Disclaimer: None of the JAG characters belong to me, they belong to Donald Bellisario and CBS and whatnot.
The pair dodged outside, squinting in the bright Iraqi sunlight. A barely visible road led away from the building towards the southeast. Mac gave the surrounding area a brief scan; fortunately no one had run outside yet. There were a few men milling on the other side of a truck, they seemed to be confused as to what to do about the alarm. Mac jerked her head at Vukovic and started off at a sprint at a 45 degree angle to the road, heading nearly due south.
Glancing behind herself frequently Mac was terrified that the men would see them. Unfortunately it wasn't too long before more men burst out the front door. Cursing to herself Mac skidded around a rock, trying desperately to get out of sight though out of mind would be too much to ask for. Vukovic dove in behind her. Mac panted heavily, peering out at the coming men. Mac muttered a few choice curse words. Vukovic blinked at her, apparently in surprise at her vocabulary.
Mac ignored him; he was no where near the top of her priority list right now. Steadfastly ignoring the pain in her body also she turned and silently directed the Lt. to head for the next closest hiding place. They were going to have to be damned careful. It would take a hell of a lot of luck to keep them from being captured again, and Mac wasn't really counting the odds on luck too high at the moment. Chancing one last look at the building she noted the men piling into trucks. Heavily armed and obviously very put out she knew they wouldn't be taking prisoners this time.
Dodging back behind the rock she turned and ran as fast as she could to where Vukovic was waiting behind another building, this one much smaller than the previous. Giving the building a once over she noted that it seemed abandoned. Glancing around swiftly, she finally registered the presence of a few more buildings. This one was the only one that appeared empty though. Pointing towards next closest building she started heading for it, careful to keep out of sight as much as possible. Mac could hear the trucks roaring to life, heading off down both directions of the road. It was logical to search the road first. Hell, in all honesty it would have probably been smarter for them to head down the road.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that if they just hung around a little longer they'd have a better chance of getting away. Semi-used to the physic hunches by now she'd made a split-second decision to heed this one. Swiftly she ducked behind the building, Vukovic dodging out of sight just as more men came out of the front. It was apparent from their actions that they were the detail in charge of searching the building cluster. Carefully keeping out of sight and not particularly caring what Vukovic thought of her actions, she edged around the building. Reaching a door she eased it open, slipping inside and waving for Vukovic to follow. He did so and she shut the door as quietly as she'd opened it. Sliding to the floor she sighed softly. Hopefully they wouldn't think to search the building they'd just exited, because if they did the two lawyers were worse than screwed.
Vukovic opened his mouth to speak and she shot him a death glare. If he did something now to jeopardize their escape she would kill him herself. He snapped his jaws shut though he glared at her petulantly, clearly annoyed at his lack of input. Arching an eyebrow she silently dared him to take her on, but he didn't quite seem to get the message, smirking slightly in response. Sighing, Mac looked away, studying their location.
They'd entered a small storage room, holding various odds and ends, most of which were in boxes. Two doors opened onto the room, one leading further inside and the other being the one they'd come through. A small window in the door provided the only dim light. Though she wasn't thrilled with small, dim rooms, in this case she was willing to make an exception. Pressed up against the exterior wall, and with the window as dirty as it was, should someone chance a look inside the pair should go unnoticed. "Should" being the operative word, Mac thought. Sighing again she listened intently to the men running around outside.
Dimly they could hear shouts as the men checked the various buildings. Initially the sounds were coming from the direction of the abandoned building before moving towards them. Mac held her breath, expecting the door to be flung open at any time and for them to be discovered. She tensed as the window darkened. However, whoever had stopped only paused briefly before continuing on. She slowly released her held breath and closed her eyes. Tipping her head back against the wall she realized in relief that she'd made the right choice. The men had checked the abandoned building first but weren't going to bother searching this one too closely. After all, who would be crazy enough to hide in a building occupied by the very people they were trying to avoid?
I would, she thought wryly. Settling against the wall she tensed again as another thought occurred to her. What if they checked this room after they'd returned? Opening her eyes she studied the interior door for a long moment. She hoped the walls and door were thin enough to hear if someone approached from inside. Resigning herself to this small hope she forced herself to relax again, wincing slightly as her ribs protested. She shuddered to think of the diagnosis when they finally got back to US forces.
Looking briefly at the Lt. she murmured, barely loud enough to be heard, "Might as well get comfortable, we can't leave until they come back." He looked at her like she was crazy. Smiling faintly Mac redirected her gaze to the ceiling, letting her thoughts drift.
"Hey there, sailor," Mac grinned as Harm stepped off the COD.
Harm flashed a grin at her as he walked up, shooting off a mock two-fingered salute, "Hey there, yourself, marine."
The pair turned to head towards the hatch, Mac glanced up at her partner, feeling much more at ease than she had since reaching the carrier a week ago. "How was the flight?"
"Boring," Harm replied with a smile.
Mac laughed, "You almost sound disappointed, Harm."
Still smiling he held the door open for her before following her inside. After a moment he replied, "On a COD, boring is definitely something I want."
Mac laughed softly at him again. "The Captain wants to see us both on the bridge."
"Lead on, Mac. By the way, where's Lieutenant what's-his-name? I thought he'd be with you." Mac frowned, the amusement gone faster than it had appeared. "Mac? There a problem?"
She couldn't help but feel touched by his obvious concern. Glancing over her shoulder at him she smiled reassuringly though he noticed it didn't reach her eyes, "Not really. We do need to talk later, though." Harm nodded slowly, a puzzled expression on his face. His eyes were dark with concern, studying her. Stopping in the corridor for a second she turned to him, refraining from touching him though she wanted to. "Harm, everything's fine. I just want to talk to you about some stuff."
"The lieutenant," he deduced. "You don't like him?"
Mac sighed, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She looked at the wall, almost as if trying to find support from the cold metal, "It's not that I don't like him…"
Harm grinned again and finished her sentence, "It's just that you don't like him."
Mac laughed softly and glanced back up at her partner, her eyes smiling at him. Harm continued to grin down at her, the pair sharing a silent communication that was so much a part of their relationship they didn't even notice it.
Mac could feel tears pricking again as she thought of Harm. Closing her eyes until they were gone she forced her mind to think of something other than her best friend. But the memory of their comfortable interaction was still fresh and her heart twisted inside. She couldn't bear the thought of never seeing him again, of not being able to tease him, have such a carefree conversation with him. Angrily she muttered to herself, "Get a grip, marine."
Vukovic looked up from his contemplation of the ground, shooting a curious glance at her. Mac refused to meet his eyes, simply staring at the ceiling some more. Steadfastly she forced herself to think about their current predicament. She had no idea how close US forces might be. They could be a few hours away they could be a few days away. For that matter, she had no idea what direction they would be in since she had no idea where in the country they were. About all she did know was the time and knowing at it was 1257 ZULU wasn't really all that much help. On the upside, that meant it should be getting dark soon, which would provide much better cover for fleeing than the daylight.
The pair continued to sit in silence, listening to the men bang around outside. After a while they heard the trucks pull up; then there was more shouting as their former captors searched the compound again. Fortunately, by this time it was starting to get dark, which meant that the room they were in was edging towards total blackness. The alarm had been shut off long before, leaving the only sounds to be that of people milling about. Finally they heard people inside their building. Tapping Vukovic lightly on the shoulder Mac edged the door open and peered out. There was no one in sight; everyone seemed to be either inside or at least in front of the buildings. Slipping out she waited for the Lt. to join her.
Silently she crept towards the corner of the building in the fading light. Night was falling swiftly and she wanted to be out of the open when it did so. Risking a glance around the corner of the building she stopped short when she saw men loading the trucks. She watched them for a moment, satisfied that they were too distracted to notice the pair scamper across the space between buildings she took off at a sprint, crouching as low as possible. No one appeared to notice as the commotion and disappearing light conspired to make them nigh invisible in their desert BDUs and tan tops.
Without a word, or even a glance at Vukovic, Mac slipped inside the abandoned building. It was nearly pitch black inside. When Vukovic bumped into her she bit back a startled yelp, turning and glaring at him as best she could in the darkness. Mac hissed, "Be careful, lieutenant!"
"Sorry," he whispered back, though he didn't really sound that sorry. Rolling her eyes Mac started working her way towards the front of the building, wanting to keep an eye on their ex-captors. After much bumping into walls and muttered curses she found the front room. Kneeling on the floor she peered over the bottom of the window, watching the chaos outside.
After a long moment she breathed, "Oh no." She could feel the blood drain from her face. Slowly she set the pistol on the ground, her hand shaking too badly to hold it as the meaning of the activity sunk in.
Vukovic asked softly, his voice right in her ear, "What?"
Mac barely registered his proximity, her gaze riveted to the scene in front of her. After a long pause Vukovic poked her side, causing her to hiss in pain. Slapping his hand away she finally answered, her voice dull, "They're leaving."
"Great! After they've gone we can get out of here and find someone on our side."
"They're leaving," Mac repeated, looking at him for the first time since they had entered the other building. He looked bewildered. He opened his mouth to speak again but Mac cut him off, "They're leaving and they're taking the Commander with them."
Vukovic blinked at her, as if this was too complicated for him. "The Commander?" he asked in puzzlement.
Mac resisted the urge to scream and beat him about the head. Instead her redirected her gaze to outside, watching dully as Harm's captors dragged him to a truck and shoved him inside. She could tell he was barely conscious. Slowly she answered Vukovic, her voice biting, "Commander Rabb. You know, my partner."
Vukovic stared at her, his jaw working. After a long moment he spoke, "I uh… I didn't think..."
Mac cut him off, her head snapping around, eyes blazing with suppressed fury, "That's right, lieutenant, you didn't think! You never do!"
Vukovic rocked back from the anger emanating from her. He started to say something but Mac turned away again, effectively stopping the conversation. Vukovic blinked again and then sighed heavily. Slowly he studied the room they were in. He rested against the wall, his back to the outside, knees drawn up. He draped his arms over his knees, pistol dangling from his right hand. Idly he stared off into space, wondering just how long Mac planned for them to sit there waiting. Heh, not like she'll ever let me call her that to her face, he thought with a trace of bitterness.
He contemplated Commander Rabb, feeling vaguely annoyed that Mac insisted on calling Rabb her partner even though he had been assigned to be her partner. Ok, she was assigned to train me, but still…, he mused. Sighing again he wondered exactly what was going on, he had known both Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie had been prisoners with him but when the Colonel had appeared in his doorway alone he'd assumed that the Commander had either already gotten free or was dead. He supposed he should've asked after the Commander, but he'd be damned if he apologized for not doing so.
Mac continued to stare out the window, watching in pained silence as the men finished loading the trucks then piled in themselves. A single tear rolled down her cheek as the trucks roared off down the road. Distantly she was glad it was dark and that the tear was on the cheek facing away from Vukovic. Slowly she brushed it away, still staring blankly into the night. Eventually Vukovic spoke, "So when do we leave?"
Mac answered calmly, her voice devoid of emotion, the perfect marine, "In a couple hours."
"Right… and we're going to know how long that is… how?"
"It's 1406 ZULU, we'll leave at 1600 ZULU," Mac replied quietly.
Vukovic looked at her in shock, "And you know that… how?" Mac shrugged, still not looking at him. Vukovic waited then asked again, "How do you know that? They took our watches." Mac glanced over at him, arching an eyebrow though she still didn't answer. "Are you going to tell me?"
"No," she stated simply, turning her head and resuming her silent supervision of the yard. Vukovic grimaced, thumping his head back against the wall. The corner of Mac's lips twitched in a slight smile, she was vaguely amused at his reaction. But the amusement fled swiftly and Mac continued to stare out the window, disconsolate.