Tony could immediately tell where Chloe was sitting based on body language alone. She wore sunglasses, and her hair had been dyed darker, but her discontent facial expression and folded arms were unequivocally Chloe O'Brian. Warily looking around him as he entered the diner, he made his way over and slid into the booth across from her. Chloe took a moment to look at him as though still convincing herself that he was real.

"Surprised you were already in DC." He said to break the silence.

She shrugged. "When CTU got shut down, I took the excuse to give myself a fresh start. Plus, I figured my best chance of a well-paying job was here."

Tony nodded, understanding the need for that all too well. He was grateful each and every day that David had taken him away from LA. "So, where are you working now?"

"Nowhere. I have a three-year-old to look after. What Morris earns is enough to keep us going."

He looked at her quizzically. "You have a…? Wait, you got back together with Morris-"

"Tony, what do you want?" She said tiredly. "This is risky for both of us."

Conceding, he sighed. Chloe was never one for small talk.

"I have reason to believe something is going down within the next couple of months. Something big. And I need your help to stop it."

"Why don't you go to the CIA? What am I supposed to do?"

Tony shook his head. "Considering that I'm supposed to be dead and that I work for the person who's partially behind this, I can't exactly do that, Chloe."

"What?" She squinted at him. "Who is he?"

He rolled his eyes. "He's the mercenary who revived me after Henderson nearly killed, well, killed me."

"You've been helping a mercenary?"

Tony huffed. "Yeah, Chloe, I have."

"Why?"

"That's not the point. What's happening now is different, it's worse than anything else he's ever done, and I can't let him do it. I have to stop him before he gets himself caught."

She paused, looking at him. "Why do you want to protect this guy so much? If he's that bad, why the hell are you even still-"

"Because he's all I have, alright?" Tony snapped, and she pressed her lips together. "It's…complicated, Chloe."

"I'm not risking myself for this." She took her bag from beside her and shook her head. "It's bad enough that someone could see us together, there's no way I'm helping you-"

Chloe stood to exit the booth, and he grabbed her arm.

"Chloe, please. Just hear me out."

He seemed desperate for her help and had no intention of hiding it. It was something she had rarely seen in him. All those years at CTU, Tony had always been much better at keeping his cool compared to Jack. The only time Chloe had seen him crack like this was the day Saunders had captured Michelle.

So Chloe realised that if he was risking everything to reach out to her, maybe it was just as important.

She sat back down, and Tony gave her a grateful look. He explained the situation, omitting any and every detail about Michael. Tony might trust her, but he still felt like even mentioning his name to the outside world was putting him at risk. He didn't need to do that; he could justify this without bringing his son into it. Tony watched her become rapt as he explained the blueprints and information he had found on the night he'd called her.

"Wait, did you say Sangala?"

"Yeah."

Her eyes widened. "Holy shit, this is worse than I thought." She uttered under her breath.

Tony furrowed his brow.

"This isn't just big, it's huge, Tony."

He still didn't know what she was getting at.

"I'm not exactly…just a stay-at-home mom. I've been working on something…with Bill."

"Buchanan?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" She looked around her skittishly. "We think there's a conspiracy related to Allison Taylor's administration. All because of the stuff going on in Sangala. People at all levels are secretly being paid by Ike Dubaku. We already know of at least two moles in the FBI. But we haven't been able to figure out what they were being bribed to do, especially for how many diamonds Dubaku's offering." Her voice took a heavy tone. "But what you've just told me is the key to everything. The CIP firewall links everybody on this list."

He let out a breath, now realising the situation was exponentially worse. The goal of this conversation had just been to let Chloe know so someone could make an inside tip to prevent the attacks. But if what she was saying was true…then the very people she could have gone to couldn't be trusted. So it was going to be up to him to stop it. He didn't want this, he wanted to stay out of it. But deep down he knew that he couldn't.

"I'm going to go and take this to Bill," Chloe said, looking very pale. "We've spent too much time together as it is. Keep me updated."

Glancing at his watch, Tony realised she was right. His lie to David about going out for a drive would become less convincing the longer he stayed out. It was funny, Tony had been deceitful for missions more times than he could count, it had come with the job, but this was the only one that had truly hurt. Because he hadn't just withheld information like when he'd kept the Salazar mission secret from Michelle, he'd flat-out lied to David, something he'd promised himself he would never do. He just hoped that when the truth came to light eventually, David would understand.

They said goodbye and went their separate ways. As Tony drove home, he felt a wave of determination rising and reminding him of who he used to be. He hadn't wanted to pursue righteousness like this in a very long time. So Tony knew that he had to see this through. Not just for his own sake but because he knew if Michelle were here, she would want this too. Above all, this was for Michael and David. He had to protect them. He had to keep the only family he had left safe.

Because Tony was sure that if anything happened to them, it would destroy him entirely.