CHAPTER 2: FINDING STRANGER

Lisa awoke to the alarm clocking going off. She smacked the snooze button hoping to sleep longer, but soon the cat was in the room begging for food. He was a relentless bastard. If he didn't wake you with his constant meows he would take the blanket in his teeth and pull it away off you, and than start nudging you with his head possibly thinking he could actually push you out of the bed.

After pulling the covers off her he was getting ready to nudge her head. "Ok Oreo I'm getting up." She got out of the bed and made her way down the hallway to where the cat's dish was. She poured the dry food in and walked to her daughters room, "Liz get up."

"Uh." Liz answered pulling the pillow over her head.

"Elizabeth get out of bed. If you miss the bus today you are walking to school." Lisa made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. She got in and was welcomed by the warm water. She walked out to the kitchen to grab her morning muffin and found her daughter at the table eating lucky charms, "aren't you a little old for those Elizabeth?"

"NO!" Liz answered devouring a mouth full of Lucky Charms.

"Don't be late to school today. I got to go to work." Lisa kissed her daughter on the head and walked out to her 2004 Ford Mustang, she had indulged herself in her dream car that year. She drove off to work when she looked in the passenger seat she saw the wallet again, shit she had to find that man, she had forgotten about the wallet, but not the man. His face still ran through her mind, she would admit he was very handsome in a rugged Mr. Darcy type of way.

She waved at the parking attendant as she drove into the garage parking her car on the first floor and walking inside of the building. She missed the big city sometimes, but never in the morning when she drove to work, it was still dead in the streets and there was always a parking space on the first floor of the parking garage. She made her way to her office the wallet in one hand and her briefcase and purse in the other. She set her briefcase on her desk and walked across the building to where a unit of police that were assigned to the district attorneys office were housed.

She walked in smiling at the only man in the room. "Good Morning Mark."

"Morning Lisa. Work for me already?"

"Sort of. Last night I was walking to my car when this guy came running up."

"Your purse wasn't stolen was it?" Mark said he had always been a nice friend, but nothing more. Sometimes Lisa thought he wanted more, but she couldn't see herself with him. He was more of a friend than someone to be with.

"No actually I dropped my wallet and the guy was bringing it to me. Well I thought he was going to attack me so I used those moves you showed me after I sprayed him with mace. He must have lost his wallet when he hit the ground because I found it there after he took off. I tried to find him, but couldn't and I still have his wallet. He has a California drivers licenses so I can't find him that way. Can you help me so I can thank him and say I'm sorry again, and of course get his wallet back to him."

"Sure you got it?" Mark asked.

"Here. I checked his name is Jack Bauer."

"I'll search for him. If I find him I'll get you an address and phone number if you want?"

"Please thank you."

"No problem. You wanna go for a drink after work?"

"Can't Liz has a drill meet tonight and I have to be there for it or she'll get bent out of proportion."

"She's in JROTC?"

"Yeah she's the commander of the Color Guard and very proud of it. It's her first competition tonight."

"Wish her luck for me. She's at Central right?"

"Yeah. I had better get to work. Talk to you later and thank you for the help." Lisa walked out of the office almost sure she'd see Mark tonight at the meet. Why were men she wasn't attracted to always attracted to her and why couldn't they take a clue. Why wasn't she ever attracted to the nice guys, like Mark. He would do anything for her if she asked for him too.

It was around lunch time and Lisa had gotten three more cases, and a phone call from her daughters Colonel who wanted to talk to her about Elizabeth. She was planning on having lunch in the office when Mark knocked on her door.

"I found your man. Jack Bauer from California. Real funny character. I got a last known address and it was the same on his licenses. I called a FBI friend of mine out there because I couldn't find anything else on the man. No work record or proof of paying taxes outside of his property tax."

"That's weird. Did your friend help you?" Lisa was intrigued by the strangeness.

"Yeah. He knew the man by name. I guess he's sort of a hot topic among the higher-ups in L.A. You want to know more about him?"

"What do you have? You have my undivided attention."

Mark sat in the spare chair, "So you like him?"

"No just interested in how he has no record."

"He was formally of the Counter Terrorism Unit. At one time he had been the director of the L.A. branch."

"What is the Counter Terrorism Unit?" She asked but the name seemed familiar, "Wait it's not the unit that brought down the Salazar Cartel last year, and than stopped the virus attack?"

"That's them. Word is your man Jack Bauer had a lot to do with it. He was the man that was undercover with the Salazars, and brought Ramon Salazar in on his own. Hence the reason no real record, it's all classified information."

"Interesting what is the director doing undercover missions, and why would CTU be interested in a cartel?"

"First question. He was no longer the main director. He was working Field Operations, my friend wasn't really giving in that area of how he got demoted or why he no longer works for CTU. Second question they were interested in the cartel because it was moving into the world of terrorism supplies. They were looking to start gun running and other colorful jobs. CTU wanted to stop it before they got into the work, and possibly bring a few cells down while they were at it."

"Ok. Anything else?"

"Nope. I got his local address. My friend called someone who actually knew Jack and they had the forwarding address for him. Once I told the person I found his wallet and wanted to get it back to him they happily gave me the address."

"Which is?" Lisa asked.

"1415 Stevers."

"That's just down the street from my house. I don't remember a moving truck at all recently. Did you find out how long?"

"About two months according to the owner. I called him to make sure that he did in fact have a tenant named Jack Bauer. Who is now worried his tenant is a felon which I assured him he was not, that it was a simple inquiry because he was a witness."

"Thank you Mark. CTU isn't that the CIA?."

"Yeah. Why?"

"Funny he didn't look like a CIA man."

"What does a CIA man look like?" Mark asked smiling.

"I don't know scary Bond look alike. I don't know. He just didn't seem up tight." Lisa said feeling stupid for making the observation.

"Well I emailed you, incase you forget before you leave today, the exact address so you can return the wallet." He threw the wallet over to her and she caught it.

"Thanks."

Lisa spent the rest of her work day wondering about her new neighbor. He really wasn't a new neighbor, yet she had never noticed him before and she had run by that house countless times on her weekend runs. She began to wonder about him what would drawl a man like that to a small town like Peoria, why did he leave CTU and the CIA? She was more than intrigued now. There was more there and she wasn't sure how to get it just yet. Asking him wasn't an option it would seem like she was interested, but was she interested? He had a cute look about him that kept in her mind, even after she had been mortified because of her actions. He seemed nice enough, maybe she would offer a supper to make up for macing him and kicking him in the balls. One problem, she wasn't a great cook. Maybe take out food.

She finished up a few notes on the new case files and made her way to the parking deck. She drove by the school to talk to the Colonel and pick up her daughter. She was outside the JROTC unit when her cell phone rang, "Hello" She answered not noticing the number.

"When is the meet tonight?" Her ex-husbands gruff voice asked.

"Six. Are you going to show up? It is her first commanding one, she's been bothering me about whether or not you would show up."

"I'll try to get there. I have to finish some paper work."

"Please try Dave."

"Are you going to have your boyfriend there?"

"It's none of your business, but I don't have a boyfriend." She said angrily she couldn't out run him because he always ended up following and she refused to give up her career again because of him.

"Elizabeth told me about the man you were out with last night."

"That is none of your business, what I do or don't do." She wanted to hang up the phone, but she knew she had to play nice otherwise he would act like a big baby and not show up to the meet tonight.

"So you are just sleeping around now?"

"Dave please show up to the meet tonight for your daughter. She wants you there."

"Do you want me there?"

"Dave don't do this. We are over. You should have thought about me when you slept with my best friend. Now if you don't mind I need to go speak to Colonel Anderson about our daughter." She hung the phone up and turned it off. She hated when it rang and she was talking with someone.

She walked up to the open garage door. The JROTC Unit was in the old garage of the school where shop had once been held. Inside the floor was hard cement. But the big room had been nicely decorated with the Units trophies on two tables under the stairs that led from the school into the unit. There was a cadet lounge with a couch that was old and warn. Lisa had promised her daughter to donate their couch as soon as she found one to replace it. But the cadet lounge was a homey place in the unit for the cadet to hang out and it was always filled with cadets. The room was split in three main parts. One part the cadet lounge, the other was the Sgt Dansizen's class room, and the back part a small area for the cadet to practice when it was to cold outside and no room in the school.

The Colonel was sitting in the Cadet lounge talking with Liz about college. He had been a godsend always there talking to Liz urging her to do her best in and out of the Unit. She knew her daughter respected the man more than any man she had ever known. The Colonel had been a God to her, and it helped he had been a police officer at one time, something Liz toyed with doing one day.

"Hello Ms. Showalter." The Colonel said standing up and smiling. He was an older man, probably late fifties early sixties.

"Hello Colonel." Lisa said smiling back at him and sitting in a free chair.

"Liz why don't you leave us for a bit. Go check and see if all of the equipment is pulled for tonight."

"Yes sir." Liz said getting up and hurrying away.

"I'm sorry if I pulled you from work." The Colonel said being polite.

"Oh no sir."

"I just wanted to tell you what a great job Liz has been doing. She's a natural born leader. I have seen few of those go through here, but she is great with all of the cadets, and very ambitious. She's a keeper I can tell you that. She's a little nervous about tonight, but she'll do great. Will you be there?"

"Of course sir." Lisa was always a bit uncomfortable talking to the man who wielded so much respect because of his rank in the Air Force even if he had been retired for over twenty years.

"Please call me Thomas. I'm glad to hear it. You have raised her well."

"Thank you Thomas."

"The major reason I wanted to talk to you was because the Unit is thinking about going back to the national. I think we finally have a team worth taking. Liz's team is doing a great job, and we want to take them. It's in Florida though, and we would miss a week of school and the cost to fly and room and board would have to be made up somehow."

Something Lisa could finally do to help, "Well sir don't worry about that. If you think the team is worth taking we can do a fund raiser." Lisa racked her brain for stuff they could do to earn money. The community was on a patriotic high at the moment because of the events of the past few years.

"Oh no we couldn't ask."

"Sir I would love to do this. My daughter loves this unit, it is a second home to her. It's nothing really. We can rent the I-2 hall and have a dinner with entertainment from the color guard, drill team, saber team, and honor guard. The kids could get involved that way and show their talent. Donations can be made on top of the meal charges. Charge a few dollars over the meal, for a fund raiser. The honor guard could be the waiters and waitress." Lisa knew all about the teams because he daughter insisted on being on all of them.

"Would people come to that though?"

"Of course they would sir. The kid's can make some signs I'll use my connections in town to get it on the news and in newspapers. They could even go door to door and sell tickets to the meal."

"That would be wonderful." The Colonel was shocked by the mothers willingness to help out he did not expect that. He just wanted to make sure that she would be willing to let her daughter go down to Florida.

"I'll work on it some and have my secretary call you with more details by the end of this week."

"Thank you very much. I see where Liz gets it from now." The colonel said smiling.

Liz came out and smiled she heard what they had talked about and she was happy her mom was willing to let her go and help with the funding.

"Well I better let you two get home. Someone has a uniform to get ready."

"Bye Sir. See you tonight." Liz said walking out to the car.

"Good by Colonel." Lisa called as the door closed behind her.

Once she got in the car she could see her daughter smiling ear to ear. "Mom thank you for all of that in there."

"Liz it's nothing. I've done millions of fundraisers just not many in Peoria."

"Did you find the owner of the wallet?"

"He lives down the street from us. I'll drop it by on our way home." Lisa smiled ear to ear at the thought of seeing the intriguing man again.

"What's for supper?"

"You really want to eat before the meet?"

"No." Liz said laughing she was already nervous. She could fill her stomach rolling, and her body tense to the point her shoulders hurt.

"You ok kiddo?"

"Yeah mom. Just nervous."

"I'm positive you'll do a great job. You've been practicing the routine for how long?"

"Months."

"You'll breeze right through it and shock those judges."

"I hope. Colonel was telling me the team never loses must the leader, but the team always wins. I don't want to be the reason we lost."

"Even if you don't win first place you still are a winner. You are doing something that takes a lot of talent, and leading them out there takes a lot of guts too. I'm proud of you either way, but I'm positive you'll win a trophy."

"I hope I don't want to let the Unit down. We haven't won at Lincolns Quest for since we started it two years ago."

"You'll do fine. Wait here." Lisa was nervous herself she was outside the mysterious Jack Bauer's house.

"Is this his house. Why haven't we ever seen him?" Liz called from the car.

Lisa walked up to the door there wasn't a car in the driveway. She could hear the music from the neighbors house as she knocked on the door not sure if the doorbell worked. She waited a few minutes and when no answer came she knocked once more and than left keeping the wallet she would just have to catch him at another time.