Aurix Aeronautics
Silicon Valley
California
Sometime Later

MacGyver and Pete Thornton waited patiently in a blue unmarked Phoenix van that had been parked innocently across the street from Aurix’s main gate. The van was full of high Tec surveillance equipment, but today it wasn’t being used.

Once Mac and Nikki had been picked up from the Nevada sheriff’s office where Annie Mae had dropped them, things had gone into overdrive. Nikki had gone back to Phoenix’s main office to co-ordinate, and Mac had joined Pete at Aurix.

Once the authorities had been informed of what was going down, the feds had decided that an armed assault team would be first inside the aeronautics company – a fact that Mac had protested against from the get go – he hated guns, and in this instance innocent factory workers could easily get caught in the crossfire.

The radio in Mac’s hand crackled and beeped. “This is Red Dog, we’re inside the building and it’s clear. You have a green light to join us.”

“Understood Red Dog,” MacGyver answered the call and bounded out the rear of the van so fast Pete would have struggled to catch the blur even if he could still see. As it was, Pete brought up the rear, assisted by Seeley Atkins, one of Phoenix’s finest.

* * * *

MacGyver bounded up the stairs to Aurix’s second story and offices, taking two steps at a time, Pete and Seeley following more slowly behind. Waiting expectantly for them at the top, clad in black with a good amount of body armor and a light machine gun, was Agent Rick Darwin.

“Looks like your bad guys were expecting us,” Darwin jerked a thumb to the nearest office. It was empty. “Your escape probably caused the mass exodus of management here.”

More F.B.I. agents milled around them as he spoke, weapons still drawn, but safeties on. Mac winced at the sight, but noted that on the shop floor behind their group, staff had been working oblivious to any wrong-doing until the feds had entered. How many, if any, had known what was going on at Aurix?

Don’t worry about them. The men on the shuttle are running out of time…

“We need to find records and fast!” Mac pushed past Darwin to the nearest computer console and began typing. Whoever had vacated the desk had gone so quickly they’d left it logged on. That was a bonus. He hit the folder that should have contained the RCS circuit test results, but all the records had been conveniently wiped, including any backups. He slammed a fist down onto the table in exasperation. “They cleared everything. Without these files we can’t pinpoint what might happen to the shuttle.”

Darwin peered over MacGyver’s shoulder at the screen. “My people might be able to retrieve what’s on the hard drive, or rather what’s not there right now. They’ve done it before.”

Mac wasn’t convinced. “Yeah, I could probably do it myself, but in time to save those guys on the shuttle? I don’t think so…” His shoulders dropped in defeat, but then a familiar face gave him hope.

A woman he’d met on the original audit had broken away from the gathering crowd of workers and was heading their way. Eileen had seemed genuine when he’d spoken to her before, and he felt like it was worth the risk to trust her now.

As she approached, MacGyver noticed she was wringing her hands and they were shaking. There was fear in her eyes, and he was convinced it wasn’t faked.

“Excuse me? Can someone tell us what’s happening?” Eileen looked back and forth between Darwin and Mac, then settled on Mac, probably because she’d seen him around before and at least knew who he was.

“It’s okay,” MacGyver soothed. “No one is in any trouble except your boss, but there have been some…discrepancies – big ones that could cause a disaster. Would you try and help us stop it happening?”

Eileen gulped. “What can I do?”

Pete put a hand on her forearm. Keeping her calm and thinking straight was the name of the game if they were going to get answers. “Is there any way to find out the test results for RCS circuits apart from the computer records?”

“Well…the results are initially recorded on attribute and SPC charts. They’re not put on file until later.” Eileen paused and her eyes involuntarily strayed to one of the open offices. “I guess the paper copies might still exist.” She moved towards the office and Mac and Darwin followed.

Eileen moved to the desk and opened up the second drawer, but it was empty. Before she could say anything, Seeley picked up a nearby waste basket and frowned.
“Mac?” He passed the basket to MacGyver, who looked inside. The basket was full of charred remains and soot, and there was nothing left to try and “bring back” like he had in the past. The charts were gone.

Eileen’s features said it all. She was terrified. “Without those, or the computer files, you can’t find what you need, can you?” She was turning white. “And this is about the shuttle, isn’t it? Those parts were fitted to it…”

MacGyver wasn’t so downbeat. Sometimes the human mind was a better storage tool than any piece of paper or computer disc. “Eileen, think hard, who would have actually tested the parts on the line?”

“Eileen’s pallor returned, just a little. “The order was so important the line supervisor took personal charge of all the testing!”

Darwin’s trigger finger suddenly moved back to his weapon and hovered. “That means the supervisor was probably in on the whole thing,” he barked, obviously frightening Eileen. “I need a name, now!”

“Vicky Keeling,” Eileen stammered. “But I haven’t seen her for awhile…”

Mac and Darwin looked at one another. Keeling was their only hope now. She had to be found or the shuttle was probably doomed.

Darwin turned to his subordinate. “Lock the building down. We need to find Vicky Keeling, and we need her fast. Get her picture from the company employment files, if they haven’t burned those too!”

The man gave a small salute to his S.W.A.T. style helmet, even though it wasn’t required and jogged off to give out orders to his team. At a nod from Pete, Seeley turned and followed him. Twenty minutes later, Seeley returned with a short blonde in tow, her hands cuffed in front of her. He nodded to Darwin. “We found her trying to get out of one of the rear fire exits.”

“Vicky Keeling, I presume,” Darwin offered sarcastically. “Going somewhere nice?”

Keeling snorted. “I know my rights. I don’t have to tell you guys’ squat!” She rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of a desk as if to suggest she had all day to wait them out.

MacGyver watched her, thinking she looked as cold and hard as she sounded. She returned his gaze steadily, then snapped her gum and turned her glare on Seeley instead. He ignored her.

“If you don’t help, people could die, you realize that, right?” MacGyver tried a softer tone than Darwin. Sometimes attacking a situation wasn’t the only way. “The circuits you let through that failed? You had to know where they were going? Who they might kill?”

“Contrary to most, I don’t have a conscience when I’m being paid big bucks.” Keeling shrugged, letting her hands dangle in the cuffs as she spoke.

Pete frowned. Years of practice in reading people’s intentions from their voices alone told him she genuinely didn’t care. “How about a deal to shorten your sentence now that those big bucks aren’t going to be an option?” Pete made the offer, and MacGyver glanced at Darwin who gave a nod of approval.

Keelings’ head cocked as if she was considering it. She sucked down a breath, and eventually spoke again. “Okay…so what do you want to know?”

“What failed on the RCS boards you tested, and exactly how would it affect the thrusters?” MacGyver was tense as he asked the questions. Even with the answers, could they fix the problem, given that it was now “off world?”

“Look…four out of five boards I tested failed. I’ve scrapped better before the new management took over.” Keeling looked a little nervous now, as if the severity of the situation was kicking in. “And its not just one messed up component, either. Each board has several sub-standard parts fitted to it.”

Darwin mouthed “Oh my God” but he didn’t seem to be able to form the actual words. MacGyver wasn’t giving in so easily. “Will the boards fail first time?” He pushed. “Is there any chance..?”

“They sometimes work a few times before blowing,” Keeling tried to sound optimistic. “But there’s something else you should know. The way they’re integrated into the system, they could take out other shuttle functions if they do fail.”

“How could anyone risk human life like this?” MacGyver was astounded, but then again, this was Mariotte’s doing. The work of a madman. “How long has this being going on?” He dared to ask.

Vicky huffed and stood again. “Aurix have been buying damaged or super cheap, super low quality parts since the company was taken over just under two years ago.”

Darwin seemed incredulous. “And nobody knew? Nobody on the factory floor questioned anything?” His brow furrowed in apparent disbelief.

Keeling appeared to find his comment amusing and smirked. “Of course not, I was paid well to make sure the rest of the operators didn’t find out. Why do you think I was the only one allowed to test the boards? It sure as hell wasn’t to maintain quality.” She snickered, and then looked around. “Anyone got a cigarette? This whole conversation is getting boring…”

Mac and Darwin ignored her, but Seeley pulled her to one side and sat her down hard in an office chair. “Sit down and shut up.” She glowered at him and pulled a face as he turned away to pick up the phone. She heaved a dramatic sigh as she heard him talking quietly to the police.

“I guess this whole thing makes sense now,” MacGyver groaned. “Why the quality reports I was given didn’t have corresponding dates, and why Nikki and me were interrogated to find out if we’d realized.” Something hit him, and he looked Keeling straight in the eyes. “Who was it that bought the company out two years ago?”

Vicky shrugged and looked around with a sniff as if she didn’t give a damn. “Some Mexican or Spanish guy – name’s Otiz, something like that.”

Mac reached inside his bomber jacket and pulled out a black and white image of Roger Mariotte. He waved it under her nose, thinking Otiz might simply be a false identity. “Is this the guy?”

Keeling’s’ nose wrinkled. “Nope, I’ve never seen Otiz, but this fella,” she tapped the photo with her forefinger. “He’s been hanging around a lot lately. No idea what he called himself.”

MacGyver whirled away from her, running a hand through his mullet in exasperation. Mariotte was involved, they knew that much, but who was Otiz, and how did they catch him? He turned back around to see Seeley having Vicky Keeling walked out to a black and white by two armor-clad agents. He nodded to MacGyver and followed the police out.

This is such a mess…

“So now what, Mac?” Pete’s face said he was as worried as his troubleshooting friend. “Just how badly in trouble is the shuttle and her crew?”

MacGyver didn’t pull any punches, and the crack in his voice spoke a thousand words. “We need to talk to someone in charge at N.A.S.A. and fast. The shuttle has two of those faulty circuits on board – one primary and one backup, and with a failure rate of four outta five, we need to get those astronauts home and fast…”

* * * *

FCR-1
Mission Control Centre
Houston
Texas

Mac looked around the control room in awe of all the technology that surrounded him. Screens and technicians filled every area, and a main screen flashed with images and details of the shuttle and its telemetry. Pete stood beside him, not seeing but “hearing” the urgency in the room.

The pair waited, but not patiently for Mike Newman to join them – he was the Flight Director of the mission, and the man they needed to brief on everything they’d discovered.

“You must be Thornton and MacGyver?” A tall, and very thin man approached them, offering up his hand. He neither smiled nor frowned, his steely eyes and taught moustache suggesting he was an individual who showed little emotion. Maybe he couldn’t in his position.

MacGyver shook Newman’s hand first. “Call me, Mac, and this is Pete…” He gestured to Pete, who in turn shook the director’s hand. “I’m sorry we have to meet like this…”

Newman nodded and turned to look at the screens behind them. “At least the astronauts are almost done. They’ll be initiating the re-entry program soon, so there’s no point in scrubbing the mission at this stage.” His moustache twitched as he watched images of inside the shuttle’s cockpit.

MacGyver joined Newman, but focused on the paperwork in his hands rather than the screens. “Mr. Newman, I have to be honest, I’m still worried.” He offered up the top two sheets of paper to the Flight Director. “Can I speak to the GNC engineer on this mission, along with anyone else who may be involved directly or indirectly with the thrusters control systems?”

Newman read the first few lines of data and rubbed a hand through his hair. “I think you guys are over-reacting a little, but follow me, I’ll get everyone into my office. We can’t take any risks.” He picked up a nearby phone, barked a few orders and then led them into a side room that doubled as a secondary office when there was a mission on. Five minutes later, they’d been joined by several other N.A.S.A. employees, all in black trousers and white shirts. It looked like something out of a movie.

Once everyone was settled, MacGyver read through the data he’d compiled, pointing out the failure rate on the thrusters boards, and what he thought it might do.

The GNC engineer, Phil Bennett agreed. “Folks, I think we have an even bigger problem here than we first thought.” He stepped into the middle of the room, taking the floor. “As most of us know,” he paused glancing at Mac and Pete to suggest they might “not” know, before giving an explanation. “The shuttle runs on a computer system called the Primary Avionics Software System, or P.A.S.S. for short. Basically, it has four computers running along side one another. If one fails, the other three can still safely control the shuttle. Even if two fail, the remaining two can take over. On top of this, there’s still a fifth backup system.”

“So the circuit boards failing can’t stop the shuttle landing?” Pete asked hopefully.

Bennett wasn’t so optimistic; he squirmed under the artificial lighting, like he suddenly wanted to be somewhere else. Beads of perspiration were forming on his neck and forehead, suggesting he was worried – or scared. “If only it were that simple, Sir. You see, what Mr. MacGyver has found suggests that in theory, every time we try to engage the RCS thrusters, we could blow one of the computers.”

Newman moved to sit on the edge of the desk, fiddling with a ruler nervously as he spoke. “Surely we can just land the shuttle manually without the computers?”

Bennett bit his lip and shook his head. “No, Sir even flying her in old school requires the thrusters to be operational.”

“We need to stop the shuttle starting re-entry until we can isolate the RCS thruster circuits from the P.A.S.S. system and figure out how to fire them manually.” MacGyver looked to the Flight Director for action as he spoke, and he got it.

Newman bound from his perch and rushed out into the control room, calmly, but hurriedly giving orders to several men at their respective stations. Mac, Pete and the engineers followed him out, but it wasn’t good news.

Pandemonium seemed to break out on all three tiers of the floor as men rose up from their computer screens and chairs to start yelling at the Flight Director, and one another. MacGyver could only imagine this was what it had been like when Apollo 13 had gone disastrously wrong.

“We’re too late,” Newman informed them breathlessly a few seconds later. “The shuttle just tried to start the re-entry program, and it’s not only taken out both the thruster PCB’s, but two of the P.A.S.S. computers as well.” He looked shaken, but then, so was everyone else in the room.

This was the bane of their vocation – the one thing anyone who ever worked for N.A.S.A. dreaded, and it was happening on their watch.

“Now what?” Pete dared to ask.

“We’ve aborted, naturally,” Newman informed and then let out a long sigh. “The thing is, where do we go from here?” He looked to the engineers hopefully.

Bennett’s expression said he wasn’t confident. “We can look for a workaround, but without both boards…”

Another technician stepped forwards. He was a short balding man whose tie hung loose, and whose glasses were held together with a plaster, but somehow, just everyone knew he wasn’t to be ignored when it came to the shuttle. “I don’t think it’s going to work that way,” he said rather boldly. “This is fly-by-wire at its most complex, and it’s not like we can just FedEx a new set of circuits up there – even if we had one, which we don’t – at least not one that Aurix didn’t supply.”

MacGyver stepped between the engineers and Newman. This was his kind of problem. “Let me help,” he offered. “I’ve been in these kind of unique problem solving situations before.”

Newman snorted, and for the first time his jangling nerves showed through his calm exterior. “Situations involving a multi-million dollar orbiter and its crew, trapped without a way home? Haven’t you people done enough? You were supposed to be doing the Aurix audit, that’s what got us into this mess!”

“MacGyver and Nikki Carpenter were kidnapped, for heavens sake!” Pete was obviously more than angry, and he cut the Flight Director off before he could complain more. “They could have been killed over this. And don’t forget, if it wasn’t for their escape, we wouldn’t have any information at all!”

“And a fat lot of good that’s done us!” Newman countered, “By the time you got the data to us, the circuits were already fried!”

The argument continued to and fro, and MacGyver was about to try and calm the situation when a N.A.S.A. employee appeared from a side door and approached him. The woman looked around the room at the mayhem, but didn’t show any emotion. “Excuse me, Sir, are you Angus MacGyver?”

Mac winced. Who would call him that here? Usually the name was only flaunted as a joke by those who knew him well, or as a taunt by the likes of Murdoc. “That’s me,” he eventually admitted.

The tall brunette looked over her glasses before handing him a folded piece of note paper. “I was told to give you this…”

Mac took the paper and unfolded it. Instantly, chills ran down his spine and he forgot all about the shuttle and circuit boards. The message was very elegantly hand-written, and to the point.

“Where is Sam?”

“Where did you get this?” Mac couldn’t help but snap at the girl, even though she probably had no clue about the note.

She glanced over her shoulder. “There’s a gentleman outside the control room waiting to see you. He said you’d understand?”

MacGyver’s heart began to throb with adrenalin and he dropped the paper as he broke into a sprint. The corridor outside FCR-1 was short, and he didn’t have to run far to almost barge into the person he was looking for.

Roger Mariotte found their near-collision amusing and smirked as he backed up slightly from the troubleshooter. He’d grown a beard since Mac had last seen him, and it thankfully hid some of his more waspish features. “Finally we get to have a nice cozy little reunion,” he taunted. “I’ve really missed your company, Angus. After all there’s nothing like a long plane flight to get to know someone. Pity our last one ended so…explosively…”

MacGyver wanted to know how Mariotte had lived through the bomb on Flight 4177, wanted to know why he’d held a grudge against Sam and Mac for something he’d ultimately brought upon himself, but right now, more important questions sprang to mind. Sam…why the note about Sam? “I can’t believe you have the nerve to show up here, after all you’ve done!” He eventually sputtered.

Mariotte shrugged. “It’s not like anyone is going to arrest me, Mac. I can call you Mac, can’t I? Unless you prefer Angus?” He sneered. “You see, if any of your federal friends try to take me down, well things could get really ugly…”

Mac scoffed angrily – an emotion he rarely showed. “How can things get any uglier, Mariotte? Five astronauts stuck in orbit with no way to get home. How could you do this and put lives at risk again?”

Mariotte couldn’t resist a chuckle, as if happy with his accomplishment. “The same reason as the first time with the Boeing, Mac – money, plain and simple – although this time I do have a couple of ulterior motives. N.A.S.A. already paid for my wonderful circuits yesterday, the idiots, so now I can work on those other motives.”

MacGyver squirmed, his anger turning to panic, even though he tried not to show it. The note Mariotte had sent him screamed of only one target, one motive.

Sam…

MacGyver’s expression seemed to be all that Mariotte needed to know that his silent message had gotten through. He smiled, nodding. “Smart boy, Mac, I see you’ve figured out part of my plans already. Sam put me in prison, and now he has to pay for that. And after what happened on Flight 4177, so do you.”

“Sam’s on assignment. He’s not even in this country,” Mac’s voice was low, as if he didn’t believe the words.

“True,” Mariotte agreed, beginning to pace slightly, as if he knew he was going to win this verbal war. “But if you’d like to check, you’ll find he never even made his flight. Let’s just say he’s a guest of a few friends of mine until you complete a little task for me.”

“You can do all this.” MacGyver gestured into thin air, “Fool N.A.S.A. make fake hospitals, and you need me for something?”

“I don’t need you,” Mariotte agreed. “But I want you to do it. Let’s just say it’s a rather ironic and fitting punishment.”

“What do I have to do?” Mac caved. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for Sam, and Mariotte knew it. Whatever the task was, it would be illegal, he was sure of it. And once it was over Mariotte would still kill Sam, and Mac too if he got the chance.

Mariotte’s smile waned and his gaze shifted for a second, as if he were having an unpleasant thought. “While I was in prison, I was considered to have some…mental issues.” He cringed as he spoke the last words. “Why, I can’t imagine, but still, I was incarcerated in the state mental hospital at Alameda for several months. Whilst there, I met a kindred spirit – someone who hates you and your family possibly even more than I do.”

MacGyver’s mind stopped in mid-thought. All he had been thinking of was Sam, and how he could turn whatever Mariotte’s plan was into a rescue, but now just the mention of the Alameda hospital sent shivers down his spine. He’d been there before…

“My friend at the hospital helped me form a plan for when I was released,” Mariotte continued, apparently enjoying the look of horror on Mac’s face. “We’ve been working together ever since – albeit long distance through the prison telephone system. I think you know my friend as Mr. Otiz from Aurix.” He chuckled again, and this time the insanity in voice echoed down off the corridor walls. “Or maybe you’ve worked out who he really is by now?”

Mac’s features paled. The mind games and fake hospital all made sense now. Only one person from his past liked to play mental chess like that, and Otiz was Zito in reverse.

“Playing with not one, but two old adversaries is so much more fun, isn’t it, Mac?” Mariotte purred.

“So what does Zito want? There’s always a purpose to his games. Revenge?” Mac felt cold. Mariotte wanted Sam dead, but Zito would make sure it was a long, agonizing game now that he was involved.

“Revenge is always good,” Mariotte agreed. “But isn’t it obvious what he wants, nay needs more than that?” He cocked a brow then clarified. “Freedom! Sam’s life for Dr. Zito’s – but this is a one time offer. You have five hours to free the doctor, or Sam dies.”

MacGyver tried to swallow, but felt a lump rise in his throat. Zito and Mariotte would kill Sam anyway, but to buy time, he had no choice but to agree to their demands. Worse still, the authorities would never go along with freeing Zito to save Sam, so that meant he had to break Zito out – a fact Zito no doubt found amusing. I need to free Zito, but figure a way to save Sam at the same time…

“Okay, I’ll do it,” Mac conceded, his voice so low it was barely audible.

Mariotte slapped him on the back like they were old friends. “That’s my boy,” he cooed derisively. “Dr. Zito can’t wait to see you again. And he’s simply dying to meet your son…”

Where has the meek mannered criminal from Flight 4177 gone? MacGyver couldn’t believe the change in Mariotte. He’d always been a killer, but before he’d also been somewhat of a coward who liked to hide in toilets and let technology do his dirty work. As usual, Zito had worked his evil magic on the man, turning him into not just a psychopath, but something more akin to a Bond villain.

What options did he have now? Punching Mariotte out or calling security would be easy, but they would also be a death sentence to Sam.

“Ta ta for now,” Mariotte chided as he turned to leave, “I can’t wait for the full reunion later…” With that he slipped into a nearby side corridor, into the shadows, and was gone.

MacGyver felt seared to the spot, his mind screaming that he should run for the nearest fed, or back into the control room to Pete. There were just a few hours to free Zito, and he couldn’t just walk out of N.A.S.A. to do it.

His thoughts were a jumbled mess for the first time in his life, and Mac pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to bring them back into line. It didn’t happen. All he could see was Sam photographing the mustangs just before he’d left for his assignment.

Eventually, MacGyver forced his legs to move and he strode shakily back into FCR-1 and to Pete. But even now, fate wasn’t giving him any kind of reprieve.

If the control room had been in chaos before, it was sheer mayhem now. Technicians and engineers were in panicked groups, while Newman was barking orders to some of the men sat at desks, frenetically punching buttons on their computers, apparently to no avail.

Pete sensed MacGyver’s return. “Where’d you go? We sure could have done with you two seconds ago!”

Mac gulped. “Now what?” He almost snapped, and then wished he hadn’t as Pete winced.

“The engineers just got the astronauts to try rerouting some systems, but instead of isolating the RCS circuits, they’ve taken out most of the shuttle’s oxygen supply.” Pete sagged onto an empty chair in apparent defeat, and Mac had to wonder how he’d sensed its presence. “They’ve only got about five hours of air left in the main cabin before…”

Five hours – it seemed almost ironic that there were now two deadlines, two problems that would ultimately end in death if they weren’t solved.

Pete turned to MacGyver, sensing as if his silence meant something terrible. “Mac? What is it?”

But MacGyver had no words to explain to Pete. How could he? His choices were simple, and yet agonizing.

Mac could walk away from the shuttle for Sam, leaving the astronauts to die or he could stay here, almost certainly causing Sam’s untimely demise.

Could there be another option, a way to save both Sam and the men orbiting the earth with very little air left?

This time, MacGyver wasn’t sure there was…

To be continued in the season nine premiere “Shadowside”
Coming soon…