Reported Missing Presumed Dead

by rooster dawn

Summary: On the way to an investigation Harm and Mac’s plane crashes. There are no survivors, but their bodies aren’t found.

1. Chapter 1

Story: Reported Missing Presumed Dead

Author: Rooster Dawn

Pairing: Harm and Mac

Alternate Universe

Disclaimer: JAG is property of Belisarius productions, no copyright infringement intended.

Summary: On the way to an investigation Harm and Mac's plane crashes. There are no survivors, but their bodies aren't found.

Part oneI have an investigation for you

0900 hours Monday

14 June 1999

Headquarters

A disturbing case came across the Admiral's desk. Weapons that had been purchased, signed for, and received at the armory of the Great Lakes Naval Training Command were missing. Also it seemed that the books didn't exactly balance.

The accounts at the Great Lakes Naval Training Command were short ten million dollars. Someone had been stealing munitions, money, or both. Someone in command was derelict in their duty. This had to be a major operation encompassing many people in the armory and the finance office.

"Tiner, get me Rabb and MacKenzie!" ordered the Admiral.

"Yes Sir." replied Jason.

Jason walked over to Harm's office first. The Commander and Major usually were in the Commander's office in the morning and the Major's office in the afternoon. He heard their voices coming from the Commander's office.

He smiled at the banter between them. They always seemed to be happy and having fun. Some day he hoped he would find someone to banter with like they had. He knocked on the door before entering.

"What is it Tiner?" asked Harm.

"The Admiral would like to see the Major and you Sir." replied Jason.

Harm and Mac followed Jason to the Admiral's office. They knocked on the door and entered upon the command "Enter!"

"Have a seat Commander, Major. I received a folder on my desk this morning from Great Lakes Naval Training Command. It's a case involving misappropriation of funds and equipment." the Admiral began.

"How much money is missing?" asked Mac. She wondered how long the operation had been going on. It took time to set up a detail operation this big.

"What equipment was stolen?" asked Harm. The combat side of him was afraid of the damage that certain munitions could cause.

"Ten million dollars is missing from their account. It appears to have been taken over a period of time. Also missing from the command includes jeeps, munitions, and other materials needed to equip a militia or terrorist group.

NCIS suspects someone in the motor pool, armory, and accounting to be responsible. The question is whether the missing equipment is truly missing or only missing on paper. Meaning that is it was never purchased, only made to look like it had with clever paperwork.

The other alternative is the paperwork was put in twice. One set of paperwork to get the money and the other set of paperwork to buy munitions and equipment to sell on the black market. Either way it must be a big operation.

I'm sending you both to Great Lakes Naval Training Command to do a further investigation. We need to know who all the players are. We need to know the whole truth about who is involved and how high up the chain of command the problem goes."

"Yes Sir!" replied Harm and Mac.

"See Tiner about your travel arrangements." instructed the Admiral.

"Yes Sir!" replied Harm and Mac as they got up and left the office.

Twenty minutes later they were headed back to their apartment to pack a suitcase. This investigation appeared to be very big and would last more than a few days, perhaps a few weeks. The overnight bag they kept in their cars wouldn't be sufficient for this trip.

They would be leaving from Reagan. They would fly into Cleveland before changing to a smaller commuter plane that would take them to a small airport north of Chicago. They would be met by someone from the base upon they arrival to take them to Great Lakes Naval Training Command.

Harm picked Mac up at her apartment. He whistled when he saw her. She had changed into civilian garb. She was wearing jeans and a red sleeveless blouse. She had boots on and a white sweater draped over her shoulders.

They weren't wearing uniforms on the flight. They didn't want to draw any unwanted attention while the traveled. They didn't want to alert anyone to their arrival in case they were watching for them. They got to the airport early and checked in.

1200 hours

Reagan International

They boarded the plane. They were going to look over the case file on the trip. It shouldn't take them too long, most of the information they needed was with the NCIS agent at Great Lakes Naval Training Command.

They would take a short nap on the flight. They assumed they were in for a long day. They might as well get some rest before they arrived.

1500 hours

Cleveland airport

Two hours later they arrived in Cleveland where they had an hour stopover before boarding a small commuter plane carrying seventy people. It wasn't long before they were flying to a small airport north of Great Lakes Naval Training Command.

They were flying over the great lakes. It was impressive to see a lake so large. They were thirty minutes from touchdown when the plane began having engine trouble. Mac was concerned as the turbulence increase and the ride got very bumpy.

"I think I'll go see the pilot and see if there is anything I can do." offered Harm.

"Don't be gone too long Harm, I don't want to be here by myself if something bad happens." replied Mac. She had a foreboding sense that something was going to happen.

Harm went up to one of the stewardesses. He told her he was a military pilot. He wanted to offer his assistance. She led him to the cockpit.

"Hi, my name is Commander Rabb. I'm a Navy pilot. Is there anything I can do to help you?" asked Harm.

"Not unless you can restart an engine that has flamed out. We lost an engine on the right side. We should be fine. This plane was designed to fly on one engine if necessary. We still have two. Besides we're only twenty five minutes from the airport." replied the pilot.

"Do you mind if I stay here for awhile?" asked Harm. He loved being in the cockpit. It gave him a sense of control.

"Sure, no problem. You can tell us one of your war stories." smiled the pilot.

Ten minutes later the plane was hit by something. Harm surmised that it had to be a missile of some sort. He wanted to go back to sit with Mac and reassure her, but the pilot advised him not to go. He could feel the plane was beginning to break up. It wasn't safe to be moving around in the plane.

There was screaming in the passenger's section. They had felt something hitting the plane's underbelly and the explosion that followed. The stewardess beside Mac felt scared.

"What was that?" she screamed.

"I think a missile has hit us." replied a shocked Mac. She was scared too. Where was Harm? Why wasn't he here with her. She didn't want to die alone without him.

"Does that mean we're going to crash?" she asked Mac.

Mac had told her earlier that she was in the Marines and had traveled all over the world. She had survived some scary moments. They felt the plane buckling. It felt like the plane was breaking apart.

"If we're lucky. I think the plane is going to break up before we hit the ground. I don't think we're going to survive." replied Mac as she tried to hold it together.

But she couldn't. Harm wasn't there with her. She began to cry as she assumed the position Harm had taught her. It was the only method known to survive a crash. She felt a rush of cold air and bright light hit her.

The plane was coming apart and there was nothing she could do. She closed her eyes and prayed to God to protect her and Harm. She prayed that they would soon be together whether here or in heaven.

She felt a weird sensation as if the plane broke in two. There was a sudden change in the angle of the plane lasting a few moments before they crashed into the lake. She lost consciousness as her head hit the seat in front of her.

The plane skipped across the surface before coming to a stop twenty feet from shore. There was a gaping hole in front section where it had split from the front of the plane. Several rows of seats had fallen from the plane before impact.

In the cockpit the crew and Harm felt the sudden loss of the backend of the plane. The pilot and copilot tried to keep what was left of the plane level and the nose up, but they were losing altitude rapidly.

Harm assumed the position and readied himself for the crash that he knew was coming. He felt the plane leering to the right. He prayed that Mac was alright and that he would be too, but he knew that the odds were against them surviving.

Harm lost consciousness when the nose of the plane hit the ground and skidded a quarter of a mile before hitting some trees. The nose of the plane crashed about thirty miles from fuselage.

Part twoReport of the plane going down

Forest Northern Illinois

Mac woke up a little stun and woozy. She didn't know where she was. She looked around her and saw many people slumped forward in their seats. They looked like they were all dead. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up before sitting back down again.

Her head felt like she was hung over and was spinning. She couldn't keep her head still. She rested for few minutes before trying to stand again. She managed to stand and walk over to the hole in the plane. She sighed in disbelief.

She took off her shoes and jeans and hopped down into the water. It was only a few feet deep. She put her shoes and jeans back on when she got to shore. She looked around to see where she was. She looked for a land mark, but saw none.

She decided to head south and followed the shoreline until she came upon a dirt road. She decided to follow it. She didn't know why, but she thought it might lead to somewhere where she could get help.

She hiked along the dirt road for a ninety minutes before coming to a two lane highway. She walked south hoping that someone would come along and give her a ride.

1800 hours

JAG Headquarters

Jason was in the bullpen area talking to one of the female petty officers when he saw a disturbing scene on the TV screen. There was a report of a commuter plane being shot down by a missile north of Chicago.

Fearing the worse he hurried to the Admiral's office. He had booked Commander Rabb and Major MacKenzie on a small commuter plane.

"Sir! You need to turn to ZNN News." informed Jason.

"What is it Tiner?" asked the Admiral. He was tired and was getting ready to leave for the day. He had had a tough afternoon with the SecNav. They always left him feeling exhausted.

"A commuter plane was shot down Sir!" replied Jason as the Admiral put ZNN News on. "They think it was hit by a missile."

"Shortly before five o'clock this afternoon a small commuter plane flying out of Cleveland to Great Lakes Regional Airport was shot down by a missile.

No one knows who is responsible, but there have been rumors that a rogue militia unit has been acquiring munitions on the black market.

When Search and Rescue arrived on the scene thirty minutes later they found the plane had split into at least two sections. The fuselage was on fire when they arrived. After they put out the fire they went inside to check on the passengers.

They were all dead. Their bodies were charred beyond recognition. A helicopter search found the nose of the plane thirty miles away containing the cockpit crew. They were all dead. This is Chuck DePalmer signing off."

"Sir, that was the plane the Major MacKenzie and Commander Rabb were on." informed Jason after the bulletin was done.

"Are you sure Tiner?" asked the Admiral.

"Yes Sir." he replied.

Somehow the Admiral thought this had something to do with the case he had sent Harm and Mac on to investigate. The wrong people might have known that they were coming.

They were probably smart enough to figure out what plane they were traveling on to get to Great Lakes Naval Training Command. It was the only reason why anyone would shoot down that particular plane with Harm and Mac aboard.

Northern Illinois

It wasn't long before a truck driver named Sam Peters stopped to give Mac a ride. No one would be walking here, something must have happened. They were thirty miles from the nearest town.

He asked her where she was heading, but she didn't have an answer for him. She didn't know where she was nor could she remember who she was.

Mac looked like she had been in some kind of accident to Sam. She had several bruises on her head along with some scrapes and cuts. He decided to take her to the nearest town. There was a hospital there.

He stopped at Ethyl's Diner first. It was where all the truck drivers stopped. Ethyl cooked the best meals in the state and the desserts weren't half bad either. She was like a mom to all of them. He figured that Ethyl would be able to take care of the young woman.

Small cabin in Northern Illinois

at the second crash site

Doctor Amanda Valentine was on vacation. She wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the hospital for a couple of weeks to rejuvenate herself. She decided to stay in a cabin in the woods that her father used to take her when she was young.

They would go fishing, hiking, and canoeing. It was a lot of fun. She didn't do many of those activities any more, only hiking. For her it was the peace and quiet that the woods offered that she enjoyed the most now.

There was nobody around for miles. It was perfect. But that afternoon her peace and tranquility was disrupted. She heard a loud noise. It sounded like a bomb going off. Of course her only frame of reference was the old war movies that she liked to watch growing up.

She looked up in the air and saw a plane coming down. It looked like it was going to crash. It looked weird though, she thought she saw only half a plane. That was impossible or so she thought.

She heard the crash. It didn't seem to be very far away. She decided to go and investigate the crash. Maybe she could treat the survivors. When she got there all she could see was the front part of the plane. There were some flames coming from the engines.

She decided to look quickly inside the plane. She didn't find any one alive. She then checked cockpit. The only one alive was Harm. He was unconscious and had a broken leg from what she could tell.

She quickly made a stretcher to move him back to her cabin two miles away from the crash site. She took him back to her cabin where she had supplies to treat him. She set Harms leg and splinted it. She gave him some antibiotics to treat any possible infection.

Search and Rescue

A helicopter was sent out from the base to help with the search and rescue. It didn't take them very long before they found the first crash site. The pilots were shocked at what they found.

They radioed the State Police about what they found. They gave them the GPS coordinates and told them they were going to look for the second part of the plane.

The State Police were shocked to hear that plane had been shot down and was now in at least two pieces. They sent an emergency crew to the scene and had fire trucks sent to the scene to put out the fire.

The emergency personnel were shocked at what they found at the scene. They notice that the plane has been split in two. They put out the fire before going inside to check for survivors, but there were none to be found.

The helicopter search for second part of plane. It took awhile but they found it thirty miles away. They sent the GPS coordinates to the State Police. They sent another emergency crew and fire trucks to the second crash site.

They quickly put out the fire and checked the front of the plane and the cockpit for survivors. They didn't find anyone alive. They notified the proper governmental agencies that would be responsible for cleanup and taking care of the bodies.