Part Thirty-Three
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1030 Local
She stood silently, watching him. Harm faltered a moment. There was so much he wanted to say, needed to say... how to start? 'Just get the damn words out, Rabb!', he silently berated himself. "Mac... , " he started again, "I was so out of line earlier, I don't even know where to start apologizing." He glanced down at his feet, "I shouldn't have been surprised and you sure as hell didn't deserve to be yelled at like that. I, of all people, should have known exactly what a stubborn, kick-ass marine would do in a situation like this." He looked back up a trifle anxiously and tried a small smile. God help him if she was really pissed.
Mac looked at him and sighed. She had every right to be angry - and he was quite right, he should have known. On the other hand, while groveling was good for a man's soul, she didn't know if she had the energy for a prolonged discussion. With a ghost of a smile, Mac said quietly, "Damn straight, you should have known."
Harm slowly let out a relieved breath, she had decided to let him off lightly. "Look, why don't we all sit down?" Closing the distance between them, he gestured towards the chairs and stopped in surprise when she flinched. "Mac?" he asked, not quite sure what he'd seen. He became a little more concerned when he realized she had drifted out of reach without answering him. Once again, he closed the distance. "Mac?" he asked again, looking at her closely. 'What the hell?' She'd backed away again, her expression was fast becoming unreadable. Determined, Harm followed after until her back thumped into the wall. "C'mon Mac, what's wrong? You're scaring me." She stood in tense silence and then, to his consternation, began to laugh.
Part of her stood there horrified, but she couldn't seem to stop. She thought she'd had the everything firmly suppressed, to be dealt with at a later date. She just hadn't had time to solidify her defenses and Harm, in his persistent concern, had inadvertently cracked them wide open. "I'm scaring you?" she managed to get out, "Oh god Harm, you've been hanging out in all the wrong places." Mac wrapped her good arm around herself and struggled for some semblance of control. She drew a shuddering breath, "Forget about scared, stick with me and I'll jump you right into terrified."
Harm stood silently, just out of arm's reach, his forehead creased with worry. Mac shot a quick look at a wide-eyed Singer and then focused again on Harm. "You know, there are times when having an internal clock just sucks," she said in a near whisper. "Wanna know why?"
Harm stared at her, a sense of dread growing. "Mac?"
She continued like she hadn't heard him, "Because I always know precisely when something's happened, I hardly have to think about it... I know that thirty-seven hours, eight minutes and sixteen seconds ago, I locked the doors to the Memphis JAG offices. And that twenty hours, forty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds ago, the militia caught you and Lauren. And that forty-nine minutes and forty-three seconds ago, I was the center attraction in the middle of a goddamn riot. Three guys held me spread-eagle on the ground while the fourth bastard told me, and a very appreciative audience, just exactly what he was going to do - in very colorful terms." By now, she was holding herself rigidly upright.
Aghast, Harm breathed, "Oh my god..."
Mac shook her head, "No, no, no, This is where it gets good. Just like a story... I was rescued by Tinker Bell." She started laughing again, "Can you believe it? Saved by the Bell? He came through that crowd like a freight train. Of course, then it was him against a lot of angry, frustrated men. They didn't get their show... " Her breath caught as the tears started, and then Harm had his arms around her. She buried herself in his chest, one hand tightly wrapped in his shirt.
Harm stood with her head tucked under his chin and closed his eyes. He was amazed she'd even let him do this for her after he'd been such an ass. He stood there for a minute, then opened his eyes and looked over at Singer. She was staring at the two of them, looking as shocked as he felt. Apparently, Mac hadn't shared any details while she was getting cleaned up. Softly, he said, "What happened? Is Tink all right?"
Mac shifted a bit, not yet relinquishing her hold, "He's fine. Reverend Trask appeared." She felt Harm tense and looked up at him, "Harm?"
"A little later, Mac... what did Trask do?" he said quietly, carefully tightening his embrace when he felt her shudder.
"He executed two of the would-be rapists right there."
His softly vehement 'Good!' startled her for a moment. Mac took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She was shaking again. "Oh god, Harm, he didn't do it because of what they had tried to do. He did it because they lied to him about Tink and what they had done. He's crazy as hell."
Harm managed a rueful chuckle, "You're telling me? I've been trying to deal with him for the last... umm... twenty hours and forty-seven minutes." He heard a muffled 'fifty-five minutes' and smiled. He rested his cheek on top of her head and said softly, "As much as I enjoy holding you like this, you probably ought to sit down. Think you can make it to the couch?" He felt Mac nod and slowly began unwrapping his arms from around her. Together they made their way across the room to the couch and Harm settled her in the righthand corner. Then he snagged a chair and positioned himself close by. He gestured for Singer to come over and sit down as well.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Focusing on a spot on the floor, he said carefully, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but this is the last place I wanted to see you. It's dangerous enough for us, but you... "
"Harm, I know what they have planned," Mac interrupted.
His head came up and he stared at her in surprise, he took a deep breath, "Then have you completely lost your mind? You should be as far from here as possible."
Mac looked back at him calmly. It wasn't hard, the last twelve minutes had left her drained. "And then what? They substitute Lauren for me? How exactly do you think I could live with that? I had to come back, for both your sakes." She looked down, absently rubbing a thumb across the back of her hand, "I knew you were running out of time and that I needed to be here." Something clicked into place and she looked up sharply, "Trask was about to kill you for lying about me, wasn't he?" Singer's quick intake of breath was all the confirmation she needed.
Harm stared at her in exasperation, how the hell did she do that? He waved a hand in dismissal, "I had a plan." Lauren snorted and then subsided when he flashed her a look.
Mac looked at him skeptically, "Did the plan include bleeding?" She'd seen him houdini his way out of a lot of dangerous situations, but Trask seemed unpredictable as hell.
He ignored the question, "Do you expect me to sit here and let you sacrifice yourself? For that matter, what's to stop the dear Reverend from selling both of you and killing me anyway?" He stopped for a moment as another thought occurred to him, "How the hell did you get Perez to go along with this?"
She smiled briefly, "I didn't, I talked Gunny Walters into it." She watched twin expressions of confusion appear on Harm and Lauren's faces. "Give me a little credit for mission planning. Ensign Tyler had your cellphone, Harm. He contacted the Admiral and told him what was going on. He and Gunny Walters flew in yesterday and then came down here. Incredible as it seems, we all managed to find each other. Right now, the Admiral, Perez and Tyler are running some reconnaissance. The Feds are on the way. We just have to hang on until they show."
Harm looked at her incredulously, "Admiral Chegwidden is here?" His gaze narrowed, "He doesn't know you're here, does he?"
Mac glanced away for a moment, "He probably does by now."
"You had Walters tell him?! Good god, Mac, why not hand the Gunny a match and have him play in a dynamite factory? I thought you liked the man!" He shook his head and then stared at her, "We're not looking at Willful Disobedience, are we?"
She managed to look indignant, "I was never ordered to stay away from the militia camp."
Harm gazed upward and sighed. All that meant was that: A. No one thought she'd be able to physically make the trek; and B. They'd underestimated her in the stubborn department. Again. He glanced down to see Mac looking at him with one eyebrow raised. He raised his hands, "Fine. So, all we have to do is wait?"
Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1014 Local
Walters cautiously scanned the area around him. He had made about half the circuit of the camp from where he'd left the Colonel. He grimaced to himself, no matter how logical her reasons, he should have gone with her into the camp. She was a good marine and he knew from personal experience just how tough she could be; but when all was said and done, she would be one woman in a camp full of undisciplined men. He gave himself another mental kick, if anything happened he wouldn't be able to forgive himself - not that there'd be much left after Rabb and Chegwidden got through with him.
Suddenly, his scalp prickled. Without a second thought, he threw himself to one side, rolling and coming up behind a tree with pistol drawn. His gaze swept the area, looking for the threat. It took him a moment and then he spotted Perez in the brush, gesturing to his right. Cautiously, he peered around the trunk. Two militia men had just entered a clearing about twenty-five yards away. He nodded to Perez and the two marines faded from view. Twenty minutes later, the militia men were safely out of sight. Perez rose out of the leaves and made his way over to Walters' position.
"What are you doing here, Gunny? Where's the Colonel?" he asked quietly, motioning for Walters to follow him.
Walters hesitated, this was going to be harder than he thought. Finally, he said, "I need to see the Admiral. The Colonel surrendered herself to the militia."
Perez whirled around so fast, he almost ran into the Gunny, "Son of a bitch! She did what?! Where the hell were you??"
Gunny held himself stiffly, "I was following orders and coming to find the Admiral. With all due respect, sir, could we wait until we're with the Admiral? I'd rather not go through this twice."
Perez glared at Walters for a long moment and then gave him a wry smile, "She's persuasive as hell, isn't she? Must be a damn good attorney." Walters agreed with a nod and a sigh. Chegwidden was going to kill him. Fifteen minutes later, they were in a copse of trees at the top of a small rise. In the distance, Gunny could see a gravel road wending its way to a large storage structure.
Chegwidden looked up when he heard the soft murmur of voices. Tyler was keeping watch while he'd been sketching a layout of the camp in a large patch of dirt, marking possible approaches. He was waiting for Perez, he needed to send him back for Walters and Mac. He stood up, brushing the dirt from his pants and waited. His eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Gunny Walters with Tyler and Perez. They lowered ominously when he realized Mac wasn't with them.
"Gunnery Sergeant!" His low, intense tone stopped all three in their tracks. Gunny squared his shoulders and marched resolutely up to the Admiral and stopped at attention. Chegwidden glared at him and said softly, "Where is she?"
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1030 Local
She stood silently, watching him. Harm faltered a moment. There was so much he wanted to say, needed to say... how to start? 'Just get the damn words out, Rabb!', he silently berated himself. "Mac... , " he started again, "I was so out of line earlier, I don't even know where to start apologizing." He glanced down at his feet, "I shouldn't have been surprised and you sure as hell didn't deserve to be yelled at like that. I, of all people, should have known exactly what a stubborn, kick-ass marine would do in a situation like this." He looked back up a trifle anxiously and tried a small smile. God help him if she was really pissed.
Mac looked at him and sighed. She had every right to be angry - and he was quite right, he should have known. On the other hand, while groveling was good for a man's soul, she didn't know if she had the energy for a prolonged discussion. With a ghost of a smile, Mac said quietly, "Damn straight, you should have known."
Harm slowly let out a relieved breath, she had decided to let him off lightly. "Look, why don't we all sit down?" Closing the distance between them, he gestured towards the chairs and stopped in surprise when she flinched. "Mac?" he asked, not quite sure what he'd seen. He became a little more concerned when he realized she had drifted out of reach without answering him. Once again, he closed the distance. "Mac?" he asked again, looking at her closely. 'What the hell?' She'd backed away again, her expression was fast becoming unreadable. Determined, Harm followed after until her back thumped into the wall. "C'mon Mac, what's wrong? You're scaring me." She stood in tense silence and then, to his consternation, began to laugh.
Part of her stood there horrified, but she couldn't seem to stop. She thought she'd had the everything firmly suppressed, to be dealt with at a later date. She just hadn't had time to solidify her defenses and Harm, in his persistent concern, had inadvertently cracked them wide open. "I'm scaring you?" she managed to get out, "Oh god Harm, you've been hanging out in all the wrong places." Mac wrapped her good arm around herself and struggled for some semblance of control. She drew a shuddering breath, "Forget about scared, stick with me and I'll jump you right into terrified."
Harm stood silently, just out of arm's reach, his forehead creased with worry. Mac shot a quick look at a wide-eyed Singer and then focused again on Harm. "You know, there are times when having an internal clock just sucks," she said in a near whisper. "Wanna know why?"
Harm stared at her, a sense of dread growing. "Mac?"
She continued like she hadn't heard him, "Because I always know precisely when something's happened, I hardly have to think about it... I know that thirty-seven hours, eight minutes and sixteen seconds ago, I locked the doors to the Memphis JAG offices. And that twenty hours, forty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds ago, the militia caught you and Lauren. And that forty-nine minutes and forty-three seconds ago, I was the center attraction in the middle of a goddamn riot. Three guys held me spread-eagle on the ground while the fourth bastard told me, and a very appreciative audience, just exactly what he was going to do - in very colorful terms." By now, she was holding herself rigidly upright.
Aghast, Harm breathed, "Oh my god..."
Mac shook her head, "No, no, no, This is where it gets good. Just like a story... I was rescued by Tinker Bell." She started laughing again, "Can you believe it? Saved by the Bell? He came through that crowd like a freight train. Of course, then it was him against a lot of angry, frustrated men. They didn't get their show... " Her breath caught as the tears started, and then Harm had his arms around her. She buried herself in his chest, one hand tightly wrapped in his shirt.
Harm stood with her head tucked under his chin and closed his eyes. He was amazed she'd even let him do this for her after he'd been such an ass. He stood there for a minute, then opened his eyes and looked over at Singer. She was staring at the two of them, looking as shocked as he felt. Apparently, Mac hadn't shared any details while she was getting cleaned up. Softly, he said, "What happened? Is Tink all right?"
Mac shifted a bit, not yet relinquishing her hold, "He's fine. Reverend Trask appeared." She felt Harm tense and looked up at him, "Harm?"
"A little later, Mac... what did Trask do?" he said quietly, carefully tightening his embrace when he felt her shudder.
"He executed two of the would-be rapists right there."
His softly vehement 'Good!' startled her for a moment. Mac took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She was shaking again. "Oh god, Harm, he didn't do it because of what they had tried to do. He did it because they lied to him about Tink and what they had done. He's crazy as hell."
Harm managed a rueful chuckle, "You're telling me? I've been trying to deal with him for the last... umm... twenty hours and forty-seven minutes." He heard a muffled 'fifty-five minutes' and smiled. He rested his cheek on top of her head and said softly, "As much as I enjoy holding you like this, you probably ought to sit down. Think you can make it to the couch?" He felt Mac nod and slowly began unwrapping his arms from around her. Together they made their way across the room to the couch and Harm settled her in the righthand corner. Then he snagged a chair and positioned himself close by. He gestured for Singer to come over and sit down as well.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Focusing on a spot on the floor, he said carefully, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but this is the last place I wanted to see you. It's dangerous enough for us, but you... "
"Harm, I know what they have planned," Mac interrupted.
His head came up and he stared at her in surprise, he took a deep breath, "Then have you completely lost your mind? You should be as far from here as possible."
Mac looked back at him calmly. It wasn't hard, the last twelve minutes had left her drained. "And then what? They substitute Lauren for me? How exactly do you think I could live with that? I had to come back, for both your sakes." She looked down, absently rubbing a thumb across the back of her hand, "I knew you were running out of time and that I needed to be here." Something clicked into place and she looked up sharply, "Trask was about to kill you for lying about me, wasn't he?" Singer's quick intake of breath was all the confirmation she needed.
Harm stared at her in exasperation, how the hell did she do that? He waved a hand in dismissal, "I had a plan." Lauren snorted and then subsided when he flashed her a look.
Mac looked at him skeptically, "Did the plan include bleeding?" She'd seen him houdini his way out of a lot of dangerous situations, but Trask seemed unpredictable as hell.
He ignored the question, "Do you expect me to sit here and let you sacrifice yourself? For that matter, what's to stop the dear Reverend from selling both of you and killing me anyway?" He stopped for a moment as another thought occurred to him, "How the hell did you get Perez to go along with this?"
She smiled briefly, "I didn't, I talked Gunny Walters into it." She watched twin expressions of confusion appear on Harm and Lauren's faces. "Give me a little credit for mission planning. Ensign Tyler had your cellphone, Harm. He contacted the Admiral and told him what was going on. He and Gunny Walters flew in yesterday and then came down here. Incredible as it seems, we all managed to find each other. Right now, the Admiral, Perez and Tyler are running some reconnaissance. The Feds are on the way. We just have to hang on until they show."
Harm looked at her incredulously, "Admiral Chegwidden is here?" His gaze narrowed, "He doesn't know you're here, does he?"
Mac glanced away for a moment, "He probably does by now."
"You had Walters tell him?! Good god, Mac, why not hand the Gunny a match and have him play in a dynamite factory? I thought you liked the man!" He shook his head and then stared at her, "We're not looking at Willful Disobedience, are we?"
She managed to look indignant, "I was never ordered to stay away from the militia camp."
Harm gazed upward and sighed. All that meant was that: A. No one thought she'd be able to physically make the trek; and B. They'd underestimated her in the stubborn department. Again. He glanced down to see Mac looking at him with one eyebrow raised. He raised his hands, "Fine. So, all we have to do is wait?"
Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1014 Local
Walters cautiously scanned the area around him. He had made about half the circuit of the camp from where he'd left the Colonel. He grimaced to himself, no matter how logical her reasons, he should have gone with her into the camp. She was a good marine and he knew from personal experience just how tough she could be; but when all was said and done, she would be one woman in a camp full of undisciplined men. He gave himself another mental kick, if anything happened he wouldn't be able to forgive himself - not that there'd be much left after Rabb and Chegwidden got through with him.
Suddenly, his scalp prickled. Without a second thought, he threw himself to one side, rolling and coming up behind a tree with pistol drawn. His gaze swept the area, looking for the threat. It took him a moment and then he spotted Perez in the brush, gesturing to his right. Cautiously, he peered around the trunk. Two militia men had just entered a clearing about twenty-five yards away. He nodded to Perez and the two marines faded from view. Twenty minutes later, the militia men were safely out of sight. Perez rose out of the leaves and made his way over to Walters' position.
"What are you doing here, Gunny? Where's the Colonel?" he asked quietly, motioning for Walters to follow him.
Walters hesitated, this was going to be harder than he thought. Finally, he said, "I need to see the Admiral. The Colonel surrendered herself to the militia."
Perez whirled around so fast, he almost ran into the Gunny, "Son of a bitch! She did what?! Where the hell were you??"
Gunny held himself stiffly, "I was following orders and coming to find the Admiral. With all due respect, sir, could we wait until we're with the Admiral? I'd rather not go through this twice."
Perez glared at Walters for a long moment and then gave him a wry smile, "She's persuasive as hell, isn't she? Must be a damn good attorney." Walters agreed with a nod and a sigh. Chegwidden was going to kill him. Fifteen minutes later, they were in a copse of trees at the top of a small rise. In the distance, Gunny could see a gravel road wending its way to a large storage structure.
Chegwidden looked up when he heard the soft murmur of voices. Tyler was keeping watch while he'd been sketching a layout of the camp in a large patch of dirt, marking possible approaches. He was waiting for Perez, he needed to send him back for Walters and Mac. He stood up, brushing the dirt from his pants and waited. His eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Gunny Walters with Tyler and Perez. They lowered ominously when he realized Mac wasn't with them.
"Gunnery Sergeant!" His low, intense tone stopped all three in their tracks. Gunny squared his shoulders and marched resolutely up to the Admiral and stopped at attention. Chegwidden glared at him and said softly, "Where is she?"
