"So now what?" Curtis asked as they all tried to absorb the video.
"What can we do?" Ava asked. "We've got nothing to go on. We have no idea who this guy is. I don't think we have any choice but to wait for the first clue."
"What if he's lying and it's got a bomb in it?" Chloe asked.
Ava shook her head. "No. This guy is having too much fun. He wouldn't want to end the game so quickly. He wants us to find the bombs, because then he knows we'll be closer to finding out who he is. And I think he wants a confrontation."
Tony nodded. "I agree."
"Why you?" Jack asked suddenly, turning to Ava. "Why is he focusing so intently on you?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. But he knows more about me than I'd like – and more than I can explain. He knows about my faith, my friends…somehow he got into my house, or one of his cronies did. He even knows what television shows I watch…that's why he told me to call him Angel."
"Any similarities between this guy and the actual character?"
Ava thought about that for a minute. "Not really," she admitted. "Angel was a vampire, but with a soul. Which meant he felt remorse for all the horrific things he'd done. He fell in love with the Slayer, the one person in the world meant to kill him. Then he went to L.A. and took over an evil law firm." At the raised eyebrows, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, that last part was a gross over-simplification, but whatever. This guy isn't a brooding vampire trying to save the world and atone for his sins. If he was, he'd be fighting by my side instead of against my side."
"Maybe he's obsessed with you," Michelle suggested. "And he's equating it with the tragic romance on the show."
Ava blanched. "Goodness I hope not. That just gets into all kinds of creepy."
Any further discussion was interrupted when one of the guards knocked on the glass and stepped into the room. In his hands was a square box, wrapped in Christmas paper. Jack took it from him, carrying it to the table and setting it down gingerly.
"That's…festive," Chloe remarked.
Ava stood up, positioning herself right in front of the box. After staring at it for a moment, she reached out to unwrap it. Jack's hands immediately shot out, grabbing her arms.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "There could be a bomb in there!"
She sighed. "We've already discussed this, Jack. He wouldn't do that."
"He's insane. You have no idea what he would or wouldn't do."
"Here, we'll make a deal. We'll fight for it. You beat me, you can let the bomb squad work the box over."
Jack glowered at her. "You don't think I can win a fight against you?"
Ava raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't matter what I think. The question is, do you think you can beat me?"
They stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Jack looked away. "Fine. Just open the damn thing."
"Thank you."
Slowly and carefully, Ava undid the wrapping paper. Despite the confidence that she had shown to the rest of the room, she wasn't entirely sure that there wasn't a bomb in the box. But she knew that they would waste valuable time if they let the bomb squad check it out, and hundreds of lives could be lost because of that. As she pulled the last scrap of paper off, she glanced up at Tony. The look in his eyes told her that he knew she wasn't as sure of herself as she pretended to be – but it also told her that he agreed with her decision to go ahead and open the box anyway.
The wrapping paper gone, Ava used her fingernails to snap through the tape that held the cover to the rest of the box. When that was done, she slowly lifted the top off, her eyes focused in the hope that she would catch a trap if there in fact was one.
Nothing caught her eye, and nothing exploded. She breathed a silent sigh of relief as the top came off cleanly, and she set it aside. Looking inside the box, she frowned, one eyebrow raised.
"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered.
"What is it?" Tony asked, as he and Jack came to look over her shoulder.
"Puzzle pieces. The bastard sent me a box of puzzle pieces. Who does he think he is? Jigsaw?"
"Who?" Jack asked.
Curtis chuckled. "Jigsaw tortured his victims in the most horrendous fashion possible. This guy just wants to blow up a few buildings."
"Who the hell –"
"A movie," Tony cut in, explaining things to Jack. "Jigsaw was a deranged man who kidnapped people and then tortured them. He didn't actually kill anybody. He put them into situations where they ended up killing themselves in an effort to escape."
Chloe wrinkled her nose. "That's sick."
"Good movie though." He turned to Ava. "Looks like you've got a puzzle to work out."
She sighed, holding up one of the pieces. "Have you seen the size of these things? I'm going to go blind."
"Guess you'd better get working then," he smirked.
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"She's been up there for awhile," Jack growled as he paced the floor.
"It's been ten minutes, Jack. Calm down," Chloe replied.
"Calm down?" he asked. "There's a bomb somewhere, Chloe. And it could go off any minute. Our only clue is that puzzle, and for all we know, it could be a trick."
She rolled her eyes. "You're cranky."
He stopped. "I'm what?"
"Cranky. In a bad mood. You weren't like this when he first got in, so what's the problem?"
Scowling, Jack shook his head. "Nothing."
"Fine. Whatever. Just take your bad mood somewhere else. You're distracting me."
Jack stopped again. "What are you doing?"
"Reviewing all the tapes this guy has sent us."
"We've already done that a thousand times."
"Yeah, well, I haven't. Besides, it's either that or sit here twiddling my thumbs. And I don't twiddle well."
Jack glared at her for a minute while she turned her attention to the computer screen in front of her. When it was obvious that she wasn't going to say anything else to him, he sighed, grabbing a chair and plopping down next to her.
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"Knock, knock," Tony said quietly as he stepped into his office.
Ava didn't look up from the puzzle she was still putting together. "Hey."
"I don't want to bother you…"
She shrugged. "You're not. Come on in."
"How's it coming?"
"I'm just about done."
Tony walked over to the desk and stood behind her. He watched as she worked, but made sure that he wasn't leaning too close or making her feel like she was under pressure – despite the fact that they both knew she was. The minutes ticked by slowly, and finally, she leaned back in the chair, a faint smile on her face.
"Done," she murmured.
They both stared at the picture the pieces had made. It was a cartoon of a young black boy sitting on his bicycle. In one hand was a bottle of soda, while behind him there sat a bright red Coca-Cola machine.
"The Coca-Cola building?" Tony asked.
"That's the only thing that really makes sense…" Ava agreed. "Unless he's going to blow up some random black kid who's just having a Coke and a smile."
"Too vague."
"Agreed." Ava frowned. "Do you have a magnifying glass?"
"I think so." He rifled through his drawers, finally handing her what she had asked for. "You see something?"
"I think so." She peered at one of the corners. "Yep. There's a time etched into the very bottom of that piece."
"The time the bomb's going to go off?" he suggested.
"Could be."
"What does it say?"
"8:01 a.m. Exactly one hour from now."
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"What's your location, Ava?"
The agent pressed the ear piece in a little harder, so that Tony's voice came through clear.
"Heading north on South Central Avenue…we're almost there."
"Good. Chloe's got the schematics of the building. She's uploading them to Jack's PDA now."
"What about the building? Did you call them?"
"Yeah. I spoke with their director, a Marshall Platting. He's started evacuating the building, so it should be almost empty by the time you get there."
"Good."
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Curtis, Jack and Ava led their team through the building, checking every room, every machine, and every air vent that they came across. As the search went on, and time ticked by, their frustration mounted. Ava began to wonder if Angel had led them astray, or if this was all a trap so that CTU agents would be in the building when the bomb went off.
Eventually they came to the roof. When nothing turned up there either, Jack cursed and Curtis kicked at the door leading back inside. Ava was upset as well, but she moved to the edge of the roof, letting her thoughts wander where they wanted to. She knew that there had to be something they were missing. Looking down at her watch, she saw that it was 7:43 - only eighteen minutes before the bomb was set to go off.
Without even realizing it, her gaze settled on the street below. A kid was walking out of a convenience store, whistling, probably enjoying the gorgeous Saturday weather. He stopped at a soda machine, slipping his money in and then pressing a button and retrieving his beverage.
When she realized what she was staring at, Ava's eyes narrowed, the pieces quickly moving through her mind and clicking together.
"We're up the wrong tree, Tony," she said sharply. "He's not going after the building."