Okay, just for the record, my story isn't going to exactly follow what's going on the actual Season 7. Just stay with me and remember—none of this actually happens in the show…yet, that I know of anyway! LOL

Tony led me back around the car and into the nearby warehouse. Two people were already there—the two people who had arrested me. I was confused. Hadn't they been at the FBI building a short while ago?

"Elle, this is Chloe O'Brian," Bauer introduced me to a young brunette woman, and then to an older, white-haired man. "And this is Bill Buchanan."

"I take it you guys aren't really FBI," I wanted to know.

"No. You can trust them, though," Tony assured me.

"So, was the entire thing at the FBI building a hoax?" I asked, beginning to wonder. "I didn't ever see anyone else there, come to think of it."

"We just wanted to see what your initial reaction would be," Chloe spoke abruptly. "We figured out that you wouldn't come willingly. Jack was going to drug you, but you passed out before he could do it."

I sighed wearily. My head was pounding and I was so confused by what was going on around me. "So, that red-headed woman…what was she?"

"Renee is an FBI agent, but they think she is dead. We wanted to make you think everything was official," Bauer explained. "She managed to sneak us in a back door where we wouldn't be noticed."

"Can someone please give me a detailed explanation of what the hell is going on around here? I'm really, really confused," I admitted.

"I'll explain it to you while Chloe and Bill are prepping the tracking devices. We don't have much time," Jack told me.

Bauer took me over to a far corner of the large room and sat me down in a chair. "We recently delivered Sangalian Prime Minister Matobo to Dubaku a little over an hour ago, but when we got there, he demanded we bring you to him. We're not sure why, but it gives us an opportunity to get closer to him."

"What happened to Matobo?" I inquired, interrupting his narrative.

"We don't know. They took him away somewhere. We're not sure what happened," Jack told me honestly.

"So, the same thing could happen to me, right?" I looked him straight in the eye, wanting a serious, truthful answer.

"We're going to put a tracking device underneath your skin and then, hopefully, you'll be able to make contact with the Matobos while you're being held prisoner."

"What do you mean 'Matobos'? There's more than one of them in there?"

Jack nodded. "His wife is with him."

I leaned back in the chair, covering my eyes with my hand. The sunlight was making my headache worse.

"Are you willing to help us?" Bauer wanted to know.

"Do I have much of a choice?" I asked, smiling grimly at him.

"Not really." Jack gave me the same smile back.

I stood up to walk away, but he caught my arm with an iron-like grasp. "What's going on between you and Tony?"

"Nothing," I lied, trying desperately to pull away from him.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Bauer had easily discerned my secret.

"Yes, I am," I replied very simply.