p class="MsoNormal"Episode 1: Revelations + Coolant + Deception/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Somewhere in suburbia/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley wanders through a produce section carrying a hand basket, pausing by the bananas. 'In position' she murmurs. Mac, dressed as stock clerk, arranges cans at the end of an aisle near the produce section. 'Copy that', he acknowledges and then takes in the scene before him. 'Still wondering how we got from overthrowing small governments to staking out our nearby supermarket' he muses./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Taking these occasional softball assignments are necessary for dipping our toe into the proverbial private sector pond, so to speak. Money, as they say, doesn't grow on trees, and these jobs do have the advantage of helping to keep a roof over our heads' Russ prattles into their comms, 'and intellectual property is intellectual property, no matter if it is for a new jet component or a recipe for a multi-million dollar children's snack'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, I hope they show up soon since I think I'm about to be hit on by a guy with an unhealthy obsession with mangos' Riley mumbles under her breath as she throws a sideways glance at a tall, dark-haired, handsome yet somewhat shifty looking guy adding yet another mango to his basket./p
p class="MsoNormal"'They do say produce sections are next to coffee shops in terms of finding your next plus one' Bozer chimes into the conversation from outside the store where he is manning a hot dog cart./p
p class="MsoNormal"The lurking mango shopper decides to make his move. Striding up to Riley, he flashes her a 'let's get to know each other' smile. Riley's phone rings, with Mac's name popping up on the screen. She immediately picks up the lifeline thrown./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Hey honey, I'll be home soon… just picking up some fruit for the twins' lunches…', Riley smiles at her potential suitor as he continues on his way out of the produce section. 'That did the trick', Riley's smile widens and she ends the call, 'Thanks Mac'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Twins?' Mac wryly questions./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, that guy had low maintenance hook-up written all over him' Riley smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Nice to see my tutelage on reading the finer points of body language is paying off' Russ smugly voices over the line./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley rolls her eyes. 'Don't mean to deflate that high opinion of your methods Russ, but every girl knows how to identify scumbags by sight early in life.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, girls learn em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"that/em lesson by prom night' Desi adds as she pushes a shopping cart down Mac's aisle, smirking at him as she passes by him./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Heads up everyone….buyer is on scene' Bozer flips the 'all business' switch./p
p class="MsoNormal"A man in his forties who would look more comfortable in a suit and tie than the sweatshirt and jeans he is wearing casually picks up a hand basket and begins to browse through the produce section./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Let's hope the seller is equally punctual' Mac speaks into the display of cans. A moment later, a woman nervously approaches the newcomer but stops short at the cartons of tomatoes. 'Looks like we have our seller. Riley, you got eyes?' Mac intones./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Camera's rolling. Running facial rec now….Meet Lisa Hilroy, Sweet Treats' assistant head of RD' Riley states as she points her phone at the site of the pending criminal exchange, handling it like she is checking her shopping list./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man and Hilroy exchange glances, and as the man moves towards her, Hilroy discretely places a USB drive down between the cartons and starts to saunter away, keeping one eye on the drive./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Exchange is going down. I'm moving into position' Desi comments as she approaches the store entrance. The buyer closes the distance to the drive and reaches towards it…/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Would you like to try one of our new line of artisan cheeses…?' Riley hears from behind her. She looks over her shoulder at the teenage girl holding a cheese tray, who now sees what Riley is doing. 'Hey, why are you filming that guy?' the server says loud enough for everyone in the produce section to hear, including their targets. At that announcement both Hilroy and the buyer snap their attention to Riley. The buyer bolts first, grabbing the drive and heading for the main entrance. Hilroy sprints in the opposite direction, headed for a side exit. Mac is the closest to her but knows he won't be able to catch her in time. Instead, he starts a domino effect on the nearby food displays. Hilroy, looking over her shoulder as she runs away, doesn't see the mess at her feet and trips headfirst into salad bar. Mac and Riley reach her as French dressing streams down her face, joining the rest of the salad toppings in her lap. Mac and Riley glance at each other, sharing a smile and a chuckle./p
p class="MsoNormal"Meanwhile, the buyer sees he is in Desi's sights and shoves a vegetable cart towards her, blocking her way to the door. He breaks through the entranceway only to crash into the hot dog cart pushed in his way by Bozer. The man stumbles to the ground with all the condiments raining down on him. Desi runs out of the store but pulls up short at the lunch wagon carnage, and nods impressively at Bozer, 'Nice work Boze'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Riley drag the still dripping Hilroy out the door, meeting up with the rest of the team. Desi stoops down to grab the drive out of the man's grasp and hands it to Bozer. Next, she efficiently places hand ties on him and hauls him to his feet./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, our work is done here. Anyone for sushi?' Bozer inquires as they all head towards the parking lot./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The Phoenix Foundation/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"As Mac makes his way into a waiting room, he meets Riley exiting from an interior door across the room. She brightens as her gaze meets Mac's./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Your turn', she grimaces. Mac sighs as he flicks his attention to the open door. He moves towards the door as Riley continues to leave but stops short of entering it, turning back to Riley./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Pizza and Skee Ball later?' Mac asks the departing woman with a hopeful half-smile on his face. Riley turns in the doorway./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Wouldn't miss it' she says with a nod and soft smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Welcome Angus. Please shut the door behind you.' Mac and Riley lock eyes in a moment of shared trepidation before he backs fully into the room from where the words had been spoken and shuts the door./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac walks into the War Room, where Matty and Russ are about to brief the team on their latest mission./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Now that Blondie is here, we can begin. Russ…' Matty turns the floor over to Russ./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yes, today's dance card has only one entry on it, an urgent request from the World Health Organization' begins Russ. The announcement of the WHO as their client takes the team's interest level in the op up a notch. Sensing the pumped up excitement, Russ plays to their added attention, 'Despite their best efforts, they have been unable to keep COVID variants from emerging in the Sankuru region in Congo, mainly due to the violence and illegal activity in the area preventing the humanitarian efforts to vaccinate the people. The WHO needs our help to deliver a shipment of vaccine to their contact on the ground, Dr. Emile Montoya.' Russ enlarges a picture of Montoya on the big screen./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Montoya is part of Doctors without Borders with a particular specialty in the reconstitution and production of vaccines, and he has volunteered to oversee the vaccination program in the province. The challenge is getting the vaccine supplies to him. With criminals and insurgents alike causing havoc, all previous WHO efforts to get him the needed shipment have failed.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty chimes in, 'The WHO strongly suspects that someone connected to their logistics is sympathizing with the rebels, helping them to disrupt the vaccination rollout. That's why they've come to us'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac, with his arms folded across his chest, nods, 'Makes sense. Last thing rebels would want is positive sentiment towards the current government'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Exactly,' Matty confirms. 'So while we think no one knows we're coming, we can't be too sure how far infiltrated the WHO regional office is, that's why we're going to keep a low profile on this 'in and out' mission. Mac and Desi you'll be our delivery team with support here from Riley'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac looks at Desi and then his eyes move to Riley, who gives him 'I got you' nod./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac, Desi, you are wheels up in 20' Matty closes out the briefing. Mac and Desi immediately head out with Matty and Russ close on their heels, leaving Boser and Riley alone./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley corners Bozer before he can leave the room, 'Ok Boze, what's the gleam in your eye for? I would have thought that you would be itching to get back in the field after our run of corporate sector jobs'. Riley gives him a look that tells him the gig is up./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Ok, not gonna lie, my exclusion from this mission does give me some private time to work on a side project I've got going on' Bozer confesses. 'What side project?' Riley asks curiously. 'Well, ever since finding out the government was behind the nanotrackers, it got me thinking – what else did they hide from us? I mean, if they could lie about that, what other Intel did we take at face value that may be we shouldn't have?' Bozer voices his speculation. Riley's expression reflects that she thinks Bozer may have a point and then it morphs into a look of concern./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Be careful Boze' Riley cautions, 'we're outside of the alphabet inner circle now so they will not take it lightly if you get caught'. Bozer nods and gives her a half smile to let her know her warning is received and appreciated./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"On the Phoenix Jet/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi hovers over Mac's shoulder as they both get an update from Riley. 'Satellite surveillance shows that the majority of hostile activity is currently to the north of your route – you should have a solid three hour window and a clear shot to Montoya. I'll keep monitoring though and let you know if anything changes' Riley advises them./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac nods and agrees, 'Three hours should be more than enough to get there and back before anyone even knows we are on the ground. Thanks, Riles'. He gives her a small smile before ending the call. Desi moves to take the seat across from him. She watches as Mac shuts his eyes and makes himself more comfortable for the long flight, 'You look….content' she observes with a smile. Mac opens his eyes momentarily to look at her before shutting them again. Mac smiles as he speaks, 'I am. After the last month of doing odd job missions, it's good to be on one that actually helps make the world a better place for real people'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'And the prospect of dodging bad guys, making something to save the day out of a little bit of this, a little bit of that – that doesn't get your blood boiling at all, does it?' Desi's grin widens. 'I'm looking forward to the rush – aren't you?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac opens his eyes and gives her a sheepish grin, 'I'd be lying if I said the adrenaline wasn't already pumping', then he pauses and a look of self-reflection settles on his face, 'but if I'm truly being honest, it's the appeal of being in the field again helping people that has me more jazzed up'. Desi's grin disappears as she tilts her head and considers what Mac said./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Your time with the head doc is starting to show' she muses aloud. Mac bristles for a moment then accepts the implication. 'Yeah, I guess it is' he says quietly, 'Doc is trying to help me figure out why I do the things that I do.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, I think it should be obvious that you are a modern day superhero, out to save the world', Desi offers a supportive smile to go along with her words but her comment has the opposite effect than what she intended. Mac shakes his head./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It's not so much the job as my approach to handling the hardships I face in my personal life. My need to "fix things", as the Doc would say' Mac elaborates. 'You do like a challenge, Mac but that's just who you are' Desi shrugs, 'I wouldn't get too messed up about it'. Mac absently nods and becomes lost in his thoughts as Desi drops the conversation./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Bozer's Lab/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley walks in to find Bozer staring at his tablet. She can tell that something is wrong by his trance-like state./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Bozer. Bozer – Earth to Bozer' Riley waves her hand in front of his face as she fails to gain his attention with her words. The action finally snaps Bozer out of his thoughts. 'Hey Riley' he say absently 'what's up?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'I think the more important question is what's up with you. You look like you found out that aliens are planning to invade LA. Did you find something in your witch hunt for the truth?' Riley probes sarcastically. 'Uh, you could say that' Bozer responds and when Riley raises her eyebrows indicating that he should continue, he elaborates, 'I went looking for more information on Leanna and her last op'. Riley gives him a worried look but before she can say a word he cuts her off./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Before you say it, I did not do anything illegal. Thought about it, but I don't have your digital snooping skills. Instead, I went the public records route. Found her autopsy report' Bozer's explains in a sad voice. 'You found something in it?' Riley gasps in alarm./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It's what's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"not/em in the report that has me thinking conspiracy' Bozer continues. 'The report says that outside of the bullet to the head, the body had no other evidence of trauma.' Bozer stops and takes a few deep breaths. 'Riley, I remember every inch of Leanna's body and she had an old knife wound scar just below her left hip. The body they recovered from the building, no scar – it wasn't her'. The way Bozer looks at Riley with unfailing certainty convinces her that he is speaking the truth./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley stares at Bozer for a moment, and then nods her head, a decision made. 'Well then, it's time to put my digital snooping skills to work' she says with a raised eyebrow and smirk./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi is driving the camouflaged jeep aggressively over the worn country roads. Mac checks his watch, 'Looks like we're making good time'. Desi is about to respond when Riley's voice comes over there comms./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac, Desi, you've got incoming from the North and the South, moving fast' Riley quickly relays./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Looks like they know we're here' Mac replies as he shares a look with Desi. Desi calls out to Riley, 'Any alternate route suggestions?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Unfortunately no. Best bet is to outrun them' Riley responds. 'Copy that', Desi acknowledges and turns her head to face Mac, 'hold on'. Desi puts the jeep into overdrive as Mac grasps the side of the jeep while simultaneously checking that the vaccine shipment is still secure./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Looks like you're putting good distance between you and the bad guys' Riley calmly notes but her relief is short-lived, 'wait, they're altering their course to match yours' Riley says puzzlingly. 'They must be tracking you somehow', she deduces./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It's got to be the truck. Everything else is clean', Mac concludes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'What now Mac?' Desi asks, 'If they're tracking us, it doesn't matter how fast we get anywhere, they're still going to find us'. By Mac's expression, his brain is already working on the problem. Suddenly a smirk appears. 'We'll just have to make them think they've succeeded in stopping us. Des, pull over.' Desi immediately gets what Mac is proposing./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Riles, can you start looking for another ride for us? I think this one is not long for this world' Desi says as she sees the tell-tale, pre-occupied look on Mac's face./p
p class="MsoNormal"'On it…' Riley replies as her fingers fly over her keyboard, 'ok, got something. There's a small village a couple of miles southwest to your location. You'll have to backtrack but you should have some options to choose from there. I'll drop you a pin.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Thanks Riles' Desi answers as she watches Mac begin to convert their ride into a rolling explosive. 'Des, get the shipment' Mac instructs as he opens the engine cover. With his swiss army knife, he makes short work of the modification required. Lowering the engine cover, he's ready to put his plan in motion. Looking down the road, he soon sees the last thing he needs to pull off this misdirection. Moving to the driver's seat, Mac climbs in and starts the truck. Moments later, he is accelerating down the road, approaching a sharp bend. Instead of braking to take the curve, Mac jumps out seconds before the truck leaves the road, hits a tree and explodes on contact./p
p class="MsoNormal"After briefing surveying his handiwork, Mac gets up and jogs back to meet Desi. 'That should buy us some time. Let's get to that village'. Mac and Desi each take a handle of the cooler and set off./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty and Russ are in deep discussion that they are not immediately aware when Bozer and Riley enter the room. When Riley puts down her rig on the table a little louder than normal, Matty and Russ realize that they have company./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer clears his throat, 'Sorry to interrupt but...'. He hesitates and looks to Riley. 'But we've found something that we think you two should be aware of' Riley finishes for him. Matty and Russ now give them their full attention. Riley nods encouragingly to Bozer./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer takes a deep breath then continues, 'After what happened with the nanotrackers, I began thinking about all the other Intel the government gave us that we simply took on blind faith that was true. But what if it wasn't? So I've been wanting to confirm a few things for my own peace of mind. I started with Leanna's death'./p
p class="MsoNormal"At this news, both Matty and Russ look alarmed. 'Bozer, I don't think that's a good idea…' Matty begins./p
p class="MsoNormal"'They lied' Bozer blurts out. Matty remains quiet but her expression urges Bozer to continue. 'I found the autopsy report. The body they recovered wasn't Leanna's. There were no mentions of her previous injuries.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ and Matty share a meaningful look. 'Bozer, it is not uncommon for certain documents and artifacts to be altered, even after death, concerning agents to help preserve their covers with their families, especially concerning any injuries that would cause further heartache. I'm sure that's what's happened here, I'm afraid' Russ kindly explains./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Then why were her dental records and fingerprints switched out?' Riley interjects matter-of-factly. Both Matty and Russ snap their heads to her. 'After Bozer told me what he found, I did a little digging of my own, and that's when I found the digital trial for the switch out. Begs the question, if that was really Leanna, why would they need to?' Riley throw the question./p
p class="MsoNormal"The significance of what Riley found is not lost on either Matty or Russ. 'Then we need to get to the truth' Matty says simply. 'Riley, keep digging but be careful. They hid it from us for a reason so they won't be too happy us poking around'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Got it Matty. I'll head back to the lab so that I can monitor Mac and Desi at the same time' Riley nods. Her and Bozer leave. Matty turns to Russ, 'What do you the odds are that this is the only thing they've lied to us about?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ crosses his arms around his chest, 'Slim to none' he replies. 'I agree', Matty nods, 'I think it is time that I do some digging too.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi arrive in a small village out of breath from running. Even though they are garnering much interest from the locales, they keep to themselves and quickly begin to survey their surroundings, frantically searching for some type of transportation. Mac finally spies a beat-up car under a tarp behind one of the houses. He runs towards it and rips off the tarp, peering into the exposed engine./p
p class="MsoNormal"'This'll do' he mumbles as he begins to source parts for his repairs. Desi approaches carrying the cooler. Seeing that Mac has already moved onto delivering a solution to their current transportation problem, she sits down on top of the cooler. 'Are you sure that you are going to be able to get it to work?' she asks with raised eyebrows after seeing how bad of shape the car is in./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac pauses long enough to give her a 'really?' look. 'Just kidding,' she smiles, 'I know you got this'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'We'll be on the road in a minute' he says as he fiddles with a starter-like component, 'Do me a favour and start it up'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi gets up from the cooler and goes around the car to get in the driver's seat. She finds the key already in the ignition and turns. She shakes her head at Mac when nothing happens, 'No go'. Mac fiddles again with the engine, 'Try again'. Desi turns the key again and this time a small sputter starts and then ends just as quickly. She gives Mac an exasperated look. Mac returns his attention back to the engine and makes one more adjustment, 'Again'. Desi turns the key again and this time the engine turns over and stays running./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac grins as he smirks, 'Third time's the charm'. A relieved Desi tells him to grab the cooler and get in the car. The smile is still on his face as he rounds the car but is erased almost immediately./p
p class="MsoNormal"The cooler is gone./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty is finishing up a phone call when Russ enters the room. 'Any luck, Matilda?' Russ looks expectantly at Matty./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Not so far but I am no means done beating the bushes,' she responds, 'I'm still pissed off that I didn't think to go back and review their generously provided Intel myself'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'We all believed. We had no reason to think at the time that they were lying to us. Not telling us the full truth, may be, but not flat out providing us with false information,' Russ reflects./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, I have should've known better. I was spending day in day out with those snakes on the hill and should have suspected something. And now Bozer is paying for it – we all are,' Matty laments./p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ approaches Matty and sits on the arm of the chair closest to her, 'those snakes on the hill got there because they are the most adept at deception and manipulation, you – we – were taken in by the best'. Matty gives Russ a half smile for his attempt to put her mind and conscience at rest./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty wears a new look of determination, 'At least now we know and can do something about it. I've still got a few insiders willing to take my calls, one in particular, so I'm not giving up until I know the full extent that we have been lied to'./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi joins Mac at the back of the car. 'Where did it go,' she demands. Mac ignores her tone, 'About to find out…'. Mac turns on his comms, 'Riley… can you ping the package?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Sure Mac…what…the package isn't with you?' Riley questions hesitantly. Mac rolls his eyes, 'it is momentarily misplaced'. Riley smirks as she imagines the exact look on Mac's face. She runs a quick search on her rig. 'Looks like the package is 126 yards northeast to your current location in a small house on the outskirts of that village. Just sent you the pin,' she replies and then continues, 'You guys should also get a move on. Your trick with the car stalled them for a while but now it looks like they are sweeping nearby villages trying to find you'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi share a 'not again' glance and sign off with Riley, 'Copy that'. Desi takes charge, 'Let's go find our thieves'. Desi leads the way to the shabbily built structure that is the cooler's current location. With the only window shuttered close, it is impossible for Mac to see into the building. With her gun drawn, Desi decides to take a more direct approach and rushes the door, with Mac following right after her. Both stop in their tracks when they see that their 'thieves' are simple villagers, not gun-toting criminals. Immediately they realize that the situation is not what they thought it would be and Desi lowers her gun./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man that quickly shielded his family upon their forced entrance to his home raises his hands, 'Please take what you want but don't hurt them'. Mac's face instantly softens, 'We're not here to hurt you. We simply want our cooler and its contents back'. The man sighs in relief./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Take it. It was not was I thought it was' he says disappointedly./p
p class="MsoNormal"'What did you think it was?' Mac asks curiously./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Food', the man responds. Mac and Desi both nod understandingly. Desi nudges Mac as she realizes that they are way behind schedule, 'We've got to go'. Mac nods but addresses the man before leaving, 'Bad men are on their way here. You're gonna want to get your family away from here fast,' he says grimly. The man considers what Mac said for a moment and then nods his head, 'We will leave. For now'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi grab the cooler and leave, rushing back to the beat-up car. They get the cooler and themselves in just in time before armed men in two trucks appear on the other side of the village. Desi guns the car's engine and they are out of the village in a heartbeat. Unfortunately they did not get out unnoticed. One of the trucks takes up pursuit and bullets start flying their way out of town./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Seems like we are back to where we started but with less time and a less dependable ride,' Desi frowns./p
p class="MsoNormal"'But this time, they don't have a tracker on us so you can lose them,' Mac remarks. 'Good point,' Desi acknowledges, 'let's see what this thing can do'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi immediately speeds up and then spying an outcropping of trees, she quickly executes a three point turn/pivot maneuver to get the car undercover. The quick thinking move works, and they lose their tail. Mac and Desi both heave a sigh of relief./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Let's get to Montoya' Mac says with confidence./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley rushes in, with Bozer right behind her, 'I've found something,' she says. Matty, Russ, and Bozer all wait expectantly for Riley to bring what she has found on the big screen./p
p class="MsoNormal"'I was able to locate the mission reports for the op that Leanna was on,' she explains./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Do I want to know how you did that,' Matty sarcastically inquires./p
p class="MsoNormal"'No,' Riley throws her a 'don't ask and I won't have to lie to you face' glance, 'but what's important is that these files were found under the classification FC-289, which is basically CIA-speak for "mission went south, damage control needed". I'm still trying to access all the files but I was able to unlock some surveillance footage'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley starts the video and they all are mesmerized by the scene that unfolds in front of them. The scene shows Leanna and her partner, an FBI agent, raiding a gun sale. Both the buyers and the sellers are taken by surprise but they do not resist as Leanna and her partner start to put handcuffs on two of the players./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Leanna…' Bozer breathes./p
p class="MsoNormal"His next breath is cut short as the video next shows Leanna calmly raising a gun and shooting the FBI agent squarely in the back. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGasps are heard all around as Leanna then takes the cuffs off the two criminals and eventually leaves with the men she was previously arresting in their car./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi make good time to the rendezvous point. As they enter a village even smaller than the last one they visited, they see a man walking towards them matching Montoya's description./p
p class="MsoNormal"'There he is,' Mac points to him./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well at least one part of this mission is working out,' Desi smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi parks the car, and they get out to meet their contact Montoya./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Welcome!' Montoya greets them with a big smile, 'I'm so glad that you made it'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi and Mac grin back him, and Mac says, 'We are too'. Mac becomes more serious, 'though I don't think we'll have too much time to celebrate it'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Unfortunately some hostiles know we're here. We've lost them for now but I think we should expect to see them soon. There are only so many places to hide and there are more of them than us,' Desi adds./p
p class="MsoNormal"Montoya understands their predicament, 'then let's get to it. You have the shipment?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, in back' Mac begins as he reaches into the car for the package. He immediately notices that the cooler is leaking from a bullet hole. 'We've got trouble,' he says as he pulls the cooler from the car. Montoya and Desi each gasp as they see the damaged cooler. 'Let's hope the vials are still intact,' Mac murmurs. Upon lifting the lid and inspecting the contents, he lets out a huge sigh, 'they're still good'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'But not for long,' Montoya jumps in, 'without the cold storage the cooler provides, those vials will be unusable way before I can get them back to my lab.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well then, we'll just have to make you a new cooler,' Mac smiles, a solution already popping into his head, 'Des, can you keep a look out?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'You got it,' Desi nods as she turns to watch for any uninvited guests./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac turns to Montoya, 'You know where I can find some cleaning supplies round here?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Montoya gives him a bewildered look and then shrugs, 'follow me'. Mac picks up the now-coolant free cooler and follows Montoya into a run-down building. Montoya leads Mac to a closet filled with a variety of cleaning supplies./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac's eyes light up at the smorgasbord of cleaning supplies to choose from, 'Perfect'. He takes a glance at Montoya and notices how calm he is, 'So…from your nonchalance…this is just another day in the Congo outback for you?' Mac asks humorously as he begins to make his coolant concoction./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Pretty much,' Montoya chuckles to himself. 'Out here you realize that em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"every/em day could be your last day. All you can do is meet whatever challenge the day brings head on and then take solace knowing that you tried,' he explains./p
p class="MsoNormal"'That's very Zen of you' Mac gives Montoya a quick smirk before turning his attention back to the cooler, 'It must be hard to face it all on your own out here'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Oh, I'm not alone. My wife, my heart,' he puts his hand over his heart, 'is here too. She's another doctor in our eclectic band of aid workers,' Montoya brightens at the thought of his wife. 'At the end of the day, we share our highs and lows – laugh a little, love a little, maybe even cry a little, and the world makes sense' he reflects. 'And it lets me know that I am not alone,' he concludes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It makes taking the risks, doing the work here, infinitely better knowing that no matter if I succeed or fail, she supports and trusts me in all that I do,' Montoya looks inquisitively at Mac, 'Surely you must have someone like that too?' Montoya looks questioningly at Mac./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac immediately thinks of Riley, 'Yeah,' Mac half smiles, 'I do'. Mac finishes his patch-up job on the cooler, 'cooler is now good to go'. Mac presents the cooler to Montoya with a wide smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"Montoya shakes his head, 'Amazing….'/p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer is the first to speak, 'No. I don't believe it,' he vehemently shakes his head, 'Leanna would never kill someone in cold blood. This footage em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"has/em to be doctored. Riley…?' Bozer looks over to Riley, desperately hoping that she will confirm his theory. Riley shakes her head, 'Sorry Boze, this footage has not been tampered with'./p
p class="MsoNormal"The room is silent as Bozer slips into a chair and quietly breaks down. Russ, Matty, and Riley exchange concerned glances at each other. Matty approaches Bozer to comfort him but is batted away by Bozer. 'No, no, there has to be more to it than that. I do not – will not – believe that Leanna has turned her back on her country, on decency,' Bozer looks at each one of them in the eye before rising from the chair and rushing out of the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty squares her shoulders, 'We need more information to understand what's fully going on here. Riley, do whatever is necessary to get us the full files'. Riley nods in agreement, 'No stone unturned – on it'. 'Russ, use your back channels to find out more about arms dealers working on U.S. soil – I want to know more about the other players we saw in that video,' Matty commands, 'this is top priority for us now'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'You got it, Matty' Russ nods./p
p class="MsoNormal"'We are going to do whatever it takes to bring Bozer, and us, closure on this,' Matty vows./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac,' Desi races up to join Mac and Montoya, 'we've got company – lots of company – coming'. A tense look passes between them./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac turns to Montoya, 'OK, time for you to leave. We'll buy you time to get away'. Montoya nods appreciatively to both of them, 'Thank you'. Desi takes off to return to her lookout position. Montoya holds his hand out to MacGyver, 'Be careful'. Mac gives his new friend a smile while shaking his hand, 'Make it safe back to your heart'. 'You too, my friend,' Montoya replies before taking off with the cooler in the opposite direction of their pursuers./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac, gonna need a little help up here,' Desi yells over the sound of gunfire. Mac races up to her. 'I've counted twelve so far but there may be more,' Desi briefs him as she returns fire, 'I'd say now would be a perfect time for one of your explosive distractions'. More gunfire is thrown their way./p
p class="MsoNormal"'You got it – be right back,' Mac says as he turns away back into the village. He runs back to the cleaning closet and begins to quickly assemble five smoke bombs. After making short order of the bombs, he runs back to Desi./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Ok, Montoya should have a good enough head start. Time for us to get out of here,' Mac informs Desi. 'How do you suppose we do that, Mac? What's the plan?' Desi questions as she ducks behind what's left of a wall. 'These smoke bombs should give us some cover. You go grab the car, I'll keep our friends busy and then we hightail it to exfil,' Mac outlines./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Works for me,' Desi takes off to get the car. Mac lobs the first of the smoke bombs at the nearest group of attackers and quickly launches another at the feet of more attackers twenty feet from the first bomb, creating a clear pocket to escape through. Desi arrives next to Mac's position just in time and he hops in. Once inside, Desi guns the car through the makeshift smoke corridor. Mac leans the top half of his body out the window of the car and continues to throw the remaining bombs at the attackers behind them. It does the trick and Mac sinks back into the car. He looks at Desi and the two of them wear gleeful grins. Their exhilaration is short-lived however when Desi suddenly hits the brakes./p
p class="MsoNormal"The hostile's covered truck is blocking the road. Mac and Desi briefly glance at each other, the same thought running through their heads: they were caught./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback, In the back of a truck, going the opposite way from exfil…/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi bounce around the truck bed as the truck hits another pot hole. Both are restrained with ropes around their wrists and ankles. Two bored, shabbily dressed guards share the bumpy ride with them. Mac and Desi pick up on their lack of enthusiasm for guard duty, and give each other a slight nod, an unspoken plan formed. At the next patch of bumpy road, they both spring up and get the jump on the guards. Despite their restraints, they are able to subdue the guards relatively easy, thanks to the element of surprise on their side./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac turns to Desi and quickly unties the ropes around her wrists, 'Now that they're taken care of, let's see if we can convince their friends to give us their truck'. Desi returns the favour and frees Mac's hands, 'Any preference on approach?' Desi smirks as they both free their own ankles. 'You go left and I go right?' Mac suggests with a smile. Desi returns his smile with one of her own, 'Sounds good'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac gets to work with his swiss army knife, cutting the truck's canvas roof. Once an opening is big enough for him and Desi to slip through, he gives her a leg up to climb on top of the roof, and joins her there shortly thereafter. Both move into position to remove their captors from their relatively seats in the front. Mac mouths – em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"one – two –three/em…/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi and Mac simultaneously open the doors of the truck and yank the current occupants out onto the roadway. Sliding into the previously occupied seats, Mac and Desi grin at their success./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Good thing they weren't fans of seat belts,' Desi quips. Mac smiles and rolls his eyes, 'Let get out of here'./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley and Bozer briskly walk in, and once they see Matty and Russ are already there, Bozer closes the door and Riley activates the privacy feature. Matty and Russ look curiously at the two./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty takes charge while Riley connects to the big screen, 'What did you find, Riley?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Nothing at first, but then I took another look at the video,' Riley begins./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"was/em tampered with?' Bozer cuts in excitedly./p
p class="MsoNormal"'No,' Riley cautiously says, 'but it was edited'. Matty, Russ and Bozer all look momentarily confused, but Matty understands what Riley is saying first. 'It wasn't the full footage,' she smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley gives Matty a 'top marks' smile, 'Bingo. In the meta data I was able to see that the clip we got was actually part of a longer video. So once I knew what I was looking for, I found it. Here's the part we missed...'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley cues up the video to show that after Leanna drives off with the criminals, moments later the FBI agent she 'shot' gets up and walks away, seemingly unharmed./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It was a deep cover set-up,' Russ breathes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yup, it was all staged to make it look that Leanna had gone to the dark side,' Riley surmises. She looks over at Bozer, who wears a decidedly vacant expression./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty also sees Bozer's state and tries to bring him out of it, 'Bozer, this is good news. It means that Leanna is still playing for the good guys'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, but she is hanging with the bad guys, in even more trouble,' he realizes./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"On the Phoenix Jet/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi walks down the aisle towards Mac who is staring out the window, lost in thought. 'Well, for a first mission back in the field, that was relatively ho hum,' Desi flops happily into the chair opposite Mac./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Regular same old, same old,' Mac agrees mockingly with a smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi grins, 'Who'd have thought that stealing cars, blowing stuff up and getting shot at would become old hat for us'. Desi gives him a cheeky look, 'Or that we actually made it through a whole mission without fighting with one another'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac raises his eyebrows and smiles, 'That is one for the books'. He continues, 'I don't think we should bother telling anyone that since I'd doubt they'd believe us'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi laughs, 'True. We'll have to keep it to ourselves'. 'I'm going to get some coffee. Want some?' Desi asks./p
p class="MsoNormal"'No, I'm good,' Mac answers absently. As Desi walks away, the look on Mac's face suggests otherwise./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Back in LA/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty is in the War Room with the walls frosted. On the screen is the man she has been seeing professionally, and personally, in DC./p
p class="MsoNormal"'You were right, Matty,' the man says, 'Leanna is alive and under deep cover for a joint CIA/FBI operation'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'How confident are you in this information?' Matty asks./p
p class="MsoNormal"'100%', the man answers promptly. He hesitates for a moment, 'Matty, there is more that you should know…'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty braces for bad news./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"'To the victor!' Mac salutes Riley with a wave of his pizza slice. Riley acknowledges Mac's remark with a regal nod of her head, accompanied by a wide grin and sparkling eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Thanks Mac, you are definitely getting better,' Riley innocently comments. 'I almost had to work at beating you,' Riley lets the zinger fly, causing Mac to almost choke on his bite of pizza./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Almost, huh,' Mac says after swallowing. 'Definitely almost' Riley grins. 'I'll have to add this obsession of needing to beat you at Skee Ball to my conversations with the Doc,' she nonchalantly mentions before taking a bite of her own pizza slice./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac pauses before asking, 'How's that going with you anyway?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley tilts her head back and forth thinking, and swallows before answering. 'Not my favourite activity, talking about my grab bag of issues, but I think it is helping,' she replies. She looks Mac in the eye, 'You?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Same, I think,' Mac responds hesitantly. 'We've been talking a lot about my constant need to fix things.' Riley stays silent, seeing that Mac has more to say./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Before I would have dismissed that observation as simply as a misunderstanding of who I am, but when I went to Mission City for Auntie's funeral…, Bozer's dad basically said the same thing, that I seek to solve problems as a crutch, as a way to avoid dealing with things.' Riley reaches over to hold Mac's hand. Mac gains support from the gesture to continue. 'Doc is helping me to realize that what I do and who I am are not necessarily the same thing.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley squeezes Mac's hand, 'Sounds like the Doc is on to something. You, Angus MacGyver, are em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"way more/em than what you simply do.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac blushes and attempts to lighten the mood, 'So once I get this one issue resolved, I'll be deemed fit for society,' he declares./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Just one issue?' Riley deadpans then grins mischievously. Mac rolls up a nearby napkin and throws it at her. Riley ducks and laughs./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 429.0pt;"Mac relents, 'Ok, maybe more than one issue…' and enjoys Riley's mirth in his concession. Riley decides that her appetite trumps her need to tease Mac. Grabbing her pizza, she toasts Mac with it, 'United in therapy', before taking a bite of it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac shares a soft smile and lingering look with Riley before attacking the rest of his own greasy slice of pizza./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ enters Bozer's lab and approaches Bozer quietly. 'Bozer, I know it's not the outcome you were hoping for, but it is what Leanna signed up for.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer shrugs 'Actually, it is the outcome I wanted. She's alive…it's enough to know that someday she may walkback through my door'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ looks at Bozer with respect, 'You're a good man, and I have no doubt that when she is able to, she will be walking through that door to you. And know that em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"when/em that day does arrive, we'll be here to support you''/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer flashes a small smile, 'Thanks Russ'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ is not finished, 'I also wanted to thank you for pulling the curtain back so to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMatty and I are going to continue the investigation you started – the blinders are off and we're going to get to the bottom of things./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac enters his darkened home quietly. After depositing his keys on the counter, he makes his way to his bedroom but doesn't go in. Standing in the doorway with a pensive look on his face, he watches as Desi sleeps in his bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Somewhere in suburbia/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley wanders through a produce section carrying a hand basket, pausing by the bananas. 'In position' she murmurs. Mac, dressed as stock clerk, arranges cans at the end of an aisle near the produce section. 'Copy that', he acknowledges and then takes in the scene before him. 'Still wondering how we got from overthrowing small governments to staking out our nearby supermarket' he muses./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Taking these occasional softball assignments are necessary for dipping our toe into the proverbial private sector pond, so to speak. Money, as they say, doesn't grow on trees, and these jobs do have the advantage of helping to keep a roof over our heads' Russ prattles into their comms, 'and intellectual property is intellectual property, no matter if it is for a new jet component or a recipe for a multi-million dollar children's snack'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, I hope they show up soon since I think I'm about to be hit on by a guy with an unhealthy obsession with mangos' Riley mumbles under her breath as she throws a sideways glance at a tall, dark-haired, handsome yet somewhat shifty looking guy adding yet another mango to his basket./p
p class="MsoNormal"'They do say produce sections are next to coffee shops in terms of finding your next plus one' Bozer chimes into the conversation from outside the store where he is manning a hot dog cart./p
p class="MsoNormal"The lurking mango shopper decides to make his move. Striding up to Riley, he flashes her a 'let's get to know each other' smile. Riley's phone rings, with Mac's name popping up on the screen. She immediately picks up the lifeline thrown./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Hey honey, I'll be home soon… just picking up some fruit for the twins' lunches…', Riley smiles at her potential suitor as he continues on his way out of the produce section. 'That did the trick', Riley's smile widens and she ends the call, 'Thanks Mac'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Twins?' Mac wryly questions./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, that guy had low maintenance hook-up written all over him' Riley smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Nice to see my tutelage on reading the finer points of body language is paying off' Russ smugly voices over the line./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley rolls her eyes. 'Don't mean to deflate that high opinion of your methods Russ, but every girl knows how to identify scumbags by sight early in life.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, girls learn em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"that/em lesson by prom night' Desi adds as she pushes a shopping cart down Mac's aisle, smirking at him as she passes by him./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Heads up everyone….buyer is on scene' Bozer flips the 'all business' switch./p
p class="MsoNormal"A man in his forties who would look more comfortable in a suit and tie than the sweatshirt and jeans he is wearing casually picks up a hand basket and begins to browse through the produce section./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Let's hope the seller is equally punctual' Mac speaks into the display of cans. A moment later, a woman nervously approaches the newcomer but stops short at the cartons of tomatoes. 'Looks like we have our seller. Riley, you got eyes?' Mac intones./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Camera's rolling. Running facial rec now….Meet Lisa Hilroy, Sweet Treats' assistant head of RD' Riley states as she points her phone at the site of the pending criminal exchange, handling it like she is checking her shopping list./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man and Hilroy exchange glances, and as the man moves towards her, Hilroy discretely places a USB drive down between the cartons and starts to saunter away, keeping one eye on the drive./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Exchange is going down. I'm moving into position' Desi comments as she approaches the store entrance. The buyer closes the distance to the drive and reaches towards it…/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Would you like to try one of our new line of artisan cheeses…?' Riley hears from behind her. She looks over her shoulder at the teenage girl holding a cheese tray, who now sees what Riley is doing. 'Hey, why are you filming that guy?' the server says loud enough for everyone in the produce section to hear, including their targets. At that announcement both Hilroy and the buyer snap their attention to Riley. The buyer bolts first, grabbing the drive and heading for the main entrance. Hilroy sprints in the opposite direction, headed for a side exit. Mac is the closest to her but knows he won't be able to catch her in time. Instead, he starts a domino effect on the nearby food displays. Hilroy, looking over her shoulder as she runs away, doesn't see the mess at her feet and trips headfirst into salad bar. Mac and Riley reach her as French dressing streams down her face, joining the rest of the salad toppings in her lap. Mac and Riley glance at each other, sharing a smile and a chuckle./p
p class="MsoNormal"Meanwhile, the buyer sees he is in Desi's sights and shoves a vegetable cart towards her, blocking her way to the door. He breaks through the entranceway only to crash into the hot dog cart pushed in his way by Bozer. The man stumbles to the ground with all the condiments raining down on him. Desi runs out of the store but pulls up short at the lunch wagon carnage, and nods impressively at Bozer, 'Nice work Boze'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Riley drag the still dripping Hilroy out the door, meeting up with the rest of the team. Desi stoops down to grab the drive out of the man's grasp and hands it to Bozer. Next, she efficiently places hand ties on him and hauls him to his feet./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, our work is done here. Anyone for sushi?' Bozer inquires as they all head towards the parking lot./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The Phoenix Foundation/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"As Mac makes his way into a waiting room, he meets Riley exiting from an interior door across the room. She brightens as her gaze meets Mac's./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Your turn', she grimaces. Mac sighs as he flicks his attention to the open door. He moves towards the door as Riley continues to leave but stops short of entering it, turning back to Riley./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Pizza and Skee Ball later?' Mac asks the departing woman with a hopeful half-smile on his face. Riley turns in the doorway./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Wouldn't miss it' she says with a nod and soft smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Welcome Angus. Please shut the door behind you.' Mac and Riley lock eyes in a moment of shared trepidation before he backs fully into the room from where the words had been spoken and shuts the door./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac walks into the War Room, where Matty and Russ are about to brief the team on their latest mission./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Now that Blondie is here, we can begin. Russ…' Matty turns the floor over to Russ./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yes, today's dance card has only one entry on it, an urgent request from the World Health Organization' begins Russ. The announcement of the WHO as their client takes the team's interest level in the op up a notch. Sensing the pumped up excitement, Russ plays to their added attention, 'Despite their best efforts, they have been unable to keep COVID variants from emerging in the Sankuru region in Congo, mainly due to the violence and illegal activity in the area preventing the humanitarian efforts to vaccinate the people. The WHO needs our help to deliver a shipment of vaccine to their contact on the ground, Dr. Emile Montoya.' Russ enlarges a picture of Montoya on the big screen./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Montoya is part of Doctors without Borders with a particular specialty in the reconstitution and production of vaccines, and he has volunteered to oversee the vaccination program in the province. The challenge is getting the vaccine supplies to him. With criminals and insurgents alike causing havoc, all previous WHO efforts to get him the needed shipment have failed.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty chimes in, 'The WHO strongly suspects that someone connected to their logistics is sympathizing with the rebels, helping them to disrupt the vaccination rollout. That's why they've come to us'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac, with his arms folded across his chest, nods, 'Makes sense. Last thing rebels would want is positive sentiment towards the current government'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Exactly,' Matty confirms. 'So while we think no one knows we're coming, we can't be too sure how far infiltrated the WHO regional office is, that's why we're going to keep a low profile on this 'in and out' mission. Mac and Desi you'll be our delivery team with support here from Riley'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac looks at Desi and then his eyes move to Riley, who gives him 'I got you' nod./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac, Desi, you are wheels up in 20' Matty closes out the briefing. Mac and Desi immediately head out with Matty and Russ close on their heels, leaving Boser and Riley alone./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley corners Bozer before he can leave the room, 'Ok Boze, what's the gleam in your eye for? I would have thought that you would be itching to get back in the field after our run of corporate sector jobs'. Riley gives him a look that tells him the gig is up./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Ok, not gonna lie, my exclusion from this mission does give me some private time to work on a side project I've got going on' Bozer confesses. 'What side project?' Riley asks curiously. 'Well, ever since finding out the government was behind the nanotrackers, it got me thinking – what else did they hide from us? I mean, if they could lie about that, what other Intel did we take at face value that may be we shouldn't have?' Bozer voices his speculation. Riley's expression reflects that she thinks Bozer may have a point and then it morphs into a look of concern./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Be careful Boze' Riley cautions, 'we're outside of the alphabet inner circle now so they will not take it lightly if you get caught'. Bozer nods and gives her a half smile to let her know her warning is received and appreciated./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"On the Phoenix Jet/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi hovers over Mac's shoulder as they both get an update from Riley. 'Satellite surveillance shows that the majority of hostile activity is currently to the north of your route – you should have a solid three hour window and a clear shot to Montoya. I'll keep monitoring though and let you know if anything changes' Riley advises them./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac nods and agrees, 'Three hours should be more than enough to get there and back before anyone even knows we are on the ground. Thanks, Riles'. He gives her a small smile before ending the call. Desi moves to take the seat across from him. She watches as Mac shuts his eyes and makes himself more comfortable for the long flight, 'You look….content' she observes with a smile. Mac opens his eyes momentarily to look at her before shutting them again. Mac smiles as he speaks, 'I am. After the last month of doing odd job missions, it's good to be on one that actually helps make the world a better place for real people'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'And the prospect of dodging bad guys, making something to save the day out of a little bit of this, a little bit of that – that doesn't get your blood boiling at all, does it?' Desi's grin widens. 'I'm looking forward to the rush – aren't you?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac opens his eyes and gives her a sheepish grin, 'I'd be lying if I said the adrenaline wasn't already pumping', then he pauses and a look of self-reflection settles on his face, 'but if I'm truly being honest, it's the appeal of being in the field again helping people that has me more jazzed up'. Desi's grin disappears as she tilts her head and considers what Mac said./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Your time with the head doc is starting to show' she muses aloud. Mac bristles for a moment then accepts the implication. 'Yeah, I guess it is' he says quietly, 'Doc is trying to help me figure out why I do the things that I do.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, I think it should be obvious that you are a modern day superhero, out to save the world', Desi offers a supportive smile to go along with her words but her comment has the opposite effect than what she intended. Mac shakes his head./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It's not so much the job as my approach to handling the hardships I face in my personal life. My need to "fix things", as the Doc would say' Mac elaborates. 'You do like a challenge, Mac but that's just who you are' Desi shrugs, 'I wouldn't get too messed up about it'. Mac absently nods and becomes lost in his thoughts as Desi drops the conversation./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Bozer's Lab/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley walks in to find Bozer staring at his tablet. She can tell that something is wrong by his trance-like state./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Bozer. Bozer – Earth to Bozer' Riley waves her hand in front of his face as she fails to gain his attention with her words. The action finally snaps Bozer out of his thoughts. 'Hey Riley' he say absently 'what's up?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'I think the more important question is what's up with you. You look like you found out that aliens are planning to invade LA. Did you find something in your witch hunt for the truth?' Riley probes sarcastically. 'Uh, you could say that' Bozer responds and when Riley raises her eyebrows indicating that he should continue, he elaborates, 'I went looking for more information on Leanna and her last op'. Riley gives him a worried look but before she can say a word he cuts her off./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Before you say it, I did not do anything illegal. Thought about it, but I don't have your digital snooping skills. Instead, I went the public records route. Found her autopsy report' Bozer's explains in a sad voice. 'You found something in it?' Riley gasps in alarm./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It's what's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"not/em in the report that has me thinking conspiracy' Bozer continues. 'The report says that outside of the bullet to the head, the body had no other evidence of trauma.' Bozer stops and takes a few deep breaths. 'Riley, I remember every inch of Leanna's body and she had an old knife wound scar just below her left hip. The body they recovered from the building, no scar – it wasn't her'. The way Bozer looks at Riley with unfailing certainty convinces her that he is speaking the truth./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley stares at Bozer for a moment, and then nods her head, a decision made. 'Well then, it's time to put my digital snooping skills to work' she says with a raised eyebrow and smirk./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi is driving the camouflaged jeep aggressively over the worn country roads. Mac checks his watch, 'Looks like we're making good time'. Desi is about to respond when Riley's voice comes over there comms./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac, Desi, you've got incoming from the North and the South, moving fast' Riley quickly relays./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Looks like they know we're here' Mac replies as he shares a look with Desi. Desi calls out to Riley, 'Any alternate route suggestions?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Unfortunately no. Best bet is to outrun them' Riley responds. 'Copy that', Desi acknowledges and turns her head to face Mac, 'hold on'. Desi puts the jeep into overdrive as Mac grasps the side of the jeep while simultaneously checking that the vaccine shipment is still secure./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Looks like you're putting good distance between you and the bad guys' Riley calmly notes but her relief is short-lived, 'wait, they're altering their course to match yours' Riley says puzzlingly. 'They must be tracking you somehow', she deduces./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It's got to be the truck. Everything else is clean', Mac concludes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'What now Mac?' Desi asks, 'If they're tracking us, it doesn't matter how fast we get anywhere, they're still going to find us'. By Mac's expression, his brain is already working on the problem. Suddenly a smirk appears. 'We'll just have to make them think they've succeeded in stopping us. Des, pull over.' Desi immediately gets what Mac is proposing./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Riles, can you start looking for another ride for us? I think this one is not long for this world' Desi says as she sees the tell-tale, pre-occupied look on Mac's face./p
p class="MsoNormal"'On it…' Riley replies as her fingers fly over her keyboard, 'ok, got something. There's a small village a couple of miles southwest to your location. You'll have to backtrack but you should have some options to choose from there. I'll drop you a pin.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Thanks Riles' Desi answers as she watches Mac begin to convert their ride into a rolling explosive. 'Des, get the shipment' Mac instructs as he opens the engine cover. With his swiss army knife, he makes short work of the modification required. Lowering the engine cover, he's ready to put his plan in motion. Looking down the road, he soon sees the last thing he needs to pull off this misdirection. Moving to the driver's seat, Mac climbs in and starts the truck. Moments later, he is accelerating down the road, approaching a sharp bend. Instead of braking to take the curve, Mac jumps out seconds before the truck leaves the road, hits a tree and explodes on contact./p
p class="MsoNormal"After briefing surveying his handiwork, Mac gets up and jogs back to meet Desi. 'That should buy us some time. Let's get to that village'. Mac and Desi each take a handle of the cooler and set off./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty and Russ are in deep discussion that they are not immediately aware when Bozer and Riley enter the room. When Riley puts down her rig on the table a little louder than normal, Matty and Russ realize that they have company./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer clears his throat, 'Sorry to interrupt but...'. He hesitates and looks to Riley. 'But we've found something that we think you two should be aware of' Riley finishes for him. Matty and Russ now give them their full attention. Riley nods encouragingly to Bozer./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer takes a deep breath then continues, 'After what happened with the nanotrackers, I began thinking about all the other Intel the government gave us that we simply took on blind faith that was true. But what if it wasn't? So I've been wanting to confirm a few things for my own peace of mind. I started with Leanna's death'./p
p class="MsoNormal"At this news, both Matty and Russ look alarmed. 'Bozer, I don't think that's a good idea…' Matty begins./p
p class="MsoNormal"'They lied' Bozer blurts out. Matty remains quiet but her expression urges Bozer to continue. 'I found the autopsy report. The body they recovered wasn't Leanna's. There were no mentions of her previous injuries.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ and Matty share a meaningful look. 'Bozer, it is not uncommon for certain documents and artifacts to be altered, even after death, concerning agents to help preserve their covers with their families, especially concerning any injuries that would cause further heartache. I'm sure that's what's happened here, I'm afraid' Russ kindly explains./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Then why were her dental records and fingerprints switched out?' Riley interjects matter-of-factly. Both Matty and Russ snap their heads to her. 'After Bozer told me what he found, I did a little digging of my own, and that's when I found the digital trial for the switch out. Begs the question, if that was really Leanna, why would they need to?' Riley throw the question./p
p class="MsoNormal"The significance of what Riley found is not lost on either Matty or Russ. 'Then we need to get to the truth' Matty says simply. 'Riley, keep digging but be careful. They hid it from us for a reason so they won't be too happy us poking around'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Got it Matty. I'll head back to the lab so that I can monitor Mac and Desi at the same time' Riley nods. Her and Bozer leave. Matty turns to Russ, 'What do you the odds are that this is the only thing they've lied to us about?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ crosses his arms around his chest, 'Slim to none' he replies. 'I agree', Matty nods, 'I think it is time that I do some digging too.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi arrive in a small village out of breath from running. Even though they are garnering much interest from the locales, they keep to themselves and quickly begin to survey their surroundings, frantically searching for some type of transportation. Mac finally spies a beat-up car under a tarp behind one of the houses. He runs towards it and rips off the tarp, peering into the exposed engine./p
p class="MsoNormal"'This'll do' he mumbles as he begins to source parts for his repairs. Desi approaches carrying the cooler. Seeing that Mac has already moved onto delivering a solution to their current transportation problem, she sits down on top of the cooler. 'Are you sure that you are going to be able to get it to work?' she asks with raised eyebrows after seeing how bad of shape the car is in./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac pauses long enough to give her a 'really?' look. 'Just kidding,' she smiles, 'I know you got this'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'We'll be on the road in a minute' he says as he fiddles with a starter-like component, 'Do me a favour and start it up'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi gets up from the cooler and goes around the car to get in the driver's seat. She finds the key already in the ignition and turns. She shakes her head at Mac when nothing happens, 'No go'. Mac fiddles again with the engine, 'Try again'. Desi turns the key again and this time a small sputter starts and then ends just as quickly. She gives Mac an exasperated look. Mac returns his attention back to the engine and makes one more adjustment, 'Again'. Desi turns the key again and this time the engine turns over and stays running./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac grins as he smirks, 'Third time's the charm'. A relieved Desi tells him to grab the cooler and get in the car. The smile is still on his face as he rounds the car but is erased almost immediately./p
p class="MsoNormal"The cooler is gone./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty is finishing up a phone call when Russ enters the room. 'Any luck, Matilda?' Russ looks expectantly at Matty./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Not so far but I am no means done beating the bushes,' she responds, 'I'm still pissed off that I didn't think to go back and review their generously provided Intel myself'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'We all believed. We had no reason to think at the time that they were lying to us. Not telling us the full truth, may be, but not flat out providing us with false information,' Russ reflects./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well, I have should've known better. I was spending day in day out with those snakes on the hill and should have suspected something. And now Bozer is paying for it – we all are,' Matty laments./p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ approaches Matty and sits on the arm of the chair closest to her, 'those snakes on the hill got there because they are the most adept at deception and manipulation, you – we – were taken in by the best'. Matty gives Russ a half smile for his attempt to put her mind and conscience at rest./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty wears a new look of determination, 'At least now we know and can do something about it. I've still got a few insiders willing to take my calls, one in particular, so I'm not giving up until I know the full extent that we have been lied to'./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi joins Mac at the back of the car. 'Where did it go,' she demands. Mac ignores her tone, 'About to find out…'. Mac turns on his comms, 'Riley… can you ping the package?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Sure Mac…what…the package isn't with you?' Riley questions hesitantly. Mac rolls his eyes, 'it is momentarily misplaced'. Riley smirks as she imagines the exact look on Mac's face. She runs a quick search on her rig. 'Looks like the package is 126 yards northeast to your current location in a small house on the outskirts of that village. Just sent you the pin,' she replies and then continues, 'You guys should also get a move on. Your trick with the car stalled them for a while but now it looks like they are sweeping nearby villages trying to find you'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi share a 'not again' glance and sign off with Riley, 'Copy that'. Desi takes charge, 'Let's go find our thieves'. Desi leads the way to the shabbily built structure that is the cooler's current location. With the only window shuttered close, it is impossible for Mac to see into the building. With her gun drawn, Desi decides to take a more direct approach and rushes the door, with Mac following right after her. Both stop in their tracks when they see that their 'thieves' are simple villagers, not gun-toting criminals. Immediately they realize that the situation is not what they thought it would be and Desi lowers her gun./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man that quickly shielded his family upon their forced entrance to his home raises his hands, 'Please take what you want but don't hurt them'. Mac's face instantly softens, 'We're not here to hurt you. We simply want our cooler and its contents back'. The man sighs in relief./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Take it. It was not was I thought it was' he says disappointedly./p
p class="MsoNormal"'What did you think it was?' Mac asks curiously./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Food', the man responds. Mac and Desi both nod understandingly. Desi nudges Mac as she realizes that they are way behind schedule, 'We've got to go'. Mac nods but addresses the man before leaving, 'Bad men are on their way here. You're gonna want to get your family away from here fast,' he says grimly. The man considers what Mac said for a moment and then nods his head, 'We will leave. For now'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi grab the cooler and leave, rushing back to the beat-up car. They get the cooler and themselves in just in time before armed men in two trucks appear on the other side of the village. Desi guns the car's engine and they are out of the village in a heartbeat. Unfortunately they did not get out unnoticed. One of the trucks takes up pursuit and bullets start flying their way out of town./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Seems like we are back to where we started but with less time and a less dependable ride,' Desi frowns./p
p class="MsoNormal"'But this time, they don't have a tracker on us so you can lose them,' Mac remarks. 'Good point,' Desi acknowledges, 'let's see what this thing can do'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi immediately speeds up and then spying an outcropping of trees, she quickly executes a three point turn/pivot maneuver to get the car undercover. The quick thinking move works, and they lose their tail. Mac and Desi both heave a sigh of relief./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Let's get to Montoya' Mac says with confidence./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley rushes in, with Bozer right behind her, 'I've found something,' she says. Matty, Russ, and Bozer all wait expectantly for Riley to bring what she has found on the big screen./p
p class="MsoNormal"'I was able to locate the mission reports for the op that Leanna was on,' she explains./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Do I want to know how you did that,' Matty sarcastically inquires./p
p class="MsoNormal"'No,' Riley throws her a 'don't ask and I won't have to lie to you face' glance, 'but what's important is that these files were found under the classification FC-289, which is basically CIA-speak for "mission went south, damage control needed". I'm still trying to access all the files but I was able to unlock some surveillance footage'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley starts the video and they all are mesmerized by the scene that unfolds in front of them. The scene shows Leanna and her partner, an FBI agent, raiding a gun sale. Both the buyers and the sellers are taken by surprise but they do not resist as Leanna and her partner start to put handcuffs on two of the players./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Leanna…' Bozer breathes./p
p class="MsoNormal"His next breath is cut short as the video next shows Leanna calmly raising a gun and shooting the FBI agent squarely in the back. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGasps are heard all around as Leanna then takes the cuffs off the two criminals and eventually leaves with the men she was previously arresting in their car./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi make good time to the rendezvous point. As they enter a village even smaller than the last one they visited, they see a man walking towards them matching Montoya's description./p
p class="MsoNormal"'There he is,' Mac points to him./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well at least one part of this mission is working out,' Desi smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi parks the car, and they get out to meet their contact Montoya./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Welcome!' Montoya greets them with a big smile, 'I'm so glad that you made it'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi and Mac grin back him, and Mac says, 'We are too'. Mac becomes more serious, 'though I don't think we'll have too much time to celebrate it'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Unfortunately some hostiles know we're here. We've lost them for now but I think we should expect to see them soon. There are only so many places to hide and there are more of them than us,' Desi adds./p
p class="MsoNormal"Montoya understands their predicament, 'then let's get to it. You have the shipment?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, in back' Mac begins as he reaches into the car for the package. He immediately notices that the cooler is leaking from a bullet hole. 'We've got trouble,' he says as he pulls the cooler from the car. Montoya and Desi each gasp as they see the damaged cooler. 'Let's hope the vials are still intact,' Mac murmurs. Upon lifting the lid and inspecting the contents, he lets out a huge sigh, 'they're still good'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'But not for long,' Montoya jumps in, 'without the cold storage the cooler provides, those vials will be unusable way before I can get them back to my lab.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Well then, we'll just have to make you a new cooler,' Mac smiles, a solution already popping into his head, 'Des, can you keep a look out?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'You got it,' Desi nods as she turns to watch for any uninvited guests./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac turns to Montoya, 'You know where I can find some cleaning supplies round here?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Montoya gives him a bewildered look and then shrugs, 'follow me'. Mac picks up the now-coolant free cooler and follows Montoya into a run-down building. Montoya leads Mac to a closet filled with a variety of cleaning supplies./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac's eyes light up at the smorgasbord of cleaning supplies to choose from, 'Perfect'. He takes a glance at Montoya and notices how calm he is, 'So…from your nonchalance…this is just another day in the Congo outback for you?' Mac asks humorously as he begins to make his coolant concoction./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Pretty much,' Montoya chuckles to himself. 'Out here you realize that em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"every/em day could be your last day. All you can do is meet whatever challenge the day brings head on and then take solace knowing that you tried,' he explains./p
p class="MsoNormal"'That's very Zen of you' Mac gives Montoya a quick smirk before turning his attention back to the cooler, 'It must be hard to face it all on your own out here'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Oh, I'm not alone. My wife, my heart,' he puts his hand over his heart, 'is here too. She's another doctor in our eclectic band of aid workers,' Montoya brightens at the thought of his wife. 'At the end of the day, we share our highs and lows – laugh a little, love a little, maybe even cry a little, and the world makes sense' he reflects. 'And it lets me know that I am not alone,' he concludes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It makes taking the risks, doing the work here, infinitely better knowing that no matter if I succeed or fail, she supports and trusts me in all that I do,' Montoya looks inquisitively at Mac, 'Surely you must have someone like that too?' Montoya looks questioningly at Mac./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac immediately thinks of Riley, 'Yeah,' Mac half smiles, 'I do'. Mac finishes his patch-up job on the cooler, 'cooler is now good to go'. Mac presents the cooler to Montoya with a wide smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"Montoya shakes his head, 'Amazing….'/p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer is the first to speak, 'No. I don't believe it,' he vehemently shakes his head, 'Leanna would never kill someone in cold blood. This footage em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"has/em to be doctored. Riley…?' Bozer looks over to Riley, desperately hoping that she will confirm his theory. Riley shakes her head, 'Sorry Boze, this footage has not been tampered with'./p
p class="MsoNormal"The room is silent as Bozer slips into a chair and quietly breaks down. Russ, Matty, and Riley exchange concerned glances at each other. Matty approaches Bozer to comfort him but is batted away by Bozer. 'No, no, there has to be more to it than that. I do not – will not – believe that Leanna has turned her back on her country, on decency,' Bozer looks at each one of them in the eye before rising from the chair and rushing out of the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty squares her shoulders, 'We need more information to understand what's fully going on here. Riley, do whatever is necessary to get us the full files'. Riley nods in agreement, 'No stone unturned – on it'. 'Russ, use your back channels to find out more about arms dealers working on U.S. soil – I want to know more about the other players we saw in that video,' Matty commands, 'this is top priority for us now'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'You got it, Matty' Russ nods./p
p class="MsoNormal"'We are going to do whatever it takes to bring Bozer, and us, closure on this,' Matty vows./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac,' Desi races up to join Mac and Montoya, 'we've got company – lots of company – coming'. A tense look passes between them./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac turns to Montoya, 'OK, time for you to leave. We'll buy you time to get away'. Montoya nods appreciatively to both of them, 'Thank you'. Desi takes off to return to her lookout position. Montoya holds his hand out to MacGyver, 'Be careful'. Mac gives his new friend a smile while shaking his hand, 'Make it safe back to your heart'. 'You too, my friend,' Montoya replies before taking off with the cooler in the opposite direction of their pursuers./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Mac, gonna need a little help up here,' Desi yells over the sound of gunfire. Mac races up to her. 'I've counted twelve so far but there may be more,' Desi briefs him as she returns fire, 'I'd say now would be a perfect time for one of your explosive distractions'. More gunfire is thrown their way./p
p class="MsoNormal"'You got it – be right back,' Mac says as he turns away back into the village. He runs back to the cleaning closet and begins to quickly assemble five smoke bombs. After making short order of the bombs, he runs back to Desi./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Ok, Montoya should have a good enough head start. Time for us to get out of here,' Mac informs Desi. 'How do you suppose we do that, Mac? What's the plan?' Desi questions as she ducks behind what's left of a wall. 'These smoke bombs should give us some cover. You go grab the car, I'll keep our friends busy and then we hightail it to exfil,' Mac outlines./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Works for me,' Desi takes off to get the car. Mac lobs the first of the smoke bombs at the nearest group of attackers and quickly launches another at the feet of more attackers twenty feet from the first bomb, creating a clear pocket to escape through. Desi arrives next to Mac's position just in time and he hops in. Once inside, Desi guns the car through the makeshift smoke corridor. Mac leans the top half of his body out the window of the car and continues to throw the remaining bombs at the attackers behind them. It does the trick and Mac sinks back into the car. He looks at Desi and the two of them wear gleeful grins. Their exhilaration is short-lived however when Desi suddenly hits the brakes./p
p class="MsoNormal"The hostile's covered truck is blocking the road. Mac and Desi briefly glance at each other, the same thought running through their heads: they were caught./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Congo Outback, In the back of a truck, going the opposite way from exfil…/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac and Desi bounce around the truck bed as the truck hits another pot hole. Both are restrained with ropes around their wrists and ankles. Two bored, shabbily dressed guards share the bumpy ride with them. Mac and Desi pick up on their lack of enthusiasm for guard duty, and give each other a slight nod, an unspoken plan formed. At the next patch of bumpy road, they both spring up and get the jump on the guards. Despite their restraints, they are able to subdue the guards relatively easy, thanks to the element of surprise on their side./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac turns to Desi and quickly unties the ropes around her wrists, 'Now that they're taken care of, let's see if we can convince their friends to give us their truck'. Desi returns the favour and frees Mac's hands, 'Any preference on approach?' Desi smirks as they both free their own ankles. 'You go left and I go right?' Mac suggests with a smile. Desi returns his smile with one of her own, 'Sounds good'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac gets to work with his swiss army knife, cutting the truck's canvas roof. Once an opening is big enough for him and Desi to slip through, he gives her a leg up to climb on top of the roof, and joins her there shortly thereafter. Both move into position to remove their captors from their relatively seats in the front. Mac mouths – em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"one – two –three/em…/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi and Mac simultaneously open the doors of the truck and yank the current occupants out onto the roadway. Sliding into the previously occupied seats, Mac and Desi grin at their success./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Good thing they weren't fans of seat belts,' Desi quips. Mac smiles and rolls his eyes, 'Let get out of here'./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Phoenix War Room/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley and Bozer briskly walk in, and once they see Matty and Russ are already there, Bozer closes the door and Riley activates the privacy feature. Matty and Russ look curiously at the two./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty takes charge while Riley connects to the big screen, 'What did you find, Riley?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Nothing at first, but then I took another look at the video,' Riley begins./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"was/em tampered with?' Bozer cuts in excitedly./p
p class="MsoNormal"'No,' Riley cautiously says, 'but it was edited'. Matty, Russ and Bozer all look momentarily confused, but Matty understands what Riley is saying first. 'It wasn't the full footage,' she smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley gives Matty a 'top marks' smile, 'Bingo. In the meta data I was able to see that the clip we got was actually part of a longer video. So once I knew what I was looking for, I found it. Here's the part we missed...'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley cues up the video to show that after Leanna drives off with the criminals, moments later the FBI agent she 'shot' gets up and walks away, seemingly unharmed./p
p class="MsoNormal"'It was a deep cover set-up,' Russ breathes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yup, it was all staged to make it look that Leanna had gone to the dark side,' Riley surmises. She looks over at Bozer, who wears a decidedly vacant expression./p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty also sees Bozer's state and tries to bring him out of it, 'Bozer, this is good news. It means that Leanna is still playing for the good guys'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Yeah, but she is hanging with the bad guys, in even more trouble,' he realizes./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"On the Phoenix Jet/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi walks down the aisle towards Mac who is staring out the window, lost in thought. 'Well, for a first mission back in the field, that was relatively ho hum,' Desi flops happily into the chair opposite Mac./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Regular same old, same old,' Mac agrees mockingly with a smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi grins, 'Who'd have thought that stealing cars, blowing stuff up and getting shot at would become old hat for us'. Desi gives him a cheeky look, 'Or that we actually made it through a whole mission without fighting with one another'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac raises his eyebrows and smiles, 'That is one for the books'. He continues, 'I don't think we should bother telling anyone that since I'd doubt they'd believe us'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Desi laughs, 'True. We'll have to keep it to ourselves'. 'I'm going to get some coffee. Want some?' Desi asks./p
p class="MsoNormal"'No, I'm good,' Mac answers absently. As Desi walks away, the look on Mac's face suggests otherwise./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Back in LA/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty is in the War Room with the walls frosted. On the screen is the man she has been seeing professionally, and personally, in DC./p
p class="MsoNormal"'You were right, Matty,' the man says, 'Leanna is alive and under deep cover for a joint CIA/FBI operation'./p
p class="MsoNormal"'How confident are you in this information?' Matty asks./p
p class="MsoNormal"'100%', the man answers promptly. He hesitates for a moment, 'Matty, there is more that you should know…'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Matty braces for bad news./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"'To the victor!' Mac salutes Riley with a wave of his pizza slice. Riley acknowledges Mac's remark with a regal nod of her head, accompanied by a wide grin and sparkling eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Thanks Mac, you are definitely getting better,' Riley innocently comments. 'I almost had to work at beating you,' Riley lets the zinger fly, causing Mac to almost choke on his bite of pizza./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Almost, huh,' Mac says after swallowing. 'Definitely almost' Riley grins. 'I'll have to add this obsession of needing to beat you at Skee Ball to my conversations with the Doc,' she nonchalantly mentions before taking a bite of her own pizza slice./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac pauses before asking, 'How's that going with you anyway?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley tilts her head back and forth thinking, and swallows before answering. 'Not my favourite activity, talking about my grab bag of issues, but I think it is helping,' she replies. She looks Mac in the eye, 'You?'/p
p class="MsoNormal"'Same, I think,' Mac responds hesitantly. 'We've been talking a lot about my constant need to fix things.' Riley stays silent, seeing that Mac has more to say./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Before I would have dismissed that observation as simply as a misunderstanding of who I am, but when I went to Mission City for Auntie's funeral…, Bozer's dad basically said the same thing, that I seek to solve problems as a crutch, as a way to avoid dealing with things.' Riley reaches over to hold Mac's hand. Mac gains support from the gesture to continue. 'Doc is helping me to realize that what I do and who I am are not necessarily the same thing.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Riley squeezes Mac's hand, 'Sounds like the Doc is on to something. You, Angus MacGyver, are em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"way more/em than what you simply do.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac blushes and attempts to lighten the mood, 'So once I get this one issue resolved, I'll be deemed fit for society,' he declares./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Just one issue?' Riley deadpans then grins mischievously. Mac rolls up a nearby napkin and throws it at her. Riley ducks and laughs./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 429.0pt;"Mac relents, 'Ok, maybe more than one issue…' and enjoys Riley's mirth in his concession. Riley decides that her appetite trumps her need to tease Mac. Grabbing her pizza, she toasts Mac with it, 'United in therapy', before taking a bite of it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac shares a soft smile and lingering look with Riley before attacking the rest of his own greasy slice of pizza./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ enters Bozer's lab and approaches Bozer quietly. 'Bozer, I know it's not the outcome you were hoping for, but it is what Leanna signed up for.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer shrugs 'Actually, it is the outcome I wanted. She's alive…it's enough to know that someday she may walkback through my door'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ looks at Bozer with respect, 'You're a good man, and I have no doubt that when she is able to, she will be walking through that door to you. And know that em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"when/em that day does arrive, we'll be here to support you''/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bozer flashes a small smile, 'Thanks Russ'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Russ is not finished, 'I also wanted to thank you for pulling the curtain back so to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMatty and I are going to continue the investigation you started – the blinders are off and we're going to get to the bottom of things./p
p class="MsoNormal"~/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mac enters his darkened home quietly. After depositing his keys on the counter, he makes his way to his bedroom but doesn't go in. Standing in the doorway with a pensive look on his face, he watches as Desi sleeps in his bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p