failegaidin

Chapter 2 is here and ready for your enjoyment. Please comment! And I swear, Glory, a beach WILL come into play eventually!!!
Many thanks again to

sparky_girl82.

Title: Anything for Love
Rating: R for language
Chapter: 2/?
Prompt: Beach

Chloe's plan was fairly simple – Curtis would shoot people while she ran in to retrieve Audrey. Before leaving CTU, Curtis had insisted that she carry at least one gun and wear a bullet-proof vest. She had no problem with the gun – there was no way she was going out into the field without one. But the vest was bulky and uncomfortable, and she was certain that it would get in her way if she had to run or fight. Curtis, however, refused to let her out of the building until she gave into his demands.

"There's no way this is gonna work," Curtis pointed out as they drove toward the docks. "We have no idea how many guards there are, or where exactly they're keeping Audrey. We're not even sure they have her!"

Chloe scowled at him. "Then why did you agree to come?"

Curtis sighed. "Because we can't just leave Audrey there if there's a chance we can save her. Besides," he turned to look at her. "I knew you were going in no matter what the odds were. I couldn't let you do it alone." He turned back to the road. "Jack would never forgive me if I let something happen to you," he finished quietly.

***

Curtis parked their SUV a good distance from the warehouses along the docks. He didn't know how far out their sentries would be posted, and he didn't want to risk the alarm being raised. He and Chloe slipped out of the vehicle quietly, both with their weapons drawn. They moved away from the car, keeping low and moving quickly toward the water.

The relative quiet was shattered as gunfire erupted around them. Chloe dove to the ground as Curtis engaged the shooters. Although the sudden onslaught of bullets made it seem as though they were surrounded, she knew that there could be no more than three or four gunmen.

Curtis quickly eliminated one for the shooters, but he was having trouble with the other three. He scrambled over to Chloe, making sure that she hadn't been hit.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his eyes still scanning for a clear shot.

"Aside from the angry Chinese guys trying to kill me? I'm fine."

He marveled at her ability to be so sarcastic even while being shot at. But he had to admit that their plan was falling apart. They had to get down to the warehouses before the Chinese decided to move – or worse, kill – Audrey.

"Remember our old plan?" he asked suddenly.

Chloe looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "You mean the one where you kill people and I rescue the annoying one? Yeah, I remember."

"Good. So I'm gonna stand up and shoot these guys, and you're gonna haul ass down to the warehouses. Got it?"

Chloe stared at him. "Don't be stupid, Curtis. They'll kill you. Let's just get rid of them and go down together."

Curtis shook his head. "If I draw their fire, you'll have a chance to get down there."

"But-"

"O'Brian, you had better start running when I stand up, or I swear to God, I will shoot you myself!"

Curtis sprung from his hiding place, immediately opening fire on the Chinese that appeared when he broke cover. Chloe watched in stunned silence for a moment before shaking herself out of her reverie. Curtis was taking a big risk for her, and if she didn't start running he would get hurt for nothing. When she was sure the shooters were focused on him, she raised herself to a crouch and started scuttling toward the docks. She skirted around behind the Chinese, praying fervently that none of them would see her. Turning her head to check on Curtis, she saw him go down as a bullet found its mark. But before she could do anything, he was up again, his vest having saved him from a mortal wound.

As Curtis finally took down another shooter, he glanced up to see one of the Chinese aim his gun at Chloe. Before he could do anything, the man fired, and Curtis watched in horror as Chloe fell to the ground. Blind rage spurring him on, he turned to the shooter and killed him with two shots to the chest. He wanted to run to Chloe, but the last guy was still firing at him. As he engaged him, he saw out of the corner of his eye Chloe staggering to her feet, blood flowing freely down her left arm. She nodded at him to signal that she was okay, and she continued down to the docks.

***

Chloe was pretty sure she knew where the Chinese were holding Audrey. She had used satellite images to keep an eye on the place, and she had noticed one building in particular that had a lot of traffic. As she tried to visualize the satellite images in her head, she veered toward a large warehouse to her right.

As she neared the building, Chloe holstered her weapon, pulling her taser out of her back pocket. She didn't really feel comfortable killing people, and she always thought that shooting caused a lot more noise than was necessary. She opted for making people unconscious instead. Grimacing at where the bullet had grazed her arm, she continued forward.

The three guards she passed went down without a fight. She managed to come up behind them, shocking them before they even noticed she was there. Everything was quiet as she slipped through the doorway and into the building.

***

As Curtis dove behind a rock for cover, his cell phone rang. He picked it up as he fired two more shots at his opponent.

"Manning."

"Curtis, where the hell are you?" Jack yelled through the phone.

"Busy," he replied, cringing as a bullet ricocheted off the rock.

"Is that gunfire?"

"Maybe."

"Curtis…"

"Yes. It's gunfire."

"Do you need help?"

"Nah. I think I got it. There's only one guy left. What do you need?"

"Do you know where Chloe is?"

Curtis paused, unsure of what to say.

"Curtis?"

"Yeah. I'm here."

"Do you know where Chloe is?"

"Why?"

"Curtis, do you know where she is or not?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

Curtis swallowed, hoping that he wouldn't get killed by either Jack or Chloe before the end of the day. "Here."

"There?"

"Yeah."

"Where there's gunfire?"

"Yeah."

"With you?"

"Not exactly."

Jack paused, and Curtis could hear him trying to control the anger in his voice. "What do you mean, not exactly?"

Seeing an opportunity, Curtis dropped the phone and took aim, putting a bullet in the shooter's head. Satisfied that all the gunmen were dead, he picked the phone back up.

"Curtis? Curtis!?"

"Calm down, Jack."

"Where. Is. Chloe?" Jack growled.

"Probably in the warehouse by now."

Jack was seeing red as he climbed into his SUV and started the car. "Address, Curtis. Now."

Curtis sighed. Chloe was definitely going to kill him, if Jack didn't get to it first. "2784 Bestend Street. By the docks."

"One more thing Curtis."

"Yeah?"

"Who was shooting at you?"

"Some angry Chinese motherfucker."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

***

Chloe was torn between immense relief and disappointment when she found Audrey tied to a chair in the corner of the room. She really hated the woman, but she meant the world to Jack, and she couldn't stand to see him so lost and broken without her. Checking to make sure that there were no more guards in the room, she ran over to her.

"Hey Audrey," she said as she knelt down untie the ropes. She needed both hands and put her taser back in her pocket, focusing on the knots.

"Chl-Chloe?" Audrey stammered, shock evident in her voice.

"Yeah. It's me. I know you would probably rather see Jack, but you'll have to wait until later. For now, you're stuck with me."

Finally dispensing with the knots, Chloe tried to help Audrey to her feet. But Audrey was incredibly weak from the months she had been with the Chinese, and her knees gave out on her. Chloe half-carried, half-dragged her toward the door, hoping that she had really gotten rid of all the guards.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Curtis came bursting through the door, gun drawn and ready. He immediately ran over to them, taking Audrey's weight so that Chloe could pull out her weapon as well.

"Chloe, look out!" Audrey yelled.
Chloe turned and saw two men rush into the room from the other end. The warehouse was large and there was a significant distance between them. Pushing Audrey into Curtis' arms, she tried to shove them both toward the door.

"Go!"

Curtis fought against her. "No! We leave together!"

"You'll have to carry her Curtis. She can't walk. And that means you can't shoot your gun. Go. Get her to Jack."

She turned to face the men again, and watched as one picked up a nail gun from the top of a crate, aiming it at Audrey. Chloe turned her back to them, pushing Audrey into Curtis' arms so that he had no choice but to carry her. She yelled in pain as something ripped into her thigh, forcing her to stumble. She pushed Curtis again, who was frozen in shock.

"Go! Get her to Jack!"

Curtis finally nodded, lifting Audrey completely off the ground and running from the building. Chloe turned to face her assailants, only to see that the man with the nail gun had gotten much closer. She pulled her gun, trying to steady her hand and take a shot. Pain burst through her body as the Chinese man pulled his trigger first, and she fell to the ground.

Chapter 3