Second Acts - 177

[The "conclusion" of one part of the "back story," and setup to another part, which will "cleanse" the show of some worn out bad guys] Petty Officer 3rd class Steven Wilson single handedly stopped a suicide attack on Marine Corps camp Stronghold Freedom saving his platoon, and Stewart Dunston of ZNN, on national television. He refused to talk to Dunston but Jennifer Bruder saw him on television and recognized him as her husbands partner, thought to be killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center. When she confronted him he also refused to talk to her so she reported him as the imposter, Matthew Divine. Harm represented the wife of dead Tom Bruder, identifying with her "need for closure." Turner defended Divine in his hearing before the board. H couldn't compel Divine to talk to Bruder, even though she wanted it, so he called her to testify at the hearing in front of Divine. Her teary-eyed story prompted Divine to finally reveal that he and Tom were basically shyster investment bankers conning "new money" to cover old losses, and were penniless and considering bankruptcy when the planes hit the building. The ceiling collapsed on Tom and with his dying breath requested a "promise never to let his wife find out." Divine wanted to start a new life so joined the MC becoming an exemplary soldier. The board found him guilty of fraudulent enlistment but retained him on active duty.

The SECNAV told Chegwidden he "had to" proceed with action on Lindsey's report. C said that Sheffield had "lost confidence in his ability to lead" and the SECNAV told him to refute the charges. Back at the JAG office, without invitation everyone gravitated into Cs office where he said he was considering resigning & that L had "dredged up every irrelevant smear he could put his hands on." His office was causing too much "bad press" and problems for the poor Chief of Information. To soften people's dismay he slipped that he and Meredith were planning on getting married. Ls report called Mac a "security risk" and H a "loose cannon showing a consistent and reckless disregard for responsibility." They all were puzzled on how L could obtain all these details in just a week without having legal access to confidential personnel files. L was shown deleting all the files on his laptop computer. M presented the dossier of rebuttal they had prepared and challenged Cs offer to resign because he was thinking that L was being personally vindictive and that his staff was just getting caught in the fallout. She told him of Ls threat to H to "split up the group and scatter them to the four winds." So Cs offer to "fall on his sword was no accepted." He dismissed her but, pausing, said "thanks." The SECNAV acknowledged that he probably "picked the wrong person for the investigation because L had a 'history' with C." Then he was shown verbally reaming out L in front of C, telling him his report was highly biased and that now L would be investigated. The SECNAV said "get out of the building ASAP" and "goodbye." He apologized to C, said his "confidence was restored," and that he would be getting an official letter of apology. Sheffield finally admitted that he had forced Traci Manetti, who had just returned from TAD in Pearl Harbor, into JAG as his "eyes and ears." He said that when she read the report she was incensed and "scathingly" called it "a hatchet job." She will only be with JAG for a couple more weeks then he had "another assignment" for her.

Expectedly, it was Harriet who meddled and not only slipped to Meredith Cs engagement intention; but, kept digging in deeper until M was upset that C hadn't "officially" discussed it with her. Meredith's demeanor showed surprise and hesitancy but she basically talked about how it was C who hadn't done things the "right" way. She stormed out, standing him up for dinner, exclaiming "we'll get back to this when you're more prepared and I know more about what's going on."

Sergei had flown in for a visit and introduced H to Galina Boricova, his stewardess fiancé. When H said that they hadn't parted very well, Sergei said that "he had gotten over it. He was lonely then but not any more." He said that he had not heard from Singer and H told him that he had forced her to make her last call to him. He told Sergei that he thought Singer was "lying" to him about who the father was for her baby. Sergei didn't believe H and said that her pregnancy was just a "coincidence" with their "one night stand." Singer, he said, was "a woman who had no trouble with more than one man at a time." H apparently believed Sergei and agreed to go to Russia and be his best man.