AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please keep in mind that I'm not up on military protocol and I had to wrote this very fast so some of my research was shorted. Bear with me if I make a mistake on something.
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1400 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VA

"Rabb! Get McKenzie and get in here now!"

Harm glanced down at the now silent intercom and shook his head, suppressing a grin at the gruffness he was so used to by now. Tossing down his pen, he rose and took a handful of strides across the bullpen to Mac's office. Casually, he tapped on the door.

"What's up?" she asked distractedly, barely glancing up from the report she was working on.

"Admiral wants to see us ASAP," he answered.

She looked up again then back at the report before laying her pen down with a sigh. "Always at the most inopportune time," she muttered.

Harm chuckled as she rose from her desk and joined him.

"What did we do now?" she asked in a pseudo-whisper.

"I have no idea," he shrugged.

Tiner ushered them into the Admiral's office immediately and they waited for him to acknowledge their presence. A.J. stood in front of the window, a file open in his big hands. After a couple of minutes, he looked up at them.

"At ease. I have an assignment for you. You're going to Twentynine Palms where you'll be undercover." He held up one hand when Harm started to protest, silencing the younger man. "I know you're both on heavy caseloads.. Anything that isn't immediate will be handled by your juniors and those that are waiting to go I'll reassign. This is important or I wouldn't pull you mid-stride this way." He moved to sit behind his desk and tossed the file across the wide expanse to Harm. "Five men have died in the last month on the base. Brain aneurysm, cardiac arrest, internal hemorrhaging and various other causes. Nothing out of the ordinary on its own but these particular men were all young, healthy and beat to hell at the time of death."

"'Beat to hell'?" Mac quoted. "As in beat up?"

"Yes, Colonel - as in beat up. All five were extensively battered. However, no one seems to know the cause. It was enough raise the suspicions of the hospital staff who alerted the involved commanders who alerted us. I want you to find out what's going on."

"Why the need to go undercover?" Harm questioned.

"I've seen some things, Commander, during my years and what I see in that file gives me an ugly suspicion. I think there's a fight club going on at MCAGCC. And if that finds out to be the case then I want it stopped before anyone else gets killed."

"Aye, sir," Harm responded, not having to ask what a fight club was.

"Gunny's got your flight arrangements. You'll leave tomorrow. When you get to the base you're to meet with Colonel Ava Hollister. Dismissed."

"Aye, sir."

"Yes, sir."

Outside of his office, the two exchanged a look. "This is going to be interesting," Harm muttered.

"You're not kidding," Mac answered.

2130 ZULU
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER
TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA

Harm and Mac drove through the front gate and followed the Corporal's directions to the office building that housed Colonel Hollister. Harm was dressed in fatigues and wore the mark of a Gunnery Sergeant - one he was familiar with having carried it on a past undercover assignment. Mac was in her regular uniform minus her oak leaves a she was now Petty officer 2nd Class assigned to the Staff Judge Advocate office.

Colonel Hollister was the second in command on the base but she greeted them with warmth that belied her status. Closing her office door behind the pair, she indicated the chairs facing her desk before seating herself behind it.

"I assume Admiral Chegwidden filled you in on our situation?" she began, her eyes troubled.

"Yes, ma'am," Mac answered, studying the older woman.

She was as tall as Mac herself with what appeared to be very long sable hair if the heavy bun at the back of her head was any indication. Her eyes were a startling shade of bright green enhanced by the tiny laugh lines at the corners that other women might see as sign of age.

"The Admiral is concerned that a fight club is underway here," Harm interjected.

Ava sighed. "And he is probably right. I've known Admiral Chegwidden for many years and he's seldom wrong about things. Especially of this nature. Marines tend to be very hotheaded and arrogant, as you well know, Colonel MacKenzie. I'm afraid that's exactly what they're doing to let off steam. I will not tolerate this sort of thing under my command and if that's in fact what's happening here then it has to be stopped. I've lost five men in 30 days. That's abhorrent and without just cause. A.J. assures me that if anyone can get to the bottom of this it will be you two," she stated evenly, her gaze direct.

"We'll do our very best, Colonel," Harm promised.

"I'm sure you will. Petty Officer McCall will take you to your quarters. You'll report to your individual duty areas tomorrow morning at 0800. I don't know how you conduct your investigations, Commander, Colonel, but I know you'll let me know if my assistance is needed."

"Yes, ma'am, we will," Harm assured her. "For now we want to get on the inside and see what shakes loose."

"Fair enough. If you have no further questions, I know you must be tired from traveling and ready for dinner."

0100 ZULU
BASE PLAYGROUND
MCAGCC - TWENTY-NINE PALMS

"It's been awhile since we were here last," Harm commented.

The two sat on a bench, studying the multitude of stars overhead in the clear night sky. "That's a time in my life I'd just as soon forget," Mac answered and he heard the reproach in her voice.

"It was a learning experience," Harm commented. "And at least you came back. It could have been worse. The Admiral could have turned in your resignation instead of hanging on to it and giving you time to reconsider," he teased gently.

"True," Mac conceded.

"We'll have to be careful with this one," he continued.

"Just don't go trying to save the world without me, flyboy," she shot back.

"Me?" he gasped with feign indignation. "You're the one about to be surrounded by fellow Jarheads. Just don't get any crazy ideas," he shook his finger at her.

"We'll see who has the crazy ideas," Mac answered primly. "Don't you forget your name," she added.

"At least it's something I'm used to using," he retorted.

For the duration of the investigation, he was now Harmon MacKenzie and Mac would go by Sarah and would be borrowing Bud and Harriet's last name.

"And remember to call me Sarah," she told him gently, a light in her eyes he was trying hard not to see.

1300 ZULU
MARKMANSHIP TRAINING UNIT
MCAGCC

"Good morning, Gunnery Sergeant, sir!"

Harm bit down on the inside of his lip to keep from smiling at the young Corporal before him.

"Corporal Wesley. At ease," he answered. "I understand you're to be my aide?" Harm asked.

"Yes, sir. "

"Good. Right now I'm going out to the ranges to get a feel for things. Back to your duties, Corporal."

"Yes, sir."

Harm followed the hall to the outdoor ranges to where the Unit Specific Marksmanship Training was going on. There were seven ranges where everything from moving target practice to military police shotgun training was going on.

Shoving in his earplugs, Harm tugged the brim of his hat a little lower and strode out. For several minutes he stood and watched. The men he could see were young, probably all Corporal status or younger. Toward the far end of the range a group of four stood together talking. Harm's gaze narrowed on them. If there were indeed a fight club, its members would have certain attitudes. Usually hot tempered and short on good judgement. If he had any chance of getting into the club he had to find a way to show he had the right 'attitude' as well.

He strode to the end of the range, his strides long and purposeful. He stopped a foot away and planted his hands on his hips.

"Last time I checked this was a target range not a chat room!" he barked.

Three of the four men spun around and came to attention but the fourth stood idle, his hands shoved in the pockets of his BDUs.

"Yes, sir, Gunnery Sergeant!" The first three resounded.

Harm glared at the fourth. "Sergeant..." he stepped toe-to-toe with the younger man. "Glenn, do you feel your rank prohibits you from attention?!" Harm bellowed loud enough to make any drill sergeant proud. He also drew the attention of the others on the range.

"No, sir, Gun-ner-y Sergeant," Sergeant Glenn drawled insolently.

"That's Gunnery Sergeant MacKenzie, soldier! And don't you forget it! You've got two seconds to come to proper attention before I drop you like a stone!" Harm ordered.

"Obviously you're new here, Gunny," Sergeant Glenn continued, ignoring the command. "We take our orders from Sergeant Major Eichen."

"Let me make this very clear to you, Sergeant Glenn. You will come to attention, salute me and follow any orders I might give you or I promise you will find yourself on the wrong of Leavenworth's walls!"

By now the others were trying to back away, obviously sure they wanted to avoid the approaching fray. Glenn laughed sardonically and undercover or not, Harm saw red. Faster than a blink, his fist shot out, catching Glenn square in the jaw. The other man hit the ground with a dull thud and for a split second no one moved or spoke. Harm bent at the waist and caught him by the shirtfront, jerking him back to his feet.

"Consider yourself duly warned, Sergeant," Harm spat. "Another incident like this and you will find yourself under arrest for insubordination! Do you understand?!" Harm demanded, clearly enunciating each word as if speaking to a child.

"Yes, sir, Gunnery Sergeant!" Glenn answered, reluctance dripping from every word.

Harm released him with a snap of his wrists, causing him to stumble backward.

Then he turned to face the attention of the others that stood frozen, watching.

"I am Gunnery Sergeant MacKenzie! I am in command of this unit - not Sergeant Major Eichen. Is that clear?!"

"Yes, sir, Gunnery Sergeant, sir!" The men answered in unison.

"Now I suggest you get back to your training!"

"Yes, sir!"

Harm strode briskly from the range and back inside where he small office was located. Closing the door behind him, he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and picked up the phone, punching in the extension he knew would reach Mac.

"It's me," he muttered without preamble.

"What's wrong?" she asked sharply, immediately picking up his agitation.

"Just a minor mishap on the range. But I just made my presence known in a big way. I need you to check out two names."

"Go," Mac answered.

"Master Sergeant Eichen and Sergeant Glenn. Both MTU."

"I'll do it right now. Give me a few minutes," she ordered and hung up.

Harm went to the broad set of windows that overlooked the range and studied the men. They were all at practice now - even Glenn - but he could see the dark-haired man talking to another soldier that Harm hadn't seen when he was out there. The phone rang and he snatched it up.

"MacKenzie."

"You don't know how funny that sound coming from you," Mac teased.

"Ha ha, very funny," Harm drawled. "What'd you find out?"

"Eichen is on administrative leave pending our investigation. It's not in the file the Admiral had for us but I called Colonel Hollister. Three of the men who died were under Eichen's command. Sergeant Glenn is a loose cannon.. He's been in trouble more than once but always seems to find a way out of it. Most notably with the backing of Eichen," she explained.

"I see," Harm answered slowly, his suspicions mounting. "Thanks, Mac."

"You're welcome, Sailor."

0310 ZULU
ENLISTED BARRACKS
MCAGCC

Harm was put into a room by himself in the barracks for which he was glad for. A little investigation revealed that Glenn and some of his cronies were on the second floor of the three-story building. Harm had dinner with Mac and then they went for a walk around the immediate grounds before retiring to their individual barracks. Now he was sitting in an arm chair with a book thinking about going to bed and an envelope came sailing beneath the closed door.

He sat there for a second, staring at it before rising slowly. He bent and scooped it up in one big hand. Ripping open the flap, he pulled out a single sheet and unfolded it.

You have something we want and we can make it worth your while. If you're interested, come to the rear of the Sergeant's Course at 0100.

Intrigued, Harm read the note again. Crossing the room, he picked up the phone.

"I just got my summons," he stated as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Need backup?" Mac asked casually.

"No, ma'am. I'm to go to the back of the Sergeant's Course at 0100 to hear about a mutually beneficial partnership."

"Oooh," Mac teased. "Sure it's not some blonde?" she asked, only partially teasing as thoughts of Renee immediately surfaced.

"No," he retorted. "It's not some blonde. And no, I don't want you out there this time. If something happened to you I'd have to explain it to Brumby," he answered sarcastically.

"Don't trouble yourself," Mac stated flatly and hung up on him.

"Damn it," Harm cursed, dropping the phone back in its cradle. "When am I going to learn?" he asked himself. "Our friendship right now is rocky at best but just the thought of Brumby touching..." he broke off abruptly. "Well this isn't the time for that," he reminded himself in the stillness of the room as he went to dress.

At 0100 he made his way through the darkened grounds to the rear of the course. Harm moved slowly, watching for any sign of movement. The air was still and heavy with the threat of an impending storm. A shadow caught his eye and he swung his head to the left.

"Seems you follow orders real well, Gunny."

Harm stiffened at the voice. "Glenn," he acknowledged.

"You interested in a little side game, Gunny?" Glenn asked him.

"What makes you think you can hold my interest?" Harm countered.

"Oh, I don't think it will be a problem," Glenn answered slyly. "Follow me and you'll find out."

Harm did just that and was led around the corner to a door. The inside resembled an arena of sorts where various obstacles were set up for the men participating in the Sergeant's course. The only light was provided by the closest office. In the shadows it threw stood at least a dozen other men. A couple Harm recognized from that afternoon on the range.

"You got the kinda attitude we like, Gunny," Glenn told him. "Me and my friends here - we have us a little side business going. We think you might decide to join us."

"Depends on what..."

Before Harm could finish his sentence two of the men from the group were on him, tumbling all three to the floor in a tangle. Regaining his footing, Harm came up swinging. He caught sight of Glenn moving out of the way as the other two rushed him again. Harm swung his right fist at the one closest, driving him to his knees then swung out and sent the second reeling backward with a roundhouse to the chest. Assuming a boxing stance with his fists before him, Harm faced the moved as they advanced on him.

They traded punches, sparring back and forth and he realized in the back of his mind that they seemed to be testing him. He certainly couldn't take them all at once but they came in pairs, forcing him to use a little of everything he knew from combat training to kickboxing.

The fighting went on until Harm lost track of time. Swaying, he struggled to stay upright, swiping his forearm across his face to get the blood that was trickling into his eye.

"Stop!" Glenn called suddenly.

Harm's opponents cleared away as fast as they'd come and Glenn walked over to Harm. Breathing heavily, Harm let his arms drop to his sides, exhausted, his head pounding furiously.

"Not bad for an old man," Glenn jeered. "I knew you'd make a good addition today when you knocked me down. We want you to join our club, Gunny. Just to show there's no pressure we'll let you think about it for a couple of days. Make your decision and be here at 0100 Friday. That's two days," he added, speaking as if Harm were dense.

Judging from his tone of voice, Harm got the feeling he wasn't being given a choice at all. "I think I can remember that," Harm panted sarcastically.

"See that you do. Night, Gunny," Glenn bid with a mock salute. He and the rest of his cronies turned to leave but he paused and looked back at Harm. "By the way, you might like to bring that hot little fox you've been keeping company with."

Drawing a slow breath, Harm winced as pain stabbed him in the ribcage. Grabbing the tail of his T-shirt, he drew it up to wipe blood away. Slowly, he made his way out of the building. He made it to his room without anyone seeing him, including the CQ desk and called Mac.

"Harm?" she asked, her voice slurred with sleep.

"Can you come over here?" he asked, the words muffled by a split lip.

"I'll be right there," she promised.

She rapped lightly on his door less than 15 minutes later and he called for her to come in. She closed the door behind her, turned and gasped aloud.

"Harm! Oh, my, God! What happened?" she demanded, rushing across the room to him.

"The 'club' happened to me. I believe I was just initiated without even realizing it."

Briefly he told her about the meeting and the ensuing boxing match.

"This is barbaric," she snapped, reaching gently for the ice pack he held against his eye.

"Grown men have been fighting each other for years to prove their manhood," he answered, trying to make light of the situation and ignore how close she was standing.

"It's stupid," she retorted flatly.

"Yeah," it is," he agreed.

"Look at your face," she moaned softly. "Come into the bathroom and let me clean you up," she ordered, tugging on his hand.

Harm followed her into the tiny bathroom and lowered his tall frame to the commode. There was a first aid kit mounted on the wall behind the door that Mac rummaged through, gathering bandages and antiseptic. She turned back to the sink and ran a washcloth under the cold water before turning back to him.

Harm kept his gaze focused on the wall past her shoulder as she stepped between his spread legs to tend to his face. Tenderly, her small hand cupped his jaw, tilting his head up to the light.

"This is an improvement to your usual handsome self," she teased, trying to ignore how bad he looked and how it made her heart pound.

"Yeah, right," he scoffed, glancing at her.

Their eyes met and her hand stilled at the task of wiping blood away.

"I forgot to tell you something," he murmured, his gaze intent.

"What?" she asked, cursing herself at how breathless she sounded.

"I was ordered to bring the hot little fox I've been hanging around the base with to the first meeting Friday."

Mac stared at him for a second as comprehension dawned. "Hot little fox?" she echoed. "Pigs," she muttered disgustedly.

Harm chuckled and caught her hand, pressing it to his face for an instant as his eyes held hers. "They were right," he stated gently.

Mac swallowed hard, caught by the look in his dark eyes. Lately... well, lately there'd been a lot of looks like that. And they made her forget all about Renee and all about Mic moving back to D.C. Reluctantly, Harm released her fingers and she diverted her attention back to his cuts.

"How are you going to explain this?" she asked.

"I'll tell them I ran into a door in the dark," he muttered dryly.

She laughed very softly and gently smoothed antibiotic cream into the inch long cut above his eye that bisected his brow. She also dabbed the white cream into the split at the left corner of his mouth and the one in the center. When the pad of her finger stroked over the fullness of his bottom lip, both of them froze. No more than a half dozen inches stood between them and at the same time both began to realize just how tenuous their current position was.

Harm's hands came up slowly to grasp her upper arms, preventing her from moving away. Mac was aware of the heat emanating from him. Of the feel of his mouth under her fingers, of the almost feral look in her eyes. The tension building in the room was almost palpable. Mac felt transported back to the ferry when she'd been searching desperately for some sign of his feelings. Now, the way he was looking at her was almost scary in its intensity. She felt him move and felt herself being pulled closer. The hand holding the tube of cream dropped for balanced and landed on the warm skin where his neck and shoulder met. Her fingertips rested wholly on his face, feeling the stubble of the day's growth on his jaw.

His eyes darkened marginally, studying her, catching the tiny movement as her tongue snaked out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. Harm felt himself losing grip of his control. All his good intentions to remain at a comfortable distance from her. His fingers tightened almost hurtfully on her arms and he eased her closer to him. Her balance shifted and her other hand landed against the base of his neck. Another tug threw her completely off balance and she brought one knee down on his thigh to keep from falling against him.. Shifting the slightest bit, Harm lifted himself toward her. Here in this world they weren't bound by protocol. Maybe for just a few minutes Harm could forget that she was his partner.

"Forget what?" she murmured breathlessly.

Harm realized he'd spoken the words aloud. Only an inch separated them now.. "Forget that we're partners. Forget about JAG. Forget about rank and Renee and Brumby and everything else. That's what you asked me to do once," he whispered.

"That's right," she confirmed, angling her head down. "That's what I asked you to do."

And on the heel of her softly spoken answer, Harm raised his hands to her face and tilted her head slightly, waiting now only to cross the last centimeter to her mouth.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Don't you just hate that when they're on TV???? Sorry, folks, I have the pleasure of the first two part episode and I'm enjoying this immensely! Stay tuned for the continuation next Tuesday.