Tuesday, December 05, 2006
When Fiction Meets Reality - Pt. 8
Kiefer didn't argue. He preferred to be safe as well and they went back inside. Jack found the technicians discussing their find in excited voices, obviously proud of themselves and of their expertise.
"What did you find?" Jack asked as soon as he joined them. The eldest technician explained how the connection had been terminated and they hooked up the ‘fake' recording of an empty room to play as soon as it was established again. They connection had been detected though and they had started to backtrack to the point of origin, using a link to CTU's powerful mainframe. They had narrowed their search down to a few blocks, but now they had to wait for the next connection to be able to pinpoint the exact location of the user.
"Did you brief Chapelle on that?"
"No, not yet. We thought you might want to do that." the younger of both said, sounding and looking a little embarrassed.
"Why is that?"
"Chapelle isn't exactly keen on us."
"He's even less keen on me. Call him and brief him, you're the technicians, you'll be able to explain this much better than I could. Besides I need to know if there are any other devices in this building. If you need anything to perform that sweep, you'll have to put in your request with him anyway, so you might as well speak to him yourself."
"Sweep the entire building? How do you expect us to do that?"
"You're the technicians," Jack replied, "you figure it out. I need to know if any other part of his building is being monitored by the same person who's monitoring this room."
"Well we could do a scan for outgoing signals and then backtrack them to their point of origin within the building."
"Get on it." Jack left the technicians to their occupations and went outside to call Nina.
"Do you have anything at all on those four names Nina?" Jack asked the moment she picked up her phone. He didn't even bother to introduce himself, she had caller ID anyway.
"No Jack, there's nothing. Nothing to work with, nothing to make either of them a likely suspect in this thing."
"Do we have current locations on them?"
"Want me to send teams to check on them?"
"Yes, and keep me posted."
"Where are you?"
"Still at the studios. I don't think we're about to leave just yet."
"Can I call you there?"
"Yes you can, I've got my phone on silent alarm, it might take a while before I can answer, give me the time."
"Okay, no problem. I'll keep you posted."
"Thanks Nina."
He hung up and returned the phone to his pocket, took a deep breath and held it. With nothing else to do, all he could do was go back to the studio and wait for Kiefer to be done, then escort him home and get some sleep. It was starting to be a very long day for him, he hadn't slept all night because of the stake-out and he had been frustrated it hadn't turned up anything at all. The fact Chapelle called him in before he got any sleep had already been bad, but the fact he called him in to pull him off the investigation he'd been working on was worse. And this … it was far worse than anything. Thank god Kiefer didn't turn out to be the prick he thought he would be, it made this thing less of an ordeal.
But it didn't make time go any faster.
He took another deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, locking his fingers when they reached his neck and arching his head back for a moment. He would have to get through this and he could only hope Chapelle would authorize him to post a team outside Kiefer's place while he went home to get some sleep of his own. He fished his cell out of his pocket again and dialled Chapelle's direct number.
"What is it agent Bauer?" The man sounded annoyed and it pissed Jack off.
He took a shallow breath to stay in control of his emotions and quickly formulated his request to post a team outside Kiefer's apartment for the night. It was met by a cold and radical ‘no'.
"I assigned you to his safety Special Agent Bauer. You will remain by his side until this situation has been resolved."
"Understood." Jack snapped after he ended the call. "Smug bastard!"
"Who? Me?"
Jack whirled around, his hand lowering to his gun at the sound of the voice right behind him, but when he saw it was Kiefer, his hand dropped away from the weapon and he relaxed.
"I didn't mean to startle you." Kiefer said apologetically. "Who's the smug bastard?"
"Chapelle." Jack replied.
"The guy I met this morning?"
"That's the one." Jack confirmed.
"He sure seemed to be one slick creep. Is he always like that with you?"
"He's used to playing by the book, I play by my guts. He doesn't like that."
"Is he the kind of guy who will take every chance he has to make sure you know he's in charge?"
"Oh yeah."
"I hate people like that. Does he ever do any field work?"
"Chapelle? Field work? I don't think he's ever seen the field from close by."
"Then don't let him get to you."
Jack chuckled at the wise advice. "Are you done?"
"No, we'll be here for a few more hours."
Once more, Jack's cellphone interrupted him and he fished it out of his pocket with a shallow sigh. "Excuse me." He hoped it would be Nina with an update. "Bauer."
It wasn't Nina, it was Kim. "Hey dad." she said cheerfully.
"Hey pumpkin." Jack replied, his face brightening up at once.
"What time will you be home tonight?"
"I have no idea sweetheart. Why?" Jack asked softly, noticing Kiefer was backing away to give him some privacy.
"We still have a game of chess to finish."
"I know, but I don't think we'll be able to play tonight."
"Why not?"
"I'll be working very late."
"Dad, you already worked all night, mom said you never came home."
"You know that happens sometimes sweetheart, I'll ask the terrorists to plan their attacks during office hours only from now on."
"Oh dad."
"Well, I could always ask … I'm not sure they'll comply though."
"Dad you're crazy."
"About you pumpkin." Jack said; his voice soft and warm all of a sudden.
"I love you dad."
"I love you too sweetheart. I'll see you as soon as possible."
"Okay dad, have fun."
"I'll try. Don't give your mom too much trouble tonight okay."
"I'll try." Kim replied.
"I've got to go baby."
"Bye dad."
"Bye sweetheart."
"Your daughter?" Kiefer asked when Jack hung up.
"Yeah, she's waiting to finish me off at a game of chess."
"Is she kicking your butt?"
"Viciously." Jack chuckled.
"I can understand why you're trying to stall."
"I'll have to finish it eventually, I can't keep running. One of these days she's going to shackle me to the table and finish it."
"Do you carry handcuffs?"
"Yep." Jack said, showing them to Kiefer, "And she knows it."
Kiefer chuckled at that, flicked his cigarette butt away and went back into the building with Jack on his heels. They both felt more comfortable around each other now. Jack checked on the technicians a few more times, but he spent most of his day inside the studio, watching Kiefer work. His respect for the man he had called a Hollywood schmuck earlier that day kept growing as he watched him put his heart and soul into his job, relentlessly going for the best possible shot. He was no schmuck, he was a hard working perfectionist, with an excellent eye for details. At one point, Jon called the wrap on a scene, but something bothered Kiefer and upon checking the tape one more time, they caught a major inaccuracy and shot the scene again, getting it right this time.
Between takes, Kiefer was never just hanging around doing nothing. He'd be discussing the take with the other actors, or with the producers. Between scenes, he would take short cigarette breaks, using those to prepare for the next scene. Jack watched him go over his lines twice, once on his own, once with a co-star, and ‘unrelenting' was the word that came to mind. He kept going until the job was done. They finally called it quits by 8pm.
Jack followed Kiefer back to his dressing room, making sure the technicians had left before letting him walk in there. The loops were running and all the equipment had been removed, security was monitoring the room once more, but Kiefer had gotten accustomed to that by now and he quickly stripped out of his clothes, putting them on the hanger near the door. He would take them over to wardrobe before going home. He took a quick shower and dressed in his regular clothes again. Jack tagged along on the way to wardrobe and Kiefer hung the clothes he had worn all day in their designated locker. Turning in his ‘working clothes' meant the end of the day for him. Tomorrow would be a new one.
Jack was absolutely knackered, the weight of the sleepless night becoming pretty heavy on his eyelids. He stifled a yawn as he climbed into the car.
"Want me to drive?" Kiefer asked, noticing it.
"No, that's okay."
"Long day?"
"Very."
"What time did you start?"
"I never finished yesterday." Jack replied with a smirk.
"Excuse me?"
"I never finished yesterday," Jack repeated, "I've been up since yesterday morning."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I don't get paid to sleep, I get paid to make sure nothing happens to you."
"Lame excuse. You'd better go home and get some sleep."
"Negative." Jack sighed.
"What do you mean ‘negative'?"
"I requested permission to post a team outside your apartment for the night." Jack started, leaving a blank.
"And it was denied." Kiefer finished for him. Jack nodded his confirmation.
"Chapelle?" Another nod confirmed that too. "Is that why you were calling him a smug bastard earlier?"
"That's why." Jack confirmed with a sigh.
"Like I said, don't let him get to you. Let me buy you a drink."
"I won't say no to that. Where to?"
Kiefer gave him an address and Jack put the car in gear, steering it out of the parking lot and down the road, driving quickly while keeping a close eye on the traffic around and more specifically behind them. He didn't spot a tail and assumed they weren't being followed, which allowed him to relax somewhat. When they got to the address, Kiefer directed him to a small parking lot around the corner.
"We can go in through the back door."
Jack took his word for it and parked the big black car near the back. They got out and Kiefer knocked on the door. It opened just a crack but when the man recognized Kiefer, it opened all the way and the burly man stepped back, letting them pass.
"Who's your friend Kiefer?"
"Barry meet Jack, Jack meet Barry. You're on his turf now."
"I'll remember that." Jack said, shaking Barry's hand.
"And who exactly is Jack?" Barry asked, addressing Kiefer but keeping his eyes on Jack, his hand tightly clasped around Jack's.
"He's taking over from Mo for a few days.”
"Is that so? Can he hold his own?"
Jack decided to show Barry he could, turf or no turf, he was in too foul a mood to get pissed on and the man was getting on his nerves talking about him as if he wasn't there. He put pressure on Barry's wrist with his index finger, hitting the right spot and getting his hand out of the man's grasp without any effort, then reversed his grip and twisted the man's hand, forcing him down on his knees with a simple flick of his wrist.
Barry gasped at the sudden flash of pain but didn't fight Jack, following his body's natural reaction and getting down on his knees.
"I've had a very long day." Jack said calmly. His eyes and firm grip conveyed the real message. Kiefer's hand on his shoulder broke the tension.
"Barry knows about the threats Jack, he's just looking out for me." Jack let go of Barry's hand and followed Kiefer out to the main room of the bar. Barry stayed in the back.
"Barry's an old friend and he's worried about the threats I've been getting." Kiefer explained as they took a seat at the bar.
"He can be, I don't care. What I do care about, is being disrespected."
"I know. He doesn't have any style." Kiefer agreed. "What are you having?"
"Just a beer."
"Hey Mike." Kiefer greeted the bartender. He leaned across the bar and they gave each other a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Can I get two cold ones?"
"Coming right up."
Seconds later, two bottles were placed on the bar, followed by two glasses. They had the choice and Kiefer took a glass, Jack didn't. They had three beers each and called it a night. Kiefer paid despite Jack's disagreement and they went back out the way they had come, passing by Barry again, who gave Jack a cold look but said or did nothing. Jack drove the three blocks to Kiefer's home at a leisurely pace and parked the car right in front of the door.
"What did you find?" Jack asked as soon as he joined them. The eldest technician explained how the connection had been terminated and they hooked up the ‘fake' recording of an empty room to play as soon as it was established again. They connection had been detected though and they had started to backtrack to the point of origin, using a link to CTU's powerful mainframe. They had narrowed their search down to a few blocks, but now they had to wait for the next connection to be able to pinpoint the exact location of the user.
"Did you brief Chapelle on that?"
"No, not yet. We thought you might want to do that." the younger of both said, sounding and looking a little embarrassed.
"Why is that?"
"Chapelle isn't exactly keen on us."
"He's even less keen on me. Call him and brief him, you're the technicians, you'll be able to explain this much better than I could. Besides I need to know if there are any other devices in this building. If you need anything to perform that sweep, you'll have to put in your request with him anyway, so you might as well speak to him yourself."
"Sweep the entire building? How do you expect us to do that?"
"You're the technicians," Jack replied, "you figure it out. I need to know if any other part of his building is being monitored by the same person who's monitoring this room."
"Well we could do a scan for outgoing signals and then backtrack them to their point of origin within the building."
"Get on it." Jack left the technicians to their occupations and went outside to call Nina.
"Do you have anything at all on those four names Nina?" Jack asked the moment she picked up her phone. He didn't even bother to introduce himself, she had caller ID anyway.
"No Jack, there's nothing. Nothing to work with, nothing to make either of them a likely suspect in this thing."
"Do we have current locations on them?"
"Want me to send teams to check on them?"
"Yes, and keep me posted."
"Where are you?"
"Still at the studios. I don't think we're about to leave just yet."
"Can I call you there?"
"Yes you can, I've got my phone on silent alarm, it might take a while before I can answer, give me the time."
"Okay, no problem. I'll keep you posted."
"Thanks Nina."
He hung up and returned the phone to his pocket, took a deep breath and held it. With nothing else to do, all he could do was go back to the studio and wait for Kiefer to be done, then escort him home and get some sleep. It was starting to be a very long day for him, he hadn't slept all night because of the stake-out and he had been frustrated it hadn't turned up anything at all. The fact Chapelle called him in before he got any sleep had already been bad, but the fact he called him in to pull him off the investigation he'd been working on was worse. And this … it was far worse than anything. Thank god Kiefer didn't turn out to be the prick he thought he would be, it made this thing less of an ordeal.
But it didn't make time go any faster.
He took another deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, locking his fingers when they reached his neck and arching his head back for a moment. He would have to get through this and he could only hope Chapelle would authorize him to post a team outside Kiefer's place while he went home to get some sleep of his own. He fished his cell out of his pocket again and dialled Chapelle's direct number.
"What is it agent Bauer?" The man sounded annoyed and it pissed Jack off.
He took a shallow breath to stay in control of his emotions and quickly formulated his request to post a team outside Kiefer's apartment for the night. It was met by a cold and radical ‘no'.
"I assigned you to his safety Special Agent Bauer. You will remain by his side until this situation has been resolved."
"Understood." Jack snapped after he ended the call. "Smug bastard!"
"Who? Me?"
Jack whirled around, his hand lowering to his gun at the sound of the voice right behind him, but when he saw it was Kiefer, his hand dropped away from the weapon and he relaxed.
"I didn't mean to startle you." Kiefer said apologetically. "Who's the smug bastard?"
"Chapelle." Jack replied.
"The guy I met this morning?"
"That's the one." Jack confirmed.
"He sure seemed to be one slick creep. Is he always like that with you?"
"He's used to playing by the book, I play by my guts. He doesn't like that."
"Is he the kind of guy who will take every chance he has to make sure you know he's in charge?"
"Oh yeah."
"I hate people like that. Does he ever do any field work?"
"Chapelle? Field work? I don't think he's ever seen the field from close by."
"Then don't let him get to you."
Jack chuckled at the wise advice. "Are you done?"
"No, we'll be here for a few more hours."
Once more, Jack's cellphone interrupted him and he fished it out of his pocket with a shallow sigh. "Excuse me." He hoped it would be Nina with an update. "Bauer."
It wasn't Nina, it was Kim. "Hey dad." she said cheerfully.
"Hey pumpkin." Jack replied, his face brightening up at once.
"What time will you be home tonight?"
"I have no idea sweetheart. Why?" Jack asked softly, noticing Kiefer was backing away to give him some privacy.
"We still have a game of chess to finish."
"I know, but I don't think we'll be able to play tonight."
"Why not?"
"I'll be working very late."
"Dad, you already worked all night, mom said you never came home."
"You know that happens sometimes sweetheart, I'll ask the terrorists to plan their attacks during office hours only from now on."
"Oh dad."
"Well, I could always ask … I'm not sure they'll comply though."
"Dad you're crazy."
"About you pumpkin." Jack said; his voice soft and warm all of a sudden.
"I love you dad."
"I love you too sweetheart. I'll see you as soon as possible."
"Okay dad, have fun."
"I'll try. Don't give your mom too much trouble tonight okay."
"I'll try." Kim replied.
"I've got to go baby."
"Bye dad."
"Bye sweetheart."
"Your daughter?" Kiefer asked when Jack hung up.
"Yeah, she's waiting to finish me off at a game of chess."
"Is she kicking your butt?"
"Viciously." Jack chuckled.
"I can understand why you're trying to stall."
"I'll have to finish it eventually, I can't keep running. One of these days she's going to shackle me to the table and finish it."
"Do you carry handcuffs?"
"Yep." Jack said, showing them to Kiefer, "And she knows it."
Kiefer chuckled at that, flicked his cigarette butt away and went back into the building with Jack on his heels. They both felt more comfortable around each other now. Jack checked on the technicians a few more times, but he spent most of his day inside the studio, watching Kiefer work. His respect for the man he had called a Hollywood schmuck earlier that day kept growing as he watched him put his heart and soul into his job, relentlessly going for the best possible shot. He was no schmuck, he was a hard working perfectionist, with an excellent eye for details. At one point, Jon called the wrap on a scene, but something bothered Kiefer and upon checking the tape one more time, they caught a major inaccuracy and shot the scene again, getting it right this time.
Between takes, Kiefer was never just hanging around doing nothing. He'd be discussing the take with the other actors, or with the producers. Between scenes, he would take short cigarette breaks, using those to prepare for the next scene. Jack watched him go over his lines twice, once on his own, once with a co-star, and ‘unrelenting' was the word that came to mind. He kept going until the job was done. They finally called it quits by 8pm.
Jack followed Kiefer back to his dressing room, making sure the technicians had left before letting him walk in there. The loops were running and all the equipment had been removed, security was monitoring the room once more, but Kiefer had gotten accustomed to that by now and he quickly stripped out of his clothes, putting them on the hanger near the door. He would take them over to wardrobe before going home. He took a quick shower and dressed in his regular clothes again. Jack tagged along on the way to wardrobe and Kiefer hung the clothes he had worn all day in their designated locker. Turning in his ‘working clothes' meant the end of the day for him. Tomorrow would be a new one.
Jack was absolutely knackered, the weight of the sleepless night becoming pretty heavy on his eyelids. He stifled a yawn as he climbed into the car.
"Want me to drive?" Kiefer asked, noticing it.
"No, that's okay."
"Long day?"
"Very."
"What time did you start?"
"I never finished yesterday." Jack replied with a smirk.
"Excuse me?"
"I never finished yesterday," Jack repeated, "I've been up since yesterday morning."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I don't get paid to sleep, I get paid to make sure nothing happens to you."
"Lame excuse. You'd better go home and get some sleep."
"Negative." Jack sighed.
"What do you mean ‘negative'?"
"I requested permission to post a team outside your apartment for the night." Jack started, leaving a blank.
"And it was denied." Kiefer finished for him. Jack nodded his confirmation.
"Chapelle?" Another nod confirmed that too. "Is that why you were calling him a smug bastard earlier?"
"That's why." Jack confirmed with a sigh.
"Like I said, don't let him get to you. Let me buy you a drink."
"I won't say no to that. Where to?"
Kiefer gave him an address and Jack put the car in gear, steering it out of the parking lot and down the road, driving quickly while keeping a close eye on the traffic around and more specifically behind them. He didn't spot a tail and assumed they weren't being followed, which allowed him to relax somewhat. When they got to the address, Kiefer directed him to a small parking lot around the corner.
"We can go in through the back door."
Jack took his word for it and parked the big black car near the back. They got out and Kiefer knocked on the door. It opened just a crack but when the man recognized Kiefer, it opened all the way and the burly man stepped back, letting them pass.
"Who's your friend Kiefer?"
"Barry meet Jack, Jack meet Barry. You're on his turf now."
"I'll remember that." Jack said, shaking Barry's hand.
"And who exactly is Jack?" Barry asked, addressing Kiefer but keeping his eyes on Jack, his hand tightly clasped around Jack's.
"He's taking over from Mo for a few days.”
"Is that so? Can he hold his own?"
Jack decided to show Barry he could, turf or no turf, he was in too foul a mood to get pissed on and the man was getting on his nerves talking about him as if he wasn't there. He put pressure on Barry's wrist with his index finger, hitting the right spot and getting his hand out of the man's grasp without any effort, then reversed his grip and twisted the man's hand, forcing him down on his knees with a simple flick of his wrist.
Barry gasped at the sudden flash of pain but didn't fight Jack, following his body's natural reaction and getting down on his knees.
"I've had a very long day." Jack said calmly. His eyes and firm grip conveyed the real message. Kiefer's hand on his shoulder broke the tension.
"Barry knows about the threats Jack, he's just looking out for me." Jack let go of Barry's hand and followed Kiefer out to the main room of the bar. Barry stayed in the back.
"Barry's an old friend and he's worried about the threats I've been getting." Kiefer explained as they took a seat at the bar.
"He can be, I don't care. What I do care about, is being disrespected."
"I know. He doesn't have any style." Kiefer agreed. "What are you having?"
"Just a beer."
"Hey Mike." Kiefer greeted the bartender. He leaned across the bar and they gave each other a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Can I get two cold ones?"
"Coming right up."
Seconds later, two bottles were placed on the bar, followed by two glasses. They had the choice and Kiefer took a glass, Jack didn't. They had three beers each and called it a night. Kiefer paid despite Jack's disagreement and they went back out the way they had come, passing by Barry again, who gave Jack a cold look but said or did nothing. Jack drove the three blocks to Kiefer's home at a leisurely pace and parked the car right in front of the door.
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