| Subject: Sleight of Hand, Part 15 |
Author:
Incatnito
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Date Posted: 23:09:01 08/09/02 Fri
In reply to:
Incatnito
's message, "Sleight of Hand, Part 1" on 23:35:30 07/28/02 Sun
Gaithersburg, MD
1615 Local
Clay turned off the car and hit the remote to close the garage doors. Twisting around in the seat, he looked in back. Mac had fallen asleep, she was going to have a crick in her neck. He called softly, "Mac? Wake up, we're here." He resisted the urge to touch her, one JAG-inflicted injury in his life was enough. "Mac," he said a little louder, "C'mon Colonel, get out of the car."
"No." Mac cracked one eye open and shifted, her neck was killing her.
Clay got out and opened the door to the backseat. "Can you get up?"
"Yes... no. Damn."
He braced himself and leaned in to give her a hand. Clay saw the blood on her side, 'oh hell', "Let's go, Marine." Together they managed to get her to a sitting position in the car doorway. Webb looked at her, "Ready?" Mac nodded, he hauled upward as she stood, bracing himself to take the weight. She was leaning heavily on him. "See? Not so hard," Clay smiled at her and got an exasperated shake of the head in return. They went into the house.
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1720 Local
Harm and Sturgis sat in the Admiral's office. Everyone else had gone home for the day. AJ looked at his two officers, they both were a little worse for wear following the afternoon's events. "Where are we on 'Archangel'?"
Harm glanced at Sturgis, "It's been pretty slow going, sir, but we're making progress. We're pretty sure Admiral Jacobs..." he paused for a moment, knowing AJ and Charlie Jacobs were friends, "We think he's heading this whole thing, that he's 'Gabriel'.
"Oh hell." AJ leaned back and then gestured for Harm to continue. He and Jacobs went back a long way, but that didn't blind him to what Charlie was capable of.
"Yes sir. We know about Congressmen Stokes, Mitchell and Peterson and the Deputy Assistant SecDef. Of course, they are being blackmailed into participating, so they'll probably roll first chance they get. Thanks to Webb, we know Mark Aiken worked for Peterson. The other intruder was Harold Franklin, he was a resident special agent from the Silver Springs FBI office. He'd only been in the Bureau about five years."
AJ grunted, "I'm surprised we're not up to our ears in FBI agents. They tend to swarm when it involves one of their own."
Harm grinned, "They're swarming over at NIS, sir." The thought of Peterson dealing with arrogant, irate Federal agents (especially after today) amused him to no end. "I also had a quiet word with Special Agent Novak. I let him know we had no interest in appearing in the latest edition of the Washington Post and trashing the Bureau, so he's doing what he can to run interference for us."
Sturgis added, "So far sir, we've identified operatives in all the offices of the Secretaries of the Navy, Army and Air Force. And, obviously, there are people in NIS and the FBI, Webb's doing a discreet check of the CIA. No one above middle management, mostly just high enough to keep track of key information. It's ingenious really, Archangel didn't recruit the top guys but rather the average person in the ranks who handled the logistics."
The Admiral leaned forward and looked at them both, "We're almost to the point of assembling a task force?"
Sturgis nodded, "We believe so, sir."
"I think it's time to bring Bobbie Latham into the mix. We'll need her help when we start closing the net." AJ looked at Sturgis and smiled, "Isn't she meeting you for lunch tomorrow?"
Harm did his best not to grin as he watched his friend's mouth open and close soundlessly. The shoe was on the other foot - and about damn time, too.
Sturgis finally said, "I'll call her tonight sir, and set it up."
Harm said, "There's one more thing, sir." He looked over at Sturgis and then back at AJ, "There's also an operative here at JAG."
Gaithersburg, MD
1810 Local
Clay stuck his head in the bedroom door, "Mac? You want something to eat?" It had taken him close to an hour to get Mac cleaned up and squared away. The incident at the Wall had taken a lot out of her. He'd been as careful as he could while helping her get undressed. In the back of his head, a little voice was telling him Rabb was going to kill him when he found out. Finding the .32 and the knife had surprised the hell out of him, all Mac said was that it was a long story. The wound in her side had opened again, then the bleeding had stopped and congealed. He'd had a helluva time getting the clothing loose that had adhered to her side. He'd finally yanked it off, all the while apologizing profusely. Mac had just clenched her jaws and squeezed her eyes shut. She stayed upright until he replaced the dressings, then collapsed on the bed. He had covered her up and left her alone to rest.
A touseled head came up out of the jumble of blankets and comforter and swiveled towards him. A sleepy voice said, "Sounds good, Clay, thank you." There was a brief pause, "Where are my clothes?"
"Uh, they were pretty much of a mess, I got rid of them. There's some sweats on the dresser to your left, the door leads to the bathroom. Do you need any help?" Clay wavered between possible hope and probable Death by Rabb.
"Don't think so, thanks anyway."
Clay retreated to the kitchen and busied himself setting the table and serving up dinner. He looked up to see Mac leaning against the wall in the doorway. She was smiling at him. "What?" he asked a little defensively.
"You saved my life. Thank you."
He glanced away for a moment, embarrassed. "It wasn't just me."
"I know, but you're here right now, so - thank you."
"You're welcome. Sit down, the food's getting cold." They ate in companionable silence. When they had both finished, Clay said, "I think you ought to go back to bed. We can talk everything over in the morning." That she acquiesced without a fight, told him how tired she was. He gave her about five minutes and then walked back to the bedroom. Clay tapped lightly on the door and then opened it when he heard 'Enter'. Mac was sitting on the side of the bed. Clay said, "Just checking. I'll keep an ear out - if you need anything, yell. Good night Mac."
"'Night, Clay."
Webb went back into the living room and sat down. The pieces were falling into place, he had to get together with the Admiral and Rabb. They needed a plan and quickly. Clay knew from experience that this type of case was like riding an avalanche. It moved with frightening speed and was about as easy to control. All you could do was try to cover all the bases and ride it out. Jacobs was a wily old bastard, they'd have to pull out all the stops to catch him. A misstep would see him walk free and, in all likelihood, result in the Mac's death. Webb pulled out his cellphone.
Gaithersburg, MD
0120 Local
Mac came slowly awake, unsure for a minute where she was. Something had roused her, what was it? Suddenly, she tensed; there was someone in her room. 'Damn! Where was Webb?' She kept perfectly still, trying to formulate some plan of action, when she heard that sound again. It was... a snore? Cautiously, she raised her head. There was Harmon Rabb, Jr., sprawled in a chair, head back and mouth open. Mac didn't know if she was going to laugh or cry. He'd scared her out of a year's growth just now. 'Well,' Mac thought wryly, 'considering the last few days, she was well on her way to becoming the world's shortest Marine.' She sat up and hissed, "Harm!"
He came awake with a start, looking around the room wildly, trying to identify the threat. His gaze finally settled on the figure sitting upright on the bed, "Mac!" He lurched out of the chair and all but fell onto the bed. After today's... yesterday's, he corrected himself... activities, he'd stiffened up. He hit hard enough to make them both bounce. He heard Mac's sharp gasp and exasperated whisper, "For God's sake, Harm! There's enough people trying to kill me..."
"Oh God, Mac. I'm sorry," he saw her staring at him with a small, silly smile on her face. 'It must be contagious.' Harm thought vaguely, as the same silly smile appeared on his face.
"You have no idea how good it is to see..." Mac suddenly found herself talking to his chest as Harm enveloped her in a hug. Her voice trailed off and she leaned against him, content to be held.
Harm sat there, he'd forgotten how neatly she fit against him, her head tucked under his chin. He'd been so scared when she disappeared, knowing she was being hunted. What had surprised him was the depth of his anger at the people who had hurt her. He tensed just thinking about it, and felt Mac shift. She leaned back a little to look at him, "Harm?"
"It's nothing." She continued to look at him. 'Damn, how does she do that?' Harm thought as he found himself saying, "You've scared the hell out of me these last few days, Marine."
She chuckled softly, "Hasn't done much for me either, Navy." They looked at each other for a moment, then Mac said, "Help me up."
"What?"
"Help me up. I'm hungry." Mac tapped imperiously on his arm.
Harm rolled his eyes, "Now I know you're on the mend." Nevertheless, he quickly positioned himself to give her a hand. "Didn't Webb feed you?"
Mac swayed a little as she regained her feet. He put a steadying hand under her elbow. "That was six hours and thirteen minutes ago." She started for the door, Harm right beside her, and they headed for the kitchen.
The Admiral and Clay, seated at the kitchen table, looked up to see Rabb and MacKenzie standing in the doorway. They watched Mac give Harm a look that clearly said, 'You could've warned me.' Shrugging free of his hand, she started to come to attention. "As you were, Colonel." AJ said quickly. "We're here unofficially." He stood up and offered Mac his chair. "It's good to see you in one piece. What are you doing up?"
"Hungry." Harm said laconically.
The other two men chuckled and then AJ said, "Well, don't just stand there, Commander. Feed her."
"Aye, aye sir."
Mac watched Harm move about the kitchen for a moment, and then looked at the Admiral, "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you both here?"
"I called them, Mac." Clay said. "Everything's coming to a head, we need to make plans."
"Wouldn't JAG HQ have been better?"
"Maybe, except that Archangel has someone in place over there," said AJ, clearly irritated that one of his people was involved on the other side. He looked at Mac, "Any ideas?"
"Well..."
"Singer." Harm tossed over his shoulder, as he put the finishing touches on a stack of sandwiches.
"Be serious, Harm," Mac said with a fond smile, she looked at AJ, "Singer may be obnoxious and ruthlessly ambitious - and personally, I think she'd happily push me in front of a bus if she thought she could get away with it. But, something like this? No."
"Sturgis and I have found that Archangel tends to recruit from lower down the food chain. Not someone in charge, but someone to whom you'd delegate work." Harm said as he set down a plateful of sandwiches. He went to the fridge and pulled out a couple bottles of water, raising his eyebrows at Clay and the Admiral. They shook their heads no and Harm came back and sat down. He gave Mac a small amused smile as he watched her dig in. She arched an eyebrow in return, but didn't stop eating.
"Like Harriet and Tiner." Webb said. He saw the looks of disbelief and held up his hands, "Not them, per se, but someone at that level."
"Or someone who's part of security..." AJ said thoughtfully.
"Gunny Walters?" Harm asked.
"No." Mac said flatly.
"It'd be pretty ingenious on his part..." Clay said.
"Look," Mac said in an exasperated tone, "Not only did he keep them from killing me, he kept them from finding out where the CD was hidden. Why the hell would he do that if he was part of the group?"
The three men were silent, then Harm cleared his throat, "Umm, Mac?"
"What?" She was still annoyed.
"Sturgis mentioned that in the hospital, you told the Gunny you'd discuss his hostage techniques with him later. He said Walters looked... well... nervous." Although he was watching Mac, Harm could see the surprise on AJ and Webb's faces.
"Oh?" Mac ran a hand through her hair, "Well, when Gunny made his move, he shot the fake corporal first. The other one hauled me up in front of him as a shield. He stuck a gun up under my jaw and told Gunny to drop his weapon or he'd kill me." She paused and looked at the three men waiting expectantly, "Gunny told him to go ahead: officers were a pain in the ass and he was going to blow the guy's brains out either way. The jerk was so surprised that I managed to knock him off-balance and then Gunny grabbed him. And... I wound up with a round in my side instead of my head." Mac smiled dryly, "Not exactly textbook."
"Nooo." Harm said faintly. The report he'd read had been a little more cut and dried, he'd had no idea...
"Gentlemen... Colonel." Webb decided it was time to get back on track, "We're running out of time and we need to put something together. We'll just have to work around the mole for now. At least we know it's there."
They worked until almost dawn, hammering out the details. Then Clay got ready to take Harm and the Admiral back to the Gaithersburg municipal airport where they'd parked Harm's Stearman. Just before they left, AJ and Webb wandered out, giving Harm and Mac a little privacy to say goodbye. He wrapped his arms around her again and they stood for moment. Finally, Mac said, "You flew up here?" She didn't want to think about what was coming, not yet anyway.
"Yeah," Harm said, "It seemed the safest thing to do. No flight plan and a hundred different places to land, they'd have a tough time following us." He looked down at her. He knew she was worried, probably scared too. Hell, he was. "We'll get through this, Sarah." Harm smiled, "You owe me a drive in the country."
Mac laughed in spite of herself, "You... " She looked up at him and then he was kissing her. It seemed so natural... The sound of a throat clearing broke them apart, they looked over to see the Admiral looking up at the ceiling, hands clasped behind his back. He glanced over, "Time to go, Rabb."
Harm walked to the door and paused, looking back at AJ questioningly. The Admiral hadn't moved yet, "Give me a moment, Commander." Harm nodded and went out. AJ looked over at Mac, he wasn't a demonstrative man so this was difficult. "Mac... Sarah... I just want you to know I'm damn proud of the way you've handled yourself through all this." He grinned, "You could almost change my mind about women SEALs."
"Almost, sir?" Mac smiled.
"Almost," he said firmly. He continued in a brisker tone, "When this is over, I expect to see my Chief of Staff back at work. The place is a madhouse."
"Yes sir." Mac said and hesitated, "Sir? Permission to hug the Admiral?"
AJ looked at her in surprise and then said gruffly, "Granted." He opened his arms as she stepped in. He held her for a moment and said softly, "Take care, darlin'. Remember we won't be far away." Then he turned around and marched out of the room.
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