Sleight of Hand --------- JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA 1310 Local Mac closed another file folder and sat back with a sigh. Thank God it was Friday and this week would finally be over. It looked like Bud had gotten through his DOD without any serious damage. She had hated her part in it but, fortunately, Bud had understood the difference between friendship and duty. And she felt sorry for young seaman on the John Cooper that she had prosecuted in the Article 32. Not so sorry as to let him off the hook, of course. Rath had blithely cut corners and outright ignored safety regulations until they had literally blown up in his face. He was lucky he hadn't killed anyone; but still, he was just a kid. She was grateful she wouldn't be handling the court-martial. Well, Mac mused, at least she got to spend some 'quality' time with Harm. That Squid - he was at his most passionate when he didn't have a legal leg to stand on. What was that saying? 'When the facts are against you, argue the law. When the law is against you, pound on the table and yell like hell.' For a moment, she thought his playing the emotion card during his closing might actually get the young man off. Rabb was good, no doubt about it. "Truth, Justice and the American Way. I wonder if he's wearing a Superman suit under that uniform of his? ... Hmmm, now there's a visual..." Mac chuckled quietly to herself. "So counselor, is that a Thank-God-Its-Friday smile or did you just discover a bare spot on your desk?" The amused voice of her favorite aviator cut into her thoughts. Mac looked up to see a relaxed Harmon Rabb leaning against her doorframe with his arms folded across his chest. "Actually, Mr. Rabb, this is the smile of a Chief of Staff who has just dumped her entire caseload on a certain Squid." She smiled sweetly at him. With a look of mock horror, Harm solemnly intoned, "Oh my, poor Sturgis..." Laughing, Mac waved him into a chair. "Big plans this weekend, Sailor?" "Nah, Sturgis invited Bud and I over to watch the basketball game tonight." Harm grinned, "Boys Night Out. How about you?" "Tonight, nothing more strenuous than a bubblebath, a box of chocolate and a good book. If the weather stays this nice tomorrow, I thought I'd put the top down on the 'vette and take a drive through the countryside." "Want some company?" The words were out before Harm had a chance to think about it. He tried to look nonchalant while watching Mac somewhat anxiously. Mac raised both eyebrows before her eyes took on a mischievous gleam. "Are you talking about the bubblebath or the drive?" For a split second Harm sat perfectly still, then leaned forward twirling an imaginary mustache and waggling his eyebrows suggestively, "My dear Colonel... ," he purred in a truly horrendous French accent. The rest of Harm's reply was lost when Tiner knocked on the doorframe and stuck his head in the office. "Colonel, the Admiral would like to see you as soon as possible." "Thank you, Tiner." Mac groaned inwardly and looked wryly at Harm. "Why isn't the Admiral asking for you on a Friday afternoon?" Harm placed a hand on his chest and proclaimed sonorously, "It is because, in my heart, I am pure..." Mac rolled her eyes, "Give me a break. Why do I have this sinking feeling that my plans are about to change?" Harm smiled sympathetically as he stood up, "Hey, if you need help just yell." He followed her out and watched her walk over to the Admiral's office. Grinning to himself, he headed back to his office - the weekend was looking up. Admiral Chegwidden's Office 1317 Local After hearing 'Enter', Mac walked in and came to attention in front of the Admiral's desk. "Colonel MacKenzie, reporting as ordered sir." "Have a seat, Colonel." Admiral Chegwidden said as he shuffled through some papers on his desk. Finishing, he laced his fingers together and regarded his Chief of Staff for a moment. Mac waited patiently, the Admiral excelled at getting right to the point. "Colonel, are you acquainted with a Petty Officer Daniel Lattimer?" "No sir, I don't believe so." Mac looked slightly puzzled. "Well, apparently, he knows you. He's been arrested for drug possession with intent to distribute. He is refusing to talk to anyone except you." AJ sighed. "He is... was... Admiral Jacobs' yeoman." Mac's surprise showed. "Admiral Charles Jacobs of Naval Intelligence, sir?" "That's the one," AJ replied, "Lattimer is currently being held at the brig in Quantico. Charlie's anxious to get this cleared up, one way or the other. So... the sooner you get started, Colonel, the better." "Aye aye, sir." Mac came to attention and at the Admiral's dismissal, pivoted smartly and left his office. "Damn," Mac thought to herself as she hurried back to her office to gather her things. Almost an hour drive to Quantico plus a couple of hours to interview Lattimer (that name still didn't ring any bells), then another hour or so to come back and start sorting through her notes. Well, maybe after she organized things she would just take the whole mess home. That way, at least, she would still get her bubblebath and box of chocolate. Continuing that line of thought brought her back to the earlier conversation with Harm. She smiled, she'd almost had him for a minute before he had countered with his lecherous Frenchman imitation. God, that was the worst accent... "If you're smiling, I guess your plans didn't take too bad a hit." Harm stood by her door, looking in. "More like augmented," Mac said as she closed her briefcase and glanced around the office. "I get a preview of this weekend's drive with a trip down to Quantico and back." "Anything serious? I could rearrange my afternoon schedule if you think you'd like some backup." Harm offered. He and Mac had always worked well together and after this past disastrous year, he welcomed opportunities to get their friendship back on track. "I don't think so, but thanks anyway. It's an alleged drug- dealing petty officer who apparently thinks I'm SuperLawyer. He won't talk to anyone else." Mac grabbed her cover and purse and headed out the door. "I'll give you a call tomorrow, if you're still interested," she said as she headed for the elevators. "You WERE talking about the drive, weren't you?" She laughed lightly, one eyebrow quirked. The elevator doors closed, blocking her view of a slightly bemused but smiling Harmon Rabb. "You're looking smug, Commander." Harm turned to find Sturgis behind him. "Why not?" Harm replied, "I'll be caught up with my paperwork in another couple hours. I've got the weekend off. By the end of tonight, I'll be twenty bucks richer and now it looks like I've got plans with Mac tomorrow." "You asked her for a date?" Sturgis asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Uhhh, no, not exactly. She mentioned taking her 'vette for a drive through the countryside and I sort of invited myself along. She didn't say no." Harm added, a little defensively. "I see." Sturgis smiled and started back to his office. Midway, he stopped and turned around, "What do you mean you'll be twenty bucks richer?" "That's what you're going to owe me when Kansas kicks butt tonight," Harm grinned at his friend. Quantico Brig 1427 Local Mac turned away from the window as the guard brought PO Lattimer in. "Thank you, Corporal. Please wait outside." She waited until he had stepped out before turning to Lattimer. "Well, Petty Officer, let's hear your side of the story. And then perhaps, you can tell me why I was the only JAG you would talk with." "It's not what it looks like, Colonel MacKenzie!" PO Lattimer blurted. "I was set up!" Mac contained the urge to sigh. "Petty Officer, according to the arrest report, they found crystal meth in your locker and small bag of amphetamines taped to the back of one of your desk drawers." "Honest, Ma'am. I don't do drugs and I don't deal." Lattimer glanced around the room and lowered his voice. "I don't know who to trust anymore, Colonel, that's why I asked for you. I saw you on CourtTV last year. I know you're only interested in the truth." Mac's face kept its calm facade while she silently cursed that miserable TV show and the SecNav who had gotten her into it. "Exactly what truth are we talking about?" "I've been Admiral Jacobs' yeoman for almost two years," Lattimer began. "About 7 months ago, I was reorganizing data on the computer when I came across an odd file. Well, actually it was a partial file, like there had been a system glitch and a copy was generated without someone realizing it." "Lattimer," Mac interrupted, "Is there a point in here somewhere and what does this have to do with the drugs?" PO Lattimer flushed, "Ma'am, the thing is I'm kind of a computer geek and this file made me curious. I started trying to reconstruct it in my spare time. ...Have you ever heard of 'Archangel'?" Mac shook her head, "Is there some reason I would?" "Well, no, but neither had I. Colonel, almost everything that goes on in Naval Intelligence is cleared through Admiral Jacobs and comes across my desk. Not details or anything, mostly overviews and general memorandum. 'Archangel' had been going on for a while and apparently not within channels. Once I had figured out what to look for, I started to... uh..." "Snoop?" PO Lattimer winced and if possible, looked even more nervous. "Yes Ma'am." He paused for second and then said in a rush, "Ma'am, did you know that Admiral Jacobs hates people of Arabic descent and especially the Palestinians?" "That's enough!" Mac was on her feet and leaning over the table towards the Petty Officer. Coldly furious, she continued in a deadly quiet tone, "You called me down here so you could accuse a senior officer, a highly decorated, widely respected, senior officer of being a bigot? Do you somehow imagine that this would mitigate the drug charges? Or are you going to threaten to make this public in order to gain leverage? Either way, you've picked the wrong attorney!" "No, Colonel! Please, you've got to listen. Someone else has know, has to stop them. They know I know, they're going to kill me!" It was the desperate fear on the Petty Officer's face that made Mac slowly sit back down. "Go on." "Ma'am, 'Archangel' is not only a covert operation but also a network. Admiral Jacobs is part of it, but there's more and they're scattered across the services and the government agencies. They think the only way to stabilize the Middle East is for the United States to control it and the first step is the eradication of the Palestinians. They're trying to manipulate the Israelis into doing it for them. Every time a peace initiative looks like it might have a chance, they sabotage it. That ship the Israelis grabbed that was filled with weapons? That wasn't Arafat, it was 'Archangel'." "Lattimer, no one's going to believe this without some sort of evidence. I'm not sure I believe it." Mac stared at the Petty Officer. "You're telling me this Archangel network has people throughout the intelligence community, as well as the military? And they're out to overthrow the Middle East? Can you prove any of this?" "I can't prove everything, but I've found enough files to substantiate a lot of what I told you. It's all copied on a CD that I've hidden." Lattimer wiped a nervous hand across his face. "Last week, I made a mistake. I mentioned an incident in front of Admiral Jacobs that I should have had no way of knowing. He didn't react and I thought, maybe, he didn't realize what I'd said. Three days ago, I became aware I was being followed. I got really scared, I figured that at some point soon I was going to have a 'lethal' accident. So, I contacted a guy I knew from college and bought the drugs. Then I paid him extra to call in an anonymous tip to the military police. They showed up yesterday, found the drugs and arrested me. The Admiral stood and watched the whole thing and then went back in his office. He never said a word." Disbelief washed across Mac's face. "Now you're telling me you set yourself up? These are felony charges, Petty Officer. They're not going to go away. What were you thinking? Do you realize that your credibility just went into the toilet? This story is already unbelievable and now it will look like a drugged-out sailor trying to shift attention away from himself and get revenge against a superior officer." "Oh God," Lattimer slumped down in the chair with his head in his hands. "I was terrified, I still am. I don't want to die. I didn't know where to go and then I thought if I was in the brig, at least I'd have guards around me." He looked up, "Please Ma'am, tell me you believe me. These people have to be stopped." "I don't know," Mac answered frankly. "I think I need to see evidence before I make any decisions. Where do I find this CD?" Lattimer looked undecided for a moment, then sighed. "I guess I can't ask for more at this point. There's a hardcover book about Napoleon Bonaparte in the bottom righthand drawer of my desk. Peel the paper away from the inside back cover, it's in there." Mac stood up and began gathering her notes. "Alright, Lattimer. I'll stop by your office on my way back to JAG. If anyone asks, I'll just say you asked me to bring you something to read and mentioned the book. Then I'll see about transferring you to the brig in DC. I would guess you'd rather I didn't try to get you released?" "No thank you, Ma'am," Lattimer said as Mac walked to the door to summon the guard. "Oh, and Colonel? Please be very careful." NIS 1735 Local It took twenty minutes of "No-I'm-Not-An-Enemy-Spy" before Mac was (reluctantly, she thought) escorted to PO Lattimer's desk. She sat down for a minute to try and get feel for the Petty Officer and his work habits. Besides, it so obviously annoyed the arrogant, young Lieutenant who was accompanying her. Well, patience was a necessary skill for someone in Intelligence, he might as well start learning that now. After waiting another minute, she reached down and opened the righthand drawer. It contained a number of books and CDs, as well as a portable CD player. Deciding it would draw less attention, Mac grabbed three books, a handful of CDs and the player. "I don't think you're allowed to remove any of that," stated the Lieutenant, somewhat pompously. "This is a crime scene." "Why, thank you Lieutenant," Mac calmly replied in a tone she usually reserved for elderly dogs and small children, "But I believe the MPs have already secured the evidence." "Well, I'm pretty sure none of this is supposed to leave the building. It's a matter of security," the Lieutenant persisted with a slight edge to his voice. As far as he was concerned, there were too many chair-warming, paper- pushing, SOB lawyers in the service. He didn't think of them as being real military; they'd probably cry or wet their pants if they ever heard a shot fired in anger. No doubt they received their commissions based on the number of military personnel they railroaded into Leavenworth. Now here was this female, pseudo-Marine light bird taking up his valuable time. "I see," Mac gazed at the Lieutenant for a long moment. Then standing up, she continued, her voice becoming colder. "I presume that you'll be able to show me the regulation that states that an attorney can't collect a client's requested personal items after a crime scene is released? Then perhaps you can show me the policy change here at NIS that allows a junior officer to ignore military courtesy? I would hate to think that you took it upon yourself to be disrespectful. ... Although, I suppose I could excuse your behavior due to a lack of intelligence. So which is it, Lieutenant? Policy or stupidity?" By now, Mac was in the Lieutenant's face and he was braced at attention. "I'm waiting." "My apologies, Ma'am. No excuse." Tightly controlled anger was evident in the Lieutenant's face. 'Who the hell did SHE think she was?' "Lieutenant," Mac said, quietly, looking him in the eye, "If you're hoping for a long and successful career in Intelligence work, I would suggest you forego making snap judgments based on personal prejudices. It will someday get you, or those around you, killed. Then find a master chief who would be willing to teach you how to play poker. You're too easily and obviously provoked." "I agree completely, Colonel." Mac turned to find Admiral Jacobs standing in the entryway. She popped to attention, "Lt. Col. MacKenzie of the Judge Advocate General, sir." "As you were." Admiral Jacobs said, walking into the room. "Lieutenant, why don't you bring me a cup of coffee? Black, two sugars - take about five minutes. So, Colonel, I assume you've agreed to defend Danny... PO Lattimer? What are his chances?" "Yes sir." Mac replied. "Sir, at this point, I'm still putting all the facts together but I'd have to say, at the very least, he's probably out of the Navy." "Damn. I suppose he told you he's been my yeoman for the last two years? I have to admit, I didn't see this coming." The Admiral regarded Mac solemnly. "If you need me as a character witness, I'd be more than happy to help." "Thank you, sir. I still need to review all my notes before I formulate a strategy. Then, perhaps, we can arrange an interview at your convenience." "Just give me a day's notice, Colonel. So, was there a reason for your visit to NIS or did you just feel the need to put some arrogant young pup in his place?" The Admiral's craggy eyebrows lifted in amusement. Mac flushed slightly. "I apologize Admiral, if I overstepped my bounds. PO Lattimer asked me if I would bring him something to read. He said he kept some books in his desk. I just went ahead and grabbed the CDs and the player, too." Admiral Jacobs waved a hand in dismissal and smiled. "Everything you said was true, Colonel. Besides, hopefully it will do the young man good to realize that some... ahhh... 'legal weenies'... have teeth." He walked to the desk and glanced over his shoulder. "Are these the books?" "Yes sir." Mac carefully maintained her composure. The Admiral casually fanned through the pages of each book and looked at the CDs. "I've read the book on Napoleon. Fascinating, are you interested in military history?" "I lean more towards paleontology, sir." At the questioning look by the Admiral, Mac continued, "I grew up out west, not far from some fossil beds. I was hooked at an early age." At that moment, the Lieutenant returned with the Admiral's coffee. Thanking him, the Admiral turned back to Mac, "Tell Danny I'm thinking of him and give my regards to AJ, he tells me you're one of the best." "Thank you sir, I will." Mac popped to attention again, "Permission to leave, sir?" "Granted. Lieutenant, after you've escorted the Colonel to her car, come back up to my office." "Yes sir." Mac gathered all the items and followed a chastened Lieutenant out of the building. JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA 1850 Local Mac sat in her office and contemplated her notes. She had closed her door as soon as she had returned; it was her 'Do Not Disturb Without A Damn Good Reason' sign. She had given the whole matter a lot of thought on the drive back. After giving Lattimer the benefit of the doubt, she had decided that a healthy dose of paranoia would be a good thing. At the moment, all the notes and briefs on her desk and computer dealt only with the drug charges, everything else was back in her briefcase. Glancing out at the bullpen, she saw that it was nearly deserted. Harm and Bud were both already gone when she returned. They had actually left on time so they could get over to Sturgis' by tip-off. Mac smiled and picked up the note she had found attached to her computer screen. It was a cartoon of a 'vette zooming down the road and the words: 'Wish I was here.' Definitely Rabb's handiwork, she'd call him in the morning and roust him out of bed. Sighing, she returned her attention to her desk. "Stop stalling," Mac chided herself. She knew once she looked at the CD, there would be no turning back. Mac tried to suppress the uneasy feeling that she was already irrevocably caught up in this; her instincts were telling her that Lattimer was indeed telling the truth. Inadvertently, she scanned the bullpen again. 'Stop it!' Picking up the book, she opened it to the back and ran her hand down the inside cover. The Petty Officer had done a good job, there was no way to tell that a CD was secreted there. Staring at it for a moment longer, Mac came to a quick decision. She'd do this at home on her laptop. As long as she stayed off the internet, there was no way for anyone to hack into her files. Stuffing the book into her briefcase, she gathered everything else, left her office and nearly jumped out of her skin when the Admiral suddenly appeared. "Easy, Colonel," Admiral Chegwidden said with a slight smile, the SEAL in him was always pleased at successful ambushes, even the unintentional ones. "I thought you had left for the day, sir," Mac managed to get out. Her heart was beating wildly. 'Pull it together, Marine!' "No rest for the wicked," AJ wondered at the reaction that remark caused, then continued smoothly, giving his normally unflappable Chief of Staff time to recover, "How is the Petty Officer's case looking?" What in the world had her so flustered? Rabb had left hours ago... "Not that good at the moment, Admiral. It looks like the prosecution will have a pretty solid case." Mac replied in what she hoped was a normal tone. "Is everything all right, Mac?" AJ asked carefully. He didn't want to leap to any conclusions, not after his last brilliant attempt when he ran off her appointment and then accused her of matchmaking. She hadn't exactly dressed him down - Rank Hath Its Privileges - but he wasn't anxious to repeat his mistakes. "Fine, sir. It's been a long week, I'm tired and, apparently, a little jumpy." Mac said with a small smile. She couldn't quite bring herself to mention the bombshell PO Lattimer had dropped on her - not yet anyway, not without proof. 'For god's sake, MacKenzie, this is one of the few people you trust implicitly. Straighten up or he's going to think you belong in the psych ward at Bethesda.' "Then I assume you've decided to call it a day?" "Yes sir." They walked over to the elevator together. "You aren't planning to work through the weekend, are you? Or do I need to make that an order?" AJ said with an amused look on his face. "That won't be necessary, sir. Actually, Commander Rabb and I are planning to take a drive in the country if the weather holds." Mac winced mentally, 'Good move, now you're babbling to your CO about your personal life.' "I... see," AJ kept the laughter out of his voice with difficulty. He looked over at his Chief of Staff who was staring stoically at the elevator, apparently trying to make the doors open with willpower alone. Deciding to give her a break, he added, "Charlie... Admiral Jacobs called me this afternoon. You made quite an impression on him. He said if you ever got tired of being a 'legal weenie', he'd be happy to have you over with NIS." AJ glanced at the elevator as the doors opened and missed Mac visibly tensing at Admiral Jacobs' name. Forcing herself to relax, Mac replied, "That's flattering, sir, but I don't think I'm cut out for the cloak and dagger business." Stepping into the elevator, she turned and looked at the Admiral, "Good night, sir. I'll see you Monday." Walking across the parking lot, Mac got into her corvette and dumped everything in the passenger seat. She started the car and then sat there for a minute. That uneasy feeling was back, the same one she used to get in the desert just before a thunderstorm... or late on Friday nights when her father was due home. Shaking her head, she decided to make a few stops on the way home. Mac's Apartment Georgetown 1940 Local Entering her apartment, Mac put her briefcase and various packages on her desk. Stepping into the kitchen, she stuck the Chinese take-out in the microwave and put the tea kettle on the stove to boil. Then stopping in the bedroom and getting out of her uniform, she pulled on some comfortable sweats and walked back to her desk. Opening her briefcase, Mac pulled out 'Napoleon Bonaparte' and placed it to the side. She started up her laptop and then removed the rest of the files. Hearing the kettle start to whistle, Mac grabbed the book and headed for the kitchen. She had decided to try to steam the back inside cover off. Holding it gingerly over the tea kettle, Mac smiled wryly. She had no idea if this would work - her only reference was that it always did in the movies. Hopefully, it wouldn't damage the disk (wouldn't that be perfect... ). Five minutes later, still somewhat amazed, she was holding the CD. It had been enclosed in a thin, vinyl envelope. With considerable trepidation, Mac walked over and sat down at her laptop. Mac's Apartment Georgetown 2053 Local Leaning back in her chair, Mac rubbed her eyes. She had been going through the CD's contents for little over an hour (73 minutes, according to her internal clock) and still hadn't read everything. However, what she had read had confirmed Lattimer's story. The whole thing left her angry and terrified at the same time. 'Archangel' was pretty farflung and had enlisted the help of a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, as well as several Congressmen. Well, perhaps, 'blackmailed' was a better word than enlisted. The rest of the network was identified only by codenames. 'Gabriel' was the leader and judging from various bits and pieces, Mac was pretty sure Gabriel was actually Admiral Jacobs. It was the other codenames that bothered her. How could you conduct an investigation spanning the services and government agencies, not knowing if one of the investigators was part of 'Archangel'? And, God help them, what if Congress found out and wanted to get involved? She'd be a little old Marine before they made their first decision about seating arrangements! 'Okay, slow down MacKenzie. You're trying to climb onto the roof and you haven't put the walls up yet.' She'd copied the CD's contents onto her laptop and had already decided that the safest hiding place for the CD itself would probably be the book again. She also needed to organize the mountain of information into a recognizable form and finally, she needed to contact the two people she trusted most: Harm and the Admiral. Standing and stretching, Mac decided to take care of the CD first. Grabbing several of the packages she had purchased on the way home, she went into the kitchen. The problems, she thought, were threefold: First, to hide the CD where it wouldn't be found; Second, get it into the hands of someone she trusted without arousing suspicion; and finally, compose an innocent-sounding message that would cause that person to look for the CD should something happen to her and Lattimer. 'My, aren't we being dramatic.' Actually, the first two problems weren't that hard. Placing the CD back in its envelope and then back into its hiding place in the book, Mac carefully began re-gluing the inside cover paper. Finishing, she sat back and critically examined her work. The care she had taken both in removing the CD and replacing it paid off. Emperor Napoleon was once more keeping secrets. Going to the first package, she unwrapped another copy of the book. After exchanging dust covers, Mac put the new book in her briefcase. Then she pulled out the contents of the second package: silver wrapping paper, bows, a gift bag and card. Opening a volume of case law, she began scanning. Six minutes and 43 seconds later, Yes! She sat for a minute, thinking, then opened the original book and wrote on the inside front cover: 'To Harm, Happy Anniversary of our first case together. Admiral Jacobs recommended this and I thought you might like it - thanks for being there. -- Mac P.S. Who would have thought the Montgomery case would have led to so much?' Looking over the message, Mac nodded to herself. That was innocuous enough. He wouldn't understand it at first but her Squid ('Her Squid?' Mac thought about that for a minute, then decided, 'Hell, yes, he's my Squid.') was nothing if not tenacious. Once he realized what Montgomery was about, he'd put two and two together. For good measure, Mac repeated the message on the gift card, wrapped the book, added a bow and placed it and the card in the gift bag. After straightening the kitchen, she picked up the bag and walked into the living room. She put it on the table next to the front door. 'That should do it, I hope - hidden in plain view.' Going back to her desk, Mac began organizing her notes. A short time later, she stared at the papers in exasperation, where was the page outlining Gabriel/Admiral Jacobs' probable involvement? Damnation, she was sure she had seen it! She went through the papers on the desk again, then searched her briefcase and finally checked the floor. Nothing. Mac sat for a moment and resisted the urge to throw something breakable against the wall. Damn it to hell, it was 2130 on a Friday and now she had to go back to the office. Well, there was no point wasting time whining, she thought as she stomped towards the bedroom. Pulling on some jeans and throwing a t-shirt under her sweatshirt, she stopped long enough to grab her license, JAG ID and car keys and headed out the door. JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA 2147 Local Gunnery Sergeant Rudy Walters looked up from the log in time to see the brunette come striding in the front doors. He smiled. He had to admit he hadn't been thrilled when he wound up assigned to guard lawyers, of all things, but it hadn't been as bad as he feared. For a bunch of squids, the officers were okay (most of them anyway). The head man himself was tough as an old boot. He'd also been leery of Col. MacKenzie, but gradually he had come around (he was a second-generation Marine and had grown up listening to his father rail about the Corps going to hell in a handbasket ever since they let women pretend to be Marines). The Colonel had a no-nonsense, squared-away attitude that met with the Gunny's approval. She didn't treat the enlisted like some sort of sub-species and she made a point of getting to know him and his security detail. He realized that as Chief of Staff, she considered it part of her duties, but he also got the feeling she occasionally preferred the company of Marines. She jokingly referred to it as 'the Navy blues' and would cadge a cup of coffee while listening to his overview of current security. Walters' good opinion was cemented over a couple of beers with Gunny Galindez after the latter's return from the Guadalcanal. "Good evening, Colonel. I didn't expect to see you until Monday." "That makes two of us, Gunny. How did you wind up on the late shift? Piss off the-powers-that-be?" Mac asked as she signed in on the log the Gunny had politely proffered. "Ma'am, I'm shocked. It is well known throughout the Corps that without the personal attention of the gunnery sergeants, chaos and calamity would ensue. I would humbly remind you that my sterling qualities are legendary and therefore, indispensable." Gunny Walters answered solemnly. Mac laughed, "I stand corrected, Gunnery Sergeant." She continued, "I just need to run up to my office and pick up a file that I forgot. I should be in and out of here in ten minutes." "Yes, Ma'am." The Gunny looked over his shoulder and crooked a finger at a PFC behind the CP desk. The young man hurried over and snapped to attention. "I'll have Rodreguiz accompany you." "That's not really necessary, but thank you, Gunny." Mac said and strode towards the elevators, trailed by the PFC. Stepping off on the Ops floor, Mac noticed the PFC scanning the corridor. As she started for the bullpen, she heard him say, "Excuse me, Colonel." "Yes, Rodreguiz?" Mac said as she turned back to face him. "Ma'am, I noticed that the stairwell door is ajar. Would it be all right if I went and checked it out?" "Of course, Private. If I don't see you in my office, I'll meet you here at the elevator." Mac watched him walk towards the stairs and then turned and entered the darkened bullpen. Deep in thought, she was in the doorway of her office before she realized her computer was on and a man in coveralls was sitting at her desk. Mac stopped in surprise and said the first thing that popped into her head, "What the hell are you doing?" Mac noted the startled look on the man's face almost as an afterthought. All her attention was focused on his hand coming up from below the desk as he swung towards her. It was gripping an automatic pistol with a black, bulky tube attached to the muzzle. 'Silencer,' Mac thought in an oddly detached way. Everything was happening so slowly, then the moment of shock passed and the adrenalin kicked in. 'MOVE!!' She threw herself sideways as the man fired. By the time he made it out of her office, Mac was crouched three desks away. Keeping a wary eye on him, Mac silently berated herself, "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!" She kept her right hand firmly clamped on her left arm. She was pretty sure the bullet had gone right through - which didn't make the pain any less and her sleeve was slowly becoming soaked with blood. Damn, she'd forgotten how much this could hurt. 'Focus, Marine!' The man was cautiously continuing his search through the bullpen. Mac did her best to keep as many desks between them as possible. 'Where the hell was Rodreguiz?' She couldn't keep this up forever and she would need some sort of a weapon if she was forced to take this guy on. 'Never a howitzer when you want one...' Mac carefully watched her adversary while looking around the bullpen. 'This might work...' Waiting until he ducked into a side office to search, she maneuvered herself as close as she dared. He seemed to have developed a pattern to his search; her plan depended upon anticipating where he would go next. 'Yes! Three... two... one...' Mac yanked on a wire and sent a phone crashing to the floor behind him. As he spun towards the noise, she popped up from the other side and slammed a second phone into his head. Leaning against a desk, Mac looked down at the unconscious man. Carefully lowering herself to the floor, she picked up his gun. She was starting to get light-headed, definitely not a good sign. 'Where the hell was Rodreguiz?' Hearing a sound behind her, she spun towards this latest threat. Her vision blurred and she tried desperately to focus. Finally, her eyesight cleared enough to take in the uniform of a Marine corporal. He was standing stockstill, holding his hands up, palms out. Mac lowered the pistol, "Thank God, Corporal. I surprised this man in my office and he shot me." She glanced down as the man groaned, "Call Gunny Walters and get him..." She looked up in time to see the barrel of the Corporal's sidearm swinging towards her head. The Corporal stepped over her prone body and hauled the man unceremoniously to his feet. "You okay, Aiken?" "Yeah, yeah," Aiken held his head gingerly as he bent down and retrieved his pistol. Straightening up, he kicked Mac in the side. "Bitch!" The other man grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him roughly away. "We don't have time for that, you idiot! Did you find it?" "No. It's not on her computer and I didn't have the chance to finish searching her office. Why didn't you stop her before she got in here, hotshot?" Aiken hissed angrily. "Because I was taking care of her escort. Dammit, we're running out of time." He fished in his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Tossing them to Aiken, he said, "Put those on her." "What for?" "Because she's already proved she can take you on one- handed," the Corporal retorted, sarcastically. "Do it. We don't have time to search anymore, so we'll ask her." "What makes you think she'll tell you anything?" Aiken demanded. "If she doesn't, I'll let you ask her." Gunny Walters checked his watch again and drummed his fingers on the desk. Corporal Meyers looked over at him, "Something wrong, Gunny?" "Maybe. Colonel MacKenzie said she'd be back down in ten. It's going on twenty." The Gunny rubbed his chin. "She probably just lost track of time," Meyers offered, he never wasted his time trying to figure out how an officer's mind worked. "That's probably the one thing that didn't happen," replied the Gunny. After a number of beers, Galindez had told him about the Colonel's particular talent. Walters was sure his leg was being pulled and, somewhat triumphantly, pointed out that she always wore a watch. Galindez had laughed and said it kept her from having to spend all her time explaining. Afterwards, Walters had kept a surreptitious eye on the Colonel long enough to discover that Victor had been telling the truth. He thought about it a moment longer and then got to his feet, "Corporal, come with me." Bypassing the elevator and main stairwell, Walters headed for a little-used service stairway. Seeing Meyers looking at him askance, he just said, "Humor me." Something wasn't right, he could feel it. Reaching the Ops floor, Walters motioned to the Corporal for silence and carefully opened the door. Looking down the corridor, he saw it was deserted. Quietly, they started down toward the main office. Almost there, Gunny put up his hand and stopped. He glanced back at Meyers and got a confirming nod. They could hear low voices, both male and neither sounded like Rodreguiz. Drawing their sidearms, Gunny gestured to Meyers to stay put and keep watch. Staying low to the floor, he crept cautiously to the bullpen entryway and peered in. Backing away, he quietly returned to Meyers. Putting his mouth close to the Corporal's ear, he said in almost inaudible tones, "Two male intruders: one dressed as a Marine guard, the other as maintenance. The Colonel's in a chair, bleeding like a stuck pig. Can't tell if she's conscious, and there's no sign of Rodreguiz. Get back to the CP and shut this building down. Notify the gate and call for reinforcements - tell them to come quietly, it's a hostage situation. Call for an ambulance and paramedics, then grab the corpsman on duty and whatever backup you can find and get the hell back up here." Gunny Walters waited until Meyers had disappeared into the stairway, then he turned and crept quietly back to the bullpen. Cautiously, he looked in again in time to watch the maintenance man grab the Colonel by the hair and slap her across the face. Clenching his jaw, Walters gripped his weapon a little tighter and waited. The fake Marine said something to the maintenance man, who reacted in an angry undertone. Seeing his chance, the Gunny moved quickly to one of the desks. When he saw the maintenance man start to point his pistol at the Colonel's head, Walters decided he had run out of time. Steadying his elbows on the desktop, he aimed his sidearm at them and barked, "Freeze!" The fake Marine whirled and fired, his shot going high over the Gunny's head. Walters returned fire, hitting the Marine twice in the chest and sending him crashing to the floor. Maintenance Man didn't waste any time. He ducked behind the Colonel, grabbed a handful of sweatshirt and hauled her backwards out of the chair to her feet. Using her as a shield, he shoved the pistol muzzle up under her jaw, "Drop your gun or I'll kill her!" Walters remained silent, his weapon still trained on the Maintenance Man. "I mean it! I'll kill her!" Finally, Walters spoke, "Fine. As soon as you do, I'm gonna blow your goddamn brains out." The Maintenance Man looked at him in disbelief. "Are you crazy?! She's the Chief of Staff!" "You think I care? Officers are a pain in the ass." Walters replied, taking careful aim. He smiled coldly, "I never pass up the chance to blow away some pissant white honky." He saw the Colonel's eyes upon him, she didn't look quite as dazed as she did a minute ago. Suddenly, her head lolled to one side and her knees buckled. Caught by surprise, Maintenance Man tightened his grip and tried to keep her upright. He was off-balance and when the Colonel suddenly reversed direction and threw herself backwards, they both crashed to floor. Walters was out from behind the desk and moving as they started to fall. He reached the man's side almost as soon as they landed, his foot immobilizing the gunhand and the muzzle of his sidearm a half-inch from the bridge of Maintenance Man's nose. "Just twitch," Walters said softly, "Give me a reason." He reached over with his free hand and picked up the pistol. "Gunny?" It was Meyers and the cavalry. "Over here, Corporal." Walters kept his attention focused on Maintenance Man until he felt Meyers come up behind him. "Take this piece of crap into custody and get the paramedics up here now." He waited until Meyers and one of the PFCs hauled Maintenance Man to his feet and cuffed him, then turned toward the Colonel. Corpsman Faust had gotten the handcuffs off her and was starting to administer first aid. He squatted down next to her. She was unconscious and looked like hell, blood was everywhere. Walters glanced up when Meyers came back to stand beside him. "Did you find Rodreguiz?" Meyers grimaced, "Yeah, he was in the main stairwell. Stabbed to death." "Son of a bitch." The commotion near the elevator told them that the paramedics had arrived. Walters stood up and he and Meyers stepped out of the way. "Is the rest of the building secure?" At Meyers' nod, he sighed and walked to a phone, "I need to call Admiral Chegwidden." JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA 2248 Local AJ roared into the JAG parking lot, he had made the trip in record time. An ambulance was pulled up to the front entrance, its emergency lights flashing. He hurried to the building. What the hell was going on? A security breach at JAG? None of this made any sense, they didn't deal in sensitive material, they were just a bunch of damn lawyers! Now he had a member of the security detail dead and an injured Chief of Staff. What was Mac doing back at JAG at this time of night? He had more questions than answers, but by God, that was going to change! Gunny Walters rode down with the paramedics. They exited the elevator just as Admiral Chegwidden blew through the front doors. Watching personnel scatter out of his way, Walters almost smiled. It looked like Moses parting the Red Sea. Meeting halfway down the corridor, the Gunny started to come to attention only to be waved off by the Admiral. AJ changed direction and walked beside the gurney. He couldn't see a lot of Mac, but what he could see didn't look good. He turned his attention to a paramedic, "How is she? Where are you taking her?" "We've got her stabilized for now, sir. She's lost a lot of blood and has been in and out of consciousness. GW is closest, unless you'd rather we took her to Bethesda." "No, GW is fine," answered AJ. He and the Gunny followed them out to the ambulance and watched until it drove away. AJ turned and looked at Walters. "Gunny, I need to make some phone calls and then you and I need to talk." "Aye aye, sir. I'll wait for you at the CP." Gunny came to attention and at AJ's dismissal, turned and marched back down the hallway. AJ pulled out his cell phone and dialed. He listened to it ring and then heard the answering machine pick up. 'Damn.' After hearing the beep, he said, "Rabb, this is Admiral Chegwidden. It's 2250. There's been a security breach at JAG. Mac was injured, she's being taken to George Washington Medical Center. Call me on my cell phone." Hanging up, he dialed the next number. Harriet picked up on the second ring, "Roberts' residence. Oh, hello Admiral. No, Bud is at Commander Turner's. He and Commander Rabb are over watching the basketball game. Is everything all right, sir?" Harriet's hand flew to her mouth in disbelief, "Oh my God! What happened? Will she be okay, sir? Do you want me to call Bud? No sir, it's not a problem. Yes, sir. Thank you for calling, sir." Hanging up, Harriet sat and stared at the phone. This couldn't be happening. Pulling out the phone directory, she looked up a number and dialed. George Washington Medical Center 2338 Local Harm burst through the Emergency Room doors with Sturgis close behind. Hurrying up to the front desk, he caught the attention of the receptionist and said, "I'm looking for a friend of mine. She was brought in a half hour ago or so. Her name is Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie." As the receptionist slowly scrolled down her computer screen, he shot a harried look at Sturgis. Exasperated, Harm was just about to say something to the receptionist when she looked up with a saccharine smile, "Found her. The multiple GSW, they've taken her up to surgery. It's on the sixth floor, use the elevators at the end of this hallway and then just follow the signs. There's a waiting room up there." As the two men hurried down the corridor, the receptionist leaned over the desk and admired the view. Arriving on the sixth floor, Harm quickly scanned the signs. He strode rapidly down the hallway, forcing the shorter Sturgis into a near-jog in order to keep up. Arriving at the station desk, he said to the nurse, "My name is Harmon Rabb. They told me downstairs that Sarah MacKenzie had been brought up here. Can you tell me if she's going to be okay?" The nurse picked up a chart, "Oh yes, she was brought up a little while ago. Dr. Mikos is handling the case, I'll page him so he can answer any questions. Are you family?" "No, we're friends. She doesn't have any immediate family in the area. I do hold her medical power of attorney, if that's any help." Harm replied. "Great," said the nurse, handing over a thick stack of papers attached to a clipboard. "We need you to fill out the paperwork. Just have a seat in the waiting room and I'll locate Dr. Mikos." Fifteen minutes later, Harm finally finished the forms. "Where was the doctor?" he thought irritably. Sturgis had taken to staring at a painting on the wall. Both looked up quickly when a small, round man in surgical scrubs walked into the waiting room. "Mr. Rabb?" "Yes." Harm surged to his feet, "Are you Dr. Mikos?" At the man's nod, Harm continued, "This is Sturgis Turner, another friend of Mac's. How is she? Will she be alright?" "Well, Mr. Rabb..." Dr. Mikos paused as three more people came hurrying around the corner. "Admiral, Bud, Harriet," Harm said as they stopped next to him, "This is Mac's doctor, Dr. Mikos." Dr. Mikos looked at Harm, "Is this everybody?" At Harm's affirmative, he continued, "As I was about to tell Mr. Rabb and Mr. Turner, Ms. MacKenzie is currently in fair but stable condition. She is suffering from two gunshot wounds, one through the upper arm and one in her side. She also has a mild concussion, several cracked ribs and numerous contusions and lacerations. I know it sounds like a lot, but none of the injuries themselves are life-threatening. Right now, we're trying to prevent the onset of shock and dealing with substantial blood loss. She was fortunate to have received such prompt treatment; if she'd gone into shock at the scene, we might not be having this conversation." Dr. Mikos stopped for a minute to give everyone a chance to digest the information. AJ cleared his throat, "Will she recover?" "Oh yes." Seeing the group visibly relax a bit, Dr. Mikos smiled, "Sorry, I wasn't trying to scare you. I just wanted to apprise you of the seriousness of the situation." He continued briskly, "We have Ms. MacKenzie scheduled for surgery at 1:45 this morning. By that time, she will have received several units of blood and her condition will be stable enough to permit surgery. We don't think the bullet wound in her side hit anything vital." Dr. Mikos paused and scanned the group, "I think you should all go home, rest and come back in the morning. She'll be in recovery right after the surgery, so you won't be able to see her until the morning anyway." "Thank you, Doctor." AJ said, forestalling Rabb's automatic protest. "That's probably a good idea." Dr. Mikos glanced at his watch, "I'm sorry, but I have to get back. If one of you will leave a number at the station desk, I'll call if there are any changes in Ms. MacKenzie's condition." He walked out of the waiting room. They stood for a moment in silence and then Sturgis asked, "Pardon me Admiral, but what the hell has been going on?" AJ swept his gaze across the group. They all looked concerned and worried; except for Rabb, he looked angry as well. "I wish I knew. I talked to Gunny Walters, he said Mac came in a little before 2200 and said she was going up to her office to retrieve a file she had forgotten. When she didn't come back down, he became concerned and went up to check. He discovered two intruders, they had Mac and she had already been shot at least once. He implemented the security Opplan and waited for backup. When things started to go south, he went in alone. Wound up killing one intruder and capturing the other. He had medical personnel standing by for the Colonel and then he called me." "I think the Doctor was right," the Admiral continued, "Everybody go home and we can meet back here in the morning." The Roberts and Sturgis nodded their assent and left the waiting room, murmuring quietly among themselves. AJ looked over at Rabb who was stubbornly keeping his place, "Commander, don't make me order you to leave." Harm stared back at the Admiral before there was an almost imperceptible slump to his shoulders. He stared at the floor for a moment and then looked up, "All right, sir. Let me give this to the station nurse." He lifted the clipboard with all the paperwork attached. Together they walked out of the waiting room, Harm dropped off the papers and they made their way to the elevators. The two men stood silently, waiting for the doors to open. Finally, Harm spoke, "You're going back to JAG tonight." It wasn't so much a question as a statement of fact. At AJ's nod, he continued, "Sir, I'd like to accompany you if I may. I need to do something, I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight anyway." AJ sighed, "Okay, Harm. On one condition: when I tell you to leave, you leave. Is that clear?" "Yes sir." JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA 0240 Local AJ took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. The amount of paperwork generated by an incident like this was astonishing. 'Incident.' He snorted in disgust. An 'incident' was denting a fender in a parking lot. He had a young man in his command who had been stabbed to death and Mac in the hospital. AJ had a guilty moment when he remembered the brief feeling of relief that things hadn't been reversed. Then there'd been the shock when they walked into the bullpen for the first time. There seemed to be blood everywhere... Hearing a knock, he looked up and saw Harm standing in the open doorway with a thick sheaf of papers in his hand. Motioning him in, AJ leaned back in his chair. Rabb looked like hell. At the Admiral's nod, Harm settled his tall frame into a chair. "I just got off the phone with GW, sir. Mac just came out of surgery. They're going to wait a couple of hours to make sure there are no complications; then they'll upgrade her condition and move her to a regular room. Visiting hours begin at 0800." His relief was evident. "Well, that's one good thing." AJ nodded toward the papers still in Harm's hand, "Where are we?" "You mean besides being up to our necks with every Tom, Dick and Harry from practically every news bureau in the area, sir?" Harm said dryly. The Admiral grunted in agreement. When they had arrived at JAG, there had been the expected police officers and detectives, as well as a surprising number of reporters. Apparently, even a whiff of possible terrorism brought them out in droves. They were milling about the parking lot, having met with an immovable object in the form of Gunny Walters. AJ had sent them packing, flatly stating that this was a military incident and the Navy's jurisdiction. JAG would investigate and then notify whomever they deemed appropriate if and when it became necessary. Harm gave a weary sigh, "Right now, we don't know what the intruders were looking for or if it pertains to a current or past investigation. A number of computers were on, including Mac's, so we don't know whose files they were after. We don't know if Mac was the target, or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. According to the Gunny, they wasted valuable time in an apparent attempt to interrogate her. That could mean she was the target except that there was no way they would have known she was coming back in. Another possibility is that they thought as Chief of Staff, Mac would have the information they wanted. How they got in shows careful planning, which would suggest an ongoing investigation. It also suggests that these two did not act alone and because they were unsuccessful, it's possible there will be another attempt." Harm looked grim and concluded, "Whoever planned this took a helluva chance. He either has an incredible amount of confidence that his people won't rat him out, if caught; or, he's buried so far in the background, that they don't know he's involved. Whatever these people are after must be pretty big to justify the amount of risk they're willing to take." "So, basically, all we know is that two men breached security, killed one person and wounded another. We don't know why they did it, we don't know what they were after and we don't know who is involved." AJ said in frustration. He stood up, "Okay, that's it. We'll tackle this again in the morning. Go home." "But sir..." "Go home. Get some sleep and I'll meet you at GW later." AJ gave a small smile, "Then we can discuss the fine art of ducking with a certain Marine colonel." Harm grinned in spite of himself, "Marines don't duck, sir..." Mac's Apartment Building Georgetown 0825 Local Bud followed his wife down the hallway to the office of the building superintendent. "Harriet, I don't know if this is such a good idea. I mean, shouldn't we have asked the Colonel first before going into her apartment?" "Bud," Harriet turned and looked at her husband, "We're not planning to ransack her place. I just want to throw together an overnight bag for her. She's going to need something to wear when they release her and until then she'll be much more comfortable with her own clothes and things." Harriet resumed her march to the office. Five minutes later, they were all on the way to Mac's apartment. The Super had tried to argue but Harriet had overcome every objection. Bud trailed along behind, once more amazed at his wife's ability to herd people in the direction she wanted them to go. When they arrived at Mac's door, the Super pulled out a large keyring. It took him a few moments to sort through it and then he reached over to unlock the door. He stopped and looked back at Bud and Harriet, "It's already open." Bud and Harriet looked at each other in consternation, then motioning Harriet and the Super back, Bud cautiously opened the door. Scanning the room quickly, he turned back to the Super and said quietly, "Call the police." Gesturing to Harriet to stay by the door, Bud carefully entered and began checking through the apartment. Harriet peeked in and gasped. The Colonel's normally neat home looked like a bomb had gone off inside. Furniture was overturned, cushions were ripped and shelves had been cleared. The floor was covered in a jumbled mess of papers, books and broken knickknacks. Bud came back to the door and looked at Harriet, "The whole apartment is like this. It doesn't look like vandalism, someone was searching for something." Harriet frowned, "This has to do with the security breach at JAG, doesn't it? Bud nodded and she continued, "That means they were after the Colonel, but how could they know she was going to be at JAG right then?" Bud thought for a moment, "Maybe both happened at the same time and whoever did this was expecting to find the Colonel here, not at JAG." He shivered, "They could have easily killed her here, no one would have known for hours." He left unspoken the thought that if they were looking for something, they might not have killed her quickly. This whole thing was crazy. "We need to call Admiral Chegwidden," Harriet stated firmly. Bud pulled out his cellphone. George Washington Medical Center Mac's Room 0855 Local Harm sat slumped in a chair, chin in hand, lost in thought. He had arrived a few minutes before 0800 and talked to the attending physician about Mac's condition. Dr. Allen had pulled her chart, grunted as he read over it and told Harm not to expect much, Ms. MacKenzie would probably sleep most of the day. So far, he'd been right on the money. Harm looked over at the sleeping Marine; he knew Mac probably looked better than she did when they brought her in and he was halfway grateful he hadn't seen her before. 'I would've gone straight to the brig and tried to pull the arms and legs off the SOB who did this to her.' The intensity of his feelings surprised him and he automatically avoided analyzing the reason behind it. Instead he concentrated on uncovering the reason for the break-in, something big had found its way to JAG and he was going to find it. "Harm...?" Harm's head snapped up to find a bleary-eyed Sarah MacKenzie looking at him. He got up and moved to the side of her bed. "Hey, Marine." "Where...?" Mac tried to fight the lethargy that seemed to be overwhelming her. "You're going to be fine, Mac." Harm said reassuringly, he had captured her hand while leaning over the guardrail. "You're at George Washington Med Center. Gunny Walters got the guys that did this to you." He stopped speaking as her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep again. "How is she, Commander?" Harm turned to find the Admiral and Sturgis entering the room. "She was awake for a little while and pretty groggy, then she drifted off again," Harm replied. "The doctor said she'd probably sleep most of the day." The Admiral nodded and started to speak when his cellphone rang. "Excuse me, gentlemen." He turned back to the doorway and answered the phone, "Chegwidden... Yes, Mr. Roberts... I understand... What? When? Have you called the police? Alright, I'm on my way. Thank you, Bud." AJ turned around to find Harm and Sturgis staring at him. "Bud and Harriet decided to stop by the Colonel's place on the way here. Harriet wanted to put together an overnight bag for Mac. When they got there, they found the place ransacked. They're waiting for the police." Harm and Sturgis stood in shock for a moment, then Harm stepped forward and said, "Admiral, I'd like to... " He stopped and glanced back, clearly torn about what to do. Sturgis touched his shoulder and said, "I'll stay with Mac, Harm. Go ahead and go." He acknowledged Harm's grateful smile and watched the two men hurry from the room. Pulling the chair around so that he had a clear view of Mac and the door, Sturgis settled down to wait. Mac's Apartment Georgetown 0938 Local The Admiral pulled into the apartment parking lot. After finding a space, he and Harm walked quickly to Mac's building. The ride over had been silent, both men were aware that this break-in confirmed that Sarah MacKenzie had somehow become a target. Bud Roberts looked up from his conversation with a DC detective and saw them enter the hallway. Excusing himself, he hurried over to the two men. "Admiral, Commander, I'm glad you're here. The police are just finishing up - they don't think there's much they can do. They dusted for prints and they want a list of everything that is missing. They said they'd let us know if anything turned up." Bud filled them in as they walked to the apartment. AJ and Harm entered Mac's apartment and stopped in shock. The place looked like it had been run through a blender. Harriet looked out from the doorway of the bedroom, "Admiral, Commander Rabb. Isn't this awful? Colonel MacKenzie is going to be so upset." For some reason he couldn't explain, this violation of Mac's home incensed Harm. He also knew, as Bud had, that if Sarah MacKenzie had been home when they broke in, she would have died here. "I will kill the people who did this." he said in a low, intense voice. He was perfectly serious. "Easy, Commander," AJ said. He knew Harm was ferocious in defense of his friends, and try as he might to deny it, it was especially true of a particular Marine Colonel. He waited until Rabb started to relax and turned to Bud, "Do you have any idea if anything is missing?" Bud shrugged helplessly, "Not really, sir. I don't see Colonel MacKenzie's laptop but I don't know if it's at her office or in her car." "I see," said the Admiral. He stood for a minute, looking around the room and then shrugged out of his jacket. "Let's see if we can get this place squared away. It will be easier to see if something is gone." He glanced over to see three sets of eyes on him, "What? Do you think my place magically cleans itself?" Harriet took charge of the bedroom, leaving the three men to deal with the rest. "I think it will go faster if we put everything back in place that isn't broken and sort the rest into piles. Once Mac is home, she can decide what she wants to do." The Admiral put action to words, turning a table upright. They worked steadily for an hour and a half when Harriet reappeared with an overnight bag in hand. "Sir, I've got the bedroom straightened." She hefted the bag, "And I've put together some things for the Colonel. Would it be all right if Bud and I ran up to the hospital? We told the sitter we'd be back by one o'clock." "Harriet, it's not really necessary to ask," AJ said with a smile, "This isn't JAG. Go see Mac, I'm sure she'll be grateful for all you both have done." After the Roberts left, he looked over at Harm. "I think it's time for a break." They sat down on the couch. Harm slouched forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked over at AJ who was leaning back with his legs stretched out. "Do you think they found what they were searching for, sir?" "I wish I knew, Harm." AJ replied. "You're worried that Mac might still be in danger." It wasn't really a question. At Harm's abrupt nod, he continued, "She'll be transferred to Bethesda tomorrow morning. I'll be assigning a couple of Marine sentries to her room when she gets there. Unfortunately, GW won't allow me to post guards there." AJ held up a hand to forestall Harm's response, "So what I've done is line up a number of 'visitors'. It's not 24/7, but it's the best we can do. The hospital security has also been alerted. We just need to get to 0900 tomorrow, when they move Mac." Harm sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "If it's all right with you, Admiral, I'd like to run by JAG and start going through Mac's cases. The reason for all this has got to be there somewhere. I can stop at GW later this afternoon and check on her." He did his best to keep his tone neutral. AJ smothered a grin. "Sounds like a plan, Commander. I'll stay a little longer." He continued, "Check her office and car for her laptop and briefcase when you get there. I haven't seen either one. If they were after information from one of her cases, it makes sense that they would take those items." He gave a sigh of frustration. "The problem is that, off the top of my head, I can't think of any investigation that would merit this kind of effort." George Washington Medical Center Mac's Room 1035 Local Sturgis sat and watched Mac sleep. Years of service with submarines had imbued him with a patience that still baffled Harm. He was introspective by nature and the two traits combined admirably in his study of human behavior. There wasn't much to do on a submarine when you weren't working, Sturgis had become a people-watcher. It had taken time, but he now considered Mac to be a friend. She was an interesting study. Intelligent, beautiful and a formidable litigator, she could wield her logic like a bulldozer; he'd been run over once or twice already. That she was well-liked and respected by the staff (most of them, he amended) bespoke her qualities as a leader. JAG HQ was a pleasant place to work and he knew from experience how quickly that could change if the staff were disgruntled and unhappy. Of course, Admiral Chegwidden set the tone for the office. The people at JAG considered themselves family with his blessing. Still, a good Chief of Staff acted as an extension of the CO; dealing with situations the way he would have handled them. It was an intuitive balancing act. Mac had that intuition - in spades. ...He still didn't know what to think about her 'psychic' abilities. (That she didn't either, made it a little easier to take; and obviously, this 'talent' was capricious at best.) Oh well, if that particular case hadn't been so serious, and he hadn't found himself in her line of fire, he might have found it amusing to watch Mac vacillate between wondering if she was loonytunes and her 'Marine-Psychic-Take-No-Prisoners' approach. Hearing a tap at the door, Sturgis looked up. It swung partway open and a large, barrel-chested man put his head in, "Commander Turner?" Nodding, Sturgis watched him enter the room and glance at Mac. He looked familiar, where had he seen this man? Although wearing civilian clothes, he was obviously military. Perhaps at JAG... wait, Walters. That was it - Gunny Walters. "Can I help you, Gunny?" "No sir." The Gunny hesitated a moment, "Sir, the Admiral was concerned about Colonel MacKenzie's safety. GW won't allow military guards to be posted, so he asked for volunteers to 'visit' the Colonel." "I see," Sturgis replied, smiling. "How long are these 'visits' going to be?" "About two hours each, sir." Gunny Walters said. He looked over at Mac for a moment before focusing again on Sturgis, "How is the Colonel, sir?" "Lousy." Both men turned at the soft sound of Sarah MacKenzie's voice. "Welcome back, Colonel," Sturgis said quietly, walking to the bedside. Walters followed and stood next to him. "You had some people worried." "Had me worried, too." Mac said tiredly. Her eyes closed briefly, then she looked at Gunny Walters, "Thank you." Sturgis swallowed his amusement, the Gunny actually looked embarrassed, "You're welcome, Ma'am." Mac managed a small smile, "Later, you and I will discuss your hostage techniques." Seemingly of their own accord, her eyelids drifted shut and she was asleep again. The two men turned away, Sturgis was surprised to see the Gunny looking faintly alarmed. Before he could question Walters, there came the soft voice again, "Gunny?" Walters turned back, "Yes Ma'am?" "Rodreguiz?" Walters hesitated, "He didn't make it, Ma'am." "Oh damn." With that, Mac once again succumbed to sleep. JAG Headquarters Falls Church 1330 Local Harm placed another file folder in the stack in disgust. The 'Not Likely' pile just kept growing. He hadn't found Mac's laptop or briefcase, so it was probably a safe bet that the bad guys had them. This was incredibly frustrating. There had to be some reason for everything that had happened. He'd been through all her cases once already, nothing was jumping out. DOD, Willful Disobedience, Theft of Govt. Property, Fighting and Drug Possession were the main topics with a myriad of lesser charges rounding out Mac's caseload. He looked up and saw Sturgis walk into the bullpen. "Sturgis? Is Mac okay?" Harm asked anxiously, "I thought you were staying with her?" Sturgis raised a hand, "Relax Harm, Harriet is with her now. Bud left her at GW while he went to pick up little AJ and there's a Marine guard in the room, too." He continued, "She was awake again for a while and seemed to be a little more coherent." "Did she say anything about what happened? Does she know why?" Harm queried. "I didn't ask. Gunny Walters was there, Mac wanted to know about PFC Rodreguiz. He told her." Both men were silent for a minute, Harm knew Mac would be blaming herself for the PFC's death. Suddenly, Sturgis chuckled. Harm looked at him in surprise. Sturgis said, "I wonder exactly what happened up here. Mac thanked the Gunny for rescuing her and then said they'd discuss his 'hostage techniques' later. The man looked positively nervous." "Gunny Walters?" Harm asked incredulously, the Gunny looked like he chewed spikes and spit out nails. "Hard to believe, isn't it?" Sturgis smiled. Then, looking at the stacks of files in Mac's office, said, "Any luck?" At Harm's disgusted shake of his head, Sturgis continued musingly, "Do you suppose she keeps her office like this as a security measure? I don't see how anyone could find anything." "I know what you mean. I wouldn't be surprised to find a family of four somewhere under that mess." Harm laughed, and then looked over at Sturgis, "Thanks." "Any time." Sturgis grinned. "Why don't you take a break? Go over to GW and visit with Mac. She's going to be okay and we'll figure this whole thing out." He looked at his watch, "If you leave now, you'll probably get there at the same time as Bud. That way you can visit your godson, too." Harm threw up his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. I don't need a house to fall on me. I'm going." He looked at Sturgis, "You will call me if you find anything?" "Yeah, sure. Go." Sturgis pointed imperiously out of the bullpen. Harm left. George Washington Medical Center Mac's Room 1410 Local Harriet looked up from the magazine she'd been browsing through when the door started to open. She was expecting Bud at any time. After the two had arrived at GW and talked to Sturgis, they decided that Bud would go relieve the babysitter and come back with little AJ and Sturgis would head over to JAG. Gunny Walters had been replaced by Corporal Hanley, a tall, thin young man who hadn't been that interested in conversation. The Colonel continued to sleep, Harriet thought that was a good sign. Both she and Bud had been shocked by Mac's appearance, even though the doctor had described her condition to them earlier. Harriet and Bud were kind-hearted people, it was difficult to accept having a friend hurt. It wasn't Bud; instead, a man Harriet didn't recognize walked in. He was small and slightly built, with a mustache and receding hairline. He was wearing what Harriet had privately dubbed as the 'Bureaucratic BDUs': three-piece suit, button-down shirt, power tie and trenchcoat. He looked at Mac, then swept a cool, appraising eye over the other two occupants. Dismissing them as unimportant, he focused again on the Colonel, "You two will have to leave, I need to ask Colonel MacKenzie some questions." "No." Harriet's calm refusal masked a rising anger. She glanced over at the Corporal who was tensely eyeing the newcomer. The man regarded her with annoyance. He reached inside his coat (a move that brought Corporal Hanley to his feet), froze for a moment and slowly brought out a leather case. Flipping it open, he held it up and said, "I'm Inspector Peterson with NIS. I'm conducting an investigation and I need to ask Col. MacKenzie some questions. You will wait outside." Harriet put down the magazine and stood up, crossing her arms, "No." Clearly irritated, Peterson said, "I don't know who you think you are but you will either leave of your own free will or I will have security remove you." "I'm Lt. Sims of the Judge Advocate General and this is Corporal Hanley, Marine security detachment. OUR orders are not to leave Col. MacKenzie unattended and to prevent anyone from disturbing her until her doctor says its okay." Harriet had thrown in that last part, she'd be damned if she let this pompous little man pester the Colonel while she was recovering. Glaring at Peterson, Harriet noted Hanley's approving look in her peripheral vision, apparently he didn't like the little weasel either. They stood staring at each other for a long moment when the impasse was broken by the sound of Mac's somewhat groggy voice, "Harriet? What's going on?" Peterson immediately approached the bed. "I'm Inspector Peterson. I have some questions I need you to answer." Without waiting for a response, he plunged ahead, "Did you recognize either of the men who broke into the JAG HQ?" Mac squinted at him fuzzily, "No." "You'd never seen these men before?" "No." "Do you know what they were looking for?" "No." "You do know Daniel Lattimer, don't you?" "He's a client." Mac said, it was hard to concentrate, she felt like she'd been pounded flat. Who was this guy? "I understand you speak Russian and Arabic." "Farsi." Mac corrected him automatically. She was confused over the sudden change of subject. Looking over at Harriet, she saw her say something to a tall, lanky man. He turned and quietly left the room. "Colonel!" Startled, Mac jerked her head back towards the irritating little man and winced. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth and waited for the pain to subside. Who the hell was this guy? "Colonel!" Peterson waited impatiently until Mac managed to focus on him again. "You've made a number of trips to Russia and Iran, correct?" She just looked at him. He continued relentlessly, "You're good friends with a high- ranking KGB officer, a Major Sokol? You've dated him?" "What?" "You're Arabic, aren't you? Your grandmother was Iranian? And you're the niece of Matthew O'Hara, correct? The man who stole the Declaration of Independence for ransom?" "What?" Mac was bewildered by the abrupt changes in topics. Mark, Grandma, Uncle Matt? What was he talking about? If only her head would stop pounding... "Petty Officer Lattimer passed information on to you, didn't he?" "Well... yes, I'm his lawyer." "Not anymore." Peterson folded his arms across his chest and smiled nastily, "Apparently, he didn't think much of his chances. He committed suicide this morning in his cell at Quantico." "WHAT?" Mac shot upright, then clamped her jaws shut on the cry of pain that tried to escape. Her vision dimmed and she held herself rigid. The almost unbearably sharp pains were making it impossible to breathe or move. A panic-stricken little voice in her head was screaming, ohmygodohmygodohmygod... Vaguely, she could hear other voices - angry voices; but she was trapped in a gray world of pain and nothing else seemed to matter. George Washington Medical Center 1400 Local Harm walked into the lobby and headed for the bank of elevators around the corner. There he spotted two familiar figures, "Bud!" Bud turned at the sound of Harm's voice and smiled, "Commander, are you just getting here too?" Little AJ had begun bouncing up and down in his father's arms and calling, "Unca Harm! Unca Harm!" "Hey shortstuff." Bud handed AJ over and Harm swung him up in the air, the little boy laughed delightedly. The elevator doors opened and they got on, AJ settled on Harm's hip. He looked up hopefully and said, "Airplane?" "Not right now, AJ. Unsafe flying conditions - not enough airspace." Harm looked up and matched Bud's fond smile while AJ pondered the situation. "Later," the little boy stated firmly and then squirmed around to be handed back to his father. Getting off at the sixth floor, they were almost to the station desk when they saw Dr. Mikos hurrying past them from another hallway. He was closely followed by a tall young man. Alarmed, Harm and Bud hastened to catch up. "Doctor! Is something wrong with Mac?", Harm asked. "That's what I'm going to find out," Dr. Mikos replied, not slackening his pace. "This young man came and got me, said I was needed." "Corporal Hanley, sir," he said to Harm's questioning look. "Lt. Sims sent me to bring the doctor, there's a NIS inspector in there giving the Colonel a hard time. He tried to make us leave but the Lieutenant refused to budge. He's acting like Colonel MacKenzie is some sort of criminal and she was really getting upset." That was all Harm needed to hear. Putting his long legs to good use, he and Corporal Hanley reached Mac's room ahead of the others. Hearing her distressed cry, Harm pushed into the room: he saw a small man roughly shoving Harriet away, but most of his attention was focused on Mac. She was sitting rigidly upright and white-faced. Pain was etched across her features and her breathing was coming in ragged, shallow gasps. Harm closed the distance to the NIS inspector even as his mind registered the scene. Wrapping two large hands in the man's lapels, Harm literally lifted Peterson off his feet and slammed him into the wall. The little man tried to regain his balance, all the while spluttering with rage. Harm picked him up and bounced him off the wall again and then jerked him back until they were eye to eye. Glaring at Peterson, his barely-controlled anger evident in his voice, Harm ground out each word, "I don't care who you are or who you work for; if I ever see you near Sarah MacKenzie again, I won't throw you against a wall, I'll throw you out a window." Harm emphasized each point with a hard shake while marching the inspector across the room. When he reached the doorway (Hanley had seen him coming and helpfully opened the door), Harm had one final say, "If she's hurt in any way because of you, you won't be able to find a rock big enough to hide under." Then he threw Peterson out of the room. Turning to the Corporal, Harm said, "Follow him, make sure he leaves the building." Hanley snapped to attention and hurried out. Harm turned back into the room, Harriet was now holding a wide-eyed AJ, Bud had a comforting arm around both. They were watching Dr. Mikos and Mac with worry. The doctor had cranked her bed upright and had managed to ease Mac back against the pillows. She still hadn't acknowledged anyone in the room. Dr. Mikos was on the phone, barking orders. Harm took the opportunity to move to the opposite side of Mac's bed. He reached over and covered her hand with his own only to have her grab it and hang on with a surprising amount of strength. He glanced up and saw Dr. Mikos watching him, one eyebrow raised. Both men turned when the door opened and a floor nurse walked in pushing a cart. Immediately, Dr. Mikos got to work. After administering pain medication and a muscle relaxant, he set up an oxygen tube and then fired questions at Harriet while waiting for the shots to take effect. Five minutes later, Mac gave a small sigh and went limp. Harm looked up in alarm and saw the doctor's reassuring smile. Dr. Mikos looked around the room, "If you will excuse me, I'd like to examine my patient." Reluctantly they filed into the hallway, Harm looked over at Harriet, "Are you all right? What the hell happened?" He listened with growing concern to Harriet's recounting of the entire episode. "What exactly did Peterson accuse her of?" "He didn't come right out and say anything but you could see where he was headed." Harriet said. "Then he told her one of her clients committed suicide, he almost sounded like he was gloating. That's when the Colonel reacted, I've never seen her like that." She was about to say more when Corporal Hanley walked up. "Well, Corporal?" Harm asked. "He's gone, sir." Hanley replied. "He was still cussing when he left the building. I stopped by hospital security and told them not to allow him anywhere near Colonel MacKenzie." Everyone stopped talking when Dr. Mikos stepped out of the room. "How is she?" Harm asked, trying to control his anxiety. "Ms. MacKenzie is asleep right now. I went ahead and sedated her. Because of the difficulty she was having breathing, I was concerned that she had somehow managed to puncture a lung. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. She did manage to tear some of the stitches in her side and combined with the effect of sudden movement on cracked ribs, made breathing extremely painful. I'm a little surprised that coming upright that quickly with a concussion didn't cause her to black out. Between the pain medication and the sedative, she'll probably to out of it for the next three to four hours. Her recovery will be a lot smoother if we can avoid these types of incidents." Dr. Mikos concluded wryly, looking at the small group. When the floor nurse came out of the room, he nodded to everyone and walked back up the hallway. Harm looked at the Roberts family, "Why don't you head on home? I'll stay with Mac until they kick me out. The Admiral said she's being moved to Bethesda tomorrow morning at 0900. I'm sure she'll be awake and feeling better by then and you can visit." Harriet shared a look with Bud. She felt a little guilty about leaving but the episode with Peterson had left her more rattled than she liked to admit. Harriet had been almost as agitated as Mac at the direction the questions were taking. At the Colonel's pain-filled cry, she had reacted without thinking, forcing herself between the NIS inspector and the bed. She could feel the bruises developing where Peterson had shoved her. A long soak in a warm tub was sounding very appealing. She saw Bud give a slight nod and turned back to the Commander, "Okay sir, I guess we'll see you in the morning at Bethesda." "All right, I'll see you then." Harm smiled fondly at his friends, and then giving into the impulse, enveloped Harriet in a quick hug. "Thank you," he said softly. Looking over at Bud, he grinned and said, "I hope you realize how lucky you are, Lieutenant." "Every day, sir," Bud said, taking the hand of a blushing Harriet. "We'll see you tomorrow." Adjusting his hold of AJ, he and Harriet headed home. Harm looked over at Hanley, together they went back into Mac's room and settled down. DC Brig 1515 Local AJ walked up to the front desk and waited for the sergeant on duty to acknowledge his presence. After few minutes of paper rustling, the sergeant looked up and said politely, "May I help you?" AJ handed him his JAG ID and had the satisfaction of seeing the young man's eyes widen in alarm as he shot to his feet. "Excuse me sir, how can I help you?" "I'd like to see one of your prisoners, he would have been brought in last night." Admiral Chegwidden stated. "Yes sir. May I have his name, sir?" the sergeant said, busily sifting through a stack of papers. "I'm afraid I don't know, Sergeant. He had no ID and refused to speak to anyone. He would have been charged with criminal trespass, kidnap, assault and murder." "Yes sir." He skimmed down a page of entries and then looked up in surprise. "Sir, according to this, he was released into the custody of JAG at 0930 today." "What?!" AJ exclaimed. "That's impossible!" "I'm sorry sir, but that what the log says. Released to two officers assigned to the Naval JAG at 0930. They showed the proper ID." A captain, hearing the commotion, walked over to the front desk. "Is there a problem, Sergeant?" "Damn straight there is, Captain." AJ said heatedly. "Apparently, one of your prisoners has managed to escape." The captain looked at AJ coolly, "And you would be... " "Admiral AJ Chegwidden." The captain stiffened, "I beg your pardon, sir." AJ nodded and turned back to the sergeant. "Who were these officers?" The sergeant looked at the log, "Lt. Ramsay and Lt. Commander Quinn, sir." "There are no JAG officers by those names," AJ stated flatly. "Are you sure, sir?" the captain asked. "JAG's a big place..." AJ looked at him, "Captain, I am the JAG. I know who my officers are. I also know you let a dangerous criminal walk out of here with two impostors. There will be an investigation." With that, AJ pivoted and stalked out. Dammit, someone was two steps ahead of them on this and he still wasn't sure what 'this' was. Undisclosed Location 1730 Local "Well?" The man sat back in the shadows. One could never be too careful. "No luck, she hasn't been left alone for any length of time. Wouldn't it be simpler to just kill her? We have her computer and files." The other man paced, his eyes constantly sweeping the area. "Simpler, yes. Smarter, no. Colonel MacKenzie's no fool. Once she realized what was going on, I'm sure she took precautions. We know Lattimer had to have provided her with some sort of proof, we need to find it." "Aren't we taking a chance? Eventually, MacKenzie's going to be coherent enough to tell someone what she's learned. That JAG officer, Commander Rabb, has been hovering. He's got a reputation for being a real bulldog when he sets his teeth into something." "I realize it's a risk, but I've taken steps to... ahhhh... 'neutralize' the situation. It should become a big enough diversion to draw off even our tenacious Cmdr. Rabb." "Peterson?" "Peterson." "Is he...?" the other man hesitated. If they had learned nothing else from those damned terrorists, it was to compartmentalize. He wasn't sure if he was stepping onto dangerous ground. The figure in the shadows chuckled, "No, Inspector Peterson is exactly as he seems. An abrasive, overzealous little man given to abuse of power. What he lacks in IQ, he makes up in ego. I merely sprinkled the bread crumbs and pointed him in the right direction." "I was hoping it was an act; otherwise, the man is an idiot." the other man growled, "A dangerous idiot. I think he's going to cause more problems than he's going to solve. ... I wish Rabb had thrown him out a window." "I've made my decision," replied the man, his voice considerably colder. "Everything will fall into place. We already corrected our 'problem' with Aiken. When he and that other fool, Franklin, screwed up at JAG, we lost our opportunity to wrap this up quickly. So now, we'll take the longer view. Everything will work out if we're patient - and don't panic." He looked at his watch, "I have to go." The other man waited five minutes and then left the building by a different exit. Walking to his car, he scanned the street in both directions before unlocking the door and getting in. Corporal Hanley took one more look around and drove off. Harm's Apartment North of Union Station 2042 Local Harm put some soft jazz CDs into the stereo, adjusted the volume down low and went to the kitchen. Pulling a beer out of the fridge, he walked over to the couch and collapsed. He'd gotten home about ten minutes ago, he had stayed at GW until they threw him out. As the sedative wore off, Mac had become more and more restless. He wound up sitting by her bedside, talking quietly, holding one of her hands. She hadn't quite regained consciousness, but did relax enough to sleep more peacefully. He took a long pull of his beer. It was ironic, the one person he desperately wanted awake and talking was the one he was willing to defend from any and all comers so she could sleep and heal. He grimaced, one of his quiet conversations had been to Admiral Chegwidden on his cellphone. He told the Admiral about Peterson and what he had done. He'd been braced for an ass-chewing; instead, AJ told him about their mystery intruder's escape from the brig. Frustrated and worried, Harm got up and began to pace. Hospital security had been notified of the man's escape and the possibility of his coming after Mac. They had assured him (repeatedly, until the security chief had politely told him to go to hell) that they would stay on top of it. He just didn't like depending upon civilians for something like this - he wanted Marines. It seemed that every time he turned around, this nightmare got more convoluted. What, in God's name, could Sarah MacKenzie have stumbled into? Finishing the beer, Harm dropped back onto the couch and stared out the window. He really should just go to bed. He'd had maybe four hours of sleep in the last thirty-six. While he was physically tired, it was the emotional rollercoaster he'd been on that really exhausted him. Finally, he gave up. Try as he might, he couldn't make any sense out the entire situation. He'd sleep and get a fresh start in the morning, maybe by then, Mac would be awake and talking. George Washington Medical Center Mac's Room 0240 Local Mac watched the security guard scan her room. She'd been awake for several hours, finally rid of that head-stuffed- with-cotton feeling. The return of clarity also brought the return of pain, but she could deal with that. She hated the loss of control that the drugs induced. She'd had enough of that during her alcohol-hazed teenage years. She'd been going over her options. Lattimer was dead. She knew it was murder and she had no proof. She'd been caught by surprise at the swiftness of the Archangel network's response to her involvement. It'd been luck and Gunny Walters' instincts that had kept her alive. It was also puzzling. Killing her at that point was stupid. They didn't know where Lattimer's evidence was or what arrangements she might have made as 'insurance'. Mulling it over, she decided it had been a spur-of-the-moment reaction to finding her at JAG. Peterson was another matter. His being a NIS inspector pointed toward Admiral Jacobs' involvement but he hadn't gone in the expected direction. Instead of zeroing in on Lattimer and what he might have given her, Peterson had started leaping to completely unrelated topics. Her family, her command of languages, her overseas assignments... Mac paused, "No... " Still, it made a certain sense, it wouldn't be hard to put the right spin on completely innocent facts. Actually, it was inspired. Once accused of espionage (especially in today's climate), any mention of Archangel would be discounted. Hell, they'd probably find a way to pin that on her too. She'd find herself in NIS custody, they'd get the information they wanted (she had no illusions about that) and then, no doubt, she too, would commit suicide. Harm would never believe it, of course. He'd keep pushing, even without evidence, and they'd probably arrange to have him hit by a bus. She needed to stay alive and she needed to stay away from her friends. She didn't want anyone getting caught in the crossfire, Rodreguiz was enough. Mac had the beginnings of a plan. She carefully thought it over. The tricky part would be trying to maintain some sort of contact with the Admiral and Harm... and not getting caught. Mac consulted her internal clock, the guard had been gone for seventeen minutes; they checked in her room every seventy-five minutes, give or take a few. Well, if she had learned nothing else from Archangel, it was 'no time like the present.' Carefully, she sat upright and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Closing her eyes, she let the dizziness wash over her and dissipate. Cautiously, Mac eased upright. She sat back down when her knees started to buckle. Gritting her teeth, she tried again. Eventually, she stood and leaning against the edge of the bed for support, took a few tentative steps. Reaching the foot of the bed, she sat down again. This was frustrating, it wouldn't be much of an escape if she wound up facedown in the hallway after the first ten feet. Try again. This time she made it to the head of the bed and leaned against the wall. Better. Turning, she located the overnight bag Harriet had brought. 'Bless her for that.' From there, Mac measured the distance to the bathroom and grimaced. Well, it always helps to have a goal. Pushing off the wall, she headed for the bag. George Washington Medical Center Mac's Room 0353 Local Mac waited while the guard made his customary sweep and left, then waited another five minutes. She wasn't terribly impressed with the hospital security. Their rounds were made with predictable regularity. Gunny Walters would have randomized their routes, making it harder to guess where and when they'd be. 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Your chances of pulling this off aren't that great even knowing where they are.' Mac admonished herself. Throwing the covers off, she slowly made her way to the door and cautiously checked the hallway. Finding it clear, she began her escape. JAG Headquarters Falls Church 0630 Local Harm strode through the bullpen on the way to his office. He had managed to sleep and was mildly surprised at how much better he felt. Today, he would talk to Mac and they would crack this case wide open. They'd uncover the people responsible for this nightmare and he'd come down on them like a ton of bricks. He relished the opportunity, if for no other reason than that they had screwed up his weekend with Mac. Harm grinned to himself, 'Now there was a capitol offense.' He sobered briefly, they'd also come damn close to killing her. For that, he would gladly rend them limb from limb. Entering his office, he dropped his cover on a file cabinet and put his briefcase on the desk. Deciding on a cup of coffee, he turned and almost collided with AJ. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you." Harm took in the Admiral's grim visage, "What's wrong? Oh god, is it Mac?" "GW just called. Mac is missing." AJ fought to keep his voice level. It had been a long time since he felt this angry. "Missing? Missing! How the hell did that happen?!" Harm's voice grew steadily in volume. "Goddammit, I can't believe this! Where was their security!? Son of a bitch, I KNEW I should have stayed!" In the back of his mind, a little voice was hissing, 'Idiot! You're yelling at a two-star!' but he just couldn't stop himself. "AS YOU WERE, COMMANDER!" AJ waited while Harm struggled to get himself under control. "I'm sorry, sir. No excuse." Harm braced at attention. The Admiral glared at his commander for another thirty seconds. It seemed far longer. Finally, he spoke, "I'm going over to GW now. I was going to suggest you accompany me. You still may, if you think you can control yourself. I will not have you going through there like the Wrath of God. Are we clear?" "Yes sir." "Fine. I'll meet you at the elevator in two minutes." AJ turned and stalked back to his office. He really couldn't blame Harm for his reaction. Dammit, he felt like putting his fist through something. George Washington Medical Center Security Office 0705 Local The security chief eyed the two naval officers warily. "I don't know what to tell you. Ms. MacKenzie was asleep in her room at 4:00 this morning and at 5:00, she was gone. An open overnight bag was in the bathroom and hospital gown and ID were in the sink. We think she walked out on her own." "Why wasn't I notified at 5:00?" AJ kept his voice mild. Rabb stood silently behind, the tension fairly radiating off him. The chief shifted uncomfortably, "We wanted to search the hospital and grounds first and I needed to interview my guards. No one saw anything suspicious and we don't think any unauthorized people got into hospital. We think she just left." he repeated somewhat defiantly. AJ felt Rabb shift behind him and shot a warning glance over his shoulder. Turning back, he said, "It's been over two hours, what else have you done?" "What?" the security chief looked at him blankly. "Have you called the police?" "Why? Ms. MacKenzie's an adult and she wasn't a prisoner here. Leaving might have been stupid but it wasn't criminal and she has to be missing twenty-four hours before the police will even begin to look..." The chief's eyes widened suddenly and AJ barely got an arm up in time as Harm started to roar past. "You stupid son of a bitch!" Leaning into the Admiral's restraining arm, Harm was white-faced with anger. "She was in this damned place because someone tried to kill her. If anything happens to her because of your incompetence, I will tear off your leg and shove it so far up..." "STAND DOWN, COMMANDER!" AJ spun back to the security chief and pinned him with a glare, "You were supposed to be guarding her because you wouldn't let us do it. Do you want to explain how a woman who could barely sit up yesterday, managed to walk out of this hospital without any of your people seeing her? What the hell kind of security force do you have?" AJ stared at the sputtering chief for a moment longer and then, turning on his heel, marched out of the room. Harm stared at the man, and then he too, exited the office. AJ was waiting outside in the corridor. He started to apologize but the Admiral held up a hand, "Forget it, Harm. If you hadn't distracted me, I might have tried to throttle him myself." AJ shook his head, "You know the worst part? Even as I was asking him to explain, in the back of my mind, I was thinking, 'Yeah, that stubborn jarhead could have pulled it off.' " The Admiral stood for another moment, then looked at Harm and said, "Let's go." "Sir?" "Back to JAG. Contact Sturgis, Bud and Harriet and Clayton Webb and see if they would be willing to come in. We've been playing catch-up since this whole thing started and I'm damned tired of it. I want to know what's going on and who's involved and then... " AJ paused. Harm looked at him expectantly. AJ smiled ominously, "And then, we're gonna kick some ass." "Sir... Mac?" "Will probably contact us before we can find her. And we will find her, Commander. You can take that to the bank." Baylor Women's Shelter Washington, DC 0640 Local Emma Fine glanced up at the wall clock, twenty more minutes and she could unlock the front doors. They used to be open all the time but as the neighborhood grew worse, the higher powers had decreed that the doors should be locked from midnight to seven for safety reasons. (This was the solution to the high cost of a security system.) Admittance was gained by ringing the doorbell. Emma thought the policy was another proof of bureaucratic stupidity run amuck. The criminal types would have no problem breaking down the doors; locking them merely exposed women who had already been victimized to greater risk. Emma returned her attention to the papers in front of her. Most of her colleagues hated the midnight to nine shift, she thought of it as the time to do the most good. A large percentage of women seeking shelter screwed up their courage in the wee hours of the morning. Emma liked being there for them. She was a large, amply padded woman on the 'comfortable' side of fifty. She had a nurturing nature and a formidable temper. Emma had successfully raised three sons, no small feat in today's world. One was a DC policeman, another a civil engineer and the youngest was deployed in the Indian Ocean. Although a kind and generous woman, she did not suffer fools or bullies. Her sons joked that the phrase 'If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.' was coined just for her. All this made her the ideal person for dealing with traumatized women and bureaucratic insanity. She looked up when the doorbell rang and quickly made her way to the entrance. A slender brunette was leaning against the doorjamb. Quickly, she unlocked the door, "Come in honey." The poor thing looked to be at the end of her rope. Her pale face provided vivid contrast to the bruises, Emma could see stitches peeking out from under her hair near the scalpline. Well, at least she'd had some medical care. Placing a hand carefully on the woman's back (some women were extremely gunshy about any physical contact, Emma played it by ear), she ushered her to a chair in the office. "My name is Emma. What shall I call you? Sit down child, before you fall down." Surprisingly, the woman stopped and leaned against the side of the chair. She smiled wanly at Emma, "Call me Sarah and I'm afraid if I sit down, I'm not going to be able to get up." Emma returned the smile, "Sarah, you don't look like you weigh more than a wet cat. If I have to, I'll just carry you and the chair to your room." She watched Sarah lower herself gingerly into the chair, noting that she kept her left arm tucked against her side. That could indicate either her arm or her side was injured or both, Emma would keep that in mind when she needed to move her. Once Sarah was settled as comfortably as she could manage, she looked at Emma with a bemused expression. "My room? Just like that? No interview? Isn't there paperwork that needs to filled out?" Emma laughed, "Honey, this is Washington. They built in a swamp because they knew the paperwork would keep 'em dry." She turned serious, "This is a shelter for abused and battered women - a safe haven while they recover and put their lives back together. We draw the line at ax murderers, but other than that, you're welcome here. We'll do the bare bones right now: We can just go with 'Sarah' for the name - we'll assign a case number to keep track of you in our records. You're not wanted by any law enforcement agency, are you?" Sarah shook her head. "Addicted to any drugs?" Sarah was silent for a moment and then said, "I'm a recovering alcoholic. My last drink was three and a half years ago." Emma made a note and continued on, apparently unfazed, "Anyone you would like us to contact?" Sarah hesitated and then shook her head again. "Okay, let's get you to bed. We have an RN who comes in the afternoon, you can see her then. I work from midnight to nine, so if you'd like, we can talk tomorrow." With Emma's help, Sarah got up and together, they walked slowly down a hallway. Three-quarters of the way down, Emma opened a door on the right, she could feel Sarah shaking, "Almost there, honey." A wallswitch turned on the overhead light. It revealed a small, sparsely furnished room with a tiny bath attached. "It's not much, but it's one of the few single rooms and you don't have to share a bath." Emma eased Sarah onto a chair next to the bed. "Hold on for just a second." She disappeared into the hallway. Sarah held herself upright, slouching caused too much pain. She was exhausted. Emma came back into the room with her arms full. "Okay, Sarah. I've got linens, towels, toiletries and some clothing for you. I guessed at the size, usually I'm not far off. Stay put while I change the sheets." In a short time, the bed was ready, Emma pulled out some pajamas and looked at Sarah, "Now it's your turn." Ten minutes later, Sarah was asleep. Emma turned out the light and quietly closed the door. She leaned against it for a moment in thought. Whoever or whatever Sarah was running from was serious. The hospital dressings on her arm and side attested to that. They needed to talk. The RN usually arrived at 1:00, she'd just be in the neighborhood and drop back in. Every now and then, she took someone under her wing - this time it would be Sarah. Emma looked at her watch 'damn!' and hurried back to unlock the front doors. JAG Headquarters Falls Church 0810 Local They hadn't talked much on the drive back. AJ drove, right now it was the safest thing to do. He knew Rabb would eventually realize that this was their best chance of locating Mac. If they knew what she was running from, maybe they could guess where to look. At this point, AJ was fairly certain Mac had left on her own. He wouldn't have believed she could make it out of her room, much less the hospital. Hopefully, whoever was after her hadn't expected it either. AJ tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, he wished he had some of idea of what Mac's plan was. He knew she had one. It was Rabb who was the impulsive one. After arriving at JAG, AJ and Harm moved all Mac's current case files to the conference room. Bud and Harriet were on their way in, Sturgis said he would be in by 0900 and Webb... well, they had left a message. Harm had dug around in storage and found a large dry-erase easel. After setting it up, he and AJ were constructing a timeline, noting the facts they were sure of, it wasn't much. Hearing a knock, they turned to see Gunny Walters in the doorway. "Gunny?" AJ said. "Yes sir. I heard that you're trying to figure what happened to the Colonel. I'd like to help - if I may, sir." The Gunny was almost at attention. "I see," AJ glanced at Harm, "Since Commander Rabb and I only came to this decision an hour ago, might I ask how you found out?" Walters looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Gunny?" "Aye sir. I told my people to keep me informed of anything out of the ordinary. You and Commander Rabb being here this early on a Sunday without having the duty was unusual. I figured it had to do with the security breach." The Gunny paused, "And I stopped by the hospital at 0730. When I saw the Colonel's room empty, I went to see the security chief." AJ looked at him in alarm, "Gunny, I'm not going to have defend you on assault charges, am I?" "No sir!" Gunny Walters looked indignant. "I... 'counseled'... the chief on security methods." He waited a beat, and added smugly, "You may get a cleaning bill, though." A small strangled sound made them both turn. Harm had his back to them, his shoulders shaking. AJ looked back at the Gunny, trying desperately to maintain a serious demeanor, "All right, Gunny. Welcome aboard, why don't you bring up the logs for this last week?" he said briskly. "Umm, close the hatch on your way out, please." AJ stood silently until the door closed, then sat down and looked at Harm. They both burst out laughing, AJ wiped his eyes, "And I thought you were the loose cannon. I almost feel sorry for that imbecile. 'Counseled'... dear god." He chuckled again. They stopped when there was a knock on the door. Harm looked at AJ, "He couldn't have made it back that quickly." AJ shrugged and called, "Enter." Bud, Harriet and little AJ stood in the doorway. "Good morning, Admiral, Commander. We couldn't find a sitter on such short notice, I hope you don't mind. Has there been any word on the Colonel?" Bud got it all out in one breath. "Not a problem, Lieutenant. I appreciate the two of you giving up your weekend for this. And so far, no." AJ said and then continued, "The Commander and I are putting together a timeline with known facts; hopefully, it will show us a pattern and maybe we can figure out what's going on." JAG Headquarters Falls Church 1018 Local AJ looked around the table. "Is that everything we know so far?" He focused on Harriet, who had put a hand up. She asked, "How are we going to know if we've found anything, when we don't know exactly what it is we're looking for?" "Coincidences and anomalies." said Sturgis. Everyone looked at him. AJ said, "Excuse me?" "Something I learned during my first post as a JAG." Sturgis explained, "There was this retired FBI agent they had on contract to help with the investigations. He taught me a lot. He always said, 'When you don't know what you're looking for, look for the coincidences and anomalies. They'll point you in the right direction." Harm was standing at the easel, he had been writing the facts as they knew them. He took over the discussion, "Okay, I think we should use the security breach as our starting point. According to the Gunny, Mac arrived at 2147 and went up to her office with Rodreguiz. She said she'd forgotten a file. We're assuming the intruders arrived with the regular maintenance crew at 2100. The one dressed as a Marine probably had his uniform on under the coveralls." He paused, "Yes Gunny?" "I talked to the Marines at the gate and the one who admitted the maintenance crew that night. A second van arrived at the gate about 30 seconds after the first one passed through and those two came into the building about 45 seconds after the actual crew. They were out of breath and grousing about 'the guys' not waiting for them. They had the proper ID." AJ jumped in, "That was good timing, close enough to seem like part of the regular crew but far enough behind that the original crew didn't actually see them." Sturgis said, "Doesn't that show that this has something to do with an older investigation? It had to be planned in advance. What was in Mac's caseload prior to this week?" Bud shuffled through the file folders, "Ummm, Fighting, Willful Disobedience and Theft of Govt. Property were the major ones." "Theft of Govt. Property? Military arms?" Sturgis asked. "Uh, no. Shrubbery." Bud glanced up and saw several raised eyebrows around the table. "An enterprising corporal on ground maintenance duty decided to start a landscaping business on the side. He was pretty careful but he made the mistake of pilfering some hybrid rose bushes that a Colonel's wife had ordered. She didn't buy his 'lost in transit' story, her husband got involved and..." "He's history." Harm finished. Getting back to the original topic, he said, "No, I think this happened suddenly. I mean it looks planned but the execution was sloppy, like they were adapting as they went." "I don't know, Harm." Sturgis argued. "They had to have a company van and uniforms from the maintenance firm that's contracted here. You just don't pick that up on a moment's notice. This had to be planned in advance." "Not necessarily, sir," Bud said, "You could have had the research done earlier, like having a contingency plan on file. What if whoever did this has scenarios like this planned for a lot of different areas? They'd just have to pull the 'JAG Opplan' when they needed it. This is the kind of thing you'd expect from the..." "CIA." Clayton Webb said from the doorway. "This wasn't us. Mac's missing?" "Yeah, something or someone spooked her and she ran." Harm said in a frustrated tone, "Where have you been? Afghanistan?" Webb looked tired. "Among other places. Any ideas on what the hell happened? I got a brief overview from one of my people, but not a lot of details." Webb pulled out a chair and sat down with a sigh. Little AJ looked up from his drawing and smiled. Clayton returned it and then looked over when the Admiral cleared his throat somewhat ominously. "One of your people is keeping an eye on JAG, Webb?" "I have people keeping an eye on everything that goes on in Washington," Webb stated smugly. "Great," said Harm. "Find Mac." "Are you sure you want to do that?" Clay asked. "What the hell kind of question is that?" Harm snapped. "She should still be the hospital. We don't know what made her leave and the man that tried to kill her is running around loose. Of course, we need to find her." "Harm, she ran for a reason." Clay replied mildly, "I know her history. If anyone can successfully drop out of sight, it's Mac. Besides, think about it. Would she run to protect herself or the people she cared about?" That shut Harm up, as Clay knew it would. He turned to the Admiral, "There's a bigger problem brewing, Peterson." "The NIS inspector Harm threw out of Mac's room yesterday?" AJ said. "I've got a call in to Admiral Jacobs, I'm sure we'll be able to work things out." "I hadn't heard about that." Clay smiled at Harm, who looked embarrassed. "No, I'm talking about the fact that Peterson and the NIS just issued an indictment of espionage against the late Daniel Lattimer. And they've issued a warrant for Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie. Right now, they want her as a material witness. I heard Peterson tried to serve Mac this morning, he should be here shortly." Webb paused and looked around the room at everyone, "The scuttlebutt is that Peterson wants to charge Mac with espionage and treason. His argument is that she recruited the young and naive Mr. Lattimer and that she is and has been a card- carrying member of Al-Qaeda." Clay silently waited out the expected explosions of indignation and then raised his hand, "As far as he's concerned, Mac taking off was the final nail in the coffin." "That's the most ludicrous load... " AJ glanced at little AJ, "... of horse manure I've ever heard. I can't believe Charlie Jacobs is even thinking of going along with this idiot." "I found that interesting myself. Peterson has a reputation in the intelligence community as a nightlight in a halogen world. He's also arrogant, petty and vindictive." Webb commented. "Lattimer's the client who committed suicide in his cell, that's what Peterson told the Colonel when she reacted so violently." Harriet said. "She was defending him on espionage charges?" "Actually, no." Bud answered, "He was charged with drug possession with intent to distribute." "Sir?" Sturgis looked at the Admiral, "I know you like to spread the cases around, but wouldn't a drug possession case have been normally handled by Lt. Roberts or Lt. Singer?" "Ordinarily, yes, but Petty Officer Lattimer specifically asked for the Colonel and because he was Admiral Jacobs' yeoman, I granted the request as a favor to Charlie." The Admiral frowned, "That could be twisted to fit Peterson's scenario... Dammit! If Mac's a spy, then I'm Napoleon Bonaparte!" He glared at Bud who had snorted on his last comment, "Something amusing, Lieutenant?" Bud looked up wide-eyed, "Oh no, sir." He paused and then said, "I was just remembering that the Colonel has the biography of Napoleon. It had struck me as odd at the time and then you mentioned being Napoleon and..." He thought about what he had just said and hastened to explain, "I mean, I don't think it was odd Col. MacKenzie would read a book about Napoleon, it's just that most of her books are about dinosaurs and fossils, the Marine Corps, Cherokee Indians... " Bud slowly ran down while everyone looked at him. "Thank you, Lieutenant." AJ said with one eyebrow raised. He was about to say more when the intercom interrupted him. "Admiral, there's an Inspector Peterson from NIS here. He's insisting that he speak with you." AJ stood up and swept his gaze across the group, finally resting on Clayton Webb. "Here it comes." As he left the room, Sturgis murmured thoughtfully to himself, "Coincidences and anomalies..." JAG Headquarters Falls Church 1105 Local AJ had been considering the best way to handle Peterson ever since Webb had dropped the bombshell on them. Striding into his outer office, he brushed past the acerbic little man. Opening the door to his office, he glanced over his shoulder and barked, "Come with me. Close the door." As he walked around to his desk, AJ ran his hand across his phone's keypad, then turned to face the inspector as he hurried to catch up. Seeing Peterson take a deep breath and begin to speak, the Admiral leaned forward and bellowed, "Where the hell is my Chief of Staff?" In the conference room, heads snapped around as the Admiral's voice came clearly over the intercom. Sturgis started to reach over to turn it off, when Clay raised his hand, "I think the Admiral wanted us to hear this." They gathered around and listened. Taken aback, Peterson blinked, "How would I know that? I was just at the hospital... " "You were what? I thought it had been made clear Col. MacKenzie was not to be disturbed until her doctor approved." AJ was using his parade-ground voice, he could be easily heard in the bullpen. Standing right in front of him was deafening. Peterson tried desperately to take control of the conversation. "I have a warrant... " AJ cut him off, "What is NIS doing about the prisoner escape? That lunatic killed one of my Marines and wounded another." The inspector looked bewildered for a moment, "That's not my... " and then tried again, "Are you aware that MacKenzie is of Arabic descent?" "Of course, she is. How else would she have learned to speak Farsi so fluently? Damned convenient when she assisted the CIA in recovering that Stealth jet and pilot that had a forced landing in Iran a couple of years ago." AJ still hadn't lowered the volume of his voice. "And she's friends with a Russian KGB officer... " "I know. Her espionage case turned out to be tied to a plot to assassinate the Russian President. They joined forces, foiled the attempt and arrested the rogue Russian general who was responsible. I understand President Bush was most appreciative, considering his relationship with Putin." AJ crossed his arms and waited. "She's made several trips to Russia and ... " AJ slammed his hands down on the desk, leaned in and bellowed, "Are you deaf? I just told you that. I ORDERED her to Russia. Now tell me where Col. MacKenzie is!" Peterson, feeling shell-shocked, could only splutter, "I DON'T know... " AJ looked up at the ceiling, "I don't have time for this." He glared at the inspector, "Come back when you have something substantial to report. Dismissed!" Peterson stood there, flabbergasted. AJ's brow lowered menacingly, "OUT!" Inspector Peterson fled. The Admiral waited a minute and then walked back to the conference room. He opened the door and entered to a loud burst of applause and whistles. Looking around at his staff, he smiled grimly and said, "That should buy us a day." Baylor Women's Shelter Washington, D.C. 1410 Local Evelyn Rosser, R.N., looked disapprovingly at Emma. They had clashed a number of times over the years, the victories and defeats were fairly even. Evelyn, a compact, intense woman, had thought about their relationship on several occasions. It wasn't the difference in philosophies or the clash of two strong-willed personalities, she had decided; she just didn't like Emma Fine. "Medical examinations are confidential." she said flatly. Emma crossed her arms and gave Evelyn a look that was a combination of amusement and annoyance. "Sarah and I have discussed this at length, she said it was okay if I stayed. Isn't that right, Sarah?" Sarah looked at the two women. That hadn't been the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Emma had awakened her twenty-three minutes ago and told her it was time to see the RN. Helping her get dressed, Emma then said she would stick around during the examination. Evelyn Rosser tended to see things as black and white: gray areas were not allowed. Emma would make sure Sarah's best interests were considered first. Then Emma had looked Sarah in the eye and said, "Once I know it won't kill you, we are going to sit down and have a serious discussion." Sarah focused her attention on Evelyn and simply said, "Yes." The RN snorted and said, "Fine. Let's get started." She was quick but thorough. After checking Sarah's vitals, she looked at the stitches on the side of her head and peered into her eyes. "The stitches can come out in another day or so. You realize you have a concussion?" Not really waiting for a reply, she started unwrapping the dressing on Sarah's upper arm. Carefully removing the last layer of blood and matter encrusted material, she looked at Sarah in surprise, "This is a bullet wound." Sarah's laconic "I know." earned her a glare from Evelyn and a small, amused snort from Emma. Sarah continued, "There's also a wound in my side and I have several cracked ribs." She regarded Evelyn steadily. Evelyn looked over at Emma, "You know I will have to report this to the authorities." She missed the look of fear and alarm that flashed across Sarah's face, but Emma didn't. "No you don't." Emma was an island of calm amid Sarah's rising sense of panic. "It's the law, Emma." Evelyn said adamantly. "Think it through, Evelyn." Emma said reasonably. "It's already been reported." She looked at Sarah, "You were taken to a hospital?" At her nod, Emma continued, "See? It's been taken care of. You just have to make sure there's no infection and put fresh dressings on. Then we can get this young lady back to bed," she turned to Sarah, "I assume bedrest was prescribed?" Sarah nodded again. "There, you see? Now if you'll get those dressings, we can be finished." Emma smiled. Evelyn clamped her mouth shut and recovered the wounds with fresh dressings. Ten minutes later, Emma had a hand under Sarah's elbow and they were headed back to her room. "Are you hungry, honey?" Receiving an affirmative, she said, "If you can handle sitting for a bit, we can detour through the kitchen and I'll fix you a bite to eat." Baylor Women's Shelter Washington, D.C. 1500 Local Emma stepped out into the warm spring afternoon and headed up the street to the bus stop. She walked along deep in thought. She'd gotten Sarah back in bed after feeding her an astonishing amount of food. Life definitely wasn't fair, she reflected, if Sarah ate like that all the time and still stayed slender. They had agreed to talk tonight when Emma came back for her shift. There were mysteries surrounding Sarah and Emma intended to solve at least a few. It wasn't until she reached the bus stop and turned around, that she realized a car had been following her. It stopped and a large man got out. "Momma, I thought you worked the graveyard shift?" "James! How long were you following me? Why didn't you say something sooner?" Emma said with a smile. Her oldest was a lieutenant on the DC police force. He had passed the test and received his promotion just last year. James smiled, "Momma, I know better than to interrupt you when you're thinking that hard. Adopted another orphan?" 'Emma's Orphan Brigade' was the source of much amusement to her sons. Not the 'orphans' themselves, but the havoc she could and would wreak on their behalf and the hapless bureaucrats that wound up in her sights. "How about a ride home? I'll let you play with the siren," he teased. Emma fixed him with a mock glare and then smiled, "Lights, too?" James looked over at his mother as he drove. "So, who's the latest member of the Orphan Brigade?" "Her name's Sarah. Little bit of thing, but there's steel underneath. Someone tried to kill her, she'd been shot as well as beaten. I'm pretty sure she walked out of a hospital before she was supposed to. She doesn't complain, hasn't really said much more than 'please' and 'thank you' but we're going to sit down and talk tonight." Emma sat silently for a moment, then said musingly, "She's seen death before. I can see it in her eyes. It hasn't broken her yet, Sarah's a survivor." James drove on and then said carefully, "Momma, would you like me to... " "No, not yet." Emma replied, "Thank you for offering though." They drove the rest of the way in silence, both lost in thought. JAG Headquarters Falls Church 1530 Local The Admiral looked around the table at Harm, Sturgis and the Gunny. Bud and Harriet had collected little AJ and gone home for the day. They promised to get an early start tomorrow. Webb had gone back to his office to see what he could dig up. They had decided the Lattimer case was somehow the focal point. They hadn't decided if it had anything to do with drugs. Sturgis cleared his throat and said, "Pardon me, Admiral. I was curious about something Webb said earlier. I realize I don't know Mac as well as most of you, but why is he so certain she can drop out of sight successfully? She didn't take ID, she has no money and if she's running, she's not going to show up anywhere she thinks these people might be watching, so she can't turn to her friends." AJ glanced at an expressionless Harm while thinking it over, finally, he said, "Mac grew up with an abusive alcoholic for a father and a mother who left when she was fifteen. She ran wild after that. She'd been on her own for most of her life anyway. When she was eighteen, she nearly killed herself in an auto accident. Her uncle stepped in, straightened her out and got her into the Marine Corps. She's used to relying on herself and I'd have to say, she's probably familiar with the seamier sides of life. She could blend in almost anywhere." Sturgis listened in amazement. Glancing over, he saw the same expression on the Gunny. He would have never guessed that the squared-away Marine Colonel had had that kind of childhood. 'Dear god... ' Sturgis suddenly realized the Admiral was watching him. "Excuse me, sir, and thank you." AJ gave a slight nod and then looked at them both, "You realize this is not general knowledge? I expect you both to respect Mac's privacy." At their affirmatives, he stood up, "I think we could all use a break. Those of you who wish to continue, I'll be back at 1800, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow morning." He started for the door and then turned around, "Thank you. I know this isn't how you planned to spend your weekend." He walked out. McMurphy's 1610 Local Harm, Sturgis and Gunny Walters sat at a small table towards the back of the bar. There was a pitcher of beer on the table and they were waiting for their pizza order. Sturgis sipped his beer and looked over at Harm, "I guess you've known about Mac's past all along?" Harm fiddled with his glass, not answering. He glanced over at Walters, "We're off-duty now, so you can call me Harm. I've been wanting to thank you for what you did for Mac. I owe you one." Walters shrugged dismissively, then leaned back and looked at the two officers, "My friends call me Dubby." Seeing their expressions, he said, "My initials: Are. Dubba-Yah. ...Dubby." They still stared at him. "Look, it's a Southern thing." He was getting exasperated. Harm looked at Sturgis and said solemnly, "The South has some very strange names, Stur-gis." Equally solemn, Sturgis replied, "I believe that's true, Har-mon." They both looked at Walters again, Harm continued in the same tone, "But then, the South has some very strange people." Walters stared at them and then started to chuckle, "Goddamn Squids... take them out of the water and their manners go all to hell." The other two men laughed, pleased with themselves. Then Harm said, "To answer your question, Sturgis, I found out a lot of it while we were partnered together the first couple of years. Mac tends to alternate between being incredibly forthright and making a clam look chatty." He rubbed his eyes, "God, I hope she's okay, wherever she is." "I'm sure she is, Harm." Sturgis said reassuringly. The pizzas arrived just then, sparing them from further conversation. McMurphy's 1730 Local " ... so we're standing in the Moscow airport after this shootout with a rogue KGB officer and here's the last person I expect to see, Admiral Chegwidden. I ask him what he's doing there and he says, 'Decking Webb.' Then he turns around and just flattens Clay, broke his nose." Harm laughed and then glanced at his watch. "Oh man, I've got to get back to JAG. Either of you coming?" "I'm ready to give it another shot," Sturgis said. "How about you, Dubby?" "Can't. I need to get some rack time. I'm dropping in on the security deta