Chapter 7

Rachel's husband didn't die in a plane crash. He had been ambushed during a relief mission to move Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea. Days later, he and the driver were found dead. He had died of multiple wounds left untreated, evidently caused by torture. The perpetrators were never found, believed to be from a Liberian militia group. There had also been a report of an unidentified woman with him before they left the border villages, but their convoy had made other stops. It had been assumed that the woman wasn't with him when he was ambushed. No further details were reported about the woman.

He felt a lump in his throat as he recollected how he himself was almost in the same situation. If he had not been revived after the lethal injections, he would have ended like him too.

He felt so sorry for Rachel. He couldn't blame her for lying about her husband's death. He clearly understood why oftentimes you have to lie in the hopes of forgetting the pain and the grief. What a horrific experience, he thought, heartbreaking what she had to go through ... losing her husband under such dreadful circumstances only to find herself a few years later with another devastating loss -- her father.

Now, he desperately wanted to see her and wrap his arms around her -- kiss her and make it all go away. He felt guilty for not calling her back sooner after she had called to say she was sorry. The call he made the other day to her office was such a lame attempt to apologize. If he had really wanted to talk to her, he would have left a message that he had called just so she knew.

Friday afternoon at CTU ...

Jack was reading some reports when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, it was Tony.

"Yeah, Tony, what's up?"

"Jack, I'm afraid there's some bad news." Tony paused. "News just came in that Senator McBride's chartered plane crashed as it landed at a local airport in New Jersey, it left DC a few hours ago. The McBride's were slightly injured, but a couple of his staffers were critically injured."

"Oh my God! Who ...uh .." He stammered as he squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for more bad news.

"Jack" Tony began. He knew that Jack was seeing Rachel. "We don't have any details yet as to who else was on board but they were certain that they were his staff. It could have been worse you know. But thank God, they were almost on the ground." He waited for Jack to reply but when he didn't answer, he continued.

"I'm sorry Jack. Is there anything I can do?"

"It's okay, Tony. Thanks for letting me know." He hung up the phone and squeezed the bridge of his nose, leaning back against his chair. This couldn't be happening, he thought. He needed to know if she was on that plane. She never mentioned that they would fly to New Jersey. Of course, the idiot that he was, he never asked what her plans were at that time since he never called her back. So he tried to call the Senator's office hoping someone would know.

After being transferred by the operator, a female voice answered the phone.

"Rachel Zwart's office. How can I help you?" it was Helen.

"Hello. This is Jack Bauer. Is Rachel there by any chance?" Helen immediately recognized his voice, and smiled at the thought of his voice close to her ear. "No, she's not here."

"I'm sure you've already heard about the plane crash earlier. Was she on that flight?" Jack asked, concern in his voice.

Helen had just found out about the plane crash minutes ago. Rachel had confided in her about that night, the phone call she made before she left for DC and how she waited and waited for him to call. Her mind quickly raced. God, forgive me! I know this is pure evil, but I have to do this, she thought.

"Uh, she had mentioned that the Senator invited her to visit New York. But I have no idea if she decided to go or not. I have not heard from her since yesterday." She paused. "I'm so worried if she had really gone with the Senator or not. God, I hope she isn't on that flight!" She added as she bit her lower lip.

"Yeah, so am I."

Helen flashed a wicked grin. "I have tried calling her home and her cell phone just now, but there was no answer." She muttered, further rubbing it in.

"Okay, we'll just have to wait for some news. Let's hope she's all right."

"Yeah, I hope she is."

As he hung up the phone, he had to admit that he got more worried now. He recollected how someone told him the other day that she will be back today. But she could have easily changed her mind and gone with the Senator. He called her at home but it was the answering machine that picked up. Then he also tried her cell number, but it rang incessantly, her voice mail didn't even pick up.

Filled with regret and guilt, he decided to leave work early, he couldn't get any work done anyway. He quickly grabbed his keys and headed to the garage. He hopped onto his SUV and drove out of the CTU lot, not certain where he was heading. But later, he found himself pulling into Rachel's driveway, alongside a Lexus SUV, probably hers, he thought. He never knew what she drove since that last time he took her home.

He quickly got off his SUV. Slamming its door shut, he started walking towards the front door, when he heard someone call from the back of the house.

"Kevin, is that you? Did you pick up the roses for me?"

It was her. It was definitely Rachel's voice.