12.00pm, Wald's house, Los Angeles

Jack was sat down near the table in Wald's makeshift hideout. In his hands were the photos of Nina he had been given by Wald seconds before the terrorist had shot himself. He stared at Nina's face, stared at the woman who had seemed so normal until that night she killed his wife. Wald had told him that the photographs were taken six months before Nina was arrested, and Jack couldn't believe it. For a long time, even after the trial, Jack had assumed that Nina had just been working for the Drazens, but now the truth was in his hands. Six months before her arrest, he and Nina had been together whilst he was separated from Teri. He was brought back to the present day by the sound of his cell phone.

"Yeah?," Jack spoke as he answered, still in a state of shock.

"Dad? Where are you?," Kim replied. She, along with Alex, Miguel and Megan, were now in Gary's car heading for Kim's aunt's house in San Jose.

"I'm going back to CTU soon, Kim. Are you still in Los Angeles?," Jack spoke. He had been trying to get Kim out of LA all morning, and now he had found a link between the nuke and Nina Myers, he was even more determined to get Kim out of the city.

"No, I'm heading towards Aunt Carol's house. Alex taking me," Kim spoke, much to Jack's relief. He could trust Alex enough to get Kim to safety.

"Good, that's good. Look, call me when you get there, OK? I've got to help CTU," Jack told her.

12.10pm, Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California

Nina was back in her cell, when two guards appeared at her door. She looked at the pair with curiosity, and waited for them to speak.

"Ms Myers? We've got orders to take you to CTU," The taller guard, a middle-aged woman with hazel eyes, brown hair and a deep Southern accent, informed her, as the shorter guard, a bald, stocky man, handcuffed her. As they led her past the rows of cells, she allowed herself to smirk slightly, knowing exactly what CTU wanted, and knowing that they would have to give her something in return.

12.15pm, road in Los Angeles

As Alex drove quickly but safely through the streets of Los Angeles, he was sure he could hear something bumping around in the back of the car. Deciding to pull over and park, he explained what he was doing, before getting out of the car. Carefully opening the trunk of the car, he stepped back as he saw a dead woman, bloodied and bruised all over. Closing the trunk quickly, he got back into the car.

"We need to stop at CTU for a moment, then we can continue onto San Jose," Alex spoke as he got back into the car.

"CTU? Why, what's in the trunk?," Kim asked, confused. She had no idea what connection something in Gary's car would have to do with CTU. Alex turned to look at Megan, who was fast asleep.

"There's a body in the trunk, a blond woman," Alex informed her, and Kim's face grew pale. Knowing exactly who was in the trunk, she nodded.

"I'm sorry, Kim. At least he can't hurt anyone else now," Alex replied as they drove off. He was beginning to realise that today was going to be just like the day Nina had been arrested. That day had seen so much bloodshed and violence.

12.20pm, CTU helicopter near Los Angeles

Shackled and surrounded by four guards, Nina wasn't letting herself be intimidated. She knew that these guards had no idea just how close she was to freedom, and she liked it that way. They were close to Los Angeles now, and Nina wondered if Jack was at CTU, and if he even knew that she was on her way there. Not having heard much about Jack since her arrest, she had no idea what had happened to him or to anyone at CTU. Alex had visited her a few times, but for quite a large part of her time in prison, she had forbidden anyone to visit her, and she knew that her secret was going to stay a secret until her death.

12.25pm, CTU Los Angeles

Kim, Megan and Miguel stayed in the car as Alex walked into the main building to explain about Carla's body. The medical staff were going to have to take her discreetly, as there were no morgue workers available. Walking into the bullpen, he was noticed by Jack, who had suddenly grown concerned.

"Alex? Where's Kim? I thought you were taking her to her aunt's house?," Jack spoke, hoping that was a good reason why Alex was still in Los Angeles.

"We had to make a quick stop here, Jack. The woman who Kim babysat for, Carla Matheson, her body was found in her husband's car. I arrested Gary at the hospital, and he's in one of the holding rooms here, but that was before we knew he killed his wife. I'm waiting for the body to be taken to the morgue then I'll use my car so they can examine Gary's," Alex replied, and Jack sighed. Suddenly, Jack looked behind Alex, and a dark look of hate appeared on his face. Confused, Alex turned around and came face to face with his sister once more.

"What the hell is she doing here?," Alex spoke as he kept his eyes on Nina, who was staring angrily at Jack.

"She has information about the nuke, Alex. Look, I'll keep you updated but don't tell Kim about Nina, please," Jack spoke, and Alex nodded. As Nina disappeared from view, Alex decided to get Kim out of CTU as soon as he could. Michelle, who was also looking at Nina, was surprised to see such a petite woman. From what she had heard of Nina Myers, she had assumed Nina to be taller, but she looked like a child compared to the giant guards surrounding her. The fact that she was heavily shackled, and chained to two of the four guards, meant that the whole parade looked almost farcical. Of course, she knew that Nina Myers was never to be underestimated, and that she was deadly and could adapt to any situation in order to exploit it.

Heading towards Gary's car, he saw Kim, Megan and Miguel standing next to it. Explaining that Gary's car had to be taken for forensics, he took out the keys for his own car, parked nearby. Unlike his previous car, which was dark blue, his car was now black. Although the car was not that badly damaged in the crash, he had decided to get rid of it as it reminded him too much of that day. Getting into the car, Alex tried hard to put Nina out of his mind – it was a five hour journey and the last thing he wanted was to upset Kim.

12.30pm, Holding Room 1, CTU Los Angeles

Nina was looking around the room, which had suffered minor damage from the explosion. Although she had been able to see some of Wald's handiwork in the main bullpen, she had concentrated on looking directly at Jack, and had been satisfied by the look of pure hatred that she had inspired on his face. Standing next to him was Alex, and she had noticed his shock at seeing her back at CTU once more, which made her wonder if he had been told of her return. Mason had just been in the room, and as expected he had rejected her conditions. Of course, she knew that she was in control, and that they needed her help if they wanted to stop the nuke.

Back in the bullpen, and Jack had just finished his phone conversation with President Palmer. Fuming, he had just been told that Nina was going to be pardoned for her help in stopping the nuke, and he was determined to make sure that she never got the chance to taste freedom ever again. The only problem for him was that he was unable to get to her, and even if he did, he couldn't hurt her as she had information that CTU needed. This meant that he had to be the one who she would work with, and he had to find a way of making that happen.

12.35pm, Northwest Region Operations Complex, Oregon

President David Palmer had just made a decision harder than many he would face in his term as President. He was about to pardon one of the most dangerous American terrorists alive, and he had just had to inform Jack Bauer of this. It had hurt him to have to tell Jack that the murderer of his wife was going to go free, but he had no choice in the matter. For any other leader, it would have been a slightly easier decision – release one prisoner in order to save the lives of millions of innocent people, but Palmer knew that it was a possibility that he was releasing one prisoner to save millions of innocents as well as maybe condemning people to become future victims of Nina Myers. Promising Jack that one day they would make it right had seemed like a good thing to say, but Palmer had no idea what exactly it would take to make it right. He certainly wasn't going to deliberately arrange for her to be killed, and there was no evidence that linked her to any crimes she hadn't already been convicted of.

12.40pm, Santa Clarita, Los Angeles

Alex had been fortunate to find little traffic was in his way, and now they were outside of Los Angeles, although Alex knew that they were still in the potential fallout zone in the event of a nuke blast over Los Angeles. The radio was playing quietly, and Alex was glad that the trip would be peaceful. He had managed to forget about Nina, and as concentrating on getting his three passengers to San Jose. Checking the time, he worked out that they would be in San Jose by late afternoon.

12.45pm, Holding Room 2, CTU Los Angeles

Gary Matheson had just been informed that he was going to be charged with the murder of his wife, and it was all he could think of. He recalled the moment that his anger had reached boiling point, the moment when he had suddenly began beating Carla as viciously and as hard as he could. The violent scene had gone on for some minutes until the anger had left his body, and when he had seen his wife lying dead on the floor, he had panicked. His solution was to wrap her in plastic and place her in the trunk of his car, in order to dump her somewhere late at night. Now he was facing life in prison.

12.50pm, Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California

Chloe Hope was sat in her cell, and she wondered what Nina was doing. She assumed that the guards had taken her to CTU to be questioned, but had been told by Nina just before she had left that they probably wouldn't see each other again. Although she wouldn't mind seeing her only friend again, Nina had always told her that she might one day get out of prison for good, and it seemed as if that day had arrived.

12.58pm, CTU Los Angeles

The surveillance monitors that allowed the agents to see what was going in inside the Holding Room where Nina was being kept had been set up, and now Jack looked at Nina on the monitor. She seemed to be patiently waiting, unconcerned with the threat or anything other than doing what was in her interests. Suddenly, Nina looked straight into the camera, and Jack turned away quickly, spooked. It was as if she had known he was watching.

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