His Gentle Beauty

A Mission

MacGyver:

"Everyone can go" Matilda Webber—head of the phoenix foundation—dismissed. "Except for you, MacGyver."

My brows furrowed, holding back a sigh. I was unsure of what Matty planned to bring up this time. Quite frankly, I was tired of Matty's  constant opinion on my daily experiments during missions. I can acknowledge I am... unorthodox, in my ways but I am effective. With my pocket knife and, I hate to admit it, Jack's constant babbling, I can get us out of any situation. To say the least, I have stopped a train with no breaks, shot wine bottles like bullets at Murdoc—a sociopath who tries to kill me and my friends—, and perform surgery on a man whose lungs were filling up with blood in a parking garage. I did not have a science or medical degree, but I did grow up with a father just as interested in science as me, as well as enlist in the army after dropping out of MIT. Despite my years of training, Matilda continued to have her doubts of my thought process. She called the product of my hard-work and research, "luck". However, I can see where she is coming from. You see, Matty feels the need to understand her team because what she can't understand, she can't control or protect. That reveals itself as a threat when that's her job.

"I've got a solo opp for you, Mac."

"Okay," I nodded, not confirming participation until enough information is given. A mission to arrest drug-lords? Track someone who stole classified intell from the CIA? There were a million possibilities, but very few reasons as to why she would need me alone.

"There's a girl. She's 17, her name is Eliza Bailey." She said, pulling a picture of the young, blue eyed girl onto the screen. "She has androphobia—a fear of men—and comes from an abusive household. You can read her file. The phoenix foundation views her as a long-term, complicated investment. I want to pair her with you. MacGyver, I want you to be her safety person."

I took in the brief information. A new puzzle. "If she has Androphobia, why not assign her to a woman?"

"We've been studying her reactions to both the men and women here, at the Phoenix. But her heart rate jumps uncomfortably high to both. That being said, we took a step back from in-person meetings and decided to see if pictures of our employees instilled the same fear. She had no reaction to anyone," she paused. "Except for you."

"If I make her anxious, even on-screen, I still don't see how this will work out."

"It wasn't anxiety, Mac. Her pupils dilated in the pattern recognized as love."

I poked my tongue to my cheek, feeling slightly accomplished. That gorgeous girl was attracted to me?

"I know what you're thinking. No, the machine doesn't pick up attraction. It's picks up attachment, and for some unknown reason, she views you as someone to care for."

"So, you think I might have a way with getting her to talk." I confirmed. It was starting to make sense but added more questions internally. I was definitely going to read her file. If she cared for me, I wanted to know and care for her as well.

"This isn't an interrogation. To put it directly, she's damaged. But worthy of the repair. Read her file, then tell me if you are interested. You'll get the rest of the details if you agree." Matilda opened her office door, signalling that I leave.

I nodded in her direction and made my way out the door. I wonder what room they have been keeping Eliza in, and for how long? Was she scared? How did she end up at the Phoenix?

In just under an hour, the majority of my questions were answered. Eliza was in interrogation room 3, she's been sleeping on a cot in the room for 2 days, she's struggles with multiple anxiety disorders as well as Borderline Personality Disorder. She caught the eye of the organization when talking to a "helpless mother"—an undercover agent—about psychology. She reported her parents for verbal and physical abuse, with a sickening amount of proof. Videos, screenshots, hospital records. When the report was made, an operative at the Phoenix Foundation drove her to safety because her parents faced no legal repercussions.

Simply reading of the Phoenix's summary of how she found herself here had my heart empathizing with her. There were things on her file that I had never heard of, like Borderline Personality Disorder and her parents' names—who I wouldn't mind taking a trip to and delivering many punches to their face.

As a science guy, you will hardly ever hear words of absolute certainty fall from my mouth. But with Eliza, I was 100% sure I had to meet her.