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

Jack Bauer has a final confrontation with Ira Gaines, David Palmer plans to talk to the D.A. about Doctor George Ferragamo's murder, Carl Webb changes his mind. At CTU Nina Myers discovers that a second assassin has arrived in LA, which means that Palmer's life is still in danger.

Previously on 24
''Right now, terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate. My wife and daughter have been kidnapped. And people that I work with may be involved in both. I’m federal agent Jack Bauer. This is the longest day of my life.''

The following takes place between 12:00pm and 1:00pm, on the day of the California Presidential Primary.



12:02:35
Ira Gaines and Kevin Carroll are shocked as the red van is in flames. They stand up, and Gaines grabs his sniper rife. Meanwhile, Jack and Rick are making a run for it. Gaines hurriedly gives orders to his men, and tells Neill Choi to cut them off as they try to escape. He then slams the butt of his gun into Carroll, scolding him for this failure. Kevin says he thought he could handle them. Gaines tells him to stop thinking. Gaines and Carroll run up the road.

Teri and Kim spot the smoke from the van. Kim wonders if Jack's okay, but Teri quickly tells her that Jack's fine, and they need to get to the water tower.



Rick is wounded, and is leaning against a tree. He doesn't think he can go on, but Jack tells him to shut up. Rick thinks he's slowing Jack down, and Jack says he is, so he'd better hurry up. He spots a mercenary with an assault rifle approaching, warns Rick, and trains his pistol on the man. The mercenary, Pollock, gets a radio call from Gaines, and reports that he has found nothing. He leaves. Jack and Rick start moving again.

Another group of Gaines' men is looking for the Bauers and Rick, so Teri is forced to go off the road, despite Kim's protests.

Meanwhile, at CTU, Nina Myers is trying to call Jack, but can't get through. Tony has the tax information on the compound, but finds that Nina is worried. Tony assures Nina that Jack can take care of himself, and that Bundy and the tactical team are moving in. Nina apologizes for being a little harsh since the situation has started. Alberta Green comes up and interrupts, saying she wants to talk to Jamey Farrell's mother when she comes in—over $300,000 has been deposited into her bank account.

David Palmer is in the back of a secret service SUV, and he wants to go to Maureen Kingsley and then to the District Attorney. Mike tries to talk him out of it, but Palmer is furious. Novick manages to convince him to talk to Sherry.

Gaines is talking on his cell phone with Andre Drazen. Drazen wants to make sure the camp is cleared out. Drazen says that if Gaines is able to deliver Jack's dead body to him, then he will have a second chance. Drazen hangs up, and Carroll looks at Ira. Ira makes it clear they have to catch Bauer or Drazen will kill them. Carroll wants to run away, he knows that someone will be coming in soon. Gaines says that the Drazens will hunt them down no matter what.

12:10:03

Bauer and Rick were able to make it to a water tower. Bauer treats Rick's gun wound, and says he should be okay. Meanwhile, Teri and Kim come to the conclusion that they veered somewhere and are now lost.

12:12:01...12:12:02...12:12:03...



12:16:28
Palmer is in the hotel suite, and Sherry is trying to talk David out of going to the press. Sherry knows that Mike is on her side, and says that going to the press won't bring Dr. Ferragamo back to life. David says that the police will find evidence, and Sherry tells him that Carl Webb is good and won't leave a trace. Sherry says that once he's President, he can fight these battles.

At the compound, Jack is talking things over with Rick. He decides he has to go back to find Teri and Kim. Jack calls Alberta Green and updates her on the plans. He says to pick them up at the water tower, and that Rick will be there. Alberta tells him the tactical teams are 10 minutes out.

Rick thanks Jack Bauer, and tries to explain this actions to Jack. Jack tells him that there's no excuse for what he did, and that he still kidnapped Kim. Jack says that he is going to have to live with what he's done, and that he should have acted sooner. Jack goes off to find his family.

12:20:57

Teri and Kim are in a shack trying to hide from Gaines men. Neill comes into the shack and beings to look around. As he nears, Gaines calls everyone back over the radio. Teri says that they'll head back when Neill gets to the shed. Teri's stomach hurts, but she dismisses Kim's concerns.

Neill comes in and surprises Teri and Kim, but Jack comes in. Bauer shoots Neill a few times, and he falls down, dead. Gaines comes over the radio and wants to know who's shooting. Jack decides that they have to leave now. Jack grabs the radio and leads them out.

12:24:46...12:24:47...12:24:48...



12:29:09
Erica Vasquez comes into CTU to collect her daughter Jamey's things. Nina and Tony come in to talk about the money, and Vasquez, visually upset, says she doesn't know where the money came from, and didn't ask any questions.

12:31:41

Gaines gets on the radio. Only Maxton and Neill haven't reported in yet. Maxton sends in his position, and that he's crossing the creek bed to meet up with Peterson's group. Maxton tells Gaines where Neill was. Meanwhile, Jack is still on the run, and is figuring out a route out.

Senator Palmer enters Maureen Kingsley's room and tries to talk to her. She has quit her TV job, and is upset with David. She doesn't explain why she's leaving, but it's clear that someone pressured her to quit.

Gaines and Carroll find Neill's body and discover that Neill's radio is missing. Gaines realizes that Jack has been listening in, and knows all their positions.

12:35:06

At CTU, Nina and Tony, eating a sandwich, think that there might be a connection between the threat on Palmer and Belgrade.

Jack, Teri, and Kim are waiting outside the water tower. When Kim asks where Rick is, Jack tells her that he's inside the water tower. Kim wants to go get him, but as she gets up she almost gets hit by a bullet. Jack pulls her down, then goes after Gaines. Before he leaves, he tells Teri not to leave for anything except the chopper.

12:36:46...12:36:47...12:36:48...



12:41:06
Jack is closing in on Gaines. Gaines tries to get a shot off, but Bauer is able to get shelter. Jack sees a mirror-like object on the ground and tries to grab it, but Gaines shoots and almost hits him.

Gaines asks Jack when the tactical team will be here. Jack says not to wait around to find out, but Gaines says he doesn't have a choice. Jack fires a shot as Gaines moves in closer. A CTU helicopter is heard overhead. Jack grabs the shiny object and temporarily blinds Gaines with it. As Gaines is stunned, he shoots him in the arm. Gaines runs away, leaving a trail of blood.

12:43:54

Back at the hotel, Mike has brought the District Attorney in, and wants to know if Senator Palmer wants him to sit in on the meeting. Palmer spots Carl and tells Mike to wait a minute. He approaches Webb, and tells him the D.A. is there. Carl says David would make a good president. Carl defends his actions, and says that he could either run the country or visit his son in jail. Palmer wants to know what Webb meant by that, and Carl suggest he left evidence that will point to Keith. This ignites Palmer's anger, but he prevents himself from hurting Carl. Palmer walks back up to Mike and tells him to dismiss the D.A. Novick is shocked by this turn of events, but David says he's going to win the election.

12:47:22...12:47:23...12:47:24...



12:51:28
The helicopter lands, and a tactical team rushes over to help Teri and Kim. The leader, Bundy asks Teri if she's okay. She says she's fine, but doesn't know where Jack is. Kim goes over to the water tower, but Rick is nowhere to be found. Rick escaped from the compound and got on a bus. Jack tells Gaines over the stolen radio that he's losing blood. Gaines says that he's still going to kill Jack. Jack suggests that he turn himself in, but Gaines said that it's clear he doesn't have a choice. Jack wants to know what's going on, but Gaines says he doesn't know. Jack wants to know why he brought his family in, and Gaines says that his employer wanted to 'make it personal,' and admits that might have been a mistake.

Jack comes out and points his gun at Gaines face. He asks Gaines who he works for. Gaines is stunned, Bauer says that CTU can protect him, Gaines says he can't. Jack wants Gaines to put down his gun as Gaines gets to his feet. Gaines wishes Jack luck as he turns around trying to shoot Jack, but Jack is able to avoid the bullet and shoots Gaines, killing him.

12:57:13

The CTU tactical team moves in and comes up to Jack. They have him get on his knees and drop his weapon. Jack surrenders. Bundy radios in, and says they have Bauer. They take Bauer back, and Teri comes up to him. Teri wants to know if it's over, Jack says it is. Bauer wants his family to ride with him, Bundy says that's fine. The helicopter takes off.

Split screen: Jack embraces his family in the helicopter. David Palmer arrives back at his hotel room, brushing off Sherry and Mike. In the bus, Rick cradles his shot arm. Nina brings a report to Alberta Green.

At CTU, Alberta Green says that Jack and the Bauers are okay, and are on their way back in. Nina informs Green that an assassin from Belgrade was paid to come in, and that David Palmer's threat level needs to be raised. Green assumes the assassin is the same one from this morning, but Nina says that it's another man.

In a garage or hangar, an unidentified man gets into a car, puts on his sunglasses, and pulls out onto the street.

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

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Leslie Hope as Teri Bauer
 * Sarah Clarke as Nina Myers
 * Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer
 * and Dennis Haysbert as Senator David Palmer

Guest starring

 * Michael Massee as Ira Gaines
 * Tamara Tunie as Alberta Green
 * Daniel Bess as Rick Allen
 * Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick
 * Željko Ivanek as Andre Drazen
 * Zach Grenier as Carl Webb

Special guest stars

 * Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer
 * Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
 * Richard Burgi as Kevin Carroll

Co-starring

 * Christine Avila as Erica Vasquez (as "Erica Farrell")
 * Devika Parikh as Maureen Kingsley
 * Al Leong as Neill Choi
 * Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Bundy
 * Pete Antico as Barnes (as "Commando")

Uncredited

 * Misha Collins as Alexis Drazen
 * Greg Hartigan as Agent Berkin

Background information and notes

 * This episode was the last episode of the initial run requested by Fox for the series. It was designed to end with the rescue of Teri and Kim from the Gaines compound to serve as a series finale, should the series not be renewed.
 * Just after 12:35, a crew member can clearly be seen on the left of the screen, kneeling, facing Elisha Cuthbert. It is right when Kim stands up, ironically saying "there's no one even around...".
 * This episode is tied with "Day 8: 4:00am-5:00am" for fifth-longest final split screen at 33 seconds. (See the list here.)