Within minutes they had heard from Curtis that the chopper was just landing and the building was now clear. Jack gave Chloe instructions to approach the chopper alone, disable the pilot then get in and wait for him. Jack hid behind an external stairwell so as not to be seen.
Chloe approached the chopper, recognising the pilot who smiled at her reassuringly. "Sorry Bob, but he wants to fly the chopper himself" she said. The pilot stepped out and as he did Chloe tasered him so he fell to the ground. Jack came running out from his hiding place and jumped in to the chopper next to Chloe. He handed her a laptop whilst he took control and set them on their flight path. Chloe was able to disable the tracking features on the chopper so they wouldn't be detected and they took off. As they rose above the chaos on the ground Chloe asked Jack where they were going.
"Somewhere close but where they're not gonna find us in a hurry"
"You know Jack, you never did answer me when I asked where I would be transferring the information to once I've got it from the CTU network, I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with not knowing."
"Chloe I'm not planning that we actually share the information with them. I'm just trying to buy us some time."
Chloe sat quietly contemplating what he was saying. It didn't make any sense to her logical brain. Buy time for what?
Jack looked away from her then and concentrated on flying towards their location. A few minutes later they started descending towards a wooded area within the hills above LA. They came to a clearing and Jack skilfully landed the chopper and turned off the engine. Chloe noticed a wooden out building and guessed that's where she'd be working from. She jumped down from the chopper as Jack did the same.
It took Chloe very little time to hack into CTU and retrieve the information. Jack told her to download the files and save them to disc but also to create a dummy copy with false information that he could use if he actually had to give them the information.
"What do we do now Jack?"
"We need to get you out of here and I need to track down someone who might know what they're planning on doing with this information. I have a name and a rough location."
"What do you mean get me out of here? Is that it? Am I supposed to just go back to CTU and tell them that the terrorist's name is Jack Bauer and he's been brainwashed by the Chinese? Oh, and by the way I ought to let you know that I've handed over our most sensitive files? Yeah right Jack! That's really going to work"
"Chloe, you can't let them know it's me. If you do then they'll have to assume I'm working with the Chinese and come after me. I need you to stall them to give me more time."
Jack looked her square in the eyes, silently pleading with her to help him.
"Chloe, I know I'm asking a lot of you, I always do but I can't do this alone and I can't trust anyone else."
"Jack, by the time I get back they will most likely know what I've done. On a normal day I'd say it would take them longer but they must know that the terrorist would try and get me to do something like this so they'll be looking for it."
"Chloe, I know. I also know they will be tough on you; they'll want to know why you've done it. You'll need to give them a basic description of the terrorist, one that will divert them for a while."
"Oh, and how do I explain that I, Chloe O'Brian, computer geek managed to escape unscathed?"
Chloe stood looking at Jack, a question in her eyes. All of a sudden a flicker of emotion close to disgust ran over his face. He quickly looked away as though he couldn't look at her anymore.
"What Jack?" she asked, feeling uncomfortable.
Jack, his back to her just stood staring out the window whilst Chloe processed the conversation they'd just had trying to establish what had caused this change in him. Suddenly, it came to her – if she was going to be convincing then she couldn't return to CTU unscathed. After all she wasn't a field agent, for her to escape it would have to have been through luck and determination. The price of which would be at least some degree of injury. That's why he couldn't look at her – the same thought had crossed his mind. The solution being for him to cause some believable injury, and that would torment him. Yes, Jack did some terrible things to people but he paid the price, the price being that every time it added extra weight to the guilt he carried every day of his life.
Chloe took a step towards him; he jumped at her touch but didn't turn. Chloe circled around him so she could look at him. Jack couldn't focus; he continued to stare out the window, a faraway look in his eyes. She reached up, her fingers gently grazing his cheek in an attempt to get him to look at her. When he did she saw the pain that was there, the raw emotion.
"It's Ok Jack, don't torture yourself…please, it doesn't matter. I…I'll do whatever you want me to do."
Jack reacted almost violently, pushing her away as though he couldn't stand to have her near. "That's the problem Chloe. How can you trust me so blindly? I'm not the person you think I am, you see me as a good person who sometimes has to do bad things but maybe that's not the case. I mean, out of everyone I know, you are the person that has been there, the person that has never doubted me. Why?"
"I don't know Jack, maybe because you trust me too. No-one has ever done that before, half the people I know think I'm crazy, the other half probably don't think of me at all. Yet you …., you trusted me to help you, you had faith in me and that meant so much. Jack, what makes you different is that you always try to do the right thing, you might not always succeed but that's because you're human. At least you try."
At that, Jack looked down for a moment, trying to control the overwhelming need to just stop. To stop long enough to feel something, long enough to find the old Jack, the one who had been able to separate his work life from the rest. How had it happened that he now couldn't distinguish between the two?
Chloe looked at him for a moment then decided she needed to take control. She walked over to him and asked how she was going to get back to CTU. Jack looked surprised for a moment then realised that she was trying to keep him focused on the task in hand. He pulled himself together, informed her that there was a car on a deserted stretch of road about a half mile away, told her that she was to have the car but that he would go on foot. They couldn't use the chopper without risking being seen.
They gathered together their things ready to leave. "Jack, I feel a bit vulnerable heading back alone, do you have a weapon I can use, just a knife or something I can easily hide. Just so I feel a bit safer."
Jack smiled at that, remembering Chloe's first foray into field work when she was terrified of using a weapon. He guessed she'd had to get over that one in a hurry. "Sure Chloe" he said, handing her a knife, showing her how to flip the blade should she need it.
They headed outside and Chloe asked Jack to wait a moment while she headed into the wooded area. She told him she needed to use the bathroom and since there were no indoor facilities the nearest tree would have to do! Jack waited patiently as she headed towards a densely populated part of the wood.
She was gone only a few moments when he heard a sharp yell of pain. He moved quickly, weapon in hand, approaching her quietly - believing they were not alone and wanting to take her assailant by surprise.
But, Jack was the one surprised. As he approached her, he saw a pool of blood collecting on her t-shirt just as Chloe was flipping back the blade. He stood still, a shocked expression on his face at what she had done to herself.
"Oh my god Chloe" he whispered, concern for her mixed with a certain degree of admiration. He moved towards her, lifting her clothes so he could get a better look at her self inflicted wound. It wasn't deep enough to cause any damage, but it would require some stitches.
Jack grabbed a shirt from his bag so she could use it to stem the flow of blood. She looked pale as though shocked by her own actions.
Jack reached out, cupping her face with his hands and looked intently into her eyes "why Chloe? Why would you do that?" He didn't really need her to answer - he knew. He leant his head against hers for the briefest of moments before taking a deep breath and pulling away.
They headed for the road together in virtual silence, he wondering if she would be Ok, wondering if she would get through whatever CTU held for her when she returned. Whilst she.., well she wondered if she would ever see him again.
