Who is Chloe O'Brian Chapter 2
Monday - CTU
Stepping into his office, Jack clicks the button to frost his windows to privacy. Collapsing into his chair, he powers up his system, leaning back to think. With too many questions running through his mind, his head starts to pound.
Pulling out a pad and pen, he starts jotting down what he knows. “Or what I think I know” he mutters.
Shooting Morrison’s hit man was the first time Chloe used a weapon in the field?
Thinking about that, he considers, all CTU agents, field or analysts, must clear weapons training before entering the field. Obviously, Chloe had to have gone through training and qualifications or she wouldn’t have been sent to Nabilla’s house.
Writing, he adds;
Check Chloe’s qualification scores.
Running a hand through his hair, he knows he has one place to start. He needs a background check. Not one done here in CTU. If he knows Chloe, she has had a hand in what her official background says.
Picking up his phone, he quickly dials a number before he can change his mind.
“Pearce”
“Harry, its Jack”
“Jack, what can I do for you?”
Sighing, Jack pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “I need you to run a background on someone for me.”
Hearing silence on the other end, he asks “Harry? I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important”
“I would think that the Counter Terrorism Unit could run a background on anyone” The man questions.
“Harry, if I could, I would. But this is ..” Hesitating, Jack stands and looks down at the analyst’s floor. His eyes finding Chloe at her station, he studies her hunched shoulders over her keyboard and a frown on her face. “.. Sensitive..” He finishes.
“Who is it?”
“Chloe O’Brian”
Hearing the intake of breath on the other end of the phone, Jack tenses.
“Give me some time”
Exhaling with relief, Jack gives him a quiet thank you and ends the call. Realizing he is still watching Chloe, he turns around and sits back down. He can feel his stomach churning. Something just doesn’t feel right and he vows to get to the bottom of it.
A hesitant knock on the door interrupts his thoughts. “Enter” He barks.
His face immediately softens as soon as he sees Chloe enter the room. Spending a few moments staring at her, she fidgets in place. Finally with an eye roll, she walks in and drops a pile of files on his desk. “I have the hourlies for you”.
Nodding, he takes the stack as he watches her face.
“What?” She huffs.
Narrowing his eyes, Jack watches her start chewing on her thumbnail nervously.
“Did I see you at the gun range yesterday morning?”
He catches her eyes widen a fraction before she carefully schools her features into a scowl.
“Yeah, and?” She asks impatiently.
“And… do you usually go to the gun range at 4am on Sunday mornings?”
Shrugging, she nonchalantly walks back towards the door. “Sometimes…” And walks out.
Smirking, Jack drops the files back on his desk and goes over to the window. Watching as Chloe begins shutting down her work station, Jack glances at his watch. “Damnit!” He mutters, seeing it’s already after 7pm. Quickly grabbing his jacket, he takes the steps two at a time just as he sees her walking around the corner to the exit. Taking the back hallway he makes it out to the parking garage and hops into his car.
Following her two cars behind, Jack watches her weave and in and out of traffic. Confused, he sees her run a red light and then she quickly disappears in front of a transit bus. Stopping at the light he curses to himself. Deciding the best thing he can hope for is she ends up at home.
Parking a few houses down, he watches the small yellow sided home. Seeing her driveway empty, he leans back in his seat, settling in.
Checking his watch, he sees an hour has passed. Night long ago fallen, he begins to wonder where she is when his passenger door opens. His right hand immediately dropping to his sidearm, he watches amazed as Chloe seats herself in the passenger seat. Locking eyes with her, he immediately tenses as he sees the rage residing in hers.
“Are you going to tell me why you followed me home and then proceeded to sit in your car for an hour Jack?” She demands.
Flinching at her anger, he studies her face intently before answering. “Just wanted to talk..”
“Fine.... so explain” Crossing her arms she stares him straight in the eye, challenging him to lie to her.
“Where did you park?” He inquires.
Smirking, she answers “3 cars behind you. Who knew it would be so easy to lose Jack Bauer in traffic” She mused.
“How’d you know I was following you?”
“I didn’t. I didn’t know until I opened your car door.”
His eyes widening, he growls “You were just going to hop into some random vehicle that followed you home?”
“No Jack” She rolls her eyes in frustration. “I hopped into a random car I followed home. To my home” she emphasizes.
Watching him get angrier, she looks at him amused. “Look Jack, if you wanna talk, then come in. It’s late and I’m tired” With that she hops out of the car and walks up her sidewalk.
Watching her for a moment, he shakes his head of the cobwebs and follows her to the door. Waiting behind her, she disarms the alarm system and lets him in. Standing in her kitchen, he looks around.
“This is not quite what I expected” He mutters. Walking further into her home, he admires the state of the art kitchen. Stainless steel restaurant grade appliances, with a large glass door fridge in the corner, and a matching standing freezer beside it. Running his fingers along the butcher block counter, he whistles in appreciation of the craftsmanship of the block. Obviously well cared for, he feels the linseed oil lovingly rubbed into the grains.
He hears her huff behind him before tossing her bag onto the table. “Coffee?” She asks.
“Yeah.” Sitting down on one of the kitchen stools, he watches her move around the kitchen. Kicking her flats off at the door, she moves to the freezer and pulls out the coffee beans. Walking up to the most intricate coffee maker he’s ever seen, she pours the beans into the top and clicks it on. Instantly, the room is filled with the aroma of fresh coffee as the machine perks.
“Make yourself useful… there’s creamer in the fridge”
Nodding, he gets up and moves to the fridge. Opening it, he pulls out a glass pitcher, and takes a quick inventory of the fridges contents. Even more amused; he notices that Chloe apparently is big into cooking. Most of the ingredients on the shelves are varieties of vegetables and fruits he couldn’t name if asked.
Moving beside her, she hands him a mug and points to the pot. “So… get on with it. What do you want Jack?” She whispers close to his ear. Twitching as he feels her breath against his skin, he inhales and catches the scent of pure Chloe; a sweet mix of vanilla and what he can only describe as ‘sunshine’.
“How long have you been a marksman” Getting right to the point, he sits down across from her to watch her face.
Shrugging her shoulders, she levels her eyes to his. Shocking him, because this is not the behavior of the Chloe he knows. In fact, he’s pretty sure it’s been at least 15 minutes since he’s seen that trademark scowl of hers. This Chloe, the one sitting in front of him, in this home that seems completely out of character for his Chloe, seems self-assured, confident, even challenging in her responses to him.
Her eyes meeting his without hesitation, he can see a flash of uneasiness, before she makes up her mind. Locking her eyes with him, she firmly responds “Always.”
Stepping into his office, Jack clicks the button to frost his windows to privacy. Collapsing into his chair, he powers up his system, leaning back to think. With too many questions running through his mind, his head starts to pound.
Pulling out a pad and pen, he starts jotting down what he knows. “Or what I think I know” he mutters.
Shooting Morrison’s hit man was the first time Chloe used a weapon in the field?
Thinking about that, he considers, all CTU agents, field or analysts, must clear weapons training before entering the field. Obviously, Chloe had to have gone through training and qualifications or she wouldn’t have been sent to Nabilla’s house.
Writing, he adds;
Check Chloe’s qualification scores.
Running a hand through his hair, he knows he has one place to start. He needs a background check. Not one done here in CTU. If he knows Chloe, she has had a hand in what her official background says.
Picking up his phone, he quickly dials a number before he can change his mind.
“Pearce”
“Harry, its Jack”
“Jack, what can I do for you?”
Sighing, Jack pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “I need you to run a background on someone for me.”
Hearing silence on the other end, he asks “Harry? I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important”
“I would think that the Counter Terrorism Unit could run a background on anyone” The man questions.
“Harry, if I could, I would. But this is ..” Hesitating, Jack stands and looks down at the analyst’s floor. His eyes finding Chloe at her station, he studies her hunched shoulders over her keyboard and a frown on her face. “.. Sensitive..” He finishes.
“Who is it?”
“Chloe O’Brian”
Hearing the intake of breath on the other end of the phone, Jack tenses.
“Give me some time”
Exhaling with relief, Jack gives him a quiet thank you and ends the call. Realizing he is still watching Chloe, he turns around and sits back down. He can feel his stomach churning. Something just doesn’t feel right and he vows to get to the bottom of it.
A hesitant knock on the door interrupts his thoughts. “Enter” He barks.
His face immediately softens as soon as he sees Chloe enter the room. Spending a few moments staring at her, she fidgets in place. Finally with an eye roll, she walks in and drops a pile of files on his desk. “I have the hourlies for you”.
Nodding, he takes the stack as he watches her face.
“What?” She huffs.
Narrowing his eyes, Jack watches her start chewing on her thumbnail nervously.
“Did I see you at the gun range yesterday morning?”
He catches her eyes widen a fraction before she carefully schools her features into a scowl.
“Yeah, and?” She asks impatiently.
“And… do you usually go to the gun range at 4am on Sunday mornings?”
Shrugging, she nonchalantly walks back towards the door. “Sometimes…” And walks out.
Smirking, Jack drops the files back on his desk and goes over to the window. Watching as Chloe begins shutting down her work station, Jack glances at his watch. “Damnit!” He mutters, seeing it’s already after 7pm. Quickly grabbing his jacket, he takes the steps two at a time just as he sees her walking around the corner to the exit. Taking the back hallway he makes it out to the parking garage and hops into his car.
Following her two cars behind, Jack watches her weave and in and out of traffic. Confused, he sees her run a red light and then she quickly disappears in front of a transit bus. Stopping at the light he curses to himself. Deciding the best thing he can hope for is she ends up at home.
Parking a few houses down, he watches the small yellow sided home. Seeing her driveway empty, he leans back in his seat, settling in.
Checking his watch, he sees an hour has passed. Night long ago fallen, he begins to wonder where she is when his passenger door opens. His right hand immediately dropping to his sidearm, he watches amazed as Chloe seats herself in the passenger seat. Locking eyes with her, he immediately tenses as he sees the rage residing in hers.
“Are you going to tell me why you followed me home and then proceeded to sit in your car for an hour Jack?” She demands.
Flinching at her anger, he studies her face intently before answering. “Just wanted to talk..”
“Fine.... so explain” Crossing her arms she stares him straight in the eye, challenging him to lie to her.
“Where did you park?” He inquires.
Smirking, she answers “3 cars behind you. Who knew it would be so easy to lose Jack Bauer in traffic” She mused.
“How’d you know I was following you?”
“I didn’t. I didn’t know until I opened your car door.”
His eyes widening, he growls “You were just going to hop into some random vehicle that followed you home?”
“No Jack” She rolls her eyes in frustration. “I hopped into a random car I followed home. To my home” she emphasizes.
Watching him get angrier, she looks at him amused. “Look Jack, if you wanna talk, then come in. It’s late and I’m tired” With that she hops out of the car and walks up her sidewalk.
Watching her for a moment, he shakes his head of the cobwebs and follows her to the door. Waiting behind her, she disarms the alarm system and lets him in. Standing in her kitchen, he looks around.
“This is not quite what I expected” He mutters. Walking further into her home, he admires the state of the art kitchen. Stainless steel restaurant grade appliances, with a large glass door fridge in the corner, and a matching standing freezer beside it. Running his fingers along the butcher block counter, he whistles in appreciation of the craftsmanship of the block. Obviously well cared for, he feels the linseed oil lovingly rubbed into the grains.
He hears her huff behind him before tossing her bag onto the table. “Coffee?” She asks.
“Yeah.” Sitting down on one of the kitchen stools, he watches her move around the kitchen. Kicking her flats off at the door, she moves to the freezer and pulls out the coffee beans. Walking up to the most intricate coffee maker he’s ever seen, she pours the beans into the top and clicks it on. Instantly, the room is filled with the aroma of fresh coffee as the machine perks.
“Make yourself useful… there’s creamer in the fridge”
Nodding, he gets up and moves to the fridge. Opening it, he pulls out a glass pitcher, and takes a quick inventory of the fridges contents. Even more amused; he notices that Chloe apparently is big into cooking. Most of the ingredients on the shelves are varieties of vegetables and fruits he couldn’t name if asked.
Moving beside her, she hands him a mug and points to the pot. “So… get on with it. What do you want Jack?” She whispers close to his ear. Twitching as he feels her breath against his skin, he inhales and catches the scent of pure Chloe; a sweet mix of vanilla and what he can only describe as ‘sunshine’.
“How long have you been a marksman” Getting right to the point, he sits down across from her to watch her face.
Shrugging her shoulders, she levels her eyes to his. Shocking him, because this is not the behavior of the Chloe he knows. In fact, he’s pretty sure it’s been at least 15 minutes since he’s seen that trademark scowl of hers. This Chloe, the one sitting in front of him, in this home that seems completely out of character for his Chloe, seems self-assured, confident, even challenging in her responses to him.
Her eyes meeting his without hesitation, he can see a flash of uneasiness, before she makes up her mind. Locking her eyes with him, she firmly responds “Always.”