Day 4: 5:00am-6:00am

With Tony as her hostage, Mandy attempts to get Michelle to help her escape, echoing Tony's act of treason to save her 18 months earlier. Michelle tells Bill Buchanan about Mandy's demands, and CTU formulates a rescue plan. Cheng Zhi, the head of security at the Chinese Consulate launches a kidnapping plot of his own.

Episode guide
Previously on "24"
 * President Logan learned that Habib Marwan launched a missile with a stolen nuclear warhead. Palmer asked if Marwan would break during questioning, but Jack was doubtful.
 * President Logan was furious after hearing about the attack on the Chinese Consulate. Cheng Zhi revealed his proof against Howard Bern to CTU and warned that the mission against the Chinese could be construed as an act of war.
 * Jack sent Howard Bern on a chopper to San Diego.
 * CTU was ambushed as they tried to take Marwan back to CTU. During the mayhem of the firefight, Marwan escaped.  Meanwhile, CTU discovered that Richard Heller called Marwan a week before the attacks.  Richard confessed that he was with a man and woman, and that one of them used his cell phone.  CTU tracked down the couple, Gary and Mandy, and Richard gave descriptions of the suspects.
 * Michelle Dessler professed her love for Tony and told him that she was ready to leave CTU to be with him.
 * Mandy killed Gary to buy herself time to get away. She killed CTU Agent Lee Castle and took Tony hostage.  Jack Bauer found Castle's body and realized they were dealing with a hostage situation.

The following takes place between 5:00am and 6:00am.

05:00:00


Jack briefs CTU on the situation at The Mercerwood, the apartment complex where Mandy lives. He explains that he found Agent Castle's body and that he believes that Tony is being held hostage. Jack assures Buchanan and Michelle that Mandy must still be somewhere in the complex. They agree to send LAPD reinforcements and Curtis with another tactical team.

Audrey explains to Mike Novick that a satellite scan of the missile's potential flight radius hasn't produced any trace of the missile. Novick asks what the chances are of finding the missile, and Audrey discloses that the chances aren't good. She tells Mike that the missile uses stealth technology and therefore was designed to evade detection.

Michelle scrambles to find more backup to help Jack. She tells Buchanan to redeploy agents immediately, and Buchanan pulls her aside to remind her not to lose focus. He explains that everyone is doing everything they can to help. Michelle realizes that she is losing sight of the primary objective - apprehending Mandy. She agrees that taking Mandy into custody, alive, is the most important thing.

Tony is bound and gagged and shirtless in a vacant apartment. Mandy searches for background on Tony on her computer. She finds an article about Tony's dismissal from CTU, his arrest for treason, and his connection to Michelle.

05:04:44

Marwan calls Mandy to see why she hasn't checked in. She explains that she has run into a slight complication at her apartment, but insists that she's dealing with it. He warns her that he's leaving in one hour, and she promises that she will not be late to meet him.

Mandy tells Tony that CTU is very close to finding them. She questions Tony about his actions 18 months ago, when he committed treason and allowed Stephen Saunders to escape in order to save Michelle's life. Mandy asks if Michelle would do the same for him.

Audrey tells Palmer and Novick that a second thermal scan still did not locate the missile. She explains that having the satellite make another pass may take hours and will likely be too late to find the missile. Palmer asks her to compile disaster scenarios for the probable target cities of the missile.

05:07:03

Michelle tells Edgar to assign the backup teams to different sections of the search grid. He asks if she wants to review the formation since Tony is being held hostage, but Michelle tells him that tactical teams should proceed as if there is no hostage.

Michelle gets a call from Mandy, who sends her a photo on her camera phone showing Tony bound and gagged. Mandy says she won't harm Tony if Michelle helps her. When Michelle agrees, Mandy asks about the number of agents and their search patterns. Michelle tries to stall, and Mandy calls her on it and insists that that the northeast driveway be cleared of agents or Tony will be killed.

Michelle gets the deployment assignments from Edgar.

05:10:12...05:10:13...05:10:14...

05:14:06
Buchanan asks Michelle about the status of the LAPD officers. Michelle tells him that they have not arrived yet, and Buchanan starts to leave. Michelle blurts out that she can't sacrifice the millions of lives if Mandy gets away and the warhead detonates. Buchanan gives her a puzzled look, and Michelle confesses that Mandy called her and demanded she help her escape.

05:15:56

Buchanan immediately radios Jack and tells him about the call. Jack inquires about the details, and Michelle explains that she has to redeploy agents away from the northeast driveway. Jack asks her to play along and let Mandy think that she is cooperating. He promises to do everything he can to save Tony.

Michelle confesses to Buchanan that she wasn't going to tell him about the call. She says that all she could think about was saving Tony's life.

Curtis arrives at the apartment complex and Jack briefs him on the plan. Curtis argues that using communication tracking might be a better way to locate Mandy. Jack says that Mandy will be looking for any sign of Michelle's betrayal, and that they have to proceed as if Michelle had not told CTU about the call. Curtis asks what he needs to do, and Jack explains that some residents aren't cooperating with the LAPD's searches. He wants Curtis to instruct LAPD to arrest anyone not cooperating and then help Jack.

Buchanan radios Jack and tells him that the woman has not called Michelle back with further instructions. Jack says that the forensic team cannot find a usable fingerprint in the apartment. Buchanan explains that Edgar couldn't identify the voiceprint from the call. Mandy peers through a window with binoculars and watches police vehicles and personnel clear the area around the northeast driveway. She tasers Tony and he passes out. She tucks her gun into the back of her shirt, applies some lipstick, and leaves the apartment.

05:20:18

Mandy knocks on her neighbor's door. A woman named Shari lets Mandy in and reminds her that she's supposed to be staying inside because of a maniac on the loose in the complex. Mandy asks where a guy named Joz is, and Shari says he just woke up. A third roommate, Ian, asks what Mandy wants, but she won't answer him. Joz comes into the living room and greets Mandy as "Rothenberg." She smiles and then shoots him. The other two are horrified and frightened, and Mandy tells them to keep quiet.

05:21:07...05:21:08...05:21:09...

05:25:35
President Logan shows Palmer a photo of Howard Bern and tells him that the Chinese government is determined to pin the raid on the Consulate and death of the Consul on the American government.

Palmer assures him that CTU is keeping Bern out of sight until the crisis blows over. President Logan becomes frustrated and scolds Palmer for authorizing the assault. Palmer reminds him that if CTU hadn't raided the Chinese Consulate and questioned Lee Jong, then they wouldn't be making progress in tracking the warhead.

President Logan starts yelling at Palmer that there has been little progress in tracking and stopping the missile. He worries that CTU won't find the warhead before it reaches its target, which he believes to be Washington, DC. Palmer urges him to remain calm and confident in order to effectively lead the country. 05:28:02

Howard Bern calls Buchanan as soon as the helicopter taking him from CTU Los Angeles to San Diego lands. Buchanan tells Bern that the Chinese are still pushing to pin the attack on CTU, and insists that Bern work with CTU San Diego to fabricate an alibi with the local CTU office. An agent leads Bern towards an approaching SUV. Bern opens the door and discovers that Cheng is inside. The phony CTU agent forces Bern into the vehicle where he is held at gunpoint. The SUV turns around and leaves. The real CTU agents are tied up outside the hangar.

Bern asks what's going on and Cheng demands that Bern reveal who lead the assault on the Consulate. Bern insists that he doesn't know what Cheng is talking about, but Cheng tells him that the Chinese government will make someone take responsibility for the death of the Consul. Bern refuses to talk, and Cheng says he will convince him to change his mind. 05:30:46

Mandy calls Michelle, who confirms that the agents have been removed from the area. Mandy threatens to kill Tony immediately if she finds out Michelle is setting her up for a trap.

Michelle asks Edgar if they have multiple audio feeds set up to filter background noise. Edgar says that he's about to set those filters up, and Michelle yells at him for being incompetent. Buchanan and Chloe notice Michelle’s anxiety. Jack, Curtis, and a CTU tactical team are watching the exit from the apartment complex's fitness room. As the rain picks up, they spot a man and woman walking under an umbrella towards the gate.

Mandy calls Michelle again and says that she is holding a gun to Tony and that if Michelle is lying, she'll kill Tony. Michelle swears that CTU has left the area.

Jack wonders why Mandy is risking herself by being out in the open. He notes that the couple is walking towards a black car.

Mandy tells Michelle that once her car is clear of the area, she'll give her Tony's location.

As the couple gets in the car, Buchanan orders the teams to move in. Jack tells everyone to stand down, but Mandy spots two agents who are about to descend upon them. She tells Michelle that she sees the agents and scolds Michelle for lying. The car explodes and Michelle cries out in horror. Jack and Curtis run out to the street and confirm that the woman blew herself up and took Tony with her.

05:34:22...05:34:23...05:34:24...

05:38:48
Buchanan calls President Logan and informs him, Palmer, and Novick that Mandy killed herself and Tony. Palmer asks if she left any physical evidence that might help them, but Buchanan explains that they haven't found any.

President Logan asks what CTU is doing to find the missile. Buchanan reluctantly admits that CTU has no reasonable expectations of finding the missile before it reaches its target.

Palmer tells President Logan that their only option is to alert state and local agencies and prepare for the aftermath of the nuclear warhead. He also recommends drawing up a declaration of martial law. President Logan agrees. Novick instructs Buchanan to redeploy his agents and lead the disaster management.

05:40:22

Buchanan calls Edgar and tells him to contact Jack and have him return to CTU immediately.

President Logan furiously blames Palmer for not allowing the worst disaster in American history to occur during his presidency. Palmer is stunned by Logan’s attitude and finger-pointing.

Buchanan consoles Michelle. He apologizes for her loss but reminds her that she made the right decision. He assures her that she did what Tony would have wanted her to do, and mentions that the woman would have probably killed Tony anyway. He tells her that these things are a part of the job, and Michelle tearfully reveals that she and Tony were planning to leave CTU and start over. Michelle wants to go back to work, but Buchanan orders her to go home.

Edgar tells Buchanan that Jack refuses to leave the apartment complex.

05:42:52

Jack listens to the audio from Mandy's phone call and watches the video of the car explosion. Buchanan calls and tells Jack to redeploy, but Jack insists that Mandy martyring herself doesn't make sense, since she is a professional mercenary and not a religious fanatic.

Buchanan agrees but tells Jack that he is only being stubborn because he blames himself for Tony's death. He allows Jack to remain on the scene for 10 minutes.

Jack listens to the audio twice more using a headset and realizes that there is no sound of the rain from Mandy's side of the phone call. He tells Curtis and they realize that she must have called from indoors. They figure out which building Mandy was calling from, and they prepare the backup teams to move in.

05:45:32

From inside the apartment, Mandy sees the agents move back in towards the building. She has Tony uncuff himself, get dressed, and re-handcuff himself. As she leads him to the door, Tony intentionally steps on a piece of broken glass to cut his foot. They leave the apartment and walk down the hallway. Tony leaves a trail of blood as he walks.

05:47:07...05:47:08...05:47:09...

05:51:34
Jack and Curtis begin to search the apartment. Curtis explains that teams are searching every hallway and every unit. Jack stresses that they need to take Mandy alive. An agent radios Jack and tells him that he found fresh blood outside of apartment 208.

Jack and Curtis run down the hall to the unit. Curtis kicks the door in and they enter and search the rooms. They discover that the apartment is empty, but they can tell that Mandy and Tony were there because of signs of the broken glass and blood. Jack sees the bloody piece of glass on the floor and looks back out into the hallway. When he notices the trail of blood on the floor leading in one direction, he tells Curtis and they run after Mandy. Mandy leads a handcuffed Tony to an underground parking garage. As they walk between two cars, he ducks and spins around, knocking her gun out of her hand and slamming her into a concrete column. He kicks her, but she fights back. He knocks her against an SUV and repeatedly rams her body into the side of the vehicle. He head butts her, but she elbows him in the face and kicks him against another car. She grabs her gun off the floor, points it in his face, and tells him to start moving again.

Jack catches up to Mandy and Tony and yells at Mandy to drop her weapon. She uses Tony as a human shield and warns Jack that she'll kill him if he moves any closer. Tony urges Jack to do what he has to do.

Mandy asks Jack if he has what it takes to let Tony die while looking him in the eye. Jack tells her, without hesitation, that he does. Mandy believes him. She asks Jack why she should spare Tony, and then she realizes that Jack has to take her into custody alive.

Curtis ducks between two cars and ends up behind Mandy. Jack says Tony's name and Tony ducks. Curtis grabs Mandy from behind, spins her around, and punches her in the jaw. She falls unconscious to the ground and Curtis cuffs her.

Jack helps Tony up and takes his handcuffs off. Tony asks if Michelle knows he's alive, and Jack says that she doesn't. He calls CTU on his phone and explains to Buchanan that CTU apprehended Mandy and that Tony was unharmed. Buchanan tells him that he'll call the White House to update them, but Jack asks him to find Michelle first so that Tony can speak with her.

05:54:55

Michelle sits crying in her car in the parking lot outside of CTU. Her cell phone rings, and she eventually answers it and learns from Buchanan that Tony is alive. Buchanan patches her through to Tony, who explains that Mandy had the neighbor wear his clothes and pose as him. He tells her that Jack figured everything out and saved him. She cries and tells him that she loves him. He tells her that he's on his way back to CTU to see her.

05:56:16

Jack grabs Mandy by the throat and asks where Marwan is. She won't answer him. He tells her that he knows she is a professional mercenary and that he can torture her for information, but doesn't have time. He offers her a full Presidential pardon for past and present crimes in exchange for help in finding Marwan. Mandy still doesn't respond, and Jack explains that she can talk, or he can kill her. Mandy asks to see the deal.

Howard Bern is tied up in a warehouse. Cheng Zhi shows Bern the surveillance photo of him and demands to know who lead the assault on the Consulate. Bern repeats his claim that he doesn't know what Cheng is talking about, and warns him that he will have to be released once CTU realizes what happened to him.

Cheng smiles and says that CTU will never find out what happened to him. Bern is confused. Cheng threatens to put Bern on The China Queen, a container ship, that is leaving its port in San Diego for an 18 day journey to Hangzhou. Cheng tells Bern that he will then be transported 2,800 miles to Xinjiang, and remanded to the maximum-security labor camp on the border with Siberia. Cheng says that Bern's family and the US government will not be notified, and that there will be no chance of escape for the rest of his life.

Bern, who is sweating profusely, asks what will happen to the man responsible. Cheng says that all the Chinese want is justice. Bern finally admits that Jack Bauer lead the mission.

05:59:57...05:59:58...05:59:59...06:00:00

Memorable quotes

 * Mandy: So tell me, Tony. Two years ago, you put Michelle Dessler's life ahead of national security.  You let a suspect escape, and you committed treason.  Is she gonna do the same for you?


 * Charles Logan: I wish I was as confident as you are.
 * David Palmer: You need to be. Remain presidential. Demand nothing less than success from your people, and you will get it.


 * Mandy: Michelle, do you love Tony?
 * Michelle Dessler: Yes, I love him.
 * Mandy: Good. Because if I find out that you're trying to play me, the very first thing I'm gonna do is blow his brains out, and don't think there's anything you can do to stop it, because there's not.


 * Mandy: I see your men, Michelle. You lied to me, you bitch.  You are not gonna take me alive.  Got it?


 * Michelle Dessler (thinking Tony died): We decided we were gonna leave this... go somewhere and start again.


 * Mandy: Well, they're heading back in. Looks like my neighbors died for nothing.


 * Mandy: Do you really have what it takes to let me kill him while you're looking him in the eye?
 * Jack Bauer: Yes.
 * Mandy: I believe you.


 * Jack Bauer: (choking Mandy) Where is Marwan? (silence) That's what I thought... we're both professionals. You know I can get this information out of you, but I'm running out of time.  We never get second chances in our line of work, but I'm gonna give you one.  I have the power to give you a deal, signed by the President of the United States, that grants you immunity from past and present crimes.  In exchange, you're gonna help me find Marwan and stop this warhead from hitting its target.  You understand? (tightens his grip on her throat) Do you understand? (shoves gun in her face) You are either gonna help me now, or I will kill you.
 * Mandy: Show me the deal.


 * Howard Bern: I don't know.
 * Cheng Zhi: All we want is a name. A recorded statement naming the person responsible for what happened at the consulate.
 * Howard Bern: Then... then what happens?
 * Cheng Zhi: (gesturing) You will walk right out of that door.
 * Howard Bern: I meant... to him.
 * Cheng Zhi: As I said, all we want is justice.
 * Howard Bern: His name... is Jack Bauer.

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Kim Raver as Audrey Raines
 * Roger Cross as Curtis Manning

Special guest stars

 * Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
 * and Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle Dessler

Guest starring

 * Mia Kirshner as Mandy
 * Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick
 * Gregory Itzin as President Charles Logan
 * Louis Lombardi as Edgar Stiles
 * Tzi Ma as Cheng Zhi
 * James Morrison as Bill Buchanan
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian
 * Arnold Vosloo as Habib Marwan
 * Robert Cicchini as Howard Bern
 * Darby Stanchfield as Shari
 * Jonathan Del Arco as Ian

Special guest appearance by

 * Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer

Background information and notes

 * In the previous episode, Michelle told Tony to be careful after he had taken a few steps away from her. However, in the "Previously on 24" segment of this episode, she says it straight after their embrace.
 * Series regular William Devane does not appear in this episode.
 * Mandy is not referred to by name at all in this episode. Everyone at CTU refers to her as "the hostile," because they are unable to identify her.  She is referred to as Mandy in this episode guide because the audience does know her name.
 * Tony and Mandy are not shown again on screen after the explosion until Jack figures out what really happened. Viewers were made to think that Tony and Mandy were, in fact, dead.
 * In addition to not hearing the rain on Mandy's side of the call, Jack should have noticed that he couldn't hear the car door close, either.
 * Continuity error: The timestamp on the photo that Mandy sends Michelle on her cell phone reads 01_02_00_0237 which indicates that the photo was taken at 2:37am instead of 5:08am. The date, depending on the day-month-year order, indicates that the photo was either taken on January 2, 2000 or February 1, 2000.
 * Mandy and Gary's apartment number was 202. Shari, Joz, and Ian's apartment number is 205.  Mandy and Tony hide out in apartment 208.  The numbering of the units indicates that the apartments are in close proximity of each other, which means that the forensic team searching Gary and Mandy's apartment should have probably noticed her going back and forth between the apartments.