Reborn in America’s Anti-Terror Unit

Half an hour later, Owen walked out of the West Hollywood precinct with a helpless look on his face. Carlos was swamped with work and had no time to go rock climbing with him.

Owen drove aimlessly through the streets of Los Angeles. September was already bringing a bit of a chill, so he put on a jacket.

He suddenly remembered that he hadn't contacted Jack Bauer in a while and decided to give him a call.

"Jack, it's Owen."

"Oh, Owen, you're back from Europe?"

"Yeah, came back early, nothing much going on over there. Jack, can I be reinstated yet?"

"I'm afraid not…"

"What exactly are you planning for me?"

"Uh, let me give you a quick heads-up. Hang on a second…"

Jack Bauer paused on the phone, seemingly looking for an office. The background noise quieted down, and then he said, "There's been a bit of a shake-up at CTU. Our direct superior is no longer Martin Davis from the CIA—it's now the Department of Defense…"

Owen didn't really care that their superior had changed to the Department of Defense. After all, no matter who CTU reported to, he ultimately answered directly to Jack Bauer.

He was just a bit curious. After all, CTU originally started out as a department under the CIA. Later it became an independent agency, but it was still deeply entangled with the CIA—even their training facilities were shared.

Last time, after Director Allen resigned in disgrace, Martin Davis from the CIA had taken over. So why had things suddenly shifted to the Department of Defense?

But Jack didn't bother explaining that. Instead, he started talking about Owen's assignment.

"The reason I didn't reinstate you earlier is because CTU was preparing to form an overseas intelligence and operations unit. You were a top candidate. Everything was basically set, but since CTU got reassigned to the Department of Defense, the whole plan's been put on hold…"

"Overseas intelligence and operations unit?" Owen asked skeptically. "CTU has jurisdiction overseas now?"

He remembered clearly that on his first day of training, the handbook had explicitly stated that CTU only had authority within the U.S. to enforce laws against terrorist organizations. Any foreign operations had to be coordinated with the CIA, NSA, or military.

"Of course not," Jack replied flatly. But then he added, "But other agencies do it all the time too. The CIA has no authority domestically, but that doesn't stop them from operating under the radar. FBI, NCIS, NSA—everyone bends the rules now and then. It just doesn't get publicized. CTU has always been more limited because we were established later."

Owen nodded in understanding. Of course, privileged agencies always had a few extra privileges.

To put it simply, as long as you could obtain valuable intelligence, nobody cared if you bent the rules a little—someone would cover for you. But if you failed to get results and caused problems instead, then you were on your own…

Owen was intrigued. He'd wanted to ask more about what exactly the overseas intelligence and operations unit did and why he—a relatively new recruit—had been chosen.

Unfortunately, Jack didn't say much more before hanging up. As usual, he was slammed with work. During their short conversation, at least four calls had come through on Jack's line.

After hanging up, Owen sighed. Looked like he'd have to keep waiting.

Just as he was wondering what to do next, his phone rang again. This time it was his mother's voice on the line.

"Steve, you're back and didn't even say a word. Have you forgotten you still have a family?"

His mother sounded a bit upset.

"Oh, Mom, how could I? I got in after midnight last night. How could your loving son bear to disturb your beauty sleep? You have no idea how much I've missed your delicious cooking. I'm so over those boring European meals. I was just about to call and beg for dinner…"

Hearing that his mother was angry, Owen instantly switched to a goofy, sweet-talking mode, laying on the flattery like it was free until she finally laughed on the other end of the line.

"Alright, seems like my little Steve has gotten a much sweeter tongue since getting a girlfriend. Come home for dinner tonight—I'll make some of your favorites. Oh, and bring your girlfriend too…"

"You mean Monica?"

"What, do you have another girlfriend?"

"Oh, of course not. Alright, no problem—I'll bring her tonight."

After joking with his mom, Owen felt a lot better and immediately called Monica.

"What? You said your mother invited me to dinner at your place tonight?"

Monica's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Yes, my mom just called and said it. You don't have plans, do you?"

"Oh, I do… I mean, I have time, but Owen, I… I should…"

Monica hesitated. But Owen knew exactly what she meant—she was nervous about meeting her boyfriend's family for the first time.

Owen gently reassured her, "Alright, don't be nervous, babe. My family is really nice. They're very welcoming…"

"Uh… okay then. Come pick me up."

"Now? That's way too early. My family usually eats dinner after seven…"

"Idiot. I need time to buy something decent to wear. Get over here, now!"

Monica's voice on the other end was filled with exasperation.

"Oh, oh, I'm on my way!"

…

That evening, Owen brought Monica home. She was wearing a tasteful little dress—nothing too formal, but it perfectly complemented her temperament.

At first glance, she didn't look any less stunning than a Hollywood star.

His mother and Amanda were waiting at the door.

"This is my mother, and this is my sister Amanda."

Owen introduced them to Monica, and his mother immediately greeted her warmly. "Welcome, Miss Weiss. You can call me Jennifer, and this is my youngest daughter Amanda. We're glad to have you here."

"Welcome! Looks like Steve's taste isn't as bad as his personality. Miss Weiss, you're absolutely beautiful."

Amanda delivered her compliment while also throwing a jab at her dear brother, making Owen roll his eyes.

"You can just call me Monica. Thank you for the invitation, Amanda. And your eyes—they're so beautiful. I bet a lot of boys get lost in them, don't they?"

Monica handed the gift of wine to his mother while also flattering Amanda.

Owen had already given Monica a briefing on his mom and Amanda. Amanda was most proud of her beautiful eyes, so Monica complimenting them was definitely the right move.

Sure enough, Amanda beamed with joy and enthusiastically linked arms with Monica. "Alright, Monica, let's go in. You've got to try my mom's cooking—tonight she made all of Owen's favorite dishes…"

"Really? I'm looking forward to it…"

The whole family sat around the dinner table. Seeing the stewed noodles and side dishes on the table, Owen suddenly remembered it was Thursday—Chinese food night in their household.

"Every Thursday we eat Chinese food at our house. Hope you like it…"

His mother served Monica a bowl of stewed noodles while explaining. This dish, known in some regions as string beans noodles, is a Chinese specialty. She also made a few side dishes.

Monica looked at the food and shot Owen a desperate look. She had never eaten anything like this—and worse, she didn't know how to use chopsticks.

Owen, sitting right beside her, noticed how she was struggling to even hold the chopsticks and handed her a fork. "Just pretend it's spaghetti."

Monica visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Amanda leaned in with a grin. "Mom and Steve eat it with garlic vinegar sauce. If you're not used to that, you can try it with pasta sauce like I do—it's pretty good."

Amanda offered her own pairing suggestion, and Monica looked back at Owen. He gave her a bit of both to try. After tasting them, Monica decided to go with Amanda's choice—the pasta sauce—since garlic apparently caused bad breath.

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