A/N: We're in the last few chapters y'all! This was one of my favorite chapters, I hope ya'll enjoy it also! As always I don't own MacGyver, and thanks to booksfallquietly for looking this over.

Monday dawned just as rainy and nasty as the day before. Stepping into the school Mac had to physically shake himself to get all the rain off. Casi shook her head. "I keep expecting to see cats and dogs at the rate this is going." She then motioned Mac to step closer. "I wouldn't be surprised if they call school out early today."

Mac frowned at her. Why would school be called off for some rain?

Casi shook her head, "I keep forgetting you ain't from around here. I don't know if you've heard of the saying 'The good Lord willing and the creek don't rise'? We have low water crossings that the buses have to go over to pick up kids, so if the water gets up too high the buses can't get the kids home. That's where the saying comes from."

Mac looked out at the parking log which was already waterlogged, "If that's the case then why haven't they already called it?"

Casi shrugged, "Who knows, probably want to save the days." At Mac's quizzical look she elaborated. "We are allowed to call school off for so many days before we start having to make them up at the end of the school, which is a huge hassle to everybody. So to prevent this, if you go to school till 11:15 that is counted as a full day, and therefore wouldn't be counted against the days we have stored."

Mac shook his head, "That's crazy!"

Casi smiled and spread her arms wide, "Welcome to the school system!" Seeing another car pull up, "That's my cue; you go ahead with the few kids we do have."

Mac had noticed that only about half of the usual kids were there, and thought to himself 'those are the smart parents they are saving themselves the hassle of having to pick the kids right back up'. "All right Pre-K, let's line up."

They hadn't even made it halfway across the gym before May, who had bus duty, stopped Mac.

"Thanks for fixing my pencil sharpener the other day."

Mac smiled, "That was no problem."

She leaned in and lowered her voice. "So have you heard anything about us going home early?" He shook his head. She sighed, "I feel like I'm always the last to know. Somehow Sena is always the first to know." She shook her head. "Sometimes I think she has the school bugged."

She was about to say more when a student came over and started pecking on May, who sighed and turned to give the student her full attention. Mac shook his head and continued their trek to the classroom.

They had almost made it back to the classroom when Jack approached, so Mac had the kids continue into the classroom while he talked with Jack.

Jack looked up and down the hallway before asking, "So have you heard the rumors?"

"About going home early?"

Jack nodded.

"Yes, Jack, I've heard the rumors, but right now they are just that, rumors."

Jack sighed, "Yeah, but if we got to go home early, then most of the teachers will also be going home, and we can then turn this place upside down to try to find our counterfeiters." Mac nodded, it made a lot of sense. "See if you can stay in the classroom until I let you know, ok?"

Mac agreed, and they parted, going their different ways. Morning announcements, breakfast, and rug time all passed without any announcement about going home. While the kids were playing in centers Casi and Mac were assembling some of the artwork the kids had created. Casi stapled a crab leg into the red- painted plate that was supposed to look like a crab, "I'm so glad we are no longer in the portables. It was always the worst when the weather was like this."

Mac stopped his stapling of crepe paper tentacles onto his jellyfish. "You used to be in a portable?"

Casi laughed, "Oh yeah when I first started as the Pre-K assistant, we were in a portable classroom across from where the library is. It sucked on the days that is was cold or raining because we were outside." She shook her head. "Did I ever tell you about the tornado?" She looked at him quizzically and resumed stapling. Mac just shook his head. "So I was bringing the kids over to the car rider line when one of the assistants starts hollerin for me to hurry up. I thought that a kid was gettin checking out early or somethin. Imagine my surprise when I make it into the building and they tell me there is a tornado warning, and we have to take shelter." She paused to laugh at the memory. "We were packed like sardines into the bathrooms and the small area in front of the big bathrooms. They had even pulled the parents out of the cars to take shelter inside. It was crazy." Casi was about to say more when the phone rang, she sighed and went to answer it. Mac stayed at the table and kept on stapling.

Casi hung up the phone and made her way quickly back. "I was right, we're going home early. We've got to get to the cafeteria right now for lunch, then they are shutting down. Mac nodded his understanding, and they quickly got the room cleaned up and lined up for lunch.

Maddy raised her hand, "Mr. Mac, aren't we eattin lunch early?"

She was a perceptive child, he thought, "Yes we are! It's that cool!"

"Yay!" She shouted. "I was getting hungry! My nana dun wore offt."

Mac just smiled, he still didn't understand some of the kids speech. Thankfully she didn't ask any more questions, and they quickly went to the bathroom so the kids could wash their hands and use the bathroom if they needed it. Kindergarten was just leaving, and Mac noticed the huge grins on all of their faces.

Kim stopped him, "Did you hear the good news? We goin home early!" She eyed him critically. "Have you ever been at a school when the announcement comes over the intercom that they get to go home early?" He shook his head, and she grinned. "Make sure your door is opened so you can hear!"

May piped up from her classroom door which was right across from Kim's, "You want to guess who told us?"

A little voice called from the hallway interrupting them, "Hey Mrs. Kim, look what I founded." The little blonde haired boy was twirling a bra around in his hand. Everybody just froze. Mac was rooted where he stood in the hallway. Mrs. Kim was standing beside him stock still, and Mrs. May's mouth was opened in shock.

"Oh my goodness, Tyler! Please quit that, and bring it to me!" Kim finally managed to get out.

He huffed, "But I founded it outside the bathroom!"

Mac could hear the snickers coming from May's room. Kim grabbed it out of his hands and sent him to his seat. Her eyes got wide, as she held up some little girl's bra, Mac decided that was his cue to rejoin Pre-K at the bathroom, rapidly.

After Pre-K finished lunch they were headed down the hallway when the principal got on the intercom. "Good morning Lawrence family, I have some exciting news to share with you. We will be going home at 11:15."

Mac couldn't hear anything else she said because of the loud cheering that went up from every classroom. He was pretty sure he heard some adult voices mixed in with the children's voices. Pre-K turned into a screaming mess. After jumping up and down several of the kids asked why they were happy, Mac sighed and tried to explain that they were getting to leave to go home early, but he didn't think that they understood.

Getting Pre-K home early was the same routine as usual but sped up. By the time the buses pulled out, Mac felt like he had ran a marathon. Most of the teachers left as soon as the kids did, but a few were still there, getting plans ready for later or just waiting for a gap in the rain so they wouldn't get so wet.

Upon entering the classroom after getting all the kids loaded Mac fell into the chair beside Casi. Laughing she asked, "You survive?"

"Barely. I think the kids have lost their minds." Mac shook his head in wonder.

"Yep, that's how they act when they are all riled up. I'm heading out. I got to take the kids home and check to make sure out dogs have drowned or anything. You staying?" Casi asked as she gathered up her things.

Mac nodded, "I'm going to stay to see if this rain won't let up for a bit. I hate driving when it's coming down like this. Do you need me to do something?"

Zipping up her coat, she pointed to a large stack of papers. "Those need to go in the kid's individual file if you want to do that while you are waiting?" She grabbed her purse and umbrella.

"No problem, consider it done!" Mac agreed easily.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it! See ya tomorrow!" Casi waved and she was gone.

As soon as Casi had left Jack came into the room. "So I figured I'd lay low here until most of the teachers were gone before we started our search." Jack had plopped himself on one of the tables and was sitting there just swinging his feet. He cocked his head, "You think that you could finish that chat with Marie about the drugs in the county? That could give us a starting point."

Mac picked up the stack of papers that Casi had asked him to file making his way over to the filing cabinet. "I don't know Jack. Is she even here today? If she was she might have already taken off like most of the teachers."

The walkie went off on Jack's belt "Are there any janitors in the building? There is a small pond forming at the eastern entrance." Jack sighed, "Well I guess duty calls. I'll find out if she is here then I'll call you, ok?" Jack held the walkie staring at Mac waiting for an answer.

Mac sighed, "Fine, I'll try."

Jack smiled and raised the walkie to his face, "Yeah, I'm still here, and headed there now with a mop."

The voice came back over the walkie, "You might want to bring a few of those mops or maybe a bilge pump. I think some ducks are starting to swim in the water, and I saw someone headed that way with a fishing pole." Jack walked out of the room laughing.

Mac shook his head, Jack had a way of getting under your skin, kind of like a splinter. Oh well, he had a stack of papers to file while he waited for Jack to get back to him. Mac was still sorting the kid's papers into their file when Bozer's excited voice came over the comms.

"Guys, we've got them! I have the counterfeiters right now on audio. I'm going to patch the audio through to you." Mac dead stopped, one hand on a file and the other frozen mid air, listening to the voices that came over his comms.

"Why are we still doing this, again? I thought the last time, was actually the last time." That voice sounded familiar Mac thought.

"You know why we are doing it. Reeves said she'll have us killed or worse if we don't do what she says." Mac knew that voice too.

"But Mel, there has to be a line, if we don't stand up to her we'll be doin this the rest of our lives, or until we got caught. We were only going to print a few as a lark, how did it end up like this?" Ok, so the second voice was the substitute Mel's voice, now who was the other one?

"You know how Marie." Mac nearly gasped. Marie was the other counterfeiter? He was well and truly shocked.

Marie sighed she sounded on the verge of tears, "I just wanted to have a little bit of money. We get paid so little, and everything is so hard right now." He heard her sniffle.

Then Mel's voice responded, "I'm in the same boat, but I've also got a son and husband to support too. You've only got yourself."

A sigh, then, "What about if we sabotage the copier? Nothing obvious, but something little, that way we will have an excuse to quit. Plus, I think that there might be FBI or something like that poking around."

Jack's voice came over what the girls were saying. "That's our cue. Bozer where are they at?"

Bozer replied instantly, "They are in the aid's room."

Mac asked, "Where do you need me?

Jack replied, "Stay where you're at for right now."

"All right, just let me know."

Jack started giving orders. "Riley, you take the door in your hallway, and I'll come in the other door. Mac you and Bozer stay where you're at in case there are more. Bozer, have you seen where Reaves is at?" A second later he added, "Or Office Coltrane? Don't know if he is in on it, but I would like to have eyes on him too."

Riley replied first, "Ok, I'm walking."

Bozer took a few seconds, "I don't see her on any of the cameras, I think I remember her going into a teacher's room, but don't remember if she came out or not. The SRO is currently in the library on his phone."

"Ok, keep an eye out for her Bozer."

"Will do."

Mac couldn't believe it they had finally gotten the counterfeiters, and it was the last people on earth he thought it would be. Bozer must have shut down the audio, because Mac didn't hear anything until Jack announced, "I have them in custody, and am going to secure them in the SRO's office. Keep your head on a swivel; we don't know where Reaves is."

Mac resumed filing waiting for Jack to tell him what he needed to do while listening to the updates that Jack was giving every couple of minutes, when the room phone rang. Mac hurried to grab it, thinking it might be Jack with something he needed Mac to do.

"Hey it's Nick, could you come to the gym lobby, I need some help moving some sports equipment, and none of the janitors are picking up on the radio. I've tried other rooms, but I think most everybody else has left. Casi said that you would be staying later." Mac felt bad about Jack's not being able to help and quickly agreed. "Sure, I'll come right over."

Entering the gym he called out announcing his presence. Nick stuck his head back into the gym from the lobby, "I'm in here! Trying to get this stupid thing into my truck."

Mac hurried to the lobby, opening the other door he was surprised when Nick swung on him. Thankfully he had the reflexes honed by Jack, the Army, and many missions. He was able to quickly get the upper hand, and with a few well -placed blows knocked him out. But Mac was not prepared for the taser that got him in the neck and knocked him to the ground powerless to stop whatever might happen next. The last thing he saw was Dawn Reaves standing over him and a fist headed straight for his face.

A/N 2: So did anybody guess who our 'bad guys' were? We'll hear more from them in the next two chapters! Any thoughts?