"I think I got something." " What'd you find?" " Looks like a cooking pot." "Could possibly be Apalachee Indian." "It is, look at the water symbol." " That's Apalachee." " Right." " This some kind of test?" " You just passed it." "We should be able to take the lady and the kid without any trouble." " What if he acts up?" " What's the matter, you can't handle a teenager?" " It's nice here, isn't it?" " I Iove it." "Pete and I came down here once before you were born." "We spent a week in New Orleans and then ate our way through the Cajun Country." "We had a wonderful time." " Mom, can we not talk about him?" " Michael, he's your father." "Pete Thornton was a part-time father." "And you don't have to defend him." "You divorced him, remember?" "Look, I know it's childish, but when he didn't show up for my high school graduation, it hurt." "It was his work, Michael." "He was always using that for an excuse." "Look, he promised me he'd be there, and he wasn't." "What was that?" "Who are you?" "What's going on here?" "Who are you?" " What do you want?" " Come here!" " What are you doing?" " Move them closer together." " Get away from her!" " Stand still, tough guy." " What do you want?" " Let go of her!" " Let her up!" "You're hurting her!" " No, no!" " Come on!" " Mom." "Mom!" " Okay, now hold her there." " Look at the camera." " Oh, please!" " Smile, lady." " We're gonna make you a star." " please, what do you want?" "It's a nightmare." "That's my family." "And it's all because of me, I'm sure of that." "Do you have any idea who these guys are?" "No, the message is a computer printout." "No marks, no prints, no way to trace it." " Real professional." " What about the videotape?" "I've had experts go over it." "Nothing." "No, all these kidnappers want is me." "The message begins with me flying into Sherman Parish Airport, Louisiana, tomorrow morning." "And I'II just bet they want you arriving without company." "Yeah, or else Connie and Michael are dead." " Well, I guess I got a plane to catch." " What?" "Well, I figure I should get to Louisiana before you do" " so they don't connect us." " I can't ask you to help on this one." "So don't ask." "Frank." "You surprised me." "Surprise kills." "Remember that." "It's all arranged." "You'II pick up Thornton in the morning." "I'm counting on you." " Don't worry." " Don't underestimate him." "Failure is betrayal." "Welcome to my small slice of the world, Connie." "Michael." "Who are you?" "I'm an old friend of your father's." "I've been looking forward to our meeting one day, Connie." "What do you want from us?" "I wanna see the light of happiness in your eyes." "And then I wanna watch that light go out." " You're crazy." " Am I?" "Who do you think arranged for the grant that brought you both down here?" "That's right." "You're bait, to attract your husband and your father, Peter Thornton." "My plane got into Louisiana three hours before Pete Thornton was due." "Gave me time to rent a bike and to get a map." "Pete was scheduled to arrive right about now." "He'd been instructed to hire a cab and proceed to Parish Road, M- 12, a dirt road right in the middle of nowhere." "As soon as he was contacted by the kidnappers, we planned to activate our communication system." "He was wearing one of those ultramodern watches:" "Tells time, reads the date and sends out a radio signal." "I had the receiver." "So I could be out of sight but not out of touch." "You sure this is where you want let off, mister?" "Yeah, thanks." "Get in, Mr. Thornton." "You're right on time." " I wanna know if my family's all right." " No talking." "I had to stay in radio range or lose him." "Sometimes the best way to follow a car without being spotted is not to follow at all." "Especially when you have a transmitter working for you." "Empty wagon parked in the middle of Bayou country with nobody around gave rise to very strong notion:" "They planned a vehicle switch." "Figured I should hang around to see which road they'd take." "Out." "This is where we switch transportation." "So, what's this all about?" "Simple." "I don't trust you." "Now get your clothes off." "Everything you got on." "What's the matter, you think I'm wired?" "You're wasting time, Mr. Thornton." "Whatever you say." " Everything?" " AII of it." "Your shoes and your socks, jewellery, the whole bit." "Hey, what about my money and personal papers?" "And I thought it was your family you were worried about." "AII right, you made your point." "Just hurry it up." "It's a good thing we don't have a plane to catch." "Thornton, we don't have all day." "Listen, anybody could come driving down the road here." "I'm a Iittle shy." "Do you mind if I finish dressing over there?" "Long as we watch." "Sure." " You guys are really nervous." " We're careful." "You know, if you really think I'm wired, you should check everything." "I could have a microtransistor in my shirt buttons." " Come on, move it." " Maybe I've got radioactive toenails." "Maybe we ought to pull them out." "You wanna start something out here in front of God and everybody," " go right ahead." "Push it." " Knock it off!" "Come on, get those clothes on." "We're running late." "Oh, we're on a schedule?" "Where we going?" "You'II find out when we get there." "Just keep moving." "You're starting to get on my nerves." "Will you hurry up?" "You don't really think I'd risk having someone follow me, do you?" "Maybe." "Maybe not." "This way we have nothing to worry about, do we?" "Now what?" "Step right in." "Don't you have something to finish?" "AII right, get moving." "You can keep the cash." "Burn everything else." " Morning." " Keep your mouth shut." "The signal was getting stronger, which meant the vehicle was coming back toward me in a hurry." "Nobody in it but the driver." "They had Pete, and I had no way of tracking him." "All I could do was time my ride and estimate where they were let off." "Excuse me." "You wouldn't happen to have seen a couple of guys come by here-- ?" "No, I ain't seen nothing." "And I'm busy." "What kind of flies you use, if you don't mind my asking?" "My own." "Ties them myself." "Well, as long as they work." " You fish?" " When I have time." "What do you pull out of here besides catfish?" " Any bass or crappie?" " Bass, for sure." "My name's Obadiah Moss." "MacGyver." "I'd sure like to try this, but I'm looking for a friend right now." "Guy may have come by here about ten, 12 minutes ago" " with a couple of other fellows." " Your friend bald?" " Kind of on the hefty side?" " That's Pete." "Well, I might have seen him." "I'd sure appreciate anything you could tell me." "They got into a skiff and headed upriver." "Any idea where they might be headed?" "Into the swamp." "About 800 mile of it." "Bayous, shallows, gators and snakes." " Sounds like a great place to get lost." " For sure." "Excepting this bayou runs straight up four mile, then she splits." "You take the right channel, she take you right to Gator Camp." "Can't miss it." "Big old branch in the water with a tire nailed on it." "And you think that could be where they're going?" "Ain't no "could be."" "Gator Camp only dry land for 60 mile." "Them old boys with your friend?" "I spied them there, week back." "Didn't care to stop and chat with them then, neither." "Yep, they sound like the guys I'm looking for." "I'm grateful." "My pleasure, sir." "Fishermen's got to help each other." "Besides, your friend he didn't look real happy." "Yeah, that figures." "Listen, Obadiah, I'd sure try and make you a good deal" " if you'd rent me your boat." " Ain't worth too much." "Engine, she's liable to just up and stop on you." "I'II risk it." " How much further?" " Relax, enjoy the view." "I'm worried about my family." "Do you mind?" "They're fine so far." " Thanks a Iot." " Take care, now, you hear?" "Riverhead One to Gator Camp." "Do you read me?" "I read you, Riverhead One." " Go on." " There's a man following Thornton, name of MacGyver." "MacGyver." "Of course." "Pete would bring MacGyver." "I sent him upriver in my skiff." "He should reach the tire on the branch in the river at approximately 1100 hours." "Good, very good." "Come on up." "You can help us bury MacGyver." "MacGyver." "Obadiah started out by saying he hadn't seen anything." "But for someone who didn't seem to wanna get involved, he sure wasn't too shy about telling me exactly where Pete would be headed." "Right for that old tire nailed to the big branch." " slow down, we're getting there." " Don't worry yourself." "I know the way." " Where are they?" " They're locked up in the back." "Oh, Pete, thank God." "Michael, you" " You both all right?" " Yeah." "Have you any idea who's behind this?" "It's been a Iong time, Peter." "Frank Bonner." "I thought you were dead." "Surprise." " You do know him." " We worked together once." "As I said, we go back a Iong way, Michael." "Back into shadows and darkness." " Right, Peter?" " Whatever happened, whatever you think happened, that's between you and me, not my family." "Let them go." "I can't." "Not until we all hear the truth." "And then I will extract payment in full!" "What's he talking about?" "I don't know." "He's brought me here for some crazy reason." "And he's dragged you two into it." " He hates you, doesn't he?" " He thinks he does." "Connie, I'm sorry." "I always used to say, "You have such interesting friends."" "Obadiah said he tied his own flies, but the ones I saw stuck in his hat were store-bought." "Made me start thinking about the directions he gave me." "He didn't want me to get lost but maybe he wanted me to get found." "Well, I didn't wanna disappoint whoever was gonna be looking for me." "He said he was a mercenary." "Who is he?" "He was one of our top agents until he went sour." "We all had to deal in violence, but he enjoyed it." "How many other men have you seen besides him?" "Three." "The three who grabbed us." "Have you notified the FBI or the police?" "No, I couldn't risk that." "But I have got help coming." "MacGyver, he's a good friend." "You remember him." "One guy?" "I thought with your work, you have a million connections." "They gave me instructions, Michael." "If I had an army follow me in here, they'd arrive and find us all dead." " MacGyver is the best I know." " Yeah, but he's still only one man." "Come out." "Move!" "Somebody once told me that when you're alone in enemy territory, you have to stay low, stay careful and make a moving target." "So I made one." "When it comes to art, I'm no expert." "But I know what I like." "Corey!" "Frank gave us a Iittle job." "Stay close, you might learn something." "Peter, I'd Iike your opinion on a matter of tactics:" "The use of a backup man." "Boone failed to pick him up, but you failed too." "What's the matter?" "Did you forget the importance of a secondary line of defence?" "Your man's good." "But he's not perfect." "I don't know what you're talking about." "MacGyver." "Dunn, come in." "I can hear his motor." "Figure maybe another 30 seconds." " You sure it's the same dude?" " No question about it." "That's Obadiah's boat." "He's dead, and he doesn't even know it." "Hey, Frank." "That sound you heard?" "We got him." "Message received." "Return to base and we'II go on with our next piece of business." "Back in the room." "Well, the alligators ought to be happy." "Free lunch." "Look, just make sure they don't leave anything." " Don't worry." " I'm going back to the cabin." "It was pretty obvious that Obadiah had sold me down the river, so I wasn't too upset that I hadn't given him a deposit on his boat." "I figured I'd just shell out a bonus to his buddies." "Hey, wish me luck." "Because if I don't make it back, you could retire right here." " Look, we can't just sit here." " We wait." "We heard an explosion, that's all." "MacGyver is damn hard to kill." "Oh, come on." "He's dead." "Face it." "If we're gonna do anything, we have to do it now." " Michael, listen!" " Look, we're in here because of you!" "And now you're gambling Mom's life on one miracle man." "He's dead!" " Temper, temper." " And to hell with you." "Stop" "I can ice him, Frank." "No!" "No, not that way, and not that quickly." "No." "And you, Michael, if you ever raise your voice to me again I'II cut your tongue out." "Why can't you just tell us what you want?" " He wants revenge." " I want justice." " What are you talking about?" " Your husband killed my wife and my son." "This your courtroom, Frank?" "You sit in that chair over there." "I want your family to hear the truth." "Three and a half years ago in Yemen, I was Pete's point man in the field." "And I moved my wife and my son there to live." " Well, that was your choice." " You said it was under control." "It was when we started." "Three other agents moved their families there to live too, remember?" "Safety factor was fine." "You know what went wrong, Frank." "Corey, give me the pliers." "Come on!" "We were sent there to keep the peace, and we ended up in the middle of a tribal war, didn't we?" "And that's when you ran out on me and my family." "Have you ever explained any of this to your wife and your son?" "Everything about that operation was classified until a couple of months ago." "I couldn't explain anything not even to my family." "What about my wife?" "And my son?" "What I had was a donkey engine, which got its name because it works like a mule." "And I had a fair amount of rope." "By attaching the rope to the engine," "I could create an awful lot of pulling power, the kind of power that would hopefully get Pete and his family out." "But I had one little problem:" "I had to start the engine while I was up close to the house, which was about 50 feet away." "Sometimes the only way you can solve a problem is to be in two places at once." "By splicing a piece of wire into the rope and then connecting it to the ignition switch," "I had just what I needed:" "A long-distance starter cord." "Frank's wife and son got caught in a guerrilla raid." "Like the rest of us." "The only difference was they got caught alone because you weren't there to protect them." "I was in the field." "I sent them to you for safety, and you ran out on them." "That's what you've been telling yourself for three years?" " That's what happened." " What happened to the almost $800,000 you were given to buy us information?" " So we could make the right moves?" " Don't change the subject." "Oh, that is the subject, Frank, because you never contacted anybody." "You never recruited anybody, you never paid anybody." "You faked intelligence reports, and you kept the money." " What the hell are you talking about?" " You embezzled agency funds, Frank!" "So that when the Sharit attacked, we had no warning." "Not a clue!" "Shut up!" "You're lying now, just like you did then." "Oh, you sent your wife and your son to me, sure!" " And you weren't there." " But it wasn't for their safety, was it?" "It was so they'd be out of the way while you shipped out the money you'd stolen!" " You weren't there!" " No, because I got hit in the attack you didn't warn us about." "The same attack that killed your family." "No!" "You're responsible for their death." "And payment will be made." "You're the one who's paying, Frank." "And it's killing you." "You can't lay your guilt on me." "It doesn't work, it won't fit." "Look, what happened was terrible." "And you're gonna have to live with that your whole life, but doing this isn't gonna help." "For God's sake, Frank, we were friends once." "Friends?" "That's good, Peter." "But not good enough." "There will be a death." "There will be an execution." "No." "Oh, I wouldn't dream of killing him now." "I want him to Iearn something first." "I want him to see his son dead." "Like I saw mine." "Dad." "In order for my plan to work," "I had to get the bad guys out of the house." "To do that, I had to get their attention." "This can of gas should do the trick just fine." "An oil-soaked rag makes a perfect fuse." "It'll burn slow, so I can get away before I blow myself up." "It's very hard, I know." "But don't blame me, blame your father." "Now, I want you to stand up." "Let's go outside very quietly." " Lock them up in the room, quick!" " Come on, come on, move!" " What's happening?" " It's got to be MacGyver." " Come on!" " Go!" "Head that way!" "I'II distract them." "Come on!" "Don't even think about moving." "There's nothing we can do right now." "Come on." "But Mom" "If we can get away, we can come back." "Now, come on." "Where's the boy?" "Where is he?" "Find the boy." "Find him!" "AII right, move." "Move it!" "Stay close." "I think we lost them." "Get down." " Don't sweat it, we'II find them." " I want that MacGyver." "I don't know how he got past me last time." " Hi, name's MacGyver." " I know." "So, what are we gonna do?" "The guy Bonner's crazy." "He could kill my mom and Pete." "No, not while they're still out hunting for us." "We got time." "You know what methane is?" " Swamp gas." " Yeah." "I'm no chemist, but I know it stinks and it burns." "It also explodes when it's confined." "So if we put some swamp gas in a container, we got a Iittle bomb." "And for containers..." "Bamboo?" "To make bombs?" "You bet." "It's hollow, and it's got its own built-in plugs." "So start cutting some lengths about 3 to 4 feet." "Then we'II start our own fireworks." "I thought he was Corey." "He was wearing Corey's fatigues." "He took Corey out." "And you." "You didn't find him." "It'II be dark soon, Frank, we'II nail them in the morning." "Sure, all we gotta do is wait." "Oh, is that your expert opinion?" "Then you take the first watch." "Go on, get out of here!" "Methane's lighter than gas, so it rises, pushes the air out of the bamboo piece until it's full of gas." " Well, how do you know when it's full?" " Use your nose." "It's full." "This is the tricky part." "AII right." "AII right, there she is." "Loaded, armed and fused." "What if you're wrong?" "I mean, methane's supposed to burn, but" "You're right." "So, what do you say we try a Iittle field test, huh?" " My God, it might work." " Yeah." "It better." "Pete's a really good friend of yours, isn't he?" "The best." "You call him Pete, huh?" "Yeah, I guess that's the way I think of him." "He was never very close, not much of a father." "Yeah, well, he's made some mistakes, that's for sure." "He's not perfect." " But he tried, didn't he?" " Yeah, I'II give him that." "It's just that he never let me get close." "And I just found out why he missed my graduation." "He had a good reason, it's just that he never explained it to me, he never let me understand." " It was classified." "He couldn't." " That was three years ago." "And two of his men were held hostage for 31 months of that three years." " He couldn't say anything." " He couldn't explain that?" "Are you kidding me?" "He took an oath." "He lives by that." "He wanted to tell you, when they were finally freed." "About five months back, remember?" "You wouldn't see him." "I was busy." "I..." "I didn't wanna get in a fight." "I guess I was afraid of being angry or hurt." "I don't know." "I just..." "I don't understand him." "Yeah, well, he doesn't understand you very well either." "But he sure loves you." "When do you graduate from college?" " In two years, why?" " Invite him." "I can guarantee you he'II be there." "It's over, Frank." "MacGyver's clear." "He'II be back tomorrow, and he won't be alone." "Wrong." "The only way out of here's by boat, and we've got that covered." "Double-check it." "And see that Dunn's on his toes out there." "If this sours, if I lose the boy, the rules change." "Connie first then you." "MacGyver!" "Find him!" "Let's go, outside." "Come on, move!" "Mike." "Come on." "We gotta hustle." "They're out there." "They got Dunn." "Well, we'II give them something to watch." "Shoot her!" "Shoot her!" "No!" "Stay here." "They're throwing bombs." " Where the hell did they get them?" " How do I know?" "Look out!" "There's another one!" "Michael, no!" " He was gonna kill you." " That's what he is, not what we are, son." "Listen to your father, Mike." "You know he's right." "I call this my Cajun cuisine special:" "Bayou-burned blackened redfish." "Don't tell me you picked that up while down in New Orleans?" "I flew in early, remember?" "I had time enough to collect a few recipes, pass the time." "Are you sure you're supposed to add that much Tabasco?" " Trust me, Connie, trust me." " Come on, Mom, live dangerously." "Speaking of which, he said subtly how would you Iike to go to the Lakers game tomorrow night?" "Are you all of a sudden playing dad, Dad?" "Yeah, I am." "In that case, it'd be terrific." "Great." "Listen, maybe we could all go out and have a bite afterwards?" "No, Pete, thanks." "You two have a Iot to catch up on." "You know, Connie, for what it's worth, I..." "I'm really proud of you." "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the infamous MacGyver's Bayou-burned blackened redfish." "Whoops." "What do you say we send out for cheeseburgers?"