Please see headers in Part 1.
*
Part 5/6
*
Harm kept his gun in front of him, sensing legitimate danger, all the while hoping he was wrong.
He turned on the living room light, found nothing unusual, and made his way to the front door. Slowly, he opened it and eased his way outside, so he wouldn't disturb the guards suddenly.
What he found as he walked out the door wouldn't be disturbed easily in the first place.
The guard was probably about Harm's size, and he was lying on the ground, out cold.
How the hell did Coster find us? Harm thought to himself, his senses now on full alert.
He took a moment to check for a pulse, which he found, but there was no time to drag the poor guy inside. He needed to get back in and lock the door and tell Mac what was going on.
But before he could do any of that, everything went black.
*
Mac wondered what was taking Harm so long. It shouldn't have taken all that long to ask the guards what was up and come back. Unless there were no guards to ask anything anymore.
She clutched her gun tightly and got up from the bed. Harm had told her not to be a hero, but she had no idea where he was or if he was all right. It wasn't like she had much of a choice.
Besides, if Coster had found them, he wasn't going to try to kill the man she loved a second time.
It didn't take her long to find her answer. As soon as she stepped out of the bedroom she got it.
Somehow Coster had slipped behind her, and the next thing she knew he had grabbed her by the neck, drawing her to him.
In the next instant she saw Harm sprawled on the floor by the front door, a two by four not far from him.
"Get the hell out of my life, Coster," Mac ground out.
"Oh, but, Sarah, we're just starting," he hissed into her ear.
Mac tried not to let her shiver of disgust show, and attempted to backhand him with the gun she still held.
She was a fraction of a second too slow, and he caught her wrist before she could hit him and twist free.
"Uh uh, Sarah. Be a good girl now. There's plenty of time for the rough stuff later," he said with a chuckle.
She thought she was going to be sick, but she bit back the bile rising in her throat and took a deep breath.
"What do you want?" she asked quietly. She had to come up with a way to incapacitate him, or she and Harm were both dead eventually. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill Harm before daylight, and her torture would likely take much longer and be a lot more painful.
She had to fix this mess so she wouldn't die with the secret her pride had made her keep from Harm.
Coster took the gun from her. He turned her to face him and trailed the barrel of the gun down her cheek.
"If you're a good little girl, Sarah, I might let your boyfriend live. Maybe."
"He's not my boyfriend."
"But you want him to be, Sarah. Same thing. Seeing as you love him though, I might have to kill him anyway."
"So that's what you do, huh? Make the woman you love miserable by destroying the people and things most important to her? You don't love me. All you've done is hunt me and stalk me like the prey of an animal. That's not love, you sick son of a bitch, it's just twisted."
He shoved her roughly down on the couch, and sat on the coffee table opposite her.
"Now, Sarah, we can do this the hard way - you won't like that - or the easy way. So what's it gonna be? We can leave here quietly, leaving Rabb for dead, and he might have a chance. Or I can shoot him in front of you right now and things will only get worse from there.
"It's your decision, Sarah."
There wasn't anything she could do immediately. She'd just have to leave and catch him off guard eventually. Anything to keep Harm safe. He would find them somehow.
"When do we leave?" she asked casually, as if they were just going for a joyride.
"Right now."
Slowly, she got up from the couch. Coster waved the gun at the door, and she walked two steps in front of him all the way there.
Mac tried not to give Harm a second look as she passed him, but she could tell he was still breathing. She could hear Coster moving slowly behind her, and the next thing she knew there was a thud and the gun went flying past her into the yard.
She spun around to see her captor sprawled flat on his face, Harm's hand around his ankle. Both men were struggling to get off the floor, but not having much success in their positions.
Without a thought, Mac kicked Coster hard in the face, grabbed the unconcious guard's flashlight right outside the door, and started searching for her gun in the yard.
When she re-entered the cabin, a different scene was playing out in front of her.
Coster and Harm stood about four feet away from each other, and Coster had a gun aimed at Harm.
Mac mentally smacked herself. Of course he'd have his own gun with him. How stupid could she be?
This had to be over and fast. But how could she shoot Coster without him shooting Harm?
"Looks like this is where you make a big decision, Sarah. Either you shoot me and I kill him, or you put the gun down and I kill him." He laughed harshly. "So? What's it gonna be?"
Mac shot Harm a signal with her eyes. He knew she was going to do something, he just didn't know what yet.
"Fine," she said and slightly crouched down, making it look like she was going to lower her gun to the floor.
Coster was totally focused on Mac now, allowing Harm to knock the gun from his hand.
She sprang back up from her crouching position, her gun aimed at the scrambling man. He and Harm were now fighting each other with their bare hands. Every time Mac thought she had a clear shot, Harm got in the way.
She saw Coster reach down to his ankle and pull out a knife. He was just about to rush Harm with it when she finally got a clear shot.
Her bullet found its mark at his temple and he crumpled to the floor.
It was over.
Harm gave her a concerned look as he stooped over the fallen man to check his pulse.
"He's dead."
Mac blew out a breath and dropped her gun. She began to tremble, and Harm rushed to her side, putting his arms around her to steady her.
He led her out of the living room, and into the bedroom, where she wouldn't have to look at the body.
He sat down with her on the edge of the bed as she began to cry.
"He had the knife, and he was going to hurt you, and he was *never* going to stop... I - I had to..." she choked on a sob.
"Ssshhh. It's all right, Mac. You did what you had to do. What one of us was going to have to do eventually. I'm just sorry it was you."
Mac looked up at him, the tears falling rapidly down her face. "I just wanted him to stop, to pay... God, do you think they'll think I didn't shoot him in self defense or defense of you?
Harm brushed the hair from her face. "Not with me as a witness," he replied gently. "I know what happened."
She touched the side of his face, where a large purple bruise was quickly blossoming from his blow to the head. "Are you all right? I thought I was gonna lose you there."
He covered her hand with his. "I'll be okay. I'm gonna need some aspirin before too long, but I'll live," he said, dropping a quick kiss on her head.
"I don't want to leave you, but I've gotta go check on those guards, and one of us has to call the authorities."
"I'll do it," she said with a sniff.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded as she said, "Now, go check on those poor men out there."
*
Ten minutes later, Harm had assessed the situation, and it wasn't all good news.
Three of the guards were alive, but the fourth unlucky man had apparently been hit in the right spot to be fatal and not just render him unconscious.
Harm had been able to rouse one of them, a Lieutenant Hauer, who was well enough to help him move the other three men into the cabin.
After that situation was as well taken care of as it could be without other help, Harm went back to the bedroom to check on Mac.
She was still sitting on the edge of the bed, her tears dried now, sucking it up like the Marine that she was.
He liked all aspects of Sarah MacKenzie, but he never got tired of just seeing her let her guard down and be a woman.
She'd tell him that was just his chauvinistic male side, if she knew. But it wasn't that. He just wanted to take care of her, even if she could take care of herself.
"Holding it together, Marine?" he said as he crossed the room.
"I suppose so," she replied dully.
He could tell by the slump of her shoulders, her paleness, that the adrenaline had run out, and the energy she had along with it.
He resumed his position beside her, arms firmly around her, allowing her to lean on him for support.
"You called the police?"
"Mmmm hmmm. Lieutenant Cane and the others should be here in forty-five minutes or so. I told him the gist of what happened, so they could come prepared."
She felt Harm nod beside her.
"I called the Admiral, too, to let him know before anyone else told him. He's coming, too."
"That was a good idea," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
"You know," she started, "it probably wasn't such a good idea to come out here. I don't know how he managed to follow us, but we could've been killed or held hostage out here, and no one would've ever known until it was too late."
"I don't know," Harm said wearily. "We got him, that was the goal.
"I just wish it hadn't come at the expense of one of the guards," he sighed.
Mac shifted a bit to face him. "Oh no, that's horrible. The others are fine?"
"As far as I can tell. The one that came to is watching the others."
Mac sighed and laid her head against Harm's shoulder. "I'll never understand why he did this. Why anyone does things like this."
"He was really sick, Mac. That's about all there is to it."
Mac passed a hand over her eyes, and Harm realized he'd never seen her look so tired.
He made her lie down on the bed and cover up, even though it was hardly the ideal situation. She would need at least a few minutes of rest before the questioning started. It was going to be a long rest of the night.
*
Part 5/6
*
Harm kept his gun in front of him, sensing legitimate danger, all the while hoping he was wrong.
He turned on the living room light, found nothing unusual, and made his way to the front door. Slowly, he opened it and eased his way outside, so he wouldn't disturb the guards suddenly.
What he found as he walked out the door wouldn't be disturbed easily in the first place.
The guard was probably about Harm's size, and he was lying on the ground, out cold.
How the hell did Coster find us? Harm thought to himself, his senses now on full alert.
He took a moment to check for a pulse, which he found, but there was no time to drag the poor guy inside. He needed to get back in and lock the door and tell Mac what was going on.
But before he could do any of that, everything went black.
*
Mac wondered what was taking Harm so long. It shouldn't have taken all that long to ask the guards what was up and come back. Unless there were no guards to ask anything anymore.
She clutched her gun tightly and got up from the bed. Harm had told her not to be a hero, but she had no idea where he was or if he was all right. It wasn't like she had much of a choice.
Besides, if Coster had found them, he wasn't going to try to kill the man she loved a second time.
It didn't take her long to find her answer. As soon as she stepped out of the bedroom she got it.
Somehow Coster had slipped behind her, and the next thing she knew he had grabbed her by the neck, drawing her to him.
In the next instant she saw Harm sprawled on the floor by the front door, a two by four not far from him.
"Get the hell out of my life, Coster," Mac ground out.
"Oh, but, Sarah, we're just starting," he hissed into her ear.
Mac tried not to let her shiver of disgust show, and attempted to backhand him with the gun she still held.
She was a fraction of a second too slow, and he caught her wrist before she could hit him and twist free.
"Uh uh, Sarah. Be a good girl now. There's plenty of time for the rough stuff later," he said with a chuckle.
She thought she was going to be sick, but she bit back the bile rising in her throat and took a deep breath.
"What do you want?" she asked quietly. She had to come up with a way to incapacitate him, or she and Harm were both dead eventually. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill Harm before daylight, and her torture would likely take much longer and be a lot more painful.
She had to fix this mess so she wouldn't die with the secret her pride had made her keep from Harm.
Coster took the gun from her. He turned her to face him and trailed the barrel of the gun down her cheek.
"If you're a good little girl, Sarah, I might let your boyfriend live. Maybe."
"He's not my boyfriend."
"But you want him to be, Sarah. Same thing. Seeing as you love him though, I might have to kill him anyway."
"So that's what you do, huh? Make the woman you love miserable by destroying the people and things most important to her? You don't love me. All you've done is hunt me and stalk me like the prey of an animal. That's not love, you sick son of a bitch, it's just twisted."
He shoved her roughly down on the couch, and sat on the coffee table opposite her.
"Now, Sarah, we can do this the hard way - you won't like that - or the easy way. So what's it gonna be? We can leave here quietly, leaving Rabb for dead, and he might have a chance. Or I can shoot him in front of you right now and things will only get worse from there.
"It's your decision, Sarah."
There wasn't anything she could do immediately. She'd just have to leave and catch him off guard eventually. Anything to keep Harm safe. He would find them somehow.
"When do we leave?" she asked casually, as if they were just going for a joyride.
"Right now."
Slowly, she got up from the couch. Coster waved the gun at the door, and she walked two steps in front of him all the way there.
Mac tried not to give Harm a second look as she passed him, but she could tell he was still breathing. She could hear Coster moving slowly behind her, and the next thing she knew there was a thud and the gun went flying past her into the yard.
She spun around to see her captor sprawled flat on his face, Harm's hand around his ankle. Both men were struggling to get off the floor, but not having much success in their positions.
Without a thought, Mac kicked Coster hard in the face, grabbed the unconcious guard's flashlight right outside the door, and started searching for her gun in the yard.
When she re-entered the cabin, a different scene was playing out in front of her.
Coster and Harm stood about four feet away from each other, and Coster had a gun aimed at Harm.
Mac mentally smacked herself. Of course he'd have his own gun with him. How stupid could she be?
This had to be over and fast. But how could she shoot Coster without him shooting Harm?
"Looks like this is where you make a big decision, Sarah. Either you shoot me and I kill him, or you put the gun down and I kill him." He laughed harshly. "So? What's it gonna be?"
Mac shot Harm a signal with her eyes. He knew she was going to do something, he just didn't know what yet.
"Fine," she said and slightly crouched down, making it look like she was going to lower her gun to the floor.
Coster was totally focused on Mac now, allowing Harm to knock the gun from his hand.
She sprang back up from her crouching position, her gun aimed at the scrambling man. He and Harm were now fighting each other with their bare hands. Every time Mac thought she had a clear shot, Harm got in the way.
She saw Coster reach down to his ankle and pull out a knife. He was just about to rush Harm with it when she finally got a clear shot.
Her bullet found its mark at his temple and he crumpled to the floor.
It was over.
Harm gave her a concerned look as he stooped over the fallen man to check his pulse.
"He's dead."
Mac blew out a breath and dropped her gun. She began to tremble, and Harm rushed to her side, putting his arms around her to steady her.
He led her out of the living room, and into the bedroom, where she wouldn't have to look at the body.
He sat down with her on the edge of the bed as she began to cry.
"He had the knife, and he was going to hurt you, and he was *never* going to stop... I - I had to..." she choked on a sob.
"Ssshhh. It's all right, Mac. You did what you had to do. What one of us was going to have to do eventually. I'm just sorry it was you."
Mac looked up at him, the tears falling rapidly down her face. "I just wanted him to stop, to pay... God, do you think they'll think I didn't shoot him in self defense or defense of you?
Harm brushed the hair from her face. "Not with me as a witness," he replied gently. "I know what happened."
She touched the side of his face, where a large purple bruise was quickly blossoming from his blow to the head. "Are you all right? I thought I was gonna lose you there."
He covered her hand with his. "I'll be okay. I'm gonna need some aspirin before too long, but I'll live," he said, dropping a quick kiss on her head.
"I don't want to leave you, but I've gotta go check on those guards, and one of us has to call the authorities."
"I'll do it," she said with a sniff.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded as she said, "Now, go check on those poor men out there."
*
Ten minutes later, Harm had assessed the situation, and it wasn't all good news.
Three of the guards were alive, but the fourth unlucky man had apparently been hit in the right spot to be fatal and not just render him unconscious.
Harm had been able to rouse one of them, a Lieutenant Hauer, who was well enough to help him move the other three men into the cabin.
After that situation was as well taken care of as it could be without other help, Harm went back to the bedroom to check on Mac.
She was still sitting on the edge of the bed, her tears dried now, sucking it up like the Marine that she was.
He liked all aspects of Sarah MacKenzie, but he never got tired of just seeing her let her guard down and be a woman.
She'd tell him that was just his chauvinistic male side, if she knew. But it wasn't that. He just wanted to take care of her, even if she could take care of herself.
"Holding it together, Marine?" he said as he crossed the room.
"I suppose so," she replied dully.
He could tell by the slump of her shoulders, her paleness, that the adrenaline had run out, and the energy she had along with it.
He resumed his position beside her, arms firmly around her, allowing her to lean on him for support.
"You called the police?"
"Mmmm hmmm. Lieutenant Cane and the others should be here in forty-five minutes or so. I told him the gist of what happened, so they could come prepared."
She felt Harm nod beside her.
"I called the Admiral, too, to let him know before anyone else told him. He's coming, too."
"That was a good idea," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
"You know," she started, "it probably wasn't such a good idea to come out here. I don't know how he managed to follow us, but we could've been killed or held hostage out here, and no one would've ever known until it was too late."
"I don't know," Harm said wearily. "We got him, that was the goal.
"I just wish it hadn't come at the expense of one of the guards," he sighed.
Mac shifted a bit to face him. "Oh no, that's horrible. The others are fine?"
"As far as I can tell. The one that came to is watching the others."
Mac sighed and laid her head against Harm's shoulder. "I'll never understand why he did this. Why anyone does things like this."
"He was really sick, Mac. That's about all there is to it."
Mac passed a hand over her eyes, and Harm realized he'd never seen her look so tired.
He made her lie down on the bed and cover up, even though it was hardly the ideal situation. She would need at least a few minutes of rest before the questioning started. It was going to be a long rest of the night.
