Invisible Wind – Part II
By
Gillian walked up the lawn to her front door, behind her a long stretch limo was pulling into the driveway. A dark haired man in a chauffeur uniform complete with hat and mirror shades got out and followed her. She unlocked the front door and walked into the living room, there were flowers of every variety all over everything.
“Oh my God.” She looked around the room, she couldn’t believe how many arrangements there were. She turned around, the chauffeur came into the house and closed the door behind him. “Will you look at all of these?”
MacGyver took the hat off of his head and his mirror sunglasses, he had put a dark rinse in his hair turning it from almost platinum blond to a dark brown color. “Great, a flower shop exploded.” He set his hat down on the kitchen counter and put his sunglasses and gloves into it, he started unbuttoning his uniform.
Gillian picked up the pile of cards that were left on the counter. “Pete said that they were all from the same guy.” She opened an envelope and looked at the card inside. “Something to cheer you up, Michael Carson.”
Pete and Jack had stayed in the house for two days, the FBI had asked it of them to see if anyone was watching the house, when it was determined no one was, MacGyver and Gillian were allowed to go home.
Mac took off his jacket, he had a white tank top underneath, he headed down the hall to their bedroom, Gillian set the card down and followed him, she saw the way her husband was scowling.
“Mac?”
He hung up the coat in his closet and started unbuckling his belt, he had a pair of red shorts underneath his pants. “What?”
Gillian sighed and walked up to him, she touched his shoulder, he was slightly turned away from her. “I know you aren’t happy about all this.”
Mac turned a little and faced her. “Not happy? No I’m not.” He sat down on the bed and pulled off his long black boots and set them aside, he pulled his pants off and folded them up. “You are going to be used like a worm on a hook just so some FBI guys can get their bugs planted.”
Gillian sat down beside him. “Mac if that was the reason I wouldn’t be doing this.” She touched his chin and turned his face towards her. “Listen to me, I’m going to do this so you will be safe.”
MacGyver set his pants aside and leaned forward, his elbows were on top of his knees, he covered his face with his hands. “I just don’t like this.”
She leaned towards him and rested her chin on top of his shoulder. “I know Sweetie, believe me I’m not thrilled either but I’ll do what I have to do to protect you.”
He uncovered his face and turned towards her. “I don’t want anything to happen to you Gill.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise.” She touched his forehead to his.
Mac closed his eyes and sighed. “That’s why I talked to Tyler and Henderson and convinced both of them to let me help with this.”
Gillian leaned back. “Help how?”
“They said I could be there when the surveillance is taking place.”
She sighed. “But that could be dangerous, what if someone sees you?”
MacGyver touched his darkened hair. “With this? No way, and even if someone does I don’t even look like me.”
Gillian nodded. “That’s true you do look rather strange, maybe you should go wash it out or I’m going to feel like I’m sleeping with a stranger.”
Mac grinned. “It could be exciting, sleeping with a dark headed stranger.” He wiggled both of his eyebrows. “Or maybe I’ll wash it out and use red instead.”
Gillian wrinkled her nose. “Red?” She shook her head. “No that’s okay, stick with the brown.”
MacGyver started laughing as he took his wife in his arms. “That’s true, there is already one fiery red head in this house, two would be too much.”
Gillian hugged her husband. “Just promise me you’ll stick with Tyler and Henderson and be careful?”
“I promise.” He gave her a kiss and got up, he went to wash out the dark rinse from his hair.
Gillian was laying on her side of the bed, she was waiting for her husband to come out of the bathroom. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about what she had to do, she didn’t really want to kiss up to Michael Carson, she was afraid, but she wanted her husband to be safe. The bathroom door opened and he raced out and jumped on the bed.
“It’s the return of the blondie!” He started jumping up and down on the bed.
Gillian sat up, sure enough her husband was blond haired once again. “Hey the corn head is back.”
Mac stopped bouncing on the bed, he dropped to his knees in front of his wife. “Corn head?”
“Yeah.” She reached out and touched his hair. “See, corn colored.”
“Okay so maybe it is.”
Gillian grinned. “That’s okay though, I like corn, you know why?”
MacGyver sat down on the bed. “No why?”
She moved closer to him and sat down on his lap, she put her legs around his waist. “Allow me to demonstrate.” She turned his head to the side and started gently biting his neck.
Mac touched her head. “Because you can nibble it?”
Gillian stopped and looked at him. “Exactly.” She smiled at him. “So can I nibble some more?”
Her husband shrugged. “Well, there are things more fun than just nibbling.”
“Really? Like what?”
MacGyver smiled. “Do you really want to know?”
His wife gave him a slight nod of her head. “Perhaps you can show me.”
“I’d be happy too.” Mac put his arms around his wife and started kissing her gently.
Tyler and Henderson were over at the house, they had tapped their telephone, there was listening equipment all over the dining room table. Tyler had on a set of a headphones, he turned everything on and nodded to Gillian. The young woman sighed and picked up the phone, she took the business card Michael Carson had given her and started dialing. MacGyver was standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, he could feel how tense she was. “Just relax Gill.”
“I’m trying.”
She finished dialing and put the phone against her ear, it started ringing.
“Yeah?” A deep voice answered and Gillian swallowed hard.
“Can I please speak to Michael Carson?” She reached back and touched one of the hands that was on her shoulders.
The voice sounded hostile. “Who is this?”
Gillian sighed. “Gillian MacGyver, Mr. Carson was at my husband’s funeral three days ago.”
“Oh!” The voice became kinder. “This is Michael Carson, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize your voice, call me Michael please.”
“All right Michael, you probably didn’t expect to hear from me.”
“I’m very pleasantly surprised Mrs.-”
Gillian shook her head. “Just Gillian please, I really don’t want to be called that right now, if you don’t mind.” The young woman squeezed her husband’s hand, she looked at the two FBI agents, they both gave her nods of encouragement.
“Gillian it is then, how can I help you?”
She sighed. “Well, I finally got back to my house and pleasantly discovered that it was covered with flowers, all of them were from you.”
“You got them then? That’s good, it pleases me.”
“I remembered the card you gave me so I decided to call and thank you, I love flowers.”
“I wanted you to do something to make you feel better, I know how tough things must be for you right now.”
Gillian felt a lump in her throat, she cleared it trying to push it down. “I appreciate it, and you have no idea just how hard it is right now, being in this house, everything I see is only a reminder.”
Mac could hear the emotion in her voice, he leaned down and rested his chin on top of her head, closing his eyes.
“I understand, but if you need someone to listen.”
“I do, I do need someone to listen, my husband had a lot of friends but very few have been around, I think that they don’t know how to deal with me, or what to say so because of that they have been staying away. Even his very good ones have been avoiding me.”
“That is wrong Gillian, you need them more than ever now.” He paused for a second. “Why don’t you meet me somewhere?”
Tyler got excited, the older man grabbed a nearby pad of paper and wrote something down, he handed it to her. Gillian looked at the paper. “Meet somewhere? Like for coffee?”
“We could do that, got any place in mind?”
She glanced at the paper. “Actually I have a favorite place that I always go, it’s called Café Café.”
“I know that place, down on Hunt and Greenwood, right?”
“Right, when do you want to meet there?”
“I’m free this afternoon, how about 4?”
Gillian looked at the two agents, they nodded. “Okay 4 it is.”
“See you then Gillian, goodbye.”
“Bye.” She hung up the phone and Tyler stopped the equipment and took off his headphones. “You did great Gillian, I think he bought it.”
She sighed. “I certainly hope so.” She turned around in her chair and put her arms around her husband’s waist and leaned her head against his stomach. MacGyver hugged her head, stroking her hair.
“You okay Gill?”
“Yeah Mac, I think I just get a little too into my role and the fact I couldn’t see you didn’t help, that’s why I started getting upset.”
“You are supposed to be emotional, I’m sure Michael is going to expect if from you, after all, you just became a widow.”
Gillian lifted her head and looked up at him. “Boy you are pretty active for a dead guy, talk about an exciting afterlife.”
MacGyver shook his head at his wife. “You know you are way too funny for a widow.”
Tyler cleared his throat. “All right Gillian, we’re going to go now, we have to set up the café for your meeting with Carson.”
Gillian let go of her husband and turned around. “Okay, are you going to come back?”
“Yeah, we have to wire you.” Tyler checked his watch. “We’ll be back in two hours.”
The two feds got up and opened the front door, they checked to make sure everything was clear, when it was they closed the door behind them.
Gillian was standing in the middle of her bedroom, she was in her gray sports bra and a short black skirt. She had two men around her, taping a small transmitter device to her stomach, it was square about the size of a postcard. MacGyver was sitting on the bed shaking his head, he had one leg up. He was in a grey tank top and black shorts, he had been keeping silent but he could not keep his mouth shut anymore.
“You know, that thing is way too bulky and my wife is too skinny, you’re going to be able to see it.”
Tyler was putting tape on Gillian’s stomach. “This transmitter is state of the art.”
“That doesn’t mean it won’t be seen Tyler.”
The older man shook his head. “It’ll be fine.”
Mac shook his head. “Okay, but just wait ‘til she puts her shirt on.”
The two men finished and back away from her, Gillian looked down at herself. “Interesting.” She saw the metal square that sat in the middle of her stomach, covered with tape in the shape of a big white X. “Are you guys sure about this?”
Tyler and Henderson nodded. “Yes.”
MacGyver scoffed. “No.”
Tyler turned around and shot the dead man a narrowed eye look. “Yes, go ahead and put your shirt on.”
Gillian walked over to her closet and opened it, she took out a dark blue knit shirt and slipped it over her head, she pulled it down and her husband burst out laughing.
Mac got off of the bed and walked over to her. “Gill, I think we need to talk about the way you keep in shape, you sure are looking square.” He wrapped his knuckles against the extremely obvious square she had in the middle of her stomach. “Good job boys, a neon sign above her head that flashes WIRED would be less obvious.”
Tyler sighed, he had an annoyed look on his face. “I suppose you have something better for her to wear?”
MacGyver put his hands on his hips. “As a matter of fact, yeah, I’ve built transmitters that are a lot smaller than that.”
Henderson scoffed. “Yeah but do they work.”
Gillian nodded. “Yes they do.”
Tyler wiped his hand down his face. “All right, get yours and we’ll try it out.”
Mac left the bedroom and went into the garage, he opened a drawer on his wooden workbench and took out a small grey box. He went back into the bedroom and took his wife by the hand and led her over to the bed. He sat down on it and set his grey box aside. Gillian was standing in front of him and he lifted her shirt. “I’m going to take off the tape.”
She nodded. “Go ahead.”
“I just wanted to warn you.” He started peeling back the first aid tape and she flinched, he stopped what he was doing. “Slow isn’t going to work.” He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her towards him, he kissed her hard, his hand wandered down to her stomach and he jerked it off. He felt her gasp against his lips. “Sorry I tried to make it as pleasant as possible.”
Gillian shrugged. “Nice effort but it still hurt.”
Mac sat back down and lifted her shirt again, she had a red mark from the tape, he rubbed it a little. “Better?”
“Much.”
He picked up the grey box and opened it, there was a variety of different size transmitters he had made. Tyler and Henderson sat down beside him on the bed and peeked in the box.
“The smaller the better.”
MacGyver picked up a pair of tweezers he had in the bottom of the box and chose one that was about half the size of a postage stamp. “How about this one?”
Tyler nodded. “That’s good, but where are you going to put it?”
Mac looked at his wife. “Well it can’t be on her stomach, too obvious no matter how tiny it is because she’s so skinny it’ll be seen.” He thought of something. “I know where but you two are going to have to leave the room. Why don’t you go in the kitchen and see if you can pick up sound from it on your equipment.”
“All right, let’s go Henderson.”
The two feds left the room and closed the door behind them, Gillian looked at her husband curiously. “Exactly where are you going to put that?”
“No where that special but they still had to leave.” He reached around his wife and unbuttoned her skirt, he unzipped it and slid it down her legs. “Where did those guys put that tape?”
“The dresser.”
Mac got up from the bed and picked up the roll of first-aid tape off the top of his dresser, he sat back down in front of his wife and cut a small piece, he put it on his tank top and set the roll aside. “Okay Gill, this might tickle.”
Gillian was looking down, watching him. “Why do you say that?”
“You’ll find out.” Her husband put his left hand on her stomach, he bent his head down a little and started messing with her belly button.
“What are you doing?” She bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
He picked up the tweezers and put the transmitter up against it, and started trying to put it inside it. “Hold still.”
Gillian covered her hand with her mouth, he was tickling her bad. She couldn’t take it anymore, she burst out laughing, she was moving a lot and he sighed and looked up at her.
“Gill, I can’t do this if you are moving around too much.”
“I’m sorry Mac but you are tickling me!” She took a few deep breaths and finally was able to stop laughing. “Okay, try again.”
MacGyver leaned forward again, he got the transmitter into her belly button, he quickly pulled the tape off of his tank top and put it over it. “Got it.”
Gillian started laughing really hard. “Man that tickled!”
He bent down and pulled her skirt back up and fastened it for her, the black material covered her belly button and he put his hand over it, he didn’t feel the transmitter. “There, that should do it.”
Gillian pulled her knit shirt down. “You can’t see it?”
“Nope, and I can’t feel it either.”
“What about the sound?”
MacGyver leaned forward. “Tyler, Henderson, come back into the bedroom if you
are receiving this.”
The couple both looked at the door, it opened and the two men walked in.
Tyler nodded. “We got you, the sound comes in really well.”
The Café Café was a little tiny coffee shop located on the west side of LA. The dinky stucco building was painted a bright blue, the owners thought the brighter the color the more customers it would attract, their unusual strategy had worked, the little shop was always hopping. The FBI had talked to the owners, they had convinced the couple to empty the coffee shop of most of their customers. They had reluctantly agreed, shooing most of their business out, claiming they needed to close early. Gillian was dressed in a short skirt with a white knit shirt, she was sitting at a round black wrought iron table, it had a matching wrought iron chair, she had her legs crossed, a pair of dark shades on her face. Her face reflected a look of sadness and deep thought as she waited for the man that had killed her husband to make his appearance. The older man that owned it brought her a large cup of tea and a pastry from the huge glass display case that was in the front, they had every kind of cookie, donut, Danish and muffin ever created inside of it.
“Thank you.” Gillian gave him a small smile.
“Sure.” The older man dressed in a dark green shirt and a white apron smiled at her and went back to his counter.
“It’s 4, he should be there any minute now.” Henderson was looking at his watch.
Tyler, Henderson and MacGyver were on the floor above, they had drilled a small hole in the wooden floor and had a tiny camera in it, it was close to Gillian, they could see her clearly through the monitor. The floor above the café was a small apartment the owners occasionally used when they worked late. It had big windows all over it, the shades had been drawn to keep their presence a secret. Mac was sitting on a chair watching the color monitor, he had his wife’s necklace in his hand, because he was out of the house he had put the dark rinse back in his hair. He had a black baseball cap on and was wearing jeans and a worn looking light colored jean jacket.
Henderson was in a chair near the window, Tyler was in a chair next to MacGyver. “Yeah he’ll show up, he sounded pretty anxious on the phone.”
MacGyver turned his head towards the older man. “He did?”
Tyler nodded. “Yeah.”
Mac sighed and shook his head, he still couldn’t believe his wife was going to have to be friendly and nice to the man that had put him in the ground. “Great, I’m dead so this guy is going to think she’s fair game.”
“Probably.” Tyler saw how well he took this news, he reached out and patted his witness on the back. “I know you aren’t happy to hear that but remember she is doing this so you can testify as to what you saw and put a criminal behind bars. It should make you proud that your wife is such a good citizen and is doing her part.”
MacGyver shook his head. “She’s not doing this because it’s her duty as a citizen Tyler, she’s doing it for me.”
“He’s here!”
The two men turned towards Henderson, he had pulled back a shade and was peering out through binoculars. “His black BMW just pulled up to the café.”
Tyler sighed and turned back towards the monitor. “Showtime.”
Gillian heard the door open, the little bell on the top of it rang, her heart started beating hard, he was here. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Mac, remember Mac.” She whispered to herself as she tried to relax.
“Gillian?” A deep voice was beside her and she turned and saw the same man she had seen at the funeral. She took off her glasses and got a good look at him, at the funeral she wasn’t really looking at him, but now she was. He was no doubt in his late 40’s; his dark hair was getting a little thin on top. He was almost 6 feet, probably about 215 pounds, he wasn’t fat but he wasn’t thin either. He had worn sunglasses when he had spoken to her, now she could see he had hazel eyes. When she had first met him she thought he wasn’t handsome at all, but now that she got a better look, he wasn’t that bad. His face was slightly round, she remembered his weak chin. He wasn’t as handsome as her husband but he wasn’t all that unappealing to the eyes. He was wearing a blue pinstripe suit and gave her a smile.
“Hi.” The young woman stuck out her hand, he gently shook it, then he put his hand on top of it.
“How are you doing?”
Gillian closed her eyes briefly. “Surviving, barely.” She could feel a wave of emotion hit her and she pressed her lips together and cleared her throat.
Michael nodded and squeezed her hand. “Why don’t we sit down?”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, he still had a hold of her hand as they sat down at the table. “Have you thought about what you are going to do?” He finally let go of her hand.
Gillian sighed and had a sip of her hot tea, she set the cup down. “I really don’t know, for now I don’t have the desire to do a whole lot.” She closed her eyes briefly. “Right now it’s just hard enough to find a reason to wake up, not that I’ve been sleeping much.”
Michael nodded. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“How long were you married to him?”
Gillian looked down at the floor for a moment, she could feel her emotions starting to get the best of her. “The 30th of this month would have been our 17th month.” She felt a few tears slowly roll down her face, she casually wiped them away as she lifted her head and looked at Michael.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, it’s okay, I have to get used to those kinds of questions, I can’t just hide in my house and pretend that it didn’t happen.”
Michael smiled at her, he reached across the little table and touched her hand. “You have a lot of guts Gillian, I admire you for that. I’ve seen many people in your situation just curl up and die. You have a lot of strength, you are going to make it.”
“I don’t feel all that strong Michael, not when asking me how long I have been married makes me break down and cry.”
“It’s just the grief, give it time.”
“Ten thousand years wouldn’t be enough time to get over him.” She covered her eyes with her hands and breathed through them. “I need to go someplace and just forget all this, LA, my job, him, everything.”
“Maybe you should consider it.”
“I don’t know, I feel so damn lost.”
The three men were watching the monitor, Tyler shook his head. “She should consider a career in the movies, she is very believable.”
Henderson nodded. “Yeah she is, she really acts like a widow.”
MacGyver sighed and closed his eyes briefly, he could tell that this was really hard for his wife. “When this is over you guys can get her a gold statue.” But they were right, she really did seem like a widow and Mac knew that was how she was thinking too. That was the only way she could pull this off, pretending that he was truly dead.
Michael nodded and reached out, he touched her red hair, he smoothed it back away from her face. “You aren’t lost, you are just hurting. What you need is someone to be your friend and help you through it.”
Gillian shook her head. “No one will get near me Michael, I have never felt so alone in my whole life then I do right now.” A tear streaked down her face, he hesitated for a second, then he touched her face and wiped it away.
“You aren’t alone, I’m your friend Gillian and I’m here for you, I know we don’t even know each other but I am.”
MacGyver got up from the chair, he had heard enough. “I don’t believe this guy!” He went over by the window and took off his baseball cap, he wiped his hands down his face.
Tyler also got up. “Now just keep it together MacGyver, this guy is not Prince Charming and your wife knows that, she isn’t falling for his lines.”
“She has to Tyler otherwise this is all for nothing.” He put the cap back on his head. “She has to sit there and believe all that bull he’s telling her.”
Gillian gave him a small smile. “Thank you Michael, I could really use a friend right now.”
“Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow night?”
Her smile slowly faded. “I really don’t feel like going anywhere, I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Well if you don’t want to go anywhere.” He thought about his house but he wasn’t sure.
Gillian had another sip of her tea. “It was very sweet of you to offer though.” She looked up at him. “You know, in some ways you remind me of my husband.”
Michael looked surprised. “I do? How?”
“He was also very sweet and considerate, and very trusting, he used to say that sometimes he was too trusting.”
Michael smiled. “Thank you Gillian, I’ll take that as a compliment.” He made up his mind about the house. “Since you don’t want to go somewhere, how about we have dinner at my house? I have a beach house that’s pretty secluded.”
Gillian sat back in her chair. “Well, maybe it would do me some good to go to the beach, it might help me sort things out.”
He took out a pen from his inner jacket pocket and grabbed a napkin. “What’s your number?”
“555-4622.”
Michael wrote it down. “I’ll give you a call in a few days and we can talk more about it then.”
Tyler and Henderson turned towards each other and shook hands, they were very happy that she had convinced Carson to take her to his house. MacGyver was the only one in the room not celebrating, he was watching the monitor, they were saying goodbyes, Michael had her hand in his and was patting it gently. Gillian was smiling a little at him. He walked away from her and left the café, Gillian sighed and sat back down at the table.
Henderson went over by the window and pulled back the shade, the black BMW started up and he watched it pull away. “He left.”
Gillian got up from the table and walked off camera.
There was a knock on the apartment door, Tyler looked at MacGyver. “That’s for you.”
He got up from the chair and walked across the apartment, he opened the door, his wife saw him and hugged him hard.
MacGyver put his arms around her and squeezed her. “You okay?”
“I am now.” She buried her head against his shoulder. “That was so hard Mac.”
“I know but you had the three of us convinced.”
“I just hope it was enough to convince him.”
Tyler cleared his throat. “Okay you two, go home, we’ll be across the street at that place for rent, if you need anything give us the signal.”
The couple let go of each other and nodded, Mac took his wife’s hand and they walked out the door.
Pete was in a dark grey suit standing at the white wrought iron door, he rang the doorbell. The wooden door opened and Gillian peeked her head out of it, she saw Pete and she smiled widely.
“Pete!” She unlocked the door and opened it, she hugged him hard. “I’m so glad to see you.”
Pete returned her hug, he was close to her ear. “Are we being watched?”
“The FBI is across the street in that house for rent.”
“It’s good to see you too.”
Gillian let go of him and took his hands, she led him into the house and closed the door, she locked it and looked down the hall. “Mac?”
MacGyver cracked open their bedroom door. “Who is it?”
Pete shook his head and smiled. “Get out here or you’re fired!”
Mac opened the door all the way and came out of the bedroom, he saw his friend at the end of the hall. “Hey!” The two men hugged. “What are you doing here?” Mac smiled, he was so glad to see his friend, he had been dead for almost 10 days and he hadn’t seen his friend since he woke up in the basement.
Pete let go of his best friend. “I had to come by and see how things were going.”
Mac had his arm slung around his friend’s shoulder. “Come on let’s sit down.”
The threesome walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, Pete was between his two friends. “So how are things going?”
Gillian sighed. “Well, okay, I’m supposed to have dinner again at Michael Carson’s house tomorrow night, they want me to plant the bugs this time.”
Pete creased his brow. “Why?”
“Because they said that Mac can’t return to the land of the living until he is in prison.”
Pete turned towards his friend. “Really?”
MacGyver nodded. “Yeah, so Gillian is pretending to be interested in him so they can get what they need and arrest him.” He saw the look in the stout man’s face. “Believe me I’m not thrilled with this either, I don’t like them using her for bait.”
Gillian cleared her throat. “How are things at the Foundation?”
“Good, pretty much normal.”
“And no one knows I’m dead right?”
“Right, I told the board I sent you on a special assignment for me, no one seems to be the wiser about that.”
Mac leaned back against the couch and sighed. “I wish this would hurry up and end, I feel like an escaped prisoner. The FBI insists I wear a disguise.”
“Really?”
Gillian nodded. “Yeah they gave us 12 bottles of this rinse solution, it turns his hair dark brown, he looks really weird.”
Pete started laughing. “Oh I bet that’s interesting.”
MacGyver scoffed. “Yeah right, it takes like 3 shampoos to get that stuff out. At this rate it I’ll end up with dark hair permanently.”
Pete slung his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Well Mac think of it this way, no matter what color your hair is, it beats being dead.”
He turned to his friend and looked at him. “You really know how to cheer me up, don’t you?”
The stout man started laughing. “Hey, after being at your funeral and watching you come back to life in a dank basement, I’m just glad you’re still around to tease.”
Gillian was getting ready to go to dinner, she had on a short black dress with very tiny white flowers on it, it went to her knees. She was looking at herself in the mirror, she had put her hair up in a French twist. The door opened and her husband walked in, his hair was dark and he was in a pair of medium blue coveralls. The three men were going to be down the road from the beach house at a nearby mechanic’s shop listening to everything.
“Gill, I’ve got something for you.”
She turned towards him. “What?”
Mac opened his hand, he had two of her little jeweled bobby pins on his palm. “These.”
Gillian looked at his hand. “My bobby pins?”
“I put two tiny transmitters in them, I figured it was easier than wearing it in your belly button.”
She took them out of his hand and slid them into her hair. “What do you think?”
MacGyver looked her up and down. “You look too good for the likes of him.” He gave her a small smile. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“What choice do we have? I have to plant those bugs.”
“I know, I just wish there was another way.”
“There isn’t, he trusts me now.”
Mac was really nervous about this, he didn’t want his wife to go back to that house. “Be careful.”
“I will.” Gillian was just as nervous as she was. “I’ve got the transmitters and everything that I need, it’ll be all right.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” She reached out and touched his face. “Maybe you shouldn’t be there with Tyler and Henderson.”
“No, I’ll be there.”
There was a knock on the door. “Gillian?”
“Yeah? It’s okay Tyler open the door.”
Tyler was in a black pair of coveralls. “It’s time to go.”
Gillian nodded. “Okay.” She took her husband’s hands and squeezed them, she closed her eyes briefly. “I guess I better get moving.”
MacGyver looked down for a moment. “Yeah, you have to drive a little ways.”
Their eyes met and Gillian saw the look in his, all of her courage bled out of her body, she let go of his hands and hugged him hard. “I’m afraid.”
Mac could feel her trembling against him. “So am I.”
“I don’t know if I can go through with this.” There were tears leaking from her eyes.
“We’ve been in tough situations before where you’ve said that and when it came right down to it you did it, this time is no different.”
They let go of each other and Mac wiped her cheeks. “Go on and go, you’ll be late.”
Gillian nodded and gave him a kiss, she turned around and left the room before she got upset again.
Michael Carson’s beach house was located right along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. It was a beautiful drive, the air was slightly cool and filled with the salty smell of the nearby ocean. Gillian had to drive 30 miles to get to it, she was behind the wheel of her husband’s Corvette. There were a lot of things going through her mind that she tried not to dwell on. She followed the PCH into Malibu and turned onto a private road that took her right down to the beach. She parked the Vette and turned off the engine, she picked up her purse and reached into it, she took out a deep nice shade of red lipstick and put it on her lips. She looked at herself once in the mirror.
“I love you Mac.”
She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath, she picked up her purse and got out of the Corvette.
There was a red Spanish tile trail that led to the front door, her heels clicked as she made her way down to it. Michael’s beach house was an Italian villa, right on the shore, it was beige stucco that looked like three or four mini houses that had been squashed together. The roof was made of the same bright red Spanish tile that she was walking on. In the center of the group of C shaped structure was a beige fountain, there was a light trickle of water coming up from it.
Gillian made it to the house, she walked around the fountain, there was a double set of oak doors, she lifted the heavy handle and banged against the door. The doors were being unlocked, they parted and Michael was behind them, he smiled at her.
“Hi.” He was dressed in a white silk shirt and neatly pressed black pants. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” She carefully stepped over the threshold.
The whole house was nothing but wall to wall pink marble, there was very little furniture in the whole house. She could see a living room set of light beige leather furniture at the far side of the room. The whole back wall was nothing but windows, the ocean was just outside them. There was a black entertainment center, and a beige stucco fireplace behind the furniture. Gillian turned to her host. “So where are we going to have dinner tonight?”
“Actually that is a surprise, close your eyes.” He reached down and took her hand.
Gillian didn’t like this but nevertheless she closed her eyes.
Michael had a hold of her hand, he led her to the living room and out a fancy glass door, he walked her around the house, down another Spanish tile pathway to a secluded section of his property. It was right out, practically on top of the water, he had set up a table with candles and a silver bucket with a bottle of wine. There was a mini version of the house that was also there beside it, it was a guest house. The table had been set out on the cemented front porch of the little house. There were poles with round light fixtures that started coming on, the sun was beginning to set.
“Okay, here we are.”
Gillian opened her eyes. “Wow.” She saw the little house. “For guests?”
“Yes, and those people that are special to me.”
Michael let go of her hand and walked over to the little square table, he picked up the bottle of wine and touched it, it was nice and cold. “Care for a glass?”
Gillian walked over to the table and sat down in the wrought iron chair, she crossed her legs. “Yes, please.”
Michael picked up a corkscrew and started opening the bottle.
MacGyver, Tyler and Henderson were sitting in the closed mechanic’s shop, it was a small office with a desk, a couple of filing cabinets, and a strong smell of oil that permeated everything. Mac was sitting on a chair in behind a paper covered desk listening to all of this. He sighed and shook his head. “This guy, he’s very smooth.”
Tyler was on the other side of the desk, he nodded as he reached out and adjusted the volume on the transmitter, it was big and black and had about a thousand knobs on it. “We know, he’s quite a smooth operator, that’s how he’s been able to avoid prosecution for so long.”
Henderson nodded, he was in dirty green coveralls. “He’s a real scum and nothing will stop him from getting something once he has his eye on it.”
MacGyver looked at him, he was frowning. “Does that include people?”
Henderson was about to open his mouth when he partner cleared his throat. “Henderson why don’t you check the perimeter?”
The younger man with the black hair closed his mouth and stood up. “Right Tyler, I’ll be outside.”
Henderson left the tiny office, Tyler watched him leave. “He didn’t mean that MacGyver.”
“Yeah I bet.” He sighed and wiped his hand down his face as he listened to his wife’s voice coming through the transmitter.
Gillian was leaning back in her chair, she was holding a glass of red wine that she was sipping. “It does feel good to get out of the house, I don’t really do it to much.” She looked out into the water. “And this place is beautiful.”
Michael was sitting across from her, he set his glass of wine down on the table and stood up. “Excuse me, I better see how dinner is going.”
He walked back down the path, as soon as he was out of sight, she poured some of her wine out, he had given her a full glass. He came back rather quick.
“What is on the menu tonight?” She had another sip of wine.
“Lobster, with shrimp scampi, Caesar salad and chocolate mousse.”
Gillian nodded. “And you made it all yourself?”
Michael sat back down at the table, he smiled at her. “Of course.” He reached out and touched her hand.
“You seem a little happier then you did when we had dinner the last time.”
She sighed. “Well, I’ve had a lot to think about, and some realizations to come too.” She looked a little sad. “I think I’m slowly starting to realize that my husband might be gone but I’m still here.” She squeezed his hand. “You’ve helped me a lot Michael, thank you.”
Michael gave her a slight nod of his head. “You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are we friends Gillian?”
The young woman gave him a slight smile. “Yes, we are Michael.”
Michael smiled widely. “Good, because I want us to be.”
MacGyver leaned forward and covered his face. “Oh man he’s good.”
Tyler had his arms crossed over his chest, he saw the way his witness was sitting. “Are you okay?”
He uncovered his face and looked at the older man. “No, I’m not, how would you be if that was your wife on the other end of this transmitter?”
“I see your point, but if it’s bothering you so much to listen to this, there is a couch in the next office, go take a nap or something.”
Mac sat up. “No, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Then relax, the evening has just barely begun.”
An hour passed, Gillian and Michael were just finishing up dinner, she sighed and pushed her plate back. “That’s it for me.” She had finished about half of her dinner.
Michael looked at her plate. “That’s all? What about dessert?”
“I will try a couple of spoonfuls since you went through all the trouble to make it.”
“Good, let me go get it.” He wiped his mouth and got up from the table, Gillian waited until he was out of sight, she reached across the table and picked up his glass. She reached down and a small vile out of her purse, she opened it and dumped its contents into his wine. She put the vile back in her purse and put his wine glass back in its place.
“I think you’ll like this it’s very light and smooth.” Michael was carrying a black tray with two crystal bowls, he picked one up and handed it to her. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” She took it from him and picked up a spoon, she dipped her spoon in and had a bite. The mousse was smooth and creamy. “It’s good.”
Michael sat down and took his mousse off the tray. “Thank you.”
Gillian had another spoonful, she looked at her glass, it was only about a quarter of the way full. “Can I have some more wine?”
“Of course.” Michael picked the bottle up and poured her another glass, he filled his up and picked it up. “To new friends.”
She lifted her glass and touched the crystal glass to his. “To new friends.”
They both drank their wine.
MacGyver was getting antsy, he had his arms folded across his chest and his legs were bouncing. “Think she’s given it to him by now?”
Tyler was very calm and cool , he nodded. “Yeah probably.”
“Did she say how long before it worked?”
The older man shook his head. “No, I have no idea.”
The bedroom door to the guest house opened and Michael and Gillian went inside, the room was done totally in white. The carpet, the walls, the bed in the center of the room, everything in that room was white.
“Very nice Michael, I like it.” Gillian walked around the room.
They had finished that whole bottle of wine, little did Michael know that Gillian had poured out most of hers and he had no idea she had put something in his.
Michael smiled. “Good, I’m glad you like it.”
There was a sliding glass door, and Gillian saw a balcony on the other side of it, she opened the door and stepped out onto it. The ocean was right there, she looked out across the dark water and breathed in the air.
Michael followed her out there, he was standing behind her and he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. “You look so beautiful in the moonlight.”
Gillian closed her eyes, his touch made her want to run screaming from the room, she turned around and faced him. “You just didn’t bring me into this room just to show it to me, did you?”
Michael shook his head slowly. “No.” He moved closer to her and kissed her.
Tyler looked at Gillian’s husband, he had his head tilted back, his hands over his eyes, he knew that Michael had kissed his wife.
“MacGyver?”
Mac took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah?”
“You okay?”
“You don’t want to know.”
Gillian opened her eyes and swallowed hard. “Why did you do that?”
Michael put his hands on her shoulders and slowly rubbed them down her bare arms. “I’ve been wanting to do that since we first met at the funeral.”
Her heart was beating hard out of fear. “Michael, I-”
“Gillian, losing your husband has been very difficult for you, but we’ve gotten to be friends, haven’t we?”
The young woman nodded her head. “Yes, we have, you’ve been there for me like no one else has.”
Michael brought his hands back up to her face. “Then let me be your friend.” He closed his eyes and brushed his lips against hers, he felt her mouth move, she was returning his kiss.
Gillian suddenly put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away. “Michael, I can’t, it’s way too soon.”
He nodded his head. “You’re right it hasn’t been very long but you told me you realized that you are still alive Gillian.”
“I am still alive.”
“Then start living again.” Michael put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her to him, kissing her again, this time she put her arms around his neck and started kissing him.
The kiss ended and they both were out of breath, Gillian put her forehead to his chest. Michael touched his fingers to her chin and lifted it, he was looking into her face. He could see the fear and uncertainty in her dark eyes.
“Are you afraid?”
Gillian nodded slowly. “I...I didn’t expect this.”
“Expect what?”
She swallowed hard. “To have feelings for you, I mean so soon after.” She looked away from him.
Michael nodded. “I understand, you probably have a lot of conflicts inside of you right now.” He turned her face back towards him. “I think I know of a way to make it all a lot clearer to you.”
Gillian was looking at him. “How?”
Michael stepped back and reached down, he took her hand, he led her back inside the room and over to the bed. He reached around her neck and touched the zipper to her dress, he slowly started unzipping it.
The sound of a zipper opening came across the transmitter; MacGyver heard it and he covered his eyes. “This isn’t happening, tell me this isn’t happening.”
Tyler licked his lips and pressed them together. “MacGyver-”
He brought his hands down from his face and scowled at the man, now he was angry. “Tyler if you tell me she is doing this because it’s her duty I will bust your nose.”
“I wasn’t going to say that.”
Mac nodded. “Good, and don’t tell me you know how I feel because you don’t!”
Tyler cleared his throat. “I think it’s time you took that walk now, in fact I insist, you need some air.”
“No, I’m not leaving this office.”
Tyler stood up fast and leaned across the desk. “Then get it together or I will walk you out that office door and take you to get air myself!”
MacGyver was still scowling, his dark eyes filled with anger, he leaned back in his chair and took a few deep breaths, he was trying to calm down.
Tyler saw him and nodded. “Good, I’m glad we understand each other.” He sat back down and folded his arms over his chest.
Gillian felt her dress start to slip off her shoulders, she didn’t do anything to stop it, she let her arms fall to her sides, her dress slipped down her hands and became a pile of black material at her feet. She was standing in front of Michael in nothing but her underclothes.
Michael was looking her up and down, getting quite an eyeful, his vision blurred a little, he shook out his head. He smiled at her, she was beautiful, he could see though that she was slightly trembling.
“Nervous?”
She swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
Michael reached out and put his hands on her shoulders and moved her closer to him, he kissed her. “Don’t be.”
“I can’t help it, my husband was…” She turned her face away from him. “He was the only man I ever considered to be my lover.”
Michael nodded. “Of course he was.”
The young woman turned back towards him, she reached up and put her hands on his chest, she moved them up it and around his neck. “I think we should take things nice and slow.”
Michael got another flash of blurry vision, he rubbed his eyes a little. “All right, if it will make things easier for you.”
Gillian could see that her little addition to his wine was starting to work, she gave him a small smile. “It will make things a lot easier.” She kissed him, she let go of his neck and moved her fingers to the buttons of his shirt, she started unbuttoning them one at a time.
Michael felt what she was doing, he put his arms around her waist and backed her up against the bed, they both fell back on it. He started kissing her face and neck, he was moving down to her chest, Gillian closed her eyes, she didn’t want to even see who was doing this to her. She kept thinking about her husband and what he must be going through listening to all of this. Michael was at her stomach, he kissed it a couple of times, he felt really dizzy but he figured it was because of the wine. He lifted his head and looked at her.
Gillian reached down and put her hands under his arms, she pulled on him a little, he got the message and came back up, he started kissing her. That’s when Gillian’s little addition to his wine finally kicked in, he passed out in mid kiss. Gillian rolled him off of her and sat up, she was so relieved, she got up and put her dress back on.
MacGyver had his legs drawn up, his arms were crossed on top of them and his head was down, he had his eyes closed. He kept hoping and praying that the drug his wife had given to Michael would hurry up and take affect before things went too far. Tyler knew better than to say anything, he knew that the best thing would be to leave him alone.
“Mac?”
The voice of his wife rang out , he lifted his head and looked at the transmitter.
“He’s out Mac, he’s passed out.”
MacGyver sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. “Thank God.”
Tyler took a deep breath and sighed. “That was very close.”
Mac started laughing, he was incredibly relieved that the drug had finally gotten to him. “Yeah, tell me about it.” He ran his hands over his face and shook his head. “That was no fun at all.”
“Imagine how it was on her end.”
“Yeah, so now what?”
Tyler looked at him. “Now she plants the bugs.”
Gillian had left her purse outside, she ran out and got it, she opened it and took out a small blue plastic box of microscopic transmitters. She sat down on the bed and opened the box, her husband had given her a tiny tool kit, she took it out of her purse.
Michael was lying flat on his back on the bed, she grabbed his left wrist and took his fancy Rolex watch off of it. She turned it over and using a tiny screwdriver she popped off the back of it, she picked up a pair of tweezers and gently placed one of her husband’s tiny transmitters into the guts of the watch. She replaced the silver back to his watch and slipped it back on his wrist. Gillian was thinking about what else she could bug on him, she rolled him over onto his side and touched his back pockets, she felt his wallet. She took it out and placed a bug in one of the inside compartments, she put his wallet back.
Gillian checked her watch, she had one more hour to go before he would wake up, she picked up tool kit and her box of transmitters, she left the bedroom and headed for the main house.
Michael slowly opened his eyes, he was lying on the guest bed, he looked down at himself and saw he was shirtless, the white sheet was up to his chest, he lifted it and discovered he didn’t have any clothes on. His head felt a little achy, he thought about the bottle of wine and he pinched the bridge of his nose, he had way too much to drink. He suddenly remembered Gillian, the last memory he had was of the two of them on the bed kissing pretty heavily, he turned and saw her lying beside him. The young woman was asleep, the sheet pulled up to her chest, she was on her side and her left leg was uncovered, it was bare. He turned towards her and touched her face, she stirred and opened her eyes.
Michael smiled at her. “Hi.”
Gillian tried to smile but she really couldn’t do it convincingly. “Hi.”
She touched the sheet that was on her chest, she sat up and covered her eyes with her hand.
Michael touched her hair, her behavior and her obvious state of undress told him that they had been together. “Are you all right?”
Her long hair was partially covering her face. “I don’t know, I don’t know what I am Michael.”
Michael nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. “Things must be pretty confusing right now, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, I think I need to go home.”
“All right, but before you do I want you to look at me.”
Gillian turned around and faced him, her face reflected sadness, she was looking down at the bed. Michael lifted her chin and stroked his face with the back of his hand. “I’m not sorry about what happened between us, I know you probably are but don’t be. All you did was get back to your life, okay?”
Gillian nodded. “Okay.”
Michael leaned forward and gently kissed her. “I’ve got some business to attend to over the next few days, when it’s over I’ll call you, will that be enough time to think about things?”
“Yeah, that’ll be plenty of time.”
“Good.”
Gillian turned her back to him, she still had the sheet covering her chest, she saw his t-shirt right there on the floor near the side of the bed she was sitting on. She swung her legs off of the bed, she reached down and grabbed it and put it on. She flung back the sheet, and started gathering up her clothes.
“The bathroom is around the corner.” Michael watched her, she picked up all her clothes and her shoes and headed for the door. She turned towards him and gave him a slight smile before heading for the bathroom to change.
The drive home was not a pleasant one, thoughts of her husband kept running through her mind. She hadn’t been with Michael but they had done enough to give her a guilty conscience. She had been kissing and touching a man that was not her husband and worse of all MacGyver had been given a front row seat to the whole thing.
Gillian felt like a cheating wife, how was she going to be able to face Mac knowing everything she had done. Was he going to be able to look at her without picturing her and Michael?
Gillian put the Corvette in the garage, she walked into the house through the side door and looked around for her husband.
“Mac?”
The truth was she really didn’t want to face him but she knew she had to.
“I’m in here Gillian.”
She heard his voice call out from their bedroom and it made her heart beat hard, he sounded angry and upset, she didn’t like his tone at all.
Gillian walked down the hall to the bedroom, she opened the door and saw Mac sitting on the bed. He had on a black tank top and red shorts, his hair was once again back to its normal color. He was leaning against the headboard, a deep scowl on his face.
She swallowed hard as she walked into the room. “Hi.”
His face didn’t show its usual smile and happiness to see her. “Hi.”
Gillian was standing there playing with her fingers, she didn’t even know what to say, he had heard everything that she had done in Michael’s house, even though they didn’t go all the way she still felt terrible. “Mac, I-”
He got off the bed fast and stood in front of her, he was looking down at her, there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite figure out, it was like a combination of anger and horror.
Gillian could feel her heart slam into her ribs, she had never seen this look on his face before, he looked as though he was going to tear her apart with his teeth.
“Mac, I know you’re angry and I don’t blame you.”
Mac turned his back to her. “Do you have any idea what that was like for me Gillian?”
Gillian went to touch his shoulders but she was afraid. “I know, I tried to tell you not to be there, I didn’t want you to have to hear all that.”
She gently put her hands on his shoulders. “Please Mac, don’t be angry with me. I did what I had to do to protect you, I would walk through fire for you.”
MacGyver put his hands to his face and wiped them down it, he turned around fast, he was looking at her, his dark eyes intense. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, he sat down on the bed and put her on his lap and hugged her hard.
“I’m not mad at you Gill, I’m mad at me, I’m the one that put you in that situation, it’s because of me you had to go through all that.”
Gillian buried her head in his chest, she curled up in his arms and let him hold her. “No, it’s not your fault, I was the one that was messing around with another man.”
MacGyver shook his head, he put a finger under her chin and lifted it. “No you weren’t, you did nothing wrong.” He put both hands on her face, he started kissing her hard.
Gillian tried to put her arms around his neck but he grabbed her wrists and held them. He broke the kiss and looked at her. He still had that intense look in his eyes, the look that told his wife that he was going to wipe away all trace of Michael Carson from her.
Mac had a hold of her hands and he leaned back on the bed and pulled her on top of him. He rolled them over once and was looking down at her.
Gillian wanted to touch him but he had a firm hold on her wrists, she just looked at him above her and swallowed hard. She wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do. MacGyver put his arms above her head, with one hand he pinned them to the bed, the other he used to trace his hand down her body, he touched the bottom of her dress and started pulling it up. The material wasn’t allowing him to so he simply ripped it. The dress started tearing straight up the middle, he made it rip all the way up. He parted the material, exposing her body and her underclothes, he put his head down on her stomach and closed his eyes. He stayed that way for a moment or two just enjoying how good she felt, he lifted his head and moved back up to her face, he started kissing her.
He let go of her wrists and she put her arms around his neck. “Mac?”
“Yeah?” They were nose to nose.
Gillian smiled at him. “Do me a favor?”
MacGyver nodded. “Name it.”
“Make me forget what I did tonight.”
Gillian’s eyes still reflected a lot of guilt, Mac saw it, she looked like a woman that had commit adultery. He knew there was only one way to extinguish it, he had to reclaim her, she had to feel like she was his again.
Mac didn’t say a word, he simply lifted his tank top over his head and dropped it, he put his hand behind her neck and lifted it. He pressed his lips to hers hard, guaranteeing she wasn’t even going to remember her name by the time he was through with her.
Gillian slowly opened her eyes, she lifted her head from her pillow, she was lying on her stomach. She could feel the weight of someone pressing against her back, she knew who it was, the arm across her waist told her. She tried to move but there was no way, Mac had her basically trapped beneath him. She wasn’t even sure what time it was or even what day it was, she put her head back down. She felt a hand suddenly start going down her right arm, caressing it.
“Trying to go somewhere?”
Gillian laughed a little. “Trying, but someone has me caught.”
He moved back and she was able to roll over towards him, he was on his side looking at her. “How do you feel?”
Gillian sighed, she shook her head and smiled “Well, sort of like a conquered country.”
MacGyver laughed. “Good.”
She moved closer to him and kissed him, her smile faded, replaced by a look that was a little serious. “You did that on purpose didn’t you?”
“Did what?”
“Tore up my dress, you were a little rougher with me than you usually are, you did those things to make me feel better, didn’t you?”
Mac put his fingers to her face and moved them down her cheek. “I wanted you to stop feeling like you cheated on me.”
Gillian touched the hand that was on her face and squeezed it. “So you remarked your territory?”
He nodded. “Sort of, yeah. I had to make you feel like you belonged to me again.”
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I do.”
Mac gave her another kiss and touched his forehead to hers. “Can I ask you something though?”
“Sure.”
He smiled at her. “Was he a better kisser than me?”
Gillian scoffed and shook her head. “Baby there ain’t no comparison.” She reached out and gently moved her fingers across his lips. “No one has more talented lips then you do, I could spend days just kissing them.”
MacGyver grinned. “Now there’s an idea but I do think that would lead to other things.”
Gillian smiled widely at him. “God I hope so.” She closed her eyes and gave his lips a couple of small kisses.