Act of Terror - 67

An Arab, Nassen, was hired, with others, to blow up the USS Wake Island. The attempt was discovered and Nassen was captured while a young Syrian was shown watching through binoculars from a car on land. Nassen was airlifted, under guard, back to Washington; and, on television a guard, Corporal Barry, shot him. Harm was assigned to defend and Mac prosecute and Admiral Morris felt obligated to remind H of when he shot a weapon in court- that wouldn't happen again! Agent Novak, FBI, was obstructive to Hs investigations telling him that "my only mistake was not sending you to prison."
On the stand H renewed his badgering of Novak by asking what Nassen had said before he died. Novak claimed, "nothing." H got the psychiatrist to admit that Barry didn't believe he committed murder because "killing a terrorist is not wrong." Barry fired H and got a civilian attorney, Juanita Ressler, who was Ms old law professor and had never lost a murder case. When H was upset about being fired, M told him to stay away, she didn't want a mistrial, and she was "taking Ressler down." For 14 weeks Ressler had humiliated M in class and told her that she should "drop out of law and take up lap dancing." M shot down her witnesses but told H, "She's good, I'll give her that." H replied, "but you're better" then rushed off to tail Ressler to the anonymous person who had hired her- Percival Bertram, a loud-mouthed, "super-patriot", tycoon at Vectrocomp. Bertram asked if he could call H "Harm" my friends call me "Bert." H replied "really, not Percy" and Ressler left to let them see "who's was bigger." A discussion ensued that Ressler, as a civilian, would do anything for an acquittal including blame the military, a "line that you won't cross." "We're the most powerful nation on earth, and by G we're going hunting," he said. H told him "it's because were the most powerful, that we can't. We are a nation of laws, which is what makes us great. Vigilantes like yourself are as dangerous to this country as the terrorists!"

Meanwhile the same Syrian was shown watching through binoculars as a hotel blew up under his command into his phone. Ressler began blaming the "brainwashing" of the military for Barry not knowing "right from wrong." M shot her arguments down again. Ressler told M that she had become a good lawyer and M commented that the world "had lost a lap dancer." Ressler said that she had "only said that to provoke you into staying in." H continued to distrust Novak and reviewed video tapes. Contrary to the autopsy revealing hemorrhage, there was no blood or wounds on the tape. He demanded that Novak produce the body and threatened to tell the SECNAV and Attorney General. Novak showed him Nassen who they were keeping hidden so that the "real" Syrian didn't go underground. He had already led them to money that was paid them and wanted H to keep quiet until they could trace serial numbers and capture the middleman. M, of course was incensed, C had H set up a meeting with Barry and Ressler. Ressler blew up and quit, Barry decided to "play it through" so they could capture the guy. He told them that "he had done wrong to shoot Nassan, that's what they do, and I don't want to be like them." The money was sent from a Washington bank to Amsterdam where it was sent to Riyadh then to Syria. H and Novak confronted Bertram and showed him some of the money they had retrieved from a Syrian apartment. Bertram said he had met with Fazal Kasi about an agreement to finance factories Another transfer was due and he was told to go through with it. Novak watched as Kasi left the bank with the money and was gunned down by a drive-by shooter. Bertram was shown exiting his building with a smug look on his face!