Author Note: Sorry it took so long to update this. I have officially dug
myself in a hole and am trying to get out of it. Someone tell me something
about this. Even if it is "Yo! Meg your shit is crap. If I were you I
would of killed myself. As a matter of fact I think you should kill
yourself now for thinking of this crap and actually trying to write."
It took hours for Salvador to finally get to the point in which Hector was happy enough to leave him for dead. There was no way he could survive. Blood poured off his face and chest to the ground to form a puddle of blood under him. Hector looked at Jack who sat in the background betraying no emotions being happy with his handiwork. "Raise him up so he can't touch the ground." Hector ordered Jack.
Jack walked over to where he had tied the rope and through some struggle he raised Salvador's badly beaten body off the ground and then tied the rope off so that he would stay like that. Salvador was in such a horrible shape that he did not even struggle against the rope that was clearly cutting off his oxygen. A phone began to ring. Jack unconsciously reached down into his pocket for his phone when he remembered Hector still had it. He looked back up panic running through him, but he kept the calm look on his face. It was his phone ringing and he could only guess who would be calling. Kate, Kim, Carol, or Chase? Any of them could spell trouble for him.
Hector answered Jack's phone looking at the caller ID beforehand, "Hello?"
She did not recognize the voice on the phone, Kate was sure Jack did not know anyone who had that thick of a Mexican accent. Thinking she had the wrong number she said, "I'm sorry I must have the wrong number."
"Are you trying to get a hold of Jack?"
"Uh, yeah." Kate answered.
"You have the right number. May I ask who is calling?" Hector asked smiling.
Jack sat back allowing Hector to do what he wanted. Jack's nerves were almost at the breaking point. He hoped his face did not convey it. He was ready to jump out of his skin in anticipation hoping whoever it was figured they called at a wrong time.
"Kate Warner. Who is this?" Kate asked.
"Kate, what's your relationship with Jack?" Hector asked.
Jack was now in full panic mode he was getting ready to fight or run which one he was not sure of. If Kate gave him away, he would be joining Salvador, and that was not really a fun thing. Hector played with Salvador as if he were a human piñata.
Hector looked at Jack as he spoke into the phone, and again he noticed that Jacks face conveyed no emotion.
"I'm his girlfriend." Kate said into the phone not wanting to get in to the technicalities of her relationship with Jack with a complete stranger.
"Okay. Hold on, Kate. Let me get Jack for you." Hector said handing Jack the phone.
Jack took wanted to take a deep breath of relief it felt like he had been holding his breath for the entire time. "Kate. Can I call you back later?" Jack said not wanting to get into anything with her at the moment.
"Who was that?"
"No one. I'll call you back later. I promise." Jack said turning his phone off.
"What's wrong? Didn't want to get into it with her here?" Hector goaded Jack.
"You heard the message. She left me. Clearly, I broke up with her yet she still persist to want to work things out." Jack answered as if he were completely untouched by Kate. "She was just a piece of ass." Jack said smiling.
"Like the bartender. Now that's a piece of ass. How did you get that?" Hector said smiling, maybe this guy was not a complete ass.
"I'm lucky, I guess." Jack said smiling as if it were just another nonchalant incident.
"Let's get back, there is a party to be had now." Hector said walking towards the car.
Jack followed behind confused as to where he stood with Hector. Sometimes, the man was nice to him and at others like earlier today he was ready to kill him. Jack drove back to the bar thinking about whether or not he should call Kate back. When they reached the bar he finally checked his messages on his phone and cringed at his sister's voice message worried that if something went wrong, they could go after her or Kim and then he cringed further at Kate's message. What had they concluded from it? He shrugged it off and sat on the couch in the back room. Hector sat at the desk and said to Carlos, "Get us some drinks and some entertainment."
Carlos left the room to get the stuff from the bartender. He returned with a tray full of beers and shot glasses for the tequila that was already back in the room. He then excused himself so that he could opened the bottom drawer in the desk. "Will this do for entertainment?" He asked pulling out the liquid heroin he kept for himself.
Hector smiled and said, "I think it just might."
Handing out the shoot glass's Jack filled everyone's up and then handed them beers. His body was already aching needing the liquid substance to run through his veins. He took a needle and withdrew the amount he needed. Taking the rubber tourniquet he watched the vein pop out and inserted the needle. His body relaxed only minutes after the drug entered his blood stream. He sat slouched on the couch eyes glassed over. He went shot for shot with Hector who was mellow now. Around closing time, Jack got up and asked, "Is it okay if I go home? If I don't go now, I don't think I'll make it."
Hector looked at Jack, "Yeah, go get out of here. Be back tomorrow around noon. I need you to pick someone up for me. Pedro will go with you."
"Yes sir." Jack almost said, Do you guys need to search the place again or are we cool?, but he figured he was just barely on Hectors good side and he would like to stay there. The drugs and alcohol taking an effect on him he said good-bye to the bartender and stumbled towards his crappy hotel room. When he got into the hotel, he fell onto the bed tired and messed up from the mixture of drugs in his blood. He took out his phone and noticed it said he had missed three calls. Opening it he noticed they were all from Kate. He figured he should call her back at least, he said he would. He hit send on his phone and waited for Kate to answer the phone.
Kate had just fallen asleep she struggled with sleeping ever since Jack had left her condo. She wanted him there and missed him. She felt stupid for calling him earlier. She never should have let him know she missed him. She groggily reached over for the ringing phone that woke her up. "Hello." she said tiredly.
Jack was trying not to slur his words, but the alcohol and drugs were winning, "Kate, what did you want to talk about earlier?"
"Jack, do you know what time it is?" She said clearly angry with him. She noticed the slight slur in his words and concluded he was out getting drunk.
"Uh, no. Why should I?" He asked confused.
"Call me when you are sober, Jack."
"I am sober." He said almost laughing at the thought.
"Who was that earlier on the phone?" She inquired.
"Hector Salazar." Jack answered not being sure why he told her, she asked and it wasn't going to hurt her knowing.
"Where are you at, Jack?" She asked worried for his well being.
"Some hotel."
"Which hotel? I don't want to do this over the phone, and you clearly are in no shape to drive."
"I don't think you should come here. It's not really safe, Kate." Jack said sobering his mind for a second.
"I don't care, they already know my name. Which hotel?" She said in a sharp tone.
"Blue River Inn." Jack said into the phone giving up with arguing with her. He really wanted to see her, anyway. He missed her, and he did care for her even if he did not show it.
"I'll be there in a few."
"Call me when you get outside so I can meet you. It's not the safest part of town." Jack answered into the phone. When Jack hung the phone up, he felt his stomach rumble and noticed how hungry he was. He had not eaten all day. He pulled out his wallet and noticed he only had a twenty. He walked over to the bar and asked, "Can you cash a twenty for me?"
Casey looked at him. "What for?" She inquired.
"Vending machine. The guy over there won't do it." Jack answered not looking her in the eye because he was a little embarrassed by the events of the past few days.
"You are not getting dinner out of there, are you?" She asked knowing he had not eaten all day because he had been with Hector and the gang. They had not eaten because they just had the other bartender go back and cook them some food.
"Yeah. I guess you could call it that." Jack said studying his feet like a child who was being scolded by his parents.
"Mark, do you have any extras back there?" Casey yelled back at Mark who was cleaning the grill again.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Can I have them please." Casey said waiting for Mark to push the plate forward. She grabbed the plate from the divider and set it on the counter. The bar door opened and she looked at the man who walked in, "I'm sorry sir, we are closed for the night." She said to the man who looked a little rough. She had not seen him in the bar before so she was sure that he was not here to see Hector.
"Sure you are. Is Hector in the back?" He asked taking out his Colt M1911 handgun and pointing it at her.
Soon three more men walked into the bar, guns drawn and pointed at Jack or Casey. Jack put his hands up as did Casey. He was not sure what to do at the moment. The guy who originally came in asked, "Who's this?" He was referring to Jack. He knew most of Hector and Carlos's men and he did not recognize him.
Casey took advantage of the situation and said, "He's my boyfriend. He came to pick me up. That's all." She knew if the guys thought he was with Hector, they would have killed him then and there.
"Is Hector in the back?" The guy asked walking up to Jack and putting the gun barrel next to Jack's temple.
Jack answered, "I don't know. I just got here."
The man took the butt of his gun and rammed it hard into Jack's head. Jack fell to the ground and closed his eyes as if he were unconscious. He hoped the guys would be stupid enough to believe it. Sure enough, they had Casey come around the bar and lead the way to the back room, leaving only one man out with Jack and the other bartender. Jack's cell phone rang in the quiet bar. The man guarding him walked up close enough for Jack to be able to kick his legs out from under him. Getting up, Jack kicked the man in the head knocking him out. He took the man's gun and motioned for the other bartender to get down behind the bar.
Jack skulked towards the back room where he heard Hector cussing at the men. The door was left opened and Jack quickly looked in to see where the guys were. Casey sat on the couch next to Ximen, Pedro, and Thomas. Carlos lay on the floor in front of the desk and Hector sat behind the desk. The two men stood almost next to each other. Jack thought to himself how unprofessional they were. He figured they were gang members fighting over something stupid. He aimed and fired two shots, hitting one of the guys in the head and the other in the shoulder. Both men fell to the floor. The one he hit in the shoulder grabbed his shoulder in pain and cried out. Hector looked at Jack who had blood dripping down his head again because the guy hit him where Hector had earlier causing the cut to open again.
"Goddamn it, how happy was I to see you." Hector said looking at Jack smiling.
Jack's phone rang again and he remembered that he was supposed to meet with Kate. He excused himself from the room and walked out to the bar area. "Kate, I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of something. If you want wait for me in the room. It's room 102. I'll be there in an hour. I'm sorry, something came up." Jack said being truly sorry, but he knew he was going to be busy for a while.
"Fine. If you are not here by three, I'm leaving." Kate answered angrily. Something always came up with Jack she thought.
Jack walked back into the room. Hector already had Pedro grab the guy Jack injured off the floor.
"Who were you working for?" Hector asked the man who held his bleeding shoulder his face in pure terror. Jack noticed how young the man looked. He looked younger than Kim. He was probably only nineteen or twenty.
"Fuck you." The guy said in pain.
"If you don't tell me I'll kill you."
"You gonna kill me anyway, so why should I tell you?"
"I can make it easier on you." Hector said.
Jack walked up to him and asked, "May I try?" Jack knew this would only add to the trust he had built tonight if he could get the guy to talk and he knew he could.
"What do you know about these things?" Hector asked.
"Yes sir. I worked with it a little in Delta." Jack answered.
"Fine, you have a half an hour to get him to talk." Hector said walking out to the bar area to grab the other guy.
Jack looked at the man and said, "Tell me what I want to know and I won't hurt you."
"Fuck you, man."
"Sorry, wrong answer. Try again." Jack grabbed the young man's shoulder and squeezed the bullet wound. The boy screamed out in pain. "Are you going to tell me?"
"Fuck you."
Jack did so again this time sticking his thumb in the hole. The boy screamed again. "Last chance?"
"Fuck you." The boy cried out.
Jack squeezed harder and longer. The process went on for about ten minutes until he finally gave up. "The Bloods. Caton told us too come and take care of Hector. If we could get him, we thought maybe we could get his brother to deal with us." Jack looked back at Hector who gave him a look.
Jack knew what it meant. In his mind, he already apologized to the boy. Jack took out the gun and fired one round into the kid's head. Brain matter flew onto his gray shirt and face. Jack turned around and conveying no emotion still he said, "If you don't mind now, I'm going to pass out." Jack waked past Hector who patted him on the back as he left the room. Jack grabbed the plate of food and noticed that Hector had already taken care of the other kid out in the bar. He walked over to his hotel room thinking about what he had done. He felt horrible at the moment and did not show it, but he felt worse than the people he was trying to bring down. He killed a kid and tortured one for that matter. He had killed children before, but he was always far away, never right there. He never chose to pull the trigger nor was he close enough to pull the trigger always at a distance and he was always ordered. This time it was up to him, he could have objected. Yes, it would have made him look bad, but he might have talked some sense into Hector and saved the kid's life, but he didn't. He just pulled the trigger. When he walked into his hotel room, he went for his gun because in the corner of his eye, he saw someone sitting on his bed. He noticed it was Kate and relaxed.
When Jack walked into the door, Kate instantly became worried. Jack had blood dripping down from a cut above his eyebrow and his face and shirt both had blood and other matter on them. "What happened?" She asked getting up to rush over to him.
Jack closed the door and clasped in the chair. Kate kneeled so she could look him in the eye. She noticed the glaze he had and was not sure exactly what it could be from. "Are you okay?" She asked grabbing his hands.
"Yeah I'm fine. It's nothing. I need to change." Jack said getting up and brushing Kate off as he walked over to the chair that had his belongings on it. He grabbed a clean shirt and walked into the bathroom to clean his face off. When he finished he pulled the clean white wife beater on and walked back out to Kate.
"Are you going to tell me what happened? You need to go to the hospital Jack. That cut looks like it could use a few stitches. Come on, I'll take you." Kate looked at Jack's bare right arm because she noticed bruises on it. She instantly noticed the signs of drug use.
Jack noticed her eyes divert from his face to his arm. He had forgotten about those and now he knew she knew about his big little secret.
"What are those, Jack?" She asked walking over to him.
Jack did not answer her they both knew what they were there was no reason to make it verbal. "Don't worry, I have it under control." He said reassuring her.
"Whose blood was that?"
"I don't know him. It doesn't matter. Kate, it's really a bad time. I'm in the middle of work and I can't be doing this. You are in danger just being here. If they find out, they will not only kill me, Kate, and they'll kill everyone I know first. That includes you. So please just let it go. Go back to your rich daddy and rich friends. I'm sure it won't be that hard to leave me in the dust. I'm not the one for you and I will never give you what you want, and never will fit with your world, just like you will never fit with mine."
"No, I won't accept that Jack. I love you and I know you have to love me. The past year has to have made you feel something." She said searching his eyes for any emotion.
"Kate, it hasn't. I don't love you and I never will." Jack said looking away. He did not want to break her heart, but he had to. She could not keep coming to him, he would only make her miserable, and he could not do that to her.
Kate was hurt. She could feel her heart breaking as he spoke the words. She had never hit a man before, but her anger took control of her. She slapped him hard across the face a diamond ring she had on ripping the skin on his cheek that was now beat red. She then walked out of the room silently crying to herself she did not want him to see her or know she was crying. As she left, she called back, "You know what Jack, you are right. You are too old for me, and you are not really such a great guy." She slammed the door as she walked out and got into her car a sped off into the night.
Tired, depressed, and drunk, Jack sat on the bed trying to block everything out so he could sleep one night through. He thought he was dreaming when he heard a woman scream outside, but then he heard it again. He sat up in the bed and looked out his window. He saw Casey trying to fight three good size guys off outside the bar. The inside of the bar was dark, and there were only Casey's BMW sports car in the parking lot. Jack put on his shoes and grabbed his gun to run across the street to help her.
When he got to the other side of the street the guys already had Casey pinned to the ground and one was fighting to get her pants off. Her shirt had already been discarded.
"Hey guys, do you mind? I'm trying to sleep over there could you quiet down some." Jack said as if he were drunker than what he sounded.
"What the fuck?" One of the guys asked turning to Jack.
Jack already had his Beretta pulled out and pointed at the man on Casey. "Why don't you get off the woman and go home?" Jack said being sober now.
"Dude, you don't know who you are fucking with." The guy on Jack's right said.
"Yeah who would that be?" Jack asked preparing for one of the guys to go for a gun.
A car pulled up behind him and the passenger said, "The Bloods. Is this Carlos, new guy?"
Jack spun around to see a red Mercedes Benz full of people. In his mind he thought Oh shit.
"That'd be him." One of the guys on the right said.
Jack knew he wasn't going to get out of this clean. He did not want to see Casey get hurt, so in his not so sober mind, he decided the best course of action. Jack charged at the guy on top of Casey. Knocking the guy off Casey, Jack continued to fight with him rolling on the ground. Jack yelled to Casey, "Get the fuck out of here lady."
Casey was already taking advantage of the opportunity and took off running towards the hotel. No one chased after her. She was just a bonus. The two other guys already had a hold of Jack. Jack fought to free his arms from their grasp, but the more he struggled, the harder they held on. The man in the passenger seat of the car got out and said, "Throw him in the back."
The trunk opened and Jack continued to fight with the two who had a hold of him. The third guy walked up to Jack and threw a left hook punch, hitting Jack hard in the side of the head and then threw a straight punch into Jack's stomach winding Jack and causing Jack to bend over to catch his breath. Someone must have had a bottle because the last thing Jack saw was the bottle swinging towards his head. He hit the ground unconscious and bleeding from where the bottle hit the ground.
Jack woke up as he felt water hitting his head and running down his neck. Before he opened his eyes, someone already kicked his rib cage causing Jack to grunt in pain. He opened his eyes and tried to look around to see where he was. He thought it was the alley behind the bar, but his vision was blurry, there were too many people around him for him to see anything other than the sea of legs, and every damn alley looked the same. He was aided in standing by the two guys who held his arms earlier.
"Nice of you to finally join us. Where are the guys who came earlier?" The person who had been the passenger of the car asked Jack.
"Who?" Jack asked as if he did not know who he was talking about. Jack did not want to be the man to tell him they were dead and he had killed two of them.
"The guys who spoke with Carlos earlier. I knows they were here because Carlos is in the hospital now with some bullshit lie about getting shot while hunting."
"I haven't a clue what you are talking about." Jack said his mind screaming for him to run from there, but his body yelling that there was no way. The heroin, alcohol and fatigue making it impossible for him to even think of outrunning the gang half his age.
"Got us a smart guy here, don't we?" One of the men holding Jack asked.
The previous passenger hit Jack with a right hook punch. Jack bent over in pain. The punch was harder than a normal punch should have been. The guy pulled Jack's head up by grabbing a fistful of hair. That was when Jack noticed the brass knuckles he had on.
The guy holding Jack's head up said, "I want you to tell Carlos something for me."
His mind rested some at the thought the guy wanted him to pass on a message that meant he was not going to be a byline in the morning paper as another dead person caught in the middle of the gang war. "What's that?" Jack asked blocking all of the pain out of his voice.
"Tell him I'm coming for him. He has killed four of my people in the past few days and took my deal with the Salazars. I'm going to kill him and get what is mine." The man said. After finishing he hit Jack in the head with the left hand that had the brass knuckles on. Jack's head whipped with the force of the punch, blood and spit flying out of his mouth. The two guys had to hold more of his weight up as his body tried to fall to the ground. Again, the man hit Jack, but this time the two guys let Jack fall to the ground where they proceeded to kick him repeatedly until they where sure he would not be getting back up any time soon.
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Nina had a lead foot. While she was undercover in CTU, she had gotten in quite a few predicaments with the police for going way over the speed limit. She loved fast cars and fast driving. Life was meant to live, not to think about, and that is what she did live her life.
Kit sat in the passenger seat trying to stay calm. They were going a hundred in a highly populated area and all it would take was a bump in the road and they would be road kill.
Nina was bored with driving and exited into a small little bed and breakfast/ bar. "Let's go in and get some drinks." She said getting out of the car.
Kit followed her in. He did not really want to drink especially after the other night, but he went with her. Sometimes he thought too much with his heart and not enough with his brain. He knew he had loved or thought he loved Nina since the first time he set eyes on her. He wanted to be with her and more than just in a sexual way. She was the one who had introduced him to CTU. Without her, he wouldn't have been doing anything important. After he was discharged from the Army, he did not have a job to come home to. Exactly what type of job could he get being a good trained killer? Businesses were not looking for that quality in people. He had other traits, but what he was good at is tracking down people and killing them if necessary. Nina showed him his way in life through CTU. With that, he was able to find himself and do a job he loved helping the world and the U.S. out more than he ever had in the Army.
When he walked into the diner he was taken back by it. It felt as if he were walking into a small cozy bar/restaurant. Half of the place was a nice bar. It was almost like the bar in a small town without all of the smoke. It had a wooden floor and a nice area cleared out for dancing with an old jukebox. The other side was set up to be a restaurant with candles on each table. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, but it was something he thought if it were in L.A. he would frequent.
Nina led them over to the bar area of the place. She ordered two beers, whatever the house brew was. The bartender brought them over and went back to cleaning the spotless bar. There were very few people in the bar, which was to be expected it was still early in the afternoon on a work day. Nina asked, "Do you have a dollar? I want to go put some music on."
Kit fished out his wallet and gave Nina a dollar. Nina got up and walked over to the jukebox where she studied the song collection. She found a few songs she liked and some she never knew. She had two songs left so she just punched in any number. She walked back over to Kit before the song started to play and said, "Dance with me." She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bar stool towards the empty dance floor.
I can hear what you're thinking
All your doubts and fears
And if your look in my eyes
In time you will find the reason I am here
In time all things shall pass away
In time you may come back some day
To live once more
Or die once more
But in time your time will be no more
They slowly turned around on the floor not really Texas-two stepping. Nina rested her head on Kit. She was not sure if she actually liked him or was just using him for her own good. It was almost like when she was with Jack. She had liked Jack, and at the same time, she was using him. She thought about it and how messed up she was.
You know your days are numbered
Count them one by one
Like notches in the handle of an outlaws gun
You can outrun the devil if you try
But you will never out run the hands of time
In time there surely come a day
In time all things will Pass away
In time you will come back some say
To live once more or die once more
But in time your time will be no more
Jokingly Kit asked, "Are you trying to tell me something here?"
Nina looked at him with a few tears in her eyes. "No." She said trying not to show the emotion the song had actually brought in her.
"What's wrong?" Kit asked knowing she was not happy. This was a new side of Nina he had not seen. Maybe she really liked him and was not just using him.
"Nothing. This song reminds me of my father. It was his favorite song. When I was a little girl before ..." She paused collecting herself to continue. God why was she being so weak, this was not her she thought. "He would play it and dance with me to it."
Kit was shocked that she had told him anything. No one really knew much about Nina's past. When she worked at CTU, she never shared that stuff. No one really did. They did background checks, but those always failed to find the true past, only the written past. "What happened to your father?" Kit asked trying to pry more information out of her.
"He got into a car accident. He was drunk, nothing new. He hit a telephone pole killing himself instantly." Nina said as if she had said it so many times before.
"I'm sorry." Kit said not being sure what to say.
"Don't be. He was an asshole." Nina said with bitterness seething through.
"I'm sorry for you, then." Kit said hugging her. He really loved her and wanted to be that person who she turned to, the person who she could be herself around. He knew it was wrong to love her, she was the enemy, but he did. What would Jack say? Fuck Jack he was more than welcome to think whatever he wanted. Kit did not have to answer to him.
The next song came on and Nina and Kit sat down to finish their beers. The earlier conversation was now discarded because of the clear pain it brought to one of them. "What about your childhood?" Nina asked trying to find more about him.
"It was pretty normal. I grew up for awhile in Beijing. My father was in the Navy. I started my karate lessons over there, and then we moved to L.A. and I excelled through school and karate."
"What type?"
"Shaolin Kempo. It is composed of Karate, basic Kung Fu, and Jiu- jitsu."
"Was that what you were using earlier?"
"Yeah. My life was pretty normal growing up. Nothing too outrageous." Kit answered.
"That must have been nice." Nina said with a distant look thinking about her own childhood.
"You want to get out of here and go to the beach or something? Is there any other work to be done?" Kit asked trying to find a way to get Nina out of her current trance.
"Lets go to the beach. I have not taken a day off for myself in a while." Nina said standing. "I know a nice private beach we can go to."
They left the bar holding hands. It may have seemed childish, but there was this unspoken connection. Both of them knew what they felt or thought they felt was wrong, but it felt right at the moment and that was all that mattered. Nina felt like she could tell Kit things and he would not judge her like so many others had. Kit was Jack only younger and a little different in some sense, and she liked that. She felt like he was the better half of Jack, the half that doesn't start something and then run out to go back to his wife who made him miserable. However, she did not just like Kit because he reminded her of Jack. She liked him because he was better than Jack, and she knew it.
When they reached the nice private beach Kit took a deep breath. He had survived another trip with Nina driving. He got out of the car and followed her down the rocks to a hidden cove of the beach. When the reached the cove Kit looked on into the beautiful blue tranquil water. It was so clean he could see the sand bellow.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Nina asked noticing the look on Kit's face.
"Yes. How did you find it?"
"You don't want to know." Nina answered. She found it with the man who had made her who she was. He had ripped everything she was out of her. He never physically hurt her, but the emotional damage was enough. With the guy and her father, it was easy for her to betray the country that brought those two into existence. Nina took her tank top off and pants and ran into the water half naked. The water was warm and salty. She fought the waves out until she could barely touch them and she rode them back in.
Kit sat on the shore and watched her for awhile. Marveling at all the different sides of Nina, and he liked her more for them. He undressed and soon joined her in the childish game of riding waves. It was weird for them to be acting so childish. Neither of them had ever really acted like a child in their life, and now here they were in the middle of a big operation enjoying an almost second childhood. Kit got next to Nina grabbing her head and pulling her into a passionate kiss. Nina returned it and they sat in the ocean letting the waves push them towards shore holding each other.
After an hour of the water the two got out and dressed. They sat on the beach looking into the ocean each reflecting on their own thoughts. Kit stood up finally and said, "We better get back. People might talk." He smiled at her helping her up off the ground. Holding her hand back to the car.
When they reached the car Nina looked at her cell phone she had left in it. She had missed three calls. They all were from the same person, her boss. She called him back.
"Where have you been all day?!" the man with a deep voice screamed into the phone.
"I went to the meeting and then I have been running around doing some things. Why?"
"I need you here. The deal is going down faster than we expected. We are going to do it here. They are getting close so we need to throw them off. Get back here." The man ordered.
"I'll be back in twenty minutes." Nina hung the phone up and looked at Kit. "We got to get back. The thing is going down tonight."
"Let me drive this time." Kit said walking to the driver's side. He was not sure he could take her driving again. Kit drove about the same as Nina, but it was a control issue with him. He was not comfortable unless he was in control. For some reason at the moment Kit wanted to ask Nina why she betray them.
Nina noticed the look on his face and could see there was a debate going on in her head. She had always been able to read Kit's mind. He was not an easy person to read, but she was great at reading people, that was how she made it in life. "What is it?" She asked trying to figure what he was thinking about.
"Nothing."
"It's nothing, but I bet I know what it is." She said figuring the question would eventually come up and he felt like it was the time to ask it. "Why did I betray CTU?"
"Well, yeah." Kit said feeling uncomfortable. He hated how she could read his mind so well. He could never really read her unless she allowed him to, and he hated her having that control over him.
"Maybe later. I never meant to kill Teri though. I did not want to, but I had to." Nina felt a little better saying it. She did not feel guilty for what she had done, but at the same time she did not like the fact she had to kill Teri. She actually had started to like Teri that day, but it was business. "By the way where were you last year, during the nuclear bomb? I did not see you at CTU."
"I was not working at the time, but was on assignment the next day after the attack on Palmer. He wanted Jack, but clearly Jack could not have done anything considering he had physical problems at the time. Palmer wanted the people responsible for the attempt found and did not want just government agencies in case they had infiltrated others. Tony recommended me being Jack's protégé and all." Kit answered as a way of explanation, using a sarcastic tone when he spoke of being a protégé.
"You really hate being in Jack's shadow sometimes, don't you? He always seems to get lucky and everything works out for him. That used to piss me off. Really, if you knew the guy, you would be honored to be his protégé. He's stronger than you." Nina said shocking Kit with her praise of Jack. Kit just rolled his eyes with a "whatever, I can take him on" expression on his face.
It took hours for Salvador to finally get to the point in which Hector was happy enough to leave him for dead. There was no way he could survive. Blood poured off his face and chest to the ground to form a puddle of blood under him. Hector looked at Jack who sat in the background betraying no emotions being happy with his handiwork. "Raise him up so he can't touch the ground." Hector ordered Jack.
Jack walked over to where he had tied the rope and through some struggle he raised Salvador's badly beaten body off the ground and then tied the rope off so that he would stay like that. Salvador was in such a horrible shape that he did not even struggle against the rope that was clearly cutting off his oxygen. A phone began to ring. Jack unconsciously reached down into his pocket for his phone when he remembered Hector still had it. He looked back up panic running through him, but he kept the calm look on his face. It was his phone ringing and he could only guess who would be calling. Kate, Kim, Carol, or Chase? Any of them could spell trouble for him.
Hector answered Jack's phone looking at the caller ID beforehand, "Hello?"
She did not recognize the voice on the phone, Kate was sure Jack did not know anyone who had that thick of a Mexican accent. Thinking she had the wrong number she said, "I'm sorry I must have the wrong number."
"Are you trying to get a hold of Jack?"
"Uh, yeah." Kate answered.
"You have the right number. May I ask who is calling?" Hector asked smiling.
Jack sat back allowing Hector to do what he wanted. Jack's nerves were almost at the breaking point. He hoped his face did not convey it. He was ready to jump out of his skin in anticipation hoping whoever it was figured they called at a wrong time.
"Kate Warner. Who is this?" Kate asked.
"Kate, what's your relationship with Jack?" Hector asked.
Jack was now in full panic mode he was getting ready to fight or run which one he was not sure of. If Kate gave him away, he would be joining Salvador, and that was not really a fun thing. Hector played with Salvador as if he were a human piñata.
Hector looked at Jack as he spoke into the phone, and again he noticed that Jacks face conveyed no emotion.
"I'm his girlfriend." Kate said into the phone not wanting to get in to the technicalities of her relationship with Jack with a complete stranger.
"Okay. Hold on, Kate. Let me get Jack for you." Hector said handing Jack the phone.
Jack took wanted to take a deep breath of relief it felt like he had been holding his breath for the entire time. "Kate. Can I call you back later?" Jack said not wanting to get into anything with her at the moment.
"Who was that?"
"No one. I'll call you back later. I promise." Jack said turning his phone off.
"What's wrong? Didn't want to get into it with her here?" Hector goaded Jack.
"You heard the message. She left me. Clearly, I broke up with her yet she still persist to want to work things out." Jack answered as if he were completely untouched by Kate. "She was just a piece of ass." Jack said smiling.
"Like the bartender. Now that's a piece of ass. How did you get that?" Hector said smiling, maybe this guy was not a complete ass.
"I'm lucky, I guess." Jack said smiling as if it were just another nonchalant incident.
"Let's get back, there is a party to be had now." Hector said walking towards the car.
Jack followed behind confused as to where he stood with Hector. Sometimes, the man was nice to him and at others like earlier today he was ready to kill him. Jack drove back to the bar thinking about whether or not he should call Kate back. When they reached the bar he finally checked his messages on his phone and cringed at his sister's voice message worried that if something went wrong, they could go after her or Kim and then he cringed further at Kate's message. What had they concluded from it? He shrugged it off and sat on the couch in the back room. Hector sat at the desk and said to Carlos, "Get us some drinks and some entertainment."
Carlos left the room to get the stuff from the bartender. He returned with a tray full of beers and shot glasses for the tequila that was already back in the room. He then excused himself so that he could opened the bottom drawer in the desk. "Will this do for entertainment?" He asked pulling out the liquid heroin he kept for himself.
Hector smiled and said, "I think it just might."
Handing out the shoot glass's Jack filled everyone's up and then handed them beers. His body was already aching needing the liquid substance to run through his veins. He took a needle and withdrew the amount he needed. Taking the rubber tourniquet he watched the vein pop out and inserted the needle. His body relaxed only minutes after the drug entered his blood stream. He sat slouched on the couch eyes glassed over. He went shot for shot with Hector who was mellow now. Around closing time, Jack got up and asked, "Is it okay if I go home? If I don't go now, I don't think I'll make it."
Hector looked at Jack, "Yeah, go get out of here. Be back tomorrow around noon. I need you to pick someone up for me. Pedro will go with you."
"Yes sir." Jack almost said, Do you guys need to search the place again or are we cool?, but he figured he was just barely on Hectors good side and he would like to stay there. The drugs and alcohol taking an effect on him he said good-bye to the bartender and stumbled towards his crappy hotel room. When he got into the hotel, he fell onto the bed tired and messed up from the mixture of drugs in his blood. He took out his phone and noticed it said he had missed three calls. Opening it he noticed they were all from Kate. He figured he should call her back at least, he said he would. He hit send on his phone and waited for Kate to answer the phone.
Kate had just fallen asleep she struggled with sleeping ever since Jack had left her condo. She wanted him there and missed him. She felt stupid for calling him earlier. She never should have let him know she missed him. She groggily reached over for the ringing phone that woke her up. "Hello." she said tiredly.
Jack was trying not to slur his words, but the alcohol and drugs were winning, "Kate, what did you want to talk about earlier?"
"Jack, do you know what time it is?" She said clearly angry with him. She noticed the slight slur in his words and concluded he was out getting drunk.
"Uh, no. Why should I?" He asked confused.
"Call me when you are sober, Jack."
"I am sober." He said almost laughing at the thought.
"Who was that earlier on the phone?" She inquired.
"Hector Salazar." Jack answered not being sure why he told her, she asked and it wasn't going to hurt her knowing.
"Where are you at, Jack?" She asked worried for his well being.
"Some hotel."
"Which hotel? I don't want to do this over the phone, and you clearly are in no shape to drive."
"I don't think you should come here. It's not really safe, Kate." Jack said sobering his mind for a second.
"I don't care, they already know my name. Which hotel?" She said in a sharp tone.
"Blue River Inn." Jack said into the phone giving up with arguing with her. He really wanted to see her, anyway. He missed her, and he did care for her even if he did not show it.
"I'll be there in a few."
"Call me when you get outside so I can meet you. It's not the safest part of town." Jack answered into the phone. When Jack hung the phone up, he felt his stomach rumble and noticed how hungry he was. He had not eaten all day. He pulled out his wallet and noticed he only had a twenty. He walked over to the bar and asked, "Can you cash a twenty for me?"
Casey looked at him. "What for?" She inquired.
"Vending machine. The guy over there won't do it." Jack answered not looking her in the eye because he was a little embarrassed by the events of the past few days.
"You are not getting dinner out of there, are you?" She asked knowing he had not eaten all day because he had been with Hector and the gang. They had not eaten because they just had the other bartender go back and cook them some food.
"Yeah. I guess you could call it that." Jack said studying his feet like a child who was being scolded by his parents.
"Mark, do you have any extras back there?" Casey yelled back at Mark who was cleaning the grill again.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Can I have them please." Casey said waiting for Mark to push the plate forward. She grabbed the plate from the divider and set it on the counter. The bar door opened and she looked at the man who walked in, "I'm sorry sir, we are closed for the night." She said to the man who looked a little rough. She had not seen him in the bar before so she was sure that he was not here to see Hector.
"Sure you are. Is Hector in the back?" He asked taking out his Colt M1911 handgun and pointing it at her.
Soon three more men walked into the bar, guns drawn and pointed at Jack or Casey. Jack put his hands up as did Casey. He was not sure what to do at the moment. The guy who originally came in asked, "Who's this?" He was referring to Jack. He knew most of Hector and Carlos's men and he did not recognize him.
Casey took advantage of the situation and said, "He's my boyfriend. He came to pick me up. That's all." She knew if the guys thought he was with Hector, they would have killed him then and there.
"Is Hector in the back?" The guy asked walking up to Jack and putting the gun barrel next to Jack's temple.
Jack answered, "I don't know. I just got here."
The man took the butt of his gun and rammed it hard into Jack's head. Jack fell to the ground and closed his eyes as if he were unconscious. He hoped the guys would be stupid enough to believe it. Sure enough, they had Casey come around the bar and lead the way to the back room, leaving only one man out with Jack and the other bartender. Jack's cell phone rang in the quiet bar. The man guarding him walked up close enough for Jack to be able to kick his legs out from under him. Getting up, Jack kicked the man in the head knocking him out. He took the man's gun and motioned for the other bartender to get down behind the bar.
Jack skulked towards the back room where he heard Hector cussing at the men. The door was left opened and Jack quickly looked in to see where the guys were. Casey sat on the couch next to Ximen, Pedro, and Thomas. Carlos lay on the floor in front of the desk and Hector sat behind the desk. The two men stood almost next to each other. Jack thought to himself how unprofessional they were. He figured they were gang members fighting over something stupid. He aimed and fired two shots, hitting one of the guys in the head and the other in the shoulder. Both men fell to the floor. The one he hit in the shoulder grabbed his shoulder in pain and cried out. Hector looked at Jack who had blood dripping down his head again because the guy hit him where Hector had earlier causing the cut to open again.
"Goddamn it, how happy was I to see you." Hector said looking at Jack smiling.
Jack's phone rang again and he remembered that he was supposed to meet with Kate. He excused himself from the room and walked out to the bar area. "Kate, I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of something. If you want wait for me in the room. It's room 102. I'll be there in an hour. I'm sorry, something came up." Jack said being truly sorry, but he knew he was going to be busy for a while.
"Fine. If you are not here by three, I'm leaving." Kate answered angrily. Something always came up with Jack she thought.
Jack walked back into the room. Hector already had Pedro grab the guy Jack injured off the floor.
"Who were you working for?" Hector asked the man who held his bleeding shoulder his face in pure terror. Jack noticed how young the man looked. He looked younger than Kim. He was probably only nineteen or twenty.
"Fuck you." The guy said in pain.
"If you don't tell me I'll kill you."
"You gonna kill me anyway, so why should I tell you?"
"I can make it easier on you." Hector said.
Jack walked up to him and asked, "May I try?" Jack knew this would only add to the trust he had built tonight if he could get the guy to talk and he knew he could.
"What do you know about these things?" Hector asked.
"Yes sir. I worked with it a little in Delta." Jack answered.
"Fine, you have a half an hour to get him to talk." Hector said walking out to the bar area to grab the other guy.
Jack looked at the man and said, "Tell me what I want to know and I won't hurt you."
"Fuck you, man."
"Sorry, wrong answer. Try again." Jack grabbed the young man's shoulder and squeezed the bullet wound. The boy screamed out in pain. "Are you going to tell me?"
"Fuck you."
Jack did so again this time sticking his thumb in the hole. The boy screamed again. "Last chance?"
"Fuck you." The boy cried out.
Jack squeezed harder and longer. The process went on for about ten minutes until he finally gave up. "The Bloods. Caton told us too come and take care of Hector. If we could get him, we thought maybe we could get his brother to deal with us." Jack looked back at Hector who gave him a look.
Jack knew what it meant. In his mind, he already apologized to the boy. Jack took out the gun and fired one round into the kid's head. Brain matter flew onto his gray shirt and face. Jack turned around and conveying no emotion still he said, "If you don't mind now, I'm going to pass out." Jack waked past Hector who patted him on the back as he left the room. Jack grabbed the plate of food and noticed that Hector had already taken care of the other kid out in the bar. He walked over to his hotel room thinking about what he had done. He felt horrible at the moment and did not show it, but he felt worse than the people he was trying to bring down. He killed a kid and tortured one for that matter. He had killed children before, but he was always far away, never right there. He never chose to pull the trigger nor was he close enough to pull the trigger always at a distance and he was always ordered. This time it was up to him, he could have objected. Yes, it would have made him look bad, but he might have talked some sense into Hector and saved the kid's life, but he didn't. He just pulled the trigger. When he walked into his hotel room, he went for his gun because in the corner of his eye, he saw someone sitting on his bed. He noticed it was Kate and relaxed.
When Jack walked into the door, Kate instantly became worried. Jack had blood dripping down from a cut above his eyebrow and his face and shirt both had blood and other matter on them. "What happened?" She asked getting up to rush over to him.
Jack closed the door and clasped in the chair. Kate kneeled so she could look him in the eye. She noticed the glaze he had and was not sure exactly what it could be from. "Are you okay?" She asked grabbing his hands.
"Yeah I'm fine. It's nothing. I need to change." Jack said getting up and brushing Kate off as he walked over to the chair that had his belongings on it. He grabbed a clean shirt and walked into the bathroom to clean his face off. When he finished he pulled the clean white wife beater on and walked back out to Kate.
"Are you going to tell me what happened? You need to go to the hospital Jack. That cut looks like it could use a few stitches. Come on, I'll take you." Kate looked at Jack's bare right arm because she noticed bruises on it. She instantly noticed the signs of drug use.
Jack noticed her eyes divert from his face to his arm. He had forgotten about those and now he knew she knew about his big little secret.
"What are those, Jack?" She asked walking over to him.
Jack did not answer her they both knew what they were there was no reason to make it verbal. "Don't worry, I have it under control." He said reassuring her.
"Whose blood was that?"
"I don't know him. It doesn't matter. Kate, it's really a bad time. I'm in the middle of work and I can't be doing this. You are in danger just being here. If they find out, they will not only kill me, Kate, and they'll kill everyone I know first. That includes you. So please just let it go. Go back to your rich daddy and rich friends. I'm sure it won't be that hard to leave me in the dust. I'm not the one for you and I will never give you what you want, and never will fit with your world, just like you will never fit with mine."
"No, I won't accept that Jack. I love you and I know you have to love me. The past year has to have made you feel something." She said searching his eyes for any emotion.
"Kate, it hasn't. I don't love you and I never will." Jack said looking away. He did not want to break her heart, but he had to. She could not keep coming to him, he would only make her miserable, and he could not do that to her.
Kate was hurt. She could feel her heart breaking as he spoke the words. She had never hit a man before, but her anger took control of her. She slapped him hard across the face a diamond ring she had on ripping the skin on his cheek that was now beat red. She then walked out of the room silently crying to herself she did not want him to see her or know she was crying. As she left, she called back, "You know what Jack, you are right. You are too old for me, and you are not really such a great guy." She slammed the door as she walked out and got into her car a sped off into the night.
Tired, depressed, and drunk, Jack sat on the bed trying to block everything out so he could sleep one night through. He thought he was dreaming when he heard a woman scream outside, but then he heard it again. He sat up in the bed and looked out his window. He saw Casey trying to fight three good size guys off outside the bar. The inside of the bar was dark, and there were only Casey's BMW sports car in the parking lot. Jack put on his shoes and grabbed his gun to run across the street to help her.
When he got to the other side of the street the guys already had Casey pinned to the ground and one was fighting to get her pants off. Her shirt had already been discarded.
"Hey guys, do you mind? I'm trying to sleep over there could you quiet down some." Jack said as if he were drunker than what he sounded.
"What the fuck?" One of the guys asked turning to Jack.
Jack already had his Beretta pulled out and pointed at the man on Casey. "Why don't you get off the woman and go home?" Jack said being sober now.
"Dude, you don't know who you are fucking with." The guy on Jack's right said.
"Yeah who would that be?" Jack asked preparing for one of the guys to go for a gun.
A car pulled up behind him and the passenger said, "The Bloods. Is this Carlos, new guy?"
Jack spun around to see a red Mercedes Benz full of people. In his mind he thought Oh shit.
"That'd be him." One of the guys on the right said.
Jack knew he wasn't going to get out of this clean. He did not want to see Casey get hurt, so in his not so sober mind, he decided the best course of action. Jack charged at the guy on top of Casey. Knocking the guy off Casey, Jack continued to fight with him rolling on the ground. Jack yelled to Casey, "Get the fuck out of here lady."
Casey was already taking advantage of the opportunity and took off running towards the hotel. No one chased after her. She was just a bonus. The two other guys already had a hold of Jack. Jack fought to free his arms from their grasp, but the more he struggled, the harder they held on. The man in the passenger seat of the car got out and said, "Throw him in the back."
The trunk opened and Jack continued to fight with the two who had a hold of him. The third guy walked up to Jack and threw a left hook punch, hitting Jack hard in the side of the head and then threw a straight punch into Jack's stomach winding Jack and causing Jack to bend over to catch his breath. Someone must have had a bottle because the last thing Jack saw was the bottle swinging towards his head. He hit the ground unconscious and bleeding from where the bottle hit the ground.
Jack woke up as he felt water hitting his head and running down his neck. Before he opened his eyes, someone already kicked his rib cage causing Jack to grunt in pain. He opened his eyes and tried to look around to see where he was. He thought it was the alley behind the bar, but his vision was blurry, there were too many people around him for him to see anything other than the sea of legs, and every damn alley looked the same. He was aided in standing by the two guys who held his arms earlier.
"Nice of you to finally join us. Where are the guys who came earlier?" The person who had been the passenger of the car asked Jack.
"Who?" Jack asked as if he did not know who he was talking about. Jack did not want to be the man to tell him they were dead and he had killed two of them.
"The guys who spoke with Carlos earlier. I knows they were here because Carlos is in the hospital now with some bullshit lie about getting shot while hunting."
"I haven't a clue what you are talking about." Jack said his mind screaming for him to run from there, but his body yelling that there was no way. The heroin, alcohol and fatigue making it impossible for him to even think of outrunning the gang half his age.
"Got us a smart guy here, don't we?" One of the men holding Jack asked.
The previous passenger hit Jack with a right hook punch. Jack bent over in pain. The punch was harder than a normal punch should have been. The guy pulled Jack's head up by grabbing a fistful of hair. That was when Jack noticed the brass knuckles he had on.
The guy holding Jack's head up said, "I want you to tell Carlos something for me."
His mind rested some at the thought the guy wanted him to pass on a message that meant he was not going to be a byline in the morning paper as another dead person caught in the middle of the gang war. "What's that?" Jack asked blocking all of the pain out of his voice.
"Tell him I'm coming for him. He has killed four of my people in the past few days and took my deal with the Salazars. I'm going to kill him and get what is mine." The man said. After finishing he hit Jack in the head with the left hand that had the brass knuckles on. Jack's head whipped with the force of the punch, blood and spit flying out of his mouth. The two guys had to hold more of his weight up as his body tried to fall to the ground. Again, the man hit Jack, but this time the two guys let Jack fall to the ground where they proceeded to kick him repeatedly until they where sure he would not be getting back up any time soon.
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Nina had a lead foot. While she was undercover in CTU, she had gotten in quite a few predicaments with the police for going way over the speed limit. She loved fast cars and fast driving. Life was meant to live, not to think about, and that is what she did live her life.
Kit sat in the passenger seat trying to stay calm. They were going a hundred in a highly populated area and all it would take was a bump in the road and they would be road kill.
Nina was bored with driving and exited into a small little bed and breakfast/ bar. "Let's go in and get some drinks." She said getting out of the car.
Kit followed her in. He did not really want to drink especially after the other night, but he went with her. Sometimes he thought too much with his heart and not enough with his brain. He knew he had loved or thought he loved Nina since the first time he set eyes on her. He wanted to be with her and more than just in a sexual way. She was the one who had introduced him to CTU. Without her, he wouldn't have been doing anything important. After he was discharged from the Army, he did not have a job to come home to. Exactly what type of job could he get being a good trained killer? Businesses were not looking for that quality in people. He had other traits, but what he was good at is tracking down people and killing them if necessary. Nina showed him his way in life through CTU. With that, he was able to find himself and do a job he loved helping the world and the U.S. out more than he ever had in the Army.
When he walked into the diner he was taken back by it. It felt as if he were walking into a small cozy bar/restaurant. Half of the place was a nice bar. It was almost like the bar in a small town without all of the smoke. It had a wooden floor and a nice area cleared out for dancing with an old jukebox. The other side was set up to be a restaurant with candles on each table. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, but it was something he thought if it were in L.A. he would frequent.
Nina led them over to the bar area of the place. She ordered two beers, whatever the house brew was. The bartender brought them over and went back to cleaning the spotless bar. There were very few people in the bar, which was to be expected it was still early in the afternoon on a work day. Nina asked, "Do you have a dollar? I want to go put some music on."
Kit fished out his wallet and gave Nina a dollar. Nina got up and walked over to the jukebox where she studied the song collection. She found a few songs she liked and some she never knew. She had two songs left so she just punched in any number. She walked back over to Kit before the song started to play and said, "Dance with me." She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bar stool towards the empty dance floor.
I can hear what you're thinking
All your doubts and fears
And if your look in my eyes
In time you will find the reason I am here
In time all things shall pass away
In time you may come back some day
To live once more
Or die once more
But in time your time will be no more
They slowly turned around on the floor not really Texas-two stepping. Nina rested her head on Kit. She was not sure if she actually liked him or was just using him for her own good. It was almost like when she was with Jack. She had liked Jack, and at the same time, she was using him. She thought about it and how messed up she was.
You know your days are numbered
Count them one by one
Like notches in the handle of an outlaws gun
You can outrun the devil if you try
But you will never out run the hands of time
In time there surely come a day
In time all things will Pass away
In time you will come back some say
To live once more or die once more
But in time your time will be no more
Jokingly Kit asked, "Are you trying to tell me something here?"
Nina looked at him with a few tears in her eyes. "No." She said trying not to show the emotion the song had actually brought in her.
"What's wrong?" Kit asked knowing she was not happy. This was a new side of Nina he had not seen. Maybe she really liked him and was not just using him.
"Nothing. This song reminds me of my father. It was his favorite song. When I was a little girl before ..." She paused collecting herself to continue. God why was she being so weak, this was not her she thought. "He would play it and dance with me to it."
Kit was shocked that she had told him anything. No one really knew much about Nina's past. When she worked at CTU, she never shared that stuff. No one really did. They did background checks, but those always failed to find the true past, only the written past. "What happened to your father?" Kit asked trying to pry more information out of her.
"He got into a car accident. He was drunk, nothing new. He hit a telephone pole killing himself instantly." Nina said as if she had said it so many times before.
"I'm sorry." Kit said not being sure what to say.
"Don't be. He was an asshole." Nina said with bitterness seething through.
"I'm sorry for you, then." Kit said hugging her. He really loved her and wanted to be that person who she turned to, the person who she could be herself around. He knew it was wrong to love her, she was the enemy, but he did. What would Jack say? Fuck Jack he was more than welcome to think whatever he wanted. Kit did not have to answer to him.
The next song came on and Nina and Kit sat down to finish their beers. The earlier conversation was now discarded because of the clear pain it brought to one of them. "What about your childhood?" Nina asked trying to find more about him.
"It was pretty normal. I grew up for awhile in Beijing. My father was in the Navy. I started my karate lessons over there, and then we moved to L.A. and I excelled through school and karate."
"What type?"
"Shaolin Kempo. It is composed of Karate, basic Kung Fu, and Jiu- jitsu."
"Was that what you were using earlier?"
"Yeah. My life was pretty normal growing up. Nothing too outrageous." Kit answered.
"That must have been nice." Nina said with a distant look thinking about her own childhood.
"You want to get out of here and go to the beach or something? Is there any other work to be done?" Kit asked trying to find a way to get Nina out of her current trance.
"Lets go to the beach. I have not taken a day off for myself in a while." Nina said standing. "I know a nice private beach we can go to."
They left the bar holding hands. It may have seemed childish, but there was this unspoken connection. Both of them knew what they felt or thought they felt was wrong, but it felt right at the moment and that was all that mattered. Nina felt like she could tell Kit things and he would not judge her like so many others had. Kit was Jack only younger and a little different in some sense, and she liked that. She felt like he was the better half of Jack, the half that doesn't start something and then run out to go back to his wife who made him miserable. However, she did not just like Kit because he reminded her of Jack. She liked him because he was better than Jack, and she knew it.
When they reached the nice private beach Kit took a deep breath. He had survived another trip with Nina driving. He got out of the car and followed her down the rocks to a hidden cove of the beach. When the reached the cove Kit looked on into the beautiful blue tranquil water. It was so clean he could see the sand bellow.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Nina asked noticing the look on Kit's face.
"Yes. How did you find it?"
"You don't want to know." Nina answered. She found it with the man who had made her who she was. He had ripped everything she was out of her. He never physically hurt her, but the emotional damage was enough. With the guy and her father, it was easy for her to betray the country that brought those two into existence. Nina took her tank top off and pants and ran into the water half naked. The water was warm and salty. She fought the waves out until she could barely touch them and she rode them back in.
Kit sat on the shore and watched her for awhile. Marveling at all the different sides of Nina, and he liked her more for them. He undressed and soon joined her in the childish game of riding waves. It was weird for them to be acting so childish. Neither of them had ever really acted like a child in their life, and now here they were in the middle of a big operation enjoying an almost second childhood. Kit got next to Nina grabbing her head and pulling her into a passionate kiss. Nina returned it and they sat in the ocean letting the waves push them towards shore holding each other.
After an hour of the water the two got out and dressed. They sat on the beach looking into the ocean each reflecting on their own thoughts. Kit stood up finally and said, "We better get back. People might talk." He smiled at her helping her up off the ground. Holding her hand back to the car.
When they reached the car Nina looked at her cell phone she had left in it. She had missed three calls. They all were from the same person, her boss. She called him back.
"Where have you been all day?!" the man with a deep voice screamed into the phone.
"I went to the meeting and then I have been running around doing some things. Why?"
"I need you here. The deal is going down faster than we expected. We are going to do it here. They are getting close so we need to throw them off. Get back here." The man ordered.
"I'll be back in twenty minutes." Nina hung the phone up and looked at Kit. "We got to get back. The thing is going down tonight."
"Let me drive this time." Kit said walking to the driver's side. He was not sure he could take her driving again. Kit drove about the same as Nina, but it was a control issue with him. He was not comfortable unless he was in control. For some reason at the moment Kit wanted to ask Nina why she betray them.
Nina noticed the look on his face and could see there was a debate going on in her head. She had always been able to read Kit's mind. He was not an easy person to read, but she was great at reading people, that was how she made it in life. "What is it?" She asked trying to figure what he was thinking about.
"Nothing."
"It's nothing, but I bet I know what it is." She said figuring the question would eventually come up and he felt like it was the time to ask it. "Why did I betray CTU?"
"Well, yeah." Kit said feeling uncomfortable. He hated how she could read his mind so well. He could never really read her unless she allowed him to, and he hated her having that control over him.
"Maybe later. I never meant to kill Teri though. I did not want to, but I had to." Nina felt a little better saying it. She did not feel guilty for what she had done, but at the same time she did not like the fact she had to kill Teri. She actually had started to like Teri that day, but it was business. "By the way where were you last year, during the nuclear bomb? I did not see you at CTU."
"I was not working at the time, but was on assignment the next day after the attack on Palmer. He wanted Jack, but clearly Jack could not have done anything considering he had physical problems at the time. Palmer wanted the people responsible for the attempt found and did not want just government agencies in case they had infiltrated others. Tony recommended me being Jack's protégé and all." Kit answered as a way of explanation, using a sarcastic tone when he spoke of being a protégé.
"You really hate being in Jack's shadow sometimes, don't you? He always seems to get lucky and everything works out for him. That used to piss me off. Really, if you knew the guy, you would be honored to be his protégé. He's stronger than you." Nina said shocking Kit with her praise of Jack. Kit just rolled his eyes with a "whatever, I can take him on" expression on his face.