A Little Lower Than The Angels
Chapter 7
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. Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.
Spoilers: Any episode through Season 8. The episodes 'A Tangled Webb' I and II.
All mistakes are mine. Just wanted to finally get this posted.
Rating K
0900
Wednesday
Edward Hardy's office
Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay
Harm stepped out of the CIA Station Chief's office door. As he looked at the people passing on the street, the thought occurred to him, that asking any one of them if they knew where Mac was, would have been more productive than asking Edward Hardy. He had told him nothing. His last words to Harm still rang in his ears. 'Life in Ciudad Del Este is cheap Mr. Rabb, you can trust no one.' Harm thought that he would put Hardy at the top of the list of people who couldn't be trusted. Hardy knew something alright, something he didn't intend to tell him. If Harm didn't know before his trip to Paraguay, he knew now, he was on his own.
Harm walked down the crowded sidewalk and as he did, he sensed someone following him, looking around he noticed a man turning quickly, apparently to keep from being recognized. He continued down the sidewalk, quickly slipping into an alley, out of the man's sight. He waited until the man had caught up to him and had nearly smashed the man's face in, when he realized he had Gunny pinned against the wall.
"Gunny?'
"Is that any way to treat a friend…sir?" He held his hands up, chuckling at the Commanders surprised expression.
"What are you doing here?" Harm already knew... this had Webb written all over it, too.
"I was assigned TAD to Mr. Webb, over a month ago, sir. I was assigned to the barracks at Asuncion, before that." He was glad to see someone from JAG, someone he felt he could actually trust.
"You can drop the 'sir' Gunny, I resigned my commission."
"Sir? I mean, excuse me?" Gunny couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I can't go into it now; I just couldn't keep my commission and try to find Mac too. So I resigned." Harm looked away, saying it aloud made what he had done seem more real and he just didn't want to think about that now.
Gunny looked as though he didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry about it Gunny, just tell me what you know."
Gunny told him all that had happened, even before Mac had arrived as 'Mrs. Williams'.
He told him of Raul Garcia, Sadiq Fahd's middleman, about the Predator strike on his hacienda that eliminated him. He told him that he believed Sadiq had been tipped off by someone. To Gunny, it was the only logical explanation because just before Mr. Webb was to order another Predator strike, this time on Sadiq's compound, the Stingers that Garcia had delivered, had been moved. Gunny had been captured, just as he communicated the movement of the weapons to Webb. Gunny blamed himself for Webb and Mac's capture, telling Harm they were trying to rescue him.
Harm thought that the rescue probably hadn't been Webb's idea, he was furious with him for involving Mac in this and at himself for not being there for her. He should have found a way.
"So you think someone in Raul Garcia's camp tipped Sadiq Fahd?"
"Maybe, or someone in the CIA?" Gunny looked over his shoulder toward the Station Chief's office, and Harm understood immediately to whom Gunny was referring.
1100
Wednesday
April 30, 2003
Office of the Secretary of the Navy
Pentagon
Admiral Chegwidden had just been shown into Secretary Sheffield's office. He greeted the Admiral, "Take a seat, AJ."
"Thank you Mr. Secretary." The Admiral's tone was pleasant enough, but his expression indicated that this was not a friendly visit.
"What can I do for you?"
"I think we're beyond what you can do for me sir." He looked at the SecNav directly.
"Come again?" Sheffield was taken aback.
"I have received no word about my Chief of Staff; I assume that since I haven't heard from you that you haven't heard anything from Kershaw, either."
"No, I haven't." The Naval secretary narrowed his eyes, knowing where this conversation was going.
"One of my best attorneys resigned his commission to try and locate her." He held his cover in his hands, studying it as he spoke.
"I did hear about that, its unfortunate."
"I don't suppose you know anything about his whereabouts?" The Admiral looked back up at him again.
"No, I'm sorry; I only know that he contacted friends at Langley, who offered him a job, if he were able to 'clean up' the mission that Colonel Mackenzie and Agent Webb had begun."
"I see, so I'm to understand that we are to continue to wait, and trust that the Company will come through, by way of an excellent officer who had to resign to rescue his colleague." The Admirals voice was firm as he looked sharply at his boss.
"You accepted the resignation AJ, and it's my understanding that while Rabb is a brilliant attorney that he could be, shall we say, a 'problem child' at times." The SecNav frowned at him, seemingly confused and slightly irritated about the Admirals demeanor as he spoke about this. The SecNav was not accustomed to being spoken to this way.
"I think you should make yourself more …clear Admiral Chegwidden."
The Admiral sat quietly for a moment, and then answered, "It is true….I did accept his resignation, and I will make myself more clear…sir."
Silence.
"Mr. Secretary, I'd like to review the events of the last oh…six months or so, and after I finish, I'd like to you tell me what recourse I had, other to accept Commander Rabb's resignation. I would also like your….input as to how you would look at your…situation, were you in my position."
The SecNav nodded, "Proceed, Admiral." AJ was suddenly absent and now Sheffield put protocols firmly back in place.
"Earlier this year, we had the 'privilege' of having Lt Commander Manetti join our ranks at JAG; she was a welcome addition, contributing a great deal to JAG Ops. …Months later, we learn, that you had in fact 'planted' Commander Manetti at JAG. Apparently you needed to, in effect, 'spy' on the personnel at JAG, because you weren't sure you could 'trust' us. I was only to learn of this after an exhaustive audit, ordered by this office, conducted by a person clearly set on breaking up our team at JAG and smearing the reputations of my senior staff."
The Admiral rose from his seat and walked to the window overlooking the courtyard outside the SecNav's office. He looked back at him "Is that pretty accurate so far, sir?"
The SecNav frowned, thinking it was time to warn the Admiral that he was dangerously close to overstepping his bounds. "I suppose that is true." The SecNav mimicked the Admiral's earlier move, by folding his arms across his chest. "Take care."
"Yes, sir, I fully intend to. And I forgot to mention another point, during the audit that was conducted at JAG, your assistant Commander Lindsey, nearly succeeded in framing and destroying the career of one of my best officers." The Admiral turned to look at him.
'Unfortunately that is true."
"Now, Mr. Secretary, since Commander Rabb had just spent a week in the brig and since JAG Ops is under greater scrutiny than ever, how was I supposed to do anything other than accept his resignation?"
"Look, AJ…I know this is difficult." The SecNav relented; he understood that Commander Rabb had been on the Admiral's staff longer than anyone currently at JAG. There was also scuttlebutt that he saw Rabb as someone who could step into his position as JAG someday.
"Sir, if you'll excuse me, I am well aware of what this is. I've been thinking of nothing else for the last 4 days." He walked back to his seat in front of the SecNav's desk and stood behind it.
"As I recall you said during our last conversation that I was a Judge Advocate General, who happened to be a SEAL, and that my senior attorneys, were 'combat lawyers'."
"Yes, you all have quite a reputation." The SecNav couldn't help smiling at the thought.
"That we do, sir, but in all honesty, I don't think I've been living up to my reputation in the last few months. I feel as though I've allowed people outside JAG to come in and use my staff, to spy on them, put their lives and careers in danger and as their commanding officer, I've done nothing about it."
"What are you trying to tell me AJ?" Sheffield peered at him over his glasses.
"What I'm telling you… sir, is that this is no longer acceptable" The Admiral echoed the words of his senior attorney, spoken just days before.
The SecNav leaned forward in his seat. "AJ, I understand you may look on some members of your staff as family but you are still not making it clear what you intend to do."
"What I should have done months ago, I'm going to take care of the people under my command." The Admiral rose from his seat and the SecNav stood with him.
"Careful Admiral, consider your career."
"I am considering my career, sir; I'm considering my duty as commanding officer and my training as a SEAL. If my career, under your command requires me to forget any one of these things, it is time for me to retire."
The Admiral did not wait for a reply; he placed his cover under his arm, turned on his heel and started for the door. "If you'll excuse me sir."
Sheffield looked at him. "Admiral Chegwidden."
The Admiral looked back at him, without answering him.
"I don't want to know about any of it…. and I had better not 'hear' anything, either."
The Admiral studied him for a moment, understanding that he was being given permission to do what he had to do, as quietly as possible. "Yes, sir."
As the Admiral made his way back to JAG, he remembered the SecNav's words, 'you may look on some members of your staff as family' He hadn't really given it a lot of thought before. He supposed he did think of Rabb in a fatherly way, at times, but not in the way the SecNav was referring to.
Rabb wasn't one of those 'sons' who hung on your every word and tried to emulate everything you did. He was the kind that tried your patience, managed to get himself into more trouble in one day, than most people got into in the course of a year. He had pulled Rabb back in, after he had gone out on a limb, more times than he cared to remember.
The Admiral shook his head as he exited onto the Beltway, still deep in thought. He decided that Harmon Rabb had being a pain in the ass down to a science….and if anything happened to him or Mac, he would never forgive himself.
The circumstances of his life and his choice of career had allowed Admiral Chegwidden to be close to few people, even his own daughter. It occurred to him that he knew his two senior attorneys better and had spent more time with them than he had any member of his own family.
He was even more determined now to see to it that they were not 'left behind.' They were members of his 'team' and he would see to it that they returned home.
If they were still alive…..
1423
Wednesday
Sadiq Fahd's compound
Harm and Gunny were able to approach the compound without detection. They saw a couple being led out of a small building. As Harm watched them, the hair stood up on the back of his neck, they were going to be killed and it seemed as soon as the thought occurred to him, the couple lay dead on the ground. The shooter, who he assumed was Sadiq Fahd, killed the woman first, in front of her husband, adding one more cruel twist to what must have been a terrible ordeal for them.
Harm looked away for a moment and then refocused the field glasses in time to see Mac being led to a small white building. "It's Mac."
"She's alive." Gunny spoke his relief aloud.
After they disappeared from his sight, Harm heard someone, nearly screaming, 'don't tell me about my religion woman! There is a fatwa; it says I can kill Americans when and where I find them."
"She won't be for long if we don't get to her." Harm began to raise himself up from his hidden position. They quickly created a diversion by rolling their jeep into the compound. They armed themselves and took on Sadiq's men, one by one.
He ran in the direction of the building to which Mac had been led. He killed anyone who stood in his path, only thinking he had to reach her in time, before anyone took her from him.
When he finally reached the building, he kicked the door open, firing on a man who stood on the other side of a table on which Mac had been chained "Mac!" He was panting, his eyes wild, already assessing her, looking for any injury.
He frantically freed her hands first, and then they both unshackled her feet. As soon as she was completely freed, he pulled her from the table. "Can you walk?"
"Yes" Mac jumped down from the table and Harm grasped her arm and they ran toward the jeep and Gunny. Mac had held on to the back of his jacket tightly as she ran.
As they reached the jeep, it had suddenly become quiet, and then Gunny called to them, "No sign of Sadiq, he must have escaped during the gunfire, took the Stingers! Where is Mr. Webb?"
Mac pointed to the building in which she had last seen Webb and Gunny ran in that direction, still keeping his weapon ready, should he encounter anyone hidden in the building.
Harm quickly looked around the perimeter of the compound and then he pulled Mac into his arms, closing his eyes, "Mac" he rasped, relief at seeing her alive, flooding through his heart and mind.
Mac wrapped her arms around his waist, grasping his jacket, pressing her cheek into the solid wall of his chest. She was holding on as if, she would collapse if he let go.
Mac was still trying to absorb what had just happened, Harm was filling all her senses, holding her so tightly it was almost painful, but she wouldn't have been able to let go at that moment if she tried. He was life and hope when death was all around her. When her captors began to shackle her to the table, she was thinking of a way to prepare herself for whatever they did. She had to hang on until Harm came for them, and then like an answered prayer, he was there.
Harm loosened his grip and then placed a hand on each side of her face, tilting it up, he searched her eyes. "Tell me you're all right…tell me they didn't hurt you." His voice was still tight with emotion.
"I'm all right… now. I can't believe you came, I hoped you would, but when they came for me, I…They didn't really hurt me It was just…Clay" Mac had every emotion rushing through her at once. Love, relief, fear, guilt, joy, sorrow, everything, she could barely contain it.
Just then they both heard Webb call to her, "Sarah"
Mac pulled back from Harm, and started to walk toward the jeep, where Gunny had helped Webb into the front seat. She grasped Harm's hand as she stepped away, interlocking their fingers. Looking back at him, she closed her other hand over Harm's as they walked. Her eyes reflected the toll the last few days had taken; he knew her well enough to see that she felt responsible for Webb's condition.
Mac stepped inside the open door of the jeep and started to reach for Webb's arm, to comfort him, but then she remembered how he had been tortured. She withdrew her hand, fearing her touch would hurt him. "We'll get you to a hospital Clay; you're going to be all right now."
Webb nodded, "You were a good wife Mac" He looked over Mac's shoulder at Harm and said, "Take care of her Rabb."
Harm looked at him, taking in the terrible shape he was in, but at the same time still resenting what Webb's 'mission' has cost them all. "I will Webb, I always have."
"It's more than I could do." The resignation was still in his voice, he still seemed to be accepting that he was going to die.
"Clay, it's going to be okay." Mac looked over her shoulder at Harm.
He walked up to the jeep and carefully placed a hand on Webb's shoulder. "Let Gunny get you to a hospital, we'll do what we can here."
Gunny had gotten into the jeep and Mac walked over to the driver's side window. "It's been a pleasure working with you again, ma'am."
"Semper Fi Marine."
"Semper Fi ma'am."
Harm and Mac watched as Gunny drove away. Harm touched Mac on the back of her arm, and then couldn't resist clasping her to him as they walked to find a vehicle to take them from the compound. "So what do you know that I need to know?"
Mac looked up at him, knowing that she must look and smell like hell. Harm's expression didn't reflect anything of the sort. The soft look on his face now, the tone of his voice and what she felt when he touched her, took her back to what they had only just begun in the last few weeks. His arm around her shoulders centered her very being and made her feel safe for the first time in days. Their connection was and had nearly always been 'home' to her.
TBC
A/N: I apologize for how long I'm taking with this. I had the grand kids last weekend, celebrating the oldest granddaughter's birthday, and yesterday another granddaughter was born. #3! My son says soon he'll have a whole cheerleading squad. LOL. I meant to make this longer, but I wanted to post what I had. I'll try and post again before Friday night.
Thanks everyone for your interest.
