It should have been a simple mission.
It would have been Jack's dream mission—setting up surveillance in a couple's retreat in the mountains. And as much as Matty would have loved to oblige Jack by sending him away for an extended weekend, the age difference between the only female operative in their group and the man practically old enough to be her father (and, in an awkward way, basically was her father) was a little too big to really sell.
Bozer probably wouldn't have minded either, if it weren't for his pre-planned top-secret weekend with his new super-secret spy girlfriend. He hadn't seen her in weeks now—not that he should've been seeing her at all, but when the opportunity presented itself he couldn't say no.
So that left Mac and Riley—similar in age, similar in intelligence, and just, well, believable as a couple.
Not much to either MacGyver or Riley's surprise, neither of them minded the idea of unwinding for the weekend in an all-inclusive resort while being payed to do so.
They would take a helicopter up to a fancy resort in the secluded Canadian wilderness which featured fishing, hiking, wine tasting, zip lining, and canoodling. Mac had already decided a little PDA with Riley, although a bit awkward to think about, was probably necessary. Not that they hadn't posed as a couple before, but when Matty brought up "selling their relationship," both parties found themselves blushing a little at the idea. A little cuddling on the resort's lobby couch during the busiest part of the day, Mac decided, would suffice in authenticating their relationship while not making things too awkward with his friend and co-worker.
Mac smiled that morning when he met Riley at the airport to board their chopper. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder and her laptop case in hand and was practically bouncing. He had been on so many of these ops—they had always paired him with Nikki—that it was hardly exciting anymore, but he found the young woman's enthusiasm infectious.
"You act as if you've never been in the mountains before," he said to her with a grin, taking her pack from her to relieve her of its' weight, but not daring ask her to hand over her precious rig. Matty had assigned Riley with the cover of workaholic web page designer as to sell the idea of her constantly having the laptop with her. Mac would set up small cameras and mics throughout key parts of the resort to hopefully capture illegal trading activity.
"Not like this, Mac," she said, her eyes widening. "This is pretty much a vacation, sitting around sipping champagne—maybe in the hot tub—and monitoring my rig every once in a while."
"Make that sparkling cider," he said with a chuckle. "Pretty sure Matty wouldn't like us getting tipsy while on an op."
"Whatever," Riley said, rolling her eyes. "It's still basically a vacation."
Mac smiled while feeling a bit nervous about how relaxed she seemed about the situation. Sure, it wouldn't be the hardest mission they'd ever been sent to do, and he knew Riley was professional enough to take this task seriously, but he knew even missions that seemed this straight-forward oftentimes proved themselves not to be so. He hated to kill her spirit, but he also needed to bring Riley back to reality. He hated the idea of the woman he'd come to care about as much as a family member bringing her guard down long enough to get herself injured. Or worse.
And so, when the pilot finished the safety check, Mac gripped Riley's elbow, causing her to turn and face at him.
"Riley, just remember that this is still an op and we're dealing with dangerous people here. I plan and hope on making it through this weekend by avoiding any confrontation and gathering enough information for the authorities to lead in an arrest," he told the woman, a serious look in his eyes. "But at the end of the day, these are still drug traffickers and I don't want you finding yourself alone with one of them."
Riley nodded in understanding as the helicopter's pilot motioned them to board.
"Now look at that view," Clyde, their pilot, told the couple through his headset as the flew over a valley and took in the scenery around them-trees for as far as the eye could see, mountains in the distance, and a sparkling lake of crystal clear water. After growing up in one of the less impressive parts of LA, Riley was certain this was heaven.
"My grandpa used the fish that lake every summer when we came up here," he told Riley as she continued to stare out the window in awe.
"I've never been fishing," she admitted sheepishly. "Wasn't one of Elwood's favorite activities."
"We'll add it to our to-do list," her promised with a grin, relaxing as he took in the view around him. Mac had to admit that, after the hectic year he'd had, this trip really seemed to hit the spot. He was thankful to be sharing it with someone who seemed to appreciate it just as much—if not more—than he did.
Mac relaxed back in his seat, taking Riley's hand into his own and giving it a friendly squeeze, causing her to glance away from the view surrounding them long enough to exchange a smile with him. He turned his attention back to the valley blow them, two figures in a clearing catching his attention. Hikers, presumably. It was the ideal time of the year for such an activity.
Mac took the binoculars that sat on the seat between himself and Riley, focusing on the pair.
Angus MacGyver had never been one to use profanity, but when he realized what one of the men held in his hands, he cursed loudly, causing Riley to look towards him in alarm.
There was no time to address the confusion he met in her expression as he quickly leaned forward to shield her body with his own.
And there was no time to comfort her when she buried her face into his chest as flames descended upon the helicopter and the aircraft jolted violently, sending them spiraling uncontrollably downward into the valley below.