'People vs. Chegwidden' - Chapter Three Author: Daenar Disclaimer: See Part One Wed, Feb. 24th 1534 ZULU Navy Yard Detention Facility Washington, D.C. "Admiral, sir, you have visitors." AJ looked up from 'Twelfth Night' and raised his eyebrows. Fred had just called him from the office an hour ago, not mentioning any intention to come and see him today. And Mac had the habit of telling him beforehand every time she intended to drop by. Who could it be? The guards took him to the interrogation room. A moment later, AJ was surprised when he heard Mac's voice from the door that stood slightly ajar. "Can we come in, sir?" "Colonel, now this is a nice surprise for a change. Who's with you? Lt. Prumetti?" AJ turned to see Mac's head between the door and the doorframe. She looked tired, he decided, but something about her made him look twice. She was beaming from within. 'Rabb is a lucky man,' AJ thought, only to mentally slap himself immediately after, as he remembered the commander's condition. "No, sir." Mac's voice rang with suppressed laughter. "There's someone here who'd like to get to know you." She opened the door and stepped into the room. AJ's mouth dropped open at seeing the huge bundle she was carrying. He immediately sprang to his feet. "Mac! Why didn't you call me?" Rushing over, he smiled at her and then looked down at JAG's newest addition. "How many layers did you wrap her in, Colonel?" he asked, frowning. Mac smiled a little guiltily. "Well, sir, first: it's February outside. She was only born yesterday, and normally they wouldn't even let me take her out. But I absolutely had to go home and get back to my files so they grudgingly let me take her with me if I wrapped her up like this. I just thought I might as well step by and say hello." AJ looked up, searching Mac's face. His eyes narrowed to thin slits when he spoke. "Spill it, Colonel. There's more, right?" Letting out a sigh, Mac nodded. "You know me too well, sir. But..." she handed the bundle to the admiral and shut the door. "We shouldn't be talking about this while they can hear us. Sir, would you please take away the topmost blanket I wrapped her in?" AJ, with raised eyebrows, did so. A folder slipped out from underneath and landed on the floor with a clear 'splat'. A deep vertical furrow was showing on AJ's forehead as he just stared at Mac, at a loss. Mac quickly picked up the folder, placed it on the table and then took her daughter from her CO's arms again. "That..." she motioned to the folder, "Is something that I'll need to explain to you later. First: sir, meet Patricia Jeannine Rabb." As Mac freed the little girl of the thick overcoat she had been wearing, AJ's heart melted instantly. She looked so much like her mother. "She's beautiful, Mac. Congratulations." Sobering, he then looked up at her. "How do you cope... I mean... with Harm not being able to see her?" Concern was clearly showing on his features. To his surprise, Mac's face lit up to a somewhat teary smile. "He has, sir," she stated very low. "What?" AJ's heart leapt. "Did he wake? How is he?" "Pretty much the same, sir. But - and we have to keep this absolutely confidential - he was never really out of it. It's just that no one noticed." Chegwidden was at a loss. "Could you please clarify that, Colonel?" he asked slowly. "Well," Mac tried to explain, "From what I can tell he notices everything that goes on around him. He can see within his visual field. He can hear. He can feel. He understands and he thinks clearly. It's just that he can't move. There was absolutely no way for him to let us know that he was with us all this time..." her voice broke, telling how much she was still hurting for him, imagining what her husband must have gone through. On impulse, AJ put his arm around her, squeezing her back. "How did you find out?" he finally asked. Sniffling embarrassedly, Mac let out a slight chuckle. "Please excuse my behavior, sir. I guess it's one last round on the pregnancy roller coaster." "Nonsense. You're entitled to be confused, to say the least, Colonel." AJ let the old gruffness return to his voice, knowing it helped his Chief of Staff to regain her composure. "So, how did he make himself known?" "He somehow managed to wink, sir. He can move his left eyelid. And we even established a communication routine. Binary. It takes time, but it works perfectly, as long as I ask the right questions," Mac told him, smiling. Relief welled up inside the admiral. His big kid was back on track. Had he ever thought he could get rid of Rabb? 'Obviously not...' he silently told himself, chuckling inwardly. "He'll be alright, Mac," AJ told her. "He's made it this far. And he's stubborn." "I know, sir. And it's not the first time that I'm grateful that he's so thickheaded." She bent down and gently stroked Trisha's cheek. "She won't wake, sir, I'm sorry. I wanted you to see that she's got Harm's eyes." "Let her sleep. I'll still have the opportunity to see her. Uhm..." AJ wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Mac just smiled. She had seen this expression once too often on Harm's face whenever little AJ was around. "You want to hold her, sir?" AJ grinned a little sheepishly. "If I may?" "Of course." Mac gently placed the tiny baby into AJ's broad arms. For a minute, the admiral just looked at the girl, smiling. Then, never looking up, he addressed Mac. "So what's in the folder, Colonel?" "Your salvation, sir." AJ looked up in surprise. "What day is today?" "February 24th, sir." "Remind me to call it my personal lucky day once I get out of here. First this little girl and now..." He frowned, suddenly suspicious. "Why so secretive, Colonel?" Mac sighed. "Harm found out first. And he instantly managed to convince me that secrecy is the only thing that may insure his or my or even Trisha's personal safety." "How so?" Mac took a deep breath and then started to relate the events to her CO. How she had told Harm about the folder she and Fred had been given at Sydney's practice. How Harm had then told her about his own findings on the Cramer case. How she had searched and finally found the evidence in Harm's car. "I photocopied the most important things for you, sir. And I diminished them so they fit in your Shakespeare edition. You, me, Harm and Fred are the only ones who know. Cramer thinks Harm is out for good. So we must keep this quiet until we come up with the decisive piece of evidence that proves the link that we have theoretically established between Minton Greenwood and the North-Star data Branwick obviously received from Cramer. We just thought you might want to have the facts printed out. Four minds might work better than three. And we might be forced to include Bud, too, because we might need his computer expertise. Anyway, my time's almost up. I have to get going. Please, think over the facts, sir. We don't have much time left until the trial. Whatever you come up with might be important." AJ rose again. "Thanks, Mac," he said quietly. "I hadn't really hoped for something like this." Meeting her CO's glance openly, Mac nodded. "Honestly, neither did we, sir." "Tell Harm hello, will you?" "Sure. He'll be pleased to hear from you, sir. Trisha, say goodbye to Uncle AJ." Mac, with her fingertips, gently wiped a thin strand of dark hair from her daughter's forehead. "Bye, Cadet Rabb," AJ murmured with a smile. "Hope to see you awake soon." Wrapping the now empty folder into the blanket again, Mac summoned the guard to open the door. In the doorway she turned, noticing that AJ was putting the sheets under his T-shirt. "Hurry up, please, sir," she whispered. He only winked, smiled and re-closed his coverall. "Bye, Colonel. Now go home and spend some quality time with your daughter, will you?" "Aye, sir." Waving a quick goodbye, Mac left the room. 'I wonder if I'll ever see Francesca with a child,' AJ mused as he was being escorted back to his cell. Wed, Feb 24th 2212 ZULU Bethesda Naval Hospital Washington, D.C. "Hey, sailor. How are you doing?" ['Rephrase, Mac, rephrase.'] Harm was feeling the slightest bit of exasperation. "Sorry." Mac had noticed by herself. "Are you feeling okay?" He blinked. "All pretty much the same, right?" She gave him something between a smile and a frown, waiting for his blink. It didn't come. "Hey, you alright?" Mac's face showed immediate concern. He blinked, inwardly grinning widely. "Okay, sailor. Is there something I should know?" Her voice was rather stern. He blinked. Mac let out a groan. "Where am I supposed to start asking? Okay. Is it about the case?" His face was perfectly still. "Good... about your condition?" He blinked. "Any problems?" He willed his eye to stay open, making Mac release the breath she had been holding. "I wish you could just tell me," she sighed, preparing herself for a long and detailed interrogation. ['Look at me, Mac,'] he tried to tell her. Eventually, she did so. Gathering all of his strength and focus, just like he had when he had first winked at her, he simultaneously closed both eyes and opened them again. "Wow! Harm, that's... that's marvelous! You've been very busy, right?" Mac's brilliant smile immediately made Harm decide that it had been worth the hours he had spent practicing. Mac got up from the bed, stepped close to him and gently kissed him. "You deserved a reward, squid," she explained, grinning. ['Then prepare for another,'] he thought, ['hopefully...'] Mac had again taken a seat on his bed where he could see her. Smiling, she gently stroked his cheek. ['Okay, Hammer, let's do it.'] Feeling as if he were hauling a huge stone up a hill like Sysiphus, he slowly willed the corners of his mouth to stretch upward. It was only the shadow of a smile, but Mac's heart skipped a beat. "Oh my God..." She took his hand and brought it to her cheek. "Thanks, Harm," she whispered. "Thanks for never giving up." ['I told you, you'll see Trisha and me play baseball, or basketball, or whatever.'] Harm decided he had never yet been so proud of himself as he felt right now. Just then the room door clicked open. Harm instantly let his mouth relax and prepared to keep his eyes strictly immobile. A moment later, Fred stepped into the room. ['Hey, junior, nice to see you!'] Fred at once approached the little crib on wheels that Trisha was sleeping in. He had seen her the day before when he, together with Bud, Harriet and Tiner, had come to see Harm and had found Mac and Claire sitting by his side with Trisha. "Ciao piccia!" he said softly, "Come va? Sei una brava ragazza, vero?" [Ciao, little one! How are you? You're a good girl, right?] "I'm sorry, Mac." He straightened and smiled, finally letting slip formality as they had once been used to back in Venice. 'Must be the influence of a kid on an Italian heart,' Mac thought, grinning. "I don't know why but Italian just comes to me naturally when I'm talking to children," he apologized. "That's okay, Fred. Now, did you study the files I sent you?" "Yeah, I did. And I kept everything confidential. But how on earth did you figure that out?" His frown was impressive. Chuckling, Mac motioned for him to step close to her. "I couldn't tell you yesterday, with all the others in the room. They mustn't know," she went on, sobering, "Because Harm's life might be in danger if anyone found out. That's why we decided to limit the circle of people who know." "We?" Fred's face was one huge question-mark. "Yep," Mac replied happily. "Right, Harm?" She made an obvious show of turning her head into Harm's direction, making Fred immediately follow her glance. Harm reveled in the expression on Fred's face as he slowly blinked his consent. "Sir!" ['This is just like you, Fred,'] Harm thought with a virtual grin, ['Let something unexpected happen and you'll immediately become formal.'] "He's still Harm to you, Fred," Mac admonished him gently. "Uhm, yes." Fred still tried to gather his thoughts. "Harm, do you hear me?" ['Loud and clear, boy.'] He blinked. "Wow. Mac," Fred turned to her, suddenly understanding, "Harm found out about the connection, didn't he?" "Yes, he did. You, me and the admiral are the only ones who know. And I'll tell Bud later on, because I have an idea where to look for further evidence. We'll need him there." "Just what do you have in mind?" Fred's voice was suddenly wary. ['Yeah, I'd like to hear that myself,'] Harm doubled him, not liking the excited expression on his Marine's face. "Break into Minton Greenwood." She grinned, preparing for the impact. Harm's heart monitor instantly made itself known. ['Oh, no, you won't, lady!'] he threatened her, cursing the fact that she could so easily ignore him. "Mac, are you crazy?" Fred blurted out, only to immediately excuse himself. "I mean... I'm sorry, ma'am... but... well... uhm... permission to speak freely, ma'am?" Laughing, Mac waved consent. "That's suicide! And what do you hope to find?" "Oh, that's quite simple, Fred," she explained. "If you had illegally acquired documents in your possession, wouldn't you hide them in a safe place, like another firm that no one suspects to be connected with the case, where no one would possibly look for them, where they would just be one more folder among others?" He nodded. Harm, too, was beginning to understand. "As Baxter and Connelly is situated somewhere down in South Carolina, that leaves Minton Greenwood as the only logical place. There's no other firm in the consortium, and they won't keep the North Star carbon copies or whatever Cramer gave them at Branwick Industries." "I see your point," Fred acknowledged thoughtfully. Harm just blinked, although he was reluctant to let her do it. "What's your plan?" Fred finally asked, defeated. "We'll have you go on a tourist tour through the firm, spying on the security facilities. Bud will instruct you what to look for. Then we'll go there at night, have Bud somehow take out the surveillance system, sneak in, get the copies and sneak out again." Fred let out a skeptical laugh. "You make it sound easy!" "Trust me, it will work. Harm and I even stole a MIG once." "You did what?" Fred's jaw dropped open. He turned to Harm. "She's kidding, right?" Harm let his eyes stay open and curled the corners of his mouth instead, making Fred gasp. The young lieutenant let his stare wander from one to the other and back, eyes open wide. "Madonna mia, mi pentirò di tutto questo..." he murmured. [Madonna mia, I'm going to regret all this...] ['Live and learn, Lieutenant,'] Harm only thought. Sat, Feb. 27th 2321 ZULU Rabb residence Arlington, VA "So, is everybody here now?" Mac swept a quick surveying glance across the room before taking her seat at the dinner table. Besides her, Sturgis, Fred, Bud, Harriet and Claire were present. She and Harm had decided two days ago that they better include Sturgis and the two ladies. Having to keep secrets from them might cause more tension and, subsequently, unwanted attention than telling them what was going on and transforming the inner JAG family into some sort of a conspiratorial cell. So at least they would be able to act naturally among their friends. Mac had initially felt some reluctance to further enlarge the circle of those familiar with the case - and Harm's state of health - but eventually he had succeeded in convincing her that this might be the right thing to do. Especially since Harm was making considerable progress regaining his motor abilities. Hiding them became increasingly difficult, and he was all the more glad that, now that his friends knew, he had to play the coma-patient only with the doctors. And that was hard enough since Zanelli had frowningly remarked that, according to Harm's encephalogram, he should be awake and had begun doing sensitivity tests that were hard to endure. They both felt a little guilty that they hadn't told Sergei yet, but he wasn't involved in the case and could only come to visit once or twice a week, due to his classes. So they hadn't yet seen the need to pass on the information. The less he knew the safer he was. Yet, even with all the anxiety that the situation brought upon, Mac was feeling more grateful to heaven with each passing day. Not only did she enjoy being a mother to a degree that she wouldn't have thought possible even in her dreams, but each day when she came to visit Harm, he would surprise her with some newly acquired ability. Thursday it had been his eyes following her movements. Friday he had been able to slightly return her squeeze of his hand. And today... today had been a miracle. While Mac had been able to see the strain on his face as he struggled to move, Harm had - low and indistinctly but yet understandably - called her by her name. Mac knew Harm was pushing himself tremendously, wearying himself more than he should. But from the gleam in his eyes when he saw her reaction to his efforts, she could tell that this seemed to be all the encouragement he needed. 'If he ever goes back to his normal self, I know that we'll make it through whatever might possibly come up in our lives,' she thought, her heart swelling with love and devotion for her brave man. "Crew assembled in full and reporting as ordered, ma'am," Sturgis observed, smirking, shaking Mac from her musings. As her face lit up with an embarrassed smile, Sturgis looked at her intently. "How's Harm today?" "He's fine, thank you, Sturgis." Mac looked around and met with shy but curious glances. Again she smiled. "Come on, all of you, you're our friends. You can ask for details. I won't bite." Earning herself a few sheepish laughs, she went on quietly, studying her hands: "Today he said my name." "Mac, that's wonderful news," Claire said warmly, laying her hand on her friend's arm. "Yeah..." She acknowledged softly, her mind wandering far away. "Today it's been one year exactly," she eventually said very low, the hint of a smile still gracing her features. "Letting me hear his voice was the most beautiful anniversary gift he could possibly have given me." For a moment everybody kept quiet, letting the colonel take the time she needed. Then Mac drew a deep breath, chuckling slightly. "Come on, guys, we've got work to do. I would like to..." "Excuse me, ma'am," Fred cut in, not daring to drop formalities, now that the temporary JAG and other superiors were present, "But I'd like to show you something first." Mac looked at the young man, slightly surprised. "What would that be, Lieutenant?" "Well," Fred's face showed the hint of a smile, "I had a little conversation with Clayton Webb yesterday." Everybody looked at him in clear surprise. "I thought he was in Afghanistan, chasing Al Qaeda," Harriet stated, frowning. "Oh, he is, ma'am," Fred replied, "I'm not sure if I want to know just how he gets all the information but he seems to know about our plan. And he told me to go and pick something up from one of his colleagues. Said it might help and tells me to say hello to all of you." With a smile, Fred took a slip of paper out of his pocket and made it slide in Mac's direction on the polished surface of the table. She picked it up, looked at it, stared and then grinned, slowly shaking her head. "What is it, ma'am?" Bud tried to catch a glimpse of what was written on the paper. "Believe it or not, Clay has just provided us with a means to use whatever we get our hands on at Minton as a legal exhibit of evidence in court." Open-mouthed stares were the only answers to her statement. Sturgis was the first to find his voice. "How?" "Official search warrant, kept confidential." "Wow." "I always wondered why I couldn't bring myself to completely hate this man," Bud mused, shaking his head. "But I guess I understand why now. First he gets Sergei out of Chechnya, then he pulls a few strings so the colonel and the commander can stay at JAG as a married couple and now this..." "Harm and I will be indebted to him for the rest of our lives," Mac remarked, chuckling. "Wait until I tell him. I'm sure his heart monitor will tell me about his reactions before he's even able to wink once..." "What did you just say?" came a voice from the direction of the door, clearly aghast. In shock, the whole group's heads snapped to where the voice had come from. Sergei was standing in the doorframe, eyes open wide, his hand still on the door handle. "Sergei..." Mac said, her voice suddenly toneless. "How long have you been standing there?" Anger began to show on the young Russian's face. "Long enough to understand that you've been hiding my brother's condition from me!" he spat. "Sergei..." Mac didn't know what to say. "I thought we were a family!" Sergei raged on. "But we are..." Mac again tried to cut in. "The hell we are!" "Stand down, Zhukov!" Sturgis had risen, and his loud, decided, but calm voice immediately made the young man stop and stare at his brother's friend who was obviously trying to contain his own anger. "Now that you found out, your life might be in danger. We wanted to spare you from this. I'm well aware that you have a right to know about your brother but it was Harm himself who didn't want you to be involved in this. He thinks it's too dangerous." Sergei had visibly paled. Now he nervously cleared his throat. "Does this..." he again cleared his throat, "Does this necessarily apply to all people who found out about... well, whatever it is you didn't tell me?" "What do you mean?" Mac asked sharply. "Is there anyone with you?" "Yeah..." came a shy voice from outside as a small figure stepped into the room. "Hello Mac." "Janni!" Mac didn't know if to be glad or shocked. "What are you doing here?" Jeannine swallowed and tried a somewhat guilty smile. "Well, I wanted to surprise you. I originally planned to come over for spring break but when I went to talk to Captain Wells, he insisted that I go immediately and offer my assistance to you and Harm. He knows you're kind of an extended family to me and he's still holding you two in the highest esteem ever since your performance with the Gonzalez case and the Carnegie Hall concert. So I called Sergei and he agreed to let me stay with him so I won't be bothering you. I hope you're not upset..." Jeannine let her voice trail off, unsure what to say, her eyes never leaving Mac's glance. "Come in and close the door first," Mac said, rising to hug her friend. "I'm really glad to see you, both of you, but... well, I'd rather you hadn't heard what you did." She sighed, frowning. Just then, low crying could be heard from Trisha's room upstairs. Mac smiled. "Actually, I might be in need of a babysitter. Why don't you two sit down with the others while I get my little one, and we'll fill you in on the situation. There's no need to hide anything from you now. But..." she earnestly looked at the young couple, "Sergei has been in the military and you will be, Janni. So you know what to do when I now order you to keep whatever we tell you absolutely confidential. This is vital. Do you understand me? Sergeant Zhukov? Cadet Stiller?" "Yes, ma'am!" came the automatic reply, both actually, subconsciously, snapping to attention before Mac. Suppressed chuckles could be heard from the table. Sergei and Jeannine took off their coats and went over to the others while Mac rushed upstairs to get Trisha. She had previously pumped a little milk so she could feed her daughter in company without embarrassing anyone. Claire had already gotten up and warmed it for her in the microwave. Meanwhile, Bud and Fred enlightened Sergei about his brother's state of health. To say that Sergei was glad at hearing the news, didn't quite cover it. He was overwhelmed and he was thankful that Jeannine was by his side, gently rubbing his back as he fought to swallow his tears of relief. His brother hadn't left him. "So this is my namesake?" Jeannine inquired, beaming, as Mac returned with the baby in her arms. "Yes. Look, Trisha," Mac gently addressed her daughter, "This is Jeannine, the brave girl who gave you your beautiful middle name." The little girl was obviously more interested in the warm bottle that Claire was now handing to Mac who gently guided the rubber nipple into her daughter's mouth. Trisha instantly began to suck greedily. "She definitely has your stomach, Colonel," Sturgis observed with a smirk. Mac just raised both her eyebrows, pointedly cleared her throat and mockingly glared at everyone. "Back to work, now, people. That's an order. Clear? Fine. So, Fred, what did you find out on the tour?" "Well, ma'am, security facilities at Minton Greenwood aren't as tough as I would have expected. But then, they're a waste disposal company. Any additional security measures would cause curiosity. So I guess they're just counting on it to be too farfetched for anyone to go looking for classified military files in their offices. They do have simple surveillance cameras all around the area. From what I gathered, they are being monitored by two guards in an office near the main entrance. Our guide proudly pointed out that every technical facility inside Minton Greenwood works digitally, linked to an Intranet to which only bearers of MG security passes have access. So if we could somehow gain access to the Intranet, we should be able to knock out the cameras and fool the surveillance monitors with a piece of tape that we keep showing in continuous repetition. Like Keanu Reeves did in 'Speed'. They have a simple acoustic alarm, that should be accessible through the Intranet, too, if what the guide said about MG's systems is correct." "Bud," Mac turned to her friend, "Do you think you can take out those systems?" Bud frowned. "Once I have access to the Intranet, it shouldn't be a major problem. But how do I get clearance?" "Any suggestions?" Mac expectantly looked at Fred. The young Italian, with a smug smile on his face, reached into his pocket again and tossed a small plastic card in Mac's direction. "This might help, ma'am." Setting down the bottle, Mac picked up the card and looked at it, curious. Her eyebrows went up a notch and she whistled. "This is an MG security pass, owned by one Jeremy Cullum. How did you come by that, Lieutenant, or, let me rephrase, where does one - by pure chance - find an MG security pass?" Her mocking glare actually made Fred shift uneasily on his chair. "Well, I happened to overhear an employee talking to another that he was just about to finish his last working day yesterday, before going on holiday for two weeks. I heard him being called Cullum by his colleague and I saw him enter the locker rooms to change out of his working clothes. Then I, well, managed to get lost on the tour, entered the room myself, found Cullum's locker, picked the lock, yes, ma'am, I did learn that from your husband, found... okay, kind of found the security pass, closed the locker again and went out to be retrieved by my group. 'Yoo know, I'mma stupidda Italian tourrista who getta losta fromma groupa.'" He grinned. "You were right, ma'am, those kinds of things are actually quite easy." Mac, along with the others, couldn't hold back her chuckles at Fred's tale. She could just picture him playing an overseas tourist with no clue of anything that was going on around him. "Good work, Fred," she replied, shifting Trisha to her shoulder and gently patting her on the back. Noticing that the baby's eyelids were heavy with sleep, she then bedded her daughter in her arms, rocking her slightly. "So who's gonna go in, when and how?" Fred frowned. "That's... uhm... a bit of a problem. We have to do it at night, preferably between 0200 and 0330. That's the period with less people showing up. But there's still a lot going on inside MG, even at that time. So we wouldn't get past the guards at the gate. Our only option seems to be to go in by crossing the fence at the far end and then entering the building by... well... using a sewer pipe as a tunnel, ma'am. And here's the problem. The pipe in question is really, really small. I managed to check it out before leaving the grounds. Getting lost again, you know... None of us men could make it. You are out of the question, ma'am - no offence - but you've just given birth and are clearly not in shape for a rather fatiguing crawl. Lt. Sims has a baby, too, and I don't know how much this would wear her out. And Claire just yesterday had a close encounter with a hospital bed that rolled over her foot..." "So that's why you're limping," Harriet stated compassionately. "Is anything broken?" "Luckily no, but it hurts all the same, and I wouldn't be up to the task right now," Claire explained, looking sorry that she couldn't help out. "What about me?" All eyes turned to Jeannine. "I'm by far the smallest of us all, I'm in good shape and I have a little military training." "That could work, Colonel," Fred agreed thoughtfully. "Janni, are you sure you want to do this?" Mac was reluctant to involve her friend in this rather audacious operation. "You'd be on your own in there, you know." Jeannine swallowed. "I know. But I also know that I might be the only hope for the admiral. So why don't you just tell me what I have to do?" Exchanging a quick nod with Mac, Sturgis leaned forward, resting his weight on his elbows. "All right, Cadet Stiller," he said quietly. "We appreciate your help. Here's the plan. Lt. Roberts will park his minivan at the back of the firm grounds around 0000, getting himself busy with the computer network and establishing a visual and an audio-link with the camera-gear that you'll be wearing. By 0200 he will have taken out the alarm and the cameras and we'll help you over the fence. Lt. Prumetti will guide you to the entrance of the sewer system by com-link. You'll enter the building and will be directed all the way to the offices. Or to any other place that might be worth searching. Make sure your camera lens always catches exactly what you see so we can have a look at the files, too, and tell you what to take out. Once you're done we'll guide you back to the sewer pipe and you'll come back the same way you went in." "And if I get caught?" "If that should happen," Mac declared, "I'll be there, in full uniform, official search warrant in hand, and make them release you while the others try to rush to the hospital and get Harm and Trisha away to someplace safe." She frowned. "And then we're going to play hide and seek with Cramer, I guess. All of us." "So I take it I'd better not get caught?" Jeannine's smile was a little tight. "Yup." Tense silence reigned in the room as everybody tried not to imagine what life would be like being chased by Cramer's accomplices. A low whimper from Trisha finally eased the tension. "I guess I should put her back to bed," Mac said, tenderly watching her little girl. She would do anything to protect her against the evil of the world, she silently vowed. She would go through hell and back if it would keep her safe. "And we should get going," Sturgis concluded, receiving nods from everyone. "So I'll meet you at the rear of Minton Greenwood tomorrow night at 0200 sharp. Harriet, Claire, I'd rather you stay with the children if you don't mind." The young women nodded. "Sergei, I think you should come along. We might need your knowledge about aeronautics since the commander is out of reach." "I'll be there, sir." "I bet you will," Sturgis observed, smiling, casting a quick glance at Jeannine who blushed slightly. "Drop Trisha off at our house whenever you want, ma'am," Harriet addressed Mac. "How about the four of us," she indicated herself, Mac, Claire and Jeannine, "Have a little girls talk at, say, 2100, to remember our last mission?" "I'd like that, Harriet." Mac grinned as she saw the men wince slightly. Jeannine was the last to take leave. Mac hugged her and then earnestly looked at her. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here?" Again, Jeannine blushed. "Yeah, I guess I am. I'm sure Sergei and I are both responsible enough not to rush things and..." she hesitated, drawing a deep breath, "You always knew you could trust Harm, didn't you?" "Yeah, I did." "Well, I... I don't really understand why but somehow I feel it's just the same for me with his brother." Jeannine's smile begged for understanding. "Must be a Rabb thing," Mac observed warmly, knowing what Jeannine was referring to. Sergei had been walking down the path that led to the street. Now he turned and waited for his girlfriend to join him. "You coming, Yanina Andreyevna?" he asked with a smile. "Sure," Jeannine called back, casting him a quick, warm glance. Turning to Mac, Jeannine's expression became a little embarrassed. "Yeah. A Rabb thing. Bye, Mac, see you tomorrow night." "Paká, Yanina," Mac waved her off with a grin. "Spakoynoy nochy." [Bye, Jeannine, good night.] 'What is it with those Rabbs?' Mac thought, as she watched Jeannine and Sergei walk down the road to Sergei's old Volkswagen Beetle, holding hands and now and then glancing at each other as if they couldn't really believe yet that the other was actually there. Sun, Feb. 28th 2012 ZULU Bethesda Naval Hospital Washington, D.C. "Preev'yet, moy brutt," Sergei said tentatively as he peeped into Harm's room. [Hello, my brother.] The only response was the eerie beeping of the heart monitor. Shyly, Sergei approached his brother's bed, followed by Jeannine and Mac. "Hello, my brother," Sergei tried again, his voice doubtful, only to gasp as Harm's head on the pillow slowly turned in his direction. "Hi," Harm whispered back, the corners of his mouth curling upwards. ['Good to see you, kid! And I see you brought someone, now that's a nice surprise.'] "Hey," Sergei grinned widely, obviously relieved. "I would be lying if I said that you're looking good, old man, but I'm really glad to see you on the way back to normal." ['Old man? Wait till I get back to you for this, kid!'] Harm's grin intensified slightly. "Need to... teach you... respect," he murmured. Sergei let out a laugh and then took Jeannine's hand and gently pulled her to his side. "Here's someone who wants to see you. Not that I understand why, but she insisted." Jeannine smiled, quickly waving her hand to Harm. "It's good to see you, sir." ['We've been past that, haven't we, Cadet Stiller?'] Harm, to his own surprise, managed a slight frown. "Harm... not 'sir'," he managed to get out. "Sorry. Good to see you, Harm," Jeannine repeated with a grin, stressing the 'Harm'. "You, too... Kiss... my wife?" Harm whispered, his glance wandering to where Mac stood. Smiling, Mac approached him and bent down to comply. A quick flush of joy swept over her as she felt his lips respond slightly to hers. 'Well, he can talk. I shouldn't be surprised that he tries to use his lips in other ways, too,' Mac told herself as she reluctantly drew back, her expression serene. "Harm," she addressed him, "I was on the phone with your mother this morning. I just told her that everything was all right and that she would receive a registered letter by tomorrow in which I'd lay out the particulars. And that she shouldn't come and visit yet. Trish didn't ask any questions. I guess she understands that there's more to it. You sure have a great mom." "We, Mac... we do," he gently reminded her. "She's... your mom, too." "Yeah, I know," Mac replied with a smile. "And if you're wondering where your little girl is - I left her with Harriet earlier. But your daughter told me that she loves you very much, squid. And that I'm to kiss you for her." ['Then what are you waiting for, jarhead?'] Harm's mouth again curled into a smile. "Do it," he whispered. Again Mac bent down, momentarily losing herself to the feeling of his lips softly grazing hers in an attempt to return her caresses. 'You have no idea how much I missed that,' she inwardly sighed. Just then, the door opened and a nurse stepped into the room, carrying Harm's eye drops. Harm had fine-tuned his ears for any sounds evoked by the door in order to keep his progress secret. Mac could feel his features relax immediately as she heard the nurse approach. When she pulled back she saw that Harm's glance had turned void, always fixated on the white wall opposite his bed. The nurse cast Mac, Sergei and Jeannine quick compassionate smiles, administered Harm his medicine and left. Immediately Harm's head turned to face his family. "Tell me... I'm good... at this," he murmured, his eyes shining with amusement. "Yeah, great," Mac stated dryly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "So, Mr. Camouflage, don't let your ego get inflated. It's big enough already. Understood?" Again Harm's brow furrowed slightly. "Aye, ma'am," he whispered, frowning even more upon hearing Sergei and Jeannine snicker at their banter. However, the smile quickly returned to his face. "Mac..." "What is it, Harm?" "Listen... help me?" Mac's expression immediately turned serious. "Any problems?" "No..." He tried to look reassuring. "Move closer." "Okay..." she stepped to his side, waiting. "Hold out... your hand." Mac silently did so, wondering what her husband was up to. ['Okay, Hammer, you did this before. Now do it again. On three. One, two, three...'] Harm mentally clenched his teeth and focused on his right arm. At first, nothing happened. Mac witnessed the struggle that was going on inside him and decided she'd give him a little more time to accomplish whatever he intended to. ['Come on, Hammer, you can do it!'] Harm kept shouting silently at himself until he finally won the battle. Slowly, he began to lift his right arm from the comforter until he had reached Mac's outstretched hand. Quickly gripping her fingers, Harm let his arm relax, making Mac feel the weight of it as she clung to his hand. "Congratulations, sailor," she said softly, while Sergei and Jeannine just watched, beaming at him. "Mac..." Confused, she frowned, looking at him sharply. "What's up?" "Help me?" "Sure, but I thought... so there's more you want to try?" "Yeah." "Harm, don't push it, please. You've done more than enough for one day already," she pleaded, knowing well he wouldn't give in. "Please..." "Okay." She sighed. "What am I supposed to do?" "Just... hold on... tight." "Okay." "Haven't... tried this yet," he whispered. "Needed you... for... practicing." Smiling, Mac squeezed his hand. "I'm sure you'll do fine. I'll help you with the exercise. Is that what you wanted me to do?" "Yes." "Then go ahead, squid. Round one is open." Harm smiled and briefly closed his eyes to gather his concentration. Then all of a sudden Mac felt his grip tighten considerably and she felt that he was tugging at her arm, obviously trying to sit up. Excited, she, too, tightened her grip so that he could encounter the firm hold he needed. The four people in the room held their breaths as Harm slowly pulled himself up until he was sitting in bed, clinging to Mac's hand, resting his forehead against her wrist, panting with exhaustion. Beaming radiantly, Mac immediately put an arm around his shoulders to prevent him from falling backwards onto the pillow again. Then she released his hand and hugged him tightly. "Bravo Zulu, Commander," she whispered into the curve of his neck. "Lie... down... please..." he panted tonelessly. Mac helped him back into a horizontal position. "Okay, flyboy, that's it for today. No more exercises. That's an order." He grinned briefly. "Aye, ma'am." ['I got my favorite I-love-you smile from you. That's always worth the effort. But I know when to stop, Mac.'] Mac sat down on his bed and made Sergei and Jeannine pull up chairs for themselves. "I'm sure you want to be told about our next proceedings, right?" "Yeah." "So, here's your info: At 0200 we meet at Minton Greenwood. Clay has provided Fred with an official search warrant. We'll still keep our operation secret, but we're covered so we can use whatever we come up with as legal exhibits in court. Our only way in is through the sewer system. So Jeannine, being the smallest, has volunteered to go in in camera gear. Bud will by then have fooled security from his van which we turn into our ops center. We'll follow Janni's movements and tell her what to take with her and how to get out again." Harm's eyebrows moved in a failed attempt to go up. ['You're getting pretty CIA-ish here, Mac. This should be fun. Couldn't you have done this another time, when I could have been part of the whole thing? You always get all the fun!'] "Without me..." he whispered, frowning. Mac grinned. "Is that a pout that I'm seeing there, Commander?" ['Wipe that smirk off your face, jarhead!'] Harm couldn't help smiling. "You will find that things actually work without you, big brother," Sergei cut in, suppressed laughter ringing in his voice. ['Whom did he get the impertinence from?'] Harm asked himself, only to feel embarrassment at the answer that could be expected. ['Okay. I guess I don't want to know. Thanks, Dad. Better change the subject.'] "And how... are you... Janni?" he asked instead, his gaze moving on to Jeannine. Knowing chuckles could be heard, making him smile again. "Thank you, I'm fine," Jeannine began. "Captain Wells told me to say hello as soon as you'd be back from Never-never-land. And the marching band is actually..." Mac watched Harm as he was listening to Jeannine's tales. 'How do you do that?' she silently asked him. 'I know no one's invincible. But seeing you always struggling to get back on track, no matter what happens, makes me wonder if you're the exception to the rule. Actually, I kind of like the idea.' Sun, Feb. 28th 2204 ZULU Bethesda Naval Hospital Washington, D.C. As Mac, Sergei and Jeannine exited the building, they felt instantly as if they were being run over by a herd of buffaloes. Camera lights were flashing in their eyes, microphones were being pushed in front of their faces and from all sides overzealous reporters were assaulting them. "Colonel Mackenzie! Is it true that your husband's in a coma?" "Colonel, can you confirm that your husband was shot because of Doctor Walden's murder?" "Was it Daniel Walden who shot the commander?" "Is it true that your husband will be irreversibly paralyzed?" "Did Admiral Chegwidden order the shooting of your husband because the commander found evidence of his guilt?" "Did you lose your baby, Colonel?" 'Here goes our privacy,' Mac inwardly sighed, resigned. Actually, she had been surprised that they had succeeded in keeping the events quiet for such a long time. At the last two questions, her anger got the better of her. Fuming, she stopped and glared into the waiting cameras. "I'll say this only once. I guess I'm on air right now so I can do it with a nationwide public to witness. First, to satisfy your curiosity, yes, my husband's in a coma. No, Admiral Chegwidden didn't have anything to do with my husband being shot, it was a simple street robbery. No, I didn't lose my child. Why would I? Normally this is called giving birth. And finally: get out of my and my family's life. I won't answer any more questions, I won't have you take any pictures, as won't the commander's brother or his friends. Or the hospital. End of conversation." With this said, she exercised a swift turn and strode over to her car, Sergei and Jeannine quickly running to Sergei's Beetle. Mac got into her Corvette, ignited the motor and left the hospital's parking lot, letting out a deep breath of relief. A few blocks down the road, though, she noticed that she was being followed by several TV team wagons. Panic began to rise inside her. If those journalists were going to install themselves in front of their house, how was she supposed to go over to Minton Greenwood tonight without causing attention? She absolutely needed to escape them. 'I only hope Sergei and Jeannine are aware of the danger,' she thought uneasily. As the team wagons were closing in on her, Mac made a quick decision. All she needed was at the Roberts' anyway. So she wouldn't lead the reporters over to Arlington. Instead, she would take them on a little trip all across town and back. A grin slowly spread on Mac's features. A nasty grin. She would enjoy herself. Mac approached the next crossing at full speed, just as the traffic lights were switching to what might be called 'cherry green'. Fortunately the streets weren't overly crowded as it was Sunday. Without notice, Mac turned right with screeching tires and stepped heavily on the gas as soon as she had completed the turn. The camera vans had slight difficulties following her. Swaying considerably, they had to slow down to head in the new direction, only to try and take up the chase immediately after. 'Okay, so that was just for warm up,' Mac concluded grimly, speeding on. Again completely without warning, she turned left after half a mile, vanishing into a small side street of a cozy white-wooden-houses neighborhood. Squealing, the camera vans followed. Mac decided to vary her tactics a little. She turned right, then left, then left, then right again, then left... always trying not to be predictable, glad that while the vans were following her in a driving style like this, no cameraman on earth could capture her driving. Then suddenly a way of salvation was in sight. She became aware of a small dead-end street that seemed more like a private driveway. As she had just entered the street she was currently driving along, the vans hadn't arrived yet. Quickly she pulled into the small street, shut down her headlights and hoped. Half a minute later, three vans sped by her six at about sixty miles an hour. Once they were far enough, Mac cautiously pulled back, turned and left the neighborhood. 'I know my Bond.' She grinned to herself, longing to tell Harm. She decided to go over to the Roberts' directly. Taking a few additional deviations, just in case anyone spotted her, she arrived at Bud and Harriet's house, soaked and trembling, but feeling quite content about having fooled the media... once again. Mon, March 1st 0421 ZULU Cmdr. Turner's apartment Georgetown, D.C. Sergei and Jeannine had thought it wise not to go home. They had made sure that all the vans had in fact followed Mac's Corvette and then headed on to Sturgis'. He had called Mac earlier, having told her that he had the camera gear Jeannine was supposed to wear. So why not drop by and try it on? Sturgis had been relieved when Sergei had told him that they were sure no one had followed them. As Jeannine told him what had happened at the hospital Sturgis was feeling more than a little concerned about Mac's state of mind. But a quick call from her, telling him that she had safely arrived at the Roberts', made him relax. Mac was a professional. She could handle things like these. And Sergei... 'Well, he's Harm's brother,' Sturgis reminded himself, not wanting to admit that it would probably be just this trait of his character that would get Sergei into serious trouble some day. But not now, Sturgis decided. They had enough problems to deal with. Sturgis had retreated into the kitchen to fix a little dinner while Sergei was adjusting Jeannine's cam gear to a tight fit. "Are you comfortable, Jan?" She smiled at him. "As good as it gets, Sergeant." "Are you sure you know how to use it? I can always..." Sergei's forehead was one big concerned frown. Jeannine let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head. Mac had told her of Harm's overprotective nature. 'I think I know what she means.' "I know everything I need to know. It's okay, Sergei," she said gently. He smiled, blushing slightly. "You know, I'm a little worried about what you're gonna do. I'd rather you wouldn't." "Hey, I'll be okay." Jeannine glanced up to his kind eyes. "Thank you for caring." "You know, it's just..." Sergei hesitated, collecting his courage. He swallowed. "Ya looblyóo, Yanina," he whispered. [I love you, Yanina.] Jeannine didn't know any Russian except the few words that Mac had already taught her. But she was a musician. And she loved Russian opera, especially Evgeny Onyegin by Tchaikovsky. Knowing the score by heart, she had understood exactly what Sergei had just told her. Feeling her pulse accelerate to double speed, she reached up and softly kissed him on the lips. "Ya tulka looblyóo, Sergei." [I love you, too, Sergei.] "Don't worry. I'll be safe." Mon, March 1st 0649 ZULU Minton Greenwood Inc. 50 miles SE of D.C., VA "There they are," Sturgis said in a low voice as he indicated the Roberts' van that stood half-hidden behind a row of bushes, approximately ten yards away from the fence that marked the rear border of MG's grounds. He, Sergei and Jeannine, all dressed in dark sweats that Sturgis had been able to provide them with, neared their 'ops central', cautiously sticking to the shadows. Sturgis softly knocked three times at the van's sliding door. Mac almost instantly opened it, quickly granted them access and quietly closed the door as soon as they were cramped inside. Sturgis let out a low whistle as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. Bud, with Fred's help, had transformed the back of his car into a high tech observation room. Four computer monitors were showing different images, changing camera positions every five seconds. A fifth monitor with desktop and keyboard was Bud's operation desk. At the moment he was sitting in front of it, intently studying the readings on the screen, his fingers resting on the keys, while Fred was peeping over his shoulder. With his right index finger, the young Italian pointed to something and Bud immediately modified a few command lines in the C++ code. From a nearby loudspeaker the low humming of the building's air conditioning could be detected. "Thorough work, Bud," Sturgis commented, impressed. "Thank you, sir," Bud answered distractedly, his eyes never leaving his programming. Grinning, Sturgis exchanged a quick look with Mac. "Carry on, Lieutenant." "Aye, sir," Bud murmured. Turning to Fred, Sturgis was now anxious to learn about the state of op. "Did you manage to disarm the alarm, Fred?" "Yes, sir, Lt. Roberts needed about twenty minutes to do it. Clayton Webb's contact supplied us with hints where to hack in so it wasn't too hard. For now, the alarm is still operational, sir. We figured that we didn't want anyone to find out about us and have it fixed before we had our fun." "Good thinking, Lieutenant. When do you plan to switch it off?" "0155, sir, if everything goes smoothly. We prepared the video files that will be sent to the security monitors. Whereas..." Fred's face showed traces of a satisfied gloat, "What you see here, sir, are the actual security readings that normally go to the building's observation center. We thought they might come in handy." Sturgis' esteem of the two eager young men rose to no limits. They sure knew their informatics. "So, where do we see Cadet Stiller's recordings?" Fred indicated another monitor and loudspeaker that Sturgis hadn't noticed before. "Here's where we'll follow her every move." He cast Jeannine a quick winking smile. Turning back to Sturgis, he sobered. "Sir, I suggest we let Sergei do the guiding job..." he lowered his voice so only Sturgis could hear him, "I think that it would make the cadet feel more at ease." A smirk showed on Sturgis's face as he followed Fred's guarded glance and witnessed as Sergei was right now adjusting Jeannine's headset, his touch being of a much more tender nature than would have been necessary to do the job. The young girl was smiling, her eyes closed. "I guess, you're right," Sturgis consented. "Keep a keen eye on everything, though, Fred. Let me help Bud do the general stuff at his operation console over there. You stick with Mac and Sergei." "Aye, sir." By now Jeannine was ready. She stepped over to them and addressed Sturgis, her voice just a little shaky, while Sergei stood by silently, watching with a very Rabb-ish frown of concern marring his features. "I'm ready, sir. Where do I go?" Just then a low beep was heard and a colorful reading popped up on Bud's PC. "Security's disabled, sir," Bud reported, his gaze still glued to the monitors. Silently asking Mac for her consent and seeing her nod briefly, Sturgis turned to the girl in front of him. "Let's do it then, Cadet. I'll come out with you to help you over the fence. The entrance to the sewer system is about halfway between the spot where you'll access the grounds and the nearest wall of the building in front of you. Your gear working?" "Yes, sir." Jeannine switched it on. Immediately they could see on the monitor whatever the camera next to her right ear registered. "Say something, Janni," Mac demanded, "Low, please." "Do you copy?" Jeannine mumbled with a lopsided grin. Her amplified voice resounded clearly from the nearby loudspeakers. "Yeah, I guess we do." Mac's grin mirrored her friend's, immediately fading. "Thank you, Janni." "You're welcome," she answered simply. Mac quickly patted her on the arm. "Good luck." Sergei pulled his girlfriend into a quick hug. "Daaváai," he whispered with a soft encouraging smile. [Let's go.] Jeannine briefly smiled back. "I'll be fine." With that, she exited the van, followed closely by Sturgis. Those who remained in the car could see them cross the space until they arrived at the fence. Sturgis then made a hunchback and let Jeannine sit on his shoulders. He straightened so that she was just able to swing her legs over the top of the fence. With a swift movement she was in, walking in the direction Sturgis had pointed to. After a few yards she knelt down and on the monitor Sergei, Fred and Mac could see her open the drain and lower herself into the system. All went pitch black until Jeannine reached the ground and switched on her flashlight. Sergei was anxiously watching everything that was going on. 'If only I hadn't gotten so personal earlier,' he kept scolding himself silently. But then... he hadn't really expected her to understand him. For a moment he had been determined to tell her straight out that he was in love with her, but as he had prepared to let the words out, his courage had faltered, making him say them in Russian instead. The safety of his mother tongue would spare him additional concern for now, shutting the admission of their feelings out of the scheme for the moment. At least so he had thought. Sergei's knees had nearly buckled when he'd heard her answer. 'She loves me back!!!' everything inside him wanted to shout out loud. He wanted to lose himself in the feeling of finally having found someone who cared for him that way. And not just anybody, but the very girl his brother was deeply indebted to for saving his and Mac's lives. Jeannine Stiller sure was a remarkable young woman. And she was in love with him! Sergei was feeling all giddy and restless, in a definitely positive way. But this bond between them, on the other hand, made his concern for her safety grow considerably. The subsequent uneasiness added to the turmoil in his mind - not exactly a guaranty for a successful mission. Sergei tried to will his emotions back in check. He had to deny them for now, for Jeannine's sake. She depended on him. ["Sergei?"] came her voice over the intercom. "I'm right here, Janutchka," he immediately responded, trying to sound reassuring. "Everything's gonna be all right." Mac hid a melancholy smile. This was so Harm. ["Where do I go?"] Sergei watched as Mac pointed out the estimated route on a map of the building. "You just follow the tube you're standing in, Jan. After about... umm... 80 yards you should arrive at an intersection. You turn left and take the second maintenance exit that you come by at your left hand side," he explained to her. ["Roger that."] Mac, Fred and Sergei saw the image beginning to waver as Jeannine walked in the direction Sergei had described. Eventually she reached the crossing and turned left, using the second maintenance exit to crawl upwards into a small maintenance cabinet inside the building in question. ["I'm in."] Jeannine hissed into her microphone. "Dobry," Sergei murmured to himself, relieved. She had passed the initial hurdle. [Good.] "Okay. Listen, Jan, I want you to get out of the cabinet and turn to your right. Walk down the corridor, up to the second intersection, and then turn right again." ["Okay."] Jeannine set off, her soft tennis shoes making no noise on the linoleum. She cautiously neared the first crossing, peeped down both directions of the intersecting corridors, quickly crossed it and went on. At the second intersection she again stopped, made sure she wasn't being seen and quickly turned around the corner. Sergei watched, holding his breath, his hands subconsciously clutching the armrests of his seat. Mac felt compassion for her young brother-in-law. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, earning herself a slightly embarrassed but grateful smile. On the monitor, Sergei could see that Janni approached a heavy two-wing door. He quickly checked his notes. "Okay, I know where you are, Jan," he explained. "Behind those doors is MG's administration. Do you have your gloves on?" ["Yeah."] "So, the key code is... just a moment..." he gesticulated to Fred who said something to Bud who quickly thumbed through a small stack of papers and handed one to Fred who brought it over. Sergei passed the combination on to Jeannine who inserted Jeremy Cullum's security pass into the keypad at the side of the door and typed in the numbers. With a click and a low buzzing sound the doors slowly swung open. ["Wow..."] Jeannine seemed to be awed by what she had just done. "What?" Sergei asked, smiling softly. ["You know, Sergeant, I feel like... let's say... Emma Peel or someone in that league,"] she whispered back, obviously amused. "I'll take you up on the peeling part later, Jan," Sergei couldn't resist answering. A gasp was his answer. Mac tried hard to hide her grin. This banter reminded her of two certain other people. Talk about genes. But they all had to concentrate on the mission right now. So she hoped that her voice held at least a little scolding edge when she replied. "Could you save the small talk for later, too, Sergeant Zhukov?" "Yes, ma'am." Sergei's military reflexes kicked in instantly. Again Mac fought a losing battle with her grin. Jeannine had closed the doors behind herself and looked into just another long corridor. ["What next?"] "You walk right up to the end of the corridor you're in, Jan, and we'll give you the key code to the office at your right." Jeannine acknowledged and set off again. As Mac silently followed the pictures on the monitor next to Sergei, she at one point turned to him, curious. "Why does she call you by rank, Sergei?" Sergei chuckled. "I guess that's the result of a little word game that we came up with the other day on the phone. We were talking and one of us, I don't remember the particulars, used an alliteration we both immediately noticed. So we kind of talked on in ever new alliterations until she had to go and, instead of a goodbye, she said: 'See you, Sergeant Sergei, sir!' That stuck. She even called me Serg Serg once, but I objected to that one." "I bet you did," Mac replied, grinning, her eyes fixating the monitor. "Okay, guys," she then said a little louder in Sturgis and Bud's direction, "Code to room A 128, please." "Here you are, ma'am," Fred said as he instantly reached over and handed her another slip of paper that Sturgis had supplied. Sergei read the code to Jeannine who cautiously opened the door, swiftly stepped into the office and closed the door again. She let her flashlight graze the long rows of shelves, sighing. ["Where do I start?"] She sounded just a little skeptical. "We'll have a problem if they keep the files in a totally different place but Mac says she thinks that bills tend to stick to bills. So look for accounting." Fred, Mac and Sergei watched as Jeannine slowly skimmed the rows. Seven minutes and twenty-two seconds, according to Mac, passed in silence. Then Jeannine spoke up, making them jump. ["Found it. Now?"] "Tell her to look under 'B' as in 'Branwick Industries'," Mac instructed Sergei who passed on the request. Mac followed Jeannine's research on the monitor. Suddenly she shouted: "Hold it!", trying to keep her voice guarded. "Mac seems to have spotted something in there, Jan," Sergei told his girlfriend. Jeannine looked at the folder she had just taken out. ["You're right! That's Branwick Industries. I presume I take it with me?"] "Yeah, but try to rearrange the folders so they won't immediately notice one's missing." ["Done. What now?"] "Can you take a quick look at what's inside?" Mac had taken the radio now. They saw Jeannine open the folder and thumb through it. ["Bills mostly. And descriptions of disposal locations. As far as I see... without interruption from October 1997 until now, indicating one tour every two weeks."] Jeannine took the time to read over a few pages. ["Mac, I don't really know about such things but as far as I can tell, the sums listed wouldn't even cover the gasoline that would be necessary to ship the cargo to the locations mentioned." "Good work, Cadet," Mac acknowledged. "Now we need you to go back to the door..." She didn't get to finish her sentence. "Ma'am, guard approaching A 128!" Bud called out to her. 'Damn,' Mac inwardly swore. Why couldn't things go smoothly just once? "Janni," she quickly hissed into the intercom, "Try to hide somewhere. We have a guard on an inspection tour approaching your room." Jeannine willed the panic down and quickly turned to look around. The spinning images on the monitor made the onlookers slightly nauseous. ["There's nowhere to hide!"] Sergei looked at Mac, silently imploring her to come up with a plan of salvation. Mac bit her lip, her conscience stirring. She should have gone in herself. Now, because of her being overly obedient to her doctors, the girl was in danger. 'Think, Mackenzie! There's got to be a way out of this mess.' Suddenly she had an idea. "Take the folder in your mouth and stuff the flashlight in your waistband." ["Hmm hmm."] "Now climb up on top of one of the shelve rows, quick!" Knowing better than to question the decision of a combat-experienced Marine officer, Jeannine did as she was told. The camera's images didn't make any sense to the observers as she climbed past the rows. ["Hmmmm?"] "Lay down flat on top and don't make any noise!" was all Mac could tell her before the door was heard clicking again and the dim night lights came on. The next four minutes and twelve seconds were the longest Mac had ever counted. Over the loudspeaker Jeannine could barely be heard breathing as the guard did a routine sweep of the room, not noticing anything suspicious. As soon as he had left, Mac addressed her friend. "You all right, Janni?" ["Yeah. What do I do?"] "Try to reach room C 226, Jan." Sergei had taken over again. "You go out, open the metal doors to your right, take the stairs that are located behind the third door to your left. The room is one floor above from where you are right now." Jeannine quickly found the door in question, tightly holding on to the folder. ["This is the office of General Manager Kristen Cramer-Bernstein,"] she told Sergei. "I know. Mac wants you to go in there and look for files that somehow relate to Branwick or North Star. We're sure they are somewhere in there if they are at MG at all. Mac doesn't think Maryann would trust anyone else with them than her sister. Start to look everywhere for anything," Sergei added, a little compassionate sarcasm palpable in his voice. ["Great,"] Jeannine muttered to herself. They saw her open drawers, rummage through cupboards, dust bins, file cabinets... 'God, they have to be there, somewhere in that office,' Mac kept telling herself. But the longer Jeannine searched the lesser was the possibility that she would really find something. Eventually Jeannine sighed. She was standing next to Kristen's desk, looking at the floor, defeated. ["I don't know where else to look, Mac."] "Are you sure you left nothing out, Janni?" Mac had taken the mike again, knowing the answer. Jeannine was too thorough to leave anything out. ["I am, Mac. Look, there's no use continuing in here."] But on the monitor something had caught Mac's attention. "Kneel down, please, right where you're standing." Wondering slightly, Jeannine complied. And then she saw them, too. Traces on the carpet, as if the heavy desk had been moved several times recently. ["Do you want me to have a look under the drawers compartment, Mac?"] "That's what I was thinking about. Can you do that?" ["Sure."] Low moaning and heavy breathing could be heard as Jeannine obviously moved the desk again. ["Mac, there's a couple of photocopies underneath."] "Good work. Let us have a look at them." Sergei leaned closer to the monitor as Jeannine lifted the documents to her camera eye. Harm's brother immediately nodded. "That's the material we're looking for." "Okay, Janni, get the stuff under your sweater, pull back the desk and get the hell out of there," Mac ordered. ["Aye, ma'am."] On her way back, Jeannine didn't encounter any difficulties, and soon she was at the fence again. Sturgis had taken Fred with him who right now sat on his shoulders, throwing a rope down to Jeannine. She attached it around herself and climbed while Fred pulled her up. As she reached the top and was about to pull her second leg over, she slipped, reflexively grabbed Fred for a hold and sent all three of them toppling to the ground. Fortunately, except for a few bruises for each party, no one was hurt. Minutes later, they were all inside the van again. Bud shut down the computer, having reinstalled the building's security systems, then took the driver's seat and headed off home. Sergei was overwhelmed with relief that Jeannine was back safely. He immediately pulled her into a tight embrace and made her sit down on his lap. She just took several deep breaths, her eyes closed, trying to relax. "You did an exceptional job in there, Cadet," Sturgis observed calmly. "I'll make sure that, once all this is over, I'll have Captain Wells add my report to your service record." "Thank you, sir." Mac was giving the evidence a quick first survey, whistling under her breath. "I don't know too much about aeronautics, but if this is what I think it is, we have something really big at hand. I doubt it will be enough to clear the admiral's name completely, though. There's still no indication as to who killed Sydney in the first place. But with the North Star data and the bills we found, we should at least be able to raise enough doubt to prevent a finding of 'guilty'. Problem is that we'll have to share our knowledge with Krennick. But I suggest we do that at the latest possible time." She looked up to Fred, determination shining in her glance. "I want you to call Kristen Cramer to the stand." "So do I, Mac. So do I," Fred answered slowly, somehow confident that he wouldn't be afraid of the task that lay before him. To be continued...