Tears for Allah-Chapter VI

A/N: - If you watch 'Burn Notice' you'll know what a Fusion Center is. For those that don't, all large police stations have offices for Homeland Security operatives.

0440 Local_ 0940 Zulu
NLSO Branch Office - Central
Corpus Christi, Texas

Lieutenant, junior grade, Jason Tiner took a deep breath and slowly let it out as he stood in front of the doors to the Branch Office bullpen. It was still dark inside. The guard on duty at the gate had been surprised and little suspicious as to why this lawyer was here so early. But then his concern faded as Jason presented his papers.

The guard had harrumphed as Jason walked away from him. A newly minted JAG Corps officer – Commander Pelzer would eat him for breakfast…

Now Jason used his key given to him by the Office Manager, Chief Petty Officer Gilland on Friday afternoon to open the glass double doors. Computers blinked and whirred in the darkness as the Lieutenant, j.g. made his was to his office…wow…his office.

For years he had been used to occupying a desk in Admiral Chegwidden's outer office. Now, he was going to have-

He glanced down at the name plate next to his door. 'Lieutenant, j.g. Jason N. Toner' N. Toner? Wait a minute…that's not right… He looked around the office. Yes, this was the room that Chief Legalman Gilland had shown him Friday afternoon….

Oh well, it could be worse… He sat down and turned on his desk lamp and then his computer. Now he'd need a password. He opened the middle drawer… There it is… Gilland had left him his username and password.

Jason unfolded the paper.

Username - TonrNLSOC8241

He inwardly groaned. Another misspelling. Oh well, there was nothing could be done about it right now. He was about to log in when his phone rang.

"Petty…ah, Lieutenant Tiner speaking,"

If the person on the other end noticed his slip, they didn't mention it. In fact, the voice was all business.

"Chad Tolbert, NCIS Special Agent in Charge, Corpus Christi. We got a call a few moments ago from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Do you know Petty Officer Rachel LaGrew?"

"She's on my staff," Jason said non-committally wishing, he had said 'our' staff. Again Tolbert didn't seem to notice there was a slip-up of any sort.

"There's been an accident involving your Petty Officer."

"An accident? Where?"

"On US Highway 77 just outside of La Grange, Texas," he paused. "It's kind of strange one though,"

"Strange? How so?" Jason asked.

"The car was left idling in the middle of the highway. Lights on, no problems could be found with it, but the Patrolman reports that two people were found on the shore next to the Colorado River. Apparently they jumped or fell off the bridge for some reason. One of them was your Petty Officer LaGrew."

Jason looked over at the wall clock. It was nearly 0500. His boss would be coming in soon. Jason made a snap decision. "I'm headed up that way now Special Agent Tolbert."

The voice at the other end actually sounded relieved. "So am I. Say, why don't we ride together, save the Government some paperwork?"

Jason couldn't really see any reason why they shouldn't do this. "Sure. Meet me outside my office in ten. I need to call my CO and let him know what's going on."

"Yeah, me too – I was finishing the graveyard shift when this call came in."

xxvixx

Commander 'Slim Jim' Pelzer hated it when his phone rang at this hour. Not because he wasn't up. No, he usually got up about four to start his run. Today he was running late but at least he caught the phone on its first ring before it had a chance to disturb his sleeping wife.

"Pelzer," he said tersely into the receiver.

"Sorry to call this early, Commander-" the male voice began.

"Who is this?" Pelzer demanded.

"Lieutenant Tiner, Sir."

"Tiner?" He said in a moment of non-recognition. Then it hit him who Tiner was - his newest attorney to join the staff. The Hero of Falls Church, he thought darkly. "Tiner, where are you, and what the devil's going on?" he quizzed in rapid fire fashion.

Pelzer's 'just the facts' questions reminded Tiner of Admiral Chegwidden and he responded as Petty Officer Tiner would have.

"At the office sir. Legalman 2 LaGrew has been in an accident, Commander."

It took a moment for NLSO Head's brain to process this new information. "Where?" He said after a moment.

"Highway 77 just outside of La Grange. Sir, I'm headed there now with NCIS Special Agent in Charge Tolbert."

Given the early hour, it would have been fruitless to order his new attorney to stay. No one else was going to be in the office for another 30 to 45 minutes, so it was only logical that he should go to the scene of the accident. So much for the usual early morning run, "I'm on my way in Tiner. Report to me when you get there."

"Aye, aye, sir," Jason said before hanging up.

xxvixx

"He's dead." the doctor declared flatly, standing up. He hated these early morning calls, more so since he passed his fortieth birthday last month.

"Are you sure Doc?" Patrolman Christian said looking down at the mud covered man. He found it hard to believe that the guy was actually dead. He could imagine him having a few broken bones, but dead?

"Yeah, the impact on that rock," family practitioner Stan Yarborough said pointing to a bloody piece of sandstone sticking out of the ground. "Though it was surrounded by mud, it punctured his skull, snapped his neck and severed his spinal cord. Death was instantaneous."

Jason could hardly believe hitting that one rock could have caused all that damage. Some would call it a freak accident. "How about the Petty Officer?"

Stan carefully walked through the mud toward the DPS Patrolman. "She was extremely lucky. Compound fractures on both of her arms, but if she hadn't thrown them in front of her at the last moment, it would have been a lot worse." He looked over at the sluggish moving water and then back at Jason. "The water wasn't that deep."

"Really appreciate you coming out here at this hour, Doc," Jason Christian said to the doctor, extending a hand to him help him out of the gooey muck.

"Thank Officer Flynn, not me. He's the one who dragged me out of bed."

"Well we appreciate you coming so willingly then," DPS Patrolman said wryly.

Yarborough smirked at him. "Yeah, well, I guess I have to wait for the Navy guys to get here and do their thing, right?" He looked back up at the bridge overpass. "Say, any idea why these two jumped?"

Jason Christian shook his head. "Nothing indicates why they did it. Could've been an argument, he could have been trying to kill her, she might have been trying to kill him, but it's really anyone's guess at this point until we talk with the Petty Officer."

Stan looked back at the shrouded body. "Too bad you can't ask him. Oh well, maybe the Navy investigators will know more about this..."

Patrolman Christian hoped that was the case. Especially since they learned Petty Officer LaGrew's passenger was a Muslim foreign student and, according to the Eddie Flynn's dispatcher, a person of interest in a murder case back in Austin.

0617 Local_1117 Zulu
Front Gate
U.S. Disciplinary Barracks (USDB)
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

"Special Agent Leroy Jethro...Gibbs, NCIS," the Marine guard said aloud as he read the identification card the gray haired man had handed him. His partner was just finishing the inspection of the Ford Taurus rental Gibbs had driven in from the airport. "Who are you here to see at this hour of the morning, Special Agent Gibbs?"

"Ensign Theodore Lindsey," the Head of the DC Major Case Response Team stated complying with the request.

The two gate guards exchanged a look. "Lindsey's the one that killed that JAG attorney, Singer, right?" said the one looking at the NCIS agent's ID card.

"That would be him," Gibbs replied stoically.

The MP Sergeant handed Gibbs back his ID and smirked. "Lindsey should be getting ready to start another fun filled day here. You dropping in for a visit will tickle the Ensign pink."

Gibbs gave the Sergeant a wry smile as he put the ID back in his jacket pocket. "I bet it will."

0710 Local_1210 Zulu
US 77
La Grange, Texas

Jason eased his Dodge Durango in behind two Department of Public Safety cars parked on the bridge. The Dodge Stratus still sat in the middle, straddling both lanes.

"Looks like they've left everything for us to examine," remarked Chad as they got out of the SUV.

During their drive up from Corpus, Tiner had learned his passenger had been with the Corpus Christi NCIS branch office for a little over three years. He and his wife, a contract employee at NAS Ingleside working on the Mine Countermeasure Ships stationed there, had an apartment near the duplex Jason was renting in Flour Bluff.

As they approached Legalman 2 LaGrew's car, a solidly built dusty blond hair gentleman wearing a Texas Ranger's badge walked up to them.

"Ranger Tyler Banks," he said as he shook both Tiner and Tolbert's hands. "We've kept everything as the DPS found it."

Chad nodded pulling well-worn notepad from his breast pocket. "So who's the patrolman who found the car?"

"That would be DPS patrolman Jason Christian." The Ranger turned to the officer who was standing next to his cruiser. "Hey Christian, come on over here."

Jason broke away from the knot of local officers and DPS patrolmen and walked over to the trio.

Banks made the introductions. "This is NCIS Special Agent in Charge Chad Tolbert and Lieutenant Jason Tiner, the JAG officer from Corpus," Banks said by way of an introduction. "Gentleman, Patrolman Christian."

Tiner and Tolbert shook hands with the DPS patrolman. "Thanks for keeping things as you found them," Tiner said.

"Tell us what you found," Chad Tolbert said affably.

Jason Christian nodded and began his report. "Well at approximately 4:10am I found Petty Officer LaGrew's Dodge Stratus idling right where it is now. The doors were open but the trunk was locked. I didn't find any evidence of foul play or any blood in, on, or near the car. After a cursory examination of the area, officer Edward Flynn and I discovered a badly injured Petty Officer LaGrew and the body of one Hassan Merhod, age 26, a student at the University of Texas at Austin on the riverbank below the bridge."

"So they both jumped?" Chad said thinking aloud as he looked from the car to the bridge railing.

The DPS patrolman shook his head. "Not meaning any disrespect, Special Agent Tolbert, but your guess is as good as mine. They could have both jumped, or Hassan may have jumped and pulled the Petty Officer down with him or vice versa. At this point, it's anyone's guess."

Chad turned to the newly minted JAG attorney. "What do you know about Legalman 2 LaGrew?"

Tiner was prepared for the question. "Nothing in her SRB indicated any problems of any sort. She was taking summer classes at the University of Texas." He felt good about having grabbed this information before he left the office.

But Chad was just getting warmed up. "Know anything about her relationship with this Hassan Merhod?"

Now Tiner shook his head. "I just came on board this morning, but there was nothing in her file that indicated any potential problems."

Chad made another note on his pad and then flipped it shut. "Okay, let's go take a look at the body and see if we can pick up anything from it about what might have happened."

The four men proceeded over to the end of the north side of the bridge and walked down the embankment toward Hassan's shrouded body.

xxvixxx

"Hey Ensign, you got a visitor!"

Ensign Theodore Lindsey put down the paperback he had been reading and stood up.

"Open 23!"

The metallic clang of the cell door opening still startled Teddy Lindsey even though he had been here since early May.

Teddy looked at the burly Marine guard and blanched. "Who is it?"

The Marine glanced at the dog eared paperback novel. "Grapes of Wrath, huh?"

"Never finished reading it in school," Teddy replied adjusting his steel rimmed glasses. "Who did you say was visiting me?"

The guard smirked at him. "I didn't. But if helps put you in a better frame of mind, I think it's an NCIS agent."

"An NCIS agent!?" Ensign Lindsey said in surprise as he was herded down past the other cells toward the visitor's area.

xxvixx

Chad Tolbert grimaced as he snapped another photo of Hassan Merhod's body."Wow, talk about your bad luck..."

Jason Tiner bent down and peered at the fatal injuries. He looked over at Stan Yarborough. "Death was instantaneous?"

Stan nodded. "When he hit that rock it was all she wrote. At least in my opinion. Only an autopsy will confirm that. But first you guys have to find out if he has any relatives that will allow that."

Patrolman Christian looked up at the bridge overhead. "No way to tell if they fell or jumped."

"Could've been doing some kind of crazy stunt – you know, drunk, daring each other to walk on the railing..." Ranger Banks theorized.

Jason Tiner looked over at family practitioner cum county coroner again. "Where did you say Legalman LaGrew was taken?"

Stan walked over to quartet. "They took her to St. Marks' in town. She's in serious, but stable condition. It's the same place we're taking Mr. Merhod, that is, once you approve it."

"I've got all the photos I need," Chad said to Tiner. "What do you say we go visit Petty Officer LaGrew and see if she can tell us anything." He turned back to the DPS patrolman and doctor. "There will be medical examiner here from Corpus NAS anytime now. He'll accompany Mr. Merhod back to Corpus."

xxvixx

Teddy Lindsey's eyes grew wide with shock at the gray haired man who walked into the interrogation room. "Special Agent Gibbs?! Wha- wha- what are you doing here?"

The senior NCIS motioned to the Marine guard who turned and left the room. "I just wanted to have a little chat," Gibbs dropped a thick folder on the table in front of him.

Teddy audibly swallowed and looked down at the thick tri-fold folder sitting in front of him and then back at Gibbs.

"What's this?" Ensign Lindsey said with some trepidation.

"What we're going to chat about," the Head of the MCRT replied dryly. He sat down and opened the folder and pulled out a sheaf of photos and couple of stapled documents. He laid the photos out directly in front of the Ensign. From left to right there photos were of Mustafa Atef, Kabir Atef, Captain Yerastov, Amad bin Atwa, Khalil 'Mohammed Hassan' Zahari, Sadik Fahd, Raul Garcia, Samir al Sahood, Colonel Darcy Livingston, Hamid al Harib, Master Gunnery Sergeant Rudy Wilbane, Captain Jacques Lewis, and Loren Singer.

Teddy swallowed and then gave Gibbs a guarded look. "Why are you showing me photos of these people and Lieutenant Singer?"

"You remember Mustafa and Karbir Atef-"

Teddy quickly interrupted while nodding his head. "Yes and Captain Yerastov and Amad bin Atwa and Mohammed Hassan. I was in on the SECNAV's briefings on these people. But I-I don't know who these others are."

Gibbs smiled and shook his head. Then he began telling Lindsey who the others were. "Sadik Fahd. Originally from Iran, former bodyguard to Yassir Arafat. He plotted to smuggle 100 Stinger missiles to cells in the US by bringing them to this man, Raul Garcia, a Paraguyan drug lord and arms dealer. Garcia was going have them shipped overland from the Chaco Boreal into the US. Samir al Sahood. Originally from Kadahar, part of bin Laden's al Jihad terrorist cell at the Darunta Training Camp. When things got too hot in Afghanistan, he fled to Iraq and took over an al Diwaniyah insurgent contingent with the help of Darcy Livingston, former Force Recon officer and this man, Hamid al Harib, former member of the Egyptian Army and Muslim Brotherhood. The three of them plotted the attack on JAG Corps Headquarters and tried to fire SCUD missiles armed with Hydrogen Cyanide warheads at 36th MEU stationed in Mirbullah. They had the help of these Marines - former Captain Jacques Lewis and former Master Gunnery Sergeant Rudy Wilbane."

He paused and dropped the smile. "Raul Garcia and Colonel Livingston are dead. Sahood, Harib, and Captain Lewis are in custody. Master Gunnery Sergeant Wilbane is UA and Sadik Fahd has gone underground. Do you know where they are?"

Teddy Lindsey felt bile rising in his panicked throat. His complexion became pale. "N-No! I don't! Why would I? And what has this got to do with Lieutenant Singer?!"

Gibbs swept up the photos of the al Jihad members and put them back in the folder and replaced them with another photo that he put next to Loren Singer's. "A few months before you started your liaisons with Lieutenant Singer, she was seen with this man. Sean Macklin, an exchange student from Ireland. He's known to have sympathies with a splinter group of the IRA and al Jihad. Did you know she was involved with him?"

Ensign Lindsey shook his head so hard Gibbs thought it would snap off. "She had ties to terrorists?! To al Jihad?! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! This cannot be happening to me! No! She didn't discuss any of her past relationships with me, Agent Gibbs! If she was still in touch with him she didn't tell me!"

Gibbs nodded thoughtfully and then gave the Ensign a wry smile. "I see, so she just came to you with the classified information about JAG Corps' staff and that was it?"

Lindsey looked at him in wild-eyed panic. "Yes! Yes! No! Wait! It's all in my confession!"

Gibbs reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his reading glasses and put them on. "Sorry, getting older, you understand." Then he opened the stapled documents and began reading.

"'Lieutenant Singer had threatened me. She told me she was going to tell my wife that the child she was carrying was mine if I didn't pay her $5,000. I went to Easy Al's Check Cashing and cashed a check from my personal account in the amount of $5,000 dollars in order to pay the Lieutenant. When I met her Saturday evening at Potomac Park she told me $5,000 wasn't enough and said she was going to tell my wife what I had done – all of it. She turned to leave and grabbed for her. She slipped on the ice as I grabbed her and hit her head on the bridge railing and then the concrete. She was unconscious and bleeding heavily. I panicked. I started to call 911 but then I thought if I got rid of her, I could tie it to Commander Rabb, since I knew that he and Lieutenant had recently been at odds over his half-brother. I picked her up and threw her into the water. At the time, I thought she was dead. I just wanted her to go away.'"

Gibbs voice dripped with skepticism as he took off his reading glasses. "So she just came to you with the classified information about Admiral Chegwidden's people and in return you gave her dinners and several rolls in the hay, she got pregnant, threatened to tell all and when she fell, you in a panic, you threw her off that bridge so she would just go away?"

"Gibbs! I'll make you a deal!" Lindsey was frantic.

The Head of the DC MCRT gave him a cynical smile. "What kind of deal?"

"Any kind you want! Just please, God, don't let me go to Gitmo! I swear to God I didn't know what that little bit-"

"Watch your language, Ensign!" Gibbs said in his best DI voice.

Lindsey recoiled momentarily but then pressed his case with even more fervor. "Sorry! But I swear to God, Gibbs, I didn't know that the Lieutenant was involved with terrorists too! Please! I wasn't involved in whatever she was doing!" His voice took on a pleading tone.

Gibbs was unmoved. He had other dirtbags try this. "So she never mentioned Macklin or any of the others?"

Lindsey put his head in his hands for a moment. Gone was the sneering smug attitude that he had when he was arrested in April. He couldn't even look at Gibbs anymore. "No. Our deal strictly involved the audit but not any classified files. We-We talked about what happened at JAG, that's all. I recorded everything and then transferred it to my computer. The more we talked about our mutual hatred of JAG Corps, the more we found we had in common. We had dinners together to discuss what she had learned and...one thing lead to another. Your Forensic Lab Specialist recovered all my notes and files. That's all I had and she never mentioned anything about al Jihad or any classified files..."

Gibbs looked at Ensign Theodore Lindsey for a long moment. His gut told him that the Ensign was telling the truth. There wasn't an exchange of classified files, only Lieutenant Singer blowing steam about what went on at JAG. And if she was involved with Macklin, she never told Lindsey. They were back to square one on this case.

0835 Local_1335 Zulu
St. Marks Hospital
La Grange, Texas

If it weren't for the bruises on her face and her arms in casts, Jason Tiner would have described Legalman 2 Rachel LaGrew as pretty.

"That's all I remember, Special Agent," Rachel said with a dejected sigh as she finished her statement. Chad glanced over at Lieutenant Tiner and then looked at his notes.

According to Legalman 2 LaGrew, she had picked up Hassan at a hotel just off of IH-35 as they had agreed to do early last week. She hadn't asked why he wanted to meet her there. From there they were to drive to Corpus where he would drop her off. She and Hassan had been dating about two years. He had never said anything to her that indicated he was a fanatic of any sort. In fact, he had seemed ambivalent about religion in general, being focused more on his studies.

So why did he try to kill the Legalman? Well, part of the answer to that mystery had been supplied by Staff Sergeant Kim Porter, Marine Criminal Investigation Division (CID) who was in the room with them.

According to Staff Sergeant Porter, Merhod's name popped up when his handler, Amal Abinjinad , and another person of interest, Kassim Tabatabainejad were pulled over for a routine traffic stop in Dallas. Both men had alcohol on their breath and were belligerent with the officer that had initiated the stop.

He gave them the standard field sobriety tests and determined they were too drunk to be driving. It was when he started to arrest them for DUI that things got interesting. First, the two drunks began arguing with each other in Arabic. Then Amal started telling the arresting officer that he wanted to make a deal with him in exchange for his freedom. At this point Kassim tried to throttle Amal and began cursing him saying 'his blood would join that of other Kafirs'. Amal responded by punching Kassim in the nose. Fortunately by the time this happened, several other officers had arrived, and what could have turned into messy fight on the side of the highway was cut short.

When the dust settled, both men were taken to separate patrol cars. As soon as Amal was seated in the back of the cruiser, he told the officer he was member of al Jihad and began naming places of terrorist incidents and people, including Darcy Livingston and Hassan Merhod. He then told the officer that he would be killed if the officer didn't help him.

The officer decided it was worth a gamble, and when they got to the station, he took Amal over watch commander's office and asked to speak to the Homeland Security liaison in the Fusion Center. The officer told him what had happened during the traffic stop and the names he mentioned. Rather than ignoring Amal, he listened to him for a few moments as he repeated what he had told the officer, checked a file on his computer, and then called Staff Sergeant Porter.

"I have to admit I was ready to dismiss what they told me about Mr. Abinjinad," she admitted to Jason as Chad continued talking to Rachel. "But then my partner reminded me that if we ignored this drunken immigrant in light of the terrorist attack that took place at JAG Headquarters back in July, we'd probably find ourselves reassigned to some backwater post in the middle of Rabbit Tracks, USA."

"So where is your partner now?" The Corpus JAG officer asked.

Kim Porter gave him a wry smile. "He's accompanying Mr. Abinjinad back to NCIS Headquarters in DC. I was going to catch a later flight back because I had to finish up paperwork with the local LEOs on Amal and Kassim. That's when a call came in the liaison's office about a Petty Officer and a foreign student taking a header off a highway bridge in La Grange. With Kassim on his way to Gitmo, I got in my rental and headed down here, figuring it was something routine at first."

"Let me guess, the liaison called you back-"

She nodded. "-and told me the student involved was Hassan Merhod. The same Merhod Amal had had mentioned in his rambling confession. I got pulled over twice for speeding on my way down here. The second time I was pulled over and explained what was going on, they put me in a cruiser with a big DPS patrolman who I swear must've broke a land speeding record getting us here. Believe it or not, he drove faster than I had been driving," she said with another droll smile. She immediately sobered up again when she looked over at LN 2 LaGrew.

Jason could see there were tears in the corner of Rachel's eyes. She had been extremely lucky that her glasses had fallen off when she plunged off that bridge. Otherwise the injuries to her face would have been much worse. As it was, she had several nasty bruises along her cheekbones and around her eyes. Fortunately there hadn't been any stones in the mud she hit.

Kim Porter walked over to the bed. "Legalman, you stated earlier that Hassan had wanted to stop and mail a package?"

Rachel looked cautiously over at the Marine CID agent. Jason could tell that Rachel LaGrew thought she was in trouble. "Yes, in LaGrange. I thought it was weird that he couldn't wait to do this till we were in Corpus...

xx_begin flashback_xx

'Why did we stop to mail that package Hassan?'

'It is none of your concern' Hassan said coldly, effectively silencing her.

He looked over at her face and immediately felt sorry for snapping at her. 'Forgive me, Rachel, it is a personal matter, I should not speak to you that way.'

xx_end flashback_xx

"I didn't think anything more about it because he apologized. Then he got to bridge and said the car was acting funny."

Chad picked up the story from there. "...and when you got out, he yanked you over to the bridge railing and after a brief struggle knocked you over the side-"

"-but I grabbed him as I went over. The last thing I remember was heading for the water and praying it was deep enough."

Kim looked at Jason and Chad and then back at the Legalman. "Thank you, Petty Officer. We'll be in touch."

Rachel tried to smile at the three of them as they exited the room. Outside her door, a DPS patrolman acknowledged the presence of the trio.

Kim turned back to the door. "I'm going to stay with her, see if she remembers anything else. You two be careful. Hassan might have left a surprise in that package."

Chad nodded. "The local LEOs have the street cordoned off where the mailbox is located. We'll let you know what they find."

0945 Local_1345 Zulu
Conference Room One
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia

Monday, 8 September 2003

Sturgis and Bud were still perusing the files just handed to them by LN 2 Coates when he cleared his throat indicating he wasn't quite done yet.

"All right, moving on. Finally, I have information on a few incidents that affect us."

AJ adjusted his reading glasses as he looked at the sheet he held. "Two weeks ago an Indian army border patrol found a body in the Siachen Glacier. He was identified as Abu Fahrad Hamadi."

The JAGC attorneys and senior staff exchanged puzzled looks. Bud was the first to voice their confusion. "Who was he, sir?"

The JAG looked over the top of his reading glasses at Bud. While he didn't growl, he made it plain the Lieutenant had jumped the gun. "I'm getting to that, Lieutenant, if you'll let me."

Bud looked stricken as only he could. "Sorry sir," he said quietly. Mac inwardly winced in sympathy.

AJ continued with his brief. "Hamadi was a key player in Samir al Sahood's cell at the Darunta Training Camp."

This time Harm spoke up. "What was he doing near the Chinese-Indian border, sir?"

AJ gave him a dark smile. "We don't know that yet, Commander. But ONI does have, thanks to our contacts in the Indian Army, a notebook that he was carrying. Apparently he was going to meet some members of the East Turkestani Liberation Organization when he somehow either fell in a crevasse or was caught off guard by an avalanche and became trapped in the ice."

Now it was Mac's turn to speak. The implications of finding one of Sahood's lieutenants near the border with China were staggering, "What does ONI think they were up to?"

AJ sighed. He didn't like hearing Sahood's name pop up either. "According to ONI, Hamadi's notes indicated concerns with Coalition operations along the northern Afghanistan border. Seems that between Dostrum's pacification operations and the Coalition's efforts to locate and neutralize an al Qaeda presence in the area, they've forced Sahood's cohorts to seek help from allies in, ah, neighboring countries."

"How do we fit in sir?" Harm replied. He wondered if they would be headed to Afghanistan so soon after getting back from Iraq.

The Navy-Marine Corps JAG gave him a terse answer. "For now, we don't." Seeing the baffled looks return, he continued. "Directly, that is, Commander. ONI wants us to give them an evaluation of Sahood's cell based on our dealings with them in Mirbullah. Colonel, you'll take the lead on this because you were on the ground with Colonel Livingston's unit. Commander, you'll assist because you discovered Sahood's connection with Lieutenant Dodge's death."

Mac looked at Harm. Their silent expressions at each other indicated there was a lot there to cover. "Sir, when would you want our analysis and evaluation?"

AJ looked thoughtful for a moment. "By Tuesday's secure. Colonel, Commander, time is of the essence. Coates has sent the analysis and evaluation template to your respective email boxes."

Harm and Mac gave each other knowing glances and then looked at the Admiral. "Aye, aye, sir," they chorused.

AJ cleared his throat again, to signal he still wasn't finished. When the group settled down again, the JAG continued reading. "Now, at around that same time of Hamadi's death, The destroyer, USS Ingalls, part of NATO's Standing Naval Reaction Forces, Maritime Group Five, was conducting a Visual Boarding Search and Seizure operation 270 miles off the coast of Somalia. The Somali dhow that they boarded turned out to be a pirate mother ship. Unfortunately the boarding party ran into trouble."

"What kind of trouble, sir?" Bud asked. It was apparent to him that either he or Sturgis would be affected by this one. And this time he didn't feel like he had jumped the gun.

"According to the NCOIC of the boarding party, Master at Arms Chief Milo Thompson, one of the pirates tried to shoot his way out of custody and was killed by Master at Arms 2nd Class Walter Brumwell."

"Sounds pretty cut and dried to me, sir," Sturgis commented. "The pirate was shot by 2nd Class Brumwell in self-defense."

AJ smirked. "You'd think so, Commander, but it's not, uh, cut and dried. Chief Thompson reported they could not find the weapon."

Bud again jumped in, voicing the JAGC attorneys' curiosity. "They searched the entire crew, sir?"

AJ nodded. "And the entire ship from bow to stern, Lieutenant. No weapon was found matching 2nd Class Brumwell's description of what the pirate had been carrying."

The four attorneys that were present at today's staff call exchanged glances. This one would definitely require a JAGMan investigation.

AJ Chegwidden looked directly at the former Dolphin. "Commander, you will be the lead on the JAGMan team investigating this incident. The Ingalls and the Somali pirate dhow are at anchor at Djibouti. You will proceed to Andrews Air Force Basewhere you will board an Air Force

C-17 headed to Camp Lemonnier and then head overland to the harbor area where the Ingalls and the dhow are currently docked. Coates has your orders and movement instructions. Lieutenant, you'll accompany the Commander." The Legalman 2 walked over and handed Sturgis and Bud the envelopes containing their travel orders.

He eyed both men. "You will report your findings to the Ingalls' CO, Captain Tyrell Jackson, at which time he'll determine what charges, if any, will be filed against 2nd Class Brumwell."

"Aye, aye, sir." they replied.

The JAG nodded. "Good. That will be all. Dismissed."

As the attorneys and JAGC senior staff got up to leave, Bud's cell rang. It was a local call, but he didn't recognize the number.

He looked up apologetically at everyone. "Excuse me, Admiral, sirs, ma'am." Bud hurried out into the hall and pressed the talk button.

"Yes, this is Lieutenant Roberts, speaking."

"Lieutenant? This is Jason Tiner speaking. I need your help-"

"Tiner?!" Bud broke into a big grin as he started walking down the hall toward his office. "Hey man, it's good to hear your voice! How's Corpus Christi?"

"Sir, I have a problem," Tiner said somewhat more forcefully trying to get the junior JAG officer's attention.

Bud's smile disappeared. "What is it Tiner?"

The new attorney sighed. "It's my Legalman, sir, she's been charged with conduct unbecoming."

-TBC...