PART TWO
Wednesday 7:30 local time
A couple of miles outside Baghdad, Iraq
Harm got out of the bathroom, they only had arrived at this residence three hours ago. Mac had headed straight to her room to catch some sleep. He had tried it but after two hours of tossing and turning he had given up. He walked to the window, a towel around his waist as he rubbed his short hair dry. As he pushed the curtain to the side, he saw armed men walking in the garden around the house.
Harm wondered where exactly they had been brought.
A small group of men had waited for them at the airport and escorted them to a black car. They must have driven about 20 minutes, he was sure Mac knew better how long the drive had lasted. He didn't think this was a hotel as there hadn't been a counter in the hall. So he guessed he was in someone's private residence. Security seemed to be high, he knew there were two guards waiting outside his door and probably two more at Macs room. He walked away from the window and sat down on the unmade bed. Then he reached for the telephone on the nightstand and pushed the zero. Immediately a voice replied in what seemed to be fluent English.
"How can I help you Lt. Commander Rabb?"
*Seems like the personnel is well informed,* Harm thought to himself. "Can I speak to Major MacKenzie, please?" he asked.
"Just a minute." The operator connected Harms call through to Macs room. Harm could hear the phone ringing through the walls.
"MacKenzie," a tired voice replied automatically.
"Hiya Mac, it's Harm!" He didn't know what else to say at the moment.
Mac sniggered on the other side of the phone and he could see her roll her eyes. "I figured that much, Harm." She replied a bit annoyed. "I take it you want to go see Lt Austin?" She didn't ask it really, she knew he was dying to speak to Meg.
"You read my mind!" Harm laughed. "Meet me outside?"
Mac knew it wasn't a question either, she nodded forgetting he couldn't see her and hang up the phone. She woke up earlier to the sound of the shower in Harms room and had figured Harm would be eager to get his teeth into this case so she was fully dressed now. She picked up her briefcase and headed out of the door. As she closed the door behind her, she heard Harm close his too. She turned towards him to see him still buttoning up his khaki shirt. Before Mac could say anything to her partner, a man in military uniform entered the hall, two armed escorts following a few steps behind. Harm gave Mac a meaningful look. The fact that this man arrived here the second they left their room meant they were being watched. Their rooms were most likely bugged.
"Good morning Major MacKenzie, Lt. Commander Rabb!" He bowed his head in respect. "Admiral Seif al Din is waiting to see you." The officer stepped aside and invited the two lawyers to follow him. Harm and Mac looked at each other and shrugged before following the officer. They were lead down the stairs and brought into a large room. The walls were in white chalk. Although the architecture looked eastern all the furniture seemed to be western. Their guide gave them a short nod before leaving the room again, closing the double doors behind him.
"I hope you have slept well even if it was a short night for all of us," a deep but warm voice spoke. Harm hadn't even noticed the middle aged man sitting in an armchair before a fireplace that seemed to be very much out of place in this climate. As Harm inspected the interior he forgot to answer the question. Luckily Mac kept her head with the situation and Harm heard her reply that the rooms were very nice and comfortable. "Please take a seat, Major, Commander." The man spoke gently as he pointed to the leather coach opposite to his chair. The lawyers both sat down like the man requested. Harm now turned his full attention to his host. He was wearing a green military uniform, the two stars on his shoulders indicating his rank of Admiral. He had the face of a man who had seen a lot of war and Harm new that most likely was the case too. Still, there was something in his eyes that seemed to show a kindness that went with his voice. The Admiral opened a wooden box standing on the table next to his armchair. "Can I interest you in a cigar?" Although Harm could use one right now he declined, he needed to stay alert. As Mac shook her head, the Admiral took out a cigar and lit it, taking it in his mouth an quietly enjoying it. Harm moved nervously, he wanted to get to business, he was sure the Admiral didn't invite them here to smoke a cigar. As if he had guessed Harms thoughts the Admiral sat straight up in his chair, playing with the cigar between his fingers.
"I am Admiral Seif al Din," he introduced himself. He pointed around the room as he continued to talk. "This is my home, if you have any complaints just come to me and I will make sure you get what you want. But I don't think you will be staying here long." He added the last sentence with a smile on his lips and he tugged at his cigar again.
"And why would you think that?" Mac asked sharply.
The Admirals eyes lit up. "I do not believe that military lawyers have anything to do with this case. Meg Austin hasn't been a Lieutenant, like your partner called her, in four years. So you can stay here and follow the trial when her real lawyers get here or you can get a plane back home later today. I will see to the arrangements."
Harm interrupted Admiral Seif al Din. "We are not going anywhere, sir. AND we will be taking on this case, whether you like it or not." He felt Macs eyes looking at him, he knew she didn't like the tone he was using.
"What my partner means is that we were hoping you would let us take on this case as Meg Austin was a lawyer at JAG just like us. Our government thought we would be her best defence." Mac hoped that the Admiral hadn't taken offence and would be open to reason.
"I am well aware of Meg Austins past and I do understand that Lt. Commander Rabb wants to help out a friend." Seif al Din answered. He had put down his cigar as he understood that these two lawyers wouldn't give up the case without a fight. "However the Iraqi government does not have time for reunions. You will call your superiors and tell them we want a civilian lawyer on this case. We will not discuss anything before this is done!"
Harm noticed that the gentleness in the Admirals voice had disappeared. There was a determination now in his tone, this was not going to be an easy trial. "I do not think you are in the position to make any demands, sir." Harm said as a matter of fact.
The Admiral eyes widened, then he let out a sneer. "And you are, Commander?"
Harm ignored the question and smiled with a gleam in his eyes. "You know what the problem with the US justice is, sir?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Civilian lawyers they love to play the public opinion. I'm sure whatever lawyer the government would chose to defend Meg Austin would just love to get this much media attention." Mac knew where Harm was going with this. She noticed how the Admiral tried to keep his cool exterior as he put out his cigar in the ashtray with a bit too much force. "Now we JAG lawyers," Harm continued, "we were sent here with the orders to keep things discrete. I'm sure you prefer keeping this case out of the media. So if you don't mind, we would like to speak to our client right away."
Harm got up from the chair, ending the discussion with this gesture. He saw Mac getting up too and as they both wanted to turn towards the doors, the Admiral followed their example. He stopped only a step away from Harm, looking him straight in the eye. "I do not believe you would dare to do that. You do not want the Middle East and the Arabic communities to hear about an American spy going after one of our generals, Commander Rabb."
It was now Mac who replied. "I think we all know that the public opinion in the Middle East can go either way, Admiral. It can work against us but it might as well blow up in your face. On the other side I'm sure that the US will support a civilian who tried to stop a major incident with Iraq." Her voice was as always soft and calm but she said it with a determination that could make a scientist wonder if the earth was really round.
"You are both bluffing," the Admiral tried to sound sure of his case.
Harm simply smiled and responded as he took a step closer to the Admiral. "Maybe we are, Admiral. But can you risk calling our bluff?" He looked the Admiral in the eye, seeing the doubt as he considered his options.
"Have it your way, Commander. You can defend Meg Austin. My officer will accompany you to the prison where she is held." the Admiral barked it out. At the same moment the double door opened and the officer stepped inside the room.
Harm shrugged, this place was crawling with bugs, he was sure unless this guy was telepathic. He nodded as he thanked the Admiral, his voice didn't hold one bit of gratitude though. "Thank you, Admiral. I knew we would understand each other."
Then he turned on his heels and followed Mac who had already walked up to the officer. As soon as Harm joined them, the officer led them towards the hall.
"If you would wait here please, I'll have to make some arrangements for our transports." The officer didn't wait for a reply and simply headed for the door. Before he could leave the hall, Mac called out to him. He turned again, looking at the Major. "Is there anything else I can get you, Major MacKenzie?"
Mac nodded, "As a matter of fact, I have a question for you." The officer waited for Mac to continue, looking a bit nervous not knowing what his guest wanted from him. "I do not think you told us your name, sir."
The officer chuckled and gave Mac a huge smile. "My name is Siddig Rafiq, Major. I am at your service." He put weight to his words by giving Mac a short bow. Then he opened the door and disappeared to see if the car was ready.
"Seems like you just made friends," Harm commented as he approached Mac.
"Jealous?" Mac asked him flatly. She laughed out loud seeing the stunned look on Harms face. "Call it intuition but I think that young officer can help make our stay here a lot more pleasant."
Harm raised his eyebrows and tried to look hurt, he took a step forward standing very close to Mac. "You mean I'm not pleasant enough?" Mac snorted, Harm leaned in smiling as he spoke to her again. "Was that remark about 'a major incident with Iraq' also intuition?" He spoke softly hoping no bug would catch their conversation.
"Never underestimate a woman's intuition, Commander." Mac whispered back laughing. She went on more serious, "Judging by his response I don't think I was far off." She saw Harm nod as he agreed with her. "How about that bluff of yours? How did you know he wouldn't want the media on this?"
Harm grinned. "We're in an Admirals private home, Major. If they wanted the media on this, they wouldn't have brought us here. Besides, they seem to be keeping this top secret."
"I don't think we want the media on this either, Harm." She tried to calculate the effects it would have if it turned out that Meg was acting for the US government.
"I know but I rather have them on it than let Meg down on this one. There's something not right about this case, Mac."
"Is that your intuition speaking?"
Harm laughed: "Never underestimate a pilot's intuition, Major." He took a step back from Mac as he saw Siddig Rafiq enter the hall again.
"Red light, Commander Rabb." Mac snapped at him.
Harm looked at her bedazzled. "Red light? You just gave me a red light?" He watched her in disbelief as she walked up to the officer with a big grin on her face.
11:45 local time
A secret prison outside of Baghdad, Iraq.
Harm threw the guard a dirty look as he waited for Mac to join him. They had searched him for the fourth time to see if he wasn't wearing any weapons. As if that wasn't bad enough, this last guard had decided his wings could be dangerous. He wondered if there had ever been an outbreak using golden wings. He could only imagine the damage you could inflict with them. Finally Mac came out of the room where a female guard had body searched her *again*.
Mac started laughing when she saw the angry look on Harms face. "What's wrong? You look like a kid who just got robbed of his favourite toy."
"That idiot took my wings," Harm mumbled through his teeth, pointing to where he normally wore them.
Mac rolled her eyes. "You'll get them back later." Then she gave Harm a nudge to get him to follow Siddig Rafiq who had accompanied them this far. He stopped in front of a metal door that was guarded by two soldiers.
"Meg Austin is waiting in here," he simply said, then he stepped aside. One of the guards opened the door and stepped aside to let them enter the room.
Wednesday 7:30 local time
A couple of miles outside Baghdad, Iraq
Harm got out of the bathroom, they only had arrived at this residence three hours ago. Mac had headed straight to her room to catch some sleep. He had tried it but after two hours of tossing and turning he had given up. He walked to the window, a towel around his waist as he rubbed his short hair dry. As he pushed the curtain to the side, he saw armed men walking in the garden around the house.
Harm wondered where exactly they had been brought.
A small group of men had waited for them at the airport and escorted them to a black car. They must have driven about 20 minutes, he was sure Mac knew better how long the drive had lasted. He didn't think this was a hotel as there hadn't been a counter in the hall. So he guessed he was in someone's private residence. Security seemed to be high, he knew there were two guards waiting outside his door and probably two more at Macs room. He walked away from the window and sat down on the unmade bed. Then he reached for the telephone on the nightstand and pushed the zero. Immediately a voice replied in what seemed to be fluent English.
"How can I help you Lt. Commander Rabb?"
*Seems like the personnel is well informed,* Harm thought to himself. "Can I speak to Major MacKenzie, please?" he asked.
"Just a minute." The operator connected Harms call through to Macs room. Harm could hear the phone ringing through the walls.
"MacKenzie," a tired voice replied automatically.
"Hiya Mac, it's Harm!" He didn't know what else to say at the moment.
Mac sniggered on the other side of the phone and he could see her roll her eyes. "I figured that much, Harm." She replied a bit annoyed. "I take it you want to go see Lt Austin?" She didn't ask it really, she knew he was dying to speak to Meg.
"You read my mind!" Harm laughed. "Meet me outside?"
Mac knew it wasn't a question either, she nodded forgetting he couldn't see her and hang up the phone. She woke up earlier to the sound of the shower in Harms room and had figured Harm would be eager to get his teeth into this case so she was fully dressed now. She picked up her briefcase and headed out of the door. As she closed the door behind her, she heard Harm close his too. She turned towards him to see him still buttoning up his khaki shirt. Before Mac could say anything to her partner, a man in military uniform entered the hall, two armed escorts following a few steps behind. Harm gave Mac a meaningful look. The fact that this man arrived here the second they left their room meant they were being watched. Their rooms were most likely bugged.
"Good morning Major MacKenzie, Lt. Commander Rabb!" He bowed his head in respect. "Admiral Seif al Din is waiting to see you." The officer stepped aside and invited the two lawyers to follow him. Harm and Mac looked at each other and shrugged before following the officer. They were lead down the stairs and brought into a large room. The walls were in white chalk. Although the architecture looked eastern all the furniture seemed to be western. Their guide gave them a short nod before leaving the room again, closing the double doors behind him.
"I hope you have slept well even if it was a short night for all of us," a deep but warm voice spoke. Harm hadn't even noticed the middle aged man sitting in an armchair before a fireplace that seemed to be very much out of place in this climate. As Harm inspected the interior he forgot to answer the question. Luckily Mac kept her head with the situation and Harm heard her reply that the rooms were very nice and comfortable. "Please take a seat, Major, Commander." The man spoke gently as he pointed to the leather coach opposite to his chair. The lawyers both sat down like the man requested. Harm now turned his full attention to his host. He was wearing a green military uniform, the two stars on his shoulders indicating his rank of Admiral. He had the face of a man who had seen a lot of war and Harm new that most likely was the case too. Still, there was something in his eyes that seemed to show a kindness that went with his voice. The Admiral opened a wooden box standing on the table next to his armchair. "Can I interest you in a cigar?" Although Harm could use one right now he declined, he needed to stay alert. As Mac shook her head, the Admiral took out a cigar and lit it, taking it in his mouth an quietly enjoying it. Harm moved nervously, he wanted to get to business, he was sure the Admiral didn't invite them here to smoke a cigar. As if he had guessed Harms thoughts the Admiral sat straight up in his chair, playing with the cigar between his fingers.
"I am Admiral Seif al Din," he introduced himself. He pointed around the room as he continued to talk. "This is my home, if you have any complaints just come to me and I will make sure you get what you want. But I don't think you will be staying here long." He added the last sentence with a smile on his lips and he tugged at his cigar again.
"And why would you think that?" Mac asked sharply.
The Admirals eyes lit up. "I do not believe that military lawyers have anything to do with this case. Meg Austin hasn't been a Lieutenant, like your partner called her, in four years. So you can stay here and follow the trial when her real lawyers get here or you can get a plane back home later today. I will see to the arrangements."
Harm interrupted Admiral Seif al Din. "We are not going anywhere, sir. AND we will be taking on this case, whether you like it or not." He felt Macs eyes looking at him, he knew she didn't like the tone he was using.
"What my partner means is that we were hoping you would let us take on this case as Meg Austin was a lawyer at JAG just like us. Our government thought we would be her best defence." Mac hoped that the Admiral hadn't taken offence and would be open to reason.
"I am well aware of Meg Austins past and I do understand that Lt. Commander Rabb wants to help out a friend." Seif al Din answered. He had put down his cigar as he understood that these two lawyers wouldn't give up the case without a fight. "However the Iraqi government does not have time for reunions. You will call your superiors and tell them we want a civilian lawyer on this case. We will not discuss anything before this is done!"
Harm noticed that the gentleness in the Admirals voice had disappeared. There was a determination now in his tone, this was not going to be an easy trial. "I do not think you are in the position to make any demands, sir." Harm said as a matter of fact.
The Admiral eyes widened, then he let out a sneer. "And you are, Commander?"
Harm ignored the question and smiled with a gleam in his eyes. "You know what the problem with the US justice is, sir?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Civilian lawyers they love to play the public opinion. I'm sure whatever lawyer the government would chose to defend Meg Austin would just love to get this much media attention." Mac knew where Harm was going with this. She noticed how the Admiral tried to keep his cool exterior as he put out his cigar in the ashtray with a bit too much force. "Now we JAG lawyers," Harm continued, "we were sent here with the orders to keep things discrete. I'm sure you prefer keeping this case out of the media. So if you don't mind, we would like to speak to our client right away."
Harm got up from the chair, ending the discussion with this gesture. He saw Mac getting up too and as they both wanted to turn towards the doors, the Admiral followed their example. He stopped only a step away from Harm, looking him straight in the eye. "I do not believe you would dare to do that. You do not want the Middle East and the Arabic communities to hear about an American spy going after one of our generals, Commander Rabb."
It was now Mac who replied. "I think we all know that the public opinion in the Middle East can go either way, Admiral. It can work against us but it might as well blow up in your face. On the other side I'm sure that the US will support a civilian who tried to stop a major incident with Iraq." Her voice was as always soft and calm but she said it with a determination that could make a scientist wonder if the earth was really round.
"You are both bluffing," the Admiral tried to sound sure of his case.
Harm simply smiled and responded as he took a step closer to the Admiral. "Maybe we are, Admiral. But can you risk calling our bluff?" He looked the Admiral in the eye, seeing the doubt as he considered his options.
"Have it your way, Commander. You can defend Meg Austin. My officer will accompany you to the prison where she is held." the Admiral barked it out. At the same moment the double door opened and the officer stepped inside the room.
Harm shrugged, this place was crawling with bugs, he was sure unless this guy was telepathic. He nodded as he thanked the Admiral, his voice didn't hold one bit of gratitude though. "Thank you, Admiral. I knew we would understand each other."
Then he turned on his heels and followed Mac who had already walked up to the officer. As soon as Harm joined them, the officer led them towards the hall.
"If you would wait here please, I'll have to make some arrangements for our transports." The officer didn't wait for a reply and simply headed for the door. Before he could leave the hall, Mac called out to him. He turned again, looking at the Major. "Is there anything else I can get you, Major MacKenzie?"
Mac nodded, "As a matter of fact, I have a question for you." The officer waited for Mac to continue, looking a bit nervous not knowing what his guest wanted from him. "I do not think you told us your name, sir."
The officer chuckled and gave Mac a huge smile. "My name is Siddig Rafiq, Major. I am at your service." He put weight to his words by giving Mac a short bow. Then he opened the door and disappeared to see if the car was ready.
"Seems like you just made friends," Harm commented as he approached Mac.
"Jealous?" Mac asked him flatly. She laughed out loud seeing the stunned look on Harms face. "Call it intuition but I think that young officer can help make our stay here a lot more pleasant."
Harm raised his eyebrows and tried to look hurt, he took a step forward standing very close to Mac. "You mean I'm not pleasant enough?" Mac snorted, Harm leaned in smiling as he spoke to her again. "Was that remark about 'a major incident with Iraq' also intuition?" He spoke softly hoping no bug would catch their conversation.
"Never underestimate a woman's intuition, Commander." Mac whispered back laughing. She went on more serious, "Judging by his response I don't think I was far off." She saw Harm nod as he agreed with her. "How about that bluff of yours? How did you know he wouldn't want the media on this?"
Harm grinned. "We're in an Admirals private home, Major. If they wanted the media on this, they wouldn't have brought us here. Besides, they seem to be keeping this top secret."
"I don't think we want the media on this either, Harm." She tried to calculate the effects it would have if it turned out that Meg was acting for the US government.
"I know but I rather have them on it than let Meg down on this one. There's something not right about this case, Mac."
"Is that your intuition speaking?"
Harm laughed: "Never underestimate a pilot's intuition, Major." He took a step back from Mac as he saw Siddig Rafiq enter the hall again.
"Red light, Commander Rabb." Mac snapped at him.
Harm looked at her bedazzled. "Red light? You just gave me a red light?" He watched her in disbelief as she walked up to the officer with a big grin on her face.
11:45 local time
A secret prison outside of Baghdad, Iraq.
Harm threw the guard a dirty look as he waited for Mac to join him. They had searched him for the fourth time to see if he wasn't wearing any weapons. As if that wasn't bad enough, this last guard had decided his wings could be dangerous. He wondered if there had ever been an outbreak using golden wings. He could only imagine the damage you could inflict with them. Finally Mac came out of the room where a female guard had body searched her *again*.
Mac started laughing when she saw the angry look on Harms face. "What's wrong? You look like a kid who just got robbed of his favourite toy."
"That idiot took my wings," Harm mumbled through his teeth, pointing to where he normally wore them.
Mac rolled her eyes. "You'll get them back later." Then she gave Harm a nudge to get him to follow Siddig Rafiq who had accompanied them this far. He stopped in front of a metal door that was guarded by two soldiers.
"Meg Austin is waiting in here," he simply said, then he stepped aside. One of the guards opened the door and stepped aside to let them enter the room.