Half a month later, Silly Sweetheart officially took her post.
Silly Sweetheart and Monica were close friends—Owen had met her through Monica. On the day he planned to call her about joining Omega, Monica had already reached out first. After some gentle persuasion and not-so-gentle persistence, Silly Sweetheart agreed to join—but she needed some time to wrap up her current duties.
NSA was far from happy about losing her. Silly Sweetheart had been one of their top-tier technical experts, the architect behind NSA's software firewalls, and a formidable intelligence analyst. She was true talent—and now CTU had poached her right under their nose.
Still, President Palmer had already stated publicly that Omega Team had the right to recruit personnel from any agency, and as long as it was voluntary, no department was allowed to interfere. NSA could only swallow their frustration.
At the same time, a wave of intelligence and tech staff were being recruited from other agencies as well. The FBI, CIA, DIA—all were losing skilled analysts, prompting a panic that led many departments to quickly increase compensation in hopes of retaining their talent.
Once Silly Sweetheart took over, Owen no longer had to worry about managing the intelligence analysis department. Despite her nickname, she was anything but silly—she managed a dozen subordinates with impeccable efficiency.
With her on board, Owen's workload lightened considerably. During that time, both Ghost and Heartbeat recommended heavy weapons specialists for the team, but neither passed the final vote. They'd previously agreed that any new member required unanimous approval. With even one vote against, the candidate was rejected—so both had to leave.
Once things stabilized, Omega Team found itself with unexpected free time. After the White House incident, departments across the U.S. mobilized. Even the tiniest lead was pursued with urgency. CTU was buzzing—but nothing substantial came of it.
Virtually every known terrorist organization was now under heavy surveillance, and those linked to the White Masks had all but vanished overnight. Even street gangs that once ran wild were nowhere to be found. Now, anyone who dared show up in public was quickly "taught a lesson" by local police. In just a few days, national crime rates dropped several percentage points.
Taking advantage of this relative calm, Owen asked Jack Bauer for a few days off and traveled to New York. Amanda's university followed a trimester system, and June marked the start of summer break. Owen planned to spend a couple of days at home and pick her up along the way.
New York State had a total of 227 colleges and universities. Amanda attended Columbia University, one of the most prestigious institutions in the city. Getting in had taken more than just excellent grades—Owen had helped behind the scenes too. After all, when you've saved the President's life, getting a few recommendation letters isn't exactly difficult. People might say favors don't matter in America—but they absolutely do. Americans just keep it out in the open.
Amanda was finishing her freshman year. She'd handled her own admissions process, which was typical in the U.S. This was Owen's first visit to her school. They had arranged to meet at the main gate around 11 a.m.
After landing, Owen went straight to campus. By the time he reached the gate, it was nearly 11. The summer break rush was on—students pulling suitcases streamed through the entrance, while small groups gathered to head off on vacations.
Standing outside the gate and watching the energetic students come and go, Owen couldn't help but feel younger himself. In the distance, a familiar silhouette appeared. Amanda was walking out of campus with a group of male and female classmates, waving goodbye.
Once they parted ways, Amanda looked around, clearly searching for Owen. Grinning, Owen stepped out of his hiding spot. The moment she saw him, Amanda squealed with joy and sprinted toward him.
Just before reaching him, she dropped her luggage and leaped into the air. Owen took a few quick steps forward and caught her midair. They both laughed as they spun in an embrace.
"Steve, I've been in college for almost half a year, and you've never visited me once!"
"Sorry, I've been too busy..."
"Busy saving the world?"
"Haha, yeah—busy saving the world."
It had been a while since they last met. Freed from the awkwardness of adolescence, Amanda had grown more beautiful—radiating youthful energy from head to toe.
Owen affectionately patted her head, still treating her like a kid. Amanda playfully swatted his hand away in protest. Just as Owen withdrew his hand, a shadow suddenly lunged at him from the side.
In an instant, Owen's demeanor transformed from cheerful to razor-sharp. He moved Amanda behind him protectively, blocked with one arm, and twisted his body to slam his knee into the attacker's stomach.
After the move landed, Owen sensed something wasn't right—the attacker hadn't been trained. The technique was crude, clearly unprofessional.
He looked down. A young man—clearly a student—lay on the ground. He was well-built, all muscle, but now looked rather pitiful. Owen had pinned his joints; though the guy was clearly in pain, he stubbornly tried not to show it. Owen almost laughed.
"Clark, what are you doing?!"
Amanda gasped. Owen glanced at her. So, they knew each other. The picture was coming together.
"Your boyfriend?"
Owen's tone turned cold. He didn't oppose Amanda dating, but like any protective brother, he didn't exactly welcome any guy trying to "take the family flower, pot and all." Especially not when Owen was a full-on doting older brother.
"Ah—no, I don't have a boyfriend."
"But we're seeing each other. And who is he?"
The guy wasn't backing down, even from the ground.
"You've got it all wrong—this is my brother."
"Yeah, right. You don't have a brother. I looked up your records."
Now understanding the situation, Owen released his hold. The guy stood up slowly but still glared at him.
Amanda didn't know how to explain. She took out her wallet and showed him a family photo. "See?"
The boy stared at the picture in disbelief. It was clearly a family portrait—but he could've sworn…
Owen smirked at the kid's defeated look. He could tell the guy had done his homework—probably even accessed university records. Not bad. Had some of that "young Owen energy" when it came to chasing girls.
As for the records, both Owen and Amanda knew why there was no mention of him. For safety reasons, their mother and sister had altered documents. Other than their first names, everything else had been changed. On paper, Amanda had no siblings.
It was clear Amanda had a soft spot for the boy. Owen stepped aside to give them some privacy.
After a while, Amanda returned. The boy, despite his bruises, walked away beaming.
As the siblings walked off campus together, Owen nudged her. "Alright, spill it. What's the story?"
Amanda didn't even blush. She smiled openly. "His name's Clark Gable. He's a sophomore law student. Don't let the major fool you—he's also the quarterback of the football team. Pretty impressive. Tons of girls chase him..."
Owen saw the happiness on her face and felt a pang in his chest. He suddenly regretted not hitting the kid a bit harder.
"Alright, time to go home."
Switching to a less sentimental topic, Owen hailed a cab. The two of them headed straight for the airport.
[A special discount will be available from December 30th until Three Kings' Day.]
[Use 37B44 to get 33% off all levels until January 6th]
[Unlock +20 Advanced Chapters on Patre on. com /Mutter]
[For every 50 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be released]
[Thank you for reading!]