Disclaimer: I just remembered that I had forgotten to write a disclaimer for the last two chapters. I don't own 24 or any of the characters except for the ones that you don't recognize.
A/N: Okay so here's chapter three which was extremely hard to write and I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because I ended it with a cliffhanger last chapter. I hope you like it. You get a taste of what it is like to see Chloe freak out. Thanks for all the reviews!
Sinking
Curtis didn't know what shocked him more as he watched in a daze from behind Chloe. The fact that Chloe was shooting Jack or the fact that Jack…wasn't dead. However, his eyes saw the splintered storage room door beside Jack. What the hell? It seemed like Jack was thinking the exact same thing. He nearly jumped when Curtis heard his cell phone ring. Chloe pivoted on her heels in order to face him.
Curtis quickly raised his weapon and aimed it at her. It was a scenario that he would never have been able to imagine. He kept his eye on Jack when Jack walked up behind her. Chloe let out one long shaky breath. Then she said two words.
"He's dead." At the same time Chloe stepped to the side so that she could face both Jack and Curtis. She put a finger to her lips. Jack and Curtis glanced at each other in confusion. Chloe pointed to her ear and suddenly there was a look of understanding on Jack's face.
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Chloe waited for any answer and desperately wished that Curtis' phone would stop ringing. She watched him turn on the phone and stride at least five feet away from her. Good. Hopefully, Johnson wouldn't hear a thing. Why wasn't he saying anything? Finally, the earpiece crackled.
"I don't believe you," Johnson said slowly. Her heart, which had been thumping quite loudly became still. She clutched the gun tightly. This didn't sound too good.
"What?" she asked knowing fully well what he had said. God. Please, no.
"Your father's good as dead."
"No! I swear he's dead. Jack's dead. Don't kill him! Please," Chloe sobbed as she felt Curtis grab her arms and pull them behind her back. She struggled against him but barely felt the impact of her head hitting Curtis' chin. He grunted softly. She felt Jack's strong hands on her shoulders. Her face was drenched in tears.
"Goodbye, Chloe."
The feedback of the earpiece shrieked and Chloe screamed and jerked her head to the side in pain. Jack quickly took it out of her ear as her hands were being handcuffed.
"NO! Don't kill him, Johnson! JOHNSON! You BASTARD!" she screamed knowing that at this moment her father could very well be dead. At that thought, Chloe's legs failed to support her and Jack caught her before she could hurt herself. She clutched his strong arms as he gently lowered her to the ground.
"Curtis! Get her out of these handcuffs!" he shouted.
"Bill's orders. I'm sorry, Chloe. Chloe?" Curtis said regretfully.
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This was scaring him more than being strung up from the ceiling waiting to be tortured. Jack gently placed his hand on Chloe's cheek. Her unfocused gaze chilled him to the bone. He gently slapped her cheek hoping it would break her out of this strange reverie. In doing so, he noticed a slight bruise on her skin and he felt a small bubble of anger in his chest.
"Chloe. Chloe. Look at me. Chloe," he said soothingly. He rubbed her cheek and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Come on. Chloe. Jack vaguely heard Curtis calling in most of the team to their location. It seemed as if Chloe had heard it.
"Call…in…medics. Agents…by the…stairs…hurt…or dead," she said barely audible. Jack looked up at Curtis and Curtis nodded. Jack held her face as it started to drop.
"Chloe! You've got to stay awake for me. Okay? Please tell me what's going on. Chloe?"
Jack's eyes widened when he saw Chloe break out of his grasp and rested her head on his shoulder. Unsure of what to do, he looked at his other colleague. However, Curtis was directing the agents on his walkie-talkie. He hesitatingly put both his arms around her and was surprised and concerned to find that Chloe was thinner than he would have liked. This couldn't be healthy.
"There's…a bomb…in the boiler room," she whispered. Jack and Curtis froze. Jack pulled her away from him holding her tightly by the shoulders.
"What did you say?" he asked his heart thrashing.
"There's a bomb in the back of the boiler room. I put it there. It's in a duffel bag. There were…dead bodies all over the place," she answered softly gazing at Jack. Curtis immediately called for more backup and more medics. Then he knelt down in order to be at Chloe's eye level.
"When is it going off?" he asked as many agents arrived on the scene. Chloe closed her eyes. Jack shook her gently.
"Chloe. When is it going off?" he repeated Curtis' question.
"I don't know."
Knowing that he got all he could out of her about the bomb, Jack motioned one of the agents to come take his place with Chloe.
"Chloe, I got to go. This is Agent Mathis. He'll stay with you."
Then he turned to Mathis.
"Get her out of this building. She has information and I don't want her getting hurt." Mathis nodded and pulled Chloe up. Jack grabbed on to his arm and Mathis turned in question. "Take care of her," he whispered. Mathis nodded once more and led her away.
Jack turned to face the crisis in hand. As always.
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Chloe waited outside the hotel resting against a CTU car. The medics had tried to take her blood pressure with the handcuffs but after being pushed away they surveyed her face for any signs of injury. Finally, they discerned that she wasn't seriously hurt and they left her knowing she was a grieving woman. Chloe just stared at the building hoping it wouldn't burst into flames anytime soon.
She closed her eyes. Dad, I'm sorry. She sacrificed her father so that she wouldn't have to kill the man that she quite possibly loved. Suddenly, Chloe regretted yelling at her father seven years ago. She moved her wrists around in the handcuffs and then rested her head on the car.
How was she ever going to look at Jack Bauer without thinking about her father ever again? She was going to have to quit but after hearing the metal of the handcuffs clinging, she let out a bitter chuckle. That is, after she went to prison.
Suddenly there was a lot of noise from the front entrance of the hotel. Chloe saw Jack walking out with the rest of the agents. So they had been successful as always. She saw Jack looking around until his eyes landed on Chloe. She swallowed as he walked up to her.
"Hey. How are you doing?"
Chloe just laughed. It sounded so…terrible to her ears.
"Just fine, Jack," she paused, "Could you check my apartment somehow? My father's body."
Jack put his hand on her shoulder.
"Chloe, you're going to have to tell me what's going on."
Chloe closed her eyes.
"They're terrorists. They bombed the Sears Towers. They wanted to bomb the hotel because President Logan's friend was staying there. The man in charge was Johnson. He's the one who told me to kill you. I didn't so they killed my father. His body should be at my apartment unless they did something else with it. They just wanted to use me and my father ended up dying. Does it sound familiar, Jack? Well it should according to Tony."
She hated herself for forcing him to think about his late wife but she didn't care anymore.
"Chloe-" Jack started but Chloe stopped him before he could finish.
"Don't Jack. I just can't. Take me to CTU and question me there but now…I just can't. I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Okay," he said nodding, "Come on. Let's go." He held onto her arm and gently led her to his car. He opened the passenger door and Chloe slid into the seat. He closed the door and called out to Curtis who was updating Bill on their situation.
"Curtis! I'm taking her to CTU."
"Alright, Jack. I'll see you there," Curtis called back.
Jack got into the car and turned on the ignition. His eyes wandered to the handcuffs and he wished he could take them off.
"Sorry about the handcuffs," he said. Chloe shrugged.
"It's not the first time I've worn them," she answered. He knew that she hadn't meant to be biting, he hoped. But he realized that the last time she had been in them when she had tried to cause a diversion so that Jack could escape with Derek. He sighed.
It had been quite a strange, hectic way to start the day. He glanced at her who was staring out the window. Jack had found her annoying when he first met her, but now she possessed a certain charm that made him smile time to time. Although she was brutally blunt at the worst possible times, he couldn't help but like her for everything she was. She was one of the few people at CTU who trusted him all the way. In fact, she was the only one who did. It pained him to see her like this. This wasn't the Chloe he knew. Jack hoped that Bill would go easy on her when they got there.
"Jack," Chloe said softly.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Don't be," he replied after a short pause. He just wished he hadn't put her in such a situation. He was going to get the damned bastards.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for."
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Jack and Curtis were on either side of Chloe as they entered CTU. When people saw their senior analyst being led in handcuffs the chaos faded in order to watch this moment. Jack wished that they could just look away and leave her alone. Just then, he saw Spenser climbing down the stairs shuffling through papers not noticing the scene in front of him. Jack felt Chloe stiffen beside him and watched as Spenser came to a sudden halt. Jack uncomfortably watched him gaze at Chloe and her handcuffs. Chloe stopped to stare right back at him. Jack understood the significance of the look they were exchanging and suddenly he jerked her away in order to meet up with Bill. At least that was his justification anyway.
Chloe looked up in surprise but he ignored the silent question. Instead he met up with Bill at the foot of the stairs. His face was stern as always.
"Chloe, what the hell is going on?"
Jack couldn't help but admire the way she straightened up and look at Buchanan in the eye.
"You should hurry and send agents to my apartment. The terrorists barged in on my father and me and used my father as leverage. They wanted me to place a bomb in Sheraton Hotel because President Logan's friend was staying there. I don't know if they're still at my place but probably not. But there might be traces left," she said in almost all in one breath. Bill studied her for a long moment trying to decide whether to trust her or not. But after working with for a few years, he knew that Chloe didn't lie unless it was to help Jack. Since Jack wasn't breaking any rules or causing any necessary disruptions, he decided to take Chloe for her word. Bill noticed Curtis walking in.
"Curtis and Jack. I want you to search Chloe's apartment. Now. Chloe, I want you to stay in holding," Bill ordered.
"Sir. I want to go with them," Chloe said firmly. Bill shook his head.
"No, I don't want you to step outside of CTU."
"I need to see my father. I need to see for myself if he really is…dead," Chloe said quietly. Bill looked to Jack for support.
"Let her come with us. She'll be a help," he said. Bill nodded a second later.
"Fine, but hurry. Take the handcuffs off her, Curtis." Then he walked into the situation room. Curtis did as he was told and gave her an apologetic look. However, Chloe was not in the mood to smile in return. She just hoped that he understood that she understood that Curtis had a job to do even if it meant detaining her.
"I've got to prepare the team. It won't take long. Are you going to be okay?" Jack asked. Chloe nodded.
"Yeah."
Jack patted her arm and then he and Curtis hurried off. She was left standing with everyone staring at her. She gave all of them the special Chloe look and they all went back to their work. All except for Edgar and…Spenser. Spenser was still a few feet away but then he walked over to her before Edgar did. Chloe crossed her arms.
"Hey."
"What are you doing here, Spenser?" she asked harshly.
"They needed more analysts. Look, Chloe. I heard about what happened. I-" he struggled to find the right words, "Are you okay?"
"Spenser. You're not my favorite person in the world right now and I just - no I'm not okay. I don't know what to do," she whispered horrified that she had let those words slip through her lips. He moved his hand as if he was about to touch her but then thought better of it.
"You're doing great right now," he replied, "I should get back to work before Edgar yells at me again. Chloe…I'm sorry." A tear slipped down her nose as she nodded and Spenser joined Edgar. Chloe gave Edgar a little wave letting Edgar know that she knew he was worried about her.
"Hey, are you ready to go?" Jack asked from behind her. Chloe turned around to face him and Curtis.
"Yeah. Let's go," she answered him with confidence that she didn't have.
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Chloe's hand hovered over the apartment's doorknob and for the life of her she couldn't remember why she had wanted to be back here in the first place. She must have been out of her mind. She licked her lips and then opened the door. It was unlocked. The agents swept into the apartment but she could not bring herself to go inside. She watched as Curtis and Jack whispered to each other grimly and her heart sank when she saw Jack coming for her. His expression told her there was no miracle that she had been hoping for. Her father was truly dead and his corpse was probably on her living room floor. Chloe couldn't believe that she was still able to stand.
"I'm sorry, Chloe."
She shut her eyes and put her hand to her right temple.
"Chloe, maybe you should wait outside," Jack suggested worriedly. Chloe shook her head.
"No. He's my father. I have to."
"I understand. Whenever you're ready."
"I'm ready," she lied and walked through the doorway and into the living room. Her eyes drew her to the body against the bloody couch where the forensics people were taking pictures and notes. She barely noticed her legs dragging through the crowd of agents until she was standing by her father's right foot.
Kevin O'Brian had been shot in the head and blood was still pouring from the wound. She touched his hand and the coldness brought fresh tears to her eyes.
"Dad," she sobbed and brought his hand to her lips. "I love you," she whispered smiling through her tears. She felt Jack kneel beside her.
"Jack, make it all okay. You always do. Please?" she pleaded not even knowing what she was asking him to do. She just wanted him to do his thing that he always did and no matter what everything would turn okay in the end. Jack grabbed her hand.
"I can't, Chloe. I'm sorry," he whispered. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. Her shoulders racked with sobs and he rubbed her back. He turned when he felt Curtis tapping him.
"What is it?" he asked quietly. Chloe lifted her head.
"These people were careful. I don't think they left many fingerprints. And I just got a call back from CTU and there weren't any Johnson that matched Chloe's description," Curtis said frowning.
"The two men were wearing gloves. Johnson wasn't but he really didn't touch anything…wait," she added suddenly. Curtis and Jack turned to her in confusion as Chloe's fingers wandered to the leather of her belt.
"My belt buckle. There should be fingerprints on here," she said hurriedly. She carefully unhooked the buckle and pulled the belt out of the loops of her jeans. Curtis took it and hurried over to the other agents leaving the two of them alone.
"Why the hell was he touching your belt?" Jack asked furiously. Touched as she was for his concern, she did not answer him. Jack tugged on her hand so that she would face him again.
"Answer me, Chloe!" he ordered.
"Don't worry, he didn't rape me," she replied quietly. Jack sensed a horrible "but" in there somewhere.
"But…"
"He just helped me undress and then dress. I was in my nightgown before." Chloe shuddered as she remembered feeling those calloused fingers run down her skin leaving goose bumps in its wake. Jack sensed her discomfort and took it as a cue to back away from her a little bit. However, she grabbed his hand.
"Don't. It wasn't you who did it. It isn't you who I'm afraid of."
Jack rubbed her cheek.
"You shouldn't have to feel afraid at all. Chloe. I swear to you, we will find those men."
They stared at each other for quite sometime. Then Chloe nodded.
"I know. I trust you."
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Jack's mind was reeling. He knew he should be concentrating on the fact that Chloe had been hurt and that her father was dead because of him. However, his thoughts were mostly fixating on the fact on how much Chloe's well being mattered to him. At first he had dismissed it as being worried for a friend, a very good friend. But now after having his gut wrenched out of him when Chloe told him about how the fingerprints came to be on her buckle, he couldn't help but think that he had some sort of feelings for this woman. It certainly couldn't be anything more than platonic, could it?
He cursed himself for worrying about something small when Chloe was still grieving for her father. The guilt panged his already overburdened heart. If only he hadn't run into her, then her father would still be alive right now. But he couldn't help but feel grateful that she didn't shoot him. She cared enough about him not to kill him for the life of her father. Jack's mind replayed that scene. Shock wasn't enough to describe how he had felt when he saw Chloe raise her gun. Maybe numb? Or maybe it had been the worse sense of betrayal. It was as if Nina Myers had taken Chloe's place. In those few tense seconds, he had felt that he could never truly trust anyone again. Luckily, that would never happen till the day Chloe died. And that wasn't going to be anytime soon, if Jack had anything to do with it.
They were in the car on their way back to CTU. He wasn't exactly sure how his colleague was doing but she seemed to be out of shock mode. Jack assumed that she was feeling numb like he had when Teri was killed.
"The last time I had seen my father was seven years ago. We were never really close. He only cared about my grades. I loved my mom but she died when I was six. So I never really got to know her. Then twelve years later, he remarried and we grew even more distant. Sometimes I really hated him. But now I wish I could go back. I never tried to connect with him. I should have at least tried."
"I'm sure he loved you, Chloe," Jack replied uncertainly.
"I know he loved me. He just never liked me," she answered sadly. Not knowing what to say, he just settled for reaching over and holding her cold hand.
To Chloe, it said everything and it was enough.
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Edgar typed away on his computer hoping to find a match on the fingerprint and he broke into a smile when he did. He reached for the phone and called Buchanan.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Mr. Buchanan, I found a match on the fingerprint. His real name is Timothy Rutgers. He has a clean slate. He also owns a financing company down in Sacramento. His company is overflowing with money, sir. But that's about it."
"Okay, thank you Edgar. Look for any bank accounts. I want to see if we can find a money trail. And also look through any documents that might have any connection with what we have today."
"Yes, sir."
He put down the phone and found that Spenser was behind him reading over his shoulder.
"Did you hear about Chloe?" Edgar asked. Spenser shook his head.
"No, what?"
"They found her father's body. He really is dead," Edgar answered. Spenser lowered his head and let out a sad sigh.
"Let's just hope she can make it through this, because it looks like we can use her help."
"I'm here, what do you need?" asked Chloe from in front of the desk. They both looked up in surprise. Spenser saw Jack and Curtis in the situation room with Buchanan. Chloe marched to her desk beside Edgar and punched in her username and password. Edgar swiveled around in his chair.
"Chloe, you don't have to do this."
Chloe huffed.
"Well, obviously it looks like you two can't do anything yourselves without me herding you. Well, I'm here. What have you found on Rutgers?" she asked staring down at Edgar's screen. Sighing, Edgar told her what he knew. Spenser used that time to observe Chloe closely. She was obviously mourning but she was disguising it with that normal harsh exterior of hers. After hearing all she needed to hear, Chloe went back to her seat and clicked away on her keyboard.
After fifteen minutes, Chloe nearly choked on the water that she had taken a sip of from her bottle. Spenser and Edgar stared at her.
"What is it?" Spenser asked.
"He sent money to Sophie O'Brian."
Chloe leaned back into her seat in shock.
"Is she related to you?" Spenser asked. Chloe slowly nodded.
"She's my stepmother."
A/N: I hoped you liked it! I know, I know, the belt buckle is from season three but I needed something to fire Jack up. I hoped you liked the Jack/Chloe moments. I tried to make it realistic as possible. I'm thinking…should I add Audrey into the story? Or would it make the story too complicated? Hmmm… Please review! I love reviews! Thanks to the reviewers from the last chapter!
