Part Seventeen
Memphis NAS
0042 Local
Harm and Perez stood in the darkness and waited. They were an eighth of a mile from the gate. The road doglegged around several older buildings. Rabb hadn't said anything since asking for a location like this. Perez glanced at him, the Commander was the epitome of intense concentration. The captain was trying not to fidget while his mind played a spirited game of Second Guessing: What if this wasn't the gate? Would they be able to get close enough to the trucks without being seen? Could he have found a better location? He had contacted Bell and Tyler and told them to take another gate. Obviously, the people on duty at Gate Four were in on the scam. Would the two be able to pick up the trail again? Perez could feel a trickle of sweat run down his back. It was another warm, moist Memphis night. He tried not to think about what it would be like crammed into a small area without enough air... God, he hated waiting!
The low rumble of truck engines galvanized their attention. Perez trotted across the street and the two men faded into the shadows of the buildings. The first truck came into view, gears clashing as the driver downshifted to make the turns. According to Rabb, the Colonel and Lieutenant were on the third truck. Perez didn't feel quite right calling it lucky but it did make things less complicated. To be sure, he repeated the truck serial numbers over and over to himself - a litany against nerves.
The driver of the last truck slowed down to take the first turn, up ahead the taillights of the middle truck were already disappearing around the next. He hadn't been this nervous since he made his first run, well over eight months ago. This was the first time he'd had human cargo aboard and he didn't like it. Running a little blackmarket scam was one thing but that woman marine officer had looked half dead already. He didn't know what to do. He was in too deep now to get out; on the other hand, he wanted no part of murder. He could tell that Ruffin sitting beside him was having the same uncomfortable thoughts. The two men were so distracted by the night's turn of events, they never noticed the two dark shapes that detached themselves from the shadows and closed swiftly on the back of the truck.
Rabb and Perez leaped up onto the rear bumper, hanging with one hand on the tailgate while quickly undoing flapties with the other. As soon as there was a large enough opening, they scrambled inside. Perez immediately turned around and began retying the flap. Harm pulled out a small, powerful flashlight and checked out the interior. He spotted the only two unsecured crates of the cargo up towards the front of the truck where they had apparently slid. He tapped Perez on the shoulder and hurried over to the crates. Running his hands around the edges, he tried to pry the lid off with his fingers. No luck. Frustrated, Harm looked around for something to pull out the nails. Perez dug into another pocket and came up with a Leatherman tool. He started working the nails out while Harm scrubbed his hands impatiently on his pants. As soon as Perez got the lid off, he was up and shining the flashlight inside. It illuminated the frightened eyes of Lt. Singer. Harm grabbed the tool from Perez and immediately started on the second crate, leaving the captain to get Singer out and untied.
Working feverishly, Harm could have sworn it took an eternity to remove the lid. Finally, he was staring at a semiconscious Mac. Sweat was running down her face and her breathing was labored. He felt rather than saw the captain come up beside him and heard Perez say, "Let's lay this on its side and see if we can get her out that way." Carefully, they lowered the crate and slid Mac out onto the floor of the truck bed. Harm hissed to himself at the blood on her uniform blouse. He looked at Perez, "Captain, why don't you check and see if there's any clothes or blankets in this cargo?" He looked over at Singer who was staring wide-eyed at the still form of the Colonel. "Lieutenant?" She looked up at him, he could see she was having a tough time processing all this. "Lieutenant, why don't you give Captain Perez a hand?" He braced himself against the swaying of the truck and leaned over Mac.
Her eyelids fluttered open, "Harm?"
"Who else?," he said with a slight smile. He reached down and began unbuttoning her shirt. He needed to see how much damage had been done.
A hand came up and swatted at him ineffectually, "Not now... headache."
He chuckled quietly and continued unfastening, "I just need to look." When she didn't respond, he glanced up and saw her eyes closed again. Opening the shirt, Harm rocked back on his heels for a moment, jaws clenched. He heard a soft 'oh man' as Perez dropped down beside him, his arms full. Blood was slowly congealing along a long gash in her side. Her ribs were discolored from the earlier bruisings. It was the collarbone that drew his attention. Obviously broken, the ends had shifted and an ugly bruise covered the area. Harm guessed the rough handling she'd received after the break had forced the ends to move.
He glanced at Perez, who hefted the load in his arms, "No clothes, Commander, but we found a crate of towels and linens. The Lieutenant's checking through the rest." He stared at broken collarbone, "We need to fix that."
"I know," Harm said, taking some towels from the Captain and using them to pillow Mac's head. He wadded up another towel and pressed it against her side. He looked at Perez, "Start tearing some strips for bandages." He raised his voice, "Lieutenant?" He heard a faint 'Sir?'. "Have you found anything like water or alcohol?"
"Not yet, sir."
Harm gazed at Perez in frustration, "We have no way to clean out the damn wounds. Not to mention, with the amount of fluids she's been losing, she's probably dehydrated."
Perez nodded sympathetically, "Sir? The collarbone?"
"I know, I know," he ran a hand through his hair. "Any ideas how to do it?"
"Maybe," Perez said thoughtfully, "My youngest brother broke his collarbone falling out of a tree. The doctor put a figure eight brace on his shoulders. It pulled them back and kept the collarbone aligned. ... Improved his posture, too."
"Worth a shot," Harm said as he finished tying off a bandage to keep pressure on the gash. "Can you rig a brace?"
"Yes sir, give me a couple of minutes."
Harm busied himself, doing what he could to clean Mac up without benefit of water. Perez worked quietly and finally looked up, "Ready, sir." He indicated Mac, "She needs to be upright for a couple of minutes."
Harm grunted. "Give me a hand getting her up." He crouched alongside. Together, they lifted her up at the shoulders, trying not to jostle her anymore than necessary. Harm slid in front of her, letting her lean forward against his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder. Ordinarily, this would have been pleasant.
Perez slid the brace over one shoulder and then the other, taking a moment to pad each with a small towel. He eyed Harm a little nervously, "I'm going to start pulling, sir."
Harm nodded and placed a careful hand lightly over the break. As Perez exerted more and more pressure, he could feel the bones shifting. Mac's body began to go rigid, her breathing harsh from the pain. Suddenly, everything slipped into place. She slumped forward against him. Perez relaxed the pressure a bit and then tied off the brace. He looked at Harm, "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to try and immobilize that shoulder and arm, sir."
Ten minutes later, they had done all they could. Now all Mac had to do was wake up. Harm settled down on one side of her, Perez on the other. Lt. Singer, after a fruitless search through the cargo, came back and quietly perched not far from the captain. Harm looked over at Perez, "Any idea how long we've been on this truck?" He couldn't help an involuntary glance at the still figure beside him. He wanted to hear Mac tell him precisely how long, right down to the second. He was beginning to worry that they had inadvertently hurt her more while trying to help. He wished she would wake up again.
Perez consulted his watch, "I think it's been about forty minutes." He looked around the interior of the swaying truck. The canvas top, while noisy, at least let enough air circulate so that it wasn't unbearably hot. "I wish we knew how long we're going to be stuck in here."
"Probably another hour, sir."
Both men stared with surprise at Lt. Singer. She had braced herself into a corner of crates and was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head resting on her knees. "I... We... " She gestured with her chin towards Mac, "... think we've figured out where they've been taking everything." The two men looked at her expectantly. "Bethel, Mississippi, sirs. Mrs. Jarvis' supposed hometown? We figured out a range with the amount of fuel and Bethel falls in that area. It's in the middle of Holly Springs National Forest so it's probably pretty isolated. We checked it out on the internet, there's private land interspersed with the public lands. It'd be perfect for some militia group to hide out."
Harm grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut, '... more damn wackos! How the hell were they going to get out of this?'
"Shouldn't this be a hospital?"
Harm's eyes snapped open. He looked down to see Mac's dark eyes watching him. "MAC!"
She winced and he was instantly contrite. He continued in a softer tone, "Oh god, Mac. I'm sorry. I'm just glad you're awake. How're you feeling?" He knew it was kind of a stupid question, but he just couldn't help himself. She was awake!
"Peachy." Her body was one giant ache but at least it was bearable. She was also desperately thirsty but if Harm hadn't offered her anything yet... "No water?"
Harm shook his head, "Sorry."
"Lousy service, remind me not to come here again," Mac had been relieved to see Harm - she thought she'd been dreaming earlier, "Where are we? How did you find us?"
Harm smiled and then nodded towards Singer, "We think we're on our way to Bethel. Perez and I were still in the warehouse when they dragged you two in. The captain knew a place where the trucks would slow down enough for us to get aboard without being seen." He reached towards her when she tried to push herself upright, "Hey... "
Mac arched an eyebrow at him. She decided she'd just found the one part of her body that didn't hurt like hell. "Harm... if we're going to try to escape these lunatics, I can't do it horizontally. At least let me work my way back to vertical a little bit at a time."
Grudgingly acquiescing, Harm went so far as to support her while Perez hurriedly mounded bundles of linens behind her. Leaning back carefully, Mac surveyed the plethora of bandages encircling her. Looking at the two men, she said wryly, "If you were going for the mummy look, you forgot my legs."
Perez grinned at her, "This is only a B horror flick. We didn't have the budget."
Mac smiled back... that didn't hurt too much.... and directed her attention to Harm, "This wasn't the Acme Assassination Gang, was it?"
Harm shook his head, "No, I don't think so. All evidence to the contrary, they weren't supposed to kill you, just grab you."
"Damn, I think they should have practiced more."
"Would all of you just stop it?!" Three sets of eyes turned surprised looks at Lt. Singer. She was staring at them, her hands curled tightly into fists. "What is the matter with you? We're stuck on some godforsaken truck headed for some godforsaken place where someone is going to kill us! How can you be so goddamn flippant?!"
Harm put out a hand. "Lieutenant... " he said soothingly.
"NO! This isn't fair! We aren't supposed to be here!" She glared at Mac, "We could have been back in DC by now. We SHOULD have been back, but you had to start looking into this damn case! What the hell is the matter with you?! This is YOUR fault!!" She sat there red-faced and breathing heavily.
"Lieutenant." Harm's voice was considerably colder.
"Harm," Mac said quietly, "Would you and Captain Perez excuse us for a moment?" Harm looked at her incredulously, they were in the back of a truck for godsakes. Where did she expect them to go?
"Harm," Mac said again, her tone becoming a little more pointed. Harm threw up his hands and stared at Perez, who just shrugged. Together they made their way to a corner.
"Lieutenant," Mac gestured her closer and said wearily, "Grow up."
Memphis NAS
0042 Local
Harm and Perez stood in the darkness and waited. They were an eighth of a mile from the gate. The road doglegged around several older buildings. Rabb hadn't said anything since asking for a location like this. Perez glanced at him, the Commander was the epitome of intense concentration. The captain was trying not to fidget while his mind played a spirited game of Second Guessing: What if this wasn't the gate? Would they be able to get close enough to the trucks without being seen? Could he have found a better location? He had contacted Bell and Tyler and told them to take another gate. Obviously, the people on duty at Gate Four were in on the scam. Would the two be able to pick up the trail again? Perez could feel a trickle of sweat run down his back. It was another warm, moist Memphis night. He tried not to think about what it would be like crammed into a small area without enough air... God, he hated waiting!
The low rumble of truck engines galvanized their attention. Perez trotted across the street and the two men faded into the shadows of the buildings. The first truck came into view, gears clashing as the driver downshifted to make the turns. According to Rabb, the Colonel and Lieutenant were on the third truck. Perez didn't feel quite right calling it lucky but it did make things less complicated. To be sure, he repeated the truck serial numbers over and over to himself - a litany against nerves.
The driver of the last truck slowed down to take the first turn, up ahead the taillights of the middle truck were already disappearing around the next. He hadn't been this nervous since he made his first run, well over eight months ago. This was the first time he'd had human cargo aboard and he didn't like it. Running a little blackmarket scam was one thing but that woman marine officer had looked half dead already. He didn't know what to do. He was in too deep now to get out; on the other hand, he wanted no part of murder. He could tell that Ruffin sitting beside him was having the same uncomfortable thoughts. The two men were so distracted by the night's turn of events, they never noticed the two dark shapes that detached themselves from the shadows and closed swiftly on the back of the truck.
Rabb and Perez leaped up onto the rear bumper, hanging with one hand on the tailgate while quickly undoing flapties with the other. As soon as there was a large enough opening, they scrambled inside. Perez immediately turned around and began retying the flap. Harm pulled out a small, powerful flashlight and checked out the interior. He spotted the only two unsecured crates of the cargo up towards the front of the truck where they had apparently slid. He tapped Perez on the shoulder and hurried over to the crates. Running his hands around the edges, he tried to pry the lid off with his fingers. No luck. Frustrated, Harm looked around for something to pull out the nails. Perez dug into another pocket and came up with a Leatherman tool. He started working the nails out while Harm scrubbed his hands impatiently on his pants. As soon as Perez got the lid off, he was up and shining the flashlight inside. It illuminated the frightened eyes of Lt. Singer. Harm grabbed the tool from Perez and immediately started on the second crate, leaving the captain to get Singer out and untied.
Working feverishly, Harm could have sworn it took an eternity to remove the lid. Finally, he was staring at a semiconscious Mac. Sweat was running down her face and her breathing was labored. He felt rather than saw the captain come up beside him and heard Perez say, "Let's lay this on its side and see if we can get her out that way." Carefully, they lowered the crate and slid Mac out onto the floor of the truck bed. Harm hissed to himself at the blood on her uniform blouse. He looked at Perez, "Captain, why don't you check and see if there's any clothes or blankets in this cargo?" He looked over at Singer who was staring wide-eyed at the still form of the Colonel. "Lieutenant?" She looked up at him, he could see she was having a tough time processing all this. "Lieutenant, why don't you give Captain Perez a hand?" He braced himself against the swaying of the truck and leaned over Mac.
Her eyelids fluttered open, "Harm?"
"Who else?," he said with a slight smile. He reached down and began unbuttoning her shirt. He needed to see how much damage had been done.
A hand came up and swatted at him ineffectually, "Not now... headache."
He chuckled quietly and continued unfastening, "I just need to look." When she didn't respond, he glanced up and saw her eyes closed again. Opening the shirt, Harm rocked back on his heels for a moment, jaws clenched. He heard a soft 'oh man' as Perez dropped down beside him, his arms full. Blood was slowly congealing along a long gash in her side. Her ribs were discolored from the earlier bruisings. It was the collarbone that drew his attention. Obviously broken, the ends had shifted and an ugly bruise covered the area. Harm guessed the rough handling she'd received after the break had forced the ends to move.
He glanced at Perez, who hefted the load in his arms, "No clothes, Commander, but we found a crate of towels and linens. The Lieutenant's checking through the rest." He stared at broken collarbone, "We need to fix that."
"I know," Harm said, taking some towels from the Captain and using them to pillow Mac's head. He wadded up another towel and pressed it against her side. He looked at Perez, "Start tearing some strips for bandages." He raised his voice, "Lieutenant?" He heard a faint 'Sir?'. "Have you found anything like water or alcohol?"
"Not yet, sir."
Harm gazed at Perez in frustration, "We have no way to clean out the damn wounds. Not to mention, with the amount of fluids she's been losing, she's probably dehydrated."
Perez nodded sympathetically, "Sir? The collarbone?"
"I know, I know," he ran a hand through his hair. "Any ideas how to do it?"
"Maybe," Perez said thoughtfully, "My youngest brother broke his collarbone falling out of a tree. The doctor put a figure eight brace on his shoulders. It pulled them back and kept the collarbone aligned. ... Improved his posture, too."
"Worth a shot," Harm said as he finished tying off a bandage to keep pressure on the gash. "Can you rig a brace?"
"Yes sir, give me a couple of minutes."
Harm busied himself, doing what he could to clean Mac up without benefit of water. Perez worked quietly and finally looked up, "Ready, sir." He indicated Mac, "She needs to be upright for a couple of minutes."
Harm grunted. "Give me a hand getting her up." He crouched alongside. Together, they lifted her up at the shoulders, trying not to jostle her anymore than necessary. Harm slid in front of her, letting her lean forward against his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder. Ordinarily, this would have been pleasant.
Perez slid the brace over one shoulder and then the other, taking a moment to pad each with a small towel. He eyed Harm a little nervously, "I'm going to start pulling, sir."
Harm nodded and placed a careful hand lightly over the break. As Perez exerted more and more pressure, he could feel the bones shifting. Mac's body began to go rigid, her breathing harsh from the pain. Suddenly, everything slipped into place. She slumped forward against him. Perez relaxed the pressure a bit and then tied off the brace. He looked at Harm, "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to try and immobilize that shoulder and arm, sir."
Ten minutes later, they had done all they could. Now all Mac had to do was wake up. Harm settled down on one side of her, Perez on the other. Lt. Singer, after a fruitless search through the cargo, came back and quietly perched not far from the captain. Harm looked over at Perez, "Any idea how long we've been on this truck?" He couldn't help an involuntary glance at the still figure beside him. He wanted to hear Mac tell him precisely how long, right down to the second. He was beginning to worry that they had inadvertently hurt her more while trying to help. He wished she would wake up again.
Perez consulted his watch, "I think it's been about forty minutes." He looked around the interior of the swaying truck. The canvas top, while noisy, at least let enough air circulate so that it wasn't unbearably hot. "I wish we knew how long we're going to be stuck in here."
"Probably another hour, sir."
Both men stared with surprise at Lt. Singer. She had braced herself into a corner of crates and was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head resting on her knees. "I... We... " She gestured with her chin towards Mac, "... think we've figured out where they've been taking everything." The two men looked at her expectantly. "Bethel, Mississippi, sirs. Mrs. Jarvis' supposed hometown? We figured out a range with the amount of fuel and Bethel falls in that area. It's in the middle of Holly Springs National Forest so it's probably pretty isolated. We checked it out on the internet, there's private land interspersed with the public lands. It'd be perfect for some militia group to hide out."
Harm grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut, '... more damn wackos! How the hell were they going to get out of this?'
"Shouldn't this be a hospital?"
Harm's eyes snapped open. He looked down to see Mac's dark eyes watching him. "MAC!"
She winced and he was instantly contrite. He continued in a softer tone, "Oh god, Mac. I'm sorry. I'm just glad you're awake. How're you feeling?" He knew it was kind of a stupid question, but he just couldn't help himself. She was awake!
"Peachy." Her body was one giant ache but at least it was bearable. She was also desperately thirsty but if Harm hadn't offered her anything yet... "No water?"
Harm shook his head, "Sorry."
"Lousy service, remind me not to come here again," Mac had been relieved to see Harm - she thought she'd been dreaming earlier, "Where are we? How did you find us?"
Harm smiled and then nodded towards Singer, "We think we're on our way to Bethel. Perez and I were still in the warehouse when they dragged you two in. The captain knew a place where the trucks would slow down enough for us to get aboard without being seen." He reached towards her when she tried to push herself upright, "Hey... "
Mac arched an eyebrow at him. She decided she'd just found the one part of her body that didn't hurt like hell. "Harm... if we're going to try to escape these lunatics, I can't do it horizontally. At least let me work my way back to vertical a little bit at a time."
Grudgingly acquiescing, Harm went so far as to support her while Perez hurriedly mounded bundles of linens behind her. Leaning back carefully, Mac surveyed the plethora of bandages encircling her. Looking at the two men, she said wryly, "If you were going for the mummy look, you forgot my legs."
Perez grinned at her, "This is only a B horror flick. We didn't have the budget."
Mac smiled back... that didn't hurt too much.... and directed her attention to Harm, "This wasn't the Acme Assassination Gang, was it?"
Harm shook his head, "No, I don't think so. All evidence to the contrary, they weren't supposed to kill you, just grab you."
"Damn, I think they should have practiced more."
"Would all of you just stop it?!" Three sets of eyes turned surprised looks at Lt. Singer. She was staring at them, her hands curled tightly into fists. "What is the matter with you? We're stuck on some godforsaken truck headed for some godforsaken place where someone is going to kill us! How can you be so goddamn flippant?!"
Harm put out a hand. "Lieutenant... " he said soothingly.
"NO! This isn't fair! We aren't supposed to be here!" She glared at Mac, "We could have been back in DC by now. We SHOULD have been back, but you had to start looking into this damn case! What the hell is the matter with you?! This is YOUR fault!!" She sat there red-faced and breathing heavily.
"Lieutenant." Harm's voice was considerably colder.
"Harm," Mac said quietly, "Would you and Captain Perez excuse us for a moment?" Harm looked at her incredulously, they were in the back of a truck for godsakes. Where did she expect them to go?
"Harm," Mac said again, her tone becoming a little more pointed. Harm threw up his hands and stared at Perez, who just shrugged. Together they made their way to a corner.
"Lieutenant," Mac gestured her closer and said wearily, "Grow up."
