Palmer sat nervously at the living room table at his new house. It was a big adjustment from going from a big house, the White House, to a smaller size house without all the servants. It was even harder to adjust to not having Sherri around or having to make huge decisions in split seconds. He enjoyed his life now, took it a day at a time till recently. He had a huge decision to make and no time to make it. He waited for Jack to show up, but it had been hours since he called and he still had not heard anything from Jack. He dialed Jack's cell phone and got the voice mail. It was urgent that he speak with Jack now.

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Tony walked into CTU with a bag of food. It felt weird wearing a visitors badge, but in the end he was happier. He walked over to Michelle who was talking with Kim about something.

"Hi Tony." Kim said disenchanted.

"Hey. How have you been Kim?"

"UGH." She answered and went back to work.

"What are you doing here?" Michelle asked.

"Food. And Hammond called me in. He wants Jack here to but Jack's kind of busy."

Kim looked up when she heard her fathers named mentioned, "Busy doing wait?"

"Something with Kate." Tony said not wanting to worry Kim, everything was fine now.

"OH." She said unhappy. She didn't want her father and Kate together she had made that clear a long time ago. A part of her was sure that it was partially the reason her father had left Kate or even vice versa as she was not sure who left who.

"Hammond called you in?" Michelle said confused.

"Yeah. I better go talk to him. Do you have time to break away and eat? I brought enough if Kim and Chase want to join too?" Tony said. He walked up to Michelle's office, what use to be his office that Hammond had occupied about ten minutes ago.

He knocked on the door and walked in when Hammond said enter.

"You wanted to seem me?" Tony said to him

"Please sit Tony." Hammond said in a cool voice. "I just got off the phone with the director of the CIA he wants you and Jack back on this case. You two have been able to stop major catastrophes from happening before and we need that now."

"I'm sorry sir, but we have a business to run." Tony said not really wanting to go back to the place that tried to put him away for at least twenty years.

"They are willing to buy out your business from you and hire0 everyone working for you to be apart of the new CTU L.A. We are expanding to become the major headquarters for a new branch of intelligence. It seems homeland security wasn't enough. The President would now like to have a Counter Terrorism Agency and that is all we would focus on. Putting information from every source out there into our data banks and foiling terrorist plots."

"I don't know. I'd have to talk to Jack first and he's in the middle of a personal crisis."

"Jack will be here in a few minutes." Hammond said looking at his watch.

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Jack had left his house to go pick up some chicken from the market on the corner when a black SUV pulled up outside. He was already on high alert and was getting ready to fight when a big man exited the SUV and asked, "Are you Jack Bauer?"

Jack looked at him and for a moment thought about saying, "Nope not me." Instead he asked, "What do you want?"

"Will you come with me please?"

"Uhm No. What do you want?" He asked again.

"Sir come with me please."

Jack then figured by the way the man was dressed, the SUV, and the persisting in not telling Jack what he wanted or who he was that the man was federal government and more likely CIA. "I'm sorry. I'm in the middle of a thing here and I really can't leave." Jack answered and than continued walking. He didn't want anything to do with them.

"Sir I'm placing you under arrest."

"What the hell for?" Jack said turning around.

"I was told to bring you back any means necessary even if I had to place you under arrest. So you can come back voluntarily or I can arrest you sir."

"Well you better arrest me because I am not going to volunteer for anything." Jack said trying to call the mans bluff.

"Fine sir. Please turn around and place your hands behind your back." Just than a squad car pulled around the corner ready to assist the man if he needed help in restraining Jack. Jack did as he was told. After the man finished cuffing him he put him in the back of the SUV and drove off towards CTU.

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Jack walked into CTU cuffs still on pissed off more than ever. Before he was thinking about helping, but now he will tell Hammond to go fu(k himself. Everyone stared as Jack was escorted in by the man to Michelle's office that Hammond had commandeered.

Tony sat in the chair shocked when Jack was escorted in he began to protest, "This was uncalled for."

"Shut up." Hammond said angry that it had to come to this, he knew Jack must have refused to come freely. "Sit down."

"I'm not interested." Jack said flatly.

"Jack we just lost a President, our oil reserve, and a large amount of gas. People are freaking out all over the U.S. and it's getting worse. There will be more if we don't do something. I didn't want to bring either of you in, as far as I am concerned you both are has-beens wash outs that never should have worked for CTU to begin with, but the higher ups don't agree. They want you two on the case and are willing to buy your company out and higher your people on leaving you two to run it as a new part of the Intelligence agency. CTU is going big time no longer is it apart of the CIA, but it's own entity and they would like you two to run this field office again, that's if you stop these terrorist." Hammond said not having much faith in them, people get lucky and that's what happened the past few times for them.

"We need a minute to talk it over. Why don't you take his restraints off, it's not like he can run away." Tony said to Hammond knowing Jack was much to pissed to even attempt being civil.

"Sure Bob take his cuffs off." Hammond said.

Jack glared at Hammond wanting to attack him for even bothering him after CTU turned their back on him. When they left the room Jack said to Tony, "Your not even contemplating this are you?"

"Jack they can make life hell for us. Most of our business is the government and there is a real terrorist threat. This is how we get back in. You and I both know that yeah the others are good at what they do, but that guy Bob Cooley, your replacement, won't be able to handle it, and Michelle is good, but not great she hasn't had to make those split second decisions. We can't just sit there like five year olds pissed off because Mommy and daddy punished us. We did do wrong, we both know it, and they shouldn't have turned their backs on us like they did, but the only people getting hurt here are the innocent civilians living in fear and dying. So what do you say?" Tony said looking at him eagerly, this was his way back in. As much as he hated to admit it he missed the resources of CTU and just running the place. It was so bad that he even thought maybe he missed Chloe.

Jack thought about it, he was stubborn, but not stubborn enough to make others suffer. "Fine."

"Good I'll tell Hammond. You steer clear of him or you might just have problems at the end of this day. I'll get it in writing too, just to be safe." Tony said smiling, Almeida was back in action.

Tony walked out of the office and told Hammond, "We're in, once it's in writing."

"I figured as much it already is. It's being faxed over already signed by the director of the CIA and once the bill is passed, which it will be you two will enjoy a new office building with your choice of people."

"Good. I'll go get briefed by Michelle." Tony said leaving knowing Jack would soon follow behind.

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Kate woke up in Jack's room. She thought for a moment that maybe none of what had happened the past few hours actually occurred and she was still with Jack, but his house was different and so was his room. It had more life to it than it did before. She walked downstairs looking for him. When she didn't see him she got a little worried. She dialed his cell phone number and waited for him to answer it. She got worried when she got his voice mail the first time around. She didn't want to leave a message she thought maybe he just ran to the market to get something.

She walked over to the fridge and found a cold beer. She paced the house worried about him, waiting for him to come back. After a half hour passed she called his cell phone again sure that Rick had found him, and was now hurting him. He finally answered.

"Bauer."

"Jack where are you?" She said with the worry in her voice, almost mad at herself for letting him know how she felt.

"I'm sorry I have to help CTU out with a situation. Make yourself at home, there is security outside and there is so money in my nightstand so you can order some food or something. I'll be back as soon as I can get away." Jack said wondering if Kate still cared for him, he could hear the worry in her voice. Was he ready for Kate? He knew before he wasn't he wasn't ready for anyone, but he was lonely and she was a solution to the loneliness to fill the void, but the void couldn't be filled until he dealt with his past.

"Ok. Be safe Jack." Kate said knowing he would again have a long day by the sounds of it, and a lot would happen. "Thank you again for everything."

"No problem Kate. IF you need anything call me and I'll find a way to get it for you."

"Except for you being here I think I'll be fine." She said into the phone, she was vulnerable and Jack always made her feel safe, even when her sister had a gun pointed at her head she felt safe with him.