Part Six

Memphis NAS
Base Hospital
2010 Local

Harm sat slouched in a waiting room chair and contemplated the dressing on his left hand. The slash from the debris hadn't been deep. He just had to keep it clean. He'd called the Admiral once already, he would call again as soon as the doctors saw fit to talk to him. Lt. Barker and, surprisingly, Lt. Singer were also there. He got to his feet as a doctor walked into the room. Barker and Singer got up and walked over. The doctor looked at all three, "Col. MacKenzie and Ensign Tyler will both be fine. I'm sorry it took so long, but we had to make sure all the lacerations were cleaned out. Fortunately, not too many required stitches. They both have very mild concussions. Col. MacKenzie also has some badly bruised ribs." He glanced at Harm, "Was there a previous injury?" At Harm's nod, he grunted thoughtfully and continued, "The wound in her arm was fairly deep, although it should heal without any problems. It nicked the bone but there doesn't seem to be any nerve damage. We'll keep them overnight to make sure there are no complications. You'll be able to see them in about fifteen minutes. Check with the station nurse for their room numbers." The doctor turned and left.

Harm gave a sigh of relief and looked at the two lieutenants. "Lt. Barker, would you contact Ensign Tyler's family and let them know what happened?" He waited for Barker to leave then turned and looked at Singer, "Well, Lauren, I think it's safe to say we now have another investigation on our hands." He lowered his eyebrows at her and said softly, "The ground rules are going to be decidedly different for this. I would rethink my priorities if I were you - these people aren't screwing around. If you let your ambition cloud your focus, it's quite possible you could wind up dead." Harm turned away and headed for the nurses' station.

Singer looked after him. She certainly didn't need the much-vaunted Commander Rabb to point out the obvious. She planned to keep a judicious distance from the Colonel. If some lunatic was trying to kill her, Lauren would not be the one caught in the crossfire.

Base Hospital
Mac's room
2030 Local

Mac looked over as Harm entered her room. "Harm," she smiled groggily, "We've got to stop meeting like this." She took a breath and winced, "I need new ribs."

Harm smiled back at her, "I'm beginning to think you just like hospital food."

"Is Tyler all right?" She squinted, it was hard keeping him in focus.

"Better than you," Harm said, "He is younger, you know."

"Don't remind me." Her voice trailed off.

"Get some rest, Mac. I'll be right here." Harm said softly.

Mac struggled back into wakefulness, "Harm... ?"

"Someone tried to kill you Mac, I'm spending the night right here."

She tried to sit up, only to have Harm put a hand on her shoulder. "Harm, my briefcase... my notes."

"Safe in my quarters. The MPs will probably get after me for tampering with a crime scene," he said wryly.

"That's definitely a possibility, sir," said a new voice from the doorway. Harm turned to see a young Marine captain standing there. "I'm Capt. Perez, with the MPs. The Colonel and I spoke earlier this afternoon." He walked up to the bed, "How are you feeling, ma'am?"

"Like a car landed on me."

Perez smiled sympathetically, "I've heard that hurts." He looked over at Harm, "Do you want to tell me what you tampered with, Commander?"

"I grabbed the Colonel's briefcase and put it in my quarters for safekeeping. I would guess the reason for the attack has to do with what she was working on." Harm regarded the captain steadily, could he be trusted?

Capt. Perez looked startled, "The internet porn ring?"

"No. Brighton's UA: Alan Jarvis." Both men looked at Mac in surprise, this was because of a UA case?

"I guess I rattled a few cages this afternoon..." She was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Go to sleep, Mac. We'll discuss this in the morning." Harm gestured to Perez to move away from the bed. They met on the far side of the room. Harm said in a low voice, "I don't think it's a good idea to leave the Colonel or Ensign Tyler unguarded while they're here. I don't have the authority... "

"But I do," finished Perez. "I'll assign someone to each room, sir. Then you and I can head over to your quarters and see if we can figure out what's going on." He looked at Harm and added dryly, "It makes us look bad when we blow up visiting officers for no apparent reason."

"Okay, Captain, except that I'd rather we brought everything back here. I told Mac I'd stay and I'd prefer to keep an eye on her myself." He gave a small grin, "You wouldn't believe the amount of trouble she can get into on her own."

"You have no room to talk, Rabb." said a sleepy voice.

"Go to sleep, Bionic Ears." Harm said.

Capt. Perez stifled a laugh, it was pretty obvious these two had a close and comfortable relationship. He walked to the doorway and looked down the hall. Catching the attention of several of his people, he gestured for them to join him. He quietly gave them their instructions and then looked back at Harm, "Any time you're ready, Commander."

Harm had just reached the door when a commotion at the end of the hall made them look down that way. Harm's eyes widened. "Son of a bitch!" he said softly. He looked over to see Perez regarding him with surprise. "Tell your people not to leave the Colonel alone with anyone, I don't care who they are," he said tersely. "Tell them, Perez!" Harm hurried down the corridor.

Harm met Admiral Crowley halfway down the hallway. Coming to attention, he said, "Admiral, may I help you?"

"Certainly, Commander Rabb," Crowley said waspishly, "You and your cohorts can refrain from having my vehicles blown up while you're here. Do you have any idea how this looks? What the hell was MacKenzie up to? I've had the officer in charge of Supply bending my chief of staff's ear about her and now this!"

Harm's jaws clenched and he said stiffly, "You'll be happy to know that Colonel MacKenzie and Ensign Tyler will both recover from their injuries, sir."

The Admiral glared at Harm for the unvoiced rebuke and started to move around the tall commander.

Harm took a stride backward and blocked the Admiral's path, still at attention, "Sir, I believe both the Colonel and Ensign are asleep. The doctors would prefer they not be disturbed."

"They would, would they?" Crowley stared at Harm for a long moment. Capt. Perez walked up and came to attention next to the Commander. The Admiral shifted his attention, "Who're you?"

"Capt. Roberto Perez, I'm in charge of the Military Police, sir."

"Who's responsible for this, Captain?"

"We're still investigating, sir."

"Well, next time, prevent it!" Admiral Crowley spun on his heel and stomped back down the corridor, scattering hospital personnel.

Perez looked at Harm in shock, "That's the craziest... was he serious?"

Harm shrugged, "He's your CO." He looked up the hallway, "Is there another way out of here? I don't want to run into the Admiral again, if I can help it. We need to get Mac's files and get back here ASAP."

"Yeah, this way, Commander," Perez turned and started walking. He looked over at Harm, "Is there a reason you don't want the Colonel left alone that I should know about, sir?"

"Are you familiar with 'Archangel', Captain?" Harm watched him carefully.

Perez looked uncomfortable, "Sir, that's a classified, ongoing investigation." His eyes widened, "She's the Marine officer that broke the case?! I thought it was some James Bond/Clint Eastwood type... " his voice trailed off in wonder.

"That's Mac," Harm smiled grimly, "That case damn near killed her. She'll be a primary witness... if they ever get it to trial."

"So you're not completely sure if the bombing was about Jarvis or 'Archangel'?" Perez asked.

Harm nodded, "It gets better. You knew Admiral Crowley was good friends with the top man, Admiral Charles Jacobs?" Perez gave a short nod. "Well, he knows who Mac is; made a point of telling her about his old and dear friend, Charlie Jacobs."

"You're kidding!?" Perez stopped walking. Harm turned to look at him and nodded. "Goddammit, this means Admiral Crowley is a suspect, too." Perez threw up his hands and resumed walking, "There goes my career... "

The ride to the VOQ was mostly silent. The scene had been taped off and one lone enlisted man was standing guard. Perez went to talk to him while Harm headed for his room. He had his hand on the knob and was just inserting the key when the door was yanked open. He stumbled forward a step and had a brief impression of a dark ski mask. A hard object slammed into his midsection doubling him over and robbing him of breath. An agonizing jolt nearly lifted him upright. It seemed to go on forever as the intruder used the stun gun to shove him out of the doorway. His body felt like it was on fire, he couldn't talk, couldn't breathe. The end came abruptly and he collapsed in a heap in the hallway. A dark figure leapt over him and disappeared down the hall as Perez entered from the other end. Cursing, the captain ran towards the commander, drawing his sidearm. Rabb appeared to be semi-conscious. He was shaking, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Perez holstered his weapon and pulled out his cellphone. He hit the speed-dial and started barking orders. The captain glanced in at the disarray in Harm's room and swore again.