Editing George Mason

{{icons|s1|s2|eu|featured}}
{{sidebar | line = 1
| image=[[File:GeorgeMason.jpg|300px]]
| left = 26%
| nationality = {{nat|us}}
| residence = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]<br>[[Washington, D.C.]]<br>[[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[Arizona]]<br>[[Miami]], [[Florida]]
| affiliation = [[Counter Terrorist Unit]]
| education = B.A. Criminal Science, [[University of Southern California|USC]]
| profession = [[CTU Director|Director]], [[CTU Los Angeles|CTU LA]]<br>[[District Director]], [[Los Angeles]]<br>Senior Section Leader, [[CTU Washington]]<br>Team Leader, [[CTU Washington]]<br>Assoc. Special Agent in Charge, [[CTU Phoenix]]<br>Senior Agent, [[CTU Miami]]<br>Agent, [[CTU Los Angeles|CTU LA]]
| marital = Divorced
| spouse = [[Carol Mason]] (ex-wife)
| children = [[John Mason]] (son)
| died = [[Day 2]]: [[Day 2: 10:00pm-11:00pm|10:59pm]]<br>[[Suicide]] by nuclear explosion
| status=Deceased
| actor=[[Xander Berkeley]]
| seasons=[[Season 1|1]], [[Season 2|2]]
| firstseen="[[Day 1: 12:00am-1:00am]]"
| lastseen="[[Day 2: 10:00pm-11:00pm]]"
}}

:''"Don't wait around for your life to happen to you. Find something that makes you happy, and do it. Because everything else is all just background noise."''
:<small>&mdash; George Mason, "[[Day 2: 5:00pm-6:00pm]]"</small>

'''George Mason''' was the [[District Director]] at [[Counter Terrorist Unit|CTU]] in [[Los Angeles]] and later its [[CTU Director|Director]]. 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 Rasheed Faheen|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 plane crash moments before 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 [[CTU Los Angeles|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 [[CTU Washington|headquarters]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] Eventually, he was promoted to the rank of District Director, overseeing operations in the [[Los Angeles]] area. {{cite|web}}

Mason married [[Carol Mason|Carol]] and had a son, [[John Mason|John]], but was divorced as of [[Day 2]], and had a strained relationship with his son. He remarked to [[Michelle Dessler]] that he had originally wanted to be a teacher, but chose CTU because it offered him more money. {{cite|2x07|2x09s}}

In August before [[Day 1]], Mason ran point on the take down of [[Barcelona|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]]. {{cite|1x01}}

===''Chaos Theory''===

===''Day Zero''===
[[File:MasonDayZero.jpg|thumb|200px|left|George Mason in ''[[Day Zero]]'']]

George Mason was present at CTU when [[Jack Bauer|Jack]], [[Nina Myers|Nina]] and [[Devin]] returned from tracking [[Laszlo]]. Before he arrived at CTU, Jack received 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 ordered Laszlo killed. Jack told Mason to bring Division into the investigation, but he denied the request. A short while later, Mason told Jack to go home after he found out that the files from Laszlo's computer had been deleted.

After Jack was attacked by Devin, Mason apologized for not calling Division, explaining that he did not believe Jack about the internal threat. He warned Jack that no one would want to work with him if he investigated everyone, but Nina said she would. Mason sarcastically wished them both good luck and walked away.

== 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]]. He explained to Jack that they believed the assassin to be [[Germany|German]], and Jack asked him for the source of the information. Mason refused, so Jack asked him to call up [[Ryan Chappelle]] for approval. As Jack went to get George some coffee, he congratulated Jack on learning how to play the game.

George in fact called the talking clock, and when Jack found out he [[Knock-outs by Jack Bauer#George Mason|shot Mason in the leg]] with a [[tranquilizer gun]] and left him unconscious in his office for around 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, warned him that he would live to regret blackmailing him, then limped out of CTU. {{cite|1x01s}}

At 3:05am, after [[Tony Almeida]] called [[Division]], Mason arrived with a group of [[Internal Affairs|Internal Investigation]] agents and initiated a [[lockdown]]. He asked Nina where Jack was, but when she refused he radioed station 2 to look out for him. George then addressed the main floor, explaining the lockdown procedures. After that, [[Simms]] told him that Bauer managed to escape from the building, so George asked Nina where he was. She refused to say.

Just before 3:30am, George led Nina into the conference room to ask her where Jack was. In getting her to confess, he spoke of [[Richard Walsh]] and [[Scott Baylor]]'s deaths, as well as Nina's affair with Jack. He made himself a cup of coffee while advised her not to be known as Jack's lap-dog. When Nina didn't budge, George then questioned another CTU worker for a while before calling in [[Jamey Farrell]]. He started to question her, but was interrupted by a call telling him that Jack's name had come up on a police frequency. He lifted the lockdown, and before he left asked Nina what was so special about Jack Bauer. {{cite|1x04s}}

Mason then went to the [[Van Nuys Precinct]], arriving just as [[Douglas Newman|Sergeant Newman]] was leading Jack in to see [[Greg Penticoff|a suspect]]. George stopped him, and took Jack to a side room. He then said he was treating Jack as a prime suspect until he provided some answers. Jack explained that [[Richard Walsh]] and [[Scott Baylor]] were killed for obtaining information which led him to Penticoff, the suspect being detained. As Newman came back, George said he would question Penticoff himself, and Jack was lucky not to have been arrested.

However, Penticoff refused to speak to anyone but Jack. Mason begrudgingly let Jack speak to him, and watched from behind a one-way mirror. Jack alerted Penticoff to the people watching, which confused Mason, and then whispered something to Penticoff which set him off in a rage. After officers separated the men, George sarcastically congratulated Jack on a job well done before instructing him to take a walk outside. He then apologized to the sergeant for Bauer's behavior, explaining the necessity of their presence.

Jack then had another incident with the prisoner, and again George apologized to Newman but asked for the matter to be dealt with internally. [[Phillips (Day 1)|Phillips]] then entered, and after it was established he had lost his access card George called his men. He had [[Davis (Day 1)|Davis]] set up satellite imagery on his laptop, and traced Jack as he left the station with Penticoff and drove to [[18166 San Fernando Road|San Fernando Road]]. George then caught Jack on [[Avenue 26]], and ordered Penticoff and Bauer arrested. Jack showed him the [[Alan York|body]] he had found, and explained why he broke Penticoff out. George asked Jack what was going on, and was told their may be a mole inside [[CTU Los Angeles|CTU]]. He went back to the precinct to grill Penticoff, telling Jack he would be at [[District]] if he was needed. {{cite|1x05s}}

After [[Alberta Green]] was sent back to [[District]], George came back to CTU as "the new quarterback". He met Jack in his office, and was filled in about the link between [[David Palmer|Palmer]], Jack and the Drazens. Jack explained that [[Elizabeth Nash]] was on her way to CTU to discuss her relationship with [[Alexis Drazen]], and Jack mentioned his plan to have her keep her date with Alexis for surveillance reasons. George said it was risky, but they would put it to her.

Down on the main floor, Jack explained to Mason that [[Andre Drazen|Andre]] and Alexis Drazen were in the country, along with [[Jovan Myovic|two]] or [[Mishko Suba|three]] others. Elizabeth Nash then arrived, and after introductions George took her to the [[conference room]]. He asked her about Alexis, and then Jack told her about his plan to plant a tracker on him. George was quick give her an excuse not to, but she agreed, and Jack went with her back to [[Palmer campaign hotel|Palmer's hotel]]. {{cite|1x16s}}

At 4:15pm, Tony approached Mason to tell him that [[Kim Bauer]] has called to tell them the [[23033 Pine Canyon|safe house]] had been attacked. George called [[Parker (Day 1)|Parker]] and instructed him and [[Biselli]] to head over there to check it out. He told Tony to trace Kim's phone call, but warned him not to tell Jack about it in case it distracted him from his assignment. Later he spoke to Jack, who told him that Elizabeth had stabbed Alexis. Mason told Jack the entire operation was a mistake. Jack told him that they had no more leads, but asked him to keep [[District]] off his back. {{cite|1x17s}}

George then alerted a task force at District to look for Teri and Kim, and Tony told him the report from the safe house. He reminded Tony not to tell Jack about it. Later Tony gave him a call from Jack, who filled him in on the meeting he was going to and asked George to organize backup. He also asked for the number to the safe house, but George told him that the girls were sleeping. Mason then organized backup, but was dismayed when [[Division]] assigned [[Teddy Hanlin]]. Tony then entered and asked for more bodies to track Teri, and George gave him a talk about there being too much personal business at CTU.

George then called Jack to ask him if everything was set up, and to tell him about Teddy Hanlin running backup. Tony then entered his office to tell him that the Rampart division had seen a woman matching Teri Bauer's description wandering around [[Griffith Park]]. George got onto the satellite to check it out, and instructed Tony to send [[Williams (CTU)|someone]] to the [[Bauer house]]. A short while later [[Nina Myers|Nina]] called him to tell him that Hanlin was hassling Jack, so George scolded him and checked Jack was ok. {{cite|1x18s}}

[[File:George2.jpg|right|thumb|200px|George has a word with [[Jack Bauer]]]]

When he heard about the death of [[Alan Morgan]], George made his way to [[California Plaza]]. Jack pointed out Teddy Hanlin, and George went over to have a word with him. Jack then told Mason he was following a lead at [[21911 Kipling]] in [[Saugus]], and Mason said he would drive him there. On the way, they went over what was happening, and Jack apologize for shooting him with the tranq. He said he felt better knowing his family was safe. As they arrived at Saugus, Nina called to ask why he hadn't told Jack about his family, but George pretended to be talking about something else. He then took Jack's phone, claiming his battery had died, and switched it off to stop Nina contacting Jack. The two men went through a gate to explore the area.

While exploring, Jack explained [[Victor Drazen]]'s work for [[Slobodan Milošević]], and they spoke about how the Drazens had managed to organize their operation. They reached the power transformer for the [[26-GG|sector]] and Jack said it made no sense for the area to be designated as a wildlife preserve. George agreed. As they reached the exact location, a helicopter flew by. Mason then got a call telling him that Alexis Drazen was out of surgery, so decided to go question him, but Jack wanted to stay. George reached the hospital, but Alexis didn't give him any information, so George cut off his morphine supply and went back to CTU. He bumped into Nina, and when she challenged him about keeping information from Jack he told her he didn't have explain himself to his subordinates. {{cite|1x19s|1x20s}}
[[File:24-D1 George Mason.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Mason drives to [[Saugus]]]]
George explained to Nina that [[Division]] wanted an updated threat assessment, before Jack called and told him that Victor Drazen was alive and he needed backup. George had [[Al (Day 1)|Al]] send a field unit, and told Nina that she was out of line. He then tried to reach [[Ryan Chappelle]] to tell him about the field unit, when [[Teri Bauer]] came into his office. He eased her mind about [[Kim Bauer|Kim]], and then Nina called to tell him about the field units. He had his assistant [[Rebecca]] look after Teri to keep her out of his face.

George then received a call from [[Andre Drazen]], and spoke with his father [[Victor Drazen|Victor]]. He said he would not negotiate with terrorists, but asked to speak to Jack. He then told Victor he would speak to his superiors and get back to him. He passed Jack's information to the field units, and asked Nina if she wanted him to put someone else on the job. She told him no. George eventually got through to Chappelle, who ordered him to send in the field units and end the whole situation. He informed Nina, and listened in as [[Drake (Day 1)|agent Drake]] searched the facility and found Drazen gone. {{cite|1x21s}}

He spoke to the backup team, and ordered 1, 3, and 5 mile barriers around the area. Nina told him Jack was on the line, and he listened as Alexis Drazen was put through to his father. Victor then demanded a trade of Alexis for Jack. George said he didn't have the authority, but Victor gave him a deadline of 15 minutes. George spoke with Ryan, who refused to authorize the trade. He told Nina this when she came into his office. George carried on arguing with Ryan when Teri came to his office. He told her there was nothing more he could do, and called [[Division]] one last time. He later received a call from [[David Palmer]] who told him to go through with the trade and he would get a promotion once Palmer was president.

[[File:GeorgeNina.jpg|right|thumb|200px|George has a word with [[Nina Myers]]]]

Andre Drazen then called, and George agreed to the trade. He had Tony call up [[Chris Porterfield (character)|Chris Porterfield]] to tell him about the trade, then headed back to the hospital to pick up Alexis. He then went to [[2127 Grand Avenue]] to deliver Alexis to Drazen's men. When he got there they didn't have Jack, so he had to pull a gun on [[Serge]] and [[Harris (Day 1)|Harris]] and threaten to arrest them. However they assured George that he would receive Bauer's location, so Mason had to let them go. He stood by while Nina tracked Alexis, but the tracker was soon found. {{cite|1x22}}

George returned to CTU and got Nina to devote all resources to finding Alexis. Jack then called, to tell him that he couldn't come in as Drazen had Kim. George called [[Jane (Day 1)|Jane]] and got connected to the [[Palmer campaign hotel|Palmer suite]], to warn [[Secret Service]] about Jack. He then asked Nina to deal with Teri Bauer. While he was on the phone in his office, Nina and Tony began to suspect him of being a mole and Tony shut down his network access. When he noticed, he asked Tony about it, and then asked him to find out when Palmer's plane left for [[Dallas]] the next day. He then had the news report of Palmer's death broadcast on all the monitors. Later George was told that Palmer's death was a fake. He passed this on to Tony and Nina. {{cite|1x23}}

Shortly after 11pm, Tony passed on a call from sergeant [[Devlin]] who had found [[Kim Bauer]] at [[Port of Los Angeles|the port]]. She told them her dad was walking into a trap, so George had everyone try to get hold of Bauer and had Kim brought to CTU. Later, George found out that when the backup got to [[Dock 11A|the docks]] Jack had killed everyone, and he passed this on to Tony and Nina. When Teri asked what had happened, he told her not to worry.

He then received a call from Jack, who told him that Nina was a [[mole]]. He ordered another lockdown of CTU, and Jack provided him with evidence that Nina killed [[Jamey Farrell]]. While the building was searched, Jack managed to capture Nina in the parking lot, and George arrived with Tony soon after. George managed to talk Jack into letting Nina go, telling him that Kim had arrived. He then took Jack to the conference room to see his daughter. {{cite|1x24}}

== Day 2 ==

=== Drawing in Jack ===

[[File:GeorgeJack.jpg|200px|right|thumb|George scolds [[Jack Bauer|Jack]]]]

At the start of [[Season 2|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 [[Los Angeles International Airport|LAX]] security upgrades. Mason said that if 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 [[Season 1|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 {{cite|2x01s}}.

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. Later, Mason called a meeting with all department heads, where he said that he got off a call with [[NSA]] and [[Division]] in which he learnt that there is a nuclear bomb under terrorist control in Los Angeles set to go off within the day. He told everyone not to communicate with anyone outside of their security protocols. After the meeting, George was taken aside by Tony, who said that he had still not contacted Jack. Mason said that NSA got hold of him, and Tony questioned why Jack could help with this situation. Mason said it likely had something to do with one of his previous covers. When Jack did arrive, Mason briefed him on the [[nuclear weapon]]. He said that there was high-probability leads on regional cells that might be involved. Mason said that Jack was there to help find out the prime suspect of the attack, but Jack was uninterested to help. He stormed out, and Tony left to convince him to come back. However, Jack left and Mason chastised Tony for letting him leave. Mason said they had to call NSA and explain the situation, but before doing so Jack arrived back and said that he wanted [[Knoll]] or [[Grothy]] to go and pick up his daughter and take her away from the city, with regular updates about her status from Tony because he did not trust Mason. Mason agreed, but said that he would have to start trusting him. Tony left to organize Kim's safe pick-up {{cite|2x01s}}. 

Jack sat down and prepared to hear more about the threat. Michelle told him that [[Joseph Wald]] was their most promising lead; someone who Jack recognized clearly from the expression on his face. Mason said that Wald was linked to the terrorist group [[Second Wave]]. He was currently awaiting trial for a crime, after already having spent time in jail when Jack put him away. [[Paula Schaeffer|Paula]] told Jack of [[Marshall Goren]], the only witness against Wald that could put him away for life. Jack told them to bring Goren in; he had to quickly establish a cover with Wald. Mason managed to organize for CTU to have Goren for an hour thanks to friends at the [[FBI]]. As they waited for Goren to arrive, Michelle prepared Jack's background to use in the cover with Wald. Mason asked Jack about the plan, and when Jack refused to tell him Mason considered the possibly that Jack was losing it. He assured Mason that he was not {{cite|2x01s}}.

When Goren arrived, Jack told Michelle to leave the room. Almost instantly, his intentions were made clear. He pulled out his gun and shot Goren in the heart, killing him. Jack told Mason to get a backup team and a helicopter ready to leave the building in fifteen minutes. Mason yelled at Jack, who reminded him that to find the bomb Jack had to quickly re establish his cover with Wald, and the best way to do that would be to kill the key witness against him. Jack told Mason that he would need a hacksaw {{cite|2x01s}}.

[[File:Mason1.jpg|200px|left|thumb|George Mason during [[Season 2|Day 2]]]]

=== The infection ===

Jack called Mason after landing at [[Joseph Wald]]'s yard and asked if they had picked up Kim. He said that [[Grothy]] just got to the house and she was not there. He told Jack to relax, and said that Grothy would stay there until she arrived, and that Jack should carry on with his work. Mason then told Tony that they had a lead: some smugglers who were trying to get two [[Middle East]]ern men across the border from [[Mexico]] used the same markings as some of CTU's suspects. They were heading for [[Culver City]], and the only person in that area was Roy Grothy, who had been sent to pick up Kim. Mason said that Grothy was doing nothing as Kim wasn't there, and said to send him anyway. He assured Tony that he would send someone over there while Grothy was away. Tony looked displeased as Mason left {{cite|2x02s}}.

Jack called Mason while undercover and said that Wald's crew was shutting him out. He told Mason to bring them in, but Mason was unsure that would lead them to Wald, whose probable role in the day's threat had been upgraded by the [[NSA]] to being one step away from [[Second Wave]]. Realizing he would have to think of something, Jack pretended that his car would not start so he could monitor the terrorists. At CTU, Paula called Mason and told him that she had opened up the socket to [[Division]] which he had asked for. He went on his laptop and saw the "urgent memo" for him from Division which outlined the imminent threat of the terrorist attack, concluding in an 89-93% probability of nuclear detonation. Reading this, Mason became terrified. He gathered together a few of his things, including his gun, and attempted to leave the office. Tony caught him just as he was walking out, and Mason told him that he was going to  [[Bakersfield]] to follow up on a lead; something he had to do himself because the office was short-handed. Tony reminded him that an agent named [[Peter (Day 2)|Peter]] was assigned to Bakersfield, but Mason said he had reassigned him. Tony accused him of trying to get out of the blast radius, and Mason berated him for second guessing a superior's decision {{cite|2x02s}}.

[[File:Mason2x03.jpg|thumb|right|Mason hears about the new lead from Tony {{cite|2x02s}}]]

Tony called Mason when he was a short distance out of the city, telling him that he had just been in contact with [[Steve Lawler]] from [[District]] who had a vehicle match with someone on their watch list. As Tony had told Lawler that Mason was on his way to Bakersfield, Lawler told him to have Mason check in on the suspect, because he did not trust [[LAPD]]'s judgement. Mason unhappily agreed to follow up on the lead. He arrived at the address and met with LAPD officers [[Arroyo]] and [[Barber]]. They headed inside the building and found a huge sealed chamber. Mason went towards it found signs inside that indicated radioactive material. A dead body laid on the floor, and as Mason looked at it the team began to get shot at by a terrorist with an automatic weapon. Barber went down and Mason managed to take out their attacker, but not before the terrorist shot the glass protecting the radioactive material. Arroyo asked about Mason, who said that there was a man down. Noticing the radioactive sign, he demanded that the LAPD leave the vicinity and call [[HAZMAT]] because there was a potential radiation leak in the facility {{cite|2x03s}}.

Mason called Tony and told him that the lead was real; it was a lab where they may have assembled the nuke. Tony asked about the nature of the radioactive material found, and Mason said that they were still doing field analysis. He told Tony that they had the bodies of three terrorists, and he would send CTU photos of their fingerprints. As he spoke to Tony, Mason undressed so they HAZMAT team could check him for radiation poisoning. A member of the HAZMAT team demanded Mason's phone, but before he could go Tony told him that NSA had ordered him to back up all of their data about the nuke onto their servers. Mason said to call [[Ryan Chappelle|Chappelle]] who could look into it further. Mason excused himself from the call, and hung up. As Mason was left standing only in his underwear, the HAZMAT team member insisted that Mason had to remove all his clothes. Reluctantly, he complied, and was washed down by the team {{cite|2x03s}}.

By 11:00am, Mason's test results had returned. [[Porter]] told him that he had inhaled [[plutonium]], and based on the particle size, atmospheric saturation, and length of time exposed, the exposure level was lethal. He had between one day and a week to live {{cite|2x03s}}. Porter told Mason that his personal belongings had been moved from his car to the ambulance, and it was ready to leave to the hospital whenever he was. Mason asked what symptoms he might expect leading up to his death. Porter said that there was a latent period where he would be asymptomatic, which can occur even in the most extreme cases of radiation. However, he said that this period would last a maximum of twelve hours. He asked about Mason's current condition, and he told him that he felt nauseous. Porter offered to give him something to control this, which Mason accepted. He asked about further conditions, and Porter listed loss of hair, gastrointestinal haemorrhaging, skin lesions, mouth and nostril bleeding, deteriorating mental functions and eventually a comatose state {{cite|2x04s}}.

Before he could continue, Porter was interrupted by [[LAPD]] officer [[Arroyo]] who told Mason that he had an important call from [[Tony Almeida]]. Porter tried to make the officer go away, but Mason accepted the call and spoke to Tony, who told him of the [[Attacks on CTU Los Angeles|attack on CTU]]. He said that there were nineteen dead, twenty wounded and seven missing. All of their intel on the nuke was transferred to the [[NSA]] servers, but Paula was the only one who knew the encryption code and she was in bad shape. Mason told him to call the NSA and get them to decrypt the files, but Tony told him that he already did that. Tony asked when Mason was returning, and he admitted that he was not sure he would return because he was not in a position to help out. Not knowing about Mason's condition, Tony chastised him for not helping when a nuclear bomb could go off at any moment {{cite|2x04s}}.

Tony called Mason again a short while later to ask for his CTU password. He told him that it was "Hendrix," and asked about Paula's condition. Tony said that she was unresponsive, but they were still trying to dig her out. After Tony hung up, he asked [[Mobile_3_paramedic|the paramedic]] riding with him if he was contagious. He told Mason that he was not {{cite|2x04s}}.

=== Return to CTU ===

As [[Paula Schaeffer|Paula]] was being taken away, Mason arrived and demanded that she be brought back to consciousness so that she can tell them the encryption codes of the files sent to the [[NSA]]. Tony at first questioned why Mason was back at CTU, then said that someone else could find the files, but Mason reminded him that Paula was the only one who knew the code and if she had to be taken to surgery and put under anaesthesia, it had to happen after they got the code. [[Paula's emergency paramedic|The paramedic]] said that he could give Paula [[epinephrine]] to temporarily raise her blood pressure level. Mason instructed the doctor to do it {{cite|2x04s}}.

A [[fire marshal]] told Mason that some of the girders at CTU were unstable, and he would shut the building down if he saw people behind restricted areas. He then returned to Paula to check on her status. The paramedic said that he was trying, but Paula had yet to come around. He said that it could make her more unstable. Mason noticed Tony leaving, and asked him where he was going. Tony said that there was an LA connection to [[Syed Ali]], the perpetrator behind the day's events. Mason said that he needed Tony to stay at CTU, and tried to order him to do so, but Tony said that [[Ivers]] and [[Appell]] were dead, and there was no one else to send. He told Tony to make sure he was reachable, and allowed him to go. Moments later, [[Eileen]] brought Mason a phone with a call from Jack. Jack told him that [[Nina Myers]] was the one who commissioned [[Joseph Wald]] to take out CTU. Upon Mason's confusion, Jack explained that it was before she was taken into prison. Mason inferred that Nina sold building schematics and personnel files to cripple CTU's response capabilities. Jack said that he had called [[Ryan Chappelle|Chappelle]] who was having Nina transferred to CTU for questioning. Mason, sensing Jack's desire to interrogate Nina, told Jack to debrief at [[Division]]. Jack asked about Nina, and he said he would take care of it. He congratulated Jack on a good job and told him to go and find himself somewhere safe away from the bomb. He hung up before Jack could respond, then told Michelle about the upcoming interrogation and requested three armed agents to handle security. Michelle later told Mason that off-duty agents were finally starting to arrive, and that Nina Myers was on her way to CTU. He told her to set up a [[Mobile video unit]] for the interrogation, and she agreed to do so by telling [[Lori]] to instruct [[Bill (Day 2)|Bill]] to bring a video rack up to the main floor {{cite|2x05s}}.

Jack arrived at CTU moments later and insisted on doing his debrief there. Mason said that he did not want Jack anywhere near Nina, but Jack said it was useless to do his debrief at Division because there was no information on the Wald operation there. Mason offered to set Jack up with [[Noel]] in tech support. Jack asked about [[Ivers]] or [[Clark]], but Mason said they had both died in the attack, along with a lot of other good agents. Jack went to start on the debrief, and Mason suggested that he left soon after. He tried to speed up Jack's departure by asking Michelle to help Jack, but Jack refused her offers {{cite|2x05s}}.

The paramedic then told Mason that Paula was awake. She asked what had happened, and Mason quickly told her about the attack before asking for the encryption codes. When she did not respond Michelle tried to help remind her, and Paula said that she remembered. She told Michelle to check in her subfolders, but Michelle found that it was divided into over fifty partitions. Paula said that it was in one labelled "Etudes", and Michelle managed to find it. Mason told Paula that what she had done would save a lot of lives, and she was wheeled away by the paramedics with the aim to go to the hospital. However, she began to flatline seconds later and despite their efforts, she died {{cite|2x05s}}.

[[Nina Myers|Nina]] arrived at CTU a short while later, and Mason proceeded to interrogate her. She said that she would give up her contacts and intel for a full [[Presidential pardon]]. Mason said she would not get such a good deal, and so she refused to help. Mason left and tried to call Chappelle at [[Division]], before Jack interrupted and asked if Nina was cooperating. Mason refused to answer, and left when Chappelle picked up the phone. They agreed that the best course of action was a pardon, and Chappelle arranged it with President Palmer. In the men's room, Mason took some pills to try to help control his worsening symptoms. He was approached by Jack, angry about the pardon and asking to take Nina's case. Mason refused to acknowledge him. Later Jack confronted Mason about his condition, which he had found out about from reviewing Mason's log sheets. Mason insisted that he was still fit to run CTU. Jack asked about the operation with Nina, and Mason said that [[O'Neil (Day 2)|O'Neil]] was running it. Jack wanted to do it, threatening to tell [[District]] about Mason's condition if he did not let him. Mason eventually agreed, and Jack said he was sorry. {{cite|2x05s}}.

[[File:GeorgeTonyMichelle.jpg|200px|left|thumb|George looks over data with [[Tony Almeida]] and [[Michelle Dessler]].]]

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. {{cite|2x06s}}

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 Mason|John]] and make amends with him after he discovered a radiation rash on his chest. Once John refused to come into CTU, Mason had [[Ken Williams|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. {{cite|2x07s}}

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. {{cite|2x08s}}

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 there was no other way to find the bomb, President Palmer was forced to agree to her demands. {{cite|2x09s}}

[[File:GeorgeTonyDay2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|George talks to Tony.]]

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. {{cite|2x11s}}

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. {{cite|2x12s}}

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. {{cite|2x13s}}

[[File:Mason2.jpg|200px|left|thumb|George flies the plane and tells Jack to leave.]]

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 Director 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. {{cite|2x14s}}

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 [[Day 2: 10:00pm-11:00pm|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 revealed his presence 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.

[[File:MasonLastMoment.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Mason dives the plane into the [[Mojave Desert]].]]

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. {{cite|2x15s}}

== Background information and notes ==
* In the original draft of the pilot script, Mason was known as "George Burton."
* In [[Day 1]] it is noted that his ID# is 226-005-57591, his Security Level is 8, and his workstation is called "Titan".
* 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 [[CTU Director|Director]] and leaving CTU for what would be the last time, George was honored with the second [[silent clock]] in the history of 24.
* George Mason is the second character portrayed by a [[main cast]] member to die in ''[[24]]''. (For the others, see [[Main cast#Character deaths|here]].) 
* 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.
* [[Xander Berkeley]] did his own makeup the second season when Mason had radiation poisoning.
* In the 2013 [[24/India|Indian version of ''24'']], Mason's counterpart is [[Mahinder Gill]].

==Live appearances==
{{Appearances

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|S2=yes
|2x01=yes|2x02=yes|2x03=yes|2x04=yes|2x05=yes|2x06=yes|2x07=yes|2x08=yes|2x09=yes|2x10=yes|2x11=yes|2x12=yes|2x13=yes|2x14=yes|2x15=yes

|EU=yes
|dc=yes
|veto=yes|vp=yes|ct=yes
|zero=yes
}}

== See also ==
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