Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Following Takes Place Between 1:00 A.M. and 2:00 A.M.

Kim Bauer lay on the ground, unmoving. The shockwave had sent her across the parking lot, the concussive force enough to level a building. No one had noticed whether or not she was alive or dead, assuming anyone had seen her at all amid the wreckage.

She lay on the ground, facedown, the very image of a corpse.

And then her eyes opened slightly and she groaned. For a long moment, Kim thought she was dead. Then, she became aware of tingling her extremities and a ringing in her ears.. Slowly, other voices began to enter her auditory range. It couldn't possibly hurt this much to be dead.

"How many people…"

"…. Is our equipment…"

"What the hell was he thinking…"

Kim slowly pushed up with one arm, and turned herself over, onto her side, and got her first look at the chaos. Unlike the majority of the people here, she had not been at CTU eighteen months earlier when a similar explosion, but she had a feeling that this wasn't as bad. For one thing, while there was significant damage to the face of the building-- there was a lot of broken glass, and some areas were smoking-- there didn't seem to be much harm done to the interior. For another, there were definitely a lot more people walking around, which meant that more of the people had gotten out alive.

However, Kim thought she knew the main reason that there had been so little damage. She slowly pushed to her feet and staggered to the entrance, in a daze as profound as when she learned her mother had been murdered. She fell to one knee instead of a more dignified crouch to examine the body.

Death had not been kind to Tony Almeida – but then Kim knew better than most that kindness in death was just a lie people themselves in order to rationalize the end of a life. The force of the blast had blown Tony backwards to the entrance., where large shards of glass had sliced into his carotid artery as well as his brain. Death had been quick, which for Tony might have been a mercy. It wasn't going to be for most of the other people in that building.

"NO!"

Kim didn't have to look up to know who was there. She stepped away from the body to allow Michelle access to her lover's body.

As Michelle fell near the body, she couldn't help but think of a horrible symmetry. A little more than three years ago, she had found her father cradling her mother's dead body in her arms, sobbing his eyes out, as if his world had come to an end. Now, in the worst possible way, the same thing had happened to Michelle.

"My god," Kim turned to her left to see Dixon standing next to her. "He told me to get everyone out. I didn't think he'd be crazy enough to..."

He drifted off. There wasn't anything else to say. The only sounds in the air were of burning fires, and the cries of Michelle Dessler.

"Is anyone else dead?" Kim asked, her voice suddenly curt. Dixon glanced at the look in Kim's eye. Gone was the hurt little girl, and what remained was a seriously pissed off Bauer.

Maybe it is genetic. "They killed nine of the security guards," Dixon told her. "Because of what Tony did..." he shook his head, "no one else died when the bomb went off."

"Please tell me that we have footage of the bastards who took Nadia and Irina hostage."

"We have them on tape. I've got Marshall running through the data now." Off Kim's look, "Chloe's still shaken up."

"We all are," Kim shook her head. "Christ, I've pretty sure whoever was in charge of these people was going to kill me a few minutes ago."

"He threatened you?"

Kim was taking out her cell phone when she remembered it had been destroyed in the explosion. "I need your phone."

1:04:27/1:04:28/1:04:29

Jack, though he was maintaining his usual equilibrium, was feeling as close to the edge as possible.

When Marshall had contacted him and told him about the situation at CTU, he told Vaughn to proceed with the trail. Jack's first reaction had been to tear out of there the proverbial bat out of hell. Vaughn had learned over the years how far he could push Jack when he had his mind made up—wisely, he hadn't tried to stop him, and had gotten out with Curtis Manning to try and follow up on whatever lead he could find on this mercenary named Mandy.

Jack had spent the next fifteen minutes trying to get a hold of anybody at CTU, but whoever had designed this communication worm was at Marshall's level, and for fifteen minutes he got nowhere.

Finally his phone rang. "Bauer."

"Dad, it's me."

Relief surged through Jack's body. "Kim, I've been trying to reach you for the last half hour. What the hell happened?"

Kim hesitated, and Jack realized she was trying to choke back sobs. "Dad… Tony's… dead."

For a horrible moment, Jack almost took his hands off the wheel.. "What?"

"Somebody input a worm that took our defenses. CTU was fucking invaded. They were going to blow the place to hell, and Tony was the one who saved everybody."

For the past three years, Jack had measured all of the loss he had felt in comparison to Teri's death. He thought that only the loss of his daughter or Nadia would hurt as much, but this seemed a far heavier blow.

"Dad, I'm sorry about Tony, and I wish we had more time to mourn," Kim summoned her strength, "but I'm afraid the situation is a lot worse. These people, whoever they are, they took Irina and Isabelle hostage, and when they were leaving they took Nadia. We need to get these guys, and now."

If Jack had been a lesser man this news, coming on top of everything else that had rained down the last few hours, might have paralyzed him. Ironically, it was Kim who gave him his courage. Considering everything that had happened in the past hour, the old Kim would have been completely incapacitated by this. The fact that she was still in the game, was actually urging him on, helped him regain the strength he needed to help get through the hard part.

"Do you have any idea who these people are?" he asked in a steady tone.

"We've got security footage of all the men who came in. Chloe's in the middle of IDing them," Kim paused., "but there may be an easier way."

"What do you mean?"

"Whoever it was who led these men told me that he knew you, well enough that he considering shooting me to send you a message," she said in a completely calm and clinical matter, as though it happened everyday. "You have access to a monitor in your car?"

"Yeah."

"Turn it on. I'm going to have Chloe text it over to you in the next thirty seconds."

Jack nodded to himself, and he felt his blood pressure increasing as his foot became heavier on the pedal and he ground his teeth. Grief and worry was starting to give way to the mounting rage. "He threatened you?" Jack tried to say as casually as possible.

"I think the only reason he didn't was because Nadia offered herself in trade." Kim paused. "And she was in no position to bargain at the time. I think the only reason he did it was because he wanted to toy with us."

Any relief Jack was feeling about Kim still being alive evaporated. "Send me the footage," he said in a neutral tone.

He had thought himself past the point of surprise, but when he saw the man in the monitor, a kind of pulse ran through him. "His name is Stephen Saunders," Jack told Kim. "Ex-MI-5. He and I worked together in the past."

"Where?"

"Until now, I thought he had died during Operation Nightfall." Jack paused. "But then, this is becoming a day when death doesn't seem like much of an obstacle to anyone."

1:10:33/1:10:34/1:10:35/1:10:36

As worried as Vaughn was about the fate of everybody at CTU, he realized that they were on a clock, and that the best thing that he could do to help them was to find this Mandy, and through her, find out where the hell Sloane was.

In the last fifteen minutes, he had been going over some data that Marshall had sent him, and, now that it was nearly too late, he was beginning to connect the dots.

"How the fuck did we miss this?" he muttered to Curtis.

"Our numbers have been spread pretty thin today," Curtis pointed out. "Besides, until thirty minutes ago, we had no real reason to follow up on this."

"Will we have enough agents on site to handle the rendezvous point?"

"If this woman comes alone, probably. If she's got the same kind of backup everyone else seems to be bringing today…" Curtis trailed off, knowing that he didn't have to finish that sentence.

Just then, Vaughn's cell rang. "More good news," Vaughn muttered as he answered it. "Vaughn."

"We've got another problem." Jack Bristow said without preamble

"Tell me about it." Vaughn said. "Given everything that's happened in the last hour, Sloane could probably walk right through customs, and our forces would be too divided for us to catch him."

"Is this about what's happening at CTU?"

"That's how bad this day has been. A major assault on CTU is currently the least of our problems."

"What else is going on?" Sydney's father demanded.

"First of all, that raid on CTU that according to Marshall could only have been managed if there was someone on the inside," Vaughn told him. "We now know who gave them up. Erin Driscoll."

"What evidence do you have to back this up?"

"Driscoll has a daughter named Maya with schizophrenia, who's been in and out of institutions her whole life. Until six hours ago, she was being held in the Connelly Institute when someone with the appropriate paperwork signed her out."

"And this someone was working for Sloane," Mr. Bristow extrapolated

"The woman who currently has possession of her is a mercenary named Mandy. Unfortunately, that's all that the man we have in custody seems to know about her. He was scheduled to meet with her to deliver a payoff as the Howard Housing development in Pacific Palisades. Curtis and I are en route there now to try and intercept."

"What have you got in the way of backup?"

"Just enough people so that something could go wrong. Especially if this woman-- who Marshall has yet to locate in any of our databases-- is as cagey as this guy makes her out to be."

"Then you're really not going to like what I have to tell you," Mr. Bristow said. Now Sydney's father was the one to hesitate.

"What now?" Vaughn said, in what would have been an eerie echo of Jack's tone a few minutes earlier

"Anna Espinoza was being transferred to a more secure detention facility about an hour ago," Mr. Bristow began.

"Let me guess. Erin Driscoll ordered her transfer," Vaughn said tiredly

"As far as we know, she had nothing to do with that," Sydney's father told him. "But the order came through Division so she would've known. In any case, the end result is the same. Less than twenty minutes out, her transport was intercepted , and a team of armed guards took out our people."

"Were there any familiar faces?"

"The one surviving agent said that he recognized Sark as leading the team."

"So Sloane's got himself spread pretty thin, too," Vaughn admitted. "Otherwise, he'd never put these two back in the same car together."

"Agents have already responded and are trying to set up parameters, but they could be miles from here."

"And you want me to do what exactly?" Exasperation was starting to slide into Vaughn's voice. "All our teams are in the field already, and everybody, including me, by the way, is the middle of trying to run down Sloane."

"I'm aware of that," Sydney's father began.

"Then why are you calling me?" Vaughn said. "My wife has been kidnapped by the most dangerous lunatic on the planet, my daughter is probably on her way into his hands we speak, and I can't even be bothered to stray from my post, because right now I have to try and follow any lead, no matter how pathetic, to find them. What the fuck do you expect me to do?"

"We have to find Sark and Anna--"

"They'll turn up again at the worst possible time and place. It's been happening a lot today." Genuine anger was starting to replace Vaughn's exasperation "What are you doing to stop this?"

"We never caught up with the car that we were chasing from Sloane's last hideout, so I told them to bring Driscoll to us. I'm going to interrogate her myself."

"You put a fucking gun to her head, and get whatever information that bitch has." Vaughn told him bluntly. "And you be sure to tell her that getting this assassin alive is my main concern. Rescuing her daughter is a distant second in my current priorities."

"We're almost there," Curtis interrupted

"I've got to get prepped for this meet," Vaughn told him. "One last thing, be sure to tell her if any harm comes to Sydney or my daughter, I will draw and quarter her myself."

Wisely, Sydney's father did not respond to this, mostly because his feelings were as deep, if not deeper, than his son-in-law's.

1:18:49/1:18:50/1:18:51

Sydney had spent the better part of the last hour trying to find a way to work free of her bonds and her captors, but given how many heavily armed men Sloane now had watching her, she couldn't so much as scratch an itch without getting attacked by one of Sloane's peons. Nor had she been able to get a clearer perspective on where the hell they were, aside from being on some kind of harbor. For all she knew, Sloane could have driven them back to San Pedro, where they had intercepted Anna Espinoza what now seemed like a lifetime ago.

If this really was Sloane's ultimate base of operations, he really was slumming it. Not that the last two locations he had chosen to work out of had been very high on the meter for luxury or neatness, but those places had been Hiltons compared to here-- she could see spider's webs and dust bunnies in the corners. The only thing that had seemed halfway normal was Sloane himself, walking the halls among his men, wearing an earpiece, communicating with the world on several monitors that had been here not much longer than him.

Sydney was trying to gather what little she could from the conversations Sloane had been having for the last thirty minutes, but up until now she hadn't learned much. However, the next call gave her hope.

"Sark, how good of you to finally call back," he said calmly

"You didn't exactly give me an easy task," Sark sounded a little hoarse. "Breaking a prisoner out of government facilities isn't a picnic."

"You've seen it work from both ends of the looking-glass, " Sloane reminded him. "You should be an expert at it by now

"Well, Anna's out now. Would you mind explaining why I was given this assignment?"

"My source at CTU has informed me that two of the vials have been intercepted before they could be used," Sloane said coldly.

"Don't tell me you honestly expected all of the vials to reach their destination without running into some obstacles," Sark countered.

"My agent on the inside was supposed to make sure that all of them avoided capture," Sloane pointed out. "Apparently she, like so many of my other associates, has proved herself fallible."

"Maybe she's been made."

"You must really think I'm a fool," Sloane said with a mild irritation. "Of course she has. The only question is which of our people have screwed up."

"As fascinating as this conversation is, you still haven't answered my question." Sark countered. "Why did you have me break someone out who so obviously could have betrayed us?"

"Because I need as much attention diverted from the ground search as possible. This means having as many of people scattered as far as they can."

"So what, you want me and Anna to go flying down to Glendale, keeping the eyes of the world off Johannesburg and Santiago?" Sark asked.

"Four of the vials reach their delivery point in the next hour," Sloane reminded him "Once they arrive it doesn't matter if CTU ends up finding the rest. I'll be able to carry out the mission. I need you to provide enough a distraction."

"Glad we can be of service."

"Considering how badly you and Anna have screwed up almost everything that has happened today, now would not be a good time to be sarcastic," Sloane reminded them grimly. "Now, I'm going to text you the location of one of the last vials. Once you get it, go there and wait for my instructions. Can you do that much without supervision?"

"You can trust me."

"As has been the case, that's simply not true." Sloane looked like he was about to say more when his phone beeped. "Yes," he snapped.

"We have Irina and Isabelle," another voice told Sloane

"And CTU?"

"The bomb went off, but since neither Mr. Bauer or Mr. Bristow were there at the time, I'd say that they're going to be a problem in the future."

"Well, I'm used to dealing with these particular thorns in my side," Sloane pointed out. "This will cause enough of a problem to keep them busy."

"I'm glad to know you approve, but considering that Derevko was apparently recuperating from a bullet to the stomach, I think there may be a greater issue of time than you think."

A momentary flicker of concern passed over Sloane's face. "Will she make it until morning?" he asked.

"From what I understand, the only reason you had us kidnap both these woman was to kill them. Now's a lousy time to be showing compassion"

Sloane's eyes narrowed. "I'll give you the rendezvous point", he said brusquely.

"There's been a change in plan."

"We had an arrangement."

"Mr. Sloane, people who become your partners have a rather frightening tendency to turn up dead, so you'll forgive if for taking precautions."

"What sort of precautions?"

"I'm not telling you over the phone. Suffice to say, I think it's in your interest for us to meet face-to-face."

"You're in no position to negotiate terms, Mr. Saunders."

"I have exactly what you need to carry out your mission," Saunders countered. "I'd say that puts me in an excellent position to bargain."

Sloane considered this. "Redondo Beach exit off of the Pacific Coast Highway. Fifteen minutes."

He took off his earpiece, and turned to one of his flunkies.

"Problems with the help?" Sydney asked.

Sloane didn't take the bait, turning to one of his flunkies instead. "I'll be back in half an hour, Do not take your eyes off this woman," he ordered.

One of the guards looked nervous. "What if she does what she did to Gary?"

"Don't ask me to choose whose life is more valuable," Sloane countered. "You won't like the answer."

1:27:52/1:27:53/1:27:54/1:27:55

Under other circumstances, Vaughn might have been suspicion about this mercenary demanding a payoff in such a high visibility, high class part of the city as this housing development. He figured that this Mandy must have as little trust in Sloane as anyone else, and had therefore wanted this done in as public a setting as possible.

"There is a blue Camry approaching Sector C," Curtis said over the radio. "This could be it."

"Copy that," Vaughn said. "Sending out Hayward."

Vaughn would have preferred to have done this with more agents surrounding the facility, but they had neither the time nor the manpower to do this. They were just going to have to act on a wing and a prayer. So Hayward, the henchman he and Jack had encountered less than an hour, was going to go through with the exchange, and they would grab Mandy when she tried to leave, while Vaughn and the others watched from a hundred yards away.

The Camry came to a stop. A small, dark haired woman got out of the vehicle, looked around, then turned and said something to the passenger.

"Looks like this is it," Vaughn said over the radio.

Hayward walked out holding the briefcase he'd been carrying when Vaughn and Jack had pulled him over.

"You're late," Mandy said without preamble

"So are you," Hayward countered. "I assume the girl's with you."

"First things first. You have my money?"

Hayward opened the case, took out the laptop, turned it out, and began to type numbers into it.

"I believe that this is the sum we agreed to," he said calmly.

Mandy checked the screen, and apparently liked what she saw. "What about the girl?" she asked.

"Driscoll's been compromised. Her daughter's of no further use to us."

Mandy nodded and walked back to her car.

"All units prepare to converge," Vaughn ordered.

What happened next was so fast Vaughn wasn't sure until afterwards of the order things happened. Mandy hadn't gone more than ten feet, when she whirled around with a Micro RF, and started firing.

"Fuck! Move!" Vaughn yelled as he started running while reaching for his weapon He was fast, but Mandy was closer and faster.

Hayward went down in a hail of bullets So did the closest CTU agent By the time Vaughn managed to get there, Mandy had made it back to her vehicle.

"Curtis, if you have a shot, take it!" Vaughn yelled as he ran past Hayward's body.

The assassin got behind the wheel, and managed to pull her car out of park while keeping up a stream of fire. Vaughn hit the dirt just as the stream of fire ran past him.

Without even stopping to think, Vaughn autodialed Marshall.

"Marshall, this is Vaughn! I need you to get out an APB on a blue Camry, license plate EKI- 4762. Assailant is heading northeast toward Santa Monica!"

1:32:04/1:32:05/1:32:06

The chaos that had followed the explosion at CTU had died down a little in the ten minutes since Jack had arrived, but not by much. Kim and Chloe had spent the last half hour reactivating all the communication grids and had been trying to get on top of all of the active protocols. There were just two problems: there were a lot of them, and they all seemed to be going nowhere.

"So what you're telling me is that there's still nothing on where Sark and Espinoza may have gotten off to, no idea which way Stephen Saunders took Irina, Nadia and Isabelle, and nothing else leading us to Sloane and where he's keeping Sydney," Jack asked Chloe.

'I don't need you to put any more pressure on me," Chloe snapped at Jack. "I realize that people you care about are in danger, and that almost incidentally the fate of the world may be resting on what happens in the next few hours. Doesn't change the fact that these people are experts in the world of espionage. The entire US government couldn't find any of them when they were doing their usual crap, and now that we've been compromised internally and externally, that makes our job infinitely more difficult."

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" Jack asked.

"You've spent the last three years tracking these people," Chloe pointed out. "You've got to have a much clearer idea as to how they operate then anybody in this office. If they're still in LA, you should know where they'd be headed.."

Jack was about to snap back that Sloane's holdings in LA were so large that he wouldn't know where to begin, when suddenly he remembered that wasn't true.

He ran over to Kim. "The data from that laptop we pulled out of the Hotel that Sloane used at his first hideout, pull it up."

Kim went to the keyboard and began pressing buttons. "We don't have a starting point this time," she reminded her father. "There were six locations in the greater LA area along. We can't afford to stake them all out."

"We don't have to," Jack argued. "Assuming that Sloane is taking this prophecy seriously, he's going to need to get to the Pacific sometime in the next four hours."

"We live in California," Chloe said. "We're next to a fucking ocean."

"If these prophecies are phrased the way we think they are, I'm betting he can't just go down to the beach and start opening veins," Jack argued. "He's going to need a boat, which means he needs a dock. Go through the property in the laptop again; I'm pretty sure that there was something set on the ocean."

Just then, Jack's cell rang. " Bauer."

"She knew we were there," Vaughn said without preamble.

"What?"

"We were just about to grab her when the bitch pulled a machine gun. Hayward's dead and she's on the run."

"Fuck," Jack said. "Have you got an idea where she's going?"

"I've got the vehicle on teletype, and I've got agents in pursuit, but given how well this bitch seems to operate it may be another exercise in futility." Vaughn paused. "Please tell me that you have something on where Sloane might be."

Just then Kim turned to her father. "I think I found what you're looking for," she told him. "Among the properties listed on the laptop is a small alcove between Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach called LaMont's Point. Big enough to contain access to a harbor."

"Where's the closest team to that location?" Jack asked.

"Right now I think it's Jack Bristow." Chloe said. "But I think he's still talking with Erin Driscoll."

"I think he'll be willing to let a little fish slide when we've got a chance to land Moby Dick."

1:39:13/1:39:14/1:39:15/1:39:16

When she had surrendered herself over to Blue Suit-- who had in two overheard conversations revealed his name to be Stephen Saunders, a name she knew but right now couldn't place -- she had the vaguest of hopes. Even if CTU was somehow incapacitated, she knew that Marshall and Kim would use the not inconsiderable resources of APO to try and figure out where they had taken her.. She also knew that she, along with Irina and Isabelle, would put Sloane back in play, which increased the odds of Jack and the others finding her considerably.

These hopes had not been diminished despite the fact that she had been put in a separate vehicle with Saunders, while Irina and Isabelle had been put in a van and headed perhaps in a completely different direction. She knew that having offered herself as leverage, the man wasn't going to be foolish enough to put all of them in the same place.

She was therefore somewhat surprised when Saunders made a call to her father and demanded a face-to-face, and was even more surprised when Sloane accepted. Her father must have been low on help indeed, if he was agreeing to these terms this close to his deadline.

However, Saunders had made it very clear that he didn't want to take any chance. He cuffed her hands behind her back, gagged her and put her in the trunk of his car. Then he took out his cell, and took a series of pictures.

Had she been capable of speech, Nadia could have told Saunders that he was risking his safety still further by treated her like this, but right now she wasn't sure who to root for in this particular fight between her captor and her father. She could only hope that this would buy time for APO and Jack.

Stephen Saunders had not had enough time to stake out the rendezvous point the way he wanted, but he seriously doubted that Sloane had managed to do so operating in that limited time structure. He knew he might be underestimating Sloane, but he knew for goddamn sure that Sloane had already underestimated him.

Sloane appeared with one lackey on either side of him, both of whom looked extremely unhappy to be there. Saunders was rather glad that his men were at least more loyal than Sloane's would be.

"The hour groweth late, Mr. Saunders," Sloane said as he approached him. "I don't need any further disloyalty right now."

"This isn't about being trustworthy, it's simple life insurance," Saunders said. "How do I know I won't end up dead when you finish unleashing whatever the hell your endgame is?"

"I've told you what this is about," Sloane countered.

"I'm all for destroying America's relations with China, and I have no problem seeing the country explode in waves of racial violence, but this whole Rimbaldi prophecy creating a race of Ubermenn," Saunders shrugged. "that's nothing but nonsense."

"How do you know its nonsense?" Sloane countered.. "Aren't I supposed to be dead in Europe?"

"So I am, Mr. Sloane. So are half the people you work with."

As efficient as Saunders had been, Sloane was regretting that he hadn't recruited a fellow believer for this part of the work. "You think I'm planning to eliminate ninety nine percent of humanity for kicks?" he asked w sarcastically.

"I couldn't give a damn about that," Saunders said. "as long as I'm part of the one percent that survives."

"Well, in order for that to come off, I need Derevko and Isabelle Bristow."

"Which brings us to the heart of the matter," Saunders told him. "Given the fates of so many of your business associates, I need some kind of proof that you'll let me survive."

"In order for that to happen--"

"The women you require are within walking distance," Saunders countered. "And I would be willing to hand them over if you'll promise a seat of power when all this is finished."

"I could have you killed now, and ask your associates where they are," Sloane countered. By now, the two men standing along Saunders were starting to get very nervous

"You could," Saunders reached for his cell, "but then you'd never find her."

You had to give it to Sloane, even seeing his daughter hogtied in a closed space, he didn't so much as flinch. His voice, however, grew very soft. "You do anything to hurt my daughter--"

"What do you want, Arvin? Your plan to succeed or your daughter's life?"

"I can have both," Sloane countered

"Unless you agree to my terms, you won't get either."

"Then tell me what you want." Sloane said finally.

"I will release your daughter, if you give me access to whatever it is, you've been giving to your associates who are going to survive this so-called apocalypse," Saunders said calmly.

"For the last time," Sloane spoke as if lecturing a petulant child, "you won't see the effects of what I'm using for another four hours minimum."

"Then what was that you gave to Li Chen Wang earlier?"

Though Sloane's expression never changed, he was surprised-- only a handful of people knew about that particular trick.

"Fair enough," he said. "Release Irina and Isabelle and I will give you access to that formula."

Saunders considered this. "Only Bristow's daughter gets released," he countered. "I'll give you Derevko when I take the solution, and I don't die."

Sloane would've argued, but there was an issue of time here, and Saunders was currently holding too many cards. "Come with me," he finally said.

Saunders took his radio. "Bring the baby out," he ordered. He nodded to the man on his left. "The rest of you, wait until I give the word for the release of the others."

A van emerged from the darkness, pulled over to the left side of the road, and one of the doors was opened. One of the men stepped out, cradling the baby. Sloane barely looked at the girl before taking her and walking back to his car.

Sloane didn't know that Nadia was resting in the trunk of a car roughly ten feet away from him, nor that she had heard almost the entire conversation.

They also didn't know that she had managed to loosen one of the knots in the ropes that Saunders had used to bind her legs together.

1:50:59/1:51:00/1:51:01/1:51:02

Jack Bristow's interrogation of Erin Driscoll had gone about as badly as he had expected it too. He had known instinctively that Sloane would have delegated one of his lesser flunkies to handle the abduction of Driscoll's daughter and the subsequent demands of her position that the Division head had received from the woman that Vaughn had identified as Mandy. Driscoll had no idea where Sloane was, or if he was even in the country anymore.

His anger had been elevated when he had received a call from Vaughn fifteen minutes earlier telling them that somehow Mandy had been wise to their surveillance, and was probably on her way to higher ground as they spoke. "For all we know, she's got another mole in District somewhere," Vaughn had told him.

Then Bauer had called and told him that they had a possible lead on Sloane, and that he was the closest field unit.

"Bottom line it for me, Jack," Mr. Bristow was demanding as he pulled up less than a quarter of a mile away, "What are the chances that Sloane's here? This could be another blind alley."

"Lamont's Point is one of the closest locations in relation to the Highway, it has harbor access, which Sloane needs right now, and it's got space and access to handle the technology he needs to keep operating," Jack told him. "I've had Chloe put up satellite; there's been a lot of activity in that area for the last hour and a half. Not a smoking gun--"

"But it's as close as we get with Sloane," Sydney's father finished. "What about backup?"

"I've got some men en route," Jack told him. "What did you do with Driscoll?"

"Wasn't enough time to wait for her to be taken into custody," Mr. Bristow admitted. "Had to take her with me."

"Well, I guess if you have to, you can use her for Kevlar," Jack said

"Doesn't work that way," Jack Bristow said. "I'll call you if I find something."

As he looked through his binoculars, he thought he saw proof that Jack had been on the right track. There was definitely more activity than you would expect to see in this isolated area, at this hour of the night.

Despite his orders, only one of Sloane's men was currently keeping an eye on Sydney, and as she had been feigning drowsiness from whatever Sloane had injected her with a couple of hours ago, she was sure he was no longer keeping that close an eye on her.

Sydney knew that Vaughn and her father were probably tearing LA apart looking for her and Sloane, but she thought that she had been a damsel in distress far too long tonight, and now was as good a time to try and get free. She had spent the last half-hour working loose her hands from the rope, and now that she thought the lookout's guard was down, it was time to get out

She waited until his attention was away from her before slowly removing one of her hands from the knot, and pulling it out. Then she waited for the guard get close, before she grabbed at his feet.

The guard barely had time to react before Sydney had knocked him to the ground, then the second she it was in reach, she yanked out her other hand, and hit him with a neck chop. Knowing that she'd have seconds at the most, she managed to wriggle the rest of the way free, and grab the weapon off the henchman's body.

Two of the other guards that were present leaped towards her and started shooting.

So much for hoping they wouldn't attack the sacrifice, she said as she dodged the first wave of bullets.

Jack Bristow couldn't see anything from where he was, but instinctively he knew the gunfire was being caused by his daughter. He also knew that she needed backup more than he did.

"All units, prepare to converge on the site!" he shouted into his radio, as he pulled his car out of drive.

Sydney had managed to take down two of the guards with the weapon she had pulled off the first one. Unfortunately, she knew that there were at least four more, and she didn't have enough ammunition to take them all out.

"Sloane said we shouldn't kill her," one of the gunmen reminded his associates.

"Then kneecap the bitch!" one shouted before dropping to his knees and resuming fire.

Then Sydney saw an area that wasn't being guarded., for good reason. Why not? she thought Worked for me once before

She began to race towards the docks, while the others fired at her.

The guards began to run after her, but Sydney was lightning fast over a short distance. She reached the end of the pier…. and jumped in.

"What the fuck?" one of the thugs yelled.

"Get the boats," one of the guards. "We're not leaving until we drag her out of the ocean!"

1:59:57/1:59:58/1:59:59/2:00:00

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