The conference room fell into a brief silence. Everyone was staring at Owen.
Feeling a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny, he was just about to say something when a knock on the glass interrupted him.
The door opened, and a familiar figure stepped in.
"Jack…? What are you doing here?"
"Jack…"
Jack Bauer, clad in a leather jacket, with bandages on his head and leg, walked in without pleasantries. He found a seat, sat down, and looked directly at the two CIA agents.
"I'm Jack Bauer."
"I'm Harry Stark."
"Simon Hades. We're from CIA's Special Operations Unit…"
Clearly, they had done their homework, knowing that Jack Bauer was the true authority at CTU.
Simon repeated their mission briefing.
Jack listened carefully, then responded without hesitation—
"I'm sorry. Salim was extracted today. The team that took him used this."
Jack tossed the silicone mask onto the table.
"Silicone mask?"
Harry recognized it immediately.
"You know this?" Jack asked, eyeing him.
"Of course. CIA's latest tech. This stuff is top-tier. The ones who rescued Salim… were CIA?"
"We don't know yet. We're still investigating. So unfortunately, we can't help you."
Simon and Harry finally understood why CTU had been so hostile toward them.
Although they still had doubts, Jack's stance was clear.
That silicone mask didn't just appear here by accident—it was almost certainly CIA tech. And not just any CIA team—this had to be headquarters-level.
That meant they couldn't dig any further. And Jack wasn't going to let them.
Simon grabbed Harry's arm, stood up, and said, "Well, that's unfortunate. Hopefully, we can collaborate in the future."
As the two left, Jack turned to Tony.
"How did the operation go?"
Tony shook his head. "They escaped. There was a hidden tunnel."
Jack didn't ask for details. Instead, he continued, "Who was the dead guy?"
"Some low-life. Robbery, rape, drug trafficking—he did it all. I think he was just an unlucky bastard who got caught up in this."
Jack nodded, not pressing further.
Then he asked, "Any progress on locating the nukes?"
The room fell silent.
Owen wanted to speak up.
But he hesitated.
There was no way to explain how he knew.
But this wasn't some minor case—it was a nuclear crisis.
Only CTU, or even the U.S. government, could handle something of this scale.
If he held back, every second wasted would be a second closer to disaster.
Terrorists had nuclear warheads. Anything could happen.
He lived in the U.S.—he wouldn't stand by and watch his home get destroyed.
After a moment of internal debate, he decided to guide them toward the answer.
"Something that big couldn't have come in by air—which means it had to be transported by sea.
Is there any place near the U.S. that's easily accessible but not heavily monitored?
Maybe a small island that people tend to overlook?"
Owen felt like he was spelling it out.
He was almost saying the name directly.
But he still felt uncertain. The situation had already diverged from the original storyline.
With the Mission Impossible Squad involved, were the nukes even still at Keyes Island?
Jack Bauer's eyes lit up as something clicked.
"An easy-to-access, yet overlooked island? I've got one. Keyes Island."
"Keyes Island? In Florida?" Nina asked, frowning. "Why there?"
"Because of its location."
Jack stood up and led everyone out to the main screen in the operations room.
"Chloe, pull up a map of southeastern Florida."
Moments later, the map appeared—showing both land and sea.
Jack pointed at Keyes Island, an isolated spot in the ocean.
"Keyes Island is actually a chain of islands, surrounded by several uninhabited islets, making it naturally hidden.
Because it's so close to the mainland, the Coast Guard barely patrols it—sometimes only once a year.
But… there's a bridge connecting it to the mainland.
That means no police checkpoints, no customs inspections.
This place is perfect for a terrorist base.
If they managed to get a WMD onto Keyes Island, they could smuggle it anywhere in the U.S. without resistance."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Owen marveled—Jack Bauer really was a human GPS.
How could he instantly know so much about a random island?
Apparently, others had the same thought, because everyone looked at Jack questioningly.
Jack, however, wasn't flexing his knowledge. Instead, he explained:
"Don't be surprised.
At last year's CTU Strategic Briefing, we ran 18 simulations of potential terrorist attacks in the U.S.
Keyes Island was one of them.
Everything I just said was in the report.
But after we submitted it to Congress, it went nowhere.
Politicians didn't want to spend the money, so they buried it."
Cue the complaints from the agents.
Tony, however, raised a concern.
"But what if the nukes aren't there? Owen only said he had a hunch…"
Jack dismissed the concern immediately.
"Then we confirm it."
"I'll contact Miami CTU, get them to check it out—" Nina began.
"No need." Jack cut her off.
He turned to Chloe.
"Contact the NSA. Request access to Observer-2 satellite."
"On it."
Just like in the show—Jack Bauer trusted Chloe the most.
Glasses perched on her nose, Chloe's fingers flew across the keyboard.
Seconds later, a prompt appeared.
She stepped aside, allowing Jack to enter a security code.
Within a minute, NSA approved the request.
The screen switched to satellite imagery.
With Chloe at the controls, the military-grade satellite camera zoomed in—again and again—until the details became crystal clear.
What they saw left no doubt.
In a clearing, several vehicles were scattered around, with armed guards patrolling.
A tent stood nearby, with more guards stationed at the entrance.
People were moving in and out—clearly organized.
This was no ordinary camp.
Keyes Island was supposed to be uninhabited—but here was a well-armed group occupying it.
Jack Bauer stared at the screen, deep in thought.
Then, after a long pause, he turned to Nina.
"Get me the White House."
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [www.p@treon.com/Mutter]
For every 10 Power Stones received, I'll release an extra chapter ✨