Title: The
Rabbs/Till Death Do Us Part
Authors:
Rising Sun [jagrslc@yahoo.com] and Anne Taul [annetaul@home.com]
The
FF of Rising Sun is archived at: http://www.geocities.com/jagrslc
The
FF of Anne Taul is archived at: http://www.geocities.com/atjag101
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updates on FF by Rising Sun join: jagrslc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Rated: PG-13
Summary: Murderous
mayhem is unleashed at what should be the greatest day for the Rabbs and the
Roberts.
Classification: JAG
Story/Adventure/Romance: Harm/Mac
Disclaimer: JAG
characters portrayed belong to JAG, CBS and Paramount Television. No copyright
infringement intended. All other
characters depicted are purely fictional and any similarities to actual people
are purely coincidental.
Feedback: Would make
our day!
Story Written March 2002
=========================================
TWO DAYS LATER
1450 LOCAL
RABB RESIDENCE
AJ Roberts walked
into the house and found Mac curled up on a sofa reading a file.
“Hey AJ” She
acknowledged.
“Hi Auntie Mac.” He
replied.
“David or Cat?” She
asked. Then answered her own question.
“David is out with Harm and the boys visiting Sarah. Cat is in the woods
walking Jingo.”
“I can’t wait to
see who Uncle Harm gives that steersman too.” He chuckled “In the woods you
say?”
“Uh huh” Mac smiled
as he made his way to the back of their house.
+ + +
Cat was heading
back to the house with Jingo trotting by her side when the dog suddenly made a
dash ahead. Through the trees she could
see AJ defending himself from the dog’s enthusiastic welcome.
She stayed among
the trees and watched.
AJ finally managed
to disentangle himself and entered the woods in search of her. He spotted her leaning against a tree
watching him.
He walked up to her
all the time not taking his eyes off her. He’d seen pictures of his godmother
at that age and it was uncanny the way Cat had emerged as a clone of the older
Marine. “Hey beautiful”
“Hey yourself.” She
responded to his kiss.
“Sorry about the
other day.” He apologized.
“Apology accepted.”
She said, “You know better AJ”
“Indeed I do.” He
agreed “Have dinner with me tonight?”
“Sure… Il Pirata.”
She replied.
“I thought you said
you accepted my apology!” He squealed; the place was expensive.
“We can always go
to Dominatrix.” She offered.
He gulped
Dominatrix was even more exclusive. “No! No Il Pirata is acceptable.”
“Fine. See you
around 2000?” She asked.
“Sure. Walk you
back?”
“By all means.” She
agreed. As they walked back she turned to the young man “AJ you could have
called with that invitation.”
“I know. But I preferred to see the object of my
affection.” He grinned.
=========================================
1555 LOCAL
RABB RESIDENCE
Mac looked up as
Cat walked in. “That was quick.”
Cat flopped onto
one of the massive cushions that she and her brothers favored. “Yeah… well… you know.”
Mac stopped
reading. “Now there’s a complete
sentence.”
Cat adjusted her
position “How did you know?”
“That your father
was the one?” Mac cut to the chase. Cat nodded. Mac could help but grin.
“If you only knew!”
“I realize that it
took some doing for you and dad to actually get together, but you had to have
known before that that he was the one?” Cat insisted.
“I did. I think it hit me full tilt when he left JAG
to return to flying. I reacted like a lover and not a friend. Even he observed that, but neither of us
realized the implications.”
Cat contemplated
the statement. Mac continued. “Cat you are much like me. We take charge. That can be good and that
can be bad.” She took a deep breath.
“After your dad returned we ended up in Australia where essentially a
love triangle played out. A play that
we all found ourselves in by accident.” Cat was absorbed.
“While there I
reached the end of my rope and I took a decision. I made a move on your dad. That was a mistake. How much of a
mistake none of us would realize until a year later when on the eve of my
marriage to Mic, Harm’s fighter plane went down and I realized just how much I
really loved him. The hell of it was
that we were so off course by that time that we were barely friends.”
She looked at her
daughter. “Is any of this helping?”
She shrugged “Makes
a good story though.”
“Despite the fact
that you have heard it before?”
“But every time I
appreciate it more. How can a five year
old appreciate a love triangle? The
fights yeah … but love? Now as an adult
I can appreciate it from a different aspect.” Cat assured her. “You were willing to do what mother to get
him?”
“By that time I was
resigned to the life of a nun. It was Harmon Rabb or no one. It was that simple. I had gone through many
boyfriends and an almost husband for that lesson to sink in. All I could do was be there. I suspect that Sturgis had a hand in there
somewhere but he won’t say.” Mac said.
“Tell me something.
Is it that hard to accept AJ? If it is then don’t accept.” Mac advised.
“You
misunderstand.” Cat replied. “It’s because I am that sure that I am second
guessing myself.”
“That why you ran?”
“Who said I ran!”
Cat demanded then caught her mother’s eye and relented, “OK so I ran. I knew
what he was going to ask and I wasn’t sure.”
“Sure of what
honey?”
“That it would
work. Sure we seem to be good for each
other but…” She trailed off.
“There will always
be problems Cat but look at his parents and look at yours. You both come from
stock that loves and loves with a passion. When it fits it fits.” Mac
replied. “And the sex ain’t bad
either.”
“Mother!”
“Cat you are a
grown woman, a Marine and maybe soon to be a wife. I am a Marine and was where
you are once. I know what happens on deployment. Hell I did my fair share too
so don’t give me that horrified look.” Mac replied.
Cat was about to
answer when the noise of Harm and the boys invaded the mother daughter moment.
=========================================
2348 LOCAL
RABB RESIDENCE
Cat walked into the
kitchen followed by AJ. “Hey what are
you guys doing up still?” She blurted.
Harm grinned,
“Don’t tell mom.” He pointed at Mac “She made me do it!”
She hit him “Idiot.
You two are back early. Everything all right?”
“Oh yeah.” Cat
replied nonchalantly then held up her left hand. The diamond caught the light.
“You tamed the
Shrew!” Harm exclaimed.
Mac rolled her eyes.
“Don’t mind him. My husband is upstairs I’m just feeding this stray.” She
hugged the two. “Congratulations.”
“Sorry Cat.” Harm
mumbled then picked her up and swung her. “Congrats!”
As she squealed Mac
turned to AJ “Your parents know yet?”
“At this time of
night? We were bursting to tell someone we figured that my parents would be
asleep but that you all would be up and the guys would be out.” He
replied. “What’s with the Shrew thing?”
“James’ attempt at
humor.” Cat replied. Harm had put her down. “The Taming of the Shrew as in
Shakespeare. With yours truly as the
Shrew, he just won’t let up on it.”
Harm noted that AJ
said nothing. “You’ll go far son.” He said.
Mac chose to ignore
him, instead she asked, “Set a date yet?”
=========================================
Even before a date
was finalized, Harriet and Mac began work on the wedding. They wanted this to
be the beautiful, special grandiose celebration that their children deserved.
And it was, after all, officially uniting two families who had always been
intricately intertwined. Both
separately and together, the mothers investigated every church and chapel in
the greater DC, area; it needed to be just right. When they had narrowed it to
a half dozen or so, they met for lunch with Cat and AJ to make the selection.
Each option was
presented with much care, as the bride and groom listened, respectfully. "So what do you both think?"
Harriet asked the kids.
AJ and Cat
exchanged a nervous glance. "You've both done too much work on this."
AJ started.
"Nonsense!"
Mac answered. "You're only going to get married once, it should be
perfect."
"Mama,"
Cat decided to take hold of the situation, "we don't mean any disrespect
to either of you -- we love you both so much -- but we had something else in
mind."
"Something
else?" Mac and Harriet both seemed confused.
"We want to
get married in a place that's special to us." AJ informed them.
"Of course you
do, and that's what we want for you." His mother smiled.
"Remember that
trip we took to buy horses a few years ago with Grandma and Grandpa
Sims?" AJ referred to a journey he
and Cat had gone on with Harriet's parents to Central Kentucky to buy
thoroughbred breeding stock for their stables.
“You guys really
enjoyed that.” Mac spoke up.
"Yeah, we really did." Her daughter concluded. "It was such a beautiful place, and so special to us."
"What are you
saying? "Harriet wrinkled her nose. "You want to get married in a
horse barn?"
"No, of course
not." But we were thinking about taking the whole wedding party to
Kentucky. We'd like to be married there. It means a lot to us." Cat
concluded.
AJ squeezed her
hand. "We still want both of you to help us plan the wedding, but it would
mean a lot to us if we could start our life together there." He said.
Mac and Harriet
looked at each other and smiled.
"Auntie Mac,
Mom, are you mad at us?" AJ asked.
"We don't want
to upset you." Cat, quickly added.
"Of course we're not mad." Harriet replied. "We’ll start making some phone calls and see what we can find there.
A J reached to take
both of his mother's hands in his larger ones. Cat smiled at Mac. "We love
you guys." They gushed.
A lovely May Saturday, when the last of the dogwoods still bloomed found the Rabb/Roberts clan and friends at an old, historic, small stone church outside Lexington. Surrounded by the beauty of a place they loved and the warmth of the people they loved, AJ Roberts and Catherine Sarah Rabb joined their lives and their hearts forever.
=========================================
1434 LOCAL
WEDDING RECEPTION
The wedding
reception was turning into a riotous affair.
Vengeance was proving sweet for James as he mercilessly teased Cat about
being tamed by AJ.
“Mom can’t you stop
him?” David pleaded for his sister.
“Why?” Mac acted
the innocent. “I figure turn about is fair play. Wait till he gets hold of
you!”
He groaned and Mac
chuckled.
Elliott strolled up
dashing in his dress whites. All the men looked debonair in their various
military dress uniforms. “And he will have all right to. I can’t believe that you are standing next
to this Goddess and all you can do is talk!”
Mac looked round.
“Goddess you say.”
“Goddess I insist.”
He replied. “Mother dear dance with your son?”
“Always.” She took
his hand.
“That… big brother
is what you do with a beautiful woman.” He said as he escorted Mac to the
floor.
David grinned. He
spotted Harriett and moved to intercept her. “Auntie Harriett dance with a
lonely young man?” he asked.
She surveyed him.
“David Rabb I seriously doubt that you are a lonely young man; but my ego needs
stroking so do your worst.” She took his arm and let him escort her to the
dance floor.
Without warning the
party atmosphere was shattered by gunfire.
Pandemonium reigned as people tumbled over each other to get out of
harm’s way. The sounds of screaming and
breaking furniture mingled with the continued sounds of the gunfire.
Finally the
shooting stopped and attention was demanded.
“SHUT UP!” a man in his twenties demanded. The bedlam ceased but was replaced by whimpering.
“This is a stick
up!” He said. His two companions chuckled.
“What do you want!”
Harm demanded. He felt helpless. One does not attend the wedding of your only
daughter armed.
“Strip!” The leader
demanded. The reception froze. He fired
a shot into the air. “You deaf! I said strip!”
The guests began to
comply.
“That’s better.” He
said. “Charlie collect the clothes.
Adam collect the jewels and anything valuable.”
“Got it
Harry.” Adam reported.
Harry issued new
instructions. “I thank you folks. Your
clothes may be collected at the front gate. As you realize that this is to give
us some lead-time. I don’t expect that
you will be following us too soon.” He grinned. “Why is that?” He asked “Simple really.” He raised the gun and
shot Bud in the stomach.
The act was greeted
with more screams.
“Bye!” the three
ran off.
Disregarding his
lack of clothes Harm dashed to his friend’s side. Mac stopped him. “Go get
our clothes.” She instructed.
He nodded grimly.
Harm returned five
minutes later, his arms loaded. “Sorry
but I had to be sure it was safe. How’s Bud?”
“Bad.” Mac
replied. She beckoned to James.
The young man moved
to his mother’s side. “Track em. We’ll join you soon. I assume you have a duffle bag in the SUV?”
He nodded. “I’ll
take the handheld but the range is only so far.”
“Agreed.” Harm
said. “Change into your BDU’s we’ll be
along soon.”
“Aye.” James
trotted off.
David took his
place. “The ambulance, police and ME
are on their way.”
Harm glared at him.
“Why the Medical Examiner?”
David fought back
tears. “Uncle AJ is dead. Uncle Bud and
Uncle Sturgis may be dying and AJ is badly wounded.”
“Cat!” Mac groaned,
“Where is your sister!”
David pointed,
“Over there.” Mac moved to be with her daughter.
“Who else son.”
Harm prompted.
David continued
listing the dead and injured.
Mac stooped next
Harm’s mother, Trish who was hovering over the newlyweds. “Cat?” She whispered.
“Oh God!” she
wailed. “Mom!”
Mac’s heart broke,
both as a mother empathizing with her child and as a woman who loved her
husband dearly. All she could do was hold Cat.
She looked at Harriett. “How
bad?”
Harriett was a mess
as she leaned on Trish, who hadn’t even noticed that she was covered in
blood. “It’s bad Mac. I may loose my
entire family today.”
Cat spotted her
grandmother. “Gram you’re hurt? Not you too!”
“No child.” She
assured them all. “I’m fine. The blood isn’t mine and in this chaos I dare not
guess as to who’s it is.”
Mac nodded, reached
over and squeezed Harriett’s hand. The sounds of approaching sirens could be
heard.
=========================================
1750 LOCAL
UNIVERSITY OF
KENTUCKY MEDICAL CENTER
The victims of the
attack were rushed to University of Kentucky Medical Center. Bud, Sturgis and
Little AJ being the worse of the incoming were rushed into surgery first.
Harm couldn’t keep
still. “Harm you are going to wear a hole in the floor.” Mac admonished her
husband.
He moved swiftly to
her side. “We have to move! Those bastards are getting away!”
“The police are on
the case.” Elliot pointed out.
“Bah!” Harm cursed.
It always seemed to
be the women in the family who took decisions. Mac made a choice. “Harriett you and Cat stay here for when the
men come out. The rest of us are going hunting.”
“Not without me.”
Cat said.
“Cat…” David
started.
She cut across him.
“Don’t. My husband of five hours fifty minutes is in there fighting for his
life. He doesn’t know I’m here. When he
gets out he still won’t know. I intend to be there when that scum is caught!” Her tone brokered no argument. She stared
each of them down including her parents.
“Let’s go.” Harm
decided, “Time’s a wasting.”
Mac turned to her
friend and now in law “Harriett?”
The woman was grim.
“Get the SOBs Mac and don’t come back with out their hides.”
Mac nodded grimly
and headed out the door. They all needed to change and get on the road to join
up with James.
=========================================
The group caught up
with James in a rural area on a farm off the Paris Pike near Lexington. The
nearby land was full of luscious green bluegrass -- this was thoroughbred horse
country at its most picturesque. It was David who had spotted the camouflage
cap apparently carelessly dropped by the side of the road. It was on old signal
the Rabb children had used in their war games since early childhood. When
James' siblings saw it, they knew exactly what he was trying to tell them. Once
they had this marker, the Rabb family easily tracked down their missing member
in the woods.
James was glad to
see them, and gathered them around him in a huddle. "I don't have an exact
location anymore, but they're down there somewhere." He motioned toward a
densely wooded spot, surrounding a pond.
I say let's go get 'em. " Elliott offered.
Mac grabbed his shoulder
to hold him in place.
"They're armed
and dangerous. You can't go in there blindly."
"Mom's
right." Cat agreed.
"We need a
recon patrol." Harm suggested.
"I'm on
it." David said, rising and beginning to move.
"Harm,"
Mac looked into her husband's eyes, with fear.
"No, Son.
Somebody has to make contact with the teams the local law enforcement people
are sending out. I want you to do that."
"D-a-a-a-d"
David complained.
"Sarah,"
he lovingly addressed his wife, "Cat needs her mother right now. Stay with
her."
"What are
you…." Mac started to ask, but she let it go. She'd known this man for
long enough to completely trust his instincts.
"James,"
Harm turned to his son, "good work, Son. You look tired. Stay here with
your mom and sister and get some rest."
Then, to the one
remaining, "Elliott, you're with me."
Elliott Rabb loaded
his sidearm and prepared to move out. Nobody would question these decisions.
Harmon Rabb didn't issue orders to his family often, but when he did, they were
obeyed.
Harm cupped his
wife's face tenderly in his hand. "We will be back in one hour. If you
need us sooner, James knows how to contact us." The twins had, since their
early teens, practiced birdcalls, which they used to communicate with each
other in the woods. They had been unmercifully teased about this, but it had
come in handy before.
He kissed his wife,
and then hugged his young daughter, assuring her, "Cat, we'll find
them."
"I know,
Daddy. Be careful."
Quickly the two man
recon team was gone.
"I'm going
back to the car and call the hospital to see how things are going. Then I'll
call the police to see what they've got." David informed the women.
"We need more
intel to figure out who these guys are and what's going on." Mac
commented. "See if the police know anything."
"Aye, aye,
General." David quipped.
Mac spread a
blanket and encouraged James to lie down and rest. "We may need your
energy later." She explained.
The young man
complied. Mac knew he was tired, as he didn’t object to the fussing.
Mac sat back down
beside her daughter, holding her in her arms. Cat was still in shock, at least
a little.
After a while, she
spoke to her mother. "Mama, AJ's got to be okay."
He will,
Baby."
"I never
thought I'd find somebody to love that completely, and now, he could be taken
away from me. We haven't even had a chance to be married yet."
Mac hugged her
tighter. "Mom, what if he needs me? What if he's asking for me? I should
be with my husband."
Sarah MacKenzie
Rabb knew exactly what her daughter was talking about. Maybe her place was with
her injured husband. Truthfully, the only reason Mac hadn't argued to have Cat
left behind at the hospital was because she thought it might be better for her
to get away from that environment where she might be so helpless to take care
of her man. But looking around her, she now thought this was no place for a
newlywed on her wedding day.
"When David
gets back, I'll have him take you back in to the hospital."
"I should be
here with my family." The younger woman was conflicted.
AJ is your family
now, too."
"I love him,
Mom."
"I know you
do, Honey."
"Do you think
he knows it? I mean do you think he can feel it right now?"
"I'm sure he
can, Cathy." Her childhood name made her smile.
Mac held her
daughter tightly as the younger woman lay her head against her shoulder and
relaxed. She really missed these times when her children needed her guidance
and comfort. They were all adults now, this one married, even. They really had
grown up too fast. She and Harm were all alone in the big house now; sometimes
it seemed empty and quiet. Perhaps a time would come when it was filled with
grandchildren, but who knows?
General Rabb kissed
her little girl's brow and made a silent wish to spare her any more pain.
The bonding moment
was broken, as David reappeared through the brush. He knelt and embraced Cat.
"I talked to Aunt Harriet." He reported.
"AJ?" Cat
asked, anxiously.
"He's out of
surgery, but still unconscious. The doctors say that after he wakes up they'll
know more. She told me to tell you not to worry."
"Yeah,
right!" Cat responded.
Mac looked at her
eldest son. "Bud? Sturgis?"
"They're both
still in surgery. But neither of them is hurt as badly as they originally
thought. She sounded hopeful about them. I guess nobody's out of the woods yet,
but things could be a lot worse."
Mac touched her
son's cheek.
"There's
more." David continued, " We aren't the only ones looking for people
out here tonight."
"What do you
mean?" Cat questioned.
There's a bunch of
Army MPs on a manhunt out here, their squadron commander's back by the road.
They've had to suspend their search until they can get a ruling about some kind
of evidence from one of their attorneys. They're time critical, though. Mom, do
you think you could go talk to them, maybe?"
"Okay."
She agreed, and then looked down at Cat. "Maybe I shouldn't leave."
"Go." Cat
encouraged.
"Will you be
all right?"
"Mom, I'm a
Marine. I can take care of myself. Besides, James is right here."
The three of them
looked over to the prone figure of James Rabb, who had obviously fallen asleep.
"Okay, but
I'll be back soon. If you hear anything or need anything, wake up Sleeping
Beauty over there." Mac instructed.
“Will do." Cat
complied.
David kissed his
sister on the cheek, and then helped his mother to her feet.
=========================================
BACK AT THE ROAD
OFF PARIS PIKE
JUST NORTH OF
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
Mac had just
finished explaining to the MPs that she was the Navy JAG. They guessed that she
could advise them about their evidence, so they told her what was going on.
Three young men --local civilians-- had illegally gotten onto the Army base at
Fort Knox, about an hour's drive from here.
They had been responsible for some random acts of vandalism and had
incited some of the dependent minors into a protest. Apparently they had
decided that they wanted to do something spectacular to "make their
mark." What they had done was broken into a security area and stolen some
sensitive information, including access codes to part of the defense system
surrounding the National Gold repository. They were planning to rob Fort Knox,
as it were. When found out, they got
off the base and fled the few miles to Louisville, where they caught a bus to
Lexington. After being spotted headed this way, they were at large someplace in
these woods.
Mac quickly filled
them in on her family's own search. Maybe they could help each other. With that
many fugitives at large in this area, surely somebody would see something soon.
A young Army
corporal approached the Captain she was speaking to. "Sir, the information
bureau says they should be able to get those photos and fax them by
morning."
"Thank you,
Saunders." He acknowledged.
"General, with
your husband and son out there, maybe you should get us pictures of them so
we'll recognize them as allies if they're spotted during the search."
David was the one
who could pull out his wallet and produce photos of his family.
When they had
finished talking to Captain Marshall, Mac and David made their way back to the
camp. What they found made them both smile. Cat had lain down on the blanket
beside James, and they were tangled up together. Always the light sleeper,
though, she woke as they approached.
"I'm not doing
any good here." She commented. "I need to be with AJ. He might need
me."
"He's not
awake. He wouldn't know you were there." David countered.
“He'd know."
Cat insisted. "He's my husband. I've got to go to him. Will you take me,
David?"
Mac placed a hand on his arm and nodded.
“Let's go, Sis."
"When you actually get these guys,
though, I want to be here." She made her mother and older brother promise.
"I'll be back as soon as I can. Will you
be okay, Mom?"
Mac nodded. As soon as her two elder children
had gone, she took Cat's place stretched out next to James.
She drifted into a
light sleep, but was awakened by the sound of movement near her camp. She reached for her weapon, but it was just
out of her grasp. She could kick herself for letting down her guard this much.
All she could do was wake up her son, lying beside her.
James did wake up,
but he was still groggy when the footsteps came into the area of their camp. He
moved slightly to try to protect his mother, but it caused the intruders to see
what was going on.
"Relax, Two.
It's us." The voice of Elliott greeted his brother.
"You could've
scared the beejeebies outta us, One. What did you find out there?"
Elliott sat on the
blanket next to his twin and their mother. Harm quickly materialized next to
Mac and slid his arms around her. "Where's Cat?" he was concerned.
"David took
her to the hospital." His wife supplied.
"Answer the question, Squid." She poked Harm playfully in the
ribs. "What did you find out there?"
"There are
lots of tracks. It's really hard to tell which ones are fresh." Elliott
told them.
Harm, then, took
over. "A couple of times we thought we saw people, but it turned out to be
livestock. Elliott almost shot a beautiful horse."
Elliott blushed.
"I thought it was moving toward us. It looked like a man."
James opened a
thermos David had brought and gave Elliott and Harm both coffee from it.
Mac filled Harm in
on the Army search going on. Then suggested, "Why don't you two lie down
and get some rest."
"No."
Harm declared. "We’re just checking in at the end of our hour. We're going
back. We can switch later, we're not tired yet."
Mac looked from her
husband to her son, not believing this. "You were gone an hour and twenty
minutes." She corrected.
Harm and Elliott
both stood to continue their mission. "How about it, One?" James
asked his twin.
"I'm
fine." Elliott insisted. "You save your energy. We're going to need
it."
Harm bent to
tenderly kiss his wife. "Let us know if you need anything." He
instructed.
"I need you."
She clarified. "Be careful…. both of you."
And they were gone
again.
=========================================
AN HOUR LATER
UNIVERSITY OF
KENTUCKY MEDICAL CENTER
SECOND FLOOR -- ICU
WAITING ROOM
Harriet stood and
enveloped Cat in a huge embrace as she and David entered. David kissed his grandmother.
“How is he?"
Cat asked cautiously.
"Still unconscious, Sweetheart."
"Can I see
him?"
"I guess so.
They let me go in, and I'm only his mother; you're his wife."
After everything
that had happened this day, it was only just sinking in to Cat: she was Mrs. AJ
Roberts.
Harriet showed her
daughter -in-law the way, then left quickly to give them some time alone.
"The
others?" David asked as Harriett and Cat walked away.
Trish filled him in
“Sturgis is awake. It's going to be a long road back for him, but he'll be
okay; Bobbie's with him now. Bud woke up for a little while, but he was in so
much pain that they gave him a sedative to knock him out again. The doctor says
he'll need more surgery in a few days, as soon as he's strong enough. He's lost
a lot of blood, but he will live. We tried to be positive when we saw him, we
just didn't have the heart to tell him about AJ's injuries or the admiral's
death. "
Harriett returned
and David hugged this woman who had always been a second mother to him. They sat down together to wait, because
there was nothing else that they could do.
David Rabb stayed for a while before he left, but did feel the need to
get back to the rest of the family out in the field.
=========================================
WOODED FARM LAND
OFF PARIS PIKE
NORTH OF LEXINGTON,
KENTUCKY
When David arrived
back at the camp, he found his mother and James anticipating the return of Harm
and Elliott. James had given birdcall signals to his twin to ask them to come
back.
Mac was preparing
gear to go out into the field. "Your daddy and Elliott have been out there
a long time, so they've got to rest. I’ll take James with me to replace
them."
"Let me go
with James, Mom." David offered.
"Have you
forgotten that Grandma Sarah is still at the hotel? Somebody needs to take care
of her, Son."
Harm's grandmother
had been too ill to come to the wedding, in her doctor's opinion. They were all
sorry, but her health was the most important thing. The morning of the ceremony, however (was that only this morning?)
they had received a call that Grandma Sarah had slipped past her nurse and left
the house. Everyone was worried until
the elderly lady had arrived in Louisville on a bus and called Harm to come get
her for the wedding. Mac and Harm had gone to pick her up, but told her she
could only stay until after the wedding, and then she had to go home and take
care of herself. Since she refused to fly, Harm had volunteered David to drive
her back to Pennsylvania the following day.
Now, David knew
that if he was going to make this trip, he needed rest, so he sat down, leaned
against a tree and closed his eyes.
When he awoke later
(Cat or mom would have known how long), Harm and Elliott were fast asleep on
the blanket and Mac and James had disappeared.
A movement in the
nearby bushes put him on full alert. He was about to pounce, when the figure of
Army Captain Ted Marshall appeared. They conferred quietly, but still Elliott
and Harm woke up.
Introductions were
made, and soon Harm was exchanging search information with the MP squad. The trail twisted and turned several times,
so it was not easy to follow. Harm said that his wife was a master tracker,
though, and he was sure she was making more progress.
Taking leave from
the search camp, David picked up Grandma Sarah at her hotel and took her to the
hospital for a brief visit. There, he found that AJ had been in and out of
consciousness. Cat refused to leave his side.
Soon it came time
to leave, David Rabb rented a car to drive his great grandmother home. He would
then, fly back from Pennsylvania, cutting his time away significantly.
=========================================
SEARCHING IN THE
WOODS
Mac and James had
seen the Army searchers several times, but had not spotted their prey yet.
There were signs everywhere, however. They were definitely on the right trail.
The sun was getting hot overhead and they stopped to drink from their water
canteen. It was hard to believe that
they had already been at this all night and well into the next day.
James mentioned to
his mother that three civilian young men, who hadn't gone through survival
training couldn't last too long without food or shelter.
Captain Marshall
and a couple of his searchers joined them. When he showed Mac the photos of his
fugitives that had been faxed from the Army base, she confirmed that they were
all looking for the same culprits. Mac
inquired about possible shelter and food sources in the area that the fugitives
might be using. Several options that the Army had noted were discussed. James slipped into a nearby tree grove
during this talk. When he reappeared, he had news. A cow had been slaughtered
nearby, it's soft underbelly cut open with a hunting knife. Parts of the animal
had been cut up and were missing. "Well, they have food." James
concluded.
"We need to
stay alert for the smell of a cooking fire." Mac told her son. "They
may not be hearty enough to eat it raw."
Captain Marshall
shuddered a bit, as if to indicate that he might not be that hearty either.
James suddenly
perked up. "Ssh, listen." He commanded. The others to complied, but
they didn't hear anything.
"What is
it?" Mac asked.
"Elliott."
He replied. "It's an urgent signal. Something's happened. Maybe he and dad
caught the scum."
Without a word, Mac
and James were on their way back to the camp, moving rapidly through the brush.
Captain Marshall
had no idea what this young sailor had been talking about. He had heard
nothing. But something in him was damn
sure not going to risk the Army's honor on being outdone by a bunch of Navy and
Marine officers. So, he followed right behind them.
James and Mac
arrived in the family camp at precisely the same moment. James skidded to a
halt in front of his brother, while Harm reached out to help Mac stop, and then
enveloped her in his strong arms. "What's going on?" she asked,
breathlessly.
A couple of minutes
later Marshall appeared in their clearing. He and Harm shook hands. Harm, then, gathered all four of them around
to tell what had happened.
Corporal Saunders,
who Mac had seen earlier, joined them to verify the facts of the Harm's tale.
An Army patrol had
spotted the suspects near here, and called all their personnel at the Army camp
nearby to join in the surveillance. While they were all tracking them, the
fugitives sneaked around and stole the Army jeep out of the camp. They were
long gone now.
Captain Marshall
was furious. Corporal Saunders suggested that with the tracking equipment in
the vehicle, they should be able to pinpoint where they went, but this did not
console Marshall. He still had to
report in to his superior at Fort Knox to say that the suspects had escaped and
were now in an Army vehicle.
He went off to make
this report. The twins worked on devising a plan of action to trap these sons
of bitches when they caught up to them.
Harm and Mac expressed their worry about Cat. Neither of them had seen
her since she returned to the hospital. They hoped everything was okay there.
It was into this
scene that David Rabb returned. He had brought food and fresh supplies. He had
resisted the temptation to stop at the hospital after leaving the airport; for
fear that his family in the field needed him more.
Several of the Army
MPs had congregated in the Rabb camp, and the family shared their food with
them. But when Captain Marshall returned, everything changed. He and his squad had been ordered back to
base. Their pursuit was over. His soldiers protested, but he couldn't change
their orders.
"Are you
people going to continue the search?" he looked at Harm.
"You're damn
straight!" Elliott replied for him, as he headed toward the SUV that David
had just parked in a hidden tree grove across the road.
Corporal Saunders
approached Captain Marshall with a computer printout in hand. "They've
stopped, Sir. We have their position."
Harm moved to try
to view the paper, but Marshall held it away. "Classified Army data, don't
you know?"
"But you can't
use it." Harm argued.
"Then, neither
can you." He replied, smugly.
David and Harm
exchanged a knowing glance. Then, David shoved James and spoke harshly,
"I'm the oldest, so just keep your opinions to yourself. You don't even
know what you're doing!"
James seemed taken
aback for just a split second, and then caught the gleam in his brother's eye.
Standing back up,
he returned the push. David shoved him even harder, so that he almost knocked
Captain Marshall over.
"Boys!"
Harm shouted, in mock protest.
"Sorry,
Captain." James and David chorused together.
But during the
couple of minutes that the Army officer was off balance, Harm got a good look
at the page he held.
When the transport
arrived to pick up the Army squad, Marshall gave Harm a slip of paper. This is
my cell phone number. Will you please let me know what happens?"
The others gone,
the Rabbs, minus Cat, met in conference. Harm informed the others that the
killers were in Powell County, Kentucky, about an hour and a half away to the
east.
“That's the
mountain region, right in the middle of the Red River Gorge." Mac informed
them, from the map. "It's bound to be rough terrain."
"Let's
go." Elliott was ready.
"Load up our
supplies, Guys. I need to talk to your mom."
The Rabb boys
complied, as Harm pulled Mac off to side.
"I'm worried about Cat." He confessed. "I haven't seen
her since she went to the hospital."
"Neither have
I." Mac concurred. "And I promised her that when we were ready to
catch the bastards, she could be in on it."
Just a look at each
other settled what they would do. Many years of marriage had allowed them to
communicate this way.
They walked back to
the car and Harm told his sons what would happen. "Guys, you're going to
drop your mom and me off up the road here so we can rent a second car. We're
going to check on things at the hospital and pick your sister up. You all will
go straight up to those coordinates I gave you and scout out the situation,
then wait. Don't do anything until we get there. Is that understood?"
Mac pulled her
husband aside and whispered. "Harm, they're just boys, we can't send them
up there by themselves."
"No,
Sarah," he corrected her. "They’re grown men. Honey, they're all US
Naval officers, they can handle themselves."
She nodded, but
under her breath said, "They're my babies."
LATER
UNIVERSITY OF
KENTUCKY HOSPITAL
(A.B.
"HAPPY" CHANDLER MEDICAL CENTER)
SECOND FLOOR ICU
Cat was pleased to
see her parents. AJ, by this time was awake and talking to his wife. They both
craved news of what had been going on.
"I told you,
Cat, that I'd make sure you got the chance to be there when we were ready to
catch the swine. Now's the time." Mac informed her daughter.
"I'll have to
pass." The younger woman replied. "I can't leave AJ, not now."
"Whoa,
there," her husband broke in. "Baby, as much as I love having you
here, one of us needs to be out there helping with this. There's really nothing
you can do here. So, go get those sons of bitches"
"I feel like I
shouldn't leave you." She protested.
"They ruined
our wedding, Cat. We've got to do something. Besides. We need to get this over
with -- I'm really looking forward to getting back to the interrupted
reception, and the honeymoon."
Cat blushed. Mac
was amused at the reaction but said nothing.
They discussed it a
little more, but Cat left with her parents 47 minutes later.
=========================================
RED RIVER GORGE
POWELL COUNTY,
KENTUCKY
David, James and
Elliott had set up a command post in this beautiful wooded area. Cat was
impressed with the recon they had gathered.
"They are
definitely hiding in that cave down there at the bottom of the hill."
Elliott said. "But we haven't been able to get close enough to tell how
many approaches to it there might be."
"I got
it." Cat announced, getting up to move.
"Wait,"
David ordered. "You can't go blazing down there alone. They're
dangerous."
"So am
I." She retorted.
She reached into
one of the packs and handed him a weapon. "Okay, you got my six. Let's go,
Flyboy."
David and Cat
disappeared over the hill. At that moment, Harm and Mac reached for each
other's hands.
Before long, there
was a flash of light and the sound of an explosion.
Cat was thrown into
the air. David moved to help her up and back to the family base.
Harm was already on
his cell phone. "Marshall, what the hell else did they get when they stole
your jeep!?!"
"Why didn't
you tell me that before now?" he yelled. Hanging up, he stuffed the phone
back into his pocket. "What do they have?" Mac demanded.
"A case of
live hand grenades intended for a training exercise." He answered
solemnly.
"Why did he
say he didn't tell you that before?"
"I didn't
ask." Harm growled.
"Damn!"
she responded.
Cat was soon on her
feet again and issuing orders. Her tendency to always take charge of whatever
was going on had always been a source of teasing in the family. But nobody
would question either her ability or her right to lead in this situation.
She laid it out for
them: "There are three sectors that need to be covered, and six Rabbs.
So…. Elliott and I will cover from the rear; James and Dad go in from the
front. Mom and David patrol the perimeter and make sure they don't get
away."
They agreed and
moved to their assigned posts.
The groups moving
from back and front sandwiched in the fugitives in the cave. They came charging
out, weapons blazing. The one called
Harry carried a grenade, pin removed.
Mac and David moved in behind Harm and James to reinforce the barrier to
escape.
The frontal assault
closed ranks and moved closer. The
suspects were clearly agitated. They began to spread out, and the Rabbs
mobilized to catch them.
They approached and
again there was an explosion. This time
it was Mac who was sent hurtling through the air. She landed not far from David. He threw all caution to the wind and moved to his mother’s side in
a flash. He leaned over her prostrate
body. “Dad! Oh God! Daaad!” He
screeched. Twenty-six years old or not he was not prepared to loose his mother
not yet. Not like this. “Daaad!”
Harm came round the
corner at a dead run, skidded and landed on his knees next to Mac and
David. “Mac!”
David stepped aside
and found himself flanked on either side by the twins. The three brothers
watched helplessly as Harm rocked Mac’s body to and fro. Suddenly he set her down and placed his ear
over her nose. He began CPR.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
David gaped.
James threw his
hands up in the air and turned away.
Elliott snorted
then joined his twin.
The gunshots having
dies down Cat came flying through the trees and slid to a halt next to David
and stared at the tableau of her parents.
She was struggling to absorb the scene as well as to gain control of her
breath and raging emotions. She looked
at her younger brothers… they just shrugged in resignation to the situation.
Cat opened her
mouth to say something… but what? David
just looked but said nothing. She looked to her older brother and pointed to
Harm and Mac. Finally she got the words
out.
“Are they kissing?”
“Looks that way to
me.” David conceded.
“Oh for the love of
heaven!” Cat was relieved.
“You should be so
lucky to have the love of a man that long!” James shouted.
“Or the hots for!”
Elliott added.
Their parents
finally came up for air. “We get them?”
Mac demanded.
“Damn straight!”
Cat replied.
Mac looked at Harm
and grinned. “Hey flyboy.”
“Don’t scare me
like that again Mac.” He commanded as he helped her to her feet.
“Aye sir!” She
responded. “Well if we are all done
here…”
“We are.” A
relieved David assured his mother.
“The Police know
where to find us.” James said.
“Let’s go home.”
Mac instructed.
“Mrs. Roberts?”
David offered his sister his arm.
As she took the
offered arm she smiled “Why thank you Mr. Rabb.” The twins watched as the two
strode ahead.
“A hand Mr. Rabb?”
Elliott offered his twin his arm.
“Why thank you Mr.
Rabb?” James replied and took it in an imitation of the older siblings.
“And you Mrs.
Rabb?” Harm imitated.
“Oh thank you Mr.
Rabb.” She joined in.
The six strode down
the mountain; the closer they got to civilization the more sober they
became. The elation of tracking the
killers down was being replaced by concern for their family and friends.
=========================================
SIX MONTHS LATER
0800 LOCAL
ARLINGTON CEMETERY
Holding the hand of
his wife AJ Roberts placed a wreath on the grave of his namesake. He turned to face his mother, she gave him a
watery smile then poked her husband.
Using a walking stick and with the assistance of David Rabb, Bud Roberts
also placed a wreath on the grave of the Admiral.
As he hobbled back
to Harriett, Harm pushed Sturgis’ wheelchair forward. He would be confined to it for the rest of his life. The two life long friends also paid tribute
to their former Commanding Officer and friend.
They had all come in full military ware to visit the grave of AJ
Chedwiggen, as AJ, Bud and Sturgis had been unable to attend the funeral.
“Attention!” David
snapped.
The ten all snapped
to and gave a sharp salute in honor of a fallen comrade.
THE END.