Author: Martha
Rating: GS
Spoilers: Anything is game.
Disclaimer: Not mine...never will be, but I wish I owned DJE.
Summary: Harm and Mac are sent on an assignment to Iraq and find themselves in more trouble than they expected.
Notes: This is what happens when you're in class and you're bored during a review. Sorry for any mistakes.
Archive: Just ask, please.
April 15, 2005
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Not two minutes. They had stepped in through the glass doors not two minutes ago and the General was already asking for them. It was bound to be an eventful day. There was truly never a dull moment at JAG headquarters.
They walked together towards General Cresswell's office. Both deep in thought, wondering what could be so important that it called for their attention so early in the morning.
"Enter!" Gordon "Biff" Cresswell sounded much more annoyed than usual. Which was in itself very unusual, and a sign that the reason for which they were there, was not too good.
Harm turned his head to eye Mac and relay the message that perhaps they had done something wrong. But Mac annoyingly rolled her eyes at his implication.
They stood at attention waiting to be told to relax. It was funny how these two hot shot lawyers, trained for combat, could be so intimidated by the General's stare. It was the truth, though. When the General was angry, his stare could do more damage than any words which came from his mouth.
"At ease." He was silently looking from Harm to Mac and back to his desk.
Uncomfortable with the stiff silence, Harm spoke. "Uh, sir. You needed us for something?"
"Yes Commander, I did." He paused briefly. "Actually, the CIA needs you for something."
A groan of rebuttal immediately escaped Harm and Mac simultaneously. Their expressions showing their obvious disapproval and disbelief of what was happening.
"Sir..." Harm began.
"I know Commander. I know. I read, I heard, I was warned about the CIA and what happened a few years ago because of them. But they need your help. You can refuse to go. It is not an order. It's certainly not mine."
Both Harm and Mac shook their heads not believing how capable of destroying them the CIA was.
"With all due respect, sir, the CIA knows we would never turn down an assignment." Mac hissed.
The General was about to come back with something, but Harm jumped in to support her.
"Sir, the Colonel's right. They know that we would never turn our backs on our country. They know that and they use it against us. They've been doing it for years now."
Mac couldn't help but smile as she looked at Harm. She knew it was probably to defend his point of view, but she couldn't help but feel that maybe he was doing it to defend her.
"Well, it's up to the both of you. You won't be looked down upon if you decide to turn it down."
Harm and Mac looked at each other. They silently agreed. Something they had been able to do for a long time now. Ironic how it only worked that way. Because when it came to speaking about their personal feelings, they couldn't utter a word or share a silent agreement.
"We'll go, sir. Um...but where are we going?" They had jumped on a fast-moving train without knowing where it was headed. Bad idea. Harm winced when he finished his thought.
"Iraq."
They rolled their eyes at the same time. Of course, where else would the CIA send them during a time of war?
"What does the assignment consist of?" Mac asked.
"The CIA has gotten reliable information on a possible leak in the military." He paused briefly. "Lt. Colonel Joseph Hammond has been in the Marines for ten years now. However, it is believed that he joined a small branch of Afghani rebels a short time before the 9-11 attacks. It's been confirmed that he has been leaking National Security information to members of Al-Queida. They believe he is hiding in Iraq."
"Why Iraq, sir?" Harm questioned.
"It seems that Special Agent Clayton Webb had information on him and Hammond found out. How, we don't know. Our guess is he got frightened and ran."
At the mentioned of Webb's name, Mac tensed and Harm let out a long and frustrated sigh. No breaks. They would never catch a break.
"What is Webb's position on this assignment, sir?"
"He was the one that requested you, Commander."
They both let out a sigh this time.
"You guys are to travel to Iraq to try and find the Colonel. And once you do, you are to call for back-up. It is not recommended that you apprehend him on your own." He handed each of them a manila file. "Your covers."
She wanted to yell. She wanted to cry of frustration. She wanted to kill Webb! But her mind would not let her. The marine in her would not let her go weak.
"Sir, why do we need covers? Can't we just detain him and court martial him here?" Harm commented.
"What charges did you have in mind, Commander?"
"Well, sir...to start off, an Article 86, Aiding the Enemy, and Espionage."
The General simply nodded in agreement. "That is why, Commander. We do not want him to know we are on him so we can get him and lock him away for good. An officer like him is not welcomed in the Corps and certainly not in this country. Therefore, we don't want him to get scared and run again."
"Yes, sir." There was a moment of silence as Harm and Mac glanced at each other and at the General.
"James and Lisa Elliott." The General addressed them by their aliases. Mac and Harm looked stunned. "James, you are a civilian who is training the Iraqis there on military aircraft. We figured since you have all the knowledge you can have on that matter, might as well make it worth it. Harm tensed. "Relax Commander. It won't be that bad." Harm smirked. "Lisa, you are his wife of one year. You have known each other for nine, though, so fill in the gaps on your own. You are traveling with him because you are also his partner. He needs your Farsi skills." Harm and Mac glanced at each other for what seemed like the millionth time. "I recommend that you not try any heroics Commander. I know how you operate. Colonel, make sure he doesn't forget that he is only a civilian and not a knight with shinning armor."
"Aye, sir." She grinned at Harm.
"It's not an order Colonel. It's for your own good."
"Yes, sir."
"Very well. You are to report at Dulles for your flight which leaves in..." He glanced at his watch. "Five hours. Dismissed."
"Aye, sir." They came to attention and walked out of the General's office.
On their way to their respective offices, Harm turned to Mac, stopping her half way and nearly causing her to bump into him.
"I don't like this, Mac. This sounds off to me."
"I know, Harm. I don't like it either, but like you said, we never turn our backs on our country. We'll be ok."
"I don't know. How do you feel about it?"
She looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. What if Webb shows up unexpectedly?"
She knew he would do this. He had a way of pushing her to getting an answer when it concerned her and another man. But this was silly. It had been over for months now. "Harm-I'm ok with it. It's over. It's been over. If he does then so be it." She touched his arm, forgetting the fact that they were in the middle of the bullpen. Not that she cared at the moment anyway. "Besides, I know a certain Navy Commander that will probably be overprotective anyway. So, I'll be ok." Harm smiled down to her, mesmerized by her ability to just make him completely weak.
"You'll let me know if it gets to be too much right?"
"Harm I'm a m..."
"I know you're a marine. But humor me ok."
She was powerless against him. She knew it, he knew it, and she hated it sometimes, but this time was not the time. "Alright Harm. Thanks."
They stopped in front of Mac's office when Harm spoke. "Hey since we won't have time to discuss our life before marriage..." He put strong emphasis on the last word. "What do you say after packing we head off to lunch or something?"
"We probably won't have time, Harm. How about we get all the little details during the flight? It's going to be a long one and I know you won't be able to sleep much and neither will I." She smiled.
He knew she was right. "Yeah, alright. Do you want me to pick you up? That way we only have to leave one car at the airport."
"Sure. Give me two hours and I'll be packed."
"I know you will, but will I?" They chuckled.
Somewhere Over the Atlantic
On Board Plane
"Ok, so we'll just keep it as close to the real thing as possible. Of course, without giving ourselves away."
"And how do you suggest we do that Mr. Elliott? We have already gone through three stories and you don't like them."
"Well...Mrs. Elliott, the first one, where we met in high school, had too many holes for my liking. The second one...I just don't think that you could pull it off that we met at a bar in San Diego since you don't drink. Why would you be in a bar by yourself, if you don't drink? And the last one, it was too impersonal."
"What was impersonal about a blind date?" Her eyes widened with question.
"Well, I just think that if we were to get together and eventually get married, we would have met somewhere, talked, argued, backed each other up, and so on."
Mac was speechless. Maybe he was referring to them in actuality. Did he ever picture them married?
"Ok, I get it." She responded quickly. But before he could say anything else, she got curious and let her mouth get ahead of her brain. "Do you ever see us that way?"
To say he was stunned and caught off guard would be an understatement. And if his lack of brain function and speech was any indication, he was simply dumbfounded. "Um...uh...well..."
"You know, Harm, those are called vocal fillers, and they can be killers in a speech." She teased to take away a little of the seriousness.
He smiled nervously, trying to hide just how much her question had made him think. He wanted to tell her, he did. But more times than not, the location and the time were not right. It was as if the whole world conspired against them and their any chance of happiness. But the hell with it right. He was going to do it.
"I-I have thought of us that way. A lot." He looked down at the tray table in front of him.
Her heart was leaping out of her chest. How she loved this man. Yet she could not admit it to him. She couldn't tell him. And she had no idea why. So she nodded, gave him a small smile, and kissed his cheek. "I have, too." She paused. "But let's get back to business. So how do you want to do this exactly?"
"Well, we can say that we met at work. You were in Washington working a civilian case involving an aircraft theft and you needed some information about the plane. Some friends recommended me since I am highly known when it comes to my airplanes." He grinned and Mac interrupted.
"So is that because you manage to crash so much in your so called airplanes?" He eyed her evilly and smirked.
"Think what you want." He paused again. "So I helped, I fell in love with you, though I never managed to admit it to you nor myself. We had 'friendly' dinners, though we insisted they were nothing more. And so on. We ended up working together because I figured your lawyer skills matched with your multi-lingual abilities would go well with my aircraft expertise."
"And we have been working together since then. Nine years. And it wasn't until last year on say...April, you got your head out of your six and we both admitted it to ourselves and each other that we needed each other and were in love. So you proposed and we got married."
"That works with me." Harm nodded.
"Good. Now all we need is the..."
"Got it right here." Harm took out the ring he had in his pant pocket. He looked up to her and smiled.
"How romantic." Mac rolled her eyes.
"Hey I think that James did it a different way no?" He teased.
"Whatever. Just put it on will you."
"Yes ma'am." He placed the ring on her finger.
"Mrs. Elliott...James. Not ma'am."
"Right." He agreed. It would be difficult getting used to their aliases. It was going to be a difficult assignment, period. He took out his wedding band and was going to place it on his ring finger, but Mac took it from him and did it for him. She then smiled at him.
"Where did you get the rings anyway?"
"Um...Webb helped out some." Not the complete truth, yet not a complete lie. He smiled.
She sighed as she leaned back in her seat. "Married life. How do you like it Mr. Elliott?"
"I'll let you know when I have my first marital conflict with you, Lisa." He smiled.
TBC...