Bruised
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the Prologue! Here's Chapter 1. It takes place approximately six months from the end of the prologue.
Chapter One – This Brilliant Dance
And the picture frames are facing down
And the ringing from this empty sound
Is deafening and keeping you from sleep.
And breathing is a foreign task
And thinking's just too much to ask
And you're measuring your minutes by a clock that's blinking eights.
- This Brilliant Dance by Dashboard Confessional
She was nervous. She was so very, very nervous. A few good – very good, painstakingly good – kisses in the middle of the workday were a lot different than purposefully going over to his place at ten at night after said kisses. Tony had told her to take off just before nine, saying his meeting ended early and there was no reason for her to be stuck at CTU.
So she'd hurried home quickly, telling herself as she hopped in the shower that she needed one anyway. Her legs and bikini zone needed to be shaved and it was simply coincidence that both her underwear and her bra happened to be black. She owned a lot of black…so sue her.
Besides, she knew exactly what was going to happen. He would tell her testosterone and adrenaline got the best of him and picturing her with Luke confused him and it was just one of those things… All of this would go down in history as the best kiss of her short, pathetic, horrifically boring and unsatisfying love-life. She'd call Luke again the next morning and re-schedule their date and go back to predictability and stability and appropriateness…and Rick would contend with the fact that he'd always known he was probably going to have to share her eventually.
And then she was sitting on his couching, nursing a bottle of beer but not really tasting it. He'd flipped on the TV and found some football game neither of them paid attention to. She would later be almost certain it had been a Bears' game. He only watched football if it was a Bears' game.
They pretended to be engrossed for a few minutes, uncomfortably aware of the person sitting a cushion away. This was the problem. It was never like this. Normally she'd have her feet in his lap or smack his leg teasingly when he said something to rib her while he pinched her cheek. They wouldn't be afraid of touching.
"So are we talking?" he began after several minutes of tension. She turned to face him.
She bit her lip. "I'm listening."
"I'm not…" he sighed sadly. "I'm sorry about today."
She didn't say a word but somehow he noticed the change in her immediately.
"I didn't want to freak you out."
Alex relaxed a little, turning her body towards his. Her blue eyes were shining beneath the orange-glow of the lamp. She hadn't done a thing with her hair and the only makeup she wore was a light coating of mascara on her blond eyelashes; her clothes were only faded jeans and a black t-shirt but she was beautiful. Yes, he'd been with a lot of gorgeous women in his lifetime, but he wondered how many of them would be able to make his stomach churn and his heart clench without eyeliner and lipstick and a low-cut shirt.
Few. None actually.
And the best part was that besides the fact that she elicited all these physical responses from him, she was probably being his favorite person in the entire world. He liked hearing her stories, or making her laugh at his own; he liked that he didn't have to censor himself or that they could stay up all night talking. She was funny and articulate and engaging and…kind of adorable.
And she was fidgeting. She was fiddling with the label on her beer bottle and kept moving her eyes to the floor.
"Anyway uh…thing is…" he bit his lip. "I mean about before…"
Her pink lips pursed together ever-so slightly, drawing attention to her mouth. His pulse increased.
"About before…" she urged, watching him carefully. He looked weird. He was looking at her weird too, his dark eyes cloudy. Never had the warmth radiating from him been as apparent as it was now and never had the smell of his aftershave engulfed her so distinctively. She shuddered, trying to find her words as indignation welled within her.
"Look, I don't know what the hell that was but you can't just do that to someone! You can't do that to someone and not think about what it's going to do to them. Okay?"
The look he gave her was that of a dog with its tail between its legs.
"I uh…" he bit his lip, trying to remember what he was supposed to be saying. He couldn't recall the last time he'd fumbled over words like this for anyone, especially not a girl.
"I didn't mean to freak you out. I'm sorry."
"It's fine, I get it," she brushed him off. "It was just one of those things. It happens."
"Yeah…" his clawed at his far cheek. "Right…"
"It just won't happen again," her lips puckered and she wondered why she felt horribly disappointed as the words came out of her mouth. She said what she came to say.
"Right?"
Somehow, Rick heard how that lone word betrayed her intentions, because he lifted his eyes to hers. He hesitated only a second before his hand slid into her hair and he dragged her lips to his with a gruff, hastened "screw it – c'mere," an instant before she felt his mouth crash into hers.
She gasped and her lips parted enough for him to slip his tongue between them. Her body fell instinctively towards him and his hands moved to her face, thumbs brushing across her jaw and one sliding into her hair.
The kiss broke and she was panting heavily, her hands clutching the collar of his shirt in a vice grip.
"So…" her chest was pounding and her stomach couldn't stay still long enough for her brain to form a coherent thought. "So…we're…"
He laughed a little and kissed her lightly. Her throat tightened when he brushed the hair off her neck and pecked softly just behind her ear. Her eyes closed and swayed against him.
"You okay?"
"Uh huh!" she responded a little to eagerly. He laughed a second time and she blushed.
"You're shivering…" he commented, feeling the goose bumps running along her bare arms.
"Sorry…" she gasped. "I'm…this is…"
He cocked an eyebrow and she blushed even redder.
"This isn't talking." She declared flatly, not wanting to be one of those women who lost herself in a stupid kiss – no matter how good it was. He didn't just get to kiss her and expect her to…
"We can stop." He assured her, but it probably would've been more convincing if he wasn't still touching her. "I don't want you to - "
She cut him off with an impulsive kiss, pulling away abruptly and looking more than a little surprised with herself. He grinned and his lips met hers again, with less urgency this time. The kiss was slow and thorough and his face scratched her palms as he moved deeper against her mouth. A soft whimper escaped her lips and she felt him ease her backwards against the couch, his mouth dropping to her neck…
Suddenly talking didn't seem so important.
Karen Hayes was weary with exhaustion as she climbed the stairs to the front porch of her house. It was just after 7pm and her flight from DC had only landed a little while before. She'd only been gone a week this time, but a week too long in her opinion. The file folder that had been placed on her desk the second morning of her stay was one she had not been expecting and contained information she had hoped never to see. Jack Bauer had found his way to the US Embassy in Japan reporting that his entire team had been ambushed and killed – save for one. Jack refused every offer they made to return him to the States. Under no circumstances was he leaving without Alex, he declared to the CIA official he spoke with – a man he had apparently trained with in Special Forces years before – to whom he insisted they contact Karen about the situation. He told Karen he needed access to Wayne Palmer. Palmer needed to know about the operation so Palmer could get Alex out and take action against the reason she was there in the first place. Karen told him she would do what she could. Palmer would want proof before he made a move. Getting something concrete against Warrington was proving very difficult and she'd been trying from the moment Alex disappeared to no avail. As far as Karen was concerned though, getting her out of there was the priority. They could worry about her potential prison sentence later.
The Chinese, despite her every attempt with numerous different people denied knowing of Alex's existence. When Karen finally found a way to contact Jack personally he confessed to having tried twice to pull her out on his own. Both times he'd come dangerously close to being captured himself and that couldn't happen; if Cheng had them both he'd kill Alex without a second thought.
Claire and Bill were at the kitchen table when she stepped in the house. Claire hollered a greeting and Bill met her at the door. Claire had been spending more than a few nights at their house the last few months. They didn't ask her why and she didn't tell them, but Karen knew it was the same reason she'd run to Rick Almeida three weeks after her sister's disappearance begging for an analyst position at CTU; she wanted to be there in case there was any word on her sister. Bill hadn't been happy to say the least.
"Hi honey," Bill kissed Karen firmly, giving her a few seconds of relaxation. The other shoe was about to drop.
"How was your flight?"
She managed a smile, brushing a wisp of hair from her forehead.
"Fine. Uneventful." Her abrupt response caused Bill to raise an eyebrow and Claire glanced between them curiously.
"Is everything okay?"
Karen hesitated. "Claire, could you give us a minute please?"
The young girl looked a little bewildered. "Um…yeah, of course. Let me just stick these dishes in the - "
"I'll take care of it. How do you feel about a coffee run?"
Claire glanced warily at her uncle who looked equally perplexed. She hesitated before scooping her keys off the hall table and heading for the door, declaring that she'd be back in a bit.
"What's going on?" Bill asked, the softness disappearing from his voice as soon as the front door had slammed shut. Karen sighed.
"Maybe we should sit - "
"What's going on, Karen?" he sounded firm but not angry…yet.
"I…" she wiped her damp palms against the pants of her business suit. Explaining these matters to her husband was different than explaining it to anyone else, as it well should be. She hated that she'd been lying to him for a week, but she'd hoped in the end she'd have good news to make it worth it. No such luck.
The words came out clearly but her whole body shook as she explained the report she'd received to him. Bill went white.
"The Chinese have Alex?"
Karen nodded gently. "I'm sorry."
"Why won't they hold a prisoner exchange? We must have someone of value from their side in possession."
"We do…I don't know why they won't trade for her. They're denying even having her in the first place. My only guess is that they want more time to…" she trailed off. It was his niece. Finishing that sentence would only devastate him, even if he knew how the sentence was supposed to be finished.
"When did you get the report?"
Here it was. "Tuesday afternoon."
"My god, Karen! You've been lying about knowing this since then?"
"I was hoping we'd have a prisoner exchange in the works before I got home and - "
"I still had a right to know!" his voice was louder now. "And there is no exchange! The Chinese want to torture her! What are they going to do about it?"
"They?"
"The President…DOD…She's not Jack Bauer, Karen! How long do you expect them to torture her before she - "
She'd die before she said a word. He knew that much.
"Why won't DOD authorize extracting her?" he was panting heavily now.
"Authorizing her extraction would be acknowledging her confession to a capital offense and it's unlikely anyone would support risking the lives of Americans to rescue a murderer. I explained the situation to Wayne but…he wants proof before he implicates a Senior Senator. It's a huge accusation - "
"She's going to die out there, Karen!" he pounded a fist for emphasis against the kitchen table. "We have to do something!"
"I swear to you, I've been doing everything I can. Warrington's covered his tracks well…we just have to be patient…"
"By the time we find evidence against him Alex will be dead."
"Alex knew what she was getting into when she agreed to this, Bill. She knew this might happen and you know these things take time. I'm doing everything I can for her. My office just had to inform five families their sons were dead, all under the age of 30. This is hard on everyone."
He took a deep breath, still enraged.
"I'm your husband…"
"Then you need to believe me when I tell you I'm doing everything I can to save her. I have people in Washington working on it round the clock…"
He took a step back from her.
"I'm going for a drive."
"Bill - "
"I just need some air."
It was Tony who answered the door in a t-shirt and boxers, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and trying to pat down his messy hair.
"Hey Bill…" his voice betrayed his surprise. "What's up?"
Tony stepped back from the door to allow him inside. He'd been driving around for hours. He'd ended up on the PCH and was halfway to San Francisco before coming to a conclusion. Bill ran his fingers through his hair, a fine mist from the light rain that had started coating it. His brow creased as he stepped into their hallway and followed Tony into the living room. Michelle descended down the stairs a few seconds later in a tank top and pajama bottoms, her dark eyes rife with concern.
"Are you okay?" she asked, sitting down beside him on the couch. Her hand covered his warmly. The flush had drained from her cheeks and she looked nervous now as she leaned towards him and searched his expression carefully.
"What's goin' on?"
Bill sighed heavily and Michelle offered his hand a gentle pat as Tony slumped in the chair across from them.
He told them what Karen had told him, Michelle's hand remaining on his arm as the words tumbled from his lips. Alex captured. Alex tortured. Alex possibly dead. Sure, he'd imagined these types of "worst case scenarios" as soon as she went to Langley but now that it was happening…
Midway through the update he felt Michelle's grip tighten on him and the expression on Tony's face shifted from confused to nauseous to enraged as the tale went on.
"Bill…I appreciate what Karen's trying to do, but political channels aren't going to work with these guys. If we want her out now we're going to have to get more aggressive and if the President won't authorize the military…"
"I agree. I've already put a call into the Embassy to try and get in contact with Jack. He knows where they're holding her…
Michelle's eyes bulged slightly. "You want to extract her yourself?"
"Jack's tried twice but the compound's too big and they have too many men. He needs a few extra sets of hands."
"Then I'm coming with you." Tony blurted out. "We don't need military. Jack knows the terrain and…"
Tony hesitated. Jack, Bill and himself wouldn't be enough when they didn't know what they were up against. He and Bill were out of practice – Bill more so than him – and this wasn't shooting a few short-range weapons at some hostiles in the middle of LA. A military encampment in Northern China was a different, much more dangerous story.
"I'm coming too." Michelle said quietly, but firmly. She had risen from her position on the couch and was now standing with her arms folded across her chest.
"No you're not." Tony didn't even hesitate. "You don't have military training."
"I can shoot a gun, Tony - "
"You're not coming." He voice left no room for argument. Michelle met Bill's eyes and he knew the conversation would continue when he left. If Michelle wanted to come Michelle was coming.
"I should get home and…" he swallowed hard. "And pack; gather some supplies…I'll have to talk to Claire and explain things to her."
"Will she be okay?" Michelle asked gently.
"Once we get Alex back she will be." He and Tony stood simultaneously. "I'll let you know when I find out any flight information - "
"Or when you hear from Jack…"
"Of course." The three of them moved into the hallway.
"Bill, you and I both know the three of us isn't gonna be enough if they've got her under the kinda protection I'd expect them to…I mean having Jack is one thing but…"
"You're right." Bill hesitated. "Karen said Jack mentioned getting some outside help. I have no idea who…but I assume if Jack trusts them we should too."
Chase. It had to be Chase.
Tony nodded and then bit his lip, his hand cupping the back of his neck as he fidgeted awkwardly.
"What about…?" Tony hesitated, wary of saying his name. The longer Alex had been gone the more standoffish Bill had been towards Rick. Tony knew why, even if it wasn't fair. Rick was, at least on some level, the reason she was in this in the first place. Tony had signed the confession but Rick was the reason she felt compelled to do what she did. Tony still expected to get more blame though.
"I mean, he's the one who led the team that pulled Jack out before." Tony continued logically. "We could use the help."
"You think he'll come?" Bill was bitter. That was obvious.
Tony glanced at Michelle before nodding.
"Yeah, I do."
"Then call him…if you want. He's got more experience than all of us in this. If you think it's worth the effort - "
"He'll come." Michelle's voice resonated clearly through the hall.
Bill nodded curtly. "Then call him. I'll let you know as soon as I have anything." The two men clasped hands briefly and Bill was gone.
As soon as Bill was gone Tony turned to Michelle.
"If we tell him what happened to Alex - "
"He'll be on the first plane out." Tony sighed heavily and clawed at the side of his face. Rick's unwavering loyalty to her would far surpass any sort of animosity he felt for how she left, even if he had been walking around as a zombie for the last ten months. Tony suspected it was the unspoken reason why he and Michelle hadn't got around to leaving LA yet. A baby might have changed things, but at this point neither of them were comfortable with the idea of leaving Rick with nobody in the state he was in.
Tony could relate far too well to the lost look he'd seen in his brother's eyes everyday since she left. He buried himself in work, going through the motions of his life while continuing to look like a piece of himself was missing. Even if they had only been really together for a couple of months, they'd been friends for years. He didn't know how to function without her.
Tony could definitely relate to that.
"I'll call him now." Tony started to walk towards the kitchen and Michelle grabbed his arm.
"I want to come, Tony."
"You're not coming, alright? It's dangerous."
"It's just as dangerous for you as it is for me."
"You don't have military training, Michelle. It's not the same as being able to shoot a gun, and if I'm going I'd rather know you were safe…"
"And if you're going I'd rather be there with you!" her cheeks were red with frustration now. "I mean I could run Recon or back up or…" she looked at him anxiously. "God Tony, for once…let's just do something like this together. Yes, it's dangerous and yes we could get hurt or killed even but at least I won't be sitting here wondering what happened to you and if I could've done something to help - "
The emotion welled in her voice and the tears formed in her eyes. She blinked them back hard.
"I'm coming."
He sighed heavily, pulling her into a warm embrace.
"Honey, if anything were to happen - "
"Then it happens." She cut him off gently, her hand cupping his face.
He hesitated and then nodded, tightening their embrace.
"Okay." He sounded a little choked up.
A few minutes later Tony was on the phone.
"Hey…it's me…" he bit his lip. "Listen…we uh…I have news…"
"Your silence grows tiresome, Ms. Evans.." Cheng's voice resonated icily through the room. He tsked disapprovingly. "You seem to be taking a leaf out of Mr. Bauer's book…but let me assure you, you are doing yourself no favors. All you are doing is causing pain."
Alex groaned, her straggly blonde hair covering her as a third needle was injected into the back of her neck. The doctor beside her, who spoke no English, made a gesture with his hand and the needle was removed. Every nerve ending on her body was on fire, she was pouring sweat from every inch of her skin, her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt her lungs compressing. She had no idea what was in the needle but her vision was blurring. The only constant for the last six months was Cheng mocking her through each and every interrogation session. Hell, she only knew it had been six months because he reminded her constantly, as if testing the strength of her will in terms of longevity as much as her ability withstand physical pain.
"Your restraint is impressive. Audrey Raines was losing her mind a two weeks in…it's not that hard, Ms. Evans. All we want to know is what kind of intelligence you pulled off the database you accessed with Bauer in addition to the access codes and a layout of our computer infrastructure. Tell us what you told your government and this will all be over."
Alex said nothing, her eyes on the muddy floor.
"We know you know, Ms. Evans." Cheng sighed impatiently. "We read your file…we know your history and we know you were working directly with Bauer to bring down our institution so why don't we quit playing games?"
Alex did not lift her head, but spoke this time.
"So you can kill me?" she hissed
Cheng smiled wickedly. "Would death not be easier than what you've been put through?"
Alex's neck snapped and her blue eyes flashed even in the pale moonlight.
"You could skin me alive right now and I still wouldn't breathe a word to you, you sonofabitch."
Cheng's smile faded and he nodded to the interrogator who threw a hard punch that connected with Alex's gut. Something cracked and she spat blood on the floor.
"That can be arranged." He snarled before disappearing out the door.
Rick Almeida couldn't believe what he was hearing when his brother called him less than two hours before to tell him they needed his help – to tell him Alex needed his help. A brief, somewhat strained conversation with Bill had confirmed that Karen was making arrangements for Nadia to get some assistance over at CTU. Nadia had come back when Michelle and Tony left, right around the same time Chloe went on Maternity leave. Nadia knew what she was doing; they'd be fine without him for a few days.
The phone call he'd placed right before leaving hadn't gone nearly as well. Eva Jacobs had replaced Chloe O'Brian as Head of Comm. For six months Eva had hinted at the possibility of a relationship with him – being none the wiser of his previous workplace romance – before he finally agreed. Tomorrow night was to be there third date and, he suspected, the night things might progress. Physically. Even though the idea made him uncomfortable he'd decided it was probably a good thing. He hadn't had sex in over nine months – a definite record for him – and it was probably better just to get it over with. Even if he didn't admit it to anyone else, she'd definitely left him in shattered pieces when she disappeared.
And now, every feeling of sadness and anger he'd felt towards her over the last ten months vanished for the time being. He didn't care why she'd left or what it had done to him when she did. He just knew that no matter what had happened between them…he had to help her. He had to get her out even if seeing her again would be the final nail in the coffin for him.
A wave of nausea overcame him as he stepped inside the doors of LAX. He'd seen what Cheng had done to Jack and thinking of Alex like that…
He wasn't sure on the exact timeline but he knew they might be too late. She could be dead or worse by the time they got there…
So despite how disappointed a sleepy Eva had sounded on the phone, she didn't stay on his radar for more than a few seconds. His head just wasn't in it.
"There next flight to Tokyo is in three hours." He heard Bill saying as he approached the group. Tony and Michelle were already there. "Jack's waiting for us at the Embassy. Last I heard, his friend was already en route so he should be there by the time we arrive."
Rick wondered who this friend of Jack's was that was willing to stick his neck out for Alex. Granted, if he was a former colleague of Jack he would be good – very good – they could probably use him. Michelle smiled warmly at him as Bill finished up his report. They finally turned to look at him.
"Thank you for coming." Bill stated politely, but formally. Rick looked a little bewildered and averted his brother's gaze.
"Yeah of course." He swallowed hard. "Of course I was coming." No matter what she'd done he'd never leave her out there like this. Not with Cheng and not with anyone.
No one could apparently think of anything to say after that and they were relieved when Michelle suggested they go get their tickets and see if they could find something to occupy them on the plane.
Michelle touched his arm, letting Tony and Bill move in front of them.
"How're you doing?"
Rick shrugged. "I uh…I'm just trying not to think about what…y'know…could happen," his expression was pained and Michelle rose on her toes, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.
"It'll be fine." she assured him. "Just don't forget to breathe."
He smiled a little and nodded, slinging an arm around her shoulders and dragging her to catch up with the others.
Rick got seated beside Bill on the plane. Tony and Michelle were directly across from them. No one was talking a lot. It was late. Bill sat motionlessly without a word to anyone, so much so that Rick couldn't tell if he was awake or not. Occasionally there would be some quiet mumbling from across the isle. Michelle had taken the window seat and it wasn't long before she'd settled herself against his brother's shoulder with her eyes closed and a blanket draped across her. Tony let out an exhaustive breath after a little while and his fingers combed her hair as he tightened his grip for a brief moment.
"She must've really wanted to come." Rick commented when he was almost certain they were the only two of the group left awake.
Tony shifted his eyes slightly in his direction before nodding briefly.
"Yeah." He grunted. "You know Michelle."
Rick laughed softly. He definitely knew Michelle. If Michelle wanted to do something or felt like she needed to do something she was doing it no matter what Tony or anyone else said.
"I'm sorry I lost it on you when you called earlier - "
"Don't worry about it." Tony brushed it off. "Everyone's stressed out. It's not a big deal."
Rick nodded and glanced at the back of the seat in front of him.
"You seem a little more stressed out than everyone else though…" Tony commented. Rick bit his lip.
"She could be dead." He shook his head softly. "I mean…she just left and now if I see her and she's…" his voice broke. "She can't be dead."
"They won't kill her unless she breaks and you know better than anyone what she's like."
"I thought I did."
Tony sighed. "She'll be fine. Alright? You'll make yourself sick if you keep thinking like this. She'll be fine because she has to be."
Rick nodded, keeping his eyes fixated on the floor. He'd have to take Tony's word for it.
A bucket of icy cold water was dumped over her almost-naked body and Alex started shivering violently. There was a time when this water was actually something of a luxury, it cooled her burns and soothed her skin before it threatened to cause her to freeze a death. She knew Cheng couldn't let that happen anyway.
But now she could imagine nothing worse than the cold. Her teeth chattered and she convulsed in violent shivers. Now not being able to control her body was the worst thing she could possible imagine. It felt like she might betray herself without meaning to.
Without warning, a hand latched onto her soaking hair, yanking her head off the ground and snarling something in her ear. It could've been English, but she wasn't processing at this point. The hand threw her back to the ground and she got a mouthful of cold mud. Groaning she rolled over and a combat boot collided with her left side. Alex moaned, too tired to do anything else, and curled up in the fetal position as she continued to shiver like mad.
Today was going to be bad. She could feel it.