Day 6: 8:00am-9:00am

Jack Bauer and Hamri al-Assad launch a tracking operation on one of Abu Fayed's men, but that leads to explosive results. Meanwhile, Walid Al-Rezani's arrival at a detention facility turns sour as Fayed demands President Palmer to release his fellow enemy combatants at Palmdale Military Prison. Ahmed Amar starts a contingency plan by forcing Ray Wallace to retrieve a package, holding his family as hostages. Bauer realizes the attacks were a elaborate plan to release a prisoner from Palmdale, who will be able to unleash a nuclear catastrophe.

Previously on 24

 * Devastating terrorist attacks have been going on for eleven weeks.
 * Ahmed Amar receives a call from his boss, Fayed, about the "package". He then gets attacked by his neighbor Stan and kills him in self-defense.  Scott Wallace shows up and Ahmed takes him hostage.
 * Sandra Palmer calls her brother, the President, about the FBI coming in and performing an unjust investigation of private matters. Unsuccessful, she then deletes private files from the computer, and then gets arrested, along with her friend Al-Rezani.
 * CTU seeks the life of Hamri Al-Assad for his terrorist attacks, but Jack shows up and rescues him.
 * Assad discusses with Jack his plans to renounce terrorism.
 * Following up on a lead, Jack Bauer tracks a suicide bomber to a train station. They fight, but ultimately Jack pushes him outside the back of the train, preventing any other deaths.  Jack then rushes to join Assad.

The following takes place between 8:00am and 9:00am

08:00:00


Jack Bauer arrives at Hamri al-Assad's car and they drive away. Assad says that the man he is tracking, Masheer is six cars ahead. Masheer recieves a call from Abu Fayed. He tells him to go to a new location.

Meanwhile, Bill Buchanan tells the assembled White House staff that Jack averted the Los Angeles train bombing, and is now working with Assad. When President Wayne Palmer asks what Jack is doing now, Buchanan explains that they have not heard from Jack since they neglected to heed his warning about Fayed. Wayne concurs, blaming himself. Nadia Yassir informs Buchanan that Fayed is on the line, and wants to speak to the President.

Wayne takes the call, and Fayed demands that the U.S. release the Palmdale “enemy combatants” within the hour. Wayne does not trust him because he has reneged on his promises before, but Fayed is certain that Wayne will go through with the deal, as he promises to bomb more cities if the President does not comply. After the call, Wayne asks Karen Hayes on her opinion, but she is sure that releasing the Palmdale prisoners is not Fayed’s end game. Tom Lennox argues that they cannot negotiate with Fayed. Wayne insists it’s the only way to buy CTU time for finding Fayed.

08:06:13

Masheer heads north out of the city towards Route 7, and Jack comments that it will be harder for them to follow him without being noticed. He insists that using CTU's satellite surveillance will benefit them, but Assad refuses to work with CTU because they attacked him, and he does not want to work with his enemies. Jack says that he is working with one by working with Jack, and that CTU only bombed his location because Fayed convinced them that Assad was the enemy. With no other choice, Assad gives in to allowing CTU to assist.

At CTU, Milo orders Morris to vet the Palmdale list of prisoners. Morris thinks his talents could be used more wisely, and tells Milo to "give it to one of the girls in archive". Whilst they squabble, Chloe tells Morris to grow up, and Milo walks away. Jack calls Chloe at CTU. As she tries to tell him that she never thought she would hear his voice again, he interrupts her, and tells her to trace Masheer on the satellite.

She transfers the call to Buchanan in the Situation Room, and Jack tells him that he is working with Assad. Buchanan says that they already know that. Chloe enters and explains that because of the recent attacks overloading the satellites, it will take at least ten minutes for them to reposition to follow the handler.

When Nadia suggests using traffic cameras, Chloe says that she already checked, and there are non on Route 7. Buchanan tells Jack to follow the handler until the satellite is on track. He then directs Curtis to head towards them. Curtis is surprised that they are now working with Assad, but follows through with the orders.

A businessman is getting into his car when Jack strikes him from behind. As the man collapses, Jack tells him to stay down as he steals the vehicle. Jack races down backstreets to catch up with Masheer, who is about to enter the freeway. He twists and turns down roads narrowly avoiding many crashes with cars. He approaches Masheer's car and slams into it. Assad pulls up behind the collision.

Jack gets out and begins to yell, accuses Masheer of bad driving. Masheer protests as Assad exits his vehicle and claims to be a witness, defending Masheer. Jack pretends to be angry at them for protecting their own kind. Jack walks away angrily and drives away. With Masheer’s car destroyed, Assad tells him to wait for the police. However, Masheer says that he needs to be somewhere. Assad offers to drive him, and Masheer says that he needs to go somewhere in Newhall. He is in a hurry and agrees to the lift. Assad discreetly dials Jack’s phone and puts it on mute as the two men get into Assad's car.

08:11:53

Jack recieves the call, and dials CTU in so they can hear Assad’s conversation with Masheer. Masheer tells Assad he will guide him to Newhall. Buchanan redirects Curtis to this location. Fayed gets word that there is increased activity over the Palmdale area, proving that the President is planning to go ahead with their deal. However, Fayed comments that it will be too late for the Americans to respond to whatever Fayed has planned once the prisoners are released.

Ahmed takes Scott back to the Wallace house at gunpoint. Jillian Wallace comes and sees Ahmed's gun. He tells her to call Ray, who arrives looking shocked. He whispers "so you are the terrorist.…" The entire Wallace family is taken hostage as Ahmed tells them to sit on the couch.

Remembering that Jillian is a nurse, he sends her to get medical supplies and then to treat his wounds. She says that they are too deep and their is muscle damage, and encourages him to see a doctor, but he doesn’t have time. Unable to walk, Ahmed orders Ray to deliver his package. He gives him the address, which is in the front of his bag, and threatens to kill Jillian and Scott if the police show up at the house or if Ray takes too long. Taking one last look at his family, Ray leaves.

08:17:21...08:17:22...08:17:23...

08:21:47
Morris questions why Chloe took Milo’s side over his. She thinks he always wants to be fired from whatever job he is doing, and always tries to cause problems with his boss. Dismayed at Chloe's words, Morris completes the menial task he was set by Milo, who looks very surprised to hear Morris actually did it. Karen Hayes updates the President on Jack’s alliance with Assad to find Fayed.

Wayne looks pleased to see Jack is still in action. He still wants to proceed with loading the prisoners at Palmdale as Fayed demanded. He explains his decision, saying that unless Jack can get Fayed within the hour, they have no other option. Assad comments out loud the name of an exit that he passes to helped CTU with tracking their location. Chloe makes note of it, but is still unable to follow them by satellite.

08:24:28

Jack pulls up behind Curtis' vehicle and gets in. Buchanan redirects Curtis and his team to follow Assad. Whilst in the car, Curtis comments that it is a disgrace to be working with Assad, a known terrorist. He says that Assad needs to pay for what he has done. He asks Jack if he agrees, but Jack says that he does not know what to think anymore. He says that it is not their call to decide what happens to Assad, but Curtis says "We'll see about that", but does not elaborate after Jack pries.

Ahmed moans that the painkillers he has been given are not working. He orders Scott to go into the kitchen and get stronger ones, as well as a glass of water. After Jillian tells him where they are, Scott pours the glass of water. He notices a knife in the sink and sneaks it into his pocket, but is unable to stab Ahmed when he gets close.

08:32:27
At the Palmdale Military Prison, over a hundred terrorist prisoners are lined up. A sergeant tells them to stay orderly so that the process can continue without any problems. One of the prisoners, Hasan Numair, looks around suspiciously, and is eyed by the sergeant.

Wayne is watching the events at Palmdale through a live video feed. Lennox gets off the phone and informs Wayne that his sister was arrested because she deleted personnel files requested by the FBI. Sandra is being detained in a provisional detention facility, and Wayne dials a number on his phone. As Walid and Sandra arrive at the detention facility, she apologizes to Walid because it was all her fault he was arrested. He says that she has nothing to apologize for, because she was protecting the identities of Americans, as is allowed, even if the government has forgotten it. As they enter the facility, Walid and Sandra as separated.

Sandra's handcuffs are removed and she receives a call from Wayne who is furious for her bringing up a civil rights movement in the middle of this crisis. He has ordered her release, but she says she would rather defend civil liberties against his Administration’s violation of them. She demands Walid’s release and vows that there is nothing incriminating in those files. Wayne refuses to let Walid go free, saying that he shouldn’t worry if he is truly innocent.

As the call ends, Sandra demands to speak to Walid. The FBI agent won’t let her, despite the fact that she is his attorney, because Walid is being held under the revised enemy combatant statute. “Is the law being completely thrown out the window?” she asks before being escorted out.

A man named Salim is being processed for detention. The Supervising National Guardsman tells him to move along, but Salim refuses to cooperate with the soldier. As they begin to push him, Walid steps out of line and shouts at the soldier, telling the guards that they should take their hands off him. When Walid refuses to step back in line, the Guardsman hits Walid with a baton and sends him off with an escort guard for interrogation. Salim looks at Walid in gratitude.

08:37:12...08:37:13...08:37:14...

08:41:39
As Assad drives in the town of Newhall, he questions Masheer on who he is meeting. Masheer is cautious about his answers, but gives Assad a location to drop him off at. Chloe picks up the address and pulls up data on all the buildings within a mile radius. Masheer gets out of the car, and thanks Assad for the ride. As he walks away, Assad tells Jack that the coast is clear.

Chloe locates the suspect on satellite and CTU begin to track him. Jack and Curtis arrive at Assad's location, and despite Jack’s insistence that they should work with him, Curtis treats Assad like a prisoner. Curtis has his men take Assad into custody. Jack tries to convince Curtis otherwise, but ultimately fails. He apologizes and Assad that he will take care of him. As Assad is searched by Agent Boorman, one of Curtis' men, he looks at Jack, humiliated.

Chloe informs Buchanan that she has tracked Masheer to a storage warehouse. TAC team Agent Collier sees him open up a storage locker. There are crates with Czech writing and ammunition. Jack is convinced Fayed is not there, but Buchanan wants to move in anyway and take him for interrogation.

Jack thinks it’s too risky. Masheer opens a laptop and begins to type something in. He hears Collier make a sound, spots him, and opens fire. The TAC teams shoot back as he crawls behind the crates. Masheer comes out after a moment, but Jack notices a grenade in his hand. Before they can move in to get Masheer, there is an explosion, destroying the entire storage unit.

Jack moves in and sees the burnt body, letting Buchanan know that the suspect is dead, and that the laptop he had in storage was probably damaged in the fire. Buchanan calls the President, informing him of their setback: the suspect committed suicide rather than be interrogated. With Fayed not captured, Wayne has no choice but to release the prisoners at Palmdale. The sergeant gets the order, and has the soldiers load the Palmdale prisoners onto a plane according to Fayed’s demands.

08:48:52...08:48:53...08:48:54...

08:53:17
Ray arrives at the location he was given and delivers Ahmed’s package to a man, Marcus at an electronics parts store. Marcus opens it and sees bundles of cash. He says he will need an extra $50,000 in order to get the component Ahmed was purchasing. Panicked, Ray calls his house. Ahmed orders him to do whatever it takes to get the item or else he will kill his family.

Marcus asks if he will be able to get the money, and Ray lies, saying that he will get the money soon. He adds that he needs to see the component before Marcus can have the money. As Marcus turns his back to get the component, Ray knocks him over the head with a lamp. Marcus stumbles but then pulls a gun, so Ray fights him off and pounds Marcus' head on the ground, killing him.

08:57:02

Chloe is able to recover the most recently accessed data file on the laptop in the damaged storage facility. It is a wiring schematic for an object that looks exactly like the component Ray was sent to pick up. Chloe sends it to Jack, but the writing is in Arabic. Jack sends for Assad, who recognizes the coding as that for a nuclear detonator.

Curtis lunges at Assad, furiously accusing him of knowing about this ahead of time. Jack pulls Curtis off of Assad, assuring him that Assad is on their side now. Assad angrily says that there is a reference file at the bottom that reads “Sovtel 3.” Nadia knows that this is a code for a Russian suitcase nuke. She says that, despite them all supposedly being destroyed, there was a rumor that one had been missing and was suspected to have gone to a scientist with terrorist ties.

He had a fake name, but Chloe finds a picture of the man. Assad recognizes him as Hasan Numair, an acquaintance of Fayed. Chloe finds that Numair is a terrorist being released from the Palmdale prison in the deal Wayne Palmer agreed to. Assad says that Fayed’s plan all along was to force the United States to free Numair.

Split screen: Buchanan has Nadia warn the President that he is stopping the Palmdale release. Al-Rezani awaits interrogation. Ray hides Marcus' body and takes the component.

President Palmer has the Guardsman on duty look for Numair on the plane with a photo from CTU. The Guardsman recieves the photo, but is unable to identify Numair among the prisoners on the plane.

On an empty prisoner bus, a gunshot is heard, and the Sergeant from earlier finds Numair hiding in the toilet cubicle. “Hurry up,” the sergeant tells him. “Fayed is waiting for you.” Numair runs past the driver which the sergeant had executed, and out of the bus, unnoticed.

08:59:57...08:59:58...08:59:59...09:00:00

Memorable quotes

 * Sandra Palmer: I need to speak with Walid before I leave.
 * FBI Agent Samuels : That's not going to happen.


 * FBI Agent Samuels : When you're through your lecture, I have instructions to drive you home.

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian
 * DB Woodside as President Wayne Palmer
 * James Morrison as Bill Buchanan
 * Peter MacNicol as Tom Lennox
 * Jayne Atkinson as Karen Hayes
 * Carlo Rota as Morris O'Brian
 * Eric Balfour as Milo Pressman
 * Marisol Nichols as Nadia Yassir
 * and Regina King as Sandra Palmer

Guest starring

 * Roger Cross as Curtis Manning
 * Michael Angarano as Scott Wallace
 * Megan Gallagher as Jillian Wallace
 * Adoni Maropis as Abu Fayed
 * Kal Penn as Ahmed Amar
 * Raphael Sbarge as Ray Wallace
 * Alexander Siddig as Hamri Al-Assad
 * Scott William Winters as FBI Agent Samuels
 * Al Faris as Salim
 * Pat Healy as Marcus
 * Steven Schub as Samir Hussain
 * James Parks as Sergeant
 * David Michael as Guardsman

Co-starring

 * Jim Klock as Tuers (as "Supervising National Guard")
 * Sammy Sheik as Masheer Abu-Marzuq
 * Shaun Majumder as Hasan Numair
 * Bruce Gerard Brown as Escort Guard

Uncredited

 * Harry Lennix as Walid Al-Rezani
 * Hrach Titizian as Zamil Kouri

Background information and notes

 * Third episode in a 4 hour, 2 night premiere.
 * Harry Lennix gets no screen credit in this (and only this) episode despite the importance of his role.
 * Continuity error: When Scott Wallace is captured by Ahmed, they arrive at Scott's house at about 8:15. But Ahmed only lives across the street, and they left his house around 7:45 in the previous episode.