2.00pm, CTU Los Angeles
As John Mason was escorted into CTU by Officer Ken Williams, he looked around the place and wondered how on earth they were still able to work. As he was taken up the stairs to his father's office, he glanced at George, and wondered what the hell he wanted. The pair were not in regular contact and their relationship had gone downhill ever since the divorce and Helena Mason had moved with John to Phoenix, Arizona. Entering the office, he could tell that his father looked terrible, but tried not to show any concern. George thanked the officer as he took the handcuffs off of John.
"What do you want, Dad? I mean, it must be pretty important for you to have me arrested!," John demanded, a lock of blond hair falling onto his face as he spoke. Moving it away from his eyes, he looked straight at his father.
"John, I want to give you something," George answered, before opening a drawer in his desk. Holding out a piece of paper to his son, he waited a few seconds before his son sighed and then relented.
"What's this, Dad, and why are you giving it to me?," John enquired, confused. His father was not the sort to give him much, and now he had, John had no idea what he had just been given.
"It's a bank account, got a lot of money in it. I won't be needing it, and so I want you to have it. Unless you want to give it to your mom," George spoke, and John looked at him with curiosity.
"Why are you giving this to me? Why are you so suddenly trying to be a good father?," John asked his father, and George could feel his eyes begin to water. Standing up, before walking over to his son, he placed an hand on his son's shoulder.
"Look, the truth is, I'm dying. I don't have a lot of time left, John," George spoke, his voice beginning to crack even though he was trying hard not to let it.
"What? You're dying, from what?," John asked, his eyes wide and he too looked like he was about to cry.
"It's complicated, John. Look, I need you to go and stay with your mom in Phoenix for a few days, John, please? Do it for me?," George asked, and John suddenly embraced his father, making a mental note to do just that as soon as possible.
"I'm sorry, Dad. Not just because you're dying, but because we never really knew each other after you and Mom got divorced," John spoke, his voice muffled slightly as he hugged his father tightly.
2.10pm, Visalia, California
As the convoy of agents and Nina arrived in the medium-sized Californian city of Visalia, Nina looked over at Jack, who was busy talking on his cell, presumably to CTU. The past few hours had been a complete mix of situations, and Nina wasn't sure exactly who was in control. As Jack finished his call, he noticed Nina was looking at him, and she turned away quickly. A flash of hurt went across Jack's face, until he realised why they were there in the first place.
"If you manage to get this pardon, Nina, could you promise to stay wherever you're sent, or would that not be enough for you?," Jack asked, his voice slightly more spiteful than he had wanted it to be. Nina looked back at him, slightly surprised by the question. She had assumed that he would think that she would try and escape at the first opportunity.
"You know I can't make that promise, Jack, we both do," Nina replied with an answer that Jack was expecting.
"When you were first arrested, I thought that you had been coerced. I couldn't comprehend that you were doing this voluntarily, that you made a choice to be a terrorist. Ever since then, I've heard so much about you that I never knew, that now I can't comprehend that you were ever the Nina I thought you were," Jack told her. Although Nina showed no visible response to the statement, inside it hurt her in a way that she could never understand. Although at one point she had truly loved Jack, she had always known that it was simply a means to an end, that it meant nothing to her. No one had ever affected her in this way, and she had certainly never been attracted to anyone as much as she had been attracted to Jack.
"I made that choice years ago, Jack. The Nina you once knew, she's dead, and you have to get over her," Nina told him, her voice softer but still emotionless. What she had just told Jack was something she hoped he would accept, even if she was lying.
2.15pm, road south of Los Banos, California
Alex had stopped again, this time to answer a call from CTU. As he paced slowly close to the car, the other three were stood further away, under a palm tree.
"Do you like Alex? As a friend, I mean," Miguel asked Kim as he looked over at the agent. Kim looked at him and wondered why Miguel was taking an interest in him.
"I suppose so. He's friendly, trustworthy, considerate. Quite a good friend, actually. Why do you ask?," Kim replied.
"What was the name of the woman who killed your mother, Kim?," Miguel asked, and Kim looked straight into his eyes with a serious stare.
"What does that have to do with anything, Miguel? Why bring that up?," Kim asked, feeling slightly hurt, not to mention worried. She was concerned that Miguel had somehow worked out a connection between Alex and Nina.
"They have the same surname, he joined CTU around the time your mother died. Coincedence?," Miguel asked, and Kim didn't know what she could say.
"He's her brother, Miguel, but he's totally trustworthy and not like her! He feels guilt for something she did, and she doesn't feel anything about it!," Kim told him. Nodding, Miguel stood up and began to walk towards Alex, with Kim carrying a sleeping Megan and trying to keep up with him. Alex was finishing on the phone as Miguel approached, and was surprised when Miguel snatched the cell out of his hands.
"Who did you call?," Miguel asked a rather confused Alex as he looked at the call history, only to find that the call had been totally legitimate.
"I just called CTU. Are you OK, Miguel?," Alex asked him. The younger man seemed angry and was looking at him with suspicion, as he passed the phone back.
"I know that woman who killed Kim's mother was your sister, and I don't want her to be in the same car as you!," Miguel asked, and he began to walk northwards in the direction of San Jose, apparently assuming Kim would follow behind.
"Miguel, wait! If I didn't trust him, why would I have got in the car in the first place?," Kim called, and Miguel stopped, before turning around and walking back.
"You trust him, right? Like CTU trusted Nina Myers?," Miguel asked, and Alex had had enough of the argument.
"Miguel, we've got less than two hours to go before we get to San Jose. If you're so concerned about how much trust you should have in me, you can look after this," Alex told him, before passing Miguel his gun, and Miguel looked at him with surprise.
"You would seriously hand over your gun to a man you hardly know?," Miguel asked Alex, who was getting into the car. As he did, he looked at Miguel.
"Kim obviously loves you and cares about you, Miguel, so I think I'll trust her instincts," Alex replied. Miguel, without saying a word, got into the car.
"I'm sorry I'm doubting you, Alex, but I've been with Kim for months now, and her mom's death just devastated her," Miguel spoke. Turning to face Kim, he apologised.
"I'm sorry for bringing up your mother's death, Kim, and for doubting Alex," Miguel told her. Nodding, Kim accepted the apology.
2.25pm, Visalia, California
Nina had attempted to escape, seemingly thinking that the offer of Mamud Faheen would be enough, even though it would have broken her pardon conditions. As she tried in vain to break the lock on a gate that was in between her and freedom, she pulled out a gun that she had taken from Faheen, after knocking him unconcious, and aimed it at the lock. She had no chance to shoot, as Jack came around the corner and aimed his gun straight at her.
"Don't even think about it, because you know what will happen," Jack spoke, his voice harsh and threatening. He was pissed that she had attempted to escape, and wondered if Nina had forgotten her pardon already, although Jack reasoned that Nina would probably prefer to be on the run and free rather than in exile and restricted. Nina looked at him and then the lock, before returning to look at Jack. Sighing, she knew that she had no choice but to surrender, and allowed the gun to drop onto the top step of the staircase. Walking slowly down a few of the steps with her hands up in the air, Nina was instructed by Jack to turn around and kneel down, which was a difficult task on a hard, stone staircase.
Walking silently up the stairs, close to where she was knelt, Jack pushed his gun into the back of her head, and began to debate with himself whether or not he could pull the trigger. Meanwhile, Nina had her eyes closed, desperately hoping that her life was not about to come to a quick end. The silence made it worse, because she could hear herself punishing herself for such a stupid move. She knew that the escape would be futile, that he would be right behind her. She also knew that it would have given him a just reason to kill her, and now he was possibly about to take that chance.
Jack had made his decision, and as he pulled the safety on his gun, he was sure he heard Nina sigh with relief. Putting his gun in his holster, he retrieved a pair of handcuffs, which he swiftly locked tightly around Nina's wrists, and Nina had never been happier to feel the cold metal of cuffs before. Roughly pulling Nina to her feet, Jack moved her around and they began to descend the stairs back to Faheen's store. Both of them knew that the day was not over yet, and both of them knew that the other would be causing them problems.
2.35pm, CTU Los Angeles
Michelle was busy trying to keep the system running. Since the bomb, it had been stuttering, and Michelle was concerned that if it failed, it would take hours to restart, and even then it would another few hours before it would be fully working again. Looking up at George's office, she saw him trying to wipe away tears, and she wondered what was wrong, although she didn't want to invade his privacy. Since his return to CTU, George had seemed different, and that was before Michelle had really seen just how ill he was beginning to look. A thought popped into her head, but she dismissed it – surely it wasn't what she thought it was?
2.40pm, road near Los Banos, California
There had been silence in the car since their last stop, and all three of the adults inside were assuming that it was going to stay that way. Megan was still fast asleep, much to Kim's relief, and Miguel and Kim had been listening to the radio. Suddenly, the DJ announced some breaking news from Los Angeles, and Alex turned up the radio slightly.
"We have unconfirmed reports of a mushroom cloud rising above the city, but so far there has been no official word on the cause. The FBI and other federal agencies have declined to give us any information on what might be going on," she announced, and Kim pulled out her cell, before quickly dialling the number for CTU.
"CTU, Mason," George answered, before he heard Kim talking in the background.
"Mr Mason, it's Kim Bauer. We just heard on the news that a mushroom cloud has appeared over Los Angeles, but it's probably not the nuke, right?," Kim asked, and George looked around with surprise. No one had told him of any mushroom cloud over the city, and if it had been the nuke, CTU would have been obliterated due to it's location in central Los Angeles.
"It's definitely not the nuke, Kim. Look, a mushroom cloud could be caused by a few things, as long as there is enough explosive power. Probably a large gas explosion somewhere," George replied, much to Kim's relief.
2.45pm, Factory, outskirts of Los Angeles
As the intense flames and heat forced their way out of the burning building, the fire fighters waiting close by looked at it in awe. Even though some of them had seen some huge fires in the city before, this one was gigantic. Fire fighter Jack Clarke, a short man with dark hair, walked up to the main officer in charge, Karen Logan.
"Ms Logan? We're getting panicky 911 calls from people thinking that this blast is some sort of bomb. I think we need to contact your reporter friend so they can clear this up," Jack informed her, and she nodded. 15 years of experience as a fire fighter told her that sometimes, people would see something like a mushroom cloud or really thick smoke, and think of the worst case scenario. Here in this situation, no one had even been in the factory, and the fire fighters were simply waiting for the fire to burn itself out as it was too dangerous to enter the old building. Taking off her helmet, she took out the cell phone she always kept with her whilst on duty, and dialled her friend's number.
2.50pm, Visalia, California
Jack and Nina were now sat in the cars waiting to return to the airport with the FBI agents and Faheen. Jack had just tried to take Nina away by himself to deal with her, but the two FBI agents had been forceful and made him comply with the mission. Frustrated at how Nina was slowly slipping further and further away from him, Jack had made a point to sit as close to her as he could, and Nina was certainly not enjoying his closeness. Looking out of the window and ignoring each other as best as they could, but Jack couldn't resist giving Nina some advice whilst they were alone in the car. She noticed him looking at her, and she turned around to face him.
"You keep trying to get away, keep trying to escape, Nina, and I won't give a damn who sees me kill you," Jack told her, but she appeared unfazed by his threat. She knew that he would take any chance he got to kill her, that wasn't news to her, and she wondered if Jack even thought he was convincing her in any way by threatening her.
"I don't think you'll get many more chances, Jack," Nina replied, and Jack looked as if he was going to strangle her, the only thing stopping him was the entry of an FBI agent into the car.
2.55pm, road west of Los Banos, California
the radio had just announced that the mushroom cloud had been caused by a huge fire, much to their relief. All three knew people who lived in Los Angeles, and it had been a tense wait for the news. Getting ever closer to San Jose, Alex wondered how Jack and Nina were doing, and decided to contact CTU as soon as he had dropped Kim, Miguel and Megan off. Hoping that they were making some progress, Alex couldn't help but wonder just how Jack was coping.
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