Day 7: 12:00am-1:00am

While Tony Almeida manages to infiltrate the Starkwood compound, Jack Bauer starts showing symptoms of his infection. Meanwhile, Olivia Taylor has to prevent reporter Ken Dellao from leaking the Starkwood story. Finally, Jonas Hodges brings up his first demand to President Allison Taylor.

Previously on 24

 * President Allison Taylor asks her daughter, Olivia, to be her provisional Chief of Staff, replacing Ethan Kanin. Taylor, Olivia and Tim Woods receive a call from Larry Moss informing her of Starkwood's development of a biological weapon in Sangala.
 * Jonas Hodges pressures Tom Chapman on having the weapons ready before the government take action. He then interrogates Tony Almeida but he refuses to talk.
 * Tony Almeida is being interrogated by Jonas Hodges but refuses to talk. When Stokes is about to execute him, Greg Seaton allegedly shoots Stokes to save Tony.
 * FBI Agent Renee Walker is informed by Larry Moss about Starkwood retrieving the weapon and Jack being exposed to it. Renee goes to Dr. Sunny Macer and asks her about a cure but she says there isn't any.
 * Jack Bauer asks Larry Moss to let him go with them to Starkwood but Larry refuses to because he doesn't want to risk him showing symptoms there.
 * After searching the Starkwood warehouse where Greg Seaton alleged the weapons were, Larry and his men are ambushed by Stokes and several platoon of Starkwood mercenaries requesting them to leave their property.

The following takes place between 12:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.

12:00:00
As Stokes and his men wait for Larry Moss to retreat his team, he and Tony Almeida try to look for ways out. He contacts Renee Walker on comm who is on the FBI Headquarters with Janis Gold watching the satellite feed. They then see a convoy approaching. A jeep stops and Jonas Hodges steps down. He asks to speak with whoever is in charge. Larry steps up front and Hodges tells him he has to take his men out of his property. When Larry mentions the Presidential order, Hodges punctuates the order is to search one warehouse for weapons that aren't there. Hodges infuriatingly asks for someone to blame, but Larry demands the men to put down their weapons. Hodges mentions how he has served the country for 30 years and now the government wants to dismantle his company. He then looks at his watch and gives them five minutes to get out. Plus he also asks to have Greg Seaton released. As Hodges walks away, Larry contacts Renee for any options. While Larry waits, Jack Bauer calls Renee and tells her they have an option. While looking through Blaine Mayer's files, he found information about Doug Knowles, chairman of Starkwood's Board of Directors, who was collaborating with Mayer. He says that despite the fact he has worked with Hodges for 20 years, he might be a chance to help them. Jack calls him and Knowles tells him he was hoping someone would call. Jack explains him everything including the fact that Mayer was killed by John Quinn and that Starkwood managed to smuggle a biological weapon in US soil. Knowles tells him about Hodges' intentions on treating the government. He also tells him he knows where the weapons might be and agrees to help them. Jack then tells him he'll put him in contact with one of his men in the field.

12:07:03

Hodges order Stokes to assemble themselves to force Larry out. Meanwhile, Jack informs Larry and Tony about their agreement with Knowles. He tells Larry that he has to retreat on Hodges' timetable but Tony has to find a way to stay behind to meet with Knowles. Larry is reluctant at first, considering that's exactly how they got in their current mess. Jack stresses it is their only chance and Larry tells him it'll be difficult with so many people watching them, but Jack tells him he has to try. As Larry orders his men to retreat, he grabs Seaton and takes him to Hodges. Seaton demands to be released but Larry punches him in the face. A Starkwood commando hits Larry with his rifle butt and everybody scrambles towards them giving Tony enough time to slip into a warehouse. Larry recovers himself and orders his men out and their choppers fly away as Hodges looks.

12:09:35 Tony meets Doug Knowles beside one of the warehouses and he tells him Jack sent him. As a security patrol passes close to them, they hide. Knowles then tells him he'll take him to the building where he thinks the weapons are. As they approach the building, Jack and Renee tell Janis to keep their satellite imagery. Meanwhile, Jack's hand starts shaking as the symptoms of the pathogen start showing themselves. Renee notices it and walks to him while Janis keeps on providing Tony with intelligence. Jack tells Renee he's okay.

12:10:52...12:10:53...12:10:54...

12:15:14
President Allison Taylor and Olivia are interrupted by Tim Woods with a call from Jack. Jack informs them about how the federal agents were ambushed and Taylor is angered. Jack then informs her how they contacted Knowles and that he is helping Tony find the weapons. Tim tells Taylor that their planes are still several hours away, and she says that an air strike might work if they know the exact location of the weapons. Taylor then tells Jack to make sure to identify the canisters as soon as Tony finds them. In the meantime, Olivia gets a call and walks out of the Oval Office. Finally, when Jack asks the President if there's anything else, she nods at Tim to step out. She picks up the phone and tells Jack that she knows about him being exposed and thanks him for his service. They hang up and Jack walks with Renee as his hand is still shaking.

Olivia walks to one of the White House hallways and answers the call. It's reporter Ken Dellao who tells her he has heard rumors about the Joint Chiefs meeting. Olivia tells him it's just routine, but he doesn't believe it. He tells her he has a source in the Port Authority that told him something about "weapons of mass destruction". Olivia tells him he'll know as soon as she can tell him, but Ken threatens to reveal to the President how she forced Ethan Kanin's resignation. She tells him he can't talk there and they agree to meet at his room at the Roosevelt Continental Hotel in half an hour. After hanging up, she calls Aaron Pierce and tells him to drive her there.

12:18:47

Tony and Knowles arrive at the area where Knowles has noticed more activity in recent days. Using an infrared scan, Jack tells him there's a building showing no signal which probably means they're using a blackout shield. They think this might be the building and decide to walk closer. As they approach the door, Knowles tries to open it with his key card but is unable to. Janis tells Tony to use an interface module he has on his backpack to crack it. Tony pulls it out and plugs it to the panel, while Janis tries to get the five digit key. As she starts running combinations, Renee tells them a vehicle is coming their way. They hide behind some crates as the security patrol drives along the building. The commandos agree to go in for a closer look and Knowles decide to walk out and divert them. As the commando draws his gun on Knowles, he pulls his ID and the commando apologizes. He then tells him he shouldn't be here because of Hodges orders. Knowles tells him about the meeting he was in, but he says the meeting ended about an hour ago. Meanwhile, Janis gets the code to the door and Tony slips in while the guards take Knowles. As Tony walks down some stairs, Renee tells him he needs to get a visual of the canisters for the President to authorize an air strike. However, Jack collapses to the floor and starts shaking uncontrollably as Renee runs towards him calling for a medic.

12:22:56...12:22:57...12:22:58...

12:27:26
The guard informs Hodges about Knowles being found outside the restricted zone. Hodges tells him to take Knowles to his office and stay with him until he arrives. He also tells him to double the security in the area. Hodges then walks to Tom Chapman and asks him how much longer until the weapons are armed. He tells him they'll be ready in half an hour.

Olivia and Aaron arrive at Roosevelt Continental. As they approach Room 1271, Aaron tells her he'll have to check the room first. Olivia refuses to, but he insists. Olivia assures him she'll be okay and tells him she'll call for him if there's any problem.

12:29:30 As Olivia enters the room, Ken offers her a drink but she refuses. He then tells her he had a source, a guard at the Port Authority who told him he saw professional assassins in a firefight at the Port of Alexandria and that someone took a weapon out of there. Olivia tells him that's right but he wants to know more. Olivia tells him it's a question of national security and that people might get hurt. He tells her he'll understand once he hears what happened. Olivia tells him everything about Starkwood developing a weapon in Sangala and how it was taken to their compound in Virginia. She also tells him that the President ordered an air strike as soon as they know the exact location of the weapons. Olivia again stresses the need for him to kill the story. However, Ken implies that perhaps he needs to be convinced to do so, alluding to sex. She refuses but he approaches her and starts kissing her.

Dr. Sunny Macer gives Jack an injection of pandopamine which will mask the symptoms of the pathogen. She gives him a pack of syringes and tells him he can inject himself whenever he starts showing symptoms. Finally, she tells him that Bryden University has been funding research on prion diseases and have some experimental work that might be a chance. The treatment involves using stem cells from a close relative. When she mentions Jack's daughter, he quickly rejects it and tells her he doesn't want his daughter involved in this.

12:33:54 As he walks away, Renee goes with him and asks him why he wouldn't give a chance to the treatment. He tells her she doesn't know anything about his relationship with his daughter and that he doesn't want her to even know about this. As they return to the FBI bullpen, Janis informs Tony a security team is heading towards his location. Tony decides to confront them and gets inside a storage room to wait for them. As two of them walk inside, Tony breaks the neck of one of them while he kicks the other one.

12:35:52...12:35:53...12:35:54...

12:40:24
Tony finishes up getting dressed with the clothes of the Starkwood guard. He walks to an elevator and gets in using the guards key card. As he is about to go down, Tom Chapman gets in with him but doesn't recognize him. Chapman looks at him and tells him he hadn't seen him before, but Tony tells him he's part of a new security detail just sent to the building. As they walk out, Tony informs Jack he's four floors down. Jack tells him those floors doesn't appear in the schematics but Tony assures him they are there.

12:42:02

As Tony walks close to the main room, he spots the canisters and takes a picture. When Jack receives the picture, he looks closely at it and identifies them. Renee goes to notify Admiral John Smith while Jack tells Tony to get out of there as soon as possible.

Knowles is at his office waiting to meet with Hodges. When he arrives, the guards walk out. Knowles demand an explanation of why he is being held like a prisoner. Hodges tells him he was supposed to be home, but Knowles tells him he heard about the FBI raid and about a biological weapon. Hodges takes a drink and reminisces how 20 years ago they built Starkwood out of nowhere. He then tells how Starkwood has periodically pulled the US government out of predicaments and how they're paying them now with investigations and committees trying to bring them down. Hodges tells him he will not be persecuted for protecting his country and assures Knowles that, indeed, they are ready to defend themselves. As Knowles tells him he can't take on the federal government, Hodges tells him how he treated him like a son. He then grabs a bottle and smashes Knowles' head with it, throwing him over the balcony afterward. After falling down, Hodges is shocked and notices blood on his shirt. He walks to the bar and tries to clean himself when he receives a call from Seaton who tells him about an approaching squadron of F-18's. Hodges asks how many missiles are ready and Chapman signals that three. Hodges then tells him to prepare the communication with the President.

12:47:15...12:47:16...12:47:17...

12:51:43
Olivia is getting dressed after having sex with Ken. She tells him that her only concern is for him not to reveal the Starkwood story. However, he tells her that doing it will put him above all of his colleagues and that he has to do it. He assures him nobody will find out she told him. She is angered and tells him that running the story will harm the country. She then picks up her cellphone, which she had placed strategically in a night table, showing him she recorded their sexual encounter. She then threatens to reveal to everyone how he gets his leads, including his wife. She receives a call and walks out on him leaving him shocked.

12:53:53

As he walks out and meets with Aaron, President Taylor tells her on the phone she wants her to be there for the air strike. She tells her she was just dealing with a reporter and gets in the elevator while Aaron looks at her suspiciously. As President Taylor walks into the Situation Room, Admiral Smith tells her that the F-18's will be on Starkwood in seven minutes. He also assures her that with the type of missile they'll be using there is no risk of the pathogen being released.

Hodges arrives with Tom and Greg and asks if the missiles are ready. Greg also tells him that the call to the President is in process. When Greg notices the blood on Hodges' shirt, he tells him sarcastically that "Knowles won't be able to join them".

Meanwhile, the F-18's approach the Starkwood compound. Smith informs it to the President. She asks if there's any evidence of any anti-aircraft missiles on Starkwood, but Smith denies it. Tim Woods walks in the Situation Room and tells the President that they have a call from Hodges for her. When she asks to put him on speaker, Woods says that he requested the conversation to be private. President Taylor walks out to the telephone.

12:56:36 Hodges asks her to retire the F-18's and she tells him he is in no position to give ultimatums. He then reminds her about a mission to Pakistan they sent Starkwood several years ago and tells her that they retrieved some Python missiles from that mission. When she calls him bluffing, he sends her a picture of the missiles. When she asks him what does he want, he requests to meet with her in the Oval Office. If she doesn't agree he'll use the missiles with the pathogen. He also asks her not to reveal the nature of their meeting.

Split screen: President Taylor thinks about aborting the airstrike. Jack walks to give himself a shot while Renee watches feeling sorry for him. Tony looks at the bio-weapon being readied as he prepares to leave the Starkwood compound. Aaron Pierce is driving Olivia back to the White House after her meeting with reporter Ken.

Taylor runs to the Situation Room where she orders Admiral Smith to call off the air strike. He hesitates but she orders him to do so. Admiral Smith contacts the F-18 pilots and aborts the attack. Everybody looks at Taylor in disbelief, but she simply walks out of the room without an explanation.

12:59:57....12:59:58....12:59:59....1:00:00

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor
 * Annie Wersching as Renee Walker
 * Jeffrey Nordling as Larry Moss
 * with Janeane Garofalo as Janis Gold
 * and Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida

Guest starring

 * Glenn Morshower as Aaron Pierce
 * Christina Chang as Dr. Sunny Macer
 * Rory Cochrane as Greg Seaton
 * Sprague Grayden as Olivia Taylor
 * Tim Guinee as Ken Dellao
 * Frank John Hughes as Tim Woods
 * Chris Mulkey as Doug Knowles
 * Michael Rodrick as Stokes
 * Ryan Cutrona as Admiral John Smith
 * Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as Tom Chapman

Special guest appearance by

 * Jon Voight as Jonas Hodges

Co-starring

 * Jack Maxwell as Starkwood Commando #1

Background information and notes

 * Chip Johannessen wrote this episode, his first writing credit since Day 1 4:00am-5:00am.