Chapter 26

Jack froze. "Audrey?" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Fixing this, once and for all," she replied bitterly.

Jack's eyes widened in horror as realization hit. Slowly, he allowed his gaze to travel downward. An M-16 assault rifle lay across Audrey's lap. The buckshot from the shotgun had torn up her right leg, and it was bleeding heavily. She had pressed both hands firmly against the wound in a vain attempt to slow the bleeding, seemingly unaware of the blood that was rapidly pooling around her legs. "Oh, Jesus," Jack whispered, horrified. "Audrey..."

She glanced up at him. Her face was drawn and taut with pain. "It hurts," she whimpered pitifully. "I can't get the bleeding to stop."

Jack knelt down next to her and examined the wound. "My God, Audrey. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Audrey said earnestly. "You did what made sense. I don't blame you. You thought I was one of Cheng's men. That's the logical assumption." She glanced at her leg, and then at Jack. "I brought my car. It's parked behind the warehouse. In the backseat, there's an old sweatshirt and a big blanket. If you get them, we can use them for tourniquets."

Jack immediately went to find the items, and returned shortly with them. Kneeling down next to Audrey again, he began to tear the blanket into thick strips. "Can you walk?" he asked.

Audrey shook her head. "I tried to stand up earlier, but I couldn't. It hurt too badly." She clutched at Jack's hand as a wave of white-hot pain radiated through her leg. "Aah..."

Jack saw that Audrey's face was drawn and pinched with pain, and she was quickly growing more pale and pallid. He knew that she was losing blood rapidly, and he frantically tried to calculate how much she could stand to lose. "We've got to get the bleeding to stop," he said gravely. "I'm going to need to put some pressure on that wound. I'll try not to hurt you."

Audrey nodded tensely. "Do whatever you have to."

Jack took one of the cloth strips and pressed it firmly against the profusely bleeding wound. Audrey cried out in pain, and Jack saw the muscles in her jaw clench hard as she bit her lip to keep from making any further sound. Working quickly, he fashioned a makeshift tourniquet from the cloth strips, and firmly wrapped the bleeding wound. "There. It's not great, but it'll do until we can get you back to CTU."

Audrey drew in a ragged breath. "Thanks."

Jack gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Look at me. I need you to stand up. I know it hurts, but I need you to try." Audrey bit her lip, but nodded. Gently, carefully, Jack helped her to her feet. Slowly and painfully, they made their way across the clearing to the base of the hill.

Audrey shook her head. "No," she whispered painfully. "Jack, I can't. It's a small hill, but there's no way I can make it. We need help."

Jack nodded. "Okay. Just hang on. Let me contact Doyle." He frowned. "His instructions were to take Kim and leave. What is he still doing here? Oh, well, it doesn't matter now. I'll see if he can give us a hand."

-o-o-o-o-

Kim tensed at the sound of the assault-rifle fire from below them. "Thatwas definitely not cover fire from the TAC team! That was an M-16! Who is that?"

Doyle shook his head. "I have no idea. None of our agents are carrying assault weapons." He tried to peer through the thick brush and foliage. "Damn. Can't see anything through these trees."

Several tense moments passed as they sat silently, waiting and listening. Suddenly, Doyle's radio crackled to life. "Mike, it's Jack. I don't know what you're still doing here, but right now I don't care. I need some help here."

Doyle grabbed the radio. "Sure thing, Jack. Hey, we heard assault-rifle fire a few minutes ago. What's up? Everything okay down there?"

"No problems with Cheng, if that's what you mean," Jack replied. "But I've got Audrey here. She's been hit. I need some help getting her up this hill and into the car. We need to get her back to CTU fast."

"Audrey?" Doyle asked incredulously. "What is she doing here?"

"I'll explain in a minute," Jack told him. "For now, come give us a hand."

"Will do." Doyle glanced at Kim, who looked as though she was about to leap from her seat and rip the radio from his hands. "Hey, Jack, I've got Kim here. She looks like she's ready to do battle with me for the radio. Got a second to talk to her?"

"Not really," Jack said shortly. "Sorry, Kimmy. I've got my hands full right now. Bring her with you, Mike. Just get down here!"

"Copy that. We're on our way." Doyle allowed the radio to fall back to the seat, and turned to Kim. "You heard him. Let's go."

Kim needed no further urging. She was out of the vehicle and heading down the hill before Doyle had even opened his door. Shaking his head, he caught up with her. "Take my hand." They half-rand and half-slid down the steep embankment, clinging to each other's hands to keep their balance.

When they reached level ground at the bottom of the hill, Doyle helped Kim regain her balance, and then they dashed towards Jack and Audrey.

"Dad!" Kim gasped. She bolted from Doyle's side and rushed towards her father. Jack quickly but carefully lowered Audrey to the ground, and ran towards his daughter. They met halfway and fell into each other's arms, clinging tightly. "Dad," Kim sobbed. "Daddy... I was so worried... I heard those gunshots... oh, God, Dad..."

"Shh," Jack soothed, fighting the tears that threatened to spill from his own eyes. "Shhh. It's all right, baby. I'm all right. I'm here; you're safe." He cupped his daughter's chin in his hands, and used his thumb to gently wipe away her tears. "Everything's fine now." They clung to each other for another few moments, hugging tightly and sharing whispered words. At last, Jack pulled away. "Sorry about that, Audie."

"No, no, it's okay." Her face was drawn and pale, but she smiled wanly. "Take all the time you want. I'm fine."

"No, you're definitely not," Jack said firmly. "Let's get you up the hill and into the car. Mike, if you can get her left side, I'll stay on her right. Kim, sweetheart, can you give us a hand? I need you to walk behind Audrey as we go up this hill. Make sure she doesn't fall backwards and land on that leg. Okay?" Kim, Doyle, and Audrey all nodded. "Okay, then, let's go."

They made their way up the hill, slowly and carefully. Jack and Doyle half-led and half-carried Audrey between them, and Kim walked carefully behind her, keeping a gentle hand on her back to support her from behind. It was a slow, agonizingly painful climb for Audrey, but she gritted her teeth and kept going. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief when they reached the top of the hill and found themselves on level ground.

Audrey exhaled shakily. "Whew! That was interesting. We made it." She grimaced. "Aah...ow. I need to sit down. My leg is killing me."

"No problem." Quickly, carefully, Doyle helped her sit down in the backseat of the SUV and prop up her leg. "There. Comfortable?"

Audrey nodded weakly. "Uh-huh. Thanks. Jack says there's a first-aid kit in here. By any chance, is there any medication for pain in it?"

"There is," Doyle reported, "but it's only Aleve and Tylenol. Not exactly potent pain relievers. If you can hang in there until we get back to CTU, there's some stronger stuff in Medical. Demerol, codeine, Vicodin, that sort of thing. Can you hold out?"

Audrey nodded, but grimaced. "I think so. Just hurry, please. I can't wait for too much longer."

Doyle smiled sympathetically. "Hang in there. We'll have you back at CTU in a few minutes. Let's go."

"Not yet," Jack spoke up. "There's one last thing that we need to take care of. Kim, can you stay here with Audrey for a few minutes?" She nodded. "Thanks, sweetheart," Jack told her. "Mike, come with me for a second." Doyle followed him around to the rear of the SUV, outside the closed door and out of Kim's earshot. "There are two body bags in the trunk," Jack said quietly. "Get them." He tossed Doyle a set of keys. "Those are Audrey's car keys. I'm pretty sure that you'll find a case for an M-16 in her trunk. Get it and come with me."

"An M-16 case?" Doyle demanded. "Body bags? Jack, what's going on?"

"I'll explain later," Jack said over his shoulder. "Just get the bags and the case and follow me!" Shaking his head, Doyle did as he asked.

His mouth dropped open as he spotted Cheng Zhi's bullet-riddled body, in a crumpled heap next to the door of the warehouse. "What on earth...? What the hell happened here?"

"Audrey," Jack said over his shoulder as he pulled the body of Cheng's guard from the car. "Apparently, she gained access to the CTU armory and snuck out an M-16 without anyone noticing. She then came here and waited for Cheng and our team to show up. Once the TAC team and you had left and we were alone, she fired off a shot and hit him in the ankle. Then, a few minutes later, she opened fire again and didn't stop until she ran out of ammo."

Doyle whistled softly as he examined Cheng's body. "Damn, Jack. I think you taught her a little too well. This guy's got more holes in him than a piece of Swiss cheese!"

Jack shook his head. "I didn't teach her that. Her father taught her quite a bit about guns; she's a great shot. I've been working with her to give her some extra practice with the handguns, but I've never worked with her on the assault weapons. I don't know who taught her to shoot like that."

"Where did that gunshot wound to her leg come from?" Doyle asked, helping Jack place the guard's body in a body bag and zip it.

Jack looked grim. "Me. I had no clue she was here. When she fired that first shot and hit Cheng in the ankle, I thought it was one of his men. My gun jammed, so I grabbed the guard's shotgun and returned fire. I hit her in the leg. She was quiet for a while, probably trying to deal with the pain, and then she opened fire again. Once all the gunfire stopped, I came around the corner to see what was up, and came face-to-face with her." He shook his head. "Jesus, I feel awful. I swear I didn't know it was Audrey. I never meant to hurt her."

"You did what made sense," Doyle assured him. "Don't beat yourself up." He helped Jack place Cheng Zhi's battered body into a body bag and zip it closed. "There."

"Thanks." Jack dumped the two bodies in a haphazard heap. "We'll take them back to CTU and put them in the morgue until we can figure out what to do next."

Doyle busied himself with packing the discarded M-16 into its case. His eyes widened as he collected the ammunition magazines. "Jack, look at this. There are two twenty-round mags here. One's empty." He glanced at the body bags. "No wonder Cheng looks so bad. Audrey emptied a twenty-round clip into him." Jack could only shake his head in disbelief.

Working together, they carried the two bodies between them up the steep hill and placed them in the trunk of the SUV. Jack slammed the tailgate closed. "There. Let's get out of here. I want to get Audrey back to CTU. She needs to get to Medical ASAP."

Doyle climbed behind the steering wheel, and Jack slid into the passenger seat. "How are you holding up, Audie?" he asked, turning to look at her.

She grimaced. "Not too great. My leg's starting to hurt more."

"We'll have you back at CTU soon," Doyle spoke up, glancing sympathetically at her. "Just hang in there." Audrey nodded weakly. With a grimace, she leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

Without a word, Doyle steered the car away from the warehouse. They drove back to CTU in silence.