Chapter 4

Only a handful of patrons were in the bar when Mac got to McMurray's. The jukebox hummed in the background and the crack of the cue ball hitting the side rail of the pool table patted out a beat like an unbalanced cadence. Mac took a seat at the bar and took off her jacket. She noticed her hands were shaking and she rubbed them together mindlessly.

"What'dya have Major?" the barkeep growled at her.

"Bourbon straight up," she whispered back barely audible. "Make it a double," she added ducking her head like she was in fear someone would hear.

"Ah, going for the hard stuff I see," the barkeep commented. He tossed a short glass on the bar and poured bourbon into it. He slid the glass her way. "Something ya wanna talk about?"

"Just a bad day at work Sam," Mac replied holding the glass just under her nose and inhaling its aroma. "The boss chewed my ass," she finally answered. She took a sip of the brown liquid and let it burn her tongue and all the way down her throat.

"Well, did ya deserve it?" he asked her wiping the bar down with a dirty rag.

"Probably," Mac confessed. "I guess I haven't been on my game the past few weeks." She took another long sip of her drink.

"Over-indulging usually does that to ya Major," Sam remarked tossing the rag under the bar. He walked to the other end, filled another drink order, and then made his way back to Mac after a few minutes. He found her sitting in front of an empty glass. "Ya ready for a refill Major?" he asked her picking on the glass. He watched her nod, but instead of giving her the refill, he handed her a cold glass of water instead.

"What's this for?" she asked eyeing the glass.

"Ya need to learn to pace yourself Major," Sam said standing behind the bar. "Drink your liquor, drink water, drink your liquor, drink water. Keep that up all night, you'll drink less and won't have a hangover in the morning," he shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the glass. "Take it from a career drunk, it works."

Mac looked up at him and smiled weakly. He walked away from her to take another order. Another drunk reference, she contemplated as her gaze went back to the glass. She sighed again, picked up the glass of water, and drained half of it at once. The ice cold liquid clashed with the heavier liquor and waged war on her stomach. She took a couple of deep breaths to settle her stomach and focused on the half-empty glass in front of her.

"I haven't seen your friend in here tonight," Sam said coming back her way.

"What friend is that?" Mac questioned him her mind racing to find the answer before he said it. What friend? I've had several friends here the past few nights, she thought.

"The tall dark haired guy that works with you," he said waving his arms around trying to show the height of her friend.

"You mean Harm?" Mac asked Sam when he held his hand above his head. "He hasn't been around for months."

"No, not the pilot," Sam said shaking his head. "The other guy … the plumber."

"Stafford?" Mac mumbled. "He hasn't been here with me for weeks. We're keeping it professional these days."

"Ah no, no, no, Major," Sam replied shaking his head. "He's been here every night. Watching you from afar," Sam said pointing at the back corner. "You ready for the next set?" he asked pointing at her water.

"Ah, just water Sam," she stammered trying to collect herself. She watched him fill her glass and set it on the counter in front of her. A patron at the end of the bar caught Sam's attention and he wandered that way, leaving Mac to her thoughts.

Staf's been here every night? He's seen first hand who I've been leaving with… she felt tears brimming in her eyes and blinked several times to clear them. The words he yelled at her today echoed in her head. You're a drunk and a tramp, she mused as she stared into her water glass. If Staf cares so much, why does he push me away? She stared through the glass at the distorted image of the bar. Her focus on the glass softened and the memory of her moment with Harm when he left JAG replayed like a movie in the reflection. I told him that I loved him and he left me! Everybody hurts me and I'm numb to it, she mulled over in her head. The only way I can feel anything is to hurt myself. She fingered the bruise on her forearm again, pushing her finger into the skin. I deserve the pain, she thought wincing.

She suddenly felt hot and suffocated. Sounds of the bar began to escalate in her ear. As the imagines and the sounds of the bar flooded over her, Mac felt the need to escape. She reached into her coat pocket, pulled a twenty-dollar bill out and threw in on the counter. Mac stood from the bar stool, grabbed her coat and stumbled out the door.

Once outside, Mac wandered aimlessly down the sidewalk, feeling alone and vulnerable as she headed toward the lot where her car was parked. Harm's, Stafford's and the Admiral's words reverberated in her head and knocked her off focus. She stepped off the curb right into the path of a passing taxi. The blaring horn and the screech of the brakes yanked Mac from her fog. She placed her hands on the hood of the taxi and took several breaths.

"Hey lady! What's your problem?" the driver yelled at her through his window. "Fricken drunks! Why don't you go have another cocktail?"

Mac looked up at the cabbie and backed away from his car. She turned and half ran, half stumbled toward the lot where her car was parked.

Caitlin Todd pulled the wooden door of McMurray's open and let the smoky warm air of the bar hit her in the face. She stepped inside of the establishment and scanned the crowd for Major Mackenzie's face. Okay, I don't see her, she thought as she took a seat at the bar. She looked at her watch to check the time as the barkeep meandered her way.

"What'd'ya have?" he growled at her.

"A black and tan," Kate replied laying a twenty dollar bill on the bar. She watched the bartender pour the brew into a tall glass and set it down in front of her.

"Annathing else I can git ya?" he asked leaning his weight against the bar.

"I was looking for a friend," Kate said taking a sip of her beer. "Major Mackenzie," she added. "Have you seen her tonight?"

"Ah, she was here earlier," he grumbled. "She had a drink and she left. Maybe the plumber knows where she went," he said pointing toward the back corner of the bar.

Kate turned around and looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a man that could have passed for Rabb's brother. She looked back at the bartender. "He's a plumber?" Kate asked the man. He doesn't look like any plumber I know, she thought looking that direction again.

"He's a jack of all trades," the barkeep laughed. "Plumber, attorney, sailor."

Must be a Navy thing, Kate thought as she slid off the barstool. Rabb's an aviator, sailor, attorney. She walked toward the man leaning up against the wall watching a game of pool.

"I heard you're a plumber," Kate said as she neared him. She watched him smile. He even smiles like Rabb, she noted.

"The barkeep telling my secrets again?" Stafford replied casually.

"Yes, but only because I was looking for someone," Kate replied with a smile. She needed to build some credibility with him so she pulled her badge out of her jacket pocket. "Special Agent Todd, Secret Service," she said flipping it at him.

"I'm off duty Agent Todd," he said squinting at the ID. "And since when is it acceptable for the Secret Service to drink on the job?" he asked still smiling at her.

"Well, I not on the job technically," Kate replied. "I only showed it to you so you would take me seriously." She stuck her ID back in her pocket and smiled sheepishly. "You can call me Kate."

Stafford pushed himself off the wall and extended his hand to her. "Okay Kate. You can call me Staf … or Lieutenant Stafford," he remarked. "Although mostly people just call me Staf."

"You don't have a first name?" Kate questioned shaking his hand.

"No, my mother never gave me one. Its last name only," Staf joked with her.

"I can look that up you know," Kate laughed. "I have security clearance to do so."

"As well as I can investigate you," Staf replied with a sly smile. "So, who are you looking for?"

"Major Mackenzie," Kate said flatly.

"Ugh," he growled. "She's not here." He drained his beer and set the glass on the nearest table. "What do you want with her?"

"Well, she's not in trouble officially," Kate said taking a swallow of her beer. "I'm her neighbor and I'm worried about her."

"Well, that makes two of us," Staf said shuffling his feet. "But she doesn't want any help, at least not from me."

"I don't believe that Lieutenant," Kate remarked. "I think she screaming out for help and no one is listening."

"Well, she has a funny way of showing it," Staf remarked remorsefully. "She's real good at pushing those who care about her away."

"Don't you think that's a Marine thing?" Kate quizzed him. "Acting all tough on the outside?" She arched her eyebrows at him.

"What are you … a shrink?"

"No, I'm a profiler for the service," Kate answered flatly. "I make it my business to pay attention to details that others miss," she tilted her head at him. "You didn't learn that at Law School?"

Staf thought about it for a second before responding. "I didn't go to FLETC, Kate. OCS graduate here. I went to Law School as a civilian."

"Back when you were a plumber?" Kate laughed letting him off the hook temporarily. "So where do you think she went?" she ventured getting back to her primary objective.

"Did the bartender say how much she had to drink?"

"He said she had a drink, so I take that to mean one," Kate answered. "Do you think she went home?"

"Doubtful," he answered grabbing his coat. "She probably went to another bar. You coming with me?" he asked her as he walked to the door.

"Right behind you," Kate replied.

"That's on my six Agent Todd," Staf joked as he grabbed her hand and headed out the door.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Later that night.

Kate and Staf trudged up the back stairs of her apartment building. They had been to all of Mac's known watering holes and then some with no luck. Kate keyed in her security code at the door and pulled it open when it buzzed. As the two entered the building, Staf took one last look at the parking lot.

"I hope she's upstairs just sleeping it off," Kate remarked walking to the elevator. "Should I get the manager to key her apartment?" she asked when Staf caught up with her.

"No, don't bother," he replied. "I can pick the lock."

"You learn that at OCS?" Kate asked him quizzically.

"No, that I learned being a plumber," Staf replied shrugging his shoulders casually. "Clients have a tendency to lock themselves out of their house," he said walking into the elevator.

Agent Todd banged on the door several times before Stafford made quick work of picking the lock. The two searched the apartment quickly finding no trace of Mac. Kate walked into the hallway with a defeated expression on her face and turned to watch Stafford close the door behind him.

"Can't you rig the door to notify me when she gets home?" Kate asked him.

"Are you serious?" Stafford scowled. "I'm a plumber, not MacGyver." He fished his wallet out of his pocket and handed Kate a business card. "I'm going to head home. I have one other place to check on my way, so I can call you if I find her," he said motioning for her cell phone number.

Kate pulled a business card and pen out of her purse and scribbled the number on the card. "And if you don't find her?" she asked quietly.

"Then I'll call you tomorrow and let you know when she shows up at work," he said confidently.

"If she shows up at work," Kate said with a worried look on her face.

"She always shows up Kate," Stafford said trying to reassure her. "She may look like hell and stink to high heaven, but she always shows up."