5.15: 9:00pm - 10:00pm - Interrogation

5.15: 9:00pm - 10:00pm
~ Interrogation ~2005-03-27

9:00

Chloe walks through CTU while Buchanan speaks to Karen. Audrey is working on her computer and Buchanan heads over to Chloe’s station. Softly he says that he needs her to do something for him right away. She agrees and Buchanan says she needs to look at Audrey Raines’ actions in the last 18 months. Chloe is surprised by this and asks what for. Buchanan promises to explain later and tells Chloe that he is interested in any unusual connection to Christopher Henderson or Walt Cummings. Chloe questions Buchanan, do they think she was in on the conspiracy? Buchanan doesn’t know and leaves Chloe to work. He makes his way to where Audrey works and delicately says that he is afraid he has to take her into custody. Before the words are out of his mouth the guards have shown up and grab Audrey from either side. She asks if she is being arrested and Buchanan clarifies that she is being detained. She asks the grounds and he says that Colette Stenger has been passing information to Bierko on the next attack. She claims that she got the information from the Department of Defence and she named Audrey as her contact in DoD. Audrey wants to know what kind of information they are talking about but Buchanan can’t tell her anything else. Audrey argues this is not possible but Buchanan counters that they already found one mole in the White House today; they have no choice but to pursue every possible lead. He tells the guards to prep her for interrogation. As they start to move her Audrey asks Buchanan if Jack knows about this. Buchanan tells her that he sanctioned it. Buchanan watches grimly as Audrey is taken away.

Jack, Colette, Curtis and the team have arrived back at CTU. Jack brings Colette in and she continues to babble that she is telling the truth; Audrey Raines was her contact at DoD. Jack asks if they met face to face and she confirms it. Then Colette would recognize her, Colette says of course. One of the agents behind explains that she identified Audrey from a photo on the way to CTU. Jack shoves Colette against the wall and gets in her face. Close to her he threatens dangerously that if she is lying to him he is going to make this the worst day of her life, does she understand? Curtis takes Colette to holding as Jack makes his way into CTU.

Audrey is also brought to a holding room, after she is in a cart is wheeled with equipment on it and Audrey watches it suspiciously as it is placed right beside her.

In the Situation Room they talk about what to do with Audrey. Buchanan argues that Burke’s method of interrogation should only be used as a last resort. Karen says they need to take a more aggressive approach but Buchanan wants them to let Burke work on Colette instead. Hayes reminds Buchanan that they can’t touch her unless her information is proved false which would nullify the agreement. Buchanan is exasperated that they can torture their own people but they can’t touch a criminal. He has known Audrey for years and he trusts her implicitly, so does everyone else here. Miles, sitting at the table, thinks that might be the problem. The attack is imminent and tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of lives are on the line and they just found out that Audrey Raines knows about it. The decision rests with Karen but Miles warns that any attack that comes from her insufficient action will come down hard on her. Jack has arrived and as he walks into the room he asks what Burke is doing there. He is told that they are discussing medical interrogation. Eyes wide Jack asks, ‘On Audrey Raines?’ Karen confirms it and Jack scoffs that it’s ridiculous, he can handle the interrogation. Hayes isn’t going to allow that but Jack is angry, he brought them this lead, they can’t take him off of it now. There is concern about their relationship, it wasn’t exactly a secret. Jack quietly says that this has nothing to do with it. Crisply Karen says that Jack always puts his work first and he never lets his feelings get involved, ‘Is that what happened with Nina Myers?’ This stops Jack and he looks at Bill who seems to emit sympathy for Jack. He admits that that was a mistake and he has never denied that but she fooled a lot of people for a long time, not just him. Karen figures maybe Audrey is fooling people too. Jack takes another argument, they need to think about what they are doing, Audrey is a senior advisor to the Secretary of Defence James Heller who just happens to be her father. If she is wrong he is going to eat her alive. This has sold Buchanan and he suggests that they prep her for interrogation and then let Jack talk to her for 10 minutes, they owe her that much. Karen reluctantly agrees and gives Jack 10 minutes but he will be pulled at the first sign that he is not objective. Jack understands. He turns and leaves the room in a hurry with Buchanan silently on his heels. Stopping at the monitor feeding the image from Audrey’s interrogation room Jack quietly thanks Bill. Bill gives Jack his opinion and that is that he doesn’t think Audrey is guilty of anything but they do know that Bierko is planning to release the next attack in the hour. They will use the roadblocks to keep an eye on the traffic, they need to transport the gas somehow and CTU might get lucky and pick up a trail. In the interrogation room Audrey hands her jacket over as Jack and Buchanan watch.

In a dark alley two men are in a fight. Pair of cops pulls up and try to break it up. As they close in on the fighters Bierko’s men come out of the shadows and attack the officers. Once they are unconscious Bierko orders his men to take their uniforms and weapons. They will now have a police escort and they will be able to get around the road blocks. The canisters sit in the back of a truck and Bierko gets in with them while the others get in the police car and the front of the truck. They drive away with the cop car behind them.

Chloe works on the assignment Buchanan gave her, to find information on Audrey. Jack comes behind her and wants her to walk with him. She got the background on Audrey and Chloe tells Jack that he is not going to like what she found. They stop walking and are alone in a room. Chloe found a connection between Walt Cummings and Audrey. Jack takes it well and asks what kind of connection. They dealt with each other a few times, the usual things between DoD and the White House. Chloe continues sheepishly that she found something else. Jack asks what she found and she doesn’t answer. Jack snaps ‘Chloe, what?’ Nervously, Chloe spills that they both stayed at a place called River Hotel in Pikeville Maryland last April and it’s not exactly a hot spot for government activity. Jack cuts her off asking in a near whisper, ‘Chloe, what are you trying to say?’ She finishes that they stayed in the same room. Jack takes a step closer to Chloe and asks angrily how she could possibly know that. She emailed their photos to the manager and he recognized them both. He has room service and phone bills that she can show to Jack if he wants. Jack breathes in and apologizes to Chloe, he believes her. He turns his back on Chloe and wipes his face with his hand. Chloe concludes that it doesn’t make her a part of the conspiracy but it doesn’t look that good either. Oddly calm, Jack asks for copies of everything in a folder for him. She will do it and she leaves Jack alone with his thoughts. He takes a few steps out into the light and looks into the monitor showing Audrey.

9:09

9:14

As Chloe works at her desk a girl comes into CTU and, looking a little hesitant, wanders over to stand in front of Chloe’s workstation. She politely tries to get Chloe’s attention but Chloe ignores her. She introduces herself as Sheri Rothenberg and she works downstairs in Section 5. Chloe is aware of where Section 5 is so Sheri continues that Mr. Buchanan told her that she needs to report to Chloe O’Brien. Chloe snaps that she will have to wait a second. Sheri continues that she is here to replace Edgar Stiles, she understands he died in the attack. Chloe now finally stops working and looks at Sheri confirming that Edgar did indeed die in the attack. Sheri thoughtfully adds that she is sorry if he was a friend of hers. Chloe grumbles thanks and points her to station 6, where Edgar worked. They discuss the matrix analyzer, which she is familiar with. Chloe asks Sheri to make sure everything’s current because things may be behind. Sheri takes the order and turns to move to Edgar’s vacant desk but once she is facing the other way she spots Miles from Homeland Security standing there. He also sees her and they exchange intense stares. Miles answers his phone.

Audrey paces the holding room and Jack comes in the door. She looks temporarily relieved to see Jack until after she says his name see sees his steely expression and he tells her to sit down. She pauses in her pacing and Jack yells, “Sit DOWN!” This time she follows the order and Jack walks over in front of her putting an information page with a photo of Colette Stenger down in front of her, he asks if she ever had contact with Colette Stenger. She has not but Jack tells her that she is claiming that Audrey provided her with information from the DoD. Audrey is aware, Buchanan told her but it’s ridiculous and she tells Jack that he knows it. She accuses him of wasting time that they don’t have. Jack calmly explains that he had to ask CTU so that he could interrogate her, he has a job to do and he doesn’t get it done Burke will and she doesn’t want to see him walk through that door. Winning a small battle Audrey asks Jack what kind of information she was supposed to have passed. Jack explains that it was structural schematic of Bierko’s next target but Stenger doesn’t know what kind of structure, she just delivered it. Audrey is astounded that Colette could tell them that she got unknown information from Audrey and that’s enough to make her a suspect. Jack has heard enough and yells at Audrey that she knows what the gas does, they are planning another attack and they can’t ignore any leads. He challenges her to tell him how they got her name if they didn’t deal with her. Audrey reminds Jack that her father is the Secretary of Defence which makes her an easy target; they might want to use him or embarrass him. Jack asks calmly, ‘Is he involved?’ Audrey pauses, lost for words, and quietly laments, ‘Oh Jack, you know him better than that, you worked with him.’ Jack leans in on the table as Audrey tells him that her father would never do anything outside the law, and neither would she. Bringing out the big guns Jack puts another paper down with two photos attached to it, the two men they knew were involved in the conspiracy, Walt Cummings and Christopher Henderson. Has she had any contact with these men? He turns his back to her and looks the other way. She had never heard of Christopher Henderson until today and, she stutters, that she has met Walt Cummings a few times. Jack asks where, she pauses and he growls again, ‘Where?’ She stumbles, ‘DoD briefings.’ Jack asks coyly if that is it. She says yes and Jack drops his head, looking at the floor. He asks, ‘Are you sure?’ She is and he whips around and slaps a plain folder on the table demanding that she open it. She hesitates and he waits while Jack eyes her and the folder. Jack reminds her about the River Hotel in Pikesville last April. Obviously lying she apologizes, they happened to be there at the same time and they had a few drinks. Anger all over his face Jack sneers that they weren’t sharing a few drinks, they shared a room, she slept with him. Audrey cries and finally admits it with a weak ‘Yes.’ Tearfully she goes on, ‘I was still recovering from losing you, Jack. He, ah, he had just separated from his wife and I slept with him once and then broke it off.’ She begs Jack, it’s complicated, and breaks down, he collects himself and asks why she broke it off. ‘Because he wasn’t you’ is Audrey’s answer. This statement makes Jack feel something but he rebounds asking why she didn’t just tell him about it in the first place. She answers that she was afraid that Jack would think less of her and not be able to forgive her. Jack doesn’t understand, because she slept with someone after she thought he was dead? She corrects him, ‘Because I slept with someone that turned out to be a traitor.’ Jack’s face softens as this information seems to hit home, he takes a step back from the table and then continues asking her if that is the only time she spent with Walt Cummings. She says it was and Jack questions if he ever mentioned nerve gas or Henderson. Audrey denies this and Jack gets fired up again. He throws the table between them off to the side. Out of fear Audrey jumps up from the chair she is in and Jack pounces grabbing her by the throat and shoving her against the wall. He thunders “Dammit, Audrey, tell me the truth!” She gasps that she is, he doesn’t believe her. She lied to him once and he demands, tightening his grip, that she tell him what she knows or he promises this will become very unpleasant. She holds out and challenges him to go ahead, do what he has to do. He asks her one more time to tell the truth and she swears through gasps that she is. Jack has seen enough. He lets Audrey go and looks down for a second before turning around and roaring at the camera that this is over, do they understand? Over.

Outside Karen and Buchanan watch the actions in the interrogation room. Karen turns casually to Buchanan and observes, ‘If you ask me, she broke him, not the other way around.’ Buchanan tries to protest but Karen stands by that Jack didn’t push her hard enough, he’s protecting her. Buchanan is certain that she is innocent, and so is Jack. She gives the order anyway to send Burke in before Buchanan can make his case she says that they have to make sure. She gives Buchanan the job of making sure Jack doesn’t interfere. She leaves Buchanan standing there.

Chloe hangs up the phone and tells Sherri that she was talking to an agent at Bierko’s safe house, they are there but they don’t expect to find anything. Sheri just stares at Chloe who after a second tells her upload that up to the subnet. Blankly she answers, ‘Oh, right’ and turns around. Miles comes over to her station and starts talking about her clearance. He checked her file and she is not cleared for Level 3 work and that, he points at her screen, is Level 3. She has been bumped up on a provisional basis, he can check her supplemental file if he doesn’t believe her. He threatens her that her first mistake he’s going to yank the provisional clearance. She watches as he walks away and Chloe comes over and works at the station next to Sherri asking what that was about. She explains that 2 years ago they both worked in the San Francisco office there was a sexual harassment thing. It was subtle at first but it got really bad. They said that there wasn’t enough evidence to go to trial because it’s hard to prove, she guesses that she better not make any mistakes. Chloe scoffs and says ‘Yeah’ like it’s the most obvious thing she has ever heard.

Jack and Audrey walk out from the back rooms and Burke, Buchanan and two guards meet them at the CTU atrium. Jack asks what’s going on and Buchanan grimly says that Karen wants to push Audrey a little harder. Jack isn’t about to let that happen but Burke has his orders. Jack doesn’t care about his orders; it’s not going to happen. He challenges Burke to get out of his way. Burke doesn’t move so Jack hits one guard in the neck and starts in on the other one. Buchanan begs Jack not to make this any harder while Jack tries to take out the other guard he has his back to Burke who pulls a tazer out and zaps Jack with it in the back. Jack falls in a heap to the ground and the guards get up, one with his gun drawn and the other working on putting Jack in cuffs. Audrey is taken away trying to see Jack on the ground and yelling for Buchanan to help her, make them stop. Chloe, Sheri and the others at CTU look on the commotion from the floor and Karen watches from upstairs. Jack winces as they cuff him.

9:23

9:26

In one of the small boxes we see Jack massaging his knuckles and Buchanan break an ice bag.

Henderson speaks on the phone with one of the men after Wayne. Henderson asks if Wayne Palmer is dead yet. The man says no, they rolled the car but he survived and got away. It was sloppy work and they will fix it. Henderson threatens that he better, he knows what’s at stake.

Aaron paces around the retreat and calls Wayne on his cell phone but it goes to his voice mail. Pierce asks a nearby agent if Wayne Palmer came through a roadblock in the last half hour. The other agent confirms he did, he went through a checkpoint on the way here 30 minutes ago. He offers to send out an alert but Pierce denies him, Mr. Palmer wanted to stay under the radar. Pierce asks the agent to cover his watch for him.

Buchanan hands the ice pack over to Jack who sits on a couch in one of the upstairs offices. Jack thanks Buchanan and puts it on his neck with a grimace. Karen warns Jack to calm down and remember who is in charge here. Jack retains that Audrey is innocent but Karen is hung up on the fact that she slept with a known conspirator of today’s events and she lied about it. Jack defends Audrey that she lied because she was embarrassed so Karen asks why Colette would name her. Jack blames it on Henderson but Karen asks why he would want Audrey implicated. Jack insists that Henderson is after him, he is trying to make Jack lose focus and pull them off the target and now he has done it. Karen doesn’t buy it; these plans were made a long time ago when they had reason to believe that he was going to be killed. Jack gets up and limps over to Karen telling her to listen to him, this is what he does for a living and the first rule of engagement is you have to have a contingency plan. They are getting ready to interrogate Audrey Raines and they should be interrogating Stenger. Karen blames Jack for that, it was his doing that got her protected by a Federal Marshall. Jack knows if they can prove that she lied they can negate her deal and then they will be able to interrogate her and then start trying to find the nerve gas and that’s what they’re supposed to be focused on. Buchanan asks Jack what he wants to do about it, Jack asks them to let him and Chloe try and prove that she lied to them. He turns to Karen and says that if they don’t find anything they have lost nothing but if they do they might be able to stop the attack from happening. He asks Karen and she just looks at Jack.

Sheri works on her computer and Miles slithers up behind her and puts his key card in the slot attached to her terminal. He taps on the keyboard and says that the matrices that she is sending are partials only, where are the rest? She thought this was okay in-house but it is only allowed with authorization, who authorized this? Chloe pipes up nearby and says that she did, it happened on her authorization and she takes full responsibility. Miles is willing to go toe to toe with Chloe, he doesn’t believe her because that’s sloppy, she doesn’t work like that. He asks tensely if she has been told about his alleged sexual harassment, he tells Chloe to listen but she cuts him off telling him to listen, there are 17 canisters of nerve gas out there that they are trying to find. She steps up to Miles and challenges him that if he interrupts them one more time she will file a complaint with Division and then he will see what protocol is all about. She continues to walk at him until he is forced to back away and then he leaves completely. Sheri thanks Chloe who says she is welcome and goes back to her station. As soon as she gets there Jack comes downstairs and sits at a terminal right next to Chloe. He needs her help about Audrey, they don’t have much time but they need to find a connection between Henderson and Colette Stenger. Chloe says they did find her name on his computer but that’s not enough, they need to prove that they had direct contact more than once. Chloe asks Jack if he thinks Henderson gave Colette Audrey’s name. Jack is sure of it.

Wilshire Gas Company

Bierko and the men drive up to the locked gate at the gas company saying they have a delivery. It’s not scheduled and the guard turns around to call it in promptly getting shot in the back. They get out of the van and cut the lock and Bierko orders some of the men to stay out and watch the perimeter. Some walk while others are in the truck, the key is taken from the guard shelter and they back the truck up to the loading dock. The key is used to open the door and prepare to unload. After the gas is loaded on a cart they walk through the plant, guns out looking incredibly conspicuous. They come upon 2 men who ask what they are doing there. Bierko wants to know who is in charge and one of them sheepishly puts up his hand. Bierko needs access to the control room and asks if he can take them there. He asks what they are doing there and Bierko shoots the other man. He asks again to be taken to the control room. The worker points saying it is that way. Bierko says that’s good and approaches the worker. He puts his harm around his shoulders and assures him that if he keeps cooperating no more of his friends will die. They walk and Bierko orders his men to take the canisters to the main distribution centre quickly. They arrive at the control room and he opens the door for them using the key. Bierko and his men flood into the room and one of them asks the man that let Bierko in, Sam, what is going on. Bierko explains that they are planning to release a certain substance into their system so it flows into the pipes. What it is they are realizing is not the concern of the workers but the pressure that’s in the pipes will render the gas inert. Bierko needs Sam to reduce the pressure. A worker yells for Sam not to do it but he is promptly shot. Bierko asks Sam if he understands what he wants. Sam repeats the order, he wants PSI cut in half. It could take an hour and Bierko threatens that Sam doesn’t care very much for his friends. Sam says he might be able to do it in half an hour and Bierko gives him 15.

9:34

9:38

Out in the bushes Pierce looks for Wayne, gun drawn. Someone appears behind him with a gun and tells him not to move and to drop his gun, now. Pierce does what he is told dropping his gun in the grass. The voice from behind instructs Aaron to move away from the weapon and Pierce thinks as the man approaches and then puts the muzzle of the gun to him. Pierce is told to get on his knees but Pierce now recognizes the voice and asks, “Mr. Palmer?” He turns partway around to reveal his face and identifies himself as Aaron. In relief Wayne sighs, ‘oh God’ and asks what he is doing out there. Pierce was looking for him. Wayne saw some of their people and leads Aaron away.

Burke interrogates Audrey who is crying from the pain being injected into her. She maintains she did nothing and Burke asks who else at the White House was involved. Audrey doesn’t know. Burke threatens they don’t have time for this, he yells for her to give him a name. Audrey mutters she doesn’t know.

Jack goes to Chloe’s desk and she starts to tell him that she decrypted something when he cuts her off getting her to cut to the chase. She sums it up that Henderson placed 8 calls to Colette Stenger last month. That’s enough for Jack and he leaves Chloe passing Buchanan on the way. He says that the agreement is void, Stenger lied during her interrogation. Jack takes off running to holding as Buchanan yells after him that it’s the president’s decision, Jack says to call the president and calls to Buchanan to have Burke back off Audrey. Buchanan opens his phone and dials practically yelling that for the person on the other end to get him the president.

In the interrogation room Colette toys with the handcuffs that are holding her down to the chair. The door opens and Jack comes in asking what her connection to Henderson is. She says that she has an immunity agreement and he can’t question her. Jack corrects her that she withheld information from him. Jack tells the guard that the order is on the way that will rescind the agreement and an innocent woman is being interrogated because of Colette. The guard hasn’t seen any paperwork and comes up behind Jack saying that he has to go. Catching him off guard Jack punches him and takes his gun from the holster. He points the gun at Colette and accuses her of lying, she did not get the schematics from Audrey Raines, Henderson told her to use that name in case she got in trouble. Jack moves close to Colette with the gun and threatens that she doesn’t want to try him. Colette admits it and this makes Jack even angrier. Jack asks if he told her why and Jack explains that he is using her, he wanted to get inside Jack’s head. Jack admits to her, ‘It worked. And now I’m … upset’ he finishes quietly. Still behind the gun he gives her 3 seconds to tell him where the target is or he will hill her. He asks where the target is and Colette tells him that it’s a natural gas distribution centre. This isn’t enough for Jack, there are dozens of those in the city, which one? She swears that she doesn’t know and Jack brings the gun very close to her and then backs off leaving the room. He runs into a baffled Buchanan who was only on his way there. Quickly Jack explains that the gas is going to be released at a natural gas distribution centre so it will be released into people’s homes. Buchanan says that the order concerning Colette will be there in 15 minutes. Jack motions to the room with Colette and says to give it to the martial when it gets there. He places the gun in Buchanan’s hand and says that he will be looking for this as well. Buchanan looks at Jack run off.

Audrey is still being interrogated but she begs Burke not to inject a fresh dose. She is telling the truth and as the pain sets in she screams. Jack bursts into the room and thunders for Burke to take it down, now. Burke fumbles with the IV as Jack yells that this interrogation is finished and she is innocent. Burke can confirm it with Buchanan and Jack wants Burke to get out. Burke stands for a second and Jack reiterates the order for Burke to get out. Jack rushes to Audrey’s side and asks if she is alright. Audrey weakly says that she doesn’t know as Jack crouches next to her and works at the ties that bind her to the chair. Jack checks the IV line and comforts Audrey that this is all over, he promises. The drugs start to wear off and Audrey asks what happened to her, what’s happening? Jack explains that Henderson set her up to get at him and throw him off the trail. He pulls Audrey into a hug and says he’s sorry. The two stay together for a few seconds before Audrey starts to speak. Through tears she tells Jack, ‘The only thing that got me through this was that I knew you would come.’ Jack runs his hands through her hair and they lock eyes. Slowly they kiss briefly and Jack again says that he is sorry. Jack’s phone rings and he answers it finding Buchanan on the other end. They need Jack on the floor and Audrey is close enough to hear what Buchanan is saying. She urges him to go and Jack asks Buchanan to send someone from medical to Interrogation 1 to tend to Audrey. She lightly puts her hand on Jack’s cheek and he puts his own hand on top of hers and closes his eyes. He has to go but he promises to be right back. Audrey is still shaking and brushes tears away. She tells him to go and he kisses her on the cheek on his way by.

Chloe only has 60% of the gas distribution centres covered by current satellite. Once the gas is in the main pipes this is all over, the gas will be sent to people’s homes. The largest centre serves 9 thousand homes so the casualties could be twice that. Jack will get ready to go and as soon as they find the target they can go there. Sheri hears the conversation and joins in saying that she was chemistry major. The terrorists are going to have to lower the PSI in the pipes or else the gas will be useless. Chloe can check the pressure form there and she pulls them up. She discovers that one of them has gone down to 75% in the last 10 minutes. Buchanan concludes that they can assume that it’s the one. He tells Sheri that she did good work and gives her a pat on the shoulder on the way by. Chloe congratulates Sheri but she isn’t happy. She asks Chloe if she saw the way Buchanan’s hand brushed across her shoulder as he walked by. Puzzled Chloe asks what she is talking about but Sheri says that was wrong he shouldn’t have done that. Chloe just gawks at her.

Pierce has taken the big gun from Wayne who follows him up the hill to the vehicle that Aaron brought down with him. Before they get in Aaron pauses hearing something. Wayne asks what it is and Pierce yells for him to get down. The car has been fired upon by some kind of missile hits not far away from them. Wayne is knocked off his feet and Pierce, firing back, goes to help him. He grabs Wayne and tosses him in the car returning fire on the oncoming troops as he makes his way around the car to get in. Wayne appears to be unconscious as Pierce starts the car and drives. They get up on the road and shots continue to hit the vehicle. Out of immediate danger Pierce looks again at Wayne who is knocked out. Pierce is unhappy.

9:47

9:52

The CTU chopper makes its way to it’s destination with Jack and Curtis and the rest of the team. Chloe tells Jack that the PSI level is down to 57%, they only need another 7% until they can release the gas, that’s 4 maybe 5 minutes. It can only be adjusted from the main control room and Jack pulls up the map of the facility on his tablet PC showing them where it is. They bring the chopper in and the noise from the facility should be enough to cover the sound of the chopper.

Inside, 2 men work on the canisters getting them ready to go. He inserts a chip with a small antenna as Bierko watches from the control room. He is given the ready and he tells them to leave that room. Bierko asks Sam how much longer it will be and is told a few more minutes. Sam adds that he can’t make it go any faster without risking a shut down. Bierko says nothing.

Jack has heat signatures from 2 guards outside the facility and Chloe has given the pilot a vector to approach so they won’t be seen. The guard is oblivious to the chopper flying behind him as it hovers over the roof and Jack and Curtis are the first to deploy sliding down ropes on either side. 2 more agents follow and the pilot updates CTU that the team is away. The PSI is down to 54 as they come down a ladder. The PSI goes down one more notch and CTU comes inside. At CTU many watch the events, Buchannan and Karen as well.

At the facility Curtis leads Jack and the rest of the team and they hear voices of the men that set up the canisters. Jack and Curtis take cover behind a pipe and exchange glances. At the same time they pop up and each shoot one of the men. The men fall simultaneously and the agents head down the hall. They get near the control room and Jack instructs his team to take the silencers off as Jack puts his in his bag. One agent goes ahead and looks in the small window in the door. Seeing Bierko and the others he signals ‘4’ to the agents. 4 men inside. Jack, Curtis and the last agent silently move into the room and hide but the agent in after Curtis is seen by Bierko crossing an open space. Bierko shoots him and soon the room explodes with gunfire. Sam hides under a desk and Curtis and Jack return fire on Bierko and his men. Bierko sees the agent outside the front door and shoots him through the glass. Bierko sees that the PSI has dropped to 50 and takes a second to activate the canisters. Jack sees Bierko getting away and tells Curtis to cover him. Jack slides sideways on the ground avoiding bullets from Bierko’s man who shoots a fire extinguisher over Jack. Jack doesn’t get far before he sees the monitors in the room with the canisters, they are open and releasing the gas. Jack asks who is in charge and Sam yet again identifies himself. They are told that by the time they shut down the system the gas will already be on the way out to the city. Jack asks where the main pipe out of there is and Sam explains that it’s not far out the door; it has a red arrow on it. Jack needs C4 and a timer, he tells Curtis to get the people out of there. Jack heads out and Buchannan asks what he is doing. If they can ignite the plant before the gas leaves the tank then they can keep it out to the system and into the city. This is their last chance to stop the gas. He has found the pipe with the arrow and grabs a stick of C4 out of his bag. Jack snaps it in half and sticks it to the pipe and then inserts the wires attached to the timer. Chloe says that he has 60 seconds until the gas gets out and so Jack sets the timer for 30 seconds. He turns and runs from the building as the timer counts down.

At CTU Buchannan asks if Curtis is clear. He is running with his team and some civilians and is nearly clear. Once they are Curtis pauses and looks back. Audrey comes onto the floor at CTU seeing what is going on and Buchannan asks Jack if he is clear as well. Jack doesn’t respond and Buchannan continues to call him asking him to respond to him. Audrey has stopped in her tracks at the scene and Chloe murmurs ‘Come on, Jack.’

Jack runs top speed out of the building as it starts to explode behind him. Explosions come in bursts as different tanks become hot enough to explode. One explodes close enough to Jack to knock him off his feet and Curtis, watching, yells asking Jack if he is okay. He is and he turns around to see Bierko heading to the police car that they brought in. He yells into his COM that he has a visual on Bierko but CTU knows he won’t have time before the main tank explodes. Jack is persistent; he is the only lead they have to Henderson. Bierko makes it to the police car and Jack is close enough to call to Bierko. He has his gun out on him but Jack doesn’t get a shot off, another explosion knocks Bierko off his feet. Jack runs to Bierko and puts his gun away. He pulls him up as Chloe alerts Jack that the main tank is going to go, he needs to get out. Jack attempts to get him and Bierko into the car but Bierko puts up a fight. Bierko manages to hold Jack against the car trying to knock him out but Jack head buts him and grabs him again pulling him in the car. It’s too late though as the main tank explodes it knocks the doors off the police car and sends fiery debris onto the car.

10:00

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

-With all the great Jack action it was easy to forget that there was absolutely no sign of Logan or his chemically imbalanced wife in this episode. I think we were better off with more Jack and less stupid subplots that don’t really tie into anything. Coughsexualharassmentcough.

-I guess they imported the guards from somewhere – the CTU guard dispenser I guess. You know, it’s right next to the CTU Nameless Field Agent dispenser.

-“Am I being arrested?” “No you’re being detained.” “Well, that’s okay then.” Really, what difference does it make other than the title of the form that they have to fill out.

-I’m not really sure that Jack exactly ‘sanctioned’ Audrey’s arrest or detainment or whatever. It’s not like it was his idea or anything.

-Those roadblocks from Martial Law must have really cleared up the road. Jack, Curtis and Colette made the 25 minute drive from Van Nuys to CTU in about 2.

-Not only that but they had time for Colette to pick Audrey’s photo out. Wow.

-In retrospect, the threat that Jack made to Colette to make it ‘the worst day of her life’ was empty. All he did was re-interrogate her and they didn’t even call Burke in.

-Audrey’s expression when that cart is brought in is great. It’s just some machinery but it looks like she’s waiting for it to start interrogating her itself.

-Buchannan’s lack of composure about the whole not torturing the terrorist but torturing Audrey thing. The day seems to be catching up to him faster than it’s catching up to Jack.

-Miles seems to be just another suit from division that has never been in the field. The pair of them, Karen and Miles, have obviously never met James Heller because if they had they would know immediately that he is not one to cross. I almost wanted him to show up and stop the interrogation.

-Phew, that scene in the Situation Room between Jack and Hayes was spectacular. As I’m reading the recap trying to find something witty to say about it I’m finding that the memories it sparks reminds me that it was just a wonderful scene.

-Bringing up Nina was a serious jab at Jack by Karen. I’m not really sure why Jack looked to Buchannan, it’s not like he was around when that whole thing went down. In fact, in season one there is not one sole left in CTU that is still there.

-If Karen is so well briefed on Nina Myers why doesn’t she know that Jack also interrogated and broke Nina Myers in a matter of minutes?

-Anyone else get a mental image of Heller chasing Karen around the office, napkin tucked into his collar, fork and knife in hand?

-I’m assuming that we’re supposed to recall the Jack/Nina interrogation in season 2 when Jack stands in front of the monitor and looks at Audrey.

-How did CTU find out that Bierko is unleashing the next attack within the hour? Maybe Colette told them on the 2 minute ride to CTU.

-The character that they have developed for Buchannan is almost starting to grow on me. I’m being careful with my words because I know if I get attached to him they’re just going to kill him but he’s almost like a father figure at CTU. He knows everything that’s happening, is collected and keeping everyone that he can in line while helping his agents out when he can, including Jack.

-For someone who wasn’t even planning to release the canisters on US soil Bierko has all kinds of contingency plans.

-If I were Chloe I wouldn’t want to tell Jack about Audrey and Cummings either. I don’t blame her for hesitating.

-Jack has been teetering on the verge of losing it completely for about 3 hours now. I hope when he finally does it’s when he’s on the happy end of a gun with the unhappy end pointed at Henderson.

-Classic Chloe, beating around the bush and stalling on telling Jack what he really needs to know. It seems that the longer she’s around the more people cut her off and tell her to just spill what she’s trying to say.

-That hotel manager must have been literally sitting in front of his computer when that email came in. Also, he must have some good memory or follow politics closely. There’s no way I could ever ID anyone but the head honcho of my country.

-That was a great location for that little chat between Jack and Chloe. I didn’t even realize Jack was in the shadows until he came out into the light but it really lit up his expression and you could almost see his feelings.

-Was Buchannan even thinking when he told Sheri to report to Chloe? What kind of welcoming committee is she?

-I really thought Chloe was going to go off yelling at Sheri for mentioning Edgar, instead she thanked her. Maybe Barry did help.

-Edgar’s station looks oddly large and empty without him in it. We’re so used to seeing Chloe glowering at him from her station that when she looks over and it’s empty it’s weird.

-I thought Miles was working at Edgar’s desk.

-Well, Audrey, you thought you were happy to see Jack. Ha, changed your mind pretty quick, didn’t you?

-Actually, Jack doesn’t have a job. He doesn’t work for CTU anymore, remember?

-I can’t hear the phrase “Walk through that door” without thinking of the Chinese guy that interrogated Bern last year.

-There’s a switch, someone telling Jack that HE’S wasting time. Usually it’s the other way around.

-I don’t think Jack needs to remind Audrey what the gas does. She was standing right next to him when they watched most of CTU’s workers die because of it.

-I know that Jack had to ask about Heller but I’m 99.9% sure that he could have nothing to do with terrorists. Unfortunately, I guess in 24 land that makes him a prime suspect.

-It was very wise of Jack to turn away from Audrey while questioning her about Cummings. His eyes would have given him away.

-Audrey is a terrible liar. There’s no way she could ever be a terrorist. She turns into the stutter queen when she starts to lie about Cummings.

-I thought for sure the deal was sealed when Audrey lied about Cummings. The way Jack responded made me think for sure that this made him sure that she was in on it.

-It was very scary the way Jack practically spit that she slept with him. I was ready or it to be followed with, “And now you must die.”

-Was anyone else expecting Jack to say ‘Open it’ again when Audrey hesitated about the folder? It was a longer time between repeating orders than usual.

-Well, I’m glad Walt was separated from his wife when he slept with Audrey.

-Audrey broke it off because Walt wasn’t Jack or because Walt wasn’t as good as Jack?

-Um, is Audrey familiar with Jack’s past? He slept with about the biggest mole EVER in CTU. Did she not get the memo?

-In all seriousness, it was great that you could practically see this thought pass by Jack when Audrey said that she didn’t want him to think less of her for sleeping with a mole.

-Even though this scene was shown in the trailer I still jumped 10 feet with Jack tossed the table on Audrey. Jack is scary when he’s mad.

-It was surprising to see Jack go to this extent with Audrey, I guess that’s the best he could do to physically push her without hurting her.

-Line of the week contender: Karen Hayes to Buchanan: “If you ask me, she broke him, not the other way around.”

-Although normally I would agree with that assessment on Karen’s part, I think that Jack knows Audrey very well and would know if she was lying, especially under the circumstances.

-Yeah, Buchannan did a bang up job of making sure Jack doesn’t interfere with the further interrogation of Audrey.

-Just when you thought that there were no more socially inept people anywhere on the planet, again, we are proved wrong with the entrance of Sheri. I can’t imagine the ‘Help wanted’ ad for these positions. “Wanted: Socially inept computer nerd for sometimes light, often gruelling work. Priority if you: Are a spy from another agency; can’t put a sentence together without insulting someone; have a short fuse. Death wish a necessity.

-Well, Karen, it sure looked to us that Jack pushed Audrey hard. Let’s see how long you’d last on her position?

-It’s not really all that surprising if Jack is protecting Audrey. She is the only thing he has left.

-How could Miles not check the whole file? Now that’s sloppy.

-If a light brush on the shoulder in congratulations is subtle, I wonder what ‘really bad’ is?

-You know, I know that sexual harassment is a big deal and is a real problem in a lot of workplaces. It’s unfortunate that it has been made into a joke by me and also an eye roller by the writers, we’re all to blame. Just don’t think that I don’t know that it’s serious, and try not to think of Sheri if there is someone that talks about it in your workplace.

-Jack could take Burke, at least he’s the right height for Jack.

-Buchannan’s useless pleas to Jack are almost comical. Of course Jack’s going to make things difficult, especially if they go against what he believes.

-That’s the second tazer that Jack has come into contact with today. At least Burke was a little easier on him then Henderson was. All Burke did was knock Jack down, Henderson knocked him out.

-Karen’s all up there watching like this is her house and nothing happens against her rules, bitch.

-So if Henderson wants Wayne dead because of his knowledge of the events from the day that means that he must have been the trigger man (figuratively) on Palmer’s hit and Michelle. The question remains: Who is Mr. “Pandora’s Box” protecting?

-I think the viewers would like to know what is at stake. Is there another terrorist plan here that’s just starting?

-How would Aaron not know if Wayne went through the road block? He’s the guy in charge, isn’t he?

-It’s nice to see someone taking care of Jack for a change, Buchannan is all set with the ice pack. I think we learned from that scene why no one really does take care of Jack, he tossed it aside after about 15 seconds.

-Jack was never very good at remembering who is in charge, especially if it’s not him.

-Karen’s statement about the fact that the plans were made a long time ago when “they believed Jack was going to be killed” doesn’t make any sense. The plot to kill Jack was hatched in minutes. There was belief that he was dead of course, that might have been what she meant.

-It’s good that Jack has figured out that this is all Henderson trying to get him thrown off course.

-Chloe has been taking lessons from Jack, stepping into Miles like that. Great.

-Does Jack really need to remind Chloe that they don’t have much time? I mean really, you’d think she’d know by now.

-Finding Colette’s name on Henderson’s computer is still more proof than they have about Audrey being tied to Colette. That’s just word of mouth.

-That’s an interestingly placed US flag in that little shack where they kept the keys for the gas company.

-That sure didn’t look like 17 canisters.

-The guy who plays Sam is a terrible actor. With all the no-name but well talented actors on the show I think they could have found someone better than that.

-Bierko looks way too young to be a terrorist mastermind. It could just be the hair dye.

-10 bucks say that if Bierko hadn’t been caught by CTU he would have killed terrible-acting Sam.

-I know they tried to make Wayne not sound like Wayne but his voice is almost as distinctive as David’s.

-I’m glad Wayne didn’t die yet, although, I’m sure his time will come.

-Where did Wayne get that gun? I don’t remember him being military trained so how did he manage to take down one of those commandos?

-Well Wayne, it’s pretty obvious that Pierce wasn’t just taking his gun for a stroll.

-So, is Wayne leading Pierce TO the commandos or away from them?

-Burke didn’t ask Henderson any questions as forcefully as he was with Audrey, why would he ask Audrey, the non ex agent anything?

-Buchannan looks so lost when Jack steamrolls past him, in fact, he still looks confused when Jack comes back out.

-I thought Jack was going to try to get away on them there or pull something strange on Jack.

-I should try that, picking up the phone and screaming “Get me the president!” and see what happens. For me the pizza guy on the other end would probably just hang up.

-Anyone else glad that the guard didn’t have a tazer? I was wondering if Jack would go 2 for 2.

-Line of the week: Jack to Colette: “Now I’m … upset.” Perfect delivery and a very mild way to put what Jack is probably feeling.

-When Jack has his gun on Colette, the chamber actually isn’t loaded. In fact, it’s jammed.

-That’s some nasty stuff that they’re giving Audrey. Henderson took it a bit better.

-Obviously Burke doesn’t want to screw with Jack when he’s alone. It’s all good when he’s got two guards to keep Jack busy but one on one…

-It was sweet to see Jack and Audrey make up. I know that I have been very anti Jack and Audrey and I’m not sure that I really do believe that they should get back together… but I really know how to hold a grudge.

-So now Audrey’s all pro doing his job no matter what it takes. She says twice in this episode, once when he’s interrogating her and once when Buchannan calls Jack. She must have come to her senses while Jack was gone and realized that his job is what it is. Oh no, is that me being pro Audrey/Jack?

-I have to admit the kiss between them was sweet, and very passionate.

-Second time in 3 hours that Jack has told someone that he will be right back and then goes away for a long time.

-I can’t even say anything about Sheri and her thing about Buchannan and the shoulder. So stupid, so annoying, ridiculous subplots.

-It was great to see Pierce kick some more ass.

-Here’s hoping Wayne’s okay. Or else they’ve done a good job of wiping out a big part of a family in one day.

-There are a lot of things happening in this episode, it feels very rushed like if there isn’t plot development for every second of the show the fans will get restless. I think that’s true to some extent but they need to build the suspense I little more I think. I’m not really complaining, though. I couldn’t do any better, that’s for sure.

-Why doesn’t Sam bring it to 52% and then crank it up so it shuts down?

-That must be one loud plant to not hear the chopper coming. It’s the silent season 2 finale chopper I guess.

-What was the deal with the music when Jack and Curtis went into the control room? It reminded me vaguely of noises my cat makes sometimes.

-Seeing Jack work with Curtis like that is almost like Jack having a partner again. It made me laugh to see those two goons go down simultaneously.

-I think they should just start painting giant targets on agents that they don’t even bother giving names too, like those two that went with Jack and Curtis. No name = no chance of survival.

-The man-bag has returned. Jack must have picked it up back at CTU.

-It seems that the reason that Jack told the team to take their silencers off was because (I think) there seems to be a general consensus that silencers negatively effect accuracy. At this point they want to be accurate not only to get the bad guy but to not accidentally blow up the gas mains. That’s for Jack to do on purpose.

-It’s obvious to me that Jack really wants to find Henderson, otherwise he would have just let Bierko get killed in the attack.

-Audrey’s expression was priceless and at the same time very sad as she watched what was going on at the plant.

-How much taller is Bierko that Jack? Really, the guy makes Sutherland look pretty small.

-I know that the writers are not stupid enough to kill Jack off so I’m not worried. At the same time, I thought they weren’t stupid enough to kill Tony off either.