Ultimate Betrayal
Disclaimer: I don't own 24. If I did… imagine the possibilities!
Summary: Just want to say that I was "inspired", if you like, to write this after watching an MLR interview where she is asked if Jack would ever betray Chloe.
Oh and also this is my first fan fic so be nice :D
All eyes were on Jack.
Around him, CTU was silent, not even the phones were ringing and someone had turned the sound down on the newscreen. Agents were motionless at their stations, awaiting his next move. He could see Bill Buchanan out of the corner of his eye, but there was little the Director could do for him.
He couldn't believe, didn't want to believe, that it had come to this.
CTU's policy had always been to not negotiate with terrorists. It was the first thing they drilled into you during training and if anyone knew it, it was Jack Bauer. He had been involved in some heavy missions over the years, had even defected to the other side but he always came back, he always remained loyal to his country. Division and District didn't have time for him, and he'd lost count of the number of Directors who'd questioned his actions. Buchanan was different. He was one of the few people left that Jack could trust, and yet there they all were, and Bill was powerless to help him.
A slight whimper broke the silence and Jack winced, his fists clenched.
"So, have you come to a decision?"
They had been tracking Asherton for weeks, following him all over LA and indeed California in their attempts to catch him. Several men had been lost, good men. Asherton always remained one step in front of them, in front of Jack, which was the thing that grated the most.
"We've got you surrounded." Bill's voice broke the silence. "You're in a secure government building, where do you think you can go?"
"Secure? I got in, didn't I?" Asherton's laugh reverberated off the stone walls and echoed throughout the main floor.
And the truth was, he HAD gotten in. He'd made it look so easy, only because CTU had practically handed it to him on a plate. Hell, they may as well have held the doors open for him.
Jack knew he was letting this affect him perhaps more than it should normally have. Security had been on a shift changeover, and Asherton had been monitoring the building so he knew when this was going to happen. He had fobbed security off with a story about the air con needing fixing, and of course when this had been checked out and found that no such thing had been reported, Asherton had turned the security station into a bloodbath. Satellite had been disabled; Chloe had worked frantically in order to find out why the main corridor had gone dark, but they didn't have to wait long to find out.
A few shots in the air had caught everyone's attention. Jack and Bill had come running out of the situation room, Jack with his gun ready. Other field agents were already stood, poised, waiting for Asherton's next move.
Jack's eyes flicked between the two hostages, one either side of Asherton. Neither of them was armed; one wasn't even weapons trained, and they couldn't have moved even if they'd wanted to. Asherton held two guns, one pointed at each of them. There was no doubt in Jack's mind that he would use them.
"Bauer, it's simple really. All I want is the intel."
"You know it's not going to happen." Jack was stalling for time; no, he was panicking and he knew Asherton could tell. In his pocket he had a microchip he and Curtis had found when they had raided Asherton's apartment. On it, from what Chloe could tell, was information linking their man to known terrorists throughout the globe, people intent on bringing the USA to its knees.
And now Asherton wanted it back.
Another whimper broke through Jack's silence. He could feel himself faltering, unsure. This wasn't like him.
But this was personal.
Asherton had stated his terms plainly.
"Give me the chip, and I'll let her go," he'd said, pointing the gun at the nearest hostage. "Don't…" He turned and aimed at the other, somewhat calmer victim, "and she dies."
It was a lose-lose situation.
Jack looked at the woman who was crying. She was shaking visibly, and Jack could see the gun pressed to her temple. By stark contrast, the other woman was quiet, a determined look on her face in place of her usual scowl.
And there was his choice. Timid and terrified Audrey, or beautiful and brave Chloe.
He didn't know how it had taken him so long to realise how he truly felt about Chloe. After all, she had always been there for him, helped him without questions, lied for him at the risk of losing her job, and now her life. One day he had found himself looking at her differently, noticing little things she did. Like her perpetual scowl, which she reserved for everyone but him. Or the way she wound a strand of hair around her finger while figuring out something on the computer screen. Once she had caught him staring, and glared at him, which had just made him stare even more.
His and Audrey's relationship, if you could call it that now, had been failing for a long time. His spell in China had not only changed him; it seemed she, afraid she had lost him for good this time, had moved on, tried to push him to the back of her mind. Their reunion had been an emotional one, and he remembered how Chloe had looked at him with a sad look on her face, a look he saw all too often now. She and Audrey had only gotten on in the past because it was absolutely necessary; both understood the implications of what not co-operating could mean for national security.
Jack looked at Chloe now, and her eyes met his. She was afraid, only he could tell that. He knew her better than anyone else in the room she knew him the same way. That both scared and exhilarated him, the thought that he had let someone so close. He saw her breathing quicken, her eyes blinking furiously. Typical Chloe; never let her emotions show to anyone, not even when she had a gun pointed at her.
"Jack, just do something!" Audrey cried, and he turned to her, to see her face streaked with tears. "Please…"
To his right, he saw Buchanan shake his head in despair. Curtis wasn't far away; he and his tac team had Asherton completely surrounded. They were just waiting for the go, waiting for Jack.
He looked into her eyes. She was telling him that it was okay, he was doing the right thing and she understood. It had always been like that between them- the unspoken saying more than words ever could.
He turned to Asherton, his decision made.
"No. You're not having this chip, you son of a bitch."
Jack heard Buchanan let out a breath he must have been holding for some time but he didn't turn around. Bill trusted Jack to make the right choice, and Jack knew he would back him up.
"I had a feeling it would be like this," Asherton smiled finally, lowering his weapons. He seemed defeated, making no effort whatsoever to take out Curtis's men now that Jack had made his choice.
He pushed Audrey away from him and she stumbled towards Jack. Someone had stepped forward and caught her before she fell but Jack didn't see who. He never took his eyes off of Chloe, who was still looking at him, her eyes still dry. His weren't. He felt tears slide down his face, and he wiped them away quickly lest she saw them. But she did, and she smiled, that sad smile she had given him when she had seen him and Audrey reunited.
Buchanan made one last attempt to salvage the situation but Jack knew what he had done- they all did.
"Give it up, it's over! You're not getting out of here alive."
"Perhaps not. But at least I won't be going alone." His eyes burned into Jack's, full of meaning. "No-one should have to die alone."
Jack heard someone shouting as two shots rang out. To his horror he realised the anguished sound had come from him, and he watched, open mouthed as both Asherton and Chloe slumped to the floor.
Field agents moved in, surrounded them. Something inside Jack snapped and he ran forward, blindly pushing people out of the way, tears pouring down his face.
"He's dead," someone shouted, but Jack ignored them, had to get to Chloe.
He knew he was too late as soon as he reached her. Still alive, but barely hanging on, she was taking short, shallow breaths and her eyes were flickering shut.
"No, stay with me, don't leave me Chloe, please," Jack sobbed, gathering her gently in his arms, not caring that her blood was fast soaking his clothes.
"It's alright, Jack," she murmured, her voice fading.
"No! It's not alright! Oh God…" He buried his face in her hair and began rocking back and forth. "I'm so so sorry."
"You did the right thing, we both know it." He could barely hear her now over the noise of the surrounding agents. "Let me go, Jack. It's okay, I promise. You trust me, don't you?"
"Oh, God, yes I do," he choked, only now, too late, realising how much.
"Then go, go to Audrey." Her eyes closed and a small smile played on her lips. "I love you, Jack."
As she took her final breath Jack whispered, "I love you too, Chloe."
He hoped she'd heard him.