Chapter 6

Jack ducked down, seeking cover from the bullets and cocking his gun. He had taken it from one of Ramon's men after he had knocked him out and dragged him into the woods. The plan had been to go back, knowing that Hector was the weakest link and with the advantage of a hidden gun. But now he didn't have to do anything anymore. He had heard them argue from a distance and when the shooting had started, he had been glad he wasn't in the line of fire. With almost all of Ramon's and Hector's men gathered inside, it was a mere bloodshed.

And all I have to do is wait and see who's gonna make it. And take care of the survivors. He felt sick and cowered down, fearing he would have to throw up, pressing his hand before his mouth. But the feeling passed. At least he didn't have to worry about Nina. She still had to assume that there were sniper rifles aimed at her head. She would come back.

The gunfire had ceased and Jack got to his feet, carefully sneaking up to one of the windows. It was hard to make out details in the darkness that had fallen, but he could recognize the bodies lying around. Again he felt a wave of sickness and it was probably what saved his life. Feeling his stomach turn at the sight, he flinched and when the bullet cut through the silence it missed him only by inches. He ducked down immediately and waited a few seconds before he moved, away from the window, keeping his head down. Reaching the doorpost, he counted to three.

Even though he hadn't seen the shooter he had a pretty good idea where he was, regarding the trajectory of the bullet. But he couldn't risk going inside, not knowing how many others there were still alive. Firing a series of shots towards where he thought his assailant was, he crossed the entrance corridor instead, immediately seeking cover again. In the silence he heard a sigh and then the sound of a gun dropping heavily to the ground. He waited a few moments longer, but there was nothing. At first.

"Jack," he heard a weak voice calling his name. "Is that you?"

Carefully he peered around the corner and, when he felt it was safe, stepped inside.

Ramon was lying in the back of the room, his head and shoulders leaning against the wall, blood pooling on his shirt and on the ground beneath him. Holding him at gunpoint Jack tiptoed through the room, noticing they were the only ones still breathing. And by the looks of it, he would be the last one soon.

"Jack," Ramon said, trying to laugh but ending up coughing. "You really got me looking stupid."

"Drop the gun," Jack ordered, approaching him slowly, aiming at his head.

"I didn't think I could make the same mistake twice," Ramon went on, ignoring him and not letting go of the gun in his hand which lied lifeless beside his body. "How long has CTU been around?"

"What?"

"I think you can give up the act now. There's no need to humiliate me any further."

He knew he could but he didn't understand. The whole time Hector and Ramon had been fighting about whether CTU was involved or not. If Ramon suddenly believed they were, then why the shooting? "I just wanna know, how did you do it, Jack?" Ramon asked. "How did they know where we were? For how long have they been following us?"

"Drop the gun, Ramon, and we can talk about it."

"Talk about it?" Ramon burst into a laughter before another fit of coughing stopped him. Clearly in pain he waited a few seconds before he continued. "The woman, Jack. Is she in on it too? In that case you really have to tell me how you made her -"

"Why do you think CTU is here?" Jack cut him short, hesitating to take the next step when he noticed Ramon clenching the gun a little tighter, yet not making any move as to lifting it.

"Oh, let me think, Jack," Ramon growled sarcastically. "Maybe the fact that someone took out the snipers I had placed in the hills or maybe the fact that neither Xavier nor the woman have come back yet."

"What do you mean someone took them out?" Jack asked alarmed.

Still glaring at him, Ramon took his time to answer, probably trying to figure out if Jack really didn't have a clue.

"What is going on, Ramon?" Jack urged him. "I can still help you. It's not too late."

A smile appeared on Ramon's face, a malicious smirk as he understood.

"She really yanked your chain, Jack." And laughing out loud he didn't seem to care about the pain anymore or the blood he was coughing up. "I have no idea how she did it but she took us all for a ride."

Jack faltered. If Ramon's men had been taken down by someone, it surely hadn't been Nina. The guy he had sent along with her wouldn't be a problem for her but she couldn't have taken care of the snipers on her own. But who else was around and could have an interest in getting rid off the Salazars.

Amador. He must have monitored the area and been around long before we arrived. Jack swore under his breath. How could they have been so stupid to think he wouldn't. He had been the one to set the time and location. Of course he had made arrangements to assure there would be no surprises waiting for him. And with the ties that seemed to exist between him and Nina, he was probably more than willing to help her out. Dammit!

"She's some piece of work, Jack," Ramon stated, still laughing as if he was having the time of his life at this. "I'll leave it to you to figure out how she did it. Good luck, Jack. I see you in hell."

Jack pulled the trigger instantly and Ramon never managed to lift his arm more than a few inches from the ground before the bullets tore through his chest and the impact smashed him back against the wall.

Ready to fire again if it was necessary, Jack held his breath. Ramon's head was bent to the side and his eye lids were flattering shut as life quickly left his body, but there was still the same smile on his face.

Click.

Jack startled and his hand twitched but then he realized what the sound was. With his last breath Ramon had pulled the trigger, the gun still lying in his hand, the firing pin hitting an empty cartridge case.

Staring down at the dead body, feeling his legs tremble slightly, Jack took a deep breath and rested for a second before a thought invaded his mind.

Hectically he kneeled down and searched Ramon's pocket for his mobile, swearing when he found it shattered. Hector, he thought and jumped to his feet, looking for him among the bodies spread out around him, fumbling in the darkness and the sticky wetness of bloodshed.

-x-

She had barely looked up from the computer when the gunfire had torn the silence. Not shocked or in surprise, rather casually, and Amador had watched her attentively as she had seemed to count the shots. It surely had been a lot of them.

Now it was silent again, and he got his cell phone out.

"What do you got for me?" he asked when his call was being answered.

"They are all down. Except for one. Looks like it's Bauer."

"Are you sure?" he asked, just as another shot went off in the distance. He could sense Nina looking up again.

"Yes," the confirmation came after a moment. "Seems he just got rid off his last problem. Should I take him out?"

Amador hesitated. He couldn't need any witnesses but then again Bauer might come in handy once Nina was on her way. He had thought about taking her out right away and dropping her body off with the remains of the Salazars, but for some strange reason he wasn't comfortable with the idea of killing her personally. The bomb had seemed a much more convenient approach - quick, efficient, impersonal. And now, in case it would for some reason not serve its purpose and kill her, Bauer certainly would. At best they would both die and divert attention from him even more. Things just kept getting better.

"No. That's all."

He slipped the cell back into his coat and turned to Nina who in her turn handed him a phone. He took it from her and got the confirmation that the money had been successfully transferred to his account.

"Thank you," he said and handed the phone back. "As always, it's been a pleasure to work with you, Nina." And placing the briefcase on the table in front of her he added: "You might be pleased to hear that your little problem is solved."

"So I heard," she said, running her fingers over the handle and pulling closer what was hers now. "Any survivors?" she sighed without looking up.

"No," he stated calmly. "Seems the Salazar brothers had some internal incompatibilities. I took the liberty to let my men take care of the rest."

"Thank you, Michael," she said, sounding actually honest.

"Our business is done then," he explained quickly. "For now. I would offer you a ride but I think we'd both be more comfortable with going our separate ways."

"Absolutely," she agreed, getting a firm grip around the handle and lifting the briefcase off the table.

"You will find the vehicles still intact once you get back to the shed."

She gave him a look he wasn't quite familiar with and studied his features for a moment. He started feeling uncomfortable. Better to get this over with.

"Well, I have business to take care of, and I'm sure you do as well" he said in his usual professional tone . "I'll be in touch."

It was time to get going and then finish what was still to finish.

Once he was in the car, he got his cell phone out again, making sure everything was going down according to plan. He didn't expect any more trouble, but even in case they would run into difficulties, there was no need to worry. They were taking different routes and he had two mobile units on higher ground. They were prepared if anything would get in their way.

"Go," he told the driver and cast a last look out of the window, watching Nina taking off into the darkness.

-x-

The air in the conference room seemed to get thinner and Tony cast a quick glance at his wristwatch. Sitting around and wait had never been his strong point.

Across the table Chappelle was sitting, skimming a report that Tony had studied earlier as well.

"This is all we got?" Chappelle asked and Tony nodded.

"So far it is."

Irritated, Chappelle dropped the file on the table. "This is nothing. This tells us nothing we didn't already know. Less, actually, than we already know."

"I agree," Tony said, scratching his chin.

"So we have no idea who she's working for?"

"No," he confirmed. "We don't even know for how long she's been back in business."

The door opened and Michelle rushed in.

"It's Jack. Line 3."

Tony shot forward in his chair and noticed Chappelle straightening up as well.

"Jack, it's Tony."

"Tony," they heard Jack's voice over the speaker. "You have to book Amador."

"Jack, what's happening?" Tony asked, not happy about the lousy reception. "What about the virus? Did you get a visual?"

"I can't explain everything that's happened, Tony, you gotta trust me on this. The virus will be either with Nina or with Amador, and they are probably traveling together as we speak."

"Amador and Nina?" Tony repeated. "Why should they -"

"Just get to Amador," Jack cut him short and Tony turned to Michelle but she had already grabbed the other phone, forwarding the order to the delta units in place.

"I'll take care of Nina if she's not with him," Jack continued.

"Where are you?"

"At a shed not far from the place where the exchange went down," he answered, followed by the sound of an acoustic signal. "Look, Tony, I don't have time, my battery is dying. Just get Amador."

"And how do we -"

"I'll call again," was the last they heard before the line went dead.

"Dammit!" Tony yelled, pushing the button on the phone harder than necessary.

"Amador is on the move but delta teams are closing in," Michelle reported, finishing her call as well. "They should get to him within a few minutes."

"Good," Tony growled. At least something.

"Do we have Amador's last position?" Chappelle asked Michelle.

"Yes, I think so."

"Good. I want two teams to that location as well."

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Because if the deal just went down then probably where Amador was," Chappelle explained as if he couldn't' believe he was the only one thinking logically. "And Jack just told us he's nearby."

"Yeah, I get that, Ryan. But why two teams to pick up Jack?"

"Well, I haven't been to too many auctions like this but I have a hard time imagining that auctioneer and buyer are leaving the area together."

"You think Nina is still around?" Tony asked.

"If she is, and if she's got the virus, then we got a situation that makes me feel highly uncomfortable," Chappelle explained. "The two of them together are a lethal combination and in the worst case we got a deadly virus in between them."

Tony hesitated. He knew of course Chappelle was right but he also knew that Jack would never let his ambition to kill Nina jeopardize the mission or risk the lives of millions of people. He just wouldn't. Or would he?

"I don't get why he thinks Nina should be with Amador in the first place," Michelle interjected.

"Wasn't the last we heard that he got her to cooperate?" Chappelle asked, and both he and Michelle looked at him now as if he was supposed to know the answer.

"I don't know," he growled. "I can only guess she did what she always does. She turned on him."