A/N: We're about halfway through Season Four, and for all those among you who have subscribed to this DVD edition of Season Four, we're going to offer special features. With the remaining chapters, we'll have a small section at the end where we answer any questions you have about the story, characters or storylines. So if you ever wanted to know what was behind some of our original characters or a piece of dialogue or a storyline, now's the time to ask!
1456 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
"Hail the conquering heroes!" Sturgis announced as he saw Harm, Bax and Gunny came walking into the bullpen. "Ethan Baxter! Jesus, I haven't seen you for a long damn time!" Sturgis walked up and hugged Bax. "I'm guessing you prevented Harm from getting himself killed on this trip."
"I did what I could. You know Harm though, always so determined to get himself killed." Bax joked as the two men pulled out of their embrace. "So, how's the Bubble?" Bax joked as he struggled to maintain a straight face, Harm and Gunny on the other hand had already broken down.
"You two told Gunnery Sergeant Galindez?" Sturgis looked mortified.
"Sorry, Sturgis, but we just couldn't help it." Harm chuckled as he gave his friend a pat on the back. "But look at it this way, it was bound to come out sooner of later."
"What was bound to come out sooner or later?" Mac asked as she came walking out of her office toward the group of men.
"Sturgis' nickname." Bax offered up.
"Oh, this should be good." Mac crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"If any of you three tell her, I will kill you." Sturgis raised an index finger in warning to all the men. The three of them nodded their acceptance and then Harm came up with an ingenious plan.
"Hey Bud!" Harm called across the bullpen to the young Lieutenant whose nose was buried in a file. Bud looked up at his mentor to acknowledge that Harm had his attention. "Did you know that Commander Turner's nickname at the Academy was 'Bubble'?"
Sturgis' anger level instantly rose but Bax intervened. "You only said we couldn't tell Mac, it's not our fault that she listened in on a conversation that Harm and Lieutenant Roberts were having." Bax was still trying not to laugh but by now, Mac and Bud had joined Gunny and Harm by chuckling joyously at Sturgis' expense. "Sturgis, lighten up, it's not like we publicly broadcast any of the stunts you pulled at the Academy, we just announced the call sign that Keeter and Harm gave you." He felt Sturgis relax.
"Yeah, Sturgis besides it's not like Harm won't buy you a beer to make up for it." Mac chimed in.
"This, this is Mac?" Bax asked looking over the pretty Marine in front of him. "Well, aren't you the goddess? The name's Commander Ethan Baxter but everyone calls me Bax."
"Not true, my dad calls him 'dumb ass'." Sturgis piped up.
"And my mom calls him trouble." Harm added as he stepped over to Mac and put his arm around her shoulders in a classic protective gesture. "Bax this is Sarah MacKenzie."
"Who I'm sure is completely capable of introducing herself, Hammer. Unless there's something about you two that you're not telling me." Bax raised a hand to his chin. Mac knew there was something about this Bax character that she was going to like but there was something about each one of Harm's friends that she found endearing. Harm froze up against her. He was praying that something or someone would interrupt what had become an increasingly awkward moment.
"Brother! It is Christmas leave!" Sergei's pleasant tone could be heard from the JAG elevators. Harm, and the rest of the crowd turned to see three Midshipmen step off the elevators. Sergei Rabb led the way in his Midshipman Fourth Class, Class A uniform. He was followed by Midshipman Fourth Class Mike Roberts and Midshipman Second Class Anna Ross as they all walked into the JAG bullpen.
"A Second Class hanging out with two plebes? This is a stretch." Harm looked over the three Midshipmen who had come to attention in front of him since he was the senior officer in the room.
"Well, sir, we had come up with a plan by which the three of us wouldn't have to be separated until Christmas morning." Anna started and Mikey took over.
"Yeah, all of us are going to Bud and Harriet's on Christmas Eve for dinner and we're going to the Ross' Family Christmas the night before since Reverend Chegwidden couldn't make Christmas Eve since she does services all night that night." Mike nodded as he concluded his sentence.
"What are you going to do tonight?" Harm asked.
"Just hang around, you know, nothing big." Mike answered but all three of the Midshipmen looked at Mac.
"What was that?" Harm asked, instantly suspicious.
"What was what?" Mac replied.
"They all just looked at you." Harm accused.
"No we didn't." The three Midshipmen answered. Harm eyed them suspiciously before dismissing them to wreak their own specific brand of havoc. Mike and Sergei were like two brothers attached at the hip. The two of them spent the majority of their time with Bud or even talking with the Admiral. They came out of the Admiral's office and their eyes practically popped out of their heads when they came face to face with Petty Officer Jennifer Coates. The two boys seemed to go into instant drooling moron mode.
Anna Ross on the other hand had found a new role model in Sarah MacKenzie, even in her family, female Marines were notoriously hard to come by. Especially since the Ross family had a legendary pedigree for handing down the Y chromosome more often then not and even with a few women in the family they were mostly encouraged to avoid the Corps. Her and Mac were rapt in conversation when Anna looked back to see Sergei and Mike fawning over Coates. "What is it about brown hair and big boobs that sends those two into a mindless frenzy." Anna remarked, then remembered who she was talking about. "Sorry, about that lax in decorum, Colonel."
"Not a problem, Midshipman. I guess it just allowed me to see how the other half lives." Mac was shocked.
"What do you mean, ma'am?" Anna Ross raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, Anna. Having spent my life as a brunette I always got frustrated when men paid more attention to the blondes, especially the well-endowed ones. I just never figured that those blondes would have the same problems." Mac chuckled slightly.
"I don't know, ma'am. To them, it's weird, I mean I'm used to getting noticed by men for something that has nothing to do with my qualifications to be a Marine Corps officer but Mike and Sergei never treat me that way. They treat me like……I don't know, like…" Anna shook her head trying to come up with the right description.
"One of the guys?" Mac ventured. "Be thankful. In the Marine Corps, it's the officers that don't look at you like a fellow officer that you have to watch out for." Mac warned.
" I know but, ma'am just once in a while I'd like to hear 'you look nice' or something like that, something that reminds me that they know I'm a woman because with all the testosterone that flies back and forth at the Academy, I'm not sure they do." Anna lamented as they walked toward Mac's office.
"The only advice I can give you is to know what you want be careful what you wish for. You've got a lot of potential to be a great Marine officer." Mac gave the young girl a supportive hug before letting her go on her way.
"Come on, Anna let's go bug your brother now." Sergei cam bounding across the bullpen.
"If the Secretary can make time for us." Mikey Roberts added.
"If the three of you are headed over that way, the Gunny and I would be glad to give you a lift over to our offices." Bax motioned toward the JAG doors.
"Thanks, Commander." Anna nodded and the group headed out of JAG.
1843 ZULU
HARRY TRUMAN BUILDING
FOGGY BOTTOM, WASHINGTON DC
"Thanks for the lunch, Commander." Mikey answered as they walked through the halls toward Nate's office.
"Yeah, Commander Baxter, it sure was swell of you to take a bunch of Midshipmen out to dinner." Anna Ross gushed like a schoolgirl at the Navy Commander who had been so attentive.
"No problem, always willing to help a lady." Bax playfully tipped his cover to her.
"Yeah, I bet." Sergei remarked under his breath to Mike Roberts.
"Sergei, chill, I don't want to get trapped between you and the Commander if punches get thrown. Roberts' have a tendency to wind up with wire jaws in those situations." Mike tried to calm down his Russian friend. "Besides, striking a superior commissioned officer is a big no-no."
"I will bide time, yes?" Sergei asked.
"Wise idea.' Mike nodded as the door opened and they all walked into Nate's office. True to the established norm, Peach was in the office with Nate and the two of them were picking at lunch out of cartons from the local Chinese take-out.
"I thought she didn't work here any more?" Bax asked, pointing at Peach.
"My girlfriend gets to come and go as she pleases." Nate replied as he got up out of his chair. He walked over and shook Bax's hand and then shook Gunny's.
"When she's my sister-in-law, I'll feel better about the whole arrangement." Anna decided to make her presence known. Nate smiled as he saw his sister pop out from behind Bax. He wrapped her in a big brotherly hug.
"How you doing, kid?" Nate whispered in her ear. "They taking care of you?"
"Contrary to popular belief, big brother. Female Marines are just as capable of looking out for themselves as the male ones are." Anna answered, emboldened by her earlier talk with Mac.
"You're my little sister, I have to ask these questions. It says so in the Big Brother Handbook." Nate replied. "And they get very angry when I break the rules."
"So did Mom and Dad, that never stopped you before." Anna replied as she and Nate backed out of the hug.
"We'll be heading down to the office now to fill out after-action reports. Talk to you later, boss." Bax replied as he and Gunny headed out of the office.
"Alright so what do the three of you want?" Nate sat on the edge of his desk with his arms crossed across his chest.
"Big brother, is there any chance that we can borrow the limo and head out to the grocery store. We have some things that we need to pick up for a little get together that a friend of ours is throwing tonight." Anna tossed her brother a puppy dog look.
"That look only works on dad and Steve, it doesn't work on me." Nate turned back toward his chair.
"Because you're a hard ass. Come on, Nate, let us have the limo just for the afternoon." Anna pleaded.
"Yeah, come on, sir, it's not like you're using it." Mikey Roberts jumped in.
"I'd watch your tone, Midshipman, do you know whom you're addressing." Nate used his best DI tone.
"My apologies, sir." Mikey Roberts squared up again.
"Anna, what would dad say if you were asking him that question?" Nate turned his attention back to his sister. Just before Anna could answer, an explosion shook the building and sent everyone to the floor. "What the hell was that?" Nate dusted himself off as he climbed to his feet.
"It felt like an explosion." Mike surmised as he also got to his feet.
"You got all that from the ground shaking and a loud boom?" Nate shot sarcastically. "Sorry, Midshipman but explosions in downtown Washington DC tend to make me a little nervous, especially when they knock me on my ass."
"It's alright, sir." Mike nodded as he watched Nate walk over and lock the door to his office.
"Why did you do that?" Peach asked as Nate came walking back over.
"The explosion knocked the power out, it was a safety precaution. I have no idea what's out there, I just don't want it getting in here." Nate came walking back over to his desk. "I'll call down to Gunny and Bax, the explosion came from below us a ways, since their offices are three floors down, they might have a better idea of what the hell is going on."
"What do you think is going on, Mr. Ross?" Sergei asked.
"I'm afraid I have no damn idea." Nate replied as he got Gunny and Bax's office on the intercom. "Guys what the hell is going on down there?" Nate shouted.
"Maintenance says it was an explosion along the main electrical circuit, it's knocked out electricity to the whole building." Gunny answered, slightly coughing.
"Well, what happened? Were the wires corroding? Were they tampered with?" Peach pressed on, her voice stressing the urgency of the situation.
"I don't think you heard me the first time, ma'am. There was an explosion, there was definitely someone tampering with the system." Gunny replied, as he concluded a few loud pops like gunfire could be heard in the background.
"What the hell is going on down there!" Nate shouted, upon hearing the gunfire.
"Gunshots, sir." Bax replied quickly.
"What kind, Gunny? You're a Marine." Mikey Roberts asked urgently.
"Sounds like a Heckler and Koch, sir but I can't be sure." Gunny answered.
"Alright, we'll be down there in a minute. Clear that floor and the fourth floor, I'm on floor six, I'll see you in a few. And Gunny?" Nate inquired.
"Yes, sir?" Gunny replied.
"Shoot anything that doesn't look like you, Bax, or one of us coming down to meet up with you." Nate hung up the intercom and walked over to the bookshelf. "In the cold war, when we built government buildings, we built fallout shelters into them. In a very Batcave kind of way, the entrances were concealed by different objects that blended into the décor of the office." Nate pulled on a copy of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and the bookshelf slid aside revealing large steel door. Nate twisted the hatch on the door and opened the door. "You two inside." Nate pointed at Anna and Peach.
"Who put you in charge?" Peach asked, arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Honey, I love you too much to put into words, that's why you have to get in there. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you." Nate walked over to the desk and opened the drawer to his desk and pulled out a Beretta. He loaded a clip into it and took the safety off. He then looked up at Mike and Sergei. "Have either of you ever had to kill someone?" The two Midshipmen stood stalk still. "Alright, this is the point where either one of you says yes and I take you with me or neither of you says yes and I have to feel like a shit for just picking one of you to steal your innocence."
Sergei cautiously raised his hand in the air. Nate handed him the Beretta. "Why would you carry this in your office?" Sergei asked looking at the pistol.
"In case of emergencies." Nate answered. He then reached into a tall cabinet and pulled out a rifle bag.
"Why would you have a rifle in your office?" Peach questioned, eyeing her boyfriend suspiciously.
"Do you have any idea how many Senators and Congressmen drop by here wanting to take me hunting?" Nate chuckled. He loaded a few rounds of ammunition into the gun and executed perfect Hollywood style flip that locked the ammo in place. "I always wanted to do that."
"Is that Pappy Horatio's Winchester rifle?" Anna asked, eyeing the weapon.
"Yes, I believe it is." Nate answered. "Stay here, Marine and take good care of these two." He walked over to his girlfriend. "I love you, you know." He stated bashfully.
"I know." She answered softly. "I love you to, just come back here." She lightly stroked his arms before they kissed quickly. Nate moved away with Sergei and Anna closed the heavy metal door with Mike Roberts' help. Sergei and Nate trotted over to the door of his office and Nate unlocked it before they crept outside.
"Sergei, do you know how to cover someone?" Nate asked.
"I have seen the Beverly Hills Cop movies, I have some idea." Sergei answered with an innocent smile.
"You sure know how to inspire confidence, don't you kid?" Nate asked rhetorically.
"Well, I try, sir." Sergei quipped. The two of them moved through the dark hallways toward the elevator and the staircase.
"It would have to be a dark and gloomy day when something like this would happen. We couldn't get any light to help us." Nate rolled his eyes and they crouched nearer to the ground. "You wouldn't happen to have a tie, would you, son?" Sergei pulled his Academy uniform tie out from inside his coat. The two of them reached the elevator doors and pried them open.
Nate took off his tie and roped it around the elevator cable. "Lucky for us the power outage forced the elevator to the bottom floor." He swung out on to the cable with his legs and ankles locked around it. Sergei followed his action.
"Mr. Ross, if I may ask, what are you basing this action on?" Sergei asked, realizing that his tie was the only thing standing between him and six story plunge.
"I saw it in a movie once." Nate answered as he began to slowly inch his way down the cable. "By the way, I see those English lessons with Anna are paying off."
"Yes, sir, your sister is a most impressive teacher." Sergei groaned as he lowered himself little by little.
"Just remember that she's my little sister, Midshipmen." Nate coyly motioned with his head to the Winchester rifle that was dangling from his shoulder.
"Understood, sir." Sergei and Nate spent the next fifteen minutes crawling down the cable toward the fourth floor. When they got there, Gunny and Bax had the doors open for them.
"How did you know we were coming?" Nate asked.
"I figured you'd be stupid enough to pull a stunt like this." Bax replied as he saw the two of them dangling from the cable. "Granted it does having something of a Vampire Bat effect." Nate used his tie as leverage and swung on to the platform. Gunny took one look at the Winchester on his shoulder and raised his eyebrows.
"Planning on hunting some big game, sir?" Gunny tapped the barrel of the rifle. Sergei swung on to the platform with them.
"That depends, what kind of situation have we got, Gunny?" Nate asked.
"Terrorists on the first floor, sir. That explosion in the electrical system was a small amount of plastic explosive. They used stun grenades to take out the guards and most of the personnel on the first floor. They've concentrated to the three floors below us. The FBI and DC police are on their way. Commander Baxter patched through a call to NCIS as well. Director Morrow said he was sending his best team." Gunny brought his boss up to speed on the situation.
"Here's how I see it, boss. No one knows we're up here and if they do, they don't know we're armed and trained. We've got the element of surprise and the weapons to do some real damage." Bax and the rest of the group began to move toward the stairwell.
"Do we know who's behind this?" Nate asked.
"Mahmoud Sayyaf, sir." Gunny held up a picture that NCIS had emailed to his cell. Everyone saw Sergei's eyes grow wide.
"Something's wrong when a Rabb looks that scared." Bax chimed in.
"Mahmoud Sayyaf was responsible for some of the worst, how you say, atrocities that occurred against Russian forces in Chechnya. I did not think that he would branch out his activities to America." Sergei seemed clearly shaken.
"Here's how I see it, boss. We split into two teams, you and the Gunny clear floor three, Sergei and I will clear floor two and we'll rejoin in the stairwell outside of the main floor. Harm would want me taking care of his kid brother and with two Marines on the same team, I don't think any terrorist stands much of a chance." Bax and the rest of them were standing on the stairs.
"Agreed."
2036 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
All the TVs in the bullpen were tuned to ZNN. There was no escaping the news that was coming in. "This is Chuck DePalma for ZNN reporting live from outside the Harry Truman Building, home of the State Department. At 2:42 Eastern Standard Time, a plastic explosive charge was detonated on the main vein of the electrical system here. After that, to our knowledge the building has become under siege. To our knowledge there are no casualties and whether or not Secretary of State Nathan Ross is in the building, is not being released. For ZNN, this is Chuck DePalma reporting live." Everyone had their eyes on the TV.
"Sir, do you think Mikey and Sergei are there?" Bud Roberts' voice was weak.
"They left here just after eleven this morning, Bud, I'd say that there's a very good possibility. I know Nate, he's there I don't care what ZNN says. Let's just hope that he and Bax and Gunny are with them." Harm gave Bud a pat on the back.
"Rabb, Roberts, MacKenzie and Turner; my office, now!" The Admiral popped his head out the door to his office and issued the order. The four named officers made double time heading for the Admiral's office. All four officers came to attention in the Admiral's presence. "At ease. I guess you've all heard the news about the seizure of the State Department. I just got off the phone with my wife who had just received a call from her brother. Lieutenant Roberts, your brother is safe and you should be able to pick him up at the National Mall shortly." The Admiral watched as Bud breathed a sigh of relief.
"Any word on Sergei, sir?" Harm asked, growing increasingly frustrated with the silence that he was being presented with.
"He stuck around with the Secretary, Gunny Galindez and a Commander Baxter. I've been informed that Commander Baxter is a SEAL, so considering the people that your brother is with, Captain, I would say that he's in good hands." The Admiral took to his chair. "Lieutenant Roberts, you're relieved to go retrieve your brother. As for the rest of you, the court schedules have been cleared in light of today's events so you're all welcomed to sit here and await the latest news." The Admiral indicated the other chairs in his office and the officers all took their seats.
"Sir, isn't there something that we can do?" Mac's own concern for Sergei and her other friends that were trapped in the building was starting to show through.
"Colonel, as I recall, you and Captain Rabb were in a similar situation a few years ago at Mercy Hospital. Would you have wanted someone to storm in there and potentially make a bad situation worse?" The Admiral had one hand planted firmly under his chin.
"Good point, sir." Mac nodded.
"Colonel; young Rabb is on a team with two Marines and a SEAL, any way you slice that cake, he doesn't need the cavalry to come rescue him. He's a part of the cavalry." The Admiral raised the volume on the television and all talking ceased.
2129 ZULU
HARRY TRUMAN BUILDING
FOGGY BOTTOM, WASHINGTON DC
Nate and Gunny walked out into the cubicles on the second floor. They kept below the line of sight. "Know anything about skeet shooting, Gunny?" Nate asked in a quiet tone.
"Yeah, a bunch of rich old white guys stand around in a farmer's field and shoot little clay discs." Gunny answered as the two men crept along the walls of the cubicles. Gunny gave the single to fan out and clear the floor individually and Nate nodded in agreement. Nate and Gunny headed off in separate directions. Gunny checked the cubicles for someone who might be hiding or might have heard the door to the stairwell close when Nate and Gunny came on to the floor.
Gunny heard some papers rustling in a nearby cubicle and he slowly crawled along the floor until he came to the entrance of the cubicle. His experiences in Afghanistan had been enough for him to know Arabic when he heard it. Some man in the cubicle was communicating with someone else using the intercom that was linked into the phone system. Gunny readied his pistol and slid into a roll in front of the opening. He fired off a quick round into the cubicle, catching the man in the chest and sending him to the floor. Gunny crouched down and walked over to the limp body. He turned the body over to see an H & K in his hand and that severe bleeding was coming from the man's chest.
Gunny stuck a finger into the wound to see where his shot had caught the man. He felt his heart go a systolic. "Caught him right in the heart." Gunny whispered and then out of a superstition that his mother had taught him as a good Catholic boy, he waved a quick sign of the cross over the body.
Across the floor Nate was knelt inside a cubicle. He heard the sounds of footsteps heading down the aisle toward where the gunshot had been heard. Just as he saw the legs appear from behind the cubicle wall, Nate ducked down and stuck out the butt end of his rifle, tripping the man. His instincts kicked in he struck him in the temple with the butt of his rifle, meaning that it was a limp form that hit the floor. Nate took the guy's firearm and headed back to find Gunny.
Gunny got up as he came out of the cubicle and felt a cold steel barrel pressed into the back of his skull. "Walk." The man issued his order and Gunny raised his hands. The man took the pistol out of Gunny's belt and forced him down the row of cubicles toward the stairwell door. Gunny felt his captor's arm seize up and then another voice spoke in Arabic before a loud boom was heard and Gunny hit the dirt. He saw a severed head fall to the ground next to him.
"Amazing what a Winchester to the neck will do." Nate said as he helped Gunny to his feet.
"Thanks for saving my hide, sir." Gunny smiled as he got to his feet.
"Semper Fi, Gunny." Nate spouted as they headed for the stairs. "All clear on this floor?"
"As far as I could check, I'm assuming you cleared out your side." Gunny saw Nate nod in response as the two men walked with a real determination to get to the stairs and meet up with Gunny and Bax. "The sun should be going down in a few hours, when it gets dark, you know that the cops and the Feds are going to try and get people in here to sort out this whole mess."
"Yeah and that's just going to lead to a lot more carnage then necessary. We have to end this before the sun goes down, that gives us little more then two hours; think we can do it, Gunny?" Nate turned to face his comrade as they reach the door to the stairwell.
"We're the Marines, sir. We can do anything." Gunny affirmed.
2302 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
Bud Roberts' car pulled back into the parking lot at JAG. He had picked up his brother along with Peach and Anna Ross at the National Mall only a little less then an hour earlier. The whole tale of how they had come to be there was very interesting even if it was a little hard to believe. They were now standing in the elevator at JAG and Bud was still shaking his head in disbelief. Which is to say that he knew that Captain Rabb wouldn't be any more at ease, knowing that Sergei had willingly put himself in danger. Even though Sergei had done the same thing repeatedly as a pilot in Russia, he knew that Harm would worry just as he had been worrying about Mikey.
The bell dinged and the elevator doors opened. The four people stepped out into a deserted JAG ops floor. Bud took them right over to the Admiral's office and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, they were greeted by Sturgis who readily let them in. "Any news, sir?" Bud asked as they stepped inside.
"Sources aren't telling ZNN anything but my guess is that they're preparing to send the teams in soon. It's getting dark, not that it's been all that light out with all the cloud cover today." The Admiral answered, by now he had his feet kicked up on the desk. The Admiral turned to face his new company, but it was Harm who was the first to speak.
"Midshipman Roberts, Midshipman Ross, is Sergei okay?" Harm asked, his anxieties momentarily getting the better of him.
"He was calm and willing to help the Secretary, sir." Mikey answered.
"They plan on taking down these guys from the inside? Are they armed?" Mac asked, now slightly confused.
"To the teeth." Anna Ross answered simply.
"Can you Marines even exist without a weapon in arm's reach?" Harm taunted looking at Mac.
"Just be glad I don't have one now." Mac quipped. "Are they really going to try and take these guys out all on their own?"
"It's insanity." Harm added.
"It's exactly what you would do." The Admiral replied quickly.
SAME TIME
HARRY TRUMAN BUILDING
FOGGY BOTTOM, WASHINGTON DC
"You guys run into any problems on floor two?" Gunny asked as he and Nate ran into Bax and Sergei in the stairwell.
"Four terrorists, you guys?" Bax loaded another clip into his gun.
"Three." Nate answered as he also reloaded his gun.
"Stands to reason that there will be three left on the bottom floor, total of ten, the cell wouldn't be any bigger then that for an attack on this scale. When Hamas went after Mercy Hospital a few years ago they had less then ten." Bax replied.
"What is the plan, Mr. Ross?" Sergei asked.
"If you were going to hold up on the bottom floor of this place anywhere, where would you hold up?" Nate turned to Gunny and Bax.
"Probably the cafeteria, it commands the best control over first floor traffic and it's the only room where you can hold all the hostages on the first floor without having to leave the room." Gunny answered, wiping the sweat from his face.
"He's right, boss." Bax added, running a hand through his hair.
"Alright, Bax, you and Sergei take the main approach to the cafeteria. Gunny and I will sneak into the kitchen at the back. We'll come up behind them; I don't care who you kill, I want Sayyaf alive." All the men put their hands in the centre of where they had gathered before once again breaking into separate groups. Gunny put his foot through the grate that covered the heating duct. "What are you doing, Gunny?"
"Sir, this duct runs in the direction of the kitchen, which means that it should take us into the heating and cooling system that runs in the kitchen, it's probably the most inconspicuous way to get there." Gunny explained as he crawled into the heating duct. Nate shook his head, undid the cuffs on his shirt and rolled up his sleeves before crawling in after Gunny.
Bax and Sergei had been tasked with taking the direct route and they did just that. They cleared each hallway individually as they made their way toward the cafeteria. "Not exactly the way I planned on getting to know you, kid." Bax chortled as he pressed his back up against one of the walls. "Your brother and I went to the Yard together; we've been friends a long time."
"He has spoken of his Academy friends, not so often to me." Sergei kept a firm Marine style stoicism on his face as he held his gun at the ready.
"Doesn't surprise me, there's a lot about those days that your brother would probably rather forget." Bax let out a heavy breath and raised his pistol to the side of his head, flicking the safety off. Sergei peeked around the corner and saw a lone sentry pacing the hallway. "Let me guess, one sentry carrying an H & K."
"How do you know?" Sergei whispered his question.
"Years of doing this kind of mission, there's always one less sentry on patrol then the amount of guys in the keep and the sentry always tends to have the same gun as everyone else on the team." Bax smiled in an almost self-deprecating way. "I can also hear his footsteps, Midshipman." Bax neared the corner of the wall and peaked around the edge and saw the man walking away from them. "Let's hope Nate and Gunny have made it to the kitchen by now." Bax flew around the corner and fired a shot into the back of the sentry's skull, sending him forward on to the floor. "And that, Midshipman, is how you shoot."
"I do have things to learn, sir." Sergei nodded as they continued to head toward the cafeteria. The two of them peaked through the glass on the door to the cafeteria and saw two men with assault rifles standing above a mass of people that were huddled and lying on the ground. Bax and Sergei raised their feet and brought them down on the door. They immediately raised their weapons. "Drop your weapons!" The two of them shouted as they came face to face with Sayyaf and his last remaining associate.
Gunny and Nate had crawled through the system of heating ducts until they had come out to a grate just above the sinks in the kitchen. "Lucky guess, Gunny." Nate grunted as he shifted out of the duct and into the waiting sink below.
"I prefer to think of it as creative recon, sir." Gunny chuckled as he dusted himself off. The two men stood in the kitchen for a second before they moved over to the large, steel double swinging doors that led out into the serving area. Gunny pushed the door slightly open and he and Nate looked out to see Bax and Sergei in an open standoff with the remaining terrorists.
"Gunny, you remember that question I asked you earlier about skeet shooting?" Nate looked over at his friend. Gunny nodded. "When I shout 'pull!', I want you to push the door open and I'll fire off a shot, let's just pray that my aim is what it used to be."
"You're a Marine, sir, we never lose our edge." Gunny coached as he crouched against the door and out of Nate's line of sight. Nate positioned himself with his gun at the ready and his aim pointed squarely at where he had seen the terrorist that wasn't Sayyaf. He steadied his breathing for a second and caught the rhythm of his heartbeats. He closed his eyes for a second and then just opened them. "Pull!"
The door flung wide open and Nate caught the terrorist in his sights and pulled the trigger. The man fell, but not before he and Sayyaf could turn toward Nate and get a shot off at Nate, a bullet buried itself in Nate's shoulder but adrenaline was coursing through his body at such a rate that he didn't care. One shot out of Sergei's gun, wounded Sayyaf and caused him to drop the gun. Nate rushed out with Gunny. Gunny picked up a pair of handcuffs from the one of the security guards who had been lying in terror on the ground.
The team of four rushed to Sayyaf and Gunny wrenched the terrorist's hands behind his back and slapped the cuffs on him. "Jesus, Nate, you're bleeding." Bax saw the blood that was coming out of Nate's wound and dripping on to the floor.
"Holy shit, that's the third bullet I've taken this year." Nate was starting to feel a little weak. "Here, one of you call outside and tell them that I'm going to bring Sayyaf out to them. They might also want to have and EMT on standby. Do you think you guys can return the situation to normal in here?"
"Go on out there." Gunny gave Nate a pat on the shoulder. "You might want to take this gun out there with you. A Winchester probably isn't the best weapon for a Secretary to show up on ZNN holding. They might wonder why you had it in your office." Gunny handed Nate a service sidearm. Nate took it with the hand of his wounded left arm and with his right arm he took the handcuffs by the chain-link and hauled him to his feet.
"Come on, you've got a date with the FBI." Nate taunted as he pushed Sayyaf toward the front door with the pistol pointed at the back of his head.
2411 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
"We've got an update from the hostage crisis at the State Department. It appears that someone is exiting the building. Wait……it appears to be two people, one person is in handcuffs and the other is holding them captive. The person with the gun appears to be……it's Secretary of State Nathan Ross, he apparently seems to have taken one of the terrorists captive." Chuck DePalma's voice stopped for a second. "We're now receiving word that the hostage crisis is over and that a team working inside the State Department has defused the situation. Though, if the Secretary's shoulder is anything to judge by, it wasn't the most peaceful of resolutions. This is Chuck DePalma reporting live for ZNN." DePalma's voice could no longer be heard but the picture zoomed in to Nate handing Sayyaf over to the FBI and then collapsing to the ground. The Admiral hit the mute button on the television.
The phone in his office began to ring. "Chegwidden." The Admiral hit the speakerphone button.
"Gunny here, sir. I just wanted to call and let everyone there know that we've okay." You could almost here Gunny chuckle.
"Gunny, is Sergei with you?" Harm jumped in.
"I am here, brother!" Sergei's voice was the next on the line.
"Are you alright, Sergei?" Harm asked.
"Oh yes, brother. Commander Baxter had my back. It is a shame that Mr. Ross was shot." Sergei was speaking in short sentences as he aided the Emergency teams in evacuating the building.
"I think you owe me, Hammer." Bax added, obviously he was the next to handle the cell.
"More then you know, Bax." Harm looked around and he saw Peach and Anna nervously biting their nails after having seen Nate bleed and faint on national live television. "Bax, how's Colonel Ross?"
"Nate's alright considering he's been shot. The paramedics told me that the bullet tore through a bit of muscle and impacted against the bone but it didn't shatter it. They said their main concern at this point was blood loss but they said that they expect him to pull through." Bax replied. "We have to go and help them EMTs clear this place out, Hammer. Tell Mac that we're all set for tonight though." The call ended.
"Mac, what did he mean by we're all set for tonight?" Harm turned toward Mac but Mac just held her lips closed. "Mac? Maaaaaaaaaac?" Harm whined but he received no response.
"I suppose we should head back to your apartment and set up so that Sergei can relax when he comes home, he's had a hell of a day." Mac looked at Harm who merely nodded.
"We'll go help." Anna volunteered herself an Mike Roberts. "He'll want to see his friends."
"And I'm definitely coming." Sturgis got up from his seat. "You've almost run yourself into a grave worrying about your brother today. You could use all the friends you can get."
"I guess this means we're going in separate cars?" Harm joked to the open room to add a little levity to the situation.
0111 ZULU
HARM'S APARTMENT
NORTH OF UNION STATION
The group of them got to Harm's front door and Harm opened the door with his key to find his mom, Grams, Frank and Keeter already inside making dinner. "Mac gave us the key, hope you don't mind." Keeter was standing over a boiling pot of noodles.
"Merry Christmas, Harmon!" Trish called from the stove. Harm couldn't help but chuckle and look at Mac.
"You planned all this didn't you Marine?" He pointed an accusatory finger at her,
"A girl's got to have some secrets, Harm." Mac smiled at him and watched as Harm turned to face all those that had come to the apartment with them.
"And you were all in on it!" Harm acted as if he was about to shout eureka!
"Not just them." Bax's voice came from the elevator as he and Sergei got off of it.
"Two generations of Academy friends and my family; what will you think of next Marine?" Harm felt his old familiar feelings for Mac stir up to the forefront again. The group moved out of the doorway and into the apartment.
"Ask and he shall answer, Harmon." Grams pointed to the roof where a sprig of mistletoe dangled loosely.
"Can't break with tradition, Harm." Bax reminded him.
"Harm! Harm! Harm! Harm! Harm!" Mikey, Sergei and Anna all cheered and clapped their hands.
"He's right Marine, it wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to break with tradition." Harm turned to face Mac. "Merry Christmas, Ninja-girl." His lips neared hers.
"Merry Christmas, flyboy." Mac replied breathlessly. Their lips met in a soft, tender and quick flurry emotion as Mac's arms somehow snake around his neck and Harm's hands found her hips. This action was followed by a round of hooting and hollering from Bax, Keeter, Sturgis, Mikey and Sergei.
The two of them broke after a few seconds and Harm turned toward the other guys in the room. "Knock it off." He joked with them but there was no covering up what he had expressed to Sarah MacKenzie just then. The guys all went off toward the kitchen.
"What do I ask Santa for now?" Mac mused under her breath.
"You've got it bad, Colonel." Anna Ross piped up as she came up next to Mac.
"Not a word, Midshipman." Mac warned.
"My lips are sealed, ma'am." Anna chuckled before going up to join Mikey and Sergei.