Warning! You'd better have your tissues nearby!
Accusations Part Ten
Rated: PG
Two years later—Death Row
“I’m going to be sorry to see him go,” a warden said, leading Pete to a special visitor’s area. “He was a model prisoner, always willing to help out, fixing things around here. Most of the guards really liked him.”
Pete nodded but said nothing. The visitor’s area where he was being led was unlike the one he was accustomed to, an enclosed area with a table and chairs and without bulletproof glass to cruelly separate them, physical contact allowed under close guard supervision. Bob’s legal maneuvering, Pete’s standing within The Phoenix Foundation, and MacGyver’s status as a model prisoner all contributed to and allowed such an unrestricted access visitation to occur, but it was also because MacGyver only had hours left to live, his sentence of death by lethal injection scheduled to take place that evening, granting him certain final privileges before facing his punishment. Watching through the wire mesh windows outside the area, Pete could see the guards once again unlocking MacGyver’s shackles. The restraints seemed unnecessary and extreme, but then again he had been convicted of a violent, unspeakable crime and was sentenced to die. No matter how innocent Pete knew he was, no matter how good his behavior had been, nothing could save him, his fate decided for him.
At last MacGyver was permitted to enter the visitor’s area, escorted by a heavily armed guard, looking slightly healthier than he had during the trial. Smiling broadly, a trace of sadness and tears in his eyes, he enfolded Pete in a tight embrace. Two men said nothing, clinging to and holding each other for a long time, refusing to let go. Pete listened to MacGyver as he breathed softly, knowing it wouldn’t be much longer before that breath was stilled forever. The uncertainty, fear, and sorrow over what was to come was communicated silently in that desperate embrace, and it was several moments before they finally released one another and sat down across from each other at the table.
“Bob told me he has done everything he can,” Pete said gravely, sighing and staring with deep pity and concern at his friend, struggling to control his emotions. “He has been trying for a stay of execution, but all his appeals have been thoroughly exhausted, his options extremely limited at this point. The people want justice for this horrendous crime, and unfortunately you have been chosen as the one to be sacrificed, to suffer the consequences, to undergo the punishment for someone else’s atrocious deed. I’m sorry, Mac. I just wish there was more I could do. You don’t deserve this. It’s unfair.” He released a choked sob, allowing the tears to flow freely.
MacGyver reached across the table and firmly squeezed Pete’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said quietly. “It’s going to be all right, you know that. Everything will be fine.”
Pete looked at MacGyver through his tear-blurred vision, trying to see if he was really as calm as he sounded as he faced death. Wiping his eyes so he could see his face more clearly, he noticed that sadness was etched into the lines on his face and around the corners of his eyes, but he was attempting to be brave, trying to be strong as he always had been, hoping to comfort Pete as best as he could, even though his situation was dire.
“I don’t know how it could be,” he said. “Unless something miraculous happens, you’re about to die, and there’s nothing I can do to prevent it from happening.”
“You did the best you could,” MacGyver said, this time reaching out across the table and taking Pete’s hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “All of us did. It just wasn’t enough, that’s all. I understand. I don’t blame you. How could I? We’re friends.”
“But you’re going to die. I don’t think I can stand it.”
MacGyver smiled slightly. “I was always going to die at some point,” he said. “It’s just going to happen a lot sooner than any of us expected.”
Pete stared at him, amazed. “I don’t know how you can stay so calm,” he said. “Mac, this is going to happen. It’s inevitable. We can’t stop it. You’re going to be unjustly put to death—tonight, an innocent man. You’re being punished for something you didn’t do. It isn’t right.”
MacGyver released a shuddering sigh, smiling ruefully, tears once again moistening his eyes. “No one ever said this world was always just or right,” he said. “Once that judge handed down this harsh sentence, I knew what was coming. I could never fully prepare for it, but I knew it was going to happen, despite your efforts to stop it. At least I’ve had time to think about it.”
“Aren’t you angry? I’m furious.”
“Of course I’m angry, but that isn’t going to change anything,” MacGyver said. “It’s useless to go back and explore the past now, to regret, to wonder what we could have done differently. It’s over. Now we have to move forward. You have to continue without me, Pete. It isn’t going to be easy, but I know you can do it.”
Pete released another sob. “I’m going to miss you,” he whispered, closing his eyes and bowing his head. “Oh God, will I miss you. Things won’t be the same without you.”
“I know, Pete. I’ll miss you too,” MacGyver said, a few stray tears rolling down his cheeks.
“I just can’t believe this is happening,” Pete said, opening his bloodshot, tearful eyes again, looking at MacGyver. “It’s such a miscarriage of justice. None of this should ever have happened, especially to someone like you. You’re a decent man, a man of character…possibly the best man I have ever known…and now they’re going to perform this monstrous procedure on you. They don’t know you the way I do. All they see is this heartless murderer and rapist who must die.” He reached across the table and took both of MacGyver’s hands in his.
“At least the victim’s family will have some closure.”
“Yes, but you’re the wrong man to bring them that closure. The man who did this is still out there, could still harm others. Meanwhile, you’ll be dead because of it…”
“I know, Pete. I know…”
They embraced again, their bodies trembling with sobs.
“I don’t want to let you go,” Pete said.
“You have to. Mourn for me, grieve for me, remember me, but just keep going. Promise me you will. Do it for me, no matter what happens, all right? Stay strong. I would do the same for you.”
“I know you would.”
“You’re the only one who can speak for me, who has a voice. Keep maintaining my innocence to people who will listen. Keep investigating, even after I’m gone. Maybe one day you’ll find something, find the person who did this. Help the victim’s family. That’s what I ask of you. That’s my final request, as your friend. I will always be your friend, don’t forget that.”
“Even if I do manage to find the real killer, it will be too late to save you.”
“I know, but at least you can preserve my memory and reestablish my reputation after I’m gone. More important, you’ll be helping a family that’s hurting. I don’t blame them for wanting to see me to die. They see me as their enemy, as their daughter’s killer. As you said, they don’t see me the way you do. They don’t know me. Their desire for justice is natural, and it isn’t their fault for wanting vengeance and retribution. They’ve been seriously wounded by loss, a shocking, terrible loss, and someone has to be punished for them to be satisfied. If it has to be me, then…”
“But it shouldn’t have to be you, damn it! It shouldn’t have to be you!” Pete shouted, pounding on MacGyver’s back with his fists, sobbing louder.
“I know it shouldn’t. I don’t want to die either, but what can be done about it now? Nothing. It’s beyond our control at this point, out of our hands. We can’t torture ourselves. It won’t do either of us any good. You have to move ahead, Pete. You have to keep going. Do it for me, please. Promise me you will.”
“I promise I’ll try,” Pete said, his voice muffled, buried against MacGyver’s shoulder. “I just…I can’t bear to lose you, not now.” He released himself from the embrace and looked directly into MacGyver’s eyes, attempting a weak smile. He reached out and affectionately placed his hand on MacGyver’s cheek. “I don’t know if you ever knew this, but I always considered you more than a colleague, more than a friend. You’ve been like a son to me.”
MacGyver smiled. “I always knew that, Pete,” he said, taking his hand. “It means a lot to me, especially after I was left with no one else. You’ve always been willing to stand up for me, defend me, no matter what trouble I had gotten myself into. You never gave up on me. That’s why I’m asking you not to give up on me now.”
Pete nodded. “I won’t,” he said. More tears filled his eyes. He placed his hands on MacGyver’s shoulders. “I’m proud of you. I love you.”
“I love you too, Pete.”
They fell into another embrace.
“I won’t forget you. I’ll preserve your memory and your reputation. Eventually everyone will know that you’re innocent. They’ll realize what a mistake they made by putting you to death, what a waste it was.”
“I’m scared, Pete. I know I’m doing a good job keeping my composure and I’ve had two years to thoroughly process what’s going to happen to me, but the uncertainty of death, of what happens afterward…I don’t mind telling you…this isn’t the first time I’ve faced mortality, but this is the first time I know with absolute certainty that I’m going to die, the deadline has been set, and I…I really am scared…I’m terrified…I never thought I would be afraid of anything, but…”
“I know,” Pete said, squeezing his eyes tightly shut against his tears, gently stroking MacGyver’s hair to comfort him. “I’m scared, too. I’m scared for you. I’m not concerned so much about me. You shouldn’t have to go through this.”
“They have this one prison chaplain here who asked me if I wanted to see him in my final hours, but I declined,” MacGyver said. “I don’t know why. I guess because I’ve never been a very spiritual person, never believed in God, but now I wonder and…I just don’t know. I don’t know how God could allow something like this to happen, or something like the witch trials to happen, the Puritans using His name to justify the deaths of so many innocent people. I just don’t know. I don’t know if I made the right decision, deciding not to seek my salvation near the end of my life. I just…I wanted to be near you, as long as I could. You’ve always been there for me, and I knew you would provide me with more comfort than some stranger with good intentions ever would.”
“You’re leaving me much too soon,” Pete said, renewing his sobs. “There’s so much more you could have done, so much more time we could have spent together…”
“I know, but I don’t regret my life, and now is all we have left. We just have to use the time wisely, remember and cherish every moment before it’s over.”
Pete released him again, smiling at him through his tears. “You’re a noble man, Mac, the best man I’ve ever known. Not only will I be losing a good friend—the rest of the world is losing a precious resource. There are so many people out there still who need your help, who could benefit from it, and knowing that you won’t be there…”
“You can help them, Pete. You can take my place.”
Pete laughed slightly. “I could never do what you’ve done,” he said. “No one can. You’re unique.”
“You can still help. Don’t devalue yourself. You’ll be doing it in my name, doing it for me, for the memory of me. That’s all that matters. That’s what’s really important.”
The guard entered, the seriousness of his expression revealing that he knew what was about to happen. “Visiting hours are almost over,” he said. “It’s almost time.”
MacGyver and Pete looked at each other, each with a mournful expression. They embraced again, sobbing.
“There’s so much more I want to say to you before you’re gone,” Pete said, sighing, rubbing his back.
“Then say it. Say everything that’s on your mind. I’ll listen.”
“I can’t. I just want to be near you, as long as I can, until you’re taken away from me for the last time.”
“Me too.”
They were silent again, holding onto each other for strength and support, not letting go until the guards intervened and had to forcibly separate them, escorting MacGyver out of the visitor’s area and back to his cell, where he would await his impending death, alone.
***
Once again, MacGyver and Pete were separated by glass, denied the warmth and comfort of human contact. Pete had insisted and volunteered to be a witness to his friend’s execution, even though he knew it would be unbearable, wanting to be with him until his final moments, to reassure him, to show him that he wouldn’t leave him. On the opposite side of the witness room sat the victim’s family, understandably wanting to watch their daughter’s murderer die after what they believed he did to her, savagely raping, mutilating, and murdering her, their stony faces and pitiless eyes filled with nothing but pure hatred for the man strapped to the gurney on the opposite side of the glass in the stark, bare room.
“Do you have any last words?” The officers in the room with MacGyver asked.
As he lay there, strapped down helplessly, unable to escape the frightening unknown of death that was rapidly approaching him, surrounding him and closing in on him in that small, claustrophobic room, he wondered if he did. What would he say? He was sorry? He had done nothing wrong, so there was no need for an apology. Would he tell Pete he would miss him? He already knew that. There was so much he knew he could say, so much he considered saying, but he didn’t. He began to feel detached, just as he had during his execution among the Puritans, tried of talking, finding talk useless, surrendering himself to his fate. He looked at Pete, who was crying uncontrollably, his face red and puffy, drenched in tears. He stared at him for a long time, communicating with him silently, trying to calm him, to tell him not to worry.
“No,” he said at last, not once removing his eyes from Pete.
The pleading, pitiful, mournful look in MacGyver’s haunting dark eyes was unsettling, but Pete continued to return the stare, maintaining their connection, their deep bond for as long as he was still alive, refusing to leave his side, wishing he could take his place. Before entering the room Bob had briefed him on the procedure to prepare him, telling him that it would be difficult and possibly disturbing for him to watch, but that it was humane and painless, that they had made tremendous progress with the procedure since it was first introduced and that it was far less barbaric and gruesome than electrocution, that MacGyver would simply go to sleep permanently as the drugs were injected into his system. Pete understood, he knew the risk he was taking staying in that room with MacGyver, knowing it could take such a dramatic toll on his emotions that he might not ever be able to recover, but he also he knew couldn’t leave. He had to stay, had to show MacGyver that he was strong, as he promised him he would be. Still, he didn’t know how what he was about to witness could be considered humane when it was his friend, strapped helplessly to a gurney, an innocent man about to die.
“Begin the procedure,” one of the officers in the room with MacGyver said.
Pete wanted to shout, wanted to object, to tell them that it was all a mistake, but he contained himself as best as he could, still sobbing. He still couldn’t believe it was happening, and it happened so quickly that he felt he almost missed it, MacGyver’s eyes closing, his body relaxing, slumping and going limp, becoming motionless. It felt so unreal, it couldn’t be happening…Pete watched him closely, hoping for a sign of life, no matter how minor, hoping he could still be alive, that there was perhaps that one last minute appeal that would save him as there often was in the movies, but it was too late. MacGyver’s chest was still, his breath absent. He looked peaceful, as if he were only asleep, freed from all his pain and burdens. The people in the room with him monitored and checked for vital signs, finding none present. MacGyver had successfully been put to death. It was over, all in a matter of minutes, his life extinguished with a simple toxic injection running through his veins, stopping his heart.
“Note the time of death,” one of them said. The others draped a pale sheet over his lifeless body.
“No!” Pete shouted, finding his composure had left him. “No! Oh, God! Mac! No! Please, don’t leave me! Please…” He collapsed to the floor, distraught, feeling sick and faint, sobbing.
“Come on, sir,” some officers said, helping him upright. He struggled to remain standing, his legs wobbly. It took several men to keep him from falling again, slowly escorting him from the room.
“NO! I can’t leave him! Mac!” Pete shouted, resisting them, looking back through the observation glass, noticing that they were already transferring MacGyver’s shrouded body from one gurney to another, preparing to remove him from the room. He couldn’t look away, as much as he wanted to, staring in shock, horror, and disbelief. “NO! Don’t take him from me! Don’t do this, please!”
“He’s gone, sir,” one of the officers bracing him said soothingly, attempting to calm him. “There’s nothing more you can do for him.”
As the gurney carrying MacGyver’s body was wheeled out of the execution room, leaving Pete’s sight, he knew the men were right. He was gone.
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
I'm really a cruel person today. Perhaps tomorow when I read it again I'll need the klenex!
I really have no idea how you do it, but you did it again. Thanks you for another chapter to keep us on out toes! 
There are still many more chapters to go, and I hope you will keep reading! Thanks as always for your support! 
(I must be high on something to confess that, huh?! 
) BUt I think it would be interesting a world without MacGyver. What would Pete do, waht would Nikkie do... heck! What would Murdoc do when he finds out someone else beat him in killing MacGyver!! I always think of Murdoc as the same as the Joker. The Joker would kill anyone that kills Batman since he thinks he's the only one that can kill the bat freak. 
