A/N: The name "Mari" is pronounced like the word "marry," not the name "Mary." (By the way, the three girls are named after and hopefully drawn to look like three little girls I watched while their mothers were learning English as a Second Language.) Barbie

Chapter Three: To the Rescue

The embankment was just high enough and steep enough that MacGyver hesitated for a second at the top before shaking his head and beginning to make his cautious way down.

He slid more than climbed the last few feet, but landed on his feet and thought no more of it as he dashed for the cover of the van. Crouched behind a tire, he saw that while the men were apparently on guard duty, they obviously weren't expecting any trouble.

He paused long enough to pierce the two back tires with his knife, smiling slightly with satisfaction as he listened to the air hiss out. Then he ran around the building, hoping to find a back way in.

The only opening was a long, narrow barred window just above his head, obviously meant more for ventilation than anything else. He glanced around, then spotted a large rock and wrestled and rolled it over. Standing on it gave him just enough height to rest his elbows on the window ledge and pull himself up to look inside.

A little girl sat huddled against the wall, looking miserable but unhurt. "Psst!" he hissed at her.

The girl looked up quickly, startled.

"It's all right; I'm a friend," MacGyver called in a low voice. "Lucie sent me to get ya out of there."

"The little girl? Then she did get away!"

"Yeah. Are you alone in there?"

She shook her head. "My sister's just below you."

"Any more kids anywhere?"

"I don't think so. I didn't see any, and I've only heard men talking."

"If I can get one or two of these bars out, is there anythin' you can stand on to get high enough to crawl through?"

She shook her head. "We're tied to the walls."

MacGyver grimaced. "Guess I'll hafta come in after ya, then. Know how many men there are?"

"At least three…maybe four or five."

"Okay. You two hang on tight, an' I'll be in to rescue ya as soon as I can." Dropping from the window, he disappeared from her view.

MacGyver crouched low as he darted around the side of the building and peeked cautiously around the corner. He picked up a rock, testing its heft in his hand before throwing it. Startled, the men turned toward the sound, and MacGyver ran behind them to the door of the building. As he had hoped it was unlocked, and he slipped inside just as they turned back toward the entrance.

Voices came from one direction, and MacGyver made his way down the corridor toward them. They spoke in low Spanish, too rapid for him to catch more than a phrase here and there, but what he understood was enough to turn his stomach.

Letting his eyes dart around the room, he quickly saw a way to booby trap the door and keep them from becoming a problem. As soon as it was set up, he ran off, making his way deeper into the building in the direction his mental map told him the girls must be.

He knocked lightly on a closed door, pausing to press his ear to it before moving on to the next one. It was at the third that he thought he heard a slight movement. "You in there, honey?" he called in a low voice.

"Yes!" came the muffled reply.

"All right, just hang on; I'll have ya out of there."

His knife was in his hand as he spoke, and he quickly used the spike to jimmy open the lock. He paused to grin at his trusty tool, tossing it lightly before dropping it back in his pocket.

The girl's eyes were fixed eagerly on the door as MacGyver pushed it open. "Anybody home?"

"You came!"

"I said I would." His eyes quickly scanned the room, stopping on a younger girl curled up beside the far wall. "Is she all right?"

"Yes; she just cried herself to sleep."

MacGyver made a sympathetic noise as he dropped to his knees beside her, his fingers quickly working at untying the ropes that bound her. "Name's MacGyver."

"I'm Mari; that's my little sister Juli." She shook her hands in relief as MacGyver finished untying them, then accepted his hand to her feet.

"Why don't you go wake up your sister? She might scream if she sees a strange man, and we don't want to attract attention."

Mari crossed the room without argument, gently shaking her sister's shoulder. "Juli? Juli, this is Mr MacGyver; he came to rescue us."

Juli gasped slightly when she saw him, then stared at him with wide eyes.

"Hey, baby," MacGyver murmured, crouching in front of her. "Can I untie your hands for you?"

She nodded, and MacGyver made short work of the knots. As soon as she was free, she scrambled to her feet and stood half hiding behind her sister.

"All right, let's get out of here. Keep quiet, and stay close to me."

The girls obeyed without question, following him so closely that every time he paused a second to look around, they bumped into his legs.

"Okay, wait here a second while I make sure it's clear," MacGyver murmured. He slipped ahead, pushing the door open just far enough to see that the guards' attention was focused away from the building. "C'mon!" he hissed, waving the girls forward. As they joined him, he picked Juli up and grabbed Mari by the hand, then ran half crouched around the side of the building.

Safely hidden for the moment behind some bushes, he blew out his breath in relief. "You girls okay?"

Two nods answered as both pressed against his sides.

MacGyver cautiously pushed a branch aside to look out of their hiding place. The guards' attention was lax enough that they might not notice anyone climbing the embankment, but his gaze zeroed in on the guns they wore, and he knew he couldn't risk children's lives on a maybe.

"Listen," he whispered. "I'm gonna distract those guards. Once I do, run to the embankment and climb up, then get in the car with Lucie and wait for me."

"I'm too little to climb that!" Juli protested.

"Lucie did, and she's littler than you," MacGyver told her.

"I'll help you," Mari said firmly, taking her sister's hand. Then she looked at MacGyver uncertainly "But…I don't want them to get you, Mr MacGyver!"

MacGyver forced a smile. "I'll be all right," he assured her, then added under his breath, "…I hope." He looked out at the guards one more time before turning back to the girls who were putting so much trust in him. "You two ready?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. Wait until they're both after me, then go." With a last quick smile, he slipped from their hiding place and ran back to the door.

He pulled it open, then glanced toward the guards before giving it a push to slam it shut and then starting in the direction opposite that the girls were in.

The guards turned toward the sound, but looked merely puzzled when they didn't see their allies emerging from the building.

MacGyver nearly groaned, sure now it would have been safe to take the girls out under their noses, and suspecting the men still inside were the real brains of the outfit. Grabbing a handful of gravel, he threw it at the side of the building.

"Hey! What are you doing here? Boss, we got some loco poking around out here!"

MacGyver risked a glance over his shoulder to see two small figures running for the embankment, even as a muffled crash from inside the building told him his bobby trap had been set off.

He grinned to himself, then set about running and dodging in earnest as the two guards finally gave full attention to pursuit.

At last a quick glance as he doubled back showed him no sign of the girls, and he made his dash for the embankment.

Just as he was about to start climbing it, he spotted a toy bear lying lonely in the dust. Stopping in his tracks to reach down and grab a paw, he felt a searing pain in his shoulder in the same instant he heard the crack of a gunshot.

"Whoa!" He ducked quickly behind a tree as another bullet thudded into the bark. Had pausing for Lucie's bear gotten him shot, he wondered briefly, or had bending to reach it spoiled the gunman's aim and spared his life? *

He didn't waste time pondering the question further, trying to stay behind trees for cover as he scrambled up the embankment. The girls' small size had been an advantage, he realized. Rocks and roots they had likely used as footholds gave way under his greater weight; several times he would have fallen to the bottom if he hadn't been quick enough to grab the solid support of a tree.

At last he made the top and ran to the car, flinging open the driver's door. "Everybody in?"

A chorus of yesses answered him, but he looked over his shoulder as he turned the key, counting heads to be sure before he peeled off down the road.

Next chapter coming next week!

* Illustration for this scene can be found at www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] Taking-a-Chance-by-the-Paw-865173940

A/N: I realize I "cheated" in not describing MacGyver's booby-trap…but he has it a little easier than I do. He looks around the room and gets his ideas from what he sees; I have to either figure out what's in the room and then get an idea from it, or come up with an idea out of thin air and "author's need" the things needed to make it back into the room. And it doesn't help that I have no idea what the original purpose of the building was! Barbie

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!

Please note that I have only minimal internet access, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. (But they are much appreciated, even if you're reading this story long after I originally post it!) If you have questions regarding my MacGyver alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie