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Chapter 6:
Parallax
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"When able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."
--Sun Tzu, The Art of War (fl. 400-320 BC)
~*~*~*~
2315 Zulu
18 November 2003
Leticia, Colombia
Harm sauntered into their temporary quarters and set his bag down. "Honey, I'm home," he called, smirking.
Beth came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Honestly, David, do you *have* to be so corny?" she rolled her eyes.
Harm winked and moved further in the house. "Me, corny? Surely you jest, Lynn." He leaned in and made a show of kissing her.
Beth reached for his hand as the kiss ended and they walked into the kitchen. She turned on the water, handed him a potato, and picked up another to scrub. "Find anything out, sailor?"
Harm shook his head. "They're still being cautious. I guess we burned him badly enough last time that he's being more thorough than ever before."
Beth wiped her mouth on her t-shirt. "No offense, but why'd you have to kiss me? I know we're supposed to use our cover names, but..."
Harm grinned. "I guess I forgot to tell you--the foyer is bugged; video and sound. I talked to Jack as soon as I found them, and he says that it's better to leave them there so that they don't know that we're on to them."
Beth groaned. "Remind me to never end up playing a live-in girlfriend again. Mac can do it after we get you two together."
Harm's entire body stiffened. "Who says *that'll* ever happen," he muttered.
Beth flicked water at him and grinned. "*I* do. Remember, Harm, you *promised* me that you'd talk to her when we get back, and I've got a feeling that she didn't mean what she said back in Paraguay."
Harm concentrated on getting every speck of dirt off of the potato as if his life depended on it. "I'll believe that if I can ever convince her to marry me," he grumbled. "And that's as likely to happen as Mac actually *enjoying* a ride in a Tomcat."
Beth leaned against the sink and looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" she asked.
A tiny smile flitted over Harm's face. "The one and only time she rode in one, she got sick."
"Couldn't take the Gs?"
"Yeah."
"The two of you are gonna have some interesting kids; they'll either be natural pilots, or they'll get seasickness every time they step on a ship."
"Hey!" Harm protested. "She's not *that* bad; I've never once seen Mac get seasick."
Beth poked him in the side and grinned. "See? You still love her, and I'm betting that she loves you back. If she's held on this long, those feelings aren't gonna disappear overnight."
"Thanks," he said. "I think we need to go put on another show for our suspicious quarry."
"Well, *David*, I think that we'd better cook dinner first."
"Yes, honey." Harm answered, rolling his eyes.
"We're supposed to meet up with our backup tomorrow at the safe house," she reminded him.
A smirk crossed his face. "Sounds like fun," he said. "We can help Jack give Webb a hard time again."
"Never was there one so deserving," she said with a wink. "One of these days, I'll have to get my girlfriend to paint a target on his back--she's an artist, so I'm sure she'll oblige."
Harm snickered. "I'd pay to see *that*"
Beth grinned. "Wait 'til it gets warmer... My apartment complex has a pool, and I'm sure we can convince Webb to come for a party and fall asleep by it... You can bring Mac with to watch."
"I look forward to it."
"You'd better. C'mon sailor, we've got dinner to cook." With that, Beth turned toward her pile of vegetables and started chopping.
Harm finished washing the rest of the vegetables and turned off the water. Perhaps Beth was right; perhaps Mac hadn't meant it. Perhaps Mac still cared and he actually had a chance. He grabbed a frying pan, put it on the heat, and splashed a bit of oil into it.
It was as if Beth had showed him that he still had a chance for his dreams. He still had time to gain what had become his greatest desire over the last few years; a family with Sarah as his wife and the mother of his children. Thanks to Beth, he had more hope than he had thought he would ever have again that he could make things work between himself and the woman he loved.
Their deal would be coming due soon, and perhaps he could convince her to both love and marry him to complete it. The baby part could come afterwards, but he wanted more than just a baby with her; Harm wanted Sarah to be his home, his wife, his everything. Despite everything, it was what he'd wanted the most for years--he just had been too afraid, and he also hadn't quite figured out how to go about it. His feelings for her were deeper than the feelings he'd had for anyone else, including Diane. If he lost her, he didn't know how he'd manage to survive. If Beth was right, then he'd be able to obtain his greatest wish...
~*~*~*~
0130 Zulu
18 November 2003
Undisclosed Location
Jack read the final page of the report, then threw it in the fire. "Analysis, Webb?"
"Rabb and O'Neil will be able to take out Sadik soon, because the SOB is buying the cover story," Webb replied, leaning back against the plain, wooden wall.
Jack rested his elbows on his thighs and leaned forward, his blue eyes staring into the fire. "Very good, kid. Now, what would be their best course of action?"
Webb rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Stay put, do nothing suspicious, raise no questions."
Jack shifted his weight in his chair. "And should Rabb kill someone on the suspicion that he's ratting him out?"
Webb sighed. "No. A spy you know is always better than a spy you don't know."
Jack grinned and mockingly handed Webb a chocolate bar. "You're learning, kid. Now if you can just remember to keep backup on hand, and to stick with simple lies seeded with truth that are easy to prove, you might survive to make some little Webbs for the Company to turn into better spies."
Webb groaned and rolled his eyes in disgust. "What did I ever do to get a babysitter like *him*?" he mumbled.
Jack simply grinned and leaned back in his chair. "You messed up one too many times, so they had to call me in kid, because they didn't want to tell your mother that her only son had managed to get dead."
"I know, I know," he said.
"You'd better, kiddo. You're going to learn your lessons *right* this time and you're not gonna screw up as badly as you have in the past." Jack glanced at him and grinned. "So what did your messages from the office say?"
"Mac wants to talk to me again," Webb said with a groan.
"And what did you tell her?" Jack prodded.
"That I wanted to be friends, and of course I'd give her any news of Harm that wasn't classified."
"Good boy." Jack put his feet up on a low stool. "You shouldn't be playing on a girl's sympathies to get a date, kiddo. Especially when you know that a friend of yours is in love with her."
"Yes, sir," he said. "It won't happen again."
"It had better not. You lose control, you die. It's about time you learned that, kid. If you have a relationship, keep it out of this business as much as you can; distractions will also get you killed." Jack stood up, stretched, and put his hand on Webb's shoulder. "Find yourself a nice girl who's in a profession like teaching or something and settle down in the suburbs somewhere."
"It didn't work for you, *Jack*."
"No, it didn't, because I let the job get in the way of what was really important. I still regret that. But at least I had the sense not to go after a girl who had the skills to come after me and kick my ass if I pissed her off." Jack walked over, leaned against the mantle, and stared into the fire. "I didn't try and throw a wrench into it when probably the two best friends I've got are finally getting around to admitting that they've been in love for years, either."
"I've been attracted to her for years," Webb murmured. "I'd have to be dead not to be--and I'm not sure why I did it."
"Figure it out. I saw the pictures in his apartment, and I'm surprised that she doesn't know; he loves her." Jack walked over and flopped back on his chair. "That man would do *anything* for her. Hell, I think he'd walk on water or drown trying."
Webb chuckled sadly. "He almost did, once."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"Well, a few years back, she was engaged to this Australian sailor." A smile flitted across his face. "Mic Brumby was a Harmon Rabb-substitute if I ever did see one, and an inferior one at that." Webb went on to tell the story, and Jack listened with one ear as he tried to figure out how he would ever manage to get Webb up to snuff. He was just getting too old for this kind of shit.
It was long past time he took up a training position at Langley, Parris Island, West Point, or even at the Naval Academy. He'd heard of positions opening up in all of them, and he was ready to take one. With his long and distinguished record, one of them would take him, and then maybe he could get down to the business of getting to know his son. He'd started in the military, after all, and had only resigned his commission to join the NIA.
Perhaps there was even hope that he could try and patch things up with his ex-wife now that his career wouldn't be a problem. After all, they'd stayed in touch, and he still loved her. Stranger things had happened, that was for sure.
~*~*~*~
0700 Zulu
6 December 2003
Leticia, Colombia
Harm leaned back against the bed and turned another page absently. He'd hoped to be back in Washington by now, but the operation had stretched on and on without signs of ending. Just when they thought that Sadik trusted them, he always started to back off, forcing them to revise their plans. He supposed he shouldn't be so impatient with it, because these types of deep cover operations could go on for years but damnit, he wanted to go home.
Beth had been pushing him towards talking to Mac for weeks, and it was high time he did it. If he couldn't have anything more, he at least wanted her friendship. There was a Mac-shaped hole in him that needed to be filled. The months away from her had only proven to him, once more, how much he needed her in his life. Working for the CIA wasn't *that* bad, but at the same time, he hated it because Mac wasn't there.
With a sigh of disgust he threw the paperback down on his bed; he hadn't really been reading it, anyway. Maybe he should've returned her calls. Paraguay hadn't entirely been her fault, he had contributed to the demise of their relationship, too. He just hoped that Mac would assist him in the resurrection process, and he had a feeling that it would require lots of groveling on his part. At least, that was the way it had worked in his last relationship.
Harm laid his head against the wall and closed his eyes. It had been a long week, and he was tired. He smiled as images of Mac began to parade around his eyelids. Perhaps soon he'd have a chance to tell her the truth, marry her, and find out where the infamous tattoo was located. He'd had several fantasies over the years of playing find-the-artwork on her... with a quiet sigh, he started to drift to sleep.
As soon as Harm's breathing evened out, three men in form-fitting, charcoal-gray outfits slipped out of the closet and walked soundlessly up to the bed. One pulled out a soft white cloth and a vial and dumped the substance on it. He pocketed the vial and held the cloth over Harm's mouth and nose. The other two men began meticulously searching the room, leaving destruction behind them. When Harm's breathing finally deepened, the first man gestured to the other two. Silently, they picked up the package they had come after, walked out the door, and vanished into the night.
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