As soon as she started to wake up, Ava knew that the sun hadn't risen yet. Her body screamed at her that it was supposed to have at least two more hours of sleep left, and that it was not okay with this unexpected intrusion. But as her cell phone continued to ring, Ava told her body to suck it up.
"Connelly," she said groggily after flipping the phone open.
"I'm sorry, Agent Connelly – did I wake you up?"
She shot up at that, all of the sleep rushing out of her body. "You," she breathed.
"Yes, it's me. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"I've noticed that hasn't stopped you from blowing things up and killing dozens of innocent people."
"Do you really believe that there are any innocents on this earth, Agent Connelly? You believe in God…don't you believe that we're all sinners?"
"I also believe that God is the one true judge and that murder is wrong, no matter how you look at it." Ava sighed. "What do you want? I'm sure you didn't call me at this God-forsaken hour to debate theology with me…Angel."
The chuckle on the other end of the line chilled her. "I see you still remember my little code name."
She shrugged. "Well, we just call you my mystery caller at the office. But Angel works for when I have to address you directly. So let's get to the point – what do you want?"
"Do you remember why I helped you find the nuclear bomb last year?" the voice asked.
"You said that if I was dead, our game would be over – and you still wanted to play."
"Exactly. And that's why I'm calling you, Agent Connelly. To let you know that today is the day. We're going to play and see who comes out the winner."
"This isn't a game, Angel. You're fucking with people's lives."
"Life is a game, Ava. And you're a pawn, whether you like it or not."
"And what if I decide I don't want to play?" she asked, her anger rising.
"There are ways to get you in the game. But for your friends' sakes, I hope you don't make me resort to them."
"When I catch you, I swear I'm going to kick the shit out of you. And then you are going to go to prison for a very long time."
"Then let the games begin."
The line went dead, and Ava stared at the phone in disgust, as though it were to blame for the psychosis of the madman that had just called her. She debated going back to sleep – the sun still wasn't up, and she really didn't want to go into the office early. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Tony and Jack needed to hear about this. It was obviously going to be a long day, and they needed to get whatever head start they could.
Throwing back the covers, Ava climbed out of bed and padded down the hallway, slipping the cell phone into the pocket of her pajama pants. After a quick stop in the bathroom, she continued moving through her house, intent on finding a sugary cereal that would wake her up. As she neared the foot of the stairs, though, something on the kitchen counter caught her eye, bringing her to a stop.
In a beautiful crystal vase, there were twelve roses…twelve very dead roses. Ava stared at them for a moment, her brain struggling to understand what they were doing in her kitchen at 3:34 in the morning. But then something clicked, and her body broke into motion. Looking around wildly, she spotted Nightmare on the couch. She rushed over and grabbed the cat, ignoring her mewls of despair and sprinting out of the house as fast as she could.
They made it halfway across the front lawn before the bomb went off. The force of the blast pushed Ava to her knees, and she held Nightmare close to her chest – both to protect her and to keep her from getting away. She could feel the heat of the fire on her back, and she crawled across the grass until she thought she was a safe distance away. Turning around, she sat and stared at what had been her house only moments before.
Nightmare started squirming, and Ava nuzzled her, trying to calm her down and assure her that everything was going to be okay. She was suddenly very thankful that the cat was de-clawed – otherwise her arms and stomach would have been ripped to shreds. When Nightmare finally calmed down enough that she could hold her with one arm, Ava pulled her phone out of her pocket.
"You had better have a good fucking reason for calling me this early."
"Good morning to you too, Jennifer."
"What the hell do you want?" her friend mumbled.
"I need you to come over and get Nightmare."
"What? Why? Your cat hates me."
"She does not. She's just needs to get to know you."
"How long have you had this cat?"
"Two years."
"So you're telling me that two years isn't long enough to get to know me?"
Ava shrugged. "What can I say? Maybe she has trust issues – been burned too many times in the past."
"I can't believe we're having an actual conversation about your cat's complexes at…four in the morning. Why are we talking at all at four in the morning?"
"Because my house just blew up."
Ava could practically hear Jen shoot up into a sitting position. "WHAT!?!?!"
"Somebody planted a bomb in my house, and now Nightmare and I are homeless. Now, I can go to work. In fact, I kinda have to. But I don't think my cat would like CTU too much."
"I'll be right there."
Ava chuckled as Jen hung up the phone. Her eyes lifted back to ball of flame that had once been her home, but quickly shifted away. Better that she joke about stupid things than focus on the fact that she had just almost been killed. She dialed the phone again.
"Almeida."
"Mornin', Tony."
"Ava? What's wrong?"
"Now, why would you assume that something is wrong?"
"Because I know how much you love your sleep. And the sun's not up yet. Which means something happened that woke you up or you never went to bed."
"I think you know me too well."
"Possibly."
She took a deep breath. "Remember Angel? My mystery caller that likes to hire kamikaze shooters to take hostages and then systematically kill them just for the fun of it?"
"Yes…" he said warily.
"Well, I'm pretty sure he just blew up my house."
"What!? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. A little shaky. Nightmare is pissed. We're sitting out on the front lawn staring at all the pretty colors."
"How do you know it was Angel?"
"He called me just before it happened. He said today's the day."
Tony cursed under his breath. "I'm getting Curtis and then I'm on my way, okay?"
"Yeah." She paused, petting her cat. "And Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"Please hurry."
The tremble in her voice spurred him on.
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"I need you to explain something to me."
Tony glanced over at Curtis as he drove toward Ava's house. "Okay."
"You and Ava."
"What about me and Ava?"
"Are you two…?"
"Just spit it out, Curtis."
The big man sighed. "Fine. Are you two sleeping together?"
Tony couldn't help but laugh. The other man stared at him as though he'd grown an extra head or two.
"What's so funny?" he demanded.
"Nothing…it's just…Ava's not sleeping with anybody."
"And how would you know?"
Tony shrugged. "She doesn't believe in sex before marriage."
Curtis just continued to stare at his colleague. "You're kidding me."
"Nope."
"How old is she?"
"Almost twenty-five."
"And you're really not sleeping with her?"
"Would you like me to define 'virgin' for you?"
Curtis shook his head. "Sorry, I just…I can't believe it. I would have bet money on you two."
"We're friends."
"Yeah…friends who are head over heels in love with each other."
Tony opened his mouth to answer, but then his phone started blaring Queen. Frowning, he answered.
"Almeida."
"The firemen are here," Ava said in lieu of a greeting.
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"They don't believe I'm a federal agent."
Tony smiled. "We're almost there, and then we'll get everything straightened out, okay?"
She sighed. "Okay."
When he had hung up the phone, Tony noticed that Curtis was staring at him again. "What?" he asked defensively.
"What was that song that just played?"
"It's Queen. Who Wants to Live Forever."
"And that's your special ring tone for her?" the black man asked.
Tony shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "It's…it's kind of our song."
"You have a song." It wasn't a question.
"You know what? Why don't we talk about you and your constant flirting with Michelle for a little while?"
"Don't change the subject," Curtis said dismissively. "So…Connelly won't sleep with anyone, and you're in love with her…does that mean you'd be willing to wait for her?"
Tony didn't meet his eyes. "If you really love the person, you wait as long as you have to."
Curtis' eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute…how long has it been since you've had sex?"
"That's none of your business."
"Wow."
"What?"
Curtis let out a low whistle, turning his attention to all the sirens and fire trucks they were coming up on. "You must really love this girl," he said quietly.
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"She's going to kill me in my sleep."
Ava rolled her eyes, waving at Tony and Curtis as they parked and walked up to her. "She will not."
"Do you see the way she's looking at me? She's plotting my inevitable downfall as we speak."
"Your downfall is not inevitable."
Jen smiled at that, but then looked at her best friend seriously. "Are you really okay?"
Ava thought about that. "No."
Nodding, Jen pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly. "You're going to go to work, find the bastard who did this, and then you're going to catch him, okay?"
"Can I kick him?"
Jen pulled back, smiling again. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't." She turned to look at Tony. "Took you long enough."
He shrugged. "Blame it on slowpoke here," he said, pointing at Curtis.
"It's not my fault you drive like a little old lady," the other agent quipped.
"Alright you two," Ava said, stepping in. "That's enough. Let's get to work and catch this sick son of a bitch."
Tony stared down at the ground. "You don't have shoes."
"I was a little preoccupied."
"It's going to be hard to fight crime without shoes."
Ava rolled her eyes again. "Then I guess it's a good thing I keep an extra pair of stylish, yet affordable boots in my CTU locker. Can we go now?" She turned to Jen. "Call me if you need anything."
"You mean when Nightmare tries to kill me?"
"If that happens, make sure you take pictures."
Jen stuck her tongue out, but then hugged Ava. "Be careful."
The agent smiled. "Always."
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Tony leaned against the wall of the corridor, waiting for Ava to get out of the shower. He was trying hard not to show how worried he was about her, or how relieved he had been when it turned out that she was really okay after the bomb. If he gave in to either of those emotions, he knew there was a good chance that he was going to grab a hold of her, and never let go.
The door to the locker room finally opened, and Ava stepped out. She looked refreshed in a clean pair of a jeans and a black t-shirt, her still-wet hair pinned up. Tony glanced down at her feet and smiled.
"Nice boots."
"I thought you might like them."
Tony's smile faded then. "Something came for you while you were in the shower."
"What is it?"
He explained as they walked toward the main floor. "A videotape, addressed to you, from Angel."
"Are we sure it's not another bomb?"
"Squad already checked it out – it's clean. Chloe's got it ready to go, and everyone's in the conference room."
They walked past all the stations, heading across to the glass-walled conference room on the other side. Tony opened the door, standing aside so that Ava could go in first. She gave everyone a tight smile as she walked in.
"Are you alright?" Jack asked immediately, worry evident in his voice.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "I hear he sent me another present."
"This one doesn't have a bomb though," Chloe told her.
"Thank God for that," Ava muttered. "Go ahead. Hit play."
Chloe did that, and a hush fell over the room as they watched the TV come to life. On the screen was the blurred and shadowed outline of a person, that gave no clues to their identity or even their gender. After a moment, they began to speak, a voice modifier obscuring any identifying factors.
"Well, Agent Connelly, if you're watching this tape, that means that you survived my little surprise this morning. Well done. Believe me when I say that I didn't want you dead – if that had happened, our game would be cut tragically short. But I had to make sure that your heart is really in the game. So here are the rules. There are seven bombs, and seven clues. When you find a bomb, you will find the clue to the location of the next one. If you find all seven bombs, then you will find a clue as to my identity and location. And let me just say…the game will only get more interesting from there.
The first clue will arrive at CTU shortly. I was going to leave it at your house, but I figured that the rubble might make finding it a tad difficult, and put you at a serious disadvantage. And don't worry – none of the clues will be rigged with any further explosives.
Good luck, Agent Connelly. And have a nice day."