A/N Thanks for reviewing. I've already finished this, but am in the process of rewriting the bits I don't like.
I couldn't hurt Tony, that would just be wrong
The Michelle and Jack thing will become clearer later, but the idea was that Michelle is so messed up that she has no idea what she's doing, and Jack's just trying to grab hold of anything he can. Please leave more reviews if you want
Jack slipped into the holding room with a glass of water and some painkillers. He knew she would never admit it, but the amount of alcohol that he'd tasted in her mouth meant that she would be feeling really ill by now. Hammond had run off to do... well, whatever it was that he had run off to do. In the meantime, Michelle wasn't a prisoner as such, there was no reason for her to be treated as though she'd done something wrong.
He slid the glass of water on the table as he reached to undo her handcuffs. He knew the moment he touched her hands that he'd put them on too tight. As soon as he undid them she rubbed the raw skin of her wrists, wincing at the pain this induced.
"You didn't use to drink so much," Jack murmured as he handed her the painkillers and slid the glass of water closer to her.
"I used to believe I could save Tony's life," she replied, gladly taking the painkillers.
There was nothing Jack could say in response to this, so he turned to leave. Thinking this might be the last time he got to speak to her alone, he decided to say something he should have said a long time ago, "I'm sorry."
Her stony face broke, emotion rushed to her eyes, she hadn't been expecting that. "For what?"
He considered all the answers he could give, for bringing her back here, for not being able to save Tony, for being willing to sacrifice her for this job, for letting Brad Hammond force her out, for kissing her. In the end, none of these seemed suitable, so he simply said, "For everything."
A single tear ran down her face as she nodded. He held her in his arms again, but this time it was Michelle Dessler, not some convoluted mixture of Teri, Kate, Claudia, and if he was honest, Nina Myers.
Knowing that this room was being watched, he let her go. "You should do this Michelle, he'll only make life difficult for you if you don't."
Brad Hammond. Her favourite person in the universe. She knew her contract depended on her complying with him, but it didn't matter any more, she only had to last ten more days. She said as much to Jack.
He looked at her, he knew what her words meant, and he knew she meant them. He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to feel like that, that everything was going to be ok, but six years without her husband had nearly destroyed her, and she was probably right, she probably did only have ten days left.
So he left, he shut himself into his office and tried to bury himself in his work. She was the last link he had with the world, and although he hadn't seen her in over a year, and they hadn't been close in much longer than that, it still hurt a lot more than it should. These thoughts inevitably brought his mind to other subjects, specifically his daughter. It had been years since he'd seen her or Chase. Kim had said she'd support him through rehab, that she'd be there for him, that she cared. That was until she found out that he'd put a gun to Chase's head and pulled the trigger. She looked at him, and her eyes were filled with fear. He'd seen that look so many times before, but never in his daughter's eyes. So he didn't resist, he let her go. Who knew where she was now? Instead of Kim, Michelle was there for him whilst he went through rehab, she had nothing else to do, nowhere else to be. She'd urged him to call Kate, after all, Kate had reached out to him, but every time he thought about that his blood ran cold. He'd seen that look in her eyes too.
Besides, Michelle was a silent reminder of the damage love did. It was just better not to put himself in that situation.
Brad Hammond saw the look of burning hatred in her eyes that she quickly covered up with that stone mask she wore so often now. He smiled to himself, the girl he knew was still in there, meaning that he could manipulate her into helping them. "How long has it been since you last saw him?" Brad knew the answer, and Michelle knew that he knew the answer. Even so, she felt her heart skip a beat as she realised how long it had been. Two years.
"I'll make this simple," Brad said, not waiting for an answer. "You help us, and you can see him."
This caught her attention. She met his eyes, hers demanding more details. He simply threw his file on the table and walked out, as if it disgusted him to be in a room with her.
Her eyes greedily snapped up the details on the paper. 10 minutes alone with him on the day that they would murder him. Not long, but long enough to say goodbye, long enough to feel his arms about her one last time. Long enough to tell him she loved him. Long enough to say sorry.
She looked up at the security camera and nodded her head. What else could she do?