ASYLUM
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters – I wish I did.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my mind, Bud came back from the Seahawk with no injuries. Please send me reviews. I love the feedback. Even if you just say – "yeah I read it."
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MAC'S APARTMENT – two days after Christmas
Christmas had been wonderful. They had a nice relaxing day with Bud, Harriet and Little AJ. Mac enjoyed having the whole concept of family. Who would have thought that joining the Marines would give her the family she so wanted. Mac was lying in bed; she had no desire to get up. She rolled over and put the pillow over her head. Then she heard it, the annoying sound of a pager. "Who could need a lawyer today?" She shouted as she threw the pillow across the room. She dragged herself out of bed, grabbed the pager and placed the call.
"Yes, this is Lt. Colonel MacKenzie from the Judge Advocate General's office returning a page." She said.
"One moment Colonel." The voice on the other end of the phone said.
"Colonel MacKenzie, thank you for getting back so quickly. This is Major Brighton at Quantico. We have a situation here that needs a lawyer's attention." Major Brighton stated.
"Major would you mind telling me what the situation is?" Mac replied.
"Sorry ma'am, I am still a little surprised. We have a young man who wandered onto the base." Brighton stated.
"Why do you need a lawyer for that? The base police can handle this." Mac replied.
"Ma'am he's asking for asylum." Brighton said.
"Asylum? Where is he from?" Mac asked.
"Afghanistan, ma'am." Brighton informed her.
"Have you called the FBI, CIA or INS? " Mac asked.
"No ma'am should I?" Brighton asked.
"I'll be there in a hour. We will figure this out together." Mac stated.
Mac hung up the phone; she called the Admiral and advised him of the situation. She then called Harm to let him know she would be at Quantico for the day.
QUANTICO
"Good morning. Lt. Colonel MacKenzie to see Major Brighton." Mac said to the Corporal standing there.
"Yes, Ma'am. He will be right with you." The Corporal replied.
"Good morning, Colonel MacKenzie. Thank you for coming right away." Brighton said.
"You need to do someone explaining. I am not sure I even understand. You are telling me that this young man just wandered onto the base?" Mac questioned.
"Well, basically he came to the gate and said he needed help." Brighton said.
"What do you know about him?" Mac asked.
"Not much." Brighton said.
"Where is he now?" Mac asked.
"He doesn't seem to pose a threat. Some of the men took him to the mess to get something to eat. He looked as if he hadn't eaten in days."
"Ok, then I guess we wait. Is there an office I can use?" Mac asked.
"Of course Ma'am. Follow me please." Brighton said and showed her to an office.
Twenty minutes later the young man was brought to the office where Mac had been waiting.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." The young man said in Farsi.
"Thank you" Mac said. "Who are you?"
"I need your help. I need to stay here." The young man replied.
"I understand that, but can we start with your name?" Mac asked.
"My name is Ahmed Mirza." Ahmed replied.
"How did you get here?" Mac asked.
"Can you please help me?" Ahmed asked.
"Matters of this kind are handled through the State Department." Mac said.
"But military is to protect people." Ahmed said.
"Why did you come to the marine base? When did you come to the United States? How did you get here? Are you in danger? Where is your family? How old are you?" Mac cut herself off from the barrage of questions she was asking. She could see the terror and fear in the young man's face.
"Colonel MacKenzie, what is he telling you?" Major Brighton asked.
"Nothing so far Major, we seem to be going in circles." Mac said.
"Do you need anything?" Brighton asked.
"No, I'll be fine. He seems tired and scared. He's just a kid, I don't think he's more than 17." Mac replied.
"As you say Ma'am." Brighton replied.
"Ahmed, let's start at the beginning. Your name is Ahmed Mirza. How old are you?" Mac asked.
"I am 15." Ahmed replied.
"When did you come to the United States?" Mac asked.
"I got here yesterday." Ahmed said.
"From where?" Mac questioned.
"Turkey." Ahmed replied.
"Ahmed, we are going to be here for hours with my having to ask every single question. Please tell me why you are here." Mac stated.
Ahmed sat back in his chair and looked at Mac for a few seconds. He took a deep breath and began to tell his story. "My name is Ahmed Mirza I am the son of Mohammad Mirza. I am 15 years old and I was born in Afghanistan. My father moved our family to Iraq when I was young. He went back to Afghanistan to try and help the rest of our family. He believed getting us out of Afghanistan we would be safer, but we still had problems in Iraq, so we moved to Turkey but my father had to stay in Afghanistan."
"Ok, where is your family now?" Mac asked.
"My father tried very hard to support the family, eventually he worked with the Al-Qaeda and those men. I was never given much information on what he did. I know he was not happy, but he had no choice. He did his job to protect and take care of his family. A few weeks ago my father got word to my family that he was being sent to Switzerland. He wrote there would be trouble and that my family should hide to be safe. We tried to hide but they found us. My mother and sister were killed, I got away." Ahmed said.
"Your father was sent to find me." Mac said barely audible.
"My father wrote that he was to find an American. But he didn't say more. My father had emergency money hidden in our house. I was able to get a plane ticket to the United States. My father always told us if we were in danger to find American military. I looked in the book for a Military Base and came here. I need help. I don't know what do to. I have to find my father." Ahmed said as tears began to roll down his face.
"Ahmed, do you have a picture of your father?" Mac asked.
"Yes, why do you want to see it?" Ahmed asked.
"Please show me." Mac said. Ahmed handed Mac the picture.
When Mac looked at the man she turned pale. Part of her felt for this young boy sitting before her who was now an orphan. However that was the woman in her. The marine in her wondered if this was a set up to find her. The terrorists used women and children to reach their objective. What if her identity had been discovered and this boy was sent here to finish the job? Mac shook that thought from her mind. What were the chances that he came to Quantico and the base called in a lawyer and she happened to be the lawyer?
"Miss? Will you be able to help me?" Ahmed asked.
"Yes we will, but I need to
call someone else." Mac said. "I will be right back." Mac left the office and
called Webb. She advised him of the
situation and that he needed to come to Quantico immediately.
Twenty minutes later Clayton Webb walked into the office.
"Hello, my name is Clayton Webb. I want to know exactly why you came here." Webb snapped.
"Webb, take it easy." Mac said in a protective tone.
"Colonel, it is my understanding that this person is the son of a member of the Al-Qaeda. I want to know what he knows." Webb stated.
"Webb, outside." Mac barked and walked out of the office. "Clay, this is a kid. I know what you are probably thinking and you're wrong. This is a coincidence that I was on call today. This has nothing to do with me, except the fact that his father was one of the men sent to find me."
"Mac we can't be sure of that." Webb said.
"I am sure. Trust me on this one. I think we need to tell him what we know as well." Mac said.
"Mac he doesn't know your connection does he?" Webb asked in a worried tone.
"No." Mac replied.
"He can never know. Mac on the chance that there is more to this than meets the eye; he can never know any of our involvement." Webb said.
"I agree there, but what are we going to do?" Mac asked.
"We need to know what he knows and then hand it off to INS." Webb said. "Let them handle it like any other immigration case. I contacted them before I came here." Webb replied.
"Clay, he is an orphan and it's my fault." Mac said.
"Mac it's not your fault. It's not any of our faults. It's just the way things happen." Webb said as he walked back into the room. "Ahmed, do you speak English?"
"Yes, I do." Ahmed replied.
"Good, the Colonel has informed me that your mother and sister were killed as you were trying to hide?" Webb asked.
"Yes, my father sent us word that there would be trouble because of something he was going to do and we should hide." Ahmed answered. "Before we could leave our home my mother and sister were killed. My mother fought with the men and I was able to escape."
"Did your father tell you why he thought there would be trouble?" Webb asked.
"No, he didn't give any details. I have to find him." Ahmed said.
Webb opened his brief case and took out pictures of the two men who had taken Mac. "Ahmed, I know this may be difficult, was one of these men your father?"
Ahmed looked at the pictures and began to weep. "This is my father. What happened?"
"Your father was a hero. Our information tells us that he was sent to Switzerland to kill an American woman who had intercepted monies for Al-Qaeda. Your father and this other man found this woman and took her to safety. These two men killed themselves in order not to face the punishment that would be awaiting them for their actions." Webb said.
"If what you are saying is correct, then I am not safe. Please help me." Ahmed said.
"We will Ahmed." Mac said.
"Ahmed, you are going to have to meet with the people from immigration." Webb stated.
"Will they send me back? I can't go back." Ahmed protested.
"Ahmed, they are going to do what's best for you." Mac tried to reassure him. They sat together and waited for the representative from INS to arrive. Three hours later, Melinda Joplin walked into the office.
"Good afternoon, I am Melinda Joplin with INS." She said extending her hand. "I would like to speak with Mr. Webb and Colonel MacKenzie privately for a moment." Mac and Webb followed Melinda to the hallway.
"What have we got?" Melinda asked.
"Ahmed Mirza, he is a 15 year old boy who was born in Afghanistan. His father was a member of Al-Qaeda and responsible for the rescue of an operative." Webb stated.
"Are you sure of that?" Melinda asked.
"Yes, very sure." Mac said
"What does he know?" Melinda asked.
"All he knows is his father is dead and that he helped someone. He doesn't know any details and we would like to keep it that way." Webb stressed.
"Does he have any other family?" Melinda asked.
"He advised us that his mother and sister were killed. I presume by Al-Qaeda in retaliation for what his father did." Mac said.
"We can give him political asylum. However with no family and no place to live he is going to be sent to a Juvenal facility." Melinda said.
"He'll get lost in the system." Mac protested.
"What do you suggest Colonel?" Melinda asked. "Until we can find him a home. There is no other option."
"Yes there is." Mac said.
"Mac, don't even think about it." Webb said.
"Clay stop. Melinda could he stay with me until arrangements were made?" Mac asked.
"It would take some doing but I don't see why not." Melinda responded. "Why would you want to do that?"
"I can relate to a tough childhood." Mac said.
"Mac, this isn't smart." Webb advised.
"Melinda, he can stay with me until something more permanent is found." Mac said.
"If you're sure." Melinda said.
"I am." Mac replied and Webb just shook his head. They all walked back into the office.
"Ahmed, I am going to work on getting you asylum status here. Colonel MacKenzie has offered her home to you until we can find something permanent." Melinda stated. "I will need you to come to the office on Monday morning."
"Thank you miss." Ahmed said. "Colonel, my father was correct. The American military does help the people."
"Let's go home Ahmed." Mac said with a smile.
"Mac what are you going to
tell Harm?" Webb asked.
MAC'S APARTMENT
On the ride back to her apartment, Mac called Harm. She couldn't give him all the details but he knew enough to be waiting there when she got back.
"Hey, I knew you'd be here." Mac said with a smile walking over to Harm.
"Well you were a bit mysterious on the phone." Harm replied.
"Harm, this is Ahmed. The young man I mentioned." Mac said with a smile. "Ahmed, this is Commander Harmon Rabb, my fiancé."
"Pleased to meet you Sir. You are American military as well?" Ahmed asked.
"Yes, I am in the Navy. Very nice to meet you." Harm replied.
"Ahmed, let me show you to your room and you can get some rest." Mac said and led him to the guest room.
When Mac returned Harm was standing with his arms folded. "Mac what's going on?"
"Harm he's 15 and an orphan. He lost his family because his father saved my life." Mac whispered.
"He doesn't know who you are?" Harm asked.
"No, and only you, Webb and I know." Mac said.
"Mac I don't know how safe
this is." Harm replied.
"Harm, I need to do this. I want to and it's only
for a few days." Mac said. "It will be fine."
"I am sure it will be, but as long as he is here, so am I." Harm stated.
Mac put her arms around Harm's waist and rested her head on his chest. "That's why I love you."
They had a very peaceful evening. The next morning Mac and Harm took Ahmed shopping for some clothes and tour around Washington. They were supposed to go to Harriet and Bud's but decided against it. They would have to explain the situation to them; their core group would have to know. They had to ensure that Ahmed never made the connection between Mac and his father.
SUNDAY NIGHT AT MAC'S APARTMENT
They had another full day and Ahmed was exhausted. He excused himself and went to bed leaving Mac and Harm alone in the living room.
"Mac, you are becoming attached to him aren't you?" Harm asked.
"Harm I feel for him. I know what it's like to be alone." Mac said.
"Mac he's going to have to leave eventually." Harm said.
"I know. For now, let him have some security." Mac said. "Tomorrow he will meet with the people at INS and hopefully they can find him a foster home."
"And if they can't?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Mac replied.
"You ready for bed?" Harm asked.
"Yeah, I'm tired and I need you to hold me." Mac said with a smile.
"That's what I'm here for." Harm said scooping her up and flipping her over his shoulder.
"Harm put me down." Mac laughed.
"Fireman's rescue Mac." Harm laughed and walked to the bedroom.
In his room Ahmed was kneeling on the floor, facing east. He was saying his prayers. When he was done he stood up and looked out the window up to the stars. "Father you were right. The Americans do help." He got into bed and cried himself to sleep.