Title: One
By: Kith Kani
Rated: R
Summary: Chloe is in danger and Jack is the only one who will stand by her.
Disclaimer: All characters within the 24 'verse do not belong to us. Only our own characters (which are obvious) do. Please don't sue us, Fox. Your empire already makes enough money and we have none. Please do not take any part or portion of this writing without expressed permission. If you would like to post this fic, please contact us at nicole. Notes: This story is written by two people, Kith and Kani, who each write an hour, alternatively. The first is by Kani, the second by Kith and so on. We are rabid Chlackers (Chloe + Jack Chlack) so this is a Chlack fic. Meaning, there's love and junk and, oh yeah, sex but like any realistic situation, there is a progression to that point. So we'll get there. But have patience. )
Hope you enjoy!
Hour 01
10:00:00
Helen's head lifted from her book when the doorbell rang throughout her house. Curiously, she stood yet the promise of a visitor quickened her steps to the door. She peered out of the peek hole and a familiar face waited behind it. Drawing the door open, she took him in: his crisp, tailored suit screamed of expense and his broad shoulders and composure showed a certain maturity she had not seen in him before.
"David?"
"Helen," he smiled warmly. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. This is an unexpected surprise. Please, come in."
He passed the threshold and inspected the foyer, finding little had changed in the woman's home.
"What brings you here?" she politely asked, bewildered at his presence.
"I had to stop by and see you," he explained.
"Oh?" she hummed, leading them into the living room. "What for?"
When she turned, his arm rose and a gun with silencer faced her. "I need your help," he replied. His index tightened in two brisk jerks and the precise hollows in her forehead swiftly poured crimson.
The body tumbled to the ground and David returned the pistol to the back of his trousers. He cleaned the sweat from his palms on his pants with a distasteful wipe as he glimpsed at the lifeless body, staring blankly into nothingness.
With one final glance at the house, he turned and exited.
10:12 AM
"Ms. O'Brian, could you explain the decryption code you created yesterday again? Is it operating on server three or four?"
Chloe's hard exhale accompanied her rolled eyes. She whirled in her swivel chair to the opening of her cubicle where the boy stood.
"I explained it yesterday. Are you deaf or just stupid?"
The boy remained, frozen with indecision as to how to answer his superior. He did not respond, deciding instead to hurry away from her irritated glare.
Overhearing the exchange, Ronald Jones approached her work station. "May I have a word with you, Chloe?"
She reluctantly followed him to his corner office and stood before him, her arms crossed expectantly.
"We hired you here at Initech because your extensive experience and knowledge was, frankly, something we couldn't pass up. But your attitude toward your coworkers and employees is becoming a serious issue."
"I can't help it if Bryan's a moron," she replied.
"You can, actually," he snapped. "He's a trainee."
"It's a waste of time."
"No, it's not," he emphasized. "Lana said you hurt her feelings the other day."
"Her what?" Chloe said with repulsion.
"Her feelings."
"What a baby," she muttered.
"The point is, you don't work for the government anymore, Ms. O'Brian," he stated even as she continued to roll her eyes away. "Things are different in the commercial world. And I say you're going to start treating your coworkers better or there's going to be a problem."
She waited for his dismissal then raised her brows expectantly. "Can I go now?"
"Yes," he sighed at her stubborn tone.
Chloe charged to her desk and locked her computer before she swiped up her purse and started out. Her cubicle neighbor saw her retreat and leaned back to view her through his cubicle.
"Where are you going?"
"Early lunch," she snapped.
"It's only ten!"
She ignored him and continued out the door marked with the big red letters, Exit.
10:31 AM
Glaring at the cable news channel above the café, Chloe stabbed at the muffin she purchased along with her coffee then made sure her cell phone was still turned off to allow maximum privacy. The TV news was never really up to date. That kind of news was confidential. A pang of regret raced through her and she quickly pushed it aside as she had, frequently, over the past two years since she left CTU.
Every morning she woke up to go to her 9 to 5, she convinced herself it would get better the next day. She reminded herself that she had made a decision to leave that life – that it wasn't worth the risk every day – and she would not budge in her choice. She couldn't.
Satisfied with her usual reasoning – car explosions, snipers and traitorous agents – she collected her things and returned to Initech. She parked in her usual spot and the name plate on the concrete wall of the parking garage looked especially mocking to her this morning.
She scowled as she hit the lock button on her remote and began off. A quiet voice pierced through the garage and she whipped around.
"Chloe!"
She edged closer and he appeared from behind the car next to hers.
"David?"
"Shh!" he neared and met her halfway. She noticed he looked disheveled; his untucked shirt looked dirty and he looked slightly panicked.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I need your help," he replied, his eyes like saucers in their plea.
"What's going on?"
"Can you let me explain in the car? I can't be out in the open like this."
Chloe hesitated yet the state of him persuaded her. "Yeah," she sighed and unlocked her vehicle. The two slid in and she began driving. When they were a safe distance from her building, she spoke. "So what is it? What's wrong with you?"
"You were the only person I could think of to come to. Who isn't still in the Agency, I mean."
"What's going on?"
"I've been undercover for the past two years with Patrick Begich. He thought I was a wealthy investor interested in his company."
"What's his company?"
"He's the CEO of Paragon Industries. I was undercover to investigate a tip we had that he was selling the weapons his company manufactures to insurgent terrorist groups in the Middle East."
"Paragon? Don't they have the defense department contract?"
"Yes, which means the insurgents would have had access to the same arsenal our military is equipped with. Or worse, that they'd gain possession of a deadlier weapon."
Fleeting thoughts of nuclear warheads ran through Chloe's mind. "So what happened?" she asked.
"I found out Begich was dirty; not only was he selling to the terrorists, but he was laundering money from his billion dollar operation into his own personal accounts."
"So? You work for the CIA, David; why didn't you just go to them?"
"Because my cover was blown by someone in the CIA!" he emphasized with articulation. "Begich was tipped off. I don't know by whom yet. But since it was blown, I've been shot at half a dozen times."
Only Chloe's perpetually furrowed brow answered him. Eventually she responded. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know yet," he sighed, watching the passing scenery through the passenger window. "I knew I could come to you because you're not in any agency anymore."
"Yeah," she muttered sourly. "So you'd just come to me and I'd do what?"
"Help me," he pleaded with exasperation. "Hide or run or whatever."
"David, there's nothing I can do that you can't. We did the same job at the CIA, remember?"
"Don't patronize me, Chloe; you know I could never do what you do," he replied. "It's why I went into field ops; I would never reach the level you could. You're special."
Not one to argue a compliment, she remained silent and he continued to peer out the window.
"I just have to lay low for a little bit."
Chloe glanced in her rear view mirror to see a dark SUV approaching from behind at an alarming speed.
"David?" she alerted him with unease. He spun in his chair to see the truck which now got so close, it threatened to hit them.
"Chloe, go faster!" David instructed as he pulled a gun from the back of his trousers. She complied yet a crack through the back window of her car drew a startled shriek from her. David turned, leaning out the passenger window and aiming back at the truck as Chloe weaved through the traffic, recklessly. He fired several shots in the direction of the truck and finally made contact.
Chloe noticed the vehicle swerve slightly then turn roughly down a side street, ending its pursuit.
"Is he gone?" she asked as David returned to his seat, checking his ammunition cartridge.
"I think so. We need to ditch your car and find somewhere safe."
10:57 AM
Lydia tapped in the extension on her phone, glancing inside the transparent office to watch her boss answer the line.
"Yes?"
"Sir, I have an Agent Sullivan from the CIA on the line with an urgent APB that his division insisted we were alerted of."
"Put him through," he murmured and waited to hear the line click over. "This is Director Bauer."
"Mr. Bauer, this is Agent Sullivan with the Los Angeles CIA division. Our unit has just discovered the whereabouts of an agent that has gone rogue within our department. His name is David Emerson. Security cameras within LAX picked him up arriving yesterday. His last assignment was undercover work at the weapons facility, Paragon; we believe he plans to acquire some of these weapons and use them for terrorist purposes which is why we wanted to inform your department."
"Who is leading the investigation in apprehending Emerson?" Jack asked.
"For now, the CIA. However, the Defense Secretary is petitioning for CTU to take over the investigation. We have posted our agents at hot spots in the city that we think Agent Emerson may frequent. We've also sent a team over to Chloe O'Brian's residence to secure Ms. O'Brian and run surveillance from her home."
Jack faltered and faced the speakerphone with confusion. "I'm sorry, what? Why are you watching Agent- uh, Ms. O'Brian's house?"
Sullivan paused as well then spoke. "Uh, it's standard procedure, sir, when one spouse becomes a suspect to examine the other."
"One what?" he snapped.
"Spouse, sir. David Emerson is Chloe O'Brian's husband."
11:00:00
…
