The Price of Friendship
Note: This is only the opening sequence... yes, I know, I hate teasers too but this story is scheduled to be published in the MacGyver Virtual Season 10, which is currently in production. This story will be see in its entirety toward the end of the season and will be available at the Mac VS website, www.macvs.com.
The afternoon sun gleamed off of the shiny white belly of the fish as it bobbed on the surface of the water, floating lifelessly among its many companions in the small pond, and surrounded by grass that was once green and lush, but that now lay brown and withered under the harsh daylight. Crouched on the shore, MacGyver studied the hundreds of dead fish sadly. What a waste. He tried to remain detached, but couldn't help feeling a sense of loss whenever life was senselessly snuffed out. He sighed sadly, immediately regretting it when the faceplate of his environmental suit fogged up.
Shaking his head, MacGyver turned away from the unhappy scene and back to the task at hand. The grayish metal tanker lay on its side, fumes emanating visibly from a fissure at its midpoint. Behind it lay the rest of the boxcars and tankers from the derailed train, looking like a child's toy that had been carelessly tossed aside. People in powder blue environmental suits swarmed over the wreckage, looking for clues as to why the accident had occurred shortly before dawn that day.
The Environmental Protection Agency, having a long and established relationship with the Phoenix Foundation, had requested their assistance in evaluating the environmental impact of the chemical spill and determining the best approach toward cleaning it up. MacGyver had readily agreed to the assignment, glad to be doing some environmental work again, since these types of assignments were few and far between at Phoenix these days. From what he had seen already, they seemed to have quite a mess on their hands due to the large numbers and varieties of chemicals that were being transported. There had only been three crewmembers on the train, all of whom had been killed. But it could have been much worse.
MacGyver opened the metal case he carried and began filling sample vials with soil and water samples. Several of the tankers had been carrying a mixture of caustic acids that were, ironically, destined for use in chemical 'scrubbers' that filtered pollutants from factory exhaust at the smokestack before it was released into the atmosphere. It amazed him that something that did so much good in one form could cause so much harm in another.
To be continued....
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