A Man Called Ghost

Chapter 29

Mac was shocked to the core. There was no way she had just heard what she thought she'd just heard. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" she asked, disbelief written all over her face.

"Look Mac, I know what it sounds like. I know you're not going to believe me, but I think Webb shot Perez." Harm said with a little shake of his head. There was a time when she would have at least heard him out.

That was what she thought she'd heard. He had said it. He thought Webb was a murderer, a traitor. It wasn't possible. "Harm, it's not that I don't believe you. It's just not...not possible." Mac stuttered as she began to pace the small steel room. "You've known him as long as I have; you know something like this isn't possible."

"Mac, it is possible," Harm said with a hint of force. "You haven't been working with him lately. He's not the same man; not the same man we met out at Red Rock, not the same man who sent us into that Embassy. Mac, he's changed. Paraguay, Iraq, it all changed him."

Stopping her pacing Mac glared at Harm. "No. It can't be." She tried again.

"Would you look at the evidence Mac, before you dismiss it out of hand? For God's sake, you're a lawyer."

"And you used to be a lawyer. But then again, I should have known you'd go off making wild accusations. What evidence?"

"Come on, you know he's changed since Paraguay. He's colder, more distant, keeps thinking he lost something with his off the reservation stunt down south and he keeps trying to get it back. I don't know what it is, but he's obsessed with it. Hell, he's obsessed with you!"

"With me? You're joking, right? We went out a couple times, but you know how I feel about him. You still haven't given me anything I could use as evidence," Mac said in a huff as she started to pace again.

Harm stared at Mac incredulously. She just couldn't get past her belief that he was wrong. Taking a deep breath he struggled to remain impassive, to wear the mask of an officer of the USN. He failed. "For Christ's sake, Mac!" he said louder than he meant to. That brought her pacing to a halt.

"Harm," Mac said quickly in a warning tone of voice as she held up her hand to try and stop the tide of his emotions. "Hold on..."

"No, you hold on MacKenzie," Harm thundered. "You weren't there. I don't care if you are fucking him on the side, I think Webb's guilty."

Harm's head rocked back as Mac's palm impacted his cheek. "Screw you Rabb!" Mac hissed vehemently.

"Look, I know he's your boyfriend. Fine. But that doesn't mean he didn't shoot Perez. If it wasn't him, then who the hell was it? Close range, nine millimeter shot. Perez wouldn't let someone he didn't trust get that close, he was a fucking SEAL."

"He's not my boyfriend. And that has nothing to do with the case." Mac snarled.

"Look, Mac, all the evidence points to Webb, and don't try to tell me my personal feelings are clouding my judgement. From where I'm sitting I could say the same about you. I know he's your boyfriend. Fine, but that doesn't..mean he didn't shoot Perez. If it wasn't Webb, then who the hell was it? Close range, nine millimeter shot. Perez wouldn't let someone he didn't trust get that close, he was a fucking SEAL."

"He's not my boyfriend....."

"I see, he's just a fuck buddy then - it still doesn't change the facts."

Mac was violently shaking her head. She couldn't believe him. After everything she'd done for him, he still acted like this? "You know what Harm? You've got nothing I need. You're dismissed." She said coldly, resisting the urge to smack him back to DC single handedly.

"You're dismissing me?" Harm snorted in disgust. "You know, I should have known you wouldn't listen to anything bad about Webb. But ask yourself this. If Webb didn't kill Perez, where is he now, why haven't we heard anything at all from him?" And with that Harm was slamming the steel hatch behind him.

Mac paced the small room like a caged animal, raging against the way Harm had treated her. How dare he? What the hell gave him the right? How the hell could she ever think that she was in love with such a self righteous bastard?

A knock at the hatch brought her out of her raging thoughts. "Enter!" she barked.

A petty officer poked his head into the room. "Ma'am, the skipper asked me to bring these down to you." He said hesitantly as he held out a folder.

Mac snatched the folder from the petty officer's hand with a distracted "Dismissed" and flipped the folder open. Ballistics results. Apparently someone in Washington wanted the investigation to go quickly. Mac scanned through the pages until she came to the findings. Perez was killed with a close range shot to the chest. 9mm bullet most likely fired from a Sig handgun.

"It doesn't prove anything." Mac muttered to herself. "Webb's not the only one who uses the Sig." But even that was starting to sound hollow in her ears. What if Harm was right? What if Clayton had killed the SEAL? Why would he do that? What did he hope to gain? She needed to talk to Harm, but she seriously doubted if he'd be receptive right now. She could always get the skipper to order him to talk to her. With a nod Mac decided to go up to the bridge to do just that.

When she arrived she found two large men in suits talking to the Captain. "Ah, Colonel. I was just going to send for you. These two gentlemen would like to speak to you."

"Colonel MacKenzie? I'm Special Agent Tomlinson. This is Agent Petrie. Is there somewhere private we can speak?" the man on the right asked.

"Uh, yeah sure. I've got a temporary office set up below decks. Captain, I was wondering..."

"After you speak to these gentlemen Colonel." The Captain said in an obvious dismissal.

"Aye, sir. Right this way gentlemen." Mac nodded to the two special agents trying to mask her confusion.

As soon as all three were in the small room Mac was using as an office, Agent Tomlinson looked at her intently. "Colonel MacKenzie, we're here investigating the, ah, disappearance of one of our agents. I believe you know him; Clayton Webb."