Invisible Wind
By
The grass of Green Acres Memorial Cemetery was a deep green, the beautiful highly maintained lawn stretched out for what seemed like miles in every direction. A large white tent had been set in the middle of the cemetery, under it was a large carpet of artificial turf that had been laid out around a large hole with a silver casket sitting on top of it. Gillian was standing just outside the tent, she didn’t want to go in, she couldn’t believe this was happening. She had her arms crossed over her chest, she was rubbing them, she had a chill in her bones despite the warm morning air. She was dressed in a long black dress, it was very plain and went down to her shoes. There were few people there, most of them were people she had never officially met, but that wasn’t going to happen now. She lifted her head and just kept staring at the silver box, she didn’t want to say goodbye but she knew she had no choice. She took a deep breath and sighed, she was trying to keep it together as she walked under the tent. She sat down in the first chair, she just kept looking at the coffin, she could feel a thousand pitiful and sorrowful looks piercing through her back. An older man with white priestly robes, clutching a bible in his hands got up and stood next to the silver box, he looked down at Gillian and gave her a tiny smile.
“Good Morning dear friends, I know you are all here today under very unpleasant circumstances and I wish I could change that but I cannot, I am only a simple man of God. We are here this morning to say goodbye to someone we all loved dearly, Angus Ian MacGyver.”
He looked down at Gillian, she had put her head down, she didn’t want to look at anyone, she felt her first tears slowly slide down her face. She could hear the priest talking but she wasn’t listening to him. This wasn’t real, this wasn’t really happening, she shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, it wasn’t really her husband in that casket but she knew better than that. MacGyver was in that box that was going to be lowered into the cold ground and covered with dirt. Her chest tightened and she put her hand to her mouth. “Mac.”
There were so many things coursing through her, she touched her hand to her chest and felt her locket, she lifted it and opened it. The tiny picture of her and her husband was still in it, she saw how happy they looked, both of them with their arms around each other smiling widely. She was never going to see that face or that smile again and she choked out a sob. She stood up and walked over to the silver box, she wasn’t paying attention to anyone, not even the priest that stopped briefly to look at her. The coffin hadn’t been sealed yet, she opened the lid and looked into it. MacGyver was lying down, he was in his wedding clothes, his long sleeved white shirt and his khaki pants. Gillian reached down and put a shaky hand to his face, he was so cold that it stunned her. It only made her that much more upset and the reality of it all hit her hard. His hands were folded on his stomach, his left one on top of his right one, just above his belt buckle. Gillian squeezed her eyes shut again and took a very shaky breath, she reached up and unhooked her silver locket, she took it off and gave the silver heart a kiss. She took the chain and carefully wrapped it in between his fingers, placing the heart beside his wedding ring.
“Goodbye My Sweet.”
She leaned over and gave his lips a tiny kiss, they were ice cold, this only made her cry harder, she was used to his lips being so warm, so full of life. She felt someone put their arm across her waist and move her back a little, she turned and saw that it was Pete, she gasped. He was in a black suit and tie, he looked at her with eyes so full of pity and sorrow that it tore at her heart. “Come on Gill.”
“No.” Gillian shook her head, she didn’t want to go.
Pete sighed. “You have to let go.” He moved her back with a little more force, she had her hand on the edge of the coffin and he took it off and closed the lid.
“Please Pete, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to leave him.” She was struggling a little against his hold.
“Come on, it’ll be all right.”
“No it won’t, it’ll never be all right again.” She turned towards him and hugged him, the stout man simply held her, he pressed his hand to the back of her head, she was sobbing against his shirt.
“Let me help Pete.”
He turned his head and saw Jack Dalton, he was also dressed in a black suit, he nodded. Jack put a hand on Gillian’s back and took her right hand, they both walked her away from the silver box. They didn’t sit her down, they both simply stood with her. Pete purposely turned so that her back was to the coffin. The priest was finished, he looked at the stout man. “Does anyone want to say anything?”
Pete shook his head, he was too upset. “No, I don’t think anyone can, this was all so…sudden.”
The older man nodded. “Very well, as soon as everyone leaves they’ll begin the burial.”
“Thank you.” He took his right hand off of Gillian’s head and shook the older man’s hand.
The priest gently touched Gillian on the shoulder.
“I am very sorry Mrs. MacGyver, please take with you my deepest condolences.”
The older man squeezed her shoulder and walked away.
All of the people gathered there left, now it was just Pete, Gillian and Jack, she was still extremely upset.
Jack sighed, he was rubbing her back. “I just don’t understand Pete, what happened to Mac?”
“I don’t know Jack, I really don’t know, the only one that can tell us is very upset right now and I can’t blame her.” He turned to Jack. “Take her for a minute will you?”
Jack nodded, Pete stepped back and Jack stepped in his place, Gillian leaned her head against Jack’s chest. Jack turned, he was watching Pete as he walked back over to the silver box and shook his head at it, he reached out and touched it.
“You were my best friend Mac, you saved my life more times than I can count. You were always there for me and I’m going to miss you terribly for the rest of my life.” He closed his eyes briefly, the tears of grief starting to leak from his eyes. “Goodbye Mac, I hope we meet up again one day.”
Pete gave the coffin a pat, he pressed his lips together and walked away from the box. Jack was also very upset but he couldn’t do what Pete had done, he didn’t have the courage, he simply put his arms around Gillian and held her tightly to him.
Pete wiped his face and cleared his throat. “We better take her home.”
“No, I don’t want to go home.” The shaky voice of the grieving widow rang out suddenly.
Pete started stroking her hair. “You have to Gill, you can’t stay here.”
Gillian lifted her head from Jack’s chest, her dark eyes filled with incredible sorrow and grief. “I can’t leave him.”
The workmen started showing up with shovels, it was time to bury the casket, the two men looked at each other, they definitely had to get her out of there, they knew she couldn’t bear to see that.
Pete swallowed hard. “Come on Gill, it’s going to be all right.”
The two men walked her out from the tent just as the coffin began to lower.
Gillian was walking with her head against Jack, Pete had her left hand, both men walked her over to a huge black stretch limo, a man in a chauffer uniform tipped his hat and opened the door, Gillian let go of Jack and climbed into it, Pete and Jack followed.
Gillian was sitting on the bench seat, she had finally calmed down some, she leaned forward and wiped her hands down her face. “I can’t go home just yet, there is some unfinished business I need to take care of inside the funeral home, it can’t wait.”
The two men nodded. “Okay.”
Pete picked up the phone and told the driver what was happening, he wasn’t going to leave unless Gillian said so. The young woman covered her eyes with her hands, she breathed through them.
“Gill, I know this is the worst time, but what happened? Neither Jack nor myself know exactly what happened. How did Mac…” He couldn’t even say the words.
Gillian uncovered her face. “I don’t want to talk about that right now Pete if you don’t mind.”
The stout man nodded. “I understand.”
She shook her head. “No you don’t, but you will.” She checked her watch. “Will you both come with me to the funeral home?”
Jack reached out and touched her hands. “Of course we will.”
The three of them got out of the long black car and walked over to the large white house. The funeral director gave her a nod, he was standing guard, he closed the doors behind them. Gillian wiped her face, she bolted the doors and made sure the windows were covered.
“All right you two, follow me to the basement.”
Gillian started to turn and Pete grabbed her arm. “Gill wait a minute, what is going on?”
“I know you have a lot of questions, you both do but come with me to the basement and you’ll understand everything.”
They took a flight of stairs down to the basement, Gillian made sure the doors and everything were locked. It was a creepy basement, a buzzing fluorescent life was overhead, casting an eerie glow on everything. There was a long conveyer belt that led into a big white furnace that was used for cremation. The silver casket that the two men saw being lowered into the ground was sitting a large silver table just off of the furnace, next to it was a tray filled with medical supplies.
Pete shook his head. “What is this doing here?”
There were two crowbars lying next to the coffin and she picked them up and handed one to each man.
“I need you both to pry open Mac’s casket for me.”
She picked up a black remote control and the table the casket was on lowered to the ground, both men made faces. “Gillian are you nuts?”
“I’m not about to play grim reaper!”
The young woman sighed. “Please.”
The two men thought she was morbid but they did what she asked, they both stuck the ends of the crowbars into the lids and they popped open. Both men were hesitant but they slowly opened the lids and looked into the silver coffin. They both saw MacGyver lying in it, Pete lowered his head, he was absolutely devastated that his best friend was dead. Jack too looked upset, he shook his head. “I just don’t understand what happened?”
Gillian looked into the coffin, she reached down and took her necklace and put it back on. “You two lift him out of there.”
Jack and Pete shook their heads. “No, we aren’t going to disturb him.”
Gillian was going over the medical supplies, she picked up a large hypodermic needle and looked at it. “Just get him out of there, you won’t be disturbing him.”
Pete sighed and put his hands up. “Okay, fine.”
Jack was standing near MacGyver’s head, he
shuddered but he carefully put his hands under Mac’s arms and lifted him. Pete
had a hold of his legs and they took him out of the coffin. Gillian put the
needle aside and pushed the coffin off the table.
”Okay lay him down.”
Gillian took a vile of clear liquid out of her pocket. “Hand me that alcohol swab and that large hypodermic needle, they’re sitting on that tray.”
Pete grabbed the two things and handed them to her, she stood over her husband and picked up his right arm, she unbuttoned his cuff and rolled his sleeve up. “Pete the rubber tube too please.”
Pete handed it to her and Gillian tied it around his arm and started patting his arm, she found a vein and tore open the swab, she rubbed it on his arm and let it dry. Gillian took the cap off the large needle, she stuck it into the vile and pulled back on the plunger, she filled the hypodermic totally up.
“That should about do it.” She pulled the needle out of the vile and tucked it back into her pocket. She tapped the needle and squirted a tad of the clear fluid out of it. She sighed and touched her husband’s arm. “Okay Sleeping Beauty, time to rejoin the rest of the world.”
She carefully sunk the needle into his arm and slowly pushed on the plunger.
Gillian paced back and forth, she was getting worried, she kept checking her watch, it had been 7 minutes, the injection was supposed to wake him up after 5. “Come on.”
Pete crossed his arms over his chest, he thought that MacGyver’s widow had completely lost her mind. Jack walked around the table and stood beside him. “Pete, am I the only one here that things she’s crazy?”
“No, you aren’t.”
Gillian couldn’t take anymore, walked over to her husband and unbuttoned his shirt, she put her head down on his white t-shirt and listened, she heard nothing. “Damn it.”
She was watching his chest, he wasn’t breathing. “I gave you enough now come on!”
Pete and Jack were standing there watching her, they thought she was grasping at straws, her husband was dead and she simply couldn’t accept it.
Pete had seen enough, he walked to her and touched her shoulder. “Gillian, he’s dead, there is no coming back.”
Gillian shook her head. “He’s not dead Pete, he just needs more time to wake up.”
The stout man looked at Jack, he didn’t know what to do or say, Jack joined him and took her hands. “Gill, we know how hard it must be, we loved Mac too, but you have to let him go, he’s gone and there isn’t any magic liquid that is going to change that.”
She realized that they not only did they not believe her but thought she was insane. “You both think I’ve lost my mind don’t you?”
Jack squeezed her hands. “Of course not, it’s just the grief.”
She shook her head at them. “I am not insane, okay?” She looked at her watch, it had been 12 minutes, she was starting to get scared. She got away from the two men and started checking over her husband, he was still cold and pale, he had no signs of life. She shook her head. “It should have started working by now.”
Gillian looked around for her purse, she saw it over near the stairs, hanging on the wooden banister. She picked it up, she started rummaging through it. She took out a clear tube with a few bright yellow stickers on it, it was an epinephrine pen.
The two men saw what she was holding in her hand. “Gillian, what is that?”
“An Epipen, it’s for allergic reactions, I have to keep one in my purse at all times.”
Pete creased his brow. “What are you allergic to?”
“Bee stings.” Gillian started unbuckling her husband’s belt.
Jack and Pete looked at each other. “What are you doing?”
Gillian unzipped her husband’s pants and pulled them down enough to expose his left thigh, She took the grey cap safety off of the end of the Epipen. “Just give me a minute or two guys then we’ll see who needs a straight jacket.”
She took the epinephrine pen and pressed it against her husband’s thigh, she started counting to ten out loud. When she got to ten she moved it away and checked the pen, the injection had gone into his leg. “There, I hope that does it.” Gillian tucked into the pocket of her dress and started fixing her husband’s pants.
Pete cleared his throat “Gillian what it that you gave him?”
“The Epipen delivers a shot of adrenaline, it stops severe allergic reactions, I’m hoping it is enough to help him wake up.”
Gillian crossed her arms over her chest, she was shaking from fear, she kept watching her husband. “Come on Mac please.”
Both Jack and Pete were totally convinced now that Gillian had lost her grip on reality, they watched her pace back and forth in front of the table where Mac was lying, Jack leaned close to Pete. “What are we going to do?”
Pete sighed and shook his head “I don’t know, I guess we humor her for now.”
Gillian was terrified, she stopped pacing and stood over her husband, she put both hands on his face he was still cold. “Mac, please, come back to me.” She leaned down and pressed her forehead to his.
There was a strange sound that rang out, it sounded like a tire being inflated, she creased her brow. The sound was close by, she let go of her husband and stepped back, her mind started racing, she was familiar with that sound. Gillian suddenly realized the sound was of someone taking a very deep breath, she looked down at her husband. Her heart started racing, his face looked less pale, he was starting to wake up.
MacGyver suddenly rolled off the table and hit the floor, he was on his hands and knees coughing really hard.
Gillian crouched down and touched his back, it was cold, that was the reason for his shaking. “Easy, easy, breathe deeply.”
She looked up at Pete and Jack. “Give me your blazers.”
The two men were standing there completely stunned, her words snapped them back to reality, they unbuttoned their jackets and handed them to her. Gillian put them both over her husband’s shoulders and rubbed them. “This should help Mac, it’ll warm you.”
MacGyver had finally stopped coughing, he was breathing hard, he looked at his wife. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Gillian looked around and saw there was a sink on the far side of the basement. “Come on, get up.” Gillian got to her feet, she bent down and put her arms around his waist and lifted him up. He got to his feet, his legs were shaking as she helped him over to the sink.
“It’s just the herb Mac, that’s all it is.” She had one arm around his shoulders, with the other she turned on the water and wet her hand, she touched his cheeks gently. “Rinse your mouth out.”
MacGyver was bent over the sink, he cupped his hands and drank some of the water and rinsed out his mouth, he took a drink of water, his throat felt dry.
Gillian glanced at the sink and saw the green liquid she had injected into him in the bottom of it. She turned off the water and helped him straighten up. She walked around him and stood in front of him, she took the coats off of him and helped him put them on the right way.
Gillian wiped the water droplets from his face. “Are you okay?”
Mac was still feeling a little shaky, cold and sleepy, he nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
Gillian smiled at him, she was so glad and relieved he was awake again. She put her arms around him and squeezed him tight. “I didn’t put enough adrenaline in the mix, I had to use my Epipen to wake you up.”
“That would explain why my heart is beating so hard.” Mac hugged his wife, he was starting to feel better.
Gillian pulled back from him and smiled. “And here I thought it was because of me.”
MacGyver smiled at her. “I think it’s both.” He got a chill. “Man I’m freezing.”
“Allow me to warm you up.” Gillian put both hands on his face and kissed her husband. “Better?”
Mac opened his eyes. “That helped but I think it’s going to take more than one.”
Gillian suddenly realized that they had forgotten something, she turned towards the two men. “Oh God I’m so sorry you two.”
MacGyver realized that his two best friends were there, he looked at Jack and Pete. “Hi.”
Pete shook his head slowly, he couldn’t believe his friend had gone from stone cold dead to being alive in the space of a few minutes. He walked up to his friend and looked at him, his face was passive.
“Mac, if I wasn’t so glad to see you really aren’t dead I would be punching you in the nose.” The stout man hugged his best friend hard. “Thank God you are all right.”
Mac returned his friend’s hug. “I know and I would deserve it.”
Pete stepped back and Jack hugged his friend next, he squeezed him hard. “Same goes for me Mac.”
MacGyver held his friend and patted his back. “I know you two are probably angry but Gillian and I had no choice, we had to stage all this.”
Gillian was standing beside her husband. “Mac, I think we both need to explain how this all came about.”
“Yeah we do.”
The couple went back to the silver table and sat down on it, there were two chairs against the wall and Jack grabbed them and handed one to Pete, they both sat down in front of the couple.
MacGyver sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “This whole thing started because I went to the fruit stand.” The couple started explaining how an innocent trip to buy some vegetables and fruits had created such a ruckus…
MacGyver was on his bike, he was on a mission to go buy some fruits and vegetables for dinner. Gillian was at home, she was cooking dinner and needed something to go with the chicken she was making. There was a nice fruit stand that was only a few miles from the house. It was a gorgeous Sunday, the weather had turned slightly cool to show the start of fall. Mac was in his black sweat pants, and a blue turtleneck, he had his black windbreaker over it. He cruised his bike along the busy street, he spotted his favorite fruit stand and rode up on the sidewalk and headed for it.
A young man named Manny was in charge of the fruit stand today, it belonged to his grandfather but he had taken his place so the older man could rest.
Mac stopped his bike in front of the wooden fruit stand, it looked like a little shack, there was only enough room in it for one person to step inside and look around. He spotted his friend and he smiled.
“Hey Manny.”
The young man in his early 20’s with a medium complexion and dark hair, smiled. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a smudged white apron. “MacGyver!” Manny stuck out his hand and Mac slapped it, and the young man slapped his hand.
“How’s it going Manny?”
“Good, how’s the wife?”
MacGyver smiled as he climbed off his bike and leaned it against the little shack. “Fine, cooking, so I have to hurry.”
“Okay so what’ll it be?”
He scanned all of the fruits and vegetables. “Oh wow nice selection.”
The young man nodded “Yeah, we got every kind of vegetable that God made today, what do you want?”
Mac sighed. “Tough decision, give me some asparagus, carrots, tomatoes, and some celery.”
Manny nodded. “Sure, give me a few minutes to get it all together.” He reached behind him and tossed his friend an apple. “Here, while you wait.”
“Thanks, I love apples.” MacGyver polished his apple against his sleeve and took a bite.
Gillian was in the kitchen, she turned off the stove and put the glass lid over the skillet. The chicken in cream of mushroom soup was done, all she needed now was for MacGyver to get back with the fruits and vegetables. She checked her watch, it was half past 5.
“Come on Mac, you were supposed to go buy them not get a hoe and grow them.”
She had on blue sweat pants and a white turtleneck, the air was getting pretty chilly and she got a shiver that ran up her spine. She shuddered and rubbed her arms, there was something suddenly very eerie about the way the air felt. Gillian’s grandmother Corinne used to tell her about something she called the invisible wind, that was when you were cold and chilled when the air was still, her grandmother’s words came back to her.
“Beware of the invisible wind Gilly Beth, it means danger is coming, when you can feel the air chill your bones and there’s no wind blowing, take caution. Hold onto everyone you hold dear and stay very still, if you do this it just might blow right over you and take its menace with it. But if you aren’t still and quiet, it will hit you hard and take over your entire world.”
When Gillian was little she used to think her grandmother didn’t know what she was talking about, she thought her lessons were silly and old fashioned. She never paid much attention to what her grandmother sometimes had to say. Now that Gillian was older with a husband, those words she never paid much mind to, made perfect sense.
“I wish you could have met Mac Grandma, I think you would have like him.”
Gillian could just picture the two of them talking, she could see her grandmother pinching Mac’s cheek and telling him he was a sweet boy and that she hoped he was taking good care of her granddaughter. She could see MacGyver giving the older woman his reassurances that he was.
“He’s a good man Grandma, and he takes very good care of me, don’t you worry about that.”
Gillian got another chill and she rubbed her arms harder, she wished her husband would hurry up and get back.
MacGyver was almost finished with his apple, he was down to the core, he checked his watch and saw what time it was.
“Oh man, Gillian’s going to kill me.”
There was a jewelry store down the street, someone came bursting out of it. Mac was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, the man that was running took off his ski mask, he put it in his pocket. The man was dressed in black, he came straight at Mac. MacGyver barely had time to breathe, he turned and saw him but it was too late to get out of the way. The man slammed into him going at full speed, the two men rolled onto the sidewalk. Mac was flat on his back, he looked up and saw the man, they both just stared at each other for a very brief second. The man got to his feet, quickly covered his face, picked up his mask and his bag and ran off.
A police car was right there, it pulled up and two cops saw everything that had happened. One of them picked up the CB mike and pressed the button.
“Surveillance here, he got away, but I think we might have gotten lucky.”
The policeman watched as MacGyver got up and brushed himself off, he was fine, just got knocked down.
An answer came over the radio and the cops acknowledged it, the two cops got out of their car and walked over to where MacGyver was standing.
“Sir?”
Mac turned around and looked at the policemen. “Afternoon Officers.”
They gave him a nod in return greeting, the one that had been on the radio cleared his throat. “Sir, I’m afraid you have to come with us.”
MacGyver looked surprised, nevertheless he nodded. “Okay, can we take my bike? I don’t really want to leave it here.”
The other officer nodded and went over to it, he lifted it up and headed to the back of the patrol car.
MacGyver was escorted over to the car. “Sir for your safety and ours I’m going to have to frisk you, will you put your hands on the hood please?”
“No problem.” MacGyver was not about to give the police a hard time, he assumed the position and let the
policeman frisk him, he found his Swiss Army knife in one jacket pocket and put it on the hood. He found his wallet in other pocket and also put it on the hood.
“Thank you Sir.”
Mac picked up his stuff and the back of the car was opened for him, he stepped inside and the door was closed.
Gillian heard someone at the door, she thought that maybe Mac had forgotten to take his keys, she opened the door and much to her surprise there were two more uniform officers behind it, one blond haired man and one blond haired woman.
“Gillian MacGyver?” It was the policeman that was speaking to her.
The young woman nodded. “Yes, how can I help you Officers?”
“Ma’am we’ve been ordered to bring you down to the station with us.”
“Can I ask what this is about?”
“I’m sorry Ma’am but we were told you bring you back.”
Gillian swallowed hard. “Just let me get my purse.”
The female officer with the long blond braid went with her as she stepped back into the house and went down her the hall to her bedroom, her purse was hanging on the back of the door, she picked it up and put it over her shoulder.
The female officer didn’t say one word to her, she simply walked behind her.
“Can I leave a note for my husband? He should be back any minute.”
The policeman shook his head. “There is no need for that Ma’am, this involves your husband.”
Gillian took her keys out of her purse and walked out the door, she turned around and locked the front door. She was escorted to the patrol car, her purse was checked and she was frisked by the female officer and was put in the back of it.
Gillian was escorted into the police station, she was led to an interrogation room, the door was opened and she went inside, her husband was sitting at a grey table. The young woman dropped her purse on the table when she saw him.
“Mac.”
He stood up and she went to him and hugged him hard. “Are you okay?”
MacGyver closed his eyes and held his wife to him, he was very glad to see her. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You scared me to death, all of a sudden two cops show up at the door asking me to come with them.”
“I’m sorry if I scared you.”
Their hug ended and she took his hands. “What is going on?”
“A very good question Mrs. MacGyver.”
Two more people came into the room, they were two men both of them dressed in expensive looking suits, one man was older with grey hair, the other was a man in his mid 30’s with jet black hair. They both took out badges, Agents Tyler and Henderson, FBI.”
Gillian swallowed hard. “Okay, so perhaps you gentlemen can explain to me why we are both here, or maybe I’ll call my lawyer and you can explain it to him.”
Mac was behind his wife and he put his hand on her shoulder. “Easy now Gill, I’m sure they’ll tell us.”
The older man, Agent Tyler extended out his hand. “Please Mrs. MacGyver, have a seat and we’ll tell you both why you were brought here.”
Gillian sighed, she pulled out a chair and sat down, Mac was beside her and she took his hand and held it.
“Thank you, you see Mrs.-”
She put her hand up. “Gillian.”
The older man smiled. “You see Gillian, the reason you are both here is because your husband was a witness to a robbery that occurred near downtown.”
Gillian turned towards her husband. “You were?”
Mac nodded. “It was a few stores down from the fruit stand.”
Tyler also nodded his head. “Yes, the perpetrator ran right into your husband and he saw his face clearly.”
Henderson was standing beside his partner. “Your husband’s description of him matched someone we know as Michael Carson, he is known to have ties in with organized crime.”
“And your husband saw him.”
Gillian sighed and wiped her hand down her face. “Don’t tell me you guys are going to put us in the Witness Protection Program?”
Tyler shook his head. “No Ma’am, we are going to simply kill your husband before the mafia does.”
She squeezed her husband’s hand. “With all due respect to you and your badge Sir, but if you think for one minute you are going to touch him, think again. You both will be having those shiny tin stars for breakfast before I let you near him.”
The two men put up their hands, they could see in her face that she was serious. “Gillian, now don’t get defensive.”
“You two come in here and tell me you are going to kill my husband and I’m supposed to sit back and say oh sure go right ahead?”
Mac put his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “Gillian, relax, I don’t think they meant literally.” He was secretly tickled at his wife’s display of temper, it also made him feel good that she was defending him.
Tyler sighed. “Thank you MacGyver, and yes you are right, we didn’t mean literally. We feel that this is the best way to protect the both of you, with your husband dead they can carry on business as usual.”
Gillian rubbed her hand down her face. “So we are going to stage a funeral? Is that what you are saying? I’m going to wear black and cry a lot?”
Agent Tyler nodded. “Yes Ma’am, that’s exactly what we are saying.”
Gillian sighed. “And that’s exactly what I did, I didn’t think I was going to be able to do that. I knew that Mac really was in that silver coffin, you’d be surprised how well that worked.”
MacGyver reached down beside him, he picked up her hand and kissed it. “I’m sure you did good.”
“At that moment I really felt like a widow.” Gillian turned and looked at the two men. “The FBI told me to not tell anyone that Mac was dead, they said it would be too difficult to try and explain to his friends what was going on.” She looked at Pete. “I didn’t expect either one of you to be there, you surprised me but at the same time I was glad, you both made it a lot easier.”
Jack sighed. “You sure had me fooled.”
Pete nodded. “Me too.”
Jack looked at the couple. “So where are you guys staying?”
The couple shook their heads. “We can’t tell you Jack, they told us not to.”
“I understand that, it’s okay.” He smiled. “As long as you’re alive Mac, that’s all that matters to me.”
Pete nodded. “Me too, I was so torn up inside, I couldn’t believe it.”
Mac looked at his two best friends fondly. “I’m sorry to put you both through that, I really am.”
Pete reached out and patted his friend on the arm. “Like Jack said, you’re alive and that’s all I care about.”
Jack totally agreed with Pete he just had one question. “What was it that you took to make yourself appear to be dead Mac, I mean you weren’t breathing or anything.”
MacGyver turned to his wife. “Ask Gill, she was the one that did it.”
The young woman sighed. “Well it wasn’t easy that’s for sure, I had to go into some herbal shops and gather all the ingredients.” She started telling the story to the two men…
Gillian was standing in front of her stove, she was tearing up plants and putting them into a boiling pot of water. MacGyver walked into the kitchen holding his nose. “Gill what is that terrible stink?” He was wearing a white muscle shirt and grey shorts.
Gillian was in a cream colored tank top and red shorts, she looked at her husband and smiled at him. “Osiyo Uyahi.”
Mac looked at her, his eyebrows went up. “What?”
She grinned and finished tearing up the herbs she had gotten and put them in the pot, she put the lid on it. “Sorry that was Cherokee.”
“What did you say?”
Gillian put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I said hello husband.”
Mac nodded. “Well I prefer the way you just said hello, like this.” He gave her a small kiss. “See that’s much better.”
“True it is, but I’m still in Cherokee mode.”
“I didn’t know you knew any.”
“I know some, my grandmother taught me.”
MacGyver leaned over the pot. “You still didn’t answer the question, what’s in the pot?” He wrinkled his nose when he got a whiff of the steam. “Please tell me this isn’t dinner.”
Gillian laughed. “No, it’s what I came up with in order to make your funeral that much more real.”
Mac creased his brow at her. “What do you mean? Any more real and I’ll be dead.”
“That’s the whole idea.” She saw how confused he looked. “I found a recipe in my grandmother’s herbal cookbook for something called Oyohusaatsila Awes.”
“What does it mean?”
“The Death Plant, once it finishes cooking, I’ll sift out the plant parts that didn’t dissolve.”
“And then what?”
Gillian swallowed hard. “Then I’ll inject you with it.”
“What will it do?”
She licked her lips. “Mac, this plant will make you appear to be dead. No one will be able to find your pulse and it will look like you aren’t breathing.”
“But Gill, that is death, no pulse and no breathing.”
Gillian put her hands on his shoulders. “You won’t be dead Mac, it will only lower them to the point of non detection.”
MacGyver wasn’t at all sure about this. “Is that all it does?”
“No, it also lowers your body temperature, if anyone touches you they’ll feel that you are cold. That’s why it’s called the Death Plant, it gives the perfect illusion of death but you really won’t be, you’ll just be in a deep sleep.”
“How do you wake up?”
“It’s called Ganodu Unasdetlv, the Root of Life, I have to boil it like this and give you a shot of it mixed with a tad of adrenaline.”
“What’s the adrenaline for?”
“Normally the root takes 24 hours to bring a man out of the sleep, the adrenaline will speed it up, it should only take a few minutes.”
MacGyver sighed. “And you’re sure both of these will work?”
“I’m positive; my grandmother got them from my great grandfather. He wrote about how the Cherokee would often use these plants to fool their enemies into thinking that they had taken their own life. It was a battle strategy they used all the time.”
MacGyver ran his fingers through his hair. “All right, if you are sure then I’ll do it.” He put both hands on either side of her face. “I trust you.”
Gillian and MacGyver were in the basement of the funeral home, he was sitting on the silver table dressed in his wedding clothes, he was nervous. Gillian was in her widow’s dress, she came into the room along with the two FBI Agents. Tyler was in a light grey suit, Henderson was in a navy blue suit. The older man crossed his arms over his chest, he was very skeptical about this whole thing.
“Are you sure this is going to work Gillian?”
She walked over to her husband and stood in front of him. “I’m positive Tyler, if it worked for my ancestors over a hundred years ago it’ll work now for Mac.”
Tyler sighed. “All right, show me.”
Gillian had her purse with her, she opened it and took out a vial of green liquid, she set her purse down on the nearby tray and picked up a large syringe, a rubber tube and an alcohol swab. The couple faced one another and looked into each other’s eyes. “Nervous?”
Mac nodded. “Yeah.”
Gillian swallowed hard. “Me too.”
They hugged briefly. “I trust you Gill, you know that.”
“I know, I trust my grandmother, this will work and you’ll be just fine.”
They let go of each other and Mac unbuttoned his right sleeve and started rolling it up. “Okay, give it to me.”
Gillian extended his arm and tied the rubbing around his arm, she found a vein easily and rubbed the swab against it. Her hands were shaking as she picked up the vile and stuck the syringe into it; she filled it up and pulled the needle out. She set the vile down on the nearby tray.
MacGyver was looking at his wife, he gave her a smile. “Come on, time’s a wasting, we both have a funeral to go to.”
Gillian laughed a little, she picked up his arm and held it straight out and turned it over, she swallowed hard as she laid the needle against his skin. “I love you Mac, I’ll be waiting for you when you wake up.”
He reached out and touched her face. “I love you too, I’ll see you soon.”
She closed her eyes briefly and stuck the needle into his arm.
MacGyver flinched as the needle pierced into his skin, the liquid felt cold as it went into his vein.
Gillian injected the whole thing into his arm, she untied the rubber tubing and pulled the syringe out, she set it down on the tray and pulled his sleeve back down and buttoned the cuff. “Okay, give it a few minutes and you should start to feel something.”
Mac nodded and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Did your grandmother’s diary say what I’m supposed to feel?”
“No, it didn’t say at all, we are just going to have to watch you and see what happens.”
“Yeah.”
The two FBI agents were getting pretty impatient, especially Henderson, the younger of the two G men, he was young and ambitious and didn’t have the wisdom and experience his more seasoned partner did. He shook his head. “This is a waste of time, we should just go with our original plan.”
Gillian turned around and scoffed at him. “I don’t think so, this is the best way.”
“No Gillian, your little stunt isn’t working so far.”
The young woman shook her head. “Have some patience, it has only been a few minutes.”
Tyler was watching all this, finally he put his hand on his partner’s arm. “She’s right Henderson, just give it some time.”
Mac was looking down at the floor, he got a chill and crossed his arms over his chest and started rubbing them, he suddenly felt cold. “Gill?”
His wife turned around and looked at him, she saw him rubbing his arms. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I just got cold.”
Gillian looked at all the medical supplies on the nearby tray, there was a thermometer and she picked it up and shook it out to make sure the mercury was down. “Here open your mouth.” She stuck the thermometer in his mouth and looked at her watch. She let the second hand go around the dial twice, she took the thermometer out and held it up to the fluorescent light. “93.” She looked at her husband. “It has to be working, your body temperature has dropped 5 degrees.”
She set the thermometer back on the tray and reached out, she put her hands on his face. “Oh my God.” He felt cold.
Mac swallowed hard. “What?”
Gillian sighed. “You’re cold, your face is cold.”
There was a sudden tightness he could feel in his chest, he started rubbing it with his hands, it felt like a heavy weight was put there.
“What?”
MacGyver took a deep breath and let it out slowly, it took some effort for him to do it. “My chest, it’s heavy.”
Gillian nodded, it was happening right in front of her and a lot faster than she thought, her heart started to beat hard. “Here, lay down, it might make it easier for you to breathe.”
Mac swung his legs up onto the table and his wife helped him lay back, the tightness was getting worse, he was starting to breathe hard. “Gill, I feel like I can’t breathe.”
“I know but that’s part of what it does, just relax and try not to think about it.” She swallowed hard and started stroking his hair.
MacGyver was really cold now, he could feel his whole body shivering, like he had fallen through some thin ice. “I’m freezing Gill.”
Gillian picked up his hands and held them, she started rubbing them, they were cold. “Better?”
“Yeah.” Mac was trying to relax, the things that were happening to him were starting to scare him a little. He got a sudden pain in his chest, like he had been punched in it, he temporarily lost his breath it had been so strong. He lifted his head and looked at his wife. “Gill.”
Gillian saw how frightened he suddenly looked. “What? What is it?”
Mac got another pain and he closed his eyes against it. “Pain.”
Gillian was expecting it, it was the last thing that the herb would affect, his pulse. “Chest?” He nodded and she licked her lips. “It’s the herb slowing down your pulse Mac.”
MacGyver was trying not to think about it, he got a bad pain and he suddenly couldn’t breathe. He opened his mouth to tell his wife but nothing came out. Gillian saw him and she put both hands on his face.
“Mac, remember what I told you, your temperature, your breathing, your pulse, it’s just the herb doing all this.”
He reached out and put both hands on her shoulders and gripped them, he was looking at her with wide eyes, he still wasn’t breathing. Gillian was scared too, she took his hands from her shoulders and hugged him, putting his head against her chest. “It’s okay Mac, it’s okay, you’re going to be okay, you’re not dying.”
Gillian held him to her tightly, she felt him totally relax against her and she squeezed her eyes shut, it was over and done with. “Mac?”
She pulled him away from her, his eyes were closed, she laid two fingers against his neck, she felt no pulse. She laid him back on the table and put her head against his chest, she neither heard nor felt anything.
Gillian sighed and lowered her head briefly, she turned around and looked at the two men. “He’s asleep, did you both do the things I said?”
Tyler nodded. “Yeah, the coffin is lined with oxygen tanks, they’ll start when the lid is closed.”
“And the hole?”
“Yeah, there is a false bottom on it, as soon as the coffin touches it’ll open up, it will go through the underground tunnel and emerge in the cremation pit, the funeral director will put it on the table for you.”
Gillian turned back around and gently touched her husband’s face, she folded his hands on his stomach. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “See you soon Mac.” She glanced over her shoulder. “All right you two, he’s ready for his coffin.”
The older agent sighed. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it.”
Henderson nodded. “And we’ll be-”
Gillian did an about face and looked at the two feds. “No, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know where you guys are or that you are going to be watching. I don’t want to know who shows up from the mob family to pay their respects, I don’t want to know a damn thing. You two stay away from me, I better not see you because if I do I won’t be able to do this, do you both understand?”
Henderson opened his mouth to say something but Tyler put his hand up. “We understand Gillian, don’t worry you won’t see us at all, you have my word.”
Gillian nodded. “Good, now if you both will excuse me, I have a funeral to get ready for.”
The young woman took one last look at her husband before she left the basement.
Both Jack and Pete sighed and shook their heads. “Gillian that is amazing, how in the world did you find the guts to inject him with that stuff?”
Gillian shook her head. “I don’t know Pete, I still don’t.”
Jack rubbed his hand over his face. “Where did you get those herbs?”
Gillian smiled. “Some from local shops, the rest from the woods, some of them weren’t so easy to find.”
Pete nodded. “Can you tell us what you used?”
“Well, it’s a secret recipe that has been in my family for generations, I would rather no one else knew, if it gets into the wrong hands it could be dangerous.”
“I understand Gillian.” Pete reached out and touched her hands. “Believe me, I don’t blame you for keeping it a secret.”
Gillian and MacGyver were in their hotel suite, they were staying at The Beverly Hills Palmetto, checked in under the name Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Birmingham of El Paso, Texas. Mac was in the shower; Gillian was sitting on the king size bed in her teal tank top and shorts pajamas, she was waiting for him. The room the FBI picked to stash them wasn’t bad, it was decorated in a pastel motif. The colors of lavender, light peach, sea foam green, baby blue and pale yellow where everywhere, the bed spread had a combination of all these colors. She had the pillow in her lap, she was still feeling the affects of the funeral, all she wanted her husband to do was make her forget everything she had done that day.
The bathroom door opened and Mac came out, he had on a pair of black shorts, he was drying his hair with a towel, he saw the way his wife looked.
“Gillian, are you okay?”
Gillian nodded. “Yeah, it’s just been a really hard day Mac, and one that I would really like to put behind me.”
MacGyver walked back into the bathroom briefly and put his towel over the shower curtain rod, he brushed his hair in the dresser mirror and set his brush down. He walked over to the bed and climbed into it, he sat down his wife. “I know you had a tough time today Gill.”
She laughed. “Tough time? That is a nice way of putting it Mac and probably one of the biggest under statements I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Mac put his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him. “I can’t imagine what you had to do out there in front of a bunch of strangers, getting all upset, pretending I’m dead.”
“It wasn’t easy but I had to do it.” She closed her eyes briefly. “Do you know what I want to do now?”
Mac shook his head at her. “No, what?”
Gillian smiled. “I want us to order dinner and then when it comes I want to hang the do not disturb sign and lock the doors and pull the shades on the windows. I want us to lock ourselves in this room.” She put her hand on his cheek. “Just the two of us Mac, forget the rest of the world outside that door. I want to hold you so close I can’t breathe, just lose myself in your arms and never come out again.”
MacGyver touched the hand that was on his face. “I think we can do that, I think we need to do that to help us both get over how tough this day has been.”
“You’re right, is there anything I can do?”
Mac nodded. “Yeah there is.” He leaned close to her and kissed her, touching his forehead to hers. “Make me feel safe and warm and alive.”
Gillian pulled away from him and laid down on the bed, she stretched out her arms to him. “Come here.”
MacGyver closed his eyes and simply laid down in his wife’s arms, Gillian wrapped her arms around him and held him.
The couple had gone to bed, the sun was still up, it was only early evening but that didn’t matter to them. After dinner they had peeled back the bed, turned on the TV and had started watching a movie on one of the pay channels. They had liked the movie but the long and emotional day had taken its toll on both of them, they only got halfway through it before sleep overtook them. MacGyver had his head leaning on his wife’s shoulder; he was snuggled up against her. The white phone on the nightstand on Gillian’s side of the bed started ringing, it started the couple awake, they both jumped at the sound of it.
“Now who can that be?” Mac buried his head in his wife’s shoulder.
“It has to be Tyler, he is the only one that knows where were we are.” Gillian sighed as she reached over and picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Gillian it’s Agent Tyler.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, what’s going on?”
“My partner and I need to see the both of you, is it a good time?”
Gillian looked down at her husband. “Well, not really but that doesn’t matter now does it?”
“It’s important.”
“All right Tyler, come on over.” She hung up the phone and turned towards her husband, she put her arms around him and kissed him a couple of times. “Baby, our attempt to block out the world has failed miserably.”
MacGyver returned her warm kisses. “Let me guess, our two pals want to come by and talk to us?”
“Yeah, they said it’s important.”
“With the FBI it’s always important.” He gave her a deep kiss before he rolled over and got up, he went over to the dresser and got out a t-shirt, he didn’t want to talk to the FBI in only his shorts.
Gillian had put on her shorts and tank top pajamas, she had to put some clothes on. She too got out of bed and went to the dresser, she tried to open a drawer but her husband moved over and blocked her. “Excuse me?”
Mac didn’t move, he had his back to her and was smiling. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah you are in the way.”
“Oh, I am?”
Gillian knew he was playing, she whacked him on the butt and he jumped. “Hey! Don’t beat the dead guy!”
He stepped aside and Gillian started laughing as she got out a change of clothes. “You’ll live.”
Mac turned around and looked at her sideways, she just grinned at him. “Very funny, a regular wise girl aren’t you?”
She shrugged her shoulders and put her arms around his waist. “You know, you are pretty cute for a corpse.”
“I am huh, what are you going to do about that?”
“Nothing for the moment but later after the Feds leave we can do something about that.” Gillian suddenly started laughing, she touched her forehead to her husband’s chest.
MacGyver put his hands in his wife’s hair. “What’s so funny?”
She lifted her head and bit her lip a little. “Does this mean I’m a necrophiliac?”
Mac closed his eyes and started laughing. “No, I’m too alive.”
“This is the man that knocked you over isn’t it?”
Tyler and Henderson had arrived at their suite a half hour later, the foursome was sitting at the little white table at the far side of the room. The older man handed Mac a photo, he looked over it and nodded.
“Yeah that’s him, where did you take this?”
“The funeral, he was there.”
Gillian was sitting beside her husband. “Can I see that?”
Mac handed her the photo and she gasped. “Oh my God!”
“What?”
Gillian looked at Tyler. “This guy, he talked to me just before the funeral started.”
Tyler was very interested in this bit of news. “Gillian we were watching the funeral, we didn’t see him.”
“Check your tape again because I’m telling you that he came up to me when I was standing outside the tent and he shook my hand and told me how sorry he was for my loss.” She looked at her husband. “He said he was an old friend of yours.”
Mac scoffed. “Yeah right, he couldn’t come up with a better story than that?”
“I knew he was lying, I almost tore up the card her gave me.”
Henderson got excited. “He gave you a card?”
“Yeah, he said if I needed anything to let him know.”
The two feds looked at each other. “Gillian can I see that card?”
“Sure Tyler, I think it’s in my dress pocket.” She got up from the table and walked around it over to the door beside the bathroom, she opened it and her black dress was hanging in it, she reached into her pocket and took out a card. She walked over to the older man and handed it to him. “Here it is.”
Tyler looked at the beige business card, it looked like every other business card he had ever seen, he turned it over and there was a number written on the back. “I wonder what this number is too, he didn’t say anything else?”
Gillian shook her head. “Said no, but I could tell he really wanted me to call him.” She shuddered a little, the man she had talked to was a big guy, over 200 pounds, he had brown thinning hair and a weak chin, he was not handsome in the slightest and had given her the creeps.
Mac didn’t like what his wife had said, he picked up her hand and held it in his. “Oh nice, hitting on a widow when her husband isn’t even in the ground yet.”
“I know, didn’t waste any time did he?”
Tyler cleared his throat. “Henderson, call this in and see if they can find an address for it.”
“You got it.” Henderson took the card and got up from the table, he went over to the bed and sat down on it as he picked up the phone and started dialing.
Tyler looked at the young woman. “I know all about your little talent Gillian.”
Gillian wasn’t at all surprised about this. “You wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t Tyler, I know the FBI is very thorough.”
“Do you really think he was interested in you?”
“Yeah he was, trust me.”
Henderson thanked someone on the other end of the phone and hung it up, he walked back over to the table. “Sorry Ty, no trace on that number, but Dobbs did say for me to remind you that Carson does have that place that we haven’t been able to touch. The private beach that he owns, this could be the number to it.”
Tyler rubbed his hands over his face. “The one place that not one judge in this state has granted us permission to set up a tap wire or surveillance for.”
The older man sighed and shook his head, they were so close to catching this guy but they just needed access to that house.
Henderson sat back down, he too looked disappointed. “If we could just get a little more evidence we could nail this guy and put him away.”
“Yeah I know.” Tyler looked down at the table, Henderson had set the card down in front of him, he was staring at it, he turned towards Gillian and looked at her, a small smile suddenly came to his face.
MacGyver saw it and he narrowed his eyes a little, then widened them, he suddenly realized why the FBI man was smiling. “No, no way, don’t even think about it.”
Gillian creased her brow. “What Mac?”
Tyler picked up the card and turned towards MacGyver. “Yes you see it would be so simple.”
“No! There is no way you are going to do that! There has to be another way!”
“There isn’t!”
Henderson suddenly got it. “Tyler’s right, this is the only way, everything else we have tried has either failed or the door has gotten slammed on us.”
Mac shook his head. “Try another way!”
Gillian shook her head, the three arguing men were not making any sense to her, she let go of her husband’s hand and stood up. “Gentlemen, will you please enlighten me as to what it is exactly that the three of you are arguing about?”
The two feds looked up at her. “A way to bring your husband back to life.”
MacGyver was shaking his head hard. “No! Not that way! It’s dangerous!”
Gillian sighed. “What way Mac? What are you talking about?”
Mac licked his lips and looked at her. “They want you to go give your new buddy a call so they can get access to his beach house, they want to use you as their way to get a wire into it.”
The young woman’s eyes got big. “Is this true?” She turned her attention to the two agents.
Tyler nodded. “He’s right, but all you would have to do is go in and plant something small for us, that’s all. You wouldn’t be in any danger and with a wire there we can finally bust him.” The older man looked at her seriously. “Gillian, if we can’t put him away your husband will be dead for who knows how long, his life is in danger as long as this guy is free.”
Henderson saw the conflict in her face. “Gillian, we worked very hard to convince this man your husband was dead, if something happens and he finds out that MacGyver is still alive, he won’t hesitate to take him out. Tyler is right, as long as he is free, your husband isn’t.”
Gillian rubbed her hands over her face and walked away from the table, she had her back turned to the three men. She thought about everything that the two FBI men had told her, she knew deep down they were right. They would never be able to go home or get back to their lives until Carson was behind bars.
“I’ll do it.”
MacGyver heard her and he got up from the table and walked around her, he stood in front of her. “No, you aren’t going to do it.”
“Yes I am, I have to.”
“Why?”
She took a step closer to him and touched his face. “They’re right, we can’t go back to our lives until this man is caught, what if he finds out that you aren’t dead? We’re going to be in danger until he’s behind bars Mac and you know that.”
MacGyver knew his wife spoke the truth but the idea of her putting herself at risk because of him was something he simply wouldn’t allow. “You can’t put yourself in a bad situation for me Gill, what if something goes wrong?”
“This is no different than some of the things we have done for the Foundation Mac. We both have done dangerous things for someone else, but this time it’s not for peace or for national security, it’s for you and for us.” Gillian looked at him, her eyes grew shiny. “Mac if I don’t, you’re a dead man and I can’t allow that, I buried you once for pretend and that was bad, if I had to do it for real it’d destroy me.”
Mac put his hands on her shoulders and drew her to him, he put his arms around her neck and hugged her, he sighed heavily, he knew they had no choice.