FIRE WITH FIRE

[ A / N ] This story is set before "Trojan Horse". In addition, for my purposes only, things aren't so rosy between Mac and Webb, unlike what she suggested (much to my horror) on the USS Wake Island.


The gentle swishing of the rainwater spraying up could be heard as the 2001 Nissan went down the highway in the hilly areas on Norfolk, Virginia. The dark blue form of the car could be seen miles down the road, moving sluggishly on the pavement.

"That's it, we're switching," Mac snapped as Harm yawned again from the driver's seat. She sat up straight, shaking away her slumber and prodded him in the arm when he failed to respond to her comment. "Pull over."

"I'm fine," he insisted, "go back to your nap."

"I would if you didn't keep on opening that mouth of yours. You're obviously beat, Harm."

He glanced at her through the corner of his eye. "You sure? The weather seems to be getting a lot worse."

She nodded with an exasperated sigh as he slowly led the car to a stop on the side of the road. He indolently opened the car door after taking the umbrella from the back seat. Under its protection, Harm walked to her side of the door, letting her exit the vehicle and taking her place in the passenger seat.

He laid his head against the cool glass of the window and watched the trails the water droplets left behind as the slowly slid down the side of the car. The pattering of the rain soon got louder and more frequent as the journey continued. He managed to close his eyes for a moment to let the increasingly strong torpor take over, but was jarred awake by the honking of the car's horn.

He awoke with a start to find Mac muttering and tapping her fingers irately on the steering wheel. "What's wrong?"

"That jackass getting a driver's license is wrong – he cut me off."

She motioned towards the white car in front with her left hand and pressed down on the accelerator as the other driver started to gain distance from them.

"Hey! Watch it, road's slippery, Mac."

She growled under her breath but didn't cease from the pedal. "He was weaving in and out. It's people like him who cause accidents, and make the road unsafe..."

Harm peered over the dashboard to make out the unmistakable signal of the man's hand at the opposing car's rearview mirror.

"I can't believe it." Mac huffed, "he flipped me off! That's it, we're tailgating."

"We? Wait a second, just let him go."

To prove his point, he turned on the car radio, tuning it to a news station.

The reception was poor, but a woman's voice managed to crackle through the stereo. "…weather in Norfolk county and surrounding regions continues to get worse due to rising storm activity in the area. 630 News will keep you posted on the matter. Meanwhile, highway 182 is congested due to a collision…"

Mac slowly let the pressure against the accelerator lessen. The car gradually went back under speed limit, but the raindrops continued to hit the windshield with increasing force. His eyes went wide as Mac leaned forward and hunched herself over the steering wheel as the white car sped away.

A quick flash of lightning made her jump ever so slightly. Mac managed to keep her reaction subtle, but he knew she was startled when the muscles of her back tensed slightly. A few moments later, the low rumble of thunder preceded a huge onslaught of rain.

"You alright?" Harm asked. He raised his voice slightly to be heard over the downpour.

She nodded and furrowed her brow, concentrating on the road. She slowly turned the wheel as the highway veered slightly to the left, but kept their speed steady.

He glanced at the speedometer, seeing it was exactly sixty miles-per-hour. Out of pure curiosity, he peeked outside, squinting through the foggy haze to catch a glimpse at the sign saying the issued speed limit. Not to his surprise, it read a mere fifty.

Harm arched an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "You know, I think we should stop at a motel for the night. The weather's getting worse, we're both dead-tired and we're an hour away from the base. I'm sure if we call in, they'll understand."

"We have a schedule to keep." She flipped the windshield wipers higher as the rain came down faster.

"I know…but it's not safe. No one's driving now, see? We'd better rest up until the storm dies down."

In a low whisper, Mac cut him off before he could add anything. "I'm fine. Go back to-"

She yelped in surprise as the car skidded. As quickly as she could register the loss of control, Mac slammed her foot down on the brake, and the car swiveled side to side, eventually coasting to a halt 200 feet down the road. The car was tilted awkwardly to the left, the rear bumper slightly off the asphalt.

Harm slowly lowered his hands from the dashboard and placed on his knees. He flexed his fingers slowly and exhaled his breath.

"Touché," Mac said as she glanced in the rearview mirror to assure no one was coming behind them. She swiveled her head and frowned. "Next exit is a mile or two down from here."

She turned the wheel and managed to get on a straight course again.


Molly Lane and her husband Dan owned the Downsview Inn off the interstate. The brewing storm outside, although creating a gloomy atmosphere, proved excellent for business. Travelers, mostly business people, had come in a flurry a short while ago, trying to get sanctuary from the rain.

Granted she was trying to help the poor souls caught outside – she attempted to persuade most groups of travelers to bunk in the same room by lowering the price, in hope that she could accommodate more people.

Never before had she the honor of lighting up the 'no vacancy' sign outside, and it seemed tonight would be a christening of sorts of her relatively new establishment.

Molly beamed brightly as she handed off a pair of keycards to two men in Gucci suits with expensive haircuts. She chuckled to herself as they frowned after accepting them; they were obviously used to a much different lifestyle.

Dan came up behind her and smiled. "We've seen all kinds of people tonight, but nothing like this."

"What do you mean?"

He motioned towards the door as the little bell rang softly as it had done countless times before. In stepped in a woman with short, dark hair. She was dressed in a military uniform, Molly saw, as she took off her jacket and shook it off slightly. Behind her came a tall man dressed in Navy blue. He was intimidating, with his dominant presence and even more imposing height.

"I said I'm sorry!" exclaimed the woman, as the man nudged her in the back.

"We could've had a really bad accident, Mac!"

She came fully into the small lobby and stood up straight. The tall man stood in front of her, daring her to do something. Molly could see the woman tiptoe on her high heels a little to match his height. Although, Molly thought, she doesn't really need to do that. She decided the woman, 'Mac', Molly supposed, was very impressive with her attractive features and a curvaceous body which still managed to show through the clunky military uniform

"I know, alright? Let's just get our rooms. I'll call into the Admiral, you call the base."

The man took Mac's jacket and hung it over his arm with his own. "If I hadn't stopped you, who knows what would've happened."

"If you hadn't kept on talking to me, we would have been just fine. I should've ignored you," the woman said, pointing a slender index finger at the man accusingly, nearly prodding him in the middle of his chest.

"Would've, should've, could've."

Mac closed her eyes in annoyance and took a step forward, ignoring the man. Molly admitted, despite their appearance, the two people front of her did not act at all what she would have expected of military folk.

Mac sighed. "You know, in all the time you've been talking, we probably lost the rooms."

"Me? You have too!"

When she did nothing more than stare at him, the man exhaled a breath and motioned her towards Molly and Dan, who stood flabbergasted at the front desk.

Dan cleared his throat. "What can we do for you today? Off to the naval base?"

The man smiled, as if nothing had happened. Molly decided that his smile could make her forget the little squabble, and a lot more – no offense to her husband, of course.

"We were."

"You know, my father served in 'Nam, ground forces in Viet-Kong and I was stationed on the USS Coral a couple years back." Dan offered his hand out, which the man shook wholeheartedly.

The man nodded. "I'm Commander Rabb, this is Colonel Mackenzie. Because of the…great weather, we need two rooms for the night."

"Sir…" Molly frowned, glancing quickly at the woman's ring finger to see nothing. "We only have one vacancy left, unfortunately."

The grin on the Commander's face vanished as he glanced at the Colonel nervously. "Well, I…"

"We'll take it." Mac held her hand out to accept the key Dan held out.

Molly shared a look with her husband as the Colonel spun on her heel and trudged towards the stairs to the left. Commander Rabb studied her for a moment before calling out. "I'll get the bags then?"

Colonel Mackenzie stopped in her tracks. Her shoulders visibly moved up and down as she took in a shaky breath of air. She turned around and walked towards the door when the heel of her left shoe snapped. Instead of stumbling over however, she stood still, reached down and calmly placed the heel in her pocket before limping awkwardly towards the Commander to get her jacket.

Both of them went outside, the Commander holding out the umbrella to shelter them both as they made a run for the car.

Dan tapped his fingers against the desk slowly and whistled. "That was interesting."


TBC