"Come on," Jack urged, moving out from the spot behind the crates and into the open space of the dimmed and deserted room. He watched Heller carefully and relaxed a little seeing he was moving at full capacity once again.
They sprinted towards the door Jack had indicated earlier, Heller peered out of the small box window before charging through it, he could see nobody in the shadows so he tugged at the handle, stopping slightly startled when he realised the door was locked. He looked at Jack, unsure of what to do, Jack frowned before running his hands roughly through his hair.
If they took a different corridor he couldn't be sure of where it would lead, this led the directly to cover, and possibly a source of communication too. He considered kicking the door down, but knew the noise would attract attention. Which option should be chose?
Heller could see the frustration in Jack, he was torn and didn't know what to do for the best. The decision was taken out of there hands when sudden shouts could be herd, closer than any of the ones from earlier. Jack instructed Heller to take out the door as he ran to the entrance they had ran through and peered around the corner, looking for the hostiles. Heller fired a round at the door before kicking it open and yelling to Jack. Jack turned to follow him, bullets sprayed the doorframe just seconds after he moved.
Heller was running but not fast enough, Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him along, before ordering him to continue on as they had planned. Heller looked over his shoulder at Jack as he stopped every few seconds to fire back at the advancing men, he knew not to wait for him, it wasn't what Jack would want.
Turning the corner into the corridor Jack had described to him Heller willed himself to move faster and not stop. He could hear the gunfire continue but he didn't like his separation from Jack. Ignoring his conscience he pushed on and made it to the next large room. With his hand on his side form the stitch he found he needed to stop again, he looked for a place to hide, and decided to crouch down in the far corner of the room where he would be hidden by strategically placed barrels. He closed his eyes as he tried to quieten his breathing down, he was out of breath and exhausted.
Jack skidded on the floor as he stopped to shoot again, the men were catching up, he knew it was only pure luck that he hadn't been hit yet. He knew he was going to get shot if he continued on, he had to stop them from getting Heller. Taking a deep breath Jack stopped running and hid behind a metal cabinet near the end of the room and waited for the men to catch up.
As his shots stopped, so did the hostiles. They were curious, he realised, and hoped he would be able to hold them off long enough for Heller to make contact with CTU. Suddenly a deep voice broke out through the silence, Jack recognised it immediately, it was Omar.
"Come out now, Mr. Heller and we shall continue on gracefully."
Jack closed his eyes as he thought about how to do this. He wasn't quick enough though, as Omar continued, beginning to paint the real picture of what was happening.
"Or is it Mr. Bauer?"
Jack swallowed, knowing there was only one way he could do this. Heller stayed silent and hidden in the next room, the large vacant spaces and high concrete ceilings allowing him to hear the echoing voices clearly.
"I'll throw my weapon out, don't shoot!"
Omar smiled in satisfaction, "Go ahead."
Jack slid his gun across the floor, but stayed put behind the cabinet.
"Come out now, with your hands behind your head, and we will not harm you."
Jack knew it wasn't true, he could hear the glee in Omar's voice. He had almost blown everything, now it was all getting back on track, Marwan would never have to know of the mistakes he had made.
"I'm coming out," Jack yelled, waiting another moment for his gut to confirm with his brain that this was the right action.
Heller listened feeling angry with himself for just sitting there. He should either be taking the head start Jack had given him or storming in to save Jack from giving himself up. Thoughts about how he had signed the document for Audrey rolled through his mind; he had done that for his daughter, giving himself up would be a similar display, only this time for Jack. He really wanted to do it, but could he allow America to be humiliated through his death? He realised with a sickening feeling that if it was Audrey they had, he wouldn't hesitate.
Jack stepped out from behind the cabinet, Omar and another three men were facing him, each holding a weapon and looking angry. Angry didn't quite cut it; they were furious that they had dared to try and stop them. He hadn't raised his hands as ordered, they rested loosely but his sides, as though that alone could buy him some more time.
Heller herd footsteps approaching from behind him and tensed, curling up to make himself as small as possible so he wouldn't be spotted in the dark room. He felt a small surge of energy as he watched the men run right by him into the next room, not seeing him; but it was destroyed when he realised they too were going to deal with Jack who had given himself up. He closed his eyes as more noises emitted from the room, he knew what was happening, he couldn't bare to listen.
"Hands on your head," Omar snarled, raising his gun so it was level to Jacks face trying to intimidate him. There was still a hundred yards between them, but Jack knew they would shoot him down if he turned to run. He slowly raised his hands as he herd more voices, they were behind him too. Hands now clasped on his head Jack glared at Omar as he smirked, before making eye contact with the men stood behind him and nodded his head curtly.
Jack closed his eyes and tensed, knowing what was about to happen. He fell forward from the first blow to his head and was on the ground before he knew it. His knees pulled up into his stomach with his hands covering his face Jack took the blows as best as he could, squinting through his eyes between hits he could see the two men attacking him. The three men from earlier were still stationed behind Omar as though preparing to protect him should Jack pull some sudden trick from his sleeve.
The attack was quick but damaging, his whole body ached and he realised he was shaking from the shock of the sudden and vicious attack. He clenched his fists and ignored the pain as best he could, before his arms were grabbed by two men and he was pulled up between them. He stared at Omar through groggy eyes, wishing they would just get this over with, Heller should have made contact by now.
"Where's Heller," Omar demanded, too arrogant to add a threat to his demand.
Jack just shook his head weakly as he blinked, he was hurting more than he head realised, or maybe the pain was becoming more intense now that the attack has ended. He didn't doubt more pain would come.
Annoyed by Jacks ignorance Omar moved forward, pressing his gun into Jacks cheek turning his head with the force. Jack didn't look concerned, he just started at the man tiredly, not fighting the pressure of the gun.
Heller took another deep breath as he stood shakily, knowing he had to do this. "That's enough," he yelled, moving into the room with his hands raised showing no threat. The three spare men ran over grabbing him before he could slip away again. Jack allowed the first groan of pain to slip through his lips as he realised what Heller had done. Moving away Omar holstered his weapon as a triumphant smile covered his face.