"Get down!" Ashton cried out, and, less than a second later, the glass back doors shattered and a bullet whizzed by, finally hitting and destroying a glass jar in the kitchen. MacGyver was laying on the floor, with his hands covering his head. Ashton could hardly breath as she hurriedly crawled over to him, but she sighed with relief when he shot her a thumbs-up.
CRSSHHH! Another bullet hitting something in the kitchen reminded Ashton that they had to get out, and fast.
The gears in Mac's and Ashton's heads were both turning faster than ever, trying to determine how to get out of this one.
"We need him to think he's won," Ashton whispered. She was good at figuring out how to use Murdoc's little quirks against him.
MacGyver understood her immediately. "I have red food coloring in the cupboard over there," he offered, pointing at one of the bottom storage units.
"Can you get some corn starch and water? And a glass?" Ashton asked, moving as fast and low as possible towards the red dye. A third bullet whizzed above them. She silently prayed that the red dot would stay far away from the three people in the houseboat. They mixed the ingredients together in the glass in under five seconds, and then Mac cautiously crawled around to the other side of the kitchen island. He took a deep breath as another bullet hit the exact spot where the red dot was.
He dunked his hand into the glass, then, doing his best impression of having been shot, he smeared the fake blood under the red dot, then covered his face with his dirty hand, pretending to lose consciousness yet again.
After a few moments, he hesitantly opened one eye and watched as the red dot shut off. He let his head fall back against the floor but didn't dare rest for more than a moment. He shot up into a sitting position, wiping his hand on his jeans.
Crouching, which made walking a little awkward, he and Ashton moved over to Pete, who was now crouching as well.
Ashton spoke what they were all thinking. "Get to the jeep." They all leapt up and dashed out the door before Murdoc could come back and realize that he hadn't hit anyone.
They practically threw themselves into the jeep. Ashton clambered over the seats into the back of the car, and the two men sat in the front, Mac in the driver's seat and Pete in the passenger's. They sped off into the night, all three of them feeling the relief and anxiety of thinking they had escaped Murdoc yet again.
After driving for about an hour, Pete decided that he had to break the silence. But mostly he wanted answers. "Who are you?" he asked with a polite tone, his question clearly directed at Ashton.
"Name's Ashton," she replied simply. She still wasn't ready to reveal her carefully-kept secret. She nervously twisted the upside-down skull ring on her right ring finger.
"I think you know what I mean," Pete probed. "Where are your parents?"
MacGyver glanced sideways at Pete, hoping that he hadn't pressed too far. He had wanted to ask the same question, but hadn't wanted to be so direct. His mind couldn't leave a puzzle around, and he definitely didn't like knowing what was going on.
Even though she had expected these questions, Ashton was caught by surprise.
"I… my father… my mother… we…" Ashton stumbled over her words, wracking her brain and trying to find something to say that would maintain her privacy and deter questions. For the moment, at least. Her answer came quickly as she looked through the back window of the car.
"We're being followed," she said, panic creeping into her voice again.