Terry and David

In spite of the fact that both David and the Colonel understood what Terry had in mind, neither was completely prepared for the vision she presented the next morning. At five eight in her stocking feet, Terry now stood a solid six feet and she was wearing neither stockings nor hose. Her uniform skirt was at least an inch shorter than the most liberal interpretation of appropriate length. It was tight...damn tight...and her once alluring little bubble butt was no longer ensconced in the tight girdle most female officers wore. Her blouse puckered at just the right point to show a hint of her bust. Her hair style had transitioned from her normal soft comely look; she had put her hair up which added to her perceived height. She'd added subtle hints of makeup which she did not normally use or need. It was about as provocative as a female officer could get without completely busting the uniform regulations. Even the hint of perfume---against regs but never really enforced---added to the impact.

She looked hot, sexy...even nasty but she also looked like a no-nonsense and in-charge young female officer...the very kind of officer the defendant had targeted.

"Not a word, sir...please?"

"Top of the morning to you, Captain...nice shoes; let's get to court."

David was quite taken aback but his court-trained poker face betrayed none of his inner feelings. He decided against making any comment.

When they arrived together at the court room, Phil, the opposing JAG had to turn away and bite his lip. The civilian attorney gave her a once over but he had gone up against female lawyers dressed far more provocatively than Terry was dressed. When the court was admitted and took their seats, more than one of the officers in the jury checked her out surreptitiously. The judge entered the room, surveyed the participants and didn't even pause when his eyes saw her. Good sign, although he hadn't had the full impact yet.

The civilian attorney handled the direct examination of his client. On cross, the prosecution could only raise issues which he had already raised. Neither Terry nor David sensed that he had made any mistakes but exchanged notes on a couple of points that might present an opening, depending on the judge's mood. The defendant's eyes kept coming back to the attractive young Captain. Terry in turn fixed his gaze at every opportunity; it was a look that said contempt. The direct was short and coming to a close.

David wrote one word on the note pad he and Terry were sharing: recess? No, she replied under his written word.

If the prosecution asked for a brief recess to readjust to any surprises in the direct examination, they would almost certainly be granted it. The civilian defense attorney knew his client well enough to know he needed a recess in order to get him back in character. He requested one. David objected.

"You honor, this has been a long trial and we've been in session less than thirty minutes. This witness has certainly had adequate coaching---pardon me---the defendant and his council have had more than sufficient time to prepare for cross examination."

"I agree; objection sustained. Proceed, Major."

The full impact of Terry's persona hit everyone in the room when she rose, requested permission to approach the witness and moved toward the witness stand. For the first time, the judge reacted almost imperceptibly. David held his breath; he was sure the Colonel who had slipped into the back of the room was doing the same. The judge's eyes dropped as he appeared to be scanning a document in front of him.

Terry's cross went on for almost three hours. Without the attire and look, it would still have been masterful. The defense objected each time she attempted to expand her cross based on the direct. She won damn near every one of them. At one point, the judge admonished the defense attorney for his excessive and often frivolous objections.

On more than one occasion, she demonstrated an almost verbatim, total recall of the defense's direct examination. The defense would object; Terry would plead her case. The judge would have the recorder read back the direct. At times, it was as if the defense attorney didn't remember what he had asked, with his notes sitting in front of him, as clearly as Terry did.

Terry alternately moved away from the witness, often turning to present her exquisite rump or bending over the prosecution's table. He was known to have had an anal fixation; all of his rapes involved anal sodomy. She would quickly turn and move in as close as court protocol would allow. At those points when she graphically read back the record of his alleged sexual assaults, her face screamed contempt and lack of respect or regard.

He was sweating and fidgeting. He was slipping in and out of character. His responses were at time disrespectful and, in spite of his efforts to recover, the court couldn't miss his lapses. In the last few minutes, Terry had one more tiny crevice in the defense's direct she was determined to slip through. It involved exploring the defendant's allegedly normal sexual relations with a trashy young woman whom the defense had called to support his claims.

While David had certainly damaged her veracity earlier in his cross, it was worth a shot. The defense attorney had not erred; his client had answered one single question with more information than his mouth piece would have liked. He'd thought she had missed it since she hadn't gone there yet. He was dead wrong. The second Terry broached the subject, he jumped to his feet to object.

"Your honor, my esteemed colleague is certainly correct---he did not go there in his direct---but his client did so in one of his answers. Request a read back of the record if it pleases the court?"

Of course, once again she was dead on. The judge mulled it over. He asked Terry to restate why she felt that she had a right to question the witness involving his supposed normal sexual relationship with the young woman who had previously testified. She did so brilliantly; she cited cases to support her position. The judge relented. The defense attorney slumped back in his chair.

Quoting from the record of his own testimony and his supposed girl friend's, Terry began to probe, reading back the somewhat graphic previous testimony and in essence demanding to know exactly what the little pervert considered "normal sexual relations." David knew she was very close to the edge of propriety but sensed that the defendant was close to losing it.

"Consensual rough sex" was a key premise in the defense's case. As such Terry thought the court had a right to know what specific activities the defendant personally believed constituted consensual rough sex. The judge was very attentive, leaning toward the actions, ready to stop her if she got over the line.

The point came when David was convinced that Terry had unraveled him enough; his true colors were shining through; the court was back on their side. Terry was one step ahead of him and preparing to close it out.

"Did you and your alleged girl friend ever have rough anal sex? I would remind the witness that she can be recalled and asked that question."

"No...yes...no."

"Which is it?"

"No."

"Why not? You just testified that rough anal sex fits your definition of normal sexual activities. You testified on direct examination that you never raped any of those women...that it was consensual."

"No, she and I never did it that way."

"Why not?

"I don't know."

"Was it because she refused to allow you to sodomize her?"

"I don't remember."

"Have you ever had anal sex with another man? Withdrawn...I'm done with this witness, your honor."

"I'm no faggot, you ball busting cunt...you could use a stiff one in the ass."

Before the judge could speak or the defense could rise to object, Terry spun around and put her face inches in front of the witness.

"Which could only happen if you drugged me, beat me senseless and then tied me spread eagle and face down over a fence---just the way you did to all seven of the women you brutalized! Withdrawn."

That did it; the little jerk came over the front of the witness stand prepared to beat and probably sodomize Terry. She spun back quickly against the podium which housed the judge's bench. Fortunately a burly MP had already started to move and had the much smaller man face down and in restraints before anyone knew what happened. He was dragged from the courtroom still screaming, "ball busting bitch, fucking cunt" and other words and phrases that were unintelligible.

The defense finally got in their objection; they demanded a mistrial. The judge's response in essence said, 'don't hold your breath.' The judge had intended to recess for lunch and allow closing arguments that afternoon. The defense pleaded for a recess until the following morning and the prosecution did not object.

After the judge and the court had filed out, David turned to Terry.

"So, counselor, how do you feel about doing the closing arguments?"

"I'll be ready."

"I have no doubt."

The defense now wanted to talk deal. David again turned to Terry. "Let me ask my co-council on the case. Captain Lester, are we interested in a plea bargain?"

"Not from where I stand, sir."

"I'd say we're in agreement."

The Colonel had waited and joined his two trial attorneys as they prepared to leave the court room.

"Sir, if you don't mind, I need to drive back over to the BOQ and change."

"Don't change on my account, Captain." He smiled. "Take as much time as you need. Hell of a job, Captain Lester...hell of a job."

The Colonel and David fell into step together as they made the short walk back to the office.

"So, Major, I'm assuming your recommendation to release Captain Lester for first chair litigation duties will be on my desk...today?"

"Oh, yeah...yes, sir."

"I don't think I'd want to get on her bad side. Jesus...In almost twenty years in military courts, I've never witnessed anything quite like that. You told me she was tough."

"Colonel, I'd like to tell you who she is but it stays between the two of us." David gave his boss an overview of where Terry had begun her life journey but did not include the night he had spent with her and her sister two weeks prior to graduating from high school.

"I guessed there was a sad story there; you don't get that kind of grit in college and law school. I could see the look on Phil's face. You and Terry are liable to be in a contest for most feared prosecutors...and I might have to lay down a few bucks on her."

"Same here, sir."

"On that note, I'm about to add to your already crushing workload. I've been tasked to take a very long airplane ride and oversee another war crimes investigation. It could be two weeks---it could be two months...or more. You are in charge in my absence. I've already spoken to the senior judge and he not only agreed but said you should feel free to call on him if any of those colonels out there try to screw with you. Terry's going to have to pick up some of your load. I'm trying to get a loaner in from another installation---but don't count on it."

"When are you leaving, sir?"

"First of the week."

Terry's closing arguments were every bit as masterful as her cross had been. She didn't ramble or get verbose. The officers assigned to hear the case and serve as jury were in deliberation for a little over an hour. They found the defendant guilty and ultimately recommended the most severe penalty short of a firing squad.

Time flew in the Colonel's absence. David had another learning curve to surmount as he had to manage and administer the busy office. Terry proved invaluable; she had actually been in charge of something before in her prior life as a paralegal. By the end of the first month, David felt as if his head was finally above water. He learned more about leadership and management from Terry in a month than he had ever learned before.

After a couple of head butting sessions from a couple of commanders who thought they didn't want the attractive young Captain prosecuting their cases, things fell into a normal if hectic routine.

The Colonel's absence stretched into four months. Terry was essentially the lead prosecutor and quickly racked up a record of wins as impressive as David's in percentages if not yet in numbers. With barely six weeks left on active duty, David was relieved the Monday morning when the Colonel strolled in as if he'd just taken a long weekend.

David and Terry had been almost connected at the hip for over four months but it had been all about work. They often shared a beer or a bite but even then work occupied their conversations. It was as if they had never shared significant intimacy that night over eight years earlier. From Terry's perspective, she was pleased that David had never allowed their sordid past to enter into their current relationship. She liked, admired and respected him but neither had either the time or the inclination to explore anything other than legal issues.

David liked, admired and respected Terry. He felt a genuine fondness, even affection for her. Without question, he found her attractive. They were an amazing team together. Often it was as if they read each other's minds. David had neither the time nor the inclination to mess up a perfect working relationship by doing anything inappropriate with a trusted and invaluable subordinate...but every so often his mind would flash back to that night he had lost his virginity---with her.

David had a number of attractive offers in the civilian world. He liked---loved---being a prosecutor even though the big money was in defense. He accepted a position in a federal prosecutor's office which was short on competent litigators. His new office would be barely thirty minutes away from his current one.

He sat in the Colonel's office for the last time on his final day in uniform.

"David, I couldn't be happier to find out you're still going to be around the local area; I thought you hated this part of the country?"

"After three years, it's grown on me. I elected to stay in the reserves so we might just bump into each other officially."

"You're going to miss military justice---admit it!"

"Sadly I fear you are correct."

"As you well know, per your recommendation Terry is taking over as chief of the prosecution team; the only officer technically senior to her didn't even object. I'm still trying to get her promoted. Hell, it's not like the line officer environment! We're well under allocation world wide in JAG 04s and the job calls for an 04. At the very least I'd like to be able to frock her so she could at least wear a pair of oak leaves if not get paid for wearing them."

"So in a little under an hour, I will no longer be her boss?"

"Hell, you haven't been her boss since I signed the order just after lunch...why?"

"I'm planning on ask her out---on a date."

"Why didn't you do that a long time ago?"

"It wouldn't have been appropriate, never had time and I didn't want to inject anything into a perfect working relationship that might have screwed up that perfect relationship."

"Well, Major, what the hell are you doing still sitting in my office?"

It was Friday; the day before, David had removed his personal items from the office he had shared with Terry for six months. A new prosecutor would be arriving within the week and would quite probably be assigned to his old desk. Terry was just dispensing with the last of her in box and getting ready to leave on time for the first time in longer than she could remember when David plopped down in the chair next to her desk.

"The old man informs me that as of several hours ago I am no longer your boss---and at 1630, it will be a moot point anyway."

"Imagine that!" Terry said with a grin.

"So, in view of that fact...I'd like to ask you out...on a date...dinner...a real date."

Terry sat down and covered her mouth with her hand. She knew they were good friends; she knew they worked extremely well together. David had not flirted with her or made a pass since the first day she had walked in his office. She had just assumed that, along with the hectic schedule, he just wasn't really interested in her...she wasn't his type...their brief but somewhat unusual history together over eight years ago made her...she wasn't sure what it made her.

She'd worked closely with men before; at some point someone flirted, made a pass, propinquity took its toll and something sometimes happened. It had happened to her when she had been enlisted and she had succumbed once. It had gotten messy and she had ended it quickly and never let it happen again. She was, in retrospect, very glad that David had kept things professional.

On the other hand she had always been fond of him; she might have been wild at nineteen but David probably never believed that he had been the first and only boy to be inside her like that. In truth, she had had romantic thoughts about him; those thoughts had faded over the previous few months as she had come to the conclusion that he wasn't interested in her that way...or romantically. Was he interested? Interested in what? Was this just a platonic "date" between two good friends before he said goodbye? David had not really discussed his future career plans in any detail. She was confused; she didn't like to be confused.

"David? Sure...I'd like that...when are you leaving?"

"Leaving? Oh, shit! We haven't had a chance to talk about anything but cases. I'm not leaving—not leaving the area. I took a job with the federal prosecutor...thirty minutes from here."

"I recall that you said something about it but I thought you didn't like this part of the world."

"It's grown on me; I've made a few friends here...you're here."

"I'm here?"

"Yeah...you! I have never enjoyed working with anyone the way I've enjoyed working with you over the last six months. I like you...a lot. I admire and respect you as an officer, a lawyer and a person more than anyone I've ever known. We've never had a chance to get to know each other on a personal level. I want us to do that...I want us to be something more than good friends unless you..."

As tough, gritty and strong as Terry was, her eyes filled with tears. David didn't have a clue what that meant. He was about to find out.

"What time is it, David?" Terry said, standing up.

"It is...1633," he said, also standing up.

"Kiss me, civilian," she said, melting into his arms.

She broke the kiss reluctantly, whispering in his ear. "I had no idea you had feelings for me...I guess I assumed you would never be able to see me as anything but...trash...poor white trash. You might respect the job I did but could never really respect me as a person...as a woman."

"Oh, baby, you couldn't be more wrong."

"I was wild, rebellious...desperate for affection...love...terribly slutty...that's not who I am now."

"Oh, darn!"

She slapped him playfully. "Gayle and I did some pretty wild things but we really were virgins. When I let you do...what we did the last time...I'd never done that before...or since."

"Not that it matters---please know that---but why me?"

"You were cute and you lived on the right side of the tracks. When we were in that play together, you never treated me like trash. I had a crush on you, 'Mr. Blandings'! And even after the play was over---when the other kids in the play acted like they didn't know me, you always smiled...always spoke. Finally, you might have been a virgin but you were the best kisser I'd ever kissed; your hands were strong but gentle...as crazy as it sounds, I felt safe with you in spite of all the craziness."

"Lucky me!"

"I'd say so! It was the hottest, wildest thing you'd ever done. Looking back, it was absolutely the wildest thing we---I---had ever done. What blew me away is we didn't hear it played back to us over the next two weeks. You never told anyone---did you? Lucky me."