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"Look, Pete, I'm not going on another assignment right now! I almost got killed on my last one and I want a break!" MacGyver turned around and strode angrily out of Pete Thornton's office.
"Mac!" called Pete, but he got no answer. Hitting his desk in frustration, Pete sighed and began working on his computer.
When MacGyver exited the Phoenix Foundation building, he began to regret being angry with his friend. After all, it wasn't Pete's fault that issues arose which needed resolving. Mac had almost reached his Jeep, but after analyzing his conversation over and over, he decided that he should go back and apologize to Pete. However, before he could take another step, a blunt object hit him in the back of the head and knocked him unconscious. He was therefore unaware of the dark figure that dragged him into a car and drove away.
Pete had been working at his desk for nearly an hour when he heard a deep voice say,
"Are you Pete Thornton?" Looking around his computer screen, Pete was astonished to see a large, muscular man holding a round piece of metal standing in his office doorway.
"I am," he answered. "And you are…"
"Steve Rogers," said the man. "I was told to see you about an assignment." Realization dawned on Pete, and with it came disappointment.
"Oh, Mr. Rogers, I'm glad to finally meet you." Rising from his chair, Pete walked towards Steve and stuck out his hand. "Unfortunately, the man you were supposed to work with on this job just declined it." Steve's face clouded.
"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?" Pete chuckled.
"No, not unless you can get MacGyver interested in traveling the world and being shot at again." He returned to his chair and sat down with a thump. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Rogers." Steve stood silently in the doorway for a few seconds, then commented,
"I can do it alone, Mr. Thornton, if you don't have anyone else." Pete looked at him gratefully but said,
"I wish you could, but I'm afraid you'll need MacGyver." He mulled it over. "I'll tell you what: If you can stay in town for a few days, I bet I can convince MacGyver to work with you. He just needs a few days to think it over." Smiling, Steve replied,
"I don't have any other plans. I hope, for the job's sake, that you can persuade your friend. This job needs to be done, and I'll do it alone if I have to." He left, and Pete felt better than he had before.
MacGyver woke with an aching head and an immediate realization of his plight. He was locked in the trunk of a car. He could feel various objects around him. The car was in motion, and by the feel of the rocky road was far away from any town. For a moment MacGyver had a fit of panic, but it ebbed when he felt a glass bottle brush his bound hands. Seizing it, he dashed it against the side of the trunk and used the jagged edge of the glass to cut his bonds. With his hands free, he was able to feel around for other tools that might help him escape. A few odds and ends that didn't help him were all he could find. Don't panic, MacGyver, he thought to himself. You can think your way out of this. If only I had my knife or a paperclip! He assumed that his knife had been taken by whoever had kidnapped him.
Presently, before he could discover a solution to his predicament, he felt the car stop and heard the driver's door open and close. Footsteps approached the trunk and a key was inserted into the lock. MacGyver waited with trepidation to see who his enemy was. He grabbed an umbrella and gripped it tightly as he watched for the trunk to open.
The next moment the trunk was lifted, and with it came such glaring light that MacGyver was incapacitated for a minute. However, that was all it took for the assailant to lift MacGyver out of the trunk and throw him to the ground. Pain shot through MacGyver's body after the jarring fall, but even through the pain he felt a shade of curiosity, for the arm that lifted him from the trunk had been metal.
Phones rang urgently throughout the Phoenix Foundation. Pete was rushing to and fro frantically, giving orders left and right. Steve had just entered the building, and after a short search he located Pete. When he saw the worry on Pete's face, Steve knew something wasn't right.
"What's a matter, Mr. Thornton? There's a crowd of police and detectives around a Jeep outside, and in here it's like the U.N. Do you mind telling me what's going on?" Distractedly, Pete answered,
"Yeah, Rogers: The Jeep outside is MacGyver's, the guy you were supposed to work with. He's missing." Not knowing how to respond to this news, Steve remained silent. Pete continued on with his work as if the soldier wasn't there.
Feeling like a misplaced item, not a new sensation for him, Steve wandered out of the building. He passed the crowd around MacGyver's Jeep, casting a casual glance as he did so. However, that casual glance was all it took for him to notice a dent that looked as if it had been made by an arm. Steve immediately turned back around and rushed into the building he had just exited.
"Pete!" he cried when he found the boss. "I think your friend's been kidnapped by a Soviet super-soldier with a metal arm. If that's true, he's in a lot of danger." Pete didn't waste a minute. Snatching up his phone, he dialed a number and told the operator,
"Get me the U. N." Then, as he covered the receiver end of the telephone, he asked Steve, "What do you know about this soldier?"
"His name's James Buchanan Barnes, though his code name is The Winter Soldier." Pete put up a hand for silence when someone answered the phone.
"Yes, Martin? It's Pete Thornton from the Phoenix Foundation. One of my best agents has been kidnapped, and we think it's Soviet doing. What can you give me on a James Buchanan Barnes, also known as The Winter Soldier?" He and Steve waited anxiously during the silence on the other line. Rustling was heard, and finally the voice came back on the line:
"We don't have any records of a James Buchanan Barnes or a Winter Soldier. Are you sure those are the correct names?" Pete looked at Steve helplessly and shook his head.
"They don't know anybody with those names." Inhaling deeply, Steve answered,
"I should have known. Nat said that the Winter Soldier was considered a ghost story. Of course the Soviets would have covered his tracks!" Pete sighed and spoke into the phone,
"Well, thanks Martin for trying. If anything does come up, be sure and let me know." He hung up the telephone and with his hand still on it stared down at his desk. Quietly, Steve said,
"I'm going to find the Winter Soldier, and MacGyver." Looking up quickly, Pete opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know what to say. "I'm sure he left traces I can follow. I'll keep in touch with you and let you know where I am." And before Pete could get his wits back, Steve had grabbed his shield and walked out of the office.
