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Chapter 6: Tony

15 months later

"Wow! You look gorgeous, Sweetheart," I told Michelle as she walked into the living room. She wore a stunning red silk cocktail dress and had pulled her hair into an elaborate pile of curls. "I love being on the arm of the most beautiful woman in the place," I said as I helped her into her coat.

"Thank you," she said, "but that still doesn't make me want to go to this party."

"Why don't you want to go? This is always a nice party. It's at a beautiful place, the food is always good, there'll be plenty of alcohol and," I said as I turned her around and pulled her into my arms, "we have a room upstairs in the hotel so when we're tired of the party, we can go to our room and make love all night."

"How about if we skip the party and go straight to the hotel?" she suggested.

"Sorry, Babe. The Director of CTU is expected to be there," I told her.

Michelle shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, let's go then."

I held the door open for her and we got in the car. We were on our way to the annual Christmas party held jointly for CTU, Division and District. It was always a good time and Michelle usually liked parties, but she had tried everything to get out of going to this one. She even offered to work this evening just to avoid the party. I had asked her over and over again why she didn't want to go and she had given me a million excuses, but none of them was very good. Last year she begged off by saying that it was too hard to be in a social situation like that without people realizing that we were a couple. At that time, no one knew we were dating and I wanted to keep it that way, so her point was valid. Now that we were married, it would seem pretty odd for Michelle not to be at the party.

A lot has happened in the last 15 months. Two months after I was named acting director of CTU, I was promoted to Director. One of my first actions was to create the position "Director of Field Operations", a position that had been sorely needed for years. Once I created the position, I set about convincing Jack Bauer that he should take the job. He finally agreed. He's doing great and he's putting his life back together. Much to everyone's surprise, he moved in with Kate Warner. I consider the relationship something akin to "Beauty and the Beast." Kate is so mild mannered and sweet and refined and Jack is, well you know, he's Jack. No one really expects it to last, but for now they both seem to be enjoying it.

Michelle and I were finally forced to reveal our relationship to the people at CTU. We kept it secret for almost a year. We had to "go public" two days before we got married. At that point I had no choice but to tell Ryan Chappelle. That was a good time. Chappelle's face was as red as a firecracker on the Fourth of July. He went ballistic and threatened to force one of us to transfer or quit. To his dismay, I had him over a barrel. He really couldn't force out his CTU director and I had made sure that Michelle was an integral part of so many projects that getting rid of her would compromise the start up of several homeland security initiatives. He eventually cooled down and told us that as long as it didn't interfere with our work, we could both stay.

Actually, I'm not sure which was worse, telling Chappelle that Michelle and I were getting married or telling my parents. Chappelle could only fire me; my mother could make my life a living hell. I guess I shouldn't make it sound like she's a beast. She's my mother and I know she loves me regardless of what I do. Michelle just wasn't who Mama expected her oldest son to marry. Oh, she and Pop are nice to Michelle, but they clearly don't treat her the same way they treat their other sons-in-law and daughter-in-law. Mama has a way of looking right through Michelle much of the time. My brothers and sisters adore Michelle and do everything they can to make her feel part of the family. Michelle tries to pretend that it doesn't bother her, but I know that it does. She appreciates the way my siblings treat her and she and Vanessa have become fast friends. But I know that she wants the approval of my parents. In some way, I think she's looking for them to step in as surrogate parents, to replace the parents she had lost so many years earlier. More than once I've told Michelle that I think my parents will warm up to her when we have children, but deep down I'm not sure that's true.

The drive from our home to the hotel where the function was being held was almost a half hour and Michelle was silent for most of it. I wish I knew what was bothering her. She usually told me everything, but right now she was holding something back. I pulled up in front of the hotel and gave the keys to the valet. The doorman had already opened the door for Michelle and helped her out of the car. I noticed her expression as she thanked him. Of course she was courteous, but she never really smiled, at least not one of those smiles that lit up her face.

We quickly checked into our room and dropped our coats and overnight bags off before going to the party. Michelle again suggested, this time rather seductively, that we not bother going downstairs to the party. That was tough to say 'no' to. Let's weigh out the choices here, a party where I have to pretend that I like Ryan Chappelle and Brad Hammond or a night spent naked with the most beautiful woman in the world. My resolve was waning when we heard a knock at the door.

"Come on, you two," I heard Jack call playfully from the hall. "Cut that out!" he said as if he knew what I was thinking.

Michelle and I both laughed and I went to the door. "You're a killjoy, Jack. Do you know that? You're a killjoy. How did you know this was our room?"

"I'm a spy! You don't think I can figure out what room you're staying in?" Jack laughed. "Let's go downstairs and have a couple of martinis and some dinner and you came come back up here to do whatever you like and I promise that I won't bother you."

"Why do you put up with him, Kate?" I asked teasingly.

"He keeps things lively, he picks up after himself and he's good in bed. What more can a woman ask? Right, Michelle?" she said trying to keep a straight face.

Michelle didn't answer. She was picking up her purse, quite obviously lost in her own thoughts.

"Right, Michelle?" Kate said again.

"Uh…oh, yeah, right," Michelle said absently.

Jack and I exchanged glances and the girls stepped out in front of us on the way to the elevator.

"Sorry," Jack said quietly, "did we come in in the middle of something?"

I shook my head. "I don't know what's wrong."

We caught up with them at the elevator and went downstairs to the ballroom where the party was already in full swing. We all stopped at the bar for our first round of drinks and soon we were making small talk with a large group from District that had planted itself as close to the bar as possible.

I saw Michelle and Kate walk toward the dining room and disappear from my view. Maybe Michelle would tell Kate what was bothering her. I went back to the rowdy conversation going on around me and my concerns about Michelle slipped to the back of my mind.

I finished my first drink and walked to the bar for a second. As I was waiting, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Tony Almeida! It's been years since I've seen you." I turned toward the voice and extended my hand.

"Brent Hayden," I said in return. "How are you?" I asked as we shook hands.

"Doing okay," he said. "I hear you're running the show over at CTU these days. Congratulations on the promotion."

I stopped for a moment to order a drink. "Thanks, I think," I said. "What are you doing now? I heard you left Division a while back."

"Yeah, I had a chance to go to District and I took it."

"Do you like it?"

"It's okay. If I didn't have to answer to Alberta Greene it would be better," he said as he laughed.

The bartender brought my drink and I reached for it with my left hand.

"Hey, what's that?" Brent asked. "That looks like a wedding ring. Did you get yourself hitched, Stud?"

"Yeah, three months ago." I don't know why I was embarrassed, but I smiled and looked at the floor.

"So you're off the market. Gee, maybe that will give the rest of us losers a chance now that the babe magnet is taken."

"I was never exactly a 'babe magnet'," I told him.

"Oh, no, when you worked at Division they practically had to put your desk behind bars to keep the girls away from you. The rest of us never had a chance when you were around. What girl would look twice at me after she looked into those big, brown doe eyes of yours?"

Now I was really embarrassed and happy to see that Michelle was coming toward me. Brent had his back to her so she couldn't see who I was talking to. She winked at me and found a free spot at the bar to order a drink. It looked as though she was having a good time now. Maybe the first glass of wine had relaxed her a bit.

"Here comes my wife," I said.

I watched as she reached out a delicate hand and took the wine glass from the bar then walked over to me.

"Sweetheart," I said taking her free hand. "Do you remember Brent Hayden from Division? You both would have been there at the same time."

Michelle seemed startled. "Uh…yes…I do. I…uh…think our paths crossed over there. How are you, Brent?"

"I'm fine. What were you thinking when you married this bum? I always thought you'd do better than that," he said. Based on his tone, I wasn't quite sure he was teasing. "No, seriously, congratulations," he said as he reached out to touch her arm. She turned and took a step back to talk to me but the action also allowed her to avoid his touch. Michelle was usually very warm but her attitude tonight was aloof and cool.

"Jack and Kate saved seats for us at a table near the window," she told me. "I'm going to go sit down. They're going to start serving dinner soon." She nodded at Brent and started to walk away.

"Hang on, Honey. I'll come with you," I called after her. I looked back at Brent. "Good to see you. Maybe we'll talk later."

Dinner was uneventful. We ate and talked with the people at our table. The dessert plates were cleared which signaled the only part of the evening that I hated: the speeches. The two or three highest ranking agents in LA would get up and thank all of us little people for working so hard this year. It was the same every year and this one would be no different.

I rolled my eyes at Jack. "I need a drink if I'm going to make it through this. Can I get anything for anybody else?" I looked around the table but most of the glasses were full.

"I'll go, Tony," Michelle said. "I need to use the ladies' room anyway. What are you drinking?"

"Gin and tonic would be great. Thanks, Honey." She smiled as she walked away.

A good ten minutes passed before it occurred to me that Michelle should be back by now.

"Bar must be busy," I commented to Jack.

"Maybe the ladies' room was crowded and Michelle went up your room," Kate offered. "I did that earlier."

I looked around the room and most of the tables were full. Not many people had left their seats to go to the bar or the rest rooms.

"Hey Tony," Chloe O'Brien, one of our new employees, said as she came up from behind me. "You might want to go and rescue Michelle. Some guy has her cornered at the bar and she looks like she'd like to get away."

"Who is he, Chloe?" I asked.

"I can't remember his name. I've seen him before. He used to be the head of IT over at Division. I don't know where he works now. He's a real techno-geek."

"Do you mean Brent Hayden?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's his name," Chloe agreed, nodding her head.

That was when it first hit me that Hayden was the man who raped Michelle. Now I knew why Michelle didn't want to come to the party. How stupid could I possibly be? Didn't I notice how Michelle reacted when I was talking to him? The way she stammered, the way she tried to back away from him – why didn't I notice it? How could I have missed it?

Chloe was still talking, but I wasn't really listening. "I thought I could help Michelle out. I asked her if she wanted to go to the ladies' room with me but he pretty much told me to get lost. Michelle said she was fine, but she didn't seem fine. Maybe I shouldn't have left her alone. I didn't know what else to do so I came in here to tell you and…"

Her voice trailed off as I crossed the room and went out to the bar. No one was standing near it and the bartender was using the free moment to wipe off the bar while a young man behind him restocked the glasses.

"Excuse me," I said, "I'm looking for a man and woman that were here just a minute or so ago."

The bartender shook his head. "We've been pretty busy, sir. I can't say I noticed anyone in particular."

"The woman may have looked like she was cornered, like she wanted to get away."

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't notice."

The young man behind him stopped stocking glasses. He looked to be in his early 20s. He was small, probably no more that 5 feet 4 or 5 inches and probably didn't weigh 130 pounds. His eyes didn't seem to both focus on the same point and he looked as though he might be mentally disabled. "Billy saw the lady," he said.

The bartender raised his eyebrows. "You saw them, Billy?"

"Yeah, Mr. Jerry, a pretty lady in a red dress, Billy saw the pretty lady." He had an unusual way of referring to himself in the third person like a child just learning to talk.

"That's the lady," I told him, "the one in the red dress. Was she talking to a man?"

He nodded eagerly. "The pretty lady was talking to a bad man. Billy didn't like the way the man talked to the pretty lady. He called her bad names. The pretty lady looked like she wanted to cry. Billy went to get more ice for Mr. Jerry and then they were gone. The lady ordered two drinks and she left them on the bar." He pointed at the end of the bar. "She left her purse. Billy put it behind the bar in case she came back looking for it."

"I remember her," the bartender said. "She ordered a gin and tonic and a Bailey's Irish chilled"

"This is very important; the lady might be in some danger. Did either of you see where they went?" I knew my voice was shaking. I needed to get control.

"No, sir, like I said, it was busy," the bartender said.

"How about you, Billy?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Billy didn't see where they went, mister. Billy doesn't want the bad man to hurt the lady," he said his eyes looking scared and sad.

"Me either, Billy," I told him. Then to the bartender, "I need to talk to the head of security right now. Get him on the phone." The bartender nodded and picked up the phone. I scanned the room for exits. There was one behind the bar, one to my left that led into another ballroom, one to the right of the bar that led into the hotel and the door to the outside. As I scanned the room I saw one of Jack's field agents leaving the men's room.

"Baker," I called using my command voice, the one I used during a crisis. "Don't alarm anyone, but get Jack and bring him here now. I've got an emergency."

"Done," Baker responded without asking any questions. He headed toward the ballroom.

The bartender handed me the phone. "I've got Mr. Wheeler; he's the head of security."

"Thank you," I said to him. "Mr. Wheeler," I said into the phone. "This is Tony Almeida. I'm the Director of CTU. I'm with the party in the Grand Ballroom and we have an emergency situation. I believe a man named Brent Hayden has abducted a woman. I suspect Hayden is armed. The woman he abducted is also an agent and if he wasn't armed I think she would have fought back. I need your people to cover all of the exits. No one is to leave the building without my knowledge. He may flash his badge in an attempt to persuade security to let him out. The valets are to be instructed not to return cars or keys to anyone. You need to call LAPD, but tell them to come in silently and in unmarked cars. I don't want this guy spooked. Do you understand?

"Yes sir. I'll notify my staff now and have the exits covered. Can you give me a description so we know who were looking for?"

"The man is Caucasian, about 45-50 years old, about 6 feet, 2 inches, well built, very muscular, probably weighs 260 or 270, but he's solid. He's wearing a dark suit. His hair is a light brown, close cut and receding in the front."

"Got it," Wheeler replied. "Give me the description of the woman."

"She's also Caucasian, early 30's, brown, curly hair. She's about 5 feet 5 inches tall, slender build. She's wearing a red silk dress.

"Look, Mr. Wheeler," I said trying to sound conciliatory, "I'm not trying to pull rank here, but I'm a federal agent and I would like to take charge of this operation. I'll get agents to accompany your security people, but we're here for a social event, so my agents are not armed. I'll have to ask your security guards to relinquish their weapons to the federal agents. We may have a hostage situation here and my people are simply better trained to deal with it. We need someone to review all of the security tapes of the exits as well. Can you tell me if Hayden is registered as a guest in the hotel?"

I waited while Wheeler looked up the information. "No, he's not registered unless he used an alias."

"Thanks for checking. Can you provide me with a two way radio to communicate with you and your staff?"

"I'll get that for you, Mr. Almeida. I'll also instruct my men to defer to the federal agents. If you send about 15 agents to the lobby, I'll direct them to the exits that my men are covering."

I thanked Mr. Wheeler and hung up the phone. Jack and Agent Baker were now standing in front of me. They heard enough of the conversation to gather what was going on.

"I'll get together a group of agents and brief them. They can cover the exits with hotel security. I'll coordinate the teams. Try not to worry, Tony. We'll find her." Baker said and he headed off toward the ballroom full of agents.

"This doesn't make sense, Tony. Why would Brent Hayden kidnap Michelle?" Jack asked looking perplexed.

"It's a long story. They dated a couple of years ago. The relationship turned abusive and Michelle got out. She told me about the relationship; she just never gave me a name. She said he left Division after she did, but she didn't say he worked at District. That's why she was acting so funny earlier tonight. I had no idea it was Hayden until just now."

Agents started assembling around us. "Hayden could have exited into either the small ballroom in the back or into the lobby. If they left through the front door, it'll be on the security tape."

Jack looked at the layout of the room. "Based on where the bartender says they were standing, Hayden probably took her out through the empty ballroom."

"That's what I was thinking," I agreed with him. I turned to the bartender, "Is there an exit from that ballroom?"

He nodded. "There's a rear exit into a service corridor. The kitchen is to the right and the garage is to the left."

"Can you get into the hotel through that corridor?"

"No sir, you can only get into the hotel from the bar."

"Mister," Billy called from the ballroom. "The pretty lady had these in her hair?" He was holding up a rhinestone hair pin.

"Yeah," I said taking it from him. "She had them all through her hair."

"Billy found it on the floor in here," he said pointing at the small ballroom.

Jack and Tony moved into the ballroom. "That rear door is the only exit," Jack said. "They had to go through it. We need a team to cover that service corridor."

Two men from hotel security met Jack and me in the ballroom. They provided us with radios and guns.

I held the radio in front of my mouth. "This is Almeida. Maintain security on all exits. We believe they left through the service corridor behind ballroom 2. There is no entrance to the hotel through this corridor. Baker, send teams to search the kitchen on the west end of that corridor and the garage on the east. I want each level of the garage checked. Jack and I will check the stairwell in the garage up to the roof."

"I copy, Tony," Baker answered. "LAPD is on the scene. I'll coordinate with them."

My heart was in my throat. I could only imagine what Hayden was capable of doing to Michelle. I knew what he had done in the past and I feared that it was child's play compared to what he might do to her now.