The subway tunnel was filled with a quavering blue light that reminded Mac of those aquariums where the tank was above and around you. Not unlike wandering through one of those aquariums, Mac's eyes darted around trying to catch a glimpse of the predator he knew was concealed in some shadow nearby. Every once in awhile he could feel the subway line that was running parallel to this old one vibrate the walls and little pieces of debris would crumble. He was glad Riley had stayed back at the staging area with Matty, attempting to crack Nikki's laptop that had been recovered from the hotel room where she'd been keeping Bethlehem and provide them with technical backup if it was needed; she wasn't a fully trained field agent just yet and this felt as dangerous as any situation he'd ever found himself in. He stumbled slightly on some loose gravel and it sent a jolt through his injured side and shoulder. Glancing around at Jack and the small multi-agency tactical squad Todd had assembled, he was satisfied no one had noticed his sharp intake of breath. He gave Steve a second look just to be sure. Their medic had been glaring at him a fair amount since he'd insisted on being on the team going after Murdoc and had irritated the doctor further by refusing a sling because he needed both hands free. He casually slid his left hand into his jacket pocket, just to rest it and not have the injured muscles, ligaments, and tendons supporting its full weight for a few minutes. It also put gentle pressure against the wound in his side which offered a little relief from the throbbing that walking was causing there. He couldn't quite keep his posture casual though and he figured Jack would say something but he didn't. He turned his head to see what was taking up Jack's attention and saw the older man just staring straight ahead as they moved forward, a fine mist of sweat breaking out on his forehead. Mac stepped a little closer so no one else would hear him.

"Jack, are you okay?" Jack glanced at him but didn't say anything, just gave him a slightly derisive snort. Mac knew the man had to be in pain. His injuries had been significant too, even if most of the cuts were shallow. There had been a lot of them. "You look like you're gonna faint. If you need to go get back on more pain meds, no one is going to say anything. You looked like hamburger before they sewed you up."

Jack answered, his voice even lower than Mac's. "I'm fine. MYOB, kid."

"Seriously? You're telling me to mind my own business about an injury … I swear I will rat you out to Steve so fast …"

"Mac, it's not that. Okay?" Mac frowned, not quite believing him. "I told you a long time ago I got a thing about bein' underground. And right now we're underground with a guy who definitely wants us dead and is probably holdin' a special kinda grudge for me since I busted a cap in him last night. I don't much mind the idea of bein' blowed up, but blowed up and buried in a subway, well, that kinda sets my teeth on edge."

"Oh." Mac rifled through his memories of the few occasions where Jack had let him know he was actually human and maybe not made of steel. He did recall Jack saying he was terrified of being buried alive once when that's what was actually happening to them. At the time Mac had passed it off as Jack just chattering to deal with stress and maybe encourage him to come up with a solution double time, but the real discomfort on his partner's face told him that wasn't just talk, it was a real fear that in their line of work he didn't actually have to face that often. "So head back topside," he offered. "There's a whole tac team here. There's no shame in cutting out if it's bothering that much."

"Yeah right, like you just cut out when you were facing down that ladder last night?"

Mac glanced at Jack and felt his cheeks warm at the admiring expression his friend was wearing. Then he shook his head. They were both too stubborn for their own good. No wonder they bickered so much. "Fair enough. But I'm not going to let us get stuck down here. I promise."

Todd stepped next to Jack. "What are you two yammering about?"

"Nothin'," Jack said. "Just givin' my boy a hard time for walkin' out of the hospital without a sling."

Mac glared at him, but caught the slightly plaintive look in Jack's eyes and let it go. Instead he spoke to Todd. "This is making me nervous. We're most of the way back to where you tracked our package but so far I haven't seen any evidence of booby traps."

Todd nodded. "The tac team cleared most of them out early this morning while you guys were still in the hospital." Todd paused. "It's this last bit we were hoping you could take a look at."

They turned a corner and MacGyver and Jack both mumbled the foulest curse each of them knew, respectively. Jack raised an impressed eyebrow at Mac, breaking the tension and causing both of them to chuckle. From floor to ceiling the tunnel looked like it was partially collapsed and partially built in with all manner of doors and boxes and bombs, like something salvaged from a strange deadly trash heap. Unfortunately the trash heap also included a fair number of visible wires, explosives, timers, and buttons. It was rigged to blow impressively. Mac stepped out in front of everyone, slowly taking in the whole structure.

"This didn't happen when Murdoc got away last night …" Mac frowned looking around. "Where are we right now? Any of you guys got GPS?"

Jack stood next to Mac now and asked quietly, "What're you thinking, bud?"

"Retreating here was convenient for Murdoc, but he didn't just throw this together to keep us from pursuit. This took months of work."

Jack nodded. It was an impressive structure. And a lot of explosives. "But what are you ..?"

From an old conductor's speaker somewhere overhead Jack was interrupted by a disembodied voice. "Oh, MacGyver … I knew you couldn't resist looking for me yourself."

Mac took a deep breath. Verbal games were this psycho's currency. Playing extended the game, buying Mac time to think. "You sound surprised, Murdoc," he called out. "I know for a fact you think you're irresistible." He whispered to Todd, "Any luck with the GPS?"

Todd gestured that he was still working on a signal. Mac went on, "Why let us follow you, Murdoc? If you knew we were going to find you, why not just turn yourself in and get medical care. I'm guessing you've got a pretty serious pneumothorax and you're probably starting to run the risk of pulmonary embolism, too." The trail of blood droplets on the floor was denser here and Mac could see spay on some of the walls like someone had been coughing up blood. That didn't bode well for his adversary making it to trial or even as far as apprehension at the moment. "We could help. We've got a medic with us right now."

"You're good MacGyver. So are you Jacky-boy. Single shot right to the chest. I'm quite certain that I'm dying. I thought why not take you boys with me?"

There was a series of beeps and the timers all over the makeshift wall sparked to life and instead of flashing 00:00 all began counting down from 10:00. "Son of a bitch!" Mac snapped as he moved to get eyes on the specific devices and their connections. "Riley! Can you help us get a signal down here."

"Been working on it, Mac," came the hasty reply. "I think I've got a lock on your phone, actually." There was a pause. "It looks like you're in the tunnel near the newer Blue line route … right near East Capitol and 1st."

Mac paled as his suspicion was confirmed. "Remember, remember," he murmured quietly.

"What was that, buddy? Did I just hear you quote V for Vendetta?"

"No … I … Sort of." Mac gestured to the rest of the team. "I need everybody who's not an explosive ordnance disposal expert to get out of here. Now!"

Everyone looked at him for a moment, but something in his eyes kept anyone from protesting or even asking real questions and the team moved to obey. Steve hesitated, taking a step toward Mac as the injured man started to shed his jacket and get out his pocket knife, while also raising Matty and Riley on the comms to begin an evacuation of the building above. "I meant especially you, Rodgers," Mac snapped. "Clear out. You've got a baby at home and you're still supposed to be on leave anyway. I'm not letting you leave Zeb an orphan. Got it?"

Steve was going to reply, but Todd shook his head. He knew this look, had seen it on his own team's tech in the desert back in the day. Whatever he was thinking this was, it wasn't good.

Mac was standing at the foot of the bomb wall taking in the whole thing with eyes that were just a little too wide and beginning to work out the tangle of triggers. He glanced to his side. "You, too, Jack."

Jack shook his head, one side of his lips tilting up almost reluctantly. "We're not gonna have this fight again. I'm with you till the end, partner, and you know it." Mac closed his eyes for a second and then just went back to what he'd been doing, knowing that trying to get Jack to leave his side was about as useful as talking to a brick wall. "Now what were you mumbling a minute ago? I didn't think you half paid attention when we watched that movie."

Mac almost smiled as he clipped a wire. "I don't know Jack, I kinda liked that one. You know I have a soft spot for cool bombs." Jack was looked for a way to help, but like a lot of what Mac did, this tangle of wires and tech and death was gibberish to him. "It's from a famous poem about Guy Fawkes. He tried to blow up the King and Parliament in 1605."

"So Murdoc is trying to blow up Parliament, Mac? Steve said you had a concussion, but …"

"Jackass," Mac actually grinned. "The address Riley gave me … We're right under Congress. The Organization has obviously been planning this for months."

"God damn," was all Jack could think to say for a minute.

"The virus had to be a backup plan. We just tumbled to it first." Mac paused in his frenzied attempts to disarm so many devices at once, suddenly really glad he hadn't tried to force Jack to leave. "Do you have your multi-tool?" Jack nodded. "Okay, I think we can take down this last series with just these two separate detonators, but we're going to need to cut them at exactly the same moment." He indicated a spot about ten feet away from where he was and Jack went and stood in front of it.

"Or what?"

Mac swallowed, "Or I lied about not getting us buried down here." Jack inhaled and exhaled slowly, then nodded. "The red wire, closest to the copper lead on that orange box just to your right. On three."

Mac positioned his wire cutter in the correct spot and watched Jack do the same. When his partner nodded that he was ready, Mac started to count, "One, two." He and Jack both took a breath and held it. Neither of them noticed, but it was something Mac always did before making a final cut just like Jack always did it before squeezing off a critical shot. "Three."

All the digital displays went dark. Relief combined with fatigue and too much activity after being badly injured made rubber out of their legs and they both sunk down onto the ground, laughing. It was the sort of nervous laughter that always followed another brush with death, and they both knew it, but it was always music that they were both still there to hear it. Jack racked his brain for a second and said, "Remember, remember the fifth of November."

Impressed, Mac grinned at him and continued, "Gunpowder, treason, and plot."

A sharp sound rang out as a bullet hit the earth between the two men. They jumped back and looked up to find Murdoc nearly doubled over facing them, wheezing, blood all around his mouth and dripping down his face, with his pistol leveled at them with a shaking hand. "I see no reason the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."