Front and Center - 90

Harm (H) received his second distinguished flying cross in a conference room ceremony and Chegwidden (C) had Mac (M) do the "honors" and kiss him to Brumby's (Brum) annoyance. H and Bud (B) were assigned to prosecute Marine private William Clawson who attempted to rape a city councilman's daughter at knife point until Cpl Keely Woods prevented it. Woods was stabbed in the fight. Colonel Hegsterrer advised that Woods was "uncomfortable with the limelight" and even refused to attend ceremonies to receive the Navy Marine Corps medal. After H and B talked to him, Woods went UA then they had to track him down. They found that the information given on enlistment papers were false. When Mattoni, defense, found out they had no witness he offered to "settle for 6 months confinement." Clawson flippantly said "I was just messing with her," H told him he was the "luckiest sailor in the navy" and to not be the "stupidest." B showed photos around the DC playgrounds and a boy named "Toops" ID'd him as Lamar Dunwoody who had killed his brother. H found Dunwoody's mother who said she hadn't seen him. Toop's gang started harassing his mother so Woods/Dunwoody came to find H. H backed him down saying that he really wanted to do what was right and took him to a basketball court where they played trying to "think it over." Woods admitted he was in the witness protection program for turning in a gang member who had killed a man at an ATM for $40. H bet his testifying against leaving him alone on a final shot. H fouled him and when Woods came at him in anger, H backed him down again about not acting like a gang member. He was shown missing his shot then testifying. Later he said goodbye to his mother still in his uniform.

Brum was still blatantly "on the make" for M. She bristled and denied it when H told her that Brum was "on her scent" telling him that he'd been gone 6 months and he was not on a "need to know basis" for her relationships. Brum came again to her apartment unannounced with food. She accepted but when he tried to kiss her she said "she wasn't ready yet." Later H apologized to her saying he should have believed her because "there was not chemistry between them." Brum volunteered to prosecute PO Richard Brendisi when M was assigned to defend him on possession of marijuana charges. M motioned for dismissal of charges because no field test had been done by the agent and all lab specimen's were mysteriously lost. The arrogant and capricious judge Sebring told M he "wasn't letting her out the back door." The agent testified he "knew it was marijuana" by the look and feel- "real good stuff" he said. His dog, Jingo, was old with cataracts and M wanted to "examine the witness." Brendisi said that the packet was Tropical Oregano that he was bringing back for his mothers restaurant. Jingo picked an oregano bag in court so Brendisi was acquitted. Later M found that Jingo had been decommissioned and she felt guilty so she "adopted" him.