Bill Buchanan

Bill Buchanan is the former Special Agent in Charge of CTU Los Angeles. Before taking command of the LA CTU, he was a Regional Division Director at CTU. He was initially sent to CTU Los Angeles by Division Command to oversee the exchange of Jack Bauer for Behrooz Araz in Day 4.

Sometime after the events of Day 5, he was married to Karen Hayes.

During the events of Day 6, it was revealed that he had released terrorist mastermind Abu Fayed when he was a low-level operative and had no evidence to continue holding Fayed. To protect the Palmer Administration from receiving the blame for releasing Fayed, Bill was forced to step down.

Personal

 * Wife: Karen Hayes

Education

 * Bachelor of Arts, English - Brown University

Work Experience

 * CTU - Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles Domestic Unit
 * Division - Associate Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles Office
 * Division - Senior Agent, Seattle Office
 * Division - Intelligence Analyst, Seattle Office
 * CTU - Agent, New York Domestic Unit

Before Day 4


Bill Buchanan worked closely with Michelle Dessler in Homeland Security restructuring, CTU Seattle, and Division. Bill and Michelle worked well together, but were unable to connect outside of work because she still had feelings for her ex-husband Tony Almeida.

After transferring from CTU Seattle to Division, Buchanan earned a position in Los Angeles as the Regional District Director, replacing Ryan Chappelle.

Day 4


During the events of Day 4, Bill Buchanan was sent to CTU Los Angeles, to oversee the ongoing crisis. Buchanan was put in charge of running the exchange of Jack Bauer and Behrooz Araz. However, due to both Michelle Dessler and Tony Almeida working at the Los Angeles office during the day, tension was constantly erupting.

Buchanan wasn't willing to just give up Behrooz, as he believed Behrooz might have sensitive information that Habib Marwan may not want to become public. Curtis Manning interrogated Behrooz and Tony did a basic questioning. When it was revealed that Behrooz didn't have any information, Buchanan decided to go forward with the trade, as it may be the best chance in finding Marwan. Buchanan had trackers placed on Behrooz, and one implanted in the back of his neck.

Marwan's men initially planned on taking out Jack and the TAC team, but their attempts failed. Buchanan became furious when Chloe O'Brian reported that all the trackers have been destroyed, including the one implanted in Behrooz's neck. Buchanan however became relieved when Jack told him he short circuited wires in the place he was being held. Jack lead a team over to the location, after Chloe tracked it down, but Marwan was able to escape and the hostiles destroyed Marwan's hard drive.



Jack brought in terrorist collaborator Joe Prado and both he and Bill agreed that Prado would only break through a physical or medical interrogation. Prado's attorney David Weiss arrived and took legal action to prevent Prado's rights from being broken. Prado was also guarded by a US Marshal, and Buchanan decided to take the case to the Justice Department. Buchanan wasn't able to find a judge to sign-off on torturing Prado, and he called the recently sworn in President Charles Logan for authorization.

President Logan refused to let Prado be tortured and Jack continued to push Prado, while Bill expressed his belief they would both be fired if they tortured Prado. Jack suggested to resign and for Bill to release Prado, so they would both be private citizens. When Prado was released, Jack knocked out the US marshal and physically attacked her. Prado eventually gave in and both Mike Novick and Audrey Raines disapproved of Bill's complicity in the event.

While on the phone with Mike, Bill suggested to have Mike get the president to sign-off on Prado's torture, so they can cheat the timeline. Bill then expressed his concern for Logan's leadership skills, and Mike agreed to help. Mike wasn't able to get the president to sign-off on Prado's torture and he told Bill that Logan wanted Jack in custody. Secret Service agents sent to apprehend Jack caused the operation to blow, and Marwan managed to escape. Afterwards, Logan realized he was wrong and decided to drop the charges against Jack.

Buchanan later learned that Jack and Tony worked together to raid the Chinese consulate, under the authority of President David Palmer. Jack needed to question Lee Jong, who was under China's protection. During the raiding, friendly fire caused Consul Koo Yin to get killed. Cheng Zhi blamed the US government for his death, and wanted someone to be brought to justice.

Though Bill was first angered at Tony and Jack for keeping the operation from him and Michelle, Bill agreed to help create an alibi for Jack's team. When Cheng Zhi came to CTU to question Bauer, Buchanan was able to help obfuscate Zhi's investigation. When it was learned that Howard Bern was identified at the consulate, Bill distracted Zhi, will Jack helped Bern escape from the building.



When Secretary of Defense James Heller got information out of his son Richard, CTU got a new lead on Marwan. Jack, Tony, and Lee Castle lead a TAC team to apprehend a female suspect. During the midst of the operation, Castle was killed and Tony disappeared. Jack called CTU and told them about the situation.

The hostile Mandy called Michelle and told her that she knows about Tony committing treason in the past in order to save her. Mandy decided to test Michelle's love for Tony, by threatening to kill him if Michelle doesn't clear an exit for her. Originally, Michelle was willing to go forward with it, but she broke down and told Bill about Mandy calling her. Bill told Michelle she would act like she was going along with Mandy's plan, in order to trap her. Buchanan assured Michelle he would do everything in his power to save Tony, but capturing the hostile was the priority.

When Mandy learned Michelle double-crossed her, she self-destructed the car she and Tony entered. Michelle was devastated over Tony's death and Bill comforted her. Bill told her it would be best to go home, and Michelle stepped down as the Special Agent in Charge. Jack later discovered the hostile sent in body doubles, and he eventually found Tony and the hostile. With help from Curtis, Jack was able to save Tony and apprehend the hostile. Jack called Buchanan to tell him Tony was alive, and he patched Tony over to Michelle.



Buchanan was later informed that the US government was handing over Jack to the Chinese, as Zhi captured Howard Bern and he confessed to Jack leading the operation. Dale Spalding arrived at CTU to pick up Jack, and Buchanan defended Jack's actions earlier in the day. While waiting for Jack, Buchanan and Spalding heard the lockdown alarm go off.

Chloe managed to track down Jack's location and Buchanan discovered Michelle and Tony hovering over Jack's body. Jack was dead and Buchanan broke the news to Audrey, who had a hard-time getting over Jack's death. After Michelle and Tony left CTU together, Buchanan decided to replace Michelle's position.

Day 5


During Day 5, Bill Buchanan was serving as the Special Agent in Charge of CTU Los Angeles. When President David Palmer was assassinated in LA, CTU was put in charge of the investigation. Shortly after Palmer's hit, Michelle Dessler and Tony Almeida were targeted. Michelle was killed in the blast, and Tony was wounded, and transported to CTU medical. Bill had Curtis Manning try to find a connection, while he briefed DOD liaison Audrey Raines on the situation.

After briefing President Logan, Walt Cummings, and Mike Novick on the Palmer investigation, Buchanan suggested for Logan to postpone the Anti-terrorism treaty signing with the Russians, but Logan refused. Later, Curtis informed Buchanan that the last time Tony and Palmer talked was the day Jack Bauer died. Edgar Stiles then informed Buchanan he pulled some footage off a security camera and in any given time, it would reveal the assassin who shot Palmer. Bill and Audrey were shocked when the footage showed Jack being behind the hit.

Buchanan came to the conclusion that Jack was still alive and Palmer, Michelle, and Tony conspired with him to fake his death. He put out a warrant for Jack's arrest and informed President Logan about the situation. Buchanan then came to the assumption that Jack was forcing Chloe O'Brian to aid him. After FBI agents detained Chloe, Buchanan demanded for Jack's location. Chloe refused and claimed Jack was being set up; Buchanan had her brought back to CTU.

When Chloe arrived at CTU, she told Buchanan that a man named Haas confessed to killing Palmer. Haas claimed that Palmer was the primary target and the other assassinations were to set Jack up. After claiming his body and bodies of hostiles were at an oil refinery, Buchanan decided to send Curtis to the location. Buchanan was then contacted by Jack, who claimed terrorists had seized the Ontario Airport and had hostages.



When Buchanan was notified about the crisis, he decided to put the Palmer issue aside, as Jack's intelligence may have been what saved the hostages lives. Jack provided CTU with intelligence on the terrorists, and Buchanan had Curtis Manning lead the TAC team. Lynn McGill from Division Command arrived at CTU, and decided to take control of the situation.

McGill insisted on using Buchanan's office, and Bill met his request. When Bill felt McGill was doing his job, he offered to leave, but Lynn reported that he was only supervising the situation. CTU then lost contact with Bauer, but Jack eventually called and told them that the TAC team would have to break into the airport through an emergency exit.

Curtis and his team re-positioned, but McGill demanded for the TAC team to stand down. McGill found a distress signal in a transcript, which shows that Jack is under the watch of the terrorists. Curtis and the team went back to the original plan, which turned out to be a success. All of the hostiles were killed, but Jack informed Curtis that one of the terrorists was posing as a hostage. Jack wanted to follow up on the lead, but McGill demanded for him to be brought into custody.

CTU learned that the hostile, Ivan Erwich, went to Hangar BB, to use the key card Anton Beresch passed on over to him. They learned that Erwich stole and smuggled Sentox VX nerve gas out of the airport. When President Logan learned about this, he demanded for Bill and CTU to find the 20 canisters of nerve gas, or the bodies will start piling up.

Chloe later proved that Spenser Wolff was performing unauthorized tasks with a higher security clearance. He also let a man named Hank into the building, who killed Dr. Paulson and attempted to kill Jack. Buchanan, Jack, and McGill interrogated Spenser and he revealed he was investigating CTU and Jack, under the authority of Walt Cummings. When Cummings finds out he may of been exposed, he has CTU taken of the nerve gas investigation. Buchanan wants to disregard the order, while McGill insists on following it. Eventually Buchanan is informed by the president to disregard it when Bauer and Aaron Pierce exposed Cummings role in the day's events.

CTU soon figured out that the canisters couldn't be set off without the detonation codes, as Cummings and James Nathanson double-crossed the Russian separatists. Edgar was able to intercept a call between Erwich and Jacob Rossler. Buchanan had Jack and Curtis lead a team into Rossler's apartment. When Rossler agreed to cooperate with immunity, signed by the Attorney General, Bauer tells him he won't get immunity. With not a huge time frame, Bill and Lynn tell Jack to accept Rossler's proposal.

When Rossler was killed, Jack was forced to pose as Rossler in order to meet up with Erwich's men. CTU soon learned that Erwich's men wanted to release a canister of nerve gas in the Sunrise Hills Shopping Mall. Buchanan and Audrey debated whether they should have sacrificed the lives of the innocent people in the mall, while McGill was convinced releasing the gas would help lead them to the other canisters. Logan agreed with McGill's assessment, and Jack was ordered to release it. Jack refused and though the terrorists still released it, only 11 people were killed. Despite this, McGill ordered for Curtis to bring Jack in.

When Jack escaped from custody, McGill started to become suspicious that Audrey may of helped him. McGill went to Bill, who admitted Audrey and Jack were once romantically involved. When Audrey revealed to Buchanan that Nathanson contacted her and was willing to cooperate, but only with Jack, he decided to help her and Audrey aid Jack. When McGill started to get a sense that people are going above his command, he had Bill placed in holding.

When Lynn started to lose control of CTU, Curtis activated Section 112 and had Lynn removed of duty. Curtis had security release Bill from holding, who took control of the situation again. When Bill learned that chatter indicated their would be an attack on President Yuri Suvarov's motorcade, Buchanan warned Secret Service and alarmed Logan about the situation, who was lost for words as First Lady Martha Logan is in the limousine.

Luckily Aaron Pierce was able to kill all of the hostiles attacking the motorcade, and Curtis found a blueprint on one of the corpses. Edgar tracked down the blueprint to the Thomas Memorial Hospital, and Buchanan ordered for the hospital to be evacuated. Curtis and the TAC team were able to find the canister of Sentox, and have it released in a contained area. No lives were lost in the attack, besides Viktor Grigorin.

Dr. Marc Besson contacted Buchanan and informed him that Tony Almeida had woken up and was asking for Michelle. Buchanan wanted to tell Tony about Michelle's death, but Besson was convinced it would've cause Tony to have a setback. Buchanan told Tony that Michelle survived the attack and was at a local hospital. Buchanan also revealed that terrorists were in possession of nerve gas. When Tony asked who was responsible for the attack, Buchanan revealed it was Christopher Henderson, who was being brought back to CTU by Jack.



Eventually Tony became suspicious that he was being lied to and he learned from a computer that Michelle was deceased. Bill was then informed that Jenny McGill and Dwayne Thompkins were killed, and it looked like it was done by a professional. Buchanan broke the terrible news to Lynn, who told Bill that his sister had his CTU key card. When Chloe confirmed that someone used Lynn's key card to get into the building in the last hour, he orders a lockdown.

When Jack discovered a timing device on hostile Ostroff, he realized that Ostroff has released nerve gas in the building. Buchanan ordered a Code 6, and had everybody evacuate the building. Chloe was able to use her computer to seal off the Situation Room, Medical, Holding Room 4, and Buchanan's office. Over 40% of CTU's personnel died from the attack, including Edgar Stiles.

While Buchanan worked in his office, Chloe continued to work on hacking into Christopher Henderson's computer files. Buchanan then learned that the gas would break the seals, and Curtis wouldn't be able to get the chemical responses team to CTU in time. Buchanan informed Jack and the rest of the survivors that if they didn't find a way to flourish the gas away, they would all die. Luckily, Lynn and Harry Swinton served as sacrifices and accessed the air conditioning system, preventing the gas from breaking through.

Buchanan was then contacted by Karen Hayes, from the Department of Homeland Security. Hayes revealed that she was bringing a team over to CTU. Karen arrived at CTU and decided to work out of Bill's office. Buchanan questioned why she was here, and she revealed that the Department of Homeland Security would be absorbing CTU, under the authority of Vice President Hal Gardner. Despite their difference in opinion on CTU's autonomy, Buchanan didn't reveal Karen and Miles Papazian's plan to take control.

Miles soon discovered that Chloe hacked into the NSA server, and he brought this discovery to Karen and Bill. Buchanan and Hayes demanded for Chloe to reveal what she uploaded from the NSA sever, and she revealed she uploaded the WET list to Jack. Karen and Buchanan called Jack and demand for the list, but Jack insisted it is the only way to get Collette Stenger, as German Intelligence Agent Theo Stoller agreed to give Stenger up for the list.

When Stenger implicated Audrey, Jack and Buchanan were convinced it is a set up, but Hayes insisted on having Rick Burke perform a medical interrogation on her. However, Buchanan and Jack were able to convince Hayes to allow Jack to interrogate her first. After the interrogation, Jack was convinced Audrey was being set up, but Hayes went forward with the interrogation. Jack was eventually able to prove Stenger set Audrey up, breaking her presidential pardon. CTU then learned Vladimir Bierko planned on releasing the Sentox through a gas company.

Shari Rothenberg discovered that Bierko planned on releasing the gas through the Wilshire Gas Company, and Jack and Curtis lead a team there. Jack is forced to blow up the gas company when Bierko released the gas, and the explosion causes all of the Sentox to be destroyed. After Jack took Bierko into custody, he handed him over to Curtis to be taken back to CTU. Karen and Miles then worked on their plan to take control of CTU.

Karen and Miles confronted Audrey and asked her to sign a document that blamed Buchanan and CTU for everything that went wrong during the day. Believing Buchanan's actions caused a chain of successful events, Audrey initially refused it, but signed in exchange for having Chloe stay at CTU. When Buchanan learned that Audrey signed the document, he felt betrayed and he decided to go home. Buchanan had no idea that Audrey only signed it to help Jack prove who is behind the day's events.

Buchanan met up with Jack, who handed over Wayne Palmer to him. Jack revealed that President Logan was responsible for President Palmer's assassination and the selling of the Sentox nerve gas. Chloe O'Brian later showed up at Bill's house, after escaping from CTU custody. She remotely logs onto CTU's server through Bill's system and helped Jack prove Logan was behind the day's events. After Jack captured Henderson, Bill and Chloe learned that Henderon's men were following Secretary James Heller. Heller acted as a sacrifice, driving his car into a lake, and Bill witnessed from satellite footage.

Buchanan and Chloe then learned that Henderson passed the audio recording implicating Logan to someone, who was boarding Flight 520, a diplomatic flight. With help from Chloe and Bill, Jack was able to gain intelligene on the passengers and who had connections to Henderson. After interrogating Hans Meyer and after Chloe voached for him, Jack realized he didn't have the recording. Chloe soon learned that Henderson passed the conversation off on Scott Evans, the last minute co-pilot.

Bill then got a call from Karen Hayes, who told him he had less than seven minutes to get Chloe out of his house, as a TAC team was on there way. Bill asked why Karen was helping him, and she revealed she has reason to believe Logan is behind the day's events. Karen and Bill both agreed that he should be brought into CTU, and covertly work with Karen in helping Chloe and Jack get the evidence.

Buchanan sent Chloe off to a hotel, and the TAC team arrived. Buchanan refused to give up Chloe's location, and a field agent called Karen. Karen told the agent to bring Buchanan in for furthering questioning. When Miles began setting up an interrogation for Buchanan, she told him it was necessary. Karen decided that she wanted to talk to Bill on her own. Miles soon became suspicious and shared these suspicions with Mike Novick.

Jack managed to get the recording, but Logan's partner Graem Bauer had a distress signal sent out. Admiral Kirkland informed the president that Bauer would use the plane as a weapon. Logan demanded for the plane to be shot down, and Karen and Bill informed Jack about Logan's order. They provided Jack with the location of a Los Angles highway and Jack had the plane landed there. With help from Curtis Manning and fellow CTU agents, Jack was able to escape from Logan's perimeter and return to CTU with the evidence.

Karen, Bill, and Jack all agreed that access to the recording should be limited, and that only Chloe should have access to it. Buchanan and Karen set up a meeting with the Attorney General, while Chloe cleaned up the recording. However, Miles became aware of the situation after asking Karen about all of the secretivity that was going on. He remained loyal to Logan and had the recording erased. Without any evidence, Buchanan was forced to tell the Attorney General they were having technical difficulties and would have to reschedule the meeting.

Without any evidence against him, Logan decided to drop the charges against Bauer, informing Karen that the evidence he saw wasn't reliable enough. Buchanan was then informed that Vladimir Bierko escaped from custody. Agent Davis informed CTU that Bierko's men attacked the transport van and were discussing a canister of nerve gas, and a bigger attack. Buchanan and Hayes both agreed Henderson was their only lead in finding Bierko.

Buchanan instructed Jack that they would have to give Henderson immunity, but Jack refused, do to Henderson being responsible for Palmer, Tony, and Michelle's deaths. After talking to Henderson, Jack agreed to help Henderson by staging his death.

Eventually CTU learned that Bierko planned on taking control of the Russian ship the Natalia, which was part of the treaty agreement between Logan and Suvarov. Bierko managed to storm the ship and kill all of the crew with a canister of nerve gas. Buchanan informed Jack that Bierko would most likely launch one of the missiles before Kirkland's jets arrived to destroy the ship. It was up to Jack, Henderson, and Agent McCullough to stop Bierko.

After Henderson disarmed the missiles, Jack called Buchanan and told him that Bierko and his men were killed, and he was forced to kill Henderson. Buchanan asked if he was heading back to CTU, and Jack said he was. Buchanan and Hayes were later interrupted by Chloe, who asked to get clearance for someone. Bill was shocked when he learned it was Morris O'Brian, Chloe's ex-husband. Chloe told Bill that Morris was the only one who could resurrect the audio recording.

During the time President Logan was giving David Palmer's eulogy, Bill and Karen learned that Chloe set up a meeting with the Attorney General. Buchanan and Hayes tried to cancel it, but Chloe insisted and revealed they had to be kept out of the loop, in case things went wrong. Chloe revealed Jack placed a transmitter device on Logan's pen, and she played a conversation between Logan and his wife. When the Attorney General learned Logan was complicit in Palmer's death and the Sentox conspiracy, he executed a warrant for Logan's arrest.

Buchanan decided to say his good-byes to CTU, but Karen informed him she would put a good word in for him, and he would be back in charge in no time. Buchanan then asked if Karen wanted to have a cup of coffee, but she turned it down. She asked for a raincheck, as she had to go to a meeting at Division. After Karen left, Bill gave Chloe a photo he found in Edgar's possessions.

After Day 5


Between Day 5 and Day 6, Karen Hayes helped get Buchanan's job back as CTU's Special Agent in Charge. Realizing they had a great friendship, Bill and Karen began to spend more time together and they eventually started to become romantically involved. They then decided to commit to wedding vows. 14 months prior to Day 6, CTU Seattle detained Abu Fayed and 19 other known terrorists. Seeing there wasn't enough evidence to put Fayed behind bars, Bill signed for his release.

Day 6


With a series of terrorist attacks occurring on US soil, CTU was making very little progress on the situation, until Abu Fayed contacted them. Fayed was willing to give up the culprit of the attacks, Hamri Al-Assad, for a steep price. He wanted $25 million and he also wanted Jack Bauer, who was being held captive by the Chinese. Realizing Jack was the country's only hope, President Wayne Palmer signed for his release, and Bill and Curtis Manning picked him up from Cheng Zhi.

At 6:00 A.M, the Chinese handed over Jack to Buchanan, who is shocked by Jack’s physical and mental state. Bill explains Jack the situation, and lets him know that Audrey Raines and Kim Bauer didn't know about his release. Jack then agreed to be used as a sacrifice. Bill and Curtis then drops Jack off at the location specified by Fayed. Buchanan then heds back to CTU and updates his wife Karen Hayes, who was working in DC as President Palmer's National Security Advisor.

When one of Fayed's men discovered someone had satellite coverage of Jack's location, Buchanan and Nadia Yassir became furious and suggested that they didn't have live feed on the location. It is then learned that Morris O'Brian and Chloe O'Brian used a non-government satellite to watch Jack. Buchanan demanded for them to re-positioning it and he said he would have their jobs if they could afford it. Fayed then gives CTU the location of Assad.

An hour later, Buchanan and CTU were surprised when they get a call from Jack, who told them he escaped after learning that Fayed was behind the attacks, and Assad was only in America to stop him and make peace with the West. When Bill learned this, he contacted President Palmer, who refused to call of the strike on Assad's location. Jack was forced to warn Assad. When Chloe uncovers that Jack helped Assad escape CTU’s attack and that Jack averted a bomb on a Los Angeles subway, Buchanan is convinced that Jack was telling the truth about Assad’s innocence.



When President Palmer and CTU realized that Jack was right, they decided it is best to work with Jack and Assad, but they were unable to get in contact with them. Fayed then called President Palmer and demanded for the release of prisoners. President Palmer arranged for the release, but CTU realized that one of the prisoners was an engineer that Fayed needed to trigger his suitcase nukes. Buchanan called the president and demanded for him to stop the release, but the engineer was able to escape with help from a dirty guard.

After Curtis and Jack ran by a lead that led CTU to the address where Fayed was running his next plan, Assad was pardoned by President Palmer if he continued to help CTU with the case. When Curtis learned this, he was furious and attempted to kill Assad, as they had past history. When Curtis refused to let Assad go, Jack was given no choice but to shoot Curtis in the neck, which ultimately killed him. After killing his close friend, Jack told Bill that he could no longer run the operation. After a nuclear bomb went off in Los Angeles, Jack decided that he needed to stay and help CTU with the operation.

When Assad was brought into CTU, Buchanan was very uncomfortable working with him and he then questioned him. Buchanan then began to realize Assad was on his side and he learned about a Russian general, who has had contact with Jack's father, Phillip Bauer. When Jack learned about this, he decided to follow up on the lead himself, and Buchanan thanked Assad for all the help he had contributed. Assad then left with guards, as he was being transported to the country's capital.

With Jack following up on the lead, which took him to Graem Bauer's house, Bill was focused on finding where Fayed was. He was then angered when he learned that Homeland Security had flagged Nadia, because she was of Middle Eastern descent. Bill then called his wife Karen and asked for her to talk to the president about this. Karen was convinced that Tom Lennox was behind it and agreed to talk to President Palmer about it.

Bill contacted Karen and asked her to tell President Palmer went to be ready for the debriefing, but Karen was unable to do so. Karen told him that she resigned and was transfered over to CTU. Bill asked why, and Karen informed him he would now in a couple of hours, right before hanging up the phone. Bill then got a call from Jack, who told him Graem was explicit in the robbery of the suitcase nukes, and was lying the entire time. Jack asked Bill to send a field unit over to Graem's house.



CTU soon learned that McCarthy found an engineer who could re-trigger the suitcase nukes for Fayed, and Bill put Morris on it. Morris was able to finish his job, and he left for the hospital to visit his brother Timothy. CTU then discovered the engineer was Morris, and Chloe contacted him via cell phone to tell him he was being set-up. Just as Morris began to head back to CTU, Darren McCarthy and his girlfriend Rita arrived and kidnapped him.

A little after 1pm, Buchanan was informed by Nadia that Graem Bauer died from a seizure, and he contacted Jack with this information. When Jack asked for Buchanan to break this news to Marilyn Bauer, Buchanan agreed. He was later informed by Milo that Chloe was making mistakes, due to her concern for Morris. Buchanan and Nadia both agreed for Milo to take over Chloe's post.

When McCarthy's body was found, Milo was unable to run a back trace on his last call. Buchanan agreed for Chloe to be brought back in, and she was able to identify Fayed's supposed location. Marilyn and her son Josh arrived at CTU, and Buchanan spoke to Marilyn in private. After breaking the news to Marilyn, Buchanan realized she didn't have any grief and had as much hatred for Graem as Jack did. Buchanan agreed to not keep Josh abreast of his father's crimes, and she broke the news to her son.

Jack and Agent Al Turner were successfully able to storm Fayed's apartment, but Fayed managed to escape and Morris was found injured. When Turner discovered a suitcase nuke, he called Bauer in, who contacted CTU. With help from Chloe, Jack was able to disarm the bomb, but she was to distracted and made a mistake during the instructions. After the bomb was disarmed, Jack headed back to CTU.



When Jack got back to CTU, Buchanan questioned him and asked about the report Agent Burke filed. Jack admitted that he broke protocols while interrogating Graem, and was willing to kill him when Graem confessed to order the murders of President David Palmer, Tony Almeida, and Michelle Dessler. In order to avoid an Internal Affairs investigation, Buchanan was willing to change the report, but Jack refused to allow this to happen.

When Jack questioned Marilyn about Dmitri Gredenko, she admitted she followed Graem to a house one night and overheard him talking to men with Russian accents. With this being their only lead, Buchanan agreed to have Jack and Marilyn identify the house, and Milo and a CTU field unit were placed six blocks behind them. When Phillip Bauer requested to bring Josh back to his house, Buchanan agreed and let them out of CTU.

Buchanan was later contacted by Jack, who told him that his team was ambushed and he believed Gredenko is behind it. Jack told him that he believed Gredenko's men were pursuing Milo and Marilyn and he set off to find them. After killing two of the hostiles and bringing Milo and Marilyn to safety, Jack called Buchanan. He told Buchanan that Milo was shot, but wasn't in critical condition. He also told Buchanan the real address of Buchanan's home. Jack instructed Bill to send a team to Gredenko's home and a small team to a junkyard. When Bill insisted on Jack going to Gredenko's home, Jack told him he had something else to take care of.

Buchanan, Nadia, Chloe, and Morris watched as the TAC team stormed Gredenko's home. Agent Al Turner revealed that Gredenko, nor anybody, was in the house. Buchanan requested for the house to be swept for evidence. Buchanan got a call from Jack, who told him to set up a perimeter around his location, as Phillip Bauer needed to be arrested. When Buchanan asked why, Jack told him that his father was complicit with Graem and the selling of the suitcase nukes to Fayed. Buchanan then learned that the only lead on Gredenko was Charles Logan.



When Buchanan noticed that Morris lacked in progress, he ordered Morris to give his workload to Chloe. When Morris insisted that he could do his job, Buchanan allowed him to continue working, despite the protest of Nadia.

Before Jack and Logan arrived at the Russian consulate, Buchanan called Jack to inform him about the assassination attempt on President Palmer. Buchanan told Jack that it was too early to know the extent of Wayne's injuries and the theory was that Assad smuggled a bomb into the White House. Jack told Buchanan that didn't make any sense, as Assad wanted to make peace with the West, but Buchanan informed him it didn't matter, as Assad was killed in the explosion.

Buchanan later learned that Logan wasn't able to extract information from Consul Markov, and Jack went back in under his own authority. Jack told Bill that he barricaded himself in Markov's office and was holding him hostage at gunpoint. Buchanan informed Vice President Noah Daniels about the situation, and Daniels told Buchanan that they needed to go through the proper diplomatic channels to bring Markov in. Buchanan insisted they didn't have that kind of time and Bauer was working under his own authority.

Morris later discovered chatter that indicated the Russians have captured an American agent. Buchanan ordered for a special operations team to be directed to the consul. He wanted the team to take Markov at force and rescue Bauer if they could. When someone from the Russian consul tried to call, Buchanan took the call, but someone hung up the phone on the other line.

Around 6pm, Buchanan gave a briefing and introduced Mike Doyle, the new Director of Field Operations, to the CTU staff. Buchanan revealed that he would be sending a special operations team into the consulate if Vice President Daniels sanctioned it. The primary objective of the operation was to abduct Consul Anatoly Markov, with the secondary objective being the rescue of Jack Bauer. Buchanan let Doyle take over the briefing, and he met with Charles Logan.



When Logan heard about the situation at the consulate, he suggested that he might be able to prevent a war with Russia. He insisted that his ex-wife Martha could convince Anya Suvarov to change President Suvarov's mind on the situation. Buchanan reluctantly trusted Logan's judgment and allowed him to make a call to Martha. Buchanan also allowed CTU agents to take Logan to Martha's bungalow.

Jack called CTU and tried to tell Morris where Gredenko was, but the connection was lost. Buchanan told Chloe to tell Doyle that the operation had a new primary objective, the rescue of Jack Bauer. When Martha stabbed her ex-husband, she was put into custody and Buchanan was able to get in contact with Suvarov. When President Suvarov demanded for Markov to surrender and deliver Bauer to CTU, Markov refused. Suvarov told Buchanan that Russia would support the raiding of the consulate, and Buchanan gave Doyle the go-ahead. After Doyle found Bauer, he contacted Bill and told him Gredenko was in the Shadow Valley, preparing to launch nuclear drones.

Gredenko and Fayed managed to escape from the Shadow Valley, but they managed to launch a drone before leaving. General Walsh sent out F-16s, but Morris lost the drones while tracking them through satellite. Once Jack arrived at CTU, Buchanan told him that they lost Gredenko. He suggested for Jack to be checked at medical and Jack met this request. Jack later came back to the bullpen and confronted Chloe. Before going back to medical, Jack looked over at Buchanan, as he was visibly upset.

Chloe later revealed to Buchanan, Doyle, and Milo that someone was relaying there satellite to the drone pilot. Doyle suggested for Chloe to check Nadia's system, and Milo insisted that Doyle was a racist. Buchanan agreed with Doyle's assessment, and Chloe discovered that it was Nadia's system relaying the satellite. Doyle and security arrested Nadia and when Doyle almost became violent, Buchanan instructed for him to stop. Morris managed to do a back trace and learn where the drone pilot was.



Before the TAC team left, Jack confronted Buchanan and told him that he should of told him about Audrey's death. Jack was convinced that she was murdered in China and he told Buchanan that once the crisis was over, he would go after the murderers. When Jack suggested to finish the investigation, Buchanan allowed him and had Doyle run point with him.

It was revealed that the target was San Francisco and once the drone reached its destination, the suitcase nuke would automatically detonate. Jack managed to crash land the drone in an industrial park, where there were minimum casualties. However, the suitcase nuke was damaged in the crash and radiation poisoning was released. Buchanan called Vice President Daniels and told him about the situation.

Chloe was able to intercept a call between Gredenko and an unknown contact. Buchanan had Chloe relay the location over to Jack, who lead a TAC team over there. Jack learned that a man named Mark Hauser was using his autistic brother Brady to get Intel for Gredenko. Jack told Mark that him and his brother wouldn't be prosecuted if they helped CTU capture Gredenko. Buchanan had no oppositions to Jack's handling of the field.

When Buchanan noticed tension between Milo and Doyle in the bullpen, he stepped out of his office. He learned from Milo that Doyle received evidence, recovered by Connell Johnson, that proved Nadia's system was breached. Buchanan learned from Doyle that he handed over the evidence to Morris, as he wanted to validate the evidence was reliable before submitting it. When Buchanan looked at the evidence, he had Nadia released from her holding cell.



Buchanan confronted Nadia, who was visibly upset over her interrogation and charges. Buchanan told her that if he was her, he would quit and seek legal action. He advised her that CTU needed her help during this time of crisis and Nadia agreed to stay on board. Buchanan later learned from Jack that he had Gredenko in custody. Gredenko agreed to help capture Fayed in exchange for immunity and safe transportation to a country of his choice, except Russia. Buchanan contacted Attorney General Graves and had the agreement written up. Buchanan learned from Jack that he didn't intend to stay faithful to the agreement.

Buchanan also told Jack about the policy issues in Washington. President Palmer woke up from his coma and Vice President Daniels was challenging him by having the 25th Amendment activated. If another nuke goes off, nothing would be in Daniels way of going forward with the nuclear strike against Fayed's country. President Palmer remained in office when Daniels withdrew the activation of the amendment.

During the sting operation with Gredenko, CTU lost audio with him. Gredenko double-crossed CTU and he cut off his arm in order to escape. Jack was able to capture Fayed, but Gredenko managed to slip away. Buchanan informed the White House about the capturing of Fayed, but President Palmer decided to go forward with the nuclear strike, much to the dismay of Karen and Tom Lennox. CTU then learned that Gredenko was dead, and Fayed refused to cooperate with Jack and Doyle.



Karen called her husband and asked if she could tell Palmer that CTU had a lead on the nukes. Buchanan told her she couldn't do that, as CTU didn't have a lead. Jack called Buchanan and both of them agreed they would have to transport Fayed to CTU, in order for Rick Burke to administrate a pharmaceutical interrogation. Doyle insisted that he should interrogate Fayed himself, but Jack told him these were Buchanan's orders.

During the transportation of Fayed, the CTU vehicle was ambushed and both Doyle and Jack were shot. After Fayed escaped with Middle Eastern men, Jack awoke and said they were clear. Jack and Buchanan agreed to enter a sting operation, as it was the only way that Fayed would lead them to the nukes. Agent Jamal told Fayed that he was sent by General Mohmar Habib, a high-ranking general who was arrested earlier in the hour. Fayed refused to cooperate with the cell until he got confirmation from Habib.

Buchanan called his wife in order to make the call happened, and Palmer set it up with help from the ambassador of Fayed's country. Nadia translated the call, as Mohmar couldn't speak English. A few minutes after the call, Nadia discovered a possible distress signal in the call and reported it to Buchanan. Jack attempted to warn Jamal, but Fayed shot him and managed to escape. Jack followed Fayed to the maintenance area of a tunnel and attempted to share his Intel with Buchanan, but the signal was lost.



Jack was able to be tracked by satellite, and CTU arrived at the safehouse. Mike Doyle found Jack, who was injured from his fight with Fayed. Fayed and all of the hostiles were killed, and the bombs were secured. Under a presidential order, the military took over CTU's operation and the nukes were brought into their possession. Buchanan held a meeting at CTU and he congratulated CTU personnel for their good work. He then gave him further instructions on how to transfer all of their Intel on the nukes over to the military.

Buchanan was on the phone, when Chloe interrupted him. She revealed that Jack planned to steal a circuit board from one of the nukes. Chloe told Bill that Cheng Zhi had staged Audrey's death and used her as a bargaining chip against Jack. Buchanan contacted Doyle, who demanded for Bauer to stand down. Jack told Doyle that he outranked his authority, but one of the guards knocked Jack out unconscious. Jack pleaded for Buchanan to contact the president, and he agreed to do it as a friend.

When President Palmer authorized the operation, Buchanan told Doyle to give Jack everything he needed. CTU kept surveillance on the component and Nadia kept track of it. After Palmer collapsed during a press conference, Vice President Daniels regained control of the country and he decided to shut down the operation. Karen called Bill and told him about the news. Buchanan called Doyle and gave him instructions on bringing Jack back to CTU.

Shortly after midnight, Karen had a meeting with Peter Hawk from the Department of Justice. Hawk brought up that when she and Bill were running CTU Seattle a few years ago, they released Abu Fayed from custody. The media was looking for someone to blame for letting Fayed into the country with suitcase nukes, and either Bill or Karen had to take the fallout. Since Karen was on the President's cabinet, she had no choice but to fire her husband from his duties at CTU Los Angeles. Bill was informed by Karen over the phone, and security escorted him out of the building a few minutes later.

Bill appointed Nadia Yassir as director of CTU on an interim basis.

Memorable quotes

 * Mike Novick: The President gave direct orders. You should have restrained Bauer!
 * Bill Buchanan: With all due respect, restraint is a luxury we can't afford right now.


 * Audrey Raines: The President made it very clear that he didn't want Prado's rights violated.
 * Bill Buchanan: That's right, he did make it clear. And he was wrong.
 * Audrey Raines: We can't just break protocol because we think it's right at the time and expect to get away with it!
 * Bill Buchanan: Normally, I'd agree with you. But in this case, I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission.
 * Audrey Raines: What kind of answer is that?
 * Bill Buchanan: The answer is, it worked. We got Marwan's location.  Audrey, with all due respect, this is not Washington, D.C.  Policy and politics do not always work on the front line, which is where we are today.
 * Audrey Raines: Yes, well, Charles Logan is a politician, and he is not going to give you forgiveness. I hope this does not come back to haunt you or Jack.
 * Bill Buchanan: If what we did gets us to Marwan, we'll live with it.


 * Bill Buchanan: It is absolutely unacceptable I was kept out of the loop on this.
 * Tony Almeida: That's the way Jack wanted to play it.
 * Bill Buchanan: You don't work for Jack, you work for me!


 * Bill Buchanan: Chloe, we're in an active code. We don't have time for your personality disorder, you understand me?


 * Spenser Wolff: Sir, I'd like to talk to a lawyer.
 * Bill Buchanan: Forget about a lawyer, we're in a middle of a terrorist crisis. There are lives on the line.  You're going to tell us what you've been doing here and you're going to tell us now!


 * Lynn McGill: I'm not about to start considering disobeying a direct order from the White House!
 * Bill Buchanan: That's because you don't have the experience to know any better.


 * Lynn McGill: Sit down, Mr. Buchanan.
 * Bill Buchanan: Would you stop with the "Mr. Buchanan?"


 * Tony Almeida: My wife was killed this morning right in front of my eyes, and nobody here has told me who did it or why.
 * Bill Buchanan: We're looking into it, Tony.
 * Tony Almeida: Come on, Bill. I used to work here.  I know that's what you say to people when you don't wanna tell 'em the truth.
 * Bill Buchanan: The truth is you're not an agent anymore. What you're asking me is classified.  Tony, it doesn't matter what I tell you, there's nothing you can do.
 * Tony Almeida: I know there's nothing I can do, look at me for God's sake! I just wanna know who did it.  I think for the sake of all the years I've given this place and all the sacrifices I've made, I think I deserve to know, don't you?
 * Bill Buchanan: All I can tell you is Michelle's murder was part of bigger plan to supply terrorists with Sentox nerve gas.
 * Tony Almeida: Who's behind it? Who's responsible, Bill?
 * Bill Buchanan: The highest we've been able to get up the chain of command is someone you might know from when he worked here. Christopher Henderson.
 * Tony Almeida: What? Why??
 * Bill Buchanan: We're working on it, Tony.
 * Tony Almeida: Don't let him get away with this, Bill. Don't you let him cut a deal.
 * Bill Buchanan: I won't.


 * Bill Buchanan: (to Miles Papazian) You have no idea what you're dealing with, you little ass kisser.


 * Bill Buchanan: We need to do better than what we're doing and we need to do it faster!


 * Bill Buchanan: (about Jack Bauer) I thought I was prepared but he's worse than I thought, much worse.


 * Chloe O'Brian: Mr. Buchanan it was my fault, you can fire me.
 * Bill Buchanan: I'd fire both of you but I can't afford to lose the man power!

Background information and notes

 * Bill introduces himself as the "Regional Director of Division, Los Angeles" in Day 4 6:00am-7:00am, and as the "Director of Operations" in Day 6 1:00pm-2:00pm.