Chapter 24
Mac had unnecessarily straightened her uniform at least three times. Twice she'd gone to Harm's office bathroom to check that everything was squared away. The road to ensure that Harm wouldn't get snarled in Vic's web wouldn't be an easy one. While she doubted that striking a junior officer would mean much jail time, if any at all, Vukovic's underhanded methodology worried her.
It didn't help, not even a little that the judge appointed to serve during preliminaries was none other than Admiral Stiles Morris. The man was nearing the end of his career and just a year shy of retirement. He still terrified new lawyers and made the seasoned ones walk on eggshells. He was tough but fair except when it came down to a specific sailor - Harmon Rabb Jr.
Admiral Morris held a grudge against the younger officer and rightfully so because only a brash and desperate litigator would shoot a live weapon at the ceiling of a courtroom.
It was the shot - or shots - heard around the Navy and while some heralded Harm for his efforts, legal did not. His attempt to make a point cost an Admiral's Mast and his salary to be docked until repairs were made. Even years later the roof would leak and the courtroom shut down for half a year to patch the air vents the ammunition had preforated.
Admiral Morris never forgot or forgave. Each time Harm stood before him, some points were lost and Mac may have been favored in a few cases that her partner should have won. She prayed the Admiral was not petty enough to gloat over Harm's fall from grace.
What complicated matters was General Creswell's decision to fly to the UK in effort to assure the trial would be conducted appropriately. Mac received the news upon walking into the office and it gave her no time to warn the Marine about their sudden nuptials. While the General would likely approve of her decision, the timing was shitty at best and, like most senior officers, he hated surprises.
Which was why she was now pacing outside of the judges chambers, cringing whenever she heard the muffled male laughter from within. Admiral Morris and Cresswell had history, they were friends and while the Marine would likely try to smooth things over for Harm, her news could potentially derail his efforts.
"Colonel, your heels are wearing a hole in the linoleum, come in would you?" Morris was gruff as usual, he rarely showed any other emotion than feigned contempt and after all of these years, he still scared Mac a little.
"Thank you, sir." She entered the impressive office and was surprised to see Admiral Hollings seated one of the two guest chairs with Cresswell in the other. "General, this Marine needs to speak with you, sir. In private. There's been a change that you must be apprised of immediately."
Hollings eyed Mac the way he usually did like he was searching for a flaw she didn't have. "Does this pertain to Captain Rabb?"
"Yes, sir. Captain Rabb and myself."
"Then please speak your mind. You're amongst allies here, I spoke to Admiral Morris about not making the Captain's trial into a witch hunt. We agreed it should be squashed quickly."
If it were only that simple. Mac realized none of them really knew Vukovic or any of the underhanded tactics the man was capable of.
"With all due respect, sirs, I need to recuse myself as prosecutor."
"Mac, I know you and Harm are friends and you care for each other a great deal. Commander Vukovic's request is unorthodox but my hands are tied, the three of us are trying to find a quick resolution to-"
"You don't understand! I can't do it. I can't prosecute the Captain."
"Why not?"
The room was spinning like a top rotating to infinity. She felt cold, sweaty, wobbly like her legs could give out at any point. Mac could hear Cresswell speaking along with a rebuttal from either Morris or Hollings, she wasn't sure whom because the walls began to close in around her.
"Colonel!"
"Mac."
"Colonel Mackenzie, snap to."
The ring that Harm had placed on her finger now held the weight of an anchor and it was dragging her down deeper and deeper. She tried to speak but the breath was suddenly sucked ouf of her lungs and Mac felt like she was being dropped into the deepest abyss.
The men were staring, each waiting for a response and when she finally took a breath, out came their little secret: "We're married! The Captain and I are married. We're a married couple."
The words made her breathless and her heart galloped as if it were running a marathon. Mac vaguely remembered holding up her left hand where a wedding band replaced her Marine Corps ring. Her briefcase dropped to the floor, the thud of heavy leather onto the carpet was the only thing stopping her from fainting.
She bit her inner cheek hard enough to bleed and the coppery taste of blood finally stopped the room from spinning. All three men stared at her with deep confusion and to make her point she plucked the fallen briefcase, used the edge of Admiral Morris' desk to rest it while the necessary paperwork was pulled out.
"Here's our marriage license and photos from the wedding." The hotel had produced the pictures over night and she picked two pictures to show. There was one of them taking their vows and another of them kissing. "You can't expect me to prosecute my own husband."
Admiral Morris slid into his chair and took his glasses off. He used his thumb and forefinger to squeeze the bridge of his nose as he muttered a slew of obscenities. "Well, this is a first."
And though it surprised him, he wasn't exactly shocked. Rabb and MacKenzie had a reputation that preceded them, it was almost impossible not to get sucked into their scuttlebutt.
"You married someone to shirk your duties?" It was Hollings that was the most shocked and definately confused. Being a two time divorcee he'd given up on marriage and couldn't fathom Mac's decision. "The Captain put you up to this didn't he? He has a reputation."
Mac shook her head. "No. It was my decision to do this now. We were long overdue. I asked and he said yes." When she turned to Cresswell he glared at her with a look that wasn't easily read - she'd later realize it was disappointment. "We've had a thing for years and it finally clicked. I'm sorry that it happened on your turf Admiral Hollings or before the start of Harm's trial. But it did happen and if there are any repercussions from this, I'll gladly take any punishment you see fit even if it ends my career."
"Stiles I hate to push your cases back but-"
"We'll reschedule for Wednesday." Admiral Morris said. "Same time and I expect this to move forward without any other distractions. Colonel I suggest you have a meeting with the plaintiff, apprise him of the situation and make sure the Lt. Commander has an adequate officer to prosecute on his behalf, am I clear?"
"Aye, sir. I apologize for any inconvenience this caused." She made to leave when Admiral Morris stopped and congratulated her.
……
Like a petulant child ordered to stay in her room, Mac was dismissed and sent to wait in Harm's office. She imagined Cresswel and Hollings hatching out some sort of punishment while choosing the correct tack to take in order to maneuver around Vukovic.
When the door opened without warning, she expected a gruff CO to saunter in and dish out the dressing down she deserved. Instead her visitor was a sailor whom she married three days prior. "Hey."
Seeing him in uniform again made her heart melt. In the three weeks she'd been in London he was always in civilian attire even when traveling to Naples in order to meet with Kate Pike.
Despite the open door she rushed across the office and into his arms, crushing her body against his. She held onto him tightly the way one hugged a person they hadn't seen in years. Part of her longed to cry and the only reason Mac didn't was due to Cresswell's entrance.
"Close the hatch, Petty Officer." He ordered Harm's yeoman. "Snap to, both of you." Cresswell stood an inch away crowding his personal space. "Are you insane?"
"Are you asking about the incident with Commander Vukovic or my nuptials with Colonel MacKenzie?" He really wasn't sure because a degree of insanity lingered over each action.
"The former…No, both!" Cresswell glanced between the two officers and that look of contempt and disappointment was much more prominent. In the hour or so since Mac was dismissed from the Judge's quarters the General had plenty of time to think and simmer and think some more. While their escapade was not illegal, the reason why Mac recused herself would cause quite a stir.
Cresswell wanted Harm's case to be tried quietly and he traveled to London as a result of a rumor that anonymously arrived on his desk - a tip that media would be involved because Vukovic wanted the spectacle of watching his rival fall. "You're insane…both of you and don't tell me you've been dating all along because AJ filled me in on the two of you."
"Passing around scuttlebutt about your subordinates? Is that what the Navy's come to?" Harm quipped.
"I suggest you lock it up, Captain. This isn't a joke, it's not fun and games. Need I remind you that you assaulted a subordinate? There are witnesses that saw you hit him once and then a second time. You're in hot water and now you two suddenly pull this stunt?"
"Sir, I asked and-"
"It wasn't sudden." Harm reached into his breast pocket from which he produced a receipt with a piece of paper stapled to it. The name of a prestigious jewelry store in La Jolla was emblazoned atop each paper. The bottom was a certificate that detailed the grade, clarity and size of the diamonds on Mac's engagement ring.
The receipt had the date and time of purchase along with the usual information such as total cost after tax and insurance. He handed the papers to Cresswell who's eyes went wide as saucers. It wasn't your typical 'one month salary' ring, the paperwork Harm presented was for a piece of jewelry that most men could not afford.
It was definitely far and above what anyone in Harm's pay grade would care to afford - a man didn't spend money like that on a woman he never intended to marry. Cresswell briefly considered that the ring could have been bought for someone else but the insurance documents Harm also produced were in Sarah MacKenzie's name.
"I bought her engagement ring five years ago. This is the receipt for it, paid in full with details of how it should look."
He never wanted Mac to see how much he paid, especially when he was always annoyed at men for spending exorbitant amounts of money on a ring that most women never wore once married. "Jesus…" Cresswell stared at the slip of paper and then at the man that towered over him. "No man spends that much on a woman unless he's confident about proposing."
"I was confident once but the timing was always off. And I know this isn't the time or place for such sentiments but, I do love her, sir. I've loved Mac for years - the stars finally aligned."
Hollings entered a moment later, his now famous scowl stretched across his face. He was pissed but only because of the ramifications Mac's action would cause. "Captain, when we first met you promised me no shenanigans. Now you're on my radar twice in one month."
"I assure you none of this was my intention." He glanced at Mac and the look she gave him might have melted the polar ice caps. "Except marrying you." He stammered, "To be fair getting married wasn't in my plans for this week either."
"So you decided on a shotgun wedding two days before your trial?"
Harm snorted, "It wasn't exactly a shotgun wedding. Us getting together has been building for years. As I told the General, I bought the ring in June of 2001…I intended to ask her sooner but life got in the way." He waited for Cresswll to show Hollings the insurance documents that were all irrefutable evidence of some sort of relationship between the former partners.
"It's in her name, not anyone else's and it's all dated 2001…This thing between us…we're not setting a false pretense. The timing sucks given my trial but it was now or never."
His words were like those of a closing argument - confident and precise. He saw the more senior officers trade glances and it was almost with an air of defeat that Admiral Hollings gave up. "General, I have a meeting in an hour with the US Ambassador. I think I'll let you deal with your two officers as you see fit…Captain, I really hope this works out for you and if it does, I expect the remainder of your tenure on my base to be without incident, am I clear?"
"Crystal clear, aye sir."
Creswell waited for Hollings to leave and after carefully folding the paperwork pertaining to Mac's ring, the smile he'd been holding back finally cracked. "Let me get this straight, Colonel…You asked him to marry you?"
Mac glanced at her husband and gave a slight shrug. "The Captain can be a little hardheaded and I wasn't willing to wait another decade for him to make up his mind. I'm a Marine - we storm the beaches, first to fight."
"Damned straight." His hand smacked Harm on the shoulder with a force that reminded his subordinate that Cresswell was a skilled boxer. "Welcome to the Corps, Captain and I know this doesn't have to be said but if you hurt her-"
"I won't, sir." Harm held his wife's gaze despite the odd feelings of sharing a personal display of affection in front of a commanding officer. He honestly didn't care who saw or who knew that the woman standing in front of him had stolen his heart. " I might be a slow learner when it comes to the fairer sex but I'm not letting Mac slip away again. I love her too damned much."