As he got closer to the man sitting on the beach, Harm recognized the profile. He took a firmer grip on his weapon, uncertain what his reception would be once the other man knew he was there. Once he was close enough to be heard over the surf, Harm spoke.
"Hello, Webb."
Immediately Webb's right hand came up with a gun then dropped again when he saw who it was. "Rabb? What are you doing here?" he asked, scrambling to his feet, looking behind Harm. "If you're here - Is Sarah okay?"
"You mean other than being a basket case after you were declared dead?" Harm questioned pointedly.
"Harm, I didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice, Webb. Did you even think about how -" Harm stopped. This wasn't his fight, as much as he wished it was. This was something that Mac had to decide. "Never mind." He turned to look out over the water.
"How did you find me?"
"Your assistant called Mac just before she was killed. Said you were in Mandalay."
"Mandalay?" Webb questioned.
"That's what Mac heard anyway. It was Jen Coates who helped me make the connection. Quoted the first lines from 'Rebecca'. I remembered you once mentioned something about a place out here. So I had Coates do some research into properties and found this place." He looked up at the house above them. "Manderly."
"Where are Sarah and Tanveer?" Webb asked, following his gaze.
"Up there, searching the house. Looking for you."
"Damn!" Webb said, checking his weapon. "Come on, Rabb," he called, heading toward the house.
"What's wrong?"
"Simon Tanveer is the man who's trying to kill me," Webb said.
"What?!" Harm questioned, grabbing Webb's arm to stop him. "You knew that Tanveer is the Hawk? And you left Mac with him?"
"I didn't know until Laurie June was killed," Webb said. "But I also knew that until she found me, Sarah would be safe with Tanveer. He needed her alive more than he needed her dead."
"You're the one who took the shot at them," Harm realized, a red haze clouding his vision.
"I was trying to shoot Tanveer. But something alerted him."
"The glint of sunlight on a scope," Harm said. He felt his fingers curl into a fist. "You son of a - You could have killed Mac!" he said, keeping his voice down so not to alert Tanveer.
"Don't you think I know that?" Webb asked, and seeing the self-reproach on the other man's face, Harm's hand relaxed.
"If anything happens to her, Webb - if you hurt her or cause her to get hurt again, so help me God, I'll hunt you down and *I'll* take you out. And that's a promise."
"Believe me, Harm," Clay said. "Hurting Sarah is the last thing I want to happen right now. I have too many things to make up for."
*Damn right you have,* Harm thought. He checked his own weapon. "You go in the back door and distract him. I'll slip around front, come in behind."
"Don't hesitate, Rabb," Webb said before they parted. "Take him out if you get a shot."
"Not if Mac's in the way."
"And me?"
Harm grinned. "I'll make that decision when and if the time comes. Good luck," he said, moving away from Webb around to the front of the building to slip inside . . .
The End