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Ramstein AFB
Base Hospital
Ramstein, Germany
January 2
1035 local
Everyone who saw Admiral A.J. Chegwidden making his way through the
corridors of the base hospital had identical thoughts: get the hell out of his
way, because the Admiral was a man on a mission-- an unpleasant one. Behind
him, Petty Officer Jason Tiner was alternately juggling various papers and a
cell phone and trying to keep up.
Leave it to Rabb to create a minor international incident by just
dropping on the doorstep of an Embassy with a badly injured CIA agent, half-
starved Marine, and a rogue criminalist. The foursome had reportedly sent the
embassy staff into complete disarray. It was now AJ's job to try and clean up
the mess-- hence Tiner. For all the petty officer's awkwardness at times, he
was a miracle worker at getting things done within a bureaucracy.
Dreading even having to contemplate the situation, the Admiral strode
into the room he'd been directed to. Immediately, one of its occupants jumped
to attention, and the other did her damnest to do the same, despite being in a
hospital bed. Damn Marines.
"At ease, Colonel," he said, waving down Mac, who gratefully sat back
against the pillows. However, next to her bed, Commander Harmon Rabb wisely
stayed at attention, fixing his gaze on a blank part of the wall.
"Do you two have *any* idea what kind of a mess you've created? You've
got the entire European diplomatic community on the edge of breakdown!" The
Admiral's tone was mainly one of disbelief and exasperation. He glared at the
pair of officers, both of whom remained silent.
He took a moment to look the pair over, and as he did, his temper
subsided. Mac was clearly worse for wear, but the fire was still in her eyes.
Rabb, on the other hand, looked like hell. Physically, he appeared fine, but
the dark circles under his eyes and air of exhaustion that surrounded him told a
different story.
AJ sighed. "Tiner, would you excuse us?" The PO replied with a sharp
"Yessir" before disappearing. AJ waited until he heard the door close before
continuing. "At ease, Rabb," he said, pulling up a chair on the opposite side
of the bed. "I don't suppose either of you would care to explain this mess?" he
added tiredly.
He watched as Harm and Mac exchanged a glance, trying to decide who got to
tell the tale. Finally, Harm sighed, saying, "It's a long story, sir."
*****
It took a good 45 minutes to fill in the Admiral on all that had happened,
from their arrest in Yetakerinburg and subsequent escape, to the debacle
involving Tikhomirov. For some unknown reason, Harm chose to alter the
circumstances of the Russian General's death, saying instead that his cousin had
fired in self-defense.
At the end of it, AJ could only nod and sigh. It had been a typical Rabb
situation-- things had gotten sticky, and through no fault on the Commander's
part, matters had promptly gone straight to hell.
Mac's voice cut through his thoughts. "Sir?" she asked, her voice sounding
tired. "How much trouble are we in?"
AJ waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Colonel. It'll be taken
care of. The way I see it, none of you are to blame here. I do have to ask..."
AJ paused, looking for the best way to phrase a delicate question.
"Mercedes and I turned him over to the base morgue for temporary
safekeeping," Harm said quietly. "I've called Theresa Coulter and she's
volunteered to handle matters personally."
"Good." Again, the Admiral paused, debating whether or not to ask the next
question. "What about your cousin and Webb?"
"Mercedes made it out fine," Harm replied, "but I haven't seen her for a
while."
"She's stayed with Webb," Mac added.
Webb and Rabb's cousin? Dear Lord.... AJ didn't even want to contemplate
the potential for disaster that implied. "And what about Webb?"
Harm and Mac glanced at each other, a mixture of sadness and worry on
their faces. "He's in the ICU," Mac said.
"He's in bad shape, sir," Harm interjected. "The doctors told us
everything-- all his injuries-- but there were so many, I couldn't even keep
track."
"That bad?" AJ asked, surprised.
Again, the other officers glanced at each other. "Yes sir," Mac said
quietly. "You'd probably best see for yourself.
*****
AJ had taken their advice and headed over to the ICU section. He was
told that visitors were only allowed in every 45 minutes, so he wandered over to
the small waiting area to wait for the next visiting time. To his surprise,
Mercedes Rabb was there, idly flipping a large silver coin back and forth across
her knuckles.
She froze when she caught sight of him. "Admiral," she greeted, her
tone formal but wary.
"Miss Rabb." AJ studied her as he took a seat. She was back in her
personal uniform of jeans, buttondown shirt, deck shoes and trench coat, but
there was a stiffness and formality to her bearing that hadn't been there the
last time they had met. Apparently having walls up was a family trait.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room, raising the discomfort level
another notch. Neither one bothered with any of the out-of-date magazines lying
around; instead, AJ continued his subtle assessment of her, while she simply
stared at nothing.
It finally got to be too much for AJ. "You took care of Webb?" he
asked.
She nodded, but still looked away. "I thought it was the least I could
do, since I got everyone into this whole mess in the first place," she replied
bitterly.
AJ raised and eyebrow. "Miss Rabb, with the twin benefits of hindsight
and having known your cousin for years, I would say that the current situation
as well as what happened in my office previously were the fault of genetics more
than anything else," AJ replied wryly.
"We do tend to be gifted in that area," she admitted. "Still, I--"
"Gnaedige Frau."
Both of them turned at the sound of the voice from the doorway.
Chegwidden was surprise to see a civilian--- a fifty-ish something gentleman
impeccably attired and groomed.
"Ah, Gerhard." Mercedes stood and greeted the man warmly, albeit
formally. Noting Chegwidden's expression, she made the necessary introductions.
"This is Admiral A.J. Chegwidden. Admiral, may I introduce Gerhard Berger.
He's a lawyer out of Munich who manages my affairs here in Germany."
"A pleasure, Herr Admiral," the man replied. "Grafin, everything is as
requested, and I have brought the car. We may leave whenever you wish."
What the...? "Miss Rabb?" he asked, his tone a warning. "May I have a
word with you? Privately," AJ added.
Mercedes glanced at Chegwidden, and knew in an instant she wasn't going
to get out of here without an explanation and some fast talking. She turned
back to the German. "Gerhard, ich muss mit dem Admiral etwas besprechen. Gibst
du uns einen Moment?"
The German nodded, and disappeared without another word into the
corridor. Soon as he was gone, Mercedes rounded on AJ, not giving him a chance
to speak. "With all due respect, Admiral, don't bother. I'm not going to
change my mind."
"Miss Rabb, I may not understand everything that is going on here, but I
would think you would want to stay and support your cousin."
She gave a half-hearted laugh. "I do believe Colonel MacKenzie can
handle that better than I can. Allow me to be blunt, Admiral: In my current
state of mind, I am of no use to anyone," she stated coldly. "As such, I think
it best that I make myself scarce for a while."
She paused, then softened her tone before continuing. "I don't know
what Harm has told you, but I did a few things over there that I'm not
particularly proud of; I just hope they haven't cost me a cousin. At any rate,
I've made some arrangements," she said, handing AJ a folder piece of paper.
"This is my contact information for here in Germany. If there are any problems,
call either myself or Herr Berger."
AJ accepted the paper. "I doubt that will be necessary, but I'll keep
it in mind." He paused for a moment. "There's nothing that can be done to
convince you to stay, is there?"
She shook her head no, a sad smile on her face. "It really is for the
best, Admiral."
Just then a nurse walked into the waiting room, glancing at the pair.
"You can see him now," she said, then left.
"Shall we?" CD asked, as they both turned to make their way back.
Outside the room, she stopped, and turned back to AJ. "Admiral..." she
began hesitantly, "First, I want to warn you. They really beat the living
daylights out of him. I realize you've seen a lot-- but so have I, and what's
been done to Cl-- er, Webb is pretty high on the scale."
He nodded in acknowledgement. "I appreciate the warning, Miss Rabb," he
said, the held the door open for her.
She shook her head. "You first, Admiral. If you don't mind, I'll wait
until you're finished."
AJ thought of inquiring further, then decided against it. Something was
odd with Rabb's cousin and the agent, but he decided at this point he neither
wanted or needed to know. He stepped into the room, uncertain what he'd find.
Webb lay on his stomach. His torso was wrapped in enough bandages to do
a mummy proud. His face was still a mess, although the bruises had faded some.
"Webb?"
The injured man managed to turn his head slightly, just enough to see his
visitor. "Admiral," he returned weakly.
An awkward silence fell, neither man knowing what to say. Finally, Webb
broke the silence. "How are the others?"
"Good," AJ replied. "Far better than you, as a matter of fact. Mac's a
little drained, but otherwise okay. The cousins Rabb seem to be their usual
selves, for better or worse."
Webb nodded slightly, even as his eyes drifted closed. "S'ry... still
tir'd..." he mumbled.
"Well, don't drift off yet; you've got another visitor."
Webb's eyes opened slightly. "'Cedes?"
AJ nodded. "I'll go get her."
*****
A few moments later, Mercedes Rabb stepped uncertainly into the room,
unsure. She wanted to leave, and leave soon, but she just couldn't bring
herself to depart without saying goodbye to him....
"Y'gonna stand there all day?"
She looked him in the eye for the first time since Russia. "No," she
said, sighing.
"Good. C'mere," he mumbled.
Obliging, she crossed the room to sit on a chair next to the bed. "Clay-
-" she began uncertainly.
"Where y' been?"
"Outside. They'll only let you have visitors for a little while each
hour. Look, Webb, I... I'm leaving," she blurted out.
She thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes at that, only
to be replaced with a questioning look. "Why?"
"I'm not sure," she said quietly. "I just need to get away for a while,
I think." She paused, biting her lower lip uncertainly. "Clay... Thank you.
For everything."
"M'rcedes..."
She shushed him with a finger to his lips. "No. Don't. Just don't."
She took a deep breath, then leaned close. "Goodbye, Clayton Webb. I won't
forget you," she said, then brushed his lips with her own.
And then she was gone, disappearing through the doorway.
***********************
Mac's room
thirty minutes later
AJ returned to find his two officers sitting close together on the bed,
talking quietly. He cleared his throat, letting them know of his presence, and
was rewarded with Rabb once again jumping to his feet.
"Relax, Commander. I'm afraid I've got some news for you." AJ hadn't
wanted to be the one to deliver this message, but he really wasn't given a
choice in the matter.
"Sir?" Harm asked, confused.
"Apparently your cousin decided to take off for parts unknown once again.
I was going to try to talk her out of it, but she slipped past me while she was
visiting Webb." He held out the white envelope the nurse had handed him
earlier. "She left a note saying to give this to you."
Harm took the envelope and slit it open with a finger. There was no
paper, no letter or note inside. But when he shook the contents into his hand,
he was rewarded with the sole item within.
An old, worn plain gold band fell into his palm, the words "Harmon &
Patricia - Love Eternal" engraved within.
TBC....
Ramstein AFB
Base Hospital
Ramstein, Germany
January 2
1035 local
Everyone who saw Admiral A.J. Chegwidden making his way through the
corridors of the base hospital had identical thoughts: get the hell out of his
way, because the Admiral was a man on a mission-- an unpleasant one. Behind
him, Petty Officer Jason Tiner was alternately juggling various papers and a
cell phone and trying to keep up.
Leave it to Rabb to create a minor international incident by just
dropping on the doorstep of an Embassy with a badly injured CIA agent, half-
starved Marine, and a rogue criminalist. The foursome had reportedly sent the
embassy staff into complete disarray. It was now AJ's job to try and clean up
the mess-- hence Tiner. For all the petty officer's awkwardness at times, he
was a miracle worker at getting things done within a bureaucracy.
Dreading even having to contemplate the situation, the Admiral strode
into the room he'd been directed to. Immediately, one of its occupants jumped
to attention, and the other did her damnest to do the same, despite being in a
hospital bed. Damn Marines.
"At ease, Colonel," he said, waving down Mac, who gratefully sat back
against the pillows. However, next to her bed, Commander Harmon Rabb wisely
stayed at attention, fixing his gaze on a blank part of the wall.
"Do you two have *any* idea what kind of a mess you've created? You've
got the entire European diplomatic community on the edge of breakdown!" The
Admiral's tone was mainly one of disbelief and exasperation. He glared at the
pair of officers, both of whom remained silent.
He took a moment to look the pair over, and as he did, his temper
subsided. Mac was clearly worse for wear, but the fire was still in her eyes.
Rabb, on the other hand, looked like hell. Physically, he appeared fine, but
the dark circles under his eyes and air of exhaustion that surrounded him told a
different story.
AJ sighed. "Tiner, would you excuse us?" The PO replied with a sharp
"Yessir" before disappearing. AJ waited until he heard the door close before
continuing. "At ease, Rabb," he said, pulling up a chair on the opposite side
of the bed. "I don't suppose either of you would care to explain this mess?" he
added tiredly.
He watched as Harm and Mac exchanged a glance, trying to decide who got to
tell the tale. Finally, Harm sighed, saying, "It's a long story, sir."
*****
It took a good 45 minutes to fill in the Admiral on all that had happened,
from their arrest in Yetakerinburg and subsequent escape, to the debacle
involving Tikhomirov. For some unknown reason, Harm chose to alter the
circumstances of the Russian General's death, saying instead that his cousin had
fired in self-defense.
At the end of it, AJ could only nod and sigh. It had been a typical Rabb
situation-- things had gotten sticky, and through no fault on the Commander's
part, matters had promptly gone straight to hell.
Mac's voice cut through his thoughts. "Sir?" she asked, her voice sounding
tired. "How much trouble are we in?"
AJ waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Colonel. It'll be taken
care of. The way I see it, none of you are to blame here. I do have to ask..."
AJ paused, looking for the best way to phrase a delicate question.
"Mercedes and I turned him over to the base morgue for temporary
safekeeping," Harm said quietly. "I've called Theresa Coulter and she's
volunteered to handle matters personally."
"Good." Again, the Admiral paused, debating whether or not to ask the next
question. "What about your cousin and Webb?"
"Mercedes made it out fine," Harm replied, "but I haven't seen her for a
while."
"She's stayed with Webb," Mac added.
Webb and Rabb's cousin? Dear Lord.... AJ didn't even want to contemplate
the potential for disaster that implied. "And what about Webb?"
Harm and Mac glanced at each other, a mixture of sadness and worry on
their faces. "He's in the ICU," Mac said.
"He's in bad shape, sir," Harm interjected. "The doctors told us
everything-- all his injuries-- but there were so many, I couldn't even keep
track."
"That bad?" AJ asked, surprised.
Again, the other officers glanced at each other. "Yes sir," Mac said
quietly. "You'd probably best see for yourself.
*****
AJ had taken their advice and headed over to the ICU section. He was
told that visitors were only allowed in every 45 minutes, so he wandered over to
the small waiting area to wait for the next visiting time. To his surprise,
Mercedes Rabb was there, idly flipping a large silver coin back and forth across
her knuckles.
She froze when she caught sight of him. "Admiral," she greeted, her
tone formal but wary.
"Miss Rabb." AJ studied her as he took a seat. She was back in her
personal uniform of jeans, buttondown shirt, deck shoes and trench coat, but
there was a stiffness and formality to her bearing that hadn't been there the
last time they had met. Apparently having walls up was a family trait.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room, raising the discomfort level
another notch. Neither one bothered with any of the out-of-date magazines lying
around; instead, AJ continued his subtle assessment of her, while she simply
stared at nothing.
It finally got to be too much for AJ. "You took care of Webb?" he
asked.
She nodded, but still looked away. "I thought it was the least I could
do, since I got everyone into this whole mess in the first place," she replied
bitterly.
AJ raised and eyebrow. "Miss Rabb, with the twin benefits of hindsight
and having known your cousin for years, I would say that the current situation
as well as what happened in my office previously were the fault of genetics more
than anything else," AJ replied wryly.
"We do tend to be gifted in that area," she admitted. "Still, I--"
"Gnaedige Frau."
Both of them turned at the sound of the voice from the doorway.
Chegwidden was surprise to see a civilian--- a fifty-ish something gentleman
impeccably attired and groomed.
"Ah, Gerhard." Mercedes stood and greeted the man warmly, albeit
formally. Noting Chegwidden's expression, she made the necessary introductions.
"This is Admiral A.J. Chegwidden. Admiral, may I introduce Gerhard Berger.
He's a lawyer out of Munich who manages my affairs here in Germany."
"A pleasure, Herr Admiral," the man replied. "Grafin, everything is as
requested, and I have brought the car. We may leave whenever you wish."
What the...? "Miss Rabb?" he asked, his tone a warning. "May I have a
word with you? Privately," AJ added.
Mercedes glanced at Chegwidden, and knew in an instant she wasn't going
to get out of here without an explanation and some fast talking. She turned
back to the German. "Gerhard, ich muss mit dem Admiral etwas besprechen. Gibst
du uns einen Moment?"
The German nodded, and disappeared without another word into the
corridor. Soon as he was gone, Mercedes rounded on AJ, not giving him a chance
to speak. "With all due respect, Admiral, don't bother. I'm not going to
change my mind."
"Miss Rabb, I may not understand everything that is going on here, but I
would think you would want to stay and support your cousin."
She gave a half-hearted laugh. "I do believe Colonel MacKenzie can
handle that better than I can. Allow me to be blunt, Admiral: In my current
state of mind, I am of no use to anyone," she stated coldly. "As such, I think
it best that I make myself scarce for a while."
She paused, then softened her tone before continuing. "I don't know
what Harm has told you, but I did a few things over there that I'm not
particularly proud of; I just hope they haven't cost me a cousin. At any rate,
I've made some arrangements," she said, handing AJ a folder piece of paper.
"This is my contact information for here in Germany. If there are any problems,
call either myself or Herr Berger."
AJ accepted the paper. "I doubt that will be necessary, but I'll keep
it in mind." He paused for a moment. "There's nothing that can be done to
convince you to stay, is there?"
She shook her head no, a sad smile on her face. "It really is for the
best, Admiral."
Just then a nurse walked into the waiting room, glancing at the pair.
"You can see him now," she said, then left.
"Shall we?" CD asked, as they both turned to make their way back.
Outside the room, she stopped, and turned back to AJ. "Admiral..." she
began hesitantly, "First, I want to warn you. They really beat the living
daylights out of him. I realize you've seen a lot-- but so have I, and what's
been done to Cl-- er, Webb is pretty high on the scale."
He nodded in acknowledgement. "I appreciate the warning, Miss Rabb," he
said, the held the door open for her.
She shook her head. "You first, Admiral. If you don't mind, I'll wait
until you're finished."
AJ thought of inquiring further, then decided against it. Something was
odd with Rabb's cousin and the agent, but he decided at this point he neither
wanted or needed to know. He stepped into the room, uncertain what he'd find.
Webb lay on his stomach. His torso was wrapped in enough bandages to do
a mummy proud. His face was still a mess, although the bruises had faded some.
"Webb?"
The injured man managed to turn his head slightly, just enough to see his
visitor. "Admiral," he returned weakly.
An awkward silence fell, neither man knowing what to say. Finally, Webb
broke the silence. "How are the others?"
"Good," AJ replied. "Far better than you, as a matter of fact. Mac's a
little drained, but otherwise okay. The cousins Rabb seem to be their usual
selves, for better or worse."
Webb nodded slightly, even as his eyes drifted closed. "S'ry... still
tir'd..." he mumbled.
"Well, don't drift off yet; you've got another visitor."
Webb's eyes opened slightly. "'Cedes?"
AJ nodded. "I'll go get her."
*****
A few moments later, Mercedes Rabb stepped uncertainly into the room,
unsure. She wanted to leave, and leave soon, but she just couldn't bring
herself to depart without saying goodbye to him....
"Y'gonna stand there all day?"
She looked him in the eye for the first time since Russia. "No," she
said, sighing.
"Good. C'mere," he mumbled.
Obliging, she crossed the room to sit on a chair next to the bed. "Clay-
-" she began uncertainly.
"Where y' been?"
"Outside. They'll only let you have visitors for a little while each
hour. Look, Webb, I... I'm leaving," she blurted out.
She thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes at that, only
to be replaced with a questioning look. "Why?"
"I'm not sure," she said quietly. "I just need to get away for a while,
I think." She paused, biting her lower lip uncertainly. "Clay... Thank you.
For everything."
"M'rcedes..."
She shushed him with a finger to his lips. "No. Don't. Just don't."
She took a deep breath, then leaned close. "Goodbye, Clayton Webb. I won't
forget you," she said, then brushed his lips with her own.
And then she was gone, disappearing through the doorway.
***********************
Mac's room
thirty minutes later
AJ returned to find his two officers sitting close together on the bed,
talking quietly. He cleared his throat, letting them know of his presence, and
was rewarded with Rabb once again jumping to his feet.
"Relax, Commander. I'm afraid I've got some news for you." AJ hadn't
wanted to be the one to deliver this message, but he really wasn't given a
choice in the matter.
"Sir?" Harm asked, confused.
"Apparently your cousin decided to take off for parts unknown once again.
I was going to try to talk her out of it, but she slipped past me while she was
visiting Webb." He held out the white envelope the nurse had handed him
earlier. "She left a note saying to give this to you."
Harm took the envelope and slit it open with a finger. There was no
paper, no letter or note inside. But when he shook the contents into his hand,
he was rewarded with the sole item within.
An old, worn plain gold band fell into his palm, the words "Harmon &
Patricia - Love Eternal" engraved within.
TBC....