Part 7
It took a long moment for MacGyver and Pete to come out of the haze that they had entered after slamming into the wall. While they were still recovering, Charlie ran out the door, following Jameson and Ashton.
"Wait, Charlie! That guy has a gun!" Mac called out after him. Charlie looked over at him, blinked, then turned and ran out the door.
Mac was the first to rise, turning toward the window just in time to see Charlie escape from view. Looking back at Pete, he realized that his friend had been knocked thoroughly unconscious. Feeling a small twinge of guilt about leaving Pete, MacGyver made a quick decision and dashed out the door in pursuit of the kids and the hitman.
The full moon illuminated the forest well enough that he could easily catch up with Charlie, who ran a little slower. He had expected this. He had not expected Charlie to whip around and hurl a rock from the forest floor at him. Mac ducked, narrowly avoiding the projectile, and paused. When Charlie had turned, Mac had noticed the holster of a pistol tucked under his arm.
Why's it always gotta be guns? He wondered. Seeing no other clues as to where Jameson and Ashton had gone, he continued following Charlie, albeit at a much safer distance.
Ashton knew how to fake her own identity and death; she knew that she could fake being unconscious for a few seconds. The needle from Jameson's gun had gotten stuck in the base of the hood of her jacket. She knew that Jameson rarely missed once and never missed twice, so she had taken her chance and dropped to the floor.
She also knew that something was wrong with Charlie the moment she had stepped into the cabin. She had never had a nickname, for one thing. He had been even more evasive than she had expected with the two agents. She also didn't have a great memory of the night of their escape, but she knew for a fact that Charlie had been the one who was completely out of it, causing her to have to virtually drag him through the industrial-sized air ducts. In the moment, she had chalked it up to him not trusting anyone new, but this was something else.
Jameson was carrying Ashton over his shoulder, so she was easily able to gently remove the dart from her jacket without him noticing. She paused for a moment, then plunged it into the side of his neck.
MacGyver had been sprinting through the forest for a few minutes when he saw Charlie stop in a clearing up ahead. He could also see Jameson's large form in front of him, with Ashton over his shoulder.
"Father!" The young man called ahead. "I think Ash might've figured out that I'm not-" He got cut off as Jameson threw Ashton to the ground, swayed back and forth for a moment and fell on the ground a few feet beside her.
She scrambled to her feet as Not-Charlie, shocked, all but threw himself at her. She saw, with plenty of time to duck to the side, his fist hurtling through the air toward her face. As his hand flew past her ear, she grabbed his forearm and used his momentum to throw him to the ground. He lay there stunned just long enough for her to remove his pistol from its holster and gently toss it into a patch of earth a few feet away.
More confused than he was sure he had ever felt, MacGyver ran toward the two figures wrestling in the clearing. As he approached, he saw Not-Charlie throw Ashton to the side. They both jumped up, and Not-Charlie began to throw his fist at her face again but felt a sharp jolt as Mac pulled him back.
"Just hold it a second!" he shouted. The three caught their breath, but, after a moment, Not-Charlie attempted to attack Ashton again. She took a step backward, but MacGyver was still able to hold him.
"Who are you? Where's Charlie?" Ashton gasped, leaning with her hands on her knees. Not-Charlie looked around, glaring at everyone in the clearing (aside from Jameson), before finally setting his harsh gaze on her.
"My name is Luke Jameson. I'm Charlie's twin brother, and I was sent here to help my father take you back to HIT so that we could finally complete the contract on Murdoc," he sneered.
I know it's been a while, but I finally finished another chapter. Thank you so much to MacGyverLass for her encouragement! If you like 1985 MacGyver, I greatly recommend trying some of her stories.
Thank you all for reading; please consider leaving a review!