Part Thirty-Four

Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1108 Local

Chegwidden glared at him and said softly, "Where is she?"

In an equally quiet voice, Walters said, "Sir... ", he stopped for a moment, and then started again. "Sir, the Colonel is in the militia camp. She... "

Suddenly, Chegwidden was in his face. Walters tried not to wince, the Old Man's eyes were boring a hole right through his skull. AJ repeated carefully, "The Colonel is in the militia camp? How the hell did that happen?!" Although the level of his voice never rose, the increasing intensity was peeling off layers of skin.

"Sir, the Colonel believed Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Singer to be in imminent danger and she was equally adamant that it would take her presence to prevent it." Gunny maintained his rigid posture, "I told the Colonel it was too dangerous and that I couldn't let her go to the camp."

AJ stared at him, "And... ?"

Walters shifted ever so slightly, "She said that unless I had orders to physically restrain her, to stop wasting her time and get out of her way."

The Admiral blinked. "She was on her feet?" Gunny nodded, wondering if a light had just appeared at the end of the tunnel. Chegwidden clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his head to the side, "How are you feeling, Gunnery Sergeant?"

'Damn!' Gunny stifled a groan, "Fine, sir." AJ Chegwidden was about to become Hell-on-Wheels and there he was, standing on the tracks.

"And just how steady was Colonel MacKenzie on her feet?" AJ rocked back and forth, gathering steam.

"Not very, sir." Gunny said dismally. Impact should be occurring at any moment...

"And you didn't feel confident enough to stop a woman who was half your size and apparently still feeling the effects of her injuries?"

Gunny flinched and repeated, "Sir, she told me to stand aside; she wasn't going to let anything happen to the Commander and Lieutenant when she could prevent it." This was gonna hurt...

"So you stood aside?" Gunny nodded slowly. Then Chegwidden was back in his face, "Did it ever occur to you that her mental state might have been a little precarious as well? No? Well, how about this? A TWO-STAR BEATS A LT. COLONEL WHEN IT COMES TO ORDERS!! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Walters resisted the urge to squeeze his eyes shut. Once again, the Admiral managed to boost the intensity into the stratosphere without increasing volume. He felt another layer of skin peel away. 'Please let it stop here... '

AJ glared at the Gunny, "How do you know she made it to the militia camp? Did you follow her?"

Damn, damn, damn. "Not exactly, sir." Gunny hedged, cautiously. The Admiral's eyebrows went up and then came crashing down. Walters sighed, "I gave her a hand, sir, helped her get close enough to go the rest of the way alone. I tried to argue her out of it one more time and then I offered to go with her. She said she had to go in and that she didn't want them to know anyone else was out here. Then she told me to find you and let you know what she'd done." He fell silent, vaguely wondering what Antarctica was like this time of year and if he'd go there as a Marine or a sled dog replacement.

Chegwidden stared at the Gunny before turning abruptly and beginning to pace. Son of a bitch! Ultimately, this was his fault. He knew she was becoming agitated about something and he hadn't taken appropriate steps. He didn't think she'd disobey a direct order although she would and could shoehorn herself through any loophole she could find. Of course, once that Marine green sense of duty kicked in, all bets were off. Especially where Rabb was concerned. Goddammit! Mac seldom indulged in hare-brained schemes on her own. Usually, she tagged along with the Commander, providing a logical, steadying influence. Her disciplined, in-control persona was so taken for granted by the people around her, that the occasional wild hair wasn't recognized for what it was. He stopped pacing and glanced around the clearing. Tyler and Perez had prudently withdrawn from the kill zone. He looked at Walters, still standing at attention and sighed.

Leaving Walters to keep an eye on her had also been a mistake. Mac had already had a good working relationship with the Gunny and they had developed even more of a rapport during the 'Archangel' case. AJ knew the Gunny would do whatever was necessary to protect her. What he'd forgotten was that Walters would also walk in front of bus if she asked. He smiled wryly to himself, in effect, she had.

AJ walked back and stood in front of Walters again. He glared a little longer and then said, "When all this is over, Gunny, and we're back at JAG - you, me and the Colonel are going to have a little chat." He turned back to his sketch of the militia camp. Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Come here and put in your two cents' worth." With a sigh of relief, Walters hurried over.

Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1130 Local

Harm glanced over at the couch. He had convinced Mac to lie down and try to rest. She had an arm thrown across her eyes, but he couldn't tell if she had managed to fall asleep. He turned back and looked at Singer. The knowledge that help was on the way had done quite a bit for her morale. That, and the fact that she wouldn't be substituted for Mac, Harm thought dryly. Still, it didn't lessen the danger they were all in. They would have to survive long enough for the Feds to reach them - a definite problem.

He wouldn't put it past Trask or even Preston to try and take them out at the first sign of assault by Gov't. forces. Their ace in the hole was Cpl. Bell, but even he couldn't do that much single-handed. Harm sighed and rubbed at his temples. What they needed was either an impregnable position where they could wait out an attack or a defensible position and the arms to defend it. Neither showed much chance of showing up.

"Sir?" Lauren asked, Rabb had become increasingly pensive as time went on. Singer wasn't so naive as to think that everything was automatically going to fall into place and give them a happy ending. She was just hoping to escape with her life. For once, being the junior officer wasn't such a bad thing. Both Rabb and MacKenzie were as concerned with her well-being as their own. It was still incomprehensible to her that the Colonel walked back into this of her own free will. That took guts... or a commendable lack of brains, Lauren couldn't decide which. She refocused her attention when Rabb finally dropped his hands and looked at her.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Do you think they'll try to kill us as soon as they know the Feds are here?" Personally, she thought they'd be stupid not to. Deniability was always easier when the witnesses were corpses. She wasn't even sure why she bothered asking the question unless it was some small sliver of hope that the Commander really could pull a rabbit out of the hat and save them all.

Harm leaned back and rubbed his neck. There was really no reason to sugarcoat anything. Stupidity was not one of Singer's flaws, she probably knew just as well as he did what the answer to that question was. That left the distinct possibility that she was looking to assauge the very human need for reassurance. "I imagine they'll try, Lieutenant." He gave her a grin, "We'll just have to see to it that they don't succeed."

Singer found herself smiling back. He was offering platitudes and she knew it, but his easy confidence was contagious. She began to think they would get out of this.

There was a perfunctory knock and then the door opened to reveal Preston. He strode into the room and pointed to a now upright Mac, "The Reverend is expecting you for lunch, Colonel." Harm noticed that she looked a little groggy, apparently she had managed to fall asleep. He started to step forward and then froze when Preston's automatic weapon casually swung towards him. "Just the Colonel this time, Commander." Harm glared at him for a moment, he didn't like this at all, and then swung back to see if Mac needed a hand. He helped her up and then kept a hand under her elbow. He scowled at Preston and said, "She's going to need some help." He lightly squeezed her elbow when she opened her mouth to speak. She turned it into a slight cough and gave him a quizzical glance.

Preston stared for a moment and then, without taking his eyes off them, called over his shoulder, "Tinker!" Mac's eyes widened for just a moment and then she stood impassively as Tink filled the doorway.

"Yes, Mr. Preston?" Tink paid no attention to anyone in the room.

He gestured towards Mac, "Escort the Colonel to her lunch with the Reverend. She needs some help."

"Okay, Mr. Preston." The big man walked up to Mac. He looked at Harm who silently backed away and then wrapped a hand around Mac's elbow, "C'mon, ma'am."

They arrived at the dining room a short time later. Trask was already there, he looked at Preston, "So good of you to join me, Mr. Preston. I've been waiting." Mac was surprised to see Preston flinch, she thought he was unflappable.

Not quite sure why, Mac spoke up, "I apologize, Reverend. It was my fault, I'm not moving as quickly as I would like."

Trask glared at her for just a moment and then broke into a wide smile. He came forward and bowed gallantly, "I am so pleased you could join me for lunch, Colonel. I hope you are feeling better?"

Mac nodded cautiously.

"Very good! And might I add that on such a beauty as yourself, even our uniforms look attractive. Please, have a seat." He held her chair and seated her. Turning, he looked at Preston and Tink and dismissed them with an abrupt gesture. As always, as soon as he was seated, the two orderlies began filling the table with food. When they were finished, Trask smiled at Mac again, "Wine, Colonel?"

Mac shook her head, "No thank you, Reverend. I don't drink."

Trask's eyebrows rose in surprise, "Truly? Well, would you prefer sweet tea or perhaps some lemonade?" He snapped his fingers and an orderly appeared.

"Tea, thank you." The orderly silently disappeared and returned several minutes later with a glass and a pitcher of tea.

"Ahhh, Colonel?" Mac looked over to see the Reverend looking apologetic. "I hope you won't think it too forward of me if I take the liberty of preparing your plate?" He gestured towards her arm, "I imagine that makes it awkward to do a number of things."

Mac smiled at him, "That's very kind of you." She was doing her best to appear relaxed but she found the Reverend unnerving.

Trask waved a hand, "Always a pleasure to serve a lovely lady." He held out a hand and Mac passed her plate to him, "You just let me know what you'd like, although I'd recommend the catfish. The chef works wonders with it." He kept up a steady stream of chat as he filled her dish and then presented it with a flourish. He reseated and quickly served himself, then smiled at Mac, gesturing with a fork, "Please, Colonel. Enjoy." He leaned forward and in a stage whisper said, "If you don't, you'll hurt my chef's feelings and I'll have burnt toast for the next week."

Suppressing her feelings of unease, Mac smiled and began to eat. Trask curtailed his conversation to inquiring if she was enjoying her meal and suggesting other dishes to try. At last , he pushed himself back from the table with a contented sigh. He looked over at Mac who had finished a few moments earlier. She was fidgeting just a little. "Colonel? Is something the matter?"

Mac looked a trifle embarrassed, "I didn't realize how I was sitting, apparently, my feet feel like they're asleep." She wiggled her toes trying to dispel the tingling feeling.

"I see," Trask smiled pleasantly. "I'm afraid I owe you an apology for deceiving you. I thought this would be the least stressful way and I have to admit I was wondering how it would work." Mac stared at him. He gestured towards her plate, "Most of your food has been laced with an animal tranquilizer." He looked thoughtful, "I hope we didn't overdo it. That would be embarrassing."

Horrified, Mac tried to push away from the table. Trask reached a long arm across the table and clamped a hand around her wrist. She couldn't feel her feet anymore and she couldn't tell if the chill she was feeling through the rest of her body was the tranquilizer or just terror. "You bastard!" she forced out. A moment later, she was on the floor, her ears ringing. Her cheek stung where he had hit her although she noted vaguely that she couldn't feel her shoulder anymore.

Trask squatted on his heels next to her and waved a finger, "That was impolite, Colonel. I did this for your own good. The buyers' representatives arrived early and I know how stressful it can be when you have to leave your old life behind and embark on a whole new one. This will make it easier on all concerned and, of course... "

Mac didn't hear anymore as her eyes finally closed.