24

2:02 A.M.-2:06 A.M.: General Gratz briefs Palmer on their plan to bomb the three Middle Eastern countries. Palmer is hesitant and Vice-President Prescott asks him if he is 100 percent behind the attacks. Palmer says that Jack Bauer may have evidence that could prove the three countries to be innocent. Gratz says that their bombing plan requires a decision from the president right away, so Palmer authorizes the air strikes.

At the clinic, Jack is trying to call Palmer to let him know that he has the chip, but the secretary won't let him through because of Palmer's cabinet meeting. Yusuf examines the chip under a magnifying glass. Jack calls Tony and tells him that they found the chip in Wallace's body, but Tony is still reluctant to call Palmer until they verify what's on the chip. The connection becomes fuzzy and Jack hangs up. Yusuf shows Jack a tiny tracker that is imbedded into the chip, which explains how the gunmen could trace Wallace's location. Jack tells Yusuf to try to remove the tracker from the chip.

At CTU, Michelle is talking to Danny on the phone again. He is anxious about the bomb going off, but Michelle can't tell him anything since she's sworn to secrecy. He becomes angry and hangs up on her. Tony enters and Michelle tells him that there's something wrong with the phones. Tony says that the network has been flooded with calls since the bomb went off. Tony asks who she was talking to, but she says no one. Tony tells her about Jack's call and Michelle urges him to call Palmer. Tony promises to think about it and hobbles away on his crutches.



2:07 A.M.-2:09 A.M.: At the clinic, Yusuf is still trying to separate the transmitter from the chip when Jack sees a car pull up and three men with shaved heads, wearing headphones and leather jackets get out. They are carrying a GPS tracker and heading for the building. Yusuf finally removes the transmitter and Jack takes it. He then gives the chip to Kate and Yusuf and tells them that he's going to lure the men away from the chip. He tells them to wait for him at a certain intersection for 15 minutes and then get the chip to Tony at CTU.

The three men see that the tracker is moving and enter the building, making their way to the room where Wallace's body lies under a sheet. One man sees the bloody hole in Wallace's rib cage and knows the chip is gone. Yusuf and Kate are hiding in the next room and when the men leave to follow the signal, they slip out the door.



2:13 A.M.-2:21 A.M.: The cabinet meeting is over and Mike tells Palmer that the governor of California wants him to issue another curfew as he did in Georgia. Lynne enters and tells Palmer that Tony is on the emergency line from CTU. Palmer puts Tony on speaker and Tony explains about the chip that Jack found. Tony admits that he's conflicted about the information since they haven't yet authenticated the chip. Palmer thanks Tony and hangs up. Palmer stands up and says that he's going to call off the air strikes. Mike says that is unwise since Palmer should beware of Jack's reputation, but Palmer defends Jack. Mike warns Palmer that his own reputation could be tarnished if his lack of response is perceived as weakness by the American people. Lynne reminds him that the Pentagon reported that starting and stopping the operation could cost thousands of American lives. Palmer says it's a small price to pay if they don't bomb three innocent countries, but Mike reminds him that the three countries in question haven't always been innocent in the past. Palmer says he's made his decision and orders them to convene the cabinet again.

At CTU, Tony tells Michelle that he called Palmer and told him about Jack finding the chip. Michelle starts preparations to verify the data on the chip when it arrives.

Yusuf is driving as Kate tries to phone CTU, but all the lines are jammed. Yusuf snarkily says that they're too busy preparing to bomb his country. Kate says that the Americans don't want a war any more than he does. "You might feel differently if it was your family in danger," Yusuf snaps back. They arrive at the intersection and Yusuf gets out to watch for Jack.

At the clinic, the three men follow the signal into the basement. "Don't kill him until I have the chip," one growls. The beeping gets more rapid as they approach a closed door. One man kicks it open, but the room is empty. They find a folded piece of paper on the floor with the tracker inside. One man happens to glance out of a window and sees Jack running down the street. He yells into a radio and a car pulls in front of Jack. Jack shoots at the car, but another guy in the car stuns Jack with a taser gun. The men grab Jack's unconscious body and take him back inside the clinic.



2:25 A.M.-2:33 A.M.: At Palmer's office, Mike is defending the president's decision to call off the attack to some unknown general on the phone. Lynne enters and asks Mike if he's heard anything about a secret cabinet meeting that Vice-President Prescott called 90 minutes from now. Mike hasn't heard anything, but asks Lynne to keep her ears open.

Jack is in the basement of the clinic, lying naked on the floor, coughing and throwing up, as a man goes through his vomit with a metal detector. The lead man unrolls some sharp medical instruments as Jack continues to choke. A cell phone rings and another thug answers. A man in a helicopter demands to talk to Stark; the man who stunned Jack with the taser. The man in the helicopter asks Stark if he has the chip yet. Stark says they haven't, even though they've performed a body cavity search and induced vomiting to check his stomach contents. The man says it's a waste of time since Jack won't have the chip on him and demands to talk to Jack himself. Two men pull on chains tied to a pulley with the ends binding Jack's arms. Jack is drawn upright and Stark hands him the phone. The man congratulates Jack for being a big hero and then offers him a lot of money if Jack will hand over the chip. Jack refuses, accusing the man on the other end of the phone of starting a war for profit. The man says the only thing they have to agree on is a price, but Jack still refuses. "When Stark finishes working on you, you'll give me another answer," he growls. "I don't think so," Jack grunts. The man yells for Stark and warns him that he's read Bauer's file and he won't be easy to break. Stark is confident that he will be able to do so, and starts by shoving a gag in Jack's mouth and sterilizes the sharp instruments and cuts into Jack's chest with a scalpel.

At CTU, Michelle asks Carrie to unlock the indexing function so they can get ready to analyze the chip. Carrie says she can do it and Michelle blasts her for not following orders. The two get into a shouting match and Tony calls Michelle up to his office. He demands to know what's between Michelle and Carrie. Michelle explains that they used to work together over at District and that Carrie hooked up with her brother, Danny. Carrie wrecked Danny's marriage, then got bored and left him. Danny tried to kill himself over it. Tony says it's a shame the two of them have to work together, but that Michelle has to deal with Carrie until the crisis is over. Just then, Tony gets a call announcing that Michelle's brother Danny is there to see her. Michelle goes downstairs and meets Danny, who apologizes for hanging up on her. He says he's freaked because of the bomb, then he sees Carrie and flips out. He yells and lunges at her, grabbing her by the throat. Tony pries them apart and security carts Danny away.



2:38 A.M.-2:42 A.M.: At Palmer's office, Mike tells Lynne that he checked into things and confirmed that Prescott is holding a secret cabinet meeting in just over an hour. Mike says he's meeting with a contact from the defense department who may have more info. Lynne demands to know where and when the meeting is. Mike is reluctant to tell her at first, but she says that if it weren't for her, he wouldn't know about it. Mike tells Lynne to meet him at a storage room on the fifth floor in 10 minutes.

At CTU, Tony sees Michelle hurrying down a hallway and asks her where she's going. She says she's going to Tech 1, but Tony says it's in the opposite direction. Michelle begins to break down, worrying that Carrie will press charges against her brother. Tony takes her in his arms and the two begin kissing. Carrie suddenly breaks up their fling and says that Chappelle is on the phone, wanting to talk to Tony.



2:43 A.M.-2:49 A.M.: In the clinic basement, Jack screams as Stark slaps an open gash on his torso with the knife handle. Blood sprays on the floor as Stark takes a sip from his water bottle, then takes the blade of the knife to a blowtorch and heats it until it is white hot. Stark melts part of the plastic of his water bottle with the blade, and demands the location of the chip again. Jack's eyes bug out as Stark takes the hot blade and begins to burn his open gashes. Jack screams as his flesh sizzles. A thug grabs Starks arm making him pull the blade away. "You're gonna kill him," the thug says, and Stark snaps back, telling him not to touch him. Stark's cell phone rings and it's the man in the helicopter, demanding an update. Stark tells him they haven't broken Jack yet. He demands to get him the chip and hangs up.

Lynne meets Mike on the fifth floor, and he asks her if she's familiar with Section Four of the 25th Amendment. Lynne says that it gives the cabinet the power to remove the president from office if they feel he is unfit to carry out his duties. Mike says that the vice-president would then become acting president. Lynne figures out that Prescott is planning a palace coup. Mike's friend arrives and Mike asks him to give he and Lynne a moment, then then asks Lynne where she stands regarding Palmer's decision to call off the attacks. Lynne says that she doesn't agree with his decision, but that she supports Palmer and that Prescott should be tried for treason. "I was afraid you'd say that," Mike says, and moves away from the door and Mike's buddy blocks Lynne's way. Lynne figures out that Mike is in league with Prescott. "I've been worried about the President's lack of decisiveness since he took office," Mike says. Mike's buddy shoves Lynne into the storage room and locks the door on her. She pounds on the door and yells. Mike tells the man not to let her out until he hears from him directly.



2:53 AM - 3:00 AM: Yusuf and Kate are still waiting for Jack at the intersection. Yusuf wants to get going since they already gave Jack more time than he asked for, but Kate wants to wait a little longer. A fire truck speeds by and it distracts them. Suddenly, a man comes out of the darkness and slugs Yusuf. The man and his buddy grab Yusuf and start to beat him, accusing him of being in league with the nuclear bomb's detonation. Yusuf pulls his gun and orders them to lie on the ground. The two men start to obey, but a third man ambushes Yusuf from behind and the three men begin to beat Yusuf savagely, as Kate screams for help.

Tony gets a call from Chappelle, who is heading over to CTU with some keys from Division. Tony tells him that they have everything under control there, but Chappelle doesn't care. He's coming over anyway.

Stark is now shocking Jack on his open wounds with the taser gun. Jack writhes and screams until he passes out. Stark's thug snaps a vial of amyl nitrate under Jack's nose and Jack jerks awake. Stark tells Jack that he should think about his daughter Kim, who wouldn't want to be an orphan. Jack doesn't respond. The thug zaps Jack again and Jack writhes and screams. Stark orders the thug to zap Jack again. "He's no good to us dead," the thug protests. Stark grabs the taser and shocks Jack again. Jack writhes in his chains again and then goes limp. The thug again snaps the amyl nitrate under Jack's nose, but Jack doesn't move. "He's dead," the thug says. Stark demands that he gets cut down, and begins to franticly do CPR on Jack and orders his men to find the epinephrine.

Tick, tick, tick...