USS Washington

( Off the coast of Florida)

08:01 Zulu

Vukovic's POV

Vic and Kat waited impatiently on the deck for commander Roberts to get off of the helo, in the drenching, blowing rain that was threatening to knock Kat off of her feet. Vic had had to steady her more than once when the helo landed, much to her chagrin.

Finally, Roberts stepped off of the craft and jogged over to the lieutenents, head bowed from the inclement weather. " Lieutenents!" He yelled in greeting.

They saluted smartly. " Nice to meet you, commander! Wish it could have been under better circumstances, though!" Kat yelled back, shaking Roberts' hand. " Me too, lieutenent! Let's get out of this rain before we're blown away!" The trio bustled into shelter, and got a few chuckles from passing personnell.

" We must look like drowned rats." Kat muttered, brushing a stray lock of coppery hair out of her face with a frown.

" What do we have so far, Vukovic?" Roberts asked, and Vic handed him his and Kat's notes. " Here, sir. You can review this, all you need to know is in there." He wiped his hand down his sleeve, making a small puddle of rainwater on the grey floor.

" You two go change into some dry clothes. Meet me in the commissary in twenty minutes." Roberts said, and Kat grinned. " It will only take me fifteen, sir." Bud raised an eyebrow at her. " It should only take a marine five." He teased.

" Our rooms on the other side of the ship, sir. It'll take me five minutes to get there." Kat said, walking off.

" Is she always like that?" Bud asked Vic, who just sighed. " From what I've seen so far, commander, yeah. She has a bit of an attitude problem, which is probably why Cresswell hired her in the first place. I'm just wondering why he paired her up with me."

Shrugging, Bud checked his watch. " I'm sure he has his reasons. You had better get going before she passes you again." Vic nodded, and jogged off after Kat.

When he caught up to her, she was halfway to the room. " What took you, lieutenent?" She asked with a laugh. Vic winked at her, still trying to get into her good graces. " You're lucky I don't mind borderline insubordination."

" Is that a threat, Vic?" She replied with a derisive snort, " Like you've never been insubordinant." ' Yep. Bad attitude.' Vic thought. " No, I'm insubordinant on a daily basis. Just don't mistake me for Cresswell, or you'll probably be out on your ass." He warned, opening the door for her.

" Thanks for the warning." She replied, and Vic really couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

Mason's POV

" Ok, so here's what we have so far. A supposed relationship- I'm using that term loosely at this point- between a colonel and a nurse. Bad enoughas it is. Now the guy who claimed that this was going on- who also decked the colonel accused of this- is dead. Lieutenent Mason, you interview the colonel, and Vukovic, you can try and charm some information out of this nurse. I'll float around and talk to some of the senior officers onboard." Roberts said, standing up.

Kat and Vic followed suit. " Yes, sir!" They choroused, leaving the commissary. " Well, I see this is working out exactly as we planned, eh Vic?" Kat said dryly, as they went their separate ways.

" Hey, Kat! Why don't you meet me in the mess hall at 17:00 for supper tonight? We can discuss our interviews." Vic called, and Kat turned around. " Yeah, sure. Constructive criticism is always useful."

" I won't be too hard on you." Vic replied. " Who says I was talking about me?" Kat said coyly, leaving him staring after her as she headed for Graines' quarters.

' I think the good lieutenent has met his match in me. Maybe that's why Cresswell paired us up. He thought we would help each other tone down out competitive naures' Kat mused, walking down the hall.

" Ow!" She wasn't paying attention, and tripped over one of the knee knockers. She would have fallen if commander Sheppard hadn't caught her elbow and steadied her.

" You OK, lieutenent? You need to watch your step around here; Those knee knockers leave a good bruise if you hit them." He said, chuckling as Kat rubbed her calf.

" I see that. Thanks for catching me, sir." She said wryly, hiding her embarrassment at her mistake. " Don't worry about it. Anything I can help you with? You look a bit lost." He asked.

" Um, could you show me to colonel Graines's quarters? I can't seem to find his room. This ship looks the same to me." Nodding, he gestured for her to follow him.

" It seems that way to most people when they first get here. I got lost so many times, the XO was considering assigning me an escort. Graines would be in the gym at this time of day. He enjoys his workouts."

" You know him?" Kat asked, almost jogging to keep up with the lanky commander's strides. " Yeah. Graines and I go way back. We were in the academy together."

Kat sensed an opening here, and she planned on taking it. " Do you know the nurse, Sara?" She asked carefully, so not to alert him to what she was doing until the last minute.

" Sara? Yes, I do. She's a sweet girl. Real nice, pretty. Good at what she does" He replied, and Kat grinned to herself. " I heard through the grapevine that she and Graines had a little something going on on the side. You know anything about that?"

" You heard that from Jones, right? Figures the little weasel would try and pin this on Graines. He was the one after her. Graines was trying to stop him, but he just wouldn't take a hint.Kept after her." An angry note had crept unbidden into his voice, and an involuntary chill crept up Kat's spine.

" Here's the gym. Graine is the one in the ring, on the left." Sheppard pointed him out.

" The one built like a SEAL? I don't envy his opponent." Kat said, watching as Graines pounded a simililarly built guy into the ropes. Just then, the tide turned, and the opponent, a petty officer, got in a luky shot and knocked Graines back.

" Well, I have to go. Glad I could help. " Sheppard said, leaving. The petty officer and Graines went at it for a few more minutes before Kat tired of waiting. The fight wouldn't be over any time soon, and she couldn't wait all day.

" Colonel Graines?" She called, walking up to the ring. The fighters broke apart. " Good fight, Jameson. Keep your fists up more next time." He directed his intimidating stare to Kat, obviously trying to get her to leave him alone.

She refused to be intimidated. " Lieutenent Kara Mason, JAG corps. I have a few qustions to ask you about the murder of petty officer Jones? I understand you two had an altercation a few days back" She said, staring up at him confidently.

" Shouldn't NCIS be handling this?" He asked, climbing down and wiping his face with a towel.

She shook her head. " NCIS dosen't have jurisdiction here. The captain wants JAG to handle the questioning, then NCIS will be called in after." He tilted his headat her. " Dosen't sound like proper protocal to me, lieutenent."

" I didn't write the book sir. I just study it. Now, let's cut to the chase. You know more about this than I do. The more you tell me, the less likely I will be to consider you a suspect. And remember, colonel, I can check anything you say." Kat said, and Graines grinned at her.

" I like you, lieutenent. You don't beat around the bush." Kat bobbed her head in acknowledgement. " I try to keep it simple sir. Works better that way."

He nodded. " Maybe you lawyer weenies aren't so bad after all. Ok, lieutnenet, here's what I know."

( sorry, about the cliffhanger, but the end of the next chapter will be even better! Keep reviewing! ;))