Part Thirty-Eight
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1320 Local
Harm stopped at the door leading outside. For all the speed records he broke sprinting to that point, he wasn't so lost to common sense that he would charge into hostile territory without a careful look. Singer caught up and then breathed a sigh of relief. Harm arched an eyebrow at her. She looked a little sheepish and said quietly, "I was afraid you'd keep going, sir. I'd never be able keep up."
He raised both eyebrows. "I try to make a point of not outrunning my back-up, Lieutenant. Most of the time anyway," he said with a small smile. He gestured for her to stay low and cautiously opened the door a crack. After satisfying himself it was clear, the two cautiously made their way outside. Staying close to the building, they moved to a corner. Harm looked over at Singer, "Could you tell what direction the shotgun came from?"
She thought about it for a moment and then shrugged, "I couldn't say for sure, sir." She pointed to the left of the building they were alongside, "Maybe over there?"
Harm nodded, "That's what I was thinking, too." He peered around the corner and signaled 'all clear'. Together they hustled to the next small building and again, worked their way to a corner. Harm carefully looked down the next alleyway and then quickly pulled his head back. "It's Trask!" he hissed to Lauren. He motioned for her to fall back a few steps and let Trask see her when he came around the building. Harm crouched down and waited.
Ten seconds later, the Reverend rounded the corner and stopped in shock at the sight of Lt. Singer. Before he could register anything else, Harm uncoiled and launched himself at Trask, slamming a fist into the side of his jaw. The Reverend went down on all fours and stayed there, shaking his head. The briefcase landed a few feet away. Harm glared down at him, rubbing his knuckles. That had been eminently satisfying. He looked over at Singer and motioned for her to keep watch while he went to stand in front of Trask. "Where's Colonel MacKenzie?" he grated, the menace apparent in his voice.
Trask ignored him, rocking back and forth on all fours. He made no attempt to get up. Irritated, Harm nudged him with a foot, he didn't have time for the Reverend's histrionics. "Tell me where the Colonel is, you miserable son of a bitch, before I hit you again." To his infinite disgust, Trask buried his head in his arms, rocking harder and started to sob. Harm stared at the man in disbelief, he knew the guy was nuts but was he always this close to the edge? He gave a frustrated growl, it really didn't matter. He needed to find Mac.
He reached down and grabbed Trask's left shoulder, giving it a rough shake, "Where is she?!" With a surprising amount of speed, the Reverend spun towards Harm, his right hand almost a blur as he swung it in an arc towards the Commander. Harm had a brief glimpse of metal flashing as he leaped backwards. He heard the material of his fatigue shirt tear and for a split second, thought Trask had missed. The fire lancing across his midsection told him otherwise as he stumbled back, still bent over. The Reverend was on him in an instant, trying to press his advantage. Harm managed to evade the next two slashs, blocking the third earned him a cut across his forearm. He couldn't afford the time to draw his weapon and vaguely realized that Trask was keeping him positioned as a shield against Singer.
A heavy barrage of gunfire erupted not far away, distracting him and earning another cut, this one across his upper arm. He had to stop this and quickly, before Trask found an opening for a fatal blow or he collapsed from blood loss. He began to sway slightly, letting his head start to drop. He could almost feel Trask gathering himself. Harm took one stumbling step to the side and sank to one knee. Trask leaped at him, arm swinging downward for a killing blow to the back of his exposed neck.
With reflexes honed by combat, Harm shot a hand out and caught the wrist of the knifehand in a viselike grip. At the same time, he drove his other fist into the Reverend's midsection, surging to his feet to throw his body weight behind it. Trask flew backwards and hit the ground rolling. Recovering faster than Harm would have thought possible, he came up on his knees, a murderous look on his face. As he started to climb to his feet, a single gunshot rang out from behind Harm. The impact spun Trask around and he landed facedown in the dirt. He made one last attempt to rise and then was still.
Harm stayed bent over, hands braced on his knees while he got his breath back. He heard Singer walk over and then her feet appeared to one side. Turning his head to look at her, he offered a tired smile, "Nice shot, Lieutenant."
"Yes sir," she said a trifle vaguely, looking at Trask.
Harm looked at her a little more closely, "Are you all right, Lauren?"
She looked at him, "I've never killed anyone before. Shouldn't I feel something? Remorse? Guilt? I don't even feel relieved."
He straightened slowly, "It'll probably sneak up on you, Lieutenant. When it does, we can talk about it if you'd like." Harm took a cautious breath, "We need to get going."
Singer stared at him, "Are you kidding... sir?" She gestured at his midsection, "That lunatic tried to fillet you. We need to stop the bleeding or when we find the Colonel, she'll kill ME."
"It's not that bad and we're wasting time, Lieutenant," Harm said stubbornly.
Singer crossed her arms. Is this what MacKenzie put up with when they were partnered together? The Colonel had more restraint than she thought. "The sooner we take care of that, the sooner we can get going again." She gestured behind her, "The dining hall isn't that far away, we can find something for bandages and then we can go."
Harm glared at her for a long moment and then snapped, "Fine." He pivoted and headed back to the headquarters building, trying not to wince. Singer shook her head in exasperation and jogged after him. Ten minutes later, they were back on their way again. Only the cut on his forearm was probably going to need stitches. Linen napkins padded the wounds and a tablecloth tore into strips, kept everything in place. Harm begrudged every moment.
They stepped outside the kitchen again and scanned the area. The gunfire marking the Feds' advance was growing closer. Harm hurried back along their original route. He turned a corner and stopped abruptly. Lauren was hard put not to crash into him. "Sir?" she asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
"He's gone," Harm said softly.
Lauren's mouth dropped open, she knew who 'he' was. "But... but... he's dead! I killed him!" she spluttered.
"Apparently not," Harm's gaze swept the area warily, "The briefcase is gone, too." He gave himself a small shake, "Let's go. Keep your eyes open." They backtracked along the way they'd seen Trask come. A few minutes later, they came upon the abandoned van and a body.
Singer looked at Harm, "What do you think, sir? Trask double-crossed someone?"
Harm grunted thoughtfully. For the first time, the fear he had felt for Mac was being lessened by a small ray of hope. "Or making the most of a bad situation. I think Corporal Bell and Mac got away. Come on." They carefully skirted the van and then stopped, trying to decide which way. Harm nudged Singer and pointed to the bullet holes in the side of a building. They headed down the alleyway. At the next intersection, they stopped again uncertainly. A moment later, Singer touched his arm and pointed up an alleyway. There were indeterminate lumps near the end. Cautiously, they moved in that direction.
Harm grew more tense as the stench of death became stronger. What if... Resolutely, he shoved that thought aside, he wouldn't believe anything until he saw it with his own eyes. He glanced over at Singer. She'd become noticeably paler with each step and her jaw was so tightly clenched, he thought she would crack a tooth. At last, they were close enough to see the bodies clearly. Harm also wished they weren't, shotguns did a horrific amount of damage. The good news was that it wasn't Mac or Bell. Gingerly, they made their way past. Harm paused to give Singer a hand, she was definitely looking a little green around the gills. Finally, they cleared the corner and stopped for a moment in relief.
He just caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. Grabbing Singer he shoved her down behind him as he made himself as small as possible against the building. Silently, he muttered a few choice phrases to himself - for not paying strict attention to their surroundings, for stopping at a point with relatively little cover and for not taking into account crouching down like this would hurt like hell. Trying to look everywhere at once, he motioned for Singer to back up. If they could get back around the corner, they'd have a chance.
Singer had almost made it to the corner, when a man appeared at the far end of the building. Harm brought the machine pistol up and took aim. The man just looked at them, his rifle held loosely and angled towards the ground. Harm squinted at him, the sun was behind just enough to make it difficult to make out details.
"Commander Rabb?"
Harm let out a breath, he knew that voice. "Gunny Walters?" Behind him, he heard Singer's sigh of relief. They climbed to their feet and jogged over to the Gunny. "Good to see you, Gunny." Harm said with a smile, "Is the Admiral here too? Have you seen Mac or Corporal Bell? Are you here with the Feds? Is the area secure?"
The Gunny grinned back and gestured for them to follow, "Good to see you too, sir. Yes. Yes. Sort of. No."
Despite the apparent flippancy of his answers, Harm noticed the Gunny never stopped scanning the area. Then he realized what Walters had said yes to and grabbed his arm, "You know where Mac is? Is she okay?"
Gunny slowed a bit and glanced back at Harm, "We're almost there, Commander. The Admiral's going to be glad to see you two."
The fear Harm had been carrying tightened its grip just a little more at the Gunny's evasion. He couldn't quite bring himself to voice the question ricocheting around in his brain. He'd know the answer soon enough. Although by now, he was dreading the worst, he still stopped in shock when they reached the storage shed. Singer halted beside him. He'd never seen a building with so many holes in it and still standing. It looked like they were trying to cut it in half with firepower alone. He barely noticed when a figure detached itself from the doorway.
"Commander! Lieutenant!" Tyler said happily, "Am I glad to see you!" His gaze took in Harm's appearance and his expression changed to one of concern, "Are you okay, Commander Rabb?"
Harm looked at him blankly for just a moment and then nodded slowly, "Where's Colonel MacKenzie?"
Tyler jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "The Admiral's in there with her and Tinker." He stopped speaking as Harm hurried past him into the shed. He looked at Singer, who shrugged and followed a little more slowly.
"Admiral? Mac?" Harm called quietly as he let his eyes adjust to the dimness. He heard the Admiral's 'Over here,' and quickly made his way over. He stopped briefly, taking in the scene and then knelt down next to Mac. Looking at Chegwidden and Bell, he asked tersely, "What happened?"
AJ replied quietly, "Trask drugged Mac so he could turn her over to the buyers without a fight. He may have given her too much." He motioned to Tink, "Corporal Bell was hit while escaping with her. There are med-evac choppers standing by, they'll be here as soon as the Feds can secure the camp." Chegwidden took a good look at Harm, "What the hell happened to you, Commander?"
"He ran into Reverend Trask, who had a knife hidden in his sleeve." Singer's voice came from behind them.
AJ looked over his shoulder at her and then back at Harm, who was staring at Mac, "Lieutenant, let's go outside and you can give me your report." He rose and walked out with her.
Harm sat down next to Mac and took her hand. Leaning towards her, he ignored the discomfort and ran his fingers down the side of her face. "Mac?" he said quietly, "Can you hear me? You need to fight this and wake up. C'mon Mac, quit slacking. You're going to give the Corps a bad name." He took a firmer grip on her hand, his voice growing more intense, "D'you hear me, jarhead? I know you can out-stubborn mules, now show a little grit and get off your ass. Wake up, goddammit, or I'll start listing all the reasons why women shouldn't be in the military." He froze when he felt her hand tighten briefly in his. "Mac? Sarah?" He leaned in closer, "Can you hear me?"
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1320 Local
Harm stopped at the door leading outside. For all the speed records he broke sprinting to that point, he wasn't so lost to common sense that he would charge into hostile territory without a careful look. Singer caught up and then breathed a sigh of relief. Harm arched an eyebrow at her. She looked a little sheepish and said quietly, "I was afraid you'd keep going, sir. I'd never be able keep up."
He raised both eyebrows. "I try to make a point of not outrunning my back-up, Lieutenant. Most of the time anyway," he said with a small smile. He gestured for her to stay low and cautiously opened the door a crack. After satisfying himself it was clear, the two cautiously made their way outside. Staying close to the building, they moved to a corner. Harm looked over at Singer, "Could you tell what direction the shotgun came from?"
She thought about it for a moment and then shrugged, "I couldn't say for sure, sir." She pointed to the left of the building they were alongside, "Maybe over there?"
Harm nodded, "That's what I was thinking, too." He peered around the corner and signaled 'all clear'. Together they hustled to the next small building and again, worked their way to a corner. Harm carefully looked down the next alleyway and then quickly pulled his head back. "It's Trask!" he hissed to Lauren. He motioned for her to fall back a few steps and let Trask see her when he came around the building. Harm crouched down and waited.
Ten seconds later, the Reverend rounded the corner and stopped in shock at the sight of Lt. Singer. Before he could register anything else, Harm uncoiled and launched himself at Trask, slamming a fist into the side of his jaw. The Reverend went down on all fours and stayed there, shaking his head. The briefcase landed a few feet away. Harm glared down at him, rubbing his knuckles. That had been eminently satisfying. He looked over at Singer and motioned for her to keep watch while he went to stand in front of Trask. "Where's Colonel MacKenzie?" he grated, the menace apparent in his voice.
Trask ignored him, rocking back and forth on all fours. He made no attempt to get up. Irritated, Harm nudged him with a foot, he didn't have time for the Reverend's histrionics. "Tell me where the Colonel is, you miserable son of a bitch, before I hit you again." To his infinite disgust, Trask buried his head in his arms, rocking harder and started to sob. Harm stared at the man in disbelief, he knew the guy was nuts but was he always this close to the edge? He gave a frustrated growl, it really didn't matter. He needed to find Mac.
He reached down and grabbed Trask's left shoulder, giving it a rough shake, "Where is she?!" With a surprising amount of speed, the Reverend spun towards Harm, his right hand almost a blur as he swung it in an arc towards the Commander. Harm had a brief glimpse of metal flashing as he leaped backwards. He heard the material of his fatigue shirt tear and for a split second, thought Trask had missed. The fire lancing across his midsection told him otherwise as he stumbled back, still bent over. The Reverend was on him in an instant, trying to press his advantage. Harm managed to evade the next two slashs, blocking the third earned him a cut across his forearm. He couldn't afford the time to draw his weapon and vaguely realized that Trask was keeping him positioned as a shield against Singer.
A heavy barrage of gunfire erupted not far away, distracting him and earning another cut, this one across his upper arm. He had to stop this and quickly, before Trask found an opening for a fatal blow or he collapsed from blood loss. He began to sway slightly, letting his head start to drop. He could almost feel Trask gathering himself. Harm took one stumbling step to the side and sank to one knee. Trask leaped at him, arm swinging downward for a killing blow to the back of his exposed neck.
With reflexes honed by combat, Harm shot a hand out and caught the wrist of the knifehand in a viselike grip. At the same time, he drove his other fist into the Reverend's midsection, surging to his feet to throw his body weight behind it. Trask flew backwards and hit the ground rolling. Recovering faster than Harm would have thought possible, he came up on his knees, a murderous look on his face. As he started to climb to his feet, a single gunshot rang out from behind Harm. The impact spun Trask around and he landed facedown in the dirt. He made one last attempt to rise and then was still.
Harm stayed bent over, hands braced on his knees while he got his breath back. He heard Singer walk over and then her feet appeared to one side. Turning his head to look at her, he offered a tired smile, "Nice shot, Lieutenant."
"Yes sir," she said a trifle vaguely, looking at Trask.
Harm looked at her a little more closely, "Are you all right, Lauren?"
She looked at him, "I've never killed anyone before. Shouldn't I feel something? Remorse? Guilt? I don't even feel relieved."
He straightened slowly, "It'll probably sneak up on you, Lieutenant. When it does, we can talk about it if you'd like." Harm took a cautious breath, "We need to get going."
Singer stared at him, "Are you kidding... sir?" She gestured at his midsection, "That lunatic tried to fillet you. We need to stop the bleeding or when we find the Colonel, she'll kill ME."
"It's not that bad and we're wasting time, Lieutenant," Harm said stubbornly.
Singer crossed her arms. Is this what MacKenzie put up with when they were partnered together? The Colonel had more restraint than she thought. "The sooner we take care of that, the sooner we can get going again." She gestured behind her, "The dining hall isn't that far away, we can find something for bandages and then we can go."
Harm glared at her for a long moment and then snapped, "Fine." He pivoted and headed back to the headquarters building, trying not to wince. Singer shook her head in exasperation and jogged after him. Ten minutes later, they were back on their way again. Only the cut on his forearm was probably going to need stitches. Linen napkins padded the wounds and a tablecloth tore into strips, kept everything in place. Harm begrudged every moment.
They stepped outside the kitchen again and scanned the area. The gunfire marking the Feds' advance was growing closer. Harm hurried back along their original route. He turned a corner and stopped abruptly. Lauren was hard put not to crash into him. "Sir?" she asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
"He's gone," Harm said softly.
Lauren's mouth dropped open, she knew who 'he' was. "But... but... he's dead! I killed him!" she spluttered.
"Apparently not," Harm's gaze swept the area warily, "The briefcase is gone, too." He gave himself a small shake, "Let's go. Keep your eyes open." They backtracked along the way they'd seen Trask come. A few minutes later, they came upon the abandoned van and a body.
Singer looked at Harm, "What do you think, sir? Trask double-crossed someone?"
Harm grunted thoughtfully. For the first time, the fear he had felt for Mac was being lessened by a small ray of hope. "Or making the most of a bad situation. I think Corporal Bell and Mac got away. Come on." They carefully skirted the van and then stopped, trying to decide which way. Harm nudged Singer and pointed to the bullet holes in the side of a building. They headed down the alleyway. At the next intersection, they stopped again uncertainly. A moment later, Singer touched his arm and pointed up an alleyway. There were indeterminate lumps near the end. Cautiously, they moved in that direction.
Harm grew more tense as the stench of death became stronger. What if... Resolutely, he shoved that thought aside, he wouldn't believe anything until he saw it with his own eyes. He glanced over at Singer. She'd become noticeably paler with each step and her jaw was so tightly clenched, he thought she would crack a tooth. At last, they were close enough to see the bodies clearly. Harm also wished they weren't, shotguns did a horrific amount of damage. The good news was that it wasn't Mac or Bell. Gingerly, they made their way past. Harm paused to give Singer a hand, she was definitely looking a little green around the gills. Finally, they cleared the corner and stopped for a moment in relief.
He just caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. Grabbing Singer he shoved her down behind him as he made himself as small as possible against the building. Silently, he muttered a few choice phrases to himself - for not paying strict attention to their surroundings, for stopping at a point with relatively little cover and for not taking into account crouching down like this would hurt like hell. Trying to look everywhere at once, he motioned for Singer to back up. If they could get back around the corner, they'd have a chance.
Singer had almost made it to the corner, when a man appeared at the far end of the building. Harm brought the machine pistol up and took aim. The man just looked at them, his rifle held loosely and angled towards the ground. Harm squinted at him, the sun was behind just enough to make it difficult to make out details.
"Commander Rabb?"
Harm let out a breath, he knew that voice. "Gunny Walters?" Behind him, he heard Singer's sigh of relief. They climbed to their feet and jogged over to the Gunny. "Good to see you, Gunny." Harm said with a smile, "Is the Admiral here too? Have you seen Mac or Corporal Bell? Are you here with the Feds? Is the area secure?"
The Gunny grinned back and gestured for them to follow, "Good to see you too, sir. Yes. Yes. Sort of. No."
Despite the apparent flippancy of his answers, Harm noticed the Gunny never stopped scanning the area. Then he realized what Walters had said yes to and grabbed his arm, "You know where Mac is? Is she okay?"
Gunny slowed a bit and glanced back at Harm, "We're almost there, Commander. The Admiral's going to be glad to see you two."
The fear Harm had been carrying tightened its grip just a little more at the Gunny's evasion. He couldn't quite bring himself to voice the question ricocheting around in his brain. He'd know the answer soon enough. Although by now, he was dreading the worst, he still stopped in shock when they reached the storage shed. Singer halted beside him. He'd never seen a building with so many holes in it and still standing. It looked like they were trying to cut it in half with firepower alone. He barely noticed when a figure detached itself from the doorway.
"Commander! Lieutenant!" Tyler said happily, "Am I glad to see you!" His gaze took in Harm's appearance and his expression changed to one of concern, "Are you okay, Commander Rabb?"
Harm looked at him blankly for just a moment and then nodded slowly, "Where's Colonel MacKenzie?"
Tyler jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "The Admiral's in there with her and Tinker." He stopped speaking as Harm hurried past him into the shed. He looked at Singer, who shrugged and followed a little more slowly.
"Admiral? Mac?" Harm called quietly as he let his eyes adjust to the dimness. He heard the Admiral's 'Over here,' and quickly made his way over. He stopped briefly, taking in the scene and then knelt down next to Mac. Looking at Chegwidden and Bell, he asked tersely, "What happened?"
AJ replied quietly, "Trask drugged Mac so he could turn her over to the buyers without a fight. He may have given her too much." He motioned to Tink, "Corporal Bell was hit while escaping with her. There are med-evac choppers standing by, they'll be here as soon as the Feds can secure the camp." Chegwidden took a good look at Harm, "What the hell happened to you, Commander?"
"He ran into Reverend Trask, who had a knife hidden in his sleeve." Singer's voice came from behind them.
AJ looked over his shoulder at her and then back at Harm, who was staring at Mac, "Lieutenant, let's go outside and you can give me your report." He rose and walked out with her.
Harm sat down next to Mac and took her hand. Leaning towards her, he ignored the discomfort and ran his fingers down the side of her face. "Mac?" he said quietly, "Can you hear me? You need to fight this and wake up. C'mon Mac, quit slacking. You're going to give the Corps a bad name." He took a firmer grip on her hand, his voice growing more intense, "D'you hear me, jarhead? I know you can out-stubborn mules, now show a little grit and get off your ass. Wake up, goddammit, or I'll start listing all the reasons why women shouldn't be in the military." He froze when he felt her hand tighten briefly in his. "Mac? Sarah?" He leaned in closer, "Can you hear me?"
