Secrets and Sacrifices
Part 11
Sheffield allows time for everyone to find a seat before beginning his tale. The only others in the room who know what he's about to reveal are the members of the team—and even they don't know all the details; Harm never told them what happened in the building.
"Three months ago an incident occurred that could have had a drastic effect on this country. While on a brief vacation the President's daughter was abducted by a terrorist who has been frustrated in his attempts at creating havoc for the past several years—beginning with the destruction of his Stinger missiles in Paraguay a little more than three years ago." Everyone knows who he's talking about.
"Sadik," Mac whispers.
"Rabb—Post—whatever you want to call him and his team had just finished up a mission. With the kind of missions they were undertaking at the time it was unofficial SOP to give them a few days down time after each one. Rabb was too stubborn to take it but his team usually did, and this day was no exception. They were the only team available—I had no choice but to recall them…"
***
"Commander, I need you to recall your team as soon as possible," Sheffield instructed Harm.
"One moment, sir," Harm asked. He quickly punched the numbers into the phone in the hotel, sending a brief and seemingly random set of numbers to the pager of Lt. Commander Duncan. "All right, sir. They'll be turning around in a minute or two and be back probably in a couple of hours, what is it we can do for you?"
Sheffield proceeded to outline the problem, anticipating Harm would come up with a plan by the time his team returned. It would probably take them another hour at least to get their gear together, but it was the best he could hope for—all of the other teams were unavailable. Harm had a thoughtful look on his face at the end of the briefing, Sheffield assumed he was just working on a plan, he was only partly correct. When the team arrived less than two hours later, a detailed plan was spelled out for them, but Harm was no where around—he had already left to put his plan into motion.
Upon arriving at the house Sadik was thought to be using, Harm conducted a quick survey of the area—there were several lapses in the security around the perimeter which were only the first of several errors on Sadik's part. Harm used one of those gaps to sneak closer to the house and slip unnoticed inside. Security on the inside was almost nonexistent. Had he not taken out a large number of Sadik's forces several years before, Harm knew he would have faced a larger contingent of forces; as it was, Sadik was very distrustful and hadn't yet recruited enough men to replace those he had lost—all in Harm's favor.
A few minutes of careful exploration brought Harm to the room Sadik was using. He was on the phone, making demands and threatening the girl Harm had yet to locate. Sadik was confident it was too soon after the abduction to have to worry about any rescue attempts; he was too confident his men would be able to repel any future attempts; and he was confident the father of the girl he abducted would give in immediately to his demands—he was wrong on all accounts.
Although he wanted to take out the man who had been in some small way responsible for his current position, Harm moved on after ascertaining his target was not in the room. A short distance down the hallway Harm heard muffled sobbing, but it was a few moments until he determined exactly where it was coming from. Using skills he had learned many years before, Harm had the door to the closet unlocked and opened in short order. What he saw made him wish again he could take retribution on the one who caused this all—the President's daughter, Mary, was sitting huddled in a ball on the dirty floor of the closet. She looked up with fear in her eyes when the door opened, only to quickly hide her head once again in her knees. He didn't think of it at the time, but outfitted as he was, she was more scared of him than staying where he was—until after he spoke.
"My name is Jackson Post," he told her softly, hating the lie. "I'm here to take you home."
She looked up hopeful and scared, but didn't make any attempt to move. "Why?" she asked.
The question stopped his move to reach in and bodily lift her out. "I'm a Commander in the Untied States Navy, it's my job," he told her. "Your father is worried about you."
"My father probably doesn't even know I'm missing," she replied.
Harm felt himself growing exasperated with the 14-year old. "Mary, he knew shortly after you were taken. One of the agents who were with you survived long enough to report in," he replied bluntly. The look of fear turned to sadness, she'd been so wrapped up in self pity and fear for herself, she hadn't thought about the men who had given their lives to try to protect her. It was that realization that made her put her trust in the man before her—that and the honesty in his eyes when he spoke to her.
"Okay, Commander Post, I'll go with you," she said, stretching out one hand for help to her feet.
"I don't believe either of you are going anywhere," a voice behind Harm said nastily. In his preoccupation with Mary, Sadik was able to sneak up on him unawares. "Now who are you?"
Fear blossomed again in Mary's eyes as Harm turned to look his captor in the face. "Commander Jackson Post, United States Navy," Harm answered. "You would be well advised to allow us to walk out of here," he said confidently. "The rest of my team is outside and they have orders to storm the place if I don't come out in a five minutes." It was a bit of misdirection. He had simply instructed his team to wait on their arrival for him and provide any support he may need, but he couldn't help the bluff—it simply felt right.
It happened in slow motion. Harm saw the intent in Sadik's eyes. He stepped more fully in front of Mary, presenting himself as the sole target of Sadik's rage. Three shots slammed into his chest in rapid succession. Then all hell broke loose.
Sadik turned even before Harm hit the ground. The sound of automatic weapons being discharged outside startled him—Harm had been telling the truth—he did the only thing he could think of—forgetting everything else, Harm, Mary, his men, he ran for his life.
Mary shrank back into the closet in shock. She had blocked the images of the Secret Service agents getting killed to protect her, but this one she couldn't imagine ever being able to put out of her mind.
Then he moved. He'd been unbalanced by the shots hitting his vest and had ended up flat on his back. He put a hand to his chest, groaned and opened his eyes. Preoccupied with the firing of the weapons outside, Sadik hadn't heard Harm gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of him; Mary hadn't noticed either, she was convinced she had seen him die.
Harm tensed when he heard footsteps in the hallway, and silently cursed his inability to protect Mary.
The footsteps stopped. "Um, sir. This really isn't the best time to be taking a nap."
Harm looked up into the face of Lieutenant Sharpe. "Help me to my feet Sharpe," he requested. "Sadik was just here, did you get him?"
"Didn't see anyone. What's the deal with this guy? He doesn't seem to have much help around here."
"He thought he was safe, I suppose. We have Mary, let's get out of here."
"Where is she?" Sharpe asked.
Harm looked around. He'd heard her when he first opened his eyes, he knew Sadik didn't take her, but now… "Mary, come on out. We're going to take you home now," he said soothingly.
Mary crept from the closet and launched herself at him when she saw he was on his feet. She missed the grimace when she buried her head in his chest, but Sharpe didn't. "I thought he had killed you too," she said through her tears.
"It would take more than him to get me," Harm joked. "Let's get out of here." Sharpe had questions—one look at Harm made him keep them to himself, for now. He took point and led the way from the house to where the rest of the team had gathered, while Harm followed with Mary clinging to his side.
***
"Conversation with the President later revealed Sadik was on his way to kill Mary. The President had refused to give in to his demands, they were just too great. We found out Sadik survived the raid. He put out word that he wanted Commander Jackson Post—alive or dead—although he preferred him alive. It was then that we made the decision to bring Rabb out of hiding. Sadik wanted both men, but he was gunning for Post and I don't believe he knows the name of the man who foiled his plans in Paraguay."
The silence in the room following the story is palpable. It hangs there until Tiner asks, "That was an interesting story, but what does it have to do with this?" he waves his hand around the room.
"I think I can answer that," a voice comes from the back of the room, beside the door. All heads swivel to look behind them—no one heard anyone enter in their entrancement of the story.
Clayton Webb strides to the front of the room as if he belongs in the place although his typical three-piece suit is at odds with the uniforms and even Sheffield's slightly more casual look. "Mr. Webb, what are you doing here?" Sheffield asks.
"I was in the area and thought I'd drop by," Webb quips. "I was looking into something for a friend. I couldn't locate the information and was prepared to deliver the message in person, but then I overheard story you just told and found the reason for my failure. When you people sit on something, you certainly do a good job of it," he says to Sheffield.
"What are you talking about?"
"Let's just say Commander Rabb's recent reemergence into society has many people wondering where he's been for the last three years. Now that I know, there are things that begin to make more sense." He obviously doesn't know everything.
"That doesn't tell me why you're here," Sheffield grumbles.
Webb smiles, but it fades quickly. "I have information that leads me to believe Sadik may be behind those planes you've been having troubles with."
"What do you mean?" Browning asks.
"Information has just come to light that Sadik made a large transaction with someone in the Russian government, but no one was able to determine what was purchased because nothing was shipped via the 'normal' routes. When those Sukhoi began showing up, someone put two and two together, checked some records and determined that was the most likely explanation. Sadik does not like the United States, he really does not like the United States Navy and he is particularly unhappy with two United States Navy Commanders—although he does not realize they are the same person. He's out for blood and I believe forcing your pilot down is the beginning of his revenge."