Three weeks later…
MacGyver let the door of his apartment fall closed behind himself, limped over to his couch, and dropped down on it with an exhausted sigh. He took a couple of deep breaths while he ran his hand over his leg. His long fingers cautiously probed over his knee and over where the tears in his skin had been. He sensed the brace stabilizing his knee below his jeans and straightened his leg with a small wince at the sudden sting he felt.
After the walk he´d taken, some throbbing had returned, although the remains of the swellings the infection had left him with had gone down a little. He puffed out a breath and glanced toward the kitchen over his shoulder.
I should get myself an ice pack, Mac thought. Doc has told me to cool it should it start hurting again… he´s also told me to slowly start exercising… but a two-hour walk probably wasn´t what he meant by 'slowly'… maybe I´ve overdone it a little. Should´ve spared out the middle part of walking through the beach sand… should´ve stayed on the pavement like yesterday.
With another deep sigh, MacGyver pushed himself off the couch, limped over to the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator. He grabbed the orange juice, filled up a glass, and then reached for the ice cubes he´d kept there since he´d returned home. He poured a few of them into a plastic bag, crushed them a little, and then slowly strode back to his couch with the glass and the ice pack in his hands.
He flopped down on his comfortable couch again, laid his throbbing leg up on the coffee table, and covered his knee with the ice pack. He took a sip of the orange juice, relaxed against the backrest with the glass still in his hand, and let his gaze wander aimlessly around the room. Unintentionally, memories of the past few weeks popped up in his mind.
His certification test and the scenario, the DXS had put him through during it, to begin with. He´d needed a day or so to wrap his head around the fact that all of it had been an elaborate set-up. One good night´s sleep or two had cured the headache; the bruises had been forgotten only a few days later. Although Thornton had told him to take some time off to recover, he´d returned to the senior agent´s office after taking only one day off to rest. His boss had been a bit surprised but also pleased with Mac´s eagerness to get to work and introduced him to their daily business and some current proceedings.
MacGyver had checked back with his hand-to-hand combat trainer as well for some refinement lessons, which Pete had appreciated.
But soon, the assignment to retrieve information from behind the Iron Curtain had come up. He´d been sent off together with Craig Bannister and had truly enjoyed getting to know the man who´d already been working as a government agent for two years a little better, especially, since Craig had shared some 'inside stories' of the DXS with him during their flights.
Mac had appreciated Bannister´s company as well as his guidance throughout the mission. He´d also appreciated that Bannister hadn´t treated him as a newbie for once but as an equal all the time. Their mutual respect had made completing his first assignment an experience he´d truly enjoyed. He´d grown to like Bannister during their days abroad. On their return home, Mac had still been high with excitement about their mission working out almost as planned.
Thornton had then assigned him to research and also to assist the analysts, so he´d get a wider picture of what working for the DXS could be about. And then this last case had come up.
Illegal arms dealers… no… even arms smugglers. A worldwide network. Supplying warlords and terrorists all over the globe. The DXS had suspected one of their main operating bases to be in the northwestern US.
The situation had called for action. Urgently.
But all experienced agents had been either out of the country or occupied with other cases. MacGyver had noticed how Thornton had hesitated while he´d introduced him to the mission. But Mac had also known that the senior agent hadn´t had much of a choice. He, the rookie, had been the only agent around and available at the time.
Mac, on the other hand, hadn´t hesitated at all. With his aversion to guns which rooted deep in his childhood, he´d been eager to take on this case before Pete had even finished explaining the whole situation. Of course, he´d agreed instantly when Pete had asked him if he felt ready to fly solo. He´d been on his own on several missions during his service in the military, so MacGyver hadn´t doubted himself being able to handle the assignment for a second at that moment.
But when he thought back now… he wasn´t so sure if it had been a good idea.
His mission objective had been pure reconnaissance, but he´d gone way further than that. Too far. He´d gotten careless. He hadn´t made sure he had a safe way out – and he´d gotten caught. His eagerness to stop those weapon dealers had almost gotten him killed. Hadn´t Thornton come and freed him from his prison, Moreno and his men would have beaten him to his death, and the collected evidence would have been lost - as would have hundreds and thousands of lives, had those arms smugglers been allowed to continue with their business.
MacGyver took a large gulp of his orange juice while those thoughts floated around in his head. He reassessed his decisions throughout the mission and had to admit he´d pushed his luck quite far a few times. He´d come out alive, but only barely, and thanks to Pete Thornton. Mac sighed deeply and readjusted the ice pack on his knee.
Maybe it was true what was rumored about all those three-letter agencies. That they tended to recruit young men without any family ties… because they were more likely and willing to risk their lives.
His mind traveled back to his weeks in the military hospital. The medical personnel had taken good care of him during his recovery. The sepsis and his wounds had healed swiftly thanks to their treatment, and the physical therapy had kept the mobility within his infected and sprained knee. He´d be as good as new real soon.
Pete Thornton had been forced to leave only a day after he´d shared the good news of Moreno and his men being arrested with Mac. The department chief had ordered Pete to manage and accompany the transfer of the arms dealers to a high-security prison and then called him off to coordinate the ongoing investigation and analysis of all the gathered information and evidence from the L.A. headquarters.
Another team of agents MacGyver hadn´t met before had visited him to record his statement about what had happened during his days out in the woods, and once his condition had improved sufficiently, he´d taken on the task of writing his own report. With Pete being back in L.A. he´d been alone and bored most of the time in his hospital bed, so recalling all the details had been no problem. Only the last hours of his way to the clearing, after he´d been shot and had fallen down the cliff, had remained blurry in his memory.
But the amount of time he´d spent alone had also given MacGyver a lot of time to think. To evaluate. To reconsider. A process, that hadn´t stopped yet.
By now, he´d come to the point of doubting if his decision of signing up for this job had been the correct one. After all, his daring times, when he´d done similar work for the military, had been a couple of years ago. He´d changed since then. He´d allowed his personal feelings to cloud his judgment which had led to him almost screwing up the whole mission and endangering countless lives including his own.
So much for one of the best recruits ever, Mac thought bitterly. He´s been polite enough to never say so, but by the way he snapped at me after he´d rescued me out of Moreno´s prison, I must have sorely disappointed Pete Thornton. Even if the final outcome of the mission exceeds the assignment´s objective with which I´ve been sent off… I´ve caused the department and especially the senior agent quite some trouble. So, I´ve failed to meet the high expectations Thornton had for me… on my first solo assignment. Not what you´d call a good start… well, maybe being a government agent isn´t the life that suits me after all…
MacGyver´s gaze caught on his desk and the typewriter sitting on it. Suddenly his mouth went dry and he took a few sips of his orange juice to quench the feeling.
Maybe it´s better to admit failure and defeat and end this before I screw up something even more important on my next attempt.
With another sigh, MacGyver set down the glass on the coffee table, grabbed the ice pack off his knee, and gingerly got up. He strode over to his desk, sat down, and placed the ice back on his knee. Appropriate phrasings started to form in his head while he drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Then he puffed out the breath and started to type.
MacGyver felt for the envelope in his pocket for what felt like the umpteenth time as he walked up the stairs to the entrance of the federal building on the next morning. He´d read the letter a few times yesterday evening and re-read it this morning before signing it, folding it up, and placing it in the envelope. A part of him expected Thornton to be relieved about his decision, but another part of him was worried the senior agent wouldn´t accept it and try to argue about it, try to change his mind.
Either way, even if Mac was still officially on medical leave, he owed Thornton as much as to drop this off personally. He also owed Thornton an explanation, should he insist on hearing one. MacGyver respected the older man way too much to just send in his letter of resignation via mail.
Especially, since Pete had taken the time to pick him up at the airport when MacGyver had returned from the military hospital three days ago. Some DXS agent had been tasked with taking his car back to his apartment way before that, during his recovery, but Pete had been there in person to drive him home. MacGyver had sensed that the senior agent had been tense for some reason – but Thornton had only told him something about his huge workload and being short on time when Mac had asked about what was wrong.
On the other hand, the older man had been honestly concerned about MacGyver´s condition and recovery and had wanted to know all about it during their drive. He had seemed truly glad to see the younger man almost back to normal.
Even more reason to hand this letter over personally, Mac thought as he straightened himself a little and reached for the door´s handle. Fortunately, his leg had recovered well overnight, so he wasn´t limping anymore as he approached the entrance counter.
"Good morning, Mr. MacGyver!" The security guard´s face lit up with a smile when he noticed Mac. "Back on duty already?"
Mac sensed the tension inside himself rise with the innocent question, but forced himself to return the smile as he signed himself in. As usual, the guard seemed well-informed about certain proceedings of the employees.
"Morning." Mac greeted the man. "Not yet. Just need to drop something off. It´s meant to be only a short visit."
He squared his shoulders as he straightened himself and walked off to the elevators. He was grateful the guard hadn´t pestered him with any further questions when he stepped into the next car going upward. Mac was also glad he was alone riding up and took a few deep breaths to quench his inner tension.
No need to be nervous, MacGyver assured himself internally. You´re just righting a wrong decision you made a few months ago. Thornton will understand. He won´t be upset.
He managed to appear unfazed when he left the car on the correct floor and strode down the hallway toward Pete Thornton´s office. The corridor was quiet; he saw no one until he arrived at Thornton´s door. MacGyver hesitated for a few seconds and licked his lips before he raised one hand and knocked. He waited, listened, but didn´t get an answer from inside, even after a couple of moments. He was just about to try again when Agent Carlyle rounded the corner to his right, carrying a couple of folders.
"MacGyver! Good morning!" Carlyle greeted and stopped next to Mac. "Didn´t expect you back so soon after the rough ride you had."
Mac lowered the hand he´d just raised to knock again and turned to Carlyle.
"Good morning!" He returned the greeting and forced himself to smile. "Well, I´m not… yet," he explained slowly. "I just wanted to see Thornton… and hand him something."
"Do you have an appointment?" Carlyle asked while he shifted the folders to his left arm and reached into his pocket.
"No." MacGyver shook his head. "It is my idea." His words trailed off when Carlyle produced a bunch of keys.
"Well, I hope it´s not urgent." Carlyle shrugged apologetically and reached out to unlock the door. "Because you won´t be able to meet him here today. He´s been ordered to Washington yesterday evening. To report in person about our current findings and status of the Moreno case."
"It´s not." MacGyver subconsciously held his breath for a second at the mention of Javier Moreno´s name. Then a sudden realization hit him and raised his inner tension once more.
If he´s been called off to headquarters in Washington, Pete probably has to face some punishment for choosing me, the rookie, for this case.
He opened the door for him while Carlyle pocketed the keys again. Carlyle then shifted the folders back to both arms and nodded his thanks as he walked past MacGyver into the vacant office and toward Thornton´s desk.
"Do you know when he´ll be back?" Mac asked and slowly followed the agent inside.
"Probably tomorrow evening," Carlyle replied while he laid the folders onto Thornton´s desk. "But with headquarters involved, we can´t be all too sure about that. Depends on what kind of and how much detail the bosses want to hear." He straightened himself and shot Mac another apologetic smile. "But you can leave whatever you got for him right here…" he gestured beside the folders. "… and I´ll tell him you wanted to see him as soon as he returns."
MacGyver froze as his thoughts ran wild. This wasn´t even close to how he had planned to do it. He´d wanted to hand the letter over personally. But if he withdrew now, he might arouse Carlyle´s suspicion that something was off with him, and Mac wasn´t keen on any rumors running around either.
"No one else has access to this office." Carlyle´s words at his hesitation broke MacGyver out of his thoughts. "I´ve only got his key while he´s out of town."
MacGyver drew in a deep breath, met Carlyle´s expectant gaze, and nodded.
"Of course," he answered, reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, and pulled out the envelope.
He took the last steps to Thornton´s desk and placed it next to the folders while Carlyle already walked back to the door. MacGyver shot the white envelope a long last look as it lay on the desk. He´d written Pete Thornton´s name on it to make sure whoever saw it knew it was meant for him… personally. His mind wandered off again. Back to their days out in the woods. During that time he´d grown to not only respect but really like the older man and something Pete had called him in the helicopter still drifted around in his mind.
Friend? … This isn´t exactly how a friend would handle this…
"What´s the matter, MacGyver? Are you okay?"
Carlyle´s question from the door startled Mac out of his reverie. He quickly turned his head toward the agent. Wasn´t I thinking about not arousing any suspicions a minute ago, he chided himself internally.
"Yeah, sure," he replied and stepped back from the desk. "I´m fine." He strode over to Carlyle who was waiting for him at the door. "I was just lost in thought for a moment," Mac explained as he walked past the agent out into the hallway, back to displaying his outward nonchalance.
"Thinking back to your last assignment?" Carlyle asked over his shoulder as he closed and locked the door.
"Yeah," Mac answered slowly and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Sort of."
He drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulders when Carlyle turned to him with a smile.
"From what I´ve heard about it," the agent said impressed. "That was one hell of a way to exceed your mission objective. Especially since you´ve only been a certified agent for such a short time."
"I´m just glad it all worked out." MacGyver shrugged with a lopsided smile. His gaze briefly caught on Thornton´s key in Carlyle´s hand and he felt a sudden pang of guilt tighten his chest. Yeah… it has worked out… but only barely… and thanks to Pete, he thought.
"Listen, I´ve gotta get back to work." Carlyle´s smile turned apologetic while he pocketed the keys. "And I guess, you ought to get back to rest and recovery. It was good seeing you."
"Yeah, I´d better," MacGyver nodded. "Likewise… have a good day."
Carlyle´s smile widened a little and then he turned and left toward where he´d been coming from a couple of minutes ago. Mac stood still for a moment, glanced at Pete Thornton´s nameplate on the office door, and then puffed out a breath. No, he convinced himself inwardly. Pete won´t be all too upset about me just leaving the letter on his desk… Carlyle will tell him that I´ve been here personally… It´ll be okay… I hope.
MacGyver strode back to the elevators, rode down to the lobby, and waved his goodbye to the guard. But his inner tension didn´t ease up, even when he left the building. He only managed to shove his thoughts about the senior agent to the back of his mind once he arrived home and turned to his household chores and to reading a science journal he´d had in his mail the day before.
Two days later…
A lot of different thoughts floated through Pete Thornton´s head as he unlocked his office door. The last two days in Washington had been quite stressful for him. His superiors at the headquarters of the DXS had demanded a very detailed report on the Moreno case, on what had led up to the operation up north in the woods, about what had happened out there, on their findings, and on their proceedings and plans concerning the remaining members of the arms dealer ring.
He´d been especially grilled on his reasons for sending off a 'newly certified agent with very little experience' on his own since headquarters considered it an important case. Pete had been forced to go into detail about why he´d chosen MacGyver and trusted him to handle the assignment, and had explained why the young man had gotten caught by Moreno and his men. He´d also had to justify going in himself to rescue Mac.
But in the end, his presentation of the gathered evidence, the arrested goons, and the prospect of blowing the whole dealer ring had convinced his superiors. Thornton´s defense of his and MacGyver´s choices and actions throughout the mission had been successful. He´d even received a commendation for the exceedingly good work they had done on the case. He planned on telling MacGyver about it as soon as possible, depending on how much and what kind of work had accumulated on his desk during the last two days.
His plane from Washington had arrived in L.A. really late yesterday evening, and Pete had taken a taxi to his apartment without any detours. Having to deal with the 'higher-ups' and their penchant for red tape had exhausted him. He´d dropped into bed after taking only a quick shower since he´d already eaten on the flight.
He´d driven to the office a little later than usual this morning and gone directly to see Carlyle to get his key and an update on the news of the past two days. There hadn´t been any urgent or very important stuff, but Carlyle had told him that MacGyver had dropped by the other day, wanted to see him, and had left some envelope on his desk.
Fits good, Pete thought as he opened his office door. I´ve got to call him anyway because of that commendation we´ve received. Even if he´s still officially on medical leave. Got to as well ask him how his leg is doing. Maybe he is already getting restless… forced to stay at home and recover.
Pete smiled to himself as he strode over to his desk, opened his suit jacket, and sat down. He could very well imagine the young man getting itchy and wanting to get back to work after the long time he´d been holed up in the hospital, especially since he´d gotten to know MacGyver as a constantly active and energetic man. Even injured and in serious condition back in the woods, he hadn´t been willing to stay still and take it easy.
Pete´s smile died as he took in the pile of folders waiting for him on his desk and he frowned. Then his eyes caught on the white envelope next to it. MacGyver had scribbled Thornton´s name on it. Pete recognized Mac´s handwriting immediately and his serious expression relaxed somewhat.
Maybe the young man had remembered a few more facts he wanted to add to his report. But had it been urgent, he would have said so, and Carlyle would have told him about it or even tried to reach out to him while he´d been in Washington. Pete picked up the letter, eyed it briefly, and then laid it aside. He´d deal with MacGyver´s passion for details a little later. First, he needed to have a look at the folders on his desk to see what kind of and how much work lay ahead of him today.
With a sigh, Thornton turned to the folders and started sorting through them. It had taken him almost one hour until he had divided them into three piles: 'urgent', 'important', and 'can wait'. The clock had reached midday by the time he was done with dealing with the 'urgent' pile. Thornton was just about to get up and leave for his lunch break when MacGyver´s letter caught his attention again.
Might as well have a quick look at what he wants to be added to the report so I can take care of it right after returning from lunch, Pete thought as he picked up the envelope. He leaned back in his chair, drew in a deep relaxing breath, and tore the envelope open. He pulled out the single sheet of paper, tossed the empty envelope onto his desk, and unfolded the sheet. That the text was laid out like a letter surprised Thornton at first glance. A slightly uneasy feeling rose in his gut although he couldn´t tell why. But only a few moments after he´d started reading, Thornton´s eyes widened baffled and then narrowed with confusion.
"What the…" he muttered under his breath.
He frowned at the sheet in his hands, not willing to believe what he´d just read, and let his eyes go over it for a second time. But there it was… the kid wanted to resign. Because he believed he´d failed. A sudden wave of consternation followed by anger welled up in Thornton.
How on earth can MacGyver be convinced he has failed? Why does he think he´s screwed up the assignment? With all the information he has gathered? After all we´ve gone through together on that darn mountain? After all the efforts he took to get us and the films out of there alive? After he´s put his life on the line for the sake of this mission more than once?
The senior agent leaned forward, slammed the letter onto his desk, and turned to reach for his phone. He picked up the receiver and was just about to punch in MacGyver´s number when he abruptly froze. His stomach turned into a tight knot.
Wait… he hasn´t even mentioned barely getting killed in his letter, Pete realized. He drew in a deep breath and forced himself to reign in his emotions. Can it be possible? Endangering his own life or even dying does not bother Mac as much as not living up to the expectations he thinks I set in him?
Pete Thornton placed the receiver down with a sigh and stared at the letter on his desk. He went still and read through the letter for a third time. No, he hadn´t misunderstood… and he hadn´t overlooked anything. His sudden fury morphed back into confusion, and then mixed with concern. Pete leaned back in his chair while his thoughts ran wild.
He´d become aware of the young man´s tendency to doubt his abilities and also of his propensity to blame himself should anything go wrong already during his training, but Pete had never expected MacGyver to take it this far. There was no way he could talk about this to Mac on the phone. It had to be a face-to-face conversation. But in order to summon him for a meeting here, he´d have to call him. Pete sighed again. Meeting him at the office wouldn´t work anyway, he realized. He knew it wasn´t likely for MacGyver to open up in this setting.
Pete drew in a deep breath, then picked up the letter, refolded it, and placed it back into the envelope. He was thankful that no one else at the department had seen or read this yet, so he still had the chance to do something about it. He had to make the young man see how wrong he was in his own assessment, how much he had achieved, and that he hadn´t failed at all. Pete stuffed Mac´s letter into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and urged himself to concentrate back on the folders on his desk. If he wanted to leave early this afternoon to have enough time to seek out MacGyver and talk to him in person, he´d have to get on with his work. His appetite was gone anyway.
It was early evening when MacGyver leaned his bicycle against the end of the breakwater and then climbed to the top of it. He walked forward almost to the waterside end and sat down on one of the huge rocks, staring out to the ocean. It had been a nice and sunny day with only a little wind. The waves were rolling ashore softly right and left to him. He stretched out his long legs and felt for his healing knee, relieved to sense no problem there today. Unlike three days ago, when he´d overdone it by walking through the beach sand.
He´d switched his training routine to riding his bike in order to reduce the strain on his knee but up the demands on his cardiovascular system. How feeble he´d felt during his first few days in the hospital had scared him to some extent and he hated the still lingering weakness in parts of his body. To quickly restore the physical strength he was used to and due to the good weather, he had taken a bigger tour today. Toward and then through the hills north of L.A. until he´d turned down to the beach and chosen to take a break just north of Pacific Palisades. He planned to ride home along the beaches sidling the Pacific Coast Highway.
MacGyver drew in a deep breath and tried to relax when the realization hit home that it had also already been three days since he´d written his letter of resignation and two days since he´d laid it on Thornton´s desk. Pete should have returned to L.A. yesterday evening unless anything had gone wrong. Meaning, he should have found the letter yesterday or, at the latest, today. But he hadn´t heard from the senior agent yet.
Which partly worried, and partly surprised MacGyver. Worried, because Mac feared Pete might have to face repercussions or even punishment due to Mac´s failure. Surprised, because Mac had expected his superior to contact him immediately after he´d read the letter. Even if a part of him had imagined the older man to be relieved about Mac´s resignation, he´d never expected him to just accept it without any comment, without any kind of reply.
But while he sat there, musing about Pete Thornton, MacGyver suddenly held his breath. What if Thornton is angry with me? … For just dropping that letter on his desk while he was away? … Or because he really does have to face some punishment? … And sees my resignation as me taking the easy way out? His body stiffened subconsciously with the thought. Mac puffed out the breath he´d been holding.
Am I just taking the easy way out?
For a moment, he sensed the certainty of his decision wavering. His gaze lowered to the rocks he was sitting on. Mac took a deep, steadying breath and urged himself to recall his reasons for quitting. He´d failed to complete his assignment. He´d gotten caught. He´d almost blown the whole mission, the whole case. He wasn´t ready for a job like this…
He slowly let the air flow out of his lungs and relaxed once more. His eyes returned to the soft waves of the Pacific Ocean and the sun that was nearing the horizon. Despite it being a beautiful evening, there were only a few people on this part of the beach and even fewer swimmers in the water. MacGyver appreciated the quietness and allowed the sound of the water lapping against the breakwater to wash away his thoughts and clear his mind.
Pete Thornton let out a deep sigh as he finally put his car into 'park' and turned off the engine. For a moment, he just sat there quietly. His search for MacGyver had taken up a lot more time today than the last time he´d sought out the young man. Time, that hadn´t helped ease the inner tension he sensed in anticipation of the conversation lying ahead of him… or them.
Somehow, he had to convince Mac to reconsider his resignation. Somehow, he had to convince him that he hadn´t failed… or disappointed Pete… not at all.
Pete abruptly pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out of his car. He´d thought, he´d seen MacGyver´s bright red bicycle leaning against the breakwater while he´d slowly driven along the Coast Highway and immediately turned onto the parking lot nearby. As he now walked toward the beach, he spotted the lone figure sitting on the end of the breakwater, oriented toward the ocean. He recognized MacGyver´s lanky build once he came closer and puffed out a relieved breath.
Found him. At last.
Pete strode toward the breakwater determinedly and quickly noticed that, once again, he wasn´t appropriately dressed for the beach. Suit and dress shoes didn´t fit walking through the sand all too well and wouldn´t help climb the rocks either. He´d almost reached them when he sensed someone hurrying up to him from the side.
"Sir! Please, don´t!"
Pete heard a man call out to him only a few yards before Pete would have gotten to the rocks. Thornton stopped and looked sideways. A young lifeguard was coming his way.
"You shouldn´t climb the breakwater." The lifeguard continued softer once Pete was looking at him. "That would be dangerous given your outfit and your shoes." He stopped next to Thornton.
Pete glanced briefly toward MacGyver, saw that he hadn´t noticed the scene yet, that Mac was still looking toward the ocean, and then turned his attention back to the lifeguard. He puffed out a quick sigh and thought about how to explain why he had to get up there when the lifeguard continued.
"MacGyver´s allowed to be sitting out there," the lifeguard stated. "We know him. He knows what he´s doing."
At first, Thornton was baffled by the young man´s assurance but on second thought, the fact that MacGyver was known around the lifeguards didn´t surprise him all too much. He´d probably helped them out during some tricky rescue or helped them repair something or… Pete could instantly picture MacGyver in a couple of situations where he might have assisted the lifeguards. Now, how could he convince the young guard that he´d be okay climbing the rocks and that he also had a very good reason to do so?
Normally, Pete wasn´t the one to quickly flash his badge but right now, he wasn´t in the mood for a long discussion either. So he pulled out the DXS-issued credentials that identified him as a government agent and showed them to the lifeguard.
"I´m glad to hear you trust MacGyver." Pete smiled as he noticed how the young guard drew back instinctively once he´d taken in the ID. "I need to talk to him… privately."
The lifeguard eyed Pete probingly and concerned for a moment.
"Is he in some kind of…" he then started to ask hesitatingly, his words trailing off.
"No." Pete cut him off, dissolving the man´s worries about Mac being in trouble. "Not at all. Everything´s fine."
"But Sir…" the guard again tried to argue as he gestured toward Pete´s outfit but fell silent when Pete raised one hand.
"I know. My shoes." Pete voiced his concern. "I´ll manage. I´ll be okay."
The lifeguard´s gaze remained doubtful but he knew he was overpowered. He retreated a little and glanced toward his nearby tower.
"Alright… I´ll be over there, should you need me."
Pete nodded his thanks.
"Keep an eye on MacGyver´s bike, if you can," he asked. "We don´t want it to get stolen."
Now the young man smiled as he drew back even further.
"I promised him to do that anyway when he arrived almost one hour ago," he replied and waved a quick goodbye before he hurried back to his tower.
Pete briefly returned the smile and then turned to the breakwater once more. Why doesn't this surprise me as well, he thought with a lopsided grin to himself. Then he focused on Mac, who still seemed oblivious to this presence. Thornton eyed the rocks forming the breakwater closely and drew in a deep breath to steel himself for his climb toward MacGyver… and for the soul-searching conversation that lay ahead of him… or rather ahead of them both.