A Little Lower Than The Angels
Chapter 8
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: Anything up through Season 8, including A Tangled Webb II in Season 9. The Season 5 episode 'Cabin Pressure' will be touched upon.
From Chapter 7
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.
1640
Wednesday
Near the Rio Verde
Chaco Boreal, Paraguay
Securing a vehicle and getting away from the compound had been relatively easy. The little van they found had allowed them to find Harm's dream and Mac's nightmare.
A bi plane.
They'd found it on a Mennonite farm, the farmer who owned it, also had a barn with easy access to a few sticks of dynamite and material for a fuse. Harm couldn't believe their luck, but he didn't take time to question it. Mac posed as a pregnant woman in distress and he, as her husband. They were in the air in moments and it was not long before they were able to locate Sadiq's men and the semi trailer of Stingers that Gunny had told Harm about. They were able to destroy it, in spite of being fired upon by the men using the shoulder fired missiles.
The irony was, just as they thought were able to make their escape….. they ran out of gas.
1 hour later….
As he began to regain consciousness, the first things Harm heard were the sounds of the jungle, of the birds, the rustle of the trees around him. The strong smell of sap from the trees and broken branches around him mingled with the smoke from the engine of the ruined plane confused him at first, until he opened his eyes. His head was pounding and he felt pain behind his eyes; it had hurt to open them. He felt something wet and sticky trickling down the side of his face. Lifting his head, he touched the source of pain at his forehead, when he looked at his fingers again; they were covered in blood. He looked around him, his vision blurred, he immediately thought of Mac. The seat in front of him was empty. Where was she?
He called out to her brokenly, "Mac!" He looked all around him, thinking she had been thrown from the plane. Had he come all this way to save her, only to get her killed in the jungles of the Chaco Boreal? He took his weapon from inside the plane and slowly lifted him self out.
Stumbling away from plane, he thought he could hear the sound of vehicles on a road; he walked unsteadily toward the rumbling sound. He found what he knew were her goggles hanging from a branch on a tree. Had they been torn from her when the plane crashed? His vision was still unclear and his mind was instantly turning to the worse case scenario. Everything he had seen so far convinced him; she had to have been thrown from the plane. He had to find her.
After reaching the road, trying to flag down a truck and nearly being run down by another, Harm heard another vehicle, coming up on him fast. He turned toward the blue blur speeding toward him and was startled by what he thought was a gunshot. He quickly took his weapon from the back of his jeans, lifted it and fired.
Mac saw Harm stumbling in the road as she approached and she'd seen his near miss with the vehicle in front of her, just before she felt her front passenger side tire blow. When she saw Harm lift his weapon and fire, she slammed on her brakes and turned the wheel to get control of the truck.
She yelled as loudly as she could, "Harm? What are you doing? You nearly killed me!"
Harm stood stunned for a moment, he recognized Mac's voice. "I heard gunfire; I thought you were a terrorist." He still looked confused, his eyes still straining to clear his vision.
"It was my tire, I had a blowout." Mac was already walking back to the bed of the truck to get the spare, so they could get the hell out of there.
The only thing that was keeping Mac sane was getting in 'mission mode.' She'd thought he was in a lot worse condition than he appeared to be now. She had checked his pulse before she left him in the plane and found it strong, but he did not respond when she'd tried to rouse him. All she could think of was getting a vehicle and getting him to a hospital.
Harm walked over to the front of the truck and leaned against it, suddenly exasperated and angry, "Where the hell have you been?"
"I went back to Sadiq's farm. We destroyed the all the missiles, everyone at the farm is dead. I took the truck so I…."
"You're not supposed to leave the plane Mac." Harm interrupted her, sounding terse and seeming not to hear anything she was saying.
Mac looked up at his stern expression, looking as though he expected an immediate explanation for her actions. She continued to change the tire and decided that she wasn't going to answer him, he was still getting his bearings, he wasn't being reasonable, she understood that, but his attitude was beginning to get to her. Why was 'he' being so nasty? He'd just shot at her for God's sake.
She changed the tire in short order and when she stood, she faced Harm. It was the first time she noticed the cut on his forehead. "Are you alright?" She reached up to touch his face and look at the cut more closely.
"I'm fine; you're just a little blurry right now." He pulled back from her touch, suddenly feeling like a jerk for being so short with her.
"Let's just get out of here; you need to see a doctor about that cut."
Harm started to take the keys from Mac. "I'll be fine, and I'm driving."
"I don't think so." Mac started for the driver's side of the truck, with the keys in hand.
"I'm driving." He said it impatiently and took a step toward her.
Mac had enough; she turned quickly back toward him, digging in her heels, literally and figuratively. "Look, I have nearly been killed twice today and there are 5 hours, 49 minutes and 6 seconds left in this day. The third risk I take today may actually kill me and I don't intend to take that chance. Now, get in!"
Mac got into the vehicle without looking at him again, and surprisingly, he had gotten in on the passenger side, apparently still cross with her, but quiet.
They were on their way in moments and Harm remained quiet for some time. Finally, he spoke. "So, I'm one the reasons you were almost killed…I guess you didn't want the third time to be a charm."
Mac turned and looked at him incredulously and then returned her attention to the road. "What? Harm…I just want to get back to Ciudad del Este and the States alive. You're the reason I'm alive….you know? If you hadn't come, I don't want to think of where I would be now. We were 'both' almost killed; I wasn't trying to throw it in your face, I just wanted you to stop arguing with me."
Harm nodded but did not look at her. His head was still pounding and he was beginning to get a look at himself, though her eyes. He felt like a heel.
"You took a pretty nasty blow to your head, Harm. Are you still having trouble with your vision?"
"Yeah...but its getting better…I have a hell of a headache, though." He looked out of the window on his side of the truck, the concern on her face and in her voice was making it difficult to look at her just now.
Mac reached for his hand and he automatically closed his hand around hers. He looked back in her direction, seeing how worried she was about him.
"I'll be okay Mac" He looked tired and his eyes appeared heavy lidded.
"I know you will, but maybe you shouldn't sleep, at least not until we know that you're alright."
Harm gave her a sleepy but mischievous grin and asked, "What are we going to do to keep me awake?"
Mac turned her attention from the road for a second and smiled at him, as he waggled his eyebrows at her.
Pretending to be prim, she pointed to the glove compartment and asked. "Maybe you can be 'my' navigator, and after we figure out where the hell we are….you can tell me how beautiful I am."
She looked at him, with her tangled and tousled hair, dirty clothes and a greasy smear on her cheek.
"You are beautiful, Mackenzie." He had to admit, she was a mess, but he hadn't been insincere in his praise, she was beautiful, all the time, to him.
"Thank you, Harm." She batted her eyes daintily and the situation suddenly struck both of them as so funny that they laughed out loud, as they trundled down the Trans Chaco Highway.
1025
Thursday
May 1, 2003
American Airlines
Flight 635
Somewhere over the Southern Atlantic
Admiral Chegwidden unbuckled his seatbelt; the plane would be landing at Guarani International Airport, within the hour. Turning to look at his traveling companion, his mind wandered back to the conversation he had with his former SEAL team mate, the former Vice Admiral Richard Kern. He had been retired for over 4 years now, but the Admiral didn't trust anyone else to know what he had to do.
When he had explained it fully, Kern had insisted on helping him, confirming what the Admiral had always known about his friend. They had fought together, and bled together, he would back him up without question. Kern seemed more relaxed, surprisingly happy in his retirement. His friend had always seemed to take all the transitions in his life in his stride, but he had a wife who had been with him for over 40 years. They didn't seem to be just marking time together; they had a good marriage, the real thing. Retirement sounded great, if you had a life to retire to, he wasn't sure he did. He cared for Meredith, but to marry her, he wasn't sure he had another commitment like that in him.
Kern had asked him after he had filled him in on the details of their 'mission.' "Rabb…that name is familiar. Hey, didn't he get trapped below on the Suribachi when you came to my retirement party, aboard the Manassas?"
The Admiral had told him it was, chuckling, as he remembered another time that Rabb was up to his ass in alligators.
"Big risk Chegwidden, for a person not under your command anymore, I've got nothing to lose, I'm retired, but you could lose it all."
"My Chief of Staff is also missing in the Chaco Boreal, Kern." This trip had been as much about Harm as it was about Mac, but he would have never admitted it to Kern. But then, he didn't have to, his old friend already knew.
"You know AJ, I don't know if you have gotten more tenacious or just cantankerous in your old age." He had been half grinning because he knew what the Admiral's answer would be.
"Shut the hell up Kern"
His old friend had left with him, the following day.
Admiral Chegwidden had spoken to Deputy Director Kershaw, he told him that Webb's mission was partially complete and that Special Forces and 'other' intelligence personnel in the area were to locate and capture Sadiq Fahd, by order of the DCI. When the Admiral asked about his senior attorneys, he was given no information. The Company's mission was not to locate them but to apprehend Sadiq Fahd. As usual, anyone who assisted Company personnel, should they be lost or captured, they were on their own. He did tell him that Webb was alive and that he had reported seeing both Rabb and Mackenzie alive and out of the hands of Sadiq Fahd. He gave him the location of the hospital Webb was in, telling him, any additional information about them would have to come from him.
The Admiral was jarred from his thoughts when his old friend began snoring. He frowned and nudged Kern.
Kern cleared his throat and sat forward, still half asleep, searching for his seat belt.
"Damn Kern, how does your wife put up with that?"
"What can I say? She loves me."
"What did you tell her anyway…about where you were going?"
"I told her the truth that we were going to South America…on a hunting expedition."
The Admiral smirked as they began their descent, Kern was right, he'd told the truth and with any luck, this would be a successful hunting trip.
1300
Thursday
May 1, 2003
Cuidad Del Este, Paraguay
Harm and Mac had driven all night; Harm had taken over at day break when Mac was convinced that he was beginning to recover. They had gone to Edward Hardy's office, only to find it completely empty. Deciding they were too tired and dirty to do anything else without a change of clothes and a bath, they went back to the Nuevo Hotel Simpatico, using the hotel room she had shared with Webb.
After taking a quick bath Harm lay back on the bed, listening to the sound of Mac's soft laughter as she splashed around in her bath. The sound wrapped itself around his head and sent tingling sensations down his spine, even in the midst of all that was happening. "Hey what are you doing in there anyway?" He'd said it playfully, teasing her, trying to keep things light.
"I'm washing about a week of dirt off of me. I'm enjoying my bath." She actually giggled, how many times had he ever heard her do that?
Harm had gotten up and started to slowly pace the room to distract himself, when he heard a knock at their hotel room door. He tucked his weapon into the back of his jeans and then said quietly outside the bathroom door, "man on deck."
"What?" Mac brought her knees up and slid nearer the side of the tub.
"We've got company." He placed her weapon within her reach, bending down close enough to take in the scent of her bubble bath and to see the slightest hint of her sleek curves beneath the clouds of bubbles in the water.
She smiled at him slyly. "What?" Mac saw his eyes, taking in her body from head to toe.
He stood up straight and as he back away he said, "You know…what." The light from the windows seemed to make her skin glow; it appeared bronze against the white of the tub. Her dark hair, still wet, was combed back from her face, causing her beautiful eyes to appear larger than they were. Another knock at the door pulled his attention away and he slipped out the door and closed it.
1545
Thursday
May 1
Clinica Medica
Abai, Paraguay
Clayton Webb lay flat on his back; he had still been in terrible pain from the wounds inflicted on his body at the hands of Sadiq Fahd's men. He refused pain medication and had only slept when his exhaustion overtook his pain.
Gunny sat at his bedside. He'd just spoken to Webb's attending physician in the small hospital. The doctor said Webb had improved, but was far from being stable enough to travel.
Webb woke with a start and 'ordered' Gunny to get him his pants so that they could get back to Ciudad Del Este.
Gunny refused, having been instructed by Deputy Director Kershaw himself, to stand down this mission and to stay with Webb until he was transported back to the States. As Webb tried to pull himself upright from the bed, they were both startled by a familiar voice, stepping into their curtained cubicle.
"Where do you think you're going Webb? You and I have business to discuss."
The Admiral stepped more closely to his bedside, and though he was dressed in civvies, still had a commanding air about him.
Webb allowed Gunny to help him lie back on the hospital bed. "Admiral." Webb said it weakly, his injuries still very obvious to anyone who looked at him.
Gunny stood up straight, "Sir."
"What the hell are you doing here?" The Admiral asked Gunny incredulously.
"Mr. Webb requested my help with this mission, when I was stationed at the barracks at Asuncion."
The Admiral thought that would explain the 'back up' the SecNav had been talking about. "Where are Colonel Mackenzie and Com" He corrected himself. "…Rabb?"
Gunny looked knowingly at the Admiral; he'd heard his self correction. He still couldn't believe that Commander Rabb has resigned his commission or that it had been accepted.
Noticing the tension in the air immediately Webb asked, "What's going on here?" He was sure there was something he hadn't been told.
Gunny spoke up, looking at the Admiral first, "If I may sir…..The Commander resigned his commission to come down here….to try to find Colonel Mackenzie."
Webb looked at the Admiral as though he didn't quite believe it, "and you accepted it?"
The Admiral drew his brow down and cleared his throat. "That is no concern of yours." And he turned toward Gunny and said, "or yours Gunnery Sergeant."
Gunny answered quickly. "Understood, sir."
"You're going to tell me everything you know Webb, even the things you've kept from your superiors and then you're getting the hell out of here. You've damn near gotten yourself killed; I'll be damn if I will allow my peop….my Chief of Staff to be killed, as well."
Gunny noticed the Admiral's correction; again, when he had begun to speak of his people He understood now that he had come for the Commander as well as Colonel Mackenzie, he had studied his former commanding officer for years. He had observed more than once that they had a connection that was more than that of a commanding officer for subordinates.
"Admiral" Webb wanted to try to reason with him, it had worked in the past…sometimes.
The Admiral would not allow Webb to continue….
"Look, it is my understanding that your part in this mission is over. I have been informed by your deputy director, in so many words, that if I want to locate my personnel, I'm on my own. He told me where to find you, and advised me that any information I might be able to find would be from you."
Webb was quiet for a moment, he knew what the Admiral had said was right, but he still felt he had to finish this. "Admiral, if I don't complete this, my career may be over for all intents and purposes."
The Admiral crossed his arms. "Well Webb, Rabb's career in the Navy seems to be over, maybe you and he can go into some kind of business together. I'm not worried about your career. I want to know everything….now."
Webb saw a look in his eyes that he hadn't seen for some time, the last time had been just before the Admiral had broken his nose. He nodded and told him everything, about where he thought Sadiq was, his possible connection to Hardy's secretary and Hardy's possible complicity in his and Mac's cover being blown.
After he had finished, the Admiral looked at him directly. "As I told you Webb, your part and that of the Company in this mission is over, by order of the DCI. He has informed me that there will be a personnel change in this area soon, I'm not sure what he meant by that and frankly, I don't care. I intend to locate Rabb and Mackenzie and get them the hell out of here. For your sake Mr. Webb, they'd better be alive, and understand this; if you come near JAG Ops, for any reason, while I am still Judge Advocate General, I will have you thrown out. Your days of using my staff are over, are we clear?"
He turned away from Webb without allowing him to answer and as he started to walk away, he stopped and looked at Gunny. "Gunnery Sergeant, once Mr. Webb is transferred out and you return to your barracks, I would strongly advise you, that when you are asked by any Company personnel to assist them, if you are given the option….. say no."
Gunny tried to suppress a smile; he had missed his old boss, even if he was a SEAL. He only nodded, "Yes, sir."
He took a couple of more steps and then turned back again, looking at Webb. "Oh and Webb, I'm going to say something I've always wanted to say to you."
Webb looked at him questioningly before the Admiral stated…
"I was never here."
3 hours later….
It had been Hardy at Harm and Mac's hotel room door; he said he had come as a 'friend.' He told Harm and Mac he believed he had been betrayed by his secretary, Maria Elena. He suggested if they were to engage her in conversation at a local nightclub that she frequented, they might be able to find out just what Maria Elena's connection to Sadiq Fahd might be.
He had asked if Harm knew anything about an explosion in the Chaco that had been heard for miles or a number of men, who were rumored to have been associates of his, being found dead at his hacienda.
Harm told him nothing, and told him he could be of no use to him, since Maria Elena had seen him before. Hardy leered in Mac's direction and said, "But she hasn't met Colonel Mackenzie."
And so they agreed, thinking this would allow them to finally complete the mission, getting Sadiq Fahd into custody, or eliminating him completely. Harm was more inclined to the latter; he knew as long as Fahd was alive, he would keep coming for them, until he killed them both.
He just wanted to finish this and get Mac back to Washington, as quickly as possible; he had already had enough of the murky lines delineating good and evil in the CIA. He wasn't sure what he would do, but as soon as he returned to Washington, his Company days were over.
Later….
Mac was walking back toward Harm, waiting in the truck, just outside the nightclub, impatiently waiting for her. As Mac came closer to him, he couldn't help noticing that she had the eye of every man on the street. There was no uniform or pregnancy suit to cover her decidedly feminine form. Her step was determined, as always but she still had a bit of feminine sway in her hips. It was something about her that always drove him crazy when he'd allowed himself the pleasure of watching her in the past. He gripped the steering wheel more tightly, but when she looked at him, he couldn't help smiling.
She had seen the look on his face; it matched the one he had given her when they were in the hotel room. As she got into the truck, she asked, "Penny for your thoughts, Sailor?"
Harm kept what he felt in check, not looking at her; he answered "I'll keep my thoughts to myself…for now."
He placed the truck in gear and they went to deliver the information they had to Hardy at his 'new' office.
10 minutes later….
Harm and Mac were surprised to find that Hardy's new office was once again, empty. As Harm walked toward the back of the building, he thought he heard something moving near the back window. He turned to look at Mac, and she understood immediately, quietly removing a weapon from her handbag. Moving carefully, she covered the opposite side, along the wall, as she stepped up, even with Harm.
They approached a back door and Harm sidled up to the window, seeing what appeared to be a young Paraguayan man standing just outside the closed back door. He quickly stepped up to the door and kicked it open. He startled the young man out side, who raised his hands and shouted, "Don't shoot!"
Harm pointed his weapon directly at him. "Who are you?" Mac repeated his command in Spanish.
The young man swallowed hard and said, "I am sent to tell you that this shop is under new management and that you and the lady are to return to your house. He said he couldn't keep you safe."
"Who told you to tell us?"
"I don't know him, a man, he looked rich, he gave me this." He held up money he still held in his hand. Though it may not have been a lot, it was more money than the young man had ever seen in his life. Just the same, he would have given it back, to keep the man and woman pointing their guns at him, from killing him.
Harm looked at Mac, silently asking her if she believed him. She nodded the affirmative.
"Get out of here." Harm said impatiently, as he looked at him, still holding his weapon on him until the young man was out of sight.
TBC
A/N: Almost finished with 9 as we speak.
