It was Wednesday.
It was Wednesday and they always came on a Saturday.
The nagging feeling in Tony's gut increased with every step, and solidified into real worry when he saw that Zoe was sitting on the other side of the glass alone, rubbing her eye.
Something was wrong.
"Dad!" Zoe cried the moment he had put the phone to his ear.
"Zoe, sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"Mom... Mom's gone missing."
"Missing?" The worry turned into full-blown panic. "Missing how?"
"I got home yesterday and she wasn't there, and the living room was trashed and there was bl-- blood on the carpet..." Zoe sobbed.
No...
"Did you call the police?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "They said that they would do everything they could to find her, but I've watched enough TV to know they're more likely to find her dead than alive..."
"Zoe, you mustn't think like that." Even though it's true... "You know your mom, she's strong, she's resourceful... she wouldn't just let someone kill her. She's probably fought them off and is on her way to a phone right now to let you know she's alright."
"Or they caught her by surprise and her body's in some ditch somewhere."
"Zoe..." Except she's right...
"What am I supposed to do, Dad?"
Words of advice gleaned from years of dealing with kidnappings and hostage situations at CTU sprang to mind, but Tony knew that they had never given much comfort to anyone. Deciding on a different response, he put his hand up against the glass. "Give me a hug."
Zoe breathed deeply, visibly trying to calm herself down, put her hand opposite his and closed her eyes.
"Can you feel how tightly I'm holding you? It's gonna be alright, Zoe."
Tony squeezed his own eyes shut as he finally allowed the tears to spill
from them. "It's all gonna be alright..."