Day 6: 12:00am-1:00am

Noah Daniels and his assistant Lisa Miller engage in a seemingly-consensual, oval-office romance. Karen Hayes is forced to choose between her job and Bill's. Cheng obtains the circuit board and escapes from both CTU and Jack Bauer. While being arrested by CTU, Jack realizes that Audrey, though free, was not returned unharmed.

Previously on 24

 * Jack Bauer contacts Cheng Zhi, who is covertly holding Audrey Raines hostage. Cheng explains to him that what he wants is the FB sub-circuit board from the triggering mechanism of one of the Russian suitcase nukes, and claims he will release Audrey Raines if this device is brought to him.


 * Jack Bauer removes the component from one of the suitcase nukes, but is then confronted by Mike Doyle, who has been ordered to stop him. A standoff ensues before Jack is knocked out and Doyle apprehends him.


 * President Wayne Palmer discusses the situation with Jack Bauer. Jack explains he only needs to have the component on him so that he can make the Chinese believe he is willing to go through with the exchange. He promises he will sacrifice his own life to destroy it with explosives after they release Audrey Raines. When Palmer expresses his reluctance to authorize the operation, he responds, "Mr. President...you owe me."


 * Morris O'Brian discovers Chloe O'Brian helped Jack Bauer get the component. He forces her to explain the situation to Bill Buchanan, who then orders her off the operation because he can no longer trust her.


 * While announcing the resolution of the nuclear threat to the press, Wayne Palmer suddenly loses consciousness and collapses. Vice President Noah Daniels is raised to Acting President, and his first act as such is to order that Jack Bauer's operation be aborted.


 * While driving Jack Bauer to his meeting place with Cheng Zhi, Mike Doyle receives orders from Bill Buchanan to bring him back. Realizing this, Jack pulls his gun on Doyle and forces him to pull over. Jack takes the car and drives away, leaving Doyle stranded alongside a freeway.

The following takes place between 12:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.

12:00:00 AM
A stranded Mike Doyle steals a vehicle in order to pursue Jack who is now a wanted man. Knowing this, Jack drives under a telephone wire and, while using the electrical interference, removes his tracking device.

Palmer is still in a coma, and it is unclear if he would recover. Acting President Daniels is being accused by Tom of corrupt political maneuvering, and Daniels counters that the country needs stability. Tom argues that they are in alignment over some common goals, and they come to an agreement not to let scandal erupt over Daniels' earlier conspiracy to commit perjury. Meanwhile Bauer tells Cheng Zhi to go to a motel off Highway 305, as Cheng's men with guns move Audrey. Daniels is told by Karen Hayes that they have everyone looking for Bauer.

When Daniels is alone with his assistant Lisa Miller, he goes for a come-on, along with sexual moves, which result in him kissing Miller and saying "Call the media. Tell them the Acting president is a dirty old man". He then asks her to spend rest of the night with him. She replies "I'll go home and get a change of clothes".

Bauer is headed north on the 305, and CTU are trying to track him, although radiation (presumably from the nuclear weapon that went off earlier in the day) is making the process more difficult. Chloe gets into a squabble with Morris about encryption and files, and she asks another coworker (Milo) for files, thus serving as fodder for her argument with Morris. Chloe mentions Morris' arming of the nukes for terrorists hours earlier, and he walks off, upset by her comment. Back in the White House, Karen tells Tom Lennox that Peter Hawk of the Department of Justice is in her office and that it is unusual. Lennox warns her that Hawk has powerful connections and to be careful. Peter tells Karen that Reed Pollock is facing a death sentence for his involvement in the assassination attempt and is trying to make a deal with the government to reduce his sentence, by giving information about Fayed. There are intimations that Bill Buchanan, Karen's husband, is in trouble for having Fayed in custody two years earlier but then releasing him, apparently because there was no evidence against him, but the press and Congress want someone to blame for the deaths of 13,000 Americans. Karen is implicated as well, for protecting her husband. Karen asserts there's no cover-up about Fayed because at that time there was no evidence that Fayed was involved in terrorism, and the government could not hold people and deprive them of rights simply because they were Muslim. Also, Homeland Security was a part of the decision to release Fayed two years ago. But Karen is told that America has lost 13,000 people and there needs to be a scapegoat, either Bill or Karen.

Jack gets out of car near the motel, while Doyle is in pursuit, urging CTU to keep up work on the decryption of the phone call Jack had with Cheng. Karen informs Daniels that CTU is closing in on Jack but that they don't have him under arrest yet. Karen and Tom then try to discuss the Fayed release scandal, in which Tom suggests that she should fire Bill. Jack puts a C-4 explosive device behind a wall and calls Bill Buchanan and leaves a message saying he will not give up the circuit board, and a bomb rigged to go off with it when the right people enter the motel. He appears to be prepared to die for Audrey.



After Bill approves Morris's request for a transfer out of Comm, Karen informs her husband Bill that she has to distance herself from the Fayed release - and this involves firing him, in spite of their marital relationship. This degrades into an argument over scapegoating and who has to take the blame. She tries to assure him that she loves him, but he says that's not enough, that this is his career and that he would have stood up for his correct decision two years ago. He hangs up on her, not answering her return call. Chloe is still tracking Jack. Nadia is asked by Bill if Chloe has a lead on Jack yet, and tells her that he is stepping down on account of being fired. Nadia asks why, but Bill refuses to answer. Nadia presses the question, but Bill essentially dodges answering and says she's going to be temporarily in charge of CTU until Division sent someone.

Nadia announces Bill Buchanan's firing and maintains the objective of getting Bauer. Doyle has found Jack's location and is waiting for backup. He notices a limo pulling up at the motel, and teams are ordered to that location. Cheng is soon spotted leaving the car. Once inside the motel Jack demands to see Audrey. She appears, and Cheng hands Audrey over to him. Jack removes the gag in her mouth himself and tells her to run off to a nearby gas station. After she walks out into the open, Cheng tells Jack to give him the circuit board or else he will take out Audrey. Seeing Audrey walk away and fearing Jack is completing the exchange, Doyle opens fire and a shootout ensues. CTU tactical teams arrive on scene but Cheng escapes in a black Humvee along with two others. A helicopter pursues but is downed by an Surface-to-Air missile causing CTU to lose visual.

Jack is still in the motel, and is arrested by CTU agents who had allowed the escape of Cheng due to the hasty frontal assault. The three Humvee are seen splitting up and escaping into the northern mountains. Meanwhile, Jack manages to talk to Audrey, only to find out she appears to have had a mental break-down as she doesn't recognize him and keeps repeating "Don't let them do this to me Jack" to anyone she talks to, the same phrase she said on the phone to Jack. Doyle promises Jack that CTU will take care of Audrey. Jack is under arrest and, with Buchanan and Palmer out of the picture, seems to have no friends to get him out of this mess.

Memorable quotes

 * Tom Lennox: (to Vice-President Noah Daniels) It concerns me that you engaged in conspiracy and perjury to achieve political ends. I don't think that's behaviour befitting the acting president of the United States.


 * Audrey Raines: Help me, Jack. Please don't let them do this to me.


 * Peter Hock: Bill would be my preference, he's lower in the food chain. But you'll do.


 * Karen Hayes: (on Bill) Well, if he goes I'm gonna resign.
 * Tom Lennox: Haven't you already resigned once today?


 * Karen Hayes: I have to protect the White House, Bill, and in order to do that I have to distance myself from you.
 * Bill Buchanan: How are you going to do that? I'm your husband. (Silence) You're asking me to resign?
 * Karen Hayes: No, Bill. I have to fire you.

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian
 * 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

Special guest stars

 * Powers Boothe as Vice President Noah Daniels
 * and Kim Raver as Audrey Raines

Guest starring

 * Chad Lowe as Reed Pollock
 * Tzi Ma as Cheng Zhi
 * Kari Matchett as Lisa Miller
 * Jonathan Adams as Peter Hock
 * Andrea Grano as Ellen Price
 * and Ricky Schroder as Mike Doyle

Co-starring

 * Terry Savage as Benson (as "CTU Guard #1")

Deleted appearances

 * Dale Dickey as Homeless woman

Background information and notes

 * Series regulars DB Woodside and Regina King do not appear in this episode, although footage of Wayne Palmer collapsing from the previous episode is shown on the TV screen in the Oval Office.
 * In a deleted scene, Jack finds a homeless woman in the motel. He asks her to leave because of the impending danger, but takes pity on her and gives her his wristwatch.
 * A picture of David Palmer can be seen in Wayne Palmer's office.
 * In reality, D.C. does not have the death penalty.
 * This is Audrey Raines's 50th episode of 24.