::  Murder In Baltimore  ::

Chapter Twenty Eight

When AJ and the MPs reached the 5^th floor, the receptionist informed them that ‘the prisoner’ had been moved to ICU. AJ was surprised one of the policemen on duty was there to lead him to the new location. Once they reached ICU, AJ posted one Marine at the entrance to the ward, one outside Galindez’s room and one to walk the halls. He advised all three not to make trouble with the Baltimore cops but not to leave their posts either.

AJ knew that Garvy, whom Anderson had left in charge, wouldn’t be happy, but with what he had just heard downstairs from Agent Ryan, he wasn’t taking any chances. Someone had tried to kill Galindez and it wasn’t going to happen again. The night nurse came out of one of the back rooms and approached AJ. Her cool, profession bearing immediately impressed him. She was of above average height, slender, and her skin was a light café au lait. "Sir, I’m afraid that only family is allowed up here. And then, only one at a time." She took the three Marines in her glance. "Unless, of course, you are planning a military campaign that I don’t know about." The joke was weak but, the voice was lilting, and AJ heard just a touch of her Cajun roots.

"Nurse, I understand the rules of the ICU. <<<Lord knows I’ve been in enough of them.>>> The Marines are here to make sure that no one harms Gunnery Sergeant Galindez. I am his only family here at the moment. I’m going to sit with him until he wakes up." He kept his voice soft and respectful.

Nurse Tina Danvers was impressed with his tactics. She had been married to a military man and knew that most men of Chegwidden’s rank would be throwing it around by now. She nodded towards the room and the comfortable chair that was placed there. "Well then, you might as well get comfortable. We provide those chairs for a family member who wants to stay with loved ones when they are recovering." She also kept her voice respectful.

AJ started to turn to enter the room when she continued in a voice of pure steel, "But hear me good, mister, if a crisis occurs, Admiral or no Admiral, danger or no danger, you and your men get and stay the hell out of my staff’s way. Are we clear on this?"

AJ recognized true authority when he heard it. He faced the determined woman, raised his hand in a casual salute and replied, "Yes, ma’am."

He sat and waited over an hour. He thought of what was going on, somewhere in the city and wanted desperately to be there. He knew he had no business there. Hell, there was probably a rule about him even being on the site when the ‘shit hit the fan,’ but regardless, he ached to be there. He wanted to watch Cassandra Ryan in action. Even though he was still furious with her. Even as mad as he was by the fact that she somehow was responsible for Galindez’s condition, he could not deny his fascination with the woman. He sighed and stood. He put his hands to his back and tried to work the kinks, the frustration, and the utter exhaustion out. Just as he was about to check on the other two Marines, he heard the bed sheets rustle. He went back to the bed and saw that Galindez, his wrists strapped to the bed, was getting restless and slowly coming out of the anesthesia. AJ began to pat his shoulder. "Easy son. I’m here now and nothing more is going to happen." Just then, Nurse Danvers, alerted by the monitors at the ICU station, came in to check to make sure that everything was going smoothly. She gave AJ a look that brooked no argument.

AJ immediately stepped outside the room and into a policeman he had never met before. "Admiral Chegwidden, my name is Detective Sergeant Bush. I am here to take charge of the security of the prisoner. You and your men are free to leave now. What with the FBI and my men, we really don’t need your men here." The man had a supercilious, yet sly air about him. AJ didn’t bother to point out the obvious fact that there was no FBI agent left in the building, let alone on the floor. He stepped into the man’s personal space and glared down at him and said in a voice a bit too loud, "I don’t give a damn how many cops and agents are on this floor, I WILL have my Marines outside of his door."

Tina Danvers came out of the ICU room and pushed between the two men. "Admiral, you’ve been warned." She looked at the Detective with a puzzled look in her eye. "Who are you and why are you upsetting my floor?"

Detective Bush glared at the woman, "I’m in charge here."

AJ saw Officer Garvy come up behind the irate Bush, a puzzled expression on his face. "Detective Bush. Since when does Narcotics get involved with prisoner protection?" AJ felt his insides clinch.

Bush whirled around but addressed Garvy in an almost casual air. "There’s something big going down. They pulled a bunch of men in for some kind of raid across the river and since they were shorthanded, I volunteered to come over here and take charge." AJ was instantly on full alert. He folded his arms across his chest and felt Corporal Timms, standing just behind him, tense. He also noticed that the raised voice had alerted not only Corporal Rogers, on patrol detail, but the three Baltimore cops as well. Bush suddenly got very red and growled, "I was trying to help out, it looks like you have everything covered." He pushed Garvy out of the way and stormed off to the elevators. Just before the doors opened to admit him, he turned and glared hatefully at AJ.

Once the doors closed, Garvy turned to the Admiral and scratched his head. "What the hell was that all about?"

AJ thought for a long while before he replied, "I’m not sure, but I think we should let Anderson know what happened. Do you know where he is?"

Garvy shook his head. "Nope, he called me a little while ago, but I could barely hear him. I’ll say one thing for Bush. Something is going on."

AJ barely heard the rest of the statement. He returned to Galindez’s bedside and stood staring down at the Gunnery Sergeant. He felt a gentle hand on his arm and looked up to see Danvers watching him.

"You know, he's going to be out for awhile now. The anesthesia has worn off, but we have him pumped so full of pain meds that he isn’t going to wake back up for a long while. Why don’t you try and get some sleep." Danvers smiled, turned and left the room. The beeping of the monitors and the low murmuring in the corridor the only sounds in the dim room.

AJ sat down in the chair and thought. He wanted to tell Anderson what was going on here. <<<Good excuse Chegwidden. Lame, pathetic, but usable.>>> But he had no idea how to get in touch with him. He looked out the ICU room window. He could see Garvy talking to Rogers. AJ knew he wasn’t needed here. He wanted to be where the action was, but, short of driving all over Baltimore, he had no idea where to start. He sighed, got up and began to pace. Michael Jacobs had only been Director of the FBI for a year. AJ hadn’t had a lot of dealings with the man, but what little he knew impressed him. The only trouble was, short of pulling rank, he had no way to find the man this late on a Sunday night. He really knew no one in Baltimore whom he could call and say, "Hey, buddy, I understand there are big doings going down; I must have lost my invitation." <<<Where the hell is a good police scanner when you need one.>>> AJ suddenly stopped his pacing. A slow smile crossed his face and he reached for his cell phone. He left Galindez. Looking for privacy, he searched down the hall until he found an unused room. He sat on the bed and forced himself not to think about how nice it would feel to lie down for a few hours. He shut his eyes tightly, forcing himself to remember the number he needed.

"ZNN Washington Bureau." The brisk voice announced.

"Tom del Rio, please."

"I’m sorry, sir, Mr. Del Rio is out on a story right now."

"This is Admiral AJ Chegwidden, I was wondering if you could either patch me through to him, or if you could take my number and have him call me back immediately." AJ could hear the woman thumbing through papers on her desk. He knew he was on the roster that listed the names of people that del Rio and his cohorts wanted patched through to them, wherever they were. He and Tom del Rio had running tabs with each other. The reporter kept AJ abreast of items that he ran across that were of interest to the Navy and AJ reciprocated by making sure that del Rio got news items just a little bit sooner than other news sources. Once or twice he had even fed the reporter an exclusive. They weren’t friends, but they trusted their relationship.

Within 30 seconds AJ heard, "del Rio."

"Tom, its AJ. What are you doing?" He asked briskly.

"What do you want to know, AJ?" The reporter knew better than to just offer anything without a little quid pro quo.

AJ sighed, "Are you on your way to Baltimore?"

The reporter snorted, "I’ll be damned. How is the US Navy involved in this, AJ?"

"Damn it, Tom, the Navy isn’t. Just tell me, okay." AJ kept his frayed temper under control. Tom had never hung up on him yet, but tonight was not the night to piss off the volatile reporter.

Incredulous, del Rio laughed, "You’re kidding me, right? Hey, wait a minute, you’re in Baltimore with that Sergeant of yours. By the way, is he going to live?" del Rio shot out the questions, one after another. He sensed that his BPD source might have turned him on to something big. Before AJ could answer his question, he continued excitedly, "No way, AJ. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll pick you up, and, on our way THERE, we can discuss it. Okay."

AJ rubbed his forehead. He was seriously considering calling the FBI and pushing his rank around, but the damage was done now and del Rio would be like a terrier with a bone until he found out why an Admiral wanted to know about a story that del Rio had just heard about himself. "Where are you right now?"

"Ten minutes away. Are you at Baltimore General?"

Making one last-ditch effort, "Yes, tell me where to meet you…"

Tom del Rio guffawed, "Nice try, Admiral. Be downstairs in 15 minutes. Oh and AJ, be prepared to share."

AJ stared at the silent phone in his hand. He cursed under his breath as he left the dim, quiet room. He stomped down the hall toward the ICU suite. As he approached, Timms and Rogers took one look at him and immediately came to attention. Behind the desk, Nurse Danvers, watched in awe as AJ walked up to Rogers first and got in his face. "No one, except Nurse Danvers, or Dr. Morris gets into see him alone. If an orderly wants to draw blood or change his bed, Danvers here, had better be able to personally vouch for him or her. If another cop wants to ‘visit’ him, you tell him his lawyer said no." AJ paused and included Timms in his glare. "Do you both understand?"

Danvers didn’t think that the Marines could stand any straighter but she could have sworn that they did; in unison they said, "Sir, yes, sir!

AJ then turned to Tina Danvers. Before he could say anything, she softly said, "Don’t worry Admiral, I’ll take very good care of Mr. Galindez."

AJ nodded and went to take one last look at Galindez. "Gunny, I swear we will get you out of this mess."

He walked back out of the room and looked around for his coat and cover. He realized that he had left them on the 5^th floor. Just then, Garvy, walked out of a waiting room with both of them in his arms. He handed them to the Admiral and said, "Sir, I don’t know what is going on, but, we’ll back up your Marines 100%. When you find Anderson, would you tell him that?" AJ nodded and headed toward the elevators.

AJ had only been standing outside the main entrance to the hospital when a ZNN van, complete with satellite dish on its roof, pulled into the circular drive and stopped in front of him. Tom del Rio was sitting in the front seat with his window rolled down. He leaned out the window as the side door rolled back. "Jump in, AJ. Let’s go see why there are only three FBI agents left in D.C." AJ jumped in the back and sat in the small jump seat immediately behind the driver. The cameraman had been relegated to sitting on his rump on the floor next to the equipment.

::  Chapter 29  ::

Cassie Ryan looked at the men and women standing before her. Anderson had come through big time and she vowed that he would not be hurt by his efforts. <<<Yeah, just like you vowed that nothing would happen to Galindez while he was in custody.>>> She forced her thoughts to the mission at hand and began speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Let’s get down to business. You are here today to stop something very bad from happening. Because of possible leaks within the Baltimore Police Department, no one will be allowed to leave the room unless a federal agent accompanies them." The BPD members looked at one another, stunned. Some even began to mutter among themselves. "Please understand me. I know many of you. I know that you all have issues with what you perceive that I have done to you, working undercover and spying on you. The fact remains that what we do here tonight will save the lives of policemen all over the U.S. I know nothing personally bad about any of you here, but I cannot take the chance that someone here will tell the wrong person and my people AND you will be placed in even more danger than I am about to put you in."

"Somewhere in this city there is a warehouse full of guns, including assault rifles. They have ammo, including ‘cop-killers’. From our latest intel, they have a large stash of drugs, too." Cassie sighed deeply and looked at her fellow federal agents. She knew most of them and she knew that some of them could very well die tonight. She could only trust that the body armor they had brought and the covering fire from the locals would protect them.

From the back of the room, one of the SWAT team members called out. "Sounds to me like another monumental fuck-up. Like Waco or the Branch …"

Sharply, Cassie cut the man off, "On the contrary, as someone who ‘survived’ Waco, I can guarantee you that I will not have that happen on my watch. Other than moving up our timetable much sooner than we had anticipated, every man and woman on my team is prepared for this and knows what to do. We just don’t have the back up in place like we had hoped. But understand this. We cannot let the guns leave the warehouse tonight and our sources tell us that trucks have been called in to do just that."

Another BPD street cop raised his hand. Cassie nodded at him to speak. "Why tonight? If your intel is so good then why didn’t you know sooner that they were going to move the guns tonight?"

Cassie really didn’t want to go into this now, but it was a valid question. "Something spooked them, we are not quite sure what. My sources didn’t know." She lied smoothly. Like she had told Anderson at the hospital, she had gotten very good at that.

Another cop started to raise his hand. Anderson, who had been standing quietly off to side finely stepped forward and snapped. "That's enough people. We are here to keep over 500 guns from flooding the streets. Some of those streets are bound to be ours, so listen up and let's get this over with."

Cassie silently thanked the man and then walked up to an overhead projector and turned it on. The hand drawn map showed the entire layout of the area. A large warehouse was shown. The streets on the map were all unmarked. Only a few of the SWAT team members even suspected where the building actually was located. The building took up the entire block except for a small area that had once been a parking lot. To the west and south there were vacant lots. To the east and the north more buildings were indicated. Cassie pointed to the warehouse. "This is our objective. We will converge on the building from the north and the east, keeping as low a profile as over 50 people in police cars and armored vehicles can." Nodding to the man at her left, "Lieutenant Anderson has made sure that four engine companies from four different districts in the city are on stand by. Five minutes before we arrive, a small collision will occur just here." She pointed to an open spot on a vacant lot to the west. "We have rigged the cars to catch fire, thus giving the fire trucks an excuse and hopefully drawing a little attention from the occupants of the building.

Each police vehicle or SWAT armor vehicle will be assigned an agent. Gentlemen, I am sorry as hell to treat you this way. Truly, but this is just too important. The agent will direct the vehicle to the site. Once we are on site, it really isn’t going to make a hill of beans as to who finds out, so if you are so inclined, knock your socks off. Once we are at the scene, the SWAT teams will position themselves here and here." Cassie pointed to spots on both buildings. Lieutenant Anderson will be in charge of the BPD members on the east building."

She sighed, looked over at her partner of more than 10 years. "Agent Hobson will be in charge of the north building." She watched as he kept his face perfectly calm. Only she could see how completely pissed off he was. She knew he wanted to be part of the team entering the building, but she just couldn’t do it. Partners protected each other and there was no way he could protect her during the firestorm that she knew would occur tonight. She could protect him however; she owed Sylvia that much. Two weeks into their new partnership, she had introduced Lee to her college roommate. Six months later, she was maid of honor at their wedding. She was godmother to all three of their little girls. She had asked him to protect Galindez and she knew he was feeling guilty about ‘letting him’ down, ‘letting’ him nearly get killed. Tonight she had to be the tough one. She couldn’t have him in the line of fire, feeling anything but 100%. <<<Crap, one more man in my life I’ll have to deal with later.>>>

"Each of the snipers from the SWAT team is invaluable to this operation. You will need to do what you do best, hopefully picking off targets before they pick us off. Now, please take a look at the two pictures that have been placed before you. These men are not to be hurt. They are not to be shot at. They are mine and with what they have gone through these past two year, they deserve not to be killed by cops. If one of them dies from a cop’s bullet, I will see that charges are brought against you. Now let's suit up and get there. The crash will occur in twenty minutes."

She walked away from the podium and agents that had been picked before hand and approached their very unhappy counterparts. She saw Hobson approaching her but Anderson beat him to her. "Nice, Ryan. Really inspired interagency cooperation there, didn’t you?" His rage at her cavalier attitude towards HIS people bubbled to the surface. "Just who the hell do you think you are talking to my cops like that? I don’t care if there are leaks; you could have approached them better than that."

As mad at her as he was, Hobson, jumped to her defense, "How did you want her to approach it, man." Suddenly effecting a falsetto that stopped Anderson cold, "Okay boys, here the address, meet us there as soon as you can. Do what you have to do but pretty please don’t hurt any of my undercover agents." He voice dropped three scales and he continued. "Grow up, Anderson. You know what's at stake here. And, trust me, you will get the credit your team deserves." He then gave his very petite partner a look that said, ‘Nobody messes with my partner – but me.’ Hobson then turned and went to round up his team of snipers.

::  Chapter 30  ::

AJ sat stony-faced in the back of the ZNN van as the driver traversed the length of Baltimore.. Tom kept asking him questions and after the fourth, "When I can Tom, it will be an exclusive." He decided to shut up and wait.

A half an hour later, he stood on the street corner behind police barricades and wondered why he ever thought he couldn’t have found this mess on his own. From what he could tell from his admittedly poor vantage point, four large fire trucks had blocked the entrances to the streets circling the large, turn of the century warehouse. The firemen were safely tucked away behind the engines, ready to put out any fires that might ensue, but out of harm's way until that time. There were no less than three armored SWAT vehicles on site, but he could see no SWAT team members on the ground. He raised his eyes to the two buildings nearest the warehouse and finally made out several rifle barrels from the roofs and even a couple of the higher windows. He scanned the ground team, frantically looking for her. He finally spotted someone that could only be her. Even in full body armor with head and face protection she looked so damn tiny, crouching behind one of the SWAT armored carriers that had been parked directly across the street from the main entrance into the building. He noticed there were remains of a car fire further down the street, but dismissed it immediately to concentrate on her.

He was in such a lousy position he couldn’t make out what she was saying through the bull horn. The brisk November wind off the Bay carried her voice away from him. Whatever she said though was met with instant response from the occupants of the warehouse. The agents on the ground, all in their "FBI" emblazoned body armor, ducked for whatever cover was available as rounds and rounds of rifle fire rang out from no less than 10 different positions from within the building. The SWAT teams returned a more considered and careful fire pattern and, when the exchange was over, no one on the grounded needed the "confirmed hit" signal; the body of one of the gang members lay hanging out one of the third floor windows. AJ watched as Ryan spoke into her radio. He was dying to hear what she was saying - praying that she wouldn’t do anything stupid.

"She really is quite good at this you know." AJ spun at the sound of the almost familiar voice and found himself staring into the eyes of Michael Jacobs, Director of the FBI. "You shouldn’t be here you know, Admiral." Before AJ could reply, he continued. "But since you are, let's both of us get suited up and try and get a better vantage-point." He motioned for the agent accompanying him to lead the way and they pushed their way through the throngs of milling firemen, precinct cops and several reporters that also obviously had their sources. They finally made it up to a statuesque agent, standing guard over the supply vehicle. Jacobs recognized her as one of the agents who had driven up from D.C.

"Agent Straight."

The blond agent spun at her name, her eyes grew very round and she stuttered. "Director J-Jacobs! Sir." She didn’t know what to say so she just stood there waiting for her boss to say something else.

"You got some gear for me and Admiral Chegwidden?" He nodded at his companion.

Given a direct request, Agent Straight quickly opened the back of the van and motioned both men to help themselves. AJ had been on a few raids in his life, usually not with this much protection, but he knew what to do with it. So did Jacobs. She stood there with her mouth hanging slightly ajar and then pulled herself together. "Sir, what exactly are you planning?" When Jacobs indicated the top of the building to the north, she shuddered and then turned away from them and spoke into her radio.

In all the noise, AJ could not make out what was being said, but he kept his eye on the petite form in a huddle with several other agents. Her facemask has been pushed up to the top of her head and he could now make out her features. He watched as she held the radio up to her ear and then start to look around.

Cassie turned away from the other agents and partially stood up and let her eyes search the crowd. Her eyes finally locked onto his, but a shot from across the street ricocheted off the vehicle shielding her and she ducked back down. By the time she looked again, Jacobs and Chegwidden were on their way across to the doorway of the building.

AJ and Jacobs reached the building unscathed and began the ascent to the roof. By the time they made it up the 5 flights, they were both winded. Hobson met them at the entrance to the roof. He had served under Jacobs before he was director and knew better than to chide him for putting himself needlessly in danger. Instead he led them over to the safest spot he could find that he felt Jacobs would accept. It gave a reasonably clear view of the building across the street but was situated at such an angle that a gunman would have to lean out the window to even aim.

They waited for over ten minutes. They were standing together staring down at the dynamo below them directing, pointing, grabbing agents and getting them in position. She was continually barking orders into the radio and Jacobs listened and occasionally nodded in approval at something that AJ couldn’t hear; there had only been one extra set of earphones in the van.

Casually, Jacobs began to fill in some of the blanks for Chegwidden. Jacobs knew all too well that the JAG felt that the FBI in general and Agent Ryan in particular, were responsible for Galindez’s condition. "She and Hobson worked under my jurisdiction when I headed up the Violent Crimes task force." Jacobs began. "She’s always been a go-getter and she is a good team leader." He glanced over at his companion who had his eyes riveted on the scene below them. "This case though... I told her to get someone else to do it. But she just asked me who had the experience to get into the situation and still not arouse any suspicion. Hell, I don’t care that she looks like a fresh kid out of the academy; she’s getting too old for a two-year undercover assignment. Particularly one like this."

Finally a question he could get answered. AJ tore his eyes away from the scene below him. "Just how old is she?" He asked, total exasperation coloring his voice.

Jacobs looked at him in puzzlement and then amusement. "Let me see, she had her 15 year anniversary party right before she took this assignment. Twenty-five, when she joined the force." He pretended to do the math in his head, but he knew exactly how old she was. "That would make her forty-two this spring."

His tone bitter, AJ snapped, "Does she even remember how to tell the truth?"

Jacobs growled in anger, "She slogged her way through the crap with vice and then a stint in Narcotics. That alone netted us some good busts. But she has always wanted those guns. The first indication we got something was going on, was when guns stolen 48 hours before, from the Quantico armory, were used in a drive by shooting. We couldn’t figure out how a punk kid got a hold of such a heavy piece. We came in and started questioning him, in conjunction with the local cops and Stark. The kid made allusions to a stash of weapons somewhere and we had just about finalized a deal with him when he was killed in the shower of the city lock up. That’s when decided to put together a team. Cassie handpicked the men that were going to have to infiltrate the gang. That was the toughest part. Hell, Chegwidden, you know the type of people we recruit. She mother-henned kids straight out of the academy. She found real tough nuts to walk them through their paces. Then she sat up nights worrying whether or not it was all worth it in the end, because she didn’t know what these young guys would be like once they went back to ‘normal’ bureau work." He paused and AJ heard the exhaustion in the Director's voice, "That is if they made it out. She hated what we were doing."

AJ was beginning to understand, but still he had to ask the only question that mattered to him, "What about Galindez? Did she use him, too?"

Jacobs gazed at AJ for a very long time before answering. "Do you mean did she set him up for murder? No. She never did figure out what was going with Galindez? But she knew he didn’t kill Sherilee, because she saw Sherilee with a Marine just before the murder and it wasn’t Galindez. She finally realized just what the hell was going on, but she could never figure out why. She couldn’t come forward because that would blow the case to hell. So she let him get arrested. She played along with Grayson. She had hoped that once the judge allowed bail, he could be kept out of the same lock up where our friend from 2 years ago had been killed." Jacobs dropped his eyes to the pavement below. "But he never made bail. When he didn’t even try, she panicked. She called me and told me to do something and I asked her what." He looked down at the pavement below. "She did everything she could to protect him. Getting me to send you those stupid e-mails, nudging you into seeing it was all a set up. Getting Hobson to get himself arrested and put in the cell next to Galindez." He brought his eyes back to AJ’s, "You think THAT was easy? And you want to know the kicker here? We still don’t know why or who killed Sherilee. But, from what we can tell, God forgive me, good riddance. Sherilee was a real, sick, piece of work."

At this confirmation of everything he had suspected, AJ was surprised to feel the anger drain out of him. He understood what she had gone through for the past two years. And, now that he understood the stakes, he wondered if he would have done as much for Galindez as she had tried to do.

Catching motion on the street below him, he saw that Cassie was making another attempt with the bullhorn. This time because of the acoustics the sound bounced up and he heard. "Tino, for chrissake, give it up. No one has been hurt out here. You kill a federal agent Tino and it’s all over. Come out now before any more of your people get killed. Or don’t you give a shit about them?"

From inside the building came a response that was heard up and down the street. Even though the man didn’t have a bullhorn, the voice carried so perfectly that even the people on the rooftops heard. "You know O’Brien, Ryan, whatever the fuck your name is, you bitch. I told Teddy boy you were up to no good. You know what he called you? He called you a stupid cunt." He never knew. He should have killed you, instead of my Sherilee, you bitch."

It was all AJ needed to hear. He looked back at Jacobs in triumph and because his back was turned, he never saw the rifle raised from the fifth floor window. He heard the shot, but before he could turn back, shouts of "Man down. Man down," drifted up from the street. AJ didn’t need earphones to know. He heard Hobson’s anguished. "No" and Jacobs muttered, "Shit!" to know that it wasn’t a ‘Man,’ down. He leaned over the edge and saw the body sprawled face up. Even with her facemask firmly in place and agents huddling around her, he knew. It was Cassie.

He pushed away from the wall and past Jacobs. He bounded down the steps so fast and so noisily that he didn’t here Hobson call Jacobs back. He never noticed that his were the only footsteps bounding down the stairs. He made the first floor and ran out onto the street. He ran to the ambulance and then abruptly halted.

She was sitting in the open door of the ambulance. The EMT was helping her get her jacket off and listening to her bitch a blue streak. "I’m fine, I tell you. The impact knocked the wind out of me but the damn thing couldn’t have been a very large caliber. It doesn’t even hurt." The EMT kept nodding and kept tugging at her jacket.

Cassie was getting more and more heated when AJ walked up and pushed the EMT out of the way. He grabbed her startled face in his hands and kissed her soundly. Just as she started to respond, he broke the kiss. "Enough, damn it. Let the man check you out." With that he went and leaned against a nearby cop car, his arms folded across his chest glaring at her. A shocked quiet had befallen everyone who had witnessed the scene.

The EMT carefully approached his patient and squeaked, "Can I finish now?" Still stunned beyond words, Cassie could only nod. Her eyes locked onto AJ’s. The man quickly finished getting her out of the windbreaker covering her kevlar vest. He gingerly opened the side straps and moved the shoulder padding away from her body.

From where he was standing, AJ could see there was no blood but still he waited, barely breathing, while the EMT slowly manipulated her arm. His eyes never left hers and he saw her wince but that was all. The EMT proclaimed, "Well I suspect you will have a nasty bruise, but the bone isn’t broken. I don’t suppose I could talk you into going to the hospital for a x-ray?"

Cassie finally shook her self and looked at the young man. She actually smiled at him and shook her head no. He sighed and refastened her vest. He started to help her on with her jacket when AJ walked up. Gruffly, he said, "I’ll do that." He pulled her padded windbreaker up and gently smoothed the shoulders. She gave him one last gaze before she reached for her helmet and walked back into the foray.

AJ turned and sat on the ambulance seat. He couldn’t believe what he had just done. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting here with a grin that he couldn’t manage to conceal. <<<She’s not dead.>>> He looked up into the night sky and breathed a silent prayer of thanks.

An hour later, agents stormed the back of the building. Snipers kept the gang members occupied in front. In the end, six gang-bangers walked out of the building. From the look of relief on the face on Jacobs who had finally joined him on the street, AJ knew that Cassie would not have to carry the guilt of losing two men to the assignment. Cassie and one other agent, who had been shot in the fleshy part of the calf, were the only Federal casualties.

Jacobs stood next to him and waited until they heard the "all clear" before walking toward the entrance of the warehouse. He was halfway across the street before he looked around and then back at AJ. "You comin’?"

AJ and Jacobs stood in the middle of the second floor of the warehouse and slowly turned. Neither could believe it. Hidden under drop cloths, agents found row after row and case after case of guns. Many of them with the US Army or US Marine Corp serial numbers still stenciled on their front. One of the agents found a crow bar and handed it to Jacobs who opened a case that had been placed before him. Five AK-47s rested stock-to-barrel. Three other cases marked U.S. Army yielded twelve SIG SG550’s. AJ looked around him and figured quickly that if only half of the cases carried assault rifles then there were well over a thousand guns, many of them military ordinance. He decided he had better call the SecNav now. He looked down at his watch and grinned evilly as he speed dialed his boss. It was 0400 hours.

::  Chapter 31  ::

Kate Pike rolled over and peeled one eye open and stared at the empty place next to her. She groaned as she remembered last night. They had tried several times to reach Chegwidden. First, on his cell-phone which was shut off, then they had tried at the hospital but a Officer Garvy had advised them the Admiral had left an hour before and he had no way of reaching him.

They got the whole story from London; at least his version of the whole story and Harm was excited about the fact that Galindez wouldn’t have to stand trial. Webb had put a small damper on his enthusiasm when he pointed out that it wasn’t over yet. Stark could still present the case. Harm had glared at Webb and Webb had begun to egg him on when Kate finally put her foot down. "Guys." She allowed a moan to escape, "I’m really tired now. Galindez is safe in the hospital, right? There are Marine guards there, right? Can this wait until tomorrow? I’m sure the Admiral will show up by then and we can all decide what to do."

Rabb had grinned sheepishly and arranged to have MPs guard the Admiral’s house, ‘Just in case.’ Webb had sauntered out of the house and to his car. Finally, it was just the two of them and the guards. Rabb had looked over at her and said softly, "Hey, I’m sorry. Come on I’ll drive you back to your hotel." And he had. He had walked her up to her room and as she unlocked the door, she rested her head against it. He noticed the bruise then. He pushed her gently into the room and made her show him just how badly she had been beaten. He had held her and rocked her until she finally let the events of the past 12 hours overwhelm her and she burst into hard racking sobs. He let her cry it out, patting her back and gently kissing the top of her head.

Kate closed her eyes at the memory. One thing had led to another and the next thing the two old friends and lovers knew, they were in bed making tender, but passionate love. <<<One thing about Rabb, the sex was always good.>>> She listened and was relieved to hear water running in the bathroom. She was glad he hadn’t left her alone in the…night? Kate finally registered that the light coming from the slit in the hotel ‘black-out’ curtains was not the dull grey of dawn, but really very bright. She looked quickly at the clock on the nightstand and groaned. 1000 hours!! She looked around and saw her robe tossed across the foot of the bed. <<<He was always considerate too.>>> She put it on and padded to the bathroom door and gently knocked.

When he didn’t answer, she pushed opened the door and saw him shaving, using one of her disposable razors and her SkinSilk Shave cream. He looked over at her and grinned. "Hey, I can go to work in a rumpled uniform; I’ve got an extra one at the office, but the Admiral frowns on me shaving at my desk. You need to get in here?"

She shyly shook her head. "Nah, I can wait a little." She saw that he had used the small coffee maker that the hotel provided to all its guests. She poured a cup and before she returned to the bedroom she looked at him. "You called in, didn’t you?"

By now, half his face was finished. He looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Yeah I called in and told them that I was running late and that you had been pretty beat the night before…no pun intended…and that I would pick you up and drive you in around 1100. Bud told me that after he found out what happened at the Admiral’s house last night, he arranged for a car to take Coulter up to Baltimore."

Kate asked, "How did he find out what happened at the Admiral’s house last night? When did you call him?" Kate watched as the cleaned side of his face turned an embarrassed pink.

"I didn’t. Webb called him from his cell phone last night." He returned to the task before him.

Kate shook her head ruefully and went back to the bedroom and turned on the TV set. She bunched all the pillows against the headboard, got comfortable and used the remote to see if she could catch some news. She turned to ZNN and sat unbelieving as the news anchor said, "Stay tuned for more on our breaking story from Baltimore. The small screen behind the anchorwoman showed the fire trucks blocking the streets - lights flashing from dozens of police cars and police and FBI milling around. "Harm." She called. "Harm."

The door to the bathroom opened and he looked out at her, "You callin’ me?"

"Harm, come and look at this."

Slightly exasperated, he padded into the room with a towel wrapped precariously around his waist. "Kate, we are late as it….."

The scene on the television finally caught his attention.

A reporter, dressed in a grey suit and tie and no hat, stood in front of a police car. Shivering in the cold November wind he intoned, "Jeanne, I’m standing in front of the old Elston Warehouse, supposedly vacant for the past 10 years. However, last night a crack team of FBI and Baltimore City Police, aided by members of the DEA and U.S. Marshals discovered that it really wasn’t as empty as everybody suspected." The image of the reporter was replaced by footage of row after row of handguns, assault rifles, and even two rocket launchers, laid out on the floor of the warehouse. The camera panned up and Harm and Kate saw the Director of the FBI walking with a man identified as Baltimore’s Deputy Police Chief Frank Miller, pointing out the various rifles and their potential for destruction if they got out on the street. Just as he pointed to a particularly nasty looking piece, Kate caught a flash of gold braid in the background. She couldn’t be sure of what she had seen and she looked over at Harm and found him looking back at her with a shocked look on his face.

She gulped, "Did you see?"

Harm nodded. "Yeah, but it couldn’t be. Could it?"

They returned their attention to the screen and found the image of the reporter was back. "Also on hand was Admiral AJ Chegwidden, the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy. ZNN has learned from the Secretary of the Navy that the Admiral is acting as his official liaison on-site, as many of the weapons seem to have come from both Naval and Army reserves. There has been no comment from the Secretary of the Army. This was the scene, earlier this morning." Again the reporter was replaced; this time by murkier nighttime footage showing police shooting into the building. The voice-over related the statistics of the operation and mentioned that while two agents had been hit, neither were in serious condition.

The picture again reverted back to the reporter, whose nose by now had taken on a clearly bright red tinge. "Jeanne, one of the interesting aspects of the entire night was that it seems that another case involving a Marine Gunnery Sergeant, might finally have some light shed on it. We are waiting for official word, but it appears that Gang Leader Michael ‘Tino’ Smith, named police Detective Ted Grayson as the murderer of Sherilee Cloud, a hooker and sometimes girlfriend of Mr. Smiths. Fortunately for Mr. Galindez, a tape was made of the shouted accusation, as Mr. Smith did not survive the raid. When reached at his office, District Attorney Stark, who had charged Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez with the murder, would not comment. We will keep you advised on all breaking aspects of this case. This is Tom del Rio for ZNN news."

Harm sat staring at the screen and then over at Kate. He whispered, "You better shake a leg, Commander. It is going to be one ‘hell-on-wheels’ kind of day."

::  Chapter 32  ::

Sarah MacKenzie had slept fitfully the night before, tossing and turning. She had nightmares of London attacking Kate and not being able to get to her in time. Finally she woke at 0556 like she always did and donned sweats and went for an early morning run. She grabbed a cup of coffee at the PX. While she was waiting for the counterman to ring up the coffee, she noticed the Washington Post headline. MAJOR GANG RAID. She didn’t pay too much attention until the smaller column header caught her eye. GUNS SEIZED IN B’MORE. She grabbed a copy and returned to her room, showered and dressed.

She arrived at the meeting early and was able to scan the paper. Only one line caught her eye. ‘The Judge Advocate General of the Navy, in town on another matter, has assumed the role as naval liaison to take responsibility for naval armament that was reportedly found on the scene.’

Marine General Layton was a stickler for agenda and procedures, so she did not get a chance to hear what other members of the meeting had heard on the early morning newscasts. When the 1000 break came around she was able to glean some details, but most were sketchy. She sat through the rest of the meeting focusing on not tapping her pencil in impatience.

Fortunately, the meeting went smoothly. She presented the JAG’s position in a professional manner and sat back down. She was thrilled that they finished their business and adjourned by 1215. Mac declined several offers of lunch. She raced back to her room and quickly packed up the car. She was northbound by 1250 and once she past Richmond and into the smoothly flowing traffic, she speed dialed the office. "Admiral Chegwidden’s Office" Tiner intoned.

"Petty Officer, its Colonel MacKenzie. Is the Admiral in?"

"No ma’am. He called in earlier. Would you like to talk to Commander Rabb?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Rabb."

"Hey Flyboy, I hear you guys weren’t the only ones to have some excitement last night." Mac tried very hard to keep the edginess out of her voice. But, Harm had been her partner and her friend for too long not to miss some of the anxiety.

"Well, yeah. From what I heard it was quite a shoot up, but I don’t know any of the details."

Somewhat surprised, Mac asked. "You weren’t there with him?"

"Me? Nah, I was too busy with London last night. Hey, you know he spilled his guts." Harm said in gleeful voice.

Mac forced her eyes to stay on the road and not close in frustration. "Oh, yeah. So tell me."

Rabb hemmed and hawed for a moment before he finally answered. "Mac, look…uhm… what London told us last night…well, for now, let's just leave it at this. London’s agreed to testify that Gunny couldn’t have done it. I’ll tell you everything when you get in. You are coming in today, aren’t you?"

Mac responded disgustedly, "Terrific. You can’t even tell me what’s going on, fine. Look I got to concentrate on driving here. Traffic is starting to pick up. I’ll see you in about four hours." Before he could respond she ended the connection.

During the drive north, Mac tried hard not to think about everything that she had missed since she left less than twenty-four hours ago. She began a litany to the windshield, "Harm figures out a way to save Gunny. Webb is just in time to save Kate. The Admiral is present at the recovery of over 1000 assault rifles. And you, Sarah? You made a meeting. Terrific! Great! Just Wonderful!" She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. As frustrated as she was, she did try and figure out how the Admiral had gotten involved in the weapons raid. But not for long and by the time she arrived in Falls Church, she had managed to work herself into a state alternating between high funk and low depression. She parked her car and grabbed her briefcase. She slammed the car door, a little too hard, and stomped up the steps. She jerked open the door to the lobby and saw Clayton Webb talking with Corporal Wong who was stationed behind the front desk tonight. She snapped, "What are you doing here?"

Shocked by her tone, Clay fumbled for a snappy comeback, but only managed a wane smile. "AJ called. He probably wants to chew my ass out for the damage on his house." He saw her look get more enraged. "No really, I’m sure he just wants to be filled in on what happened after…" A spark of understanding interrupted his retort.

But, before he could finish, Mac cut in testily, "Since I left yesterday."

"Since Galindez was stabbed." In a softer tone, "What’s the matter, Sarah?"

She felt ashamed for snapping at him and his concerned tone only made it worse. She shook her had and replied ruefully; "I’m sorry Clay, really. I’m just feeling left out."

They had walked away from the front desk and were now standing by the elevator. Clay kept his eyes on the floor indicator and replied. "Okay, I think I can understand that. But, why take it out on me?"

As they watched the elevator number slowly progress from the fourth to the third to the second floor, Sarah sighed deeply. "Why? Because, you were there. Because, I was being a bitch. I’m sorry, Clay. Truly, I’m sorry." She looked over to see an almost imperceptible smile on his lips. As the doors of the elevator opened, she took his arm and let him lead her in. "So how’s the back?"

She saw his smile grow wider as he looked over had her. He loosed his arm from her grasp and raised it up high enough to put it around her shoulder. She searched his face for any sign of pain, but could detect nothing there but a look of longing. He pulled her to him and whispered, "I’ll always be there for you to ‘take it out on,’ Sarah." He then raised his other hand to her waist and let his lips claim hers. She opened her lips to his and kissed passionately, tongues dueling with each other. So engrossed with each other, that neither heard the ding of the doors opening, but both heard a startled,

"Eerp"

Sarah reluctantly broke the kiss and looked over and saw Harriet standing just outside the elevator doors, her eyes opened about as far as she could open them. Mac grinned lazily and looked up at the floor indicator and then back at Harriet. "Sorry, Harriet. Are you getting on? Too dazed to say anything, Harriet merely shook her head.

Clay reached out and pressed the ‘Close Door’ button. He had never removed his arm from around her waist. He gently kissed Mac on the nose and then whispered, "I don’t care what time this damn meeting gets out, Sarah MacKenzie. I want you in my bed tonight."

Sarah gently touched her forehead to his and whispered back, "Yes."

Chapters 33 - 35

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