Part Thirty

Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0835 Local

"Ma'am?" Gunny asked worriedly. He wasn't quite sure what he was hearing. Whatever it was, it was upsetting the Colonel. The damn cellphone ringing made him jump.

Mac stared at the phone, composing herself. She pushed 'Answer' and cautiously said, "Hello?" She listened for a moment and then said, "This is Col. MacKenzie, is this SA Ramos?" She was quiet again, and then continued, "All right Mr. Ramos, but we need you and your agents down here now. The militia is holding Cmdr. Rabb and Lt. Singer. Time is getting critical and the situation is becoming very fluid." Mac listened again and then looked at the phone in growing frustration. She understood about procedure but, goddammit, these people needed to get off the dime. She put the phone back to her ear. "Listen to me, Ramos, Cmdr. Rabb and the Lieutenant ensured my escape by telling the militia that I had died from injuries received during the kidnapping. That lie is about to be found out. So screw your damn procedures, get your people together and get moving, or I swear I'll have your ass! Are we clear? Good!" She ended the call with an angry jab of her finger and looked up to see Gunny Walters watching her.

"We need to get to the militia camp, Gunny." Mac was struggling to her feet as she spoke.

He hurried over to give her a hand. "What are you planning to do, Colonel?" he asked apprehensively.

"Whatever I need to," she answered, eyeing him determinedly. "Once we get close, I want you to find the Admiral. The last thing we need is for them to suspect there's anyone else out there."

Walters sighed, "Ma'am, I can't let you do this. You're going to get yourself killed and that's assuming you'll even make it as far as the camp."

Mac stared at him, "If I don't go, they will kill Cmdr. Rabb and Lt. Singer. My showing up will prevent that - hopefully, long enough for the FBI to make an appearance."

The Gunny shifted uncomfortably, "I'm sorry, ma'am, my orders are to keep you safe. Storming the militia camp isn't the way to do that, begging your pardon."

"You're sorry?! Harm and Lauren are going to die when that militia finds out they've been jerked around. I can stop that." Mac stood toe to toe with Walters, glaring up at him, "And, so help me God, that's what I'm going to do. So, unless your orders include physically restraining me, Gunnery Sergeant, stop wasting my time and get the hell out of my way."

She turned and stalked down the ravine, shoulders tense. If Gunny did decide to stop her, there wouldn't be much she could do. Hell, right now a six-year old could probably knock her down. This would have been a lot easier with Gunny's help, but she'd do without. She didn't have a choice, time was running out.

Gunny stood and watched her march off. Goddammit! The Admiral had told him not to let anything happen to the Colonel. The only way to stop her would be to physically restrain her, a step he wasn't all that anxious to take. It didn't help that he agreed with her. Leaving the Commander and the Lieutenant to die when it could be prevented went against everything he believed in. And he was pretty sure the Colonel would fight if he tried to stop her. That could injure her more - something he was supposed to prevent. On the other hand, the militia could easily kill all three of them as a way of getting rid of any evidence. Walters quietly let loose with an impressive string of profanity and then hurried after Mac.

Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0805 Local

Lauren looked over at Harm, her eyes wide, "That sounded like... "

Harm nodded, "... a gunshot." They were back in the little dining area where Harm had eaten dinner with the Reverend yesterday. He'd been surprised to find Lauren there as well. She told him that Trask had sent one of his gorillas to her quarters and said her presence was requested at breakfast. There'd been little room for debate. Harm resisted the urge to fidget, Singer was nervous enough for both of them. That shot had sounded like it came from within the building. What the hell was Trask up to? Last night, he hadn't questioned any of Harm's theories about Koslov and 'Archangel'.

Harm and Singer exchanged uneasy glances when a beaming Reverend Trask swept into the room.

"Good morning, Commander, Lieutenant. I trust everyone slept well?" Trask continued to grin as they both nodded somewhat hesitantly, "Please, have a seat." He politely held the chair for Lt. Singer. As before, once everyone was seated, the orderlies came out and began filling the table with food. When they left and the Reverend had said grace, he looked over at Harm, "After we've finished, I have a number of things to discuss with you, Commander." He then concentrated on his meal. Trask glanced over at Singer after a few minutes. She hadn't touched anything. "I beg your pardon, my dear, isn't the food to your liking?"

Lauren stared at Trask, "What's going to happen to me?" Her knuckles were white as she twisted her napkin back and forth in her lap. For some reason or other, Koslov had apparently handed her over to the Reverend and the militia.

The Reverend sighed, "Lieutenant, I have a policy of never discussing business while eating. Meals are so much more pleasant that way. Please enjoy your breakfast and I'll be happy to talk about anything you wish afterwards." He turned back to Harm and began a discussion about jazz music. Lauren stared for a moment longer and then slowly began to eat.

Halfway through their meal, a disturbance in the hallway attracted one of Trask's guards. He came back in and went over to the Reverend. "Sir? One of the patrol leaders is in the hallway, he wants to speak to you right now."

Trask dabbed at his lips with a napkin before looking coldly at the guard. "I thought I'd made it plain that I am not to be disturbed while enjoying a meal. Tell the man to wait in my office, I'll be there directly." When the guard remained standing at the table, his eyebrows went up in surprise and then began to lower dangerously. He said softly, "I should hate to have to repeat myself, Harper... "

Harm and Lauren watched the blood drain from Harper's face as he mumbled something and fled. The two shared another quick glance and then looked back at Trask. He was still scowling slightly, then noticed their gaze and smiled, "Please forgive the intrusion, sir, madam." He looked at Harm, "Where were we?"

At last, the Reverend pushed back from the table and sighed, "That was delicious, as always." He looked at the two officers, "I hope you found everything satisfactory?" He smiled happily when they both nodded. They all waited silently as the orderlies came in and cleared away the table. When they had finished, Trask leaned back, "I believe you both had several questions this morning?"

Harm glanced at Singer and then cleared his throat warily, "Well, Reverend, the Lieutenant and I thought we heard a pistol shot a little while ago... ."

Trask tapped a finger on the table, "Ahhh yes... I suppose that's to be expected, the walls are so thin in buildings nowadays." He looked at Harm and smiled warmly, "Our discussion last night helped me make several difficult decisions. I had been putting it off, but this morning I just went ahead and had it done. Now it feels like a huge weight has been lifted. I had no idea it had been vexing me so much."

Harm eyed Trask, he had a pretty good idea what had happened but he needed to confirm it. He asked cautiously, "What did you have done, sir?"

Trask looked at him in surprise, "I allowed Captain Koslov the opportunity to look upon the face of God, Commander." He leaned forward and said conspiratorially, "Personally, I think it will take some time in Purgatory before that happens. He wasn't a nice man."

The Reverend looked over at Singer who was staring at him, white-faced and wide-eyed. "You wished to know what was going to happen to you?" He leaned back again and resumed tapping his fingers, "Well, Commander Rabb wants you released. I agreed to that earlier. However," he nodded apologetically at Harm, "there have been some complications of which I've just been made aware. Were either of you aware that Captain Koslov had arranged to fulfill an old contract made by Charlie Jacobs and some foreign gentlemen? It was to be Colonel MacKenzie, which unfortunately, is now impossible." He gazed sympathetically at the two officers who were staring at him aghast. "Apparently, rather than take the obvious solution and cancel the contract, he was hoping to have them agree to a substitution. Their representatives will be here sometime around noon."

"What are you going to do?" Harm could practically feel the waves of panic radiating off Lt. Singer. She was sitting frozen in her chair. There had to be a way to stop this!

Trask tilted his head to one side, "I really haven't decided yet. It is a great deal of money... " He stood up abruptly, "If you'll excuse me, I really do need to get to work. I'm sure you understand." He smiled pleasantly, "Preston and Nichols will escort you back to your quarters. Perhaps we can have lunch together later today." Nodding to them, he turned and walked out.

Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0850 Local

Mac tensed when she heard the Gunny come up beside her. She didn't bother looking at him. She was unsteady enough that all her concentration was involved in staying upright and moving forward. Mac couldn't help breathing a small sigh of relief when she felt Gunny place a supporting hand under her elbow. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"The Admiral is going to bust me all the way down to crossing guard for this, ma'am," Walters grumbled.

"I'll probably be right beside you, Gunny," Mac said wryly.

He snorted, "You've got the easy part, ma'am. All you have to do is face down a million militia men. I get to tell the Admiral what you're doing. A caring officer wouldn't put a non-com through something like that."

Mac chuckled, "If you're trying to guilt-trip me into letting you face the million militia men and me telling the Admiral, you can just forget it. 'Be Kind to Gunnery Sergeants' was last week."

They were quiet for a moment while negoitating a rough area of terrain. Walters glanced over at Mac, "So, Colonel Custer, any plan for dealing with your million militia men?"

"I haven't decided. It's a toss-up between running like hell and surrounding them. You have any ideas on dealing with the Admiral?"

"I figure the straight-forward approach. Then he can go ahead and kill me on the spot. What the hell, you can only die once, right?"

Mac gave him a sideways look, "Obviously, you've never dealt with Admiral's Privilege before." They gradually lapsed into silence as they drew nearer the militia camp.