CHAPTER 7 - Imaginary
"Don't say I'm out of touch
With this rampant chaos your reality
I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge
The nightmare I built my own world to escape"
"Imaginary" By: Evanescence.

TORONTO

Mac was slowly walking down one of the pathways adjacent to the seasonal ice skating rink of Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. The day was dark and gloomy, suiting her current mood as she inconspicuously scanned the square looking for her asset. She didn't know much about the man she was going to meet only that he was tall, dark and handsome - his description to her over the phone.

She wore her long, platinum blond wig, a look she didn't like but, fit her persona within the CSIS. She wore the silliest of outfits with a silver puffy jacket and dark red pants. Sunglasses that were gaudy, with fake rhinestones across the rim covered a good deal of her face. It was put together to make her look like she was trying too hard to be youthful. She took a long sip of the coffee that she bought on the walk over and grimaced - the brew was neither warm nor good and the cold had begun to seep into her, making Mac shiver.

With a huff, she stopped at one of the benches and sat, tightening her warm winter coat around her. It was cold, much too cold for her liking but, she knew this would happen if she accepted the position in Toronto. Taking a look skyward, she saw the flurries begin to fall, the news had stated that the area was in for a cold snap. Mac would have much preferred to be in the confines of her office in CSIS and the computer work she was saddled with.

Slipping her hand into her right pocket, she tightened her grip on a single tube of lipstick and the flash drive that was concealed inside. The CIA had upped her ante and rather than just spy on the members of CSIS, Mac was now to leak that information to whoever was the highest bidder. There was chatter over the grapevine of a militant group that was trying to insert itself as a big player in Canada. If they persevered, it would be yet another security issue for the States.

The group named Excalibur had already done some damage and shut down all flights out of Buffalo four days prior. Air Traffic Control went completely dark as did the the lights over the landing strip causing the pilot to misjudge the glide slope and crash the aircraft into a nearby freeway. Though there were minimal casualties, innocent lives had been lost and all agencies were working overtime to find out how security had been breached.

"I rather love gloomy days, don't you?" She turned and looked up to find an impeccably dressed man with darker skin. He sported a well trimmed beard and looked more like a GQ model than anyone she'd ever met. With a smile, he settled in next to her, extending his arm across the back of the bench before sliding closer. She figured Mr. Tall, dark and handsome had made his appearance and it was all Mac could do to not roll her eyes. "Jackie, I presume?"

The man had the most interesting eyes, one green, one brown and it was all of the confirmation she needed to know this was her asset. "You presume correctly." She fished out the lipstick tube from her pocket and eagerly pressed it into his palm. "Everything you need is on there, just unscrew the bottom." She flashed him a half grin noting that he hadn't immediately taken the object from her. "What's wrong?"

"You have two high powered rifles trained on you at the moment. You are to sit here and wait until I check the contents of the drive. If it's not what we agreed to, you'll be killed." The man stated with a dazzling smile and Mac knew he wasn't lying. She could feel the hair raise at the back of her neck as she took a long look across the square unable to spot the assassins he had mentioned. "Don't kill me. I'm just a messenger." She swallowed a few times and attempted to play the role of a scared civilian.

"You're more than a messenger. We know where you stole the information from. Stay put." He patted her leg and wrapped his hand around the tube before standing. Slowly, she watched him walk the expanse of the square and disappear into a van that drove away from the area. Great, she thought. I get to freeze my ass off.

She was able to spot Keeter who was leaning against the railings of the rink, purposely keeping his back to her and felt lucky that their faux pas from a couple of weeks ago had been mutually ignored. Alcohol had clouded her judgement and the innate desire to destroy The Commander came to the surface with such ferocity that she nearly slept with Keeter. It would have been the ultimate betrayal, she knew. The Commander would never forgive her which would make it easier to protect herself from him.

Instinctively, she knew they would meet again in the future. It was impossible for their lives not to intersect and even Clay had mentioned at time or two that The Commander was searching for her. It irritated Mac to know that he'd been in her apartment and was practically stalking her place of residence for the chance to talk to her.

The weaker version of herself would have given into him, searched him out in hopes that their friendship would be salvaged. She was better now, superior and no longer his punching bag to slew hurtful words in order to hide his insecurity. This version of herself would crush him, hurt him back and destroy his very essence.

With each thought of him, the ire had begun to rise to a fever pitch and Mac pressed her hands to her temples, massaging them roughly. The headache began, her safeguard to let her know it was time to move on from her thoughts of him. She headed the warning and concentrated on the job at hand.

"You okay?" Keeter's voice sounded over the bone conducting intercom that was hidden somewhere under her wig. Despite his friendship with The Commander, he was a good partner for her with excellent instincts.

Mac tapped her hand twice against the bench with her gloved left hand, a silent sign to let Keeter and the two other agents that were near know that she was okay. She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to seem more concerned than she really was. These charades were pointless and she was tired of pretended to be someone she was not. If she was shot trying to protect her country, so be it. This was what she signed up for. She had no children, no husband. What did it matter if Mac MacKenzie disappeared from this World?

Nearly forty minutes passed before the mystery man returned and settled back next to her. His smile widened as he leaned in and whispered. "Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?"

"Not today… Was the information all there?"

"It was… My name is Chad, welcome to Excalibur." The man said by way of introduction before draping a hand over her shoulders. He pulled her to him, tugging her harder when Mac resisted. "You need to have dinner with me tonight. There's a restaurant at the top of the CN tower. I'll expect to see you there at 7pm, Jackie."

USS PATRICK HENRY

The flight on the COD had been the worst of his Naval career. Almost the very second that the plane was airborne it had run into heavy turbulence and a bumpy ride that seemed never ending. It reminded Harm of the night he ejected over the Atlantic and the rough ride that he and Skates managed to survive. He was granted a lease on life, a chance to wrong rights and yet, all it earned him was chronic back pain and a fractured heart.

Normally he would lean back and fall asleep, relax even as the plane's movements lulled him to sleep. This time, Harm was hyper alert and a little scared. He let out a deep breath when the wheels finally kissed the deck.

Harm was greeted by the public affairs officer who escorted him off the deck and into the ship. It felt good to be back at sea and he would have enjoyed it more if he wasn't given such an important task. It pained him to know that Victor had died, the man was a well liked member of JAG and someone that he considered a friend. The feeling of grief washed over him as he followed the younger officer into a ship he knew like the back of his hand.

"I got it from here, Ensign. I know my way around." He handed his belongings to the younger officer who offered to take them to his stateroom before heading up to the bridge. "Commander Rabb reporting, sir." Harm stood ramrod straight as the operations continued on around him.

From the corner of his eye he watched when an F18 went airborne followed by another as the dual catapults were in full swing. The nostalgia of flying off the deck made him wistful and she pushed the thought away and concentrated on the task at hand. He wasn't here to have fun.

"At ease, Commander." The new captain, Marcus Fischer had taken control of the Henry a week prior when Ingles had decided to retire. Scuttlebutt told him that Fischer was a hardass, a no-nonsense Captain that would not take crap from anyone much less legal weenies like Harm.

"Commander Rabb." Harm turned to find the CAG, Commander Loftness entering behind him. They shook hands and Harm smiled brightly at the man that had saved his life so many years ago. "Hammer, good to see you."

"You as well. Just hate that it's under these circumstances."

Loftness nodded in agreement. "I heard, my condolences. How you been, Harm?"

"Well, I haven't dumped anymore planes in the drink…" Harm said with a grin.

"But you did use one to play tag with a nuke." Captain Fischer interrupted the conversation and turned to face Harm. His gruff exterior gave way to a smile. "I needed to meet the man that singlehandedly saved a fleet."

That had been three years prior and Harm was surprised that anyone remembered. "Just doing my duty, sir. Others would have done the same." At least he hoped that was the case. It wasn't just the thousands of sailors he saved, Mac was on board as well as Bud and Coates.

"Your a real hero, Commander. The Navy needs a lot more men like you. You saved thousands of lives including my son's. It was his first cruise. Thank you." Fischer shook Harm's hand enthusiastically.

"Like I said, just doing my job, Skipper."

"You're having dinner with myself and a few other officers tonight. We wanna hear about your exploits direct hand."

"I would like that sir, thank you." He found that the interaction stroked his ego, something that Harm needed after the last year. It made him feel good and useful and I made him wonder what Mac would say. Back then, she had been concerned for him then although she brushed it off with their usual banter. "If I may be excused, I need to contact Admiral Chegwidden."

"Dismissed, take care of your man."

After speaking with Chegwidden, Harm was weaving through the ship and heading to vultures row. With a patch of bad weather on the horizon he would be on-board a minimum of two days, something that he would try to enjoy. Even in bad weather Harm adored being at sea, the rocking of the boat could put him to sleep faster than an medication would.

As he neared his destination, Harm slammed full on into another man, a Lieutenant, he realized when he looked down at the man's insignia. "Woah there, Lieutenant. Take it…" The words stopped completely when he stared into an eyes of a ghost. "Clay?"

Harm's eyes widened and he wondered if this was some sort of nightmare. At the very least he was delirious, losing his mind from the lack of sleep and shitty COD trip. It was when the Lieutenant spoke that Harm realized it really was Webb. "Rabb, meet me at the fantail in an hour… say nothing." Webb glanced over his shoulder nervously. "Say nothing."

Harm stared at the spy as he moved swiftly down the halls. He really did look the part of a Naval officer, even sporting the cropped haircut and the peanut butters that were impeccable. The hour was one of the longest of his life

"Were you followed?" Clay asked once Harm appeared on the fantail and closed the hatch behind him.

"No. What the hell is going on?" He found Webb not to be alone and that another man was with him. "Gunny?" Harm couldn't help the look of surprise if he tried. Victor was dressed in Naval Master Chief clothing and didn't seem too happy about it. He was thankful to see his old friend and wrapped the man in a tight hug. "The Admiral told me you had died as well, Gunny."

"Master Chief Martinez, sir… Can't say I like being a squid but, whatever keeps me above ground." The younger man smiled sheepishly at the senior officer and sighed at the harrowing experience that he and Webb had endured to survive. "You can't tell my family that I'm alive, Commander. For all intents and purposes, Mr. Webb and I are gone."

"So this business about bringing your remains home?"

"My idea." Webb said, leaning against the railing and staring out to the darkening skies. He'd been on sea duty a handful of times in his CIA career and never quite understood what the Navy liked so much about their boats. It was loud, always so loud and there was no privacy. "You're the only one I can trust, Harm. The Phonebook has been compromised." He spat out, disgusted that the agency didn't have enough safeguards in place to prevent such an atrocity.

"Phonebook?"

"The list… It has the names of every active field agent, their aliases and current assignments. It's how they found me and Vic. They knew exactly where to go." The Phonebook was the single most important database that the agency held in its possession. Whoever had copied the list held with it the lives of three dozen or so active agents across the globe. While not every agent was easy to find and assassinate, it would make the task easier and at least reduce the playing field some.

"So you came aboard an aircraft carrier to hide and who is Lt. Clark?" Harm motioned to the name on Webb's uniform.

"Dead. The real Lt Clark is dead, I used his body to fake my own death. It was the only way I could hide in plain sight...I can't trust anyone, we don't know who copied the list. It could have been an inside job."

As much as Harm hated being roped into one of Webb's schemes, he knew this was bigger than both of them. His animosity for the agent could be pushed aside for the greater good if lives would be saved. However, there was one thing he hadn't considered, another life that had been put in jeopardy which was made apparent when Webb mentioned her name. "Mac's on that list, Harm. If it's leaked, if someone starts systematically going through it, she's dead."

"So she is a field agent?" Harm suspected as much but, it was never readily confirmed. He had hoped that she was riding a desk somewhere putting her computer knowledge to good use, not putting her life at risk. Jesus Christ, just how much had he fucked things up with her that she needed to disappear from Washington in such a way? Mac knew better, she understood how the agency worked and yet, she still went to them.

For him. It pained him that she had given her life up for his and he was unable to stop it. Harm would have gladly taken her place at the agency if he would have known. He would have done anything to keep her safe. "Go to her, find her and keep her safe. If anyone can it's you. It's my damned fault she is in this mess. If I hadn't taken her to Paraguay..."

"Why did you take her? You can't expect me to believe there isn't a single, solitary female agent that speaks Farsi?" Harm placed his hands on his hips and moved closer to Webb. His heart was beating hard against his chest and all he wanted was to be off that blasted carrier and searching for her.

"Because I figured…Shit." Clay trailed off, unable to proceed with the lie he was about to feed Harm. He knew it wouldn't be believed and the murderous look that Gunny was shooting him made him fess up. "Damnit. I wanted her. I've wanted her for years but, you were always in the way. With you in the brig, I figured I could get her away from you. I would have a chance...Oof!" A second later Harm's fist connected with the side of his face, the force so strong it made him slip from the railing and hit the metal ground below.

"You fucking son of a bitch!" Harm couldn't help the rage he felt, the need to grab the spook and beat the life out of him. He grabbed Clay by his shirt and stood him up with the intention of pushing him over the railing and ending the agents life. Murderous intent took over in a way Harm had never felt before and the want to rage blindly led him. It would be easy to toss Clay over and into the wake of the ship. The screws would likely turn his body into chum and the idea pleased Harm greatly. No one would miss a dead man anyway.

"Sir, don't!" He felt Gunny grab him, pulling him away from Webb but, Harm pushed him off as well, sending Vic careening into the rear wall. "Commander! Stand down!" The command got Harm's attention and Gunny pressed a hand to Harm's shoulder and tugged the man away from Clayton Webb. "Sir, I'm not happy with him either but, if you kill him, how's that gonna help the Colonel?"

Webb brought his hands up in surrender and took two steps away from Harm. "I deserve to die for what I did but, you need me. From the ship I can log into the Agency mainframe undetected and see what I can dig up."

Harm stared at him with a murderous look, trying to calm the anger that had risen within him. It was replaced with concern for her, a woman that he would love for the rest of his life. He would find her, he always could. "Where is she?"

"Toronto."