Chapter 7

The Following takes place between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM.

Events Occur in Real Time.

10:00 AM

Tony, Jack, and Jay have offically made it cross the border and were 20 minutes away from the outskirts of Los Angeles, California.

10:05 AM

Crowds of people busied about Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. It seemed like any normal day, tourists flash about the area like normal. Suddenly there is an explosion, a huge chunk of Kodak Theatre is blown away, as the rest of the building crumples to the ground. Screams, shouts, and firey blasts occur around the area. Bodies, smoke, fire, and injured people cover the whole block radius. Causing mass chaos.

10:10 AM

Chase is busy working at CTU. He now analyzes and reports on the field assignments. He use to work as a field agent but quit after that horrid day that he nearly lost his hand in. He promised Jack that day that he would not return to the field and stay back at a desk and take care of his daughter, Kim. He took pride in his work too, always made the deadline, and often earlier then scheduled. At this rate he would be presented with the opporunity to advance to something with alot higher pay.

Erin Driscoll then came out of her office then, as acting director of CTU, she got everyone's attention. Chase glanced up at her from his papers, and waited for her announcement.

"Alright Everyone, We have a situation, The Kodak Theatre has been bombed, we need to find out who did this" She spoke.

10:15 AM

Chloe was sitting comfortably in a local diner she found, she entered it and found it very nice. She ordered a coffee and glanced up at the TV, it was switched to CNN. She watched it for a second waiting for her cup of Coffee.

"...this just in Hollywoods' Famous Kodak Theatre, where the Academy Awards are held annually, has been bombed...casualities unknown at this time, many injuried, unknown source of bombing, but the government is working on it..."

Chloe looked in near shock, almost relieved shes not at CTU at the moment, it would be pure chaos there at the moment, she thought to herself. Though she felt bad, as usual, about the situation, she didnt like to see such innocent lives being taken like that, and she hoped that CTU would get to the bottom of that. A sad tragedy indeed.

10:20 AM

Tony had turned off the radio right when they were getting to Los Angeles, not caring that much to listen to the radio anymore. Jack and Jay were still sound asleep. Tony wondered partly how they could sleep so soundly when the radio was playing, he wished he could sleep like that. Instead of this paranoid light sleeper he had become, waking at every noise. Always looking over his shoulder. He could partly blame this on Jack, for making him like that, but he didnt. He had a strange friendship with Jack.

He took a sigh of relief, finally being in his home town after months of being away. He wasnt home sick but he was glad to see Los Angeles was still standing. He joked sometimes that the city would explode one of these days, just because of its nature. Every morning he turned the tv onto the local news, to find someone or some people have been either murdered, kidnapped, or busted for something. Los Angeles had alot of rough parts, there were only a few decent parts, and those parts most of the time had high secruity around them because it was all rich people. He prodded Jacks' shoulder gently, trying to wake him up and concentrate on the road at the same time.

"MMMmmmmm...What?" Jack mumbled almost incoherently as he sat up straight rubbing his eyes, and yawning.

"We are back" Tony stated.

"I see that..." Jack yawned again. "Looks like it hasnt changed much..." He commented scanning the area, then looking back at Jay seeing he was still asleep. Jack didnt bother him.

"So are we heading straight to CTU?" Tony asked glancing to Jack.

"No...Kims' first, she still lives in LA right?" He asked, he wanted to see kim, and also had a strangely bad feeling about it.

"Yea, Michelle and I have become rather close to Chase and Kim, ever since you left you know?" Tony stated.

"Glad to see someones' looking after them" Jack sighed, he wished he could have been there for them himself.

"Yea..." Tony sighed, turning off onto the road leading to Kim and Chases' house.

10:25 AM

Audrey was out going to the meeting her father had told her to go to for work. She hated going to meetings, and hissed in frustration as she was now caught in the morning traffic. It wasnt moving at all. She hated being late more then going to the meetings. She tapped her fingers along the steering wheel as she scanned the area, a sea of cars she was in.

Finally the cars had started moving again, there was a black SUV behind her. She was about to edge pass an exit that was there, when the black SUV re-ended her. She stepped on her brake trying to keep control of her car, as the Black SUV pulled up beside her, the window rolled down and a gun appeared there, the gun and the hand was the only thing she saw. The rest was covered in shadow. The gun fired, hitting her front tire. She lost control of her car then spinning into the side ramp, going front first into the concrete side walls. The airbag deployed, sending her into the darkness of unconciousness as the black SUV pulled off casually. (A/N: teasing you all who want audrey to die...')

10:30 AM

Tony pulled up to Kim and Chases' house. Jack got out, trying not to wake Jay. Which he was successful in, Tony joined him as they went up to the front door. Jack was hesitated slightly at the door. Tony could fully understand this, after all Kim was now going to find out her father had been alive all the past year, which would be shocking enough. Finally Jack rang the doorbell. They heard crying in from the door as they waited for someone to answer.

"Kim had a baby girl last month..." Tony explained, the source of the crying.

"You forgot to mention to me that i had a grand daughter..." Jack hissed quietly. His heart sank even more now, he was a grand father and didnt even know it. No one answered. Jack rang the doorbell again.

"Maybe Kim is in the bathroom" Tony suggested.

"I have a bad feeling..." Jack sighed.

10:40 AM

Audrey awoke to find herself in an ambulence. She blinked rapidly trying to remember what had happened. She couldnt recall anything, anything at all. Not even her own identity. She sat up quickly, feeling dizzy then being pushed back down by hands of the EMC people.

"Just Calm down Miss, Your fine now" One said reassuring her. She scanned the area in a paranoid way.

"We will be at the hostipal soon" The one said again. She relaxed a little bit. Her head throbbed, but what worried her most was why she couldnt remember anything.

10:50 AM

Tony was now getting impatient, Jack was all over that department already. Tony pushed on the door to find it open. His brow furrowed in confusion as he stepped in slowly to find a erie silence aside from Ryley crying. Jack followed him, scanning the house.

"Kim?" Tony called out advancing inwards, Jack followed closely. They rounded the corner casually, as Tony called Kims' name again. Again No response. This began to worry both of the men, immensely. What was going on? A thought passed through their minds in unison. Tony entered the master bedroom, to find nothing. He scanned around for any clues of what was going on.

Jack took a different room. He eased the door open to see a crib, the source of the crying. He scaned the area slowly, the room was decorated in pinks, yellows, reds, and oranges, girly colors, definitly a baby room. His eyes then fell apon a limp body, his heart shattered then, just staring absently at it. He couldnt divert his attention else where, everything else became silent in his mind. Kim. Tears ran down his cheeks in a flowing river as he finally was able to tear away from his paralyzed shock and hurried over to Kims' limp body. He gathered his daughter into his arms leaning his back against the corner she was sitting in, crying, cradling her. Dried blood covered her face. He wiped it away what remained of his shirt and cradled her torso and head in his arms. He just sat there sobbing literally, his precious daughter. Dead.

He hadnt noticed Tony had found them there. Tony had started crying slightly as well, the sight of that was hauntingly fimilar. It was like that night several years back, a day he would never forget either. Tony had saw Jack that night, he was crushed. He was just the same now. Tony moved over to him and tried to bring Jack back to reality. It took him a few minutes but finally he was able to pull Kims' lifeless body away from Jacks' clutchs. Jack sat there still though as Tony laid Kims' body straight on the floor then moved to Jack again, he wasnt back yet, still off in his mind.

"Im sorry Kim...im so sorry" He was muttering putting his head into his hands.

11:00 AM