![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Almsot 3,000 words... they're getting longer. Thanks to everyone aiding and abetting the crack!fic :-)
Previous parts are here.
Buried Dreams
Part Five
Anger took Daniel halfway across and then left him high -- very high -- and dry. MacGyver saw it happen; saw how between one step and the next, Daniel realised just where he was and lost it, stumbling as he looked down.
MacGyver had been keeping far enough back not to crowd him; far enough that if he fell forward there was no chance of his outstretched arms bringing Daniel down, too -- although it wouldn't break his heart if Cartwright or Simon tripped over his recumbent form and fell. Nope, wouldn't worry him at all. Now he wished he'd kept within reach of Daniel. He took a quick, long step forward, his heart pounding as Daniel went to his knees, his hands groping blindly to the side. The path was narrow here; not enough room for MacGyver to be able to kneel beside Daniel, or walk with him.
"Deal with it," Cartwright called from some twenty feet back. "And don't try anything clever, MacGyver."
"Do I look like I'm in any state to try-- oh, whoa…" The spit dried in his mouth as his gaze skidded off the back of Daniel's neck and smacked into the drop.
Long way down. Long.
Daniel moaned, the sound enough to bring MacGyver out of his horrified trance. "Hang on, kid. I'm right here."
"Not…a… kid." The words were breathless and barely audible, but they were words, not whimpers, and Daniel's head came up a little.
"Haven't we had this discussion before?" MacGyver edged forward warily and bent down, feeling the world wobble around him. "Going to help you up, okay?" He put his hand on Daniel's shoulder, carefully, not wanting to startle him, feeling the shape of the bone, squeezing it reassuringly. "Right here…" he repeated.
Daniel's hand came up across his body and rested against MacGyver's hand for a moment, cool and strong. "So am I." He turned his head and gave MacGyver a crooked smile. "We're not very good at being heroes, are we?"
MacGyver smiled back. "Hey, I think we've got potential."
"I hate to break up this touching moment, but if you don't resume your forward progression, I'll shoot one of you. My patience is far from infinite."
"Cartwright, you're an idiot," MacGyver snapped, getting to his feet and bringing Daniel with him. "And at your age I doubt you'll grow out of it. We're moving, okay?"
They were, and it was easier now; the path widened, until MacGyver could walk safely beside Daniel, their shoulders brushing, and with their eyes adjusted to the dim glow in the cavern, it began to seem less threatening.
When they'd reached the other side, there was yet another tunnel, this one wider than the one on the opposite side. Under a thin, drifted layer of sand, the floor was smooth enough to look oddly modern. MacGyver scuffed at the sand, exposing a section of the floor, and frowned at it.
"Move," Simon said in his ear, jabbing his gun into MacGyver's back.
"That hurts," MacGyver said mildly.
"Not as much as a bullet would,"
"Good point, and yet I'd still sooner you didn't do it, you know?"
The barrel of the gun ground into his spine. "I like doing it."
"You know, I got that about you as soon as we met. It's not endearing."
Cartwright cleared his throat. "If you're quite finished…"
"Oh, I'm good," MacGyver assured him. "Real good."
Daniel stood facing the wall, his fingertips tracing faint marks carved into it, brushing at the dust caking them. "This tunnel. It leads to this gold of yours?"
"Indeed it does," Cartwright agreed.
"Then what do you need us for?" Daniel turned, blinking curiously at the man. "You know where it is, and you'll need muscle not brains to carry it out --" His gaze flicked to Simon and he smiled slightly, dismissively. "Looks like you're covered there. So…?"
"Life's rarely that simple, Mr. Jackson." Cartwright gestured down the tunnel. "As you'll see very shortly."
The tunnel branched off in several directions, but Cartwright kept them in the main one, which led to a double door, definitely on the closed side.
"Locked?" MacGyver inquired, already looking for a keyhole in the tall, beaten gold surface of the doors, pierced halfway up with small, triangular holes, too small for more than a hand to fit through.
"These? No." Cartwright moved forward and touched a panel set into the wall. The doors swung inward smoothly, silently. "Those at the bottom, on the other hand…"
MacGyver peered into the interior, lit by a source he couldn't pinpoint. It seemed to come from both walls and ceiling. He couldn't see any doors, but he could see stairs going down. "Where?"
A hand pushed him roughly, sending him staggering forward, Daniel beside him. "Work it out, the two of you. You won't be allowed out until you've brought back some gold to show me."
"What gold?" MacGyver yelled at the closing doors. "God, this is insane!"
"MacGyver…"
"Daniel, we'll get out of here, I promise, just --" MacGyver stopped banging on the doors because they weren't moving, and turned to Daniel, his words dying on his lips. Daniel was at the top of the stairs, staring down, his face intent. "What is it?"
"Dead men. On the steps. Three, maybe more farther down... They look…"
He took a step forward and MacGyver strode over to him. "Daniel, get back!"
"I am," Daniel replied mildly. "I'm staying right here. But we're going to have to go down there at some point, you know."
"I don't know. And if it means dying, I don't see why we should."
Daniel shrugged. "It's either try or die of starvation."
"We're not going to do that, either." MacGyver patted his stomach. "Worst comes to the worst, you can eat me. That'll keep you going for a while."
"Funny."
"I try."
"Try harder," Daniel suggested. He glanced at the small holes in the door and lowered his voice, mouthing the words. "Do you think they're listening?"
"Let's find out."
The holes were just too high up for MacGyver to hook his fingers in and haul himself up. He tried jumping and picked up a nice set of bruises on his chin.
"Lift me," Daniel said, coming over to stand beside him. "I'm lighter than you."
MacGyver nodded, going to one knee and cupping his hands. Daniel glanced down and gave him a puzzled smile. "You can't just… you know, pick me up? It's not that far out of reach."
"Oh." MacGyver stood, took a deep breath, and let Daniel position himself between the doors and his body. "Starting to lift…"
Daniel wasn't all that light, but that wasn't why he was sweating as he wrapped his arms around Daniel's waist and braced himself as Daniel scrambled up. It wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't been for that kiss; he'd have kept his cool and done what needed to be done.
But he could still feel the answering pressure of Daniel's mouth and the soft flick of tongue Daniel had gotten in just before MacGyver had come to his senses and stepped back.
And now he had an armful of Daniel, wriggling, kicking and clambering up, and in the process getting to find out just how much that wasn't bothering Mac. Daniel reached his objective and worked his fingers through the holes, peering through the middle triangle. MacGyver rested his forehead against the small of Daniel's back and closed his eyes in utter exhaustion and defeat. He couldn't do this. He couldn't think. How could he rescue them if he couldn't come up with anything but pictures of Daniel sprawled half-naked across a bed?
"No sign of them," Daniel reported. "Coming back down."
MacGyver released his grip and let Daniel slide through the circle of his arms until his feet hit the floor. Which was the point at which he stepped back, Daniel turned around, and they got busy finding a way out.
Daniel spoiled the neat sequence of events by turning first, putting his hands around MacGyver's neck and dragging him in for another of the kisses that shouldn't be happening.
This one lasted longer. MacGyver was starting to suspect that Daniel was addictive and he was hooked. As addictions went on the danger scale, Daniel was right up there with all the ones he'd ever been warned against.
When it ended, Daniel was plastered against the door, hands were in all sorts of places, and they were both panting, eyes glazed.
"That can't happen again." MacGyver stepped back and realised his hands were still between Daniel's ass and the door so he wasn't getting very far.
"The only way that won't happen again is if one or both of us gets killed."
"You sound real sure about that."
"Mmm." Daniel pushed away from the door and stepped sideways when Mac snatched his hands back. "When we're out of here…"
"Yeah?"
"There's this ice cream shop in Cairo…"
"You want me to buy you an ice cream?" Mac couldn't help the panicked squeak. Daniel was twenty-two. He'd said so, and he wouldn't lie. Would he lie?
"You're twenty-two, right?" he asked striving for casual.
"Yes. A twenty-two year old who likes ice cream."
"Yeah, well, so do I…" Feeling his way here…
"It's interesting."
"Not tasty?"
"That, too."
"So what's interesting about it?"
Daniel walked towards the stairs. "It melts when it comes into contact with something hot."
"And water's wet. That all you've got?"
Daniel gave him a mischievous smile. "You're hot."
MacGyver screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. "No. That thing you're doing? The flirting? Got to stop until we're home and dry, okay?"
He cracked open his eyes and gave Daniel a hopeful look.
"We're going to die, and it matters if I'm making it embarrassingly clear that I'm attracted to you?"
"We're not going to die, but if we do, and there's time, you can knock yourself out with coming on to me. Fair enough?"
Daniel pursed his lips. "You're weird."
"Yes. I'm good at it. But I'm also good at staying alive, so deal with it." MacGyver took a steadying breath. "And fasten your shirt up, will you?"
"I will, if you will."
"What?" MacGyver glanced down. "Oh. Sure."
The dead bodies were a welcome distraction from Daniel, but they weren't as pretty. MacGyver stared down at them for a while, noting the way they lay and trying to work out how they'd died. All three were native workers, sprawled on their backs across the steps, their eyes wide, their faces contorted in agony.
"Three…" Daniel said softly. "They sent them down together, do you think?"
"Must have. I don't see any bullet holes, and looking at the way they died, I'd think most people would choose a bullet than whatever that was."
He examined the walls, looking for any apertures that might have spat out poisoned darts, but the walls were blank and smooth.
"Look at where they are," Daniel said thoughtfully.
"The one farthest away is on the twelfth step, the middle one on the ninth, the top one, well, from the way the dust has been disturbed, I'd say he rolled, but he died on the fifth step."
"They're very broad steps…"
"Yes, they are," Mac agreed. About three feet deep, instead of the normal one foot and change, which is why the bodies hadn't rolled all the way down to the bottom of the flight of stairs. Twenty-one steps.
"Five, nine, twelve…but they'd have trodden on each step, so I don't see…" Daniel went into a trance, his mouth hanging open slightly, his eyebrows knotted. MacGyver wondered if he looked that much of an idiot when he was thinking. He'd have to do it in front of a mirror some time.
"It has to be a safeguard," Daniel said. "To prevent more than one person going down to the gold. And I bet it means we'll have trouble coming back up with it, too."
"Great. Just great." MacGyver turned back to the doors. "You know, there has to be a way we can open these from in here…Cartwright touched a panel, so there has to be a matching panel in here."
Daniel didn't turn his head. "No. Another security measure; you have to ask to be let out."
"Now, see, that doesn't --"
"Yes, it does."
"I hadn't finished."
"I knew what you were going to say." Daniel's voice was abstracted.
MacGyver slid down to sit with his back to the door. "If I still had my pack, I'd have us out of here like that," he said, snapping his fingers.
"You carry explosives? Isn't that risky?"
"I don't carry them. I can make 'em, though."
Daniel spared the small landing a glance. "Nothing here looks remotely capable of going off with a bang."
"Now, that's where you're wrong," MacGyver murmured, his eyes lighting up. "Take off your shirt."
"What? I thought…"
"I need it to muffle the sound of the explosion," MacGyver explained.
Daniel wrapped his arms around himself protectively. "You can't muffle with your shirt?"
"Yours looks older; mine's brand new. I'm not on an expense account, you know."
"I'm on a scholarship! And you still haven't explained what's going to go boom."
"I'm going to mix the sand with some of the gold covering from the doors, then add some of the chewing gum I've got stuck to my boot. A bit of spit to bind it all together and I'll smear it along the hinges."
"And?"
"Using a strip torn off your shirt --"
"Oh, so you're tearing it as well as setting it on fire?"
"As a fuse -- will you stop interrupting? -- I'll then light it with a match and we'll be in business."
"Sand, gold, and gum is explosive?"
"Yes," MacGyver said with a shake of his head. "God, what do they teach you kids at school these days?"
"That sand, gold and gum form an inert substance?" Daniel sighed. "How do you plan to scrape the gold off? With your teeth?"
"It so happens that I always carry a Swiss Army knife with me."
"The one they took?"
"That would be the one," MacGyver agreed.
Daniel folded his lips and looked stern. "You made me believe you. Just for a moment. You're just trying to take my mind off our certain death, aren't you? I wish you wouldn't."
MacGyver stood. "Yeah, I'll admit I was making that up, but we're still not going down booby-trapped steps to look for some gold we don't even want." He reached into his back pocket and took out another knife. "And if one knife is good, two are better. They took my pack, but they'd have to take a lot more than that to leave me helpless."
He broke two blades on the wall, but the corkscrew prised open a hidden panel on the third attempt. "Now, that's better…"
"I don't recognize those symbols," Daniel said, crowding in close. "They're familiar, but they're not, if that makes sense."
"No. So you don't know what they say?"
"I speak eighteen languages, and read twenty, but that's not one of them."
"Old Cartwright figured it out, though." MacGyver gave Daniel a smile. "We're brighter than him and Simon, right?"
"The sand we're treading on is more intelligent than Simon."
"So we'll work out the Open Sesame, get back across the bridge, alert the camp, and be in Cairo in time for vanilla --"
"Strawberry."
"Café-au-lait?"
"Works for me."
"In time for ice cream for breakfast."
Daniel pushed his glasses up. "Just why are you here?"
"Huh? I told you. What, you didn't believe that, either? I'm investigating the thefts, but I guess I've done that now."
"It can't have been Cartwright."
"What? Oh… no, not his style. He's not interested in the little stuff. My money's on Redfern."
"Andy?" Daniel smiled slightly, smugly. "I don't think so."
Huh. "It's definitely Redfern."
"Are you saying I can't judge a person's trustworthiness?"
"You tried to shoot me minutes after we met. Minutes."
"Your point would be?"
"Daniel, would you just shut up while I think? Please? If you and Redfern had a...a… thing --"
"A what?"
"You heard me."
"There was no thing."
"Well, it sounds like there was!"
"Because I don't think he's a thief doesn't mean I think he's breakfast in Cairo material!"
"Oh." Daniel's eyes got bluer when he was mad. And his nose wiggled. Made it hard to stay angry with him. "Sorry. Okay, maybe it's the professor. Cunning double bluff asking Pete to send me out here."
Daniel sighed. "No, it's probably Andy. Never mind."
"I'm just going to start pressing things," MacGyver announced to fill the silence.
"Don't touch!" Daniel said, reaching out to grab Mac's hand. "Try the combination Cartwright used first. You could start the roof coming down on us or something if you press at random."
"I didn't see what he pressed," Mac confessed sadly.
"I did."
"You did?"
Daniel smiled and tapped it out and the door began to open.
Mac whooped. "Daniel, I could kiss you!"
"Wait for Cairo."
"No, I'm going to do it now," MacGyver said with renewed determination. "For luck."
Daniel eyed him with something like wonder after the brief kiss. "You think I'm lucky?"
"Starting to think you're lucky for me," MacGyver said.
Part Six
Previous parts are here.
Buried Dreams
Part Five
Anger took Daniel halfway across and then left him high -- very high -- and dry. MacGyver saw it happen; saw how between one step and the next, Daniel realised just where he was and lost it, stumbling as he looked down.
MacGyver had been keeping far enough back not to crowd him; far enough that if he fell forward there was no chance of his outstretched arms bringing Daniel down, too -- although it wouldn't break his heart if Cartwright or Simon tripped over his recumbent form and fell. Nope, wouldn't worry him at all. Now he wished he'd kept within reach of Daniel. He took a quick, long step forward, his heart pounding as Daniel went to his knees, his hands groping blindly to the side. The path was narrow here; not enough room for MacGyver to be able to kneel beside Daniel, or walk with him.
"Deal with it," Cartwright called from some twenty feet back. "And don't try anything clever, MacGyver."
"Do I look like I'm in any state to try-- oh, whoa…" The spit dried in his mouth as his gaze skidded off the back of Daniel's neck and smacked into the drop.
Long way down. Long.
Daniel moaned, the sound enough to bring MacGyver out of his horrified trance. "Hang on, kid. I'm right here."
"Not…a… kid." The words were breathless and barely audible, but they were words, not whimpers, and Daniel's head came up a little.
"Haven't we had this discussion before?" MacGyver edged forward warily and bent down, feeling the world wobble around him. "Going to help you up, okay?" He put his hand on Daniel's shoulder, carefully, not wanting to startle him, feeling the shape of the bone, squeezing it reassuringly. "Right here…" he repeated.
Daniel's hand came up across his body and rested against MacGyver's hand for a moment, cool and strong. "So am I." He turned his head and gave MacGyver a crooked smile. "We're not very good at being heroes, are we?"
MacGyver smiled back. "Hey, I think we've got potential."
"I hate to break up this touching moment, but if you don't resume your forward progression, I'll shoot one of you. My patience is far from infinite."
"Cartwright, you're an idiot," MacGyver snapped, getting to his feet and bringing Daniel with him. "And at your age I doubt you'll grow out of it. We're moving, okay?"
They were, and it was easier now; the path widened, until MacGyver could walk safely beside Daniel, their shoulders brushing, and with their eyes adjusted to the dim glow in the cavern, it began to seem less threatening.
When they'd reached the other side, there was yet another tunnel, this one wider than the one on the opposite side. Under a thin, drifted layer of sand, the floor was smooth enough to look oddly modern. MacGyver scuffed at the sand, exposing a section of the floor, and frowned at it.
"Move," Simon said in his ear, jabbing his gun into MacGyver's back.
"That hurts," MacGyver said mildly.
"Not as much as a bullet would,"
"Good point, and yet I'd still sooner you didn't do it, you know?"
The barrel of the gun ground into his spine. "I like doing it."
"You know, I got that about you as soon as we met. It's not endearing."
Cartwright cleared his throat. "If you're quite finished…"
"Oh, I'm good," MacGyver assured him. "Real good."
Daniel stood facing the wall, his fingertips tracing faint marks carved into it, brushing at the dust caking them. "This tunnel. It leads to this gold of yours?"
"Indeed it does," Cartwright agreed.
"Then what do you need us for?" Daniel turned, blinking curiously at the man. "You know where it is, and you'll need muscle not brains to carry it out --" His gaze flicked to Simon and he smiled slightly, dismissively. "Looks like you're covered there. So…?"
"Life's rarely that simple, Mr. Jackson." Cartwright gestured down the tunnel. "As you'll see very shortly."
The tunnel branched off in several directions, but Cartwright kept them in the main one, which led to a double door, definitely on the closed side.
"Locked?" MacGyver inquired, already looking for a keyhole in the tall, beaten gold surface of the doors, pierced halfway up with small, triangular holes, too small for more than a hand to fit through.
"These? No." Cartwright moved forward and touched a panel set into the wall. The doors swung inward smoothly, silently. "Those at the bottom, on the other hand…"
MacGyver peered into the interior, lit by a source he couldn't pinpoint. It seemed to come from both walls and ceiling. He couldn't see any doors, but he could see stairs going down. "Where?"
A hand pushed him roughly, sending him staggering forward, Daniel beside him. "Work it out, the two of you. You won't be allowed out until you've brought back some gold to show me."
"What gold?" MacGyver yelled at the closing doors. "God, this is insane!"
"MacGyver…"
"Daniel, we'll get out of here, I promise, just --" MacGyver stopped banging on the doors because they weren't moving, and turned to Daniel, his words dying on his lips. Daniel was at the top of the stairs, staring down, his face intent. "What is it?"
"Dead men. On the steps. Three, maybe more farther down... They look…"
He took a step forward and MacGyver strode over to him. "Daniel, get back!"
"I am," Daniel replied mildly. "I'm staying right here. But we're going to have to go down there at some point, you know."
"I don't know. And if it means dying, I don't see why we should."
Daniel shrugged. "It's either try or die of starvation."
"We're not going to do that, either." MacGyver patted his stomach. "Worst comes to the worst, you can eat me. That'll keep you going for a while."
"Funny."
"I try."
"Try harder," Daniel suggested. He glanced at the small holes in the door and lowered his voice, mouthing the words. "Do you think they're listening?"
"Let's find out."
The holes were just too high up for MacGyver to hook his fingers in and haul himself up. He tried jumping and picked up a nice set of bruises on his chin.
"Lift me," Daniel said, coming over to stand beside him. "I'm lighter than you."
MacGyver nodded, going to one knee and cupping his hands. Daniel glanced down and gave him a puzzled smile. "You can't just… you know, pick me up? It's not that far out of reach."
"Oh." MacGyver stood, took a deep breath, and let Daniel position himself between the doors and his body. "Starting to lift…"
Daniel wasn't all that light, but that wasn't why he was sweating as he wrapped his arms around Daniel's waist and braced himself as Daniel scrambled up. It wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't been for that kiss; he'd have kept his cool and done what needed to be done.
But he could still feel the answering pressure of Daniel's mouth and the soft flick of tongue Daniel had gotten in just before MacGyver had come to his senses and stepped back.
And now he had an armful of Daniel, wriggling, kicking and clambering up, and in the process getting to find out just how much that wasn't bothering Mac. Daniel reached his objective and worked his fingers through the holes, peering through the middle triangle. MacGyver rested his forehead against the small of Daniel's back and closed his eyes in utter exhaustion and defeat. He couldn't do this. He couldn't think. How could he rescue them if he couldn't come up with anything but pictures of Daniel sprawled half-naked across a bed?
"No sign of them," Daniel reported. "Coming back down."
MacGyver released his grip and let Daniel slide through the circle of his arms until his feet hit the floor. Which was the point at which he stepped back, Daniel turned around, and they got busy finding a way out.
Daniel spoiled the neat sequence of events by turning first, putting his hands around MacGyver's neck and dragging him in for another of the kisses that shouldn't be happening.
This one lasted longer. MacGyver was starting to suspect that Daniel was addictive and he was hooked. As addictions went on the danger scale, Daniel was right up there with all the ones he'd ever been warned against.
When it ended, Daniel was plastered against the door, hands were in all sorts of places, and they were both panting, eyes glazed.
"That can't happen again." MacGyver stepped back and realised his hands were still between Daniel's ass and the door so he wasn't getting very far.
"The only way that won't happen again is if one or both of us gets killed."
"You sound real sure about that."
"Mmm." Daniel pushed away from the door and stepped sideways when Mac snatched his hands back. "When we're out of here…"
"Yeah?"
"There's this ice cream shop in Cairo…"
"You want me to buy you an ice cream?" Mac couldn't help the panicked squeak. Daniel was twenty-two. He'd said so, and he wouldn't lie. Would he lie?
"You're twenty-two, right?" he asked striving for casual.
"Yes. A twenty-two year old who likes ice cream."
"Yeah, well, so do I…" Feeling his way here…
"It's interesting."
"Not tasty?"
"That, too."
"So what's interesting about it?"
Daniel walked towards the stairs. "It melts when it comes into contact with something hot."
"And water's wet. That all you've got?"
Daniel gave him a mischievous smile. "You're hot."
MacGyver screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. "No. That thing you're doing? The flirting? Got to stop until we're home and dry, okay?"
He cracked open his eyes and gave Daniel a hopeful look.
"We're going to die, and it matters if I'm making it embarrassingly clear that I'm attracted to you?"
"We're not going to die, but if we do, and there's time, you can knock yourself out with coming on to me. Fair enough?"
Daniel pursed his lips. "You're weird."
"Yes. I'm good at it. But I'm also good at staying alive, so deal with it." MacGyver took a steadying breath. "And fasten your shirt up, will you?"
"I will, if you will."
"What?" MacGyver glanced down. "Oh. Sure."
The dead bodies were a welcome distraction from Daniel, but they weren't as pretty. MacGyver stared down at them for a while, noting the way they lay and trying to work out how they'd died. All three were native workers, sprawled on their backs across the steps, their eyes wide, their faces contorted in agony.
"Three…" Daniel said softly. "They sent them down together, do you think?"
"Must have. I don't see any bullet holes, and looking at the way they died, I'd think most people would choose a bullet than whatever that was."
He examined the walls, looking for any apertures that might have spat out poisoned darts, but the walls were blank and smooth.
"Look at where they are," Daniel said thoughtfully.
"The one farthest away is on the twelfth step, the middle one on the ninth, the top one, well, from the way the dust has been disturbed, I'd say he rolled, but he died on the fifth step."
"They're very broad steps…"
"Yes, they are," Mac agreed. About three feet deep, instead of the normal one foot and change, which is why the bodies hadn't rolled all the way down to the bottom of the flight of stairs. Twenty-one steps.
"Five, nine, twelve…but they'd have trodden on each step, so I don't see…" Daniel went into a trance, his mouth hanging open slightly, his eyebrows knotted. MacGyver wondered if he looked that much of an idiot when he was thinking. He'd have to do it in front of a mirror some time.
"It has to be a safeguard," Daniel said. "To prevent more than one person going down to the gold. And I bet it means we'll have trouble coming back up with it, too."
"Great. Just great." MacGyver turned back to the doors. "You know, there has to be a way we can open these from in here…Cartwright touched a panel, so there has to be a matching panel in here."
Daniel didn't turn his head. "No. Another security measure; you have to ask to be let out."
"Now, see, that doesn't --"
"Yes, it does."
"I hadn't finished."
"I knew what you were going to say." Daniel's voice was abstracted.
MacGyver slid down to sit with his back to the door. "If I still had my pack, I'd have us out of here like that," he said, snapping his fingers.
"You carry explosives? Isn't that risky?"
"I don't carry them. I can make 'em, though."
Daniel spared the small landing a glance. "Nothing here looks remotely capable of going off with a bang."
"Now, that's where you're wrong," MacGyver murmured, his eyes lighting up. "Take off your shirt."
"What? I thought…"
"I need it to muffle the sound of the explosion," MacGyver explained.
Daniel wrapped his arms around himself protectively. "You can't muffle with your shirt?"
"Yours looks older; mine's brand new. I'm not on an expense account, you know."
"I'm on a scholarship! And you still haven't explained what's going to go boom."
"I'm going to mix the sand with some of the gold covering from the doors, then add some of the chewing gum I've got stuck to my boot. A bit of spit to bind it all together and I'll smear it along the hinges."
"And?"
"Using a strip torn off your shirt --"
"Oh, so you're tearing it as well as setting it on fire?"
"As a fuse -- will you stop interrupting? -- I'll then light it with a match and we'll be in business."
"Sand, gold, and gum is explosive?"
"Yes," MacGyver said with a shake of his head. "God, what do they teach you kids at school these days?"
"That sand, gold and gum form an inert substance?" Daniel sighed. "How do you plan to scrape the gold off? With your teeth?"
"It so happens that I always carry a Swiss Army knife with me."
"The one they took?"
"That would be the one," MacGyver agreed.
Daniel folded his lips and looked stern. "You made me believe you. Just for a moment. You're just trying to take my mind off our certain death, aren't you? I wish you wouldn't."
MacGyver stood. "Yeah, I'll admit I was making that up, but we're still not going down booby-trapped steps to look for some gold we don't even want." He reached into his back pocket and took out another knife. "And if one knife is good, two are better. They took my pack, but they'd have to take a lot more than that to leave me helpless."
He broke two blades on the wall, but the corkscrew prised open a hidden panel on the third attempt. "Now, that's better…"
"I don't recognize those symbols," Daniel said, crowding in close. "They're familiar, but they're not, if that makes sense."
"No. So you don't know what they say?"
"I speak eighteen languages, and read twenty, but that's not one of them."
"Old Cartwright figured it out, though." MacGyver gave Daniel a smile. "We're brighter than him and Simon, right?"
"The sand we're treading on is more intelligent than Simon."
"So we'll work out the Open Sesame, get back across the bridge, alert the camp, and be in Cairo in time for vanilla --"
"Strawberry."
"Café-au-lait?"
"Works for me."
"In time for ice cream for breakfast."
Daniel pushed his glasses up. "Just why are you here?"
"Huh? I told you. What, you didn't believe that, either? I'm investigating the thefts, but I guess I've done that now."
"It can't have been Cartwright."
"What? Oh… no, not his style. He's not interested in the little stuff. My money's on Redfern."
"Andy?" Daniel smiled slightly, smugly. "I don't think so."
Huh. "It's definitely Redfern."
"Are you saying I can't judge a person's trustworthiness?"
"You tried to shoot me minutes after we met. Minutes."
"Your point would be?"
"Daniel, would you just shut up while I think? Please? If you and Redfern had a...a… thing --"
"A what?"
"You heard me."
"There was no thing."
"Well, it sounds like there was!"
"Because I don't think he's a thief doesn't mean I think he's breakfast in Cairo material!"
"Oh." Daniel's eyes got bluer when he was mad. And his nose wiggled. Made it hard to stay angry with him. "Sorry. Okay, maybe it's the professor. Cunning double bluff asking Pete to send me out here."
Daniel sighed. "No, it's probably Andy. Never mind."
"I'm just going to start pressing things," MacGyver announced to fill the silence.
"Don't touch!" Daniel said, reaching out to grab Mac's hand. "Try the combination Cartwright used first. You could start the roof coming down on us or something if you press at random."
"I didn't see what he pressed," Mac confessed sadly.
"I did."
"You did?"
Daniel smiled and tapped it out and the door began to open.
Mac whooped. "Daniel, I could kiss you!"
"Wait for Cairo."
"No, I'm going to do it now," MacGyver said with renewed determination. "For luck."
Daniel eyed him with something like wonder after the brief kiss. "You think I'm lucky?"
"Starting to think you're lucky for me," MacGyver said.
Part Six