Chapter 10
Tony sat in Kim's room looking at her. He was not sure what happened, but he knew this would kill Jack if he knew. Kim was alive, and would live, but the thought that she got hurt again because of him would hurt Jack. It hurt Tony because after Teri's death and all of the things that have occurred over the years, he began to care about Kim as a good friend. She and Michelle really began to get along after the incident where she shot Gary Matheson. Michelle was the one who comforted her all those days visiting Jack in the hospital, and Kim actually moved in with her while her father was in the hospital. Jack did not want Kim to stay at his apartment alone, and when Michelle offered, Kim was more than happy to accept.
The person that was going to wheel Kim out to one of the three awaiting ambulances walked into the room. Tony had it set up to where a person would accompany each of the injured back to CTU. This way, nothing could go wrong on the trip back. Tony chose to go with Kim, and the others he choose. He chose the men he knew he could trust. Jim would go back with Tony and Kim. Darla was awake and Tony was not sure if he was telling the truth yet so Tony wanted to keep them separated so that Jim cannot tell her what he told Tony. He did not know Darla personally, but if Jack trained her, Tony knew she was just as dangerous as Jack.
He walked out with the man to the ambulance, ever alert for any trouble. Jim was already in the ambulance waiting for Tony and Kim to join him. When they got Kim in the ambulance Tony sat by her, holding her pale hand. He was not sure what to do, and it hurt to see her hurt. He just sat there and held her hand praying for everything to work out and go back to what had become normal.
Kim awoke and she felt someone holding her hand. Barely audible she said, "Dad?"
Tony jumped at hearing her voice. He was not expecting it, "No. It's me, Tony."
"Where's my dad?"
Tony knew that was coming and he was not sure how to explain it to her. "We don't know, Kim. We're trying to find him. What is the last thing you remember?"
"Chase and I were out on a boat with this man. He offered to take us out the night before when we were asking around the Marina to see if anyone had seen him. We met him the next morning and he took us out. We stopped at a few boats and I asked if they had seen my dad, I had a picture and all of them said 'no.' We approached this one boat and I saw Kate on it. I knew she would have remembered seeing my father so we pulled up by them and I yelled 'hello' over to Kate. Oh god!"
"What Kim? If you don't feel like doing this now we don't have to." Tony said worrying about her.
"A man on the other boat killed the man that took Chase and me out. I froze in fear. I never expected Kate to be . . . She already had a gun on Chase so he did not have time to react. They pulled the boat over next to the one we were on and ordered us to get on their boat. I was so scared I didn't know what to do so I stood there. Then Kate said, 'If you ever want to see your father alive again I recommend you listen.' I knew she was not lying. Her voice was too cold to be lying. I looked at Chase and he knew what we had to do. We got onto the other boat, and the man cuffed us and taped our mouths shut with duct tape. They put us in the cabin of the boat and it seemed like forever before we stopped moving and got onto another boat. I could hear my father begging for her not to kill us. She shot the woman, Chase, and then she tried to get my father to pay attention to her while she shot me. He charged her, but his hand was cuffed to the bed, and the bed was the type that is attached to the wall. He kept trying and trying, but he could not get free, and then she shot me. I hit the ground and I could feel the blood drain out. I closed my eyes and I don't know what happened next."
Kim began to cry and Tony sat there holding her hand, his heart breaking for the girl he once knew to be carefree and happy. He remembered hearing her argue with Jack the few times she would show up at CTU asking for something. He would sit in the bullpen area hearing them yell and seeing Jack pace his office. She always got her way with Jack, she knew how to get to him, and she could play Jack like Hendrix could play his guitar, tweaking everything just right to make it all work out. He started to say, "It's okay Kim. Don't worry we will find him and everything will be ok. You know you're old man is tougher than nails. Nothing can stop him, especially Kate." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Jack was not sure how long they had been driving. His mind was on the verge of a mental break down. His body craved rest and even though his brain told him, it would not be good to sleep right now. His body took over shutting his conscious mind off and he slowly fall asleep. Every now and then he would jump back into consciousness, but his body would go back, and finally his mind gave up the battle and he fell asleep in the SUV with a gun pointed at him.
Mandy looked at him and noticed the struggle. Each time he would jump awake she got tense ready to fight him. She knew she could not kill him. The bosses did not want that. He was too valuable. She was not sure why they had him go through Darla, Kate, and now this. Why didn't they just jump and get him themselves? On the other hand, by doing this, they were able to dispose of the loose ends they had wanted to dispose of for some time. Marie, Mr. Warner, Darla and her team, in the end they took the long route, and kept CTU out of the loop. If they only knew who was behind it all and what was really going to happen later. She smiled to herself and let herself relax some as she could see Jack was clearly in a deep slumber. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Mike Novick arrived at the White House. After going through all of the security he was escorted to the oval office. It was unusually quiet at the White House, he thought to himself. When he walked into the room he said, "Hello Mr. President."
"Hello Mike. How have you been?"
"Good. Thanks for asking sir. How can I help you?"
"Mike, when the nuclear bomb day happened did you know the people involved?"
"Sir, I was recruited by Prescott that day. I did not know what was going on. I had no clue. Now that I look back I know what I had done was wrong, and I am sorry about that sir." Novick said trying to let the David know how he really felt.
"I believe you, Mike. Did Prescott say anything or do anything you thought was ever out of the ordinary?"
"No sir. I originally believed he had the country's best interest at heart."
"But not now?"
"No sir, I don't. After we were sure Kingsley was involved I went back and looked at the connection. I knew Kingsley had been acquainted with Prescott before. I think that Prescott knew all along about Cyprus, sir. I have no proof other than my gut feeling."
"I need proof Mike. Will you please work with Sherry on finding the evidence? I need it before I attack him, and I need it fast before they do whatever it is they are up to this time."
"Where is Sherry now, sir?" Mike said willing to do anything for David. He owed this man so much, and he did not do it right the first time he had a chance to pay him back.
"Making calls somewhere. I'll call her to find out." Palmer grabbed the phone and dialed the number to Sherry's cell phone. When she answered he said, "Sherry, where are you at?"
"I'm outside of the Warner home. Looking for something. It's all quiet."
"What? You shouldn't be there. If they are up to what we think they are, you are in danger." David said worried.
"Don't worry. I have two of my guards with me. Everything is fine. We are not going in. If I see them or Jack, I'll call you and you can call CTU."
"I'm sending Mike Novick over. He is going to help you. I hope that is fine with you?"
"Yeah. I could use the help. Have him meet me at my house. I'm going to go back there and start making some more phone calls soon. I want to make sure nothing is going on here first."
"Be careful Sherry."
"Don't worry David. I have to go." -----------------------------------------------
Sherry hung up the phone and got out of her car. She walked up towards the front of the Warner's house and stopped midway when she saw the man in S.W.A.T. gear on the ground with blood oozing out of what was left of his head.
She gasped at first. She still was not used to seeing things like this. She wondered how people could live seeing this every day. She turned around and headed towards her car again. She still was in shock from seeing what she saw. She called David back.
"David, something has happened here. I went to the house and ..."
"You did what? I thought you were just watching!" David yelled into the phone.
"Listen. I walked up to the house and there is a man in S.W.A.T. gear. Oh my god." She said with a picture of the man coming into her head, "Half of his head was gone."
"Okay Sherry, listen to me. I want you to drive away from there and go home now. When you get home I want you to lock the doors and keep your guards on duty all night. I'm going to send some Secret Service agents over too. I never should have involved you in this."
"David. It's fine. I have to find the people." She screamed in fear. Kate Warner walked up to the window of her car and began to bang on it. She was barely alive.
"Sherry! SHERRY!" David shouted over the phone at her.
"David I'm fine. I just got scared for a second. Call CTU and let them know what has happened. I don't think Jack is here anymore."
"Okay Sherry. Get out of there and go home."
"I will. Have Mike meet me. We'll make a few phone calls from there."
"Fine. He'll be there in an hour or so. He has to fly from D.C."
"That's fine David. I better get going." Sherry said before hanging up the phone.
Kate looked at her and said, "Why did you tell him I was still here?"
"You know what has happened, and I figured if I told him you would not tell me because CTU will be here soon." Sherry answered her. "Get in. I'll take you to a hospital or anywhere you want as long as you tell me what happened here and where Jack is."
"I don't know where Jack is." Kate answered.
"Then tell me what happened here? Who took Jack?" Sherry said trying to get any information she could.
"I need to get to the airport. Start driving and I'll tell you." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------
Noticing that Jack was still asleep, Mandy nudged him with the barrel of her gun. The slight nudge did not wake him so she grabbed his wounded hand and squeezed it.
His eyes snapped open and he wrenched his hand back, trying not to scream out in pain.
"Nice to see you're awake finally. I'm a little hurt because everyone told me what a big bad guy you are, and when I'm here, you fall asleep."
Jack looked at her, with the cold stare that is his trademark, and did not answer her.
"Put your arms out. I need to cuff them. I won't do it too tight." Mandy said looking at his cut wrist.
Jack did as she asked, and she gently put the cuffs on his wrist, making them just tight enough so that he couldn't slip his hands out of them. The SUV stopped and Mandy took a bandana from the man in the front and turned it into a blindfold, putting it over Jack's eyes. She then told him, "Get out through my side."
He slid across the seat and got out of her side with her help. When he was out he was not sure if his legs would hold him up and was happy to feel her arm under his right arm helping him along. He thought he knew she was, but no one had ever really seen Mandy before. She was like a legend. He felt himself being led into a van. Once inside she sat him down and said, "Don't speak."
He heard what sounded like a phone being dialed, "We have him alive. What do you want done?"
Jack tried to hear what the voice on the other line was saying, but he couldn't.
"Fine, we will be there in ten minutes."
The van took off towards an unknown location.
Jack sat in silence wondering if he was being led to his death. At the thought of his death he felt relived. He would not have to deal with the pain of losing Kim, or with the thought of killing himself, someone else would do that for him.
The van stopped and the back doors opened. A male voice said, "You screwed up, Mandy."
"What? How?" The woman answered.
"You left Kate Warner alive. She is with Sherry Palmer as we speak spilling her guts."
"Shit."
"Don't worry I'm going to fix it. You're lucky I like you so much. Who is this?" The man said looking at Amber.
"New recruit. She's actually pretty damn good. She managed to get away from our tactical team and take one hostage. I made a deal with her."
"Good. We need a replacement since he killed Nina last year." The man said referring to Jack. "Let me have your cell phone." The man said to Mandy.
She handed him her cell and sat back down next to Jack.
The man called someone on it, "Hello Sherry. You have been a busy little bee haven't you? You have someone I want, and I probably have someone you want."
"Who is this?" Sherry Palmer asked on the other line.
"No one important."
"Who do you have?" Sherry said trying to waste time to think.
"You know who I have."
"How do I know you have him?"
"Listen." The man took the phone and held it out towards Jack. Mandy grabbed his wounded hand and began to squeeze it. Jack screamed out in pain. "Is that good enough?"
"No. I've never heard him scream before so it could be anyone. Let me speak to him."
"Fine. But only this one time." The man put the phone to Jack's ear.
Jack heard Sherry Palmer say, "Jack are you okay?"
Showing more pain in his voice than he would of liked he answered, "Yeah."
"Don't worry. I'll get you out." Sherry said as the man was pulling the phone away from Jack.
"So do we have a deal?"
"I need to call my husband first and ask."
"Fine. I'll call you back in ten minutes. Have a decision."
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sherry hung the phone up and looked at Kate who was sitting next to her. She dialed Palmer's number and said as soon as he picked up the phone, "I have a chance to get Jack."
"How?" Palmer asked.
"They want to make a trade. Jack for Kate."
"But we don't have Kate."
"I do."
"What!?" David asked angrily.
"She came up to me when I was in the car. I made a deal with her she would tell me what she knew and I'd take her to the airport, but they want to make a trade and I need an answer in a few minutes because they are calling back."
"Do it." Palmer said.
"Fine. I'll call you as soon as I have Jack."
"Where are you at so I can send CTU there to help?"
"No. If you do that they will probably kill Jack. If they wanted him dead they could have easily killed him, me, and Kate. It makes no sense to make this false trade scheme. We are all easy targets to get too." Sherry said trying to convince David that she did not need help. "Plus there is no time. If something goes wrong, I'm sure Jack can handle it." She said reassuringly.
"Fine. We'll do things your way, but be careful." David said giving into Sherry. He knew he could not convince her otherwise.
Tony sat in Kim's room looking at her. He was not sure what happened, but he knew this would kill Jack if he knew. Kim was alive, and would live, but the thought that she got hurt again because of him would hurt Jack. It hurt Tony because after Teri's death and all of the things that have occurred over the years, he began to care about Kim as a good friend. She and Michelle really began to get along after the incident where she shot Gary Matheson. Michelle was the one who comforted her all those days visiting Jack in the hospital, and Kim actually moved in with her while her father was in the hospital. Jack did not want Kim to stay at his apartment alone, and when Michelle offered, Kim was more than happy to accept.
The person that was going to wheel Kim out to one of the three awaiting ambulances walked into the room. Tony had it set up to where a person would accompany each of the injured back to CTU. This way, nothing could go wrong on the trip back. Tony chose to go with Kim, and the others he choose. He chose the men he knew he could trust. Jim would go back with Tony and Kim. Darla was awake and Tony was not sure if he was telling the truth yet so Tony wanted to keep them separated so that Jim cannot tell her what he told Tony. He did not know Darla personally, but if Jack trained her, Tony knew she was just as dangerous as Jack.
He walked out with the man to the ambulance, ever alert for any trouble. Jim was already in the ambulance waiting for Tony and Kim to join him. When they got Kim in the ambulance Tony sat by her, holding her pale hand. He was not sure what to do, and it hurt to see her hurt. He just sat there and held her hand praying for everything to work out and go back to what had become normal.
Kim awoke and she felt someone holding her hand. Barely audible she said, "Dad?"
Tony jumped at hearing her voice. He was not expecting it, "No. It's me, Tony."
"Where's my dad?"
Tony knew that was coming and he was not sure how to explain it to her. "We don't know, Kim. We're trying to find him. What is the last thing you remember?"
"Chase and I were out on a boat with this man. He offered to take us out the night before when we were asking around the Marina to see if anyone had seen him. We met him the next morning and he took us out. We stopped at a few boats and I asked if they had seen my dad, I had a picture and all of them said 'no.' We approached this one boat and I saw Kate on it. I knew she would have remembered seeing my father so we pulled up by them and I yelled 'hello' over to Kate. Oh god!"
"What Kim? If you don't feel like doing this now we don't have to." Tony said worrying about her.
"A man on the other boat killed the man that took Chase and me out. I froze in fear. I never expected Kate to be . . . She already had a gun on Chase so he did not have time to react. They pulled the boat over next to the one we were on and ordered us to get on their boat. I was so scared I didn't know what to do so I stood there. Then Kate said, 'If you ever want to see your father alive again I recommend you listen.' I knew she was not lying. Her voice was too cold to be lying. I looked at Chase and he knew what we had to do. We got onto the other boat, and the man cuffed us and taped our mouths shut with duct tape. They put us in the cabin of the boat and it seemed like forever before we stopped moving and got onto another boat. I could hear my father begging for her not to kill us. She shot the woman, Chase, and then she tried to get my father to pay attention to her while she shot me. He charged her, but his hand was cuffed to the bed, and the bed was the type that is attached to the wall. He kept trying and trying, but he could not get free, and then she shot me. I hit the ground and I could feel the blood drain out. I closed my eyes and I don't know what happened next."
Kim began to cry and Tony sat there holding her hand, his heart breaking for the girl he once knew to be carefree and happy. He remembered hearing her argue with Jack the few times she would show up at CTU asking for something. He would sit in the bullpen area hearing them yell and seeing Jack pace his office. She always got her way with Jack, she knew how to get to him, and she could play Jack like Hendrix could play his guitar, tweaking everything just right to make it all work out. He started to say, "It's okay Kim. Don't worry we will find him and everything will be ok. You know you're old man is tougher than nails. Nothing can stop him, especially Kate." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Jack was not sure how long they had been driving. His mind was on the verge of a mental break down. His body craved rest and even though his brain told him, it would not be good to sleep right now. His body took over shutting his conscious mind off and he slowly fall asleep. Every now and then he would jump back into consciousness, but his body would go back, and finally his mind gave up the battle and he fell asleep in the SUV with a gun pointed at him.
Mandy looked at him and noticed the struggle. Each time he would jump awake she got tense ready to fight him. She knew she could not kill him. The bosses did not want that. He was too valuable. She was not sure why they had him go through Darla, Kate, and now this. Why didn't they just jump and get him themselves? On the other hand, by doing this, they were able to dispose of the loose ends they had wanted to dispose of for some time. Marie, Mr. Warner, Darla and her team, in the end they took the long route, and kept CTU out of the loop. If they only knew who was behind it all and what was really going to happen later. She smiled to herself and let herself relax some as she could see Jack was clearly in a deep slumber. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Mike Novick arrived at the White House. After going through all of the security he was escorted to the oval office. It was unusually quiet at the White House, he thought to himself. When he walked into the room he said, "Hello Mr. President."
"Hello Mike. How have you been?"
"Good. Thanks for asking sir. How can I help you?"
"Mike, when the nuclear bomb day happened did you know the people involved?"
"Sir, I was recruited by Prescott that day. I did not know what was going on. I had no clue. Now that I look back I know what I had done was wrong, and I am sorry about that sir." Novick said trying to let the David know how he really felt.
"I believe you, Mike. Did Prescott say anything or do anything you thought was ever out of the ordinary?"
"No sir. I originally believed he had the country's best interest at heart."
"But not now?"
"No sir, I don't. After we were sure Kingsley was involved I went back and looked at the connection. I knew Kingsley had been acquainted with Prescott before. I think that Prescott knew all along about Cyprus, sir. I have no proof other than my gut feeling."
"I need proof Mike. Will you please work with Sherry on finding the evidence? I need it before I attack him, and I need it fast before they do whatever it is they are up to this time."
"Where is Sherry now, sir?" Mike said willing to do anything for David. He owed this man so much, and he did not do it right the first time he had a chance to pay him back.
"Making calls somewhere. I'll call her to find out." Palmer grabbed the phone and dialed the number to Sherry's cell phone. When she answered he said, "Sherry, where are you at?"
"I'm outside of the Warner home. Looking for something. It's all quiet."
"What? You shouldn't be there. If they are up to what we think they are, you are in danger." David said worried.
"Don't worry. I have two of my guards with me. Everything is fine. We are not going in. If I see them or Jack, I'll call you and you can call CTU."
"I'm sending Mike Novick over. He is going to help you. I hope that is fine with you?"
"Yeah. I could use the help. Have him meet me at my house. I'm going to go back there and start making some more phone calls soon. I want to make sure nothing is going on here first."
"Be careful Sherry."
"Don't worry David. I have to go." -----------------------------------------------
Sherry hung up the phone and got out of her car. She walked up towards the front of the Warner's house and stopped midway when she saw the man in S.W.A.T. gear on the ground with blood oozing out of what was left of his head.
She gasped at first. She still was not used to seeing things like this. She wondered how people could live seeing this every day. She turned around and headed towards her car again. She still was in shock from seeing what she saw. She called David back.
"David, something has happened here. I went to the house and ..."
"You did what? I thought you were just watching!" David yelled into the phone.
"Listen. I walked up to the house and there is a man in S.W.A.T. gear. Oh my god." She said with a picture of the man coming into her head, "Half of his head was gone."
"Okay Sherry, listen to me. I want you to drive away from there and go home now. When you get home I want you to lock the doors and keep your guards on duty all night. I'm going to send some Secret Service agents over too. I never should have involved you in this."
"David. It's fine. I have to find the people." She screamed in fear. Kate Warner walked up to the window of her car and began to bang on it. She was barely alive.
"Sherry! SHERRY!" David shouted over the phone at her.
"David I'm fine. I just got scared for a second. Call CTU and let them know what has happened. I don't think Jack is here anymore."
"Okay Sherry. Get out of there and go home."
"I will. Have Mike meet me. We'll make a few phone calls from there."
"Fine. He'll be there in an hour or so. He has to fly from D.C."
"That's fine David. I better get going." Sherry said before hanging up the phone.
Kate looked at her and said, "Why did you tell him I was still here?"
"You know what has happened, and I figured if I told him you would not tell me because CTU will be here soon." Sherry answered her. "Get in. I'll take you to a hospital or anywhere you want as long as you tell me what happened here and where Jack is."
"I don't know where Jack is." Kate answered.
"Then tell me what happened here? Who took Jack?" Sherry said trying to get any information she could.
"I need to get to the airport. Start driving and I'll tell you." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------
Noticing that Jack was still asleep, Mandy nudged him with the barrel of her gun. The slight nudge did not wake him so she grabbed his wounded hand and squeezed it.
His eyes snapped open and he wrenched his hand back, trying not to scream out in pain.
"Nice to see you're awake finally. I'm a little hurt because everyone told me what a big bad guy you are, and when I'm here, you fall asleep."
Jack looked at her, with the cold stare that is his trademark, and did not answer her.
"Put your arms out. I need to cuff them. I won't do it too tight." Mandy said looking at his cut wrist.
Jack did as she asked, and she gently put the cuffs on his wrist, making them just tight enough so that he couldn't slip his hands out of them. The SUV stopped and Mandy took a bandana from the man in the front and turned it into a blindfold, putting it over Jack's eyes. She then told him, "Get out through my side."
He slid across the seat and got out of her side with her help. When he was out he was not sure if his legs would hold him up and was happy to feel her arm under his right arm helping him along. He thought he knew she was, but no one had ever really seen Mandy before. She was like a legend. He felt himself being led into a van. Once inside she sat him down and said, "Don't speak."
He heard what sounded like a phone being dialed, "We have him alive. What do you want done?"
Jack tried to hear what the voice on the other line was saying, but he couldn't.
"Fine, we will be there in ten minutes."
The van took off towards an unknown location.
Jack sat in silence wondering if he was being led to his death. At the thought of his death he felt relived. He would not have to deal with the pain of losing Kim, or with the thought of killing himself, someone else would do that for him.
The van stopped and the back doors opened. A male voice said, "You screwed up, Mandy."
"What? How?" The woman answered.
"You left Kate Warner alive. She is with Sherry Palmer as we speak spilling her guts."
"Shit."
"Don't worry I'm going to fix it. You're lucky I like you so much. Who is this?" The man said looking at Amber.
"New recruit. She's actually pretty damn good. She managed to get away from our tactical team and take one hostage. I made a deal with her."
"Good. We need a replacement since he killed Nina last year." The man said referring to Jack. "Let me have your cell phone." The man said to Mandy.
She handed him her cell and sat back down next to Jack.
The man called someone on it, "Hello Sherry. You have been a busy little bee haven't you? You have someone I want, and I probably have someone you want."
"Who is this?" Sherry Palmer asked on the other line.
"No one important."
"Who do you have?" Sherry said trying to waste time to think.
"You know who I have."
"How do I know you have him?"
"Listen." The man took the phone and held it out towards Jack. Mandy grabbed his wounded hand and began to squeeze it. Jack screamed out in pain. "Is that good enough?"
"No. I've never heard him scream before so it could be anyone. Let me speak to him."
"Fine. But only this one time." The man put the phone to Jack's ear.
Jack heard Sherry Palmer say, "Jack are you okay?"
Showing more pain in his voice than he would of liked he answered, "Yeah."
"Don't worry. I'll get you out." Sherry said as the man was pulling the phone away from Jack.
"So do we have a deal?"
"I need to call my husband first and ask."
"Fine. I'll call you back in ten minutes. Have a decision."
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sherry hung the phone up and looked at Kate who was sitting next to her. She dialed Palmer's number and said as soon as he picked up the phone, "I have a chance to get Jack."
"How?" Palmer asked.
"They want to make a trade. Jack for Kate."
"But we don't have Kate."
"I do."
"What!?" David asked angrily.
"She came up to me when I was in the car. I made a deal with her she would tell me what she knew and I'd take her to the airport, but they want to make a trade and I need an answer in a few minutes because they are calling back."
"Do it." Palmer said.
"Fine. I'll call you as soon as I have Jack."
"Where are you at so I can send CTU there to help?"
"No. If you do that they will probably kill Jack. If they wanted him dead they could have easily killed him, me, and Kate. It makes no sense to make this false trade scheme. We are all easy targets to get too." Sherry said trying to convince David that she did not need help. "Plus there is no time. If something goes wrong, I'm sure Jack can handle it." She said reassuringly.
"Fine. We'll do things your way, but be careful." David said giving into Sherry. He knew he could not convince her otherwise.