A 'Notorious' JAG

Chapter 4

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story. I don't own the rights to the story or movie, 'Notorious.' Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Spoilers: Any episode through Season 9. The story is 'loosely' based on the story in the 1946 Hitchcock movie 'Notorious.'

A/N: This is the part of the story in which we go deeper into the 'Notorious' part of the tale, though again, it will be slightly different, trust me.

A/N: I want to say up front that this is tough. I hope that people that have read my other work will hang in with me. Karen…you have my undying admiration. Now I know what you went through.

A/N: JJ your wonderful story 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' has been my saving grace. Thank you.

Rating T

1730

Friday

October 24, 2003

Ipanema Towers

Harm had just returned to his room. He had spent most of the afternoon trying to clear his head and get his mind on this mission. As hard as he tried, he could not shake the unsettled feeling that he had. Every instinct he had told him this was the wrong thing for her, for them. The thought of Mac on this particular mission was tearing him in two.

The decision would have to be hers, though. He had already seen that she wouldn't listen when he asked her not to do something this dangerous. He wouldn't make that mistake again; it had been as though he had never said anything at all. Harm took out his cell phone and punched the number for the cell that Prescott had given Mac.

"Mackenzie."

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." She answered playfully.

"Did you get your assignment?" He tried to keep his tone of voice neutral.

"Yes." This was going to be difficult; she knew Harm too well. When she hadn't heard from him all afternoon, she'd known he was having a hard time with this.

"You okay with it?" He wanted to hear her say no, that she wouldn't do it, but he could not be the one to tell her. Making this her decision would tell him what last night meant to her, if it had changed anything for her at all.

Mac was silent for a moment, weighing her answer.

"Mac?"

"I'm here…I agreed to do it, Harm. I really had already agreed before I left the States for this mission, I'm going to do it."

"This may not be about Sadiq at all, Mac; I want to be sure you know that." Harm swallowed the disappointment he felt rising up inside him.

"Prescott said it could 'indirectly' involve him. We may not get him this time, but if we can find out how he is able to travel from country to country with relative ease here in South America, we may get him yet and whoever is helping him."

Harm was silent. He knew she was right but he still felt as strongly as ever that he didn't want Mac to be the one to do this. It was as though he was two people. He was, on one hand, the man who knew his mission and Mac's capability to handle it – and then on the other, one who wanted to take Mac away and keep her to himself, protecting her from whatever might hurt her.

"Harm?"

"Look, we're going to have to keep communication to a minimum. I'll expect to hear from you no later than 0800 tomorrow. That should give you time to get this going."

He couldn't do this right now; he couldn't have a conversation that smoothed over the last 24 hours as though they had never happened.

"Get this going? I thought we might be able to talk about this." He had that distant sound in his voice; she could almost hear the walls coming up.

"What do you want me to do, Mac? Help you pick out your sexiest dress?" The thought made him physically sick.

"No." Mac understood in a heartbeat that they were back to this, already. "I may not be able to win him over right away. We have to have a plan B."

Harm's response was sharp. "You underestimate your charms, Mac."

Before Harm could say another word, she ended the call with tears welling in her eyes.

Harm heard her disconnect and he closed his cell phone. A small voice in his head told him he had just made the mistake of his life and to call her back before it was too late. Another voice, still full of wounded pride from their past South American mission, kept him from doing what he knew in his heart was right.

2230

Friday

Spazio

Ipanema

Rio de Janeiro

Harm watched Mac from the street at one of the many juice bars along the avenue. He had to be sure that she was all right. He saw Hardy spot Mac from across the bar. There was just enough light inside the club so that Harm could recognize the leer and Mac's smile in response. Harm turned his back for a moment, careful that he wouldn't be recognized by Hardy or Mac should they look his way. He waited a moment and then glanced back over his shoulder again.

He saw Hardy place his hand on Mac's back and then lean in and whisper in her ear. Hardy was wasting no time in letting her know he was interested in her. Harm looked away again and was startled by sultry and thickly accented voice. "Who has your heart, handsome?"

Harm looked to his side to see an exotic and darkly beautiful woman… of a certain age. She was clearly older than him but she certainly didn't look like anyone's grandmother. He smiled at her. "No one."

She laughed at him and spoke again, resting her hand on his arm. "I know that look."

He winked at her but then made his way further down the avenue. The woman watched him walk away, thinking that this woman who had his heart was a fool to leave him alone.

0758

Saturday

October 25, 2003

Harm stood on his balcony looking out to sea. He was drinking his coffee and waiting for Mac's call; he had remained and watched Mac and Hardy leave Spazio. Hardy followed Mac to her hotel, but much to Harm's relief, Mac stopped him in front of the building. She had kissed him and walked into the building alone.

The ring tone of his cell pulled him from his reverie.

"Rabb."

"Tell your boss that I'm in," she said crisply.

"Have you added Hardy's name to your list of unfortunate boyfriends and husbands?" Harm made a cutting remark, landing a direct hit on one of Mac's most vulnerable spots.

"Maybe…. I did use my considerable charms." She decided to take the blade from his hands. He wouldn't hurt her today. At least he wouldn't know he had. She continued, "I'm to attend a gathering at his condo in Barra. He says it's just a small 'circle of friends.'

"I'll tell Prescott."

"Okay."

"I'll be in touch." Harm ended the call. It never ceased to amaze him how they could shift between the personal and professional in a matter of seconds. Sometimes it made him wonder if either of them would ever have a normal relationship.

1930

Sunday

October 26, 2003

Ipanema Towers

Mac's Hotel room

Prescott and Harm had just arrived at Mac's apartment. Prescott had to add one finishing touch to Mac's look tonight that might help draw out Hardy or someone in Hardy's circle in Rio.

Mac looked beautiful in a white backless dress that accentuated the olive tone of her skin. The neckline in front was just low enough to be flattering but not plunging. Harm swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes from her, but his expression revealed nothing.

Prescott took a velvet box from the inside pocket of his jacket. He handed it to Mac.

"I'd like you to wear this."

Mac opened the box. It was a five-carat diamond solitaire necklace. She looked at Prescott quickly, questioning.

"We believe diamonds are being used in Hardy's 'import - export' business as well. I am hoping that this beauty will help us draw out others who may be involved."

Mac took the necklace from the box and without thinking, began to turn toward Harm to help her with the clasp. He turned away without looking at her – he could not have touched her tonight and been able to keep from showing her and anyone else in the room how he felt about her. Prescott stepped up and helped Mac, completely aware of the tension between the two agents.

'Thank you." Mac just wanted to get this over with. The feeling of having Harm this close and this indifferent to her after all they had shared was excruciating.

Prescott placed his hands on her shoulders for a moment. "Not at all. Be careful with this. I'll need to get it back." He chuckled a bit, trying to lower the tension level with a bit of humor.

"Will do, sir." Mac tried to smile.

Prescott looked from Harm to Mac. "Remember that we want to keep contact between you two at a minimum for at least the next week. I'm sure Hardy will have you watched, if he isn't already."

Harm and Mac looked at each other then, their expressions unreadable. Each of them seemed to be searching the face of the other for something, some nuance that told them that their night together hadn't been more than a moment of weakness. As was their nature, both stayed well hidden behind their masks.

Prescott's skills of perception were paying off. The level of tension was still high between the two partners; he could sense it, and as another agent from the Company had before him, he intended to use it.

Later that evening…

Mac was driven to Hardy's condo in Barra by his personal driver. As she exited the vehicle she looked up at the 'condo.' It was a massive structure, in white, with at least three stories. She entered the apartment and was greeted by another of Hardy's household staff.

The rooms on the inside of the 'condo' were richly furnished. Mac knew already that even a cana business on the side couldn't add enough to pay for this on Hardy's government salary. As Mac walked into the foyer, she looked up a huge winding staircase. The opulence of this room was almost stunning. She heard someone approaching and turned to see Edward Hardy.

"Sarah…" He took her hand. "Come on, I have some people I want you to meet."

Mac followed him into large sitting room with windowed walls. There were four other guests, all men. Hardy introduced Alberto Domingues, Hardy called him a local politician. He introduced Marwan Hasni, a somewhat sophisticated man of Middle Eastern descent, and Emil Zarwi, who also appeared to be Middle Eastern. Zarwi was the more friendly and charming of the two. Hardy called them his associates in his cana business. The fourth guest gave Mac pause and answered some questions for her right away. It was Agent Van Duyn. He had to have been involved in the betrayal of Webb and their mission in Paraguay. She acknowledged him only as Hardy's guest and kept her demeanor calm.

The rest of the evening went smoothly with the exception of a heated discussion between Zarwi and Van Duyn. It was quickly settled with a word from their host, though the atmosphere in the room changed considerably afterward. Hardy's driver returned Mac to her hotel, leaving her with a great deal to report and follow up on.

1330

Thursday

October 30, 2003

Praca da Paz

Rio de Janeiro

Harm sat on one of the wrought iron benches that lined the plaza. Mac was to meet him here today. He looked at his watch. She was late, and that was something she had never been in the past. They had done as they had been told; there had been no contact between them except by cell phone. They had kept their conversations all business. The exchange of near-lethal barbs had ceased for the time being. Mac had told him she had a lot of information to pass on and she didn't want to do it by cell phone.

Harm saw Mac approaching him from the main street. He still felt that physical pull every time he saw her. Now it was even stronger because of what they had shared, or what he thought they had shared. Had she meant what she said that night at all? He still heard her saying that she loved him in his dreams. No matter how hard he tried to push her image and the sound of her voice out of his mind, she would never leave him. The physical pain he felt when he thought of her in anyone else's arms was almost more than he could stand. It made him as angry as he had been before they had begun this mission.

Mac sat down on the bench near Harm, her expression pleasant but distant. He appeared to be an old acquaintance, no more.

"Harm."

"Mac." Harm leaned forward on the bench, resting his forearms on his thighs, unable to maintain eye contact at the moment.

"You have some information for me?"

"Yes, Hardy is more involved than Prescott thinks and there is at least one other agent involved in the operation."

Harm looked at her and frowned. She smiled at him. "Remember, Harm, Hardy may still be watching me closely. This is casual conversation."

Harm returned her smile, and Mac felt an ache in her heart, remembering his knowing smile when they spent their night and morning together. She quickly pushed that emotion away; she had to focus on the mission at hand. They were to appear friendly but indifferent to each other, though they were neither.

Mac continued to keep her tone of voice light, as though she were talking about the weather. "There appears to be an operation underway in the tri-border region, between Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay. The same agent who was indirectly involved in the mission in the Chaco Boreal is spending a lot of time with Hardy. Agent Van Duyn: I'm sure Prescott is familiar with him. He may have been the reason our mission was betrayed."

"Go on." Harm looked at her, his expression revealing nothing of what they were speaking about. He gave her an amused though slightly disinterested smile.

"I think that diamonds may have been used as hard currency to purchase Sadiq Fahd's ticket out of here. I'm also thinking there are others that may have been able to do this."

"Do you think Van Duyn believes your cover story?"

"He seems to, though I don't spend a lot of time with him or any of Hardy's associates. What I have learned I have gotten from conversations I've overheard and the gathering at the condo last Sunday night."

"Hardy having a lot of house parties in his apartment in Barra?"

Harm's words were mild, but Mac still heard an edge in his tone of voice that wouldn't be obvious to anyone who didn't know him. She stayed on subject hoping that focusing on the task at hand would keep their conversation from deteriorating into what it always did; a pointless and painful argument.

"The dinner party was more formal than I expected. Hardy is definitely living well here in Rio, much too well for a station chief. There was a local government official in attendance, Alberto Domingues. There were also some that were unfamiliar to me and frankly didn't fit in at all, Marwan Hasni and Emil Zarwi. There was a bit of problem when Zarwi noticed my diamond."

"And?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since. No one mentions him which is odd, because I got the impression during the party that he was a close associate of all the men there." Mac looked casually around her, her expression and demeanor continuing to belie the seriousness of their conversation.

"I overheard one conversation spoken in Farsi. It was inconsequential, but given Hardy's business, it doesn't fit. I think one of the reasons he was interested in me is because he wants me to listen in on some of his associates' conversations."

Harm could not keep the sarcastic smile from his face. "Oh, I don't think that's the only reason, Mac."

"I'm not having a good time, Harm." It was as close as she could get to pleading with him to stop sniping at her. She had been able to avoid anything physical with Hardy, but it was getting more and more difficult, not that Harm would believe her at this point.

"I never said you were, but it must be an easy transition… going from one half-assed CIA agent to another."

Mac looked up at him, unable to hide the pain his callous remark caused her, but she recovered quickly from years of practice.

"Are you speaking of yourself, or of Webb?" She set her jaw, trying to control the anger that replaced the pain in mere seconds. "Anyway… why the sarcasm? You had to know what this mission was about, and you never said a word."

"I didn't know, and why should I say anything? You've never listened to a thing I've said, so why would you start now?"

Mac was incredulous and having a difficult time keeping her composure. "What are you talking about?"

Harm looked at her directly, willing her to remember when he had pleaded with her not to go to Paraguay and she had disregarded everything he said. That mission had ruined everything in both their lives.

"You have a short memory, Mac; you've always done exactly what you wanted to. Obviously whatever happened between us wasn't enough to change that."

"So this was a test?" The realization that he could do this stunned her for a moment.

"Call it whatever you like." Harm looked away from her, hiding his pain behind a mask of indifference.

"I hate it when you act like this." As much as she knew she loved him, this was a side of him she truly hated.

"Don't worry about how I'm acting Mac, do what you always do, don't give me a thought, keep your mind on the mission. You're doing great work, Prescott is impressed" His voice mocked her. "And just so that we're clear… you don't hate me …right? You said you never would, remember?"

He smiled, but his eyes held a cruel gleam. He had hit his target and the pain and regret wouldn't register for a couple of minutes. They were in their malicious dance. They did many dances: some were about loyalty and friendship, some were truly loving, some sensual, and then some were so devastatingly painful it seemed they couldn't go on, but somehow they continued. Now, as so often in the past, their lives and the lives of others hung in the balance. Their personal feelings and needs took a back seat to their duty and the task at hand. Harm wondered if they would always do this…as long as they lived. The thought of it made him weary all of a sudden.

"You smug self-satisfied bastard," Tears sprang from her eyes unchecked. Any hope she had hidden away in her heart for them left her. She'd thought that when this was over that they would be able to put the mission behind them and get on with their lives once and for all. It seemed now that the beautiful night they had together was all a joke to him.

She looked into his eyes and thought she saw pain there too for a millisecond – and then saw him retreat behind the very familiar wall.

"Suck it up, Marine. Here comes your boyfriend." He looked toward Hardy and gave him an acknowledging nod.

Hardy approached and they exchanged pleasantries, with Harm excusing himself shortly after Hardy had arrived.

Edward Hardy studied Mac as she watched him walk away and then when she turned to look at him. The corners of her eyes were still moist from tears; Hardy knew that there had to be more than Mac had admitted between them. She had told them they just couldn't seem to 'get it together.' And that they ended it before it had even begun.

"What's going on Sarah?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing important." Mac smiled at him brightly, "Are you ready to go to lunch?"

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather be with our old friend Rabb?" He gave her a sly look.

"No of course not, I told you we never really got it together. I didn't even know he'd be here today."

"So it's all over with Rabb?" He studied her face intently.

"It never really got started Edward." She didn't have to act to sound as though she believed exactly what she was saying.

"Prove it." He challenged her.

"Prove it?"

"Move in to my condo in Barra"

He wanted to test her loyalties to him. This move would tell him that not only had she completely severed her ties to Rabb, but to the Marine Corps as well.

Edward Hardy was no fool, he understood the risk he was taking letting someone like her into his life. He couldn't believe it when she had walked into Spazio a week ago. She seemed receptive to his advances, though he had yet to be invited to her hotel room. Mac could have been sent by the Company for all he knew, but he felt sure he would have detected any hint that she would betray him, long before now.

"Let me think about this Edward. I don't know." It seemed that Harm wasn't the only one trying to test her.

TBC

A/N: I will say again that this is the Harm and Mac of Season 9 before he came back to JAG but after the mess in Paraguay. It is also the place in the 'Notorious' part of the story for the Dev/Harm character to do just what he's doing too. I hope you all will stay with me. I had to write this. During season 9 this was the movie that kept hovering around in my mind when they were at odds.

A/N: Thanks to Aerogirl and to Karen for their excellent beta reading skills and helpful input. Thank you Thank you.