Unbreakable Camels
part ten, Painful Diversions
Mac's Voice-over:
We hurried as quickly as possible down the stone corridors, Alfie, Angela, and I, trying not to make any more noise than necessary. Turns out we needn't have bothered... this end of the place was deserted. Most of Rafe and Ryerson's men were out looking for me. Of course, we had no way of knowing that at the time. I was focused on getting Angela to safety, and thinking about what methods I might use to get us all out of Afghanistan alive.
All this activity had not pushed from my mind that, back in the States, my mother was waiting for me. The last time I had spoken to her, I had promised her that I'd be home by Christmas Day. Time was running down, and there was a desperate feeling growing inside me. I needed to get back there. I needed to keep this promise to Mom.
Thinking about her and Home always brought a kind of calm to my spirit. In the midst of that calm, a sudden clarity came to my mind, and a flaw in the plan occurred to me.
xxx
Mac pulled Angela back to stop in a familiar corridor-- right outside of his former cell.
"Saiad!-- I mean, Alfie!" Mac said in a loud whisper, "Wait!"
Alfie turned and came back to MacGyver's side. He made a 'what?' gesture with his hands.
"Ryerson and Rafe... what are they going to do when they find out that we've escaped?"
"They will immediately call in their men and turn this city inside-out to look for you and the Sister." Alfie nodded toward Angela, who was leaning over, clutching a stitch in her side.
"And what if they only find her missing?"
Alfie cocked his head, not quite understanding. "I doubt that they would care, since they only pulled her in to tempt you into a foolish display of heroics." Mac smiled sheepishly and ducked his head in a self-depreciating shrug. Alfie tried to stifle his own grin and continued, saying, "They do not consider her a threat. That is why I was coming to free her; with you in custody, they would probably let her starve to death in her cell, just as they did Father Deigas. I promised the Father that I'd protect her."
"Then do that." Mac took Angela by the shoulders. "Go with him, Angie. Let him take you to safety. I'll be okay... I can escape anytime! But I want you away from here first."
"MacGyver, no! I... I don't want you to stay here!" Angela clutched at his arm. "Come with us!"
Mac gently detached her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. The gesture seemed clumsy to him, but it brought a weak smile to her face. "Don't worry! If we both disappear at the same time, Ryerson may suspect that Tony helped us. I can't leave him to try to get himself out of all this. He saved my life-- I owe him one."
Mac kissed her on the cheek and then put her hand in Alfie's. He got out his pocketknife to open the lock; he was careful to avoid setting of the booby trap he had left behind. Apparently, no one had tried the door while he had been gone; everything was still in place.
Alfie bade Angela wait for him outside of the cell and he followed Mac into the room. He looked at MacGyver and he wondered why he felt such a desire to trust this eccentric American. "You are brave to do this," Alfie said softly. "Tony is a good friend and I had feared that he would bear suspicion if you escaped too soon. How long will you wait before you attempt your escape?"
"I don't know... why?" Mac looked around the depressing cubical that was his prison. It seemed smaller than before.
"Because an army of men is about to descend upon this place, sent from the Capitol. The magistrate of this region was arrested for promoting terrorism-- not all Afghans believe that is the only way to fight our battles!" Alfie's voice was fierce and passionate, but still never rose above a whisper. "I was sent here by the director of my country's security forces. Ryerson's activities will not be countenanced for much longer; he is not just supplying illegal arms... he is trying to take over this part of the country. His world will come to an end tomorrow."
"What about Tony? He isn't cut from he same cloth as Ryerson."
"This I know. It will be dangerous for any foreigners found inside the Fortress when the army arrives, but I intend to see to it that he is spared, even if I must purchase his life with my own. He is a good man. When the storm comes tomorrow... if we can stay alive until then... I will fly you both out of Afghanistan myself."
"I'll do my best," Mac answered with an ironic grin, "but I warn you... I'm an impatient guy!"
"If you are found here by the army and you are being held as a prisoner, I am confident that you will be spared. However, I do not believe it would be healthy for you to remain in Ryerson and Rafka's company for that long. Ah... speaking of which... before I go--" he looked apologetic as he added, "I'd like to offer my help to make this masquerade of yours as believable as possible." Without any warning, Alfie struck MacGyver hard in the face with his fist.
Taken completely by surprise, Mac reeled back and slammed into the wall. He clutched the stone with both hands to keep himself from falling as his vision went hazy for a few seconds. Blood splashed down his chin.
"I am sorry, friend," Alfie said, "but that will be more convincing than your fake head-wound."
"Well, I'm convinced!" Mac grinned in spite of his split lip, touching his mouth gingerly. "Good luck, Alfie... and thanks!" he added ironically.
"And to you, MacGyver. Mostly to you." The door closed and locked.
xxx
Mac's Voice-over:
It was a good thing that Alfie had 'contributed' his help... but that didn't make my face feel any better. I hadn't hurt like this since the time Dingo and I fought over the last piece of chocolate and I lost!
To pass the time, I rigged my little 'surprise package' into a nice portable smoke bomb; a glass bottle of chlorine in a rubber glove full of brake fluid. When thrown against a hard surface it would break the
glass, mixing the fluids and creating smoky gas. The shards of the broken glass would rupture the glove, allowing the smoke to disperse into the air, providing a useful screen or even a distraction… in theory, anyway. The tricky part was finding a place to hide it.
It wasn't long before I heard footsteps in the corridor. My stomach clenched, knowing that whatever Ryerson and Rafe had in mind for little ol' me, it wasn't going to be anything to write home about.
I wondered-- not for the first time, I might add-- if this time I hadn't pushed my luck a little too far.
xxx
When the door slammed open Mac lazily lifted his head, as if mildly interested to see who had come to call in the middle of the night. Rafe and Ryerson both came inside, followed by Tony. The gun Ryerson was holding had been pointed at Tony, but now the muzzle swung toward Mac.
"Well, well," Ryerson said. "I apologize for doubting you, Sullivan. Here he is!"
Rafe seemed the most surprised, gaping at MacGyver in wordless disbelief.
Mac stood up and gave Rafe a flippant, one-handed wave. He tucked his thumbs into his pants pockets and said, "Evening, Gents. How's the room service in this joint?"
Rafe smiled when he saw the blood on MacGyver's face. He walked forward with an unhurried pace, looked into Mac's eyes, and then buried his fist in Mac's stomach.
All the air rushed out of Mac's lungs and he sank to his knees. Rafe didn't let him fall all the way to the floor. He pulled him up by grabbing a handful of his hair. "How wonderful to see you again, MacGyver," he said between clenched teeth.
"Pleasure's... all... mine," Mac coughed, fighting for breath. He rolled his eyes toward Ryerson and asked, "Who's... this guy... the referee?"
"Don't count on any 'time-outs', MacGyver," Ryerson said, looking down at Mac with his cold reptilian eyes. They seemed more intimidating even than the cold barrel of the gun he held. "You've given my friend Rafka a lot of trouble. I think it's only fair that he gets in a couple of licks... if only so he'll quit complaining about how you've eluded him."
Rafe shot Ryerson a look of pure hatred. He grabbed the hilt of a long, curved knife that rode in the front of his belt and drew it with a sharp movement. He pulled Mac's head back and slowly touched the tip of the blade to his throat, as if looking for the best place to make the first cut.
Mac's eyes were drawn irresistibly toward the gleaming steel blade; in terrified fascination he noticed every detail of the weapon. The handle was of black rhino horn, carved in an elaborate design. The metal was Damascus steel, and it shone wickedly in the light of the lantern that Tony was carrying. The razor-sharp edge looked cold. Mac couldn't keep himself from struggling against Rafe's hold, but the pressure of Ryerson's gun at his temple forced him to remain still.
Mac realized that it was over; there was nothing he could do to save himself. As Rafe changed the grip on the knife and prepared to deliver the killing stroke, Mac had only enough time to realize that his promises to his Mother had been in vain. He knew he was going to die.
Another man might have closed his eyes and surrendered, but not MacGyver. It wasn't in him to give up, even now. He watched the blade descend again, fear and defiance showing on his face with equal intensity.
A shout sounded outside of the cell and footsteps came pounding down the corridor. Rafka hesitated, not wanting anything to interrupt this moment for which he had long been waiting.
A guard appeared and shouted his news, "Capitan Rafe! The woman... she is gone! Her cell is empty!"
"What?" Rafe pointed the knife-blade at the man as if it were a gun. "Explain!"
As the guard spilled his story, the pressure of Ryerson's gun against his head eased. Mac took the opportunity to breath once again. He could see Tony from where he was kneeling; he looked as if he were on the verge of shouting something. Mac gave a miniscule shake of his head.
While Rafe and Ryerson were both absorbed with the guard's news, Mac looked meaningfully toward the lantern. Tony blinked, then looked down at the thing, remembering. He gave Mac a half-wink to show he understood. Taking the base of the lantern in his hands, he rotated it slowly until it clicked. He set it down next to the door and began to count silently.
"I went to check on the other prisoner as you ordered, Capitan," the guard was saying. "The door was still locked but the bars in her chamber were bent. That is how she must have escaped; there is a rope hanging past the window."
"She will not get out of the compound," Ryerson announced calmly. "Both of the gates are guarded."
As he spoke, an alarm came from the direction of the courtyard. "Someone has opened the read gate and dispatched the guard!"
Rafe scowled. "She must have had help! I knew she was a spy!"
Ryerson forced a laugh, but his eyes were worried. "She is nothing. She was bait to catch him-- " he pointed at MacGyver, who was enjoying the taste of still being alive, if even for only a few seconds more.
"Then why did they rescue her and not this one?" Rafe demanded. He shoved MacGyver away from him so that his head struck the wall. Stunned, Mac fell back, grasping his head with both hands. Rafe took the opportunity to land a solid kick to the man's unprotected ribs.
Tony knew he had to intervene now or Mac would be killed. "We've been made fools of, Ryerson. She is the agent! She must have been behind everything, all along... I'll bet that she was the one that Deigas died to protect! And you, Rafe... whoever she is working for has convinced you that this guy," he nodded at MacGyver, who was too busy fighting to breathe to realize what Tony was up to, "was the mastermind behind it all! She's probably long gone now-- MacGyver was just the diversion! His job was probably to keep you busy while she infiltrated the Fortress!"
"Impossible! She is nothing! She's... only a woman!" Ryerson was becoming enraged. Unable to strike at the source of his anger, he directed his rage toward MacGyver. "Who is she? Where is she now?" he demanded. Rafe helpfully punctuated each of Ryerson's questions with a savage kick.
Mac couldn't have answered if he wanted. He felt at least one rib grind as Rafe's boot struck him. The world turned red, and then black. He curled up, trying to protect himself, teetering on the brink of consciousness. Rafe paused, not wanting to waste the effort on a semi-conscious man.
Ryerson took Tony's arm and spoke in an urgent voice, "Go and find that flyboy of yours, Sullivan. And then find her. The only place she'll have to go is into the desert. Pick her up and bring her back here. I must know what she knows and who she's working for... if you're right, she could ruin our whole plan."
Tony ignored the 'our'. "What about him?" Sullivan asked, indicating MacGyver. He was casually edging away from the lantern, still counting in his head.
He kept his face composed even as he winced inwardly while Mac was beaten. It took all of his discipline not to try to stop Rafe, but he knew if he tried, Rafe would merely kill Mac on the spot, and then likely Tony would be next.
Just a few more seconds, he said silently. Just hang on, MacGyver!
"Oh, don't worry about Mr. MacGyver," Ryerson said. He chose to interpret Tony's uneasiness as concern for their smuggling operation. The sight of Mac's blood staining the floor seemed to please him. "If Rafe can controlhimself," Ryerson said, "we'll have ourselves a nice, traditional execution in the morning... maybe even a double!"
"I can wait," Rafe said. He sheathed his knife and stepped toward Ryerson, who was standing near the door. "But get one thing clear: MacGyver is mine to kill."