Hello! Here is chapter 2 :) Let me know what you think...I think I've read and re-read and edited this so much that I just don't know what's good and what isn't anymore, so let me know if you think I should change something! Just remember to be nice about it :) I will take constructive criticism, not flames. :D
Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! ^_^ you guys are the best!
*Checks mail, sees letter from Peter Lenkov, opens it and is disappointed when he tells me to stop asking if I can own MacGyver because it's never gonna happen* *Pouts* well that's rude...
After fifteen minutes of walking quickly in the bitter cold, with Angelica burrowing her face into Jack's shoulder, Anja finally opened the door to a small apartment complex. She led them up three flights of stairs. "Elevator is out of service, I'm sorry," she said as she glanced back at Jack. He was starting to shine a little from the sweat on his forehead, but he didn't look like he was willing to put Angelica down anytime soon. Anja opened one of the doors on the third floor and let the two men walk in before entering herself and closing the door.
Jack finally set Angelica down on the couch, then went over to talk to MacGyver, who was setting his homemade pepper spray on the small table. "Mac, we should try Thornton again," he suggested. MacGyver nodded and pulled out the phone. He held the device to his ear, hoping Patricia would answer.
"MacGyver? Jack?" Patricia Thornton's voice came on over the phone.
"Thornton, it's Mac."
"I got Jack's message. What is this about a diplomatic family?" she asked.
"Do you know if a Philip Chambers is a diplomat to Russia?" he asked back. He had gotten Angelica's father's name as they were leaving the bar. He heard typing, then Thornton came back on the line.
"He is. He's on a visit there right now. Why? Did you run into him?" she asked, her voice becoming slightly more confused. Or maybe concerned. Mac couldn't tell the difference with her sometimes.
"Not exactly," Mac said. He went on to give a brief summary of what had happened in the last ninety minutes, and when he was finished, Thornton was silent.
"You have Angelica with you right now?" she finally asked.
"Yes ma'am," Mac replied. "We're here with Anja, who provided us with a place to lie low. Why haven't the Chambers been reported as missing?" he asked as an afterthought.
"They aren't due back in the states for a few more days, and the U.S. has received nothing along the lines of a ransom demand," she explained. MacGyver furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"What is going on?" he wondered out loud.
"I don't know Mac," Thornton responded. "You need to go talk to Alexei Mikhailov; he's the one the Chambers were going to see." She read him an address. "That is where you should be able to find him," she said.
Mac took down the address she gave him and handed the paper to Jack. "Will do," he replied to Thornton. "We'll keep you updated," he promised.
"Thanks. And Mac," she added in a cautionary tone. "Be careful. I'm alerting the team that's going to pick you up; they'll be there in a little less than seven hours. They should be able to help you if you need it," she said.
"Thanks Patricia," Mac said. "We'll keep you informed." He hung up the call and turned to the other three in the room with him. "I need to leave for a little bit," he told them. Jack was still staring at the paper with the address on it, but Anja and Angelica looked confused, and Angelica also looked scared. Mac went and knelt down in front of her. "Hey, it's okay," he promised. "I'll be back. Besides, you'll have good ol' Jack here to keep you company," he added.
"Woah woah woah," Jack interrupted. "There's no way I'm letting you go alone," he insisted.
"Jack," Mac argued, standing back up and facing the older man. "You need to stay here and protect Angelica."
"My job is protecting you, kid!" Jack insisted, waving his hand around in agitated movements. Mac opened his mouth to argue, but another voice cut into their conversation.
"Jack, you go with MacGyver," Anja insisted. "I'll stay here with the girl," she added, looking at Angelica. "Is that okay?" she asked with kind eyes. Angelica hesitated, looking up at MacGyver and Jack.
"It's okay, sweetie," Mac said encouragingly. "If you want, Jack will stay here," he assured her, giving a pointed stare at his friend. Jack returned the glare and crossed his arms.
"Jack can protect us?" Angelica asked in clarification.
"Yeah," Mac replied with a warm smile.
"But then who'll protect you?" she asked again, pointing at MacGyver. MacGyver didn't have time to answer before the little girl continued. "Jack should go with you," she decided. "I can stay here with Ms. Anja," she said. Anja smiled, glad the little girl trusted her enough to let her watch over her. Jack grinned smugly at MacGyver, who simply rolled his eyes at his partner. Mac walked over and grabbed the spray bottle, handing it to Anja.
"Here," he said as he held it out. "This should help if any intruders come through." He had another idea. "Do you have any mouse traps?" he asked. "I need two."
Anja looked at him in confusion, but nodded and went to grab a trap from the closet. MacGyver ran to the bathroom and grabbed the roll of dental floss, then came out and rummaged through the drawers until he found a small roll of duct tape. Anja came back with the traps, which Mac took gratefully. "Do you happen to have anything that makes loud noises when they're stepped on?" he asked.
"You ask for strange things, MacGyver," Anja said as she thought about it. She finally walked over to the closet again. "But I might have something that should work…." she reached around the top shelf, feeling around. She finally pulled out a small, old box and handed it to Mac. "I don't know how old they are, or if they will even work, but you do what you need to do," she said. MacGyver took the offered item and turned it around, seeing it was an old box of snap-bang fireworks, the ones that you throw on the ground during celebrations. He thanked Anja again and hurried out the door. The other three looked confused and followed him out, Angelica sticking close to Jack's side.
They watched as MacGyver knelt down next to the door leading to the stairs and began taping the snap bangs to the trap, right under the bar that usually snapped the mouse's neck. He then proceeded to tape the trap to the doorframe. He set the trap, careful to avoid setting if off while he completed the final step. He made a loop at the end of the piece of dental floss he tore off and carefully made a slip-knot around the trigger of the mouse trap. Lastly, he pulled the floss across the doorway, making it just loose enough that it didn't set off the trap when he taped the floss down, but tight enough that it would do the job as soon as the door was opened and someone stepped into the string.
"There," he said as he stood up. "If someone walks into the string, it will set off the trap, making it close on the snap bangs. That'll let you know someone's coming onto this floor. I'll set up the same thing in the opening to your door," he told Anja. "If you hear this first 'alarm' go off, I want you to get Angelica and yourself in the most secure room. Stay there until you hear from one of us, and if someone does come into the apartment, you'll still have a warning." He waited until Anja nodded in understanding, then continued. "If someone does get into the room, spray the pepper spray at them; aim for their eyes," he instructed. Anja nodded again and MacGyver turned and crouched in front of the little girl. "We'll be back soon, okay?" he asked. She nodded and threw her arms around his neck.
"Be safe," Anja cautioned as Angelica let go of Mac and ran to Jack. "Don't trust anyone you meet."
"We'll be safe," MacGyver assured their Russian friend. He took her words to heart, but he also took them with a grain of salt, knowing how paranoid she was. Basically the only people she trusted anymore were Jack and MacGyver. She had met Thornton and was okay with her, but if she could avoid working with anyone else, she did. Mac pulled out his cell phone and handed it to the Russian. "Here, take this. Call Thornton if we aren't back within an hour," he instructed. Anja took it gratefully and slipped it in her pocket. Mac turned his attention to his partner, who had knelt down in front of Angelica.
"You be good for Anja now, ya hear?" Jack told her. She nodded again and Jack rubbed her hair, messing it up a little. "'Atta girl, Jellybean," he said in an affectionate teasing voice. She giggled and the three of them watched as MacGyver set up the last 'alarm' quickly, then he and Jack took off.
"By the way Jack, I didn't know you were so good with kids," Mac commented as they walked into the building at the address Thornton had given them. Jack glanced over at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Angelica. She just seems to really get along with you," Mac pointed out. Jack puffed out his chest a little.
"Yeah she does, doesn't she?" he said proudly. MacGyver chuckled at his friend's expression as they walked up to the front desk. The attractive secretary looked up as they approached.
"Ya mogu vam pomoch'?" she asked.
"Uuuhhh," Jack said as he looked at his younger friend.
"My ishchem Aleksey Mikhaylov," Mac said in slightly halting Russian.
"Ah, American," she replied with a thick accent. "You're looking for Alexei? He's a very busy man, do you have appointment?" she asked, pulling up her calendar on her computer.
"No I don't, but I had a question about the American diplomatic family that he was supposed to be meeting with this week, the Chambers? Could you ask him if he could spare just a minute?" MacGyver asked. She looked doubtful for a second, then nodded and stood up.
"Wait here, I'll be back in a moment. Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?" she asked. "I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee. It's hot, and by the looks of your rosy cheeks and how cold it is outside, I bet you could use something to warm you up," she surmised, looking them up and down.
"I'll take a cup," Jack said after a moment.
"I'm fine, thanks," MacGyver said with a smile. "If you could see about Mr. Mikhailov, we would really appreciate it," he added. She smiled and nodded, then walked towards the back room, reappearing less than a minute later with a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. She handed it to Jack, then went back in the hallway, disappearing behind one of the doors. Jack took a sip of the beverage and looked at Mac.
"You know, it couldn't hurt to get something warm in you," he pointed out. Mac shook his head.
"I don't want anything to drink right now," he said.
"Yeah, but we've been awake for nearly twenty-eight hours. Caffeine couldn't hurt to help keep you awake," Jack pointed out. MacGyver was about to reply when the secretary came out from the room she had entered.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice almost matching the temperature outside. Mac was shocked at the sudden change in her temperament, and the uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach once again. "Mr. Mikhailov has stepped out and won't be able to take your question," she informed them. MacGyver stared into her cold, hard blue eyes and the uneasiness he felt increased ten-fold.
"Come on, Jack," he said, turning around to walk away, expecting his friend to follow suit. He paused when Jack didn't move. "Jack?" he asked, turning back to his friend.
Jack was sweating profusely, despite the cold temperature outside, and his hands had started trembling. He was shaking like a leaf, and he looked over at Mac. "Get outta here," he insisted, weakly shoving at his friend. MacGyver stood firmly planted to the spot, staring at his friend's eyes. Jack's pupils were dilated so wide, Mac could barely see any color of his irises.
"What did you give him?!" he asked, batting the cup of coffee out of his friend's hand, not registering the pain when the hot liquid burned his skin. He grabbed Jack's shoulders and tried to look in his eyes, but his partner's eyes were unfocused and roaming.
"Mac…" Jack slurred. "Ge'...outta h're," he insisted before his eyes rolled up in the back of his head and he began to collapse. Mac grunted as his friend started falling and he tried to keep him from hitting the ground. He gently lowered Jack to the floor, making sure his friend was still breathing. There was a sudden cold draft, but Mac didn't pay any attention to that. The click of a gun being cocked made him look up in anger at the secretary. He stood up and began advancing on her, but she simply smiled.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she cautioned. MacGyver glared harder and continued to walk towards her. She then aimed her gun at Mac's unconscious friend. "Unless you never want your friend to wake up, stop right there," she ordered harshly. That got the young American to halt. Footsteps sounded behind him, but before he could turn around to see what was happening, there was an excruciating pain at the base of his neck and all he saw was black.
Ya mogu vam pomoch'?-Can I help you? According to google translate
my ishchem Aleksey Mikhaylov-We're looking for Alexei Mikhailov, According to google translate.
Love it? Hate it? Should I just stop? ;)