Stephen Saunders

Stephen Saunders was a former MI6 agent and SAS soldier. After working with Jack Bauer on Operation Nightfall, Saunders was presumed dead for several years. Eventually he contacted his daughter Jane and returned to the United States. He then became involved in terrorist activity, wanting to make the government pay for his suffering in Serbia.

Saunders was seen with several known terrorists before Day Three.

Before Day 3
Two years prior to the events that took place in Day 1 (6 and a half years before Day 3), Saunders was assigned to work with Jack Bauer on Operation Nightfall. The mission, which was authorized by Senator David Palmer, required a Delta Strike Team to take out Victor Drazen, a Balkan war criminal.

Bauer was ordered to gather a six-man team, that would infiltrate Kosovo by air, eliminate the threat posed by Drazen, and move to a distant extraction point where they would be extracted by a helicopter. MI6 loaned Saunders to the United States for the operation.

During the mission, things went wrong and an explosion ending up killing Drazen's wife and daughter, along with Drazen himself. Bauer's team was ambushed and he thought he was the only one to survive the operation. It was later revealed in Day 1, that Drazen had a double pose as him and he wasn't in the explosion.

Saunders was held prisoner by the Serbian government, and the US government refused to negotiate to get him released. Eventually Saunders was freed and he lived a life in England. Four years prior to the events that took place in Day 3, Saunders contacted his daughter Jane. His wife died six months prior to the time he contacted Jane.

Eventually Saunders gained access to the deadly Cordilla Virus, which could cause a wide-spread epidemic that would kill millions of lives. Saunders manage to produce 11 vials of the virus, and he handed them to many of his associates. Among the people that were involved in the Cordilla virus plot were Michael Amador, Marcus Alvers, and Nina Myers.

Day 3
After killing associate Michael Amador through a car bomb, Stephen Saunders called Jack Bauer and demanded to speak with President David Palmer. Saunders spoke with the president and told him about releasing a vial of the Cordilla virus in the Chandler Plaza Hotel. He informed Palmer that he would releasing more vials, if his demands were not met.

Saunders first demand was to have Secret Service pick up a package and bring it to Palmer. After Aaron Pierce proved the package was safe, Palmer discovered a non-traceable phone. Saunders called him and told him this would be their way of communicating with each other. His first demand was for Palmer to hold a press conference, on any political issue, and use the phrase "the sky is falling" somewhere in his speech.

When Ryan Chappelle began to run money traces, Saunders saw this as a threat to him and he wanted Chappelle dead. Saunders contacted Palmer and ordered the execution of Chappelle, or he would release another vial. He gave Palmer a location and wants Chappelle's body given to his men by 7am. After struggling with the decision, Palmer is forced to agree and has Jack Bauer carry out the task.

CTU was able to trace Saunders' location and Chase Edmunds ran the operation, while Jack used a helicopter to transport Chappelle to the junkyard. When Chase learned that Saunders was using a device to relay calls from the location, Jack was forced to go through with the execution. After shooting Chappelle in the head, Saunders men took Chappelle into their van and Jack headed back to CTU.

When CTU learned that Saunders had a daughter, they grabbed Jane and began interrogating her. When it became apparent that Jane had no useful information, Jack had Jane call Saunders on his private line. Saunders picked up and his associate Osterlind discovered the call was being monitored. Saunders spoke with Jack, and Adam Kaufman and Chloe O'Brian were able to close-in on a location.

Osterlind insisted on leaving the building, but Saunders was convinced that CTU would use satellite to pick up on their location. When Osterlind refused to stay, Saunders shot and killed him. He then patinetly waited for CTU to arrive and corner the building.

After Jack Bauer demanded for Saunders to surrender, Saunders called Tony Almeida, the Special Agent in Charge of CTU Los Angeles. Saunders demanded for Tony to clear a path for him, and Tony asked why he would do that. Saunders then provided proof that his men grabbed Michelle Dessler, Tony's wife, after she left the Chandler Plaza Hotel and he will kill her if Tony doesn't follow his demands.

Tony was forced to comply, and he told Agent Tom Baker to follow a Code 9 and move everyone into the front. After Baker lead everybody away, Saunders walked out of the building and successfully escaped. After getting to a safe location, Saunders called Tony and asked for him to deliver Jane Saunders to him. He said he would call back with further instructions.

After stepping down as the CTU director and letting Jack take over the operation, Tony grabbed Jane Saunders and began to escort her out of the building. When Chloe told Jack that Saunders has Michelle, Jack ordered a lockdown, but Tony managed to get to the garage and escape. With help from satellite, Jack was able to catch Tony and convince him to work with CTU.

Tony went through the trade off, and Michelle switched places with Jane. Not wanting to go with her father's men, Jane began to run away and Saunders exposed himself in the public. CTU and other law enforcement agents were then exposed and Saunders made an effort to escape. Chase, Tony, and the rest of CTU handled the hostiles, while Jack chased after Saunders.

Jack wasn't able to bring Saunders into custody, as a helicopter arrived and began firing at Jack. Fortunately, a fighter jet arrived and destroyed the helicopter. Bauer was able to bring Saunders into custody and he demanded to know for the location of the vials. When Jack had agents begin to drag Jane into one of the quarantined areas, Saunders agreed to cooperate with CTU.

Eventually all of the vials around the country were stabilized, except one vial. Saunders identified the courier as Arthur Rabens, who was located in Los Angeles. While looking through photos of people in a subway, Theresa Ortega arrived at CTU. She was mourning the death of her husband Gael, who sacrificed his life to help the people in the Chandler Plaza Hotel. Before identifying Rabens, Theresa shot and killed Saunders.

Memorable quotes

 * Stephen Saunders: Just give me the number.
 * Osterlind: Two to five million dead within the first 48 hours.
 * Stephen Saunders: [shrugs] Good enough.


 * Stephen Saunders: So, Michael... tell me how it went down in Mexico. [Amador slowly looks at Saunders] 
 * Stephen Saunders: You didn't think I would find out? 
 * Michael Amador: I didn't think you needed to know... as long as you got what you wanted. 
 * Stephen Saunders: You were stupid enough to believe that Jack Bauer had turned against CTU, and now you've got every intelligence agency in the country after you. 
 * Michael Amador: Bauer's story checked out. 
 * Stephen Saunders: Don't presume to tell me about Jack Bauer. What you did in Mexico, it was stupid, it was greedy, and it may have cost me my advantage. 
 * Michael Amador: Alvers and I still expect to be paid. [Amador connects with the bank via laptop] 
 * Stephen Saunders: The authorization code is 7QV78. 
 * Michael Amador: [Amador enters the code to reveal 10 million dollars in the account] This is only half! 
 * Stephen Saunders: I'll release the balance after I have confirmation on the hotel. 
 * Michael Amador: The deal was we get paid in full! 
 * Stephen Saunders: The deal changed when you went down to Mexico (pauses)Now, after you've hit the hotel, you'll get the rest of your money. [Saunders gives one vial of the virus to Alvers and leaves]


 * Stephen Saunders: I like to do things in phases. You should know that by now.


 * David Palmer: I don't negotiate with terrorists.
 * Stephen Saunders: And I don't negotiate with heads of state, so that makes us even.


 * Stephen Saunders: (last line) He's not here.

Before Day 1

 * Nightfall