Honor & Betrayal PT 49 / 58
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Honor & Betrayal PT 49
Author: Gabrielle Stuart
***********************
INT
HARM'S APT
1922
HOURS
Stepping off the elevator with the
yellow manila envelope still clenched in his hand, Harm brushes the snow from
the shoulders of his overcoat. Keys in his right palm, he
crosses the hallway to the door and slips the key into the lock. As
he is about to turn the knob to open it, the door suddenly opens to reveal
Mac standing inside the door.
HARM
(catching his breath)
God, Mac! You scared the hell out
of me!
MAC
(eyeing him curiously)
Sorry!.....Where have you been for the
last two hours?
HARM
Out!.....I thought you
went home!
MAC
I did!
HARM
(slipping past
her into the apartment)
What
happened?
MAC
A tree came down on a power line at the end of my
street. It took out a couple of poles along with a
transformer. From what the utility company's saying, it'll be hours before
the power's restored.
HARM
Must have been the wind! It's kicking up pretty
bad out there. But hey, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need
to, Mac!
MAC
Thanks! But if I stay any longer, I'm afraid
I'll be stuck here for the night. The weather forecast is predicting near
blizzard conditions tonight.
HARM
(decisively, as he smiles)
Well, I guess that settles it then, because
unless your vette comes fully equipped with four wheel drive, you're not going
to make it off this street let alone back to your place.
MAC
Is it all that bad out there?
HARM
It's like an ice skating rink, Mac! .....I even
let Bud take the SUV because I didn't think he'd make it home in his
minivan.
Mac walks to the living room window and gazes down
upon the street below. In the light radiating from the street
lamp, all Mac is able to see is a blanket of white snow covering the
streets and sidewalks making it nearly impossible to distinguish one from the
other.
MAC
Well, looks like your definitely right about
that!
Mac turns from the window, her eyes meeting
Harm's
MAC
(with a note of
humor in her voice as she walks back toward Harm)
Well,..... I guess that means we're stuck with each
other for the time being.
HARM
(raising his brow to her sly
remark)
Guess so! But there is a worse case
scenario here, Mac!....I mean we could be snowbound for the whole
weekend! Think about that.
MAC
(gazing about the
apartment)
I'd rather not!....But then I guess it'd be better
than spending it alone without any heat or
electricity.
HARM
I'd have to agree with that
one.
MAC
Then again, you don't so much as own a
television set. Talk about being bored out of one's gourd!
HARM
Well ........that's not exactly true, Mac,
because tucked away somewhere in my closet I have that portable
tv/vcr combo my mom gave me last Christmas. .....Remember?
MAC
(in disbelief)
You mean you
actually still have it?
HARM
Brand new in box, Mac! Never been
touched. So if you feel the need for that sort of entertainment, I'll be
more than happy to dig it out for you.
MAC
Well, if nothing else, it'd help keep up with
what's going on outside.
HARM
Well, I'll dig it
out then. (starting out toward his bedroom then pausing and turning
back to Mac)
Mac, ......how did you get in here,
anyway?
MAC
I used the key you had hidden in wall outside in the
hallway....you know the one behind that little piece of concrete.
HARM
I told you about
that?
MAC
No, but it didn't take a genius to find it,
Harm!
Harm laughs slightly as he catches the aroma of food
coming from the kitchen.
HARM
(smiling)
Hmm! Guess I'll have to find a better hiding
place. (then catching the aroma of food cooking in the
kitchen) Hey, something sure smells good, Mac! You're
not cooking up some dinner by any chance, are you?
MAC
As a matter of fact, I am. That frozen
batch of homemade veggie lasagna you had in the freezer. You
don't mind, do you?
HARM
(bewildered)
Mind?.....No!........I'm just surprised that you're
actually considering eating it is all!
MAC
Well at the moment, it's all that stands between me
and starvation.
Harm laughs with amusement as he places the yellow
manila envelope on the dining room table and then with some obvious discomfort,
sheds his overcoat. Laying it over his arm, he ascends the steps to his
bedroom and hangs it in the closet. Mac watches him closely as
he removes his tunic still curious as to what it was that prompted him to leave
his apartment in the midst of a snow storm fully decked out in his dress blues
and accompanied by Lieutenant Roberts.
MAC
You haven't answered my
question.
HARM
What question?
MAC
The one about where you've been. I mean
part of the reason I came all the way back here had to do with the fact that I
didn't want to leave you stranded here alone in your condition in the middle of
a blizzard. So, I travel all the way back here only to find you
......gone!
HARM
(slipping off his
tie)
Ahh.......then you do care!
.......
Mac shoots Harm an evil glare clearly indicating her
annoyance to his evasiveness.
HARM
(conceding, as he
begins unbuttoning his shirt)
Ok. ...... Mrs. Malory had some
information she wanted to share, so I had Bud set up a
meeting.
MAC
Of which you just had to attend....in full uniform
only hours after being released from the hospital.
Slightly annoyed by Mac's tone, Harm's eyes meet Mac's
for a long moment.
HARM
(cringing
slightly with pain as he slips off his shirt)
Yah, Mac,....it
seemed important.
He tosses the shirt onto the bed then disappears into
the shadows beyond the frosted glass blinds.
MAC
(shouting after
him)
Ok......but even
if it was, it still was a stupid thing for you to do!.......I mean you look
terrible, Harm.......and just for once, you could have allowed someone else to
handle things!
HARM
(shouting
back)
Well, I'm
sorry you feel that way, Mac, but for me it was worth it. I
mean even putting aside Lieutenant Malory's testimony, I think we've really got
something substantial enough to see Peterson convicted.
MAC
(sarcastically,
under her breath) )
So, what's new?!
She picks up the envelope from the dining room table
and examines the contents as Harm emerges
from behind the blinds dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a loose fitting
shirt.
HARM
(descending the
steps)
And thanks for
the complement.
MAC
You're welcome. (indicating the
video) What's this, Harm? Tonight's
entertainment?
HARM
(gently taking
the envelope from her hand)
Not quite!
He then walks past her toward the
kitchen.
MAC
(skeptically, following Harm close behind)
So what did Mrs.
Malory have to say?
Harm places the envelope containing the video in a
cabinet drawer then gazes rather enthusiastically at Mac.
HARM
Seems as though there's a past history of substance
abuse where Captain Peterson's concerned.
MAC
GHB?
Harm shakes his head negatively as he leans over to
open the oven door.
HARM
Alcohol. GHB helped him to kick the habit.
He pulls the pan of lasagna out of the oven and places
it on the stove.
MAC
What?........Harm, you're not making any
sense!
HARM
Well, it will, once you hear the whole story,
Mac.
Gazing irritably away from Harm, Mac falls into
silence for a long moment.
HARM
(noting her expression)
Why do I get the feeling that you really not up to
hearing any of this, Mac?
MAC
Because I don't! I mean it's just that
I've been down this same road too many times before, Harm, only to have my hopes
of winning this thing dashed over and over. I'd like to just
put it all out of my mind, .......at least for tonight! Can we
do that?
HARM
(noting her distraught)
I'm sorry Mac!.....I just thought
that.......
MAC
I know!.....And I'm sorry!....I didn't mean to jump
all over you like that. But I just feel the need
to focus on something else for a change. Besides, you
should really get some rest yourself ... you look exhausted and they'll probably
be plenty of time to talk about all this in the
morning.
HARM
(conceding)
Ok! Your right!
..........(adding with a slight smile) .....But can we eat first?
Mac smiles back at Harm's attempt to lighten things
up. However, as she gazes down to the pan of lasagna her expression
reveals her disgust.
MAC
Ha.....I don't know! Maybe I'm not so
famished after all.
HARM
Ahh, come on Mac!
MAC
(groaning reluctantly)
Ok...fine........but just a
little!
Noting the disgusted look on his face, Harm smiles
slightly as he reaches up into the cabinet above his head and pulls out two
plates. .
HARM
(placing the
plates on the counter)
Give it a chance, Mac! I bet you'll love
it.
Mac shoots Harm a hostile glare as he begins serving
out the lasagna.
************
INT
BRIG INTERVIEW
ROOM
2232
HOURS
Walking toward the interview room, Durant hesitates
before the door to survey the hallway in both directions, then opening the
door, he enters. The room mostly in
darkness, Durant observes an outline of a man sitting at the
table his body appearing only as a silhouette against the light coming in
through the barred window behind him.
PETERSON
Come on in,
Master Sergeant. Pull up a chair.
DURANT
(as he enters)
Can we turn on a
light or something, Sir?
PETERSON
No need. No
sense in drawing too much attention to ourselves.
Durant reluctantly approaches the table and stares
down at Peterson for a long moment
DURANT
Rabb knows I was involved!
PETERSON
He's only guessing. That's all. Now
sit!
DURANT
(reluctantly
taking a seat across from Peterson)
He
knows! And NCIS already questioned me about it. Hell, it
seems I'm one of their primary suspects.
PETERSON
You got rid of the weapons, and wiped the place clean,
right?
DURANT
Yes, Sir!
PETERSON
No physical evidence has been
found.
DURANT
Not that I'm aware of, no!
PETERSON
Then Rabb has nothing. So don't
sweat it.
DURANT
He's not going to give up on this, Captain. I
confronted him on it this afternoon........
PETERSON
(sharply, leaning
forward across the table)
You what?
DURANT
I went to see him, to try and talk some sense into him
and.....
PETERSON
(slamming his
hand down on the table)
Sonofabitch! How stupid could anyone
get?
DURANT
(angrily
protesting)
What was stupid was not finishing him off when
I had the chance....Sir! But I followed your orders to the
contrary and now it's coming back to bite me on the
ass!
PETERSON
(angrily pushing
his chair out from under him and standing)
Don't you get it? If you had stayed cool in the
first place, everything would have blown over! (walking
around the table toward Durant) You're confronting Rabb did nothing
but send up a red flag. If he had any doubts before as to your
culpability, he sure as hell doesn't now!
DURANT
(determined, as
he stands to meet Peterson)
You got me into
this, Sir! And one things for sure, I'm not about to take the fall
for this alone! You ordered the hit! I just went along with it because I
believed in your innocence!
PETERSON
(his face now in Durant's face)
Watch what you're implying, Master
Sergeant. You already know first hand how I deal with
betrayal.
DURANT
Are you threatening me....Sir?
PETERSON
Just telling you like it is, Durant.
Settle down, keep your mouth shut and don't go confronting anyone else
about this. It'll work itself out.
DURANT
Not without taking Rabb out first! He's
relentless!
PETERSON
Well, that's certainly your prerogative.
But killing the only witness to a crime where you've been ID'd as the
suspect certainly wouldn't be a very wise move on your part.....at least
not at this point in time.
DURANT
I really don't see as I have any other choice,
Sir! Do you?
PETERSON
As I already said. Wait it out.
It'll blow over! Trust me!
DURANT
Do you really believe that, Captain?.....B'cause I
sure as hell don't!
With that, Durant turns away and walks out the door
leaving Peterson concerned over the Master Sergeant's intentions.
*************
EXT
HARM'S
APT
0146 HOURS
In near white out conditions, a dim ray of light can
be seen filtering out of Harm's living room window two floors up from the layer
of deepening snow. Vehicles now only represented by mounds of snow,
the blizzard's strength intensifies bringing the city to a
standstill.
INT
HARM'S APT
0150
HOURS
The sound of a the high winds whistling through the
street outside, Harm slowly stirs to consciousness. His eyes
opening wearily, he gazes from his bed out across the living room to the snow
swept panes of the window beyond. Shaking his head negatively to the
sight before him, he rests his head back down onto the pillow wanting only to
fall back into a deep sleep and disavow any knowledge of what was going on
outside. As he lay quietly for a long moment, his mind slowly
deciphers the various sounds around him. The whistling wind, the frozen
snow being pelted against the window pane, the running furnace, and
a static sound coming from the living room. Sitting up curiously, Harm
gazes across the apartment once again this time noticing the light radiating
from the portable tv/vcr screen. Moving horizontally across it's
screen was the familiar pattern left by an unrecorded video. Searching the
darkness for Mac, he is unable to see whether she is asleep on the
sofa. Harm slowly slips out from underneath the covers and makes his
way into the living room. Switching on the dining room light, he
finds the bed linen on the sofa in disarray with Mac no where to be
seen. His brow narrowing with confusion, he walks to the small portable
tv/vcr hits the stop button and turns the set off. His eyes drifting to
the surface of the coffee table before the sofa, Harm observes the empty manila
envelope.
HARM
(lifting the empty envelope off the
table)
Oh God!
He hits the eject on the lower half of the set and the
video jettisons into his hand. It's label reading......."Super Bowl
97" Gazing up from the video, he frantically searches the
apartment for Mac.
HARM
(a note of panic
in his voice)
Mac!........Mac?
Receiving no response, Harm drops the video unto the
sofa and rushes toward the bedroom. Ascending the steps, he walks across
his bedroom to the bathroom. Noticing the night light on over the
vanity, he pauses for a moment listening for any sounds coming from
inside.
HARM
Mac?.......Are
you in there?
Still receiving no response, he enters the bathroom
and turns on the vanity light. In the reflection of the mirror, he
observes Mac sitting curled up in a fetal position on the shower stall
floor. Naked and wet she cradles herself within her arms her back
toward him. His first reaction is to turn the light off and
retreat from the room, but as he begins to turn away, he notices her rocking
herself back and forth. Unsure of how to handle the
situation, Harm slowly turns toward her and observes her for a long
moment.
HARM
(gently)
Mac, ....are you ok?
Mac remains unresponsive as she continues to cradle
herself in her own arms and rock slightly back and forth.
HARM
(his concern
deepening)
Mac!.....Come on......talk to
me!
Receiving no response, Harm reaches for the oversized
terry bathrobe hanging on a hook beside the shower and draws closer to
Mac.
HARM
Mac do you want to tell me what's going
on?
MAC
(weeping, her
rocking becoming more agitated)
I tried to wash it away, but I
can't! I still feel so
dirty!
Finally reaching her, Harm stoops down and
places his bathrobe over her shoulders. Mac's eyes closing tightly, she
grasps the bathrobe and draws it tightly around her shoulders.
HARM
(gently)
Mac, .......wash what away?
MAC
His touch.....his scent......all of
him! Oh God!....He's made me feel so dirty!
Harm places his hand on Mac's shoulder only to have
react fearfully by pulling away from him .
MAC
(sharply)
Don't touch me!
HARM
(softly, trying to calm her)
Mac.....It's ok! It's
Harm!......I won't touch you if that's what you want. But
you're ok now........you're safe here, Mac.......he can't hurt you.....not
now......not ever again.
Mac turns toward Harm and at last recognizes the man
who is now sitting beside her on the cold, wet surface of the shower
stall.
MAC
(tears welling up
in her eyes as her body starts to shiver)
Oh God! It's like he raped me all over
again!
HARM
I know! And
I'm sorry, Mac!
The tears rolling freely down her cheeks, Mac leans
into Harms chest and weeps silently.
HARM
Come on Mac, you're shivering!.....Let's get you out
of here!
Harm helps her slip her arms into the sleeves of the
bathrobe. Ignoring the pain surging through his shoulder, he scoops her up
into his arms and carries her to his
bed. Laying her down onto the bed, he covers her shivering body with
blankets then sits down on the bed beside her. A long moment of
silence passes between them......neither knowing what to say to the
other.
MAC
Thanks for being here for me!
HARM
Hey.....what are friends for. (he attempts a
smile, but fails miserably as he observes the anguish in Mac's expression)
This is all my fault, Mac!.....You should have never seen that tape.
I'm sorry.
MAC
(her eyes meeting
Harm's)
I went looking for the video thinking that watching an
old championship game would be better then dealing with my insomnia.
It's not your fault, Harm, so please don't go blaming
yourself. Besides, I'm the one that should be
apologizing.
HARM
(his brow
narrowing with confusion)
Apologizing for what?
MAC
Loosing it like that!
HARM
Hey, it's ok!...... I understand!......But why didn't
you wake me up?
MAC
I don't know!......I don't even remember getting off
the sofa! (she pauses for a long moment, her eyes meeting
Harm's) What he did to me, Harm..........he's
done it to other women.
HARM
Then.....the video........it wasn't
you?
MAC
No!....But it may as well have been!
Harm sighs deeply with relief. But the torment
in Mac's eyes only serves to justify the guilt that begins to envelop him
as he realizes the deep emotional trauma she's experiencing.
HARM
(touching her
face gently with his fingertips)
Try to get some
sleep Mac, k?.....Just try and get some sleep.
With that, he leaves Mac's side and walks out into the
living to the sofa. Lifting the tape from the sofa, he places it back into
the envelope then walks it to his desk and tucks it deeply away in one of the
draws.
MAC
Harm?
Hearing her voice, Harm turns around to see Mac
standing on the stairs to the bedroom wrapped snugly in his terry
bathrobe.
HARM
Yah, Mac!.....I'm right here!
MAC
(a note of fear in her voice)
I don't want to be alone tonight!
**************************** To be
continued *************