2nd Author's Note: Yes… I quickly noticed the gibberish that ff.net vomited in place of my chapter. It appears that halfway through the file, a content error corrupted what remained, and thus causing the problems. I've had to rewrite the final 4 or 5 pages of the chapter to the best of my ability. Why can't more servers just accept Linux formats?
Episode 12 League Mandated SuspensionIt was as if God had pressed the mute button, because not a sound could be heard in the courtroom as Harrington stepped inside. Rather than the blue Air Force uniform that his co-workers had come to expect, he wore a gray business suit, white undershirt and black tie. A white ID tag with "FBI" in blue letters on his chest pocket bore his picture and signature.
Sturgis looked questioningly at Singer, who shook her head, indicating that not even she had known of her friend's secret identity. 'Just when I thought I knew a person…' she thought to herself as Harrington was sworn in to testify.
With the traditional process complete, Chegwidden began his questioning. "Would you please state your name and position?"
"Steve Harrington, Special Agent for the Undercover Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Harrington replied, as if he had gotten used to rehearsing that little piece of information.
"Agent Harrington, why were you sent to JAG?"
"The FBI had been receiving fragmented tips that a leak of sensitive government information was being leaked to unknown sources from the Judge Advocate General." Harrington responded, glancing at Harm and Mac nervously before adding, "I was sent to infiltrate the department, discover, and apprehend the leak of information."
"Did you find the leak, Agent?"
"I had thought so."
"Could you elaborate?"
Once again, Harrington looked apologetically towards the accused, and explained, "The briefing I had been given informed me to pay close attention to Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie… for many of the reasons that Assistant Director Cadillac revealed earlier in this trial."
"Had any of their actions during your assignment in JAG caused you to suspect them as potentially being guilty?"
"No, sir."
"Then what was the event that prompted you to order their arrest?"
Trying hard to ignore Mac's disbelieving stare, Harrington answered, "I had followed the pair to a beach in Taiwan, where it appeared they were confirming the arrival of a plane from the Chinese mainland, then followed them to the landing site where I discovered them searching the plane. After the sudden death of CIA agent Christopher Carlson, I discovered that they had slipped out of the Embassy, and had left for an unknown destination."
"Is that when you called for CIA assistance?" Chegwidden asked.
"Yes. And once it was discovered they had met with Randall Harrington, a suspected Chinese double agent, the man we had initially went to Taiwan to find, it made the case against them all the more damning."
"With that said, what brought you to contact me?" Chegwidden queried.
Harrington yet again silently apologized to Harm and Mac. "I learned later that my conclusion was premature… and very wrong."
"How so?"
"I learned later from an anonymous source that Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie had intercepted a message from Randall… addressed to me. I later confirmed the tip when I saw the message itself. The two officers had decided to meet with Randall on my behalf… knowing my personal feelings towards him."
"And what does this mean?"
"It means that the very reason that the Colonel and Commander were arrested was invalid, which makes the charges against them invalid as well."
The Admiral raised his right index finger. "One last question, Agent Harrington. Why do you think that your father, Randall Harrington, wanted to meet with you in Taiwan?"
"I can't be totally sure." Harrington admitted, "But I believe that it likely has something to do with what I discovered with further investigation in regards to the events in Taiwan. For example… the person really involved in the selling of intelligence and government secrets."
Cadillac leaped to his feet, almost in a panic. "Objection! He is about to reveal information of a highly classified nature!"
Harrington coolly addressed the prosecuting advocate. "Are you saying that you know that there is more involved in this case than you told yesterday?"
The murmurs rose throughout the visitor's section, and Cadillac became painfully aware of the presence of tens of news cameras trained on the trial floor. Eventually, the judge smacked her gavel three times, and demanded, "Counselors, my chamber… now. Agent Harrington, you are to join us."
Judge Dermott's Chamber- 1017 EST"All right… I suggest I get some answers about what Assistant Director Cadillac was objecting about, Major Harrington." The judge demanded testily. She did not like sudden surprises in her courtroom, especially in these sorts of cases.
"With all due respect your honor; AD Cadillac is correct, it is Level 3 Classified information." Harrington replied. "However, I will tell you, and every single one of those reporters in the court room, unless the prosecutor agrees to a few terms."
"What do you want? After that stunt you just pulled, not even the DCI could save your career." Cadillac snorted.
"It's not my career I'm concerned with." Harrington replied.
Admiral Chegwidden cut in, "We want all charges dropped against Colonel MacKenzie and Commander Rabb, as well as a formal apology from the CIA for falsely accusing them."
"And re-neg on this entire trial?" Cadillac scoffed, "Forget about it."
"All right… let's just see how the press likes what really happened in Taiwan." Harrington shrugged. "If you want to destroy careers needlessly, hey, I can handle that."
Cadillac quickly did a 180 as Harrington moved for the door. "Wait! Let's… not get too hasty here… Just how much do you know about Taiwan?"
"I'm sure you saw the case report, AD. I saw it too, after I finished writing it, anyway." Harrington scowled. "I know everything involved, even the fact that DCI proceeded with this trial after he knew the truth of the matter. I'm giving your department a chance to back away with as little backlash as possible."
"I'll… have to clear it with my superiors." Cadillac stammered.
"Go right ahead." Harrington smiled viciously, "I'm a patient man."
1040 EST
"In light of the new developments in the case of State vs. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, and Commander Harmon Rabb… the prosecution wishes to drop all charges against them." AD Cadillac stated loud enough for the entire assembly in the courtroom to hear, although he obviously didn't like it. "On behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, I offer our humblest apologies."
The judge sighed, visibly relieved just to have the entire debacle over with, and rapped her gavel. "With that said, I declare the charges to be dismissed. You are all free to go."
Harm mused just what 'free to go' meant as he was mobbed by press, family, and friends from the moment he stood up, and all the way out to the courthouse lobby.
"I knew you weren't guilty of anything." Trish stated. She had taken an all night flight to Washington with her second husband the minute she had learned of Harm's arrest. "And you too, Ms. MacKenzie. You're both wonderful people who never deserved the treatment you got."
However, Harm barely heard a word his mother had said, as another microphone was shoved under his nose from an overanxious reporter. Swatting the invading piece of audio equipment away with his hand, he repeated for the eighteenth time, "No comment."
"I'm just glad that Major… I mean… Agent… Harrington was willing to come forward." Bud sighed, "Had he not done that, you both would have been toast, sir." Flushing, he quickly turned to Admiral Chegwidden, and added hastily, "Not that you didn't do an excellent job defending them, sir."
Another microphone in his face prompted a much stronger, "No comment!" from the Commander. Looking around the crowded lobby, he had hoped to find the man responsible for saving his and Mac's sixes. However, it was very likely that he had used all the commotion in the courthouse to slip away undetected.
JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA- 1144 EST
Harrington packed away all the items in his desk as fast as he could, not terribly caring how they fit, or even if some things got broken. The only thing that mattered was getting it all together and vacated before anyone of the JAG officers returned.
Stacking the three boxes he had filled on top of each other, he grabbed the bottom one, and lifted them all with a grunt of exertion. The boxes blocked his vision, forcing him to occasionally look around them to avoid tripping on a step or other obstacle.
He had reached the elevator, and pressed the call button. A few floors… a hall, a parking lot, and he would be home free. A high ping signified the elevator reaching his floor. The doors slipped open, but before he could tell if anyone was inside, several voices indicated that there was.
"Going somewhere, Agent Harrington?" Harm asked wryly.
"Shit…" Harrington muttered to himself.
"Why don't you come out from behind all those boxes? It'll make it easier for us to talk that way."
Forcing himself not to swallow his tongue, Harrington sat down the boxes, and stood nervously in front of his former co-workers. He tried to gauge their feelings from their facial expressions, but they all had their lawyer's faces pasted on. 'Not good.' He thought.
His fears were confirmed when Mac leaped into action, sending a body shot right underneath his rib cage. Harrington felt all the wind rush out of his lungs, and he collapsed to his knees gasping for the precious wind that had been forcibly removed from him. Meanwhile, Sturgis and Harm had moved to restrain their fellow JAG officer.
"Easy, ninja girl!" Harm grunted, sighing in relief as he felt the tension in Mac's shoulders ebb away. "Steve… you okay?"
"Yeah… just let me find my lungs." Harrington replied as Harriet helped him to his feet. On his way back up, he noticed Singer standing in the back of the group, mostly hidden from view by her taller co-workers. Thus he couldn't accurately gauge her expression, and it worried him.
"I thought you were a friend, Agent Harrington." Mac accused, "I liked you… I trusted you… we all trusted you. And now, we learn that you called in the spooks to arrest Commander Rabb and I!"
Harm had to admit that when Harrington testified for them, it had felt like Steve had shot him in the chest. Hell, 10 minutes ago, Mac might have had to hold him back. However, on the drive back to JAG, Harm had got to thinking about the sort of job Harrington had, and how hard it had to be.
"What was I supposed to do, Colonel?" Harrington demanded. "Do you think that I can just ignore my duty for the people I like? You know I can't do that."
"You're no better than Webb!" Mac spat.
Finally, Harrington had enough of the accusations. His eyes narrowed, and he snapped back, "Webb would have left you two to hang. Now, if you don't mind… I need to leave."
Harm sighed, and motioned for Sturgis to help. Grabbing one of Harrington's boxes, Sturgis took another despite Harrington's quiet protest, and the three entered the elevator. As he left, Harrington tried to get a good look at his former partner, but she slid around the perimeter of the group, avoiding eye contact. With a pained sigh, he waved a swift goodbye to the assembled group of officers, and pushed the button for the ground floor.
"So… what's going to happen to you now?" Harm asked.
Harrington shook his head, "I have no idea… I'll probably be terminated."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm an undercover agent who just had his face plastered worldwide. I'm not much use to the FBI that way."
Harm shook his head. "You've ruined your life for our benefit… now I feel real guilty for letting Mac unload on you."
"I haven't ruined my life, Commander. Granted, my career as an FBI agent is over, but there are plenty of things I can do. As for the Colonel, I can understand her anger."
Sturgis cut in, "It takes a lot of guts to take responsibility for your mistakes like that. It's ironic in a way, I think the FBI could use the sort of people they kick out."
"So… what are you going to do now?" Harm queried as the elevator hit the ground floor.
"I don't know." Harrington answered. "I am a barred lawyer… so I could go into private practice. Hell, if I'm lucky, and didn't piss off too many people, I could try to transfer onto the FBI's legal squad."
"If that happens, I dread the day I ever have to go up against the FBI in court." Harm smirked, trying to lighten the mood. Once in the parking lot, Harrington led them on as straight of a path as they could to his Jeep.
After loading the vehicle, Harm said, "Take care of yourself, alright?"
"I'll do my best, Commander."
"The name's Harm, remember? If you ever need anything… or if you want to visit sometime… I'm sure that Mac will be much less violent next time."
"You sure about that… I mean… knowing what I did?"
Sturgis interceded again, "As you said, what else were you supposed to do? Sometimes the jobs we do force us to do things that we don't like, but we have to do them anyway. I'm sure that everyone will realize that in time."
"I hope so." Harrington smiled one of his notorious grins, then slipped into his Jeep. "Whenever I see you again… it won't be soon enough." With one last wave, he pulled out of his parking spot, and out onto the street.
Meanwhile, Lt. Commander Singer stared without any expression as Tiner and three of his fellow gofers started to move the now empty desk out her office. It was ironic in a way, that when this had all started, she had complained about how small her office was to begin with. Now it seemed too big… too empty. She had turned off the lights to make it seem smaller… but she quickly realized that no lighting was going to cover the emptiness in question.
"Are you all right, ma'am?" Tiner asked, trying not to sound overly concerned. Hell, even he had seen how close Singer had been to the man who had just left, and despite the recent revelations, Tiner was worried that it hadn't been as simple for Singer to deal with.
"I'll be much better once you get out of my office." Singer snapped tersely, bringing back memories of the old Lt. Singer. Tiner's survival instincts kicked in, and his fellow officers moved with such speed that they nearly damaged the office door trying to get the desk out as fast as they could.
Five minutes passed for Singer in what could be considered sulking. When someone knocked on her door, she considered telling whomever it was to go away, but soon decided against it. She had learned that in the bullpen, you'd eventually have to answer all the questions anyway.
Harriet entered the darkened room, and asked sweetly, "Can I turn the light on?"
"I like it the way it is." Singer grumped.
Harriet smiled, barely visible through the light that filtered in from the bullpen. "My, you really have got it bad, haven't you?"
"Got what bad, pray tell?"
Harriet turned on the light, and as her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Harriet had pulled up a chair, and propped her elbows on the desk across from Singer. "I think you know what I'm talking about. And I think you need to tell him."
Singer shook her head. "He lied to me, to all of us, Lieutenant. We trusted him… I trusted him… and it turns out he was trying to ruin one of us. I thought I knew him… I thought I knew…"
"Maybe you still do."
"What are you blabbering about, Lieutenant?" Singer growled in frustration. She was in little mood for games.
Harriet tapped the desk in thought, and replied, "When I served as an assistant to the IG, I had run into a few undercover operatives in my day. The best cover is the one that they don't have to fashion."
"You… think so?" Singer asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in her voice.
"I highly doubt that he was an FBI agent in college, and without having to worry about his cover any longer, I don't see why he won't be completely honest with you." Harriet retorted with a reassuring smile. "But I think you need to tell him whatever it is on your mind. Hell, you'll wind up like Colonel MacKenzie if you don't."
That seemed to be the spark that lit Singer's fuse. Hastily turning the files on her desk, Singer returned to them with a contained fervor, like she was trying to get them finished as quickly as possible without making errors. "Thank you, Lieutenant. You have been most helpful. I suppose I shall take your advice, but after I am finished with my work."
Harriet nodded, and with her duty done, left Singer's office. That hadn't been too difficult. Now if she could only get a couple other co-workers of hers to see what everyone else could…
Gainsborough Court, Halifax, VA- 1717 EST
"Loren!" Harrington exclaimed as he opened the door to reveal his visitor. "I'm rather surprised to see you here."
"Why would that be?" Singer asked tautly, walking by Harrington as if appraising the apartment.
Harrington rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, then said nervously, "Well… considering the way you were avoiding me earlier, I figured that you didn't want to see me."
Singer whirled around to face him, stating simply, "I had some things to think about before I could talk to you." Softening her features slightly, she asked, "Have you heard from the FBI?"
Harrington sighed, and answered, "I've… been put on indefinite leave until they can determine if I could be useful elsewhere. Tomorrow I will request a transfer to the Legal Division, but that could take months to finalize."
Finally, Singer got to the reason she was here. "How long have you worked in the FBI?"
Harrington smiled in understanding, "I figured that question would be coming. Why don't we have a seat in the living room?"
Singer allowed herself to be escorted, but quickly took a seat in Harrington's favorite leather recliner. Deciding not to press the issue, Harrington sat down on the sofa across from her.
He rested his elbows on his knees, and then propped his chin on his hands. "I was first approached by the FBI five days after my accident, and went into their undercover training program the following week."
"But why?" Singer asked, "You had a promising career for sure as a lawyer."
Harrington nodded, accepting the fact. "Probably… but they had a very convincing recruitment speech. Did you know that my 'accident' wasn't really an accident?"
Singer flatly asked, "What do you mean?"
"The Colonel in charge of the test flight intentionally had the engines of the Raptor tampered with, in order to allow for a test of the ejection system in a real-life scenario."
"But that's…"
"Unnecessarily dangerous and illegal." Harrington finished for her. "However, the Colonel in question decided to mash several tests together in order to speed up the testing process for the F-22. I guess he felt that he would somehow gain more notoriety if he could clear the Raptor for production in record time."
"And learning that was what prompted your decision?"
Harrington nodded, "I guess you could say I found my true calling. The ability to be able to investigate for the truth, and not the watered down or glorified stories you hear in the courtroom."
Suddenly, Singer's cel-phone rang. Initially expecting it to be Harriet, checking up to see if Singer had gone through with what she had planned, Singer was quite surprised to hear a tenor voice rasp simply, "Hand the phone to my son."
Singer's eyes went blank, and she handed the small device towards Harrington, explaining, "It's… your father. He wants to talk to you."
Harrington took the cel-phone, but obviously didn't wait for Randall to say anything. "How dare you have the gall to call me here? You sent my mother to her death, and just now you nearly destroyed the lives of two of my friends. How many other people are you going to hurt before you decide you're done playing your sick little game?"
Harrington paused only to catch his breath, not giving his father any chance to reply. "I only have one more thing to say to you. Consider it a warning. You better pray that the CIA finds you before I do, because if they don't, I'll make you wish you had died 28 years ago."
Harrington snapped the cel-phone shut angrily, and handed it back to Singer. "Of course, the promise of chances to hunt down my father didn't hurt the FBI's case either."
Singer suddenly smiled. She needed to change the subject, and she knew the perfect way. "I just want to know… those promises you made to me about not leaving… you meant them, right?"
"Of course I did." Harrington answered, sounding almost insulted that Singer would even ask the question. "I never actually lied to you or anyone in JAG. I might have left certain facts out, but never once did I try to deceive anyone… especially you."
"That's good." Singer retorted, her smile turning almost seductive as she left the chair to join Harrington on the sofa. "Because, now that we are no longer co-workers… perhaps we can explore what we have a little further."
Harrington couldn't help but return her grin, "Just what do you have in mind?"
She brushed a light kiss across his lips, and said, "How about you make me dinner… and then we'll see just what I can do for you."
Noticing the look that Harrington gave her, Singer gasped, and slapped him on the shoulder. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Agent Harrington. We've got a ways to go before we're to that level… but I'm willing to start that journey."
Harrington smirked as he stood up to move towards the kitchen. "You know… maybe life after the FBI won't be quite so bad…"
End Episode 12