Chapter 3: The Aftermath

LA traffic was light that afternoon due to the request from city officials that people limit travel as much as possible in the wake of the terrorist attack. Tony slipped easily through the side streets after his entourage had all turned off. He followed Jack's instructions and found a nondescript, gray sedan with tinted windows parked near the northeast entrance to Dodger's Stadium. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then he took the "care package" and coffee from the SUV and got into the sedan. As planned, the keys were above the visor. He started the car and drove off. He turned on the police band radio. As he expected, there was an APB out on him. They broadcast his description and that of the SVU he had been driving. He drove out of the city and settled in for the drive to San Diego.

At CTU, the pace was frantic. Hammond interrogated everyone that he believed could have played a part in Tony's escape. He threatened everyone with suspensions and jail time but in point of fact, after accepting resignations from Jack, Michelle and Chase, he couldn't afford to lose anymore well trained personnel.

Jack, Chase and Michelle were escorted from CTU after tendering their resignations. As they got in their cars, Jack stood next to Michelle. "Are you going home?" he asked.

"No," she answered shaking her head. "I need to talk to Tony's parents. I don't want them to hear this on the news and I'm sure Hammond will send agents over to question them within the next couple of hours. They're going to be devastated."

"Do you want some help?" Jack asked.

"Thanks, but I think this is my job. Tony's a fugitive because of me. I'm the one who needs to tell his parents."

"Okay," Jack said. "Be careful driving, I know how tired you are. Maybe you can stay with Tony's parents for a while and get some rest."

Michelle smiled a rueful smile. "I don't think so. His parents have never been all that happy about our marriage. He's the oldest son and they wanted him to marry a Latina or at least a Catholic. When they find out they may never see him again because of me, it's not going to endear me to them.

"I'm sorry, Michelle, I didn't know," Jack replied trying unsuccessfully to smile. "I'll call you tomorrow after you get some rest."

Michelle drove the half-hour to her in-laws house intermittently wiping tears from her face and wondering how she was ever going to explain the events of the last day. She was having enough trouble understanding it herself.

Her relationship with Tony's parents was tenuous at best. Close-knit families were difficult for her to understand given that the only family she had to speak of was her older brother, Danny. Her parents had divorced when she was a child. Her father paid child support when he was working, but never had any real relationship with his children. For her part, Michelle's mother never stopped loving the man who deserted her. She died when Michelle was in high school, still begging Michelle to keep in touch with her father. After her mother's death, Michelle moved in with Danny, who was 18 and working while going to college part-time. She finished high school near the top of her class and went to college on a scholarship. She remained close to Danny and his children, but could often go weeks without talking to him. She loved him and she was always there to bail him out when he needed her. That was simply the kind of relationship they had.

Tony's family was completely different. For the most part, Michelle liked his family, but they could be, well, smothering at times. Tony never went more than a day without talking to at least one family member. He played basketball with his brothers one night a week and often went out for drinks with one or two of them another night. Big Sunday dinners were at least a monthly event. Tony obviously loved being a part of this family.

Tony was the oldest of eight children. He was born in Chicago where his father worked as an executive chef in a restaurant and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. When Tony was 10, his parents had the chance to buy a Spanish restaurant in LA. It had been his father's dream for years, so they packed, at that point, six children up and went to LA.

Life in LA was a big change for Tony. They had lived in a house in the suburbs in Chicago where Tony played Little League and had a yard and lots of room to run and ride his bike. Buying the restaurant had really tapped all of his parents' resources, so the family started out living above the restaurant in the middle of LA. His father worked an incredible number of hours and his mother was now needed to work through the dinner rush and into the late hours preparing for the next day as well. As the oldest, Tony was given responsibility far exceeding his age.

After school, his mother would go downstairs to the restaurant, leaving him with his younger siblings. He was responsible for making sure the school-age children finished homework correctly, feeding them dinner (which his mother usually brought up from the restaurant), cleaning up and getting all of the children ready for bed. As two more children were added, he took care of them as well. He never complained. By the time he was 12; he was busing tables and working in the kitchen on weekends. All the while, maintaining high academic standards, especially in math and science. By high school, he was offered a scholarship to an elite Catholic boys' school. He excelled both academically and athletically. He was always his parents' golden boy. They knew they expected too much of him and he never let them down.

If they had one complaint about their oldest son, it was that all of his girlfriends were Anglos. There were so many pretty Hispanic girls, his mother would say. Why don't you go out with any of them? The Ruiz girl down the street was so pretty and so sweet, why don't you take her out? Tony always smiled and ignored their request. His mother continued to believe that when Antonio, as she called him, was ready to get married, he would find a nice Hispanic girl.

When Tony brought Michelle home for the first time, his parents knew instantly that this girl was different from all the others; he clearly cared more for her than any of his previous girlfriends. Although never unkind to her, they were not overly friendly, particularly his father. If there were other people in the room, Michelle felt that they looked right through her. Tony had warned her ahead of time and she thought she could handle it, but it had hurt her more than she would admit. Tony's siblings loved her and treated her wonderfully, which helped, but she longed for his parents to love her, too. Sometimes she wondered if she were looking for surrogate parents, a loving family to really belong to.

Their wedding had been a production that Michelle had not wanted. She wanted to go off and be married in a little cove in Hawaii by a Justice of the Peace. Tony wouldn't hear of it. They didn't have to have a big wedding, he said, but it had to be in a church and his family had to be there. Along with his strong family ties, Tony had strong religious convictions. He believed in a God that Michelle wasn't sure existed. He derived such strength from his faith. She wished she could do the same. God had let her down far too many times for her to believe in Him.

She smiled as she thought of their wedding. As much as she didn't want that type of wedding, it had been an incredible day. She was dressed in a white lace, mid-calf length dress; her hair piled elaborately on her head with baby's breath woven into her curls. She felt like a princess as she walked down the aisle on Danny's arm. Tony looked so handsome waiting for her at the foot of the altar. It was all so perfect. After a luncheon for the family, she and Tony flew to Hawaii. They arrived just in time to watch the most spectacular sunset she had ever seen.

The memory of that day kept flooding into her brain despite her desperate attempts to stop it. At this moment the memory was as painful as it was beautiful. She remembered their wedding night. It was as if they had never made love before. She remembered Tony opening the door to their room and insisting on carrying her over the threshold. She giggled as he lifted her into his arms and told him she felt just like a princess. He promised her she would always be his princess. She remembered how he set her down and closed the door behind them, how he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. She didn't know how long they kissed before he pulled away gently. He wanted to take a shower, he said. Did she want to join him? Without Michelle saying a word, they started to undress each other and walk toward the bathroom leaving a trail of clothes in their wake.

Eventually they went into the bedroom where Tony opened a bottle of champagne and poured two glasses. As they clinked the glasses, he offered a toast.

"Always and forever, sweetheart," Tony said tenderly.

That was his signature line. He didn't often say, "I love you," but rather substituted "always and forever." Michelle liked that they had their own little phrase that was different from everyone else.

Memories of their wedding and honeymoon were pushed aside as Michelle pulled her car up to the curb in front of the Almeidas' home. Michelle stepped onto her in-laws' porch and rang the doorbell. It was Tony's mother who opened the door. She was surprised to see Michelle and she knew immediately that something was wrong. This was confirmed by her daughter-in-law's tear stained face and swollen eyes. As the mother of a federal agent who knew from the news that there had been some sort of terrorist strike against Los Angeles, she assumed the worst and began to cry.

"Oh, my God, Michelle," she cried. "Please tell me he's not dead. Not my baby, please."

"No, Mama, no," Michelle comforted her. "Tony's alive. He's safe, but we have to talk."

Tony's father heard his wife's cries and came running. "Michelle, what's going on?" he begged for an answer. "We know CTU is involved with something but we can't get any details."

"I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you about Tony. Let's sit down."

They sat around the kitchen table while Michelle related the events of the last 24 hours. As she suspected, they were both devastated, but at the same time, they were proud of how much their son was willing to sacrifice in a cause he believed was right. Michelle finished by telling them she was pregnant which brought another wave of tears from all of them. She also promised she would never stop fighting to have the charges dropped or for Tony to receive a presidential pardon.

Tony's drive to San Diego was largely uneventful. He was easily able to avoid road blocks with the help of the police band radio and the GPS. He drove into the marina entrance and parked. He looked around beginning to wonder what to do next when his phone rang.

"Yeah," he said into the phone.

"Almeida?" asked the caller.

"Who's asking?"

"Manny Lopez, Mexican Intelligence," was the reply. "Look to your left. See the cabin cruiser named the 'Maria Elena'? Come on board."

Tony walked onto the deck and exchanged quick pleasantries with Lopez in Spanish. Lopez explained that he would be piloting the boat to their next stop where he had arranged ground transport for Tony. He invited Tony to go inside.

"There are food and clothes in my cabin and I have a doctor on board to examine you. Jack said you had a pretty rough day. You can relax and get some rest now. It will be a while before we reach our destination."

The doctor walked out on deck. He introduced himself and assured Tony that he would tell no one about this. They went inside where he examined Tony's neck, took his blood pressure and temperature and listened to his heart and lungs. "There is nothing wrong with you that some rest and food won't cure," he assured him.

Tony smiled weakly and thanked him. As the doctor left, Tony fully intended to wash up and change his clothes, but as he sat down on the bed to take off his shoes, a wave of exhaustion overwhelmed him. He lay down and went immediately to sleep.

As Michelle left her in-laws' house she had no way of knowing that Tony had just arrived in San Diego. She looked up at the bright sun in an unusually blue sky and knew that the same sun was shining on Tony. It was silly, she knew that, but it somehow made her feel closer to him. She got into her car to drive home. To her surprise, her in-laws had invited her to stay with them, but she declined. Overall, the visit had gone better than she expected. As she left, Tony's father touched her arm. He tearfully apologized for not welcoming her into the family way they should have. He told her he was happy that his son had such a strong and loving wife, that they couldn't have asked for a better daughter-in-law. She hugged him and thanked him and for the first time, she felt close to Tony's parents.

Driving away, she turned on the radio. The news of Tony's escape was just breaking. She knew she would be met by a mob of reporters at her house. She was also sure that a team of CTU agents would be there with a search warrant. As expected, she could barely get into her driveway. Reporters with satellite trucks were everywhere and a CTU van was parked in the driveway. She parked the car and as she stepped out, reporters bombarded her with questions:

"Mrs. Almeida, do you know where your husband is?"

"Has he been in contact with you?"

"If they catch him, do you think they will seek the death penalty?"

The questions were endless.

"Okay," Michelle said. "I won't answer any questions, but I will make a statement." She took a deep breath and continued. "My husband has served his country for most of his adult life: first, as a Marine officer and, after that, as a Federal Agent. His record is distinguished. At 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon he was shot in the neck trying to protect this country. He was in an operating room for nearly 2 hours. By 8 o'clock he had checked himself out of the hospital, against medical advice, to return to CTU to face the bioterrorism threat. When he was notified by Stephen Saunders this morning that I had been kidnapped, he had already been awake for the last 28 hours except for the time he spent on an operating table. He continued to assist in the investigation even after he had been arrested. Tony Almeida should not be charged with treason. Yes, what he did was wrong. He should have let Saunders kill me. He should lose his job and his pension. He should never hold another job with the U.S. government. But he is not a traitor to this country and he should not have to face execution or a lifetime of incarceration." She took a second to breathe and blink back tears. Then she continued "All Tony ever wanted was to serve his country and spend time with his family. Now he can do neither." Her voice cracked with emotion. "What my husband doesn't know is that when he saved my life, he also saved the life of the child I am carrying. He left before I could tell him that he was going to be a father." She was crying now and the reporters were silent.

Michelle composed herself. "Print that in the newspapers and put it on the evening news. Ask your readers and viewers to call or write or email their senators and congressmen and even the President of the United States to put a halt to this travesty. The charges against Tony Almeida should be dropped immediately." She turned and walked purposefully to her front door where she was met by a CTU agent.

"You did great, Michelle," the agent complimented her.

"Hi, Mike," she said as she wiped away tears.

Mike Leary, a long time CTU agent, handed her the search warrant.

"Thanks for not breaking in," she said sarcastically. "What does Hammond think? That Tony stopped at home and left a travel brochure before going into hiding?"

"I'm sorry, Michelle. You know this is routine. Believe me, I am dragging my feet as much as I can. So is everyone else at CTU. None of us wants to find Tony." Mike Leary had always gotten along well with Tony. They had been drinking buddies before Tony and Michelle got married. "I need his passport, Michelle."

Michelle turned the key and opened the door. She reached in and turned off the security system. Tony always carried the remote that allowed you to turn it off before you opened the door. She wondered if he still had it in his pocket. Their cat, Snickers, trotted up to rub against Michelle's legs. Michelle picked her up and snuggled the cat against her face.

She started to walk toward their bedroom with the cat still in her arms.

Mike stepped in the front door behind her and said, "If there is anything you don't want us to see, move it now. I'll give you a couple of minutes."

"Mike, feel free to follow me. I have nothing to hide."

With that Leary called in the rest of the team and they spent the next hour searching the house. As Michelle promised, they didn't find any evidence. They all apologized profusely for having to do this to her and told her to call them if she needed anything.

Once they were gone, she walked around the house feeling lost. She fed Snickers and gave her clean water. She picked up a framed wedding picture that sat on a table in the living room. That wedding seemed a million years ago. They were both so happy. She carried the picture with her to the bedroom and set it on the bed. She finally stripped off her leather jacket. Then she took down her hair. The long curls fell around her shoulders. She continued to undress and finally slipped between the covers naked. She lay on her back caressing her lower abdomen, thinking of the baby that was growing inside of her.

"Sweetie," she said out loud to the darkness. "I promise you your Daddy will come home. He won't be gone forever, but you're going to have to be patient while I figure out what to do next." Exhausted beyond belief, she finally fell into a restless, dream filled sleep.