Author: Rising Sun
E-mail: jag@lucianstuff.every1.net
FF Updates: jagrslc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
FF URL: http://www.geocities.com/jagrslc
Rated:
PG-13 (NC-17 available)
Classification:
JAG Story/Adventure
Summary:
Against his better judgment the Admiral takes the entire JAG corps on a
retreat.
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.
Author’s Note: The
title suggests that there was one before. There was and it is called Retreat. It
may be read at http://www.geocities.com/jagrslc/jag/one/retreat.htm
Feedback: Would be
nice.
Story Written
January 14 & 15, 2002
1000
LOCAL
JAH
HQ.
“Commander.”
AJ said with great patience. As the Judge Advocate General he sometimes felt
more like a father than the Commanding Officer. “You want me to decide on a retreat that is scheduled for next
year!”
“Well
sir the venue is a popular one and they are usually booked twelve months is
advance. So when ever you decide then we will be there one year later.” Harriett replied.
He
sighed and not for the first time. He read the brochure and rubbed his
head. He had vowed that he was not
going to indulge in this retreat thing.
He had gone fishing the year before with his senior officers and look at
where that had got him! He took another deep breath and exhaled, but he could
deny the women on his team nothing… but they didn’t know that. He looked up at last. “OK book it. I expect
all personnel to be there only a Presidential waiver will be accepted.” If he
was going to face this again then so was the entire troop!
“Aye
sir!” Harriett beamed.
============================
ONE
YEAR LATER
FRIDAY – 2134 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
The gothic
reproduction of a castle was set on a tiny island. Harriett had picked a three-day weekend for the JAG team to test
their collective deductive reasoning prowess.
Despite the look of the Château it had all the modern conveniences needed.
The ferry crossed
from the main land and deposited the team with the promise to return not before
Monday afternoon.
The entire JAG
Corps had turned out for this retreat and for a variety of reasons; the first
being that the Admiral had ordered it, second every one had heard what had
happened on the last retreat and wanted to see if there would be a repeat and
third that this was a murder mystery weekend… who could resist?
“Well Harriett
seems that you have outdone yourself this time.” Alan Matoni said.
“Wait till it’s all
over sir.” Victor interjected. The Gunnery Sergeant had made the **mistake** of
popping into JAG while on holiday and had found himself shanghighed into
Harriett’s latest venture. He figured
as a former deputy sheriff from New Mexico this murder mystery was going to be
a synch. So had shrugged his shoulders and joined in.
“Listen up people.”
Harriett sort their attention. “This is our liaison Mr. Po as in Edgar Allen.”
“You are joking
me!” AJ said.
The man just
smiled, ignored the comment and said, “You have already chosen your teams and
so from now on it’s anything goes.
There will be a murder, which you will have to solve. I have no idea of the time the murder will
take place or who the victim is. This
is Mr. Darrow.” The man stepped forward and nodded to the JAG staff. Po
continued; “He will monitor the unfolding situation and decide on the winner.
This place is self contained and there are no staff. You need anything talk with Mr. Darrow here.”
Harriett stepped
forward. “As with the JAG-A-THON the prize at stake is Highest Ranking Officer
privilege for twenty-four hours. Any
questions?”
There were none and
so with that the group headed for their respective rooms.
============================
2321 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE –
MAC’S ROOM
Mac opened the door
in response to the tap. “Well good
evening Captain Rabb glad to see you finally made it!”
“Evening yourself Colonel Rabb.” He swept her
up and kissed her. “I thought we had cured the Admiral of retreats.”
“Ever tried to
resist Harriett?” Mac replied as she watched her husband divest himself of his
uniform. She was already relaxed in t-shirt and shorts.
He smiled landed on
the bed and beckoned to her. As she got comfortable next to him he asked, “The
body drop yet?”
“Well there has
been no blood curdling scream so I assume not.” She got in close. “It will be fun to work a case together
after so long.”
“Yeah. Life on the
Hill is exciting and challenging but there are times I do miss JAG, the folks
and the interaction that we had.” He caressed her.
“Regrets flyboy?”
she asked.
“Never. That retreat was the best thing that
happened to me. I finally got my act together and with that got you.” He leaned
over and kissed her.
“That retreat
became notorious for you and me becoming a couple. Hence the reason the Admiral vowed that he would not be caught
dead at another one.” She chuckled.
“Yet here he is and
here we are. May be he’ll be the victim
and then he will be caught dead at a retreat.” He laughed.
“Now that he would
never live down!” Mac replied. “We’d
better get some sleep. God knows when the action will start.”
“Sure.” He switched
off the light and got even more comfortable with Mac in his arms.
============================
SATURDAY – 0232
LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
Lauren stirred she
could have sworn that she had heard a thump. She focused… there was nothing.
She shrugged it of as a dream and went back to bed.
============================
0320 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
“There it is
again!” Harriett insisted.
“Honey it is the
middle of the night no one is up and about at this time.” Bud complained.
“Bud Roberts Jr. go
take a look!” she ordered.
He sighed and
obeyed his CO’s order. He looked up the hall … he looked down the hall and
returned to the warm bed. “Nothing.” He
reported.
============================
0503 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
Petty Officer Laura
Collins was out on her regular morning jog. True they were on a retreat where r
and r were the orders of the day but there was no reason why she had to change
her regular schedule.
She had done her
usual ten miles and was on her way back to the Château when she trip over a
tree root. Muttering to herself she
stood and dusted herself off. That is
when she saw the body. She grinned… it had stated! And she had found the body
that meant her team had the head start.
She did a quick inspection before she went in search of her team leader
Gunny Galindez.
She stooped near
the **body** there was blood everywhere. That is when she noticed that she had
become covered with it. She was
impressed … these folks really gave you your money’s worth. She wondered if she knew the **victim**
She leaned in.
============================
0518 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
Harm was awake and
enjoying the view of Mac sleeping next to him.
He liked these moments when he could observe her without her
knowing. He took these quiet times to
burn her image on his mind. Not that he needed to but he just liked to.
A scream shattered
the early morning calm… a bloodcurdling shriek that had to have been produced
by a hound of hell. It carried with it
one message! Death! It is here! The
sound raged through the Château with the force of a sonic boom.
Mac awoke and sat
bolt upright as the reverberation penetrated her psyche.
Doors began to be
opened and slammed shut. Footsteps
thundered past. Not to be out done Harm and Mac followed the exodus. The game was afoot!
The screaming
continued.
+ + +
First on the scene
was the Admiral. He took charge. Petty Officer Collins was hysterical and
that had to be addressed. He slapped her. The silence that followed the abrupt
stop was as shattering as had been the screaming before.
“Report Petty
Officer!” He demanded. He refused to believe that a solider in his command
could act this way over a fake victim no matter how real it looked.
The Petty Officer
began to tremble violently. By this time the rest of the Corps had joined the
two. Harriet placed an arm around the woman. Collins became calm enough to
relate what had happened. “Sir that is
MP Addams and his dead! That is not
fake blood! His throat has been slashed.” She said. “I thought that it was all
part of the weekend activities until I leaned in and realized that … that…” she
could not finish.
No one said a word.
The only sound was that of the wind in the trees. Mac leaned on Harm and he held her close.
AJ kneeled next to
the body to confirm what the Petty Officer had said. [Another Retreat gone to hell!] He thought. “Gunny!” he summoned Galindez.
“Sir!”
“As a former Deputy
Sheriff what do you think?”
“I think we need to
leave the body untouched, call in the Police and get the hell out … begging
Sir’s pardon on the language.” Gunny informed him.
“Sounds like a
plan. OK people the murder mystery weekend is officially over… sorry Harriett.”
AJ barked “Back inside while we await the cops.”
The group trooped
back to the Château.
============================
0558 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
“Sir the phones are
down.” Tiner reported to AJ.
The Admiral’s eyes
narrowed. “What the hell is going on?”
“Ten little
niggers.” Lauren said.
“What!” AJ
bellowed, then calmed himself “Explain Commander.”
“Well sir we are
staying at Château Christie as in Agatha Christie one of the world’s most
successful mystery writers. She wrote
a book called Ten Little Niggers, which later was, retiled Ten Little Indians,
for obvious reasons. In the book a
group of people are left on an island and eventually all are killed … but for
the murderer of course.” She wallowed in the spot light.
“Are you trying to
tell us that the book is unfolding here?” Mac asked, “That MP Addams is not
really dead?”
“Either that or we
have a killer amongst us ma’am.”
“I tend to believe
that the killer has left sir.” Gunny stated.
All eyes focused in him. “Well there were no strangers among us. We know
each other… and most important we are stranded here till Monday at 1400 when
the ferry comes back for us.”
“That means the
person had to come and go by boat.” Harm surmised.
“Or is still
around.” Sturgis added.
“All right people
we are conducting a search. Spread out
in pairs.” AJ ordered.
“What are we
looking for sir?” Bud asked.
“Gunny?” AJ passed
the buck.
“One boat sir one
boat.”
============================
0805 LOCAL
ALONG THE COAST
The Rabbs stood on the
hill looking down at the beach below.
“Did you know
Addams?” Harm asked.
“He’s new. Joined recently. I’ve seen him of course but I haven’t had a chance to know him.
This weekend would have remedied that as he was part of out team.”
“He was?”
She smiled and
caressed his cheek. “Yes dear he was.” Her head jerked up. “What was that?!”
“What?” Harm was
instantly on guard.
“I thought I heard
a scream.”
He chuckled. “Your
imagination going into over drive Colonel?” he teased.
She shrugged “May
be it was a bird.”
“Maybe.” He agreed.
============================
1050 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
The groups were
beginning to return and report in… no one had found a boat of any kind.
Tiner, however had
news of his own to cause all to pray for a boat. “Sir!” The Petty Officer came flying in. Instinctively AJ braced himself. “Sir we found another body!”
“What!” Mac barked.
“Where!”
“Along the coast
ma’am.” He replied.
Mac gave Harm a
meaningful look. She it had NOT been
her imagination after all.
“Who is it?” AJ
asked.
“Commander Bond.”
He replied.
“Bond!” Sturgis
exclaimed “Now why would someone what to kill the guy? He’s harmless.”
“More to the point
are the two connected?” Mac said.
“Stay here and
figure me out a connection people.
Tiner show me the body.” AJ
walked out with the Petty Officer following.
============================
1130 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
AJ found his people
in the kitchen. They looked up as he entered.
“He was shot.”
“Sir with the
phones out and no radio, it seems to me that we need to secure the bodies.”
Sturgis recommended.
“Good idea. Matoni take a crew and secure them. I don’t care where just bring them in. Tiner
will show you here Bond is.”
“Aye sir.”
“So people do we
have a link between the two?” AJ asked.
“No sir.” Mac
replied. “Addams arrived this
month. Bond last year to replace
Harm. Addams is from Texas… Bond from
Utah. Addams apparently had a surly
nature. Despite his rank and title Bond managed to have a sunny disposition
despite the teasing.” She reported.
“Bond was black, Addams white.
They’re not even in the same branch of the military or rank. Apart from
having the same Commanding Officer we can find no link.”
“Theories?”
“How about Christie
again sir?” Bud ventured he knew how his interests were perceived.
“Tread carefully…
let’s hear it.” AJ said.
“Agatha Christie
has a story called the ABC murders. I
don’t remember who the target was but say it was B. The killer murdered A and C to hide the fact that they really
wanted to kill B.” Bud expounded.
“I suppose you and
our wives should be happy that our names start with R!” Harm retorted. “Bud
where do you get these theories?”
“If it holds then
it is either Chedwiggen, Collins and Carter next.” AJ spoke of himself in the
third person.
“Sir are you saying
that you believe this?” Sturgis inquired.
“No.” The CO
replied “But it made for good ghost story telling.”
“Well sir with all
due respect all we have to do is wait.” Lauren observed.
+ + +
Allan and the crew
returned and the group ate in silence; a feat for a group who always had
something to say.
The rest of the day
was spent in unease as some people stayed in their rooms with the doors locked
and others wandered around in a minimum of three to a group as per the
Admiral’s orders.
============================
SUNDAY - 0500 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
Petty Officer Laura
Collins, Lt. (JG) Amanda Carter and Captain Sturgis Turner had made
arrangements to go jogging together.
Laura had gotten
over the shock of falling over a fellow colleague but she was still wary of
being alone, but she needed her jog and so had accepted the invitation of the
others.
“What’s that!”
Carter said suddenly.
“Where!” Collins
was on the alert.
“Gotta!” Carter
laughed.
“Not funny
Lieutenant.” Sturgis said.
“Aw come one sir.”
She lamented.
“I said not funny
Lieutenant.” Sturgis repeated more firmly.
“Yes sir.” She
sobered up.
+ + +
HALF AN HOUR LATER
“What’s that!”
Carter said suddenly.
“I said not funny the first time Lieutenant
and it’s not funny now.” Sturgis at times wondered at the new breed of
officers.
“Yes sir … I mean
no sir…” She struggled with the reply.
“Look sir!” and she pointed.
He looked in the
direction she was pointing and his heart sank. There sticking out from under a
bush were a pair of boots. He moved cautiously toward the spot with the two
women following closely while they kept scanning the landscape. He parted the
branches and peered through. “Its
Darrow!” he was shocked.
“Darrow!” Carter
echoed.
“In all the excitement
I’d forgotten him.” Collins said.
“This is getting
out of hand.” Sturgis complained.
“Three bodies in two days!”
“…and no way to get
the authorities out here!” Collins was frustrated. She had been on site for two
of the three bodies.
“Now what sir?”
Carter asked.
“Report to the
Admiral.” Sturgis said.
============================
0705 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE -
LIBRARY
Once the body had
been added to what was now a growing pile AJ called a meeting of his senior
officers.
“Now you can’t tell
me there is a connection between Addams, Bond and Darrow!” Harm pointed out.
“The man’s not even military.”
“He may have been.”
Harriet said. “We don’t know.”
“There is too much
that we don’t know.” Sturgis sighed.
“Seems that Bud’s
theory went askew.” Allan said.
“Not necessarily.”
Lauren said. “We have been vigilant in our movements. Notice that the victims name began with D.”
“So the killer had
no choice but to skip C and settle for D?” Mac asked. The insanity of the
situation was too gruesome to believe.
“If we are to
believe Bud’s theory then that is EXACTLY what happened.” Harriett replied.
Looking at Bud, AJ
asked “Well Commander its your theory that seems to be unfolding what now?”
“Well in the book
there were only three murders. We have had three. Dependant upon the person we
are dealing with they may insist on getting their C.”
“Then that leaves
us with the same three: Chedwiggen, Collins and Carter.” AJ announced.
“Sir Gunny provided
the alibi analysis as you requested.” Sturgis informed him.
“And?”
“Well for the first
murder a few of us can’t account for our where abouts, but because of your
standing order we can all account for our times during killings two and three.”
Sturgis reported.
“Some one is
lying.” Mac pounced.
“Damn straight!” AJ
conquered. “Unless that person hiding
out there then the killer is among us people! I hate to say it but there it
is.” He looked grim. “The standing order remains. Rabb join Gunny and find me a
killer.”
He had no authority
over either man but he was the ranking officer of the moment and Harm complied
“Aye sir!”
“Dismissed people.”
AJ felt old. If he had hair it would be gray by now. [No more retreats!] He
vowed.
============================
1507 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE –
COLLIN’S ROOM
Petty Officer Laura
Collins as in the shower. She planned
to bath and maybe read a book but she was definitely cured of jogging. May be
step aerobics would be safer.
She spotted a
movement. Hadn’t she locked the door to her room? She could remember. Damn
it! Now here she was naked with only a
bar of soap between her and God knew what, she stood stock-still and waited…
nothing.
She shut off the
shower and pulled the curtain back. She was alone. This place was giving her the willies. Wrapped in a warm gown she emerged from the bathroom and stepped
into a nightmare.
A hand grabbed her.
Collins did what
she had proved she could do. She screamed.
+ + +
Mac was walking by.
She knew she should not be alone but she wanted a book from the library did
that mean that three people had to go to get one book? What was she in the
Marine Corps for if she could not get one book by herself. Harm was off with
Gunny interviewing folk, so she was off alone to get a book. End of story.
As she walked by
Petty Officer Collins’ room her ear got the full blast of the scream. Mac was stunned into immobility by it. A split second later she shook herself out
of the freeze and dived through the unlocked door into the room.
There before her
was Petty Officer Laura Collins and Lt. (JG) Amanda Carter locked in a death
struggle. There were flashes of a knife
as the two women struggled for control of the weapon. Mac made a decision … she could not get between the two, she
could get knifed, so she bend over and pulled out a gun from her boot.
She picked her
moment, aimed and fired.
+ + +
AJ and Harm burst
through the door together. Lt. Carter
laid prostate on the floor with a gut shot wound. Mac was sitting next to her
with the body of Petty Officer Collins in her arms.
There was blood everywhere.
“Mac?” Harm
said. He could hear the rest of the
crowd arriving.
She looked up. “Collins is dead. Carter had time get her C before I could do anything. Is she…?”
“Hell no!” AJ
answered the unfinished question. “This disciple of hell is with us still.
Gunny!”
“Aye sir?”
“Take care of
this.” He ordered. “Clean her up and then interrogate her. Shot or no I want to
know what happened.”
“Aye sir!”
“I’ll deal with the
body sir.” Allan said as he stepped across to Mac and disentangled the two. He
took Laura while Harm held on to Mac.
============================
1715 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE -
LIBRARY
AJ had assembled
what remained of the group. “Report
Gunny.”
“Sir I’m no shrink
but I don’t think that the Lieutenant has all her screws tight.” He said.
“Apparently four years ago Amanda Carter was brutally rapped by one
Martin Addams and one Fred Darrow. She
managed to climb out of the hellhole and reconstruct her life. When she
transferred to JAG she recognized Addams but he didn’t have a clue who she
was.”
“So she plotted
revenge?” Harriett was horrified at the rape story.
“Yes ma’am. She
didn’t know what she was going to do till she got here and saw Darrow. Seeing him was just pure luck. She finally decided that to kill them would
be ironic. After all we are at a murder mystery weekend.”
“And the others?”
Sturgis wanted more; he was a man of details.
“She killed Bond
and Carter to complete her alphabet as she put it. A – B – C- D.” Gunny
supplied the detail.
“Sweet Jesus.” Mac
breathed.
“Seemed you were on
target Mr. Roberts.” AJ said.
Bud was miserable
“It would seem so sir.”
============================
MONDAY
- 1407 LOCAL
CHATEAU CHRISTIE
FERRY
The pilot of the
ferry had called the Police from the island.
The JAG folks could not and would not be persuaded to remain there till
statements were taken. They’d gladly go to the station but they had had enough
of island life.
“This is my FINAL
word on the subject.” AJ announced on the return trip. “As long as I am the Judge Advocate General
there will be no retreats. Is that understood?”
The staff all
muttered their agreement.
THE END