MacGyver’s world echoed and spun; he raised a shaking hand to his head as the realization sank in. He leaned against the window sill, his legs suddenly unable to take his weight.

If this wasn’t really a hospital, and the drugs he’d been given weren’t really medicine, then…

Maybe he wasn’t really dying.

He took a breath, sudden hope making his heart beat fast.

Maybe Nikki wasn’t really dead!

The only problem was, with the door locked, and the window effectively barricaded from the outside, there was no way to find out the truth, how ever bizarre it was.

Mac sucked down a breath and spun around, steadying himself when the sudden move made him dizzy – apparently the drugs hadn’t completely worn off yet.

He scanned the bedside table, but there was nothing to pick the door lock with, and nothing to attack the hinges with. And of course, there might just be a guard on the door anyway, if he chose that as an escape route.

Right, so that just leaves the window!

MacGyver slid open the large glass pane and examined the wood that had been fixed on from the outside. He pressed against it with his weight, testing it, but it was hammered on firmly. Nevertheless, it had to come off if he was going to see what was beyond, and try for an escape.

I need a crowbar!

Mac put his attention back on the room, but whoever had set him up had been very careful not to leave anything bar the “set dressing” behind. Apparently his reputation for making things had preceded him. The thought brought a smile to his face and spurred him on.

After checking the cupboard again, MacGyver’s eyes locked on the I.V. stand. It was shiny chrome – metal, just like a crowbar. Maybe not as strong, but it might be rigid enough to get him out.

He moved to the side of the bed, sat on the edge and examined the stand more carefully. The base was made from four legs that were almost flat strips of steel with small coasting wheels on each end.

Mac turned the whole thing upside down, ignoring the bag of drug-filled fluid that fell away and clattered onto the floor. He examined the legs, and felt his heart skip when he found they only screwed into the base. Carefully, he unwound the nearest leg and then pulled off the wheel.

The thing he was left with was just the right size and thickness to use on the window, but the end simply wasn’t flat enough to pry at anything with. Mac bit into his lip, frowned, and then focused on the door to the bathroom. He nodded, satisfied he’d found the solution, and then jogged over to the door with a new sense of energy.

Mac placed the edge of the metal into the door frame nearest the hinges, wedging it as best he could, then he slammed the door with all the strength he could muster, praying there really was no guard on the outside of the outer door.

No one came running, but the wooden bathroom door gave way, splintering in his grasp. Mac ignored the chewed up timber and examined the bar. He sighed with relief as he noted the metal end had now effectively been “crimped” into maybe, just maybe, a shape he could use on the barricade.

Moving back to the window, MacGyver positioned the impromptu crowbar between the boarding and the window frame, wedging it into place with a whack of his hand. Then he put all his weight behind it, forcing the nails and board away from the window. It was slow going, but eventually, the wood gave way and snapped outwards.

Mac moved onto the next board, and the next until there was room for him to snake his body through the hole. Remaining ever-cautious he listened at the gap and poked one of the boards through. When nothing happened, he popped his head through to asses the situation. The building he was in was huge, but it was certainly no hospital. The walls were dirty and stark and the roof of the far section looked to have given way in places. If Mac had to call it, he’d guess he was in an old factory or warehouse.

He looked away from the structure, hoping to get a fix on his location, but the building was surrounded by desert and the odd cacti. There were no other buildings, not even on the horizon, and no people anywhere.

To Mac’s right, the windows weren’t boarded and nothing about the building looked unusual. He was pretty high up and a strong breeze blew his hair into his eyes. To the left was another window, and it too was boarded over. Could Nikki be in there? There was no way to tell without physically looking, and the only way over to the window was a section of drain that ran horizontal across the whole side of the structure. It looked as old and damaged as the roof on the far section, but could it take his weight?

MacGyver ducked back into the hospital room. Something to wrap over the pipe to help drag himself along would be real handy. He could use his feet on the building wall to take some of his weight that way too. He scratched his head in frustration. His belt would have been perfect, but his captors had taken that along with his clothes.

Mac winced, but refused to give in – his persistence paid dividends when after a few minutes, he noticed something dangling from under the sheet on his bed. He pulled at the leather and realized he was looking at restraining straps – had they been for him?

MacGyver couldn’t help but smile. Well they sure are now!

He removed the straps and noted they were shorter than he’d have liked, but as long as they went over the pipe, they’d have to do. Moving back to the window, he climbed outside onto the ledge with the straps and crowbar tied around his neck.

He paused for a second as his head spun, and he made the fatal mistake of looking down. There was car parked below, reminding him too much of his fall onto one in the past. He gripped the window frame until his knuckles were white, but his vertigo cleared, then he moved onto the pipe with the strap, focusing on the task rather than how high up he was.

His surgical gown billowed and flapped in the breeze, and MacGyver blushed as he realized anyone below must be getting a full view of his underwear. The wind blew the gown around his leg and he had to let go to tug it free, his breathing ragged and his heartbeat loud in his ears.

“Man, I hate heights!” He blinked hard, trying to clear the lingering dizziness, and took the next step.

The pipe groaned with his weight, but MacGyver kept his moves slow and deliberate, feeding his way across to the other window in about five minutes. Once he reached the safety of the other ledge, he paused and puffed out a breath of relief then balanced himself carefully to work one-handed on the boarding with the “crowbar.”

The question was, would Nikki be the other side, or had something terrible still happened to her? MacGyver tried to think about it while he worked. She was going to be there, she was going to chew him out with a bout of her sass for not rescuing her sooner, and then she’d tell him she could have escaped on her own anyway, she was just waiting for him to be polite…

MacGyver smiled as an image of Nikki filled his brain, and two seconds later the smile broadened when he pulled away the first timber to see Nikki lying on a bed through the window. The place was a fake hospital room, just like his had been, and Nikki looked way out of it. She had probably been drugged, but at least she was alive.

Mac worked on more of the boarding until he could slither inside, and was grateful when his slippers touched down on the linoleum and he could leave the giddy heights of the window ledge behind.

Moving across the room to the bed, Mac checked on Nikki first. She was half-conscious and grinned sleepily at the sight of his face. “Whoa, you look sure good for a dead man,” she slurred. Then her face crumpled and a tear slid down her cheek. “You’re dead…” She whispered. She blinked in confusion, then her eyes slid closed and she drifted back to sleep.

Mac patted her affectionately, but moved to the door. Escape, not small talk was the order of the day right now. He slowly checked the handle, but it was locked, just like his, and again there was nothing in the room to pick it.

There was no chance of getting Nikki out and back to his room, and even if he could, there was no escape from there either.

MacGyver popped his head out the window and took another look at the building. There was another window to his left, smaller, but not boarded. Could he slide across to that and get inside?

With little other choice, he clambered back out onto the ledge and onto the pipe again. Thankfully, the second window was closer, and this time he didn’t look down. As an added bonus, the window was actually open a fraction enough for him to slide a hand through and open it fully.

Mac thanked whoever was watching down on him and dropped inside. It was dark, but there was enough light from outside to make out he was in some kind of storage area, and from what was lying around, he guessed the building had some kind of connection with electronics manufacturing. Did this mean Aurix Aeronautics was behind the madness of the last few days? And why?

MacGyver moved cautiously over to the door and tried the handle – this time, it was open. He nudged it forwards just a crack and peeked out into the corridor beyond. It was clear, but for how long? No doubt the phony doctors would be doing their rounds again soon, although he hadn’t quite figured out what they were up to yet.

He ducked back into the room, his priority now was getting Nikki’s door open without awakening the dead, and that meant he needed some kind of lock pick.

Looking round, he spotted a dust-ridden shelf with old production line test sets. They were old and covered in cobwebs, but the one on the end was something called a “noise box” – an insulated box with the equipment inside that protected the gear from outside interference. The box lid had a pinned hinge. Perfect!

MacGyver moved to a different shelf with rusting, ancient tools and rummaged until he found a pair of cutters, they were corroded and stiff, but it didn’t matter. Using them closed, he lined up the tip with the end of the pin and used the flat of his hand to whack it out just a touch. Then he pried open the rusted cutters and carefully used them as pliers to pull the pin the rest of the way. With a final move, he cut the pin in two, making a pair of perfectly usable lock picks.

Mac didn’t waste time thinking what might happen next, and moved back to the door. The corridor was still empty, so he slid outside to Nikki’s room and quickly used his new tools to get inside.

Nikki was still lying across the bed, her skin pale and beaded with perspiration as if she’d been fitfully tossing and turning. Had she been having nightmares too? Was it all part of the interrogation process? MacGyver eased the needle out of her arm, letting the drug drip onto the floor.

Mac tapped her cheek gently but with enough force to make her stir. “Nikki…it’s me, MacGyver!”

“Huh?” Nikki blearily opened one eye, frowned and then rolled backwards, puffing out a breath. “I was…just dreaming about…you,” she slurred.

“Something nice, I hope?” Mac couldn’t help but tease as he carefully sat her upright and put her arm over his shoulder. “Do you think you can walk with my help?”

Nikki thought about it and grinned a little too cheerily. “Nope,” she offered almost inaudibly. “But I have a feeling you’re going to make me try anyway?”

MacGyver smiled wanly as he took her weight. “Oh heck yeah! C’mon if we get out of this I might even buy you dinner.”

Nikki grimaced. “Tofu?” She almost slumped back onto the bed. “Maybe you better just leave me here…”

MacGyver ignored the taunt and lifted Nikki to her feet. She groaned, but managed to stay upright as he jostled her into the corridor. It was still empty, but without knowing the layout of the building they had no idea where the exit was. And we could sure do with some clothes before we attempt the desert outside!

Mac moved slowly, taking Nikki’s weight until they reached the end of the passageway, then he paused. There were voices coming from a room to his left, and he recognized Curtis as one of them, although he wasn’t sure about the second.

Curtis sounded angry, and Mac heard a clattering sound that suggested she might have tossed something across the room in temper. “I’ve had enough of getting nothing out of this MacGyver character!” She was almost shouting. “Can’t we just kill him?”

The second voice was calmer and much more casual. “You know it’s not that simple! What if MacGyver has already spilled to someone? Before the payoff that could be disastrous for us. No, we need to know what he knows, and if he’s told anyone before we make a move. Besides, you know Mariotte has other, much bigger plans for him…”

MacGyver moved backwards so fast his spine was pinned against the cold factory wall. He wasn’t just surprised, he was stunned. There had always been the chance Roger Mariotte would have another go at getting to Sam after the Flight 4177 incident, but how did Mariotte connect to Aurix and a fake accident and hospital?

Mac shook himself. His mind was still fuzzy from the drugs, and for now it was better to escape, and then worry about the details later. He grabbed Nikki’s arm again and all but dragged her past the door where the two were talking and into the next empty room.

There was a bench and a whole lot of grey metal lockers there, so he sat Nikki down and took a look around. Mac guessed it was where the “doctors” got dressed for their roles, as there was a table in the corner with a coffee maker, spoons and other small items that had been recently used.

He opened up a few of the lockers and found a ladies jacket, some scrubs and a white doctor’s coat. Slim pickings, but the trousers to the scrubs were better than the gown he currently had on, so he changed into them.

Next he moved to the table with the coffee maker and grabbed a half eaten pack of cookies and a knife – both might come in handy later.

Nikki wasn’t impressed. “Not exactly what I had in mind when you mentioned dinner,” she complained, rubbing at her head like it was going to fall off.

Mac didn’t answer. They were too close to the bad guys in the other room for small talk, and Nikki was still too “out of it” to understand. He grabbed her arm, pulled her to her feet and back out into the corridor. As he moved along it, he noted there was no security at all, no cameras, no more locked doors. Mariotte and his crew obviously thought they had Mac and Nikki fooled.

The passageway ended in stairs, at the bottom of which was a junction. To the left was another corridor, and to the right a fire door. Finally, a way out!

MacGyver pushed on the bar section with his free hand and was relived when it opened without an argument. The door led straight out into the desert he’d seen from the upper level. There was nothing but sand and one single track road for miles. Arizona or Nevada maybe? If there was any local plant life around it might give him a clue, but for now they could be anywhere.

“Jeez, you sure know how to show a girl a good time,” Nikki blinked, tried to focus her eyes with a squint and then sighed. “I don’t suppose this is Waikiki..?” She was obviously being sarcastic, dazed or not.

Mac smiled. “Not unless they moved the ocean,” he admitted. “C’mon, we need to find a way to get outta here…” He teased Nikki forwards to a corner of the building and peeked around the edge.

“I vote we get a cab,” Nikki countered.

“A car isn’t a bad idea,” Mac agreed. “Except the only one I saw out the window earlier seems to have gone.” He sighed. If the car had still been around he could have hotwired it, but there were no other vehicles of any description. Going out via the road on foot was out of the question because once the bad guys knew they were missing they would be an easy catch.

That just left one option – right into the desert with just a knife and a packet of cookies.

Mac took Nikki’s arm again and was thankful when he noted she was taking more of her own weight. Half-dragging someone over slippery hot sand was no fun, and they had to move fast to get over the horizon, there was simply nowhere else to hide in between.

Eventually, as the sun rose high in the sky, they clambered over a rise and were out of sight from the old factory. They slid gratefully down the dune the other side and paused at the bottom. It was rockier here, and the boulders were interspersed with the odd cacti. To the right were the remnants of an old railway bridge, and MacGyver led Nikki to it. The shade it gave from the midday sun was essential, and it also gave cover from the bad guys for awhile while they rested.

Mac lowered Nikki down first, and as she hit the boulder he’d chosen for a seat with a bump, she seemed to waken up just a touch more. She looked down at the hospital gown, pulled it away from her flesh in distaste and blinked. “Why do I remember a hospital bed?” She blinked again, more apparently coming back to her. “Wait…I whacked my head in your Jeep and then some seriously weird stuff happened…”

“Welcome to my world.” MacGyver nodded. “You wouldn’t believe the last few days I’ve had.”

Nikki grimaced. “I think I’m glad I don’t remember too much of it.” She licked her lips. “I could sure do with a drink…”

Mac thought about it, he was dry too, and out in these conditions that wasn’t good. However, there were no streams or rivers out here, and he wasn’t about to find a Pepsi machine anytime soon. There was always going the natural route though. “I’ll see what I can do,” he offered cryptically as he began rummaging around under the bridge.

“You’re not going to find a six pack under a boulder you know?” Nikki said sassily, her sarcasm returning with her state of consciousness.

MacGyver retrieved a small stick and held it aloft as if he’d found gold. “Perfect! I just need something with a sharp point…”

Nikki wasn’t impressed. “Please tell me that’s not to go divining with?” She raised a brow and a cheeky smile played across her lips. She was back to full form now.

Mac grinned back and pointed to a small cactus. “Not exactly. See that little fella? Well that’s a Beavertail Prickly Pear, and at the right time of year they bear edible fruit, but if you’re careful about removing the spines and glochids you can eat the pads any time – and they’re real juicy.”

“The what, now?” Nikki’s brow creased.

“Glochids. Um… The hairs around the spines. Here.” MacGyver pointed with his knife and Nikki pulled back slightly.

“Oh, yeah. Glochids. Delicious…” Nikki’s face suggested she wasn’t thrilled by the idea, but Mac ignored her and spiked a young immature pad with the point of the stick. Using the knife he’d taken from the factory, he cut the pad free and then began to scrape the spines away. Eventually, he was able to cut it down to a chunk of juicy flesh which he passed to Nikki.

“Pity I can’t start a fire, its way quicker to burn the spines off, but our friends from the “hospital” would probably see the smoke.” As he spoke, MacGyver ambled back over and spiked more of the Beavertail’s pads to add to their bounty and then dropped back down besides Nikki to clean them up.

“Because these would be so much better barbequed!” Nikki took a bite, wrinkling her nose. She chewed thoughtfully. “You know, this doesn’t taste as bad as I expected – kind of like a green bean.” She swallowed and took another bite.

Eventually, Mac began to nibble on a piece for himself. “You know, it’s a shame this is a Prickly Pear and not something rarer,” he offered after swallowing. “We might have been able to pinpoint our location. As it is, we could be anywhere…”

“It’s not where I am that worries me!” Nikki scoffed. “It’s what the heck is going on! Please tell me you know something?” She lobbed a chunk of cacti at a boulder in annoyance.

“I know enough to be worried,” MacGyver admitted. “As we were getting out of that building I heard some of the bad guys talking – and Roger Mariotte’s name was definitely in the mix.” He let the detail sink in.

“Mariotte?” Nikki was obviously shocked. “What could he have to do with any of this?”

Mac shrugged and took another piece of Prickly Pear. It wasn’t exactly tasty, but they needed to keep hydrated. “They said something about him having “other plans” for me.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but all that back there can’t just be about revenge on you over the Boeing incident. That was over a year ago, and this was all way too elaborate. It’s like some weird stunt from the Cold War.”

MacGyver agreed. “You’re right. I think it goes beyond that. I also heard them talking about making sure nothing happened before the payoff – and given the questions I was asked when I was “out of it” and thought I was dreaming, I would say its all about our little audit on Aurix.”

Suddenly the penny seemed to drop and Nikki gaped. “Oh my…Aurix are an avionics manufacturer, and Mariotte was the exec of an avionics company when he got caught doing dirty business the first time!” She stood up from her perch and began to shakily pace, forcing the remnants of the drugs from her system with sheer tenacity. “We need to find out what he’s up to and fast!”

Mac glanced at the clothes he was wearing and the ongoing terrain in frustration. It was easy to say, but not so easy to do, given their current predicament. Not that he would ever let that stop him trying. “I hate to say it, but I think we need to concentrate on gettin’ out of here, first, then worry about Mariotte.”

The words had barely left his lips when a faint noise in the distance caught his ears. Mac strained to identify the sound, and as it grew consistently louder he recognized it as the whir of a helicopter’s rotors. It could be an innocent flight over the desert that might be able to save them, but it could equally be Aurix’s people on their tails.

MacGyver edged from under the bridge’s remains, keeping his back pinned against the ancient stonework and in the shadows. Craning his neck until it almost hurt, he caught a side view of the JetRanger hovering over a patch of the desert to their left.

It was so low it was churning up a small whirlwind of sand – too low for any harmless chopper on a regular journey.

Mac squinted, and the bright red decals on the side of the Bell that read “Aurix Aeronautics” confirmed his worst fears. He slid back under the bridge, his heart pounding.

“It’s them isn’t it?” Nikki asked, arms folded across her chest in stoic determination.

MacGyver nodded. “It sure is. I guess the hunt is on…”

Nikki didn’t seem to like that description and answered it with a cynical grimace. “Yeah, and we’re the prey!”

Continue...