Chapter 2

Three years later...

The sun was slowly rising on yet another day in LA, but the solitary figure paid no attention as he stared out the window, sleep having eluded him for yet another night. Jack finally turned away from the window with a loud sigh and sat down on the floor, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them.

A faint growl reached his ears, a reminder that he hadn't eaten in some time, but Jack made no move to satisfy his hunger. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn picture of the woman he loved, staring at it for long minutes. I miss you, Chloe. I miss you so much.

His fingers dropped down to the weapon he carried, the temptation to end his pain growing. Jack pulled the weapon out, placing it against his temple, steeling himself for the fatal shot. He stopped as he heard Chloe's voice coming back to him.

"Jack, what are you doing?"

"I'm done. I can't do this anymore, Chloe."

"That's not true. Besides, you still have Kim. You still have me."

"Kim wants nothing to do with me."

"Jack... don't. Please."

"Chloe, I almost lost you today."

"But you didn't. Look, Jack, promise me one thing- if anything ever happens to me or Kim, you'll keep on living. Promise me."

Jack lowered his weapon hastily. I made a promise to Chloe. She'd never forgive me if I broke that promise. He stuck the weapon back in its holster and turned his attention back to the picture he held. I'm sorry, Chloe. I couldn't save you. It's my fault you're gone. But I'm not going to break the promise I made.

Jack jumped as he heard a soft knock on the door, and Tony walked in. "Hey, Jack."

Jack didn't respond, but Tony wasn't expecting him to. He hasn't said a word since Chloe's funeral.

Tony sat down next to Jack, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Jack, I know you're in there somewhere. And I'm not giving up until you come back. Just talk to me."

Jack gave no indication that he had heard what Tony had told him, his focus completely on the picture of Chloe he held onto.

"Jack, I know it's hard. I know how you feel. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss Michelle. But Chloe wouldn't want you to live like this. You still have a life. Do you want to waste that life?"

Jack jerked away from Tony and got up, walking into his bedroom and slamming the door behind him. Tony stood up, shaking his head, then walked out, pulling out his phone. "Bill, it's Tony. I'm at Jack's."

"How is he, Tony?"

"He's getting worse, Bill. I've never seen him like this, not even when his wife was killed. He's lost his way, his... will to live. I don't think anything can help him now."

Bill sighed. "I know." He pulled a paper out of the file he had just been given, his eyes narrowing as he read it. "Look, Tony, can you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Stay with Jack for a while."

Tony was confused. "Why? What are you doing, Bill?"

"Just trust me. Tony, you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Tony scowled. "Fine. But I don't know what good it's gonna do." He hung up before Bill could reply and walked back into Jack's house, sitting outside the bedroom. "Jack... if you want to talk, I'm right outside." Tony sat back to wait, and soon found himself falling asleep.

2424242424

A loud bang woke Tony up from his slumber, and he looked up to see agents dressed in black running towards him. "What the hell's going on here?"

The lead agent pointed his weapon at Tony. "Agent Almeida, where's Agent Bauer?"

What is this? "Who are you guys?"

"Bill Buchanan sent us. You and Agent Bauer are to come with us immediately."

Tony glared at him. "I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me right now what's going on."

"That wasn't a request" the agent replied, signaling to his men, who overwhelmed Tony and cuffed him. "Now where is Agent Bauer?"

"...He's in the bedroom" Tony said, motioning to the room. Three agents busted in, returning a minute later with Jack, who wasn't even struggling. "Let's go."

"Are you taking us back to CTU?"

"No, we're not."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Mr. Buchanan will explain what's going on when we arrive. Now let's go."

2424242424

Jack blinked as the blindfold was pulled away, and he found himself being uncuffed. He caught Tony out of the corner of his eye, giving him a questioning look, then turned as the door to the room they were in opened. Bill walked in, dismissing the guards.

"What the hell are you doing, Bill?" Tony snapped at him once the guards save one had left. "Why have you arrested us?"

"I'm sorry about all the secrecy" Bill replied, "but it was absolutely necessary. I'll tell you everything you need to know in a few minutes."

"No, Bill. Tell us now. Where are we?"

"...This is Outpost Charlie, the main substation for Prime Directive."

Tony was confused. "I've never heard of Prime Directive."

Bill shook his head. "No, you wouldn't have. Only a few individuals outside of this organization have even heard of it. Not even the president knows of our existence."

"Okay, so what are we doing here?"

"Tony, Jack... Chloe's still alive."

Tony sank back into his chair. Chloe's alive? He glanced over at Jack, who had gone pale, but gave no other indication he had heard what Bill had told them. "That's impossible, Bill" he finally choked out. "You know she died 3 years ago. Nina killed her. You even ID'd her body."

"No, Tony. Her death was staged by agents working for this organization. The body I identified as hers was someone else. Chloe's been here the last 3 years, working for me."

"...I don't understand, Bill. Why? Why would you need to stage her death?"

Bill was about to reply, but an soft whisper cut him off. Jack was trying to speak, his voice hoarse from 3 years of disuse. Bill handed him a bottle of water, and Jack took a few drinks before finally speaking. "Chloe... where is she?" he whispered.

"She's in the room next door."

"I want to see her. Now."

"Of course. Follow me." Bill turned to Tony. "We've prepared rooms for the two of you. One of the guards will show you to your quarters." Tony followed the single guard out of the room. Once he was gone, Bill motioned for Jack to follow him, punching his code into the other door and opening it. Jack stepped through after Bill, following him down the narrow corridor, and stopped in front of another door. Bill opened it, then stepped aside. "She's in there, Jack."

Jack took a deep breath, then stepped inside, his heart beating furiously as he heard a familiar voice reach his ears.

"No, Steve, don't do it."

"Because I told you not to, that's why."

"Look, Steve, I am second in command of this substation, and only Bill can override my orders. Now I am ordering you to stop what you're doing."

"Fine. Take it up with Bill. He'll tell you the exact same thing I'm telling you." She clicked off her comm unit in disgust. "Jackass."

"Chloe." Chloe stiffened as she heard Jack call out to her. She slowly got up from her computer and walked towards him, stepping into the single light in the otherwise darkened room. Jack gasped as her took her in for the first time in 3 years. She's... really alive. He took a tentative step forward, before Chloe flung himself into his arms, her body shaking.

"Chloe..."

"Jack, I'm so sorry" she whispered. "I never meant to hurt you like this."

"Chloe, I..." Jack was unable to respond further before his emotions overwhelmed him, and he passed out in Chloe's arms.

2424242424

Jack jerked out of his slumber, taking a look around. He was back in the conference room. Bill and Tony were standing over him, looking concerned, and Chloe was on the other side of the room, biting her nail. Jack slowly sat up, rubbing his head.

"Take it easy, Jack" Bill said softly. "You passed out."

Jack groaned, then shot a glare at Bill. "What is going on here, Bill?" he growled.

"I said I would tell you two everything. Now's the time." He gestured to the long table. "Sit down."

Jack and Tony both sat down, and Chloe moved over to the other side, joining Bill. He stared at the two men across from him, then spoke. "Jack, Tony, the reason why you two were brought in is because we're in the middle of an operation, and we want you two to help finish the job."

"What operation?" Tony asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Capturing this man" Chloe replied, bringing up a head shot on the monitor.

"Who is he?"

"His name is Jonathan Liddy" Bill explained. "He's the head of an organization known as Steel Rose. Their goal is to control this country by whatever means they deem necessary. For the last 15 years, Prime Directive has been working to dismantle Steel Rose, and bring Liddy to justice."

"Justice for what?"

"Treason against this country. Liddy and Steel Rose have been involved in one way or another with almost every major terrorist attack against this country over the last 20 years."

Jack merely stared at Liddy's profile. "What do you want us to do?" he snapped, his tone indicating he had no interest in helping out.

"Help us finish this operation." Bill walked over to Jack, staring down at him. "Jack... no matter what you decide to do, no one's going to hold it against you. You can turn us down, and go on with your life with no problems. But we would like your help with this."

Jack stood up. "...I'll think about it. But before I make my decision, I need to talk to Chloe alone. Give us some space, please."

"Fine." Bill led Tony out of the room, leaving Jack alone with Chloe. She squirmed under his angry stare. "Jack, I know you're probably really angry at me, but-"

Jack raised his hand, cutting her off. "How long have you been playing me, Chloe?"

"Playing you?" Chloe was confused. "Jack, I haven't been playing you."

"Dammit, Chloe, you led me to believe you were dead! I spent the last 3 years grieving for you!"

"I know" she said quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me you were alive?"

"I wanted to, Jack, but I couldn't. If you found out I was alive, so would they. This operation would have been jeopardized. I would have been killed for sure."

Jack was growing madder. "I don't care about this operation, Chloe! You lied to me!"

Chloe got up in his face. "Yes, I lied to you, Jack! I had to! I knew what I was getting into when Prime Directive recruited me for this operation! Do you think I wanted to lie to you? No! But my work here was too important!" She stepped back, breathing heavily. "I thought you of all people would understand that."

"This is different!"

"How?! How is me pretending to be dead any different than you pretending to be dead?! It's not, and you know it! Now what do you want from me?!"

Jack stepped back, still glaring. He let out a shaky breath. "I want the truth, Chloe. Everything."

Chloe nodded. "Fine." She sat down. "What do you want to know?"

"How long have you been working for this place? Just the last 3 years?"

"No. I've been working for Prime Directive ever since the day you came back to Los Angeles from DC. A couple hours after I resigned that day, I was contacted by a man named Hoyle. He had heard about what I had done- you know, helping you illegally, and all that- and he wanted me to come work for Prime Directive. I didn't really have any other options on the table at that time, Jack, so I said yes. Then Michelle called me back into CTU, supposedly just for the day. When Bill asked me to stay at the end of the day, he didn't tell me he too was working for Prime Directive. I didn't find out for almost a year."

"The day I went to Chicago to warn you that someone might have known you were still alive, I... I thought I had all my bases covered. But apparently I didn't."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked.

"I mean that Steel Rose has had their eye on you for years, Jack. You've killed more Steel Rose operatives over the years than anyone we've got here, and you've managed to ruin their plans on more than one occasion. They never believed you were dead, and they knew that I most likely knew where you were hiding. They followed me to Chicago. That's how they knew for sure you were alive."

"A few days after I got back to LA, Bill contacted me. He told me then that he was also working for Prime Directive, and that Steel Rose had found out I was as well. They knew that if they could take me out, it could potentially cripple our operation. But I couldn't go underground yet. You still needed to be able to contact me in case someone else found out you were still alive."

Chloe paused, taking a drink of water. She cleared her throat and continued. "The day I called you out of hiding, that whole mess with Logan- all of it was a Steel Rose operation. Bierko and his men were just pawns for Steel Rose's plans. They never intended for that nerve gas to get out of the country. It was always going to be used against America- and Prime Directive in particular. They used Bierko to get into CTU, knowing he would try to kill everyone in the building, including Bill and me. Getting rid of two top Prime Directive operatives would have been a major victory for them. Obviously, it failed, thanks to Lynn."

Jack leaned back in his chair, mulling over what Chloe had told him. "So... if they knew you survived, why didn't they try and take you out?"

"After we brought down Logan, Bill and I knew we would have to be more careful in the future. Steel Rose had lost their best opportunity to take us out, and we did our best to make sure they wouldn't get another one." She pulled a small device out of her pocket. "All Steel Rose operatives have trackers planted on them at all times. This device can detect those trackers. Anyone wearing a tracking device comes within 1000 feet of us" she pressed a button, causing the device to sound loudly "And it goes off. Bill's idea."

"It worked for a couple years. They couldn't get close enough to us to even attempt killing us. We were able to do our jobs without worrying about being killed. We had enough to worry about at the time. Between our CTU duties, the hunt for Liddy, and... trying to get you out of China, it was... exhausting, to say the least. I didn't know how much longer I would be able to do it, Jack. But fortunately you got out of China. That was one of the best days of my life, rescuing you from that prison. And... getting you out also exposed some of Liddy's inner circle. We were so close to getting him. But..."

"What happened?"

Chloe sighed. "We know that Steel Rose has their people in every corner of the government. A couple months before I went underground, we found out that CTU was going to be disbanded by the government. The head of the NSA, Eric Rayburn, he's one of them. He was the one that ordered CTU shut down. We also learned that once CTU was gone, Steel Rose operatives would try to take us out. And they had learned about those" she motioned to the device, "so they would be useless. Bill and I would be totally exposed. That's when we decided that the best way for me to continue my work was to stage my death. And it worked. Steel Rose thinks I'm dead."

Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't understand. Why would they go to all that trouble just to kill you and Bill?"

Chloe rubbed her hands nervously. "Because Bill is the second in command of Prime Directive, and I'm right below him. And even if we weren't, my knowledge of computers is enough to make me a target."

"Chloe..." Jack frowned as he thought of something Chloe had not mentioned. "How did you get away from Nina?"

"What?"

"Nina. She had you hostage. How did you get away from her? Did you kill her?"

Chloe shook her head. "I didn't need to get away from her."

"What do you mean?"

"Jack... Nina's alive. She's working for us."