Belt and Suspenders

After returning home from the Fairfax's, MacGyver pulled out some paper and penned a response to Sam's letter. Although he had intended to keep it short, he ended up explaining about his headaches, his assignment at Challengers, and Joanna. As he wrote, he was amazed at how his life had changed in a few short months. And he had a feeling the transformation wasn't complete. After stuffing the letter into an envelope, MacGyver proceeded to reflect on the unfortunate incident with Jesse and scribbled several notes to discuss with Evelyn and Jo. As he replayed that afternoon in his head, he became acutely aware of the many mistakes he, as security advisor, had allowed, and the familiar feeling of guilt gripped his heart. It was pure luck that Joanna hadn't been killed.

MacGyver, Evelyn, and Joanna all made a point of arriving especially early Monday morning to quickly debrief before the rest of the staff and students arrived. Thankfully, the local media had not picked up on Friday's story. However, it was difficult to determine what was being said on the streets. Therefore, Evelyn decided to call an impromptu all-school assembly to briefly address the incident. As staff and students entered the building, Officer Carl and other faculty members funneled everyone down the long corridor to the gym where Evelyn already stood behind a microphone flanked by Joanna on one side and MacGyver on the other. The trio aimed to get two messages across to the teens. They wanted to assure the students that Challengers was still a safe zone, but they also wanted to make it clear that any inappropriate behavior would not be tolerated.

After the final morning bell had rung, Evelyn stepped up to the microphone. She provided a very brief overview of Friday's incident and assured everyone that the student would no longer be attending Challengers. She urged everyone, particularly staff members, to remain vigilant and encouraged the students to confide in a trusted adult if they were aware of any suspicious activity or just needed to talk. Evelyn stressed the need for honest communication to keep everyone safe and then dismissed the teens to their classes.

A police officer was waiting by the main entrance and approached Joanna as she headed for her office. MacGyver and Evelyn remained by her side and she was touched by their unspoken show of support. The officer had been sent to ask if Joanna wanted to press charges against Jesse. Joanna declined. Sensing MacGyver's disapproval, she turned to him and explained her decision.

"I know Jesse needs to be held accountable for her actions. But I know enough about the legal system to believe that there has to be a better alternative to help her through this."

Evelyn agreed. "I'll make some calls and get a good social worker assigned to her case. I'll stay on top of this. Don't worry about Jesse."

Joanna smiled her thanks, knowing Evelyn understood. Mac's expression had softened as well. As soon as the officer had left, they each headed to their respective office, leaving the door wide open.

Joanna quickly completed some routine paperwork before spending the majority of the day interacting with students and staff in the learning center, rec room, and cafeteria. She felt it was important for everyone to see that she harbored no ill effects from her ordeal. She refused to take on a victim mentality and did not want others viewing her as a victim either.

MacGyver went into full field ops mode, prowling the corridors and carefully inspecting classrooms when they weren't in use, making mental notes of ways the school could be better secured. At one point, Mac even retraced the steps Joanna had taken and considered what could have been done to prevent the incident. After lunch, he left the building saying he had some important errands to run before the meeting later that afternoon.

Evelyn assumed her normal duties, though she did flip on the P.A. system every now and again to listen in on some of the classes. Everything seemed to be running smoothly. As promised, she placed a few phone calls to some juvenile court judges and social workers regarding Jesse to make sure the girl received the proper treatment. Joanna was right. Juvie was no place for an obviously troubled teen who needed help, not punishment.

The afternoon passed quickly and soon Evelyn, Joanna, and MacGyver were heading towards the teachers' lounge which Evelyn had commandeered for their meeting. A bowl of various fresh fruits and another filled with granola bars greeted them, along with bottled water and a pitcher of juice.

"Who's the caterer?" Joanna asked as she reached for a water and her favorite flavor of granola.

"I believe we are seeing the results of Mr. MacGyver's little errand from this afternoon," Evelyn replied with a wink.

"Guilty as charged!" Mac held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Impressive," Joanna complimented him as they exchanged smiles.

Evelyn studied the interaction. Had these two finally called a truce? Or better yet, decided to show they actually liked each other? Too bad it had taken Joanna being held at gunpoint for them to get over their pride or pettiness or whatever was getting between them.

Once each of them had grabbed a snack, Evelyn took a seat at the head of the rectangular table. Joanna sat on her right with MacGyver across from her on Evelyn's left. The administrator called their little meeting to order and began the discussion.

"I've read the police report and your individual statements. This afternoon, I want us to take a look at why this happened and what we can do to prevent something like this from happening again."

Mac and Jo whipped their heads toward her. "It's all my fault!" they insisted in perfect unison before giving each other an uncomprehending stare.

The vehemence of their statements caught Evelyn off guard, but she quickly regained her equilibrium. "Oh, really?" she challenged. "Joanna, since you are the victim in this case, why don't you tell us your version of the events?"

Evelyn chose to ignore the younger woman's discreet eye roll at the term 'victim'.

"I was in my office after school finishing up some data entry," Joanna began until her boss interrupted her.

"Was your door open or closed?"

"It was closed," Jo admitted as she shot a glance toward MacGyver.

Oh my, if the situation wasn't so serious Evelyn could really have some fun with these two.

"Go on," the older woman prompted.

"You had left and Carl had informed me he was leaving as well. About five minutes later someone was pounding on my door and calling my name. When I opened the door, Jesse was there and very upset and afraid that Mr. K. was dying. She took off running and I instinctively followed, a bit panicked myself." Joanna went on to recall the rest of her harrowing experience.

"Now," Evelyn said calmly. "Please explain to me and Mr. MacGyver why you think you should take responsibility for the incident."

"I've replayed the whole thing over and over in my head and I did so many things wrong. First of all, it never even occurred to me that Jesse should not have had access to my office. And when she told me she had been with Walter, I never asked why! I just assumed he was tutoring her after school which, once I thought about it, would never happen." Evelyn had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning as she caught Mac and Jo exchange wry smiles.

Joanna continued her line of reasoning: "I also should have tried to find another adult to go with me instead of blindly following Jesse, and I should never have turned my back on her when I entered the room. I didn't know what we would find and I was trying to protect her from what we might see."

"You bring up some valid points," Evelyn concurred, as she leaned back in her chair. "However, hindsight is always 20/20. At the time, did you feel your actions were appropriate and in everyone's best interest?"

"Yes, I did," Joanna responded softly. Evelyn could not miss the gentle, sympathetic gaze with which MacGyver watched her young friend.

"Then I don't see any problem," Evelyn concluded. "Now it's your turn, Mr. MacGyver."

"I assumed everyone was gone for the day so I decided to head out early as well. I wouldn't have even known anything was wrong if Candy hadn't asked about Jo." He ran his large hand through his hair, guilt weighing him down more and more. He continued to convey his version of events. "Joanna did everything right. When Jesse turned on her, she didn't panic. She kept Jesse talking and didn't make eye contact with me while I tried to negotiate with Jesse even though I had to say some hurtful things. And I didn't even have to tell her when to run. She knew exactly what to do," he finished, unable to hide the pride in his voice. "It's my fault she had to go through that," he added flatly.

"Then please explain to Joanna and me why you think you should take responsibility for the incident."

"I'm your security advisor! I'm the one who's supposed to make sure these things don't happen, but I didn't!"

"All right, MacGyver. What would you have done differently?"

Mac shifted his weight and reached into his back pocket, pulling out the notes he had made last night. "First of all, there's no way Jesse should have been able to bring a gun into the school. We need to secure the entrance better. I'm thinking we should bring in a metal detector for everyone to walk through."

Evelyn nodded but remained quiet, so MacGyver continued.

"We also have to be able to better monitor the students inside the building. I'm thinking cameras in the corridors, common rooms and classrooms."

"Hold it right there!" Joanna broke in.

Evelyn held up a hand to Jo. "You had your turn."

Joanna crossed her arms in front of herself and slouched in her chair as Evelyn turned her attention back to MacGyver.

"We also need communication devices in all rooms," Mac went on. "Phones, panic buttons, some way to indicate trouble. Finally, there needs to be a routine procedure in place to sweep the building to make sure all the students are gone when they need to be. And that's just the prevention aspect. We need to develop an action plan and guidelines for when a situation does arise."

"You have a lot of interesting ideas, MacGyver," Evelyn responded, her voice neutral. "They also sound quite expensive and somewhat labor intensive."

"You can't put a price tag on safety," he countered.

"Safety? That's what you call it?" Joanna had straightened up in her chair and pinned MacGyver with her dagger-shooting glare. "I call it a prison! This is supposed to be a safe and welcoming place where students don't have to fear judgement and punishment! I've taught in correctional institutions with less safeguards! I will not allow you to waltz in here and turn Challengers into a jail!" she yelled across the table.

Evelyn had never heard Joanna yell at anyone before and was stunned into silence which was soon broken by MacGyver as he went toe-to-toe with Jo.

"How can you possibly be against safety precautions when just a few days ago you had a gun pointed at you!? If I had done my job, I wouldn't have almost gotten you killed!" MacGyver slammed his hand on the table, shot up from his chair and turned to the window behind him in one swift motion.

"This isn't all about you, Mac!" Joanna shot back.

"Enough you two," Evelyn warned sternly. "I suggest we take a break before discussing this matter further." With that she turned on her heel and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her leaving MacGyver staring out the window and Joanna staring at his back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The anger that had fueled Joanna's outburst was quickly drenched by the overwhelming guilt she saw in MacGyver's eyes before he abruptly turned away from her. She got up from her chair and slowly walked over to stand next to him, careful not to invade his personal space. She, too, stared out the window.

"You haven't cornered the market on guilt, you know," she told him gently. "I made some poor decisions, too."

"But if I had done my job properly, you wouldn't have had to make those decisions to begin with!"

"Mac, there's no way you could have predicted—"

"I was sent here to do one job. Secure the facility. And I failed. I let myself get distracted and lost my focus. Phoenix was right to pull me from field ops. I've clearly lost my edge." He hung his head and sighed.

"That's not true!" Joanna turned to face him. "It was you and your quick thinking that rescued me. Besides," she continued quietly, "I feel like I'm one of the main reasons you've been distracted."

MacGyver looked down at her. "We make a fine pair, don't we," he laughed humorlessly.

"Yeah," Jo agreed with an unladylike snort.

"Maybe we could try working with each other instead of against?" MacGyver suggested.

"I think that's the best idea I've heard so far," Joanna smiled at him. "Should I go let Evelyn know we're ready to resume the meeting?"

"Yeah," he smiled back. "And while you're doing that, I need to get something from my office."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Five minutes later the little group reconvened. Joanna noticed MacGyver now had three small boxes on the table in front him. Evelyn resumed her place at the head of the table.

"I trust we are ready to proceed as the rational adults we all are?" she queried.

Her two subordinates nodded before MacGyver spoke up.

"Ms. Evelyn, I owe you and Jo an apology. I let my personal feelings get in the way and I guess I kinda went all 'belt and suspenders' on you," he smiled sheepishly as Evelyn burst out laughing.

"Now that's a phrase I haven't heard in a long time!" she exclaimed gaily as MacGyver joined in the laughter.

Joanna smiled uncertainly, not understanding what must obviously be an inside joke. Evelyn was the first to notice the younger woman's confusion.

"Pete Thornton, Mac's boss, always described himself as a 'belt and suspenders' type of guy meaning he was overcautious and expected and prepared for the worst," she explained.

As the meaning of the strange little phrase dawned on Joanna, she laughed as well. "I hope I get to meet Pete. I think we have a lot in common!"

Once the laughter had died down, Evelyn got the meeting back on track. "I think we can all agree that we have a lot of work ahead of us. Let's agree on some of the main points before we adjourn for the evening."

MacGyver cleared his throat to capture the women's attention.

"As we said earlier, communication is a key part of any successful security plan. This isn't the answer, but at least it's a start," he said, as he slid one of the boxes in front of him to Joanna and another to Evelyn while keeping one for himself.

Joanna gingerly removed the cover and pulled out a device which fit in the palm of her hand. Evelyn and MacGyver did the same.

"What is it?" Jo asked.

"It's a cell phone," Mac answered her.

"I can see that. What do you want us to do with them?"

"We need to carry these at all times," he began. "I've already preprogrammed them. Hitting key number one will automatically dial 911. Joanna and Evelyn, I'm your first emergency contact so just hit number two for me. Number three will connect you to each other. You can add more contacts later on. Joanna, I made you my first emergency contact and Evelyn will be my back-up if both of you agree."

The two ladies nodded their agreement.

"Now the next step," MacGyver continued, "is to figure out the most effective school-wide communication system."

"What about walkie-talkies?" Joanna ventured, warming to Mac's plan.

"That's an option, but I was leaning more towards outfitting all adults with cell phones like ours. Not only are they smaller and easier to carry, but an alert can be sent out discreetly and silently," MacGyver explained.

"But what if something happens to a teacher and they can't use their phone? How could someone else call for help?"

"Are you going 'belt and suspenders' on us, Joanna?" Evelyn lightly teased.

"She has a good point, Evelyn. Each room should have an emergency communication device that anyone can use. Sorta like a fire alarm. Since you already have a working P.A. system in place, the simplest solution might be to rig it so each room can not only receive but transmit from it as well."

"Didn't this school used to have telephones in each room?" Joanna asked Evelyn.

"I believe it did," her boss replied thoughtfully.

"If that's the case," MacGyver added, "the wires may still be in the walls and we'd just have to connect them again. That might be the place to start."

"Good idea, MacGyver. You go ahead and look into that," Evelyn instructed him. "Now for the metal detector…"

"Phoenix is always working on prototype detectors to improve effectiveness and efficiency. I'll make a few calls and see if any are ready to go. I could get us approved as a field test site and we'd get the latest technology without spending a dime," MacGyver offered.

"Lovely," Evelyn praised. "Now the last item we'll discuss for tonight is the cameras. Joanna, I know you have some concerns about this. Would you care to elaborate?"

Joanna consciously softened her features and took a few calming breaths before addressing MacGyver directly. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier, I know you're only trying to keep everyone safe. I'm fine with cameras in the hallways, and I'm even on board with putting them in the common rooms. Those are areas that are difficult to monitor due to the large ratio of students to adults. But I just can't condone cameras in the classrooms." She had to make him understand. "I firmly believe teachers would be less effective because they would feel their power has been usurped, not to mention the fact that they would feel like their work is being scrutinized, not to mention the students feeling like they're being spied on."

"But that's not the idea," MacGyver insisted.

"I know," Joanna replied, proud at the calm tenor of her voice. "But, speaking as a teacher myself, that's how I would feel. Look at it this way, Mac," she urged. "How would you feel if you had to wear a body-cam every time you went into the field? Even if it was only intended for your own protection? Can you honestly say you'd be comfortable with that?"

"You're right," he replied with a crooked smile. "I'd hate it!"

"Then it's agreed, no cameras in the classrooms," Evelyn ordered. "On that note, let's all go home for the night. MacGyver, feel free to start implementing your plans and don't hesitate to ask for assistance. Let's all remember that this is a process, and we need to take our time and do it right. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Mac and Jo responded in unison.