| Subject: Sleight of Hand, Part 4 |
Author:
Incatnito
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Date Posted: 21:00:57 07/29/02 Mon
In reply to:
Incatnito
's message, "Sleight of Hand, Part 1" on 23:35:30 07/28/02 Sun
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."
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