Shelter, Part 3
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The next morning, Chloe was awakened by a snowplough as it rumbled past the house. The living room was still dark, but there was light shining in from the hall, and she could hear someone moving around in the kitchen. A moment later, her mother came in, using her elbow to flick the light switch because both of her hands were holding a tray.
"Mom, you didn't have to bring me breakfast in bed,” Chloe said, but she reached out to take it anyway. She hadn't had homemade oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins since she'd moved to California, and her mouth watered in anticipation.
"It's not for you, it's for Frank,” her mother said. "You can take it to him.”
"Me?” Chloe asked. "I've just woken up. Why can't you?”
Her father appeared in the hallway. "Because I'm the only man allowed to see my wife in her nightgown and bathrobe, that's why.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and swung her legs out of bed. "All right, all right, I'm going.”
Her mother handed her the tray, then preceded her down the hall, disappearing into the bathroom as Chloe tried to balance the tray and turn the doorknob at the same time. It was only after Chloe got the door open and had switched the light on that she thought to ask, "Frank, can I come in?”
From the depths of the bedcovers, Jack murmured, "Yeah.”
"My mom's sending you breakfast in bed.” The smell in the room made Chloe want to bury her face in the oatmeal and breathe that instead. How could Jack stand himself? She leaned her head closer to the bowl, but then Jack sat up and she was obliged to extend the tray in his direction.
There was a hesitant knock at the door, and her mother called out, "Chloe? Can you come here for just a moment?”
Plopping the tray into Jack's lap, Chloe turned around impatiently. Hadn't she been talking to her mother just a moment ago? "What?”
Her mother made a beckoning sign with one hand, and Chloe all but stomped over to the door. Before she could say anything, her mother held out a small pile of towels with a bottle of shower soap on top. "Could you just put these on the dresser over there? Thank you, honey bunny.”
Annoyed at being called "honey bunny” in Jack's hearing, Chloe grabbed the towels, then shut the door firmly.
"This is my mom's way of saying you need to take a shower,” she told Jack as she slammed them onto the dresser.
"Right now we need to concentrate on getting those antibiotics,” Jack said in exactly the same tone of voice that he'd always used at CTU. Chloe wondered briefly if he were delirious.
"Get dressed,” he continued. "I'm gonna need your help.”
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"Let me out here,” Jack said. They had just driven past the supermarket that was, as Jack had specified, not the one closest to Chloe's house. As Chloe pulled over, Jack said, "Circle around, come back, and park as close to the door as you can get. Then go into the store and look for aspirin.”
He got slowly out of the car and pulled up the hood of the heavy coat that Chloe had borrowed for him from her father.
"What are you going to do?” she asked.
"Just trust me,” Jack said as he started to walk away. Grimacing, Chloe pulled out into the street again and got into the turn lane at the intersection ahead. It didn't take her long to get back, and she saw Jack enter the store just before she pulled into the empty space nearest the door.
The pharmaceutical section of the supermarket was almost empty except for one old lady waiting at the counter for a prescription. Jack had disappeared, and Chloe looked for him at the same time as for the aspirin. She'd barely found the aisle where the painkillers were located when someone came up beside her, putting his right arm around her shoulders.
"Don't scream, I've got a gun,” Jack said, pulling her away from the shelves and propelling her in the direction of the pharmacy counter.
Chloe glanced down first and saw the gun in his left hand, pointing directly at her stomach, then looked him directly in the face. With his hood up and sunglasses hiding his eyes, she thought she probably wouldn't have recognized him if she hadn't known him so well. She was about to demand what he thought he was doing, but Jack ordered, "Don't talk. Just come with me.”
Side by side, they walked to the counter, where the old lady was just leaving. The pharmacist was a woman; she gave them both a friendly smile and asked, "Hi, what can I do for you to-day?”
"This is a hold-up,” Jack said, lifting the gun so that the pharmacist could see it, then jabbing it into Chloe's jaw. "You call the police or set off any alarms, and the lady dies.”
The pharmacist looked flummoxed for a moment, then lifted both her hands. "O—Okay. Don't shoot – don't – just tell me what you want.”
"I need gentamicin sulfate injectible solution, enough for six days,” Jack said, and the pharmacist nodded, but didn't do anything.
"Now!” Jack said, putting more intensity into his voice without actually raising it, and the woman scrambled away to the shelves in the back.
When she returned, she was holding two boxes, and Jack asked, "You got needles and syringes there?”
"I – I can find some,” the woman answered, her voice shaking.
"Do it. And put everything in a bag.”
The pharmacist found a paper sack, put the boxes in, then disappeared into the back again for a moment. When she came out again, she was holding one carton between her arm and her ribs, and was using her hands to open another. Her fingers were awkward, no doubt shaking in sheer terror, and the contents fell out, scattering over the counter. Gasping, she glanced up, clearly expecting Jack to shoot either Chloe or her or both of them. Chloe felt the pressure on her jawbone disappear as Jack lifted the gun and gestured with it.
The woman made a grab for the individually wrapped packages, stuffing them randomly into the sack, then simply dumped the other carton in without bothering to open it.
"Take it,” Jack ordered. Chloe reached out at the same time that the woman pushed the sack towards her, and their hands collided in the middle. Again, the pharmacist shot Jack a look of horror. Chloe wanted to roll her eyes.
Jack said, "Turn around, sit down on the floor, and start counting to five hundred, slowly. Remember, if anybody tries to stop me, this lady dies.”
Chloe just had time to see the pharmacist nod and start turning before Jack wheeled her away from the counter. He'd lowered the gun, and now he hid it between their bodies; she could still feel it through her coat.
"Put your hand around my waist,” Jack said quietly, resting his head on top of hers.
Chloe reached her free hand around his back just as a store employee passed them with the kind of smile that screamed "Awww, isn't that sweet!” Realizing they probably looked like a pair of lovers joined at the hip, Chloe gave a mental snort. As if! Assuming Jack was even thinking about that sort of thing at all, he was probably remembering Audrey, the girlfriend he'd left behind when he'd dropped off the grid.
A few more steps took them through the automatic door and out to the car. Jack had been getting heavier and slower, and Chloe was glad to let go of him so that she could get out the keyring that her parents had loaned her. She'd barely unlocked the car when he opened the back door and got in, plopping down on the seat like a sack of grain.
"Don't go straight home,” he cautioned as she turned the key. "Drive around a bit, make sure we're not being followed.”
Glancing over her shoulder as she backed out of the parking space, Chloe saw him lay down across the back seat. She took a circuitous route back to her parents' house, watching every car behind her, but as far as she could tell, nobody was following. After she'd ascertained that there wasn't even a police car in the entire neighbourhood, let alone in her parents' street, she pulled into the driveway and stopped the engine.
Jack hadn't sat up yet, and Chloe turned around to look at him. "Jack?”
His eyes were closed, but now they fluttered once or twice. Starting to feel worried, Chloe opened her door and got out, then opened the back door. "Jack?”
Slowly, he raised his head and looked around.
"We're safe,” she told him. Then, because he still looked disoriented, she added, "We're back at my parents' house.”
Very gingerly, Jack sat up and eased himself out of the car, supporting himself with one hand on the door while he tucked the gun away in the back waistband of his pants. "Chloe, you got the antibiotics?”
"Right here,” she said, showing him the sack.
"Okay.”
After Jack had taken three steps in the direction of the house, Chloe sidled up to him. "Come here before you fall down.”
He didn't reply, just leaned on her as he had done in the store. They went inside and were halfway across the living room when Chloe's mom came out from the kitchen.
"There you are!” she exclaimed. "Did you remember the celery that I asked you to get, Chloe?”
Part 4
The next morning, Chloe was awakened by a snowplough as it rumbled past the house. The living room was still dark, but there was light shining in from the hall, and she could hear someone moving around in the kitchen. A moment later, her mother came in, using her elbow to flick the light switch because both of her hands were holding a tray.
"Mom, you didn't have to bring me breakfast in bed,” Chloe said, but she reached out to take it anyway. She hadn't had homemade oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins since she'd moved to California, and her mouth watered in anticipation.
"It's not for you, it's for Frank,” her mother said. "You can take it to him.”
"Me?” Chloe asked. "I've just woken up. Why can't you?”
Her father appeared in the hallway. "Because I'm the only man allowed to see my wife in her nightgown and bathrobe, that's why.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and swung her legs out of bed. "All right, all right, I'm going.”
Her mother handed her the tray, then preceded her down the hall, disappearing into the bathroom as Chloe tried to balance the tray and turn the doorknob at the same time. It was only after Chloe got the door open and had switched the light on that she thought to ask, "Frank, can I come in?”
From the depths of the bedcovers, Jack murmured, "Yeah.”
"My mom's sending you breakfast in bed.” The smell in the room made Chloe want to bury her face in the oatmeal and breathe that instead. How could Jack stand himself? She leaned her head closer to the bowl, but then Jack sat up and she was obliged to extend the tray in his direction.
There was a hesitant knock at the door, and her mother called out, "Chloe? Can you come here for just a moment?”
Plopping the tray into Jack's lap, Chloe turned around impatiently. Hadn't she been talking to her mother just a moment ago? "What?”
Her mother made a beckoning sign with one hand, and Chloe all but stomped over to the door. Before she could say anything, her mother held out a small pile of towels with a bottle of shower soap on top. "Could you just put these on the dresser over there? Thank you, honey bunny.”
Annoyed at being called "honey bunny” in Jack's hearing, Chloe grabbed the towels, then shut the door firmly.
"This is my mom's way of saying you need to take a shower,” she told Jack as she slammed them onto the dresser.
"Right now we need to concentrate on getting those antibiotics,” Jack said in exactly the same tone of voice that he'd always used at CTU. Chloe wondered briefly if he were delirious.
"Get dressed,” he continued. "I'm gonna need your help.”
+++++
"Let me out here,” Jack said. They had just driven past the supermarket that was, as Jack had specified, not the one closest to Chloe's house. As Chloe pulled over, Jack said, "Circle around, come back, and park as close to the door as you can get. Then go into the store and look for aspirin.”
He got slowly out of the car and pulled up the hood of the heavy coat that Chloe had borrowed for him from her father.
"What are you going to do?” she asked.
"Just trust me,” Jack said as he started to walk away. Grimacing, Chloe pulled out into the street again and got into the turn lane at the intersection ahead. It didn't take her long to get back, and she saw Jack enter the store just before she pulled into the empty space nearest the door.
The pharmaceutical section of the supermarket was almost empty except for one old lady waiting at the counter for a prescription. Jack had disappeared, and Chloe looked for him at the same time as for the aspirin. She'd barely found the aisle where the painkillers were located when someone came up beside her, putting his right arm around her shoulders.
"Don't scream, I've got a gun,” Jack said, pulling her away from the shelves and propelling her in the direction of the pharmacy counter.
Chloe glanced down first and saw the gun in his left hand, pointing directly at her stomach, then looked him directly in the face. With his hood up and sunglasses hiding his eyes, she thought she probably wouldn't have recognized him if she hadn't known him so well. She was about to demand what he thought he was doing, but Jack ordered, "Don't talk. Just come with me.”
Side by side, they walked to the counter, where the old lady was just leaving. The pharmacist was a woman; she gave them both a friendly smile and asked, "Hi, what can I do for you to-day?”
"This is a hold-up,” Jack said, lifting the gun so that the pharmacist could see it, then jabbing it into Chloe's jaw. "You call the police or set off any alarms, and the lady dies.”
The pharmacist looked flummoxed for a moment, then lifted both her hands. "O—Okay. Don't shoot – don't – just tell me what you want.”
"I need gentamicin sulfate injectible solution, enough for six days,” Jack said, and the pharmacist nodded, but didn't do anything.
"Now!” Jack said, putting more intensity into his voice without actually raising it, and the woman scrambled away to the shelves in the back.
When she returned, she was holding two boxes, and Jack asked, "You got needles and syringes there?”
"I – I can find some,” the woman answered, her voice shaking.
"Do it. And put everything in a bag.”
The pharmacist found a paper sack, put the boxes in, then disappeared into the back again for a moment. When she came out again, she was holding one carton between her arm and her ribs, and was using her hands to open another. Her fingers were awkward, no doubt shaking in sheer terror, and the contents fell out, scattering over the counter. Gasping, she glanced up, clearly expecting Jack to shoot either Chloe or her or both of them. Chloe felt the pressure on her jawbone disappear as Jack lifted the gun and gestured with it.
The woman made a grab for the individually wrapped packages, stuffing them randomly into the sack, then simply dumped the other carton in without bothering to open it.
"Take it,” Jack ordered. Chloe reached out at the same time that the woman pushed the sack towards her, and their hands collided in the middle. Again, the pharmacist shot Jack a look of horror. Chloe wanted to roll her eyes.
Jack said, "Turn around, sit down on the floor, and start counting to five hundred, slowly. Remember, if anybody tries to stop me, this lady dies.”
Chloe just had time to see the pharmacist nod and start turning before Jack wheeled her away from the counter. He'd lowered the gun, and now he hid it between their bodies; she could still feel it through her coat.
"Put your hand around my waist,” Jack said quietly, resting his head on top of hers.
Chloe reached her free hand around his back just as a store employee passed them with the kind of smile that screamed "Awww, isn't that sweet!” Realizing they probably looked like a pair of lovers joined at the hip, Chloe gave a mental snort. As if! Assuming Jack was even thinking about that sort of thing at all, he was probably remembering Audrey, the girlfriend he'd left behind when he'd dropped off the grid.
A few more steps took them through the automatic door and out to the car. Jack had been getting heavier and slower, and Chloe was glad to let go of him so that she could get out the keyring that her parents had loaned her. She'd barely unlocked the car when he opened the back door and got in, plopping down on the seat like a sack of grain.
"Don't go straight home,” he cautioned as she turned the key. "Drive around a bit, make sure we're not being followed.”
Glancing over her shoulder as she backed out of the parking space, Chloe saw him lay down across the back seat. She took a circuitous route back to her parents' house, watching every car behind her, but as far as she could tell, nobody was following. After she'd ascertained that there wasn't even a police car in the entire neighbourhood, let alone in her parents' street, she pulled into the driveway and stopped the engine.
Jack hadn't sat up yet, and Chloe turned around to look at him. "Jack?”
His eyes were closed, but now they fluttered once or twice. Starting to feel worried, Chloe opened her door and got out, then opened the back door. "Jack?”
Slowly, he raised his head and looked around.
"We're safe,” she told him. Then, because he still looked disoriented, she added, "We're back at my parents' house.”
Very gingerly, Jack sat up and eased himself out of the car, supporting himself with one hand on the door while he tucked the gun away in the back waistband of his pants. "Chloe, you got the antibiotics?”
"Right here,” she said, showing him the sack.
"Okay.”
After Jack had taken three steps in the direction of the house, Chloe sidled up to him. "Come here before you fall down.”
He didn't reply, just leaned on her as he had done in the store. They went inside and were halfway across the living room when Chloe's mom came out from the kitchen.
"There you are!” she exclaimed. "Did you remember the celery that I asked you to get, Chloe?”
Part 4