Chedwiggan gritted his teeth in an effort to avoid biting Robert's head off. He'd
read the Lt. Commander's security clearance files, he'd read all of his people's files,
and there had been nothing to indicate that Robert's family had been anything
other than 'normal'. Well, except for his father, but that was another kettle
of fish. Right now, they had other things to worry about. Like their case.
"Roberts, we'll discuss your family tree later." Turning to his friend, he
asked, "what can you tell us about our clients? And when can we meet them?"
Marshall pushed a couple of files over, "here's the info, but I think you should
watch the tapes before we talk. It'll make explaining things easier."
Marshall got them set up in a viewing room and left them alone. There was no way
in Hell that he was going to sit through those again.
*****
Buffy released a sigh of relief once the JAG lawyers entered the viewing room. Even
though all the charges against her had been dropped, lawyers still made her nervous,
especially that Admiral guy.
But, if she were being honest, she'd been nervous since she'd gotten up that morning,
lawyers or no lawyers. Her replacement was due to show up today, and she
wasn't really sure how she felt about that.
Being the Slayer had ruled her every waking moment, and not a few dreaming ones,
for over half of her life. It had literally defined 'who' she was. And now, it
was all coming to an end. But not the end most Slayers expected.
For the first time in twenty years, she had her whole life in front of her. No
more prophecies, no more baddie of the week coming along to ruin her plans. All
this freedom was kinda scary, nice, but scary.
Buffy looked up to see an understanding smile on Giles' face and immediately felt
better. No matter how bad life had gotten, Giles had always been there, the one
steady thing in her life. Even when she'd tried so hard to drive him away, he'd
stayed.
Buffy bounced on her heels, a huge smile on her face, "well, shall we?"
Giles nodded and held out his arm for Buffy to take. "Certainly, my dear."
Buffy looped her arm through Giles' with a giggle, "why, thank you, kind sir."
General Marshall, Xander and Spike followed the laughing couple down the hall, each
man pleased to see them so happy. They deserved it.
*****
Most people who knew Bud Roberts would say that his most obvious personality trait
was an unfailingly cheerful disposition. Some would even say an incredibly annoying
cheerful disposition. But a very few had been privileged to see the undaunting core
of strength buried behind that smiling face.
Chedwiggan had first seen the 'real' Roberts after the incident in Afghanistan. Most
people would have given up after such a traumatic loss, but Roberts barely slowed
down. He'd fought, and fought hard, to retain his place in the Navy, when he could
have just taken his disability and retired.
No matter how annoying Roberts could be, the man just didn't quit. It didn't
matter if it was a case, an investigation or his personal life, quitting for Roberts
just wasn't an option.
AJ Chedwiggan had never been so grateful for Roberts' stubborn determination as he
was right now. What had been done to those two women was nothing short of horrific,
and he couldn't help but imagine his own daughter in their place. Roberts, however,
never flinched. He took copious notes and frequently referred to the files Marshall
had given them. When the last tape had finished, Chedwiggan wanted nothing more
than a stiff drink. Actually, several stiff drinks. Roberts, on the other hand,
was ready to get to work.
"I don't think we'll have any trouble proving coercion, Admiral."
"Do you think that's our best option, Roberts?"
Bud leaned back in his chair, his face uncommonly stern, "no, Admiral, I don't.
It may be the easiest, but I think we should move to have all charges summarily
dropped. Do we know who's prosecuting yet?"
Chedwiggan quickly flipped through one of the files, "a Major Tim Wheaton, US Army."
"I don't know him, what about the Judge?"
Chedwiggan grinned, "one of the Army's finest, General Mark Adams. Good man, tough,
but fair. I think he'll play along, he's old school. The very idea that members
of a covert ops team would torture civilians is going to piss him off. The fact
that they abused women is going to send him off the deep end. They're lucky he's
not prosecuting them. He'd just take them out and shoot them."
Roberts was busy taking notes, but Chedwiggan could see the smirk on his face. "That's
great, Sir. And here's more good news, Admiral Elizabeth Bishop is going to be
on the bench for the men's trial."
Chedwiggan winced, "ouch. Maybe we should do them a favor and just let Adams kill
them. It'd be less painful." The two men shared a look, "nah. Let 'em suffer."
Both men got back to business after spending a few minutes gleefully guessing just
what Admiral Bishop would do to the men when she got her hands on them. Elizabeth
Bishop was a beautiful woman and genuinely loved by everyone who'd ever had the
pleasure of working for her.
The people who got on her bad side, however, were known to pray for a quick death.
One person had even been overheard saying that they'd rather be disembowled with
a dull spoon than have to face the Admiral again.
Roberts only knew Admiral Bishop by reputation, AJ Chedwiggan, however, had worked
with Elizabeth on many occasions. In fact, the only reason he was in charge of JAG
was because Elizabeth didn't want it. She preferred to stay on the bench, saying
that she was more than willing to forgo the glory as long as she didn't have to
deal with the paperwork.
Chedwiggan more than agreed with her at this point. He hated paperwork, unfortunately,
it came with the job. But at times, paperwork could be a blessing. Concentrating
on filling out motions helped distract him from the things he'd seen on those
tapes.
The torture had been bad, but Chedwiggan had always known the human propensity
for depravity. What Ms. Rosenberg had done, however, was a whole new kettle of
fish.
"Roberts?"
"Yes, Admiral?"
"Uh, what exactly was that thing that Rosenberg did?"
Roberts looked up from his files, "you mean the spell, Sir?"
Chedwiggan threw down his pen and rubbed his eyes, "yes, Roberts, I mean the spell.
What are we going to do about that?"
"Well, Sir, I think we need to get a really good psychologist on board. We're
going to have to convince Ms. Rosenberg to reverse what she did. Ms. McClay is
obviously going to need some help dealing with the trauma. I can only hope that
Ms. Rosenberg can still be helped."
Chedwiggan stared at his subordinate. "That's not what I meant, Roberts, but its
a good point. I see you caught what I did."
Roberts nodded, "yes, Sir, Ms. Rosenberg has completely blocked the torture from
her mind. Having to face what happened may well break her."
"True, but that still doesn't help us explain magic to the court. If we're
lucky, we'll only be locked up for observation and not disbarred."
"I know someone we can get to prove to the court that magic exists and works. She's
also a damned good psychologist. She'd be perfect if we can get her onboard."
"Good, Roberts. You talk to her, I'm going to talk to Marshall about getting some
time with our client."
*****
Buffy tooked one look at her replacement and about came unglued. Giving the girl
a faint smile, the current Slayer forcibly pulled Giles into the next room,
not even waiting for the door to finish closing before she began her rant.
"What were you thinking? She's just a kid! I can't pass the duty to her, she'll
get killed!"
Giles' smile turned into a full belly laugh, Buffy huffed and crossed her arms
over her chest. "I don't see what's so funny, Giles. I'm old enough to be her
mother for God's sake!"
Giles' laughter wound down to chuckles and he took Buffy's hand in his, "Buffy,
my dear, dear Buffy. If you'll think back, when you became the Slayer, you were
also a child. In fact, Xi said she is almost a year older than you were at that time.
And she won't be alone. You, Xi and myself with be with her every step of the way
until she's ready to stand on her own."
Buffy was only slightly mollified, "I still don't think its right," she grumped.
Giles kissed Buffy on the forehead, "neither did I, but as Xi pointed out, only
a young girl in the prime of her life can safely handle the power involved with
being a Slayer."
"It still sucks, Giles."
"I know, Buffy. I know."
*****
Khara gave the men standing in the room with her an embarrassed smile, "uh, hi?"
TBC