Complications, chapter 6
Kate continued to stand, slumped against the wall, long after Hector left. Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She really wanted to drop to the floor, curl up and bawl like a baby. She couldn't. Jack could see her. She knew he was already worried about them. 'Who am I kidding? I'm worried about us.' She didn't want him to be any more worried than he already was. If he knew how desperate she felt; how her back throbbed and her arms ached; if he heard the threats that Hector had levelled at her and her unborn child, he wouldn't be able to think straight. Like she couldn't. She needed him to be focused. She needed him to be Jack. She would worry for both of them.
Tony knocked softly on the door to Jack's office. Assuming the muffled grunt he heard from the other side of the door meant he could enter, he did. Jack was seated at his desk, papers strewn haphazardly around him. He barely acknowledged his entrance before turning his attention back to his computer.
"Chloe just called. She'll be here in about half an hour."
"Good. It's about time."
"That's what I said." A slight grin appeared on Tony's face. "She told me that since she was coming in to work almost thirty-six hours early, I should be happy that she called as soon as she did. Where did you ever dig her up?"
"I know what you're saying Tony, but she's good. And we need her. I need her, especially today."
Tony paced the width of Jack's office. "Alright Jack. What are we going to do next? Adam's got nothing on the satellite and even though Chloe's good, she's not that much better than him. I don't think there's anything there. Did you call the President's office?"
"No, it's a waste of time. He's not going to agree to an exchange. We both know that."
"Yeah, you're right, but we should contact the prison. Maybe this is a distraction while they prepare to break Ramon out the old-fashioned way. They should increase his security, at least."
In Jack's silence, Tony continued: "So what's next? Hector is going to be calling soon. What are you going to tell him?"
"I'm just going to tell him I need more time. He's a smart man. He knows I can't get anything done in that little bit of time. He's not expecting me to have everything arranged that quickly."
Jack turned back to his computer, almost in dismissal. Tony realized then that Jack had been dismissive for most of their conversation. He was focused on the computer more than any ideas or questions Tony had. His pacing had brought him alongside Jack's desk and he glanced at the screen then. Contrary to his original thoughts, Jack wasn't watching the video of Kate. The video was up, but in a smaller window on the monitor. The remainder of the view was filled with blueprints.
"What are you looking at, Jack?"
"Don't worry about it, Tony?"
Jack's evasive retort pushed Tony to investigate further. That, and that Jack didn't want his help with whatever he was working on. He moved behind the desk, manoeuvring to control the keyboard.
"What building is this?" In Jack's silence, he worked through the pages until he found the answer to his question. "This is the prison that's holding Ramon. Jack, you're not thinking about doing what I think you are, are you?"
"Just stay out of this, Tony. Don't worry about me. Just find Kate."
"Jack, you can't break into a federal prison. You can't break Ramon out. You'll go to prison for the rest of your life."
"Tony, don't worry about me. As far as you're concerned, I'm not going to do anything. Just stay out of this."
"I'm not going to do that, Jack. I'm not going to let you throw your life away like that. You spent over six months putting that asshole in prison and now you're just going to free him. You're going to free him so you can spend the rest of your life in prison. 'Cause that's what's going to happen, Jack. You'll be in prison and Kate and Kim and your son will have to spend the rest of their lives visiting you behind bars. Is that what you want?"
Jack jumped up from his chair, shoving Tony up against the glass wall, his forearm pressed against Tony, just below his neck, threatening.
"What I want, Tony, is for Kate and my son to be safe. Got it? 'Cause I'm not going to let anything happen to them. I'm not going to let this happen again. So what if Ramon goes free? I only put him away for the information he could give us and he's not giving us anything. His drug empire will continue to grow and I'll have a job, but I won't have Kate or our baby. I'm sorry Tony, but if all I have to do is free some scumbag and spend the rest of my life in prison to make sure that they're okay, then I'm going to do it. And if I have to hurt you to keep you from interfering, I will. I'm not going to sacrifice Kate and our baby."
Tony let Jack continue to restrain him, even though he knew he had enough leverage to throw him.
"Jack, what's really going on here? We've had less than an hour to work on this and you've already jumped to a worst-case solution. We still have options here. You're just not thinking clearly and it's not like you. You haven't called the President. With his help, we could at least give the appearance of complying with Hector. Just give us a chance."
They stared at one another for a moment before Jack looked away and stepped back. Releasing Tony from the hold, he mumbled an apology, staring at the ground.
"Look, Jack, I can't pretend to know what you're feeling. I don't know what I would do if someone was holding Michelle. And I don't have the history that you have. But, I know we have a good crew here. Just hold off on doing anything rash. Hell, if it comes down to the wire, I'll help you break Ramon out. Let's just not go there yet."
Jack felt a new appreciation for this man who'd become a friend over the years. The friend who was straightening the shirt that he had just messed. The friend who had just offered to sacrifice his life after he had threatened it. He didn't deserve him. He didn't deserve any of them.
"Thanks, Tony. But you're right. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. So, what do you think we should do next? Call the President?"
Jack was unused to following someone else's lead. He didn't like making decisions based on someone else's opinion. In his experience, his own instincts tended to yield the best results. But today he needed that alternative view and was thankful to have Tony provide it for him. Tony had been right. He had jumped to a plan of desperation. He should know better than that. But his need and fear were interfering with his ability to think clearly. His first priority was to end this situation, but his second priority was to end it as quickly as possible. He needed to make sure that his desire for a quick resolution didn't overly influence his decisions.
Before Tony could answer Jack's question, Michelle rang into the office. "Jack, line 4. It's Hector."
Jack met Tony's eyes, took a deep, steadying breath and picked up the phone call.
"Hector, I have still have time left. You called too soon."
"You've had plenty of time," came Hector's quick answer.
"No, I haven't. I need more time. I don't have everything set yet."
"What do you mean you don't have everything set? Are you giving me my brother or not?"
"I'm working on it. But it takes time. I told you that I don't have the authority to do this on my own. I need to work with a couple of agencies to make this happen. That takes time."
"You need more time, Jack." Hector's voice was showing his increased agitation. "Let's just see what your Kate thinks about giving you more time."
Jack maximized the window showing the streaming video of Kate just as Hector stormed into the small room. He watched Kate straighten as Hector approached.
"Jack thinks you haven't been here long enough." Hector stood just inches away from Kate. "What do you think about that?"
"I told you that you were wasting your time with me." Jack could barely hear Kate's response through the phone, but still managed make out her words clearly enough.
"What do you say about that, Jack? Are you wasting my time because you don't care what happens to her?"
Jack's stomach clenched and this time he knew it had nothing to do with his addiction. "Hector, you know that isn't true. You know that I care about her."
"You say you care, Jack. But you left her to put my brother away. I think she's right. You don't care about her, or at least not enough to trade my brother for her."
"Hector, that's not true." Jack controlled the panic churning inside him. "She's going to be the mother of my child. My son, Hector. Do you think I would sacrifice my only son just to keep Ramon in prison? You know I wouldn't do that. I'm doing everything I can. Just give me a little more time."
Jack waited in silence for Hector to answer his plea. Watching the monitor, he knew he hadn't calmed Hector's initial agitation. His aggressive stance hadn't relaxed and his harsh breathing hadn't slowed. A full minute passed before Hector answered.
"Alright Jack. I'll give you more time. You have thirty minutes. Think about how Kate will be spending those minutes."
Hector terminated the call with a threat again. Jack watched him pocket the phone and then, without warning, he grabbed a handful of hair, yanking Kate's head back and dragging her up against him. Hector held her close to him for a minute before throwing her against the far wall. She slammed against the wall before sliding to the floor in a heap. Jack was forced to watch as Hector moved to stand over her. He continued to watch, powerless, as Hector reared back, kicking Kate in the back, just below her ribcage. Nausea washed over him as he watched her silent screams of pain.
Jack threw the phone still gripped tightly in his right hand at the wall opposite him, shattering it upon impact. The loose papers on his desk were the next victim of his rage. With a vicious swipe of both arms, the remainder of the contents of his desk landed on the floor.
Tony, silent and motionless until that moment, interrupted his tirade, grasping his arms before they destroyed anything else. "This isn't helping her, Jack."
"You're right. Nothing else I've done so far today has helped her either. That's going to change."
A/N: Thanks to my loyal reviewers. Please keep 'em coming. I bumped the rating on this chapter and the rest of the story. I think it's more appropriate, but let me know if I'm still off. Sorry it's only 1 chpt this time, but I'm re-working the next chpt and it's not quite ready to post.