Just a reminder

Heya guys,

I just wanted to post a little reminder to all of you out there reading my blog.

Have you picked up your copy of the "Writers' Anarchy II: The End of the World as we Wrote it" already?

This awesome anthology features my first "officially" published story.
The title should tell you all you need to know, but let me tell you a little more about it anyways. This anthology is the result of a collaboration over at the Fiction Writers Group on Facebook, a great community of writers, young and old, beginning and established, self-publishing or not. There are 30 stories to be read, all by different authors, all with their own view of The End of the World.
Some have interpreted that in the largest possible way and have chosen to write the End of the World. Others have narrowed it down and tell the tale of an individual whose world comes to an end. Still others have written about the End of the World as we know it and have established a new world.

So what's your take on that?
Is there someone somewhere with his finger hovering over the "reset" button?
Are aliens stalking us, waiting for the best time to strike?
Or will Mother Nature put an end to human life on this planet?

"Writers' Anarchy II: The End of the World as we Wrote it" will give you a shot at each of those options and more, so pick up your copy today!!
Available on Kindle or paperback on Amazon, or at Createspace and even available for my Canadian friends on Amazon.ca

Make sure you get your copy and leave us a review.
You can also visit the Writers Anarchy website for more information on the project, the participating authors and upcoming project at the Writers Anarchy website.


Hey wait, there's more!!!
It's not the only thing I've published!!!

There's another anthology, called "Flash It!".

In this anthology, each author is featured with two stories. There is no general theme, just a collection of 60 stories you can read faster than lightning. That's right, you heard me. All of these are 1.000 words or less. You won't even have time to blink and you'll be done.
So, if you're always running short on time and are afraid you'll never be able to read anything anymore, pick up your copy of the "Flash It!" anthology and you'll get exactly what you're looking for; a quick read for whenever you find a gap in your busy schedule.

Available in e-book or paperback version, whatever fits your needs the best.

Paperback can be ordered here and this is where you go for the Kindle version.

I'm looking forward to reading some reviews, so hurry on over and get your copy now!!!

Happy reading!!!!!

Flash It! Anthology - Released!!!

Heya folkies.
The second anthology I have contributed to, has been released today, November 1st.

Get your copy now!!!


This Flash It! anthology contains flash fiction (1.000 words or less) of any genre. It's a great collection of very short stories that will carry you away when you don't really have time to get into a long read. Each of the contributors has done his/her very best to offer a wide variety of high quality, inviting and thrilling stories.

You can find the hardcopy here and your Kindle version here.

I will be looking forward to reading your comments!!!

Happy reading!

PS. Edited to add: You can now also get your copy as a PDF downloadable file. Get it at Lulu

The Chosen - WW 24-hour contest - Summer 2013 - all audiences

Heya folks,


We've heard back from Writer's Weekly as the results are in: I didn't win a damn thing!

Duh!!

But hey, that means I can ask you guys to give my story a read and tell me if you think I should've won something, even if it's just a door prize (which is an e-book of your choice). So, here it comes, I've left the prompt in, so you can see what the starting point was on this one.

Enjoy the read and make sure to let me know what you think ;o)

Thank you!!!



Prompt:

Holding the sleeping infant on her shoulder, she gazed peacefully at her surroundings. Tourists wandered in and out of stores, an old man was setting up his easel by the lakeshore, and a

child's balloon escaped into the breeze. A moment later, she looked up as shouts startled her and the baby. Everybody was running in her direction...

~~~~~

The chosen.

Holding the sleeping infant in a loving embrace, she let her eyes drift. Feeling peaceful and emotionally fulfilled, she took in her surroundings. The sun warmed her face and she instinctively adjusted the hat to better protect the small head and face, keeping her baby safe from the sun. Tourists wandered in and out of stores down by the lake, eager to find the perfect souvenir to take home with them and thankful for the momentary escape from the heat. Others strolled along the lakeshore, happy to be near the water as it brought some relief. On the far side of the lake, an old man was setting up his easel, his slender limbs moving in slow motion but with experience. He had probably performed these actions a thousand times before.

Her eyes continued to float as she took in the scenery; a group of children playing near a fountain, their cheerful voices carried on the warm winds blowing across the land; the seemingly endless line of people at the ice cream cart enjoying a clown’s entertainment while they shuffled forward a few inches at a time, their minds on the ice cold treat that awaited them. A young family walked by, the children running ahead, dragging colorful balloons in their wake. She smiled and watched as one of the balloons came detached, causing an immediate reaction in the entire family. The younger boy, his balloon now drifting up lazily, cried out in anguish at the loss of his toy; his brother, a few years older, stopped and turned, his face turning to sadness in a blink; the mother moved forward to comfort her child while the father attempted to recover the balloon. He only missed it by an inch, but the wind lifted it beyond his reach and he turned to his child, an apology ready on his lips.

The baby in her arms stirred and she looked away from the family, giving all of her attention to the child. A moment later, she looked up as shouts startled her and the baby. Everybody was running in her direction. She tightened her arms instinctively, comforting and protecting as her baby cried in alarm, but she could not tend to it now. First, she needed to understand why everyone was running and why they were all running in her direction. She saw nothing that might have caused a panic in all those people, yet they ran as if their lives depended on it. Her eyes found the young family as they joined the others in their inexplicable race; the youngest boy -still sad about the loss of his balloon- now cradled in his father’s arms for safety; his brother pacing their mother with some difficulty, holding on to her hand for dear life. She could not see fear or anguish on their faces. What she saw puzzled her and she turned away from the advancing crowd, looking behind her for answers she did not have.

The mountain slope behind her house was empty, as it had been when she stepped out a few moments earlier. She saw nothing that might explain the sudden rush of the villagers and tourists alike. Even the old man had abandoned his easel and was making his way to the mountain, an eagerness in his halting steps she could not clarify. She could hear their voices, excited and vibrant, rolling up along the path ahead of them. The mountain trembled softly beneath her bare feet as dozens more began the gentle climb some 200 feet away. They would be upon her in moments and still she knew not what had caused the stampede in the quiet and peaceful lakeshore village. She whirled around, still trying to hush the child in her arms, as the fastest men reached the edge of her property. They slowed but did not stop and quickly pushed the ornate gate out of the way, continuing their rush forward as others followed in their wake.

Her fear gripped her tightly as they approached gingerly, arms outstretched, an expression of amazement and happiness on their faces. She took a step back, turning sideways to protect the child, but they were all around her now, filling the garden with their excitement. Their voices blended together, making it impossible for her to understand what they were saying; their hands touched her, gently, reverently. The murmur overwhelmed her with its rhythm and the words became clear.

‘The one.

You are the one.’

She turned slowly, feeling their hands on her body, realizing with a sudden shock her child was no longer in her arms. Her breath stalled in her throat and her eyes scanned the crowd, urgently and desperately. She did not see her baby boy. She did not hear his cries. A tug on her arm made her look down and she saw the young boy who had lost his balloon moments before their irrational rush. He was no longer sad, instead his little face beamed with expectation.

“Can you bring back my balloon?” he asked, hopeful.

“I don’t know.” she answered, her mind racing.

Suddenly, the world went dark and the murmurs ceased, causing her ears to ring with the memory of them. The hands fell away from her and everyone stood in silent shock.

“Cut!” a voice rang out from the darkness, “Who turned off the lights in here?”

“Goddamn it!”

 The end.

Nightmare on 3rd Street - Flash Fic - All audiences

Here's yet another flash fic I wrote.

This one is not 24-related, it is however Kiefer Sutherland-related.

I hope you'll enjoy the read.

Nightmare on 3^rd street.

Out of all days, it just had to happen today!

It couldn’t have happened otherwise.

Murphy’s Law, you know.

Everything that could go wrong, would go wrong.

It started this morning when he spilled coffee all over him and lost half an hour taking another shower and changing into clean clothes. Then his car wouldn’t start and he had to call a cab, which made him even later.

Shooting had been a total disaster and he had called it a day in the early afternoon.

It really was no use insisting.

He wanted to go out to his favorite restaurant, but they had a wedding party that evening and didn’t take any reservations. Four other restaurants were full as well and he had given up trying, grabbed his wallet and jacket and had gone to the nearby diner.

It wasn’t all that, but their food was good and the atmosphere relaxed.

After dinner he decided to go have a drink, it might help ease the tension.

He had been sitting there for a while when a woman had started flirting with him and it had changed his mood altogether.

For the first time today, a smile played on his face.

He had sent a drink over and she had taken it as an invitation to join him.

She was already a little drunk and once she was at his table, she became very flirtatious, coming onto him big time.

It was funny how she practically dared him into kissing her.

He took up the dare, leaned closer and kissed her briefly, his lips barely brushing against hers.

The heavy hand on his shoulder made him jump in surprise and he turned around.

A big man loomed over him and he heard the girl say something that sounded an awful lot like “Hi sweetheart”, which made his breath catch in his throat.

The guy grabbed his shirt, pulled him to his feet and shoved him hard against the chest, nearly knocking him down on the table.

“What the hell are you doing kissing my wife?” the guy yelled in his face.

For once he hadn’t checked the woman’s hands. He always did, to make sure there was no wedding ring.

He tried to get the man to calm down, telling him he wasn’t trying anything and it had just been a friendly peck, but he couldn't stop the rising fist.

The other stood a full 10’ taller than him and that fist looked pretty damn big, so he put his hands up in surrender, hoping to stop him from actually hitting him. He really didn’t feel like ending the night in the emergency room.

Instead of hitting him, the guy pulled hard on his shirt, throwing him forward, and he could barely catch himself, knocking his bad knee on the hard wooden floor. It sent a jolt of pain through his leg and he didn’t move as fast as he could’ve.

The guy’s foot came down on his left hip, pushing him sideways and forward, sending him flying between the legs of a nearby table.

He rolled and the other grabbed his shirt again, pulling him back to his feet, yelling some more.

It was weird how nobody even tried to help him. It was obvious he didn’t stand much of a chance against Gigantor and if he started pounding on him, he’d slap his butt into hospital in no time. Maybe someone had called the police. Maybe.

The guy pulled on his shirt again, flinging him forward once more. His knee buckled on him and he had to steady himself on the edge of the table to keep from falling. He turned to face the man, a painful grimace on his face. The woman was still in her chair. She hadn’t moved, she hadn’t said anything, she was simply watching her husband throw him around. He would’ve appreciated it if she had at least tried to stop her husband, but she didn’t look like she was about to.

“Stop looking at her, you fuck!”

He snapped his head around to look at the husband instead.

Still nobody was moving to help him.

Nobody was trying to reason with the guy or stop his attack and it scared him.

It scared him to know he was alone.

The man came back at him, grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward again, pulling him into his punch as he landed it.

The power of it dazed him and he staggered on his feet.

Surely someone would come to help him now, but he didn’t hear anything; nobody was trying to stop this.

The fist landed in his gut this time, knocking the wind out of him.

The guy held him up and hit him again, letting go of his shirt at the same time and he dropped to his knees, gasping for air.

He looked up at the man who stood waiting, a huge grin on his face.

He was ready to take him apart, one piece at a time.

The fist rose again and he brought his arms up to protect himself.

The touch was soft.

Gentle.

So was the voice that called out to him.

“Kiefer … wake up.”

He lowered his arms and opened his eyes.

He looked into her eyes, a beautiful grayish blue.

She was smiling at him, reassuringly … comforting.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

The tension left him and he nodded, managing a faint smile.

Yeah, he was okay.

Now, he was.

“Were you having that nightmare again, baby?”

He nodded.

“Oh, come here, let me make you all better.”

She leaned over and kissed him gently.

“Better?”

He nodded again.

It always made him better when she kissed him.

“Try to get some more sleep, you’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

She settled in his arm, her head on his chest like always.

He kissed her on the top of her head, closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Finality - 24 Flash Fic - All audiences

Here's another one of my flash fics.

With this one, I broke one of my rules for writing 24 Fan Fiction. I will leave you to discover which one.

If you would like to read more, there is another story that starts off with this, but it *is* a flash fic of its own, it has existed as such and will continue to do so.

Enjoy .... if you can.

Finality.

Jack pulled to the curb and cast a long look at the dark building.

He knew he had no way out.

He had to do this.

He couldn’t let her down.

He still wasn’t sure his heart was actually beating, but he was moving, so it had to be.

Hearing her after thinking she had been killed had knocked him off his feet. It was the last voice he expected to hear.

His heart had kicked into overdrive and part of his brain had screamed to stop imagining things, but then Cheng came on the line and told him to call back on a secure line in ten minutes, stating a number. Jack still didn’t know how he had managed to even understand the number, let alone remember it long enough to call back.

Cheng’s instructions were simple.

Be at this address in thirty minutes or she dies.

‘For real this time.’

He wouldn’t let her down, had to get her out of there.

No matter what.

Whatever Cheng wanted from him, he’d give it, if only they let Audrey go.

If he wanted to take him back to China and torture the living hell out of him some more, Jack would go willingly.

He wouldn’t let her down.

Couldn’t.

Not again.

Not her.

He got out of the car and closed the door.

With one last sigh, he headed towards the building, keeping his eyes on the darkness ahead.

Nothing moved, noting stirred, not a sound was heard.

Yet they were there.

Waiting for him.

And so was she.

He prayed to god he would be able to get her out of harm’s way.

He wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to her.

He couldn’t lose her.

Not again.

If he lost her a third time, that would be it.

Three times a charm.

He drew his weapon as he reached the building and pressed his back against the wall, listening intently but hearing nothing. He tried the door and slipped inside, staying close to the wall, letting his eyes adapt to the darkness. They were in the basement and Jack located the stairs leading down, taking them very slowly, gun aimed into the darkness. There was some light at the bottom of the stairs, but not much. It originated from soft glowing lamps in the middle of the room, cutting through the darkness around but not far enough to illuminate the entire room.

Jack spotted Cheng first.

Three goons with him.

And a shape huddled on the floor between them.

Cheng had his back turned, but when one of the goons warned him, he turned away from Audrey and looked at Jack.

“We were expecting you mister Bauer. Miss Raines was getting a little worried that you would not come.”

“Let her go Cheng, I’m here now.”

“Why don’t you join us mister Bauer. I’m sure miss Raines would like to see you again.”

Jack stepped forward, his gun trained on Cheng’s face.

“Did I not tell you to come unarmed mister Bauer?” Cheng asked angrily at the sight of it, “Or do you want miss Raines to get hurt?”

“Let her go. You don’t need her anymore.” Jack snarled in response, keeping his gun trained on Cheng.

“Oh but that is where you are wrong mister Bauer. We do need her.”

Cheng’s words hit home with Jack.

Of course they needed her.

To make sure he gave them the answers they were looking for.

They would use her against him now that the both of them were in their hands.

They would hurt her to make him talk.

And they would keep hurting her to convince him to keep talking.

Until he had nothing left to tell them.

He couldn’t do that to her.

He loved her too much to put her through that.

Even if he talked, they would still hurt her, to make sure he would stay docile.

Besides, what Cheng wanted from him, he couldn’t give.

The answers they were looking for, were not answers Jack was willing to give.

This time, there was no way out.

Nothing he could do to save the day.

Alone, facing four armed men who held the woman he loved at gunpoint, there was only one thing Jack could do.

“Put your gun down mister Bauer.” Cheng ordered dryly, “Or do you want miss Raines to get hurt?”

Jack’s gun moved off target, not entirely, but just enough to lead them to believe he was going to put the gun down and give up. It bought him a few seconds. His gaze shifted from Cheng to Audrey, his eyes filling with tears the moment he met hers.

“I love you Audrey.” he said softly.

She understood what he was about to do and her eyes widened.

“I’m sorry.” Jack whispered as a first tear fell from his eye.

He turned the gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Eyes widened in shock as his lifeless body crashed to the floor, gun clattering from his hand.

An agonizing scream ripping from her throat, Audrey plunged forward, reaching him seconds after his body hit the floor. Her scream died down into sobs when she saw the gaping hole and gushing blood.

Her world skidded to an end realizing he had done this to save her.

It had been the only way.

Cheng came up behind her, gun in hand, a disappointed look on his face.

Jack Bauer had outsmarted him … again.

This was the third time he slipped through his hands.

For good this time.

He raised his arm and pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore through Audrey’s skull and threw her down.

When her body hit Jack’s, his arm wrapped around her and for a  moment Cheng thought he survived, but when they checked for a pulse, they found none.

They were together again and he wouldn’t let go anymore.

United in death, nothing could do them part.

There would be …

No …

More …

Going In - 24 Flash Fic - All audiences

Here's another one of my flash fics.


Enjoy.

Going in.

The night had been long.

Very long.

Now, the time had finally come to move in.

The warehouse was dark for the largest part except the office on the mezzanine.

People had come and gone all night long but their main target hadn’t shown himself until a short while ago. At that time, the warehouse had been filled with armed men and the risk of barging in had been too high. Now all the guns had left, or at least most of them, and the area had quieted down.

The teams were ready, standing by, waiting for the go.

He checked one last time.

The thermoscan clearly indicated there were only two hostiles on the ground floor and three more upstairs in the office.

The entry points were clear and the teams had been set up effectively. With only five hostiles to deal with, there wasn’t much that could go wrong. But still, there was enough that could go wrong, like with every bust.

“All teams call in.”

“Team alpha, ready and holding.”

“Team beta, ready and holding.”

“Team delta, ready and holding.”

“All teams ready, we are good to go. Move in.”

He moved ahead, leading the four man team to the entry point he had chosen.

It was the closest to the office and they would be the ones who would have to apprehend the main man.

The other teams would deal with the muscle on the ground floor and sweep the area.

Four teams seemed excessive, but they didn’t know it would come down to this, they had been expecting more hostiles to be on site the moment they moved in. He wasn’t going to tell one of them to stand down though, that would be a waste of resources.

And if anything went wrong, it would be held against him.

They reached the entry point and the agent set the charges.

“All teams, status report.”

“Team alpha, charges set and holding.

“Team beta, charges set and holding.”

“Team delta, setting charges.”

“All teams, hold your positions.”

“Team delta, charges set.”

“All teams, on my mark.”

“Three … two … one … mark.”

All four charges set off at the exact same time, blowing doors off their hinges and wall panels out of their places.

The men stormed the building from all sides while gunfire erupted almost instantly.

He was sure nobody knew what they were shooting at right now, they were just shooting to impress.

“Hostile down.” came a voice over the earpiece.

More gunfire erupted as he led his team up the stairs to the office.

One man appeared in the door but he was gunned down before he had a chance to raise his weapon on them.

“Hostile down.”

This was going like clockwork.

He reached the top of the stairs and spotted his target.

The man knew he had no way out but he was determined to sell his hide dearly.

The only other person in the room was a woman.

She looked shocked and scared senseless, abandoned by the man who took care of himself now.

“Hostile down.” another voice came over his earpiece, “All clear.”

“Becket, you have nowhere to go.” he called, flattening himself against the wall next to the window.

“Give it up.”

“Fuck you.” Becket called back, emphasizing his words with a bullet slamming into the window frame.

“Don’t make us shoot you.” he called again, going low and moving under the window with one man behind him, the others held their position at the top of the stairs.

He looked inside and saw the woman now huddled in the far corner, her arms clasped around her head.

He didn’t know if he heard her scream or not.

It meant she was out of immediate danger and he decided to bust through the door.

If Becket was thinking about resisting arrest longer, he might be persuaded by the two of them.

He signaled to the man on his tail who nodded his confirmation, the grip on his assault rifle tightening somewhat.

He took a step back and kicked the door inward, sending it crashing against the wall.

Becket wasn’t intent on giving up though and he stepped into view, bringing his gun up.

“Drop it!” he called.

Becket leveled the gun and he saw the man’s finger tightening on the trigger.

His reactions were faster, squeezing the trigger on his own gun in a reflex.

Becket was hit high in the chest and flung back, his gun thrown off target.

A second bullet threw him all the way down.

This time, he did hear the woman scream.

Becket crashed to the floor and he moved in, kicked the gun out of the man’s hand and quickly got handcuffs on him before calling for a medic.

A loud whistle sounded suddenly and all the lights came on.

The agent beside him helped Becket to his feet and unlocked the handcuffs.

“I’d say that’s a winner.” Becket said, holding out his hand.

He took it and shook it, feeling the immense power the man possessed.

“I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Please, don’t sir me, it gives me the creeps, it’s Jack.”

“Thank you Jack.”

“Welcome aboard.” Jack said, giving the young man’s hand one last squeeze before letting go.

“Let’s clean up and go home.”

They left the warehouse, the final step in the recruiting procedures for CTU.

Jack knew the young man had potential and he was glad he proved him right all along.

He went to his car and retrieved a shiny leather pouch from his glove compartment, turned and tossed it to him.

“Like I said, welcome aboard, agent Almeida.”

“Thanks.” Tony replied, a big grin on his face now that he finally had his badge in hand.

It stayed there for a while.

He had just made it onto one of the toughest teams out there.

Jack Bauer’s team.

The End.

SOS - 24 Flash Fic - All audiences

I decided to join a forum challenge a while back.

The challenge being to write a complete, stand-alone story in 1.000 words or less.

Knowing my average word count is about 50.000, doing it in under 1.000 was a *real* challenge for me.

It took a few tries and a lot of tweaking to get it right, but I've managed to write a few.

Here's a first one.

Enjoy!

SOS

The night was dark, a promise of a thunderous downpour hung thick in the air around him. He was dressed all in black, a ski mask rolled up to allow easier breathing until it was time to move. The distant rumble could be thunder, but he recognized it for what it was; the slowly growing roar of a jet engine. If his information was accurate, it would land on this strip, but he had no idea if they were coming in from the north or south, so he had positioned a team on each end, taking up his own position with another team in the middle of the long stretch of hard-packed dirt. He tried to pierce the clouds with his eyes, his night-vision goggles enhancing his natural vision, but it wasn’t until the roar of the engine was almost on top of him that the jet’s flashing lights became visible through the clouds. They were coming in from the south and Jack ordered the south team to hustle to the north end as quickly and as quietly as possible. He held his team in hiding until the jet sped past them, then he ordered the two quads to fall in behind and trail it.

When the plane pulled to a stop, Jack and his team were coming up fast and the sound of the dying engine covered the sound of their quads which allowed them to creep right up behind it and take up their positions. The north team moved in as well, cautiously so as not to be spotted by the pilot or anybody else on board.

The south team reported they were 60 seconds out.

Jack knew there would only be a pilot and two men, but they had to move cautiously, he could not afford to make any mistakes on this one. If he blew it, he was a dead man.

The lock on the door above disengaged and Jack watched the door open, unfolding to become a staircase. The man at the top of the stairs stayed in the shadows and Jack couldn’t see him, nor could he see a thing inside.

The pilot left the plane after a few minutes and he turned away from Jack, he stretched as he took a few steps away from the stairs and Jack clicked the radio transmitter twice. A shadow rose behind the pilot and enveloped him in a swift and silent move, taking him out of action. He was dragged away and hidden behind one of the quads. His white shirt would draw immediate attention.

Jack heard voices from inside the jet. They were getting impatient.

“He’s late.”

“Maybe he’s on the other side, it could take some time to get here.”

“He’d better hurry, we have a package to deliver.”

Jack heard a short cry of pain and he felt the adrenaline in his blood peak.

They had better not be hurting her.

He moved in on the staircase, keeping his eyes and silenced gun on the dark gap up above.

“Go check if you can see him.”

Jack stalled, his foot on the first step; his hands tightened around the gun as he raised it.

The man came into view and as he stuck his head out to check around, Jack squeezed the trigger twice in quick succession. Both bullets struck home and the man fell forward, tumbling down the stairs towards him. Jack took a quick step back, keeping his gun trained on the gap above.

“Brandon?” the other called.

“Brandon talk to me.”

Jack stepped over the downed man and started up, keeping his gun on the gap. He made it all the way up and as he slowly angled his arms and head around the edge of the doorway, he saw them. The hostile was holding her in front of him, using her as a shield.

“CTU!” Jack yelled, “Drop the gun!”

“Get the fuck out of here!” the man yelled back, “Or I’ll kill her.”

The gun moved from Jack to the woman’s head and she screamed in panic.

She was struggling to get away from him, but he held her tightly.

“Do you want her death on your head?” the hostile snarled.

“Take it easy.” Jack said, calmly now.

“The plane is surrounded. You have nowhere to go. Release her and nothing will happen to you.”

His gun was aimed at the man’s head. He knew he could take the shot if he had to, his aim was true and his hand steady.

“Get the fuck out!” the man yelled again.

He was getting agitated and Jack saw the sweat beading on his brow.

“You gambled and you lost,” Jack said calmly, “you have nowhere to go. Give yourself up.”

“Fuck you!” the man snapped.

His gun angled towards Jack who reacted on instinct, closing his left eye and curling his finger tighter around the trigger, it wouldn’t take much more pressure to squeeze off the shot.

“Drop it!” Jack warned one last time.

The man’s gun was leveling out, finger on the trigger and Jack put that extra little pressure, squeezing off one round. The bullet slammed into the man’s forehead, throwing his head back, killing him on the spot, but his finger tightened on the trigger as well and his gun spat one bullet. It hit Jack squarely in the chest, smashing into his vest and doing no harm whatsoever.

He staggered half a step back under the power of the impact but kept his gun on the falling hostile.

Once his body hit the ground, Jack turned his attention to the woman.

He closed the distance and held out his hand to her.

“Ma’am, I’m federal agent Jack Bauer, you’re safe now.”

She hesitantly took his hand and let him help her to her feet.

He holstered his weapon and hit a button on his radio.

“CTU, this is Bauer, be advised the First Lady is safe, I repeat, the First Lady is safe.”