This is a two parter, I'll post part 11 on Thursday

Enjoy

J.

Thanks to: XBlueShadowX, Aimee5, Charmboy4, starryeyes10, Nikki, dansingwolf, jag4ever, lei, Jackia, EternalSleep, Cristina, Tina Frank, achaon, Abigaile, Hieros Gamos, froggy0319, joanoa, JadeAlmasy, SpaceMan546, dansingwolf, carbygirl , JAGJenni, Manda, starryeyes, BiteBeccy, ng59678, LtColDevilDog, martini, mizukimarr, jtbwriter, Macaroon, Lissie, n.k, Lt.jgMegAustin, cbw, dansingwolf, Apion, alix33, jnp, MacHarm4Ever, Tania, Macaroon, harmfan, Jagnut, Claire Vincent, Navy Babe, Nix, Martini, jaggurl, Laura, CoolCat, sunnysky, smithknk, mjag, FoxyWombat, carbygirl, moonlight, socgrl, NinjaTurtle, Sunny, kristie, mjag. Aserene, Dessler and anyone else I missed for the Feedback

PART 10 – Payback's a Bitch

1700 Zulu
North East Of Corner Brook
Newfoundland, Canada

"Hello, Sarah. . .hand over your pack and Commander, I suggest you do the same." He pointed the AK solely at Mac. If the scuttlebutt around the office was true, Harm wouldn't do anything that would put her life in danger.

"That's a tempting offer, really. . .but how about you let us think about it?" She couldn't help the insolent tone. Of all of the things Mac was expecting, this was definitely not it. Steele seemed like a buffoon in Marine's clothing, but she, and everyone else were wrong about him. That alone angered her more than anything else. "And how about you start calling me Colonel, Major? I don't remember ever giving you permission to call me Sarah."

"Don't try that smart mouth of yours, Sarah. . ." He grinned at her, a sick, nauseating grin that seemed more of that belonging to a sexual predator. "It is a lovely mouth though. . .I still remember it on mine."

Mac snorted, the whole idea of him touching her was repulsive. "Not even in your wildest dreams, Major." She pulled her gun out from the back of her jeans and tossed it at him.

"So, I assume you're Major Steele?" Harm held his hands up as he moved a few steps closer to the other man and handed over his gun. Though he was smiling, his mind was running a billion different scenarios of how he was going to make the Major pay for what he did to Mac.

"You are a hard man to track Commander. . .You should've just been a real man and turned yourself in. . .It would have been an easier way to handle this mess."

Harm chuckled. "And why don't you be a real man, and try a little hand to hand with me. . .I guarantee I play fair, unlike Mac here. . .I promise not to kick you in the balls."

Chris used the AK to guide Harm towards Mac. "Actually, if I spar with anyone, it's the Colonel here. . .One on one. . . We have a score to settle." He glanced at Mac again with his saccharine sweet smile. "He was at your apartment that night I came over, wasn't he?"

Mac nodded. "He's been hiding out in my apartment since July 3rd."

"Harboring a traitor, you could do some time for that. . .I don't even think the General would be able to save your six."

"Harm is not a traitor."

"How can you be sure?" Bending over, he kept the AK trained on the pair as he reached down and grabbed each of their pistols, which he tucked into his pants. "He dragged you out here, he knows where the planes are. . .I mean, after all of this time, after all he supposedly went through, all the torture. . .And he is still alive?"

Mac found his rendition of it all to be humorous. It was obvious that the Major really wasn't a lawyer. "You know, no matter what psychobabble you try. . . I am on HIS side. . . and I'll always be."

Chris pointed the AK up the hill the cabin was resting against. "Up there. . .get moving, we have a lot of terrain to cover. Oh and don't try any sudden moves. . . I'm a trigger happy idiot."

Mac and Harm complied, heading up the small hill in silence, until she decided to find out what was going on. "So, who set this up?"

"Like I am going to tell you ?" He poked Harm with the tip of the AK, motioning him away from a thick area of bushes. "Commander, please don't pick your own paths. Just follow mine."

Mac glanced up at Harm for one brief moment, their eyes conveying a message that only they could understand. "So, Chris. . .We're going to die anyway. . .How'd this get set up?"

Chris grinned. "Let's just say that the higher ups needed a trained aviator which they got. . .Unfortunately, he ran away and is very much needed again."

"What do they want the planes for, Major?" Harm asked. As they walked through the area, he could feel his body becoming weaker. He hadn't taken the medication since before they were captured by the hillbillies and doubted, very much Chris would allow him to take it now. He needed both of them, the vitamins and the anti-opiates, Mac had explained that if he forgot to take them, his body would start to feel the effects.

Chris was walking a couple of paces behind, keeping the AK trained on Harm while he spent a few stolen moments undressing Mac with his eyes. "Impressive six, Colonel."

Stopping apparently, she snapped her head to glare at him. "How about you be a man. Drop the weapon and we'll do a little sparring."

"That is tempting, yes. But, I can control my urges until we have suitable time, Sarah. . .Besides, I am not stupid. . .You're a specialist in hand to hand combat. I put my weapon down and the playing field's even. . . I don't like them odds."

Harm snorted. "So much for a real man. . .You are afraid of a woman."

"Aren't you, Commander?" He stopped for a moment and plastered a fake look of shock. "Oh of course not, you and the Colonel already play a little of your own hand to hand. . . so tell me, was she any good?"

"You son of a. . ." As Harm made to lunge at Chris, Mac stepped in front and stopped him. She didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes was enough to help him calm down. "You aren't worth it."

Chris raised his eyebrows in mild amusement. "Ah, I see we're whipped."

Had it not been for Mac's sake and the AK pointed at them, Harm would have throttled the man and left nothing but a pulp. As they hiked up, Harm managed to whisper to Mac. "We have to do something."

Mac agreed, but it wasn't like either of them had a method of defense. "We need to wait until his guard is down."

"I think I might have an idea." His body was growing weaker, but he could always fake that it was worse than it really was. Chris wouldn't' know the difference.

1725 Zulu
CIA Headquarters
Langley, Virginia

"Please, please. . . Have a seat." After exchanging pleasantries, Raymond Levine kept his smile plastered on his face as the three JAG lawyers sat before him. "Would you like coffee? I'll have my secretary bring in a fresh pot. . ." He gave that 'just a moment' sign with his finger and pressed the intercom button. "Delilah, please bring in coffee for myself and these three gentlemen, thank you."

Creswell hated the CIA more than it was humanly possible for him to explain. It all went back to a case where he defended and lost just because the Agency had hung the Recon Marine he was defending, out to dry. Sheffield had warned him that the CIA often used JAG Headquarters like some sort of recruitment/information help desk and he was determined to stop that. He would have started with Rabb's little mission, but that was so far under the radar, it was practically invisible. "Mr. Levine, I must congratulate you on your new promotion."

Ray put his best somber look as he nodded. "Just a shame it had to come to pass in such a terrible way."

"Mr. Kershaw was a good man." Bud said. Had it not been for Kershaw, he was sure Sadik Fahd would have done away with Mac during their little meeting. He was also the first to apologize openly for Harm's disappearance, the only one to own up to the CIA making a mistake. "What I don't understand is how you rose so quickly up the agency's ladder. . .I hear you were a trainer up to a year ago."

Cognac, Ray needed his beloved cognac, but the moment wasn't right for it. He took a few breaths, used a few field agent relation techniques and steeled himself. These three were on to something, or at least they thought they were. Fine, he could deal with them, the same way he dealt with everything else: lies, violence and disinformation. "My family was very a prominent force within the agency. . .And Kershaw had a deep respect for my work. He believed we needed a trainer, someone who knows the agents intimately as the Assistant Deputy Director. . .Sadly, that title also makes me somewhat of an understudy should something befall the Deputy Director."

"But the agency's counsel still had to vote on your presence as a Deputy Director, though you may be the acting Deputy Director, their overall votes were against you." Creswell sneered. He did a bit of research himself and the higher ups at the agency had not put Levine in of their free will. The man just took over but due to several missions still being conducted, he was left in as to not damage the balance of power.

Levine smiled. "It's a formality, once the current missions go as planned, I'll be in this position officially."

"Excuse me for saying, sir, but you sound awfully sure of yourself." Sturgis said.

"It's called confidence, I am sure you, as a JAG lawyer must know all about that."

Sturgis smiled politely. "Yes sir, but, as a JAG lawyer I do not run the world's largest spy network. . . Nor am I responsible for 'x' amount of lives and therein, lies the problem."

Delilah, Levine's secretary stepped into the office holding a tray with four cups and a large coffee pot. She poured each man their java and politely stepped out of the room. Bud took a sip of the coffee, wincing slightly as the hot liquid went down his throat. "Mr. Levine, what concerns us is not your position at the agency, though that should be brought before other government agencies. Our problem is with Commander Harmon Rabb junior."

"I've never heard of him." Ray said quickly, a little too quickly and instantly, he knew he was busted. Still, he had to play the game. "Should I know him?"

Sturgis pulled out a file which he slid over Ray's desk. "Considering you signed the orders to send him on a classified mission, I would say: 'yes', you should know him."

Ray would have paled if it wasn't for how angry he was that three legal weenies had gotten so far with information. He glanced at the file and Harm's USN picture stared back at him. Oh yes, he knew him, intimately. "Do you know how many mission's I've signed for? Honestly, I do not remember this man. . . Besides, it says here that he was Navy, we use our own operatives."

"Was Navy?" Creswell said quickly and at Ray's mask of confusion, he bit back a grin. "You said that the Commander 'was' Navy. . .Why would you be speaking of him in past tense?"

He wavered slightly, but recovered fast enough. "Well, I assumed something had happened to him if you are here asking questions. . . Which, if he were involved in a CIA mission, it's classified. Non of you have the clearance."

Creswell nodded. "No, we wouldn't, but the President would. And I am sure he would be just happy to know that a Deputy Director of a prestigious government agency had tainted the name of one of America's heroes."

"I don't take kindly to threats, General." Ray said with a scowl. Now he really was angry, who they hell did they think they were barging into his office?

"It's not a threat." He pulled out yet another file and slid it towards Ray. "Your nephew, who was pretending to be a JAG officer and subsequently tried to attack a female Marine under my command, has gone missing."

Bud nodded. "And you can not feed us that crap about you not knowing him. More than half of the information in that file has to do with classified CIA missions one of which had him in Newfoundland, Canada during some portions of the beginning of the year."

Oh yeah, now he really needed that drink. They knew, worse than that, Ray was one hundred percent certain that they'd seen Rabb alive. Men who, months prior believed the Commander was dead, were now singing another tune. "What does Chris' whereabouts have to do with this Commander Rabb?"

"You know, you know exactly what we are talking about. . . We know the stress is getting to you Raymond. . .we can't prove it yet, but eventually we will." Sturgis said with a very satisfied smirk.

Raymond stood up apparently sending both Chris' and Harm's papers flying over his desk. "I do not know what the hell you three are talking about. . .but how dare you come here and put me through some interrogation. . ." Angrily he slammed his hand onto the desk. "I bet you the SECNAV won't approve of your actions, General. As the JAG, I'd have hoped you had a bit more decorum on how you and your officers behaved themselves."

That's when Creswell grinned openly. "Actually, Ray, the SECNAV was all for this little. . .interrogation. He even allowed us to do it." That was a lie, but it was time to fight fire with fire. Standing, he walked around the desk and picked up the papers, stuffing them all into the folders. When he straightened, Levine was nose to nose with him. "Scared yet?"

"You're playing with fire, Creswell. . .Be prepared to fry to a crisp."

If Levine thought he didn't like threats, Creswell was sure he despised them. In seconds, he grabbed Levine's arm bending it back so far, it threatened to snap. Only when the man groaned in pain, did Creswell speak, "If anything happens to my people, I will kill you myself."

Bud and Sturgis stood at the other end of the desk. "Torture, then kill you." Bud added in a tone that the young Lt. Commander never used. Frankly put, his cool, mild-mannered demeanor was shot to hell when he heard the details of Harm's capture.

As the three JAG officers headed out of Langley, emotions over what had been done coursed through them. "Get on the horn with your families, I suggest they get out of town." If Creswell had an inkling of what Levine was capable of, he knew that not only they were in danger, put the families as well.

"Done sir, I had Harriet fly down to Naples with the kids as of yesterday." Bud said with a slight frown. He missed his family, but he was happier missing them and knowing they were okay.

Sturgis nodded. "Dad's not in town and Varese is in Vegas. I'll ask her to stay there as long as possible."

"Good. . .Mr. Roberts, think you can find us something else?"

With a grin, Bud pulled out a messenger bag that house his laptop. "Yes, sir. . .and if I can't, I have a few friends that can help out."

2220 Zulu
North East Of Corner Brook
Newfoundland, Canada

The hike had been close to deadly. Though they covered much ground and were nearing Temir's land, Major Steele had been unforgiving until Harm literally collapsed. He never let Harm or Mac stop "marching", not even for a drink of water as they passed a stream. The two had to make due sharing a canteen, most of which Mac had offered to Harm. They still had their packs on, making the hike even that more horrible. Eventually, she had to help Harm, using her body to hold up his as they walked through the rough terrain.

"I can't. . . I can't go anymore." Harm slipped away from Mac and fell to the ground. His chest was heaving, body shaking from both the stress and the lack of getting the medicines his body required. Steele had snatched the pill bottles from Harm and stuffed them into his own pack, he wanted him to suffer.

Mac came to her knees next to Harm. She pressed her hand to the side of his face, then his forehead, finding him hot and feverish. "We have to rest. He needs to rest. He needs his medication."

Chris sighed deeply. "Both of you are such poor officers. . . Fine, we'll stop. They can't use him if he's dead." He pulled the packs off of both Harm and Mac and placed them with his own. "You have twenty minutes, nothing more.

"He can't move anymore, not without his medication." Mac spat, her eyes shooting daggers at the Major. "For Christ's sake, can't you see he's suffering?"

"Oh yes." There was a pleased grin, a sickening pleased grin and she realized that Chris liked having others feel pain. "I just really don't care. . . They need him alive. They never said unhurt."

Mac stood up and moved her way closer to him. "Who's 'they?' Huh? We're going to be killed anyway, what's the harm in letting us know."

"They, Sarah. . .are Temir and his associate. . .They are the ones that set all of this in motion. My being at JAG, the attack on Mr. Webb, the Commander's disappearance. . .They control the game and everything in between."

"And who is this associate?"

Chris grinned. "My. .." He was about to finish when Harm let out a glottal cry. "Tsk tsk tsk, shouldn't have started the drugs in the first place, Commander." He'd heard about the type of torture Temir preferred to use. It was a type that Chris, himself had used and found it to be of best effect – hurt the person, then shoot them up with pain killers – only to hurt them again. The result, after the pain killers wore off, was a pain unmatched by any other.

Mac kneeled next to Harm again. Grabbing the canteen, she doused her scarf with whatever water was left and dabbed it onto his face. "Shhh, Harm. . .Hang on." His eyes were closed, his body shivering and his medication was in Chris' bag not too far away. She turned and looked up at the Major who had taken a spot against a tree. "He's exhausted, he needs those pills. . .The doctor who took care of him told us Harm needed to continue to take them both for two months. . .Please, let me give them to him."

Chris had between watching the two with great interest. During the hike, he found that Rabb and Mac would often chance looks at each other. Looks saved for people you were intimate with. The look of lovers. Now, as Mac kneeled by Harm's side, he saw the look of despair in her eyes. She would do anything for Harm. "You really care for him don't you, Sarah?"

"Yes." Mac said with such conviction that it scared her.

"Would you do anything to protect him?" It was more than a statement than a question.

"Yes." She said between clenched teeth. What was Steele planning? What sort of sick thing was running through his mind? God, how she hated that at one point she was trying to be friends with him, just to keep the peace. Now, all she wanted to do was throttle him.

His smile was nauseating. The look in his eyes would have frightened any other woman away. "Well, you're in luck then. . .because I am feeling charitable."

She knew what he wanted, it's the same thing he wanted from the moment he stepped foot into JAG ops. The same thing he wanted that evening when he'd attacked her. "I know what you want from me."

"Do you?" He knew that she did, it had been obvious from the way his eyes were drinking her in. The thing was, how much did she really care for Harm? Enough to sacrifice her own body?

Mac would. She'd do anything to make sure Harm would be okay, even something as low as was on Chris' mind. "Let's just go and get it over with."

Harm grabbed her arm, pulling her down to him. "No, Mac." There was something in his eyes that only she caught, a wink that he gave her before pretending to pass out.

She understood, though sure that he was tired, the overall aspect of it was a charade. "It's okay Harm. . .I'll be okay." Mac took a deep breath, he had a plan and though she had no clue what it was, she would trust him. "Trust me."

"Yea, trust her commander. . .trust her." Chris grinned evilly, grabbing Mac's arm forcefully and heading with her into the bushes.

2221 Zulu
Raymond Levine's Home
Alexandria, Virginia

"Are things as they should be?" Ray said nervously into the phone. For all of his planning and preparedness, he really didn't think that a lowly set of JAG lawyers would have rattled him so badly.

("He's still not arrived, Raymond. . .Tell me again why I should believe you?" Temir's voice asked over the line, anger evident as his accent became more pronounced. "First, you want me to use the Commander, then you want him dead, now. . .I am not sure what to believe anymore.")

The plan had been worked on and revised for nearly three years. It was to be a joint effort between the Taliban and rogue members of the CIA. It's conception began in the mind of one Raymond Levine who had grown tired of his Nation's lack of support for the agency. The attacks on America had given a good blow to their credibility and as a result other agencies were getting the missions formerly handed to the CIA. He was tired of it and needed something drastic to happen, something that would get people's attention.

The idea was to have several people on the inside, with fingers in as many pies as possible. Then he would pick a select few to join him, some wouldn't even have a clue what they were up to. He wanted to steal a plane, but not just any plane, the prestigious Aurora, a plane created for the use of the agency. Then, he would need a pilot, but not just any pilot, one who had intimate knowledge of the plane and it's features – something few, even it's engineers were familiar with. Enter Harmon Rabb junior.

Clayton Webb had helped out here, not knowing that his conversations with Ray Levine were only feeding the man's insane plans. He'd spoke to Raymond over drinks about the woman he'd lost to a former pilot, a man that he'd sometimes wished would have been killed while working for the agency. Upon searching through Harm's files, Ray found what he needed; a former Navy pilot turned lawyer who just so happened to be very well briefed on the Aurora. It was almost as if God had guided his hand, Temir even insisted it was Allah's wish.

He was patient as he rose through the ranks of the CIA, finally becoming the Assistant Deputy Director made things much easier, like his request to have two pilots of his choosing (the two that Temir had killed for wanting more money) as the trainee's for Watson and Rabb. Once Temir got a hold of the planes, he could do what he wanted, but was ordered to keep one of the pilots aboard in order to test his men. Eventually, the planes would be loaded with the armament Temir's men had stolen from the Canadian Army.

There was no money passed between Temir or Levine, only the understanding that Temir was to attack US interests anywhere he saw fit. Levine was to make it seem that the lack of funding for the CIA, the missions being taken away from them, were the core reasons why the attacks had happened. The end result was for Levine to capture a few unsuspecting people involved including Temir's men, who were more than happy to give their lives for Allah, and whatever military pilot was involved in training the men. Thus, it would prove that the CIA needed to have interests in aspects of the military.

Unfortunate for both men, one key part of their plan escaped and neither had a clue as to his whereabouts. That was until Levine got a call from a friend in Corner Brook, a friend that happened to be the guide that led Harm and Mac into the mountains. If the two should have lost their way, two of Temir's team players would lay in wait, posing as mountain people. Finally, it was Levine's decision, as he never really trusted Temir too much, to send Major Chris Steele, creep extraordinaire, to shadow Harm and Mac.

"I sent my nephew in after them. . . I trust him, he is a deadly weapon. He'll make sure Rabb is brought to you." Things couldn't be quite over for Ray yet, but things had to fall into place quickly before Creswell and the others found another way to pry. Offing the three was a viable idea, but people would be suspicious and in his nervous state, he didn't need any mistakes that would point to him. So, he had his team beef up security within the CIA/related mainframes. They were sealed up better than Fort Knox. Well, he hoped they were. "We need to move quickly. . . Once he arrives get out of your location, have him fly the planes elsewhere."

(Temir didn't like that idea. He was fine in his hideout, his agreements with certain higher ups – created by a nice exchange of money – had given him a nice hideout and a perfect place to hide the planes. "I remind you that having Rabb as the pilot was your fault. . .My men could have learned it with the two you had picked.")

He was right, they could have learned from the two trainees that Andy and Harm had taken up, but Ray didn't want to take chances. Neither of the two were as briefed on the Aurora as Rabb and Watson. "You were a bit hasty on killing them, Temir."

("They were greedy. . .wanting more money. You told me they were expendable.")

"And I told you to watch Rabb closely, that Clayton Webb had mentioned his stubbornness, you should have heeded that."

(Temir laughed angrily into the phone. "I tortured the man as much as I could, I assure you he was never left alone. Besides, your people should have had him picked up at the boarder, such was the request I made you, no?")

"Look, we are going in circles. . .Suffice to say that Rabb is on the way, if he doesn't make it in a day or two, have your people comb the area for him." Ray's voice sounded surer than he really was. From the things Clay had said about Harm, he was slightly worried. Now, if Chris did his job and used MacKenzie against Rabb, that was a different story altogether. That certainly would work.

Brittany – It usually ends pretty well. I am still debating wether to start a third story or not, preferably I don't want to leave this story with a cliffhanger either way ;)

Cristina – No going insane, you have to worrya bout the baby! ;)

Carby – Chris sucks, but he will get his soon ;) I think ;)

Joanoa – Well, since Cresswell doesn't exactly follow his people home, he could go away with it. It's called UA.

Aserene – Wouldn't be fun if the CIA didn't poke around. . . At least H and M are handling it together. Unlike Paraguay :P

Jaggurl – Oh I can get evilier. ;) Trust me. ;)

NK – Oye que! We've been cliffhangerless for a while :P Oh, I am like roadkill who got shocked back to life. I'll live… :P

Froggy – Yep, and they even tossed in this fluffy bathrobe for ten bux. Hehehe ;)

Harmfan – You might get your wish about Chris soon. ;)

Jtbwriter - what is funny I had made him up on this story quite a bit before we started getting much info on VicPukeick LOL! Besides Chris is a Marine and VicPuke is a poor excuse for a naval officer. ;)