The hustle bustle of CTU Los Angeles was giving Audrey Raines a migraine. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. Even though both Paul and Jack had died because of terrorists nearly three months ago, she had continued working for CTU and the Department of Defense. Working hard kept her from thinking about what had happened. The faint ringing of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. She fished it out of her purse and answered it,
"Audrey Raines," her voice cracked slightly. She hoped the caller didn't notice.
"Hi Audrey," the female voice on the other end of the phone was very calming. It took Audrey a second to realize who it was,
"Michelle? Um…what can I do for you?" Audrey couldn't help keeping the suspicion out of her voice. She hadn't talked to Michelle since Jack's funeral, why would she be calling now?
" I… I just," Michelle took a deep breath and continued, " I wanted to know how you are doing…I mean I know it's…"
Audrey cut her off, "I'm doing fine, Michelle!" she snapped, not meaning for it to come out so harshly. She quickly apologized, "I'm sorry for snapping. I would rather just not talk about it right now. Maybe we can meet for coffee tomorrow or something. Then we can talk about stuff. I really want to hear how things are going for you and Tony."
Audrey could basically see Michelle's smile over the phone, "Okay," Michelle said in a kind voice, "Call me later. I'll be at home. Take care, Audrey."
Audrey sighed, "Goodbye." Audrey turned back to her computer screen. She worked busily on the hourly's for a while, until shrill screaming interrupted her. She quickly turned in her chair and gazed at the entrance to CTU. Four guards were struggling to hold down someone at the entrance. She caught a quick glimpse of the figure. It was a young girl! Her wheat blond hair flew everywhere as she kicked and screamed, yelling at the guards to let her go. She was dressed in a summer dress. She must have been at a party. The girl was also barefoot, which made Audrey more confused then she already was. The guards finally got hold of the girl and struggled to carry her to an interrogation room. As soon as they were out of sight and the screaming subsided, Audrey picked up her phone and started to dial. The phone rang once, then twice. Finally he answered,
"Bill Buchanan" he said quickly. Audrey heard him bark out some commands in the back round, and then he repeated himself, "Bill Buchanan."
"Bill, it's Audrey. What's going on," She said in her no-nonsense voice. She heard him sigh on the other end,
"Honestly Audrey, we don't know." Audrey groaned at Bill's sheepish reply.
"Bill a CHILD just wondered into a government building screaming like there's no tomorrow, and you tell me you don't know! This is NOT the time to not know!" Audrey took a big gulp of air.
" Audrey, just keep on doing your job and I'll continuing doing mine. When I find something out I'll call you." Bill replied, and then hung up. Audrey sighed.
Over the next hour Audrey wrote an email to her father, ran a virus scanning over her database, sent the updated hourly's to Bill's office, and gave Edgar tips on how to ask Chloe out. Just as she was heading to the coffee machines her phone rang once again. She dropped her coffee mug while scrambling to pick up the phone and screeched inwardly, grabbed the phone off the receiver, and dropped it. She took a deep breath before picking up the phone again and answering it,
"Raines," frustration was very present in her voice.
"Gosh," Chloe O' Brian's voice came from the other end of the phone, "I saw what you went through to answer the phone, Maybe you should join the circus. You'd make a great acrobat."
Audrey groaned. What did Edgar see in Chloe, anyway? Chloe was always so blunt. She always knew what to say to make you feel bad about yourself,
"Shut up, Chloe! What do you need?" Audrey shifted her chair so she could look at Chloe in her workstation. Chloe rolled her eyes,
"Geez! Lighten up!" Chloe held her phone to her ear by her shoulder and start typing away on her computer, "Bill Buchanan called me. He wants you to go to interrogation 3 immediately. I don't know why, but…"
Audrey didn't let Chloe continue. She slammed down the receiver and quickly made her way to the interrogation room. When she got to the door she smoothed her blazer before entering. When she opened the door Bill and two other agents looked sheepishly at her. Bill cleared his throat,
"Audrey, this girl won't talk to us, but obviously there's something wrong with her," Bill ran his fingers through his hair. Audrey nodded in agreement.
She looked at the girl through the glass. She looked young, maybe thirteen. Her head was bowed, almost as if she were praying. Her hair was almost waist length and acted as a shield, coving all of her face. She wore a pink floral dress that had several rips in it. The left shoulder strap was broken, revealing her shoulder that was covered in a blood soaked bandage. Her body was covered in several bruises and her right ankle was wrapped up, probably a sprain. Her breathing was shallow. Audrey winced,
"She's in bad shape… do you know who she is?" she continued to look at the girl. She looked so familiar. Who was she? Audrey shifted her gaze to Bill, who still hadn't replied. Bill suddenly reached over and grabbed Audrey's hand. He cleared his throat,
"We know who she is… that's why you should interrogate her." Audrey studied Bill's face in disbelief,
"Why me? Can't you get Curtis in here or something?" Audrey was confused and upset be the secrecy that Bill seemed to have. Why would she interrogate this girl and not someone trained in interrogations? Bill gazed at her softly and shook his head,
"No. You need to do it." Audrey pulled her hand away from Bill's and made her way to the room's entrance. She sighed before typing in the entrance code to open the door.
The door made the usually buzzing noise as Audrey entered the room. The door slammed shut. Audrey took a deep breath. She decided to make some small talk with the girl before getting into the heavy details,
"Hello," Audrey nervously started, but before she could continue talking, the girl cautiously raised her head. Her hair parted from her face, revealing a rather swollen eye. Audrey watched the girl's aqua eyes widen. A small smile formed on the child's lips. She looked at Audrey, face filled with disbelief. Her lips parted as she spoke softly,
" Hello, Aunt Audrey."
Sorry this chapter is so Audrey filled! Don't worry, in the next chapters I'll add Tony and Michelle, and more Chloe, and I might even bring back Jack. Hopefully this wasn't too boring for you!