Title: Trouble in Texas
Rating:T Classification: H/M & M/W (sorta)
Summary:A murder investigation leads Harm and Mac into the hands of people who would do anything to get information that the pair doesn't have. (mid season nine)
Disclaimer: I don't own JAG or its characters. I don't stand to gain anything by posting this story. AN: This is the first time I've ever posted here, so bear with me if I mess up posting or something.

Part 1

El Paso, Texas

The sun was relentless as the military vehicle kicked up dirt, along an empty stretch of road, in the middle of nowhere. I squirmed around once more in my seat to find a more comfortable position and checked for the fifth time to confirm that the AC was, in fact, turned up all the way. Despite the car's best efforts, sweat still trickled down my back and my mood soured with every passing minute. It didn't help that Mac had about as much appreciation for me, at the moment, as a dog had for fleas.

We'd been sent to Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, to investigate the mysterious death of John Stoke, an Army Captain. Normally it wouldn't have warranted both Mac and I or either of us, for that matter. But the sailor was related to one of the SecNav's political friends, so we got the job.

Stoke had been found on a park bench, badly beaten. At first glance, it appeared that the beating caused his death, but I played a hunch and asked the coroner to do a more thorough look into the blood work. My hunch paid off because before leaving the base, I got word that something strange and unidentifiable had been found in the Captain's blood stream.

Something in my gut told me that there was more to the case, that it was drug related. Of course, Mac didn't know any of that and that was how it was going to stay, for a while. It's not that I wanted to keep her out of the loop. I just wasn't one hundred percent sure and with the way things had been between us, she'd bite off my head if I lead us on a wild goose chase. Besides that, I've had this strange feeling ever since we arrived, like we were being watched. And if that's the case, she would be better off not knowing.

Ever since I returned from my stint at the CIA, things had been strained between us. I knew she was with Webb and she knew that I knew, but she still took every little chance to rub salt in the wounds. I didn't know how our relationship had deteriorated to the point where we couldn't even be cordial. I tried to let things roll of my back, but sometimes I just couldn't help but jab right back. When the Admiral handed us this assignment, I could tell she was less than thrilled. I, on the other hand, thought it might be an opportunity for us to gain back some semblance of what we were before. But once again, my hopes were dashed. Things were cold and professional. She had only been in the same room with me as long as was necessary.

Her plan to avoid me was foiled when we found out that our next witness lived in the middle of the desert, over an hour away. We'd been on the road for 63 minutes when Mac first complained. We were now going on hour two and I was sure more complaining would be involved.

"Harm we're lost."

Right on time.

"We're not lost Mac. It's just taking a little longer to get there that we had planned on."

At that, she rolled her eyes.

"Two hours and five minutes is not a little longer. We should be there and back by now."

That's exaggerated.

"So the guys at the base were wrong with the time, it wouldn't be the first time."

"If we're not lost, then tell me what the name of this road is."

She had me cornered. I searched my peripheral vision for any signs, but none were in sight.

"You don't know do you? I knew we were lost."

"Mac, I'm sure we'll find it eventually. We've got plenty of time and he's our only witness for the day."

The minute the words were out, the car sputtered and smoke spewed form the hood. I let out silent curses under my breath and eased the car to the shoulder of the road. Mac didn't even have to say anything. I knew she was rolling her eyes and biting back a comment.

When the car came to a complete stop, I put it in park and turned off the engine. Sighing, I finally sent a glance toward Mac. I steeled myself for the attack I knew was going to come.

"Well this is just great Commander. I thought we had plenty of time."

For some reason, I decided that that would be a good time to joke.

"We do have plenty of time, but now we'll just have to walk there."

The slightly sarcastic tone in my voice only served to agitate her more.

"There is no way I'm walking through this god forsaken desert."

Ignoring her comment, I bent down and pulled the handle to pop the trunk. I pushed the door open and extricated myself from the car. As I was making my way to the front of the car, Mac questioned me.

"What are you doing?"

I stopped for a second and glanced at her through the windshield.

"I'm going to see what's wrong with the car. Is that ok with you?"

I knew I shouldn't have, but I couldn't keep the sarcastic retort from coming out. When I popped the trunk, smoke came billowing out, into my face, and I couldn't help but cough. Waving my hand in front of my face, I attempted to disperse the smoke, so that I could actually see the inner workings of the car. Just as I leaned in for a better look, I heard the car door open and slam shut again.

I heard a few heel clicks and she was standing in front of me, but the hood obstructed my view so I couldn't tell what she wanted. There was a sudden downward movement of the car and I could only guess that she had perched herself on the car's frame. Deciding to ignore her for the moment, I searched the car for any signs of what caused our situation.

Mac sighed.

" Well?"

I peaked my head up over the hood to see her sitting there, with her arms folded across her chest.

"Well what?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Don't know yet," I said, before I returned to my investigation.

She sighed again to let me know how upset she was. It's not like I planned it or anything, but, in her eyes, I might as well have. My frustration grew and I became careless in my inspection. When I saw something that looked odd, I reached out to touch it, forgetting that the parts were scorching hot. The second my fingers touched it, I felt like I had just stuck my hand into lava. I pulled my hand back and gripped the area around the burn with my other hand, hoping to cut off some of the circulation and dull the pain.

"Oww….god damn it."

My cry of pain bought Mac to my side.

"What'd you do now?"

She still looked perturbed, until she glanced down at where I was holding my hand in pain. Concern flittered across her face as she took a step closer to me.

"What happened?" Her tone was significantly less hostile.

"Forgot how hot a car's engine can get."

I tried to say it jokingly, but she saw through it and could tell that it hurt.

"Let me go see if there's anything in the car to help."

"Ok Mac. Thanks."

She nodded at me and retreated inside the car. She came back a minute later with a bottle of ice water.

"Sorry, this is all that was of any use. I guess they didn't think to stock these things with first aid kits."

"That's ok, but only a little. I want to save most of it for drinking."

I put my hand out and she stepped into my personal space. She took my hand in hers and I held back a gasp at the electricity it sent through me. Despite how she ripped my heart out in Paraguay and that she was dating Webb, I still had some very strong feeling for her. I wished that she felt the same or at least a little less contemptuous. I was brought out of my reflection when she poured the icy water over my burned flesh. She had put her thumb over the top of the bottle to better control the flow of water so that it wouldn't be wasted. She stopped when the bottle was a little more than half full. She managed to put the cap back on it and set it on the car without letting go of my hand. Pulling herself back up, she took a closer look at my hand, her head bent over.

"It doesn't look too serious, but I definitely think it will blister."

"Yeah," was the only reply I could get out. Looking down at the top of her head and feeling her hand on mine, It was all I could do to stay upright. She lifted her head, her eyes meeting mine and we froze. I held her gaze as the heat between us rose. I moved my head closer, having every intention to get caught up in the moment and capture her lips. She hadn't moved, but her eyes invited the kiss. I was about to seal the deal when the holder on the hood gave way and it slammed shut, sending sounds echoing throughout the arid desert.

Surprised, I pulled my head back and she blinked rapidly, glancing at the car. When she turned back to me, I could tell the moment was gone and the tension was back. She dropped my hand, angry with herself for almost letting things get out of control. The shield was back up, as was her anger. She picked up the bottle off the ground where it had fallen when the hood came crashing down.

While Mac was putting the water away and getting some distance, I reopened the hood and peered inside to find the problem. Careful not to hit my fingers against anything, I located it. I was shutting the hood when Mac came back.

"Find the problem?"

"Yeah. Two of the hoses have rips in them and they failed to cool the engine so it overheated. I think it's useless now."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"We could try calling for help," I said, suddenly remembering the cell phones.

"I already tried. There's no signal."

Damn.

"I guess we're going to have to walk until we hit civilization."

"If you think I'm walking miles in these shoes, not the mention the heat, then you're less sane than I thought."

We were back to snippy comments.

"You don't have an extra pair?" I said, trying to keep things reasonable.

"No I don't. This was suppose to be a quick trip."

I overlooked her pettiness at throwing my own comment back at me.

"I guess I could leave you here and find the town myself, but I don't like the idea of splitting up."

She bristled at the mere implication that she might need protection.

"I can certainly take care of myself Commander. And if for some reason I couldn't, I wouldn't need your help."

She just didn't understand. I knew she could take care of herself, but there was a lot more to the case than she thought. It was turning out to be even more complicated than I thought. I couldn't ignore the thought that nagged in the back of my head. The thought that the malfunctioning car wasn't so accidental. The base mechanics usually checked the vehicles before officers took them out. They might have just missed it, but I wouldn't have bet on it.

"I know you can, Colonel. I think it would be better for both of us to stick together. I could just as easily get lost out there or attacked by some wild animal and it would be good to have backup."

It was a bald faced lie. I didn't want her anywhere near me if I was attacked by a wild animal. I just hoped she wouldn't see through it. She seemed too blinded by her frustration at me to notice.

"It looks like we won't have to worry about that Commander."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

She lifted her hand up and pointed off into the distance. I squinted my eyes against the sun, but still didn't see anything.

"Obviously you're eyesight is better than mine because I don't see anything."

"It's a car. We can flag it down and get a ride to the nearest town."

I looked again and sure enough there was a car way off in the distance. It would take a few minutes for it to reach us. Mac gathered up her things, while I continued to stare in the direction of the car. The closer it got, the more apprehensive I got. To say the car was old and beat up was an under statement. It looked to be one of the primitive SUV's. It was off white with black trim. The four doors and square frame were a great departure from the sleek models of today. If I had to guess, I would have said it was at least fifteen years old.

"Mac I think we should just take our chances," I said, as she stopped beside me.

"Don't be foolish. This is the best chance we have."

She held out my briefcase and I took it, my eyes still fixated on the approaching car. Mac walked closer to the road and began to wave her arms in an attempt to catch the attention of the driver. Once she realized the car was slowing down, she stopped. I walked up behind her and was finally able to get a good look at the driver. It didn't ease my worry. He looked to be about my height, but it was hard to tell when he was sitting down. His muscles bulged out from under his tight red t-shirt, with blue jeans and a baseball cap completing the outfit. He had a grizzly scar running down his forearm and a slight beard the made him look older, but he had to be a few years younger than me. My gut was telling me this guy wasn't good news. I didn't' want me or Mac going anywhere with him.

"I really don't think this is a good idea."

Her eyes snapped to my face, as if trying to burn a hole through my head.

"He looks perfectly safe Commander."

By then the car had stopped and was even with Mac and I.

"Having some car trouble?" He asked.

"Yeah. It overheated and broke down. You think you could give us a ride to the next town?" Mac replied, turning on the charm. I got so disgusted that I almost forgot that I was trying to talk her out of it.

"Absolutely, hop in."

The driver seemed almost too eager to give us a lift. Mac moved to get in the car, but I grabbed her arm. She whirled on me, with question in her eyes.

"Mac…," I said, trying to convince her.

"I'm going with or without you. Make up your mind or walk to the next town."

Not wanting her to go alone and knowing she would, I acquiesced.

"Fine, but I call the front seat. There's more room." I wanted her as far away from the guy as possible.

"Fine."

She squirmed out of my grasp and got in the back. I sighed and opened the front passenger side door. Once we were both inside, Mac offered her appreciation.

"No problem. I'm just glad I took the route I did. Almost no one travels on this road."

"So we noticed," Mac said, rolling her eyes in my direction.

"Come to think of it, no one really comes around this area at all. What are you guys doing here? You're military right?"

I was determined to keep quiet so Mac responded.

"Yes we are. Commander Rabb is in the Navy and I'm in the Marine Corps. My names Sarah."

"Nice to meet you Sarah, Commander Rabb. I'm Mark."

I almost gagged at the look he gave her and she just smiled.

"So what are you all doing out here?" he repeated.

"We were coming out to take testimony from a witness. We came from D.C. to investigate."

"Yeah? What happened?"

"Someone was murdered," I cut in. I didn't want the guy knowing anymore than he had to.

Mac shot me a look for my rude tone, but I didn't care.

"Oh."

He got the hint and stopped that line of questioning. I turned my attention to the scenery outside, while he and Mac carried on conversation.

"D.C. huh? I've never been there. What's it like?"

"It's pretty nice, but the winters are a bear to handle."

"I can't event imagine. The coldest weather I've ever been in was twenty degrees once when I went skiing and that was only for a week."

"It gets pretty nippy, but the sites and the atmosphere make up for it."

"I'll bet."

"So what do you do Mark?"

"Me? Umm…well," he stuttered a little and my ears immediately perked up. If this guys couldn't even remember his job than he's not who he claims.

"Usually when I meet a beautiful woman like you I tell them something exciting. But the truth is that I'm a mail man."

What a load of dribble, but of course Mac ate it up. I was pretty sure she was just trying to get under my skin.

"Well there's nothing wrong with that. Without the mail, the country would self destruct."

They both laughed, but I found the joke far from funny. I completely tuned out the rest of their conversation. About a half an hour later, I saw a town up ahead. I sat up in my seat, looking forward to getting out of the car and home. But when we passed all of the entrances to the small town, I turned on Mark, interrupting his and Mac's conversation.

"Why didn't you stop?"

"Oh, you don't want to stop at that rinky dink town. I don't even think they have a phone that can call anyone outside the town."

It didn't make sense to me. Something was going on.

"I'm sure they had a repair station or a car we could rent to get back to base."

"There's bigger town about fifteen miles up ahead. They have all of that stuff and a working phone."

My anger and frustration increased, not to mention the warning bells going off in my head.

"I think you should just turn around and take us back to that town."

"Harm," Mac warned. I knew she thought I was being rude, but I had a bad feeling. Who knows where the guys was going to take us.

"No Mac. It would be better if we just got help in that town."

"Commander it's really not that far."

"I have to insist Mark."

"We'll I'm going to have to say no Mr. Rabb."

I turned to tell him again, but froze when I saw a gun in his hand, pointing at me.

tbc...