24

8:02 A.M.-8:09 A.M.: Pierce and his crew get the Palmers safely out of the plant and into a limo, while Eli and the other thug lock a weeping Teri and Kimberly back up in the shed, while Hayes and the other agents turn a handcuffed Jack over to their boss, Frank Simes. With one hand chained to a pole, Jack attempts to plead his case to Simes so he'll uncuff him. Because Tony turned him in, Simes doesn't buy it. Jack tells Simes that Tony doesn't know what he does, and that Palmer's life is still in danger with Jonathan lurking around. Rather than letting Jack go, Simes calls Palmer's security to get a list of the photographers who were at the breakfast. After beating her down, Tony gets Jamey to divulge Gaines' name and Nina gets her to divulge that Gaines is the one watching them. Tony and Nina need to get the cameras shut off, but can't cut the feed as that will look too suspicious. Jamey says she knows what to tell him to make it look like she is still working for him. Gaines, in a rage, is on the phone with someone trying to find out if Jonathan got a shot off. He hangs up to see all his feeds are down. Before he can find out why, Jamey calls to say she had to shut off his tap, because Milo was on to them. This does nothing to lower Gaines' blood pressure, nor does it buy Nina and Tony much time, as Gaines wants Jack back under his command ASAP. Nina gives Milo the projects Jamey's been working on, explaining she's no longer on the team. Greedily, Milo demands a pay hike, which Nina says he'll get. From the backseat of his limo, Palmer calls up Mike, who tells him someone has been taken into custody, but they don't know who. Sherry thinks he should have listened to the warnings. Jack starts yelling at Simes that lives are still in danger -- both his family and Senator Palmer. Hayes gets annoyed at having to listen to Jack, and forcefully tries to make him sit. Simes calls Hayes off, and tells Jack he's turning him in and not letting him back on the case. Jack wants a moment alone with Simes to tell him something in private, so Simes gives Hayes the signal to jet. One on one, Jack explains the truth about Teri and Kimberly, how the terrorists used the threat of killing his family to get him to smuggle the weapon through security to give to the assassin, and how he got Palmer out of the room, thus saving his life. This Simes seems to believe, but he still doesn't have to authority to free Jack, only District does, but Jack knows District won't. Hayes and two other men uncuff Jack from the pole, cuff his hands together, and lead him into the plant's boiler room. As Jack is making his grand exit, Simes says he's sorry. Jack says he will be when Palmer dies.

8:09 A.M.-8:12 A.M.: After observing men working in the boiler room, Jack sees an opportunity, and turns on several valves with his arms -- which in turn blow enough steam in the agents' faces for him to get away from them with one of their guns. A chase ensues, during which Jack jumps a chain-link fence, slides down an embankment leading to the highway, runs out into the street, and with stolen pistol in hand, hijacks the oncoming car of an unsuspecting waitress.

8:16 A.M.-8:18 A.M.: At gunpoint, Jack forces the terrified waitress to drive him where he needs to go, and shouts at her when she botches the directions. He has her pull over in the deserted parking lot of a construction site, and orders her to come with him while he makes a phone call. The half-finished building on the site is locked, so Jack smashes in the window with his elbow.

8:18 A.M.-8:24 A.M.: Tony expresses his disgust with Jamey for betraying her country and being responsible for the deaths of innocent people. He asks her how much they're paying her, figuring it must have been a million or more, and is further disgusted to learn it's just $300,000. Jamey rationalizes her behavior by saying she has to support her son by herself since her husband left her, and that it's not fair that she works twice as hard as the rest of the staff, but makes half as much. Tony expresses his disappointment in her and calls her an embarrassment to all of CTU. Nina returns to say she's got Milo researching Gaines. She asks Jamey to call Gaines and tell him Jack's on his way back to CTU, but Jamey refuses to do anything more until she gets immunity in writing. The phone rings -- it's Jack, calling from the office he broke into. He's relieved that Nina answers, and explains that he put the flak jacket on her because they wanted him to kill her. When she asks why her, he says it's because she started piecing things together. Jack gets Nina up to speed about what's happening with Teri and Kimberly, and she advises him their discovery of Jamey being the mole. Jack doesn't believe that, as Walsh cleared her. But when Nina tells him that Walsh was mistaken since Jamey already confessed, he realizes she had access to everything -- including details about his family. Even though Nina says Jamey's not cooperating, Jack wants to talk to her anyway. He sucks up to Jamey, professing that he doesn't care about protocol and he'll get her off the hook if she helps him bring down Gaines and save Teri and Kimberly. Jamey does not believe him and continues to demand immunity first. Nina gets back on the phone, and asks Jack what he wants her to do. Tony mentions Jamey's son to Nina, and tells her to bring him in so he can see his mother in handcuffs. Nina tries to make him understand he's acting in the heat of the moment, but Jack carries on, requesting a loaded car (9mm ammo, locksmith kit, the works) be dropped off near the building he's staked out. After they hang up, the waitress asks Jack who he is and what does he want from her. He explains about the kidnapping of his family but she doesn't understand why he's running from the police then. He reads her nametag, Lauren, and introduces himself and explains that various people are attempting to detain from his job. Lauren still doesn't understand why he needs her when he's got a car and a hideout. He says that if they find him and try to take him back into custody, he has to make them believe that he's willing to do something crazy for his freedom. She equates that to him shooting her. He attempts to allay her fears by saying he won't shoot her. She believes that, and gets up to leave. When he frantically asks what she's doing, she responds that he isn't the only one with problems -- she works the night shift and was on her way to court for a DUI charge. He decides to bring her fears back by cocking his gun at her before she gets to the door. After letting a good scream out of her system, she has no choice but to listen to the rest of his story.

8:29 A.M.-8:31 A.M.: Pierce and company deliver the Palmers back to their hotel room. Their aide, Anna, wants to know if they're alright. After Sherry asks where Keith is, Anna says he wasn't acting like himself and stormed out a half hour ago. Anna leaves, and Sherry asks her husband if they should send someone to pick him up. He says no; Keith just needs some time alone. Since Palmer couldn't break the story himself, Sherry wonders if there's anything they can do to stop Maureen -- who is going on the air at 9:00 A.M.. But he knows it's too huge a story to pass up. Sherry is miffed at him for suddenly treating this like a non-issue when he's done the impossible for his career. He shoots her down by reminding her she isn't asking for his help, she's asking for him to rewrite history. He has the final say -- if she really wanted his help, she would have asked for it seven years ago when it happened -- and walks away.

8:31 A.M.-8:36 A.M.: Tony answers the phone. Jack has called to talk to Nina, but she's busy, so he asks Tony whether Kyle, Jamey's son, is there yet. He isn't, but Nina did send the car he requested, which should be there soon. Jack says that Simes said he was the one who turned him in. Tony explains he had no choice, but Jack feels he made the right choice. Tony is apologetic for giving Jack a hard time in the midst of his personal crisis, and Jack puts his faith in Tony as the only one besides Nina he can trust. Jack says he'll call back when the car arrives, hangs up, and makes Lauren go fetch a pair of bolt cutters he sees lying outside, but warns her he's watching her. She does as told, returns with the cutters, and breaks his handcuffs in two. Mike is over at the Palmers', telling the senator that he just got off the phone with Simes. Simes revealed the agent they took into custody is Jack Bauer, and when Jack tried to take the gun away from one of their men, he claimed his actions were misinterpreted. The news that Jack escaped and hasn't been found makes Palmer uneasy. Mike asks if he knows who Jack is. Palmer says he's heard the name. Back at Gaines' compound, Eli enters the shed, and orders Kimberly to get up and go in the other room. Knowing exactly what he wants with her, Teri shields Kimberly and threatens him. But Eli throws Teri into the wall in order to get to Kimberly. After Teri screams not to hurt her, he draws his gun and says he will hurt her if she keeps it up, and drags the younger Bauer kicking and screaming towards the back room. Kimberly puts up a fight and claws his face. After he lets go of her in pain, she grabs a piece of wood for protection and knocks some stuff over in a vain attempt to hinder him from getting to her in a 20' x 20' shed. Now Eli's really peeved, but Teri intervenes and painfully goes with him into the other room. Kimberly attempts to open the door, but it's locked. The sounds of pants unbuckling and mattress springs squeaking are heard as Kimberly gives up trying.

8:40 A.M.-8:44 A.M.: Anna delivers the phone to Sherry. Maureen is on the line. She's actually returning Sherry's call. Maureen is in her make-up chair, about to go live, when Sherry sort of asks, sort of orders her not to go with the story. After sending her hairstylist away, Maureen refuses, as there's no way she'll get rid of an exclusive, documented story. But Sherry finds the way -- by giving Maureen a bigger exclusive, documented story -- the assassination attempt on Palmer, the arrest of Jack Bauer and the CTU conspiracy. Maureen thinks Sherry is full of crap, but Sherry claims that if Maureen gives her a couple of hours, she can milk some of her sources for details. Maureen won't kill the story entirely, but this alternative newsflash appears to be enough for her to sit on it for a few days. Eli puts Teri back in the pen with Kimberly, apparently having exhausted his use for her. Kimberly rushes into her mother's arms, and apologizes for sneaking out and causing her and Teri's anguish. Teri quiets her down, checks to see if Eli is still by the door, and, to Kimberly's surprise, pulls a cell phone out of her pants. Teri dials CTU, and Nina picks up, but before she can say anything more than "Nina, listen, it's Teri," the other thug enters the shed. Teri quickly sticks the phone back in her pants, leaving Nina, who can't trace the call, hanging in the process, while the thug orders her to stand in the corner. As he goes about his business, Teri grabs her jacket, and, through another well-disguised embrace, Kimberly helps her hide the phone so it's not sticking half out of her pants. Teri puts the jacket on, just to be safe.

8:44 A.M.-8:48 A.M.: Keith returns, a little cooler than when he left, now that he knows his father didn't tell the press. But Palmer warns that it's going to come out soon anyway. He thinks his lawyers will have Keith cleared, but Keith feels otherwise. Keith leaves, and Mike tells Palmer that Maureen is sitting on the story for now. This infuriates Palmer, who knows full well who might have persuaded her to do that. After Sherry feigns surprise, Palmer tells everyone he's calling Maureen back to get to the bottom of her motives. Jack makes small talk with Lauren about where she works and whether she's married. She says she was, but her sister had a bad car accident and had to move in with them while she recovered. Her husband gave her an ultimatum to choose between him and her sister, and she chose her sister. Jack inquires about her DUI, and learns it's not her first, laughing over her bad luck. He apologizes for dragging her into this, but she asks him to just let her go. He promises he will as soon as he gets his car. Exhausted, he begins to drift off, admits in a daze how scared he is at the moment, and promptly falls asleep. She decides to try to make another dash for the door, but before she gets on her feet, he wakes up, and she quickly sits back down. He hears some talking from outside, draws his gun, and looks out the window to see what's going on. He's too tired to function.

8:53 A.M.-8:58 A.M.: Since Jamey still won't talk, Tony and Nina coldly rub it in her nose that they're bringing Kyle in, and if she doesn't start talking soon, Kyle's going to see for himself that his mother is a traitor. Jamey breaks down in tears, begging them not to, but Tony reminds her that the minute Gaines finds out she's in custody, he'll go straight to her son to prevent her from testifying. Jamey blubbers a bit, yet still needs some time to think about it. Nina and Tony decide to leave the room for a bit to give Jamey just that. Jack's car has arrived. Unfortunately, so have the police, and they're circling the area where the car is parked. Jack asks Lauren to go get the car for him and park it around the side of the office. She's annoyed, as she doesn't understand why they couldn't just park it where he wants it in the first place. He explains that's because the person who delivered the car couldn't know who it was for. After he reaffirms that his wife and daughter are really in trouble, she agrees to help him. He says the keys will be in it, and she goes outside. He watches her from the window, but as soon as she gets to the street, she stops, thinks about it, and then runs straight to the cops. Jack makes a frantic escape, tearing down the blinds in the office, opens the window, and gets away in the nick of time. Hayes spots him escaping, but is unable to catch up with him. After his mad dash from the feds, Jack gets to his car, gets in and drives off.

8:58 A.M.-9:00 A.M.: Nina and Tony are talking to Milo, who's come up with a long list of matches under various spellings of "Gaines." Nina tells him to whittle it down by cross-checking with the other names Jack has provided. Tony tells her that Jamey's had enough time to think about it. Nina tells Milo that Jamey's son is being brought in, and asks him to call her in ITS when he gets there. Milo wants to know what kind of trouble Jamey's in, but Tony stifles him. It doesn't really matter that Milo will soon figure it out, since Nina knows it's not going to be a secret for much longer, she recommends they bring Milo into it, since he'll be working on whatever Jamey gives them. As the two are about to enter ITS, where Jamey's being held, Tony hopes she gives them something substantial. To their shock and horror, they find that she broke a mug and used the pieces to slash her wrists, and lied there, passed out in her chair surrounded by a sea of blood. Nina calls an ambulance, Tony gives her a makeshift tourniquet, and they both lay her down on the floor. Milo gets on the phone to ask if he should bring Kyle in, since he just arrived. Nina does not want Kyle to see his mom dying, and orders Milo to keep the kid out. Tony and Nina attempt to revive Jamey, to no avail. They are interrupted by her handheld device. It's Gaines.

Tick, tick, tick...