"Jack?" Chase's voice called out from the speakerphone next to him a couple of hours later.

"Yeah."

"Henry wants all department heads in the conference room, now." Chase, who had taken over Michelle's position as second in command, was enjoying his newfound bossiness and power.

"Do you know what this is about? Did any protocols come in?"

"Not that I know of. But she's been on the phone all morning. Better come down."

"She didn't waste any time." He sighed. "Ok, be there in a minute."

He was the last to enter the cramped conference room. "Glad you could finally join us, Jack," Chris Henry said in a false cheerful tone. She was annoyed with him; apparently her talk with him hadn't convinced him and he still didn't trust her.

"I just got a call from Homeland Security. Seems some old friends of yours are back in circulation, Mr. Bauer."

"What are you talking about?"

Chris tapped a few keys and an image came up on the overhead screen. "Recognize him?" Jack studied the picture and slowly nodded, then rubbed his forehead.

"Jose Salazar. After the death of Hector and Ramone, apparently their oldest cousin took up the reigns of the family business and began where they left off. After the virus disaster and the shootout with the Delta teams, we had thought the Salazars were shut down. What we didn't know was that Jose was just as involved in their business as they were."

Jack shook his head, "No, he wasn't. He was just a kid, a soldier. Hector and Ramone didn't involve him in any of the decisions, they didn't trust him. He wasn't even around very much."

"That 'kid' is twenty three years old and now very dangerous." She looked him in the eyes. "Apparently they didn't trust you, Jack. He was very involved." Jack broke their gaze and averted his eyes. Memories of the Salazars and his time with them were not ones he wanted to revisit.

"How could he have gotten it back up and running so quickly?" Chase asked. "We killed or captured most of their men the day of the virus."

"He has taken control of another existing cartel and branched out, he moved operations to the states; running guns, drugs, and is now rumored to be funding terrorists. HomeSec has been watching him for the past couple of months, but they have no hard evidence, so far."

Jack's anger was evident, "And we're just finding out about this now?"

"Yes. We were intentionally kept out of the loop, but I haven't gotten any answers as to why yet. HomeSec has been coordinating all Intel with the FBI. They're running the show. Seeing as how Annicon is dead, you're the one with the most information on them, and now they want your help."

Jack just shook his head, angry, "They cut us out and now they want my help. Figures." Competition and turf wars were legendary between branches of the government agencies. The FBI and CIA were continually withholding information from each other, resulting in catastrophes that could have been prevented.

Chris nodded, "And you're going to give it to them. As of today, you are officially part of their task force." She threw a thin file across the table towards him as he looked up at her, surprised. "You are reporting to a Sam Murphy, FBI. You are due downtown at their headquarters by five p.m. to meet the team and get your assignment. Everyone else will gather as much Intel as they can and filter it to the feds, everything we've got on the Salazars. We are in a supportive role here only people. Let's get on it."

As everyone began to file out of the room, Chris motioned to Jack, "Can I talk to you a minute?"

He hung back and folded his arms across his chest. "This stinks, Chris, and you know it. Something else is going on. Why keep CTU out of it? It doesn't make sense."

She nodded, "I agree. And I'm working on it. It would seem that someone didn't want you involved. I don't trust them and they don't trust us. So share what you have to, but don't give away the farm, got it?"

Jack stared at his new boss, he was beginning to like her tenacity. For a brief moment, she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place it before the memory was gone. "Got it." He glanced down at the folder she had given him, "You know anything about this Murphy?"

"No, not really." She glanced at her watch, "You better get going."

"Yeah, thanks."

He turned to leave when she said, "Oh, and Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep me updated. Officially, you temporarily work for them. Unofficially, I'll help you out when I can, but I need to know what's going on. Oh and try to keep the body count to a minimum."

Jack didn't reply and just walked out of the room. He would get this meeting over with, then he really needed a drink.