I knocked on the door of Pete's office and a blasting sneeze answered me. Rolling my eyes, I opened the door. Pete Thornton was sitting at his desk with a wad of wrinkled up tissues in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. He looked up at me with watery, red eyes before turning away to bark a cough against his sleeve.

"Oh, Pete, for crying out loud, just take the day off!"

Pete moved his hand from his coffee mug to his forehead. "Why would I do that? I'm not sick." I raised my eyebrows at him as he turned to cough up a lung or two.

"Of course you aren't." I went and sat on the edge of his desk, avoiding the trashcan that contained 160 used Puffs. Box number two on his desk was most likely stolen from Helen, his secretary. "Come on, Pete. You're always telling me to go home when I catch the flu. Now I'm telling you: go home."

"This isn't the flu." He moaned slightly as he leaned back in his chair. "I had the shot. That's what happens. You get the shot and you don't get the flu."

"You know those flu shots don't always work." I had to squeeze my next words in between Pete's rapid fire of sneezes. "Now I...really think...you should go...home!...Bless you."

"Thanks." Pete sniffed and then moaned before finally nodding. "I think you're right, Mac. I'll go home, get some sleep, and I'll be back at my desk by tomorrow, right as rain."

Pete coughed heavily for a few moments. When he finally caught his breath, he sheepishly looked at me. "Well...maybe the day after..."

I smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Hope you get better soon, Pete. Want me to drive you home?"

"No, no, I'll make it fine." He groaned, grabbing his jacket as he stood and walked to the door, slightly bent at the waist. "I'll call you later, MacGyver."

He left his office, closing the door behind him. Even through the thick door, I could hear his sneeze. I reached for the tissue box and held it out without a word as Pete opened the door again. He took the box with a small smile and nodded once more.

I shook my head and chuckled slightly as I shoved off the desk and walked out the door.

Pete was talking to Helen, who nodded with understanding. I walked up to her as Pete left, a grimace of sympathy on my face.

"Boy, that's a bad case of the flu." She shook her head slightly, as if questioning Pete's decision to even come in that morning.

Nodding, I watched him exit through the door before turning to face Helen. I opened my mouth to speak, but a buzzing sound came from the phone, cutting me off. Holding up her finger in a signal for me to wait, she picked it up, giving monosyllabic answers in reply to whatever the person on the other side of the phone was asking.

"Yes... I know... Yeah, it was... He did? You're kidding! What did... Oh, I see. So what did she say? ... Really?" She paused for a minute. "Sure, no problem." For a minute she didn't speak and I just watched her sitting in her chair, her brow furrowing as she contemplated whatever news she had just received. "No, I didn't mind. So what did..." I stood and began to walk away. There wasn't much I could get out of hearing this one sided conversation. "Wait! MacGyver!" She called after me. "Phone for you."

"Could have fooled me," I murmured as I pulled the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"MacGyver? This is Tucker."

"Oh hey, Tucker. Did you see Pete this morning?"

"Yeah, he just stopped by to tell me that he was going home early. The thing is, I had something that I needed to talk to him about, but he looked really miserable and I just didn't have the heart to ask to him stay... Can you come to my office so we can talk privately?"

I glanced at Helen sitting next to me, chewing on the end of her pen and staring up at me. "Uh, sure. I'll be right over."

I placed the phone back on the receiver, waved goodbye to Helen, who was still watching me with curiosity, and walked down the hall a ways, stopping at the door marked James Tucker.

I knocked on the door softly before opening it, not bothering to wait for a "come in."

Tucker was sitting at his desk, his forehead wrinkled with a frown as he stared at a typed piece of paper in front of him.

"MacGyver," he acknowledged.

I nodded back and stood with my hands in my pockets, waiting for him to bring up the topic he hadn't wanted to broach on the phone.

"Well, MacGyver, I have a job for you."

"Hang on. My work for the Foundation isn't...regular. I think it would be better if we waited until Pete gets back." I was slightly surprised at his blunt declaration.

"Can't do that, or there could be real trouble. There have been some ecological disturbances in Australia, and we've been asked to send someone down there. As it is, we know you have a love for this sort of thing and," Tucker smiled, "Pete suggested if there were any missions leading to Australia, we leave them on his desk. Apparently one of his good friends has been wanting to go there for some time."

I smiled, but I was still slightly bewildered. "Yeah, I have, but... how is what goes on in the middle of Australia our business? Shouldn't their government worry about that?"

Tucker nodded. "Yes, usually, but the person who issued this complaint insinuated that the United States was involved in the problem."

"Was there any proof for his claim?" I pulled my hand from my pocket and gestured toward the paper he was fingering.

"Well, he said that some American experimental shuttles were released and affected the ecosystem near there. It checked out, too, there were records on file of a shuttle launched and passing over Australia."

"So even if his claims are false, it pulls us into the equation."

"Exactly." Tucker pulled a map from the pile of papers on his desk, passing it to me. "Here's a map of the area."

"It's in the middle of nowhere! There's no city for a hundred miles!" I shook my head. "Who sent you this?"

There was no way that someone lived out there, and it was unlikely that someone was passing through the area and had the practiced eye to notice the subtle differences of a struggling ecosystem.

"I already checked him out. It came from a guy named Roy Matthews and he's got two green thumbs and eight green fingers from what I've heard about him. Big nature freak."

"So this green handed man wants to catch someone messing up the ecosystem red handed?" I couldn't help myself. Tucker chuckled in response.

"So are you up for it, MacGyver?"

I thought about it for a moment. I would be in Australia, one hundred miles from anything civilized, trekking all alone through some unknown territory to see how a few plants and animals were doing. Sounded just about perfect.

I smiled. "When do I leave?"

Australia. One of the most wondrous, and strangest, places on earth. The world's largest island that held the world's most unique creatures. I've wanted to go there ever since I was a kid; the pictures of the wildlife and the scenery fascinated me. Plus, I've always enjoyed the smell of cough drops, as weird as it may seem, so the eucalyptus trees all around would be a bonus.

With nothing more to accomplish at the Foundation, I jogged down the stairs and stepped outside into the parking lot, pulling the keys out of my pocket and climbing into my Jeep. I turned the ignition and once I heard the successful roar of the engine, I started for home.

Once at my houseboat, I took off my heavy coat, throwing it on the table beside the door along with my keys. I checked the answering machine but it didn't look like there were any new messages. Figuring that Pete would probably be home by now, I picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Hello?" A cough and sniffle accompanied the brief word.

"Hey, Pete. How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Mac. I don't even think I'm that sick; it's just a little cold. Maybe I-"

"No, Pete, trust me, you're sick. I know someone with the flu when I see him. Stay at home; go to bed. Just relax."

"How can I relax when I have all this work to do? It'll all pile up while I'm gone and I'll never catch up!"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Pete. Tucker has things covered back at the Foundation." I opened the refrigerator and peered inside, grabbing a carton of orange juice before pouring it into a glass. "In fact, he offered me a mission in Australia. Said something about you reserving anything in Australia for a friend." I took a sip before continuing. "Thanks."

Pete gave a muffled cough. "No problem. So, what's going on in Australia?"

"Oh, some guy named Matthews sent something in blaming the U.S. for problems in the Outback. I'll be heading over tomorrow morning."

"Well, good luck. And be careful, there isn't anyone out there who can come to help you if something happens."

"I know, Pete, I'll be careful. When am I not?" I grinned slightly as I heard Pete snort on the other side of the phone.

I hung up a short while later, finished my glass of orange juice, and climbed up the stairs to pack for my trip.

I opened my drawers and tossed a wad of clothes into a backpack before going back downstairs and grabbing a few other miscellaneous items: a fresh roll of duct tape, a few water bottles, a length of rope, and a sleeping bag.

I paused to think. My Swiss army knife was still in my pocket, but I would put it in my bag tomorrow. With the mental boxes on my list checked, I glanced at the clock; it was about seven. I had plenty of time.

Pulling on my roller blades and grabbing my hockey stick, I placed two chairs a short distance apart and dropped a ball on the ground. It bounced a few times and rolled away, but I shoved off after it, catching it with the flat of my stick. I glided around, pushing the ball in front of me, rapidly switching my stick from side to side to keep it going straight as I headed for the goal. Lining up, I pulled back and gave the ball a quick smack, sending it right between the chairs.

"Whoo!" I shouted to myself. The silence seemed deafening after that. Well, no time like the present to fix it. I bladed over to the TV and turned it to the sports channel, the crowds going wild as a kickoff went straight down the field. Not my sport, but it would do.

With a flick of my wrist, I had the ball in my possession again and sent it between the two chairs. This time I didn't have to be my own crowd, the TV did it for me as the announcers declared, "Touchdown!"