Two hours later…
Tony's phone rang, and he picked it up saying his usual, 'Almeida'. It was Nina. Of course it was. Who else would it be?
"Do you have the pardon?" She asked.
"Not on paper," Tony almost whispered, trembling, "but if you come to CTU, you can talk to the president, or I can come to you if you just tell me where you are."
"God damn it Tony! I used to work for CTU! If you come with no one, and I mean no one, then I'll release your beloved Michelle. But if I find out that there's some SWAT team nearby, or LAPD or anyone else from CTU, bye-bye Michelle."
Tony nodded. "Okay. Where are you?"
"In an underground drug warehouse 12 miles east of Santa Monica. Above the warehouse is an Indian shop. If you can get yourself through there and into where I am, I'll let you have Michelle back."
Tony grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the information. "Alright. I'll see you in half an hour,"
"This had better be a real pardon,"
Tony put down his phone and scratched his face, for what was probably the hundredth time that day.
Back at the Warner residence…Kate had locked herself in her bedroom, and was crying up a storm.
"Katie, please. I needed to help Tony! Open up!" Jack pleaded.
"Jack! I can't marry you! I think we're rushing it, and I really can't marry someone who'll never be there for me, or be there at all!"
"Katie…"
"Jack, just go away! I really don't want to talk to you!"
"We need to sort things out. I understand that you don't want to marry me…"
"Oh, so you don't want me to marry you?"
"No, Katie, of course I do, but if you don't feel it's right, I understand. Truth is, I don't think I'm ready to marry again. Not after Teri. And there are some events going on today with Nina Myers, the woman who killed Teri so…"
"You BASTARD! You still love Teri! How dare you even get involved with me if you don't love me as much as you did Teri!"
"Kate…Teri was my first love," Jack reminded her, holding back tears. "I'll never love the way I loved her…ugh, I'm getting too mushy. Point is, I do love you!" Jack struggled with that sentence.
Kate unlocked her bedroom door, opened it and half-smiled. Her mascara had run far down her puffy cheeks, her nose was red, and her hair was messed up. Jack was a little scared at the sight, but pulled her in for a hug.
"Everybody listen up!" Tony called from the top of the stairs, although there weren't very many 'everybody'. "I'm leaving CTU for something very important, and our Intelligence Agent has been kidnapped! I'm leaving Gael Ortega in charge of CTU until I get back!"
There were a few nods of the head and a few people mumbled 'yeah'.
Tony flew out of CTU and rushed over to his car. He started it up and drove away. He drove 12 miles east of Santa Monica and scanned the streets of what looked like the Main Street. He found an Indian store and parked in front of it. Tony loaded his gun and walked inside.
"Yes, sir, can I help you?" A man asked in an Indian accent.
"I need to go downstairs," Tony replied.
"No, I'm sorry, I cannot do that. Orders from Ms. Myers."
Tony pulled out his gun. "I need to get downstairs. Someone I'm involved with is being held hostage downstairs."
The man smiled and pulled out another gun. "And I said I cannot do that." His voice was firmer and more abrupt.
Tony sighed and fired his gun twice, shooting the man in the heart. He walked to the back of the store and pushed the door open. The door led to a flight of stairs and he bounded down them quickly.
Tony explored the underground warehouse for a while, until he heard small ticking noises. His eyes widened and he ducked near a crate. Slower ticks, and then a huge explosion. Tony was thrown up against the wall and silently cursed at himself for not expecting Nina to do something like that. He got up and brushed himself off. His ribs hurt and he clutched his side before exploring some more. He finally came across a closed door. He pressed his ear against the door and heard Nina.
A/N: I know that it's kind of pointless for Nina to try to kill Tony with the bomb if she wanted the pardon, but I just had to put it in ;)!
"So I guess your lover's here then. I hope he's not too badly hurt." She said sarcastically.
Tony slowly opened the door and saw Michelle tied up in a corner and Nina standing a foot away.
"Tony! I see you survived the bomb?"
Tony nodded.
Michelle let out a breath that she was holding. Thank God Tony was here! Tony would make everything better.
"Untie Michelle," He said in almost a whisper.
"Show me the pardon."
Tony reached for his gun and shot Nina above her kneecap so she would hurt but wouldn't die. She dropped to the floor, and Tony raced over to Michelle and untied her. She stood up, and he grabbed her hand and ran out of the underground warehouse. Tony grabbed the feet of the dead Indian man and threw him down the stairs.
"Thank you, Tony," Michelle whispered, kissing him passionately on the lips. It was slow and tender and they both savored every moment of it. Finally, Tony took Michelle's hand again and led her out of the store, and into his car, where she was finally safe again.