Ever since he'd been put on leave, Steve Owen hadn't set foot in Omega, so his intel lagged. Becky, on the other hand, had been there the whole time. Steve spent half an hour on the phone with her, sorting through what had happened lately.
"After you two secretly went to Mexico and turned the place upside down, Jack had a huge blow-up with President Palmer. It was so heated he didn't even close his door—everyone downstairs heard it. The very next day, the President suspended CTU's independent investigative authority and ordered us to hand our cases over to the NSA as soon as possible…"
Steve could hardly believe it. The NSA again. He remembered that short-haired, hard-edged guy named Sam Fisher he'd run into earlier.
After getting the basics from Becky, Steve called Jack again. This time it connected.
"This is Jack Bauer."
There was a trace of fatigue in Jack's voice.
"Jack, it's me—Steve."
Steve didn't know where to start. After a beat, he decided to cut to the chase.
"Jack, what's with the video? I mean—how did it end up in the media's hands?"
He didn't ask why Jack had used force in the interrogation. The truth was, Jack did have that habit. The question was why the footage leaked. On paper, CTU was Jack's turf. Even at the old Los Angeles office, Jack had been in charge there too. The people managing surveillance should have been his trusted staff. How could something like this be allowed to happen?
"I don't know. I can't figure out where the slip-up was."
"Any suspects?"
"No. I have too many enemies. Whether out of public motive or private grudge—take your pick."
"What's the White House's stance?"
"I just got off the phone with him. He said Congress has taken notice and is preparing to open an investigation. He can't obstruct justice…"
Hearing that, Steve felt a chill. It meant the President had decided to let Jack Bauer go. Jack had in fact used violent interrogation—no denying it—with a video to prove it. Congress would latch on and never let go, and the media wouldn't either.
If the President stood with Jack, there'd be room to negotiate—horse-trading. Politicians do it all the time. Spare him the 'rule of law' talk; it's a game. Soothe Congress, then find a way to redirect the media. Pay a price and you could still protect Jack.
But if the President refused to get involved, Jack was done. Everything would go by the book. He'd face charges; a resignation in disgrace would be the best outcome. Worse, he could be ruined—or even do time.
"Is this just because of Mexico?"
Steve still couldn't wrap his head around it. Sacrificing CTU over Mexico—from his point of view, it wasn't worth it.
"Not entirely. He wanted to use Mexico as a message to other client states. But Mexico blew up in his face. That became a stain on his record—and a potent line of attack for his rivals.
"And you were too sloppy. Palmer came up through the intelligence world. From the breadcrumbs, he still deduced what happened down there had to do with you. He sees it as a betrayal. I had no choice—I made a deal with him…"
Steve suddenly didn't know what to say. Jack hadn't spelled it out, but Steve got it. From some channel, President Palmer learned that Omega's insubordination had triggered Mexico's chaos and tanked his plan. Clearly he wanted Omega's head. Jack struck a deal to save Omega. As for what he traded—no need to ask. Jack Bauer was CTU's director and once Palmer's confidant. He definitely had things Palmer wouldn't want in the light.
So the President wasn't going to help. If he didn't pile on, that was mercy.
"What are you going to do now?"
"No idea. One step at a time…"
"I heard CTU's work has all been put on ice…"
"Yeah. Not just CTU. Counterterror and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have been handed to the NSA. Word is they just stood up a Fourth Echelon on top of Third Echelon. Supposedly very capable. I don't have details yet…"
He hung up to a pile of bad news. Steve's mind raced for a plan. The most urgent thing was to trace the video's origin.
He called Chloe O'Brian in Los Angeles. She picked up instantly.
"This about Jack?"
"Yeah."
"We're looking into it too. We can confirm the location was Interrogation Room Three here. It's weird—standard practice is to kill the cameras in a situation like that, but that day they weren't shut off. And it's not just Jack—Tony laid hands on a suspect too. For some reason, the other side didn't release his."
"Can you find who leaked it?"
"We're trying. One thing's certain: there's an insider. CTU's network is one-way—outside hackers can't get in. Not unless someone inside helps. Or someone physically carried it out."
"Good. Keep me posted the second you have anything."
"Of course."
Steve ended the call. This was a job for pros; he couldn't do much himself.
Ten minutes earlier he'd already ordered Omega's furlough over—everyone was heading back. In a Hawaii hotel, Becky was checking out; Fred had a cab waiting. In a presidential suite in Las Vegas, Heartbeat had just tugged loose the sash on a blonde bombshell's robe when Steve's message came in—he swore and started getting dressed. At home, Bayev had just read his beloved Sonya to sleep when Balalaika came in with his phone. He glanced at it, gave his wife an apologetic look, and went to suit up.
In the hospital room, Beth bustled in with a few newspapers, handing them to Steve as soon as she saw him.
"What's this?"
He was a bit confused.
"Look here…"
Beth tapped a few articles—each one a murder. Steve understood and looked up. Beth nodded. "Yep. The Continental has started."
Steve nodded. He had no bandwidth for that now. He looked at Beth, then at Monica—he'd just said his goodbyes to her.
"You're leaving?" Beth saw it on his face.
"Yeah. Something blew up at CTU. I need to get back."
"Want me to arrange a plane?"
"No need. I've already bought a ticket for an hour from now. Alright, darling—see you."
After saying goodbye to both women, Steve hurried out, flagged a cab at the door, and headed straight for the airport.
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