The Pentagon

Harm was greeted by Secretary Wilson when he walked into his office. Wilson seemed eager to get started as he showed Harm into his office.

"You know Clayton Webb," Wilson said just as Webb rose to greet them.

"I do," Harm offered his hand. "I thought you had retired Clay."

"So did I," Webb sat back down and handed Harm a file. "Do you remember Lieutenant Elizabeth Coffin?"

Harm nodded. "Hard to forget. Fresh out of law school, showed great promise. She had been under my command for six months when she disappeared on assignment in Afghanistan. She was second chair to, then, Commander Roberts. She left base in the middle of the night and never came back."

"It was a bit of a mystery. She was found in Syria yesterday as a part of a CIA mission. I can't really say anything about it," Webb continued.

"It was suspected that she had connections to the IS through her brother. She was half Iranian, her father American. Her brother had connections to a terrorist group, under Abdulla Azzam. It all came up under the initial investigation," Harm said as he looked through the file. "Coffin was a good lawyer, she had a great career ahead of her in the Navy, until she disappeared."

"It's the CIA's investigation," Webb said and hesitated. "However, Coffin won't talk, she only wants to talk to you."

"Me? Why?" Harm wondered.

"Beats me. Probably because she knows you, trust you," Webb handed Harm another file. "This is the file on her brother. I don't have to say that this is highly classified," Webb said.

"You don't have to say it," Harm opened the file. "This guy is bad news," Harm raised his eyebrows. "Where is he now?"

"We have him under interrogation," Webb reassured. "He's not a US citizen so we can treat him like a terrorist, unlike Lieutenant Coffin."

Harm looked thoughtful as he closed the file. "So, how do we proceed?"

"We have Coffin confined to quarters on board the USS Coral Sea in the Gulf. I'm sending you out there," Wilson said.

"I'm not in the Navy," Harm said hesitantly.

"Consider yourself back for the foreseeable future," Wilson said. "Your country needs you, Admiral."

Harm nodded. "When do I leave?"

"As soon as possible," Webb suggested and handed over a file. "Your travel information."

Harm looked at the paper inside the file. "I better get moving then."

Webb stood. "We suspect that Coffin is an important piece in the puzzle, so getting her to talk is important."

Wilson stood too. "Admiral, your job is also to figure out what to charge the Lieutenant with, if she left of her own free will," he pointed out.

"Understood, sir," Harm stood. "I have a lot to do before I leave tonight," he turned to leave.

"I'll follow you out," Webb followed him.

On a back road to Baltimore

They had barely driven for a few minutes when the SUV's right front tire was flat. Mac put the car into a bus pocket and stopped, before getting out of the car.

"Should I call triple a?" Cathy wondered.

This earned her a look from Mac. "Really? That's what you do when you have a flat tire?"

"I call Jack, or my brother," she admitted.

Mac opened the trunk and took out their luggage. "It'll only be a few minutes and we'll be back on the road," she reassured as she pulled the spare tire out of the SUV's trunk.

"Are you really a man?" Cathy wondered as she checked her phone. "No signal here."

Harrier laughed softly as Mac rolled her eyes. "You should really learn how to do this, Cathy. It's easy."

"I believe you," Cathy said with laughter. "I'm just not that into cars. I mean, if they start and I can drive them, that's pretty much all I need. At the first sign of trouble, it's Jack's problem. That's why I have a husband, you know."

Mac shook her head in amusement as she got to work. A minute later a car drove up on their side and the same guy who had talked to them outside the restaurant got out. The bad feeling Mac had before just turned worse as she finished taking off the flat tire.

"Can I be of some assistance, ladies?" the man asked.

"Not really, we have it under control," Harriet said politely.

"I live just up the road, if you need to borrow a phone," he said and offered a charming smile. "We're not spoiled with signals around here."

"Really, we're doing just fine," Cathy assured him. "Tell me, weren't you just arriving at the restaurant?"

"I forgot something," the man said innocently.

"Was it this nail?" Mac stood after finishing changing the flat tire. She held a nail in her hand, that she had plucked out of the flat tire. "Is this something you pull often?"

"Excuse me?" the man started backing towards his car and opened the front door. "Look, ladies, I was just offering to help."

Mac moved around the car. "Get back into the car, Harriet, Cathy," she ordered.

The man reached into his car, just as Mac reached for the gun she had taken from the box in the back of the car earlier. "Raise your hands slowly?"

Cathy let out a squeal as she moved behind Mac, while Harriet hurried behind the car. The man hesitated, then raised his hands, holding a hunting knife in his hand.

Rabb house

Harm had gone by the office to talk to Bud and make sure that all his appointments were rescheduled. The most pressing appointments were handed over to Bud and Mac, and the rest for next week. He had picked up Matthew and Rose from school, before going home to pack and get ready.

"Dad, what's up?" Claire walked into the kitchen as Harm prepared snacks for the kids.

"I need to leave," he closed the fridge and turned to her. "Mattie will be here later to make dinner, and she'll be staying until your mom gets home. You have to help her out."

"Okay, I can do that," Claire hesitated. "Where are you going?"

"It's business for the Navy," he smiled. "I need to investigate something."

"Aren't you supposed to be retired?" she questioned teasingly.

"It looks like the Navy can't manage without me," Harm joked.

"You are pretty handy to have around," Claire smiled and reached for some fruit. "Thanks."

"Take a banana too," he handed it over. "It's important to eat young lady."

"Yes, sir," Claire took the banana and saluted with it. "I have stuff to do. Say goodbye before you leave."

"I will," he followed her to the living room, then upstairs. He had to hurry up and pack, then he needed to call his wife.

On a back road to Baltimore

"Ma'am, this is all a misunderstanding."

Mac reached for her phone. "Put the knife down, sir," she dialed 911. "How many times have you tried this?"

The man put the knife down. "What do you mean?"

Mac told the dispatcher about what was going on and was told to expect a police car in a few minutes. The police arrived as promised.

Both officers reached for their guns, Mac put her hands up. "I'm allowed to carry a weapon, it's fully registered," she explained as one of the officers walked over and took the gun from her, while the other took the knife on the ground and put the man in the handcuffs.

"Ma'am, what is going on here," the officer closest to Mac asked.

"We had a flat tire, and this guy wanted to help, only I believe his intention was something else," Mac explained. "I'm Sarah Rabb, I'm a lawyer in Washington D.C, and former Marine Colonel, this is Harriet Roberts and Cathy Keeter."

"Ma'am, I'm going to hold on to your gun until we get back to the station, please follow us there," one of the officers said, then proceeded to read the man his rights and put him in the back of their car.

Mac put the flat tire in the trunk and the tools, before getting into the car. "Our day just turned interesting," she said once they were all in the car.

"How did you know?" Cathy said, her eyes wide.

"I can't explain it, but there was just something about him, and the whole situation. I'm afraid my years in the service has made me a little paranoid," Mac admitted.

"Right now, I'm embracing paranoid," Harriet said.

"He's probably a sadistic rapist or murderer, isn't he? And I didn't even suspect it, even though I've met with so many victims," Cathy cleared her throat and wiped her eyes.

"Cathy, you never know who it is. It can be the nice guy next door," Mac reassured.

"But you knew," she pointed out.

"I didn't know anything, I just had a feeling. Something didn't add up. It's probably my investigative experience kicking in," she offered a reassuring smile in Cathy's direction. "He could just be a poor man looking to rob us."

"I just feel so naïve," Cathy admitted.

"I didn't know you had a gun in the car," Harriet said.

"I always keep a gun nearby," Mac admitted. "Force of habit."

"I can't even shoot a gun," Cathy admitted. "I mean, Jack brought me a few times to the range, but I just don't like the concept of guns."

"You don't need to own a gun, Cathy. This was a onetime thing, you'll probably never experience it again," Mac reassured. "I'm a marine, so guns are a part of my life. It doesn't mean that everyone should have them."

"I get it," Cathy said and smiled. "Hopefully we'll get this matter cleared up fast so that we won't be late for my lecture later today."

"We'll make it," Harriet said. "We just need to give our statements to the police, then we're free to go."

Harriet was right, they were on their way two hours later.

Harm and Mac's house, later that day

Harm finished packing and found his uniforms, then picked up his phone and called his wife.

"Hi handsome."

He smiled and sat down on their bed. "Hi honey, listen there's something I need to tell you."

"What's going on?" she wondered as she opened her hotel room and got inside, dumping her bag on the floor.

"I need to go out to the USS Corral Sea for a few days," he hesitated. "I can't talk about it."

"Hang on," Mac reached for her iPad in her bag. "I need to see you for this conversation. Let's skype," she demanded.

Harm found his own iPad and hung up. "Harm, what's going on?" she demanded when they connected.

"Babe, I really can't talk about it. But know this, I will be sitting in an interrogation room."

"Really? Why you?" she wondered.

Harm put his iPad down on the dresser and found his uniform from the closet. "Can't say," he started to undress. "But don't worry, okay."

"Easy to say," she let out a sigh.

He chuckled. "So what's new on your end?"

"Just arrived at the hotel, and we're going to go see Cathy's lecture, then dinner," she hesitated unsure if she wanted to bother him with what happened earlier.

"You just arrived? Must have been some lunch if it took you this long to get there," he slipped on his pants.

"It was a weird day actually. We went off the main road to find this place Cathy had heard of. Great food. But when we left we had to stop because of a flat tire, which I suspect was flat because someone put a nail in it. This man, that was also at the restaurant, stopped by us, then one thing turned to another and I had to pull a gun on him. The police came, and…"

"Hold on a second," Harm reached for the iPad. "You had to pull a gun on him?"

Mac told him in detail what had happened and Harm offered that look. "What?" she questioned.

"And you say that I get into trouble a lot?" he questioned.

Mac turned her head when the door to her room opened. "Ready to go?" Cathy asked, then noticed Harm. "Is that naked Harm?"

Mac laughed.

"I'm not naked," Harm argued as he showed them that he had his uniform pants on.

"It's like watching Superman change," Mac commented as Harm put his shirt on. "Okay Admiral, what about the kids?"

"Got it covered. Mattie is moving in until you get back," Harm explained as he finished buttoning his shirt. "It fits perfectly."

"Looking good, Harm," Cathy said. "But we do have to go. Giving a lecture, remember?"

Mac smiled. "You are so handsome, Admiral. Listen, be careful, okay? Call when you can. And I love you."

"I love you too, tiger," he smiled. "We'll talk. Bye."

Mac ended the conversation and let out a sigh. "Is he in the Navy again?" Cathy wondered.

"Looks that way," Mac said and put the iPad away. "Let me throw on something else and I'll be right there."

Monday night, Rabb house

Mattie had just put dinner on the table when her cellphone rang. She saw that it was her mom and answered.

"It's the sub parent speaking," she said.

Mac laughed softly. "Sorry about that."

"It's no problem. I'm serving them junk food though," she admitted. "It got busy at work and I came home later than expected."

"I'm sure they won't mind," Mac reassured.

"Well, Matthew and Rose won't, but Claire gave me a reprimand, telling me that she could have made us a healthy dinner," Mattie laughed. "What did you guys do to that one?"

"I think she's the one who actually listens when we speak," Mac suggested. "Hey, I'm about to sit down to dinner, but I wanted to check in. Tell the rest of the gang that I'll be calling to say good night, okay?"

"I will," Mattie promised.

"Thank you so much for this, Mattie," Mac smiled. "Love you guys."

"We love you too," Mattie said and ended the call.

"Kids, dinner!" she yelled.