24

7:02 P.M.-7:08 P.M.: As the sun goes down, Jack and Mason continue to scope out the wildlife reserve, to no avail. Mason thinks they're wasting their time, but Jack knows Alexis wouldn't have paid Morgan to shut off the power if the area were of no importance. Mason receives a phone call, and hears that Alexis just got out of surgery. He tells Jack they should be there when he wakes up, rather than on the hunt for a red herring. Jack says he wants to continue looking until 7:20, at which point Mason can send a car to pick him up. Not wanting to argue, Mason leaves Jack there, gets in his car, and leaves the scene.

Tony helps a sobbing Teri and a wounded Dr. Parslow outside to his car. When Teri won't stop crying about Kimberly dying in the explosion, Tony says Kimberly got out alive and called him. Tony puts Dr. Parslow in his car, and orders Teri, to get in there with him. He starts the car and proceeds to head back to CTU, while Teri tends to Dr. Parslow in the back seat. Tony calls Nina at CTU to tell her that he found Teri at her house, killed a person who was sent to kill her, and is bringing along an injured friend of hers for the ride. Nina asks him how far away he is. He says 20-30 minutes. She then tells him to take Parslow to the clinic, where she'll have someone be waiting for him, but recommends he bring Teri to CTU instead.

Krugman asks his fellow officers lock Rick, Kimberly and Melanie down in the police station. Kimberly begs for a phone call. Krugman brushes her off, and Melanie tells the cop not to listen to Kimberly, calling her a liar. Krugman tells them that they'll get their phone calls after they're been processed. Then he grabs Melanie's arm, and orders her to come with him. "You're mine," he says. Some other officers cuff Rick and Kimberly to the bench they've been instructed to sit on. After the officers walk out of hearing range, Rick tips Kimberly off that they'll ask her about Frank and the deal. Since Kimberly doesn't know anything about Frank and the deal, Rick advises her to tell them that. Kimberly thinks she should tell them what she does know, meaning everything that happened her today. Rick asks her flat-out if she trusts him. After scoffing at where her trust in him has gotten her, she says she does, aware that he is trying to help her. Though he doesn't feel the safe house incident has any relevance to this, he promises he will back up whatever she tells them. She warns him that he'll get in trouble. Reflecting on the events of the day, he says then so be it. With Melanie taken care of, Krugman comes over. It's Kimberly's turn.



7:08 P.M.-7:13 P.M.: Palmer goes to visit Nicole, who's resting on her bed, to see how she's feeling. She tells him she's relieved actually, because keeping this secret was harder than she thought. He breaks it to her gently that the worst is yet to come, but they'll get through it if they stick together. They share a hug, during which time Sherry walks into the room. Palmer asks Nicole if she could give him and her mother a few minutes alone. She gets up, gives Sherry a kiss, and walks out. Sherry apologizes to Palmer for interrupting his "celebration." When he wonders why she didn't take part in it, she tells him she wasn't in the mood to celebrate his election concession. He feels she's being hasty in her poll predictions. Since honesty is the best policy in Palmer's mind, and Mike told him he still has a shot at winning, he really believes he does. Sherry snipes back how in 13 minutes, he tore down what it took them 25 years to build. Receiving nothing more than the cold shoulder from him, Sherry stands up, heads into the bathroom, and tells him she hopes his conscience will be there for him when this is all over. Palmer throws her off guard when he questions whether she means the campaign or the marriage.

Jack scopes out the reserve with flashlight in hand. He spots something in the distance in the middle of the field, and goes over to investigate. What he manages to find are a danger sign and a set of steps that lead to what appears to be an underground bunker.

Meanwhile, from a covert camouflage tent, Andre Drazen receives a phone call tip-off from a Harris of Alpha-One that Jack found the place and went below. After confirming that it was definitely Jack, Andre wonders what he's doing here. Harris doesn't know either, but knows that Jack wasn't invited to the party.

Jack descends the stairs, but further progress is impeded by a sealed-shut concrete door. Without any warning, he sets off an ear-piercing alarm, with strobe lights, to disorient any intruder visually and auditorily. The door opens, and two uniformed men shoot him with a taser to incapacitate him, and drag him into the underground bunker.



7:16 P.M.-7:22 P.M.: Jack wakes up in a prison cell, rolls out of a cot, and crawls over to the toilet to toss his cookies. After freshening up, his cell door opens and another man walks in. Jack tries to explain who he is, but the man has already checked up on him. He tells Jack he knows who he is, returns his gun and badge, and introduces himself as DeSalvo, from the Department of Defense. When Jack comments that wherever he is, it's obvious it was intended to be kept secret, DeSalvo notes that he seems to have had no trouble finding it. He tells Jack they're in a Three Detention Center, and asks what he's doing snooping around. Jack explains to him about the assassination attempt on Palmer. Not good enough for DeSalvo. So Jack elaborates how Alan Morgan was bribed to shut off the power here at 7:20. By the look on DeSalvo's face at the mere mention of that time, Jack knows something's going to happen here around that time. But since DeSalvo doesn't seem eager to tell him what, Jack takes on a threatening tone as he fills DeSalvo in on how many more people the Drazens can kill unless they are stopped. DeSalvo says a prisoner is being flown in by chopper at that time. Who's being flown in, though, he has no idea, since it's fied information even to him, and the prisoner is randomly moved every few weeks. He asks Jack what the Drazens want with the prisoner. Since neither of them know who the prisoner is, Jack can only surmise that they want to kill him or set him free. Whatever they're going to do, that only leaves them a few minutes. Five according to Jack. He tells DeSalvo to call for backup. DeSalvo thinks Jack is mad, since backup can't get there in five minutes. Jack says call anyway. Jack's reasoning for this is that if he's wrong, he'll take the heat. And if he's right, DeSalvo will get to be the hero when everybody in the building is saved. After a bit of pleading, DeSalvo throws in the towel, and makes the call. Jack thanks him, and asks how many personnel are on staff. Three guards, a maintenance man, and two technicians. Jack ponders if they could recruit the janitor and the techs to blow the bad guys away. DeSalvo tells him no, they're not trained for that. Jack tells DeSalvo to have them stand by anyway. "To do what," DeSalvo asks.

At the Drazen encampment, Andre announces to his accomplices that they've got three minutes. Harris, the man from Alpha-One who phoned earlier, worries how Andre still hasn't heard from Alexis, who was supposed to verify his meeting with Morgan. Andre says if there was a problem, Alexis would have called. Andre notices how anxious Harris is. Harris replies since first Plan A and now Plan B have both been derailed. While preparing his weapon, Andre tells him there's nothing wrong with Plan B. If that were true, Harris says, Jack wouldn't be here. Andre blows his comment off, instructing him to get his men ready. It's time. A group of camouflaged commandos position themselves outside, while inside, Jack teaches his impromptu crew how to handle a semi-automatic weapon. DeSalvo checks to make sure all his men are good. They say they are. Jack gives the go-ahead for everybody to head out. Harris and the rest of the team of camouflaged commandos parked outside on the ground ready their weapons, while Drazen breaks out his binoculars.

The helicopter arrives, right on time. Lights that adorn the prison compound's staircase are turned on. Jack orders DeSalvo to tell his men to stand in front of the lights so they will be visible. Andre states that they've got 45 seconds. Harris counts how many men they're contending with. Eight, including Jack. As Andre told him there would only be three guards, this does not compute. A panicked Harris realizes that there are additional men stationed because they were expecting them. Andre tells him not to worry about it as they'll be disoriented when the power is shut off and the area is pitch black. Harris has clearly thought things through more than Andre has, since he understands the power might not be shut off. The helicopter lands, and Jack barks the order for the team he threw together to go. They race over, as Andre begins the countdown from 10 to zero. The power, however, does not terminate as Drazen planned. DeSalvo's men claim the prisoner, whose face is obscured by a hood, and lead him back to the compound. Andre wants to go in anyway, but clear-headed Harris tells him not to, as there's more men than they anticipated and the lights are still on. Andre plans to ditch Harris and have the rest of the team carry out his plan anyway, but Harris reminds him that the men are his, and they'll be obeying his orders. Andre has no choice but to comply. Harris orders the team to stand down, for the plans have changed. Jack and DeSalvo's team safely bring the prisoner inside. The lights shut off. The helicopter departs.



7:27 P.M.-7:34 P.M.: Krugman is sitting at a table in a holding cell. Kimberly is escorted inside. He tells her to sit down. She tells him her father is Jack Bauer. The name understandably not ringing a bell with Krugman, Kimberly sits down at the table, and elaborates that he works for the Los Angeles Counter Terrorists Unit. But Krugman hasn't heard of CTU. What he wants, he says, is information on Frank Allerd. More specifically, information on Frank Allerd's plans to buy and distribute a thousand hits of ecstasy. She tells him she doesn't know Frank, having only met him for the first time a couple hours ago. When both the truth and the name-dropping fail, she goes for a different angle, and talks about the assassination attempt on David Palmer. When she asks him how curious he is that she knows about it, he tells her not very, since it's been all over the news for the past 12 hours. Kimberly countered, saying she didn't know, since she's been kidnapped all day by the same people who were behind the assassination attempt. Krugman alerts her to the fact that her friend already told him that she has an active imagination. Melanie isn't her friend, Kimberly corrects him, she holds a grudge because she thinks she's after Rick. Krugman stands up, and tells her he's sticking her back in the holding cell. She picks up the piece of paper with the phone number on it, and demands that he call it, tell whomever answers that he's got Jack Bauer's daughter. Krugman takes the paper from her, and leads her out.

Underground, Jack pulls DeSalvo aside, warning him that just because Drazen and his people haven't attacked yet doesn't mean they may still attempt to break in. DeSalvo begins to wonder if Jack isn't making all this up. Jack begs DeSalvo to trust him that the Drazens are working on their contingency plan. He knows what they do. DeSalvo tells him he requested backup, and there's not much else he can do. Jack says he can do one thing: he can let him talk to the prisoner. DeSalvo flatly refuses, as he's under explicit orders and he can't even speak to the prisoner himself. Tensions escalate, Jack reminds him that Senator Palmer's life is in jeopardy. DeSalvo replies that he's welcome to go over his head. Needing to process his new arrival, DeSalvo begins to leaves. Jack calls out a request to use his phone.



7:34 P.M.-7:38 P.M.: Mike pays a visit to Palmer, who asks him if it's really as bad as Sherry figures. Mike turns on the news for Palmer so he can see for himself that it's being reported that not only are the current polls holding steady, but in some states, they're actually increasing. An America's Choice poll reveals that 60% of the people who voted are indifferent on what had occurred, whereas 18% felt that it made them less likely to want to vote for him. The report is a weight off Palmer's back, and makes a believer out of the usually incredulous Mike. One of the aides walks in to tell Palmer that Jack Bauer is on the phone with something urgent. Palmer asks Jack about Alexis, and is told that he's just coming out of surgery. But that's not why he called. He gives Palmer everything he needs to know about the secret detention facility and about DeSalvo. Palmer says he'll do what he can.

Jack was snooping around the compound's hallways during the course of the conversation, and notices a set of wires running along the ceiling. He follows them, and winds up in an observation room filled with monitors. Jack pushes buttons until he gets one of the monitors to show the cell they've taken the prisoner to. But the man's back is turned, and he won't turn around. Jack is caught red-handed by DeSalvo, who blasts him at the top of his lungs. The prisoner turns around, giving Jack a perfect view of his face, shocking him to his core. "It's impossible," he tells DeSalvo. The prisoner is Victor Drazen, whom he killed two years ago!



7:43 P.M.-7:46 P.M.: DeSalvo wants some quid pro quo out of Jack if he's going to risk his job and possibly go to jail for him. With the provision that this is fied information, Jack tells all about Operation Nightfall, explaining his connection to Victor Drazen in the process. Jack's statement that he'll lose any leverage he has of keeping his family alive should Victor be broken out of jail prompts DeSalvo to say he'll make another call. This isn't good enough or fast enough for Jack. He wants Victor moved, he wants Victor moved now, and he wants whoever's present to move him. DeSalvo repeats that he'll make another call.

Andre decides to forget about Alexis, planning to take matters into his own hands in regards to cutting the power. When Harris questions why when Alexis hasn't contacted them, Andre tells him they should assume he's dead. Using a laptop with a map of the detention compound, Andre comes up with Plan C -- he's found a substation that houses the electricity for the center. Harris sternly tells him that the idea was not to attract attention. Andre corrects him; the idea was to get his father out of prison.

Nina is unnerved to see Mason walking back into CTU without Jack. She asks him why he didn't return with him. All Mason can tell her is that Jack's a stubborn guy. He also says that Alexis came to, but won't talk. So he cut off his morphine supply. That'll make him talk. Nina realizes he still hasn't told Jack that Teri and Kimberly are still missing, and angrily questions why not. Mason returns the note, proclaiming that last he checked he didn't have to explain himself to his subordinates. He makes it perfectly clear that he won't be telling Jack until Palmer is safe and sound.

7:46 P.M.-7:49 P.M.: There's a party at Palmer headquarters, and though everybody's invited, Palmer himself isn't actually taking part in it. Sherry goes to see him in his room, hoping he'll come out and join the festivities. When she realizes something is wrong, she closes the door and asks him what it is. After dancing around the subject a bit, he tells her that she's a confident enough woman to know what she wants...and he isn't confident enough that she wants him. She dismisses his charge as nonsense. He says he doesn't think she could have done what she did--lie to him for years--without pulling away emotionally. The remark brings out a hatred and disdain in Sherry in, chiding him that while he may no longer love her, he will never leave her. She then demands he get out there and greet all his party guests that were nice enough to show up and spend every day of the past year of their lives to help put "us" in office. When he questions her use of pronoun, she tells him that's right--when he's being sworn into office, guess which woman is going to be standing right by his side.



7:54 P.M.-7:55 P.M.: Krugman takes Kimberly to the communal holding cells, first walking by one full of men, whistling at her as they go by. Krugman drops her off in a cell filled with women, including one Melanie.



7:55 P.M.-8:00 P.M.: Jack and DeSalvo are trying to piece the huge puzzle together, with Jack concluding that somebody somewhere at some point surmised that Victor Drazen was more valuable alive than dead, yet wanted him and the rest of the people from his mission to believe he was dead. And since you can't technically have killed someone who is alive, Operation Nightfall was designed not to work. DeSalvo receives a very brief phone call. Jack expectantly asks if they've got permission to move Victor. DeSalvo tells him, no, that request is still being processed. What Jack got is permission to interrogate Victor for five minutes. With DeSalvo monitoring his every move on the monitors, Jack enters Victor's cell and introduces himself to the elder Drazen. He then asks that Victor pardon his surprise, since he saw him die. Jack acknowledges that no one could have survived being blown up like that, then explains that intelligence told him and his men that the building was empty when Victor entered. Jack had no intention of killing Victor's family, now he'd appreciate it if Victor would have no intention of killing his family. He begs Victor to uphold his wish, since he's already lost his wife and his daughter, and would just end up losing his two sons as well.


The angry Victor states that his sons are soldiers. Jack tells him they're not very good ones, since he killed their 7:20 rescue plan, and has called in backup to kill them should they try again. He knows they will, so he orders Victor to call them off. After Victor rolls his eyes and chuckles, Jack bolts from his chair, demanding that Victor better call his sons off, or they'll die. DeSalvo enters, breaking them up and announces that he's gotten the okay to move Victor. Jack exchanges some murderous glances with the old man before he whispers to DeSalvo whether there is a secret way out that's not on the schematic. DeSalvo tells him there is, so Jack asks that his men go out armed like before. He then orders Victor to get up. As he's being led out, DeSalvo has what passes for his staff arm themselves.

Meanwhile, Teri and Tony see Dr. Parslow into the clinic, at the same time the Palmers are exchanging some dirty glances of their own. Victor's transport out of the center comes to an abrupt halt when the lights in the compound are suddenly shut off. Jack pushes Victor against the wall, as DeSalvo's guys, armed with flashlights, radio in the problem. With great satisfaction, Victor smugly tells Jack, "They are here."

Tick, tick, tick...