George Mason

George Mason was the District Director at CTU in Los Angeles and later its Special Agent in Charge. During Day 2, while searching for a nuclear bomb set to detonate during the day, he was exposed to lethal amounts of plutonium at Mamud Faheen's warehouse in Panorama City, and was given "as much as a week, or as little as a day" to live. When the bomb was recovered, Mason flew it in a plane into the Mojave Desert to detonate safely and died in the blast.

Before Day 1
George Mason graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Science. He joined the Counter Terrorist Unit, first working as an agent at the Los Angeles domestic unit. Mason rose up through the ranks at many other CTU offices throughout the country, including CTU Miami, CTU Phoenix, and the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Eventually, he was promoted to the rank of District Director, overseeing operations in the Los Angeles area.

Mason married and had a son, but was divorced as of Day 2, and had a strained relationship with John. He remarked to Michelle Dessler that he had originally wanted to be a teacher, but chose CTU because it offered him more money.

In August before Day 1, Mason ran point on the take down of Barcelonian heroin dealer Phillipe Darcet. During the transfer of Darcet's assets, Mason stole $200,000 and it put it into an off-shore bank account in Aruba.

Day 1
Mason was brought into CTU Los Angeles shortly after midnight to provide Jack Bauer with access to secured data nationwide for his investigation into the assassination attempt on David Palmer. When Mason refused to reveal the source of their information to Jack, he shot Mason in the leg with a tranquillizer gun and left him unconscious in his office for about a half an hour. When Mason came to, Jack had acquired information which implicated him in laundering Phillipe Darcet's assets and threatened to send it to Ryan Chappelle. Mason provided the desired information to Jack, congratulating him on learning how to play the game, then limped out of CTU.

Later, when Jack began breaking protocol because of Teri and Kim's kidnapping, Tony Almeida called Division, requesting that Jack be relieved of his duties. Mason arrived and initiated a lockdown, but Bauer managed to escape from the building. After Greg Penticoff was brought to Van Nuys Precinct, Mason was able to apprehend Bauer. Penticoff would only cooperate with Bauer, who was forced to break him out of the precinct. Bauer found the body of Alan York in the trunk of a car, shortly before Mason arrived. Jack then told Mason that Richard Walsh and Scott Baylor died because they knew information on a mole inside the agency.

Mason returned to CTU later in the day at the request of Ryan Chappelle, who wanted the recently reinstated Bauer under watch. Elizabeth Nash, who was on Palmer's staff, soon learned that her boyfriend Alexis Drazen was one of the possible shooters. Nash worked with Mason and Bauer in an undercover operation, but Nash stabbed Drazen with a knife. Nash was taken away and Alexis was brought to the hospital.



Jack and Mason worked on another undercover operation, with Jack posing as Alexis. Jack met with Alan Morgan, and Teddy Hanlin worked as the sniper. Jack learned that Morgan was paid to turn the power off at a specific location, but Morgan soon figured out Jack was an impostor. Morgan was killed by Teddy, who held a grudge against Jack.

Later in the day, Mason and Jack were led to a high-security prison in Saugus, California. Mason returned to CTU, while Bauer investigated the prison. He dealt with Teri Bauer for quite some time until he handed her over to his assistant, Rebecca. Bauer soon discovered that Victor Drazen, a man he killed during Operation Nightfall, was being transported to the prison and his son Andre Drazen was attempting a prison break. The warden, Mark DeSalvo, was killed and Jack was taken as a hostage.



Mason agreed to Andre and Victor's terms, trading Alexis for Jack. After transporting Alexis to Drazen's men, Mason pulled out a gun asking for Jack. Jack was released in a different location and he continued his search for the Drazens, who had kidnapped his daughter Kim Bauer.

After Jack killed the Drazens, he called Mason and told him that Nina was the mole. Mason asked for proof and Jack sent him a video of Jamey Farrell's death. Jack arrived at CTU just when Nina was escaping, but Mason and Tony stopped him from killing her. Jack reunited with Kim, but he discovered that Nina killed his pregnant wife Teri.

After Day 1
George was demoted for going through with the trade of Alexis on his own authority and was made the director of CTU Los Angeles. President Palmer did not follow through on his promise to give George a high level Washington staff position, which gradually grew to frustrate him.

Day 2


At the start of Day 2, Paula Schaeffer told Mason that she ordered upgrades on all the SIM software at CTU Los Angeles. Tony Almeida then told him that Division wanted a meeting the following month about LAX security upgrades. Mason said he was still at CTU in a year to "take me out to the woodshed and shoot me". He complained that he should be in Washington DC by now (as per David Palmer's promise in Day 1) rather than dealing with "old ladies who set off metal detectors with knitting needles". Michelle approached Mason and told him that Eric Rayburn's office had a request for him that he had to take care of immediately. He read the briefing that said that Jack Bauer had to be brought in. Disagreeing, he told CTU employee Eileen to get Rayburn on the phone and went off to his office.

Mason tried but was unsuccessful at getting a hold of Jack. He demanded to know why Jack needed to be brought in, but Rayburn said he would be briefed in time.

CTU Los Angeles became aware that a nuclear bomb will be detonated sometime during the day and as the Special Agent in Charge of CTU LA, it became George's responsibility to lead the investigation. After learning that Jack Bauer had a connection to one of the suspects, Mason was instructed to bring Bauer in.

When Chief of Staff Tony Almeida began to have difficulties contacting Jack, Mason suggested to NSA deputy head Eric Rayburn to have President David Palmer contact Jack himself, and asked him to aide CTU in the investigation. When President Palmer called Jack and spoke with him, Jack agreed to go into CTU and learn about the on-going investigation.

After meeting with Mason, Tony, Michelle Dessler, and Paula Schaeffer, Jack learned about the nuclear bomb and he decided to not become involved. His biggest priority became getting his daughter Kim out of the city. However, Jack agreed to help CTU if they were able to get Kim out of the city. When Jack shot and killed FBI witness Marshall Goren for no apparent reason, George began to question Jack's state of mind.



Mason sent an agent to go pick up Kim Bauer, but he redirected the agent to a different location, so he could follow up on a lead. Mason lied to Jack and told him that Kim wasn't at the location he provided. When Mason saw a report that says there was a 90% chance the nuclear bomb would detonate in Los Angeles, he packed up and left CTU for Bakersfield. While Tony felt Mason was leaving for selfish reasons, Mason insisted he was leaving in order to help the investigation.

While heading towards Bakersfield, Mason was put off track when he headed to a crime scene in Panorama City. Mason joined police officers in raiding an industrial complex, and a gunmen opened fire on them. The gunfire led to a powdered substance being released, and Mason was exposed. Realizing the area may have been a hotzone, Mason ordered the police officers to leave the garage, and a HAZMAT team arriveed.

As Mason is decontaminated, he contacted Tony and told him about the crime scene being connected to terrorists. Tony then informed him that NSA requested for CTU to send all their harddrive to NSA servers. Mason instructed Tony to call Ryan Chappelle at District and find out what was going on. He then learned from doctors that he has been exposed to radioactive poisoning and if he was lucky, he'd survive to see another day.



Mason learned that he would eventually lose all mental faculty and lapse into a coma. Tony demanded for him to return to CTU, but Mason resisted and claimed Tony could handle the crisis himself. When he learned about CTU being bombed, George decided to return to CTU. Just as he arrived, Paula was being transported to an ambulance. Mason prevented that from happening and wanted Paula to finish retrieving encrypted intel on the nuke before being brought to the hospital.

Eventually Paula was brought back into a conscious state and she was able to retrieve the intel, but moments after finishing her task, she passed away. When evidence proved Nina Myers may have been connected to Second Wave, Mason brought her in and refused to allow Jack to interrogate her, as he was convinced Jack would kill her in revenge for the death of his wife. George interrogated Nina and she agreed to help his investigation if she got a full presidential pardon, and President Palmer was forced to agree.



Jack discovered that Mason had been exposed to plutonium after finding his medication in a restroom. Realizing he could have some leverage there, Jack threatened to go to Chappelle with Mason's exposure if he wasn't able to interrogate Nina. George was forced to oblige to Jack's wishes, but he ended up pulling Jack out of the holding room when he physically attacks Nina.

When Jack told Mason that it was part of breaking Nina, Mason allowed Jack to continue his interrogation. Jack managed to get Nina to reveal her connection to Visalia, and they were placed on a plane. When Mason learned that Jack drugged Ed Miller, who was ordered to protect Nina from Jack, Mason sent another agent to take his place. Mason then ordered Tony to bring in Reza Naiyeer and Bob Warner, as they may have been connected to terrorist Syed Ali.

Mason decided to call his son John and make amends with him after he discovered a radiation rash on his chest. Once John refused to come into CTU, Mason had a police officer pick him up and escort him to CTU. When George gave his son access to his bank accounts, he became angered. He then became upset when his father told him he was dying. Mason hugged his son for one last time and told him to leave town before sending him away.

When Mason learned from Tony that Bob Warner was a consultant for the CIA, Mason became convinced that Reza was connected to Ali, while Tony had a difference in opinion. While interrogating Reza, Mason assaulted him and demanded for answers. Reza continued to claim that he was innocent, and George promised Jack he'd have someone pick up Kim. George then gave into Nina's demands by transporting her out of the country safely if she gave up the bomb's location.

After receiving the coordinates of the crash landing site, Mason sent search and rescue teams to pick up Jack and Nina. Michelle pulled up satellite footage and it revealed that a ground missile shot the plane down. When Mason's nose started to bleed, Tony confronted him and learned about George's radioactive exposure. Though Tony was in the position to take this to Chappelle and earn Mason's position, he was convinced Mason was capable enough to lead the investigation for the rest of the day.

Mason decided to break Reza by putting him in the same room as Warner. Reza was convinced that Warner was connected to Ali, and he was taken to Warner's company by CTU agents, in order to find out who wired the money transfers. After Nina and Jack were able to take out Coral Snake agents, Nina took Jack hostage and demanded for the death of Jack Bauer to be added to her pardon. Learning from Mason their was no other way to find the bomb, President Palmer was forced to agree to her demands.



As Mason grew weaker, he admitted to Michelle that he regretted working for the government. He revealed he always wanted to be a teacher and took a job at the Department of Defense because of the money. Mason then advised her to find something that brought her happiness and hold onto it. When Mason learned that Kim was involved in a car accident while being transported by the police, Jack begged for Mason to find her and he assured him he would.

After Reza and CTU agents were found dead, CTU learned that Marie Warner killed them and may have been the one connected to Ali. When Mason gave that information to Warner, he was convinced that Mason made it up in order to extract information out of him. Mason then started to speculate that Kate Warner could possibly have been involved, and he informed Jack about the situation.

When Mason learned that Tony was working on finding Kim Bauer, he became furious that Tony was using valuable resources in a case that didn't involve the terrorist threat. Mason lectured his staff on keeping on task, and he then learned that the nuclear bomb was located at Norton Airfield. Obtaining this information, Mason decided to have a team ambush the site.

Mason learned from NSA that the bomb was definitely at the airfield, and ordered all teams go directly there. Mason then informed that the Coral Snake team was a rogue unit to secure the bomb, and Jack would be treated as a hostile enemy if he got in the way of their mission. When Division wanted to take control of CTU and shut down the operation, Mason assured Ryan Chappelle that his office was handling the situation smoothly. When Chappelle sent an agent to investigate CTU's progress, he immediately noticed Mason's failing health.



When Mason started to lose his hair and when he blacked out while on the phone, Jack suggested for Mason to give up his duty as special agent in charge and it give it to someone more capable. Mason refused to do so, but he collapsed after meeting Paula Schaeffer's replacement. Realizing he could no longer direct the investigation, Mason stepped down and gave all of his access cards to Tony. He asked Tony to tell his staff good-byes, without revealing his declining health.

Despite being at death's door, Mason headed over to the airfield to see how the investigation was been going. When it became clear the bomb could not be re-triggered and would detonate at 11pm, Jack volunteered to fly a plane (that would be holding the nuke) to the Mojave Desert. Mason tried to convince Jack that he should fly the plane, as he would die anyway, but Jack was convinced his failing health would jeopardize the mission and his flying ability.

Mason managed to stow away on the plane and half way through the flight, he exposed himself to Jack. Mason handed Jack a parachute and convinced him that he would be able to fly the plane, and Jack should save his own life. When Jack had doubts of letting Mason fly the plane, George questioned Jack if he wanted to live, since he has had a tough time since the death of Teri. Realizing he still had Kim to think about, Jack decided to let Mason fly the plane.



After thanking George for his courageous act, Jack agreed to check on John once in a while for George, and he jumped out of the plane. George took control of the plane and flew the bomb to his own death.

Trinity
Mason is mentioned as being District Director during Trinity.

Day Zero


In Day Zero, George Mason was present at CTU when Jack, Nina and Devin returned from tracking Laszlo. Before he arrived at CTU, Jack recieved a call from Mason asking him what happened. Jack told him that he would explain when he arrived.

When at CTU, Jack and Devin met with Mason. Mason criticized the fact that Laszlo was killed regardless of CTU surveillance. Jack believed that Laszlo was getting information from someone inside CTU, making Mason believe that a CTU agent had Laszlo killed. Jack tells Mason to bring Division into the investigation, but he denies the request. A short while later, Mason tells Jack to go home after he finds out the files from Laszlo's computer have been deleted.

After Jack is attacked by Devin, Mason apologizes for not calling Division, explaining that he did not believe Jack about the internal threat. He warns Jack that no one will want to work with him if he investigates everyone, but Nina says she will. Mason sarcastically wishes them both good luck and walks away.

Background information and notes

 * In Day 2 it is noted that his password for the CTU computers is "Hendrix." His username and password to Division were GMASON and something with thirteen keystrokes, respectively.  After he opened his computer, the Urgent Memo was ranked as having "EXTREMELY HIGH" priority and that it was to George Mason CTU 71259.
 * After stepping down as Special Agent in Charge and leaving CTU for what would be the last time, George was honored with the second silent clock in the history of 24.
 * He was the second character to die while being part of the main cast.
 * In season 5, Christopher Henderson claims that he was framed for wrongdoing at CTU, and listed George Mason as one of the people possibly responsible, along with Nina Myers.