today. He just escaped from prison, and he’s bound to know that every federal building is locked down and every agency in the United States is looking for him. If we’ve learned anything about Scorpion, we’ve learned that he’s patient and methodical. He’ll wait this out until he thinks we’ve let our guards down, and then he’ll hit us. The only way to find him is to find his contacts, so we need to research the intelligence on that next.”

MacGyver’s thoughts returned to that day, how sudden and surprising the ambush was on them. He closed his eyes, trying to erase the memory of seeing Fred’s dead eyes gazing up at him in the ice.

Pete looked up at him. “MacGyver, are you all right?” He asked.

MacGyver opened his eyes and looked at Pete. They shone with clarity, and Pete knew that fiery look in his eyes that he thought had been lost since the incident with Rogers and Williamson. It had returned, and Pete knew it meant he was on to something.

“Not necessarily, Pete,” he said.

“What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“Scorpion. He’s not going to wait this out at all.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He’s patient and methodical, all right, but he also knows when to strike. When he does, it comes as a complete surprise to everyone. No one expects it.” The gunshots of that day echoed in his mind.

“Yeah, that’s why I think he’ll wait until our security lessens. He’ll strike us when we’ve relaxed.”

“No Pete, that’s what he wants us to think,” MacGyver said. “He’s going to hit something now, possibly this afternoon.”

“How do you know this?” Pete asked.

The haunted look briefly returned to MacGyver’s dark eyes. “Experience,” he said. “He likes to lull you into a false sense of security, make you feel that he trusts you. That way, it’s easier to make his move. He’ll hit us now, when we think we have the best security measures in place--when we think we’re invulnerable.”

“But, how? MacGyver, he’ll never get past all our security,” Pete said.

“Remember what they said on the news,” MacGyver said. “He’s capable of disguising himself, blending in with society.” He paused, staring at the coverage on television. It was muted, but he was thinking of what the reporter said earlier about intensive security sweeps being performed in all downtown federal buildings. “Security,” he said quietly.

Pete watched him. “Mac?” He asked.

MacGyver turned to him. “Pete, I think I know how he’ll infiltrate security,” he said.

“How?”

“By disguising himself as a security agent. He’ll forge the proper identification to get in here.”

Pete stared at him, amazed. “Well, that’s a wonderful theory, MacGyver,” he said, “but how can you be so sure he’ll do that, and how can you be so sure he’ll try to target our building?”

“I’m not sure, Pete,” MacGyver said. “I’m just going on a hunch.”

“Mac, your hunches are usually pretty accurate, but you’re not a mind-reader.”

“I know that, Pete, but I’ve got a feeling,” MacGyver said. “Why would he target our building? Because he found out that we were the ones leading the operation for his capture. He…learned who Fred, Andy, and I were working for after he shot us.” The two men’s bodies flashed momentarily in his mind.

“How?”

“Well, think about it. He’s not some lone rogue. He’s got a pretty sophisticated network, and they probably have access to information.”

“Where do you think he’d go in the building to plant his bomb, if that’s what he intends to do?” Pete asked.

“Remember the truck bomb that nearly exploded in the car garage of the FBI building in town two years ago? He’ll probably sneak into the basement area.”

Pete picked up the phone. “In that case, I’d better tell the security detail to search down there,” he said, “and to look for any suspicious activity among their men.”

“Right,” MacGyver said. “But, tell them not to engage until I get there.” He headed towards the office door, remembering following Fred and Andrew out that door the day they first met.

“MacGyver, where are you going?” Pete asked.

MacGyver stopped and looked at Pete. “Scorpion killed two men,” he said, “men I was working with, men I was responsible for during the mission. How far will he go? How many more people will he kill? It might be this building that’s threatened. He has to face justice.” He turned and left.

***

MacGyver entered the lowest level of the Phoenix Foundation parking garage carefully, looking in all directions. The lighting in the area was dim, making it much easier for someone to slip into the area unnoticed. He began to search under cars, looking for a bomb. He knew security had already done that, but he also knew Scorpion could have planted one after the initial sweep was done. It wasn’t going to be easy. The garage was huge and filled with cars. Still, he continued, searching under cars and looking for any signs of Scorpion crawling amongst the shadows.

He heard a noise that sounded like someone scraping against the concrete. Instinctively, he dropped behind one of the vehicles to hide, peering around it to see what was happening. A few feet ahead of him, he saw a silhouette of a man crouching by one of the cars. He was working with some tools, and he had an object in his hand that he was placing beneath it. It looked heavy, bulky, yet compact, and when MacGyver saw the red flashing light, he knew what it was. Scorpion was here, and he had just placed his bomb. Before he could sneak up to him and attack, two security guards appeared, pointing guns and flashlights at Scorpion, who was dressed in a security uniform, his dark ponytail gone and replaced by the uniform’s cap.

“Hold it!” One of the guards shouted.

Scorpion whipped out his weapon before they could react and began shooting. One of the guards fell, and the other one ran to report to the others. MacGyver stared at the fallen guard, once again thinking about Fred Rogers and Andrew Williamson. Scorpion had fired quickly before they could react, too. He was an efficient killing machine, but he wasn’t going to kill anyone else. He watched as Scorpion fired his weapon again and continued pointing it, waiting for the next security agents to appear. When he was certain that Scorpion was too distracted defending himself to notice him, he ran up to him from behind and lunged at him, knocking him to the ground.

The two men struggled for the gun, Scorpion pointing it at MacGyver’s head. They punched and kicked each other viciously, fighting for control over the weapon. It took all of MacGyver’s available strength to finally wrestle the gun out of Scorpion’s hands, slamming his hands repeatedly against the hard concrete, causing his grip on the gun to relax. Scorpion desperately tried to regain control, grasping for the weapon, but MacGyver grabbed it quickly, smashing the butt of it against his face, knocking him nearly unconscious. MacGyver punched him and kicked him hard and mercilessly several times, releasing his rage over the deaths of his colleagues. When he was finished, he stood, wiping the blood and sweat off his face with his sleeve, catching his breath. He held the gun but he didn’t point it at the fallen terrorist leader. Scorpion looked up at him with his one good eye, spitting out blood and gasping.

“Go ahead, shoot me,” he said. “It won’t do you any good. I’ve already set the bomb.”

“It’s over, Scorpion,” MacGyver said, trembling with adrenaline. “You’re not going to kill anyone else.”

“You look familiar,” Scorpion said weakly, coughing up more blood.

“We’ve met,” MacGyver said angrily. “You killed my partners in Alaska.”

“They deserved to die,” Scorpion said, “and so do you.”

MacGyver released and angry yell and lunged at him again, beating him with the gun and his fists until he was sure the terrorist was indeed unconscious, slumping to the ground. When he was finished, he tossed the gun across the garage and glared at the bloodied, battered man. Normally, he didn’t consider himself a vengeful person, but he felt it was the best thing he could to after failing to save Fred and Andrew. Finally, he could gain some closure, and the man truly responsible for their deaths would face justice. He heard shouts growing increasingly louder as they approached the garage, echoing through the cavernous space.

“Here! Shots were fired down here!” Someone shouted, probably the guard who hadn’t been shot when he first engaged Scorpion.

“Hold it right there!” Pete shouted, leading the security team, pointing his gun fiercely. A flashlight beam shone directly at MacGyver, causing him to squint. When Pete noticed it was MacGyver, trembling with rage and standing over the unconscious body of Scorpion, he lowered his gun. “Lower your weapons!” He shouted to the other men. “Scorpion is down! Engage and apprehend!”

Pete led the men, running over to the scene. Several of them grabbed Scorpion, cuffing him. As they did this, Pete placed his hand on MacGyver’s shoulder. He looked at the damage his friend had caused Scorpion, stunned and impressed.

“MacGyver,” he said. “You did it. You got him. This time, we’ll make sure he can’t escape, and he’ll finally pay for his crimes.”

MacGyver looked at him, trying to recover from his anger and his shock. “Pete, there’s a bomb under this car. I don’t know how much time is left on it,” he said.

“Get that bomb squad in here now!” Pete shouted to some of the men.

“Yes, sir!” One of them shouted.

Feeling suddenly weakened, MacGyver collapsed to the ground, shaking.

“MacGyver, listen to me, it’s over!” Pete said, getting down on the ground near him, wrapping his arm supportively around his friend. “You did it! Do you understand me? MacGyver, it’s over! It’s going to be fine!”

“Not for Rogers and Williamson,” MacGyver said. “They’re still dead. Arresting Scorpion won’t change that.”

Pete gently squeezed his friend’s hand, careful to look for any bruises from the battle he had with Scorpion. “No, it won’t change that,” Pete said. “You’re right. Nothing can change that.” He watched as the bomb squad began to carefully remove and defuse the bomb from under the car. “But you saved a lot of other lives today. That’s got to be worth something.”

MacGyver looked at Pete, his face bruised and bloodied from the fight with Scorpion. Slowly, a slight smile appeared on his lips. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, it’s worth a lot, Pete.”

To be continued…

Wow never thought I would see Mac beat the crap out of a person like that. Kida shocked but ...

Great story Chick but the real question is will Mac get over is problem.

Good story.

Whoa! Go Mac! Please hurry and update! This is a VERY interesting story!

Firn