A/N: OK, Clay shows up, finally, in this chapter. There will be
some lip action, however the guy is really injured. Hmm, have to be
real creative. BUT, before he does we have to do the `meanwhile
back at the ranch routine.' What's happening back in Falls Church?
Oh. My. God. Harm is loose in foreign country with out Mac or
Webb.
Sarah's POV
JAG HQ
Falls Church, Virginia
0700 Hours Local
As AJ walked into the bullpen he saw that the lights in Lt. Robert's
office were on, but he wasn't in sight. He turned to the break
room and saw him making coffee. "Bud, what in the world is you doing
here at this time?"
"Making coffee and trying to arrange all the facts in my mind.
Harriet said that I might as well be here clicking on a computer as
in the bedroom." Said the tired lieutenant.
"I've been reviewing the information Mr. Webb had on his laptop and
the information that Cmdr. Rabb sent over."
"Rabb's made contact with Webb's source already? He has only been
there a few hours."
"Yes, Sir. Apparently CIA Headquarters may have written Mr. Webb
off, but he still has quite a few friends in the field. They know
that he was injured trying to stop the bombing and want to help in
any way possible. They had already pulled in the source, a Mr. bin
Dasann. The only thing he was able to tell them that money had
moving around rather rapidly and that there were rumors that there
would be damage to Americans where they least expected. He had
passed this onto Webb a month ago. He knew nothing more. It seems
that the cells in Afghanistan were only involved in sending support
money. Cmdrs. Rabb and Manetti are on the way to Indonesia right
now. They were only on the ground an hour for the interview. They
should be there about ten hours after Colonel McKenzie."
"That was a wasted trip. Remind me why we sent them there?"
"I believe that came from your meeting with the Joint Chiefs."
"Was the money angle in Webb's notes?"
"Yes, Sir. He realized that there was a hot situation in
Indonesia. The US has focused most of our intelligence gathering on
the Middle East for obvious reasons. I believe that this was why
his information was ignored. He was monitoring immigration into and
out of Suriname. It seems that a highly trained chemical engineer
of Indonesian decent emigrated there last year from the US. Shortly
there after wire transfers totaling two million dollars from a
Middle Eastern bank were deposited periodically in the engineer's
banks account. The next day the same amount was transferred to a
bank in Jakarta. This went on for six months. Two months ago the
transfers stopped. Within a week of the engineer emigrated to
Indonesia."
"So far things are suspicious but I don't see any red flags."
"I thought so at first. Mr. Webb didn't put everything down in his
notes. I had to piece different parts together. Did you know that
Suriname and Indonesia were both Dutch colonies? Mr. Webb has
worked several operations in Indonesia in the past. His ability to
speak Dutch came in handy in both countries. The next thing that
he mentioned was that one of Indonesia's industries is the
manufacture of chemical fertilizers. Ammonium Nitrate is one of
them. The preliminary chemical analysis of the bomb stated that it
contained Ammonium Nitrate. It doesn't take a chemical engineer to
make that type of bomb, but it would make it easier. The bomb was
large enough to take lives but it didn't do a significant amount of
collateral damage. I believe that the engineer was able to design
the bomb to fit that purpose."
"That must have grabbed his attention. That's the information he
must have sent to DC and made him go over there when they wouldn't
listen."
"That's what I think sir with. I think Mr. Webb felt something big
was going to happen and, unfortunately it did. He connected the
money, the rumors, the engineer, and Indonesia. There are known Al
Queda cells operating there. The country is in political turmoil.
Throw in the Timorese separatists and some religious extremists and
you've got a tinder box ready to be set on fire."
"Any word on Webb's condition?"
"He's out of surgery and in ICU right now. But that's just a
precaution according to the physician I spoke to. He will be moved
out to a regular room this morning.
"When does Colonel McKenzie and company get there?"
"They should be landing in about three hours. I was going to call
Ramon on the satellite phone and see what they were able to come up
with."
"Come into my office and make the call, I want to listen in on this."
"Yes, Sir."
Pacific Ocean
Three Hours from Jakarta
We were discussing the information from Webb's laptop when I heard a
phone ring. "Ramon, you're getting a phone call." I know phones
aren't supposed to be on during a flight, but it seems my special
circumstances were continuing.
"It's the satellite phone. Hello. Hi Bud. Here she is now. For you
Sarah."
"Bud, it's got to be early there what are you doing?"
"The Admiral and I were discussing the Webb's information. This is
what we came up with." He outlined his conclusions.
Bud and the Admiral more or less came up with the same conclusions
that we had. The only thing we had to add was significance of the
location of the bombing. If they had wanted to injure more
American's they should have bombed a location on Sulawesi. The
island was a scuba divers paradise. It was height dive season when
the bombing occurred and it would have been easier to place the bomb
there and cause a greater loss of life. Clay apparently had been
able to figure why they chose to bomb Jakarta, but not in time. We
hung up with them and continued to plan.
"So guys what do we do first?" I questioned both of them.
Jim was a good strategist. He had obviously been thinking a great
deal about this as I was sleeping. "Well, here's my list.
One: We get to Clay. We've got to find out what else he knows. He
didn't add much to his notes after he arrived in Jakarta. He more
than likely was ferreting out any contacts he could. He must have
felt desperate having a gut feeling that something was on the
horizon and not being able to put a finger on it.
Two: We set up a base of operations. Clay will have an idea where
to set up.
Three: Start re-interviewing his contacts.
Four: We have a contact there that NCIS has worked with before.
He's Javanese and speaks the local dialects. I think his help will
be invaluable."
Ramon spoke up. "I want to start looking at the money trail. The
Golden Rule in investigations of this type is: follow the money.
I'm going to get the equipment set up and work with Bud and look at
these transactions. We may just get lucky."
"Well, I guess that leave me to start looking to see if any of the
dead or injured could have been specifically targeted. And I guess
I should liaise with the other government's agencies, including the
Indonesian, which are investigating on their own. I'm just afraid
with all the agencies investigation that the culprits are going to
go to ground. Clay's contacts will hopefully give us a head start.
I'm just worried that his injuries will interfere with how effective
he will be. But he is as stubborn as I am so that may not be a
problem."
"Ramon, I've got a question. How did you guys get the information
out of Clay's laptop? He must have had it password protected."
He got a huge smile on his face. "It was relatively easy. I was in
on the second try."
"Second try. I knew you were a hacker but that seems unlikely."
"No it doesn't. It helps if you know the owner. I should have tried
the second one first, but it seemed too obvious."
"What was the password, if it was that obvious?"
He simply said, "Sarah."
It seems that I had several clues regarding Clay's feelings for me.
The password was obvious, but Ramon figuring it out so easily was
the surprise. He sat there with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face
and waggled his brows at me. Jim just sat there and smiled.
I settled back in my seat and thought about Clay for a while. I
didn't want to express how worried I was about him. My fears were
disproportionate to what a friend should be. I remembered the way I
felt after my conversation with Harm. I was relieved that we had
come to the conclusion that `we' were never to be. Then I didn't
know why I felt such relief. Now I do. Clay and I had been
growing closer over the last few months. I think the only two
things that were preventing us from taking that final step past
friendship was Harm, and the unfortunate fact that he was in a
different country. With Harm out of the equation I believe that
once he had come home we would have taken that final step. Now the
situation and location were different, but I wasn't going to wait.
If Clay was ready, so was I. I just hope I'm reading things correctly.
The rest of the flight was spent in discussing more details and
bouncing various theories off of each other. Jim held my hand when
we landed. Poor man. We were met my their Indonesian contact,
Robert Bitang. He seemed nice enough. At this point I just wanted
to see Clay.
It took almost an hour to get to the hospital. Traffic in Jakarta is
horrendous. The hospital was near the American Embassy. Which was
convenient.
When we entered the hospital armed guards immediately stopped us.
We showed our identification and were told that we were expected.
After inquiring about Clay's room number we immediately set out for
the room. There were two Marines outside his door. Which comforted
me. Rather than go to the room first I stopped at the nurse's
station as asked if Clay's doctor was available. I was told that he
was in another patient's room and would be available shortly.
Less than five minutes the doctor walked up. "Hello, I'm Dr.
Sukarno. I've been told that you are inquiring about Mr. Webb."
I didn't know how to introduce my self. His friend, his girlfriend?
I didn't have to worry. Ramon spoke up.
"Doctor this is Sarah McKenzie, Mr. Webb's fiancé. We are co-
workers that escorted her here. What can you tell us about his
condition?"
"Oh, I'm so glad that you are here. He called for Sarah several
times before he was put under anesthesia. He was determined to see
you miss. I want you to know that his condition is serious but not
life threatening. He has a concussion and various lacerations on
his left side. Only a few of which needed stitches. His major
injury is a left orbital fracture."
At our confused looks he went on to explain. "The orbit is the bone
that surrounds the eye. When the explosion occurred he was thrown
against the ground, unfortunately leading with his face. He was
shielded from most of the explosion by a car. His face is severely
bruised from the collision and the surgery to repair the fracture.
We used surgical wire and a small plate to do the repair. He will
be released tomorrow afternoon. I still want to watch him for
possible post-operative complications. He should recover rapidly.
But needs to protect his face and eye until the fracture heals.
"Thank you doctor. You have relieved me to no end. I have been
imagining the worst since I heard about his injury. I'll go in and
see him now." The doctor left and as I turned to go into the room I
suddenly remembered his mother. How did I forget her? "Jim we need to
contact Porter Webb. I don't know if she has even been told that
he's been injured."
"Don't worry Sarah. We'll find out and if she doesn't know we'll
get Bud or the Admiral to inform her."
"Thanks guys, I'm glad you're here."
"So are we. Get in there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jim, I think we are seeing the blossoming of a beautiful romance.
I've been listening to him talk about her for the last several
years. That woman has the look of someone in love. I know he loves
her. I feel like a successful matchmaker. Do you feel like Cupid?"
"You have been reading Marita's romance books again, haven't you?"
"You don't know what you're missing man. I learn a great deal about
how to keep romance in our lives by reading them. They're well
written and the authors do a great deal of research. Sometimes we
read them to each other. That leads to some very interesting
interaction."
"Too much information. Let's go check in with Bud."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I slowly walked into Clay's room. I'm glad the doctor prepared me
regarding his appearance. The gasp was out of my mouth before I
could control it. The left side of his face seemed to be one
continuous bruise. His eye was swollen shut. I approached the
right side of his bed tentatively. I didn't want to disturb his
rest. But I couldn't resist sweeping his bangs back off his
forehead. I also couldn't resist leaning over and kissing him gently on
the mouth.
He began to stir then opened his right eye. I spoke softly, "Hello,
Sleeping Beauty." The tremor in my voice surprised me.
He focused on my face then said, "If I'm Sleeping Beauty, you must
be Princess Charming."
"If you want," I said with a broad smile.
"Oh, I want beautiful, I want."
How he managed to smile with his damaged face I'll never know. But
it was the most beautiful smile that I've ever seen.
"Can I have another kiss now that I'm awake to appreciate it?"
"I think that can be arranged." I leaned over and gave him another
kiss. This one wasn't gentle. His tongue swept my lips to beg
entrance, which I granted. It sizzled all the way down to my toes.
His arm reached up and snaked around my neck and pulled me closer.
The man definitely knew how to kiss. I returned as good as I got.
We hugged and touched each other and continued to kiss until we
heard a small cough behind us. Mysteriously between the kissing and
hugging I had laid down beside Clay on the bed.
"You two need to get a room, you're going to frighten the staff."
I blushed and tried to get up. But Clay held me tight to his side.
"What are the two of you doing here? You're a bit off your
regularly beaten path aren't you." He said with his patented smirk.
Jim spoke up. "Hey it wasn't our idea. We just came along for the
ride. The brass wants whoever did this caught and figured that we
could help the two of you out. Don't worry you won't be able to hog
all the glory. Rabb is on his way here now."
With this Clay managed to roll his one good eye. "I was feeling
very good until you mentioned that. When does he arrive? And
before he does, tie down any plane that you want kept in one piece."
"Hey, he has managed to keep quite a few planes in the air! We might
need those flying skills." I said mildly.
Clay looked at me with disbelief. "If you say so."
"Jim, Ramon, ah, could you give Clay and I a few more minutes?"
They nodded and left the room.
Clay immediately tightened the grip that he had never
removed. "Sarah, I need to know something before we go any
further. Does that kiss mean what I hope it means. I've felt a
change in our relationship over the last few months, and your
greeting was more than I had ever anticipated."
"Oh, it does. You're right things have changed. I want to continue
our greeting in much more detail very soon, but we've got to finish
what we've all come here to do. And I don't think you're up to much
right now." At this he looked down his body, then back at me.
There was an evil grin on his face.
"I don't know about that, I seem to be up very nicely. But you're
right we've got a lot to plan. But we are going to have some
quality time together as soon as this is over. Go ahead and call
Mutt and Jeff in here. The sooner we start the sooner we can further
this relationship."
I disentangled myself from his arm. It was difficult to leave his
embrace. It had felt like home. I had planned on comforting him.
But being in his arms brought me peace. I think we have started a
journey that will last a long time. I turned and gave him a smile as
I opened the door to call our partners in crime into the room.
TBC.
I'm sorry but that was as much contact he was really up to. Any
more and he might have popped his stitches!
some lip action, however the guy is really injured. Hmm, have to be
real creative. BUT, before he does we have to do the `meanwhile
back at the ranch routine.' What's happening back in Falls Church?
Oh. My. God. Harm is loose in foreign country with out Mac or
Webb.
Sarah's POV
JAG HQ
Falls Church, Virginia
0700 Hours Local
As AJ walked into the bullpen he saw that the lights in Lt. Robert's
office were on, but he wasn't in sight. He turned to the break
room and saw him making coffee. "Bud, what in the world is you doing
here at this time?"
"Making coffee and trying to arrange all the facts in my mind.
Harriet said that I might as well be here clicking on a computer as
in the bedroom." Said the tired lieutenant.
"I've been reviewing the information Mr. Webb had on his laptop and
the information that Cmdr. Rabb sent over."
"Rabb's made contact with Webb's source already? He has only been
there a few hours."
"Yes, Sir. Apparently CIA Headquarters may have written Mr. Webb
off, but he still has quite a few friends in the field. They know
that he was injured trying to stop the bombing and want to help in
any way possible. They had already pulled in the source, a Mr. bin
Dasann. The only thing he was able to tell them that money had
moving around rather rapidly and that there were rumors that there
would be damage to Americans where they least expected. He had
passed this onto Webb a month ago. He knew nothing more. It seems
that the cells in Afghanistan were only involved in sending support
money. Cmdrs. Rabb and Manetti are on the way to Indonesia right
now. They were only on the ground an hour for the interview. They
should be there about ten hours after Colonel McKenzie."
"That was a wasted trip. Remind me why we sent them there?"
"I believe that came from your meeting with the Joint Chiefs."
"Was the money angle in Webb's notes?"
"Yes, Sir. He realized that there was a hot situation in
Indonesia. The US has focused most of our intelligence gathering on
the Middle East for obvious reasons. I believe that this was why
his information was ignored. He was monitoring immigration into and
out of Suriname. It seems that a highly trained chemical engineer
of Indonesian decent emigrated there last year from the US. Shortly
there after wire transfers totaling two million dollars from a
Middle Eastern bank were deposited periodically in the engineer's
banks account. The next day the same amount was transferred to a
bank in Jakarta. This went on for six months. Two months ago the
transfers stopped. Within a week of the engineer emigrated to
Indonesia."
"So far things are suspicious but I don't see any red flags."
"I thought so at first. Mr. Webb didn't put everything down in his
notes. I had to piece different parts together. Did you know that
Suriname and Indonesia were both Dutch colonies? Mr. Webb has
worked several operations in Indonesia in the past. His ability to
speak Dutch came in handy in both countries. The next thing that
he mentioned was that one of Indonesia's industries is the
manufacture of chemical fertilizers. Ammonium Nitrate is one of
them. The preliminary chemical analysis of the bomb stated that it
contained Ammonium Nitrate. It doesn't take a chemical engineer to
make that type of bomb, but it would make it easier. The bomb was
large enough to take lives but it didn't do a significant amount of
collateral damage. I believe that the engineer was able to design
the bomb to fit that purpose."
"That must have grabbed his attention. That's the information he
must have sent to DC and made him go over there when they wouldn't
listen."
"That's what I think sir with. I think Mr. Webb felt something big
was going to happen and, unfortunately it did. He connected the
money, the rumors, the engineer, and Indonesia. There are known Al
Queda cells operating there. The country is in political turmoil.
Throw in the Timorese separatists and some religious extremists and
you've got a tinder box ready to be set on fire."
"Any word on Webb's condition?"
"He's out of surgery and in ICU right now. But that's just a
precaution according to the physician I spoke to. He will be moved
out to a regular room this morning.
"When does Colonel McKenzie and company get there?"
"They should be landing in about three hours. I was going to call
Ramon on the satellite phone and see what they were able to come up
with."
"Come into my office and make the call, I want to listen in on this."
"Yes, Sir."
Pacific Ocean
Three Hours from Jakarta
We were discussing the information from Webb's laptop when I heard a
phone ring. "Ramon, you're getting a phone call." I know phones
aren't supposed to be on during a flight, but it seems my special
circumstances were continuing.
"It's the satellite phone. Hello. Hi Bud. Here she is now. For you
Sarah."
"Bud, it's got to be early there what are you doing?"
"The Admiral and I were discussing the Webb's information. This is
what we came up with." He outlined his conclusions.
Bud and the Admiral more or less came up with the same conclusions
that we had. The only thing we had to add was significance of the
location of the bombing. If they had wanted to injure more
American's they should have bombed a location on Sulawesi. The
island was a scuba divers paradise. It was height dive season when
the bombing occurred and it would have been easier to place the bomb
there and cause a greater loss of life. Clay apparently had been
able to figure why they chose to bomb Jakarta, but not in time. We
hung up with them and continued to plan.
"So guys what do we do first?" I questioned both of them.
Jim was a good strategist. He had obviously been thinking a great
deal about this as I was sleeping. "Well, here's my list.
One: We get to Clay. We've got to find out what else he knows. He
didn't add much to his notes after he arrived in Jakarta. He more
than likely was ferreting out any contacts he could. He must have
felt desperate having a gut feeling that something was on the
horizon and not being able to put a finger on it.
Two: We set up a base of operations. Clay will have an idea where
to set up.
Three: Start re-interviewing his contacts.
Four: We have a contact there that NCIS has worked with before.
He's Javanese and speaks the local dialects. I think his help will
be invaluable."
Ramon spoke up. "I want to start looking at the money trail. The
Golden Rule in investigations of this type is: follow the money.
I'm going to get the equipment set up and work with Bud and look at
these transactions. We may just get lucky."
"Well, I guess that leave me to start looking to see if any of the
dead or injured could have been specifically targeted. And I guess
I should liaise with the other government's agencies, including the
Indonesian, which are investigating on their own. I'm just afraid
with all the agencies investigation that the culprits are going to
go to ground. Clay's contacts will hopefully give us a head start.
I'm just worried that his injuries will interfere with how effective
he will be. But he is as stubborn as I am so that may not be a
problem."
"Ramon, I've got a question. How did you guys get the information
out of Clay's laptop? He must have had it password protected."
He got a huge smile on his face. "It was relatively easy. I was in
on the second try."
"Second try. I knew you were a hacker but that seems unlikely."
"No it doesn't. It helps if you know the owner. I should have tried
the second one first, but it seemed too obvious."
"What was the password, if it was that obvious?"
He simply said, "Sarah."
It seems that I had several clues regarding Clay's feelings for me.
The password was obvious, but Ramon figuring it out so easily was
the surprise. He sat there with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face
and waggled his brows at me. Jim just sat there and smiled.
I settled back in my seat and thought about Clay for a while. I
didn't want to express how worried I was about him. My fears were
disproportionate to what a friend should be. I remembered the way I
felt after my conversation with Harm. I was relieved that we had
come to the conclusion that `we' were never to be. Then I didn't
know why I felt such relief. Now I do. Clay and I had been
growing closer over the last few months. I think the only two
things that were preventing us from taking that final step past
friendship was Harm, and the unfortunate fact that he was in a
different country. With Harm out of the equation I believe that
once he had come home we would have taken that final step. Now the
situation and location were different, but I wasn't going to wait.
If Clay was ready, so was I. I just hope I'm reading things correctly.
The rest of the flight was spent in discussing more details and
bouncing various theories off of each other. Jim held my hand when
we landed. Poor man. We were met my their Indonesian contact,
Robert Bitang. He seemed nice enough. At this point I just wanted
to see Clay.
It took almost an hour to get to the hospital. Traffic in Jakarta is
horrendous. The hospital was near the American Embassy. Which was
convenient.
When we entered the hospital armed guards immediately stopped us.
We showed our identification and were told that we were expected.
After inquiring about Clay's room number we immediately set out for
the room. There were two Marines outside his door. Which comforted
me. Rather than go to the room first I stopped at the nurse's
station as asked if Clay's doctor was available. I was told that he
was in another patient's room and would be available shortly.
Less than five minutes the doctor walked up. "Hello, I'm Dr.
Sukarno. I've been told that you are inquiring about Mr. Webb."
I didn't know how to introduce my self. His friend, his girlfriend?
I didn't have to worry. Ramon spoke up.
"Doctor this is Sarah McKenzie, Mr. Webb's fiancé. We are co-
workers that escorted her here. What can you tell us about his
condition?"
"Oh, I'm so glad that you are here. He called for Sarah several
times before he was put under anesthesia. He was determined to see
you miss. I want you to know that his condition is serious but not
life threatening. He has a concussion and various lacerations on
his left side. Only a few of which needed stitches. His major
injury is a left orbital fracture."
At our confused looks he went on to explain. "The orbit is the bone
that surrounds the eye. When the explosion occurred he was thrown
against the ground, unfortunately leading with his face. He was
shielded from most of the explosion by a car. His face is severely
bruised from the collision and the surgery to repair the fracture.
We used surgical wire and a small plate to do the repair. He will
be released tomorrow afternoon. I still want to watch him for
possible post-operative complications. He should recover rapidly.
But needs to protect his face and eye until the fracture heals.
"Thank you doctor. You have relieved me to no end. I have been
imagining the worst since I heard about his injury. I'll go in and
see him now." The doctor left and as I turned to go into the room I
suddenly remembered his mother. How did I forget her? "Jim we need to
contact Porter Webb. I don't know if she has even been told that
he's been injured."
"Don't worry Sarah. We'll find out and if she doesn't know we'll
get Bud or the Admiral to inform her."
"Thanks guys, I'm glad you're here."
"So are we. Get in there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jim, I think we are seeing the blossoming of a beautiful romance.
I've been listening to him talk about her for the last several
years. That woman has the look of someone in love. I know he loves
her. I feel like a successful matchmaker. Do you feel like Cupid?"
"You have been reading Marita's romance books again, haven't you?"
"You don't know what you're missing man. I learn a great deal about
how to keep romance in our lives by reading them. They're well
written and the authors do a great deal of research. Sometimes we
read them to each other. That leads to some very interesting
interaction."
"Too much information. Let's go check in with Bud."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I slowly walked into Clay's room. I'm glad the doctor prepared me
regarding his appearance. The gasp was out of my mouth before I
could control it. The left side of his face seemed to be one
continuous bruise. His eye was swollen shut. I approached the
right side of his bed tentatively. I didn't want to disturb his
rest. But I couldn't resist sweeping his bangs back off his
forehead. I also couldn't resist leaning over and kissing him gently on
the mouth.
He began to stir then opened his right eye. I spoke softly, "Hello,
Sleeping Beauty." The tremor in my voice surprised me.
He focused on my face then said, "If I'm Sleeping Beauty, you must
be Princess Charming."
"If you want," I said with a broad smile.
"Oh, I want beautiful, I want."
How he managed to smile with his damaged face I'll never know. But
it was the most beautiful smile that I've ever seen.
"Can I have another kiss now that I'm awake to appreciate it?"
"I think that can be arranged." I leaned over and gave him another
kiss. This one wasn't gentle. His tongue swept my lips to beg
entrance, which I granted. It sizzled all the way down to my toes.
His arm reached up and snaked around my neck and pulled me closer.
The man definitely knew how to kiss. I returned as good as I got.
We hugged and touched each other and continued to kiss until we
heard a small cough behind us. Mysteriously between the kissing and
hugging I had laid down beside Clay on the bed.
"You two need to get a room, you're going to frighten the staff."
I blushed and tried to get up. But Clay held me tight to his side.
"What are the two of you doing here? You're a bit off your
regularly beaten path aren't you." He said with his patented smirk.
Jim spoke up. "Hey it wasn't our idea. We just came along for the
ride. The brass wants whoever did this caught and figured that we
could help the two of you out. Don't worry you won't be able to hog
all the glory. Rabb is on his way here now."
With this Clay managed to roll his one good eye. "I was feeling
very good until you mentioned that. When does he arrive? And
before he does, tie down any plane that you want kept in one piece."
"Hey, he has managed to keep quite a few planes in the air! We might
need those flying skills." I said mildly.
Clay looked at me with disbelief. "If you say so."
"Jim, Ramon, ah, could you give Clay and I a few more minutes?"
They nodded and left the room.
Clay immediately tightened the grip that he had never
removed. "Sarah, I need to know something before we go any
further. Does that kiss mean what I hope it means. I've felt a
change in our relationship over the last few months, and your
greeting was more than I had ever anticipated."
"Oh, it does. You're right things have changed. I want to continue
our greeting in much more detail very soon, but we've got to finish
what we've all come here to do. And I don't think you're up to much
right now." At this he looked down his body, then back at me.
There was an evil grin on his face.
"I don't know about that, I seem to be up very nicely. But you're
right we've got a lot to plan. But we are going to have some
quality time together as soon as this is over. Go ahead and call
Mutt and Jeff in here. The sooner we start the sooner we can further
this relationship."
I disentangled myself from his arm. It was difficult to leave his
embrace. It had felt like home. I had planned on comforting him.
But being in his arms brought me peace. I think we have started a
journey that will last a long time. I turned and gave him a smile as
I opened the door to call our partners in crime into the room.
TBC.
I'm sorry but that was as much contact he was really up to. Any
more and he might have popped his stitches!