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Eternal Bonds Chapter 4
"Here you go, ma'am" the guard at CTU said to Chloe as he handed her laptop and other belongings back to her. "Go on ahead."
"Thanks" Chloe said as she made her way through the check-in station and proceeded to the bullpen, her nerves surprisingly calm for once. She was about to start her first day at CTU Los Angeles after being transferred from CTU Washington, and she was not thrilled about it. Chloe looked around the office. While Washington was cold and foreboding, this place seemed to have an air of familiarity. At least I'm away from Alberta Green, Chloe thought. She had never gotten along with the DC Director, often being forced to go behind her back to help Chase do his job. Green had merely tolerated her, until one mission that had caused havoc not only in DC, but also in LA.
She had called them both into her office after Chase returned from LA, read them the riot act for almost an hour, and suspended them both until further notice. Chase had tried to place the blame on himself, so Chloe wouldn't get in trouble, but Green was adamant that Chloe take responsibility for her part. Chloe was called into the office 2 months later and informed by a smug Green that she was being transferred to Los Angeles. At the time, Chloe had been furious, but when learning that Chase had been transferred there as well, she accepted it.
"Can I help you?" A voice sounded behind her. Chloe turned around to see a tall, slender man standing there with a suspicious look on his face.
"Yeah. I'm here to see Tony Almeida. I'm starting here today." Chloe said.
He pointed to an office on the next floor. "Tony's in his office. You can find him there."
"Thanks..."
"I'm Adam. Adam Kaufman."
Chloe introduced herself, not missing the slight look of annoyance that flicked across Adam's face when she said her name. Great, I haven't even started yet, and everyone here already hates me. She made her way to the office Adam had pointed out and stopped outside. Chase was in there, deep in conversation with another man that Chloe guessed to be Tony. She knocked on the door, and was beckoned in by Chase.
"You must be Chloe" Tony said to her, shaking her hand. "I'm Tony Almeida. I run this office. You already know Chase."
"Hey, Chloe. It's good to see you again." Chase said, giving her a friendly embrace.
"Hi, Chase." Chloe replied, happy to see a familiar face. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Almeida?"
"Please, call me Tony." Tony said with a slight smile. "Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you get set up all right. You'll be working in Field Ops, mostly, so you'll mostly be dealing with that side of the office, but if you have any questions for me, don't hesitate to ask. In the meantime, Chase can help you get started. Chase?"
"Come with me" Chase said, leading her to a vacant cubicle on the other side of the office. "You can set up here for now."
"There you are, Chase." Both Chase and Chloe looked up to see a blond man heading in their direction.
"Jack." Chase greeted him. "Chloe, this is Jack Bauer. He runs Field Ops. Jack, this is Chloe O'Brian, our new coordinator."
"Hello, Chloe." Jack shook her hand firmly. Chloe, however, was unable to respond at first, her normally sharp mind going completely blank at the sight of her new boss. She soon snapped out of it and choked out a subdued "Hi."
"Chase, we just got a lead on that cell we've been tracking. We're going to check it out later. Chloe, can I talk you to in my office first?"
"Okay." Chloe said. I'm making a wonderful first impression. I just made a total fool out of myself in front of my boss. She followed him to his office and he closed the door behind him. "Sit down" he instructed her.
"Chloe, I'm going to be honest with you, and I expect you to do the same with me. I'm not the easiest person to deal with. This office expects results quickly and efficiently. That means if I need something now, I need it now, not five minutes from now. If you can't handle that, just let me know, and I'll have you reassigned elsewhere.
Chloe mentally rolled her eyes. Great. Another one that thinks I can't handle the job. "Look, Jack. You just tell me what you need when you need it and I'll get it for you. I have done this job before. I can handle it." She stood up abruptly. "If there's nothing else you need from me, I'd like to get to work."
Jack was pleasantly surprised by Chloe's brutal honesty. "I guess I'll let you get to work, then. Just one more thing- if anyone gives you a hard time, come to me, and I'll take care of it."
Chloe merely nodded and left the office to set up her station. As she was working, she glanced back at Jack's office. He caught her eye and gave her a brief smile. Chloe couldn't help but think her life was about to get a little more interesting with Jack Bauer around.
..........
Chloe was snapped out of her memory by the sensation of cold water being splashed on her face. She violently coughed a couple of times and opened her eyes to see her tormentors not striking her anymore, but merely standing in front of her, one of them holding a bucket of water and a bag of salt.
"Give us the files, O'Brian." The first one said once again.
"Go to hell." Chloe spat out.
He motioned to his partner, who dumped the bag of salt into the bucket and handed it to him. Chloe furiously jerked on the chains holding her in place, willing them to break, but it was a futile effort. She was trapped.
The first tormentor held the bucket over her head, purposely letting a bit splash out. Chloe was just barely able to keep from screaming out in pain as the salt water hit her back.
"One last chance, O'Brian." The second man finally spoke.
"No" Chloe gasped out weakly.
The first man merely grunted and dumped the entire bucket of salt water on her exposed back. Chloe screamed in agony as she was doused, the nerve endings exposed by the beatings inflamed by the salt, causing massive jolts of pain to course through her body. The pain soon proved to be too much and Chloe slipped once again into the painless state of unconsciousness.
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agentobrian) wrote in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
chlack,
