Now that Owen was fully convinced Bob Lee Swagger had been framed, his next step was figuring out where Swagger might be hiding. He could only pray that Swagger hadn't already bled out somewhere in a dark corner of Los Angeles.
He began combing through Swagger's social connections—family, friends, comrades, anyone. It was obvious the FBI would be doing the same. The race was on—who would find him first?
But the more Owen dug, the more astonished he became. Swagger's personal life was shockingly simple. His father had been a decorated Marine—recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor—but he'd passed away. His mother had died two years ago. He was an only child. No wife. No girlfriend.
In the Marines, Swagger had worked alone. As a sniper, his closest relationship had been with his spotter, Tony—and Tony had died on their final mission.
No family, no friends. The only companion listed in Swagger's profile was a dog. That was it.
Owen sighed. If he was hitting dead ends, surely the FBI was too. That explained how Swagger had managed to stay hidden.
But Owen knew he was at a disadvantage. The FBI had teams combing through data. He was just one man.
And if Swagger really had been set up, whoever framed him was probably hunting him too. That made at least three parties in the game. Owen needed help.
The most logical person to turn to was Chloe. She'd assisted him many times before, and CTU had access to a massive range of public and classified databases. But as he looked out across the office floor, he shook his head.
The Pentagon officials were breathing down Jack's neck. Using CTU resources now would just give them ammunition. And Chloe's tech division was under constant surveillance—they knew she was CTU's brain.
That left Owen with only one option: do it alone.
He packed up the notes and reports from the conference room and made his way to Jack Bauer's office.
Helping Swagger was bound to stir up a mess, and if it went sideways, it would give the Pentagon the perfect excuse to oust Jack for "poor leadership." Owen wasn't about to let that happen. He needed to eliminate the risk—now.
A few minutes after entering the office, a loud argument erupted. The shouting was so intense, people downstairs could hear it. Just seconds later, Owen stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.
"Jack Bauer, you're a damn coward!" he roared.
Jack stepped out onto the second floor balcony, yelling back, "Steve Owen, you're suspended! Permanently suspended! Without my authorization, you are never to set foot in CTU again!"
"Fuck off!" Owen shouted, pushing past one of the Pentagon's deputy director's lackeys. He nearly knocked the man over.
Everyone in the main hall fell silent. No one knew what exactly had happened, but the speculation began immediately. Most assumed Owen wanted to get involved in the Swagger case, and Jack had shut it down. Tension had exploded.
Upstairs, the Pentagon's deputy director watched it all unfold from an office window. His eyes followed Owen's retreating figure, thoughtful.
Owen got in his car and drove off.
The fight with Jack, of course, had been staged. A cover story. This way, Owen was officially disconnected from CTU. Whatever he did from now on was his own personal mission.
Without Chloe's help, he had one other person in mind.
"Hey Becky, it's Owen…"
"Oh wow, this is a weird day. You're actually not calling me 'Goody-Goody'? You must want something, don't you, Garbage Mouth?"
Owen winced. He could practically hear her eyes rolling. Still, for Swagger's sake, he kept his tone light. "Come on, Becky, 'Goody-Goody' isn't an insult—it's a compliment to your naturally sweet nature."
"Fine. I'm in a good mood. Spill it. What do you need?"
"You're amazing, Becky. Listen, you've seen the news, right? Swagger, the alleged shooter who tried to kill David Palmer?"
"Of course. That's all anyone's talking about. Every single channel. I couldn't not know."
"I need you to find out where he might be hiding."
"What, you know him personally?"
"Yes."
"Hold on. Don't hang up."
Owen sat quietly while Becky's fingers flew across her keyboard.
A few minutes later: "Okay, so… both his parents are dead. No real family or friends. Only one registered property, but I doubt he'd go there… Let's see… He had one teammate. Also dead. His former CO had a good relationship with him, but that guy's deployed in the Middle East—so he's out of the picture… Hmm, this is tricky. Give me a minute to dig deeper."
Owen didn't rush her. If it were easy, he wouldn't have needed her help in the first place.
After about twenty minutes, Becky suddenly exclaimed, "Got it!"
"I checked his credit card history. Every year, on April 1st, he sends flowers to a specific address. That's his spotter Tony's death anniversary. The flowers are addressed to a woman—probably Tony's girlfriend. He might go to her for help."
"What's her name? Where does she live?"
"Nevada. City of Kenny. Name's Sara Finney."
…
Dawn.
An old pickup truck rolled to a stop in front of a modest house on Holzberg Avenue.
Swagger stepped out, limping heavily. He'd driven all night, fighting off the pain, bleeding into the seat. He checked the paper in his hand to confirm the address, then knocked on the door.
A neatly dressed woman hesitantly opened it.
"Sorry to bother you, ma'am…"
Swagger looked like hell. He'd lost a dangerous amount of blood. His makeshift bandages had barely helped. If not for his field medic training, he'd already be dead.
Even that short sentence left him reeling in pain. He was lightheaded, struggling to stay conscious. He didn't even notice how odd it was that Tony's girlfriend was already dressed at this early hour.
"I know who you are," she said. "You're Bob Lee Swagger—Tony's teammate. I have pictures of you two."
"Please… I didn't shoot the president…" Swagger said weakly.
"I know."
"You know?"
"Yes. The man who died wasn't the president. It was the Ethiopian archbishop."
"Right… doesn't matter who it was… I was framed. Please… help me. I'm not going to make it…"
Swagger's words were slurred. He was fading fast. That cop had shot him twice. The bleeding had stopped, but the bullets were still inside him. Every move felt like being torn open.
She stared at him, her expression unreadable.
"I'm not the one you need to convince," she said, stepping aside. "He is."
Swagger turned his head—and froze.
Owen stood behind her.
His instincts flared. He tried to move, to reach for something—but the pain overwhelmed him. His body gave out. Darkness closed in.
Owen caught him before he collapsed completely.
"I'll get him inside," Owen said. "Pull the truck into the garage. We don't want anyone getting suspicious."
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [[email protected]/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]