The following takes place between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
09:00:01 --- 09:00:02 --- 09:00:03--- 09:00:04
CTU
Michelle stops in her tracks when she hears Tony shouting out the news. She turns back immediately and walks over to her desk. There were more important issues to deal with than what she was after. She sits down, glancing at Tony. He's all busy already. The little argument from before doesn't seem to matter anymore. She turns on her computer again and starts doing her job.
The AG's residence
Two CSIs already at the crime scene...
"CSI Rick Danber and this is my partner Sally. Can you point us to the scene of the shooting please."
Nothing had been touched since the moments a while ago. Scouring the scene for anything they could find that could help them.
"... pass me a bag, I think I've found something. Pincers please."
He found a small shred of fiber. "Mmm interesting".
"Yeah, that's interesting, Rick," Sally smacks her lips together, "'bout as interesting as the last fiber we found. Put it in the bag. Miranda will be screaming if we don't get it to her. Poor guy, probably didn't see it comin'..." She bags the fiber, places it in the kit, and steps away to look in the grass. "Rick, can I do my own thing for a teensy moment?"
"Sure, go ahead. I'll take some snapshots of the body and surrounding area. I'll call for them to pick up the body afterwards once we're finished here".
"You
know, we could just pick up the body ourselves. I'm sure there's an
extra tarp in the van..." Sally trails off as she notices Mills'
children peeking through the window curtains. "Do you think we
should call for Mick to make some plaster casts?" She places a
number card by an imprint in the grass. "You know...I could
swear that was made by a high heel. Hmm...okay, I'll be right back."
CTU
Tony is currently downloading NSA satellite
images of a five block radius around the AG's house for the last four
hours and is locked into the security cameras at the house. It's a
quiet neighborhood, not unlike one he would like to settle down in
someday. Nice place to raise a family.
"Michelle, I'm sending a video feed from Mills' front yard security camera to your main directory. Take a look at the moment of impact and then the minutes following it." He steps over to her workstation and waits for the video feed to appear. "Watch the camera movement after the kill shot. It moves down. Someone or something has repositioned the camera so you can't see anything but Mills' face. There are shadows and a hand, I'm assuming Mrs. Mills. When he went down...there was a briefcase, right? Did I just make that up?"
Michelle:
"No, I think you're right.", she says and points to the
screen. "See, in this picture, it's there, but in the panic that
ensues, you can't see anything any more... Wait, Miranda should be at
the scene now, let's see if they found the briefcase." Tony nods
OK, and she picks up the phone. "Miranda?
It's Michelle. The AG had a briefcase in
his hand when he was shot, did you find it?"
bad part of town
Two policemen in their car notice Kim
walking around. She is dressed way to neatly for this neighborhood,
so that she clearly looks out of place. They decide to see what she's
doing there and pull up near her. She stops, one of them gets out of
the car, while the other one stays in, watching the
surroundings.
Officer 1: "Hello Miss. May I see your papers? Did you get lost or something? It's a pretty rough neighborhood to be walking around alone like that."
Kim eyes the officer carefully as he approaches her. "Did I do something wrong?" She clutches her purse as she pulls out her license. "Actually, um, my car broke down on the highway. I thought I could take a short cut back to my house but I just ended up here," Kim smiles nervously and waits to see just how this is going to turn out.
Officer 1: "Really? Then you must have had a long walk. You could have called help, don't you have a cell phone?", he says, smiling, as he checks her ID. "I'll be right back. Stay here.", he advises her, as he walks back to the vehicle and hands her license to the other officer, who quickly scans it and verifies it. The first officer walks back to Kim and hands the license back to her. "Okay, here you go. Do you need a ride? We could take you out of here."
The AG's residence
Miranda crushes out her cigarette as Michelle speaks. Sure, it's not federal agent-like, but who's going to say anything? The two CSI kids she has to watch over? "Briefcase...we've bagged several pieces of evidence but I think I'd remember a briefcase." She peers into the van just in case she's missed anything. "No, not a one, but I'll have them keep their eyes open. If it's here, we'll find it. There is one thing...Sally mentioned a shoe print in the grass looking like a woman's high heel. Guess it could be Mrs. Mills or it could be the nanny but I thought I'd mention it anyway."
CTU
At about that time, a call comes in from the highway patrol
and is forwarded to Tony. "Where?" He jots down the
information. "No I.D. on her I guess? Okay. Yeah...thanks."
This was certainly a day he could use Milo's help. "That was the
highway patrol. One of their officers just found a woman's body
dumped ten miles out of the city limits. She hasn't been dead long."
Tony has a look of disgust on his face as he speaks to Michelle and
Andre, who has returned and is now listening in. "They aren't
sure if this is connected but thought we should know in case."
Michelle: "Miranda, the AG had a briefcase with him when he left the house. If it isn't there, that means that sensitive information is in the possession of someone who shouldn't have it. It is crucial that you find the briefcase. If you can't, then we may have more of a problem than we know. Oh, and Tony just tells me that the body of a woman was found outside the city. Check if anyone has seen a woman at the site after the shot, she may be a suspect in this."
Miranda: "I do crime scenes, Michelle, I don't hunt down sensitive documents that have been stolen. All I can do is have my team work with what we find. And my team is stretched thin as it is, now you want me to send a couple of kids to check out this latest body? Fine but remember I only have two hands." Just like Michelle to think she had all the time in the world to devote to dead bodies.
"Miranda, this is Tony," his voice betrays his irritation, "Do what you're told. We're all stretched thin these days but we need cooperation, got it?"
Miranda sighs. Like she wasn't going to follow orders? "I'll send Peter and Todd to your dumping ground. They've got a better handle on bodies than most of my kids."
Tony: After the call ends, he shrugs lightly. "Don't take it personally. Miranda applied for your position and we felt she didn't qualify. She's been irritated ever since."
"Ah, Tony?" Andre approaches with the information Tony was seeking earlier. "The call came from a pay phone at a gas station in Van Nuys. We'll try to get surveillance tapes from the store."
"Okay, great." Tony assigns Andre to the surveillance tapes and explains to Michelle: "The phone call earlier, no one was on the line." He wasn't quite ready to give up the information if nothing came of it. "We need to find out a little more about what Mills was working on. I may have to talk to George if he doesn't come down soon."
"Look here", Michelle says as she switches to a file she had been working on previously. "This Legislation the AG was supposed to present today, it was about giving the government much more liberty in doing whatever they need to do to apprehend terrorists quickly. It would make things legal that weren't legal before, I think you understand what I mean. I also came across something else. Yesterday, he met with a CIA agent, Michael Burton. I haven't come any further yet. Think they might have exchanged information?"
bad part of town
Kim hesitates at first. Going home would
mean facing her dad because she knows the officer isn't just going to
let her out. But what other choice does she have?
"Yeah," she smiles a little as she steps into the car, "thanks. It'll be easier than walking all the way." What she doesn't see is the bag of coke Tammy had just purchased has now fallen out of her purse and into the car.
As the officer helps Kim get in the back seat, he notices the little bag on the floor. "Hey, hey, what's this?", he says as he picks it up. "Sure doesn't look like flour. Where did you get that?... Mick!", he calls to the other officer, who gets out of the car and, drawing his gun, urges Kim to step out of the car and put her hands on the trunk.
Mick: "You are under arrest for possession of illegal substances. You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to the presence of an attorney during all questioning. If you wish to have an attorney present and cannot afford one, an attorney will be appointed to you at no cost."
in
the limousine
The car pulls up in front of a run-down house
in the woods. The driver steps out and opens the back door. The older
man comes out and walks toward the house, followed by the driver. As
the older man walks in, the driver stays outside and watches the
surroundings.
"Do you have it?", a man (let's call him
Nick) asks from a behind a table in a dark corner of the
room.
"Yes."
"Show me."
The older man
reaches into his inner pocket and takes out the envelope with the
disc that he took from the AG's briefcase: "It's right here.",
he says as he places the envelope on the table and pushes it over.
The man at the table takes the disc out and feeds it into his
computer, makes a few clicks and then asks: "And Mira?"
"She's
been taken care of."
"Good. Burn the rest. And get me
Bauer."
"It's in progress.", the older man nods and
leaves the house. Nick picks up the phone and dials a number.
Mills' residence
The nanny's cell phone rings. She picks up
and listens for a few seconds, then hangs up and goes into the AG's
home office. She starts up the computer and quickly finds the draft
of the Legislation. She presses the Delete key and confirms her
choice, then shuts down the computer again and walks out of the room.
CTU
If CIA was involved, they'd have to work very carefully. Their agents didn't like to be pushed around, especially by another agency. Tony runs his hand over his face and considers the options.
"Good work."
"Thanks."
"We're going to need to keep this under the radar, okay?" He tries to get Michelle's attention and holds it. "I'll take the CIA agent, you keep working on other individuals Mills may have crossed paths with. Cross-reference with this Burton, too. And, again, don't say anything to Mason." He gives Michelle a half-smile. "If he knows we've got a lead involving another agency, he'll want to take control. So..."
Michelle pauses for a second before she replies. "Tony, I'm really not too comfortable with keeping George out of this. I mean, this is a huge thing, he needs to get involved." There's a look of strong disagreement on Tony's face as he hears her utter the words. She reconsiders: "Okay, I'll go around him. But it won't be long until he finds out himself and then we're in trouble."
Kim
and the officers:
"Wait! I can explain! It's not mine!"
Kim's hands are cuffed behind her. She watches as the officers check
her purse thoroughly. "Please, let me explain. My friend.. .she
must have put it in there..."
The officer called Mick places her back in the car. It's clear she needs to keep quiet but she can't help it, she's scared. "Hey, look, my dad's at home. Just let me call him, okay? He can get me a lawyer. I have the right to one, well I'm asking for one. Just let me use the phone."
Mick taps his ear lightly, this turns on the earpiece he's wearing.
"Listen Miss Bauer, you can explain everything at the station and you'll get your phone call then. Right now, I advise you to save your words for the interrogation."
He shuts the door behind her and gets back in the car, and they drive off. On the other end of the earpiece, Nick listens and smiles to himself.
A
Phone Call To George
George Mason's cell phone rings. The
voice on the other end is likely one he never would have expected to
hear.
"George, Lisa Elliott, CTU Sacramento. Look, I'm getting word that Miranda Potter is pulling some of my CSI guys to help with an investigation that's started this morning. I'm going to go on the assumption that it has to do with the assassination of Peter Mills." Lisa pauses, "You know I can't let Peter and Todd come to LA without me. The guys are already on their way. I'll be at CTU within the hour. George... it'll be nice to see you again."
CTU
"You
don't have anything to worry about, Michelle." Tony's just
grateful he has gotten her to cooperate again, something he never
thought he would have to worry about with Michelle. "We can't do
much until we receive the crime scene evidence."
"Tony, Miranda - line 1."
Tony answers and listens to Miranda's quick, excited speech. "We didn't find your briefcase. Sally's off following a trail and Rick's...well, who knows, but wait for it...Okay, Tony, I've located a metal corner piece not three feet from our vic and it has brown thread hooked on to it's broken edge. Nothing's 100 percent, but I'd guess it belongs to the missing briefcase and I'd also guess it broke off when Mills fell. Whoever took the briefcase probably didn't notice it. We can get this tested and at least try to pin down a brand we're looking for."
"That's excellent. Can you get us a picture?" Tony signals to Michelle, "Michelle, open a directory. Miranda, send the file to Michelle's system. Anything else, let us know." He waits anxiously for the file to load on Michelle's computer. "I'm not trying to keep something from George. I just know the past and how he reacts. If he knows how big this is getting, he'll take over and start giving the orders. I'd rather be reprimanded after doing my job."
Michelle thinks this through. "Alright. You're right about George. You know, I'm sure he knew about this before we did...
So this CIA agent, why do you think he'd meet with the AG in secret?"
police car
Things couldn't get any
worse, could they? Why did she have to go with Tammy today? School
wasn't really that bad. And it wasn't like her dad would have known
if she'd stayed home anyway.
"Um..." Kim still doesn't recognize where they are. "What station are you taking me to?"
"Relax, Miss Bauer. We'll be there in no time.", Mick says. The car starts leaving the city center.
Residence
Rick to Sally: "Ok. You go over to the apartment and take the tarpaulin. I'll be with you in a jiffy. The path of the bullet needs checking out."
"Will do." Sally nods and, weaving past Miranda, makes her way into the apartment building directly across the street from the AG's house. As she begins to walk the stairway up, it's clear something is amiss. A distinct odor has begun to collect. She lets her nose lead her to the room... "Rick, Miranda..." Sally radios to her boss and CTU's leader, "We're gonna need another body bag. I've got a female vic, approximately 40-50 years, one bullet straight through her head. And we've got shell casings. I've got a crime scene."
CTU
"You suggested the agent and
Mills exchanged information. It's possible that's all there was to
the relationship. Once we've located Burton, we'll try to get
something from him. Of course, he is CIA," Tony winked a
little.
"Tony, Miranda line 1."
"Again?" Tony's forehead scrunched in question as he answered, "What have you got?"
"A dead woman across the street. I've got to get over there fast, though. I don't want to leave Sally alone for long. Just get me authorization to have these bodies autopsied by the same medical examiner, okay? Ten to one they're connected, including your dumped girl." Miranda excitedly hangs up leaving Tony to look at Michelle.
"The body count is getting higher. We've got a second dead woman now. We need to find this CIA agent and learn what's in that briefcase. There's more to the legislation than meets the eye."
Michelle: "Yeah, the reason I asked what you think is because I'm certain this whole thing can't be only about the legislation", Michelle says. "And obviously, so are you. See, this Agent Burton, I've pulled up his file. It's his job to keep all information about terrorist activities and the personal data on the suspects up to date. Maybe he came across something or someone he shouldn't have. Him meeting up with the AG can only mean this information leaked out of the CIA. And for some people, I'm sure it would be worth killing for."
police car
Kim doesn't like this at all. "I get the whole 'no talking' thing but...I really want to know where you're taking me. My dad, he works with CTU and he'll want to know where I am. Okay? I need to give him a call so he can pick me up."
The other officer who has been quiet so far is slightly fed up with this girl blabbing all the time. he turns around suddenly and shouts:
"SHUT UP! You'll get to talk to your daddy, little girl, when the time comes. We know who your daddy is, be sure of that. That's why we're here."
Mick turns to him: "Joey, hold your breath, man. You're gonna blow it! Kim, just a few more minutes. Do as you're told and you'll be fine."
"You know my dad?" Kim asks quietly, though the question is really rhetorical. This has all the makings of... not a good situation. She tries the door handle by backing up towards it and feeling for it with her hands cuffed behind her. It's locked. That's it! She's screaming now and banging on the window with her feet, since her hands are cuffed behind her, at the same time. "HELP! LET ME OUT!"
Mick just laughs at her irrational behavior. "You think anybody's gonna help? You're in a police car. As far as anybody's concerned, we're the authorities. Besides, nobody can hear you. Look around."
They're out of town, not much there but woods and fields. "Calm down, sweetie, you're gonna hurt yourself. We'll be right there." And having said that, he makes a turn into a small private road, leading into the woods. Shortly after that, the car pulls up where the limousine had been some minutes ago. Nick shows up at the door and stands there, smiling at their arrival.
CTU
Tony
mulls this over. The terrorist data was important to all agencies and
it may have now been compromised. "Cross-check Burton's
activities with Mills'. See if they travel the similar routes. It's
time to have a chat with our boss." He glances up at George's
office. "We'll see how things go."
...a few seconds later in George's office...
"Sorry to bother you..." Tony walks in without worrying that much. "George, we've got a situation that is getting bigger than the both of us. The Attorney General was assassinated and our manpower is stretched thin as it is. Give me some direction here."
George: "Jesus Tony, that's all I need. I've got an 'old friend' paying a visit very shortly."
Off Tony's look he continues.
"Lisa Elliott. We... had a thing for a while, but career stuff got in the way, like me getting my ass busted down to CTU chief and getting the job that by rights should have been hers. Basically screwed everything we had going, although come to think of it, there really wasn't a lot.
What's the story with the AG. What happened? Suspects? That kind of thing."
"Miranda's team found a second body across the street in an apartment building. I picked up radio traffic and heard that shell casings had been found near the body so the sniper probably set up there. Miranda has Sally and Rick doing the evidence collection now. The highway patrol found a woman's body dumped near Van Nuys. Peter and Todd from Sacramento are heading over there. So far, though," Tony shrugged his shoulders, "no suspects. The only interesting thing is that the AG was working on terrorism legislation and his briefcase was apparently stolen - we're assuming this since it's nowhere to be found and a piece was located near the body."
Tony paused for just a second. "This Lisa Elliott...she's CTU Sacramento, right? Do they know something we should know?"
"If Lisa knows something then you can bet there'll be something she wants in return"
This job I'm betting, thought George.
"Hang on Tony. This investigation seems to be quite far on. When did the shooting happen?"
Uh oh. Here it comes.
Tony clears his throat before answering. "Um...well, I learned about it approximately oh...two hours ago. Things have been rumbling about but we had no indication an assassination was in the works."
CSI Team
Rick to Miranda: "I've a few fibers but nothing what you would call exciting to give us something to go on, apart from this false fingernail. Dusted it for prints, nothing...zilch."
Rick radios Sally. "We're coming over. Stay out of the room until we're there, you could be looking at some poisonous substance. You already know that but I don't want a member of my team in trouble". Rick and Miranda (with an extra body bag) crossed the street and entered the apartment's reception lobby and on up the stairs. No sign of alien footprints. Hard to as this was marble flooring.
The
floor where the woman's dead body is
Rick: "You've not
gone too far into the room have you? You're not showing any signs of
affection of any poisonous gas."
"I've been a good Girl Scout, Captain." Sally smiles briefly but motions into the room. "The shell casings. Looks like someone practiced at least once. From here I can't recognize the make."
Miranda smells trouble. Sally's good with bullets. "You two clear this up. If you can't ID the casings, I need to know a.s.a.p."
Rick to Miranda: "We'll get back to you as soon as possible" To Sally: "We'd better get this body taken to the morgue once we've bagged and tagged the bullet casings".
Sally and Rick enter the room carefully after getting the proper masks. Sally begins to examine the casings. They seem familiar, yet she can't figure out where she knows them from. "Look at the damage," she points to the wound on the woman, "The entrance wound is jagged. You would expect the bullet to have shattered from the looks of things but it didn't. The casing is nearly intact. And there's stippling from the gunpowder on her. The shot was at close range." Sally's eyes lit up, "The wound is definitely a match with the dead zone wound on the AG. Let's get her to CTU. I have an idea where this bullet's origin may be found."
Sally bags the last casing as she speaks to Rick, who's busy with his job (whatever that is, she thinks). "I prefer Division's lab and morgue, ya know? They've got pretty high-tech stuff but they don't like you touching anything." She pulls out her radio and calls for Miranda. "We're ready for transport."
Miranda radios back, "Copy. Peter and Todd will be joining us with their Van Nuys collection. We'll get the body in the van and I'll meet you guys back at CTU."
Sally and Rick accompany their vic to the van. Never leave evidence unattended.
George's office
Tony's conversation with George hasn't fared well so far. In fact, he thinks he's made him irritated.
"Hey, I'm sorry we kept you out of the loop on this end but... what have you got? I mean, you've got to have something. I saw you on the phone at one point. Did someone call you? Surely you knew about the shooting before we did."
"Don't you dare give me the third degree Tony. Withholding information from a superior is serious business. I could have you on a charge. However, right now some things are more important. Like for example a senior government official having been assassinated on our turf in broad daylight.
Division sent me some info about the stolen data. Cross-check it with everything on the assassination. We both know coincidences are very rare in this line of work."
Tony goes to leave, but George grabs his arm.
"You and I are in a difficult position right now, what with the investigation we're on. We're going around division and if it backfires then we're in trouble; serious trouble. So, lets start working together shall we?"
"We're all team players." Tony holds George's stare for a moment longer before heading down.
"Michelle," Tony makes his way to her desk as quickly as possible, "see if you can see which of George's directories was recently accessed by Division. He said he received information from them regarding the stolen legislation and asked that we cross-check it with what we already have."
"OK, I'll let you know as soon as I have anything."
He ran his hand across his face in an anxious manner. This situation was getting to be very complicated. If there was any field work, he would likely have to go out and then it would leave a gap in the operations.
At Nick's Place
Having been shown into what is obviously not the police station, Kim is now sitting in a straight-backed wooden chair anxiously watching the men across the room. They're mumbling so low she can't make out a word they're saying but it's clear they're discussing her.
She has to keep her head on straight. Her hands are still cuffed. Screaming won't do any good. All she wants is her dad, as childish as that may seem. As she feels tears begin to well in her eyes, she recalls the look that has been on her father's face since her mother's death. It's a look of being lost. What would he do if something happened to her? She regretted every moment they had lost not talking about what had happened.
"Hey...what do you want? If it's money, my dad'll pay it." Kim knows it's not that simple. She just wants to get these guys' attention.
Nick walks over to Kim, holding a gun in his hand, and with a menacing look, tells her, while lifting her chin up with the barrel. "You're gonna be a good girl now, aren't you. Don't try any tricks and you'll be fine."
It's time to put the plan into action. To Mick: "Make the call."
The Bauer house
The phone rings.
Jack considers not picking up at first, but the ringing persists. So he picks up.
"Bauer."
Nick:
"Jack. How nice to hear you. Listen up. A
situation has developed in the last two hours and you are going to
help me control it."
"Who is this?"
"Let's
just say, a friend of Kim's. She didn't go to school today, Jack. Bad
girl, isn't she."
"What do you mean? Where is she?"
Jack's mood immediately switches from desperate to alert. Not again.
Not another villain threatening her life. NO!
"You keep
asking the wrong questions, Jack. She's right here. And she's okay.
So far."
"Let me speak to her."
"Of
course." Nick walks over to Kim and holds the phone to her ear.
"It's your daddy, sweetie. Say hello."
"Dad!" Kim's voice was desperate but she didn't know how long she had, "Dad, I'm so sorry!"
Jack is
relieved to hear her voice, although it's a bad situation.
"Sweetheart, are you alright? Where are you?"
"I... I don't know. Somewhere outside the city," Kim notices the look Nick is giving her. She knows it's only a matter of time before he takes the phone. "Back in the woods. Dad, they know you. I don't know how-"
Nick
snatches the phone away from her: "Okay, Jack, you heard her.
She's fine."
"If anything happens to her, I will find
you and I will kill you, I swear on my wife's grave."
"Now,
now, Jack. Take it easy. If you do as I say, there won't be need for
any of that."
Jack knows that there is nothing he can do at the moment but play along.
"What
do you want me to do?"
"Your friends at CTU are on a
case I need you to assist them with."
"I don't work for
CTU any more. How am I supposed to help you with anything?"
"You're
a smart guy, Jack. Find a way to re-instate yourself. I'll be in
touch." Nick hangs up the phone.
The phone still in hand, Jack stands with a look of horror on his face.
09:59:57 --- 09:59:58 --- 09:59:59 --- 10:00:00