Doggett reaches the main gates and hands the necessay paperwork over to the guards. As he waits for them his phone rings.

Doggett: 'John Doggett.'

Monica Reyes: 'Hi it's me. You're not going to believe this but the two men the police picked up for the cross burning last night are Military men and they've been removed from the station on the orders of a Colonel O' Kill...'

Doggett: *shouts* 'What!! How the hell did this happen? Well there's nothing I can do at the moment but I'll see if anyone here can shed light on these jokers. How's Martha?'

Monica Reyes: 'She's ok. Her neighbours are taking it in turns to keep an eye on her. I'm going to ask her about her Great Granny and the vengence spirits - for research purposes if she asks.' Doggett smiles.

Doggett: 'I'd forgotten how sneaky you could be.'

Monica Reyes: *laughing* 'Thanks, I think.' The guard returns to Doggett's car.

Doggett: 'I'll call you later when I've seen Lieutenant Rabb.' He hangs up.

Guard: 'Ok, these are all in order. You need to go down here as far as the chapel and then turn right. The JAG office is in the third building on the left.'

Doggett: 'Thanks.'

Lieutenant Rabb is sitting in his office surrounded by papers. He can't decide whether he is pleased or annoyed that the FBI are interested in this case; pleased because he was never happy about the way the case turned out, too many strings were being pulled outside the
Judge Advocates office for his liking, annoyed because it had now been taken up by civilians. There's a knock on his door. He checks his watch. He's punctual - unusual for a civvy.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Come in.' The door opens and Agent Doggett comes in.

Doggett: 'Lieutenant Rabb I'm Special Agent John Doggett. I called you the other day about the case of Lieutenant Joshua Kendrick.'

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Sure, come on in and sit down. I'm just waiting for my partner to bring the rest of the files. So what actually brings you here?' Doggett sighs.

Doggett: 'Well you must know that Joshua Kendrick was found dead a few days ago?' Rabb nods 'I understand he was tried at a Court Martial for having something to do with the death of Martin Jackson?' Rabb nods again 'Well Samual Kendrick
claims that Jacksons' family put a Voodoo curse on his son. That's where I come in. The department I work in investigates the unexplainable, plus my boss is a friend of Martha Jackson. He asked me to investigate this as a favour and I keep hitting dead ends. No-one wants the truth of this case to get out.' Rabb sighs.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Join the club, Agent. When we took this case on I thought it would be a breeze, rednecked bigots murdering a black man for being promoted over them. I thought we'd get a conviction in double quick time but no! We hit red tape, silence, codes of honour and downright terror. Someone high up wanted a lid kept on this and they succeeded. How else could the Court Martial return a verdict of suicide on an obvious murder case?' They are interrupted by the door opening and a female Naval officer entering the room.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Hey, Mac, did you find them?' She nods. 'By the way, this is Special Agent Doggett from the FBI. Agent Doggett this is my partner, Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie.'

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'So what gives Agent Doggett? Why are the FBI interested in this case?' Doggett explains to them about Kersh's request, Martha's warning at the funeral and the removal of the suspects of the cross burning at Martha's house. Rabb starts to search through his files.

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'Smillie and Bannister were tried with Kendrick.'

Doggett: 'Why am I not surprised... and don't tell me that Colonel Tony O'Kill was involved in the original case.' MacKenzie smiles.

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'Ok I won't.' Doggett starts muttering under his breath.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.' Doggett smiles.

Doggett: 'It was an apology to my partner, Agent Mulder. He was a great believer in conspiricy theories. I always used to laugh at him - now he's probably laughing at me... wherever he is.' He smiles sadly. Rabb and MacKenzie look at each other and shrug; the guy's a little weird they decide. 'So why don't we start at the beginning? What did the autopsy report say on Martin Jackson?'

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: *candidly* 'The official report?' Doggett groans.

Doggett: 'Ok, the official report for now.'

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'The offical autopsy said he slashed his wrists and bled to death, verdict suicide.'

Doggett: 'But...' Rabb and Mackenzie look at each other, wondering if they should confide in the FBI man. 'Come on, I want to get to the bottom of this, too.'

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Ok. Jackson comes to us about... what... 3 months ago?' MacKenzie nods 'He says he's been receiving racist propaganda in the mail; hangman's nooses left in his locker, racist graffiti left on his car. He knew who was doing it but he didn't want to name names.'

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'He also said he wasn't the only one who was a victim of these racists. Others had been targetted but were too frightened to come forward. Non-coms mostly. I think Jackson was the only officer involved.'

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Well, about a month after he came to us he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and that's when it turned nasty - became more... violent.'

Doggett: 'Beatings?' The officers nod. 'Didn't anyone notice the cuts and bruises?'

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'If they did they never said anything, you know how the Marine code of conduct works. Well, maybe you don't.'

Doggett: 'Oh I know alright, only too well.' The others stare at him 'I was a sergeant in Bravo Company, part of the peacekeeping force in the Lebenon. I've seen it all before but nothing like this.' Rabb looks him up and down.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Ah, it all fits into place now; punctual for the meeting, asking exactly the right questions, not being confused by the military language.' Rabb nods his approval and relaxes.

Doggett: 'So now that we're NOT talking offically, what do you think's going on?'

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'Well, it seems so... well organized. They know exactly who to target, who's likely to crack and leave and it's coming from high up judging by the rapid response to any allegations that come up.'

Doggett: 'Colonel O'Kill?' Rabb sucks in a deep breath.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'You said it, not me, and don't say it too loudly either. O'Kill has friends in very high places and he's a well-respected war hero - Desert Storm, you know. But... off the record... he's up to his neck in it.' Rabb runs his hands through his hair.

Doggett: 'I know this is a stupid question, but if you know or suspect he's behind this why haven't you interrogated him?' MacKenzie sighs.

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'I interviewed him over the Jackson case and I guess I asked the wrong questions because I got a visit from some scary men in black who told me to ask the right questions or else.' Rabb gets up from his seat and crosses over to her.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'Mac you never said anything to me about this!'

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'There was nothing you could have done, Harm. They basically said if I told anyone I could kiss my career goodbye.'

Doggett: 'Do you know who they were? CIA, NSA, Department of Justice, Defence?' MacKenzie shakes her head.

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'Could be any of those guys, could be none of them. I have no idea.' Doggett shakes his head.

Doggett: 'This is completely off the record, but how long has this been going on? Is racisim rife in every Marine base or just here in the South?' Rabb looks up sharply.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb: 'So you've noticed it too? It's like this all over the bases in the South. In fact it's like this in the South in general. It's like being back in the Civil Rights era of the Sixties.' Doggett lets out a deep breath. He'd been expecting that reply.

Doggett: 'You know you're the second person who's said it's like being back in the Sixties to me. I was born in Georgia but I've been living in the North for years. I noticed the change as soon as I got here and it's creeping me out. I suppose if you live here you don't notice it so much but... I don't know, it's like someone wants the hatred and violence to break out again, set us all at each others throats.' Doggett looks at his watch and gets up to leave. 'Thanks for your time I'll see if I can find some loophole that will let us bring in the racists and then you can have your shot, too.' *jokingly* 'We're good at finding loopholes left by bureaucrats. By the way, can I have a copy of the autopsy report? I'd like my partner to take a look at it, it's her thing.' MacKenzie hands him a file.

Lieutenant Commander Sarah MacKenzie: 'Sure thing - and thanks for your imput into this case. You will let us know how you get on, won't you?'

Doggett: 'No problem. As soon as I have any hard evidence I'll let you know.' The three of them shake hands and Doggett leaves the office. He contemplates paying a visit to Colonel O'Kill but the way gossip flies around a base he probably knows that the FBI were hanging around. Get back and see what Monica has discovered he decides.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The X-Philes Series Archive

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