Chapter 35

"Put me on the stand."

Commander Nicholas Jurgan was well aware of his client's reputation. He expected some push back, a lot of self lawyering and opinions he'd consider only because of the Captain's experience. This request was beyond abnormal.

Most of his clients were terrified of being interviewed and the scrutiny that came with each question. There was no doubt that Captain Rabb had, in fact, assaulted his subordinate and that meant trying to settle before the case got too out of hand. "Captain, you know as well as I do that's not advisable."

The prosecution was making their opening statements, blabbing away about abuse of power and crazed senior officers that weren't vetted enough before being placed in command positions.

"No it's not, but you're putting me on the stand today." While Jurgan spoke in a whisper, Harm's was louder, enough to draw attention from the prosecutor Adele had hired.

"I can't do that, sir. For one, your wife would kill me." Jurgan wasn't the kind to scare easily but when the Marine leaned into him days prior about the Captain's defense, he worried how far her reach extended. She wasn't a woman to mess with or deny much of anything. "I can't…I won't."

Harm sighed heavily and clamped a hand on Jurgan's shoulder. "Nick, you're one of the best. You're smart, meticulous and hard working. Promotions will come easier and if I'm still around after this, I promise to leave glowing remarks on your next FITREP. But, I've decided to be a foolish client."

He stood when the prosecutor began to call their first witness - the bar keep who'd seen the punch and called the police on both men. "Your honor, I know I've acted poorly many times, some of which you've been present for but, today I wish to testify. There's no reason to drag this out and waste the NAVY's time or money." He turned to the prosecution and glared at Vukovic. "Put me on the stand."

Judge Morris slammed the gavel in an effort to control the small crowd in the courtroom. "Are you sure Captain? This is highly unorthodox."

"I am." He glared at Vic. "Do your worst."

……

The short walk to the stand was eerily familiar; like a man being sentenced to death.

As he was sworn in, the memories Harm compartmentalized so well flooded his memories and with it the weight of Mace's death lay square on his shoulders.

He'd been on the stand then as well, recounting the steps taken to land the Tomcat and how the flight turned deadly. The scrutiny was agonizing and as he glanced up at the small crowd gathered inside the courtroom, he took a breath to calm himself.

There were no enemies this time. No peers that glared in hatred over their fallen comrade. Most of the personnel who gathered were not supportive of Vukovic and the others were faces he didn't know.

And then there was Richard Everett, the civilian prosecutor DeLong hired for his penchant of squashing military lawyers, who paced slowly across the room. "Captain, are you positively sure you want to start this way?"

"I have nothing to hide…Like I said, do your worst."

Everett shook his head, concerned the Naval officer had lost his mind. "Alright, Captain…what happened the night you assaulted my client?"

"Objection, your honor." Commander Nicholas Jurgan immediately came to his feet. "Allegedly assaulted."

"Sustained."

"Okay, Captain Rabb, did you not invite my client to a pub on the night in question?" He'd take a longer route, allowing the story to play out so that the jury could see how sick this senior officer was. Everett's idea was to show a pattern of aggressive behavior and Rabb had a laundry list loaded with nuggets he'd use to strip every bar off the man's uniform.

"I did."

"Why?"

Harm occasionally saw parts of his former self in Vukovic. Young, brash, foolish but with a few redeeming qualities he hoped to work on. He didn't want to hate him because of a few questionable moves in court nor because Vic had an obvious attraction to Mac.

"The Lt. Commander and I were having a little tension at the office. Admiral Hollings had made him my Chief of Staff and I didn't believe he deserved that position."

Everett was the kind of lawyer that loved to pace. He rarely stopped walking, didn't look at the witness, choosing only to look at a spot on the walls until he fired off another question. "What about the Lt. Commander did you dislike?"

There wasn't any one particular thing Harm could point out. The grievances were vast starting with the way Vukovic addressed the staff after his promotion. "He wasn't qualified for the job and passed work - his duties - off to junior officers."

"Doesn't a good leader delegate?"

"Yes, within reason. But, Commander Vukovic is lazy, not self motivating and I constantly had to remind him what his duties entailed. He was usually too busy chatting with the servicewomen in our office to do much work. That too added tension to the workplace as other officers came to me with complaints."

Everett went to his desk where he had Vukovic's more recent fitrep. "These complaints aren't listed in his fitness report."

Harm frowned, suspecting the reason bad marks had been removed were due to DeLong's meddling. "They should be. I wrote that fitrep myself two days before the alleged incident."

"Captain, are you suggesting someone tampered with the file?"

"I am and I know exactly who."

"Enlighten us with your conspiracy theory."

"Objection." Jurgan stood up and was waved off by Admiral Morris with a harsh, "Sustained."

The judge pointed his gavel at Everett. and his tone left little room for argument. "Mr. Everett, maybe your style of lawyering is allowed in civilian court but, this is the military. Editorializing is not accepted, am I clear?"

"Yes, judge. I apologize." He took a minute to gain his momentum again and with a big breath, turned back to Harm. "Captain, why do you believe that my client's file was tampered?"

Christ. Here it came, the can worms he would open that would likely spill out across the military. It was whistleblowing in a way, something he rather disliked unless it suited the case he was working on. Today, it would likely destroy his career but Harm no longer wanted to be part of a Navy that took orders from dirty politicians. "Because there is someone in his life who has been moving his career along at all costs - current United States Ambassador to the Uk - Adele DeLong."

The courtroom erupted in gasps and loud chatter. Enough that Admiral Morris needed to contain the group gathered within. "Order. Order in the court." He turned towards Harm, his face suddenly ashen as if what the officer suggested was inconceivable. "That's a mighty accusation, Captain."

"And it's true because Ambassador DeLong is Commander Vukovic's godmother." There was another round of gasps and chattering was even louder than before. It took much longer to tame the small crowd which only calmed after the Judge's threats to empty the courtroom.

"Do you have proof?" Richard Everett asked after quickly conferring with his client.

"Ambassador DeLong admitted it to me just today. And if you have doubts, put your client on this stand so he can perjure himself."

The prosecutor turned to Vukovic who shook his head slowly. Proof wasn't the easiest thing to come by but, there was always a way. Hound dogs like Rabb wouldn't stop until he sniffed out every last clue. Damn his godmother, the woman may have 'saved' him once but her presence was now a thorn in his side. "That isn't a motive to allegedly assault a junior officer, Captain."

"No it isn't." Harm glared at Richard Everett, his eyes boring into the man like lasers. "Ask me what you really want to ask. Ask me why I did it."

"Captain!" Nick jumped up again. He could see the Captain's career being destroyed by his own client. For the third time Admiral Morris called for order in his courtroom with another veiled threat.

Richard Everett enjoyed the chaos although his intuition warned him to traipse carefully around the Captain. The defendant method was rather unorthodox but if it meant ending the proceedings swiftly, Everett was all for it. He walked slowly up to Harm and gave the Navy man a knowing grin, "Captain, on the night in question did you assault Lt. Commander Vukovic?"

"Objection." Jurgan's attempt to stop his client from damning himself was waved off by Harm. He still stood, hoping some sort of miracle would prevent the Captain from speaking. "Sir, please."

"Yes." Harm answered in a voice loud enough to cause the microphone to crackle. He was prejudicing himself but the reason behind it had little to do with his case and more about being a champion for the women Vukovic had hurt. "Yes, I assaulted the Commander."

Everett's smile faded because intuition taught him that men like Harmon Rabb wouldn't give themselves up to be slaughtered without good reason. It was his case to win and yet, when he passed the floor over to the defense Richard Everett knew something was wrong. "I rest my case."

Commander Nicholae Jurgan knew that the 'why' was missing; the finite point to hammer home the Captain was not a loose cannon acting erratically over his emotions. There had been parts of the case Harm had kept silent, a secret only he and the Colonel were privy to. "A commanding officer and a decorated pilot such as yourself must have an intense level of self control."

"I do."

"Then why would you allegedly assault Lt. Commander Vukovic?"

"Because the Lieutenant Commander was explaining to me, in detail how he would service a female Marine we once worked with." There was a collective gasp from the group inside the courtroom, one that abated without the judge's intervention.

"Why do you think he would do that?"

"The Colonel and I were good friends, best friends and Vukovic believed I was a jilted lover that he could commiserate with." Harm led Nick through the evening's conversation, remembering how the warmth of alcohol running through his veins began to dissipate with each passing minute.

He and Vukovic had nothing in common, no redeeming qualities to use in order to build a good working relationship. When he asked about Mac, Harm's normally calm temperament shifted imperceptibly. Even if a million years had passed he would always, always, always come to her defense. "He asked how long I'd been fucking her. The Lt Commander's words, not mine. He then proceeded to comment over prior gossip that the Colonel and I were romantically involved and assumed we'd broken up."

"'Boys talk', basically?"

"Boys talk that had practically been sanctioned since Tailhook, yes."

"So, you struck a younger man because he was interested in a woman you both work with and making crass sexual innuendos?"

"I struck a younger officer because he stated, In sickening detail, how he would rape the woman I'm in love with." He didn't immediately see Mac walk in but he could feel her eyes on him. A calm washed over him, her influence that allowed Harm to ease back on his emotions.

"Could you share those details with us, Sir?"

"Objection, your honor. The Captain has already admitted his guilt. Whatever Lt. Commander Vukovic said or did not say is irrelevant." The prosecution piped up but was waved off by a curious Admiral Morris.

"I'll allow it but let's wrap up this line of questioning and remember whose on trial."

Mac managed to lock eyes with him and with a slow nod urged Harm to disclose what had fueled his rage that evening. She knew it would not be kind words directed in her favor nor a poetic offering from a man in love. Vukovic's charm was a carefully veiled facade that had begun to crumble.

"He began telling me she was likely wild in bed because uptight women usually were and then continued to call the Colonel a company whore passed around by all men at headquarters." When Harm spoke his words were carefully measured and more of Vic's monologue was spoken from memory.

The dirtier details made him sick to his stomach, a definate detail of sexual assault on a woman who didn't ask for his company. "He said he would rip the Colonel's uniform off, take her from behind and push her down onto a filthy floor where she couldn't move. Vukovic said he wanted to see her bleed. He wanted the bruises on her skin to remind her how good of a lay it had been."

There was more of course and Harm didn't dare look at Mac again out of fear of what he'd see in her eyes but the gasps from the crowd was enough to realize he'd struck a nerve. "I shouldn't have hit him but no good officer should ever sit back and let anyone take that abuse, verbal or not."

Even Richard Everett seemed disgusted and with a slight glance at his client he knew the Captain was telling the truth and yet, he had a job to do. "Whatever was said, that still doesn't give you a right to assault another man!"

"No, it doesn't. But I didn't assault another man, I assaulted a serial rapist."