Name: Mutiny 



Author name: Christie Blotnicky (cblotnicky@yahoo.ca…
feedback is always welcomed and  



appreciated. Good or bad, it’s all good J) 



Rating: PG 13 



Spoilers: None  



Disclaimer: All normal disclaimers apply 



Summary: Jennifer Coates is found dead in her
apartment, and the JAG staff will do anything to find
out what happened to her.  



Mutiny 



1401 ZULU  

JAG HEADQUARTERS  

FALLS CHURCH, VA  

 



Juggling a wet umbrella, his briefcase, a sopping
overcoat, his cover, and a bagful of bagels (it being
his turn to supply the morning munchies) Harm sighed
with inward relief as the elevator door opened on his
floor. Trying to keep from dripping on the four other
people in the elevator had taxed his spatial skills.
His relief didn't last long, though, even as the other
occupants of the elevator scattered. There at the open
door, obviously waiting for him, was Tiner.  

 



"Sir," the petty officer said, anxiety clear in his
voice, "the Admiral needs to see you soonest!"  



Nodding agreeably, Harm headed for his office first.
"Soon as I get rid of this wet stuff, Tiner, I'll be
right there."  

 



Tiner pursued him across the bullpen. "Uh, sir," he
persisted, "the Admiral really wants to see you right
now."  

 



Sturgis, who had entered the bullpen three steps
behind them but was dry and unencumbered and had
obviously arrived some minutes before, seconded
Tiner's concern. "The Admiral wants to see senior
staff right now, Harm."  

 



"Fine," Harm agreed with his most personable smile for
both of them, stepping into his office. He dumped the
bagels on the desk, dropped the briefcase in a chair,
draped the overcoat over the coat rack instead of
neatly hanging it on the hanger available, and parked
his cover on the console beside his desk. Turning, he
picked up the box of bagels and pushed them into
Tiner's hands. "Deliver these to the breakroom, OK?"
he said, then moved off to catch up with Sturgis, only
a few steps ahead of him just as Mac came out of her
office, too.  

 



"So, what's up?" he asked both of them impartially.  

 



"Don't know," was Sturgis' cryptic reply as they
walked under the bank of monitors at the side of the
bullpen. "I listened to NPR as I was driving in this
morning, but didn't hear anything guaranteed to sink
the Navy."  

 



"And there weren't any explosions on the TVs that I
saw," Mac contributed, tongue-in-cheek, as they
entered Tiner's office.  

 



Raising his eyebrows, Harm reached out and knocked
politely at the door of the Admiral's office. "Well, I
guess we're about to find out."  

 



"Enter," came the Admiral's voice in response to
Harm's knock.  

 



The minute they stepped into the office, all three of
the senior officers realized that something was
definitely up. The Admiral was not seated at his desk,
but a single letter lay under his reading light.
Instead, he stood in what they all recognized as his
thinking place at the window. He had turned back to
the office to see who had arrived, but had to have
been staring out at the chilly, rainy morning,
probably seeing very little of what was outside his
window.  

 



"Good morning, sir," Sturgis said, coming to a halt
and standing easy.  

 



"Morning, sir," Mac echoed, taking the same stance,
and Harm nodded to the Admiral, also taking the pose. 


 



He nodded back. "Appreciate your promptness," he
remarked, his eyes going to the letter on his blotter.
He sighed noticeably, and then added, "You'd better
sit down."  

 



All three of them traded swift sideways glances, then
took a comfortable leather chair in front of the desk
and waited to be enlightened.  

 

 

 



The Admiral moved more slowly than usual as he seated
himself at the desk, put on his reading glasses, and
then looked at the three of them.  

 



"I've got some really bad news," he said quietly. The
three senior officers noticed the distress in his
voice.  

 



“I came here this morning, and found this envelope
taped to the door of my office,” he stopped for a
moment, gathering his thoughts. “Petty Officer
Jennifer Coates was murdered, late last night. This
note was left here by her killer,” He finished. The
looks on the faces of his senior staff and best
friends were almost enough to make him cry, but the
SEAL in him wouldn’t allow it. 

 



“Are you sure it isn’t just some sick prank, Sir?” Mac
managed to say. She didn’t trust her voice but needed
assurance of a possibility that Coates may be alive. 

 



“The Petty Officer was found dead in her apartment
this morning. Jennifer was a tough officer; she
wouldn’t go down without a fight. My guess is her
attacker was a person any of you would have trouble
taking out,” He said quietly. He let the magnitude of
the situation sink in. 

 



“What can we do, Sir?” Harm asked, breaking the solemn
silence. 

 



“At the moment, nothing. I’m under orders from the
SecNav not to involve any of you in the case,” He
said. His voice was just above a whisper, and they
could tell he had fought the SecNav on it. The room
was silent for several minutes. Sturgis was the first
to speak, and with that he said something no one would
expect of him. 

 



“With all due respect, Sir, that is unacceptable. You
can’t expect us to sit by while some under-educated
NCIS jerk tries to find a proverbial needle in the
haystack. You have to let us do something,” He said, a
little louder than he intended. The other officers in
the room were taken aback by their calm comrades
sudden urgency. 

 



“What do you suggest we do Commander?” A.J asked
calmly.  

 



“We talk to the SecNav, all of us, together. If that
doesn’t work-“ He stopped for a moment, gathering his
thoughts. “If that doesn’t work, if all of us disobey
an order, were less likely to go to court martial,” He
finished. He stared into the eyes of his comrades as
he said this. 

 



“You want to stage a mutiny,” Harm said. It was more
of a statement that a question. 

 



“I don’t want to, but I see no other option if the
SecNav wont give us one.” 

 



“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. But I agree with
you Commander, we can’t sit by and do nothing. We have
to do something for our fallen comrade,” A.J said.
Harm, Mac and Sturgis all nodded in agreement, and set
their plan to action. 

 



Days passed, and still no word came from the SecNav.
As far as they knew, the NCIS wasn’t any closer to a
suspect than they had been the day of Jennifer’s
death. Desperation had set in among the JAG staff. The
time for waiting had passed, and after a conversation
with his senior staff, A.J knew what had to be done.  

 



“Admiral on deck,” Tiner announced. A.J walked across
the bridge in the bullpen and stopped in the centre.
He turned and addressed his subordinates.  

 



“I assume each of you are aware of the murder of Petty
Officer Jennifer Coates,” he began. A wave of sadness
shot through the room. 

 



“I also assume you are aware of the SecNav’s order not
to involve any JAG personnel in the investigation.
Commanders Turner and Rabb, Colonel Mackenzie and I
have devised a plan. We’ve decided if he won’t let us
help, than we will do so without his blessing. If
anyone wishes not to participate in our actions you
may leave now and no one will think less of you,” No
one left after several minutes. A.J nodded at his
dedicated officers. 

 



“We have contacted Mr. Webb. He is going to help us
track down our assailant, by matching the writing
sample and fingerprints from the note. One week from
today at 0800 hours our plan goes into action,” He
spent the next several minutes relaying the plan to
his loyal officers.  

 



Five days later Webb exploded into JAG headquarters. A
file in hand. He walked past Tiner into the Admiral’s
office. 

 



“Reverend Coates,” He said. He was out of breath. A.J
looked up from his work and studied the CIA officer in
front of him. 

 



“What the hell are you talking about Webb?” 

 



“Reverend Coates killed Jennifer. He may be good at
hiding from the NCIS, but he left fingerprints all
over the note. Also, his handwriting is very unique.
When compared to writing samples of several people, it
differed drastically, until matched with his own.” 

 



“You mean to tell me Her father, a reverend, murdered
her?” 

 



“Yes sir,” He said. He handed A.J the file with all of
the information. After studying it a moment he buzzed
Tiner. 

 



“Tiner, get me Rabb, Turner and Mackenzie ASAP,” He
ordered. After receiving a ‘Yes sir’ from Tiner he
turned back to Webb. 

 



“Are you sure this is correct, Webb?” 

 



“Positive. There’s no one else it could be,” He said
this just as the three officers knocked on the door. 

 



“Enter,” He waited while his officers filed in, and
then continued. “We have reason to believe Reverend
Coates is responsible for Jennifer’s murder,” He
finished. Mac looked at him incredulously. 

 



“Why would he kill his own daughter, Sir?”  

 



“Because she’s not the perfect, holy daughter he’d
hoped to raise,” Harm said, more to himself than
anyone else. 

 



“What?” Sturgis asked. Harm explained. 

 



“The Christmas I was defending her, she was released
to my custody. I had to find a place for her to stay
over the holidays. We went to her father’s home. The
tension was noticeable, to say the least. It was
apparent that he was disappointed in her then. Well,
add another year and a half onto that. I wouldn’t be
surprised if he killed her and doesn’t even realize he
did something wrong,” Harm said. He looked into the
eyes of the Admiral. “I don’t think he would hesitate
to hurt her friends. He probably thinks were all evil.
We should proceed with extreme caution.” 

 



“I agree. We will proceed as planned. Tomorrow Harm,
you and Tiner are going to get us weapons. We’ll stake
out our area’s tomorrow evening. Dismissed.” 

 



The next morning, their plan went into action. The
most difficult part was Tiner and Harm’s. They had to
break into the Johnson Naval Base and “borrow” several
weapons of various genres. They managed to get in and
out without much trouble, but Harm did have to pull
rank on an annoying over-achieving Ensign.  

 



The groups strategically placed themselves throughout
the city.  

 



Webb and Tiner were camouflaged and in trees at the
George Washington National Park. From their positions
with snipers they were able to keep a fairly good look
out over the park.  

 



A.J and Sturgis were staked out, in and around JAG
headquarters. The Admiral kept watch from his office
window and checked the doors and elevator while
Sturgis patrolled outside, hidden behind bushes and
trees.  

 



Harriet and Bud were keeping watch over Coates’
apartment. They, like all groups, were heavily armed
with guns and knives. One of them stayed near the
door, while the other was at the window. They sat in
silent darkness.  

 



Finally, Harm and Mac were staked out on Reverend
Coates property. They were well camouflaged and hidden
in trees with snipers.  



The groups kept in contact with walkie-talkies. They
all checked in every half an hour or if they saw
something suspicious.  



Hours had passed. Harm and Mac knew he was home, but
also knew he was heavily armed. He was expecting an
ambush, and was ready to defend himself. Suddenly an
idea struck Harm. He brought the walkie-talkie to his
mouth. 



“This is Harm. What about the morning mail?”  



The next morning the plan had been devised. Harm and
Mac had been perched in the trees for hours. Neither
had slept, and both were very eager to end this game
of cat and mouse.  



Mac ran down the road and intercepted the mail carrier
on her route. 



“Can I help you miss?” Asked the young mail carrier. 



“Yes you can. I need to deliver a newspaper for you-“
Mac went on to explain the situation and her plan with
the girl. After a few moments Mac was in mail currier
get up and was walking to the front door of Reverend
Coates’ home. Harm and the rest of the mutiny group
had set themselves up strategically so they could get
him from all sides, while Mac played her part.
Underneath her neat and tidy vest laid a knife and a
very heavily loaded gun.  



Mac reached out and knocked in the door. A gruff voice
came from inside. 



“Whose there?” 



“Mail carrier,” Mac answered. 



“Leave it on the doorstep.” 



“Actually sir, I need you to sign for something,” She
bluffed. She heard some bustling inside and when the
door opened, the Reverend had a pistol tucked under
his belt. 



“What do you want me to sign for?”  



“It’s in the truck, could you help me get it?” He
looked at her suspiciously then conceded. The two
walked over to the truck when Mac gave her group the
signal by pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. The
two got to the truck and he peered inside. 



“That big box there in the back. Do you think you can
help?” She asked. The man sighed loudly and climbed
in. Mac whipped out her gun and pulled him out. She
shoved him onto his back, but not before he could fire
off a shot. It hit her in the stomach. The rest of the
group ran to them. The man got off three more shots
and then was hit in the chest with a bullet, fired by
Webb.  



Harm dove down to Mac’s side. 



“Mac,” He said. He tried to get her attention. Her
gaze was going between the seven people in the group.
She finally managed to focus on Harm.  



“We have to get her to a hospital,” She heard from
somewhere. It was a man’s voice. She met Harm’s gaze.
His blue pools drowned into her equally intense brown
ones. She tried to speak but she felt as though she’d
had the wind knocked out of her. 



“Harm,” She said weakly. He looked at her with a
concerned _expression. He put his arms underneath her
legs and back and lifted her up. She couldn’t feel his
hands, only the sting of the bullet wound in her
middle.  



She hung limp in his arms as he rushed her to his car.
He laid her softly in the back seat and took off
towards the hospital with the rest of the JAG crew in
tow.  



Days later, Mac was well enough to return home. She
joked about the bullet wound, as just another scar to
add to her collection. The group took her home just in
time for Jennifer’s funeral.  



A.J lagged behind once the service had ended. He stood
over the closed casket and sighed. 



“You were a good officer, Jennifer. You would have
made a fine lawyer some day. You make sure to watch
over us; you know we need it.” He smiled despite
himself, remembering the pranks she had helped Sturgis
and Harm pull during her brief time at JAG. “Good bye,
Jen,” He fired off a salute and returned to his group
of friends and partners in mutiny. 



In the distance they could hear the rounds of gunfire
in her honour. The group remained silent as they
reminisced about her time with them.  



“To say I was surprised to hear the Navy’s top team
all came together to commit mutiny would be an
understatement. I am greatly disappointed in each and
every one of you for this poor display you have shown.
You’re lucky I’m not recommending you all to court
martial. Admiral Chegwidden, Sturgis Turner, Harmon
Rabb Junior, and Sarah Mackenzie. Each of you should
be demoted for your acts over the past few days, but
you should also be given a medal of bravery for what
you’ve done. You all have one final chance, if you
slip up at all, you will all be demoted in ranks, or
discharged. Do I make myself clear?” asked the SecNav.




“Yes Sir,” The group replied in unison.  



“Dismissed, and you have my assurance that these are
not threats; they are promises.” He turned and left
JAG headquarters, walking briskly away from his
subordinates. 



“Back to work, people,” A.J said to his officers. They
all scattered to their posts and A.J turned to Mac. 



“Colonel, you have been out of the hospital for one
day. Go home and come back on Monday.” 



“Yes sir. Uh, Sir, permission to speak freely?” She
asked. He nodded. 



“Why on earth did you go along with Commander Turners
unorthodox suggestion?”  



“There’s something to be said for an officer who
stands up for what’s right, Colonel. Besides, I didn’t
hear you object to my decision,” She smiled. 



“No sir, I didn’t,” she said. He smiled back. 



“Go home, Mac,” She smiled again and saluted before
turned on her heel and leaving the busy bullpen.  



Days passed and life was slowly returning too normal
at JAG. Though Coates’ death had deeply impacted the
group, they had managed to find their lost footing and
continue with their work.  



Clayton Webb calmly but quickly made his way into JAG
Headquarters. He knocked on Mac’s door. 



“Enter.” Webb turned the knob and poked his head in. 



“Clay, what are you doing here?” Mac asked from behind
her desk. 



“I have some news. I need you to get Harm and Sturgis
and come to the Admiral’s office right away.” The
urgency in his voice did not go unnoticed by Mac. She
simply nodded as Clay left the room and headed towards
the Admiral’s office. 



“Lieutenant’s Simms and Roberts, come with me please,”
He said, never losing stride. He stepped up to Tiner
with Harriet and Bud in tow. 



“I need to see Admiral Chegwidden now, Tiner,” He
demanded. Tiner looked startled. 



“Of course Mr. Webb, just a moment.” He opened A.J’s
door a crack and announced Webb’s presence. A.J told
Tiner to send him in. 



“Tiner, I’d like you to stay too. I’ll start in just a
moment when the Commanders and Colonel arrive.” No
sooner did those words leave his mouth than did Harm,
Sturgis and Mac enter the room, all with quizzical
looks on their faces.  



“Would you like to tell us what the hell is going on,
Webb?” A.J asked in his usual gruff voice.  



“Petty Officer Coates is alive. Two weeks ago she
began getting death threats. The SecNav ordered her
into hiding. They found an almost perfect look-a-like
named Melanie James. It was her body they found in
Jennifer’s apartment,” He took a breath and looked
around at the shocked faces of the JAG officers. A.J
stood up and looked at him eye to eye. 



“You mean to tell me all of this time the SecNav has
been lying to us?” He asked, shocked. 



“I’m sorry Admiral, I know this must be a shock to all
of you. It was to me as well, but the SecNav ordered
it classified. They couldn’t risk having whoever
wanted her dead find her.” 



“Why would the Navy take such great measures to insure
the safety of a Petty Officer and a felon?” Mac asked.
Webb looked at her. 



“Because she isn’t a Petty Officer, or a felon. That
was all a cover. And her father is not Reverend
Coates. The man we met is Special Agent Joseph Blake,
and before you ask, no he isn’t dead. The SecNav found
out about our operation and gave him a bulletproof
vest. She is part of the Secret service, and is one of
the President’s personal security Guards. He assigned
her to the carry out a mission involving JAG, without
you knowing,” He was about to continue when a knock
came at the door.  



“I thought everyone was already in here,” Admiral
Chegwidden mumbled to himself. “Enter.” When the door
opened, none other then Jennifer Coates, clad in a
black suit and shades, walked into the room. She took
off the sunglasses and shoved them into her pocket.
She closed the door behind her and turned to face her
friends.  



“You all look like you’ve seen a ghost,” She joked.
She then turned serious. “I assume Special Agent Webb
has informed you of the situation,” She said. Her old,
naïve exterior was now replaced with an equally aware
and stoic one.  



“I was just doing that Special Agent Coates,” He
informed her. She nodded to him.  



“How far did you get?” She asked.  



“He was just about to tell us how you managed to use
us all for a mission without our knowledge,” Sturgis
said, she nodded and looked down a moment before
returning his gaze. 



“I was under orders by the President and Chief of
Security. I would have told you if I could. Let me
explain,” She motioned for the group to take a seat.
They scattered themselves in chairs and on the couch
in the office and listened intently to her story. 



“One year and three months ago, Commander Rabb and
Colonel Mackenzie defended Corporal Tray McNeil, while
Commander Turner and Lieutenant Roberts prosecuted. Do
you remember the case?” She asked. The group nodded.
She continued.  



“The Corporal was being charged with possession of
illegal chemicals aboard a submarine. Commander Rabb
and Colonel Mackenzie won this case, and Corporal
McNeil was set free.  



One month later, he attempted to assassinate the
President using the same type of chemical he was
charged with having aboard the sub. Before we could
positively determine the Corporal did it, he was
deployed on the Seahawk around the same time as
Lieutenant Roberts. They assigned me to go aboard the
ship and try to gather information about the case from
Lieutenant Roberts, so we could figure out for sure it
was the Corporal who attempted the assassination. 



The investigation was slow going as it was, and then
Lieutenant Roberts was injured. They sent him back
here and Lieutenant Singer took over for him. So as
not to look suspicious, they kept me aboard for
another month as Lieutenant Singer’s yeoman. 



When she was replaced on the Seahawk, I also left, and
got sent here to again attempt to find information.
Somewhere along the line, Corporal McNeil found out I
was on his trail and set out to kill me. 



When the President found out about this, they put
Melanie James in my place, and put me into hiding. She
was killed in my place as well,” Jennifer looked down
as she said the final part. She didn’t want to see the
faces of her former co-workers who had become her
friends over the last few months. She didn’t want to
know how badly they felt betrayed by her. Finally, she
forced herself to look up.  



“I’m sorry if you feel like I betrayed you all. I was
following the orders given to me by the Commander and
Chief. If I could have told you I would have. Please
believe me when I tell you I never meant to hurt any
of you or become attached to any of you,” She finally
allowed herself to look at the faces of the people she
had two weeks before considered family. Harm was the
first to speak up. 



“Well, your not dead, that’s an upper,” He joked
lightly, obviously trying to relieve some of the
tension in the room. The group laughed lightly, but it
was short lived.  



“You could have just asked about the case,” Bud said.
She smiled lightly at him and shook her head. 



“I couldn’t risk blowing my cover.” 



“We understand your reasons Petty- uh, Special Agent
Coates. I’m just sorry you had to come down here and
explain it all to us. You must have more important
matters at hand,” A.J suggested. Jen smiled at him and
shook her head again.  



“I’m still working on this case. We still haven’t been
able to get the Corporal. That’s part of the reason
I’m here. I still need your help tracking him down,”
She said. Suddenly a man appeared at the door.  



“It would appear this part of your investigation is
short lived Special Agent Coates,” He said in a cocky,
sharp tone. He pulled out a gun and trained it on her.
 



“Corporal McNeil, I assume. I’m sorry, I haven’t had
the pleasure of meeting you before,” Jennifer answered
coolly. She stood and extended her hand to him. He
pulled back lightly. 



“Oh, no handshake? I must say, I’m a little insulted,”
She moved faster than he was capable of responding.
Before her had a chance, she grabbed hold of his gun
and shot him square between the eyes. He fell to the
floor, dead immediately. The group looked at her
wide-eyed.  



“That uh- that wasn’t another fake death, was it,
Jen?” Harm asked from the back of the room. She let
out a long breath and smiled lightly at the group.  



“There’s nothing fake about assassins, Commander. I
can only hope there aren’t more where he came from,”
She threw the gun down at the man’s side. “There will
be a group of men in here in a few minutes to collect
the body. I’m afraid this is goodbye,” She nodded to
the group and turned to walk away.  



“Umm, Jennifer. Everything you did at JAG wasn’t just
part of your cover, was it?” Harriet asked, speaking
for the first time.  



“Not befriending all of you. I only hope we can still
be friends after this. I have to go to the Whitehouse
to report to the President. It’s too bad this was a
case though. I really do value all of your
friendships,” She said softly. 



“As we do yours. Just try to tell us next time you
want to involve us in one of the President’s plans,”
A.J said with a smile.  



“I’ll try my best, Sir. God, is it always this hard to
say goodbye to all of you?” She asked. A tear slid
from her eye, she quickly wiped it away and laughed
sadly.  



“Don’t look at it as a goodbye Jen; look at it as see
you later,” Tiner suggested. Jen smiled at him. She
had grown close to him over his time at JAG.  



“I’ll do that. See you later,” With that, she was
gone.  



The group sat in silence for a minute until A.J broke
it.  



“Well, it’s time for you all to get back to work. Umm,
try to avoid stepping on the dead man on your way
out,” He said. The group gave him strange looks before
standing at attention and leaving the room.  



Jen looked up at the building she had come so used to
working in. She smiled lightly in memory of the times
she had shared with the JAG officers.  



“See you later,” She whispered to herself. She took
another moment just to reminisce before heading to the
black, agency-assigned Mercedes and driving back to
the Whitehouse.  



The End.