Chapter 2: The Escape

Tony sat with his head in his hands. This was an impossible choice. He didn't want to run. He believed what he had done was right. A deeply religious man, he had vowed at his wedding to take care of his wife. He didn't take that vow lightly. But still, the possibility of life in prison or worse, a death sentence, was frightening. He had never been afraid of dying for his country. As a young marine, he had been in firefights in Somalia where dying for his country had been a distinct possibility. But execution was a different story.

He pictured his family living through the ordeal of a trial, endless appeals and finally death or a long prison term. He couldn't put Michelle or his parents through that. He opened his eyes and sat up. The decision was made. He would accept Jack's offer.

Tony smiled as he thought of Jack. Jack was already in trouble. The covert plan to buy the virus, breaking Ramon Salazar out of prison, the heroin addiction, shooting Nina… Jack would be lucky to get away without prison time himself. Tony guessed this was just Jack's way of getting the last laugh.

He picked up the pen, sighed and began to write.

My Precious Wife,

It breaks my heart to write this as I know it will break your heart to read it. I'm sorry that I have to do this to you. All I ever wanted was for us to be together, to have a family. I in no way regret my actions. I would do it again if asked. What I cannot do is watch you from a distance while I sit in prison, see you only on visiting day. Or worse, know that you have to live through my execution.

I know at this moment that I may never gaze on your beautiful face again, touch your soft skin or hear your sweet voice. I waited a lifetime to find a love like you and the 3 years we had together will have to sustain me.

Don't waste your life, Michelle. You have so much love to give. Don't try to find me. File for divorce and move on. I want you to live your life and be happy. We had a short and wonderful time together. Treasure the memories but don't dwell on them.

I know in my heart, my Darling, that I will see you again in our next life. There we can spend eternity together.

Until then, I am, and always and forever will be, your loving husband,

Tony

He folded the letter carefully in thirds, wrote "Michelle" on the front and slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket. Then he pushed the intercom button.

"Yes, sir," answered Paul.

"Paul, if it's no trouble, I'd like to use the men's room."

"No trouble, sir."

Tony watched Paul move to the door and scan his card to unlock it.

"You know the drill, sir. I'll make sure the men's room is clear then I'll wait outside for you."

"Yeah, I know," Tony replied.

Paul opened the men's room door. There was no one at the sinks or urinals and all of the stalls were empty.

"Take your time, sir," Paul said.

As Tony walked away from the door, he reached in his pocket to retrieve the listening device. He pushed the earpiece into his ear. At the same time, he heard Jack and Chase arguing loudly in the background. He heard something hit the wall and a loud crash. People were shouting for them to "break it up". Tony could hear Hammond in the hallway.

"Jesus Christ!" he shouted. "What is going on? Officer we need help here," he shouted at Paul.

"But, sir, I'm …," Paul began, trying to explain that he was guarding Tony. Hammond wasn't listening.

"Help break this up before they destroy the place. That's an order."

"Yes, sir," Paul answered.

The earpiece crackled to life and Tony heard Adam's voice. "You're clear."

Tony propped the letter on the ledge below the mirror and headed for the door. He slipped out of the door and toward the rear of the building.

"Hold," Adam said as he reached the next corner.

Tony waited for several seconds that seemed like an eternity.

"You're clear," Adam advised.

They repeated the process at two more corners and Tony walked toward the outside door.

"Good luck," Adam said quietly in Tony's ear. "We'll miss you."

Tony walked quickly toward the second car on the left as Jack had directed him. The door was unlocked, the keys in the ignition and a CTU "care package" (a case with a handheld GPS, scramble phone, police band radio, gun and spare ammunition) on the front seat. There was a cup of steaming coffee in the cup holder. Jack thought of everything. Tony turned the key and started the engine. The 7 other agents did the same. Three pulled out immediately, Tony followed and the remaining 4 fell in behind. They pulled off the CTU parking lot in a straight line. Once on the street they began to fall back and pull forward allowing each other to pass back and forth and further eliminate any possibility of CTU figuring out which was Tony.

Michelle sat in the opposite wing of the CTU building in the medical unit, oblivious to all that was occurring. She was being examined by a doctor who seemed determined to find something wrong with her.

"I told you, I'm fine," she said for the third time. She was anxious to see Tony, to find out what was going on. She couldn't believe that Hammond would really charge him with treason, especially since after he was arrested Tony ran point for Jack when they recovered the last vial of virus.

"I'll decide if you're fine, Michelle," the doctor said curtly as he wrote in her medical record.

Michelle extended her arm. "I guess you want to draw blood, too."

"No," he said shortly. "Dr. Duncan at NHS said she has plenty of your blood. She's processing it over there. You'll get a report within the hour." He didn't look at her as he spoke.

"Look, I'm not sure what's going on here. Why are you acting like I've done something wrong?" Michelle asked the doctor who, although she didn't know him well, had always been nice to her in the past.

"It's like this, Michelle," he said as he closed the medical record and slapped the manila folder onto the table. "Tony and I have been friends for a while. I've always liked you, too, but now he's going to be charged with treason because he did what any husband would do and chose to save his wife. If you hadn't been working together this wouldn't have happened. You should have never been allowed to work together. I've been saying that since you got married."

His words stung. Michelle felt guilty enough without this. She and Tony had worked very hard to keep their personal and professional lives separate. Now the futility of it came crashing down around her.

They had dated for months without anyone at CTU knowing. They always came to work and left separately. While at work, they were careful to keep conversations professional, not to let lingering looks give them away. At happy hours and CTU parties they treated each other in the same friendly manner they treated their coworkers.

As Michelle had lunch with some of the girls one day, the subject of Tony Almeida's love life came up. He never seemed interested in any of the girls, one of them noted. A good looking guy like Tony should have a line of women knocking down his door. Maybe he was gay, one of them speculated. Not a chance, said another, remember his relationship with Nina Myers, boy he got burned on that one. Maybe now he only dated women outside of work. If that is the case, said one particularly young, pretty girl, she would be happy to quit her job. They all laughed. Michelle acted interested, but stayed silent.

No one, except Jack, suspected that they were lovers. Tony's and Michelle's positions at CTU required that they work closely, just as he and Nina had when he was CTU director and Nina was his second in command. Jack would often glance over into Tony's office and see the two hunched over a report or looking at a computer monitor. It didn't take him long to notice that their bodies were usually closer than necessary. Never inappropriate, just closer than necessary, he thought. Having seen that, Jack also noticed that Tony could occasionally be seen staring down at the bullpen in Michelle's direction.

Once they set a wedding date, they knew that they had no choice but to allow the relationship to become public knowledge. Tony waited as long as he could the talk to his immediate supervisor, Ryan Chappelle. Chappelle was in Tony's office for a meeting. As the meeting ended, Tony took a deep breath. He reminded Ryan that he was going on vacation at the end of the week, so was Michelle. Jack would be in charge.

Chappelle still hadn't made the connection. "Have a great vacation." Ryan said as he opened the door to walk out. "Are you doing anything special?"

Tony looked at the floor "I'm getting married," he said.

Ryan was shocked. He had no idea. "Congratulations," was about all he could muster.

Tony was still looking at the floor, biting his lower lip like a child caught in a lie. He finally looked up and without accepting the congratulations, said, "I'm marrying Michelle."

Chappelle was livid. What did they think they were doing? Tony was her superior, protocol was very clear; she could not work for him. "Are you out of your mind screwing a subordinate?" Chappelle asked crassly. Why didn't they tell him sooner? He would have to arrange for Michelle to be transferred immediately.

Tony shook his head. "You can't transfer her," he told Chappelle. "She is the point person for three new antiterrorism protocols all of which would be implemented over the next six months. We dnn't have time to bring someone else up to speed." Michelle would have to stay. Tony continued to plead his case. He reminded Chappelle that their relationship had not affected their work to date, why transfer her now? Chappelle reluctantly agreed, but made it clear that if at any time he sensed their relationship was interfering with their work, Michelle would be transferred without a warning.

Keeping their professional and private relationships separate had not been easy, but Michelle thought they had done a good job of it for almost three years. Tears filled her eyes as she realized that what she had worked so hard at had not only come undone but could result in Tony spending much of his life in prison.

The fight between Jack and Chase had been stopped and the two were separated. Hammond was lecturing them like schoolboys. Around them were the remains of two smashed computers, an overturned desk and files that had spilled all over the floor. Hammonds lecture was abruptly halted by a security officer with a look of panic on his face.

"He's gone, sir," the officer reported. "Almeida is gone."

Hammond looked incredulous. "He's what? How did that…"

His voice trailed off as he spun to look at Jack and Chase. "You two," he gasped. "This is your handiwork, Bauer. You'll go down for this, Jack, I swear!"

Jack glared back at him. He new there was no evidence linking him to Tony's disappearance and no one else was going to talk or they would implicate themselves as well.

Hammond began barking orders: review security tapes, exit monitors, satellite surveillance. Agents scrambled to follow orders.

"Sir, I found this in the men's room," a security officer reported. He handed Hammond the folded legal paper with Michelle's name on it. Hammond began to open it but Chase grabbed it from his hand.

"That doesn't have your name on it, sir," Chase sneered.

"It's evidence, Edmunds," Hammond snapped.

"At least let Michelle read it first," Chase said, his voice edgy.

"Let Michelle read what?" No one noticed that Michelle had just walked up the hall from medical. She looked exhausted and scared. "Let me read what?" she repeated.

Hammond turned and began to walk toward her. He grabbed her shoulders and slammed her angrily against the wall. "Where is he?" Hammond demanded.

Jack and Chase tried to pull him away from her. "Stop it, Brad. Let her go," Jack demanded.

Tears welled in Michelle's eyes; her lower lip began to quiver. Hammond released his grip on her and again demanded, "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Michelle asked her voice cracking.

"Your husband," hissed Hammond through clenched teeth. "Your husband took off. Where did he go?"

"Tony…Tony escaped? My God, how?" She was crying now with tears streaming from her big eyes. Her knees buckled and she began to slide down the wall. Jack and Chase grabbed her from either side to steady her. Chase reached for the nearest chair and pulled it to her. They eased her into the chair.

Chase knelt next to her. "He left this letter for you," he said gently.

Her hands shook as she opened the letter.

Again Hammond thundered "Where is he?"

"Brad," Jack started. "Tony isn't stupid enough to put a forwarding address in the letter. It is a personal letter to Michelle. Let her read it. She hasn't talked to him since he was arrested. How would she know where he is?"

Hammond backed off as reports started to come in. Tony could be seen on exit security, but he was lost immediately in a sea of black Ford SUVs.

Michelle sobbed openly as she read the letter. As she finished, she dropped the letter, put her face I her hands and cried inconsolably. Jack put his arms around her and let her cry. There was no point in trying to stop her.

"This is my fault," she sobbed. "If I hadn't gone into the hotel in the first place…"

"No, Michelle," Jack consoled her. "You did the right thing. It's not your fault and Tony doesn't blame you."

Just then, Chloe walked up the hall with a cell phone. "Look, Michelle, I know this is bad timing and all, but I have Nicole Duncan on the phone for you."

Chase rolled his eyes. "Chloe, take a message."

"Nicole said it was important," Chloe insisted.

Michelle took a deep breath to compose herself and took the phone. "Yes, Nicole," she said into the phone.

"Michelle, I just finished reviewing your blood work. I found something that I suspect you aren't aware of or you would have told me earlier. I thought you should know about it."

"What is it?" Michelle asked, forgetting Tony for a second and now feeling anxious that there might be something seriously wrong with her.

Michelle listed silently to Nicole. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Positive. I had the technician repeat the test," Nicole answered. "You should follow up with your doctor as soon as possible."

"I'll do that," Michelle answered numbly. "Thank you." She disconnected and stared blankly at the wall for several seconds. Chase and Chloe had walked away leaving Michelle alone with Jack. Jack watched her, she seemed almost catatonic.

"Michelle," Jack whispered, but she didn't respond. "Michelle," he repeated, this time gently shaking her shoulder. "Are you okay? What did Nicole want?"

"Oh my God, Jack," she said softly as she exhaled. "This can't be happening. There has to be a mistake."

"My God, Michelle. Is it the virus? Are you infected?" Jack asked, his face scrunched in horror.

"No! No, I'm not sick. I'm fine. Nicole just told me that I'm pregnant."