Peter Thorton sat in his office and muddled over the duty roster. Although
he was one of the founding members of the Phoenix Foundation, he still
liked to keep inside the system and experience the same atmosphere his
workers were exposed to so that he could make appropriate changes. At the
thought of his workers, his heart sagged.
Ever since his hiring in the late '80s, MacGyver was the best worker,
and friend, he ever had. But now Mac was off with his son doing who-knows-what,
and he was currently trying to find a replacement for him. It had taken
Pete several years, but he believed he had found someone suitable for the
job. And then his intercom buzzed.
He pressed the appropriate button and said, "Yes, Maggie?"
"Agents Mulder, Scully, and company are here to see you, Mr. Thorton."
"Send them in," he said, and laid the papers down.
He heard the door open and many footsteps enter, followed by a male
voice saying, "Mr. Thorton?"
Pete rose from his chair and extended his hand. He felt the grip of
a strong hand. "That's me."
"I'm Agent Mulder. Thank you for seeing us."
Pete smiled. "I hope you don't mean that literally; I've been blind
for several years."
He heard a woman's voice say, "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Nonsense," he said. "I've learned to deal with it." He held up the
papers, which he knew showed Braille. "Who else is here?"
He heard another male voice say, "My name is Sam Beckett." Another voice
said, "I'm Albert Calavicci, but call me Al." The final voice said, "I'm
Robert Underwood."
"Well," Pete said once the voices were done sounding. "It's nice to
meet you all." He sat back down in his chair. "What can I do for you?"
The woman's voice said, "We wanted to ask about a former employer of
yours, Barbara Hayes."
Pete smiled "Ah, Barbara. She helped shape the foundation to what it
is today. I was sorry to see her go."
"What do you mean?" the woman asked.
"I was working with her when the chemical explosion took place. I had
left the building to get some of my personal notes, but when I heard the
explosion, I immediately ran back and saw the entire chemical lab up in
flames. Her body was never found, but she was a good friend, and I miss
her dearly."
"We were wondering," the voice claiming to be Mulder said, "if you could
give us the reports on that explosion. It turns out that Mrs. Hayes survived
and had a son two years later."
"She did?" he asked happily. A smile crept across his face, but it immediately
dropped. He quickly went to the file cabinet he kept in his office and
felt for the right drawer, then opening it. "I wonder why she never contacted
me."
He heard the light slap of a hand hitting chest, and he assumed someone
was about to say something and that another person tried to stifle him.
The female voice replied, "We don't know."
Pete dug his hands into the file drawer and pulled out two files. He
ran his hands over the Braille of the top one and said, "Ah, here we go."
He replaced the Brailled folder and brought the second one to his desk,
where he held it out and someone took it. He heard the female voice say,
"Thank you, Mr. Thorton."
"Your welcome," he responded. "Is there anything else?"
"No," Mulder said. "That's it. Thank you very much for your time."
"Thank you; I haven't remembered Barbara for decades." He heard the
footsteps make their way to his office doors, and when he heard the doors
opened, he called out, "Say, Mr. Mulder. Did you know you sound a lot like
a former employee of mine? MacGyver was quite an individual."
* * *
