Part 31
Naval Regional Medical Center Camp Lejeune, NC 1220 Local
Dubby turned off the set, his grip on the remote so tight that Harm was surprised it didn't shatter. Silence filled the room. Harm shot a look at Mac. She was still staring at the set like she could will the whole interview into non-existence. Ducky eased off the bed and then turned to lay a quiet hand on her shoulder, "I know this is upsetting, my dear, but the truth will out. Jethro and Kate will see to it."
Mac clutched his hand suddenly, turning towards the Doctor, "Kate?"
Mallard sighed, glancing over at Harm as well, "Still unconscious, I'm afraid. She's fighting a rather nasty infection." His voice took on a more confident timbre, "She will pull through. Kate's a stubborn woman." Ducky leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Mac's forehead, "And if I haven't said it before, thank you for saving her. At my age, every friend is precious." He straightened up, "I'd better get going. Jethro will need to know about this." He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the TV.
Harm spoke up, "Is he still with Kate?"
Ducky snorted, "Not anymore. I gave him a choice: bedrest by his decision or bedrest by my decision. Since my decision involved sedation and restraints, he went willingly enough." He started out of the room.
"Ducky?" Harm's voice stopped him at the door and he turned back, raising an eyebrow in inquiry. Harm gave him a quiet smile, "Physician, heal thyself."
Mallard chuckled, shaking his head, "Quite right, Commander." He gave a short bow, "After I talk with Jethro, I shall most certainly seek my own bed." With that, he left the room.
Gunny cleared his throat, his expression hard, "Sir, ma'am, I'd like to check into that reporter's sources. Somebody's been talking out of turn."
Harm nodded, "Go." Once Walters had left the room, he turned back to Mac. It broke his heart to see the look on her face. He reached towards her, "Mac, it'll be okay. We'll get through this and Elbert will get what she deserves."
She pulled back, shaking her head and looking even more upset, "No! My past... my life on TV! Every stupid mistake... "
Harm grabbed her arms, his gaze fierce, "Every triumph, every obstacle overcome, every person you've ever helped! Don't you dare let Elbert make you apologize for what you've done with your life! She's stolen a march but that's all. We WILL put that woman where she belongs! You read me, Marine?"
Mac stared at him in frustrated despair. He was too close to realize how this was going to play out and she couldn't articulate well enough to tell him. How could he understand? In its own way, his childhood had been as traumatic as hers but with two glaring differences: his mother and stepfather loved him and she doubted if anyone had ever looked at him with disgust and disdain. It hadn't happened to her in years but it was going to happen now. She was going to be pilloried on national TV. Innuendo would be married to fact and she'd be portrayed as an alcoholic, an adulteress, a murderer who got off on a technicality, a woman who no doubt achieved her current status by bedding superior officers. Her life was about to become a waking nightmare.
She took a breath and shook her head again, "Knows enough... plausible." Dammit, her voice was disappearing entirely.
Harm rested his hands on her shoulders, "We'll stop her, I promise you." He could feel Mac trembling slightly and frowned. It was even money on whether it was fatigue or stress. Either way, she needed to rest. Her voice was almost non-existent. He softened his expression and put his hands on either side of her face, "Right now, however, you are going to lay back down and try to rest. Do I need to call Dr. Hampton?" He got the negative he was halfway expecting, "Okay then, let's get you settled."
Mac would have liked to protest but her body betrayed her. Almost as soon as her head touched the pillow, an overwhelming need to sleep washed over her. Perversely, she tried to fight it but Harm was gently rubbing her shoulder and murmuring soothing inanities. Four minutes and twelve seconds after she laid down, Mac succumbed to the inevitable.
Harm stayed and watched her sleep. For all the calm reassurances and comforting words, he was waging an internal struggle not to heave a chair across the room or punch holes in the walls. Damn that woman! Leaning forward in the chair, he rested his elbows and scrubbed at his face. It was only a matter of time before the wire services had that interview playing everywhere. He glanced over at Mac and then climbed to his feet. Chegwidden would need a heads-up and then he needed to talk to Gibbs.
Reaching the door, Harm stopped and turned around. He didn't want to disturb her but he didn't want to leave either. Finally, he shrugged to himself. This was a military installation, the security was a damn sight better than a civilian facility. He'd speak to the Admiral, check in on Kate, find Gibbs and then get back here... and the sooner he quit standing around talking to himself, the faster he'd get done.
He stepped out of the room and headed for the nurses' station. He'd gotten an earful about using his cellphone and had turned it off. It seemed only fair that he should be able to use their phone. It was military business after all. It took a little cajoling but a few minutes later he had Jen Coates on the phone.
"Hey Jen, is the Admiral free? I need to talk to him."
"Hi Commander. Yes, the Admiral asked me to put you through as soon as you called in. How's the Colonel and Agent Todd?" She couldn't help indulging her curiosity a bit. It had been awful when he'd called the first time. She'd never heard him sound so lost. That had been nothing compared to Admiral Chegwidden's reaction. Scuttlebutt didn't have to travel its usual circuit that afternoon. Anyone within two floors of the Admiral could have heard him.
"Mac's sleeping but I'm afraid Agent Todd's still in pretty bad shape. She's in the ICU."
"I'm sorry to hear that, sir. Hang on, while I connect you to the Admiral."
Harm drummed his fingers on the desk and then quit at a pointed look from the floor nurse. He turned around and leaned against the counter as he waited for Chegwidden to pick up. How long would it take before ZNN picked up Elbert's interview? As far as he was concerned, any time in the next century would be too damn soon. It would happen though. She was a U.S. Congresswoman and this story had enough elements to make a TV producer drool. Frowning in exasperation, he rubbed the back of his neck and then automatically straightened up when the Admiral came on the line.
"Commander? What's going on? Is the Colonel all right?"
"The doctor says she'll be fine, sir. They'll release her in a couple of days." Harm paused for a second or two, trying to figure the best way to broach this next problem.
"Why are you calling me, Harm?" Chegwidden's quiet voice carried a force all its own.
Harm could hear the slight edge that told him the Admiral was bracing for the worst. He took a deep breath, "Sir, Congresswoman Elbert gave an interview this morning. According to her, Mac was the villain. She was the murderer NCIS was searching for and when she was confronted, she abducted Elbert and Kate and forced them out to sea with the intent of throwing the two into the ocean. Kate was shot trying to overpower her and they both went over the side."
The silence was deafening. Harm cleared his throat, "Sir... ?"
"Why the hell hasn't NCIS arrested Elbert?" Chegwidden's voice was icy.
"We haven't had time to get statements, sir. Mac only woke up about 45 minutes or so ago and Kate, Special Agent Todd, is still unconscious." Harm couldn't hide the frustration he was feeling, "As much as I hate to admit it, that woman put us in a box. Without Kate to back up Mac's side, it's going to look like we're trying to protect our own by going after the accuser."
"Damn. This interview... it was a local station?"
"Yes sir, but with a Congresswoman involved and the sensational nature... "
"It's probably national news already, dammit. Does the Colonel know about it?"
Harm sighed, "Yes sir. She's pretty upset. We're fairly certain that Elbert is our hacker as well, which means she's been into Mac's records... all of them."
"So she's going to deflect suspicion away from herself by putting Mac on trial in the media. All right, Harm, I get the picture. I'd better talk to the SecNav and let him know what's coming. Maybe we can come up with some way to derail this. You get NCIS off the dime and get those statements. I want that woman in custody." The line went dead.
"That makes two of us," Harm muttered to himself as he hung up the phone. Thanking the nurse, he turned on his heel and headed towards the ICU. A few minutes later, he was standing quietly at the foot of Kate's bed. The small woman seemed lost amid all the medical paraphernalia. She seemed to be holding her own as far as he could tell from the beeping and whirring of various machines. Harm glanced again at the figure snoring lightly in the chair beside the bed and debated about waking him. This wasn't quite what he had in mind when he had suggested that Dr. Mallard get rest as well. Ducky was a bit old to be sleeping in chairs. Where was Gibbs? Although he knew it was illogical, he couldn't help glancing around the ICU in search of the agent. He knew the man wouldn't be far even if he did give in to the Doctor.
Silently, Harm left the room and went to the nurses' station. Someone had to know where Gibbs was. Several minutes later, he was standing in the doorway of a small, darkened room. Gibbs looked like he was dead to the world. His coat and shirt were off and he'd had fresh bandages put on. Harm scowled slightly, they couldn't afford to waste any more time but he didn't want to wake Gibbs either. The man should have never been out of the hospital in the first place.
Harm thought about it for a few seconds. ...What was the local NCIS guy's name? ... Nevers, that was it, Tom Nevers. As much as he would have preferred not bringing outsiders into this, he could call the agent and get things moving. It would be a pain in the neck getting the guy up to speed, especially with Mac's background, but he didn't see anyway around it right now. They had to get Elbert off the streets before she did any more damage. He turned to leave when Gibbs' voice stopped him, "Rabb? What do you want?"
Exasperated, Harm turned back around, "A lot of things but I'll settle for Elbert's head on a pike. How long have you been awake?"
"Not long," Gibbs rubbed at his eyes and grimaced as he tried to pull himself upright.
Harm strode up to the bed and grabbed the remote, raising the head of the bed. He frowned at the NCIS agent, "Do you always do things the hard way?"
Gibbs continued to scrub at his face. "Shut up, Rabb." he said wearily. He blinked a couple of times, grumbling.
Harm thought he caught the word 'coffee' in there somewhere and smothered a small grin. Mac had mentioned the agent's near addiction to that sludge they both considered acceptable Marine-grade. "Did Ducky tell you about the interview?"
"Yeah." Gibbs was silent for a couple of moments. "It makes sense and it doesn't. Grabbing the offensive was smart. She caught us with our pants down but why that story? Why not say they stumbled across a drug deal or something? Hard to prove or discount and still leaves her in the same position of tragic survivor."
"She's nuts." Harm frowned. He'd been so worried about Mac and how she was handling it that he really hadn't thought it through. He saw Gibbs staring at him and sighed, "Revenge."
Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, revenge. She must really be pissed at the Colonel to make a mistake like this. She probably doesn't like you much either." He raised an eyebrow at Harm when the JAG officer snorted, "This was aimed at both of you."
Harm rubbed at his neck again as he acknowledged the truth of what Gibbs had said. Anything that hurt Mac, hurt him. "It was a mistake, wasn't it? Kate's going to wake up and blow her right out of the water and onto Death Row." His eyes widened slightly, "Unless she's planning to make sure Kate never wakes up."
"That's not going to happen," Gibbs said firmly. "Besides, I don't think she's reached that point just yet. I think she was in such a hurry to cover her ass and take a shot at you that she jumped the gun."
Harm stared at the NCIS agent's small, feral grin and then began to smile himself, "She thought they were both dead."
Carteret County General Hospital Morehead City, NC 1345 Local
Mike lay back against the pillows and browsed through the Washington Post. Officer Bennison had been a dear and picked up various newspapers for her. It wouldn't do to fall behind on the endless machinations that made D.C. the ultimate playground. It was amazing how something as innocuous as a dedication ceremony could give insight into the ever-changing social order. She was feeling pretty pleased with herself. The TV interview had worked out surprisingly well. Blaming Mac and making Todd the tragic heroine had been an inspired bit of irony. Her phone had been ringing so much that she finally had to ask the nurse to find someone to screen her calls. Only a few select would get through now so that she could keep up with what was going on.
She figured she had a little leeway before the next round with Laurel and Hardy... Stop that, she admonished herself. Never underestimate an opponent. That philosophy had served her well all her life, no matter how inept the competition. What Gibbs and Rabb lacked in cunning intellect, they would more than make up for in tenacity. She frowned slightly, Gibbs was a tougher read than Rabb. Not that the JAG attorney didn't have moments of brilliance but Mac was definitely his Achilles heel. Right now he was either a slobbering mess or a raving lunatic, neither of which would be conducive to taking her on. Tweaking him had been fun but she had to remember not to do it too often. No sense pushing him into something outlandish like coming after her with a gun.
Mike rubbed her chin as she contemplated Gibbs. She couldn't decide if there had been any attachment between him and Todd. Probably not, the ex-secret service agent hadn't been with NCIS that long. No doubt they'd still been skirting around the issue. She had been a member of his team though, so there was always the guilt factor. That was a button she could push if necessary to throw him off-balance. Right now,however, she felt like she had the upper hand. While the police 'protection' had been an excellent move, the two had failed to consider that she was on home ground. They had no idea how carefully she'd been cultivating friendships in the various little departments over the years - not just the bigwigs but the guys in the trenches as well. Considering her 'hobby', it had been a necessity and it was paying off now. This was like being protected by her own private bodyguards.
Mike smiled, allowing herself a few moments to revel in this opening round victory. Those two had obviously thought she would bolt when she found they weren't buying her story. That would have been stupid - something of which she had never been accused. That arrogant bastard from NCIS thought he could rattle her, did he? Well, she hoped he enjoyed this first lesson. She would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Rabb and Gibbs heard her story. Her version of the events was the only game in town and it had neatly covered anything they might have discovered at her house. They could gripe and whine or even try to go through with some ridiculous charge but the fact was, she was in the catbird seat. The phone ringing broke into her musings and she gave it an irritated glance before sighing and picking it up.
"Hello?... Oh, hey Park... feeling better, thanks... how are you doing?... You what?... Well, spit it out. I'm not getting any younger... WHAT?!... You're sure?!... son of a... no, no, I'm fine. Just little surprised... how... never mind. Both of them?... You're sure... Where are they?... Uh-huh... No... well, relieved, naturally... Honest... Park... Park!... No, that's okay... look, maybe I'm just a little worried as well... about Kate, of course... have you heard how she is?... no, I understand... really, I do... Park... PARK!... listen, see what you can find out... yeah... okay, umm, I'm getting a bit tired... Park, stop apologizing... I'm hanging up now... Yes... certainly if you hear anything else... thanks Park... thank you... Bye."
She carefully hung up the phone and just as carefully folded the newspaper. It wouldn't do to lose control now although she sure as hell wanted to. Dammit. Goddammit! How the hell had they managed that? Take deep breaths, stay calm. DAMMIT! How had Rabb found them? Okay, no point in wondering about it now... what are you going to do? Figure it out, Elbert! She sat there for a long time, tapping her fingers and thinking. Park said they'd been found early this morning, which would have been well before her interview aired and yet, no one had shown up at her door with a warrant. So... the women must be in pretty bad shape... no, that didn't make sense. Mac had to have survived in relatively good condition or they would have both drowned - damn her. Mike found herself chewing on a thumbnail and frowned irritably, folding her arms.
Todd. It had to be Todd in bad shape... most likely unconscious and unable to corroborate Mac's version of what happened. That meant it was Mac's word against hers. Being a member of Congress ought to trump merely being a Marine, still... Dammit, those cuts on Mac's wrists were going to be tough to explain... There had to be a way around this. There was always a way.
She frowned, killing Todd would be the most efficient method of dealing with this problem and also the most impossible. There was no way in hell she'd ever get anywhere close to the agent again. She briefly considered taking on an accomplice. Maybe... she'd always worked alone before. Less worries that way, she knew how to keep her mouth shut. It might become necessary, though. It would take time to find someone clever enough to pull it off and stupid enough to not realize that she would have to kill them as well. On the other hand, maybe she should consider a professional. There had to be ways of keeping anonymity. She would check the Internet and see what she could come up with. God knew, everything else under sun was on the web these days - why not assassination? It wouldn't hurt to keep that as an option. Mike sat a while longer, considering everything and then, finally, she began to smile.
