Hey, this is probably going to be the last chapter for two or three weeks, cos I'm going on holidays and I wont have the chance to do any writing before I go. The next chapter should (hopefully) be up late September/early October.

This chapter is inspired by U2 Live in Dublin in 1987.

Chapter Seven

Tom pressed buttons on the car's onboard computer as Nathan pulled away from CTU, calling up the data that Tony had sent to him. "Take a look at this." He sensed Ashley leaning forward from the back seat, saw Nathan's eyes slide between the road and the display. "The bar is here, curved against the wall." He touched the screen. "Booths against the walls."

"How many floors?"

Tom keyed quickly through the plans. "Seems to be just the one." He checked again and nodded. "Yeah, just the one. It's a club, not a bar."

"Just the one floor?" Ashley rested her arm against the back of the passenger seat, toying with her necklace. "Should make him easier to find."

"Lets not get over confident." Tom twisted in his seat so he could see both Nathan and Ashley. "Remember, he's known here, has friends here. We don't. Both Michelle and I want this to go smoothly, so lets keep our wits about us."

"What about entrances and exits?"

"Just the main door, Nathan. And the fire escape, here." Tom touched the screen again, highlighting another location. "Make sure you know your ways out. We don't know how many men he's going to have with him."

Ashley nodded, her eyes scanning the blueprints. "What way are we going in?"

"I'm going to take this approach, look for him at the bar." Tom's finger traced his route just above the screen. "Nathan, you and Ashley take this side, and check out the booths. Stay close, watch each other's backs." He glanced away from them, back at the road. "How far out are we?"

"About five minutes."

Tom pulled his gun from his inside pocket and checked the mechanism. "Is everybody armed?" He tucked the gun away, adjusting his coat so that it covered the weapon.

Both Nathan and Ashley nodded. She shifted in the back seat, feeling her gun press into the small of her back. "What about security?"

"Nothing on the door. Just a couple of guys inside. Lots of civilians, though, so lets not turn this into a firefight." His smile was sudden, tight in the darkness of the car, catching them by surprise. "Nice, clean, simple."

Nathan pulled the car into the curb. They could see the battered sign of The Crucible, pulsing weakly from further on down the street. An LAPD cruiser was parked at the side of the road, facing down towards the bar, the lights and sirens off.

"So that's what passes for a soft perimeter these days."

"They were told to keep their distance." Tom closed the car door. He took a small pouch from his pocket and opened it. "Here. These are earpieces, set to channel one." He handed one each to Nathan and Ashley. He started to walk towards the bar. "Give me five minutes, then follow me in." He pulled his jacket closer to his mouth. "Testing, one, two, three. Can you hear me CTU?"

xxxXXXxxx

""...hear me CTU?"

Tom's voice came through the speakers. Echoing and weak, but still clearly audible.

"We hear you Tom." Tony looked across the bullpen. "What channel are they on Chloe?"

"Channel one."

"We got video yet?"

"Just working on it now." Chloe keyed another command into the program and looked expectantly at the screen. It clicked slowly to life, showing a grainy, black and white shot of the street outside The Crucible, the sign itself just visible in the shot. She cycled through the settings, the screen splitting into three. "Got them all Tony."

Tony pressed the microphone to his mouth. "We have visual as well Tom. LAPSs got some people there, but they're hanging back. It'll take them about 90 seconds to get in." He pulled the microphone away. "Lets stay alert people."

"LAPDs on channel two, Tony."

"Good." He paced across the bullpen. Listening to the steady sound of Tom's breathing. To Ashley and Nathan, talking together. Easing into their roles. To the sounds of the street and The Crucible washing over them.

Chloe watched the monitors, chewing nervously on her thumbnail.

xxxXXXxxx

Michelle looked up and signalled for Adam to enter when he knocked on her door, clutching a lap top under his arm.

"We got something on Fredericks, Michelle. He's in LA."

"Show me."

He set the lap top on her desk and flipped open the lid, turning it to face her. It showed a tall, lean man, dark haired, with a fine coating of stubble on his jaw. "These photos were taken today." Adam cycled through the photos, showing Fredericks, meeting with another man.

"Stop." Michelle leaned forward, accessing records on her own system. "That's the man Ashley identified from Williams' organisation. His lieutenant. Jake."

"You were right. Williams is supplying Fredericks again."

"Where did you get these from?"

"Mall security photos." Adam allowed a hint of pride to creep into his voice. "I ran what intel we had on Williams and his usual meeting points. I got lucky."

"Good job, Adam." She turned in her chair, calling up Fredericks' rap sheet. "I've been working up potential targets."

"You think he's going to hit something in LA?"

She nodded. "It's too risky for him to do anything else. He's not going to come all this way just to buy weapons he could easily get in South Africa."

Adam stared at her for a second. "Michelle..."

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to thank you for coming to my sister's funeral. I know it must have been difficult for you, and I know things have been weird here, but...I'm glad it's you that took over CTU."

Michelle managed to smile. "Thanks Adam."

xxxXXXxxx

"I cant see a thing! Damnit Chloe, can you sharpen the image from Ashley's camera? Make it bigger? We cant see enough from that side of the bar."

"I'm doing my best Tony." Chloe changed the view, expanding one of the pictures out onto another screen. "There." She scanned it quickly. "Still no sign of him, though."

"Fuck." Tony walked over to the table and lifted the microphone. "Tom, any sign of him there?"

There was silence for a second, then Tom's voice, faint almost hidden beneath the noise of the bar. "No. Nothing here, Tony."

"Fuck." Tony put the microphone down, raking his hands through his hair. He stared at the desk in front of him, thinking, then spun quickly. "Chloe, rotate through what we're getting from the camera, 1 through 3. Enlarge and enhance, in 25 second patterns." He looked around the rest of the bullpen. "Keep your eyes open."

Chloe worked quickly, her hands dancing across the keyboards. Images from the bar flicked up on the screen. Then it cleared, slowly refreshing with another image. She watched with the rest of the bullpen, chewing on her fingernails.

"There! Go back to Nathan's camera!" Tony was on his feet, his finger pointing at the now darkened screen. "Quickly Chloe!"

The image was back on screen before he had finished talking. There, sitting in a corner booth, talking with two other men, was Samuel Williams.

Tony snatched up the microphone. "Samuel Williams is in the bar! I repeat Samuel Williams is in the bar!"

xxxXXXxxx

Tony's words echoed through their earpieces.

Ashley turned as much as she could, Nathan's arm casually around her shoulders. "Shit." She looked away as quickly as she could before he could meet her eyes.

"What's wrong?" She heard the words simultaneously, Nathan's concern echoed by Tony through her earpiece. "Ashley, what's wrong?"

She moved closer to Nathan, his arms tightening around her, speaking as clearly as she could. "The man with Williams, that's Jake, he's the one that...." She glanced up at Nathan. "Did he see me?"

She watched Nathan as he stared past her. His head moving in an almost imperceptible nod.

"I can handle this, Nathan."

"Ashley..."

"I can handle it." She risked another glance over her shoulder. Just in time to see Jake on his feet, his eyes fixed on her, walking towards her, sliding through the crowd at the centre of the bar. "I cant explain you to him as well."

Nathan stared at her for another second, nodded once. He jerked away from her, pushing his way through the crowd towards the bar.

xxxXXXxxx

"Nathan, what's going on there?"

"One of Williams' men recognised Ashley." Nathan sounded out of breath, distracted.

"Did he make her?"

"I don't think so. Think it's something to do with her cover."

"Tom, do you have clear line of sight to Ashley?" Tony forced himself to stop pacing.

"Yeah I can see her. I got a clear field in front of me. She's okay."

'Okay' meant 'Still Alive.' "It's your call, Tom, you've got field command. Do you want me to send in the cavalry?"

"No. She's good at this, she's done it before. Lets give it a minute; I don't want to risk bringing LAPD in unless we have to, just in case Williams manages to slip away."

"Okay, it's your call. But I don't like this."

xxxXXXxxx

"Sit down."

She felt Jakes hands on her shoulders. Pushing her into the booth. She stumbled into the seat, trying to turn quickly, get back onto her feet.

Jake sat down next to her. Grabbing her hair, pulling her off balance. She flinched, grabbing the edge of the table for support.

She started to reach for her gun.

She froze when she felt a gun press against the back of her head, the barrel cold against her skin.

"What did you think you were doing, girl?" Williams leaned forward, his eyes shinning dangerously in the dim light.

"Doing? What the fuck are you talking about?"

Williams nodded and she felt Jake's hand let go of her hair.

His fist drove into her side, driving the air from her body. She wrapped her arms around herself. Doubling over, resting her head against the dirty table. Gasping for breath. She could smell tobacco and booze, the harsh odours tearing at her throat.

Jake's hand in her hair dragged her upright, his gun still pressed against the back of her skull.

"What did you think you were doing?" Williams' hand shot out, catching her chin. Holding her with his eyes and his fingers. "Moving in on what's mine?"

Held by his grip, she tried to shake her head.

"You tell your boss, girl, that the next time he tries to cut in on my business." Samuel released her chin and backhanded her across the face. Jake's hand tightened in her hair, forcing her head to stay still. Forcing her to look at Williams. "I'll give his pretty little dealer to Jake and his friends." Jake laughed, tightening his grip. She could feel his fingers on the back of her skull, gripping the flesh through her hair. "And then I'll send her back to him, piece by piece. You hear me?"

She nodded as best she could with Jake's hand in her hair, and his gun at the back of her head. She could taste blood in her mouth.

Samuel glanced at Jake. "Get her out of here."

He dragged her to the edge of the booth by her hair, then pressed the gun into her side. "On your feet, girl." He moved closer to her. Using their bodies to shield the gun. "Out the door, now. Nice and slow." He pushed harder with the gun and she flinched. "Make a scene and..."

Conscious of the weight of his body against her, of his gun pushing against her, Ashley Webber walked out of the Crucible Bar.

xxxXXXxxx

"Jesus Christ! Tony, send LAPD in! Now!"

"They're on their way in already Tom."

"Nathan, go after Ashley."

"What about Samuel?" Nathan's voice was uneven, dropping in and out of range as he moved, jostled by the crowd.

"You worry about Jake. I'll worry about Samuel."

xxxXXXxxx

She put her hands out to catch herself as he shoved her against the wall. Pushing her face against the rough brickwork. She could feel him pressing himself against her, his hands on her body.

She couldn't feel the gun, though. It wasn't pressing into her side, like a thorn.

"Samuel didn't say I couldn't have a little fun with you first."

She could feel his stubble, rough against her neck. His hand, underneath her shirt, groping at her breast.

Ashley tensed and drove her elbow back into his stomach. He gasped in pain, and she twisted out of his grasp. Away from the wall. She threw another punch as she turned, hearing him grunt in pain as it connected solidly with his stomach.

He lunged at her. Knocking her from her feet. She struggled as he spun her over. Straddling her stomach, he slapped her hard across the face. "You little bitch." He slapped her again, then balled his fist and drove it into her stomach.

Again.

And again.

"Get your fucking hands up." Nathan's voice, loud and welcome in the quiet alleyway. "On your feet, hands behind your head, interlock your fingers." As he handcuffed Jake, he looked over his shoulder. "You okay, Ashley?"

Holding her ribs, she managed to nod.

xxxXXXxxx

"Adam, can you give us a moment?"

"Sure." Adam glanced quickly at Michelle and left the office, closing her door after him.

Michelle lifted the control and dimmed the windows of her office. She preferred it like this, anyway. Made it easier for her to concentrate, easier to think. "What's wrong Tony?"

"Tom has Samuel Williams in custody. He's bringing him into CTU now. There weren't any complications with that part of the operation"

"Excellent." She thought through what he had said and noticed the grim expression on his face. "That part of the mission? What happened?"

He sighed. "One of his men tried to sexually assault Ashley."

"Jesus! Is she okay?"

"A little bruised, a little shaken. But other than that, she's okay. Nathan got there in time." He smiled. "She put up a hell of a fight anyway."

"She shouldn't have been there." Michelle closed her eyes. "I told her to go home, let Tom and Nathan handle the take down."

"It's not your fault, Michelle. You offered her the way out, and she made her decision. She knew the risks." He walked around behind her desk and started to massage her neck and shoulders. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

She leaned back into his touch, feeling knotted muscles start to untangle. "Yeah, I'm just tired. It's been a long couple of days. And now this."

"Look Michelle, you cant take this on yourself, no matter how much you feel like you should. She's field ops, and it was Tom's call if he used her or not."

"I know, I just...I don't want to disappoint you."

"Sweetheart, you could never disappoint me."

The phone rang suddenly. All too soon, his hands were gone, muscles that had started to relax, tightening up as soon as his touch was gone. She smiled bitterly as she reached out to answer the phone.

xxxXXXxxx

The door of the Interrogation One opened suddenly, startling her from her thoughts. Two men, dressed in the white shirted uniforms of CTU security, walked into the room. One of them unlocked her handcuffs and helped her to stand.

"What's going on? Where are you taking me?"

"The Director wanted you moved somewhere more comfortable. If you'd just follow me, please, Ms Rawlings." He led her through CTU to another room, with comfortable chairs, mercifully cooler than the room she had been held in. "Make yourself comfortable, Ms Rawlings."

"When can I go?"

"That's the Director's decision." The guard started to close the door.

"Wait! Could I have a phone please? I need to make a phone call. I need to talk to my dad."

"I'll see what I can do."

She needed to talk to her father. She had so much to tell him.

So many sins to confess.

xxxXXXxxx

"...in custody, Michelle?"

"Yes. Tom's bringing him back to CTU now."

"Divisions' going to be very happy. Your office is doing a fantastic job, Michelle and you can be sure that I'll be telling the Director that."

There was more to come. Michelle knew it. She could hear it in Natasha's voice, the way she hesitated as she spoke. The woman was building to something.

"Michelle, I have...I think what Hammond's doing to Tony and CTU LA is wrong. And if you help me, I'll stop it. I'll take Tony off probation, let you all do your jobs without interference, if you help me replace Brad Hammond as Head of CTU."

And that's it for a while. I'll see you all in two or three weeks. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.