Sins of the Father

5

Mac's Apartment

Friday, 5:00 AM

It was a warm and sunny day. Bright blossoms from a nearby orchard wafted the scent of cherries and oranges. Mac stood at the base of a small grave marker. "Good-bye, dad," she said, but her voice sounded strange. Then the light shifted, became darker, moodier. Thunder rolled in the distance, lightning spasmed across the sky. She was running, but she didn't know why, and she didn't know where she was running to. A strange emotion gripped her. Not anger, not fear, but terror. The rain pummelled her and she felt like she was drowning...

Mac gasped awake. Not again, she thought. Her whole body was soaked with sweat. Shaking, she pulled her legs up in a fetal position and held her face to her knees, catching her breath. The terror still lingered, an after image of her nightmare. Slowly, her heart rate steadied, her breathing calmed. The tremors that raked her body stopped and she rolled over onto her side. After a few moments, she sat up. She needed to take a shower.

JAG headquarters.

815am

"Good morning sir," The Gunny offered a crisp salute to which the Admiral returned.

"Morning Gunny," greeted Admiral Chegwidden as he strolled into the bullpen.

There was something about coming early that was appealing to him. He liked to get a feel for the day before it was cluttered with everyone else's thoughts and emotions. It was kind of a SEAL thing. On reconnaissance missions in the field, SEAL's often scouted their targets long before they planned their attack, gaining knowledge on everything from terrain to weather to the indigenous personnel and their habits. It made for a higher success rate for the mission.

For example, noting Lieutenant Sims' desk carefully organized, while Lieutenant Bud Roberts' desk contained a number of sticky notes and a stack of file folders on his desk meant that Harriet was keeping her husband in line. He made a mental note to talk to Bud about putting his files away at the end of the day, however. Interestingly, Rabb's desk also had a stack of files as well.

He walked past a few more desks and approached his own office. Unlocking the door, he set his briefcase down and then made his way to the break room for his morning cup of coffee. He was surprised to find Colonel Mackenzie there as well. "Colonel, you're here early," he remarked.

"Sir, I actually came to speak with you." Mac said.

The Admiral looked her up and down and could see that something was bothering her. While she covered the dark circles under her eyes well with make-up, the tap of her fingers on her coffee mug gave away her brooding mood.

"Meet me in my office," he said. Never a dull moment here he thought as he poured his coffee.

A few minutes later there was a knock on his solid oak door, he took off his reading glasses and looked up from his newspaper. "Have a seat, Colonel." he said, gesturing for her to come in. Mac sat down on the leather chair opposite his desk. "I hear you got a plea from the defendant on the Guadalcanal?"

"Yes sir, I didn't feel it was necessary to make a mountain out of a molehill."

He nodded. No sense wasting time or money when something can be quickly resolved. "Then what can I help you with?"

"I'm needed in New York City to provide information about my father to the NYPD." There was urgency in her voice that worried him. He listened as she told him about the detective who visited her apartment a week before.

"I thought your father was dead." He crossed his arms, wondering what the NYPD wanted with a former enlisted Marine.

"Apparently his name came up in a cold case investigation, and Detective Benson wants to ask me a few questions." Mac looked down at her hands nervously.