A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. The last chapter I know was pretty gritty. I am also aware that the investigation has slowed down right now. Don't worry, it's not going to continue to remain this way. I hope for my Meg fans, you didn't completely hate how I handled the situation. Honestly, she was one of my favorite characters. Anyhow, please enjoy and keep the reviews coming!

Chapter 10

Harm and Sean walked into the tent. Each one was not happy with the other. Stallworth felt that Rabb was impugning his authority in front of subordinates and he would not tolerate that. Harm, on the other hand, felt that Stallworth was deliberately guiding the investigation in a direction that would best benefit the Army lawyer's career.

"You have a lot of nerve, questioning my authority in front of junior officers, Commander!" Stallworth hissed, once they were inside the tent.

Spinning around in anger and shock at the man's gall, Harm fired back. "You pompous ass. You have been pushing that kid's buttons from the start and have tried to make everything fit your own vision of how this thing should go. We are supposed to be looking for the truth, no matter how ugly it is."

Sean just glared back at the bigger man. He was not going to back down on this matter. "How dare you accuse me of subverting this investigation for personal gain! You don't know a damned thing about how I operate or who I am."

Scoffing, Harm replied, "I think I've seen enough. You want me to run down the list?" At Sean's silence, Harm continued. "First you come in all bluster and charm, making sure everyone we meet knows that you are in charge. Then you practically cut me out of the initial review process, try to woo Mac with your silky words and all the while formulate your own plan of investigation without consulting us. You wanted to pin this on the pilots and when that didn't work, you started to put the blame on the Airborne, despite evidence to the contrary. You barely acknowledge the work of the Brigade SJA, you demeaned the NCO's of First Platoon and you threatened the career of its platoon leader without any cause. You've on the verge of turning everyone here against us and making our job impossible."

Fuming at Harm's accusations, and feeling a bit sheepish at the same time, Stallworth defended himself. "For starters, I am in charge of this investigation, and that needed to be made perfectly clear in order to prevent accusations of a cover-up by the Navy. And I resent the implications of inappropriate interaction between myself and Colonel Mackenzie. She is a very fascinating person, yes, but also a brilliant legal mind, which we most definitely need on this case. And as for my actions with the Marines and First Platoon, I was only following the evidence the way it appeared to me, Commander."

Trying not to roll his eyes at the man, Harm said frankly, "That still doesn't excuse your lack of respect for subordinates. You have succeeding in pissing off our most critical witnesses from the start and practically ignored all the preliminary work that Malcolm did on the incident. How do you justify that? Specifically the part where you threatened Lieutenant Daniels, pushed him over the edge and then when he's in a vulnerable state, you secretly record him. To make matters worse, your little announcement closed him right up again. We will be lucky if he ever voluntarily opens up to any of us again. That was dirty legal tactics and you know it!"

To Harm's surprise, Sean Stallworth actually looked conflicted and possibly guilty at the mention of Tom Daniels. Taking a deep breath, Stallworth looked away for a moment. When he returned to meet Harm's gaze, he had a contrite look on his face. "I will admit, I may have been a tad overzealous in my pursuit of answers. The lieutenant was just about to give us some real hard evidence when his conscience made him clam up. I didn't like having to push him so hard, but I thought at first he was covering something up. You have to admit, in our line of work, we see that more often than not."

When he saw Harm nod in agreement, Sean continued. "I was certainly not expecting him to be as ahead of the game on wanting to have solid proof before speaking his mind as he actually was. So yes, I came down on him hard, expecting him to admit that there had been some mess up on the part of his men or that of Second Platoon, something that he knew for sure. And I turned out to be wrong, as your approach clearly proved. For that, as much as it pains me to admit, I am glad I was. But it also led us to a far more murky and treacherous situation, with a lot of evidence pointing towards the SF team being at fault. And that will be hard to prove, given their secretive behavior and close-ranks attitude."

Taking another deep breath, Stallworth stopped. Harm knew he wasn't finished, as he could see the wheels turning behind Sean's eyes. When he was ready, Sean turned away from Harm and began again. "Now, the taping of your conversation. While, you may think it was underhanded, let me be blunt: I could hear everything you two were talking about from in here. It wasn't like I could ignore it. But the real point is, when he started talking about what happened when they went to recover the casualties and investigate the site, I knew that it was critical information that needed to be documented. Considering the emotion you could hear in the lieutenant's voice, I felt that it was best to begin recording it at that moment, figuring that it might have been impossible for us to get the young man to speak about what he'd seen a second time for the record."

Sighing ruefully, Stallworth continued. "While it may have seemed sleazy at the time, please understand that I really was thinking about the poor kid's emotional well-being while I was recording him. It would have been cruel to try to make him repeat all that based on how he sounded as he spoke."

To say Harm was stunned by Stallworth's humility would be an understatement. While a part of him thought that maybe Sean was doing an expert acting job, the look in the man's eyes convinced him otherwise. Maybe there is more to this guy than just being an opportunistic jackass, Harm thought.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath for a moment, Harm walked over and stood in front of Stallworth. "Alright Sean, why don't we see if we can't get on the same page and pull a new plan of attack out of the Lieutenant's statement."

Nodding his head in agreement, Stallworth walked back to the table where their files were and set the recorder down. "Alright Harm, where do you want to start?"

Joining Stallworth at the table, Harm said, "Well Mac is trying to get Daniels calmed down, so while they are gone, let's run through the recording and sift through the details on the impact site."

And with that, the two senior attorneys put aside their differences and began to look for any new leads.

Mac took the opportunity of Harm and Sean going into the tent to go over to Tom, who had been watching the whole incident with a fair amount of confusion, disdain and curiosity. When he locked gazes with Mac, she could see the torrent of mixed emotions roiling in his hazel eyes. She appraised his posture, which had gone from open and slightly vulnerable when he was talking to Harm, to stiff and defensive as she moved up to his side. Mac knew she had to do something to get him relaxed again.

"Lieutenant," she started softly. "I need to refill my canteen; could you show me where the nearest water point is?"

Reverting back to the platoon leader he was, Tom straightened up and said, "Yes ma'am. There is a water buffalo back in front of the Company HQ tent."

Seeing that Tom did not quite get her point, Mac prodded gently, "It looks like you probably need to refill yours, so why don't you take me to it and we can top off?"

Realization dawned on Tom pretty quickly at that last statement. "Of course, ma'am. If you will follow me, it's right this way."

Mac fell in beside Tom as they headed out towards the water point. "Take the long way around, Lieutenant, by the foot paths. No need to walk quickly either, you and I should talk."

Tom did what she said, but was very wary of her request. As they slowly began to walk around the row of tents, Tom moved around to her left side, as military protocol dictated. Despite several tense moments earlier, Tom showed himself to be a true professional as he did not let their disagreements stand in the way of proper military bearing. Mac could see that the young officer would always perform his duties to the best of his abilities, despite whatever personal feelings he might have.

"So," Mac said. "You're cousin is Daniel O'Brien?" When he acknowledged her, she continued. "I met him, briefly. Commander Rabb introduced us a few years ago. He's a fine officer and, well he's, um . . ."

With a small smirk, Tom finished for Mac. "He's quite a character isn't he ma'am? He is a force of personality, as our grandmother likes to say."

At that, Mac chuckled a little bit. From her short interactions with Danny O'Brien, she could agree with that. He had an ebullient personality, and could draw you in with a joke, a story or friendly gesture. It was always interesting to watch him interact with Harm, as they played well off each other. Mac wondered if his young cousin was anything like him in better circumstances.

A nagging question that had been in the back of her mind since being introduced to Tom finally forced its way to the front. "You mentioned that Commander Rabb introduced him to his, ah, ex-wife I guess."

Tom nodded in acknowledgement, so she continued. "Well, the last time I saw your cousin, was about three years ago, and he had a ring on at the time. I take it the divorce is more recent?" Mac said, broaching the subject as lightly as she could. Seeing Harm's reaction to the lieutenant's mention of Danny and his ex-wife had piqued Mac's interest. Danny never talked about his home life; she wanted to know what had set Harm on edge about the subject.

"That's correct ma'am," Tom said as they stopped in front of a big water tank on wheels, called a water buffalo by Soldiers. As they refilled their canteens, Mac asked Tom to elaborate on the connection between Harm and Danny's ex. "Well ma'am, Commander Rabb and a junior officer were sent to investigate a training mishap between my cousin's unit and some Marines eight years ago."

"Yes," Mac said. "Danny told me that story the first time we met. The commander's partner at the time was a Lieutenant JG Meg Austin, I think."

Nodding as he finished topping off his canteen, Tom continued. "Roger. During the investigation, Meg caught Danny's eye and apparently she was interested in him as well. After the investigation was over, they had dinner together. Then it was a series of phone calls and letters until she was posted in Washington state in the summer of '96. It took off from there and they were married the next spring."

Her brow furrowing, Mac said, "Neither of them ever seemed to talk about your cousin marrying the commander's old partner. Hmmm."

Sensing that he might have revealed too much, Tom attempted to wrap up the conversation. "But I'm sure it was probably just more fun for them to talk about old times and tell embarrassing stories."

Mac saw what he was trying to do and wasn't about to let him prevent her from finding out what about this issue that seemed to make Harm feel guilty. "Not so fast Lieutenant," she said with a sardonic grin. "Remember who's the lawyer here. No use trying to throw me off the topic. Keep going."

Sighing, Tom turned to face her and continued. "Well at first they were a really happy, fun couple. The wedding was really nice. Danny said that the guy who introduced them wasn't able to make it due to official duties. But Danny and Meg both talked a lot about him. They both saw always thought of him as sort of a big brother, friend and mentor. I guess I have always been interested in meeting him myself, possibly because I wanted to see if all the stories about him were true."

They both exchanged wry smiles. "Fair enough. But something must have happened between Meg and Danny if they are divorced now," Mac said, pressing on.

"Yeah," Tom sighed, disappointment evident in his voice. "The first few years were pretty good. They came to Massachusetts to visit the family a few times. They had two kids, Danny Junior in '98 and Laura in March 2000. However, that's when it went downhill. Since he was the senior of the two, the military catered to him more. Meg put her career on hold for the kids, reserving her commission to care for them. Between raising the kids, giving up a lot of her dreams and the increasing tension in world at the time forcing Danny into a lot of operations away from home, it really took its toll on her."

Mac could see that Tom was trying not to be angry as he spoke. "Meg was a real sweet person, but things went south at the end of 2000. He was ordered on another overseas operation that would have taken him out of the country over Christmas. He'd already missed several holidays, so Meg wasn't going to let him miss another one. She got overwhelmed with everything and said if he went, they were done.

"Danny didn't have a choice though, and was shipped out earlier than expected. He tried to tell her he was looking for a desk job for when he got back, but it was too late. Meg filed for divorce and took the kids down to Texas to stay with her family. She couldn't handle being a Special Ops wife and by the time Danny got home, she had refused attempts to fix things, even if he found a desk job. It got pretty contentious and Danny didn't see his kids for six months. It crushed him and it's been pretty tense between them ever since. He was shocked that she, a former Naval officer, would up and leave him in the middle of a deployment. I know Danny wishes things had gone differently, and he misses his kids. It's been really tough on everyone."

That was not quite the story that Mac was expecting when he saw some of the initial exchanges between Tom and Harm. In fact, she had originally suspected that there might have been some infidelity on her part, based on Harm's reaction. Mac actually breathed a small sigh of relief that it wasn't the case, as that was one of the worst stereotypes depicted when military marriages fall apart. However, since Harm almost never mentioned either Meg or Danny's name recently, she wondered if there had been a falling out between Danny and Harm over this.

"Lieutenant," she said quietly, as they began moving back towards their temporary office. "I know that you are probably curious why I was asking you about your cousin and Commander Rabb. To make a long story short, I had two goals. One was to see if there was any potential issue between you and the Commander, due to family considerations. And two was to focus your attention on something aside from the sights you saw on the day of the incident. Do you understand where I am coming from?"

Tom knitted his brow and lowered his head as he thought for a moment. Looking back up at Mac, the frown disappeared, and his face returned to its youthful yet mature visage. "Yes ma'am I think I do. And I do appreciate your efforts to help me clear my mind of those images."

Mac nodded in acknowledgement of his appreciation. She looked over at him and he turned to meet her eyes. Flashing her a small smirk, he said, "Of course, you probably could have picked a less inflammatory topic as far as my family is concerned."

Seeing a flash of the same wit and charm that his cousin was known for, and something she used to get from Harm fairly regularly, Mac allowed herself a small smile too. True, knowing what she knew now, she probably wouldn't have pressed so hard about his cousin's marriage to Harm's old partner. She was also glad that she and the lieutenant seemed to have put their heated exchanges behind them. While it wasn't critical to the investigation if the investigators and the witnesses were on good terms, it generally made life easier for all concerned if there was at least a level of mutual understanding.

They were just about back at the tent where they left Harm and Sean when they passed a small group of Soldiers from Bravo Company taking a smoke break. One of the Soldiers spied Mac and let out a long, low whistle. As several of his buddies started to make some, what they thought were under-their-breath comments, Tom Daniels spun on his heal and was in their faces before any of them could react.

"Lock it up, gentlemen!" Tom snapped as he leaned in to the leader, a big, thick-necked corporal. "Is that how you are supposed to act when you are in the presence of two officers?"

The group snapped to attention at Tom's order. However, the burly corporal looked down his nose on the shorter lieutenant and glared at him with contempt. If he noticed the height and size difference, Tom didn't let on. These Soldiers had just embarrassed themselves and their unit and Tom was not having it. "I said is this appropriate behavior when you are in the presence of officers, Corporal?"

"Take it easy, Lieutenant," the corporal, whose name was Hendricks, practically spat. "The boys just haven't seen a female in a while. Give 'em a break. No harm done."

Hendricks was about to turn around when Tom closed the distance and got directly in his face. "First of all, you better watch your tone, Corporal. I don't know what your problem is, but I will not stand for any more of your insubordinate behavior. And second of all," he continued, gesturing towards Mac. "This is a Marine Lieutenant Colonel, so you will show the proper respect befitting her rank and position. Is that clear?" At the group's hesitation, Tom raised his voice. "I said, 'Is that clear?!'"

While the group of Soldiers sounded off, Hendricks remained quiet. This only added to Tom's growing aggravation. What is this asshole's problem, he thought. "The rest of you, get back to your duties. Corporal, you and I are going to get a couple things straight, right now."

While the group of Soldiers sounded off, Hendricks remained quiet. This only added to Tom's growing aggravation. What is this asshole's problem, he thought. "The rest of you, get back to your duties. Corporal, we are going to have a small chat on professionalism and insubordination, right now."

The corporal snorted at him derisively. "Sir, you are barking up the wrong tree. Best take your Marine and move along. A warzone ain't a place for thin skin."

The bigger man tried to intimidate Tom by leaning in closer, using his full height and width as emphasis. Tom Daniels, at five-eleven and 190 pounds, was not a small man by any means, but the man in front of him had a good five inches and sixty pounds on him. But, the young lieutenant's steel shown through as he looked the man in eyes and said, "I'm giving you one chance to apologize to the Colonel and get your ass back to you company before I have to put you in a world of hurt, understood?"

Corporal Hendricks nearly doubled over with laughter. The lieutenant wasn't going to get any satisfaction from Hendricks, but he at least had some sand. The brawny paratrooper just continued to glare at Tom with content and Mac walked over to the two and was about to launch into a tired of her own when, a huge hand reached over and clamped down on the unruly man's shoulder. When the stunned corporal tried to shrug his should free and couldn't, he saw a smug look on Tom's face and a devilish smile begin to spread across Mac's.

Hendricks turned around and saw the hulking form and snarling face of Sergeant First Class Corcoran. Even a big thug like Hendricks wilted when coming face to face with a very large and very angry 'Mastiff' Corcoran. Blood drained from the man's face quickly and he saw his life flash before his eyes. No one in the battalion or brigade ever messed with Mastiff and walked away.

"I'm gonna tell you this just once you pea-brained piece of shit," Corcoran growled as he pulled the man in close. "You will apologize to both the Colonel and the Lieutenant, and it better be sincere or I will tear your ass apart and bury it in the fucking desert." Turning towards the rest of Henricks' team, he said, "And the same goes for the rest of you, you half-assed, shit-brained, sorry excuses for Soldiers! Now snap to attention and render the appropriate honors!"

Hendricks and his men did exactly as Corcoran ordered. The young Soldiers were literally shaking. Hendricks had really done it this time. Mastiff glared at them and snapped, "Now get out of my Goddamn sight, you worthless bastards. And if EVER see any of you act that way to an officer or a female, I will hunt you down, chew you up and spit you out!"

The team from Bravo Company moved out quickly, with Hendricks in the lead. Tom and Mac exchanged a look as they watched the imposing figure of Corcoran demolishing the upstart and insubordinate group of paratroopers. Tom had a satisfied look on his face. While he didn't need saving, Mastiff's timely arrival was probably the best thing that could happen to all concerned. A fight was avoided, apologies were made and the incident would be remembered, but never repeated.

Mastiff was still cursing and growling as Tom walked over to him. "I shoulda killed that big sack of shit. Disrespect my LT and a Marine light colonel. Fucking disgraceful. Woulda done the Army a favor."

Tom placed a hand on his platoon sergeant's shoulder and with a smile said, "Down, Mastiff. Easy boy."

The huge platoon sergeant growled a little bit and then shook his head like a dog as his lieutenant patted him on the back. "Good boy! Want a treat?" Tom reached into a pocket and pulled out a piece of gum and handed it to Corcoran. The grizzled old NCO took it and winked at his lieutenant, who was trying to maintain his composure. The wink, caused Tom to let a snort go and his platoon sergeant gave his lieutenant a small, evil smirk.

Having just witnessed what she thought might have been the most bizarre series of events, Mac was stunned. She had remained in a defensive posture during the entire interaction between Corcoran and the unruly corporal. As crazed and infuriating as the run in with the men from Bravo Company was, the odd display of camaraderie between Tom and Mastiff just about shut her brain down. She had just watched a massive veteran paratrooper NCO scare off half a dozen immature and disrespectful Soldiers, and then let his young platoon leader treat him like a guard dog. The entire display was baffling to Mac.

"Thanks Mastiff. Probably would have gotten a lot uglier if you haven't popped in," Tom said, holding out his hand.

Corcoran shook the offered hand and replied, "That's what I'm here for sir. Someone's gotta protect your skinny ass." Upon hearing Mac's somewhat muffled appreciation, Corcoran turned to her and simply said, "Semper woof, ma'am."

With that absurd statement, Mac's jaw hit the dirt. Tom noticed and quickly said, "Ma'am, he spent four years in the Corps before he joined the Army. We'd call him Bulldog, but he's just too damn big."

And at that final comment, Mac finally lost her composure and began laughing so hard, that she nearly doubled over. Tom, laughing himself, reached over to steady her, while Corcoran looked on with a satisfied grin plastered on his face. Her unabashed and hearty laughter was so loud that it caused Harm to come bolting out of the tent to see what was going on.

Seeing the scene out in the path a few tents up, the tall ex-aviator strode up to where Mac was standing between the two paratroopers. With concern on his face at his partner in hysterics, Harm looked at the two Soldiers and said, "What the Hell is going on out here? Either of you two care to explain?"

Before Tom could answer, Corcoran turned towards Harm and replied, "Airborne, sir! Sergeant First Class Corcoran reporting as ordered."

"Thank you, Sergeant," Harm said warily as he watched Mac start to compose herself again. "Mac are you ok?"

She nodded at Harm and managed to say, "Yeah, I'm fine, just feeling a little punchy. The heat and time change have made me, dog-tired."

Tom and his platoon sergeant snickered at the obvious joke. A strong breeze blew through the corridor between the tents, causing them all to cover their faces, even those still laughing. Harm narrowed his eyes at them and opened his mouth to speak before he was cut off by Tom. "Roger sir, we are ready to continue with our interview. Might I suggest we go into the tent to get out of the howling wind?"

Mac and Corcoran started laughing at Tom's bad joke, much to Harm's consternation. But he figured he missed something innocuous and was content get everyone back into the tent to finish the interviews. He ordered everyone to follow him and led the group back towards the legal tent and was almost to the entrance when Corcoran said, "Hooah sir. Dog-gone glad to be of service!"

At that point, neither Mac nor the two Soldiers could hold back the wave of laughter that followed. Harm could only shake his head and shrug to Stallworth as he led the cackling trio inside. There has got to be one Hell of story to go with this, thought Harm. I guess this isn't going to get any easier.