"Grave of the Witch": Chapter 06 – "Back in the saddle"

A/N: AU. This is a fictional story, in a fictional Alternative Universe, about fictional characters who entertained us in a fictional TV series between 1995 and 2005. Mike. Characters borrowed with love and appreciation for the great team who brought us "JAG"; may your following careers blossom.

A/N: AU: "they aren't mine, I'm just playing with them - apart from any fictional character created by myself". See Phase One of this story for the whole disclaimer A/N. Feel free to PM me if you spot any typos - my goal is 100% error-free. Feedback and comments are also welcome; I see plenty of followers and visitors to this story. Your opinions, critiques (and requests as PMs) are always welcomed.

A/N: link to Canon Episodes: S07Ep08 "JAGathon" airdate 13-NOV-2001: S07Ep11 *Answered Prayers" airdate 11-DEC-2001.

A/N: Publication date: 18-OCT-2022: Continuing my AU approach to the life and times of "Loren Singer" and the run-up to "Ice Queen". I pay tribute to my fellow writer "NikkeiSimmer" for permission to take forward the "Koloshenko" character" from his unfinished 2015 story "The Green-eyed Monster" - I recommend that you read his unfinished story, elements of which will crop up in my future chapters of this story – Mike 18-10-2022

Characters from FFNET – Loren Singer, Clayton Webb, Mattie, Jennifer, AJ, Galindez and (obviously!) others…

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Friday 28th April 2000: 15:00hrs EST

CIA communications airfield, Virginia USA (location redacted)

It was watching Vanessa's coffin being loaded which eventually broke "Loren" out of her three-day fugue. Vanessa was starting her final long journey home.

Britain's Royal Air Force had tasked one of their VC-10 jetliners to collect Vanessa. The sleek 1960s quad-jet (which had served several international airlines as well as joining the RAF directly) drew to a halt outside the hangar where Vanessa's coffin sat, clad in the Union Flag of the UK and topped with a female British naval officer's tricorn hat.

It turned out that Vanessa carried the substantive rank of Commander in the Royal Navy – and Britain's armed forces had arrived in (what they very affectionately and amicably referred to as) "the Colonies" to take care of one of their own.

The wide side cargo door on the forward port side of the VC-10 raised, allowing easy loading of the coffin with a scissor-lift.

Loren dabbed at a tear as the freight door of the aircraft lowered and closed. She walked up the air-stairs to enter the cabin, where blocks of QC (Quick-Change) pallet-mounted passenger seats spoke to the military interior of the VC-10 (the VC-10 in RAF service was a multi-role airlifter, covering trooping, CASEVAC and air-to-air refuelling, which would eventually be replaced in 2010 by the Airbus A330-based MRTT "Voyager" airframes).

Settling into the seat, she strapped in ready for the transatlantic overnight flight to the UK. The "VIP seating" QC pallet provided eight lie-flat beds. Soon, the scream of the Rolls-Royce Conway engines located at the tail of the VC-10 marked Vanessa's departure on her final journey home, with Loren as her dedicated escort.

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Loren would spend a week in England for the funeral. After the landing at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at dawn the following morning, she accompanied the coffin through the airbase and then out for the road trip, by hearse, to Vanessa's family home in Gloucestershire.

Forewarned of the arrival of their "second cousin", the Steed family were very welcoming as their daughter came home with her personal escort from the US Navy. Loren/Rene fielded many questions about Vanessa's working life in the USA (within the limits of operational disclosure, as all the family understood).

Vanessa would be laid to rest on the Tuesday, in the graveyard of the village church. "Loren" (or rather "Rene Maria Sorling" given that she was amongst "family"), met a number of Vanessa's family and the conversations turned to the cousins and second-cousins (all of whom had gathered for the funeral and some of whom were in "the Service"). She left Gloucestershire with a large number of contact details and a draft version of the Family tree, which one of the younger nephews had been working on for a school science project. The family trees were already clearly-documented back as far as the Sorlingbergs.

She enjoyed her short British interlude and was proud to have delivered Vanessa to her final resting place in her home country. As part of their gratitude, Vanessa's parents had arranged for a one-way Hertz car hire to get her back to London's Heathrow airport.

After heading back east along the M4 motorway towards London on the Thursday afternoon, Loren returned to the USA using a scheduled airline. She was grateful that Clayton's influence had triggered an upgrade to Business Class for the flight across into Dulles, which enabled her to rest before a short overnight sleep at home.

She spent Friday in Falls Church catching up, as well as updating the Admiral on the "loss of her cousin" which had triggered her sudden request for leave. Afterwards, she travelled straight to the Webb family estate up at Manderley for the weekend.

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Saturday 6th May 2000: 09:07hrs EST

Breakfast room, Webb family home, Manderley (location redacted)

Loren's body clock was still only half-way back across the Atlantic as she prepared for her morning ride.

She quickly settled into her ride across the Manderley estate. She had noticed, on collecting her horse from the groom outside the stable block, that all visible evidence of the recent attack had been repaired (or replaced). Sadly, the people who had been killed in the attack were (in her mind) quite irreplaceable. Even with a close examination, she could see no evidence on the cobblestones in the courtyard of the spot where her crucial deployment of a hand-grenade had stopped the car-load of intruders on that fateful day.

She had wandered slowly up the stairs, re-imagining the bloody scene on the upper corridor with Vanessa's shattered body. She was glad that the bad guys had been repulsed – but at a significant cost which she still lamented. She had grown fond of the blonde British agent during their brief time working together – a risky approach, given the threats which faced those in her chosen career almost-daily. The sense of loss descended once more onto her slim shoulders as she left the stable block.

She rode across Manderley until lunchtime, ending up at the main house, then went out for a second hack around the western perimeter before handing her horse back finally to the stable team. It was in that mood of inconsolable loss that she returned to the main house and, after an hour in the heated indoor swimming pool, donned a smart fitted dress and heels for an early dinner with Clayton.

Over a leisurely dinner, they reviewed the Koloshenko conundrum in a wide-ranging conversation. This was a very useful form of "fishing expeditions" as Clay termed them.

DNA evidence from Koloshenko's corpse told them what was needed and – by financially supporting a genealogy DNA website, the Agency had routine access to every DNA profile which was uploaded by the public. The military DNA Registry (for identification of deceased members of the armed forces) remained off-limits.

The conversation finally turned to her feeling of loss over Vanessa. Clayton seemed to feel the same way and eventually they "took it upstairs to comfort each other.

This would be her first night in bed with him – as well as her first active sexual experience since her CIA boyfriend had been killed. Clay was an attentive lover and they both ended the evening sweaty, breathless and satisfied. She fell asleep in his arms.

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Sunday 7th May 2000: 08:23hrs EST

Bedroom suite, West Wing, Webb family home, Manderley (location redacted)

Loren had slept soundly after their energetic and emotional lovemaking. The next day, when she woke, he was gone, leaving a simple note:

"Thank you: you looked so peaceful so I didn't want to wake you; keep on healing. C x"

There was a faint echo of his cologne in the ensuite bathroom. She showered, pampering her body and catching up on some overdue grooming, before she settled into a long, deep bath. She knew that a return to "normality" – her role in JAG as "Loren Singer" – was lined up for the next day. In the mirror, she practiced her "Loren Singer pout".

Dried, moisturised and dressed, she settled down to a solitary breakfast with the Sunday edition of the newspaper.

By the Sunday evening she was ready to return – to her dual role as both a CIA case officer chasing "the Koloshenko Twin" and as "Loren Singer, JAG Lieutenant".

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Although she visited Manderley at least once a quarter after Vanessa's loss, she and Clayton would not spend a night together in the same bed for another two years - when her daughter would be accidentally conceived.

Over the next year, she carved out a career – and a distinctive reputation – within JAG HQ at Falls Church. The snippets and tid-bits of data regarding "the Koloshenko twin" were small and intermittent, but it was clear that the Agency's suspicions were correct. However, "Koloshenko #2" was devious and very careful. In the space of a year, they made very little progress: the Russian opponent always remained just out of sight. As always of course, an accidental occurrence would bring a sudden measure of progress to the CIA quest.

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Tuesday 13th November 2001: 13:15hrs EDT

JAGathon venue, local Park, Falls Church VA, USA

Loren's "cover" gained another element of "she *really* did it, didn't she?!" plausibility in November of 2001, when she was caught running a betting pool on the outcome of the race – apparently with the intention of pocketing the proceeds rather than adding to the charity funds! This gave her, of course, just such a good chance to build upon what was emerging as her unofficial title of "The Wicked Witch of Washington" – and she revelled in the opportunity to seem spiteful and shrewish.

Sometimes, Rene Sorling wondered just *why* it was so easy to be a truly bitchy "Loren Singer", however she always knew who her real persona was. The following weekend she was in Manderley, running an in-depth case review of the frustratingly-unproductive "Koloshenko Case". She rode Satan several times, but she noticed that Clayton kept his distance. Scuttlebutt reported that he might be taking a shine to a female USMC officer.

She had continued her long JAG-based vigil, through the catastrophic events of 11th September 2001 and into the Fall of 2001.

At that point – out of the blue – she was approached at the "JAG Family Christmas service" at the JAG family church in late 2001. (11-DEC-2001)

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Tuesday 11th December 2001: 19:21hrs EDT

JAG family church, Falls Church, VA, USA

Loren's persona was unexpected approached by a meek, dapper, middle-aged USN Commander in the parking lot. She had assisted him, quietly in the background, as he assembled his famous (or infamous!) report on the JAG structure. Loren had played her part – as the ambitious, disaffected and frustrated JAG lieutenant – to perfection. Fortunately, Chegwidden's team had been able to assemble rebuttal evidence which discredited around 95% of his report. He had, however, shielded "Loren" from the blowback (as he had promised).

The "shielding" came - of course - with a price. By Christmas of 2001, Teddy Lindsey was looking for payback – of the "horizontal jogging" kind.

"Loren" had been solo for quite some time, and so the attentions of the older man were flattering. She had no particular emotional attachment to Lindsey, but she enjoyed the fortnightly Thursday evening meetings in various restaurants around the Beltway and Teddy clearly "scratched an itch" which she felt. These assignations always coincided with his wife's trips to Columbus OH, to visit her ailing aunt.

Loren never mentioned her connection to Ohio, even in the afterglow of a heavy and energetic session in bed with Teddy. She was, effectively, using him for sex, while keeping an eye on someone who did not have JAG's best interests at heart. Despite her shrewish persona, she actually cared for many of her colleagues in JAG. She envied Harriet and Bud's lifestyle – and their children – but had been unable to offer much by way of sympathy for the death of "baby Sarah" in November 2000.

Teddy's suggestion of a "post-Christmas rendezvous" gave Loren cover to follow up on her apparent dumping by "Kevin the commodities trader" in the run-up to Christmas. She had taken to wearing a decorative jewelled bracelet which had been discovered in Vanessa's effects following her death. Loren wore it as a connection to her slain colleague. Even in the Agency, one was allowed to grieve – if only briefly. She also took the opportunity to try out the red dress which would eventually make such an impact on Teddy Lindsey on their first "evening meeting" when that "arrangement" began after Christmas.

She played her part of the "wide-eyed blonde, easily impressed by an older man" to perfection throughout the first half of 2002.

Teddy never knew what hit him.

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The first half of 2002 passed in almost frustrating normality. Loren Singer discharged her duties at JAG during weekdays, then adjourned to the building which had become nicknamed "The Bunker" following its activation in November of 2001. The level and quality of the information exchanged within the secure establishment was top-notch; but not enough to point to the identity of the Koloshenko twin.

As often happens in the Intelligence world, more than one chance occurrence came together to make a pattern. Intercepts and diligent analysis began to home in on the eastern seaboard of the USA.

Every weekend, Rene Sorling ran her analytical tasks and continued perfectly in her cover as "Loren Singer". No-one truly came close to "Loren Singer" - her back-story (delivered via Harriet Sims) of a dead boyfriend was sufficient explanation to keep most people at a respectful distance. The fortnightly assignations with Teddy continued, taking in some breathtakingly beautiful (and expensive, she noted) venues around DC. There was an occasional excursion over the state line into Virginia, and once up to Maryland. Every time, Teddy was the attentive, relentless lover who gave "Loren" her release.

It was enough of a safety valve to keep her in-role as "Lieutenant Witch" (as she had overhead little AJ Roberts describe her one day).

Getting away to Manderley every few months was the activity which actually maintained her sanity. She found herself counting down the weeks - then the days - to every excursion to the Webb estate where she could truly be herself, forget about "Loren Maria Singer" and revert to "Rene Maria Sorling".

Unexpectedly, she found herself beginning to see the attractions of Clayton Webb, although the 14-year age gap worried and inhibited her.

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Tuesday 20th June 2002: 23:52hrs EST

Suite 302, Adams Hotel, Washington DC, USA

Loren's next breakthrough came – as usual, quite by accident – on the cusp of Midsummer in 2002. She finally worked out why Teddy Lindsey never worried about the cost of their assignations – the restaurants, the hotels, everything. She managed to see behind his story of "a rich wife who lets him play".

Teddy Lindsey had actually surprised her on a number of occasions, being both an inventive lover and also demonstrating significant stamina. On more than one occasion, she had to bring him to a sudden climax, otherwise she almost believed that he would live up to the lyrics of the Lionel Richie song "all night long"!

"Oh Loren, I just love what you do with those muscles", he always panted as she triggered his climax on such "over-running" nights. Over a period of six months, she began to nickname him "Three Condoms Teddy" in honour of his durability.

She was also beginning to doubt her own preferences for her previous ideal type of man. With both Clayton and Teddy sharing her bed over the years, was she developing "a thing" for older men?

She was reminded of a line from an old 1970s song by the British comedian, Benny Hill: "They don't yell and they don't tell, plus they're grateful as hell; give me an older woman every time!" She and Vanessa had, long ago, spent a weekend watching old British TV shows when Vanessa had gone down with a nasty 48-hour bug of some kind.

The "overgrown schoolboy" style of Benny Hill had stuck in Loren's memory. Loren was striking out with her own version, as the younger female participant in a cross-generational coupling game. She had to admit, Teddy clearly knew how to push her buttons. She thought back to the CIA "Mata Hari" sexual proficiency and conditioning training. It might be time to contact the CIA instructors and propose writing an extra chapter - to cover randy older sailors!

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Purely by chance, in the late summer of 2002, she happened to be heading for the bathroom of their chosen hotel suite when her eyes fell upon a document casually sticking out from his briefcase. "Loren" never travelled to her "Teddy nights" with anything beyond a handbag and an overnight valise. On this occasion, Teddy had arrived straight from a Pentagon briefing.

"Teddy nights" was a little in-joke between the two of them. She recalled that Teddy had flung the briefcase onto the spare bed in his excitement to begin unbuttoning her Summer Whites jacket, on his mission to find out what colour "teddy" she had been wearing under her demure uniform all day.

It was hardly surprising that she had a thirst during the night – they had hit both the wine and the champagne hard, in the course of their evening of Room Service fine dining.

Two things caught her eye; a summary of a USN proposal for changes in Hawaii and the western Pacific – which Teddy should not have had in his possession – and a small, old, black-and-white photograph.

The face looked familiar, but she could not place it for a while. She pondered the puzzle as she drank her second glass of water (the original reason for her waking) and then, reading and translating the Cyrillic lettering on the back of the photograph, she suddenly made the connection as she lifted her micro-camera from her handbag to capture the image for Clayton.

Her jaw – along with her towel – hit the floor.

Holy crap! Koloshenko didn't have a twin brother. The Agency analysts had mis-read the snippets of disparate intel.

He had a cousin!

As she looked at the sleeping man in the hotel bed – arms spread, snoring gently and still with a big shit-eating grin on his face from their encounter earlier – she realised what she had to do.

She had to let Clayton know!

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End of Ch06 of "Grave of the Witch" - "Back in the saddle"

Mike: England, 18-OCT-2022

*END