Chapter 4: The Next Day
Tony woke in the dark cabin sensing that the boat had slowed. His watch said 2:58am. He got up and walked on deck to talk to Manny.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Tony asked.
They were pulling up next to a long pier and he could see the outline of a large house set well back from the beach. It was dark except for the bluish glow of a computer screen through a single window. Tony could see someone moving in that room.
"You're going to stay here for a while," Manny informed him. "The U.S. government really wants to find you, don't they? I had no idea the kind of manhunt your escape would spark. I've already had to avoid two Coast Guard vessels. These guys are serious, Tony. I've made a change in plans. I was going to take you further down the coast and get you transport to South America, but it's too risky. Your picture is on every newscast in Mexico and Central America. And with the bandage on your neck, you're not hard to spot. A friend of mine, a former agent, has a secluded place here. He's going to put you up for a while." Manny continued. "He's a little eccentric, but he's a wonderful person and the best agent I've ever worked with."
"Former agent?" Tony put this in the form of a question.
"Yeah, he had a tendency to do things his own way. Sound like anyone else we know?" Manny asked. He smiled and a vision of Jack floated vaguely through Tony's mind.
"Anyway," Manny continued. "The bosses got sick of him and found a way to get rid of him. He did okay though. He ended up negotiating a huge severance package just to keep him quiet. That's how he bought this place. Now he spends his time deep sea fishing and freelancing in the intelligence world."
"Freelancing in intelligence?" again Tony was asking a question.
"Yeah, for anybody who will pay him – the good guys and the bad guys," Manny answered.
They secured the boat and stepped out onto the pier. The night air was cool with a breeze coming in off the water. Tony didn't know why, but he suddenly thought of Michelle. What was she doing? Sleeping peacefully, he hoped.
From the pier they walked up a path to the door. A handsome Mexican man opened the door before they had a chance to knock. He was tall, probably 60 years old, Tony guessed. His hair line was receding and what remained was grey and cut very close.
"Manny," the man said. "Good to see you. So this is my guest."
"Sanchez, how are you?" Manny asked. "Jose Sanchez, meet Tony Almeida."
The men shook hands.
"I would have known you anywhere, Tony. Your picture has been on television all night." He spoke to Tony in English without a trace of an accent.
"That's what I hear. Look, Manny and Mr. Sanchez, I don't want to put anyone at risk. Maybe I should move on, try to find some place to lay low. I have Marine survival training; I can take care of myself."
Sanchez shook his head. "Manny can get out of here now. So he's not at risk. And frankly, considering some of the people I've worked for in the past two years, your crimes are minimal. The authorities leave me alone, Tony. They know I have too much information on all of them that I would be happy to share with the media. Oh, and drop the 'Mr. Sanchez' stuff. I'm Joe. My mother was American. She let me father name me Jose, but she insisted that everyone call me Joe."
"I'm going to leave you two," Manny said as he shook hands with Tony. "Good luck. If you need to get in touch with me, Joe can take care of it."
Tony thanked Manny and followed Joe into the kitchen.
"Hungry?" Joe asked.
"I guess I should be, but I'm really not," Tony answered. "So, I made the news?" Tony asked wryly.
"You bet. FoxNews, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, all the major networks. I've got satellite. I prefer American television." He continued, "You've got quite a little tiger for a wife, son. It must have been tough to leave that little girl behind."
"Was my wife on the news, too? Is she okay?" Tony asked.
"She's a little spitfire! You'll have to watch the statement she made to the media, I recorded it for you. By the time she was done, there wasn't a dry eye out there. Even made an old grouch like me tear up."
"Could I see it?" Tony asked anxiously.
"Sure, come on in here." Joe led Tony into a huge room filled with electronic equipment. A plasma screen TV was mounted on the wall.
Tony dropped into the nearest chair as Joe grabbed the remote. At first he was appalled at how the reporters were hounding her, but when she agreed to make a statement, his pride in her swelled. He choked back tears as she described the events of the day in a calm, clear voice. Finally, as she spoke of their unborn child, Tony began to cry.
"My God, Joe," he whispered. "Did she just say that she's pregnant?"
"That's what it sounded like to me," Joe said softly. "Congratulations, son."
Tony looked as if he had been hit in the stomach. "Joe, I really need to be alone. I need to think. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now…" The sentence trailed off. "A baby! I should turn myself in. I want to be there for her."
"You want to be where for her, Tony? In jail. That's no help to her. At least this way, if she can't get your name cleared in the next two or three years, you can bring her and the baby to South America. The three of you can be a family."
"Two or three years!" Tony cried. "You want me to miss the first two or three years of my child's life? The first steps, the first words, the first…"
"Better than missing the first 20 years while you sit in prison!" Joe shouted back.
Tony realized that Joe was right. He rubbed his forehead and nodded silently. "I guess I just need some rest. This is just such a shock. This day is such a nightmare."
"Come on, Tony. Why don't you go upstairs? I'll show you to your room. As soon as the search for you dies down, we'll get you to South America. I'll get in touch with Juan Rodriguez. Jack's probably already spoken with Juan. He's a former Argentine government agent. Left government service a few years ago and started a high tech security company. You know, tracking shipments of high priced cargo – gold, diamonds, fuel oil - from the supplier to the wholesaler to the retailer. He's got a position for you."
"What's the deal with former agents?" Tony asked. "Is there a network of you guys?"
"Yes, there is. Unofficial, of course, but a loose network. By the way, Tony, you're a dues paid member of that network now. So are Jack and his young partner. What's his name?"
"Chase," Tony supplied the name.
"Right, Chase. And so is Michelle," Joe added.
"Jack and Chase and Michelle. You're telling me they quit? Michelle can't quit now. She's going to have a baby to support. What is she thinking?"
"Don't worry, Tony. We take care of each other. We're all in the same boat. We all served our countries well. We just pissed off the wrong people and they made sure the country turned its back on us. The three of them will be set up in a legitimate business within the month."
"Legitimate? Like yours?" Tony questioned.
"No, I freelance. I work for who I want, when I want and I make a ton of money. Most of that I put back in the network, but I keep enough so that I'm more than comfortable. Don't worry. Your wife won't be working with drug cartel members or any of the other low life characters that I deal with."
Tony began to relax. He wasn't happy about the situation, but he started to feel better about it. He went to bed with a jumble of emotions. Sadness that his wife was so far away, happiness at the thought of becoming a father, fear of the unknown future. He drifted off to sleep as the sun was rising.
Michelle slept soundly and woke confused to the sound of someone pounding on her front door. Her first thought was to let Tony get it. Then she remembered that Tony was gone. She got up and grabbed her robe. She tied it tightly around her naked body as she descended the stairs. She looked through the fisheye in the door and saw it was Jack making all of the noise.
"Jack, what are you doing here? What time is it?"
"It's almost noon and nobody could get in touch with you," he said as he closed the door behind him.
"I turned off my phone. I wanted to sleep," she said.
"While you were sleeping, that statement you gave the press started a firestorm. Thousands of people are calling and emailing the television stations and newspapers. It's all they're talking about on the talk radio shows. People want to hear your story. This is your chance to get big support for Tony. The politicians are going to have to weigh in on this issue. This is an election year; you have to use this to your advantage. You're going to need a lawyer and someone to handle public relations. One radio station has already started a fund drive to offset your legal expenses."
As Jack spoke, Michelle turned an even paler than usual shade of white. She put her hand to her mouth as a wave of nausea overtook her. Without a word, she ran to the bathroom and began vomiting.
Jack went to the kitchen and got her a glass of water. He walked to the bathroom and handed her the water and a towel. "Morning sickness or anxiety?" he asked.
"Morning sickness, I think," She answered breathlessly. "I had it at the hotel yesterday, but I thought I was just scared. I never threw up, I was just sick to my stomach."
Twenty minutes later she emerged from the bathroom looking drained.
"Tell me I don't have nine months of this."
Jack smiled. "You don't. Teri's only lasted a few weeks. Try this, it always worked for her." He handed her a plate with toast and jelly and a cup of tea.
She sipped slowly at the tea and finally began to nibble on the toast. She was actually hungrier than she realized and had to stop herself from eating the toast too quickly. They sat silently at the kitchen table.
Michelle finally broke the silence. "So, what do I do next?"
"You need to talk to a lawyer; one that is media savvy. You two work out what you want to say to the press, what angle you want to play. Then you let all of the news outlets know you are available to tell your story. You start out with local LA talk shows and newscasts, but I'll bet you are on national shows within the week. Then you do what you did yesterday. Get people on your side, tell them to write letters. Voters can exert a lot of influence when they want to."
"So, where do I find a lawyer?" Michelle asked.
"Already go you one," Jack smiled.
"How did I know that?" Michelle answered back as she shook her head.
"She's good, Michelle. Her name is Marta Jackson. She's the woman Kate worked with," Jack said, making reference to his former lover, Kate Warner. "When everyone found out that Kate's sister was involved with terrorists, nobody would do business with Warner Enterprises. Marta was able to turn it all around. Within a year, Warner Enterprises had so much business they had to expand. "You have an appointment with her at 3:00 and it will take us at least a half hour to get to her office, so you should probably get ready."
Michelle smiled a half-smile and got up from the table. Her bare feet padded across the tile floor. Before she walked up the steps, she looked back at Jack.
"Where is Tony?" she asked him.
"Exactly? I don't know. It's better if you don't know either, Michelle. He's safe."
"Can you arrange for me to contact him? I'd like to tell him about the baby."
"I suspect he already knows. You know all of your comings and goings are being monitored by CTU. They're watching your phone calls, your mail, your email, everything. You know that. By contacting Tony you put both of you at risk."
Michelle nodded and then turned and walked away. She knew Jack was right, but that didn't make any of this any easier.
"I'm scared, Jack," she said as she shrugged her shoulders and looked around. She tried desperately to hold back tears. "Ok, so I meet with this lawyer and we plan a PR campaign. Then what do I so? What happens next? I quit my job. Tony's gone. I'm pregnant. I've got to find a job and support myself. I've got to be able to pay the mortgage."
"I know this is hard, Michelle, but for right now, let's just concentrate on the lawyer. You aren't going to starve and you aren't going to lose your house. Within the next couple of days, we'll have something in the works so that you have a job. Try not to worry. It's not good for you or the baby."
"What happens to you and Chase? You two are out of jobs, too, and all of that is because you protected Tony."
"Chase and I will be fine. There are a lot of people who think we did the right thing and want to help us, Michelle. If we just let them, we'll all be fine."
Michelle nodded and stared at Jack for a long time. "What about you, Jack? What about the heroin?"
"I'll get help, Michelle. I've already promised Kim that I'd get help. I have an appointment tomorrow with a doctor that specializes in drug addiction. I'll beat this. It's not going to be easy, but I'll beat it."
"Are you high now?" Michelle asked. He certainly wasn't acting high, but he had been able to hide the addiction for months and she wasn't sure if he was just so good at acting normal that she couldn't even distinguish normal from high.
Jack shook his head. "The doctor at CTU medical gave me something to hold down the withdrawal symptoms and to keep me from craving heroin. Right now that's working. He said that I could use it long term, but I'd rather face this thing head on. This just makes me dependent on another drug. I want to be totally clean."
Michelle smiled at him. "Tony would be proud of you and so am I. I'll go get dressed. I guess the sooner I meet with the lawyer, the sooner I'll be able to bring Tony's case to court of public opinion. And the sooner that he gets back here to me. And, by the way, once he's back here, if you slip back onto the heroin, he's going to kick your ass."
"I know. Why do you think I'm so damned determined to get off this stuff?" Jack smiled back. "I'm getting too old to fight with Tony. He could beat the crap out of me."
Michelle quickly showered and dressed and soon she and Jack were off to meet with Marta Jackson. The three of them spent the next couple of hours strategizing and before Michelle left Marta's office, the lawyer had already set up an interview for that evening in an attempt to keep the story fresh in the public's mind.
At 8 o'clock, a nervous Michelle sat in a news studio waiting to be interviewed for a local news show. She was already scheduled to do three more local interviews the next day and the national shows were just starting to call. Michelle knew she had made a decision she couldn't go back on. It wasn't going to be easy, but she had to do it. She wouldn't let Tony down, not after all he sacrificed for her.
The part that scared her the most was that there were no guarantees. She hoped that the public outcry generated by her interviews would result in having all of the charges against Tony dropped. If that didn't work, then she would fight for a presidential pardon. But if none of it worked, Tony would be stuck in exile, probably thousands of miles away from her forever. That was the part she tried not to think about. Stay strong! she told herself. You're all Tony's got right now and you can't let him down.