Chapter Three
AN-Okay, I worked as a bagger at the Commissary for three years and thought it was a great first job. Most people would disagree, but hey, I always had more money than them – LOL!
They settled into their new "home," or whatever as close to a home it could be Mattie thought to herself. Looking around though she realized that she would always be at home wherever her Mac and Harm were. She ran upstairs to get ready for work at the local commissary. She didn't understand, from what she heard they got paid with tips only, but was also told that they always made more the minimum wage. She smiled at that idea, getting paid in cash every day sounded rather appealing.
Mattie stepped out of the shower and began to dry her hair when she realized she was going to be late and threw her hair back in a ponytail. She threw on her uniform and left Harm and Mac a note that they would be sure to find on the refrigerator. Grabbing a bottled water she ran out the door and walked the couple of blocks to work.
Mac pulled up to "house." She hated the base housing at Quantico, it was nothing like the house that she and Harm had picked out to raise their children in. Of course, Mattie also had a say in where she would have to live also. She came into the house and found the note that Mattie had left right next to her prenatal vitamins. She smiled at the active role that Mattie was taking with the new baby.
She picked up her cell to call her fiancé. As normal, the phone rang three times before he picked it up.
"Lt. Colonel Mark speaking."
"It is your wife speaking."
"Hey Honey. How was your day at the PX?"
"It was okay. Some irate customer was mad at me because I wouldn't exchange his combat boots."
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Well, they were all scuffed and covered with mud! He had already used them. He got mad and took a swing."
"You didn't do what I think you did, did you?"
"I sure did, I pinned his sorry butt to the wall. What good is having boot camp experience if never get to use it."
"You didn't hurt the baby did you?"
"No Chris, I did not. Remember, the doctor did say I could exercise. It is not good for me to be lying around because you think I am fragile."
"I know, but I worry. I love you."
"I love you too, I am going to lie around in my bath now. My feet are killing me."
"Okay honey, I will see you soon." They ended the call and Mac headed upstairs to their bathroom and started her bath. She slipped on her bathrobe and tidied up their room while waiting for her bath to be full.
She slipped down into the bath tub and let the stress of the day wear away. Mac reached over for her new romance novel, and realized it wasn't in the same place where she had left it. Muttering a swear, she got out of her bath and started putting on her robe in search of the elusive novel.
"Don't move, put your hands behind your back," A voice said.
Mac looked in the mirror and saw a figure advancing towards her. Her last thought was of her unborn child who was still safe in her womb.
Mac awoke. According to her internal clock she was out for twenty one minutes. 'Harm, where are you!' she thought frantically to herself. She tried to move, but found that she was tied in place, her pregnant stomach poking out through her robe.
"Where is the rest of your family?"
"I don't know, you tell me!" Mac said defiantly. "You obviously have been watching me long enough to know my schedule."
"I know you and your husband have dinner together every night, and if your daughter can attend then she does, that is if she isn't working. I hope for your sake that she stays gone for awhile."
"Don't hurt her. She is just a little girl."
The figured placed a hand over Mac's stomach. "Is that what this one is going to be?"
"We don't know, my husband and I decided to wait."
"Doesn't matter, I will find out soon enough."
Harm killed the engine after a long day at work. He loved being a pilot, but he knew that the job was getting to much for him. He turned the knob on the front door and realized that Mac had once again left it unlocked. He was going to have to lecture her on the evils that lurked on base. He entered the foyer of the home and his senses were immediately bombarded by the smell of Mac's bath. He couldn't wait to get in there to surprise her, but that was his last thought as unconsciousness over took him.
Harm woke up feeling like he had the biggest hangover. "Have a good nap Commander?"
"What did you do to him?" Mac screamed from the top of her lungs.
"It is a new chemical that knocks people out within seconds. Don't worry, no side affects."
"Mac, how are you, how is the baby?"
"They are fine so far Colonel!" Their assailant yelled at him. "They won't be for long. I am gong to get pleasure out of this."
"NO!" Mac screamed before the assailant made a move to quiet her.
Mattie walked up the drive after a long day of bagging groceries. It wasn't a hard job, meaning it isn't like doing rocket science, but if she had to carry any more 20 lbs bag of dog food, well, she just didn't know if her young back could take it. She walked up to the door and put her key in the lock. She realized it wasn't unlocked, and something began to kick in.
She looked up and saw that the bathroom window to the second floor was open. 'Mac never opens the bathroom window,' Mattie thought to herself.
She looked around her surroundings, and weighing her options she sprung into action. Mattie went to the backyard and to Harm's tool shed, there she pulled out her running sneakers instead of her hiking boots that she wore to work, and a screw drivers. She made her way up the tree by her house. She climbed up onto the roof and silently made her way to her bedroom window.
Mattie took the screw driver from her pocket and pried the screen off her window and hoisted the window open. Once in her room, she grouped underneath her bed finding the pistol she had taped to the underside of her mattress. Slipping out of her shoes she laid low and strained to hear anything out of the ordinary.
She heard voices coming from her parent's bedroom. One was definitely Mac's and she could tell that Mac was scared.
"Tell me where your daughter is!" The voice demanded.
"She is at work, and then she is studying at a friend's." Harm said calmly.
"I don't believe you." The voice said. She heard a smack, and winced knowing that Harm probably just got hit. Mattie wasn't going to stand for that. Mattie left the safety of her bedroom and made her way to the stairs. She threw her jacket down to the first floor causing the lamp to tip over. The assailant rushed out of the room to see what was causing the commotion, and that is when Mattie aimed and shot the assailant two times in the chest.
Mattie then made her way to the room where she found Harm untying Mac from the bed.
The "assailant" walked in. "Well, Mattie, you got off to chest shots that would have wounded me to the point of no return."
"Good to know Clay." Mattie said giving him the paint ball pistol.
"Well Mattie, you have passed with flying colors." Kershaw said coming into the training area.
"Thank you sir."
"You have ran through every possible scenario, Mac getting attacked in the park, Mac getting attacked at the pool hall, the house, Harm getting hurt and attacked in the process, you two working together to free Mac, now finally, Mattie having to be the lone hero. How do you guys feel?"
"Why did we run through the one at the house? I mean, the women were murdered outdoors." Mattie pointed out.
"Well, Mattie, that is because where they are found are secondary scenes. All the women were killed someplace else. My sister was killed subdued in the parking lot. Now for your fun gadgets. All three of you will have cell phones." He handed them ordinary looking flip cell phones. "Looks are deceiving guys. The camera phone component is actually two buttons on Mac's phone. Push the either button, you send a message saying you need help to everyone on the team, including Mattie and Harm. It sends your position to us on the screen. Try it now."
Mac pressed the button and immediately Harm and Mattie's phones began to let off a siren sound with Mac's coordinates flashing.
"It is also good that you guys established a routine. Mattie was able to figure out that something was wrong because things that normally happened were not happening, am I correct in that assessment?"
"Yes Agent Webb," Mattie answered. "Mom never leaves the door unlocked and Dad's car should have been at the pool hall."
"Make sure you guys get into a habit of a schedule, showering for the same time very day, cars parked in the same area everyday, doors locked, windows an easy access." Clay advised them. "Also, we have your body guards in place. Now I need Mattie and Harm to run the training course one last time just to make sure you have repelling and shooting still down. I know that these were staged scenarios, but they were as close to being the real thing that we could get. You have to take into account that we weren't really going to hurt you. Remember to fight like hell. Mac, did you take that Mommy to be kick boxing class?"
"Yeah. They showed self defense moves and things we could do to protect the baby while being attacked."
"Good." Clay replied leading them to the "game" room. Mac watched her daughter outfit herself in all black and watched Harm give her a high five as the started the 20 minute long training course. Mattie jumped out of the way of another agent's laser and took him out, she turned her attention to Harm who was scaling up a wall with Mattie close behind him. Well, they were as ready as they were going to get.
AN – Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. This idea actually came from a reviewer, so I wrote it in. Wendy Kaye, this chapter was for you, I hope it was worthy! If anyone else has any ideas, leave it in the review, if I haven't already worked past the part or posted past it, then I will write it in. You are the readers, and I am to please. Let me know what you think.
