1710 hours
Mic Brumby’s Apartment
Georgetown
Mac put her car in park and got out. Looking up, she saw Mic leaving the apartment with a guy she’d never seen before. “Sarah,” he said happily.
“Hi, Mic,” she replied with a smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. Thank you, love.”
Mac eyed Mic’s arm closely. *Wasn’t it his left arm that was broken? Any why isn’t he limping?*
“Sarah, this is Darien. He’s a friend of my families. Darien, Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie.”
The two shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Darien.”
“Likewise, Sarah.” He turned to Mic. “Well, I’d better be going. See you later. Bye, Sarah.”
They watched Darien pull out into traffic. “Mic, you shouldn’t be on your feet,” Mac said taking his hand.
At this, Mic realized that he should have been limping. *Aw,, she won’t notice. Who am I kidding! This is Sarah MacKenzie!*
“I suppose your knee is feeling better?” she asked.
“Yep, it is,” he said as the entered the building. “It’s still a bit sore, though.” Mac nodded. “Sarah, is there something wrong?”
“What? Oh no, Mic. I’m fine,” she lied. *What is going on?*
~~~~
1855 hours
Robert’s Apartment
Richmond, Virginia
“AJ Roberts, stop that this instant!” Harriet scolded. Her son was hanging all over Harm.
“No, it’s all right, Harriet.” Harm knelt in front of his godson. “Here, AJ,” he said, handing him a present.
Little AJ jumped up and down with excitement. He tore off the paper and opened the box eagerly. Pulling the gift from the box, he squealed with delight. It was an F-14 Tomcat. “Oh, tank you, Unca Harm! Tank you!”
“You’re welcome, AJ,” Harm replied with a smile.
Harriet took Bud’s hand in hers. Little AJ had done the one thing no one else could do: Give Harm something to smile about.
~~~~
2030 hours
Tuesday, March 20, 2001
Harm’s Apartment
North of Union Station
It had been a week since his suspension. Harm was beside himself. Now the two most important things in his life were gone. Work... and Mac. He was hoping for a chance to get both back. But now... now it seemed like neither was going to happen. “Oh well, who am I kidding? My life sucks that way.” The shrill ring of the phone brought Harm back to his senses. “Rabb.”
“Mr. Rabb. Meet me at 434 Baxter Street. Come alone.”
“Wait! What is this about?”
“Just be there at 2100!” the man said. Before Harm could reply, he heard a dial tone. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. He had 20 minutes to get there.
~~~~
2057 hours
434 Baxter Street
Georgetown
As soon as Harm arrived, he new it was a bad idea. Looking around, he noticed that the building was abandoned. “This is definitely not good,” he muttered pulling out his cell phone.
“Chegwidden.”
“Sir, this is Cmdr Rabb.”
The Admiral sighed. “This had better be good, Cmdr.”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Sir, but I received this cryptic phone message and I thought I should let someone know where I was. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Where are you? And why?” Harm explained the phone call to his CO. “Why in the hell didn’t you attempt to get the call traced?” Chegwidden asked. Before Harm could answer, he felt something hit him in the back of the head.
~~~~
2100 hours
Mac followed a little ways behind Darien and Mic. They were headed to Baxter Street for some reason. Just what were they up to? And why had Mic lied to her? Mac left Mic’s apartment around 2010. She stayed in her car to see what Mic was trying to pull. 30 minutes later, Mic walked over to Darien. The only thing that caught her eye was the fact that Mic was using both arms and legs now. Had her fiancee really lied to her?
Pushing the thought away, Mac watched in horror as Darien hit the unsuspecting man on the cell phone over the head. She watched Mic stroll casually over and kick the semi-conscious man in the stomach. Before Mac could recover from the shock, the two jumped into the car and sped off.
The Marine cautiously got out of her own car and headed toward the man. He was lying on his stomach. She could hear someone calling out over the phone. Mac picked it up. “Hello?”
“Col MacKenzie?”
“A-admiral Chegwidden?” Mac said nervously. “Hold on, Sir.” She turned the man over and her worse fear was confirmed. “Harm!”
~~~~
2310 hours
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Room 1121B
Harm woke up to something bright flashing in his eye. “Doctor, he’s coming to.”
“Cmdr Rabb.”
Harm opened his eyes fully and realized he was in the hospital. “What? How did I get here?” he asked confused.
“A young woman found you. Col Sarah MacKenzie.”
“Mac?” Confusion was still evident on the man’s face.
“Cmdr, I’m Captain Joshua Taylor, the primary physician here at Bethesda. Would you like me to get the Col?”
“No, Sir,” Harm replied. “Is Admiral Chegwidden here?” The doctor nodded and left to get him.
What did Mac have to do with all this?
~~~~
“Admiral, Mr. Rabb is asking for you, Sir.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Chegwidden said getting up from his seat.
The doctor was heading back to the room when Mac spoke up. “How is he, Sir?”
“He has a slight concussion and some cracked ribs. We’ll keep him here for a few days for observation.”
“Captain,” Mac said. “Did he say anything about me, Sir?”
“No, Col. He was actually surprised you found him. Excuse me."
~~~~
“Cmdr, you asked to see me.”
“Sir, forgive me if I don’t stand up,” Harm said wincing.
“It’s all right, Harm. Do you maybe want to tell me what happened.”
Harm explained the events of the attack. “I couldn’t really tell what they looked like, but the voice of the man who kicked me was unmistakeble. It had to be Brumby.”
AJ looked at Harm questioningly. “So, you don’t believe someone beat up Mic Brumby at all. You think he faked the whole thing?”
Harm nodded. “Because he realized that I am in love with Mac.”
“I thought you and Renee...”
Harm chuckled. “No, Sir. She left me a month ago. When she realized that the one woman I wanted in my life wasn’t her.” He slammed his hand on the bed. “How come it took her less than a year to figure out what’s taken me six years!”
~~~~
Mac sank into the waiting room chair. “Oh God, Harm. What have I done?” The Marine in her lost the battle and began to cry. “I may have lost you forever.”
Stay tuned for the sequel, "Truths"!