Hi readers!
I'm back from holiday! (I haven't got as much as a tan as I'd hoped.)
Sorry, I was meant to update two days ago, but I updated my True Blood fic instead!
I hope all of you like this chapter, remember: This is nowhere near the end of the story! !
(I don't own 24.)
Enjoy :D
Chapter Twelve: Crisis
Michelle limped over to the cupboard, trying to find something to use to open the door. It took a few attempts, yet she succeeded in pulling open the metal door revealing shelves littered with completely useless objects. She noticed a bucket, and empty cardboard box and a large silver, cylinder shaped container. Hesitantly picking it up, she examined the cylinder, but was startled when it started beeping rapidly. It clattered to the floor, not even denting its surface. Suddenly, a chunk of metal broke off, to show a small screen, blinking neon numbers counting steadily down.
"What I don't understand is why they call the 'Secret Service' the 'Secret Service', I mean; they aren't really secret are they?" Ayesha rambled on, before laughing hysterically.
"She's insane." Audrey muttered to herself, watching through the interrogation room glass.
Ayesha rocked her chair back and forth like a child in the classroom; her eyes alight with madness and mirth.
"Send in your 'Doctor Frankenstein' if you want to! Nothing you can do can stop it!" she shrieked.
All of the people in the small observation room, who previously weren't paying attention to the nonsense she said, all looked up at her last sentence.
The man in the room with her immediately asked "Stop what?"
She fixed him with a crazy gaze "Ok, now you're interested!"
He banged his fist on the table millimetres away from her hand, then repeated his query.
Shaking her head stubbornly, she replied "Nope. No point anyway. Only a couple of minutes to go."
"Jack, Jack!" Chloe called, running towards him. He had an arm around Tony's shoulders, helping him walk.
"Chloe, I know you probably have something important to say, but we really need to find someone." Jack said as he scanned the room with well-trained eyes.
Ignoring his last statement, she continued "We need to evacuate the building now! Some type of weapon, whether it's a bomb or something else, is going to detonate imminently. I've managed to override the lockdown so that we can unlock the doors."
He however, was becoming frustrated "Then do it then!"
She folded her arms, glaring at him before snapping "I'm going to! I thought you'd like to know!"
As she stomped off back towards the computers, Tony, who was now leaning on a nearby desk for support, spoke the query that had been buzzing in his head for hours.
"Where's Michelle?"
Jack stopped rushing around for a minute, looking Tony right in the eye.
"I don't know. She'll turn up in a minute, I'm sure. The most important thing at the moment is for us to get out of here."
"No," his voice was full of fury "I am not leaving without her."
Once the evacuation alarm was blaring, the crowd fazed into panic, people screaming and rushing towards the door. A group of people pushed past Jack, almost knocking him over. When he regained his balance, Tony had vanished.
He spun around, searching for where he could have gone. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of him moving unsteadily, yet quickly, around a corner leading to another of CTU's labyrinth-like corridors.
As he was about to pursue, he saw a familiar red spiky hair within a pack of panicked people.
"Dr. Marks!"
He sprinted towards her, whilst she ran in the opposite direction, shoving anyone who got in her way. Jack however, easily caught up with her before pinning her to a nearby wall.
"You are going to tell me all you know, unless you want the last thing you see to be the barrel of my gun."
Michelle started to panic. The flashing numbers now only contained 30 seconds on their timer. Knowing that there wasn't any way to prevent whatever it was, she hurriedly placed the cylinder at the very back of the metal cupboard, closing the doors as tight as she could. Giving up hope of a way out, she sheltered in the corner of the room, the furthest away from the threat.
Tony doesn't remember me, at least he won't grieve for me. Closing her eyes, she shut those heartbreaking thoughts to the back of her mind, and focused on happier things.
The first day she saw him, looking into those soulful brown eyes. He was still recovering from Nina's betrayal, and therefore hardly communicated with anyone. She hadn't known of his ex-girlfriend's treachery, and was constantly trying to figure out why he'd closed himself off, not talking with anyone unless necessary. Jack was the only exception. Although he and Tony didn't speak to each other often, Michelle had a feeling that Jack was the only person he trusted.
Once, she had summoned the courage to approach Jack, and asked to have a word with him in private. He had agreed, yet he was slightly confused.
She inquired as to what had happened to him, but attempting to seem as if it was strictly a question to do with work, not a personal matter. She remembered his response clearly.
"What befalls every man?"
She shrugged.
"A girlfriend." He continued "At least, someone who pretends to love you, only to use you then throw you away. She was more interested in money."
"What money?" She asked, her mind reeling.
"Terrorists offered her money to be a mole in CTU, giving them any information they needed. Nina accepted."
They both looked towards the CTU bullpen, where Tony was on the phone with someone from the Department of Defence.
"He hardly trusts anyone now." He mused "At least he thinks I'm reasonably trustworthy."
Michelle was still watching Tony, who had put the phone down and was now organising files on his desk.
"Keep an eye on him. I don't want him in any trouble." He instructed, before adding "If he continues as he is for too long, he'll lose everyone. You might be the one to fix that."
He smiled at her, then walked away towards one of the conference rooms.
His last statement had puzzled her and she, after a pause, walked back to her work station.
As she was curled in a corner of the room, waiting for her fate, she understood. Jack had seen the look in Tony and Michelle's eyes when they saw each other. He had seen from the beginning, even when they themselves hadn't. She wished she'd known sooner.
Just as her mind was processing what might be her last thoughts, a click reverberated around the room.
0:05, 0:04, 0:03, 0:02, 0:01, 0:00.
What did you think?
I don't think it's very good, but I'd like to know what you think.
Pleeeaassee review! !