Here's a half hour. Let's look a little bit at David Palmer and bring Kim in on the action. Does Michelle trust Tony? Did Claire screw up?
The following takes place between 12:00pm and 1:00pm
Former President and current National Security Advisor David Palmer sat in the back seat of an armored limo, looking out at the scenery of San Diego as it went by. He took a sip from a tall glass of ice tea and thought back on how much had changed in so short a time.
From Senator to President…one crisis after another. I even survived a coup attempt. It was hell on my family, but what Sherry did…unforgivable. I am sorry that she's dead though, but she brought it on herself.
Through all of this, there has been one constant…Jack Bauer. He has been the one sure thing.
Palmer looked down at his scarred hand, the one in which he shook hands with Mandy with and was infected with the biotoxin that she had used. David Palmer had been through a lot – he was the first African American to win the Presidency and that alone carried a lot of pressure. He survived assassination attempts from former enemies and even a political coup by members of his own cabinet. Most recently, he had come out of retirement to get President Logan through the last nuclear crisis.
Logan was incompetent and indecisive and the nation would have suffered catastrophic damage if not for he…and Jack Bauer.
Now Bauer was a political refugee, cast to the four winds by the President's ingratitude.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Palmer's cell phone rang. It was Su Ming from the Los Angeles Consulate.
"Good day, Mister Palmer."
"Su Ming…it's been a few days. I hope you are well. What do I owe the pleasure of this call to," he said, knowing it would be anything but pleasant.
"Why, Mister Palmer, would you be surprised to know that Jack Bauer is alive? I think that you lied to us."
"Alive? Surely you are mistaken. I saw the reports myself. If I'm satisfied, you should be satisfied."
"Well, Mister Palmer, we are not. I wanted to give you notice that we are on to you now. It is just a matter of time before we bring you down too. Perhaps if you admitted your crime now, this might be resolved quietly."
Palmer sighed with irritation. "I assure you, Su Ming, that I am sure Jack Bauer is dead and that this matter is closed. Good day to you, sir."
The NSA shut off the call and tapped on the driver's shoulder. "Take us to the airport and get priority clearance to LAX now."
12:06:03…04…05…06
In a private office within CTU Headquarters, Los Angeles, Michelle Dessler brought Jack Bauer's daughter in where Tony Almeida was sitting. Tony looked up. "Kim?"
Kim looked distraught, her blonde hair disheveled and her face red with sorrow and anger. "Tony…Michelle, why didn't anyone tell me? Why did it take four days for me to find out my father is dead?"
Michelle and Tony traded nervous glances as they knew the truth. Michelle sighed. "Kim, I'm so sorry. We…we couldn't…."
Kim shook with anger, knowing the risks her father accepted, but trying to defy the truth of his profession. "Michelle, it's me! I'm not someone off the street. I work for the same organization," she pleaded. "Why didn't someone call me? I want to know, dammit!"
Michelle stepped forward and grasped Kim's shoulders. Kim tried to push her away, but the raw emotion was too much. She fell into Michelle's arms, sobbing, weakly pounding her fists on Michelle's chest.
"No no no! Not both of them…not my father too!" she cried, having now lost both of her parents to violence.
Michelle gently rocked Kim as tears flowed onto her blouse. She looked back to Tony and inhaled deeply – they couldn't keep the truth from her.
Tony nodded.
"Kim," said Michelle, "Your father is alive."
Kim pushed away and blinked, wiping away tears. "What? I don't understand."
Tony motioned for them to sit. "Well, it happened this way…."
12:11:30…31…32…33
Jack sprinted through buildings and down side streets for all he was worth, leaping over obstacles and crashing through doors. When the occasional bystander got in the way, he'd yell, "Move!" and blitz by them.
He rounded the corner near where he knew Audrey's office to be and immediately saw an out-of-place van parked at the front by the glass doors. He looked up at the twenty-story building and prayed that Audrey had gotten out.
Breathing deeply, Jack moved back into hiding, trying to formulate a plan and his cell phone vibrated. "Hello, President Palmer? With all due respect sir, this is not a good time and you're not suppose to call me. I don't want you compromised, sir."
"Jack, they're on to you. I needed to warn you. What happened?"
"Sir, I don't know. They came out of the blue. They're after Audrey too."
There was a pause. "I think you're right…there is a compromise…but who? Jack, I'm coming up there. My plane will depart shortly. Hang on, I'm bringing help."
The line went dead and Jack peeked back out to see a dozen masked men throwing Audrey into the van. He bit his lip hard – how could he take on so many and with only his pistol. The last man stepped into the van and slammed the door shut.
Now or never….
Jack stepped out, took aim, and fired.
12:18:54…55…56…57
Back at CTU Headquarters, Kim Bauer had gone to wash up, so stunned was she about the news that her father was alive that she felt nauseous. "I'm going to find my father," she said before leaving.
Michelle sat there, shaking her head. "I don't know it this was such a good idea, Tony. Jack's cover is going to be blown."
"We had to tell Kim. How could we hold something like that from her? She's been through too much," he answered and looked at the status board outside. His eyes focused on a screen showing multiple units responding to a shooting near LAX.
"Michelle, you have people heading out to back up Curtis and Claire…why was I not sent along? I'm their supervisor."
Michelle froze for a moment. "I…I needed you here. There are more than enough agents to handle what happened." She changed her tone, trying to deflect Tony's line of questioning. "I know Erin doesn't like it, but tough. We need to find out what's happening."
Tony became serious. "Michelle, I'm not out there because you don't trust me, is that it?"
He had hit near the truth. Michelle looked away and bit her thumb. "I nearly lost you twice…I can't do it again. Not on my orders. No Tony, I won't do it."
His initial reaction was to explode – how could she not trust him? How could she even say that? He took a deep breath and walked up behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders gently. "Michelle, you have to let me do my job. I couldn't live with myself if someone got hurt doing what I should have done."
She couldn't look at him. "I know…I know you have to go."
He nodded and kissed the back of her head. As he turned to go, she grabbed his hand. Their fingers lingered together for a moment until Tony continued on.
"Be safe," she said quietly.
12:22:33…34…35…36
Down on the floor, Tony got on the radio. "Curtis, I'm heading out there. What's going on?"
"Tony, we're talking with LAPD now. They are swarming all over the area, but there is no sign of the gunmen. We have four bad guys dead and one in custody. His feet are shot off, but he's alive."
"Curtis, there's something wrong. I hear it in your voice."
"Ummm…Mandy got away."
Tony's eyes grew. "What? How did this happen?"
Claire's voice came on the line. "Tony, I screwed up. I was suppose to watch Mandy. I led Hunter into the line of fire…it's my fault."
Tony looked around, thankful that Erin hadn't heard any of that. He was sure she would hammer them later, but for now, they had to stick together to find out what was going on. "Look, Mandy was a free woman. We'll find her soon enough and put her on another flight. How's Hunter?"
"He took a round to the thigh," voiced Claire. "He's already on the way to the hospital. I'll meet him there once we're cleared by LAPD."
Tony could hear the concern in her voice. Everything that he had read about her seemed to be true – she cared for her people and she took responsibility. David Palmer had made a good choice.
"Claire, I'm going to need you in the field. The Army is missing some LAWs rockets and, if the new report is correct, three Stinger Missiles."
"The Surface to Air Missile? We might want to lock down the areas surrounding LAX and any nearby airfields."
"It's already done. I've advised Homeland Security already. I'll be enroute shortly, so hang tight."
There was a pause before Claire spoke again. "Tony, I could've sworn I saw a guy who looked like Jack Bauer, fleeing the scene. Is there something I should know?"
Chloe and Edgar Stiles looked up and then looked at Tony.
Tony took a breath. "Negative…just hang tight." He began walking toward the parking garage when Kim walked forcefully up to him.
"I'm coming with you," she said and her face told him that she wouldn't take no for an answer.
12:25:02…03…04…05
I put the radio mike down and looked over our obliterated car. Bullet holes were everywhere on the body and all of the windows were blown out. White sheets covered the slain and crime scene investigators placed yellow cards at the major gatherings of shell casings that littered the area.
Nearby, a bus sat in much the same condition – riddled with bullet holes, flat tires, and smoke, coiling from the shattered engine.
"Hey, you're bleeding," a voice told me and I turned to see Curtis pointing down at my knee where I had scraped it.
"No biggie," I answered. "I led Hunter into that firestorm…I should have known better."
He leaned over and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed my knee. I winced and raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like you ruined a perfectly good pair of hose," he said. "Look, you did good. We're all alive and we stopped the attack with what we had. Hunter's a tough guy, he knew the risks. You just keep doing what you're doing and you'll get along fine."
Suddenly, an LAPD sergeant ran up. "We have more gunfire ten blocks from here at an office building."
He motioned us toward his vehicle and we dove in, slamming the doors shut. I began refilling magazines as the car screeched away, sirens blaring. Curtis pulled out his hand radio. "Tony, we got more shots fired. We're heading over there in an LAPD car."
12:27:17…18…19…20
Security Chief Cheng had discarded his black clothing and was now back in a business suit along with his three remaining men. He chafed at having Bauer within his sights, but letting him get away. Apparently, Bauer was attacking his other group single-handedly with nothing but a pistol.
With their weapons back in long cases, the four men strode quickly toward the rendezvous point.
At least they had Audrey Raines.
A call came in to Cheng's phone. "Hello?"
"You wanted me to call when I heard," answered a male in a Southern accent. "David Palmer's aircraft just took off. He's headed for LAX, transponder code of two-two-six-one."
Cheng nodded. He needed some good news about now. He cut the line and dialed another number.
A male voice with a British accent answered, "I have the Stingers. What do you want me to do?"
"Go to the hidden location near LAX. Your target has transponder code two-two-six-one. Destroy it."
12:28:55…56…57…58
