AJ had been considering the best way to handle Peterson ever since Webb had dropped the bombshell on them. Striding into his outer office, he brushed past the acerbic little man. Opening the door to his office, he glanced over his shoulder and barked, "Come with me. Close the door."

As he walked around to his desk, AJ ran his hand across his phone's keypad, then turned to face the inspector as he hurried to catch up. Seeing Peterson take a deep breath and begin to speak, the Admiral leaned forward and bellowed, "Where the hell is my Chief of Staff?"

In the conference room, heads snapped around as the Admiral's voice came clearly over the intercom. Sturgis started to reach over to turn it off, when Clay raised his hand, "I think the Admiral wanted us to hear this." They gathered around and listened.

Taken aback, Peterson blinked, "How would I know that? I was just at the hospital... "

"You were what? I thought it had been made clear Col. MacKenzie was not to be disturbed until her doctor approved." AJ was using his parade-ground voice, he could be easily heard in the bullpen. Standing right in front of him was deafening.

Peterson tried desperately to take control of the conversation. "I have a warrant... "

AJ cut him off, "What is NIS doing about the prisoner escape? That lunatic killed one of my Marines and wounded another."

The inspector looked bewildered for a moment, "That's not my... " and then tried again, "Are you aware that MacKenzie is of Arabic descent?"

"Of course, she is. How else would she have learned to speak Farsi so fluently? Damned convenient when she assisted the CIA in recovering that Stealth jet and pilot that had a forced landing in Iran a couple of years ago." AJ still hadn't lowered the volume of his voice.

"And she's friends with a Russian KGB officer... "

"I know. Her espionage case turned out to be tied to a plot to assassinate the Russian President. They joined forces, foiled the attempt and arrested the rogue Russian general who was responsible. I understand President Bush was most appreciative, considering his relationship with Putin." AJ crossed his arms and waited.

"She's made several trips to Russia and ... "

AJ slammed his hands down on the desk, leaned in and bellowed, "Are you deaf? I just told you that. I ORDERED her to Russia. Now tell me where Col. MacKenzie is!"

Peterson, feeling shell-shocked, could only splutter, "I DON'T know... "

AJ looked up at the ceiling, "I don't have time for this." He glared at the inspector, "Come back when you have something substantial to report. Dismissed!" Peterson stood there, flabbergasted. AJ's brow lowered menacingly, "OUT!" Inspector Peterson fled. The Admiral waited a minute and then walked back to the conference room. He opened the door and entered to a loud burst of applause and whistles. Looking around at his staff, he smiled grimly and said, "That should buy us a day."

Baylor Women's Shelter
Washington, D.C.
1410 Local

Evelyn Rosser, R.N., looked disapprovingly at Emma. They had clashed a number of times over the years, the victories and defeats were fairly even. Evelyn, a compact, intense woman, had thought about their relationship on several occasions. It wasn't the difference in philosophies or the clash of two strong-willed personalities, she had decided; she just didn't like Emma Fine. "Medical examinations are confidential." she said flatly.

Emma crossed her arms and gave Evelyn a look that was a combination of amusement and annoyance. "Sarah and I have discussed this at length, she said it was okay if I stayed. Isn't that right, Sarah?"

Sarah looked at the two women. That hadn't been the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Emma had awakened her twenty-three minutes ago and told her it was time to see the RN. Helping her get dressed, Emma then said she would stick around during the examination. Evelyn Rosser tended to see things as black and white: gray areas were not allowed. Emma would make sure Sarah's best interests were considered first. Then Emma had looked Sarah in the eye and said, "Once I know it won't kill you, we are going to sit down and have a serious discussion."

Sarah focused her attention on Evelyn and simply said, "Yes."

The RN snorted and said, "Fine. Let's get started." She was quick but thorough. After checking Sarah's vitals, she looked at the stitches on the side of her head and peered into her eyes. "The stitches can come out in another day or so. You realize you have a concussion?" Not really waiting for a reply, she started unwrapping the dressing on Sarah's upper arm. Carefully removing the last layer of blood and matter encrusted material, she looked at Sarah in surprise, "This is a bullet wound."

Sarah's laconic "I know." earned her a glare from Evelyn and a small, amused snort from Emma. Sarah continued, "There's also a wound in my side and I have several cracked ribs." She regarded Evelyn steadily.

Evelyn looked over at Emma, "You know I will have to report this to the authorities." She missed the look of fear and alarm that flashed across Sarah's face, but Emma didn't.

"No you don't." Emma was an island of calm amid Sarah's rising sense of panic.

"It's the law, Emma." Evelyn said adamantly.

"Think it through, Evelyn." Emma said reasonably. "It's already been reported." She looked at Sarah, "You were taken to a hospital?" At her nod, Emma continued, "See? It's been taken care of. You just have to make sure there's no infection and put fresh dressings on. Then we can get this young lady back to bed," she turned to Sarah, "I assume bedrest was prescribed?" Sarah nodded again. "There, you see? Now if you'll get those dressings, we can be finished." Emma smiled.

Evelyn clamped her mouth shut and recovered the wounds with fresh dressings. Ten minutes later, Emma had a hand under Sarah's elbow and they were headed back to her room. "Are you hungry, honey?" Receiving an affirmative, she said, "If you can handle sitting for a bit, we can detour through the kitchen and I'll fix you a bite to eat."

Baylor Women's Shelter
Washington, D.C.
1500 Local

Emma stepped out into the warm spring afternoon and headed up the street to the bus stop. She walked along deep in thought. She'd gotten Sarah back in bed after feeding her an astonishing amount of food. Life definitely wasn't fair, she reflected, if Sarah ate like that all the time and still stayed slender. They had agreed to talk tonight when Emma came back for her shift. There were mysteries surrounding Sarah and Emma intended to solve at least a few. It wasn't until she reached the bus stop and turned around, that she realized a car had been following her. It stopped and a large man got out.

"Momma, I thought you worked the graveyard shift?"

"James! How long were you following me? Why didn't you say something sooner?" Emma said with a smile. Her oldest was a lieutenant on the DC police force. He had passed the test and received his promotion just last year.

James smiled, "Momma, I know better than to interrupt you when you're thinking that hard. Adopted another orphan?" 'Emma's Orphan Brigade' was the source of much amusement to her sons. Not the 'orphans' themselves, but the havoc she could and would wreak on their behalf and the hapless bureaucrats that wound up in her sights. "How about a ride home? I'll let you play with the siren," he teased.

Emma fixed him with a mock glare and then smiled, "Lights, too?"

James looked over at his mother as he drove. "So, who's the latest member of the Orphan Brigade?"

"Her name's Sarah. Little bit of thing, but there's steel underneath. Someone tried to kill her, she'd been shot as well as beaten. I'm pretty sure she walked out of a hospital before she was supposed to. She doesn't complain, hasn't really said much more than 'please' and 'thank you' but we're going to sit down and talk tonight." Emma sat silently for a moment, then said musingly, "She's seen death before. I can see it in her eyes. It hasn't broken her yet, Sarah's a survivor."

James drove on and then said carefully, "Momma, would you like me to... "

"No, not yet." Emma replied, "Thank you for offering though." They drove the rest of the way in silence, both lost in thought.

JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1530 Local

The Admiral looked around the table at Harm, Sturgis and the Gunny. Bud and Harriet had collected little AJ and gone home for the day. They promised to get an early start tomorrow. Webb had gone back to his office to see what he could dig up. They had decided the Lattimer case was somehow the focal point. They hadn't decided if it had anything to do with drugs.

Sturgis cleared his throat and said, "Pardon me, Admiral. I was curious about something Webb said earlier. I realize I don't know Mac as well as most of you, but why is he so certain she can drop out of sight successfully? She didn't take ID, she has no money and if she's running, she's not going to show up anywhere she thinks these people might be watching, so she can't turn to her friends."

AJ glanced at an expressionless Harm while thinking it over, finally, he said, "Mac grew up with an abusive alcoholic for a father and a mother who left when she was fifteen. She ran wild after that. She'd been on her own for most of her life anyway. When she was eighteen, she nearly killed herself in an auto accident. Her uncle stepped in, straightened her out and got her into the Marine Corps. She's used to relying on herself and I'd have to say, she's probably familiar with the seamier sides of life. She could blend in almost anywhere."

Sturgis listened in amazement. Glancing over, he saw the same expression on the Gunny. He would have never guessed that the squared-away Marine Colonel had had that kind of childhood. 'Dear god... ' Sturgis suddenly realized the Admiral was watching him. "Excuse me, sir, and thank you."

AJ gave a slight nod and then looked at them both, "You realize this is not general knowledge? I expect you both to respect Mac's privacy." At their affirmatives, he stood up, "I think we could all use a break. Those of you who wish to continue, I'll be back at 1800, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow morning." He started for the door and then turned around, "Thank you. I know this isn't how you planned to spend your weekend." He walked out.

McMurphy's
1610 Local

Harm, Sturgis and Gunny Walters sat at a small table towards the back of the bar. There was a pitcher of beer on the table and they were waiting for their pizza order. Sturgis sipped his beer and looked over at Harm, "I guess you've known about Mac's past all along?"

Harm fiddled with his glass, not answering. He glanced over at Walters, "We're off-duty now, so you can call me Harm. I've been wanting to thank you for what you did for Mac. I owe you one."

Walters shrugged dismissively, then leaned back and looked at the two officers, "My friends call me Dubby." Seeing their expressions, he said, "My initials: Are. Dubba-Yah. ...Dubby." They still stared at him. "Look, it's a Southern thing." He was getting exasperated.

Harm looked at Sturgis and said solemnly, "The South has some very strange names, Stur-gis."

Equally solemn, Sturgis replied, "I believe that's true, Har-mon."

They both looked at Walters again, Harm continued in the same tone, "But then, the South has some very strange people."

Walters stared at them and then started to chuckle, "Goddamn Squids... take them out of the water and their manners go all to hell."

The other two men laughed, pleased with themselves. Then Harm said, "To answer your question, Sturgis, I found out a lot of it while we were partnered together the first couple of years. Mac tends to alternate between being incredibly forthright and making a clam look chatty." He rubbed his eyes, "God, I hope she's okay, wherever she is."

"I'm sure she is, Harm." Sturgis said reassuringly. The pizzas arrived just then, sparing them from further conversation.

McMurphy's
1730 Local

" ... so we're standing in the Moscow airport after this shootout with a rogue KGB officer and here's the last person I expect to see, Admiral Chegwidden. I ask him what he's doing there and he says, 'Decking Webb.' Then he turns around and just flattens Clay, broke his nose." Harm laughed and then glanced at his watch. "Oh man, I've got to get back to JAG. Either of you coming?"

"I'm ready to give it another shot," Sturgis said. "How about you, Dubby?"

"Can't. I need to get some rack time. I'm dropping in on the security detail at 0100. If I run across anything or think of something that would help, I'll give one of you a call," Walters said as he stood and tossed some bills on the table. "Don't worry, we'll get these bastards." He headed for the door.

Sturgis looked at Harm, "I'd like to stop by Mac's apartment first. Do you want to call the Admiral and tell him we'll be late?"

"What are you expecting to find there?" Harm asked, puzzled.

Sturgis smiled, "An anomaly."

JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1825 Local

AJ turned and looked as Harm and Sturgis hurried into the conference room. "Sir, we've found something," Harm said, holding up a book. He looked over at Sturgis, "Go ahead, you figured it out."

"Actually sir, it was Bud who was on the right track. He mentioned how he thought it was odd that Mac would have just one military biography amid all the rest of her books. We think this was the Colonel's insurance in case anything happened to her. Read the inscription, Harm."

" 'To Harm, Happy Anniversary of our first case together. Admiral Jacobs recommended this and I thought you might like it - thanks for being there. -- Mac. P.S. Who would have thought the Montgomery case would have led to so much?' " Harm read triumphantly, they were finally getting a handle on this.

AJ looked at Harm, "Your first case together was about Mac's uncle, Matthew O'Hara and that was in September. Who the hell is Montgomery?"

"We just looked it up, sir. Montgomery was convicted of espionage in 1938. He smuggled information out of the country in crates of rare books. The information Mac wanted us to find has to be hidden somewhere in this book." Harm gazed at AJ, "Admiral Jacobs must be involved, too." He looked back at the book, "Now we just have to figure out what information and where it's hidden."

Five minutes later, they were no closer. "It's got to be in here." Harm said in exasperation. They'd removed the dust cover and thumbed through the book page by page.

"Maybe it's some kind of code involving the text that tells where to find the evidence... " Sturgis suggested.

"No." Harm sat in thought for a moment, "Let's go back to the beginning. This all starts with Lattimer. Mac goes to interview him. He's Admiral Jacobs' yeoman, what if he stumbled across something?"

AJ picked up the trail. "He tells Mac and provides some sort of proof... No... he wouldn't have anything with him in the brig. Okay, he tells her where to find the proof." AJ stopped and then slapped a hand to his head in exasperation, "Mac stopped at NIS on her way back to JAG on Friday! Charlie Jacobs called me and mentioned it, he was laughing about some officious young lieutenant Mac had deflated." He paused and then said, "I ran into her as she was leaving Friday, she seemed kind of rattled." AJ looked at Harm, "I thought it was something you did."

Sturgis stifled a laugh at the look on Harm's face and said, "What would the evidence look like? Papers would be too bulky and noticeable, Lattimer would have had trouble smuggling them out. A floppy disk?"

"Or a CD." Harm said, "It would hold more and it's a lot thinner than a floppy... " His voice trailed off and he picked up the book again and looked at it. Opening it up, he started picking at a corner of the inside cover. After peeling away the paper on the front side, he moved to the back. A moment later, he was holding the CD in its vinyl envelope.

"Bingo." Sturgis said.

Chapter 10

"Oh my God," Sturgis said. He and the Admiral were reading over Harm's shoulders as he scrolled through document after document on 'Archangel.' "This must have scared the hell out of Mac. No wonder she ran after hearing Lattimer was dead."

"Yeah," said AJ thoughtfully. "It looks like they've got operatives planted everywhere. We need to talk to Webb. We've got to be extremely careful about who we let know about this." He was silent for a moment, "I think we should keep this confined to ourselves and Webb for now. Thinking they have a chance of finding this evidence first will be the only leverage Mac has to keep these people from killing her outright." He saw the look on Harm's face, "We're going to have to assume they're going to find her eventually. Hopefully, we can get there first, but they have more resources."

Emma Fine's Apartment
Washington, DC
2205 Local

Emma woke to the sound of the telephone. She never could bring herself to use an answering machine. If she was home, she answered; otherwise they could call back. She looked at the clock and groaned. Twenty-five minutes before she would normally get up, it had been a long day. Irritably, Emma picked up the phone, "Yes?"

"Momma?" It was James.

"James? What's wrong? Is it Michael?" Her youngest was deployed with a carrier group, worry was something she was learning to live with.

"No Momma, Michael's fine. But something is going on at the shelter. A bunch of Feds moved in about ten minutes ago. I just heard it over the radio, I'm on my way to pick you up. I think you'd better get down there before it gets completely out of hand." James hung up.

Baylor Women's Shelter
Washington, DC
2225 Local

Emma was out and striding towards the shelter almost before James got the car completely stopped. There were unmarked cars, as well as a number of squad cars, all with lights flashing in front of the building. The shelter doors were standing open and she angrily observed groups of nervous residents clustered on the sidewalks, staffers flitting from group to group. By the time, she sailed through the front doors, Emma was working on a full head of steam. Glaring at a trenchcoated young man who stepped into her path, she snapped, "Where's the man responsible for this circus?"

The young man raised his hands, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. You'll have to wait outside until we're finished."

Emma's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Young man, you're finished now. You've forced women whose safety depends upon anonymity to stand outside on the street. Unless you get them back inside here and produce adequate justification for this outrage; my first call will be to ZNN, my second call will be to the Washington Post and my third will be to a law firm that specializes in taking government agencies to the cleaners." She gave a small, hard smile, "I understand they're not above suing individuals."

His eyes widened in alarm, the young man said, "I'll get Inspector Peterson."

Emma walked back to the front doors and looked out. Seeing one of the staff close by, she gestured her over, "Lisa, get the women together and get them back in here. Take them to the rec room for now until I get these people out of here."

Lisa nodded and said quietly, "Emma, they're looking for that new resident you checked in the other night. They haven't found her yet. She wasn't in her room." They both turned as a small man stomped into the lobby, trailed by the first young man. Emma glanced at Lisa and gestured for her to get going. Then she turned to meet Inspector Peterson head-on.

He stopped in front of her and pointed towards the door, "This is a Federal investigation. You will wait outside or I'll have you arrested for obstruction of justice."

Emma folded her arms and matched him glare for glare, "Don't bother trying to bluff me, sonny. If you had a legal leg to stand on, the DC police would be in here, too. And if you had the brains to pour piss out of a boot, you'd have known better than to try to bludgeon your way past me." She thumped a finger into his chest, rocking him backward, "What I'd better see in the next ten seconds is your identification and the federal warrant that authorized this debacle. If I find you have exceeded your authority, you will have sixty seconds to gather your little band of merry men and get the hell out." She put her hand out and waited.

Peterson reached inside his coat and pulled out his ID. "I'm Inspector Avery L. Peterson of the Naval Intelligence Service," he said importantly. Pulling out a folded paper from a side pocket, he slapped it into Emma's hand. "And this is my authorization. Now get out."

Emma barely glanced at his ID, opened the paper and began to read. When she looked up, she was wearing a small, feral grin. Peterson gulped in spite of himself. "I would say that you've just opened your agency to a number of lawsuits, Mr. Peterson. This is not a military facility and I do not see a representative from the District Attorney's office. All this says is that a Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie is wanted as a material witness. It does not give you permission to enter and search these premises or force the residents out. You may tell your superiors to expect at least a dozen suits alleging emotional distress. ...You don't even know if she's here, do you? This was a fishing expedition."

"She's here!" Peterson blustered, he was beginning to sweat. "A brown-eyed brunette named Sarah was treated here for gunshot wounds. It's Sarah MacKenzie!"

Emma gave him a pitying look, "Half the women in this place could fit that description, most of them have had violent injuries: gunshot and knife wounds, broken bones... And we don't use real names here, 'Sarah' is an alias." She looked at her watch, "Sixty seconds and counting, Inspector. I will be calling the DA to discuss what charges will be filed against you."

Peterson stood there, his mouth opening and closing silently. He'd been so sure he would find and arrest the treasonous Colonel MacKenzie here! The ramifications of his precipitous act were finally beginning to dawn. Behind him, the young man spoke into a small transmitter.

According to Emma's watch, they walked out with three seconds to spare. She went over to the door and looked out. Five minutes later, the only car left was James. Emma stuck her head out the door and waved. Her son gave her a thumbs-up, grinned and headed off into the night. She turned around to find the staffers watching her. "Is everyone okay?" she asked.

Lisa glanced at the others and nodded, "Although, I think we'll be dealing with some nightmares tonight. Emma, no one's seen Sarah since this started, but we're pretty sure she's still in the building. Were they really looking for her? Would you like us to help search?"

"It was a case of mistaken identity and not yet, thanks," Emma replied, "That poor woman was already nervous as a cat, the last thing she needed was to be the object of a misguided manhunt. I'll just meander through and see if I can coax her out from wherever she's hiding."

Baylor Women's Shelter Washington, DC 2305 Local

Emma stood in the doorway to Sarah's room and looked up and down the corridor. 'Think it through, Emma,' she told herself. 'They'd have seen her coming up the corridor... ' She walked down the hallway, 'Did they have time to search the basement... ?' She went down the steps. Standing at the bottom, she called softly, "Sarah?" She listened for a moment and then moved deeper into the dimly lit room. "Sarah, honey? They're gone, it's safe." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a darker shape detach itself from the shadows. She spun and then put her hand to her chest, "Good Lord, Sarah. You'll give me a heart attack!"

A pale Sarah MacKenzie stood in front of Emma, "I have to leave."

Emma looked at her, "Don't be silly, those men are gone. You're safe here."

Sarah just shook her head. "You don't understand, I can't stay."

Emma glanced over and saw a number of folding chairs leaning against a wall. "Just a minute..." She walked over, pulled out two and set them up. She motioned Sarah over, "Let's sit, it's been a trying day." Settling herself, Emma looked at Sarah, "So you're in the military? My youngest son, Michael, is a Seaman. He's deployed in the Indian Ocean. He thinks it's exciting, but he's only twenty-two.You know how boys can be."

Sarah sat and looked at her. There was a surreal quality to all this: sitting in the dim light of a basement, minutes after fearing for her life (the NIS agents had been standing on the steps when they turned around and left), and now she was listening to Emma chat about her family. "Emma, did you hear me?"

"Of course, dear... And you're a Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps? You must be very good to have gotten so far, so young. What do you do?" Emma smiled brightly.

Feeling bemused, Sarah replied, "I'm an attorney."

"Oh." Emma's eyebrows went up in surprise, then she leaned forward and patted Sarah's knee, "It's all right, dear, we all make mistakes."

Sarah stared at her in shock and then she couldn't help herself, she started to laugh.

Emma sat smugly and waited for Sarah to run down. "Feeling better?" At Sarah's somewhat breathless nod, she continued, "Now tell me what I don't understand."

Sarah adjusted herself in the chair and gathered her thoughts. "Peterson isn't the problem. The people using him as a birddog are. They've murdered two people so far. They're going to kill me and they'll have no qualms about killing anyone here if that's what it takes. They'll try to make it look accidental: a boiler explosion or gas leak; but they're not going to stop. It's not safe for you, if I stay. I won't have any more deaths on my conscience, I can't."

Emma stared at her, Sarah made it sound so... so... inevitable. "Surely the police or the FBI... someone... can protect you."

Sarah shook her head. "This... web I've stumbled into has threads everywhere. There's very few people I know I can trust and I don't want anything to happen to them either."

"Can you at least tell me what this is all about?" Emma asked.

Sarah considered the request and then nodded, "I owe you that." She began, "Two days ago, I was asked to represent a client on drug possession charges. I went to interview him. He was in an office privy to sensitive information and had come across something unusual. Turns out he had stumbled across an illegal covert operation. He began gathering evidence. Last week, he realized they had discovered what he was doing. He framed himself with the drugs, got arrested and contacted me. I wasn't sure if I believed him and he told me where to find the evidence." Sarah paused for a moment, and then said softly, "He was so frightened... " She shook her head and continued, "I started feeling nervous too, so after going back to my office for a little while, I took everything to my apartment. After looking at the proof, I knew he had every right to be scared. Then I realized that I had inadvertently left some interview notes at my office. They covered my client's suspicion that his superior was involved. When I went back, these people were already there. They tried to kill me then, but our head of security interrupted them. While I was in the hospital, Peterson showed up and all but accused me of espionage. Then he told me my client had committed 'suicide' in his cell. Early the next morning, I ran."

Emma sat for a moment in disbelief, "Dear lord... " She looked at Sarah, "But what are you going to do? You can't run forever."

"I know. When I re-hid the evidence, I left a trail for my friends to follow. Hopefully, they've figured it out and they're taking steps to catch these people." Sarah stopped and looked at Emma.