Part 23
Michelle Elbert's Residence Beaufort, North Carolina 1256 Local
Kate and Mac walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She kept half an eye on the NCIS agent. Kate had pretty much clammed up on the ride back to the hotel yesterday. She'd made it clear after one or two attempts on Mac's part that the subject of Jethro Gibbs was off-limits. They'd worked a bit more before they'd gone to bed. Alan Romblin was still among the missing but McGee was confident he could track the man down. As of this morning, he still hadn't had any success. After a minute or so, Kate glanced over at Mac, "Are you sure she said she'd be home?"
Mac frowned, pushing the doorbell again and then knocking, "Mike's usually pretty good about calling if she can't make an appointment. She should be here. She said over the phone that she'd be getting ready to have some people over tomorrow." She looked around, "Why don't we check around back? Maybe she's down at the boathouse."
"And maybe not," Kate countered grimly. "Mike's a smart woman. She must know we're getting suspicious. She might have taken off and this was a delaying tactic."
"I know, I know," Mac sighed, "I just keep hoping that there's a rational explanation behind all this. I like her, Kate. She's done a lot of good for a lot of people." She gave the brunette a pointed look, "And if it is her, we'd better make damn sure our evidence is iron-clad because I don't think anyone else will believe she's a killer either." Mac started towards the corner of the house, "Let's go take a look."
Kate touched her arm, "Keep your guard up." Mac nodded and the two women walked around the side of the house. As they got closer to the back, they both stopped and looked at each other. Faintly, but very distinctly, a woman's voice was swearing. That was punctuated by an occasional bang and clatter. "The Congresswoman?" Kate mouthed silently, her eyebrows raised. Mac nodded, looking confused. They continued on to the corner and then stopped again.
A sweating Congresswoman Michelle Crandell Elbert, dressed in tattered jeans and an old workshirt, was hauling a chunk of wood and tin siding to a flatbed trailer that was already partially filled. She was also keeping up a running diatribe, "Goddamn lazy bastards! Take the shed down, I said. It's an eyesore, I said. I'm having a backyard party tomorrow, would it be a problem? Oh no... No problem, they said. Won't take a minute, they said. Well, you'd think once they'd knocked the damn thing down, they'd have the sense God gave a goose to haul it away! Damnation! The trailer is right here in plain view! Could they make the connection? Noooo. Does my backyard now look worse than before? Yeessss. GODDAMN lazy bastards! They think I don't know where they are... weeellllll, guess what, boys? When I get done here, I'm going down to Sweeney's air-conditioned Bar and Grill and knocking you all on your asses. DAMN them!" While she was ranting, she'd dumped the one piece and gone back to a pile of rubble for another.
Mac gave Kate a sideways look, the corners of her mouth twitching, "I think she's still here."
"Oh yeah, I'd say so," Kate was fighting her own grin.
They resumed their walk down to the Congresswoman. They were almost on top of her before Elbert looked up and stopped in surprise. Mopping the perspiration from her forehead with a sleeve, she glanced at her watch, "Oh damn, it's that late?" She looked back at them, "I know we were supposed to talk but as you can see, I've got a bit of a situation here. Could we postpone it until later this evening or maybe tomorrow? I really need to get this done."
Mac kept quiet, letting Kate take the lead. The NCIS agent gave a careful shrug, "Sure, that's not a problem." She glanced at Mac for a moment, "Or we could give you a hand and then talk later." This might work out to their advantage. A little camaraderie and some casually posed questions might yield more results than a formal and possibly adversarial interview. If they could catch Elbert unaware, it would be well worth a little sweat.
Mike smiled at Kate and then shook her head, "I truly appreciate the offer but I can't let you do that." She waved a hand at them, "Those clothes are too nice to be hauling scrap and getting sweaty. Besides, if you're not used to working in this heat, it's very easy to overdo. I wouldn't want either of you to get sick."
Kate straightened a little and glanced again at Mac, getting a slight nod, "We'll be careful." She smiled at Elbert, "I'm sure you have other things you need to be doing besides this. With three of us, you'll get done a lot quicker."
Mike looked doubtfully from Kate to Mac, "I don't know. It seems rather rude to invite you here and then put you to work." She glanced back at the rubble, "I'm sure I can get rid of that in a couple more hours. You two could go get something to eat and then come back."
"And feel guilty the whole time knowing you're out here killing yourself?" Kate folded her arms, "Look, just let us help. We're wasting time arguing about it."
"Fine," Mike rolled her eyes and then held out a hand as they started towards the pile, "No wait!" She pointed towards a small table up against the boathouse. "Get some work gloves. That tin is sharp as blazes on the edges. You'll tear your hands up without some sort of protection. There's a basket over there with a bunch of gloves in it."
Mac walked over and fished out two pair. She looked over at Mike, "They're wet."
Mike looked apologetic and held up her own gloves, "I know. I'm sorry. They were left out overnight and the sprinkler system got them this morning. Your hands will be a bit wrinkly but it still beats cuts and splinters."
Nodding, Mac tossed a pair at Kate and grimaced as she pulled hers on. Oh well, once she got busy, she probably wouldn't notice the clammy feeling. Thirty-five minutes later, all three women were sweating as the pile grew steadily smaller. "We're almost done," Mike said cheerfully as she passed Mac and Kate struggling with a particularly heavy piece. She moved to grab a side, "Let me give you a hand with that."
Mac nodded thankfully, saving her breath. She was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. The heat and humidity were hitting harder than she expected. She was hoping to get finished before it became too obvious that she needed a break. Judging from Kate's silence, the NCIS agent was having her own problems. The Congresswoman seemed to be the only one who was handling the heat. After blowing off Mike's warnings, it was going to be doubly embarrassing if they both collapsed from heat exhaustion. Wrapped up in her thoughts, it took Mike's exclamation to bring Mac's focus back to the here and now.
"Kate!" Mac forgot about her own complaints when she saw Kate had fallen to her hands and knees dropping the front end of the section of roof they were carrying. It had landed half on her. Mac and Mike, surprised by the sudden stop, had driven the jagged front edge into the back of her legs before they could stop their momentum.
"Oh Lord, pull back!" Mike yelled at Mac who threw herself backwards, ignoring the slight dizziness at the sudden exertion. She could feel her heart hammering. Heaving the scrap to one side, they hurried over to Kate.
She'd rolled over on her side and had wrapped her hands around one of her legs. Her pants were torn and Mac could see the first vestiges of blood already appearing around the edges. Worry flared as Mac saw how pale her friend was.
Mike leaned down, pulling off her gloves then brushing Kate's hair back and feeling her forehead, "Damn." She scowled, looked up at Mac and then at the boathouse, "We need to get her out of the sun and get her cooled off." She grabbed an arm and nodded towards the boathouse, "C'mon, that's closest and I've got water in the fridge on board."
"Her leg... " Mac started. God... she couldn't concentrate.
"We have to deal with the heat first," Mike snapped. "Get her up. There's a first aid kit on the boat, too."
They hauled a groaning Kate to her feet and half-carried, half-dragged her to a bench inside the boathouse. By the time, they got her seated, Mac's own legs were shaking. The adrenalin rush had left her feeling worse than before. It was blessedly dim inside and the slight breeze off the water felt heavenly. She sat down next to Kate and let the brunette lean against her.
"Mac, hold this." Abruptly, a mixing bowl was shoved into her hands and she dragged her eyes upward to see Mike standing in front of her holding a bottle of water and a dishtowel. Elbert unscrewed the cap and splashed the water into the bowl, "This is the best I can do on short notice. Get her wrists in there while I put this on her neck." She stopped and stared at the Marine for a moment, "Oh Christ, Mac. Put your own wrists in there. I told you guys to take it easy. Why didn't you say something?"
Mac shook her head and immediately regretted it as the dizziness returned. She focused with difficulty on the Congresswoman, "Kate... we need to get her to a hospital." Elbert didn't seem to hear her as she stripped the gloves off both of them and stuck their hands in the bowl. Mac inhaled a little at the iciness of the water and then gasped when a cold cloth hit the back of her neck. Trying to ignore how her hands and neck were tingling, Mac opened her mouth to ask again when the NCIS agent suddenly slid bonelessly to the floor, taking the bowl with her and spilling it all over the deck. "Kate? Kate!" She wanted to kneel down next to the unconscious woman but it was all she could do to remain sitting upright. She looked up to see Elbert staring at Kate. Mac forced herself to concentrate and speak in a command tone, "Mike! Call 911 now!"
Mike gave her a strange look, "I don't think so." She looked back down at Kate and said thoughtfully, "It must be the weight difference. That, and I suspect you have a higher tolerance for this stuff considering your background." Elbert broke into a smile, "I wasn't even sure something like this was going to work. Shows what I know." She knelt down, pushed Kate onto her side and pulled off the agent's pistol and holster. With practiced ease, she clipped the holster onto her jeans and smiled brightly at Mac, "How're you holding up?"
Mac stared at her, "You... "
Mike nodded impatiently, "Yes, me. Don't pretend you weren't suspicious. Do you have a gun too? Never mind, I'll just look for myself." As she reached forward, Mac forced her hands up and threw herself at the Congresswoman, taking them both down. It was all she had left, she couldn't even resist as Mike shoved her aside and sat up. Elbert scrambled to her feet and looked down at her. Mac was surprised to see almost a look of pride on the Congresswoman's face, "Damn, you are stubborn, aren't you?" Cautiously, Elbert slid a foot under Mac's shoulder and lifted. When the Marine didn't react, Mike quickly knelt and rolled her forward, pinning her with a knee for good measure. Slipping off Mac's gun, she grabbed a handful of the Colonel's shirt and pulled her onto her back again.
So easy. Everything had worked well beyond her expectations. Where was the rush? That intoxicating sense of danger? Elbert stood there, absently hefting the gun while she contemplated the JAG lawyer who glared back at her. Why not? These were her rules after all. With an amused chuckle, Mike bent down and placed the gun about six inches from Mac's hand and stepped back. "Okay Mac, I'm going to give you a chance to show me what you're made of. Grab the gun and you win. I'll surrender peacefully and you can be the hero." Mac eyed her suspiciously. Mike smiled and took another step back, "Go on. You'll be saving Kate's life as well as your own. That's worth a try, don't you think?"
Mac stared at the Congresswoman. It had to be a trick of some sort but why would she bother? Mac shot a quick glance at her gun lying so temptingly close. Her body felt heavy and numb. Even if she could reach the gun, would she be able to hold it? What the hell was Mike doing? What the hell had she done to them? Mac blinked and gave her a head a shake, forcing herself to focus. Goddammit, how could Mike have murdered all those people? She'd betrayed everything that Mac held dear. With the anger, the numbness seemed to retreat a little. Mac narrowed her eyes slightly while she concentrated on an escalating rage. She shot another look at Elbert, who was now leaning against the wall of the boathouse and then lunged for the gun, scooping it up in one motion and aiming it at Mike.
Mike straightened, clapping her hands in delight, "God, this is one of the reasons I like you so much. You just don't give up, do you?" She folded her arms and smiled, "So now what?"
"You said you'd surrender," Mac ground out slowly. She could barely feel the gun in her hands and her vision was beginning to blur.
"Yeah, well, about that... " Mike pushed herself off the wall and shrugged, "I lied." She started to move to the side.
Slowly Mac shifted the gun to bear on the Congresswoman again, "Don't move."
Mike frowned thoughtfully, "Or you'll what?" She took another step, angling to get behind the Marine, "Shoot me? I can see your arms shaking from here. Is it getting that hard to make yourself move? Is everything getting fuzzy?" Elbert moved again, her manner taunting, "C'mon Mac, stay with me... if you can."
"I will shoot," Mac gritted her teeth, sweating with the effort it was taking. She couldn't even tell if her finger was on the trigger but she wasn't ready to give up yet.
"You know, I believe you would," Mike eyed her appraisingly. She sidled sideways a little more, "The thing is, I don't think you can move fast enough to hit me." With that, she leaped suddenly. Desperately Mac tried to move with her but it was like swimming through molasses. Moments later, Mike landed on her from behind, knees first, driving the air out of her lungs and smashing her into the dock. She barely registered Elbert plucking the pistol out of her limp hands as she struggled to breathe.
Mike shoved off of Mac to stand up again and was rewarded with a low groan. She stood looking down at the Marine, enjoying the exhilaration of the adrenalin rush. This was what it was all about. The thrill of being on the edge, the rush that came with the power of life and death. She moved around to Mac's front and knelt down. The brunette's eyes were closed as she continued to breathe heavily. Mike reached forward and patted her cheek, "None of that. Open your eyes, Mac, show some grit." She smiled approvingly when Mac's eyes finally opened, "That was a helluva a try, Colonel, but playtime's over. You deserve some sort of reward though. Tell you what, stay conscious long enough and I'll tell you how I managed this."
She straightened up and walked over to a cupboard by the door. Reaching inside, Mike pulled out a handful of long plastic ties. Walking back, she knelt down next to Kate, put her wrists together, slid the tie over and tightened it. Repeating the procedure with her ankles, Elbert turned to Mac. She held up the ties, "Gate ties, for fastening wire mesh to those tubular steel gates. Handy little things. It's amazing how much stuff you can find at the local feed store. I picked up the DMSO there too."
She moved to the Marine, pulling her wrists behind her back and securing them with a tie. Elbert bound Mac's ankles as well and flipped her over onto her back, "I'll bet you've been wondering what happened? Listen, would you mind if I talked while I change out of these clothes?" Mike patted Mac's legs and stood up, "Didn't think so." She gestured to herself, "This is hardly the outfit anyone expects to see me wearing when I take the boat out. Appearance does matter."
Mike climbed down to the boat and disappeared inside. A minute or two later, she came back out on deck, carrying a bundle. She started stripping out of her clothes. "Still with me, Mac? Great. Anyway... I knew you guys were getting suspicious and would be pretty leery of any kind of food or drink, so what to do? Getting into a shoot-out was definitely out of the question. Hypodermics? Darts? Smack you in the head with a club? I still had the same problem of how to get the drop on both of you at practically the same time. Then I remembered that case in Kate's file and there was the answer. DMSO."
Her voice was muffled as she pulled a t-shirt over her head, "Teebo Willems probably thought I was nuts when I told him to knock down the shed and leave the debris 'til later. See, I decided the gloves would be the least suspicious thing - providing, obviously, I could get you to wear them. Knowing you two, it was a safe bet. You're both so used to competing with the guys, I figured you wouldn't be able to resist a subtle challenge. I was right." She chuckled and shook her head, "You have no idea how much I wanted to laugh when I let you two 'argue' me into letting you help."
Mike gathered up her old clothes, "So, last night, I mixed up this concoction of water, DMSO, some over-the-counter sleeping pill crap and leftover muscle relaxants I'd gotten when I strained my back last year. I let the gloves soak in it 'til this morning. It was all guesswork, of course. They don't exactly have recipes for this kind of thing and I wasn't about to test it on myself. It's probably good I wasn't trying to make something for you to drink. Most likely I would've poisoned you and THAT would have been awkward."
She climbed back onto the dock and knelt down to check the NCIS agent, prying open an eyelid, "Still out." She glanced back at Kate's leg where a small pool of blood was forming, "That needs stitches but I suppose there's really no point now." She stood up and walked over to Mac. Leaning down, Mike patted her on the cheek, "You just keep hanging on, don't you? Now where was I? Oh yeah, my little formula... So, I'm guessing you know that DMSO makes stuff absorb through the skin? Sure you do. Well, once I'd figured it out, then it was a matter of getting you into the gloves for as long as possible and waiting to see what happened. Like I said, I had no idea if it was going to work or not. But you know what? I figured, what the hell? If it worked, great. If it only affected you a little, I could blame it on the heat and if it didn't work at all, you'd be none the wiser and I'd try something else. Although I confess I did hedge my bets a bit. That bowl of water was actually a fresh batch."
Mike stopped talking for a moment and studied the brunette, "You still in there?" Elbert reached over and slapped Mac lightly on the cheek and then slapped harder. A faint grimace was the only response. Mike smiled, "Perfect. I think it's time to get this show on the road." She stood up and walked back to Kate. Grabbing her under the arms, she dragged her over to the ladder and stopped, looking down at the boat. "Okay, this is a problem. I wasn't thinking about how to get you down during low tide... Oh well, I suppose so long as neither of you breaks your neck, I should still be able to explain any bruises... " She hefted Kate's limp body a little higher and then heaved, letting the NCIS agent land on the deck three feet below. Mike looked down at her for a moment and then walked over to Mac, "Your turn, Colonel."
Mac could barely feel her body as she was dragged across the dock. She felt a brief surge of panic penetrate the haze as Mike hesitated a moment at the top of the ladder. Then the deck was rushing towards her and everything went black.
Michelle Elbert's Residence Beaufort, North Carolina 1256 Local
Kate and Mac walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She kept half an eye on the NCIS agent. Kate had pretty much clammed up on the ride back to the hotel yesterday. She'd made it clear after one or two attempts on Mac's part that the subject of Jethro Gibbs was off-limits. They'd worked a bit more before they'd gone to bed. Alan Romblin was still among the missing but McGee was confident he could track the man down. As of this morning, he still hadn't had any success. After a minute or so, Kate glanced over at Mac, "Are you sure she said she'd be home?"
Mac frowned, pushing the doorbell again and then knocking, "Mike's usually pretty good about calling if she can't make an appointment. She should be here. She said over the phone that she'd be getting ready to have some people over tomorrow." She looked around, "Why don't we check around back? Maybe she's down at the boathouse."
"And maybe not," Kate countered grimly. "Mike's a smart woman. She must know we're getting suspicious. She might have taken off and this was a delaying tactic."
"I know, I know," Mac sighed, "I just keep hoping that there's a rational explanation behind all this. I like her, Kate. She's done a lot of good for a lot of people." She gave the brunette a pointed look, "And if it is her, we'd better make damn sure our evidence is iron-clad because I don't think anyone else will believe she's a killer either." Mac started towards the corner of the house, "Let's go take a look."
Kate touched her arm, "Keep your guard up." Mac nodded and the two women walked around the side of the house. As they got closer to the back, they both stopped and looked at each other. Faintly, but very distinctly, a woman's voice was swearing. That was punctuated by an occasional bang and clatter. "The Congresswoman?" Kate mouthed silently, her eyebrows raised. Mac nodded, looking confused. They continued on to the corner and then stopped again.
A sweating Congresswoman Michelle Crandell Elbert, dressed in tattered jeans and an old workshirt, was hauling a chunk of wood and tin siding to a flatbed trailer that was already partially filled. She was also keeping up a running diatribe, "Goddamn lazy bastards! Take the shed down, I said. It's an eyesore, I said. I'm having a backyard party tomorrow, would it be a problem? Oh no... No problem, they said. Won't take a minute, they said. Well, you'd think once they'd knocked the damn thing down, they'd have the sense God gave a goose to haul it away! Damnation! The trailer is right here in plain view! Could they make the connection? Noooo. Does my backyard now look worse than before? Yeessss. GODDAMN lazy bastards! They think I don't know where they are... weeellllll, guess what, boys? When I get done here, I'm going down to Sweeney's air-conditioned Bar and Grill and knocking you all on your asses. DAMN them!" While she was ranting, she'd dumped the one piece and gone back to a pile of rubble for another.
Mac gave Kate a sideways look, the corners of her mouth twitching, "I think she's still here."
"Oh yeah, I'd say so," Kate was fighting her own grin.
They resumed their walk down to the Congresswoman. They were almost on top of her before Elbert looked up and stopped in surprise. Mopping the perspiration from her forehead with a sleeve, she glanced at her watch, "Oh damn, it's that late?" She looked back at them, "I know we were supposed to talk but as you can see, I've got a bit of a situation here. Could we postpone it until later this evening or maybe tomorrow? I really need to get this done."
Mac kept quiet, letting Kate take the lead. The NCIS agent gave a careful shrug, "Sure, that's not a problem." She glanced at Mac for a moment, "Or we could give you a hand and then talk later." This might work out to their advantage. A little camaraderie and some casually posed questions might yield more results than a formal and possibly adversarial interview. If they could catch Elbert unaware, it would be well worth a little sweat.
Mike smiled at Kate and then shook her head, "I truly appreciate the offer but I can't let you do that." She waved a hand at them, "Those clothes are too nice to be hauling scrap and getting sweaty. Besides, if you're not used to working in this heat, it's very easy to overdo. I wouldn't want either of you to get sick."
Kate straightened a little and glanced again at Mac, getting a slight nod, "We'll be careful." She smiled at Elbert, "I'm sure you have other things you need to be doing besides this. With three of us, you'll get done a lot quicker."
Mike looked doubtfully from Kate to Mac, "I don't know. It seems rather rude to invite you here and then put you to work." She glanced back at the rubble, "I'm sure I can get rid of that in a couple more hours. You two could go get something to eat and then come back."
"And feel guilty the whole time knowing you're out here killing yourself?" Kate folded her arms, "Look, just let us help. We're wasting time arguing about it."
"Fine," Mike rolled her eyes and then held out a hand as they started towards the pile, "No wait!" She pointed towards a small table up against the boathouse. "Get some work gloves. That tin is sharp as blazes on the edges. You'll tear your hands up without some sort of protection. There's a basket over there with a bunch of gloves in it."
Mac walked over and fished out two pair. She looked over at Mike, "They're wet."
Mike looked apologetic and held up her own gloves, "I know. I'm sorry. They were left out overnight and the sprinkler system got them this morning. Your hands will be a bit wrinkly but it still beats cuts and splinters."
Nodding, Mac tossed a pair at Kate and grimaced as she pulled hers on. Oh well, once she got busy, she probably wouldn't notice the clammy feeling. Thirty-five minutes later, all three women were sweating as the pile grew steadily smaller. "We're almost done," Mike said cheerfully as she passed Mac and Kate struggling with a particularly heavy piece. She moved to grab a side, "Let me give you a hand with that."
Mac nodded thankfully, saving her breath. She was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. The heat and humidity were hitting harder than she expected. She was hoping to get finished before it became too obvious that she needed a break. Judging from Kate's silence, the NCIS agent was having her own problems. The Congresswoman seemed to be the only one who was handling the heat. After blowing off Mike's warnings, it was going to be doubly embarrassing if they both collapsed from heat exhaustion. Wrapped up in her thoughts, it took Mike's exclamation to bring Mac's focus back to the here and now.
"Kate!" Mac forgot about her own complaints when she saw Kate had fallen to her hands and knees dropping the front end of the section of roof they were carrying. It had landed half on her. Mac and Mike, surprised by the sudden stop, had driven the jagged front edge into the back of her legs before they could stop their momentum.
"Oh Lord, pull back!" Mike yelled at Mac who threw herself backwards, ignoring the slight dizziness at the sudden exertion. She could feel her heart hammering. Heaving the scrap to one side, they hurried over to Kate.
She'd rolled over on her side and had wrapped her hands around one of her legs. Her pants were torn and Mac could see the first vestiges of blood already appearing around the edges. Worry flared as Mac saw how pale her friend was.
Mike leaned down, pulling off her gloves then brushing Kate's hair back and feeling her forehead, "Damn." She scowled, looked up at Mac and then at the boathouse, "We need to get her out of the sun and get her cooled off." She grabbed an arm and nodded towards the boathouse, "C'mon, that's closest and I've got water in the fridge on board."
"Her leg... " Mac started. God... she couldn't concentrate.
"We have to deal with the heat first," Mike snapped. "Get her up. There's a first aid kit on the boat, too."
They hauled a groaning Kate to her feet and half-carried, half-dragged her to a bench inside the boathouse. By the time, they got her seated, Mac's own legs were shaking. The adrenalin rush had left her feeling worse than before. It was blessedly dim inside and the slight breeze off the water felt heavenly. She sat down next to Kate and let the brunette lean against her.
"Mac, hold this." Abruptly, a mixing bowl was shoved into her hands and she dragged her eyes upward to see Mike standing in front of her holding a bottle of water and a dishtowel. Elbert unscrewed the cap and splashed the water into the bowl, "This is the best I can do on short notice. Get her wrists in there while I put this on her neck." She stopped and stared at the Marine for a moment, "Oh Christ, Mac. Put your own wrists in there. I told you guys to take it easy. Why didn't you say something?"
Mac shook her head and immediately regretted it as the dizziness returned. She focused with difficulty on the Congresswoman, "Kate... we need to get her to a hospital." Elbert didn't seem to hear her as she stripped the gloves off both of them and stuck their hands in the bowl. Mac inhaled a little at the iciness of the water and then gasped when a cold cloth hit the back of her neck. Trying to ignore how her hands and neck were tingling, Mac opened her mouth to ask again when the NCIS agent suddenly slid bonelessly to the floor, taking the bowl with her and spilling it all over the deck. "Kate? Kate!" She wanted to kneel down next to the unconscious woman but it was all she could do to remain sitting upright. She looked up to see Elbert staring at Kate. Mac forced herself to concentrate and speak in a command tone, "Mike! Call 911 now!"
Mike gave her a strange look, "I don't think so." She looked back down at Kate and said thoughtfully, "It must be the weight difference. That, and I suspect you have a higher tolerance for this stuff considering your background." Elbert broke into a smile, "I wasn't even sure something like this was going to work. Shows what I know." She knelt down, pushed Kate onto her side and pulled off the agent's pistol and holster. With practiced ease, she clipped the holster onto her jeans and smiled brightly at Mac, "How're you holding up?"
Mac stared at her, "You... "
Mike nodded impatiently, "Yes, me. Don't pretend you weren't suspicious. Do you have a gun too? Never mind, I'll just look for myself." As she reached forward, Mac forced her hands up and threw herself at the Congresswoman, taking them both down. It was all she had left, she couldn't even resist as Mike shoved her aside and sat up. Elbert scrambled to her feet and looked down at her. Mac was surprised to see almost a look of pride on the Congresswoman's face, "Damn, you are stubborn, aren't you?" Cautiously, Elbert slid a foot under Mac's shoulder and lifted. When the Marine didn't react, Mike quickly knelt and rolled her forward, pinning her with a knee for good measure. Slipping off Mac's gun, she grabbed a handful of the Colonel's shirt and pulled her onto her back again.
So easy. Everything had worked well beyond her expectations. Where was the rush? That intoxicating sense of danger? Elbert stood there, absently hefting the gun while she contemplated the JAG lawyer who glared back at her. Why not? These were her rules after all. With an amused chuckle, Mike bent down and placed the gun about six inches from Mac's hand and stepped back. "Okay Mac, I'm going to give you a chance to show me what you're made of. Grab the gun and you win. I'll surrender peacefully and you can be the hero." Mac eyed her suspiciously. Mike smiled and took another step back, "Go on. You'll be saving Kate's life as well as your own. That's worth a try, don't you think?"
Mac stared at the Congresswoman. It had to be a trick of some sort but why would she bother? Mac shot a quick glance at her gun lying so temptingly close. Her body felt heavy and numb. Even if she could reach the gun, would she be able to hold it? What the hell was Mike doing? What the hell had she done to them? Mac blinked and gave her a head a shake, forcing herself to focus. Goddammit, how could Mike have murdered all those people? She'd betrayed everything that Mac held dear. With the anger, the numbness seemed to retreat a little. Mac narrowed her eyes slightly while she concentrated on an escalating rage. She shot another look at Elbert, who was now leaning against the wall of the boathouse and then lunged for the gun, scooping it up in one motion and aiming it at Mike.
Mike straightened, clapping her hands in delight, "God, this is one of the reasons I like you so much. You just don't give up, do you?" She folded her arms and smiled, "So now what?"
"You said you'd surrender," Mac ground out slowly. She could barely feel the gun in her hands and her vision was beginning to blur.
"Yeah, well, about that... " Mike pushed herself off the wall and shrugged, "I lied." She started to move to the side.
Slowly Mac shifted the gun to bear on the Congresswoman again, "Don't move."
Mike frowned thoughtfully, "Or you'll what?" She took another step, angling to get behind the Marine, "Shoot me? I can see your arms shaking from here. Is it getting that hard to make yourself move? Is everything getting fuzzy?" Elbert moved again, her manner taunting, "C'mon Mac, stay with me... if you can."
"I will shoot," Mac gritted her teeth, sweating with the effort it was taking. She couldn't even tell if her finger was on the trigger but she wasn't ready to give up yet.
"You know, I believe you would," Mike eyed her appraisingly. She sidled sideways a little more, "The thing is, I don't think you can move fast enough to hit me." With that, she leaped suddenly. Desperately Mac tried to move with her but it was like swimming through molasses. Moments later, Mike landed on her from behind, knees first, driving the air out of her lungs and smashing her into the dock. She barely registered Elbert plucking the pistol out of her limp hands as she struggled to breathe.
Mike shoved off of Mac to stand up again and was rewarded with a low groan. She stood looking down at the Marine, enjoying the exhilaration of the adrenalin rush. This was what it was all about. The thrill of being on the edge, the rush that came with the power of life and death. She moved around to Mac's front and knelt down. The brunette's eyes were closed as she continued to breathe heavily. Mike reached forward and patted her cheek, "None of that. Open your eyes, Mac, show some grit." She smiled approvingly when Mac's eyes finally opened, "That was a helluva a try, Colonel, but playtime's over. You deserve some sort of reward though. Tell you what, stay conscious long enough and I'll tell you how I managed this."
She straightened up and walked over to a cupboard by the door. Reaching inside, Mike pulled out a handful of long plastic ties. Walking back, she knelt down next to Kate, put her wrists together, slid the tie over and tightened it. Repeating the procedure with her ankles, Elbert turned to Mac. She held up the ties, "Gate ties, for fastening wire mesh to those tubular steel gates. Handy little things. It's amazing how much stuff you can find at the local feed store. I picked up the DMSO there too."
She moved to the Marine, pulling her wrists behind her back and securing them with a tie. Elbert bound Mac's ankles as well and flipped her over onto her back, "I'll bet you've been wondering what happened? Listen, would you mind if I talked while I change out of these clothes?" Mike patted Mac's legs and stood up, "Didn't think so." She gestured to herself, "This is hardly the outfit anyone expects to see me wearing when I take the boat out. Appearance does matter."
Mike climbed down to the boat and disappeared inside. A minute or two later, she came back out on deck, carrying a bundle. She started stripping out of her clothes. "Still with me, Mac? Great. Anyway... I knew you guys were getting suspicious and would be pretty leery of any kind of food or drink, so what to do? Getting into a shoot-out was definitely out of the question. Hypodermics? Darts? Smack you in the head with a club? I still had the same problem of how to get the drop on both of you at practically the same time. Then I remembered that case in Kate's file and there was the answer. DMSO."
Her voice was muffled as she pulled a t-shirt over her head, "Teebo Willems probably thought I was nuts when I told him to knock down the shed and leave the debris 'til later. See, I decided the gloves would be the least suspicious thing - providing, obviously, I could get you to wear them. Knowing you two, it was a safe bet. You're both so used to competing with the guys, I figured you wouldn't be able to resist a subtle challenge. I was right." She chuckled and shook her head, "You have no idea how much I wanted to laugh when I let you two 'argue' me into letting you help."
Mike gathered up her old clothes, "So, last night, I mixed up this concoction of water, DMSO, some over-the-counter sleeping pill crap and leftover muscle relaxants I'd gotten when I strained my back last year. I let the gloves soak in it 'til this morning. It was all guesswork, of course. They don't exactly have recipes for this kind of thing and I wasn't about to test it on myself. It's probably good I wasn't trying to make something for you to drink. Most likely I would've poisoned you and THAT would have been awkward."
She climbed back onto the dock and knelt down to check the NCIS agent, prying open an eyelid, "Still out." She glanced back at Kate's leg where a small pool of blood was forming, "That needs stitches but I suppose there's really no point now." She stood up and walked over to Mac. Leaning down, Mike patted her on the cheek, "You just keep hanging on, don't you? Now where was I? Oh yeah, my little formula... So, I'm guessing you know that DMSO makes stuff absorb through the skin? Sure you do. Well, once I'd figured it out, then it was a matter of getting you into the gloves for as long as possible and waiting to see what happened. Like I said, I had no idea if it was going to work or not. But you know what? I figured, what the hell? If it worked, great. If it only affected you a little, I could blame it on the heat and if it didn't work at all, you'd be none the wiser and I'd try something else. Although I confess I did hedge my bets a bit. That bowl of water was actually a fresh batch."
Mike stopped talking for a moment and studied the brunette, "You still in there?" Elbert reached over and slapped Mac lightly on the cheek and then slapped harder. A faint grimace was the only response. Mike smiled, "Perfect. I think it's time to get this show on the road." She stood up and walked back to Kate. Grabbing her under the arms, she dragged her over to the ladder and stopped, looking down at the boat. "Okay, this is a problem. I wasn't thinking about how to get you down during low tide... Oh well, I suppose so long as neither of you breaks your neck, I should still be able to explain any bruises... " She hefted Kate's limp body a little higher and then heaved, letting the NCIS agent land on the deck three feet below. Mike looked down at her for a moment and then walked over to Mac, "Your turn, Colonel."
Mac could barely feel her body as she was dragged across the dock. She felt a brief surge of panic penetrate the haze as Mike hesitated a moment at the top of the ladder. Then the deck was rushing towards her and everything went black.
