The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.
Jack returned to CTU and was received by a boat load of new intelligence from Ivan's laptop. They had names of several of his clients most of whom were low level gangs and syndicates. But a few entries, recent ones, involved a Mr. Marks.
"We checked with FBI, CIA and NSA," Audrey briefed Jack as they headed for his office. "Turns out 'Mr. Marks' is Herald J. Marks," she laid the file on Jack's table. "Freelance terrorist from England. He was involved with several bombings in France, Ireland and Bosnia before he disappeared. He's suspected of working with Palestinian terrorists and Iraqi insurgents. No operations in our hemisphere to date. But, it looks like that may have changed."
"Could Marks be working for Ivan Arkadeyevich?" Jack asked.
"No," Audrey answered. "Both work as middle men it seems. They may be answering to a higher authority."
"Who?"
"We don't know. Ivan follows the money and Marks mostly seems to be hired out by rogue governments as far as we can guess."
"So a foreign government may be involved in a plot to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb in LA?" Jack inquired regarding the evidence of radioactivity found at the Landes residence. Audrey nodded. "What about the photo? Was it doctored?"
"Yes," Audrey affirmed as Curtis entered the office. "He's clear as glass."
"We've got to find Ingram, Curtis." Jack said to his superior. "He's the only hope of a lead we have."
"Well the 'evidence' arrayed against him," Curtis pointed to the now fraudulent photo on the desk, "is now confirmed to be a forgery that may be a little difficult Jack."
"I know but it's all we've got."
"We've put an APB out on him and the stolen vehicle already but," Audrey shook her head. "It seems like he's disappeared without a trace."
"I should've been thinking more clearly," Jack said. "I should've asked for confirmation on the photo before I…I was just so angry that Kim had been taken hostage. And now…"
"We'll find her, Jack," Audrey reminded him. "Or Ingram will. He doesn't seem like the type that gives up."
XXXXX
The shop looked worse on the outside than on the inside. It was an electronics store along the same vein as a Radioshack, though less tidy and lower in quality. Still it didn't seem to be doing too bad. He walked up to the clerk, whose head had to weigh twice as much as normal from all the metal in his ears, nose and lips. "You don't happen to know where I can find a Mr. Bratchenko, do you." He asked casually.
"Yeah," the clerk whose name was Jay on his tag. "He's the owner."
"Is he in? Can I speak with him?"
"Why do you need to see him?" Jay asked more nervously. Ingram showed his forty-five under his shirt to the clerk.
"This good enough reason?" He smirked.
"Uh, I-I'll sh-show you where he is."
"Thank you," he was polite enough to say. The clerk, now sweating bullets the size of the one's in the 1911, lead him into the back room where two men in suits were having a nervous discussion.
"Jay!" The senor most man, Bratchenko Ingram guessed shouted. "I told you not to bring anyone back here!"
"He-he has…" Jay stuttered.
"Mr. Bratchenko?" Mac stepped forward. "I'm a Federal Agent with CTU."
"You better have a warrant," Bratchenko barked.
"I've got something better," Mac smiled. "A proposition."
XXXXX
The device was finally ready. It was loaded into a white commercial van and the final plans for the attack were briefed to those who would be going to ensure it occurred.
Kim sat all alone in her 'cell' on the second floor. The guard watching her kept eyeballing her in a very lecherous way. He was clearly undressing her with his eyes. Kim had been held hostage before but she more terrified now than before because there was a terrorist who was getting excited looking at her locked in the same room with him. A knock on the door and the rattling of keys signaled that someone was entering. It was Ivan.
"How are we doing Kim?" He asked as he removed the tape from her mouth.
"Why are you holding me?" She asked him. "Just let me go."
"We will. Soon enough." Ivan looked over at the guard. "You'll just have to be patient." Kim didn't know if he was talking to the guard or her. But she feared the worst. Before he left Ivan put the tape back over Kim's mouth and put a blindfold over her eyes.
XXXXX
Bratchenko never expected this. "You're serious?" He asked the agent.
"As a heart attack," Mac replied as they stood in the alley-way behind the store with Kiryl watching from the loading platform behind them. "I know you want Ivan dead. So do I. I assume you've heard the phrase 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'?"
"Of course…comrade."
"Then you can understand why I'm coming to you."
"Why not ask your friends at CTU?"
"Someone framed me. Made it look like I was working for you."
"But I've never seen you before."
"Tell that to my boss," Mac replied. "He threatened to kill me if…"
"If what, comrade?"
"The real reason I'm doing this is personal. Ivan kidnapped my boss's daughter to keep us, more or less me, under control. My boss holds me responsible for it. Now with being framed as a traitor and blamed for her kidnapping…"
"I understand. You want to get her back."
"Exactly. Hopefully I can provide them with enough reasonable doubt that they believe me to be innocent. But that's very secondary. My first priority is getting her back. But the place the terrorists are holding her is heavily guarded. I can get in with no problem, but getting out is where I need help. How many men do you have?"
"Not many," he admitted. "We tried to hit Ivan earlier but he had protection. Good protection; professionals. I lost most of my men in the attack."
"Get as many as you can. Also, there is a tin shed at the site. Do NOT destroy it. Don't even touch it. It's got a very dangerous weapon inside and we don't want it going off, understood?" He got a nod. "Get your men and meet me in the parking garage across the street. I'm going to be calling CTU and have their HAZMAT team ready to secure that shed. All I want from you is to help me get the girl out of there. You do that and I'll help you kill Ivan."
"I believe we have a deal, comrade." They shook hands like businessmen and went their separate ways.
XXXXX
Further decryption of the laptop and analysis of the journals had proven fruitless at CTU. All their sources of leads had been drained. Their hands were now tied. In his office Jack prayed to God for a miracle that would bring his daughter back to him. "Please, God," he pleaded, "help me. Send my daughter a guardian angel to rescue her from her captors." As if on cue, his phone rang. After pausing for a few seconds and two more rings he picked it up. "Bauer," he whispered into the receiver lowly.
"Listen fast, Jack," it was Mac. He was speaking on the radio-phone in the Hummer. "I found the terrorists and where they're holding Kim." He spoke in rapid fire. "It's an abandoned oil refinery in an industrial park on the south side. Its GPS coordinates match those two numbers I found at the Landes residence. I saw them take Kim inside. She's not been harmed, Jack. Ivan is there as well. I'm on my way there right now to deal with them. There's more. They've got a dirty bomb, Jack. That's what Ivan was hired to do: smuggle the materials for it into the country. I don't know what his target is or who hired him, but if you move fast enough and bring all the TAC teams you've got down on their ass and a HAZMAT team to secure a tin shed on the premises we can stop these bastards and get Kim back in one stroke. The shed is where the bomb is located."
"I've got the numbers, Mac." Jack said as he pulled the numbers up from his PDA. "I'll have satellite imagery on it soon."
"Jack. I don't really care if you believe me but I'm not a traitor. I don't care if you arrest me when this is over."
"Mac-"
"In all honesty I'm not sure I'm coming out of this one alive. But if I die Ivan is going to join me in the grave. And, Jack," he paused and looked out at the setting sun thinking it may be the last one he ever sees, "I swear to you on my immortal soul that you'll get your daughter back alive. Even if it's the last thing I do." And he hung up before Jack could admit that he now knows he's innocent.
Instead Jack set the phone down and quickly got the coordinates of the refinery and bolted from his office. He quickly briefed Audrey and Curtis who gave approval for Jack to take four teams to the site.
"Get moving, Jack," Curtis ordered. "Take four teams with the choppers. I'll have the HAZMAT unit waiting for your go ahead to move in." While Jack was gearing up Curtis and Jenkins noticed that the GPS tracker in the stolen hummer had been reactivated.
XXXXX
In the parking garage, Bratchenko arrived with one four door sedan and three of his men, including Kiryl, all of whom were involved in the attack on CTU. Mac put a fresh armored vest on over his t-shirt and strapped a six inch commando dagger onto his right calf. He also gave the explosive charges to Bratchenko. "Use these to distract Ivan's men. And remember," He reminded his temporary ally, "no damage to the shed. You'll know it when you see it. It's the only thing shiny on the property."
"Of course, comrade," Kolya nodded. "Once you've signaled us that you've got the girl we'll attack."
"Then let's go kick some ass." They loaded up in the two vehicles and drove off looking for a fight.
6:59:59