Author's note: Hi, everyone! It's been a long time. I apologize. I had a lot of things to do for the university.
I'm very grateful for those who are still following this story. You guys are the reason I'm still doing this in spite of the low number of reviews.
This is chapter 12… We are halfway through the season!
I welcome the new readers. Please, make sure you read the other parts of this series so you can understand better what's going on.
To everyone: Please, leave a review telling me what you think.
Love,
Lara
Reminder: The lines represent a commercial break and the four lines in cursive before and after those lines are actions taking place simultaneously in a "split screen".
Disclaimer: The show's not mine. Neither are the characters. I just own the necklace Elisha Cubert used on season 7, the earrings Cherry Jones used on season 8, Marie Warner's purse and the complete set of DVDs.
CHAPTER 12:
"I would have killed him too"
Previously: Renee arrives to the White House after her ordeal and gives a statement to the press. She's still not talking to Jack.
The group is going to have Jack killed before the state of the union so he doesn't run into Mandy.
Reporter Valery Layton found out that Renee was raped by Vladimir and then slept willingly with him for eight months. In exchange for her silence she wants details of the FBI-CTU rescue operation, an excusive with her about the kidnapping, what she went through and whatever she wants to say about Vladimir. Jack found our about this and confronted the reporter.
Zoe's husband, Todd, is not happy with her working so much.
Allison is planning to announce in the State of the Union that she'll give the Moss-Buchanan act to congress for consideration. The bill has some changes, it will no longer allow the use of Hyrocine-pentoral.
Leo murdered Liev Mastrosov and found out where Igor Laitanan was hiding. He found Igor hiding in an old woman's apartment. He tortured him brutally to no avail. He eventually found a mysterious memory card in the gangster's skin. He took it and then killed Igor by burning him alive.
There are moles in the FBI, the White House and the secret service.
The following takes place between 07.00 PM and 08.00 PM, on the day of the State of the Union Address.
January 29th 2019 – Wednesday
07.02.14 PM
Washington DC. – The White House
Reporter Connie Fairbanks was waiting in the antechamber of Renee's office. She had been summoned there for reasons she didn't know yet. She wondered what the chief of staff could want. Renee Walker wasn't one to talk to the press often.
Renee's assistant Zoe then emerged from Renee's office and politely addressed the reporter. "She's ready for you, Ms. Fairbanks".
"Thank you". The short and a bit chubby reporter gave the younger woman a warm smile. Then she walked into Renee's office.
Renee saw the reporter and stood up promptly to greet her. "Connie".
Connie bowed her head slightly. "Ms. Walker. I'm glad to see you doing well. It must have been such a horrible ordeal".
Renee had heard those same words a thousand times in the past hour. "It was"
The chief of staff then bit her lower lips and scratched the side of her arm nervously. Since Valery had discovered her big secret, Renee had to talk to the press to control the story. She had to make sure to leak her herself in her own terms. It was the only way to prevent a huge scandal. She had chosen to leak the story to Constance Fairbanks, even though Sean Callahan and Ted Carlson were her favorite reporters, because Connie was a woman, and therefore could be more sympathetic to the hell Renee had gone through. But Renee hated deeply talking about what had happened to her. She didn't even like talking to Jack about it.
There was an awkward silence as Connie looked at the other woman with expectation in her pale-green eyes.
Finally, Renee gestured for her to seat in one of the couches. "Connie… I need to talk to you about something. I'm gonna give you a exclusive"
The reporter raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "And what do I have to do?"
"Nothing. But it's important that you understand… I will only talk about this once". Renee's face revealed how serious she was.
Connie gave her a nod like saying 'Fair enough' and got her recorder ready.
"As you already know, Igor Laitanan kidnapped me because he blames for the death of his brother, Vladimir". The reporter nodded again. "What you don't know is that Vladimir was a very violent man. He… He beat me constantly when I was working undercover with him and…". She closed her eyes unable to continue. She tried hard to restrain the tears as she recalled Vladimir kissing her and touching every inch of her body against her will. "He raped me". She simply omitted the part where she had slept with him willingly after being raped. "As a result I got pregnant. But I lost the baby because he beat me so brutally".
Connie scratched her forehead while absorbing all the information. Then she looked at Renee straight in the eye. "Is that why you killed him?"
"No", Renee had to lie to protect the president.
The reporter didn't quite believe her. "I would have killed him too", she admitted sincerely, trying to get Renee to open up. Her rounded and friendly face reflected nothing but sympathy and understanding. "Nobody will blame you for…"
Renee interrupted her sharply. "I had to kill him. He attacked me. That night he hit me and chocked me". She didn't say that the chocking had occurred an hour before she killed him. "I know I should have used non-lethal force to stop him, but I couldn't think straight. I was so scared. I thought he was going to rape me again".
Connie felt truly sorry for the woman in front of her. She wanted to give her a hug but couldn't because Renee was the chief of staff. Even if Renee was lying about the self-defense, the reporter wanted to go with that story to avoid hurting her. "It's okay. I… I have to write about this, but don't worry, the people will understand. You were simply protecting yourself from that horrible man, who was a gangster and a rapist".
The chief of staff simply nodded, hoping Connie was right.
"How far along were you?", Connie asked.
Once again, she felt unshed tears burning her eyes. "Thirteen weeks"
"So, you were still working with him thirteen weeks after he raped you?"
"Yeah. I… I had to stay under. I was trying to find evidence of Vladimir's many crimes. Not to mention that I was trying to find a group of gangsters that trafficked with weapons and women".
"But why didn't the FBI protect you?"
It was a question Renee had expected. Yet, she didn't quite know how to answer it. "Well, they kind of did… when Vladimir nearly beat me to death, the night I lost the baby, they rescued me and that's why I'm alive".
"But they let you stay with him, even though he raped you"
"They didn't know that". Renee looked down. "I was too embarrassed". She then looked at the reporter again, "You have to understand, Connie. I didn't want to talk about it with anyone. I… I wanted to pretend it never happened. It took me over six years to talk about it".
Connie then dared to hold one of Renee's hands in support. The reporter's almond pale-green eyes were full of the compassion Renee had been counting on.
07.05.31 – 07.05.32 – 07.05.33 – 07.05.34 PM
Jack's office
Jack and his deputy were talking about the situation in Lithuania, where Russia were about to go to war because Dalia Hassan had just lost an oil deal with Lithuania because of Russian President Nickolai Karkov. The Russian president had pushed his Lithuanian counterpart to make him blow off a deal made with Kamistan.
"According to NSA and CIA, Russian troops have been ordered to stand by. They are 156 miles away from the border", Nora explained while showing Jack transcripts of conversations between the troops and the Kremlin recently intercepted.
"And kamistan?"
"They seem to be setting camp 158 miles away from the border". As she answered, Nora showed him satellite photos and Jack thoughtfully examined them.
Jack's assistant, Ruth Carmichael, walked into the office at the moment with two cups of coffee. She gave one to Jack and another one to Nora. "Sir, the Attorney General called. He insists that you talk to him right away".
Jack was not at all surprised. He knew Allen Monroe would be asking for his head. "Okay. Make the call, please".
Ruth left the office to do as she had been told.
"Are you in trouble, Jack?", Nora asked with concern in her emerald eyes. She knew Jack had assisted Leo Craig, who was wanted by the FBI at the moment.
"Don't worry about it"
"Okay". Nora then took two little bags of sugar from her pocket and put the sugar in a cup of black coffee, which she then handed to Jack.
Jack gave her a small smile. "Thank you"
Nora smiled back charmingly. Then she put some sweetener Ruth had brought in her own cup of black coffee.
They silently drank the coffee for a moment.
Then Ruth's voice could be heard through the intercom. "Sir, the attorney general is on line one".
Jack quickly took the call. "Mr. Monroe, what can I do for you?"
Allen Monroe was sitting in his own office with a face that reflected nothing but fury, but Jack couldn't see him. "You can stop aiding federal fugitives, for starters"
Jack played dumb and pretended to take offence. "Excuse me?"
"You received a call from Leon Craig and instead of alerting the authorities you went to meet him and helped him scape"
"I did not help him scape. I went to meet him to convince him to turn himself in. If I had alerted the authorities it would have spooked him. I wanted to reason with him but he tied me to a pole"
"Are you under the impression that I was born yesterday, Mr. Bauer?"
Jack frowned but kept a polite tone. "No, sir"
Allen was examining Jack's, Renee's and Leo's files while talking. "I know Mr. Craig and your woman are close friends. That's why you helped him"
"I'm telling you I didn't help him. I tried to reason with him".
"That doesn't really matter. The fact that you went to meet him alone, without alerting the FBI, is enough for me to open an investigation. Aiding a fugitive is punished with fifteen years of jail, and you have to add obstruction of justice and accessory to the three murders Craig committed in that construction site…"
Jack's features darkened significantly. "You son of a bitch". Nora's eyes widened in surprise because of the language Jack had used with the attorney general. "You know very well I'm innocent. You just don't like me".
Allen finally lost his temper and raised his voice to give a very heated speech. "You are right about that, Mr. Bauer. I don't like you. You have spent your entire career breaking the law and getting away with it". The attorney general was outraged. "People just let you get away with everything. But those days are over. Like I told Walker…. If you break the law there will be consequences".
"I know. But I have not broken any law".
"In the past hour", Nora thought to herself as she tried to suppress a smile.
"Then you have nothing to worry about", the attorney general assured Jack. "Come to the justice department tomorrow, first thing in the morning, so I can take your official statement"
Having said all he wanted to say, the attorney general rudely hung up the phone without waiting for an answer.
07.08.52 – 07.08.53 – 07.08.54 – 07.08.55 PM - Washington DC. Time
02.08.52 – 02.08.53 – 02.08.54 – 02.08.55 AM - (January 30th 2019 – Thursday)- Rome, Italy time
Somewhere in Rome…
A man in a wheel chair, who called himself Joseph Bennett, was finishing his cup of cappuccino in the luxurious apartment he had in Rome, Italy. He was exhausted but he couldn't sleep. He was too nervous. Besides, he had to monitor the operation going down in the United States. It was one of the most important days in his life, the day in which he would destroy the US. government and the woman who had hurt him badly. It was the day of his vendetta.
As he drank his cappuccino, he was looking in his computer at Renee Walker wrapping up a meeting with some reporter. The live footage came from a camera secret service had installed for security reasons after Olivia Taylor's very short tenure as Chief of Staff. He was getting such images thanks to the mole in the secret service.
His features darkened significantly. He hated the fact that Walker was getting sympathy from that reporter. That woman deserved no sympathy. She should be punished from her crimes. And she would be… thanks to his plan.
His thoughts were interrupted when a beautiful Italian woman emerged from one of the bedrooms. He quickly replaced the images of Renee's office with a document made in Excel that showed the finances of his recently built private military company. His first military company, which his late father had founded, had been destroyed. So he had to start a new one from the scratch.
The woman approached him, put her hands on his shoulders and kissed his nearly bald head lovingly. "Are you coming to bed, amore?"
"I can't, bella. I have a lot of work to do"
She took a quick glance at the computer screen and saw nothing interesting. "Okay. I'll go to sleep now, but don't stay up too late".
"I won't". The man was getting annoyed. He definitely needed his lover to go away. "You have that photo shoot first thing in the morning, right?"
"Yeah"
"Then go to sleep. I'll be there soon", he lied. He wasn't planning to go to bed at all.
"Okay". She gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. "Goodnight, Joe".
"Goodnight, Monica"
After his lover when to bed, the man's cellphone rang. He looked at the caller id screen and it simply said "Brooke". He was very glad to get a call from that woman, who was his much appreciated right hand, and took the call eagerly. "Brooke, how is it going?"
"It's all going as it should, Joe"
Joseph frowned angrily as he looked at Renee in the computer again. Her assistant was giving her a coffee. "If that were true Walker would be dead by now"
"I know we had some set-backs…"
"It's amateur day!", Joe protested too loudly.
Brooke remained cold, calm and patient, as always. "Now things are back on track, Joe. Bauer will die and Walker will go home feeling devastated, she will be killed there".
"How?"
"Brendan will have his men plant a bomb in her house". Originally, the plan was to ambush Renee in her own home and put a bullet in her head. Yet, Brendan had a thing for explosions and changed his mind.
Joseph liked the idea, but he had serious doubts about the plan. "What if Walker decides not to go home right after Bauer's death because of what will happen at the capitol?"
"It doesn't matter. She'll have to go home eventually. The bomb will be set to go off as soon as she enters the living room"
"What if someone walks into that living room before her?"
"Some men will guard the manor to make sure that doesn't happen"
"I see". He made a pause. "And did you put the thing in Bauer's drink already?"
"That's taken care off. It just needs some time to take effect"
Joe nodded approvingly. "Good"
02.11.13 – 02.11.14 – 02.11.15 – 02.11.16 AM - (January 30th 2019 – Thursday)- Rome, Italy time
07.11.13 – 07.11.14 – 07.11.15 – 07.11.16 PM – (January 29th 2019 – Wednesday)- Washington DC. Time
Alexandria, Virginia – Oronoco St. and Alfred N St
Chaos reigned over Judith Solomon's street. The old lady and all her neighbors were across the street from their building watching, in shock, their building. One of the apartments had just caught fire. They were all talking to each other, stunned and confused. There were police officers, paramedics, FBI agents and firefighters everywhere. The FBI had arrived in an instant, since Judith had said the fire was caused by a federal fugitive who had tortured another federal fugitive. Those two men were the FBI's most wanted at the moment.
Judith was in an ambulance as the paramedics checked on her and an Agent Jeffrey Teller interrogated her politely but with a lot of urgency. "Ma'am, you said those two men were here". He showed her a photo of Leon Craig and another one of Igor Laitanan. "Is this the man who set your apartment on fire?"
She pointed at a picture of Leo. "Yeah!". She sniffed sadly, with tears in her eyes. "Everything is gone".
The agent just ignored that last comment. "You know where he's now?"
"No. He helped me get out of the apartment and then run away"
"Did you see what he did to the other man?"
"No. He locked me in the bathroom"
"Did he make any phone call? Did he say anything about his plans?"
"No. I'm sorry"
Right then, agent Greg Powell appeared from inside the building and addressed Jeffrey. "Sir, they found four bodies in the apartment across Ms. Solomon's, apartment 3A".
Judith covered her mouth, horrified. "Oh, God"
"Four unidentified males. All died apparently of multiple gunshots. The bodies were moved post-mortem"
Jeffrey frowned and nodded acknowledged the information. "Did Craig do it?"
"We don't know. We are looking for finger prints"
"And I guess the murder weapon was not found"
"It wasn´t", Powell confirmed.
Jeffrey then addressed the old woman. "Who lives in apartment 3A?"
"A young man, with curly black hair and brown eyes. His name is Ross. Very tall… big. But I don't know his last name"
"None of the victims fit that description", Greg promptly told Jeffrey.
"We need to find out who those guys are", Jeffrey stated solemnly.
Then another agent came from inside the building and addressed Jeffrey. "Sir, we did a preliminary exam of Laitanan's body. It seems to be that he was burnt alive. And three of his toes and his left ear were cut… also while he was alive".
Jeffrey was disgusted. "Craig is an animal!". He paused for a brief moment to think what to do. "Alert all the agents. The new order is to shoot on sight"
Greg widened his eyes in surprise. "Shoot on sight?"
"Shoot on sight", Jeffrey confirmed coldly. "And keep Renee Walker's manor under surveillance. Craig might hide there. Jack Bauer has been helping him, and Renee is probably helping Craig too".
Jeffrey then headed to the building with a scowl on his face.
At the same time, Connie Fairbanks was working on her article.
Right then, Nora entered the situation room to do her job.
At that moment, Mrs. Carmichael was working by her desk.
07.13.34 – 07.13.35 – 07.13.36 – 07.13.37 PM
07.17.01 – 07.17.02 – 07.17.03 – 07.17.04 PM
Jack continued to work in his office
Meanwhile, Joseph kept spying on Renee
In the interim, Jeffrey was examining Igor's body and feeling absolutely horrified.
At the same time, Renee was in her office reviewing the final draft of the state of the union address.
As Renee worked sitting behind her desk, her first assistant Erik entered the office and made an announcement. "Ma'am, Ms. Layton is here to see you".
Renee nodded. She had been expecting that insolent reporter from the ultra-conservative magazine 'human events'. "Send her in"
Erik left the office with a nod. A few seconds later, Valery Layton walked into the office with a smile on her face, the smile of a cat that had swallowed a canary. "Ms, Walker, you wanted to see me".
"Yeah". Renee stood up with a solemn expression and made a pause before giving the reporter the news. "I had a talk with Connie. I have explained her what happened between me and Vladimir Laitanan".
Valery was outraged. "What?! That was my story. The source came to me."
"But the story was about me. I decide who I talk to about it". There was a moment of tense silence as the two women shoot darts at each other with their eyes. Finally, Renee added something that would upset Valery even more. "I'm also removing your press credentials. You're banned from the White House".
The reporter could not believe her ears. "What?"
"Because of you I had to talk about what I went through, and I hate doing that"
"You can't do this"
"I just did"
"I was doing my job!"; Valery protested loudly.
"Now you'll have to do your job from somewhere else. You won't be able to set foot in the White House until there's a new Chief of staff"
Valery frowned, shook her exhaled "It's true. You're a bitch"
Renee folded her arms across her chest. Her face and body remained extremely tense. "Ms. Layton, it should take you seven minutes to get your things and leave the building…. I'll give you five".
07.18.25 – 07.18.26 – 07.18.27 – 07.18.28 PM
Bethesda, Maryland. The Walker-Bauer Manor.
As he had done earlier, Leo Craig broke into Renee's manor to hide. He had the memory card he had recovered from Igor's body, now he just needed to see it. He left the big backpack he was carrying in the living room, took off his jacket and took a seat. Then he grabbed one of the cellphones he carried. He introduced the bloody memory card in it and opened the files. Surprisingly, it worked.
He widened his hazel eyes in shock for what he saw.
There were pictures of Mikail Novalovich giving a couple of envelopes to Pavel Tokarev and others of Pavel giving those same envelopes to Samir Mehran and Sergei Bazhaev. Then Leo opened a video file which had been recorded on March 12 of 2018.
In the video, you could see Former Russian Foreign Minister Mikail Novakovich drinking vodka in what seemed to be a private study. You could see pictures of him and his family on a wall and there were a couple of college degrees hanging on the wall as well.
Leo paused the video and zoomed in to the degrees , noticing they were Novakovich's. The office obviously belonged to the Foreign Minister. Leo then continued to watch the video.
Yuri Suvarov walked into the office with a very serious expression. "What happened?", he asked dryly in Russian without exchanging any pleasantries.
"Pavel says Mehran and Bazhaev took the money. Everything is going well", Novakovich answered, also speaking in Russian. "We'll make CTU believe Hassan's mistress wants to kill him, so they'll be too distracted with her to stop us"
"And we have someone inside CTU, right?"
"Yes, indeed. Don't worry. Things will turn out allright. Hassan will die, his enemies will possess nuclear weapons and that will kill the peace treaty and give you and the Americans a reason to isolate and bomb Kamistan back to the Stone Age" . Novakovich then gave the other man a glass of Vodka and drank a little from his own.
"And nobody will say I didn't try to archive peace". Suvarov then drank some vodka, feeling content.
As Suvarov finished his glass of vodka, Novakovich refilled his own. "That's true, sir".
"Did you find out Brooke's real name?"
"Yeah… it's…"
Then Leo had to pause the video because he heard someone trying to break into Renee's house. He immediately hid behind the couch and aimed his gun at the front door of the manor.
Chad Atworth, Ross Kinkaid and Drake Covington, who worked for Brendan Marson, entered the living room.
Having the element of surprise on his side, Leo shot Chad directly on the head with remarkable aiming. The mercenary died instantly. The other two mercenaries quickly began to return the fire, hitting Leo on the right shoulder.
Soon, Drake aimed his own gun at Leo's head and cocked it. "This is over, Craig"
Suddenly, four FBI agents came into the living room with their own guns readied. "FBI! Stop!", one of the agents yelled.
There was chaos in the living room as Drake, Ross and Leo run on different directions.
Asian FBI agent Mark Dorman and Luis Kilner went after Leo. Mark shot at Leo instantly, following orders from his superior. Yet, he didn't shoot to kill. He hit Leo on the left leg. Leo fell down but quickly shot both agents on the legs, trying not to cause too much damage. He then managed to stand up and leave the house, limping and groaning in pain.
Meanwhile, Agent Peter Remik chased Drake. But quickly Drake managed to shoot him in the chest.
At the same time, Agent Dale Reynolds chased Ross. Ross tripped and Dale soon immobilised him. The agent then talked to his cuff mic. "This is agent Reynolds. There's been a shooting in Renee Walker's house. We need an ambulance".
The FBI agent handcuffed the guy and brusquely grabbed him from the arm and took him back to the house. Once inside, he forced him to seat in a couch.
Dale stopped the video right away, feeling alarmed. He couldn't believe the evidence he had in his hands.
07.22.10 – 07.22.10 – 07.22.10 – 07.22.10 PM
Washington DC. – The White House
Zoe O'Malley Forrest was working by her desk, in the antechamber of Renee's office. As the phone rang, she took the call. "Renee Walker's office, how may I help you?"
"Mrs. Forrest? This is Agent Hank Grunwald. Your husband is at the main entrance of the white house"
"What?"
"He's here, but I can't let him in. I told him that visitors have to give a week notice"
"Yeah, I know".
"He refuses to leave. He demands to see you", Hank added and made an awkward pause. "I'm pretty sure that he has been drinking"
"Oh, God". She bit her lower lip and shook her head. "I'll go talk to him"
Her colleague Erik gave her then a look of concern. "What's wrong?"
"My husband is here and he's drunk". She sighed and headed fast to the main entrance, where her husband Todd was drunkenly arguing with Hank.
"I'm not a fucking criminal! My wife works here!"
Hank kept a professional tone. "Sir, all visitors must give a week notice before coming to the white house"
Zoe then interfered. "Todd, you have to go home. You can't come to the white house"
"But I'm your husband!"
"That doesn't matter. This is the White House, not some wedding reception. I'm not registered as Zoe plus one"
Todd frowned. "Then you have to come home with me"
"I can't"
"I'm tired of this shit! I didn't get married to spend all the fucking day alone!"
Zoe felt tears coming to her aquamarine-green eyes. "Tomorrow will be better. I promise"
"You always make promises you don't keep". Todd then approached his wife threating her. "If you don't come home soon you are going to regret it"
Hank instantly positioned himself between Zoe and Todd in a protective manner. His face had a very intimidating expression. "Sir, you have to leave now, or I will arrest you"
Todd then decided to give up, but not before giving Hank an angry stare. "I could crush you using only one hand".
Yet, he wasn't drunk enough to fight a secret service agent in the white House, so he just left.
Zoe had tears rolling from her eyes. She wiped then with a hand and put on a stoic face as he addressed Hank, "Please, don't tell my dad"
"I won't", the agent promised.
Zoe rewarded him with a tiny smile. "Thank you"
Hank smiled back and then Zoe returned to the outer space of Renee's office. Erik was there and felt very concerned. "Are you okay, Zo?"
"Yeah", Zoe said very unconvincingly. "My… my husband drank too much and was very upset because I have to work late".
Erik paused as he took the information in. "I see. Listen, If you need to go home I can go to the capitol. It's no problem".
Zoe shook her head. "No. It's not fair to you"
"I want to do it", Erik assured her firmly. "All I have waiting for me at home is a two-day-old pizza. You have a husband"
She bit her lower lip. "I don't know"
"Seriously, Zoe, I'll be happy to do it"
"Well, if you insist"
"I insist"
Zoe gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you".
She gathered her things to go and gave Erik a kiss on the cheek before leaving quickly. Erik sighed sadly.
07.25.07 – 07.25.08 – 07.25.09 – 07.25.10 PM
Suitland- Silver Hill, Maryland. – Howe Av. and Lewis Av. – Brendan Marson's apartment
Brendan was at the moment siting on his couch with his much younger girlfriend, Teddy Blackstone, watching the CNN to keep himself well informed. As soon as he heard he cell, he took the call after checking the caller ID screen. "Drake, hi. Is it done?"
Drake Covington was now running away from Renee's manor as fast as he possibly could. He stopped for a moment and looked around to make sure nobody was following him. "No. We had a problem"
Brendan straightened his back and frowned. "What happened?"
"Leo Craig was there, hiding from the feds".
"Did you take him out?"
"We couldn't. The feds showed up. I managed to escape, but they arrested Ross"
Brendan instantly noticed then that Drake hadn't mentioned Chad Atworth. He narrowed his electric blue and big eyes with suspicious. "What about Chad?"
"Craig killed him"
Brendan widened his eyes, opened his mouth with a hand on the forehead and rested his back against the back of the couch. He then informed his girlfriend. "Chad is dead"
Teddy covered her mouth in horror. "Oh, no"
"What are we going to do about Ross? We can't let the feds interrogate them. He'll break like an egg"
Brendan silently pondered about the situation for a moment. "He's weak. And he's never been the brightest crayon in the box"
Drake didn't argue that. "So, what do we do?"
"Tell our FBI guy to take care of him", Brendan ordered showing no emotion. "And, Drake… we must avenge Chad's death. He was one of us". Then he theatrically added a line from the movie 'Star Trek: First Contact'. "The line must be drawn here! This far and no further! And I will make them pay for what they've done!"
Drake couldn't help to roll his eyes, feeling a bit bored with Brendan's obsession with movies. But he went along with it anyway. "They will pay. That's for sure".
"Yeah", Brendan sighed. "Gather the rest of the team. I'll see you in the capitol".
He disconnected the call and Teddy put a hand on his shoulder, trying to give him some comfort. "I'm sorry about Chad".
Brendan frowned with fury in his blue eyes. "This is all Joe Bennett's fault! He was stupid and sent that idiot of Laitanan to kill Walker. Both Bennett and Laitanan were blinded by their hatred so the operation to kill Walker failed. If it hadn't failed Chad wouldn't have gone to Walker's house"
"Forget about Bennett, Bren. You can't touch him"
Brendan sighed with resignation, knowing his girlfriend was right. "I know"
Teddy simply held his hand in support.
At the same time, Drake went to get his car, which was hidden near Renee's house.
At that moment, Zoe was in the white house's parking lot heading to her car.
Meanwhile, agents Reynolds and Kilner were taking Ross to the FBI headquarters.
07.27.06 – 07.27.07 – 07.27.08 – 07.27.09 PM
07.31.11 – 07.31.12 – 07.31.13 – 07.31.14 PM
In Renee's house, more FBI agents had arrived to analyze the crime scene.
In the interim, Leo was hiding in the woods, he was in immense pain and losing a lot of blood.
Right then, Ross was still in the back of the FBI vehicle looking through the window with a worried expression on his face.
At the same time, Renee was in her office with a concerned look on her face.
Renee was sitting behind her desk, still feeling in shock. They had just told her about the incident in her house. She just couldn't believe it. Secret Service Agent Arizona Rush had given Renee the information.
"Ms. Walker, do you know either of the suspects?", Arizona asked as Renee looked at a photo of Chad Artwood and Ross Kinkaid.
"No. I have no idea who these guys are"
"Could it be that they were there looking for Mr. Bauer or Mr. Craig?"
Renee thought about it for a moment. Those men didn't appear in Jack's file. They weren't known enemies of Leo either. But maybe either Leo or Jack had hid their connection to those guys from CTU and the FBI for some reason. "I guess it's possible".
Arizona nodded, taking the words in. "Ma'am, in light of these events, you'll continue to have the protection of Agent Adamson and myself", Arizona announced. She and her partner Garrick Adamson had been put in charge of protecting Renee because of Igor Laitanan. They had been about to be released from that duty because Laitanan was now dead. But, considering what had happened in Renee's house, they had to continue protecting her.
Renee was not at all happy about it but had to accept it. "I understand"
"We are gonna send a small team to the house to make a security sweep". Renee opened her mouth as to objects, but Arizona interrupted her. "That's not an option". She made a pause and then continued. "Agent O'Malley sent a couple of agents to the FBI to question the suspect in custody"
"Okay. Tell them to play nice. The FBI and the Secret Service will have to share jurisdiction over this"
"The FBI won't be happy about it. Neither will our guys"
"They are all gonna have to act like grownups and live with it"
Arizona gave her a small smile. "Okay, ma'am"
"Ma'am?", Erik called for her and talked again once he had Renee's attention. "Travis Herncastle, from World Net Daily, called. He wants to know if it's true that the FBI caught a guy trying to put a bomb in your house and that Leon Craig was hiding in there"
"Tell him I'm not making any comments"
Erik was absolutely shocked that she wasn't denying it. "So, it is true"
"Don't worry about it"
He couldn't not worry about it. He was very fond of Renee. "But…"
"Don't worry about it, Erik", Renee insisted firmly. She didn't like it when other people worried about her. "We should only worry about one person's reaction …."
Right on cue, Jack busted into the office. He looked like a ball of fury. Someone had tried to kill Renee for the second time in seven hours. He felt terrified. "Who the hell are those bastards with the bomb? I'll kill them! I swear to God I'll kill them". Renee and Jack were I the middle of a fight, but he would still protect her with his own life.
"Calm down, Jack", Renee said casually, not seeming upset at all. "You're not killing anybody".
Jack regained his composure. "Who are they? Why were they trying to kill you?"
Erik then discretely left the office to let them talk in private.
"I don't know. I've never met them". She then showed him a picture on her computer. Even though he was furious at Jack, he still had the right to know all the information, so she gave it to him calmly. Jack stood behind her desk next to her to observe the images on the computer screen. First, she showed him a picture of Ross, a huge guy with a lot of muscle, with black short curls and russet-brown eyes. "This is the guy they caught, Ross Kinkaid. He works as a security guard in zoo". Then she showed Jack the picture of another huge man, even bigger than Kinkaid. "This is the one who got killed, Chad Atworth, from the UK. He used to be a cop in England until he got fired for corruption. He would sell his mother for cash. Now he works as a security guard in the Holocaust museum. Coincidentally, Kinkaid and him, both, took a personal day today. I guess to plan the attack"
"Why would they want to kill you?"
"Who says they wanted to kill me? Maybe they were after you or both of us", Renee pointed out.
"True". Jack was surprised and confused, though. Those guys weren't in his once kilometric list of enemies, which had actually grown shorter because many of them were dead now. He had never heard of Kinkaid and Atworth. "But I don't know them either".
After a pause, Renee moved on to the Leo issue. "Jack… Did you know Leo was hiding in the house?"
"I swear I didn't"
"He got hurt, Jack. They shot him in the leg"
Jack simply nodded. He already knew that. "Where is he now?"
"Nobody knows. He escaped, somehow". Renee then paused and frowned with anger directed at Jack in her pale blue eyes. "He wouldn't be hurt if you had turned him in to the authorities".
"I never wanted him to get hurt. I just feel like he's doing the right thing"
"The right thing? He shot three FBI agents today… He burnt a man alive, for God's sake!"
"He only wounded those agents. He caused minimal damage", he pointed out, even though he knew that nobody would care about that fact. "And Igor Laitanan deserved to be burnt alive". Jack knew that wouldn't matter either.
Renee was about to say something, but she was interrupted by Erik's voice in the intercom. "Ms. Walker? Ms. O'Brian is on line one. She needs to talk to you"
"Okay, thanks". She then took the call and put Chloe O'Brian on the speaker. "Chloe, you're on the speaker, Jack's here with me. What's going on?"
Chloe as usual didn't waste time and went straight to the point. "Look, I know this doesn't matter now, but I managed to recover the deleted footage from the prison's security cameras. Leo didn't kill Jacob Bukin. Liev Mastrosov did".
"Did you tell the FBI?", Renee asked, even though she knew it actually didn't matter. Leo had done a lot of bad things ever since he escaped FBI custody after being framed for Bukin's death.
"I did". After answering, Chloe made a very awkward pause. She had to say something that wouldn't be well received. "Renee… Jeffrey Teller is now telling his agents to shoot to kill if they see Leo".
Renee rested her back against the back of her chair in shock. She had a terrified expression on her face.
Chloe just kept talking awkwardly. "Renee, CTU doesn't have jurisdiction over Leo's case. The FBI does. But if they find him they'll kill him". Chloe was doing that thing where she pointed out why a situation was really bad even though it was obvious, as she so often did. "I know you love him like a brother. I'm sorry"
Renee didn't have time to listen to Chloe anymore. "Chloe, I have to go now. We'll talk later". She then stood up and shot another angry dart at Jack with her eyes. "If you had turned him in this wouldn't have happened"
"I was trying to help", Jack protested, getting angry himself.
Renee sighed with clear frustration. "This is exactly what I was worried about! This is exactly why I wanted Leo to go to jail, so he wouldn't get killed". Jack said nothing. She sighed yet again. "Get out. Get out of my office"
Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?"
"I can't even look at you right now"
"Fine", Jack spited out that word angrily in his usual way and left the office.
Renee truly hated it when they had one of their typical fights. But she felt she was in the right. Helping Leo had only make things worse. She soon decided there was only one thing she could do for Leo and called Jeffrey Teller.
Teller was still in the scene of Igor Laitanan's murder. He heard his cellphone ringing and took the call in an instant. "Teller"
"Jeffrey, this is Renee"
"Hi. Did they tell you what happened in your house?"
"Yes"
"Leo was there", Jeff said with clear accusation in his tone.
"I have nothing to do with it. I didn't even know he was there"
"You are his best friend, Renee…", he pointed out.
"But I didn't help him"
"The investigation with determine that"
"Look, I didn't call you to listen to your accusations. I'm calling you because I heard you ordered the agents to shoot Leo to kill"
"The guy is an animal, Renee. He shot at three FBI agents today, he brutally killed those people at the construction site and he burnt Igor Laitanan alive. My men have to protect themselves. If they don't kill Craig, Craig will kill them"
"Leo would never kill an FBI agent!"
"The guy has become a brutal unpredictable animal. You don't know what he might do. You should see Igor Laitanan's body"
"He had it coming", Renee stated, knowing it wouldn't help.
"That doesn't matter. Craig is not above the law. And neither is your boyfriend"
She then decided to use the ace under her sleeve and used her best threating voice. "Listen to me, Jeff… if Leo dies today I will destroy you. And I don't mean just your career. I will make your whole life a living hell. And I will start by telling your wife about you and Marci"
Jeffrey was seriously alarmed then. "You can't do that! I have three children!"
"You should have thought about them before cheating on your wife. And Marci is not even your only mistress".
The agent was silent for a moment to think about what to do. "Okay. I'll order the guys not to kill Craig. But, Renee, if Craig kills one of my men it's gonna be your fault".
"He won't kill any of your men"
"I hope you're right. By the way, what do you think Larry would think if he could see you helping a criminal like Craig?"
Renee's delicate features were covered by a cloud of fury. "Go to hell". She hung up the phone.
07.38.55 – 07.38.56 – 07.38.57 – 07.38.58 PM
Bethesda, Maryland.
Leo was in the middle of the woods, trying to hide from the FBI. He was really screwed. He was in immense pain and he was losing a lot of blood from the wounds in his left leg and right shoulder. He had taken off his own sweater to make a tourniquet in his leg, which seemed to help a little with the blood loss. But he was freezing. The weather was very cold. To make matters even worse, he had left his jacket and backpack with many supplies in Renee's house. All he had in his possession now was his gun and some money in his pockets. He didn't know what to do.
He sat next to a tree feeling really dizzy and nauseated. His heart was beating maniacally and he was hyperventilating.
He had to do something. He had to get to a house, threaten whoever was inside with the gun and use the stuff they might have to stop the bleeding.
He managed to stand up and saw a lonesome house in the distance. With a lot of difficulty, he managed to get to the front garden of the house, but he was feeling weaker and weaker. Soon he collapsed to the ground on his back and lost consciousness.
A teenage girl emerged from the house carrying a bag with trash she had to take out. She dropped the bag in shock upon seeing the unconscious man covered in blood. She ran back to the house yelling out for her dad. "Daddy!"
The father emerged from the house and was also shocked to see the injured man there. "Call 911!"
07.41.50 – 07.41.51 – 07.41.52 – 07.41.53 PM
FBI headquarters
Agent Dale Reynolds walked into the FBI headquarters with Ross, who was handcuffed and looked scared. Soon, Janis Gold approached them. "Mark and Luis are already in surgery"
"What about Peter?", Dale asked with concern. Janis just looked down sadly and shook her head. The agent understood what that meant. He then addressed agent Timothy Moran. "Take this bastard to the interrogation room".
Then Tim brusquely grabbed a terrified Ross by the arm and started dragging him to the interrogation room. "Come on… move!"
"I need to talk to Jeffrey", Dale said to Janis. The nerdy data analyst nodded in acknowledgement, headed to her desk and went to place the call. After dialing the number, she handed Dale the receiver. Dale waited until Jeffrey took the call after three rings. "Jeffrey?"
"Dale, what have you got?"
"I have bad news. Peter is dead"
"Damn it! That's the second agent we lost today, we have three others who are wounded and our director completely lost his mind". Jeffrey puffed and shook his head. "Mark and Luis?"
"They are in surgery"
Jeffrey took the information in before reluctantly giving Dale some news. "By the way, the orders regarding Craig have changed. Do not shoot to kill. It's imperative that we get him alive"
Dale was confused by that. "Why?"
"He has information we need", Jeffrey lied in an instant. Naturally, he couldn't say the real reason. "Now start questioning the suspect. I'm on my way". He said as he got in a car to go back to the headquarters. Then he disconnected the call.
Dale then handed Leo's cellphone to Janis. "Janis, this is Leo's. We need to analyze the content of the memory card"
"Okay", she agreed.
Dale headed to the interrogation room, where Ross was being interrogated by Tim Moran.
"Okay, Kinkaid…", Tim said with fury in his eyes. "Your friend killed my friend Peter so, I wanna know where your friend is"
"I don't know"
"Think! Where would he go to hide?", Tim insisted.
Ross didn't know the answer for sure. He could make a guess, but he wouldn't. "I don't know". He was very nervous. He imagined Brendan was furious. And Brendan was a very dangerous man. Ross's mouth was very dry and he was sweating like a pig. "I… I need water"
Tim was outraged. "Water? Do we look like waiters to you?"
Dale then interfered, to cool things down. "It's okay, Tim. Give him some water". Tim left reluctantly to get a glass of water. Dale took a seat in front of the suspect. "We caught you with a bomb in the house of the president's chief of staff. You're in serious trouble, Kinkaid. The smartest thing you can do right now is cooperate. Tell us what you know".
"I want a lawyer"
"We'll get you one. But, in the meantime, you should tell us what you know"
"If I talk, I'm a dead man"
At that moment, Janis Gold appeared. "Dale, I need to talk to you"
"Think about what I said", Dale told the suspect before going with Janis to the adjoining observation room. "What is it?"
"Ross Kinkaid actually owns the apartment in which those bodies appeared, apartment 3 A. Those murders have to be connected with the attempt to kill Renee. And Igor Laitanan was definitely at that apartment. His fingerprints were all over the place"
"So Kinkaid is somehow connected to the murder of Elizabeth too", Dale concluded.
"And there're bloody footprints that prove that Leo was also in the apartment and then headed to Mrs. Solomon's place"
"To look for Laitanan, I'm sure", Dale easily guessed. "Now, why would this guy hide Elizabeth's killer in his apartment?". Janis said nothing since she didn't know the answer. Dale then he headed back into the interrogation room. "How do you know Igor Laitanan?"
"I know nothing about that fat dude"
Ross was clearly lying. Dale gave him a clear I-am-not-an-idiot look. "You obviously know him"
"I don't"
"And do you know who these men are?", Dale asked while showing Ross pictures of the people murdered in apartment 3A. Ross shook his head. "They were killed in your apartment, Ross"
Ross was confused. It was the first time he heard of the murders in the apartment which, actually, belonged to Brendan. It was under Ross's name for Brendan's protection. "I don't know anything"
Finally, Tim came back with a glass full of water. "Here you have" He brusquely put the glass on the table.
Ross drank a bit of water.
Meanwhile, Leo was in an ambulance, being taken to the hospital
At that moment, Jeffrey Teller was driving to the FBI headquarters.
At the same time, Zoe was driving to her house, looking miserable.
07.45.46 – 07.45.47 – 07.45.48 – 07.45.49 PM
07.49.05 – 07.49.06 – 07.49.07 – 07.49.08 PM
Ross was sitting by himself in the interrogation room as they waited for his lawyer.
Renee was in her office meeting with her deputy.
Arizona and Garrick were posted outside Renee's office.
Then the ambulance arrived to Sibley Memorial Hospital with Leo.
The EMTs rushed Leo into the ER and soon a team of doctors and nurses went to receive him. An EMT informed the doctors. "White male. About 50 years old. Two gunshots in the shoulder and the leg. No exit wound. BP is 120/90"
They began the treatment and soon a nurse recognized Leo from the news. "This is that guy the FBI is looking for. Leon Craig".
"Call the FBI and call security. And ask for his medical history", a doctor called Gillian Bailey ordered. Then he addressed the patient, who seemed pretty agitated. "Mr. Craig, relax. We are going to take good care of you"
Leo then grabbed a doctor by the arm, took off the oxygen mask and tried to speak. "Renee Walker. Need to talk to Renee Walker"
"Sir, we need to take you to surgery right now", the doctor told him.
Leo shook his head. "Don't put me under general anesthesia until I talk to Renee Walker"
"Mr. Craig…"
"Get me a damn phone!". After yelling he winced in pain.
Two hospital security guards soon appeared and handcuffed Leo to the bars on the side of the gurney. Leo didn't fight it because he was feeling very weak.
The doctor took her own cellphone from her pocket and gave it to Leo, figuring there was no harm in letting him make one phone call. "But make it quick"
Leo nodded and dialed the number of Renee's office.
Erik picked up the phone after a couple of rings. "Renee Walker's office, how may I help you?"
"This is Leo Craig. I need to talk to Renee"
Erik widened his black eyes in shock. "Of course. I'll patch you through"
Very soon Renee took the call. "Yeah?"
"Renee, it's me"
Renee couldn't believe his ears. "Leo! Oh my God! Where the hell are you?"
"In the hospital. They are taking me to surgery soon". He winced in pain once again. "Listen, I saw the evidence Jason Pillar had. Laitanan had stolen it. There are pictures and a video that prove Yuri Suvarov had Omar Hassan killed and was involved in giving the radioactive bomb to Hassan's enemies"
Renee was in complete shock. "And where is it?"
"The memory card is in my cellphone, which I left in your house. The FBI must have it. Tell them to see the video".
Renee sighed in relief. "Okay, Leo. This is over now, right? Laitanan is dead and Suvarov will pay for what he did. So don't do anything stupid like trying to escape"
"I'm not planning to. I did what I had to do and I'm willing to pay the consequences"
Renee's heart was breaking. She didn't want her friend to go to jail, but there was no way out. A part of her hated Leo for what he had done. "What you did… damn it, Leo. You don't decide who lives and who dies"
Leo chucked bitterly. "That's where you're very-very wrong. You mean that I shouldn't decide, but I did… I have made such decision many-many times"
Renee grew even more furious when she realized Leo felt no remorse whatsoever. "Are you even aware of what you did?"
"I did it for Lizzy. She deserved justice"
Renee gasped exasperated. "For Lizzy? You have no idea of what's gonna happen now, don't you? Her name will be forever associated to today murders. Whenever someone talks about her they'll say she's the reason why you went crazy and killed all those people". Renee's pale blue eyes were blurred by unshed tears. "She'll be remembered for this. Not for her years of service or her sweetness and kindness".
Leo felt like someone was sticking a knife in his heart. He just looked down ashamed and said nothing as the tears filled his hazel eyes.
Renee sighed with resignation. "Look, in spite of what you did, you're my best friend. So, I'll do my best to get you the shortest possible sentence. I'll use the full power of my office"
"I don't care about that".
The defeat and sadness in Leo's tone made Renee's heart ache badly. "But I do".
Dr. Bailey then interrupted then. "Mr. Craig…. You really need to be taken to surgery now"
Leo nodded in acknowledgement and addressed Renee once again. "I have to go now"
"I'll visit you as soon as I can", Renee promised sincerely.
Leo simply hung up the phone.
07.52.18 – 07.52.19 – 07.52.20 – 07.52.21 PM
Suitland- Silver Hill, Maryland. – Howe Av. and Lewis Av. – Brendan Marson's apartment
Brendan took off his t-shirt, folded it neatly and put it carefully over the bed. Then he looked at himself in the mirror that was by the closet. His chest was full of the scars from the burns he had received during his time in the US. Special Forces, when a mission had gone terribly wrong. His face looked perfect, though, because he had the scars on the face fixed with plastics surgeries. He considered himself a very attractive man with his electric blue eyes, blonde hair and tick eyebrows. He was sure that if they made a movie about Brendan Marson, Martin Sheen would play the role.
After removing the rest of his clothes, he put on a police uniform his girlfriend had made especially for him.
His son Nolan then walked into the bedroom after knocking softly on the door. "Dad? Are you ready?"
"Yes, indeed". He then looked at himself in the mirror once again. "Doesn't this uniform look exactly like the real ones?"
"It does. My compliments to Teddy".
"Yeah. She kept whining about how sexist it was that because she's the woman she was put in charge of the clothes. But she did a good job". He then patted his son's shoulder. "Let's go"
In the living room, other members of the gang were waiting for them. Mason Butcher, the nerdy bomb expert who had a PHD in chemistry, and Brigham Dawson, a huge British guy who used to be in the military.
Mason approached Brendan and Nolan and handed them two cellphones, then he gave Brigham another one. He showed them how it worked. "These are the detonators. You've to press this button. After you do, you have three minutes, and only three minutes, to leave"
"And the primary bomb?", Brendan asked as he examined his detonator.
"Mandy already has it", Mason explained.
Brendan nodded approvingly. "Okay". He realized that a member of his team was missing. "Where's Drake?"
Right on cue, Drake entered the apartment, returning from his ordeal in Renee's house. "I'm here, boss"
"If you were followed I'll kill you", Brendan warned severely.
"I wasn't", Drake assured him.
Brendan was satisfied. Then he realized it was time to give an inspirational speech. "Okay, people. We are well prepared. Operation Infinite Chaos will be a success. It has to be a success. We have all been screwed over by the government. They are not protecting Americans like they should. Liberal measures simply don't work and we are gonna prove it. We'll make them see their errors. That's gonna be our legacy". He threw firmly a fist in the air for emphasis. Then he addressed Drake. "Get changed so we can go".
Drake nodded and left to do as told.
07.54.32 – 07.54.33 – 07.54.34 – 07.54.35 PM
FBI HEADQUARTERS
Janis was working in her computer as always and heard his phone ringing. She took the call after two rings. "Gold"
It was Renee calling her. "Janis, it's me".
"Renee, what can I do for you?"
"Did they found Leo's cell phone in my house?", Renee asked with urgency in her tone.
"Yes".
"Have you looked at the content of the memory card?"
"Yeah. Why?", Janis answered casually.
Renee was surprised to hear that. She thought the evidence in Leo's cellphone would cause a big commotion once discovered. "What did you see?"
Janis shrugged. "Nothing really interesting. Music, photos of Cooper and Elizabeth. Messages from you, Elizabeth and other agents"
Renee couldn't understand what was going on she was growing alarmed. "That's Leo's memory card. But he put the other memory card in his cellphone"
"What other memory card?"
"There was another memory card, with evidence that proved Yuri Suvarov was behind the assassination of Omar Hassan and the providing of nuclear weapons to the IRK rebels"
"There was no other memory card, Renee"
"Leo saw it with his own eyes. Tell Jeffrey to look for it"
Janis didn't quite believe it. "Leo is not in his right mind, Renee. He's gone crazy".
"Just look for the damn card, Janis", Renee ordered and hung up the phone.
Janis hung up the phone too and then saw two men she didn't know walking into the bullpen. She stood up and approached them to find out who they were.
One of the men introduced himself flashing a badge. "Hi. I'm agent Brady Weathers, secret service, and this is my partner Agent Connor Mcallister"
Right then FBI Agents Lenny Charters and Brandon Turner entered the bullpen with some evidence they had collected from Judith Solomon's apartment and from apartment 3A. Brandon noticed the secret service agents and got upset because he knew who they were and why they were there. "Oh, no. No. No. You are not taking the case away from us".
Brady immediately stepped up to face Brandon. "We are not taking anything away from you. We were told to share jurisdiction".
"No way", Brandon protested. "This is an FBI case"
Of course, Brady wouldn't have that. "Kinkaid was found with a bomb inside the house of the White House Chief of Staff. It's our jurisdiction".
"He's somehow connected to the murder of one of our agents. Two of the FBI most wanted men were in his apartment", Lenny then argued angrily.
It was then Connor who intervened. "Which is why we'll let you be involved in the case too"
Brandon was outraged. "You will let us? No, pal. We will let you". He pocked Connor's chest with the index finger when he said 'you' for extra emphasis.
"Gentlemen, we are wasting valuable time", Brady said. "We need to see the suspect".
"I'll show you", Lenny said, clearly unhappy about it. "This is our house after all".
The four agents marched into the interrogation room. When they opened the door the four pairs of eyes widened in surprise. Ross was lying in a pond of his own blood with cuts in his wrists. The cuts had been made with the glass of water, which was now broken.
07.57.03 – 07.57.04 – 07.57.05 – 07.57.06 PM
The White House
Jack was at the moment in the middle of a meeting with Carlton Greene, Undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, and Ariel Swan, Undersecretary of Defense for policy. They were discussing the important matter of the US. Nuclear weapon program.
"I know this is not what you want to hear, Jack. But I can't do anything about it", Ariel explained. "Secretary Fenwick is determined to fight the Taylor Nuclear Initiative with all his forces"
"He hates the idea of reducing our nuclear arsenal even more than he hates abortions and homosexuals", Carlson added.
Jack just blinked, not knowing what to say. For some strange reason, he was having problems carrying on a simple conversation. His head was aching like hell and he felt dizzy and with nauseas. The pain was so strong. But he had to say something. He had to focus. He looked at the notes he had in front of him and thought of something. "Tell him… uh, have you…?". He made a short pause as he felt like an iron anvil fell in his head from the top of the Empire State building. "Have you explained to him that the president's idea is good for the economy?". Another wave of pain hit him. He felt lost and had to read from his notes again. "1.2 million…". He blinked with confusion again. "No, I'm sorry… 1.2 billion were paid under the… the…". He had to read from the notes again. "The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990…. to U.S. citizens exposed to nuclear hazards resulting of our nuclear weapons program". He then winced in pain.
Carlton and Ariel exchanged a concerned look. Something was obviously wrong with Jack. "Are you okay, Jack? Can we get you anything?"
"I'm fine", Jack groaned unconvincingly. But he couldn't take it anymore. He pressed the button of the intercom to ask his assistant for help. "Chloe! I need an aspirin, now!"
Instantly, his assistant Ruth appeared. Jack looked at her like he couldn't recognize her. Ruth was also puzzled. "My name is Ruth, sir. Not Chloe".
Jack shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He was embarrassed but only showed anger. "Of course your name is Ruth! What are you saying? Just get me the damn aspirin!"
"Can we do anything for you?", Carlton asked with genuine concern.
But Jack didn't get to answer. He stood up and started going to the bathroom to throw up. But he didn't make it to the bathroom. But he didn't make it. He vomited three times in a trash can in his office.
07.59.56 – 07.59.57 – 07.59.58 – 07.59.59 PM
08.00.00 PM
(Thanks for taking your time to read it! It means a lot to me. Now, please, take 5 more minutes to write a review sharing your thoughts about it. Consider that I took many hours of my life to write this chapter)
