Chapter Text
The mood in the War Room of the Phoenix Foundation matched the weather outside: sunny, warm and carefree. The mission had been successful, and for once, no one had been injured. The debriefing had been short and sweet, so Director Matilda “Matty” Webber dismissed the team with a smile.
“You know what we should do now?” Bozer asked the group. “We should go back to the house and have a good, old fashioned barbeque!”
The rest of the group looked at each other, then grinned. “I’ll be there”, Matty said.” I’ve been wanting to try your ‘famous hamburgers’ for some time now”.
Bozer’s smile faltered a little, but quickly returned to full wattage. “And have them, you will”, he said. “Alright, everybody, go get your favorite fixin’s and buns and meet us at the house”.
Angus “Mac” MacGyver joined in on the good-natured laughter as he pulled out his phone. “Let me make one phone call first”, he said as he pulled up his contacts list. But before he could do more, his phone rang. He glanced at it, surprised, then smiled as he pressed the answer button and spoke. “Kait”, he said warmly, “I was just going to call you. We’re--” His smile vanished and turned one to alarmed concern. He glanced around to the rest of the group, freezing them in their tracks. “Kait”, he continued, his tone changing to concern. “Kait, babe, slow down, slow down. Take a deep breath, I’m putting you on speaker”. He looked around the room again. “Guys”, he said, “you have to hear this”. He pressed a button and Kaitlyn MacGonagall’s shaky breathing could be heard in the room. “We’re all here, Kait”, he said reassuringly. “Tell me again what happened”.
They heard her take a breath, then, “I just came home from classes”, she said, her voice shaky, “and my front door was wide open. My place is trashed, and--” She paused and they could tell she was fighting for control. “I...I can’t find Angus anywhere”.
“Don’t worry, Princess”, Jack said, “we’ll find him for you. He’s got one of those chips in him, doesn’t he? He’s got GPS or something, then”.
MacGyver glared at him, but Kaitlyn was the one who spoke. “The microchips don’t work like that, Jack”, she said, a slight edge to her voice. “They just identify who the animal belongs to. They haven’t been able to get a GPS small enough to fit comfortably under the skin. And to answer your next question, he’s had a chip since he came to me as a kitten”.
“Kaitlyn”, Matty said, “ are you inside or outside your house right now?” She moved to stand back by the wall of screens and began pressing buttons.
“Outside, Matty”, Kaitlyn answered. “And I haven’t touched anything. Mother didn’t raise an idiot. No, I’m standing in my driveway, trying not to---” There was a muffled sound, then dial tone.
“Kait?” MacGyver asked, then, “Kait!”
“The connection’s been cut”, Riley said, looking up from her computer. “I can’t get her back”.
“Mac”, Matty said calmly, “take Jack and go. I’ll call SBPD and give them the details and you can meet them there”. She looked at MacGyver. “Kaitlyn MacGonagall may not be a Phoenix asset, but she’s family. We’ll help where we can. Go”.