| Subject: Sleight of Hand, Part 10 |
Author:
Incatnito
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Date Posted: 21:11:42 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
2010 Local
"Oh my God," Sturgis said. He and the Admiral were reading over Harm's shoulders as he scrolled through document after document on 'Archangel.' "This must have scared the hell out of Mac. No wonder she ran after hearing Lattimer was dead."
"Yeah," said AJ thoughtfully. "It looks like they've got operatives planted everywhere. We need to talk to Webb. We've got to be extremely careful about who we let know about this." He was silent for a moment, "I think we should keep this confined to ourselves and Webb for now. Thinking they have a chance of finding this evidence first will be the only leverage Mac has to keep these people from killing her outright." He saw the look on Harm's face, "We're going to have to assume they're going to find her eventually. Hopefully, we can get there first, but they have more resources."
Emma Fine's Apartment
Washington, DC
2205 Local
Emma woke to the sound of the telephone. She never could bring herself to use an answering machine. If she was home, she answered; otherwise they could call back. She looked at the clock and groaned. Twenty-five minutes before she would normally get up, it had been a long day. Irritably, Emma picked up the phone, "Yes?"
"Momma?" It was James.
"James? What's wrong? Is it Michael?" Her youngest was deployed with a carrier group, worry was something she was learning to live with.
"No Momma, Michael's fine. But something is going on at the shelter. A bunch of Feds moved in about ten minutes ago. I just heard it over the radio, I'm on my way to pick you up. I think you'd better get down there before it gets completely out of hand." James hung up.
Baylor Women's Shelter
Washington, DC
2225 Local
Emma was out and striding towards the shelter almost before James got the car completely stopped. There were unmarked cars, as well as a number of squad cars, all with lights flashing in front of the building. The shelter doors were standing open and she angrily observed groups of nervous residents clustered on the sidewalks, staffers flitting from group to group. By the time, she sailed through the front doors, Emma was working on a full head of steam. Glaring at a trenchcoated young man who stepped into her path, she snapped, "Where's the man responsible for this circus?"
The young man raised his hands, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. You'll have to wait outside until we're finished."
Emma's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Young man, you're finished now. You've forced women whose safety depends upon anonymity to stand outside on the street. Unless you get them back inside here and produce adequate justification for this outrage; my first call will be to ZNN, my second call will be to the Washington Post and my third will be to a law firm that specializes in taking government agencies to the cleaners." She gave a small, hard smile, "I understand they're not above suing individuals."
His eyes widened in alarm, the young man said, "I'll get Inspector Peterson."
Emma walked back to the front doors and looked out. Seeing one of the staff close by, she gestured her over, "Lisa, get the women together and get them back in here. Take them to the rec room for now until I get these people out of here."
Lisa nodded and said quietly, "Emma, they're looking for that new resident you checked in the other night. They haven't found her yet. She wasn't in her room." They both turned as a small man stomped into the lobby, trailed by the first young man. Emma glanced at Lisa and gestured for her to get going. Then she turned to meet Inspector Peterson head-on.
He stopped in front of her and pointed towards the door, "This is a Federal investigation. You will wait outside or I'll have you arrested for obstruction of justice."
Emma folded her arms and matched him glare for glare, "Don't bother trying to bluff me, sonny. If you had a legal leg to stand on, the DC police would be in here, too. And if you had the brains to pour piss out of a boot, you'd have known better than to try to bludgeon your way past me." She thumped a finger into his chest, rocking him backward, "What I'd better see in the next ten seconds is your identification and the federal warrant that authorized this debacle. If I find you have exceeded your authority, you will have sixty seconds to gather your little band of merry men and get the hell out." She put her hand out and waited.
Peterson reached inside his coat and pulled out his ID. "I'm Inspector Avery L. Peterson of the Naval Intelligence Service," he said importantly. Pulling out a folded paper from a side pocket, he slapped it into Emma's hand. "And this is my authorization. Now get out."
Emma barely glanced at his ID, opened the paper and began to read. When she looked up, she was wearing a small, feral grin. Peterson gulped in spite of himself. "I would say that you've just opened your agency to a number of lawsuits, Mr. Peterson. This is not a military facility and I do not see a representative from the District Attorney's office. All this says is that a Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie is wanted as a material witness. It does not give you permission to enter and search these premises or force the residents out. You may tell your superiors to expect at least a dozen suits alleging emotional distress. ...You don't even know if she's here, do you? This was a fishing expedition."
"She's here!" Peterson blustered, he was beginning to sweat. "A brown-eyed brunette named Sarah was treated here for gunshot wounds. It's Sarah MacKenzie!"
Emma gave him a pitying look, "Half the women in this place could fit that description, most of them have had violent injuries: gunshot and knife wounds, broken bones... And we don't use real names here, 'Sarah' is an alias." She looked at her watch, "Sixty seconds and counting, Inspector. I will be calling the DA to discuss what charges will be filed against you."
Peterson stood there, his mouth opening and closing silently. He'd been so sure he would find and arrest the treasonous Col. MacKenzie here! The ramifications of his precipitous act were finally beginning to dawn. Behind him, the young man spoke into a small transmitter.
According to Emma's watch, they walked out with three seconds to spare. She went over to the door and looked out. Five minutes later, the only car left was James. Emma stuck her head out the door and waved. Her son gave her a thumbs-up, grinned and headed off into the night. She turned around to find the staffers watching her. "Is everyone okay?" she asked.
Lisa glanced at the others and nodded, "Although, I think we'll be dealing with some nightmares tonight. Emma, no one's seen Sarah since this started, but we're pretty sure she's still in the building. Were they really looking for her? Would you like us to help search?"
"It was a case of mistaken identity and not yet, thanks," Emma replied, "That poor woman was already nervous as a cat, the last thing she needed was to be the object of a misguided manhunt. I'll just meander through and see if I can coax her out from wherever she's hiding."
Baylor Women's Shelter
Washington, DC
2305 Local
Emma stood in the doorway to Sarah's room and looked up and down the corridor. 'Think it through, Emma,' she told herself. 'They'd have seen her coming up the corridor... ' She walked down the hallway, 'Did they have time to search the basement... ?' She went down the steps. Standing at the bottom, she called softly, "Sarah?" She listened for a moment and then moved deeper into the dimly lit room. "Sarah, honey? They're gone, it's safe." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a darker shape detach itself from the shadows. She spun and then put her hand to her chest, "Good Lord, Sarah. You'll give me a heart attack!"
A pale Sarah MacKenzie stood in front of Emma, "I have to leave."
Emma looked at her, "Don't be silly, those men are gone. You're safe here."
Sarah just shook her head. "You don't understand, I can't stay."
Emma glanced over and saw a number of folding chairs leaning against a wall. "Just a minute..." She walked over, pulled out two and set them up. She motioned Sarah over, "Let's sit, it's been a trying day." Settling herself, Emma looked at Sarah, "So you're in the military? My youngest son, Michael, is a Seaman. He's deployed in the Indian Ocean. He thinks it's exciting, but he's only twenty-two.You know how boys can be."
Sarah sat and looked at her. There was a surreal quality to all this: sitting in the dim light of a basement, minutes after fearing for her life (the NIS agents had been standing on the steps when they turned around and left), and now she was listening to Emma chat about her family. "Emma, did you hear me?"
"Of course, dear... And you're a Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps? You must be very good to have gotten so far, so young. What do you do?" Emma smiled brightly.
Feeling bemused, Sarah replied, "I'm an attorney."
"Oh." Emma's eyebrows went up in surprise, then she leaned forward and patted Sarah's knee, "It's all right, dear, we all make mistakes."
Sarah stared at her in shock and then she couldn't help herself, she started to laugh.
Emma sat smugly and waited for Sarah to run down. "Feeling better?" At Sarah's somewhat breathless nod, she continued, "Now tell me what I don't understand."
Sarah adjusted herself in the chair and gathered her thoughts. "Peterson isn't the problem. The people using him as a birddog are. They've murdered two people so far. They're going to kill me and they'll have no qualms about killing anyone here if that's what it takes. They'll try to make it look accidental: a boiler explosion or gas leak; but they're not going to stop. It's not safe for you, if I stay. I won't have any more deaths on my conscience, I can't."
Emma stared at her, Sarah made it sound so... so... inevitable. "Surely the police or the FBI... someone... can protect you."
Sarah shook her head. "This... web I've stumbled into has threads everywhere. There's very few people I know I can trust and I don't want anything to happen to them either."
"Can you at least tell me what this is all about?" Emma asked.
Sarah considered the request and then nodded, "I owe you that." She began, "Two days ago, I was asked to represent a client on drug possession charges. I went to interview him. He was in an office privy to sensitive information and had come across something unusual. Turns out he had stumbled across an illegal covert operation. He began gathering evidence. Last week, he realized they had discovered what he was doing. He framed himself with the drugs, got arrested and contacted me. I wasn't sure if I believed him and he told me where to find the evidence." Sarah paused for a moment, and then said softly, "He was so frightened... " She shook her head and continued, "I started feeling nervous too, so after going back to my office for a little while, I took everything to my apartment. After looking at the proof, I knew he had every right to be scared. Then I realized that I had inadvertently left some interview notes at my office. They covered my client's suspicion that his superior was involved. When I went back, these people were already there. They tried to kill me then, but our head of security interrupted them. While I was in the hospital, Peterson showed up and all but accused me of espionage. Then he told me my client had committed 'suicide' in his cell. Early the next morning, I ran."
Emma sat for a moment in disbelief, "Dear lord... " She looked at Sarah, "But what are you going to do? You can't run forever."
"I know. When I re-hid the evidence, I left a trail for my friends to follow. Hopefully, they've figured it out and they're taking steps to catch these people." Sarah stopped and looked at Emma.
Emma's eyes widened, "You're going to use yourself as a decoy!"
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