Chapter 14

With a heavy heart AJ entered the bullpen. There had been so many times he'd wished Harm out of what little hair he had left…or had thought about transferring him to the farthest command that he could find, but he had never truly wished him any ill fate. Many of the team had come close to death a time or two, himself included, but this was the first loss they had suffered. Harm's passing would leave a void in the JAG family.

The shocked and saddened faces that met his announcement said it all. It was one thing to lose a brother in arms to combat, but to lose a healthy man in the prime of his life in this way, was so very hard to accept.

As he turned to go back to his office, Mac approached him, "Sir, may I talk to you please?"

"You want to go home? I can understand that Mac, but you won't have to break the news to Mattie after all. Sturgis said that Jen felt she needed to be the one to do that," AJ replied as they entered his office.

"No Sir, that wasn't it, but I do think that Jennifer is the better one to tell Mattie if she is up to it. They were so close, living together and all. But what I wanted, was to try and explain what I said earlier. I know it might have sounded odd, but I was just so sure that you were in some kind of danger."

"I've learned not to discount your 'feelings', but as you can see, I'm fine."

"I know that Sir, but I just can't shake the thought that whatever happened to Harm was meant for you."

"You're suggesting it was more than a heart attack?"

"Can you really believe that it was? This was Harm! Adrenaline junkie par-excellence! To die of a heart attack sitting at a desk?"

"So you think that whatever happened to him was meant for me?"

"Well it did happen in your office and the feeling I kept getting said YOU were in danger," Mac told him.

"So you think he was murdered?"

"I pray not, but if it was, and they meant to get you, then you could still be in danger."

"Mac, think about what you're saying! If this was murder, then it was someone we know! This is a secure building, even visitors are carefully screened."

"I know Sir, and if that is the case, it's all the more dangerous."

"Because you'd never suspect someone you know and trust."

"Yes Sir. We should alert the cornier to what we suspect so they can look for anything suspicious in the…autopsy…" Suddenly it seemed to hit her like a ton of bricks. Harm was really dead and here she was calmly talking about his autopsy. In an instant, nine years of memories came flooding in and she realized that she'd never see that cocky grin of his again. With a gasping sob, she let it all go. No longer the brave competent Marine, instead she was a woman that had just lost her best friend.

AJ simply opened his arms to her, offering comfort to one of the family at the loss of one of their own. He was amazed that she'd held it together this long. "Go ahead and let it out Mac," he told her as he patted her back as she wept in his arms.

That was how Captain Sebring found them when he walked in a few minutes later. Nodding understandingly he said, "AJ, let your people go home. We heard what happened and I rounded up some help. We'll make sure things don't fall apart here. All of you go home."

"Thank you Owen, but this office should be sealed off until it can be searched." AJ explained what Colonel Mackenzie suspected and although Sebring would have just put it down to her grief talking, he respected Chegwidden and if he was willing to give Colonel Mackenzie's suspicions credence, he would at least make sure they were looked into. Promising to have the office sealed, Sebring said he would work from Coates' desk till the 'all clear' was given.

Because of Mac's emotional state, AJ insisted on driving her home rather than letting her get behind the wheel in her condition. She thanked him and got into the Escalade with him. At her apartment, AJ walked her inside and told her to go change out of her uniform while he made some coffee.

Mac did as she was told, so used to following the Admiral's orders that she did it without question. She even took a few extra minutes to take a very quick shower. Letting the water wash over her body, she forced herself to clear her mind and focus on what needed to be done next.

Just as she could never explain the 'feelings' she got, Mac couldn't explain why she felt so strongly that this has something to do with Vicky Frazier, AJ's new girlfriend. Mac refused to believe that it was her jealousy fueling this feeling, but how could she convince AJ that Vicky had something to do with Harm's death? She had no idea how she would do it, but she just knew she had to, his life depended on it!

To be continued…..