Chapter 11
They were driving on the road again but still without lights, and while Jack seemed to be out to hit every bump there was, Nina became more and more irritated.
"Do you even have any idea where you wanna go?"
"For the moment I'm just trying not to hit anything," he growled without as much as glaring at her.
She was sitting on the passenger seat now and although she knew the only reason was that Jack felt more comfortable with her next to him than in his back, she was grateful. At least this way she could rest her arm and didn't have to hold it in this painful angle again. Besides that she really didn't feel like much of a threat to him.
Once he had gotten back inside the car, he had checked the glove compartment, making sure the gun was still in there. What did he think she was gonna do with it? Without ammunition. Attacking him earlier had been stupid and she had gotten her instant reward, but she had just not been willing to give up without a last fight - regardless how pointless. Not when she knew there still had been a chance to get out of this - if she could only get rid off Jack. And in her defense: she hadn't known he wasn't gonna kill her, or not yet at least.
"What happens when my client calls?"
She couldn't waste any more time. She needed an answer.
"You're gonna pick up and listen to what he has to say."
"And why should I -" she started but he cut her short.
"Because if you don't, he's gonna wonder what happened to you. And sooner or later he'll have to assume that you decided to make a run instead." He turned his head and she thought actually to see the glimpse of a grin on his face. "And we know what's gonna happen then."
He had set her up. She couldn't but smile at the realization. He had played her. All the I-don't-know's, the just make the call, his despair so openly displayed - it had all just been an act. Or maybe not and he had just come to think of it now, but he was using it against her. And he had been stalling. Cause he knew she would demand some kind of solution for this whole dilemma before she was gonna get the information from her client. He couldn't make her tell him what she didn't know, and she was the only one who could answer that phone. She had thought she had at least a little buffer zone but apparently she didn't. Cause he was right. As soon as her cell phone was ringing, she would have to answer it if she didn't want her client to get suspicious.
"Well done," she admitted, trying to sound casually.
"I learnt from the best."
She glanced over at him, ignoring his sarcasm and quickly analyzing the new situation. Once again he had thwarted her plans, forcing her to come up with something new.
"So what's the plan ? You're gonna beat the location out of me?"
"That's always an option," he said without the hint of an emotion in his voice, his gaze still fixed on the road.
Yeah, and I'm sure you would enjoy it.
"And then what? You call CTU, and they're gonna barge in there?"
"I doubt they're gonna knock at the door," he replied and she knew how to interpret the fact that he'd gotten his sense of humor back. She still knew him better than most people did. He felt pretty good about this and right now he was optimistic that things would go his way. If she wanted to go them her way, she would have to do something to make him change his mind.
"You're just gonna walk in there and arrest him, pick up the virus? You think it's that easy?
He didn't answer, pretending not to be the least bit interested in what she had to say. But she knew he was listening.
"I bet you also thought it wasn't gonna be a problem to arrest him after he'd delivered the virus," she continued, trying to sow the seed of doubt. "How many units did CTU have in the area?"
A small reaction as his hands seemed to clench the steering wheel a little tighter.
"And what if I give you a wrong location. And he's not even there." What then, Jack?
Another reaction as he glared at her. She was making progress but it was taking too much time. Time she didn't have. Her client could call any moment.
"People could die, Jack," she said, choosing the intonation carefully.
And her words didn't miss their purpose. He slammed on the brakes and the sudden force threw her forward, causing her to instinctively use her arm to avoid a collision with the dashboard. Pain shot through her body, and she couldn't avoid to scream out.
"Just so we're clear about that," Jack hissed, turning around on his seat to face her. "I didn't break you out to let you walk. The only reason you're still alive is that you might be able to help me get this virus, so you better do whatever you can to make that happen."
Hearing him loud and clear despite the pain, she slumped back into her seat, her eyes fixed on the windscreen.
"I know all you want at this point is to save your skin, but all I want is still to see you dead. Nothing has changed, Nina."
No, it hadn't. And it wouldn't. Not unless she could get away from him.
-x-
It was the truth. Nothing more and nothing less. He knew it, she knew it, and there was no reason to tiptoe around it.
"You want a way out of this? There is no way out. And you know what's the best part?" He almost laughed. "You got yourself into this."
She didn't say anything and he turned the key and started the motor again, driving off into the dark nothingness that lay ahead of them.
He had obviously given her something to think about because for the next good minute they just drove in silence. It felt good although he knew his little outbreak hadn't changed a thing. They were still in the same situation, with the same stakes and the same moves.
"Let's put the cards on the table, Nina."
"I thought that was what you just did," she replied coldly.
"No. I just told you what they're summing up to."
She sneered but didn't comment.
"Which is not too hard since you only have one card," he continued. "And the best way to play it out in your situation would be without me around of course."
Knowing he was turning her little game around at her, she just stared ahead, not showing any reaction.
"I know you think if you could only get away from me, you could go after Amador yourself and deliver the virus to your client and all of your problems would be solved. But I'm still here, Nina, and you're not going anywhere unless I want you to."
Displaying a rather bored expression, she turned her head and looked at him. She had always been better at hiding her emotions and playing it cool, but it wouldn't help her now. He knew he was right.
"And killing me is more important than getting that virus?" she asked. "Cause why would I let you get both?"
"You don't get it, Nina, do you? I don't care what you do or why. I just know I'll get at least one of those two."
Again she sneered.
"Of course you care. If you didn't, you wouldn't have broken me out. You would have brought me back to L.A. and waited for them to break me," she called his bluff. "But you didn't. Because you knew I had nothing to lose anymore. So you brought me out here, letting me get my hopes up for a moment only to break me again." She sighed. "I can see your cards too, Jack. It took me a little longer this time, but I got it eventually."
"Oh yeah? Then you know what's gonna happen next, don't you?" he replied, curious about her answer. But the good feeling was definitely gone.
"I think you don't even know yourself," she said and gave him an insistent look. "First you're breaking me out because you know CTU has nothing to offer that would make me talk, but then you refuse to make any offer yourself. What kind of strategy is that, Jack?"
"No strategy, Nina. I'm sick and tired of your games and I'm not in for another round. That's all."
"My games?" She darted a brief glare at him. She obviously had a different opinion on this matter but stopped herself from starting a debate. He saw why. She was running out of time.
"So that's it? I die, and you don't care whether I tell you how to get to Amador first or not? Your revenge is more important to you than the virus? You really want me to believe that, Jack?"
Yes. Yes, that's exactly what I want you to believe. He wanted to believe it himself.
"You think I have to make a decision?" she continued. "But I don't. You do." And for once there was no mockery in her voice.
She was right. Of course, and once again, she was right. And deep down he knew he had been fooling himself. If his revenge was really more important to him than the virus, they wouldn't even have this conversation. He would have killed her the first time he had had her at gunpoint or the latest a few minutes ago. But nothing had changed since this morning. What he really wanted the most, what he just had to do was still securing that damn virus. That was the only reason why he had taken off with her. Because he had remembered something, right after Chappelle had given the order to bring her in.
The deeper you bring him into the system, the more he's gonna shut down.
Nina's words from three years ago, and he knew now what he had known back then, although he had ignored her remark, blinded by his anger and just not willing to be open to her argument. But this part of the job had always been her expertise rather than his. She had done the profiling, the analyzing, the brain-work. He had once told her so himself. He was still a soldier, a field agent, and he would always be. He had never been happy with the desk and the paperwork.
She knew what she was talking about, and now I do too. And that was why he had broken her out. Because he had been trying to make it possible for her to cooperate. There was no way out for her? But that was exactly what he had been looking for. And the realization that he had actually put himself in her shoes and seen things her perspective - it had been too much. He still couldn't cope with it and even now desperately tried to convince himself that he didn't care, that he was not gonna play along anymore, that he would end it now, no matter what.
But he knew she was right. It was his decision after all, and deep down he knew he had already made it.
-x-
Seeing him brooding over what she had been feeding him, she leaned back and eyed him pensively. It was amazing. Nothing, absolutely nothing had changed over the last thirty minutes. Nothing substantial. Amador still had the virus, Jack wanted it, and she was the only link to it. The setting was exactly what it had been since the moment that bomb had gone off. Still the interplay of forces hadn't lost its dynamics. One minute she was literally down on the ground, without a choice, without a say, and the next one she was up on her feet again, still a bit groggy but strong enough to make demands.
The game they were playing, they had been playing even the last time they had met - it was a negotiation game. A bargaining situation in which both of them constantly tried to gain the upper hand but could never keep it long enough to dictate the stipulations once and for all. The position of strength, the distribution of power and leverage usually kept shifting back and forth between them. As if they were playing a tennis match where the one with the ball on his racket had a temporary advantage.
But now the ball hadn't crossed the net in a while. The outer circumstances and the stakes hadn't changed, nothing new had added to the equation. It was a time-out. But sitting on their benches, sizing each other up, they hadn't stopped playing. They just continued on a different level.
It was all about psychology. About being more determined to win than the opponent, and about convincing him of exactly that. That you were more willing to win than he was, ready to go longer than he was and sacrifice more than he would. Of course, Jack wasn't thinking about it in these categories, he wasn't exactly the intellectual-theoretical type. But he had made his moves, and for a while he had had her pretty convinced.
Not long enough though. And now she had responded. And judging by the way he stared ahead in consternation, she was still the better player.
But I still need a way out of this. He was right too, she wouldn't get away from him now. If she wanted to live, she had to be careful with her last trump. But if she withheld that information, he wouldn't have a reason to keep her alive. She would have to give it up eventually. Speaking of security dilemmas...
If she could only convince him that this wasn't a zero-sum-game, that there not necessarily had to be a winner and a loser. It could still be a win-win-situation, they could both go home with what they had been coming for all along. But he wouldn't understand it unless she would really put all her cards on the table, and she simply couldn't see a point in taking that risk. Cause even if he understood - he wasn't even willing to let her live, let alone walk away with anything. She had managed to straighten him out, get him focused on the mission again, realize that the virus was more important than her death. But in the long run, it didn't get her anywhere. He was still gonna kill her once she wasn't useful anymore.
Well, we'll see about that. For the moment she was in a slightly better position again – thanks to her talents on manipulating a situation, manipulating him. Recognizing an opportunity and taking it. She had done it before and she could do it again. And as far as the getting away from him part was concerned - she had done that before as well. After all, she was still alive. And she had every intention to keep it that way.
Her cell rang, and she felt the familiar thrill again. This wasn't over yet. She was digging here, she knew it. Digging her own grave and he was watching, only waiting for her to finish and let go of the shovel. But the decisive factor was that she wasn't panicking or praying for some miracle to happen, that the sky would open up and she'd be saved. She kept going because she - if anyone - knew that things could take a turn for the better again within seconds. They could also take a turn for the worse, also within seconds, but she would deal with that when the time was there. If it was gonna happen. Right now she was alone with Jack and he still wanted something from her.
"Are you gonna answer?"
She glanced over to him, taking her time just to see his reaction. Was he nervous? Tensed definitely.
She flipped the phone open. "Yes." And listened to what her client had to tell her, memorizing the details while she was skimpy with her replies.
"Okay. Is the plane still waiting?" she asked and got a confirmation.
She waited. Hoping he would think of it himself and offer to send a new escort over. But she hadn't mentioned all her men were dead, and he never cared to ask. With Jack sitting next to her she could hardly bring it up herself. But it was probably better this way.
"Alright. I'll get back to you," she told her client.
"You better," he said before he hung up, and there was a clear warning in his intonation. He was getting impatient and even though he hadn't uttered a single threat, he knew how to get his point across. But for the moment he obviously still trusted her enough. If he knew...
"So?" Jack asked, sounding impatient as well.
"I got a location," she revealed what was obvious, her hands playing with the cell phone in her lap. It was Jack's turn now to proceed with this morbid play but he was still struggling with himself. Taking the initiative might get her a small advantage to start with.
"He's gonna go there by car. Which means we can still catch up with him if -".
"Forget it, Nina," he cut her short, knowing what she was thinking of. "We're not going anywhere."
She sighed. "Then what's your plan, Jack? Calling CTU, get me back there and have them torture me until I tell you where to go? Or do you wanna try yourself?"
She knew she was playing a risky game challenging him like that. But what did she have to lose. If she wasn't telling him voluntarily, it only came down to those options. He knew it as well and glared at her but he didn't say anything.
"I can't stop you," she stated calmly. "But I can stall." Or if you don't leave me any other option... "Or I can just give up." He knew she had been at that point already. She'd rather not go there again, and she wasn't sure she would, but what was important was that he believed she would if he didn't leave her any choice. "And every minute we lose might be one too much."
Again he glared at her and she could see his hand twitch as if he was tempted to hit her again.
"Get to the point," he snarled.
"There's a plane waiting for me."
"I got that. And who else is waiting on that plane?"
"Just the pilots and one more man. Everyone else was with me."
He gave her a skeptical look.
"I didn't bring an army along, Jack."
"Go ahead," he let it go for the moment, apparently at least willing to hear her out. And she submitted her offer.
"I'll get you to Amador, and I'll help you get the virus. All I want is a chance to rewire my client's funds."
He glanced at her and sneered. "Now that was new, Nina. You don't want anything for yourself?"
"I wanna stay alive and the only way to do that is to get both of you what you want," she made her point, sounding more desperate than she had intended to.
"I thought he wanted the virus," Jack retorted indifferently.
"Well, he won't be happy if he doesn't get it but he might not kill me if he at least gets his money back."
"Right. And then you'll be a good girl and let me bring you in?" He didn't look at her but the sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable.
"I guess neither one of us would believe me if I said I wasn't gonna try to get away when there's a chance," she sighed.
"Or get rid off me and obtain both the virus and the money," he added.
"That, of course, being my best option," she admitted promptly. No need to pretend. They were just stating facts. And she knew the way he was glaring at her now. The way he always looked when he knew he had to do something he really didn't want to do.
