"Anything I can do?" the cop asked.

The officer was young and white and earnest.

"I'll call when I need you," Darnell replied. "Now get out of the way and let me get this done before the Fire Department gets here and takes over."

The policeman quickly gave Darnell s.p.a.ce.

That line always works, the paramedic mused. the paramedic mused. Cops and firemen got no love for each other. Cops and firemen got no love for each other.

He pulled a pair of disposable gloves out of his kit and slipped the white latex over his brown hands. Then he touched his fingers to the woman's throat.

The pulse was strong, but she was unconscious and probably in shock. He pushed the red hair away from her forehead and saw the b.l.o.o.d.y gouge where the rearview mirror had caught her. He slapped a pressure pad on the wound to stop the bleeding.

"How she doin'?" Luis called.

"Probably a concussion," Darnell replied.

He thought for a second that he'd heard a tiny voice - the car's radio? Darnell inspected the Lexus interior, spied the woman's purse on the dashboard, the b.l.o.o.d.y cell phone in her hand. He gently slipped the device from her limp fingers and dropped the phone into the bag he'd retrieved. In the purse, Darnell spotted a digital camera.

"Yo! Luis!" he called, tossing the purse to his partner.

"Take her stuff so it can go with her."

3.

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9:00 A.M. AND 10:00 A.M. EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME.

9:02:11 A.M. EDT.

Secure Conference Room CTU Headquarters, NYC Jack Bauer checked his watch and tossed the file onto the conference table.

"I've heard enough about Kurmastan," he said sharply.

"You still haven't told me why Director Holman and Deputy Director Foy are missing. Or why Holman's computer is locked so tight not even Morris...o...b..ian can break through."

The woman lowered her eyes. "I really don't know..."

"You're lying," Jack said evenly. "You're hiding something - maybe something your bosses did or are doing."

Layla's dark eyes stared at the floor.

"You can't protect them, Agent Abernathy," Jack said quietly. "If you try, you'll only go down, too."

The woman glanced away, tightly folded her arms. Then she met Jack's gaze.

"Well," she began, "I think maybe I'm the reason there are so many security protocols on Brice Holman's computer."

Jack drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "Go on."

"Six weeks ago, I was a.s.signed to help open this office, but I found Holman's activities to be overly guarded."

"What do you mean? Be specific."

"He'd disappear without explanation - and then with with explanations that began to sound suspect. So two weeks ago, I got curious and cracked his files. I couldn't break the copy protection program or download anything, but I got a pretty good look. Brice believes a terror attack originating from Kurmastan is imminent. Whatever he's doing, he's doing it to protect the country." explanations that began to sound suspect. So two weeks ago, I got curious and cracked his files. I couldn't break the copy protection program or download anything, but I got a pretty good look. Brice believes a terror attack originating from Kurmastan is imminent. Whatever he's doing, he's doing it to protect the country."

"Why didn't he issue an alert?" Jack asked. "Talk to Langley?"

"I told you before, Agent Bauer. Holman was ordered to halt all surveillance on Kurmastan. And because I violated his computer, I'm afraid I may be the reason Brice doesn't trust the staff a.s.signed to him now."

"He figured out you broke into his system?"

Layla nodded. "The next time I tried to gain access, he'd erected all kinds of new security barriers. I think my actions made him paranoid."

The conference room's intercom buzzed. "I'd better take this," she said.

"Put it on speaker," Jack commanded. He noticed her eyes flash with annoyance, but she did what Jack asked.

"Abernathy here."

"This is Peter Randall in Communications. I just received a strange call from Deputy Director Foy's cell."

Layla leaned forward. "Where is..."

"This is Special Agent Jack Bauer from CTU Los Angeles," Jack interrupted. "What "What did the Deputy Director say?" did the Deputy Director say?"

"That's what's strange, sir," replied Pete Randall over the speakerphone. "Agent Foy didn't say anything. There was silence, followed by the sound of a siren. Finally, I heard voices, then the line went dead."

Jack and Layla exchanged looks.

"Did you trace the signal?" Jack asked.

"That's standard procedure," the comm tech replied.

"But the call was so short we can't triangulate."

"I'll be right down," Jack replied, ending the call. Then he s.n.a.t.c.hed the receiver and dialed Brice Holman's office. On the eighth ring, O'Brian picked up.

"What do you b.l.o.o.d.y want?" O'Brian barked. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"It's Bauer."

"Oh. h.e.l.lo, boss," Morris said smoothly.

"I need you at the comm station. Now."

Morris groaned. "Can't Almeida handle it? I've got my hands full with the locks on the Director's computer. This Holman person is nearly as devious as you are. Needless to say, I haven't quite cracked it - though I'm close." close."

"It can wait," Jack replied. "I need you to trace a cell phone signal. The call didn't last long so there might not be much of a trail."

Morris snorted. "Child's play compared to this, Jack-o. I'll be there on the double."

Agent Abernathy led Jack down a flight of steel steps, onto the floor of the Operations Center. There were no offices, only workstations inside cubicles. When they arrived at the communications station, Morris was already there. He stood beside a lanky, thirty-something technician with a receding hairline and nervously blinking eyes partially obscured behind small, round gla.s.ses.

Jack extended his hand. "Peter Randall? I'm Jack Bauer. Have you retrieved the memory cache of Deputy Director Foy's call?"

Randall nodded. "I have, sir, but the call lasted less than two minutes, so triangulation will be difficult, even if we can isolate her digital trace inside the phone company's transmitters."

"You have signature protocols, correct?" Morris asked.

"Of course. Each member of this unit has intelli-signatures unique to them embedded in their cell phones."

Jack knew the answer to the next question, but asked anyway. "Have you tried to locate Foy using the GPS chip in her cell?"

The comm tech frowned. "She deactivated it, sir. I can't imagine why."

"I can." Jack glanced at Layla. "She didn't want CTU to know where she was."

"I think I've got something," said Morris.

Jack peered over his shoulder, at the high-definition monitor. Morris tapped a few keys and a map of New Jersey appeared, the telecommunications grid superimposed over it.

"Deputy Director Foy's call came through a forwarding station in this little town here." Morris tapped the screen.

"p.i.s.sant. p.i.s.sant, New Jersey."

Peter Randall cleared his throat. "That's Pa.s.saic, Pa.s.saic, O'Brian. Pa.s.saic, New Jersey. It's an American Indian word." O'Brian. Pa.s.saic, New Jersey. It's an American Indian word."

Morris squinted theatrically. "I must be going goggle-eyed. I swear swear it says it says p.i.s.sant. p.i.s.sant."

"Get on with it, Morris," Jack said tightly.

"Anyway, from the forwarding station in Pa.s.saic, Pa.s.saic, I traced the signal back to communications grid A-NE 8804. That's right here..." Morris tapped the screen again. I traced the signal back to communications grid A-NE 8804. That's right here..." Morris tapped the screen again.

"Newark," Jack whispered. He faced Layla.

"Retrieve the patient admission records from all the hospitals around Newark, see if anyone fitting Agent Foy's description has been treated in the past hour. Contact the Newark Police Department and the city morgue, too..."

"On it," Layla said, punching keys.

Jack laid a hand on Morris's shoulder. "I'm leaving for an hour, to check on that other matter," he said quietly.

"The one that delayed delayed us this morning." us this morning."

"b.u.g.g.e.r," Morris murmured. "Don't you want backup?"

Jack shook his head. "Not from this this office. You and Tony hold down the fort until I get back. I'll be in touch if I run into problems." office. You and Tony hold down the fort until I get back. I'll be in touch if I run into problems."

Morris frowned. "Careful, Jack. I understand New York can be a very rough town."

9:39:20AM. EDT.

CTU Headquarters, NYC "Agent Almeida? I have the system schematics that you requested."

Tony nodded, his gaze fixed on the monitor. "Yeah, thanks," he muttered. "Put them on the desk."

"Agent Almeida?"

It took a moment for the voice to penetrate his concentration. Finally, Tony looked up, to find a young woman with dark, curly hair and wide, oval eyes standing over him. She offered Tony a nervous smile.

"I just wanted to say... if you need anything... anything at all, I'll be in the next cubicle." She pointed to her workstation with a thumb over her shoulder. "My name's Delgado, Rachel Delgado. Like I said, call me. If you need me."

The woman wore black slacks and platform shoes. Her tight, white blouse had a low neckline, showing more than ample cleavage. Tony shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Ah... thanks."

As she walked away, Tony watched her swaying hips - until Rachel Delgado glanced over her shoulder and caught him peeking.

Tony quickly shifted his gaze - then the computer beeped, and it was back to work. He grabbed the schematics that Ms. Delgado had brought him and looked them over. In a few minutes, he'd isolated the problem, which turned out to be a glitch with the physical system and not a software issue.

Tony stood, hung his jacket over the back of the desk chair, along with his shoulder holster and the Glock inside it. Then he rolled up his sleeves and used a screwdriver from the console kit to open the access panel behind the computer.

The guts of the system revealed, Tony began to physically reroute the entire network through a different set of servers by reconnecting several dozen ports to ultrahigh bandwidth links.

9:49:55 A.M. EDT.

Mulberry Street After a short cab ride, Jack Bauer exited the taxi on the corner of Ca.n.a.l and Mulberry. At the teeming intersection, he considered his next move.

It was clear to Jack that someone at CTU New York had tipped off De Salvo and his crew. They knew about Jack's arrival in the city, and enough of his schedule to set up an ambush in the middle of Hudson Street in broad daylight.

Or did the leak originate somewhere else, out of the Tacoma office, perhaps? Jack decided to have a long talk with George Mason after this was over.

Angelo De Salvo had harbored a deep grudge against Jack - for good reason. Jack had led the siege in L. A. that had ended with the deaths of De Salvo's father and two brothers.

Angelo hadn't been with his family during that takedown, but he was a career criminal with a long rap sheet. He was also a hunted man, and according to O'Brian's research, De Salvo's alias - Angel Salinas - never had more than nine hundred dollars in his bank account. So there was no way he could have paid for the services of professional hit men.

So who who had helped him mount this morning's ambush? had helped him mount this morning's ambush?

De Salvo was dead now, but whoever had helped him was still very much alive. Jack intended to find the source of the payoff money. He would start with the dead man's employer, Fredo Mangella.

Jack walked down Mulberry Street, the main drag of New York's shrunken Little Italy. The street was narrow but clean and colorful, with century-old brick buildings of six and eight stories, housing Italian restaurants, cafes, and gourmet pastry shops at street level. There were iron streetlamps and sidewalk tables with Campari umbrellas, but few tourists were around at this hour of the morning.