A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to get up, but I've been on vacation. Now, as a present to you all for your wonderful reviews and patience, I present you with two chapters and another coming up within the next few days. From now on, my posts should be fairly regular and I'll tell you if that changes. Sorry again and I hope you enjoy! This thing has been fabulously fun to write and basically kept me alive during my sojourn away from civilization with only my laptop with no internet connection. Send me your feedback please!
Disclaimer: I forgot to do this for the first chapter so consider this a disclaimer for that too. I do not own 24 or any of the characters, situations, or lines you recognize. I do this purely for fun and to exercise my writing. Enjoy!
Never Without You
Chapter 2 – Trying for Apathy
2:00 – 3:00 PM
2:03:00
Tony drove the car in silence, trying desperately to block out the sounds of Jack's phone call in the back seat. He didn't want to hear it, didn't want to get involved.
He couldn't help it though, and listened intently to the one-sided conversation that seemed to be about finding a mole in CTU. Jack had slipped back into the old life so easily.
Jack hung up and for a second, Tony found the silence in the car unbelievably awkward. Then Jack leaned forward and put a hand on Audrey's shoulder, comforting her. "Are you okay?"
Jack's soft tone made Tony feel like he was intruding. He brushed it off and tried to pretend he was the only one in the car. Of course, as soon as he accomplished this, Jack had to go and talk to him.
"Tony, is it possible that we could have been followed?"
Tony felt a brief surge of irritation. They had worked together for so many years; didn't Jack trust him with something so menial? Then he soothed himself. This was Jack: this was that he was like. He checked his mirror just to be sure before replying, "No, we're clear." His tone was brisk, clearly getting the point across that he didn't want to be here.
Audrey was the one who asked the question Tony was about to. "Where are we going?"
Jack's response wasn't unexpected. Tony had the feeling … knew it as soon as he had answered the phone to Jack's voice. "We need to lay low for a while."
Tony's response was automatic, grudging. "What kind of communication do you need?"
Jack's answer was quick and expectant. "A wi-fi and a hard line."
"All right. We'll go back to my place." The invitation was necessary, as though there was no other choice. This was how it was going to play out.
"Okay. Thank you Tony." The honest gratefulness in Jack's voice was almost enough to make Tony want to be able to do more for them. The feeling was shoved away, unwanted. They both knew that Tony was far too indebted to Jack to do anything else and that he would have refused if he hadn't felt as though there was no other option. The spiral back to the old life was slow – kept you unsuspecting until it was too late. And Tony was getting an ominous sense that it had been too late to turn back the minute he picked up that phone.
"Wait until you see it before you thank me." The reply was cutting, but Tony had never planned to take Jack to the house he had been living in for the past six months. Somehow, merging his old and new lives seemed incredibly wrong. His old life was too good to mix with this new, tainted one.
Jack looked at him oddly. "No, I mean for picking us up. For saving our lives. I'm sure you want to know what's going on."
But what choice had he had in saving them? Knowing what was going on though … Jack was appealing to the former Tony Almeida. The one prior to federal prison. Prior to the divorce.
"Not really, no." He had the unsatisfying pleasure of seeing Jack Bauer semi-surprised.
"Something wrong?" The question was asked as though Jack had no idea.
"What could be wrong? I'm not in federal prison anymore thanks to you and President Palmer. Michelle left me, I …" The statement left a bitter taste in his mouth. The entire response bringing him closer to breaking down than he had been since the very beginning. He knew that Jack already knew about the divorce. He himself hadn't talked to him about it but Jack was working at DOD with Michelle and he had to have run into her … still, Jack was the first person he had told that truly understood the entire story.
The knowledge that he was going to know everything whether he wanted to or not struck fast and hard. "You know what? Never mind. Why don't you tell me what this is all about."
Jack didn't seem surprised at all by this. Tony was thankful that Jack knew him well enough to not question his brief rant there. It needed to come out to someone who knew what he was talking about. "You heard about Audrey and her father this morning?"
Tony noted the way Jack seemed to caress Audrey's name before releasing an impatient, "Yeah."
"We were at Felsted Security so that Audrey could make an ID of a man she saw during the kidnapping." Tony took a moment to savor the swift, business-like tone of Jack's words. He had heard the tone thousands of times before at CTU with Jack and hearing it again was like coming home.
"I don't get it. Why?"
"The secretary's kidnapping was just a cover. The terrorist's main objective is to gain control of America's nuclear power plants from coast to coast. The man that Audrey saw – that's our only lead."
Tony's lack of any security clearance at all, especially to such classified information didn't bother either of them. After all, Jack could trust Tony much more than he trusted most of the high level CTU employees.
But the "our only lead" part set off an alarm in Tony's mind. "I thought you weren't in the field anymore Jack." Heroin addiction wasn't usually the best characteristic in an employee.
"I'm not." It sounded defensive. "The Secretary is my responsibility. I got caught up in it." Didn't he always?
"Yeah, well, listen to me very carefully: I don't want to get caught up in it. So do whatever you need to do at my place. I'm staying out of it, all right?"
Tony had a suspicion that he wouldn't be able to run away again if he was pulled back.
Jack sounded humbled when he replied. Like he truly knew what Tony was feeling. Knew how Tony had been so badly burned by CTU. "Understood."
The rest of the drive passed in silence, Tony wishing he could be as sure as he sounded that he wasn't going to get caught up in it.
2:16:43
Strangely, Tony found he didn't care about Jack and Audrey's reactions when he pulled up in front of the junk heap he called home. He had seen Jack in worse after Teri's death. "Watch your step," he called back to them, walking through the dead grass and concrete of the driveway, "the neighbor's dog likes our yard."
He was unlocking the door when he remembered Jen. He hoped fervently that she had already left for work like she said. Somehow, introducing her to Jack would be worse than anything. Knowing that he would be comparing her to Michelle.
She'll be gone, he told himself. "Here we are. Home sweet home." The sarcasm was bitter and obvious.
Jack's response was expected. "Just stay here," directed at Audrey and then he was off to check the house with gun ready. Tony watched him, rubbing the side of his face as Jack's familiar paranoia amused and worried him.
When the door to his bedroom swung open. Tony knew what was going to happen only an instant before it happened and he cringed. Jack pulled his gun and aimed it straight at Jen who shrieked, "Oh god! Who the hell are you?"
Tony choose to reply to Jack's unstated question rather than Jen's. "Hey, Jack, it's okay. This is my friend Jen."
He saw in the momentarily raised eyebrows that Jack wasn't buying the friend story. Then again, he wouldn't either if there was some girl in a nearly sheer shirt walking around in Jack's bedroom.
"Tell him to play with his guns outside." Jen's harsh personality made Tony want to turn the TV on loud and hide from Jack's reaction to his attempts to make a life without Michelle.
"I'm sorry. Excuse me." As Jack walked back, his last apology was directed at Tony. "I'm sorry." Jack seemed too preoccupied with pulling a gun on an innocent to judge Tony's lifestyle. Still, he would much rather Jack had left without meeting Jen. Thinking of that …
"What are you doing here anyway?" he asked harshly. "I thought you were working." Yeah, someone had to and betraying your country doesn't look too good on a résumé.
"I'm going in late." Jen shrugged it off. Tony cursed mentally, for the third time this week, before deciding he didn't care.
"This is Jack and his friend Audrey." After all, Jack hadn't actually told him they were dating though you could see it in everything they did. All using the euphemism really did though was draw attention to his earlier use of it in reference to Jen.
Jack's "hi" made Tony wince slightly. Now he was sure it had sunk in with Jack that Jen was living with him.
"I saw you on TV today. You're the daughter of the Secretary of Defense. You and your old man were kidnapped this morning." Tony's wince became more pronounced. Damn it. Couldn't she keep her nose out of his business?
Audrey replied with a simple, "Yeah."
"What are they doing here?" Jen was ignoring Jack and Audrey again.
"I'm helping them out with something." Deliberately vague. Of course, Jen couldn't do the polite thing and change the topic.
"Could you be a little more specific?"
Having Jack here was making Tony compare Jen to Michelle even more than usual. Jen seemed to come up lacking in every way. Tony didn't know what to say now, change the topic or was it all right to tell her something to make her go away?
Jack made the choice for him. "We need to use Tony's computer."
"What they don't have computers where you work?"
The sarcastically biting comment made Tony crack a little. "Listen, we have a situation here all right? They need to lay low for a little bit. We can't let anybody know they're here, all right?" Not that Jack would ever let her have the chance to tell anyone.
"Whatever, I'm leaving anyway." As she made her way to the exit, Tony knew what Jack was going to say before he said it.
"Tony," and Tony knew what had to happen.
"Jen, you can't go anywhere." He wasn't looking forward to this fight, especially in front of Jack and Audrey.
"Why not?" It was defensive and exactly what he had expected.
"We can't leave until Jack and Audrey take off. We can't take a chance." It was just about the most basic protocol there was.
"What kind of chance? I work at a bar." Tony sighed. She had no idea what was going on. Come to think of it, he barely did either but he knew it had to be pretty big for Jack to be back in the field again. Besides, nuclear power plants and overrides were never good in combination with terrorists.
Jack replied, "I'm sorry Jen. We're not going to be long."
Jen's voice was disdainful, "Look, stay as long as you want. I have a job. He doesn't."
It still hurt when she said it even though Tony had accepted the fact that no workplace wanted a convicted traitor a while ago. He hated the way it still got to him. Hated how not having a job made him feel so useless. Hated the way she used it against him, not knowing or not caring how much it hurt. Hated the way that very fact had played a significant part in tearing him away from Michelle.
Audrey spoke when she realized neither of the men were going to. "Jen, can I talk to you for a second? Please."
As the girls walked away, Tony and Jack were left standing side by side awkward again. He felt like he had right at the beginning of playing Director of CTU to Jack's Director of Field Ops. He hadn't known how to act with Jack around and no crisis to panic about with so much unresolved baggage between them.
"I'm sorry." He wasn't quite sure what for, everything really. But Jack took it as an apology for Jen's behavior.
"No, she seems sweet." Ouch. That hurt. Michelle's name lay unspoken on both of their lips. Both were grateful when Audrey came back and Jen left for the living room area.
"How are you guys making out?" She asked cheerfully.
"Good. I just have to convert this so I can read it. Hopefully you can make an ID from the surveillance video."
Tony racked his brain before saying, "I have software for that. I'm going to dig it out."
He turned away and began rifling through a dusty box on the bottom shelf of his bookcase. Most of this stuff he hadn't touched in ages. Before CTU even. He noticed about then that Audrey and Jack were whispering behind him. Years of fighting terrorism and plain curiosity forced him to listen when he heard his name. However, they were talking quietly enough that all he could hear was his own name and then Michelle's.
Tony stilled for a moment, biting his lip and closing his eyes against the quick shiver of pain he got at the mention of their names juxtaposed. Then he continued searching before pulling the software out and walking back over.
"All right, here we go."
"You got it Tony?" The warmth of Jack's voice at least assured him that they hadn't been talking too badly about him.
Tony watched over Jack's shoulder as they opened the software and let out a silent sigh as Jack said, "We're in."
They scrolled through the surveillance videos, leaving Tony watching and feeling useless. Thankful, Audrey recognized the man they were looking for quickly.
"I remember this lady. It was around here. There he is." Tony eyed the man with a distant look, memorizing his face more by instinct than design.
Jack was determined to get it right. "Are you sure that's him?" But even as he said it and Audrey assured him it was he was reaching for the phone. "I'm going to route this to the DC office."
Tony didn't smile, but was close again. That sounded so familiar, like the old days. Then he was stopped by Jack's resigned voice. "Tony, she's on the phone. She can't be making calls."
Perfect, ran through Tony's mind. Of course, Jen would do everything there was to annoy Jack even if it wasn't intentional. It seemed appropriate that his old and new lives would clash.
He slumped into the other room bitterly and said quietly, trying to cause as little exhibition of their relationship as possible to Jack and Audrey, "Jen, give me the phone."
Unluckily, Jen wasn't exactly the best person to put under house arrest. "What, I can't go to work, now I can't talk on the phone?"
He winced. Ah, more proof of the dysfunctional nature of this relationship. Finally he closed his eyes and set his will, what did he care if Jack thought that he was being an idiot? Jack had done worse, hadn't he?
"Just give me the phone." Nice and rational.
"Go to hell." Or not …
"Give me the damn phone!" He yelled, deciding that Jack would rather he do what he was supposed than do it peacefully.
"Fine!"
He walked out, phone in hand and tossed it to Jack. "Go ahead." He said, ignoring the curious look he was getting from Audrey. Jack didn't seem to notice there was anything wrong which was fine with Tony whether it was an act or not. "Thanks." It was brief while Jack picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory.
Tony watched the image on the screen as Jack talked to his DOD contact, trying to figure out the chance of identifying the man. It was a decent picture, which meant there was a good chance they would have results back before the hour was up. Then Jack would be off to follow up on the new lead and would be back out of Tony's life.
Somehow, the thought lacked the relief he had figured would accompany it.
Jack began scrolling through the surveillance from later in the night. He had to know that it was a crazy chance, but Tony knew Jack. He had to do something to keep himself occupied while waiting on the image.
Audrey had sunk down in his couch, reclining. Tony found himself wishing he could be so comfortable right now. He walked over to the refrigerator, needing a little bit of calm and getting it by pulling out a beer.
"Anybody want a beer?" He asked, knowing that it was early afternoon and not the ordinary time that most people would start drinking.
Audrey replied, "I could use one." The answer didn't surprise him after all the hell she had been through today and he tossed her a bottle.
Jack's look caught him guiltily. The look that yelled, "What are you doing to yourself?" It was the same kind of look Michelle had given him early on, when he had first started drinking away the pain. It made him want to put the bottle back, but he didn't. Instead he pulled out the same Cub's mug he had owned forever and poured the beer in, pondering over why the mug didn't give him the same sense of flashback that the rest of today had.
He flicked on the TV with a practiced move, back to his Spanish football. Without looking over, he knew that Jack had given him another concerned glance.
Jack was on the phone again, with Secretary Heller. They were talking about the CTU mole, apparently they had found out who it was. Tony was unconcerned until Jack started talking about sending people to pick up Audrey. Some odd sense of sadism wanted to listen to what Jack had to say about where they were.
"We're at 21408 Kipling, North Hollywood." Then a pause. Jack looked up at Tony before saying, "A friend."
He felt an odd flush of good feeling at those words. It took a lot to be called Jack Bauer's friend. Especially after everything that had happened this past year and a half. Of course, the emotion had been savagely suppressed by the time Jack walked over to him.
They could both tell that this was coming. They had to talk at some point and it looked like Jack was leaving soon. Tony didn't bother getting up when Jack flicked the TV off.
"Don't you think you've made me miss enough TV today Jack?" Tony asked. Sure, the conversation had to happen, but that didn't mean he was going willingly.
Jack ignored his comment and sat on the coffee table in front of him. His eyes were sincere and sad. "Why didn't you ever call me?"
He had thought about doing so. Not particularly long or hard though. Sure, they were friends. Jack was probably the closest person to him after Michelle had … still. It was a sense of pride, and of hopelessness. All Jack would try to do would be to save him like Michelle had tried. And Jack would never have been able to make a difference.
"For what?"
"I've been there. I could have helped." Tony grimaced in pain. Now they really were talking about Michelle. Somehow, connecting her to Jack's dead wife seemed awful though. Michelle was alive; she had left by her own choice. And at the same time, comparing her to Teri Bauer made it feel so final. As though there really was no more hope.
"I'm considered a traitor to this country." His voice was hoarse and slightly broken, "My wife left me." He couldn't bring himself to say Michelle's name just now. "So how are you going to help me, huh, Jack?"
Jack withdrew quickly, "Yeah." He accepted Tony's attempts to escape from everything but Tony had to continue. Had to make this clear even though he wasn't sure whether he was clarifying it to Jack or himself.
"Look, I owed you for getting me out of prison. But today I repaid that debt. To tell the truth, all you do is remind me of a past I'd rather forget. So, why don't you do me a favor? Do what you have to here and let's leave it at that, all right?"
Jack looked pained, but said, "yeah," and stood up, flicking on the TV again. Tony took another swig of beer, but it couldn't burn away the memories the conversation had dredged up.
It is said that actions speak louder than words though. And Tony gave lie to his entire position during his speech to Jack with one, longing look away from the TV and back towards Jack. A look that wanted his old life back so much, and admitted that this new life was all about trying to forget how much better it had been. How it could never be that good again.
Jack's cell phone rang, allowing Tony a brief respite from thinking about the past. Tony managed to gather that they had identified the suspect before he heard a car stopping in front of the house. Using a bit of CTU training, he peered through the blinds from the side, making it impossible for anyone outside to see him. Luckily, it was just secret service picking up Audrey.
"Jack, they're here." He was rather proud of the way none of the earlier emotion showed in his voice.
Jack hung up after another couple of brief moments, telling Audrey to get her things together in preparation for their departure. A sense of impending loss enveloped him, surprising him with the intensity with which he didn't want them to leave him alone here again.
He had a sense that it wouldn't be enough again. This reminder of so much more was making him feel that this new life could never measure up.
He watched nostalgically as Jack and Audrey kissed outside, wishing … wishing foolishly.
Jack walked back inside on his phone again. Tony listened cautiously.
"He's trying to leave the city. I've got to get to Van Nuys."
"No, I want to keep a low profile, I don't want to spook him."
"That's going to be too long."
"Less than 15 minutes."
"He'll most likely be on his own. I'm going to have to try to handle this myself." The warning bells went off there. Tony knew Jack, knew he probably could handle whatever it was himself, but at the same time, knew that handling things himself tended to get Jack in a lot of trouble.
"I'll be in touch." And Jack hung up. Tony couldn't help himself.
"What are you going to try to handle by yourself?" The question seemed to surprise Jack because he shrugged it off only after letting a surprised look slip through.
"Don't worry about it, it's covered." That didn't reassure him at all. There wasn't anyone at CTU that Jack trusted obviously, or he would have called him or her about the mole instead of Secretary Heller. Being out in the field with no back up that could be trusted was a bad idea.
He used the easiest excuse. "Jack, it would be pretty stupid of me to let you die right after I risk my life trying to save you." Suddenly he felt self-conscious as he asked, "Could you use my help?" The answer to that question held everything in the balance.
Their eyes met and their shared pasts flashed through their minds before Jack answered the question honestly. "Yeah."
"All right, let's go." He pulled on his jacket with a sense of suspended reality. It was when he grabbed his gun that it registered, he was really going out in the field with Jack again. That smile that had been so close to the surface since Jack had called threatened to spill over again.
It wasn't until he was about to close the door that he saw Jen. He had completely forgotten about her. Their eyes met, but all it served to do was convince Tony that all she had been was an escape. He closed the door before either of them could say anything. And he was on his way back to his old life.
2:54:25
Tony and Jack had lapsed into silence after Jack had filled him in on Henry Powell, the man they were going after. As they sped through the streets, Tony asked, awkwardly, "What's it like to be back at CTU again?"
Jack shrugged, concentrating on driving. "Hell. But isn't it always?"
Tony closed his eyes, knowing the question was rhetorical. "Yeah … how have things been?" He would resort to anything to fill the awkward silence.
Jack looked over at him, shrugged, and concentrated back on driving. "Not horrible. I haven't really spoken much to Kim … not at all to Chase." His voice sounded oddly pained. "It's … not CTU."
Tony dropped the subject and they sat in silence as Jack sped across the roads, probably breaking quite a few speed limits on the way. Then Jack unexpectedly started up a conversation. "I'm sorry." At Tony's blank look, he elaborated. "If this brings you back to CTU. You didn't want to be involved but I know how these things go."
Oh, no. It hadn't really occurred to him when he had offered to help Jack out, but was it even possible for him to detangle himself from the mission now? No, if this was truly important, something he didn't doubt, he would be dragged to a debriefing. And since this was a CTU mission …
Was it possible for him to be able to handle returning to the place that had destroyed him? He blew out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Yeah." He said, vaguely.
Jack glanced over, concerned, but evidently found something that discouraged further conversation in Tony's eyes because he turned his head back to the road and swerved to pass a car that was apparently going too slowly.
Tony rubbed the side of his face, but was distracted from further mental burdening by Jack's classic, "Damn it!" and the whir of helicopter blades beating the air. He grabbed on to the side of the car just before Jack turned sharply, dipping into a ditch before squealing to a halt on the pavement in front of the helicopter.
Jack and Tony were too good to require strategy discussion. They pulled out guns, popped open their car doors and ran out, ignoring the wind that ripped up from the blades that were spinning faster. Jack took the passenger's side, Tony the pilot's and both circled around, yelling, "Bring it down!" as soon as they were close enough.
Of course, both realized it was an exercise in futility as soon as they saw the gun Powell was holding to the pilot's side. Powell's bullet was a lot more pressing than theirs, if only by proximity. Luckily, Tony knew the procedure.
He came around to the pilot's door and ordered, "Put your hands up and don't shoot!" He felt a flash of sympathy for the pilot, who looked torn between the two guns before seeing Jack open the passenger door.
"Drop the weapon, now!" Powell's life was apparently more important to him than his escape. He put his hands up and was thrown to the ground by Jack, who was feeling rather unsympathetic to the man.
Tony assisted the pilot who was understandably frightened out of his wits. "Step out. Shut down the engine. Get out. Now."
He only put his gun away once the pilot was seated passively and he had grabbed the bag he found in the helicopter. He watched Jack from a distance as he searched Powell before reassuring the pilot with words even he didn't recall.
His walk over to Jack was flavored with a leftover adrenaline and the addictive flush of a successful mission. Jack brandished a small object, yelling, "I got his cell phone. Bring me the bag."
Tony handed the bag over to Jack to search as he kept walking to reach Powell cuffed and against the car. He looked just like the pictures in the surveillance video except he was looking a little worse for the wear. He managed to pant out, "Who are you guys? The police? FBI?"
Tony eyed him for a minute before finding a kind of cruel irony in his answer. "Actually, I'm currently unemployed."
Pity that he was that Powell had no idea of the humor in that statement, it was the first joke he could remember making since the virus. Of course, it was ruined by Powell's desperate plea, "I'll make it worth your while."
"Put him in the back." Jack ordered.
Tony began trying to move the man. "Come on."
That was when the fragile calm was torn apart by a bullet that landed directly in Powell's chest. The accuracy unmistakably meant it was from a sniper and Tony let out a shudder. Jack and he would have been dead at any point if that unknown sniper had wanted them so.
Tony rushed over to Powell in a crouch and tested for a pulse with experienced accuracy. "He's dead, Jack." He had to say, looking up at Jack Bauer and feeling every inch of the lost lead.
"Damn it!"
3:00:00
A/N: Once again thank you so much for all the awesome reviews and I hope you enjoyed this as much as you liked the first chapter. The third should be up momentarily!