Part Three

JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1345 Local

AJ sat back, deep in thought. He was aware of how Singer operated, the gist of what she had said was, no doubt, true. How it happened probably didn't play as well. Mac wouldn't have gone UA, but it was quite possible she had ditched Singer for the time being. Still, she had been under a tremendous strain during 'Archangel'. She'd told him that she was seeing a therapist to deal with the nightmares she was having. He snorted, Mac had seriously believed he would consider replacing her as his chief of staff because of it. 'Damn, what the hell was going on out there?' AJ punched his intercom, "Tiner? Find Cmdr. Rabb and have him come to my office ASAP."

Harm knocked on the door and listened until he heard 'Enter'. Walking in, he came to attention and waited.

"Have a seat, Commander." AJ gave him a chance to settle. "How is the embezzlement case going?"

"Almost finished, sir." Harm said, "He accepted a deal: Full restitution, loss of rank and a letter of reprimand in his file. No brig time and he's still in the Navy. I just have to finish the paperwork."

"Good, I want you to go to Memphis."

Harm looked at AJ quizzically, "Sir?" His eyes widened, "Is Mac okay? Did something happen?"

AJ held up a hand, "I just got a call from Lt. Singer. She said Mac had words with the base commander and then took off for parts unknown. The implication is that the Colonel is cracking up from all the stress of the last couple of months."

Harm opened his mouth to ridicule the idea and then paused.

AJ smiled grimly, "Good, isn't it? What's hard to believe is that Mac actually hasn't gone off the deep end after everything she's been through lately. So, even if you're sure it's a lie, there's that niggling little doubt..."

"Do you think Mac got into it with the base commander, sir?" Harm asked weakly.

"That part wouldn't surprise me," AJ leaned back in his chair. "Art Crowley is an obnoxious, overbearing horse's ass. The man could make a nun swear." He lowered his eyebrows at Harm, "You didn't hear that from me... Anyway, I was hoping he'd have the sense to steer clear but it wouldn't surprise me if he tried to seize control of the investigation. Crowley lives for publicity, he's made no secret of his political aspirations after his retirement. For all that, he's not a subtle man. Mac might very well have had to tell him to go to hell to get him to back off." He saw the look on Harm's face, "Not in those exact words, of course."

AJ leaned back and folded his arms, "So I want you to go to Memphis and run interference for the Colonel now that Singer has made her position clear. God knows she really doesn't need the extra stress and we don't need Admiral Crowley courting the media." He shook his head in disgust, "Dammit, this shouldn't be that difficult a case. Most of the work is done, it's just a matter of checking for errors and closing loopholes. Barring complications, it ought be wrapped up by tomorrow night at the latest. With a little luck we can present the press with a 'fait accompli'." He looked over at Harm, "One last thing, leave Singer alone. I will deal with her when all of you return. Talk to Tiner about a flight out tonight."

"Yes sir." Harm stood up, "Sir? Would it be all right if I contacted Pax River? Maybe I can catch a ride on a Tomcat. I'd get there faster."

The Admiral smiled and waved a hand as he concentrated on the papers in front of him, "Fine, Commander." He shook his head as the door closed, "Pilots... "

Brig
Memphis NAS
1350 Local

Capt. Perez left Mac in a conference room and went to get Lt. Cmdr. Brighton. She sat down in one of the chairs and rested her elbows on the table. When she got back to her quarters - assuming Crowley had not arranged to have her stay in the brig - she needed to call Admiral Chegwidden. She'd see if Perez could contact Ensign Tyler to pick her up. Hopefully, Singer wasn't making the young man jump through hoops just to prove she could.

Mac looked over as the door opened and Perez and another man walked in. He was middle-aged and stocky with a receding hairline and glasses. She stood up as the two men came to attention. "Cmdr. Brighton?"

"Yes ma'am." Brighton glanced over at Perez and then back at Mac.

Mac looked at the captain, "Would you excuse us please, Captain? Oh, and I would appreciate it if you could locate Ensign Tyler from the JAG office. He's been assigned as my driver. Thanks."

They waited until he left, then Mac indicated the chairs, "Shall we sit?" They settled down and looked at each other for a moment. Mac said, "You realize I am not here as your lawyer? If you want, we can have someone come to represent you."

Brighton shook his head, "No thank you, ma'am. What I have to say doesn't concern my problems." He looked down at the table for a moment and then looked at her. "I need you to ... I'm asking you to continue an investigation I've started." He held up a hand, "Before you say no, would you hear me out?" Mac nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and began:

"Last week, I began to look into the case of a missing petty officer, Alan Jarvis, from the quartermasters. He'd been declared UA. The more I looked into it, the more it didn't fit the normal pattern. According to his fit reps, he was an excellent worker, smart and conscientious. He's been recommended for OCS and he's well-liked by his colleagues. His home life seems normal enough, he's been married for about two years. No children yet, his parents are dead and the wife's frantic. She's been contacting everyone she can think of and keeping our office apprised of her efforts. He's just vanished."

"You think there's been foul play." Mac interjected.

"Yes, it seems to be the logical assumption, although there's no evidence in that direction either." Brighton took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"But... " Mac prodded.

"That's just it," Brighton said in exasperation, "I keep getting this feeling I'm being played. There's not a damn reason to feel this way, but I do. I must have missed something. I was starting to go through all of it again when... well... " He gestured at the room, "Would you look over my notes? Maybe a fresh perspective will turn up something... or nothing." He sighed, "At the moment, I'm not sure about anything anymore."

Mac leaned back in her chair, thinking. This was definitely outside the scope of her assignment. On the other hand, the internet case was pretty much open and shut. Depending upon what she found at the JAG office, everything should be wrapped up by early tomorrow. Even Singer couldn't overkill this case. 'What the hell, what could it hurt to check his files?' Mac looked at Brighton, "All right, Commander. I'll take a look. Is there anyone in the JAG office who is also familiar with this case?"

Brighton smiled with relief, "Thank you Colonel." He relaxed a little, "No one else was involved with it, although Ensign Tyler did some legwork for me. He only knows about the information I asked him to track down for me. He's a bright kid, he'd probably be able to give you a hand if you needed one."

They both stood up, Mac went and knocked on the conference room door. A PFC opened it and looked in. "Private," Mac said, "Would you please escort Cmdr. Brighton back to his cell? And do you know if Capt. Perez was able to get in touch with Ensign Tyler?"

"Yes ma'am." The PFC gestured for Cmdr. Brighton to precede him. He looked back over at Mac, "I thought I heard him say the ensign had to pick up another officer at the base airfield. The captain should be back soon, he's arranging other transportation for you."

"Thank you, Private." Mac said. She glanced at Brighton, "I'll look everything over and be in touch."

Memphis NAS
JAG office
1345 Local

Lauren Singer walked into the JAG office and looked around. Three enlisted personnel who were obviously the support staff were busily working at their desks. A Lieutenant came out of a side office and walked up to her, "Lt. Singer? I'm Lt. Barker, Cmdr. Brighton's exec." He glanced behind her, "We were also expecting a Col. MacKenzie. Has there been a change in plans?"

Singer looked surprised, "She's not... ". She cleared her throat, "I'm sure the Colonel will be along shortly. Would you show me where I'll be working?" Keeping her face expressionless at Lt. Barker's puzzled look, she allowed herself a slight smile after he turned around. Following him into a small conference room, she put her briefcase on the table, "If you would bring me all the pertinent files, Lieutenant, I'd like to get started." Lauren sat down with certain sense of satisfaction. With some judicious maneuvering, this could work out perfectly. It was an unexpected break that the commanding officer hated MacKenzie on sight. Chegwidden must not have known about Crowley's friendship with the infamous Admiral Jacobs, otherwise he'd have never sent his precious little chief of staff out here.

She looked up with a smile when the Lieutenant walked back into the room with an armful of folders. "Thank you Lieutenant." She let a slight look concern cross her face, "Lieutenant? Would you let me know if Col. MacKenzie checks in? I'm a little worried... " Her voice trailed off. Lt. Barker's eyebrows rose in surprise. She leaned forward and said conspiratorially, "The Colonel just finished up a rather difficult case. Between that and her duties as chief of staff, she's gotten a little... ummm... stressed. I think Admiral Chegwidden thought this would give her a break without having to resort to anything... official." Lauren looked down at the files to give Barker a chance to digest that last tidbit. She glanced back up and said with a long-suffering sigh, "I guess I'd better dive in. Could I trouble you for a cup of coffee?"

"Certainly, Lieutenant." Barker said, still looking slightly startled. The office was already reeling from the Commander's arrest, now they were going to have to deal with a senior officer teetering on the edge of a breakdown? This was going from bad to worse. He'd been amused at Ensign Tyler's fretting over being the driver for the two JAGs. Tyler had been almost comical worrying about dealing with a field grade Marine officer. Apparently, the ensign had been right on the money. ... Goddamn, now he was feeling stressed.