Hi everyone! Hope you had a nice Christmas. For part of my Christmas present my husband gave me a '24' calendar. I guess a guy has to be really secure in his relationship to give his wife a calendar with Kiefer Sutherland as Mr. January, March, May, July, September and November and Carlos Bernard as Mr. February. (I can't believe they gave Carlos the shortest month of the year!)
Anyway, I finally got a chance to do some writing. I really thought that this would be the last chapter but found that I need one more to wrap it all up. So hope you enjoy and keep reviewing. Thanks again to all of my faithful reviewers and to those of you who have reviewed for the first time.
Chapter 21: Home at Last
The first few days after Tony's return passed in a blur of emotions and activity. Tony and Michelle were elated to be home and safe and together again but grief stricken over the loss of their daughter.
Shortly after Maria died in their arms, Tony and Michelle were escorted out a rear door of the hospital, again to avoid the mob of reporters. Once they were out of the building and on their way to the safe house, the hospital spokesperson met with reporters and gave them the sad update.
The Almeidas moved back into their own home the next day as Jeff DuBose promised. Tony and Michelle weren't surprised when they drove up to their home to find that the reporters were camped out on their front lawn.
"They just don't quit, do they?" Tony said, the exasperation clear in his voice.
Michelle's eyes began to well with tears. "Tony, I can't talk to them right now."
"I know, Babe. I'll deal with it." He told her gently. Tony stopped the car and stepped out. "Okay, here's the way this is going to work." He said in his most no-nonsense voice. "You let me get my family into the house without bothering them and I will come back out and make a statement. If my family is in any way harassed on our way into the house, I will refuse to talk. Are we all clear on that?"
The reporters sighed tacitly and nodded in agreement. They stood back quietly as Tony and Michelle took their children and suitcases from the car and went into the house. True to his word, Tony came out to address the reporters who all shouted questions at him about the mission and his rescue.
Tony held up his hand to silence them. "You all know that information pertaining to the mission and the rescue operation is classified. I can't talk about it. Any information you get is going to come from the government."
"Mr. Almeida, we were led to believe when you were pardoned five years ago that you would no longer be employed by the government. Was that a lie? Have you been working as an agent all of that time?"
"What you were told was correct. I am no longer eligible to be an employee of the US government. I am a private businessman with no ties to the government. Officials of the CIA approached me a month or so ago and asked me to participate in a very delicate operation. I was approached because of my experience and my business dealings in South Korea. I agreed to assist the CIA for this particular mission." Tony told them while at the same time knowing that he was stretching the truth. It was more like I was forced to participate; he thought but couldn't tell the reporters that.
"So are you saying that you have business dealings with terrorists?" A reporter asked.
"No, I'm saying that I do business in South Korea and the CIA needed someone with ties to that country. None of the companies that I do business with had any ties to the terrorists." Tony said.
"Mr. Almeida, how badly are you injured and how did you sustain those injuries?"
"I'm fortunate; I got away with mostly bruises. I did break a couple of ribs and my wrist, but that's all. I'll be fine in a few weeks. The injuries were all sustained at the hands of my captors. None of them occurred during the rescue."
"The CIA spokesman told us that you personally killed Yuen Lim. Is that true and how do you feel about that?"
"It is true. Yuen was holding a gun on one of our commandos. I was able to circle around behind him and take control of the situation. I killed Yuen only when he failed to comply with my command to drop his weapon. He was in the process of turning to fire at me when I returned fire. I killed Yuen in self defense." He stopped for a moment. "You asked how I felt about killing him. The truth is that I feel nothing. It was a situation where I had to kill or be killed. My instinct for self preservation took over. I feel neither sorrow nor joy over that. Many people believe that in such a situation that revenge will make them feel better or happy. The truth is that it really doesn't. It doesn't make me any less angry about what Yuen put me and my family through; it doesn't make me feel like I won. It just allows me to be sure that Yuen will never do the same thing to anyone else ever again. It means that he can never attempt to perpetrate terrorist activity against American citizens ever again. That was the job I set out to accomplish when I agreed to participate in this mission. So from that standpoint, I suppose I feel as if I have done my job."
The reporters continued to shout questions at him but Tony decided that he had answered enough. "Ladies and gentlemen, I've answered a number of questions. I'm going to make a final statement but I won't take any more questions." He paused for a moment and the reporters fell silent. "My family and I have been though an unbelievably difficult experience over the last few days. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the American people for all of their cards and emails of support for my family and especially for their prayers. I also want to thank them for all of the flowers and expressions of sympathy on the loss of our baby. If my wife and I could, we would thank you each individually. I can't begin to tell you how much all of it means to us. At this time, however, my wife and I would like to appeal to you for privacy. We are burying our child tomorrow and we'd like to do so without finding ourselves on the evening news. If I sound ungrateful, believe me, I'm not. I'm just a father who has suffered the ultimate loss; the loss of a child, and I'm asking you to respect my feelings. Given the same situation, I'm sure most, if not all, of you would feel the same way. Thank you." Tony waved and turned and went back into the house.
Everyone was happy to be home. Joe and Sophie ran outside to play with neighbor children while Michelle and Tony marveled at how resilient the two of them were. While living at the safe house, both children appeared to understand the gravity of the situation and both expressed their fears of never seeing Tony again. But now that Tony was home, it was all forgotten and they went back to being happy kids again.
Tony spoke on the phone with the orthopedic surgeon who, after seeing the x-rays Tony brought back from the Army hospital in Korea, confirmed that surgery would be required to repair the damage. It was Friday and the surgery was scheduled for Monday morning.
Later Friday afternoon, Tony stopped by CTU to sign the transcript of his debrief. Tony followed a young security guard who led him to Brad Hammond's office as if Tony didn't know the way. As he walked through the bullpen, Tony stopped to talk to some former co-workers. Chloe O'Brien ran over to give him a hug and Adam Kaufman excused himself from a meeting to come out and greet Tony. He was heartened to know that so many people cared about his well being but embarrassed by all of the expressions of concern.
Members of the assault team were also there. They, too had to be debriefed and had not been given the courtesy of doing so over the phone as Tony had been. Tony spoke briefly with Juan. Juan had discussed the situation with Pedro and they had decided that Tony needed some time off to recover both physically and mentally from his ordeal. Pedro's son Julio would fly to LA later in the week and manage the office for Tony for the next several weeks until he was ready to come back to work. Juan would stay until Julio arrived. Tony thanked Juan over and over again, grateful to have some time to get his life back together. He promised Juan that he would be back to work in the next two or three weeks but Juan shook his head and told Tony to take the next month off and then they would discuss whether he needed more time or not.
Brad had been notified of Tony's arrival and walked out of his office to meet him in the bullpen. "Tony," he said reaching out to shake his hand. "I'm really happy to see you. I'm glad the rescue was a success and that you're safe." For once Brad sounded sincere. As they walked to his office, Brad quietly offered his condolences to Tony and Michelle for their loss. "Come into my office. Your paperwork is in there. We'll get this over with as quickly as possible. I'm sure your family wants you home."
Tony agreed and sat down in a chair across the desk from Brad. Brad appeared to want to be friendlier than he had been in the past but Tony wasn't interested in Brad's friendship. He appreciated Brad's sincerity but considered it to be too little, too late. Brad brought him into a poorly thought out mission that nearly cost him his life. If it hadn't been for his father-in-law, he would be dead right now and he was relatively sure that Brad wouldn't have lost much sleep over it.
"Here are four copies of the transcript. You know the drill. One goes in your personnel file, one to Division, one to District and one in the case file."
Tony glanced quickly through the transcript and when he was satisfied that it was accurate he signed each of the copies and handed them back to Brad. "There you go, Brad. That should take care of it." Tony said as he stood to leave.
"Wait Tony, if you can hold on another couple of minutes, I have some other paperwork for you."
"Like what?" Tony asked somewhat mystified and more than a little bit annoyed. He knew how these things worked; once he signed that transcript he should be off the hook.
Brad sat back, laced his fingers together and let his hands rest on his ample belly. "Tony, this country owes you a huge debt of gratitude. You were instrumental in helping us stop the single largest terrorist threat since Stephen Saunders brought the Cordilla virus into the country. Yuen's men told us that the plan was to start shooting down commercial airliners with shoulder fired missiles in order to get Yuen's sons released from prison. Yuen's men in LA were going to travel to major cities all over the US and start shooting down planes. The plan was nearly foolproof, Tony. The flights that had picked out were all routinely booked to capacity so they would kill the maximum number of passengers. They had flight times, escape routes; it was all planned out. We would have had a hell of a time catching up with them." Brad looked down for a moment. "I'm just sorry that we didn't realize what a threat Yuen was to you personally and didn't have better protection on you."
Brad reached into a desk drawer and pulled a sheaf of papers from it. "This is a commendation for meritorious service. Here's a copy for you and one will go in your personnel file."
"Thank you." Tony said quietly as he took the papers. He was less than impressed. He had nearly given his life for this mission and a commendation would never make up for that. He wanted to leave but sensed that Brad had more to say.
"I think you will probably be more impressed with this." Brad said handing him another sheaf of papers. "This is your unconditional pardon from President Prescott. I convinced him that you should never be called on for another mission without your absolute agreement. In other words, Tony, we can ask for your help, but you can say 'no'. I hope if we need you in the future that you will at least consider it. You're a talented agent, Tony. There are times that we really need your expertise."
"Thank you." Tony said again, this time with more conviction. He was grateful to get the unconditional pardon and knew how happy it would make Michelle.
"And finally," Brad continued, "I have this for you." He handed Tony an envelope. "This is hazardous duty pay for the duration of the mission. It starts the day that I presented the mission to you and goes through yesterday when you returned to US soil. Of course, your medical expenses related to any injuries sustained during the mission will be covered. Additionally, you will be paid disability until you are able to go back to your job and you will be paid for your company's losses over the time that you were working for us or in captivity and couldn't conduct any business of your own."
Tony finally smiled. "Thank you, Brad. I didn't expect this. I appreciate it."
Brad stood and Tony did the same. "It doesn't even begin to cover the debt this country owes you."
They shook hands and Brad walked Tony to his office door. Tony was about to leave when he looked back at Brad. "Off the record, Brad, you knew about the rescue mission, didn't you?"
"Why would you think that? What Ian did could be considered treason. I don't tolerate treason as you well know." Brad said his eyes and his tone revealing nothing.
"I don't believe that Ian could have pulled it off behind your back. You're too sharp. Too much information had to come out of this office for you not to notice it."
"You believe what you want to believe, Tony." Brad said smiling slightly but not admitting his knowledge of Ian's plan.
Tony smiled again. "One more thing, did you ever have any real evidence that I was in this country while I was a fugitive?"
This time Brad smiled sheepishly. "Not a shred. It was all a bluff and for the most part, it worked. I know you were in the country, Tony. I suspect you had help from CTU and I would even go so far as to say it was Chloe who helped you, but I never had proof. I didn't even have any circumstantial evidence. I have to hand it to you; you covered your tracks well. Someday let's go out for a couple beers and you can tell me how you did it. I'd love to know."
"Deal." Tony said with a smile.
Maria's funeral was held Saturday morning. Tony and Michelle had arranged a quiet, family funeral in the tiny chapel adjacent to the church with Father Marty officiating. When they arrived, Father Marty greeted them at the door to the chapel and told them that he had to move the funeral to the church. They were stunned when they entered the church, children in tow, to find it nearly filled with their family and friends. They only expected to see Tony's parents and siblings and Michelle's brother Danny. As they looked around they realized that virtually everyone they knew was there. Tony's employees and their old CTU co-workers including Brad Hammond and Jeff DuBose, all of their neighbors and friends from the church, along with the entire assault team that rescued Tony. Father Marty quickly turned the sad occasion into a celebration of the love that Tony and Michelle shared and the lives they had touched. Everyone left smiling and as they exited the church, Tony glanced up into the choir loft where he caught sight of Evan. He smiled and waved at his father-in-law when Michelle was talking to someone else. Tony and Evan had not spoken since they returned from Korea, but obviously someone, probably Ian, had contacted him. Tony hadn't told Michelle of her father's involvement in his rescue yet, but knew he would have to do so soon. He wasn't sure how he was going to broach the subject, but he owed his life to Evan and Michelle needed to know that.
The days were busy but the nights were long for Tony and Michelle. They both found themselves dreading the night and the fears and sadness and sleeplessness that came with the darkness. They wrapped themselves in each other's arms and lay quietly in the dark bedroom. Slowly Tony began to open up and tell Michelle about the call he received from Hutchins. He told her how scared he was that Yuen would hurt her or the kids. He told her about leaving his office building and the trip to Korea and the long hours in captivity. He cried at times and she comforted him as best she could, horrified by all that he had been through. Michelle opened up, too. Telling Tony about how she was the first to realize that he had been kidnapped, her frantic phone calls and life at the safe house.
Monday night after Tony's surgery, the two of them got into bed again, this time mercifully tired and ready for sleep. They curled up together in the middle of the bed and drifted off to sleep quickly. Michelle woke sometime later as Tony shifted position.
"Are you okay?" She asked him sleepily.
"Ya," he told her a pained look crossing his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, Honey."
The look did not go unnoticed. "Is your wrist bothering you?"
"It's throbbing a little. I'll be fine."
"The doctor gave you something for pain. Here," she said getting up, "let me get it for you." Michelle padded silently into the bathroom and turned on the light. Tony lay back listening to her rustling around. She came back and sat on the edge of the bed. "Take these," she instructed him handing him two tablets, "and here's some water."
Tony washed down the tablets and handed the glass back to Michelle. "Thanks, Mom." He said teasing her.
"Apparently you still need a mother." She noted smiling back at him.
He was happy to see her smile. She hadn't smiled much in the last few days and her smile lit up his world. Tony watched as Michelle set the glass back in the bathroom and then went to the closet. "What are you doing?" He asked her.
"Getting another pillow." She told him. She proceeded to gently lift up his arm and tuck the pillow underneath it. "There. Elevating it might make it stop throbbing." She said as she slipped under the covers next to him.
"What would I do without you?" He asked her sincerely. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too." She said as she rested her head on his chest. They lay quietly for a few minutes before Michelle spoke. "Tony, you never told me what made Hammond change his mind and authorize the rescue mission."
Tony took a deep breath. He wouldn't lie to her, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her the truth either.
Michelle sat up propping herself on one arm. "What made him change his mind, Tony?"
"Brad really didn't change his mind and he didn't authorize the mission. Officially he says he didn't know about it, but I think he's lying. I don't think they could have pulled it of without his knowledge. This is a long story, Michelle. Do you really want to hear it now?"
"So who authorized the mission?" She asked sensing that he was holding something back and feeling annoyed that after all they had been through together that he wouldn't tell her the truth.
"No one really 'authorized' it. Ian Calvert called Jack and Chase and they got the assault team and the analysts together."
"Ian Calvert? Why would Ian have risked his career and his retirement to rescue you? You two barely know each other. He was defying a direct order from the President, he could go to prison."
"He was doing it as a favor for a friend of his."
"That's one hell of a favor!" Michelle exclaimed. "Who was the friend?"
"Do you remember stories of an undercover agent in the old Soviet Union in the 1970s code named 'The Tsar'?"
"Yeah, 'The Tsar' was a bedtime story for CIA agents. None of that was real."
"No, actually the stories may have been embellished over the years, but 'The Tsar' was real. He did some pretty impressive stuff as far as intelligence gathering goes." Tony paused. "Well, anyway, Ian was stationed in Eastern Europe in that same period. He got into a couple of sticky situations and both times 'The Tsar' risked his life to pull Ian's bacon out of the fire. When he asked Ian to mount a rescue mission, Ian felt obligated."
"So explain why 'The Tsar' wanted you to be rescued." Michelle said still knowing that Tony was leaving out details.
Tony closed his eyes for a second to collect his thoughts. "Michelle, how well did you know your father? I ...I mean do you know what he did for a living?"
"Why are we talking about my father, Tony?" Annoyance was rising in Michelle's voice. "I haven't seen him in 25 years. Why do you care what he did for a living?"
Tony sighed. There was no easy way to break this to Michelle so he was just going to have to say it. "Your father worked for the CIA, Michelle."
"My father! I don't so, Tony. My father was a drunk. I hardly think he worked for the CIA."
"You're wrong. He did work for the CIA. He worked undercover in the Soviet Union." Michelle was still looking at him like she didn't understand. "Michelle, your father was 'The Tsar'."
Michelle stared at him in disbelief. "Those days in captivity affected your critical thinking skills." She scoffed. "There is no way that my father…" Her sentence trailed off unfinished.
"Think about it, Honey. It all makes sense, doesn't it? That's why he was gone for months at a time. That's also where he developed his problems with alcohol. After he left you and Danny and your Mother, alcohol was all he had left. He eventually got to the point that he could no longer function as an agent. He became a liability to the agency. That's when they cut him loose."
"Tony, this is ridiculous. I'm not sure why, but somebody made up this story and fed it to you and you bought it hook, line and sinker. I'm not going to fall for it. I doubt that my father is still alive. The alcohol must have gotten to his liver by now." She threw herself back onto her pillow and turned away from him.
Tony put his hand on her shoulder. "I know this sounds crazy Michelle, but it's the truth. Your father is still alive and he's been sober for five years. He isn't well. You're right, the alcohol has effected his health. He probably doesn't have more that a few months to live. He also loves you very much."
"Have you actually seen him, Tony?"
"He was in Korea with the assault team. We flew back to LA on the transport together. That gave us a lot of time to talk, Michelle. He's very sorry for what he did to you and your mother and Danny. He understands how angry you are and he doesn't expect you to forgive him, but he wants you to know how much he loves you."
Tears were now falling from Michelle's eyes. "Why are you doing this to me, Tony?"
"Honey, all I'm doing is telling you the truth. Believe me, I don't want to hurt you but you have to know the truth."
"Why did you wait so long to tell me? You've been home for five days. When did you plan to let me in on this little secret?"
"In case you haven't noticed, we've been a little busy. I wanted to tell you, but I had to find the right time. This isn't easy for me either, Michelle. I love you so much, Baby. After all you've been through I hate to have to tell you things that I know are going to hurt you." Tony stroked her hair while they both remained silent. "Michelle, there's something else." Tony started.
Michelle turned to look at him. "What is it?"
"Your father wants to see you. He just wants the opportunity to tell you how really sorry he is for leaving you the way he did. He has no illusions that you will forgive him or that you will want to have any meaningful relationship with him. He just wants to tell you that he's sorry before he dies."
"And you told him that I would?" Michelle asked in an angry tone as she sat up.
"No, I told him I would ask you. I didn't promise him anything."
"Well, you can tell him the answer is 'no'. I will not let that man waltz back into my life after 25 years so he can clear his conscious before he dies. He should have thought about that when my mother died and he didn't even show up for the funeral, let alone to provide any support to Danny and me."
"Michelle, a lot has happened in 25 years. He's a different person than he was then. People change; look at Jack. A few years ago he was one of the coldest CIA agents I'd ever met with no concerns for anyone or anything except getting results. He was a heroin addict. Now the guy could be up for father of the year. What if Kate hadn't given Jack a second chance? Look how happy they are together and what a great family they have. Your father has changed, Michelle. He's sober now and has been for a few years. Give him a chance. I don't think you'll regret it but if he dies without you ever seeing him, you might find that you regret it someday."
"Oh, so you're taking his side in this."
Frustration and anger spilled out into Tony's response. "Honey, he saved my life. What do you expect me to do? If he hadn't approached Ian about rescuing me, you'd have buried both me and Maria on Saturday. Do you realize that?" As soon as he said it Tony wished he could take it back. Michelle threw herself down on the bed sobbing.
"I'm sorry, Baby. That came out wrong. I didn't mean it that way." Tony told her as he stroked her back. "I'm just trying to tell you that I… that we owe Evan a huge debt of gratitude. Jack and Chase both told me that there were no plans for a rescue mission until your father approached Ian about it. They fully intended to let me die. Jack said they were just waiting for instructions as to where to pick up my body. He saved my life, Michelle. I can't force you to see him, but it would mean the world to me if you would agree to it." He squeezed her shoulder for emphasis. Tony lay down beside her, their bodies touching. He could feel her sobs slowly calm to an occasional sniffle. "That's better." He cooed. "Let's try and get some sleep."
Tony awoke the next morning with warm sun streaming through the window and onto his face. He knew that if the sun was high enough in the sky to be shining in his face that he had overslept. He rolled over and looked at the clock: 10:30. He got out of bed, pulled on a bathrobe and trotted down the stairs. He found Michelle was straightening out the family room. Dess was nearby sitting on the floor playing with some trucks that Joe had forgotten to put away the night before.
"Good morning. I'm sorry I overslept. Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I figured that you needed the sleep." Michelle told him without turning to face him.
"So do you." He replied. "I should have gotten up and helped you get the kids off to school." He leaned over and ruffled Dess' hair and then crossed the room so he was next to Michelle.
"It wasn't a problem. Sophie went to school with the Clarks this morning and Kate came over and picked up Joe for preschool. There's coffee in the carafe if you'd like some."
"That would be great. I'll get some." Tony paused. "Look, Michelle, I'm sorry I upset you last night."
"No, Tony. It's me who was wrong. Tell my father that I'll see him. If nothing else I need to thank him for rescuing you. I owe him that."
"Thank you. I'll call him and set something up." Tony pulled Michelle close and kissed her. "I love you, Michelle. I know the last couple of weeks have been hell, but we're going to be alright, Honey. We're going to get past this and be happy again."