Saturday, October 21, 1995

Deja Vu - 4

Harm and Meg investigate the series of murders of Navy Lieutenants in the DC area around Arlington cemetery. Detective Axelrad was territorial and refused to share information until Meg "schmoozed" him in a revealing red dress. The victim of the last murder, Lt Harbin, was seen in the company of the Thai ambassador's wife Angelique Sonsiri. She had an "attraction" to Harm and came to his apartment claiming the knife used in killing Harbin was from her set so the killer must have been either her husband or their security chief. CPO Markwood was in the cemetery the night of the death and was paid by someone "not to remember anything"; but later, with a bold of conscience, told H that it was the security chief who had paid him. H & Mg obtained military spy equipment with a requisition signed by acting JAG Ted Lindsay convincing him not to ask what they were for so he could maintain his "deniability." When Angelique went to Hs apartment the security chief "snipered" at them from an adjoining roof top but missed every shot except on Markwood. H cornered the sniper on the roof top and was forced to shoot him; but, a metal sternal plate from an old injury saved his life.

H went to dinner with Angelique who's looks produced "flashbacks" for him back to "Gym," the daughter of a Vietnamese woman who helped Stryker and him look for Rabb Sr. in Laos. H did distrust her and didn't drink the champagne she offered him which might have been spiked; but, she gave him a piece of chocolate containing the heavy antihistamine she used in her murders. She momentarily "lost it" when harm told her his story about Gym. She exclaimed "how do you know they weren't alive - you left them!" She and her mother had been abandoned by her father, Lt Lawton Parker, who had died and was buried in Arlington. She took H to the cemetery to kill him too, but Mg discovered that the security chief was a former sniper and could have killed them but deliberately missed his shots. He had been in love with Angelique for years and was covering up for her murders. He deliberately drew Hs fire to commit suicide. Lindsay told Mg that Parker was in Arlington so she went to find H and had to fight Angelique for the knife but saved the drugged Harm.

Saturday, October 14, 1995

Brig Break - 6

Lt Martin Green, NCI, posed as PO1Peter Quinn & was arrested stealing a "stinger" missile from SEATAC naval ammunitions base. Harm & Meg investigate & meet Lt Caitlin Pike, Hs former partner. Mg & Pike argued that the brig release paperwork was on form 77501 (pike incorrectly saying 77401). While Mg was interviewing Green, "Davis and Jessie" staged a brig break along with the brig's Gunnery Sergeant Gentry. Green, who was a missile expert and black, handcuffed himself to Mg as a hostage in order to prevent her being killed. H noticed them escaping in a bus and ran to jump on board. After wrestling with the driver and KO'ing another he was kicked off the moving bus by Green (and shown getting up from the ground with a clean, pressed undamaged dress uniform.) Base CO Maj ASSpinal screwed up his face, put his nose in the air (and acted like the stereotypical know-it-all, screwed up marine) and refused to take help from any "lawyers" suggesting H start on his investigation. H grabbed his gun saying to Pike that he wasn't required to obey "suggestions." Two hunters claimed they were forced off the road by the bus who also stole their guns and food. They claimed to be hurt and ASSpinal sent them to the base infirmary and told H & Pike to go with them. The hunters refused and took off to the base on their own. ASSpinal argued some more with H refusing to believe that the escape was anything more than opportunistic. H finally shamed him into admitting that a break out involving the head of the brig wouldn't be anything but planned.

Gentry met up with some Aryan nation militia who were very upset that "black" Green was handcuffed to "white" Mg. A helicopter gunship took care of the militia but Gentry's group escaped in the bus. Without regard to any hostage ASSpinal had the bus shot up as well. In the turn-over Jessie was killed and Davis was trapped with a broken leg. Gentry executed Davis so he wouldn't talk then took Green, who was shot in the leg, and Mg with him in a Kodiak launch. ASSpinal ordered the helicopter after the Kodiak too so Gentry shot a stinger at it but it didn't detonate. He blamed Green for that and wondered why Mg was "protecting" him. Gentry shot Green point blank knocking him into the water and pulling Mg under with him. With his last effort Green gave Mg the handcuff keys and she was able to escape back to the surface, and Gentry. ASSpinal had pulled all his men from the base looking for the escapees.

The "hunters" left the infirmary and took over the control station where they could turn off the power to the perimeter fence and unlock the SADAM (Special Atomic Demolition AMmunition) devices and triggers vaults. They stole the SADAM devices and took them to the trigger vault where Gentry had handcuffed Mg to inside the vault. Gentry shot the hunters telling Mg that the Iraqi's paid more than the Aryan Nation. He armed a SADAM setting a 5 digit disarmament code and telling Mg she had 20 minutes to disarm it- "and the code has a seven in it." H & Pike intercepted Gentry escaping and killed him. H grabbed the SADAM to drive it as far from a populated area that 12 minutes would allow. Mg & Pike jumped in the car with him and used their "magic laptop" to find numbers that Gentry might have used. H suggested a number that he might have used every day - such as the brig release paperwork number and Mg & Pike had another argument over whether it was '-401 or -501." Mg disarmed it with 8 seconds left and when H asked which one had been right Mg said that the "person who was wrong wouldn’t want him to know."

Saturday, October 7, 1995

Desert Son - 5

The ner-do-well marine 2nd Lt, Jay Williams, son of the former marine commandant general Thomas Williams, was drunk while calling in range coordinates during a live fire exercise. He transposed the distance coordinates calling a round which wounded several men critically. H & Mg called off another case to investigate this one which everyone said was "open and shut" because Jay admitted to flipping the last two digits. This would mean the end of his Marine career, which is what he wanted as his father had "forced" him into the service. He resented his father partly because he continually compared him to his older brother Michael, who died in Desert Storm. Gen Larry Butler told H & Mg to go interview Capt Reed, who fired the gun, but who resented Jay being an officer "because of his daddy who had the 'button' (congressional medal of honor) from Vietnam." Reed impeded Hs investigation by ordering his men not to talk unless he was present. When H read him the riot act he "neglected" to tell H that the sign marking the "free fire zone" (FFZ) had been knocked down and they drove into fire. Angry H came back to talk to Reed and when he acted the stereotypical smart-aleck marine H decked him. Neither H or Reed would "fink" on the other in front of Gen Butler.

Reed told H to listen to the battlefield communication tape but they found it had been "degaussed" with 60hz hum. Gen Williams told H to basically "show no deference" to his son Jay who had never taken responsibility for anything in his life. His admitting flipping the numbers was completely out of character so H was suspicious of him. Reed's obstruction also pointed suspicion to him and 1st Sgt Hollis was so close to Gen Williams that he could have erased the tape to get Jay off the hook. Gen Williams described Jay's life long friend, Lt Boone, as "the only friend of Jay's I ever approved of." Mg told H she may be able to get the tape restored but wouldn't disclose that she was going to use an old family friend Oliver North ("Ollie"). Jay's girlfriend Tina ran a disco at a bar and told H that Jay wasn't really drunk, he only acted like it so he would be 'buddies' to his men and that she wasn't Jay's girlfriend. The platoon leader injured in the accident eventually died and H amended the charges to Involuntary Manslaughter so Jay changed his plea to not guilty and said that he had only switched labels on the tape "to protect Boone." The "real" tape showed that Lt Boone had kicked the numbers and Gen Butler talked H into leaving the evidence tampering charge up to his discretion under article 15. Jay got minimal punishment and went back to duty where he told his driver that it "was funny he DID range better sober than drunk."

Since Jay had long history of 'almost' being charged for things that were blamed on others, H listened again to the tape and found hiss on the digital tape. He believed that it was copy and that Jay had Tina alter the tape to blame the incident on Boone (who wouldn't get into as much trouble). "Ollie" was able to make a master tape from satellite spy radio conversations, which then proved the deception. Mg kissed Ollie when he gave her the tape and he said that "H will think you're my girlfriend." Mg replied, "That's the idea." When H and Boone went to arrest Jay he shot Boone then the radio, so they couldn't call in a helicopter. Driving away, H jumped on the vehicle and fought with Jay while they drove across the FFZ. When a shell hit, H was thrown clear but the vehicle flipped. As he was dying Jay said "why me." H, however, told Gen Williams that he had said "tell dad I'm sorry." When Mg challenged him on it, H said "that's the way I remember it."