An Unlikely Ally (A MacGyver 1985 Fanfiction)

AN UNLIKELY ALLY Ch. 16: Setback

Murdoc watched as the sun fell beneath the cover of the trees, setting the forest aglow with its dying embers. The crickets began to chirp and the cool air bit into Murdoc's flesh, reminding him of the task at hand.

He checked the exterior of the cabin, grabbed a pile of wood, and went inside to start the fire. Somewhere in between trips two and three, he heard something crash in the other room, followed by a loud howl. Then, he realized the something was a someone.

Rushing into the room, he saw MacGyver curled up on the floor holding his side and trying to control his breathing. Murdoc heaved MacGyver's deadweight against his chest and maneuvered him onto the cot. "What were you thinking?!" Murdoc shouted, practically spitting with anger. "You could have killed yourself! Why would you get up when you are clearly not well enough to?"

Murdoc grabbed MacGyver's wrist. "Let's hope you didn't undo all my work." He turned MacGyver's wrist so that the underside was facing him, and he placed his two fingers there and counted. MacGyver closed his eyes and was silent.

After thirty seconds, he made a mental note and pulled out the blood pressure cuff. Wrapping it around MacGyver's arm, he pumped it up and watched as the dial moved and finally settled on a number. Then he placed the ends of the stethoscope into his ears and unbuttoned the top buttons of MacGyver's shirt to place the other end of the stethoscope firmly on MacGyver's chest. After Murdoc made the calculations, he glanced at MacGyver's face. MacGyver was giving him a wary stare. "What?"

MacGyver cleared his throat and replied, "I'm surprised."

AN UNLIKELY ALLY

Pete buried his face in his hands and closed his eyes. The search for MacGyver was not going well.

"Pete?"

Pete moaned and lifted his head, revealing his bloodshot eyes and a myriad of worry lines etched across his forehead. "What is it, Malcolm? Good news, I hope?"

The man stroked his black mustache. "Not exactly, Pete. It's just something you said earlier."

"I said a lot of things earlier. Which one are you referring to?" Pete shot back at him.

Malcolm's face fell and Pete cut him off, "I'm sorry, Malcolm. I didn't mean to snap at you." He looked out the window. "I'm just worried about Mac."

Malcolm put a hand on Pete's shoulder, "I know, Pete. We all are. But MacGyver's taken care of himself before. He can do it again."

"Before he wasn't suffering from a gunshot wound."

"That may be so, but about what I was saying before, maybe he is not in as much danger as we think."

Pete turned to face him, "What are you saying? Just spit it out!"

"You said that Murdoc had met with MacGyver the night before and MacGyver didn't mention that Murdoc tried to kill him or hurt him in any way."

"Yeah, so..."

"Then at the hospital, you said that Murdoc was disguised as that female nurse who had been taking care of MacGyver the whole time."

"Yes, and..."

"I'm saying that if Murdoc wanted MacGyver dead, he wouldn't have taken care of him in the hospital and he wouldn't have kidnapped him either. He needs MacGyver alive for some reason and will protect him for the time being."

"But in the hospital, he disconnected—"

"It was likely a drug put in MacGyver's IV earlier that made it appear that he was not breathing...that was how the ambulance driver said he got to the ambulance."

"So, you're saying I shouldn't worry about MacGyver because you think Murdoc's taking care of him? No, Murdoc's not predictable. And I don't trust him, no matter what the circumstances." He rose from the chair. "Mac's out there somewhere. He needs help, and Murdoc's not going to be the one to provide it."

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