Assignment for Webb
By Bernadeen

Chapter 7

The group in the drug enforcement command center listened to the reports coming in. Drug enforcement teams, made up of the DEA, CIA, FBI, and Mexican law enforcement, had swept through known drug cartel locations on both sides of the border. Navy ships off the coast of Mexico in the Gulf provided a point of origin for some of the teams. Zeke Desmond had been among the men arrested at a Mexican airfield that was his destination. In order to hide Zeke's work with the DEA, he was treated like the other prisoners, but would eventually be brought back to his home in Texas. But none of the raids had found Harm…

Mac listened with growing distress, hidden behind a face of Marine control. Finally, she challenged Clay, "Webb, Harm hasn't been picked up. That's him, isn't it?" she stabbed at the dot on the screen. "Why hasn't he been brought in?"

"Mac, that's rugged country and apparently Harm doesn't want to be found. He's probably hiding from the people who he was flying for and doesn't know about our raids." At Mac's quick, angry stare, he quickly added, "We weren't sure we would go tonight. There was no way to let Harm know, even if we had been sure it was going down tonight."

"Who's going after him?" Mac asked sharply.

"The Vicksburg from Mayport is off the coast. There's a helo ready to go at first light."

"Why not go now?" Mac couldn't understand why they would wait when all of the raids had been done at night.

"He's likely in rough country. When the helo finds him, in order to extract him directly, it will take lots of lights. So far, everything was done quickly and quietly. No one wants to call attention to this operation yet. If we go after Harm on foot, that's best done at first light."

"So when's first light?"

"The helo is scheduled to leave the Vicksburg at 0700."

Mac quickly calculated the times involved. "I want to be on that helo." Something told her that Harm was in danger.

"Mac, we know where he is. They'll have him out in a few hours." Webb let his exasperation show in this tone.

"Clay, I just don't feel good about this. I think Harm is hurt. I always know where he is. I can find him quickly. Just get me there."

With a resigned sigh, Webb conceded, "Mac, I'll see what I can do to get you to the Vicksburg, but I can't promise that you'll be with the extraction team."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Clay was good to his word and soon Mac was on a helo en route for the Vicksburg. She had been on many helicopters in her military career but this one was new, well appointed and fast. Must belong to the CIA, she thought briefly, before dismissing the origin of the helo as other thoughts crowded in. Harm was hurt, she was sure of it. She felt an urgency to get closer to him. In one way she wanted this assignment to end to get him out of danger, yet she had enjoyed playing his girlfriend. When she got him back to Washington, they'd be colleagues again and nothing more. One more time he had been in danger, risking his life. What if one of these times he didn't come back. Mac couldn't bear thinking very long about that, but it was the nature of their lives.

As Mac's helo approached the ship, she saw another one take off and turn toward the coast. That was the extraction team, she'd wager. They had left without her. She wondered whether Webb had warned them of her plans and told them to leave before she arrived.

When Mac stepped onto the deck, a lieutenant met her to take her to the XO. The XO, Commander Hendricks, waited on the bridge for their visitor. He's heard about Lt. Colonel MacKenzie, the Marine who had led the emergency evacuation of the American Consulate in Indonesia. He'd also received a message an hour ago from a deputy director of the CIA that she was on her way to the Vicksburg with the intention of joining the extraction team. The message suggested that the team depart before her arrival. Commander Hendricks had followed the suggestion, but now was curious to meet the Marine. He was surprised to see a slim, lovely brunette in jeans, a dark t-shirt, and jean jacket walk forward.

Though she was out of uniform, Mac came to attention before the XO and waited to be acknowledged. Commander Hendricks stared for a few seconds before finding the appropriate greeting. "Colonel MacKenzie? What brings you to the Vicksburg?"

"Was that helo on its way to make a pick up in Mexico?"

"Perhaps," the XO answered cautiously.

"I was hoping to get here in time to be on it. The man they are going to find is my partner. He may be injured."

"I understand the subject has a locator and the team will go directly to his location. They should be back in a couple of hours." Hendricks glanced down at Mac's attire. "Perhaps we can find you some khakis."

During the stressful night, she had forgotten that she was out of uniform. "My apologies for the breach of protocol, Commander. I was on an assignment that … didn't require a uniform." Mac offered vaguely. The details of the entire operation were probably still classified and might remain so.

The XO called over a female petty officer and instructed her to find Mac suitable clothing. Then he suggested he meet her in the officers mess in 15 minutes. He saw Mac's body slump slightly with fatigue and quickly added, "Coffee and some breakfast should help till the helo gets back."

Mac started to protest and then realized she was indeed hungry and coffee sounded awfully good, too. She gave the XO a weary smile. "That sounds like just what I need."

Fifteen minutes later, Mac, now dressed in reasonably fitting khakis, entered the officers mess and joined the XO already seated at a table. They talked casually about duty stations and military topics. After about fifteen minutes, the XO told Mac that he had to return to the bridge, and he'd keep her informed as he received word from the extraction team.

Mac finished a hearty breakfast and two cups of coffee that almost met her Marine standards. Feeling surprisingly refreshed, she decided to request permission to wait with the XO for updates from the mission. Going back to the bridge, she again came to attention in front of the XO. "Permission to wait on the bridge for word on the mission, sir."

Commander Hendricks was impressed by Mac's military bearing, her reputation, and surprised by her slim stature and her beauty. He smiled, "Actually, I expect the Captain on the bridge any minute. Then I'm going down to Ops to monitor the mission. You're welcome to come along. We received word about ten minutes ago that the helo is feet dry."

Mac thanked the XO and a few minutes later when the Captain took back bridge command, she followed Commander Hendricks down to the operations center. A console at one side of the room showed the familiar screen with dots representing the helo, Harm's location, and a couple of other dots, both traveling away from their area of interest.

-o-o-o-o-

Several hours before dawn, Harm had managed to get to the top of a rocky hill and find cover behind low-lying, thick brush with his back to several large rocks. He tried to stay alert – with the burning pain in his side he doubted that he would sleep – yet shortly before dawn Harm realized he had been awakened by something – he had in fact dozed off. Remaining perfectly still, he wondered what had disturbed him. Then he heard a loud screeching call nearby – some kind of bird, he thought – and realized that was what had disturbed his light sleep.

He felt terrible. Every time he moved, it was like the knife was driven into his side again. He craved water and when he put his hand to his face, he realized that he was very hot. He worried that the wound had become infected. As he struggled to keep his thoughts clear, he couldn't be sure that he was thinking straight. Since there didn't seem to be anyone looking for him, he decided to remain in his present location until dawn, then try to find water, and work out a way to make contact without meeting up with someone who would be bad for his longevity.

As he laid his head back against the rock, he remembered that the ring he wore contained a locator. It bothered him that his mind was so muddled that he had forgotten that. Now that he did remember, it gave him comfort that he would not need to work as hard to make contact – he hoped. Webb's missions didn't always go as planned and the CIA didn't subscribe to the code of never leaving a man behind. A bone-penetrating tiredness was creeping over him and he felt himself drifting off again.

The next time he woke, it was dawn. His watch showed 0730. With some difficulty, Harm managed to get to his feet. He was dizzy and weak. If he wasn't picked up soon, he would need water and food. Studying the surrounding terrain that he hadn't been able to see last night, he decided to follow the ridge he was on. The ridge ran east and west. He headed east, knowing that somewhere out there was the Gulf, though it was too far to walk in his condition. Still, it gave him an objective to focus on.

As he trudged along, stumbling often on the undergrowth, he suddenly stopped dead and listened intently. The familiar whap-whap of a helo could be heard in the distance. Now is it one of ours or one of theirs, he wondered. It seemed to be headed his way, so he slipped into the thickest cover he could find, made sure the assault rifle he had taken from his attacker last night was ready, and waited.

As the helo rose from the valley below into his line of sight, he grinned and relaxed. That was the most beautiful silver bird he had ever seen – a U. S. Navy helo coming straight at him. When it was near enough, a rope was dropped and a Marine slid quickly to the ground. As he reached Harm, he greeted him, "Commander Rabb, I presume."

"Am I glad to see you," Harm answered, surprised by how weak and rough his voice sounded.

"I'm Captain Malone," the Marine introduced himself as he handed Harm a canteen. "We're here to take you home."

Harm nodded and gratefully swallowed some water.

"Are you wounded?"

"Yeah, knife in the side. Don't know how bad."

Malone keyed his radio. "The package has a side wound. Can't use the harness. We'll need to find a place to set down."

Harm didn't listen to the exchange. He was really trying hard not to pass out. Soon the Marine was back. "There's a clearing about a quarter mile up ahead. Can you make it?"

Determinedly, Harm got to his feet. "Yeah, I think so." Though he didn't sound sure.

Malone hooked his arm around Harm's uninjured side and they started off through the trees. It was slow going. Harm was sweating and light headed. They stopped once so he could have another drink of water. Neither wasted energy talking.

After the longest quarter mile he had every walked, they came into the clearing. The helo was just a few feet ahead. Harm got inside and collapsed on the floor as it took off, heading east toward the Gulf and the Vicksburg.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Mac and the XO had been listening to mission reports from the Ops center. Now the report came in that the package had been located but he was injured. Mac couldn't breathe until a few minutes later when she heard he was aboard and the helo was on its way back to the ship.

Mac waited impatiently for the helo to return. It was the longest hour she could ever remember experiencing. Sick bay had been alerted to expect a casualty. Orders were given that the helo pilot and crew should stand by in case they were needed for transport to NAS Corpus Christi which had a fully equipped hospital.

When the helo touched down on the landing pad, Mac was waiting. A couple of crewman from the ship brought a stretcher and Harm was quickly moved onto it. The ship's medic and his assistants began their examination on deck, beside the helo. Sick bay was not equipped to handle anything extremely serious and they would soon determine whether the helo needed to take Harm to Corpus Christi. The medic took Harm's temperature and gently examined the wound. He removed the makeshift bandage, cleaned it as best he could, and covered it with a fresh bandage. "As soon as I get an IV going to pump in some antibiotics, you'll need to get him to Corpus Christi." The medic instructed.

A couple of minutes later the IV was in place, Harm had received his first dose of antibiotics, and his stretcher was being loaded back in the helo. During the examination, Harm's eyelids had flickered, but he remained unconscious. When the stretcher was aboard, Mac was right behind it. "I'm going with him," she announced.

Commander Hendricks had been watching the examination and now stepped up to the helo door to address Mac. "He'll be in good hands at Corpus Christi, Colonel. Good luck."

Mac nodded her thanks and turned her attention to her partner.

TBC