| Subject: “Full Engagement -- Broken Engagement” - Part 2 |
Author:
Dancer
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Date Posted: 21:57:54 07/27/02 Sat
In reply to:
Dancer
's message, "“Full Engagement -- Broken Engagement”" on 21:53:30 07/27/02 Sat
When seven thirty rolled around, the wedding party had become rather restless. The pastor tried gamely to pacify Mic with his contention that Sarah had simply been delayed somewhere, but Renee kept injecting her own little brand of cheer into the discussion.
“If you ask me, she just forgot” or “why is it this scene looks familiar?” were two of her more noticeable contributions.
Harriet, who would be Mac’s matron of honor, had arrived shortly after seven and had spent almost the whole time since on the phone trying to locate Harm or Mac or even Bud, but to no avail. When she dutifully reported on Tiner’s belief that Mac was at legal seminar in Alexandria, Renee readily summed up the feelings of many in the room when she repeated her over-all assessment of the Admiral’s yeoman, “Tiner lies.”
When Harm had failed to arrive on time, Renee, herself, had called his apartment and his cell phone and gotten only a recording in reply. She knew he had never exactly looked forward to participating in this rehearsal, but she hadn’t expected him to just ditch her. She was beginning to smell a rat.
Mic, on the other hand, stubbornly insisted that Mac was on her way, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, and stuck to that contention until it was nearly 8 o’clock.
By then the good reverend had decided to proceed with the rehearsal with or without the intended bride – or the groom as it turned out.
At around 7:45, Mic had retired to the pastor’s office to try Mac’s apartment number one last time. When there was no answer, he gave up trying. However, on his way back out into the church, he’d encountered Renee briefing her video crew on her particular preferences for the set-up she wanted.
“You got a minute?” the burly Aussie inquired.
“Sure, Mic,” the tart blond answered. “What’s up now?”
“I just wondered,” he began haltingly, “I can’t find mine and you seem to have lost yours as well. You don’t suppose they’ve gone somewhere together, do you?”
“Like where?”
“Dunno,” the man answered glumly. “If there were some investigation going, I think Sarah would’ve said.”
“Well, don’t look at me,” Renee countered. “If the Boy Wonder is on a case, he sure didn’t say anything to me about it. If they were on an assignment, wouldn’t Tiner tell us?”
“Gunny’d be the one to know,” Mic reasoned.
“Is he that sergeant thing?” she asked dimly.
“You mean Gunnery Sergeant?”
“Whatever,” she said with a dismissive wave. “The one with the sidewalls.”
“He’d be gone home by now,” Mic looked about the vestibule thoughtfully, “ and I don’t see calling the Admiral.”
“So, what do you suggest?” Renee stared back at him like she was prepared to be totally bored with his answer, but he surprised her.
“Where was that dinner supposed to be?” he said referring to the formal, informal rehearsal dinner they’d all been invited to that evening.
“Some hotel around here, I think,” the director replied. “What have you got in mind?”
“We’ll ask Harriet, then.” Mic looked to Renee with just the merest twinkle in his eye. “Don’t know about you,” he snorted, “but I vote we go find ‘em.”
“Absolutely. Let’s blow this Popsicle stand!” She leaned over to thread her hand through the crook in his arm.
“Need a ride?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” she replied in a sweet sneer. “If Rabb thinks he can stand me up again, we’ll just show him what a real gentleman can do.”
“Why, thank you, luv,” Mic grinned as he held the door for her. “I take that as a compliment.”
“You should,” Renee declared proudly. “It’s not everyday I break up a wedding.”
Mic laughed slyly at the boldness of her defiance, but as he helped her into the passenger side of his car, he advised, “I don’t think that was you.”
*********************
Back at a makeshift campsite in the deep woods, Harm and Mac were sharing a new discovery, but not happily.
“I can’t believe it. I thought you said you checked those cases,” Mac wailed at him.
“I did,” Harm answered defensively, “but I didn’t open them.” They were standing in the half-light from the campfire discussing three large bundling boxes she’d found in the rear section of the Humvee near the back hatch. He explained himself by saying, “I thought they were ordinance boxes.”
Mac stared at him in frank astonishment. “You thought they’d send two JAG officers out on a trip over rough roads in a vehicle loaded with ordinance!”
“They’re Marines,” he replied with a shrug. Harm already knew how that was going to sound to her, but it was the best answer he could muster at the moment.
She shot him an icy stare before plunging her hands back down inside one of the impact resistant cases. “This is a squad survival kit,” she reasoned. “Look at this stuff. We’ve got water and blankets and food.”
“If you call MRE’s food,” Harm added sarcastically.
“All right, Daniel Boone,” she snapped, “You got a better idea?” That shut him up. “Well, at least we won’t have to go hungry,” she said with a certain residual resentment in her voice. She scooped up three of the pre-packaged food trays and a bottle of water saying, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” With that, she headed toward the campfire with Harm following close behind.
“I don’t suppose they have any vegetarian specials in there,” Harm asked quietly.
Mac set down the small water jug and read from the labels on the food packages. “Salisbury Steak, Spaghetti Marinara and Chicken A La King.”
“I’ll take the spaghetti,” he announced.
“What? You don’t want the chicken?”
“If that’s what they serve the king, that’s a country I don’t want to go to.” That finally got a smile out of Mac. Harm had begun to think he’d never see that again. Ever since that Humvee ran out of gas this afternoon, Mac’s anger with him had been barely concealed. He really never meant to drive off without the reserve fuel cans. When Colonel Makepeace had ordered the Humvee brought out, Harm just assumed it was ready for the trip. It never occurred to him they’d run out of fuel or daylight. Now, they were stranded until morning with only the provisions in those cases to sustain them and, as far as he could see, only one place to sleep – the Humvee. Mac probably wouldn’t be too happy about that either.
To be continued...
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