Chapter 2 - The day before.

Jack was awakened from a deep slumber by the insistent ringing of his cell phone. Groggily he reached for it and answered. He listened for a moment to the caller apologizing for the wrong number, and hung up. His signal to report to the FBI/CIA Ops Center.

He rolled over and looked at the clock by his bed. 7:30am on a Saturday morning. He groaned. He had one hell of a hangover. Yesterday Ariana Kane at SD-6 had come with 5 minutes of getting him to confess to being a double agent. He would have died, but more importantly so would have Sydney. While outwardly he had played it cool with his colleagues, he had still been shaking like a leaf inside when he had gotten home. Sydney, he had come to realize over the last few months, was the most precious thing he had. It had taken many hours, and half a bottle of scotch, to relax enough to fall asleep.

He couldn't imagine what they needed him for this morning. The debriefing could have waited until Monday. Wearily he climbed out of bed and headed for the shower.