Tony leaned across the table, speaking softly. “Before we left Los Angeles, George Mason gave Jack Bauer a briefcase computer with all the codes and mission protocols inside. Only we never even cracked it because things went Code Red in a hurry.”
“So?”
“What if we forward the intel you collected to
“That might work. But how are you going to transmit the data?”
Tony shrugged. “There’s an internet cafe around the corner and down the block. We rent a computer for an hour and download the information.”
“But you still have to contact this Morris person. If you call him, even on a public phone, that could compromise everything.”
Tony shook his head. “I won’t be contacting Morris.
Someone from CTU Los Angeles will. Someone Morris can’t ignore.”
11. THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 5:00 P.M. AND 6:00 P.M. EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME
Chloe’s expression soured when the phone warbled. Irri-tated by the interruption, she pushed her disheveled blond hair back from her face and returned to work. The phone rang again.
“How am I supposed to get anything done around here?”
No one replied, because no one wanted to work near Chloe.
The phone rang again, then again. Finally, Chloe snatched up the receiver.
“What?” she said sharply.
“Chloe? This is Tony Almeida. Listen, I need you to pass along some information to Morris—”
Chloe’s mouth twisted into a frown so deep, it threatened to deconstruct her face. “Why? That doesn’t make sense. Morris is in New York with you. Why can’t you pass along your own information?”
“It’s a long story,” Tony replied.
Chloe glanced at her watch. “I see.” Her tone was dis-approving. “Well, I really don’t have time to hear it. You seem to have all the time in the world, but some of us actually have to work for a living.”
“Give me a break, Chloe.”
“Give
“Don’t hang up!” Tony cried. “This is a matter of national security. Have you heard about the bombs?”
“If you’re talking about the ones that disabled satellite capabilities in the Mid-Atlantic states, then yes, I’ve heard about them. In fact, I’m in the middle of analyzing a list of—”
“My information might have something to do with those attacks,” Tony said. “All you have to do is forward some data in an e-mail attachment to Morris O’Brian’s ISP account, then tag it with something personal so he reads it right away. Can you do that?”
Chloe’s face scrunched up again. “I don’t know. That little British creep took me out a couple of times, then he stopped calling—”
“Chloe, please.”
“Oh, all right!” She rolled her eyes. “But how in the heck can I tag the e-mail so Morris will read it right away?”
Tony sighed. “You’ll figure something out…”
Jack Bauer took the lead as he and Layla Abernathy followed the tree line along the top of a gentle slope. Between breaks in the foliage, Jack caught a glimpse of the mobile home park. Even from this distance, the trailers seemed decrepit, with rusty and pitted walls, broken windows, and missing doors.
The late afternoon sun was scorching — so hot that Jack signaled Layla to hunker down in the shade for a moment.
She removed her cap and wiped sweat from her forehead.
Jack loosened his body armor to let some air through.
They both gulped water from plastic bottles.
Layla glanced at her watch. “We’ve been hiking for half an hour, ever since we debarked from the chopper. We must be close now.”
Jack rose and used micro-binoculars to scan the area below.
“We’re almost there,” he replied. “I can see the compound. There’s no sign of life, no one on the streets or —”
Jack fell silent.
“What do you see?” Layla asked.
“There’s a minibus in the middle of main street. It’s lying on its side, windows broken.”
The cell phone went off in Jack’s pocket. “Morris?” he answered.
“News, Jack,” O’Brian began. “I’m still tracing Holman’s phone, and he’s close by. He’s moving up the hill due south of your position. Maybe three hundred yards away.”
Jack swung his binoculars around and scanned the next hill. All he saw were trees and thick brush.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, Jack-o.”
Jack closed the phone. “Wait here,” he whispered to Layla, handing off his phone. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, call Morris.”
Layla took the phone and nodded. A moment later, Jack faded into the thick brush.
Dani had been spotted somewhere near the mobile homes.
She never noticed anyone as she passed the cluster of ram-shackle old trailers, but someone must have seen her and put the alarm out. Almost as soon as she entered a heavily wooded stretch, Dani heard excited voices — both women and boys — followed by the sound of several people crash-ing through the brush.
Still clutching the shotgun in her sweating hands, Dani ran until she was too exhausted to continue on. Finally, she dived into a thicket at the base of a hill, hoping to elude the hunters. Cowering in the brush, knees curled under her, the teenaged girl fought panic and tried to control her rasping breath.
Suddenly the traumatic events of the past few hours overwhelmed her. Dani felt a knife through her guts and she heaved. Then she began to tremble uncontrollably.
Tears filled her eyes and dug canals through the filth and caked blood that stained her cheeks.
Dani sobbed once, then clapped her hand over her mouth — too late, for a moment later the branches parted above her head and a young man cried out.
“She’s here!”
Startled out of her fear trance, Dani looked up. The youth loomed over her. He was maybe fourteen. Round face. Deep brown eyes. His triumphant grin exposed a missing front tooth. He wore a frayed T-shirt and a hemp necklace around his thick, sweat-stained neck. He lifted a baseball bat—
She shot him in the chest with both barrels. The kid was blown off his feet by the impact, and bounced off the trunk of a tree.
The explosive double blast shocked Dani, and the recoil was more than she could handle. The stock slammed against her shoulder; the smoking gun flew from her hands.
Moaning, Dani clutched her bruised shoulder and stumbled to her feet. Without a second glance, she stepped