Thanks again to everybody that has read and reviewed so far.
There's a couple of song references in this chapter
Eat For Two by 10'000 Maniacs. Its on Blind Mans Zoo
Children In Bloom by Counting Crows. It's available on Recovering the Satellites
Chapter Five
"Where the fuck is the car?"
"I'll go find it, bring it round." Peterson darted away before Tom could say anything, speaking rapidly into his radio.
Tom glanced at angrily at Peterson's men, making sure they stayed where they were. "Hold your positions. Nobody breaks formation. Understand?"
"Understood."
"Tom…" Nathan kept his eyes on the stumbling, faltering police line, shattered and broken by the press of the adoring, enthusiastic crowd. They could hear the noise, growing around them, cries for attention getting louder. He tightened his grip on his nightstick. "We need to go."
Tom pressed his microphone. "Peterson, where the hell is the car?" He tapped it again. "Peterson…Peterson? Shit." He switched the receiver off. "Nathan, I cant pick up Peterson."
"We're running out of time, Tom."
"Amy, stay between us. We'll protect you." Tom raised his voice. "Lets get out of here. Nice and slow. One step at a time. Don't leave any gaps." He glanced darkly at the crowd, so close now he had to jerk his head out of the way as a hand was thrust towards them for Amy to shake. "We don't know who's out there." He took a step back, cutting down the distance between them. "Everybody ready?"
"Yeah."
"Lets move."
Step by torturous step, they advanced. Close enough to smell the sweat of the crowd, their shouts ringing around them, the police struggling to keep their footing.
"Keep back please, give them room." A police officer coughed harshly, his voice strained with effort and shouting. "Please keep back."
Tom braced his nightstick across one particularly persistent man's chest and shoved hard. Knocking him back into the crowd, knocking him from his feet. "I said get back, dammit."
Another step.
The crowd pressing closer, forcing Nathan to slow his pace even further, as they pushed in against him, backing him up against Amy.
"Stay tight." Tom looked into the crowd, at the man he'd just knocked over. "Where the hell is Peterson with that damned car?"
Peterson.
He fought against the urge to look over his shoulder. He could almost imagine the cross hairs, focusing in, aiming at their target. An anonymous finger tightening around the trigger.
The car pulled up at the curb, Peterson flinging open the back door.
xxxXXXxxx
"CTU, Dessler."
"Michelle, its Natasha. I need to talk to you."
"About what?" What the hell did she want? Michelle rubbed at her forehead, surprised and relieved to discover that she didn't find a headache, pushing back, writhing underneath her touch like a living thing.
She had other things to worry about, other than just a headache.
"I understand you are conducting an investigation into the Rights of the Child."
'How the hell did she know that?' Michelle hesitated for a second, choosing her words carefully. "We've received some intel, linking them to a terrorist strike today."
"What stage is the investigation at?"
"We're still analyzing all the intelligence. I don't really want to say anymore until we're done with that."
"Is it to do with the protest at Lester's clinic?"
"I don't want to rule anything out at this stage."
"If it is, Michelle, let it go. Let LAPD deal with it. We don't have to get involved."
"Okay. I'll look into it." Michelle hung up the phone and groaned. At the back of her head, she could just feel a headache start, weaving its treacherous fingers through her body, in addition to all of her other problems.
"Hello, old friend."
xxxXXXxxx
He was a cautious man. But then, men in his line of work rarely lived to grow old without being cautious.
He circled around the meeting point twice. Just to make sure there were no police or FBI following him or waiting for him. They were a complication and he didn't like complications.
His contact was waiting for him. Exactly on time, at exactly the right place. He liked precision, punctuality.
"This is the target."
He snapped the disk into a data pad and cycled through the pictures. "Is there anything else?"
"CTU may be involved."
A complication. He hated complications and let his anger show in his voice. "That will cost you extra. Another 500'000. In the same account."
"Okay. I'll arrange the transfer."
He put the data pad back into his pocket and walked away.
xxxXXXxxx
"How are you doing?"
"It's the midmorning show, right here on CSRFM. It's 1123 and lets head straight back into the music."
O, baby blankets and baby shoes, baby slippers, baby spoons, walls of baby blue
Dream child in my head is a nightmare born in a borrowed bed
Now I know, lightning strikes again
It struck me once and it struck me dead
My folly grows inside of me
I eat for two, walk for two, breathe for two, now
xxxXXXxxx
"She wants us to do what?"
Michelle sat back in her chair, watching Tony pace in front of her desk. "She wants us to back off the Rights of the Child. I get the feeling she's getting squeezed from above."
"From whom? Hammond?"
She chewed on her lip. "Maybe. I don't think so."
"What are we going to do?"
"Officially? We're going to back off. I just got Hammond off our backs, I don't want Natasha Grey replacing him."
"What about unofficially?"
"Unofficially, you run things as before. These bastards are involved, I know it."
"I know." Tony stopped in front of her desk, looking directly at her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She looked around the room, searching out the corners, her old nervous habit. "Tony, I…."
Her phone rang, cutting her off. Angry at herself for hesitating, she hit the answer button. "What is it?"
"It's Ashley. She's made contact."
xxxXXXxxx
"Things will have to be changed." Tom felt that he had given them long enough to get their breath back, to recover and think about what had happened. And what could have happened. "That was a shambles and cannot be allowed to happen again."
Amy said nothing. Sitting in the corner of the car, pale faced, breathing heavily.
"Would you like some water?" Nathan handed her the bottle and she accepted gratefully, raising it to her lips, her hands still shaking.
Tom ignored her show of nerves. "It's too late to rearrange some of these. But things will have to be changed. No more walks through the crowd, no more handshaking sessions or photo ops."
"She's trying to run an election campaign."
"And I'm trying to keep her alive." Tom pointed out the back window, his finger moving angrily, like a small knife. "What happened there was chaos. There could have been anyone, anything in that crowd."
"What do we do?" Amy had regained some of her confidence, some of her colour.
Tom sighed. "We drive straight in and straight out of the rest of the engagements. Back door, minimal exposure to the public. And the fucking car stays within easy access."
"Okay." She wrapped her arms around herself. Lost in her memories, shivering.
She was frightened. Good.
Tom glanced at Nathan and shook his head. It was proving to be a very long day.
xxxXXXxxx
"…blessing at lunch time. He's expecting me there. I don't have a lot of time."
"Has he made you?"
"No." A brief pause, just a hint of hesitation. "I don't think so."
Ashley's voice was soft, breathless, shaking. More than that, there was tangible amount of fear, thickening her tongue, sticking in her throat. They could almost imagine her, looking over her shoulder as she spoke.
"Is Jackson Alexander involved in this?" Tony made his voice as strong, as reassuring as he could. He glanced at Michelle as he spoke, his expression concerned, worried. They needed Ashley strong, in control. This was a bad time for her to start to crack.
Her life was at stake.
"He's hip deep in it, Tony. What do you want me to do?" Her voice faded away briefly, before coming back strongly. "…a lot of time."
Michelle leaned forward. "Ashley, it's Michelle."
"Yeah?'
"Do what you have to do to maintain your cover."
"Okay."
The phone line went dead.
xxxXXXxxx
"It's almost twelve pm, folks. We'll be back after this and your midday news, right here on CSRFM."
Children in bloom, cooking in the sun
Waiting for a room of our own
Leave my sister alone,
She don't deserve this
She is a flower and I am a flower and
We are all alone….
