Chapter Seventeen

Author's note: Well; here goes yet another chapter written on Pages and frustratingly done on an iPhone where my thumb can just about cover four of the keys on this cruddy touch pad. That does it! I'm insisting on getting a computer sized Bluetooth keyboard for this stupid iPhone and iPad so that I can turn around and type properly. I have ideas for how I want this story to go but it's not easy to 'hunt n'peck' on this touchscreen keyboard before said ideas fly out my head! So bear with me. On a regular keyboard my typing speed is 63wpm hate to think how my typing speed has plummeted on this iPad!

Reader Comment replies:

Bursalino: yes. I have a bit of a cruel streak. But that place in the story was ripe for a cliffie so I stuck one in. Voila.

Angelscatie: yep. Of course now that my computer's toast my muse suddenly decides to go active. Silly muse.

Guest: yeah it was supposed to be Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Thanks for the catch.

Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, VA. 1155 hrs

LCDR Meg Austin looked at the diminutive auburn haired attorney with a contemplative look. lThough at one time, she had designs on Harm, she realized that Lia had captured Harm's heart. She patiently waited while Lia finished talking to Harm signing off with a cheerful "Bye, Harm. I'm looking forward to the dinner and a movie."

When Lia had hung up the phone, Meg commented casually. "I think I could eat a whole cow right now, I'm so starved." She smirked at Lia.

Lia's twinkling eyes filled with mischievous merriment belied her annoyed reply. "I wasn't on the phone that long!"

"Oh, enough that coffee would've gotten cold." Meg teased, an equally mischievous tone in her voice.

Lia let out an insulted "hmmph"

"So how was Harm?" The sting of her reception from Harm at rejoining the office was starting to fade and damn that irritating flyboy: she couldn't stay mad at him for any length of time. Meg knew that her heart would soften and that angry as she was at Harm's harsh words; she'd forgive him. But her heart ached knowing that Harm had found someone and that someone...wasn't her. Mentally quelling the disappointment in her soul, she firmed her resolve to treat Harm in a professional manner because of her experiences working cases with him at the Judge Advocate.

"I think he's OK." Lia replied casually. Last thing he said was that he was going on an investigation for NAVINSGEN but other than that, he wouldn't say. I took that to infer he was working on something not do be discussed except through proper channels."

"Understandable." Meg stated; her background in Naval Weapons Systems familiar with black projections cloaked in secrecy around them "It's not really something that he'll be able to talk about if he's on an investigation and he's trying to remain impartial to the process"

The two officers resumed their heading towards the Mess-deck building.

Naval Station Three Rivers, Oakville, WI 1245hrs

The project was running over cost estimates and the last time they had attempted to obtain funds on that project; had prompted quite a few uncomfortable questions as to where the money was going. Now the boom had lowered on the project and two NAVINSGEN inspectors were coming up to find out what was going on. Captain Donovan Bryce, USN Naval Systems Command looked over the formal notification from the office of the Naval Inspector General. Knowing that the Naval Inspector General was involved there would more than likely be interference from RLSO-Midwest and charges could be forthcoming. Picking up the phone he dialed a number.

"What are you calling me for" the irritated voice replied on the other end of the line

"Shit's hitting the fan" Captain Bryce returned; his voice just as irritable, "We got snoops coming in from NAVINSGEN"

"Any way to stall them."

"Not unless you want a combined JAG/NAVINSGEN investigation of our activities." The bean counters from the Naval Inspector General know there were funds diverted from other programs to this ghost program which was a front for money that a few systems command individuals were taking from the program funding and Captain Bryce was starting to get seriously nervous. "Last time I asked for funding there were a lot of uncomfortable questions asked. They're coming out to turn over the rocks and hunt for clues."

"Didn't I tell you to put together another set of books? So what do you want me to do about it?" the voice on the other end asked. "The Firm doesn't want to have problems that you could've dealt with with a little foresight."

"Well a part of the funds we have been sharing from...this program is going towards your...so-called Firm." Bryce snarled a reply.

The voice on the other end of the line turned cold "You're not on a secure line, are you?" the voice asked, "...you know what I've told you about flapping gums or do I have to pay a visit to remind you again of the consequences of talking about Firm business on an unsecured line!"

Bryce backpedalled. "No..."

"Then get the fuck off the line!"

Office of the Naval Inspector General, Pentagon Detachment, 1450 hrs.

"Rabb!" Animal growled as he headed over to his office after lunch and a session with Lieutenant Commander Parker. Passing the tall lieutenant commander who was with Lieutenant Commander Manetti. "My office" Harm looked at her and she shrugged her shoulders. Evidently it seemed as though Animal was in a worse mood after the appointment with Lieutenant Commander Parker.

"Yes, sir" Harm replied as he turned away from Lieutenant Commander Manetti and fell into step beside the captain who was carrying a file filled with papers. When Captain Nakamura entered the office, he shut the door behind him as Harm stepped in front of Animal's desk. Animal walked around his desk and sat down in his chair silently looking at the file he carried all the way from General Records.

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb" Animal stated as he looked up at him. He paused ominously and then continued, "The more I look at this file, the more suspicious I'm getting and make a note of these notations. They're plentiful. I see a record of fund siphoning; multiple payments to an unnamed source with nothing to show for it. Smacks of fraud and money laundering at the very least; points to a security breach in our R&D programs at the worst. And a leak that needs to be stopped." he growled. "I have a feeling that something is behind this and that something doesn't want to be discovered. We're going in armed..." He pointed to the file noting the notation of an unnamed source "Chances are, they don't want us snooping around and we'll be in for an uncomfortable reception."

Harm nodded; his own stomach tying up in knots. He'd run into a nasty character when he'd gone to investigate the Helo midair at 29 Stumps a jarhead Helo base. Some guy who said that he was from Defense Security Division. Evidently they were running their own rogue ops and Harm and Bud had run smack in the middle of it having to have his ass extracted from the hot zone by Colonel Ron Barrett. This time he and Animal wouldn't have the benefit of the US 3/11 Marines. They were going into a nasty place all by their lonesome. Considering what they had been through during the Gulf War flying off the USS Seahawk, they'd had their experience with nasty situations but this would be by far the worst of the lot. Harm thought this thing smacked of Clark Palmer's doing and Animal had not run up against a guy that nasty. Khatoob was a pussycat compared to Palmer. All they could do was hope for the best and take ammo and weapons with them.

Animal looked over at Harm with a taciturn expression on his face for a long moment before speaking. "...i think it would be best if we went in armed." He repeated. "I don't like the looks of this one."

"Agreed".

"Sign two M9s and three clips each with six boxes of 9mm frangible tip. And make sure the Armory gets us the necessary paperwork filed with ATF to be able to carry across state-lines." Animal growled ominously "I don't want to be stopped by some overzealous law-enforcement puke who's looking for some notches on his service revolver."

"Aye, sir". Harm replied, noting down the request on a notepad.

"You know anybody at RLSO Midwest just in case we have to pull someone in from the legal beagles on short notice?" Animal inquired.

"Not off the top of my head, sir."

"Well look into it and get me the files of the two best case investigators at RLSO Midwest. We'll make an appearance at the office there first to give them a heads-up on what's going down." Animal ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"God, Hammer,". Animal broke formality, "I hate this shit! How the hell did you manage to get used to this crap?"

"It's an acquired taste." Harm quipped as Animal snorted shaking his head.

"God help me!"

Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, VA. 1535 hrs

Lia looked over at Meg with a questioning glance. "How many more interviews do we have? "

Meg replied with the folder open "we have another ten witnesses as to the heated conversation between the Chief Boatswains-mate and Lieutenant Wiggins. If we start at 0600 tomorrow we should be done by 1300hrs and back on the road by 1330." She looked over at Lia with a smile and suggested, "we can swing by a drivethru on the way back to satisfy any food cravings."

"So who do we talk to next?" Lia queried. "I have a Seaman Ronald Torbett, E-3 who was present on the liberty boat within hailing distance of the Lieutenant and Chief and should be questioned."

"He's had plenty of time to corroborate testimony with his fellow sailors." Meg informed her. "From all accounts; no-one likes the Lieutenant. He was kindly referred to as a ballbuster. I don't think any new testimony would have much left to uncover."

"That may be so; but no stone left unturned; no testimony unobtained." She gathered up pen and paper. " back to the grind." She stated nonchalantly.

Meg silently agreed though she was tempted to play devil's advocate. A dissenting point of view would allow them to explore all facets of the case and possibly allow them to gain an edge over the opposing side. Meg when she had been at JAG had concentrated on the investigative end of the cases she had worked on with Harm.

Right now as the case stood, Meg thought, there were more enlisted in favor of the chief bosun than the lieutenant. From all accounts, the lieutenant's subordinates regarded him as an insufferable martinet. The lieutenant was regarded as so stiff and unrelenting in his views and expectations that he had forced numerous enlisted to request transfer to a different post. His FITREPS were exemplary however he was asked many times by superiors to ease up on the men and women under his command and he would briefly just so that his superiors would get off his back. Then he was right back to being, to put it lightly, a prick. Meg felt sorry for the prosecution who would plead this case in court. Portraying Lieutenant Wiggins in any sort of sympathetic light was going to be an incredibly onerous task.

As they walked towards the interview room for the last interview of the day, Meg and Lia discussed inconsequential matters so as to keep case particulars from prying ears. "So, looking forward to seeing Harm off before he heads out on his case?" Meg asked, her curiosity overcoming her desire to accord Lia her privacy with respect to her relationship with Harm. A little girl-talk couldn't hurt. And the devious part of Meg wanted to gain an inside measure of her investigative partner; just in case she had to face her in court, she reasoned. One should never assume that they'd be partnered together in the courtroom.

Office of the Naval Inspector General, Pentagon Detachment, 1635 hrs.

"Rabb?" Harm winced. Animal's low growl was unmistakable. It wasn't the ominous I'm going to rip your head off and shit down your neck growl of RADM Chegwidden, but the tone of voice was still just as forbidding. "I trust you have the files requested?"

"Yes, sir" Harm replied wondering just how this four-striper could be just as scary as a two-star.

"Sir. The files were placed on your desk by the commander." YN1 Carran stated defusing the tense situation. He was able to get the files from RLSO Mid-West."

Animal nodded; uttered a brief perfunctory "very well..." grunted a "thank you" and headed back to his office to find the files in his in-box. Muttering an oath, he wondered just how hard of hearing he could have gotten that he didn't realize that Harm had walked in, put the files in his inbox, walked out again without him noticing anything. Walking back out again, he growled "RABB!?"

Harm vaulted out of his seat to the position of attention. "Yes, Sir!"

"Did I at any point acknowledge your presence in my office?!"

"Yes, sir, you said. Very well, place them in my in-box, Lieutenant Commander Rabb; dismissed. I said yes,sir, did the requested, about faced and walked out, sir".

Animal muttered. " I must be going mental." As he shot a look at Harm as if to say not a word. LCDR Manetti, YN1 Carran and YN2 Trebalos bit down laughter. Animal hmmphed..."I hate cod liver oil!" And retraced his steps back into his office, shutting the door behind him.

Harm looked over at Tracy. He said in a stage whisper,"I presume I shouldn't suggest leafy green vegetables...or avocados" As he grinned.

"Not unless you want to get court-martialed." Tracy said, her eyes alight with amusement.

Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, VA. Next Day 1130 hrs

Meg let out a tired sigh looking over at Lia. "Well that's the last of them." Lia nodded in return. "Are we getting a clearer picture of what happened?" Meg asked looking over at a rather fatigued and frazzled partner.

"Yeah, I think so." Lia replied shutting the case folder with witness interview notes in them. "I think this one's gonna be hashed out in the courtroom. No doubt about it. Captain Hubbard isn't likely to drop Article 89 charges when we talked to the witnesses on CCTV. He runs a tight ship and regardless of whether Lieutenant Wiggins is considered a martinet or not, disrespecting a superior commissioned officer is disrespecting a superior commissioned officer. Case closed. We go to charges. OK. Meeting with the admiral when we get back. You should call the office on our way back to the office and get them to put us straight through to the admiral when we come through the double-doors." She nodded in satisfaction when she saw Meg pull out her cell phone and start dialing.

As they walked to their Navy sedan, a sailor approached them cautiously. Moving the much smaller LCDR Gracen behind her with an arm, Meg hailed the incoming sailor. "What do you want. Sailor?"

The sailor gave her a look of concern, "Ma'am. I need to talk to you." He said.

"Your name?"

"Seaman Peter Winfield, Ma'am. I was on the liberty boat when Chief Holloway snapped at Lieutenant Wiggins, Ma'am."

"How come you weren't on the witness manifest?" Lia asked; her interest peaked.

"Ma'am...they wanted to stifle my testimony." Lia and Meg's ire rose at that and marking down the name of the sailor, told Seaman Winfield to be sure to present himself for court and that they would be by again to present him with a subpoena.

Office of the Naval Inspector General, Pentagon Detachment, 1150 hrs.

Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. smiled casually as he walked towards the office with the requisite armory items in a secure black Pelican case. People got nervous when things like that were openly carried and he didn't want to make the Pentagon Police nervous and considering they were civilians, anything carried openly, like weapons, tended to make them jumpy. It had been almost a week since he had first reported into Office of the Naval Inspector General, Pentagon Detachment and he was just starting to get the hang of navigating this maze of corridors and offices that was the edifice known as the Pentagon. Grinning congenially at YN1 Carran and YN2 Trebalos, he walked past and knocked on the door of his commanding officer.

"ENTER!" The resultant roar from the office made Harm's grin wider. Harm walked in shutting the door behind him. Holding the Pelican case in front of him, nodding to Animal who dispensed with military protocol. Opening the case; Harm noticed Animal nodding in approval as to the weapons garnered from the armory. He had an unsettling feeling that they would have need of the weapons before their investigation was through.

"Good work, Lieutenant Commander." Animal said as he felt the reassuring weight of the M9 fit his palm as he inspected the Beretta. "I hope we don't have to use them but I have this gut hunch we may need them. In 20 years; I've found it's best not to ignore my gut hunches. It's saved my life on many an occasion." He looked over at Harm whose nerves just knotted into tightly coiled bundles of stress. No matter how many dangerous situations Harm had been in he'd always known just how dangerous of a position he was putting himself into. But to not know the odds; to take a calculated risk and jump into the unknown was not a situation that made him comfortable in the least.

"Sir, anything new with regards to what we'll be facing when we get out there?" Harm asked not wanting to know the answer. If they were walking into an undisclosed black project; they could potentially be risking their lives. Harm was not looking forward to his first assignment with NAVINSGEN; frankly it was not the most auspicious start to his NAVINSGEN career.

"Nothing like having our hands tied behind our backs and thrown into the shark tank at meal time. Absolutely shit-all." Animal replied; his tone more casual than he felt. Looking over the file once more to make sure he hadn't missed anything, he closed the Manila folder with an audible snap of sheaves of papers hitting against each other.

"Do you have the feeling we're walking into a trap?" Harm wanted reassurance in the negative.

He wasn't going to get it when Animal bluntly replied "Yes!"

JAG HQ, FALLS CHURCH, VA; 1635hra

Meg and Lia strode through the double doors as junior officers got out of the two women's way almost as if they intuitively knew the two lieutenant commanders were on a mission and should not be impeded in any way.

"Tiner? Is the admiral in?" Lia asked brusquely; all business.

"Yes ma'am." The YN1 replied reaching for the phone. "Sir? Lieutenant Commanders Austin and Gracen here to see you."

"Send them in." Lia and Meg could hear Admiral Morris' reply from the phone. YN1 Tiner motioned the two lieutenant commanders forward. "Mr. Tiner."

"Thanks, Tiner." Lia grinned at him and strode to the admiral's door.

"You're welcome, Ma'am!" Tiner responded as the two women were ushered into the admiral's office and returned diligently to his duties.

As the two entered the office, RADM Morris looked up from his files and said briefly, "Commanders, I trust you've delved in deeper into the situation?" Lia nodded. "So...what can you tell me?"

"Sir." Lia paused briefly as RADM Morris looked sternly at her. "We found a witness whose testimony is being stifled. I think the situation goes deeper than a simple "disrespecting a commissioned officer" charge."

RADM Morris looked troubled. "Captain Hubbard is a highly decorated officer. Lieutenant Commander Gracen. It could potentially mean his career if found guilty of suppressing witness testimony."

"Suppressing evidence is a serious charge as well as witness tampering. The witness has information that could influence the case in either direction; for or against the accused and the jury has a right to hear it before they render a verdict. Sir" Lia insisted. "I wouldn't want the court to railroad the defendant into a guilty verdict because exonerating evidence was suppressed..." Lia was about to go on when Morris raised a hand to stop her.

"Lieutenant Commander; stop right there before you say something I shouldn't hear." Stopping her protest with a firm glare he stated. "Lieutenant Commander Gracen. I understand the seriousness of tampering charges but do not smear a superior officer until you have gathered all related evidence that he has done so or you will end up facing Article 107 charges. Do you understand me? Lieutenant Commander Gracen?" His saturnine face appeared to be akin to a thundercloud. Lia gulped. "What is your viewpoint. Lieutenant Commander Austin? Do you feel there is sufficient evidence of tampering to press charges against the Tuxpan's commanding officer?"

Meg shook her head. "No, Sir. We need to interview the current witness in a location where his testimony won't be suppressed." Meg didn't see it but Lia had a small smile on her face as RADM Morris nodded. "Then I would suggest that you go back to Norfolk and corral that witness then sequester him at the barracks in DC under guard."

"Yes, sir!" Both officers replied and proceeded to exit the admiral's office, stopping in at Lia's office to secure the witness statements in a safe, as Meg turned to Lia and said "You were the one who said to wait on the drive back. Why did you change your mind?"

Lia grinned at her. "I wanted to give Admiral Morris the impression of you not being an impulsive attorney. I wanted to see if you had the guts to say what you said in the office or whether you'd just be another two-and-a-half-striper yes-man. I have to leave him with a good impression of your capabilities before I transfer into judiciary. And by the way..." Lia's countenance turned serious, "A mark of a good investigator and lawyer is the ability to be able to overrule someone even a superior officer if he/she is going down the wrong path in an investigation. You don't do anyone any favors least of all the defendant if you don't turn over every stone. Meg, don't be afraid to speak your mind." She spun the combination lock on the safe opening it, then depositing the case folder into it. Grabbing her black jacket with gold oak-leaves on the epaulets from the coat hanger she slipped it on, she grinned "Back to Norfolk we go; it's gonna be a late night..."

Meg groaned.

Office of the Naval Inspector General, Pentagon Detachment. 1700hrs

"So..." Animal said. "We have weapons for self defense and a way of communication if we run into anything we can't handle, right?"

"As far as we know, sir" Harm replied. "We've gone over the minutiae of the case so that we know what's going on and what we need to look for in terms of discrepancies. We've rooted out anything that we think is suspicious and taken notes on that so we know who we're looking for. The only thing we don't know is where that money is being funneled to."

"I have an idea but I won't be able to confirm it after we're feet-dry." Animal rubbed his forehead, sighing tiredly.

Naval Station Three Rivers, Oakville, WI 2125hrs

The alleyway between the two buildings on-base was dark and unlit. If a passerby glanced into the alleyway they would have seen nothing but black shadows If they had paused to look deeper into the shadow their eyesight would have keened enough to see the shadowy forms of two men standing cloaked in darkness, articulating in broad gestures. "Look, I didn't tell them anything." , one of the shadows spoke waving his hands around.

"You should have kept a secondary set of books." The other shadow gesticulated sharply. "Look we'll take care of it. You won't need to worry about a thing. Why don't you have a smoke; it'll calm you "

A minute later one of the men walked out from between the buildings. If there was anyone who would have noticed the non-descript sandy haired man he would have been disconcerted to see a chilling smile cross the lips of that man as he swiftly but confidently made his way away from the alleyway.

Naval Station Three Rivers, Oakville, WI 0745hrs (next day)

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Naval Criminal Investigative Service looked down at the khaki clad body of one Captain Donovan Bryce. It looked as though he had collapsed and died of a heart attack his right hand clutching his chest. The ashes of a cigarette lay on the pavement nearby.

"It looks like a heart attack." Special Agent Joffrey Willems looked over at him casually ignoring the body. "Don't know why they called us out on this one."

"Made it look like one." Gibbs replied. "It isn't. I've seen this MO before." He turned to the other crime scene worker. "Bag him. We're going to need to have Ducky take a look at him."