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Chapter 9: Hit me.

Abandoned Parking Garage

After the phone call Jack was the one to talk first.

"Who was that on the phone?" He asks.

"That was what you would call 'my handler'."

"I need her name."

"I can't give it to you. Look Jack you heard that they took Sean, and they won't hesitate to hurt him. Now I need you to let me go now, so that I can go to this meeting, and get Sean back safely. Then I will call and tell you all you need to know." She pleads.

"I don't know, Anne. After what you have done, I don't think that I can do that. What I can do is get you to the meeting while I have my team follow you. We will bring your handler in and press her for information."

"No Jack. You let me go, and then I call you with the information. Otherwise you can take me back to CTU, and kill Sean."

"Don't you dare put this on me. I didn't make your choices for you Anne."

"Make your choice Jack. Let me go or take me in."

Jack needed to think. If I let her go, she won't come back, and I will never find her. She will continue to help terrorists, but if I don't let her go, I will be responsible for her son's death. My God, Jack I can't believe that this is Anne you are talking about. Why is it so hard for you to cut her some slack? She took a bullet for you. She helped you during those dark moments.

"Stand up." Jack orders.

Anne complies and gets up curious as to what Jack has decided.

"Hit me."

"What?"

"Hit me. I can't just tell them I let you go. I need you to beat up on me. I need to show that I tried to stop you. We both know that once you go to that meeting you won't turn yourself in, but you will call. So go ahead, hit me."

"Jack are you sure about this?" She asks confused.

Jack nods and she begins hitting Jack. She mainly hit his feet in hopes that she hurt his feet a couple of times, he wouldn't be able to move, and she wouldn't have to hit him anywhere else. She hit him until she thought that he looked hurt enough that he couldn't have chased her. Then before leaving, she turns to Jack.

"I am sorry, but thank you."

Jack nods, and before letting Anne go he says:

"Here." And gives her his gun.

"Thank you again Jack, and hopefully we won't see each other again."

"Now we are even, so next time I am taking you in."

With that Anne leaves, and Jack calls Tony.

"Almeida."

"It's Jack. Send……help…..to the….parking garage. She….escaped…."

"What? How?" Tony screams into the phone.

"Send….help…" And with that Jack hung up.

Tony went and sent a medical team to Jack's position, and was trying to figure everything out when Michelle knocked on his door.

Twenty minutes later Jack arrives at CTU. He is barely walking, and looks like a zombie with all the bandages on his arms and legs. As he enters CTU he is greeted by Tony.

"My God, Jack, what happened?" He asks confused.

"Let's go up to my office."

Five minutes later they finally arrive at Jack's office, and Jack barely made it up the stairs.

"She went hysterical when I told her about her son. She went to save him. I couldn't stop her."

"Come on Jack, there is no need to play with me. I know what happened. I would think that you would have thought about not going through so much trouble, since I won't believe you." Tony says with a smirk.

"What are you talking about Tony?"

"You faked it all. You let her go so that she can go save her son. That was your plan all along."

"What are you going to do Tony?"

"You mean, am I going to tell Division?"

"Yes, that is what I mean."

"You bet I will. You have any idea how much sorrow that woman has caused? How many terrorists she has been linked to Jack? Whatever she did for you, she did not deserve to be let go. I need to tell Division, so they can track her phone, and bring her in. She needs to face the consequences of her actions."

"I know what she did Tony. But she will call and give us much needed information. You have to trust me Tony. I will make things right after we figure out what is going to happen, and we stop it."

"Sorry Jack. I can't wait. If we bring her in we can extract that information out of her. I can't cover for you this time." Tony says as he goes to leave.

"Tony wait." Jack says. Then he picks up the phone from his desk, and calls security.

"CTU Security."

"This is Jack Bauer. I need you to send two officers to my office. Now."

When Tony hears this he gets ready to leave, but is stopped by Jack who now has his backup gun trained on him.

"I am sorry Tony, but we need to do this my way. I can't have you interfere."

"It won't work Jack."

As Tony finished his sentence the guards came into Jack's office.

"You called for us, sir?"

"Yes. I need you to take Mr. Almeida here into custody. Take him to holding 4, and make sure that no one but me has access to him."

"Yes, sir." The guards respond. They turn to Tony and say:

"Let's go, sir."

Tony follows the guards to the holding room. Once they get there Tony is staring to wonder what plan Jack might have.

Michelle sees all this going on and starts to be a little confused so she decides to go and talk to this Jack Bauer she has heard so much about. Maybe he can sort things out for her.

Jack meanwhile receives a phone call that is unexpected.

"Bauer."

"Ask Nina about Joseph Wald. For the rest, remember Michael. "

"Thank you."

"That was my gift, and you know that I only give one."

The unknown caller hangs up.

Please R&R.

AB