2:25 pm PST
Tony had given up trying to pretend he wasn't interested in what was going on in the conference room. He pretended to work at his desk, but was really focused on watching events unfold across the floor. The representatives, four of them, from the Department of Defense had arrived at noon on the dot, and with their arrival, Liz had dismissed Tony with a brief, but genuine thanks. Since then, she had been engaged in what appeared to be a very heated discussion. About what, Tony could only hazard a guess.
He'd heard that the D.O.D. wanted to bury Victor Drazen to cover their own asses. Tony didn't blame them. If the public found out that almost an entire strike team had been killed trying to assassinate a man that the D.O.D. rescued and hid away behind everyone's backs, the backlash would be incredible. And if they to also discovered that the man was rescued two years later by his family; and nearly killed a Presidential candidate along the way... Even Tony was upset, and not just because he had held a front-row seat for the whole fiasco. A cover-up was inevitable, but Tony knew it would interfere with the investigation that C.T.U. was launching. Liz was going to have to fight her way upstream to get any answers.
Elizabeth Genova. Tony still wasn't sure what he thought of her. He'd only spent less than an hour talking with her, trying to give her his perspective on the events of the last two days. She was smart, she had asked him all the right questions, and she seemed to be drawing all the right conclusions. But he still couldn't figure out why she was here. Why had this agent had been chosen to run the investigation? It smacked of a backroom deal, and Tony didn't like that. He'd been kept out of the loop for a lot of the time Jack Bauer had been rampaging around L.A., and he didn't want to be cut out anymore.
Tony's phone rang, and he picked it up, his attention still focused on the conference room. "Almeida."
"Agent Almeida, this is Michelle Dessler, I'm the one who's been working on Bauer's computer." Tony looked up at the upstairs office. He could see the young woman sitting at the desk staring intently at the computer screen in front of her. "There's something here I think you need to see, sir."
Tony took one last look at the conference room, Liz didn't look happy, whatever argument she was having, she was losing. Closing his eyes for a moment, he stood up, "Be right there." Tony hung up the phone and started to the stairs.
He entered the office and came to stand behind the curly-haired brunette. "What do you have?"
Tony saw Michelle take a quick breath and seemed to be steeling herself. She's nervous about something, Tony thought. That can't be a good sign.
"Well, sir-" she began.
"Don't call me, 'sir,' it's just Tony, OK?" Tony tried to keep his tone light. He'd noticed a lot of the second shift and the temps were treading lightly around him. He figured they were unsure how to act around the man who had been sleeping with a traitor just a little over a day ago. And Tony was also certain that the fact that Chapelle hadn't yet confirmed Tony's position at C.T.U. made everyone unsure as to whom they were reporting to. Still, he was getting very tired of having to step lightly.
"Sure, Tony, fine. Like I was about to say, you know about the taps we've found on the computer systems, right?" She turned around in the chair and looked up at him. "Well, there's one here on Bauer's computer."
"That's not surprising; Nina was skimming data off almost everyone's system." Something occurred to Tony, "Wait a minute, didn't you find this earlier today?"
Michelle nodded and turned back to the computer, "I did, and I was in the process of removing it when I noticed this-" she turned back to the computer screen.
Tony leaned over her, putting a hand on the back of her chair, and he noticed her stiffen a bit. Damn, I think I'm scaring her. Tony gave Michelle what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and asked, "What exactly am I looking at here?"
"We've been pulling the activity logs for each of the infected systems before clearing the taps. We're going through them line by line, trying to track when and what Agent Meyers was stealing from CTU." Tony nodded. "Look here."
Tony followed Michelle's finger, and blinked in surprise. "That can't be right."
Michelle nodded, "That's what I thought, but I've checked the log three times. It hasn't been altered, and I'm the only one who's been on this system since Mr. Mason left. The data's accurate, and look where it originated from."
Tony stood and gave a low whistle as he ran a hand through his hair and absently scratched the back of his head. "Damn. That's not good. Has anyone else seen this?"
"No, I called you first. I was under the impression that you were in charge with Mr. Mason gone, was that wrong?"
Tony cursed under his breath. Chapelle really needs to make an official announcement about the new power structure soon, we can't work like this. "No, for the time being, you're right." Tony shook his head, "Call Milo, tell him to go back through his logs and see if he can find any more incidents like this, he can start with my station. But don't talk to anyone but Milo about this. And see if you can't lock down a specific IP address for that originating computer."
Michelle went to pick up the phone and turned back to Tony, "Don't you need to use your station?"
Tony shook his head, "Not for a few minutes, I need to let Agent Genova know about this, it's going figure into the meeting she's in." Tony turned to the door and was about to exit when Michelle's voice stopped him.
"Um… Tony?"
"Yeah?" He turned. Michelle looked at him like she was struggling for the words to say what she wanted. "Listen," Tony began, trying to set the woman at ease, "God only knows what rumors are going around about me and Nina Meyers, so if there's something you want to say, just say it. I'm sure it won't be anything I won't hear again."
Michelle laughed softly, "Actually, I was going to say you might want to check a mirror before you walk into that meeting, your hair's kinda sticking out all over."
"My hair- ?" I'm an idiot. Tony quickly ran his hands over his head, smoothing his hair and hoping Michelle couldn't see him blushing. After a moment, he looked up, "Better?"
Michelle was still laughing as she nodded. Tony shook his head ruefully as he opened the office door, "Tony?"
"Am I missing a button, now, Agent Dessler?" He asked with a smile as he turned back again.
"No, I just wanted to say…"
"Go ahead." Tony prompted.
"None of this was your fault, and no one's saying it is. We all just..." She paused. "All we have to go by right now are rumors, and they're getting stranger by the minute. We all just wish someone would tell us what really happened here yesterday."
It was Tony's turn to laugh, "If you find someone to explain it to you, please have them explain it to me. I was here for the whole thing and I'm still in the dark."
Tony exited the office with the sound of Michelle's laughter in his ears. He knew that she was on the short list to replace Jamey and run C.T.U.'s internet protocols. And Tony found himself idly wondering if his recommendation would be a plus or a minus in the decision-making process. Michelle Dessler certainly seemed competent, she had become familiar with the protocols they were using very quickly, and aside from that moment when he had leaned over her, she had seemed at ease working with him. Or at least at ease enough to tell me to comb my hair like a six-year-old.
Tony strode purposefully over to the conference room, and he gave a short knock on the door and waited for Liz to wave him in before he entered. A couple heads turned his way, but the older gentleman sitting opposite Liz continued to speak, "…but it really doesn't serve anyone's interests to drag this out. Really, don't you think it would be better for Agent Bauer and his daughter if we spare them the pain of a long, drawn-out investigation?"
Tony watched Liz's eyes narrow, the blue in them turning to ice, and he had the fleeting impression that Liz was physically restraining herself from reaching across the table and harming the man. Instead, she spoke in a silent and measured tone, "Don't you think it would be better for Agent Bauer's and his daughter's peace of mind to find out exactly who Agent Meyers was really working for, and bringing that person, or those persons to justice?"
Tony cleared his throat, attempting to get Liz's attention, but the man in the pinstripe suit continued, "Really, Agent Genova, all we have is Meyers' word that she was working for someone else. And seeing as Bauer had a gun to her head at the time, I'd imagine it was a tactic to save her life."
Tony cleared his throat again, and Liz looked up. "Is something wrong, Tony?"
"Yes, actually, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Can it wait?"
"I'm sorry, Liz, it can't."
The pinstripe suit waved Liz off like he was shooing a fly, "Go ahead, Agent Genova. We're almost done here anyway; see to Agent Almeida there, we'll wait."
Liz smiled thinly and stood, crossing over to where Tony held the door open for her. She stepped through the doorway and as she passed close to Tony he realized she was shaking in fury. He couldn't believe Chapelle and Mason had left her to deal with these men alone. He closed the door behind her and put a hand on her arm. "Going rough in there, I assume?"
"Fucking bastards." Liz spat as she turned away from the conference room so the men inside couldn't see the fury on her face. "They could care less that we have agents and innocent civilians dead, they just care about saving their own asses and making Victor Drazen disappear again. They're circling the wagons and I'm stuck on the outside."
"They're not doing an investigation at all?" Tony asked incredulously.
"Of course, they'll do an investigation. They'll talk to a few people, make a few phone calls and in a few months they'll say Nina was working alone, Nightfall was a rogue operation gone wrong, and if there were any security leaks, they must have come from Nina, Jamey or Robert Ellis. There won't be any mention of Drazen, or the secret detention facility, and Teri Bauer will become just another footnote in a report that they'll bury anyway."
"What are you going to do?"
For the first time since he met Liz that morning, Tony saw uncertainty in her eyes. "I don't know, Tony, I really don't. If D.O.D. shuts me down today, I'm screwed. I was brought here to run the investigation. Nina, Drazen, Gaines, all of it. Find the answers; dig up whatever I need to in order to make sure this isn't going to happen again." Liz shook her head and cast her eyes to the floor, "Senator Palmer personally endorsed me as his choice and he came here this morning specifically to ask me not to let these guys bury the truth, to fight them. I can't afford to fail the man who might be our next President."
"He's not President yet." Tony said.
Liz let out a small sigh, "No, he's not, and for all his clout, it's just not enough of a reason to force a full investigation on our end. I'd just go around them, but my gut says this goes higher than anyone thinks; I can't afford to have this door slammed in my face. But without stone cold proof that Nina had accomplices outside the Drazens, I don't think I can keep them from shutting me down." Liz drew a haggard breath. She looked up at Tony, and gave him the ghost of a smile, "But enough about me, what about you? You needed help with something?"
"Actually," Tony began, "I think I can help you. Agent Dessler's discovered something I think you should know about." Tony quickly outlined what Michelle had shown him, and was pleased when Liz's expression turned from one of defeat to one of triumph.
"That's horrible news Tony, but it's perfect for me." The predatory smile from earlier came across Liz's face. "Come on in with me, I think it's time to end the meeting."