Chapter 2
Michelle was making her way out of medical as Dina Araz was being brought in. She was surprised by the woman's appearance. She had briefly read Araz's file which was hastily put together after she was identified at the hotel. The Araz's house was searched and among the items that the advance team brought back to CTU were a couple of framed photographs of the Araz family. Dina Araz was an attractive woman with thick wavy black hair and a charming smile. As she stood in front of Michelle, she looked old and sick and broken. She was pale from blood loss and it appeared that if the guards stationed on either side of her let go, she would drop to the floor like a rag doll.
"Ms. Dessler," said one of the armed CTU guards escorting Araz, "should I set up an interrogation room so we're ready when they're finished with her in medical?"
Michelle looked at Dr. Copeland. "What do you think, Len? Is she going to be medically ready for interrogation any time soon?"
Copeland shook his head. "I'm going to need at least a couple of hours and that's being optimistic. Unless there's more info you think you need immediately, I'd like to treat her first."
"Jack seems to think he got almost everything valuable from her already. Treat her now and I'll talk to Jack. If we need to talk to her again, we'll just have to do it in medical." Michelle said.
Copeland frowned, "Michelle…"
"Look, Len, I know you don't like us interrogating prisoners in medical, but this is an extraordinary circumstance. I'll only do it if I have to, you know that."
"Okay, for now I'll get her back to trauma and treat her." Michelle agreed with the doctor and left the medical unit.
Jack and Tony stood just inside the door in Tech 1 talking to Secretary Heller. The programmers had already started working on the override and Chloe was on her way in to help them. Michelle stepped into the room. She saw Jack first.
"Jack!" she said as she gave him a hug and a kiss. She and Jack had been friends for years and she hadn't seen him in several months, so the greeting was not unusual. "I can't believe you recovered the override. You're amazing!" She turned and saw Tony standing with Secretary Heller.
"Tony," she said quietly. "How are you?" He looked thinner and paler than she remembered him. That shouldn't be a surprise, she thought. His steady diet of alcohol didn't provide much in the way of nutrition and she suspected that he wasn't exactly spending any time in the sun playing golf or tennis like he had in the past.
"I'm okay, Michelle," he answered awkwardly. "How are you?"
"Better since you and Jack found the override." She paused for a moment. "Well, unless they need you in here, you can both relax for a few minutes and then be debriefed."
"I don't think they need us, do you Chloe?" Jack asked.
"No, we've go it under control," Chloe answered absently. She was already involved with the programmers working on the override.
"Okay, then," Michelle said. "Do either of you need to be seen in medical? Len Copeland is working on Dina Araz, but if either of you needs attention, he'll make sure you get it."
Jack and Tony both declined medical care. Although both of them had various cuts and bruises, neither was badly hurt.
"In that case," Michelle started, "Jack, Ben Schwartz will debrief you in Comm 1. If you want to take a few minutes and talk to Audrey first, you can go back to medical. Just stop by Comm 1 and let Ben know."
"Thanks, Michelle. I think I'll do that. I just want to make sure Audrey knows that I'm alright." Jack walked toward medical.
"Tony, Ted Everett is going to debrief you."
Tony nodded. "In Comm 2? I'll head over there." Tony started toward the familiar location.
"Not exactly," Michelle said.
Tony stopped and looked back at her. "In the conference room?"
"No, Secretary Heller's people are in there."
"Where would you like to debrief me, Michelle, in the staff lounge?"
"I had Ted set up in Holding Room 1."
"You're putting me in a Holding Room, Michelle?" Tony said incredulously. "I served my time, Michelle. I got a pardon, remember? I saved Jack and Audrey this afternoon. Hell, I risked my life today and you're putting me in a holding room!"
"Tony, look at it from my point of view. You're a civilian. You acted as a field agent today without anyone's permission."
"I had Jack's permission. I wouldn't have shown up if Jack hadn't called me. And if I hadn't shown up when I did, Jack and Audrey would have come back to CTU in body bags. Ask Secretary Heller if he's okay with my being here right now."
"I understand all of that, Tony, but it doesn't change the circumstances."
"Do you plan to arrest me?"
"No, of course not. I just need a place to debrief you and it has to be a secure location. Like I said, you're a civilian and I can't have you walking around here. Tony, this is standard operating procedure, you know that. You wouldn't have handled the situation any differently when you were in charge. Don't fight me on this, Tony, please. Let's just get the debrief over with and you can go home."
Tony threw up his hands. "Fine. I'll debrief in a Holding Room and then go home. I had hoped that you might appreciate what I did today."
"I do appreciate it, Tony." Michelle said softly. "More importantly, Secretary Heller appreciates it and you saved countless lives. You were a hero today. I'm proud of you, Tony. Right now I'm looking at the Tony Almeida that I fell in love with."
Tony stopped walking and swallowed hard. "Thank you. I'm sorry I got so upset. You're right, putting me in Holding is standard operating procedure and you're right to do it."
Michelle and Tony walked to the Holding room without saying anything more. The silence was only broken when Tony coughed.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked him. "I mean, are you hungry or anything?"
"I could use some water," he told her as he tried to clear his throat.
"That's a nasty cough. Are you taking anything for it?"
"No, I had a cold a couple of months ago and haven't been able to shake it. Maybe I need to take better care of myself."
"Maybe you should see a doctor."
"Gee, I'd do that Michelle, but my current medical plan doesn't cover doctor visits," he said sarcastically.
"If you need care, Tony, I'll make sure you get it. Before you leave, have Len Copeland see you."
"Thanks, I will."
Tony sat in the Holding room suddenly exhausted from the events of the day. Ted Everett spent the next hour debriefing him.
"Okay, Tony," Ted said as they finished. He took the tape on which he had recorded the debriefing from the tape recorder. "I'll take this out to the transcriptionist. She should have it back to you in about an hour. You can read it and sign it and you'll be finished at that point."
Ted left the room and Tony sat back to read a newspaper that was left in the room. He heard a key card slide through the card reader and glanced toward the door.
"Hey," Michelle said as she came through the door. "Ted said that you're finished debriefing."
"Yeah, we finished about 20 minutes ago," Tony told her.
"I have a couple of minutes; I thought maybe we could talk."
"Michelle, I'm sorry about going off on you earlier. I know how hard it is to be handed this job in the middle of a national emergency. I know how much stress you're under."
"Thanks, Tony, I appreciate that, but I could have handled it better. Can I sit down?"
"Of course," he said. "What did you want to talk about? I think everything you need is in the transcript of the debrief. It should be available in another half hour or so."
"I don't want to talk about the debrief. I want to talk about us."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Us?" Tony looked at Michelle afraid of what would come next. They had been separated for five months and he suspected that she was going to file for divorce.
"Like I said a little while ago, the Tony I'm talking to right now is the one I fell in love with. If this Tony is back for good and the one that was drinking and feeling sorry for himself is gone, I'd like to try and work it out but I need some reassurances that things will be different. We can get counseling or whatever we need, but seeing you today made me realize that I've never stopped loving you. I want to start over," she paused for a second and looked down, "that is, if you want to try again, too."
Tony took her hands in his. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I've never stopped loving you and I want to make it work, too. The old Tony is back; today changed me. It made me feel useful again. I felt good about myself. When Jack called, I was just about to get a drink and spend the rest of the day lying on the couch watching television. I hesitated for a minute; I didn't want to get involved, but I knew Jack would be calling if it weren't urgent. So, I went to Fellsted Security and got them out of there. My plan was just to get them to a safe place, but the more time I spent with Jack, the more I got sucked into the operation, the more I wanted to be a part of the operation. I felt the adrenaline rush and it felt good."
Michelle was smiling. "Why don't we talk more after all of this is over? Maybe we can get dinner tomorrow night if I'm not buried in paperwork."
"Michelle, there's something you need to know," he paused. "While we were separated, there was…I, ah, I… I was with someone else."
"I know," she said in an emotionless voice.
"How do you know?"
"After you moved out, I was worried about you. I knew how much you were drinking and I didn't want you sleeping on the street somewhere. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. So a few days later, I started checking out the bars that you had been hanging out in."
"How did you know which bars I was going to? We never discussed it. I tried to keep it from you."
"You left receipts from some of them in pockets. I found them when I was doing laundry. I kept them; I'm not really sure why, but something told me that I might need them at some point. When I wanted to check on you, the receipts were the only leads I had."
"Some of those places are pretty rough. You shouldn't have been in those parts of town."
"I can take care of myself," Michelle told him. "Believe me, I was armed and I kept a low profile. I eventually found you in 'Gibby's'. You didn't see me, but I saw you leave with the waitress. I did some surveillance of the house and could tell that you lived there. I'm not angry, Tony. I was happy that you were safe, that you had some place warm to sleep."
Tony closed his eyes. "Michelle, I'm sorry. Believe me, she meant nothing to me. When I first started drinking there, while we were still together, she hit on me. Nothing happened, but when I needed a place to go, I went back there. She was interested in me and she invited me to stay with her." Tony shrugged. "She was offering a roof over my head and some physical comfort. I won't lie to you, we were intimate. I missed you so much. I wanted to convince myself that I didn't care; that it didn't matter that I didn't have you. I was angry with you and I wanted to get back at you, to prove to you that other women still found me desirable. I used her and I'm ashamed of that."
"Tony, don't beat yourself up over this. I asked you to leave. You don't owe me an apology."
The intercom on the table interrupted their conversation. "Michelle," Chloe said. "Can you come over here? We've run into a snag."
"What kind of snag, Chloe?"
"The terrorists must have reprogrammed the override. We've slowed the rate of the meltdowns, but we can't get it stopped. There's some code on this that I'd like you to look at."
"I'll be right there," Michelle told her. She stood up. "I'm sorry, we'll talk later, I promise."
Tony stood, too. "Michelle," he said as he stepped toward her. "We're going to make this work, Sweetheart. I know it. I love you, Michelle." He tilted his head down to hers and kissed her softly.
"I love you, too."
Michelle left the room and the door locked behind her. She made her way up the hall to Tech 1. Chloe and the two programmers were all hunched over the override.
"What have you got?" Michelle asked.
"Look at this sequence in the programming, Michelle. What do you make of it?"
"You're right, it's some sort of code. It's a way to keep anyone from getting in and stopping the override. How much did you slow the meltdowns?"
"All of the remaining facilities are below critical. At the current rate, the next one should hit critical in about an hour."
"Good," Michelle said. "That gives us some time." She looked at the programmers that worked for the manufacturer of the override. "Is there anyone else in your company who you think could help us with this?"
"Our lead programmer, Rachel Piper, may be able to help. Her master's thesis was about breaking programming codes."
"Let's get her in here. Contact her Chloe and have our people go and pick her up. We need her here as soon as possible. I'm going to go back down to Holding and talk to Tony. He has some experience in programming codes; he might be able to help."
Michelle went back down the hall to the Holding Room. Ted Everett was just giving Tony the transcript of his debrief to read over. "Tony, I hate to interrupt, but can you look at something in Tech 1."
"Sure, what is it?"
"I want you to look at this code. We're bringing in an expert in programming codes but in the meantime, I'd like you to look at it." Tony agreed and followed Michelle into Tech 1.
"Michelle," Chloe said as Michelle and Tony entered the room, "we got hold of Rachel Piper and I sent someone to pick her up. She'll be here in a half hour."
"Good," Michelle said. "Show Tony what you've got."
Tony sat down with Chloe and Michelle and the other programmers and stared at the monitor. They discussed the sequence for a few minutes and Tony began to tap on the keyboard. He hadn't broken the code, but had further slowed the rate of the meltdowns. He tried several other keystrokes and managed to shut down one reactor entirely. They spent the next twenty minutes trying in vain to further break down the code, but couldn't.
"Ms. Dessler," said a voice over the intercom. "Our agent that went to pick up Rachel Piper called in. They're about to drive up to the west entrance. Should I send someone out there to meet Ms. Piper?"
"I'll take care of it, Molly. Thank you." Michelle turned to Tony. "Would you go and meet her? You understand this code better than anyone. You can start explaining it while she clears security and you bring her down here."
"Sure," Tony said without hesitation. "I'll go get her."
He stood and left the room. Michelle smiled as she watched him. His gait was even and purposeful. He had a job to do and no one would put more heart into it than Tony. She was suddenly so proud of him and so full of love. She made a decision. When this was over, she was going to ask him to come home with her. She wanted him to move back into their home. She didn't want him living in that run down house with a barmaid anymore. She wanted him back.
Tony was leaving Tech 1 when Jack poked his head in the door. "Michelle, I just finished my debriefing and the tape went for transcription. I'm going to go over to medical. Audrey should be ready to leave. I'd like to take her back to the hotel. I should be back here by the time the transcript is ready. Is that okay with you?"
"That's fine, Jack. Take your time. If we need you, we'll get in touch with you."
"Thanks," Jack said as he turned to go to the medical unit.
Tony reached the west entrance of CTU and stepped out onto the driveway. A car pulled up onto the ramp and slowed to a stop. Tony opened the rear passenger side door and leaned in.
"Ms. Piper, I'm Tony Almeida. Thanks for coming in to help us." Rachel Piper stepped out of the car. "Right this way," Tony directed her.
He was just about to push the car door closed when he heard two shots ring out. He dropped to the ground and pulled Piper with him. "Stay low," he told her trying to use the car door as cover.
There was a sniper firing from a nearby rooftop. They obviously knew who Piper was and wanted her dead. Tony needed to make sure that didn't happen. He opened the passenger side front door to make sure that the driver was calling for help. As he did, he found the agent slumped across the front seat. He had been hit in the head. Tony felt for a pulse and knew immediately that the agent was dead. He grabbed the radio from the man's belt and took his gun from the holster.
"This is Almeida. We have an agent down. I'm pinned down by a sniper at the west entrance. I have a civilian with me. I need back up now!" he shouted into the radio.
"We copy, Almeida. Hold your position. We'll send a team to the west entrance."
"Ms. Piper, are you alright?" Tony asked the woman. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was shaking.
"What's going on? Who's shooting at us? Why are they shooting at us?" she asked her voice quivering.
"I'll explain when we get inside. Agents are coming to help us in a second. Just stay low, next to the car and you should be safe."
Tony was grateful to see a SWAT team arriving at the door to the west entrance. As they opened the door and began to move out Tony called to them, "Sniper at your 9 o'clock."
The agents spun to the left and opened fire. Tony and Rachel were shielded by the car, but the constant report of gunfire was unnerving, especially for Piper who had never been in this sort of situation before.
"What's happening?" she screamed nearly hysterical. "Make it stop! I have to get out of here." With that she stood and began to run for the entrance.
"Ms. Piper!" Tony shouted. "Get down!"
Tony stood and started firing to try and provide some cover so that Piper could reach the entrance. She ran unscathed through the door and fell, sobbing, into the arms of an agent.
Tony felt as if he had been pushed. He staggered backward a few steps; his chest suddenly burning, feeling like something had exploded inside of him. He knew he was falling and reached out to try and catch himself. He was aware of how cold the cement beneath him felt. The sun was bright in his eyes. He closed them to block it out. Now if he could just block out the constant sound of the gunfire. It reminded him of Somalia when he was a young marine. He was so scared back then. He wasn't scared any more. Somalia was so long ago and so far away. He had been in so many gun fights since then. He just wished the noise would stop so that he could rest. And as if in response to his wishes, the gunfire stopped. But there was more noise. He could hear voices and the shuffling of boots on the pavement.
He could hear shouting, but he couldn't make out any words. They seemed distant, muffled and distorted. He just wished they would be quiet. He wanted to sleep.
"Tony! Tony can you hear me?" one of the SWAT team members shouted at him.
He tried to speak, to tell them to be quiet, but he couldn't. Where was Michelle? He wanted Michelle. She would tell them to be quiet, to leave him alone. Come here, Michelle, he wanted to say. He wanted to see her pretty face, to say goodnight to her. He was so tired; he just wanted to sleep.
