Mutual Purposes- Chapter Three

Chloe arrived on the main floor of CTU the next day to find Bill stood at his usual haunt; the foot of the stairs. She soon realised that he was not alone. The short, authoritative figure of the Secretary of Defence wore an expression of undisguised triumph, a stark contrast to the anger now etched into every crease on Bill's face. Chloe could never remember the Secretary having such a pompous attitude about him, yet there he was, flanked on one side by a stone-faced Secret Service agent and on the other by his daughter, who was, if it were possible, looking even smugger than he.

The day shift had been called in early, and no-one had needed to ask why. As she took her seat at the comm. station, Chloe's eyes scanned the floor for the rest of the team. Tony and Michelle stood as one, a little to Heller's right. Michelle was frowning and Tony had adopted his usual defensive stance.

Curtis was sat at his station, his eyes flitting between the Secretary and Bill. His expression was one of incredulity, as though he could not quite believe that Audrey had stooped so low.

And Jack… where was Jack? Chloe panicked as she failed to discern him from the other agents on the floor, but was immediately calmed as she felt a presence behind her. He'd approached almost silently, and had no doubt seen her looking around for him. Chloe didn't need to turn her head to know who it was.

"Now that I have your full attention, I would like to say a few things."

Whatever noise there had been on the floor came to an abrupt halt. Even the computers ceased their relentless humming for a brief moment, allowing Heller full command of the bullpen.

"It has been brought to my attention that this latest investigation is being hindered by not one, but two people standing inside this room."

Chloe felt Jack tense behind her. "Son of a bitch," he muttered, so quietly that only Chloe could hear him.

Heller continued, "As Bill Buchanan can no longer be trusted to run this agency effectively, I am taking over command on a temporary basis. All channels, and all department heads, will go through me." He narrowed his eyes and took a breath. "And I mean, all department heads. Okay, that is all."

No-one moved.

"Well, come on, we've got a terrorist threat to deal with!"

Slowly, agents dispersed to their usual tasks. Chloe watched silently as Bill turned and made his way back up towards his office, emerging only minutes later with a briefcase.

"We can't just sit back and let this happen!"

Curtis had made his way over to the comm. unit and was looking almost pleadingly at Jack, as though expecting him to put a stop to the situation.

"We're not going to," Jack muttered, his gaze fixed on Audrey, who was still stood behind her father and looking everywhere but at the people she had betrayed. "Heller can't do this."

"DOD supersedes us," Curtis reminded him, only to receive a warning glare from the other man.

Jack waited a few more minutes before approaching Heller, pausing to take in the immediate effect of the takeover. He caught Tony's eye and nodded. Together they made their way across the floor, to where Audrey and her father were settling themselves at a vacant station.

"Bill's a resource. We need him here," Tony began, his tone suggesting that he wasn't in the mood to be argued with.

"Excuse me? And you are?" Heller peered up over his glasses, not bothering to rise to meet the two men.

"Tony Almeida."

A knowing look flitted across the Secretary's face. "Ah, Mr Almeida. I have heard about you. If you keep on speaking to me like this, I may have to have you removed."

Jack laid a hand on Tony's arm, sensing his friend's frustration but needing to put a stop to it before they lost what little control they had of the situation. "Mr Secretary." He began in a slightly more diplomatic tone than Tony. "Bill Buchanan knows this place inside out. Division came to him with the case. Let him stay and work it up." Jack's tone surprised even himself.

"Jack. You don't work for me any more." Heller paused. "But, out of respect to my daughter, I will not cause a scene. You have a fair point; therefore I will call Bill back in-"

"With all due respect, sir, I think it would be better if I called him."

"No need. He's still here," Audrey said smoothly, her own glasses perched precariously on the end of her nose. "I saw him returning to his office to collect something he'd apparently forgotten."

Not bothering to thank her, Jack strode across the floor and up the metal stair case. Tony tactfully remained behind, returning to the comm. station to check up on any progress Chloe may have made.

"Don't worry, Jack, I'm not going anywhere."

Jack lowered the hand he had raised, ready to knock on the open office door. Silently, he walked into the room and stood facing Bill.

"Co-ordinate through him, like he says." The older man's voice was tired. "But I want you, Curtis, Tony and Chloe to report on an hourly basis to me. I run this damn place, not that jumped up son of a bitch!"

Jack allowed himself a small smile.

"Work with Michelle also," he added needlessly. "I want my best team on this." Bill focussed his attention on his computer screen and began typing in his access codes. "I will be up here if you need me."

…

Tony looked up as his desk phone rang the familiar four tone ring, grateful for the interruption.

"Almeida." He spoke casually, well aware that Heller was prowling the floor.

"Tony, it's Chloe. I think I've got something."

Tony risked a glance over to the comm. station, and instantly regretted it. Audrey was hovering like a hawk behind their lead analyst, no doubt scrutinising her every move. She had to have seen what Chloe was doing, heard her hushed tones as she spoke into the phone. Before Tony could move, an icon appeared on his desktop.

"I've sent it to your station," she said briefly, before hanging up.

Tony sighed in relief. He should have known better than to think that Chloe would openly relay intel with Audrey stood at her back. Clicking on the small icon, Tony's eyes widened as he realised that Chloe had stumbled upon the very thing she had been struggling with the previous day.

"But this makes no sense," he muttered, scrolling down the screen to the information he knew would be there.

"What doesn't?" enquired Michelle, pausing behind Tony's station with a file in her arms.

"This is Jack's file," Tony informed her, slowly reading through the words on the screen before him. "Remember Chloe couldn't get onto it yesterday; she said it was blocked? Well, this is it."

"Maybe there wasn't a virus and the system was just slow, like Bill said," Michelle offered, but she was frowning.

"No." Tony shook his head. "There was no virus, true. But this was blocked from the outside."

…

"Funny how this materialises at the same time Heller moves himself in."

"I couldn't agree more, Jack." Bill scanned quickly over the intel that Chloe had sent him. On the go-ahead from Tony, she had sent it to Jack and Curtis's systems also, thankful that at least the server and the computer network were things she still had control over. "This must have been blocked. But not by Division, like I thought. By Washington."

"Why would Washington want this blocked?" Jack asked aloud. "A lot of agents have gaps in their files, granted, but usually you can find your way in with an authorisation code and the right skills. Chloe couldn't get anywhere near this yesterday."

"Don't worry, I intend to look into it." Bill took his eyes away from the screen and looked up at Jack. "Division isn't too happy about this little charade."

"She only told me after she'd made the phone call," Jack told him, for once sitting down in the chair opposite Bill. "She just..." He paused, caught himself. "Sorry, Bill. My problem."

Bill sighed. "It's alright, Jack. We're getting somewhere. I just don't like what she's done, what she's done to you."

Anxious to change the subject, Jack gave a brief nod. "I'll sort it." Standing once more, he resumed his pacing. "So, this area of the file, it's about Chicago, isn't it?"

Bill nodded.

"I knew I recognised the name. After Tony mentioned Chicago it almost clicked. Now it has."

"Go on."

Jack took a deep breath before continuing. "Tony and I worked undercover with Russell, before I went to Chicago. Actually, the outcome of the mission is why I went to Chicago," he added bitterly. "It was a mission Chappelle authorised."

Realisation dawned on Bill's face. "Russell was injured, wasn't he. You and Tony escaped, and he claimed you never went back for him."

"Lies," Jack muttered. "Tony and I went back in, against Ryan's orders. Mark wasn't there, Bill. The building was ruined. There was no way anyone could have gotten in or out, but somehow he managed it.

"Tony and I got back here and Ryan wanted to know where Russell was. We told him we were too late, that we had gone back in but couldn't find him. Three hours later, Russell showed up, covered in blood and burns. He went straight to medical, and when he came round he said that neither me nor Tony had gone back for him. Ryan Chappelle and I never saw eye to eye, Bill. He believed Russell. Tony got a demotion and I was sent to Chicago."

"And Mark Russell was given your job as head of field ops, only to be killed in a mission six months later," Bill finished.

"Apparently not."

"No," Bill admitted. "Apparently not." He paused before adding, "They transferred you back pretty quickly, after he supposedly died."

"I pissed off the CTU Chicago Director," Jack explained, shrugging.

Bill smiled. "Why didn't I guess?"

Jack was about to respond when Chloe rushed into the office. She had walked slowly up the stairs, to avoid detection by either Heller or Audrey, and now she was frustrated by the time delay. "Sorry, but, we've got an address," she informed them breathlessly.

She turned to leave the office. Jack looked at Bill, who nodded. "Get your teams ready, Jack. And take Tony."

…

Chloe and Michelle walked quickly down the back corridors to the arms room, where Tony and Jack were kitting out. Michelle pushed open the door and rushed over to her husband, warning him to be careful. Chloe watched as Tony took her in his arms and vowed that he would be fine, and he would come back to her as soon as they were done.

Chloe stood awkwardly in the door way, not entirely sure why she had followed Michelle. Of course, she was part of the team. But then, so was Curtis, and he wasn't here…

"You alright, Clo?"

Chloe's head shot up as she heard Jack use her nickname, a nickname, she reflected, that only he seemed to use. He was stood a few feet away from her, all ready to go.

"Just… it's been a bad morning," she replied briefly. She didn't need to elaborate; Heller had been monitoring them all.

"There's something else." He didn't even ask; he always had been able to know just what she was feeling. Excepting, of course, the way she felt about him.

"Yes." Chloe frowned. "I… be careful," she whispered finally, echoing the words of Michelle who was now moving away from Tony and back towards the door.

"I will," he assured her, offering a tender smile. As he and Tony moved out of the room, Jack brushed his fingers against hers lightly. Confused, Chloe thought she may have imagined it, but as she looked questioningly up at him, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

…

Michelle and Chloe were greeted by Audrey on their return to the floor.

"Where have you been? And where is Jack?"

"They stepped out," Michelle informed her coolly, her earlier suspicions of the blonde having been confirmed by the arrival of Secretary Heller. Stepping round her, Michelle carried on walking towards the comm. unit.

"Excuse me? Stepped out? They? Who's they?" demanded Audrey.

"Jack and Tony."

Audrey rounded on Chloe. "You knew about this."

"We all did," Curtis spoke up. He was already working up a satellite link to the van Jack and Tony were taking, as well as the delta team they were to meet up with. "Your little games won't work here, Audrey."

"How dare you!" She was still facing Chloe, apparently not even acknowledging Curtis's presence or involvement in the plan. "You overruled my authority, my father's authority… and all for what? Because you have some stupid little childish crush on my boyfriend?"

Chloe felt a wave of nausea wash over her. "What?"

"Come on, Audrey." Heller appeared at his daughter's side and placed a restraining hand on her arm. "This is hardly the right time. Bill Buchanan's got a lot to answer for."

"Bill Buchanan's getting results," Michelle countered.

"Why is it that DOD always gets kept out of the loop?" Audrey asked, her voice cold.

Her question went unanswered. Chloe walked mutely over to her station and picked up her headset, Audrey's words echoing in her head.

…

Jack pulled the van into the small makeshift parking lot in front of an equally makeshift building and looked at Tony in disbelief. "This is it?"

"It's what Chloe found," Tony replied, looking just as unconvinced. "Delta team, do you copy me?"

A crackle on the radio and a muffled voice signalled the arrival of the back up team in the car behind them. Tony watched as the larger vehicle backed up and disappeared from view.

It was the middle of the day, yet this particular area of town was deserted and looked as though it had been for years. Jack opened the door of the car and stepped out, motioning for Tony to follow. The dry grass crunched beneath their heavy feet as they made their way towards what used to be a family home.

"This place is deserted, Jack," Tony muttered. "I've got a bad feeling about this. What if the intel was wrong? It wouldn't surprise me, not after today."

Jack didn't answer him. They reached the remnants of a front door, which Jack kicked quietly open with his foot. The silence echoed around them and ricocheted off the bare concrete walls. A quick glance told them there were only two floors.

"You take down here, I'm going upstairs."

Tony opened his mouth to disagree, but Jack was already gone.

…

"Confirming satellite image… now," Chloe said, tapping furiously at the keyboard. "We should soon be able… there they are." Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw that the two men had separated.

"What's that?" Michelle asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she pointed a shaking finger towards a dark mass on the screen.

Chloe spoke quickly into her headset. "Jack, Tony, this is CTU. You have company. We're sending the back up teams in." Switching channels, she barked orders for the delta team to move in, all the while trying to keep the panic from surfacing in her voice. "Jack, Tony, do you copy?"

"Why aren't they answering?" Curtis muttered. He shouted into his own headset but received the same response.

Michelle picked up the phone and dialled Bill's office. "We have a problem," was all she managed to say, before a startled gasp from Chloe cut her off.