24

6:02 A.M.-6:05 A.M.: Palmer and Wayne discuss Saunders' latest demand for the execution of Ryan Chappelle. Wayne says that Palmer must comply since Saunders has proven that he's willing to release the virus when it suits him. Palmer doesn't like the idea of putting a man to death on his orders while a madman holds the country hostage indefinitely. Wayne says they'll have to play along with Saunders until they track him down.

Jack arrives at CTU and meets with Chappelle. Jack has handed the hard drive he retrieved from MI-6 over to their analysts and Chappelle is still following the money trail. Chloe enters and tells Jack that he's got a call from Palmer, who wants to speak to him privately. Palmer tells Jack of Saunders' demand that Chappelle be executed and delivered to the train yard by 7:00 A.M. Jack says that they may be able to find Saunders before the deadline, but Palmer says that if they don't, he wants Jack to handle things personally. Palmer fears that he has just crossed a line that he cannot return from. Jack hangs up and tells Chloe to hit the financial records so they can find Saunders. Chloe wants to tell Chappelle, but Jack orders her to keep him out of the loop.



6:06 A.M.-6:08 A.M.: NHS is testing more guests for viral infection, however, the number of guests that are showing visible signs begins to grow. Michelle is on the phone with Tony, who promises that the suicide capsules will be there soon. Michelle tries to tell Tony that she may have the virus, but he cuts her off. They both hang up and choke back emotions.

Jack asks Tony about Michelle's test results, then drops the bombshell order Saunders has demanded. Tony doesn't understand why Saunders wants their boss dead, but he agrees to change Chappelle's security clearance.Jack also asks him to put all of his people on the hunt for Saunders.



6:09 A.M.-6:11 A.M.: Chappelle asks Jack what Palmer wanted. Jack takes him into a private conference room and bluntly tells him that Saunders wants him killed. Chappelle asks if Palmer has authorized this. Jack doesn't answer, but presses Chappelle for a connection to Saunders. Chappelle swears that he's never heard of him before today. Jack tells Chappelle to send all of his data to Chloe, then he apologizes in advance and promises that they'll find Saunders before he leaving him alone.



6:15 A.M.-6:20 A.M.: Jack finds Chappelle still working as he pulls up a document that is encrypted. Jack tells Chappelle to send it to Chloe for decoding. Chappelle explodes and says that he knows that Jack will be the one to kill him. Jack calms Chappelle down and promises that they will find Saunders before the hour's up.

More guests are lining up for testing at the hotel. Phillips, blood streaming down his face, begs Michelle to let him call his wife so he can hear her voice. Michelle denies his request, but she's crushed at having to do so. Then Michelle breaks the news to the guests that the virus has no cure and that death is extremely painful. She tells them that she can offer them suicide capsules that will make the end painless, like going to sleep. Some guests sob as she tells them that the choice is theirs.

Just as she walks away, a medic approaches her and tells her that one of the guests appears to be missing. Apparently, a woman checked in with a guy who she'd only met that night. He called himself Bill and they went up to her room for a one-night stand. Michelle questions the woman and she says she fell asleep with him, but when the fire alarm woke her, he was gone. Michelle sends her upstairs with a lab tech so they can examine every surface that Bill may have touched.



6:21 A.M.-6:23 A.M.: Tony tells Jack that Chase has assembled a strike team in case they locate Saunders. He has also readied a helicopter to take them to the train yard in case they fail. Chloe tells Jack that it will take her 90 minutes to crack the encryption, so Kim lends her a hand at the computer. Jack glances over at the glass-walled conference room where he last left Chappelle and discovers that he is gone.

Chappelle hurries through a corridor and approaches a guard. The guard orders him to go back to the holding room. Chappelle tries to pull rank, but the guard doesn't flinch. Jack appears and asks Chappelle what he's doing. Chappelle claims he was just going for a smoke, but Jack doesn't buy it and tells Chappelle to show him the cigarettes. Chappelle stands defiantly and glares at Jack. Jack orders his men to take Chappelle back to the conference room. Chappelle flashes Jack a murderous look and a pack of cigarettes as he passes.



6:28 A.M.-6:36 A.M.: Michelle calls Tony and alerts him to the possible quarantine breech, explaining that the man probably doesn't know he's caught anything. She promises to send over any fingerprints they may find for the files. She hangs up and asks the woman to explain what happened in the room. The woman describes how Bill took her into the room and undressed her. Michelle grabs the woman's belt and checks the buckle for prints. She finds a partial and uploads it to CTU.

Meanwhile, a man, presumably Bill, sneaks into a dark bedroom and a woman turns on the light. She asks where he's been. He gives up the usual line about working late and hurries into the bathroom. He looks in the mirror and sees blood dripping from his nose.

Chloe and Kim have finally cracked the encryption and have located an address for Saunders, and it's only about five minutes away. Jack tells Tony to have Chase go ahead with his team, but not to go in hard so Saunders won't get suspicious. Jack tells Chappelle that they may have a lead on Saunders and Chappelle gives him a big hug. Then Jack says they have to go to the train yard anyway, in case Chase doesn't find Saunders. Jack and Chappelle walk out and Chloe asks Chappelle if his three o'clock briefing is still good. He replies "sure."

Palmer's press secretary informs him that the LA Times is calling to ask about the happenings at the Chandler Plaza. Palmer brings him into the loop and then sends him out to put off the press.

Jack and Chappelle walk out on to the sunlit roof and meet Chase as they head for the waiting helicopter. Chase asks why Jack won't be going along on the strike team. Chappelle tells Chase he wants Jack to answer more questions downtown. Chase blasts Chappelle for always putting obstacles in their way with his bureaucratic BS, but Chappelle just says, "those are the orders," and climbs in the helicopter. Jack climbs in and they lift off.



6:40 A.M.-6:48 A.M.: Chase and Agent Baker scope out the building where Saunders is hiding. Meanwhile, Saunders' henchman tells him that all flights have been grounded, but the couriers are taking the virus to New York, Washington, San Francisco and Vegas. He estimates 2-4 million dead within the first 48 hours, but he warns that the virus could spread beyond the Americas. Saunders brushes him off as he stares at a monitor.

Adam is searching for matches for the partial fingerprint to send to Michelle. Meanwhile, Chappelle calls Tony for an update on Chase's progress. Tony lets him listen in on audio to the raid as the chopper descends toward the train yard.

At Saunders' hideout, a guard is killed by an agent in a street cleaner. Chase and Baker take out two more as they enter the building with more agents climbing the fire escape to the roof. Chase appears on one of Saunders' screens as they sneak through the building, but Saunders misses it. Chase and Baker kill two more guards and Baker attaches a small bomb to a door and blows the door as Chase charges in, only to find an empty room with an electronic box--Saunders has been relaying his calls from somewhere else.

In the helicopter, Chappelle's face falls as he and Jack remove their headphones. Jack's cell rings--it's Saunders, taunting Jack for underestimating him. Jack asks why Chappelle has to die, but Saunders merely tells him to leave Chappelle's body with a van driver who will be arriving shortly. If Jack tries to follow the van, Saunders will release the virus.



6:52 A.M.-6:54 A.M.: A medic brings Michelle the suicide capsules. No one takes them at first, but then several people, including Phillips, step forward. An agent tells Michelle that they have used the fingerprint to narrow the field to 12 men. Michelle goes to the woman just as she identifies a photo of Bill.

Bill, meanwhile, is staring at the mirror as his nose gushes blood. His wife asks what's up and he says he caught "some bug." She offers to make him some tea, but he says he has to go into the office for a staff meeting.



6:55 A.M.-7:00 A.M.: Jack and Chappelle are silently sitting in the helicopter, as a black van pulls into view. Jack calls Adam and tells him to pull up a satellite visual of the area and to try to follow the van when it leaves, even though they will try to evade him. Jack tells Chappelle that they have to go and gets out. Chappelle can barely make it because his legs are shaking. They move a slight distance from the van and Jack asks if Chappelle wants to call anyone. Chappelle says he has a brother whom he hasn't spoken to in years and no friends. Jack gently tells Chappelle to get on his knees and prepares to shoot him. Chappelle begs Jack to let him do it himself. Jack hesitates and Chappelle admits that he was trying to bolt earlier at CTU, but now he knows that he must die.

Jack finally hands him his gun and waits. Chappelle cocks the gun, puts it to his head and tries to pull the trigger, but can't do it. "It's all right," Jack says softly as he takes back the gun and moves behind Chappelle. He apologizes for letting him down. Chappelle just nods. "God forgive me," Jack whispers and he shoots Chappelle in the head. A distant train whistle is heard as Chappelle's body crumples to the ground, as the clock silently ticks away the top of the hour...