Following morning Sea Haven Pine Knoll Shores, NC 0830 Local
Kate looked from Gibbs to the JAG officers and back again, "What do you mean, 'Elbert's disappeared'?" After dinner, she had gone back to bed and had missed the bombshell Nevers had dropped on them all.
Gibbs leaned back, looking exasperated, "Just what I said, Kate. Congresswoman Elbert has vanished."
"How?" Kate looked incredulous and angry, "Wasn't anybody watching her?"
"You mean besides the camera crews and reporters from every network, newspaper and two-bit tabloid on the Eastern Seaboard? God no, Agent Todd, we thought they'd be enough." Gibbs' own anger at this development spilled out as sarcasm.
"What are her lawyers saying?" Mac jumped in as she watched Kate's jaw clench. How in the world Todd managed to refrain from killing this man, she'd never know.
Gibbs flashed her a disgusted look which she decided had more to do with lawyers in general than her in particular. He snorted while raking a hand through his hair, "About what you'd expect." He stared up at the ceiling and began reciting, " 'They haven't been in contact with her yet but they're confident she'll get in touch. She's been under a great deal of stress and is no doubt staying with friends in an attempt to avoid the intrusive presence of the press. They're sure she will be at the courthouse as required for her next appearance...' " He lowered his eyes and focused on Kate, "What do you think?"
Kate glared at him and then took a deep breath, realizing he was asking her opinion as a profiler. She shot a quick look at Mac and gave a one-shouldered shrug, "Elbert's gone. She said it herself, she's a survivor... and a helluva poker player. She saw her bluff get called so she folded and got out of the game."
"Just like that?" Harm looked dubious. "She's had money, power and prestige for years. You don't think she'd try to hang on to all that? Use it somehow?" He glanced over at Mac, "You know that no case is a slam dunk until the jury actually comes back with the verdict. If her lawyers go for delaying tactics, this could drag out for months."
"Giving her time to get rid of potential witnesses." Gunny spoke up, scowling slightly.
Gibbs frowned at Walters and then swung his attention back to Kate, "Is that what this is? A delaying tactic?" He paused slightly, thinking about it, "Or is this her way of rattling our cages? Letting us know that she can still move about at will?"
"She's not going to let herself be put on trial," Kate said flatly. "Her entire life has been about control. If someone threatens that, she removes them. There's no way she could stand putting herself under someone else's authority." Kate looked around the room, "That being said, her disappearance is definitely an 'in-your-face' move. She's proving to us and herself that she still has that control."
"Has anybody figured out how she did it?" Pick asked from the corner where he and Tink had been quietly listening.
Gibbs turned his glare towards the two young men. Other than the fact that both Rabb and MacKenzie held them in high regard, he didn't know that much about them. That was due to change fairly soon. He had McGee looking into their records. His gut was telling him that the situation had just grown deadlier and he didn't need anybody on his team that he wasn't sure could perform. Now it wasn't only Kate and MacKenzie's lives, with the Dzuricks, there were international ramifications.
Harm gave an irritated glance at the still silent Gibbs and answered Pick's question, "No. She went straight to her home after the news conference and that was the last anyone saw of her. Nevers' people and the cops swear no one left the house."
"Somebody's lying," Mallard stated the obvious.
"How did she get past the media? They can't all be in on it." Marius threw in his two cents. He was decidedly unhappy. Although he'd made free use of Tyler and Bell, the fact remained that he was woefully understaffed for this new threat. The Dzuricks, as well as Gus and Harley Montgomery, had flatly refused to go back home. If the authorities didn't find this woman soon, he would have to call in reinforcements from his staff at the Embassy.
"If she'd been dressed like a cop, she could have walked right by them and not been noticed," Tink pointed out.
"Which would mean she's got an ally in the police department," Harm finished out the big man's thought.
Gibbs levered himself out of his chair and swept the room with a hard stare, "You people are missing the point. I don't give a good goddamn if her fairy godmother got her out of that house, what's important is that she's out there and we don't know where she is, where she's going or what she's planning." He pivoted and glared at Kate, "Do we?"
Kate met his stare with one of her own, "Wherever she's going, she's had this planned out for years. The woman's meticulous. Somewhere, she has a new life all set up and waiting for her. All she has to do is get there. She'll change her appearance and slip out of here by boat. There's no way the Coast Guard can monitor every craft that's out there. She'll hopscotch up or down the coast until she can secure a flight out of the country and that'll be that. She'll be sipping margaritas in South America." She paused for a moment and gave Mac an almost apologetic look, "That's what Elbert should be doing right now but if you want to know what she might actually be doing, ask Mac."
Gibbs looked at her silently and then shifted his attention to the Marine sitting quietly on the couch next to Rabb, "Colonel?"
Mac looked down at her clasped hands before shooting a quick glance around the room. "Mike's got unfinished business. I think she's still here." Feeling Harm tense beside her, she dropped a reassuring hand on his knee.
"Yeah," Gibbs nodded and glanced around the room, "So the question is, how do we catch her?"
Kate grimaced faintly as she shifted a bit, "If Elbert's more concerned about payback than safety, then all we do is wait. She'll find us."
Gibbs rested his hands on his hips as he stared at the floor for a few seconds. Looking back up, he scanned the room again, "I'll talk to Nevers about this but I don't think we should rely on any outside help. Somebody had to have helped Elbert and until we find out who, it's safer not to have any strangers here." He looked at the two women, "We'll assume that both of you are her primary targets. Don't linger at the windows and don't go anywhere outside without an escort." Gibbs looked over at Zali, "I don't suppose you've had any luck convincing the Dzuricks and Montgomerys that it would be safer if they left?"
Marius ran a hand through his hair, "Not a bit. The only one willing to leave is Daniel and that's more about work getting done than concerns about safety. I'm going to call in some of my people from the Embassy to help cover the royal family." He glanced over at Harm and Mac, "They can easily keep an eye on the Burnetts and Mrs. Fine, too. It will get a little crowded but I can have them here by late tonight." He acknowledged Harm's smile of gratitude with a slight tip of his head.
"Okay," Gibbs wasn't that happy but it looked like this was the best he was going to be able to do. "We'll figure out schedules and shifts for the rest of us." He turned towards the kitchen, "After I get some coffee."
Sea Haven Pine Knoll Shores, NC 2110 Local
Harm turned his head at the sound of the door opening and smiled as Mac walked out, followed by Bell. After the morning meeting with Gibbs, the rest of the day had been uneventful. The TV had been on constantly as the various stations fell all over themselves to report this latest startling development with the Congresswoman. Predictably, a number of her more vocal supporters were now calling for her head. Harm had been floored when Elbert's pet reporter, Jamie Stillman, had come out with a piece detailing the Congresswoman's life and the surprising amount of people who'd disappeared or wound up dead. It had been a carefully crafted, non-accusatory story that nevertheless managed to present the facts in a way that made the implications deadly. Harm made a mental note to corner Ducky at some point. The good doctor had looked positively smug during the airing, arousing Harm's curiosity.
Both Kate and Mac had stopped watching after the first hour or so. Kate had settled herself in a lounge chair on the covered portion of the deck. Emma and Ducky had joined her and after she'd fallen asleep, had continued their quiet conversation together. Harm accompanied Mac down to the beach where they had joined Gheorghe and Carol under the pop-up shelter and watched the kids play in the ocean. Pick and Tink had alternated going in the water with guard duty. The Dzurick kids' attempt to dunk Tink had met with very little success. The adults couldn't help laughing at the sight of Tink wading unconcernedly through the water with El, Nicky, Mo and Cat hanging on to his arms and shoulders. Carol and Mac had been unable to resist joining in and the six of them had finally succeeded in putting the big man under. Afterwards, Harm good-naturedly accused Mac of pulling rank and ordering Tink to take a dive.
If it hadn't been for the fact that over a third of them were armed, it might have been easy to pretend that this was a mini-vacation. Shortly before noon, Pick had taken Nicky out and brought back lunch for everyone from a little place in Salter Path called the Big Oak Drive-In. Harm hadn't had particularly high expectations when Pick had handed him an oyster burger with the works but it had turned out to be surprisingly good. Judging from the speed with which everything disappeared, the shrimp and clam burgers must have been equally good. Gibbs was the only one who hadn't seemed able to relax. He'd been on the phone constantly either with his office in DC, Nevers in Jacksonville, the local police departments or regional FBI office. Shortly after lunch, Tinker had walked in in time to rescue Kate's laptop from a Gibbs-style 'rebooting' and had then managed to placate the man for several hours by setting up a web video conference.
The afternoon was as uneventful as the morning and as the sun began to set, Carol, Harley, Trish, Emma and Mac took over the kitchen to prepare dinner. Harm smiled to himself recalling the gibes he and Mac had exchanged about her cooking abilities, much to the obvious amusement of the rest of the group. It had led to a challenge of sorts. He, Frank, Gheorghe, Pick and Ducky were to be in charge of the following night's dinner. Given the various backgrounds of the men, Harm figured that, at the very least, the meal would probably best be described as 'eclectic'.
He'd slipped outside not long after dinner when Mac, Ducky and his mother had gotten caught up in a discussion of traditional art versus art created on computer. Tinker had been drawn in, bringing up fractals and the design inherent in higher mathematics which, in turn, led to Frank joining in. The Dzurick/Montgomery clan, along with Emma and Gunny Walters, had moved to the living area where Mo was regaling them with stories of life at the Academy. Marius and Liz Parker had found a quiet corner although Harm had noted that it gave the security chief a clear view of the occupants as well as most of the doors and windows. Kate had excused herself soon after the meal and headed back to the other side. Mallard had started to accompany her when a look from Gibbs put him back in his seat. The older agent had then followed Todd out. Harm hoped they'd be able to sit down and talk to each other without it devolving into an argument. Kate wasn't up to it and he was pretty sure that Gibbs didn't want to fight with her either. The question was, was Jethro Gibbs capable of opening his mouth without saying something to tick the petite brunette off?
"Hey," Mac slipped in beside him. Bell faded back into the shadows of the house so that the couple would be out of earshot but not his sight.
"Hey, yourself. How did the discussion go? You win?" He leaned back against the railing and continued to smile at her.
"It wasn't a fight. There wasn't any winning or losing," Mac retorted primly.
Harm chuckled, "Mom wouldn't budge."
Mac raised an eyebrow, "At least now I know which side your stubbornness comes from. I guess I'm just more of a traditionalist. Art for me doesn't involve computers and inkjet printers." She shook her head and smiled up at him, "You escaped fairly early. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, fine," He took her hand and straightened up, looking back towards the house, "Tink? We're going to move closer to the beach."
"Yes sir." Bell's heavy bass drifted softly from the darkness.
"C'mon," Harm tugged at her hand and she fell in alongside him. Quietly they made their way down the walkway. Harm bypassed the first sitting area and went to the second. Settling down on the bench, he pulled her closer to his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They sat in silence, listening to the rhythmic boom of the surf and staring up at the stars. Mac slid an arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder with a little smile of contentment. Their lives had been so hectic over the years that she had almost forgotten the last time they'd been able to sit quietly and enjoy each other's company.
Harm smiled as he felt Mac relax against him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Gorgeous," Mac agreed. "It always amazes me how brilliant the stars are down here."
"Yeah," Harm rested his cheek on the top of her head, "It's almost like you can reach right up and grab them." He gave her a light squeeze, "Shall I get one for you?"
Mac chuckled, "Okay... " She pointed to her right, "How about that one?"
Harm made a show of squinting along her arm, "Which one?" He released his hold on her shoulder to point also, "That one near the horizon?"
She grinned and reached up to grab his hand, moving it slightly higher, "No. The one just above it and to the left."
"That one?"
"Yeah."
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay," He made a grabbing motion with his other hand and then held it clenched in front of her. He moved his head closer to hers as he slowly opened his hand. In it was a diamond ring and he heard Mac's soft gasp of surprise. He whispered quietly in her ear, "Marry me and I'll get you the moon, too."
Mac twisted in his grasp and hugged him fiercely, "I don't need the moon, I've got you,"
From his post above and behind them, Tinker smiled quietly before resuming his watch of the area. Judging from the Colonel's reaction, he had a pretty good idea of what just occurred. Maggie had reacted almost exactly the same, a fact he still found as amazing as it was gratifying.
