So Crazy It Just Might Be Brilliant (Only the One Part, Though)
Certain Methods
Word Count: 2,768
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Okay, definitely going down the Dani/Nico route, definitely some Harriet/Bud. Not sure about the Harm/Mac angle yet. But Chegwidden features heavily/centrally to the story, too.
Spoilers: Although I reference something from 1x12, I'm actually going to set this after 1x10 for Necessary Roughness. For JAG? Um... season two, definitely related to that season. Specifically "Secrets" and "Ghosts," and a lot of this won't make sense if you don't know those eps. Otherwise, the spoilers/timeline from JAG is kind of... vague.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I just break things.
Summary: Direct, indirect. Legal, illegal. Military, Civilian. Every person has a different method for handling situations. Some are better than others.
Author's Note: And a mix of light and dark this time, maybe really as always...
Escalation Across the Board
"I know that, sir, but you are not listening. No, I am listening, but you're not hearing me. I know what you're saying. I know why you're saying it. I know why you think it would be a good idea, but I am telling you, it's not going to work," Webb repeated, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He sounded very frustrated, and Harm almost pitied.
Almost.
"If Careles was unwilling to cooperate before, he will be only more unwilling to do so now. He is not going to change his mind," Webb almost shouted into the phone. Whoever was on the other end was an extremely bad listener. Or an idiot. Maybe both. After what Harm and Mac had seen inside that house, he knew there was no way that Careles would cooperate with the CIA-or that Osborne or his protector would live through this. They would both be dead by the time that it was all done, and no speech or appeal to morals or ethics would reach the admiral or his friend, not this time.
Harm himself had a hard time disagreeing with that, after seeing this. He knew that there were worse crimes, but both he and Mac had been shaken by seeing that room. It was hard to believe they were seeing a mass grave in the middle of New York. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen here. It wasn't supposed to be done by one of their own-though Osborne's true loyalties seemed extremely debatable. He didn't deserve to have been a part of their Navy or with the CIA, twisted as that agency was.
Looking over at Mac, Harm moved closer to her, touching her arm gently. "Hey."
She turned to him, forcing a smile. "We've seen a lot of horrible things in our time, haven't we?"
"Not quite like a bunch of bodies stacked in a room, left for the gas main to explode," Harm said, and she nodded. She was a tough marine, and she'd hate him for the natural male instinct that wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her. She'd never accept that, though. Sarah Mackenzie was a marine. She rarely ever seemed willing to admit that she was a woman, and she'd kill anyone who thought she was part of the "weaker" sex.
"Wouldn't it have made more sense, if they were planning on covering it up with a gas leak, to leave all the bodies where they were? Why gather them up like that? It still looks like a mass murder, a mass grave, even with the gas main explodes," Mac said, shaking her head in confusion and disgust.
Harm took a deep breath. "I was thinking about it, actually. I think maybe they were left there as a lure. We were led right to that room, and if we'd stayed much longer, we would have been caught in that explosion."
She frowned. "So you're saying that we were supposed to die in there?"
"Not necessarily us, Mac. The admiral or Careles, maybe, or maybe it was us. Maybe the idea is to lead us down this wild goose chase so that we'll be picked off, one by one until Osborne has eliminated the people the admiral and Careles care about. Careles has most of his people out of Osborne's reach. He can't get to them. But he can get to us."
"And he picks us off one by one, eliminating the other man's rivals as well?" Mac finished. "It's not a bad scheme, really. It would be rather effective."
"We should move on to the next name on the list."
"You think someone gave Careles false leads?"
"No, I think they're probably real, but that's not going to stop Osborne from taking them out one by one. If he's smart, he go after the real one somewhere in the middle, and that one he will have one body missing, only we won't know it."
Mac nodded. "Makes sense. You think the admiral and Careles have figured this much out yet? Should we try and contact them?"
"The admiral's a smart man. Careles is pretty good, too. They might have figured it out, or they could be in trouble. We'll have to split up the rest of the list anyway."
"So we'll get Webb off the phone and call the admiral," Mac agreed quietly. She sighed. "How many more people are going to die before this thing is finally over? And what is it even for?"
"Greed, most likely," Harm muttered, looking over at Webb. The man was still busy arguing on the phone. They may as well interrupt him. He wasn't going to get anywhere. Careles would handle the situation-not for the CIA but to end it for himself and the people that mattered to him. He wouldn't handle it the way the CIA wanted it, either. Someone would die this time, and not at the agency's hand.
Mac shook her head angrily. She went to Webb's side and took the phone, ending the call. He stopped, frowning at her. "Major, what the hell did you do that for?"
"Because it was a waste of time. We already have the list of targets. We need to make contact with the admiral and Careles, and we need to find the rest of these people before Osborne does."
"That's your plan?"
"We'll explain on the way, Webb," Harm said, pulling him toward the van. Mac started to dial the admiral's number as they got back in the van. They had a lot of work to do, even if the list was not very long.
"Did you think they'd be alive?"
Nico shook his head. "Not really. It felt... too easy to get that name and location narrowed down. We know that Osborne and his associates will go after more of the names on that list-one of them will be the actual controller, but we won't know until all of them are dealt with and we're a body short."
"Come on, Nico," AJ objected, not liking the other man's tone. "Since when do we let them get away with pulling that crap? No one is getting away with this, not this time. The body count is already too high. It was too high before he killed the woman I loved, and it's only gotten worse."
"You could have called me then," Nico said quietly. "I would have dealt with him, and your people would never have been the wiser about it."
"Wasn't thinking clearly. If I'd have known it would end up like this, you can bet I would have," AJ agreed, though it was not an easy thing to ask of anyone. Soldiers in command were one thing. Nico was a civilian these days, even if AJ kept calling him by his rank and someone had recalled him to active duty. Nico had made a decision a long time ago to give up military service, to sever his ties with his crime family, and to make it so he never had to kill again. Asking Nico to deal with Osborne would have ruined all of that, but the man would have done it.
"It would have been worth it, preventing this. I don't care how many nightmares it would have reawakened or how many bottles I would have crawled into," Nico said. He shook his head. "He's here. He's watching. He's not making a move, though."
"Waiting for you to be alone, maybe."
"No, I think he's waiting to see what we do about the mess he left for Mackenzie and Rabb to find," Nico disagreed. "You should go, AJ. Take one of the other names on the list. Pull Roberts or Sims from the safe house or take one of my people. Osborne and I have a very long waiting game to play, and I don't have to be watched."
"I've come too far to let you get yourself killed now."
Nico laughed. "Dying is the easy way out of what's ahead of me when this is all over. I have to get that paternity issue settled, get my daughter back in rehab, deal with the woman that has worked her way into my life despite my best efforts, and if I survive either of them, I'll be lucky."
AJ nodded. "Still, nothing better to heal all wounds than the love of a good woman. You have it, Nico. Don't let it go."
"Oh, you've met her, AJ. You know there's not much I can do about that. She's too stubborn to let me go, and while I can be a real bastard, I don't think even I'm capable of hurting her enough to scare her off. She'll just kick my ass and make me pay for it."
"Best kind of woman to have. One that won't put up with your crap but still loves you. Makes you one hell of a better man."
"And will we ever find you one of those, AJ?"
"I don't know. Does Santino have a sister?" AJ joked. Nico's lips curved into a dangerous smile. AJ knew that look. He shook his head. "That was just a joke, Nico. Even if she had a sister-"
"She's got something better than a sister. A woman named Jeanette."
"Don't you dare."
"I think the situation would bring her back from Europe," Nico went on, enjoying this. After everyone's jokes, teasing, and comments at his expense, AJ would expect nothing less, but he didn't need a matchmaker. This was hardly the time for it. Nico was forced to acknowledge his feelings for the doctor based on what was going on around them, but this mess was not something to bring another civilian into, and certainly not because AJ was single when everyone around him seemed to be pairing up, not that it mattered if he was alone. He was fine on his own.
"Don't bother. We still haven't figured out who Osborne is working for or what the objective of all of this is. That comes first."
"Then I will make the call when this is over," Nico said, grinning. AJ shook his head. That phone call was never going to happen.
"We have to make it through this first, remember?"
"That's why you should take someone and go. You know I'll be fine."
"You just want me to leave so you can call this woman."
"I can call her at any time, AJ. I am trying to end this thing. We need more people working that list, and you know it."
AJ gave his friend a long look. He didn't like the idea of leaving Nico on his own. The man was bound to end up hurt-or worse-again. "Nico-"
"I will be fine."
"You'd better be, Lieutenant, or I will hunt you down in hell and kick your ass for this."
"Oh, don't you think maybe I could have a few cookies? Just a couple? This is driving me crazy. I hate being shut in like this. And now that the admiral took Bud away, I don't have anyone to tease. Harriet's too much like you," Juliette moaned, hanging her head over the edge of the couch, kicking her feet in the air. Dani thought that was how she preferred to sit, upside down. Anything unusual or attention getting or maybe it was because it was uncomfortable. Juliette liked to be defiant in even small ways.
"I don't think so," Dani said, reaching over to catch one of the girl's feet. She held it still for a moment, looking down at her. "You have had enough sugar to last you for days."
"I disagree. There is no such thing as too much sugar."
"There is," Dani told her. She had raised two kids-she knew what too much sugar was, and she was not exactly looking forward to another wave of Juliette on sugar. The girl was like other addicts, seeking something to replace what they'd been hooked on-that or anything they could do to get their minds off the cravings. It was classic replacement, and sugar wasn't all that uncommon. Shopping or gambling, those were also common. And overeating. "You're not having any more today."
"I think we should do something positive to get everyone's mind off the situation," Harriet began, walking back into the room. She balanced a tray in her hands, a pitcher of ice tea and three glasses-no sugar.
Juliette sighed in disappointment, but Dani smiled in gratitude. Not much got past Harriet, either. And that thing with the tray was no mean feat, either, Dani thought as she picked up the full pitcher and started pouring a glass. "Nice work. Thank you for this, Harriet."
"Not a problem. I'm used to it. Public affairs officer for the Sea Hawk, but before that, debutante."
"And then you joined the navy?" Juliette asked, intrigued. She put her feet down and sat up properly. "Really? Why? Doesn't that mean that you're... loaded?"
"Honey, you and I are both living proof that money does not buy happiness," Harriet reminded her. Juliette made a face, and Harriet sighed. "I love my family. I know I am very lucky. I just don't-I wanted my life to mean more than parties and expensive things and my mother."
"I think, Juliette, if you had an interest to pursue, a career or a hobby, that you'd get a lot more enjoyment out of life," Dani added, handing her a glass of tea. The caffeine could become a problem, but hopefully not for a while. "Have you given any thought to that at all?"
"I was supposed to go to college and everything just because it's what you do. I didn't like it, didn't find a major or anything. It was just something I did, and I never really showed up for class. They gave me a few causes to support when I was younger. They wanted me to look like a person who cared about something other than money, even if they didn't. I was no good at it," Juliette said, shrugging. "I don't know. I'm definitely not joining the navy, I can tell you that much."
Harriet smiled. "It's not for everyone, but I like what I do."
"Maybe I'll just go on annoying Nico. That's enough for now, right?"
"Nico cares about you a lot," Dani began, knowing that even if the man didn't want to show it, he had. He took care of that girl, maybe even too much. "Still, that's not really a direction for your life to go. You need something to focus on, a goal to keep striving for even after you've managed to get past rehab. That's a starting place, not an end, to that journey. It is something you will fight for the rest of your life."
"I don't know. I've never really given it much thought. I didn't have to do anything before, and it seemed like as soon as I enjoyed something, my parents did something to ruin it. Nico's the only thing that's been constant in my life, sad as that is."
"He might be your father," Harriet pointed out. "I swear, sometimes, if I didn't have my father, I never would have survived my mother. I say that loving her, but she is... She can be very difficult. My dad... He made it worth it."
Juliette smiled a little. "Yeah, that's kind of what Nico did for me."
"Why don't we take some time to figure out things that might interest you? I think Nico said that Chegwidden's daughter had a connection to the fashion world, so you could spend some time with her to see if any of that-" Dani broke off as she heard a loud thump out in the hallway, like something or someone had fallen. Harriet reached for her bag and took out her gun, making Juliette's eyes widen.
"Back into the bedroom," Harriet said, looking a bit nervous as she rose. Dani hesitated, but the other woman nodded with more conviction the second time around. "This could be a false alarm, but if it isn't, I need to be between you and what might be about to come in that door."
"Harriet," Dani began as she got Juliette up and on her feet, pushing her toward the back of the apartment. "You-"
"I am a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Doctor. I don't doubt that you can take of yourself, so don't doubt me," Harriet insisted as the door broke open. Dani shoved Juliette behind her as the men entered the room.
Harriet fired.
Chapter Seventeen