Part 33
Naval Regional Medical Center Mac's room Camp Lejeune, NC 1725 Local
Tom Nevers finally clicked off his recorder and nodded to Mac, "Thank you, Colonel. I'll get this transcribed right away." He looked over at Harm, "Where is Gibbs, again?"
"Probably with Agent Todd. You'll have to check at the desk. I know they were moving her out of ICU but I hadn't heard where," Harm stood up with the agent and walked him to the door, "You know, it'd wouldn't be a bad idea to put a guard on Kate's room."
Nevers hefted the recorder he was still holding, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'll talk to the MPs."
He left the room and Harm returned to his post by Mac's bed. She glanced at him as he sat down and went back to idly picking at the covers. Harm waited patiently. He had a pretty good idea of what was bothering her and, after all these years, he also knew that it wouldn't help to push. So they sat for a few more minutes until Mac finally spoke, "I can't believe how monumentally stupid I've been." Her voice seemed better for the rest she'd had. It didn't sound like she was struggling anymore, although she kept her voice soft. She wasn't looking at him, instead concentrating on a spot somewhere around her knees.
Harm held a breath for a moment and then let it out slowly. This could easily turn disastrous. He was well aware that the corollary to feeling stupid would be feeling pissed about it. Mac tended to be prickly about shortcomings anyway. He shifted slightly and when inspiration refused to strike, settled for a non-committal 'umm'. He couldn't help cringing a little when her head snapped up to glare at him. Harm stiffened his spine and met her head-on. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever until Mac finally dropped her gaze and sighed, "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. It's not that I'm not mad at you... "
"But I am kinda handy," Harm finished with slight smile. "It's okay. God knows I've done the same on occasion." He relaxed in his chair, "And for the record, MacKenzie, I've seen stupid and it ain't you." He had debated about telling her of Gunny's plan and, in the end, had decided against it. She would probably wind up feeling guilty about 'using' her friendships that way as well as worrying about Elbert targeting them. He didn't believe it would be a problem. The worst thing Elbert could do would be to physically go after the royal family and the Dzuricks were more than capable of handling any verbal attack that came their way. James Fine was no slouch at defending himself either. As for Emma, well, the older woman qualified as a force of nature when she was merely annoyed. Seeing her seriously angry at the Congresswoman would no doubt be educational as well as entertaining. Mac's voice broke into his train of thought.
"It certainly wasn't one of my brighter moments." Mac's hand curled into a fist. "I wouldn't believe it was Mike and that nearly got Kate and I killed."
Harm considered what she'd said and decided that blunt was best... suicidal perhaps, but best. He frowned slightly, "So you're calling the rest of us stupid?"
She gave him a shocked look, "No! I... That wasn't... "
He shifted around so that he could face her and dropped a hand over hers, "You can't have all the blame on this one. If you were stupid, then we were more stupid because we were on our guard and it still happened. As much as I hate to say it, you have to give Elbert credit. She's been damn near brilliant."
Mac snorted, remembering that bizarre conversation aboard the Gerrymander, "According to MIke, there's nothing 'near' about it." She shook her head, scowling, "This is so frustrating. While we aboard the boat, she pretty much confessed to a string of murders starting all the way back in her childhood and there's not a damn thing we can do without some sort of evidence." Mac gave Harm a wry look, "You know if we confront her about this, she'll probably find some way to blame me."
Harm grinned at her, "What if I told you that Charlotte Dixon can put Mike in Beaufort the night her parents died?"
Mac's mouth dropped open in surprise, "You're kidding." When he shook his head, she suddenly looked worried, "Mike doesn't know, does she? Oh God, if she finds out, Charlotte will be dead in a week."
"It's okay," Harm said soothingly, "Charlotte thinks she was mistaken because she heard Mike was up at Duke at the time. She never said anything because she thought it would bring up painful memories."
Mac leaned back against the pillows, her expression incredulous, "Mike made a mistake?"
"More than a few," Harm growled, "But her worst was trying to kill you and Kate. I'll see her on Death Row for that... providing Gibbs doesn't find some reason to put a bullet between her eyes."
"He wouldn't, would he? Harm, you can't let him do something like that." Mac's eyes were wide in alarm. Although Gibbs was much more abrasive than Harm, the two had quite a bit in common. Unfortunately, one of things they shared was an overactive protective streak and while she knew the limits of what Harm would do, she wasn't as sure about Gibbs.
"Take it easy, Mac." Harm's voice turned soothing while he gave himself a little kick. That last comment had been more like wishful thinking on his part but he shouldn't have said it out loud - not at this particular time, anyway. Not when she was still reeling from the events of the last thirty hours or so. "Gibbs might be unorthodox at times but he's a pretty straight arrow. When we get Elbert, it'll be the right way."
They both fell silent for a few moments and then Harm shifted himself onto the bed and opened his arms, "C'mere." Mac gratefully folded herself into his embrace. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes, "You have no idea how scared I was that we wouldn't find you."
"Believe me, you weren't the only one." Mac snuggled in closer, her voice growing softer, "I'm still scared."
Harm tightened his grip, "Yeah, me too."
Naval Regional Medical Center Kate's room Camp Lejeune, NC 1745 Local
Kate opened her eyes slowly and stared up at the tiled ceiling. It had an institutional look to it and there was a faint antiseptic aroma in the air. So... she was in a hospital. That helped explained why her body felt so numb and her brain so sluggish. It didn't explain what had happened and how she wound up here. She frowned slightly trying to pull answers out of the fog and felt a growing irritation when they refused to come. What had happened? Trying harder just made her aware that her head ached. Kate started to drag her hands up to her face when another unpleasant surprise occurred. Her left arm not only refused to move but sent a sharp jolt of pain through her as well. She couldn't contain the groan that it caused. She was shocked a moment later when Gibbs' face appeared in her line of vision. That was followed by a sense of confusion. He looked uncharacteristically anxious.
"Kate? What's wrong?"
"Arm.. hurts..." Kate ground out slowly, taking shallow breaths as the pain subsided. Her eyes widened a little as she took in his appearance and saw the sling. "Gibbs! What happened to you?"
He gave her a startled look, "Don't you remember?"
Kate frowned up at him, "No... I... wait, the explosion..." Her expression turned to guilt and she turned her head to the side, unable to look him in the eye, "I... oh damn... I'm sorry. I know I screwed up by trusting that woman... I didn't know you'd been hurt, too."
Gibbs stared at her in consternation, what the hell? She thought this was the McNeil case? "Kate... " He was interrupted by a soft knock on the door and turned to see Nevers cautiously put his head in the room. He signaled for the man to wait outside and turned back to Kate. She still wasn't looking at him. He put a light hand on her shoulder, "This wasn't your fault." He felt her tense and decided a sterner tone was called for, "You know I won't lie to you so you can stop with the guilty feelings. That's an order, Agent Todd." He gave her a slight half-smile when she turned her head back to him and then nodded towards the door, "I have to step outside for a couple of minutes. Stay here." That got the somewhat exasperated look he was hoping for. Anything was better than the guilty self-reproach, "I'll be right back."
He went out and exchanged greetings with local agent. Nevers pulled the recorder out of his pocket, "I've got Colonel MacKenzie's statement, Gibbs. It's a hell of a story." He nodded towards the door, "Is Agent Todd ready? It would be better if I got both their statements before getting the warrant issued."
Gibbs scowled, "You'll have to go with just the Colonel's for now." He glanced up and down the hallway and lowered his voice, "Kate's a bit confused about exactly what happened."
"Damn," Tom muttered. He knew as well as Gibbs that Elbert's preemptive strike had made it difficult to get a warrant based solely on MacKenzie's statement. They needed corroboration. He glanced at the door, "Is it permanent?"
"Do I look like I would know that?" Gibbs gave Nevers an irritated look. "Go do what you can and I'll call as soon as anything changes."
Nevers sighed and nodded, "Okay." He paused for a second, "Oh, hey Gibbs, I'm going to have a guard posted for Todd. I think it would be better to err on the side of caution."
"Good idea, Tom," Gibbs turned on his heel and stalked back into the room, leaving Nevers standing in the hallway. The agent stood for a few seconds and then left, shaking his head.
Kate turned towards the door when she heard it open and watched Gibbs stride back into the room. He looked annoyed and despite his earlier words, she couldn't help the worry and remorse that enveloped her. How could she have been so stupid? Had Tony been injured as well? She watched Gibbs reposition the chair he must have been sitting in and then found she couldn't bear to meet his eyes. She looked down at her hands and then frowned, seeing the bandages on her left arm. Shrapnel? Something was wrong here, she could feel it but her mind wasn't cooperating.
"Kate?"
She shot a startled look at Gibbs. Lost in her thoughts, she'd almost managed to forget he was in the room. She gave him a wordless stare.
Gibbs rubbed his jaw, thoughtfully, "Kate, do you know where you are?"
"I'm in a hospital, Gibbs." She looked at him curiously. When Gibbs asked something so obvious, it usually meant he was about to lower the boom but his tone hadn't been accusatory.
"Where?" he persisted. Maybe he could jog something loose. He had a feeling all the doctors would suggest would be waiting. That would prefaced with time-consuming, incomprehensible medical terms and pompous, empty opinions that could be boiled down to 'she might remember, she might not.' He also didn't need Elbert somehow getting hold of this. Someone was keeping her fairly well informed and he didn't trust anyone outside of their little group.
Kate started to say 'DC' and then stopped. That wasn't right, although she couldn't say why she knew that. "I'm not sure," she finally admitted, looking perplexed.
He looked at her intently and said, "You're in North Carolina at the Naval Regional Medical Center at Camp Lejeune."
She blinked, "What? How... ?" She glanced down at her arm again, her frustration becoming more obvious. "I can't... there's nothing there." What the hell couldn't she remember? WHY couldn't she remember? It had to be important or Gibbs wouldn't be pushing so hard.
Gibbs watched as Kate grew more agitated and felt a little pang of worry. He didn't like seeing her upset, liked it even less because he was causing it. Dammit, what would they do if she'd didn't remember? At some point, he was sure she was going to ask him what happened and he needed her to remember on her own. Elbert was too damn dangerous to risk having some defense attorney suggest that he put words in Kate's mouth.
The door opened and he turned angrily to tell whoever it was to get out. He stopped short when he saw it was their ME. Thank god, here was a medical man he could trust. "Ducky, get in here and shut the door."
Mallard raised an eyebrow slightly and gently closed the door. He walked over to the bed and smiled, "Kate, my dear, you're looking much better. How are you feeling?"
"I don't know," she answered in a tight voice.
Ducky stopped smiling and turned towards Gibbs, "Jethro?" It was amazing how much he could pack into that one word.
"She can't remember, Duck," Gibbs looked incredibly frustrated.
"Oh for heaven's sake, Jethro. That's not entirely unexpected, considering everything." Ducky turned back to Kate and patted her hand, "You've had a traumatic experience, both physically and mentally. Fortunately, however, there was no head injury involved. I suspect that this is more a matter of your mind deciding to hold off until it's ready to cope. It's not permanent so you may stop worrying. Now, once again, how do you feel?" While he was talking, he'd shifted from patting her hand to taking her pulse.
"Tired, confused," Kate sank deeper into her pillows. Ducky had a wonderfully reassuring bedside manner. She could almost feel that knot of tension in her gut beginning to unravel. In the meantime, Mallard had moved from checking her pulse to reading her chart.
"You're going to be fine, Caitlin," Ducky looked up at her with a warm smile, "I'll have them send up a light meal and then you can go back to sleep. Everything will look much better in the morning." He turned and pinned Gibbs with a look, "That goes for you too, Jethro, food and then rest. Tomorrow will be long day."
"I'm not leaving."
Although it was said quietly, Ducky could hear the finality in his tone. The older man sighed, "All right, I'll have food sent for two and then have maintenance bring a cot in." He pointed a finger at Gibbs, "You will rest or the next time I come back in here it will be with a sedative. Do we understand each other?"
"Yeah, Ducky." Gibbs saw the look Mallard gave him and got up and followed the Doctor to the door, "What?"
Ducky glanced over at Kate and then down at his feet, "Jethro, I know how important it is to get Elbert behind bars but you have to stop pressuring Kate. The more you upset her, the harder it will be for her to remember anything. She's suppressing this for a reason, you know."
Gibbs frowned, "What the hell do you suggest? Discuss the weather? Baseball scores? I don't do small talk, Ducky."
Mallard arched an eyebrow, "Then I suggest you learn." With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
Next Day Michelle Elbert's residence Beaufort, NC 1040 Local
Mike straightened up and took a deep breath as the camera lights came on. She wanted to appear sincere with just a hint of anxiety. Mentally, she reviewed her plan of attack while Stillman gave a perky rundown of the story so far. Her attention was yanked back to the here and now when she heard the reporter state, "This story seems to grow ever more complicated. According to sources, the alleged murderer, Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie, was rescued early this morning by the Coast Guard... and in an unexpected twist, she was found with her supposed victim, Agent Caitlin Todd. Apparently, it was through the Colonel's efforts that the wounded Agent Todd remained alive until rescue." Stillman turned sharply towards Mike, "How do you explain that, Congresswoman?"
It was a struggle not to clench her jaws as Mike combined surprise with a slight smile. Who the hell did this little bimbo think she was? None of her ire showed in her voice, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Jamie, but what wonderful news about Kate and Mac. God does move in mysterious ways."
Stillman's eyes narrowed, "According to you, MacKenzie and Todd were in a life and death struggle. Why would the Colonel turn around and save Todd's life?"
Mike hid a smirk. This inept network wannabe had just lost control of the interview although she didn't know it yet. She let a look of sadness flash across her face, "Really, Jamie, I wasn't there so I can only speculate but it wouldn't surprise me if fear wasn't a factor." She glanced down at her hands and allowed her shoulders to slump a bit, "Please understand that despite everything, I still consider Mac a friend. She needs help, pure and simple." Mike looked up and locked gazes with Stillman, "Colonel MacKenzie is an extremely intelligent and strong woman but anyone can break if they're pushed hard enough. There have been lapses before but because of her value to the military, they've been overlooked or quietly taken care of."
Stillman blinked and blurted out, "But she's just a lawyer in the JAG corps." As soon as she said it, she wanted to slap herself on the forehead. This had just gone off in a direction that she hadn't planned and she wasn't sure if she could get it back on track. She didn't dare yell 'cut'. The conditions for these interviews were quite clear. She got one shot to get it right. Whenever she stopped the interview, that was it, it would be over.
Mike gave the reporter a patronizing smile that clearly said, 'That's what you think.' She cleared her throat thoughtfully, "Well, that's not quite true but I'm afraid I can't go into details. A lot of what Mac's done has been classified. I suppose your research has revealed her Arab heritage?" Mike paused for a moment, watching Stillman shift uncomfortably, "No? Oh well... she's quite fluent in Farsi and familiar with the Muslim culture which makes her very valuable to certain... shall we say, nameless agencies. Unfortunately, in their zeal to protect our great nation, they threw her into situations without much preparation on either side. Mac received very little training to cope with the stresses of these cases and they didn't realize that these experiences would aggravate her instabilities."
"Instabilities?" Stillman inquired with a touch of sullenness. Elbert was making her look like an idiot.
"She grew up in an abusive household and she's an alcoholic. She murdered her first husband and, interestingly enough, was tried by a military court instead of a civilian court. She got off by pleading self-defense." Mike shook her head sadly, "Now there's been a string of murders involving Marine sergeants. Mac's father was a Marine sergeant. I'm not saying she did it but it does seem like a mighty big coincidence. The woman's brilliant but mentally unstable."
"But that doesn't explain why she didn't let Agent Todd die. If anything, it makes what happened even more unlikely." Stillman took one last shot at getting back control of the interview.
"It's hard to say," Mike shrugged.
She looked uncomfortable which made hope begin to flare for Stillman. Maybe she could still salvage this. She opened her mouth to ask what she should have the first time: 'Why did you lie?' but Elbert interrupted her, "I think Kate made a deal with the devil."
Stillman stared at her open-mouthed, "What?"
Mike coaxed a tear out and let her voice grow a bit ragged, "You have to understand that Mac was terribly angry with me. I think she's going to blame me for everything and she got Kate to agree to it in exchange for her life." She sniffled and forced a few more tears out before dropping her face into her hands, "I'm sorry. This... this is just so upsetting. Can we stop now?"
"What? Oh... yes, of course. Thank you, Ms. Elbert." She turned towards the camera, "That concludes this rather startling interview. Back to you, Jill." She made a cutting motion and then sat there for a moment, feeling dazed. What the hell had happened?
