MacGyverland (Part 1)
Frog pawed at the glass patio door, causing the vertical blinds to clank. Joanna, comfortably ensconced in a cozy armchair, looked up from her knitting, her gaze moving from the softly whining bull dog to the fiancé sprawled on the couch, video game controller in hand and attention riveted on the television screen where animated hockey players toddled back and forth, shooting the puck at his command.
"Your dog needs to go out," she announced flatly.
"He's soon-to-be our dog, and I'm one goal away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals," MacGyver muttered, fingers adeptly maneuvering two mini joysticks.
"Fine," Jo huffed, tossing her knitting on the floor and pushing herself up from the chair to tend to their beloved canine.
"You know you're addicted to that game," she observed after snapping on Frog's leash and sliding the door open just enough for him to scooch through.
"I am not!" Mac protested. "I can stop anytime I want."
"That's what they all say!" she shot back with a snort she knew he found both endearing when directed at others, but annoying when directed at him.
"Hey! Don't knock it 'til you've tried it," he challenged as she watched Frog sniff the perimeter of the yard before settling on a spot to do his business.
"Alright!" she challenged, after letting their dog back in the house. Before MacGyver could stop her, she walked over to the gaming console and hit the reset button.
"What'd ya do that for?!" Mac cried as the screen went blank. "I was in the middle of a game!"
"You had two seconds left and the other team was on a power play. You weren't gonna win. Besides, you said I should play."
Having caught Mac by surprise, she swiftly grabbed the controller from his hands, but he recovered quickly and caught her around the waist, pulling her down on the couch with him only to tease the side of her neck with feather-light kisses.
"Are you trying to distract me?" she accused with a soft laugh.
"You bet."
"Well, it's not gonna work," she replied with more resolve than she felt. His frustrated sigh sent a tingle trickling down her spine and she secretly relished the power she held over this amazing man.
"Now come on," she urged, sitting up straighter. "Show me how this works."
Joanna lost track of time as MacGyver showed her how to use the controller to move the animated figures. Her fingers were clumsy and she frowned in frustration when she missed a perfectly set up shot on goal.
"I hate this game," she mumbled.
"Hang in there," Mac encouraged. "It's all about timing and eye-hand coordination. Kinda like your knitting. You just need some practice."
She pulled a face at him but immediately reset the game to try again. She had just found a new obstacle to conquer, and conquer she would. Then she could challenge Mac to a game. Deep in concentration as she struggled to make the little animated men follow her commands, she almost didn't hear the telephone ring. She felt Mac's weight shift as he pushed himself off the couch. Her eyes never left the screen, but her ears couldn't help overhearing his end of the conversation.
"Hello? Hey Craig! What's up?"
There was only one 'Craig' that she was aware of in MacGyver's life and that was Craig Bannister from the Phoenix Foundation. Had he called to try to convince Mac to go on another mission? Not that it should matter to her. She and Mac had already talked about this and agreed that he would still help out his friends when he could and surely they wouldn't send a freelancer, which Mac now was, out on anything dangerous. Nevertheless, she forgot about the video game and focused her attention on the phone call.
MacGyver was silent for several minutes before countering. "But tests like that can't replicate what an agent will encounter in the field!"
More silence. Then, "Yeah, I know. Do you need me to come out there? Yeah, sure, I can do that. Okay, bye."
"What did he want?" Joanna asked as soon as Mac hung up the phone. She was ashamed at the displeasure in her voice.
MacGyver sighed and scrubbed his face as he sat down next to her, leaning forward with his arms resting on his thighs.
"Phoenix wants to shut down MacGyverland."
"They want to shut down what?!" Jo was completely stupefied.
"It's a nickname my former colleagues made up for an obstacle course I created that's part of the field agent recertification process. Some members of the board think it's dangerous, obsolete, and a waste of the agents' time."
"Is it?"
"It does take agents up for re-cert out of circulation for three days. Plus, Craig said the course hasn't been properly maintained due to lack of funds and several people have gotten hurt which causes them to be out of work even longer. As for it being obsolete, Craig said the board members argued that with technological advances in surveillance, intel, and remote operations, agents don't require the skills the course tests, at least not like they used to."
"And what do you think?"
"I created the course not only to test physical strength, but also manual dexterity, mental focus, reflexes, strategic planning, and basic wilderness survival skills. That can't be measured by putting someone on a treadmill or practicing in a shooting gallery. The board is going to meet in a week to officially vote on the status. They'll be hearing arguments beforehand and Craig wants me to share my thoughts."
"You'll be going to L.A. then?" Jo didn't like the way her mouth became dry upon asking that question. She loved this man. She didn't own him.
MacGyver shook his head. "I'll go to the Chicago office and participate in a video conference call, but according to Bannister it's pretty much a waste of time unless I can come up with some alternative between now and then."
Joanna watched as Mac's gaze tore from hers to the video game. She could practically see the gears in his brain turning.
"Mac? What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking I have a lot of research to do."
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The following day MacGyver shuttered himself in his office at Challengers. With funding woes behind them, he could focus on the task at hand which, for the present, was finding alternative recertification activities for Phoenix field agents. He knew Joanna wasn't thrilled that he had agreed to it, but they had a deal and, to her credit, she hid her dissatisfaction well. Besides, when he had proposed to her, he never in a million years could have predicted he would ever work for Phoenix again. And this really wasn't work. He was just a concerned former employee trying to help out. Mac booted up his computer and typed his question into the subject line of the search engine. Before long, he was sifting through numerous reports and studies to make sure his plan was viable and to serve as evidence for the Phoenix Board of Directors.
A few days later MacGyver entered his apartment to find Joanna sitting on his couch, completely engrossed in the video hockey game she was playing just like every other night since he introduced her to the pastime. He moved closer and marveled at how her delicate fingers now expertly maneuvered the joysticks and hit the buttons with near-perfect dexterity. Either she hadn't heard him walk in or she was ignoring him because her concentration hadn't flinched.
"She shoots, she scores, and the crowd goes wild!" Jo crowed exuberantly, raising her hands in the air to further celebrate her victory.
Mac couldn't help chuckling. "Now who's addicted?" he asked with mock sarcasm.
Joanna rose from the couch, pulled herself up to her full height, and approached him, not stopping until her face was mere inches from his.
"I'll have you know I can quit anytime I want, mister. Besides, I just won the Stanley Cup."
Grabbing her upper arms, he pulled her to him, giving her a hard, quick kiss.
"Congratulations."
She pulled away with a frown.
"What?" he asked.
"Mac, I just won the Stanley Cup!"
"Well excuse me!" he replied with a sly grin. This time when he reached for her, his touch was gentle. He drew her into his arms and lowered his lips to hers, their long, deep kiss making his heart pound in a way no hockey game ever could.
"Better?" he asked in a husky voice as he reluctantly stepped back.
"Much," she confirmed softly, her eyes still a bit unfocused. "I've missed you."
"Me too," he replied. "But I think I've finally got a solution. Come over here and let me show you."
MacGyver took Joanna's hand and led her over to his computer. He quickly popped in a disc and the monitor came to life with colorful game pieces on an electronic board.
"Mac, this is a video game," Jo observed skeptically.
"You could call it that," he shrugged.
"Are you out of your mind?! You can't possibly plan on telling Phoenix that agent recertification will be based on how well they play a video game!"
"Now just hold on and let me show you how it works." MacGyver pulled up an extra chair, reached for the mouse, and began clicking its buttons.
"This game is all about strategy. You have to match same-colored pieces to clear the board in a certain amount of time. In order to do that, you have to recognize one of three different patterns."
"I guess I can see the theory in that," Joanna said uncertainly.
Mac allowed himself a small smile, typed in a command, and soon the screen turned into a picture of a meadow. A woolly animated sheep darted across the green space from the left side of the monitor. MacGyver immediately clicked a mouse button and the animal was 'shot' with a tranquilizer dart.
"This one is designed to test your reflexes," he explained.
"That looks like fun! Let me try." Joanna unceremoniously shoved him out of the way as she scooted her own chair closer to the computer. Several sheep made their way across the screen before she successfully shot one in the nick of time. The computer displayed her score and she frowned. "I don't think I like this game either," she frowned, backing away.
MacGyver smothered a smile, secretly enjoying the competitiveness she tried to keep locked away. "It takes practice," he reassured her.
"Okay, what else you got?" Apparently she was warming to the idea the way he hoped the board members would.
"The final exercise is designed to test manual dexterity. I figured we could use-"
"The hockey game!" Jo cut him off excitedly.
"Yeah," he laughed.
"And all these games, um, programs, require a good deal of mental focus," she observed. "But what about the survival aspect of it?"
Mac shrugged. "The initial training program covers that and if agents keep their other skills sharp it shouldn't be a problem."
"Well, I'm sold. But how are you going to get Phoenix to agree to use this as an alternative strategy?"
"That's where these come in," MacGyver said, pulling large packets of papers from his satchel.
"What are those?"
"These are reports of studies that examined the success rate of using creative training methods."
"I think I read about one of those," Joanna responded, her brow furrowed in thought. "It had to do with basketball players, if I remember correctly. One practiced free throws like usual while the other simply used that same amount of time to visualize himself successfully making the free throws. I forgot what the exact outcome was, but the guy who did the visualization performed just as well if not better than the guy who physically practiced."
"Exactly!" Mac exclaimed, glad that Jo understood his point. "These reports prove that skills can transfer from one environment to another."
"Think that'll be enough proof for the foundation?"
"I sure hope so."
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MacGyver inhaled a long, deep breath through his nose and slowly exhaled through his mouth, willing his heart rate to slow as he followed a cheerful receptionist through the corridors of the Phoenix Foundation office building in Chicago. With each footstep he silently chided himself. How many times throughout his career had he stood in front of influential boards or committees, presenting research, data, and various courses of action? Of course, he had always had the full support of Phoenix and, sometimes, even the United States Government. Today it was all on him. He would sink or swim alone. And that thought was kinda overwhelming. The receptionist stopped at the door to a small conference room and stepped aside with a smile, allowing Mac to enter. He quickly surveyed the empty room then grinned when his gaze fell upon a familiar figure seated in a corner.
"Pete! What are you doin' here?!" The older man rose at the sound of his friend's voice and soon the two men were embracing.
"Joanna called and filled me in on your situation. Thought you could use some moral support. She also seems to think I may still have some pull with the board members."
"Do you?"
"Let's hope we don't have to find out."
Before Mac could reply, he heard the two way speaker on the table click on and looked up to the television mounted on the wall to see it flicker to life as a number of middle-aged men in suits somberly gathered around a conference table in Los Angeles. MacGyver followed their lead and situated himself in a chair facing the screen so he could see and be seen. Once brief introductions and generic greetings were exchanged, the spokesman of the group addressed him.
"Contrary to our original plan and in light of the new proposal you sent us earlier in the week, the board has already voted unanimously to immediately terminate any and all use of the recertification obstacle course known as MacGyverland."
Mac kept his face expressionless, nodding slightly to show he understood. He would not let them see his disappointment. Would not let them see any chinks in his armor.
"Now then," the spokesman continued, "after studying your alternate method for recertification, several of our members found it quite interesting, including myself, and we'd like to take advantage of your presence to provide further information."
For the next thirty minutes, MacGyver answered questions, expounded explanations, and referred to successful research studies as often as possible. When the board seemed satisfied, the spokesman once again addressed Mac.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. MacGyver. The board would like a few moments in private to discuss what we've learned here today." With that, the speaker clicked off and the television screen went blank.
Mac let out a long sigh, slumped back in his chair, and turned to Pete.
"How do you think it went?" he asked the older man.
"It all sounded good to me, but then I'm not the one you have to convince."
Moments later the Los Angeles office reconnected, the spokesman's figure filling the monitor.
"After a brief discussion and vote, the board members have agreed to use your prototype recertification method on a trial basis."
"Thank you, sir," Mac responded evenly, keeping his emotions in check.
"What's the first step in your process, Mr. MacGyver?"
"I need to come out to L.A. and install the computer program on the foundation's mainframe and provide some overview for the field supervisors. It should only take a day or so."
"Excellent. Can you be here tomorrow?"
"Absolutely."
The connection was once again severed and MacGyver stood alone in the room with Pete, his mind reeling. He couldn't believe Phoenix had accepted his proposal.
That evening MacGyver called Joanna as soon as he arrived home to let her know how the meeting had gone.
"They actually liked my ideas and want to give the program a test run."
"Mac, that's great!" she exclaimed, pride obvious in her voice.
"Yeah. There's just one thing."
"What's that?" Pride turned quickly to suspicion.
"They want me out in L.A. tomorrow to install it."
"Wow, they don't waste any time," she observed.
"You got that right. I plan on catching the first flight out in the morning and should be back sometime tomorrow night."
"The last time you said that they sent you on a mission that nearly got you killed."
"I promise that won't happen again," Mac assured her.
"Oh really?"
Mac sighed. "I promise I will not accept any other job except working on the recertification project. I'll be in Los Angeles the whole time. Heck, I'll probably be in the same building the whole time. You can call me every hour if you like."
Joanna chuckled. "As much as I love the sound of your voice, I doubt that will be necessary."
"You like the sound of my voice?" Mac teased.
"Among other things," came the vague reply in a saucy tone that made him smile.
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The following morning MacGyver entered the multi-story building that housed the main branch of the Phoenix Foundation in Southern California. He quickly obtained a visitor's badge from a security officer who proceeded to escort him to one of several computer labs. Mac spent the next few hours working with technicians to load his program into the foundation's main computer, work out any glitches, and set up agent-specific passwords. This way, any field agent could access and practice the skills for recertification from any personal computer in the facility.
After a short lunch break, MacGyver spent the afternoon meeting with field supervisors to explain the new re-cert process as well as demonstrate the programs and set acceptable parameters for success or failure of the actual test. After a brief question and answer session to end the day, the supervisors filed out of the room with Craig Bannister bringing up the rear.
"Well done, my friend," he said, shaking Mac's hand.
"Thanks, but this is just a trial run. The board could still decide to go in a different direction."
"Why don't we think positive for the time being? In fact, I want to introduce you to your first guinea pig."
Craig Bannister led MacGyver through the winding corridors before stopping to knock on a door. A man of average size and looks answered.
"Mac, this is Agent Tom Duncan. He's up for recertification as soon as he gets back from an assignment in a couple weeks. Tom, this is MacGyver, the man behind the new re-cert program. You need to make him look good!"
"I'll do my best, sir," Duncan replied, shaking hands with Mac and exchanging small talk before returning to work.
"Wanna grab some supper with an old pal?"
"What about Nikki?" Mac asked.
"She's out of the country on assignment."
"And you don't like to eat alone, is that it?"
Craig held out his hands in a helpless gesture. "What can I say, you found me out! How about we go to that little Indian restaurant you used to like so much?"
MacGyver was about to agree when he glanced down at his watch and realized it was later than he thought.
"What's the matter? Gotta clear it with the little woman?"
"No," Mac replied scornfully before looking around the room. "Where's the phone?"
Three hours later MacGyver glanced at his watch again and frowned.
"What's the matter, buddy?" Craig asked.
"I really lost track of the time. I'm sorry, but I gotta get to the airport." He hoped there was at least one more flight back to Milwaukee that night.
"Joanna sure has got you on a short leash," Bannister smirked.
"It's not like that," Mac protested. "Maybe I just want to sleep in my own bed. I'm no longer at Phoenix's beck and call like someone else at this table."
"Alright, you got me there," Craig conceded as Mac grabbed his jacket and left the restaurant.
When MacGyver pulled into his driveway, he felt a stab of disappointment when he saw the darkened windows but he quickly chided himself. He couldn't expect Jo to wait up for him every time he stayed out later than expected. Heck, he couldn't even expect her to hang out at his place when he was away. She did have a home of her own. Nevertheless, he made a point of unlocking the front door as quietly as possible, his heart taking one last nose-dive as he noticed the only occupant on his couch was Frog. Tossing his jacket on the kitchen counter he trudged up the stairs. A soft snore coming from a lump in his bed caused his pulse to skip. Even as the practical part of his brain urged him to allow her some privacy, the ache in his heart needed to hold her near. It wasn't like anything was going to happen between them, he reasoned. She was asleep and he was too tired to do anything about it anyway. Fully clothed, he slipped underneath the covers, her back to him, and gently placed his arm around her waist so as not to wake her but still feel her presence. His heart warmed when she let go a sleep-filled sigh and automatically nestled into his chest.
Mac was in the kitchen making breakfast the following morning when he heard Joanna pad down the stairs.
"I hope I didn't wake you," he said, not turning around.
"You didn't," she replied succinctly. "When did you get home?"
"Late."
"You must have slept on the couch, huh?"
"Must have."
He felt her arms snake around his midsection and give a possessive squeeze.
"You are such a lousy liar," she informed him with a giggle. "But I guess that's a good quality to have in a husband. You won't get away with a thing!"
"Oh yeah?" he asked, turning so he could embrace her. "And just what were you doin' in my bed, Goldilocks?"
"Things got a little rowdy at Challengers last night and Frog seemed anxious. I thought he'd be better off here."
Mac's stomach sank. "What do you mean by 'rowdy'?"
"Nothing Cynthia, Geena and I couldn't handle, but you know how Frog hates to sleep here alone."
"So you thought you'd keep him company." Before Jo could respond, he lowered his mouth to hers and relished the precious moments when it seemed she melted into him.
All too soon her back stiffened, muscles tensed, and she stepped away, albeit with a smile.
"So how did things go in L.A.?"
"Fine. It all came together pretty smoothly. I even got to meet the guy who's gonna be the first agent to use the program."
"What happens next?"
Mac shrugged. "I suppose Phoenix decides if they're gonna stay with what I designed or go back to the drawing board."
"Will you have to go out there again?"
"I'm not planning on it. Everything I need is right here." He reached out for her, but she deftly out-maneuvered him.
"Don't forget, Mom's expecting you for Thanksgiving next week," she reminded him seriously.
"I wouldn't miss it. Does she want me to bring anything?"
"Nope. For one day out of the year you're gonna eat like a normal person!"
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MacGyver, Joanna, and her parents gathered around the Fairfax's small kitchen table, a giant roast turkey taking center stage. They all joined hands and bowed their heads as Joanna's mom said the blessing. Jo couldn't help taking a quick peek at Mac, seated across from her, only to find him doing the same, an endearingly crooked smile on his face. Her stomach twinged, but not from hunger. She was extra grateful this Thanksgiving to have this wonderful man in her life and to know that they would be together for the rest of their lives.
Halfway through the scrumptious meal the telephone rang. It was rare to receive a call on a holiday. Joanna quickly got up and answered before the machine picked.
"Hello?"
"Joanna? It's Pete. Is Mac with you?"
Jo wanted to scold the older man for not bothering to wish her a happy Thanksgiving, but his tone was tense and clipped indicating this was not a social call.
"Yeah. Hold on a minute."
"Mac, Pete's on the phone for you," she replied soberly, returning to her seat at the table.
She could hear the rumble of MacGyver's muted voice coming from the other room but couldn't make out any specific words. When he returned to the kitchen, his face was somber, his eyes empty.
"Everything okay?" she asked, knowing his answer already.
"Yeah, fine," he replied.
The meal was completed in uneasy conversation, Mac's troubled mood permeating the air. When he turned down a slice of pumpkin pie, Jo knew something was definitely wrong. A few minutes later, Judy Fairfax shooed the younger couple from her kitchen so she could clean up and put away the leftovers. A stern look kept her husband by her side.
"Wanna tell me about it?" she asked, hurrying to keep pace with MacGyver who was striding purposefully toward the living room.
"Not really," came the flat reply.
She reached out and grabbed his forearm. "Tell me anyway."
Mac finally turned toward her, a storm like she'd never seen before brewing in his troubled eyes.
"A Phoenix agent is dead and it could all be my fault." Without another word, he shrugged on his jacket and headed out the front door.