Chapter 11: The Trial

The next six weeks was a flurry of activity. Michelle met with Bill almost every other day for strategy sessions. He spent much of the time coaching her on her testimony. He thought he had a good chance at making her a sympathetic figure to the jury, but Bill warned her that the prosecutor would be hard on her. He would point out that she had disobeyed Tony's order to stay out of the hotel and by doing so, ultimately set herself up to be kidnapped by Saunders. He may also subpoena her personnel file and find that she and Tony had gone against direct orders from a superior and supported Jack, not to mention the fact that they drugged Ryan Chappelle (a man who ultimately gave his life for the good of the country) the day the nuke was detonated. It all showed a pattern of disrespect for authority. That may not play well to the jury, he told her.

At the same time, Marta was overwhelmed with requests for Michelle to appear on news shows. The public loved Michelle and Marta felt it was a good way to garner support for Tony. If Tony was convicted, she hoped support from the general public would convince President Palmer to pardon him. So, Michelle was once again on the talk show circuit.

By the end of the six weeks she was exhausted. She had not been eating or sleeping well and the strain showed on her face as she walked into court the first day flanked by Tony's parents and followed by his siblings and many friends. During the six weeks she had become amazingly upbeat. She was getting a lot of positive feedback from her news and talk show appearances and began to think that an acquittal was really possible. She refused to entertain the possibility of a conviction and chastised anyone who thought otherwise. Her overall state of mind had become a concern to those closest to her.

Tony sat in the tech room in his office in Argentina. The room reminded him of a small scale version of one of CTU's tech rooms with only a slightly lower level of technology, but more than adequate for their needs. He leaned back in the chair with his feet on the desk in front of him, knees bent. Some papers from his current project were propped against his thighs. He glanced at them occasionally, but his attention was actually focused on a monitor in the corner of the room.

It was tuned to Court TV which was broadcasting his trial. He looked up to watch Michelle and his parents walk into the Federal Courthouse. He was struck by Michelle's appearance. She looked thinner, older, her face drawn and tired. My God, he thought, what have I done to her? Her expression was stoic; she looked straight ahead and ignored the reporters who hounded her as she stepped through the courthouse door.

By the end of the first day of the proceedings the two sides appeared to be even. Opening statements had definitely gone in the defense's favor. The prosecutor gave a long, loud diatribe where he equated Tony's alleged crimes to those of some of the most notorious traitors in U.S. history, men who had done untold damage to U.S. security. Bill portrayed Tony as a loving husband and loyal federal agent who simply could not stand by and watch as his wife was tortured and, possibly, murdered. It seemed that everyone in the courtroom could feel the jury soften toward Tony.

Next the prosecution began to build the government's case against Tony. It was hard to argue the facts of what Tony had done and Bill was not able to keep the sympathy on his side for long as a parade of witnesses testified to Tony's actions.

Juan and Pedro spent the day wandering in and out of the tech room pretending to need to use a certain computer or some piece of equipment. Tony knew they were just trying to be there to support him. In only a year they had become two of the closest friends he had ever had.

"From what I've seen, it's going pretty well," Pedro commented.

Juan nodded in agreement.

"Don't let today fool you," Tony laughed dryly. "I gave them enough rope to hang me and that's what they're going to do. There isn't much my attorney can do about it."

"Tony," Juan started, "I know you want to go back to the U.S., but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you had to stay here. Bring Michelle and Sophie to be with you. You'd be a family again. Pedro and I have talked, you can buy a third of the business from us so you can be a full partner."

"Guys, that's a generous offer," he paused. "I suspect that I'm going to take you up on it at some point. Thanks for being here." Tony was genuinely touched.

The prosecution wrapped up its case late on the second day. Now it was the defense's turn. As Bill predicted, Michelle's testimony had been effective until the prosecutor got his turn to cross examine her. He brought up the events surrounding the nuclear bomb detonation and her disobeying Tony's order at the hotel. He dramatically stated, "Mr. & Mrs. Almeida seem to have a wanton disrespect for authority! The two of them are nothing but a couple of cowboys who make up the rules as they go along depending on their mood. They make a good couple, don't they?"

Bill jumped to his feet and shouted his objection. The judge sustained and told the court reporter to strike the last statement from the record. But the prosecutor had made his point and the jury would have difficulty disregarding words they had already heard, regardless of whether they were part of the official record or not.

Bill brought several expert witnesses to the stand to testify to Tony's fitness for command on the day in question. A doctor testified that anesthetics he received during surgery and blood loss and trauma from the bullet wound could have affected his thinking. Next a psychologist testified that the emotional trauma of being shot, nearly losing his wife to the virus and then having her kidnapped, as well as sleep deprivation could all have clouded his judgment. In both cases the prosecutor countered with numerous examples of good judgment and sound thinking that Tony exhibited throughout the day. By the time the defense rested, all of Tony's supporters, with the exception of Michelle, felt defeated.

Closing arguments were presented by both sides and the jury left to deliberate Tony's fate. The day ended with no verdict from the jury. The judge instructed the jury to return the next morning at 9:00. Everyone else could stay home; the prosecutor and the defense attorney would be notified when the jury reached a verdict. Michelle left the courthouse buoyant. She had convinced herself that the longer the jury deliberated, the more likely that they acquit Tony. Bill cautioned her against getting her hopes up. They ended up having a heated argument in the parking garage. Michelle drove home seething. How could Bill say those things to her? she thought. Where did his loyalties lie? she wondered. She was so angry she could barely concentrate to drive home.

The next day passed without a call from the judge, as did the one after that. Finally, after three days of waiting, the phone rang. The verdict was in and would be read at 2:00pm. It was already 11:30, so Michelle called Tony's parents and rushed to get ready. Jack called to say that he and Kate would be happy to drive her to the court house and that Kim would watch Sophie for her. Michelle was ready when they got there, dressed in a navy skirt and white tailored blouse, her hair pulled severely away from her face.

Forty-five minutes later she was again walking through the court house door. Although she still looked tired, she carried herself with a look of confidence. They took their seats not knowing that at the same moment Tony, Juan and Pedro were watching them in Argentina, watching as everyone stood for the judge's entrance, watching as the jury entered the jury box and handed the verdict to the judge.

The judge asked the jury foreman to rise and read the verdict. The foreman stood, looking nervous.

"We find the defendant, Antonio Almeida, guilty of treason against the United States of America." He closed his eyes for a second then sat down.

In the gallery, Tony's parents held each other and cried quietly, both of his sisters sobbed softly, his brothers bowed their heads. Michelle sat motionless, staring blankly as if not comprehending. Her breathing became shallow and rapid. Jack, who was sitting behind her, could see her entire body stiffen. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder as Kate, who was sitting next to her, squeezed her hand.

Tony, Juan and Pedro watched as the verdict was read. "I'm sorry, Buddy," Juan said almost imperceptibly.

"No," Tony shook his head as he looked at the floor. "We knew that was going to be the verdict. I'm not surprised."

The jury members were thanked for their service and dismissed. Everyone was asked to rise as the judge left. Michelle, still staring as if in a trance, stood slowly with help from Kate. As she stood, she felt the room begin to spin, she squeezed he eyes closed to make it stop. The next second, she collapsed in a heap on the court room floor, striking her head sharply on the railing that separated the gallery from the front of the court room. Kate dropped to her knees to help her.

"Michelle! Michelle!" she cried.

Jack pulled chairs out of the way so he could get to her.

"Back up, please," he shouted. "Back up, she needs to get some air."

A large cut had opened up about an inch and a half above her left ear and was bleeding profusely.

"Michelle!" Jack called in an attempt to rouse her. "She's not responding. We need a medic here. Call 911."

Chase reached for his phone and made the call. Jack pulled out a clean handkerchief to put pressure on the cut.

Tony watched the scene with horror. He jumped to his feet and shouted at the TV monitor.

"My God, Michelle! Somebody help her. Oh my God, Sweetheart." He saw Chase and some other friends shoo the camera men away which left Tony with no idea of what was happening.

The camera was now focused on a blond reporter who stood in front of the court room doors describing how the events had unfolded. Tony paced helplessly not knowing what to do next.

"Where are the paramedics? Can't they respond any faster?" He was frantic. Juan and Pedro tried in vain to calm him.

Inside the court room, Michelle was beginning to regain consciousness. Her head ached and she started to raise her hand to it. Kate took her hand gently.

"You're okay, Honey," she said softly. "You hit your head. Just lie still."

She opened her eyes slowly trying to make them focus. "Wha…," she tried to ask what happened.

"Shhh, it's okay, Michelle. Just lie still. Help is on the way," Jack comforted her.

By the time the paramedics arrived, Michelle was fully conscious but Jack insisted that she not move from the floor. The bleeding from the cut had begun to slow, but was still oozing and her hair and the left side of her face were bloody. The paramedics took over.

Tony watched the monitor impatiently as the paramedics arrived and disappeared into the court room.

"Finally," he whispered, the relief audible in his voice.

It was 20 minutes later before they emerged with Michelle on a gurney. There were too many people around her for him to see her well, but he could see the blood on her face and white blouse. She had an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and a bag of intravenous fluid was being held above her. He thought her eyes were open, but he really couldn't tell. The blond reporter babbled to fill the dead air but really had no additional information.

Tony grabbed the nearest phone. "I need to call her," he said in a panicked voice.

Juan took the phone from his hand. "Tony, she's on her way to the hospital. Do you really think she is going to answer?"

"Then I'll call Jack. He'll know what's going on," he said as he took the phone back from Juan.

"Tony, we can put a secure call through to Jack, but it'll take us some time. You don't know how closely the authorities are watching Jack. This is just like when your daughter was born. They are going to expect you to try and contact Michelle. I'll call Joe and we'll work out a method of contacting Jack that can't be traced."

Tony put down the handset and hung his head. He knew that was the right thing to do, but sometimes his emotions just got the better of him. And where Michelle and Sophie were concerned, that was always the case.

Michelle lay on the gurney in the emergency room. The young surgical resident was suturing the large cut on her scalp. He had a bright light pulled low near her face so he could see, but the light was making her headache worse.

"Almost done," he said as he saw her wince. "I'm sorry if that hurt. I thought I put enough anesthetic in the area."

"It's not that," she said. "I have a terrible headache."

"I bet you do." He smiled at her. "As soon as I'm finished I'll give you something for that." He paused, "I've seen you on television. I was a little surprised when they wheeled you in here. Do you remember what happened?"

"Not exactly. I just remember standing up and feeling like the room was spinning. The next thing I knew I was on the floor with everyone standing over me and I had the worst headache I've ever had."

"You're very dehydrated and your blood sugar is low. When did you last eat or drink?"

She smiled a dry smile. "What day is it? I've been too upset to eat. It's been at least 24 hours, probably more."

"I'll tell you what. I want to make sure we get some fluid and some food in you. I'm going to keep you over night. That way we can keep an eye on you. You can go home tomorrow."

"No, no," Michelle protested. "I have a baby at home to take care of. I can't stay here."

"Your family said you would say that. They said to tell you that the baby is taken care of. Besides, you are in no shape to take care of a baby."

"I guess I might as well stop arguing then," Michelle said, resigning herself to the fact that she wasn't going to win this time.

"It'll take us an hour or so to get you upstairs and in a room," the doctor said as he was writing in her chart. "In the mean time, I'll see if we can get you some food. If that IV isn't bothering you too much, I would like to leave it in overnight. Oh, by the way, the media is begging for some news on you. Can I make a brief statement that you are fine, just suffering from exhaustion and a minor head injury?"

Michelle agreed to that and the doctor left the room.

Tony watched as the young doctor made a statement to the press. He closed his eyes and put his head back, relieved that Michelle would be fine. Once they knew she was okay, Juan tried to talk Tony out of calling her. Tony would not hear of it. So, Juan proceeded to contact Joe Sanchez through the usual channels. He placed a phone call in which he and Joe made a few minutes of small talk. That was a signal to Joe to go to a secure website where they could chat. Pedro was on the website explaining that Tony wanted to talk to Michelle on a secure line and asking Joe to arrange it. Joe told them he would get back to them in a couple of hours.

Joe picked up his phone and dialed a contact of his that was on a secure line. The phone rang twice before the voice at the other end answered.

"CTU, O'Brian."

Jack had put Joe in contact with Chloe and she had proven to be valuable when they were moving Tony to South America and again when he reentered the U.S. to see Sophie. Chloe had easily developed a cover by making sure that everyone knew she was still angry at Tony for locking her in the tech room and thwarting their efforts to find Saunders. Yes, she admitted, she had talked to Hammond about letting Tony go, but that was only as a favor to Jack who was her superior at the time. Everyone knew Chloe could hold a grudge like few others, so the thought that she had helped Tony escape never crossed anyone's mind.

"It's Joe. Is this line ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine. What's up?" Chloe answered, surprised to hear Joe's voice.

"Our boy wants to talk to his girl. We need a secure line. Can you arrange it?"

"It'll take me a few hours, but it can be done. I'll put the phone number on your website tonight. Tell him to call her at 9:00 Pacific time tonight. That should give me enough time to work out the details."

Chloe took a couple of seconds to work out a plan, and then picked up the phone. She dialed Warner Enterprises. "Kate Warner, please," she requested.

"Just a moment, I'll transfer you to her office."

"Ms. Warner's office," Kate's secretary answered.

"Hi," Chloe said. "I'm trying to get in touch with Kate Warner."

"I'm sorry; she's out of the office right now. Would you like to leave a message?"

"This is kind of urgent. This is Jack's sister-in-law, Carol," Chloe lied. She had altered the caller ID so it looked as if the call was coming from Carol. "I'm really trying to get through to Jack, but he isn't answering his cell. I was hoping Kate could put me in touch with him."

"I can try to contact Ms. Warner and have her call you back."

"No, that won't work. I'm going to be in a meeting for a while and she won't be able to reach me. I really need to get through to her now. Could you transfer me to her cell? I didn't know the number or I would have called it myself." Chloe tried to sound more and more anxious.

"Hold, please, I'll try to contact her."

Kate was standing outside of the emergency room waiting for a chance to see Michelle when her phone rang.

"Ms. Warner," her secretary said. "I have Mr. Bauer's sister-in-law, Carol on the phone for him. She said it is urgent. Can you take this call?"

"Sure, thanks, Molly," Kate said. She waited a second for the transfer to be made. "Hi Carol, what's going on."

The voice on the phone did not belong to Carol. "Kate, don't say my name out loud. It's Chloe. I need to talk to Jack. Is he there?"

"Ah, sure, but what's going on?" Kate asked confused.

"I can't say right now Kate. I really need to talk to Jack."

"Hang on, he's right here." Kate handed the phone to Jack. "It's for you."

"This is Jack."

"Jack, it's Chloe. I called you through Kate's line so it wouldn't be traced. I'm not sure how safe your phone is right now. Anyway, Tony's a basket case and he wants to talk to Michelle. I'm going to be leaving soon. I can get a scramble phone out of here. If you can meet me in front of the movie theater that is about 3 blocks south of the hospital in 45 minutes, I can give it to you. Tony will call at exactly 9:00 Pacific time."

"Forty-five minutes. I can do that," Jack answered succinctly.

"Ok, I'll see you there." Chloe hung up. Jack handed the phone back to Kate.

"What was that about?" Kate asked.

"She has some information for me. Nothing important. Are you getting hungry? I can go pick up some food. Michelle likes Chinese. I'm sure she would prefer that to hospital food."

"That sounds great, Jack. Thanks. For a tough guy, you're pretty sweet." Kate smiled and kissed him gently.

When Jack got back about an hour later, Michelle had been transferred from the emergency room to a private room upstairs. She and Kate were watching the news. The foreman of the jury that convicted Tony was being interviewed.

"This guy better not try to get famous over this," Jack said angrily. "Or he'll have me to deal with."

"No, Jack," Kate shook her hand and signaled for him to be quiet. "Listen to what he has to say."

The foreman told the interviewer that based on the way the case was presented, the jury members all felt there was no way to acquit Tony. What he had done was wrong, they could not consider him "not guilty," however none of them blamed him for his actions. None of the jury members wanted him to go to jail. They were all writing letters to the judge to ask for a suspended sentence. If that didn't work, they were going to write a letter to President Palmer asking him to pardon Tony.

"You're right. I'm impressed," Jack said with a smile on his face. "I hope it works."

All three of them were hungry and the room grew silent while they devoured the food.

"This beats hospital food. Thanks, Jack," Michelle said.

As they finished eating, Kim came in carrying Sophie who was being very fussy. "I've got someone here who wants to eat. I got her to eat some baby food, Michelle, but she just wouldn't take a bottle. I think she is used to you."

Sophie cheered up as soon as she saw Michelle. It made Michelle smile to see her beautiful daughter. Soon the baby was nursing happily.

Jack, Kate and Kim left the room so the two of them could be alone. They sat in the waiting room talking about nothing in particular. Kate noticed that Jack seemed distracted and kept checking his watch. It's almost 9:00, she thought, Jack likes to go to bed early, but not this early. The phone in Jack's pocket rang. He stood up and walked away from Kate and Kim before he answered it. The two women exchanged glances. They knew him better than anyone in the world. In fact, Kim marveled that although Kate had only known Jack about four years, in many ways she understood him far better than Teri ever had. They both knew that he was hiding something from them.

"Yeah," Jack said quietly.

"Jack?"

"Yeah, how are you?" Jack asked. "Look, I'm sorry about today. I wish it could have turned out differently."

"Don't be sorry. I'm disappointed, but it turned out like I expected. I saw the jury foreman on the news, though. That was interesting. It sort of makes me feel vindicated."

"Hang on, I'll give the phone to Michelle. Take care of yourself. I really hope to see you again."

"Yeah, I hope so, too," Tony said "Take care."

Jack rapped lightly on Michelle's door and cracked it open at the same time. "Michelle, I have a phone call for you," he said through the partially open door.

"You can come in, Jack. We're finished." Michelle sat up in bed playing with Sophie.

Jack handed her the phone. "I'll be outside."

"Hello," Michelle said.

"Hi, Sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Tony said, his voice cracking.

"Oh, Tony. Oh God, Tony. It's so good to hear your voice. I needed to hear your voice so much. I love you so much." She was speaking rapidly, barely stopping to take a breath.

"I love you, too, Baby. You scared me half to death today. I was watching on TV when you collapsed. Are you feeling better?"

"I still have a headache and stitches in my head, but overall, I hurt my pride a lot more than I hurt anything else. I'm sorry I scared you. The whole thing is so embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed, Honey. You've been under an incredible amount of pressure. I'm so sorry I've put you through all of this."

Michelle began to cry. "Oh, Tony, I have completely failed you. We should have worked harder on your defense. Maybe Bill was the wrong lawyer. I wish I could do it all over, I would do it differently and …"

Tony interrupted. "No, Michelle. There was nothing you or Bill could have done differently. None of this is your fault, Honey. I did what I did and I'm guilty, but I will never be sorry. You and Sophie are alive and it was worth it. Do I hear Sophie?"

"Kim brought her over so that I could feed her. She'll take a bottle during the day, but when she's sleepy, she still prefers to nurse. I guess she was giving Kim a fit," Michelle explained composing herself.

"Put the phone up to her ear. I want to tell her how much I love her," Tony said softly.

Michelle and Tony talked for about a half hour about Sophie and their families and their friends. It was wonderful just to make small talk, just to share the unimportant moments of their day. These were the things they both missed the most, just spending time together.

Michelle thanked him for the gifts he had been sending Sophie. Every few weeks a package would arrive for her. The return address was always from the store where it had been shipped. The card inside was always the same "Always and Forever". He had sent her books, and a gold bracelet, a doll, just little things to remind her that he hadn't forgotten her.

"Michelle," Tony said his tone suddenly very serious. "Now that we have a guilty verdict, why don't we just give up the fight? I've got my eye on a beautiful little ranch here. You can have a couple of horses. I know how much you like to ride. You can teach Sophie to ride when she gets older. We can be together, Michelle. We can add to our family. I can't live without you any longer, Baby."

"Oh, Tony, that's what I want, too, but not yet. Public opinion is on your side, Honey. You heard the jury foreman. The jury is going to petition the judge to give you a suspended sentence. And if that doesn't work, they're going to the President for a pardon. Give me some time, Tony. We can make this work. This is a matter of principle; your name should be cleared. You're not a traitor."

"Michelle, listen to yourself. You're driving yourself crazy. Let it go, Honey. It's over."

"I won't give up hope, Tony, not yet, maybe in a few months, but not yet. We said we would give it until Sophie turned two. I don't know that I want to wait that long, but let's at least give it another six or eight months."

Tony sighed. "Okay, but if at any moment you change your mind, you know how to contact me."

They said tearful goodbyes as Sophie fell asleep in Michelle's arms. Jack must have been close to the door. He stepped back in a few minutes after the conversation ended, giving Michelle enough time to wipe the tears from her eyes. He took the phone from her.

"You okay?"

Michelle smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Jack. I don't know how you made that happen, but I know you went out on a limb for us. I'll never be able to thank you enough."

Jack took Sophie from her arms. "Kate and I will take her home and stay with her tonight. You get some rest. We'll see you in the morning."

Michelle kissed Sophie and thanked Jack. She watched him leave and then laid back against the pillow. Her conversation with Tony whirled through her brain. She didn't know where he was, but she had always suspected South America. That might be home some day, she told herself. Some day, but not yet. She would rest for a few days and then resume the fight. It was worth it. Every bit of energy expended was worth it. She was committed to it, but knew in her heart that the battle most recently lost was a big one. She would push onward for now and know that regardless of the outcome, she and Tony would be together again, whether in the US or elsewhere, to happily live out their lives together.