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Date Posted: 14:07:48 03/04/06 Sat
Author: Sylvia Mohr Bartlett
Subject: FWWATT Chapter 7 Section Five
In reply to: Sylvia Mohr Bartlett 's message, "FOR WHICH WE ARE TRULY THANKFUL Ch 7" on 13:01:08 03/04/06 Sat

FOR WHICH WE ARE TRULY THANKFUL

By Sylvia Mohr Bartlett

Chapter 7 Section 5: Future Concerns



Gibbs knocked at the door of Doctor Reyes' office. The door was open, but he had to get the man's attention. He was typing on a computer and seemed very pre-occupied. He finished the line he was typing before he looked up and saw the Special Agent standing there.

"May I help you?" Timothy Reyes asked, a slight frown on his face.

"Doctor, I am Special Agent Leroy Gibbs from NCIS. I was wondering if now would be a good time for me to ask you a few questions about Dr. Mahlberg and what exactly happened to Commander Rabb?"

At the mention of the other doctor's name, Reyes grimaced. "Come on it and close the hatch, Agent Gibbs. I wondered when you would get around to talking to me. After all, I am responsible for what happens in my Sick Bay, so I've been expecting to hear from you."

"Perhaps we could start with getting a simple statement of what exactly happened from your point of view, starting when the Commander arrived aboard the carrier."

"You need to go back that far?" The doctor shrugged. "Okay, but I hardly see how you can blame this travesty on the Commander; he was the victim. Of course, he wouldn't want me to refer to him that way."

"You knew Commander Rabb before he arrived aboard the Seahawk injured the other day?"

"The other night, not day. The answer to that is yes. I was the flight surgeon aboard the Patrick Henry when Harm changed his designator back to pilot from JAG a couple of years ago. In fact, I've known both Rabb and Admiral Boone for quite a while. I have bounced back and forth between this ship and the Pat Henry several times, so I have seen Harm at work, both as a pilot and a lawyer."

"How would you describe your personal relationship with the Commander?"

"Friendly, but professional. It isn't as if we hung out when we were on shore or anything. I was his flight surgeon more than once when he was flying and cared for him when he was injured aboard ship during a couple of investigations he worked as a JAG."

Gibbs frowned at that, asking. "Is the Commander accident prone? JAG lawyers don't often get into danger in the course of a normal investigation on board ship, do they? At least, not in my experience."

"The Commander tends to be assigned the more high profile and, therefore, more high risk cases. Look, all I know is Harm has had to fire a gun in self defense or to save someone else more than most street cops would ever dream of."

"You're saying he has had to fire in anger, to kill face to face, in the line of duty?"

"Gibbs, where are you going with this? How is that information germane to this investigation?"

"I am trying to understand the man in question. I need to know who I am dealing with when the Commander is well enough to give me a statement."

"Why, so you can approach him as like he's your adversary as you did with Chegwidden and Boone? Because I can tell you right now, if you plan on treating Rabb that way, you will get nowhere near him as long as you are on board this vessel."

"You seem protective of him." Gibbs remarked, dryly.

"Damn straight. He's injured and very ill right now. I will not tolerate any more harm coming to him aboard this ship, not if I can prevent it!" Reyes was coming to a slow boil.

"Sir, please. The last thing I want to do is hurt the Commander in any way. I need to mend fences with two admirals and Doctor Studevant already and I would like to avoid adding you to that list, Doctor. The fact is, ordinarily, I have a jacket on a member of the Navy or the Marines before I ever have to approach them. I like to know who I am dealing with.

"If my questions appear to be abrasive, I apologize for that. I am told I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder, but I am not out to blame the Commander for what has happened in anyway. I am just trying to get a feel for the psychology of the man I am dealing with."

"Well, Gibbs, in my humble opinion, it isn't the Commander's psychology you need to be concerned with. It's Doctor Mahlberg's psychology and determining if the man has any accomplices on my staff."

"You are concerned about that possibility?"

"Of course I am. I rather doubt the man nearly pulled something like this off without some help. Someone had to alert him that Harm might be a candidate. He was NOT in surgery with me, nor one of the staff that worked on the Commander initially when he landed."

Gibbs took out his notebook and sat down in the chair the doctor indicated. "That is exactly why I want to start with your observations from the moment he landed."

"Let's start with when I heard he was coming aboard and he was hurt. I was up in Pri-fly when we were alerted to the action involving a Navy CAP plane and a surface contact. We had just finished recovering some planes from night quals when we got the word, so the air boss and CAG switched to a radio line where we could monitor the action. From that point on, we heard everything the Commander and his RIO said and the responses they got from Home Plate, which is the designator for PAX River for the CAPS flying from there." Reyes took over the reins of the conversation and began to give a thorough accounting from his point of view.

For quite some time, Gibbs only took notes and asked the occasional question to clarify a point. The doctor had an excellent reporting manner and gave a very good, thorough accounting of being in Pri-fly during the dramatic air to sea battle that had unfolded. Gibbs was impressed by the man's memory and understanding of what had occurred. They had only reached the point of the Commander being advised to land on the ship after completing his mission instead of trying to head back to land, when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." Reyes called.

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  • FWWATT Chapter 7 Section Six -- Sylvia Mohr Bartlett, 14:13:03 03/04/06 Sat
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