Fanfic: "Some Pretty Bad Things" Chapter 4
Title: “Some Pretty Bad Things”
Author: AgentRez
Rating: T
Characters: Jack and Tony are the main characters. Bill, Chloe, and Renee play minor roles for now...other characters possibly coming later.
Warnings: Spoilers for those who are behind on season 7, some foul language
Summary: The back-story of what Tony’s been up to since we thought he was dead. Also a story about his complex friendship with Jack and how that friendship will be tested throughout the day.
UPDATE: The first chapter has been rewritten to incorporate Tony’s promise to Jack in the 7th episode of season 7. Please reread that before continuing.
Disclaimer: If I owned the characters, Tony never would have been “killed” in the first place (or at least, he would have had the story he deserved in season 5!)
“So how did you contact Audrey without being detected?” Jack asks Tony.
“I put an anonymous note in under her door one day while she was at work telling her that I had information about where you were and she should come alone to pick up a passenger from a train getting into New Carrolton station at 12:01 AM. I wasn’t sure if she was going to come...I feel like her father’s first words when she came out of the womb were a lecture not to do something like that...”
“Did she have a gun with her at least?” Jack asks, thinking about how panicked he'd have been if he had known she was putting herself in risky situations like that.
“Yeah, she brought her gun, and she had one of her coworkers wait somewhere out of sight just in case. He was supposed to call her father if he couldn’t reach her in a half an hour.”
FLASHBACK: 6 MONTHS, 1 WEEK AFTER SEASON 5
Audrey drives up to the platform at the train station in New Carrollton, Maryland, looking around nervously. She checks the anonymous typewritten note again to make sure she has the right place and time. She stares out the tinted windows of her car and checks to make sure her gun is still wedged between her body and the driver’s side door. After a few minutes, a man approaches. He is wearing a coat with a hood and has a scarf wrapped around his mouth, using the cold weather as an excuse to stay unrecognizable.
Audrey hesitates for a second, then nervously unlocks her door and lets the man in.
“Give me your phone and PDA,” the man demands. She quickly hands them over.
“Now disable your GPS.”
Once again, she does as she is told.
“Now drive to the parking lot around the corner from here, at that office building on Corporate Drive,” he instructs.
“What’s going on? Who are you?” she asks nervously, clutching her gun.
“I'll explain in a second,” he says in a voice that is no longer so threatening. In fact, Audrey could swear the voice sounds familiar. “Relax, I’m not here to hurt you. I just need to talk to you without anyone knowing. So I need you to get us out of sight.”
“Okay,” she agrees, and drives the few blocks to a corporate office park, which is empty at this time of night.
“Who are you?” she asks again after she parks the car and turns the lights off.
“Someone who’s supposed to be dead,” Tony answers, unwrapping the scarf from around his head. Audrey stares at him with disbelief.
“How...”
“How am I still alive?” Tony finishes for her. She nods.
“It’s a long story. Frankly, I don’t even fully understand how I got out of CTU, but it doesn’t really matter right now and it’s best if you don’t know the details anyway. But the bottom line is, fewer than a handful of people know I’m still alive, and if you want me to help you find Jack we need to keep it that way, do you understand?” Tony says firmly. Audrey nods, looking a little freaked out.
“Do you know where Jack is?” she asks hopefully. "Please tell me you helped him escape again?”
“No, I wish. I was still unconscious when he went missing and as far as I can tell nobody’s heard from him. I don’t even think he knows I’m still alive.”
Audrey sighs, clearly disappointed.
“Everyone keeps telling me to give it up,” she tells him. "My father, my coworkers, even Bill now thinks I could be doing more harm than good if I keep looking. They say Jack probably disappeared on his own and that I’m putting him in danger if I keep looking for him. Apparently earlier that day he had promised President Logan that he would disappear again when this was over. I’m afraid that my push to have Agent Spaulding investigated for shooting Jack two years ago may have unintentionally caused Logan’s people to realize he was still alive and I don’t want to make that same mistake again.”
“Yeah, you were making us pretty nervous with your push to investigate the Secret Service agent who had orders to take him out,” Tony admits.
“I don’t want to make that mistake again, but something just doesn’t feel right here. When I went into the room where he got the phone call, the phone was off the hook,” she says, trying to keep her composure as she recalls that awful day. Chloe swears she has no idea where he is and I believe her...if Jack was going to disappear wouldn’t he have needed her help?”
“Possibly. It’s possible he would have kept her in the dark to protect her after what happened to Michelle and me.”
“Yeah, I guess. But why would he want to keep a promise to Logan after everything Logan had done?”
“Because that’s the way Jack works. If he thought it was in the best interests of the country for him to disappear he would do it. To him a promise is a promise even if the circumstances change.”
“But he promised me he'd be right back. Why would he say ‘I promise’ if he planned on disappearing?"
“He wouldn’t," Tony says with a sigh.
“So you believe me?" she asks hopefully, feeling frustrated by all the people who have been blowing her off in her quest to figure out where Jack went.
“Yeah, I do. Initially I was inclined to believe that he disappeared, but based on what you’ve told me as well as some evidence I’ve gathered on my own I’m inclined to think you’re right that he was captured. And I think there are people inside the government who have an incentive to sweep this under the rug.”
“What do you mean? Who?”
“The same people who killed my wife. The same people who killed David Palmer and tried to frame Jack for it. I don’t have proof yet, but I'd bet you anything that if Jack promised Charles Logan he'd disappear again then Logan took steps to make sure he kept that promise.”
“So if it was the Chinese, you think Logan’s the one who tipped them off about Jack?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me in the least,” Tony says resentfully. “Him or someone who works for him. I don’t have proof yet, but I have a feeling Jack disappearing is related to Michelle’s murder and the assassination of David Palmer. And Logan may not be president anymore but he’s still got plenty of friends in high places, many of whom may have been involved and have a vested interest in keeping this covered up. There may be some people like your father and Bill Buchanan who are telling you to give this up because they are genuinely concerned that you could blow Jack’s cover if he was trying to disappear. But there are other people inside the government who have a whole other agenda. That’s why you can’t trust the government for anything. If you want to find Jack we’re going to have to go through some back channels."
“Yeah, I’ve pretty much come to that conclusion, but I don’t even know where to begin."
“That’s why I came to talk to you. I may have a lead.”
“What kind of a lead?” she asks tentatively.
“I know someone who says he has some information...he says he works for Jack’s father. He has some business contacts in Asia and he thinks he can get some information about Jack if he gives them something in return.”
“I...I have some money. When Paul died he left me his stakes in all his companies. I know it may sound wrong given what happened but I’m prepared to use it to find Jack if I have to.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think money is what he wants.”
“What does he want?”
“Information about Russian nuclear developments.”
“What kind of information?”
“I don’t have all the details yet, but I think they want to know how close Russia is to developing a suitcase nuclear weapon and what technology we think is being used to develop it.”
Audrey sighs, contemplating an impossible choice.
“Tony, if I give you the information and this guy gives it to his source in China, what assurances do we have that it will lead to valid information about Jack?”
“We don’t. I checked this guy out and it looks like he does work for Jack’s father, but there’s no guarantee his source will agree to the exchange or give us truthful information even if he is doing what he says he’s trying to do."
“But if I don’t go along with it, then there’s no way we'll get any closer."
“Audrey, are you telling me you’re actually considering this?” Tony asks incredulously.
“Russia’s new nuclear technology is an open secret. Any information I could get on it right now would just confirm what everyone already knows. And right now it’s our only lead...”
“Part of me felt like I should try to talk her out of it, but I couldn’t,” Tony explains to Jack. "I couldn’t try to talk her out of it, because I knew...” he chokes up a little. “I knew that if I had even the faintest chance to get Michelle back I'd do anything and everything to get her back no matter how dangerous or illegal or what the cost. So how could I tell Audrey not to do the same for you?"
Jack sighs, angry with Tony but sympathetic at the same time. He finds it hard to argue with Tony’s logic as much as he wants to.
“Listen, Audrey, you know my history,” Tony says to her. “I’m the last person in the world who should be telling you what to do here. I just want to make sure you understand the risk. There’s no guarantee that this will get us any closer to finding Jack, and I’m going to try to make it look like your system was hacked but if anyone ever found out you intentionally leaked information you could go to jail for it, and if it creates enough of a political shitstorm your father won’t be able to protect you.”
“I...I understand,” she says, her voice becoming firmer as she continues. “But it’s a risk I have to take. I already lost Jack once and I am not going to give up on him this time. As long as there is a chance he is still alive I am going to do whatever it takes to find him and I don’t care how risky it is, do you understand?” she says with determination, her voice becoming almost militant towards the end.
“Better than anyone,” Tony says with a sigh. “And I want to find Jack as much as you do, and not just because he’s my friend.”
“What do you mean?”
“As I’m sure you know by now, Jack got a call from President Palmer after he raided the Chinese consulate saying he was going to be handed over. Then Palmer called again and told Jack that the Secret Service agent had orders to kill him instead. So Michelle and Chloe and I helped him escape and that’s why they killed Michelle and tried to kill me when they needed a distraction to kill David Palmer. Knowing my wife was killed just to create a distraction is hard enough,” Tony says, choking up a little. “But if the Chinese got Jack and they kill him or he spends the rest of his life in a Chinese prison Michelle will have died for nothing, and I can’t let that happen. You can understand that, right?”
“Better than anyone,” she says in turn. Tony smiles sympathetically, finding it comforting to talk to someone who really understands what he’s going through.
“So how is this going to work?” Audrey asks.
“I’ve got an encrypted phone for you...I'll use it to get in touch when I have more information. I’ll give you a number to reach me at and that’s the only number you should call from this phone. When I have more details about what we need we'll set up a time and place and make it look like a mugging. I'll grab your CAC card and then I need about 15 minutes before you can report it stolen. In the meantime I need you to familiarize yourself with whatever information there is on Russian nuclear developments and when we stage the mugging leave a few notes about it in your purse as if you were trying to remember something and wrote it down so I can find what I need quickly. I'll use one of your credit cards too so you can report that stolen and hopefully make it look like just an ordinary mugging. ”
Audrey nods, clearly a little uncomfortable but recognizing that Tony is trying to protect her. “Listen, Chloe’s been helping me try to figure out what happened to Jack...Bill told her not to use anymore CTU resources to help me but she’s been sneaking in after hours to see what she can find. Can I tell her you’re still alive and that you’re helping me?”
“No. You can’t tell anyone I’m alive, not even Chloe. You can have her run a check on my contact, but tell her that you have an old friend from college who’s helping you do some investigating off-book. And while you’re at it, before we do this maybe you should see if she knows anything else about Jack’s father.”
“Why?” Audrey asks.
“As far as I can tell his father is doing the same thing you’re doing, working some back channels to try to find out where he is,” Tony explains. “But I’m a little suspicious...I met Jack’s family briefly at Teri’s funeral and they seemed alright, but I don’t think Jack was very close with his dad. What did he tell you about his relationship with his father?”
“Just that he and his dad haven’t spoken in a while...he said that his father wanted him to take over the family business and was disappointed that he decided to join the military instead. He used to tell me I was lucky to have a father who was so overprotective,” she says ruefully.
“I think Jack mentioned something about a business-related dispute he had with his dad once but it was in the middle of an argument and I can’t remember what he said...did he ever mention anything about that to you?“
“No, I don’t think so...do you remember what you were arguing about? Maybe that will help jog your memory.”
Tony sighs, obviously pained by the memory.
“It was a few months after I got out of prison. Jack had just moved to DC to start working for your father, and he called to see how I was doing and to tell me that he had talked to someone who worked for a defense contractor who said he might be able to give me a job at their LA office. So I went to meet with the guy, but I found out that without a security clearance the jobs I could get there were a big step down from where I had been before I was arrested. I don’t know what I expected, and I should have been appreciative that Jack was trying to help, but at the time I was too caught up in my wounded pride and self-pity to see it that way. Jack called back to see how the interview went and that’s when we started arguing.”
FLASH FURTHER BACK - 6 MONTHS AFTER SEASON 3
“Look, Jack, I appreciate your trying to help, but I don’t think it’s going to work out,” Tony tells Jack over the phone as he pours some beer into his Cubs mug.
“Tony, I know it’s a few steps down from your old job, but...”
“A few steps? Jack, anyone who speaks limited English and knows how to type could do this job.”
“It’s just a start. If you show them that you’re capable you can work your way back up.”
“How? Without a security clearance there’s not much room for upward mobility.”
“Give me a few more months to get settled in my job here. If you’re working somewhere where you need a clearance I can ask Secretary Heller to grant you a waiver to the Smith Amendment.”
“Yeah, right. Like anyone’s ever going to grant a security clearance to a convicted traitor. I appreciate your trying, but there’s no point.”
“You’re right, Tony, there’s no point,” Jack says sarcastically, his voice starting to sound annoyed. “You can’t start out exactly where you left off in your career so why bother at all, right? Why not just sit around all day drinking? That’ll solve all your problems, right?”
“Don’t lecture me, Jack,” Tony snaps. “Don’t you think I get enough of that from my wife?”
“Damn it, Tony, she’s trying to help. She’s worried about you and so am I.”
“Well, you don’t need to, alright? I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity, Tony. I know what you’re going through...I’ve been there.”
“No you haven’t, Jack,” Tony snaps angrily. “I know you’ve dealt with a lot the past few years but you have no idea what it feels like to stand up in court and have a judge publicly declare that you’re a traitor to this country. You have no idea what it’s like to be in prison and treated like you’re no different than the criminals you’ve spent years working to put away. You don’t know what it’s like to have your father tell you that you’re dead to him, alright? So stop acting like you know what it’s like because you don’t.”
“My father hasn’t spoken to me in years either, Tony,” Jack begins.
“And I can’t remember exactly what he said after that,” Tony tells Audrey. “Something about a business dispute but I had already had a few beers and the rest of the conversation is a little blurry,” he admits, his voice choking up and his tearful eyes full of shame. He looks away as he struggles to hold it together. Audrey senses that he needs a minute and just gives him a sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry...just give me a sec,” he says as tears begin to fall. “I wish I could remember what Jack said but it’s a time in my life I’ve worked hard to block out. The way I treated Michelle...the time I wasted drinking instead of being with her...” His voice trails off as he starts to cry.
Audrey grips his arm sympathetically.
“Now you'd give anything to have that time back, right?” she says empathetically as she hands him a tissue from her purse.
“Yeah,” Tony says softly, knowing that she can relate better than just about anyone.
“I know what it’s like to live with regret like that. This probably won’t make you feel much better, but at least Michelle died knowing how much you loved her,” Audrey says gently. “For the past year and a half I thought Jack had died believing that I hated him."
“No he didn’t. After a few weeks he knew you didn’t hate him,” Tony assures her.
“You told him what I said to you that day at CTU?”
“Yeah. Given the circumstances I couldn’t exactly ask your permission, but I figured you'd want him to know.”
“Yeah, you made the right call.”
“I wanted to tell you that Jack was still alive...it was hard to see you beat yourself up and have to keep it from you. But Jack insisted that we keep it a secret for your own protection...after what happened to Michelle, I can see that he was right.”
“Yeah...at least now I know that he didn’t die believing that I hated him, and I had the chance to apologize for the way I treated him. But I never got the chance...” her voice chokes up a little. “When he went to take the so-called phone call, he told me he loved me, and I hesitated for just a second and I’m not sure why...before I could respond he was gone...now I’m scared I’m never going to get the chance.”
“You’re going to get that chance,” Tony tells her, his voice suddenly full of determination. “I can’t promise that we’re going to be successful but I promise you I’m going to do everything in my power to figure out where he is and get him back.”
Jack sighs wistfully, a tear forming in his eye when Tony tells him the last part about Audrey never getting to say ‘I love you’ back to him. For the past four years he has struggled to live with his decision to let her go and to try to move on, but he’s had a hard time pushing her out of his head, and hearing Tony tell the story of what she went through to get him out of China is reopening the floodgates of emotions he had tried to push away.
Tony senses Jack’s anguish and considers asking him why he didn’t stay with Audrey after China, but decides to hold his tongue for now. Instead, he waits for a cue from Jack about whether or not he should continue the story. After a minute, Jack gives him his cue.
“Why did she go to China?”Jack asks softly.
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 - REWRITTEN
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Author: AgentRez
Rating: T
Characters: Jack and Tony are the main characters. Bill, Chloe, and Renee play minor roles for now...other characters possibly coming later.
Warnings: Spoilers for those who are behind on season 7, some foul language
Summary: The back-story of what Tony’s been up to since we thought he was dead. Also a story about his complex friendship with Jack and how that friendship will be tested throughout the day.
UPDATE: The first chapter has been rewritten to incorporate Tony’s promise to Jack in the 7th episode of season 7. Please reread that before continuing.
Disclaimer: If I owned the characters, Tony never would have been “killed” in the first place (or at least, he would have had the story he deserved in season 5!)
“So how did you contact Audrey without being detected?” Jack asks Tony.
“I put an anonymous note in under her door one day while she was at work telling her that I had information about where you were and she should come alone to pick up a passenger from a train getting into New Carrolton station at 12:01 AM. I wasn’t sure if she was going to come...I feel like her father’s first words when she came out of the womb were a lecture not to do something like that...”
“Did she have a gun with her at least?” Jack asks, thinking about how panicked he'd have been if he had known she was putting herself in risky situations like that.
“Yeah, she brought her gun, and she had one of her coworkers wait somewhere out of sight just in case. He was supposed to call her father if he couldn’t reach her in a half an hour.”
FLASHBACK: 6 MONTHS, 1 WEEK AFTER SEASON 5
Audrey drives up to the platform at the train station in New Carrollton, Maryland, looking around nervously. She checks the anonymous typewritten note again to make sure she has the right place and time. She stares out the tinted windows of her car and checks to make sure her gun is still wedged between her body and the driver’s side door. After a few minutes, a man approaches. He is wearing a coat with a hood and has a scarf wrapped around his mouth, using the cold weather as an excuse to stay unrecognizable.
Audrey hesitates for a second, then nervously unlocks her door and lets the man in.
“Give me your phone and PDA,” the man demands. She quickly hands them over.
“Now disable your GPS.”
Once again, she does as she is told.
“Now drive to the parking lot around the corner from here, at that office building on Corporate Drive,” he instructs.
“What’s going on? Who are you?” she asks nervously, clutching her gun.
“I'll explain in a second,” he says in a voice that is no longer so threatening. In fact, Audrey could swear the voice sounds familiar. “Relax, I’m not here to hurt you. I just need to talk to you without anyone knowing. So I need you to get us out of sight.”
“Okay,” she agrees, and drives the few blocks to a corporate office park, which is empty at this time of night.
“Who are you?” she asks again after she parks the car and turns the lights off.
“Someone who’s supposed to be dead,” Tony answers, unwrapping the scarf from around his head. Audrey stares at him with disbelief.
“How...”
“How am I still alive?” Tony finishes for her. She nods.
“It’s a long story. Frankly, I don’t even fully understand how I got out of CTU, but it doesn’t really matter right now and it’s best if you don’t know the details anyway. But the bottom line is, fewer than a handful of people know I’m still alive, and if you want me to help you find Jack we need to keep it that way, do you understand?” Tony says firmly. Audrey nods, looking a little freaked out.
“Do you know where Jack is?” she asks hopefully. "Please tell me you helped him escape again?”
“No, I wish. I was still unconscious when he went missing and as far as I can tell nobody’s heard from him. I don’t even think he knows I’m still alive.”
Audrey sighs, clearly disappointed.
“Everyone keeps telling me to give it up,” she tells him. "My father, my coworkers, even Bill now thinks I could be doing more harm than good if I keep looking. They say Jack probably disappeared on his own and that I’m putting him in danger if I keep looking for him. Apparently earlier that day he had promised President Logan that he would disappear again when this was over. I’m afraid that my push to have Agent Spaulding investigated for shooting Jack two years ago may have unintentionally caused Logan’s people to realize he was still alive and I don’t want to make that same mistake again.”
“Yeah, you were making us pretty nervous with your push to investigate the Secret Service agent who had orders to take him out,” Tony admits.
“I don’t want to make that mistake again, but something just doesn’t feel right here. When I went into the room where he got the phone call, the phone was off the hook,” she says, trying to keep her composure as she recalls that awful day. Chloe swears she has no idea where he is and I believe her...if Jack was going to disappear wouldn’t he have needed her help?”
“Possibly. It’s possible he would have kept her in the dark to protect her after what happened to Michelle and me.”
“Yeah, I guess. But why would he want to keep a promise to Logan after everything Logan had done?”
“Because that’s the way Jack works. If he thought it was in the best interests of the country for him to disappear he would do it. To him a promise is a promise even if the circumstances change.”
“But he promised me he'd be right back. Why would he say ‘I promise’ if he planned on disappearing?"
“He wouldn’t," Tony says with a sigh.
“So you believe me?" she asks hopefully, feeling frustrated by all the people who have been blowing her off in her quest to figure out where Jack went.
“Yeah, I do. Initially I was inclined to believe that he disappeared, but based on what you’ve told me as well as some evidence I’ve gathered on my own I’m inclined to think you’re right that he was captured. And I think there are people inside the government who have an incentive to sweep this under the rug.”
“What do you mean? Who?”
“The same people who killed my wife. The same people who killed David Palmer and tried to frame Jack for it. I don’t have proof yet, but I'd bet you anything that if Jack promised Charles Logan he'd disappear again then Logan took steps to make sure he kept that promise.”
“So if it was the Chinese, you think Logan’s the one who tipped them off about Jack?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me in the least,” Tony says resentfully. “Him or someone who works for him. I don’t have proof yet, but I have a feeling Jack disappearing is related to Michelle’s murder and the assassination of David Palmer. And Logan may not be president anymore but he’s still got plenty of friends in high places, many of whom may have been involved and have a vested interest in keeping this covered up. There may be some people like your father and Bill Buchanan who are telling you to give this up because they are genuinely concerned that you could blow Jack’s cover if he was trying to disappear. But there are other people inside the government who have a whole other agenda. That’s why you can’t trust the government for anything. If you want to find Jack we’re going to have to go through some back channels."
“Yeah, I’ve pretty much come to that conclusion, but I don’t even know where to begin."
“That’s why I came to talk to you. I may have a lead.”
“What kind of a lead?” she asks tentatively.
“I know someone who says he has some information...he says he works for Jack’s father. He has some business contacts in Asia and he thinks he can get some information about Jack if he gives them something in return.”
“I...I have some money. When Paul died he left me his stakes in all his companies. I know it may sound wrong given what happened but I’m prepared to use it to find Jack if I have to.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think money is what he wants.”
“What does he want?”
“Information about Russian nuclear developments.”
“What kind of information?”
“I don’t have all the details yet, but I think they want to know how close Russia is to developing a suitcase nuclear weapon and what technology we think is being used to develop it.”
Audrey sighs, contemplating an impossible choice.
“Tony, if I give you the information and this guy gives it to his source in China, what assurances do we have that it will lead to valid information about Jack?”
“We don’t. I checked this guy out and it looks like he does work for Jack’s father, but there’s no guarantee his source will agree to the exchange or give us truthful information even if he is doing what he says he’s trying to do."
“But if I don’t go along with it, then there’s no way we'll get any closer."
“Audrey, are you telling me you’re actually considering this?” Tony asks incredulously.
“Russia’s new nuclear technology is an open secret. Any information I could get on it right now would just confirm what everyone already knows. And right now it’s our only lead...”
“Part of me felt like I should try to talk her out of it, but I couldn’t,” Tony explains to Jack. "I couldn’t try to talk her out of it, because I knew...” he chokes up a little. “I knew that if I had even the faintest chance to get Michelle back I'd do anything and everything to get her back no matter how dangerous or illegal or what the cost. So how could I tell Audrey not to do the same for you?"
Jack sighs, angry with Tony but sympathetic at the same time. He finds it hard to argue with Tony’s logic as much as he wants to.
“Listen, Audrey, you know my history,” Tony says to her. “I’m the last person in the world who should be telling you what to do here. I just want to make sure you understand the risk. There’s no guarantee that this will get us any closer to finding Jack, and I’m going to try to make it look like your system was hacked but if anyone ever found out you intentionally leaked information you could go to jail for it, and if it creates enough of a political shitstorm your father won’t be able to protect you.”
“I...I understand,” she says, her voice becoming firmer as she continues. “But it’s a risk I have to take. I already lost Jack once and I am not going to give up on him this time. As long as there is a chance he is still alive I am going to do whatever it takes to find him and I don’t care how risky it is, do you understand?” she says with determination, her voice becoming almost militant towards the end.
“Better than anyone,” Tony says with a sigh. “And I want to find Jack as much as you do, and not just because he’s my friend.”
“What do you mean?”
“As I’m sure you know by now, Jack got a call from President Palmer after he raided the Chinese consulate saying he was going to be handed over. Then Palmer called again and told Jack that the Secret Service agent had orders to kill him instead. So Michelle and Chloe and I helped him escape and that’s why they killed Michelle and tried to kill me when they needed a distraction to kill David Palmer. Knowing my wife was killed just to create a distraction is hard enough,” Tony says, choking up a little. “But if the Chinese got Jack and they kill him or he spends the rest of his life in a Chinese prison Michelle will have died for nothing, and I can’t let that happen. You can understand that, right?”
“Better than anyone,” she says in turn. Tony smiles sympathetically, finding it comforting to talk to someone who really understands what he’s going through.
“So how is this going to work?” Audrey asks.
“I’ve got an encrypted phone for you...I'll use it to get in touch when I have more information. I’ll give you a number to reach me at and that’s the only number you should call from this phone. When I have more details about what we need we'll set up a time and place and make it look like a mugging. I'll grab your CAC card and then I need about 15 minutes before you can report it stolen. In the meantime I need you to familiarize yourself with whatever information there is on Russian nuclear developments and when we stage the mugging leave a few notes about it in your purse as if you were trying to remember something and wrote it down so I can find what I need quickly. I'll use one of your credit cards too so you can report that stolen and hopefully make it look like just an ordinary mugging. ”
Audrey nods, clearly a little uncomfortable but recognizing that Tony is trying to protect her. “Listen, Chloe’s been helping me try to figure out what happened to Jack...Bill told her not to use anymore CTU resources to help me but she’s been sneaking in after hours to see what she can find. Can I tell her you’re still alive and that you’re helping me?”
“No. You can’t tell anyone I’m alive, not even Chloe. You can have her run a check on my contact, but tell her that you have an old friend from college who’s helping you do some investigating off-book. And while you’re at it, before we do this maybe you should see if she knows anything else about Jack’s father.”
“Why?” Audrey asks.
“As far as I can tell his father is doing the same thing you’re doing, working some back channels to try to find out where he is,” Tony explains. “But I’m a little suspicious...I met Jack’s family briefly at Teri’s funeral and they seemed alright, but I don’t think Jack was very close with his dad. What did he tell you about his relationship with his father?”
“Just that he and his dad haven’t spoken in a while...he said that his father wanted him to take over the family business and was disappointed that he decided to join the military instead. He used to tell me I was lucky to have a father who was so overprotective,” she says ruefully.
“I think Jack mentioned something about a business-related dispute he had with his dad once but it was in the middle of an argument and I can’t remember what he said...did he ever mention anything about that to you?“
“No, I don’t think so...do you remember what you were arguing about? Maybe that will help jog your memory.”
Tony sighs, obviously pained by the memory.
“It was a few months after I got out of prison. Jack had just moved to DC to start working for your father, and he called to see how I was doing and to tell me that he had talked to someone who worked for a defense contractor who said he might be able to give me a job at their LA office. So I went to meet with the guy, but I found out that without a security clearance the jobs I could get there were a big step down from where I had been before I was arrested. I don’t know what I expected, and I should have been appreciative that Jack was trying to help, but at the time I was too caught up in my wounded pride and self-pity to see it that way. Jack called back to see how the interview went and that’s when we started arguing.”
FLASH FURTHER BACK - 6 MONTHS AFTER SEASON 3
“Look, Jack, I appreciate your trying to help, but I don’t think it’s going to work out,” Tony tells Jack over the phone as he pours some beer into his Cubs mug.
“Tony, I know it’s a few steps down from your old job, but...”
“A few steps? Jack, anyone who speaks limited English and knows how to type could do this job.”
“It’s just a start. If you show them that you’re capable you can work your way back up.”
“How? Without a security clearance there’s not much room for upward mobility.”
“Give me a few more months to get settled in my job here. If you’re working somewhere where you need a clearance I can ask Secretary Heller to grant you a waiver to the Smith Amendment.”
“Yeah, right. Like anyone’s ever going to grant a security clearance to a convicted traitor. I appreciate your trying, but there’s no point.”
“You’re right, Tony, there’s no point,” Jack says sarcastically, his voice starting to sound annoyed. “You can’t start out exactly where you left off in your career so why bother at all, right? Why not just sit around all day drinking? That’ll solve all your problems, right?”
“Don’t lecture me, Jack,” Tony snaps. “Don’t you think I get enough of that from my wife?”
“Damn it, Tony, she’s trying to help. She’s worried about you and so am I.”
“Well, you don’t need to, alright? I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity, Tony. I know what you’re going through...I’ve been there.”
“No you haven’t, Jack,” Tony snaps angrily. “I know you’ve dealt with a lot the past few years but you have no idea what it feels like to stand up in court and have a judge publicly declare that you’re a traitor to this country. You have no idea what it’s like to be in prison and treated like you’re no different than the criminals you’ve spent years working to put away. You don’t know what it’s like to have your father tell you that you’re dead to him, alright? So stop acting like you know what it’s like because you don’t.”
“My father hasn’t spoken to me in years either, Tony,” Jack begins.
“And I can’t remember exactly what he said after that,” Tony tells Audrey. “Something about a business dispute but I had already had a few beers and the rest of the conversation is a little blurry,” he admits, his voice choking up and his tearful eyes full of shame. He looks away as he struggles to hold it together. Audrey senses that he needs a minute and just gives him a sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry...just give me a sec,” he says as tears begin to fall. “I wish I could remember what Jack said but it’s a time in my life I’ve worked hard to block out. The way I treated Michelle...the time I wasted drinking instead of being with her...” His voice trails off as he starts to cry.
Audrey grips his arm sympathetically.
“Now you'd give anything to have that time back, right?” she says empathetically as she hands him a tissue from her purse.
“Yeah,” Tony says softly, knowing that she can relate better than just about anyone.
“I know what it’s like to live with regret like that. This probably won’t make you feel much better, but at least Michelle died knowing how much you loved her,” Audrey says gently. “For the past year and a half I thought Jack had died believing that I hated him."
“No he didn’t. After a few weeks he knew you didn’t hate him,” Tony assures her.
“You told him what I said to you that day at CTU?”
“Yeah. Given the circumstances I couldn’t exactly ask your permission, but I figured you'd want him to know.”
“Yeah, you made the right call.”
“I wanted to tell you that Jack was still alive...it was hard to see you beat yourself up and have to keep it from you. But Jack insisted that we keep it a secret for your own protection...after what happened to Michelle, I can see that he was right.”
“Yeah...at least now I know that he didn’t die believing that I hated him, and I had the chance to apologize for the way I treated him. But I never got the chance...” her voice chokes up a little. “When he went to take the so-called phone call, he told me he loved me, and I hesitated for just a second and I’m not sure why...before I could respond he was gone...now I’m scared I’m never going to get the chance.”
“You’re going to get that chance,” Tony tells her, his voice suddenly full of determination. “I can’t promise that we’re going to be successful but I promise you I’m going to do everything in my power to figure out where he is and get him back.”
Jack sighs wistfully, a tear forming in his eye when Tony tells him the last part about Audrey never getting to say ‘I love you’ back to him. For the past four years he has struggled to live with his decision to let her go and to try to move on, but he’s had a hard time pushing her out of his head, and hearing Tony tell the story of what she went through to get him out of China is reopening the floodgates of emotions he had tried to push away.
Tony senses Jack’s anguish and considers asking him why he didn’t stay with Audrey after China, but decides to hold his tongue for now. Instead, he waits for a cue from Jack about whether or not he should continue the story. After a minute, Jack gives him his cue.
“Why did she go to China?”Jack asks softly.
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 - REWRITTEN
Chapter 2
Chapter 3