| Subject: Sleight of Hand, Part 9 |
Author:
Incatnito
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Date Posted: 21:09:52 07/31/02 Wed
In reply to:
Incatnito
's message, "Sleight of Hand, Part 1" on 23:35:30 07/28/02 Sun
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 detail at 0100. If I run across anything or think of something that would help, I'll give one of you a call," Walters said as he stood and tossed some bills on the table. "Don't worry, we'll get these bastards." He headed for the door.
Sturgis looked at Harm, "I'd like to stop by Mac's apartment first. Do you want to call the Admiral and tell him we'll be late?"
"What are you expecting to find there?" Harm asked, puzzled.
Sturgis smiled, "An anomaly."
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1825 Local
AJ turned and looked as Harm and Sturgis hurried into the conference room. "Sir, we've found something," Harm said, holding up a book. He looked over at Sturgis, "Go ahead, you figured it out."
"Actually sir, it was Bud who was on the right track. He mentioned how he thought it was odd that Mac would have just one military biography amid all the rest of her books. We think this was the Colonel's insurance in case anything happened to her. Read the inscription, Harm."
" '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?' " Harm read triumphantly, they were finally getting a handle on this.
AJ looked at Harm, "Your first case together was about Mac's uncle, Matthew O'Hara and that was in September. Who the hell is Montgomery?"
"We just looked it up, sir. Montgomery was convicted of espionage in 1938. He smuggled information out of the country in crates of rare books. The information Mac wanted us to find has to be hidden somewhere in this book." Harm gazed at AJ, "Admiral Jacobs must be involved, too." He looked back at the book, "Now we just have to figure out what information and where it's hidden."
Five minutes later, they were no closer. "It's got to be in here." Harm said in exasperation. They'd removed the dust cover and thumbed through the book page by page.
"Maybe it's some kind of code involving the text that tells where to find the evidence... " Sturgis suggested.
"No." Harm sat in thought for a moment, "Let's go back to the beginning. This all starts with Lattimer. Mac goes to interview him. He's Admiral Jacobs' yeoman, what if he stumbled across something?"
AJ picked up the trail. "He tells Mac and provides some sort of proof... No... he wouldn't have anything with him in the brig. Okay, he tells her where to find the proof." AJ stopped and then slapped a hand to his head in exasperation, "Mac stopped at NIS on her way back to JAG on Friday! Charlie Jacobs called me and mentioned it, he was laughing about some officious young lieutenant Mac had deflated." He paused and then said, "I ran into her as she was leaving Friday, she seemed kind of rattled." AJ looked at Harm, "I thought it was something you did."
Sturgis stifled a laugh at the look on Harm's face and said, "What would the evidence look like? Papers would be too bulky and noticeable, Lattimer would have had trouble smuggling them out. A computer disk?"
"Or a CD." Harm said, "It would hold more and it's a lot thinner than a floppy disk... " His voice trailed off and he picked up the book again and looked at it. Opening it up, he started picking at a corner of the inside cover. After peeling away the paper on the front side, he moved to the back. A moment later, he was holding the CD in its vinyl envelope.
"Bingo." Sturgis said.
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