A/N Hey guys. Sorry its so short and late, but work has been hell for the last month. First half the department was out of town, now its my turn to live out of a hotel for three weeks while working odd hours. Tends to put a cramp in when I can write, but I'm trying. I have the last three chapters plotted out, just need to fill in the blanks, so I'm hoping to have them up soon.

A Man Called Ghost

Chapter 30

"Have you spoken to Mr. Webb lately?" Agent Petrie followed on Tomlinson's heals.

"No, why would I have spoken to him?" Mac was mildly confused.

"Colonel, we know that you and Agent Webb had a relationship. Please don't take this the wrong way" Tomlinson started. Obviously he was going to be the 'good cop'. "but, when we arrived on board and found you already here, we wondered if you had perhaps had contact from Agent Webb before you left the States?"

"No, why would I have? I haven't spoken with Webb in...it must be months now." Mac said with barely controlled anger. How dare they pry into her private life, again.

"Is that a fact Colonel?" Petrie asked with barely masked belligerence.

"Yes, it is a fact." Mac snapped back. "What took you guys so long to get here anyway?"

"What do you mean, Colonel?" Tomlinson asked stepping a little closer. Mac suddenly felt like she'd tipped her hand in a poker game.

"Lets back up a minute, okay guys? What do you mean Webb has disappeared?"

Petrie looked at Tomlinson for just a second, but Mac knew who the senior of the two was now. "What did you mean by taking so long to get here?" Tomlinson asked quietly. "What do you know, Colonel?"

"I don't know anything. Look I just got here today myself. All I know is a SEAL died on an op, and the brass wants it investigated." Mac held up her hands.

"What does that have to do with Webb?"

"Everything." A familiar voice said from the hatch. All three turned quickly to see Harm standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. None of them had heard him quietly slip the hatch open. Standing up straight, Harm stepped into the room without waiting to be invited. "Laurel," he nodded towards Tomlinson. "Hardy," he added with a slight frown at Petrie.

"Ghost. What the hell do you mean everything?" Tomlinson asked insistently.

"You should have come to me first Joe. Leave the Colonel out of this." Mac wasn't sure what surprised her most. That he would still step up to protect her after their latest faux pas, or that he thought she needed protecting.

"We just got here, she came to see the Captain while we were introducing ourselves. Seemed like as good a time as any." Tomlinson shrugged.

"Like the lady said, she only knows about the dead SEAL."

"Look Ghost, all we know is that Webb went missing about the time you were prepping for the op with the boys downstairs. No one knows where he's gone to."

"Well, you boys are a little slow. If you would have been here a few days ago, you could have talked to him yourselves." Harm pulled out a chair and sat down without removing the mildly hostile set to his face.

"Talk to him ourselves? He was here?"

"Yeah. Said he decided to control the op from here." Harm shrugged. "It was his call."

Tomlinson and Petrie both began to swear under their breaths. "Something the matter boys?" Mac asked sweetly. She'd deal with the fall out of her misstep with Harm later.

"How long ago did he leave?" Petrie ignored Mac.

"Well, if you call him shooting a SEAL and taking off with a known arms dealer 'leaving', the day of the op."

"Say what?" Petrie and Tomlinson both said.

Knowing as she said it that she was playing with fire, Mac couldn't help but chime in. "Harm, we don't know for sure that he shot Perez."

Harm shook his head in disgust. She just didn't want to see it. With a sigh he reached up and rubbed his temples. "Do you trust me Colonel?"

"What?" Mac asked incredulously.

"Do you trust me? It's a simple question." Harm prompted, ignoring the other two in the room.

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Everything. Now, do you trust me or not?" Harm pushed, his impatience growing.

"Of course I trust you, Harm." Mac said shaking her head slightly. She was still confused by what he was asking.

"Then fucking show it." Harm snapped. "My gut tells me Webb is behind Perez's death."

"Your gut won't hold up in a court of law." Mac snapped back.

"It won't have to." Tomlinson said quietly.

"What?" Mac and Harm said at the same time.

"What I'm about to tell you can not leave this room. Petrie...go watch the door. Someone might come looking for one of these two."

After the other agent had left the small room to take up a position outside the door Tomlinson continued. "Sorry, Rick doesn't know everything I am about to tell you."

"Typical." Mac muttered.

Tomlinson favoured Mac with a wry little smile before continuing. "We've had Webb under surveillance for some time. Some people in the Agency had begun to Agent Webb shortly after your return from Paraguay."

"How long?" Harm asked.

"A little over a year now. I'm sure you both can guess that Clayton was seriously affected by the ordeal that you all went through. He had the standard once over by a Company shrink, and was allowed to return to duty. However some troublesome patterns began to turn up wherever Clayton was involved. Ghost, I'm sure you noticed that your ops tended to go sour. All of them."

Harm shrugged but didn't say anything.

"Anyway." Tomlinson continued after it became apparent that Harm wasn't going to respond. "People began to notice. After the initial investigation showed that you were not to blame the investigators began to look at others with links to your operations. Agent O'Neil was the next to be scrutinized. She also turned up clean. From there they moved on to Clayton."

"Wait a minute. You investigated Harm?" Mac was shocked and instinctively moved to protect Harm.

"Standard Company procedure when operations turn out badly. I'm sure you understand." Tomlinson said stiffly. Before continuing, he hesitated and looked closely at Harm. Taking a deep breath he continued. "Ghost. Your car accident."

"What about it?"

"There isn't any proof, but we believe Clayton was behind it."

Harm stood up and began to pace the small room running his right hand across the back of his head. "The fucking dreams." He muttered to himself.

"Pardon me?"

"Nothing. Anything else you want to reveal?"

With a sigh Tomlinson looked between Harm and Mac. Bitterly he let loose a short barking laugh. "It looks like Clayton has 'gone off the reservation' as they say."

"What?" Mac was floored for the second time in less than an hour.

"Don't be dense Mac. What he means to say is that Webb's gone rogue." Harm couldn't hold in the bitter laugh.