Mixed Messages - 139

[superb, story driven episode] (M) Mac was back at JAG and received a meritorious service medal. She contacted police Capt. Jarot who helped find the girl Lylyana who was in a hospital with a concussion. Jarot questioned M about the engagement ring which she had given up to him - "you didn't love him?" "Someone else you care about but aren't with?" "Is he a fool?" M gave Lylyana the medal she had received.

Renee appeared, engaged to Cyrus the mortician who "loved her completely." Harms (H) former shipmate on the Midway, Cdr Rick Stoechler, was assassinated in a high security cryptography unit along with Sr Chief Trujillo. Cdr Pagano, who was there also, was only wounded. At Admiral Danaco's request, Chegwidden (C)assigned H to "parallel" agent Holland's investigation which was receiving obstruction from NSG. Webb (W)brought H a dossier, from his "source in Beijing," which showed that Stoechler had been a "mole" feeding info to the Chinese. There was also a videotape showing the gunman and the fact that the last security code entered was Stoechlers. If that weren't enough, he showed that Stoechler had $150,000 in a secret bank account. Both H & C were suspicious because: "when did W ever do anything without an agenda?" Stoechler's boss, Capt Reeves, was shown to be real "jerk" obviously throwing rank and hiding something from H. Reeves had summoned Stoechler to a "needless" offsite meeting and the killer had entered the secured area after he returned. Trujillo was shot once but Stoechler 3 times (once for spite). The tape showed the killer get point blank drop on Pagano and shoot. Stoechler's wife set H on track of a memo she heard her husband say he had sent to Capt Reeves about the new experimental Submarine Jimmy Carter (JC). Turner said he had heard of espionage 2 or 3 times while he was JAG for ComSubPac.

The JCs Capt. told H of the sub's recent tonal signature tests (noise "signature" which allows tracking). Gunny (G) and H went over the video tape frame by frame and found alterations! Reeves blocked access to the original tape so H got C to have Adm Danaco hold an article 32-hearing in a classified, bug swept, "jammed" courtroom then called Reeves to the stand. Bud (B) defended Pagano who's soot in his wounds proved his lie that he had been shot from across the room. Then, in a surprise visit, they found Reeves, Pagano & W "conspiring" in his hospital room. Judge Harrison made W testify so he finally admitted that they knew Pagano was really the mole and had fed him dis-information about the tonal tests. Pagano then gave the faulty information to the Chinese; but then, in his spy job, had decrypted a message between two Chinese agents about the results. So he then told the Chinese that the "US knew that THEY knew!" The assassin was then sent, hoping that the info would die with the people killed and deliberately left Pagano wounded, but still working as their agent. W & Reeves had ordered the videotape altered, then framed Stoechler in order to preserve their deception. H called the JCs Capt., who unexpectedly testified in front of Pagano that the decrypted message of their tonal tests were not the "real" results, thus "spilling the beans" of the CIAs counter-intelligence. W & Reeves decided to "turn" Pagano into a double agent. H asked W how the court could know that he was telling the truth. He responded "I'm under oath." Danaco told C not to let H pursue Pagano's murder & espionage charges further. W said that Stoechler's wife could keep the $150K. H was "ticked off" about having to keep his wife and children in the dark over their fathers death. H told her to tell her kids their dad was a hero and Danaco had promised a medal "at some future date."