Synchronization in Chaos Read online

  Jack and Daniel stared at the young man for a moment. "Sam Malloy?" Jack asked.

  A smile stretched across Sam's features. "Yep."

  Jack walked over, holding out his hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

  "Same here," Sam replied, shaking the hand warmly.

  "Well, I haven't!" Chris glared at the pair, trying not to stare at the man who looked like the bomb expert he had worked with only 24 hours ago. "So will someone tell me what in the hell is going on?"

  Ellison's Explorer

  Blair adjusted the seat and mirrors as he took over the driver's seat. With dawn brightening the horizon, they didn't need someone with sentinel eyesight. It was time to give Jim a well-deserved break.

  Buck ducked back inside, rubbing his arms. "Brrrrrr."

  "How's the leg?" Jim asked as he dug into his bag and handed out power bars.

  "Sore, but I can walk on it," Buck assured him.

  Blair rubbed his hands together. "So where to?"

  "We're going to need gas soon," Jim pointed out.

  "Be nice if we could find a phone or a place where we can use our cells," Buck added.

  "Well," Vin drawled as he picked a bar and opened the wrapper. "I know of one town close by, but we might not want to go there."

  "How come?" Blair asked.

  "It's where Ezra snuck into Sam's jeep."

  Buck shot his friend a puzzled look. "I thought you and Chris said that was militia territory."

  "Yep."

  "And Chris said that store clerk kept glaring at you and your long hair."

  "Yep."

  "But it has a working phone?" Jim injected.

  "Yep."

  Jim and Blair traded looks. "They obviously have no idea what we look like, if they're mistaking Sam for me," Blair pointed out.

  "You'll still have to keep your head down," Jim replied. "We didn't get all of Kincaid's followers, as that attack after the verdict proved. And they do know what you look like."

  "We told the clerk that Sam was our cousin," Vin inserted. "He made a crack about not wanting our party tromping through his store."

  Jim smirked, catching the sly gleam in his friend's eye. "So if Blair, Buck and I walk in, we could all be heading for Ouray and he'd only think we're more nuisances?"

  "Yep."

  A huge grin broke out across Buck's face. "You know, it could work."

  Jim nodded. "Let's give it a shot."

  Ridgway, CO

  Nathan watched as a member of Team Four gave MacGyver a steaming cup of coffee. The medic easily saw the signs of fatigue in the man he had come to respect. Sensing Josiah stopping by his shoulder, he quietly asked, "Did he get any sleep last night?"

  "Nope." Josiah also watched as the county sheriff approached their friend. "He's pretty worried about his boys."

  "Can understand that, but it won't help if he wears himself out."

  Josiah shrugged. "Something about being a father lends itself to worry. I suspect the only one of us who might understand is Chris."

  "Man, I hope they contact us soon."

  "Amen, brother."

  "Hey, Sanchez!" Josiah turned to greet Team Four's leader.

  MacGyver blew the steam off the cup in his gloved hands, forcing his voice to remain even. "Any sign that Sam was hurt in the crash?"

  "No, none," Sheriff Connor was quick to reassure. "At least he was mobile enough to keep up with the fed."

  "What about where they were meeting Blair and Jim?"

  The sheriff paused. "The park was shot up."

  Mac winced, all too easily imagining those bullets piercing one of his sons or Jim.

  "But only the fed's truck was there, and it had three flats. Considering we're talking about eight men, two more vehicles, and no evidence that they left on foot, I suspect they managed to escape."

  The muffled ring of a phone broke into the conversation. Mac shoved his free hand into his pocket and pulled it out. Using his teeth to yank up the antenna, he flipped it open and answered, "Hello?"

  "Dad! Great, I caught you."

  "Sam?" Mac responded, lifting an eyebrow at the sheriff. "Where are you?"

  "Trust me, you do NOT want to know. It's a bit of a mess here. I just didn't want you to leave for the western slope today until we've got it under control."

  "Ah, Sam, I've already heard about the mess."

  Dead silence. "Did Blair get a hold of you?"

  "No."

  More silence. "Where are you?"

  "Ridgway."

  "Ridgway? Ah, man! Dad, these militia guys want Dexter Fillmore." Mac sighed, easily filling in a few blanks. "You're not by yourself, are you? These guys tend to shoot first and ask questions later."

  "Nah, I'm with the guys I was working with. Who are you with?"

  "Some of their co-workers."

  "Your brother and Jim?"

  "Well, that's a long story. But Colonel O'Neill says we're only forty-five minutes from Ridgway, and I can give you the scoop once we're there."

  Mac blinked. "O'Neill's in this too?"

  "Like I said, it's--"

  "A long story, I know. Just get here."

  Pine Tree, CO

  Leaving Vin to gas up the rented Explorer at a rundown station at the edge of town, the other three entered the store. Jim casually walked over to the food aisle while Blair wandered over to the refrigerated section. Buck sauntered over to the counter.

  Buck noticed that while the man's gaze simply slid over himself and Ellison, he glared when he noticed Blair's long hair. The action made Buck's blood pressure rise. Blair didn't look that scruffy, and anyone who was smart and brave enough to have taught college level classes deserved respect in Buck's humble opinion. Plus, he could easily picture the same glare directed at Vin. Buck was rather amazed Chris hadn't rearranged the bastard's face yesterday. He certainly felt like it. Pushing aside the thought in order to do his part in the scheme, Buck gave the man a huge, friendly grin. "Sir, do I need a license for ice fishing, or is that just for warm weather?"

  Jim smirked as he listened to Buck discuss the finer points of fishing. The gregarious agent was growing on him. He picked up a box of breakfast bars and four packages of beef jerky. He spotted Blair nonchalantly walking towards the phone next to the cooler. Tilting his head, the sentinel could hear his guide dialing MacGyver's satellite phone. He stretched a little further, catching other voices in the back room. Frowning, Jim focused on them.

  "Has Kincaid left for Russell station yet?"

  "A few minutes ago. It will be a glorious moment for our cause when he blows it up."

  "I just hope we can take care of Sandburg and Fillmore for Kincaid. Seems like that's the least we can do."

  Tension clawed its way up Jim's spine. Kincaid was going to blow up a station? It couldn't be the Kincaid he and Blair just testified against. Was it family? What kind of station? Just when the situation was complicated enough, a Kincaid jumps into the mix. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to his partner.

  "Yeah, Mac, we're fine. Sam's coming? Great, we should be there in another couple of hours." Blair looked up to see the concerned look on Jim's face. "Just a sec."

  "Tell Mac I've picked up something, but we can't discuss it here. We'll call him back from a safer location."

  Lifting an eyebrow at his partner, Blair softly repeated the message to his father. After listening a moment, Blair nodded. "Okay, will do." He hung up the phone and exchanged looks with Jim. Jim tapped his ear. Catching the meaning, Blair gave a slight nod as he picked up the bottles of water and juice he had picked earlier. Together, the partners walked up to the counter.

  Buck turned, giving both a smile as he read their faces. "Let me help you with those, Prof." He unloaded the various bottles out of Blair's arms.

  The guy at the counter leveled another glare at Blair's long hair, only to look up and meet the ice directed at him from Ellison. One glance at the large, muscular man, who looked like he would enjoy breaking him into tiny pieces, a
nd the clerk quickly ran up their purchases.

  Once they were driving away in the Explorer, Buck lost the smile and asked, "Problem?" Vin swiftly glanced around, wondering what was going on.

  "I overheard two guys in the store talking about wanting to get Sandburg and Fillmore for Kincaid."

  "We already knew that," Blair pointed out as he drove, puzzled.

  "Yeah, but they were talking about a Kincaid who was about to blow up a station for them."

  "What?" Buck exclaimed. "What station?"

  "Either of you ever heard of Russell station?"

  Both agents shook their heads. "Town? Train station?" Vin asked.

  "Haven't a clue."

  "Well, it can't be Garrett Kincaid," Blair pointed out. "The feds should have him all nestled in his new federal penitentiary home by now."

  "Could be family, Chief."

  Blair shuddered. "That's a scary thought."

  Buck was frowning as he searched his memory. "We knew that this militia was planning something big. That's why we sent in Ezra. And he did say that the new player who came in a couple days ago was an explosives expert. I wonder if that's this second Kincaid guy?"

  "Another Kincaid who's an explosives expert?" Blair shuddered again. "Oh, joy."

  "I think we need to call Chris," Vin suggested.

  "Agree," Jim replied.

  "Which means we need another phone," Buck pointed out.

  Peering ahead, Jim smiled. "Or perhaps we can borrow a radio."

  "Huh?" Buck glanced around. "What radio?"

  Jim nodded his head forward. "That radio."

  At the corner of the side road they were on and highway 550 was a sheriff's department car. Blair pulled up beside it, surprised to recognize the driver as the deputy Jim had scared the day before.

  Jim got out to greet the younger man. "Need to use your radio."

  The deputy opened his mouth to protest, then remembered who it was making the request. He then recognized one of the other three men as the fed from the day before. Gulping, he nodded and replied, "It's all yours."

  Ridgway, CO

  Ezra made a face as he sipped the horrible coffee the deputy had given him. Its only redeeming quality was that the liquid was hot. He hated the cold air more than the coffee.

  Thankfully, watching young Malloy give his father a welcoming hug helped to distract him from his misery. He could see the resemblance between the photojournalist and the lanky, unassuming man. Buck's legend barely seemed old enough to have fathered either Sam or Blair, but the deep love between them was obvious. Ezra felt a bit envious -- Maude would have never lowered herself to make that sort of 'scene' in public.

  Then the Colonel they had rescued, who did look amazingly like Sam's father, walked up. "Gus."

  Ezra noted the surprised look on Sam's face at the name. His father only sighed. "Hi, Jack."

  "I've only got one question." Jack stared sternly at his double. "Dexter Fillmore? DEXTER Fillmore? Isn't Angus MacGyver nerdy enough for you?"

  MacGyver only rolled his eyes as his son managed to look both shocked and amused. "That's the point. I sometimes needed to be a nerd when I was working undercover for the DXS."

  "You are a nerd," Jack pointed out.

  "Not that much of one," Mac countered as Sam snickered. He leveled a glare at his son. "I'm not."

  "Hey, don't get me into this," Sam protested with a smirk.

  Mac relented with a soft smile. "You want to explain what's going on?"

  Sam quickly launched into his report. Ezra watched MacGyver absorb the story, noting the intelligence lighting his eyes. The undercover agent recognized it as the same light he had seen in Sandburg's eyes. Apparently, Blair's legacy from his father was intelligence instead of looks.

  The Colonel was also listening to the story, frowning when Sam told about the shootout at the park. "Do you know if Blair and Jim are okay?"

  Sam shook his head worriedly. "We haven't seen them since."

  "Blair called me a few minutes ago," Mac inserted. "They're all okay. But Jim broke in to say that he picked up something and they'd call us back."

  Ezra noted the brief exchange as father's and son's eyes met. It was easy for the agent to deduce that both were in on Sandburg's secret. Ezra took another sip of coffee as he studied the Colonel's face. A slight shift indicated that he knew about Ellison as well. Interesting.

  Nathan waved at MacGyver to grab his attention. "Chris's got your son on the phone."

  As everyone gathered around the patrol car, Ezra could hear Buck explain, "...heard someone say a guy named Kincaid is going to blow up someplace called Russell station, but Jim and Blair don't think it's the same Kincaid they testified against."

  "That goes along with what we got," Josiah replied. "Nathan, Mac and I have found evidence that the bomber we're investigating is Decker Kincaid, and he left the Front Range a couple of days ago."

  "Which would correspond to when Ezra's mystery explosives expert showed up," Chris pointed out, looking to Ezra for conformation.

  Ezra absently nodded his head as he stared at the ground, thinking hard.

  "That would also explain how Ez got made," JD inserted. "Ezra helped Buck on a couple of bombs before we left the Front Range, and I bet the bomber spotted him at the scene."

  Suddenly, Ezra's head popped up. "Did you say Russell station, Buck?"

  "That's right."

  "Damn." The rest of Team Seven looked at their undercover agent in surprise. Ezra rarely broke his sophisticated image by swearing. "Do you know when?"

  Jim's voice entered the conversation. "It sounded like they were heading there now."

  "Wait a minute," MacGyver interjected. "Isn't that one of the main electrical switching stations for the western US?"

  "That is correct," Ezra answered. "If this Kincaid was able to disable or destroy it, it could disable the entire western power grid."

  "The entire grid?" Chris repeated in surprise.

  Ezra nodded. "The grid is set up like a doughnut. A few years previously, a double failure at a similar station did bring down the entire network."

  Josiah nodded. "I remember that. Huge areas lost power."

  "That would be one powerful statement for a militia out against the federal government, no pun intended," Nathan pointed out. "MacGyver and I need to get there quick."

  "The station is up near Montrose." Ezra reached for the map Sam still held.

  "Then we're closer." Buck's voice was infused with worry. "Are we talking a bomb like those in Denver?"

  "Right," Chris replied grimly.

  Mac glanced at Nathan. "Wilmington is your normal demolitions man, right?" Nathan nodded. Mac raised his voice. "Agent Wilmington, MacGyver here. Are you familiar with the Denver bombs?"

  "Yes, sir." Chris could hear the unusual respect in his friend's voice. "I was the one who wrote up the first reports and recommended to Chris that we needed an expert."

  MacGyver turned to Larabee. "I could talk him through if they find it."

  "Hear that, Buck?" Nathan asked.

  "Yeah, and I'm willing to give it a shot."

  Everyone looked at Chris. Chris fought to keep the sudden surge of anxiety in his gut from showing on his face. "There'll be more militiaman than just the bomber."

  Vin entered the conversation. "He ain't going in alone, Cowboy."

  "If the sheriff doesn't mind lending Sandburg and me weapons, we can help," Jim added.

  Chris closed his eyes as he made his decision, weighing the risks to his men and fellow law officers against the potential damage and injury to others. Damn it to hell, why does it have to be a bomb? After taking a deep breath, he announced, "Then let's do it."

  An hour later, Russell Station

  Jim, Blair, Buck and Vin knelt behind a large pile of rocks. Passing a pair of binoculars to Blair, Buck asked the air, "Why do those guards look wrong to me?"

  "Cuz they're wearing the same fatigues Ez was wearing?" Vin suggested.

  "
That would be it." Buck shook his head. "They've got to be militia, which means they've taken over the station."

  Blair peered through the binoculars. "I count two guards."

  "Three," Jim corrected. "There's one behind that pole."

  "So how are we going to get in?" Blair asked. "While we could probably handle the guards, what about that fence? It's got to be ten feet high and electric."

  Jim and Vin exchanged glances. Jim turned to the other agent. "Wilmington, think you and Sandburg could take care of the guards by yourselves?"

  Buck nodded. "Sure. You and Junior handling the fence?"

  "Yep," Vin replied.

  Wrinkling his brow, Blair looked up at this partner. "How are you taking out the fence?"

  Jim slapped him on the back as he stood up. "If we told you that, we'd have to kill you."

  "Hey!" Blair protested, trying to transmit his concerns with a glare.

  Reading the expression, Jim gently squeezed his partner's shoulder. "I'll be careful, Chief."

  Deep blue eyes stared into ice blue, then Blair finally nodded.

  "Give us a ten minute head start," Vin advised his own partner.

  Buck smirked at him, though his eyes were concerned. "Just watch your backside, Junior."

  "See you in fifteen," Vin returned.

  Chris led the group from Ridgway in his truck. He could see Josiah in an ATF van behind him, with an occasional glimpse of the Sheriff's car behind the van. Tension crawled up his spine as he tried not to remember another bombing. You better not blow up with that damn thing, Bucklin, or I'll kick your butt all the way to hell.

  JD sat next to him, holding on tight to his cell phone. Even he knew better than to interrupt Chris at that moment. The young man was worried, too. Buck had told him that the Denver bomber's work was more complicated than the run-of-the-mill bombs he was used to handling. JD could only pray that Buck learned quick and that Blair's dad was a good teacher

  Ezra quietly sat in the back seat, wishing there was some way he could ease the stress throbbing through his leader. From the black expression, he summarized that Chris was thinking about the car bomb that had killed his wife and child. The southerner again marveled at the loyalty Wilmington had shown, staying by Chris' side during the dark days that followed. Ezra never liked being in the line of fire when his leader was ready to explode.