--
Title: Honor and Betrayal PT 58 / 58
The conclusion
Author: Gabrielle T.
Stuart
Rating: PG13, to
R V, D, L,
Classification: Angst/ Drama / H/M shipper
moments
Disclaimer: JAG and characters belong to Donald Belisario and
Paramount Studios. No infringement intended.
Summary: Mac
experiences one of the darkest moments of her life, and Harm is forced to choose
between obeying his CO or betraying is partner and friend. This is a story
about rape, it's aftermath and the resulting investigation and courts martial of
the accused.
********************************
INT
BULLPEN
0840 HOURS
Briefcase in hand and deep in
thought, Mac steps off the elevator brushing past Gunnery Sergeant
Galindez as she walks off down the hallway.
GUNNY
(gazing after Mac)
Morning ma'am!
Oblivious to the Gunny's
greeting, Mac continues walking down the hallway to the bullpen
doors leaving Gunny somewhat bewildered.
GUNNY
(under his breath)
Well, I guess rank does have it's
privileges!
With that, he steps on the elevator and
the doors close behind him. Inside the bullpen, Harm walks out of
Tiner's office to see Mac walking past Harriet's desk.
HARRIET
(with exaggerated enthusiasm)
Good morning, ma'am!
Again oblivious to what is going on
around her, Mac enters her office without responding to Harriet's
greeting. A confused and yet concerned expression passing over Harriet's
face, she takes a case file from the top of her desk, stands and
begins to walk toward Harm.
HARRIET
(with much less enthusiasm as she approaches
Harm)
Good morning, Commander.
HARM
Morning. (noting
Harriet's gaze toward Mac's office) The Colonel probably
has a lot on her mind this morning, Harriet, .......you know with closing
arguments and all. I'm sure her temporary lapse in protocol wasn't
meant as anything personal toward you.
HARRIET
I realize that,
Commander. I'll just be so glad to see this whole thing
is over and done with so that this office can finally get back to normal,
Sir.......that is if that's at all possible after everything that's happened to
the two of you.
HARM
Well, Harriet, as my mom always use to
say, ......time has a way of healing all wounds. An old cliche
I know...... (smiling) But hey, it works.
HARRIET
(noting the once deep purple bruising on Harm's eye and
cheek now more greenish/yellow)
Speaking of old wounds, Sir, how's your
eye?
HARM
Fine!.......Trust me, Harriet, it
really isn't as bad as it looks.
HARRIET
Well, meaning no disrespect, Sir, but it
not only looks painful, it looks pretty ghastly as well, Sir!
Harm laughs gently at Harriet's pointed
remark wishing only to change the subject as quickly as possible.
Gazing over Harriet's shoulder
he observes Mac walking in his direction.
HARM
Mac!...
Harriet gazes over her shoulder to see
the Colonel approaching.
MAC
Morning, Harm.
HARM
Mac!.......
MAC
(acknowledging Harriet)
Morning Harriet!
HARRIET
(nodding politely)
Ma'am. (turning to Harm) Excuse me,
Sir,.....ma'am, ....but the Admiral was asking for this case file.
With that, Harriet turns away and walks
toward the Admiral's office.
MAC
(noting Harriet's attitude)
What's with Harriet?
HARM
Well, for starters, you neglected to
acknowledge her greeting when you walked into the office just now.
MAC
(regretfully gazing after Harriet as he disappears into the
Admiral's office)
Oh!.............(gazing to Harm) Well, I must have
been thinking about ......
HARM
(interrupting, a slight smile on his
face)
How you'd handle closing arguments?
MAC
(slightly insulted by Harm's taunting
manner)
Well, yah. Wouldn't you be if you
were in my shoes?
HARM
Well, I'd have to say yes to
that, Mac!........But I have confidence in Imes and Mattoni, and you
should too.
MAC
I do.
It's just that lawyer in me wants to get in there and fight.
HARM
I know that feeling all too well,
Mac! I've been there, remember?
MAC
So you have!......(gazing into his eyes
for a long moment) Are you going to be in court this
morning?
HARM
Baring any unforeseen disasters, yes!
MAC
(smiling)
Great!.....I'll see you there,
then.
HARM
(as she begins to turn away)
I've got a good feeling about this,
Mac!
MAC
(meeting his gaze)
Me too, but then doubts start creeping in on me and I find
myself getting nervous and flustered. (searching his eyes)
Pretty pathetic, huh?
Harm draws closer to her desiring to lend
her a sign of his support through the touching of hands or the stroking of
her cheek, but knowing the timing to be inappropriate.
HARM
No, Mac, not at
all. Just human! But just hang in there, Ok?
Because in just a little while, you'll have ridden out the worst of the
storm.
MAC
An old cliche, Harm..............but
nevertheless encouraging! (affectionately) Thank you!
With that, Mac reluctantly turns away and
walks out of the bullpen.
*****************
INT
COURT ROOM
0852 HOURS
Escorted by two SP's, Captain Peterson is
led into the court room to the contemptuous looks of many onlookers including
Mac as she sits at the prosecutors' table at the front of the court
room. Her eyes drifting down to his waist, she observes the
full set of manacles chained about his body. After removing the
manacles from his wrist and then the chain from around his waist, the SP's
strongly indicate the chair to Peterson and encourage his compliance by
physically taking either arm and guiding the man into the the chair.
One of the SP's posting himself immediately behind Peterson,
the second walks to the rear of the court room and takes up his post at
the door.
MAC
(leaning to Imes)
Well, at least they've taken some extra
precautions where Peterson's concerned.
IMES
Admiral Morris's doing I'm sure. I
doubt he wants to see a repeat of yesterday's theatrics. I
mean first Harm........then Peterson! This courts martial's already going
to go down as one of JAG's most volatile ever.
MAC
(her eyes meeting Peterson's as he stares back at
her)
Yah, well as long as Harm isn't within
Peterson's reach, everything should go fine now, shouldn't
it!
Imes gazes to Peterson noting the
cold hard glare in his eyes.
IMES
Well, he may have malice in his heart
alright, Mac, but I doubt that the man's ever going to get the chance to act on
it. Not from inside a prison cell, anyway.
MAC
Are you that sure the jury's going to
bring in a guilty verdict?
IMES
You know how all this works, Mac!
Nothing's for sure or for certain until the jury renders its
verdict. But in my opinion, I'd say a conviction's
a sure bet. (gazing to Mattoni) and so does
Alan.
Mac observes the optimistic look on both
her counselors faces and then gazes back to meet Peterson's
eyes.
MAC
I don't know, Carolyn. To me he's like the villain in
one of those old horror movie..........you know the one that always comes
back regardless of how many times he's been killed off.
Surprised by Mac's analogy, Imes gazes
intently to Mac noting the deep concern in her eyes.
MATTONI
(interrupting their conversation)
Oh, right! You mean Freddie Krueger in
Nightmare on Elm Street. I loved that movie.
IMES
(reassuringly, as she shoots Mattoni an evil
glare)
Don't let Captain Peterson intimidate
you, Mac! This isn't a movie and Peterson's not
indestructible. So just try and relax, ok! Everything will
turn out as it should.
At that moment, the Bailiff comes forward
and calls for the court to come to order.
BAILIFF
This court will come to order.......All
rise.
Everyone present in the court room stands
as Admiral Morris enters the court room and takes his seat on the bench.
BAILIFF
Please be seated.
With those words, everyone is seated as
Admiral Morris shuffles some documents on the bench and then turns his attention
to the counselors and their clients.
MORRIS
Are both prosecution and defense counsel
prepared to give their closing arguments?
IMES/ RYERSON
(in unison)
Yes, your Honor.
MORRIS
Then lets proceed.
With his command, Commander Imes stands
and approaches the jury. As she does, Commander Rabb enters the court room
and quietly slips into one of the closest available chairs at the rear of the
court room.
IMES
Three months ago the plaintiff, Colonel
Sarah Mackenzie, came forward and filed rape charges against Captain James
Peterson. Knowing full well the sort of stigma it would place on her
as well as the repercussions she would face in the wake of her filing said
charges, she moved forward with determination and fortitude motivated not
only by her desire to see the accused punished for his despicable act against
her but also by her desire to prevent the accused from ever committing such a
vile and perverse act against another human being ever again.
(she pauses) Having been drugged, her recollection of the events of
that night were at first vague and confusing, but nevertheless she moved forward
knowing in her heart that the accused had violated her in the most vile and
degrading way imaginable. Her intuition as it were was correct, because
since that time several witnesses have come forward and under oath have
confirmed that Captain Peterson not only used an illicit form of GHB but
deliberately and without conscience dispensed it into the drinks of unsuspecting
women for the sole purpose of raping them once they became inebriated by said
drug. Traces of GHB in its illicit form were found in the Colonel's
apartment. Medical reports from the ER confirm that there were signs
of physical abuse on the plaintiff's body. The defense has argued that the
cause of such injuries were sustained due to the inebriated states of both
parties. Partially true, as confirmed by blood tests performed on
both parties. But Colonel Mackenzie claims that once she lay inebriated by
the effects of the drugs, the accused forced alcohol into her system either to
make it appear as though she had willfully engaged in drinking with him or
to mask any evidence of GHB in her system. The only other
memories that the Colonel has after that point was of Captain Peterson
stripping her clothing from her body and in his drunken stupor climbing on
top of her and beginning.....I repeat........beginning..... to rape
her. After that point she apparently passed out from the
effects of the drugs and alcohol and to this day has no further
recollection of said rape. Her next memory was that of waking up the next
morning to someone knocking on her door. Further more,
witnesses testified that Captain Peterson not only used the drug on his
own accord, but apparently distributed the same to a subordinate
officer....Lieutenant Malory. That officer is now lying in a coma
after sustaining a terrible beating that was to have silenced any and all
testimony he had been willing to give against Captain Peterson. The
prosecuting attorney who initiated Lieutenant Malory's plea bargain,
......Commander Harmon Rabb was himself the victim of the same vicious
attack. And for what other reason could there have been for such an attack
if not to silence Lieutenant Malory from testifying and to smite the fear of God
into Commander Rabb so that he'd back off from pursuing the matter.
Now, understand that Captain Peterson is not on trial for the assaults on
Lieutenant Malory or Commander Rabb, but his motives for conspiring and his
compliance in initiating the assault certainly should be taken under
consideration. He wanted to silence a key witness in prosecution of
this case and in doing so, he was effectively obstructing
justice. I ask the members of this jury to weigh out all
the evidence in this case and to consider the testimony of all witnesses very
carefully. Once you have, I am sure you will find the defendant
guilty of all charges and specifications. Thank
you.
With that, Commander Imes quickly gazes
to each of the members faces and then walks back to her seat at the prosecutors
table. On the other side of the court room, Ms Ryerson quickly
exchanges glances with her counsel and then with Captain
Peterson.
RYERSON
Well, after yesterday's little fiasco,
let's see how much of your defense I can salvage in closing,
Captain.
With that, she stands and approaches the
members of the jury.
RYERSON
Captain Peterson is a man who has
dedicated his life to serving his Country in the United States Navy. As a
Navy Seal, he has seen combat in Vietnam, Kuwait, Kosovo and
countless black op missions throughout Europe and the Middle East. He's a
highly decorated officer with a impeccable service record that until this
point in time was without blemish. Surely a man of this caliber
would have little need to resort to such a despicable act as rape to fulfill his
sexual desires. Early on in the investigation into the alleged
rape, Captain Peterson willingly subjected himself to DNA testing as well as
blood and semen testing. From the beginning he has never denied having sex
with the plaintiff. He maintains that they both drank heavily on the
night in question and that they engaged in consensual sex. As to the
traces of GHB found in the plaintiffs apartment, they were found several months
later leaving one with the impression that perhaps said evidence could possibly
have been planted by the plaintiff or perhaps she even willingly ingested it on
her own. She was after all on the rebound after an argument she had with
her boyfriend only hours before the alleged rape. And we must also
take into account Colonel Mackenzie's past history where men are
concerned. Two separate cases where men she'd been in intimate
relationships with violently loosing their lives amidst the entanglement
of a lovers triangle. (Ryerson pauses for a long moment gazing back
toward Peterson as she paces before the jury members)
The accused has admitted to using an illicit form of GHB, he has admitted
to having problems with alcohol. He has admitted to having consensual sex with
the plaintiff. I'd ask the members of this jury to consider all the
testimony and evidence carefully because I strongly believe that the evidence is
circumstantial at best and the testimony only that of hearsay and
misconceptions. I ask that you find the defendant not guilty on all
charges and specifications. Thank you.
MORRIS
(as Ryerson returns to her seat)
Until such time as the members of the jury reach a verdict,
this court is adjourned.
Sucking in a deep breath, Mac turns to
Imes and Mattoni.
MAC
Well, now we wait!
******************
EXT
GARDENS
1242 HOURS
Mac sits alone on a bench carefully
examining the pebbled stones of the walkway beneath her feet. The closing
arguments running through her mind over and over, Mac finds herself frustrated
with all of the things that she felt should have been said and
weren't. So deep in thought, she doesn't notice Carolyn Imes
walking toward her.
IMES
(as she reaches
Mac)
Hey, mind if I sit
down?
MAC
(startled as she gazes up to see
Carolyn)
God Carolyn, you scared me half to
death.
IMES
Sorry!.....Can I
sit?
MAC
Sure.
IMES
(as she takes a
seat)
Kind of cold to be sitting out here like
this, don't you think?
MAC
I wouldn't know,
Carolyn. I think I'm too numb to be feeling much of anything
right now.
IMES
(gazing to her watch)
The jury's been deliberating for over
three hours now. I think that's a good sign, don't
you?
MAC
I guess it depends on how you look at
it.
IMES
I guess it does. But
there's a lot of people concerned about you and sitting out here alone in the
cold just doesn't seem right somehow.
MAC
Well, maybe some of them genuinely care,
Carolyn, but the rest are just curious to see how well I'll take the fall in the
event that a not guilty verdict comes in.
IMES
(shocked)
Mac, you know that's not
true.
MAC
(gazing to Imes)
Oh, isn't it? I mean regardless of
some bad press, Peterson's still coming off as the good guy here.......and me,
well, we needn't even go there now do we?
IMES
It'll all go away when this is over,
Mac.
MAC
Well, you're right about that, Carolyn,
but the damage will have already been done, don't you
think?
IMES
Granted the publicity has been very
negative, Mac, but it's in finding the kind of courage and fortitude that
you did in coming forward with this, that's going to set a
precedent for other women who've suffered the same sort of violence that
you have.
MAC
Well, let's hope so Carolyn!
**************
INT
TINER'S OFFICE
1252 HOURS
Tiner observes Harm entering the office
.
TINER
(indicating the Admiral's
door)
The Admiral said to go right in,
Sir.
HARM
Any idea what's on his
mind?
TINER
No Sir!.....But he did seem a bit on
edge.
HARM
(knocking on the Admiral's door)
Great!
From behind the closed door, both Harm
and Tiner hear the Admiral shout back his answer.
ADMIRAL
Enter!
Harm's eyes roll back in his head as he
pushes the door open and enters.
INT
ADMIRAL'S OFFICE
Harm enters the Admiral's office to find
him sitting at his desk sorting through some paper work.
HARM
You wanted to see me,
Sir!
ADMIRAL
Yeah!........You better take a seat.
The Admiral's tone of voice
indicative of his agitated mood, Harm swallows nervously as he takes one of the
leather chairs before the Admiral's desk.
ADMIRAL
How did closing arguments go this
morning?
HARM
As best as could be expected,
Sir.
ADMIRAL
Well, although that's not exactly good
news, it's better then the news I'm about to share with
you.
HARM
And what news would that be,
Admiral?
ADMIRAL
I was hoping that this wouldn't come up
for awhile, but....... I guess under the circumstances, they wanted to get it
out of the way.
HARM
(suspiciously)
They, Admiral?
ADMIRAL
The Ethics Board,
Commander. They've scheduled you're hearing for the first of next
month. So, you better prepare yourself.
HARM
(sighing deeply)
Yes Sir!
ADMIRAL
(sarcastically)
But then, ..........all things considered, you shouldn't
have too much trouble explaining why you assaulted your client in open court
room.
HARM
No Sir.
A long moment of awkward silence between
the two men is finally interrupted by Tiner's voice coming over the
intercom.
TINER
Excuse me, Admiral.
ADMIRAL
What is it Tiner?
TINER
Just thought you may want to know,
Admiral, the verdict is in on the Peterson court martial,
Sir.
***********
INT
COURT ROOM
1310 HOURS
Tensions abound among the people gathered
in the court room as Admiral Morris walks toward the
bench.
BAILIFF
All rise.
Everyone responds immediately by standing
including Admiral Chegwidden and Commander Rabb who share an intensely deep
desire to see a guilty verdict pronounced by the members of the
jury.
MORRIS
(taking his seat on the bench and lowering the
gavel)
This court will come to order.
BAILIFF
Please be seated.
MORRIS
(addressing the
jury)
Colonel McRain, have the members of the jury reached a
verdict?
MCRAIN
We have your Honor.
MORRIS
(addressing the bailiff)
Bailiff.
The Bailiff walks to Colonel McRain and
accepts a small sheet of folded paper and returns to the
bench.
Morris receives the folded piece of paper
into his hands, reads the verdict then gazes to Colonel
McRain.
MORRIS
Would the defendant and his counsel
please rise.
Reluctantly, Peterson stands with Ryerson
and Brumby to hear the verdict read.
MORRIS
Colonel McRain, would you announce the
jury's findings.
MCRAIN
On the charge of aggravated rape, this courts martial finds
the defendant.......guilty.
An array of voices rise up from among the
people gathered in the court room some pleased by the news, others
devastated. Shocked by the verdict, Mac turns
breathlessly to Carolyn as if questioning whether or not she was comprehending
Captain McRain's words correctly.
The dreaded words reaching Peterson's
hearing, he only responds with a cold, hard glare in his eyes as he faces the
bench.
MORRIS
(dropping his
gavel)
I'll have order in this court. (once silence ensues he
addresses the members of the jury once again) What is the recommendation
of the members as to the sentencing of the defendant?
MCRAIN
That Captain Peterson be punished to the
fullest extent allowable under the law, your Honor.
MORRIS
(turning to Peterson)
And I concur. Captain
Peterson, it is the judgement of this court that you be
sentenced to life imprisonment in the Federal Penitentiary at Fort
Leavenworth. (gazing to Colonel Mackenzie) This
court is adjourned.
Dropping his gavel one final time,
Admiral Morris stands and hastily walks out of the court
room.
IMES
(turning to Mac)
Well, we did it Mac!........We nailed the
bastards ass to the wall!
MAC
Did you ever doubt that we
wouldn't?
IMES
Truthfully,....... yes!
The two women embrace while over Imes's
shoulder, Mac notices the expression of relief on Mattoni's
face.
At the back of the court
room, Admiral Chegwidden sits in his chair with a smug grin on his
face while Harm leans back into his chair and folds his arms across his chest
obviously very satisfied with the verdict.
HARM
(gazing to the Admiral with a slight smile on his face)
Well Admiral, she did
it!
ADMIRAL
She sure as hell did, Commander!..(gazing
to Harm).......With a little help from her friends.
With that, the Admiral stands and
casually walks out of the court room. Harm follows close on his heals
momentarily gazing back to the front of the court room to see Mac basking
in her victory as she wraps her arms around Mattoni in a grateful
embrace.
MAC
(embracing Mattoni)
Thanks for everything!
MATTONI
(gazing over her shoulder to see Harm
walking toward the court room door)
You're welcome!......But I think
there's someone else you should be thanking, Mac.
Mac withdraws from Mattoni's embrace and
gazes in the direction of his inference to see Harm slipping out of the court
room door.
MAC
I know!......Thanks
Alan.
With that, Mac hastily follows after
Harm.
On the other side of the court room,
Peterson's wrist are being shackled as Mac walks past him on her way to
the court room door. Immediately noticing Peterson's contemptuous
glare toward the Colonel, Brumby draws nearer to Peterson.
BRUMBY
Get over it, Captain, she won!
PETERSON
Yah, well, this thing isn't over yet!
RYERSON
You should have pleaded guilty to a
lesser charge, Captain, you would have gotten off with a ten years instead
of life.
PETERSON
(sharply gazing to Brumby)
Yah, well, I'm not going to prison.......this conviction
will be overturned on appeal.
BRUMBY
Don't be too confident,
Captain! We gave you the best defense
possible.
PETERSON
Yah well, maybe you did!......But then
if Commander Rabb hadn't screwed up my defense in the first place, I
probably would have walked.
BRUMBY
You know, Captain, usually when I loose a case I tend to
question my own abilities......you know,sort of try to figure out where I
went wrong or perhaps where I could have done better. However, in this
case, I can honestly say I have no regrets......because you see, in the
end it's you that screwed up your own defense, Captain!.......You, ....your
arrogance, and all your lies catching up with you.
PETERSON
Oh, spare me your psychobabble,
Commander, and just be sure to tell Rabb that he's not seen the last of
this. ........Not by a long shot. He's gonna pay for
what he's done.......and sooner that he may think.
BRUMBY
Harsh words coming from a man destined to
spend the rest of his life in Leavenworth, don't you
think?
PETERSON
Well, I always keep my word,
Brumby!.....So what does that tell yah?
Meeting the cold glare in Peterson's
eyes, Brumby feels a chill run down his spine as the two SP's escort him
out of the court room.
BRUMBY
(addressing Ryerson as he gazes after
Brumby)
Well, I'd like to hang around just to see
how the rest of the events unfold, but unfortunately I've been
recalled to Sydney.
***************
EXT
JAG OPS TERRACE
1342 HOURS
Stepping out into the cold, crisp
February air, Harm takes in a deep refreshing breath in an attempt to
relieve himself of some of the tension brought on by the morning's court
proceedings. Walking slowly out onto the terrace, he hears the
clattering sound of a woman's high heels approaching him from
behind. To his delight, a quick glance over his shoulder reveals Mac
walking toward him.
MAC
(as she walks out onto the terrace)
Hey.........why'd you run off like
that?
HARM
I didn't run off, Mac.
I just thought that I'd give you a moment to share your victory with counsel and
figured I'd get my turn when you weren't so busy.
MAC
You mean when it'd be more private, don't
you?
HARM
Well, yah, something like
that!
The two exchange glances of mutual
affection each falling into a moment of awkward silence .
HARM
(at length)
So, how does it feel to know that you've beaten the odds,
Mac?
MAC
I don't know, Harm........overwhelmed,
..... bewildered, excited!
HARM
Relieved?
MAC
Yah, mostly relieved I think because now I know I can get my
life back on track.......and hopefully you can too!
HARM
Well, look at it this way,
Mac! W what challenge would there be in life if it
weren't for a few bumps in the road now and then?
MAC
Bumps?..... ..(laughs) I
think I liked the old riding out the worst of the storm cliche better,
Harm!
HARM
(smiling as he finds himself appreciative to hear the sound
of Mac's laughter)
And that you did, Mac!.......(he pauses for a long moment
admiring the woman before him) I always knew you
were an amazing woman, Mac!........I just never knew how amazing ....not until
now, anyway.
MAC
Well, you're a pretty amazing
man yourself, Harm!
HARM
(teasing as his lips part in a smile)
I know it!.....And you're
welcome.
The two of them laugh together and then
another long silence passes between them.
MAC
Thanks for sticking by me through all
this, Harm. You never gave up on me.........not even when everything
seemed so hopeless.
HARM
That's because you never gave up
yourself, Mac. In spite of everything you never lost faith in
yourself.
MAC
If you only knew what was going on inside
of me all the while, Harm, you'd think
differently.
HARM
Oh, I'm sure you had your doubts,
Mac.......but you never lost faith. There's a
difference.
MAC
So, where do we go from
here?
HARM
I don't know, Mac! Let's take it
one day at a time.......and see where it all
leads.
MAC
I can do that, Harm!
With that, the two officers gaze out onto
the the court yard each carefully considering what the future may possibly hold
for them.
********************
EXT
BRIG
TWO DAYS LATER
Wearing a full set of shackles, Peterson
is escorted by two SP's out of the building to an awaiting
van. One of the SP's is Master Sergeant
Durant. Standing outside the van is a third SP bearing the
rank of First Sergeant. As Peterson approaches, the
First Sergeant slides open the cargo door.
FIRST SERGEANT
(sharply)
Inside.......Captain.......(mockingly)
Sir!
Peterson gazes to the First Sergeant with
contempt as he passes him by and reluctantly steps into the van.
FIRST SERGEANT
(contemptuously)
Have a nice life!
The First Sergeant then slams the door
shut and steps away from he van as Master Sergeant Durant climbs into the front
passenger seat. Inside the van, another SP is sitting
behind the steering wheel awaiting Durant's ok to move on out. Durant
gazes back through the mesh wiring separating the front cab from the cargo
area.
DURANT
One prisoner ready for delivery to
Andrews, Corporal! (turning to the young Corporal) Let's do
it!
With that, the van moves away from the
building and toward the gates. Stopping and then gaining immediate
clearance, the van moves through the gate and into the street beyond the massive
walls of the brig.
PETERSON
(under his breath)
Let not the sun go down upon your wrath
sayeth the Lord! (laughs cynically) Well, it may have to
in my case.......but then, it's only a matter of time.
***
The End ****