Collateral Damage - Marc Cerasini [19]
"Yeah. Sure." Jack glanced at the passing traffic, exhaled at the idea of something so normal, so easy. Buying a poster to make his daughter happy. He smiled. "Anything I can get for you?"
"No, honey. Just bring yourself home in one piece. Okay? Stay safe."
"I'll try," said Jack. "Things here... they're a little... disorganized. But I won't forget Kim's poster."
"Great," said Teri. "I have to get going, but how's New York otherwise? Did you go to any nice restaurants yet?"
"Actually," said Jack, "I just came from one."
* * *
10:42:41 A.M. EDT
Central Security Station CTU Headquarters, NYC
When he finished rerouting the security links, Tony Almeida closed the panel and rebooted the system. While he waited through the startup procedures, Tony popped the top buttons of his black cotton shirt to cool off. Then he began the laborious process of enabling all the new network connections he'd just established, one link at a time. Alarms. Motion sensors. Elevator overrides; all had to be restarted. While he worked, Tony unconsciously rubbed the ragged scar across his chest.
The "program enabled" icon appeared, and soon Tony had real-time images on all twelve security monitors. He observed the parking garage, the lobby, the elevator shaft, the roof, the fire escape through an array of cameras.
"Mr. Almeida?"
Rachel Delgado was there, a Styrofoam cup of coffee in each hand. Tony's shirt still gaped, and the woman's eyes widened when she saw Tony's scar.
"My god," she cried. "Did that just happen?"
Tony flushed, closed his shirt. "No," he muttered, buttoning quickly. "It, uh...happened a couple months ago. Down in Mexico."
Rachel looked away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. You were working behind the console, and it looked like an electrical burn, so I thought..."
"It is an electrical burn," Tony replied.
Rachel suddenly remembered the containers in her hand. "I brought you some coffee," she said. "I didn't know if you liked it black or with cream, so I brought one of each."
"Thanks," Tony said, accepting the black. "Sit down. Join me."
"Okay," Rachel said, glancing at the workstation. "Wow, you have everything running again."
"Almost everything."
"Is that Con Ed guy on the roof helping you?" Rachel asked.
Tony's eyes were on the monitor. He'd seen the man in a blue utility worker's uniform, too, just before the guy had moved out of camera range.
Tony punched up the digital control panel for the roof camera. Using his mouse to move the lens from side to side, Tony scanned the black tarred roof. Soon he spotted the man again — he was wearing a Con Edison uniform.
"He looks busy," Rachel observed.
The man's back was turned. He was crouched at the base of one of CTU's microwave towers, tinkering with something impossible to see.
Tony frowned. He'd established the network connection to the motion detectors on the roof two minutes ago. Why hadn't those detectors gone off, sounded an alarm that someone was on the roof? He checked the circuit and got a "network connection lost" message.
Adrenaline pumping, Tony checked the alarm system and received the same warning. Someone had sabotaged the system as fast as he'd gotten it running.
"What's the matter?" Rachel asked. "You look upset."
Tony jerked his head at the monitor. "The Con Edison guy on the roof. He's an intruder."
Rachel rose abruptly, spilling her coffee on the concrete floor. "Oh my god. What do we do?"
Tony reached for the phone.
* * *
10:51:23 A.M. EDT
CTU Headquarters, NYC
Jack Bauer had just returned with the laptop under his arm. He went directly to Brice Holman's office, where Morris was still trying to crack the security on the Director's computer.
"Almost there, Jack-o," he promised.
Jack's cell warbled. He dropped the laptop on the desk, reached for the phone in his pocket.
"Bauer here."
"It's Tony. We've got an intruder on the roof."