Part Twenty-Eight
Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0635 Local
Mac struggled to free herself. The fear had taken on sentience, wrapping around her and laughing even as it filled her with dread. Too late... out of time... too late... No! She would not, could not accept that and fought all the harder. There was still time... there had to be. That damn voice kept yammering in her ear. It sounded more frantic even as it urged her to stop - to give up. No!
"Colonel? Colonel MacKenzie? Can you hear me?" Perez hung on as Mac struggled to free her wrist. Afraid to raise his voice, he tried to make it more intense. Dammit, this was harder than he thought it'd be. He didn't want to hurt her and he was trying to keep her from hurting herself. "Ma'am, please! It's okay! Take it easy!" This was rapidly getting out of control. She was getting more and more agitated and now he was afraid to let go. Where the hell was she getting the energy?! By now he was half-straddling her, trying to use his body weight to keep her in one place. Hopefully, he could hold on until Tyler got back. Between the two of them, maybe they could calm her down. He wasn't having much luck by himself. What the hell was the matter with her? Where the hell was Tyler? He should be back any time now. At last, he heard the rustle of the underbrush and then a sharp intake of breath, and sighed with relief, "Get over here and help me, I can't keep her still!"
He got the shock of his life when two hands roughly grabbed him and threw him backwards across the clearing. He hit hard, rolled and scrambled to his feet in time to see a fist swinging towards his head. He threw out his left to block only to have the bigger man power through. He had managed to dissipate some of the force so the blow made him stagger but didn't knock him down. He evaded the next punch, came up inside for a quick one-two combination and took a blow to the midriff in return. He forced himself backwards, that midsection punch made him want to drop to his knees. He needed to keep moving, this guy was too big for a toe-to-toe slugfest.
Then he saw the other man next to the Colonel and threw caution to the winds. He launched himself at his opponent in a whirlwind attack that drove the bigger man backwards. Relentlessly, he pressed the attack, he had to stop the second man. He got his opening a few moments later and launched himself. He was almost there when the first man caught him around the legs and brought him crashing to the ground just short of his goal. Wheezing, he looked up to see the muzzle of a pistol stuck in his face. 'Goddammit!' He squeezed his eyes shut and then snapped them open at the unmistakable sound of shotgun chambering a round.
He could have wept when he heard Tyler's voice behind him, "Drop your weapons and stand up slowly." Perez felt the weight across his legs lift as the men complied. Carefully he sat up, rubbing his jaw.
"Now put your hands behind your head and move back." Tyler waited until they had moved away and glanced anxiously at Perez, "Captain? Are you and the Colonel all right?" He refocused his attention and his aim when the second man took a step forward.
"Ensign Tyler?"
Tyler's mouth dropped open as he lowered the shotgun, "Admiral Chegwidden?"
Perez looked from one to the other, "What?"
AJ looked down at him, "I'm AJ Chegwidden, the Judge Advocate General and I presume you're Captain Perez?" Perez nodded a little numbly as the Gunny extended a hand to help him up. AJ gestured to Walters, "And this gentleman is Gunnery Sergeant Rudy Walters."
Perez nodded once again and then his brain seemed to kick in again. The Colonel! With an apologetic 'Excuse me, sir,' he hurried over to Mac. It didn't surprise him to find the other three men close behind. He knelt on one side, while AJ knelt on the other. Tyler and Walters remained standing. Perez looked over at AJ, "The Colonel was starting to come around, sir, when you two showed up. She was stuck in some sort of nightmare, I think. She kept trying to get up - I was afraid she would hurt herself."
AJ grunted thoughtfully, looking down at his Chief of Staff, "How badly is she injured?"
"A broken collarbone and fairly long slash across her ribs, sir. It wasn't deep but it became infected." Perez paused for a moment, "I think a lot of it right now is exhaustion. These last twelve hours or so, were the first real break she's had since they grabbed her."
"Who's 'they'?"
AJ watched as Perez got a funny look on his face, "Ummm... it was a toss-up between 'Archangel' and the Acme Assassination Gang. Commander Rabb thought it was 'Archangel'."
AJ just looked at him, "The Acme Assassination Gang?"
"Well, they kept missing... "
"And I was starting to feel like the Roadrunner." Mac added quietly, she'd slowly awakened during their conversation. The more alarming aspects of her ... nightmare?... had faded with the return of full consciousness. She was still plagued with a sense of urgency and unease, but it was manageable. Mac surveyed the faces around her and smiled when she recognized Gunny Walters. He grinned lightly in return. Finally, she turned her gaze to the Admiral and felt vague surprise when he smiled at her. She was feeling fuzzy about a number of things, but the fact that she'd disappointed this man once again, wasn't one of them.
AJ saw the look and cursed inwardly. This was something he needed to fix and soon, before Webb made good his promise and he lost one of his best people. Well, he could start by treating her like the competent officer she was. He looked down at her, "Mac? Think you can handle sitting up? I need to know what's going on and then we have plans to make." Together he and Perez got her upright and leaning against the embankment. AJ frowned when she closed her eyes briefly, she'd gotten noticeably paler. He ran through what he had learned so far and asked, "Colonel? How long has it been since you've had anything to eat?"
Mac blinked and looked over at him, "Thirty-five hours and forty-two minutes, sir." Out of the corner of his eye, AJ saw Perez and Tyler exchange incredulous glances, Gunny Walters just looked smug.
Chegwidden shook his head slightly, "Then that's the first order of business." He looked at Perez and Tyler, "Which one of you officers is in charge of the Mess?"
Perez smiled and jerked a thumb at Tyler, "That would be young Daniel Boone, sir."
Tyler blushed furiously as Chegwidden's attention was directed towards him. Even though he'd been talking to the man for the last day or so, being this close to the Judge Advocate General was terribly disconcerting. He swallowed nervously and saw Colonel MacKenzie give him an encouraging smile. He looked back at the Admiral and stammered, "Sir?"
"What's for breakfast, Ensign?" AJ took his first good look at Tyler. He was small and wiry, with sandy brown hair - not a bad-looking kid. AJ decided he was one of those men who brought out the mothering instinct in every female past puberty... and was still young enough to consider it a disadvantage.
"Well sir," Tyler unslung his backpack and lowered it to the ground, "I've got these canned goods I picked up this morning." He glanced over at Perez, "We'll have to open them with a knife, I couldn't find a can opener." Looking back at the Admiral, he continued, "And I still have to check my snares this morning and I set a line in a deep pool I found. Hopefully, we'll have some trout. And... uhhh... if you'd like I could gather some fresh greens..." his voice trailed off at the look on the Admiral's face. Oh god, what had he said now? "Sir?"
AJ gave himself a mental shake when he realized he'd been staring. "Very good, Ensign." He paused for a moment while he considered whether he wanted to ask the next question. Finally, he said, "Where did the canned goods come from?"
Tyler glanced helplessly at Perez and then back to Chegwidden, "The storage shed next to the mess hall, sir." Behind the Admiral, he saw Colonel MacKenzie's eyes widen in surprise.
"In the militia camp?"
Tyler nodded slowly.
"And you got in and out without being seen?"
Tyler hesitated and then said, "Yes."
AJ looked a little harder. "Ensign?"
Shifting a bit, Tyler said, "Well, the guy never actually saw me. I waited 'til he was past and hit him with a can of stewed tomatoes. Then I made it look like he had slipped and knocked himself out. It was the only thing I could think of at the time," he added, half-apologetically. Chegwidden stared at the young man for a long moment. Behind Tyler, Walters and Perez exchanged looks and then studiously contemplated their shoes.
"Uh-huh." AJ looked over his shoulder at Mac and said solemnly, "Stewed tomatoes."
Mac's lips twitched once, "I believe the regs call for peach slices."
"In heavy syrup." Gunny added politely.
AJ gazed skyward, "He is young... "
"And inexperienced." Perez agreed.
AJ finally looked back at a nervous Tyler, "And I'm sure it won't happen again, will it?" At the Ensign's vigorous nod, the Admiral smiled, "Fine, go check your snares and the trout line. Don't worry about the greens, we'll make do with the canned food." He watched Tyler beat a grateful retreat before he started to chuckle. AJ turned back towards Mac, "Colonel? What would you like for breakfast?"
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0700 Local
Trask stared at the three men standing in front of him and said quietly, "So you took it upon yourselves to have a little 'fun' with some civilians?" They nodded cautiously. "And you think one of these men was some sort of corporate president or chairman? ... But you're not sure because you lost their identification?" The third man shifted uncomfortably. The Reverend looked up at the ceiling and then brought his gaze and his fist down on the desk. "Have you completely lost your minds? How stupid can you be?!" His voice began to increase in volume. "Someone is going to come looking for these two! And they're going to find us!" Now he was up and pacing back and forth behind his desk. He turned and pinned them with a glare, "You've given the State Police and the FBI reason to come down here and investigate." He let that sink in and then waved a hand, "Get back to your barracks and stay there while I decide what has to be done."
Exchanging worried glances, the three men turned and left. Trask dropped back in his chair and propped his elbows on the desk. This was incredibly ill-timed. Ever since Koslov had grabbed those JAG officers, things seemed to be spiraling out of his control. Why he had ever agreed to it? He scrubbed a hand through his hair and answered himself ruefully, 'Money.' When Koslov contacted him to warn about the investigation, he'd also mentioned he might have a solution. One that could bring in a substantial amount of money. Ordinarily, he shied away from this sort of thing but he let Koslov convince him that they were just fulfilling a contract that was already in place. Besides, what was one woman when compared to the rest of his plans? Except, now she was dead, the buyers' people were due in tomorrow and because of that idiot Liston, he could expect the police at any time. The simplest solution would be to kill all of them, get rid of the bodies and just brazen it out with the cops. However, simple was seldom best... he'd have to think about this.
Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0635 Local
Mac struggled to free herself. The fear had taken on sentience, wrapping around her and laughing even as it filled her with dread. Too late... out of time... too late... No! She would not, could not accept that and fought all the harder. There was still time... there had to be. That damn voice kept yammering in her ear. It sounded more frantic even as it urged her to stop - to give up. No!
"Colonel? Colonel MacKenzie? Can you hear me?" Perez hung on as Mac struggled to free her wrist. Afraid to raise his voice, he tried to make it more intense. Dammit, this was harder than he thought it'd be. He didn't want to hurt her and he was trying to keep her from hurting herself. "Ma'am, please! It's okay! Take it easy!" This was rapidly getting out of control. She was getting more and more agitated and now he was afraid to let go. Where the hell was she getting the energy?! By now he was half-straddling her, trying to use his body weight to keep her in one place. Hopefully, he could hold on until Tyler got back. Between the two of them, maybe they could calm her down. He wasn't having much luck by himself. What the hell was the matter with her? Where the hell was Tyler? He should be back any time now. At last, he heard the rustle of the underbrush and then a sharp intake of breath, and sighed with relief, "Get over here and help me, I can't keep her still!"
He got the shock of his life when two hands roughly grabbed him and threw him backwards across the clearing. He hit hard, rolled and scrambled to his feet in time to see a fist swinging towards his head. He threw out his left to block only to have the bigger man power through. He had managed to dissipate some of the force so the blow made him stagger but didn't knock him down. He evaded the next punch, came up inside for a quick one-two combination and took a blow to the midriff in return. He forced himself backwards, that midsection punch made him want to drop to his knees. He needed to keep moving, this guy was too big for a toe-to-toe slugfest.
Then he saw the other man next to the Colonel and threw caution to the winds. He launched himself at his opponent in a whirlwind attack that drove the bigger man backwards. Relentlessly, he pressed the attack, he had to stop the second man. He got his opening a few moments later and launched himself. He was almost there when the first man caught him around the legs and brought him crashing to the ground just short of his goal. Wheezing, he looked up to see the muzzle of a pistol stuck in his face. 'Goddammit!' He squeezed his eyes shut and then snapped them open at the unmistakable sound of shotgun chambering a round.
He could have wept when he heard Tyler's voice behind him, "Drop your weapons and stand up slowly." Perez felt the weight across his legs lift as the men complied. Carefully he sat up, rubbing his jaw.
"Now put your hands behind your head and move back." Tyler waited until they had moved away and glanced anxiously at Perez, "Captain? Are you and the Colonel all right?" He refocused his attention and his aim when the second man took a step forward.
"Ensign Tyler?"
Tyler's mouth dropped open as he lowered the shotgun, "Admiral Chegwidden?"
Perez looked from one to the other, "What?"
AJ looked down at him, "I'm AJ Chegwidden, the Judge Advocate General and I presume you're Captain Perez?" Perez nodded a little numbly as the Gunny extended a hand to help him up. AJ gestured to Walters, "And this gentleman is Gunnery Sergeant Rudy Walters."
Perez nodded once again and then his brain seemed to kick in again. The Colonel! With an apologetic 'Excuse me, sir,' he hurried over to Mac. It didn't surprise him to find the other three men close behind. He knelt on one side, while AJ knelt on the other. Tyler and Walters remained standing. Perez looked over at AJ, "The Colonel was starting to come around, sir, when you two showed up. She was stuck in some sort of nightmare, I think. She kept trying to get up - I was afraid she would hurt herself."
AJ grunted thoughtfully, looking down at his Chief of Staff, "How badly is she injured?"
"A broken collarbone and fairly long slash across her ribs, sir. It wasn't deep but it became infected." Perez paused for a moment, "I think a lot of it right now is exhaustion. These last twelve hours or so, were the first real break she's had since they grabbed her."
"Who's 'they'?"
AJ watched as Perez got a funny look on his face, "Ummm... it was a toss-up between 'Archangel' and the Acme Assassination Gang. Commander Rabb thought it was 'Archangel'."
AJ just looked at him, "The Acme Assassination Gang?"
"Well, they kept missing... "
"And I was starting to feel like the Roadrunner." Mac added quietly, she'd slowly awakened during their conversation. The more alarming aspects of her ... nightmare?... had faded with the return of full consciousness. She was still plagued with a sense of urgency and unease, but it was manageable. Mac surveyed the faces around her and smiled when she recognized Gunny Walters. He grinned lightly in return. Finally, she turned her gaze to the Admiral and felt vague surprise when he smiled at her. She was feeling fuzzy about a number of things, but the fact that she'd disappointed this man once again, wasn't one of them.
AJ saw the look and cursed inwardly. This was something he needed to fix and soon, before Webb made good his promise and he lost one of his best people. Well, he could start by treating her like the competent officer she was. He looked down at her, "Mac? Think you can handle sitting up? I need to know what's going on and then we have plans to make." Together he and Perez got her upright and leaning against the embankment. AJ frowned when she closed her eyes briefly, she'd gotten noticeably paler. He ran through what he had learned so far and asked, "Colonel? How long has it been since you've had anything to eat?"
Mac blinked and looked over at him, "Thirty-five hours and forty-two minutes, sir." Out of the corner of his eye, AJ saw Perez and Tyler exchange incredulous glances, Gunny Walters just looked smug.
Chegwidden shook his head slightly, "Then that's the first order of business." He looked at Perez and Tyler, "Which one of you officers is in charge of the Mess?"
Perez smiled and jerked a thumb at Tyler, "That would be young Daniel Boone, sir."
Tyler blushed furiously as Chegwidden's attention was directed towards him. Even though he'd been talking to the man for the last day or so, being this close to the Judge Advocate General was terribly disconcerting. He swallowed nervously and saw Colonel MacKenzie give him an encouraging smile. He looked back at the Admiral and stammered, "Sir?"
"What's for breakfast, Ensign?" AJ took his first good look at Tyler. He was small and wiry, with sandy brown hair - not a bad-looking kid. AJ decided he was one of those men who brought out the mothering instinct in every female past puberty... and was still young enough to consider it a disadvantage.
"Well sir," Tyler unslung his backpack and lowered it to the ground, "I've got these canned goods I picked up this morning." He glanced over at Perez, "We'll have to open them with a knife, I couldn't find a can opener." Looking back at the Admiral, he continued, "And I still have to check my snares this morning and I set a line in a deep pool I found. Hopefully, we'll have some trout. And... uhhh... if you'd like I could gather some fresh greens..." his voice trailed off at the look on the Admiral's face. Oh god, what had he said now? "Sir?"
AJ gave himself a mental shake when he realized he'd been staring. "Very good, Ensign." He paused for a moment while he considered whether he wanted to ask the next question. Finally, he said, "Where did the canned goods come from?"
Tyler glanced helplessly at Perez and then back to Chegwidden, "The storage shed next to the mess hall, sir." Behind the Admiral, he saw Colonel MacKenzie's eyes widen in surprise.
"In the militia camp?"
Tyler nodded slowly.
"And you got in and out without being seen?"
Tyler hesitated and then said, "Yes."
AJ looked a little harder. "Ensign?"
Shifting a bit, Tyler said, "Well, the guy never actually saw me. I waited 'til he was past and hit him with a can of stewed tomatoes. Then I made it look like he had slipped and knocked himself out. It was the only thing I could think of at the time," he added, half-apologetically. Chegwidden stared at the young man for a long moment. Behind Tyler, Walters and Perez exchanged looks and then studiously contemplated their shoes.
"Uh-huh." AJ looked over his shoulder at Mac and said solemnly, "Stewed tomatoes."
Mac's lips twitched once, "I believe the regs call for peach slices."
"In heavy syrup." Gunny added politely.
AJ gazed skyward, "He is young... "
"And inexperienced." Perez agreed.
AJ finally looked back at a nervous Tyler, "And I'm sure it won't happen again, will it?" At the Ensign's vigorous nod, the Admiral smiled, "Fine, go check your snares and the trout line. Don't worry about the greens, we'll make do with the canned food." He watched Tyler beat a grateful retreat before he started to chuckle. AJ turned back towards Mac, "Colonel? What would you like for breakfast?"
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0700 Local
Trask stared at the three men standing in front of him and said quietly, "So you took it upon yourselves to have a little 'fun' with some civilians?" They nodded cautiously. "And you think one of these men was some sort of corporate president or chairman? ... But you're not sure because you lost their identification?" The third man shifted uncomfortably. The Reverend looked up at the ceiling and then brought his gaze and his fist down on the desk. "Have you completely lost your minds? How stupid can you be?!" His voice began to increase in volume. "Someone is going to come looking for these two! And they're going to find us!" Now he was up and pacing back and forth behind his desk. He turned and pinned them with a glare, "You've given the State Police and the FBI reason to come down here and investigate." He let that sink in and then waved a hand, "Get back to your barracks and stay there while I decide what has to be done."
Exchanging worried glances, the three men turned and left. Trask dropped back in his chair and propped his elbows on the desk. This was incredibly ill-timed. Ever since Koslov had grabbed those JAG officers, things seemed to be spiraling out of his control. Why he had ever agreed to it? He scrubbed a hand through his hair and answered himself ruefully, 'Money.' When Koslov contacted him to warn about the investigation, he'd also mentioned he might have a solution. One that could bring in a substantial amount of money. Ordinarily, he shied away from this sort of thing but he let Koslov convince him that they were just fulfilling a contract that was already in place. Besides, what was one woman when compared to the rest of his plans? Except, now she was dead, the buyers' people were due in tomorrow and because of that idiot Liston, he could expect the police at any time. The simplest solution would be to kill all of them, get rid of the bodies and just brazen it out with the cops. However, simple was seldom best... he'd have to think about this.
