Chapter 32


"We have to get her, all non essential crew and family members out of here to Norfolk" Tom said as he wasn't going to leave anyone behind in St Louis after finding out their 'Haven' was made on the systematic deaths of innocent people who matched a certain set of desirable qualities for murderers. He already knew he'd have to find out where Rachel was being kept 'safe' and have her relocated to somewhere he trusted and knew to be safe.

"I can see why Taylor wanted her evaced to Norfolk as it's a safe haven compared to this illusion we're in." Mike said to Tom as they stood out in the front yard of Andrea's property. Her bungalow was too small for them to have a private conversation and frankly Tom wanted to brainstorm without Larrin overhearing them.

The young woman had been through the wringer and after Val just telling her everything without filtering to soften the blow. Sufficed to say, Larrin had ended up in the bathroom upending her stomach thanks to Val telling her that Julian was living out his sick fantasies of killing her on other women who looked like her.

"The only problem is we can't drive her out because the police are looking for her. We have one plane but we'd have to get her onto the base and onto the plane without the military personnel there raising the alarm." Tom said as he didn't feel they could trust their air force counterparts in St Louis given they had knowingly stayed to man the airbase and hospital and not even told them what was going on.

"Well, the Nathan James is in no shape to be sailing out of here." Mike reminded him, in case Tom had thoughts about getting their people on the ship and sailing away in the night.

"I'm not abandoning my ship. We need a plan." Tom said to him.

"We could smuggle her onto the plane in a coffin." Mike suggested, Tom looked at him and shook his head.

"We've had ground crews crawling over that ship and emptying the freezers. It'd raise a lot of questions for a body to just pop up suddenly and need to be transported." Tom reminded him.

"It's an idea, I'm sure Val can mock up the paperwork for us." Mike said.

"Let's call that plan B." Tom said, as an idea came to him. "I think I have a better idea that won't require too much subterfuge." He said as he liked what was forming in his brain.


"What?" Tex said in disbelief to Kara as they stood in Wolf's room. It was the only room left untouched or un-bugged by the police. Something Neither Tex or Kara could blame them as it was really creepy with all the lizards and furry bedspreads and dog pouf staring at them.

"Yeah, I have no clue what to do. Commander Garnett's happy to have her stay but the police aren't going to stop looking for her." Kara said as she had spent the past twenties minutes telling him about her day and what was happening with Larrin.

"You talk to Larrin about what happened?" Tex asked Kara.

"Not much, I could tell she wanted to talk but people got in the way. You should have seen her, I think she knows her attacker and he has her passport. Without it; she can't apply for asylum or get home to Australia as they won't have access to TSA servers to prove who she claims to be." Kara told him, blowing out a breath as it all made her feel incredibly tense.

"Have you informed the Commodore?" He asked her.

"X.O. knows something is up, so it's safe to say he informed the Captain. My concern is Larrin. I'm going to back over to Garnett's house and check on her." Kara said pressing a palm to her forehead trying to think of a solution where everyone would come out ok.

"Look, right now you gotta find out Larrin's side of the story." Tex said, not that it made a difference. They'd help her anyway but it was the small details they needed to help her fight the charges and keep her safe from whoever attacked her as it was no coincidence that she was attacked and then within hours had a warrant on her ass. He felt in his gut something was wrong as no police officer worth his salt would just let a murderer walk and then later on try to track that person down. If she was really wanted for murder they would have snapped her up the moment she went in to report the crime. End of story.

"I highly doubted she killed four men for kicks. I can't even imagine her doing it." Kara argued.

"It's dog eat dog world, the way my boss talks. I'd say he's got a few bodies buried on his farm." Tex said wryly, he already knew that Kat killed two men because Cort had told him when he tried to catch Kat at the farm in Jackson.

He just didn't know how to broach the subject with her because it was also the same night Claire had died. It felt the grief Kat felt for her mother wasn't something he wanted to stir too much just because he selfishly wanted to make sure she was mentally ok with what happened that night. It was why he'd asked Larrin to just let him know when or if he did have to broach the subject but otherwise he was waiting for Kat to come to him.

"I hate that this place is just another facade like Baltimore." Kara said blanking back tears that burned her eyes. She had wanted St Louis to be as advertised. She wanted her biggest concern to be picking out paint swatches and trying to balance a budget.

"I know, right now we need a rally point in case things get too hot and we need to get out. I'll make sure Barb and Kat have go bags. Looks like I'll have to pull my gear out of storage and get it cleaned and oiled up." Tex said thoughtfully.

"Norfolk should still be safe but it's over 8 hour drive from here." Kara said to him, brainstorming where they'd go from the rally point as it's position would indicate where they'd go next.

"Doesn't it just make you wish we had a pilot." Tex said wryly.

"And a plane." Kara added.

"You think Commodore would give civilians like me and the others a free trip to Norfolk on the sly. I know you guys are working with the Airforce."

"We can ask, I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue. You can all stay at my house with my mother." Kara said, the idea didn't thrill her given it was a small house but it would work.

"Have you spoken to your mother?" Tex asked her, Kara shook her head.

"Ah no, right now I want to believe she's still sober. If I call..." Kara drawled and gave a shrug as it was easy to tell where her thoughts going. If she called and her mother was off the wagon again. Well, Kara just couldn't handle that situation on top of everything else. Right now she didn't know anything, so she could pretend her mother was still sober and happy.

"Fair enough." Tex said understanding her completely as he knew about her mother.

She had told him one night on the Nathan James sometime after she found out she was pregnant. He had made the comment of her parents being over the moon about becoming grandparents in a way to rally her when she was feeling out of sorts. While with anyone else she would have brushed over it. With Tex, she told him the truth as she knew he'd take it at face value and not try to convince her that a baby could change things. But he did make her feel better with some light hearted jokes.

"Yeah, I'm afraid of abandoning Danny if things turn bad and I'm with Larrin." Kara said, she felt like she was in a small way betraying Danny given he was injured and in hospital. She felt she should be at his side but she was here with Tex trying to keep their mismatched family together and safe.

"He'd understand. Wolf's family and Larrin is too, she needs us all." Tex assured her.

"I think I'd rather we go back to our biggest problem being a creepy house than this." Kara grumbled, Tex smiled.

"I know, you should go be with Larrin. I'll keep the homefront here." he told her, Kara nodded knowing he was right.


An hour later,

"Sir?" Miller said in confusion as he wasn't sure he heard the Captain correctly. He and Cruz had been called to Commander Garnett's house where they were told they were going to be guarding Larrin as she was now a prisoner of the Navy. All of it just after he'd handed live listening bugs over to the Captain informing him of how the police illegally planted listening devices in Tex's house. He'd barely had a chance to tell him about Larrin when the Captain told him that the police didn't have to worry as Larrin was in their custody.

"She's in our custody. If the local police show up, you contact myself or the X.O. immediately, you do not hand her over to them under any circumstances until transport comes for you at 0600 tomorrow. She's being transferred to the brig in Norfolk." Tom told them, he held the container of listening devices; knowing full well if the police followed Miller then they would hear what they were saying.

"Yes, Sir." He and Cruz said in unison acknowledging the order.

"Good, go on." Tom said dismissing them, Cruz and Miller nodded and turned walking away from the Captain heading to the bungalow to do as he ordered. But Miller couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. First the mission to liaise with Milwaukee went south, then Larrin was now a wanted person. They were guarding her as if she were a prisoner. It just didn't sit well with him.

"Told you she was a nutcase, she killed four guys." Cruz told him in what felt like a 'I told you so' tone.

"I don't believe it." Miller said in a matter of fact tone as they walked up the pathway to Commander Garnett's front door that open waiting for them to enter.

"The police came to my apartment waving a photocopy of her passport in my face asking me questions about it." Cruz told him.

"What did you say?" Miller asked him, Cruz stopped as he'd made it to the top stair before the open door and turned to him.

"She's a nice piece, but I have no clue who she was. Dude, Wolf has had our backs from day one of meeting us. I wouldn't sell out him like that and frankly if she offed four guys it was probably cause they had it coming." Cruz told him with a chuckle, they walked into Commander Garnett's bungalow.

"Commander Garnett?" Miller called out feeling weird for walking in and not announcing himself as he closed the front door.

"Yeah, your boots better be clean." She warned them.

"They are." Cruz assured her, though he had no clue so he just hoped they were clean as he didn't want to incur the wrath of Commander Garnett.

"Good." She told them.

"Where's Larrin?" Miller asked.

"Kara's in with her in the spare bedroom. Don't go disturbing them." Andrea told them.


"Captain Chandler, I'm sorry we called you in at such a late hour." Senator Pierce said when Tom came into Michener's office to find the Senator, the police commissioner for St Louis and Michener waiting for him.

"It's ok, Senator. Your police said it was an emergency with my people." Tom said as he and Mike barely made it two blocks away from Andrea's when they had been flagged down and told to get to the President's office as an emergency involving the Nathan James crew. He knew they'd be quick to pounce on Larrin but this was scarily more efficient than he expected. So Mike dropped him off and went to get Val to work. Tom just hoped his plan worked.

"Yes, Mr President it's come to Commissioner Holliday's attention that the Navy is harbouring a dangerous fugitive." Senator Pierce said speaking for the Commissioner who in Tom's mind was a little young to be in charge of the police force as he looked around his mid 30's.

"What's this?" Michener said looking to Tom for clarification.

"I believe he's referring to Lieutenant Larrin Taylor. You met her at the Inauguration ball." Tom said, Michener looked at him patiently needing more information. "She's wanted for the murders of four men." he added.

"What?" Michener asked confused as he remembered Larrin but not her having a Military rank.

"Yes, I was just as surprised as you are by hearing the news." Tom told him, but his surprise was more about what Senator Pierce and everyone they'd met in St Louis had kept to themselves to keep their illusion of society.

"She's not military." Commissioner Holliday said.

"How can you be so sure? I was told we've had no luck contacting the Australian Government." Michener asked the man.

"She'd have Military ID on her." Holliday argued, thoroughly entrenched in the belief that he was in the right

"Actually, it was on her person when we apprehended her. Something I guess you know all about Commissioner would given your police force has been illegally searching my crew's homes and leaving these behind." Tom said as he pulled out a listening device and placed it onto Michener's desk.

"Is this true?" Michener asked Holliday as he picked up the device, the man cleared his throat looking a little uncomfortable at how it looked.

"The officers who did this will be reprimanded for the actions but let's focus on the issue at hand. The military are overstepping their boundaries. This is a civilian matter, even if she's a member of the Military, she's a civilian here in the US, she murdered four men that we know of who are civilians. So the Navy has to hand Miss Taylor over to us." Holliday answered.

"Captain, I assume you want to respond?" Michener asked Tom as he wasn't sure he was ready to step in and draw a line but trusted Tom enough to know he had his reasons for putting his reputation on the line for this young woman.

"Martial Law is instituted at the time these murders happened and she's a member of the Australian Defence Force which makes this the Military's jurisdiction. So it's our matter to handle" Tom said, he looked to Pierce and Holliday seeing them getting twitchy as they knew they weren't going to win.

"This is just a cheap trick to protect your own." Holliday sneered at him. Tom kept his expression calm even though he was tempted to teach the man the meaning of respect.

"Lt Taylor is in our custody and we will be transporting her to our prison in Norfolk until we can perform a proper investigation of the crimes, identify the victims and contact the Australian government to find out how they'd like us to isn't a cut and dry civilian matter. It has international implications and given the Australian people are our allies we would not want to overstep our bounds with." Tom told Michener in a calm manner.

"You-you can't do this." Senator Pierce said speaking up.

"Actually, he can. There had been precedence for International Military personnel being prosecuted for crimes with civilian victims in a Military court." Michener told him.

"This absurd, she's not military. No ID means not Military. I don't know why we're arguing this." Senator Pierce argued.

"Actually we have the paperwork to prove it. She was here for the Navy's special warfare joint operation training program in Norfolk." Tom said, hoping Val was fast with her work to back him up. This was a major lie he was telling but it would work as long as the other side only had a passport and a flimsy police report. "We'll liaise with the Colorado PD and send out a team to start the investigation in earnest. But for now we're focused on getting Lt Taylor into the appropriate holdings." Tom said to Michener.

"She can be held at the police station." Holliday said to Michener, Tom could feel the desperation rolling off the Senator and the Commissioner to try and get their hands onto Larrin.

"No offence, but I'm not handing her over to you. This has to be handled delicately which is why we're transporting her to Norfolk as soon as we can." Tom said to him.

"Mr President, you can't let this happen. My people here in St Louis have been working tirelessly-" Pierce started but Michener cut him off.

"Senator, this is a Military matter unless you can give me a better argument than what you've given me so far." Michener told him.

"Sir, there is something I need to tell you." Pierce said, he hadn't wanted to tell Michener but he could see Michener wasn't going to side with them and he had to think of the civilians in the zone that could be protected by them handing Larrin over to Julian.

"Senator." Holliday cautioned, Michener exchanged looks with Tom lost as to what was going on.

"He knows already." Pierce throwing a hand up at Tom. Tom wasn't expecting the man to cave but was glad they didn't have to carry on the act. "Why do you think he's holding onto that girl." he said scathingly.

"Senator, please explain yourself." Michener told him in a firm tone.