PART 2
0830; 1 November 2003 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VA
Mac knocked twice on the Admiral's door. As soon as she'd gotten in, Coates had ran up to her to tell her the Admiral wanted to see her ASAP, as in before she had even gotten to set her stuff down. So, she left all her belongings in the chair beside his door.
"Enter." AJ ran his hand over his head.
Mac came to stand at attention in front of his desk. She popped her salute. "Sir, Colonel Mackenzie reports as ordered."
AJ returned the salute half-heartedly. "At ease. You may have a seat, Colonel." His voice sounded worn, which put her on alert. "Colonel Mackenzie, this is General John Jumper. He's the Air Force's Chief of Staff."
Mac made a move to stand again, but he waved it off. She nodded and settled in her chair once more. "Nice to meet you, sir."
"Likewise, Colonel. I've heard a lot about you." He smiled faintly at the look that passed across her face. "Don't worry, Colonel. They were only good things."
Mac nodded slightly and looked to the Admiral. "Sir?"
"Colonel, the General has come to ask for your assistance in a sensitive matter."
Mac nodded once more and turned her attention back to General Jumper.
"For the past six months, we've had Top Secret files stored in a vault at Kefluvik Airport near Reykjavik, Iceland. To open the vault, you need keys and the combination. In an effort to keep the files safe, the keys were guarded at Buckley Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado which the combination was guarded at Andersen Air Force Base in Agana, Guam. And as you're aware of, enlistment is down and with the war, our forces are stretched thin. So, we've only been able to have a few people on guard." He watched as all the information sunk in before continuing."
"Last night, all of the bases were infiltrated. All the men that were on guard were killed and the files are now gone. Each of the attacks occurred within five minutes of each other." He paced slightly. "Meaning that, there are at least three people involved in this. And we're almost positive that it was an inside job. There are very few people that knew the locations of the three items or that they even existed at all. Not to mention, you can't just walk onto a military base, you must have some familiarity to be able to get inside undetected."
Mac nodded as she studied the file in her lap. "I'm very sorry for your losses. But with all due respect sir, where do I fit in with all of this?"
"For one, the files are of a sensitive matter. Many of our enemies would pay top-dollar for the contents. We'd use one of our own, but as I said, we're almost certain that it was an inside job. And we need someone that we can trust. Secondly, this will, in all likelihood be quite dangerous. You come highly recommended by our contacts in the CIA. And lastly, you're an expert marksman, which is definitely an asset."
"Colonel, you're in no way required to do this." AJ interjected. "Especially after what you went through in Paraguay, no one would blame you. Not to mention, that I don't really need anyone else resigning to come after you."
If he wasn't her commanding officer, she'd have knocked him right out of his chair, but she simply took a deep breath and nodded. "Things are slow enough that Commander Sturgis and Lieutenant Roberts could handle things here without me, correct sir?"
He nodded slowly. "That is correct, Colonel."
Mac turned to General Jumper. "Where do you need me and when, sir?"
"Excellent, the Air Force gives you its thanks, Colonel."
"Sir, thank me when I retrieve the files."
"When, not if; I like your confidence. You fly out at 1320. General Coleman will meet you at Keflavik. That's the last place that was attacked and the last place the files were seen, so you can start there."
Mac nodded. "Yes, sir."
He handed her a ticket. "Good luck, Colonel." He turned to AJ. "And thanks for the loan, AJ. We owe you one." He turned and left the room, placing a call to General Coleman that help was on its way.
Mac stood and snapped to attention. "Will that be all, sir?"
AJ sighed. "Are you trying to prove something, Colonel?"
"No, sir. I'm just trying to do my job, sir." She answered, her eyes caged.
He nodded. "Then, good luck, Colonel. Take the rest of the morning off to get ready and come back soon." He returned her salute.
"Aye aye, sir." She did an about face and marched out of the room, collecting her things as she made her way out into the bullpen. She took a look in Harm's office and sighed softly. It was definitely weird to see Sturgis in there, but times changed and if you didn't change with them, you'd get left behind. She gathered a few things from her office before heading to her apartment. She gathered her stuff, making sure she had the warmest of her uniform coats and before she knew it, it was time to go to the airport.
She grabbed her cell phone just as her taxi showed up. She didn't want to risk leaving her car in a parking lot nor did she want to pay the bill, especially when she didn't know when she'd be home. She pushed the first speed dial and waited impatiently as it continued to do nothing but ring. Finally, his voice mail picked up causing her heart to sink slightly. She shook herself, hoping her voice was steady. "Hey, well.I just wanted to let you know that I'm on my way out of town. I'm not quite sure when I'll be back, but I'd really like to talk to you when I get home. I've been thinking about what I said a lot and, well, if you still want to have that talk that we tabled, I'm all for it. I hope you're okay. I'll assume that no news is good news, but.just call me soon." She sighed softly and hung up as she walked onto the waiting plane.
TBC ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
0830; 1 November 2003 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VA
Mac knocked twice on the Admiral's door. As soon as she'd gotten in, Coates had ran up to her to tell her the Admiral wanted to see her ASAP, as in before she had even gotten to set her stuff down. So, she left all her belongings in the chair beside his door.
"Enter." AJ ran his hand over his head.
Mac came to stand at attention in front of his desk. She popped her salute. "Sir, Colonel Mackenzie reports as ordered."
AJ returned the salute half-heartedly. "At ease. You may have a seat, Colonel." His voice sounded worn, which put her on alert. "Colonel Mackenzie, this is General John Jumper. He's the Air Force's Chief of Staff."
Mac made a move to stand again, but he waved it off. She nodded and settled in her chair once more. "Nice to meet you, sir."
"Likewise, Colonel. I've heard a lot about you." He smiled faintly at the look that passed across her face. "Don't worry, Colonel. They were only good things."
Mac nodded slightly and looked to the Admiral. "Sir?"
"Colonel, the General has come to ask for your assistance in a sensitive matter."
Mac nodded once more and turned her attention back to General Jumper.
"For the past six months, we've had Top Secret files stored in a vault at Kefluvik Airport near Reykjavik, Iceland. To open the vault, you need keys and the combination. In an effort to keep the files safe, the keys were guarded at Buckley Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado which the combination was guarded at Andersen Air Force Base in Agana, Guam. And as you're aware of, enlistment is down and with the war, our forces are stretched thin. So, we've only been able to have a few people on guard." He watched as all the information sunk in before continuing."
"Last night, all of the bases were infiltrated. All the men that were on guard were killed and the files are now gone. Each of the attacks occurred within five minutes of each other." He paced slightly. "Meaning that, there are at least three people involved in this. And we're almost positive that it was an inside job. There are very few people that knew the locations of the three items or that they even existed at all. Not to mention, you can't just walk onto a military base, you must have some familiarity to be able to get inside undetected."
Mac nodded as she studied the file in her lap. "I'm very sorry for your losses. But with all due respect sir, where do I fit in with all of this?"
"For one, the files are of a sensitive matter. Many of our enemies would pay top-dollar for the contents. We'd use one of our own, but as I said, we're almost certain that it was an inside job. And we need someone that we can trust. Secondly, this will, in all likelihood be quite dangerous. You come highly recommended by our contacts in the CIA. And lastly, you're an expert marksman, which is definitely an asset."
"Colonel, you're in no way required to do this." AJ interjected. "Especially after what you went through in Paraguay, no one would blame you. Not to mention, that I don't really need anyone else resigning to come after you."
If he wasn't her commanding officer, she'd have knocked him right out of his chair, but she simply took a deep breath and nodded. "Things are slow enough that Commander Sturgis and Lieutenant Roberts could handle things here without me, correct sir?"
He nodded slowly. "That is correct, Colonel."
Mac turned to General Jumper. "Where do you need me and when, sir?"
"Excellent, the Air Force gives you its thanks, Colonel."
"Sir, thank me when I retrieve the files."
"When, not if; I like your confidence. You fly out at 1320. General Coleman will meet you at Keflavik. That's the last place that was attacked and the last place the files were seen, so you can start there."
Mac nodded. "Yes, sir."
He handed her a ticket. "Good luck, Colonel." He turned to AJ. "And thanks for the loan, AJ. We owe you one." He turned and left the room, placing a call to General Coleman that help was on its way.
Mac stood and snapped to attention. "Will that be all, sir?"
AJ sighed. "Are you trying to prove something, Colonel?"
"No, sir. I'm just trying to do my job, sir." She answered, her eyes caged.
He nodded. "Then, good luck, Colonel. Take the rest of the morning off to get ready and come back soon." He returned her salute.
"Aye aye, sir." She did an about face and marched out of the room, collecting her things as she made her way out into the bullpen. She took a look in Harm's office and sighed softly. It was definitely weird to see Sturgis in there, but times changed and if you didn't change with them, you'd get left behind. She gathered a few things from her office before heading to her apartment. She gathered her stuff, making sure she had the warmest of her uniform coats and before she knew it, it was time to go to the airport.
She grabbed her cell phone just as her taxi showed up. She didn't want to risk leaving her car in a parking lot nor did she want to pay the bill, especially when she didn't know when she'd be home. She pushed the first speed dial and waited impatiently as it continued to do nothing but ring. Finally, his voice mail picked up causing her heart to sink slightly. She shook herself, hoping her voice was steady. "Hey, well.I just wanted to let you know that I'm on my way out of town. I'm not quite sure when I'll be back, but I'd really like to talk to you when I get home. I've been thinking about what I said a lot and, well, if you still want to have that talk that we tabled, I'm all for it. I hope you're okay. I'll assume that no news is good news, but.just call me soon." She sighed softly and hung up as she walked onto the waiting plane.
TBC ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~