A/N: So... remember the meet-cute that got postponed? Since I can not side-step to do what I want to do on Seeing a Trailer, I'm doing it here. The special guest is from Sometime This Century/Importance of Family (but AU, as this is not an MCU story): Gilbert Nettleton, though he actually made a story appearance as a child for On Down Thru The Years.
We will be getting back to Pete and the Bradshaws as the prompts allow.
Also: who would Viper trust to get important documents to Charlie if he can not send Jester? The two newly-graduated aviators who are NOT on the Big-E in the Indian Ocean with their classmates. Yep. I'm letting Chipper and Sundown do some cloak and dagger shenanigans.

Week 7 - UDC 10 - Charlie, Chipper & Sundown, and a JAG Lawyer from Brooklyn

31. Obstruct

On her fourth day in Washington, she goes for a jog on the Mall early in the morning and runs, literally, into another jogger. They pick themselves up, Charlie noticing that he's wearing an Annapolis sweatshirt and shorts, and smiles, for he's cute. She holds out a hand. "Charlotte."

The man smiles back, shakes her hand. "Gilbert. Join me?"

"I'd love to. Normally, my running partner is an aviator in Miramar. You?"

"Recently transferred from the Brooklyn Navy Yard."

Off they run at a jogging pace, talking and sharing stories in the morning light.

32. Infuse

Setting foot in the JAG headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia, Charlie isn't surprised by the activity inside the building. No, what surprises her is the man consulting with another officer at a desk in summer whites. "Gilbert?"

Gilbert looks up, smiles. "Charlotte! You didn't tell me you were coming to Falls Church after our run yesterday."

She nods to the officer watching them, then peers at his name badge. Nettleton. "We didn't share job stories. I didn't know you were a JAG, but I was looking for one because I have questions about a case I'm working on."

"You do?" He leads the way to an empty conference room and shuts the door. "Ask away."

"How do we go about unsealing Vietnam War era mission records where the State Department and the CIA were involved?"

Whatever he had been expecting her to ask, it wasn't anything close to that.

33. Obtain

Early in the morning on day six in Washington, Charlie returns from her jog to find two Aviators at her door. She stares long and hard at them before dragging Chipper and Sundown into a group hug. "Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am to see you both!"

Sundown laughs into her shoulder. "Glad to see you, too, Charlie."

She steps back, smiles at them. "What are you doing here?"

"Inside," Chipper tells her. "We are your couriers."

"You are?" She looks down, notices the large file under Sundown's arm. "Oh. Who did he get to sign the FOIA?"

"Carole Bradshaw," Sundown says, shrugging. "Apparently, Goose told Viper she would if it was explained. Don't ask me when that talk happened, because I have no idea."

Charlie freezes. Goose had been in on this, too? Somehow, that made so much sense.

34. Immerse

They open the file together, and Charlie can't stop staring down at it, spread across her coffee table. "How did he do all of this? He told me he was, but this- this is so much."

Chipper shrugs. "Viper didn't take us through it step by step, and didn't explain why he needed a FOIA signed, or what this is for. You know, though, don't you?"

"I do. I have a phone call to make, and you'll get to meet the JAG I've been conferring with." She pauses as she takes the phone reciever in hand. "How is Maverick? I didn't dare call and try asking on an open line." The frown she's met with from both of them causes her to set the phone back down. "That bad?"

"We don't know," Sundown says. "He seemed fine at graduation on Monday, but was deployed to the Enterprise with Ice, Slider, Wood, and Wolf. What I overheard from Viper talking to Jester is that it was a successful rescue of the Layton. That's all we know right now."

35. Dissipate

Gilbert arrived and was immediately dumbfounded at the sheer amount of things spread across her coffee table. "Guess this Commander of yours didn't want to leave stones unturned, huh, fellas?"

Sundown smirked. "He's scary in the air and on the ground, sir."

"Ah, don't call me that, Sundown. This is informal, and we're being cloak and dagger with two different departments, and one of those stages black ops." Gilbert paused. "Actually, so does the State Department, but they'd never admit it openly." He finds an eighteen year old report and studies it with wide eyes. "Oh. Charlotte, no wonder you were seeking out a JAG to ask questions."

"It's a can of worms," Charlie agreed.

Gilbert grinned at her. "Luckily, I'm a lawyer. I love to open cans of worms, and I had an uncle, KIA during World War Two."

"You did?"

"Yes. My mother would come back from the grave and slap me if I didn't help you with this."