Chapter 11
"Yes, Sir and he's none to happy about it, he's only following the SECNAV's orders."
"I would still like to know who brought these charges. The SECNAV did say that you were involved? Are you being charged too?"
"Oh god Sir, I don't even know how to say this…someone has accused you of making advances to me and threatening my career if I reported you," she sighed nearly in tears.
"Mac that's preposterous!"
"I know Sir and that's what I tried to tell Bud, but he just kept assuring me that it would be your career on the line not mine if the charges were true."
"How do we convince him that they aren't, Mac?"
"I don't know. I don't think Bud wants to believe they are true, but he's been ordered to investigate them."
"Then we'll just have to convince him they're false."
"How do you propose we go about doing that? Every time I denied the charges to him he thought I feared your retaliation."
AJ snorted, "I've never known you to fear anyone Mac, not even me!"
"You're right Sir, you're the kindest and gentlest man I've ever known and there's no way I could ever believe that you would ever harm anyone!"
When AJ had come home, he'd left the front door open in his hurry to answer the phone. This left just the screen door between the living room and Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts who had just waked up to the door in time to hear AJ say, "Mac you'd better believe I've hurt plenty of people in my past and would have no hesitation to do it again if there was cause for it. You'd better believe I wanted to hurt someone when I heard these charges!"
Bud's briefcase slipped from his suddenly lifeless fingers and this alerted AJ that there was someone behind him at the open door. With the phone still at his ear, staring at the horrified look on Bud's face, he said into the phone, "Mac I have to go, Bud just heard what sounded like me threatening you."
"Sir, put him on the phone, and I'll tell him that it wasn't a threat."
"Like he's going to believe that, when the whole case is based on me threatening your career if you reported me. I need to go now and talk to Bud."
"Now I'm sorry for calling and making things worse."
"Never be sorry for being a friend Mac." AJ hung up and said to Bud, "Come in Lieutenant Roberts, I don't suppose you'd find it humorous to learn that when the SECNAV told me to call my lawyer I was planning on calling you. Mac was just telling me that you're going to be on the other side this time."
"Sir the SECNAV wanted me to take the case, but even though I am arguing for the prosecution, I feel that I should tell you that contact with Colonel Mackenzie is not advisable until this is settled."
"I don't suppose you'd like to listen to an explanation for what you just heard?"
"No Sir, you should talk to your own attorney about that." Bud asked if he could sit down and AJ nodded for him to do so. Sitting down on the couch, Bud opened his briefcase and brought out the case file. Opening it he said, "Sir, we have an eye witness report that you were seen groping Colonel Mackenzie in the supply closet, and that when she tried to fend off your advances, you threatened her career if she reported what happened."
"Bud, that's ludicrous! First, I've never been in the supply closet with Colonel Mackenzie. Second, if I were going to make advances to a woman, it would not be in a supply closet. And third, if I did have designs on Colonel Mackenzie, why would I have waited nine years before acting on them?"
"These are all good points to bring up with your attorney, I'm just here to inform you of the charges and that I will be conducting a formal investigation."
"You could start by interviewing me and I'm telling you that the allegations are unfounded!"
"So you're telling me Sir that there has never been a contact of a less than professional nature between you and Colonel Mackenzie?"
Instantly the two incidents that he had thought of on his drive home, flashed through his mind. Bud seeing the look on AJ's face, said, "So there has been, Sir?"
To Be Continued….