Black Site: Location Unknown
The emergency lights are flashing and the alarm sounds throughout the facility as a SWOT team sweeps down the darkened corridor. As they reach the locked room at the far end of the hall, they soon realize that it is no longer secure. The team splits along the walls, with the lead agent about to breech into the room. He swings the now-unlocked door open and quickly enters the room, gun raised, his teammates immediately behind him. He stops short when he sees that the room is empty.
The lead agent brings the radio to his mouth, 'Be advised. Subject 218 has escaped.'
Phoenix Foundation
When Riley arrives, she finds Mac and Russ talking with Matty while Bozer sits unnaturally quiet at the back of the room. Mac noticeably perks up when he sees her while she gives him a small, tight smile in return, not quite meeting his eyes, as she draws up next to Bozer.
Russ moves to the front of the room. 'Now that we are all here, let's get to it,' he begins. 'First up, a mission sent to us by an old comrade-in-arms of mine, Stuart Carlyle. Carlyle parlayed his prior military expertise into a boutique engineering consulting agency specializing in highly classified installations for an elite clientele. As part of a current contract, his client requires that another agency carry out independent testing of their security measures, and that is where we come in.' Russ turns the floor over to Matty.
'The mission is straightforward. Mac, Riley, you'll be conducting an end-to-end on-site security audit of the facility. If there are any holes in their protocols, you two are to document them,' Matty explains.
'Document them?' Mac questions, surprised and a little disappointed.
'That's right, Blondie. This is a consulting gig only. Not a show-and tell,' she stresses. 'The location of the compound is also unknown, another layer of precaution, so Carlyle will be sending a town car to pick you two up in 20 to begin the assignment,' Matty finishes.
Matty turns her attention next to a not exactly peppy Bozer. 'Bozer, you're needed in the lab. We're up for a robotics award that if we win, will go a long way to establishing our cred as an actual think tank, so get Sparky ready to wow the judges,' Matty instructs as she makes her way out of the room with Russ.
Bozer looks to the ceiling. 'Thank you, Lord' he says to no one in particular, relieved.
Riley cannot pass up the opportunity to tease Bozer. 'So Boze, you're looking a little green around the edges this morning. Never thought you would let a Brit drink you under the table,' she smirks.
'Well, while Mac here was off doing operation glass slipper, Russ and I had the not-so-brilliant idea of adding whiskey chasers after our beers,' Bozer elaborates, 'in my own defense, that man is part Scottish, and you know what that means – they got whiskey in their veins instead of blood.'
'Back up, Boze. Operation glass slipper?' Riley asks suspiciously, already dreading the answer.
Bozer looks nervously at Riley, then at Mac, and then back to Riley. 'Uh…you know what, I would love to stay and chat, but I really should get Sparky ready for his close-up,' he says before bolting from the room, leaving Mac to answer Riley's question.
Riley turns her head pointedly at Mac, an eyebrow raised, 'Care to explain?'
Mac is undaunted, and even a little pleased at the turn of the conversation. 'What? I may have let it slip that I was over at your place declaring my undying love and devotion to you,' Mac nonchalantly replies with a mischievous smile.
Riley's mouth drops open, 'They know?!'
Mac's smile turns into a full-blown grin and his eyes sparkle, 'I'm not hiding how I feel about you anymore.' He shrugs, 'besides, they're going to figure it out when they see me trying to sweep you off your feet anyway.'
A wary expression lands on Riley's face. 'I thought you said you were in wait mode,' Riley states cautiously.
'Waiting for you and wooing you are not mutually exclusive concepts,' Mac points out confidently. His grin widens even more when he see how flustered Riley is.
'We should go. Want me to grab your gear for you?' Mac innocently asks as he opens the door for her, knowing full well that Riley never lets anyone touch her stuff. As he follows her out, he wears a look of happy anticipation.
Riley and Mac stand at the entrance of the building, waiting for their pick-up, saying nothing but letting their body language carry on a conversation. Riley is agitated, even more so by how calm, cool and collected Mac is.
'I can't believe you told them,' Riley finally bursts her silence wide open. Mac simply smiles back at her.
'And what do you mean by woo me?' Riley shakes her head in disbelief.
'To woo, to pursue as a romantic partner, you know, basically get you to fall in love with me,' Mac outlines, loving how worked up Riley is getting. 'Last time I checked, your feelings for me went away,' Mac peers closely at Riley's face. 'So of course I'm going to do everything in my power to make those feelings come back,' Mac responds matter-of-factly when Riley gives nothing away.
'So your plan is to what, whisper sweet nothings in my ear, kiss me for luck before you run off and do one of your MacGyver save-the-day moves, and I'm supposed to fall for you like in a trashy harlequin romance?' Riley says sarcastically as their town car pulls up.
A teasing look enters Mac's eyes, 'If you want me to kiss you Riles, I'm more than happy to oblige, but maybe we should wait until after the mission.' He gives her a cocky grin as he opens the car door for her.
Riley is not sure if she wants to smack him or kiss him. She discards both options and instead gets into the car but not without sending daggers Mac's way. He smirks as he follows her in.
Riley is sitting as far away as possible from Mac in the back seat. Mac glances at the distance she has put between them and chuckles to himself as the town car starts to move. His mirth doesn't last long as moments later, the back of the car begins to fill with gas. Both Mac and Riley see the smoke but before they can even try the doors, they are rendered unconscious.
Mac and Riley lie on the floor in a darkened room. As he starts to come to, Mac puts his hands to his head, hoping to clear the fog that remains.
'Mac?' Riley mumbles shakily nearby. 'Riles,' Mac murmurs in her direction.
Riley's voice gets a little stronger but still has a note of uncertainty to it, 'Is this supposed to be part of their security protocols?'
'I don't think we are here for an assignment. I think we are the assignment,' Mac grimly observes.
'Oh Angus, always the quick study. Top marks!' an all-too-familiar voice mocks from the other side of the room. Before he turns around, Mac knows who he'll see.
'Murdoc,' Mac say, his mouth a thin line.
Murdoc strides fully into view, a cold smile beaming on his face and a gun in his hand. 'After Mexico City, I never dreamed that I would get another chance to kill you. And yet, here we are, together again!' he says excitedly.
Riley gets up to stand besides Mac. She asks the question on top of Mac's mind, 'How the hell did you get out of the black site this time?'
'Strange as it may seem, I found myself in a, you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-your-back situation,' Murdoc smirks.
'Why would anyone let you out?' Riley keeps Murdoc talking while Mac tries to formulate a way to escape.
'Well, my dear Riley, it seems like the Phoenix Foundation has fallen out of favor with some factions in our good ol' U.S. of A. government, and even though you've cut ties, they want to make sure that you're out of the picture completely. And what better way then by eliminating the top assets of said organization,' Murdoc explains humorlessly.
'So you're saying that you are now working for the United States government,' Mac asks satirically.
'Not officially, and not really the government itself. You see, there are apparently a few bad apples that want to make sure that Phoenix doesn't shake their apple cart. Apparently, you've been looking into things you shouldn't have,' Murdoc wiggles his finger at them mockingly.
'If you're here to kill us, then what are you waiting for? Are you planning to talk us to death?' Riley retorts.
'And why lure us out?' Mac asks with narrowed eyes.
Murdoc gives them a dead smile. 'Part of the deal. They need your deaths to look like a mission-gone-wrong type of thing. It's all very cloak and dagger-ish,' he squeals with delight.
Mac tries to get into Murdoc's head, 'Doesn't seem like that would be too much fun for you, having to hold back your savagery for the sake of appearances.'
'Au contraire, I've got quite the game for us to play. You may even have a shot at winning, though a very slim one,' Murdoc says sociably. Mac and Riley roll their eyes at each other and wait for him to explain.
Murdoc grins as he keeps them in suspense, 'Let's just say that I've bought the farm.' At their combined 'get on with it' looks, he continues, 'Throughout this house I've set up all kinds of surprises of the lethal variety. If you can avoid them and get off the property, then you're home free.'
Mac and Riley look warily at him and then each other. 'You're simply going to watch?' Mac curiously asks.
'As you no doubt have learned by now, Angus, it is important to focus on the things that truly matter in life, like yours' and the lovely Ms. Davis' deaths,' Murdoc pontifies. 'And I'll have a front row seat to it,' he smirks.
Murdoc decides that it is time to start the game. 'Because of our long history, I'm even going to give you a head start,' he tells them, 'you've got 5 minutes before the fun begins.'
Mac remains frozen in place, holding Murdoc's ruthless stare. It is only when Riley pulls at this arm that he turns his focus away from Murdoc and onto their survival. They find the door and make their way, they hope, out of the house.
'And MacGyver remember, like in Vegas, the house always wins,' Murdoc calls out to them with an evil glint in his eyes as Mac and Riley head down a hallway.
Mac and Riley, despite their strong desire to bolt down the hallways, are taking a cautious approach to their exit. When they reach a staircase, they pause to consider their options.
Mac is peering down the stairs to see if there are any dangers, hidden or otherwise. 'I think we're clear,' he says to Riley over his shoulder, 'let me go first to see what's at the bottom.'
'Be careful,' Riley tells him as his foot hesitantly hovers near the first step. His eyes meet hers and he gives her a small reassuring smile before he places his foot on the top stair. He lets out a small sigh of relief and moves further down the stairs.
When he makes it to the bottom, he looks back up to Riley. 'Ok, now you,' he says encouragingly. Riley starts down the stairs. She is a couple of steps from the bottom when a distinct click is heard. She looks alarmingly up at Mac who instantly grabs her off the stairs and throws them both to the floor, seconds before a current of electricity cuts through the air and strikes at where Riley was standing moments ago.
Mac is holding Riley close, as they both look in horror at the scorch marks left behind. Riley heaves a huge sigh of relief and then instinctively buries her head into Mac's chest for comfort. Mac tightens his embrace, and briefly closes his eyes as he realizes what a close call they just had. As he clutches Riley, he takes a close look at this surroundings. In short order it becomes obvious that he does not like what he sees.
'He's got the whole place electrified,' Mac breathes out, dismayed. Riley lifts her head at his discovery.
'What?' she looks questioningly at Mac.
'All of the windows and doors are wired. If we try to leave, we'll be electrocuted,' he says grimly.
'Oh MacGyver….' Murdoc's usual taunt intrudes on them. While Mac and Riley can hear him, Murdoc is nowhere to be seen.
'I really hate that guy' Mac says as he rolls his eyes. Mac and Riley break apart and get to their feet, looking around to see where Murdoc's voice is coming from.
'Did you really think that I wouldn't pull out all the stops for you and your lovely Riles?' Murdoc's condescending words surround them. 'Why would I deprive myself of the pleasure of seeing the two of you work together one last time?' he continues.
Mac spots the first hidden spy camera. He draws near to Riley, 'He's got eyes on us,' he intones as he flits his eyes to the camera's location for her. Riley sees the camera and nods, 'Multiple, actually,' as she uses her eyes to indicate to Mac the camera she spotted.
'It's kind of got me reminiscing actually,' Murdoc resumes, his voice taking on a wistful note. 'The two of you together, reminds me of when Amber and I first realized that we were two halves of the same heart.'
Both Mac and Riley start at Murdoc's words, glancing quickly at the other, before hastily looking away and continuing on with their survey of the room.
'It was a little Pueblo outside of Guadalajara. We were helping a cartel….make an entrance, as they say. It was also our third or fourth trip for business in a row, so we decided to throw a little pleasure into the mix, you-know-what-I'm-saying. A bottle of tequila later, and our job was almost done, only one amigo left. Amber had the bead on him but she drew up at the last second, and tossed him over to me to finish him off.' Mac and Riley can hear Murdoc sigh happily.
'I used the knife we had used to carve up the lime for our shots,' Murdoc smugly reports, 'and then I figured I should make a grand gesture as well so I pushed what was left of the bottle to her. Well, she looked me straight in the eye, threw back that tequila shot, worm and all, and that was it. I knew she was the one for me,' Murdoc concludes.
Riley stops and looks at Mac with a 'this guys is truly nuts' grimace. Mac just shakes his head with a 'don't I know it' look. Mac has made his way across the room to the landing for the staircase to the main floor of the farmhouse. He takes a closer a look and motions for Riley to join him.
When she gets to his side, he speaks in a low voice, 'This staircase should be fine, there are no energy pathways here to complete the circuit,' Mac explains, 'besides, Murdoc prides himself on being an original so it is unlikely that he would do the same booby trap twice.'
'I'll go first,' Mac begins. 'No,' Riley cuts him off, 'we'll go down together,' she says with a pointed look. Mac relents when he see the determined look in her eyes. He simply nods with acceptance. 'Ok, let's go,' he says as he leads the way. Mac and Riley quickly go down the stairs without incident, entering a seemingly typical living room.
'Aww, that was so sweet! Facing potential impending doom together!' Murdoc booms. 'Really, MacGyver, bet you wish you that you hadn't abandoned your previous brief infatuation with Riley all those years ago – here's a woman that would truly stick by your side, no matter what. Could've saved you years of heartbreak. But then I think you know that by now.'
Riley is standing in the middle of the room while Mac is carefully examining all of the walls, the two windows and the front door, both trying desperately to ignore Murdoc but failing.
'Right about now would be a good time for one of your plans, Mac,' Riley comments nervously. Mac carefully uses his Swiss Army knife to lift the molding around the door to check out the wiring that has turned the farmhouse into a prison.
'I think I got one,' he muses.
'Great, you've got a way for us to get out of here without a kaboom?' Riley asks hopefully as Mac starts pulling apart the wiring from a nearby TV.
'Yes…and no,' Mac vaguely replies. At Riley's questioning expression, he elaborates, 'Yes, I can get us out of here. No, it won't be without a kaboom.' He flicks a glance at her as he finishes up connecting the TV's wiring to the door wiring. 'I'm going to overload the circuit. Assuming that Murdoc has run enough electrical juice to kill us through that door, it should cause it to blow out.'
'And then we can simply walk out the front door,' Riley finishes. Mac nods, appreciating her ability to quick deduce what he is thinking.
'Take cover,' Mac instructs. Riley cowers behind a love seat as Mac flips a nearby armoire over. When he sees Riley is out of harm's way, he ignites the circuit overload from his position. It has the desired effect, and the front door blows off its hinges. The smoke hasn't even cleared yet when Mac and Riley scramble to be outside.
They have barely made it outside when they hear Murdoc once more. 'Nice move, Angus,' he croons, 'but you'll be back.'
Phoenix War Room
Matty enters the room and heads straight for Russ.
'Mac and Riley missed their check-in,' she tells an unconcerned Russ. 'It's most likely that the security audit is preventing any outside communication. I'm sure that they are fine, and in fact, they're probably bored to tears,' he reasons.
Matty is unconvinced. 'Do you really want to assume that given that not even 7 weeks ago these same two agents were abducted by our own government?' she says expressionlessly.
At the mention of the last time they took thing on faith and we're taken advantage of, Russ realizes that this situation may be more serious than he originally thought.
'I'll contact Carlyle, make sure that they're ok,' he promises Matty, both of them looking a lot less assured.
Mac and Riley head for the tree line. Once they are inside its cover, they stop and peer out to get a better sense of their surroundings.
'Looks like a normal farmhouse from the outside,' Mac comments, 'If you ignore the blown out door and the charring'.
'At least they'll be able to put upgraded electrical on the listing when they sell it,' Riley quips, causing Mac to smirk.
'Ok, let's recap. We are in the middle of who-knows-where with Murdoc pulling the strings in a house of horrors. Phoenix has no idea where we are or that we've even been kidnapped by our favorite psychopath who's intent on killing us,' Riley summarizes wryly.
Mac nods in agreement, 'That about covers it. First priority is to send up a flare to the Phoenix.'
'In order to run the surveillance he had on us, Murdoc must be holed up in a control room of sorts. If we can get in there, I can probably get a message out or at least disable any security protocols keeping us in,' Riley speculates confidently.
Mac looks off to the distance, 'If we want to have any chance of surviving that house, we're going to have to knock out the power to Murdoc's DIY.'
'Any ideas on how to do that?' Riley inquires curiously.
'Just one,' Mac replies as he heads in the direction of a larger metal box, tucked in next to a tool shed. He takes a quick walk around the transformer and then goes into the tool shed to find what he needs. Moments later, he exits with his makeshift explosive device. Riley watches as Mac places it carefully on the transformer. As he sets it into position, he looks over his shoulder at Riley, 'When this thing blows, we're gonna want to be as far away from it as possible, preferably underground. If we can get down that well,' he uses his head to point to a nearby well, 'that should give us the cover we need.'
With it ready to go, Mac grabs Riley's hand as he leads them to the well, 'Get in!'
The transformer blows up just as Mac and Riley plunge down the well.
Phoenix War Room
Russ is standing looking out the window as he ends his phone call. With a sigh he turns around to face Matty and Bozer.
'Carlyle is the wind,' he announces. Matty and Bozer look at him with alarm.
'Turns out his company is a front for off-the-books wet work for anyone willing to pay his price, including but not limited to cartels, makeshift government, and a slew of other nefarious organizations,' Russ elaborates with a dark expression.
Bozer looks between Matty and Russ, 'What does that mean?'
Matty beats Russ to the punch, 'It means that Mac and Riley are being hunted and we have no idea where they are.'
Mac and Riley are strewn about the floor of the dried up well. Mac starts to move first and as he sits up, he immediately turns to Riley lying next to him, 'Riles, are you ok?'
Riley shifts back and forth, 'Nothing broken….I think.' She focuses in on Mac, 'You?'
Mac rubs his neck a bit, 'I'm good. Just a few more bruises to add to the collection.' He gets up and starts checking out the walls of their small prison.
'Ok, Rocket Scientist, how do we get out of here?' Riley asks anxiously from her position on the ground, looking up at him.
'The mortar around the bricks is still smooth and intact. We're not going to be able to find footholds to climb out of here the traditional way,' he deduces. He looks across the diameter of the well, mentally calculating the length of it. 'We should be able to chimney climb out of here though,' he concludes.
'Chimney climb?' Riley prompts Mac to explain. He automatically goes into Macsplaining mode, 'We climb up back-to-back using the friction between our bodies and the wall to scale it. Key is to go slow and keep the tension with the wall so that we don't fall back down.'
Mac looks hesitant, expecting an objection. He gets none. Riley simply stands up and says, 'Alright, let's do it.'
Again Mac is amazed by Riley's unwavering trust in him. He gives her a half-smile, 'Ok, turn around.' Riley turns as does Mac. 'Press your back into mine and place your hands on the wall to steady yourself,' he instructs. Both of them follow his instructions.
'Now we slowly walk up the wall, one step at a time, keeping our backs pressed together,' Mac says as they take their first step onto the wall. After a few wobbles, the two get the hang of it and they start the slow, tiring journey out of the well.
After a few minutes, Mac can sense that Riley is struggling so he decides to distract her. 'So this isn't how I thought our first bodies pressed together moment would be,' Mac wisecracks.
Riley instantly forgets about falling, 'Seriously? You're bringing this up now?!'
'Well, we do have some time to kill before we reach the top, so yeah, why not,' Mac retorts.
Riley wears an exasperated expression, and then decides to get a few answers of her own, 'Ok then, tell me when did you first have feelings for me – when did your brief infatuation with me start?'
'It wasn't a brief infatuation,' Mac responds, the exertion starting to take its toll.
'I think I was a goner the moment you took a hammer to Nikki's hard drive,' Mac breathes out. 'I knew right then that you were an unconventional thinker and nothing is hotter to me than a brilliant mind that can think outside of the box. And despite the badass role you were playing, I could tell you were a good person.'
'You had feelings then?' Riley asks incredulously, still concentrating on keeping her balance but getting better at it with her mind no longer focused on not falling.
'Uh huh,' Mac acknowledges in a huff as they take their next step up the wall, 'but then there was Jack...and Bozer….and then Billy…'
Riley is stunned into silence as she grapples with the fact that Mac was attracted to her from the very start.
She finally finds her voice after another exhausting step, 'You mean the orange jumpsuit didn't turn you off?'
Mac smiles to himself, 'Doesn't matter what you wear, Riles. You're always sexy as hell with just the right amount of sass. You even managed to pull off the grape.' The two of them take a few more difficult steps up.
'Thought the time might have been right for us when the Phoenix started up again,' Mac continues, breathing heavy, 'then Germany happened. I found out that not only did I miss my chance with you again but you were serious with Aubrey, living with him.' Mac starts frowning in remembrance as they take another step.
'Guess that's why I started things up with Desi again,' Mac explains, 'Didn't want to be alone.'
Mac and Riley remain silent for the next few steps until Riley quietly asks 'Is that why you asked Desi to move in with you?'
Mac chooses his next words as carefully as his footwork on the wall. 'Partially…..You said your feelings went away and that you wanted to keep the door to us shut, so I decided to make things work with Desi,' Mac says with an exhausted sigh.
At Riley's silence, he continues, 'I did love Desi and I thought – mistakenly – that if I further committed to her that I would eventually fall in love with her too.' He pauses their progress up the wall, 'It didn't happen. Now I know it's because I was already in love with you.'
Riley doesn't know how to respond, and luckily she doesn't have to as they reach the top of the well and Mac refocuses his attention on getting them out safely, 'Ok, on three, push off my back and reach for the top. One….two….three!'
Mac and Riley launch themselves towards the wall and grab hold of the top, with Mac pulling himself over first. Once on the ground, he helps Riley over the edge. Now face-to-face, an awkwardness envelopes both Mac and Riley. Mac quickly composes himself, realizing that their battle with Murdoc is not over, 'Let's go.'
Mac and Riley head back towards Murdoc's madhouse.
Phoenix War Room
Russ and Bozer are pacing the room, waiting for Matty to get off of her call to one of her trusted government sources.
As she hangs up, Russ and Bozer look expectantly at her. The look on Matty's face makes it clear that the news is not good.
'Apparently our exit from governmental work was not taken kindly by some people in some very sensitive departments,' she begins, 'there's fear that we may be too much of a loose end not to tie off.'
Russ guesses at what Matty's hinting at, 'So they are going to try to take us down by any means necessary.'
Matty nods, 'Starting with our most valuable assets.'
Mac and Riley are again at the edge of the tree line after making a quick stop at the tool shed.
'Are we sure your trick with the transformer worked?' Riley asks.
Mac picks up a pebble from the ground, 'Let's find out,' he says as he throws the pebble at the nearest window. When nothing happens, he turns to Riley and smiles. She returns his smile, 'That's good.'
'What's also good is that the control room must still have power since those exterior cameras are still working,' Mac notes, nodding to them for Riley's benefit. Mac goes silent as the wheels in his brain begin to turn. 'We'll need to lure Murdoc out to give you an opportunity to find the control room and get a message to Phoenix. There's a blind spot near that side of the house,' Mac points to a section 10 feet away, 'wait there and once Murdoc leaves, get inside.'
'And how do you plan to get Murdoc out?' Riley asks while she checks out her stakeout position.
'I'm going to take out the cameras, letting Murdoc see me do it,' Mac outlines, 'he's not the only one who can predict behavior. He won't be able to stand not having eyes on us, so he'll come after me himself, especially since he's lost the upper hand on the electrocution front.'
'Here, take this,' Mac shoves the modified flashlight into her hands, 'hopefully you won't need it but if you do, don't hesitate to give Murdoc a taste of his own medicine.' As she takes it, she looks up into Mac's eyes, seeing deep concern in them along with another emotion that shakes her to her core.
'You just make sure that you stay ahead of him in your game of cat-and-mouse, you hear me?' Riley anxiously tells him, 'I don't want to have to be the one to tell Matty that you went off script again and got yourself killed.'
Mac gives her a soft smile, 'I'll be fine.' Riley nods nervously as she gets set to move into position on the other side of the house.
'Riles…' Mac gains Riley's attention as she readies to leave. When she turns around, Mac wastes no time. He draws her to him and caresses a strand of her hair away from her face before he claims her lips with his own. Mac takes advantage of her surprise to deepen the kiss, coaxing her to kiss him back. Riley does not need much persuasion. She closes her eyes and gives in, letting him know without a doubt that she still has feelings for him. Both rapidly realize that a match has been lit, feeding the fire that always existed between them to flame out of control.
Almost as quickly as he started it, Mac ends their kiss. 'For luck', Mac murmurs silkily, releasing her. Before Riley can catch her breath, Mac runs off to take out the cameras and draw out Murdoc.
'Damn harlequin romances,' Riley mumbles as she makes her way to the side of the house.
Phoenix War Room
Matty and Russ are discussing possible recourses when Bozer bursts into the room.
'It's Murdoc. They sent Murdoc after Mac and Riley,' he announces frantically. Matty and Russ looking alarmingly at each other.
'Are you sure? Murdoc has been detained at the Black Site since Mexico City,' Matty questions Bozer.
'He was, until a week ago,' Bozer explains, 'it seems that the Black Site had an extermination problem last week that required the help of external contractors. Those contractors? They don't exist. They're probably Carlyle and his boys,' he theorizes. ' I dug a little deeper, and the timing of that incident correlates with the chatter we heard on the Dark Web that Murdoc was back in play, working with a freelance group of mercenaries. Bet if we decided to pay Murdoc a visit, they would have a hard time ponying him up,' Bozer finishes.
All three of them know that it's Murdoc hunting their friends.
Mac has taken out two of the exterior cameras when Murdoc walks purposely out of the house, gun drawn. He sees Mac and takes a shot, which narrowly misses Mac as he turns a corner. When Murdoc follows him, Riley seizes her opportunity to get into the house undetected. She quickly makes her way up to the third floor, frantically checking each door, hoping to find the control room. When she reaches the last one, her search hits pay dirt. She puts down the flashlight as she figures out the technical set up. Her face lights up when she finds what she is looking for. Her fingers click away when she hears it: Murdoc's favorite whistling refrain. She looks up to see him leaning against the door jam.
'Fancy meeting you here, Riles,' Murdoc smirks. 'Once I realized that boy wonder was making the heroic sacrifice to lead me away from you, I put two and two together and knew exactly where I might find you. And since you mean more to him than his own life….I knew I just had to come back and take the one thing away from him that makes life worth living.'
'I'm surprised that you put it together so fast, though not fast enough. I've already let Phoenix know where we are,' Riley replies, her hand inching towards the flashlight. 'And I think you might be overestimating my importance to Mac,' Riley comments sarcastically.
Murdoc walks slowly towards her, an earnest look on this face, 'Riley my dear, I know I may have insinuated differently earlier, but believe me when I tell you that young Angus has always been enamoured with you.' Murdoc gives her a coquettish smile. 'All those hugs, the shared smirks, the way his eyes always gravitate to you….I completely expected that after Mexico City when I spilled the beans that the feelings were mutual, he would finally go after what he had obviously been longing for.'
'Yeah, thanks for that,' Riley rolls her eyes as her fingers wrap around the flashlight. 'And just having feelings for someone doesn't guarantee a happily ever after.'
Murdoc calls her bluff. 'Come on, Riles….' Murdoc cajoles as he comes closer, 'you've followed him blindly into countless life-or-death situations….you went rogue with him to join Codex…..you even stuck by him throughout the whole Desi disaster.' Murdoc breaks into a grin, 'Deny it all you want but I think you and I both know that you are a little past just having feelings for the blonde Boy Scout,' he teases mockingly.
'That's why I took this job – well, besides my overwhelming obsession to kill you both – the romantic in me wanted to see if the two of you could finally get your fairy tale ending.' He pauses for a moment as he steps right in front of Riley. 'Before I took it away from you, of course,' he rattles off matter-of-factly.
Riley strikes without warning, using the flashlight-turned-taser, to shock Murdoc, causing him to crumble to the floor. With Murdoc now down, Riley high tails it out of the room.
Phoenix War Room
Matty and Russ are pacing the floor, working their contacts, as Bozer stays glued to his lap top, hoping to hear something, anything from Mac and Riley.
Bozer instantly straightens up at a ping that catches his attention. He looks excitedly at Matty and Russ, 'We got them.'
Riley is streaming through the front door when she collides with Mac. Mac is instantly relieved to see her.
'Riles! Did he hurt you?' Mac's eyes frantically survey Riley's body for injuries.
'No, I'm good. Your little gadget did the trick,' she reassures him. Mac sighs, 'I'm glad. I ran into more trouble than expected and couldn't double-back when I saw that Murdoc was no longer following me.' Before he can say another word, the sound of gunfire reaches them. 'Speaking of which, we gotta go,' he says as he leads her back into the trees, 'did you send up our smoke signal?'
'Loud and clear,' Riley calls over to him as they race through the trees. 'Mind telling me why we are running away from the entrance?
Mac leaps over a fallen branch, 'Murdoc's employers obvious wanted an insurance policy so they blocked off the exit with 12 heavily armed mercenaries,' Mac tells her hurriedly. 'There are birds circling up ahead, so there should be a water source nearby….a river most likely. We'll have a better chance of losing them there while we wait for the Phoenix Tac Team to get here,' he continues.
Mac and Riley just break through the tree line when they stop short. Instead of a river, they are on a cliff overlooking a river far, far below.
Mac shakes his head in frustration, 'You got to be kidding me!' He begins to pace back and forth, looking at the river below. Eventually he calms down and the wheels begin to turn. Riley sees the moment the plan hits him.
'What are you thinking there, Einstein?' she cautiously asks.
Mac grimaces, 'We jump.'
Riley stares back disbelievingly, 'What? That drop's over 40 feet! And there are rocks below!'
Mac gulps and explains fast, 'The river looks deep at this point. We take a running leap off this cliff, it should land us straight in the middle, the deepest part, and then we body surf the hell out of here.' Mac's eyes plead with Riley to believe in his madcap escape plan.
Riley looks into his eyes for a moment, and then nods. Mac releases the breath he didn't even know he was holding. He points his head back a few yards, 'We're going to need a good start.' The two of them jog back to the tree line.
Mac turns to her and holds out his hand, 'Ready?'
Riley takes it and smirks, 'Yippee ki-yay.' Mac's eyes light up at her Jack-ism, and then they turn and run full speed off the cliff into the churning water below.
Another Parking Lot
Mac and Riley are sitting next to each other wrapped in blankets at the back of an ambulance when Matty, Russ, and Bozer arrive. Bozer bounces forward to draw them into a group hug.
'I knew that you all would be ok,' he cheerfully declares. Mac and Riley look at him with affection.
'You know, I'm getting awfully tired of ending up soaked, wrapped in a blanket, in a parking lot, at the end of every mission,' Riley quips.
Russ shuffles his feet. 'Sorry about that. I guess I should take into account the passage of time and how it may change people before I unilaterally take them at face value. I should have dug deeper into Carlyle,' Russ concedes.
Mac puts Russ's conscience at ease. 'We've all been there, Russ. We're not the type of people that are automatically suspicious of our friends. That's what makes us different from them,' Mac says magnanimously.
Russ looks at Mac respectfully, 'Thank you Angus. Needless to say, Carlyle and his men are being rounded up and charged as we speak.'
'And our resident psychopath?' Riley asks wryly.
'Unfortunately Murdoc slipped away before our Tac Team arrived,' Russ breaks the news. 'No matter. We will find him soon enough,' Russ says confidently.
'I wouldn't count on that,' Mac darkly advises. Matty decides to focus the team on what really matters.
'People, the important thing is that we won the day. Murdoc tried, and failed, to bring us down,' Matty looks every one of them in the eye. 'He will try again, and he will fail again, since we have something he doesn't: family,' Matty says simply.
Matty gives them all a warm smile, 'Let's go home.'
Mac's House
Mac is alone on his deck, staring at the stars, lost in his thoughts. So deep in his musings, he doesn't hear Riley approach him until she is almost right beside him.
'Riles, didn't hear you come in,' he says startled.
Riley smiles gently at him, 'That's obvious. You seemed mesmerized,' she pauses for a moment while she looks at the stars herself. Mac can't stop looking at her. 'They are beautiful,' she comments. Mac can't help thinking the same about her.
'I was hoping you'd come over,' he says simply.
Riley sways a little back and forth, 'Well, after today when we literally took a leap of faith together,' she shrugs, 'it seemed kind of moot to stay away from you. Especially when you now know that my feelings didn't go away either.'
Mac's heart starts beating like a jackhammer but he sees that Riley has more to say so he gives her a soft encouraging smile and stays quiet.
Riley looks out over the city. 'I've had walls up around me my whole life, not only when I was in prison. If people couldn't get in, they couldn't hurt me. Occasionally I'd let someone in, but I was always in control you know, never truly gave them my full heart. I loved them but was never in love with them,' She takes a deep breath before continuing, 'you see, I knew that to fully love someone with all of my heart and commit to a relationship…. well, that would mean a complete surrender, no walls to hide behind.'
She pauses and looks off to the side in memory, 'And then today, a psychopath with a romantic streak made me realize that it was too late, that I had already surrendered.' Riley turns back to Mac, 'you already have my heart – fully, totally, completely.'
Mac's mouth gapes open as he realizes what she is telling him.
Riley stares up into Mac's eyes and drowns in the love that she sees in them. She smiles tenderly and reaches up to caress his cheek. 'I'm in love with you too, Angus MacGyver,' she softly confesses, 'and I want nothing more than to be with you.'
Mac doesn't need any more encouragement than that. He pulls Riley into his arms and kisses her with unbridled passion. Riley responds with equal abandon, neither of them holding back now that their hearts have been fully bared to the other.
When they come up for air much later, Mac holds her close in his embrace, and the two of them relish simply being together. He closes his eyes for a moment and then kisses the top of her head. 'I was hoping that your feelings didn't go away. Thought they hadn't, but until now, I wasn't sure. Never imagined that you might already be in love with me too.'
'When did you realize that you were in love with me?' Riley softly asks into his chest.
Mac smiles, 'When I got out of the hyperbaric chamber. Riley looks up at him sharply, 'After you died, you mean?'
Mac nods, 'A few days later the memories came flooding back from when I flat-lined. I had glimpses of all of you – Bozer, Desi, Matty, Russ – but it was you that brought me back, the feeling that we weren't finish yet.' He pauses to look lovingly into her eyes, 'That's when I knew.'
Riley responds by softly kissing him. Mac is about to intensify the encounter when the doorbell rings. Both groan as they break apart. Mac grasps her chin, 'Hold that thought…'
He makes his way to the front door. Riley, thinking that they would shortly be taking their burgeoning intimacy indoors anyway, follows him in. Mac opens the door to find a courier waiting, package in hand. Mac signs for it and then shuts the door when the courier leaves.
He brings the package over to Riley and reads the label. 'It's addressed to both of us,' Mac notes curiously. Her interest piqued, Riley stands next to him as he opens it with his Swiss Army knife. Inside is a bottle of tequila, worm and all. The inserted note reads, 'To the happy couple! Till next time….M'.
'Murdoc,' Mac gasps.
Riley quickly takes the package out of his hands, a determined look on her face. 'Nope, Murdoc is not going to ruin this night for us,' she says as she tosses the package onto the table. She wraps her arms around Mac's neck and smirks, 'You can obsess about him tomorrow. Tonight you need to start making up for lost time.'
'I do, do I?' Mac grins.
'Mmm….yes, you do,' Riley nods and then rises up on her tiptoes. 'And you can start with some of those dreams you were telling me about,' Riley whispers seductively into his ear. Any lingering thoughts of Murdoc Mac might have had immediately disappear as Riley follows up her words with a soft, teasing nibble of his earlobe.
'I'm such a goner,' Mac groans as they finally lose themselves in each other.