The Spider and the Fly XV
Harm had hooked one arm around the top post of his chair. His legs were stretched out beyond the table and his body was turned slightly toward Meredith. The five of them were lingering over coffee.
Admiral Chegwidden, Meredith Cavanaugh and Mac had met up with Harm outside of Legal's Seafood on Pratt Street as he was finishing a cell call. Up in Baltimore to visit Clay, they were looking for a restaurant for a quick dinner. Harm didn't want to admit to the quick rush of emotions he felt when they accepted his invitation to join Gibbs and himself. It didn't have anything to do with missing JAG.
Even Gibbs had a smile on is face. Meredith was describing her first flight in Harm's Stearman. She knew she had scared the Tomcat pilot and her telling of the story was priceless. AJ blanched as she got to the part about the dive.
"Rabb," he said menacingly.
Harm grinned at him. "With all due respect sir, it was your idea I take her up in Sarah in the first place."
"Never again," said AJ. Harm seconded the motion.
Meredith turned to Mac. "I hear you have had your share of adventures with the commander when it comes to flying, Mac."
"We are at three crashes and counting. I am still stiff and sore from the last one," said Mac and she smiled at Harm. It was always a treat for her to see him in civilian clothes. Tonight he looked particularly good stretched out in the chair in a pair of khakis and short sleeved collared shirt.
"Two crashes and one unscheduled landing," he corrected. "Doesn't count as a crash when you can take off again. Remember?"
"See what you have to look forward to?" she gestured to Gibbs. "Be glad you only get him for one case. He was my partner on and off for seven years."
"I'll remember not to do any flying," said Gibbs. He watched the non-verbal interplay between Mac and Harm. He had caught Harm twice now, watching her when he thought she wasn't looking. Man, he thought, he's got it bad.
"Smart marine," said Mac.
Chegwidden looked at Gibbs, "Another jarhead in out midst?"
"Yes sir. Reserve. Gunnery Sergeant," said Gibbs. For some inexplicable reason, he felt that Chegwidden was sizing him up.
"Why the shift to investigation?" said AJ.
"I witnessed a murder when I was a child. The people involved with the investigation had an impact on me, I guess," said Gibbs. Why did he say that? He had been lured to open up more than usual by the friendly atmosphere around the table. It was mistake he rarely made.
As Gibbs and the admiral talked, Mac turned to Harm.
"You are still in one piece, I see," she teased him.
He raised his eyebrows. "This isn't Paraguay."
"How is the investigation going?" she asked.
"Slow, but interesting. I think we might have bit of breakthrough today."
"Thanks for the phone messages. It is hard for me not to worry about this," she said. She was trying to be as open as she could. Did it help any?
He glanced up at her as if he was trying to gauge the sincerity of her last sentence.
Their conversation petered out and they just looked at one another. Nowhere in their history together did they have the words to connect as they wanted. And this wasn't the place or time. But Harm didn't want the link to break.
Gibbs turned slightly and followed the line of the admiral's gaze. He was watching the interchange between the two lawyers. His face, almost expressionless, only confirmed to Gibbs that the JAG knew what was going on between Harm and Mac.
Chegwidden cleared his throat. "We better leave, Colonel, if we are going to see Webb before visiting hours are over."
#
As they walked toward the car, Harm suddenly stopped. He turned to Gibbs and said, "Let me drive."
Gibbs paused. They were finished for the day, right? He looked at the keys in his hand then tossed them over. "Okay. What's up?"
"I want to take a side trip. Check out something. Are you in a hurry to get home?" said Harm.
Gibbs smiled to himself. My personal life is probably about as exciting as yours Rabb, he thought. He devoted so much to his work at NCIS, he only could spare a bit of time for outside interests on occasion. No one was waiting for him at home. "Nope," he said keeping it short.
Harm turned the car toward I95 as it wound it's way out of the city. But instead of continuing on toward Washington, he exited toward another interstate, I97. Gibbs realized they were headed toward Annapolis.
But he turned off the interstate well before the exits into the state capital of Maryland. Gibbs tried to visualize in his head where he was. They were east and south of Baltimore but north of Annapolis. They must be traveling down the peninsula of land created by the two rivers, the Severn and Magothy.
They had turned off the main highway and were now driving along a winding two-lane road. The Carolinian-type hardwood forest was dense, but Gibbs was certain they were close to the water. There was a mixture of houses here. The older homes were small and cottage like. Every so often, he would see larger, more expensive dwellings as affluent people took advantage of bayside property.
They came to a driveway with a small poorly lit sign. 'Chandlers,' it read. Gibbs could see a low wooden building with a large screened-in porch. In front was a dockage with a series of wharves. Bay-style fishing boats were tied up and he could see stacks of crab traps. By the look of the parking lot full of cars, Chandlers was a dockside seafood restaurant. A successful one.
Harm didn't turn off the motor of the car. He sat for a while looking around. "I wondered if this was still here. We used to come here when I went to the academy. Best seafood on the bay. Inexpensive too," he said pointing to the rows of picnic tables.
Gibbs started to make the connection. "Aziz talked about his uncle always going to a place. He called it Candlers. You think this is it. Why here?"
"I'll show you," and he reversed the car, they retraced their steps back towards the main road.
Within 10 minutes, Harm had brought them to a monument perched higher than the surrounding geography. He pulled into a small parking lot and stopped the car. It was dark and they were alone. They got out and Harm led them to an open vantage point. Below them was the Severn River. Gibbs could see the twinkling chain of lights of the Naval Academy Bridge as it crossed the Severn and into the school. A full view of the Academy was before them, Bancroft Hall, Farragut Field, Dewey Field, the sailing center and the gold domed top of the Chapel. Back on their side of the river, there was Naval Station Annapolis. Off to the east, Gibbs could see the lights of the two spans of the massive Bay Bridge as Highway 50 made its seven-mile crossing of the Chesapeake Bay.
Harm looked at Gibbs. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Gibbs smiled wryly. "I'm not sure what to think yet. But why don't we stick around here for a couple of days?"
They walked back to the car in silence.
4
Harm had hooked one arm around the top post of his chair. His legs were stretched out beyond the table and his body was turned slightly toward Meredith. The five of them were lingering over coffee.
Admiral Chegwidden, Meredith Cavanaugh and Mac had met up with Harm outside of Legal's Seafood on Pratt Street as he was finishing a cell call. Up in Baltimore to visit Clay, they were looking for a restaurant for a quick dinner. Harm didn't want to admit to the quick rush of emotions he felt when they accepted his invitation to join Gibbs and himself. It didn't have anything to do with missing JAG.
Even Gibbs had a smile on is face. Meredith was describing her first flight in Harm's Stearman. She knew she had scared the Tomcat pilot and her telling of the story was priceless. AJ blanched as she got to the part about the dive.
"Rabb," he said menacingly.
Harm grinned at him. "With all due respect sir, it was your idea I take her up in Sarah in the first place."
"Never again," said AJ. Harm seconded the motion.
Meredith turned to Mac. "I hear you have had your share of adventures with the commander when it comes to flying, Mac."
"We are at three crashes and counting. I am still stiff and sore from the last one," said Mac and she smiled at Harm. It was always a treat for her to see him in civilian clothes. Tonight he looked particularly good stretched out in the chair in a pair of khakis and short sleeved collared shirt.
"Two crashes and one unscheduled landing," he corrected. "Doesn't count as a crash when you can take off again. Remember?"
"See what you have to look forward to?" she gestured to Gibbs. "Be glad you only get him for one case. He was my partner on and off for seven years."
"I'll remember not to do any flying," said Gibbs. He watched the non-verbal interplay between Mac and Harm. He had caught Harm twice now, watching her when he thought she wasn't looking. Man, he thought, he's got it bad.
"Smart marine," said Mac.
Chegwidden looked at Gibbs, "Another jarhead in out midst?"
"Yes sir. Reserve. Gunnery Sergeant," said Gibbs. For some inexplicable reason, he felt that Chegwidden was sizing him up.
"Why the shift to investigation?" said AJ.
"I witnessed a murder when I was a child. The people involved with the investigation had an impact on me, I guess," said Gibbs. Why did he say that? He had been lured to open up more than usual by the friendly atmosphere around the table. It was mistake he rarely made.
As Gibbs and the admiral talked, Mac turned to Harm.
"You are still in one piece, I see," she teased him.
He raised his eyebrows. "This isn't Paraguay."
"How is the investigation going?" she asked.
"Slow, but interesting. I think we might have bit of breakthrough today."
"Thanks for the phone messages. It is hard for me not to worry about this," she said. She was trying to be as open as she could. Did it help any?
He glanced up at her as if he was trying to gauge the sincerity of her last sentence.
Their conversation petered out and they just looked at one another. Nowhere in their history together did they have the words to connect as they wanted. And this wasn't the place or time. But Harm didn't want the link to break.
Gibbs turned slightly and followed the line of the admiral's gaze. He was watching the interchange between the two lawyers. His face, almost expressionless, only confirmed to Gibbs that the JAG knew what was going on between Harm and Mac.
Chegwidden cleared his throat. "We better leave, Colonel, if we are going to see Webb before visiting hours are over."
#
As they walked toward the car, Harm suddenly stopped. He turned to Gibbs and said, "Let me drive."
Gibbs paused. They were finished for the day, right? He looked at the keys in his hand then tossed them over. "Okay. What's up?"
"I want to take a side trip. Check out something. Are you in a hurry to get home?" said Harm.
Gibbs smiled to himself. My personal life is probably about as exciting as yours Rabb, he thought. He devoted so much to his work at NCIS, he only could spare a bit of time for outside interests on occasion. No one was waiting for him at home. "Nope," he said keeping it short.
Harm turned the car toward I95 as it wound it's way out of the city. But instead of continuing on toward Washington, he exited toward another interstate, I97. Gibbs realized they were headed toward Annapolis.
But he turned off the interstate well before the exits into the state capital of Maryland. Gibbs tried to visualize in his head where he was. They were east and south of Baltimore but north of Annapolis. They must be traveling down the peninsula of land created by the two rivers, the Severn and Magothy.
They had turned off the main highway and were now driving along a winding two-lane road. The Carolinian-type hardwood forest was dense, but Gibbs was certain they were close to the water. There was a mixture of houses here. The older homes were small and cottage like. Every so often, he would see larger, more expensive dwellings as affluent people took advantage of bayside property.
They came to a driveway with a small poorly lit sign. 'Chandlers,' it read. Gibbs could see a low wooden building with a large screened-in porch. In front was a dockage with a series of wharves. Bay-style fishing boats were tied up and he could see stacks of crab traps. By the look of the parking lot full of cars, Chandlers was a dockside seafood restaurant. A successful one.
Harm didn't turn off the motor of the car. He sat for a while looking around. "I wondered if this was still here. We used to come here when I went to the academy. Best seafood on the bay. Inexpensive too," he said pointing to the rows of picnic tables.
Gibbs started to make the connection. "Aziz talked about his uncle always going to a place. He called it Candlers. You think this is it. Why here?"
"I'll show you," and he reversed the car, they retraced their steps back towards the main road.
Within 10 minutes, Harm had brought them to a monument perched higher than the surrounding geography. He pulled into a small parking lot and stopped the car. It was dark and they were alone. They got out and Harm led them to an open vantage point. Below them was the Severn River. Gibbs could see the twinkling chain of lights of the Naval Academy Bridge as it crossed the Severn and into the school. A full view of the Academy was before them, Bancroft Hall, Farragut Field, Dewey Field, the sailing center and the gold domed top of the Chapel. Back on their side of the river, there was Naval Station Annapolis. Off to the east, Gibbs could see the lights of the two spans of the massive Bay Bridge as Highway 50 made its seven-mile crossing of the Chesapeake Bay.
Harm looked at Gibbs. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Gibbs smiled wryly. "I'm not sure what to think yet. But why don't we stick around here for a couple of days?"
They walked back to the car in silence.
4
