Chapter Text
~
It wasn’t until much later that Jack allowed himself to think about it. About the fact that if it hadn’t been for the curtains that he’d had a passing thought to pull closed when he and Renee got to the apartment, things that day might have gone much, much differently.
If there had been any logic at all behind that inane action, Jack thought, it had been because it just seemed sort of wrong for the sun to be streaming into his apartment like it was a normal day, after everything that had just happened. President Hassan was dead. They hadn’t been able to stop his murder, or even keep his murderer alive long enough to face true justice. Renee had agreed to go home with him, but even that felt like a fragile thing that wouldn’t survive if there was too much exposure to the outside world right now. So Jack had closed the curtain. And so the assassin had missed his targets.
Or at least mostly missed them. He still clenched his fists in rage every time he saw the bandage on her left shoulder. It had been too close.
Of course, there hadn’t been time or space to dwell on how close the Russian assassin had been to killing Renee and Jack himself, in the moments right after the shots were fired. Renee fell backward first with a stifled cry, after a bullet found its mark.
“Renee!” Jack shouted, as he flung himself to the ground as well. He glanced toward the window, and then back at her. There was blood visible under her already. “Renee, where are you hit?”
“Shoulder,” she gasped out. “God, that hurts!”
That was serious, but it might give them enough time. Of course, it was going to take some doing to get out of here alive with the sniper still at large. The shooting had paused, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t start up again as soon as either of them made an attempt to stand up. “Do you still have the phone?”
“Dropped it, but it’s here,” she said between breaths. Her face was shockingly pale. “I’ll get it.” She reached out with her right hand, wincing, and then turned to face him. “Okay. Sliding it to you now.”
It was his turn to wince at the motion that required her to make, but it did bring the phone close enough for him to reach it. The blood pooling under her was alarming. “All right. I’m going to stand up just for a second to grab you a dish towel. Then if you think you can, we’ll both make a run for it. Can you do that?”
She nodded once. “I’ll manage.”
He didn’t have a choice but to believe her. So he put his words into action. Though the sniper resumed firing at him as soon as he stood, Jack avoided the shots for just long enough to get the towel, toss it to Renee, and drop to the ground again. It brought him a tiny bit of relief to see her press the cloth to her shoulder immediately. But when she turned to look at him again, she shook her head. “Jack.” Her voice was so quiet, and yet punctuated by such loud gasps. “I don’t think-- I don’t think I’m going … to be able to stay standing after all.”
Dammit. Jack nodded. This was a complication, but he was grateful she was at least conscious and thinking fairly clearly. “Okay. Then I’ll have to carry you. I’ll move as fast as I can without hurting you.”
“Roger that,” she said. Glancing toward the window again, she took one deep breath. “On three.”
Somehow, the two of them made it out of the apartment without any more bullets finding them, although one came so close to Jack’s neck that it felt like it left a burn. Once they got into the hall, Jack took a second to adjust his hold on Renee so they would both (hopefully) be more comfortable. Not that there was much he could do for her until they got somewhere more safe. Her blood was already soaking through the towel.
To his relief, she stayed conscious as he hurried as quickly and carefully as possible down to the landing. And to his further relief, the building manager not only allowed him into his office, but also got out his first aid kit and found an extra jacket from the lost and found for Renee. Jack could tell the man was anxious once he heard that there was a sniper targeting them both. Which was very fair. But to his credit, once he grasped the situation, he pulled the blinds and closed the curtains of the one exterior window quickly. He didn’t even protest too strongly when Jack told him the police shouldn’t be called yet, because CTU would need to coordinate with them. As Jack helped bandage Renee’s wound (it was going to need a lot more attention, but at least this was a start), they both saw how many times the manager’s eyes went to that window – which again, neither of them could blame him for.
As soon as Renee’s condition was relatively stable, Jack called Chloe. “Chloe, it’s Jack,” he said, as the manager put away the first aid kit. “Renee and I just took fire from a sniper across from my apartment building. We made it out of the room and we’re in the building manager’s office now. Renee has a serious gunshot wound to the shoulder and needs medical attention ASAP. But there’s no indication that the sniper won’t continue to shoot at us if we leave the building. We need backup now – and I need CTU to coordinate with local law enforcement to pin down this guy and take him into custody before he disappears.”
He heard Chloe’s sharp inhale. “Copy that, Jack. I’ll send a team to your location now. Do you think this has to do with the man Renee told me about, the one she recognized?”
“Possibly.”
“I’ve already started looking into him with the details she gave me. Anyway, you two stay out of sight, and the team should be there in under ten minutes. I’m sending an ambulance for Renee as well.”
“Understood.” He frowned as he glanced toward the window again. “Chloe, is Hastings going to give you trouble about any of this?”
“Hastings has been dismissed, and I’m acting director. So you don’t need to worry about any of that.”
That was interesting information. Jack couldn’t say he would miss Hastings being in charge. “Good. Thanks, Chloe.”
“Thank God,” the building manager (Anderson, Jack thought his name was) muttered, when the sound of sirens became audible some minutes later. He looked at Jack and Renee. “Do you-- I mean, is it safe for you to leave now? Not that I’m throwing you out,” he added hastily, as Jack gave him a look.
“We know what you meant, sir,” said Renee, giving Jack a quick glare of her own. Although it lacked much force, since she was currently leaning back in the most comfortable chair in the office, still much too pale. Her voice was still quiet, and it was impossible not to see how much pain she was in. “As soon as we get the all clear from our CTU contact person, we’ll go.”
“Got it,” Anderson said with a nod.
Some long, tense minutes passed. At least Renee’s bandage didn’t seem to be totally soaked through yet. When Chloe called, even though he was expecting it, Jack couldn’t quite hold back a flinch. He answered. “Chloe, what’s the situation?”
“The tac team has cleared the building across from your apartment,” she reported. “The shooter hadn’t had time to get rid of the apartment owner there, who he apparently killed, or clean up all his equipment before they arrived – probably because he was rushing to get away before they had him surrounded. But even though he managed to get out of the building, the cops and our agents got him just a half block away. He’s in custody. You and Renee should be safe to leave – I mean, the ambulance will be safe, and you’ll be safe to go in whatever vehicle you decide to go in. But I’m also sending in Cole with a few techs to gather evidence in your apartment, and then bring you back here for a debrief. If that’s okay with you.”
He smiled faintly at that last addition before getting serious. “It’s fine with me if Cole’s team gathers evidence here, but--” he turned toward Renee and lowered his voice, “I’m not going back to CTU for a debrief. I’m going to the hospital with Renee. Cole can do the debrief there.”
Chloe sighed, but didn’t sound too upset. “Fine. That should work. Cole can take you there.”
Cole didn’t drag anything out, thankfully. His team was in and out of Jack’s apartment quickly and efficiently, while Renee was loaded into the ambulance. Jack took the opportunity to gather Renee’s belongings from his apartment to bring them down, for when she was ready for them. (He got himself cleaned up and ready for a trip to the hospital, as well.)
When he got outside, he saw Renee lying in the back of the ambulance, with two EMTs beside her. There was a significantly larger bandage on her shoulder now, and also a blood bag hanging on an IV pole next to her. “Hey,” he said, coming over. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she told him. There was a little more color in her face now, and her voice was stronger. “My shoulder’s pretty messed up, but Sheryl and Jeff think a good orthopedic surgeon should be able to repair it. And they gave me something for the pain.”
“That’s right, sir,” said one of the EMTs. “Ms. Walker’s condition is serious, but assuming she gets to the hospital soon, we’d say her prognosis is good.”
“Glad to hear it. There’s no reason to wait any longer.” He met Renee’s gaze. “I’ll drive to the hospital with Cole, all right? I promise I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him, and when he returned the smile, he felt the knot of terror and anxiety that had been lodged in his heart ever since the first bullet smashed through the window loosen just a fraction. It had been much too close – but she was okay. She would be okay.
Jack stayed all but silent on the way to the hospital. Cole didn’t try to engage him in conversation, which was fine with him. The agent did inform him that the sniper had already arrived at processing.
“If we get to the hospital before Renee goes into surgery, she should be shown a photo of him so she can confirm his identity,” said Jack.
Cole nodded. “Absolutely. We’re hoping his identity will be a major clue that will set the direction for our investigation into President Hassan’s kidnapping and murder. So any information that either of you can provide would be great.”
“Copy that,” he said, clenching his jaw.
~
Renee had no trouble identifying the sniper once she saw the photo of him sitting in a CTU holding room. Even the morphine they’d given her on the way (which was doing a good but not perfect job handling the pain) hadn’t dulled her mind too much. “That’s Pavel Tokarev,” she said, as she was wheeled back toward the OR. She cleared her dry throat. “He’s a Russian operative who I ran across a few times when I was with Laitanan’s crew.”
“All right. Thanks, Renee.” Cole sighed and rubbed a hand over the back of his head. “I need to call Chloe, but I’ll come find you in the waiting area once I’m done so we can go get the debrief done, okay, Jack?”
Jack nodded. His gaze had barely left Renee’s face ever since he and Cole had found her in the midst of the organized chaos of the ER. She could see the tension in his stance, not to mention his expression.
“We need to get Ms. Walker into surgery now, agents,” said the surgeon then, “unless there’s some other security matter that can’t wait.”
“No.” Jack blinked. “No, everything else can wait.”
“I’ll see you in a few hours,” she told him, with a smile she hoped looked convincing. She was exhausted and in pain, not looking forward to surgery and its aftermath, and very concerned about what was going to happen next after this confirmation of the Russians’ involvement in the events of the day. She was concerned about Jack, too. But there was nothing else she could do right now – except try to help convince Jack she was going to be okay, at least.
“I’ll be here.” And as he stood there watching the medical team wheel her away, Renee let out a breath. Whatever happened between now and the next time she saw him, she had to trust that Jack and CTU had this.
~
When she first woke up, it wasn’t completely. It wasn’t even close to completely, if she were honest. All she could tell was that she was lying down, and she wasn’t in pain. That was nice. Although she couldn’t bring to mind why she should be in pain.
She drifted there for some amount of time. Then she realized she was hearing something from nearby. Someone. Even though that someone was trying to be quiet.
“No, I’m fine, sweetheart. I wasn’t hurt. It was Renee.”
If she could have moved, Renee would have frowned at that. Who was this person talking to?
“She’s okay now. She was in surgery for a pretty long time, but her surgeon told me it went well. But it’s going to take her a while to recover, and I want to be there for her.”
Even though she was still lost as to what exactly was going on, now Renee felt guilty. Because … because there had been a time when she could have been there for this man, and she hadn’t been. While he’d been recovering from … something.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to do that, sweetheart. I can just--” A pause. “Okay. If it’s not going to get the way of your plans, then yes. Of course.” Another pause. “I love you, too.”
Despite how much she wanted to stay here, in the hopes that she could figure out what was happening, Renee faded out again after that.
When she finally came back to awareness hours later, she didn’t really remember the conversation she’d overheard. All that was left was a strong feeling that someone she cared about was close to her. It took her at least two full minutes after that to remember where she was, what had happened to bring her here, and the problem that had been occupying her thoughts before she’d gone into surgery. But even when her fogged brain reached that memory, it still took her a while to be able to open her eyes. It was like her mind understood the urgency, but that realization had little effect on how strongly the anesthetic and the painkillers were still weighing her down.
It was only when she heard a slight rustling sound from very nearby, and realized that was-- that had to be Jack in the room with her, that she finally succeeded in waking up. Her eyes fluttered open, and she tried to clear her throat. But she barely even made a sound. Right. She didn’t know whether she’d had a breathing tube for the surgery, but based on how awful that attempt to speak had just felt, she guessed she might have.
Whatever faint noise she’d made was enough for Jack to hear, apparently. Within a second, he came into view right next to her. “Renee?”
She blinked at him. He looked utterly exhausted. She wondered if he had slept at all. For now, she raised a shaky hand (her right hand; she was clear enough on her recent history to know the left one would be a bad idea) to point at her throat.
“You’re thirsty?” At her nod, he turned to her bedside table to get her some ice chips. They felt so good that she had to close her eyes again, just for a few seconds. But she didn’t want to go back to sleep.
“You should get some more rest if you want,” Jack was saying just then.
She shook her head, swallowed, and tried to talk again. “How long?” Her voice was raspy, but at least it was a little more audible than a whisper.
“How long were you in surgery and recovery?” he guessed. When she nodded again, he told her, “The surgery took almost three hours. It wasn’t a simple shoulder reconstruction, because of the force of the impact--” (he grimaced, and she wondered how much detail he’d been given) “and there was other damage caused by bullet fragments that also needed to be repaired. But the surgeons say it went well. You were in recovery for another hour, and then you’ve been asleep for … maybe another hour after that?”
She took this in. It wasn’t exactly a surprise to hear that the sniper’s bullet had caused a lot of damage. It had certainly hurt like hell. And now she most likely had weeks of recovery and rehab to look forward to.
“Do you need me to call the doctor for you?” he asked then, into the short silence that had fallen.
Renee shook her head. Her pain levels were fine at the moment. “I need to know--”
But of course then she coughed, and even with the dull heaviness of the anesthetic still lingering, that did not feel good on her shoulder. So she had to wait, to lie there while that washed over her. Once the pain had decreased to bearable, she ate a few more ice chips under Jack’s worried gaze, and tried again. “What I need is to know what’s going on with the investigation.” There. Her voice still sounded like she’d been shouting nonstop for several hours, but it wasn’t a pathetic rasp. “Have you talked to Chloe or Cole?”
“Yeah, Chloe called not too long ago.” He sighed, and somehow the shadows under his eyes looked even darker. “Apparently President Taylor had been considering bringing in Charles Logan to try to get the Russians to cooperate on signing the treaty. But our intel was enough to make her at least take some time to think first, about whether a treaty that includes the Russians is even valid if they were involved in President Hassan’s assassination.”
“Which we have proof of.” Even if Tokarev hadn’t talked, Renee was confident that in the five hours since she’d last been conscious, CTU would have found other evidence.
“Yeah.” But he didn’t look relieved. Not like she would expect, if the matter was settled.
“Did the President make a decision?”
He shook his head. “The only decision she’s made so far is to wait, to not press for the treaty signing today. But she’s not willing to give up on it yet.”
Renee could understand that. She hadn’t been reading all the articles or listening to all the statements about this treaty before-- well, before she’d been called in on this case. But she’d followed it enough to know President Taylor had been working on it for a long time. She clearly viewed it as a major part of her legacy. “Well,” Renee said, as her eyes drifted closed for just a second. Or maybe a few seconds. She forced them open again. “She’s a reasonable person. I’m sure she’ll do the right thing.”
“I hope so.” Her eyes had closed again by that point, but she opened them again when he took her hand. His own gaze was soft as he said, “Get some more rest, Renee. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Wait.” There was another thing she wanted to ask about. What was it? “Um…” If he’d been here with her this whole time, that meant… There it was. “Have you heard from Kim?”
“Yeah, she called not too long ago.” Jack hadn’t let go of her hand. “I told her I’m planning to stick around here for a while.”
“Jack…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he insisted gently. “I’m not upset about waiting a little longer. Kim’s not upset, either. In fact, she said she’d change her flight so she can come visit.”
That was … very kind. Kinder than she deserved. But then, Kim was her father’s daughter.
“Seriously, Renee,” he said then, “you should get some rest. You’ve been through a lot today.”
She suppressed a sigh. There wasn’t much use in fighting to stay awake, she supposed. But there was one more thing she should say before she let herself sleep. “Fine – but you should get some sleep, too, Jack.” She blinked at him, and managed a smirk that probably looked drunken, with how tired she was. “You look like shit.”
That startled a chuckle out of him. “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
“You’re welcome.” With that, she let her eyes close. The last thing she felt before sleep overcame her was the sensation of her hand in his.
~~