Chapter Six
MacGyver crouched behind Daniel's car and watched the room Carter had been taken into. It was all part of the plan the five of them had come up with earlier in the office, but Mac still couldn't help but worry about his former second in command. Murdoc was insane, and there was no telling what the man might do. All Mac could do, though, was wait for the signal.
He turned to look at Daniel who was concentrating just as hard as Mac had been. As if feeling the gaze, the archaeologist glanced up at Mac, his eyes questioning. MacGyver just shook his head. Any minute now, Teal'c would report in that he and Jonas were in place. And then, Murdoc would finally have what was coming to him.
As expected, the radio crackled to life and Teal'c reported his and Jonas' readiness. MacGyver acknowledged it and then slowly moved out from behind the car, still in a crouch, motioning for Daniel to follow closely. They half-walked, half-crawled towards the window of the room and settled in the bushes. MacGyver pressed the button on his radio five times-the signal for Teal'c and Jonas to make their move.
Several seconds later, the Jaffa and the Kelownan walked up to the motel room. They were both wearing chicken suits and carrying boxes of fried chicken. Teal'c looked decidedly uncomfortable, but Jonas appeared to be enjoying himself, and MacGyver couldn't help but feel amused, in spite of the situation. Some things never changed.
He crouched lower as Jonas knocked on the door, and motioned for Daniel to do the same-no sense in taking chances. The door slowly opened, and MacGyver gritted his teeth as his worst enemy-at least on Earth-poked his head out. There was nothing but silence in the room, and he urged Murdoc to take the bait and step outside just long enough for Daniel and he to scramble inside.
"Delivery for a Pete Shanahan," Jonas intoned nasally.
"I haven't ordered anything," Murdoc said, his voice accented differently than MacGyver was used to, "Please leave, or I'll call the cops."
"If you have not ordered from Chickie's Fried Chicken, then we must have your signature denoting such," Teal'c immediately put in, "Or we shall be in great trouble with our employer."
"Yeah," Jonas whined, "Cause we got a call from here saying…"
"Maybe you just have the wrong room number?" Murdoc interrupted, "In any case, I…"
"We must have documentation," Teal'c insisted, "So that our employer will know that we did not simply lie about the transaction."
"Oh very well," Murdoc acquiesced and stepped outside.
MacGyver nodded to Daniel, and the other man quickly climbed through the window. MacGyver followed, and then ducked underneath the closest bed. Daniel had already slipped into the bathroom. They were going to wait until Murdoc entered and then Mac was going to contact Frere via the crystal transmitter. The occupants of the room would then be transported onto an Asgard vessel, and Murdoc would be taken into custody by the six SF's waiting aboard.
After realizing that he was going to have to tell his team everything, he had decided that contacting the Asgard wouldn't hurt. To his great surprise, they had answered quickly enough, and had actually been eager to help when they had found out what was going on. He had briefly wondered where Thor was, but the little aliens refused to tell him anything and he was too grateful for their help to push them into not providing it.
The plan worked like clock-work. As soon as Murdoc shut the door behind him, Mac tapped the crystal and felt the familiar disorientation that always came with Asgard transportation devices. The underside of the bed faded around him, and the interior of Frere's ship came into view. He jumped to his feet, and checked that Carter and Pete (both of whom were unconscious) were okay, then turned to grin at the murderous glare on Murdoc's face.
The psychopathic killer was being restrained by Asgard devices, so he very probably wouldn't be able to escape any time soon. Mac felt relief wash over him. This was the first time he'd ever faced his nemesis without a battle, and without the man supposedly dying in some manner, only to miraculously come back to life and to make Mac's life miserable.
"Take him away," MacGyver ordered the SF's, who instantly complied. The man would be held in a high security cell within Cheyenne Mountain, and would be guarded by men who had been trained to watch the equally devious Goa'uld prisoners.
"So," Daniel said, once that was taken care of, "I believe you owe us an explanation. Jack."
MacGyver winced and then shook his head. "Wait til Carter wakes up. She deserves to hear this. And we need to get Pete out of here before he wakes up."
"There is no need, O'Neill," a familiar voice broke in.
MacGyver turned to stare at his old friend, Pete, with shock. "Pete?"
The portly man sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, but…" He began to shimmer, and then there was a bright flash of light. When it had faded, in Peter Thornton's place stood a tiny grey alien.
"Thor?"
The question was asked by three different voices. MacGyver glanced at Daniel and Sam (who had woken at the same time as Thornton) and smiled wryly before returning his attention to the alien.
"I am sorry for the deception," Thor began, looking earnestly at MacGyver (at least he thought it was earnestly-it was hard to tell with Asgard expressions), "But it was necessary for your protection."
"My protection?" MacGyver asked, "From what?"
"I cannot say. It should suffice that you must, at all costs be protected, MacGyver."
Before any of them could protest, there was a flash of light, and they were all standing in his office at the SGC. MacGyver gave discontented grunt and then sighed. He really had no right to be angry at Pete. After all, he hadn't been exactly honest himself. Although, the man (alien?) could have at least told him he knew who he was.
"Right," MacGyver said after looking at the expectant faces of his team (though he didn't quite meet Carter's gaze), "Explanation time."
"I'll start at the beginning. Several years ago, I discovered a chemical that could age the body without negative side-effects. I played around with it a bit, and found that I looked exactly like my uncle (with a little make-up applied for scars). Jack was rather taken with the idea, since he and a fellow officer were about to embark on a mission in which no one could know they were gone. Steve had already faked his own death a few years back because of an incident with some people-I don't know the whole story and probably never will-so he was okay.
"Jack however," MacGyver paused and wet his lips, his mouth dry from talking so much, "Jack had a family. He couldn't just…die. So, they had me take his place for the month they would be gone. The plan went off without a hitch, and I never heard from them again. Until nine years ago. They were called again. Jack was already divorced at the time, and you all know about Charlie, but it would appear too convenient if he suddenly 'died'.
"So, I was the obvious choice. Before he left, he told me all about the Stargate. 'Just in case', he told me. They didn't know how long they'd be gone this time."
MacGyver stopped here and looked away from the people he had grown to know and admire over the past eight years. He had expected them to interrupt with questions, or at least disbelief, but either they were waiting until he was finished or they just didn't have any.
"So," MacGyver continued, "For a year, I lived in my uncle's house and did things my uncle always did. I didn't think I'd ever have to worry about the Stargate Program, and I was sure Jack would be returning soon. It had, after all, been a year. Then, Samuels came and got me. At first, I was going to tell Hammond everything, but I knew that there were probably people who didn't need to know listening. So I kept quiet, waiting for a moment when I could get him alone. Then, I found out he was going to send a nuke to Abydos, and…the rest is history. I just couldn't let innocent people die out of ignorance.
"I hate guns. I have never advocated their use, but as we began fighting the Goa'uld, I couldn't just stop being Jack. For eight years I've been lying to you, and I didn't even feel guilty. Because I was doing something for my planet other than making sure all the trees didn't get cut down or stopping pollution. I began to think Jack would never return, and even if he did, I doubted he would try to take over when so much had occurred. People were liable to notice the differences between us right away.
"Then, a few months ago, Steve came back and told me the one thing I didn't want to hear. Jack had died, and it needed to be official. Since it would be a lot easier to fake his death than my own, we set up the accident…and you all know the rest.
"I guess," he took a deep breath, "I guess it was rather selfish of me to want to come back here when Hayes offered me the job, but I couldn't help it. So…that's it. That's the story. I'm sorry for lying to you all…especially after everything we've been through but…I'm not sorry I did this."
And with that, he turned and walked from the office, letting his story sink in. If they still hated him afterwards, well…he'd deal with that when he came to it. For now, he just had to hope that they could find their way to trusting him again.
Well, that's the last of it. I may do a sequel, but I'm not sure. I left it open like that, just in case. Hope you liked it, and once again thanks for all the reviews.