Against the Grain
A/N: You guys are awesome, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I'm pretty nervous about this next chapter so I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks again!
Chapter Six – Vindicated
Vindicated.
I am selfish, I am wrong.
I am right, I swear I'm right,
Swear I knew it all along.
And I am flawed,
But I am cleaning up so well.
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself.
- Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional
"Excuse me?" Tony's deadpanned expression and lackadaisical tone masked the sudden dread he felt. Mandy shrugged.
"It's sweet, isn't? He doesn't even think about how this might turn out for him…anything to wipe that look off her face…remind you of anyone you know, Tony?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Ohhhh…nothing." She taunted. "Just that uh…if I were Agent Evans I might be giving him a call…you never know when the situation's…changed…"
Tony stared her down for a few seconds before rising slowly and calling for Wiley to come in and keep an eye on her.
"I'll be back." He promised.
Tony didn't look right when he hurried into the bullpen. He found Alex immediately and her brow furrowed.
"Did she talk?"
"Kinda…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, uh…has Rick called you?"
Alex stared at him in surprise.
"Yeah…right after they got on the road…why?"
"Did he sound…okay?"
Now Alex looked worried.
"He sounded fine…what'd she say?"
"Call him again."
Alex did ask questions and flipped her phone out immediately; the look on Tony's face was enough of an answer.
Rick Almeida's cell phone started ringing, something Claire helpfully pointed out from across the darkened room. Rick braced himself when a large hand collided with the centre of his gut, doubling over reflexively but managing to do nothing but grunt. Blood dripped onto the cement ground from the cut on his eyebrow and his breathing was uneven.
Another hand reached for his phone, studying the display with obvious delight.
"It's your girlfriend, Almeida."
He glanced briefly at Claire who was curled up in a ball in the corner, her eyes wide with horror. He turned back to the man with the phone.
"Probably wondering where I am." He stated hoarsely. The man smirked.
"We're not ready yet…you need to stall her."
Rick snorted. "You're gonna make me?"
The man with the phone nodded to the first and Rick groaned loudly this time when a fist collided with his jaw. He tasted blood in his mouth and one of his molars wiggled when his tongue pushed against it.
"The more time you buy us the longer you both get to live." The man hissed, holding out the phone to him.
"Tell her there's traffic. You're ten minutes away from CTU."
When Rick made no move to obey a third man grabbed Claire by her shirt and dragged her to the center of the room, holding a knife to her throat. Both Rick and the man with the cell phone tensed at the sight.
"Rick please…" Claire's voice was shaking as the blade of the knife pressed into her throat. The sweat on his back turned cold and Rick conceded.
"Almeida."
"Hey…where are you?" there was the slightest hint of alarm in Alex's words.
"On the road. Traffic's bad. We're still ten minutes out."
Alex shifted her eyes to Tony. Rick didn't sound right. For starters, she couldn't remember the last time he'd answered a call from her with 'Almeida'…they hadn't been that formal with each other since Langley.
"Alright…" Alex kept her tone casual. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah…" Rick forced himself to relax. Suddenly, an idea hit him.
"Yeah…Aly, everything's fine."
She picked up on it instantly. Rick didn't call her Aly. Nobody called her Aly…not anymore...
Oh god.
"How's Claire?"
He heard the realization in her voice.
"Claire's fine. We'll see you in a few minutes…" he felt the side of a gun hit the back of his head warningly.
"I gotta go, Aly…traffic's picking up…"
The phone clicked shut before he could hear her answer.
A panting Claire was released and shoved back into the corner. Rick braced himself when the man holding the cell phone raised his gun. The weapon fired, causing the person who'd held a knife to his youngest daughter's throat to drop to the floor dead.
Alex fumbled to close the phone, already crossing the bullpen towards Holding. Tony followed.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know." She managed. "Something. I think…" she gulped. "I think my dad's involved."
"What?" Tony stared at her in disbelief. "How do you…?"
"He called me 'Aly'…I haven't gotten that since I was a kid…Rick doesn't call me that. Nobody does…except Bill and Claire and…"
Tony swallowed the bile in the back of his throat, saying nothing more as they both hurried to where Mandy waited.
He didn't say anything when Alex pushed into Holding and felt no compelling desire to tell her to calm down when she approached the table with obvious fury. Truth be told, had she not done anything he probably would've done it himself.
Alex threw out a hand and dragged Mandy out of her chair, slamming her against the wall, her fist tightening around the other woman.
"You have three seconds to tell me what I need to know before I snap your neck."
Mandy snorted mockingly. "You can't kill me…"
"Try me." Alex snarled, Mandy's eyes flitted slightly towards Alex's hand but she didn't flinch.
"Three…" Her hold was cutting off the woman's airway. Mandy said nothing, just gurgled.
"Two…"
Mandy tried to smirk. "Your bosses wouldn't like it if you killed me." She stuttered. Alex pushed back harder.
"You have far too much faith in my ability to restrain myself."
"You can't get answers if I'm dead." Her words were stilted from the lack of oxygen.
"One…" Alex's grip shifted dramatically enough to scare her.
"By the way – your dad says hi."
Alex pulled away and Mandy dropped to the ground, gasping for air.
"He has them?"
Mandy somehow managed to look pleased with herself, even as she struggled for breath.
"You want any more information and we'll have to start discussing what I will be requiring…a pardon, for instance."
"Keep dreaming." Tony snarled from behind. "You don't get anything."
"Well then I guess the next time you see your brother he'll be in a body bag - "
"Wiley get in here and restrain her." Alex ordered, disappearing out the door with Tony right behind her.
Tony and Alex returned to the bullpen. Tony led her into the Conference room without a word to anyone. He'd bring everyone else into it when they knew more but for now…
For now it was his brother and he wasn't risking bringing someone else in who might not support the measures he was willing to take.
Alex watched as Tony flipped open a laptop, pulling up the list of numbers they'd pulled off of Christensen's phone. One stood out. Bev. They both stared at it for a few more seconds. B. Ev. B. Evans.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, Alex started dialing.
"Hi Aly."
Alex cringed.
"What did you do!?" she shouted, her emotions getting the best of her.
"Nothing…yet. I just thought it might be helpful to have some leverage."
"Leverage for what?"
He smiled widely at Rick. "I thought you might be interested in getting at least one of them back…alive…"
"They have nothing to do with this!"
"Like I said…leverage."
"What do you want?" she placed a careful emphasis on each word.
"You."
Tony went white.
"What?"
"It's simple. You pick one and trade yourself for them… I. Want. You."
"What about the attack on Dodger Stadium?"
"Oh that…" Ben shrugged. "Merely a tool to get to you."
"You sonofabitch…"
Ben snorted. "Here's what I'm looking at right now, Alex: your sister's cowering in a corner waiting for you to come rescue her and your boyfriend's getting beaten to a pulp…he was putting up quite a fight a few minutes ago…that should make you happy…"
Alex's hands tightened their grip on the desk.
"It's a simple exchange…you just tell me whose life is worth more to you…"
"You wouldn't lay a hand on Claire."
"If that's a risk you're willing to take…" he held up the phone briefly, Claire's pleadings resonating through the receiver. Alex closed her eyes tightly for a moment.
"What do you want me for?"
Ben laughed hollowly. "What do you think, Alex? You find a way to insert yourself into everything and I'm tired of it…I have a problem and I'm dealing with it. You must know how these things work by now."
"Dad…" her voice shook slightly. "Dad you don't have to hurt them…if you want…I'll come. Just let them go and I'll meet you wherever you want me to…"
"I wish I could believe you, sweetie…" there was some rumbling in the background and Alex glanced worriedly at Tony.
"Al?" Rick's voice sounded muffled and a little strained.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"Oh yeah…" he inhaled sharply. "No permanent damage done."
Alex brought a hand to her head.
"I'll figure out a way to get you guys out…"
"Alex listen to me, do not give him what he wants."
"Rick…"
"He won't lay a hand on Claire. Don't you dare give yourself up…alright - "
The phone was ripped away from his face.
"Put him back on!" Alex ordered. Her dad chuckled.
"He's a little tired right now Alex…trying to be noble and everything…surely you're not going to let your boyfriend take the hit because you're too stubborn to give up…we wouldn't want this to be a repeat of what happened to mom - "
"You're a sick bastard and I hope you rot in hell." Alex snarled under her breath. Ben tsked her softly.
"I'll give you a few minutes to consider your decision. When I call back I expect an answer."
The phone clicked and Alex stared at Tony blankly, as if looking for one.
Tony left Alex alone long enough to pull Michelle off the floor. Somehow she knew something was horribly, horribly wrong immediately.
"Tony, what…"
"I need you in the Conference room."
"Did something happen with the woman?"
"Just get in the Conference room."
Michelle's surprise gave way to something else; instinct it would seem.
"Honey whatever it is, you should get Bill in on this too."
"Not yet." He kept his voice low and started to pull her towards the room.
"Tony…" she kept her feet planted firmly on the ground, pulling him back.
"Whatever it is, Bill needs to know."
Bill entered the Conference room looking worried.
"What happened?" his eyes moved between Tony and Alex. "What did she say?"
Alex could feel the words forming in the back of her throat, but she couldn't spit them out. Tony saved her the trouble.
"Ben Evans grabbed Rick and Claire and he's holding them ransom."
"What?"
Alex quickly recapped the events, watching Michelle's face darken. She felt numb. This couldn't be happening. This absolutely could not be happening. Her dad was a lot of things but a terrorist? How could he…?
"So what does he want?"
Alex squinted her eyes shut, knowing only too well what the situation was. Rick was an agent, Rick was expendable; anything they came up with would be to get Claire and only Claire out.
"He wants to do an exchange for one of them."
"Who?" Michelle this time. Tony rubbed the back of his neck, eyes on the floor.
"Our choice."
Claire. Of course Claire. Claire the civilian. Claire the twenty-year-old honors student who had absolutely no business being involved in this. Claire who hadn't taken an oath of service. Rick would want them to get Claire out as safely as possible instead of trying to save both of them.
"He wants Mandy?" Bill looked furious.
"Me." Alex said clearly. "He wants me to give myself up."
No one said anything for a few seconds.
"Is Jack back yet?"
"No. He's still checking the Stadium with Wiley. They haven't found anything yet."
Alex shook her head softly and snorted a laugh.
"They're not gonna find anything…there's no attack. It was a setup." Her fist pounded into the table. "They whole fucking thing was a setup for me…"
Michelle looked worried now.
"Alright, let's think about this then…what are our priorities?"
Alex answered first. "Claire's a civilian. We're obligated to her so we do whatever's necessary to ensure she comes out of this unharmed."
"And that would mean giving up you." Tony stated harshly. "That's not an option for me, Al."
Alex scowled. "I'm expendable, she's not."
"Is there any way we can extract them by force?" Michelle asked tentatively.
"We don't even know where he is," Tony sighed. "IT is working on finding out but that could take hours. We don't have hours. He covered his tracks well. Besides, if we try to extract them by force we put them both at risk of getting caught in the crossfire."
"And what about Ben?" Bill interjected. "If he's responsible for the bombings in London and Milan and no one in government would back him as a terrorist. If we can get evidence against him we can lock him away for life…even get the death penalty."
"If we can get evidence." Michelle reminded him. "Like Tony said, he covered his tracks well. We'd have to bring in him for interrogation and hope he left some artifacts behind we can use."
Michelle couldn't even believe the next words that came out of her mouth:
"Maybe if we trade Alex for Claire we can buy ourselves some time…try and track where they take her, get a location…and get Ben."
The room was quiet as everyone processed this. The plan made the most sense. Claire would be out of harm's way and they'd maximize their chance at catching Alex's father.
"So Alex still has to give herself up." Bill declared angrily. "He could shoot her the second he sees her and then run and it was all for nothing."
"And what about Rick?" Tony finally blurted out. "Is he just a write off?"
Alex suddenly felt dizzy and wanted to sit down. It was too much to process and her head was starting to hurt.
"Because the second Ben has Alex, Rick's dead regardless of whether Ben wants to keep her around or not." Tony glared at no one in particular.
"Was your father ever aggressive towards Claire?" Michelle touched Alex's arm. Alex was saying all the right things but her eyes gave away her conflict.
"That doesn't matter." Alex ran her fingers through her hair anxiously. "It doesn't matter whether we think he'd hurt her or not. We can't assume anything."
"But if he's not willing to harm her maybe we could take the risk and extract her by force…" Michelle was interrupted when, without warning, Alex snatched up the phone and started dialing.
"Who are you calling?" Bill asked a second before Ben's voice echoed through the room.
Everyone stared at Alex.
"Well Aly?" Ben's voice was icy and mocking. "Did you decide who's worth more to you?"
"No. But I decided I'm worth more to you."
Ben said nothing at first.
"What?"
"If you want me, you have to give up both of them. Claire and Rick for me."
"That's not really a fair trade, Alex."
"I think it's pretty fair."
"I understand you have someone of value in custody…if you were to consider trading her for…"
"Nope."
"Well then I'm afraid you'll have to make a decision." He sounded like he was enjoying this.
"Then shoot Claire."
You could've heard a pin drop in the room if it hadn't been for Ben's sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.
"What?"
"Shoot her. Right now. Personally…I think through the hand works best. She'll still be able to walk properly when this is over."
She heard him shouting behind him. "Claire, your sister just told me to shoot you. How does that make you feel?"
"Are you going to do it?"
"You sadistic little…"
"I wonder who I get that from." Alex snarled, the adrenaline overwhelming her. She'd just told him to shoot her sister. "You're the one who's putting me in this position and I'm calling your bluff. You won't lay a hand on Claire and we both know it."
"I'm not giving up both of them, Aly."
"Then I'm afraid we don't have a deal."
Alex hung up the phone without a word and everyone stared at her.
"What the hell was that?"
"We're all in agreement he won't touch Claire, which means the only thing he's giving up would be Rick. He'll do that if he wants me bad enough and we can get them both without either of them getting hurt."
"Or kill both of them." Bill stared at her.
"Just wait…" Alex hissed.
"Either way you're giving into his demands." Bill's face had filled with worry. "Alex he wants to kill you…"
"I know!" she bit her lip. "But if he doesn't kill me he'll kill…" she faltered for the first time and her hands tightened their grip on the table.
"Aly…"
"He's not taking the hit for me…he shouldn't even be there. I should've gotten Claire myself and then this would already be…"
No one had time to say anything before the phone rang again.
"There's an industrial warehouse twenty minutes south of where you are. Get on the 405 and we'll give you further instructions from there. Try anything funny and your boyfriend gets it. You have one hour."
The line went dead and Alex exhaled softly, the sweat on the back of her neck made her shiver.
"What the hell's going on?" Jack exclaimed as he came flying through the doors of the Conference room ten minutes after Ben's last call. As predicted, they'd found nothing in the Stadium. The sweep had just been completed when Tony had called him, telling him he needed to get back right away.
"My dad's got my sister and Rick." Alex declared quietly. "He wants to trade me for them."
Everyone was standing around looking as if they were afraid to say anything.
"So…" Jack's jaw tightened softly. "So we're doing the trade?"
"Yes."
Tony made a noise of disapproval.
"Claire is a civilian and we can risk her getting caught in the crossfire." Alex hissed in response.
"You're suggesting we make the trade and let your father escape?"
Alex lifted her head. "The consensus was that he wouldn't go through all this just to kill me right away. We don't even know where he is. It'd buy us some time."
Jack glanced warily at Tony, who spoke.
"He'll have a way to detect any tracking device…but we're hoping in the time it takes to get through the exchange Chloe will have a location."
Jack sighed softly.
"If we get a location we can try and pull you out and send in a Tac team. The problem is, if he has any kind of surveillance he'll probably kill you the second he sees us coming."
His eyes went to Bill before turning to Alex.
"And if he decides to kill you immediately there won't be anything we can do…"
"I know that." Alex nodded firmly.
"The odds of him actually causing harm to your sister before he did anything to Rick…"
"Not happening."
"Aly…"
"I'm not leaving him to get killed just so I can save my own ass!" the conviction in Alex's voice startled even her, but she couldn't imagine telling everyone to forget it. She wasn't leaving Rick in something he shouldn't have even been in because she was afraid.
Alex gulped and turned to Jack.
"How soon can we be ready to leave?"
Jack glanced at Michelle whose eyes were glassy now. She blinked quickly a few times.
"We can have you wired into Comm. and ready to make the exchange in fifteen minutes."
"Okay…" Alex felt a hand on her arm and Tony's head tilted to her ear.
"You want me to go with you?"
Alex wondered if he could feel her shaking against him. She inclined her head.
"Everybody out." Bill suddenly ordered. Every pair of eyes turned to him.
"Bill…"
"Out. Now."
Michelle rose slowly, her hand pressing gently into the small of Alex's back when she passed her. Tony and Jack followed her out the door.
"We can get Claire out with force and try and get your father then."
"He'll kill Rick as soon as we say we aren't doing the exchange and we aren't anywhere near having a location."
"Rick's an agent…he's expendable…"
"Then so am I." Alex countered.
"And there's no way of guaranteeing he'll be alive when we make the exchange."
"Dad won't kill them if he thinks he's getting me. That's what he wants. That's all he's ever wanted." She took a deep breath. "And he wouldn't go to all this trouble just to kill me right away…" she winced. He wanted to taunt her, tease her, and abuse her before he finally ended it. It would give her time though – time hopefully for CTU to figure out a way to get her out.
"At least I have a shot…" she told Bill softly.
"The chances of finding the location and Jack pulling you out in time are slim…"
"And if I don't do this now he will just keep coming back. Either he kills me now or he kills me later or we find a way to pull this off but…if I don't go Rick's dead no matter what." She shook her head in defeat.
"He shouldn't even be there. He went to get Claire for me."
"Honey, I know now this seems like the only choice to make because…you love him, but …"
Alex tensed habitually. Well, at least someone had finally said it out loud. It occurred to her for a brief moment that she probably should've said something to that effect when she had Rick on the phone before. It was true; she'd been denying it but it was completely true.
Now she might not get to say it at all.
"I'm not like you." She gulped hard. "I'm in Field Ops and half the time I have three seconds to make a decision and have to hope I made the right one. I can't think about what's going to happen in a week or a day or an hour or what it means I just…I go with my gut."
She watched his eyes glaze over with moisture and touched his arm.
"And this feels right." She sighed. "And I'm tired of being afraid of Dad and wondering whether or not he's going to try and pull something like this. If I don't do this now it'll just keep happening… so if this is what I need to do to finish this…"
Bill sighed before grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the room.
Jack looked up expectantly when they left.
"We need five minutes." Bill explained, leading a slightly startled Alex up the stairs to Tony's office.
She didn't say anything until he'd closed the door behind him, going into the locker in the corner and kneeling down to a safe at the bottom. She'd never noticed it before, but Bill entered the code and the door swung open. He pulled out a disk. Her name was written on it in black marker and Bill's expression was watery as he handed it to her.
"Watch this first."
Her eyes widened slightly and she started to protest.
"Aly, please." He cupped her cheek briefly. "It won't take long. Just watch it."
Alex nodded, accepting the disk and watching him leave the room. Slowly she sat down in Tony's chair, not having time to wonder why Bill would keep something of hers in Tony's office after he left to go back to Division.
She opened up the program and the disk started to play. A gasp escaped her lips and she stared in disbelief at the screen in front of her.
"Hi Aly…" her mother's face stared back at her with the same sad eyes she'd grown so accustomed to the first sixteen years of her life. Her voice was soft and soothing and Alex felt the overwhelming sadness bubbling up within her instantly as the tape began to play.
It was less than five minutes later when Alex moved purposefully down the stairs, her face streaked with moisture she hoped no one would be able to notice. She grabbed Bill's arm, spinning him around to face her.
"Have you seen that?"
He sighed and nodded. "You were fourteen when she made them. Claire has one too. I was…" he swallowed hard to contain his own emotions. "I was supposed to give them to you when I thought the time was right…something you would want her there for."
Alex brought a hand to her mouth, feeling like she just wanted to fall apart in front of everyone. Instead she took a few deep breaths and faced her uncle. She imagined Claire being given her own video on her wedding day and Alex not being there to see it...
"Was this supposed to change my mind?"
"What?" he stared at her in surprise and she watched the tears fill his own eyes. It made her whole chest hurt seeing him like that, and for an instant she truly appreciated the pain she would cause him by doing this.
"Because if you knew what she said…" Alex shook her head abruptly. "It didn't…it just made me want to do it more…"
Bill smiled at her sadly and cupped her cheek.
"No, honey. That's why I kept it at CTU…" he lowered his eyes briefly before lifting them to meet hers again.
"I just wanted to make sure you got to see it."
Against her will, she lost her battle with her emotions and a few loose tears fell down her cheeks.
"Aly, if I thought there was anything I could do to keep you safe I would do it in a heartbeat," his voice was quivering now. Alex sniffled.
"If something happens to him because of me…"
"I know." Bill nodded sadly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "And I can't tell you what to feel or what's right…so you do what you need to do and whatever happens…I love you more than you could possibly know."
Alex wiped her cheeks gruffly and leaned into the hug he'd drawn her to. When she pulled away she inhaled deeply and met his dampened eyes.
"Kiss Claire for me." She said softly, stepping out of his arms.
And then she was gone.