Authors' Notes: The following chapter contains dialogue from the 8am-9am episode of Season 3, so credit for that goes to the original writers. Of course credit also goes to Reiko Aylesworth, Carlos Bernard and Paul Blackthorne who played the original scene so incredibly well.
CHAPTER 2: "An Agent's Breaking Point".
The LA Counter Terrorist Unit was on the verge of dropping the net on Stephen Saunders. They had managed to track down his location by tracing the signal from his telephone conversation with his daughter Jane. Tony was stood next to Adam Kauffman, helping to run the comms part of the operation.
He heard his cell phone ring, and took it from his pocket.
"Almeida" Tony said robotically, so used to answering the phone that way by now.
"Listen to me very carefully, Agent Almeida" came a voice that Tony didn't recognize.
"Who is this?" Tony asked completely perplexed as to who may be calling him at such a critical juncture. His mind hadn't yet made the association between the British accent speaking to him and the man they were about to take into custody. That was at least until he got his response.
"It's Stephen Saunders. Before you make any tactical errors, I'd like to give you an update on the situation. "
Tony was still unsure of what was going on but nonetheless replied "I'm listening"
He listened carefully as Saunders casually informed him "I need you to move to a private area that has direct comm. with your teams on site here."
Tony was now utterly perplexed "And why would I do that?"
"Open a web socket to IP 257.211.16.5 and you'll find out. That's IP 257.211.16.5. Just trust me. Do it" Saunders took a pause before saying the next words "By the way, Tony, I'd like to offer you congratulations on your wife eluding infection from the virus."
Tony felt his heart begin to quicken, and a knot form in his stomach, something didn't seem right. "How do you know about my wife?"
Saunders smirked slightly before responding in his cold detached manner "Get on that site."
As Tony opened the socket, a video feed faded up onto the screen and he felt his blood run ice-cold. The video showed Michelle being held by masked men, a knife to her throat. Time seemed to slow to a standstill, until finally the terrible silence was broken
"I don't know exactly what they're doing to her Tony, but I did instruct them to leave her barely functional so we can return her to you" Saunders said as casually one might order a take away meal. His level of emotional detachment was a stark contrast, to the mixture of terror and fury that Tony was now feeling.
"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch. I'll rip your damn throat out, you hear me?" Tony hissed, trying to control his breathing as his emotions began to get out of control
Saunders just scoffed unfazed by Tony's outburst "I'm low on time, so I'm sorry if I brush past that remark, because in fifteen seconds Michelle will be dead if you don't do what I say. There are five agents watching the northeast exit of this building. Four on the ground and a sniper on the rooftop next door. I'm assuming they're operating as a single unit. I want you to give them a code 9, send them to the front entrance. Now."
Tony's mind was racing, he wanted to save his wife, but he also wanted to do his duty. He tried to stall for time "Jack Bauer's running the operation; I don't have the authority to do that." Tony said the desperation and fear just beginning to show in his tone.
Saunders wasn't going to be deterred and responded matter of factly. "No authority? Really? Kevin is Michelle still conscious?"
"Yes" Kevin responded
"Take an eye out"
Kevin brought the blade close to Michelle's eye, the tip just teetering in front of it. Michelle let out a gasp of terror, losing control of her fear for a moment. Tony watched in horror, and finally relented to Saunders' demands
"No Wait Stop!!!" he screamed in distress.
"Kevin hold for a second" Saunders said a small smile of victory forming on his face.
Tony took a deep breath and started
"It's going to take me someā¦" Tony was cut off in mid sentence by the sound of gunshots coming over the line. He stopped for a second, completely confused.
Saunders was even more shocked than
Tony. The sound of the gunfire had been so loud it had forced him to
remove his Bluetooth headset momentarily. He put it back on and
screamed into the mouthpiece "Kevin!! Kevin!!!"
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In the back of the NHS van Kevin looked on bewildered at the sight of Theo being thrown back as bullets tore into his body. Kevin had taken the knife from in front of Michelle in the commotion and turned around to search for Max.
As Kevin turned to face him, Max fired another two shots into his chest. Kevin staggered back a little, and tried to draw his gun. Before he could do so, Max fired a final shot that slammed into the centre of Kevin's forehead. Kevin's lifeless body slumped against the corner of the van.
Max walked over and un-cuffed Michelle. He then picked up the Bluetooth headset that Kevin had been wearing and set it on his own head.
"Saunders, your men are dead. You no longer have any leverage over Agent Almeida" Max said as he put an arm around Michelle, who was still slightly in shock and helped her walk towards the van doors. "I'd suggest you hand yourself over."
"Max? Is that you? If you re-consider your actions I can make it worth your while." Saunders replied, trying bribery having failed at blackmail.
"Saunders" Max replied.
"Yes?" Saunders said
"Go screw yourself!!"
Max, removed his ski mask, disconnected the line to Saunders, and opened one to Tony.
"Agent Almeida, your wife is safe. Send your men in to capture Saunders"
Tony had seen everything happen on the video-feed, and whilst being utterly bewildered at what had transpired, had a gut instinct that he could trust this man. Tony called Jack.
"This is Bauer" The gruff voice of the blonde haired head of field ops came over the line.
"Jack, it's Tony. Is Saunders coming out yet?"
"No, he hasn't responded to any of our call outs" Jack said in the same gruff tone.
"Then let's not waste anymore time." Tony suggested
"My thoughts exactly," Jack finished, closing
the line "Gentlemen!! We're a
go!"
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Michelle sat next to Max, still scarcely believing what had happened. Even her highly intelligent, quick thinking mind felt a little overwhelmed by everything. Finally, she managed to speak "Who are you?"
"My name is Max Blake, I'm a Federal Agent" Max began.
Michelle looked at him in complete surprise.
"I'm with the CIA. I've been working undercover for over two years now, infiltrating former Soviet States who are manufacturing biological weapons."
Max checked his watch before adding "Look, I can explain everything once we get you back to CTU. I know that everything must seem utterly confusing and difficult to comprehend, Michelle, and you're probably uncertain about whether I'm telling the truth. But I am hoping that you take me at my word. At least long enough for me to prove my story."
"If you're an agent, why did you let those men go so far" Michelle asked in a slightly accusatory tone.
"I am so sorry I didn't stop them sooner," Max said in genuinely apologetic tone. "I had to maintain my cover; this one threat may be architected by Saunders. However, the group of scientists I had infiltrated have many more clients on the books. The firm still wants me to give them info on that, or rather they did, I'm not sure I can go back now. However, my resolve was tested by everything Saunders has been doing. When his men threatened to gouge your eye out, I just couldn't take it anymore, I reached my breaking point." Max explained as best he could to Michelle.
"Okay, I'll trust you," Michelle said tenuously before adding "For now, as it would seem I have little other choice." Her eyes were still busily reading Max's facial expressions and body language, still trying to determine whether or not he was being truthful.
"That's all I ask" Max replied and added "I promise Michelle; everything will become much clearer when we go through debriefing back at CTU."
By now they had walked
well away from the NHS van. They hailed a Cab and headed towards CTU
Los Angeles.
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Stephen Saunders felt his eyes stinging and his throat burning, as the tear gas that several CTU agents had fired inside, dispersed around the room. He had tried to escape before the CS fumes had overwhelmed him and made him collapse to the floor. The gas was so strong that Saunders coughed and spluttered to the point where he vomited from the near asphyxiation.
At that moment several CTU agents, all wearing gas masks burst into the room. They plasti-cuffed his hands together and roughly dragged him to his feet. Jack Bauer met Saunders as he came out from the building.
"Long time no see, Jack" Saunders said, fixing on Jack an intense look of hatred. "Looks like you got out of Kosovo alright. Even if the rest of us didn't" he finished and for a moment his eyes showed sadness, despair and anguish.
Jack blinked and looked, away before turning his attention to the agents holding Saunders. "Put him in the van."
He got onto his cell and called CTU.
"Almeida" Tony answered.
"It's Jack. Saunders is in custody" Bauer informed him, watching as Saunders was pushed to his knees by the agents who had grabbed him.
Soon Jack and the others were leaving the warehouse, but they weren't going to CTU just yet. Jack had a plan to break Saunders.
