10:00am, CTU Los Angeles
Alex was sat at his desk, nervously chewing the end of a pen. He had been unable get in touch with Kim, and it was impossible to divert any CTU resources towards finding her. Hoping that she was not in any immediate danger, he returned to work.
10.10am, Palmer's office, OC
Lynne Kresge was worried. It was now becoming obvious that there really was a nuclear bomb endangering the city of Los Angeles, and she had gotten some information that needed to get to President Palmer immediately. As Palmer scanned the information he had just been given, he looked surprised, but a part of him knew that this would be one of his biggest tests as President.
10.30am, CTU Chicago
In Chicago, where they were hundreds of miles away from the threat of nuclear oblivion but still working on the threat, Sarah Henderson was hard at work. As Chief of Staff, she was one of the most important members of the team at CTU, and it had been a career filled with highs and lows. It had only been a year and a half since the Palmer assassination attempt in Los Angeles, a day which had badly affected her, her friends and her life. Alex had come up to Chicago the weekend after, and she was shocked to see how much difference a week made. She looked over at Josh Papierski, her boyfriend and the Special Agent in Charge. Their relationship had grown out of the tragedy and although it had sad roots, it blossomed well and the couple never saw their relationship as a way of covering up their feelings or trying to pretend as if the events of Primary day had never happened.
10.54am, CTU Los Angeles
"Everyone listen up!," shouted Michelle, trying hard to get everyone's full attention. Seconds later, the alarms started to blare out, and Michelle's shepherding of people towards the exits meant that something was imminent. Not sticking around to find out, Alex stood up and looked around, making sure that everyone was moving. Alex watched as Tony led Paula quickly down the stairs from Mason's office, and heard Michelle's voice, before the first bomb exploded. Debris and bodies were sent flying in all directions, and Alex was no exception. He was forced backwards by the explosion, and found his flight stopped when he went crashing into a wall. Looking down as his brain struggled to catch up with the rest of his body, he flung his head up as another explosion tore through the building. Struggling to his feet, he moved as quickly as he could towards the nearest exit, before the third and final explosion shattered the eerie quiet.
As Alex walked into the underground garage, he coughed violently. He saw the numerous injured people, some with blood stains all over their bodies, some struggling to walk or even stay concious. Feeling his head, he felt the gash on his forehead and winced. As far as he could tell, there were no other major injuries to his body, and he felt as if he should have been taking some higher power that he didn't believe in for his lucky escape. A paramedic guided him towards the back of an ambulance, where he began to take a look at Alex's wounds.
Kim shielded Megan's eyes from the ghastly horror that surrounded them in the garage. Having made the journey to CTU, they had been just about to enter when the bombs went off, and Kim had no idea what had happened. She looked sadly at the injured people, and could only imagine what had just happened within the building.