So here we go. In case you missed the note I left in chapter 1, I have changed a couple of things. Nothing major. So, onto the story. I have somehow managed to finish it. I have written this over several months of Fridays at a café where I have breakfast once a week before I start work. I will try and post a chapter every couple of days. Enjoy.
Jack read through the file a second time, letting out a low whistle. 21 years old, raised by his grandfather after his father walked out. Joined up halfway through senior year and finished top of his class. Completed EOD training under Charlie Robinson and Alfred Pena in just six months. Must have been here less than a year when I first saw him. One of the best EOD techs out there. Both he and Pena were in high demand.
Jack sat back and closed the file on his desk. Granted, most Captains don't get desks, let alone a tent to themselves. But unlike some soldiers who wanted to see how far up they could go, or stayed in long enough to get their pension, he liked being a grunt. After doing the job for over 20 years, he had a reputation; and a lot of people, both above and below him in rank; respected him a lot. Plus having the base commander as a friend helped. He scrubbed his face before hitting the showers. He then rested on the bed and allowed the warm, but welcome, breeze lull him to sleep.
It was pre-dawn the next morning when Jack found himself stretching out after a warmup lap around the dirt track surrounding the base. For a man in his mid-forties, he was doing remarkably well. Something that Radise had made a mention of the day before. He was about to get into a more vigorous run when he spotted MacGyver coming onto the field.
The blonde looked as though he had had a rather rough night. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy; with bags and blackness under them. Wondering just what the hell had happened after he had last seen him in the mess tent, Jack finished up his stretching and headed off. If the kid caught up, or wanted to talk, he wouldn't turn him away.
It was lap five of what Jack hoped to be 20 when he heard someone behind him. Turning slightly, he saw MacGyver coming up on him. The man nodded in recognition and greeting before continuing on, passing Jack with ease. Granted, Jack was taking things a little slowly because of the explosion that killed Simon a few days before, but he didn't think he was that slow. Shrugging, he ran on. Three laps later, after MacGyver had passed him a third time, the younger man pulled alongside him.
Keeping pace, he said "Thanks, for yesterday."
"No problem. Jack."
"MacGyver." While it was a little awkward, they somehow managed to shake hands. "Delta?"
Jack nodded. It was a general rule when you joined Delta that you never told anyone your last name. Kept you, your team and those you loved, safer, mostly; simply because it is a lot harder to find a person with only a first name to go off.
"Why'd you step in like that?"
Jack could hear the underlying question Do I owe you something now because of it? "Don't like seeing people being bullied. And I heard about Pena. Sorry." He saw sadness cross the kid's face. "My team's on stand down too." Seeing that the kid heard the sadness in his own voice and had a questioning look on his face, he elaborated. "One of our men was killed a couple of days ago."
MacGyver nodded and the pair continued to run side by side for another five laps before Jack's sore ribs protested. He had hurt them when the bomb went off.
MacGyver noticed when he slowed and asked if he was ok. "Nothing a bit of R&R won't fix. Just don't like to sit around doing nothing." The younger man nodded and Jack headed off the field to cool down and shower before heading to breakfast. He saw MacGyver do another three laps before he left. The kid didn't look like he would be leaving any time soon.
After breakfast, Jack found out he was joining a routine patrol. SOP when a man finds himself without a unit. He had grabbed a few pieces of fruit on his way out and when he saw the look of defeat in MacGyver's face as the kid joined him in the Humvee, he handed him a banana.
MacGyver had looked at him a second before recognising him. At Jack's raised eyebrow, he had nodded; causing Jack to sigh internally. The three from yesterday had been hassling him again.
The reason Jack hadn't been there this morning was that higher ranks and those who ran Delta units, like Jack; were entitled to have meals before everyone else. Last night had been the exception as he had returned so late.
The patrol only had one hiccup. The engine died, causing a slight worry to run through its occupants. Once everyone was out, the Humvee making quite the target, they scattered out while the driver tried to get it going again. Jack was taking a turn on a nearby hill when he heard raised voices coming from the vehicle. Looking down, he saw MacGyver arguing with the leader of the patrol. The wind happened to change direction at that point, so Jack was able to catch the next sentence the patrol leader said. Hasnik was a hardnosed man with no room for imagination or improvisation.
"I don't care what you think, MacGyver." Even his tone showed distain for the young man. "You're not a machinic, Lander is. Now butt out and let the man do his job. You're just an up-start youngster who happened to somehow get taught by the best in the business. Don't know what Pena saw in you." With that, he turned his back to MacGyver and leaned over Leander's shoulder again.
Wondering what it was the EOD tech had suggested, he waved him over when MacGyver headed off, dejection and anger showing in his steps.
"What's wrong?" He asked when MacGyver joined him on the hill, looking out over the sand.
"The radiators got a hairline crack in it, from that bolder would be my guess. And the hose running to it must have also gotten nicked, as it's torn open. I told them hours ago, that we should have turned back." He ran his hand through his short hair, knocking off the bandana that Jack had always seen him wear.
"From that rocky patch, we went through at the start?" Jack remembered that. They had all heard the loud thump and the whole truck had lurched as it made its way over a large bolder that had been hidden in the soft sand.
He resettled the bandana as he answered. "Yeah." He dropped his hands in frustration, "And I know how to fix it. But Hasnik chucks a Hasnikiy fit every time I suggest something. Lander wants to listen to me; I've helped him do patch up jobs on other trucks until the parts arrive, but Hasnik is having none of it."
Jack chuckled slightly. Seems having someone to talk to again was doing wonders for the kids' self-esteem. "What'd you do to him?"
MacGyver seemed to blush slightly, or it could have been the sun starting to get to him. "I may have pranked him with Pena's help when I first arrived."
Jack laughed and clapped the man on the shoulder, making him promise tell him the full story once they got back to base. "Lets see if we can get Lander on your side and get that truck fixed."
They headed back to the hummer, after telling one of the others to take up position on the hill. "Lander!" Jack called out, "You need a hand?" He pointed to the younger man beside him. "The kid here tells me he's helped you out a couple of times."
"Thanks Jack, that'd be great. Mac's done wonders before on these things."
Jack lent against the vehicle; hidden from the view of a certain patrol leader, who had gone to the back to grab a bottle of water. As the man heard the exchange and came back to the front, Jack grabbed the man by his collar.
"I don't know what your problem is with MacGyver, but the kid seems to know what he's about when it come to this sort of thing. Pena trusted and had confidence enough to let him fix all their equipment from what I've heard. Now let him do his job, and we can get out of this heat." Jack may have been slightly shorter than Hasnik, but he was Delta; and had been a solider for over twenty years; compared to his eight and only being regular military. Hasnik realised this, nodded and went to the rear of the hummer.
MacGyver looked over at Jack for a moment, nodding in thanks before finishing with the radiator hose. He had wrapped it with ducktape several times, stating that it should hold until they get back to base. Then he pulled several packets of what looked like ground pepper from a pocket and tipped them into the radiator itself.
"Pepper?" both Jack and Lander asked.
"Yeah. It'll flow with the water as we fill it back up; swell and block the crack. Kinda like how a dam can hold water when the walls are made of earth. Not a permanent fix, but it'll hold till we're back." He said as he poured water in. Both Lander and Jack held their breath, but after a small trickle, the water stopped leaking. "Only thing is, we'll have to wash it out to find the crack again to fix it."
That caused a chuckle from the other two men observing as MacGyver finished filling the radiator. They started the engine, checked everything and made sure all was running as it should before calling the others in. This time, Jack and MacGyver sat up front with Lander, while Hasnik sat in the back with the other three men and two women.
Radise watched as the patrol he had sent Jack and MacGyver pulled in, an hour late. They had radioed ahead to say they were having engine trouble, and had made contact every ten minutes. Once he heard they were heading back in, he let out a sigh of relief. He looked about the group as they got out, looking for two people in particular. He spotted them, Jack talking to the younger MacGyver. He wondered what had happened to make Hasnik not only sit in the back, but also to send death glares at the younger of the two that were heading to the equipment rack. He saw them laugh and Jack ruffle the younger man's hair, causing him to hit the older one in the shoulder.
Radise sighed again. He had been on the verge of sending MacGyver to another base, or back to the States because of his behaviour. Seeing the kid smiling again, joking and engaging with others was a huge relief. Seems Jack knew what he was doing. Heading back into his office, he drew up the paperwork, ready to be signed off when the kid decided to join the unit.
Jack had been worried about the kid, but seeing him engage with himself and Lander and the rest of the patrol, aside from Hasnik, made him hope that the kid would consider joining his unit when he asked. It was still early days yet, but he knew he had helped pull the kid out from his depression.
There we go, another chapter bites the dust. Also, if anyone has any ideas about the prank that MacGyver and Pena play on Hasnik, let me know, or feel free to write it yourself.
Also, the pepper trick? It works. I've seen my Dad do this with the radiators in the trucks. They are 70s trucks so I don't know how modern radiators would handle it. The only thing is that you have to wash or burn (which stinks) out the pepper really well otherwise the soldering/welding won't seal.
