Jack stared down at the body of his former coworker, a man he had considered a friend. He walked into the bathroom, washing his hands and face without looking in the mirror. As he stepped into the hallway he raised one hand to wave at the security camera that he knew Chloe was watching before beginning the short trek to their room.
He found Chloe waiting for him just inside the door and she threw her arms around him. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head.
"Richard Walsh is dead," he said quietly when the others regrouped in the main room.
"What happened?" Chloe asked.
"He wouldn't talk. He tried to kill me. I did get a little intel from him. A committee was formed, probably under James Heller's guidance, that decided that CTU was a threat to national security."
"That's crazy," Kim said.
Jack nodded. "Their plan was to kill us all to force the president to shut down CTU. Walsh said there was a list with all our names on it, we were the ones they were supposed to kill."
"I found some information on Heller," Nadia said after Jack had finished recounting what happened in the room.
Chloe nodded. "He's definitely involved. We finally unlocked the paper trail on the disk."
"He's supposed to land on a private airstrip in about an hour."
"Then we're going," Jack said firmly. "I need the two of you," he continued, looking at Chloe and then Nadia, "to stay here. See if you can find anyone else who might be involved in Washington. Kim will help you."
"I'm not staying behind this time," Karen said softly to Bill. "Whatever happens, I'm going to be there."
He nodded slowly, taking her hand.
"When we get out of here, I'm never letting you out of my sight," Nadia said as Chase embraced her.
He chuckled. "That sounds pretty good. You could move in with me."
"Really?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him.
He nodded. "Angela loves you. I love you. I want to be able to always have you close."
She smiled. "I love you Chase. Come back."
"I will," he promised, kissing her tenderly.
Chloe rested her head against Jack's chest.
"I don't want to lose you," she whispered.
"You won't. I promise. I have to do this one more thing, and then I'm done. This will be all be done and we can go home."
"Home," she repeated. "That sounds really nice."
He smiled and kissed her softly. "Marry me Chloe," he said softly.
"What?" she asked.
"Marry me. I've come so close to losing you, I can't ever lose you again. When we get out of here, marry me."
"Yes Jack."
"Yes?"
She nodded, smiling at him. "I'll marry you."
Kim and Tony slipped into the hall, away from the others.
"This is the end?" she asked.
"Hopefully."
"And after it's over?"
"I'll take you on a proper date."
She kissed him urgently, her fingers twisting his shirt.
They started away from each other when they heard the door.
"What the hell are you doing?" Jack growled.
"I'm sorry," Tony said, putting his body in front of Kim's. "I can explain. I was going to talk you about it, when we got out of here."
"Get away from her."
"No," Kim said, stepping between her father and Tony.
"Go back in the room sweetheart," Jack said.
"No," she said again. "This is stupid. Tony means something to me, I'm falling in love with him. I'm sorry you found out like this, I'm sorry that we didn't tell you and do things right, but it's the truth, daddy, and I won't walk away, I won't let you kill him, or whatever you're planning. Something could happen to you out there, or to him, and if is does…" he voice wavered. "If it does, we are going to leave with things right between us."
Jack looked between the two of them before pulling Kim into a tight hug. "I love you sweetheart. We'll work this out later."
She nodded, kissing her father's cheek and embracing Tony one more time before stepping into the room while Chase, Bill, and Karen joined Jack and Tony in the hallway.
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Tony's gaze flickered to Jack nervously as they drove toward the airfield. The older man hadn't said a word to him since they had left, fear clutched him as he imagined all things that he would say when this was all over. He tried to focus on what they were about to do – he knew that their lives depended on what happened at the airfield. But his mind just kept going back to the look on Jack's face when he discovered him kissing Kim.
"Jack-"
"Shut up, Tony."
He sighed. "Just talk to me, Jack. Even if you're going to yell at me, it's better than the silence."
"What's going on?" Chase interrupted.
"Mind your business, Edmunds," Jack snapped.
"Jack-"
"Look, Tony. We'll deal with this after."
"Do you hate me?"
Jack took a deep breath, mulling the question over.
"No. Not if what she said was true." He turned to look at his friend. "Do you love her?"
"Yes."
He turned his eyes back to the road and nodded.
"Then I guess we'll figure it out."
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They parked some distance away and got out of the car, the five of them arming themselves with weapons they had stowed in the trunk. Bill looked around at the airfield in front of them, the shadows making it difficult to pick anything out, but there was a hangar with its lights on.
"There are bound to be guards," he commented.
Jack nodded. "You and Chase go ahead. Take out any guards you meet in that hangar. Karen, Tony and I will go meet Heller."
"What are you going to do with him?"
He sighed. "I don't know yet. Hopefully the evidence that Nadia and Chloe found will be enough to put him away. I want the bastard to pay for what he's done."
Bill nodded. "Alright then. We'll meet you on the runway when we're finished."
"Be careful, guys. And keep a lookout for Mandy. She's still running loose."
Karen reached over and squeezed Bill's hand once, looking him deep in the eyes. Then she turned away and followed Jack and Tony into the night.
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Chase and Bill peered in through one of the windows, both smiling grimly when they saw that there were only three men inside the hangar. They were all lounging around a black limousine, doubtless waiting to drive Heller wherever he was staying. Taking them out and getting the keys would mean that the senator would have nowhere to run if he managed to get past the others.
Silently, they crept inside.
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They watched from the shadows as the plane rolled down the runway toward them, gradually slowing and coming to a stop. The landing lights shone brightly in the darkness, looking out of place so late in the night. All three stood still and silent, waiting to see who would descend before showing themselves and confronting Heller.
The door in the side of the plane opened, and Jack's jaw clenched as he watched Senator James Heller descend the stairs that led from the plane to the ground. Until that point, he had hoped that maybe somebody was impersonating the senator, that he wasn't really behind all the deaths. But his presence removed any room for doubt, and Jack knew that he had to end this now.
As they went to leave the shadows, movement to their left stopped them short. They watched in curiosity as Mandy emerged from the darkness, striding confidently toward the plane. Heller smiled politely when he saw her shaking her hand and leaning in close as she brought her lips to his ear and talked to him.
Unable to wait any longer, Jack disentangled himself from the shadows and moved forward, a grim expression on his face. Karen and Tony followed, both keeping their eyes peeled for any guards or thugs that might have accompanied Karen. They reached the plane without incident, however, and stopped a short distance from the two standing in front of them. Heller and Mandy had noticed them moving across the runway and had stopped short, both shocked to see them there and alive.
"Jack." Heller greeted.
"Senator Heller. It seems you've been busy lately."
"Jack-"
The agent talked right over him. "What with killing federal agents, some of whom you knew and worked with, you probably don't have time for anything else out in Washington."
"You have to understand-"
"We don't have to understand anything, Senator," Tony cut in. "You ordered the deaths of multiple CTU agents. Nothing justifies that."
"Karen, surely you understand-"
"Oh, I understand, Jim. I understand that you tried to kill my husband. And myself. Your men tried to rape Kim Bauer. And don't tell me they did that without your knowledge. You let them loose on us. You are responsible for every single thing that they have done. Your actions have been morally repugnant and illegal as hell. Trust me – you will pay for what you've done."
As Karen spoke, Tony let his gaze wander, still on the lookout for any henchmen they might have missed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mandy reach into the waistband of the back of her jeans and pull out a 9mm Beretta. Without hesitation, she raised her arm and aimed the gun at Karen's head. Tony leapt to the side, tackling Karen to the ground as the bullet whipped by so fast he felt it.
Instantly, he was up again, charging into Mandy and knocking her to the ground. They pummeled each other mercilessly, both trying to gain the upper hand. Mandy brought her gun arm in to take a shot at Tony's chest, but he quickly disarmed her, sending the weapon skittering across the pavement. His own gun was just as useless, as Mandy twisted his wrist back and forced him to drop it.
She pushed herself to her feet and gave Tony a resounding kick to the ribs. Grunting in pain, he swung his legs around and took out her ankles, bringing her back down to the ground. He rushed to his feet and lunged forward, aiming to land the same blow to her ribs. But Mandy was already back up and she spun to the side, slamming a fist into his kidneys as he passed her. Tony threw an elbow back, catching her between the shoulder blades and causing her to stumble as he turned around and punched her in the face.
Jack turned his attention back to Heller as the two fought close by. He didn't want to abandon Tony, but they couldn't let the senator escape, and he knew that his friend had issues that he needed to work out with the female assassin.
"Senator Heller, we're placing you under arrest."
"On what grounds?" Heller demanded.
Karen jumped in, still a little shaken from her near brush with death.
"For murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault, and conspiracy to commit treason."
"Treason? I did this for the good of the country!"
"Save it, Jim," she growled "Your self-righteous patriotic bullshit won't fly here."
"You have no proof," Heller said quietly, his voice tight.
"We have all the proof we need. We found a disk in Richard Walsh's hotel room. It's already been decrypted. Everything is being sent to the Justice Department as we speak – not to mention the White House."
The senator turned to face Jack.
"I won't let you take me, Bauer. You'll have to kill me, and I don't think you can do that."
Next to them, the fight raged on. Mandy jammed her fist into Tony's solar plexus, forcing the air out of his lungs as he doubled over. With a cruel sneer, she gave him a fierce backhand to the face, sending him hard into the tail of the plane. She moved to pick up her gun then, turning and aiming the muzzle at Jack's head. Tony watched in horror and forced himself back to his feet, catapulting his body into hers.
Jack opened his mouth to respond to Heller's challenge, but was stopped as a loud pop erupted to his right. Suddenly, a bright red stain began to grow on Heller's white dress shirt, and the senator stared down at it in wonder. Slowly, he sank to the ground.
Seeing that she had shot her boss, Mandy quickly aimed again at her intended target. But by then, Tony had already snatched his gun up off the ground and swung around to face her. Without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet ripping through her brain. Her weapon fell from lifeless fingers as she collapsed.
Karen knelt by Heller's side as the senator tried to stem the bleeding. She ripped some of the older man's jacket and used it as a rag, pressing it against the wound. Jack stood over the man he had once seen as a father-figure, wondering how he had every looked up to him.
"Why?" he asked. "Why did you target CTU? And don't give me that bullshit about national security. I want to know the real reason."
"It was all your fault," Heller rasped. "All of it."
"All of what?"
"You tortured my son. You killed my daughter's husband after having an affair with her. She's a shell now, because of what the Chinese did to her. And that's all your fault."
"I will take responsibility for the death of Paul Raines," Jack said quietly. "But Audrey made her own decisions."
"CTU ruined my children and my life. I have nothing left because of you. Because you let yourself be led astray by false information. Because you couldn't keep track of your own people. If they had just turned you over to the Chinese like they were supposed to, Audrey never would have gone to look for you."
"So you killed people who never even knew me – who had nothing whatsoever with what happened to your daughter – just to make CTU pay?"
"I did what I had to do," he asserted. Coughing, he looked up at Jack with a hard gleam in his eyes. "Just kill me, Bauer. I'm dying anyway."
Jack gave him a unkind smile. "Oh no, Senator. You're not going to die. That wound is too far from your heart and lungs to kill you before the paramedics get here. You'll live. And you'll pay for what you did. For every life you took."
He raised his eyes and looked around as sirens sounded in the distance. Turning, he saw Chase and Bill emerging from one of the hangars – a little bruised, but okay. He glanced at Tony, leaning against the tail of the plane as he tried to catch his breath. The sirens grew louder as the lights invaded the shadow.