Author's note: The final fate of Lynne Kresge, Special Aid to President Palmer in Season 2, has always been a mystery to me. Some sources say that she died, but that was never stated or even implied in the series. I have chosen to keep her alive for the purposes of this story.
Chapter 12: President Palmer
Michelle sipped her coffee and read the newspaper while Snickers brushed back and forth against her leg. She loved Saturday mornings. She got up early and crept downstairs for a few minutes of quiet before Sophie woke up. Then the rest of the day belonged to the two of them. It promised to be a beautiful day and a trip to the park seemed a good way to enjoy such a lovely day.
Michelle sighed. She knew this was the calm before the storm. She and Sophie, along with Tony's parents and her lawyer, Marta, were leaving the next day for two weeks in Washington DC. They had scheduled visits with dozens of congressmen, senators and other influential people in the Palmer administration in a last ditch attempt to get support for a Presidential pardon for Tony. She hoped that these meetings, in addition to appearances on all of the national news and talk shows would result in a public outcry that President Palmer could not ignore.
The trial had ended almost three months ago. The jury, true to their word, had petitioned the judge to give Tony a suspended sentence, however he ignored the request. He had made his lack of sympathy for Tony well known at the trial, so the sentence, 20 years without the possibility of parole, was not a surprise. Bill had filed an appeal on the grounds that the judge's obvious contempt for Tony had prejudiced the jury, but the case would probably not be heard for another year.
President Palmer, who, despite lingering questions regarding his ex-wife's murder had been narrowly reelected a few months after the bioterrorist attack, had been asked in several press conferences if he would consider a pardon for Tony. Although he had never said "yes," he had left the option open. Jack had asked him directly for a pardon for Tony, but the President had turned him down. The President gently reminded Jack that he had broken more than one law the day of the virus attack and President Palmer personally made sure that he was not charged for any of it. He had also ensured that there was no real investigation into Nina Myers' death. Jack, President Palmer stated clearly, was in no position to ask for a favor.
Michelle finished her coffee and walked upstairs to get dressed. She could hear Sophie playing in her crib and slipped silently into the room. Sophie didn't see her at first. Michelle stood still and watched her beautiful daughter. Sophie was almost nine months old and one of the prettiest babies anyone had ever seen. Her skin was a little lighter than Tony's. She had thick, curly black hair and Tony's deep, chocolate brown eyes. She sat playing with a colorful, stuffed caterpillar that was the most recent gift from her father.
Sophie loved the toy from the moment Michelle took it out of the box earlier in the week. It went with her everywhere except the bathtub and even then it had to be on the floor next to the tub so she could retrieve it as soon as Michelle took her out of the water. She was absolutely terrorizing Snickers with the squeaky toy that was concealed in one of the caterpillar's ten legs. Snickers was to the point where she just ran if she saw Sophie and "Legs", as he had been named, coming toward her.
"Hey Sweetie," Michelle said.
Sophie turned and smiled brightly. She reached for the crib rail to pull herself up. Michelle scooped her out of the crib. Sophie leaned over and snatched Legs before being hauled over the side of the crib. Michelle put her on the floor for a quick diaper change, then carried her to the master bedroom.
"You play here while Mommy gets dressed." She set Sophie on the floor in front of the closet while she picked out a pair of crop pants and a casual blouse to wear to the park. Sophie made a game of crawling in and out of the closet and playing with Michelle's shoes.
As she straightened up her bedroom, Michelle picked up the remote control and turned on the television. There usually wasn't much on Saturday mornings for grown ups, maybe she could find some news. As the TV came on, she was surprised to see a reporter standing in front of Walter Reed Hospital near Washington DC with "breaking news".
The President, he announced, had collapsed during a briefing at Camp David. He was flown to Walter Reed where he was listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit. He further reported that presidential powers had been transferred to Vice President James Prescott.
"Oh, no Sophie," Michelle said as she lifted the baby off the floor and snuggled her closely in her arms. Legs had been left behind and Sophie squealed and squirmed trying to get her new, favorite toy. Michelle didn't seem to notice. "Baby, if something happens to President Palmer, we'll never get a pardon for Daddy," she said as if Sophie could understand.
Michelle was well aware that Vice President Prescott vehemently opposed giving Tony a pardon. He had said so on numerous occasions. Tony, Jack and Michelle had made Prescott look bad four years ago when they established that the Cyprus audio was a forgery. Prescott was an ambitious man who did not think the job of vice president worthy of him. He was lying in wait to become president. He thought he would have to wait eight years, assuming the very popular President Palmer would be reelected to a second term. But his chance came much earlier when the nuke was detonated and President Palmer became wishy-washy about a military response all because of a single CTU agent, Jack Bauer. Additionally, Prescott had always been hawkish where the Middle East was concerned and would have loved to have an excuse to start a war there. Whether the audio was authentic or not was unimportant to him.
Jack Bauer could have never proven the audio a fake without the help of Michelle and Tony who both risked their fast-track careers to help him. When word spread after the bioterrorist attack of Tony's actions to save his wife, Prescott personally called Brad Hammond to see that Tony was slapped with every charge they could possibly make stick. Even Hammond was concerned that they had gone too far, but Prescott insisted and threatened to lobby for funding cuts that would directly hurt Hammond's department if he didn't acquiesce.
A ringing phone broke shrilly into Michelle's thoughts. She set Sophie back on the floor and watched her crawl over to play with Legs. "Hello," she said into the phone.
"Michelle, it's Marta. Are you watching the news?"
"Yeah, I haven't gotten a lot of details. Is Palmer going to be alright?"
"They aren't saying right now. We're going to have to hold tight. This is bad timing. We can't go to Washington tomorrow and start lobbying senators and congressmen while the President may be dying. Michelle, we have to cancel."
Michelle agreed and told Marta she would talk to Tony's parents. They agreed that if the
President's condition improved, the trip would be rescheduled.
As she ended the conversation Marta said, "Michelle, this is bad news. If Prescott becomes President…"
"I know," Michelle cut her off. "I know. I'll talk to you later."
She hung up; her head was spinning. Yet another avenue blocked. She had worked so hard. Why was this happening? It was as if the planets were aligned against them; as if some force of nature wanted to keep her and Tony apart. She began screaming at the air, asking for answers. What did God want of her? What was she supposed to do next? What had she done to deserve this? What had Sophie done to have to grow up without her father? Why was God punishing this innocent child? Michelle looked down at the floor at Sophie who was frightened by the outburst. She held her toy close to her face, rubbing the tag between her thumb and forefinger. She slipped her other thumb into her mouth and sucked on it, something she rarely did, as she sat silently against the closet door. Michelle dropped to the floor sobbing and pulled the baby to her. She apologized over and over for frightening her and swore she would never do it again.
Michelle watched every newscast she could find over the next few weeks. Initially, the President's condition was not only critical, but unstable. The doctors that spoke at the press conferences several times a day made it clear that he could die at any time. He was breathing only with the help of a ventilator and had not regained consciousness since he was brought to the hospital. They could not explain what had happened to him, but thought that it was related to the assassination attempt of several years earlier when a toxin, that had never been identified, was slipped to him through a handshake.
As the days passed, Palmer's condition slowly stabilized. After nearly two weeks in intensive care, he had improved to the point that he could be moved to a regular room. Eventually, presidential powers were transferred back to David Palmer. Michelle began to breathe a little easier. She allowed herself to start hoping again. She and Marta began talking about possible dates to reschedule their Washington trip.
The President finally left the hospital after lengthy rehabilitation and returned to the White House. He was clearly weaker than he had been and, although his staff worked very hard to quell them, rumors of a resignation started to surface. Michelle and Marta decided to put together a Washington trip as soon as possible. They had to make sure they secured a pardon before Palmer could resign and Prescott could become President. They worked on the plans making dozens of phone calls every day. People who were happy to meet with them before the President's illness were now somewhat reluctant. Everyone knew that Prescott was against a pardon for Tony Almeida. If Prescott was soon to become President, no one wanted to be on the record as supporting something Prescott was well known to be against. That wasn't going to score any points with a new president. It could result in desired legislation or a certain senator's or congressman's pet project being brought down to defeat or vetoed.
Michelle and Marta were having a strategy session when the phone rang. It was Jack.
"Are you watching the news?" he asked.
Michelle indicated that they were not.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Michelle. President Palmer just announced his resignation. It's effective two weeks from today."
Michelle felt utterly defeated. All the work, she thought, all the time they had put in. It was over. There was no one to help her, no one to champion her cause. She would contact Tony; she and Sophie would go with him. That was her only choice. She couldn't live without him any longer.
She drove home in silence. No longer concerned or upset by the constant LA traffic. All she wanted was to be with Tony. She picked up Sophie and drove to her in-laws' house. She wanted to let them know her plans. She told them that she was able to contact Tony and that she hated to take Sophie away from them, but the child deserved to grow up with a father. They were sad, but understood her position and agreed that it was the best thing for both Michelle and Sophie, as well as, Tony.
She slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning allowing herself to wonder what life would be like in another country. She assumed that he was somewhere in South America. Fortunately she was able to speak Spanish and hoped that she would adjust to life easily. Any life with Tony was better than this empty existence without him. At 4am, Michelle gave up trying to sleep. She sat up and turned on the TV. As she was channel surfing, one particular ad caught her eye. It was a promo for one of the local afternoon talk shows. Their scheduled guest this afternoon was Lynne Kresge.
Kresge was currently the President's companion. She had been Special Aid to the President early in his first term, but had been seriously injured in a fall a couple of hours after the nuclear explosion almost 4 ½ years ago. The details of the accident were sketchy but she sustained a serious neck injury that left her partially paralyzed below the waist. With much rehabilitation, she was able to walk with assistance, but was often seen in a wheel chair. She and the President remained friends and began seeing each other after his long standing relationship with his physician, Anne Packard, ended. Since that time, Kresge and the President had been inseparable. She had been with his children at his bedside throughout his own long hospitalization.
Despite the accident, which Michelle considered unfortunate, she had few good things to say about Lynne Kresge. The day of the nuclear attack, Jack had notified Kresge that CTU was about to be bombed and asked her to warn them in time to evacuate. In a political dispute with NSA director, Eric Rayburn, Kresge failed to warn CTU. Thirty of Michelle and Tony's coworkers died that day and many more were injured. Michelle always felt that Kresge could have, should have done more to warn CTU.
Michelle shuddered involuntarily when she thought of that day. She remembered the explosion and being thrown to the ground, she remembered the noise and the screams and the building shaking. She remembered the dead and dying all around her. She remembered calling Tony's name, hoping, praying he was not hurt. She had not admitted her feelings to him yet, but she knew how she felt from the day she started at CTU, from the moment George Mason introduced them and she looked into his eyes. They were warm and kind, she knew instantly that she wanted to know this man better.
Michelle forced herself not to think about that day. She had other things to concentrate on. Lynne Kresge was in LA and Michelle decided that she had to talk to her, had to convince her that the President should pardon Tony.
She waited anxiously until morning then called the producer of the show on which Kresge would be appearing. Michelle had been on so many talk shows that she had become acquainted with many of the hosts and producers. She told the producer that she would like a chance to talk to Kresge after the show was taped that morning, but she did not want Kresge to be warned ahead of time. Michelle didn't want Lynne to have time to formulate a response. She needed the element of surprise on her side. The producer liked Michelle and agreed to arrange the meeting.
Michelle got to the studio in plenty of time and waited in the producer's office. As the show finished taping, Kresge was assisted off the stage and the producer approached her with Michelle standing at his side.
"Ms. Kresge, I'd like to introduce you to Michelle Almeida." They shook hands; Kresge indicated she had seen Michelle on television. "Michelle was hoping she could have a few minutes with you. You can use my office."
Kresge agreed, if somewhat reluctantly and the two of them went in the office. They sat in armchairs facing each other. The silence was awkward.
"Ms. Kresge," Michelle began. "There's no point in my beating around the bush. I'm sure you have a pretty good idea why I am here."
"Mrs. Almeida, in light of the fact that you seem to have one singular purpose in life, that is, securing a pardon for your husband, I suppose that you are here to try and convince me to talk the President into such a pardon."
Michelle nodded. "Of course," was all she had time to say when Kresge began speaking again.
"Mrs. Almeida, surely you must understand that although the President can grant pardons at will, no president has ever granted a pardon to someone convicted of treason."
"Perhaps no one convicted of treason has ever had so many extenuating circumstances mitigating that conviction, Ms. Kresge."
"And to what 'extenuating circumstances' are you referring?"
"My husband is not a traitor, Ms. Kresge and you know it. He's a hero. Look at his record. Despite the fact that he was shot just hours earlier, he performed brilliantly the day of the bioterrorist attack. He is among the agents credited with the capture of Stephen Saunders and the safe disposition of all of the virus. But, you know, there have been other days, too. I remember 4 ½ years ago when CTU was bombed. With only minutes notice, Tony made every effort to evacuate the building without any regard to his own safety. He could have been killed that day, but he got up and brushed himself off. He helped the dying and the injured and then he went back to work and spent almost the next 24 hours stopping a nuclear detonation in LA and preventing an unnecessary war in the Middle East. It's too bad he didn't have more warning that CTU was going to be bombed. Maybe he could have evacuated sooner and saved some lives."
Lynne averted his eyes. "What are you insinuating, Mrs. Almeida?" Her tone had cooled.
"Don't play games with me, Ms. Kresge. I'm not in the mood. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm well aware that Jack Bauer notified you at least a half hour before the bomb went off and you made no attempt to warn us. I went to 30 separate funerals in the two weeks following that day: my friends, my coworkers. They left behind spouses and children and parents. That didn't have to happen. Not notifying us was an act every bit as treasonous as any my husband committed."
"You may not want to admit it, but your husband put millions of innocent Americans at risk, Mrs. Almeida."
"That's true, Ms. Kresge. What my husband did was wrong. But wherever he is, when he lays his head on his pillow tonight, he can sleep knowing that no innocent people died because of his actions." Michelle paused, "I hope you sleep well tonight, Ms. Kresge."
The room was so quiet Michelle could hear her own heart beat. She stood up. "I've taken enough of your time. Thank you." She extended her hand but Lynne ignored it. She did not look up as Michelle left the room. Michelle had obviously hit a nerve.
Michelle stopped at Marta's office on the way home. She wanted to tell Marta about her meeting with Lynne Kresge. She had to admit it had probably been a stupid thing to do, but she felt better having done it. She thanked Marta for all of her help over the last 18 months and asked her to submit her final bill. Marta stepped around her desk and put her hand on Michelle's arm.
"This sounds like goodbye. You're going to go and be with him, aren't you?"
Michelle nodded knowing that if she tried to talk she would cry. Marta wished her happiness and promised that she would not reveal Michelle's plans to anyone.
Michelle spent the rest of the two weeks hoping against hope that the President would come through with a pardon. At the same time, she was beginning to plan her move. She would place the personal ad "always and forever" in the LA times the Sunday after Prescott was sworn in as President. She started to think about what possessions she would take with her and what she would leave behind. She would enlist Jack and Kate's help in distributing items quietly to family and friends after she left. She would never see any of these people again. It was all very sad, but at the other end of this sad road stood the only person who could bring her real happiness and she knew it. She started to find herself smiling at inappropriate times as thoughts of seeing Tony and being a family again crept into her mind. She thought of eating meals with him and taking long walks together with Sophie in the stroller. She thought of quiet mornings sharing a cup of coffee. She thought of waking up next to him every morning and going to bed with him every night.
Michelle wondered where this trip would take her, how she would get there. She couldn't exactly show up at the airport with scads of luggage and a one-way ticket to South America, she thought dryly. Although the authorities could not stop her from leaving, they could give her a very hard time. She suspected that she would be given very little notice of the move, so she would need to be ready to go at any time. She also knew that she would have to travel light. She suspected that the plans would include her driving to Mexico under the cover of darkness and meeting a contact there who would arrange the rest of the trip. She knew Tony would make sure it was a comfortable trip with as few stops on land as possible. As soon as the authorities realized that she was gone, they would alert authorities throughout Mexico and Central and South America. Again, they had nothing on her, but could probably get local authorities to arrest her on trumped up charges and make her life miserable for a while and possibly even get her to name the contacts who were helping her.
Michelle went to bed that Sunday night knowing that the sun would dawn tomorrow on President Palmer's last full day in office. A sense of calm had come over her. She would be with Tony soon. She would be happy again.
Michelle was startled out of a restful sleep by the ringing of the phone. It was still dark. She looked at the clock: 5:30am. Her anxiety grew as she grabbed for the phone. Phones ringing at this hour usually didn't have good news on the other end.
"Hello," she said.
"Mrs. Almeida?"
"Yes, who's calling please?"
"Please hold for the President of the United States." There was a brief pause.
"Mrs. Almeida, I'm sorry to call so early. I hope it didn't frighten you," said the deep, familiar voice on the other end of the line.
"No, Sir, not at all," she lied.
"Good. I'll be making a statement to the press at 9 o'clock eastern time – about a half hour from now. I wanted you to hear what I am planning to say from me and not on the news." He paused. Michelle remained silent. "I understand you met with Lynne Kresge a few days ago."
"Yes, Sir, that's correct," was all Michelle could manage to utter.
"I don't know what you said to her, she won't tell me. But you obviously made an impression on her. She asked me to take a look at Mr. Almeida's case and consider a pardon. I was skeptical, Mrs. Almeida. I couldn't imagine why or how I could pardon someone convicted of treason. It's never been done before, but in deference to Lynne, I agreed to look at the case but I didn't promise her anything. I got your husband's military and CTU records and I probably don't have to tell you how impressive they are. He was decorated for meritorious service in Somalia and his CTU record is replete with commendations. His actions the day of the bioterrist attack were exemplary, Mrs. Almeida, even after he was arrested. To believe that after all he had been through that day, that he should simply stand by while Saunders murdered you is inconceivable. I've also talked to my staff. Do you know that we have received well over 100,000 letters and over a million emails asking for me to pardon your husband?"
Michelle was sitting up in bed now. She was literally shaking and tears were streaming silently down her face.
"Mrs. Almeida, in a few minutes I'm going to tell the American people exactly what I told you. I'm also going to tell them that I am granting Tony Almeida a full and unconditional pardon."
Michelle could hold back no longer. She began to cry and to thank the President effusively.
"Mr. President," she said having composed herself. "Tony and I will never be able to adequately thank you for this."
"The only thanks I need is for the two of you to join Lynne and me for dinner as soon as Mr. Almeida is back in the country."
"We would be honored, Sir."
"Mrs. Almeida, I have to go. The press conference is starting in a few minutes. You'll be contacted by the Attorney General's office later this morning with all of the details."
She thanked him again and hung up the phone. She couldn't stop smiling. Tony was coming home! The nightmare was finally over.