4th of what?? - 24 FanFic - All audiences

This here is a story I wrote as a contest submission on one of the forums I used to frequent.

The forum has disappeared with time, but the story remains.

CTU also celebrates the 4th of July.

Enjoy the celebrations.

4^th of what??

The office was bustling with activity as usual. It being the 4^th of July didn’t change anything. If anything, work was even busier because, of all days, Independence Day was a favored one to strike. As if to show they weren’t as independent and strong as they believed they were.

By ten in the morning, a first coffee break imposed itself. Paperwork was hell and he hated it more than anything. Thankfully, he could fall back on a great team and he often found himself in the field alongside the other operatives. It was what he enjoyed most. Flying bullets, speeding cars, the smell and sound of fear and panic and the stink of burning rubber. It made the days go by faster. Three threats had been received already but for now, nothing solid had come from them yet, so they were bound to go through the boring research first before he could strap on the vest and check his gun.

“Hey, Jack.” he said lightheartedly.

“Hey, Tony, how’s it going? Got anything for me to do yet?” Jack replied with a smirk.

He too was eager to get out of the building and chase some bad guys.

They filled their mugs, a pitch black one for Jack, a Cubs one for Tony, and they leaned on the table, taking a moment to relax when suddenly their downtime was interrupted by an urgent call from Division. All department heads were summoned in the main briefing room and 47 seconds later, they were all there. They found their seats, Tony at the head of the table, Jack on his right, Michelle on his left, Chloe next to Jack with Edgar glued to her side. It was the man’s second week on the job and he was still trying to find his bearings. Opposite Chloe was Chase, next to him a Belgian agent ‘on loan’, Agent Valerie Janssens. She had worked with CTU LA before to stop a group of Belgian smugglers from running their little scam in the US and she and Jack had worked ‘closely’ together. Even after hours.

He was glad she was back and even more so to know she would be staying all summer. Two full months.

The rest of the room was filled with people who were at one level or another responsible for a smaller group of people and everybody’s eyes were riveted on the big screen which - for now - only displayed the CTU logo. Moments later, it was replaced by an image coming straight from Division, showing a large briefing room like the one they were in. Only two people were present, District Director Ryan Chappelle and the absolute chief of CTU, Director Westwood.

Seeing Westwood at the table made Jack edgy at once but Chappelle spoke first.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start out by wishing you all a happy 4^th of July,” Chappelle said with his stiff lip, making it sound more like an insult, “as you all know, CTU has started a tradition a few years back and we would like all of you to partake in that tradition this year as well.”

“Ryan, we’ve got a few threats we’re working on here,” Jack interrupted quickly, knowing where this was going to lead, “I don’t think any of us have time for a picnic today.”

The silence in both room was filled with cold tension.

Chappelle hated being interrupted and it happening in front of director Westwood, made it look even worse. It made it look as if he had no authority over his people and got no respect from them.

“Agent Bauer,” director Westwood cut in before Chappelle had a chance, “I know of your dislike - to put it mildly - for social gatherings, but this is one gathering you will attend. As Ryan was just saying, this is a CTU tradition and even though CTU is a very young agency compared to others, I cannot see any reason why we could not have our own traditions. I am aware of the threats you and your team are looking into, but at this point, you have no leads to follow and no arrests to make. A skeleton crew will remain at CTU and follow up on anything that needs immediate attention under Special Agent Janssens’ supervision. You have worked with her on previous occasions and I’m sure you’re well aware of her capacities.”

Jack dared a glimpse in her direction and met her eyes only for the briefest of moments, the mischief that played in them said enough. He was well aware of a lot of her capacities.

“I have sent a memo to all CTU personnel of foreign origin and they will ensure the service while you and your team attend our annual picnic.”

Westwood left a blank as he seemed to meet Jack’s eyes through the video screen.

“And attend you will, Special Agent Bauer … or you will enjoy a rather … extended vacation … do I make myself clear?”

For an agonizingly long second, the only sound Tony and Chloe heard, was the grinding of Jack’s teeth as he tried to stay in line.

Blowing his top now would get him that extended vacation without any kind of delay.

“Yes, sir.” Jack growled through clenched teeth.

“Good, District Director Chappelle will be over in half an hour and as usual transportation to and from the picnic grounds will be provided. You can all leave your vehicles at CTU and whoever would like a ride home afterwards, will be able to get one. I will see you all shortly.”

Jack was out of the room first, nearly bursting through the door and his feet slammed down on the hard floor as he made his way over to his office, the hard soles clattering on the metal staircase. He needed a moment to calm down and everybody knew better than to come into his office at this point, even Special Agent Janssens left him be for now.

But she didn't give him more than five minutes before going in without knocking.

Jack looked up, startled out of his thoughts but when he saw who was there, he swallowed the snappy remark about knocking he had been about to launch. His features softened at once and she reveled in the effect she had on him. He turned to jelly in her hands. He even turned to jelly in her mere presence. She went over to his desk and went around, sitting on the edge of it and facing him with a soft smile on her face.

“You don't seem all too pleased with the idea of that picnic.”

“I hate it.”

“Why? What's so bad about spending some time outdoors with a bunch of friends and not have to worry about work?”

“Everything.” Jack sighed, “It's just been a drag since Teri ...” his voice trailed off, he didn't like to talk about her, not even to Valerie, “I just hate to have everybody ask me how I'm holding up. It's been over five years now and every time someone reminds me of it, I feel like it happened yesterday. I wish they would all just let it rest.”

“That's not the only thing that bothers you, now is it?” Valerie asked quietly.

“I just hate these get-togethers.”

“Why?”

“Because.” Jack replied grumpily.

“Oh, they can't be that bad.”

“Trust me, they are.” Jack sighed.

“Well, I think you're gonna have to get over that, or take an extended vacation.”

“Yeah, well, if I could take it in Belgium, I wouldn't mind.” Jack replied, pushing up and closing the distance.

“That wouldn't do you any good, now would it ... coz I'll be here for the next two months.”

“Damn, that's right.” Jack hissed, “I'll have to figure something out then.”

“Yeah, how to survive the picnic and get back to me without too much stress.” Valerie replied tentatively.

Jack growled softly and closed the distance entirely, throwing a quick peek out before pressing his lips down on hers for a kiss.

There wasn't much more they could do in plain view and he hated having to hide like that. Just like Tony and Michelle had been hiding until they got married and even now, the shows of affection were limited to a minimum on the floor.

The kiss held a promise of more.

A promise of a hot night.

For now, they had to keep it contained though, he was about to leave and she really didn't need to get all hot and excited if they were going to be apart for a few hours, he could work her into a state of excitement in no time anyway.

Twenty minutes later, Chappelle walked onto the floor and everybody, except the skeleton crew that remained at CTU, started to pile out and into the waiting buses. Jack was among the last to leave and when he did, he was dragging his feet. Being one of the last out of the building also meant being somewhere in front of the bus and much to his 'delight', Chappelle got on right behind him.

When they reached the picnic grounds, there were several other buses already there and more arriving.

Director Westwood really meant it when he spoke of upholding traditions. Jack tagged along with a bunch of people including Tony, Michelle, Chloe and Chase. Those were the people he’d try to stick with for the time being, and hopefully he would be able to avoid too much talk about Teri. For the first half hour, they just mingled, greeting agents from other offices and running into far too many people who knew him and knew about Teri. Far too many people who asked about Teri. Asked how he was holding up.

For the most part he managed a polite smile and a soft “I’m doing fine” when asked, but he tried desperately to avoid going near those people who he knew would pry deeper. He already felt like shit, he didn’t need any more of this.

Thankfully, around noon everybody broke into small groups as the picnic baskets were handed out and Jack settled down with Tony and Michelle, Chloe, Chase, Edgar and three field agents who felt more comfortable around the head of Field Operations. There was no useless chitchat among these people, except for Edgar who was quipping his head off all the time. For a moment, Jack visualized the man’s body slumped against the tree he was sitting by, a bullet hole in his forehead and a grin folded on his face. The image stayed on his mind and it helped to lighten his mood.

The weather was absolutely terrific, it was hot as hell and he was sweating his butt off. The clear blue skies held a promise of a lot more of this and the breeze was just cool enough to make the heat bearable. Shortly after they were done, Jack got rid of his shirt, dropping it on the jacket he had long ago taken off and he stretched out, letting the sun beat down on him and warm him up to the bones. The happy smile was genuine. This definitely beat the stuffy and air-conditioned building they had traded in for a while.

“Hey, Jack,” Chase called, tapping him on the leg, “you coming?”

“Where to?” Jack asked lazily.

“Annual football game.” Chase replied excitedly.

The last thing on Jack’s mind right now, was physical effort.

“No, thanks,” he answered, already half-asleep, “I think I’m gonna work on my tan.”

“Sure?”

“Yeah, you go ahead and kick some ass.”

Chase pushed up and joined the others as they all headed over to the field. Even Edgar heaved himself off the grass and tagged along, huffing and puffing and sweating like a horse. The poor guy was breathing hard because of the heat and he made it to the field a full ten minutes after the others, but he wasn’t the last one to get there. Not everybody wanted to assist and the picnic grounds were littered with individuals or couples the likes of Jack, who preferred to take in some sun and enjoy the peace they were given for once. Jack heard the cheers for a while as the game got underway and he tried to follow the event with half an ear, but the heat became overwhelming and he felt really drowsy, so he rolled onto his stomach, folded his arms under his head and relaxed.

Within moments, he was snoring softly, sound asleep in the blistering sun … topless.

“Hey, sleeping beauty.”

Jack barely registered the words.

“Hey, Jack … wake up … time for the awards.”

He blinked sleepily and raised his head a little.

“The what?”

“The awards.” Tony replied, “Come on, let’s go.”

“I so hate that.” Jack growled grumpily.

He had been sleeping so well and from the feel of it, he had been sleeping for quite some time. His skin was burning up, he was sweating like a horse and his pants clung to his legs as he tried to move.

‘Ugh’

He hated feeling sticky like that.

He pushed up and grabbed his shirt, feeling the skin on his back pull taut.

“Tony.”

“Yah?”

“How long did I sleep?”

“I dunno, when did you fall asleep?”

“Before the game.”

Tony checked his watch.

“Almost two hours.”

“Dammit.”

“Why?” Tony asked, smirking.

“Smart-ass.” Jack launched, grimacing as he moved his arms to put his shirt back on.

He was going to regret this.

The left side of his face was glowing too and he thought of how stupid he was going to look with one side of his face all burnt up.

‘Dammit’

He tagged along with Tony to the small stage that had been put up and his eyes were drawn to the table lining the back. It held a dozen small trophies and Jack knew one of them had his name written all over it. If not more.

Director Westwood gave a short speech, thanking them all for attending and extending his hope for the day to be an enjoyable one, but then he moved on to the actual awards. A number of standard categories were handed out first, Chloe got one for “Most efficient analyst” and Chappelle got the “Least absences” award. The man was never sick. And even when he was, he wasn’t. With only a few more awards left to hand out, Jack became increasingly nervous. Two years ago, they had created a new category just for him “Most protocols broken” and he had gotten the ‘award’ twice already. He was pretty sure he’d be getting it again and he just hated being called up there to accept the damn plastic cup, get a pat on the back from Westwood and be told to work on that. At least he was getting results.

“And now, a special category.” Westwood announced and Jack felt half a dozen gazes lock on him already.

“One I am not proud to award,” Westwood continued, “and more specifically because this is the third year in a row this trophy goes to the same agent.” his eyes found Jack without hesitation, he had been scanning the crowd for him, “The award for “Most protocols broken” is once again for you, Special Agent Bauer.”

Jack dragged his feet to the steps and climbed them, accompanied by a cacophony of encouragements, whistles, clapping and w00ts.

He took the trophy from Westwood who patted him on the back as usual.

Thankfully Jack had seen it coming and he had braced for impact.

Each touch sent a jolt of electric current through him as Westwood’s hand stoked the fire on his back higher again.

Gritting his teeth at the pain in his back, he took a step away, but Westwood locked his hands on his shoulders and stopped him from going anywhere.

“Don’t go just yet, Special Agent Bauer,” Westwood said loud enough for the microphone to pick it up and carry his voice out to the gathered crowd, “I have something else for you.”

He reached out and picked up another trophy.

“I know how you dislike these social gatherings, so I figured a positive note would help you feel less bad about it. As head of Field Operations for the LA office, I’m happy to present you with the award for “Most cases resolved”. You and your team have been doing one hell of a job this year, agent Bauer, keep up the good work,” Westwood said, extending his hand to Jack this time, “but … try to stick to protocol every once in a while.” he added lightly.

This time, the cheers were all congratulatory and Jack left the stage, torn between feelings of disgust for having been ridiculed and feelings of pride for having earned a more prestigious trophy with his team.

Westwood continued with the next award which went to Tony for “Best Director of Operations”, which earned CTU LA another trophy yet. Westwood then announced the final category and their nominees.

“For the award of “Best marksman”, I would like to call the five nominees forward. Special Agent Chase Edmunds.”

The crowd roared as Chase strode up to the stage.

“Head of Field Operations, CTU LA, Special Agent Jack Bauer,”

‘God, not again’ Jack thought as he handed both his trophies to Chloe and turned back to the stage.

“Director of operations, CTU LA, Special Agent Tony Almeida.”

Another big cheer.

“Special Agent Eddy Vaughn.”

More cheers.

“And Head of Field Operations, CTU San Diego, Special Agent Bobby-Lee Simms.”

The whole group went back over to the field where the football game had been held, but now, targets had been placed on it and a number of weapons were ready for use on a table at one end of the field. The five drew a number from a pouch to determine the order in which they were to compete and one after the other took aim at the first target, all using the same weapon which had been readied by an experienced and impartial weapons expert. On the first three targets, they all scored equally, but when they switched to more precise gear, Chase and Jack stood out. The final target had to be moved three times before a winner was determined. Director Westwood had a pair of binoculars trained on the target and he announced the winner with a loud “Bull’s eye”.

Jack’s eagle eye and steady hand allowed him to plug the bull’s eye while Chase had put it in the first ring only seconds before.

The cheers were deafening and the congratulatory round of pats and handshakes pure agony, but the glow he felt wasn’t only because of the sunburn.

Chase was an excellent marksman and he had proven so on many occasions already, but this was one occasion where he still had to bow to his master.

Jack accepted his third award of the day, actually feeling pretty good about himself now.

Meanwhile, the catering service had readied the cake and pie buffet and everybody lined up to get a piece of it along with a cup of coffee. Dark clouds started gathering in the distance and it wasn’t long before the first bolts of lightning pierced the far-away sky, followed by the rumble of thunder. The winds were slowly bringing the clouds over to them and it didn’t look like they would be staying out there much longer.

Half an hour later, the roaring thunder was only seconds away and everybody hurried to the buses.

By the time the last of them had gotten in, rain was pouring out of the heavens by the buckets, drenching everything it encountered on the way down. Windshield wipers set to maximum speed, all lights ablaze, the drivers could hardly make out the road ahead of them and the buses rolled down the field at a sluggish pace with a great number of passengers praying they wouldn’t get stuck in the mud.

Their bus made it to the road and started its slow way down the flooded asphalt. The drains were unable to follow the pace and pretty quickly, the roads turned into rivers, forcing the drivers to slow down even more. The storm was right on top of them, the skies outside darker than hell and the drive to CTU took over an hour. The guards waved them through and the driver of the first bus pulled right up to the doors to allow his passengers to get inside in three or four big strides. The guards at the door held them wide open, making it even easier for everybody to get inside. The second driver had the bright idea of steering his bus into the underground parking lot at the risk of having to be towed back out in the morning or after the storm faded, but found the entire lot flooded and the engine stalled, leaving them stranded at the far end of the lot. Those passengers had no other choice but to get off the bus there and wade through the knee-high water to the staircase at the other end. The elevator having been shut down already for security reasons, they had to climb the stairs up to the floor.

The two analysts were the first to look up from their work, a liaison looked up three seconds later and watched the human mass flood the floor, all dripping wet and cursing, followed a few minutes later by another batch coming in from the back, soaked from the feet up this time. Within moments, the floor seemed to turn into a swimming pool with the amount of water amassing on it.

Shirt clinging to his back, three trophies stuck under his arm, Jack shot up the stairs to his office. He had to get out of those sticky clothes. Thankfully, he always kept a change of clothes in his locker up there.

He blasted through the door and dropped the trophies on the couch nearby after what he struggled out of the shirt and tossed it on the table. As he walked by, he noticed his screen was on and he stopped to look at was on it. It displayed a file of someone on their watch list and he wondered if he had forgotten to turn it off, but he hadn’t been looking at that file today. Then he noticed another open window and switched to that. It was the live feed from one of the interrogation rooms and he saw Valerie in there, apparently grilling the man whose file she had accessed.

“What the hell?” he said quietly.

He hurried to his locker and pulled out a clean shirt, not bothering to get out of his pants at this point, he wanted to know what she was up to. He tucked his shirt into his pants as he went down the stairs, heading straight for interrogation room 1. He entered the adjacent control room and watched her through the two-way mirror. She was definitely grilling the sonofabitch. He watched for a few minutes until things skidded to a stop at what point he buzzed the intercom once, letting her know she was needed in the other room. She gave the man a hard stare, as if to warn him not to move an inch and she left the room, coming into the control room.

“What’s this about?” Jack asked without introduction.

“Linked the s.o.b. to one of the threats we got this morning and it became valid, so I went in and got him.”

“You?”

“Yeah, I commandeered some SWAT guys and went after them.”

“Them?”

“I got two more put on ice until I’m done with him.”

“You hauled in three suspects by yourself?” Jack asked, once more baffled at the woman’s stubbornness.

“Hey, you’re not the only super agent here, Bauer.” she replied with a smile.

“So, how was the picnic?” she asked, switching to a much lighter mode.

“A drag as always.”

“I bet it was … tell me something … you weren’t wearing that shirt this morning … what happened?”

“We got rained out.”

“Yeah, right.” Valerie snapped, unwilling to believe him.

“Hey, my pants are soaking wet too, I just didn’t get the time to get out of them yet.”

“Oh, but I can help you with that.” Valerie replied suggestively while taking a step forward.

Her hands were on his thighs before either of them realized it and she noticed they were wet.

“What have you been up to, buster?” she asked accusingly.

“I’m telling you, all hell broke loose, it’s pouring rain out there, the streets are flooded and it took us over an hour to get back here crawling down the damn road with zero visibility.”

“So you’re all wet, huh.” Valerie continued her suggestive play, running her hands up to his butt.

“All wet below the belt.” Jack replied, feeling the heat grow in his loins.

“Interesting.” Valerie replied, running her hands higher.

She felt him tense up under her touch though and she pulled back a little, looking at him with intensity in her gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sunburn.” Jack sighed quietly.

“Bad?”

He nodded.

“Show me.”

She was already unbuttoning his shirt and he let it slip off as he turned.

“Oh, my god, what did you do? Lie down on top of the friggin’ barbecue?”

“I fell asleep.”

“Come on, let’s go get you something to take care of that.”

“What about him?” Jack asked, motioning to the suspect.

“He’s not going anywhere.” Valerie replied lightly.

The man was handcuffed to the chair, arms and legs.

If he wanted to go anywhere, he’d be taking that chair with him and he’d have a damn hard time walking.

She led him straight to medical and called out to a nurse for a helping hand.

“He fell asleep in the sun, he’s gonna need something to ease the burn.”

“How long?”

“Two hours.” Jack growled through clenched teeth.

“I’ll get you something.”

She came back a moment later, handing a bottle of lotion to Valerie.

“Can you give me a hand putting this on?”

“I’ll do it, don’t worry.” Valerie said, taking the bottle and pouring some lotion into her hand, “You just make sure he’s not in too much pain from this.”

She put the bottle down on the bed next to Jack and rubbed the lotion across both hands.

“This might hurt.” she said quietly.

Jack merely nodded and closed his eyes, preparing mentally.

He jumped slightly when her hands first touched him, but the lotion was nice and cool on his burning skin and he let out a whole-hearted sigh of delight as the burn finally subsided a little. She gradually worked more lotion onto his skin, applying a big layer to keep him as comfortable as possible. He was going to regret that. Dearly.

And she was going to have the more than pleasant task of applying that lotion to his back for the next few days.

She took care of his arms and face as well and by the time she was done, he was fully relaxed. She stood watching his peaceful features for a moment as she often did when he slept in her presence, but she knew he wasn’t sleeping now. He was enjoying the coolness seeping into his skin though. He would need a lot more of that in the next few hours. His skin had to be kept as moist as possible and he would have to drink a lot to keep from getting dehydrated.

“I’ll be back in an hour or so.” she said quietly, but he growled and pushed up.

“I’ll help you work those guys, you’re not gonna interrogate all three of them on your own.”

“You need t-”

“I’m fine.” he said quickly, interrupting her, “And I’ve got a job to do.”

“Have it your way.”

They left the medical wing and went back to the interrogation room. An hour later, they had gotten just about all they were going to get from their suspect and called it quits. They needed a break anyhow and when they reached the floor, they saw everybody was still there. Even Ryan.

The storm had apparently worsened while they had been in interrogation and it seemed like they would all be stuck there overnight, so Ryan had already started making arrangements to make the night as comfortable as possible. The two other suspects had been put into interrogation room 3, which was the largest and security had been issued orders to put the third one in there as well, that way, the bunks in the cells could be used by CTU personnel. The couches in the offices would be put to the same use and whoever had anything that might serve to accommodate themselves or others, had been asked to provide that.

Chloe was just then coming back onto the floor with a bright pink sleeping bag and assorted pillow, while Chase went into the men’s locker room with a portable TV. Those who wanted to, could go there and watch whatever was on and managed to reach them through the storm. Edgar was trotting around the floor with a teddy bear under his arm and the big man looked absolutely ridiculous to Jack, but he dared not say anything at this time. He was sure he looked pretty ridiculous himself and getting that protocol award again was enough humiliation for one day. He nodded to Valerie and they headed back to the interrogation rooms, going to number 3 to ‘retrieve’ their next suspect. Just as Jack had punched in the security code and the door unlocked, everything went black around them.

“What the …?” Jack exclaimed, realizing the power had gone out.

The emergency lights were the only source of light for the time being and Jack wondered why the hell the back-up generator hadn’t kicked in yet. Normally, in a situation like this, it kicked in immediately to allow them to continue working. A blackout like this would shut them down completely otherwise, so they had backup available.

“Why isn’t that generator starting up?” Jack asked softly, speaking more to himself than to Valerie.

“Where is it?”

Jack hesitated.

“Basement.”

“Flooded.” Valerie concluded.

Just then, the door flew open and one of the suspects threw himself at Jack who stood closest by. He staggered back under the impact and slammed into the opposite wall, sending a fierce jolt of pain through his back and making him cry out.

“Security!” Valerie yelled loudly, alerting others.

They came running, bearing flashlights and found a fighting pack of wolves at the door to interrogation room 3. Valerie had thrown a powerful kick to the legs of the suspect who had charged Jack which had sent him reeling and Jack dove on top of him while Valerie turned to tackle the two others who were only now trying to exit the room. She had no idea why these assholes hadn’t been put in handcuffs to the least, but that didn’t matter, all that mattered was to keep them contained. Jack was putting in a fine exhibition of Greek wrestling while she battered the throat of the first one, sending him to his knees, gasping for air at what point she could turn her attention to the biggest of the three. She dodged a punch and threw one of herself, feeling her fist bounce off the man’s gut.

The running footsteps and shouts told her help was nearby, but the suspect made another attempt and she was forced to retaliate. This time, with her foot.

The big guy went down with a squeal.

No matter how big they are, they all have the same weak spot.

Moments later, light and security guards piled into the room, securing all three of the suspects and this time, they were all put in cuffs and shackled to their chair.

She turned back to see Jack leaning against the far wall, bent over and grimacing in pain and she hurried over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder as lightly as she possibly could.

“Are you okay?”

“My back’s on fire.” Jack hissed through clenched teeth.

“I bet it is, let’s go.”

They wouldn’t be interrogating anybody else tonight.

She took him back to medical but no more beds were available and she grabbed the bottle of lotion.

“We’ll go to your office.”

But the office had been taken over by personnel as well, five of them had gotten comfortable on the two available couches.

“Locker room.” Valerie suggested to which Jack nodded.

“Is anybody checking on the damn generator?” Jack growled after missing a step and nearly tumbling down the stairs.

A quick reflex saved both their butts because Valerie was going down in front of him.

Tony and Ryan were.

But as Valerie had said, the generator room was flooded too, just like every other inch of the basement and lower levels.

“Now what?” Ryan asked, hands on his hips, lips pinched into a thin white line.

“Well, we can’t start it up until the water’s gone down.” Tony replied.

“Pump it?” Ryan asked.

“Without electricity? I don’t see how.”

“Great!” Ryan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, “Just great.”

“One hell of a way to spend the night.”

He turned and stampeded back up to the floor, his way lighted sporadically by the emergency lights high on the walls.

With the electricity out, so was the air-conditioning in the building and the temperature rose to an uncomfortable high very quickly. Everybody tried to stay as cool as possible, but within the hour, every single soul in the building, was sweating like a horse and it was impossible to get any kind of rest, let alone sleep.

This was going to be a very long night for everybody.

Up in Tony’s office, he and Michelle shared the small couch, while Ryan had stretched out on the large one.

The sight was one to remember. His tie was gone and so was his jacket, the three top buttons on his shirt were undone and it clung to his skin, wrinkled and soaked with sweat, his face a bright red balloon, not used to this kind of humid heat and his hair seemed to have been glued flat against his skull. He kept fanning himself with a folder and switched hands repeatedly to avoid cramps.

Michelle had a small battery-powered fan that she used every once in a while. There were no spare batteries and she didn’t want it to die on her in the middle of the night, so she endured the sweat pouring down from the hairline and messing up her make-up for as long as she could before turning on the small fan and enjoying the coolness it provided.

Down in the women’s locker room, Jack had shed his shirt once more and had stretched out on the wooden bench running between the rows of lockers with Valerie literally sitting on his butt and applying the lotion to his bright red back, neck and shoulders in long and carefully slow strokes, appeasing the burn gradually. The room was empty but for them and the lighting beyond poor. She could barely make out the shape of his body before her, but that didn’t keep her from doing what she knew needed to be done. If she didn’t, he’d be grid-locked in the morning and wouldn’t make a move without crying out in pain.

When the heat became unbearable, she thought of something and felt her way into the shower area, turning on every single faucet and setting them to ‘cold’. It generated enough cold to make them comfortable and she grinned widely, realizing they were probably the only two people in the entire building who weren’t sweating their asses off.

Shortly after, the soft snoring told her Jack had fallen asleep and she got as comfortable as she could, making a bit of a bed out of a bunch of towels. Sleep was on her in a matter of minutes as well and they slept peacefully through the night.

It was a Fourth of July none of them would ever forget.

The End.