Part 21: A Journey of Separate Hearts – Life can change within a Second
AN to part 21: A big THANK YOU to Lee Ann, my second beat reader (hope I consider you as it 'g'), whom I am forever thankful for jumping in at such a short notice. Wow, now I know two wonderful women who help me to improve my English and find all the mistakes I've made. Thank you so much, Lee Ann and Carrie. I wouldn't know what to do without you.
February 13th 2003, Thursday
1800 Zulu (19:00 hrs West EDT)
Hilton Paris Hotel
18 avenue de Suffren
Paris, France
Even though using the Metro was faster than trying to get to the Hilton by cab, still the ride had seemed much too long for Harm and he had actually run to the hotel from the Metro station as if a swarm of bees were after him.
As he stormed into the foyer, he had to force himself to calm down and catch his breath.
He looked feverishly around and finally spotted Luis standing near the entrance of the hotel's restaurant. Immediately he hurried to him and tapped Louis' shoulder.
Startled, Louis turned around to see that tall Monsieur Rabb again, who had checked in very early that morning.
"Bonjour Monsieur Rabb. Have you enjoyed your stay in Paris so far?"
Harm forced himself again not to just jump on the man and tell him everything in a rush. He needed to stay calm and clear-headed.
"I haven't seen that much yet, but I'm going to change that. But so far Paris and especially your hotel is amazing." A small, faked smile appeared around his mouth before he went on "You said that I'd only have to call you, if I needed some help. Well Louis, I need your help now."
Assuming that Monsieur Rabb now came for help in preparing the Valentine's Day surprise for this Mademoiselle MacKenzie who was going to arrive late tonight, Louis' face lighted up.
"Ah Monsieur Rabb, how can I help you to set the Valentine's Day surprise for your Mademoiselle MacKenzie? What do you need? I'm sure, whatever it is, I can arrange it!"
'My Mademoiselle … how good that sounds to me…' thought Harm until he realized that he hadn't answered Louis' question.
"What I need Louis, are your eyes, your knowledge about the Hilton and your, hopefully, good memory! Can we find a place more private, where I can explain everything to you? It has to be very private – I mean, no cameras or anything like that."
Louis didn't show his inner confusion and curiosity. He had been in the business too long to wonder about anything anymore. So he simply nodded and led them to his office behind the reception desk.
When the door was closed and Louis had seated himself behind his desk, Harm still hesitated to speak.
"Monsieur Rabb, don't worry. My office is checked out frequently – we will be safe in here."
Harm inspected the room and when he didn't find anything he begun to speak
"Well Louis, what I'm going tell you now is confidential, so I need you to be very discrete." Harm breathed in deeply "My name is Commander Harmon Rabb. I'm a lawyer and an officer of the United States Navy and Miss MacKenzie is originally Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. She's a marine, my partner and my best friend. As you know, we actually were supposed to arrive first thing tomorrow and you might have asked yourself why that had to be changed."
"Monsieur…Commander Rabb, it's not my business to ask those questions." Louis stated simply.
"Ok, Louis. Nevertheless I'll tell you why I arrived today and the reason the Colonel hadn't been with me then. The Colonel and I are taking this trip together and we planned to arrive in Paris tomorrow. Unfortunately, it never happened that way. Colonel MacKenzie won't arrive late tonight, she's already in Paris. To be more specific she's already in this hotel."
Now Louis was really confused and this time he couldn't hide it behind his business mask.
"What? I don't understand that, Commander. There's neither a note about her check in nor is her room marked as 'in use'. So why are you telling me Mademoiselle MacKenzie has already checked in?"
"I explain it to you. Just listen to me."
Louis leaned back in his leather chair, his eyes focused on Harm.
"Well Colonel MacKenzie hasn't checked in and I don't suppose there's any kind of note about her arrival because she didn't arrive voluntarily and especially not the way she wanted to arrive here. When we were in London the yesterday, we visited Buckingham Palace. While doing a palace tour, Mac – I mean Colonel MacKenzie was kidnapped."
The shock Louis felt was visible on his face, then Harm continued
"Shortly after, the kidnapper contacted me and told me to fly to Paris immediately where a envelope would be waiting for me here at your hotel. – The envelope you gave me when I arrived. In it was a videotape through which he demanded $500,000 from me. If I didn't get him the money, he would kill Mac. With the help of my family, I got the money, but the kidnapper let me know that this wouldn't be the only time I'd have to pay for her safety. I knew I would lose her for sure if I continued to play to play along with his game. But I'm in the Navy and this woman means too much to me for me to just sit around and do nothing. So with the help of my Commanding Officer, I got help from a specialist and we identified the kidnapper. And I have a clue as to where the man is possibly holding Mac hostage. The kidnapper had sent a photo as well as the tape to prove the truth of his words. On it you can see a room and the Colonel. And I believe that she is somewhere here in this hotel. Furthermore I believe that the kidnapper is one of your employees. What I need you to do is to help me identify the man and find the room."
During the explanation, Harm never broke eye contact with Louis and now he waited for Louis to react.
For a few moments, Louis wasn't able to respond to anything that Harm had just told him as the information sank in. Then he gathered his thoughts and said, "That's quite an accusation you've just told me. And I don't know why I should believe you, but you seem to be honest and very serious about this and furthermore, very worried about your friend. So I at least want to see your evidence."
Harm put two photos on Louis' desk – the one of Mac where she sat gagged on a bed and the one of Luke Wilson, which Logan had printed for him.
Louis looked down and had to gasp twice: first when he saw this pretty lady in such a horrible situation and the second time when he recognized the man in the picture.
"William!!"
"Louis…?" asked Harm in surprise.
"Commander that is William…I mean that's William Lawson. He's a waiter in our restaurant and works for room service, too. He's…an American and works for us for six months…" answered Louis with fear in his voice.
"Actually his name is Luke Wilson and he is not a stranger to me. I know him from my high school years. I don't know why he's doing that – especially to Mac, but I plan to find out. But I have already met him in this hotel once. He delivered some food to my room this morning – even though I hadn't ordered anything from room service. And according to what you mentioned about him and that you recognized him, proves my suspicion. Nevertheless, I need your help to locate the place where Colonel MacKenzie is now."
Harm pointed to the first picture. "My friend could also tell me the number, which is on the phone there. I'd called it but the number wasn't available. The number is 5706-9832. Maybe that helps." asked Harm hopefully.
For several minutes, Louis just stared at the picture trying to figure out if there was anything what could help the Commander.
"Yeah I have to agree – this photo was taken in one of our rooms. Because of the furniture and the wallpaper, it's seems to be one of the staff rooms. Some of our employees work only a year for us and don't have an apartment. They just can stay in one of our 'staff-guest-rooms' – as we call them. But I can't tell you which room exactly. But you mentioned a number. Can you repeat the number please? Maybe it's our hotel equipment number. If so, I can get the information on the room where the phone is installed.
Harm did as he was asked and several moments later, Louis gave him the information he so desperately needed.
"It's room number A03 one floor down and according to the information in our data bank, it doesn't seem to be assigned to any of our staff at the moment."
"Oh my god. That's it. That has to be it. Thank you so much, Louis. Without you, I still wouldn't know where to start. But there's one favor I have to ask. Can you tell me if Luke Wilson – I mean this William Lawson is working at the moment?"
"I'll find out, Commander." Louis dialed a hotel extension number on his phone and shortly after, he had someone on the line. He asked this someone – Pierre – that's as far as Harm could understand – something in French and then placed the receiver pack in the cradle.
"I spoke with Pierre – our head waiter of the restaurant where William works. And he told me that William is working there now. So I guess you want to check on that room I told you about, right? And furthermore, I suppose you are going to ask me for a key for that room."
"Yeah Louis, that's my plan and I have to hurry. I don't know, but simply feel that I don't have much time left before the whole situation gets more and more ugly. And I need to find Mac – I mean the Colonel."
"Ok, Commander, I'll give you the key, but I'll go with you!"
"No that's impossible. No way. I can't guarantee that everything will work out ok and I already have to worry about my partner. I don't need someone else to worry about. Please, just give me the key and I'll handle everything on my own as quickly and as quietly as I can."
"All right, Commander. I'll give you the key, but I'll watch you via the cameras, which are placed on every floor. If I think you're playing me for a fool, I won't hesitate to call the police."
"Yes, Sir. But that won't be necessary – I promise."
"Ok, here's the key and, Commander, be careful in case you're right about this Monsieur Lawson or Wilson."
"I will and please, act as normally as possible. He knows you well and it's possible that he will get curious when you act any differently. So just do whatever you do normally at this time. And again, Louis, thank you for your help!"
With that, Harm stepped out of the office, trying hard not to run to the elevator. He was anxious to go down and hopefully find his marine alive and safe. Nevertheless, his Navy instincts kicked in and reminded him to stay cool and act like he was a normal guest of the Hilton Paris hotel.
When he reached the elevator the elevator operator asked which floor he wanted. Harm answered as low as possible "- A"
Fortunately, the elevator operator didn't asked any questions – it seemed that it wasn't that unusual for a guest to want to go to floor - A.
The doors slid open and walked to the left. Some how he knew which direction to go to reach room A03.
When he arrived he looked around, making sure that there wasn't anybody watching him, besides, of course, Louis through the security cameras. Before opening the door with the key, he listened at the door. But he didn't hear anything – Harm wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.
He carefully and slowly put the key into the keyhole and opened the door.
February 13th 2003, Thursday
1830 Zulu (19:30 hrs West EDT)
Hilton Paris HotelRoom A03
Floor - A
Paris, France
The room was complete darkness and the air was sticky. Harm hesitated for a moment before entering the room as if he was afraid of what he might find in there. But the fact, that he finally might find Mac, brought him right back and he quickly stepped into the room. He closed the door before he switched on the light and a sharp wince caught his attention at once.
There she was. Hands and feet still tied up. Her skin was so pale and in her eyes he could see so many different emotions: surprise, fear, shock, relief, happiness and even a hint of something that could be longing or even love.
"Sarah…oh my god. I'm so glad I found you!"
He quickly rushed to her side and started to untie the scarf gagging her mouth then the ropes around her ankles. She wasn't able to say anything right away. Mac tried, but her mouth was too dry. With some effort she croaked "water" and Harm was on his feet quickly looking for something to drink. He ran to the bathroom and came back with a glass of water. He held it directly at her mouth, helped her drink and she gulped the liquid as if it was her lifesaver.
"Thank you!" were the first two words she said and Harm knew by the look in her wonderful brown eyes that she not only thanked him for the water but also for her rescue.
However, she still wasn't safe as she was still handcuffed to the bed. Even though Harm was strong, but he wasn't Superman who could easily rip of the metal handcuffs that prevented her way to freedom.
"Mac, is there anything I can use to break the handcuffs?" Harm asked anxiously, yanking at the metal that still held her hostage.
Shaking her head she answered – her voice even now not the same as normal – "No, haven't seen any tools, but I know where he put the key. Look under the carpet in front of the door. He always put it under there – visible to me. So that I'd know, that I could get free, but wouldn't be in a position to because there was no chance I would reach the keys." A bitter tone was present in her voice.
What she said made his stomach turn, but he didn't have the time to think further about it because he had to hurry. The feeling in his gut still told him that they wouldn't be so lucky, be able to just walk out of that room and into their own.
When he had freed Mac's hands from the cuffs, he realized how true this feeling was.
They were about to walk to the door when it suddenly flew open and Luke Wilson stood in the doorframe – a gun pointed at them.
"Hello, Harm, nice to see you again. I think you have something there in your arms that belongs to me." Luke greeted them sarcastically.
"That something is Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. She's someone and she doesn't belong to anyone. So step out of our way so maybe you can at least stay alive and live the rest of your life in a small cell instead of dying right here and now!" hissed Harm sharply.
"I don't think so. In case you haven't noticed: I'm the one with the gun and you have nothing besides that weak woman and I doubt you can use her as a weapon." A laugh Harm knew so well from the tape echoed through the room.
"You are more stupid than I thought if you think that I didn't come without backup, Luke. I don't think anything has changed through the years. You always thought you had everything figured out without thinking about any possible consequences, huh?"
"Don't talk to me like that, Mr. 'I've screwed so many times I can't fix my relationship with my partner'!" Luke shot back.
But Harm stayed cool – he knew he had to make Luke lose control, make him absolutely furious.
"Well Luke if you thought that whole thing through, then you surely can tell me what I did to deserve your hatred?" pushed Harm. He knew that whatever brought Luke to do what he had done, it wasn't pleasant.
"Oh, I just wanted to destroy your life like you did mine. You have always been arrogant, selfish and spoilt. You, Harmon Rabb Jr. lived the life that was promised to me. You could attend the Academy and flight school. You had the family I wanted to have and you simple weren't thankful for it. It only mattered what was important for you, what was important for your career. You not only had one father, no, you had two, both of them loved you unconditionally and your step dad is also a very wealthy man. And what did you? You just hated him and made his life a living hell. You have a mother, who loves you even though you ran away from her and hated her for moving on with Frank. Nevertheless, you had and have their support and you could attend the Academy and become an aviator like your dad. Even your ramp strike and the fact that YOU killed your RIO didn't end your career. Instead of that, the Navy paid your way to law school. You became that superhero lawyer from JAG and even got your wings back. Then you just decided after some years to give your aviator dream another chance. You just left everyone behind you, not caring whom you were hurting then. And after you realized that there wouldn't be any future in flying F-14's, you just went back to JAG as if nothing had happened. You've screwed up so many times and hurt so many people but you always got another chance. And there was always someone who backed you up or swept up all the broken pieces behind you. So I guess you weren't able to handle this here on your own, either. You weren't that clever enough to figure out who I am and where I kept her." Luke finished his tirade, a furious look in his eyes.
"None of that is your business. You can't blame me for things I have or have worked hard for. And yes, I had people who helped me find you and I'm glad to have such wonderful friends and not to be so full of hate. You hate yourself, the world, probably even god, because life didn't go the way you thought it should. Instead of going your own way, you've always been jealous of other people's lives. Instead of changing your own life, you'd rather destroy other people's. It's so much easier to make another person responsible for your way of life than doing something to change it. So don't blame me or Mac for the mistakes you've made."
Harm knew that it wouldn't be long before Luke would be so infuriated that he would lose his concentration. Then he would make his move. But just now he had to be patient.
"You selfish bastard…I'll show you how much I change my life and yours in the same process!" That was the last comment before Luke lost control. He raised his arm aiming his gun at Mac and pulled the trigger.
"Nooooo! Saraaaah!!!" yelled Harm, and to safe the love of his life, he barreled towards her, putting himself between Wilson and her, when the sound of a fired gun echoed through the room…