JAG Continues Book II: Volatile Matters
Ch. 1 - The Ensnaring Webb
Part A
Clayton Webb stepped forward. “So my sources were correct that the two of you have decided to play lovers.” He didn’t hide looking Mac up and down, appreciating what he saw. She was stunning.
“Clayton, what the hell are you doing here?” Mac demanded.
“Waiting.”
“Well, you had no right. If you want to talk to me, use the phone. I’ll be happy to arrange to meet with you during reasonable hours,” Mac said with bitterness.
“That’s sweet that you miss me and want to talk. But actually, I’m here to speak with Rabb,” Webb stated, his voice as nasal as ever.
Harm was desperately trying to keep his emotions in check. “Then why are you in the Colonel’s apartment?”
“Afraid you’re not the only one with access to a spare key?” Webb mocked Harm.
“I never gave you a key!” Mac spat at Webb. “And I want you out of here now!”
“Not until I say what I came to say,” he persisted.
Harm looked at Mac and, with a raised eyebrow, asked as lightly as possible, “What was it you were saying earlier about it taking a catastrophe to put a damper on your mood tonight?”
“This is not a catastrophe, because Webb is leaving … now.” Mac’s expression was one of determination as she pushed the door wide open, indicating that Webb should proceed through it.
Webb chose to ignore her and directed his next comment to Harm. “Far be it for me to delay your bedding a woman you’re not worthy of, Rabb, but we need to talk.”
Mac instinctively put her hand on Harm’s arm, as if to signal him to keep from acting on the provocation. Her grip, however, betrayed any attempt at hiding her own boiling anger.
Harm responded with a false coolness. “I have nothing to talk to you about, Webb. And Mac has asked that you leave her apartment.”
“I have information you should know about,” Webb insisted.
“Not this time, Webb,” Harm stated. “I’m done with the CIA, done with being manipulated into your operations, and done with you.”
Harm’s words somehow struck Mac, because they were exactly the ones she wished she had said to Clay a long, long time ago.
Webb stepped closer to Harm. “Listen, Rabb. I wouldn’t care if you want to ignore me, except that there is a chance that if you don’t know about this, you’ll put Sarah in danger too.”
“What’s this about, Clay?” Mac asked.
“I have to talk to Rabb alone. It’s classified.”
Mac was about to protest, but Harm spoke. “Fine. My apartment. One hour. Do not let yourself in.”
Webb smirked. “You’re requesting only one hour? And that’s including travel time,” he intoned. “I always figured you’d be a more considerate lover than that, Rabb. Or are you past bothering with foreplay already?”
Before Harm could respond with what well may have been a fist to Webb’s face, Mac reacted. “That was way out of line!” she steamed, stepping up to confront Webb and putting herself between the two men.
Her eyes were simultaneously ablaze with fury and frozen with determination. “And you can spit out whatever you have to tell Harm here and now, because I am going to be in on whatever this is,” she made clear in her extremely harsh and authoritative marine voice.
Webb disagreed. “No, you’re not. It doesn’t involve you. It’s between Rabb and the Company.”
“The hell it is! If it involves Harm, it involves me,” Mac insisted. “And you just said I could be in danger too.”
“The possibility of being in danger doesn’t entitle you to classified intel,” countered Webb. “If it did, the better portion of the world would be privy to half of the Agency’s information.”
“That’s not the same, and you know it. I’ve worked with the damned Agency!” Mac yelled with exasperation.
“Not on this issue,” said Webb calmly. “Let it go, Sarah.”
Mac was infuriated. “I won’t let -”
“Webb, one hour. My apartment,” Harm curtly interrupted. “You’ve managed to upset us, so mission accomplished. Now get the hell out of here!”
The spook addressed Harm snidely. “Gee, Rabb. I thought you’d be grateful to me. … Maybe you will be in an hour.” Webb’s eyes never left Harm’s. “After all, when Sarah’s been angry, she’s a real wildcat in bed.”
SMACK!!! Mac’s hand immediately left a red mark across Webb’s left cheek.
For a few seconds no one moved or said anything. The force of the blow left Webb with his head turned. His eyes, stinging with tears, eventually ventured up. But he didn’t dare look at Mac. He half glanced at Harm and said quietly, “One hour.” Then he walked out.
Harm couldn’t help following to the door and slamming it shut so hard that one of the stacked packing boxes fell to the floor. He stood there with clenched fists, channeling his anger into deep, steadily labored breaths.
Mac had not moved from the spot where she’d been standing when she had struck Webb. So many thoughts and feelings were running through her. But she couldn’t deal with her own personal demons at the moment. She forced all issues out of her mind except the one of immediate importance.
“You’re not leaving me,” she finally spoke.
Harm was startled, not quite sure what she meant.
Mac clarified, “I’m going with you to your apartment. I don’t know what this is about, but I’m not going to be shut out of it. I need to know what’s going on.”
Harm took in a lengthy breath and nodded at her. “Go get changed.”
Mac started for her bedroom, but suddenly halted. It occurred to her that Harm had agreed too easily. She turned back to him. “Don’t even think about running out of here while I’m changing.”
She had a flashback to the night he deceived her and drove off, leaving her behind in the rain while he went after Diane’s killer. Just one of the times he had run off without her. “I won’t let you strand me here,” she declared. “You know I don’t have my car.”
This broke Harm out of his thoughts of Webb. “I wouldn’t do that.” It horrified him to think that Mac would accuse him of such a thing. Then he saw Mac’s face and realized what she was remembering. He shook his head. “That was a long time ago, Mac. I learned my lesson.”
“Have you?”
“Yeah. I’ve learned there’s no stopping you when you’re determined. And I’ve also learned that … I need you watching my six sometimes.”
Mac’s emotions were still too raw with anger at everything Webb had caused to respond to Harm in the way she’d like. She wanted to let him know just how glad she was to hear him acknowledge both of those truths. But for now, she nodded and went to change out of her dress into something more practical.
When she came out of her bedroom in jeans and a loose top, she found Harm sitting on her sofa with his head buried in his hands.
“Harm, if you don’t mind me knowing what’s going on, how come you told Webb to go to your apartment?” Mac asked.
Harm looked up at her. “Because I thought we could use some time to transition into God knows what Webb has up his sleeve. Because I don’t like seeing him here in your apartment. But mostly, … because I want to capture at least a little control in whatever game he’s playing.”
Considering the situation, Mac asked, “Do you think he’ll talk to both of us?”
Harm blew out a laugh. “After some feigned protest, yes. For whatever reason, he wants you involved.”
“No, he clearly said he did not.”
“Webb is never clear about anything. Well, he can be clear, but then he’s not likely truthful. I mean … he doesn’t give you the whole picture.” Harm inhaled deeply again. “He wouldn’t have come here to your apartment if he didn’t want you involved or, at least, aware of the situation. He knows you won’t sit aside.”
Mac hadn’t thought of it that way, but Harm was right. Webb was playing her. Had he always been playing her? Manipulating her? In everything?
“What I don’t know yet,” continued Harm, “is if he’s playing us for professional purposes as usual, or if it’s purely personal now. … Maybe it’s mixed.”
“Why would he be playing us personally?”
Harm looked at Mac in astonishment. “You have to ask?”
Mac shot Harm a disapproving look. “Webb is a tactless SOB, and I hate him right now, but he is not stupid enough to try to break us up through Agency business.”
“Oh, so he only uses Agency business to get involved with you in the first place?” Harm could not entirely keep the resentment out of his voice. “Well, maybe he’s trying to do that again.”
“Harm …” Mac objected. But in truth she realized that Harm was very right about how Webb had exploited the situation in Paraguay to win her over.
“Look,” continued Harm, “I don’t know that anything is ever that simple with Webb. But I do know the look on his face. It’s the look of a broken, jealous heart. I know, because I’ve worn that look.”
Mac didn’t want to hear this. She wanted to forget she had ever gotten involved with Webb. She wanted to ignore the possibility that she had ever caused anyone a broken heart.
She tried to disagree. “No, you didn’t. You’ve never worn the look he just had.”
“Then maybe I hid it well.” The pain was evident in his eyes. “But just seeing him, kind of brings back the feelings I had during the time you were with him.”
Mac silently swore to herself. Why did she ever turn to Clay when it was always Harm she wanted? She looked away and clenched her jaw for a second. “I never loved him.” She returned her gaze to Harm. “… I have only ever been really in love with you, Harm.”
“And if he’s realizing that now, then he’s bound to be a little upset,” Harm pointed out.
“Are you defending him for the way he acted?” she asked in disbelief.
“Not at all! I want to slug him!”
“I should have let you,” decided Mac. “He deserves pain right now.”
“Believe me,” Harm said thoughtfully, “any amount of pummeling I could have done to him would have caused far less pain than your slap. And I’m not talking about the sting on his cheek.”
‘Damn it!’ thought Mac. Why did Harm have to identify with Webb right now? She just wanted to be mad at Clay. That way she could avoid being angry at and ashamed of herself. She couldn’t deal with this right now.
“You probably want to change your clothes,” she noted. “Let’s go to your apartment.”
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To be continued in The Ensnaring Webb, Part B