geeky_agent | (no subject)

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(no subject)

June 18, 2011

Chris didn't know why she was here.

It was almost five and still hot out, the gentle breeze making the heat bearable. Her dress suit was some light wool-silk blend that had left her cold in the office but was a comfort while standing under the afternoon sun.

She'd come from work, a meeting at Division and she'd been sent to represent District while the Director was out of town. On her way to work, she had passed by the cemetery where Jack was "buried".

Chris had never visited his grave before and wasn't sure why she was doing so now, she wasn't any closer to Jack here than she was at CTU. Perhaps, less so.

With a sigh, she laid the bouquets down. Both small, simple and white, one at Teri's grave and one at Jack's.

I miss you.

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"It's all right," Chris laughs, the look on his face is adorable. She gestures towards the couch, "Do you want to sit?"

"Sure," he says, passing her a plate and grabbing the pizza box, heading out to the living room.

He takes a seat on the couch, settling into the cushions. Damn, this had to be a hundred times more comfortable than his. Then again, his was probably a hell of a lot older. "Nice place. Do you actually get to spend much time here?" he asks with a small, teasing smile.

It should be noted that his mouth is still full of pizza.

She smirks, taking a seat on the couch. "I only get out to tend to Coco and for every other national holiday."

Using the hem of her sweatshirt, she twists off the cap and takes a long drink of her beer before adding, "It hasn't been too bad though."

"You actually get the occasional weekend off?" he says with a teasing smile. "Or is that that you're high enough on the ladder that you actually get to decide when you've had enough for the day?"

She swallows her bite of pizza before answering. "You got me. I make the peons beneath me do the real work so I can sneak out early."

Chris smirk fades as she remembers a question she wanted to ask sooner. "When you were out there - did you see anyone you know? I mean...did anyone keep in touch with you?"

"That's what having minions is for, right?"

He glances away, slightly uncomfortable. "No. No one knew where I was, and I didn't contact them to let them know."

That wasn't the answer she was expecting. "I thought..." Chris beings but her voice trails off.

"What do you do for money or IDs or anything?" She couldn't imagine having to start with nothing, not even your name.

"Chloe got me into the system and got me a bunch of IDs that I picked up from the post office in Montreal and I was able to usually get forged visas as I travelled. I have a secret account I've been socking money into for years, in case I needed to disappear or as an extra inheritance for Kim, and I worked small day jobs here and there. I worked for my passage both ways across the Atlantic. I have an under-the-table business doing odd jobs that pretty much takes care of my expenses outside." He shrugs. "Part of my Delta training was how to do this kind of stuff--stay under the radar, stick to a persona, live rough. Undercover work with CTU just made it more...routine."

He's trying to make it sound easier than it actually is. He doesn't want her worrying about him, and besides, he's not exactly sure where they stand at the moment. She doesn't have to hear how lonely it was, how paranoid he got, looking over his shoulder all the time when he'd been running. How empty life on the outside was, even though it had settled down into a kind of dull routine.

She remains quiet for a few moments, picking at her pizza slice while she thinks about what he said. Jack would have no problem staying under radar, Chris knew that. Not unless something extreme happened but she couldn't imagine many instances where he's have to draw attention to himself.

He was right, he had the training and the resources to do this for however long...

But she'd never believe it was easy from him. "What about Kim and Chase? You don't hear from them or ... keep in touch?" Chris realizes, belatedly, it might be a foolish question to ask. How could he keep in touch with them without putting them in danger?

He shakes his head after a moment, taking a sip of his beer. "Not outside the bar. It's too dangerous."

For a moment he considers telling her about the telepathy thing, but he's not sure he wants to get into something that's bound to be a long story now. Besides, it hasn't been tried yet; he can't even really be sure it's going to work.

"Right," Chris nods.

An idea had been forming in her mind, she just hadn't given it words. She wasn't sure how it would work or if it would but she had to try.

She took a drink of her beer, her mouth suddenly feeling a little dry. "Jack," she fidgets for a moment, then realizing what she's doing, stops. "Jack, if you ever need or want anyone to keep you updated on Kim, or vice versa. Or if you need help or new IDs or anything. I could do that."

He has to keep himself from blurting out an agreement, though is he ever tempted to do so. To be able to talk with her occasionally, communicate with her, even just very briefly... It had been a year, and he's so tempted to let himself think that that's been long enough, that it should be all right for him to contact her, that no one will notice.

But then he knows that it's a trap he can't fall into, he has to stay vigilant. The reason people got caught was because eventually after a while they dropped their guard, let themselves get sloppy. The lives of the people he cared about depended on his not drawing any more attention to himself than he already had.

"Chris..." he says, looking down for a moment, trying to not let her see how desperately he'd like to take her up on her offer. "I can't. I don't want to out you at risk, especially...especially as no one can link us out here."

It's childish, she knows, but she can't help but feel hurt by this though her expression remains neutral. The answer doesn't surprise her. He was never going to say yes. Not after what happened between you.

"I know. And you're right." Her voice is soft. "I just wanted you to know the offer was there."

He nods, after a moment reaching out and putting a hand on her arm. "I know, and thank you. I appreciate it. I just don't want to put any more people in danger than I already have."

She nods. "I understand."

There's an almost sincere smile at the touch, but it doesn't linger too long. This was what they had decided, what she had decided. But Chris didn't like the idea of him being alone and she doubted he'd let anyone else try to keep-in-touch.

Safer alone, safer but alone.

"I miss Milliways," she confesses, taking another drink of her beer. Showing Coco away, Chris turns her attention to Jack. "Anything...interesting happen while I've been out?"

He pulls his hand back at her smile, grabbing another slice of pizza. Giving her a wry look, he takes a large bite of pizza. "Define 'interesting'."

She rolls her eyes and sighs good-naturedly. "Interesting."

Taking a bite of her pizza, she continues, "Did anyone get turned into a mermaid? Did Amelia Earheart show up after her plane disappeared over the Pacific? It's Milliways. Interesting could mean lots of things."

Good and bad.

He shrugs, thinking. There's certainly one large thing, but he doesn't really want to discuss that at the moment; though it strikes him that she might already know, depending on whether she's talked to Kim much.

"Well in the bar-wide sense, there was a curse going around that made people break into song. I wasn't affected by it, thank God."

"I was always partial to your rendition of Secret Agent Man," Chris giggles.

He glares at her. "I'll be sure to push you in its direction whenever you and it are in the bar again. Anyway, on a more personal note, Chloe is back in the bar. An earlier version of Chloe, I should add."

Her amusement dissipates with this new bit of information. "She is? From when? Do you know what happened to Chloe, before?"

"She's from about six or eight months from now, I think. And no, the later Chloe...she still hasn't come back. At this point, I don't think she ever will, really."

"It's nice that she came back," Chris says after a moment, though she's not sure if it is. They still didn't know what had happened to Chloe and she could still be in trouble.

"Did she say when she's from?"

"Specifically? March of next year, I think. And yeah, it's good to have her back. She might be from a year earlier, but she's still very, well...Chloe," he says, a lopsided smile creeping onto his lips.

She smiles a little at that and leans into the couch cushions. "I visited Tony and Michelle a few weeks ago. They have a really nice house. They're running a security firm now."