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“I still don’t have the Kelly file,” she stated, her voice tight with frustration as she entered the sparsely furnished office. Michelle arched a finely shaped brow at Chloe’s brusque entrance, but said nothing for a few moments as she tapped a few keys on the wireless keyboard in front of her, her gaze set on the monitor.
Chloe let out a huff of air, but said nothing further, instead taking two steps towards the desk, suddenly wishing it was Jack on the other side of the desk. It wasn’t that she didn’t respect Michelle, it was moreso that Jack always reacted to Chloe’s impatience and Michelle…didn’t. At least not the way Chloe liked.
A few seconds ticked by before Michelle raised her chin and gave Chloe her full attention. “The Kelly file,” she stated.
“Yes, it’s not processed like I asked,” Chloe interrupted. “I told you this would happen if I couldn’t bring in people I could work with.” Her frown deepened and she glanced back out the office window to the 30 workers who were hustling about, busy at work. In her mind, it was an inefficient arrangement, to work with people who didn’t gel with her style.
Michelle paused, waiting for Chloe’s outburst to come to a finish. When it had, she brought the file up onto her office tablet, rapidly typing in her clearance codes and the file number. A moment later, her expression tensed. “What is this?” she murmured.
“What? What now?” Chloe flounced into a chair as Michelle grabbed her phone and punched in several numbers. “Get me Almeida, now,” she barked into the phone as she handed the tablet to Chloe.
Chloe snatched the device and tapped a few keys experimentally, finding the security clearance she and Michelle had was suddenly being denied. “Why is this file suddenly unavailable? It was fine 3 days ago!”
“I know,” Michelle said curtly. Turning her attention back to the phone, her impatience grew. “Well find him, now. The first thing he does is he calls me immediately.” She snapped the phone down and shook her head. Chloe’s fingers flew as she expertly tested and attempted to detour the security locks keeping her at bay. She knew she wouldn’t be able to impede them, but she might be able to discover who had put the roadblocks up.
Michelle stood and paced around her desk to take a seat next to Chloe. “What can you tell me about the file?”
Despite being ‘in the zone’ with her hacking, Chloe was able to relay what she already knew with lightning speed. “File AZ-48599, concerns one subject. Female, Asian, under the name Nakia Kelly, found deceased in Hong Kong approximately 7 months ago. Shot twice in the torso with a .22 in the living room of the high-rise penthouse she’d been living in. Neither robbery nor a kidnapping gone wrong was suspected. No DNA, shell casings or fingerprints found, no witnesses or security. Case is still unsolved.”
Michelle frowned in confusion at why such a seemingly innocuous case had been locked up so tight. “She one of ours?”
Chloe shook her head wordlessly, finally bypassing some of the security clearances. “There!” she said aloud with a tinge of pride to her tone. Her hacking abilities might be slow, but they were still top notch. A few more taps and some of the file information were unlocked. Her triumph, however, withered away mere seconds later. The grin that had been brewing about her lips suddenly vanished.
“What?” she whispered in disbelief. Michelle turned to Chloe sharply, taking in the still hands and pale countenance of her top analyst. Whatever it was, it shook Chloe to the core. Michelle took the tablet from her and began to look over the screen.
Chloe’s face pinched into one of confusion. “I don’t understand.” She looked to Michelle for help, for direction, for anything to settle her sudden anxiety.
Michelle steeled her features calmly, knowing full well what they had just come across. “Dammit, Jack,” she hissed under her breath.
Chloe gazed at the woman she had worked closely with and trusted implicitly for the last 5 years. Michelle was more than Tony’s wife and her superior. She respected her immensely, one of the few people at CTU who deserved it.
“Michelle? Who is Thane Bauer?”
*~*
“Bauer? As in Jack Bauer?”
After a few friendly chats over coffee, walks along the pier and a shared sandwich, Emily had warmly agreed to a dinner out with the man that in such a short period of time, made her cheeks warm and her skin tingle. Sitting across from her in the dimly lit 5 star restaurant that one normally had to get reservations for 3 months in advance, this was no doubt the next step in their tentative coupling. He looked the picture of debonair with his form fitting and sleek Ralph Lauren suit, his dark orbs focused entirely on her despite the looks of appreciation from more than one woman that had come their way when he escorted her to their table a few minutes earlier. She couldn’t deny the thrill of seeing that he ignored all of this and seemed content to pay all of his attention towards her.
Thane nodded as he took a sip of water from his chilled glass. “He’s my older brother.” This was a necessary step, he couldn’t hide his connection to a man who had so many roots in the same city as Jason Morgan.
Emily blinked in surprise. “Wow, I’ve met him a few times through my cousin Faith, but I didn’t know he has a brother.”
“Two actually. I had an older brother, Graem, but he died a number of years ago.” Thane paused, watching as Emily absorbed the information.
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said softly, her expression warm and sincere. Thane gave a shrug, although he appreciated her gesture. “None of us were very close to each other. A lot of bad blood,” he stated, his tone neutral, but he couldn’t conceal the brief clench of his jaw when he thought of his last conversation, or rather, confrontation with Jack.
Emily tilted her head slightly, catching the fleeting moment Thane revealed to her. “Ahhh, feuding brothers. I know that tale very well. Mine don’t get along either.”
Her countenance shifted and her shoulders sagged ever so slightly. Thane had researched the family and knew just about every dark secret and complicated story of the Quartermaine clan. He knew the story of Jason Quartermaine turned Jason Morgan. He knew about AJ Quartermaine and his addiction and the fight over the boy that ripped the family apart. Still, to know all of that hadn’t quite prepared him for the still very raw grief etched on Emily’s porcelain face. Impulsively, his hand reached across the table and covered hers. “You don’t have to talk about it.”
Emily gave a wavering smile but shook her head. “It’s alright; it’s been going on a long time. I love both of them, so I hate seeing them the way they are. AJ is a good man with a good life. He is an amazing father, is married and successful and happy. Jason is…” Her voice trailed off and Thane gave her hand a small squeeze. She smiled again and shook herself slightly. “What am I doing?” she asked brightly and then laughed. “I’m sorry, I’m blabbing about my crazy family. You are very kind to be so patient with something so boring.” She glanced up; relieved the waiter was approaching with their steaming dinners to interrupt her.
Thane pulled her hand towards him and before she had a chance to react, he pressed a gentle kiss against her knuckles. Emily’s face stilled, her cheeks flushed and her brown eyes locked onto his and for a long, languid moment, they simply gazed at each other, ignoring the smattering of conversations around them, the soft piano music wafting across the room and the movements every other person in the restaurant. Electricity wove through her veins and the longer he held her hand, the more it seemed to affect both of them. Almost regretfully, Thane released her hand, finding that his was nearly shaking. As he leaned back to allow the waiter the room to place his meal, he blinked several times, suddenly unsure of himself. What was that about? Did he really just stare at her? That was not a trademark move of his, so why had he taken her hand? Why had he kissed it?
He took a breath, trying to calm himself, to find clarity, but he couldn’t ignore the last question running through his mind.
Why had he wanted more?
Emily busied herself with placing her napkin in her lap, but deep down she wondered just what it was about Thane Bauer that drew her so intensely to him. Certainly, he was handsome and charming. Yes, he was intelligent, kind and successful, but it seemed to be the things he didn’t readily reveal about himself that stirred the deepest interest in her. It was what he tried to mask from her that pulled her closer. The look in his eyes may have caused the nerves in her stomach to dance with anticipation, even desire, but it was the fleeting moment of genuine raw emotion that overwhelmed her. It was as though she could see past the warmth and charm and saw something else entirely.
Pain. Grief. Loss. Confusion.
Anger.
A swirl of emotions in the blink of an eye and it was gone. She hadn’t imagined it, she knew that much. Where it came from and what it all meant was a mystery. But it was one she already knew she wanted to learn about.
And perhaps even be trusted to help him heal from it.
“Emily.” His voice caressed against her like a silk scarf, making her tremble. Releasing the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, his gaze captured hers once more.
He smiled, feeling himself settle, the control coming back into focus. He could do this.
“You could never be boring to me.”
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