To Hell and Back
Chapter 13
Beth walked into the apartment where the smell of sawdust immediately assailed her sense of smell and the whine of power tools attacked her sense of hearing. Following the noise to its source on her future bedroom, she found Harm, already in his overalls, using his hand-held electrical circular saw to cut lengths of timber to the desired size. He must have been home for some timer she reasoned as she took in the double tracks already in position on the floor and what would be the ceiling of the closet already in place and again fitted with tracks for the sliding doors.
"Hey, Harm!" she shouted over the sound of the saw.
Harm, to her surprise heard her and switching off the saw, he straightened up, pushing the protective goggles from his eyes up onto his forehead as he did so.
"Hey, Beth," he returned her greeting and stepping forward gave her a perfunctory kiss.
Beth was taken aback, she had expected, or hoped at least, for a slightly warmer greeting than that, but before she said anything she saw the shadow in Harm's eyes.
"Hey, sailor," she said softy, reaching up, and giving him a firmer, longer lasting kiss, "Now, do you want to tell me what's got your panties in a wad?"
"Not just now," he demurred, "I'm still a little tense – that's why I'm taking it out on innocent pieces of lumber!" he gave a crack of self-deprecating laughter. "Building things helps me, and besides, you've slept on that couch for long enough, so go ahead, phone the furniture store and arrange for delivery of your stuff just as soon as they can! I've got the closet just about sized up – that length of timber is the partition between shelves and hanging space, there's the rail, and the doors…" he jerked his thumb at a large, flat, heavy duty cardboard packing case, "just need fitting to the tracks once I've got the shelves and rail in and made good!"
"Okay, that explains the U-hail trailer outside! And how long is this job going to take?" Beth asked.
"Well… that was the last shelf cut to size. All I need to do now is screw the battens to the side of the closet and the divider, screw the rail in place… so, without fitting the doors tonight, I reckon another hour, maybe another hour and a half."
"H'mm… okay… but, where's Mattie?"
Harm cracked a grin, "She's hiding in her room, with her headphones on and doing her homework. You might want to take a look in on her, and see if she's okay…It's calculus tonight," Harm explained as he saw the question in Beth's eyes.
"Okay, I'll do that… but if you're going to be busy for the next hour or so, what are we doing for dinner?"
Harm gave her a dour look, "Tell Mattie that there's a fisherman's pie in the freezer. It'll need to be defrosted in the micro-wave, and then about twenty to twenty five minutes in the oven pre-heated to three hundred fifty. There's some snow peas in the fridge and a couple of bell peppers, they'll only take a few minutes, so I'll see to them when I'm done here."
Beth pouted, "Don't you trust me in the kitchen?" she asked mournfully.
Harm fumed inwardly. He knew Beth was trying to kid him back into a good mood, so there was no point in flying off the handle with her. "I trust you, of course I do, but I have a special glaze for the peppers and it would take too long to explain it to you, okay?"
Beth wasn't convinced, she had known Harm far too long to be deceived when he wasn't telling her the whole truth, but his failure to respond to her blatant tease was warning to her that whatever was bugging him was overriding his normal sense of humour.
"Okay," she said with a smile, and leaned in to kiss him again, "I'll go get changed, check Mattie's calculus and pass on your message."
Harm managed a half smile, "Thanks, Beth," he said as she started to turn away and then dropping the goggles back into place over his eyes, he picked up his saw and returned to the task of cutting the length of wood to size.
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Beth changed into jeans and a sweatshirt in the bathroom, carefully considering whether or not her service dress skirt and jacket needed pressing before ruefully deciding that although the jacket was fine, the skirt definitely showed creases where she had been sat behind her desk all day and did stand in need of a hot iron's attention. With a shrug she hung her uniform on a hangar and hooked it onto the bathroom door before she took the few necessary steps to bring her to Mattie's bedroom.
Bearing in mind that Harm had said that Mattie was wearing her headphones – probably as a defence against the noise he was making – Beth rapped rather more sharply than usual on the door, receiving a rather startled noise from within the bedroom.
Taking the inarticulate yelp as an invitation, Beth opened the door to see Mattie sitting cross-legged on the bed, her headphones now around her neck and her calculus text book on her knees while she bent over a note book as she worked on the current problem.
Mattie looked up with a hint of a frown on her face, but on seeing it was Beth who had disturbed her the incipient frown transformed into a grin.
"Hey, Beth!"
"Hey, Mattie… may I?" Beth indicated the foot of the bed.
"Yeah, sure, knock yourself out!" the teenager quipped as Beth sat down.
"So… how's it going?" Beth asked.
"The calculus or life in general?"
"Well… let's start with the calculus, and then we can expand the horizon if necessary!" Beth replied. "Let's have a look at what you've got…"
Mattie handed over the note book and Beth's brow furrowed in concentration as she followed Mattie's processes… "Okay… they're mostly alright, but you might want to take another look at number three," she finished with a heavy hint.
Mattie took the notebook back and went through the problem again and then looked up with a puzzled expression, "It looks okay to me," she complained.
"Check the matrix again," Beth suggested and waited in silence for nearly a minute before Mattie exploded.
"Damn it to hell! Oops! Sorry Beth, but I can't figure out how I missed that – twice!"
"Partly because you saw what you expected to see, not what you'd actually written. Still, you spotted the error on the end…"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't have if you hadn't told me where to look!" Mattie expostulated.
"Well, that's true. But once I pointed you in the right direction off you went. And… this is your first semester of calculus, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So you can't expect to ace everything first time," Beth reassured Mattie.
"No, but I sure as hell can try!" Mattie replied.
"And that's all that any of us ask of you! Now… talking about trying… do you have any idea what's got Harm into a tizz?"
"Trying? Tizz? Harm?" Mattie asked, confused for a second both by the rapid change of topic and the use of the second meaning of 'trying'. Then her expression lightened and she grinned. "Oh, very clever, Miss Hawkes!"
"Yeah, I thought so, too," Beth grinned, "But do you know why…?"
"He's all bent out of shape? No, sorry! He was like that when he came home, grumbled that he had a hell of a lot of work to do, and stormed into his bedroom then came out in his overalls and started making a hell of a noise – again!"
Beth reached out and ruffled Mattie's already unruly curls, "Poor kiddo, it can't be much fun for you either, living in a building site."
"Oh, I don't mind that so much… what really gets me…" Mattie paused, casting a sly glance from under her eyelashes at Beth, "What really gets me is having to hide in my room, while you two make out on the couch like teenagers!"
"Does it really bother you that much? That Harm and I show our affection for each other?"
Mattie eyed the petite RIO shrewdly, "It's okay, you can use the word 'love', you know. I mean, I know it's a four letter word, but I have heard it before."
"Well… maybe, but does it bother you?"
Mattie looked Beth in the eyes, "You want a straight answer?"
"Sure do!"
"Well, it does make me a little uncomfortable… But I guess that's mostly because I'm not used to seeing it. Mom and dad never really showed any physical signs that they loved each other. I mean, I'm fifteen years old, and I'm an only child! What does that tell you about them?"
"Not a lot, Mats, a lot of couples are happy with just the one child. Didn't you say that even before she died your mom was most interested in keeping her business going?"
Yeah… she did… But, I mean she must have loved him, at least enough to marry him. And then why else would she have stayed once she found out that he was a drunk?"
"Well, maybe he didn't become a drunk until after they were married, and your mom stayed with him because she thought she could straighten him out. A lot of people are like that. They think they can get their partners to change their ways, or maybe their partners keep on saying they're sorry, and they won't do it again, so the other one gives them 'one last chance' and keeps on giving them that one last chance, but every time they do, they are actually enabling the offender to keep on with his or her destructive behaviour, whether it's alcohol, drugs or domestic violence… or… or… well, pretty much anything really."
"Was that what your folks were like?" Mattie asked with gentle curiosity.
Beth burst out laughing, "No! Nothing like that, thank God! Dad runs a boat building company down on the Gulf Coast, and mom… well she pretty well had her hands full with all of us kids!"
"All? Mattie asked.
"Yeah, I've got seven sisters and three brothers – all of them, 'cept me are married and they all have three or four kids each. Family gatherings are rare, but when they happen, it's chaos! Mom says it's a blessing in disguise that we're scattered all over the states. She claims that if we all came together for Thanksgiving, she'd have to start cooking on Labour Day!"
Mattie did the math, "Your mom had eleven kids!" she exclaimed in awe.
"Yep, just like my aunts! I can't even begin to figure out how many cousins I've got. I lost count years ago. I know I have at least nineteen nephews and nieces, but what their names are and how old they are, I have no idea! Well, that's except for the one niece whose named after me – but she's on dad's side of the family and then there's my cousin Iskender, his dad, Elwas is an uncle from my mother's side of the family."
"Why those two in particular?" Mattie queried.
"Well, because Libby, my niece is named after me, and I am her godmother, and Iskender, or Alex, as he's known outside the family, is a WSO on Lancers… Yeah, he's a Zoomie," Beth finished in tones of deepest disgust.
Mattie giggled, "Wow, I'd really like to meet some of your family, they sound like fun!"
"Fun? I don't know about that! When we were growing up we fought like cats and dogs all the time… We're a bit better behaved now though!"
"Yeah…" Mattie sighed wistfully, "But it would have been good to have a baby brother or sister to help look after, and teach how to throw a ball or go fishing for pollywogs… I don't suppose that you and Harm…?"
"Whoa! Hold your horses!" Beth said in shocked amusement. "Firstly that's something that Harm and I will maybe discuss at some stage! But if we do, it's a fair way down the road a piece! So don't get any fixed ideas in your head!"!
Beth's warning was however unneeded as Mattie's ears caught up with her mouth and she flashed crimson, "Oh, God! Beth! I'm so… I didn't mean, I mean it just sort of came out… Oh, God, somebody, please shoot me!"
"No need for that!" Beth chuckled, "But although we are getting it together as a family, there are some things that are best left unmentioned, okay?"
"Okay… and you won't tell Harm, will you? I mean you won't tell him I asked, because if I thought he knew, I'd just die of embarrassment!"
"No, I won't tell him," Beth said reassuringly, "So let's just forget the matter and move on to the next item on my to do list, which is… dinner."
"Dinner? You're going to do dinner?" Mattie asked incredulously.
Beth shook her head, "No, you're going to do dinner. There's a fisherman's pie in the freezer that needs defrosting and then heating through, and Harm reckons he'll be out in time to do the veggies. Apparently he's got some secret recipe for glazed bell peppers."
"Oh, wow! He has! I never thought I'd like stir fried peppers, but his are something special!"
"So, shall we?" Beth asked, levering herself to her feet and holding put a helping hand to Mattie.
"We shall!" Mattie replied allowing Beth to give her a tug off the bed.
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Dinner was all that Harm had implicitly promised. The fish, he didn't bother to tell Beth or Mattie were the cheap off cuts from the fish market, that otherwise might have been thrown out. But skinned and boned and mixed with a parsley flavoured white sauce and topped with mashed potato no-one would ever have guessed that they weren't prime cuts of Atlantic cod or haddock.
Beth and Mattie were similarly at sea when it came to Harm's special glaze for bell peppers. The glaze, which he had mixed himself, he kept in an old ketchup bottle, and although there was a taste of coriander to be discerned, what other ingredients were remained a mystery, and judging by Harm's smug expression, that was just how he wanted it to be.
The glow of achievement in finishing the job he had started, the success of his ploy with the mystery glaze and the food combined to bring Harm to a more relaxed, if not cheerful mood and once he had finished eating he said, "Okay, ladies, once we've got the kitchen squared away, and provided that Mattie has finished her homework…"
"Yep, all done and dusted!" Mattie reported cheerfully.
"Good, then we can all go and have a look at Beth's room. It just needs a lick of paint on the walls and her furniture moved in and then she can give up sleeping on that damned couch! How your back has stood it for so long is beyond me!"
"Well… considering that I'm what? ten inches shorter than you, I fit on it! How the heck you manage on board with the regulation six foot rack has always amazed me!"
"That's because there's no choice in the matter, and to be honest, sometimes I've given up, climbed into a flight suit and zonked out in one of the chairs in the ready room!" Harm confessed.
Beth's mouth dropped open, "So all the time you were so smug about being the first there, you had actually spent the night there!"
"Yeah, but out of necessity, not by choice," Harm defended himself.
Beth's disbelieving "H'mph!" brought a grin to Harm's face and a chuckle from Mattie, whose eyes darted between them as she followed the swift interchange between pilot and RIO, or as she was beginning to think of them, partners in her new family.
Encouraged by the banter between Beth and Harm she said, "Harm, is it okay if I asked what got you so bent out of shape this evening?"
"Oh, it's just work stuff. The Admiral pulled a surprise out of his hat this afternoon and it look like it's going to land me and the other senior attorneys with a lot of extra work!"
"What's the mean, old bald man done now?" Mattie bristled.
"Easy, Mats, he did try to make nice at Loren Singer's wet down," Harm cautioned her.
"Yeah, but if he's hitting you with extra work then he's not really making nice, is he?" Mattie demanded with remorseless teenage logic.
"Personal and professional, Mattie. The one thing has nothing to do with the other. Besides from what Harm has just said, it's not only him?" she finished her sentence on a rising inflection and switched her gaze back to Harm.
"No, of course it's not just me, and yes, it is professional. What he's done is divided all the attorneys into five teams. Each headed by a senior attorney, me, Carolyn Imes, Alan Mattoni, Sturgis Turner and Mac – If she ever comes back off leave!"
"Mac's still on leave?" Beth asked in surprise.
Harm nodded, "Yeah, there's more to that than meets the eye! Something's going on that the Admiral isn't talking about! Knowing how much Mac loves to think she's a big, tough, Marine, I just hope she hasn't let herself get inveigled into another CIA cluster… uh… mess!"
Beth, fully aware of what Harm had been about to say nearly choked on the sup of mineral water she had just taken, and although she glared at him through watering eyes she could sense the relief he felt at her involuntary deflection of what Mattie's next question was bound to be, she couldn't help but also feel a flicker of amusement.
"So…" she said, once she was capable of speech again, "How does this mean extra work?"
"Well, reading through the memo he sent out, team leaders will be responsible for mentoring their juniors, monitoring their work – ensuring it's all up to standard before it gets to the Admiral, drafting their fitreps…"
"Ouch!" Beth said sotto voce as Mattie interrupted.
"What's a fitrep?"
"Only the most important document in an officer's personnel jacket!" Beth said. "One gets written every year on every officer, and interim ones are written on a change of billet. They comment on the individual's officer-like qualities…"
"Or lack of them!" Harm interjected.
"Or lack of them," Beth agreed, "And they also note whether the officer is recommended for promotion or not that year."
"And too many non-recommendations mean that the officer doesn't get promoted, goes a maximum of two years above zone and then hits the up or out regulations, and goodbye the Navy!"
"Wow! That's stark!" Mattie commented, "But it's a lot of power… and couldn't some people give a guy a bad report just because they don't like his face? I'm not saying that you would, but couldn't it happen?"
Harm shook his head, "No, in theory, because a report has to be signed off by a higher ranking supervising officer, it can't happen like that, but…"
"But there are always one or two cases where suspicions are raised," Beth finished for him.
"Okay, so you become more like a manager than an attorney?"
"Not quite, the team leaders will still have to do their share of litigation, especially for major cases!"
"And you get a pay rise along with the extra work?" Mattie asked.
Beth and Harm just looked at each other, temporarily rendered speechless by the artlessness of Mattie's question before they both burst into laughter.
Mattie looked at them each in turn and shook her head sorrowfully, "I'll take that as a no, then, shall I?"
When Harm stopped laughing, he pretended to mop tears from his eyes and said, "Anyway, that's why I cracked on with fitting the closet in Beth's new room. To get to grips with the team, I have a team meeting scheduled for zero seven tomorrow, so I'll need you to give Mattie a ride to school, please Beth… and this evening, I shall be locked away in my room going through personnel files, so if you're going to watch TV or a movie, keep it down, please?"
"You got it!" Mattie said firmly.
"No problem!" Beth said as she slid off her stool, "So come on let's get the kitchen squared away and you locked away and then Mattie and I can have a nice low key girlie evening!"
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"Good morning, sir!" Sergeant 'Julie' Andrews greeted Harm, albeit somewhat cautiously. It was only just zero six forty hours and Harm's reputation for pre-caffeine grumpiness was pretty well known, especially by the security desk staff who were the first enlisted members of JAG HQ to face him each morning.
But this morning, Harm had skipped his usual run and although missing the endorphins that lifted his mood above early morning murderousness he had found the time to sink a pint of coffee, brewed exactly to his liking and so was able to respond with some equanimity.
"Good morning, Sergeant." His eyes ran down the list of personnel who had signed in early that morning and he was gratified to see that Liz Fairchild and George Webster, one of the two unknown quantities on his team, had already arrived but, and to his mild surprise, so had YN 3 Porter.
Once on the JAG Ops level Harm opened his office and deposited his cover and briefcase before heading to the galley. A pint of coffee at home he may have had, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't welcome a further cup or two, or three before the day's work kicked off.
As he had suspected, Liz Fairchild and George Webster were also in the galley and as he approached he could hear Webster's voice, "What do you think he wants, this early in the day, ma'am?"
"You haven't worked with or against the Commander have you?" Liz asked.
"No, not yet, ma'am."
"No, neither has Simon Ellis… Well… from what I've seen, the Commander's greatest strength as a litigator is his ability to sum up the opposition and play his own strong points over what he sees as the other guy's weaknesses. He watches people, and I guess that in some measure today's meeting is going to be a get to know you, kind of thing." Liz paused to take a sip of her coffee before adding thoughtfully, "It also helps of course that he thinks outside the box!"
"What do you mean, ma'am?"
"She means that if I find a door closed in my face, I'll look for an open window!" Harm grinned as he walked into the galley.
Both Liz Fairchild and George Webster nearly spilled their coffee as they snapped to attention.
"Stand easy, at ease!" Harm grinned, "Are we all here? No… obviously not! Anyone seen or heard from Mister Ellis?"
"No, sir," Liz Fairchild replied.
"I had a call from him saying he was on his way, sir. But that was about twenty minutes ago. He should have been here by now," George Webster answered.
Harm looked at his watch, "Okay… we've got ten minutes, so we have time for another coffee before we adjourn to the small conference room. We can afford to wait until then before we mark him UA," Harm's smile was just enigmatic enough for both Liz and George to wonder whether he was being serious or whether he was just joking about marking the absent Lieutenant as being Unauthorised Absent.
Their coffees finished and the mugs rinsed and left to drain dry, Harm led the way to the small conference room and turned the door handle, opening the door and coming face to face with a startled YN 3 Porter, who had had to take a hurried step back in order to avoid being struck by the door.
"I beg your pardon, sir!" she gasped, side stepping equally hurriedly to one side to allow the three officers to enter the room.
Harm raised his eyebrow as he took in the sight of the large table in the centre of the room. In front of each of the four chairs at the head of the table was a blotter on which lay a legal pad and a pair of pencils, sitting next to each blotter was a tumbler on a coaster, while a larger coaster protected the polished table surface from any dribbles of water that might run down the outside of the large pitcher in which ice cubes floated in water.
Harm turned towards the young Yeoman, "Is this your idea, Yeoman Three?"
"Yes, sir," Amanda Porter nervously wetted her lips with the tip of her tongue, a circumstance that didn't escape Harm's notice.
He nodded in approval, "Good work, Yeoman Three. Thank you. Dismissed!"
"Aye, aye, sir!" the young woman replied and left – almost fled, Harm grinned – the room, leaving the three officers alone.
Harm took one more look at his watch, "Let's get on with it! Grab a chair please. I'll speak with Mister Ellis when he finally condescends to grace us with his presence!"
"I don't understand it, sir!" George Webster protested in his fellow junior officer's defence. "It's not like Simon… uh… I mean Lieutenant Ellis to be adrift!"
"You know him well?" Harm asked.
"I've known him since we were both on the same school at NJS, and since we ended up here together, we meet a couple of times a week to shoot some hoops and have a beer… that's when we're both in town, sir."
"Well. He's adrift right now!" Harm snapped and then drew a breath, visibly making an effort to keep control of his anger at his junior's failure to be where he was supposed to be, when he was supposed to be there. "First things… I want us all to work together as a team. Yeah, I, for my sins, have been appointed as team leader, what exactly that entails we have all yet to find. In the meantime, don't be afraid to be proactive. Look at this…" he indicated the blotters, pads, glasses and pitcher. I asked for none of this, but young Porter went ahead, of her own accord, and prepped this room for us. And I have little doubt that she came in early this morning just to do that, because she knew I had called an early meeting. Yeah, it's only a small thing, but I would like to see that same attitude displayed in every member of the team, so if you think of something that might help us all to function better as a team and as attorneys, don't keep it to yourself. Let the rest of the team know, it might just be a damned good idea that no-one else has ever thought of. Especially let me know. I may not like what you have to say, and that goes for almost everything, but I will give you a hearing. And if I decide not go with the idea proposed, then I will explain my reasoning. Are there any questions on that topic?"
Both Liz Fairchild and George Webster stayed silent.
"So, firstly I'd like to know a little about you. Things that aren't in your personnel jackets, nothing personal, just general background… Starting with you, Commander, where did you go to college, and was that the same college as law school?"
Harm spent about five minutes each with Liz and George, asking general questions about their backgrounds, their current billet, and where did they see themselves in five years' time. Of course he was well aware that he might be getting the answers the others thought he wanted to hear rather than the truth, but subsequent actions would, as always, in Harm's opinion, speak louder than words.
Harm went on to lay down his expectations for the team, emphasising that he wasn't much concerned about the win/loss ratio. An attorney's task was to discover the truth. And this was particularly true in the military, where young, inexperienced and naïve servicemen and women were susceptible to coercion from superiors whom they had been conditioned to obey, and the results of such coercion often took the form of ill-advised confessions obtained by those superiors without the serviceman or woman's article thirty one rights being explained.
"So, whether we defend or prosecute, in any case where there is a 'confession' it needs to be investigated, and if it is the fruit of the poisoned tree it cannot to be used by the trial attorney in evidence, and the defence attorney must be on his feet, objecting to its introduction before the panel have a chance to hear about it. Remember, anything can be stricken from the record, but once heard, and despite a judge's direction that such evidence be disregarded by the panel, it is virtually impossible for the panel to wipe their minds clean, and although they may not refer to that evidence when deliberating a verdict, they wouldn't be human if they didn't allow it to colour their judgement of other evidence." Harm paused for breath, "Yes, I know this is Evidence One Oh One, and I'm probably preaching to the choir, but it is important, and I want us all, choirboys and girls, or not, to be singing from the same hymn-sheet! Now, moving swiftly on…"
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It was just short of zero eight hundred when Harm wrapped up the meeting, and still Lieutenant Ellis had not shown his front Harm tried not to let his frustration show on his face, but Muster Ellis was due to have his head ripped off and then shoved up the new six that Harm was going to tear for him. But he'd have to worry about that later. Due to the early start to court proceedings today, the Admiral had also brought forward the morning's staff call to zero eight hundred. Fortunately for Harm and the rump of his team the large conference room was just across the hallway, so taking the opportunity to ease his throat, somewhat dried through nearly thirty minutes non-stop talking Harm swallowed a glass if the still icy cold water provided by his Yeoman…'Now… where did that come from?' he grinned self-deprecatingly, and led his team across the hallway.
They had barely taken their seats, when the door re-opened and Jennifer Coates voice pealed out, "Admiral on deck!"
There was the usual thunder of chair legs scraping the hardwood floor as all the officers rose to their feet and braced to attention.
Chegwidden looked around, and rasped out, "Be seated!"
The attorneys sat down again, Harm noticing as he did so, that there was a considerable re-grouping from the usual order of seating, and guessed that each team was now sitting together. A few eyebrows were raised, including those of Admiral Chegwidden at the sight of the empty chair once space down on Harm's right.
"Not all present, Mister Rabb?" Chegwidden growled.
"No, Sir. It seems that Mister Ellis has been delayed this morning."
"And you know this how, exactly? He called?"
"No, sir." Harm shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had just promised his team that he would watch their backs if anything occurred that might lead to a clash with authority, and now, barely minutes later, he felt as if he was being put on the spot.
"What do you mean, 'no, sir'?" Chegwidden demanded.
"I… uh… called a team meeting for this morning, sir. Lieutenant Ellis called Mister Webster to let him that he was on his way, but we haven't heard anything from him since, sir."
"I see… Well, we can investigate the whys and wherefores of that later. In the meantime… Commander Rabb…" Chegwidden took the top two files from the stack in front of Coates and slid one towards Harm and the other towards Alan Mattoni, "Your team has the prosecution of Seaman Anthony Barras, desertion. He went UA in nineteen eighty three, and was recently picked up by Metro PD on a DUI. His prints were in the system, and they handed him over to NCIS. Commander Mattoni, select someone from your team to defend him. Next…" Another two files were passed from Coates to the Admiral, "Commander Imes, your team gets to prosecute Corporal James Gavin, misappropriation of private property; Commander Turner, your team catches the defence on that one! Next! Ah… Yeah… right… Commander Arnold, in recognition that your team leader is absent on leave, you are stepping up, I'm going to go easy on you…" he slid six case files across the table towards the appalled Louise Arnold, "Three cases, one of DDO, two of simple drunk on duty. Your team gets to handle the defence and prosecution in all three cases. Having said that, I don't expect any of them to go any further than an article thirty two!"
"Thank you, sir!" Louise replied, quite frankly at a loss as to what to make of this sudden, and to her startling turn of events.
"That just about sums up this morning for us all. Commander Rabb, come and see me about your errant Lieutenant when we finish here!"
"Uh, sir? I'm due in court at zero nine hundred… the cruelty to dolphins' case?"
"Ah yes. You and Commander Turner, both. Very well. See me the minute you finish in court!"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
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"Hey, Carolyn! Wait up!" Harm called as he hurried along the hallway, anxious to drop his armful of files on his desk, but he needed a quick word Carolyn before she too disappeared into court.
"Yeah? What is it Harm, I'm in a bit of hurry too!"
"I know… we've all been knocked back on our feet by this sudden imposition of the team system. Look, I had meant to ask you yesterday, but we got side-tracked over Adrienne Scott… this Commander Carson, the new judge. I've not appeared in her court before, what's she like?"
"H'mm… difficult to answer succinctly…" Carolyn grimaced and then almost shrugged her shoulders, "She's pretty easy going, from what I can tell, although I have a feeling it would be a bad idea to upset her. She's a little on the whimsical side, a bit like Amy Helfman, maybe, and seems to like a relaxed courtroom. She's also red-hot when it comes to the law, she really knows her stuff, and she's not above setting precedent of her own, and breaking established precedent when the interest of justice demand it."
"Justice, not the law?" Harm asked, his spirits rising slightly. Commander Carson sounded like a judge with whom he could work.
Carolyn just grinned, "Harm, you should know better… Never ask a question…"
"To which you don't already know the answer!" Harm finished the old quotation for her. "Thanks, Carolyn, that's helped – quite a bit!"
"At your service, Mister Rabb – or I would be if I didn't have to run to get to court! Ciao!"
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Seaman Bander had arrived under escort of two Masters at Arms from Norfolk. Hard-bitten and cynical as they were, through long exposure to the hard cases and bad-ass delinquent sailors and Marines they usually had to deal with, they seemed to radiate an almost avuncular air as they stood back while Harm grabbed the opportunity for a few heartening pre-hearing words with Bander, who looked absurdly young, even younger in his crackerjacks than he had done in the brig in his dungarees.
"Don't worry, son," one of them whispered to Bander, obviously in the mistaken belief that his words wouldn't carry to Harm's ears, "We know the Commander, he'll see you get treated right!"
Harm had to hide a grin, as he sat on the edge of the cot in the holding cell.
"Okay, Bander. Remember this is a hearing before an investigating officer. It is not a trial, there's no panel, and I doubt there'll be many spectators, so there'll be a Marine Corps bailiff, the IO, me, the trial attorney and you, plus however many witness your CO has decided to send to testify. The purpose of the hearing is to ascertain whether or not there is sufficient grounds for sending you to trial by court-martial. If there isn't, the Investigating Officer can either dismiss the charges against you, or he, or in this case, she might impose a minor punishment. In that case it is still your right to demand a court-martial. But I strongly advise you not to do that!"
"Understood sir!" Bander gulped nervously.
"Okay… I'll see you in the court room in about ten minutes! Thanks, guys!" he added to the two MA's.
Ten minutes later Harm walked into the court room to find Bander already sitting at the defence counsel's table with one of the two Mas at his shoulder, As Harm approached the MA drew himself up and said, "He's all yours now, sir. Don't let him overpower you and escape!"
Harm grinned. It was rare that he met a Master at Arms with a sense of humour, even if this one did come perilously close to insubordination, "Thanks, I'll try not let that happen!" he said dryly and eased into the chair next to Bander's.
"Remember what I said, call counsel, 'sir', and address the IO as 'Your Honour'. Answer any and all questions, but just the questions, don't volunteer anything that opposing counsel hasn't asked. You're not chewing gum, are you? No? Good. Now all we have to do is wait."
And wait they did, but no more than three or four minutes before Staff Sergeant Woodman, the courtroom bailiff for the day called the court to order as Commander Candace Carson took her seat on the bench. Harm eyes her curiously as she crossed the few steps from judges' chambers to the dais. She appeared to be a little older than himself, with neatly cropped reddish blonde hair. He couldn't quite make out the colour of her eyes, but she had a pleasant, open face, which despite the daily exposure to the criminal element of the Navy and the Marine Corps, gave Harm hope that she was open to argument.
"Be seated, please" she said in a pleasantly modulated voice, and waited until everyone had sat before she turned to her Legalman, who was acting as the court stenographer, "What have we got Legalman Two?"
"Seaman Peter Bander; two charges of abuse of a public animal contrary to Article One Three Four of the UCMJ."
"What did he do?"
"According to the specifications of the charge, Your Honour, he frightened them out of their pen and into the open ocean. The CO of the Marine Mammal Facility says that dolphins are highly intelligent and that frightening them is abuse, Your Honour."
"I see. Commander Rabb, your client understands that this is a preliminary hearing to decide whether or not he should face a court martial?"
Harm stood, "Very much aware, Your Honour."
"Good, prosecution counsel, are you ready to proceed?"
"I am, ma'am," Sturgis Turner's rich voice resonated with respectability and gravity as he replied, but his very stance and the manner in which he spoke gave away to Harm, the style in which his old academy buddy was going to approach proceedings, and breathed a sigh of relief. His whole defence strategy was based on his knowledge of Turner's thought processes, and he was satisfied that he had planned correctly.
"Very well," Commander Carson continued, "You may call your first witness."
"We have only the one witness, Your Honour, the prosecution calls Chief Petty Officer Sheila Ansen.
Chief Ansen when she appeared was a slim, fit, but severe looking woman, who to Harm's eyes seemed very young for her rating, then when he considered his reaction to Chief Slocombe, he grimaced. Maybe they weren't so young, maybe it was just him getting older. He gave himself a mental shake as Chief Ansen was sworn in. Once she was seated in the witness box, Sturgis Turner walked casually towards her and asked her to establish her identity and current assignment. The formalities finalised he then asked her, "Chief Ansen, what happened on the evening of October twenty third last year?"
"I'd been working late and when I quit my office for my cabin in the senior BEQs, I cut along the walkway from the administration building to the domestic are of the facility. While I was on my way I heard what seemed like a disturbance in the dolphin pens, so I hurried down to investigate."
"I see. Now when you went down to the dolphin enclosure, what did you find, Chief?"
"The bottlenose were agitated, sir. Swimming fast, thrashing their tails, jumping. Then I saw this guy in the enclosure with them. He was splashing around, slapping the water. I was thinking, broken ribs, ruptured liver, collapsed lung…"
"The dolphins?"
"No. Him. Bottle nose dolphins are extremely powerful; one swipe of a tail from an angry bottlenose can do a lot of damage. I ordered him out immediately."
"And did he get out?"
"Reluctantly, sir."
"Did he say what he was doing there?"
"Feeding the dolphins. Our marine mammals are on a strict diet: mackerel, squid, smelt, herring. All restaurant quality. This guy had a bucket of sardines. Anyway, I didn't buy his story. He wasn't just feeding them."
"What was he doing?"
"Chasing them from their pens."
"He finally admitted he was trying to free them."
"Objection!" Harm was on his feet.
"For?" Commander Carson asked.
"Chief Ansen is a person in authority over Seaman Bander. She has just implied that she interrogated him as to his activities in the dolphin enclosure. And that he finally admitted that he was trying to free the dolphins."
"And?" Commander Carson asked.
"At no point in her testimony does Chief Ansen say that she made Seaman Bander aware of his article thirty one rights. Defence moves that all mention of his so-called confession be stricken from the record."
"Sustained! Strike from the record, please!" Commander Carson told her Legalman and then turned to Commander Turner, "Don't do it again, Commander!"
"No, Your Honour!" an openly chagrined Sturgis Turner replied, casting a rueful look across the central aisle at Harm. Nevertheless he took up the reins again, making hasty mental adjustments to his line of questioning.
"Did he, in fact, free any?"
"He scared a couple away. They were missing a few hours, and then they came back. But he didn't free them."
"Could you explain that, Chief?" Carson asked.
"Our dolphins are not captives, ma'am. They're free to jump over the sides of their pools and swim in the open water whenever they want."
"But they're not free," Bander whispered to Harm. "They're trained to go back to their pens."
Sturgis had had his whole line of questioning, much of it based on Bander's admission that he was trying to free the dolphins, disrupted by Harm's barbed objection, so he switched tactics.
"Chief, why do you think, when there was a ready supply of free food to hand, indeed that was being fed to them by the accused, did two of the dolphins jump the wall of their pen and swim out to the open ocean?"
"Because Bander was making so much noise that he scared them into fleeing their pens. Pens where they had until then believed they were safe!"
"Thank you, Chief Ansen. Your witness," Sturgis said to Harm and turned back to his table with a small smile hovering on the corner of his lips, satisfied that he had made a come back, even if he had had to extemporise. He had got across the Chief's expert opinion that Bander had so scared the dolphins that they had fled the security of their long-time home.
Harm nodded his acknowledgement to Sturgis and approached the witness stand, "Chief Petty Officer Ansen, how well do you know the accused?"
"He's worked in my section, on administrative support for just under six months sir."
"Is he under your direct command?"
"Yes, sir."
"So, you would know if he was a bad apple. If he was constantly in trouble, constantly defying authority?"
"Nothing like that, sir. Other than the incident in the dolphin enclosure Bander has been a model sailor. His bearing and presentation are uniformly good. He is respectful, diligent in his duties, cheerfully follows orders, is generally well-liked by his fellow sailors and has no other entries on his age eleven, sir."
"So until this incident, you would say that Bander was, in fact, an outstanding sailor?"
"Maybe not outstanding, sir. But a good sailor. He was trustworthy, loyal and honest and was under consideration for the next step in rate to E4. I just can't figure out what he thought he was doing that evening!"
"So his actions were out of character?"
"Yes, sir. Completely so!"
"Chief, are you aware that many people feel that using innocent animals in war is unethical and immoral?"
"We never let our animals do anything that's dangerous for them."
"Locating mines is not dangerous?"
"There's very little risk to the animal. They're trained to stay a safe distance from any mines they find. Also, sea mines are designed to explode only when a large metallic object, like a ship, passes by. Otherwise they'd explode whenever a big fish swam past."
"Thank you, Chief."
"You stated that the dolphins regularly swim out to open water." Candace Carson interrupted.
"Yes, ma'am."
Commander Carson nodded and made a note on her blotter, "Continue, please, counsellor," she invited Harm.
"So the two dolphins who jumped out of their pen were only doing what they normally do?" He asked the Chief.
"They normally leave their pens when they want to, or for a mission, not because they're frightened."
"But they couldn't have been that frightened because they came back a few hours later, correct?"
"These mammals are intelligent and highly trained. They protect our ships and harbours. We can't have people interfering with them, no matter how well-meaning."
"And Seaman Bander was well-meaning. Thank you, Chief!"
Commander Carson looked at Turner, "And you have no other witnesses?"
"No, Your Honour."
"Commander Rabb?"
"Defence calls Seaman Bander to the stand, Your Honour."
"Very well."
Bander gulped and stood up, wiping his suddenly unaccountably sweaty palms against the side of his pants before he took the few steps to the witness box. His voice however was steady enough when he took the oath, and when Harm asked him for his name, rate, rating and assignment for the record. The preliminary questions seemed to settle Bander, but he still kept his eyes fixed on Harm, as if the tall aviator turned attorney was a lifeline.
Harm asked his first question, "Do you deny going to the dolphin pens on the night of the incident, with the intention of setting the dolphins free?"
"No, sir."
"Do you deny urging the dolphins out into open water?"
"No, sir."
"Not much, uh, debate about your intent, is there, Seaman?"
"Sir?" It was a puzzled Seaman Bander's request to have the question explained to him.
"You wanted to free the dolphins."
"Oh. Yes, sir."
And you knew what would happen if you were caught?"
"I was willing to take that risk, sir. And take my lumps."
"Why?"
"I just, I couldn't stand seeing those beautiful creatures penned up like that, sir."
"Explain, please."
"I've had past experiences with dolphins, sir."
"Objection." Sturgis Turner rose to his feet, "I don't see how the defendant's past history with sea mammals has any relevance here."
"On the contrary, Seaman Bander's history is the key to motive in this case," Harm answered in rebuttal.
Commander Carson made another note on her blotter pad and then raised her head, "This is just a hearing, so let's hear it. Tell us what happened, please."
"Last year I went surfing off Half Moon Bay. I was waiting for a wave, and I spotted a fin – a great white. I was too far out to swim back to shore. The shark made a couple passes around me, closer each time. I spotted more fins. More sharks, I figured. But then this dolphin jumped out of the water, kind of slapping its tail when it landed, you know? And then more dolphins appeared. And they just started swimming around me for, like, an hour. The shark gave up. They swam with me all the way back to shore."
"Protecting you." Harm added just to ensure the point was made.
"Yes, sir. Look, I know what I did was against regs. I accept that. But seeing those dolphins penned up like that, I just had to do something."
"Thank you, Seaman Bander. Your witness, Commander," Harm almost grinned as he turned towards Sturgis, who merely gave him a sour look in return.
"No questions for this witness!" he declared.
Commander Carson looked at the clock on the courtroom wall above the main door, and then looked at the notes she had made. Making up her mind, she looked over to the defence table, "Accused and Counsel will rise."
Harm and Bander stood, the Seaman braced so hard that he was practically quivering, but a deal of that Harm knew was through apprehension of what was to come.
Commander Carson cleared her throat and looked Bander in the eye, as if to impress him with the gravity of his situation, "Seaman Bander, we have heard ample evidence of your culpability. We have also heard testimony to your good character, and I was moved by your own personal history. I see in it some justification for mitigation in this matter, but mitigation is not exoneration, understood?"
"I think so, ma'am."
"Given the circumstances, I've decided not to recommend the matter to court-martial. I believe non-judicial punishment will be sufficient. It's my hope that I will not see you again in this hearing room. Next time, I won't be quite so open-minded. Clear?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Then Harm took a breath of surprise as Sturgis spoke, "If I may, Commander, I respectfully request that Seaman Apprentice Bander not get off quite so easily for the offense committed."
Harm leaped in, "Commander, given that you've already announced your recommended disposition, Counsel is out of order."
"I'd like to hear what he has to say." Carson told Harm.
Sturgis dipped his head in acknowledgement before he spoke, "Commander, I suggest you might have a word with the commanding officer of the Marine Mammal Program."
"To what end, Commander?"
"Well, given Seaman Apprentice Bander's past experience and clear sensitivities, I think it might be useful for him to be reassigned from desk duty to sea duty, working in the pens with the dolphins."
Commander Carson smiled warmly, "I think that's an excellent idea, Commander. How about you, Seaman?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Bander agreed enthusiastically.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Once Bander had been reunited with his two escorts who slapped him on his back and called him a lucky son of a bitch – but only after Commander Carson and her Legalman had left the court room, Harm and Sturgis walked back towards the bull pen and their offices.
Even Chief Ansen had a smile on her face as she approached the three sailors, "Come on Bander, you can ride back to base with me. You don't need these guys baby-sitting you anymore!"
"Uh… yes, Chef, but the rest of my gear is still in the brig…"
"That's okay, we can pick it up on the way! Gentlemen!" she nodded her farewell to the two attorneys and to the two MAs impartially.
"Nice touch at the end there, Sturg," Harm grinned. "Bander owes you for that!"
Sturgis smiled, "Yeah, and I owe you for that article thirty one beaner!"
"You shouldn't have ducked into it, ol' buddy!" Harm grinned.
This time Sturgis' smile was distinctly rueful as he replied, "Just don't forget what they say about payback!"
"Anytime, baby!" Harm called over his shoulder as he paused at his office door.
Dropping his briefcase in his desk's kneehole, Harm sank back in his chair, his fingers linked behind his head and a smile on his face. Damn, he loved it when justice was served. Bander had been a damned fool, but he didn't deserve a court martial, though what sort of NJP his CO would impose was still open to question. Once again he smiled, stretched and briefly closed his eyes, only to flash them open as a tap came at his door frame.
"Yes?" he demanded, hurriedly straightening in his seat.
"Sir, a message came in for you while you were in court," Yeoman Three Porter said, "It's from a Captain Armbruster at Sea Systems Command in the Navy Yard. He wants you to call him ASAP, sir. His number is…"
"I have his number, thank you, Yeoman Three!"
"Yes, sir!" Amanda Porter allowed herself a smile as she turned and left Commander Rabb alone. 'God, I'm a lucky girl! Just think, I could have been assigned to Colonel MacKenzie or to Commander Mattoni!"
Harm practically lunged for the phone as Porter left him alone, and dialled the number from memory.
"Sea Systems Command, R&D, Senior Chief Mendoza, sir."
"Senior Chief, good…" Harm checked the wall clock, it was just past midday, "afternoon. I have a message from Captain Armbruster asking me to call him."
"Indeed, sir. He's been waiting for you to return his call. He understands that you've been in court all morning, sir."
"Thank you, Senior Chief." Although Mendoza's tone had been neutral Harm knew that his last sentence had been by way of reassuring him that Armbruster was not annoyed by Harm's delay in returning his call.
"Putting you through now, sir!"
There was double click in Harm's ear and then Captain Armbruster's voice. "Rabb?"
"Yes, sir." The voice sparked a memory of that tanned face with the domineering nose, the bright blue eyes and the shock of white hair.
"Good. I've thought about what we discussed yesterday and, a little to my surprise, I find myself in agreement with you. I intend to hold a captain's mast for the Chief and for Ensign Wainwright for disobeying an order or regulation. It is my intention to have them forfeit half their pay for two months, and in addition, Chief Slocombe will carry out thirty days extra watch keeping, day on day off. Which will take him nicely to his retirement date, and keep him busy. Ensign Wainwright, I am having reassigned with a note on her jacket that she is not recommended for promotion this year. Hopefully her new CO at Sea Systems Norfolk will take note and be able to gainfully employ her! This is all contingent on them undertaking not to see each other off duty until Slocombe is a civilian. If they break that undertaking, or refuse to make it, then a court-martial it shall be for the pair of them!"
"Norfolk? That's hardly Adak or Garcia Hernandez, sir," Harm pointed out respectfully.
"True, but with Slocombe working night on night off, in addition to his normal daytime duties, it's far enough until Slocombe retires!"
"May I speak freely, sir?"
"Yes… Go ahead, Commander…."
"That's a very fair solution to the problem, sir."
"Well, it was all due to you. If you hadn't drawn my attention to the alternatives open to me… well…"
"Just doing my job, sir."
"That's as may be, but I think all the same, that I'm going to keep your card and put you on speed dial. You never know when having an attorney on call might just come in handy!"
"Aye, aye, sir!" Harm grinned
"Goodbye, Rabb!"
"Goodbye, sir, and on behalf of my clients, thank you!"
Harm put the phone down and almost bounced out of his eat. Two cases cleared up in one morning, and neither of them gone to court martial! The day was looking better and better. But now it was time for lunch! And he felt a little like celebrating. One more grab of the phone, a familiar number tapped in to the key pad and…
"Hawkes!"
"Hey, beautiful, got time for lunch today, say in thirty minutes at the Dogfish… that place where we had lunch before?"
"Yeah… okay, but why?"
Harm let rip a triumphant laugh, "Because I've had a stupendous morning! Two cases closed without even having to go to court!"
"Okay shyster, but you're buying!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Harm exulted.
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A J Chegwidden looked at his watch. Another five minutes should see him clear the last of his files from his in-tray, and then he would take a stroll upstairs and have lunch with the judiciary. He liked to keep in touch with that half of his command, who for obvious reasons were unable to mix freely with the attorneys that faced them in court, so they had their own separate dining area in what had once been a meeting room. He needed especially to semi-officially welcome that new Commander, Carlton, wasn't it? Although, strictly speaking she was one of Stiles Morris' officers, she was also still a member of JAG Corps.
His ruminations were disturbed by the demand of his phone ringing and with a muttered oath he picked up the handset.
"Yes, Coates?"
"Sir, I have a Captain Goldsmith from Bethesda on the line for you."
Chegwidden groaned, he hoped like hell he wasn't about to be landed with a tort for medical malpractice. He wasn't and he listened in growing disbelief and sadness to Captain Goldsmith.
"Admiral, I'm Henry Goldsmith, the head of administration at Bethesda. I believe a Simon Ellis was a Lieutenant under your command?"
"Yes, he is." Chegwidden had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, he just knew here this was going.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you that earlier this morning Lieutenant Ellis was struck by a car while on a pedestrian cross walk on Minnesota Avenue. He was severely injured and air-lifted to us. Unfortunate his injuries were too extensive, and although my ER staff fought to keep him alive, I regret that the Lieutenant died in the ER about fifteen minutes ago."
Chegwidden shook his head. God knows it was bad enough to lose men in combat, but this… "If he was on a cross walk, how come he was hit?" he growled.
"I don't have full details, sir, but according to Metro PD the driver of the car that hit him was inebriated and the vehicle was moving at about fifty miles an hour when the impact occurred."
"I see…" Chegwidden felt the rage building up inside him. "Thank you for calling, Captain."
"I wish I could say it was my pleasure, sir."
Chegwidden put the phone down and for a moment buried his face in his hands as he drew a long, shuddering breath. Then sitting up, stone faced, he reached out a strong finger and stabbed the call button on his intercom unit.
"Sir?"
"Jennifer, dig out Lieutenant Ellis' personnel jacket, and the OPNAVINST for reporting a casualty."
Chegwidden thought he heard Jennifer Coates take a sharp breath before her voice, cool and professional as always spilled out of the little box of electronics on his desk.
"Lieutenant Ellis' jacket and OPNAVINST for reporting a casualty Aye, aye, sir!
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Sarah MacKenzie hesitated before she opened the door to Commander Elgin's outer office. Despite the care with which she had chosen her outfit, a diagonal plaid skirt that fell to her knees, and crimson crew necked sweater, worn under her camel coloured coat, and the care with which she had applied her make-up, she knew that she wasn't looking her best. And that was all Elgin's fault. The admission that she had been raped as a teenager had been, if not forced, then suborned out of her, by the sneaky shrink, and the memories of that terrible evening, memories that she had, or so she thought, successfully buried years ago had come back to haunt her in the shape of the most vivid nightmares she'd ever had; reliving over and over again, in her sleep, the smell of the man on top of her, the stale tobacco smell of him, the sweat on his body, his cheap cologne and the cheaper drink, the rasp of the stubble against her face as he persisted in trying to kiss her, and the pain, the intolerable pain as he forced himself into her resisting body.
And as if that wasn't enough, the other faces crowded around, John Farrow, Dalton Lowne, Mick Brumby, Clayton Webb, Joe McKenzie, all laughing and cheering her attacker on, and sneering at her, calling her a stupid tramp, a slut, a whore… In fact the only man from her past whom she couldn't see in the crowd that thronged around her bed was Harmon Rabb Junior.
For a moment longer she hesitated and then made a decision. To hell with therapy, and if that mean, old, bald bastard wanted her resignation then he could fucking well have it! She was about to turn and walk away when the door opened and the pretty little Corpsman Two smiled up at her, "Oh! Sorry ma'am! I was just heading out to get some coffee. Would you like some?"
"No, no thank you," Mac said through tight lips.
"I'll just tell the Commander that you're here, ma'am!"