Weapon of Opportunity
Part Ten: Home Court Advantage
Winder knelt on the walkway, grinning with anticipation; MacGyver was going to die at last! He peered through the metal grating, hoping to see Mac's terrified expression.
Then Winder stopped grinning – he couldn't see Mac at all! He crawled forward and back along the walkway, jabbing the cane through at random, but MacGyver was nowhere in sight. Had he already fallen? Winder looked around wildly, but he could not see him anywhere. He must have fallen into the space between the catwalk and the platform!
Frustrated, he cast the cane aside and got to his feet, drawing his gun again and holding it with both hands as he peered through the grating into the darkness.
The pounding on the door became persistent. Winder looked toward the exit, fingering his gun thoughtfully. Maybe it was time to leave – the Doctor had said in his book that a tactical retreat was often an appropriate response to a surprise attack ... and MacGyver had certainly surprised him by showing up here!
He took one step toward the staircase and the lights suddenly went out. Winder turned and fired blindly toward the control panel. The muzzle flashed and the bullet hit metal. It came bouncing back and struck the wall behind him. Winder stood still, trying to figure out where MacGyver was hiding. The thudding on the door continued, drumming on Winder's nerves.
"Tell me why, Dennis." Mac's voice echoed around the room. Winder pointed his gun to the left, then to the right, not wanting to waste any more shots. He'd lost count of how many times he'd fired already. "You don't mind if I call you 'Dennis', do you? Tell me why you killed those people. Did Zito tell you to do it?"
"Doctor Zito!" Winder spat. "The likes of you aren't fit to speak his name!"
MacGyver laughed. The sound bounced around like a bullet. Winder spun around, waving the gun dangerously. "I got news for you, Dennis. The likes of me has met ol' Doc Zito before... and beat him at his own game. He's a psychopath and a homicidal maniac and if I never heard his name again, I'll be a happier man!"
"Why – you – !" Winder sputtered with indignation. He began shooting blindly into the darkness. A ricochet came back and nicked his ear, spilling blood wetly down his neck. The pounding at the door ceased, and a click sounded as the heavy bolts were drawn back. The door was unlocking!
Winder hurried blindly toward the stairs. He held his left hand across his body, touching the wall, the gun still clutched in his right hand. When he banged his shin on the first step of the stairs, turning his bark of triumphant laughter into a gasp of pain. He lifted his foot to the step just as the lights came on.
MacGyver was clinging to the metal struts on the other side of the stairs. His fist shot between the steps and caught Winder squarely on the chin. Winder stumbled backward and lost his grip on the gun. It fell from the catwalk, rattling down into the darkness under the platform.
The door swung open and David appeared, hurrying forward with his gun ready. Winder rolled over, clutching his jaw and reaching for the cane where it lay on the floor. David moved forward quickly and carefully placed his foot on Winder's hand. "Don't touch that," he said, looking up to see MacGyver where he was dangling under the stairs, "that was a gift for a friend of mine."
Mac grinned at him. "Thanks for coming!"
David wrestled Winder into a sitting position, cuffing his hands around a sturdy strut on the catwalk. He looked around casually. "Nice place you got here. Kinda cozy. Why'd you move out?"
Mac answered with a laugh, "It's too far from the water." He jerked his thumb toward the big telescope, unable to forgo the old joke. "But it does have a great view!"
Epilogue
"... And after the kids fetched the caretaker, I had him let me into the Observatory. I told the kids to go down the hill and call the police. I had Barney shut off the power for five minutes, and then I used his card-key to override the lock. I figured that was safer than just bulling my way in and getting my own self shot."
Pete shook his head slowly; this had been one hell of a debriefing session. MacGyver was sitting with his leg up on Pete's desk, massaging it absently as he let David do the talking. "Are you okay, Mac?" Pete asked with concern. "You should have a doctor look at you..."
"I'm fine, Pete. Just got an unexpected workout today. I still got my prop!" He waved the cane as evidence. "And I used it, too, just like I promised!"
"Yeah … funny how you remembered that promise, but forgot the one about staying out of trouble!" Pete gave Mac a scowl. "I swear … I tell you that you aren't ready to go out into the field, and you go anyway. I mean … am I talking just to hear myself make noise?"
"How was I supposed to know that Winder was hiding out at Griffith Observatory?" Mac retorted with an air of injured innocence.
"Well, the next time you have a 'hunch' – I want you to call me so I can be ready. If David here hadn't been with you …" Pete's voice trailed off ominously.
It was definitely time to change the subject.
"Pete, now that you mention it … I think that Mr. Johannes here is wasted as a security man. We need him as a field agent. What do you think?"
"I think I like him as a security man … seeing how he saved your life!" Years of experience with Mac's talent for shifting attention away from himself had taught Pete not to be easily turned aside.
"You're like an old dog on a bone, Pete!" Mac sighed. "David said you were a stubborn guy and he was right!"
Pete laughed along with Mac as David ducked his head in embarrassment. "Well, you were right, David. And so is MacGyver. I'd like to recommend you to the field training program, if you're interested. You did good work today; you'll do more good 'out there'."
Unable to contain his excitement, David sprang to his feet to shake Pete's hand. "I will certainly give it serious consideration, Mr. Thornton. Thank you!"
"See," said Mac proudly, "a man who thinks before he acts … my protégé!"
"God help him," Pete mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Pete... what was that you said?"
Pete coughed and quickly said, "Now, David – go take some time off. You've earned it." David nodded and quietly left the office.
Once the doors closed, however, both Mac and Pete could hear someone holler "Whoo-hoo!" just outside.
Mac chuckled and lifted his leg down from Pete's desk and stretched it out in front of him. His injury pulled a bit, and he was pretty sure that he'd feel it more later. Still, he was pleased; the situation had finally been resolved and soon the living would have justice and the dead would have peace. Mac's thoughts turned to Joshua Mahey and Tabatha Carr. He'd never met her and never would, but maybe now they could both rest.
Pete was sensitive to Mac's mood shift. Gently, he asked his friend, "So … do you think Winder will go for the insanity plea?"
Mac made a pensive face. "Probably… taking a page out of Zito's book, most likely, but I doubt that his lawyer will make it stick. The District Attorney is out for blood."
And I don't blame him, Mac added silently.
"Mahey was a good cop," Pete said. "Kate Murphy will see to it that his role in solving this crime will be remembered … as well as Zito's part of it. Speaking of which," Pete pulled open a drawer and brought out something wrapped in paper. "I thought that you'd be interested to know what we found among Winder's personal things. He tried to burn it all, but the cloth that he wrapped everything up in turned out to be flame-retardant fabric. This survived the incinerator." Pete placed a smoke-blackened book on the desk in front of MacGyver.
Mac read the title aloud, "'Applied Logic For A Better World' . . . by Dr. Zito! He wrote a book?" Mac picked the thing up with obvious distaste.
"What else is he going to do while he's locked up for the rest of his life?" Pete said. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his hands, as if the touch of Zito's book had left more than just soot on them. "The Constitution of the United States declares the right to free expression. You'd be surprised the amount of publicity received by books written by career criminals or people on death row. The public eats them up."
"So he literally did 'take a page out of Zito's book'." MacGyver felt suddenly tired. "Well, I guess this explains everything," he sighed, dropping the book back onto the wrapping.
"Explains what?" Pete asked, puzzled.
"Why Winder killed those people," Mac said, dusting his hands clean. "The devil made him do it."
fin
Author's Note: Thanks to all for your interest and support! I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it and bringing it to you!
Special thanks to 'Beth for her patient editing and encouragement!
MacKisses to all!
-Loth