Title: Requital For An Agent
Author: Maddy Lake Deep
Character(s): Jack, Chloe, Audrey and James Heller
Rating: PG-13 for violence, sexual themes and psychological abuse
Category: Angst, action/adventure and romance
Summary: Sequel to 'Will You Be There?' Jack is missing and Chloe will do anything to find him, even if it means risking her own life. AU. PostDay 3.
Disclaimer: No, the characters of 24 do not belong to me…though I wish I owned Jack and Chloe. Only Elizabeth Dawson is my creation.
Author's note: To those who enjoyed 'Will You Be There?' Again, I'm very thankful for your interest in that story. At first, I didn't have a sequel in mind until writing the last chapter, which shows you how the muse wants to have its way at times. I hope you enjoy this story, too, and please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
Chapter one: Reunited
A lit cigarette lay in a glass ashtray, waiting to be picked up again. It wasn't alone. There beside it were numerous photos dispersed on the coffee table.
She sat on the imitation leather sofa, and as the woman leaned forward, her curly reddish-brown hair followed, falling onto her shoulders. She looked around at the house that was not at all eloquent—a rather decrepit place that should have been demolished. Chips of old paint peeled off the walls. The living room was so tiny, even smaller than what you would find in a one bedroom apartment. Stairs led up to the bedroom and beneath the staircase lay a cellar door. A sensuous beat of erotic music resonated softly in the atmosphere. The condition of the house was of no concern to her. All she cared about was finding something quick.
Her hazel eyes skirted down to the pictures. Most of them were of Jack Bauer she had secretly taken. Some were of him and Chloe. Her lanky fingers picked up the cigarette. She took one long, deep puff while staring at Jack and Chloe embracing outside his house, and then the smoke slowly rolled out from her full lips.
Indecision…and Chloe despised it. Since last week when Jack had gone to DC, she would get numerous calls from Mike's number. It made absolutely no logical sense. He's dead and buried. Whoever it was had called during the day and sometimes at night, startling Chloe out of her sleep. She answered, hearing only a cold, eerie silence that sent chills biting through flesh and bone. One night she stayed awake with the light on. And despite the doors and windows locked securely, Chloe flinched at any slight noise from outside. She often asked herself why she didn't tell Jack about the calls when he had spoken to her on the phone a few days ago. O'Brian knew why, not wanting to burden him with anymore of her problems, especially since he was busy working for Heller now.
"Mike's dead," She said to herself. "Jack made sure of that." And then her mind raced to another thought. "But who's calling me on his cell? Maybe it's just some nut that has his phone. Should I tell Jack? What should I do?"
Chloe sank her head down into the pillow. Staring at the ceiling, she let out a deep, flustered sigh. The calls weren't the only thing that had been frustrating. She missed Jack terribly—recalling the way he kissed her, hard and passionate, and when they held each other. She tried to focus on something else; her job at CTU, anything but Jack. It was useless. He only crept back into her mind, into her life. Again she rambled on silently. "Jack, I hope you don't forget about me." Chloe had known why she said that…
Audrey.
Since he was working for Heller, that meant he was in close contact with Audrey. She felt silly thinking such things, but on the other hand she worried about their friendship. Afraid to go to sleep, she resisted it as much as she could but sleep finally had its way. She had had enough of the fear; and before shutting her eyes, her last thoughts were finding this person who had Mike's phone.
During the day at CTU, that was the only time Chloe had a break from whoever was calling her. Well, that added to her frustration because if the person called, she thought about tricking him into a conversation and then trace the call, which told her that this person was no idiot. Every now and again, Chloe peeked up from her computer and glanced angrily at Erin Driscoll sitting inside her office upstairs. She noted Driscoll stared back at her and knew what was coming next.
Chloe's phone chimed twice and she quickly answered it before the third ring. "O'Brian."
"Chloe," she heard Driscoll say in a frigid tone on the other end. "I need to see you. It's very important."
Chloe huffed and slammed the receiver back into its cradle. Getting up from the desk and heading toward the stairs, she also noticed stares from two new people—Sarah Gavin sitting at her desk and Agent Curtis Manning who breezed past Chloe. It seemed every time you slammed a phone down in CTU (especially if it was Chloe O'Brian), to the other agents and computer techies, something had to be wrong. Irritated, Chloe rolled her eyes (not at anyone in particular) and continued up the stairs to Driscoll's office. She yanked the door open, walked inside and hesitated in front of Erin's desk.
Erin Driscoll, clad in a dark pinstriped suit, straightened in the chair and gave Chloe a stern glance. "Are you happy working here?"
"What?"
"You heard me. I shouldn't have to repeat myself."
"I don't have a problem working here," Chloe replied bluntly.
"No. You don't have a problem working here, but you have a problem with me."
Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Erin rose from her desk and stood in front of Chloe. "I'm not blind. I can see you're upset."
"Upset about what?"
Tired of the 'I-don't-know-what's-going-on' games, Erin raised her voice. "Jack Bauer."
"Jack?"
"Chloe, stop the charade. I know you and Jack are close friends and ever since I had to let him go, you've been acting distant, especially with me. So why don't you just say what's on your mind."
Chloe decided to do just that and at the moment, it didn't matter what Erin had thought of her. "I don't think it was fair to let him go."
"He was no longer fit to run CTU. You know the reason. I don't have to explain it."
"But after everything he's done--,"
Erin held up her hand, halting Chloe's defense of Jack. "Chloe, Jack is one of the best agents we have, but…I had to let him go. It wasn't only my decision. Did he tell you he wanted to leave?"
Chloe frowned at that unexpected comment. "No."
"He agreed that it was time for him to move on."
The frown remained etched onto Chloe's face. She didn't believe Jack would agree with Erin but at the same time, she knew about Jack's nightmares. It's possible he had grown weary of the job, what it had done to him and what it was still doing.
Driscoll went on. "Chloe, it's unfortunate we had to let him go but just like he moved on, you have to do the same—if you want to continue to work here."
Chloe nodded and then she said, "Is there anything else?"
"No. I just wanted to make sure there aren't anymore problems between us."
"Everything's fine." Chloe tried to make it sound genuine. It didn't work when noting Erin's unconvinced expression. "Whatever," Chloe said silently, feeling like no matter what she said, Erin doubted her. She then voiced aloud, "I have to get back to work." O'Brian rushed out and before she returned to her desk, she halted at the top of the stairs. Close friends Erin had said. Their relationship had grown more than just close friends. "If you only knew," she thought. "If anyone knew."
Sherbet colors of orange, crimson and lavender twilight had left its brilliance across the sky. Chloe, after parking her car, sauntered toward her house when another melodious ring of the cell phone halted O'Brian in her steps. Chloe's heart drummed, fearing the caller again. She had to found out who it could be and grasped the phone out of her pocketbook. It wasn't Mike's number. Chloe shrugged her fears aside for the moment and answered it. "Jack," she said in a relieved tone.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just exhausted." She opened the door and after shutting it, Chloe ventured inside the foyer.
"I miss you," Jack told her softly.
Chloe stopped again. She swallowed hard, trying to stay composed, though that had been tough when hearing his voice; wanting to be with him. "I miss you, too."
There was a brief pause and then Chloe heard him—a faint chuckle or rather a contented smile she knew all too well. Jack went on. "Secretary Heller is having a birthday party this weekend and…you're invited."
"Me? Jack, I don't know. I have to find something to wear and--,"
"Chloe," he cut in, sensing her uneasiness about such things like parties. "You'll be fine and I want you to be there. I miss you so much."
O'Brian smiled, loving him more when he made her feel special. It's true she was like a prodigy when it came to computers, often ridiculed in school as the computer geek who had no social life. Sometimes she wondered how she met Mike in a diner. They were walking in at the same time and he let her go inside first. They somehow ended up having lunch together. Mike told her his life story of being a struggling artist until he had numerous successes with paintings that were accepted in not only L.A. galleries but also in New York City. Chloe still cringed at the thought of him; his love she hoped had been the real thing turned out to be a sick obsession. It obviously wasn't meant to be. All along it had been Jack, though doubt still crept in her mind even about their relationship. Still, she wanted to be with him and going to DC, at least Chloe would feel safe from the caller—something she had to eventually tell Jack.
"Chloe?" Jack startled her back into the conversation. "Are you there?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about something--," she hesitated, sighed and added, "Okay, I'll be there."
When arriving in DC, Jack made sure Chloe stayed at one of the finest hotels. Inside the lobby, red tapestry carpeting had given the hotel an elegant touch; four tiered chandeliers greeted the guests, boasting their brilliance. She had been very impressed with her room—a plush duplex suite. At the moment Chloe was upstairs, staring at her reflection in the mirror as if surprised. Well, it had taken her mind a while before it fully processed who was staring back at her—Chloe O'Brian who hardly ever wore dresses, especially not like the silky lilac one with long sleeves (she was still uncomfortable about the scars on her arm) and low cut enough to see a glimpse of cleavage. It draped down, halting a few inches above her knees. Below were high heeled pale lilac shoes and when Chloe looked up at her face, She had worn more make up than usual, not too much but just right for a Friday evening party. Her hair fell smoothly onto her shoulders in loose waves.
Thinking to herself, she said, "That's me?"
And a silent voice answered, "Yes, Chloe, it's really you."
She rolled her hands into tight pale fists while thinking about meeting Secretary Heller, his friends and especially…Audrey Raines.
"I'll be okay, I'll be okay, I'll be okay," was the mantra Chloe repeated to herself and then she knew it had been time to go. The Chauffeur was waiting downstairs.
He hadn't been unaware of the glances sneaking his way, particularly women. Jack weaved handsomely through the crowd in a dark suit and tie. Every now and again he stopped to mingle with numerous people inside the parlor of James Heller's elaborate home.
"Excuse me," Jack heard Heller say behind him and then he turned to face the Secretary. Bauer smiled pleasantly. "Happy Birthday."
"Thank you, Jack," Heller replied with one of his wide grins. "Glad you can be here. Someone else is, too."
Jack's gaze fleeted to Audrey standing by the French doors. She held a flute glass of red wine in her right hand and when catching his gaze, she quickly looked away. That was another thing he had been aware of, her attraction to him. And though he admired Audrey and their friendship, there was someone else he could not forget…Chloe. "Excuse me, sir," he told Heller and crossed over to where Audrey stood, beautifully clad in a strapless burgundy gown. He closed the space between them and greeted her with a warm smile. "Hi, Audrey."
She smiled back, unable to hide the obvious—Audrey was happy to see him. "Hi, Jack. Being here at my Dad's party, it means a lot to him."
Bauer could only offer another smile, feeling rather uneasy, he pondered about her statement. Of course Jack had known Heller greatly appreciated him being there and working for him, but he also got the innate feeling that she wanted to say it meant a lot to her as well.
Audrey asked, "Is your friend coming?"
"Chloe?" He peered around the crowd. "Yeah, she should be here soon."
Audrey sipped some wine. She then added, "I know you're close friends and--," she faltered, wanting to say more. Instead Audrey met his gaze with disappointment.
"Audrey," said Jack softly, wanting to gently tell her his relationship with Chloe meant more than only friends. She had already known but he needed to say it. And just as Bauer was about to tell her, he noticed Chloe walking inside; her eyes nervously scanning for Jack in the crowd. His face immediately lit up and he marveled at how beautiful she looked. "Excuse me," he told Audrey and quickly snaked his way through the crowd until he found her. "Chloe!"
She beamed along with a relieved expression at the sight of him. Grinning, she said, "Jack!"
He longed to hold Chloe again and cradled her into his arms. She shut her eyes, for the moment, lost in his embrace; the scent of him; all that was Jack Bauer. When Chloe opened her eyes, she glimpsed Audrey staring at them not far from where they embraced. O'Brian suddenly felt uncomfortable and slightly pulled away from his hug.
"You look beautiful," he barely uttered, more like a sensual whisper and then Jack raised his voice a notch higher. "I was hoping you'd come." His fingers lightly touched her hand. "I know I've told you on the phone but I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too." Chloe wanted to touch his lips, kiss them; taste him again. Jarred out of the moment by his fingers tightening their grasp on her hand, he said to her,
"Come on, I want you to meet Secretary Heller."
Never fond of parties, mostly because of her awkward social interaction with people, Chloe managed to stay calm and chatted with Heller, though she wondered if he picked up on any clues that inwardly she was a nervous wreck. He then introduced her to several more people and another person she hadn't looked forward to meeting.
"Audrey, I'd like you to meet Chloe."
"It's nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand to shake Chloe's own.
"Nice meeting you, too," Chloe replied awkwardly and uneasy. She had a higher than usual perception of people and nothing could get by O'Brian, not even Audrey's strained smile.
"Jack has told me a lot about you. It must be tough…what you do at CTU."
"Working with computers? Yeah, sometimes it can be hectic but--,"
"Oh? I'm sorry. I thought you were an agent?"
Chloe's eyes shifted awkwardly and irritably at Jack. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Excuse us," said Jack, now regretting introducing them and bracing himself for the inevitable discussion. He led her into the foyer where they could be alone.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Didn't you tell her I work with computers and I'm not an agent?"
"Yes I did but with everything going on, she probably forgot. I don't think she meant any harm--,"
Chloe huffed, tightening her lips. Jack tilted his head toward her and continued. "You think Audrey wanted to embarrass you?"
"Well, it seemed that way."
"Audrey isn't like that at all."
"I'm not feeling well. I don't know; it must have been something I ate."
Jack sighed and then he said, "Okay, I'll take you back to the hotel."
"You don't need to do that. It's Secretary Heller's party. You just can't leave and--,"
"Yes I can and I'm taking you back to the hotel."
Chloe waited while he explained to Heller and Audrey why he had to leave. She then watched him come back into the foyer and then they left the mansion. Once they were inside Jack's black Lexus, while he drove, there had been an icy silence…or was it cold? Chloe noticed he seemed perturbed by her silence, as if she wasn't actually angry at him but rather troubled.
Jack peeked at her and asked, "How are you feeling now?"
Chloe smirked. "You didn't believe me?"
"I knew you were uncomfortable and wanted to leave."
"Okay, I lied," Chloe snapped, "and yeah, I wanted to leave."
Jack stopped the car on a dark, isolated road. He stared at her silently.
Puzzled, Chloe frowned. "What?"
Jack could not stifle the smile that had bewildered her even more.
"It's not funny," she snapped again. "You know I don't like parties."
"Chloe, I know that. I'm just happy to see you and I understand why you wanted to leave." He cupped her face in his hands and as his lips slowly neared hers, she pulled back, smiling teasingly. Chloe knew it excited him—those little games she liked to play. And when she had done that, he kissed her harder. She listened to his breathing as it got deeper. A soft moan escaped her lips. O'Brian wanted to undress him. And when they both realized it was getting out of hand (like what had happened inside her apartment), Jack halted his kiss and laid his face onto her cleavage.
"I love you," he whispered.
Chloe played with a few strands of his hair. "I—I love you, too."
Jack sat up with a concerned expression. "Something's wrong."
Chloe could not keep silent about it anymore, berating herself for waiting too long as it was. "The day you left, I was getting calls."
"Calls? From who?"
"It sounds crazy but…it is crazy. It doesn't make sense."
"Chloe, what's going on?"
"I've been getting calls from Mike's cell.
"What?"
"I didn't want to tell you because, well, I feel like I'm always interfering with what you have to do. It was important for you to go to DC and--,"
"Chloe…all this time we talked on the phone and you kept this from me?"
"Mike's dead," Chloe said. "There's no way it can be him. But when I get the calls, it's always this creepy silence."
"I know he's dead. Whoever it is obviously wants to scare you." Frustrated and angry, Jack's head fell back against the seat. "Ever since that happened, I always want to make sure you're okay. I don't care where I am or what I have to do; I need you to be honest with me."
Chloe gave him her usual frown and said, "I'm sorry, Jack. You're right, I should've told you. Whoever it is, I was hoping I would get a call at CTU and trace it from there but no luck." She quickly added, "I know you're upset."
Jack lifted his head from the seat and looked at her. "Chloe, yes I'm upset but that's because I don't want anything else to happen to you. I almost lost you once and if someone else is trying to hurt you, I can't let that happen."
She nodded gravely.
"I'll find out who is it. Right now I have to get you back to the hotel."
Jack started the vehicle again and while driving, suddenly came the sound of gunfire and an explosion of one of the tires.
"Damnit!" yelled Jack.
Chloe gasped and gripped the door arm as the car swerved in and out of the lane. She prayed there was no other vehicle on the road but even as Jack tried hard to keep the car steady, it had been too dark to see where they were headed. The next thing she knew, it veered off the road, slammed against something and everything faded to pitch darkness.
Chloe slowly and painfully opened her eyes. She stirred and flinched at the throbbing pain on the right side of her head. What felt like liquid trailed down her cheek and when she touched it, she saw fresh blood in the pale moonlight. Chloe witnessed something else—the front of the car smashed against a tree. Disoriented, she looked at the driver's seat, expecting to see Jack but he was gone. Despite the pain, Chloe managed to shove open the door and stumbled out onto dirt and pebbles.
"Jack?" she called.
Nothing. The only sound heard were crickets, then reality sunk in. She was alone. Jack disappeared. Overwhelmed with fear, pain and bewilderment, Chloe cried out, "Jack!"
TBC
