The sun had now risen, and the sky was a clear blue and devoid of clouds. As they drove through the desert, Alex wondered where exactly he was headed, having no real idea where he should go. Not that it mattered anyway - soon, pretty much every law enforcement agency in the country would be informed about them, if they weren't already, and Alex had no intention of going to jail for the rest of his life. Sighing quietly to himself, he pulled over to the roadside and took a map out of the glove compartment. Tracing a finger along the route had taken, he concluded that they were somewhere west of San Jacinto. Nudging Nina gently, he waited until she was fully awake.

"We're somewhere outside of San Jacinto, Nina. Do you have any idea where we're supposed to go, what we're supposed to do?", he questioned, hoping that Nina had some sort of plan.

"I thought I would still be in Mexico this morning, Alex, so I have no idea. I say we just head east, and I'll try and get in touch with one of my contacts. I know someone in Palm Springs who can help us", Nina stated. She was now back to her usual self, and just wanted to get away from Jack Bauer. Having been on the run for a few years, she was used to such a lifestyle, but she was concerned for Alex. He had sacrificed so much to help her, and couldn't help but feel a little guilty, a novelty for her, as by her own admission she wasn't the most empathetic person around.

At CTU, Adam was busy sending out descriptions of Alex and Nina to the FBI, police and Interpol. Disturbed by how sudden Alex had turned, he was determined to help find the siblings. As he stared at the faces of Alex and Nina on the posters he had created, he wondered what would drive a person to just betray everyone and everything they had once held dear. Looking around the office, he could sense the mood was dark. The virus threat was still a huge risk, and the treachery of Alex Myers was still fresh on everyone's mind.

Nina had just finished telling Alex her side of the story about what had happened in Mexico the night before. Her voice had changed numerous times - one minute she would be upset, the next angry. Feeling sympathetic towards his sister, Alex smiled at her.

"You don't need to worry about Jack or what happened in Mexico anymore, Nina", he assured her. She returned his smile, a sad look in her eye.

"I hope so, Alex", she replied quietly, determined that Jack would never so much as catch a glimpse of her again.

"Hows the neck wound?", Alex asked. When he heard about her apparent suicide attempt, he had realised just how desperate Nina was.

"Sore, but tolerable", she said, gently rubbing the bandage that covered the scar. Suicide was actually the last thing on her mind when she forced the needle further into her neck, and she knew that it was a big risk by doing so. As they had carried her into Medical and begun treating her, she had put the next phase of her escape plan into action. Having fooled the doctors, and Tony, into thinking she was sedated, she slowly opened her eyes and took her chance. She punched the closest doctor, before grabbing the gun that was on the table nearby and, with no hesitation, she shot dead all but one of the medical staff. The woman she left, a nurse, wasn't chosen for any reason, but Nina had decided not to waste any more time, or bullets.

Stopping at a gas station, Alex parked up on the roadside and asked Nina if she needed anything. As he walked into the store, he looked around nervously. The place was empty except for him and the store clerk behind the till. Walking around slowly, he grabbed a few items before heading to the clerk. His heart skipped a beat, however, when a cop walked into the store. Taking a quick glance at the officer, Alex tried not to draw attention to himself. Noticing that his hand was shaking slightly as he paid, he hoped that he didn't look suspicious. It was only when he had gotten back into the car that he calmed down and, as he drove off, it dawned on him just how much his life had changed in the last few hours.

Jack was at the hospital, waiting anxiously for news on Chase's condition. They had succeeded in stopping the virus threat, but Chase had had to attach the last device to his arm to prevent it falling back into the hands of the courier. Jack had had to amputate Chase's hand in order to free him from the device, and had managed to isolate the virus in time before the device released it. He knew that there was a good chance that the hand would be successfully reattached, and he also knew that Chase's career as a CTU field agent was over. The irony of the situation was not lost on Jack - the day before, when Jack first heard about Chase and Kim's relationship, Jack had been reluctant to let Chase go into the field in order to protect Kim from losing another person she loved, and now he had inadvertently prevented Chase from ever doing field work again. He knew that Chase wouldn't blame him or be bitter about it, but he couldn't help but feel that Chase was just another person he had failed. His thoughts turned to Alex and Nina, and he wondered if the Myers family were genetically predisposed to treason. Trying to conjure up a possible motive for Alex's betrayal, he found no answer that satisfied him. He had immediately believed that Alex had been taken hostage by Nina, and had not even contemplated the possibility that Alex had helped Nina escape until he saw it on the camera footage. He recollected the times when he could have killed Nina, and thought of the consequences of not doing so. If he had killed her at the construction site, Teri would still be alive. If he had shot her in Visalia, their unplanned rendezvous in Mexico would never have happened. He thought of butterflies and hurricanes, and thought of the winds that would be born out of this particular flap of wings.

As they arrived in Palm Springs, Nina directed Alex towards the address of her contact, a woman known only as Martina. Pulling up in front of a small house, they parked up in the driveway, which was otherwise empty, and as they walked up to the door, Nina explained to Alex that Martina was more than trustworthy and could get them out of the country within hours. When the door opened, a short woman in her fourties, with red hair and intense green eyes appeared. Speaking in what could only be described a thick Southern accent, she gestured to the siblings to go inside. The house was spartan, with little furniture or decoration. There was a distinct odour throughout the building, and what little furniture there was was old and deteriorating. Alex concluded that it was some sort of meeting place rather than an actual home. Martina and Nina was now deep in conversation, and Martina would occasionally glance over at Alex. When the conversation ended, Martina left the room and Nina went up to Alex.

"She says that she can get us fake documents and transport to São Paulo by this evening", Nina informed him. She was slightly anxious, however, as Martina seemed suspicious of Alex. This anxiety was fed even more when Martina rushed into the room brandishing a gun.

"What the hell is this, Nina?! You think I'm stupid or something, bringing a fed here?!". Nina tried to calm her down.

"Martina, calm down! He helped me escape, he's not trying to trick you!".

"She's right, Martina. I'm a fugitive now. You've got to trust me, OK?", Alex assured her. Martina thought about this for a minute, before lowering her gun and letting out a quiet chuckle.

"Heh, I'm sorry. Guess I got a little paranoid and all"

"No harm done, Martina", Alex replied, much to Nina's relief. She knew that Martina often got very paranoid and Nina was beginning to regret telling her about Jack's trickery down in Mexico the night before. Deciding to forget the incident, Nina changed the subject.

"So, will it be the usual price?", the usual price being quite a high figure, as Martina's ways of getting such documents were quite high risk.

"Yeah, yeah", Martina replied. She had put the gun away and was now sat down at the table, typing away at a laptop.

Jack was walking back into CTU and in his mind, he could hear the voices of Alex and Nina. Although he couldn't tell what they were saying, the tone of their voices was one of mockery. Trying to block them out, he decided to talk to Chloe. Chloe O'Brien was one of CTU's best technicians, and had become a good friend of Jack's. She had been the toast of CTU the night before when she had defeated Nina's worm, a feat which had seemed almost impossible. She gave him a quick smile as he arrived at her workstation.

"Hello, Jack. How's Chase?"

"He's fine. The doctors told me that his hand was successfully reattached, but that it might take a few months before they know if he'll regain the use of it"

"Kim must be pretty upset?"

"Yeah, she's still at the hospital", Jack replied, his voice breaking slightly. He hated seeing Kim so distraught, and hoped that the events of the past day would not traumatise her for long.