Tony was going through the files at Bob Warner's office while Jack had
pulled Kate outside the room and closed the door.
"Kate, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate that you agreed to help us."
"Did I have a choice, Jack?" Kate frowned. "If I had said 'no', then you would've just knocked my door with a warrant to search the company."
Jack paused. Would he have done that? He probably wouldn't have even bothered to get a warrant. Kate knew him too well. "I'm sorry what happened between us..."
"Don't be, there was no other way. You were too dedicated to serving the country and you still are. I just had to accept that and move on. And I have."
Jack looked at Kate. He'd forgotten how beautiful yet strong and independent she was. He'd forgotten how much he had missed her. "Kate, I haven't."
Kate sighed. "Well, you should, Jack. You shouldn't live in the past." She gave him one last glance before entering the office again.
"You found what you were looking?"
Tony was typing behind the computer screen. "Not yet. There are hundreds of files, it'll take hours to check them all!"
"Warner International is not a small company, you know?" Kate said looking bored. She was dragged from her bed because of Jack, once again, and seeing him was more painful than she had anticipated no matter what she'd just said. She was ready to get back home.
"Wait, Jack, have a look at this."
Jack walked behind Tony and leaned to see what was on the screen. "What kind of deals you have with Colombia?" He asked looking at the file.
"None, as far as I'm concerned. But this is a big company and my father does make some own decisions too." Kate walked to the screen. "That's odd, there should be records of what the cargo was... Let me try..."
Tony made room for her and she opened a few files: "The log file hasn't been filled properly."
"Is that common?" Jack asked suspiciously.
"No, dad is usually very strict about them."
"Are there more alike?"
"Wait a minute."
Kate searched the database for matching files: "There's 6 similar transports from Colombia during the past four months. The most recent transport was brought in just... yesterday. There's no record of it being transferred to anywhere else yet, so it's probably still at the airport's storage."
"You have no idea what the cargo holds?" Jack asked looking at Kate who had leaned over to the computer.
"No, it doesn't say. I can see to whom the shipment is addressed though."
"You can do that?"
"Yeah, everything that enters our airports must have a somebody's name on them. It's not like we let anything be shipped through us. We do check backgrounds and usually we keep very tight control over the cargo's content." Kate said looking tightly at the computer screen, she avoided any unnecessary eye contact with Jack, who was standing behind her. "Here.. It's a Chase Edmunds, he has also signed all the previous shipments."
Jack's heart made an extra beat and he quickly leaned over Kate to see what was on the screen. "Chase Edmunds, that can't be right.."
"Well, it says here so. Someone you know?"
"A new guy from the office. You said the cargo is still on the field, can we see it?"
Kate was about to mention something about their privacy policy, but instead, after seeing the worried expression on Jack's face, she just nodded.
"You think Chase is working behind our backs?" Tony whispered to Jack while following Kate through the dark corridors to the Warner's airport.
"For his sake, I hope not." Jack said seriously. He'd grown tired of finding moles and other unloyal workers inside CTU where he should be able to trust his life with almost everyone. And this one was also personal.
Kim tried to listen what was going on in the parking hall, but everything had gone quiet. She shivered from fear and breathed rapidly. Suddenly she heard the key being turned in the lock and the door of the trunk slowly opened. Kim blinked her eyes and jerked her head away from the light until she'd get accustomed to the bright lights. She felt a hand grabbing her and pulling her from the trunk. She streched her legs which had been squeezed into a small space and took a look around to see what was going on. Chase, who had obviously helped her out of the trunk had taken a few steps away from her and was still holding his gun, aiming it at her, but having his eyes on somebody else. Kim turned to see what he was looking at, and at first, she couldn't believe what she saw.
"Michelle?" She said quietly her eyes widened from amazement.
"Kim?" Michelle raised her head. She had kneeled on the floor and looked probably as scared as Kim did. "Are you ok? I could use your help here!"
Kim startled. She had been just standing there staring at Michelle and hadn't realized the whole situation. Michelle was leaning over somebody and had her hands covered on blood as she was trying to press the wound on Alex's stomach. Kim took a few steps towards her but stopped as Chase turned his head towards her and ordered her to stay put.
"Chase, be reasonable, you can't just let him bleed to death!" Michelle yelled. Kim was surprised to hear that there was no hesitation and not a trace of fear in her voice. "I know you and this is not who you are at all! Whatever they're paying you, it's not worth killing an innocent!"
"Whatever they are paying him", Kim thought. What had happened to him? Kim looked at Chase who was again looking at Michelle. His face didn't reveal how much he was agonizing over the situation. Michelle's words had struck him hard. He had indeed killed an innocent already. He had just put Chloe's death behind not thinking that he'd really killed one of his friends a few hours ago. Had he killed an innocent before? Not that he knew of. And now he'd shot another. He didn't like the person he was slowly turning to be.
"I have a first aid kit in my car." Kim suggested in a barely hearable voice. She could help, she had taken some lessons after the shooting at the grocery store couple of years back. She could almost picture the dying owner lying on the ground while she tried to stop the bleeding, just like Michelle was doing right now.
Chase was weighing the situation. It was only a matter of time until someone would come and find them in the garage. He could just lift the man he'd shot into the trunk and lock Kim and Michelle some where until he'd have time to deal with them. There was no chance he'd get wounded man carried to the office without someone noticing. And he had to play this cool for a moment longer.
"Chase, please..." Kim begged.
"Get the kit from the car, but don't try anything stupid!"
Kim ran to get the first aid kit while Chase slammed the trunk closed. There was always another way. That he'd learned from Jack.
"It's storage 2 over there..." Kate pointed at a big storage building with several numbered doors. Storage room no 2 was at the end of the lane. "The cargo you're looking for is marked as A-739. I'll go talk to the security guard and follow you guys afterwards, ok?"
"Yeah, sure." Jack smiled. He turned to look at Kate while she was walking away but decided not to say anything right now. This was not the time nor the place.
"So, let's find out what Chase's been up to.. Jack?" Tony turned around to look at Jack who was clearly tangled in his thoughts, still looking at the direction Kate was headed. "Jack, wake up!"
"What...? Yeah, sure, let's go."
Kim had managed to tie up Alex's wound the best she could but he wasn't looking too good.
"He needs to get into the hospital, Chase!" She and Michelle were carrying Alex down the fire stairs. He was heavy, and although she knew that neither Michelle or herself were physically weak persons, they still had to struggle to get him down the stairs. Alex moaned in pain and Kim quickly noticed that Michelle wasn't in her best shape either. In fact she was amazed how well she could carry her side of the burden.
"This will have to do." Chase stated and opened a door to a room, which by the look of it, seemed to be an old storage room. Kim and Michelle laid Alex down beside the wall.
"For your own well being, don't do anything stupid." Chase said before closing and locking the door.
The room was dark, there was only one small, thick window just below the ceiling. You could see the shade of grass outside, covering about a half from the window screen. They were below the surface then, Kim concluded. She looked at the man she had just carried from the parking hall.
"What's his name?" She asked quietly.
"Alex Peterson. He's one of my neighbors. He probably saved my life earlier." Michelle sighed.
Kim looked at Michelle, who was paler than usually, yet she seemed strong and determined. She envied her for that.
"What are we going to do now?" Kim asked trying to follow Michelle's example and not to despair.
Michelle stood up: "We have to get out of here."
"Kate, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate that you agreed to help us."
"Did I have a choice, Jack?" Kate frowned. "If I had said 'no', then you would've just knocked my door with a warrant to search the company."
Jack paused. Would he have done that? He probably wouldn't have even bothered to get a warrant. Kate knew him too well. "I'm sorry what happened between us..."
"Don't be, there was no other way. You were too dedicated to serving the country and you still are. I just had to accept that and move on. And I have."
Jack looked at Kate. He'd forgotten how beautiful yet strong and independent she was. He'd forgotten how much he had missed her. "Kate, I haven't."
Kate sighed. "Well, you should, Jack. You shouldn't live in the past." She gave him one last glance before entering the office again.
"You found what you were looking?"
Tony was typing behind the computer screen. "Not yet. There are hundreds of files, it'll take hours to check them all!"
"Warner International is not a small company, you know?" Kate said looking bored. She was dragged from her bed because of Jack, once again, and seeing him was more painful than she had anticipated no matter what she'd just said. She was ready to get back home.
"Wait, Jack, have a look at this."
Jack walked behind Tony and leaned to see what was on the screen. "What kind of deals you have with Colombia?" He asked looking at the file.
"None, as far as I'm concerned. But this is a big company and my father does make some own decisions too." Kate walked to the screen. "That's odd, there should be records of what the cargo was... Let me try..."
Tony made room for her and she opened a few files: "The log file hasn't been filled properly."
"Is that common?" Jack asked suspiciously.
"No, dad is usually very strict about them."
"Are there more alike?"
"Wait a minute."
Kate searched the database for matching files: "There's 6 similar transports from Colombia during the past four months. The most recent transport was brought in just... yesterday. There's no record of it being transferred to anywhere else yet, so it's probably still at the airport's storage."
"You have no idea what the cargo holds?" Jack asked looking at Kate who had leaned over to the computer.
"No, it doesn't say. I can see to whom the shipment is addressed though."
"You can do that?"
"Yeah, everything that enters our airports must have a somebody's name on them. It's not like we let anything be shipped through us. We do check backgrounds and usually we keep very tight control over the cargo's content." Kate said looking tightly at the computer screen, she avoided any unnecessary eye contact with Jack, who was standing behind her. "Here.. It's a Chase Edmunds, he has also signed all the previous shipments."
Jack's heart made an extra beat and he quickly leaned over Kate to see what was on the screen. "Chase Edmunds, that can't be right.."
"Well, it says here so. Someone you know?"
"A new guy from the office. You said the cargo is still on the field, can we see it?"
Kate was about to mention something about their privacy policy, but instead, after seeing the worried expression on Jack's face, she just nodded.
"You think Chase is working behind our backs?" Tony whispered to Jack while following Kate through the dark corridors to the Warner's airport.
"For his sake, I hope not." Jack said seriously. He'd grown tired of finding moles and other unloyal workers inside CTU where he should be able to trust his life with almost everyone. And this one was also personal.
Kim tried to listen what was going on in the parking hall, but everything had gone quiet. She shivered from fear and breathed rapidly. Suddenly she heard the key being turned in the lock and the door of the trunk slowly opened. Kim blinked her eyes and jerked her head away from the light until she'd get accustomed to the bright lights. She felt a hand grabbing her and pulling her from the trunk. She streched her legs which had been squeezed into a small space and took a look around to see what was going on. Chase, who had obviously helped her out of the trunk had taken a few steps away from her and was still holding his gun, aiming it at her, but having his eyes on somebody else. Kim turned to see what he was looking at, and at first, she couldn't believe what she saw.
"Michelle?" She said quietly her eyes widened from amazement.
"Kim?" Michelle raised her head. She had kneeled on the floor and looked probably as scared as Kim did. "Are you ok? I could use your help here!"
Kim startled. She had been just standing there staring at Michelle and hadn't realized the whole situation. Michelle was leaning over somebody and had her hands covered on blood as she was trying to press the wound on Alex's stomach. Kim took a few steps towards her but stopped as Chase turned his head towards her and ordered her to stay put.
"Chase, be reasonable, you can't just let him bleed to death!" Michelle yelled. Kim was surprised to hear that there was no hesitation and not a trace of fear in her voice. "I know you and this is not who you are at all! Whatever they're paying you, it's not worth killing an innocent!"
"Whatever they are paying him", Kim thought. What had happened to him? Kim looked at Chase who was again looking at Michelle. His face didn't reveal how much he was agonizing over the situation. Michelle's words had struck him hard. He had indeed killed an innocent already. He had just put Chloe's death behind not thinking that he'd really killed one of his friends a few hours ago. Had he killed an innocent before? Not that he knew of. And now he'd shot another. He didn't like the person he was slowly turning to be.
"I have a first aid kit in my car." Kim suggested in a barely hearable voice. She could help, she had taken some lessons after the shooting at the grocery store couple of years back. She could almost picture the dying owner lying on the ground while she tried to stop the bleeding, just like Michelle was doing right now.
Chase was weighing the situation. It was only a matter of time until someone would come and find them in the garage. He could just lift the man he'd shot into the trunk and lock Kim and Michelle some where until he'd have time to deal with them. There was no chance he'd get wounded man carried to the office without someone noticing. And he had to play this cool for a moment longer.
"Chase, please..." Kim begged.
"Get the kit from the car, but don't try anything stupid!"
Kim ran to get the first aid kit while Chase slammed the trunk closed. There was always another way. That he'd learned from Jack.
"It's storage 2 over there..." Kate pointed at a big storage building with several numbered doors. Storage room no 2 was at the end of the lane. "The cargo you're looking for is marked as A-739. I'll go talk to the security guard and follow you guys afterwards, ok?"
"Yeah, sure." Jack smiled. He turned to look at Kate while she was walking away but decided not to say anything right now. This was not the time nor the place.
"So, let's find out what Chase's been up to.. Jack?" Tony turned around to look at Jack who was clearly tangled in his thoughts, still looking at the direction Kate was headed. "Jack, wake up!"
"What...? Yeah, sure, let's go."
Kim had managed to tie up Alex's wound the best she could but he wasn't looking too good.
"He needs to get into the hospital, Chase!" She and Michelle were carrying Alex down the fire stairs. He was heavy, and although she knew that neither Michelle or herself were physically weak persons, they still had to struggle to get him down the stairs. Alex moaned in pain and Kim quickly noticed that Michelle wasn't in her best shape either. In fact she was amazed how well she could carry her side of the burden.
"This will have to do." Chase stated and opened a door to a room, which by the look of it, seemed to be an old storage room. Kim and Michelle laid Alex down beside the wall.
"For your own well being, don't do anything stupid." Chase said before closing and locking the door.
The room was dark, there was only one small, thick window just below the ceiling. You could see the shade of grass outside, covering about a half from the window screen. They were below the surface then, Kim concluded. She looked at the man she had just carried from the parking hall.
"What's his name?" She asked quietly.
"Alex Peterson. He's one of my neighbors. He probably saved my life earlier." Michelle sighed.
Kim looked at Michelle, who was paler than usually, yet she seemed strong and determined. She envied her for that.
"What are we going to do now?" Kim asked trying to follow Michelle's example and not to despair.
Michelle stood up: "We have to get out of here."