Clay turned off the car and hit the remote to close the garage doors. Twisting around in the seat, he looked in back. Mac had fallen asleep, she was going to have a crick in her neck. He called softly, "Mac? Wake up, we're here." He resisted the urge to touch her, one JAG-inflicted injury in his life was enough. "Mac," he said a little louder, "C'mon Colonel, get out of the car."

"No." Mac cracked one eye open and shifted, her neck was killing her.

Clay got out and opened the door to the backseat. "Can you get up?"

"Yes... no. Damn."

He braced himself and leaned in to give her a hand. Clay saw the blood on her side, 'oh hell', "Let's go, Marine." Together they managed to get her to a sitting position in the car doorway. Webb looked at her, "Ready?" Mac nodded, he hauled upward as she stood, bracing himself to take the weight. She was leaning heavily on him. "See? Not so hard," Clay smiled at her and got an exasperated shake of the head in return. They went into the house.

JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1720 Local

Harm and Sturgis sat in the Admiral's office. Everyone else had gone home for the day. AJ looked at his two officers, they both were a little worse for wear following the afternoon's events. "Where are we on 'Archangel'?"

Harm glanced at Sturgis, "It's been pretty slow going, sir, but we're making progress. We're pretty sure Admiral Jacobs..." he paused for a moment, knowing AJ and Charlie Jacobs were friends, "We think he's heading this whole thing, that he's 'Gabriel'.

"Oh hell." AJ leaned back and then gestured for Harm to continue. He and Jacobs went back a long way, but that didn't blind him to what Charlie was capable of.

"Yes sir. We know about Congressmen Stokes, Mitchell and Peterson and the Deputy Assistant SecDef. Of course, they are being blackmailed into participating, so they'll probably roll first chance they get. Thanks to Webb, we know Mark Aiken worked for Peterson. The other intruder was Harold Franklin, he was a resident special agent from the Silver Springs FBI office. He'd only been in the Bureau about five years."

AJ grunted, "I'm surprised we're not up to our ears in FBI agents. They tend to swarm when it involves one of their own."

Harm grinned, "They're swarming over at NIS, sir." The thought of Peterson dealing with arrogant, irate Federal agents (especially after today) amused him to no end. "I also had a quiet word with Special Agent Novak. I let him know we had no interest in appearing in the latest edition of the Washington Post and trashing the Bureau, so he's doing what he can to run interference for us."

Sturgis added, "So far sir, we've identified operatives in all the offices of the Secretaries of the Navy, Army and Air Force. And, obviously, there are people in NIS and the FBI, Webb's doing a discreet check of the CIA. No one above middle management, mostly just high enough to keep track of key information. It's ingenious really, Archangel didn't recruit the top guys but rather the average person in the ranks who handled the logistics."

The Admiral leaned forward and looked at them both, "We're almost to the point of assembling a task force?"

Sturgis nodded, "We believe so, sir."

"I think it's time to bring Bobbi Latham into the mix. We'll need her help when we start closing the net." AJ looked at Sturgis and smiled, "Isn't she meeting you for lunch tomorrow?"

Harm did his best not to grin as he watched his friend's mouth open and close soundlessly. The shoe was on the other foot - and about damn time, too.

Sturgis finally said, "I'll call her tonight sir, and set it up."

Harm said, "There's one more thing, sir." He looked over at Sturgis and then back at AJ, "There's also an operative here at JAG."

Gaithersburg, MD
1810 Local

Clay stuck his head in the bedroom door, "Mac? You want something to eat?" It had taken him close to an hour to get Mac cleaned up and squared away. The incident at the Wall had taken a lot out of her. He'd been as careful as he could while helping her get undressed. In the back of his head, a little voice was telling him Rabb was going to kill him when he found out. Finding the .32 and the knife had surprised the hell out of him, all Mac said was that it was a long story. The wound in her side had opened again, then the bleeding had stopped and congealed. He'd had a helluva time getting the clothing loose that had adhered to her side. He'd finally yanked it off, all the while apologizing profusely. Mac had just clenched her jaws and squeezed her eyes shut. She stayed upright until he replaced the dressings, then collapsed on the bed. He had covered her up and left her alone to rest.

A touseled head came up out of the jumble of blankets and comforter and swiveled towards him. A sleepy voice said, "Sounds good, Clay, thank you." There was a brief pause, "Where are my clothes?"

"Uh, they were pretty much of a mess, I got rid of them. There's some sweats on the dresser to your left, the door leads to the bathroom. Do you need any help?" Clay wavered between possible hope and probable Death by Rabb.

"Don't think so, thanks anyway."

Clay retreated to the kitchen and busied himself setting the table and serving up dinner. He looked up to see Mac leaning against the wall in the doorway. She was smiling at him. "What?" he asked a little defensively.

"You saved my life. Thank you."

He glanced away for a moment, embarrassed. "It wasn't just me."

"I know, but you're here right now, so - thank you."

"You're welcome. Sit down, the food's getting cold." They ate in companionable silence. When they had both finished, Clay said, "I think you ought to go back to bed. We can talk everything over in the morning." That she acquiesced without a fight, told him how tired she was. He gave her about five minutes and then walked back to the bedroom. Clay tapped lightly on the door and then opened it when he heard 'Enter'. Mac was sitting on the side of the bed. Clay said, "Just checking. I'll keep an ear out - if you need anything, yell. Good night Mac."

"'Night, Clay."

Webb went back into the living room and sat down. The pieces were falling into place, he had to get together with the Admiral and Rabb. They needed a plan and quickly. Clay knew from experience that this type of case was like riding an avalanche. It moved with frightening speed and was about as easy to control. All you could do was try to cover all the bases and ride it out. Jacobs was a wily old bastard, they'd have to pull out all the stops to catch him. A misstep would see him walk free and, in all likelihood, result in the Mac's death. Webb pulled out his cellphone.

Gaithersburg, MD
0120 Local

Mac came slowly awake, unsure for a minute where she was. Something had roused her, what was it? Suddenly, she tensed; there was someone in her room. 'Damn! Where was Webb?' She kept perfectly still, trying to formulate some plan of action, when she heard that sound again. It was... a snore? Cautiously, she raised her head. There was Harmon Rabb, Jr., sprawled in a chair, head back and mouth open. Mac didn't know if she was going to laugh or cry. He'd scared her out of a year's growth just now. 'Well,' Mac thought wryly, 'considering the last few days, she was well on her way to becoming the world's shortest Marine.' She sat up and hissed, "Harm!"

He came awake with a start, looking around the room wildly, trying to identify the threat. His gaze finally settled on the figure sitting upright on the bed, "Mac!" He lurched out of the chair and all but fell onto the bed. After today's... yesterday's, he corrected himself... activities, he'd stiffened up. He hit hard enough to make them both bounce. He heard Mac's sharp gasp and exasperated whisper, "For God's sake, Harm! There's enough people trying to kill me..."

"Oh God, Mac. I'm sorry," he saw her staring at him with a small, silly smile on her face. 'It must be contagious.' Harm thought vaguely, as the same silly smile appeared on his face.

"You have no idea how good it is to see..." Mac suddenly found herself talking to his chest as Harm enveloped her in a hug. Her voice trailed off and she leaned against him, content to be held.

Harm sat there, he'd forgotten how neatly she fit against him, her head tucked under his chin. He'd been so scared when she disappeared, knowing she was being hunted. What had surprised him was the depth of his anger at the people who had hurt her. He tensed just thinking about it, and felt Mac shift. She leaned back a little to look at him, "Harm?"

"It's nothing." She continued to look at him. 'Damn, how does she do that?' Harm thought as he found himself saying, "You've scared the hell out of me these last few days, Marine."

She chuckled softly, "Hasn't done much for me either, Navy." They looked at each other for a moment, then Mac said, "Help me up."

"What?"

"Help me up. I'm hungry." Mac tapped imperiously on his arm.

Harm rolled his eyes, "Now I know you're on the mend." Nevertheless, he quickly positioned himself to give her a hand. "Didn't Webb feed you?"

Mac swayed a little as she regained her feet. He put a steadying hand under her elbow. "That was six hours and thirteen minutes ago." She started for the door, Harm right beside her, and they headed for the kitchen.

The Admiral and Clay, seated at the kitchen table, looked up to see Rabb and MacKenzie standing in the doorway. They watched Mac give Harm a look that clearly said, 'You could've warned me.' Shrugging free of his hand, she started to come to attention. "As you were, Colonel." AJ said quickly. "We're here unofficially." He stood up and offered Mac his chair. "It's good to see you in one piece. What are you doing up?"

"Hungry." Harm said laconically.

The other two men chuckled and then AJ said, "Well, don't just stand there, Commander. Feed her."

"Aye, aye sir."

Mac watched Harm move about the kitchen for a moment, and then looked at the Admiral, "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you both here?"

"I called them, Mac." Clay said. "Everything's coming to a head, we need to make plans."

"Wouldn't JAG HQ have been better?"

"Maybe, except that Archangel has someone in place over there," said AJ, clearly irritated that one of his people was involved on the other side. He looked at Mac, "Any ideas?"

"Well..."

"Singer." Harm tossed over his shoulder, as he put the finishing touches on a stack of sandwiches.

"Be serious, Harm," Mac said with a fond smile, she looked at AJ, "Singer may be obnoxious and ruthlessly ambitious - and personally, I think she'd happily push me in front of a bus if she thought she could get away with it. But, something like this? No."

"Sturgis and I have found that Archangel tends to recruit from lower down the food chain. Not someone in charge, but someone to whom you'd delegate work." Harm said as he set down a plateful of sandwiches. He went to the fridge and pulled out a couple bottles of water, raising his eyebrows at Clay and the Admiral. They shook their heads no and Harm came back and sat down. He gave Mac a small amused smile as he watched her dig in. She arched an eyebrow in return, but didn't stop eating.

"Like Harriet and Tiner." Webb said. He saw the looks of disbelief and held up his hands, "Not them, per se, but someone at that level."

"Or someone who's part of security..." AJ said thoughtfully.

"Gunny Walters?" Harm asked.

"No." Mac said flatly.

"It'd be pretty ingenious on his part..." Clay said.

"Look," Mac said in an exasperated tone, "Not only did he keep them from killing me, he kept them from finding out where the CD was hidden. Why the hell would he do that if he was part of the group?"

The three men were silent, then Harm cleared his throat, "Umm, Mac?"

"What?" She was still annoyed.

"Sturgis mentioned that in the hospital, you told the Gunny you'd discuss his hostage techniques with him later. He said Walters looked... well... nervous." Although he was watching Mac, Harm could see the surprise on AJ and Webb's faces.

"Oh?" Mac ran a hand through her hair, "Well, when Gunny made his move, he shot the fake corporal first. The other one hauled me up in front of him as a shield. He stuck a gun up under my jaw and told Gunny to drop his weapon or he'd kill me." She paused and looked at the three men waiting expectantly, "Gunny told him to go ahead: officers were a pain in the ass and he was going to blow the guy's brains out either way. The jerk was so surprised that I managed to knock him off-balance and then Gunny grabbed him. And... I wound up with a round in my side instead of my head." Mac smiled dryly, "Not exactly textbook."

"Nooo." Harm said faintly. The report he'd read had been a little more cut and dried, he'd had no idea...

"Gentlemen... Colonel." Webb decided it was time to get back on track, "We're running out of time and we need to put something together. We'll just have to work around the mole for now. At least we know it's there."

They worked until almost dawn, hammering out the details. Then Clay got ready to take Harm and the Admiral back to the Gaithersburg municipal airport where they'd parked Harm's Stearman. Just before they left, AJ and Webb wandered out, giving Harm and Mac a little privacy to say goodbye. He wrapped his arms around her again and they stood for moment. Finally, Mac said, "You flew up here?" She didn't want to think about what was coming, not yet anyway.

"Yeah," Harm said, "It seemed the safest thing to do. No flight plan and a hundred different places to land, they'd have a tough time following us." He looked down at her. He knew she was worried, probably scared too. Hell, he was. "We'll get through this, Sarah." Harm smiled, "You owe me a drive in the country."

Mac laughed in spite of herself, "You... " She looked up at him and then he was kissing her. It seemed so natural... The sound of a throat clearing broke them apart, they looked over to see the Admiral looking up at the ceiling, hands clasped behind his back. He glanced over, "Time to go, Rabb."

Harm walked to the door and paused, looking back at AJ questioningly. The Admiral hadn't moved yet, "Give me a moment, Commander." Harm nodded and went out. AJ looked over at Mac, he wasn't a demonstrative man so this was difficult. "Mac... Sarah... I just want you to know I'm damn proud of the way you've handled yourself through all this." He grinned, "You could almost change my mind about women SEALs."

"Almost, sir?" Mac smiled.

"Almost," he said firmly. He continued in a brisker tone, "When this is over, I expect to see my Chief of Staff back at work. The place is a madhouse."

"Yes sir." Mac said and hesitated, "Sir? Permission to hug the Admiral?"

AJ looked at her in surprise and then said gruffly, "Granted." He opened his arms as she stepped in. He held her for a moment and said softly, "Take care, darlin'. Remember we won't be far away." Then he turned around and marched out of the room.

Chapter 16

JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1115 Local

PO Tiner sat at his desk, organizing folders to file. It was turning into a pretty good day. The Admiral had actually smiled when he came in this morning. He had assembled the office staff, told them that Colonel MacKenzie had been in contact and everything would shortly be straightened out. He even thanked them for their patience and dedication. Jason smiled, the only unhappy one was probably Lt. Singer. He'd have bet money she had her personal items boxed up and ready to move into the Colonel's office. Commander Rabb had called in to say he was headed to Norfolk to interview a client, he sounded happier, too.

There was that rumor about the Admiral being involved in the near riot at the Vietnam Memorial yesterday afternoon. Apparently the news coverage wasn't very clear. Tiner thought about it and then shook his head. Nah, if the Admiral had been detained by the police, yesterday would have seemed like a walk in the park compared to today. Jason tensed when he saw Congresswoman Latham enter the bullpen and breathed a sigh of relief when she went past the Admiral's office. Yes, today was going to be perfect.

Bobbi and Sturgis entered the bullpen just as AJ came out of his office, coffee mug in hand. He smiled, "Congresswoman, it's good to see you. I take it you and Commander Turner are off to lunch?"

"Yes we are. It's good to see you too, Admiral. Cmdr. Turner was just telliing me about the break-in last Friday, is Mac going to be okay?"

"Yes, I believe so. We're keeping her in a safe location, at least until we can locate the escaped prisoner that tried to kill her."

"Admiral, we have a problem." Clayton Webb stood in the entryway to the bullpen. At his desk, Tiner's eyes widened, 'oh no!'

"Webb?" AJ turned towards the CIA operative in surprise, "You're supposed to be keeping an eye on the Colonel."

"That's just it, Admiral. She's gone." Webb scrubbed a hand through his hair. The entire bullpen had gone silent.

"Gone? What do you mean gone? What the hell happened?!" AJ took a step towards Clay.

"She took off. I thought she'd gone back to her room to lay down. When I went in to check on her an hour later, she was gone. The bedroom window was open." Webb spread his hands, "How could I have known?"

"What aren't you telling me, Webb?" AJ's voice had gotten dangerously soft.

Webb hesitated a moment, "She didn't know about the charges against her or her place being ransacked. When I told her, she just went ballistic. Said she'd had enough and she was going to finish this, once and for all. I thought I'd managed to calm her down. I guess I was wrong."

"You guess? You... Guess?!" The Admiral advanced on Webb, who took a nervous step backward.

"Admiral!" Sturgis' low, urgent tone cut through the tension. The office staff was frozen in place. Both men blinked, finally aware they had an audience.

AJ glared at Webb and then glanced at Sturgis and a wide-eyed Bobbi Latham. "My office. Now." He turned around and headed back to his office with long, angry strides.

NIS
1217 Local

Charlie Jacobs looked at the blinking light on his phone. His yeoman had told him who was on the line, he was trying to decide how to handle it. Finally, he punched another button on his intercom, "Phillips, there's a call on line three, I need a trace." He listened for a moment, "Thank you."

Then he picked up his phone, "Colonel MacKenzie, this is a surprise."

"Is it? You and I need to have a talk."

"Certainly. Why don't you come in?"

"I don't think so. My health has been precarious enough lately."

"I don't know what you mean."

There was a sigh. "If this is the way you want to play this, fine. Just remember my patience is precarious, too." She hung up.

Jacobs sat for a moment in thought, then he punched the intercom, "Well?"

"Not quite long enough for a precise location, but we'll have a general vicinity in another couple of minutes, sir."

"No, don't bother. Thank you." Jacobs sat and considered. Thanks to his source, he'd already heard about the blow-up at JAG. Now this. He wouldn't accept anything at face value, Webb was a devious son of a bitch. AJ could be just as cunning. He reviewed the conversation, MacKenzie had sounded... determined? There was a slight edge to her voice, could have been anger... could have been fear. He noticed she had dispensed with military courtesy, talking to him as an equal. He could just wait and see what developed, despite the oblique warning not to string her along. Did she actually have the evidence? That was the key. Jacobs pulled out his cellphone, he had some things to set in motion.

Washington, DC
1222 Local

The metro bus pulled into its stop and the slender brunette got off. After scanning the area, she started walking up the street. Nerves taut, she resisted the urge to continually glance over her shoulder. 'Suck it up, Marine.' Mac thought to herself, 'The final round of this game is just beginning.' She had picked the phone location and timed the call to coincide with the metro's regular stop. Thirty seconds after she'd hung up, she was sitting on the bus on her way out of the area.

Eighty-two minutes later, Mac walked in to her hotel room. Carefully locking the door behind her, she turned and jumped at the sight of a man standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. Did you forget I would be here?" James asked, smiling.

Mac leaned against the wall, slightly breathless, "I thought Harm had the first watch."

"We traded. He said something about spending the night with you... " James raised his eyebrows innocently.

"You can stop right there, Lieutenant." Mac fixed him with a mock glare, "... Or I'll call and tell your mother that you're being mean to me."

James raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win." He turned serious, "So, how did it go?"

Mac settled on the bed and then carefully shifted until her back was against the wall. Her side still hurt. She looked over at James, "I'm not sure. I've given him something to think about. He's being cagey as hell." She ran a hand through her hair. For a brief moment James saw strain and fear chase across her face, then the mask dropped back into place. "I hate waiting, but letting Jacobs stew is probably the best thing." She looked at James and smiled, "How's your poker?"

JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1310 Local

Tiner stood up as Congresswoman Latham and Commander Turner exited the Admiral's office. Webb had left over half an hour ago. Jason had been both relieved and surprised not to see any blood on him. The story of the Admiral breaking Webb's nose several years ago had settled into office legend. Now, depending upon one's feelings about the CIA, every visit of Webb was looked upon with apprehension or anticipation. Tiner walked to the doorway and looked in. The Admiral was standing with his back to him, gazing out the window.

"Sir? Can I get you anything?" Despite the inherent danger of working for a retired SEAL (everyone knew you had to be a little bit crazy to become a SEAL... ), Jason liked Admiral Chegwidden. He knew the Admiral felt responsible for all those under his command, it had been a tough week for him.

"No, thank you, Tiner."

Jason hesitated and then said, "I'm sure the Colonel will be okay, sir. She is a Marine."

The Admiral turned and looked at him, Jason stiffened. Then AJ smiled and said, "I'm sure you're right. Thank you, Tiner. Close the door on your way out."

AJ watched until the door had shut and then turned back to the window. The plan was in motion and all they could do was wait. They had tried to cover every contingency, but AJ knew from experience how fluid the situation could become. At least Bobbi Latham was on board - after the initial, obligatory grumbling about not being in the loop from the first. AJ smiled, he had no doubts Sturgis was going to get it with both barrels as soon as she could get him alone.

NIS
1710 Local

Admiral Jacobs looked up as Inspector Peterson bustled into the room. He was holding a small cassette player. "Admiral! Our wiretap finally picked up something interesting. I think you should hear it." With a flourish, he placed it on Jacobs' desk and pressed 'play':

"Admiral, Colonel MacKenzie's on line two."

"Colonel! Where are you? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Admiral."

"Mac, you need to come back in. We have to deal with this situation. Whoever's trying to kill you is still out there."

"Why didn't you tell me about the charges, sir?"

Jacobs and Peterson heard Admiral Chegwidden sigh, "Mac, none of your friends believe any of those charges are true, but running away is making you look guilty."

"It will still go to court, won't it sir?"

"... Probably."

There was a bitter laugh, "So essentially my career is finished. Even if I'm acquitted, those charges will be on my permanent record. I'll never make it past another promotions board."

"Mac, your life is more important. Come in, we can protect you while we figure this thing out."

"Right now, you're batting .500 in the protection department, sir. You're lucky Webb turned up in the right place. I don't know if I can chance it. Given enough opportunities, even an idiot like Inspector Peterson might get it right. I don't want to be in NIS custody."

"Colonel, I could order you to come in."

"Don't - I have to go. I need to consider what's best for me. I'll contact you again, sir."

The tape ended. Jacobs looked at Peterson thoughtfully, "I assume you put a trace on the call?"

"Yes sir, it was a payphone. No one was there by the time we got to it."

Jacobs gazed at him for so long, the inspector began to fidget nervously. Finally the Admiral said, "Yes, that would follow, wouldn't it? ... Thank you Inspector, you may go."

Washington, DC
1820 Local

Harm stepped into the hotel room and quickly closed the door. He turned around and looked at the two people sitting on the bed. "You two are playing again? What are the stakes this time?"

"Washington." Mac glanced at a legal pad, "So far I've got the Dept. of Defense, the Smithsonian and the Jefferson Memorial. James just won the White House." She sniffed the air, "Dinner?"

Harm held up three large bags, "Greasy, heart-clogging burgers with the works for you two, salad for me." He looked at Mac, "How did the conversation with the Admiral go?"

Mac grimaced a little and then said, "Fine."

Harm's eyebrows lowered, he looked over at James, "What isn't she telling me?"

James glanced at Mac and then shifted his attention to Harm, "She was on the phone longer than thirty seconds. Those NIS agents missed her by about a minute, scared the hell out of me. They must have been in the area."

Harm's eyes widened in consternation, Mac held up a hand, "Don't start, I was far enough away and I'm being as careful as I can." She smiled, "At least this time, I have back-up."

Harm sat down in the room's only chair, grumbling. "I'll be glad when this is over." He was well aware that Mac, of all people, knew exactly what risks she was taking and why, he just didn't have to like it. He watched the two dig into their food, the stress was beginning to get to her. He knew Mac well enough to pick up on that. It was one of the reasons Harm wanted to be here tonight. He'd been with her in all kinds of situations, if she started coming apart - he'd be there to get her through. The race to bring Archangel down wasn't the only one Mac was involved in. He glanced up and saw her watching him, she arched an eyebrow. He raised both hands in mock surrender and pulled out his salad.

James sat and watched the byplay. He wondered about their relationship. (He'd mentioned his curiousity to Webb and gotten a laconic "Aren't we all?" in return.) Obviously, they were best friends and knew each other well. He just couldn't decide if they were involved. He felt he knew Mac better than the tall commander, having spent more time with her - and listening to his mother's keen observations. They seemed well-matched. James was pretty sure a lesser man would have a tough time dealing with the iron-willed Marine Colonel. He gave himself a mental shake and glanced at his watch. "Hey Sarah, what time is it?"

Mac looked over at him and grinned, "1832." It had become a kind of game with them. Emma had evidently told James about her internal clock. He'd taken to pouncing at unexpected moments, she hadn't missed yet.