A few days later
12.00pm, Zajecar, Serbia
The Serbian government had been more than happy to assist CTU in finding Nina, and as the government helicopter landed in the middle of the former Drazen estate on the outskirts of the city, Alex looked out at the derelict buildings that were strewn all over the land. He knew that if Nina was here, she would most likely be dead, and it would be a massive task to find her remains. As he, Jack and Sarah climbed out of the helicopter, Jack noticed a man walking towards him. Dark-haired, with deep set brown eyes and a tanned complexion, he was a SIA agent, a federal agent of Serbia.
"Welcome to Zajecar, agents. My name is Misha Mjovic," the man spoke in clear English as he reached the trio.
"I'm Jack Bauer, this is Alex Myers and Sarah Aylesworth," Jack informed Misha as the four walked towards the largest building on the farm, a still fairly impressive but ancient and decaying mansion. As they walked down the dirt path towards the house, Sarah shivered.
"I remember this place, this is where they took me," Sarah spoke. She looked up at the broken windows of the house and tried not to remember.
"We've had our agents and the local police search this estate for any sign of your missing CTU agent, but we've had no luck," Misha spoke as they reached the house. Forcing open the dusty door, Misha walked inside, and the three Americans followed.
"We did find something, though, and I think you should take a look at this," Misha spoke as he walked towards an empty bookcase. Grabbing it, he allowed it to crash to the floor, and on the floor where the bookcase had stood was a trapdoor. As Misha opened it, the door creaked ominously.
As they climbed down the rotting but sturdy ladder to the cellar, Misha turned on a torch and pointed it at the opposite wall. There, a set of chains hung, and it was obvious that someone had been kept prisoner in the room.
"We found this room only by chance. We've tried to find out who was kept down here, but the chains are small enough to fit your agent's wrists according to the description CTU gave us of her," Misha explained.
"Do you know how long the person was probably kept down here?," Alex asked, trying not to picture Nina chained helplessly to the wall, trying hard to survive. Misha looked at him, then at the wall.
"We don't, but this building was first abandoned in early 2002, shortly after Victor Drazen's death, so if it was your agent who was kept in here, she could have been in this room for over a year," Misha replied.
12.45pm, Zajecar, Serbia
As the group walked towards the helicopter, Misha received a phone call. Taking it, he spoke in Serbian for a few moments, before ending the call, then looking at the three Americans with a smile.
"There's a prisoner in the jail at Nis who worked for the Drazens here in Zajecar, a man called Andre Luminovic. He should be able to tell us something," Misha spoke as they reached the helicopter.
"I hope so, Misha," Jack replied. He just wanted to see Nina again, not the one he had seen for years as an enemy and a traitor, but as a friend.
3.10pm, Nis, Serbia
As the helicopter landed close to the prison in Nis and the group got out, a man walked up to the group and began talking in Serbian to Sarah, who was confused.
"What is he saying?," Jack enquired. His Serbian was rusty, and even then it was a slightly different dialect to the one used in this part of the country.
"He's asking when I was released from the mental hospital in Zajecar," Sarah replied, and it didn't take long for the four to come to a quick conclusion.
"Sir, was there a woman who looks exactly like me in the hospital? An American woman, by any chance?," Sarah asked in Serbian, and the man nodded.
"Yes, at least there was when I worked there, but I moved to Nis a couple of years ago," the man replied.
"Looks like we got to go back there then!," Jack announced, and as they climbed back into the helicopter, Sarah thanked the man.
4.30pm, Mental Hospital, Zajecar, Serbia
Now that they had a concrete lead at last, they walked into the hospital, which was poorly lit, and the shadows inside were long.
"Hello miss, I am Agent Mjovic, SIA. These three are American agents looking for a missing American federal agent. We were told that an American woman is being kept here?," Misha asked the blonde woman receptionist in Serbian, and as she nodded her head, he pointed at Sarah.
"Does she look like her?," Misha asked, and the receptionist, Martina according to her name tag, looked at Sarah. After a few minutes she nodded.
"Yes, she's known as Jelena. Room 24a," Martina replied in Serbian, and both Alex and Jack noticed the name. It was the codename that Sarah had used when she had communicated with the Drazens. As Martina gave Misha the directions, Alex looked at Sarah gratefully.
"It's this way," Misha informed them in English, and as they walked down the corridor where they would find Nina's room, all four of them were hoping to find Nina behind the door. The receptionist had given Misha the key to the room, and as he unlocked the door, they could hear cries in Serbian and English coming from inside.
"Please, no more! I just want to go home!," Nina yelled as the door was opened. Her dark hair was much longer than it had been, and her body was extremely skinny. Looking up at Misha, she was unsure what he wanted.
"Ms Myers? My name is Misha Mjovic, I have some people here to see you," Misha spoke in English, which shocked and worried Nina, especially as he used her surname, which she had not heard for years. As Alex and Jack walked in, Nina recognised them instantly, and ran towards them. Embracing her brother tightly, she began to sob.
"It's OK, Nina, it's over," Alex whispered to her. As she looked up, she noticed Sarah and took a step back in surprise.
"She looks like me! What's going on?," Nina spoke, her voice small and frightened. Sarah walked into the room, but didn't go too close to Nina.
"My name is Sarah Aylesworth. The Drazens kidnapped me, made me look like you and then used information about you to allow me to replace you at CTU," Sarah replied, and Nina walked up to her. Tracing a bony, pale finger around the younger woman's face, she realised why she had been abducted.
"Why? What is so important about me?," Nina asked. All she knew about the Drazens was that they were the target of some operation Jack had been involved with in Serbia the year she had been kidnapped.
"They wanted to get revenge on Jack, they nearly killed him, the Presi-, I mean, Senator Palmer. They didn't succeed, but I was found out, and I... I killed Teri Bauer," Sarah spoke, her eyes welling up as she admitted her crime to Nina, who was looking with shock at her.
"You killed Teri? Why?," Nina asked, her voice breaking. She knew how much Jack had loved his wife, as well as the fact that they had a young daughter.
"I had to remove anything, or anyone, who could trace me to where I was going," Sarah explained, and Nina could see the look of anger rising in Jack's eyes, and wondered just how he had coped.
"Nina, the day you were arrested, it was the first day I worked at CTU Los Angeles. I transferred to be closer to you," Alex informed her.
"How many years has it been since I was taken?," Nina asked.
"You were kidnapped in October 2001, so it's been almost five years, Nina," Alex told her, and Nina was shocked. Although the days and nights had been painfully slow, she hadn't thought it would have been as long as five years.
"If it's alright with you, I would like to go home now," Nina spoke, a small smile growing on her face.
