Disclaimer: still not mine

Erm... sorry about that massively huge delay in chapters. I ended up getting sick and not doing much beyond sleeping and going to work ('cause I need the money). As a result, yeah, this took a LOT longer than it should have to write. Summer colds suck. On the upside, the end is somewhat in sight and the story will be done by the end of summer I promise. So anyways, thanks to minorcadence, zeilfanaat, macandharmlover, harmfan, eagleandrose, MartinaCruz, cool cat, jaggurl, Radiorox, AB, froggy, snugglebug, kittyX, starryeyes, smithknk, mommie, csi saragrissom, Bratling, and anyone else I missed for the reviews! Again, sorry about the huge delay, shouldn't happen again.

Chapter 24, now with massive revisions! Thanks to the people who pointed out my insistence on ignoring logic in this chapter.

Friday

JAG Headquarters

1330 ZULU

Mac pushed open the door to General Cresswell's office tentatively, forcing herself to relax. Calmly she asked, looking inside to where the General sat at his desk, "General? Petty Officer Coates said you wanted to see me?"

Cresswell glanced up from the scatter of papers on his desk and nodded, smiling faintly, "Ah yes, Colonel. I did. I know I said on the phone I'd talk to you during a recess but I decided it might be better if we talked before the hearing instead of during. Close the door behind you and have a seat." He waited patiently while she did as he asked idly noting that as usual, it was strange seeing a military officer in uniform using crutches. When she looked up at him expectantly Cresswell half-smiled and rose, pacing the length of the room to stand in front of some picture. "I imagine you're wondering why I wanted to speak to you."

Mac nodded slightly, though he couldn't see her, "Yes, sir."

Cresswell grinned to himself briefly then schooled his expression as he turned around. Striding back to his desk he glanced down at a couple of papers and a small box before looking up at her, "Lieutenant Vukovic seemed rather shocked to hear of his new charges."

"Sir?" Mac looked at him in puzzlement.

He nodded slightly, resting one hand lightly on the edge of his desk, "Several counts of disrespecting a superior officer have been added to the list of charges."

Mac blinked in surprise before asking quietly, "How many, sir?"

"Six. Two from the hospital incident and four from Iraq." Mac considered this for a moment before nodding slightly, unable to keep the faint smile from her face. The General noticed but opted not to comment, he couldn't really blame her for her sentiments based on everything he'd heard. "You'll be testifying this morning, correct?"

"Yes, sir. I believe Commanders Turner and Roberts plan to call me first."

He nodded noncommittally. Abruptly he asked, "How is Commander Rabb doing?"

Mac cocked her head slightly, mildly startled at the sudden subject change. After a brief pause she replied, "He's doing better." She smiled slightly, "Already anxious to get out of the hospital."

Cresswell nodded and paced back to the pictures. Mac could hear the faint amusement in his voice, "I can understand that. How's his memory?"

"It's returning, a little more every day," she answered cautiously. Mac watched General Cresswell in puzzlement, she could tell there was more to this meeting than the superficial topics he kept bringing up but she stayed quiet, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say in his own time.

Cresswell nodded to himself thoughtfully, "And what do the doctors say?"

Mac sighed softly, glancing down at her folded hands, "They expect him to make a full recovery but they think some of his memories may always remain a blur, especially those relating to his captivity."

The General nodded again but still didn't turn. Finally he commented, "He'll have to go before a medical review board of course." Mac nodded but didn't say anything. Cresswell was silent again. Mac frowned slightly, watching him. Mentally she checked the time, relieved to note she still had almost 45 minutes to get to the court room. After a long silence Cresswell paced back to his desk, lightly resting his fingertips. Eventually he glanced up with a smile, "Well, I have some news that should cheer him up."

"Sir?" Now Mac was really confused, she'd come in here half expecting to be berated and suddenly the General was informing her that he had good news.

He picked up the two pieces of paper he'd been studying earlier. Glancing down at the top one briefly he met Mac's gaze again, "I trust you're aware that the Navy promotion board met recently?" Mac nodded slowly, deducing where he was going with this. Cresswell handed her both pages with a grin, "Captain Rabb should be pleased to hear about his recent promotion. I figured you would like to be the one to tell him."

She skimmed the page briefly before smiling up at Cresswell, "Yes, I would." He smiled in return and handed her the box. Automatically she opened it, glancing down at the quadruple striped shoulder boards nestled inside.

She smiled briefly, thinking of how thrilled Harm would be to hear of his promotion. Then another thought struck her and she looked sharply at the General in concern, "Sir, what about--" she stopped in mid-sentence pondering how best to broach the subject. Technically she had no right to say anything about Harm's promotion and probable reassignment but she couldn't help the horrible feeling that swept over her at the thought of him being sent elsewhere.

Cresswell seemed to read her thoughts as he watched her shrewdly. He didn't wait for her to continue the question, instead answering calmly, "Nothing about Captain Rabb's future status has been determined. As of right now everything is pending the results of his medical hearing. Of course, should anything change in his ah… personal status I would want to be informed immediately." He held her gaze for a long moment, ensuring that he was understood. Finally Mac nodded slightly, relieved. After another pause he commented casually, as though nothing had been said about the future, "We'll have a formal announcement when you return to JAG and a celebration after Captain Rabb is back on his feet. But I thought you would want to know as soon as possible." Mac nodded again in understanding.

General Cresswell glanced at his watch, "Well, you should be getting down to the court room."

Mac nodded, "Yes, sir." Coming to attention once more, Mac turned and left the office, resigning herself to sitting through the torture that she felt this hearing would become. Though she desperately wanted justice done, at the moment she would much rather be back in Harm's hospital room. Instead she was going to get to spend the next several hours in the same room as Vukovic. The Colonel had no desire whatsoever to see the irritating Lieutenant ever again.

Same Day

Court Room

1500 ZULU

Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie sat quietly outside the court room, half-listening for the call to enter. She was still mulling over the events of the morning so far. After leaving the General's office she'd received some startled looks from people unaware that she was in the States much less in the office. Bud and Sturgis had stared for a brief moment, apparently having detected something different about her attitude. When she had explained briefly the result of her meeting with Cresswell, leaving out her concerns about Harm's possible reassignment, both men had broken out into broad smiles and offered heartfelt congratulations. They were the only two besides Jen that Mac had told about Harm's promotion. She didn't particularly want the promotion to become fodder for the office scuttlebutt just yet, though she knew it was probably too late to stop that.

Sighing to herself she moved on to pondering how to thank Jen for taking care of Hammer while she was out of country. Mac knew the younger woman wouldn't accept money. She'd just decided to take Jen out to dinner in thanks when a young naval petty officer stepped up to her, "Ma'am, they're ready for you." Mac rose and hobbled forward slowly, ignoring the startled look on Vukovic's face which rapidly faded into confusion and worry when she entered the courtroom. His lawyer had prevented him from trying to seek her out before the trail and apparently they hadn't realized she would be the first witness, facts which Mac was extremely grateful for.

Smiling gratefully at the bailiff when he took her crutches and offered a hand to help her behind the stand Mac settled into the waiting chair and folded her hands, looking calmly out at Sturgis. She noticed Bud shoot her a tiny smile but didn't return it, knowing he would understand. Sturgis cleared his throat and stood, stepping around his table to stand closer to her. Steadily he requested, "Please state your name, rank, and current billet."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, Virginia." She noticed Vukovic's eyes narrow slightly though he didn't say anything. Mac had a feeling that if this hadn't been a hearing which could result in the ending of his career, it would be a different story.

Dismissing Vukovic from her mind she focused on Commander Turner, waiting patiently for the questions she knew were to come. She wasn't keen on speaking about what had happened but she shoved down her personal feelings on the matter. "Colonel, according to this report you were sent to the USS Condon with the Lieutenant on a case, correct?"

"Yes."

"And after this case you were due to come home, correct?"

"Yes."

"But you didn't."

"No, we were instead sent to the USS Reprisal in the Persian Gulf and were met by Commander Rabb."

"Why?"

Sturgis had barely finished the short word when Commander Matthews finally protested, apparently having become increasingly irritated with the line of questioning, "Objection, your honor, relevance?"

Sturgis answered calmly, "I'm getting there, your honor. This is a hearing to hear the facts relating to the case."

The judge, Captain McCord, nodded slightly, pondering the objection. After a moment he stated, "Overruled. Continue, Commander, but I do want to hear something more relevant soon."

"Of course, your honor." Sturgis turned back to Mac, "Why were you sent to the Reprisal?"

"To investigate an incident with an F-14 pilot and a Harrier pilot."

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"The Harrier pilot and a group of marines stationed inland claimed the F-14 first dive-bombed their encampment then targeted first their tanks then the Harrier when it took off to try and talk to the F-14 pilot. The F-14 pilot claimed his IFF was feeding him data that both the people on the ground and the Harrier were enemies."

"So you were there to investigate this. Why was Commander Rabb called in?"

Mac smiled wryly, "Because Commander Rabb has forgotten more about F-14s than the rest of us will ever know. He was to serve as the other primary investigator and sit first chair should we end up needing to have a trial."

Sturgis nodded, glancing briefly at Bud who was making notes periodically. Shooting a glance at the judge he realized he was starting to run out of time to make this relevant. Looking back at Mac Sturgis smiled faintly then asked, "Colonel, can you tell us what happened to lead you to be in country?"

"Of course. We were there to talk to the marines that had been targeted."

Sturgis paused for a moment and took a breath, now they were getting into the part of the questioning he really didn't want to go to. He had a feeling Mac didn't particularly want to talk about any of it either. Steeling himself he asked, his voice still calm, "And that's when you were captured?"

Mac felt herself tense. She reminded herself that she had known from the start she would have to talk about what had happened but it didn't make her feel much better. Sighing a little she answered, "Yes." Out of the corner of her eye she could see Vukovic visibly tense, his mouth settling into a firm line.

Redirecting her attention to Sturgis she waited for the question she knew was coming. Almost immediately he asked, "What happened?"

The marine took a deep breath a let it out slowly, trying to forcibly relax her muscles. Succeeding only marginally, she began talking after a short pause, "As I said, we'd gone in country to talk to the marines who claimed to have been the targets. We caught up with them in a small village where they were doing some patrols and working with the locals. We'd been there about twenty five minutes when the shooting started." She paused again, checking her mental timeline. Though her sense of time had gotten screwed up she had a good guesstimate about when things had happened up until the first time she'd been unconscious.

She began speaking again, subconsciously lowering her voice as she got caught up in the memories. "Grabbing our own sidearms we ran to aid the marines, who'd been ambushed by a small group of insurgents. Fortunately for us there were more marines than terrorists and within a few minutes it was pretty much over. Commander Rabb and I had just begun to relax; relieved it was over, when--"

"Objection, witness cannot claim to know what Commander Rabb was feeling," interjected Commander Matthews.

Both Mac and Sturgis blinked at her in surprise, it hadn't occurred to either of them that she would object to such an innocuous comment. Mac paused for only a moment before addressing the objection evenly, "Commander Rabb and I have been partners for nearly nine years. I think I can safely say how he felt at the time."

Matthews looked surprised that Mac had answered and looked to the judge for support. Captain McCord arched an eyebrow and merely commented, "The Colonel has a point. Overruled."

Mac waited for a brief moment to be certain there would be no more objections before continuing her story, "We'd just begun to relax when I heard Lieutenant Vukovic shout something about getting them. I turned to see him chasing after a few fleeing men. I screamed at him to stop but he didn't. Commander Rabb heard me and turned. When he saw the Lieutenant running he yelled at me that we had to stop him so we followed. We saw the men and the Lieutenant disappear behind a building on the edge of the village. When we turned the corner ourselves we found not just the few men the Lieutenant had been chasing but at least half a dozen more, all heavily armed."

She stopped, frowning slightly to herself as she remembered the scene. Sturgis asked quietly, "And the Lieutenant?"

"He uh… was already unconscious and tied up."

"What did you do?"

"Lowered our weapons, there was no way we could hope to take them all out and we weren't going to abandon the lieutenant."

Sturgis nodded, smiling encouragingly though Mac didn't appear to notice. Softly he asked, "So it was the lieutenant's fault you were all taken prisoner?"

"Objection, leading the witness!" Matthews called out. Mac saw the tiny smile that flitted across Vukovic's face and she knew Matthews had a valid objection. She also knew that Sturgis knew it too.

Indeed he merely smiled and stated, "I'll rephrase." After a brief pause he asked instead, "In your opinion, did the lieutenant's actions contribute to your capture?"

Mac cocked her head slightly, gazing steadily at Sturgis, "Definitely."

"In what way, exactly?"

She sighed a little, before calmly stating, sounding vaguely like she was discussing the weather instead of events leading to her own capture and over two days of abuse, "By running off like that. We were supposed to stay with the marines at all times while in country. There was no reason to chase the already fleeing men. We--"

"Objection!"

This time even Captain McCord looked surprised. Looking at Commander Matthews in slight puzzlement he asked, "To what?"

"The Colonel cannot claim to know whether Lieutenant Vukovic had reasons for his actions or not."

There was silence for a moment before Sturgis stated, he voice showing his confusion, "But she didn't say anything about the Lieutenant, merely that there was no reason to chase the men."

"Perhaps the Lieutenant had a reason," countered Matthews.

Sighing, Sturgis turned back to Mac, "As far as you know, was there any reason to chase the insurgents?"

"No," she answered promptly.

"Why not?"

"We were there to interview the marines, not get involved in the fighting. The marines were not chasing the men therefore there was no apparent reason that we should do so. Our orders were to stay with the marines, by attempting to chase down the fleeing men that order was violated."

Sturgis nodded, "I see. Now, how else, in your opinion, did the Lieutenant's actions contribute to the future events?"

"Like I said, running off like that led all three of us away from the marines. It also, as it turned out, led us straight into a trap that could have been avoided had we stayed with the others."

Sturgis nodded again, "Very well. Moving on to the charges of disrespecting a superior officer, can you tell me what happened yesterday at Bethesda?"

Mac took a deep breath, tamping down on her immediate irritation at the thought of the previous days events. When she trusted herself to speak without anger, she replied, "I was in Commander Rabb's hospital room when Lieutenant Vukovic came in, apparently to see how we were feeling. He said he wanted to speak to me, I told him he could talk to me there. When he asked to speak to me in private I declined, not wanting to leave Commander Rabb alone. When he asked again, more insistently Commander Rabb intervened, repeating what I had previously said.

I told him, again, that he could either talk to me there or not at all. Then he asked about my report on Iraq which I told him was not his business. At this point he became irritated, insisting that it was his business and insinuating that I had manipulated the facts to bring him up on charges. Commander Rabb then asked that he leave. When he refused I dismissed him, since a request didn't seem to work. When he still refused to leave I ordered him out of the room."

"Thank you, Colonel." Commander Turner turned back the judge, "No further questions at this time, your honor."

"Very well. Commander Matthews?"

Matthews briefly conferred with her client before standing and stepping in front of the table. She fixed Mac with a steady gaze which Mac returned expressionlessly, far from intimidated by the younger woman. After a moment Matthews looked away and Mac allowed herself a tiny smile of triumph, it was petty, she knew but she couldn't help it. Finally Matthews began, "Colonel MacKenzie, you said Commander Rabb was brought in to be another primary investigator and first chair in the trial should it proceed, correct?"

"Yes."

"What was Lieutenant Vukovic's role to be, then?"

"He was to continue to assist in the investigation and trial."

"So you arbitrarily demoted him?"

Mac blinked and shot a stern glance at Sturgis who had opened his mouth to object. The Commander subsided, eyes narrowing slightly as he watched her, waiting for Mac's answer. Calmly she answered the question, "No, the General is the one who gave the orders. Lieutenant Vukovic was the junior lawyer in the case and as such was assigned the duty of assisting with the trial. I believe you have a copy of those orders in your files."

Matthews frowned slightly and tried a different tack, sensing she wasn't going to get anywhere that way. "So you all went in country to interview these marines for your investigation and were ambushed by insurgents? Any idea why they ambushed you?"

Mac shrugged slightly, "The same reason they ambush any group of United States troops, I would guess."

"I see, so you have no reason to suspect this was different?"

Matthews voice had become progressively more aggressive and this time Sturgis did object, "Objection, your honor, the witness is not the one this hearing is about."

"Sustained." McCord pinned Matthews with a look, "Watch it, Commander."

"Yes, your honor." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before asking, "You said you followed the lieutenant around a corner. You could not see or hear any indication of what was happening on the other side?"

"No."

"Then why did you follow him? Surely you knew it could be another ambush."

Mac nodded slightly in acknowledgement of the point, "True, but nor did we have an indication that there was a problem. We couldn't leave the lieutenant alone and we didn't know what consequences any hesitation would have, so we followed."

"And why, when you did discover the truth, did you not try to escape or get help in some manner?"

"Had we tried to run they would've mowed us down before we'd gotten two steps and the Lieutenant would likely still be a prisoner if not also dead. Had we called for help, yes the marines may have heard us but we would all be dead before they could aid us and the insurgents probably gone. We were outnumbered at least three to one, we didn't have a whole lot of choice. The Commander and I were not about to abandon the Lieutenant to some unknown fate, with three of us the chances of a future escape increased."

"I see. You say you called out to the Lieutenant when you noticed him running?"

"Yes, I called for him to stop."

"But he didn't. Is it possible he had a reason to continue or that he didn't hear you?"

"It's possible, which is why we followed."

"So you also violated direct orders."

Mac's eyes narrowed slightly, "Yes, in order to aid a fellow officer."

The other woman tried for a moment to return Mac's glare but eventually glanced down at her notes and switched topics, "Moving on to the hospital incident. You claim that you asked the Lieutenant to leave multiple times?"

"Yes, at least three times."

"You said that Commander Rabb was the first to ask him to leave. That would mean you yourself only asked him twice."

Mac arched an eyebrow, "Actually, I myself requested and then ordered him to leave three times. Commander Rabb's request would make four."

"I see, and Commander Rabb was the first one to supposedly ask him to leave the room?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It's his room and he no longer wanted the Lieutenant present."

"I see, however, you stepped in after that."

"Yes."

"Why would you do such a thing if it is, as you say, his room?"

"Because the lieutenant had asked to speak to me, thereby defining the conversation to the two of us. As such while Commander Rabb was requesting he leave the room because he wanted him out of his hospital room, I was requesting him to leave as an end to the conversation in addition to aiding the Commander."

"And who can verify that he refused?"

"Commander Rabb."

"Right, and where is Commander Rabb today?"

Mac's voice went cold, "Still in the hospital where he will remain until at least Monday."

"Why is he in the hospital?"

"Because he is unable to walk. Would you like a full catalogue of his injuries?"

"Yes, I wou--"

"Objection, your honor! How is this relevant?" Sturgis shot to his feet, closely followed by Bud.

Captain McCord glanced from the pair of men to Commander Matthews, "Commander?"

"I…" she trailed off.

McCord nodded sharply, "I see. You will cease this line of questioning unless you can come up with relevance."

Abruptly Mac spoke, "Your honor, I would like to answer her inquiry as to the Commander's injuries, if I may?"

The Captain looked at her in surprise then nodded after a moment, "As you wish, Colonel."

Colonel MacKenzie fixed Commander Matthews with a hard stare, speaking lowly and firmly as she recited Harm's injuries. This time she wasn't merely reciting facts as if they had happened to a third party, it was clear to everyone in the room that she took the injury done to her partner rather personally. "His right arm is broken in two places along with the elbow. His right shoulder was dislocated. The left shoulder was wrenched and the left wrist is fractured. His right knee is broken as is his lower right leg. His left ankle is broken in two places. He has fourteen broken ribs, six cracked ribs, and the remaining six are bruised. He also had various bruised internal organs not to mention the scrapes, cuts, and bruises from beatings and bindings. To top it all off, he has almost complete amnesia as the result of the torture and combined minor concussions."

Sturgis and Bud both sank slowly back into their chairs in shock. This was the first time they'd heard the list of exactly what was wrong with their friend and it clearly stunned them. For her part Commander Matthews merely stared at Mac as the list of injuries grew. When the Colonel finished speaking there was a long pause. The entire room seemed to be holding its breath before Matthews finally spoke, her voice faint, "No more questions, your honor."

Captain McCord watched Mac silently for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Finally he looked over at Sturgis, "Commander Turner?"

"Nothing further, your honor."

McCord nodded, redirecting his gaze to Mac, "You may step down, Colonel."

Mac nodded and took a slow breath, trying to relax the muscles that had gradually tensed more as the interview went on. She didn't like recalling everything that was wrong with her partner; it twisted her stomach into knots to remember what those men had done to him. Slowly she stood, stepping down and taking her crutches back from the bailiff. Carefully she made her way out of the room, intent on reaching a place where she could call Harm. After reliving the skeleton of events in Iraq she wanted to talk to her best friend and partner if only to reassure herself that he was still alright.

Same Day

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Same Time

Harm leaned back in the chair as best he was able and stared blankly out the window. The doctor had finally conceded after a long argument that he could sit up and be in a chair instead of flat on his back all the time. Harm had felt rather proud about the tiny victory even if he was only sitting in a stationary chair and still had no real way of moving about on his own. He was at least out of the bed and that was enough for the moment.

After getting him into the chair the nurses had left him alone. He'd made sure the phone was close enough for him to grab, since Mac had promised to call him after the hearing. Once he'd checked that, though, he'd let his thoughts drift, ignoring the various twinges of pain throughout his body every time he shifted his weight. He was trying to remember anything but all the pieces seemed to elude him. When he thought he'd finally managed to form a connection some little extra fact would float to the surface momentarily and prove him wrong. But the second he tried to grasp the new piece it would float away.

He sighed heavily. The holes in his memory grated on him. It was driving him crazy not to remember huge chunks of his life. He felt guilty every time he couldn't remember a detail he knew he should. Mac had gone on at length the night before about how the hearing would work and as she'd talked it all had seemed familiar yet he couldn't seem to expand on any of it. Every piece of information she imparted to him would click into his memory like it belonged there, but he couldn't seem to dredge up the pieces on his own. Harm knew that it would take time and was sick unto death of the doctor insisting his memory would return, that familiar things would jog it, etc. Unfortunately that wasn't helping him at the moment and he desperately wanted to be of some help to Mac and the people she told him were his friends.

Harm knew that he had knowledge and experiences that would help their case but frustratingly they wouldn't stay put long enough for him to pin them down. Every time he tried to remember Iraq the flashes of pain and darkness threatened to overwhelm him. So he shied away from those memories, afraid that without his partner with him he wouldn't be able to conquer them. Instead he tried to remember his legal training, his military training, anything else that could help. He knew instinctively that the Navy was an integral part of who he was but for the life of him he couldn't remember more than snatches of fact.

Finally he gave up, allowing his mind to drift. A small portion of his mind still mulled over the information Mac had given him the previous night about the hearing. He turned the arguments over and over in his mind, examining them from every angle he could think of. So far he hadn't found a flaw, but he would be the first to admit that in his present state he wasn't sure he could find a flaw even if it was the size of the Grand Canyon. But it kept his mind busy and prevented him from dwelling on darker subjects. Slowly memories trickled back to him, gradually expanding on the brief description he'd been given the night before. Snippets of court cases wandered through his mind but this time he didn't try to grab any of the memories. Instead he let them drift, waiting for them to settle. It wasn't very fast but it seemed to be more effective than trying to force himself to remember.

Glancing at the clock he realized Mac would probably be on the stand at that very moment. With a faint smile he pictured her, other instances of her on the witness stand flashing through his mind. He had a distinct feeling that whoever was defending Vukovic wouldn't know what hit them. At the thought of the annoying Lieutenant, Harm's expression darkened. The incident the day before had rubbed him wrong and ever since then his mind had been dredging up other memories of the brash young Lieutenant. Harm couldn't help the feeling of anger that swept through him every time he thought of the young man. He knew it was slightly irrational yet he didn't much care. From what he could remember he was still unwilling to forgive Vukovic for the events of Iraq.

Harm didn't care about what had happened to himself, though he had to admit the injuries were annoying. But the thought that the idiot had been responsible for getting Mac captured as well was unforgivable in Harm's mind. A small part of his mind told him it was quite possible that his opinion would change when all his memories came back but the larger part of him was certain that it wouldn't. Sighing softly he shoved the thoughts away and focused on the scene through the window, allowing his mind to drift once more as he waited for Mac to call.

Forgive me if the hearing stuff is bad. I'm not a lawyer, I'm a computer geek. But I did my best.

And random neat fact for the chapter: The USS Reprisal is an actual Aircraft Carrier that was never completed. However, it did make an appearance on JAG in 97 as a completed carrier. It was played by the USS Forrestal. So I thought it'd be amusing to include the Reprisal in my story.