6.14: 7:00pm - 8:00pm - Degrees of Success

6.14: 7:00pm - 8:00pm 
~ Degrees of Success ~
2007.03.19

7:00

CTU is clearing out the consulate, checking out bodies and cleaning up. Jack is seen in the split screen sitting sideways on a stretcher, shirt up, being checked. Doyle leaves the building and comes out to Jack and the medic looking at him. He tells them that the Medivac is on the way and asks how Jack is holding up. Jack claims to be fine but the perspiration on his face and his voice say otherwise. Doyle asks the medic who tells them both that he has floating rib fragments that may have caused internal bleeding. He needs to be stabilized. Jack impatiently reiterates that he is fine, he wants to be involved in this mission. Already walking away from Jack, Doyle says that CTU has the ball now, this is out of Jack’s hands. Jack looks up as the chopper descends.

Buchanan is on the phone with Daniels and he informs the Vice President that Gredenko is in possession of up to 5 RQ2 drones. They are unmanned aircraft with stealth technology which can be piloted from anywhere. They have been armed with nukes from Fayed. They have redirected satellites to that area and there are F16’s on the way from Edwards but they don’t know how close they are to launching the drones.

Fayed and Gredenko work on the drone. Gredenko is stressed out and tells Fayed that they have to go now. Fayed asks what is going on but Gredenko doesn’t explain he just asks how many drones have been armed. The answer is one. Gredenko needs to launch now, he tells Fayed and the others to get ready. Fayed again asks what the problem is and finally Gredenko says that the Americans know where they are. Fayed asks how they know, was it Markov, Markov told them. Gredenko says it doesn’t matter, all that matters is that they know where they are. They need to launch before the Americans close in. The have 3 bombs and 3 targets but they will find a way to deliver the other 2 bombs. Fayed is angry at Gredenko, all this time he tolerated his condescension, Gredenko berating him for losing the other bombs but Markov was his man. Gredenko says that Fayed can blame him all he wants but if they stay there they will be captured or killed. Fayed orders his men to get the bombs back in their casings and put them on the truck.

Gredenko calls a man named Victor and tells him to launch drone number 0709. Victor hasn’t finished the vectors for security yet, the Americans will shoot it down. Gredenko needs him to launch it now and then do the evasion tactics once he is in the air. Victor will do what he is told and he sits down and starts controlling the drone. We watch him manoeuvre the drone off the ground. Fayed and Gredenko watch it go and then Fayed tells his men they need to leave now.

Nadia talks on the phone giving information about the satellite tracking. Milo comes over to her desk as she hangs up and asks if she is okay. She nods and then after a few seconds she adds with a shaky voice not really. Milo assures her that they will get through this and he rests his hand on hers. Nadia hopes so. Soon Chloe comes over to the pair and Milo stands up and faces her. Judging by the look on her face he asks if there is problem. She answers, ‘Yeah.’ Nadia asks if she is going to tell them what it is. Chloe tells them that she was installing a security upgrade and she noticed that Nadia is using Milo’s clearance code. That’s a felony security breach. Milo says it must have been a mistake, his system has been glitchy but Chloe cuts him off and says that it’s not glitchy and she could have only got the code if she stole it or he gave it to her. Nadia admits to Chloe that Homeland Security sent a directive down limiting her clearance because she was born in the Middle East. Chloe heard of the directive and she thinks it is wrong to be racially profiling their agents but it is still a felony security breach to use Milo’s access code. Milo moves over to Chloe and tells her if she reports this they won’t be able to help CTU if they are fired and arrested. Chloe says that if she wanted to report them she wouldn’t be talking to them. She wanted to tell them to be careful, she noticed this and someone else will sooner or later. Milo turns back to Nadia as Buchanan calls down and tells her that Morris has the satellites on Shadow Valley, they have launched a single drone and he is on with General Walsh now. Nadia will be right there, she tells Milo to coordinate with all the first responders. Milo picks up the phone.

Buchanan talks to General Walsh saying that they have a visual of a single drone taking off and they are tracking it on the satellite. It is heading North West out of the Shadow Valley and the drone has a low profile making it impossible to detect by radar. They will manually guide the F16’s to intercept the drone. They discuss the target, if it is downtown Los Angeles it gives them a 4 minute window at the drone’s speed of 400 miles per hour. The F16’s can intercept in 2 minutes. Morris suddenly looses a visual on the drone. Stunned he works to try and find the drone. He explains that when it passed between grids he lost it. The general asks him to redirect and Morris it out of his seat and running out of the room as he calls he is doing it now, it’s just not where it’s supposed to be. Until they find the drones they will put the F16’s in a holding pattern.

Fayed and Gredenko are driving in their vehicles. Victor speaks with Gredenko saying he has accessed their connection to CTU and disabled their tracking abilities. They cannot detect the drone and he will be able to keep it hidden until it gets to his target.

Lennox hangs up the phone and says that they lost visual with the drone, it’s unclear how they lost it but they can’t find it. Daniels is angry, they have the most prolific satellite network in the world, how did this happen. They don’t know but they are looking for it. Daniels asks about the military and is told that there are F16’s out looking but the drone is invisible to radar so the pilots are left to trying to make a visual ID at night over hundreds of square miles of terrain. CTU has a list of possible targets and civilian disaster scenarios. Daniels has heard enough, he wants to advance his meeting with the Joint Chiefs. Ton asks why and Daniels tells him that he warned the Ambassador that he would be responsible if there was another nuclear detonation on American soil. Tom argues that there is no evidence that his country sponsored or supported those with the nukes. Daniels says that he needs to know that he is not just rattling his sabre, he needs to see with his own eyes that he will answer the threat with an in kind military response. Tom is pulled in by that statement and repeats, ‘In kind, Sir?’ Daniels wants the Joint Chiefs to draw up it’s own target list for a nuclear strike. Tom gawks from Lisa to Daniels who says that he will not let another attack go unanswered.

7:10

7:15

Chloe works on her computer and tells Buchanan that if the drone was coming to LA it would have hit by now, they can take it off the target list. They can also take San Diego and Santa Barbara of the list in a few minutes. That leaves 15 cities in range but the maximum civilian death toll would be if it hit San Francisco or Las Vegas. Buchanan wants Chloe to have NEST teams and First Responders on standby in those cities. Jack and Doyle arrive at CTU as Buchanan asks Morris for the projected coordinates.

Jack comes out onto the floor and calls Bill. He doesn’t respond and Jack says his name again. Once he has Buchanan’s attention Jack asks if they picked up Gredenko. Passing by Jack Buchanan says no, they didn’t, they’re working on it. Jack wants to know what happened and Buchanan tells him simply that he escaped, but not before launching one of the drones. Jack wants to know how close they are to intercepting and Buchanan says they had a satellite on it but it has disappeared, they are looking for it. Jack is unhappy with this and Buchanan finally seems to be paying attention and tells Jack kindly to get to medical, there’s nothing he can do here. Jack whispers for Buchanan to keep him informed and he agrees. Jack leaves and Doyle is left standing there. Buchanan wants him to run point on the search for the drone; Milo is already in the situation room monitoring.

Jack walks through CTU with an agent in tow, he comes around a corner and sees Marilyn standing speaking to another agent. Jack dismisses the agent with him and enters to where Marilyn is. He asks that agent for a minute alone with her and she complies. Marilyn asks with concern if Jack is okay, she heard he was hurt. He claims to be fine and she says nothing, just looks at Jack for a few seconds. He breaks her gaze and says quietly that as soon as this is all over he will come by and check on her and Josh. She smiles at him and says that she always regretted that things didn’t work out between them. She always believed that he did too. She moves in to Jack ready to kiss him but instead of returning the gesture, Jack turns away. Quickly realizing this, Marilyn says quietly that maybe she was wrong. He admits that she wasn’t but tells her that before he was taken prisoner by the Chinese, he was with someone, ‘She doesn’t know that I’m still alive. I need to talk to her, see what happens.’ Marilyn asks if he is talking about Audrey Raines. Surprised by her knowledge, Jack says yes. Regret in her eyes, Marilyn asks, “You don’t know, do you?” Curious, Jack tilts his head and Marilyn continues, “I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, Audrey’s dead.” Marilyn doesn’t know all the details, she just knows what she read in the paper about her accident. Stunned, Jack asks when the accident was. Marilyn says it was a few months ago, ‘It was a car accident, somewhere in China.’ Whispering, Jack repeats, ‘ China?’ Numb, Jack starts to back away from Marilyn asking to be excused. He says he’s sorry, he has to go. He leaves Marilyn and goes back the way he came, towards the CTU atrium working hard to hold in his emotions.

Jack goes out the glass door and goes right to Chloe’s station taking the phone out of her hand in mid-sentence and hanging it up. She looks at him as he asks her, “Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me about Audrey?” Chloe looks at Jack scared, waiting for the rest of his reaction but when it doesn’t come she tells him ‘Mr. Buchanan didn’t want to tell you when you first got back because we all thought Fayed was just going to kill you.’ Jack puts his hands behind his head and paces in front of Chloe’s desk listening to her explanation. Chloe apologizes, she probably should have told him. Face red and voice showing his sadness Jack asks, “She was in China lookin’ for me?” He covers his eyes as Chloe explains that Audrey was the one that figured out the Chinese took him and she spent the last year going through back channels to try and get him out. The rest has been classified by Division and she doesn’t know any more. Jack paces some more as Chloe tells him that they asked to be sent a copy of her DNA records so that they could get a positive ID on her remains, ‘Which I guess they did.’ Dangerously, Jack says he wants that file. Chloe agrees to get it for him but Jack snaps “Now!” Chloe will have to dig it up in archives and Jack tells her through gritted teeth to just do it. Buchanan and Doyle are working in the situation room and Buchanan sees Jack. Doyle looks up for a few seconds but Jack has locked eyes with Buchanan who seems sympathetic and probably has guessed what Jack has learned. Buchanan watches, upset himself, as Jack leaves the floor and walks angrily back towards medical, hand on his damaged ribs.

Lisa tells Daniels that the Secretary of Defence and the Joint Chiefs will be attending the meeting in person. The others will be part of it via satellite and the cabinet will be given a transcript. Lisa warns Daniels that Karen Hayes will also be attending. Daniels is angry, he told her that he wanted Hayes excluded from the meeting, she supports Wayne Palmer’s policies of appeasement. Lisa can’t do anything about it, she is still the acting National Security Advisor and any objections she might have to his plan will not be able to gain any traction. Daniels watches Karen walk and ponders out loud that he has known Karen Hayes for many years and it is always a mistake to underestimate her.

Karen walks up to Tom Lennox and observes that it looks like someone has pushed him down the stairs. Casually, Tom replies, “No, Karen, I tripped over your ineptitude.” Karen can’t suppress a smile as he continues, ‘On that subject, welcome back.’ Karen does not want to play any games, she will not let him blackmail her again. He can do what he needs to but she is here to represent the President and she intends to stay. Tom says that’s fair enough. He tells her that no one is sorrier than he is about what happened to Wayne. Karen answers that at least they have that in common. She leaves and he follows her.

The pair of advisors arrive in the meeting just before Daniels. He tells them all to be seated and begins to talk. He says that Abu Fayed and Dmitri Gredenko launched an aerial drone which they believe has been armed with a nuclear bomb. They have been attempting to locate the drone but have failed so far. They are looking at a second attack on this country in less than 10 hours. Daniels will not let this attack happen without a military response. Secretary Kanin was under the impression that these terrorists were stateless. Daniels argues that is the fiction behind them but everyone in the room knows that those in Abu Fayed’s country train and fund terrorists and they need to be held accountable. If this bomb detonates they will retaliate with their own strike, a warning shot, not a full strike, but an unpopulated area with limited casualties. A General says that the closest thing they have found to that is a spot near their northern border. There would be 2000 immediate casualties but over time and depending on conditions there may be more. Karen and Tom are both surprised by these numbers but Daniels says evenly that he can accept that. Karen urges Daniels that their intelligence suggests that they can’t control Fayed either, they are doing the best they can. Daniels is saying they need to do better, something tells him once the bomb hits they will. Karen says the opposite is true, the moderates will be driven from power and the terrorist position will be strengthened there. Karen also doesn’t hear anyone talking about the Chinese or Russian response to this. If Daniels thought there was a high likelihood of that he wouldn’t be doing this. Karen warns that the stakes are too high on this for his personal judgement, this is dangerous and reckless. Daniels tells her to consider her concerns registered but the debate is over. Daniels tells them that America has to stand up for herself and the attacks have to stop. As acting Commander in Chief he believes that this is the way to make that happen. He tells the Admiral to have the nuclear strike submarine standing by. The Admiral takes his order and they all stand as Daniels leaves, Karen is sluggish out of her seat and stares at Tom.

7:24

7:28

Milo says that he never got the files Nadia was supposed to send. She noticed that his system was overloaded so she sent the files to Morris. Milo is sceptical if Morris can handle it but Nadia thinks he seems like himself again. Milo wants to know if it’s because he took a drink and smoothed out. Nadia brushes it off, she doesn’t think so. Milo heads over to Chloe’s station and asks what she is doing. She snaps she is setting up reverse data on the satellite intel. Milo observes semi-casually that Morris seems better. Chloe asks if that was a question and Milo asks if he is better. Chloe believes he is but Milo asks for a favour, he needs her to check Morris’s breath, if he is better great but if he had a drink and is headed for another crash they need to know. Chloe reluctantly agrees. She gets up and walks straight to Morris’s station where he is standing hunched over his desk. She puts her hand on his shoulder to get his attention and when he turns to her, Chloe kisses Morris on the mouth. While she does, Milo smiles and once they part Morris asks what that was for. Chloe admits straight up that she was just checking his breath. Chloe turns and goes back to Milo, passing by him saying, ‘He’s fine.’ Milo thanks her. Morris sighs and says to himself with a half smile, “Gotta love this place.”

Karen trails Tom Lennox down the hall calling him. He turns and says that he hears her and she says that he cannot be in favour of this attack. Tom says that she heard the president, it is a warning shot into an unpopulated area. Karen says it is a military offensive and will be impossible to contain. Tom stops and Karen says that he knows that this is wrong. She saw him in the meeting, she saw the doubt in his eyes. Tom is short with Karen and warns her not to presume to know what he is thinking or feeling, he serves at the discretion of those about him. Karen tells him that he serves the President and he knows that Wayne would not sign off on this course of action. Tom says that Wayne was wrong, every decision he made today was wrong, rejecting the security plan, the way he dealt with Assad, and look what it led them to. Karen thinks that Tom cannot believe that. It doesn’t matter what Tom believes, as long as Wayne is in a coma Daniels is the acting chief and if Karen wants to abort the missile strike she better pray that CTU can find and stop the drone. He leaves her standing there.

Doyle tells Buchanan that they have ground teams on all the roads looking for Gredenko but with satellite looking for the drone they don’t have much chance finding Gredenko. Milo tells them that CalTran doesn’t have any cameras set up in the outlying areas. Chloe enters carrying a laptop and announces that she has found out how they stopped them from tracking the drone, whoever is piloting the drone is able to issue a directive. The satellite data is being relayed to the pilot from a station here, they have a leak. It looks like it’s one of their own but Chloe is not able to isolate the station, the IP has been masked, it could take an hour to find it. They don’t have an hour and Doyle looks out surveying the CTU. He commands Chloe to run a trace on Nadia Yassir’s computer. Milo is on him in a second asking why Nadia, is he doing this because she’s a Muslim? Doyle reminds Milo that it is protocol since she has already been tagged with restricted clearance, and, he adds with attitude, ‘Yeah, she is a Muslim, that’s enough go to on. Everyone is thinking if even if they’re not saying it.’ Milo calls Doyle a racist and Buchanan steps in telling Milo that he understands his hesitation but they have to vet every system, there’s no reason for them not to start with hers. Milo sees every reason, she is loyal to this country and not a terrorist. Doyle jumps back in asking Milo, ‘Is this based on some private knowledge or is it because you want to sleep with her?’ This time Milo goes at Doyle and Buchanan is forced to yell at them to separate them. He tells Doyle that he is out of line and he doesn’t have time for their differences, they need to find out who is subverting their systems. Chloe has already been working and tells them that it is Nadia, the trace matched her computer. The only way Chloe can shut down her station is to reboot the main frame and they would be without power for 20 minutes. Doyle calls security and wants them on the floor, he heads out to Nadia’s station. As soon as he gets to her he accuses her of streaming data to the pilot and he asks where he is. Buchanan has seen enough out here and tells them to take Nadia to holding. She is pulled up and led away but she cries for them not to do this, she is innocent, not a traitor. They pull her by the situation room where Milo watches. Doyle wants Morris to secure her station and after pausing for a second he gets up and comes over. They need to find out where the feed is going. He takes control of the computer with Doyle over his shoulder.

Gredenko is on the phone while consulting a map. Victor says that the drone is 130 miles south east of the target, it has been locked in by GPS and the bomb will detonate over San Francisco in 20 minutes. Gredenko hangs up his phone.

7:34

7:39

Wayne lies unconscious on an oxygen mask. Karen looks in the window as the doctor tells the other workers that if they see any kind of movement to come and get him. The Doctor, named Welton, passes by Karen and she stops him. He doesn’t have much time to spare but she wants to know the President’s condition. Welton tells her that it has worsened in the last 15 minutes, he had intracranial pressure and they had to induce a coma to relieve the pressure. There is no swelling and his vitals are surprisingly strong, he’s a fighter and at least they have that going for them. Welton leaves and Karen stops him again asking if there is any way to bring him back to consciousness. Karen knows this is unusual but it’s a matter of National Security that she speaks with him. Welton says that it would risk his life, he can’t make that decision. Karen wants to know who can and Welton motions across the room to Sandra Palmer saying that consent has to come from his family but he advises against it. If the swelling is not contained he could have permanent brain damage. Welton has to go. Karen looks across seeing Sandra watching her brother and crying.

Morris works on his computer with Chloe over his shoulder. Milo sits across from them slumped defeated in his chair watching Nadia being interrogated on the monitor. Chloe comes around and looks on and Milo comments that this is insane, Nadia can’t be involved in this. Chloe argues that the feed was routed to her station, they can’t ignore that. Milo asks if she believes Nadia was helping terrorists. Chloe doesn’t want to but she doesn’t know. Milo utters under his breath, “Doyle’s an ass.” He is just doing his job and Chloe tells Milo that if they want him to stop, they are going to have to prove Nadia is innocent.

Morris pipes up that he has something, the person that set up the feed will see Morris’s intrusion as static but he might be able to ride that and find the location. In seconds he has it, 1530 Hillcrest. Milo comments that that’s close, Morris corrects him that it’s bloody close, 3 blocks. Milo goes to tell Buchanan.

Doyle pulls up a chair and sits down across from Nadia. He is asking her again to cooperate to help put an end to this. Nadia just stares at Doyle and he looks down for a second and then lunges at Nadia grabbing her throat. He warns her that he will do what is necessary to get the answers he needs. He lets her go and she gasps for breath looking at him in contempt. When she finds her voice she tells Doyle that she understands everything, she has read his file, she knows what he did in Denver, she knows he enjoys hurting people, ‘You get off on it.’ Doyle says that they are not there to talk about him, they are talking about her and what she knows. Nadia claims that she doesn’t know anything. He grabs her by the hair but before he can do anything Milo opens the door and tells Doyle to get his hands off of her. Doyle asks what Milo is doing and Milo says that they got the pilots location through the computer. It’s 3 blocks away, 1530 hillcrest. Doyle threatens that he is not through with Nadia and leaves. Nadia catches her breath and silent cries while Milo looks on. He asks if she is okay and she nods. She tells him tearfully that he knows that she didn’t have anything to do with this. When he doesn’t answer she simply tells him to go, get out of there. Milo opens his mouth to say something but then leaves without a word.

Jack sits in medical, his entire midsection wrapped in a giant bandage. Painfully he reaches behind him and picks up the black folder bearing Audrey’s information. He opens it silently seeing a memo in Chinese on the left side and her dossier on the other, the word “Deceased” stamped over it. Jack turns the page and finds photos of the car accident. Shaking his head slightly he looks at the photos and something sticks out at him. One image of Audrey’s partially covered body shows her arm out and a watch on her left hand. The next page shows her singed passport. Jack hears agents outside walking by and talking. He puts the file down and slides off the bed, walking over to the door his scarred back is revealed over the bandage. Jack stops the next agent passing by and asks what is going on. The man tells Jack that they have a location on the pilot they are moving out now. Jack lets him go.

Buchanan briefs CTU about the pilot, he is in close proximity to CTU and he is initializing a Level 1 security lockdown as a provisional safeguard until further notice. He sends them to work and looks up to see Jack, now with a shirt on, walking up. Buchanan goes to Marcy and asks her to contact LAPD and coordinate with tactical to seal off the perimeter. Buchanan watches Jack walk to Chloe’s station. There he asks if they have an address. Chloe says it’s a relay station. Jack wants a PDA and a phone, she will get it. Buchanan comes over and asks Jack what he is doing. Jack answers he is going with the team. Buchanan is concerned, Jack is injured and should be in medical. Defiant, Jack tells Buchanan that he should have told him about Audrey. He hands the file back over to Buchanan. Bill sadly tells Jack that they were asking him to give his life, he didn’t think it was right to tell him about Audrey’s accident. Jack snaps that it wasn’t an accident but Buchanan tells him that no one knows that for sure. Jack does. He tells Buchanan, ‘Audrey gave her life trying to get me out of a Chinese prison because she thought I was worth it. I’m not gonna let her die for nothing now. I’m gonna finish this and when I do I’m gonna track down the people responsible for her murder and I’m gonna take care of them too.’ Buchanan looks at Jack in sympathy and Jack asks him, ‘You have to let me finish this.’ After a pause Buchanan agrees and will tell Doyle that Jack is running point. Jack nods at Buchanan.

7:46

7:50

Victor tells Gredenko that the drone is approaching the city and it descending now. It will be in the target perimeter in 3 minutes and it will detonate automatically when it reaches a set out perimeter. He is bringing the drone down to 500 feet to achieve maximum damage. It is all set up exactly as Gredenko planned. Gredenko tells Victor to concentrate on the task at hand and call him when it is done.

Jack and Doyle are outside waiting to move in on the pilot. Jack radios Bill and says that they are in position and the gate is open. There is a truck parked behind the building. Chloe tells Jack that the trace indicates that the controller is in the North West corner of the building. Jack confirms and he signs off with CTU. Preparing, he pauses and puts his hand on his injured ribs. Doyle offers to take point on this but Jack grunts that he’s got it. Standing Doyle backs off, ‘Whatever you say.’ They move towards the entry point and shoot the man coming out of the building. Victor hears the noise and tells the man with him to go and check outside. Victor brings the drone down. Jack and the team advance, killing the man that was sent to check on the noise. Victor now knows that something is up, sets the drone and takes cover. Jack enters the room and Victor starts firing. He pulls a grenade out of his bag but before he can pull the pin he is shot. The grenade rolls away. Jack calls for a medic and sits down in front of the computer.

Jack tells CTU that San Francisco is the target, Buchanan orders local law enforcement and first responders. Jack will have to navigate the drone away, there is no way to deactivate it. He tells CTU that it is set up to detonate as soon as it crosses the perimeter. Doyle connects the controls to CTU. Jack tries to navigate the drone away but it gives him a stabilization warning, he will lose control of he turns too sharply. CTU tells Jack that the bomb will enter the perimeter in 30 seconds. Doyle checks his watch. Jack works the controls to manoeuvre the drone away while Doyle gives him the countdown every 10 seconds. Jack just barely manages to turn the drone away from the detonation perimeter and start it in another direction. Jack is fighting a stall on the drone and he needs to take it down. Milo looks in the specs and sees that it needs 500 feet to land and Chloe tells Jack there’s a long stretch of road right in front of him. Jack tells them that’s a negative, find him an unpopulated area. They find him an industrial park that is just long enough. Buchanan tells Morris to call regional command. Jack brings the drone in and he can see the ground come up, he puts the drone down hard. The drone starts to move sideways and slide around. It hits the side of a pole and sparks fly, eventually the drone comes to rest but is on fire. The video feed goes down to static. CTU is told that none of the first responders are reporting a detonation, the nuke did not go off. Jack gets up and then asks for the status on the pilot. He is alive, but barely. The need to do whatever they have to to get him conscious. Jack sniffles and walks away.

Police, fire and ambulance arrive at the scene of the drone crash. The fire chief stops them and gets out a device that reads the amount of nuclear particles in the air. The machine goes crazy and the chief orders them all out of there, there is radioactive material in the air, they are to fall back and wait for Haz-Mat. The nuclear core is on fire.

In the split screen we see Wayne, Buchanan, Doyle, Sandra, Jack and the drone pilot and Nadia.

Lisa enters to where Daniels is and says that Bill Buchanan is on line one. Buchanan tells them that they intercepted the bomb before it was detonated. It landed in an industrial park at the edge of the city. The nuclear core was compromised and radioactive material was released. Daniels concludes it is a dirty bomb. Karen figures that this was not a dispersal device but a radiological spill. Daniels sees it as an attack on the nation. Tom looks in disbelief at Daniels who asks if there are casualties. Buchanan tells him that local response was there before Haz-Mat and they were almost certainly exposed. The material was not widely dispersed and the casualties will be minimal. At least they have that to be grateful for, Daniels thanks Buchanan.

Daniels thinks for a few seconds and then tells them to proceed with the warning strike as planned. Karen argues immediately that the attack was averted and CTU was successful. Daniels says there will be casualties as well as an untold environmental toll, this is not a success. The damage is minimal compared to what they avoided, they are fortunate. Daniels turns his back on Karen and she turns to Tom gaping. Tom was led to believe that the warning show would be fired in response to the detonation of a nuclear device. Daniels says that is a technicality, he gave fair warning to the prime minister and he intends to carry it out. Tom backs off, unhappy, as Daniels asks how long it will take them to move into position once the order has been given. Secretary Kanin says within the hour. Daniels gives the order to launch the missile as soon as they are in range. Tom and Karen are both speechless.

8:00

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

-Jack had so little last time last episode that he’s the 2 nd name on the previously’s. More important that Jack (apparently): Mike Doyle, Dmitri Gredenko, and CTU. Jack was in the last frame, though.

-Also, one of the two scenes is slightly different, they must have used a different take for after he shoots Vasili, they didn’t show the little stumble and also, there was no static on the line last week when he lost connection with Morris, it was just dead.

-Was the Medivac chopper coming to get Jack or was it coming to get the Russian worker who was shot? The way Jack looks at it with malice makes me think that it was coming to get him.

-I think that’s the first time that they have called a Medivac for Jack and Jack alone.

-Did that medic have an accent? Not that it matters but it sounded like he was trying to cover it up. The word “floating” gave him away.

-If Jack wasn’t hurt he probably would have punched Doyle in the face for talking to him like that.

-Speaking of poorly delivered lines (okay, maybe we weren’t), “CTU has the ball now Jack, this is out of your hands.” Terrible, just terrible.

-If Jack ends up with internal bleeding, that’s bad, very bad.

"Initially, internal bleeding itself causes no symptoms, although an injured organ that is bleeding is often painful. However, the person may be distracted from this pain by other injuries or may be unable to express pain because of confusion, drowsiness, or unconsciousness. Eventually, internal bleeding usually becomes apparent. … Extensive blood loss causes low blood pressure, making the person feel weak and dizzy. The person may faint when standing or even sitting and, if blood pressure is very low, lose consciousness… A lay person cannot stop internal bleeding. If extensive bleeding causes light-headedness or symptoms of shock, the person should be laid down and the legs elevated. Professional help should be summoned as quickly as possible" (http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec24/ch299/ch299e.html)

Apparently, it’s not too common for nasty things to happen from broken ribs, but Jack is under extreme circumstances. Complications
When ribs break, the sharp edges can occasionally puncture your lung or surrounding tissue. This can cause blood (hemothorax) or air (pneumothorax) to accumulate in the space between your lungs and the walls of your chest. These conditions require immediate medical attention. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/broken-ribs/DS00939/DSECTION=7)

-Here’s a question, if Victor, the drone pilot, makes a type-o, would he launch a drone that is not in their possession?

-Gredenko can have as many drones as he wants but he only has 3 nukes.

-Who do we think is going to kill who in the end? Will Gredenko kill Fayed or the other way around. That’s a tough call but I think I have my money on Gredenko only because he was introduced later.

-That’s so Chloe to make her own decision, outside of protocol, about Milo and Nadia. I’m glad that she did because I don’t believe that Nadia is bad.

-400 miles an hour, lets pull that drone over and give it a speeding ticket.

-Morris sure seems to be back to himself, maybe even better. He really seems to care about finding the drone and doing whatever he can.

-I rolled my eyes when Milo brought up the drinking thing again. I was SO happy when it was gone and I hope that it stays gone this time.

-Does it need to be said that I don’t like Daniels?

-Why is Buchanan being so cold with Jack all of a sudden? He was buddy buddy with him for a while but when he gets back to CTU he practically ignores him, doesn’t want to talk to him. I know the guy is busy but this is Jack we’re talking about.

-I don’t like Jack getting passed over, sent away while Doyle gets the work.

-Why is Marilyn still at CTU? Where is her son? Shouldn’t she have been sent home a long time ago? Are we being set up for Jack to fall in love with her? I certainly hope not.

-The scene where Jack finds out about Audrey would have been twice as powerful if it came from Buchanan, and that’s before we factor in the on-screen-chemistry factor. Sutherland and Morrison have boatloads more chemistry than Sutherland and Sopher. Put her with Doyle and send them BOTH on a ship to China, and then sink it.

-I love that agent that was with Marilyn, she left before Jack even said anything to her.

-It’s great how Jack keeps shrugging off internal injury, like he is not going to be effected or something.

-Marilyn SHOT DOWN by Jack. Nice.

-What kind of ridiculousness is this anyway? Marilyn’s husband just died, yeah, okay so she didn’t love him, still. And Jack just got back from China, he hasn’t even been on American soil for 24 hours yet and she is throwing herself at him. I guess Josh will be psychologically scarred, she might as well just top it off by getting with someone new before the body of his father is even cold. Damn. How can she even be thinking about that after all the shit that she’s been through today. It’s crazy and stupid and if Jack ends up with her I’ll be right pissed off. I never thought I’d be advocating for Audrey but hey, if she makes Jack happy then that’s the important thing. I never had a problem with Kim Raver, it was Audrey’s back and forth, love hate towards Jack that ticked me off.

-What happened to the jacket that Jack was carrying when he entered the room with Marilyn? By the time he gets to Chloe’s desk it’s gone.

-So, all that time that Jack was with Teri he regretted the way things worked out between him and Marilyn? Suuure.

-The scene where Jack finds out about Audrey is just another example of why Jack Bauer IS 24. Sutherland acts this so perfectly, every syllable is exactly the way it should be, every expression shows what he is thinking. He showed more acting chops in that 45 seconds than anyone else in CTU has all season.

-Just heap the guilt on Jack’s giant guilt pile. Audrey died trying to save him. Great.

-Chloe’s reaction to Jack was awesome, like she thought that he was going to kick her ass.

-I laughed when Jack hung up the phone like that on Chloe.

-So, here’s an indication that something is up with Audrey’s ‘death’. “… asked for the DNA records so that they could get a positive ID on the remains, which I GUESS they did.” Okay, so no one in the US ever saw the body or had a chance to identify the remains on their own? Should that not raise red flags?

-I’m not a fan of killing off main characters when we’re not around. Really, like, it’s bad enough they kill a crapload of them during the season, now they’re doing it between too?

-Buchanan has to already know what Jack just found out, so why didn’t he confront him on it before? That’s very un-Buchanan like.

-It’s nice that Daniels respects Karen.

-Why doesn’t Tom speak up when he knows that Daniels is doing the wrong thing? It’s like Karen is his anti-good. As soon as she shows up he feels like he needs to be the biggest jerk there is.

-Line of the week: Tom to Karen: “No, Karen, I tripped over your ineptitude.”

-Did anyone else think that maybe that ineptitude line was not planned? Jayne Atkinson was almost laughing out loud.

-Karen could ask Jack about the bruises resulting from being pushed down the stairs.

-Tom isn’t doing a very good job of showing that he is sorry for what happened to Wayne, especially since he’s doing whatever Daniels asks.

-It sounds weird to hear them call Wayne ‘ Wayne’, it’s usually “The President”.

-Daniels makes some pretty bold statements for ‘everyone in the room’, especially since not everyone in the room believes what he is saying.

-What is Daniels expecting from the other country? They are not going to be able to do anything about Fayed while they are dealing with a nuclear crisis.

-We can see that Karen doesn’t respect Daniels as much as she did Palmer, with good cause. Palmer wasn’t some crazy man looking to start a war for no real reason.

-I have trouble believing that Daniels is not dirty, there has to be an ulterior motive. At the same time, another dirty politician is pushing it, but how can he be that stupid?

-Doesn’t anyone anywhere but Karen have the stones to stand up and tell Daniels to pull his head out of his ass? “Excuse me, Mr. Vice President, but could you just come up for air for a few seconds and see the light?”

-Well, we are seeing aspects of the good old Chloe.

-Line of the week contender: Morris to himself: “Gotta love this place”

-How can Tom say that Wayne was wrong all day? It got them to a better place then they are right now didn’t it?

-I sense that as Tom tells Karen to pray that CTU find the missile to stop the strike that he is also doing the same thing.

-Can’t Tom just admit that Karen is right, he does have doubts? Or is admitting she is right like stopping and asking for directions? Just not gonna happen. Tom would probably be driving around in Area 51 and STILL not ask for directions, and he was trying to find New York.

-Here’s a thought, a couple actually, and I’m just spit-balling here, but what happens if they set up the feed so that the first person they look into appears guilty but that’s not the real case. But then who’s feeing them the information? Well, lets think. Who do we know that is not evil but maybe could give out information about CTU to terrorists? Hmm, how about Audrey? No, no, stay with me here. Let’s say that Audrey is not dead, she was captured. Makes sense, right? I mean, they didn’t kill Jack because “You are much to valuable to kill.” (To quote Cheng) The Chinese know something they can milk when it falls in their lap. So, they capture Audrey, stage her ‘death’ and interrogate her for the last year. They would know she’s in China because she was trying to get Jack out using back channels anyways. Any information they get from her they share with other terrorist groups, such as Fayed and Gredenko. This is exactly what Logan and Cummings feared would happen with Jack when he was going to be handed over to the Chinese. The reason he was supposed to be killed instead. For all we know Audrey could have spent the last year in the cell down the row from Jack. If the US thinks she’s dead then they’re not going to be trying to get her out, are they? I’m probably not even close but that would be something that makes perfect sense to me.

-Doyle says the word “Muslim” like he’s never even heard it before. It’s weird.

-I can’t believe Milo called him a racist, even though it was appropriate.

-I love it when Buchanan yells. He is usually so collected that when he has to yell at someone you know it’s gotta be serious.

-I know it’s a satellite phone but if you are doing something as evil as setting off a nuclear bomb, you want to be talking about it as little as possible, especially on the phone.

-That’s the perfect role for Sandra Palmer, standing there looking sad. It’s when she opens her mouth I hate her.

-I concur with Milo – “Doyle’s an ass.”

-I’m sure that we will find out what happened with Doyle in Denver, especially since it keeps coming up. I hope it gets him fired from CTU LA too.

-Where did they get a tensor bandage that big? It looks like 1 big bandage on Jack.

- That deceased stamp that they use on everyone’s dossier once they are dead must be the most used object in CTU. They probably order them by the case.

-According to previous seasons, Audrey wears her watch on her right wrist, not her left. Something is strange, and Jack knows it.

-Jack’s scars look bad, including the injury that Fayed inflicted on him earlier.

-When Buchanan sees Jack it’s almost like he knows Jack is going to be mad.

-What is Doyle doing standing there like an idiot after Buchanan is finished the briefing. What a stupid place to be.

-This seemed like a weird line for Jack to deliver “…because she thought I was worth it.” Doesn’t sound very Jack-ish to me.

-The part that got me worked up was this: “I’m gonna track down the people responsible for her murder and I’m gonna take care of them too” Ahh, nothing like a revenge arc.

-A single point for Doyle. He doesn’t argue with Jack when he says that he can still run point, even though he’s injured.

-That Medivac chopper should just follow Jack around. Wherever he goes there is certainly going to be injuries.

-If Daniels doesn’t see what CTU did as successful then why did they even bother? It’s like, well, if you don’t care, why did we even bother going through all the work. He measures success on a different level than they do.

*All stories, characters, plots and ideas © 20th Century Fox. No infringement intended or implied.*