Murdoc let down the ramp in the back of the ambulance and pulled the gurney down it slowly. Lifting the sheet, Murdoc lowered his ear to MacGyver's partially open mouth. Sure enough, he heard respirations. That new drug did its work. It convinced Pete and everyone that he was indeed dead and not breathing. Genius stuff that medicine is coming to these days. He redirected his thoughts as he unlocked the door of the wood cabin. The doorway was just shy of being wide enough to fit MacGyver through. So, he removed the sheet and tried to get MacGyver off the cart as best he could without jostling him too much. It was a bit of a struggle to say the least.

With much huffing and puffing, he had MacGyver's limp body in a strong enough hold to drag him into the cabin. With his arms securing MacGyver just under his armpits and with the IV bag in his teeth, he pulled him through the doorway. Eventually, he laid him on the cot on the far side of the cabin and released the IV bag. Then he brought in his backpack and all the supplies he had taken from the hospital—tranquilizers, painkillers, bandages, and the appropriate medicines that MacGyver required.

AN UNLIKELY ALLY

"Alright, Mr. Thornton. You were right. It was a temporary drug. You're free to go now."

"Great," Pete said, sliding out of the bed.

"Thank you for your cooperation. We're glad it was only a temporary…illness."

"Ummhmm. Now I need to go find MacGyver."

"Right. Like I said earlier, this Murdoc fellow likely used a newer drug that mimics death in the exterior. It makes the patient appear to be dead when they are still breathing."

"Alright. Thank you. But please call me if you hear or find anything."

"Will do. And Mr. Thornton?"

"Yes?"

"That Murdoc stole some medical supplies from us. And since my staff were assured that she…I mean he…was a nursing student, they did teach him how to properly care for MacGyver. That should give you some assurance."

AN UNLIKELY ALLY

Murdoc checked his watch for the third time and rose from his chair. MacGyver hadn't moved since he'd brought him here. It was so quiet in the cabin that the only sound to be heard was the slow, steady dripping of the IV. Murdoc clenched his jaw and rummaged through the backpack. Finally, his fingers closed on the prize he was after—smelling salts. Surely this would break the dreadful silence.

He knelt beside the cot and broke the pill beneath MacGyver's nose. MacGyver's head lolled as he coughed violently, clutching at his wound. When he had regained his composure, he opened his eyes and jerked when he spotted Murdoc intently staring him in the face. "M...murdoc," he croaked.

Murdoc jumped to his feet and went into the other room. Within seconds he returned with a glass of water. "Here, drink this," he offered. MacGyver reached out and took the glass but hesitated. "It's just water. I didn't drug it or anything if that's what you were wondering."

MacGyver pushed the glass back towards him with a shove. "What are you doing, Murdoc? Where are we?"

"It's really rather simple. I'm saving your life. That's why I pretended to be a nurse at the hospital and why we're in a cabin in the middle of nowhere." Murdoc pulled the chair over and sat down.

"You're supposed to be dead."

"But I'm not. It's a little trick I learned from Houdini—to escape death."

"Look, Murdoc," MacGyver tried to sit up, but moaned and clutched at the bandages as Murdoc eased him back down. "I don't know what sick game you're trying to play, but I don't want any part of it. I'm tired and hurt, and I just wanna be left alone, okay?"

"But, of course. Clearly, you're not thinking straight. You're still muddled from the ordeal. I'll check on you later then."

AN UNLIKELY ALLY

Dmitry searched through the file that H.I.T. had given him. There was something Murdoc had mentioned…He fanned the pages and slid his thumb into the stack when he found what he was looking for…Pete Thornton.