Jack stood in the hallway outside the room where the Senator was getting her massage. She'd booked a half-hour appointment, so he had a little time to kill. He took his cell phone out of the pocket of his hoodie and dialled.

"Almeida."

"Tony, it's Jack."

"Oh, hey, Jack. Enjoying your vacation?" Tony agreed with Jack that it probably wasn't necessary for CTU to offer the Senator personal protection. That's what the Secret Service was for, and they needed Jack in L.A. But given what he'd been told today, Tony figured Jack could use a cushy assignment before they started their next operation. That wasn't going to stop him from giving his friend a ribbing.

Jack snorted. "Yeah, Tony. It's 40 goddam degrees below zero up here. And that's not counting the wind chill. Wish you were here."

"Send me a postcard. Listen, I'm glad you called." Tony moved across his office and shut the door. "We got some new intel from DEA about Ramon Salazar."

Jack was familiar with the name. Salazar was a Mexican drug lord who was moving into the states along the border. "What's that got to do with us?"

"Well, it appears Salazar's heroin business has put him in touch with some heavy hitters out of Pakistan and maybe China."

Jack nodded, walking down the hallway to check around the corner before he replied. "Okay, that's interesting. What are you thinking?" he rested against the wall as he leaned forward to rub his knee. It was still bothering him.

Tony took a breath, resting his fingers on the corner of his desk. "The DEA's been cooperative so far, but they're not interested in pursuing the terrorist angle. I think we need to get one of our agents into Salazar's operation."

"Okay."

"I'm putting together a list of names."

Jack straightened and turned back to check the other end of the hallway. "I'll do it."

"What? Jack, that's insane." Tony flung himself into his chair.

"Tony, hear me out. I've been undercover in Mexico before. I'm fluent in Spanish. I can sell my military skills to get close to the top." Jack paused. "It makes sense, Tony."

"What about Kate? Who knows how long you might be under cover." Tony could just imagine Michelle's reaction if he took on this kind of assignment. Especially if he took it without talking it over with her first.

Jack hesitated. What about Kate? He'd been Director of Field Ops for almost the whole time they'd known each other. She knew what his job was like. They'd met when he was on the job, for god's sake. She'd seen what his job was like. She'd even helped him. But in all that time he hadn't needed to go under cover. He knew from experience that long assignments were hard on relationships. Lately, though, it seemed like more and more of the field work he'd been doing had been safe. Easy. Boring. Like babysitting politicians at fancy resorts.

"Kate will understand." He sounded more confident than he felt.

"Jack, you haven't even read the file yet. Let's not jump into anything here." He held up his hand in exasperation.

"Fine. Send me the file. I'll look at it tonight." The door opened behind him. "I've gotta go." He clicked his phone shut and nodded at the man in the white uniform who was leaving the massage room.

Jack kept a discrete distance from the door as a relaxed-looking Eilish came out, wearing one of the hotel's fluffy white robes and slippers. She glanced over at him. "Still here, Agent Bauer?"

"Yes, Senator."

She nodded, raising her hands to renew the ponytail in her long hair. "Okay. Well, I'm going to the pool. Sure you don't want to join me?" She grinned mischievously.

Jack lifted one corner of his mouth and lowered his head slightly. "I'm sure."

Eilish examined his outfit of hoodie, T-shirt, sweatpants and runners. "Well, at least they don't make you wear a suit all the time." She turned and he followed her to the change room entrance. "You'll see me in a minute."

Five minutes later Jack had positioned himself on a treadmill directly in front of the windows overlooking the pool. Well, pools, actually. The spa featured some fancy European system of 'taking the waters.' One central mineral pool was surrounded by five smaller pools, each a different temperature. Waterfalls poured over the ubiquitous dark rock into each of the smaller pools. Glass doors led to an outdoor terrace and another small hot pool. It was only 5 o'clock, but it was already dark and Jack could see the golden glow of lanterns through the cloud of steam rising off the water. A movement to his left caught his eye. Eilish was coming out of the change room.

As she came into view, Jack swallowed and forced himself not to look away, even though that seemed like the polite thing to do. The Senator's bathing suit was at odds with her politics. Unlike her, it was decidedly not conservative. She looked up and saw him, giving him a cheerful wave before she stepped into the first pool, tilting her head back as she moved under the waterfall. Jack upped the speed on the treadmill, breaking into a jog.

He was starting to think about slowing down when Eilish caught his eye and motioned that she was going to head to the outdoor pool. Jack held up one finger, indicating that he needed a minute to change his position. She nodded and reached for her towel on the chair where she'd placed it earlier.

Jack stopped the treadmill and wiped his face with a towel, slinging it over his neck as he picked up his hoodie. He put two fingers to his neck as walked down the stairs. He should really keep walking for a few minutes to give himself a chance to cool down or his knee would give him hell tomorrow. There was a magazine rack just inside the door to the pool, and Jack picked one at random after he'd slipped off his shoes. He padded over to the lounge chair closest to the door to the patio.

"Work up a good sweat?" Eilish could see the beads forming on his forehead in the heat of the pool room.

In response, Jack took a corner of the towel around his neck and wiped his face again. "I'll be right inside. I can keep an eye on you from here."

"Listen, Jack, this is ridiculous, don't you think? No one is going to attack me here."

Jack looked at her gravely. "That may be so, Senator, but we take this sort of threat seriously. I'll wait right here. Take all the time you need," he added.

"Fine, Agent Bauer. It just seems like a waste of taxpayer's money." She opened the door and flinched at the blast of arctic air that greeted her, then walked quickly but cautiously across the concrete to the edge of the stairs leading down into the water. She hung her towel on a hook in the low wall surrounding the pool and lowered herself into the hot water.

Inside, Jack started to do a few stretches to work out the kinks in his legs. When he heard voices in the corridor leading to the change rooms, he sat down facing the window with the magazine in his lap. An elderly couple entered, exclaiming to each other in appreciation of their surroundings. Jack returned his attention to the outdoor pool just in time to see the Senator slump forward and slide under the water.