24

The episode opens on the aftermath of the assault on the Russian Consulate. Doyle is coordinating the scene and dispatches a medic to look at an injured Jack, who is diagnosed with floating rib fragments, which are probably causing internal bleeding. Doyle suggests that Jack get to CTU Medical as soon as possible.

Jack: Agent Doyle, I told you- I'm fine. I want to be involved in this mission.

Doyle: CTU has the ball, Jack. Right now this is out of your hands.

Jack glares after Doyle in frustration as he walks off.
Cut to CTU. Bill's on the phone bringing the Vice president up to date on Gredenko: they know that he is preparing to launch the nukes on remote-controlled drone aircraft, but they have no idea how close he and Fayed are to launch time.
Meanwhile, in the Shadow Valley, Gredenko orders his men to prepare to launch the one drone that is ready ahead of the planned schedule. Pressed by Fayed about the change in plans (they were originally to launch all three nukes at strategic targets), Gredenko informs him that CTU knows their location, so the other two nukes will have to wait until later. Fayed is upset, but recognizes the need to launch and evacuate before they are found. Nonetheless, the tension between him and Gredenko is ominously building. Gredenko phones in the launch order to the drone's remote-control pilot, who sends the drone winging through the night on its deadly mission.
At CTU, Nadia is stressed, trying to access satellite data on the drone. Milo comes over to offer her reassurance, affectionately stroking her arm. His feelings for her are becoming ever more obvious. Their intimate moment is interrupted by Chloe, who comes over to inform them that she knows that Nadia's been using Milo's clearance code, which is a felony. They explain that Milo was just trying to help her get around the racial profiling measures that were put in place earlier in the day. Chloe says that she has no intention of telling; she just wants them to be more careful, before someone else notices.
Morris gets a visual satellite fix on the launched drone which, it is mentioned, is virtually invisible to radar. The Air Force has F-16's ready to shoot it down, so Morris is going to have to visually guide the planes to their target. Nadia says that the drone's within four minutes of the nearest likely target, which is downtown L.A., and a General promises that his F-16's should be able to intercept within two minutes. Suddenly, the drone disappears from Morris' screen.

The drone pilot calls Gredenko to inform him that he has accessed his connection to CTU and disabled their tracking capability.
Cut to the White House Bunker, where Tom Lennox is informing Vice President Daniels that CTU has lost the drone. Daniels goes, literally, ballistic and demands an immediate meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Tom wonders what's going on, and Daniels angrily reminds him that he warned the ambassador of Fayed's country about what would happen if another nuke went off on U.S. soil. Daniels makes clear his intention to unleash a nuclear strike on Fayed's country, to Lennox's horror.
Back at CTU, Chloe informs Buchanan that the list of likely targets for the drone is being narrowed down, and no longer includes Los Angeles. Jack and Doyle enter the building, and Buchanan brings them up to speed. Jack heads to CTU Medical and asks to be kept informed. Doyle is assigned to run point on the search for Fayed and Gredenko.
On the way to Medical, Jack spots Marilyn and stops to check in on her. Marilyn takes the opportunity to say she always regretted how things ended between them, and that she believes he feels the same. She tries to kiss him, but Bauer turns away. He explains that she's not wrong about his feelings, but...

Jack: Listen, Marilyn- before I was taken prisoner by the Chinese, I was with someone. She doesn't even know I'm still alive. I need to talk to her...see what happened.

Marilyn asks if he means Audrey Raines and says she's sorry she has to break the news to him that Audrey's dead. She read in the newspaper that Audrey was killed in a car accident in China a few months ago. The camera zooms in on Jack's devastated reaction. He mumbles an apology and abruptly leaves, making a beeline to Chloe's desk.
Chloe is on the phone when Jack grabs the handset, hangs it up and angrily demands to know why nobody told him about Audrey. Chloe apologizes and explains that Buchanan didn't want anyone to tell Jack when he got back, because it was thought that Fayed was going to kill him. She continues her explanation, telling Jack that Audrey figured out that the Chinese had captured him, and had been trying to secure his release via diplomatic back channels for the past year. The Chinese requested a DNA sample to make a positive ID of the remains, and apparently they did. Jack literally snarls at Chloe that he wants that file. NOW! Jack pauses long enough to shoot a baleful glare at Buchanan before leaving the room.
The scene is once again the bunker, where Lisa, the Vice President's comely assistant, has just informed Daniels that Karen Hayes will be attending the upcoming Joint Chiefs meeting. He is obviously displeased at this news, but Lisa says there was nothing she could do about it.
Cut to the aforementioned Karen, who encounters Tom Lennox in the hallway as they both are making their way to the meeting. A bit of snippy banter ensues:

Karen (noticing a fresh bruise on Tom's forehead): Did somebody push you down the stairs?

Tom: No, Karen, I tripped over your ineptitude.

Karen informs Lennox that she is no longer afraid of his blackmail threat, and intends to stay put this time. Despite all this outward hostility, the two seem to have struck an unspoken truce, as Tom welcomes her back and voices his regrets over what happened to President Wayne Palmer. They enter the meeting together.

Daniels calls the meeting to order, and informs the assembly of his intention to direct a military response against Fayed's country. He characterizes his planned nuclear strike as a "warning shot," aimed at an unpopulated area and estimated to cause 2,000 to 4,000 casualties. Karen voices her concerns about this possibly leading to an escalation of tensions and even all-out war, but Daniels remains resolute, as Lennox looks shaken in the background. The Vice President orders the Navy to put a nuclear sub on standby.
We return to CTU, where Milo learns Nadia has given Morris a critical task to handle. Milo is concerned about whether Morris is still drinking, so he goes over to Chloe and asks her to check Morris' breath, setting up one of the best comedic moments of the season.

(Chloe strides over to Morris' work station and plants a long, intense kiss on his lips)

Morris: (pleasantly surprised) What was that for?

Chloe: (matter-of-factly) Just checking your breath.

She informs Milo that Morris is ok.
After a brief scene of an argument where Karen fails to persuade Lennox to oppose Daniels' plan, we cut back to CTU, where Chloe informs Buchanan, with Doyle present, that the drone pilot is receiving information through a leak at CTU which is enabling the drone to avoid satellite detection.
Informed that it could take an hour to isolate which workstation is the source of the leak, Doyle tells Chloe to check Nadia's station first. Milo accuses Doyle of being a rascist and Doyle accuses Milo of protecting Nadia because he wants to sleep with her. Bill breaks up the resulting fracas.

Meanwhile, Chloe announces that she has traced the data leak to Nadia's computer. Doyle immediately begins a rough interrogation of Nadia, but Buchanan calls him off and orders her taken into custody, to Milo's obvious consternation.
We flash to Gredenko, who is on the phone with the drone pilot. We learn that the target is San Francisco- estimated time of detonation, 20 minutes!
The next scene opens on the bunker's medical center. The President is still unconscious and his doctor is giving instructions to an attending nurse while Karen peers through the window. As the doctor exits, Karen inquires about President Palmer's condition. The doctor says that it has worsened in the past fifteen minutes; some cranial pressure made it necessary for him to induce a coma to reduce the swelling. Karen asks the doctor if he would revive Wayne Palmer so she can discuss a matter of national security with him. The doctor says that he couldn't authorize it without permission from Wayne's family, and mentions that his sister Sandra is there.
Back to CTU, where Milo is worriedly watching a live video feed of Doyle interrogating Nadia. Morris announces that he's managed to isolate where the signal is going to: an address about three blocks away. Milo instructs Morris to tell Buchanan the news and rushes off to the interrogation room to intervene.
In the interrogation room, Doyle is roughing Nadia up in an effort to get information. Milo rushes in to rescue her by telling Doyle that CTU has the drone pilot's location. Doyle walks out, warning Milo that he's not through with Nadia yet.
Jack Bauer sits on his bed in the CTU clinic, dolefully examining Audrey's file. He focuses on a photo of her badly charred body, which is partially covered by a sheet. Something catches his interest, and you can see him thinking something is amiss. Jack looks up to see a tac team rushing down the hall. He asks a passing CTU agent what's going on, and is informed that they're moving in on the drone pilot.
Next scene: Buchanan institutes a Level One security lockdown due to the close proximity of the enemy operatives. Jack approaches Chloe and asks her for a PDA and a phone. Buchanan asks what Jack thinks he's doing. Jack says he's going with the team and takes the opportunity to scold Buchanan for not telling him about Audrey. Bill attempts to explain that since Jack was giving his life, he didn't think it was right to tell him about Audrey's accident. Jack asserts that it was no accident- she was murdered. He says that Audrey died trying to save him because she thought he was worth it, and he doesn't want her sacrifice to go to waste. So he's going to finish this, and then when he's done he's going to go find Audrey's murderers and take care of them too. He demands to take part in the mission. Buchanan relents, and assigns him the point position.
In the next scene, the drone pilot is on the phone to Gredenko, reporting that the drone is within three minutes of the target perimeter. When the drone crosses it, the bomb will automatically detonate at an altitude of 500 feet, for maximum damage. Outside of the pilot's location, the CTU team takes up their positions. They move in, shooting their way inside.
The pilot hears the silenced gunshots and dives down behind his computer bank, pulls out a handgun, and starts shooting. Doyle and Jack shoot him down. Jack takes over the drone's controls. He contacts CTU to inform them that the target is San Francisco. With no way to deactivate the bomb, Jack desperately tries to turn the drone away from the perimeter without stalling the engine. He has thirty seconds and counting! With Chloe's help, Jack finds an industrial park to crash-land the drone in. As first responders rush to the scene, the drone lies broken and on fire, but undetonated. Nevertheless, the responders detect high levels of radiation at the scene and back away.



Buchanan calls the Vice President to report that the bomb didn't detonate, but a small amount of radioactive material was released. Daniels says that it still counts as an attack on the nation, and orders the military to proceed with the warning strike, which he is informed sill take place within the hour .

Daniels: Fire the missile as soon as they're in range!