School is out for the summer, and I've moved back home, so I'll now return you to your regular weekly posting schedule...
Chapter 10:
Worst Case Scenario
"When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly."
--Patrick Overton
2234 ZULU
26 DECEMBER 2003
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
COLOMBIA
Jack stared at the site through a set of high-powered binoculars, searching for any sign of Sadik. Beth was currently asleep in the camouflaged shelter behind him, and Webb couldn't seem to stop his incessant pacing long enough to do anything useful. "Stop it, Webb," he snapped.
"Stop what?" Webb continued to pace, the dirt and gravel rolling beneath his expensive sneakers.
"Stop pacing," Jack hissed. "You're going to give away our position."
Webb dropped to the ground. "What the hell do you think you are? A recon marine?"
Jack grinned. "Yes," he said blandly. "At least, I was before the NIA recruited me."
Webb rolled his eyes. "Great. Just great. I'm on what amounts to a training op in the Colombian jungle with a man who's not only a superspy, but a semper fi do or die recon marine trying to rescue a man who can out sneak the best sniper that's ever been in the service."
"Can it, Webb. You can whine later; I have to find out if this is really where they're holding Harm." Jack adjusted the focus on the binoculars.
"Can we please do something else than just sitting here?" Webb asked.
"Let me guess," Jack began. "You want to rush in there, shoot up the place, and then try to locate Harm, right?"
"Sounds good to me."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Now that is a prime example of why you're the FUBAR king; you get people killed that way. We're going to find out if Sadik is here, because where he is, they'll be holding Harm. We need to know exactly how things are being guarded and how the place is run."
"I'm sick of doing nothing," Webb grumbled.
"Tough, kiddo. I've got one of ours sneaking in tomorrow as kitchen help so we can find out the exact layout of the compound. After we get all the intel we can, then we'll call the sweeper and cleaner teams that I've got on standby and get Harm out." Jack turned around to glare at him. "Is that clear, kid?"
"Yeah. So are you using Gunnery Sergeant Galindez as our inside man?"
Jack looked at Webb as if he were crazy. "Are you kidding? In case you've forgotten, Sadik has seen the Gunny. I tapped Sanchez for this mission."
"But Sanchez doesn't have the experience--"
"Wrong Sanchez," Jack said laconically. "What? You think that the Company only has one Sanchez on the payroll?"
"I didn't think--"
"That's your problem, Webb. You don't do enough thinking. After this mission is complete, I may have to recommend you for a desk job or that you never end up leading an op again." Jack grimaced. "You're dangerous, kiddo, because you don't plan enough and you get our people killed. How you've managed to survive this long is a mystery to me."
"You military types have no appreciation for creativity," Webb grumbled.
"In our line of work, planning comes before creativity, and in case you haven't noticed, lots of the field agents that our Intel community hires are either military or ex-military."
Webb rolled his eyes. "I know, I know, you military types--"
"Shut up, kid. If you're not going to grab that extra set of binoculars and look for Sadik, go take a nap or something." Jack heard the scuffing of feet as Webb retreated and continued to survey Sadik's hideout. The small compound was surrounded by a high fence topped with razor wire. Luckily, the position they'd picked was high enough to see over the wall, and fifty feet of jungle had been cleared on all three sides of the compound.
Jack could see several buildings behind the fence, including some that had been dug into the hill on the fourth side of it. He'd bet anything that Sadik would keep a prisoner in one of those underground rooms, where rescue would be difficult. If Harm was really inside, it would be a hell of a job to get him out.
Jack sighed and hunkered down to wait. Scuttlebutt said that Sadik's prisoner was still alive because they were trying to extract information, but such things could change quickly. He only hoped that the ex-Navy pilot could withstand whatever methods the terrorist used for long enough to extract him.
1500 Zulu
13 January 2004
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
AJ paged through the report he'd just gotten from Jack Olsen and smiled. Technically, it wasn't something he was supposed to have, but Jack owed him a favor. He'd managed to convince him to get him updates on the search for the Commander. He sighed as he got to the end of the short document. So far, there had been little progress. They'd managed to locate a compound that the terrorist supposedly operated out of, but Sadik had yet to show himself.
Jack had other operatives looking, but so far, he'd come up dry. AJ leaned back in his chair and sighed before reaching for a stack of personnel files. He couldn't truly replace Harm, but he'd have to find somebody who might be up for the job.
He started looking through the new files, hoping for a miracle. There simply weren't any attorneys in the service that were up to Rabb's standard. AJ's eyes lit on a file that he'd somehow managed to overlook. He opened it and examined the contents. He grimaced. This one might end up being as good as Rabb--in a few years. Major Elizabeth Pierce, USMC. According to her record, she was an average pilot and her case record showed that she had promise.
AJ sighed. Unfortunately, she was the best candidate he currently had available for the position. "Coates!" he called.
"Yes, sir?" Coates poked her head in the door.
He held the file out to her. "I need you to draft some orders; Major Pierce is to report here on Monday to start her new assignment."
Coates came in and took the file from him. "Aye, aye sir," she said, coming to attention. He watched as she left his office. He pulled his glasses off his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. There were times that he really hated his job and this was one of them. His heart was rebelling against replacing Harm, but the SECNAV was breathing down his neck, and he really didn't have a choice.
A small blond head poked into his office before a little boy dressed in Class A's followed. Little AJ marched to the front of his desk and came to attention. A tolerant smile stole over AJ's face. "At ease, sailor."
"Hi, Uncle Admiral AJ," the little boy said before clambering into one of the large, leather chairs.
"What can I do for you, sailor?" he asked with a smile.
Little AJ looked at him hopefully. "Can I have a treat?"
AJ grinned, reached in his desk, pulled out a package of cookies, and offered some to the child. Little AJ took two cookies, then bit into one.
"What do you say, sailor?" AJ asked.
"Thank you, Uncle Admiral AJ," he said. Little AJ chewed thoughtfully on the cookie and swallowed. "Aunt Mac is getting more sad," he said finally.
"Why do you think that is, sailor?" AJ asked.
"Because Uncle Harm is lost," Little AJ answered immediately. "Mommy says that Aunt Mac tried to find him, but that it's too dark where he is for her to see."
"Did you know that your Aunt Mac found Uncle Harm once?" AJ asked.
"Uh huh. Mommy says that it's 'cause Aunt Mac loves Uncle Harm an' that they're soulmates, so she always knows where he is." Little AJ ate another bite of cookie. "Sir, why doesn't Uncle Harm just ask a policeman how to get home? I miss him, and he makes Aunt Mac happy."
AJ sighed. "Sailor, there aren't any policemen where he is for Uncle Harm to ask."
"Is that 'cause--" Little AJ's head snapped up, and he slid out of the chair. He hurried over to the fireplace, and stared into the flames. "Uncle Harm!" His small hand reached towards someone that AJ couldn't see.
AJ got up and hurried over to the child. "What is it, sailor?" he asked, gentling his normally rough voice.
Tears started to run down Little AJ's face. "The bad men have him," he whispered. "The bad men are hurting Uncle Harm, real bad."
AJ gathered the child up in his arms and began to rub his back awkwardly. "Shh. It's okay, AJ. A friend of mine is going to try and rescue him."
Little AJ rubbed his face against the admiral's jacket. "Really?" he whispered.
"I promise. My friend Jack and I are going to try and get Uncle Harm home."
"Thank you," the boy whispered before wiggling out of the Admiral's embrace. "Can I go see Mommy now?" he asked, coming to attention.
"Dismissed, sailor," AJ said with a smile.
"Aye, aye sir," he said. Before Little AJ could leave the office, shouts started coming from the bullpen. AJ got up from his crouch and hurried out the door. Harriet was holding people back as Coates tried to revive his chief of staff.
"What's going on here, people?" he said.
"The Colonel, sir, she just collapsed," Bud answered as he fanned her with a file.
AJ hurried over and knelt down beside the unconscious woman. "Everyone get back. Lieutenant Sims, call 911 and get the paramedics over here."
"Yes, sir."
AJ didn't bother to watch as his staff began to obey his instructions. "Colonel Mackenzie," he said as he shook her shoulder gently. "Mac, wake up, please. You've got a lot of worried people who want to know if you're okay."
Coates placed a cool, damp cloth on the Colonel's forehead. "She was talking to me, sir, when she grabbed her stomach, then her head, and keeled over."
"Do you know what could have caused it?" he asked.
"No, sir. I've seen something similar happen, but it was always after someone'd had the crap beat out of them, sir."
Lieutenant Sims hurried over. "The ambulance is on its way." She paused, then continued. "Sir, the Colonel has been trying to find the Commander every day; she says that she can find him, but that she doesn't know where they're keeping him. She mentioned something about trying to keep the link open between them."
"That could explain it, sir," Bud said. "That's often the way in some sci-fi, so considering the Colonel's... gifts, it's possible."
"Sometimes, Colonel, I wish that whatever genes gave you this peculiar ability would've skipped a generation." AJ sighed. "Lieutenant Sims, I'm sure that you have other duties to take care of; I'll stay with the Colonel. Lieutenant Roberts, I need you to go downstairs to wait for the ambulance. Petty Officer, don't you still have orders to draft?"
"Aye, sir," the three of them said in unison, then headed off.
AJ reached for the Colonel's hand. "Mac, we need you to wake up; we can't do without you, too, and Harm will need you if they can pull it off," he whispered.
He waited with her until the ambulance came. He wanted to go with her, but there was simply too much to do, so he sent Coates with instead. It was time to set up another appointment with the SEVNAV; something more had to be done to get Rabb home.