| A Question of Loyalty |
| Harriman Nelson wasn't the sort to go bar hopping. But that's exactly what he'd been doing tonight, going from bar to bar in search of Jiggs Starke. And he wasn't disappointed; around 9PM, he finally walked into the right bar and found his old friend sitting there alone. "Jiggs? We need to talk." Starke looked up at his voice. "What the hell are you doing here?" Nelson sighed. "Looking for you; what did you think?" "Why the hell would I want to talk to you?" "Jiggs, we've been friends for over 30 years. Are you going to throw that away over something as foolish as this? Without even talking about it?" "What's to talk about, Harriman? How can you be so lax as to let this � this perversion go on right under your nose?" "Jiggs, please. Come back to the penthouse. This isn't for public discussion." Starke gave him a sour look; but he realized Nelson was correct. Even though Seaview wasn't Navy, he knew the public couldn't care less. Nelson and Seaview were heroes of the high seas; anything that tarnished their image tarnished the US Navy's. "Fine. I guess your whiskey is as good as this stuff." Nelson chuckled. "I dare say it's a good deal better, and I guarantee it's not watered down �" Back at the Penthouse, Nelson retrieved a bottle of his best whiskey, and poured two glasses. Starke downed half of his in one gulp, enjoying the burn as it slipped down his throat. He glanced at the bottle; Bushmills. Harriman could always be counted on to have the best Irish whiskey available. The best of everything, that was Nelson's minimum expectation from life. Born into a rich Boston family, the best schools, never a doubt about his appointment to the Naval Academy. Whereas Starke had clawed his way up from a more meager background. How the two had become friends seemed a mystery to him now. "How could you, Harriman? WHY would you protect those two perverted NCO's? Don't you realize the implications of this?" Nelson sipped his whiskey, measuring his words before he spoke. "What implications, Jiggs? My crew are not Navy. They are not bound by the UCMJ." "Damn the UCMJ! It's WRONG, Harriman! What if a foreign agent found out and used it to blackmail them into betraying their country?" Nelson shook his head. "You can't blackmail someone for something they won't get in trouble over. If it's not against the rules, it can't be held against you." Starke couldn't believe Nelson's simplistic answer. "How can you trust men like that? Always hiding, keeping secrets?" Nelson shook his head. "Exactly, Jiggs. They have proved they know how to keep a secret. I would trust Kowalski and Patterson with my life; in fact, I have many times in the past. The simple fact is that they are good men, they have proven that many times. Loyal, dependable, trustworthy. Today's revelation does nothing to change that in my eyes." "Then you're being damned BLIND, Harriman!" Nelson scowled. "Jiggs, are you saying that I'm not trustworthy?" Starke stared at him over his nearly empty glass. "What do you mean?" "You heard what was said in my office this morning. I'm just as guilty as they are." "That's ridiculous, Harriman! I've known you how many years? You're as straight as I am." "Oh really? Then you think Crane was lying today too?" Starke's eyebrows shot up. "Are you saying it's true? You � and � and CRANE?" It was too much for him to handle; he reached for the bottle and refilled his glass, taking another large swallow. When Nelson simply nodded, Starke exploded, leaping up and pacing across the floor. "I knew there was something about him I didn't like! He seduced you, didn't he? Maybe even drugged you � he must have, to make you go against your nature like this �" Nelson put his drink down and got up, coming around to face his old friend, grabbing him by the upper arms. "Jiggs, get a hold of yourself. Lee did no such thing." No need to muddy the waters right now with the exact circumstances; there were drugs involved, Kinnard's dolphin hormones, but Jiggs didn't need that level of detail. Starke angrily broke away from him. "Don't touch me!" He reached for his glass and downed the remainder. Nelson could see his hand visibly shaking. He backed away, giving Starke some space. He realized Jiggs had too much alcohol in him to make any progress tonight. The adrenaline in Starke's blood had his metabolism on high; that last gulp of whiskey hit him like a two by four between the eyes. Suddenly, there were two Nelsons gazing sadly at him. He was confused; how could a good man like Harriman Nelson suddenly turn into a pervert at his age? It just didn't make sense. Nothing made much sense anymore. The room started spinning around him; he stumbled back to the couch, sinking down as his knees gave out. "Jiggs!" Nelson cried out and rushed to the sofa. There was no reply; Starke was out cold. Nelson sighed as he manhandled his old friend into something resembling a comfortable position for sleep, removing his necktie and opening the top buttons of his uniform shirt. Given Starke's current state of mind, Harry was sure he'd object, but then, he wasn't awake, so Harry thought he could get away with it. He got up and retrieved a blanket and pillow from the guest room, bringing them back and gently tucking Starke in. Kneeling beside the sofa, he laid his hand on Starke's shoulder. "Sleep well, old friend. Let's hope you can think clearer in the morning." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nelson awoke and realized he was alone in his bed. At first he was irritated; he and Lee had agreed that while onboard Seaview, they would maintain a strictly business relationship. Which meant that every day ashore was precious to them. Why wasn't Lee here? Then suddenly the events of yesterday came flooding back. Jiggs Starke was asleep on his sofa. // Wonderful. He's probably got one hell of a hangover, too. // Nelson got up and pulled his bathrobe on over his pajamas, gearing himself up to face the tiger. However, when he padded into the living room, Starke wasn't there. The blanket was folded neatly and stacked with the pillow, as if that was as close as Starke could come to making his bed to regulation specs. The penthouse door was unlocked; no telling how long ago Starke had left. Nelson reached for the phone, dialing the security office. "Has Admiral Starke left the Institute complex?" he asked the guard on duty. "I've been on duty since oh-six-hundred, Admiral, and I haven't seen him. Let me check the log to see if he signed out before that." There was a short pause, then the guard returned. "He hasn't signed out, sir." Nelson thanked the guard, asking to be notified if Starke showed up, and returned to his bedroom to hurriedly shower and dress. It was 0800 by the time he followed Starke out his door. If Jiggs hadn't left yet, there was one place he might be hiding � An unmarked trail led off the main road up into the mountainside. It wasn't an easy climb, but not too difficult either. Nelson was only a bit winded when he came to the top. Starke sat there, staring out at the spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. "Jiggs �" Nelson said softly. Starke didn't turn to look at him. "The world is changing, Harriman. Not sure if there's room anymore for a dinosaur like me �" "Don't be ridiculous, Jiggs." Starke shook his head. "Been thinking about this all morning. How many times have you saved the world? You and Seaview are too valuable to lose. Everything I've always believed says that men like you and Crane are unfit for command. But how can I argue with success? Military procedure says I should notify ONI of this security risk. But without government funding, you'd never be able to maintain Seaview. And where would we be the next time the world needs saving? I can't jeopardize that, Harriman. The world needs you and Seaview." "Jiggs, I haven't changed, you know. I finally admitted something to myself that in some way I'd always known, just chose to ignore. But it's been there all along, under the surface. It's part of who I am. Why I never married. You remember your wedding day?" Starke gave a rough bark of a laugh. "Of course." "Remember who stood beside you?" "You did." "You and Rose have had 20 years of happiness together. Can you really deny me the chance at the same?" A frown pulled at Starke's lips. "It's not the same, Harriman." Nelson came forward and sat down beside his friend. "Yes it is, Jiggs." Starke turned to finally look Nelson in the eye. There was something in the sparkling blue depths that Starke had never seen there before. "You � you LOVE him?" Nelson smiled. "Yes. Why is that so hard to believe?" Starke shook his head. "I thought �" "You thought it was just about hedonistic pleasure? That 'those men' aren't interested in love, only sex?" The way Nelson said it made Starke feel vaguely uncomfortable. Was everything he knew about this wrong? Not wanting to give voice to his apparently incorrect assumptions, he simply nodded. Finally, he found his voice. "I � I guess I need to reevaluate some things �" Nelson nodded. "I would say so." Starke looked at him, wondering if another assumption was wrong. "Harriman? You don't � you don't think � that way � about me?" Nelson laughed outright. "Good lord, Jiggs, no!" Starke couldn't decide whether he was relieved, or insulted by Nelson's vehemence. // Are you crazy? Of course I'm relieved � // He managed a weak grin. "Good. I don't think I could handle that �" Nelson chuckled and laid his hand on Starke's shoulder. "Sometimes, Jiggs, a cigar is just a cigar. Don't go reading meanings into everything I do from now on, will you?" Starke was annoyed at himself for feeling uncomfortable at Nelson's touch. He shook off the discomfort and forced himself to look at his friend. "All right, Harriman." The equilibrium of their long friendship restored, Nelson pressed on with the issue weighing on his mind. "Jiggs, what brought this on? Why did you spy on my men?" Starke took a deep breath before starting. "I didn�t. Last week, a package was delivered to my office. It contained those photos, as well as some � similar � ones of Joe." Nelson frowned, worried about what had happened. "Joe � Jackson? Your aide?" Jackson had been Starke's good right arm for several years now. He knew Starke thought of the young man almost as a son. Starke nodded. "I think you can guess what happened �" "Jiggs, you didn't �" "I went off the handle, Harriman. Tore the poor boy to shreds. He offered to resign, but no, I insisted on forcing through a dishonorable discharge �" "Oh, no, Jiggs �. With that on his record, he'll never get anywhere." "I thought it was appropriate. I felt betrayed, Harriman. He kept it secret from me; how could I know what else he wasn't telling me?" Nelson shook his head. "He didn't tell you because as soon as he did, this would have happened. Making it illegal forces people to hide. It's not by choice �" Starke sighed. "I'm beginning to see that." The realization of what he had done to somebody he had supposedly cared about was making him feel slightly ill. He simply sat there for a while, lost in his thoughts. Nelson lit a cigarette, letting him think. After a while, Nelson spoke again. "Jiggs, where did that package come from? Why target these men, why now? Has it occurred to you that somebody may have set this up?" "Why? For what purpose?" �I don�t know, Jiggs, but I mean to find out. Maybe somebody wanted you AND Jackson out of the office this week �" "Dear lord � and I played right into their hand!" 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| Part II |