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Seeka, Liam Carey
and Dom Robinson summarise
Season Two
Broadcast on
BBC2, Sunday, 10pm
BBC3, Sunday, 10.45pm (next episode)
- Running time: 45 minutes
- Year: 2002-2003
- Sound: Dolby Surround
- Languages: English
- Widescreen: 1.77:1 (16:9)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Directors:
Jon Cassar, James Whitmore Jr, Rodney Charters, Fred Keller
Producers:
Michael Loceff, Andrea Newman and Cyrus I. Yavneh
Writers:
Joel Surnow, Howard Gordon, Michael Loceff, Remi Aubuchon, Gil Grant and more
Music:
Cast:
Jack Bauer: Kiefer Sutherland
Kimberly Bauer: Elisha Cuthbert
Kate Warner: Sarah Wynter
Senator David Palmer: Dennis Haysbert
Sherry Palmer: Penny Johnson
Tony Almeida: Carlos Bernard
District Director George Mason: Xander Berkeley
Ryan Chappelle: Paul Schulze
Keith Palmer: Vicellous Reon Shannon
WARNING: Spoilers are contained
throughout this season two synopsis.
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Click on the images for info on the DVD Box Sets
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JACK IS BACK... AGAINST HIS WILL in "24",
Given the first season's devastating denouement, when the longest day of
agent Jack Bauer's life concluded with the loss of his wife Teri, he could
hardly be blamed for quitting the CTU and effectively becoming a recluse.
Still in mourning, estranged from his equally shell-shocked daughter Kim, and
out of action for more than a year, he would not be the most obvious person
to call upon in a time of crisis.
But a crisis is exactly what David Palmer, the onetime Senator who owes his
life to Bauer and who now occupies the Presidential Office at the White
House, has on his hands. A group of terrorists known only as Second Wave are
going to set off a nuclear device somewhere in Los Angeles. Today. Palmer
insists that Bauer is the man to stop them, and personally makes the call to
ask him back.
The question is, can Jack overcome his grief to thwart the fatal threat to
millions of American citizens, and possibly to the world's future?
One thing's for sure. It's going to be another long day.
Background information:
None presented upon entry. "24" throws the viewer straight into the action,
right on the stroke of 8am. Information is revealed over subsequent installments
on a strictly need-to-know basis. Concentration therefore recommended, but
helpful summaries are offered prior to every new episode.
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One year later, a new terrorist threat emerges at 8.00am on an unspecified
day. US Intelligence sources, using extremely brutal interrogation
techniques, have discovered when an unofficial movement known only as Second
Wave are planning to explode a bomb in L.A. It's to be sometime in the next
16 hours. President David Palmer is immediately alerted.
Second Wave have operational bases in a Middle Eastern state, but talks with
its prime minister break down after he denies all knowledge or involvement,
leaving Palmer's military chiefs keen to prepare for a possible retaliatory
strike. Suspicious of their eagnerness to arrange these plans, the President
instead calls the CTU. He has one man in mind for the task of preventing a
nuclear holocaust in California that will leave millions dead. Jack Bauer.
However, Bauer has not returned to CTU service after what happened
previously, and refuses to take their calls. Only the direct intervention of
Palmer, and a personal phone conversation between the two of them, is able to
bring Jack in voluntarily. Yet, as soon as he is initially briefed on the
situation, Bauer doublebacks with the sole intention of getting himself and
his estranged daughter Kimberly (now working as a nanny for a wealthy young
family) as far away from L.A. as quickly as possible. Kimberly refuses to
listen, and then Jack has a change of heart when he thinks of the loss of
life such an attack would cause. He goes back to CTU. He will help, but on
his express terms.
George Mason is still in charge, but Tony Almeida is the only person Jack
will deal with. He is entrusted to have Kimberly taken somewhere safe, while
Mason is forced to lean on local Police to allow a key witness from an
ongoing case against the National Security Agency's prime suspect in the
Second Wave plot be brought into CTU for questioning.
Meanwhile Reza Naiyeer, a young man of Middle Eastern origin, is about to get
married to Marie, the youngest daughter of a wealthy businessman named Bob
Warner. Marie's elder sister Karen always had doubts over the true nature of
his motives, believing her father's money was the real factor. Subsequent
investigations carried out by a private detective, however, reveal something
rather more sinister; Naiyeer's financial records show dealings with an
international financer who has terrorist connections.
Kimberly's nannying job proves to be less idyllic than it appeared, as the
little girl's highly strung father is prone to sudden oubursts of violence
and abuse. Already made uneasy by a blatant pass he made at her over
breakfast, Kimberly is caught in the middle of another bout domestic violence
as she attempts to protect the girl.
CTU are given the witness, a serial kidnapper who has struck a deal so as to
escape doing prison time for his offences. Jack begins to talk to the man,
then without warning pulls his gun and shoots him dead, before asking for a
hacksaw.
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Freshened up and now clean-shaven, Jack Bauer prepares to go undercover and
ingratiate himself back into the circle of Joseph Wald, a former CTU agent
gone bad whom Jack worked with several years ago before turning him in, and
who is facing trial for terrorism. As a gesture to prove he means business,
Bauer takes along a bag containing the severed head of the man he shot in the
interrogation room, who was the only witness prepared to testify against
Wald.
Still on the floor after being hit, Kim coaxes Megan, the young girl in her
charge. to make a run for it with her while Gary, the abusive father,
completes his phone-call in the adjacent bathroom. They make it into the
family 4x4, and drive off. Gary fails to stop them, and can only call his
security firm to track down the vehicle.
Suspicions in the media have been aroused by the President's aborted field
trip to tackle the imminent terrorist threat, and rumours are already
circulating. In an attempt to avoid mass public hysteria based on unofficial
reports of an emergency situation developing, President Palmer arranges an
informal press conference in the grounds of his woodland retreat. He jokes
with the reporters, and buys himself some time with his answers. One
reporter, however, refuses to be taken in by this show of casual bonhomie
from the President. Palmer's aide discovers that the reporter in question is
to go live on-air at noon with a story claiming to reveal the truth about the
current national security alert.
Jack is dropped off by helicopter, and drives to Wald's car-repair garage - a
front for his various operations. Wald himself isn't there, but another of
his team, Eddie Grant, was an acquaintence of Bauer when he was last
undercover. The head in the bag is enough to convince Eddie although one of
the other men, Dave, is extremely dubious of Jack's story about being an old
friend just out of prison for taking Wald down. Enough, in fact, to
immediately run a computer check on his credentials. This catches out the
CTU, who haven't yet downloaded the bogus files for Bauer's undercover alias,
but just as Eddie begins to doubt Jack and thinks about killing him,
everything checks out as the details are frantically transferred to the
server by Paula, the CTU's new computer programmer.
Kim drives towards the nearest Police Station, but roadworks force her to
take a detour down a side alley.... straight into the path of Gary, in his
open-top sports car. With nowhere to go, she and Megan flee by foot and hide
from view. Eventually, he gives up looking. The girl is in a lot of pain from
the blow to her head, and refuses to continue on to the Police Station, so
Kim leaves her concealed by packing boxes and heads off to find a telephone
booth.
As her sister continues with the wedding-day plans, Kate Warner calls the
private detective back, asking what he needs on Reza Naiyeer to confirm his
terrorist links. A passport, with dates and destination details from the last
six months is required, so Kate makes a beeline for Naiyeer's car while her
prospective brother-in-law is distracted in conversation. Searching
frantically through his belongings, she eventually gets the information she's
looking for, but Naiyeer almost catches her in the act. Returning to the
house, she relays the details to the detective.
George Mason receives a highly confidential report from Division on the
estimated likelihood of a terrorist detonation. A figure of 89-93% is given.
Silently, Mason packs away his things, takes his gun and makes his way out of
the CTU building. Before he reaches the doors, he's approached by Tony
Almeida who doesn't buy Mason's explanation of following up a lead in
Bakersfield. An agent has already been assigned there, but Mason pulls rank
and claims he is now the one carrying out the task. When Tony questions his
motives, implying he is just selfishly getting out of the danger zone, Mason
is visibly riled.
In an unprecented move, Palmer requests a private interview with the reporter
Wieland. An experienced journalist, Wieland knows the story must be close to
the bone for this speedily-arranged audience with the President to even be
taking place. Without confirming anything, Palmer asks that Wieland refrain
from going public in the best interests of the American people. The
reporter's reply of "I'll think about it" forces Palmer into acting out of
character; he makes a call to the Secret Service agents outside the grounds
to stop Wieland as he leaves, and take him away to a holding cell.
Having walked just around the block to a payphone and dialled 911, Kim
suddenly notices Gary's empty car across the road. Before she can get through
to the emergency services, he appears right behind her and breaks off the
call. Kim refuses to tell Gary where his daughter is and a violent, prolonged
struggle ensues. She gets away, but upon returning to the place where she
left Megan, Kim discovers the girl has gone.
Jack learns from Eddie that a major job is going down today, and the final
preparations are made. David, however, continues to vent his suspicions over
Jack's presence, especially since Bauer is still hanging around after
apparently saying his goodbyes when Eddie suggests he come back the next
afternoon if he wants to see Wald. Jack floods the engine of his car to
create a reason for not leaving immediately, enabling him to watch Wald's van
arrive a short time later from his vantage point underneath the car bonnet.
Dave observes Jack's activities, giving him yet more verbal grief and telling
him to go, but Bauer uses the situation to seize his chance to get in on the
job. A brief one-sided fight with Dave leaves the latter with a broken ankle,
and Eddie asks Jack to come on board. He's in.
As the van heads out into the city, Eddie reveals their intended target is a
government building. The CTU.
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As Kim continues to search for Megan, the LAPD are brought in by the girl's
father who is being treated for the wounds sustained during his struggle with
Kim. They will treat it as an abduction, and Gary provides them with Kim's
details.
The first stage of Eddie's plan to reduce the CTU to rubble is to sabotage
the telephone lines from a nearby relay station so that repair workers are
called in, providing the opportunity to hijack their van and gain access to
the heart of the CTU without creating suspicion. Jack makes an urgent call to
Palmer's office while they wait. He can only reach his aide, Lynne Kresge,
but she treats the information about the imminent bombing of the CTU
seriously enough to alert the President, who is in the middle of another
press conference, immediately. However, Eric Rayburn disagrees with her
judgement of the situation, insisting that any intervention will blow Bauer's
cover, and blocks all Kresge's attempts to inform Palmer.
Jack gets a call on his mobile as he travels with Eddie's crew to the relay
station. It's Kim. She's found Megan and needs help as the police will be
looking for them. In order not to blow his cover, Jack pretends its his
girlfriend calling, ignores her pleas, and simply instructs Kim with cold
insistence to go to Carol's place in San Jose. Bewildered, Kim then calls
Tony Almeida but the inteference on the line makes it impossible to hold a
conversation, so she lets them know she'll get a bus to the CTU herself.
Mason is told to break off from following the lead at Bakersfield and to go
to Panorama City, where a vehicle belonging to one of the suspects' on the
NSA watch-list has been spotted. It's outside a locked garage facility.
Having broken in, he leads a team inside, where they see what's left of the
materials used by the terrorists to construct their nuclear device. Suddenly,
they are ambushed by gunfire. In the subsequent shootout, toxic gas is
released in the facility. Mason spots a radiation warning sign lying on the
floor, and urges an evacuation.
Repair workers from the telephone company arrive, only to find Eddie and co.
waiting for them. One of the technicians is shot dead, as Jack watches on
helplessly. The other is given exact instructions to heed, to facilitate
entry into the CTU headquarters. Security clears them after a thorough check,
and the phone company van enters the underground carpark.
Rayburn decides the best course of action is for the NSA to cut its losses
and at least ensure all the data from CTU is salvaged. He calls Tony Almeida
- the senior agent in Mason's absence - and tersely requests all the files
relating to the nuclear strike by copied to the NSA servers by 11.00am. The
process is virtually impossible to complete in such a short space of time,
even if Paula is given complete access to Mason's office to set up the
encryption process for sending the data to NSA. No reasons are given, and
Tony suspects something is very wrong. He gets Michelle to find out if the
other CTU units across the country have been asked to do the same. They
haven't. He then calls Mason to voice his fears, but the Director is in the
process of being checked by Hazmat for contamination, and has to hand over
his mobile.
The investigator hired by Kate Warner to check up on her sister's fiancee
confirms that the information taken from Reza Naiyeer's passport shows he
does indeed have terrorist links. Shaken by the news, Kate does her best to
act as if everything is alright, but struggles to keep her composure when
Reza and Marie ask her to come and meet one of his relations. She runs off,
but when Marie follows her and asks why she behaved so irrationally, Kate
pretends that it's just emotions running high on such a big day.
Eddie's crew make their way through the CTU complex, leaving Jack in the van
to keep watch with the one remaining repair worker tied up in the back.
Knowing time is running out, Jack makes a rough diagram of the three charges'
locations, frees the technician (breaking cover in the process) and tells him
to give the piece of paper to Tony Almeida. Bauer then cuts himself on the
head and lies down in the van to create the impression of the repair worker
escaping after attacking him. When Eddie returns, he accepts the story since
he is more concerned with getting clear away from the CTU before his
explosives are detonated.
Eventually, Palmer returns from his press conference only to find Kresge and
Rayburn in heated discussion, the former having realised the latter's part in
preventing Jack's information from getting through to the President. When he
learns of the CTU situation, he is furious with Rayburn for not informing him
sooner. Rayburn's prepared to suffer damage to "CTU infrastructure and
personnel", but the President does not share his views. Kresge is sent to
call CTU immediately with an order to evacuate, but it's too late. Tony has
already done so himself, sensing that the building must be under serious
threat.
Paula is still trying to complete the data transfer upstairs in Mason's
office when Tony comes to get her. Staff begin to make their way towards the
exit, but the charges go off before most are out of the building. For Kim and
Megan, just arrived at CTU in the belief they're finally safe, the chaos
comes as a particular shock. Surrounded by falling debris and wounded
workers, they keep moving.
A block away from CTU, Eddie and Jack witness a cloud of smoke billowing from
the CTU building. Palmer is told of the explosion. Hazmat complete their
decontamination of George Mason, but the consequence of his exposure is
severe: the concentrated amount of plutonium was lethal. He has, at best, a
week to live. Maybe as little as 24 hours.
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A decimated CTU is teeming with emergency services, trying to deal with the
repercussions of the bomb blast. Fatalities are into double figures, with
many more critically injured. Mason, about to be taken to Hospital, gets a
call from a shattered Tony. The bomb hit before CTU's data on the nuclear
strike had been transferred to the NSA server, and Paula - the only person
who can complete the decryption process - is trapped under the debris. Still
unsure of his immediate future beyond the next few hours, Mason at first
declines to return to the CTU and passes responsibility onto NSA without
giving the real reason for his evasiveness.
Jack travels with Eddie's crew to a safe point well outside the city,
whereupon they prepare to dispose of the van. As Eddie makes a call to Joseph
Wald in order to obtain his next instructions, Jack pulls a gun on him.
Eddie's men see what's happening from the van, and start shooting at Jack.
With two guns blazing, Jack quickly takes them out before also killing Eddie
as he tries to escape. Taking Eddie's saloon car, Jack heads for the address
Wald provided. On the way he calls CTU, only to be shocked by the news that
the building wasn't evacuated and there have been several casualties. Unable
to speak directly to Tony, Jack passes Wald's location onto the
next-in-command, Michelle Dessler, and reassures her that he's made
arrangements for Kim to already be out of Los Angeles.
In fact, she is still only just making her way out of the chaotic CTU complex
with Megan in tow. Suddenly, Megan has a seizure. Nearby doctors whisk her
off to the ER, where it transpires that pressure to the brain caused by an
earlier blow are to blame rather than anything connected to the explosion,
and several other fractures to the girl's body showed up in X-rays. The
consultant suspects Kim of abusing Megan, although she of course knows
immediately who the culprit is. Kim calls Carla, Megan's mother, urging her
to come to the hospital. Carla adamantly defends her husband's behaviour even
when confronted with the facts, but she agrees to go. Gary's standing at at
the door when she tries to leave.
Kate Warner cannot cope with the revelations concerning her sister's fiancee
any longer, and confides in her father. However, he is apparently sceptical
of the Private Investigator's findings, claiming that he has already run even
more thorough checks via his own people, and satisfied himself that Reza's
dealings are all above board. When Reza appears, Kate attempts to leave, but
her father cajoles her into accepting Reza's offer of a lift to pick up some
food. An uneasy silence on the journey is broken by Reza's attempts at genial
conversation, and then makes a detour to show Kate a "secret". Kate panics,
and threatens to get out of the car is he doesn't pull over. To her chagrin,
the secret turns out to be a brand-new house that he's bought as a suprise
wedding gift for Maria.
Having had the likely course of deterioration explained to him in detail,
Mason is then informed that his condition is not contagious. This prompts a
change of plan, after Tony calls him again requesting the password to his
computer so that someone in IT can finish the decryption. Paula, finally
freed from the debris, has lost consciousness and is suffering from severe
internal bleeding that will be fatal unless she undergoes surgery as soon as
possible. However, there is in reality no-one else who can do the job, so
Mason elects to stop Paula from being taken to ER and instead be revived
on-site to complete the data transfer. Tony initially disputes the decision,
but deep down recognises the heartbreaking fact that either Paula is given a
chance to live, or all vital information on the nuclear strike is lost, and
Mason has made the right choice.
Arriving at Wald's hideout, Jack puts the blooded cloth from his
self-inflicted wound back to his head, and feigns desperation in a bid to
entice Wald from behind his front door. It works, and once inside Jack traps
his man at gunpoint, making Wald aware of the bigger terrorist plot, and
telling him that the CTU hit was simply a secondary attack to cripple any
thwarting of the planned nuclear explosion. Jack hounds Wald repeatedly for
answers, names and information until a dog enters the room and attacks him,
allowing Wald to escape into a reinforced shed out the back which is
impregnable by any means available to Jack.
The Lynne Kresge/Eric Rayburn stand-off continues to simmer until President
Palmer calls the former into his office. Sensing that Kresge is hiding the
truth of her inability to inform him of the CTU targeting as soon as Bauer
alerted NSA, he berates her for failing to save innocent lives by her actions
until she silently confesses Rayburn's role in blocking her access to Palmer.
He then coerces her into telling all, before sending for Rayburn in order to
fire him with immediate effect.
Eventually, Jack's continued hectoring of Wald pays off. With very little
time before a SWAT team is due at the hideout, Wald ends his vigil inside the
steel-enhanced chamber. Jack is allowed in, and handed an envelope with
photographs of the person whose instructions Wald had been following. He then
commits suicide in front of Jack, rather than face a return to prison.
Jack looks through the pictures.... the woman Eddie mentioned as his only
contact is in all of them. It's Nina Myers, a.k.a. Yelena.
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The medical team continue to try and revive Paula, while the CTU debris is
still being cleared around them. Jack calls in with the information on Nina
that Joseph Wald gave to him. Mason then arranges for her to be brought in
for interrogation, but he won't allow Jack to handle the questioning in case
the desire to avenge Teri's death affects his judgement. Paula briefly
regains consciousness, long enough to give the encryption codes with her
final, gasping breaths. She flatlines before reaching the CTU exit doors.
Kim keeps out of view at the hospital, but runs into Gary again in one of the
corridors. She sees two policeman in the distance, coming towards them. Gary
gives her two choices; face charges of kidnapping and a certain prison
sentence if she tries to incriminate him for abusing his daughter, or leave
now - never to return - and he'll tell them it was all a misunderstanding.
Kim opts for the latter.
Once outside, she phones Jack. He brushes off her comments over his behaviour
during their last conversation while he was working undercover, and insists
she go to Aunt Carol's immediately. When pressed, Jack explains why it's not
safe to stay in L.A.; Kim is shocked, and decides to go back for Megan. She
can't do it alone, so she asks her new boyfriend Miguel to help.
Tony has been alerted to Reza Naiyeer's link to Syeed Ali, and heads off to
the Warners' house. He arrives with another agent in tow, whereupon Tony
takes Reza into the Dining Room to answer questions about his part in the
financial dealings with known terrorists. The interrogation will continue
well past 1pm.
President Palmer is informed that an Ambassador from the Middle Eastern state
housing Second Wave is due to arrive in the US for talks on how to assist in
preventing the nuclear strike. Eric Rayburn's replacement, Roger Stanton, is
sceptical of this initiative, believing it to be a means of obtaining
intelligence under the guise of co-operation. The meeting takes place, and
Palmer agrees in principle to the Ambassador's suggestion of mutually
exchanged intelligence resources. Lynne Kresge shares Stanton's objections to
such open sharing of sensitive information, so Palmer ensures any material
that could jeopardise U.S. agents overseas is removed before the files are
handed over.
At CTU, a handcuffed and shackled Nina Myers is led to the hastily-assembled
interrogation room in full view of the remaining workforce. Jack, ignoring
the heavy-handed prompting of Michelle to obey George Mason and leave the
complex, sees Nina's return. Mason begins the questioning himself, but fails
to get anywhere. Myers refuses to offer any information until she is granted
a full Presidential pardon. Her request is passed on to Palmer via Ryan
Chapelle, and with reluctance Shadow Asylum is granted. The President makes a
personal call to Jack, acknowledging the anger the decision must be causing
him, but pledging to one day "make this all right". Mason, coughing and
wheezing quite noticably now, heads for the bathroom to take some more
anti-nausea tablets.
Jack has been watching him for a while, and when he finds the pack of pills
left behind by Mason he guesses what must be happening. Michelle is coerced
into providing Jack with a full log of Mason's activities throughout the day
so far, including his brush with the highly toxic plutonium at the warehouse.
Armed with this information, Jack confronts Mason and blackmails his superior
into handing over Nina's interrogation to him.
Miguel arrives at the hospital, where Kim tells him of the bomb threat and
her need snatch Megan back and get them all away to safety. He agrees to do
everything he can.
No sooner have the foreign Ambassador and his aide boarded a helicopter to
take them to their own private jet, than President Palmer is shown the
breaking news broadcast on television. The chopper, having exploded into
flames, plummets to the ground in front of his disbelieving eyes.
Jack readies himself for the task of facing Nina one-on-one for the first
time since the immediate aftermath of his wife's murder, watching Myers' face
on a monitor screen as she sits in the interrogation room.
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A shaken President Palmer returns to the underground bunker facility with
Kresge and Stanton. He airs his suspicions that those responsible for the
helicopter crash are not terrorists but people within the US government. To
Palmer's surprise, ex-wife Sherry is waiting for him, with an urgent matter
to discuss. She has heard from an inside source that a full military
evacuation of L.A. has been authorised. Taken aback, Palmer agrees to her
plea for a private meeting. Beforehand, he checks out the evacuation story.
It's true. Lynne Kresge discovers that it was Stanton who carried out the
order, but when he's summoned into Palmer's office he confesses that the
original request was made by Eric Rayburn. A contrite Stanton admits his
error in assuming Rayburn had acted with the full consent of the President.
Palmer orders the evacuation to be cancelled.
Jack takes the papers with Nina's pardon into the interrogation room. She
won't reveal the name of her contact until she is taken to them, so Jack
dispenses with the softly-softly approach. He throws the table out of the way
and rams Nina's chair up against the wall, grabbing her throat. Mason sees
this on the monitor, and goes in to halt the interrogation. Jack tells Mason
that it's all part of his plan to unsettle Nina, and make her believe he has
complete authority to do whatever he deems necessary to extract the
information CTU need. Mason agrees to turn up the interrogation room
temperature, and allow Jack to continue.
Kim and Miguel look for a way to gain access to Megan's room in the hospital.
The doctor won't let Gary discharge his daughter until the causes of her
injuries are more thoroughly investigated, so he quickly gets Megan ready to
leave before the doctor returns at the end of her rounds, and makes
arrangements with his secretary for a flight to Mexico City. Miguel creates a
diversion for Kim by phoning the hosptial with a bogus accounting issue
related to Gary. While an annoyed Gary is forced to take the call away from
Megan's room, Kim makes her move. She eventually persuades the girl to go
with her, and down to the stairwell where they rendezvous with Miguel.
However, security has already been notified of Megan's disapperance by a
fraught Gary, and their escape routes have all been blocked.
Jack rattles Nina further by shooting two bullets narrowly wide of her head.
Her composure disppears, and she reveals the name and location of her
contact. They will have to meet with them to find out anything else, since
Nina was not privvy to the information regarding the nuclear bomb. CTU
immediately set up an armed escort which will take Nina and Jack to Visalia.
Palmer meets with Sherry in private, and hears of how his administration is
being threatened by several members of his own government. Sherry's demands
to know what exactly is going on are met with details of the nuclear bomb
threat. She offers to help Palmer by seeking out the identities of those u
ndermining his Presidency. He consents to arranging a safe and secure line of
communication to pass on any information she can unearth.
With Marie Warner's wedding day in jeopardy, and her relationship with sister
Kate in disarray, Reza Naiyeer continues to vehemently deny his guilt until
finally making a confession when Tony goes to handcuff him in front of the
window, with his recently-arrived parents standing outside in the gardens.
However, Reza claims to have merely covered up for his boss, suspecting
something was awry. Thus the attention switches to Bob Warner, while Reza is
reuinted with a distressed Marie; still furious that her own sister should
have secretly hired a P.I. to check out her fiancee and adamant that Kate
stay well away from her in the future.
Every exit at the hosptial is guarded, so Miguel decides to create a
disturbance that enables Kim and Megan to get away unnoticed. As they walk
across the car-park, Gary spots them from a hospital window. No sooner has
Miguel joined up again with the girls, than Gary appears behind them. In the
ensuing struggle, Kim is flung against a car, but Miguel knocks Gary out cold
with a kung-fu kick to the head and then at Kim's behest steals his keys. The
trio head off in Gary's sports car.
As Nina travels with Jack and a second agent, she attempts to verbally
antagonize the two men. Suddenly agent Miller passes out. His drink was
spiked by a smiling Jack, who now has an uneasy Nina all to himself.
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The armoured van carrying Jack and Nina reaches Warden Airbase, and they
board a plane to Visalia with two FBI agents in tow. Nina attempts to
incriminate Jack over the drugging of Miller, but nobody's interested. Jack's
autonomy is compromised by the FBI presence, who force him to act by the book
for the duration of the short flight. Nina is made to change into civilian
clothing while standing right in front of him.
President Palmer's chief-of-staff Mike Novick belatedly turns up at the
compound, with a brief to investigate the possible conspiracy within Palmer's
administration. Surprised to find Sherry back on the team, Novick advises the
President to concentrate on the day's unfolding crisis while he observes key
personnel at close quarters, as the internal situation is something that can
be dealt with in due course. Roger Stanton, as Eric Rayburn's former boss, is
Palmer's greatest concern, and Novick agrees to discreetly check him out.
Lynne Kresge informs a disbelieving Palmer that Nina Myers is being taken to
Visalia by none other than Jack Bauer.
A deteriorating George Mason calls his estranged son, John, but can't
persuade him to see him even when he says it's urgent. Desperate, Mason
orders his son to be picked up by CTU agents. Brought in handcuffed, John is
stunned by Mason's gesture of $200,000 that's to be transferred immediately
into his account and the subsequent confession that he's dying. Mason urges
John to leave town as soon as possible to avoid "something bad" that's going
to happen in L.A..
Arriving at Davenport Airport in Visalia, Jack prepares for the next stage of
the operation. Nina finally reveals the exact location of her contact Mamud
Faheen; a thrift store not far away called Crescent Collectibles. There's a
SWAT team in place to accompany Jack and Nina. Once Nina enters the building,
she is given 30 seconds before Jack's team make their move. They plan to
ambush Faheen before he can commit suicide; it's Nina's job to convince him
that she's genuinely been released from prison and not arouse his suspicion.
Faheen comes downstairs to meet her, and they hold a conversation in Arabic.
Nina has been fitted with an audio/visual bugging device so that everything
can be monitored and relayed to Jack outside. However, Faheen remains in the
shadows and CTU can't get the definite ID they need before going in, and then
contact is lost as Nina goes to embrace him. Jack, unable to wait any longer,
gives the green light and the building is quickly raided from all sides.
Faheen is found on the floor, while Nina is apprehended by Jack as she tries
to escape through the roof exit. For a few moments, he fights the temptation
to kill Nina there and then, but - hands shaking - he opts to only arrest
her.
The Warner household is in disarray after Reza implicates Bob Warner in his
confession to Tony Almeida. Kate accuses him of shifting the blame to suit
his own ends, but Reza is adamant that he has merely told the truth. Mason is
updated on developments, and orders both Reza and Bob in for further
questioning. As he leaves, Bob quietly asks Kate to contact their lawyer.
When she questions how a tax attorney can possibly help, Bob assures her that
they will know what to do. Suspicious, Kate goes to her father's computer
when everyone has left and tries to access his private files. She phones the
investigator's office for assistance.
Palmer arranges a meeting between himself, Mike Novick, Lynne Kresge and
Sherry. The two women had not previously been properly introduced, and after
the meeting - during which Kresge steadfastly refused to accept the
President's conspiracy theories, offering apparent hard evidence to back up
her views - there is a rather frosty exchange between them, with Sherry
pointing out to Lynne that her husband's rise to power wasn't achieved alone.
All of this is overheard by Palmer, who later tells Sherry to try and respect
Lynne's position a little more.
Heading out of L.A. in Gary's car, Kim and Miguel are pulled over by the
Police for speeding. The officer sees Megan sleeping in the back seat, but
they manage to convince him that there is nothing else untoward happening. He
lets them off with just a warning, but as he returns to his own vehicle, the
officer suddenly notices blood dripping from the boot of Gary's car. Miguel
is told to open it. The policeman also asks Kim to get out of the car, and
she is horrified by the sight of Carla's dead body in the boot.
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Arrested for murder, Kim and Miguel are ushered away in separate police cars.
When the officer who originally pulled them over for speeding mentions to Kim
that her boyfriend has told them some story about a bomb in L.A., she
confirms it and begs the cop to phone CTU for verification. He asks the
police station to put him through to the FBI, but an overload with the
bureau's phone network makes it impossible.
Jack oversees the interrogation of Mamud Faheen, but despite Nina's
involvement the contact refuses to co-operate. His patience evaporating, Jack
attempts to break with protocol yet again, but the other CTU agents draw
their weapons in order to stop him from taking Nina and Faheen back to L.A.
by himself.
Questions are beginning to be asked about Ron Wieland, the investigative
journalist currently holed up at the President's underground complex. Sherry
Palmer, having spoken privately with Wieland's network, goes to her
ex-husband with an offer to smooth over the situation by talking to the
troublesome reporter directly. Her suggestion is approved, albeit with
reluctance. However, the tete-a-tete doesn't go quite to plan, as Wieland
refuses to buy into Sherry's promise of unlimited access and exclusive rights
to report from the Presidential Operations Centre, in return for not running
the bomb scare story. The failure to silence Wieland doesn't deter Sherry
from trying to convince the President of her continued value to his cause.
At CTU, Reza Naiyeer and Bob Warner are questioned individually. Tony is
given full licence to be as uncompromising as is necessary to extract the
truth. Reza maintains his innocence, while Bob reveals himself as a covert
CIA consultant. For five years, he has secretly worked as a conduit for the
CIA without having direct contact with any of the criminals or terrorists
involved. His credentials check out, leaving Mason to conclude that Reza has
to be lying. Mason loses his composure, grabbing Reza as he talks in a
corridor with Marie, and starts screaming at him. Tony quickly intervenes.
Back at the Warner home, Kate - with the help of Paul Koplin, the private
investigator's boss - discover regularly accessed Government-encoded files
when they hack into Bob's computer, as well as financial records of cheques
made out to Sayeed Ali signed by Reza.
The truck transporting the nuclear device is temporarily held up by a blown
tyre. It's fixed by a passing driver, but when the three men entrusted with
bringing the bomb into L.A. resume their journey, one begins to express
serious reservations. A heated discussion ends with two of the men dead, and
the truck in an off-street alley.
On the plane back from Visalia, Nina once again tries to elicit information
from Faheed. Their conversation, as it was at the Crescent Collectibles, is
in Arabic, with Michelle and a translator at CTU relaying the details of
what's said back to Bauer, sitting at the rear of the plane. Jack's
concentration is interrupted by a phone call from CTU, who have Kim on the
line from the L.A. police station. Kim explains her predicament to Jack, who
gets Mason to handle her release as he's preoccupied with events on board the
jet.
While he's engaged in this three-way call, Nina suddenly slits Faheen's
throat with a sharp piece of card she slipped into her jacket when in
Faheen's store. All attempts to save him prove fruitless, but Nina insists
she found out "everything" before she killed him. With the ball in her court
once again, Nina claims to know the bomb's location and demands to be taken
to San Diego. Michelle replays the recordings of Nina and Faheen's
discussion, discovering a new name mentioned in connection with Syeed Ali.
The officer who arrested Kim talks to her as they wait at the police station
for her release to be finalised. Quietly, he begs to know more about the bomb
threat. Kim, worried that Megan might be kept in L.A., tells him as much as
she knows.
Kate Warner and Paul Koplin leave the house and walk towards his car,
discussing what they've found. Out of nowhere, they are ambushed by two men
and thrown into a van.
President Palmer arrives at the Operations Centre in time to witness Ron
Wieland speaking live on television with his news story of the bomb threat,
and of Palmer's deliberate deception of the public. Nobody within the
President's circle knows how Wieland was able to escape, and so Armuss, the
security agent in charge of keeping the reporter quiet, becomes the immediate
suspect.
En route to their new destination of San Diego, Jack sits opposite Nina and
talks movingly about Teri. Nina stares dispassionately ahead. Suddenly, the
plane is rocked by a massive explosion....
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Losing altitude fast, an emergency landing site is nominated. Jack relays the
co-ordinates to Mason at CTU, but the plane continues to freefall and could
end up short of the designated area. Nina refuses to reveal the exact
location of the bomb, fearing Jack will kill her once she has fulfilled her
part of the deal, even though everyone on board might be dead when the jet
crashes. The agent assigned to protect Nina from Jack's possible retribution
loses patience and threatens her at gunpoint for the information, then the
plane goes down short of its target before Jack can provide Mason with fresh
co-ordinates.
President Palmer accuses Sherry of being involved in Ron Wieland's release,
only for Mike Novick to show CC footage of Armuss entering the holding cell
and escorting the reporter out. Sherry accepts her ex-husband's contrite
apology, and advises him to be honest with the media about the situation, but
their conversation is interrupted with news of Jack and Nina's jet going
down.
Satellite photographs reveal that a ground-to-air missile was fired at the
plane. Mason elects to send in an armed search-and-rescue team, as whoever
fired the missile will now be looking for the wreckage to make sure there are
no survivors. As he discusses the situation with Michelle, his nose begins to
bleed. She voices her suspicions that Mason is suffering from radiation
poisoning to Tony, who only minutes earlier had learned the truth first-hand
when he questioned Mason's suddenly renewed commitment. Tony tries to feign
ignorance, as Mason requested that nobody except they and Jack need know, but
Michelle sees through it. She wants Mason to stand down because of the effect
it could have on his judgement, but Tony placates her with a promise to
intervene if and when that happens.
Under Mason's orders, Reza is taken into the same interrogation chamber as
Bob Warner in an effort to see which one breaks first when they are played
off against each other. Details of the nuclear threat are revealed to the
pair, and immunity is offered to whoever provides the information that links
to Syeed Ali. The room is hooked up to a voice-monitoring device, which
clearly shows Reza to be telling the truth as, genuinely horrified at the
catastrophic implications, he berates Bob for being dishonest and for setting
him up. Soon after, despite Bob's threats, Reza tells the CTU what they need
to know and is led outside while guards have to restrain Warner. He asks to
have a brief moment with Marie before leaving. She tearfully condemns Reza
for betraying her family, and walks away.
Jack, impaled by a branch, crawls out of the plane debris and looks for the
other passengers. He finds Agent Phillips seriously injured, and further
afield Nina's upturned seat, with Nina still chained to it. Jack has to give
her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. As they make their way from the wreckage, a
team of soldiers swarm the area. From their khaki camouflaged uniforms, Jack
immediately knows they are not the CTU rescue unit. From behind a cluster of
bushes, they watch as the soldiers scour the debris and excute Phillips. When
Jack is spotted, an exchange of gunfire follows. He uses a flare to disable
an advancing soldier, then takes his gun and ammunition. With Nina's help,
Jack takes out most of the others until running out of firepower but
unbeknown to him she has kept a round of ammo back for herself. When the CTU
team finally arrive and clean up the remaining troops, she picks up Jack's
discarded machine gun, loads it, and takes him as hostage. The CTU team are
forced to stand down. Nina demands to speak with President Palmer.
Kim and Miguel are still at the police station, waiting to be released.
However, the chief officer has overruled CTU's orders because no elevated
threat status has been decreed, and the pair will now be taken to the main
LAPD as originally planned. Megan is to be picked up by her aunt, who lives
in Santa Barbara. Miguel estimates it to be about 100 miles from L.A., a safe
enough distance from the potential blast. Kim is convinced that her father
will eventually sort everything out, although Miguel is less sure.
Kate Warner is awoken from her drug-induced slumber by Syeed Ali, who
orchestrated her abduction. She is taken to Paul Koplin in an adjacent room.
They both deny any knowledge of Ali's activities and of seeing anything on
Bob Warner's computer files, even when Koplin is tortured with an electric
sanding tool. Eventually convinced they have no information of value, Syeed
Ali shoots Koplin dead and tells one his men to do the same with Kate now
that she is of no use.
The press conference arranged for President Palmer is approaching, but first
he has to deal with Nina Myers' call. He asks Mike Novick to answer, but
listens in on the conversation. Myers asks for total immunity for a crime she
has yet to commit, in return for revealing the bomb's location. Puzzled,
Palmer asks for clarification. The crime in question is to be Jack Bauer's
murder. With no bargaining power, and no weaknesses to exploit, the
President, Jack and the CTU reluctantly agree. Nina tells them where the
nuclear explosive is. She is told that as soon as the bomb threat is
nullified, she can kill Jack. Fighting back tears, Palmer promises to make
sure Kim is safe and taken care of, then heads out to meet the press. As he
leaves, he compliments Lynne on the improvements made to his speech,
alterations which were actually made and insisted upon - by Sherry.
As he awaits his execution, Jack tells Nina that it's not over....
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After grimmacing at the end of the last episode when he told Nina she would
be pardoned for Jack's murder in advance, Palmer delivers a speech that admits
yes, they did get a bomb threat... but that they get these every day, and only
shout them to the world when there's really something to worry about.
While we've had some episodes that have ended with a real cliffhanger, you
just knew Jack Bauer couldn't be killed when the clock struck 5pm, given how
he's the central character.
As luck would have it, the cavalry show up all around the Jack and Nina, and
the former causes the latter to bite a bullet as the CTU guys swoop in. As
Palmer gets word that Jack's okay, he tells Nina he'll still let her off if
Nina's vital information turns true. In all the confusion, Jack gets close
enough to whisper something in her ear that scares her but that we can't hear.
Near the CTU copter, he recognises a specific tattoo marking on the arm of
a soldier who tried to off him. He gives Palmer the news that the man was
part of a deep cover group from Fort Benning, run by the NSA...
We have a brief bonding moment soon after as Michelle talks to Mason and since
he won't be around this time tomorrow, he tells her she should follow her
dreams and not be stuck in a crummy dead-end job where you can get bumped off
in an instant.
Roger Stanton's in the frame as the man in charge of the division that
recruited the baddies Jack identified, yet he continues to be defiant to the
last that he even knows the time of day when Palmer presses him on the issue.
Since Miguel managed to procure a lighter from the cop earlier on, he asks
Kim to get the bandana from his pocket and they prove how effective fire in an
enclosed space can be. The cop car overturns and two of its occupants are
trapped and injured. Kim escapes after radioing for help.
Mohsen stayed behind after Syed Ali left the building and attempts to dissect
Kate's ear while she's still wearing it. I thought they were already pierced.
Jack and co. show up outside the building ready to pounce.
Reza had no choice at the start of the episode to help the authorities out by
tracking any computer movements made on Bob Warner's computer, despite
protesting his innocence time and time again in an English accent that sounds
so fake but apparently it's real so he must just be a terrible actor. Marie
shows up all lovey-dovey and says she'll wait for him outside the office and
understands what he has to do.
Jack frees Kate by storming in, but if they want to capture this man who they
think is Ali at the time, they're shit out of luck as he's swallowed a cyanide
pill and his vitals are fading fast, but let's just be glad his last job was
not as a dentist.
Sherry tells Mike Novick about a supposedly shut-down communications network
called OPCOM which ties Roger Stanton in with the bad guy Jack found before.
Proceedings are made to arrest Roger, and... while we were led to believe
Sherry was doing all this in the President's interests, she phones Roger and
tells him she's let them in on the network as it won't drop him in it totally
and it'll let her get closer to her ex-husband for later on. She's managed to
get the code from a previous deputy director to access the network, in a bid
to keep her hand in.
As the episode draws to a close, Tony tells Jack how things are going with
Reza and Bob Warner, Jack is informed by Kate that she knows some Arabic and
overheard that Ali was off to pray, which causes Jack to get a list of every
mosque nearby within a 15-mile radius. Michelle and Tony let each other know
that they fancy each other and that they're on for the horizontal mambo
tomorrow if there still is a tomorrow...
Finally, as Reza plunders through the computer files, he finds the shipping
order they were after all along... but can it be true that only Marie had
access to it? Surely not. A shot rings out - and kills the authority-type sat
next to him. The gunslinger is none other than Marie, who tells him she never
expected him to find out about the order. Did she ever really love him, though,
in the two years they spent together? "You really are very sweet", she
confides as a tear rolls down her cheek. One more shot Reza's down too.
(Why is it, though, that the baddies only deliver one shot to the chest that
might not do the trick, rather than to the head which is a sure-fire (sic)
way of putting their lights out permanently?)
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So, 13 episodes to go and where are we. Kim has made her escape into the Angeles Crest
National Forest (boobs bouncing as usual!), and hidden from the rescue helicopters
under some brush. Marie, having killed Reza and the CTU guard opens the Mac on the
floor and removes the hard drive. She gets a call from Ali telling her that she must go
and pick up the nuke trigger from a locker in town. He tells her that the van drivers
Basheer and Marko are dead and the mission depends on her now. He warns Marie to
change her appearance, and she dutifully agrees. Ali then enters a mosque for what he
believes will be his last prayer service.
Jack drives Kate to the closest mosque and preps her for identifying Ali. He reveals that
Ali is, in fact, a suspect in a nuclear terrorist attack on the city. George Mason phones
Jack with news that Kim disappeared into the forest after the accident. Jack pleads with
George to find her.
Novick learns that there is not sufficient evidence to take action against Stanton. It will
also take too long to obtain a warrant. He advises President Palmer to remove Stanton
from his post immediately, and deal with the ramifications later. Novick also intimates
that he should do whatever possible to get Stanton to reveal what he knows about the
bomb. Meanwhile, Sherry phones Lynne to ask what is being done about Stanton, but
Lynne has not been apprised of the situation. Sherry urges Lynne to find out.
The CTU SWAT team sets up a command point in a parking structure near the mosque.
Jack instructs the team leader not to make a move until the prayer service has ended
because they need to grab Ali on his way out of the building. Yet they still do not even
know if they are at the correct place. Kate offers to go into the mosque wearing a hijab
over her face to see if Ali is inside.
Stanton is denied access into the government files on his computer. Colonel Lamb and a
pair of MPs approach him. Lamb places Stanton under arrest on the authority of the
President for conspiracy to commit treason. As he is escorted out, Stanton’s eyes meet
Palmer’s. Lynne comes into the President’s office to tell him that Sherry has been trying
to reach him. When he takes Sherry’s call, she asks what he will do about Stanton. Palmer
says he is having Stanton questioned, but Sherry disagrees with his hasty decision.
Despite her help in gathering information, Palmer sticks to his guns.
Tony tells Michelle he’s glad she told him how she feels, but before he can tell her how
he feels he gets a call saying Bob Warner is becoming aggressive. Warner is demanding to
be freed because he believes that Reza is lying about his terrorist connections. Tony
rushes in to the interrogation room and tells him if he doesn’t calm down, he’ll lock him
up for the night. When Bob asks about his daughters, Tony tells him that Kate is with
one of their agents but he does not reveal the true situation.
As Kate puts on traditional Muslim dress, Jack briefs her on what to do inside the
mosque. Jack hands Kate a device to alert the SWAT team should she feel she is any
danger. Kate enters the mosque and, makes her way down to the women’s section
checking out the praying men. She spots Syed Ali, and rushes out of the building when
he looks up at her. Jack stops Kate as she exits, and she informs him that Ali is inside.
At the O.C., Novick informs Palmer that Roger’s last call has been traced. It was to
Colonel Sanders at CIA HQ in Langley, Virginia. The President enters the interrogation
room and offers a deal to Stanton to reveal what he knows in return for immunity.
Stanton responds by denying all knowledge of the bomb. Jack gives the CTU agents
Kate’s description of Ali, and instructs the team not to move until Kate picks out the
terrorist from the men leaving the mosque. The agents ready themselves at all points
surrounding the building.
As they observe the entrance of the Mosque from across the street, Jack thanks Kate for
her courage in assisting the investigation. Kim makes her way through the forest, but
stops when she hears the sound of a wild animal. She makes a break for it when she sees
a cougar in the distance, but her ankle gets caught in an animal snare. The cougar follows
her, and watches her from a rock above. Kim begins to tremble as the animal looks at
her like Johnny Vegas eyeing a Guinness.
Palmer returns to his retreat and speaks with Ted Simmons, one of his Secret Service
agents who had once served in a special unit out of Fort Myerson performing covert ops
for the CIA. Palmer asks Simmons to act outside of his duties of the Secret Service under
his direct orders. He is authorised to use whatever means necessary to extract
information from NSA Director Stanton.
Michelle is informed that Reza and the agents guarding him were murdered. The last
time the agents communicated with CTU, Marie Warner had just arrived. Tony contacts
Jack and recommends that they treat Kate as a possible suspect. Jack, however, is sure
that Kate knows nothing about her sister’s terrorism activities.
Marie enters a lumber mill wearing a short brunette wig. She approaches the foreman
about needing something from her boyfriend Marko’s locker. The foreman is reluctant to
open it. She comes on to him and the two enter his office and close the blinds.
Roger Stanton is restrained in a chair with his bare feet submerged in a tub of water.
Agent Simmons holds defibrillator paddles while he questions him about his connection
to the nuclear bomb. Stanton calmly denies any knowledge. Simmons shocks him
through the temples. Palmer coldly watches the interrogation from a monitor in his
office.
Tony apprises Bob Warner about Reza’s murder and CTU’s suspicion of Marie as the
killer. Bob doesn’t believe this story, and accuses Tony of deception.
Nightfall, and the prayer service files out, but Kate cannot identify Ali—yet. Jack’s
suspicion of her is aroused. He orders his team to raid the mosque, and keeps Kate with
him. Inside they find a man on fire. They believe its Ali and conclude he has committed
suicide rather than be captured.
Marie removes the trigger from Marko’s locker and leaves, having clearly given the
foreman a ‘Monica Lewinsky special’.
The dead man in the mosque is wearing clothes that match Ali’s description. Yet Jack
notices that the pants on the corpse are too short, and he realizes that this is not Ali. He
alerts the agents surrounding the building that Ali is still on the scene.
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Oh boy! We’ve seen Jack get mean before, but in this episode, he gets downright
ruthless, if not cold-blooded as he begins to get his hands dirty with Syed Ali.
We join Jack halfway thru the day as he tells the man in charge of the Mosque about the
bomb. He tells Jack that he will try and speak with Ali if they can catch him. One of the
agents finds a trap door under a rug that was not detailed on the architectural plans. Jack
crawls inside to find Ali.
Ali calls Marie to tell her the plan has changed and to meet him at their pre-arranged
rendezvous point. Should he not arrive in half an hour, she knows what to do. Suddenly,
Jack grabs Ali and prevents him biting the cyanide tooth. The violence depicted in this
scene originally caused this episode to be aired with a viewer discretion warning.
George plays the good cop and begins talking to Bob Warner. He asks him to give any
information he might know about his daughter to give them a clue as to why she is
working with Ali. Bob is incredulous about Marie’s possible involvement with the
terrorists. Mason sympathetically probes a little deeper; eventually Warner opens up and
tells George that Marie ran away a few years ago when her mother died in London.
When she returned a few weeks later, she seemed more distant. The interview is
interrupted by Michelle telling him they found a clue in Ali's burnt clothing. A new
computer expert arrives to analyse the burnt fragment. Is this the new Milo?
The interrogation of Roger Stanton continues with Palmer watching with apparently cold
indifference on a monitor. Mike informs him that Jack is now interrogating Ali.
George rebukes Tony for working on locating Kim, and tells him to divert his attention
back to finding the bomb as she is safely out of the blast radius. This is about priorities.
He storms away ordering everyone to stay focussed on the bomb, but almost collapses in
pain as he clings to the rail on the stairwell.
Kim is getting colder and more frightened with every passing minute. Still stuck in the
hunters trap she hears something—or someone—approaching. Fearing it may be the
cougar she hides. A man approaches, clearly the hunter. He asks Kim why she's there,
she gives him a quick partial answer neglecting to mention that she caused the accident,
and the car was a police car. Seemingly dissatisfied with her answer, the hunter releases
her anyway.
Back at the Mosque, Jack is still interrogating Syed Ali. As expected, the terrorist refuses
to talk despite Jack’s savage beatings. Michael Parkinson could learn a helluva lot about
interview technique from Jack Bauer!
Kim's foot is being bandaged by the kindly hunter; he tells her he must take her to the
ranger station. When she refuses, he offers to take her to his place for the evening. The
head of the Mosque enters the room and attempts to convince Ali to give up the bomb.
As he speaks, he begins to move closer and I found myself wondering if HE was about
to kill Ali to prevent him disclosing the location of the bomb. He tells the terrorist that
the murder of millions will not get him into paradise, but Ali's twisted view of the
beautiful faith has him convinced him he is following Allah’s will and he says they will
discuss the matter further when they meet again in Paradise. The man leaves, and is
escorted back upstairs, but not before telling Jack that he wants to try again later. Agent
Baker tells Jack they have recovered the number Ali called last on his cell. Kate
recognises the number as Marie's. Jack then tells her that Marie killed Resa and the agents.
She refuses to believe it. Jack tells Kate that she can phone her sister, but that she must
keep her on the phone as long as possible so they can pinpoint her location.
Kate calls Marie's cell using the CTU network so that they can track her phone. Agent
Baker has disguised their signal so it will appear as Kate’s number on Marie’s caller ID.
Marie is in her car and senses something is wrong by the wavering tone of Kate’s voice.
She tells her sister that she knows Kate knows. With the cell phone, traced Marie tosses
her phone out the window where it is crushed in to the tarmac by another car. CTU got a
lock on the phone, but could not get an exact location once the phone was destroyed.
Jack orders a 10-block radius be closed down by CHP (California Highway Patrol—
anyone remember the TV show CHiPs?) and Marie Warner’s vitals be sent to them.
Back at CTU the Ranger station phones in to say they are still looking for Kim,
meanwhile, the new computer imaging expert, Randy Murdock on-loan from San Diego
CTU, is making progress on the burnt paper. The numbers on the paper are N32 and
something else…is this a code, a map reference, or something else.
The picture is forwarded to Jack; he rushes back to Ali and demands to know where the
bomb is again. Ali refuses. Jack then switches on a TV. Ali watches as his family are tied
up in their homes by masked men preparing to execute them. Jack tells him that unless
he tells them where the bomb is, he will execute his family. He tells Ali that he despises
him for making him do this, but that this is his last chance.
Mike notifies the President that Jack has requested authorisation to execute Ali's family
unless he gives up the bomb. Palmer has a crisis of conscience as he tries to rationalise
what's going on. Mike tells him that collateral damage is part of war, and the planting of
the bomb WAS an act of war. Jack continues the mind game with Ali as he watches in
horror as his family is bound and staring down the barrels of several pistols. Ali responds
by saying he is doing Allah's work, but while he voices his defiance, the terror in his eyes
say otherwise. The President calls Jack and tells him he cannot kill the family. Jack
proceeds to continue with a mock conversation in front of Ali when the president has
hung up, pretending to make it obvious that President Palmer has authorised the
executions. He thanks the president for his support and turns back to the terrorist with
icy resolve.
Back at the O.C. bunker, people are starting to ask questions about Roger Stanton. Lynn
tells Mike that someone has approached her with evidence of a flurry of communication,
e-mail, phone, even face-to-face, between Roger Stanton and Sherry Palmer over the last
six months. Mike is stunned; Stanton said he had met Sherry for the first time that very
day. Lynn tells Mike that she has a meeting with the currently unknown source in ten
minutes off site. Mike tells her he will tell the President once there is definitive proof.
Jack orders Ali to reveal the location of the bomb. When he refuses, Jack gives the word
to execute Assad, his eldest son, the one who wants to grow up to be just like his father.
The security force holding them prisoner kicks over the chair and shoots the boy in the
head out of view of the camera.
Lynn arrives for the mysterious offsite meeting with her anonymous source. The source
doesn't show (or does she?). Sherry is there. She tells Lynn to back off, and claims that
the conspiracy is aimed at overthrowing the presidency and the conspirators are feeding
Lynn disinformation to discredit Sherry. Lynn doesn't believe her, believing sherry is
involved in orchestrating the whole thing to undermine President Palmer. Lynn walks
away leaving Sherry speechless for once. The interrogation of Ali continues. Jack gives
the word to execute the youngest son, but Ali breaks, telling him the bomb is at Norton
Airfield. He tells him the plan is to fly an airplane over downtown and detonate the
bomb in flight. Jack immediately contacts Mason. Michelle realises the numbers
recovered by Murdock refer to those on the tail of a specific airplane. Mason orders
three CTU units, plus SWAT teams and a bomb squad to get there ASAP; the FAA
(Federal Aviation authority) are to be instructed to ground all planes, and he orders two
F-16 fighters in the air to intercept in the event that they do take off.
Ali is escorted out of the room screaming his hatred and defiance at Jack. He checks the
live feed again and we see Ali's son get up. It was all an act. Jack and Kate get into a car
and head to the airfield at high speed.
But before they arrive, Marie reaches the airfield and delivers the bomb trigger. She
installs the trigger in the bomb with two other terrorists. A small private aircraft is in the
hangar with them. When they have tested the trigger, they leave to pray.
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So here we are, at episode 13. Will it be unlucky for some? It’s certainly starting to
look a bit dodgy for poor old Kim!
The episode opens as Tony calls Jack to update him on the assault team locking-down
the airfield where they suspect the bomb is located. He also tells Jack that they have not
yet found Kim. Jack is fretful, and explains that Kim will never try to contact CTU, as
she is wanted by the cops. Tony promises to devote every available resource to the
search. Meanwhile, Kim and the ‘benevolent’ hunter arrive at his little shack in the woods.
Palmer enters Stanton’s interrogation room. Roger confesses that he has known about
the bomb for weeks. He admits to the President that his people let it into the country
and allowed a second-wave terrorist cell to operate unimpeded. He explains that Colonel
Samuels’ team, the rogue paramilitary unit, was tracking it every step of the way with
orders to take it out of play at the last possible moment. Palmer is simultaneously
incredulous and furious. Roger tells the President that his defence policy was too passive,
but denies conspiring to hijack the presidency, saying he just wanted to give it some balls.
The president orders the operation be shut down immediately, but the Stanton explains
the Coral Snake team will not respond to any new orders until the mission is complete.
He tells Palmer they are at Norton Airfield.
Kim and the hunter arrive at his cabin. He offers Kim use of the shower and some clean
clothes, but he stares ominously in to the fire as she thanks him and leaves the room.
Tony gives the names of three more terrorists to Michelle. George orders every available
field unit to Norton Airfield after receiving a second confirmation of the bomb’s location
from NSA Oregon. George calls Jack with an update on Colonel Samuels’ Coral Snake
rogue-troops that are on location at the airfield. He warns Jack that they will consider
anyone outside their team a hostile.
Marie Warner prepares to flee the hangar, wishing Omar well with his suicide mission.
But as she opens the door, she sees the CTU team approaching. Agent Steve Goodrich,
the on-site CTU assault team-leader, passes Jack a dossier containing files of all of the
soldiers under Samuels’ command. Jack co-ordinates the assault with the various teams
inside a hangar.
George informs Tony that Division is uncomfortable with leaving CTU running the
operation from a bombsite. They will be assuming command of the op when they arrive.
Following her shower, Kim changes into the clean clothes the hunter has provided for
her. They begin to chat, and Kim tells the hunter, Lonnie McRae, about Jack’s job and
the terrorist bomb threat to LA (is it me, or is Kim more of a security risk than Nina is?).
She learns that the hunter lives outside of LA because he is paranoid of a terrorist strike.
He promises to show her something if she will keep it secret (some hope).
Lynne updates Palmer. Mike tells the President he has found evidence of a new link
between Stanton, and Bruce Gluck, a Michigan Senator. Palmer knows that Sherry is well
acquainted with Senator Gluck from her work during the primaries. The President says
he wants Sherry to be brought into the OC and given access to the secure database.
Before Lynne can object, Palmer cuts her off, telling her he doesn’t want to hear any
arguments.
Michelle voices her unease to Tony about Division hijacking their investigation, but he
assures her she shouldn’t worry. She asks about Mason, and Tony tells her that Division
will probably relieve him once they see his deteriorated health.
Urban-combat boot-prints are located leading into one of the buildings at the airfield.
Before Jack can move on the bomb, he must take out the rogue military team. Tension
builds as Jack and a SWAT CTU team move silently in to position, weapons at the ready.
Suddenly, Jack comes across a dead body, and then an entire team. They all bear the
Coral Snake tattoo, and have been executed. Agent Goodrich voices the concern we are
all wondering about: ‘If these guys are dead, who’s tracking the bomb?’
It's 8:28 pm, and George is preparing for the arrival of Brad Hammond from Division
who intends to evaluate CTU’s suitability for running such a major op. Mason knows if
they even suspect he is ill, they will remove him from command. Hammond wants to
ship many of the CTU staffers over to Division. Mason argues that it would be waste of
an hour and a half transporting everyone, especially with a nuke ticking away. He refuses
point-blank to shut down.
Lonnie shows Kim his ‘secret’. It turns out to be a subterranean bomb shelter he has
built beneath his cabin in the woods. The shelter is stocked with survival gear weaponry.
Kim gets distraught and takes flight as she finally realises that he is off his nut. He
catches up with her upstairs, and she tells him that she cannot stay with him, she doesn’t
know him, he lives like a hermit with an underground nuclear bunker in his basement,
and she wants to be with her family at Aunt Carol’s for the rest of the crisis.
Lynne gives Sherry access cards to the secure database and takes her down to the OC.
She tells Sherry that she must not interface with the staff directly, and that she must run
everything by her. The two exchange heated words in the elevator. Lynne tells Sherry she
is unqualified to lecture her, she doesn’t trust her, doesn’t like her, and doesn’t want her
there. With her usual icy-cool panache, Sherry replies ‘Well, now we’re communicating.’
Sherry looks very pleased with herself as she arrives in the OC.
Mike Kramer, the park ranger, arrives at Lonnie’s place to search for Kim. He tells
Lonnie that he’s seeking a fugitive wanted for murder and kidnapping. Lonnie doesn’t
give her up, but asks Kim for an explanation when Kramer has left. She swears she didn’t
do it, and he agrees to hide her till the area is clear. Kim says she appreciates it and that
he is a good friend.
Palmer gives Sherry an update on the situation. She assures him that she knows whom to
call regarding the link between Senator Gluck and Roger Stanton. Sherry thanks her ex-
husband, and Palmer apologises for being rude and expresses his gratitude for all her
help. Mike informs Palmer that Samuels’ men are all dead and the bomb remains un-
located. Palmer tells Stanton. He tells him that all six of Samuels’ commandoes are dead,
and it was a professional hit…not the work of suicide bombers. Roger is stunned: ‘You
said six commandoes…there were seven.’
Analysis of the burnt page is complete. They pinpoint the planes registration, and the
hangar where it’s housed. Tony calls Jack with an update. The CTU teams rush to their
vehicles and speed off towards the hangar. A white truck leaves the scene, Marie kisses
Omar farewell, and the plane starts it’s engines. She opens the hangar door and the
Cessna exits on to the tarmac. Jack pulls into view just as the plane leaves the hangar. A
thrilling pursuit begins between Jack’s humvee and the Cessna as teams move in to cut
him off at the north runway. Jack’s humvee draws along side of the plane and he opens
fire at the wheels from the back. His driver manages to manoeuvre in to a position where
Jack can hit the pilot. He fires another round, wounding Omar and the plane slows and
stops. Jack secures the plane and the pilot then calls for the nuke emergency team.
Hammond prepares to leave, having decided that CTU will remain clear until the current
threat passes, when there will be a re-evaluation. He hears George cough, but apparently
suspects nothing of his sickness.
Back at the cabin, Lonnie is monitoring the police radio with a scanner. He lies and tells
Kim that all the stations just went to static. He tells her the bomb must have exploded
and they need to escape the radiation by locking themselves in the bomb shelter.
It’s 8:55 pm. The trigger is set to permanent default and the NEST (Nuclear Energy
Support Team) tech is unable to diffuse the bomb. As Jack arranges to get the bomb out
of LA ASAP, the countdown begins to speed up. The mood grows tense as more NEST
techs move in to work on the device, but the ‘bomb’ turns out to be a fake. Jack realises
it is a decoy, and the real device is still in play. He radios a warning and instructions to all
the team commanders.
We’re in the final minute. Splitscreen mode: Jack stares anxiously in to the distance; Kim
(looking terrified) and McRae take refuge in the shelter. Palmer walks purposefully down
the OC hallway, and George Mason looks very relieved indeed.
Palmer re-enters Roger’s room. He tells him the bomb is not at the airport. He pleads
with him to disclose anything else he needs to know that could save lives.
The last words in the show belong to a devastated Roger Stanton:
‘Ask Sherry,’ he croaks, ‘Sherry is the one you wanna talk to.’
Interesting 24 Trivia: Xander Berkeley and Sarah Clarke, the actors who play
George Mason and Nina Myers are married in real life!
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The clock is still ticking! Only 10 hours to go in the series and Jack is almost back to
square one. PI Paul Koplin, Reza, a group of Iraqi officials on the helicopter, the agents
on Jack and Nina’s plane, plus Paula and a host of CTU operatives are all dead as a result
of this investigation, yet all Jack’s efforts have so far led only to a decoy. The big guy’s
frustration is beginning to show.
As the NEST techs examine the decoy bomb for clues, Jack angrily tries to question
Omar. Omar, however, does not speak English. Jack radios an urgent request for a
translator.
At CTU, tufts of George’s hair fall out in his hand from the radiation sickness. Mason
calls Jack and asks him how things are going. Jack says he needs him to use reverse-time
satellite to trace the plane to its original location where the decoy was loaded so they can
discover who the players were from there.
The weakening Mason is popping pills and
appears not to have heard him. He is breathing heavily, perspiration saturates his brow,
and blood is seeping thru his shirtsleeve. Jack entreats Mason to step aside if he is not
fully fit for duty. He is sorry about everything that’s happened, but right now, they need
someone capable in command, and he suggests Tony. Mason lets Jack know there was a
seventh commando who may have escaped. Jack realises the condition of the bodies
would confirm the scenario that the seventh member of their team was the shooter, and
he asks Mason to get a profile of the man. Omar begins to babble something in Arabic,
but no one can understand him because the translator has yet to arrive.
Kate speaks to her father. She tells him only that she is assisting a CTU agent in an
investigation. They briefly discuss their disbelief about Marie’s involvement, until Kate is
interrupted by Jack requesting her aid as a translator.
Palmer briefs Novick on Stanton’s claim concerning Sherry's involvement in the
conspiracy. The President summons Sherry, and tells her that Stanton has confessed to
facilitating the bomb’s access into the US. He tells her that the soldiers tracking the
device are all dead now, and they have no idea where it is. Sherry looks horrified. The
President asks her if she has done the unthinkable and allied herself with Stanton. Sherry
acts outraged; she denies it, claiming that she only met Stanton that afternoon. Palmer
tells her he knows that is a lie and orders her to sit down.
Sherry meekly capitulates. He
explains they are teetering on the brink of a war with millions of lives in the balance, and
since she claims to love him, he pleads with her to help him. She admits to being
approached by a friend at NSA representing Stanton because he wanted to recruit her.
Stanton wanted to know Palmer's weaknesses. Sherry admits she told him, but only
obliged in order to gain Stanton's confidence. She did it to protect Palmer, not hurt him.
She asks her ex-husband to give her thirty minutes to prove her innocence.
Kate translates for Jack. Omar claims he only played a part in the terrorist plot because
Syed Ali promised to pay his family. Kate then asks Omar about the second bomb, but
there appears to be a dialect problem and Omar doesn’t understand. The translator
arrives and asks Omar the same question. He claims he knows nothing.
When Kate is leaving the hangar, she sees a crowd of people being checked through
another building by security teams due to the airfield lock down. Among the queue, Kate
is sure she recognizes a woman with short brown hair to be her sister Marie.
In the bomb shelter, Kim is distraught. McRae tells her they will get in touch with her
father, but for now, they have to stay in the shelter where they will be safe from the
radiation cloud. He offers to try his short-wave radio again, but slyly pulls out a lead
from the back and he tells Kim that he could not pick up anything because the radiation
has affected the antennae. Kim sobs with fear, and McRae comforts her.
Mason meets Carrie Turner, the new programmer brought in to replace Paula Schaeffer.
George tells her she will report directly to him. Carrie has noticed Mason's failing health,
and tells him she means no offence, but rumour has it that he won’t be around much
longer. He smiles at her forthrightness, and tells her to report instead to Tony and
Michelle. Carrie informs him that she used to be Michelle Dressler's boss at District, but
that their history will not cause any problems. George makes his way to the stairwell, but
suddenly halts and collapses to the floor.
Kate scans the airport travellers being examined by metal detectors. She spots Marie
slipping out a back door. But when she begins to pursue her, Kate is halted by a guard.
She flashes the badge given to her by CTU, and asks the guard to radio Jack Bauer about
Marie. Kate exits by the back door, and runs slap-bang in to Marie brandishing a 9mm
and demanding her badge. Marie tells her sister that Syed Ali helped her see the
hypocrisy of the United States and of people like her father, who work for the CIA. Kate
is indignant rather than afraid, and calls her sister ungrateful, telling her she cannot
believe after everything she and their father did for her, Marie could allow herself to be
brainwashed by lunatics. Marie slaps Kate, and again asks for her badge. Still indignant,
Kate refuses. Marie attaches a silencer and coldly assures her she will kill her sister, just as
she killed another loved one, Reza. Suddenly, a shot rings out and Marie screams in pain.
She drops her weapon, and falls shrieking to the floor. Jack has hit Marie in the arm. He
moves in with his team of and they secure Marie and the pistol.
Marie is brought to an emergency building at the airport. She is still suffering from the
agony of her wound. Kate asks why her sister is not being treated for the pain, and Jack
explains that he needs every advantage to secure her cooperation. Her sister may be the
only one who has information that could stop this whole thing. After Marie is
handcuffed to a chair, Jack asks where the bomb is but she is defiant. Jack applies
pressure to the wound, Marie screams in agony, and Kate winces at the sound of her
sister being tortured. Jack tells her quietly that when she talks, the bullet will be removed,
and medication administered for the pain. Marie still will not give Jack anything, saying
that she is not afraid to die. Jack doesn't believe her, he says he knows the look in the
eyes of people willing to die for a cause, and she doesn't have it.
Back in the bunker, McRae tries the radio again. He is unable to hear Kim because of his
headphones, and she finds a television set covered up on a shelf. She switches it on and
sees that all the stations are fully operational and there are no reports of an explosion on
the news channels. It finally dawns on Kim that McRae is a nut, and she might be in
danger.
Michelle pulls up a bio of a special ops soldier named Jonathan Wallace, who is believed
to be the seventh commando in the Coral Snake unit. Tony asks Michelle to share the file
with the field teams and the OC. Carrie comes over to say hello to Michelle, and there is
friction between the two. Michelle lets Carrie know that the chain of command is
different from their Division days, and technically, she is Carrie’s boss now. Michelle
then hands Carrie a stack of files and tells her to start by analysing them.
In a sombre scene, Mason approaches Tony because he doesn't feel well enough to
continue as Director. With a heavy heart, he asks Tony to say goodbye to the staff for
him, and hands him the necessary access codes for CTU and Division. Tony is reluctant,
and tells George he can’t promote him. Mason tells him he has already spoken to Ryan
Chappelle at District and Tony has been confirmed the new Director. Mason wishes him
luck and leaves the bomb-devastated CTU in a bittersweet farewell—a strangely ironic
contrast to his cowardly exit twelve hours earlier from a sparkling CTU.
Tony settles himself into Mason's office while Michelle assembles the CTU staff for him.
He addresses them about George’s departure and the new chain of command. Tony
announces that due to the current crisis, they cannot afford the time to mourn George’s
impending demise, or the deaths of their fallen co-workers.
Jack asks Steve Goodrich to give Marie a little Demerol for the pain because he needs
her lucid for at least five minute to get the information he needs. He then convinces Kate
to remind Marie of the things she used to love so that they can break through the
brainwashing inflicted on her by Syed Ali. Marie is still muzzy from the painkiller, Kate
appeals to her memories of the bond and love she once shared with her and her father.
She strokes her hair tenderly, and begs her to help them stop the bomb. Marie says she
can't, but as the Demerol wears off, Marie begins to sob in pain again. Jack refuses any
more painkillers until she talks.
In time, Marie relents and tells Jack that the bomb is in a suitcase being transported by a
green van to the Arco Towers downtown. Marie knows it will detonate in 3-hours
because she saw the timer. Jack asks her to describe the timer, and Marie falters. Jack
speaks quietly to her; he knows she is lying because a bomb that size would not have a
visible timer. Marie assures him she is not lying. Jack is certain that Marie is trying to lead
them astray and the bomb is still on-site, but he is obviously alarmed that she may be
telling the truth about there only being three hours left. He orders teams to initiate a grid
search of all the buildings at the airfield. Jack and the agents head out to search, leaving
Marie alone with Kate. ‘They're not going to find it in time,’ Marie promises her sister.
We're all going to die.’
It’s 9:51 pm and Novick has set up an isolated-feed video call for the President with
Steve Hillenburg, a CIA operative at Langley. Sherry watches the monitor as Hillenburg
corroborates her story. Sherry had contacted him four months ago because Stanton was
trying to recruit her to undermine his administration. Hillenburg operated as Sherry’s
case-officer without the President's knowledge in order to maintain plausible deniability
and protect both the President and Sherry. He assures Palmer that he has photographic
proof, taped conversations, files, and debriefs which will exonerate Sherry. Palmer asks
where the meetings with Stanton took place, and Sherry reveals it was in a hotel room for
the first month, but quickly assures Palmer she did not sleep with Stanton. ‘I didn't ask,’
Palmer says with cold indifference, and disconnects from Hillenburg. Sherry begs Palmer
to realise that she was never part of Stanton's conspiracy. Palmer hasn’t decided whether
she's telling the truth or not, but he doesn’t have time or energy to figure out if he can
trust her. He orders her to leave under threat of arrest, and has the Secret Service escort
her to her car.
As McRae sets up a cot for himself, Kim scans the room and spots a hunting knife. She
asks McRae to get her an aspirin. As soon as he turns, she hits him in the skull with a
heavy flashlight. She brandishes the knife at him and demands that he release her,
because she knows that the bomb didn't go off. McRae disarms her, but insists that he
never intended to hurt her. He was just lonely and wanted some company. Kim says that
she does not want to stay, and McRae becomes enraged by her rejection. Kim begs him
to let her go. McRae takes a revolver from a box, and Kim watches fearfully as he checks
the chambers. But after a tense pause, he hands her the flashlight and the weapon in case
she runs in to any more cougars. He opens the door and gives her directions to the trail.
As Kim begins to leave, he asks somewhat pitifully if she’ll maybe return sometime. Kim
says she doesn’t think so, and runs out.
It’s 9:59 and Jack’s humvee speeds through the airfield. He sees signs of a firefight ahead
adjacent to a white van and radios the team involved. Agent Goodrich replies that one
hostile is down. Jack arrives, and Goodrich leads him to the bomb wrapped in an olive-
drab army duffel bag. The NEST technician confirms that the bomb is nuclear and has a
trigger. This is the real McCoy. Jack radios to initiate a level-one evac of the site.
Jack asks how much time they have. The tech is fretful; he tells him the device is
unquestionably armed, but he doesn't know how long before it will detonate. It could be
any second.
The clock is really ticking now…
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Arguably, one of the best episodes yet, episode 15 opens on a wickedly grim tableau. Jack
and a team of NEST techs enter hangar 12 with the bomb on a trolley. The techs
purposefully go to work on the device. Jack looks on anxiously as they examine the timer.
He hears the senior tech say they are in good shape as he makes a circuit bypass.
But are they really in good shape? Let’s find out.
Having resigned his directorship of CTU, George Mason arrives at Norton Airfield alone.
George asks about the bomb’s status, Jack brings him up-to-date quickly, but assures him
everything is under control, and says surely there must be somewhere he’d rather be.
Mason replies: 'this is the thing that killed me, Jack'; he has promised himself that he
would see it through until the device was laid to rest. The techs alert Jack that there is a
situation. The trigger has been rendered tamperproof. Jack is horrified to learn there is
NO way they can dismantle the device without it detonating. With only 55 minutes left
on the clock, Jack orders Agent Goodrich to find a fast plane so that the bomb can be
transported elsewhere. Jack’s expression says it all as he calls the O.C. to notify the
President. He knows what has to be done.
Meanwhile, Kim walks along an isolated country road, shrouded by trees, with only a
torch and the moon to light her way. She tries to thumb a lift from an oncoming car, and
the vehicle pulls over. The male driver who pulls up just happens to be heading toward
San Jose, precisely where Kim happens to be going. She becomes wary, and declines the
ride. The young driver begins to get belligerent then scrambles out of the car. Kim draws
her revolver on him. He hesitates for a second, and then tells her he doubts that she even
knows how to use the weapon. Kim obviously decides that actions speak louder than
words, and proves Jack Bauer’s daughter is no slouch with a revolver as she blows out
his right side rear window. Kim orders him to get back in the car and start driving. The
guy drives off yelling ‘Bitch!’ from a nice safe distance. Kim continues on her way.
As we go to splitscreen mode, Jack is on his cell telling the President he needs a decision.
Palmer assures him that they’re analysing as they speak. Jack informs him the plane will
be ready to go in 10 minutes. Palmer tells Jack to prep for the two locations they
discussed—the Pacific Ocean and the desert—and co-ordinate with the FAA. The
President promises Jack he will get back to him as soon as possible.
The O.C. War Room staffers have assembled, and are listening intently as Mike Novick
outlines the disaster impact projections for detonating a 10-kilotonne nuclear device in
the Pacific Ocean. Lynne gives her own analysis for a similar detonation scenario in the
Mojave Desert. Although the calculations point to less health, economical, and ecological
impact with the desert scenario, there is a problem. Mike explains that the device would
have to be deposited in a very precise location. Since the Cessna they will use as a
transport is not a military plane, there will be no means to deliver the payload accurately.
Grimly, Mike tells the President that this is a suicide mission—the pilot will have to go
down with the plane.
The President calls Jack with the decision—the desert. Palmer tells him that his people
have told him the pilot has to die. Jack says that the CTU analysts had already arrived at
the same conclusion. The President asks who will pilot the aircraft. With a slight
hesitation, Jack tells the President that several good men have already volunteered.
Palmer asks Jack to express the undying gratitude of his country to whoever the chosen
pilot is, and that whatever family he leaves behind will be taken care of by his
administration. Jack assures him he will, and Palmer asks him to get back to him when
the plane is in the air.
Mason, who (intentionally?) overheard the conversation with the President, approaches
Jack. He notes that he doesn’t see any of the volunteers for the mission, and says he
knows that Jack intends to go it alone. George offers himself as a more suitable
candidate for the flight. Not only is he an instrument rated pilot, with a current license,
but he is already going to die by the end of the day in any case. In his current state, Jack
has no confidence in Mason’s ability to carry out a mission of this magnitude without
blacking out, or even dying, short of the target co-ordinates. Mindful of the potentially
cataclysmic consequences, Jack rejects George’s offer to fly the Cessna. The stakes are
too high to gamble that Mason can hold out. He calls Goodrich on the walkie-talkie and
orders him to clear airspace and instigate an immediate evac of the airport. As Jack walks
onto the tarmac, ordering the bomb to be loaded, we realise he has elected to go himself.
It’s 10:17 pm, and two CTU field agents bring Tony a suitcase filled with Syed Ali's
personal effects from the safe house. The agents also have with them one Yusuf Auda, a
visiting intelligence liaison from the Arab country suspected of harbouring the Second
Wave terrorists. Tony asks Agent Graves if he trusts him, he replies that at the moment,
he doesn’t trust anyone. While Graves takes the case to a conference room, Tony
introduces himself to Yusuf, who is eager to get involved in the analysis of Ali's personal
effects. Tony is evasive and obviously unwilling to trust this man. Tony asks Michelle to
assign someone to baby-sit Yusuf and ensure he doesn't see anything of significance
related to the case. When Michelle informs Carrie that she will handle Yusuf herself, she
refers to Michelle’s continuing discomfort in working alongside her. Michelle
offhandedly tells her to do her job. Tony Joins graves in the conference room to exam
the case. Among the items discovered is a hard drive encrypted with a function so
complex they CTU field equipment was not up to decrypting it. Tony thanks the agent
and tells him he’ll get their people on it right away.
As the NEST techs load the nuclear bomb onto the Cessna, Jack calls CTU to ask Tony
about Kim's whereabouts. To Tony’s disbelief, Jack reveals that he will be the suicide
mission pilot, so he needs to speak to his daughter immediately. Tony promises to find
her. He also tells Tony that there is safe in his apartment containing will and a letter to
Kim written in the event that anything ever happened to him. Tony assures him he’ll
make sure she gets it.
Kim is still hitchhiking along the road when another car approaches. Kim sees the
headlights, and checks to make sure the revolver is still tucked snugly in to the waistband
of her jeans. The vehicle draws alongside Kim, but this time the driver is a woman
named Anna. She asks if Kim is okay and why she is out in the boonies. Kim tells Anna
that she fled a date that had gone bad, and Anna invites her along for the ride. Anna lets
her use her cell phone to call Jack. The Cessna has been equipped with a clock
synchronized to the bomb's timer by the NEST techs, When Kate inquires if the Cessna
is fitted with an autopilot she is horrified to learn it isn’t and that Jack will be the pilot.
She calls out to Jack as he boards. He turns to her, and they share a moment, but no
words; neither of them can find any for what is happening. Jack shuts the cockpit door,
and she watches helplessly as he gets clearance and begins his take-off.
It’s 10:28 pm when Mike Novick gets word that the Cessna is in the air with the bomb
on board. Palmer requests that Air Force One be prepped to take him to Los Angeles.
Mike and Lynne try to dissuade him from this course of action, as Commander-in Chief
the citizens of the US need to know he is in charge, and directing the situation…not
caught up in it. Lynne forewarns him that he will undoubtedly be caught up in the
inevitable civil unrest when the situation is announced. But Palmer is resolved to be there
to reassure the people in person. The President is then shocked when Mike tells him that
Jack Bauer has elected to fly the plane.
Tony patches through to Jack in flight. He has Kim on a secondary line, and connects
them. Jack is relieved, but explains to Kim that he has to fly a nuclear bomb to the desert.
She asks how he will get off the plane, and Jack sombrely explains he must remain on the
plane until the device is sited. Kim becomes upset and starts to cry. Between sobs, she
expresses intense regret for the way she has behaved in the past. Jack tells her he has
always loved her just as she is, he asks her never to change, and to grow up in a way that
would make her mother proud. They say their tear-filled good-byes to each other as Jack
tries to focus his concentration back on the situation at hand.
Anna pulls the car over and tries to comfort Kim, but she gets out of the car because she
wants to be alone. She no longer cares about leaving Los Angeles, or anything else except
her father’s fate, and she runs into the night. Michelle brings Tony a decrypted transcript
of a recording pulled from Syed Ali's hard drive. The audio is of a conversation that took
place months ago in Cypress between Ali and high-ranking officials of three Middle
Eastern governments. It appears to confirm that these nations bought the device and
supplied it to Ali’s terrorist cell. Michelle suggests that they run a voiceprint
authentication on the tape.
Tony phones Air Force One and tells the President what he has uncovered in the
recording. Palmer is concerned that CTU's Division headquarters will have already
notified the Pentagon and other agencies, which means everyone will know. Palmer
questions why Ali would have taped his conversation, and Tony assumes that Ali may
have wanted ammunition in the event one of the countries in question was to turn
against him. Palmer isn't thoroughly convinced, but thanks Tony for his work.
Palmer then tells Mike that the US could soon be at war. It would not only be with those
three Middle Eastern countries, but with their allies and other American-hating
opportunists. When that bomb goes off, the President's knows his options will quickly
narrow.
As Jack is flying, he senses movement behind him. He instinctively draws his weapon
and whirls around to find George crouching behind him. Mason, who has snuck on to
the plane, passes Jack a parachute. He says that the hardest part of the flight is over and
he can take over the suicide flight. George tells Jack he can handle it from here, unless of
course Jack wants to die. Mason thinks he has had a death wish since Teri was murdered.
He knows Jack blames himself, but Mason tells him he shouldn’t take the easy way out. it
would be far more brave of Jack if he managed to put his life back together, mend the
fences with Kim, forgive himself for his wife’s death, and continue to serve his country.
Jack ruminates on this seriously. At length, with only twelve minutes on the clock, Jack
asks George whether he is absolutely sure he is able to man the plane. Mason assures him
he is—that he was meant to do this. Jack gives him final instructions on how and where
to crash land. They sit in reflective silence for a moment, and then Jack thanks George
earnestly.
It’s 10:52 pm and Jack is preparing to make his escape, while Mason gets in to the
hotseat. He will wait to jump until four minutes before impact so that he can stay with
Mason for as long as possible. This is not solely a gesture of friendship; he wants to make
sure George is still conscious as he approaches the target zone. He calls Tony about the
change of plan. Tony then orders Michelle to send a helicopter to track the Cessna and
pick up Jack in the desert.
Yusuf notices the commotion at CTU and inquires about what evidence has been found
on the hard drive. Tony refuses him access, saying he does not have high enough
clearance. Yusuf becomes irritated because his country has shown good faith in leading
the Americans to Syed Ali's safe house but he is being left out of the loop. Tony stands
his ground.
On Air Force One General Bowden from the Joint Chiefs of Staff enters the president’s
private office. He congratulates Palmer on managing to get the bomb to a relatively safe
location, but he has really come to see the President to discuss proposed retaliation plans.
The military already knows about the Ali tape, which points the finger at three Middle
Eastern countries as the backers behind the Second Wave terrorist group that delivered
the device. The general informs the President that Plans for invasion are already in the
pipeline even though it is not yet confirmed whether the intelligence is legitimate or if the
three countries named in the tape were in fact involved. With a heavy heart, Palmer gives
the General approval to activate the plan, but warns him that the military cannot
implement the plan without direct authorization from him. After the General leaves,
Palmer quietly observes to Lynne that they may be facing World War III.
It’s 10:57 pm and as Jack loads his parachute to prepare to jump, he inquires if there is
anything he can do for George. Mason says it’s okay, and that he got to see his son
earlier. He asks Jack to look in on the teenager after he's gone. Jack swears he will, and
places a reassuring hand on George's shoulder. Mason grabs Jack's hand in an emotional
farewell. They let go, and Jack parachutes from the Cessna and fires a locator flare.
Mike awkwardly informs the President that at this altitude the explosion will be visible on
the eastern horizon if he should want to look. Palmer crosses over to a seat with an east-
facing window and gazes out of Air Force One with a devastated sigh.
It’s 10:59 pm, with less than sixty seconds to zero hour. While George doggedly steers the
Cessna toward Ground Zero, Jack drifts down to the ground. He lands, discards the flare
and his ‘chute then shelters behind a rock. The nuclear explosion roars in the distance.
Meanwhile, unaware of her father’s narrow escape from the aircraft, Kim sobs as she
looks up into the sky to see a faint glow in the northeast. Palmer also witnesses the eerie
glow of the bomb from his seat on the presidential jet. His very soul apparently chilled,
the president looks away speechlessly.
As the episode ends, Jack looks up to see a massive mushroom cloud blossom on the
desert horizon. The blast was a fitting full stop to George Mason’s explosion of heroism
and nobility as he gave his life for his country.
The screen fades to black as the clock ticks over to 11:00pm
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If, like me, you’re still trying to catch your breath following the last episode, don’t stop panting yet! The nuclear device may have detonated, but the fireworks are just about to start as we head towards the midnight hour.
The entire CTU staff watches in stunned silence, via a satellite monitor, as a h | |
