Before Chapter III, a jag fanfic

The sun's light is lessening as we head to find a place to eat. We stumble across a small restaurant in the center of town. We haven't stopped to change, and get a few looks from civilians on the street and even the waiter. The stone building has a rustic quality about it, and there are several café tables outside. Inside, it's dimly lit, and the table we're seated at is adorned with a bouquet of lavender.

After getting our meals, Harm is the first to speak, "You think maybe, behind closed doors, Harper and Larson…"

"Their friends seem pretty certain nothing was going on, Harm."

"Let's just speculate, maybe Larson got a bit obsessive about their relationship, and came back to start something with her. She's the one to reject this time, and he gets angry…"

I pull a bit at my top, "We have lots of angles that we haven't explored yet, it's a bit early for speculation. Like Rossi's family, the bar that Larson went to…we just started the investigation, any number of things could have occurred. Besides, Larson doesn't seem like the type to lose his temper over something so trivial."

"A relationship with a women, especially one you know for a while isn't trivial, Mac," Harm is thoroughly enjoying his lasagna, not seeing my reaction to his comment. It's most certainly better than our meal on the flight, "We need to find out how Rossi is involved."

"After reading his report, he seemed to be a bit sketchy," I take a sip out of my glass of water, "the CIA broke up a drug smuggling ring in which Rossi was involved in several years ago that had made its way to America. He was acquitted, seems dad came to the rescue."

Harm catches my gaze, and I suddenly feel uncomfortable. It's been happening a lot lately, and I wish it would stop, "What?"

"The CIA caught him…"

"So?" I ask, annoyed. If he's going to talk about Webb again, I'm leaving.

He looks back down again, "Nothing."

After a moment of smug satisfaction, I become disappointed that he's dropped the subject. Maybe I do want to talk…I just don't know what about. It seems work at JAG dominates my life; in my conversations, during my time, it's always there. Is this all I'll ever have? Will the most important thing in my life be my career? I realize at the moment, it is my highest priority, and the thought makes me incredibly sad.

"Why don't we walk back to the hotel? It's only a few blocks from here…I think," Harm grins as he puts a bit of money on the table as a tip, "the streets here are crazy."

"Don't worry," I try to withhold a smile but fail miserably, "I, unlike you, ask for directions when I'm lost. Why is it that all men do that, to protect their pride?"

"Hey, I ask all the time," he gets up and dusts off his jacket, "It's not like I have any pride left to lose anyway."

We make our way outside and I feel it's time to question that comment, "You have lots to be proud of."

The light-hearted mood has disappeared, "Like what?" Harm replies bitterly as he stuffs his hands in his pockets after placing his cover on his head.

"You've helped raise Mattie, Harm. It's the best thing you've ever done. You helped her get her life back on track, and for that, she'll be eternally grateful. Let's not forget you're distinguished career," I swear that he's rolling his eyes at the comment, "What?"

He gives a snort, "Mattie, maybe I'll give that to you, but my career? It's been nothing but smooth the past year. The Admiral's been hounding my six ever since I came back…and let's not forget the unique smell that graced my 'office' upon my return."

I don't know what that rancid smell has to do with his pride but I don't say anything, "And you have friends who care…" That sounds feeble to even me.

He stops and tilts his head, once again putting me on the spot with his stare, "Do you care about me?" He doesn't say it to spite me, he's actually questioning our relationship.

I feel like I've been bludgeoned in the stomach with a sledgehammer, he really doubts my feelings toward him. I suppose it's his prerogative, I wasn't acting like his friend when he came back, "Of course I do…" Great job, I chastise myself, you sounded so certain when you said that, hell, I'm sure he'll just give you a great big hug right now.

Harm looks away and squints as he looks over the water into to sun setting, "Thanks Mac…it means a lot to me."

I don't deserve that comment. As I scrutinize him, I can't help but feel the ghosts of emotions that were there in Australia, on the Admiral's porch, and countless other times I've been dangerously close to this man. After a moment, I decide the feelings are much more evident than 'ghosts'.

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0143 ZULU

I am jarred awake as I hear an urgent string of thuds against my door. I turn on my bedside lamp, and as I do this, I'm less than half-awake; I stumble groggily to the noise. My flannel shorts somehow manage to get caught on the knob on the side table as I make my way to the door, and I curse silently. After my epic journey from my bed, I open the door, and give an animated yawn when I see Harm there, the theatrical stretching of my arms and all.

He shushes me quickly and slips inside the door, "What took you so long?"

"Harm, it's not even 0200…" I trail off but close my mouth when I see the look in his eyes. They are alert with excitement, "Something wrong?"

He gently closes the door behind him and makes his way to my bed and sits down without hesitation, "I just got a call from someone who knows about the case. He said he would help us with find out about Rossi."

I put my arms on my hips, "Who is 'he'?"

Harm arches his eyebrow, "All I know is that we're to meet him 1100 tomorrow, same restaurant as today."

"You're going, aren't you," I ask, knowing the answer before the words are out of my mouth. He nods with a sly smile. I give a sigh, "Alright, I suppose we could go to Larson before then and make our way there after…"

"Great, it's settled then," he's about to leave and pauses at the door, poking his head in, "I'm sorry that I interrupted your beauty sleep."

I don't know what comes over me when I say, "Just be glad I wasn't doing anything else." My cheeks flush when I realize what I've said, and I quickly try to correct my error when I see his mouth twitch, "Harm…yellow light."

He opens his mouth to make a make a witty retort when I close the door, smiling all the way back to my bed.

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0943 ZULU

When we enter Larson's cell for a second time, we're greeted by a man who looks much sorrier than the one we saw the day before. His uniform is even more wrinkled, and his eyes are red and look extremely sore.

"Ma'am, Sir?" his knuckles become white as he grips the bars, "They were interviewing me all night…I'm sorry, I didn't get much sleep…"

"Don't worry Petty Officer, just cooperate with us, and we may have you out of here soon."

"I'll do everything I can, Ma'am," he says with a nod.

I sit with him at the desk and begin our meeting, "I spoke with some of you shipmates yesterday. They really care about you." I'm doing everything I can to get this man's spirit up before I ask him a very personal question.

"They're good friends," he rubs his face with his hands. His voice is raspy and dry.

Harm clears his throat, "They told me about you and Lisa. Yesterday, you said you were friends. Some of your colleagues seem to think there was…a bit more between you?"

Larson doesn't look at me. His body starts to shudder from suppressed sobs, I really didn't expect such a reaction so early in the meeting, "Some of the officers, last night, they showed me pictures of Lisa's body, seeing it once was enough."

I give him a moment but gently press on, "Did you love her, Petty Officer?"

Quite forcefully, Larson takes in a breath of air, "I did, Ma'am."

"I'm sorry about…" I look down, "I can't imagine how it would feel."

"You know what the worst part is? I never told her…anything…we knew each other for years, and I didn't tell her how I felt. Maybe it could have turned out differently or…I don't know," he closes his eyes, "and when I saw her on the floor, her eyes open and vacant like that, I just panicked."

"We heard about the argument you two had several weeks ago. Petty Officer, you do understand that you are a prime suspect in this case not only because you left the crime scene but because of your personal relationship with the victim," Harm states, more than asks.

"I'd never, ever hurt Lisa," Larson whispers.

Harm and I study the man before for some time before going on, "I'm sorry for such a brief visit, but the Commander and I are running a bit of a right schedule today. Do you have anything else to tell us, Petty Officer?"

"Nothing I can think of, Ma'am," Larson says, getting up from his seat and futilely attempting at composing himself.

When we step out of the jail, Harm's cell phone rings, it's noisy ring catching the attention of some people on the street. He hastily grabs it out of his jacket and answers, "Rabb…Lieutenant? Yes, Colonel Mackenzie and I are here right now…well, we can only make it after 1200…see you there."

"De Luca?" I ask.

"Seems they found a little something about Harper that we were failed to be informed about…"

I look at him quizzically.

"They found heroine in behind her locker in her quarters, hidden, Fawkes claims to know nothing about it. Harper did drugs."

My eyes widen, "We'll have another chat with Larson tonight."

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1102 ZULU

Harm leads the way into the restaurant, which is now filled with the smoke of cigarettes. My tongue tastes like ash, I can't stand second hand smoke, and I'm glad Harm quit all those years ago. The waiter leads us to a table where a man with slick brown hair, and a thin figure is slowly munching food. He's the only one on this side of the establishment.

We stand beside the table and without looking up, he speaks, "Commander Rabb?" He stands and greets Harm with a handshake. He has a western accent, he's definitely not Italian.

He turns to me, "Colonel Mackenzie, I…" in one delicate swoop my hand is in his, and he gently brushes his lips against my knuckles. How cliché, I resist the urge to roll my eyes and force a smile. The man smells of cheap cologne and liquor, "Agent Jacob Freeman, CIA, I'm here to deliver a bit of news to you."

CIA? I can just picture the little hamster wheels in Harm's head turning at this, "How do you know about the case?"

Freeman gestures to the seats in front of him and smiles graciously, "Well, I'm not supposed to be leaking things around, but Clay told me about your case, asked me to lend a hand, and here I am."

The hamster wheel is turning at Mach 3 now. I open my mouth but Harm gets there before me, "Webb sent you?"

Freeman eyes me with a smirk, "Told me to help out Colonel Mackenzie. You and Webb, huh? Never thought the guy would find someone so…someone like you."

"Excuse me?" I glare at him.

"Well, you are his…lady-friend, right?" Freeman says obnoxiously between mouthfuls of pasta.

I don't know whether to be thankful or surprised when Harm steers the conversation onto a different path, "What do you have to tell us?"

"We need to be somewhere else soon, could you hurry it up?" I add.

Freeman grins, little bits of food are stuck between his teeth, "Well, as you know, the CIA broke up one of Rossi's older drug chains when he went international. Seems like the old boy went at it again a few months ago, this time, he was supplying it much more secretively, managing to get the stuff into the USA in small quotas and all around Europe. It's been a bit disruptive, so we've been trying for months to find the source."

He concentrates on his food and doesn't speak for a while. A gentle munching can be heard as he mashes a pepper between his teeth. I'm getting a bit frustrated, "And…what?"

He looks up again and glances at Harm, "Is she always like this, Commander?"

"Only when she's aggravated," Harm grins, "so, yes."

I open my mouth to protest but Freeman continues, "Have you heard from De Luca? Harper was addicted. Guess who she was getting drugs from at port in Italy?"

"Rossi…"

Freeman chuckles, "Bingo. She was involved with Rossi's business partners throughout every port the Iowa landed on, when she could get her hands on the drugs. They knew each other prior to her death, she was meeting him…"

"Drug money?"

"Maybe, we won't know for sure until you JAG lawyers do your jobs, will we."

"Mac, we should be heading out," Harm glances at his watch.

I nod, and as expected, Freeman has something else to say, "Mac? I thought you were Sarah."

"I'm both," I'm grinding my teeth together as we leave. I don't know why this man is making me so irritated, he hasn't said anything overly offensive, he's just teasing a bit. A small part of me knows it's because he knows Clay.

"Thanks for your help Agent Freeman," Harm says as we head out the door. Freeman follows behind and hitches up the collar of his shirt.

"No problem Commander. And 'Mac' was it? If you and Clay ever…you know, don't work out, give me a call? I hope you find the guy, Commander," he says, teeth flashing.

Before I can reply, he's turns around and leaves. I fix my attention on Harm, " 'Only when she's aggravated'?" I ask.

"Come on, Mac, I was just joking around. Anyway, I guess having Webb real close to you has its perks," Harm grins, "We know why Rossi and Harper were together now, don't we. I told De Luca we'd meet him at the morgue."

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1452 ZULU

"There seems to be quite a bit of injury to the cartilage within the nose," Doctor Costa says quietly, "It's a sign that shows she was most positively an ongoing drug user. Do you wish to see the body?"

"It's quite alright doctor, I think if the Colonel and I can work with specifics." As Harm says this, I shake my head a bit too much.

The office's cold, sterile walls shine from the light cast off by the lamp on Costa's desk. The Doctor makes his way to the trash bin beside the door leading into the room where Harper's body is housed, and takes off his gloves. I can see traces of dried blood and God-knows-what on them.

Costa smiles, "Don't like the dead, Colonel?"

"I try to avoid them," I says casually, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Is there anything else you discovered about the body?" Harm asks.

Costa looks at the cement flooring, his mouth creases into a thin line, "I redid a thorough look-over of the body. There was nothing other than the damage to the nose cartilage that wasn't discovered before. I'm sorry I didn't find this information the first time-"

Harm interrupts, "It's alright doctor, I'm just glad we caught it now."

As we're about to leave, Costa looks up quite suddenly, "The girl, she must have gone through a lot of pain in her last moments. It's a horrible way to die…find out who did this."

"Will do, doctor," I say, straining to keep the doubt out of my voice.

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1529 ZULU

"Did you know of Harper's drug addiction?" I say, separating each word, the anger is evident in my voice. I don't know why I'm getting so upset by Larson's lack of cooperation, I know I should give a bit of leeway since he suffered so much, but I can't stop myself.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," Larson whispers as he looks away. This is the fourth time he's said that, but I'm not buying it.

Harm, who was out until this point talking on his cell, re-enters the jail room. His shoulders are slumped, and he has a grim look on his face, "You're lying Larson. I just talked to the owner of the bar you visited the night of Harper's death. Said he overheard you," Harm pulls up the chair that's been on the side of the room until this point, "you apparently said, something about trying to get her off the stuff. Could 'her' be Harper?"

Larson runs his fingers through his hair hastily, "Sir, Ma'am…I didn't mean to lie…"

"Well, you did Petty Officer, and if you don't tell us the whole story, and the whole story now, we can do nothing to prevent the Italian authorities from totally devouring you," I threaten.

"I had known for about two months," Larson takes a deep breath, "she kept her secret hidden pretty damn well, Ma'am. One day, we went to the gym together. She asked me to get her water bottle from her bag, and I guess she forgot to get the drugs out of the bag before I met her to work out that night. I found them, right there, staring me in the face. I confronted her, but she said it was none of my business."

"Did you tell her to stop?" Harm asks.

"Several times, I even said I'd report her to the skipper if she kept it up. It was for her own good. But she begged me, I couldn't end her Naval career. I kept quiet for a while, because she promised me she'd stop," he drums his fingers on the table again, the thudding noise echoing in the room, "but then, I came into her quarters when she didn't report for duty one day, she said she was sick. I saw her, snorting the stuff from her desk. That's what we fought about, three weeks ago, on deck. I told her I didn't want to see her hurt, because I cared. Somehow, the conversation mutated into my feelings about her and you know the rest."

My cell phone rings loudly, and I pick it up, excusing myself as I make my way outside the jail cell, and make sure I'm out of earshot, "Mackenzie."

"Hey, Sarah…or Mac," the voice on the other line is none other than the chauvinistic, but helpful bastard, Freeman, "thought you'd like to know that I found someone who may be of interest to you."

"Who?"

Freeman chuckles, "You aggravated again, Sarah?"

"Come on, I need to know what's going on here."

Freeman's voice loses its jovial quality, "We found out that after Harper's murder, Rossi made a call from a payphone right outside the warehouse she was murdered in. I have the man he made the call to..."

"So Harper and Rossi were not murdered at the same time…" I whisper.

Freeman sighs, "Not at the exact same time, no, according to our witness. Would you like to come over to the embassy and have a little chat with him?"

"In a few hours?"

"Sure thing, Sarah."

I head back to Harm to see him talking softly to Larson, who glances up at me as I enter the room. He looks back at Harm after a moment and whispers, "What now?"

"Do you know who killed Lisa Harper?" Harm asks.

"No, Sir," Larson gulps.

I just need to ask, "Why didn't you tell us about her drugs before?"

"Because…she's dead. I didn't want her memory to be tainted like that," Larson whispers, "I had no idea it would be imperative to the case. I'm so sorry."

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1605 ZULU

Henry Durcell is a mousy man with a large head and a small body. His hair sticks out at odd angles, and his tie has several yellow stains on it. He keeps on pulling at his jacket nervously and wipes sweat away from his forehead, despite the relatively cool weather.

"Did Mr. Rossi call you May thirteenth, Henry?" Harm queries, clicking at his ballpoint pen.

"No-uh, yes. He called, from the docks, he said he was at the docks," Durcell says with an anxious smile. I see he's missing two teeth, and has one gold one. It's quite revolting.

I am standing at the side of the small, dark room we're in, watching with interest at Harm's questioning tactics.

Harm smiles back, "Why did he call you? After all, you are a tourist."

"We met a-uh, while back. While back while he was travelling in America. We became friends, kept in touch…you know."

"Became business partners?" Durcell doesn't respond, "you know, Henry, we could keep you in here all day. If you fail to answer our questions, I will take you to court and put you as an accomplice to murder. Either that, or you face your obvious drug charges."

Harm's bluffing. He's just putting the word "murder" here and there to intimidate Durcell, he can't really charge him. Fortunately, Durcell doesn't seem that educated in law, and the ruse works.

"Alright! Ben…Benito, whatever. He said that he had hurt that girl, the-uh, the one on the news now. I asked him what he was talking about. He said, he said he was going to meet her, she owed him some money, you know? Ben said she paid him half the amount, but she added later, she wasn't going to come back. He misunderstood, he thought she was trying to weasel out of paying the money. He got angry," Durcell looks down at his hands.

"So angry that he stabbed her five times?" I ask.

Durcell shrugs, "Ben was an angry guy. He asked me what to do. I was real nervous, I just said 'do it like they do on the movies, get rid of the body'. So he hangs up to go do something with it, and I never hear from him again." He puts his hands out, as if admitting defeat.

Harm gets up and pats Henry on the back, "Good job, Henry. Jacob?" Freeman comes in from outside, he's been listening in the whole time, "Go get Henry a nice, clean jail cell."

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END CHAPTER III