Jonas Hodges


 * "I've lost everything: my company, my family, and most importantly my name. Do you know how much blood and sweat went into making that name mean something?"
 * &mdash; Jonas Hodges, "Day 7: 4:00am-5:00am"

Jonas Hodges was an American businessman and executive of Starkwood who supplied the African warlord General Benjamin Juma, a rebel in Sangala, with weapons for his military coup. During Day 7, he provided Juma with intelligence, equipment, and other support for a raid on the White House in exchange for a testing ground for a biological weapon developed by Starkwood. The weapon would be used to force the United States to give responsibility of the national security of the country to Starkwood and other private military companies. He upset the Prion variant cabal for exposing himself and using the bio weapon for personal use, and they wanted him dead, believing he had some sort of psychotic breakdown. Towards the end of Day 7, he was killed by a car bomb arranged by Olivia Taylor for his complicity in the murder of her brother.

Before Redemption
During the previous presidential term, Hodges was in constant contact with President Noah Daniels, giving him military intelligence in exchange for defense contracts.

Hodges also contacted Sangalan General Benjamin Juma to make an exchange. Starkwood would provide Juma with manpower, training and weapons for him so he could seize power in Sangala, and Juma would provide Starkwood with space to develop a biological weapon. Starkwood's biological weapon was tested on Sangalan villagers, killing an untold number of people, and the remains were fire-bombed by Juma to conceal the evidence.

The Starkwood executive was commissioned by Alan Wilson to develop the biological weapon for use in a plot to hijack the national security of the United States. Starkwood, in collusion with twelve other private military companies, aimed to bring the nation to the brink of disaster and then step in to control the security and well-being of the country.

Hodges or his subordinates arranged the murder of a whistleblower from the company who was revealing information to Senator Blaine Mayer.

Redemption


Jonas Hodges had a business associate, Nichols, launder a large quantity of money so he could support General Juma. He called Colonel Iké Dubaku, his contact in Juma's army, and pressed them to move forward with the coup. When Hodges arrogantly offered to send in trained mercenaries to help, Juma's subordinate denied his offer, and left to go kidnap more young boys for his army. Hodges turned to Nichols, and ordered him to erase all evidence of the money laundering so completely, that even Hodges' own "ex-wives" couldn't "dig it up".

Hodges was eventually informed that Chris Whitley, Nichols' subordinate, had stolen the evidence. He ordered his mole, Secret Service agent Edward Vossler, to make sure that Roger Taylor had no reason to believe anything that Whitley told him. Vossler then sent Halcott and John Quinn to trespass into Whitley's house, remove the evidence, and interrogate him. Just prior to the inauguration of Roger's mother Allison Taylor as President, Hodges ordered Vossler to have Whitley murdered. Halcott and Quinn killed him and then encased the corpse in cement.

Day 7


After General Benjamin Juma and his team took control of the White House, Hodges received a phone call from the African dictator while he was eating his dinner in his office at Starkwood and watching the crisis on TV. One of his men, Greg Seaton, answered the phone and handed the call over to his boss. Juma asked for assistance from Hodges in getting to President Allison Taylor, who had locked herself away in a secure room before he and his men had been able to get to her. Hodges pointed out that he had gotten Juma and his men inside and that they had given them the codes to the room in case they were needed. Juma told him that they had shorted the circuitry and that the code was now ineffective. Hodges then refused to assist, and said that he was on his own and that he had upheld his end of the deal. The African dictator informed Jonas that the shipment he was waiting for would be destroyed if he did not help him obtain President Taylor. Hodges finally acquiesced with advice from Seaton and discovered that President Taylor's daughter, Olivia Taylor, was in the White House and that Juma could use her as leverage against the President. When Juma said that he was satisfied and the shipment would remain safe, Hodges ebulliently offered to play Seaton in a game of darts.

Hodges was still watching events unfolding at the White House just as Juma used Olivia to get President Taylor to come out of her secure room.

Shortly thereafter, Seaton informed Hodges of the successful retaking of the White House, Taylor's survival and Juma's demise. Hodges became frustrated, but recovered and told Seaton that their shipment and operation were both still on schedule. He asked Seaton if the weapons had arrived and to get them to the teams as soon as possible. When he observed that Seaton was acting tense, he ordered his subordinate to relax and have a drink. Hodges then discussed targets from all across the Eastern United States with one of his men and inquired as to how high the casualty rates would be. The man responded that each was around 10,000 people and Hodges commented that he hoped they would never have to find out the exact number.

When Jack Bauer was released from federal custody and allowed to interrogate Ryan Burnett, Seaton informed his boss that Bauer was heading to the hospital where Burnett was recovering. Hodges, realizing that Burnett could divulge his entire plan to Bauer, ordered Burnett silenced, but Seaton told him that he had already taken care of it and that his man John Quinn would eliminate both Burnett and Bauer. Hodges observed that Quinn was good, but so was Bauer. When Quinn had finished his job of framing Bauer for Burnett's death, he contacted Seaton on the phone, who then relayed the message to Hodges. Leaning back in his chair, Hodges smiled and said, "Now we're having some fun."

A few minutes later, Quinn called Hodges and informed him that Bauer escaped from the hospital and is now being pursued by the FBI. Hodges told him to call him with any new developments. Seaton told his boss that the shipment was on schedule but also voiced his opinion that if Bauer wasn't found by the FBI and linked them to Juma, their plot would be discovered. Hodges assured his subordinate that their plan couldn't be stopped even if Bauer was able to uncover the conspiracy. When he sensed that Seaton wasn't as optimistic, he went into a heated tirade about how the loss of life that was to follow would be horrific and that one life lost was a tragedy to him, but that these losses were necessary. Hodges claimed that that what they were about to do would demand sacrifice and that it would all be worth it in the end. He then ordered Seaton to gather their colleagues and get them ready for a long night.

When his shipment, containing a biological weapon, arrived at the Port of Alexandria, Hodges had a team waiting to pick it up. Hodges contacted the team leader, Stokes, who informed him that Quinn had not arrived and joined the team. Hodges suspected that Bauer had killed Quinn and ordered Stokes to wait five more minutes before they went in and acquired the container with the weapon inside.

After he finished his call with Stokes, Seaton arrived and informed him that their colleagues were assembled in the conference room. Hodges followed his subordinate into the room and addressed Starkwood's Board of Directors. He told them it was a dark day for the United States and that the government, instead of asking for Starkwood's help, rejected them - the largest private military in the West. Instead, he went on, Taylor's administration was canceling their contracts and trying to shut them down. Hodges then told the Board to disregard federal depositions and any inquiries into the company's dealings. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Doug Knowles, questioned his orders in front of the others, claiming that they should be grateful for the deal they got with the federal government and not risk Starkwood's demise. Hodges took the man outside and left Seaton to answer any questions.

Out in the hallway, Hodges tried to quell Doug's concerns. He told Hodges that Senator Blaine Mayer would stop at nothing until he shut down Starkwood. Hodges then informed him that Senator Mayer had just been murdered less than an hour ago. Doug demanded to know if Hodges had anything to do with it. Hodges acted offended and asked him if he was insinuating that he had anything to do with the murder of a United States Senator. The man told him he only needed a personal assurance. Hodges told him that Starkwood was not in the political assassination business but added that maybe they should look into it.

At almost 11:00pm, Stokes contacted Hodges again and informed him that they had recovered the weapon, but Bauer got away. Hodges assumed that Bauer had contacted the authorities, but they couldn't interfere with their plans now. He then ordered Stokes back to the Starkwood building immediately with the weapon.

Several minutes later, Stokes arrived at the Starkwood compound with the weapon and Hodges had his scientists begin prepping it for deployment. He ordered his men to take Tony Almeida, (not knowing that Tony was part of the anonymous prion variant cabal), into the building for interrogation. Hodges confided in Seaton that Almeida would never break. He told Greg that they had to know the mind of their enemy in order to get the secret out.

Hodges followed his men and Almeida into the building and offered the ex-CTU agent a way out. If Tony told him what the FBI knew about the weapon and his plans, he would let him go. Almeida refused to tell him and Seaton called his boss to the side for a private discussion. Seaton voiced his dissent about the whole operation, claiming that since it was supposed to be covert and the government now knew about it, the whole point of their mission was in jeopardy. Hodges reprimanded his subordinate and told him to keep his doubts to himself. He then had his men take Tony to a secluded room for more interrogation.

Right before Stokes was about to execute Tony, Seaton shot the mercenary in the back and freed Almeida. He asked for a pardon in exchange for helping the FBI secure the weapon. He told Tony he didn't want to go to jail because Hodges had lost his mind. Hodges contacted Seaton when the two arrived at Greg's office and demanded to know where he and Stokes were. Seaton told his boss that Stokes was still with Almeida and that they would be there shortly. Hodges told him that Tony should have been dead by now and to report to him immediately. Seaton and Tony talked to FBI Agent Larry Moss and informed him where the weapon was located.



Back at the laboratory where Starkwood scientists were finalizing the preparation for the biological weapon, Hodges informed his lead scientist that the FBI were on their way and that time was running out. He watched from a security camera as Moss and an FBI strike team broke into the building where Seaton had told them the weapon was being stored. They discovered it was empty and realized that Hodges and Seaton had played them all for fools. Hodges then ordered Stokes, whose death had been staged, to surround the FBI strike team and order them off the Starkwood compound.

Hodges arrived moments later in a Humvee and informed Moss that he had five minutes to leave or his men would open fire. The Starkwood executive argued with Moss that there were no weapons of mass destruction on the compound and that the only building they were allowed to search was obviously empty. He also demanded they return Seaton to him, as they had unlawfully taken him as a hostage. Moss and the FBI strike team complied with his wishes and left the Starkwood compound in their helicopters.



When a security patrol located Doug Knowles near the building holding the biological weapons, Hodges grew suspicious and ordered his men to bring the Chairman to his office and keep him there until he arrived. When Hodges finally got to Knowles' office, the two men argued about their current course of action. Knowles demanded to know if Hodges had biological weapons and pleaded with him that he couldn't use them against the federal government and the American people they were supposed to protect. Hodges grew agitated and claimed the government was persecuting him after his loyal service of thirty years to the country. He admitted he was disappointed in Doug, whom he considered a son. Hodges immediately grew enraged and repeatedly bashed Doug over the head with a glass bottle. He then threw him over a railing and Doug landed several floors below, dead. Hodges then dipped a napkin in water and attempted to wipe the blood stains off his shirt.

Seaton then called his boss and informed him that their radar system had picked up a flight of bombers on their way to the compound. When Hodges asked him how many of the canisters were ready to go, Seaton replied that three of them were. Hodges told him to place a call to President Taylor and that he would join him in a moment.



Hodges joined Seaton and watched the missiles that were loaded with the biological pathogen on a security camera. He then ordered Seaton to complete the call to the President. When President Taylor picked up, Hodges informed her that he had a missile system capable of delivering the biological weapon that he had acquired during his company's deployment in Pakistan - a deployment she opposed in the Senate. When Taylor accused him of bluffing, Hodges showed her a picture of the missiles and demanded she call off the air strike or he would launch the missiles at cities along the eastern seaboard. Taylor asked him why he was doing this and Hodges told her that he would explain everything in a face-to-face talk with her in the Oval Office. A conflicted President Taylor eventually capitulated and stopped the air strike from attacking the Starkwood compound.

The Starkwood chief took Seaton to the White House soon thereafter and met with President Taylor in the Oval Office. Hodges commented to her that it was the first time he'd been in the Oval Office since she'd been inaugurated and that President Noah Daniels had met with him there often during his presidency. Taylor accused him of complicity in Juma's attack on the White House and in the death of her son, Roger. Hodges acted offended and claimed that he had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks earlier in the day or in the murder of Roger Taylor. He then offered a proposal to the President on allowing him vast amounts of power within the military command structure and allow Starkwood to become the "fifth branch of the military". Taylor protested that she'd be giving him security clearances that even the Vice President didn't have. Hodges told her that his terms were non negotiable and that Starkwood would become the defender of the American homeland. During their discussion, Taylor was called aside by Tim Woods and informed that Starkwood's missile system and the biological pathogen had been destroyed.

Back in the Oval Office, Hodges mused that he wasn't getting through to the President, while Seaton assured him that he had done a fine job. Then, several Secret Service agents marched in and took them into custody. Hodges demanded to know what Taylor was doing and the President informed him of the destruction of his missiles and his biological weapon. Confused, Hodges claimed that it was impossible and that she didn't know what she was doing. He grew enraged when Taylor called him a terrorist and a traitor and had to be restrained by several of the agents. As they were dragging him out of the Oval Office, Hodges told the President that he was only a small part of a conspiracy and she had no idea what she was up against. Taylor demanded to know what he was talking about and all he said was that she would find out soon enough.

While in his cell at the White House, Hodges was visited by Cara Bowden, who was impersonating his attorney, Patricia Eames. She told him that she represented the people who had hired him and Starkwood to produce the biological pathogen, including Alan Wilson. She then scolded him for using the biological weapon for personal use and that he may have endangered their entire plan. Hodges demanded to know where they had been when the government and Senator Mayer were trying to bring down Starkwood. She assured him that they would have protected him and his company in the end. Hinting that his family's safety was at risk, she offered him a red pill that would induce cardiac arrest and then disappear from his system to ensure that the investigation into Starkwood ended with his death. She promised him that his family would be safe if he took this way out. He was then processed out of the White House for interrogation at the FBI.

While being placed in a prisoner vehicle, Hodges noticed that Sergeant Cadden, the soldier that was in charge of escorting him to the FBI, had a tattoo of Operation Hellfire, which had served in Pakistan. Hodges asked him about this and if he had served with any Starkwood units there. The officer responded that he had and when asked by Hodges what he thought about them, he answered Hodges that the Starkwood units he served with were well trained and good men. Hodges smiled and told the man that he had made his day.

While in transit to the FBI, Hodges ingested the red pill and entered into cardiac arrest. Cadden noticed it and attempted to help the Starkwood chief and called for emergency medical assistance. He then rerouted the vehicle to West Arlington Hospital with Hodges struggling for breath.

Hodges was saved in time at the hospital before the poison he ingested was able to completely shut down his body. After he was stabilized, he was moved to the FBI. Figuring that Hodges had taken the pill because he had been forced to by the people he worked for, Jack Bauer had the FBI make it seem like Hodges died from the poison to fool the his co-conspirators. Bauer arrived at the FBI office to interrogate Hodges and offer a witness protection bargain in exchange for the names of the people he worked for.

As he lay in a bed, Hodges yelled at the cameras so the FBI agents watching him would know that in saving him, they had condemned his family. He even asked Cadden, who was guarding him, to have his firearm so he could kill himself. Before he could say anything else, Jack entered the room and sent the sergeant away. Bauer explained to him that Hodges was officially dead in the eyes of the public and that in order to keep it that way, the Starkwood chief would have to divulge the names of his co-conspirators. Hodges explained to him that he had done what was necessary to ensure the safety and security of the United States. He told Jack that the group he worked for had developed the biological pathogen to use a year from then to frame a series of terrorist groups and push the United States to brink of collapse. Then, amidst all the chaos, Starkwood and other private military companies would step in and take over the security of the country.

When Jack pressed him on the names of the people he worked for, Hodges confessed that he didn't know. Bauer faked a call to the Washington Post to inform the press that Hodges was still alive and Hodges pleaded with Jack to stop. He insisted he didn't know the names of the people who hired him, since he only worked with them through an intermediary. Jack asked if she was the woman who had posed as his attorney only an hour before and he agreed. Jack believed him and left Hodges alone reminding him that he was a traitor to the US, no matter how he tried to justify it.

At around this time, the President's Chief of Staff and daughter, Olivia Taylor learned of Hodges immunity. Because he was responsible for the death of her brother and was guaranteed freedom for it, she began plotting her revenge. She had her associate, Martin Collier, arrange for an assassin to kill Hodges as he was leaving FBI custody.

U.S. Marshall Sullivan came into the room with Hodges' new identity: Robert Tippet. Hodges reacted violently, throwing the file against the wall when Sullivan left the room. Thirty minutes later, Sullivan returned to take him to Andrews Air Force Base, confiscating his wallet beforehand, including photographs of his family. He was led outside in a wheelchair, telling Sullivan plans of his to "not be Robert Tippet" forever, suggesting he was already plotting an escape from custody.

Inside the transport van, Hodges pulled out a photograph of his family, which he hid from the inspection. He quietly reflected on the fact that he'd probably never see his family again. Hodges took a deep sigh as the van exploded.

Background information and notes

 * Jon Voight, who played Jonas Hodges, joins Dennis Haysbert as the only two actors to be credited with "Special Guest Appearance by."
 * The character of Jonas Hodges was named after the 24 Production Designer Joseph Hodges.