Recruitment Drive: Counting Down

By Michael Weyer

Agents of SHIELD owned by ABC and Marvel.

24 owned by Fox.

The Recruitment Drive series created by Afalstein.

This hit me as a totally natural property to use, happy no one else got to it first. Obvious spoilers for the "24: Live Another Day" finale, all comments welcomed.

11:09:17…11:09:18…11:09:19…

It had taken Jack Bauer approximately ten minutes to realize something wasn't right.

He couldn't put his exact finger on it at first but from the moment he was pushed into the van, that sixth sense ingrained by years of black ops was kicking in majorly. He should have seen it from the start but his mind was reeling from the exhaustion of the day, the fate of the Kellers, leaving Chloe and once more sacrificing his freedom for the greater good. To give himself up to the Russians to avoid war was necessary, yet another in the long line of choices he'd made to put others before himself.

Yet he couldn't help but realize there was something off about this. The men around him were clearly Russians, not just by accents but their demeanor, hardened by that rough nation. Yet they didn't carry the air of Russian intelligence. They were a bit more professional, not the slick clothes these men had and kept to a more military demeanor. Also, while handcuffed, they didn't shackle Jack's feet. Surely, a professional group would be smart enough to do so with an agent as infamous as himself. The clincher, of course, was when he saw one man scratch at his neck and the flash of a tattoo under the collar.

Jack did his best to appear calm, resigned to his fate. In truth, his mind was whirling. Russian mafia. This meant mercenaries, freelancers posing as Russian security. Jack's mind couldn't quite handle the large number of people who would want him delivered alive. It ranged from the Chinese to any number of terrorist groups he'd crossed over the years. Whatever the case, Jack knew he had a limited window to make an escape.

Perhaps, subconsciously, he'd known this was coming as the moment he was seated in the van, he'd already scanned its surroundings. A man on either side of him, three across the way, all armed with pistols, two carrying sub-machine guns as well. That they weren't all paying attention to him was another warning sign to Jack. One was glancing to the driver, the rest seeming distracted. Jack was careful as he shuffled in his seat, adjusting his fingers around the edges of the cuffs.

As the van slowed for a stop sign, Jack glanced at the rear window of the van. He peered as he noticed a black car with tinted windows stopping nearby. It seemed like any other car on the London street but Jack noted the license plate as the same that had been at the last three stops. He had thought it was a backup for the Russians but the way it kept holding back yet stayed on their tail made him consider otherwise.

That was passing through his head just as the car suddenly sprang forward to ram the van hard in the rear end.

The Russians were naturally thrown in surprise as the impact tossed them about. Jack was already moving, lashing out a foot to smash one man before him in the face as he swung his fists out punch the one on his right. As fast as he could, Jack wrapped his wrists around the man to his left, yanking back with his cuffs. As a loud snapping sound echoed, Jack was already grabbing at the dead man's gun, doing his best to handle it with cuffed hands.

Before the other Russians realized it, Jack was slamming his body against the doors which, weakened by the crash, gave way to allow him to land on top of the car, rolling to its hood. A door was opening as a figure in a black suit leaned out, firing an odd-looking gun at the interior of the van. One Russian was cut down immediately as the others tried to find cover.

Jack rolled to land on his feet on the ground as he took in the figure in the car. The man was black with dark sunglasses, a professional look as he glanced to Jack. "Always the friendly type, Bauer."

"Fury." Jack didn't seem as shocked as he might have been. "Looking good for a dead man."

"You oughta know, brother." Nick Fury was still firing his gun to drive the Russians away even as he reached into a pocket. Pulling out something, he tossed it behind his back to Bauer, who easily caught it. It took only seconds for the skeleton key to open the cuffs and Jack to cock the gun into his hands. He moved around the car, firing off bullets to cut down another Russian. Making his way to the passenger side, he popped the door open as he continued to fire. Fury moved into the car, throwing it into reverse to back up a bit, then hit the accelerator to sweep past the van.

Years of experience had taught Jack that there was a time and place for questions. He wanted to know how Fury was alive and why he was here but at the moment, those were lesser concerns. He glanced behind to see the van coming after them. "I didn't see backup, but they might be there."

"They are," Fury intoned. "They were supposed to rendezvous by now but managed to intercept them early."

"Just the one van then." Jack glanced at the mirror to see a pair of Russians leaning out of the van's side doors to fire their machine guns at the passing car. "How armored are we?"

"Enough," Fury replied as he spun the wheel to take a sudden turn down a side street. "But still have to get out of here before this gets complicated."

The wail of sirens echoed as Jack glanced to Fury. "Think it might be too late."

Fury didn't reply but continued to weave through traffic, honking his horn several times. "Damn Londoners, never get out of the way fast enough," he muttered. "City needs more danger to get its instincts right." He threw the car into a higher gear as he pressed on the gas. "This was one of my usual vehicles, we'd have a dozen ways to take these guys out but this piece of shit…"

Jack was checking his ammo, making sure he wouldn't run out. He glanced at the rear-view mirror to see the van barreling down at them. "Take the next right."

"Safe house is…"

"Right!" Without waiting for a reply, Jack leaned himself out of the window. Fury spun the car hard at the next intersection, giving Jack a clear line of fire at the speeding van. He fired off a trio of rounds aimed at the ground, one impacting pavement but the other two hitting the van's right front tire. As it burst, the van spun out of control, the driver trying in vain to keep it going. It smashed into an oncoming car before coming to a standstill. A pair of police cars were quickly behind it as the officers moved to arrest the stunned Russians.

Jack slid back into his seat, glancing to Fury. "Good driving."

"Good shooting," Fury replied as he turned down another side street and down to various private roads.

11:47:15…11:47:16…11:47:17…

For a supposed "junker," Fury's car made good time toward a nearby airfield. A jet was waiting for them, looking rather more high-tech than Jack would have expected. Fury pulled before it as he exited, Jack coming with him. "I know you got questions," Fury began. "And I promise to answer them but we have to get going first."

"Your show, Fury."

"You know, this makes you a fugitive."

Jack shrugged. "I've been there before."

Fury nodded at that as he bounded up the stairs to the plane, Jack behind him. "We're on!" he called out. "Get us in the air!"

A young woman who looked barely twenty with short dark hair in a jumpsuit was waiting inside the large passenger area, which resembled a custom jet for millionaires, complete with a bar by the side. "She's on board too, sir."

"Thanks, Daisy," Fury said.

Jack had been through a lot already but the sight of Chloe seated in a nearby chair brought him up short. "How did…"

The punk hacker nodded to the other woman. "She yanked me out of the embassy as soon as I got into it. Told me you needed help. That's all I had to know."

Jack sat into his own seat as he felt the revving of the engines. He leaned back, letting out a long breath as the fatigue of the last several hours began to catch up with him. He looked out the window to see the landscape of London falling away beneath them. A shadow fell over him and he saw the woman named Daisy offering a cup of coffee. Jack took it and sipped it down, happy for some refreshment.

It took a few moments for Fury to emerge from the cockpit to remove his coat and glasses. One eye was scarred over and milk white as he collapsed into a seat across from Jack and Chloe. "We'll be in Madrid in ninety minutes," he announced. "We can make arrangements from there to get you two into the States."

"You know I can't step foot in the U.S.," Jack stated. "Me or Chloe."

Fury smirked. "I can handle that. In case you haven't heard, the agencies in the States have a lot more on their plate than just you."

"You know each other?" Chloe asked for lack of anything else.

Jack nodded. "In between stints at CTU, did some work for Fury before SHIELD went public. I'd tell you more but it's classified."

"Which means I can find out in five minutes."

Jack put down his cup. "I'm not going to bother asking why or how you faked your death. I've been there, I know. But I do have questions. Starting with who those Russians were working for."

"They're called the Maggia," Fury began. "Some of my folks learned about them while on another mission. A collection of various European crime families who've decided to take advantage of SHIELD collapsing to turn themselves into a power. Our intel indicated that they figured you'd be a good fundraiser. Sell off to the highest bidder who wants to skin you alive."

Jack nodded as he took that in but Chloe was frowning. "What intel? SHIELD is gone. And not exactly shedding tears at it given what they did."

Fury glared at her. "I was saving the world before you were born, girl."

Chloe didn't back down. "And I was helping Jack save the country without the aid of Nazis."

"Right. The CIA has a perfect track record when it comes to mole hunting."

"A few bad apples are one thing. Full-scale infiltration for decades is another."

"Chloe, easy." Jack looked to Fury and let out a sigh. "I'm not blaming you for what happened, Fury. I'm the last person on this plane to make judgments on trusting people who ended up being completely against you." As ever, he tensed automatically as the face of Nina Myers flashed across his mind. "You got played. It happens to us. You just had it happen on a larger scale. As for bringing SHIELD down…" He shrugged. "You did what you had to do. I know that too."

Fury seemed happy to not be the source of anger from Jack. "I don't need either of you telling me how I missed it. I've spent weeks doing it to myself, going over the clues that were right in front of me, the missions gone bad, the patterns, figuring what I could have changed or not."

"That's always a waste," Jack gently told him. "What's done is done. All you can do is learn and move on."

Fury smiled. "That's what I'm hoping to do. It's why I sought you both out."

Jack peered closely. "Just how involved was Hydra in what happened today?"

"Not sure," Fury admitted. "The problem is, they had their claws in so deep, it's hard to figure out who was and wasn't on their payroll."

"Tentacles," Chloe put in.

"Huh?"

She shrugged. "Just saying, their logo would be more like tentacles. Or fangs, for snakes and all."

Fury just looked at her before turning his attention back to Bauer. "We do think Yates might have been a private contractor for Hydra and when Cheng offered him the device, he saw an opportunity to use it to further Hydra's goals."

Jack nodded slowly as he put the pieces together. "Push all-out war between the U.S., China and Russia…That's just the chaos for them to use."

"Doubt they'd let it go to that." Fury snorted. "Big irony, Hydra was probably doing as much to stop WWIII than anyone just to let the world be intact for them."

"Let's get back to the operatives thing," Chloe said. "Because SHIELD is gone."

"It is," Fury confirmed. "For now. Coulson is trying to rebuild it."

"Phil Coulson?" Jack took it in. "So, he's not dead either."

"Kind of was but long story," Fury brushed it off. "He's putting it back together, rebuilding it, making it cleaner and better. It's gonna be rough but if anyone can do it, it's him."

"That's why we're here? To join him."

"No. To join me."

Chloe and Jack exchanged baffled glances as Fury sighed. "Coulson…is a good man. Maybe a bit too good for this line of work. He believes in doing the right thing, he knows it can be messy but he tries to play fair." He leaned forward. "You and me, Jack…We know that's not how things really get done. We know that sometimes, we need to go a lot further than that. Coulson has a line and that's what's needed to get SHIELD back on track, win back the public trust and all. What I need…are people who know you have to go past that line."

"People like us."

Fury didn't deny it. "You're wanted by more governments and organizations than I can name. That's too much for Coulson. You're caught working for him, that's blowback that will crush SHIELD all over again. And without SHIELD, the world gets even worse."

He sat back. "What I need, Jack, is the guy who does what it takes no matter what and damn all else. I need a man who does the ugly work, no rewards but knowing it's what's needed and doing it to his best."

Jack looked down. "You know what I've been through, Fury," he softly said. "You know the hell my life has been because of this job. And now you want me to go back to it."

"You're a soldier, Jack. A damn good one. And you know as well as I do that a quiet life is never in the cards for you. If you really wanted out, you'd have done it by now but you keep coming to risk yourself for others. That's a guy I need on my side."

He glanced to Chloe. "As for your friend, she's one of the best damn hackers I've ever seen and I need someone who's not hung up on niceties on my side to get intel."

"I'm not a people person."

"Exactly what I want."

Jack looked to his hands as if sensing the blood on them. He mulled over Fury's words, his future and realized his decision wasn't that hard. He licked his lips before sitting up. "I'm in." He knew there was no denying what Fury had said. He was a soldier and there would always be a war that required someone like him to fight it.

Fury nodded. "Glad to have you aboard." He looked over to Daisy. "Get ready for more visitors at the safehouse."

She nodded as he backed up, Chloe looking Fury over. "So, we're not SHIELD?"

"No. No, you work directly for me. Consider yourself part of my…Secret Warriors." He grinned. "Why let Stark have all the fun with pretentious titles?"

Jack Bauer leaned back in his chair, staring out the window before closing his eyes. He knew he had a lot more danger in his life to come but for now…at least this one day was past him. He could only hope the ones in the future weren't as bad.

11:59:58….11:59:59…12:00:00

That Fury would want Jack to be on his own private team rather than SHIELD just seemed right, Jack wouldn't be a real "by the book" type for a new SHILED getting trust back. Daisy is Daisy Johnson, a long-time Fury aide in the Marvel Universe and hit me Yates connected to Hydra would be a good turn on things. All comments welcomed.