Tony cursed at the realisation this was a fool's errand. He could, hell he should have, sent someone in his stead, but he couldn't face going back to CTU, to re-checking the files, waiting for the phone to ring, awaiting delivery of the next box. No, far better to go and speak in person with the agent who had spent time within the militia. Edmunds knew the men well, perhaps he could provide a clue.

A mix up in communication meant there was no car waiting for Tony at the helipad. When he finally arrived at the hospital after a frustrating wait for a taxi, he wasn't in a great mood and it wasn't improved by his first look at Edmunds through the observation window. Christ, he's just a kid, a beaten up kid at that, he thought. His face was badly bruised and a broken nose had resulted in two black eyes, the colour a sickly greenish purple. With the stitches over his eye and more stitches at the bullet crease to the side of his scalp, Tony was uncomfortably reminded of the heads in the boxes.

His temper wasn't helped when he entered the room and Edmunds looked him over and requested to see his ID, making no attempt to shake Tony's proffered hand. Well, the doctor had warned he was uncooperative.

It was only when Tony said he'd come to return him to LA and Chase struggled to sit up better, that Tony realised he was handcuffed to the bed. The police guard outside the door wasn't there for his protection, but to prevent his escape. The police had assumed the worst when he was found dumped at the hospital doors, close to death and covered in blood from two bullet wounds, his hands cuffed tightly behind his back.

Edmunds had only been conscious for the last hour and Tony was cautioned it was far too early for him to be discharged, but he was forceful. The doctor warned that the blood loss and shock had been severe, plus the patient needed to be monitored for possible concussion. When running from the militia he had been hit twice, the skull crease and one to the side, resulting in two cracked ribs.

Tony then had to wait another hour as he completed the discharge paperwork. The cop was sent to purchase clothing for Edmunds and was then pressed into service to give the two of them a ride to the helipad. In the car Tony felt Chase watching him, "What's happened? he asked. "It must be big to bring you to get me."

Tony shook his head, unwilling to talk in front of the cop, but Chase persisted. "Did the woman make her escape to the agents? Is she okay?"

"Woman?" Tony queried. Then he realised he meant Kim. Funny, He always thought of her as a teenager, Jack's daughter, not a grown woman about to turn 20.
"Yeah," Tony nodded. "She got away fine."

The remainder of the trip was conducted in silence.

oooo

Jack was caught, held fast with his arms pinioned and ankles shackled. He could neither see nor open his mouth and he hoped he wasn't sewn but merely taped. His head felt heavy though not from the hangover, had he been drugged?

His last memory was of Liz humming along to the radio as she drove them to CTU, Kim waving from the doorway. Had he fallen asleep in the car? It seemed unlikely but then again, he hadn't had much sleep last night. His thoughts returned to Kim. Please God, let her be okay, don't involve her in this... and Liz, he suddenly realised. What happened to Liz?

Moving as much as his shackles allowed, he could feel the cool metal on his bare skin, he was stripped naked. Despite the room's low temperature he could detect his acrid nervous sweat... or was it lingering odour from previous victims?

CTU would be looking for him, but they had no idea where to begin. In a few days would they all be looking at photos of his naked body while waiting for his head to be delivered in a box? Why was he drugged when the other men hadn't been? There had to be a reason, anomalies are important. But it was a clue to what?

Running his tongue around the inside of his mouth, he couldn't feel the feeding tube; was that good or bad? Perhaps they didn't plan to keep him alive long enough to worry about his nutrition or liquid intake. He couldn't feel stitches inside his mouth either, were the others taped before sewn, or was this another deviation?

There was a click, followed by a hum, a faint hiss. It sounded familiar although he couldn't place it. When he heard Kim's voice he tried to call out in protest, but then realised it was a recording. She was speaking with Liz about her abduction, the volume turned high so he could hear every note of anguish, strain through every broken pause. They had managed to record inside the safe house... how?

Under Liz's gentle prompting, Kim was reliving the nightmare, going over everything in far more detail than she had offered her dad. The dry tearing pain, the fear, the realisation that she was totally powerless. Jack's tears seeped out as he listened to the words of outrage, but his silent sobs couldn't drown out the words. He snorted through his nose to clear his only breathing passage as it became congested. He began fighting for breath, the claustrophobia setting in... But then the real terror began... Teri.

Teri had endured a rape for Kim's sake, had offered her body in place of her daughter's. Jesus no, let it not be true, not Teri too. Why hadn't he known? How could he not have realised? As Jack listened to Kim's anguished words, they became his own. He strained against his bonds but was powerless, just as his wife and child had been powerless against their captors. His anguished screams were muted by the tape covering his mouth and no matter how much he threashed against his bonds, he couldn't drown out Kim's pain.

Of her new understanding of rape. Her realisation that it wasn't about sex, it was all about power. Having the power to hurt, to humiliate, to degrade and even to kill. What her mum had suffered for her was far worse than what she had ever imagined. And more than anything, Kim wanted to apologise; to tell her mum how sorry she was to have put her through that. To tell her how much she loved her, how she wanted to hold her violated body in her arms, just as Kim longed to be held and comforted by her mother.

Finally the tape came to an end and he lay on the table bathed in sweat, exhausted. There was a click, followed by a hum, a hiss. Then he heard Kim's voice begin again...