Honor& Betrayal
PT 51
******************
INT
JAG OPS
0955 HOURS (Monday)
The elevator doors slide
open to reveal Mac, Harm and Bud as they step off the elevator dressed snuggly
in their covers, overcoats, scarves, gloves and boots.
MAC
(stomping off the snow from her boots)
You know, you'd think that
if the SECNAV wanted JAG Ops up and operating today that someone could
have at least made sure the parking lot was adequately cleared !
BUD
(breathlessly babbling on with
concern)
Well, I'm just glad you're
ok, Ma'am! Harriet was beside herself with worry when she couldn't reach
you over the weekend. I mean until I returned Commander Rabb's
car this morning, we didn't have a clue as to where you
were.
HARM
(turning to Bud as they pause before entering the bullpen
doors)
Bud!........
BUD
Yes
Sir!
HARM
Take a moment to breath,
will you?!
BUD
Yes Sir!.......Sorry,
Sir!
MAC
Look, Bud, I'm sorry
I didn't let any of you know where I was. But I did report my location to
the duty officer as per regs....and well, he must have misunderstood me or
something!
BUD
I understand,
Colonel, and I'm sorry I caused all the confusion, but after
Harriet heard about the power outage in your part of town Saturday afternoon she
wanted to be sure you were ok.
MAC
(shooting Harm a quick glance then gazing to Bud)
Well, that was sweet of
her, Bud! And I am sorry, for all the worry I caused the two of
you! Believe me, the next time something like this happens, I'll be
sure to let someone other than the duty officer know where I am.
BUD
That would be my advice, ma'am!
With that, Bud turns away,
opens the door and all three officers enter the bullpen.
MAC
Bud?
Bud gazes back to Mac
questionably.
BUD
Yes ma'am?
MAC
Why didn't you think of
calling Harm?
BUD
Well........I did, Ma'am......and......so didn't
Harriet.......but....... we both thought the Commander would probably be resting
and.....well, we didn't want to worry him.......
Bud's words are cut off by
the Gunny's announcement as Admiral Chegwidden walks through the
doors of the bullpen with Brumby on his heels.
GUNNY
Attention of deck!
ADMIRAL
(responding immediately as everyone comes to
attention)
As you were people! (as he approached Mac, Harm and
Bud)
Ahh, Colonel!.........I see
you've been found!
MAC
(her eyes meeting Harm's)
I wasn't aware I'd been
lost, Sir!.....(gazing to meet the Admiral gaze) Well, not
until about forty- five minutes ago anyway, Sir!
ADMIRAL
(walking briskly toward Harm, Mac and
Bud)
Whatever!.......I'll see the two of you in my office
in one hour!
With that the Admiral
storms past them on his way to his office.
MAC
(gazing after the Admiral)
Anyone know what that was about?
BUD
(gazing to Harm and noting his dismay)
No Ma'am!
BRUMBY
(sarcastically, as he walks up behind
them)
Maybe he's detected a bit of impropriety going on
among the ranks of his senior officers!
Harm and Mac gaze sharply
to Brumby whose sporting a rather malicious grin on his
face.
MAC
Mic..........
HARM
(his eyes meeting Brumby's)
I wouldn't even dignify
that remark with an answer, Mac!
Harm turns away and begins
to walk toward his office.
MIC
(calling after to him as Harm walks briskly away)
Scuttlebutt has it that you took quite a beating in that
incident at the brig the other night! By the look of those
bruises your sporting on your face, I'd have to agree with them,
mate.
Entering through the
doorway of his office, Harm turns on his heel and gazes contemptuously back to
Brumby.
HARM
Well, thanks for your concern, Brumby! But if
you'll excuse me, I've got some work to catch up on!
With that, he places his
hand against the inside of the door and pushes the door
shut.
BRUMBY
(gazing to Mac)
Looks to me like the man's
got more of a bruised ego then anything else!
MAC
Don't tell me you're
actually taking pleasure in what happened to him, Mic?
BRUMBY
No, Colonel! Not at
all. I'm just calling it as I see it! (he pauses for a long
moment) So, tell me, ......is that why you and
he......
MAC
Don't you even go there,
Mic! Nothing happened!
BRUMBY
Then you're not denying
that you spent the weekend together.
MAC
How I spend my weekends is
really no one's business but my own, Mic!
With that, Brumby's smile
vanishes from his face and is replaced by a cold hard glare in his eyes.
BRUMBY
Not if your spending them
with the man who up until a week or so ago was lead counsel in defending the
very man whom you've accused of rape!
MAC
You know there's nothing
going on between us Mic!.........Not now and certainly not when Harm was
defending Captain Peterson!
BRUMBY
Well, for both of your
sakes, I sincerely hope not, Sarah! And to be quite frank with you,
I feel you'd be wasting your time on that one anyway! He's just not
ready to make the kind of commitment that a woman like you
deserves.
With that, Mic slowly
turns and walks away leaving Mac gazing after him in total
dismay. As he disappears behind the closing door of his office, Mac
turns back to where Bud had been standing, to observe him walking briskly away
from her as he heads toward the bullpen door.
MAC
(following in close pursuit)
Lieutenant
Roberts!
Bud stops dead in his
tracks.
ROBERTS
(swallowing deeply as he
turns back to Mac)
Yes, ma'am?
As Mac meets him at the
bullpen doors she indicates the hallway outside the bullpen with the tilt of her
head. Bud obliges by opening the door and allowing Mac to walk out into
the adjacent hallway ahead of him.
MAC
(taking him aside)
Tell me Lieutenant,
..........just exactly how many people did you alert to the fact that I was
supposedly missing?
ROBERTS
Ahh.......well
ma'am.....
MAC
An answer sometime today
would be good, Lieutenant!
ROBERTS
Just about everyone I could
think of that may have known something of your whereabouts, ma'am!
MAC
Except
Harm.
ROBERTS
Yes,
ma'am.
MAC
Why?
BUD
Like I said, ma'am, no one wanted to disturb the Commander
given what he'd already been through. And........ Commander Brumby
insisted on handling things his way.
MAC
Meaning what, Bud?
BUD
(hesitantly)
Well......he sorta called
in a favor with a friend of his in the DC police department and had an APB put
out on your vehicle's license plate registration number. I
guess the police must have found it, ma'am, because I honestly
hadn't heard anything as to your whereabouts until I found you at the
Commander's apartment this morning. I'm really sorry
this has caused you and the Commander so much embarrassment, ma'am, but
we were all so
worried about you! ............I mean with this trial and then what happened to
the Commander,.......well, you're disappearance had us all pretty freaked
out, Ma'am.
MAC
Well, .....I guess there's
no reason to be second guessing why the Admiral wants to see the Commander
and I in his office, now is there!
ROBERTS
No, ma'am,.... I guess
not!
******************
INT
CHEGWIDDEN'S OFFICE
1210 HOURS
Colonel Mackenzie and
Commander Rabb stand at attention before the Admiral's desk their faces a study
of consternation as they experience a the full measure of the Admiral's
wrath.
ADMIRAL
(sharply)
Did either of you ever stop
to consider the repercussions that something like this could have on the outcome
of this trial?
HARM /
MAC
No Sir!
ADMIRAL
(his eyes widening in anger)
Noooo!?
HARM
(quickly
adding)
Permission to speak freely, Sir?
ADMIRAL
All the excuses in the
world won't change what the defense counsel's going to try and do with this,
Commander! Hell, Ms Ryerson's arguing this thing out with Imes and
Mattoni in Admiral Morris's chambers as we speak! Your little
indiscretion could cause you to loose this one, Colonel! (he pauses for a
long moment as his eyes glared into Mac's, then he steps over to Rabb, his eyes
widened with frustration) But hell, speak away, Commander!
Tell me something that will help me to understand why the hell the two of you
decided to do something so foolish and irresponsible at this point in
time! I mean, hell, it's not like you haven't had the time to
act on your feelings before this! I mean you've known each
other for four years for godsake!
HARM
(swallowing nervously as his eyes meet the
Admiral's)
Admiral......Sir, I can assure you that nothing
inappropriate happened between the Colonel and I. She returned to my
apartment because of a power outage at her place. The storm quickly
intensified and well, I considered driving conditions too
dangerous for the Colonel to attempt to drive home. She had no
other choice but to wait it out at my place, Sir.
ADMIRAL
Oh.......how convenient,
Commander!
HARM
Admiral, it's not like this
was the first time the Colonel and I have spent the night.........time.....
together. .....I mean........in a casual sort of way, Sir! We'd both
been through a lot and......
MAC
I needed his support ,
Admiral! ( Mac cut in defensively) But I can assure you, Sir,
that there was no inappropriate behavior nor was there any breech of ethics on
the Commander's part this past weekend nor at any time since the onset of this
trail! You've got to believe that,
Admiral!
The Admiral studies the two
officers silently for a long moment.
ADMIRAL
(at
length)
I know. And I do.
He then walks to his
desk lifts a yellow unmarked envelope off the top his desk and approaches Harm
and Mac.
ADMIRAL
At ease!
Mac and Harm's stance
immediately relaxes as their feet spread apart and their arms reach
behind them and rest folded together against their backs.
ADMIRAL
But unfortunately it's not
what I believe that matters here, Colonel! (he opens the envelope and
pulls out a 5X7 glossy photograph) It's how everyone else is going to
perceive it. And right now, this photograph is in the hands of Peterson's
defense counsel.
Admiral Chegwidden turns
the photograph toward the two officers. Harm and Mac gaze at the
photograph and are shocked to see the image of themselves embracing in front of
Harm's living room window as taken from a vantage point somewhere outside the
apartment window.
HARM
Admiral,
....I......
ADMIRAL
(irritably
interrupting)
No one knows who the
photographer was. The photographs were hand delivered to Commander
Brumby yesterday afternoon.
MAC
(under her breath)
So he says!
Hearing her comment, both
Harm and AJ gaze questionably to Mac.
ADMIRAL
Do you have something to
add here, Colonel?
MAC
(turning to meet Harm's gaze)
Well, it just seems that
he's the only one who actually had knowledge as to where I was,
Admiral, and a very reliable source informed me that Commander Brumby
called in a favor from a friend on the DC Police Department and had an APB put
out on my car.
HARM
(a cold glare passing over his eyes)
Brumby!
ADMIRAL
I don't know as I'd be
jumping to conclusions just yet, people! Commander
Brumby brought the entire matter to my attention as we walked into the
office together this morning. He claims he was approached by an
unidentified man who simply handed the envelope to Brumby telling him something
to the effect that he'd know what to do with the
contents.
MAC
A likely story,
Sir!
ADMIRAL
Well, unfortunately,
Colonel, it is your images that are in this photograph and
apparently Brumby let Ms Ryerson know about it immediately not to
mention wasting any time distributing the photographs to other key
personnel involved in the trial......namely Admiral Morris, Commander Imes and
Commander Mattoni!
HARM
Admiral, I can explain that
photograph!
ADMIRAL
Well,
Commander, somehow I don't think any explanation is going to make this
problem go away. What I'm concerned about now is what Admiral
Morris is going to decide to do with all this. Ryerson's again screaming
for a mistrial based on what she terms as a serious conflict of
interest and by all appearances, she's right. I mean think
about it. You assaulted the accused.....the man you were supposed to be
defending which resulted in your dismissal from the case and since that time
you've been busting your ass to get every shred of evidence....not to mention
pulling new witnesses out of the woodwork in your campaign to get Peterson
convicted. Hell Ms Ryerson has even gone as far as to suggest
that perhaps one or both of you may have tampered with evidence......namely the
traces of GHB found in Colonel Mackenzie's
apartment
MAC /
HARM
(in unison)
What?!.......(quickly adding)
Sir!
MAC
Admiral, you know that
isn't true!
ADMIRAL
I know it isn't,
Colonel, but I'm not the one who needs convincing
here!
HARM
Admiral, I can assure you
that since my dismissal from the case, my involvement
has only been in the capacity as trial counsel in the court martial of
Lieutenant Malory, Sir! The two cases became so intricately
interwoven that there was no separating the two!
ADMIRAL
I understand that, Commander! But unfortunately
Ms Ryerson's interpreting all this in a manner which she feels will be
beneficial to her winning this case. So, as innocent as your
friendly little sleep over may have been, I believe that she'll
attempt to use this to her advantage by either using it to win
Peterson a new trial or to put enough reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury
to gain Peterson an acquittal. That is her job, after
all! (he gazes back and forth between the officers for a long
moment) With that said, I believe today's
proceedings ought to be a really interesting experience to say the
least.
****************
INT
MORRIS'S
CHAMBERS
0948 HOURS
Admiral Morris sits behind
his desk attempting to digest Ms Ryerson's pleas and justifications while
weighing out the actual evidence before him. Lieutenant Commander
Brumby, Lieutenant Commander Imes and Lieutenant Commander Mattoni are standing
at ease in front of the Admiral's desk while Ms Ryerson leans over his desk with
an earnest expression on her face.
MORRIS
(at length)
Until I speak with both Commander Rabb and Colonel
Mackenzie, I won't be making any ruling on this based on what little evidence I
see here, Ms Ryerson.
RYERSON
As they say, Admiral, the
proof is in the pudding You have a photograph sitting in front of you
which places Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie in a very compromising
position to say the least.
MORRIS
Ms Ryerson!........I have
seen with my own eyes and within this very court room the same two people
embracing one another in like manner! It would be a great travesty for me
to pass judgement on them as brashly as you seem to
have.
RYERSON
Admiral
Morris.......really!........Do you honestly think that these two officers can be
open and honest with you about all this? I mean it is their careers at
stake here!
BRUMBY
(quickly adding)
And it has been confirmed that the two of them did spend the
weekend together, your Honor!
MORRIS
It seems to me that Captain
Peterson waved his rights to any kind of new trial or appeal based on an
inadequate defense! And that is where you're going with this, Ms Ryerson,
isn't it?
RYERSON
Your Honor, my client
wasn't aware of the depth of the relationship between the plaintiff and
Commander Rabb. All this places an entirely different perspective on
things.
MORRIS
(presenting Ryerson with Peterson's sworn
affidavit)
The affidavit states
specifically that ......and I quote "I am aware that there may be a
possible conflict of interest due to the personal and professional relationship
between the plaintiff, Colonel Mackenzie and my lead counsel, Commander
Rabb".....So, Ms Ryerson, if there was any hanky-panky going on prior to
the onset of this trial, it cannot be used against Commander Rabb nor can
it be used as grounds for a new trial. Commander Rabb clearly gave Captain
Peterson fair warning as evidenced by the sworn
affidavit. Now I was going to wait until after I had
spoken to both parties involved to rule on your request for a new trial,
Ms Ryerson, but I see no purpose in delaying that ruling. The
answer's no!
RYERSON
But your
Honor..............
MORRIS
(interrupting)
Now.........As to the
continuance that trail counsel has requested, I've decided to grant such a
continuance until 0900 tomorrow morning.
IMES/MATTONI
(in unison)
Thank you your Honor!
MORRIS
Now, to the matter of
Lieutenant Malory's sworn affidavit and cassette recording of the same.
Most of it refers to other offenses that Captain Peterson committed and
Lieutenant Malory supposedly witnessed. As previous behavior and or
offenses are not admissible, I'm going to have to deny any and all references to
the same with the exception of about five minutes of the tape where there is
some pertinent testimony relevant to the case at hand. How the
prosecution presents it and how the defense counsel argues will as usual
determine how damaging it will be to the accused. As to the
rest, I'm sorry! But unless one of Peterson's victims decides
to come forward and file formal charges against Captain
Peterson, we can't even begin to prosecute him based on
the word of Lieutenant Malory.......and definitely not under the auspices of
this court martial.
MATTONI
(exchanging glance with
Imes)
Thank you, your
Honor!
MORRIS
To the matter of the new
witnesses that the prosecution wishes to bring forward and that the defense so
strongly opposes, I have decided to allow these witnesses to
testify. Now is there anything else that needs to be
addressed here? (he carefully studies the faces of the officers before him
for a long moment noting the appeased gazes on Imes and Mattoni's face and the
displeased expression on Ryerson's and Brumby's)
Good! Then, I'll see all of you in my court room at 0900
tomorrow morning! You are dismissed.
IMES/ MATTONI/
BRUMBY
(in unison)
Aye, Sir!
With that, the three
officers turn away and walk toward the door. Ms Ryerson gives Morris a
final look of disapproval and then turns and walks out of the office with the
others.
RYERSON
(leaning into Brumby as they walk down the hallway with
Mattoni and Imes in front of them at some distance)
I want you to add Commander
Rabb to the witness list.
BRUMBY
(shocked)
What?
RYERSON
Under oath, he'll have no
choice but to tell the truth, Commander!
BRUMBY
Tell the truth?......In
regards to what?
RYERSON
Colonel Mackenzie's
character, Commander!
Brumby pauses in the
hallway, his eyes glaring angrily to Ryerson.
BRUMBY
Where are you going with
this, Ms Ryerson?
RYERSON
Well, think about it,
Commander! I mean Colonel Mackenzie seems to have a history of
broken relationships where men are concerned. .....So, whom better to act
as a character witness than a man who has not only been her close friend and
confidant but by all appearances, her new lover! We can use this to
our advantage, Commander!
BRUMBY
I think it would be a
terrible mistake, Ms Ryerson! You're basing your strategy on evidence
that's circumstantial at best! Besides, Commander Rabb will refuse
to cooperate in this and will have to be declared a hostile
witness.
RYERSON
Oh, I have no doubt of
that, Commander.
BRUMBY
(irritably)
Ms Ryerson, we
can't even be
sure that anything inappropriate has been going on between them never mind
suggest that they've been intimately involved.
RYERSON
(scornfully)
Oh let's get real,
Commander! A healthy man and woman stranded for the weekend in
the middle of a snow storm with only each other to keep themselves
company?
Really!
BRUMBY
With all due respect,
ma'am, but there are some of us who can enjoy being in the company of
someone of the opposite sex without going on some sort of hormone
overload! Besides, we'd be taking an awful chance in coming
out of this bloody mess looking like we were far less than competent
attorneys!
RYERSON
On the other hand, if my suspicions are correct, it would
make Colonel Mackenzie look promiscuous at best and hopefully create enough
reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury to an
acquittal.
BRUMBY
And it could all backfire!
RYERSON
The way I see it, the new
evidence that's come to light coupled with the testimony of the new witnesses
may already be the noose around the Captain's neck. What'll we have to
loose!
BRUMBY
Our integrity, ma'am!
It may be all we have left at the end of this trial. Let's not blow it by
putting Commander Rabb on the stand. At any rate, you're forgetting
the first rule of thumb any first year law student learns, that being you
never ask a question you don't know the answer to. You'll be doing that
and then some. And I for one believe that you are making a serious mistake
in underestimating Commander Rabb and the potential damage his testimony
could impose on our defense.
RYERSON
Damage?! Aren't
you being a little melodramatic?
BRUMBY
No, ma'am, not at
all!
RYERSON
Well, I believe your
overestimating the man, Commander, and besides, desperate times call for
desperate measures.
BRUMBY
What I know is that
Commander Rabb has a very strong work ethic, ma'am....and part of that work
ethic seems to exclude dating anyone he has to work closely with. I'll
grant you that he seems to have a very close relationship with the Colonel, but
he seems to be extremely disciplined in the manner in which he holds to that
ethic......even with Colonel Mackenzie.
RYERSON
And I've never known any
man that would turn down a willing woman! And that's my point here,
Commander! Besides, it was you that brought the photographs to my
attention.....not to mention informing me that they had spent the weekend
together.
BRUMBY
My mistake then!......But I
had an obligation to my client to use that information in an attempt to gain a
new trial and not to smear the reputation of two good
officers.
RYERSON
Your underlying motives,
Commander, were and still are to win this case,
......correct?
BRUMBY
Yes,
ma'am!
RYERSON
So aren't
mine! So be sure to file that addendum by close of
business today!
BRUMBY
(arrogantly, as he as
she begins to walk away)
No
ma'am!
RYERSON
(turning back to
Brumby)
What?
BRUMBY
I refuse to be party
to something I feel is malicious at best, ma'am! You can file your own
bloody addendum!
With that, Brumby walks off
toward the entrance of the bullpen entrance.
*****************
INT
JAG
OPS
1602
HOURS
Thoroughly discouraged
by the events of the morning, Harm sits at his desk attempting to catch up with
the paper work that his case load had generated in his absence. Finally
throwing down his pen, he leans back in his chair, places his hands against the
back of his head and gently stretches the sore
muscles of his bruised
torso. As his eyes drift up from his paper work, he observes
Mac standing in the doorway.
HARM
(surprised)
Mac!
MAC
Hey!......How are you holding
up?
HARM
(sitting forward in his chair)
Other than a few stares, and glares,...
fine!......
MAC
You're kidding,
right?
HARM
Yeah! (smiling
) But you know, come to think of it, I wouldn't step too far past
that doorway if I were you, Mac! There's no telling what kind of
scuttlebutt you may generate.
MAC
(seductively walking into
the office toward Harm's desk)
Well, Harm, why don't we just .... close the
door,...... pull down the blinds,.... and...... give them all something to talk
about!
His brow raising and his
eyes widening, Harm is momentarily silenced by Mac's brashness.
Then, over Mac's shoulder, Harm notices Gunnery Sergeant Galendez standing in
the doorway behind Mac. By the expression on his face, it's obvious that
he's overheard Mac's comment.
GUNNY
(his eyes meeting Harm's)
Excuse me, Sir........Ma'am!
Startled, Mac gazes over
her shoulder to see Galendez.
HARM
(his eyes shifting to Mac and then back to the
Gunny)
Yeah, Gunny! What is
it?
GUNNY
Admiral Chegwidden wants to
see you in his office ASAP, Sir!
RABB
(meeting Mac's gaze with a raised
brow)
I'm on my way, Gunny! Thanks!
With that, the Gunny turns
and leaves the office.
HARM
And
Gunny?
GUNNY
(turning back to Harm)
Yes Sir?
HARM
The Colonel was being
a bit facetious.
GUNNY
(smiling)
Yes Sir!........So I gathered.
With that, he turns and
walks away.
MAC
He heard
me.....
Her words trailing off as
Harm nods affirmatively.
MAC
(with
embarrassment)
Great!
HARM
(smiling as he makes his way to the front of his
desk)
I wouldn't worry too much
about it, Mac! Gunny's not one to be a malicious newsmonger.
MAC
Well, let's hope
not! At any rate, I wonder what's up with the
Admiral.
HARM
Don't know,
Mac! But with you standing in my office, maybe
someone's already gone and reported another sighting of the Harm/ Mac
kind!
Mac laughs as she observes
the gleam in Harm's eyes as he gestures for her to walk out of the room before
him.
MAC
(as she leads him out into the
bullpen)
Well, I'm glad you're
taking all this in stride, Commander!
Once in the bullpen, Harm
eyes catch Ms Ryerson walking out of Tiner's office. Noting the
gleam quickly disappear from Harm's eyes and a distraught expression quickly
replacing it, Mac gazes with his gaze to see Ms Ryerson walking
across the bullpen.
MAC
Well, looks like you
may not be far off your mark, Harm! But then why does the Admiral only
want to see you?
HARM
Well, Mac, your guess is as
good as mine!
With that, Harm reluctantly
walks off toward the Admiral's office. A deepening concern filling Mac's
expression, her eyes remain on Harm until he's disappeared into Tiner's
office.
******************* TO BE CONTINUED
************