Several hours later...
It was the middle of the night in Los Angeles, and Jack was sleeping peacefully. He had spent the evening with Kim and Chase, enjoying time with them as if his life was normal. The only time his thoughts had turned to his past was when Chloe had called. They had dismantled Cudlitz's group, and he would face justice.
A noise from downstairs woke him up, and he was quick to grab his gun from the nightstand as he sat up. Cocking the gun, he got out of bed and moved out of the room. On the landing, he stood still and listened out for any further noises. Something told him that whoever was downstairs had not been invited.
He walked over to Kim and Chase's room and opening the door. Peeking inside, he saw the two fast asleep to confirm his suspicions. Closing the door again, he hoped that it was just a burglary.
Taking a deep breath, he began to go downstairs quietly. Despite his hopes, this did not feel like a coincidence.
It was morning in Tunis, and Nina was sat in an office with a cup of lukewarm coffee. She was here to meet with Victor Schulze, who had flown in hours before to meet with her. He had sent her to meet Kevin back in Italy, with the intention of buying information. Neither of them had expected anything other than a smooth transaction. Both of them wanted answers.
Taking a sip of coffee, she wished she could be alone. Time by herself, to recuperate from the world she tried to survive in. The scars, both physical and mental, were increasing and she wasn't sure how much longer she could play this game. She had made her choices a long time ago, but she hadn't realised just how deep she would go.
One big payday, that was what she needed. She could disappear, live a quiet life somewhere they would never think to look for her. Of course, she would never be completely safe, but it would be better.
Her thoughts turned to the church in Mexico, when Jack had been trying to convince her to work with the Salazars. He had claimed they would pay her twenty million, though she doubted the brothers would even let them live. That would have been a great start, but even that wouldn't have been enough. Not if she truly wanted to cut all ties.
Jack moved down the stairs like a ghost. From what he could hear, the intruder was in the kitchen. He couldn't tell what they were doing, but it felt forced. Like a trap being set for him.
Entering the kitchen with his gun ready, he noticed a man dressed in black, gazing out of the window. He aimed at the man's head. "Who are you?"
The man turned to him and smiled, showing no fear. "That's not important, Bauer. I have this house surrounded."
Jack frowned. This was no ordinary burglary, his gut feeling had been right. He began to worry about Kim and Chase, before he realised. Was this man working for the Chinese? "Surrounded?"
The man pulled out a walkie talkie. "Confirm all positions."
Four men replied, one from each side of the house.
Nina had never seen Schulze look so concerned as he entered the office and approached her. He prided himself on being thorough, so the events in Italy must have annoyed him.
"My sincere apologies, Nina, I did not expect any problems," he began before sitting down across from her. "We're trying to find out what happened with Kevin."
She nodded. The apology was appreciated, but not necessary. "Just part of the job."
He smiled slightly. "At least it was only a minor injury," he began, before shaking his head. "I trusted him."
Nina sipped her coffee. She had been considering theories as to why Kevin had turned on her. The most plausible was that someone knew about the meeting, and paid him to kill her. The list of people who wanted her dead was not a short one.
Of course, she could cross out the most dangerous man on that list. He would never use an assassin for the job. No, Jack would want to kill her personally.
Jack was kneeling with his hands behind his head. He was complying, hoping that the intruders would leave Kim and Chase alone. The men were there for him, and he wasn't about to put them in danger.
The man took Jack's hands and handcuffed them tight behind his back, before walking around him. He crouched down and smiled. "There won't be a second deal, Bauer."
That confirmed it. He stared at the man defiantly, not willing to give him the satisfaction of fear.
Nina walked out of the office. For now, she would be lying low in a Tunis safe house. At least this time, she wasn't under limited exile or the eyes of the US government.
Leaving the building, she headed straight for a waiting car and climbed into the back. "Take me to the house," she spoke in Arabic.
The driver nodded. He had no idea who she was, and he didn't care. A rich man had paid him handsomely to take her from one point to another, and that's all he needed to know. A year's salary to drive a couple of miles.
Nina gazed out of the window. After the pardon, this city had been her home for months. She had been under the careful watch of the US then, but surveillance waned and she took her chance. Leaving Tunisia, she had stayed in Morocco for a while, before moving onto Europe.
Jack was outside, all five intruders surrounding him. He glanced up at Kim and Chase's window briefly, hoping that they would be okay. At least it seemed the Chinese weren't interested in dragging his family into this.
They were about to load him into the back of a van when gunfire erupted. One of the intruders was shot in the chest, crumpling to the ground near Jack.
"Jack, get down!"
Recognising Tony's voice, he threw himself to the ground. Seconds later, another of the intruders joined him with a bullet wound to the head.
Moments later, all five of the intruders were dead and Tony was freeing Jack from the cuffs. Other CTU agents were heading around the house, looking for any others.
Jack rubbed his wrists and smiled. "Thank you, Tony. How did you know?"
Tony gestured to a black car parked across the street. "We've been keeping an eye on your house for a while."
The front door opened, before a worried Kim and Chase came out. She was quick to hug her father, trying not to look at the dead bodies.
Nina examined the bandage on her arm. A scar would be forming, but she wasn't bothered about adding another one to her collection. There were several, and she could tell a detailed story about all of them.
Scars from the interrogations after her first arrest. They had tried to break her in several different ways, but she had resisted. If she had broken back then, the pardon would never have happened. She would still be rotting in a federal prison back in the States. That would have left her an easy target for anyone wanting to silence her.
Scars from jobs that had gone wrong, such as the one in Italy. Most of these were caused by bullets or shrapnel. A couple were due to someone getting far too close with a knife.
Then there was the scar from escaping CTU. She had shocked them by throwing herself onto the needle. They had taken her to Medical and, much to her relief, left her unrestrained on the gurney. She had pretended to be out until the wound felt stitched up enough, before she had struck.
There were several mental scars, too. People like Jack might think she was callous and empty, devoid of all humanity, but she wasn't. Not entirely, anyway. She hadn't been born evil, nor had it really been all her own choice. If she had known she would end up killing civilians and buying viruses, she would never have agreed to sell information.
"They were working for the Chinese," Jack spoke.
Tony nodded before sighing. "They had someone inside CTU."
Jack couldn't help but think of Nina. There had been too many times when the agency had an enemy within. He glanced over at Kim, who was busy talking to Chase. "Whatever happens, promise me you'll keep her safe."
"You know I will, Jack," Tony replied. He had known Kim ever since the day her mother was killed. She had grown from a traumatised teenager into a strong, capable woman. Ever since that day, he had promised himself to do what he could to keep her safe.
Nina had arrived at the safe house. Schulze had assigned guards to protect her, and she was welcome to stay for as long as she needed.
She walked into the living room before slumping onto the couch and closing her eyes. Despite planning on taking her time, she knew she couldn't sit around in one place for too long. Plans for her next move would have to be considered soon.
If her main theory about Kevin was correct, someone out there was paying to have her killed. She could track this person down and get them first, but where to start? Even Schulze had said he couldn't find anything on them.
Jack and Kim were sat in the living room. Chase had gone back to bed, giving them some space.
He looked at his daughter and felt his heart breaking. Now that the Chinese knew the deal had been broken, he knew that a normal family life was once more slipping away from him. As he would rather die than let any harm come to Kim, he had already made up his mind.
"Dad, are you okay?"
He smiled at her. "Yeah, just thinking."
"I'm going back to bed. Don't stay up too long," Kim replied as she stood up, before kissing him on his cheek. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, sweetheart," he replied. Would that be the last thing he would ever say to her?
Nina was thinking of her first few days in Tunis after the exile. She had wandered around the city most of the day, making a game out of trying to evade the obvious federal agents tasked with monitoring her. Whoever they were, they clearly weren't paid enough to care about doing their job.
Weeks passed, the agents stopped showing up every day and she almost missed them. Still, it meant the surveillance was winding down and that meant she was getting closer to freedom once more. She just needed to be careful. If CTU got any indication that she was out of North Africa, Jack would keep true to his promise and hunt her down.
Returning to her present, she knew she needed to focus on her future. Someone out there wanted her dead, and she had to find them first. Pulling out her phone, she thought of the best contacts to help her do that.
Jack had gone back to his bedroom. He was packing a bag, quietly preparing to leave whilst it was still dark. It felt painful to leave Kim behind again, but this was for the best. He would go far away and take the danger with him. As long as the Chinese left her and Chase alone, he could live with that.
Creeping out of the room, he stopped outside of Kim's room. Opening the door a little, he took one last look at his daughter as she slept. "I love you," he whispered, before closing the door.
Moments later, he was walking down the street. He would go to the bus station and pick somewhere at random. Anywhere far away from Los Angeles, the further the better. Once more, Jack Bauer was going into hiding.