06:39am
Bill drew the blinds plunging the director's office into darkness and sat at the desk with his head in his hands. "Just one minute is all I need, just one minute to myself," he thought. He sighed deeply and mopped his brow, he still couldn't quite get his head around the previous phone call from Chloe. The phone buzzed and Bill glared at it momentarily and pressed the intercom, "Buchanon." "Mr Buchanon, Audrey Raines and Jack Bauer have just arrived." "Thank you, I'll be right down, have them meet me in the conference room." "Okay, Sir." Bill clicked the phone off and exited the door taking the stairs two at a time.
Audrey sat quietly at the table watching Jack pace around the conference room, his manner was less than calm, but he still seemed in control like the Jack she knew. "Jack, please sit down you're making me nervous," she said with a slight smile. Jack turned round and gave her a sheepish look, "Sorry," he replied pulling a chair up to the table. "Bill will be here in a minute," she said squeezing his hand gently. "I know," he replied, "I'm just worried about Chloe."
"Jack, Audrey, I appreciate you getting here so quickly," Bill acknowledged shutting the door behind him. Audrey flashed a smile as Jack rose to his feet and shook his hand. "Have you had any more contact from Chloe or Chloe's holders regarding her whereabouts or the current situation?" Jack asked sternly. "No, Jack, we only received the one call and before we could attempt any kind of an exact trace they hung up. The call had been made through a high res filtering system and so far we've only been able to narrow it down to a 50 mile radius. We believe they are holding Chloe near a disused airfield on the outskirts of DC. I've briefed Curtis on the situation and we'd like to reinstate you as head of Field Ops to assemble a Tac team ready for debriefing. Chloe needs our help, Jack, and I trust your judgement more than anybody else. These men are dangerous and I believe are prepared to kill her if she doesn't cooperate fully. We are led to believe that there is at least 20 men all heavily armed. Audrey and I will be running things from in here with the help of Karen Hayes, Head of Homeland Security, she was a great help regarding the Logan mission and I feel we would benefit from her assistance. She's on her way over from Homeland now. I cannot begin to reiterate the seriousness regarding this mission if they are successful in obtaining access to our intel system. I know Chloe will be doing all she can to buy time, but they are fully aware of her skills and know what she is capable of regarding time lines. " Jack nodded, "Curtis and I will assemble a Tac team and will be on standby in ten minutes. And Bill, we will find Chloe, I give you my word."
The intercom beeped, "Buchanon." "Mr Buchanon, Karen Hayes is here to see you." "Thank you, I'll be right there." "Jack, Karen's here, excuse me for a second," Bill nodded at him and left the room.
"Jack, please be careful," Audrey said stroking his face gently. "I couldn't bear for anything to happen to you or Chloe ." Jack held her tightly and kissed her on the lips, "I won't let anything happen, I promise. Curtis and I will be in constant communication with you and Bill." "I know," she sighed, "I just worry that's all." "Hey, look at me," Jack said moving a strand of hair gently off her face. "We're going to get Chloe back, I won't let anything happen to her, you have my word." He leaned in and kissed her deeply, " I have to go now and assemble the team. " They kissed again and he slowly walked backwards holding onto her hand for as long as he could before they had to let go. "Be careful Jack." He nodded at her and exited the room. Audrey sighed watching him walk through the corridor getting futher and further away from her. It had been so nice just to spend the night together and to feel like they were safe again and now here they were back at CTU and she felt like she had let him go for the second time, praying it wouldn't be the last she saw of him.