Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, I do have an idea where the story is going, but if you have any ideas, please, PLEASE tell me in your reviews.
Lidbit91: Oh, the awkward moments, I love those too. And I know that Saunders thing is weird, but I'll explain it in this chapter.
Anonymous: Hehe, yeah I know, kinda harsh but, oh well.
RedSoxGirl77: Yeah, but I might have trouble thinking of ways to keep the plot going, which is why I need all of your suggestions.
Chapter 2 – Leather Jacket, Michelle!
Michelle's POV
There weren't really any words to describe the look on Tony's face; it was just well… there weren't any words for it.
There was a moment of awkward silence for a second, and I could feel Jack awkwardly looking back and forth at Tony and me to see who would break the silence.
It was Tony, "And the possible new threat would be…?"
"The release of the Cordilla Virus," Jack said. "That would be the only reason this guy would have his phone, cause he probably worked with him and needed a few vials of the virus. And we have it on recording."
"That doesn't make any sense" Tony responded, "I thought we wiped out every bit of the virus a year and a half ago."
"Well, I guess we were wrong," Jack said.
"And most importantly, Stephan Saunders is dead!" Tony replied.
Well, glad to see you've been paying attention… I thought to myself, then started saying, "But we're not exactly sure it was him. All we know is that the caller ID said Stephan Saunders, and the recording was listened to by several agents, identifying the voice on the other line as man about 35 or 40 years of age. It could have been someone else with his phone."
"But why or how could anyone obtain this guy's phone? We already took the one he was using when he found him, and there's no possible way anyone could have gotten that phone, even an insider."
"So I guess that the only possible way anyone could have a phone with his name on it would be if Saunders had one we didn't know about." Jack cut in. "And someone who must have worked close with him, must have had it while he was working with him during the virus threat. Someone I guess we didn't catch."
"The Nuclear Facilities where Seen worked is sending over as much of the recording that was saved before it was sent to Division. Then we can debate whether the guy on the other line was Stephan Saunders or not."
"Alright, that matter is settled, but what about the Cordilla Virus? How is that possible?" Tony questioned.
"Well, it's possible whoever was working with Saunders and has his phone, was obviously holding back on a few vials, saving them in case Saunders' plan failed which it did. But after it did, the nation's security was so tight, that this guy couldn't possibly use them. He needed to wait until things had cooled down, and during the process he must have come across Marwan and his associates. They must have made a deal and this was their contingency plan. But I guess they didn't think it would work, seeing as it didn't work last time. So they decided to sketch out the entire nuclear missile plan, knowing that none of us would ever think of the possibility of replaying a past threat. And I guess the nuclear missile issue was just a distraction." I said.
"And we can assume that this will go down within the next hour and a half?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, maybe even sooner," Jack replied.
"And how are we going to go about in stopping that from happening?" Tony asked.
"I'll brief everybody, and have Chloe and Edgar analyze any of the saved recording and information from the cell phone that the NF are sending to us. As soon as we have any location whatsoever, I'm sending Jack and Curtis to check it out. But in the meantime, we need to make as many background checks as possible. Search the name Patrick Seen, any other alias he could have used or anyone who could have or did have contact with Stephan Saunders."
"How do we know that the man on the other end wasn't Marwan himself?" Jack asked.
"That's a possibility we'll have to check into." I responded. "But I see no reason for Marwan to have both phones. Until we have a location, I want you and Tony to check any contacts of Seen or Saunders in the past four years. That's all." And I left the room.
Tony's POV
Jack and I were working on what Michelle had assigned us to do. It was sort of weird seeing Jack in a desk behind a computer, but it reminded me of the "old days" when he was my boss, Director of CTU. I almost smiled thinking about it.
"So Jack, how long have you been in on this?" I asked.
"What, you mean in on the whole Stephan Saunders thing?" he replied.
"Well, yeah."
"Look, I know you hate being out of the loop, which is why it was my first reaction to tell you about it, but Michelle only wanted the higher-up people from Division, herself, and me, - since I was in the field and could head up any locations they might have found – to know about it until further notice."
"I see." I got it now, she wasn't still used to working under me; she just didn't want to tell me. And she was trying to flatter me in the conference room, at least I think. I felt sort of stupid believing that she still had any respect for me, if she did, she would have told me in the first place.
My thoughts were interrupted by Edgar calling, "Ms. Dessler, we have the recording from Seen's phone."
Jack. Curtis and I walked over to Chloe's station where Edgar was, as well as Michelle and Bill Buchanan.
Chloe played it and we were able to hear a broken up conversation with a lot of background noise, but could just barely make out what they were saying, but many bits were lost or unclear.
Seen: When will we be able to…Cordilla Virus?
"Stephan Saunders": soon…
Seen: what about Marwan…?
"Stephan Saunders": I'll take care of him… don't worry
Seen: What time… release?
"Stephan Saunders": The scheduled time… by the sunrise, CTU would have lost… Disconnected
"It's not him," Michelle noted. "It's not Stephan Saunders."
"How do you know?" Bill asked.
"The accent," Jack said, reading her thoughts, "it's not British."
Why didn't I pick that up? "So now we know that whoever his guy is, he has Stephan Saunders' phone and must have worked for or with him."
"We did a voice analization, and we came across about 50 close matches," Chloe spoke, "we did a few background checks and came across a guy name Marcus Smith. He was one of our 50 voice matches and has had active contact with terrorists. He fled the country about a year to two years ago. We were able to trace the call but since we don't have the source – the cell phone – so we can't get a precise location. All we know is that the call was made some where in Los Angeles, that's for sure, and most likely in an 8-14 mile radius from here. We traced that with any place Smith has been in the past four years. We couldn't come up with anything precise, but we did find out that he's been using the alias "Carter Jones". And we found that the Courier Hotel has a guest listed as Carter Jones. And it's located in about an 11 mile radius from here, so I think we have a match."
"Chloe, you're sure?" Bill confirmed.
"A hundred percent." She verified.
"Alright," he replied, with an uneasy look on his face.
Michelle's POV
As soon as I heard that, I said, "Alright, Jack and Curtis are going to head up a team to the Courier Hotel…"
"I think that's a mistake," Bill spoke up.
"What do you mean?" Tony asked.
"Curtis stays here; Jack and Michelle are going to head up the teams." He replied.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Michelle, you were inside the Chandler Plaza Hotel during the release of the Cordilla Virus, weren't you?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Then you know how to handle the situation, right?"
"Yes."
"And not only that, you're the only agent who we know is a hundred percent immune."
"That's true."
"So I need you to head you the teams in case there are any out breaks of the virus. You're immune; you won't be affected by it. We'll have teams on standby in bio-suits, but we can't put them in the building unless necessary since we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. You have to do this Michelle."
At first, I was confused and silent. The time I spent inside the Chandler Plaza Hotel was the worst experience of my life. But I knew this was my duty, and I'm literally the only hope if the virus breaks out again. I'm the only one here who's immune to the virus. I was torn between what to do, but after a second I replied, "I'll do it." I took a look at Tony, he almost seem hurt. But I brushed it off; I'm just thinking that because I want it to be true, he doesn't care, not a bit…
"Alright," Bill replied, "let's get you prepared then." He walked Jack and me to get briefed, and I could just feel Tony staring after us. I took a deep breath; I was scared. And it was almost stupid when you think of it, but it wasn't the mission I was scared of, it was the leather jacket. Every agent had a jacket and pants fitted for them, field agent or not. I wore that same jacket when I was in the Chandler Plaza Hotel, kidnapped by Saunders, and when I kissed Tony goodbye. It was that jacket I wore when I lost everything. And those memories are much too much for me, but I'd have to push them aside, for I was going back into the field for the first time in 18 months, and this mission could cost millions of lives.
O.K., so not a lot of T/M in this chapter, but there will be, I promise. Please review, I need suggestions, after all this is my first fanfic. Thank you. The next few updates may be kinda slow, but hang in there.