1.00pm, a road outside Victorville

Suddenly and without warning, Alex diverted the car towards the side of the road, before coming to a sudden stop. Climbing out of the car, he stared into the distance with no idea of what he was doing, or who he had become.

"Alex?," a concerned Michelle called from the car, before getting out.

"Teri wouldn't have wanted Jack to kill Nina," Alex stated, sure of his statement. He had only known Teri for a few hours, and from what little he had found out about her, he knew that she wasn't the kind of person to sort out grievances with violence, and certainly wouldn't want to be avenged by violent means.

"Maybe not, Alex, but you and Jack both had the need for closure," Michelle responded. She was not an advocate of the 'eye for an eye' philosophy either, but she knew that Alex was right to kill Amador.

"What if someone wants to avenge him? Do I just allow them to?," Alex asked, his eyes still gazing at the horizon.

"I can't tell you what to do," Michelle replied.

1.10pm, MDC Los Angeles

Tony was back out in the yard, and had resolved to keep a low profile for the rest of the day. Any such promise he had made to himself was quickly forgotten as he noticed an overweight, heavily tattooed guy laughing to his friends. Tony didn't know his name, but he knew that he was responsible for Riley's murder. Walking briskly over to the man, he stood right in front of him, and the two men locked eyes.

"Sé lo que hiciste," Tony growled in a dangerous voice, but the man simply smirked and took his time to reply.

"¿Qué es lo que supone que tengo que han hecho?," he replied in a mocking voice. This only pissed Tony off and he was about to punch the living daylighits out of the guy, when a hand grabbed his wrist and started to pull Tony away.

"¡Suéltame ahora mismo!," Tony shouted angrily, but the man who was virtually dragging him was much bigger than Tony. After a few minutes, Tony had calmed down, and the man introduced himself.

"Mi nombre es Héctor Vásquez. ¿Habla Inglés?," Hector spoke. Tony nodded, before Hector's friend spoke, in English.

"I'm Joaquim Bernard. Listen, that guy you almost punched, he's one of the most notorious gang leaders in Southern California, and you were about to sign your own death warrant. What's your name?," Joaquim spoke, in a Mexican accent far different to Hector's New York accent.

"Tony. Tony Almeida," Tony replied. He was well-known amongst some of the prisoners, many of whom knew him as 'El Traidor', or The Traitor. It was apparent that Hector and Joaquim were either new inmates, or were not big on prison gossip.

"What is it that he is supposed to have done, Tony?," Hector asked.

"You don't know? He killed my friend this morning, in this very yard! I saw it!," Tony responded, his voice growing louder.

"Then nothing can be done, Tony. At least, not legally, and certainly not in public," Joaquim said, feeling sorry for Tony. It was obvious that the guy was not not used to being in jail, and the way he spoke and carried himself, it seemed as if he had once been in a position of authority, and he wondered whether suggesting illegal activity to such a person was really a good idea. If he had been a cop, chances were that he was still in touch with at least a couple of his own friends.

1.30pm, Oval Office, White House

President Palmer was deep in thought, wondering what the best course of action was. Grabbing his personal cell phone, he dialled a number that he thought he would never dial again.

"Jack?," Palmer spoke as the call was answered.

"I need your help," He spoke again, after a few seconds of silence.

1.35pm, a road outside Victorville

They were now back on the road, and Michelle was on the phone to Erin Driscoll. She was trying to explain where they were and that they were on their way back to CTU. After a few minutes of conversation, Michelle hung up and put the phone back in her pocket.

"She sounds angry, Alex," Michelle spoke. Alex nodded but didn't take his eyes off of the road.

"She wants to talk to us when we get back. Separately," Michelle continued.

"I don't want to drag you any deeper, Michelle. Tell the truth, that this was my plan, and I just convinced you to go along with it at the last minute," Alex replied. He certainly didn't want to cause Michelle any more grief, not after Tony's arrest, and was willing to take the full consequences of his actions, although he doubted that any such consequences would be anything major.

"Are you sure? I mean, you have to work with her," Michelle asked. She had accepted a transfer to CTU Seattle, as she had had enough of CTULA. Too much pain and misery for one lifetime happened in that building, and she had seen too many people destroyed by the events that had taken place over the years that she had worked there.

"I will always have CTU Chicago, Michelle. No matter what happens, they will always have me back," Alex replied. Josh Papierski, the SAIC at CTUC would be more than happy to a friend return.

1.40pm, CTU Los Angeles

Jack had just finished his conversation with David Palmer, and had been given permission by Erin to work with Chloe to help President Palmer in any way possible. He had advised the President to stay strong, to not negotiate with the terrorists, but Palmer had been adamant that he wanted to talk to the leader of the group, and Jack had told him that if he had to do so, to keep control of the conversation and to not give the terrorists anything.

1.50pm, MDC Los Angeles

Tony had been getting to know Joaquim and Hector, and he felt sorry for the pair. Both in their early twenties, they had been sucked into the world of drugs, and had been caught smuggling cocaine across the border. Although they quickly confessed, cooperated fully with the cops and pleaded guilty, they were still given the maximum sentence of 10 years in jail for their mistake. Both were articulate, well-educated young men, and Tony couldn't help but feel a connection to them. All three were amongst the fallen, those who had made mistakes or had acted out of passion.

1:59:57

1:59:58

1:59:59

2:00:00

A/N – The Spanish is probably very broken, because I used Google to translate the words.

Tony - "I know what you did". Also, I am aware that Joaquim is a Portuguese name, but so is Almeida.

Other Guy - "What is it that I am supposed to have done?"

Tony - "Let go of me now!"