Complications: Author: Hugo "Animal" Chikamori E-mail: hchikamori@yahoo.com Rating: PG-15 (Some foul language, and some violence) Classification: Mac/Harm R; Spoilers: None Summary: It is close to Valentine's Day, time for the Valentine's Ball in Washington DC, for Navy officers, however a reopened court case and naval investigation gets in the way of possibly going. Mac is hoping that Harm will ask her out to the Navy Officer's ball, but a return of someone close to Harm brings out the worst in Mac, as a group of government agents close in on a deadly secret. Disclaimer: DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., AJ Chegwidden, et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended. Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee from "A Few Good Men", is used without permission of Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment, or David Brown or Rob Reiner. Nor is any profit or copyright infringement intended from use of the character therein. Author's WINGS OF GOLD characters are also used, however they are under copyright. Top Gun characters are also used however they are the property of Paramount Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer et al. Likewise no profit or copyright infringement is intended. Navy SEALS characters are also used without intention of copyright infringement or profit and are the property of ORION Entertainment. ------------- Part 1/4 February 5th, 1998 0900 ZULU EST FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA Judge Advocate General's Headquarters. Harm muttered to himself as he looked over at the reports on his desk. Same old situation. The courtmartial of a certain Captain Henry Leeson III, was certainly turning out to be a mess. The captain happened to have friends all over the Navy and he was getting support from dozens of veterans' groups all over the country. This fellow even had the support of the Chief of Naval Operations. Captain Leeson was convicted of procuring Navy materials and equipment and selling them for profit on the black market, thus violating the Navy's Code of Conduct. Evidence pointed towards the navy captain who still loudly, even upon conviction, proclaimed his innocence in the entire matter. He looked up, upon hearing the door open. "Hi there, Commander..." Mac grinned leaning against the door-sill. She was holding a completed case filefolder. " So, how are you making along with your case?" "Not good, Major..." he said running his hand through his hair and fixating her with a 'I'm not amused' look on his face. " This guy's guilty, no doubts, and he's still bleating that he's been framed. I don't think so." Mac made a face." Well, looks like we may have to turn around and interview him again just to make sure. That might shut him up." "Uh, huh?" Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. gave her a doubtful look. "I don't know. He didn't seem to be all that co-operative when we last talked to him, before the trial. I don't know exactly what this is going to uncover now." Mac grinned," There's always the good old LAPD method of inadvertantly intimidating a suspect or in this case, a convicted felon." Harm looked at her with a semi-shocked expression, "Surely you can't mean that you want to go and strike a deal with the guy on the grounds of..." " Perjury before a grand jury, Withholding of information crucial to a conviction, you name it, Harm," Mac looked at Harm intently, "Just tell the guy that you're going to throw the entire book at him unless he decides to co-operate. If he's bleating for the sake of bleating, you'll see him crawl behind the Fifth Amendment" she turned around to gaze at the pictures on the wall, then turned back to Harm," And if he doesn't then you know he's going to play ball..." " Jeeze, Mac, I can't just go in there and nail a US Navy Captain to the wall and tell him 'if you don't cooperate, I'm gonna make you talk...' Hell, just one word and my Navy career is toast..." Harm growled looking at Mac intently. " Well, I just happen to know of one who will..." Mac grinned," Take a look at this folder. She pointed to the folder that she held in her hand. " I thought you might be having some trouble with this case. Take a look at this guy's credentials..." He looked at the folder that Mac was holding out to him, that he had, at first, thought that it was a case folder, which was, in fact, a dossier of a US Naval Officer. Not just any Naval officer, however, but a J.A.G. lawyer who was one of the crucial case breakers in the 'Jessop' trial. "United States Navy Lieutenant (senior grade) Daniel Allister Kaffee, born June 9, 1968, graduated from Harvard Law, went into the Navy due to insistence from his father who was an admiral at the time and CINCLANT. Was tops in his Harvard Law class, spent most of his time plea-bargaining cases until his breakthrough on the Nathan Jessop case." Harm read the dossier aloud and turned to Mac," But this guy has no experience except for one high profile case which turned out to be a slam-dunk affair." "Well, he won that case..." Mac said looking at him with an upturned expression on her mouth, rather smugly it seemed. "He's also very tenacious." she added as she pointed to a letter in the folder from the judge presiding over the trial. Harm smiled," Just the guy to deflect the attention off me...while he goes like a pitbull after Leeson." "Why is it, that I'm always thinking two steps ahead of you lately..." Mac grinned cheekily as he gave her a gaping expression of shock. "Just laugh it up, jarhead..." he muttered as he stalked back to his desk rather sourly. Mac chuckled as she left the room, only to run directly into Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby, Royal Australian Navy. "Hello, Brumby." Mac said rather distantly. "Why, Mac, why the cold reception..." he grinned amiably. " I'm not trying to get your attention now, am I?" " Well, you certainly have my attention, Brumby, since you're blocking my exit..." Mac growled. " May I get through..." " Yes, most definitely..." Brumby moved to one side; the side closest to Harm's office. " A bit cold today, isn't she?" he said off-handedly to Harm who was sitting at the desk. " Well, Brumpy, I wouldn't know that, would I?" Harm said with a self conceited grin. " Sorry, Gumby, but unfortunately, I have work to do..." he rose from his chair behind his desk, came over and shut the door in Brumby's face. Poor Mic Brumby was left there saying to no-one in particular "What did I do?" Commander Jack Keeter who had just come in the door looking for Harm, visiting and happened to be in the general vicinity of Brumby when he was staring around looking rather confused replied," Well, nothing that I can see...but give it time..." " Thanks alot, mate..." Brumby said sourly as he wandered off to get coffee. " No problem, anytime..." Commander Keeter grinned as he knocked on Harm's door. " Go away, Bumpy..." came a snarl from behind closed doors. " Who the hell are you calling Bumpy, Lieutenant Commander or do you want to become Lieutenant again..." growled Commander Jack Keeter irately. " Oh, sorry...Jack, didn't know that it was you..." came the voice again and a rattle was heard as the door opened. Harm grinned." Hey, Jack, c'mon in..." " No problem...So what the hell was that all about..." Jack said sourly as he looked over at Brumby's departing form headed for the kitchen. " Oh, he's never a problem if you dismiss him." Harm said to Jack loudly. " I heard that...Harm..." came an Australian accent tinged voice from the kitchen. "Harm? Brumpy's calling you Harm now?" Keeter wore a dumbfounded look on his face. "We're getting along better, now..." Harm grinned," This has become one nice cozy family." " Even Brumby?" asked Keeter incredulously. " Yeah, would you believe it, even Brumby..." he whispered very softly and conspiratorially," now that he's not chasing Mac anymore..." Captain Tak Matsushita, USN was in the kitchen making some coffee when a rather nettled Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby came into the kitchen. "So, Mic, looking rather annoyed about something today..." he grinned. "You said it, mate..." Brumby looked sourly,"So, Tak, any coffee?" Tak grinned," Made it nice and hot..." "Strong?" Mic said reaching for a cup. "Strong as a bull...guaranteed to make the hair stand on your head..." Mic grinned at Capt. Matsushita as he took a sip and nearly scalded his lips. "Damnit...that's hot..." Brumby swore as he licked his upper lip. "Sorry, I was going to tell you to watch it." Mic laughed," Well, that's all right, a little late...but...alright... sir." "So, how is that Murder case going," Tak said looking over at Brumby. Brumby sighed," That case is not looking too great right now. The sailor is muttering that he was framed. You know it's much like what Harm's going through right now." Capt. Matsushita looked surprise..." Y'mean, you know about Harm's case?" " Heck, what's there to know, it's all over the papers. The American Admirals are all getting in on the case and it's all over the Washington Post. That Captain's opening his mouth too damn wide and it's only a matter of time before he gets shut for good." "But, what about your case..." Matsushita grinned," You're telling me about Harm's case, but what about yours..." "Unfortunately, I think there's a tie-in," Brumby said," The fact is the accused on my case implicated the captain on Harm's case. You know it's a hush-hush say no more situation. I wanted to talk to Harm about it, but unfortunately, Rabb's in one of his moods again." "You want me to talk to him for ya?" Captain Matsushita asked. "No, that's all right, but I'm going to have to talk to him about this case before we break for the weekend. I think we've got something that will implicate this Captain hands down." Lieutenant Madeline Ross, Royal Australian Navy, Law strode up to the JAG building. "G'day...sergeant..." she said to the gateguard next to the building. The Marine guard had three stripes and two rockers centred between two crossed rifles. " Is this the JAG building?" " Yes, ma'am, and that's Gunnery Sergeant, ma'am..." the Marine said. " Thank you, Gunnery Sergeant, I stand corrected..." Lt. Ross said as she admired the American Marine's dress blues. " Uh, where would I find Admiral Chegwidden's office." " Right inside and if you ask the main reception, they should be able to locate him for you ma'am." the guard replied. " No problem..." Lt. Ross grinned back at the guard. 5'10", she was a blonde beauty with ice-green eyes. Perfectly framed white teeth, and a figure that was especially comely, she was the perfect postergirl for the Royal Australian Navy. Not to mention that she had a degree in engineering and a weapons tech rating as well as her law degree. She was no dumb bunny. Lieutenant Daniel Allister Kaffee was sitting in his office in the next building over from where Admiral Chegwidden's Judge Advocate General Headquarters was located. " Lieutenant." a female voice caught his attention. He knew who it was without even looking up. He had memorized the figure in his mind. Dress whites, three gold stripes, strident tone. It all added up, brown hair, piercing blue-green eyes. strong eyebrows, and a glare. " Commander." he said without looking up. " Lieutenant Daniel Allister Kaffee, you look up when you are addressing a senior officer." " Yes, ma'am..." he said. " I'm in trouble again, aren't I..." " Why aren't you always this receptive in court?" Commander Jo-Anne Galloway growled. " Because the opposition usually folds..." was Kaffee's smug answer. "Now, I'm working on a case, Commander, is it important?" Galloway's temper rose incrementally. Some days it was just about impossible to work with this smug, arrogant bastard without wanting to wring his neck. " When it involves a navy Captain and some stolen Navy materials it usually rings an alarm bell as kind of serious..." Commander Galloway said sarcastically. " Gee, and I was hoping that I could ask you out to the Ball next week end...Will it take long. Anything I can plea-bargain for you? I'm still hunting for those set of steak-knives that I was supposed to get after my next plea-bargain." " Well, it's just too bad, that I've been setting your sights too damn high...then," Commander Galloway growled, her temper irked by this Lieutenant to the point where she was about to explode. " Now, lieutenant, if you will just shut up one minute while I explain this situation to you," " Yes, ma'am, shutting-" " Just shut up, Kaffee..." Galloway snapped."and listen...Now, I have just received a call from JAG's finest. Requesting your assistance on a case of utmost importance. Prior conviction for embezzling Navy materials, this captain has tried to appeal, and the case is up for review. Now, he's saying that he's got the line on some other Navy guys in on this thing. This is hot, Kaffee, are you listening to me?" Kaffee had leaned back in his chair and was adopting a dreamy expression. " Am I to take that the other guys go up all the way to the White House possibly and am I also to take into consideration that this so-called Captain has a lot of heavy hitters on his side?" " Yes, how..." " Jo-Anne the damn thing's been in the papers for the past three weeks." Kaffee said tiredly," I've been going over that case for the past week trying to find any possible loophole that's there that we can help with managing to nail this guy completely and so firmly that he'll need to be three inches tall and 1 inch wide to escape from being convicted." " What?!!" Commander Galloway growled astonished..." You mean, Admiral ..." " Yes, Admiral Chegwidden called me last week and asked for my assistance. Now, we've got a case to review...Can you get Sam over here... We've got a major case on our hands..." Commander Jo-Anne Galloway Senior JAG lawyer, could only stand there open-mouthed and sputter indignantly as Lieutenant Kaffee got on the phone to his assistant. Lieutenant Meg Austin USN, NIS, temporarily detached, strode up to the front counter. " Lieutenant...Austin..." gushed Lieutenant jg Harriet Sims frankly dumbfounded that Meg was back. " What brings you to JAG?" " Well, there's a big investigation going on regarding this court-case, You know, the one that's all over the papers. NIS sent me over to JAG to find out what they know..." Harriet covered her mouth, and then said quickly,"Oh, you mean the case that Commander Rabb is working on..." "Harm's working on this?" Meg raised one eyebrow as she looked over at Harriet. "Can I talk to him." " He's really busy." Harriet said," But if you'll wait a minute ma'am, I'll try and see if I can get him to see you..." Meanwhile on a carrier out in the Atlantic Ocean USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) 0450 ZULU AST (Atlantic Standard Time) February 7th 1998 Commander Hugo "Animal" Chikamori USN, C.O. of VF-41 Black Aces F-14 Tomcat squadron, was incensed. This day had not been turning out much the way that he had wanted and he had less of a fuse than the one that he had started out with that day, which wasn't saying much for the length of the fuse. He slammed the dossier on the desk. Of all the confounded things that could have happened that day. The Judge Advocate General was sending two officers over to conduct an investigation into an alleged arms and equipment smuggling and embezzling operation. They were doing a Navy-wide investigation of all the possible places and possible suspects. It must have been that Captain that he was hearing about on the wire. The rest of the Navy had been bamboozled by this Captain Leeson, but fortunately Animal was not the type to get taken in that easily. He remembered the JAG Admiral's name. A.J. Chegwidden, on the investigation notice that had been sent to him on the last COD that came in. That name had stuck out at him. That admiral had been a S.E.A.L. once. When he had been shot down back over Iraq, a Navy SEAL commander with the rank of captain and his SEAL team 7 had managed to extricate him and his RIO from Indian country. That wasn't what incensed him. What incensed him was the fact that his squadron was being investigated in the first place. Someone within his squadron was being investigated. It could be anyone from one of his pilots, to one of the numerous sailors and maintenance crews in his squadron. 'If I find out who that slimy maggot was that caused this investigation, that dirtbag is going to be needing a mortician, not a J.A.G. counsel.' He thought as he cursed. Two of his best friends were JAG officers and he sincerely hoped that it was those two that were being sent to investigate the situation. His friend and long-time naval aviator, Lieutenant Commander Philip "Metalman" Burrows walked into his office. "Animal, you're looking kind of peeved about something. What's up?" "Lieutenant Commander, you know that the door was closed..." Animal peered over the dossier that he was looking at. " That means you knock." "How? Besides, if I knock, you never open the door anyways." (on a COD, inbound to the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT) 0585 ZULU February 7th, 1998 Somewhere in the Atlantic. " Did I ever tell you how much I hate flying when I'm not at the controls?" Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. grinned at his partner Major Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie. " Must be your control-freak nature..." Mac grinned back at him. She looked at the dossier in her lap. " Now, Mac, I know you just absolutely love Navy men in the choker whites with gold navy wings on their uniforms. Now you have to caution yourself, you're going into a veritable Wal-Mart of Naval Aviators, might be hard to resist." He said cheekily as he stared out the window. His shoulder stung as Mac bounced a fist off it. " You know, Harm, In all the years we've known Animal I've never read his dossier, I mean, Animal's so young. He's younger than you..." she passed him the Navy dossier, with Commander Hugo Chikamori's photograph on it. It showed a young Asian man in his late twenties, in a U.S. Navy blue dress uniform, with three gold braids and an upside-down star on his sleeves. (gleaming white in a black & white photo). His gold wings glittered even in the black and white shot as white. He looked down the list of awards that the young commander had won. Navy Cross, countless Air Medals, Bronze Star with Valor, a Silver Star. Numerous Combat Actions, for events that were still classified. Above all, he saw the one medal draped around his neck, that stood out as the top decoration that a grateful nation could award to it's servicemen. He saw the upside down star, with a turquoise-blue line running between the points, the star-encrusted ribbon adorning the neck of the commander. He read the citation, 'For heroism above and beyond the call of duty, selflessly exposing himself to enemy fire at the risk of his own life, drawing away the fire of an enemy N Korean platoon and engaging them in hand-to-hand combat, so that the rescue helo could make an extraction, to save the lives of others, and heroically managing to survive the platoon's on-slaught, and making his way out of enemy territory by foot. Lieutenant Hugo Chikamori is hereby awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.' "Harm, Animal is a hero. I read about his exploits in the War College reports. This guy fought a North Korean platoon hand-to-hand and then managed to escape to tell about it. No wonder why the A.J. sent us to do a covert investigation. If this leaks out, his reputation could be tarnished." " Yeah, and they don't want a CMH winner to have his reputation sullied because that wouldn't look good on the Navy." Harm said, " I know, Admiral Chegwidden spoke with me about this commander. It seems that he rescued Animal over Iraq when Animal was a lieutenant. And Admiral Chegwidden knows a good man when he sees one. I know Animal, he doesn't have anything to hide. I don't sense any cover-up here. I sense a situation which has gone on un- noticed because of the stresses of running a combat-ready fighter squadron. Heck, I know what that's like...I was in one before." Mac looked at Harm, "All-knowing, are we?" she teased. " Well," Harm paused melodramatically as he looked over at Mac with a smug expression on his face, " After all, a commander doesn't just lead men into battle, he has to ascertain the offensive capabilities of his enemy, out-think, out-maneuver, and out-strategize the enemy, then on top of that-" " Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah..." Mac rolled her eyes as she said this... "I knew squids seemed to always have over-inflated egos." Harm looked out the window nervously,"Man, I hate flying when I'm not at the controls..." " I know...Harm, that's about the sixteenth time you said that..." Mac rolled her eyes as she watched Harm nervously clench his hands. Same time Onboard the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT IN THE SNIPE PIT Engineman Third Jack Logan sweated over the pipe fitting, as he and three other sailors worked to loosen the a jammed pipe. All steam was being diverted to another routing while they worked to fix the jam. " So, what's up with this fucking thing?" snapped the chief. "Isn't it moving?" " No, it seems to be pretty stuck. Possibly corrosion or something." Logan was a Mormon, he winced everytime the chief swore. " I thought this thing was new...We just replaced it last port stop- over. There shouldn't be any problem like this...should there?" " No, there shouldn't..." " Forget it for now...the boiler isn't going to overload, the divergent pipe is big enough to handle the added load. Let's you and me have a little chat about this...in my office..." the chief said. As they got to his office, the chief said, "You go in first." EN3 Logan thought that was a little strange, but he didn't question it. When the chief sat down, he motioned for Logan to sit down. " What seems to be the problem." " Well, that pipe, it seems to be so corroded on there, that the pipe isn't going to budge. We're gonna have to cut that section off, and replace the entire joining section, re-thread the cut pipe and put in a longer pipe on it. It's Navy sub-standard piping, it may have been made up to Navy standards, but it just barely held the pressure. With it up at 15,000,000 psi, of hot radioactive steam, it's not going to stand up to continuous use. It's dangerous and could potentially cause a radiation leak." Logan hadn't noticed the change in demeanor of the chief. " Yeah, it's something that's gonna have to be looked into, ain't it?" the chief drawled. " I don't remember it being that type, though, Chief. I thought we got in a good shipment of replacement piping that actually had the BuNo numbers on it. What's funny, is that this stuff doesn't have any BuNo numbers..." " Good thinking...Logan, the fact is..." The chief stood. Logan was startled, he was looking down the barrel of a gun with a 6 inch silencer. " I'm in the Navy to make money. Now, a chief with 15 years doesn't make much more than a line-ensign. That ain't enough for me to survive on. You're too smart for your own good." A flash, and Logan's world turned black. The Chief wiped the prints off the Beretta 92D, put in Logan's hands and called out to one of his cronies in the snipe pit to come in to deal with the corpse. Animal was hoping that things would settle down, unfortunately things got worse as one of his F-14s had declared an inflight emergency. The situation was getting out of hand. There were too many things to keep track of. " Fast Eagle 108 is declaring an inflight emergency, we've lost all hydraulic pressure, Our landing gear is inoperable, We don't have geardown." " Alright..." snapped out Animal, who looked at the officer in the CIVIC. " Get the crash net up. Clear the deck, put all aircraft full forward to the bow of the boat. Get as many of the aircraft that you can out of the way. NOW!!!" His gaze panned across the CIVIC, the CAG was nowhere to be seen, usually in an inflight emergency the CAG was always at his post. Something was up. " Yes, sir..." " Don't bother answering me, lieutenant, JUST DO IT!!!" Lieutenant Garth "Mole" Hill, coaxed his injured Tomcat towards the deck of the carrier. Just about 5 minutes before on final, the final hydraulic fluid level low light came on. " This is Fast Eagle 108, on final, no gear down yet, our fuel state is 020, glidepath 030 degrees nosedown, we've got the ball." " Roger that Fast Eagle 108, call the ball." " Roger Tomcat 108, 020." came Mole's tense voice. His RIO, Lt. Pete "Buck" Rogers was equally tense in the backseat. " Can you make out the crashnet?" Buck asked. " I see it. I've got glidepath..." Mole replied, his answer kind of snappish with the tension. The tension was so thick and apparent, that one could almost cut it with a knife. Mole's aquiline features contorted in a pained look as he saw the crane moving the last aircraft out right in front of his descending Tomcat. " Shit get that goddamn crane out of the way..." Animal shouted into the microphone, but it was no use. The descending Tomcat tried to steer clear of the crane, but it was too close, the fuselage impacted the crane and the Hornet was dragged along behind it. The entire Tomcat, Hornet and crane were consumed in an exploding ball of flame. The flaming wreckage twisted it's way along the carrier deck and was arrested by the crashnet, the net ripping slightly as half the forward momentum had been stopped by the impact. The firefighters piled out of the tower dragging hoses towards the wreckage of the aircraft. But it was too late. Lt. Garth Hill and Lieutenant Peter Rogers had died in the impact. With an agonized expression on Animal's face, he turned to look away from the scene. Animal had known Mole for most of his life. Mole had a wife, two children, as did Buck. Now he would have to write two letters of condolence to the families. He clenched a fist. He had an ugly thought. If the crash was tied into this major investigation and the possibility of parts embezzlement, this could be more of a serious problem than he thought before. There would be a major investigation into what caused the crash and that would probably uncover another thread of evidence that could be used. "Sir, are you all right?" a lieutenant asked as Animal turned his face to her. The lieutenant looked at him with a maternal glance. "I'm all right..." he said, his pale face belying the assurance that he was fine. "Get that deck cleared as quickly as possible, as soon as that fire is out, I want the net removed, and the wreckage taken down belowdecks for investigation. Are the bodies removed?" " Yes, sir..." Animal looked out at the lieutenant's response, he saw two forms covered by tarps. He had seen too many crash scenes to not know what was under the tarps. The pilot and RIO had been flash-burned to a crisp, their bodies blackened by the instant ball of flame and internal organs crushed or mangled or plainly obliterated by the impact. They would be picking bits and pieces of the aircraft out of the bodies for investigation purposes as well. "Make sure they remove the aircraft completely. Do a rapid FOD walk. We've got a COD coming in, so get that area completely clear and SPOTLESS..." There was too much to do right now. There would be time for grief later. Part 2/4 February 8th, 1998 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 0800 ZULU "Lieutenant?!!!" Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden's voice reverberated through the office. "Yes, sir..." replied Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee. "Why didn't you go with Lieutenant Commander Rabb?" AJ glared at the young impudent squirt that stood in front of him. "I have a strong dislike towards aircraft...sir..." Lieutenant Kaffee explained. "Listen, Lieutenant, I don't care if you have a strong dislike towards SNAILS!!!" he thundered,"When I expect you to do a thorough investigation, that means that you get your little ass on that aircraft whether you puke in your shoes, or not, and you get that investigation done...DO YOU READ ME LOUD AND CLEAR?!!!!" " Yes, sir..." was Lieutenant Kaffee's response. " You're on the next COD out. I expect to have you, Rabb and MacKenzie put a detailed report on my desk by the the 10th, That gives them 3 days on board the carrier, and 1 and 1/2 days for you. If you miss this aircraft, I am going to personally nail your head to the flagpole outside, do you under- stand me, Mr." " Yes, sir, loud and clear, sir..." the young lieutenant said. " Dismissed, pack your gear and get the hell over to that carrier..." " Yes, sir..." the lieutenant about-faced and headed for that door. " Lieutenant?!" the sharp admonition caused Kaffee to pause for a moment to look back at the admiral. " Kaffee, I want that report detailed, so detailed that it accounts for every bolt on that ship, do you understand?" " Yes, sir, one more thing, sir..." the Lieutenant asked with a grin on his face. " What is it, Kaffee?" Admiral Chegwidden growled. " Do you want the nuts listed as well?" " GET OUT!!!" snarled Chegwidden. That Kaffee was starting to become a real pain-in-the-ass. Kaffee fled. He nearly bumped into Lieutenant Roberts, whilst coming out the door in a hurry. "Excuse me..." said Lieutenant Roberts. " One word of advice..." Lieutenant Kaffee said deadpan..." Don't piss off a SEAL..." " I take that into advisement, sir..." replied Bud. February 8th, 1998 USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT CVN-71. Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean 1500 ZULU VF-41 Squadron Commander's Office Animal, Harm and Mac sat in Animal's office looking over the file regarding the Ortega case. "So, what you're telling me, is that Ortega has been running a money-laundering, extortion, parts embezzlement venture on this ship?" " Yes, that's about the sum of it. Sir." Harm said, reverting to the deferential addressing of one's superior officer. Animal's look upon the receipt of the news of this was definitely less than pleased. " So, what can I do about it..." He asked "that's legal, that is." Animal added with a look that spoke of grievous retribution against the accused should the commander be provoked to do something about the situation. "Harm, I've got a squadron to run, without having to worry about some morally -dispossessed yokel running around turniing my squadron's maintenance crew and this carrier's snipe crew into a carbon-copy of the GODFATHER." He got up out of his seat and paced around the room. " So, Lieutenant Commander, Major, what do you two want me to do about it. Shoot him now and dump his body off the side of the aircraft carrier or something?" Harm and Mac looked at one another. " He's taking it better than I thought..." Mac said under her breath to Harm. " Sir, we need some proof that he is doing these particular felonies while in uniform. That is the only way that J.A.G. can nail him down. Then, we have an open-shut textbook case against him." Mac replied. " So, you want me to act as intelligence gopher?" Animal growled. "Major, I have a squadron to run, three mechanics who have loused up two of my aircraft because they don't know a #3 hex-wrench from a Phillips screw- driver, lost a driver and his RIO, due to some maintenance foul-up, have to send out two condolence letters to grieving families and I'm supposed to go play Dick Tracy? Look, Lieutenant Commander Rabb. Major MacKenzie. I've got my hands full as it is. You're gonna have to do the leg-work on your own. If I can help you with getting clearances, that, I can do. But, I'm not going to let a squadron fall to pieces just because of one lousy SNIPE who can't walk a morally-straight line." Animal snapped out. " Yes, sir." they both stood up. "If you don't mind, sir. we'd like to check the dossier on Chief Luis Ortega. It will give us an idea on who we're dealing with." Harm said. " It should be updated by now." Animal said looking for his yeoman. "Harris, get in here...Bring the Ortega file..." The yeoman was inside Animal's office inside of two minutes. (outside Animal's office) The two J.A.G. officers conferred with each other as they looked at the two identical folders on Luis Ortega that they had received from Commander Chikamori. " Well, that rules out that the commander's hiding anything." Harm said to Mac. " Harm, he's been straight up-front and a longtime friend besides. The dossiers won't tell us a thing." Mac muttered as she glanced at identical records of the chief. Harm looked at the chief's records." Well, this tells us that he's dangerous enough." Mac looked at where he was pointing on the records on page 2 of the service records. It read that he had qualifications as both Rifle and Pistol Expert. " So, he knows how to use a gun. Big deal." Mac said. " To a well- trained Marine, all a squid with those designations is, is a punk with a gun. We Marines, can outshoot and out-think him." Once the two JAG officers were outside, Animal dialed a number," Yeoman, you wanna get me Lieutenant Commander Manuel Gutierrez?" Lieutenant Commander Manuel "Oso" Gutierrez, was a big 6'4" hulking Latino pilot with a mean temper. Growing up in Spanish Harlem, he had fought his way out of the gangs and into the Navy. He had joined up and worked hard for two years in the enlisted ranks, and earned enough awards to garner his congressman's attentions. Choosing the Aviation Officer Candidate School, he excelled graduating with the top mark in his class. Commissioned an ensign, he was a MiG Killer with the Hornet squadron in the Gulf War as a Lieutenant. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and sent to VF-41 to learn how to fly the Tomcat. About fifteen minutes later, a big hulking pilot, tanned with enormous arms stepped into Animal's office. " You know a chief by the name of Luis Ortega?" Animal asked. " Yeah, sir, he's one of the snipes." " You know that he's been getting rich off the Navy's coffers..." Animal snarled looking at him with a glare. As big as Oso was, he was intimidated by the smaller commander. "He's been doing a lot of slimy things. We just got interviewed by the JAG investigation team...We're gonna have to bust Ortega. I don't like this anymore than you do. He's an efficient tech but he's playing dirty..." " No kidding, sir..." LCdr Gutierrez growled,"You want me and a couple of friends to go have a talk with this Ortega?" " Just quietly. Oso..." Animal said," Quietly...and one more thing." Oso asked," What, sir?" " Take your Beretta with you. I've seen his report, he's a thug." " I was, at one time, too, sir..." Oso grinned, his teeth showing fiercely, " We'll take care of him, sir. You want me to bring him to you?" " Just quietly take him into custody. The JAG team will deal with him. I just want him out of the way so that he won't screw up the rest of the work crews and cause an incident." The telephone rang. Animal nodded, as Oso sank into a chair to wait. Animal answered and listened for a few minutes. Oso could see Animal's face grow angrier and angrier. Finally, when the commander couldn't with- stand it any longer, he let out a "GODDAMNIT!!!!" " What is it, sir?" Oso asked. " One of the snipes was found murdered. Conveniently tucked away in a maintenance room. One of the Marines was wondering what the smell was. Found EN3 Logan dead in the room. SHIT, I knew something was up..." Animal got back on the phone. " Put a call on the 1-MC, Tell them I want Rabb and MacKenzie back in my office, inside of five minutes." 30 minutes later Animal, Oso, 5 of his buddies and the JAG team went to the armory, they signed out weapons, all HK MP5s and flak-jackets designed for close quarters fire-fights. The flak-jackets wouldn't help against a steel- jacketed round from a high-powered rifle, however it would, generally with a bulletproof plate, stop a 9mm bullet from a handgun. "Animal, why does it always seem that we're continually getting into a major firefight when we hang out with you?" Mac said. "Why, Major, I thought you enjoyed this..." Animal retorted snidely. Animal snapped back the bolt on the MP5, and headed for the snipe pit. The rest followed. When they rounded the corner, they were met by three snipes. Animal shoved the barrel of his MP5 into the face of one of the snipes. "OK, where's Chief Ortega?" "I don't know..." the sweating man whined. Animal growled."Sailor, if you don't tell me where Ortega is now, I'm going to blow your fucking head off..." he purposely tilted the gun barrel into the fellow's forehead and tightened his index finger on the trigger. "He-he-he's in the office..." the sailor sniveled. "Guess, what, you're all under arrest for interfering with a JAG investigation...cuff him," Mac growled as she motioned one of Oso's friends forward with handcuffs. The sailors put up no resistence as they were cuffed and led away. "Now, to get to Ortega..." Animal muttered as he brought his MP5 back down to the ready position. The door was locked and it looked as though Ortega was behind the door barricaded in. Somehow he was locked in. Animal shouted," Ortega, this is Commander Chikamori, we have your door surrounded, you can come out now with your hands up..." he grinned back at Harm who was sweating beads..." Man, I always wanted to play cop." " No fucking way, man. Those J.A.G. guys are gonna end up throwing away the key and I don't wanna die in no fuckin' prison..." came the reply. "I'd rather shoot myself than go to prison..." " You're on a murder charge, Ortega. They found the body, you're not going to jail, you're going to get the ultimate high..." Animal snarled back. They ducked behind the nearest pipe as a bullet hole appeared in the doorway and a bullet slapped into the nearest grated deck. "Oh, good, it's not bullet-proof," Oso growled, levelling the MP5. "Wait a minute." Mac growled,"We shoot him, we've got no connection to the murder, nor any evidence that we can get out of him regarding this embezzling operation. "What do you suggest?" Animal snapped."Major, we're in a highly volatile area, with bullets able to pierce high temperature, high pressure radioactive steam pipes which upon released, can melt us into glowing piles of radioactive biological goo." "Do we have any sleeping gas that we can pipe in." Animal thought that it might work, however most of the men and Mac didn't have masks. He was the only one equipped with a mask, that he had managed to find in the vest pocket. "OK, evacuate the engine room. I'm staying." Animal said briefly. "But, sir..." Oso said. "NO BUTS..." Animal growled," Lieutenant Commander, I'm giving you a direct order. Do it now!!!" Reluctantly, they worked their way around it, leaving Animal behind. He quietly worked the slide back on his Beretta 9mm, as he put his hand in the pocket of his flak-jacket to retrieve the mask. All of a sudden he a noise off to the end of the boilers. Damn! He looked back at the door and saw it open. SHIT...In five minutes the chamber was going to be filled with sleeping gas, and he couldn't locate the chief. This was turning out to be his lucky day. He made a move, and a bullet slammed into the boiler just above his head. "Shit..." muttered Animal. "Having a nice day? Commander?" That was Ortega, his voice echoed evilly around the chamber. "I can see you, but you can't see me..." Another bullet nearly parted Animal's hair, he was pinned down. If he could just wait another few minutes. The chamber would be flooded with gas, and Ortega would, hopefully fall asleep. But with his luck, maybe Ortega was cognizant of the situation. " It's really a pity that your friends didn't have the guts to stick it out with you. It would make hunting you down so much more fun. Because you see, I really hate the JAG types, they're like LA Cops. They don't give you a fair shake..." Animal thought 'keep talking, Ortega, keep gloating. That way I can find you.' His eyes peered around the decks, sure enough, there he was on the third rung. " Oh, shit...here come the Marines..." Animal called out. Ortega looked over at the door. Using that instant, Animal rolled behind one of the boilers out of Ortega's view, putting on the firefighter's mask, which also could function to filter out any of the sleeping gas, but still left him with enough visibility to watch for any potential attack. It also gave him the opportunity to get his sidearm up and at the ready position. He could see Ortega frantically searching for him. Animal levelled his Beretta at the chief, and pulled the trigger. The shot slammed into the beam right beside the chief's head and ricocheted. " Goddamnit..." was the startled reply as Animal ducked back behind cover again. " What a pity," Animal called out..." Too bad that little stunt caught you off guard." Animal leaned out again, fired another shot into the railing on the next floor down and to the right. While Ortega's eyes were bent to that location, Animal used the opportunity to dive behind the next boiler, close to the stairs. There was a shriek as Ortega finally noticed the hissing sound of a vent being opened. " GAS!!!" Ortega gasped as he frantically tried to look for an exit. " All the doors are locked, just you and me..." Animal snapped out..." It's you and me, Ortega, And Logan." " But, man, Logan's dead..." came Ortega's protesting voice, "I disposed of him myself." Animal could hear Ortega's staggering as he was slowly being overcome by the gas. " Bingo...but he's here now, thinking that he's going to get revenge for what you did to him. You murdered him, right..." " I...I...I...he was gonna link me to the money laundering operation. He found out about the parts, and about the pipe. He knew too much." Ortega gasped out, as he flopped to one knee, his hand losing his grasp of his gun, the weapon dropping down three floors to hit the ground. " Yeah, Ortega, it's deadly gas." Animal lied." It's gonna kill you. But you have the chance to make it right. If you let me know what happened. I'll stop the gas and give you the antidote. If not, you'll get to die really slowly and painfully. What about the extent of the money laundering operation?" " It's...extending to the maintenance crews. If you let me out, man, I'll tell you everything." " Names, Ortega..." Animal growled," I want names..." " I'll tell you names, Jesus Christ, just stop the gas...please..." Ortega broke down and started sobbing. " Who's the key guy on board ship..." " Captain Dale..." " Captain Dale?" Animal growled..."You mean, the CAG?" " Yeah, he's in on the whole thing. He told Chief Sanders to get the parts wholesale...that were put into the Tomcats...He wanted to save the cost by getting the parts cheaper, that way he could get the true parts on the black market at triple the cost...Cheap parts, wouldn't stand up to shit. Man," Ortega was gasping it out now...blackness was just around the edges. It was only a matter of minutes before he would fall asleep. "Jesus Christ, Commander, turn off the gas...please...please...sir..." Animal saw red as he figured out the cause of Mole's crash and he was up on same level in a shot. Animal snarled as the chief as he stepped up the rungs of the staircase to the fallen man. " Guess what?" he said as he trained his Beretta on the man's forehead. "I lied..." The chief slumped over as his head hit the rung. Animal checked the man's breathing. He was asleep and breathing without obstruction. He went over to the nearest telephone and rang the security detachment. In five minutes the Marines were in and taking Ortega's sleeping body into custody. Animal grinned as he saw Mac and Harm standing there with another JAG lawyer who seemed to be a clone of Tom Cruise. "Hey, Animal..." Mac grinned, coming over and giving him a hug. "I thought we'd lost you in there..." "Not a chance, Major..." Animal replied. " And guess what..." Mac and Harm looked over at him. " What? Sir?" Animal grinned smugly as he pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket. Attached to it was a concealed mike. " Where did you get that device?" Harm asked. " Oh, Webb gave it to me for Christmas. He just said that if I was going to hang around you guys, that I'd find it useful. Taped the whole conversation too. He admitted to everything." He turned to the Marine Security Detachment Commander. " One more thing, Lieutenant-Major, I want you to take a squad of your men down to CIVIC, armed with M-16s. Arrest and detain the CAG. Captain Dale has been implicated in parts dealing on the black market of Federal Military Parts." The Marine captain saluted and barked out a command to the soldiers who trotted away to CIVIC. February 10th 0800 ZULU AST Onboard the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) Animal, Harm and Mac sat around his office later discussing the situation. They had executed a sweep of all the guilty parties in the parts and money laundering scandal. They were all in detention awaiting transport under armed guard to the Federal Detention Center, in Virginia. "All this time, I thought Captain Dale was playing on the level..." Animal said quietly. "So, is this the end of it?" "No..." Harm said quietly."This isn't the end of it by a long shot, but Federal agents and the rest of the JAG team will be making a sting operation that will shut everything down by the end of this week. By which time, you'll be back in Norfolk." Harm looked over at Mac quietly. " Say, in all this hoopla, I forgot to ask..." Animal remarked," You two going to the NAVY officers Valentine's ball at the Washington Embassy?" he grinned. "You two would make a nice couple..." Mac blushed, and Harm coughed into his hand. "We'll think about it..." Harm responded. February 10, 1998 1700 ZULU FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA JAG HEADQUARTERS "Commander, you have to be kidding..." Admiral AJ Chegwidden growled. "The captain and all the officers that we took down were a part of this ring. The highest ranking admiral in the Navy is also a prime suspect." Harm said bluntly. " So, these people know about this entire scheme and planned to make money on it." AJ growled, his anger growing. " How many accidents can we attribute to this switching of parts for cheaper ones?" Harm asked a rhetorical question. " It just so happens that you three will be working with Lieutenant Commander Brumby..." AJ said. Harm's and Mac's face fell. " Don't give me that look, Commander, I know that there isn't any love lost between you and Brumby, but look at it this way, he's got a loose end that could fit things in place." " You mean his case is interconnected with ours." " His suspect has information leading to several more indictments in this case. We need his client's information. I have just received reports that this case could go all the way to the White House and the Senate. Some body big is making a lot of money out of this deal." AJ said," And I intend to get to the bottom of this. Part 3/4 February 11, 1998 0900 ZULU EST FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER VIRGINIA The metal-barred gate clanged open as the four JAG officers walked in. They were there to see Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby's client. "Mic, I'm glad to see you..." the young man looked out from behind the bars. "Sailor, it's sir in the presence of these officers..." Mic snapped out. " This is Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr., Major Sarah MacKenzie USMC, and Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, USNR. You will co-operate with them in any and every possible way." His clipped Australian accent was harsh in the echoing chamber. 2 hours later Harm looked over at Mic with new eyes,"Well, Lieutenant Commander Brumby, you certainly got us the information we needed. We wouldn't have been able to have done it without you..." " Nothing doing, mate...just wanted to nail the bastards as much as you did..." Brumby stuck out his palm in a gesture. " Thanks..." Harm said quietly as he shook the other man's hand. " As you Americans say, No prob..." Mic grinned. It was the beginning of a truce. " So, I see there's a new lady in the JAG office. An Australian lady." Mac teased. "Navy all the way..." " But..." sputtered Brumby indignantly, " I don't even know that young lass." " Never stopped you before..." Harm grinned. " Ask her to the ball, Mic..." chided Mac with a wide open grin. Mic gave her a sour look and growled," But, perhaps, we'll be too busy for going to that Valentine's ball? Besides, it's a Hallmark holiday any ways..." " Oh, Brumby..." Mac grinned,"You really need to get out more..." " And miss a good date with myself?" Brumby replied snidely. The four now relatively good friends laughed. "Besides the trial won't start until after the 14th anyways and the sting operation is in effect." 1100 ZULU EST WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE " Get me Walters on the phone now..." a voice snapped. " What's going on..." another quieter voice said as the phone rang. " So, what's happening?" Brian Walters, Security Chief of Staff NSA inquired. " They're on to us..." the irate voice said. " I want you to get them off our tails...Do something, anything. Just silence those damn attorneys." " Yes, sir..." was the disquieting response. " I'll get my men on it right away." Just as Harm, Mac, Brumby and Kaffee were about to get into their vehicle, a black Lincoln sped around the corner, automatic back window rolled down. Harm, in an instant, yelled to Mac and the rest, "GET DOWN!!!" A gun muzzle poked out the window and fired four silenced shots. A screech of tires and blue smoke and the vehicle was gone around the corner. Harm had hit the deck pretty hard, and it looked like he had sprained his arm. Looking up he looked over at Mac who was pale, but seemed to be unhurt. Looking over at Brumby, who had dove down for the ground and was still there, he saw that the Australian Navy officer was unhurt, but looking at Kaffee, he saw a red splotch spreading across the man's chest. " Shit, Kaffee's been hit..." Mac was already on the phone dialing for an ambulance. " Hold on, buddy, hold on..." Harm said, as Kaffee winced in pain. " Damn, it hurts..." groaned Kaffee as he gripped Harm's palm. At the Hospital. Harm and Brumby looked concerned as the surgery light was still on. This case had gone from embezzlement, parts trafficking and money laundering to a case of attempted murder. It was not looking too good in anyone's books. " What do you think, Mic, Somebody was thinking we were getting too close and they tried to shut us up?" LCdr Brumby nodded quietly and kept up his pacing back and forth. Mac was sitting in the chair, quietly thinking. Harm went over to her and sat down. "Do you think we got Danny here in time..." A female navy officer rushed into the waiting room..." What's happened? All of a sudden, I hear that Kaffee's been rushed to the hospital...What the hell is going on." " Who are you? Ma'am?" Harm asked. " I'm Kaffee's commanding officer, Commander Jo-Anne Galloway, what the hell did you think, Lieutenant Commander..." She said, as she looked with more than a trace of concern apparent in her look, than a commanding officer looking after an officer under her command. Harm didn't say anything; it was obvious that Commander Galloway was under a lot of stress lately and she didn't seem like the type who would go indiscriminantly snapping everyone's head off. And in another second she proved it. " I'm sorry, Lieutenant Commander, I was out of line with that comment. Just concern really for the life of one of my men." she said, sighing as she sat down beside them. Harm could see Mic pacing the hallway. At first he would have thought of Mic as one who was concerned more with his own welfare than that of someone else's. But seeing the concern on his own face mirrored in that of the Australian navy officer, his doubts about Mic Brumby dissipated like mist in the glare of the hot sun. Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby, tired of pacing worriedly, came back to sit down..."Damn..." he swore again for the umpteenth time that afternoon. A door opened and a white coated doctor came in from the trauma room. "Lieutenant Commander Rabb?" "Yes..." "Lieutenant Kaffee has managed to survive this attempt on his life..." the trauma surgeon said, quietly, " However he was going into shock when the ambulance got to him and I don't know how much damage that has done. We have removed the bullets, cleaned and repaired as much damage as we possibly can, but now we have to wait and see if he regains consciousness. We're going to remove him to the Critical Care Unit." They nodded. Harm asked quietly, " Do you have the bullets in question." " Yes, why?" the trauma surgeon asked, startled at the incongruity of such a question. " JAG investigation..." Harm said, pulling out his Navy Department ID and Judge Advocate General identification. " OK, Lieutenant Commander, We'll bring the bullets out to you in a moment." the doctor said quietly. " Thank you..." About 15 minutes later Harm looked out to see another female navy officer enter the emergency ward. "Meg?" " Hi, Harm...be with you in just a minute..." Meg said as she flashed her ID at the receptionist. " Lieutenant Austin, Naval Investigative Services, I need to know the details of the shooting incident and the treat- ment the naval officer shot, received." " Lady..." the receptionist said," Those people are there waiting for that information themselves...why don't you go wait over there for it..." " Thank you..." said Meg brusquely as she wandered back over to Harm. "So, what happened? Harm?" she asked. Mac by this time, was wearing a pretty sour look on her face. She thought to herself, 'nothing like someone getting shot to bring all the skeletons out of the closet...' The doctor came out of the room, carrying a plastic baggie. In it dangled five fragments. "Lieutenant Commander, I don't care if you don't want this protection." bellowed Admiral Chegwidden..." But as of now, the entire base is surrounded by Marines, and sharpshooters...and you, Rabb, are a prime target in an assassination attempt by rogue NSA government agents...This whole thing is exploding in our faces..." "Has Webb come up with anything?" "Not as of yet...and one more thing, Commander, due to this being a less than secure line, I wouldn't open my mouth too much about our ace in the hole...Better yet, just refer to him as that...our ace in the hole..." "Roger that, sir..." Harm replied from the phone at the hospital. "So what do you want me to do..." "We're sending over two platoons of Marines. You plant your little fanny over there and you stay there...Am I making myself understood, Commander? Likewise with Galloway, she may be senior than you, but you have the lead. I know that she's a hothead...so tell her to plant herself there. She is not to move until I say she can..." Chegwidden thundered. " Yes, sir..." "What's happening," Mac's concerned voice was beside him, as he hung up the phone. "What's going on?" Harm looked at her tiredly," This whole damn thing has gone to pot. The admiral just ordered us to stay at the hospital for safety's sake and he's going to send us two platoons of armed Marines to protect us. He thinks that there are rogue government agents trying to kill us to shut this thing up." Mac sighed as she pondered the situation. "Then it's bigger than I thought...the trail leads all the way to the White House..." Commander Galloway made a move to go for the door. Harm stepped in front of her..." Ma'am, you can't go..." " And why not? I'm not a prisoner here, am I..." " For the moment, yes..." " What?!!!" Her tone was strident. " Commander," Harm's voice was harsh to get her attention, "This case goes higher than what we ever thought. There are people here who want to assassinate us, to make us go away. If you go out there, you're going to be killed." Commander Jo-Anne Galloway sighed in frustration..." So, we can't even step out of here until the all-clear is sounded. Damn, I knew Chegwidden was behind this..." "Chegwidden is behind armed guards too. His life is in danger just as much as yours..." An Australian tinged voice said tightly. " I would suggest, Commander, that you remember that..." Harm looked; it was Brumby who was glaring at Galloway until she shut up. Harm didn't even know that Mic was standing there listening to the entire conversation. " You all right, Mic?" Harm asked noting the weary-lines crossing Brumby's brow. " I'll be fine, Harm, as soon as I know Kaffee's out of danger." Brumby nodded. 1600 ZULU EST JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden looked sour as he was told to not go into his office. " Sir, your office has windows. It's an excellent place for a government sniper to bag the architect of this whole sting operation." the Marine Staff Sergeant said. AJ looked over at the Marine who was in urban combat fatigues, the white, grey and black colors intermixing on both fatigue shirt and pants. He was also wearing a black Kevlar Fritz-style helmet and carrying his M-16A2 combat rifle. "But, Sergeant, I have my files in there. How am I supposed to get them done." "Sir, it's just too darn dangerous. Any sniper has a bird's eye view through the window of your office door and he can pot you just as you're going through the door. Sir, he has a view from the top of the door, to the floor. I wouldn't chance it." "Alright." Growled AJ as he stubbornly sat down. Harriet and Bud were conferring with each other while trying to keep a low profile. The JAG office was an old building and the weak points were considerable. Even with the Marine Guards stationed on guard, there was still an element of possible attack. Lieutenant Bud Roberts came crouched around the desk. "Sir, is there any possible way that we can get a message out?" " A message, sir...to Harm's friend...He should be back in the next two days. Surely he knows of people that he can manage to finagle together in order to get us out of here." " You mean get the Naval Aviators into the act?" Admiral Chegwidden looked at Bud with a stern glare. But Lieutenant Roberts had a point. There might only be one chance to flush out the rogue government agents who had the place encircled. "I don't know about this. Animal and Keeter are two complete nuts..." " But the thing is, sir, that they're not here...they aren't tied in with the investigation, and they aren't being followed. They have the resources to get us out and they sure as heck aren't going to stand by and watch us get nailed." Bud said. " I know Animal is on the TR, but Keeter was here lately, and where is he now?" Admiral Chegwidden said, his look skeptical at best. " Keeter is back at the Pentagon, They have Marine guards surrounding the place too." " So, who's the agency involved in this operation?" " Well, sir." Bud motioned to Harriet to come over, she ducked under a table to crawl over, "You tell him, sweetheart..." " Sir, we've deduced from the information involving the car that made an attempt on Commander Rabb's life that this car was under title to a loan company, which in turn was a front for a mob operation. And the funny thing is that this mob operation was fueled by funds channeled through the NSA." Harriet said. " The NSA...damn!!!" Chegwidden's fist hit the table. "OK, we do need help. Sergeant?!" he turned around to call the Sergeant over. " Yes, sir..." The Marine sergeant came over. " I want you to get me a crypto-machine. I need to send a message to the TR." Turning to Lieutenant Roberts suddenly, the admiral asked pointedly "Is there a SEAL team on board or where's the nearest one that can be deployed?" " I'll check on that sir." " OK, Sergeant. I want Commander Chikamori and his squadron to meet a Seal Team at the co-ordinates to be provided. Full arms complement." " Yes, sir..." Lieutenant Roberts was back, holding a printout. "We have Seal Team 3. over at their training facility. Operational Readiness, sir." " Good work, tell them that the Code is Delta 4." That would mobilize the Seal Team and get them ready for further instructions. "Make sure that the message gets to Commander Chikamori, he's inventive and he'll know what to do in this case..." USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) 1900 ZULU Atlantic Ocean, near the Marianas Trench. "Sir, we've got a message coming through coded Delta 4, sir..." a radioman 2nd, piped up. "OK, Helmsley, I want to see it." Lieutenant Kevin Johnston received the sheet of transmission paper, that came through. "It's coded for CO VF-41." he said after reading the paper through. "Call him in on the 1-MC" " COMMANDER CHIKAMORI, please report to the radioroom? URGENT." the intercom blared as the message was repeated twice and then cut off. It was not more than fifteen minutes when the door was opened and the commander came barrelling through the door. " What is it, Mr. Johnston..." Animal said looking at the lieutenant. " Sir, it's a coded message, Delta 4 urgency." Animal ran his gaze over the sheet of paper. Nodding he passed the sheet back to him. " I want you to broadcast a call to all fighter squadron personnel. Meet in the VF-41 briefing room, Make a call to the Eisenhower, Have her aircover rendezvous with our boat. We have a national security breach..." He headed out the door. 20 minutes later The VF-41 Briefing room was full. "We have a major problem." Animal said to the crowded room, " We have a government that is falling to pieces around us. Now, we have had sixty arrests so far on board this ship because of people trafficking sub-standard parts. We have had one accident that has been the cause of faulty second-rate parts. We lost Mole and Buck, due to that. Do we intend for that to continue? We have a rogue NSA department going after a team of Judge Advocate General lawyers as well as the Judge Advocate General himself, in the hopes of shutting them up. I'm not ordering you to come with me because if this entire thing goes faulty, we might all be dead, or we may all lose our Navy careers." he paused for a long moment weighing the decision. " But I know one thing, I owe this man, my life, and I intend to honor that debt." He stood there for a few moments, as several hands went up around the room. " We're with you, sir...We went with you into Bosnia, we'll go with you..." Lieutenant Commander Philip Burrows called out. " Thanks..." Animal said," Now let's go kick some NSA BUTT..." The pilots and RIOs were grim as they headed for the reserve COD that was on standby. " Metalman, select 14 guys," Animal said," They're going to end up being the guys that stay back. "TR still needs some aircover. It'll give us enough guys. There's over 45 guys here as is. The aircover won't be all that necessary, because they're two days from port, but we've got no time to wait around." " Roger, that, Commander." Metalman grinned, as he turned to sprint off, but then he turned back," I'm still going, right?" Animal grinned back at him," Wouldn't have it any other way..." "Oh, yeah...Metalman," Animal added,"We're meeting up with a SEAL team on the coast, to get dropped into Falls Church." Just above: FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 2145 ZULU EST At 40,000 feet "Damn, I'm really getting cold feet about this entire matter, Animal," muttered Metalman as he peered out the window of the C-130. Silent and wear- ing black fatigues, the entire SEAL unit plus 25 members of Animal's squadron and VF-84 sat pensive and waiting. "I don't like jumping out of perfectly good aircraft either..." Animal muttered in assent,"however, we have to do this..." "Yeah, you owe me..." Metalman growled. Just then the jumpmaster came into the Hercules' cabin, and shouted out "Jumpers, Rig lines..." The Seal Team and the squadron members linked their jumplines to the cord. "20 seconds to drop-point..." " OK, Folks..." Lieutenant Dale Hawkins, Team 3 leader hollered over the din..."Get the lead out...we're 20 seconds..." "10, 9,8,7,6..." As the countdown commenced, the jumpers started shuffling towards the back of the aircraft where the ramp was just coming open, a frigid blast of wind filled the cabin. All the jumpers were wearing HALO gear. " 3,2,1, Go go go..." came the command. " JESUS CHRIST, I HATE THIS PART!!!" yelled a jumper as he dove out the back of the C-130. " Heading for the bottom of the deck..." yelled another as he dove doing a somersault in mid-air. " Do I have to do this?" Metalman grumbled as Animal shoved him out the back of the Hercules. " If you die, I want your car..." yelled Scooter as he made his exit. Animal turned to the last para-jumper and yelled out facetiously, " Watch that first step, it's a doozy..." " ALL STICKS OUT!!! GET OUT!!! GET OUT!!!" The jumpmaster yelled," If you're not out by now, you're gonna be scattered all over the Virginia Countryside!!!!" " AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" the remaining three jumpers ran diving out the back of the aircraft. " Shit, I love this job..." muttered the jumpmaster to himself as he hit the switch to raise the ramp. Just outside behind the building JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 2200 ZULU A man stood there watching the door, speaking into a radio..."Team 1, Are you in place...I've got the JAG attorneys in sight. Are we going to take them down?" " Yeah, team 1's in place. So is team 2 and team three..." Each of the groups had 5 men in there. More than enough to take out the guards. Unfortunately, the man didn't notice the laser beam marking the back of his head. Lieutenant Hawkin's laser-guided 9mm shot slammed into the back of the man's head and exited out the front. The man had no time to even shout out a warning as the bullet killed him without warning. The body slumped to the ground. Part 4/4 Just outside behind the building JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 2200 ZULU Pulling out of his parachute straps, Animal brought up his silenced MP5. Motioning his friend over, he noticed the figure of a man standing next to a vehicle. It looked much like a government vehicle. However the man looked suspicious. He didn't look like he belonged on a Navy base. Animal and Metalman moved in closer. "He looks pretty suspicious..." Animal mouthed to Metalman. "Yeah...you wanna take him out, or what's the deal." "You think we can capture him? Find out what's going on?" Animal asked. Animal slid away from Metalman and slowly crossed the gap between the trees and himself. There was no answering fire from anywhere and Animal decided to take the chance. Using his martial arts skills, he hurled himself at the man, who being startled didn't even have time to react. Animal and the man intertwined hit the ground, and Animal balled back a fist to crush the man's larynx, when the man said,"Animal?" "Who the fuck are you?" Animal asked, still pumped with adrenaline. "Webb, Clayton Webb...What the hell are you trying to do?" Webb looked at Animal as if he was a psychopath. "Well, geez, I didn't know that it was you. I thought it was one of those rogue NSA types..." Animal replied shortly. "Wait a minute...Rogue NSA types?" Webb asked. "Yeah. Get your head out of your ass, Webb...it's been on the news for the past week. These guys are running second-rate parts onto us, and it cost me the life of two of my men." Animal snapped. "Now, they're going after Chegwidden and two of my buddies." " I know, that's why I'm here..." Webb said hurriedly. "Let's get out of the clearing before some NSA type gets an itchy trigger finger." Animal chanced a look around the clearing. No answering fire yet. He nodded to Webb who followed him carefully. Checking his luminescent watch, he read 2200hrs. "You think this is the outer perimeter?" he whispered to Webb. " Yeah, I would say so..." Webb said drawing back on his own infantry training. But he had never had to deal with Special Forces. He watched as Animal melted back into the brush with the ease of a ninja. 'Shit, that guy is full of surprises...' Webb muttered to himself as he drew his own Sig Sauer P228. 15 minutes later Lieutenant Dale Hawkins, Navy SEAL team 3 leader, killed his second man standing by the back door of the complex. His team-mates were busy taking care of the NSA team standing next to the door. Black fatigues melted into the night, the NSA types wearing navy blue were also hard to spot, but the SEALs had the advantage of having NVGs (Night-Vision Goggles), and laser sights. All a SEAL had to do was pinpoint a dot on the torso of an NSA agent and the dot would soon be followed by a 9mm steel-jacketed round going at subsonic speed, yet would impact with deadly force. The NSA team was rogue, so the SEALs were legally allowed to use deadly force. His team XO, Lieutenant jg Steve Miller, grinned, white teeth showing on a painted face. He had black streaks across his face exposed by the balaclava. "How's the situation?" Hawkins asked. "Harris is down, he's hit in the leg, Miguel's covering him." Miller replied. "So, how many NSA guys left to go." "Last count, we got six of them down." At the Hospital 2220 ZULU EST Harm was getting anxious. There was no word at all from anyone and it was starting to get him worried. "Harm, sit, mate...it's not gonna do you any good to get all worked up about this." Brumby said looking at Harm's countenance worriedly. That Rabb was up to something. He could see it in his look. The man's mind was going overtime. Harm got up out of the chair again and started pacing around. "What's the matter?" Mac said as she looked over at her partner. "It's just the damned hopelessness of this situation. The admiral's in trouble and we can't do anything about it." Harm growled as he slapped his clenched right fist against the palm of his left hand. Mac could see that he was troubled; the furrow lines in his brow, his clenched hands, and beads of sweat running off his forehead. Mac turned to him and took his right hand. It was tense, and Mac could feel the tension running through the corded muscle," Hey, partner...don't think about doing anything." "WHAT?" Harm's voice was brittle with cold ice. "I know you..." Mac said,"You're thinking up of some way to go get the admiral. Remember the admiral's a SEAL, he knows exactly what to do in this situation. We go running off, we're gonna get killed." Meg was pacing the hallway. Her emotions were roiling, it was bad enough having to face up to Harm after her ignominious departure from JAG headquarters, but she was feeling something that she had not felt for a long time for her ex-partner. When that Marine Major, Harm's new partner, stepped close to Harm, Meg felt that feeling of inadequacy and hurt rise up like bile against her throat. She knew that it was jealousy, but it still came like a barrier between her feelings and what she knew was a professional relation- ship between the Major and Harm. Or was it? She tried to ignore the feeling, but it was persistent like a repeated jab in the ribs. Admiral Chegwidden woke to a door being kicked in. Instinctively grabbing for his issued .38, he drew a bead as the figure moved in. Unwill- ing to shoot someone in the back, he barked "Stop, Move and I'll shoot!!!" " Admiral!!!" the figure yelled. The familiarity in the voice stopped him from shooting. " Commander?" Admiral Chegwidden said."Commander Chikamori?" " Admiral Chegwidden?" the figure replied, still standing in the dark. " C'mere...step out of the dark, otherwise, some NSA sniper is going to take your head off like that." Admiral Chegwidden barked. " Yes, sir...but one thing, sir..." Animal replied. " What is it?" barked Chegwidden, who was still punchy from the rush of adrenaline coursing through him. " The Rogues are all dead, sir. We accounted for them." Animal replied as he walked over to the Admiral who was still behind the desk. "Do you feel OK to move, sir?" " Hell, Commander, you're asking if a SEAL is capable of moving?" The look that Admiral Chegwidden gave Animal was a mix between annoyance and humor. " Sorry, sir..." Animal grinned sheepishly, " Understood, sir..." If anything, Animal was quick on the uptake and annoying a SEAL was not in his best interests if he intended to get out of here with all limbs intact. "Sir, Harm and Mac?" " Yes, Commander, we have to go retrieve them from the hospital." was Chegwidden's brief reply. Gathering up Harriet and Bud as well as the new Australian exchange officer, they left. Harm walked into the hallway. He was fed up with having to wait and he was getting frustrated beyond belief. His annoyance augmented with each passing moment. He looked up at the ceiling with an exasperated look that spoke volumes to anyone that could see him. Meg saw him sitting by the hall and went over to talk to him. "Harm, is there anything..." Meg started to ask him, but stopped seeing the look he gave her in response. It reminded her of the day that he had walked out on her after she gave him the news that she was requesting a transfer. "Sorry, Meg." He apologised and then said,"There's no way at all to get out of this hospital. We have to wait for the cavalry to come and get us out." he muttered." That's what's frustrating me. Even though we have Marine protection, is it enough?" " Well, you'll just have to trust in them now..." Meg said firmly as she reached out for his hand, revelling in the feel of his strong fingers intertwined within hers and relishing that Mac was able to see this from the angle in which they were sitting in the waiting room. Mac was incensed. Who did that woman think she was anyways? Anyone who couldn't read the harlot's look of triumph was blind as a bat. Mac was not one to get riled up easily, but she had been searching her feelings over the past several months trying to understand her partner, Harmon Rabb Junior. And moreover, to understand her feelings towards him. When she saw him with Annie, she had felt jealous enough to continue to see Dalton Lowne. These feelings of outrage when she had seen him with another woman had forced her to admit the one thing that she was terrified to admit, that she was in love with her partner. And now, that little tramp from the NIS was trying to horn in on her relationship with Harm. And what was that little expression? She was using her little "innocent little girl" trick on him and he was falling for it. She saw Meg reach for Harm's other hand and then when he wasn't looking, Meg flashed a grin at Mac. Mac's blood began to boil. When she couldn't take it anymore, Mac snapped as she got up and strode out to the hallway," If you don't mind, I'm going to get some fresh air..." And strode towards the ladies room. Just as Harm saw Animal, Webb, a number of black-clad men, and Admiral Chegwidden stride through the hallway. Animal nearly got knocked down as Mac stormed right through the crowd. The door slammed and Admiral Chegwidden and Animal exchanged embarrassed glances. Animal was the first to recover," PMS? Sir?" he quipped looking inquiringly at Admiral Chegwidden. " Don't look at me, Commander." Chegwidden replied. "Ask him?" he pointed at Harm who now wore an equally embarrassed grin. Meg was looking rather self-satisfied with herself. Animal scratched the top of his head in thought wearing a quizzical expression. Harm finally got off the bench and got up to meet Admiral Chegwidden. " Sir, how did..." Harm asked, but was cut off by a wave of the hand. " Lieutenant Commander, I contacted your friend on board the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT and asked him if he could do something about those NSA chimpanzees hanging outside in the trees. Your friend was extremely resourceful and ended up rescuing us, which is one of the reasons why we are here to rescue you. We knocked off the NSA team that was guarding you here at this place." Admiral Chegwidden replied succinctly and clearly, he wasn't about to answer any questions that Harm wanted to ask. Harm shut up. Animal asked," Say, have you seen Keeter around anywhere?" "Keeter?" Harm and Animal looked at each other. "Yeah, y'know...big tall blonde guy...about 6'1"..." Harm laughed as he interrupted the commander's soliloquoy. "No, Animal, I haven't. Last I heard, he was at the Pentagon..." the two of them looked at each other in horror..." OH NO!!!" SLAAAPPPP!!! The bruise across the right side of Commander Jack Keeter's face grew as a stinging back-hand raked furrows across his cheek. " Hey, I'm not giving you bastards anything..." shouted Keeter as he was met with another uppercut in the jaw. These apes had been giving him a thorough going over for the past three hours. Luckily Keeter was in good shape. A less-physically fit man would have lapsed into unconciousness. He was unaware of where this particular building was. All he remembered were two gentlemen being ushered into his office at the Pentagon and being introduced as NSA agents trying to track down the leak of government parts. He was told that he would be taken for questioning at the NSA headquarters, but instead, as soon as he had entered the vehicle, a gun was put to the side of his head and he was soon knocked into uncon- sciousness. "Better that we go..." Commander Galloway said." I want to get these bastards back for what they did to Danny..." "QUIET!!!" barked Admiral Chegwidden as he tried to get the tempers all under control. "Commander Chikamori has martial arts training, so does Lieutenant Commander Burrows as does Mac, and Harm, who have taken kick-boxing. Anyone else aside from the SEALs who are going to be going in?" Lieutenant Commander Pete "Maverick" Mitchell stepped forward, he could almost be mistaken for a twin of Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee. " I have some 'Tae Kwon Do' training, sir..." Merlin, his RIO stepped forward and said,"I have some hand to hand experience, sir..." " Combat, or training scenario?" growled RAdm Chegwidden. " Actual combat, sir...shot down in Bosnia, sir...with the VFA-187 squadron sir, had to fight my way out of enemy territory, sir. My former driver was captured." " Alright. Anybody else?" Meg stepped forward. "I'd like to go sir, I can handle a weapon as well as anyone, sir..." Animal elbowed Metalman whose tongue was nearly hanging to the floor ogling Lieutenant Austin. " What...what? WHAT?" Metalman retorted back to Animal who was trying hard not to laugh. Mac was not looking too happy at Meg's inclusion. Animal quietly noticed this as he looked at his two friends. Brumby stepped up as he looked over at the new Australian Navy Lieutenant, Madeline Ross. She was rather tall, and shapely. A very attractive woman. Plus she also filled out that uniform in a very nice way. Brumby slapped himself mentally for that thought. He gulped and said," Sir. I'd like to go too, sir. Pay the bastards back. I have some capoeira training back in the Royal Australian Navy..." "OK..." Chegwidden replied," Let's go..." Jack Keeter was hovering near unconsciousness as the fists pounded into him. Bruised, bloodied and battered, he still refused to give anything but his name, rank, serial number and date of birth. " Commander, we know your bloody birthday, and your name and serial number. If you don't give us anything concrete about who the accusers are we are going to end your life for you now..." The bigger burly man growled as he raised a ham-sized fist. " I don't know what the hell you're talking..." Jack retched as the man slammed his fist into Jack's stomach. Then his face was grabbed in a pain- ful pinch and then a fist thudded into the side of his head. Blackness grabbed for him. NSA HEADQUARTERS FEBRUARY 12, 1999 0135 ZULU EST Animal grabbed the throat of the nearest NSA agent and slammed him up against the wall. "Tell me where the hell you take people to interrogate them." Animal growled ominously. "I don't know what the...urgh..." the NSA agent gasped as his throat was gripped in a vise-like grip. This little Oriental's grip was like a pair of thick pliers the man thought as his vision became blurry as the man's hand tightened further. "TELL ME!!!" Animal thundered. "I...Don't...Know..." The agent gasped out, his vision throwing sparkl- ing flashes of light as his air-supply was gradually being choked off. Harm and Mac had their weapons trained on the other two agents in the room. Animal sneered at the agent. He growled in a low resonant tone, "I find your lack of faith disturbing..." Harm and Mac struggled to keep straight faces as it reminded them of a science-fiction film with an ebony clad 6'6" tall masked and caped villain. Animal clenched his fist tighter as the fellow's windpipe adjusted. " OK...OK...It's near the docks. It's the warehouse..." " Where..." was Animal's low resonant growl. Webb had brought the entire CIA contingent upon the NSA. All the NSA agents were held under strict armed guard. They had also isolated the computers used to keep track of the inflow and outflow of funds and tracing them to the highest ranking official in politics. As it was, it would take several weeks to straighten out what charges were to be laid, the sting operation had nailed the culprits two hours after notification of cracking by the CIA's encrypt hackers. Now everyone was in custody. "Webb, thanks a lot..." Harm said, as the CIA agent brought in his people into the room to secure it. " Don't mention it...You owe me, now move it and get your friend out of the mess, he's gotten himself into. 0255 A car screeched to a halt in front of 1440 Quayfront Quay, as the four men and one woman piled out of the vehicle carrying high-powered automatic rifles. The Oriental man kicked the door open, and dove to the right hand side as the two NSA agents tried to return fire. Animal rolled behind a box, pulling out his MP5 and returned sharp accurate fire, as Harm and Mac ducked left and Metalman and Maverick dove right to follow Animal. The firefight was short and vicious. When the shooting stopped, the two NSA agents were down on the ground with four hits each to the chest and the head. Jack Keeter was trying his best to get out of the line of fire by tipping himself on the ground. " Shit...Animal, do you have to keep trying to play RAMBO?!" Keeter yelled. " I thought you liked that sort of thing..." Animal snorted as he went over to untie Keeter. One of the NSA agents was still breathing and still had some fight left in him as he tried to reach for his ankle holster. As the weapon cleared the holster and aimed for Animal's back, Metalman calmly aimed his MP5 and fired a 9mm through the rogue NSA agent's forehead. FEBRUARY 12, 1999 0800 ZULU EST JAG HEADQUARTERS "Lieutenant Commander Rabb, Major MacKenzie. I want you to take some time and get some rest. As it is, the trial isn't set to start for another 30 days. You need some downtime." Rear Admiral Chegwidden said firmly as he looked over the files of the case. " The Vice President would be forced to resign from his post as he was the top man involved in the scandal. The president was also being investigated. With the Secret Service now aware of the situation, the President could potentially end up being impeached. But we'll get to that in the coming weeks. You've got three weeks leave coming Rabb, MacKenzie, make use of it. Don't get into any trouble..." Chegwidden glared. " Of course, that probably won't make any difference seeing as how trouble usually seems to find you two..." " Yes, sir..." Mac and Harm grinned as they turned to go. Radm Chegwidden growled, "Commander, I want to talk to you for a minute..." " Yes, sir..." Mac excused herself as she left the office. " You know, Commander, it's that Navy Valentine's ball day after tomorrow?" Chegwidden looked at Harm. " Yes, sir..." Chegwidden gave him a look that brooked no disagreement. " Ask the Major...Commander...that is all..." " Yes, sir..." Harm was left blinking as he turned around, turning the admiral's admonition over in his mind. Outside, he saw Brumby talking to the young Australian lieutenant. She smiled at Brumby and nodded her assent about something. Brumby grinned and headed over to Harm, "Well, Harm, she said she'll go with me..." " Who said?" Harm quipped. " Madeline...Madeline Ross..." Brumby grinned, "Lieutenant Madeline Ross..." he repeated. " OK, Ok...I get the picture..." " GO and ask her, Harm..." Brumby grinned at him " Go and ask who?" Harm replied giving him a glare. " Mac, you stupid nit..." Brumby rolled his eyes. " For heaven's sakes man, are you dense?" " Funny, I've heard that before..." Harm replied. Brumby pushed him aside, and said intensely to him... "You know that woman that you were playing handsies with out in the hospital corridor? Mac saw that. That's how come she got pissed at ya. Make it up to her, mate... ask her to the BALL..." " Alright, alright...Geez, if it ain't the admiral ordering me, it's you..." Harm grumbled as he ambled over to Mac's office. Meg walked over to the JAG headquarters, she was intending on asking Harm to go to the Valentine's ball with her. She walked in to see Harm going into Mac's office. 'Of all the...' she seethed internally. 'If he's going to ask her, I'm going to ask someone else.' She turned to go and nearly ran down Lieutenant Commander Phil Burrows, all 5'10". She was two inches taller than him, but looked even taller in high heels. "Oh, sorry ...Commander..." " No problem. Is anything wrong?" the young looking lieutenant commander looked at her. He grinned, a sheepish grin crossing his face. " Oh, nothing...really, sir..." " Say, would you happen to be free day after tomorrow?" asked Metal- man quickly as he grinned, just as Animal came walking through the door in whites and shoulderboards, just missing hearing the comment. " Sure, I am." Meg replied. " Would you be happening to be mention- ing something about the Valentine's ball?" " Yes, in actual fact, that was exactly what I was referring to..." Metalman grinned. Meg thought, he had a really nice smile. Maybe this might even be better than going to the ball with the esteemed Lieutenant Commander Rabb. " I'd love that, sir..." she grinned back at Metalman who beamed even brighter as he took her hand. " What do you say, I buy you lunch..." Metalman said, as he turned around and walked out the door with Lieutenant Meg Austin. She turned just in time to catch Commander Chikamori's open-mouthed gape, as she waved at him. "Commander, is there something wrong..." Lieutenant jg Sims enquired as she watched the commander staring at his friend and the lieutenant. " It's amazing...just amazing..." She said as she noticed what the commander was staring at. " Yep. Commander Benton's not going to be impressed." Animal muttered. " That guy goes over the edge with awe-inspiring regularity..." Rabb noted seeing Metalman with Meg as he exited from Mac's office. Mac was wearing a self-satisfied grin as she accompanied him. Animal deadpanned, "Well, I'll tell you, the impact on the bottom is pretty spectacular too." Looking around at the JAG office he grinned, "Well, is there any other eligible female officer willing to go out with a naval aviator?" he asked loudly, looking around at everyone. " Hmph...just my luck..." Animal muttered as he looked meaningfully at Mac. Harm growled, "Hey, that's my woman...getcher own..." " Gee, I guess I'm going stag..." Animal growled. "Geez, I'm a commander, damnit and I can't even get myself a date. Even if I order anyone to..." He shook his head. The friends all laughed as they went to get coffee. FEBRUARY 14, 1999 WASHINGTON EMBASSY BUILDING 1800 ZULU EST Harm and Mac grinned at each other as they danced together to a lovely Celine Dion tune 'The Color Of My Love.' "Harm, say isn't this much like the time that we had that dance in Romania?" Mac chided gently as she relished having Harm's arms around her. She was in a stunning electric blue gown which brought out the highlights in her hair. Pinned to her gown was an flowery corsage, and on the left breast side of her gown was her own miniature set of medals. Harm looked exceeding- ly handsome in his dress uniform tux. "Mac, I was stupid not to realize how much I hurt you by having Meg do that..." Harm said quietly relishing the feel of his partner in his arms. She was beautiful, her soft brown hair, her liquid brown eyes, the mis- chievous grin that spoke of other things unmentionable. "Don't worry, I forgive you..." she grinned,"Of course I'm going to think of numerous ways of making you make it up to me..." "I think I might enjoy that..." Harm grinned back at her running his fingers through her hair. "Hmm, Don't get your hopes up, anchor-clanker..." she grinned back saucily at him, moving in to rub noses with him. Harm kissed her gently on the lips. Savoring the kiss, they embraced each other. Animal had his miniature medals and decorations accompanied by the blue and white Congressional Medal of Honor Ribbon draped over his dress tux uniform. It was navy blue and had three stripes and the upside down star of a line officer on the sleeves. He grinned as he watched his best friends. Metalman was dancing with Lieutenant Meg Austin on his arms, she had her head cushioned on his shoulder just so that her height wouldn't embarrass Lieutenant Commander Burrows. They looked thoroughly happy with one another. Harm and Mac were embracing in the middle of the dance floor. He sighed to himself. "Ah, stuck here with no-one to dance with... even Carolyn Imes is with someone, so's Lieutenant Commander Pike. Kimber's with Captain Matsushita, ah damn..." He grumbled as he nursed his drink of a rum and coke. " Even a CMH and no one..." Well, at least one thing was positive; he would be able to enjoy this ball in peace and that he wouldn't have to get tired feet dancing. There was always next year. " Well hello there, Commander." A low sensuous voice hinting of unbridled lust interrupted Animal's self-pity" Well, gee, looks like you're here all by yourself. Would you like some company, and maybe a little bit of fun later on. Then you can tell me all about your adventures." He looked up to see a blonde haired Commander, with a striking figure. Commander Allison Krennick... 'Oh brother.' THE END. AN: OK, folks. For all you Brumby lovers. I had to grit my teeth and write this. I HOPE YOU'RE SATISFIED!!! -irate glare- Same goes for all you MEG lovers. I'm not making any apologies that she didn't end up with Rabb. TOUGH LUCK!!! Hope you enjoyed this somewhat lengthy piece, done in between bouts of studying and self-pity over my accounting. So have a ball with it. :) And no, I don't get the girl this time. :)