Naval
Air Station -
Joint Reserve Base Brig
New Orleans, Louisiana
2040 ZULU
Mac watched as Harm studied the young Gunny, seeming to search for a
truth the man had yet to speak. But Miles’ gaze never met Harm’s.
Most of the Gunny’s pleading looks were directed at Mac, making
her highly uncomfortable. Because, while Miles’ eyes were pleading
with her to understand, there was something about him that wasn’t
quite right, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. How
she knew any of that she didn’t have a clue since he had yet to
utter a word.
"Have a seat, Gunnery Sergeant," Harm’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she watched as Miles sat down heavily in the metal chair across from them.
Mac shot a quick glance in Harm’s direction to see if he had noticed Miles’ attention to her, but this time he was oblivious, ready to begin the interrogation.
"Tell me, Gunny, why is it you requested me personally?" Harm inquired, getting right to the point. Mac had to admit she was anxious to hear the answer to this one as well.
Miles looked down at his shackled hands in his lap, nervously fiddling and picking at his fingernails.
"Miles, I asked you a question," Harm reiterated.
"Yes, Sir." Miles’ voice was barely audible. "I...I...A...Allison...she t...told me about you. Always t...talked about you. S...s...said you were the b...b...best...at everything."
Mac watched as the flush crept up the sides of Harm’s neck and cheeks. He was angry, and Mac couldn’t blame him at all. Even from the grave Allison Krennick was harassing him.
Choking down his ire, Harm continued, "We’ll get back to that in a moment. Why don’t you start by telling me exactly what your relationship was to Commander Krennick."
Miles seemed to struggle with his answer before finally doing as he was told. "S...she was m...my C.O. in the JAG office. I was her legal services chief."
"And outside the office?" Mac questioned.
Miles squirmed even more, looking everywhere but at them as he grew
more agitated.
When he still hadn’t answered a few seconds later Harm grew impatient. "Answer the question, Miles."
The nervous gestures became more pronounced as he kept looking around, over his shoulder, as if waiting for someone to pounce on him at any moment. Without thinking Mac reached over and covered the young Gunny’s hand with hers, and immediately an eerie calm seemed to settle over him. Taking a deep breath, Miles answered. "W...we were lo...lovers."
The sound of a pencil snapping drew the attention of both Harm and Mac. They looked over at Major Pierce who, other than the broken pencil at his feet, showed no outward sign of emotion. But the tension was radiating off of him in waves, and Mac gave a nervous glance in Harm’s direction, one he returned.
Before either could dwell any further on Pierce, Miles began tentatively, "I...I’m on them. Those tapes. I...I d...didn’t want t...to be, but she..." When he trailed off all three other officers held their breaths in anticipation of his answer.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Miles gulped a few times before he finally got his voice to work. And surprisingly when he did answer, his voice was calm, all traces of his stutter gone. His body had stilled; it was like a different man was sitting in his place. "That’s the way she wanted it. If I wanted to...be with her, it had to be on tape."
"And you did, want to be with her?" Harm asked, already knowing the answer.
Miles again looked down at his bound wrists. "Yes, Sir."
"Permission to be excused."
The request startled all of the inhabitants of the room. Mac look at Major Pierce, noting that the man looked like he was about ready to explode. Storing that little tidbit away to talk to Harm about later, she looked over at Harm. He nodded in silent communication to her. With a brisk nod herself she agreed. "Permission granted, Major."
Without further comment, Pierce did an abrupt about face and exited the room. The door had barely shut before Harm was back on Miles’ case. "All right, what’s the story between you and Major Pierce?"
On a sigh, Miles spoke. "He doesn’t like me very much."
"And why is that?" Harm wanted answers. Unfortunately getting any from Miles was like pulling teeth.
"Because of my relationship with Allison. He’s never said anything, and there’s never been anything between them as far as I know, but it’s a wide spread rumor that Brian Pierce has feelings for her too."
Their case had just gotten more complicated.