PAUL WEBSTER

Paul Webster was an American traveling on a train to Rajmir, India with fellow passengers that included Andrea Collins, a courier for the US State Department, Andy Ellis and Laura Dillion, Americans who had recently met and had begun a relationship, Diana Kingman, a meek American young woman travelling with her domineering mother Eleanor, James Grant, a British surgeon who had recently lost his right arm in an accident, Peter Kramer, a mysterious European traveling alone, Lyman and Blade, who wore the uniform of a conductor, and MacGyver.

Hassan was a leader of a small, impoverished village in India. The villagers had built a clinic and had bought medicines from two Western businessmen in Chattur, however the medicine had been tainted, and 26 people in the village had died, including Hassan's son. Hassan knew that the two men had boarded the train for Rajmir, but because he did not know their identities, he and his followers planted explosives to destroy a trestle bridge and hijack the train, and he announced that all Westerners aboard the train would be held hostage without food or water until they themselves identified the two men and turned them over to face justice.

Webster appeared to be traveling alone, and for most of the journey he had kept to himself, but he seemed anxious to deflect suspicion to his fellow passengers, and he was indignant when MacGyver agreed to take Hassan's word that the criminals would be given a fair trial. MacGyver fashioned a makeshift lie detector using Dr. Grant's sphygmomanometer and an alarm clock, and Webster agreed to be tested, declaring he had nothing to hide. Once attached to the device, however, Webster became nervous and unable to respond truthfully, and he set off the alarm, revealing as he did so that his partner was Blade and that they had been responsible for selling the tainted drugs. Blade had been carrying Webster's concealed gun, and Webster grabbed the weapon and fired, striking Hassan in the right arm and continuing to fire at MacGyver, who was pursuing him. He attempted to escape by restarting the train engine, however MacGyver had previously booby-trapped the control panel circuits to overload, and despite MacGyver's warnings, Webster threw the switch and received a fatal electric shock. Blade, who was forced to return the gold coins that Hassan's people had paid for the medicines, was taken into custody to face trial in Rajmir. The other passengers were permitted to return to the train to continue their journey by another route.

Portrayed by: Alan Fudge

Cross Reference: Badur, Batu Das, Blade, Andrea Collins, Laura Dillon, Andy Ellis, James Grant, Hassan, India, Diana Kingman, Eleanor Kingman, Peter Kramer, Lyman

Episode Reference: Slow Death