AN: Well here's the next chapter. The usual disclaimers apply. The Lyrics at the end are from "Best Deceptions" by Dashboard Confessional. Please RR.
Chapter Two
Best Deceptions
Jack ducked instinctively, grabbing guns and an extra clip off of one of the dead guards. He thought for a second that the shots had been fired by delta force, but that just didn't add up. They were still too far away and they wouldn't have aimed to kill the only two people who could possibly provide information on the virus.
Three feet away Nina gasped as she tried to force herself to her feet using her uninjured arm. Jack turned to go, to leave her to a ruin of her own creation, but something stopped him. He realized that if these people wanted her dead so badly then she must know more than she had originally let on. He turned around gripping her firmly under the arm and helping her to her feet and pulling her into a small space between two of the metal sheds.
"Thanks." Nina said more out of surprise than gratitude. She leaned against the wall, blood seeping through her shirt and down her arm. Jack didn't respond. He cocked his gun and looked around the corner trying to see where their assailants were. A bullet ricocheted off the wall mere inches from his head, forcing him to take cover. Nina slid against the opposite wall until she had a clear view of the hill.
"Ten o'clock and Two o'clock moving west." Nina said slipping back into the familiar role of Jack's partner. It always surprised her how easily she fell back into it. Jack ducked around the wall again picking off the two gunmen from the marks she had given him.
"Jack, I need a gun." Nina stated as if it were the most normal request in the world.
"Absolutely not." Jack said incredulously.
"Look, I realize you don't trust me, but we are out numbered and severely out-gunned. The only chance we have of getting out of here is to help each other." Nina said earnestly her voice ragged with pain.
"Just because I didn't leave you die doesn't mean we are suddenly in this together." Jack's voice was low and angry. He was angry with her for asking, for once again being his only option, and most of all for being right.
"Like it or not that is exactly what means and even you know you won't make it out of here alone." They were bombarded by another hail of gunfire. "Give me a gun Jack." Nina said insistently holding out her hand. Jack reluctantly complied, knowing he would most likely be sorry for this later but seeing no other way out.
"Don't make me regret this." He growled. The second the gun was in her hand Nina leveled it with Jack's head and pulled the trigger. The shot hit its target six inches to the left of Jack, just beyond the edge of the wall and one of the unknown assailants fell to the ground with a bullet in his brain. Jack stood frozen for a second trying to process what had just happened and frankly a little surprised to be alive.
"Took you long enough." Nina said slight grin.
"We can't stay here." Jack maneuvered around so he could see out the back of the shed. "Can you run?" Jack said eyeing the growing bloodstain on her shirt.
"Yeah." Nina said forcing herself to ignore the throbbing pain just below her shoulder. The bullet had gone straight through and they had no way to stop the bleeding.
"The Salazar's camp is right over that hill. If we can get there we should be able to lay low for a awhile." it wasn't much of a plan but it would have to do for now. Jack checked once again to make sure that there were no shooters watching their exit.
"Ready?" he asked once he was satisfied that the coast was clear. Nina nodded and they made their way quickly and cautiously over the unfamiliar terrain.
~*~
They reached the shed where Chase had been held earlier that day and ducked inside of it. Nina swayed slightly the pain and blood loss starting to make her feel weak and nauseous. Jack checked to make sure no one had followed them. Nina slid down against the wall, slowly working her arm out of her jacket and wincing as she did.
"We've got to do something about that." Jack said motioning towards the still bleeding wound.
"I'm open to suggestions." Nina said with a derisive laugh colored with pain. Jack walked over and knelt beside her helping her slip her shirt off over her head.
"It's a through and through there's no way to put a tourniquet on it." Jack said looking around for anything he could use to stop the bleeding. He spotted the small stove in the corner. He walked over and removed one of the irons from the fire then returned to kneel beside her.
"This is going to hurt." He said matter of factly.
"Thanks for the warning." Nina said the sarcasm in her voice doing nothing to disguise the fear in her eyes. "Just do it."
Jack pressed the burning hot iron into the fresh wound allowing the heat to cauterize it. Nina thought for a second that she was going to pass out from sheer pain. She let out strangled scream as Jack repeated the process on the exit wound on her back. He then tore a strip from his shirt and used it to immobilize her arm against her chest.
"I can't help but think that you enjoyed that." Nina said with a weak smile and then her eyes fluttered shut finally allowing the darkness to shut out the pain. Jack checked her pulse making sure she was just unconscious and then slipped Nina's cell phone out of her jacket pocket. He stepped just outside the door of the hut and dialed the familiar number.
~*~
"Almeida." Tony answered snatching the phone of his desk.
"Tony, it's me." Jack said pacing as he talked.
"Jack, what happened? Are you okay? Did you get the virus?"
"We were ambushed. I am not sure who by. I have the virus, but the fact that these men tried to kill us makes me think it is part of a bigger plan." The pieces started to fit together as he spoke.
"What do you mean bigger plan?" Tony asked.
"I don't think this is the only vial of the virus Amador is in possession of." Jack said, now positive that he was right.
"What do you want to do?"
"I need you to run down Amador's contacts, anyone he's been in close association with recently. I have Nina Myers with me and I think that she knows more about what's going on than she's telling. I'll press her and see what she knows."
"Jack, be careful." Tony said recalling the last time Jack and Nina had worked together.
"I'll be in touch." Jack said curtly hanging up the phone.
~*~
Inside the shed Nina shifted slightly and was jolted awake by the sharp pain of the raw wound rubbing against the hot tin of the wall. She looked around the empty shed shifting again and trying in vain to get comfortable. She heard the sound of Jack's voice and paused to listen.
"Tony, it's me." She heard him say. So Jack was lying, he was still with CTU and this had all been an elaborate ploy to get the virus. Well, this changed things. She resented the fact that she hadn't seen through it immediately. Was she really so pathetic that one kiss was all it took to convince her, she forced herself not to think about the way his lips had felt on hers. No, she knew that wasn't true. She had been supicious from the start, she had just been willing to take the risk. She knew that she couldn't get out of here by herself but she also knew that there was no way in hell that she was going back to federal prison or sticking around until Jack's urge for revenge finally got the better of him. She needed a plan, leverage. She would lie to him again. She heard Jack's foot steps walking back towards the shed. She closed her eyes and slumped back against the wall as a plan began to take form in her mind.
Don't you see, don't you see,
that the charade is over?
And all the "Best Deceptions" and "Clever Cover Story" awards go to you.
So kiss me hard
'cause this will be the last time that I let you.
Chapter Two
Best Deceptions
Jack ducked instinctively, grabbing guns and an extra clip off of one of the dead guards. He thought for a second that the shots had been fired by delta force, but that just didn't add up. They were still too far away and they wouldn't have aimed to kill the only two people who could possibly provide information on the virus.
Three feet away Nina gasped as she tried to force herself to her feet using her uninjured arm. Jack turned to go, to leave her to a ruin of her own creation, but something stopped him. He realized that if these people wanted her dead so badly then she must know more than she had originally let on. He turned around gripping her firmly under the arm and helping her to her feet and pulling her into a small space between two of the metal sheds.
"Thanks." Nina said more out of surprise than gratitude. She leaned against the wall, blood seeping through her shirt and down her arm. Jack didn't respond. He cocked his gun and looked around the corner trying to see where their assailants were. A bullet ricocheted off the wall mere inches from his head, forcing him to take cover. Nina slid against the opposite wall until she had a clear view of the hill.
"Ten o'clock and Two o'clock moving west." Nina said slipping back into the familiar role of Jack's partner. It always surprised her how easily she fell back into it. Jack ducked around the wall again picking off the two gunmen from the marks she had given him.
"Jack, I need a gun." Nina stated as if it were the most normal request in the world.
"Absolutely not." Jack said incredulously.
"Look, I realize you don't trust me, but we are out numbered and severely out-gunned. The only chance we have of getting out of here is to help each other." Nina said earnestly her voice ragged with pain.
"Just because I didn't leave you die doesn't mean we are suddenly in this together." Jack's voice was low and angry. He was angry with her for asking, for once again being his only option, and most of all for being right.
"Like it or not that is exactly what means and even you know you won't make it out of here alone." They were bombarded by another hail of gunfire. "Give me a gun Jack." Nina said insistently holding out her hand. Jack reluctantly complied, knowing he would most likely be sorry for this later but seeing no other way out.
"Don't make me regret this." He growled. The second the gun was in her hand Nina leveled it with Jack's head and pulled the trigger. The shot hit its target six inches to the left of Jack, just beyond the edge of the wall and one of the unknown assailants fell to the ground with a bullet in his brain. Jack stood frozen for a second trying to process what had just happened and frankly a little surprised to be alive.
"Took you long enough." Nina said slight grin.
"We can't stay here." Jack maneuvered around so he could see out the back of the shed. "Can you run?" Jack said eyeing the growing bloodstain on her shirt.
"Yeah." Nina said forcing herself to ignore the throbbing pain just below her shoulder. The bullet had gone straight through and they had no way to stop the bleeding.
"The Salazar's camp is right over that hill. If we can get there we should be able to lay low for a awhile." it wasn't much of a plan but it would have to do for now. Jack checked once again to make sure that there were no shooters watching their exit.
"Ready?" he asked once he was satisfied that the coast was clear. Nina nodded and they made their way quickly and cautiously over the unfamiliar terrain.
~*~
They reached the shed where Chase had been held earlier that day and ducked inside of it. Nina swayed slightly the pain and blood loss starting to make her feel weak and nauseous. Jack checked to make sure no one had followed them. Nina slid down against the wall, slowly working her arm out of her jacket and wincing as she did.
"We've got to do something about that." Jack said motioning towards the still bleeding wound.
"I'm open to suggestions." Nina said with a derisive laugh colored with pain. Jack walked over and knelt beside her helping her slip her shirt off over her head.
"It's a through and through there's no way to put a tourniquet on it." Jack said looking around for anything he could use to stop the bleeding. He spotted the small stove in the corner. He walked over and removed one of the irons from the fire then returned to kneel beside her.
"This is going to hurt." He said matter of factly.
"Thanks for the warning." Nina said the sarcasm in her voice doing nothing to disguise the fear in her eyes. "Just do it."
Jack pressed the burning hot iron into the fresh wound allowing the heat to cauterize it. Nina thought for a second that she was going to pass out from sheer pain. She let out strangled scream as Jack repeated the process on the exit wound on her back. He then tore a strip from his shirt and used it to immobilize her arm against her chest.
"I can't help but think that you enjoyed that." Nina said with a weak smile and then her eyes fluttered shut finally allowing the darkness to shut out the pain. Jack checked her pulse making sure she was just unconscious and then slipped Nina's cell phone out of her jacket pocket. He stepped just outside the door of the hut and dialed the familiar number.
~*~
"Almeida." Tony answered snatching the phone of his desk.
"Tony, it's me." Jack said pacing as he talked.
"Jack, what happened? Are you okay? Did you get the virus?"
"We were ambushed. I am not sure who by. I have the virus, but the fact that these men tried to kill us makes me think it is part of a bigger plan." The pieces started to fit together as he spoke.
"What do you mean bigger plan?" Tony asked.
"I don't think this is the only vial of the virus Amador is in possession of." Jack said, now positive that he was right.
"What do you want to do?"
"I need you to run down Amador's contacts, anyone he's been in close association with recently. I have Nina Myers with me and I think that she knows more about what's going on than she's telling. I'll press her and see what she knows."
"Jack, be careful." Tony said recalling the last time Jack and Nina had worked together.
"I'll be in touch." Jack said curtly hanging up the phone.
~*~
Inside the shed Nina shifted slightly and was jolted awake by the sharp pain of the raw wound rubbing against the hot tin of the wall. She looked around the empty shed shifting again and trying in vain to get comfortable. She heard the sound of Jack's voice and paused to listen.
"Tony, it's me." She heard him say. So Jack was lying, he was still with CTU and this had all been an elaborate ploy to get the virus. Well, this changed things. She resented the fact that she hadn't seen through it immediately. Was she really so pathetic that one kiss was all it took to convince her, she forced herself not to think about the way his lips had felt on hers. No, she knew that wasn't true. She had been supicious from the start, she had just been willing to take the risk. She knew that she couldn't get out of here by herself but she also knew that there was no way in hell that she was going back to federal prison or sticking around until Jack's urge for revenge finally got the better of him. She needed a plan, leverage. She would lie to him again. She heard Jack's foot steps walking back towards the shed. She closed her eyes and slumped back against the wall as a plan began to take form in her mind.
Don't you see, don't you see,
that the charade is over?
And all the "Best Deceptions" and "Clever Cover Story" awards go to you.
So kiss me hard
'cause this will be the last time that I let you.