| Subject: ...For Meritorious Service, Chapter 5 |
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TxJAG_b
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Date Posted: 13:25:58 05/11/11 Wed
In reply to:
TxJAG_b
's message, "...For Meritorious Service, Chapter 1" on 10:48:20 04/12/11 Tue
Chapter 5 …For Meritorious Service
A/N: () thoughts of a person *~*~* flashback. Be warned there is language throughout - if rated, this would be for mature audiences....
*************************
Chapter 5
Don Casey fell into his chair and began to power up the Stallion’s engines. His co-pilot, 1st Lieutenant Sal Jankovich, stared at him in shock.
“What?!” snapped Casey, fiddling with the radio transmitter/receiver.
“Never witnessed an officer commit career suicide before.”
“You’re a riot, you know that?”
“Don, I’m not kidding. That light Colonel back there will eat your lunch, plus she’s got a whole planeload of witnesses to back her up – not including her pals.”
“The guys know how I feel.” He said defensively
“But that doesn’t make what you did right or justified, Don. The old man is gonna stomp all over you for this one and I don’t want to even want to think what Briggs is going to do you.”
“Sal, I’m not backing down. Let’s just get these weenies to Mirbullah, okay?”
“Your funeral partner.” Sal said grimly.
With a signal from the crew chief, the massive helicopter lifted off from the tarmac and headed southwest.
Mac was still fuming as they strapped in “That ignorant, egotistical son of a – I’m going to nail his ass to the wall!”
“Easy Mac,” Harm quirked an eyebrow at her, “You’re usually the calm, dispassionate one.”
“Guess it’s the company I keep, Flyboy.” She shot back, her anger still penetrating her usually friendly comment. Harm decided discretion was the better part of valor and let the Marine alone for a while.
“I don’t get it,” replied Bud, still in shock. “Why did he do it? At that comment Mac, Harm and Sturgis looked at him with momentary annoyance. Realizing his faux pas, he focused his explanation on Harm. “I mean, Sir, he’s got to understand, he just flushed whatever chances he had for a career advancement down the tubes.”
“I don’t know Bud,” Harm was still angry but was now becoming puzzled as well. “Maybe he just wants out and this seemed like the perfect way to make a statement.”
“Well, he sure picked a dramatic way to end his career.” Commented Sturgis. “I wonder if he’ll be this vocal at his court martial?”
Mac was ominously silent. Bud and Sturgis had learned to not disturb the Marine when she was pissed off. Especially when it happened so recently. For her part, Mac had begun analyzing the situation, attempting to put her emotions in check. She was trying to figure out for herself what had happened – were there any indicators that the Captain was going to go off like this? Maybe this is a symptom of a larger problem that played into Lieutenant Dodge’s death as well. She noticed Major Barnett looking at her.
“I guess you want to give me an explanation about why he just terminated his career.” Mac wasn’t sure she wanted to listen to his lame excuse. However, maybe she could glean something from it.
“Colonel, I can’t tell you why a decorated veteran like Captain Casey just did what he did,” began Major Barnett honestly, “What I can tell you is he and most of the HMM-871 feel the same way he does, they just feel their careers are more important.”
She still didn’t think that was a very good excuse. “There are other ways to express this sentiment, Major.”
Major Vince Barnett smiled ruefully. “Agreed; but as I tried to tell you before, we’ve been living on the edge up here for months. With the sniping and twisted reports from the media, negative news from the citizens about what we’re doing, and the Fedayeen and Al-Qaeda pinpricking us to death, something has to give somewhere.”
“Are you justifying his actions?” Harm broke in.
“Negative Commander, I can’t condone what he did,” he paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, “But I can’t really condemn him either, sorry.”
Mac sat back, trying to absorb what he just said. Harm looked incredulously at the man.
Neither one said a thing. The Major looked back at them. (They just don’t understand…but then how could they? They’re outsiders looking in.)
Mac had always prided herself on being a Marine’s Marine, understanding the unwritten code. They had accepted her in Indonesia, but instead of accepting her now, they looked at her as if she was the enemy. Had she really lost touch? Did she really not understand what they were going through?
(Get a grip MacKenzie…) she told herself, but that nagging little voice, the one that told her how worthless she was, how she deserved everything she got and why didn’t she just give in and return to the bottle, was seductively whispering to her.
(Way to go Marine,) it said mockingly (You sure showed them. No other Marine would have the guts to ruin the lives of real soldiers. But hey, that it doesn’t matter to you, now does it? Because you aren’t a real soldier.)
No! No, she wasn’t going to listen. That voice was trying to con her, make her go back to her old patterns. It was a constant battle to knock down the seemingly plausible arguments it proposed. They were bull and she knew it. Marines need discipline and this guy didn’t have it. That argument buoyed her, and for the moment the nagging voice retreated.
Mac looked out the small window beside her and watched the airbase retreat from their view. She wished they could go over ground to Mirbullah, rather than flying in this fluttering crapcan, but it was important that they wrap up the case as soon as possible. That’s why Sturgis and Bud were along--to act as extra eyes and ears in the investigation. She turned and looked at Harm who was sitting in his jump seat with his eyes closed. If only she could do that. Flying was not her favorite activity and Harm’s airborne activities had only made those feelings more pronounced. She looked back at Bud and Sturgis, both of them likewise had their eyes shut as if that would drown out the incessant whine of the engines. She slowly breathed in and out, willing herself to calm down.
(Man, I hope we land soon….) Harm really hated these things. He prayed that this one
had had a recent maintenance check and that it wouldn’t have make a hard landing or worse, explode in mid-air. He opened his eyes and looked at Mac sitting calmly. She
had come a long way since their first flight in his Stearman. (Look at her, she got it all together…that’s why I love her…) He stopped, thinking about what he had just said. (I do? Yeah,) He thought, glad that he had finally told her, well actually blurted it out in Paraguay. Even though she had dismissed it as a heat of the moment comment, he noticed that she paid him a little closer attention since then. For his part, he had started an honest assessment about his feelings for one Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. He looked at Mac again. She looked over at him and smiled. (Yeah, I do love her.)
Mac saw the crew chief motioning to her. She knew the man was trying to say something to her, but if talking on board the C-5 had been difficult, it became virtually impossible on the Sea Stallion with the roar of its twin engines and the person being on the other side of the craft.
She leaned over to hear him better. “Say that again Lieutenant?”
2nd Lieutenant Mark Feldman leaned closer to the Marine Lieutenant Colonel.
“I said, I’m sorry about what the Captain said to you. He was wrong, Ma’am.”
Mac stared at him for a moment. Maybe she wasn’t so out of touch after all. “Thank you Lieutenant.” She replied guardedly.
“You’re welcome. And Ma’am? If he’s smart, he’ll apologize when we land. Will you accept it if he does?” He looked at her intently.
She thought about what they had seen in downtown Baghdad. “Taking into account what you men have been through, I think I’m beginning to understand why your Captain did what he did. I think I can do that.” She said with soft smile.
Now it was the crew chief’s turn to smile. “Thank you Ma’am.”
1920 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Jason walked up to Harriet’s desk. She turned at his approach and immediately noticed the pallor of his face. Her heartbeat quickened.
“The Admiral wants to see both of us ASAP, Ma’am.” He breathed. The way he said it made Harriet feel like taking the rest of the day off.
“Any idea what it’s about?” Harriet asked timidly, dreading his next words.
“No idea Ma’am, he didn’t say.”
Harriet slowly got out of her chair with Jason’s assistance. They both approached Admiral Chegwidden’s polished cherry wood door. Tiner rapped on the closed door just below the word ‘Private’
“Enter.” There was no way to tell his mood from that order.
Jason swallowed, opened the door and stuck his head in.
“Sir? Lieutenant Sims and Petty Officer Tiner reporting, as ordered.”
“Come in,” Both Harriet and Jason entered his office. “Close the hatch.” AJ Chegwidden put down the report he was reading and steepled his hands in front of him on his oak desk. As they both came to attention, the Admiral pulled off his reading glasses and tossed them on the table.
Jason Tiner flinched. He shot a quick look at his commanding officer. “Headache Sir?”
AJ pinched the bridge of his nose for moment and then looked at both of them. Tiner quickly resumed his stoic pose. The Admiral sighed heavily.
“How are Lieutenant Commander Burford and Major Clemons working out so far?”
The question caught them off guard. Harriet was the first to find her voice. “Sir?”
“Did you not hear my question, Lieutenant?” the Admiral growled menacingly, “I said how are the Lieutenant Commander and the Major working out?”
“Well – uhm, Sir….” began Jason weakly
“I heard that Petty Officer Coates has been very adept at serving as referee and gofer for the both of them, and that you two have become very familiar with the basement case files,” interrupted AJ. His cold glare made Harriet feel sick to her stomach. She glanced at Jason who looked like he may strain something if he tried to stand any straighter.
She braced for the blast.
“Both Burford and Clemons have been very complimentary of your work – so it looks like you’ve both passed their test.” He stared balefully at them. “The question is why do they need to test you two -- have they formed some kind of secret society in my office where you have to take loyalty oaths? And why is Coates acting a referee between them? Is there something going on I need to know about?”
Both officers stood perfectly still.
“Well?” An edge crept into his voice as he glared at both of them.
“Uh, Sir…Admiral, we are just trying--”
“Just trying to do what, Tiner?” The man fell silent. AJ shot an aggravated look at Harriet. “Lieutenant, maybe you can do a better job explaining to me what’s going on.”
“It seems Sir, that there are some unresolved issues between the Lieutenant Commander and the Major. We were just trying to smooth over the rough spots. They’re working very hard preparing for their first case tomorrow afternoon.”
(Just what we need around here, two more officers with ‘unresolved issues’) AJ swore silently. “What kind of issues? Smooth over what rough spots? Lieutenant, you’re supposed to be working limited duty during your final months, and dammit, I don’t want to see you getting one more thing for either one of them. Is that understood?”
“Aye Sir!” responded Harriet, secretly glad he felt this way. She made sure the Admiral did not see her joy.
“Tiner!” Jason quickly made eye contact with the Admiral. “Effectively immediately, Mr. Burford and Major Clemons will get their own files. You will go back to assisting Commanders Mattoni and Imes and you *will not* deviate from that job. Are we clear on this?”
“Yes Sir!” He responded crisply.
“Good, because I would hate for them to get worn out getting their own files.” His words, laced with sarcasm, were not lost on the two junior officers.
“Aye, aye Sir!” Their eyes did not dare meet the Admiral’s
“I trust we won’t have to have this conversation again?”
“No Sir!” The two replied in unison
“Good!” He softened his voice “Dismissed.”
“Aye, aye Sir!” Both did an about face and headed for the door. AJ picked up his reading glasses and the report he was reading before they came in.
Harriet left first. As Jason started to close the door behind him, AJ spoke in low deadly tones. “Oh and Tiner, please send in Petty Officer Coates so I can personally compliment her on her interpersonal skills.”
Jason hesitated for the briefest of moments.
“Now Tiner!” barked AJ.
“Aye Sir!” He quickly left the room. AJ was building up a head of steam and he was sure Coates would add to his anger and then he was going to blow it out on those two wayward officers. Why did he feel a sense of déjà vu about doing this?
1452 Local
36th ACE Airfield, Camp Chesty Puller
Near Mirbullah, Iraq
Hatchet 07 fired off its flares as the helicopter approached the airfield. Making graceful arcs as they left the underside of craft, the flares drifted down to the desert floor below. The big transport thundered by the makeshift control tower and settled down to land near the other transport helicopters of the 36th MEU.
Captain Casey and Lieutenant Jankovich, satisfied with their landing, began powering down the Stallion’s engines. The co-pilot looked over sternly at the Captain.
“Ok Sal, ok,” grumbled the Captain, throwing up his hands. “You win; I’ll go say something to the JAG Colonel.”
Sal smiled wryly at the man. “That would be the first smart move you’ve made since we deployed here, Don.”
“Funny, Sal.”
The co-pilot looked at him soberly. “Seriously Don, you’d better hope the lady JAG attorney is in a forgiving mood.”
“Yeah.” Don Casey got up and began walking to the back of the transport.
*~*
Mac was the first to unfasten herself once they were down on the ground. Before Harm, Sturgis or Bud could say or do anything, she was out of her seat and heading toward the cockpit. The three JAG Corps attorneys looked at each other.
“We’d better go after her,” said Harm getting up and looking toward the front of the transport.
*~*
Don stopped as soon as he saw Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie making her way toward him.
“Colonel.”
Mac stopped and regarded him coolly, “Captain.”
The crew stopped what they were doing and watched the two officers. “Uh Colonel,” began Don, “I was out of line--”
Mac cut him off. “Captain, as far as I am concerned, it never happened. Although if I were you, I would not be so quick to judge.” Her tone was firm – he caught her off guard last time, that wouldn’t happen again. She fixed him with a hard stare. In the background Harm and the others stood silently watching the exchange.
Don returned the stare. “I was out of line with my comments about you and the other JAG Corps lawyers, Ma’am, and I regret saying them,” Mac’s expression started to soften, “But I stand by what I said earlier about Lieutenant Lukens and Chief Warrant Officer Buell, they did not kill…Lieutenant Dodge.” He folded his arms across his chest. Mac’s hard stare returned.
“Captain, do you have any proof that these two men didn’t kill him?” She didn’t move. Muffled noises from the outside world filtered into the dusty transport. Neither one paid attention to them.
Captain Casey didn’t flinch. His mouth was a thin straight line. “No Ma’am.”
“Then why should I believe you?” That comment made his eyes falter slightly. While he pondered her question, she bored in for the kill. “What proof do you have to back up your claim? Any witnesses? Any documents? Any corroborating expert testimony? Captain, do you have a single, solitary shred of evidence that can prove their innocence?”
She had landed some solid hits and could tell the man had been rocked.
He looked at her for a long moment. “Ma’am, all I can tell you is…about my past experience with them. They never did…or said anything that would lead me to believe they could commit murder.”
“You’re certain of this?”
“They did not do this Ma’am. I don’t have a shred of evidence or any eyewitnesses, but I know, as does most everyone else in the 36th, that they didn’t do it. I’d swear my life on it.” To his credit, the pilot did not give in to her assaults.
Mac let a wry smile appear. “All right Captain, let’s assume you’re correct. How would we go about proving this claim?”
“Conduct a thorough investigation.”
“That Captain is exactly what my partners and I intend to do.” And with that, Sarah MacKenzie spun on her heel and walked away from the stunned pilot. He looked at her, trying to figure out what had just happened.
“Colonel!” he called out after her.
The three male JAG attorneys flinched. Mac stopped, her jaw taut.
“Thank you.”
She turned back toward him, smiling “You’re welcome Captain.” Her smile faded replaced by a drill sergeant façade, her voice even. “But a word of advice. Don’t *ever* insult a superior officer again, because if you do, I promise you, you will have flown your last mission for the 36th , period.”
Don straightened. “Understood Ma’am.”
“Carry on, Captain.”
“Aye, aye, Ma’am!” Mac turned and walked past the gathered males.
As she breezed past Harm, he looked at Sturgis. For his part the bubblehead shrugged his shoulders at her change of heart. One minute she was going to practically castrate the man, and then she left him at loss for words as she promised to thoroughly investigate this murder. And when Casey was dumb enough to call her like a kid calling his dog, she gave him a veiled warning not to push his luck. The man was incredibly lucky.
Harm still wanted to have a piece of him, but he didn’t want a certain Marine chewing his six for ‘a macho display’ as she would call it. He sighed and shook his head. The three of them with Mac in the lead, headed for the cargo ramp with Captain Johnson and Major Barnett in tow.
As they exited the Stallion, Johnson leaned over to Barnett and whispered. “That is some lady Marine, Sir. That’s the first time Casey has obeyed an officer since we got here.”
Barnett nodded in agreement. “She has command presence, Johnson.”
2107 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Everyone out in bullpen gathered outside his door. They could hear Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden’s voice cut through the air, causing some of them to draw back. Moments before, Lieutenant Commander John Burford and Major Carly Clemons had been summoned to his office. Despite the thick wooden door, the Admiral’s voice could clearly be heard.
“Major! You have about two minutes to explain to me what the hell is going out there or so help me I’m going to bring you up on abuse, dereliction of duty and any other charges I can think up!!”
Inside, AJ’s blast had almost knocked Major Clemons back into her seat. Commander Burford kept his eyes straight ahead, but Carly dared to look him in the eye and challenge him. “Sir how can you bring me up on a DDO? I haven’t--”
He savagely cut her off. “In the past three hours Major, you have had Lieutenant Sims and Petty Officers Tiner and Coates retrieve approximately thirty case files and related records for you. Is there something wrong with your feet Major? Some defect I was unaware of?” He looked angrily at John. “What about you Commander? Do you have a problem with your feet?”
“No Sir!” barked John in reply.
Carly was taken aback by that. She tried to match his quick response. “Uh, No Sir--”
He turned savagely on her. “Then perhaps you have a back problem?”
She had been caught. There was nothing else to do but accept his punishment. “No Sir; I am sorry Sir, I should have retrieved those files myself--”
“You’re damned right you should have! I don’t mind you requesting help from Lieutenant Sims, but don’t you think it’s a little cruel and maybe even dangerous to have her doing all that work when she’s eight months pregnant?!”
She was genuinely contrite now. “Yes Sir, I am sorry Sir--”
That infuriated the Admiral even more. “Sorry?! Sorry my ass!! You think all can be forgiven about your little escapade today just by saying one little ‘you’re sorry’!? Well Major, I have news for you—she can sue your sorry butt if she so desires and right now I don’t think that is such a---”
“Sir….” John immediately wished he’d kept his mouth shut.
“Don’t interrupt me Mr. Burford, when I’m ripping the Major another air hole – you’re next! You both can speak freely after I’m finished!!”
“Aye Sir!” John didn’t dare make eye contact with the Admiral. No telling what he would do if the Lieutenant Commander was dim-witted enough to try this.
Outside the Admiral’s office, Jason, Harriet and the others listened to the Judge Advocate General as he barked at ‘Carly’ for another few minutes.
*~*
“All right Major, now do you have anything to say to me regarding your actions with Lieutenant Sims?”
Carly was visibly shaken by his tirade, “Uh Sir, I uh--”
At that moment, Jason Tiner stuck his head in the door.
“What is it?!” The Admiral was clearly exasperated by this interruption.
“It’s Commanders Mattoni and Imes, Sir, they need to speak with you--”
“Tell them to take a number! What the hell is happening to this place?! Have all of you taken stupid pills or something?!!”
“Sorry Sir.” The Petty Officer retreated and closed the door.
He turned his heated glare back at the woman. “Now Major, should we pick up where we left off?”
Carly was now ramrod straight. “Yes Sir.”
“Good, I’m glad my reaming has finally gotten to you.”
He looked over at Burford. “You’re dismissed Mr. Burford, I have some things I need to discuss with the Major. However, I want you back here in twenty. Do you read me, mister?”
John snapped to attention, “Aye Sir,” did an about face and headed to the door. AJ waited until door closed and then he looked at the Major. He could see her eyes were bright with tears she was trying to fight off.
“Suck it up Major,” he said brusquely. He had heard about her toying with Harriet, now he hoped he could make her understand the consequences of this. “You don’t have any reason to cry…yet.”
Carly sniffed, swallowing the hot tears threatening to spill down her face. She looked at AJ studying her. He got up from his chair and walked over to the fireplace.
“Major, I usually try to cut my new people some slack,” he began in a friendly tone, looking thoughtfully at her. “However, you make it exceedingly difficult for people to like you.”
She wondered what he meant, but she didn’t dare say anything.
“You see, you remind me of someone I knew who also showed a lot of promise….”
Carly dared to look at the older man. He had a melancholy look in his eyes.
“I let her slide because she was a good lawyer and a damn good tactician. I kept thinking she would come around, so I didn’t press her about it.” He looked directly at her. “She had the same behavior patterns as you, Major, and she ended up dead.”
Carly opened her mouth and then closed it again -- unsure of what to say to this. After all, it could just be another scare tactic. She had other officers try this on her. They all knew what was best for her. (What a load of crap….) This new commander could rattle her with his yelling that’s for sure, but that old SEAL better forget trying to ‘reform’ her.
“Lieutenant Loren Singer’s fatal flaw was that she toyed with a desperate man.” The sadness in his voice was replaced by a coldness that shocked her. “And I can guarantee you Major Clemons; you’ll eventually do the same thing. You are the only one that can stop that pattern of self destruction.”
Carly Clemons had heard about Loren Singer and what had happened to her. It was not a pretty way to go. She looked down at her feet, letting his words sink in.
“Sir?” she began tentatively “I just--”
“You just what? Well, Major, out with it. I haven’t got all day.” His voice had turned hard and unfeeling again. AJ just knew she was blowing off what he had said, and his anger was returning. (I tried to give her a hint, now she has to live with the consequences….)
“…What she’s trying to say, Sir, is that she understands.” Admiral Chegwidden and Carly turned toward the open door.
“Commander Imes?! You’d better have a hell of reason for barging in like this--”
“Yes Sir, we do Sir.” Imes was followed by Commander Mattoni. “The Commander and I--”
“Great now you’re bringing in Mattoni!” snapped Chegwidden, “Why don’t we also bring in Tiner, Sims and Coates, call it a day and we’ll have a goddamn party right here in my office!!”
1522 Local
36th ACE Airfield, Camp Chesty Puller
Near Mirbullah, Iraq
Bud was the first to come out of the airfield barracks. He remembered looking in the mirror at his chocolate chip desert BDUs and the subdued insignia on the lapels of his shirt. This time, he wasn’t in Afghanistan and this time he had a metal and fiberglass leg. It brought back memories he’d had rather not relive. It took all of his concentration to walk down the steps outside with as little a limp as possible.
He could do this. Little AJ told him he could. It seemed silly at the time, but as he knew from talking to Harm that kids know more than they let their parents know.
*~*~*~*~*
Bud?
Yeah Harriet?
There’s someone who wants to see you.
Daddy?
Hey AJ, come here buddy.
Where are you goin’?
To the Middle East
Middle Eas’? Why?
To help some soldiers.
Are they in tr’uble?
Yes they are.
Did they do somethin’ bad?
Some people think so.
Do you?
No, big guy, I don’t.
You gonna defend’em?
Yep, I sure am.
Be careful Daddy.
I will son.
You can do this.
I know, thanks buddy.
*~*~*~*~*~*
“Hey Bud….”
Bud Roberts turned to see Harmon Rabb walking down the steps followed by Mac and Sturgis. All three were dressed like Bud, in camouflaged BDU’s and boonie hats.
“Leaving without us?”
“No Sir; just wanted to take a look around.”
“Sounds like a good idea Bud, let’s take a look around.”
The JAG Corps officers walked over to a large prefabricated building that was serving as a hangar. On the taxiway in front of the hangar doors sat two AH-1W Cobra gunships.
The first gunship had all of its access ports open as the ground crew swarmed over it like hungry bees after a flower. In the middle of this group was an officer futilely trying to direct them.
“No, no, no! Move it this way, yeah more to the right…” A loud metallic pop made everyone quickly move away from the officer.
“Watch it!” The wrench he had been using sailed out of the group and landed with a clatter on the ground.
“Son of a--”
He saw Harm, and the others approaching.
“ATTENTION ON DECK!”
Everyone around the Cobra snapped to attention.
“As you were,” replied the Commander. “I’m looking for Lieutenant Maxwell.”
“You’ve found him, Sir.” The young helicopter pilot came forward as the other men went back to work. “Lieutenant Steve Maxwell, acting commander of Echo platoon, of Helicopter, Marine, Light Attack nine seven five.” Mac looked over and noticed the graffiti on his gunship – The Blue Max.
“Acting commander?” asked Sturgis, looking at the man. “Where is your Captain?”
“Sick call Sir,” he explained. “Pneumonia.”
“Pneumonia?” Bud was intrigued by this idea and not quite believing the man. “In the desert?”
Steve Maxwell nodded, understanding Bud’s disbelief. “I wouldn’t have believed it either Lieutenant, until I came here. Something about the nearby marshes…”
“Sorry to hear about his condition.” Bud said honestly.
The Blue Max’s pilot smiled at the Navy man’s concern. “Oh, he’ll be okay Sir; he just has to take it easy for a couple of weeks.” He turned to Harm, dropping his pretense of friendliness. “Pardon my asking Sir, but are you going anywhere with this? I’ve got a sick bird here to get ready for dust off at 1630.” It was obvious he was going to be all business about this. He evidently did not want to waste his time with the ‘legal weenies.’
Now it was Harm’s turn to smile. “Sorry Lieutenant. I’m Commander Harmon Rabb; this is Commander Sturgis Turner, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah McKenzie, and Lieutenant Bud Roberts. We’re from the JAG Corps.”
The man nodded, apparently impatient to get this over with. “Yes Sir, the Captain told me to expect a visit from you. You’re going to be investigating Lieutenant Dodge’s murder. What did you want to ask?”
Harm went into investigator mode. “What do you know about what happened?”
The answer was very crisp and to the point. “Just what they told me. Lieutenant Haswell and I were flying cover on another part of the battlefield. By the time we arrived, the Lieutenant was dead and Lukens and Buell were in custody.”
(Too much like he’s reading from a script), thought Harm. But then it had been weeks since the crew of Firefly One was arrested.
Sturgis took his cue from the man’s bland report. “This is fine machine Lieutenant,” he said walking over to the Cobra. “Can you tell me a little bit about her?”
His change in tactics caught Maxwell off guard. The man quickly recovered. A proud smile spread across his face. (What the hell, this squid had probably never seen one of these babies up close before.) “Sure. You’re looking at a Bell Textron AH-1W “Whiskey” Supercobra. She’s powered by two General Electric T700-401 engines, her cruising speed is 170 miles per hour and her ceiling is about 18,000 feet. She’s one fine bird, Sir.”
Harm took the line of questioning from there. “I guess you’re pretty heavily armed….”
The Lieutenant was more than happy to let them know just how he was armed. This was more the kind of questioning he was willing to answer. “Right now we’re involved in anti-guerilla operations to the north of Mirbullah. Mainly taking out convoys, pillboxes, fortified positions and the like. So two LAU-7 seven shot and two LAU-61 nineteen shot Hydra rocket launchers with one rack of TOW or one rack of Hellfire missiles for the hardened stuff we might run into.”
“How were you armed on 23 March, Lieutenant?” Harm and Sturgis were a bit surprised by Mac in that she was usually a little more subtle in her questioning. She didn’t try to use feminine wiles to charm the man. She just asked her question point blank.
Steve Maxwell didn’t seem to care. He was too busy enjoying the attention. Especially that of a female Marine. “Loaded for bear Ma’am. Four AGM-114 Hellfire fire and forget missiles, two LAU-61 nineteen shot Hydra 70 2.75mm rocket launchers and four tube BGM-71 TOW launchers.”
That ‘enjoying the attention’ was what Mac had counted on. Smiling, she stroked his swollen ego some more. “They didn’t stand much of chance, did they?”
Maxwell smirked. “No Ma’am. We pretty much blasted to smithereens any of Saddam’s boys that tried to get in our way.”
“Outstanding Marine.” Her voice full of admiration. Maxwell beamed a thousand watt smile at her, showing all his pearly whites.
“Thank you Colonel.”
Harm just watched with satisfaction as she reeled him in.
“I take it all of you were armed with the same weapons?” She ran her hand lovingly along the side of the gunship.
“Well, not all of us Ma’am.”
“Oh?” Mac acted captivated.
“No Ma’am, we have eight gunships total, two of them were armed with Stinger missiles in case we ran into any enemy helicopters.”
“I see, and Lukens’ ship was armed this way?”
“Oh no Ma’am,” she quirked an eyebrow at him. “Lieutenant Colson flew close combat air patrol while Lukens flew close combat air support. Lukens was armed with the same weapons I had.”
“And he did a lot of damage?”
“Plenty Ma’am. If it hadn’t been for him and Dodge, Alpha company would have been history.”
“That’s impressive Marine,” again Maxwell began smiling, “But why Blue Max?” she said running her hand across the nickname on the side of the Cobra.
He blushed. “Well Ma’am, I’m a bit of a daredevil; pulled a few crazy stunts in my time to save my buddies and the grunts. You have to be a risk taker to stick your neck out when someone is in trouble. The guys named me Blue Max because of my ‘stunts’ and because of the blue scarf I wear.” Mac looked quizzically at him. “It’s a gift from my Mom.” He replied sheepishly.
“Well no one will begrudge you that, Lieutenant.” Mac said. He smiled again.
“Just one more thing, how many gunships is your unit flying right now?”
He answered honestly. “We’re down one – Lieutenant Lukens’ bird Ma’am.” He looked at the other JAG Corps officers
“Until they release the Lieutenant or get us a replacement for him and his ship.”
She smiled nodding her understanding. “You’ll let us know if you remember anything else?”
“Absolutely Ma’am; good luck with your investigation.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Carry on.” They walked back toward the barracks.
As soon as they were out of earshot of the man, Bud looked at the Colonel. “So we learned that he’s the Blue Max and that he’s down one gunship.”
Mac smiled slyly. “We also learned the name of Lukens’ wingman that day Bud.”
The light bulb went on in his head. “Which means we might have another witness to the incident.”
Mac nodded at Bud’s understanding. “Exactly, plus they haven’t supplied a replacement gunship yet.”
“Which means the gunship involved is still somewhere around here,” Sturgis grinned. “Colonel I’m impressed.”
“He just wanted a willing audience to listen to him, Sturgis. I just provided him with one.”
“A willing *female* audience, Mac.” Harm emphasized a little too strongly.
“Well, I could see that you’re ‘the truth and nothing but the truth’ approach wasn’t going to work, so I followed Sturgis’ lead.” She was baiting him.
It worked. “Uh huh,” harrumphed the Commander. “I see. That was *some* follow up.”
“Jealous Commander?” said Mac playfully.
Harm smiled wryly at her, “Not in the least, Colonel.” She smirked at his obvious cover-up. “Come on let’s go find the Commander of the 36th MEU.”
The four walked off in the direction of the sign that pointed to the 36th’s BLT Headquarters.
---TBC...
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