Part Thirty-Two
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0940 Local
Trask's gaze swept over the mob. The men in front were silent, most looking like they'd rather be anywhere else. He turned and looked at Tink standing stolidly in front of a slender brunette. Dust-covered and disheveled, she was leaning against the building. Trask suspected from the way she was standing, it was the only thing keeping her upright. The look on her face surprised him. It wasn't fear but rather a grim resignation, she clearly expected no quarter. Despite the circumstances, the Reverend found himself agreeing with Rabb, she was extremely attractive. That made it rather simple to deduce what had happened; in spite of Humphrey's apparent attempt to downplay the situation.
Mac watched warily as the black-clad man strode into the open. Tall and lean, with dark eyes and a patrician nose, he exuded authority. Judging from the uneasy shifting and looks from the crowd, he was someone to fear as well. She had braced herself against the building Tink had chosen for their last stand. The last ten minutes had left her reeling physically and emotionally. She had tried to prepare herself for what she thought was coming, but those preparations hadn't included an attempted gang rape in the middle of a riot. The last thing she had expected was Corporal Bell to come to her rescue. Now, she did her best to hide her trepidation while she waited on the next development.
Although the Reverend stood motionless, it was the deadly stillness of a predator. As the silence stretched out, the crowd began to grow restive. Still, he waited. Nerves stretched taut, more of crowd began to fidget and grumble. Trask remained as he was, ignoring the murmuring. Encouraged, the mob grew more animated until finally, two of Mac's attackers pushed their way through to stand in front of the Reverend in righteous indignation.
"You hafta do somethin' bout thet big ox, Mr. Trask!" the first one said. "He's some kinda homicidal maniac! He liketa choked me to death an it was purely luck I dinn't break my neck the way he threw me! He had no cause to do us thet way, we was jes havin' a little fun. Thet big, dumb summabitch got all het up ov'r nothin! No suh! He's too damn dangerous to have around. Got no more brains than a stump an damn mean to boot! Look what he done to Steve! Laid his arm right open an concussed him too. No suh, Mr. Trask, it ain't right!" He ran out of steam and stood looking at the Reverend with a kind of hopeful self-pity. The men closest to him muttered in sympathetic agreement while glaring balefully at Tink and Mac.
Trask eyed the two of them, "Where's the patrol that found the Colonel?"
The two stared at each other for a moment and then Steve jerked his head towards the back, "They's back there a ways, Reverend." He pointed at Tink, "That bastard done them like he done us."
Trask blinked once and then slowly turned his head towards Tink, "Did you?"
Tink had been standing like he was carved from granite. He looked at the Reverend and simply said, "No."
Folding his arms, Trask regarded Tink for a long moment. He quelled the loud variations of 'He's lyin' with a single look. The crowd shifted uncomfortably. "Why did you attack them?"
Slowly, Tink scowled, "They were going to rape her." He shifted his gaze to the two men and let some of the anger chase across his face. They both took inadvertent steps backward.
Trask nodded, "I believe you're right." He held up his hand to stop the angry protests from the mob and glanced over at his two guards. He arched an eyebrow and nodded towards the two men. Preston nodded in return, stepped forward and fired two quick bursts. The Reverend looked at the bodies and then up at the mob that was scrambling frantically backwards. The ones in front froze as they made eye contact with him. The rest slowly ground to halt when they realized the firing had stopped. Trask waited until the silence was complete. He let his gaze rove over the crowd once more and then said in clearly enunciated words, "Never lie to me."
With that, he turned and smiled at Mac, "Colonel MacKenzie? Would you come with me, please?" He raised an eyebrow at Tink, "As the Colonel's self-appointed guardian, Mr. Tinker, perhaps you would give her a hand?"
Mac stared at him in bewilderment and then looked at Tink as he turned towards her. He gave a slight shrug as he placed a hand under her elbow. He thought all the militia men were a little nuts, that the leader was nuttier than all the rest put together had a certain poetic justice.
The Reverend gestured towards a building and then fell into step beside them. His men trailed behind. "I'm afraid we've been laboring under a misapprehension about you Colonel. Otherwise, I'm sure we would have made your acquaintance sooner."
Mac concentrated on walking, the off-balance feeling was only partially physical. He'd had two men killed without blinking and he'd done it because they had lied, not because of the attempted rape. Now he was playing the genteel host? She took a deep breath to settle her nerves and then said calmly, "I'm afraid you have the advantage of me, Mr. ... ?"
"I beg your pardon, ma'am. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Reverend John Phillips Trask. The two gentlemen behind us are Mr. Preston and Mr. Harper and, of course, you've met Mr. Tinker." They reached the building and stopped. Trask glanced over his shoulder and Harper scurried forward to open the door. Gallantly gesturing for Mac to precede him, they entered the building. Talking was necessarily curtailed as they negotiated the hallway. Finally, they came to a halt in front of a closed and bolted door. Trask smiled, "I'll leave you to get freshened up, Colonel, although I must apologize in advance. The only clothes around here are uniforms, but at least they're clean. Might I request your company at lunch?" Mac nodded silently. "Good, good. I'll leave you then. I'm afraid work just piles up when I'm away from my desk." He looked at Tink, "Why don't you stay here and help keep watch? I suspect the boys are a tad exercised about you at the moment. We'll give them a couple of hours to cool down."
Tink said equably, "Okay, Mr. Trask." He paused for a moment and then said uncertainly, "What do I do?" Mac stifled a smile, Tyler had been right. Bell's performance as a slow-witted giant was award-winning.
Trask smiled benignly, while behind him, Preston and Harper rolled their eyes, "You just watch and make sure no one goes in or out of the room. Harper will be happy to give you a hand... " He raised his voice slightly, "... won't you, Mr. Harper?" Startled, Harper hurriedly said yes. "Well then, why don't you open the door for the Colonel?" He smiled apologetically at Mac with a slight shrug, "I look forward to lunch, ma'am." With that, he went back down the hallway, trailed by Preston. Harper unbolted the door and with a curt motion, gestured her inside.
Harm pivoted towards the door when he heard the bolt slide back. He gestured for Singer to stand behind him. Realistically, there wasn't much he could do but it was automatic to try to protect those under his command. Later, when he thought about it, he realized he shouldn't have been shocked. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a definite possibility - knowledge that hadn't helped in the least. Unfortunately, his first words when he saw Mac were, 'Goddammit, what the hell is the matter with you?!' He stared morosely at a spot on the wall. It might not have been that bad if he'd stopped there, but no, he'd kept right on ranting. Some of it was probably caused by the stress of having almost been killed himself, but he just couldn't seem to stop. In the end, it had been Singer, of all people, who'd finally gotten him to shut up. Through all of it, Mac had just stood there, never saying a word.
In the silence following his tirade, she'd quietly asked Singer to give her a hand and both women had disappeared into the bathroom. Shortly afterward, he'd heard the shower. It had gone off a little while ago, eventually they would have to come out. On one level, he desperately wanted to see Mac again so he could try to apologize. On another, he wasn't sure he was ready to face them. Apparently, he had transcended mundane male stupidity and caused detente between the two in defense of gender. He was toast.
Singer leaned against the sink and waited for the Colonel to finish her shower. If she lived to be a hundred, she would never figure these two out. She'd been more relieved than surprised when MacKenzie had walked through that door. Harm's initial outburst hadn't really shocked her, they were obviously best friends, so it was understandable that his worry would make him snappish. It was when he didn't stop that she finally became irritated in her own right. Typical male, busily belaboring the point without any apparent thought of the consequences or of the effect of his words. Also typically male, the Colonel's appearance apparently failed to register as well. It was obvious, to Lauren at least, that MacKenzie's arrival hadn't been without incident. In the end, in as venomous a tone as she could muster, she'd told him to shut up. To her everlasting surprise, he had. When the Colonel had asked for her assistance, she'd been happy to get out of the way of any possible repercussions.
Lauren had never put a whole lot of credence in the rumor mill concerning these two. But then, she seldom believed anything she didn't verify herself. It didn't stop her from making a mental note to keep her eyes and ears open in case of inappropriate behavior, but so far, nothing had turned up that would help her. With everything that had happened lately, Singer was reassessing her disbelief of the stories of their past exploits together. One thing she was sure of, if the Admiral ever suggested she work with these two again on an investigation, she would step in front of a oncoming bus. It would be infinitely safer. Lauren paused and blinked, when had she started thinking they would survive this? Her train of thought was interrupted when the shower finally turned off. She picked up a towel and handed it over when the Colonel pushed the shower curtain aside.
Mac stood motionless under the showerhead and let the water cascade over her. One never appreciated the amenities until forced to do without. She felt like she'd been wearing half the state of Mississippi. Too bad she couldn't rinse the aches and pains away as easily. Resolutely, she veered away from this latest incident with Harm. Dealing with that on top of the attempted rape was more than she could bear at the moment. The reality of how close it had been was finally hitting home. What she wanted to do was curl up in a ball somewhere and cry herself silly. That wasn't going to happen, so all she could do was suck it up and keep moving. If they managed to get through this, it would be one more thing for her therapist to deal with. Mac sighed, she was going to have to put that poor woman on retainer. Singer's support had come as a surprise but she wasn't about to look a gift Lieutenant in the mouth. She needed help getting cleaned up and a willing Singer was a helluva lot better than a surly one.
She reached over and turned off the shower. Mac had expected something a little more primitive but the Lieutenant told her that this building had been originally built as a bed and breakfast type establishment for visiting sportsmen. The venture had gone nowhere and the Reverend had acquired the property for taxes. He used it as the nucleus for his militia camp. Lauren had gotten her information from Koslov. It had been the one less-than-derogatory thing he'd had to say about Trask. Mac shivered involuntarily, Koslov's death would have left her relieved if not for the growing fear of the Reverend. The man was crazy.
Pulling the shower curtain open, Mac accepted the towel Lauren offered and gingerly began drying herself off. There were several new bruises and abrasions to add to the collection. The slash on her side had split open here and there, but it was minor and definitely on the mend. Right now her major source of pain was the broken collarbone. She was beginning to think there was a contest going on to see how often she could thump that shoulder into the ground. It ached abominably. There'd been a small first aid kit in the cabinet under the sink. They'd used the solitary Ace bandage to try to immobilize her shoulder again. It wasn't much, but it was something. With the Lieutenant's help, she climbed into the clean clothes. They made her feel nearly human. Flashing Singer a brief smile of gratitude, Mac mentally braced herself and walked back into the room.
Harm turned around when he heard the bathroom door open. Mac came out first. It looked like Lauren had found clothing that fit among the stack of uniforms that had been dropped off earlier for their use. He watched her nervously, trying to gauge how angry she might be and realized she was regarding him equally warily. Singer contented herself with laying back a safe distance and glaring. Harm stepped forward, knowing Mac, it would be up to him to make the first move. It was going to be difficult enough because he was also going to have to be careful of what he said in front of Singer. That definitely killed one method of apology. Taking a deep breath, he spread his hands and started, "Mac... "
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0940 Local
Trask's gaze swept over the mob. The men in front were silent, most looking like they'd rather be anywhere else. He turned and looked at Tink standing stolidly in front of a slender brunette. Dust-covered and disheveled, she was leaning against the building. Trask suspected from the way she was standing, it was the only thing keeping her upright. The look on her face surprised him. It wasn't fear but rather a grim resignation, she clearly expected no quarter. Despite the circumstances, the Reverend found himself agreeing with Rabb, she was extremely attractive. That made it rather simple to deduce what had happened; in spite of Humphrey's apparent attempt to downplay the situation.
Mac watched warily as the black-clad man strode into the open. Tall and lean, with dark eyes and a patrician nose, he exuded authority. Judging from the uneasy shifting and looks from the crowd, he was someone to fear as well. She had braced herself against the building Tink had chosen for their last stand. The last ten minutes had left her reeling physically and emotionally. She had tried to prepare herself for what she thought was coming, but those preparations hadn't included an attempted gang rape in the middle of a riot. The last thing she had expected was Corporal Bell to come to her rescue. Now, she did her best to hide her trepidation while she waited on the next development.
Although the Reverend stood motionless, it was the deadly stillness of a predator. As the silence stretched out, the crowd began to grow restive. Still, he waited. Nerves stretched taut, more of crowd began to fidget and grumble. Trask remained as he was, ignoring the murmuring. Encouraged, the mob grew more animated until finally, two of Mac's attackers pushed their way through to stand in front of the Reverend in righteous indignation.
"You hafta do somethin' bout thet big ox, Mr. Trask!" the first one said. "He's some kinda homicidal maniac! He liketa choked me to death an it was purely luck I dinn't break my neck the way he threw me! He had no cause to do us thet way, we was jes havin' a little fun. Thet big, dumb summabitch got all het up ov'r nothin! No suh! He's too damn dangerous to have around. Got no more brains than a stump an damn mean to boot! Look what he done to Steve! Laid his arm right open an concussed him too. No suh, Mr. Trask, it ain't right!" He ran out of steam and stood looking at the Reverend with a kind of hopeful self-pity. The men closest to him muttered in sympathetic agreement while glaring balefully at Tink and Mac.
Trask eyed the two of them, "Where's the patrol that found the Colonel?"
The two stared at each other for a moment and then Steve jerked his head towards the back, "They's back there a ways, Reverend." He pointed at Tink, "That bastard done them like he done us."
Trask blinked once and then slowly turned his head towards Tink, "Did you?"
Tink had been standing like he was carved from granite. He looked at the Reverend and simply said, "No."
Folding his arms, Trask regarded Tink for a long moment. He quelled the loud variations of 'He's lyin' with a single look. The crowd shifted uncomfortably. "Why did you attack them?"
Slowly, Tink scowled, "They were going to rape her." He shifted his gaze to the two men and let some of the anger chase across his face. They both took inadvertent steps backward.
Trask nodded, "I believe you're right." He held up his hand to stop the angry protests from the mob and glanced over at his two guards. He arched an eyebrow and nodded towards the two men. Preston nodded in return, stepped forward and fired two quick bursts. The Reverend looked at the bodies and then up at the mob that was scrambling frantically backwards. The ones in front froze as they made eye contact with him. The rest slowly ground to halt when they realized the firing had stopped. Trask waited until the silence was complete. He let his gaze rove over the crowd once more and then said in clearly enunciated words, "Never lie to me."
With that, he turned and smiled at Mac, "Colonel MacKenzie? Would you come with me, please?" He raised an eyebrow at Tink, "As the Colonel's self-appointed guardian, Mr. Tinker, perhaps you would give her a hand?"
Mac stared at him in bewilderment and then looked at Tink as he turned towards her. He gave a slight shrug as he placed a hand under her elbow. He thought all the militia men were a little nuts, that the leader was nuttier than all the rest put together had a certain poetic justice.
The Reverend gestured towards a building and then fell into step beside them. His men trailed behind. "I'm afraid we've been laboring under a misapprehension about you Colonel. Otherwise, I'm sure we would have made your acquaintance sooner."
Mac concentrated on walking, the off-balance feeling was only partially physical. He'd had two men killed without blinking and he'd done it because they had lied, not because of the attempted rape. Now he was playing the genteel host? She took a deep breath to settle her nerves and then said calmly, "I'm afraid you have the advantage of me, Mr. ... ?"
"I beg your pardon, ma'am. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Reverend John Phillips Trask. The two gentlemen behind us are Mr. Preston and Mr. Harper and, of course, you've met Mr. Tinker." They reached the building and stopped. Trask glanced over his shoulder and Harper scurried forward to open the door. Gallantly gesturing for Mac to precede him, they entered the building. Talking was necessarily curtailed as they negotiated the hallway. Finally, they came to a halt in front of a closed and bolted door. Trask smiled, "I'll leave you to get freshened up, Colonel, although I must apologize in advance. The only clothes around here are uniforms, but at least they're clean. Might I request your company at lunch?" Mac nodded silently. "Good, good. I'll leave you then. I'm afraid work just piles up when I'm away from my desk." He looked at Tink, "Why don't you stay here and help keep watch? I suspect the boys are a tad exercised about you at the moment. We'll give them a couple of hours to cool down."
Tink said equably, "Okay, Mr. Trask." He paused for a moment and then said uncertainly, "What do I do?" Mac stifled a smile, Tyler had been right. Bell's performance as a slow-witted giant was award-winning.
Trask smiled benignly, while behind him, Preston and Harper rolled their eyes, "You just watch and make sure no one goes in or out of the room. Harper will be happy to give you a hand... " He raised his voice slightly, "... won't you, Mr. Harper?" Startled, Harper hurriedly said yes. "Well then, why don't you open the door for the Colonel?" He smiled apologetically at Mac with a slight shrug, "I look forward to lunch, ma'am." With that, he went back down the hallway, trailed by Preston. Harper unbolted the door and with a curt motion, gestured her inside.
Harm pivoted towards the door when he heard the bolt slide back. He gestured for Singer to stand behind him. Realistically, there wasn't much he could do but it was automatic to try to protect those under his command. Later, when he thought about it, he realized he shouldn't have been shocked. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a definite possibility - knowledge that hadn't helped in the least. Unfortunately, his first words when he saw Mac were, 'Goddammit, what the hell is the matter with you?!' He stared morosely at a spot on the wall. It might not have been that bad if he'd stopped there, but no, he'd kept right on ranting. Some of it was probably caused by the stress of having almost been killed himself, but he just couldn't seem to stop. In the end, it had been Singer, of all people, who'd finally gotten him to shut up. Through all of it, Mac had just stood there, never saying a word.
In the silence following his tirade, she'd quietly asked Singer to give her a hand and both women had disappeared into the bathroom. Shortly afterward, he'd heard the shower. It had gone off a little while ago, eventually they would have to come out. On one level, he desperately wanted to see Mac again so he could try to apologize. On another, he wasn't sure he was ready to face them. Apparently, he had transcended mundane male stupidity and caused detente between the two in defense of gender. He was toast.
Singer leaned against the sink and waited for the Colonel to finish her shower. If she lived to be a hundred, she would never figure these two out. She'd been more relieved than surprised when MacKenzie had walked through that door. Harm's initial outburst hadn't really shocked her, they were obviously best friends, so it was understandable that his worry would make him snappish. It was when he didn't stop that she finally became irritated in her own right. Typical male, busily belaboring the point without any apparent thought of the consequences or of the effect of his words. Also typically male, the Colonel's appearance apparently failed to register as well. It was obvious, to Lauren at least, that MacKenzie's arrival hadn't been without incident. In the end, in as venomous a tone as she could muster, she'd told him to shut up. To her everlasting surprise, he had. When the Colonel had asked for her assistance, she'd been happy to get out of the way of any possible repercussions.
Lauren had never put a whole lot of credence in the rumor mill concerning these two. But then, she seldom believed anything she didn't verify herself. It didn't stop her from making a mental note to keep her eyes and ears open in case of inappropriate behavior, but so far, nothing had turned up that would help her. With everything that had happened lately, Singer was reassessing her disbelief of the stories of their past exploits together. One thing she was sure of, if the Admiral ever suggested she work with these two again on an investigation, she would step in front of a oncoming bus. It would be infinitely safer. Lauren paused and blinked, when had she started thinking they would survive this? Her train of thought was interrupted when the shower finally turned off. She picked up a towel and handed it over when the Colonel pushed the shower curtain aside.
Mac stood motionless under the showerhead and let the water cascade over her. One never appreciated the amenities until forced to do without. She felt like she'd been wearing half the state of Mississippi. Too bad she couldn't rinse the aches and pains away as easily. Resolutely, she veered away from this latest incident with Harm. Dealing with that on top of the attempted rape was more than she could bear at the moment. The reality of how close it had been was finally hitting home. What she wanted to do was curl up in a ball somewhere and cry herself silly. That wasn't going to happen, so all she could do was suck it up and keep moving. If they managed to get through this, it would be one more thing for her therapist to deal with. Mac sighed, she was going to have to put that poor woman on retainer. Singer's support had come as a surprise but she wasn't about to look a gift Lieutenant in the mouth. She needed help getting cleaned up and a willing Singer was a helluva lot better than a surly one.
She reached over and turned off the shower. Mac had expected something a little more primitive but the Lieutenant told her that this building had been originally built as a bed and breakfast type establishment for visiting sportsmen. The venture had gone nowhere and the Reverend had acquired the property for taxes. He used it as the nucleus for his militia camp. Lauren had gotten her information from Koslov. It had been the one less-than-derogatory thing he'd had to say about Trask. Mac shivered involuntarily, Koslov's death would have left her relieved if not for the growing fear of the Reverend. The man was crazy.
Pulling the shower curtain open, Mac accepted the towel Lauren offered and gingerly began drying herself off. There were several new bruises and abrasions to add to the collection. The slash on her side had split open here and there, but it was minor and definitely on the mend. Right now her major source of pain was the broken collarbone. She was beginning to think there was a contest going on to see how often she could thump that shoulder into the ground. It ached abominably. There'd been a small first aid kit in the cabinet under the sink. They'd used the solitary Ace bandage to try to immobilize her shoulder again. It wasn't much, but it was something. With the Lieutenant's help, she climbed into the clean clothes. They made her feel nearly human. Flashing Singer a brief smile of gratitude, Mac mentally braced herself and walked back into the room.
Harm turned around when he heard the bathroom door open. Mac came out first. It looked like Lauren had found clothing that fit among the stack of uniforms that had been dropped off earlier for their use. He watched her nervously, trying to gauge how angry she might be and realized she was regarding him equally warily. Singer contented herself with laying back a safe distance and glaring. Harm stepped forward, knowing Mac, it would be up to him to make the first move. It was going to be difficult enough because he was also going to have to be careful of what he said in front of Singer. That definitely killed one method of apology. Taking a deep breath, he spread his hands and started, "Mac... "
