CHINA

Kim Tangshen had considered Hong Wai a friend. Now he considered him a liar and worse, a traitor.

Hong didn't know it, but Cheng Zhi had long suspected him of being a double agent, and had been keeping a closer eye on him than he realized. Hong knew now what a mistake it was to underestimate Cheng. He was much more intelligent than Hong gave him credit for. Hong was kicking himself mentally for thinking that Cheng couldn't find what he thought was a completely untraceable phone line.

Yes, Cheng Zhi was an arrogant jerk, but he was a resourceful and well-connected jerk. He was connected inside and outside of the Chinese government. One thing Hong did know was how utterly ruthless Cheng was. And it scared him to death.

Kim pulled his former friend out of the trunk of the black Lincoln town car and shoved him to the ground. Cheng had given Kim and three other agents the task of finding Hong and bringing him in. Cheng had specifically ordered that he wanted Kim alive, that he was the one to deliver the traitor's punishment. That didn't stop his henchmen from having some fun with the prisoner first. Now Hong knew how Jack Bauer felt for fourteen days on that cargo ship. He forced himself to participate in Bauer's daily marathon of beatings.

Laying semiconscious at Cheng Zhi's feet, Hong wondered to himself if he did the right thing by telephoning Audrey Raines. It was going to cost him his life, but he knew that it was.

"Hong Wai," Cheng said in Mandarin. "You have betrayed me and your country."

"You are…a disgrace, Cheng," Hong weakly replied. "You are a murderer…and a terrorist. You can…kill me, but you…you will burn in hell for the things you've done."

"Sit him up," Cheng ordered. Kim Tangshen forced Hong to sit on his knees. Cheng removed his firearm from its holster and aimed it at Hong's head. Hong shut his eyes, awaiting his fate.

"Look at me, traitor!" Cheng screamed. Hong opened his eyes. Cheng slapped him right across the mouth with the barrel of his gun. Hong fell over, blood pouring from his mouth like water out of a faucet.

Cheng walked behind Hong as the other man gagged on his own blood. Cheng held out his right hand. Kim reached into the car and pulled out a katana. He placed it in Cheng's outstretched hand.

"You have dishonored yourself, you have dishonored me and you have dishonored the People's Republic of China," Cheng said. "You know the penalty for treason, Hong. You lying, traitorous pig." With one, swift strike of the katana, Cheng severed Hong Wai's head from his body. He had administered what he considered justice, but Cheng wasn't satisfied. In his mind, Hong Wai deserved to die that same death over and over. But he did what he wanted done and didn't need to think about it a second longer. There were more urgent matters at hand. Kim Tangshen knew what his superior was thinking.

"The American's friends will no doubt come looking for him," he said. "We should kill him now."

"No," Cheng insisted. "I think I have the leverage I need now. Get me all the information you can on this Audrey Raines."

"Why, Cheng?" Kim asked.

"Because after all this time, I finally know Mr. Bauer's weakness."

CAMP DAVID, MARYLAND

24 HOURS LATER

The two limousines pulled up in front of President James Heller's Maryland retreat. Aaron Pierce and Secret Service Agents Davies and Fink were standing outside to greet the President's guests.

"Welcome to Camp David, gentlemen," Aaron said, shaking hands with the three men who had stepped out of the first limousine. "I'm Agent Aaron Pierce. The President is expecting you. Come with me, please." Seven other men stepped out of the second limousine. They all followed Aaron and the other two agents inside.

The first man Aaron shook hands with was Curtis Manning, Head of Field Operations for CTU in Los Angeles. A former captain in the Special Forces and SWAT commander in the Boston Police Department, Curtis was a formidable soldier. If there was one man on the planet who could match Jack Bauer's toughness, it was Curtis Manning.

The second man was Tom Baker. Baker's resume was as impressive as Manning's. He served in the Marine Corps during Desert Storm and in Kosovo, receiving several commendations for bravery. After an honorable discharge from the Marines, Tom joined CTU in Los Angeles as a field agent. He left there when he was promoted to head of Field Operations for CTU in Philadelphia.

The third man was Chase Edmunds. Chase served under Curtis in the Special Forces for a short time before joining CTU as a field agent in Washington, where he quickly climbed the ranks. He was eventually transferred to CTU in Los Angeles, where he was partnered with an unorthodox but accomplished agent named Jack Bauer. They worked well together for over two years. Jack had a lot of respect for Chase, but Chase's opinion of his former partner had soured recently.

The other seven men were field agents for CTU in Los Angeles, all personally recommended by Bill Buchanan. Their names were Gonzales, Abate, Demarco, Hughes, Edwards, Vignola and Warburton. They were all seated in a large room, but stood once President James Heller and Vice President Mike Novick entered.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Heller greeted. "Please, as you were." The ten agents sat back down.

"Vice President Novick and I would like to thank you all for coming," Heller continued. "Now I'm going to get right to the point as time is of the essence.

You've been called here for a strictly declassified mission. Right now, an American named Jack Bauer is being held in a Chinese prison for a crime he didn't commit."

The mention of Jack's name answered the gathered agents' unspoken question as to what this mission was all about. All they were told by Bill Buchanan was it was a special mission for the President.

"Most of you in this room have served with Jack in the past and know him very well," Heller said. "For any of you who don't know the full story, almost two years ago, Jack led a raid on the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles to apprehend a man named Lee Jong, a scientist who had connections to Muslim terrorists. That raid was ordered by former President David Palmer. President Palmer had tried to convince the Consulate to hand Jong over diplomatically, but they refused to cooperate."

"Excuse me, Mr. President," Chase called. Everyone turned to Chase. They were shocked to see someone interrupt the President of the United States. "Didn't that violate the sovereignty law?"

"Yes, Mr. Edmunds, it did," Heller replied. "But to be honest, if I were in President Palmer's situation, I would have done the same thing. Sovereign soil or not, the Chinese were harboring a fugitive. Besides that, Jack Bauer wasn't put in prison for violating the sovereignty of the Consulate. The Chinese Consul, Qing Wangsia, was killed during the raid. Jack is being held for the murder of the Consul, even though I have personally watched the security video from that day and can tell you that the Consul died from friendly fire.

Jack was tried in a Chinese court and sentenced to a life term at Taiping Prison which sits on the border of China and Siberia. Your mission, officially named Operation: Nighthawk, is to infiltrate the prison and bring our boy home. Are there any questions?" No one said a word. "Good. You leave for China at oh five hundred. Get some rest. And thank you. You're doing your country and I a great service." Heller smiled and nodded, then walked out of the room, followed by Novick."

"Curtis," Chase said as Edwards and Warburton were showing the agents to the guest rooms. "Are you really going through with this?"

"Of course," Curtis told him. "There's an innocent American rotting in a foreign jail. You don't see anything wrong with that?"

"Come on. Jack had to have known the risks."

"I'm sure he did, Chase. But he's not a murderer." Curtis told tell that something was bothering Chase. "What is it, man? You not feeling up to this?"

"I've been ready for something like this for a long time, Curtis. Have you ever done private security?"

"No," Curtis answered.

"Well, it sucks," Chase said. That made Curtis smile. "I was in the Special Forces.

I was a field agent for CTU. Defending my country, being on the frontlines-it's what I was born for. I was always proud to risk my life if it meant my daughter and the rest of this country could live safe and free."

"Here's your chance to get back out there," Curtis said. "So what's the problem?"

"I saw what Jack did to Kim," Chase told him. "When she thought he was dead, it almost destroyed her. It destroyed our relationship, for God's sake. I loved her, Curtis. But every time Kim got close to her father, he felt like he had to push her away. It made her afraid to want to get close to me, or to anyone. I hate him for that."

"Does Jack deserve to die in a Chinese prison for it?" Chase couldn't answer. "Look, Jack did what he felt he had to do. It's not up to you or I to judge him. That man's given up so much in order to do his job. I think it's time his country paid him back for all he's done, and all he's lost. And we have to make that happen.

You need to put your personal feelings aside, Chase. We have a job to do."

"You're right," Chase said. "It's gonna be good being back out there again."

"This is what we were born to do, soldier," Curtis said with a grin. "I'll see you at oh five hundred."

"Yes sir, Captain," Chase replied with a grin of his own.