Day 5: 12:00pm-1:00pm

Jack contacts Mike Novick and asks for a secret meeting in hopes of gathering evidence against Cummings. Martha begs Aaron for help while Walt must try to force Logan into aiding him with his complicity with the terrorists. Buchanan butts heads with Lynn over a decision to violate the President's orders, while the Russian separatists attempt to escape with the nerve gas.

Previously on 24

 * Erwich tells Schaeffer that the canisters were hidden successfully to be used against the Russians for occupying their homeland.


 * James Nathanson tells Walt Cummings that Erwich was successful receiving the 20 canisters of nerve gas; All that's left is Bauer. Cummings pages Spenser to make Bauer a priority.


 * After hearing Martha tell them she's been attacked, Walt considers to Charles Logan to take her to the institution in Vermont; Later, Martha escaped and snuck out.


 * Buchanan interrogates Spenser; Later, Jack Bauer fights Hank the assassin and kills him. Jack shows the assassin's face to Spenser. Spenser confesses that Walt Cummings ordered that man into CTU and that Spenser thought he was serving his country. Jack vows to see Cummings himself.

The following takes place between 12:00pm and 1:00pm

12:00:00
Jack is in the situation room with Lynn McGill, Audrey Raines, Bill Buchanan, making a case against going after Walt Cummings. It is decided that since Jack will call up Mike Novick and arrange a meeting. Lynn reminds Jack that the priority is to find the nerve gas, not avenging David Palmer. Jack agrees.

Jack and Audrey set up protocols for the meeting, and Audrey warns Jack that once Cummings finds out that he is still alive, he will come after him again.

Cummings receives a call from Nathanson asking if Bauer is dead. Cummings hasn't received confirmation from his hitman, Hank. He expresses concern at the failure to kill Jack. He tells him Erwich will arrive at the seaport any minute.

Erwich and Schaeffer arrive at the port with the truckload of gas. Schaeffer explains that it will take eight days for the gas to reach Erwich's homeland. He offers to help deliver the shipment to Moscow, but Erwich tells him he already has ground transportation set up.

Novick tells President Logan that Martha has not yet been found, but Secret Service believe she is still on the property. He has received a DVD made by the terrorists showing the effects of the gas. A man is shown convulsing while Novick narrates in detail. Logan has seen enough and orders him to stop the video. Novick warns that the Sentox that the terrorists have is far worse than the gas shown on the disc. If released in a populated area, it would remain a lethal cloud for several hours. Novick is interrupted when he receives a text message from Jack, asking him to call him on a secure line. Cummings gets a little nervous as Novick excuses himself.

Novick calls Jack, who tells him that he has a new lead on the gas and needs to meet with him in person. Novick is uncomfortable with the secrecy, but agrees to meet him in a spot outside the retreat.

On his way out of CTU, Jack is stopped by Derek and Diane. They ask Jack if he is leaving with them, but he says CTU still needs him. Diane frankly asks if Jack is still in love with Audrey, and he admits he is. He kisses and hugs her as he leaves.

Nathanson has intercepted Novick's phone conversation with Jack, and plays a recording for Cummings. Cummings is now fearful that he has been compromised. Nathanson chastises Cummings for his failure to kill Bauer, and tells him that he only has one option left.

12:10:17...12:10:18...12:10:19...

12:14:32
Aaron Pierce finds Martha hiding in the stables and asks her to come out. She tells him about her contact with David Palmer and asks him not to take her away. Aaron tells her that he has no choice, but looks conflicted as Martha is taken away.

Schaeffer secretly adjusts the codes on the canisters. Erwich finds him as he is finishing up, and Schaeffer explains that he was making sure the canisters are secure so they don't knock around during the loading process. He hands Erwich the remote trigger and some customs papers. Erwich eyes him suspiciously as he leaves.

On their way out of CTU, Diane and Derek encounter Audrey. Diane tells her that if she doesn't still love Jack, then she should let him go. This prompts Audrey to call Jack and ask if he still loves her. Jack tells her he never stopped. Fighting back tears, Audrey begs Jack to not leave her again.

Logan is on the phone, telling an underling to keep the nerve gas crisis quiet, when Aaron arrives to tell him that Martha has been found. Aaron attempts to bring up what Martha told him, but Logan attributes it to her questionable mental state. After Aaron leaves, Cummings arrives. Saying that Jack is forcing his hand, he confesses to his involvement in the terrorist operation. His people control the remote detonators on the Sentox canisters, and once the terrorists return to their homeland, the gas will be set off. This will 'confirm' the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Central Asia, justifying a U.S. military presence and guranteeing the flow of oil for the next generation. David Palmer was murdered because he found out about the plan. Logan is outraged, but is swayed by Cummings' domineering personality, convinced that full disclosure would destroy his administration.

12:25:32...12:25:33...12:35:34...

12:29:44
Jack meets with Novick outside the Presidential retreat, but they are intercepted by Secret Service agents. Novick demands that they stand down, but they insist they are acting on orders from the president. Jack and Mike are both taken into custody.

Cummings spins Novick's detainment, saying that Jack did not have time to tell him anything, and that Jack was attempting to tell Novick national secrets that he was not authorized to hear. He assures Logan that once the gas is out of the country, it will be hard to make any connection to his administration. They will have to take CTU out of the loop.

Jack is taken to the stables, and Aaron asks Agent Dunley why he wasn't notified of Jack's detainment. Dunley tells him that he received his orders from Walt Cummings. Aaron begins to suspect something is up.

Lynn announces that CTU has been pulled off the pursuit of the nerve gas, by orders of the White House. Buchanan convinces Lynn to temporarily disregard the order, telling him that is his responsibility to ignore any order that jeopardizes their chances of finding the nerve gas.

As Martha awaits transfer to the asylum, she recalls that she was once the most trusted confidante of her husband, but is now an afterthought. She is upset that he isn't even bothering to see her off.

Aaron visits Jack in the stable, telling him that he is going to be transferred to a detention facility. Jack appeals to Aaron's loyalty to Palmer, revealing that he can prove that Walt Cummings was involved in Palmer's death. Aaron says that Martha Logan told him the same thing. Jack tells him that Cummings is undermining Logan's presidency, and that is equivalent to a coup d'etat. Aaron considers.

12:38:22...12:38:23...12:38:24...

12:42:55


Convinced, Aaron lets Jack go, telling a junior agent that Jack has escaped to distract him. Jack and Aaron make their way to Logan's office to confront Cummings. As Logan looks on, shocked, Jack assaults Cummings, then recites Walt's various offenses. Logan states that Cummings already confessed and the gas is out of the country, but Jack insists that Cummings is lying about its location. Jack pulls out a knife, and threatens to cut out an eye if Cummings doesn't talk. Walt breaks and reveals that the gas is in a medical container at a pier in Long Beach.

Jack and Logan call CTU and apprise them on the gas's location, with Logan telling them to disregard the earlier order. Lynn asks if Jack is coming back to CTU, but he doesn't know yet.

Jack and Aaron offer to turn themselves in, but Logan tells them to get Cummings out of his sight. Jack tells him that he has accomplished what he has set out to do, avenge the murder of David Palmer, and will disappear again after the current crisis is over.

12:49:14...12:49:15...12:49:16...

12:53:42
As Martha is being escorted into the Presidential limo, Logan comes out, telling her that he misjudged her, and she was right about Cummings and Palmer's murder. Martha remains angry that Logan would so quickly agree to sending her back to the asylum.

At CTU, Chloe finds one freighter bound for Asia leaving Long Beach. She is concerned that the CBP will have a difficult time sorting through the hundreds of containers but Edgar reveals that he has hacked into the ship's manifest, and finds the likely container carrying the gas. This information is passed on to the CBP team, and Chloe sets up a live feed so the White House can witness the raid. They find background intel on Erwich, and Jack tells to remind the CBP team that they need to take Erwich alive. Curtis Manning informs them that the feed is up.

CBP agents led by Agent Finn raid the boat, but when they enter the container, they find only the empty crates where the canisters used to be, and the body of Schaeffer, who looks as if he was tortured before he was killed.

Cummings is brought in to the situation room, and he explains that Schaeffer was his inside man. Erwich must have found out about the reprogrammed detonators. Walt's cell phone begins ringing, it's Erwich, using Schaeffer's cell phone. He reveals that Schaeffer confessed to everything under torture, so he knows that the arming codes were altered. Erwich tells Walt that his country will pay a heavy price for his betrayal.

12:59:57...12:59:58...12:59:59...01:00:00

Memorable quotes

 * Diane Huxley: If you don't love him, let him go.


 * President Logan: You're a traitor.
 * Walt Cummings: No, sir, Mr. President, I am a patriot!!


 * Jack Bauer: Who did you tell!?
 * Mike Novick: I didn't tell anybody!


 * Evelyn Martin: I'm sure he would be here if he could.
 * Martha Logan: He's the President of the United States. He can do whatever he wants.


 * Jack Bauer: Walt Cummings ordered the assassination of David Palmer. I know that's hard to believe, but I can prove it. It's true.
 * Aaron Pierce: Actually, it's not that hard to believe.


 * Jack Bauer: I’m done talking with you, you understand me? You’ve read my file. The first thing I’m going to do is take out your right eye, and then I’m gonna move over and take out your left, and then I’m going to cut you. I’m gonna keep cutting you until you give me the information that I need. Do you understand me? So for the last time, where is the nerve gas?


 * President Logan: Do something!
 * Aaron Pierce: I am, Mr. President. I am upholding my oath to protect you.


 * Charles Logan: Aaron, take back your shield, and then get Walt Cummings out of my sight.


 * Ivan Erwich: I don't negotiate with my enemies, I eliminate them. Your country is about to pay a steep price for betraying us.

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Kim Raver as Audrey Raines
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian
 * Gregory Itzin as President Charles Logan
 * James Morrison as Bill Buchanan
 * Roger Cross as Curtis Manning
 * Louis Lombardi as Edgar Stiles
 * and Jean Smart as Martha Logan

Guest starring

 * Sean Astin as Lynn McGill
 * Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick
 * Connie Britton as Diane Huxley
 * Brady Corbet as Derek Huxley
 * Geraint Wyn Davies as James Nathanson
 * Sandrine Holt as Evelyn Martin
 * Glenn Morshower as Aaron Pierce
 * John Allen Nelson as Walt Cummings
 * Mark Sheppard as Ivan Erwich
 * Ben Parrillo as Agent Finn
 * Timothy V. Murphy as Schaeffer

Co-starring

 * Anita Finlay as Wendy Brown (as "Logan Aide")
 * Matt Huhn as Steve (as "Secret Service Agent #1")
 * Robert Maffia as Andrei
 * Michael Yavnieli as Cole (as "Secret Service Agent #2")
 * Terry Woodburry as M. Dunley (as "Secret Service Agent #3")
 * Marci Michelle as Jackie (as "CTU Worker")
 * Michael Karawia as Middle Eastern Man

Uncredited

 * Michael Jacey as John

Background information and notes

 * Series regular Carlos Bernard doesn't appear in this episode.
 * Stock footage from previous seasons of David Palmer appears in this episode.
 * A rather long scene was deleted from this episode, which features Erwich briefly discussing his ideology to Schaeffer. Andrei then deceives a Port Officer (played by Roger Hewlett) by emitting a false signal to a customs x-ray scanner.