A/N: Thanks for reading! Glad you are enjoying helenawrites!
When they arrived at the White House, they had Matobo bring them through the underground entrance by a few Secret Service that were deemed trustworthy, as they still could not trust the masses. Jack led Tony in, still cuffed.
They waited in a small room for the President to bring them into her office when she was ready. Tony looked at Audrey who seemed nervous about what might happen next.
"He's not turning you in?" Tony whispered to Audrey who was standing next to him by happenstance.
"No," Audrey whispered back. "Please don't say anything, Tony. Please."
"I never wanted you to go to jail. Jack wasn't supposed to hear that conversation," Tony reminded her. "You know, I really did think we could be happy together. I never lied about how I felt about you."
"No offense, but I can never believe that," Audrey said. Jack, who could hear them, wished he knew more of the story. Their relationship confused him. They obviously cared very much for each other and had been in cahoots all day together, yet Audrey said she had regretted their relationship and had made several mentions of not trusting Tony. He wanted to know why.
One year and 5 months before Day 6
Tony looked at the file in front of him and thought carefully about his next move. He flipped through it again. The pictures he saw were revolting. Jack had been badly tortured, covered in blood, and looking like he had given up. Behind the photos, a document with Jack's stats on it from right after the photo was taken. His heartbeat was ragged but he was alive. And, even better, the document came with the name of the Chinese doctor who had signed off on it.
It was a lead that he could give to Audrey. He could imagine her face lighting up with hopefulness. He knew she would then ask him to come with her to China. To capture and interrogate the doctor for Jack's location. He wanted to give her that.
After two months of helping her find information on what had happened to Jack, Tony had become invested in the cause. He helped her when Emerson told him to, but also began going to her in his free time to help. At first, he told himself that he was in it for Jack, a friend who didn't deserve what he was going through. But, quickly he realized that it wasn't Jack he was doing this for. It was for Audrey.
The time he spent with her was becoming his favorite time, liking that he could talk about Michelle with her and she would just listen, or that he could tell her about the guilt he felt about the things he did for Emerson and she never judged him. He felt he related to Audrey in a way he didn't with anyone else. She understood the pain of losing someone she loved - although it was different. Jack was still alive and she still had a chance of being with him.
As they spent more and more time together, Tony truly believed that they would never get Jack back from China. However, he didn't tell Audrey this, not wanting her to give up or stop coming to see him. He had become attached to her in a way that he hadn't thought was possible for him after Michelle died. He didn't love her. Of course not. He loved Michelle and nothing could compare to that. But, he cared for her much more than as a friendship, finding that their encounters brought him a solace that he didn't think he'd feel again. He realized he craved a connection with someone. He missed having someone to talk to, to care for, to hold, to kiss and if he couldn't do that with Michelle it had to be with someone that understood him. Someone that trusted him. Audrey was the best chance he had at feeling that again.
And, he knew Audrey felt it too. She opened up to him about her thoughts and feelings the same way he did. She cried to him about missing Jack the same way he cried to her about missing Michelle. And, when they hugged to comfort each other, he could tell that she craved a physical connection like he did.
So, Tony took the document from the doctor and crumpled it in his hands. He tossed it in the trash and replaced it with an altered document. One where Jack had flatlined and, despite a defibrillator being used, remained at a flatline.
"Like I said, Tony," Emerson encouraged over his shoulder. "It's for the best. Your investigation into Jack is taking you away from your own goals. You need to refocus."
Tony nodded in agreement, not mentioning to Emerson that he had an ulterior motive behind changing the document. "I'm going to go tell her."
Tony left with the file and knocked on Audrey's door. He let his face carry a somber expression.
"Hey," Audrey greeted. "Did you get it?"
Tony nodded sadly and Audrey tried to read his expression. She couldn't. She reached for the file but Tony pulled it out of her reach.
"Tony?"
"You don't want to see the pictures," Tony said.
"Give me the file," Audrey demanded. Tony handed it to her. She opened the file and let out a gasp of horror at the sight of Jack hanging from chains on the ceiling with blood dripping down his body. She felt light-headed and sank to the floor, then looking at the other pictures that gave her the same reaction. Tears flooded down her eyes, dripping onto the pictures. Lastly, she saw the medical report.
"No!" Audrey cried. "No, he can't be-"
Tony knelt down beside her and took her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Audrey. I'm so sorry."
Audrey cried into him and Tony stayed by her. He knew it would take time for her to process this but now they had something in common. They both had really lost someone and Tony knew it was only a matter of time before Audrey would feel the same need to fill the hole in her heart as he did. And, he would be there for her the whole time.
"The President's ready," Ethan Kanin, the President's Chief of Staff, told them. They followed him into a room where President Taylor was waiting. She greeted Matobo, thankful he was okay. Matobo spoke highly of the team that was standing quietly behind him, urging her to listen to what they had to say.
"I want an explanation and I want it now," President Taylor said firmly, sitting on a couch to prepare herself for a long story. "What the hell is going on?"
Jack stepped forward. "Madam President, six weeks ago Bill Buchanan discovered that key members of your government were working with General Juma and Colonel Dubaku in an effort to undermine this nation's foreign policy. Your foreign policy with regards to Sangala."
"You realize that that is an outrageous accusation?" Taylor asked, calmly.
"Yes ma'am. Unfortunately, it's the truth. It explains why, during this crisis, every effort you made to stop Dubaku failed," Jack told her bluntly.
"Bill, why didn't you come to me?" Taylor questioned.
"I didn't know who I could trust or if you'd even believe me. So I formed a small group to locate and neutralize Dubaku. Tony Almeida and ultimately Jack joined me."
President Taylor stood and approached Tony, unwavering. "You were the one responsible for putting the CIP device into Dubaku's hands in the first place."
"Using the CIP device as bait was necessary to the undercover operation," Bill explained, trying to give Tony credit for helping them. "We had to follow it back to Dubaku."
"A lot of people died on those planes this morning, nevermind what could have happened at the chemical plant in Kidron! Not to mention that he has been working with terrorists for years before this. You can't expect me to overlook that."
"We don't, Madam President," Jack informed her. He looked at Tony who stayed stone-faced. "Tony should be held responsible for all of the actions he has taken prior to the past six weeks when he started working for Bill."
"But, not for the actions that led to the terrorist attacks associated with the CIP device?" Taylor asked. "All of you should be under arrest for what happened today."
"Madam President, if I may, I was part of the FBI task force assigned to recover the CIP device, and I can personally vouch for what they're telling you," Renee spoke up. "The loss of life was tragic, yes, but in my opinion, everything this team has done saved the lives of thousands."
"If I choose to believe everything you're telling me, where would you go from here?" Taylor implored.
"Dubaku is the only person with the names of the people who betrayed you within your government," Jack explained. "It's imperative that we find him. We would have to work under the radar."
"Any word of an investigation and people would start running for cover," Audrey added.
"You're saying we can't even involve the FBI and Homeland?" Kanin asked, speaking up for the first time in this meeting.
"Yes sir, that's correct," Jack agreed.
A Secret Service agent entered the room and whispered something to the President.
"Put him through," Taylor told the agent. "And, take Tony Almeida into custody."
She told Bill, Jack, Renee, and Audrey to take a seat while she went to the phone. The Secret Service agent went to Tony and led him out of the room. Jack and Tony shared one last look at each other before he was escorted away. Jack was still looking at the door when Tony was gone, thinking about how far his friend had gone, until he felt Audrey's hand on his knee. Jack turned to look at her and she smiled sadly at him, confirming that he had done the right thing by turning Tony in.
The president pressed a button on her phone to answer a call from Tim Woods, Secretary of Homeland Security.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," he apologized. "There's a call for you from Ike Dubaku. Voice I.D. confirms that. He says it's about your husband."
"My husband?" Taylor questioned, confused and suddenly worried. Jack and Audrey met eyes knowing that whatever was about to happen was not good.
"Yes ma'am. I'll connect you," Woods replied.
"This is President Taylor," she said firmly as she heard the line click over.
"I'll come straight to the point, Madam President," said Dubaku in his thick Sangalan accent. "I have your husband. Let me demonstrate. Say something."
"Allison." They watched as President Taylor looked like her heart was going to give out.
"Henry, are you all right?" she asked, sounding not so confident for the first time that day.
"I'm fine," he assured her. "I'm sorry about this. For God sake, don't let them use me to influence you in any way."
"Our demands are as follows," started Dubaku. "You will have your forces withdrawn from around my country, Sangala, immediately and permanently. Also, Matobo must be delivered to my men who will be stationed at the east lot of the Stanswick Power Plant. If he is not there by four o'clock, or if anybody attempts to follow or impede my men when they leave the plant, your husband will die a slow and certain death."
"You wouldn't dare!" she threatened into the phone, although her voice still wavered.
"Cut off his finger," Dubaku ordered. They listened as the First Gentleman groaned in pain. Taylor shouted for Dubaku to stop.
"Meet my demands," Dubaku warned. "Or, I will send him back to you one piece at a time. Do you understand, Madam President?"
"Yes, I understand," Taylor agreed.
"Any attempt to find your husband will be known to me very quickly, and I will kill him immediately."
"Madam President, I just heard back from the team I sent to Henry's last known location," Kanin informed. "They found Samantha Roth's and Secret Service Agent Gedge's bodies. Gedge had possession of a paralytic drug. That and other evidence on scene suggest he was complicit in Henry's abduction, which of course, confirms the corruption you just told us about."
He looked at Jack who nodded in thanks for Kanin believing them.
"Madam President, time is tight," Kanin advised. "We need to decide how to respond. I don't think anyone would blame you for holding back, at least temporarily, the invasion of Sangala."
"How many people died on those planes this morning?" the president asked.
"About 300, ma'am," Kanin confirmed.
"All because I refused to change course in Sangala," she reasoned. There was a moment of silence as they all thought hard about the lives that had been lost. "How can I ask the American people to make sacrifices that I'm not willing to make myself? I can't give in. I can't."
"Madam President," Jack offered, stepping forward. "We can still try and find your husband before the four o'clock deadline."
"Dubaku has specifically forbidden that," President Taylor reminded him. "And according to you, I can't trust any of my law enforcement agencies."
"You can trust me," Jack insisted. "Right now, everyone believes that Agent Walker is dead and I have no status at all. Which means that Dubaku's spies cannot track us because officially we don't exist."
"You resigned from government service," Taylor argued. "And, the Senate regards you as having been a renegade agent. How am I supposed to know where your loyalties really lie?"
Jack's tone hardened. "With all due respect, Madam President, ask around."
President Taylor looked past Jack at the team and saw Bill and Audrey nodding in agreement that she should trust Jack.
"What could you even do on such short notice?" she considered.
"I couldn't make you any promises," Jack made clear. "But, we will do everything possible to save your husband. Right now, we need you to go through with Dubaku's demands. It'll buy us some time."
The president seemed uncertain.
"Madam President," Jack continued. "You don't have another choice."
"All right. All right. Find him, please."
"Yes, ma'am," Jack agreed. He turned to Kanin. "We're going to need a secure hard line."
Kanin led the way, followed by Jack, Renee, and Audrey. Kanin brought them to a separate room to use as their base until they were ready to go.
"I'm going to update Chloe," Audrey told them, pulling out her phone. Jack talked to Renee about looking further into Agent Gedge who had been working for Dubaku. Renee suggested using Larry Moss from the FBI to help them gain clearance to the phone records of the Secret Service agent. Jack was skeptical at first but Renee vouched for Larry and Jack knew there wasn't much of another option.
Audrey walked over to Jack when she was finished and saw that he was listening carefully to Renee's conversation on the phone.
"How much do we trust her?" Audrey whispered to him.
"I think we can. She wants to do the right thing," Jack told her. "I'm more worried about whether she's letting her personal feelings for this FBI guy cloud her judgment in trusting him."
"Right," Audrey said with a smirk, remembering how he had let her off the hook for giving government files to Emerson. "And you haven't let your personal feelings get the best of you at all today."
Jack looked at her stone-faced, wanting her to realize that just because he had covered for her didn't mean he forgave her for what she did. "I owed you one. Now, I've paid my debt. It wasn't about feelings."
Audrey looked into his eyes to see if he truly meant that and looked away when she saw no emotion. She rubbed the scar on her wrist quietly and bit her lip to stop tears from forming.
"He'll help us, I think, but we need to go," Renee told Jack.
"Audrey, you stay here with Bill," Jack instructed. Audrey went back into the room with the President and Bill and informed them that Jack and Renee had left through the underground tunnel to pursue a lead.
Jack and Renee met with Larry Moss near the Capitol Reflecting Pool and asked about the phone records they had requested. Larry explained that Gedge had been speaking frequently to another Secret Service Agent, Edward Vossler, who had a connection to Sangala.
"Did you bring any of his files with you?" Renee asked. Larry handed her his phone and she scrolled through.
"Does Vossler have a family?" Jack asked, an idea popping into his head. One that he knew the two agents in front of him would not be on board with.
"Why do you need to know that?" Larry questioned, sensing that Jack was up to something.
"He's been married for five years to a paralegal," Renee read from the phone files. "They have an eleven month old baby boy. She left her job to stay home with the kid."
"Okay, we're gonna need to split up," Jack ordered. He turned to Larry. "I need you to help me track Vossler."
He turned to Renee. "I need you to go to his home and hope his family is there."
They looked at him in shock, knowing what he was suggesting. Jack explained himself.
"Vossler was Special Forces. There's no way we're gonna break him in the time that we've got. The only way to get him to cooperate is to make him think we're gonna hurt his family. His wife and his kid."
"No. Absolutely not," Larry countered. "Renee?"
"That's stepping over the line, Jack," she tried to reason.
"You stepped over the line the second you interrogated Tanner," Jack reminded her of how she had found him working with Emerson earlier.
"Tanner's a murderer," Renee justified. "As far as we know, Vossler's wife is completely innocent. Let alone a small child."
"When are you people gonna stop thinking everyone else is following your rules?" Jack asked angrily. "They're not!"
Renee and Larry continued to look at him as though he were a monster.
"Dubaku is going to kill Henry Taylor within the next 45 minutes unless we find him," Jack stated. "You've got one of two choices. Now you can either phone the president and explain to her that your conscience won't allow you to do what is necessary to save him, or you can simply do what is necessary. Pick one!"
"Renee," Larry said, in almost a warning tone as he saw that she was considering Jack's proposal.
"Larry," she said, harshly, now getting on board with Jack's plan. She didn't need to confirm that she was going to Vossler's house to get his wife and child. She turned and walked away, giving Jack the confirmation he needed.
"I'm gonna need your vehicle," Jack told Larry. "Start tracking Vossler through his cell phone. Utilize his Secret Service deployment grid."
"Look at yourself," Larry called after him as Jack walked away. Jack stopped and looked back at him. "You've lost everyone and everything you ever had by doing what you think is necessary. I won't let you do it to her, Bauer. Renee will not end up like you."
Jack didn't bother to defend his actions. He didn't see the need to. Larry would never understand him. "Are you going to give me your keys or not?"
Larry reluctantly tossed him his keys and Jack walked away.
"Jack!" Larry shouted, stopping Jack from leaving for a second time. Jack turned again. "The rules are what make us better."
"Not today," Jack countered before running off to the car.
At the White House, Bill and Audrey helped the President with the plan to temporarily go along with Dubaku's demands to buy them time.
"We can appear to comply with the first part of Dubaku's demand by pulling the fleet back," Kanin suggested. "Then we simply launch the invasion from farther out at sea. Now, the second part of his demand is more complicated. If we were really turning Matobo over, we'd be putting him in a car right about now."
"That's out of the question. We need him safe," Taylor sighed, sounding defeated.
"Agreed. But, we can send a car with a look-alike," Bill proposed. "If we handle it right, Dubaku won't be aware of the deception until the last minute."
"By then, hopefully we'll have found Henry," Kanin finished. "Madam President, do we have your authorization to proceed?"
"Yes," she agreed.
"Audrey, you stay here with the President as our point of contact. I'll help with the plan," Bill instructed. Audrey nodded. Bill and Kanin left the room and the President moved from the desk chair to the couch. She indicated for Audrey to sit.
"Audrey," Taylor whispered, thinking hard for a moment. "You're Jim Heller's daughter?"
Audrey nodded. "Yes, Madam President."
"It's been a while since I last saw your father."
"Me too," Audrey said.
She looked at Audrey confused. "I'm sorry to hear that. He always spoke very highly of you. I actually met him shortly after you had been pronounced dead. When he stepped down from his position as Secretary of Defense."
Audrey wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"You know, I have a daughter who no longer speaks to me," Taylor confided. "Breaks my heart. I know your father was devastated when he thought you died. I'm sure that, whatever the reason for your estrangement, he had your best interest at heart."
Audrey sighed. Audrey and her father had made up for a while after she had gained her faculties back after China. However, Audrey learned that her father had been advocating for the subpoena against Jack. Audrey had confronted him and gotten into an argument with him. She hadn't spoken to him since.
"I wanted him to have Ja- someone else's - best interest in mind. If he had, I never would have been captured by the Chinese. I thought he'd see that when I came back. But, he didn't."
"Right, you went to China to rescue Bauer," Taylor remembered. "Was he worth it?"
"Absolutely," Audrey answered with no hesitation.
"Even after everything you went through in China? Even though you didn't save him?"
Audrey shrugged. "Well, going through all of that and not actually rescuing him was not worth it but was he worth it? Yes. I know you have your doubts about him. But, Jack is the most honorable man I've ever met. He has given up everything in order to protect this country. A country that turned its back on him numerous times. Yet, he is out there right now, trying to save your husband."
