PIEDRA

Piedra was a ruthless assassin and a master of disguise. He was known to have committed at least 14 assassinations in 8 different countries, each time with a different face, name, and ID. He was also known to use call girls to make his pickups, after which he would kill them. One such woman, hired through Cheri's escort service, was Lila, who was fearful after her encounter and was preparing to leave when Piedra broke into her apartment and fatally stabbed her. Lila's sister Terry was determined to find and kill Piedra in revenge.

Thornton and the DXS had received intelligence stating that Piedra would be arriving at French's Fine Watches to buy timing devices for a major hit, and MacGyver took the place of the watchmaker to apprehend Piedra when he arrived. Although Piedra was not known to have any family, as part of his cover he arrived at the watch shop with Eddie, a young boy for whom he had promised to buy a watch. After the purchase was made, Piedra selected the timing devices he would need and prepared to kill MacGyver after the sale was completed. However, after a violent struggle, Thornton arrived to knock Piedra unconscious, and he was taken into custody in the hotel room at the Mayfair Hotel that he had been using.

As an assassin, Piedra was a walking armory, with dozens of weapons hidden on his person including knives, wires, plastique, darts tipped with curare, and a tube of paste that exploded on contact. The DXS managed to confiscate most of the weapons, but Piedra refused to answer any questions. His mission was revealed, however, when a ringing phone was discovered in a briefcase hidden on the underside of the desk in the room. MacGyver received the paymaster's instructions and took Piedra's place for the drop while Piedra was removed to a secure cell in a safe house.

Although MacGyver was able to intercept the instructions for the assassination, Piedra was already aware that his mission was to kill Archbishop Fierro during his appearance at St. Marcus Convent. Using a wire hidden under his fake moustache to pick the lock of his handcuffs, and a curare-tipped needle hidden under a fake scar that he used with a cardboard tube and a pea to create a blowgun, Piedra was able to escape from his cell, and he killed all four DXS agents who were guarding him, including Connors and Sawyer. He then made his way to the convent disguised as an old man with a beard, a cane, and an Irish accent.

Emilio and Lopez, two agents who were charged with security during Archbishop Fierro's appearance, had already taken MacGyver and Terry into custody, believing that MacGyver was the assassin and Terry his accomplice. Once it was discovered that Piedra had escaped, however, Emilio, Lopez, Thorton, MacGyver, and their respective agents worked together to comb the grounds and prevent the assassination.

Sister Eileen Kennedy had arranged for Archbishop Fierro to conduct a blessing service with some of the nuns before he was scheduled to speak. MacGyver dressed in his clerical robes to take his place, and Piedra had stolen a nun's habit as his own disguise. The two confronted each other in the church, and in the ensuing struggle Piedra attempted to use another poisoned dart. However, it lodged in the brick walkway, and when MacGyver tripped him with a hose, his hand fell on the poisoned tip, killing him almost instantly.

Portrayed by: Anthony DeLongis

Reference: Cheri, Connors, Eddie, Emilio, Archbishop Fierro, French's Fine Watches, Sister Eileen Kennedy, Lila, Lopez, Mayfair Hotel, Our Holy Father Cemetery, Sawyer, C. W. Smith, St. Marcus Convent, Terry

Episode Reference: The Assassin