Part Ten
JAG office
Memphis NAS
1052 Local
Harm was waiting for her, leaning against a desk with his arms folded. He raised a questioning eyebrow. Mac gestured toward Cmdr. Brighton's office and they walked over together. Harm closed the door behind them and looked at Mac. "Do I need to defend you?" he asked lightly.
"Not yet," Mac said with a small smile, she was pretty sure he wouldn't like this next part. She hadn't gone into specifics beforehand, only saying that she would deal with Singer. "I told her that she and I would be working together until we figure out what's going on." Mac tensed a little, waiting for the inevitable explosion.
Harm stared at her, "You're partnering with her for this?" At Mac's nod, he stood silently for a moment and then turned away, his shoulders hunching.
Mac took a tentative step forward, "Harm?" He turned back towards her and she was a little shocked to realize that he was... laughing. Soundlessly, but still... laughing?
Seeing Mac staring at him, Harm attempted to get himself under control. Wiping his eyes and still chuckling, he looked at her, "I would have paid money to have seen Singer's face. Hell, I'd have given a month's pay to have sat in on the whole conversation." Talk about a rock and a hard place, he could almost feel sorry for the Lieutenant. He'd only heard Mac's voice raised once. While she could be impressive when she yelled, she was far more deadly when she was quiet.
Mac started to grin, Harm's amusement was contagious. "For a month's pay, I might have let you." She looked at him, "You're okay with this?"
He waved a hand at her and said a little more seriously, "I'm not letting you out of my sight. We'll just have to make it a threesome." Harm stopped suddenly, aware of what he had just said, and looked quickly over at Mac. Either she was going to kill him or... oh, damn... she was going to laugh hysterically. Mac had actually sat down, her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her merriment. "Hey," he said, trying to look offended, "It's not that funny."
"Oh no?" Mac leaned back, holding her side. "Pick a worse threesome."
Harm pretended to give it serious consideration, "Ummm... You, me and the SecNav?"
"Oh god," Mac laughed, "How about Krennick, Singer and Tiner?"
"Webb, the Admiral and Krennick?" He dropped into another chair. They kept tossing out more and more outrageous trios until both wound down. Harm and Mac grinned at each other. It had been a while since they had laughed over anything silly, he'd missed it. He pondered his next course of action for a moment and then asked cautiously, "Sarah, what's wrong?"
Mac looked at him, her smile fading. How to explain? She knew he was going to keep after her. "Harm, I don't think that's going to be a short conversation. We need to get back to the conference room, Singer's been on her own for seven minutes and forty-eight seconds."
"Mac, please. I want to know what's going on." Harm said. "How about dinner tonight?" When she nodded slowly, he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. He stood up and offered her a hand, "Shall we check in on our partner?"
JAG office
Memphis NAS
1052 Local
Lauren sat motionless in amazement and watched the Colonel exit the room. While she would never openly admit any mistakes; privately, she would concede several small miscalculations. One was underestimating the deviousness of Colonel MacKenzie. There had to be some way of getting out of being a human shield. She shifted uncomfortably; and it was definitely not her fault about Brighton. There was no way in hell he would win his case. Who could predict that he'd suddenly turn into Don Quixote? Surely the Admiral wouldn't hold her accountable. It was all MacKenzie and Rabb's fault anyway, she fumed silently. If Rabb hadn't interfered earlier, Brighton wouldn't have felt singled out. She would have nailed the whole lot.
As for prima donna MacKenzie, it was her fault Rabb was here at all. Lauren was so sick and tired of the Colonel. The blind luck of that woman! To accidently stumble into a case as big as 'Archangel' and then turn it into the 'Perils of Pauline'. And she'd milked it for all it was worth. Now the entire office jumped if they thought she had a hangnail. If MacKenzie hadn't perfected the 'poor, brave little me' routine, the Admiral wouldn't have bothered sending Rabb out here in the first place. The Lieutenant snorted in disgust, Rabb and MacKenzie - their exploits were well on their way to becoming office legend. Singer didn't believe a quarter of what she heard. Rabb, that arrogant ex-pilot, was nothing more than a glib used-car salesman. It was the only way to explain some of the cases he won. That was if you discounted the ineptness on the other side. MacKenzie's reputation as a litigator was no doubt as exaggerated as her reputation as a tough, no-nonsense Marine. Lauren chose to ignore the little voice that gleefully pointed out that the Colonel had scared the hell out of her just a few minutes ago.
Singer stood up and turned around when she heard the conference door begin to open. She schooled her expression to casual indifference as she came to attention. Rabb and MacKenzie walked in, obviously continuing their conversation. "So we'll see where we are when Perez and Tyler get back. It should be soon?" Harm said looking at Mac.
"Sixty-three minutes and counting," Mac replied. She looked over at Singer, "As you were. Have you been familiarizing yourself with this case, Lieutenant?"
"I... uhhh... ," Lauren stuttered, furious with herself for showing inadequacy in front of these two.
Mac raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Then I would suggest you do so, Lieutenant. Quickly." She turned her attention back to Rabb. Lauren glared at her for a moment before picking up a folder and beginning to read.
Fifteen minutes later, Perez and Tyler came in trailed by a corporal carrying a laptop. They came to attention and then relaxed. Harm and Mac both did their best to conceal their surprise. The corporal was easily the biggest, meanest-looking man they had ever seen. Perez gestured to him, "This is Corporal Tom Bell, my computer wizard." The corporal nodded as he set up his computer on the table.
"We found something, sir, ma'am," the Captain said happily. "Or I should say, Tink did." The corporal smiled a little self-consciously, something that looked even more incongruous than the massive fingers moving delicately over the keyboard. Harm glanced at Mac and rolled his eyes, of course, what else would someone nickname a behemoth named Bell?
Mac gave him a look and then stepped towards Bell. "What have you got, Corporal?"
"Well, ma'am," Bell rumbled, his voice reminded Harm of distant thunder, "Initially, I was just checking weapons and ordnance, but then I widened the net. That's when the discrepancies started to show up. It's ordinary stuff that's disappearing."
"What? Things like toilet paper and staples?" Harm asked in disbelief.
"Actually, sir, just about everything. It's been going on for nearly a year and ,of course, never in large enough quantities to arouse suspicion. There's enough stuff missing to supply a small base."
Perez nodded in satisfaction as Harm and Mac shared an alarmed look. "Getting interesting, isn't it?"
"Uh-huh," Mac said slowly, "Where's it going?"
Bell shrugged and then seemed to remember he was talking to senior officers. He said, a little more formally, "All I can tell you from this is dates and quantities, ma'am."
"Can you tell how it's happening?" Harm asked.
"Not yet, sir," Bell replied, "But with a little more time, I think I can figure it out."
Mac gestured for everyone to take a seat. "Okay, why are these supplies being taken?"
Tyler tentatively raised a hand, "Maybe they're selling it?"
Perez shook his head, "I don't think so. Who'd buy? Wal-Mart's just down the road."
"Maybe Bell is right," Mac said thoughtfully. "What if someone is supplying a small base?"
Harm leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. "Oh hell, not another wacko militia group. Why aren't they stealing weapons? They plan to throw paperclips?"
"Perhaps they're getting them from another source." Mac flashed a small, sympathetic smile at Harm. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with over-zealous, military wanna-bes either.
"If they can't afford to buy their own toilet paper, how're they buying weapons?" Perez pointed out.
"Maybe they're stealing money, too." Singer entered the conversation for the first time.
Mac gave her an approving look and directed her attention to Bell. "Can you tap into the Finance Dept. and look for any anomalies?"
"It will take a while, ma'am, but I think so," Bell said. "Do you want me to start now?"
Mac shook her head, "Not just yet, Corporal." She looked at the group sitting around the table, "We still need to figure out where everything is going. I think Alan Jarvis will be the key."
Perez said, "Unless it's still on base somewhere, they'd need to arrange transportation." He looked at Bell, "Do you have a printout of when these thefts took place?" He took the paper and stood up, "If it's all right with you, Colonel, I'll go check the motor pool logs and see if anything turns up." At Mac's nod, he turned and left the room.
"So what do we know about Jarvis?" Mac asked.
"He's from Philadelphia and he joined up right out of high school," Tyler said promptly.
"His parents were killed in an auto accident, just before he enlisted," Singer added. "And he's been stationed here about two years."
Harm glanced over at Mac, "He's only been married two years. Where's Mrs. Jarvis from?"
Mac frowned slightly and checked some notes, "She's from this area. Little place called Bethel in northern Mississippi."
"Curious," Harm mused. "Either it was love at first sight or... "
"Or a marriage of convenience?" Mac picked up on his line of thought. "It's been going on for almost a year, I can see how they might have planned for it a year in advance. They'd need to recruit support." She grimaced in frustration, "But the timeline doesn't make sense if they didn't know each other beforehand. What did he do? Say 'Marry me and we'll steal the government blind' on their first date?"
"Or it was an arranged marriage," Harm said. "Jarvis may have been a computer genius... " He arched an eyebrow when Bell gave a derisive snort, it sounded like a small explosion.
"Sorry sir," Bell said contritely. It was like listening to a foghorn apologize, Mac smothered a smile.
Harm looked at him a moment longer and then continued, "... but, I get the feeling there's someone else involved on this base who is higher up the food chain. Maybe he got them together for this."
"So we go through his service record for the last two years with a fine tooth comb and see if anyone pops up." Mac concluded.
They all looked when a knock sounded on the conference room door. It opened and Lt. Barker stuck his head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt but Admiral Crowley wants to see Col. MacKenzie in his office - now."
Harm raised both eyebrows slightly when he heard Mac mutter something distinctly unladylike under her breath. She looked at Barker, "Thank you Lieutenant." Standing up, she gestured to Tyler, "Let's go, Ensign," and headed for the door.
Harm stared at Singer, who looked back perplexed. He gestured to Mac, "Get going, Lieutenant." As much as he would have preferred going with Mac himself, someone had to stay and keep the ball rolling on their investigation.
Singer started to protest, "But the Admiral doesn't expect me... "
Harm cut her off, "The Colonel doesn't go anywhere unaccompanied until we figure this out." He glanced at Mac who was standing at the door. Her face was impassive but he could see a small glint of amusement in her dark eyes.
Reluctantly, Singer grabbed her cover and followed Mac out of the room.
JAG office
Memphis NAS
1052 Local
Harm was waiting for her, leaning against a desk with his arms folded. He raised a questioning eyebrow. Mac gestured toward Cmdr. Brighton's office and they walked over together. Harm closed the door behind them and looked at Mac. "Do I need to defend you?" he asked lightly.
"Not yet," Mac said with a small smile, she was pretty sure he wouldn't like this next part. She hadn't gone into specifics beforehand, only saying that she would deal with Singer. "I told her that she and I would be working together until we figure out what's going on." Mac tensed a little, waiting for the inevitable explosion.
Harm stared at her, "You're partnering with her for this?" At Mac's nod, he stood silently for a moment and then turned away, his shoulders hunching.
Mac took a tentative step forward, "Harm?" He turned back towards her and she was a little shocked to realize that he was... laughing. Soundlessly, but still... laughing?
Seeing Mac staring at him, Harm attempted to get himself under control. Wiping his eyes and still chuckling, he looked at her, "I would have paid money to have seen Singer's face. Hell, I'd have given a month's pay to have sat in on the whole conversation." Talk about a rock and a hard place, he could almost feel sorry for the Lieutenant. He'd only heard Mac's voice raised once. While she could be impressive when she yelled, she was far more deadly when she was quiet.
Mac started to grin, Harm's amusement was contagious. "For a month's pay, I might have let you." She looked at him, "You're okay with this?"
He waved a hand at her and said a little more seriously, "I'm not letting you out of my sight. We'll just have to make it a threesome." Harm stopped suddenly, aware of what he had just said, and looked quickly over at Mac. Either she was going to kill him or... oh, damn... she was going to laugh hysterically. Mac had actually sat down, her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her merriment. "Hey," he said, trying to look offended, "It's not that funny."
"Oh no?" Mac leaned back, holding her side. "Pick a worse threesome."
Harm pretended to give it serious consideration, "Ummm... You, me and the SecNav?"
"Oh god," Mac laughed, "How about Krennick, Singer and Tiner?"
"Webb, the Admiral and Krennick?" He dropped into another chair. They kept tossing out more and more outrageous trios until both wound down. Harm and Mac grinned at each other. It had been a while since they had laughed over anything silly, he'd missed it. He pondered his next course of action for a moment and then asked cautiously, "Sarah, what's wrong?"
Mac looked at him, her smile fading. How to explain? She knew he was going to keep after her. "Harm, I don't think that's going to be a short conversation. We need to get back to the conference room, Singer's been on her own for seven minutes and forty-eight seconds."
"Mac, please. I want to know what's going on." Harm said. "How about dinner tonight?" When she nodded slowly, he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. He stood up and offered her a hand, "Shall we check in on our partner?"
JAG office
Memphis NAS
1052 Local
Lauren sat motionless in amazement and watched the Colonel exit the room. While she would never openly admit any mistakes; privately, she would concede several small miscalculations. One was underestimating the deviousness of Colonel MacKenzie. There had to be some way of getting out of being a human shield. She shifted uncomfortably; and it was definitely not her fault about Brighton. There was no way in hell he would win his case. Who could predict that he'd suddenly turn into Don Quixote? Surely the Admiral wouldn't hold her accountable. It was all MacKenzie and Rabb's fault anyway, she fumed silently. If Rabb hadn't interfered earlier, Brighton wouldn't have felt singled out. She would have nailed the whole lot.
As for prima donna MacKenzie, it was her fault Rabb was here at all. Lauren was so sick and tired of the Colonel. The blind luck of that woman! To accidently stumble into a case as big as 'Archangel' and then turn it into the 'Perils of Pauline'. And she'd milked it for all it was worth. Now the entire office jumped if they thought she had a hangnail. If MacKenzie hadn't perfected the 'poor, brave little me' routine, the Admiral wouldn't have bothered sending Rabb out here in the first place. The Lieutenant snorted in disgust, Rabb and MacKenzie - their exploits were well on their way to becoming office legend. Singer didn't believe a quarter of what she heard. Rabb, that arrogant ex-pilot, was nothing more than a glib used-car salesman. It was the only way to explain some of the cases he won. That was if you discounted the ineptness on the other side. MacKenzie's reputation as a litigator was no doubt as exaggerated as her reputation as a tough, no-nonsense Marine. Lauren chose to ignore the little voice that gleefully pointed out that the Colonel had scared the hell out of her just a few minutes ago.
Singer stood up and turned around when she heard the conference door begin to open. She schooled her expression to casual indifference as she came to attention. Rabb and MacKenzie walked in, obviously continuing their conversation. "So we'll see where we are when Perez and Tyler get back. It should be soon?" Harm said looking at Mac.
"Sixty-three minutes and counting," Mac replied. She looked over at Singer, "As you were. Have you been familiarizing yourself with this case, Lieutenant?"
"I... uhhh... ," Lauren stuttered, furious with herself for showing inadequacy in front of these two.
Mac raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Then I would suggest you do so, Lieutenant. Quickly." She turned her attention back to Rabb. Lauren glared at her for a moment before picking up a folder and beginning to read.
Fifteen minutes later, Perez and Tyler came in trailed by a corporal carrying a laptop. They came to attention and then relaxed. Harm and Mac both did their best to conceal their surprise. The corporal was easily the biggest, meanest-looking man they had ever seen. Perez gestured to him, "This is Corporal Tom Bell, my computer wizard." The corporal nodded as he set up his computer on the table.
"We found something, sir, ma'am," the Captain said happily. "Or I should say, Tink did." The corporal smiled a little self-consciously, something that looked even more incongruous than the massive fingers moving delicately over the keyboard. Harm glanced at Mac and rolled his eyes, of course, what else would someone nickname a behemoth named Bell?
Mac gave him a look and then stepped towards Bell. "What have you got, Corporal?"
"Well, ma'am," Bell rumbled, his voice reminded Harm of distant thunder, "Initially, I was just checking weapons and ordnance, but then I widened the net. That's when the discrepancies started to show up. It's ordinary stuff that's disappearing."
"What? Things like toilet paper and staples?" Harm asked in disbelief.
"Actually, sir, just about everything. It's been going on for nearly a year and ,of course, never in large enough quantities to arouse suspicion. There's enough stuff missing to supply a small base."
Perez nodded in satisfaction as Harm and Mac shared an alarmed look. "Getting interesting, isn't it?"
"Uh-huh," Mac said slowly, "Where's it going?"
Bell shrugged and then seemed to remember he was talking to senior officers. He said, a little more formally, "All I can tell you from this is dates and quantities, ma'am."
"Can you tell how it's happening?" Harm asked.
"Not yet, sir," Bell replied, "But with a little more time, I think I can figure it out."
Mac gestured for everyone to take a seat. "Okay, why are these supplies being taken?"
Tyler tentatively raised a hand, "Maybe they're selling it?"
Perez shook his head, "I don't think so. Who'd buy? Wal-Mart's just down the road."
"Maybe Bell is right," Mac said thoughtfully. "What if someone is supplying a small base?"
Harm leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. "Oh hell, not another wacko militia group. Why aren't they stealing weapons? They plan to throw paperclips?"
"Perhaps they're getting them from another source." Mac flashed a small, sympathetic smile at Harm. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with over-zealous, military wanna-bes either.
"If they can't afford to buy their own toilet paper, how're they buying weapons?" Perez pointed out.
"Maybe they're stealing money, too." Singer entered the conversation for the first time.
Mac gave her an approving look and directed her attention to Bell. "Can you tap into the Finance Dept. and look for any anomalies?"
"It will take a while, ma'am, but I think so," Bell said. "Do you want me to start now?"
Mac shook her head, "Not just yet, Corporal." She looked at the group sitting around the table, "We still need to figure out where everything is going. I think Alan Jarvis will be the key."
Perez said, "Unless it's still on base somewhere, they'd need to arrange transportation." He looked at Bell, "Do you have a printout of when these thefts took place?" He took the paper and stood up, "If it's all right with you, Colonel, I'll go check the motor pool logs and see if anything turns up." At Mac's nod, he turned and left the room.
"So what do we know about Jarvis?" Mac asked.
"He's from Philadelphia and he joined up right out of high school," Tyler said promptly.
"His parents were killed in an auto accident, just before he enlisted," Singer added. "And he's been stationed here about two years."
Harm glanced over at Mac, "He's only been married two years. Where's Mrs. Jarvis from?"
Mac frowned slightly and checked some notes, "She's from this area. Little place called Bethel in northern Mississippi."
"Curious," Harm mused. "Either it was love at first sight or... "
"Or a marriage of convenience?" Mac picked up on his line of thought. "It's been going on for almost a year, I can see how they might have planned for it a year in advance. They'd need to recruit support." She grimaced in frustration, "But the timeline doesn't make sense if they didn't know each other beforehand. What did he do? Say 'Marry me and we'll steal the government blind' on their first date?"
"Or it was an arranged marriage," Harm said. "Jarvis may have been a computer genius... " He arched an eyebrow when Bell gave a derisive snort, it sounded like a small explosion.
"Sorry sir," Bell said contritely. It was like listening to a foghorn apologize, Mac smothered a smile.
Harm looked at him a moment longer and then continued, "... but, I get the feeling there's someone else involved on this base who is higher up the food chain. Maybe he got them together for this."
"So we go through his service record for the last two years with a fine tooth comb and see if anyone pops up." Mac concluded.
They all looked when a knock sounded on the conference room door. It opened and Lt. Barker stuck his head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt but Admiral Crowley wants to see Col. MacKenzie in his office - now."
Harm raised both eyebrows slightly when he heard Mac mutter something distinctly unladylike under her breath. She looked at Barker, "Thank you Lieutenant." Standing up, she gestured to Tyler, "Let's go, Ensign," and headed for the door.
Harm stared at Singer, who looked back perplexed. He gestured to Mac, "Get going, Lieutenant." As much as he would have preferred going with Mac himself, someone had to stay and keep the ball rolling on their investigation.
Singer started to protest, "But the Admiral doesn't expect me... "
Harm cut her off, "The Colonel doesn't go anywhere unaccompanied until we figure this out." He glanced at Mac who was standing at the door. Her face was impassive but he could see a small glint of amusement in her dark eyes.
Reluctantly, Singer grabbed her cover and followed Mac out of the room.
