AJ sat across from Admiral Crowley in his office and waited. He'd just endured a welcoming ceremony where he had to inspect the troops and smile through a photo session. Chegwidden thought he'd done well - no one had died. A few had come close, first and foremost was Crowley himself. Gunny Walters had taken to clearing his throat whenever he felt AJ was going to explode. Half the people there probably thought the gunnery sergeant had some fatal lung disease. When they reached Crowley's office, he had handed Walters his cellphone - Tyler should be checking in soon and Chegwidden was curiously loathe to let Crowley know about it. The Gunny had then stationed himself at the office door. The staff didn't look pleased about it; on the other hand, they didn't look displeased. AJ decided the Admiral was not particularly well-liked by those serving under him.

Crowley looked at Chegwidden while he pondered how to approach the problem. It would be a delicate balance, striking just the right tone between taking a firm stand and sympathizing with the embarrassment of having such recalcitrant officers. He'd been worried enough about it that he had even tried to get a hold of Koslov to get his opinion. Unable to reach him (he would have to set Eric down a bit for that), he'd been forced to leave a fairly lengthy voicemail. He noticed AJ's eyebrows begin to come together and decided to start with something innocuous. With a genial smile, he said, "My officers and their wives are looking forward to meeting you tonight at dinner."

AJ stared at the man in surprise, "I beg your pardon?"

Crowley beamed, "The dinner at the O Club in your honor." He arched an eyebrow and said lightly, "We ordinarily have a little more notice." There, a tiny reprimand delivered in friendly manner. He waited a couple of seconds to gauge the JAG's response. Emboldened by Chegwidden's silence, he kept going. Putting on a rueful expression, he said, "I have to tell you AJ, and it pains me to have to say this, but your officers have been nothing but disruptive since they hit this base. I have people calling at all hours complaining about one thing or another that your JAGs have done. They refuse to acknowledge any authority but their own and this attitude is spreading to my people. I have three of my personnel listed as UA. By tomorrow, I'll consider them AWOL and it can be laid directly at the feet of your officers. If I may be specific, I feel most of the blame can be attributed to Colonel MacKenzie. I just want you to know that it was in consideration for you, that I haven't gone ahead and filed charges against her." AJ sat there speechless. Crowley congratulated himself on his tact and delivery. Now for the kindly Dutch uncle...

Crowley leaned forward and smiled conspiratorially, "Look AJ, we're both men here. I understand how it is. MacKenzie is drop-dead gorgeous and I can see how you'd feel obligated to ... ummm ... reward her by making her your Chief of Staff. Brilliant, really - no one would question you two working closely together - but a little discipline wouldn't be amiss. I mean, obviously your people understand the rules, but sending her to other commands is asking for trouble. You don't have to look any further than this base to see how violent these jealous rages can get... "

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" AJ roared, he was out of chair and leaning over the desk. He stood glaring at Crowley, absolutely livid with rage. With an effort, he kept his clenched fists at his side. At last, he turned to look at Walters; the Gunny had entered the office as soon as he heard AJ's voice. "Did you hear all of that, Gunnery Sergeant?"

The look on Gunny's face could have cracked granite, "Yes sir." His eyes never left Crowley. "For some reason, the office door was ajar. Everything was quite clear." He was no less angry than Admiral Chegwidden. If he thought it'd do any good, he'd gladly beat the hell out of Crowley.

"Good, contact the MPs and have two of them report here. Who's second in command?"

"Captain Koslov, sir, but he's on leave. Commander Mathes is next."

"Get him in here." AJ watched the Gunny leave and turned back to look at a thunderstruck Crowley. "You're relieved of command, Admiral. Right now the charges are Conduct Unbecoming, Disrespect toward a Superior Officer and Dereliction of Duty." He leaned in, "And if anything has happened to my officers, you'll also be charged as an accessory."

Crowley began sputtering, "You can't!"

"Watch me." Chegwidden turned as the Gunny returned with Mathes, "I'm removing Admiral Crowley from command and having him confined to quarters. He is to be considered unfit for duty pending psychiatric evaluation. You're in charge, Commander, until we can get this mess straightened out. When the MPs arrive, have them escort the Admiral to his residence and post a guard. I'll be at the JAG offices."

AJ marched out, leaving the two stunned men. Gunny Walters fell in behind and followed him out. Once clear of the building, the Admiral turned and looked at Walters, "Did Tyler check in?" When the Gunny shook his head, AJ looked skyward for a moment in frustration, "Damn. I hope nothing's happened to that young man." He lowered his gaze, "Gunny, get over to the MPs, find whoever's in charge and bring them over to JAG. Oh, and find out if they have some sort of liaison with the FBI. We're probably going to have to coordinate with the Feds on this." AJ glanced back at the Headquarters building, "Goddamned fool."

Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1610 Local

Tyler checked his watch and swore. He was dead late to check in with the Admiral. It had taken him longer to work his way back to treeline than he thought it would. He always felt safer in the woods. Moving quickly between bits of cover brought back memories of playing 'Commando' and 'Capture the Flag' with his brothers and friends. It was the one thing where he'd been sought after whenever they chose up sides. Although he knew it was much more serious, he couldn't help feeling like he was in some huge game of Hide and Seek. Having contact with Admiral Chegwidden and now Tink had contributed a lot to his self-confidence. Hopefully, Commander Rabb and Captain Perez had gotten the Colonel and Lieutenant to safety.

Quietly, he worked his way back to his 'headquarters'. He'd spent his morning hours exploring the area outside the perimeter of the camp. The area was crisscrossed by a number of small creeks and streams. He'd found a spring and followed it back into a small ravine. There he'd found a small fold in the hillside. The overhang would shelter and, at the same time, hide him from view. He had also set some snares in likely-looking places; he would check those and gather some of the watercress he found before he settled in for the night. But first... he crawled onto a small brush-covered ledge, it gave him a bit more of a view without making him any easier to see. There seemed to be less militia around, he only dodged one patrol. He pulled out the cellphone and turned it on. Quickly he dialed and returned to scanning the area. Several rings later, he heard, 'Chegwidden.'

"Sir? It's Tyler," he said quietly.

"Thank god, Ensign. Are you all right? You're late."

"Fine sir, I'm sorry. It took a little longer to get to a safer area so I could call."

There was a slight pause and then the Admiral said, "Safer? What exactly have you been doing, Mr. Tyler?"

Tyler winced, 'Oops'. "Ummm, just checking out the area around the camp, sir." That could be interpreted several ways, maybe it would get him off the hook. He heard Chegwidden grunt and decided he'd gotten lucky. Hurriedly, he said, "I saw Corporal Bell, sir. It looks like he persuaded them to recruit him."

Surprised, AJ said, "How the hell did he manage that so quickly?"

Tyler chuckled softly, "I think he went into his dumber-than-dirt routine and convinced them he just happened to be in the area. They were probably tickled to get him."

"Why?" Chegwidden couldn't see where stupidity was a desirable trait - Crowley was a case in point.

"He's about 6'10" and over 300 lbs. and well... he's a really nice guy, sir, but he could scare the curl right out of pig's tail."

"I see," AJ was looking forward to meeting these two. "All right Ensign, I'm on base and I'm going to get the ball rolling to get all of you out and shut these people down. Have you heard from the Commander or the Colonel?"

"No sir," Tyler hesitated, "That could mean they got away, couldn't it sir?"

"It's possible," Chegwidden said. "Okay, Tyler, I'll talk to you again in two hours. We're going to need information on the layout of the camp." He hung up.

Tyler turned off the phone, and stayed on the ledge for a bit, thinking. He had roughly three hours or so before it became dark. Either he could hole up now and get an early start in the morning or... he could make one more circuit of the camp and get an early start in the morning. He grinned to himself, climbed down and headed east.

Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1720 Local

Mac and Perez lay at the top of a small rise and peered through the trees at the camp. It appeared to be quiet - probably because it was the dinner hour, Perez thought. That brought him back to the subject of food. "Ma'am?" he said, keeping his voice low, "We need to pull back and find a safe place for the night. And I need to find us some food. We can't keep expending this level of energy without replacing it."

Mac turned her head without raising it off her arm, she was exhausted. "Agreed." As much as she would like to get into the camp tonight, common sense prevailed. A little guilt appeared also. "Captain?" Perez looked at her quizzically. "I'd like to apologize. I didn't give you much choice about coming back here." She paused for moment, "If you want to try getting out and finding help, it's fine with me. You'd probably have a pretty good shot by yourself."

Perez stared at her, "What would you be doing?"

Mac gave him half a smile, "I was thinking of smuggling myself in disguised as a doorstop." Turning a little more serious, "I really don't know yet. See if I can figure out where Harm and Lauren are being held and then go from there."

The captain was shaking his head, "I'll stay here, if you don't mind, Colonel. I'd hate to miss any of the fun."

Mac closed her eyes briefly and then tried again, "Captain... Intellectually speaking, this isn't my finest hour. You're not obligated to take my idiocy and turn it into a team event. I really wish you'd see about getting help."

"Are you ordering me, ma'am?" he asked quietly.

"No." She grinned wryly, "You know what they say: 'Stupidity loves company'."

Perez smiled at her, "All these years, I've been saying that wrong... ." He rolled to his feet and reached back down, "C'mon, ma'am. We need to find a safe place for the night."

"You shoulda found one sooner."

They froze at the unfamiliar voice. Perez cautiously turned his head. A tall, skinny man in a militia uniform stood near a tree halfway down the slope. His rifle was casually pointed in their direction. He smiled unpleasantly and gestured with the rifle barrel, "Lose the pistol - carefully." He waited while Perez tossed it to one side. He looked at Mac who had remained motionless. "You. Get up."

The rifle snapped up to his shoulder when Perez started towards Mac. "Don't move. Don't even breathe."

The captain looked at militia man angrily, "She's injured. She can't stand up on her own."

The rifle shifted to Mac, "Then maybe I should just put her outta her misery."

Harm sat against the wall, knees drawn up and his head resting on his arms; looking, he hoped, like the picture of dejection. It wasn't too far off, he was feeling a little depressed. He'd been moved to another, smaller room, also devoid of furniture except for one chair. It was currently occupied by one of Trask's gorillas. At least they had finally untied his hands. He worried about Singer, they'd been separated after that disturbing yet bravura performance. It had been a brilliant move and she had played it beautifully. Harm shifted a little, uncomfortably. The Lieutenant had pegged his probable behavior if Mac had died pretty damn accurately. The jolt he had felt at hearing the words had lent credence to both their performances. He hoped to hell Perez had gotten Mac out.

At the moment, all he could do was wait. Koslov was going to kill him, the man couldn't afford to let him live. He'd probably kill the Lieutenant too. Harm sighed, it was a helluva thing to hope for; but the alternatives for Lauren were worse. Koslov could just toss her to the militia. Slowly, he raised his head and surveyed the room. Goddammit, there had to be a way out of this. Trask's man watched him dispassionately. Trask. It was pretty evident the two men didn't like each other. He remembered how the two guards had silently checked with the Reverend before obeying Koslov - maybe the militia didn't like Koslov either. Harm thought the Rev. Trask also had a few bolts loose, but perhaps his obsession with conspiracies could be used somehow. Provided he got the chance to talk to the man again. The door opened just then, causing the gorilla to come to his feet. When Lieutenant Singer and Koslov walked in, Harm did his best to look sullen and not surprised.

Koslov looked down at him and smiled, "Well, Commander, Lauren and I have been having a most interesting chat. She's been telling me all about what you and the late Colonel MacKenzie have uncovered about my little computer operation." He casually glanced at Singer as he spoke.

Harm stared at Koslov and then looked over at the Lieutenant. She seemed tense although her face was completely expressionless. On the other hand, there was definitely something a little off about Koslov. There seemed to be a slight air of... curiosity? anticipation? Hoping he wasn't interpreting everything wrong, Harm gave a short, bitter laugh, "Well, I hope it was interesting because it certainly wasn't true. Neither the Colonel nor myself thought Lt. Singer had the need-to-know about that part of the case." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lauren almost imperceptibly relax. He gazed at the Captain, "I have a question, if you don't mind."

Koslov waved a hand. The Naval Commander was a dead man, the least he could do would be to answer a question or two.

"Are you part of 'Archangel'?"

Koslov smiled again, "I like to think of myself as more of a graduate. Charlie Jacobs created this brilliant set-up and then wasted it. All I had to do was recruit a few more like-minded people and make a few adjustments."

Harm glared at Singer, "Is that what's going on now Lieutenant? You still looking out for Number One?"

Lauren shrugged, "I prefer to be on the winning side." She smiled, "My miraculous escape - made possible by your gallant sacrifice, by the way - will be quite a boost to my career at JAG. With MacKenzie out of the way, it should be easier to get closer to the Admiral."

"You're a goddamn disgrace!" Harm spat out.

"But I'll be a live one," Singer returned calmly. She looked over at Koslov who had been watching the exchange with amusement. "Aren't we done here?"

"Yes, I believe so." Koslov gestured for her to precede him. "If you'll excuse us, Commander?"

Harm watched sourly as they left. He looked at the guard still standing against the wall, "I hope your boss knows what he's doing. That guy isn't who he says he is." He dropped his head back down with a certain amount of satisfaction at the look of alarm that had flashed across the man's face. Maybe he'd see the good Reverend after all.

JAG Office
Memphis NAS
1710 Local

AJ stared at the FBI agent, "What do you mean, you can't do anything?"

Special Agent Ramos sighed, "I wish we could. Hell, you're a lawyer, you can see for yourself. We have no legal reason to raid that militia camp."

"Receiving stolen government property isn't enough reason for you?"

"We don't know that. According to the official records, nothing is missing. We can't even prove that anything was transported from here. All trucks in the motorpool were accounted for last night. The base MPs confirmed that." The agent looked over at the lieutenant standing near the door. "Correct?"

Lieutenant Grafton nodded, "The vehicles were all there and none of the gate logs show any trucks leaving the base after 1930 yesterday. Gate 6 did show Corporal Bell and Ensign Tyler leaving a little before 0100 this morning."

"Then the gate logs have been falsified. Tyler and Bell followed those trucks from here to that militia camp. That should be enough!" Chegwidden was getting extremely exasperated.

Ramos shook his head, "They didn't see the trucks actually leaving the base. Captain Perez told them to go to Gate Four but there's no way to prove that the trucks they were following were from this base. That's the warehouse district, those vehicles could have come from anywhere and been carrying perfectly legitimate cargo. Unless we can get some eyewitness accounts from Captain Perez or your JAG officers, we just don't have a case."

"Which you won't get because my people and Captain Perez are on the run from that militia!" AJ's voice was steadily growing in volume.

The agent winced, "So you believe. No one has actually seen or talked to any of them since they disappeared from this base. We have no basis for a warrant." The agent threw up his hands in frustration, "Honest to God, Admiral, if it were up to me, I'd be going through there like the wrath of God. But with all the criticism from the media about everything from Waco to why we didn't stop 9/11, my superiors are not going to seen harassing loyal American citizens without a hell of a lot more proof." He gestured to the files on the conference table, "I can take all this and start our own investigation. Maybe we can pull enough pieces together to pursue this."

"And in the meantime, my officers are on their own," AJ said in disgust. "Goddammit!" He paced angrily back and forth alongside the table before stopping and looking at Gunny Walters, "Gunny, how would you feel about going fishing?" Walters gave him a grim smile and nodded.

"Admiral?" SA Ramos asked cautiously, he wasn't sure he liked this abrupt change.

AJ gestured at the map they'd found with the circles drawn on it. "Holly Springs National Forest is known for its sport fishing. I think the Gunny and I deserve a little vacation."

Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1655 Local

Tink sat on his bunk and watched the rest of the men in the barracks. The mood was rapidly becoming more festive as the level of beer in the ice-filled tub decreased. He sat nursing his single beer and wondered when the brawl would begin. Someone would start something, he was pretty sure. These guys probably enjoyed beating the hell out of each other. Maybe the officer who provided the beer thought it was the best way to have them blow off steam. Tink scowled slightly, he had a hard time thinking of any of these yahoos as an officer. For him, officers were Perez and Rabb and MacKenzie, and even Tyler, young as he was. That brought him to his next problem, how the hell was he going to get the JAG officers out? Maybe he could coordinate something with Tyler.

Liston nudged his friend and pointed at the new guy they were supposed to train, "No more beer for Tinker, he looks like a mean drunk. He'd wreck this place."

Thomason grinned while taking another pull of his beer, "He looks mean all the time." He looked at Liston, "You don't want him to have any more beer, then you tell him. I'll just sit back here and watch."

Before Liston could retort, their attention was drawn to the barracks entry. Lieutenant Humphrey was trying to get everyone to listen to him. A pale, skinny, weasel-faced man - his name had been the source of a constant stream of wit. Hardly any of the rank and file liked the Lieutenant and the feeling was mutual. At first, everyone ignored his attempts just to watch him get steamed, but eventually curiosity got the better of them and they began to quiet down. Tink watched the byplay contemptuously. Given half a chance, he'd straighten out this undisciplined rabble, even if he had to kill one or two.

Humphrey cleared his throat importantly, "As you know, we managed to recapture one of the prisoners and the man that freed her this afternoon." He flushed when someone yelled, "We do know. We were there." Scowling, he waited for the laughter to subside, "Well, I just want to let you know there'll be no search this evening." He waited expectantly for the inevitable question. The noise level waxed and waned as the men murmured to one another and then looked back at him. Finally, Liston called, "Oh hell Hump, just tell us the rest. The beer's getting warm."

Looking displeased, Humphrey said, "The other escapee is dead. We'll be sending someone out in the morning to recover the body, providing they can find it."

Tink sat silently, feeling shocked. What the hell had happened? Now he was going to have to tell Pick. 'Damn, Damn, Damn!'

Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1735 Local

The rifle flicked back to Perez as he started to take an angry stride towards the militia man. "Captain!" Mac hissed urgently, "Stand down!" She struggled to her knees and stayed there, swaying unsteadily while she waited for the landscape to settle down.

The militia man grinned, "That's better." He looked at Perez, "You, get down on your knees too, and lace your fingers behind your head." He waited until the captain had complied and then walked up the hill. He stopped just in front of the two. "This is kind of an interesting problem." He gestured at Mac, "Word is, you're supposed to be dead." He looked at Perez, "And you don't even exist. So I really don't have to turn either of you in... alive anyway." He let his gaze wander over to Mac, "Interested in a little fun?" He winked at her, "Not that it matters."

"You.. " Perez began angrily. The militia man spun, swinging his rifle and catching Perez on the side of his head. The captain dropped like a stone. The man looked back and grinned at Mac, "You know... three was a crowd." He slung his rifle over his shoulder and pulled out a large hunting knife. Making a show of testing its edge, he gestured towards the distant camp. "We wouldn't want to attract too much attention, would we?" Mac stared at him, 'Not again... '. Then the man reached over and grabbed a fistful of Perez's shirt and pulled him partially upright. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the knifehand draw back and she realized what he was about to do.

Mac reacted without thinking, launching herself at the militia man. She crashed into his legs, taking him down practically on top of a groggy Perez. Grabbing the hand with the knife, Mac doggedly hung on as everything began to blur and spin alarmingly. Soon all three were entangled in a desperate struggle across the forest floor.

Gradually, Mac became aware she was on her back, the blood was roaring in her ears blocking out other sounds and she couldn't see. Suddenly frantic, she realized a hand was touching the side of her face. 'Not again!' Her good hand shot upward, making contact with the body above her and then latching on with a deathgrip. She felt two hands wrap around her wrist, trying to loosen her hold. The voices were faint at first and then grew louder and more insistent.