skycloud86

Choices To Make
By skycloud86

Summary: Set on Day Three. Jack has found and shot Nina, but before he finishes her off, Tony intervenes
Rated: PG-13
Characters: Jack/Nina/Kim/Tony
Status: Complete
Chapter One: Eye For An Eye

There they were, the two people who for the past few years had played a deadly game that left others dead or injured beyond repair. Now the game could come to a close, and both of them knew it. As Jack stared at Nina, he urged Kim to leave him, to allow him to finally avenge the death of his wife. Kim, with a look of conflict and worry in her eyes, reluctantly agreed to leave. She knew what was going to happen, but to her, it just didn't seem right that Nina had to die, even if she did kill her mother. Walking down the darkened corridors back to the main office of CTU, she listened out for the inevitable gunshots that would signal the end of Nina Myers.

"You don't have any more information, do you, Nina?', Jack asked, although both he and Nina knew that the question was a rhetorical one. Course she had no more information! Why would she try and escape if she did? She plucked up the courage to plea for her life, showing weakness that Jack had never seen before and, in his head, he felt a strange feeling, as if he almost sympathised with her.

"Yes, I do", Nina rasped, her voice weak and pleading but her eyes defiant. A part of Jack wanted to believe her, but he knew that this was just another round of their game. He noticed her left arm moving slowly, towards her gun, and Jack's doubts vanished. He forced any feelings other than anger out of himself and stepped forward.

"No, you don't", Jack stated, and he could see the panic, and maybe relief, in her eyes. He was about to put her out of her misery when a figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Don't do it, Jack", Tony pleaded with him. Although any love he had for Nina Myers had died with Teri all those years ago, he knew that he had to protect Jack. protect him from the burden of killing in cold blood, from the burden of killing a woman he had once loved so passionately, then hated so obsessively. Jack's gun stayed pointed at Nina, and all three of them knew that the first shot could come at any second. Tony decided to risk moving closer and he tried not to wince when he saw the wounds on Nina's neck and shoulder. Looking Jack straight in the eyes, he racked his brain for the right thing to say.

"Tony, I need to do this, you know that!", Jack whispered to him, his gun still trained on Nina, his eyes locked on Tony's. He knew why Tony felt he needed to intervene, but he also knew that Tony had been through the same ordeals he had. Tony risked a quick glance at Nina's face, which revealed her confusion. She knew that she was most likely going to die in the next few minutes, either at Jack's hands or from blood loss. She was actually feeling slightly woozy, and it was taking all of her strength to keep herself awake.

"No, Jack, you don't", Tony answered him, soon regretting it when he saw a look of betrayal flash across Jack's eyes. Jack looked back at Nina and she was sure that he was going to shoot, before he clicked the safety back on, much to the relief of Nina and Tony. Tony walked up to him and gently prised the gun out of Jack's hand.

"When will it be over, Tony?", Jack whispered, his voice shaking.

"When you let her go, Jack", Tony replied. Jack looked at him with confusion before it dawned on him. He left the room, left Nina and Tony alone and walked back into CTU and didn't stop until he had reached a shocked Kim.

"Dad? Did you do it?", Kim asked. She was still unsure of whether or not she wanted Nina Myers dead, but knew that she had no power over it.

"No, Kim, I didn't. I couldn't, but that's OK", Jack told her, smiling at his daughter. Embracing her, he couldn't stop the smile that grew across his face.

"I let her go, Kim".