Just as the situation was finally under control, Ethan sprinted out of the battlefield.
"Stop! Where are you going?"
Owen chased after him. Though they had been on the same side just moments ago, Owen hadn't forgotten how Ethan had tricked them earlier.
"There were only three nukes here. The last one was sent to Cruel Angel by Salim—we need to retrieve it," Ethan said, his feet never slowing.
"Shit. I knew it wouldn't be that simple."
Owen followed Ethan to a helicopter—the same one Ethan and Salim had arrived in earlier. The pilot, however, was nowhere to be found.
Ethan climbed into the cockpit while Owen took the other seat.
"You know how to fly this thing?"
"Of course. I got my pilot's license ten years ago."
"Owen, where are you going?"
Jack Bauer's voice came through Owen's earpiece. After the chaos caused by Owen's grenade barrage, thick smoke had engulfed the battlefield. Jack had assumed Owen had been killed by the subsequent RPG attacks—until he caught a glimpse of him and Ethan running off.
"Jack, Ethan says Salim gave one of the nukes to Cruel Angel. We're going to retrieve it."
"Wait for me."
Moments later, Jack Bauer emerged from the smoke, bloodstained. It was unclear whether the blood was his or the enemy's.
As Ethan worked the controls, he spoke into his earpiece: "Luther, check with the FAA. See if any helicopters have illegally entered Chicago's airspace."
In Los Angeles, Luther rolled his eyes at the request. "Ethan, thank God you're alive. I thought you were dead."
"Luther, have some faith in me."
"Alright, but hacking into the FAA's system isn't exactly easy… It'll take some time."
"Just do it as fast as you can."
Ethan shrugged. Luther was the best hacker he knew, and if he said it was difficult, it must be. But then Jack Bauer suddenly said, "No need to check. I know where they are."
"You do?"
"Our people have been tracking this area via satellite…"
The helicopter's rotors spun faster as it lifted off.
Inside CTU, the satellite feed remained locked onto the rogue helicopter, capturing it as it landed on the rooftop of a building.
"Jack, the helicopter just landed on the roof of a skyscraper. I'm sending the location to your phone now."
Jack checked his phone and quickly pinpointed the nuclear bomb's location. Ethan glanced at the screen Owen handed him and spoke into his earpiece, "Luther, we're heading to the Comcast Industrial Building in the suburbs. Find a place to wait for us."
"Got it."
As the helicopter flew, Jack turned to Ethan and asked, "What's your plan?"
Without looking back, Ethan responded, "When Salim's men took the nuke, Salim told them he'd be there shortly. That means today was the prearranged meeting with Cruel Angel.
"We killed Salim, but since their side has had signal jamming up this whole time, they don't know that yet. We can use this time gap to infiltrate by pretending to be Salim and his men—then we improvise from there."
"How exactly are you going to impersonate Salim?"
Jack was about to ask more when he suddenly remembered the silicone masks. Ethan had successfully impersonated Director Allen and even Jack himself—of course, he could pull off Salim.
Fifteen minutes later, the helicopter landed on an empty road in the suburbs. With no cars in sight, there was no risk of police or reporters showing up.
The three of them climbed into a nearby van. Inside, the cargo area had been converted into a mobile workstation filled with screens and electronic equipment.
"What the hell happened to you?"
"Don't ask. It's a long story…"
Luther was visibly shocked at Ethan's mud-caked, bedraggled appearance. He hadn't expected Ethan to end up in such a sorry state.
The others, however, were focused on the 3D printer in the corner, which was actively constructing a face. The software displayed Salim's facial structure, and as the printer layered the material, unnecessary bits were shaved away—slowly revealing a defined Arab face.
"How long will this take?"
"About half an hour."
Jack had never seen anything like this before and was visibly impressed. Owen, however, knew this was an older model. After printing, it still needed to be painted, which added another thirty minutes. The latest models could print directly in water, forming a finished mask in minutes.
Twenty minutes later, the facial structure was complete. The automatic inkjet system began painting the mask, its nozzles precisely matching the skin tone to reference images.
A few minutes later, the mask was fully colored. Luther opened a cabinet, pulled out a set of suitable hair and eyebrows, and affixed them before handing it to Ethan.
"No, not me—him."
Ethan pointed at his mud-caked body, then at Owen.
Luther instantly understood. The dried mud on Ethan's face would prevent the mask from adhering properly. If he wore it, the disguise wouldn't look natural and could easily be exposed.
"But this mask was molded to your facial structure…"
Luther trailed off as he examined Owen's face, then looked back at Ethan.
"Actually… your bone structures look pretty similar. It might work."
Owen was surprised but took the mask anyway. They had already wasted half an hour—who knew what Cruel Angel might be planning for the nuke?
Thirty minutes later, a helicopter descended onto the rooftop of a skyscraper. As soon as it landed, a terrorist named Colin stepped forward.
"%...&%&*&..."
This time, Colin didn't use code words but instead spoke in standard Arabic, eyeing the mud-covered pilot suspiciously.
Disguised as Salim, Owen pointed at his throat, where a bandage covered a fresh wound, with traces of blood seeping through—suggesting an injury.
Owen had no choice but to fake an injury. The voice modulation system could perfectly mimic Salim's speech, but he didn't speak Arabic. Pretending to have a throat injury was his best cover.
As for whether Colin would recognize Ethan—there was no chance. Colin had left before Ethan had fallen into the mud. And now? Even Ethan's own mother wouldn't recognize him.
Colin glanced at the bandage and asked something in Arabic. Owen guessed he was asking how he got injured, so he waved dismissively, feigning urgency, and walked ahead. Colin, seeing this, stopped asking questions and led the way.
The building wasn't very tall. The elevator stopped at the tenth floor, where Colin led "Salim" inside.
Owen discreetly murmured, "Tenth floor," and continued following.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Ethan waited until the guards finished their report—then subtly signaled toward the opposite building.
The guards were still puzzled when gunfire erupted, cutting them down.
From the adjacent skyscraper, Jack Bauer and a Chicago CTU strike team zip-lined across. Military backup was en route, but given the urgency, Jack had requisitioned the local CTU unit. With the President's authorization, there were no bureaucratic obstacles.
The guards had just finished reporting that the rooftop was secure, meaning they had assumed they had at least fifteen to twenty minutes of uninterrupted operation.
Ethan, however, wasn't waiting for CTU to catch up—armed with Owen's intel, he was already on his way to the tenth floor.
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