I grew up in Northern Minnesota,
and I remember snowdrifts that would bury whole parking lots,
icicles longer than a hockey stick,
and bein' stuck with three layers of clothing.
My favorite, though, was when they announced exposed flesh warnings
on the radio to prevent frostbite.
When I came to California,
I found out it's really a small world.
They had exposed flesh warnings, too,
called beach parties.
The type of party that did away with frostbite.
Did away with most of the clothing, too.
But the beach isn't the only place for a party.
And I had some friends who really knew how to party down.
You know, it took me a while
to perfect the basket trick, but, uh...
there is absolutely no defense.
I can read your body.
You're telegraphing your moves.
Too much tension.
I think it's the mask.
It's just to help you forget I'm a woman.
Fat chance.
A mask isn't gonna do it.
Tent maybe.
Hello.
It's yours.
Lisa Chan. Hello.
Sure I'm still interested.
Um, I could fly up right away.
I'll be there by noon.
Ha!
Bad news?
That was a guy up in San Francisco
interested in financing my karate studio.
He wants me to catch a 10:30 flight.
That's terrific.
- You need a ride to the airport? - No, I'm okay.
But I could use a small favor.
Name it.
Uh, Paul -- he's at a birthday party,
and somebody's got to pick him up.
No problem.
Mac, he's changed since last year.
He's a grown man of 14,
and I'm his mean big sister.
Well, now that's just because he's a teenager.
Mac, he's started talking about our parents' death again,
and that was seven years ago.
I don't know what he's thinking anymore,
what he's doing, who his friends are.
I just can't get through to him anymore!
All right, all right, all right. Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Relax a little, will ya? I'll talk to him.
Where is this party?
Well, here's the address...
...but Paul's changed like crazy since you last saw him.
Yeah? Does he still have that patch of white in his hair?
Yeah.
I'll recognize him.
She gave me an address,
but what I really needed was a road map.
In Chinatown,
it helps to have some guidance from a local expert.
I first saw him a month ago,
and I believe he is the Wish Child.
Perhaps.
We are honored,
Dr. Shen.
The legend is 1200 years old,
and I have lived to see his return!
I sense the spirit of disbelief.
We have never met.
No.
Yet you are a man of history.
A cultural historian, yes.
And you have brought me a test.
This is the Rock of Shin Tze
from the dynasty of the Wish Child.
The legend states
that the true Wish Child will bring a sign from the rock.
I think you will know this.
The sign of the Wish Child.
Hi. How are ya?
Can't go in there.
Private party.
Yeah, I know.
Um, I'm meetin' one of the kids here. Paul Chan?
His sister, Lisa, can't pick him up.
Neither can you.
No problem.
I remember the age when it was cool to be bad.
Dumb age.
Somehow I didn't think they were serving ice cream and cake
at this birthday party,
but it'd be rude not to bring a present.
Now, it just needed some gift wrapping.
Perfect.
Hey!
Oh, look at this!
Yeah, I was right.
Where did this come from?
Dumb age.
Oh, between my legs!
Oh, there it goes!
Whose is it?
Teenage party?
Whatever happened to spin-the-bottle?
Hey, Paul!
- What's goin' on? - MacGyver!
- Who is he? - Name's MacGyver.
Uh-huh.
The sign of the Wish Child.
Dr. Shen, we must go!
A nice quiet neighborhood,
but not as loud as the ringing in my ears.
I had no idea how I got here...
or even where here was,
but I had definitely run into some party animals.
It's funny.
Gunpowder smells the same no matter how you write it.
I was sittin' on a pile of fireworks,
and some joker's outside playin' shake, rattle and roll.
I'd had enough of this party.
It was definitely time to leave.
So I figured
a small directional explosive would make a door...
hopefully without blowin' up the whole box.
Anyway, it'd just be a matter of seconds
before light became a match, and I'd either blow out...
or up.
No one told me the party'd moved upstairs.
Uh, excuse me!
Uh... down, please!
That's it!
I changed my mind.
I'm not taking that cruise.
It'd just take me forever to get the police to believe
a story about being shanghaied in Chinatown,
and that was too long to wait
when I had to find a kid who was in real trouble.
Mr. Lee, Dr. Shen is here.
Have him wait.
Mr. Lee, I have news.
Not here.
Ot-Su, no one is to enter this area.
Mr. Lee...
your collection brings honor to our ancestors.
Thank you, Dr. Shen.
I have spent 40 years and some wealth
to preserve the truth of the Wish Child,
to make the legend reality.
Did you see this boy, Paul Chan?
Yes, I did.
And?
The boy...
drew this
out of the Rock of Shin Tze.
But how?
You x-rayed the stone
and found no markings, nothing inside.
The legend states that the Wish Child shall find
the soul of the stone.
That is correct.
Then perhaps finally...
finally, he has returned.
Lisa was out of touch.
Paul was out of reach, and the only place
to start looking for him was where I'd lost him.
As agreed, Dr. Shen.
I feel...
that I must mention one thing.
This man, Stone...
Is a petty criminal,
dishonest... by preference,
a thief and swindler by trade...
with several murders to his credit.
Then you knew.
I always know, Dr. Shen,
and I'm always prepared.
I have found a most useful friend
among Stone's people.
Your research has been most helpful.
Thank you, Dr. Shen.
Our lives...
shall soon be joined.
Guess the party was over.
Pretty neat.
When the guests went home,
they took the furniture with 'em.
Sometimes you got to read between the lines.
Whatever Paul was into had something to do
with the Wish Child business.
And this impression in the floor was the only lead I had.
And, of course, it was in Chinese...
so I had two choices.
I could bring the interpreter to the floor
or take the floor to the interpreter.
The problem is, how do you move a floor?
First thing you need is a chisel...
and a chisel's no good without a hammer.
Well... I got the message.
Ah, this I think you'll really like.
Oh, see the natural grain there?
Yeah, it's $30.
Oh, an honorable gift all the way from China.
Brought it right from the dock.
Uh, a real collector's item.
See you.
Hey, Sam!
Hey, MacGyver! What do you know?
Good to see you, guy.
So... hey, look.
No more painted parrots, huh?
These are authentic fakes all the way from Taiwan.
- Straight off the boat? - Cheap, too.
Not in the market, Sammy. Thank you.
I'm looking for anything you can tell me about this.
Oh, wow!
It's the Wish Child.
The what?
A lot of noise on the street about this kid doing the Wish Child hustle,
so I am currently offering
these real, genuine copies
of a certified replica in the Golden Era Museum.
Now, you can't get more honest than that.
Hey, Mac, the museum's doing
a heavy research thing on the Wish Child legend.
Mucho hot item.
Hey, on me.
Thank you.
I'm looking for the kid who's playing this Wish Child.
Right. That's his symbol.
See, a lot of people are fighting
to put good money down on the kid.
It's a great gig.
You mean hustle?
Well... most people don't buy it,
but enough do.
We're talking old time Chinese legends here.
I mean ancient.
A lot of people believe that 400 years ago,
the Wish Child was reborn as a warlord's son,
and after a battle, the whole family's knocked off,
while the Wish Child's just wandering around in the mountains
totally zonked out with no memory of the attack,
except that a patch of his hair has turned white.
A white patch?
Yeah, snow white. And no memory.
Then a bandit nabs him,
recognizes him as the Wish Child,
tries to sell him.
Sell him because he grants wishes?
Better. Heavier.
The legend says you link your soul to his,
you got immortality.
Oh, if I could only bottle it, I'd be rich.
Sammy, I'm talking about a 14-year-old kid
from Santa Monica, not the Mists of Antiquity.
Who's bottling him?
Guy named Stone, half-Chinese, half sewer rat out of Hong Kong.
He tries to play legit.
Owns a restaurant in the lower district.
This a... hustler type,
about six feet, real fashion plate?
Yeah, but, MacGyver, Stone comes on like Mr. Clean,
but he's really down and dirty.
And there's a lot of people here that still believe the legend,
so Stone'll keep selling the kid as long as he can.
But when it's over, so's the kid, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
The kid's my responsibility.
He's also my friend.
You know what I mean?
Good luck, pal.
You were quite a pro, kid.
Did a hell of a job on Shen Wei today.
It was easy switching those rocks.
I wonder if this rock of his is real.
Who knows? Maybe I really am the Wish Child.
Yeah, maybe you are at that.
Just got to keep it going a little while longer.
Sit tight.
How did you handle that MacGyver guy?
He shipped out to New Zealand.
Hmm, nice touch.
No body, no cops, no noise. Diplomatic.
Make out everything to Mr. Lee?
No.
Now Dr. Shen will confirm to us.
Did the old man, Dr. Shen, buy the scam?
Lock, stock and phony rock.
Kid was great.
Mr. Lee made contact.
He's interested.
I'll meet him, set up the deal.
We'll have the money and be rid of a kid.
How?
He won't be coming back.
Got something special for you, kid.
Whoa!
I told you, good things are coming.
- Rich things. - Yeah!
Wait'll Lisa sees the karate studio I'm going to buy her.
She'll stop thinking I'm some kind of loser.
Hey, everybody's going to respect you, Paul, everybody.
You are the Wish Child.
You know, sometimes I think maybe what if I was!
We both know you're special, Paul.
That's why it's going to be great from now on, right?
- Right! - See you a minute?
Now go to the back room and start rehearsing.
- I'll be right there. - Okay.
MacGyver...!
Paul, I need to talk to you just for a few minutes, away from here, okay?
- Okay. - All right, come on.
What are you sneaking around like this for?!
So your friends back there don't cream me again.
Stone? He wouldn't do that.
He would.
He did, and he will again if I give him half a chance.
Ji! The kid's missing.
Find him!
Aw, you're just saying that just to get me to go home.
Well, I'm not; you can just tell Lisa that, too.
I've got a real big appointment today, MacGyver,
and you're not going to blow it for me.
Paul, if that appointment is with Stone,
it's dangerous to you. He's bad news.
Mac, that man is my friend.
You never spent time with him. Of course you don't trust him.
Hey, he really watches out for me.
Look, look, he gave me this.
Ooh, neat. Is that how you measure friendship?
Stone talks to me about my future.
He understands me better than Lisa or you.
Your future -- as part of a scam? Terrific.
We're not hurting anybody.
People really believe I'm this Wish Child,
and it makes them happy.
They even give me money.
It's a rip-off, Paul, and you know it!
Or do you really believe you're this Wish Child?
Look, that car accident killed my mom and dad,
and I wasn't even touched, except for this.
Just like in the legend.
You don't believe it, do you?
Believe this, Paul.
I care about you.
I consider us friends.
I'm not a kid anymore.
All right... let's talk, man to man.
Let's get out of here first, what do you say, huh?
Mac, what are you doing?
Paul, they're hunting for us.
The only way out is over that wall.
With an umbrella?
No, a grappling hook.
Paul, get that rope.
That a boy.
All right, come on!
Paul!
Come on! Paul!
They won't hurt me, Mac. They work for Stone.
Yeah, right.
Don't worry about it, Mac. I know what I'm doing.
- Paul! - Don't worry.
You heard what he said.
Be nice.
Well, there went Paul, on his way
to that important appointment.
And all I had for a road map
was a postcard I didn't understand
in a language I couldn't read.
But I remembered one thing.
Sammy had lifted this from the Golden Era Museum
where I might find something more about the Wish Child.
I used to love museums when I was a kid.
You never knew what you'd find inside.
I liked mysteries back then.
Surprising... to find a Caucasian scholar
of the Wish Child legend.
Well, the name's MacGyver, and I was looking for a...
Didn't I see you at a ceremony with Paul Chan?
The Wish Child, yes.
I am Dr. Shen Wei.
Yeah. I am here because of the legend,
and because of Paul.
His family asked me to look after him.
Look after the Wish Child?
Let me show you something,
- Mr. MacGyver. - MacGyver.
It was a violent time, 400 years ago.
The Child was attacked,
but while his protectors were killed...
he survived, miraculously.
And wandered into the mountains.
You know.
I've heard.
And you have doubts.
Understandable,
but we have records four centuries old.
He was taken by a bandit chieftain
and sold for a fortune in gold.
Paul.
He is the Wish Child.
He isa 14-year-old kid from Santa Monica
who's in a lot of trouble.
Now, what does this Stone want to do with Paul?
Good to have you back, kid.
MacGyver just doesn't understand, that's all.
I mean, we're not really cheating this Mr. Lee, are we?
Paul, Mr. Lee asked to meet us.
And he's a very rich man.
If it makes him happy to see the Wish Child,
that's great.
And if it's worth money to him, that's up to him, isn't it?
We're not really twisting his arms.
You know, I feel like it's real.
Paul, it's $1 million worth of real.
For you and me.
Right.
Mr. Stone.
Welcome.
I do not know Mr. Stone's business.
I'm a scholar, Mr. MacGyver.
Whose?
Come on, Dr. Shen, who's paying for all this?
Who's the money source so hooked on the Wish Child, huh?
His name is Lee Wenying,
but he is only interested in the Wish Child as a scholar.
As the legend come alive.
I have always felt... special.
Always?
Or since the day of your parents' tragic death?
Tell me.
I don't want to bring back an old pain,
but it is necessary.
We were going to visit Lisa,
my sister, at her college.
It was a mountain road, real twisty.
There were rocks on the road.
And the car... slipped,
and Dad yelled...
and...
the car hit the fence, and it went over
and down, and...
and I heard Mom, I heard...
Child!
I don't remember!
I was crying and running all night.
I... just don't remember!
That's all right.
Neither did the Wish Child.
He wandered into the mountains
becoming what he was to be.
You see, I was paid to verify a possibility.
That the legend, the Wish Child, had reappeared.
Mr. Lee contacted Stone so he could talk to Paul.
Where do I find him?
I'm sorry.
Dr. Shen, I have been slugged,
dumped, shanghaied
and shot at.
And I think the reason is because of Paul.
Now why?
What does Mr. Lee want with him?
Some believe
that a man can achieve immortality
by linking his soul with that of the Child.
And Mr. Lee Wenying is old.
He will cherish the boy,
protect him.
As long as the Child is alive, Mr. Lee will live.
Protect him?
Don't you mean keep him?
You helped sell a 14-year-old boy
into slavery for life.
No.
Oh, yeah!
The legend says a bandit sold the Child for gold.
Now Stone may have done the selling,
but you okayed the sale.
Nobody but you.
Now where's Paul?
Paul...
Paul is...
Dr. Shen?
Mr. Lee did not believe me.
Dr. Shen,
you must tell me where Paul is. Please!
In the freighter.
Pier... K-63.
Forward hold.
Steel door.
Child inside that door.
I felt this in the stone.
Proof, Mr. Lee, he is the Child.
Proof?
Come, I will test you.
The handprint of the Child.
400 years ago
in the temple wall.
Place your hand in the impression.
You are the Child.
You are.
Come!
How did you do that?
I don't know. It just fit.
This was the Child, as you are the Child.
It looks just like me.
Of course. Mr. Stone...
the money is yours, the Child is mine.
Stone, what's he talking about?
Sorry, kid. Goodbye.
Stone!
Hey, let me out!
I'm not this Wish Child. It was a fake.
Stone!
Stone.
Mr. Lee's boat ran about 50,000 tons.
A little bit smaller than Fort Knox,
but about as hard to bust into.
I could make an official complaint,
and something might happen
about six days after the ship sailed.
So I'll just have to put something together.
You did a fine job, Mr. Stone.
Thank you.
Now if you leave over this side of the ship,
no one will see you.
Good.
As agreed, $1 million in gold.
Is that satisfactory, Mr. Stone?
Yes, indeed.
Good.
Teng?
An honorable bargain, Mr. Stone.
The gold is yours forever.
Old Minnesota wisdom:
If you don't want to be touched,
look downright untouchable.
I will set the course once we're at sea, captain.
Yes, sir!
I expect to cast off in 37 minutes.
Okay! Stand clear, mate.
Just got this fixed.
Steady up!
You, there! Where are you going?
Nobody allowed in this section.
Oh yeah?
You want to tell Mr. Lee he's not getting his auxiliary fixed? Huh?
I didn't think so.
Don't touch that. It's important.
Hey, what are you doing here?
This is the forward hold, isn't it?
- Yeah. - I got work to do down here.
- Hold that, will ya? - Ow!
Let go of me!
Wait a minute! What are you doing?
Give me back my gun...
I'll just hold this for ya, all right?
Get me down! I said get me down!
Get me down! Get me down!
Get back here!
Get me down!
Try to shoot the lock out of a steel door,
and bullets'd just bounce off.
Besides, I hate guns.
Now, Teng, call me when we cast off.
I'll be below.
Now if you get the gunpowder inside the lock...
and rig a cartridge as kind of a fuse...
then use the gun the right way...
...bingo!
- Mac! Am I glad to see you! - What?!
You were right about Stone! They were gonna...
All right, all right. Tell me along the way. Come on.
What are you doing?
Hold that up.
Mr. Lee?
Child?
What?
Ta-ya!
Is that you?
Paul, let's move!
Child, come back!
Come back, Child!
Come back!
Hold it!
Child!
Let's try this way!
Guards! Guards!
Open the door.
Guards!
Let me out!
The child escaped.
He must not leave the ship!
Up the ladder. Come on.
Mac!
Come on.
Child!
Come back!
Child! Child!
No!
Come back!
You must stay with me!
You must stay with me.
Our lives are one!
Somebody help him.
How?
Maybe he believed in the legend too much.
Come on.
Hmm.
Mmm, good.
Come in.
Hi.
Oh, hi, Lisa.
Hey, Lisa, how was San Francisco?
Oh, don't ask.
Oh, yeah? Well, you're just in time for pizza à la MacGyver.
I need it. I had a day like a curse.
That good, huh?
Anyway, I see you found him.
No problem.
So, was the birthday party fun?
Outstanding!