| Subject: Sleight of Hand, Part 5 |
Author:
Incatnito
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Date Posted: 20:36:18 07/30/02 Tue
In reply to:
Incatnito
's message, "Sleight of Hand, Part 1" on 23:35:30 07/28/02 Sun
Mac's Apartment Building
Georgetown
0840 Local
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.
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