ABOUT US 2: Surprise, Surprise 8/14
Author: LeE
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com
Classification: Romance H/M
Rating: R , NC-17
Disclaimers: JAG doesn't belong to me. It belongs to DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...
Author's Note: Here's part 8. Things keep clearing up... Enjoy... LeE
*From Part 7*
"We'll get out of here Harm. You'll see. I'll get you back to Mac" Harm simply nodded and laid back against the wall once again; tiredness and exhaustion enveloping him once more. Clay noticed the moment sleep over took him and got ready for his next window of opportunity. The systems inside the building went down for maintenance every two days. For two weeks now he had been monitoring it, getting ready to make his move. All he needed was thirty seconds of airtime to communicate and their exact location could be pinpointed. All he had to do now was wait. In exactly 3 hours and 35 minutes what could be his last window of opportunity would open, and he needed to be ready to take advantage of it.
*Part 8*
SAFE HOUSE
WASHINGTON D.C.
SATURDAY MARCH 16, 2002
2044 EST
Back in Washington, the plan had been laid out. Now all they needed was whatever information Skates could give them and they would be ready to depart. The only way was to get to Clay and Harm before Callahan did. There was no doubt in their minds that Callahan would disclose Jay's exact location and risk killing Harm, Clay, and Jay himself to save his own neck. The way things looked, the government was simply waiting for the correct location to authorize an air strike. It wouldn't be an easy task, and they all knew it. The ZNN report the day before had pointed fingers at the DCI as head of the terrorist group 420 and consequently responsible for the terrorist threats to the USS Theodore Roosevelt and other military bases. That same morning, Callahan had hosted a press conference, in which he had stated clearly that the United States of America would not stand for anyone on its own territory to assume the role of terrorist. Callahan had vividly spoken as he addressed the media and the people in attendance, so much that had they not known of Callahan's true motives, Mac, Sturgis, and the Admiral would have believed him.
"I always told Callahan he'd be better off as an actor than a covert ops agent" Don had uttered contemptuously after watching the show Callahan had put on for the media. According to the latest information Don had received from his contacts, the Department of Defense was taking extreme measures to bring down "Webb" and his terrorism campaign against his own country; with Callahan leading all efforts as acting DCI, of course.
The situation was getting worse by the minute. Harm had had rough landings before. He was a damn good pilot, she knew it, but it did nothing to minimize the fear creeping up within her every time she thought of her Sailor.
Mac watched carefully as the equipment was set up for their video conference call to Skates at the hospital. There really wasn't much she could do other than wait. There was a silence in the room, probably because everyone knew whatever Skates had to tell them would probably make their plan rough up on the edges. Callahan and Jay had proven to be smart enough by getting away with a terrorism threat and turning the whole country against the innocent people. The news had come a few minutes before that Mac, Sturgis, and the Admiral, along with Donald Trent, were now part of the most wanted list the government had made public. The chances of the plan running smoothly were getting slimmer by the minute.
"It's ready" Don nodded at Charlie as he acknowledge the information.
"All right, let's get to it"
Mac watched as Skates appeared on the screen, a hunted look on her face she could only guess resulted from guilt. After all, she was in a comfortable hospital bed, while some wacko with a personality complex held Harm hostage somewhere half a world away. Anger surged within her as the thoughts of Harm once again escaped the place where she kept them locked away. Just as her brain screamed at her to blame Skates, to let it all out, she heard her start to speak, her eyes darting towards the screen once again.
"I'm so sorry" Skates whispered miserably, tears stinging her eyes, her voice choked by the raw emotion there. Peter was quickly at her side, holding her hand, wiping away the tears that fell down her cheeks. Mac's anger dissolved at once. The wretched tone in Skates declaration told her all she needed to know. It wasn't her fault. It was nobody's fault, other than Jay's and Callahan's. Sturgis reached out, and once again squeezed her hand, letting her know he was there for her if she needed him.
Skates recounted for them the same story Harm had told Webb miles away. How they had landed roughly but uninjured, how the three men had appeared minutes later and had kicked and shot Harm when he tried to protect her. Mac had been able to restrain her outburst of tears so far, but the minute Skates mentioned that he had been shot Mac's heart stopped. Harm was injured, and alone, and they were probably not taking good care of him. For all she knew, he could be bleeding to death from a gunshot wound and there was nothing she could do. Her eyes closed as tears fell once again, Skates' next words were simply noise invading her ears.
"I tried to get away, Sir, but I couldn't" Skates continued on with her tell of the events after her and Harm had been separated. "They took Harm and headed north. The other two guys grabbed me and knocked me out cold. A few hours later I woke up and found myself in a room. There was a third guy there, and they were all looking at me, a weird expression in their faces. I knew if I didn't do something I wouldn't live to tell the story"
Her voice broke once again and Peter hugged her to him, mindful of her injuries, and she cried as the images ran through her mind. "Shhh, it's okay, Beth. You're okay now. Please don't cry" Peter whispered softly to her as her arm tightened around his waist.
"No, I have to do this" she sniffed one last time and mentally composed herself. Facing the screen once more she continued. "One of them started advancing towards me. I saw the gun perched on his pants and realized it was my only chance. He started... touching me... and I... well... when he was a little distracted I reached for his gun and shot him. The other two came running to his side and I aimed at both. Apparently they weren't intimidated by me, so they kept walking towards me. I kicked one of them hard as he neared me, but the other one got hold of my hand. He pulled me towards him, attempting to grab the gun, and when it was right between him and me, the gun went off. I shot him too... I... I had to... Harm needed my help and I... oh God..." breaking down in sobs as Peter once again comforted her as best he could. A few minutes later she composed herself enough to speak.
"The two I shot were dead, and the third one I tied down in a chair. I used their radios to communicate with the ship and next thing I know I'm in sickbay"
"Why would Mr. Webb do something like that?" Peter asked almost to himself
"He didn't" Don answered the young Lieutenant's question. "The man you saw was Mr. Webb's twin brother. Jay"
"Oh my God" Skates whispered "But how..."
"That's not important now. Listen. Jay has probably already seen the reports of your rescue Skates. You're not safe there, neither of you. I'll have my people take you to a safe house we've arranged for you so that you can rest and recover from your injuries and be safe at the same time. Jay and Callahan are pretty damn nervous right now. I bet Lt. Moore committed suicide precisely to prevent any type of information leakage about their plan"
"Callahan Sir?"
"Yes, I'll explain everything to you later when you and Lt. Brooks are safe"
"No, Sir. I heard that name... they said something about... oh God... something about a bomb..."
"Yes, Lt. They have threatened to bomb the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The CIA apparently has people right now looking for clues aboard the ship, but the head of the CIA right now is Callahan, who's the one behind the threats. I'm sure they won't..."
"No, Sir!" Skates almost screamed "Someone named Callahan sent a message to a supposed Jay. I saw the screen of the laptop flash. I don't remember everything it said, but it said something about a bomb, and the CIA building in Virginia"
"Skates, think about this now. Are you sure you..."
"Wait a minute. That means all the communication systems at the different locations are connected. The message was for Jay from Callahan, and neither of them was at the building where Skates was, but the computer still received the message. All we need to do is go back there..." AJ reasoned as the new piece of information fitted into the big puzzle that was the situation.
"What about the man you tied down Skates?" Mac answered, interested now on the turn of events.
"One of the SAR team killed him, Ma'am. He tried to stab Lt. Jones and he was shot"
"This just doesn't make sense." AJ murmured and locked eyes with a wide-eyed Sturgis.
"Sir, isn't this too sloppy? I mean, if this organization, 420, is big enough to plant a bomb in a carrier without being discovered, big enough to threaten other military bases, then how come they let Skates get away? How come the communication is so unguarded that a message between Jay and Callahan can be read by any of the men working for them? Don't you think that's a little odd?"
"It's not whether they're sloppy or not, it's just that we might be missing the real purpose here. We'll never know whether the bomb threat to the USS Theodore Roosevelt is legitimate or not" Don said thoughtfully "The only sure link we had to Callahan and Webb was Lt. Moore. He's dead now and..."
"Admiral!" Mac all but jumped out of her seat as an idea crossed her mind. All looked expectantly at her as she directed her question towards Skates, who was listening intently to the conversation, trying as hard she could to remember any other details that might help figure this dilemma out.
"Skates, what did the men look like?" Mac asked.
"Well, terrorists ma'am" she answered at once.
"No, Skates. Physically, what did they look like?"
"Well, they were for sure Middle Eastern. I can't say from which country specifically, but I know they spoke very little English..."
"Sir" Mac caught Skates off as she turned to look at Don and her CO. "What if this organization, 420, isn't as big as it sounds?"
"What do you mean, Mac?"
"Isn't it fishy that they would go through great trouble to injure and kidnap Harm and that they left Skates with three men that barely spoke English and that were not American, on top of it? Didn't Callahan say that 420 was made up of ungrateful Americans who held grudges against the government?"
"Yes..." Don answered cautiously
"How many Americans like those do you know, Sir?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, not many really..."
"And why would they need to turn the whole nation against us? Don't you see... Callahan is using his own enemy to his favor! If all he wants is to destroy Webb he could've just killed him already. But that's not all he wants..."
"There's only two of them!" Don exclaimed triumphantly as the implications of Mac's question hit him full force. "420 is only made up of Callahan and Jay. They managed to turn the whole country upside down and it's only the two of them. They just used Jay- or Webb's face- to turn the whole damn country against Clay, driving attention away from the real purpose of their plan. Now they can get what they really want. Those men that had Lt. Hawks most likely did it for money, not because they knew of what was happening."
Skates interrupted once again. "They stole it! I saw them take the laptop from the back of the Jeep while Mr. Webb... uh... his brother was hauling Harm towards the car. They were laughing and looking at it when I woke up in that damn room they had me in."
One more piece fell into place as Skates' words confirmed their theory about the hired Middle Eastern men. "That makes sense. It all fits in. Jay and Callahan; they don't care about the ship. They don't even care about their own lives. They only want revenge from the people that supposedly hurt them..."
"The CIA" they all whispered simultaneously as understanding finally flooded their minds. All Jay and Callahan wanted was for someone to pay for what they'd been through. Callahan and his jealousy of Neville Webb years ago had planted the hatred in his heart, guiding his actions and his thoughts. The innocent child he had kidnapped had grown into a man full of the hate and vengeance that Callahan, his "father", harbored in his own heart.
TBC
Author: LeE
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com
Classification: Romance H/M
Rating: R , NC-17
Disclaimers: JAG doesn't belong to me. It belongs to DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...
Author's Note: Here's part 8. Things keep clearing up... Enjoy... LeE
*From Part 7*
"We'll get out of here Harm. You'll see. I'll get you back to Mac" Harm simply nodded and laid back against the wall once again; tiredness and exhaustion enveloping him once more. Clay noticed the moment sleep over took him and got ready for his next window of opportunity. The systems inside the building went down for maintenance every two days. For two weeks now he had been monitoring it, getting ready to make his move. All he needed was thirty seconds of airtime to communicate and their exact location could be pinpointed. All he had to do now was wait. In exactly 3 hours and 35 minutes what could be his last window of opportunity would open, and he needed to be ready to take advantage of it.
*Part 8*
SAFE HOUSE
WASHINGTON D.C.
SATURDAY MARCH 16, 2002
2044 EST
Back in Washington, the plan had been laid out. Now all they needed was whatever information Skates could give them and they would be ready to depart. The only way was to get to Clay and Harm before Callahan did. There was no doubt in their minds that Callahan would disclose Jay's exact location and risk killing Harm, Clay, and Jay himself to save his own neck. The way things looked, the government was simply waiting for the correct location to authorize an air strike. It wouldn't be an easy task, and they all knew it. The ZNN report the day before had pointed fingers at the DCI as head of the terrorist group 420 and consequently responsible for the terrorist threats to the USS Theodore Roosevelt and other military bases. That same morning, Callahan had hosted a press conference, in which he had stated clearly that the United States of America would not stand for anyone on its own territory to assume the role of terrorist. Callahan had vividly spoken as he addressed the media and the people in attendance, so much that had they not known of Callahan's true motives, Mac, Sturgis, and the Admiral would have believed him.
"I always told Callahan he'd be better off as an actor than a covert ops agent" Don had uttered contemptuously after watching the show Callahan had put on for the media. According to the latest information Don had received from his contacts, the Department of Defense was taking extreme measures to bring down "Webb" and his terrorism campaign against his own country; with Callahan leading all efforts as acting DCI, of course.
The situation was getting worse by the minute. Harm had had rough landings before. He was a damn good pilot, she knew it, but it did nothing to minimize the fear creeping up within her every time she thought of her Sailor.
Mac watched carefully as the equipment was set up for their video conference call to Skates at the hospital. There really wasn't much she could do other than wait. There was a silence in the room, probably because everyone knew whatever Skates had to tell them would probably make their plan rough up on the edges. Callahan and Jay had proven to be smart enough by getting away with a terrorism threat and turning the whole country against the innocent people. The news had come a few minutes before that Mac, Sturgis, and the Admiral, along with Donald Trent, were now part of the most wanted list the government had made public. The chances of the plan running smoothly were getting slimmer by the minute.
"It's ready" Don nodded at Charlie as he acknowledge the information.
"All right, let's get to it"
Mac watched as Skates appeared on the screen, a hunted look on her face she could only guess resulted from guilt. After all, she was in a comfortable hospital bed, while some wacko with a personality complex held Harm hostage somewhere half a world away. Anger surged within her as the thoughts of Harm once again escaped the place where she kept them locked away. Just as her brain screamed at her to blame Skates, to let it all out, she heard her start to speak, her eyes darting towards the screen once again.
"I'm so sorry" Skates whispered miserably, tears stinging her eyes, her voice choked by the raw emotion there. Peter was quickly at her side, holding her hand, wiping away the tears that fell down her cheeks. Mac's anger dissolved at once. The wretched tone in Skates declaration told her all she needed to know. It wasn't her fault. It was nobody's fault, other than Jay's and Callahan's. Sturgis reached out, and once again squeezed her hand, letting her know he was there for her if she needed him.
Skates recounted for them the same story Harm had told Webb miles away. How they had landed roughly but uninjured, how the three men had appeared minutes later and had kicked and shot Harm when he tried to protect her. Mac had been able to restrain her outburst of tears so far, but the minute Skates mentioned that he had been shot Mac's heart stopped. Harm was injured, and alone, and they were probably not taking good care of him. For all she knew, he could be bleeding to death from a gunshot wound and there was nothing she could do. Her eyes closed as tears fell once again, Skates' next words were simply noise invading her ears.
"I tried to get away, Sir, but I couldn't" Skates continued on with her tell of the events after her and Harm had been separated. "They took Harm and headed north. The other two guys grabbed me and knocked me out cold. A few hours later I woke up and found myself in a room. There was a third guy there, and they were all looking at me, a weird expression in their faces. I knew if I didn't do something I wouldn't live to tell the story"
Her voice broke once again and Peter hugged her to him, mindful of her injuries, and she cried as the images ran through her mind. "Shhh, it's okay, Beth. You're okay now. Please don't cry" Peter whispered softly to her as her arm tightened around his waist.
"No, I have to do this" she sniffed one last time and mentally composed herself. Facing the screen once more she continued. "One of them started advancing towards me. I saw the gun perched on his pants and realized it was my only chance. He started... touching me... and I... well... when he was a little distracted I reached for his gun and shot him. The other two came running to his side and I aimed at both. Apparently they weren't intimidated by me, so they kept walking towards me. I kicked one of them hard as he neared me, but the other one got hold of my hand. He pulled me towards him, attempting to grab the gun, and when it was right between him and me, the gun went off. I shot him too... I... I had to... Harm needed my help and I... oh God..." breaking down in sobs as Peter once again comforted her as best he could. A few minutes later she composed herself enough to speak.
"The two I shot were dead, and the third one I tied down in a chair. I used their radios to communicate with the ship and next thing I know I'm in sickbay"
"Why would Mr. Webb do something like that?" Peter asked almost to himself
"He didn't" Don answered the young Lieutenant's question. "The man you saw was Mr. Webb's twin brother. Jay"
"Oh my God" Skates whispered "But how..."
"That's not important now. Listen. Jay has probably already seen the reports of your rescue Skates. You're not safe there, neither of you. I'll have my people take you to a safe house we've arranged for you so that you can rest and recover from your injuries and be safe at the same time. Jay and Callahan are pretty damn nervous right now. I bet Lt. Moore committed suicide precisely to prevent any type of information leakage about their plan"
"Callahan Sir?"
"Yes, I'll explain everything to you later when you and Lt. Brooks are safe"
"No, Sir. I heard that name... they said something about... oh God... something about a bomb..."
"Yes, Lt. They have threatened to bomb the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The CIA apparently has people right now looking for clues aboard the ship, but the head of the CIA right now is Callahan, who's the one behind the threats. I'm sure they won't..."
"No, Sir!" Skates almost screamed "Someone named Callahan sent a message to a supposed Jay. I saw the screen of the laptop flash. I don't remember everything it said, but it said something about a bomb, and the CIA building in Virginia"
"Skates, think about this now. Are you sure you..."
"Wait a minute. That means all the communication systems at the different locations are connected. The message was for Jay from Callahan, and neither of them was at the building where Skates was, but the computer still received the message. All we need to do is go back there..." AJ reasoned as the new piece of information fitted into the big puzzle that was the situation.
"What about the man you tied down Skates?" Mac answered, interested now on the turn of events.
"One of the SAR team killed him, Ma'am. He tried to stab Lt. Jones and he was shot"
"This just doesn't make sense." AJ murmured and locked eyes with a wide-eyed Sturgis.
"Sir, isn't this too sloppy? I mean, if this organization, 420, is big enough to plant a bomb in a carrier without being discovered, big enough to threaten other military bases, then how come they let Skates get away? How come the communication is so unguarded that a message between Jay and Callahan can be read by any of the men working for them? Don't you think that's a little odd?"
"It's not whether they're sloppy or not, it's just that we might be missing the real purpose here. We'll never know whether the bomb threat to the USS Theodore Roosevelt is legitimate or not" Don said thoughtfully "The only sure link we had to Callahan and Webb was Lt. Moore. He's dead now and..."
"Admiral!" Mac all but jumped out of her seat as an idea crossed her mind. All looked expectantly at her as she directed her question towards Skates, who was listening intently to the conversation, trying as hard she could to remember any other details that might help figure this dilemma out.
"Skates, what did the men look like?" Mac asked.
"Well, terrorists ma'am" she answered at once.
"No, Skates. Physically, what did they look like?"
"Well, they were for sure Middle Eastern. I can't say from which country specifically, but I know they spoke very little English..."
"Sir" Mac caught Skates off as she turned to look at Don and her CO. "What if this organization, 420, isn't as big as it sounds?"
"What do you mean, Mac?"
"Isn't it fishy that they would go through great trouble to injure and kidnap Harm and that they left Skates with three men that barely spoke English and that were not American, on top of it? Didn't Callahan say that 420 was made up of ungrateful Americans who held grudges against the government?"
"Yes..." Don answered cautiously
"How many Americans like those do you know, Sir?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, not many really..."
"And why would they need to turn the whole nation against us? Don't you see... Callahan is using his own enemy to his favor! If all he wants is to destroy Webb he could've just killed him already. But that's not all he wants..."
"There's only two of them!" Don exclaimed triumphantly as the implications of Mac's question hit him full force. "420 is only made up of Callahan and Jay. They managed to turn the whole country upside down and it's only the two of them. They just used Jay- or Webb's face- to turn the whole damn country against Clay, driving attention away from the real purpose of their plan. Now they can get what they really want. Those men that had Lt. Hawks most likely did it for money, not because they knew of what was happening."
Skates interrupted once again. "They stole it! I saw them take the laptop from the back of the Jeep while Mr. Webb... uh... his brother was hauling Harm towards the car. They were laughing and looking at it when I woke up in that damn room they had me in."
One more piece fell into place as Skates' words confirmed their theory about the hired Middle Eastern men. "That makes sense. It all fits in. Jay and Callahan; they don't care about the ship. They don't even care about their own lives. They only want revenge from the people that supposedly hurt them..."
"The CIA" they all whispered simultaneously as understanding finally flooded their minds. All Jay and Callahan wanted was for someone to pay for what they'd been through. Callahan and his jealousy of Neville Webb years ago had planted the hatred in his heart, guiding his actions and his thoughts. The innocent child he had kidnapped had grown into a man full of the hate and vengeance that Callahan, his "father", harbored in his own heart.
TBC