From his position in Mason's office, Tony had a perfect view of Michelle talking to Craig. Her eyes lit up as they both laughed. He stood much too close to her, handing her a cup of coffee. Behind his back his fists clenched. That was HIS job. Craig was rewarded with another smile. He handed something else to Michelle; Tony strained his eyes to make out a Mars bar. That earned yet another smile from Michelle. Tony let out a strangled cry of frustration.
'Are you ok, Almeida?' inquired Mason, gazing down at the two on the ground.
'Yeah,' he managed to reply.
'Good, then I suggest we make a start right away.'
Tony gave a nod and left his boss's office. He settled at his desk sick at heart. Could Michelle possibly be interested in Craig? Well, he hadn't exactly given her much encouragement himself, had he? Angrily he called up his work. What exactly did Craig have that he didn't? Former fighter pilot, six medals for bravery, one for exceptional courage…… Damn! He didn't really stand a chance. He barely noticed he missed lunch as he watched Michelle whilst he worked.
As he glanced in her direction yet again he was surprised to find her desk empty. Where could she be? His eyes searched CTU's main floor. Ah, she was heading in the direction of the coffee machine. Just as he was about to rise, he saw Craig heading there. Tony snatched up a file he had been meaning to pass to Michelle and strode into the kitchen. They stopped chatting to look at him.
'Here you are, Michelle,' he heard himself saying. 'I guess I should just bring your computer here, you spend that much time in the kitchen.'
Michelle's face darkened, she snatched the file. 'Guess two coffee breaks in nine hours is too much, Tony! I'll do it now.' She strode off, not sparing him a second glance. Tony followed her out, horrified. What had he done? She wouldn't even look at him now. She remained at her desk for the next three hours, head down, working furiously.
Mason came to inquire about the progress of the report he had handed Tony in the morning. He expressed displeasure to find it incomplete. 'Give me a break, George. I'm working on it.' Mason left, followed by the majority of the staff. Michelle remained at her desk, typing something into the computer.
Tony rose. He wandered over to her desk and took a deep breath. 'Hey, I'm sorry, ok? I've just got George breathing down my neck all day.'
He watched her look up and read mild annoyance on her face. So she was still mad at him, he had to try harder. 'Would you please have a coffee with me? I've only had breakfast all day.'
Michelle stared at him for a moment before rising and following him to the kitchen. He made two coffees and handed her a mug. 'I got something else for us' he told her, pulling open a cupboard and reaching in behind a stack of dishes. He withdrew a packet of chocolate biscuits. 'Have some with me?' He glanced at her, pleading with her to forgive him.
'Sure' she replied eventually. Tony's eyes lit up, he grabbed two plates and laid the packet on the table between them. He appeared to be out of the doghouse, he thought.
'Why was Craig just changed to the evening shift?' Michelle inquired, chewing a biscuit.
'Ah,' Tony began. 'They really needed him there, not enough analysts.'
'Top analysts are rarely sent to that shift,' she argued.
'Michelle he was needed there. We'll get someone who really wanted to change shifts to replace him. What?' he questioned, seeing her skeptical expression. 'He was really needed there.'
'Just like Tom, Steve and Jake were?' she questioned.
'Yeah,' he replied, rubbing the side of his face. Damn, he had hoped she would have forgotten them by now. 'What are you doing on the weekend' he asked her, hoping to change the subject.
'I'm going camping to the Eagle Mountains,' she told him. 'My Dad used to take us there every year, my brother and me. I still go there around the same time to think about him'.
Tony nodded, unable to imagine not having his own father around. 'Who are you going with? Your brother?'
Michelle shook her head. 'No, he's kind of occupied with something else. I'm going by myself.'
Tony looked startled. 'You're not seriously going camping all alone at this time of year? It's not even holiday season, there might not be anyone around except you.'
'I'm counting on it,' she told him, giving him another of her smiles. He felt his heart melt. 'Dad always tried to avoid lots of other campers. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'll take my gun.'
She might be alright with going camping entirely by herself in a large national park, he thought as he prepared some dinner, but he was not. A hundred scenarios ran through his head, all with Michelle ending up hurt and alone. He put the dinner in the oven and went into the bedroom, found his tent, sleeping bag and back- pack. He packed it carefully for the weekend, plenty of food, water, coffee, his portable gas cooker and a first aid kit. He laid them carefully near his front door, and called his mother. He would not be able to go to dinner the following evening as he was going camping. She wouldn't be terribly impressed, he knew.
She wasn't. 'Camping? In this weather? Who are you going with?' He told her he was going by himself. The phone was handed to his father. Tony sighed. They weren't making it easy.
'So she's going camping, Tony?' his father inquired, once again guessing at the situation. 'Are you going with her?'
'Ah' he began, not sure what answer would be best. If he said yes his father would hope that maybe he had gotten together with her, but if he said no…
'Tony, why couldn't you just tell her you'd go with her?' his father asked with a deep sigh. 'She'll be real mad if she sees you following her.'
'Papa, I'm not some kind of nut, I just don't think its real safe for her to go alone. And she won't see me.'
He set off in the morning, driving a couple of hours till he reached the park. Now to find Michelle. He opened his laptop and called up satellite images of the park. She was parked at the furthest end. He drove slowly, enjoying the view. Tony parked his car on a tiny track that led nowhere and gathered his things together. He would place them under some bush and find her.
Michelle had set her tent up by the time he arrived. They would have been pleased with her in the army, he thought, noting how neatly she had unpacked everything. Presently Michelle opened a lunch-box and ate a sandwich. Tony opened his own back-pack and ate his lunch. Michelle finished first, replacing her lunch-box in the tent. She set off at a rapid pace, uphill. Tony hurried after her, wishing she had chosen a different route. Where could they be going he wandered? Up to the top of the mountain, by the looks of it. Five minutes later Michelle paused, seemed to hesitate and retraced her steps. He dived into the nearest bush just seconds before being discovered.
A hundred thorns embedded themselves into him, scratching him along his exposed flesh. It took all his self-control to keep silent. She passed just a couple of feet away from him, unaware of his presence, returning to fetch a jacket from her tent. Once again she passed almost next to him, and set off up the mountain. Slowly he removed the thorns pinning him inside the bush and followed her, pulling thorns out as he walked.
About half-way up the trail Michelle paused, then seemed to head downhill picking her own path. What could have possessed her father to walk that way, he wandered. A mountain goat would have found the route challenging. Soon he lost her, following carefully to avoid a fall. He arrived at the bottom of the hill and stopped in surprise. The place was truly lovely. The valley was sheltered from the wind and already a few flowers were opening. Maybe Michelle's father hadn't been totally mad, after all.
Michelle sat a little further away on a flat rock, crying silently. Suddenly he felt like an intruder. The place was safe enough; he had no right to spy. He returned to the tent, and set about opening up his own a mile further, where he could keep an eye on her tent and remain undiscovered. Now where was his first-aid kit? A couple of the thorns had gone in too deep to be removed by hand. With a sigh he remembered he had left the whole box in his car, considering it too heavy to carry. He would have to go back for it.
Leaving everything, he set off to his car, retrieving the box from the boot. He removed the few deep thorns cursing in Spanish before applying some antiseptic cream to the deeper gashes. Replacing everything, he locked his car and decided to walk past Michelle's to check all was well.
Tony almost walked into four hooligans beside Michelle's car. They had the driver's door and the bonnet open and were in the process of hot-wiring the car. Another minute and they would drive it away. His right hand automatically felt for his gun before he remembered he'd left it with his tent. He took a deep breath. This was Michelle's weekend, she had come here seeking peace, and she would get it! He walked out into the clearing.
'What the hell are you doing?' he inquired. All four gazed at him. 'Leave that car alone now.'
'That your car?' one asked, as they all moved closer to him.
'Yeah' he replied, refusing to mention Michelle. For a moment he hoped they'd get into their car and drive away, but instead they continued to approach him.
'Want to give us the keys?' one of the tougher looking thugs asked him. They had surrounded him by this time, eyeing him menacingly.
'Not really,' he replied, preparing to take them all on. As far as he could tell none carried guns.
'Tough guy, ah?' one remarked. 'Think you're Rambo?'
He grinned dangerously. 'Something like that.' Well, he was going to have to be, he decided, as there was little chance of anyone coming to his assistance.
They paused a moment before one laughed into his face and attempted to punch him in the jaw. He side stepped easily and caught the man's fist, slamming his own into it. His attacker spun to the ground. The other three rushed him simultaneously. Tony used his Krav Maga training to knock them to the ground repeatedly, but he was considerably outnumbered. One thug pulled a knife on him, slashing the air just above his eyes. He was forced to grab it and hauled it away as far as he could. During that time three thugs tackled him to the ground, kicking and punching him. He pushed himself up, kicking one man hard in the face. 'One down, three to go, Almeida,' he told himself. He kicked one of them in the stomach, watching him lie groaning on the ground. At that moment he received a heavy blow from a large stick lying on the ground by one of the remaining two. It knocked his breath away. Tony grabbed the stick as it was raised to hit him in the stomach and yanked it away from the hooligan, using it on him. Three men lay groaning on the ground, and the fourth began to back away.
Tony took a few deep breaths to force the world to stop spinning before him. He pointed to their car. 'Get into that and get lost. Now!' To his intense relief they did as he ordered. He looked slowly round the clearing to search for any remaining clues. Nothing showed of the confrontation. He lowered Michelle's bonnet and closed her driver's door. It would never do for the battery to run down.
He spent the rest of the day watching both the car and Michelle, relieved the thugs didn't return. His body ached, and he kept finding thorns in places he had already checked before. It seemed as though there was no end to them. As soon as he removed one, he would discover another underneath it. He felt a little sorry for himself.
The sun set early and the night turned chilly. Tony hoped Michelle was warm enough in her tent. He pulled on a jumper and jacket, warmed up the remains of last night's dinner he had brought in a plastic lunch-box, wiped the saucepan carefully with some tissues and ate outside. The full moon shone down on him, lighting the area as far as Michelle's tent. Once he saw her light go out he climbed into his own tent, leaving the flap open. He unrolled his sleeping bag and settled on the floor. It was fun camping, he hadn't camped since the army; he just couldn't help thinking how much better it would have been if she had invited him to go with her. They could have spent the evening talking, sitting around a campfire.
He wandered what she was thinking about. She talked about Danny often enough but never mentioned her parents. She must be thinking about them, he supposed. Or she could also be worrying about Danny, knowing her. He wandered how someone as smart and beautiful could have such a fruitcake for a brother as Danny. If he had a brother as nutty as that he would certainly deny the relationship!
He closed his eyes, enjoying the sound of the night insects. She was listening to them too! He wished he would look more like Craig, Tom, Steve or Jake. They would certainly not be pulling thorns from their arms by themselves in a dark tent in the winter, they would be sitting beside her, telling her some funny story, real or otherwise, making her laugh. What could he tell her about? Howling blizzards? Who wanted to hear about that, especially in the winter? Swirling sandstorms? Pulling stranded vehicles out of soft sand in 104 degrees? How could that compare with flying the latest fighter plane? He sighed deeply. 'Don't even bother trying, Almeida. At least she's still your friend.'
Not that she would remain his friend for much longer if he continued transferring everyone who spent time chatting to her. After all, she had asked about Craig! Sure he was on the night shift now, but they could still potentially meet if she stayed late to finish something up. He wandered fleetingly if CTU Anchorage had any openings for class one analysts. 'Forget it, Almeida. First you got to face George. He's not exactly going to be impressed losing Craig!' He sighed, wandering what reason he could give on Monday.
Fortunately the weather turned colder and Michelle returned to LA after breakfast on Sunday. He drove home rapidly and ran a cool bath to soothe his numerous scratches and his sore back, which sported a dark purple bruise. On Monday he called in sick, spending the day on the couch watching videos.
'Hi, Tony, I'm glad you're better,' Michelle greeted him on Tuesday morning. She gave him a smile to melt his heart. 'I was worried about you. What happened to you?' she cried, seeing his face.
'Ah, I was helping my friend remove a few bushes,' he replied. 'Guess gardening's not my thing.'
'It doesn't appear to be,' she told him. 'Didn't you try clipping it first?'
Tony grinned at her, enjoying her attention. 'There wasn't time,' he said, truthfully. 'Anyway, I'm fine. How was your weekend?'
'It was great. You should see what it's like, camping all alone in the mountains. It's real peaceful. Sometimes you need to get away from it all.'
He nodded. 'Sometimes. Are you going camping again this winter?' He desperately hoped the answer would be "no."
'Not this winter, no. I've got many friends to catch up with here in LA.'
'Anyone I know?' he asked, feeling a pang of jealousy.
Michelle laughed. 'I doubt it. They're old high school friends. There's a group of us who always kept in contact. Its real good fun. Claire, she sat next to me in chem., she's got a new boyfriend she's gonna bring on Saturday. She says he's charming. I can't wait to see!' He nodded, smiling at her, wishing he could go with her. 'What about you? What are you doing on Saturday? Fixing broken pipes in your parents' place?'
He grinned at her, shaking his head. 'That was two weeks ago. I've been asked to help tidy out their garden shed. It's so full of junk we can't find anything in it now.'
'You really should go out and have fun sometime, Tony,' she told him seriously.
'Yeah,' he said.
He wandered back to his basin for more water, swallowing slowly. His fever wasn't going any further down. Tomorrow he would be quite sick, he could feel it. He would have to ask for some aspirins when they brought him breakfast. The last thing he wanted was for him to be prevented from attending his bail hearing as a result of his fever.
He settled on the bed, leaning against the wall and pulling the thin sheet around him. His head rested on his knees. He longed for a hug from Michelle, or some attention from his parents. Once again he felt completely alone. His eyes roamed over his cell, lingering on each square inch of the floor. Long straight lines dissected the entire area, a reflection of the bars. Tony gazed at them in silence, wandering how many months he would spend locked in there, counting them. He felt the stirring of mild panic.
'Close your eyes, Almeida,' he ordered himself, determined not to lose control. 'You're getting out of here. Take it one step at a time. Walk over to the door.' He forced himself to imagine walking to the door. 'You've got the access card. Pull it through the lock. Good. Now walk down the corridor. Don't hurry, they can't see you. Now remove that second access card and put it through the door. Push it open. Walk down the corridor. OK, you're at another door. Find the card, slide it through. It's quite okay, there's no guards around. Now you're in the main lobby. Keep going. The guard at the desk can't see you. Open the door and walk outside. Keep moving across the courtyard. Now you're at the wall. Walk straight past the guards in the booth. You've got a card to unlock this last door. Is it open? Good. Now push it shut behind and run like hell! You're going home!' He pictured the streets along the route, pictured entering his apartment and hugging Michelle.
He lay down, pulling the sheet over him, and closed his eyes.