9:00

“Jack’s mother is dead,” Chloe intones flatly, too disgusted with this proclamation to even waste energy on negating it.

“He thought I was,” Elizabeth counters and rises from her chair. From the desk she pulls two albums, and hands them to Chloe. Kate rises to stand behind her and looks as well, but Belchek stays put and remains on high alert in case this is some sort of elaborate trap.

On the first page is a copy of a Jack’s birth certificate. Chloe has seen it before when she’s had to file for visas and other government documents for Jack. She holds the page between her thumb and forefinger and looks up at Elizabeth. “There are many women named Elizabeth. We don’t know that Elizabeth is your real name. It could be a coincidence that Jack’s mother was Elizabeth Bauer.”

While she speaks, Kate gently takes the book and begins to page through it. The pictures were from the late 60’s going from the looks of the clothes and the cars. A pregnant woman with a red headed toddler. The same woman with a blond baby holding the growing toddler by the hand. Kate looks up at Elizabeth. The woman could definitely be her, forty odd years ago.

Chloe stands up to go through the book with Kate. A family of four at a picnic. There is a man–no doubt it is a young Phillip Bauer. His height, his build, the elongated face are unmistakable. In the picture the baby has become a toddler and the beginnings of Jack’s mature face, his chin and mouth, are evident. The older boy, Graham, looks just like his mother. Like the woman in front of them. Chloe begins turning turning the pages in Kate’s hands quickly, watching the boys grow. Mostly it’s just the boys in the pictures, fewer and fewer include the whole the family. Then they end. Kate placed the book on the desk.

She isn’t as upset as Chloe, after all, she doesn’t know Jack like Chloe does, nor his family history. Silently, Chloe takes up the other album. It is smaller, and picks up a few years after the other left off. There are fewer pictures, but now there are small articles from small local newspapers about teams with Jack standing tall as a member of the football team, a swim meet where Graham placed in a championship race. As they grow older, there are more about Jack than Graham. High school sports accomplishments, a state championship, his completion of basic training. Chloe slams the book closed.

“If this is true, why have you never told him?” she demands, working hard to control her anger and hurt. Hurt for Jack, that hurt echoing her own still throbbing loss. “Do you know what he’s gone through since his wife died? What his father did to him? If you were alive, why did you let him go through all that alone?”

Silent tears streamed down Elizabeth’s face. “I couldn’t tell him, come to him. You don’t know how I wished I could.”

“I was twenty when I had Graham. My father died a few months later leaving Phillip the company. That’s when he changed. He became horrible, like a dictator. Quickly it became apparent that he had married me only to get his hands on the company, and once he did, I became disposable. He had been having extramarital affairs since we’d been married and he’d flaunt them at me to be cruel.”

Chloe could easily imagine the man she’d met years ago behaving that way, doing those things.

Elizabeth went on. “I tried to leave and take Graham but couldn’t. I contemplated killing myself but, but, I had Graham. Then I met someone, Jack’s father.”

Chloe lets out a stunned gasp of air. But, God, immediately it made sense to her. That day at CTU, Jack and Phillip Bauer were the most unlikely father and son she could ever fathom. They were so completely different in every way, physically and personally. She and Morris had even discussed it and had concluded he must favor his mother. But Jack looked little like the woman if front of them. Elizabeth withdraws a photo from her pocket and hands it to Chloe. The man in the photo looks so much like Jack it is eerie.

“His name was Andrej Hejduk.”

“He was Eastern European,” Belchek guesses.

“Yes. Czech. He went by Andrew, had come to the States young and was completely Americanized. But his parents went back.” She pauses then goes on when everyone remains silent. “I won’t go into details, but Phillip found out and his reaction was…” she lets the sentence die, the memory still obviously painful.

Her tone becomes matter of fact, almost robotic, Chloe thinks. She begins reciting what happened next like a litany to get through it quickly, staring with:

“He kicked me out of the house. Told me he would kill Jack if I ever tried to see him again.  And he kept the boys. Both boys. Phillip was powerful and cruel enough by then. There was no doubt in my mind the would do it. And…and… I…” she struggles suddenly to keep her composure. After a moment and a few deep breaths she is able to continue.  “I was still so young. Phillip told everyone I had died in a car accident while traveling abroad. Andrew took me away, to Europe, and then the Czech Republic when the Soviet Union fell.  We began a new life and we did very well. He was a defense contractor and then in private corporate security and I worked side by side with him—which is why, to simplify many years, many contracts, and many deals, I have the connections and associations here in Russia. All over Eastern Europe, really. And the money to do what needs to be done.” She looks up defiantly and looks Chloe directly in the eye. “But I never forgot about the boys. I used every means I had to gather anything detail I could about them.”

“But you never tried to see them, tell them you were still alive?” Kate asks gently.

Elizabeth looks down at her lap and silently shakes her head. “I never trusted he wouldn’t follow through on his promise, even when they were grown. He was just that kind of man. He would remember and follow through no matter how many years had passed.” She looks at Chloe who knows exactly what she’s about to say and says it for her.

“He killed Graham that day. He ultimately killed one of his sons anyway,” she whispers.

Elizabeth nods and wipes at another tear.

“When Phillip died I began to look for Jack, but he had disappeared. When he resurfaced, and got sick with the virus and almost died, my husband was dying of Alzheimer’s. That was one of the hardest times I’ve ever gone through. I thought I was going to lose both of them. Andrew died just as Kim came back into Jack’s life and Jack recovered. I grieved that Jack would not meet his real father. I began to settle my affairs in Prague and made plans to go to the States.”

“And then he disappeared again, for four years, before resurfacing in London,” Kate concludes the timeline for her.

Elizabeth nods and looks up at them almost pleadingly. “And, finally, now I am close.”

1:05 PM (Washington, D.C.)

“I look forward to your continued support,” the Russian voice echoes over the speaker phone.

“We want this ended as much as you do, Mr. President.” The reply came from United States President Mitchell Hayworth. His statement ends the conversation. Leaning back in his chair, he glances around the Oval Office, looking for nothing in particular. Coming back around to Ethan Kanin in front of him, he simply stares as if to ask, “What are your thoughts?”

“I think his trust in us is wavering,” Ethan says in answer to the question he knew was coming. “He thinks that someone in our country must be assisting the terrorists.”

“Still no leads on the investigation?” The President leans forward onto his desk.

“No, sir. As of ten minutes ago, none of the bureaus had anything new. They have their best people working around the clock on this.”

“The attacks are getting worse. You heard him, if that last bomb was placed in a slightly different location in that building, the whole thing would have collapsed. Hundreds would have died.”

“Get Ritter on the phone. I want to make sure he’s aware of this new attack. Maybe he’ll get his people working faster. We need something…fast.”

9:07

Jack and Seminov walk carefully yet quickly through the hallways, making their way to the doorway and hiding the staircase. Silently, they glance at each other, conveying the next part of the plan. Jack grabs the door handle with his left hand and turns the knob slowly. Mouthing the words, he counts to three and opens the door. As soon as he opens the door, his right hand swings around the door, pointing the pistol inside.

Silence.

Seminov takes the lead into the staircase, scanning each direction as he enters. With a wave of his hand, he moves further inside and Jack follows him. The stairs go both up and down, and, in all likelihood, the terrorists would not want to be trapped in a basement. Then again, how many tunnels has he found when tracking terrorists? Going with his gut instinct, Jack leads the way up the stairs.

The stench of body odor and urine lightly filled the air, reminding Jack of the prison he was just in. It’s amazing how fresh the air was even in downtown Moscow compared to this. The floor and stairs were cement, so Jack steps lightly to minimize the sound of his footsteps. They were going in blind, so they need every advantage for surprise possible.

At the top of the first flight of stairs, they decided to check out the second floor. Following the same protocol as before, Jack grabs the doorknob with his left hand, slowly turned it, and allowed Seminov to go through.

Suddenly, a bullet hit the door near Seminov’s head. Immediately the two of them look down the hall where the bullet came from and see a couple of men about twenty feet away. Firing back at them, Jack and Seminov slowly back into the stairwell again to use the wall as a shield. Heading up the stairs, Seminov fires a few more shots back toward the door. Jack is in front now, heading up the stairs. Hearing Seminov drop his gun’s magazine to reload, Jack spins quickly to fire a couple shots for cover.

Seminov locks the new magazine in place and regains the cover fire.

Just as Jack turns back around, he reaches the landing where the stairs turn. Rounding the corner, Jack’s forehead is met with the handle of a gun. Falling backward, he hits the wall and drops his gun. This surprise not only dropped Jack to the ground, but Seminov was caught off guard and came face-to-face with several guns.

Slowly, Seminov let go of the trigger and raise his hands.

“Drop the gun!” came the order in Russian. Hesitating, Seminov drops the gun, but kept his eye on the men in front of him. He could hear footsteps behind him now from the first men they saw.

Two men grabbed Jack from the ground and stood him up. His chest was slammed against the wall and his hands were handcuffed behind his back. Seminov was likewise handcuffed.

Katya cames down the stairs just as the handcuffs click. She looks over the two captives and reaches into her jacket. She pulls out a pill of smelling salts and breaks it under Jack’s nose. His head jerks up as soon as she does this, and he tried to resist.

“Who are you?” Katya asks in Russian. Both Jack and Seminov remain silent. Katya already knew who Jack was, at least she knew his name and just a little about him. In English, she asks again: “Who are you? Who are you working for?”

Jack just stares at her, glaring into her eyes. There was something different, but he wasn’t sure what. Just then, he could swear that he could hear the slight sound of a vibration.

“Take them up,” Katya orders the others. “We’ll continue this little conversation up there. They may need a little persuasion to talk.”

Jack and Seminov are herded up the stairs passed Katya. She watches them go up and then pulls her phone out of her jacket. Glancing at the screen, she read the word, “Sent,” and puts it away again as she follows the others.

9:11

Elizabeth had continued her story about tracking Jack from London to Moscow. Her initial confirmation was intercepting some communication between former President Heller and Chloe just after Jack was taken. Chloe had been pleading for Heller to take action in finding Jack. Upon arriving in Washington, D.C., Heller had made a public announcement regarding the events in London, concluding with his pardon of Jack Bauer.

After the announcement, Heller told Chloe that he wanted to help find Jack by organizing a covert group from the CIA, with Erik Ritter as the lead. However, before Heller was able to set the group in motion, his Alzheimer’s caused a public issue and he was removed from the President’s office. Vice President Mitchell Hayworth assumed the presidency and didn’t care to follow through with Jack’s rescue.

“Hayworth didn’t really like Jack too much,” Elizabeth sighs. “And, Chloe, you know how he felt about you and your involvement with Open Cell. That, unfortunately, didn’t help Jack’s case.”

“That’s not fair,” Chloe starts, “I –“

Just then, the door burst open and a man rushed in.

“Sorry about this,” he said, “but I think this is important.” He hands Elizabeth a phone. After looking at the screen a moment, she looks up at Chloe and says, “This was taken just a couple minutes ago.”

On the screen, Chloe and Kate could both see a grainy picture. Even with the poor quality, they could tell that it was Jack in the picture. He was handcuffed and surrounded by several armed men.

“How do you know this was just taken?” Kate asks. “It could have been taken months ago.”

“I have someone there,” Elizabeth states. “She has been working undercover for months trying to both find Jack and find the terrorists.”

“So you know where he is, then?” Chloe asks, jumping up a little.

“It’s not the right time.” Raising her hand, Elizabeth motioned for Chloe to sit back down.

“Not the right time!?” Chloe’s face started to turn red. “When is the right time? After the funeral?”

“I want him back as much as you do,” Elizabeth reminded her. “Maybe more. But there’s more at stake, too. Part of the plan was for Jack to locate the terrorists.”

“Aren’t they the ones that have him?”

“Yes, but not the leader. We know who the leader is. We just need to find where he is so we can get him.”

“I don’t care about the terrorists!” Chloe wasn’t calming down. “I just want to get Jack out.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to do anything. We just have to be calculating. If you’ll join me, we’ll head out now and come up with a plan.”

“So who is this terrorist leader, anyway?” Kate asked.

9:18

Lebedev, having had Jack and Seminov tied to chairs, paces impatiently around them.

“I’m only going to ask one more time,” Lebedev stops and directs this question toward Jack. “Who are you and who are you working for?”

Seminov had already been beaten for his silence. His face was bruised and blood dripped from his nose. For a highly trained soldier, it wasn’t too serious. Jack wondered, though, why he didn’t just turn Jack in to earn his own chance for freedom.

Jack had grown tired to the same interrogation process. Over the years, he had been on the receiving end of these interrogations many times. Each time, he wished that it would be his last – however that would be accomplished. Especially since New York, he had made peace about not surviving. There were the glimmering sparkles of hope that danced in his mind – in China it had been Audrey, in New York it had been Renee, in London it was Kim and her family. Kim had always come to his mind.

At this moment, though, with this Russian yelling at him, all hope and desire to survive was gone. Yes, if he survived, he would move on to…whatever or wherever. But, if this was it, he was fine with it. He felt a small smile curl up on his face.

“You mock me!?” Lebedev shouts at him, kicking his chair back. Jack’s breathe left him for a second, but he slowly regained his breathing. “Shoot him!”

One of Lebedev’s men pulls his pistol out of his jacket and quickly places it on Jack’s temple. The man was looking to Lebedev for confirmation before pulling the trigger.

“Just shoot me,” Jack snarls through his teeth.

“You do talk,” Lebedev spun around to face Jack again. “Who are you trying to protect? Just tell me who you work for.”

“I have no reason to tell you anything,” Jack tries to enjoy this taunting. “You’re not going to let me go anyway.”

Lebedev opens his mouth to give the order to shoot as a voice comes from the other room: “His name is Jack Bauer.”

“Jack Bauer,” Lebedev repeats the name. “I know that name…”

“He has been on the run from both the American and Russian governments for over four years.” A short man emerges from another room, carrying a piece of paper. Jack’s dossier,apparently. “He’s the one that attempted to assassinate our President.”

“That’s right,” Lebedev snatches the paper from the man and looks it over. “You’re responsible for my brother’s death in London, too. We almost had you then. Now, here you are–tied up and helpless.”

Seminov glances at Jack to see his response. Nothing. No apparent emotion. No attempt to defend himself. No answer.

“It’s almost a shame to kill you in such a pitiful state,” Lebedev continues. “Almost. Go ahead and …”

A cell phone rings in Lebedev’s pocket. Without looking away from Jack, he reaches into his pocket and pulls the phone out. “Da?”

After a brief moment of listening to the other person, Lebedev answers in Russian: “The attack was not as we had hoped. It was misplaced…Don’t worry, I took care of him…I now have two men captive, and you’ll be interested to know that one of them is Jack Bauer…Are you sure?…We’ll head over right away.”

He hangs up the phone and looks at Jack. “Looks like we’re taking a trip.” He orders Jack to be taken up to the roof.

“He wants to see him?” Katya asks Lebedev.

“Yes,” he responds. “I guess he wants to take revenge himself.”

Jack is pulled to his feet and slammed against the wall to reinforce the bonds. Jack closed his eyes and as his head and body went limp.

“I guess he won’t be resisting,” one of the men says to Lebedev.

“Take him up now,” Lebedev orders. “President Suvarov didn’t sound patient.”

‘Suvarov?’ Jack thought to himself. He’s being taken to Suvarov? This is Jack’s new motivation for survival. He couldn’t let Suvarov win this hand. Jack’s move now is to continue acting unconscious to see if they reveal any more information.

9:25

“So Suvarov is behind the attacks?” Chloe asks Elizabeth.

Chloe, Kate, and Belcheck had decided to help Elizabeth and they were on their way to wherever Jack was being held. After getting in the car, Elizabeth had begun explaining that Suvarov was behind the attacks.

“Yes,” Elizabeth answers. “Like I mentioned, not only did I want to free Jack, but I also wanted to expose Suvarov. He didn’t seem too bad for the first part of his presidency, but behind the scenes, he had some pretty bad things working.”

“Like the Hassan assassination?” Kate suggests.

“That was just the tip of it. I don’t know the extent, but his plan was to expand the Russian empire to her former power at the peak of the Cold War.”

“Really? He was involved in several peace treaties,” Chloe notes. “I knew he was involved in some bad things, but nothing like that.”

“Stalin convinced the people of Russia that communism was going to help them,” Elizabeth points out. “Suvarov had enough of the people’s support to do almost anything. The current administration doesn’t seem to be like that, and they have been able to maintain a level of peace with the IRK and other Middle East countries. If Suvarov regains control, who knows what would happen.”

“We’re almost there,” the driver said. “Just about two blocks away.”

“Thanks, Boris,” Elizabeth stops the conversation about Suvarov to focus on the current plan. “Turn onto the next street and park.”

“So, what do we do?” Chloe asks. “What’s your plan?”

“I have satellite surveillance and Davis is trying to get the schematic of the building,” Elizabeth answers, looking toward the tall building just a block away. “We’ll walk from here to avoid detection in the vehicle. Hopefully we’ll get some information soon.”

Kate cracks the window of the car down to bring a little fresh air into the vehicle. The sound of a helicopter fills the air, and the five of them look at each other, then up to the sky. A helicopter emerges from the top of the building they were just looking at.

Elizabeth’s phone then rings. She looks at the number and hesitantly answers.

“You shouldn’t be calling me.”

9:31

Katya is in a small room just off of the rooftop. The sound of the helicopter was getting fainter.

“Jack is being taken to Suvarov,” Katya says.

“In that helicopter?” Elizabeth asks, already knowing the answer.

“Yes,” Katya answers. “Should I maintain my cover here?”

“Not much reason now,” Elizabeth says, “unless you think you could find something about where Suvarov is.”

“I can try,” Katya said. “Pavel has been with Lebedev longer, and he may know.”

“Keep in touch, but be careful,” Elizabeth ends the call.

Katya closes the phone and shoves it in her pocket. With Lebedev gone, she may have a better chance now. She had been working undercover for three months, slowly winning the trust of the others. Now will be a test.

She steps out of the room and heads down the stairs. A flight down, she meets Pavel who was heading up the stairs.

“Where have you been?” Pavel asks.

“I was making sure no one was around up there,” Katya answers. “They got out and it looks clear.”

“Good,” Pavel answers. “Three of the men went down to the main level to watch the doors, just to make sure that no one else decides to follow up on Jack’s whereabouts.”

“What about the other man?” Katya asks. “Is he still down there?”

“Yes. Did Lebedev say anything about him?”

Lebedev had been too focused on getting Jack onto the helicopter that the other man was never mentioned. This could be useful for Katya.

“Yes. He said to keep questioning him to find out more about who they are working for. But he wants him alive.”

9:37

Driving east out of town, Elizabeth talks to Davis on the phone.

“Keep track of that helicopter,” Elizabeth says. “We’re trying to follow, but they’re getting out of sight.”

After hanging up the phone, Chloe says, “I should have stayed back there. I specialize in surveillance and analysis. I don’t do well in the field like this.”

“A little late for that,” Elizabeth says. “Davis says that there isn’t much in this direction, but there is a property about 50 miles away. It is secluded and out of the way, but Davis sees that there is major electrical usage there. He’s looking into it more and will send info soon to confirm.”

10:15

“We’re getting ready to land,” the pilot tells Lebedev.

Turning to Jack, Lebedev says “I hope you enjoyed to ride. Not everyone gets to ride in style like this to their execution.”

If it hadn’t been so windy, Jack would have spit in his face. He had been silent the entire ride and he saw no need to change that. He had questions – that’s for sure. Questions about Suvarov and his connection to all of this. As far as Jack knew, Suvarov was in prison. But Jack knew better than to ask here and now. He wasn’t going to get answers like this.

The helicopter lands a few hundred yards from a large building. The outside resembles an abandoned warehouse, but this was clearly not abandoned. The chopper’s blades slow to an idle, and Jack is shoved off the helicopter. Jack was expecting such treatment and had braced his fall. He rolls quickly to his feet and starts to run, hands still tied behind him.

Shots are fired, but none hit Jack. With as close as the men were, Jack should have been hit. Jack knew they weren’t supposed to kill him and these were just to try to scare him. A second later, Jack sees an SUV approaching him and he turns to his right. A few more shots ring out as the SUV swerves toward Jack and comes up next to him. The side door opens and a man jumps out and tackles Jack to the ground. As Jack tries to kick the man, the others catch up and pull Jack up to his knees.

“What are you thinking, Bauer?” Lebedev asks. “Don’t you realize that we’re over an hour from anything?”

The whole time, Jack knew he wouldn’t be able to escape. He was simply letting them know that he still had some fight in him and that he wasn’t just going along nicely. Jack looked up and babbled a few labored words quietly. As Lebedev leans a little closer to try to hear what Jack is saying, Jack spits a mixture of saliva and blood at him.

Lebedev kicks Jack in the gut and wipes his face. “I see how it is. If the President wasn’t so anxious to kill you himself, I would love the pleasure right now.”

Jack catches his breath, looks up again, and flashes a slight smile.

“Get him in the truck!” Lebedev yells. “I hope it’s slow and painful.”

10:19

“Let’s move him,” Katya says to Pavel. Seminov had not cooperated with the interrogation. “There’s no need to stay here anymore. The longer we stay, the more likely his comrades would track us down.”

“Where to?” Pavel asks?

“I know of a secure building a few miles away,” Katya answers. “We can go there for now and make sure we’re not followed.”

The two other men in the room grab Seminov, who is half-unconscious from the torture. Katya hated to have that done to him, but she needed to earn the trust of the others. The ropes around Seminov’s feet are cut, but the handcuffs remain around his wrists. The two men tried to get him to walk, but his feet would only drag on the floor. Pavel opens the door for them to go through.

“Are you sure about this?” Pavel asks. “Is this what Lebedev would want?”

“There’s more to this than you know,” Katya hints.”You can trust me.”

Pavel says nothing, but slightly nods and follows Katya out the door.

10:23

“Less than 10 minutes away,” Elizabeth says, checking the status on the phone.

“So what’s the plan when we get there?” Kate asks.

“Let’s start by not getting caught,” Elizabeth states. “We don’t know what the property looks like or what kind of security is there. Hopefully the team back there can get better satellite coverage and access schematics of the property – if they exist.”

“So it’s a government facility?” Chloe asks.

“It used to be,” Elizabeth says, recalling the information Davis had sent. “It’s an old government building from the 1960’s. It was condemned in 1990 and was supposed to be destroyed. It was taken off of all maps and official records as if it was destroyed. Apparently it was improved or rebuilt and is used for certain covert operations.”

“So we should expect trained guards?” Belcheck observes.

“Yes,” Elizabeth says. “Davis doesn’t think it’s heavily guarded, but that’s what we need to find out.”

“Jack and I broke into CIA and rescued Chloe,” Belcheck reflects. “And that was full of highly trained people in a secure location.”

10:27

Exiting the SUV, Jack is led up the stairs into the grand entrance of this building. Up close, Jack could tell that this wasn’t a factory building, but perhaps some building from the Cold War. This could have been an outpost at one time. Walking inside, Jack could see that it was updated inside. The outside must have been kept outdated to keep suspicions away.

‘So this is where Suvarov is being held?’ Jack thought to himself. His mind then went back to the so-called prison that Logan had been in many years ago. It was a joke of punishment for the man, and Jack wondered if this was similar.

The main hall has several rooms and hallways, but Jack is led up the grand staircase. At the top, Jack noticed the multiple cameras around the room. The door is opened in front of him, and he is shoved inside.

The room is a little darker than the hall. The walls are lined with tall bookshelves with a window on three sides of the room. Each window is covered with iron bars with only a couple inches between each one. Jack scans the room, but doesn’t see any cameras. Perhaps the cameras were hidden among the décor?

In the center of the room is a large desk and Jack is sat in front of it. His feet are tied to the chair legs, which happened to be bolted to the ground. They must have prepared this just for him.

Jack is left alone except for Lebedev, who walks across the room to a door behind the desk. Lebedev opens the door and says a few words. A few seconds later, a man with wrist and ankle bracelets enters the room.

Suvarov.

“Jack Buaer,” Suvarov finally says. “It’s been a long time, has it not? Do you remember the last time we were together? I know I do. I bet you wish you pulled that trigger now, don’t you?”

“Everything that day was to right the wrongs,” said Jack. “If you weren’t part of it, you wouldn’t have had anything to worry about.”

“Still thinking too small, Mr. Bauer,” Suvarov continues. “There were greater things at stake. Nothing that you could comprehend. Logan understood it, but he turned out to be a coward.”

10:31

“Mr. President, the team has found some possible leads.” The Russian voice is a little optimistic.

“Yes…” the Russian president urges the man to continue.

“There were some people spotted near the last bomb site,” the man continues, handing some documents and pictures over. “They looked very suspicious – not just the normal gazers.”

“What else?”

“A couple went into a building, and then they were followed by two other men. You can see them enter in this picture.”

The picture is a little grainy, but the side of Jack’s face could be seen as he scanned behind him as he entered the building. Seminov was behind him, but his face couldn’t be seen.

“Do you have any ID on these men?” the president questions. “We need more than conjecture.”

“No ID yet, but we’re running it through the software as we speak. We sent a couple in after them, but never heard from them. When we checked later, we found them dead.”

“Let me know as soon as you find something more. I feel like I’ve seen this face before.”

10:34

Two black car pulls up to the back door of the building and Seminov is put in the backseat of the first one.

“Pavel, you ride with me and this man,” Katya says. “You three, follow us in that one.”

The three men enter the second vehicle as Katya gets into the front seat. Pavel walks around the car and takes the place of the driver.

“Where to?” Pavel asks.

“Go straight for two blocks and turn right,” Katya answers. Looking to the back seat, Katya sees that Seminov is more coherent. “Are you ready to talk yet?”

Seminov remained silent.

Katya smiled back at him, “That’s okay. You don’t have to talk yet. I know who you work for and where you were taking Bauer.”

Seminov raises an eyebrow, wondering if this was a bluff.

“I work for the person that had him released,” Katya replies.

Pavel cuts in, “Lebedev had him released? From what? He didn’t even seem to know who he was?”

“I don’t work for Lebedev.” Katya pulls her gun out and points it at Pavel. “Keep driving.”

10:37

Jack’s rescue team mills around quietly in a small grove of trees just off the road. There is a building off in the distance, barely visible by the moonlight. The wind is light, but it brought a chill to Chloe’s arms. She is now slipping her black jacket on – the same one she had in London.

Elizabeth feels a buzz in her pocket and heads back into the car to take the call.

“Any visuals yet?” she asks impatiently.

“There’s a cached version from two days ago,” replies Davis. “We’re working on getting live feed. We did, however, find some documents. Apparently it was an outpost for Moscow back in the 70’s and 80’s. Since the USSR began to crumble, the building was abandoned.”

“So it’s owned by the Russian government?” asks Elizabeth.

“No, it looks like it’s used by some paramilitary group,” David replies. “They took control of the building about ten years ago. The Russian government has hired the group for various covert operations, but it doesn’t look like the government knew about them using this building.”

“Or that they overlooked it.”

“Right. Anyway, it appears that Suvarov was transferred to the group’s custody shortly after his arrest.”

“Interesting.”

10:41

“So, what do you think?” Chloe whispers to Kate, looking at the building around a tree.

“It’s a suicide mission,” Kat replies. “We have almost no knowledge of what’s over there, limited resources, and no guarantee that Jack’s even still alive.”

“If Jack was in our place…” Chloe let it trail off.

“I didn’t say I’m not going through with it,” Kat answers. “It just doesn’t look good.”

The car door quietly opens and Elizabeth steps out. Kate and Chloe move closer as Elizabeth motions to the group. She begins to relay the information she just got from Davis.

“Do you know the name of the group?” Kate asks.

“Red Square,” Elizabeth replies. “They’ve been around for several decades.”

“Red Square?” Chloe blurts out, grabbing her mouth.

“Yes,” Elizabeth confirms. “Why are you so shocked?”

“That’s the Russian mob that helped Suvarov kill the IRK president, Hassan, in New York,” Chloe says. The memories from that fateful day rushed into her mind. That was the day that Renee was killed, sending Jack into a mad frenzy looking for revenge, almost killing both Logan and Suvarov. That was the day that she turned off the satellites to allow Jack a moment to escape. That was the day that led her down the path to join Andrian Cross.

“So if Red Square was working with Suvarov back then…” Elizabeth starts.

“Maybe they’re still working together?” Kate finishes the thought.

“And if they’re working together,” Belcheck says, “this isn’t a prison. It’s a hideout.”

“Either way,” Elizabeth brings the group back to the task at hand,” we need to find a way in. And I think I have a plan that might work.”

10:46

“Do you really think that you’ll just be able to walk right back into Moscow?” Jack asks.

“When I step in and provide the means to stop the attacks, everything will change,” Suvarov says.

“You overestimate the people’s ability to forget the past,” Jack says

“You underestimate the power of fear. In the morning, the people of Russia will be begging for someone to stop the attacks, and the current administration will be powerless to do it.”

“So you think that they’ll just come here begging for your help?”

“If everything goes according to plan, those that are left will have to answer my call to help.”

“Those that are left…” Jack lets the sentence trail off.

“Please, Mr. Bauer. I don’t plan on sharing my plan with you. Everything is already set in motion and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.”

Just then, the phone on the desk beeped and voice said, “Mr. President, we’ve spotted movement near the perimeter.”

“Is it being handled?” asks Suvarov.

“Yes, sir. Just informing you,” comes the reply.

10:53

Kate is driving the car with Chloe next to her and Belcheck in the backseat, handcuffed. They are heading toward the building with the car lights on. It was a crazy idea, but this is as likely a plan to succeed as any other at the moment.

Another car’s headlights suddenly appear in front of them and Kate slams on the brakes. They see a couple figures get out of the car and head toward them.

“I hope this works,” Chloe whispers.

“Just stay quiet and let me handle it,” says Kate.

One of the men approaches Kate’s side while the other stood on Chloe’s side. Slowly, Kate rolls down her window, keeping her other hand up. Chloe puts her hands up as well, feeling like one of the many people that Jack had convinced to help track a terrorist – with just as much of a chance to survive.

“I have a prisoner,” Kate says in Russian, masking her American accent. Chloe had known about Kate’s history with undercover work before she joined the hunt for Jack.

“I don’t care who you have, you’re not welcome here,” replies the man on Kate’s side. The car’s headlight revealed a thick moustache as he walked closer.

“I think the President would be interested in this prisoner, though,” Kate replies. “This is a friend of Jack Bauer.”

The two men look at each other and then back at Kate.

“Get out of the vehicle, now!” the man orders. Kate nods to Chloe and they slowly opened their doors and get out.

“I need to open the door for the prisoner,” Kate says pointing to the back door.

She proceeds to open the door and roughly pulls Belcheck out, almost knocking him to the ground. She stands him up and tells him to cooperate. For effect, Belcheck spits in Kate’s face.

“Who is she?” the man asks regarding Chloe.

“She’s my associate,” Kate replied. “I’m telling you that the President would want to see this man.” She pushes Belcheck to his knees in the Russian’s direction.

At the first the Russian just aims his gun at him. Doubt began to run through Chloe’s mind. Just then, a man from the other car steps out and says, “Bring them in. He’s waiting for them.”

The Russians handcuffs all of them and puts them all in the backseat of Elizabeth’s car and the two men get into the front. As the driver pulls forward, the passenger turns with his gun trained on the captives.

When they arrive at the building, the vehicles park in the back. Kate, Chloe, and Belcheck are taken inside and the air becomes quiet.

After a minute of silence, the trunk pops open.

10:59:58…10:59:59…11:00:00