Day 5: 7:00am-8:00am

It's been 18 months since Day 4. Jack Bauer is now living with an new alias "Frank Flynn" and works at a oil company in Southern California. Jack lives with Diane Huxley and her son, Derek, in their house in Mojave, California. Chloe O'Brian has a new love interest, Spenser Wolff, who also works at CTU Los Angeles. An assassination on David Palmer and an attack on Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler prompt Jack to come out of hiding. President Charles Logan prepares to sign a treaty with the Russian President, Yuri Suvarov, and Jack is set up by conspirators who make America face its greatest threat yet.

Episode guide
18 Months Earlier


 * David Palmer warns Jack that the Chinese have proof that he led the raid on their consulate in Los Angeles. Furthermore, someone in Logan's administration plans to have Jack killed to avoid political ramifications with the Chinese government.
 * Dale Spalding, a corrupt Secret Service agent tells Bill Buchanan that he is under orders to arrest Jack Bauer. Spalding shoots at Jack, and Tony finds Jack unconscious and bleeding.  Tony checks Jack's pulse and announces that Jack is dead.  After Spaulding and Buchanan leave, Tony injects Jack with epinephrine, which restarts his heart.  Tony instructs Chloe to run interference with the coroner until Jack's body can be switched.  According to Tony, Jack has to be "dead" in order to survive.


 * President Palmer speaks to Jack over the phone and acknowledges that the conversation is the final one the two will ever have. Jack thanks him for the warning and the opportunity to serve him for the past several years.  Jack hangs up and steals away unnoticed as the sun rises...

The following takes place between 7:00am and 8:00am.

07:00:00


MOJAVE, CALIFORNIA. At an oil refinery, a foreman named Ned gives assignments to his workers. Those chosen go to work, but several depart without any job for the day. Among them is Jack Bauer, whom the foreman knows as Frank Flynn. Ned tells Jack that he's sorry that work wasn't available to him. Jack responds politely that he will try again the following day.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. In his brother's apartment, former President Palmer watches the morning news, which reports that President Charles Logan is preparing to sign his treaty with Russian President Yuri Suvarov. Wayne suggests that President Palmer re-write a portion of his memoirs, but realizes that President Palmer is reading the newspaper about President Logan signing an arms treaty with the Russians. Wayne points out to President Palmer that he is so engrossed in reading the article that he did not hear a word that was said. President Palmer apologizes and tells Wayne that he needs a break. Wayne expresses concern about President Palmer acting distant since arriving in LA, but President Palmer assures him that he is fine and that writing the memoir is putting him in melancholy moods. They both smile, then Wayne encourages President Palmer to get to work writing the memoirs. President Palmer looks out the window while Wayne types. Suddenly, a gunshot rings out. The window in front of President Palmer breaks. President Palmer is shot in the neck and falls backwards onto the floor. Wayne runs to his brother, who is bleeding and calls for help.

On the roof of the adjacent building, the sniper, Haas, puts down his rifle and moves away.

PRESIDENTIAL RETREAT, HIDDEN VALLEY, CA. President Logan walks to his chair and talks to Mike Novick and Walt Cummings about the arms treaty. Walt explains he adjusted Logan's chair so that Suvarov won't look down on him. They sit at the conference table and discuss President Logan's wife, Martha.

The phone rings. Mike answers it and stares at the wall in silence. President Logan asks him what the call was about, and Mike explains that President Palmer was just assassinated. Mike, who is overcome with sadness, states that President Palmer was in LA at the time of his death. He also tells President Logan that CTU is ready to debrief everyone on the situation.

At CTU Los Angeles, Bill Buchanan and Curtis Manning discuss the assassination of President Palmer. Curtis says that he will call ballistics since there were no witnesses. Edgar Stiles informs Buchanan that the President is waiting on the teleconference. Buchanan tells President Logan that former President Palmer was killed by a single 308 caliber bullet from an adjacent building. President Logan impatiently states that he does not want to hear about protocols, he wants to know results. President Logan pressures Buchanan to arrest or kill the person responsible by the time the Russians arrive. Buchanan, on the other hand, suggests that the President postpones the signing of the arms treaty because of a potential tie to the assassination.

Chloe O'Brian wakes up at her apartment and finds Spenser Wolff in her bed. She gets out of bed and tells him to get up and get out. Spenser starts getting dressed and tells her that the previous night was "incredible". Chloe explains that she doesn't want this divulged to the others at CTU because she doesn't want anyone thinking she's a slut. Spenser assures her that he won't talk about it. He walks up behind her and whispers in her ear. Chloe turns to kiss Spenser, but is interrupted when her phone receives a text message. She reads it and is shocked. Chloe tells Spenser that President Palmer has been shot and killed.

Jack watches a breaking news report on TV in a house. Jack tears up after learning that his long-time friend had been killed. Someone knocks on the door. Jack pulls out a gun and walks toward the door cautiously. Diane Huxley, who knows him as Frank Flynn and rents him a room, calls out to him from the other side of the door. Jack puts his gun away and cracks the door. Diane sees that he is watching the news about President Palmer and comments on the tragedy of the situation. She tells him she's making breakfast and Jack tells her that he will come join her in a moment.

07:11:22

Jack walks into the kitchen and greets Diane's son, Derek, who is drinking from an orange juice bottle. Diane tells Derek to drink from a glass. Jack offers him a glass, but Derek ignores the gesture and continues to drink from the bottle. As Jack sits down, Derek questions him about his past. Jack explains that he worked on an oil rig in Alaska, but Derek interrupts him and tells him that his friend's brother worked on the same platform and had never heard of him. The conversation quickly becomes an interrogation. Diane orders Derek to stop questioning Jack. Derek gets up and leaves, announcing that he's not hungry. Diane tells Jack that she doesn't need an explanation about his past because she trusts him.

07:13:33 Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler watch the news coverage of David Palmer's assassination from their kitchen. Tony drinks from his Chicago Cubs mug, obviously upset about the news. Michelle wants to call CTU and offer her assistance, but Tony argues that CTU can handle the situation. He also reminds her that Rick Rosen expects to see them both in an hour for a meeting. Michelle tells him that she's going to CTU. Tony grabs her arm, telling her not to go, but she kisses him on the cheek and walks outside. Tony makes a phone call and leaves Rosen a message about Michelle being unavailable for the meeting. Halfway through the message, he changes his mind and says that he won't make it either. A sudden explosion shatters the window in front of Tony and knocks him off his feet. Tony gets up and frantically hurries outside. Smoke and fire pour from Michelle's car, and Tony looks around for any sign of her. Tony finds Michelle's body on the lawn under a car door. He throws the car door off and gets down. He cradles her, crying. Another sudden explosion, from the gas tank, engulfs both of them.

07:15:56...07:15:57...07:15:58...

07:21:46
At CTU, Spencer informs Edgar that a car bomb detonated just minutes prior. Edgar confirms that Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler were targeted. He also mentions that he was friends with them. Edgar continues to look for a lead on President Palmer's assassination while he data-mines and sends a message to Spenser.

Spenser leaves and Edgar calls Chloe, who answers her cell as she walks down an alley towards her car. Edgar tells her about Tony and Michelle being the victims of a car bomb. Edgar reveals that Michelle was killed and that Tony is not doing so good. Chloe slows down as she approaches her car. She hesitates to get in her car as she mentally links the attacks.

Chloe watches as a white, unmarked van pulls up and stops. Haas, the assassin, tells another man in the van to go after Chloe. A bald man gets out and begins to runs after Chloe. Chloe tells Edgar that she will call him back, hangs up, and starts running. She runs through a plaza, pushing bystanders out of the way. Chloe runs up an escalator. Moments later, the bald man runs through the plaza and gets on the escalator. He scans the area for Chloe and rides up the escalator. Chloe, who had hidden behind an ornamental bush beside the escalator, stands up and runs in the opposite direction.

In Diane's house, Jack promises to help to her with a fence. Diane expresses her appreciation, but is interrupted when Jack's phone rings.

On the other end of the phone, a desperate Chloe begs Jack not to hang up and says that she needs help. Jack moves out of the house to speak with Chloe privately. Chloe explains that the three people who knew Jack was alive - President Palmer, Tony, and Michelle - have all been targeted, and she thinks that she is next. Jack demands to know what happened to Tony and Michelle, and Chloe tells him that they were victims of a car bomb. Chloe tells Jack that a man was chasing her, but that she escaped. Jack is shocked by the chain of events and Chloe tells him that she dumped her cell phone after she lost her pursuer. Jack tells her that she needs to go dark, meaning zero contact with anyone, especially CTU. He re-enters his private room and grabs a hidden bag from a closet. Jack knows that someone else found out that he was still alive and instructs Chloe to meet him in half an hour at a abandoned oil refinery in LA. Chloe thanks him and hangs up. Jack leaves the house.

07:25:35

At CTU, Buchanan debriefs his employees at the conference room. Buchanan tells his staff that Tony Almeida is being medi-vaced in and that a trauma team will be waiting. Curtis tells Bill that killing Tony and Michelle would not make sense, especially after they've been inactive for over a year. Bill explains that this is not a coincidence; the same people that killed Palmer were the same people that killed Michelle and traumatized Tony. A female agent comes in and tells Buchanan that the DOD liaison is here.

At CTU entrance, Audrey Raines (the DOD liaison) enters the place mesmerized by the many people working and that in this office, two of the men she loved have died. Bill welcomes her in through the door. Audrey expresses her condolences on Michelle's death. Bill accepts them while Audrey explains Walt Cummings contacted her on the way in. Bill honestly tells Audrey that President Logan is making a mistake signing this arms treaty. Audrey doesn't disagree but explains that even though they both dislike the Commander-in-Chief's decision, it's his call anyway. Bill has a station prepared for Audrey so later, they can go over the revised security protocols.

07:27:29

At Logan's retreat, The President gives an speech on the recently assassinated David Palmer of how he was a great leader and President, a man of truth and honor with influences that will be felt for generations to come.

In Martha Logan's room, her secretary, Evelyn has just finished getting Martha's hair ready for the press. Evelyn tells the First Lady she looks beautiful. Martha smiles and complains that "she looks like a wedding cake". Much to Evelyn's dismay and shock, Martha plunges her face into into the water of the sink and comes out, water dripping from her face, completely damaging her makeup and hair. "Let's start over", says Martha simply. Suddenly, the door knocks. Evelyn gets it and Walt Cummings comes in, asking if the First Lady is ready. Evelyn replies,"Not quite." She also tells him if he disclosed the assassination of Palmer to her. Walt says no. Martha speaks out saying she can hear Walt and Evelyn talking like she's not there. Walt asks Evelyn to be excused and she leaves. Martha comes in explaining her lateness, that she's having a bad hair day. After moments of conversation, Walt confesses that David Palmer was killed; assassinated. Martha on the verge of tears, ask why she wasn't told about this...then it hits her. She thinks about something. She then tells Walt, she needs to see her husband immediately. Walt explains that Logan is doing damage control. Martha tells him that she needs to see Logan now. Martha leaves the room.

07:30:16

Walt runs after her telling Agent North not to let her get to the press conference. Logan continues his speech, then Martha walks toward the stage but is stopped by Agent John about a few yards from Logan. Martha threatens the agent but Walt arrives with Mike Novick and tells her to stop. They convince her to wait until after his speech to talk with him.

07:31:52...07:31:53...07:31:54...

07:37:34
Split screen: Bill at the conference; Audrey at her desk; Jack driving a long distance; a close-up of Jack in his car. 07:34:39. Normal screen.

Jack arrives at the refinery in his car. He gets out. Behind him, a SUV parks. The emergency helicopter pilot works near his chopper, then Jack neutralizes the guard by punching him out cold. Jack drags the body out of sight when he hears a noise. He gets out his gun and kicks away a few boxes, revealing Derek. Derek pleads that he's sorry that he followed Jack and doesn't want to be harmed. Having no choice but to take him along, Jack grabs him to the helicopter and they go inside.

Back at CTU, Tony Almeida lies on a gurney being wheeled into the medical clinic. Bill and Curtis look at Tony from the outside the room. The doctors and nurses prepare to treat him. Curtis wants to talk to Tony before he enters surgery but Buchanan tells him he's non-responsive because of his head-trauma from the explosion. The doctors don't know if Tony will ever speak again after the pressure on his head is relieved. Bill tells the doctors he wants real-time updates. Curtis tells Buchanan that he found a connection with Tony and Palmer as they walk toward the main offices.

07:39:47

One call that Tony took with Palmer particularly was the day Jack Bauer was killed. Curtis thinks Tony hid something about Jack's "death".

In the helicopter flying to LA, Derek asks "Frank" if he's kidnapping him. Jack says no and tells him they're going to LA. He took him along because Derek would have called the police. Derek asks,"Who are you?" Jack responds,"Someone who's not supposed to still be alive." Jack calls Diane after Derek questions Jack's motives. Jack tells Diane that Derek and him are in a helicopter bound for LA. Jack states that she must drive to LA to pick up Derek. Diane is scared of all that's happening, and talks to Derek, who says he's fine. Jack hangs up, saying what he needs to do in LA won't matter if Derek calls police.

Back at the Presidential retreat, Martha waits for Charles, who just then enters the room.

07:41:48

Logan asks if Martha is all right because of the medication she has yet to take. Martha says yes, and states that David was probably killed because of what he was about to tell her on the phone yesterday. Martha says Palmer was calling because it concerned national security and Logan. Logan shakes off her belief, hinting that Palmer might've not called her because of his access to her. Martha begins to think Logan doesn't trust what she's saying; that she's having delusions or being a fool. Martha walks away to the door, saddened that Logan doesn't believe her. Logan tries to lighten up with his wife by saying he'll have Walt look into it. President Suvarov and his wife are arriving in one hour and he needs her there by his side. Martha smiles and hugs Charles. Moments later, Logan walks out and talks to Walt Cummings. Walt asks if she's all right. Logan orders Walt to do nothing of this matter, after telling him that Martha is delusional; in the middle of her consipracy theories. Logan walks away while Walt is noticably perturbed.

07:44:32...07:44:33...07:44:34

07:50:13
At CTU, Edgar worries about Chloe because she hasn't returned her phone calls or arrived there. Spencer assures him that Chloe is all right and confesses that he saw her earlier. Edgar realizes the two are dating.

At the refinery, Chloe arrives in a taxi. She gets out and crawls through a fence. She gets caught and struggles loose, leaving her jacket and cutting herself. Jack lands the helicopter after explaining to Derek that they're here to see a friend. Jack gets out and calls out to Chloe. They embrace. Chloe asks what's happening but Jack will tell her everything they can find out in the car. But Chloe didn't come in a car, she took a taxi. Just then, a car drives up to the gate. A few more vehicles drive up, too. Jack realizes Chloe was followed by the assassins and they go inside the helicopter.

07:53:15

Jack tries to fly the helicopter but it's not up to speed. They get out and Jack throws smoke grenades to blind the assassins. Jack gives Chloe a gun to protect Derek and they hide in the refinery.

Jack puts his bag over his shoulder and takes out his gun to take the conspirators down one by one. Haas directs his bald henchman to cut Bauer off. Jack sneaks up behind the henchman and stabs him after a quick fight. Haas goes inside the refinery while Chloe and Derek are hiding. A black car tries to run over Bauer. Jack stands in the way of their car and shoots through the windscreen killing the driver and passenger. The car crashes. He drops a clip and reloads his gun. Jack, gun drawn, goes after Haas, who is approaching Chloe and Derek. Before Haas can kill them, Jack shoots him in the leg. Chloe spins around and shoots Haas three times. Jack tells her to hold her fire and kicks away Haas' weapon. Jack tells Chloe and Derek to walk away. Jack interrogates Haas, promising to get him medical attention if he talks. Haas confesses that Palmer was the primary target; Tony and Michelle were secondary targets to make it look like Jack killed them; to set him up. They killed Palmer to shut him up about the day's events. Jack thinks that Haas was the one that killed Palmer. His notion is confirmed when Jack asks Haas and gets a straight answer.

Split screen: Jack is deeply angered and silent; Tony is in surgery; Derek watches Jack and Haas; Evelyn gets Martha ready; Logan prepares for the summit. Normal screen. Jack asks who is Haas's employer but he tells him that he doesn't know; they never use names and Jack knows that. Haas tells him to keep his end of the bargain, and take him to a hospital.

Jack gets up, stands in front of Haas and shoots him in cold-blood. Derek and Chloe are shocked while Jack calmly lowers his gun.

07:59:57...07:59:58...07:59:59...08:00:00

Memorable quotes

 * Martha Logan (before plunging her face into the sink): I look like a wedding cake.


 * Charles Logan: What is it, Mike?
 * Mike Novick: David Palmer's been assassinated.
 * Charles Logan: What? Where?
 * Mike Novick: Los Angeles. It just happened.


 * Martha Logan (to a Secret Service Agent): I will have your family eating dog food out of a can!


 * Derek Huxley: Who are you?
 * Jack Bauer: Someone who is not supposed to still be alive.


 * Diane Huxley: You're scaring me.
 * Jack Bauer: Diane, do you remember this morning when you said you trusted me? Right now, I need you to trust me.


 * Chloe O'Brian: You know, um, arrogance doesn't turn me on. I've read that some women respond to it, but I'm just letting you know - I don't.


 * Edgar Stiles: [Chloe] sounded strange when I talked to her.
 * Spenser Wolff: She always sounds strange.


 * Chloe O'Brian: It’s them! How did they find me?
 * Jack Bauer: I don’t think they ever lost you.


 * Haas: That's all I know. Now take me to a hospital.
 * Jack Bauer: Yeah. (Shoots him dead)

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Kim Raver as Audrey Raines
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian
 * Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
 * 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 First Lady Martha Logan

Special guest star

 * Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle Dessler

Guest starring

 * Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick
 * Connie Britton as Diane Huxley
 * Brady Corbet as Derek Huxley
 * Sandrine Holt as Evelyn Martin
 * Jonah Lotan as Spenser Wolff
 * John Allen Nelson as Walt Cummings
 * DB Woodside as Wayne Palmer
 * Thomas Vincent Kelly as Marc Besson
 * Jeff Kober as Haas
 * Eric Winzenried as Terrorist

Special guest appearance by

 * Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer

Co-starring

 * Eddie Mekka as Foreman
 * Kevin Scott Allen as Cab Driver
 * John Beard as Himself
 * Marci Michelle as Jackie
 * Michael Jacey as Secret Service Agent John

Background information and notes
This is the last appearance of Tony Almeida's coffee mug so far.
 * This episode is the season premiere of 24's fifth season.
 * Prior to the airing of the season premiere, the show released Jack's number 888-9-24-JACK as a promo tool.
 * FOX aired a two-hour, two-night premiere, using the same format as the Season 4 premiere.
 * The Season 5 Prequel on the Season 4 DVD takes place six months before this episode.
 * This episode marks the final appearances of former series regulars Reiko Aylesworth, who appeared in a total of 62 episodes, and Dennis Haysbert, who appeared in 79 episodes.
 * The names of the other workers called by Ned the foreman at the very beginning of the episode are the names of the crew members.
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub, Louis Lombardi, Gregory Itzin, Jean Smart, and James Morrison join the regular cast as of this episode. Carlos Bernard is also a series regular after his stint as a Special Guest Star last season. Jean Smart gets the "and" credit in the main cast.
 * This episode airing time was delayed 13 minutes in the Eastern & Central zones by the NFL playoff Carolina/Chicago game.
 * Chloe's car in the Day 5 prequel is the same in this episode.
 * About 35 million people across the country watched this premiere.
 * This is one of only four episodes this season to feature the entire main cast. The other episodes are 11:00am-12:00pm, 5:00pm-6:00pm and 7:00pm-8:00pm.
 * Of all of 24's season premieres, this episode was the only to feature Jack Bauer in the opening scene.