The Adventures of Nancy Drew (In Chronological Order) Season 1

Episode 16-Devastating News

The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.

Ring... Ring... Ring...

I'm sorry. The number you are trying to reach is not available. Please leave a message after the tone. Beep.

"Carson? Carson, this is Jack Bauer. I know we haven't spoken in a long time, but this is important. It's about you know who. He's done something to Los Angeles and... your daughter, Nancy. It won't take long for him to reach the rest of your family, so please get here as soon as possible. Your children need you."

Click. The call ended. 

After Jack and Tony's conversation in the Interrogation Sector, the first order of business had been to get ahold of Carson and tell him what was going on. It was the first thing Jack should have done when he found out the explosion victim was Nancy, and the guilt was killing him. A small problem arose when Jack realized Carson's phone number was long gone from his contacts, but Tony was able to recover it thanks to what the field agents called "tech nerd magic." Yet still another obstacle stood in their way when Carson didn't answer. By the end of the third voicemail, Jack knew it was time for Plan B. 

"You want to go to the police?" Tony asked disbelievingly. "I know I said I would trust you, but this concerns a terrorist. By law, all investigations of terrorist activity must stay within CTU jurisdiction and confidentiality. I don't know if I can go along with this, Jack."

"You didn't let me finish," Jack said. "We're not going to tell them anything. That would only endanger the public further in case Sal's father hacked into the police station just like he did with CTU. He would go ballistic if he knew we were trying to find him, so all I'm going to do is ask if they have records of Carson. I'll tell them he's my lawyer, that I'm looking for him because it appears he's skipped town. One flash of my badge and they'll be off like rocket ships."

"Yeah, unless this guy really did hack into the police station and can see every move the officers make," Tony argued. "How do you know he won't be as angry that you're looking for Carson as he would be if he knew you were looking for him?"

"I'm positive he thinks I know nothing," Jack stated, unlocking his car. As he climbed into the driver's seat, he said, "The only thing he probably knows I know is that Nancy was the little girl I rescued from the explosion, but because of the precautions we took earlier, I highly doubt he knows I know he kidnapped her and caused that explosion."

Tony slid into the passenger seat and buckled his seat belt. "What about my office? I have a computer in there. He was probably listening to us talk about him."

"Why do you think I moved the conversation to the Interrogation Sector?" Jack answered with a question, but Tony already knew. You could only hear what was going on in the Interrogation Sector if you were on the other side of the one-way window, and you couldn't get in there without a key card, so it would have been impossible for Jackson to listen in on Jack and Tony. 

"Smart move," Tony scoffed.

Jack broke into a grin. "Thanks." 

The engine roared to life. The race was on. Not literally, of course. The last thing Jack wanted was to be stalled by the very people he needed to speak with. His mission was too important for petty speeding tickets. 

Luckily, there wasn't that much traffic, so Jack and Tony arrived at the police station fairly quickly. Parking next to the curb, he wasn't surprised to see half of the squad cars gone. The LAPD had been just as swamped as CTU since the explosion.

Tony seemed to have the same thought because the lack of police didn't confuse him. However, he was concerned that whoever had stayed behind would be extra cautious with visitors, which would make it difficult to glean information from them.