7.08: 3:00pm - 4:00pm - The Line

7.08: 3:00p.m. - 4:00p.m.

~ The Line ~
2009.02.09

3:00

One of Dubaku’s thugs waits and Vossler shows up in his car. He gets out and the thug asks if he is sure he was not followed. Vossler is sure. He wants help getting Taylor inside. They get the First Gentleman out of the trunk and into a back door. He is gagged and his hands are tied.

Dubaku walks out on the street in front of a Starbucks. He makes his way to a cart where a TV is showing the Presidential address. Taylor speaks about the attack in Kidron and that it was an act of terror but the people behind it are no longer a threat. Their attempt to stop the US from being involved in Sangala has failed and they will begin their operation to liberate the people of Sangala. She is convinced that Juma’s regime will collapse quickly and democracy will be restored under Prime Minister Matobo.

Dubaku continues his stroll and heads into a storefront. The man behind the counter sees Dubaku but says nothing as he passes through the store, to the back and unlocks a padlock on a door. Dubaku opens it up and heads down a flight of stairs where some men are watching TV. He calls them to follow and Taylor is waiting, bound to a chair. Dubaku congratulates Vossler for a job well done. Vossler has to go, his shift starts at 4. Dubaku will wire the money to his offshore account. Dubaku directs his attention to Taylor and says that the room is soundproof so there is no point in screaming or trying to call for help. Dubaku tells one of the thugs to remove the gag and when he does Henry wastes no time in calling Dubaku a son of a bitch. Henry accuses him of being behind his son’s death. Dubaku says he was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Taylor warns that Dubaku will not get away with this, they are all going to be looking for him. Dubaku thinks Taylor should be concerned with the question does his wife love him enough to stop the invitation of Dubaku’s country. Dubaku claims to hope the answer is yes. He gets up and one of the guys sets up a phone with a laptop.

Taylor continues her press conference talking about law enforcement agencies while in a split screen we see Jack, Renee and Buchanan brought into the building and led to an elevator. Taylor asks for prayer for those who lost their lives so far today and the troops who put their lives on the line in the name of freedom. She bids them good afternoon and the cameras are turned off. Kanin goes to Taylor and helps her down from the very high podium. Kanin says that Matobo and the others were brought in by agents that he personally trusts through the underground route. Taylor asks who they are and Kanin tells her that they are Bill Buchanan who Taylor met when he was with CTU LA, FBI Agent Renee Walker and, he ends sounding unbelieving, Jack Bauer. Taylor stops, turns and repeats Jack’s name. He was one of Matobo’s kidnappers, it makes no sense. Kanin agrees and Taylor seems stressed as she says Matobo asked her to listen to what they have to say and she is willing to do so. She wants them to be sent into the office. Kanin opens the door and they’re all on the other side. Kanin says the President is ready for them and Matobo is the first one in the room. Taylor calls him by his first name, they kiss cheeks and she can’t tell him how thankful she is that he and his wife are safe. Matobo thanks her and says she is with Mr. Buchanan’s people now. Taylor is ashamed that this ordeal happened on US soil and Jack fidgets with his hands in the background. Matobo says his chief concern is for Sangala, not himself. He asks about the invasion timetable and she has issued the order for them to proceed. Now its Kanin’s turn to be uncomfortable but Matobo is happy. “You are doing my people a great service, much like these people have done for your country.” Matobo motions to Buchanan, Jack and Renee. Taylor looks at them, “Now, forgive me Prime Minister but I’m finding that hard to believe.” Matobo assures her with a smile that none of this is what it seems. Matobo says they are there to explain themselves; he wants to be excused so he can discuss post invasion plans with his people. Matobo leaves and Jack nods politely at him as he passes.

Taylor sits down on the couch and looks to the ‘agents’, “I want an explanation and I want it now, what the hell is going on?” Jack steps forward and addresses the president. He explains that 6 weeks ago Bill Buchanan discovered that key members of your government were working with Dubaku and Juma in an effort to undermine this nation’s foreign policy, her foreign policy with regards to Sangala. Taylor is not so ready to jump in, ‘You realize that that is an outrageous accusation.’ Jack answers, ‘Yes ma’am, unfortunately, it’s the truth. It explains why during this crisis every effort you made to stop Dubaku failed. She turns to Buchanan and asks him directly, “Bill, why didn’t you come to me?” Buchanan didn’t know who he could trust of if she would even believe him. Buchanan explains he formed a small group to locate and neutralize Dubaku. Tony Almeida and ultimately Jack joined him. Taylor says that Tony Almeida was the one that put the CIP device into Dubaku’s hands in the first place. Buchanan tells her that using the CIP device as bait was necessary to the undercover operation. He had to follow it back to Dubaku. Taylor is angry, a lot of people died on those planes, never mind what happened at the chemical plant in Kidron. Renee now steps up next to Jack and explains she was part of the FBI task force assigned to recover the device and she can personally vouch for what they are telling her. The loss of life was tragic but everything these men have done saved the lives of thousands. Kanin watches quietly and the President says that if she chooses to believe everything they are telling her, where would they go from here. Jack says that Dubaku is the only one with the names of the people that betrayed her in her government and it’s imperative that they find him. Jack wants to work under the radar. Any word of an investigation and people will start running for cover. Kanin clarifies that they can’t even involve the FBI and Homeland, Jack says that’s correct. The door clicks and they all look at a man entering. He comes and whispers to the President that Tim is on the phone and says it’s important.

Taylor gets up and tells them all to have a seat and heads to the phone. Tim’s voice comes through saying that there’s a call from a man claiming to Dubaku and the voices match. It’s about her husband. Tim connects them, Kanin is on a phone away from the others. Taylor ID’s herself and Dubaku says he will come straight to the point. He has her husband and will demonstrate. He passes the phone down to Taylor who pauses before saying his wife’s name. Taylor rushes to ask if he is okay. He says he’s fine and apologizes. He asks her not let these people use him to influence her in any way. Jack listens intently from his chair. Dubaku lays his demands out to Taylor, he wants her forces withdrawn immediately and permanently from Sangala and he wants Matobo delivered to a location he gives, a power plant, by 4:00. If they attempt to follow them or are impeded in any way, her husband will die a slow and certain death. She growls, ‘You wouldn’t dare.’ Matobo tells his thugs to cut off a finger. One of them grabs a knife sitting on a plate near by while another puts a gun to Taylor’s head. Dubaku holds out the phone so Taylor can hear Henry groaning. She yells for them to stop it but it doesn’t help. Jack gets up and crosses the room toward Taylor. Dubaku warns her to heed his commands or he will send Henry back to her one piece at a time. He asks if she understands and after a pause she says she does. Dubaku ends my saying that if they attempt to find her husband this will end quickly and he will kill him. She closes her eyes as Dubaku hangs up. Kanin comes over and says he just heard from the team he sent, they found Samantha Roth and Agent Gitch dead in her apartment. He had a paralytic drug that shows he was complacent in the kidnapping which confirms that corruption that Jack and Buchanan just told them about. Jack nods and Kanin says time is tight, they need to decide. Kanin says no one will blame her for holding back, at least temporarily the invasion of Sangala. Taylor wipes her nose and asks how many people died in the flights. Kanin hesitates and she asks again, ‘How many?’ Kanin says it was about 300. She sighs that it was all because she refused to chance course in Sangala. Jack watches closely and she wonders aloud how she can asks the American people to make a sacrifice that she is not willing to make herself. She sits up a little and resolves that she can’t give in. She can’t. Jack looks to Kanin and then closes in on the President. He thinks that he can find her husband before the deadline. Taylor reminds Jack about what they heard, Dubaku has forbidden that and according to Jack she can’t trust any of her law enforcement agencies. Jack reassures her, “You can trust me.” Taylor looks to Jack who continues, “Right now everyone thinks Agent Walker is dead, and I have no status at all which means that Dubaku’s spies cannot track us because officially, we don’t exist.” Taylor mulls it over and says “You resigned from government service and the senate regards you as having been a renegade agent.” Jack backs off and swallows looking sadly at Taylor. She continues, “How am I supposed to know where your loyalties really lie?” Jack answers in a gravely voice, “With all due respect Madame President, ask around.”

Buchanan watches intently as Renee looks sad and Taylor continues asking what they can do on such short notice. Jack can’t make any promises but he will do everything possible to save her husband. Now he wants her to go along with Dubaku’s demands and buy them some time. Jack tells her she doesn’t have another choice. Finally, Taylor nods and whispers to Jack, “Alright. Find him please.” Jack answers with a steely, “Yes ma’am.” He turns to Kanin and says he wants a secure hard line. Kanin heads out of the room followed by Jack and Renee. Buchanan turns to look at Taylor who mourns for her husband for a few seconds.

Kanin leads Jack and Renee into a room nearby and says they can use if they need and Kanin will have them escorted out the underground entrance when they are ready. Jack wants the Secret Service logs for the President and First Gentleman. Kanin will get it and leaves. Jack will need the phone logs for agent Gitch for the last few hours, they can’t use the President’s security people. Another man enters with a file and hands it over to Jack. Jack starts to look at them and undoes the snaps on his jacket. Renee says the phone logs are classified and asks if Chloe can get access. Jack thinks it will be faster if they have someone that has access already. She wants to bring in Larry Moss. Jack looks at her and says that he doesn’t strike Jack as the type that would be willing to work outside the system. Renee agrees but she thinks she can persuade him to do what they need. Jack asks if she trusts him. She does and admits, “We know each other pretty well.” Jack agrees and says they don’t have much time. He goes back to work on the file as Renee gets the phone.

Moss’s cell phone rings as he stands in the staff room doctoring his coffee. He picks it up and Renee identifies herself and quickly says that she’s alive and he can’t tell anyone. Moss is shocked and spins around looking for a place to put his coffee down. He steps outside the staff room and into an open hallway and finds it empty. He asks if she is alright and she says she is fine but ‘We need your help.’ Larry questions the word ‘we’ and she says her and Jack Bauer. Now Moss is more confused and Renee tells him that he is on their side like he said. Everything he did he did to preserve his cover. Moss leans his head on a wall and says that all this time Moss thought she was dead. He asks why she didn’t tell him. Renee says Jack was right, the FBI is compromised and no one can know about the operation, it has to stay off book. Moss checks the door to the staff room again and Renee continues that her and Jack are at the White House. The First Gentleman has been kidnapped by Dubaku and the President asked her and Jack to find him. There are very few people in on this and that is how it has to stay. If they don’t find him by 4:00pm he will be killed. Renee begs Larry, if he ever trusted her; he needs to trust her now. She needs his help. She tells him about Gitch and wants Moss to check his phone logs to find who he has been contacting. Jack looks up from his file. Moss wants to see Renee before he agrees to anything to make sure she is not working under duress. Renee doesn’t have time for this but Moss is not negotiating. He wants to meet her at the Capital Reflecting Pool as soon as she can get there. Renee agrees and hangs up. She turns to Jack and says that he will help them but they need to go. Moss jogs down the FBI hallway and Jack gets up and follows Renee out of the room

3:17

3:21

In one of the boxes we see Henry Taylor dealing with his pain.

Sean watches the news on TV and other FBI Agents talk about the press conference. Sean doesn’t understand what he’s hearing. They are talking like the CIP module has been recovered and Matobo has been rescued. Erica, his mistress, thinks it might have been other agencies. Sean doesn’t get it, they are out of the loop and he doesn’t like it. He is back at his station and she asks if he wants to get together later. Sean has some things to figure out and he has to get home. He hasn’t seen Christina in a week. Erica asks if he is alright, she is sensing some distance. Sean blows her off that he has to get back to work. Erica leaves and Janice comes over. She asks Sean sarcastically if he can be a little less obvious. Sean pretends not to know what she is talking about and Janice thinks he should just hold up a sign that says they are sleeping together. Janice asks if he is stupid and Sean says he is going to end it. Janice wants him to do it before Larry notices. Sean asks where Larry is, anyway. Janice says it doesn’t matter but if he finds out Sean will be transferred to Juno so fast his head will spin.

Renee parks the car and hops out and Jack lags behind taking time to remove his sunglasses. Larry waits by the pool looking over at the White House and Renee approaches, Jack hanging behind. Renee calls to Larry and he turns and says, ‘Oh my God.’ His relief in seeing her is evident and he smiles. He thought he would never see her again. Jack joins them now and asks if he was able to access the phone records. Moss quickly looks to Jack and then back to Renee. Moss tells them that Gedge spoke to another agent, Vossler. Moss cheeked his personnel records and found that he was Special Forces before he was Secret Service and he served in Sangala for 2 years. Renee figures they can assume he is working for Dubaku and asks if there are any files on him. Moss hands the phone to Renee who takes a step away to read the information. Jack asks if Vossler has a family and Moss wants to know why. Jack asks again and Renee reads from the file that he has been married for 5 years and they have an 11 month old son. His wife left her job to stay home with the child. Jack wants Larry to use the Secret Service directory to track Vossler and he wants Renee to go to their home and hope that she is there. Now they both are questioning why Jack wants this and Jack explains that they have to make Vossler think they will be willing to hurt his family, he was Special Forces, they are not going to be able to break him in the time they have. Moss says no and Renee tells Jack that this is over the line. Jack throws back at her that she stepped over the line the second she interrogated Tanner. Renee justifies that Tanner was a murderer but Vossler’s wife is innocent let alone a child. Jack yells at them “When are you people going to stop thinking that everyone else is following your rules? They’re not! Dubaku is going to kill Henry Taylor within the next 45 minutes unless we find him. You’ve got one of two choices, now you can either phone the President and explain to her that your conscience won’t allow you to do what is necessary to save him, or you can simply do what is necessary. Pick one.” He looks at Renee and Larry says her name. She stalks off and Larry calls after her. Jack takes that as a decision and leaves himself. He talks to Larry as he walks saying he needs his vehicle and Larry needs to start tracking Vossler through his cell phone. Larry stops Jack in his tracks by saying, “Look at yourself. You’ve lost everyone and everything you ever had by doing what you think is necessary. I won’t let you do it to her, Bauer. Renee will not end up like you.” Jack takes a few steps back to Moss and looks at him before asking, “Are you gonna give me your keys or not?” Moss takes his keys out of his jacket pocket and whips them at Jack. Without another word Jack leaves and Larry calls after him. Finally, Jack turns around and Larry tells him, “The rules are what make us better.” Jack shakes his head and answers, “Not today.” He jogs off to the car and Moss turns and leaves the other direction.

Dubaku’s thugs are hanging out watching TV and Dubaku works on a computer. One of them comes over and says that he slowed down Taylor’s bleeding but he can’t get it to stop. Dubaku asks if the tourniquet is as tight as it can be. The man says it is. Dubaku tells him to cauterize it, one of them has a blowtorch. He is worried that Taylor will go into shock but Dubaku just tells him to put something in his mouth, he doesn’t want him biting his tongue off with the pain.

Dubaku’s phone rings and its Marika calling. He smiles and says that he thought she would be at work. She was but Rosa called her, she is having one of her episodes. Dubaku thinks she is being manipulated. Marika was just making sure he was coming to dinner still. Dubaku lies he is looking at shipping manifests and he will be late. He can’t make it but he will make it up to her. She will make extra for him and he says she is too good for him. Marika smiles as she agrees. Her sister appears as she hangs up the phone. Rosa is in a wheelchair and Marika says she has to go back to the diner. Rosa is unhappy that she was talking to Samuel on the phone. Marika knows that Rosa doesn’t approve of Samuel but she claims to love him. Rosa points out that he spends money on her and pays her rent and they have known each other for four months. Rosa says she doesn’t know anything about this man, what if he is not who he says he is, what if he is here illegally. Marika has heard it all before but Rosa is trying to protect her. She doesn’t need protection but Rosa says she does. She starts, “This man isn’t…” But then drops the sentence. Marika wants her to continue but she says to forget it. Marika has to go back to work and she leaves Rosa looking at an envelope in her hands.

Taylor sits at her desk and Kanin and Buchanan come in. Kanin tells her that they can pull the fleet back near Sangala and launch an attack from farther out. If they are turning Matobo over they need to be putting him in a car right now. Buchanan has a plan, send a look alike in a car and Dubaku won’t be aware until the last minute. Kanin agrees and wants the go to proceed, Taylor looks at them and nods yes.

Jack drives and his cell rings. Moss has the grid on Vossler, he is moving south 7 miles from Jack. He is headed to a meeting at Andrews and once he is on the base Jack won’t be able to touch him. Jack knows the roadways and says he will have to double back a bit to get to the base, Jack will take a shortcut. He wants Larry to keep Vossler in sight. Moss asks if Jack has heard from Renee, which he has not. Jack assures him that she knows how to get in touch with them if she needs them.

Renee walks up the sidewalk to a nice suburban home. She pauses at the door to collect herself and then knocks. A woman says she is coming and arrives at the door with a baby. Renee shows off her gun and comes in. The door is closed and her gun is out. The woman asks who she is and Renee tells her to shut up and do what she tells her and there’s a chance they will live through this.

3:30

3:35

Vossler’s baby cries and his mother wants to go to him. Renee waves her gun and tells her not to move. She argues that he is scared. Renee threatens to shoot her where she stands. The mother asks, ‘What kind of person are you? Why are you doing this to us?’ Renee says she should ask her husband. She thinks her husband is a good man but Renee challenges that she doesn’t know him as well as she thinks she does. The mother says that he would never point a gun near a child. Renee snaps at her to shut up and cuffs one handcuff to the coffee table. She wants her to put the other one around her wrist. At first she says no but then relents.

Jack asks Moss where Vossler is and he says he hit traffic off the beltway. Jack wants to know if Vossler moves. We see him start to move and then Moss tells Jack. Moss says that the next street is a one way north and Jack copies. Moss says Vossler made the next light so Jack hangs a right down a one way in the opposite direction. Jack tells Moss where he is and Moss says he is 15 seconds away. Jack swerves and dodges oncoming traffic nearly causing collisions. Moss says he is 10 seconds away, and then 5. Jack has him and he drops the phone and smashes his car into Vossler’s. They come to a screeching halt into some other vehicles and Jack gets out with his hand on his gun. He screams for Vossler to get his hands up. Jack comes to the car window and punches Vossler through the window and then opens the door. Jack drags Vossler out of the car and Jack leads him into the foyer of a building. Mailboxes are on the walls and Jack throws Vossler against the wall. He stands with his gun out and ready pointed as Vossler’s head. He screams at him, “Where is Henry Taylor?” Vossler claims to not know what he is talking about and Jack asks again. This time, Jack gets on the phone and calls Renee.

Renee answers the phone and Jack asks if he has Vossler’s wife. She does and his chid. She is ready. Jack instructs her to put the phone on speaker and Jack thrusts the phone to Vossler. He tells him to talk to his wife. Jack calls him a son of a bitch and says to talk to his wife. Vossler calls her Carol and asks if she is alright. She is crying that there is a woman there with a gun and she is threatening to kill them. Vossler asks why Connor is crying and she wants to know who these people are. Jack says they are running out of time, he didn’t want to have to do this. Renee walks over to the playpen and their son continues to cry. Vossler’s wife narrates for him that she has Connor. The boy cries more and Vossler’s wife can’t see what is going on. Vossler agrees to tell Jack what he wants to know. Jack takes the phone back and tells Renee to stand down. Renee picks up their son and rushes him over to his mother. She says her baby is fine and the mother grabs her away as soon as she can and cries. She calls Renee a monster, who has no answer.

Jack asks Vossler again where Taylor is. He needs to tell Jack now or the situation for his family goes from bad to worse. Vossler asks Jack how he is supposed to know that Jack is not going to kill his family anyway. Jack says he doesn’t. After a pause, Jack says fine and gets the phone back out. Vossler gives Jack and address for the store and tells him that they are holding Taylor in the basement. Jack asks about access and he says that it’s a staircase in the back that’s always locked. Dubaku was with Taylor earlier and there were at least 4 guns there. A man wonders in off the street and Jack turns his head to tell him to get out of there. At the opportunity, Vossler kicks Jack’s gun hand and draws a knife. Vossler gets on his feet and goes after Jack who manages to get a hold of Vossler’s arm. Jack shoves him up against the wall and manages to get him down to the ground. While over him, Vossler gets a kick on Jack’s middle and he goes flying onto the ground. Jack winces in pain but gets up and Vossler comes back at him. This time it’s Jack against the wall holding Vossler’s hand away trying to stop from being stabbed in the face. Vossler continues to press the knife toward Jack who quickly ducks underneath and shoves the knife into Vossler’s own stomach. Vossler lands against one wall while Jack ends up sliding down the other. As Vossler bleeds Jack drags himself up and staggers out of the entrance way stopping to pick up his gun. Breathing hard, Jack goes and looks from a distance at his car. There are men inside checking out the contents. Jack comes out and yells for them to get away from the car. Jack closes in yelling and they take off. Jack assesses the damage on the front of the truck and the front end is pushed in. Jack goes out the end of the truck and looks around the corner. He sees a car coming and steps out in front with his gun out. He yells for the driver to get out of the car now. The man behind the wheel does and runs away. Jack gets into the new vehicle and speeds off.

3:40

3:45

A man works on some facial hair in a mirror and Buchanan explains to another agent that the goal is to convince them that he is Matobo for as long as reasonably possible. They are too keep their distance and they’ll be able to see him in the back seat. They are not to get out of the car and not get closer than necessary. They are to get the hell out of their once the risk is unacceptable. Buchanan says that’s right from the President. The agents understand and Buchanan shakes their hands.

Jack is on the phone with Renee who is still with Vossler’s family. He gives her the address and tells her to stand down until he gets there. He will call Bill and asks her to do the same with Larry. Renee asks about Vossler and Jack says that he’s dead. Jack had no choice, he came at him. Renee looks to the mother as Jack asks if she is alright. Renee pauses and answers quietly, “I don’t think I am.” Jack asks what she means, “What’s wrong?” He calls her when she doesn’t answer, calling her Agent Walker and asking if she is still there. Renee has tears in her eyes and starts a sentence, “I’m not…” Jack tells her to listen, they could not have gotten this far without her. He continues, “No one would blame you if this was just too much for you to handle. Maybe you should get out.” She answers shakily, “Maybe I will.” Jack answer, ‘Yeah’ and she looks away from the Vossler’s before finishing, “Tomorrow.” She closes her phone.

Matobo’s double is in the limo and they are on the way. Kanin is tracking them on the satellite. Buchanan speaks on the phone in the background and Taylor asks Kanin how much time this will buy them. Kanin answers until Dubaku realizes it’s not Matobo in the limo. 10, maybe 15 minutes. Taylor muses that it’s 15 more minutes than they had. Buchanan gets off the phone and says it was Jack on the phone. Taylor wants to know how much time it will take. Conveniently, 10 to 15 minutes. Taylor thanks them.

Sean works and Erica comes over. She hands him something that came from Homeland they are being kept out of the loop. Sean gets up and heads out and Janice tosses a nasty look to Erica. Sean asks if Moss saw this briefing and he did. They discuss how it’s odd that they are going to lower the threat level since they don’t know anything about the CIP device being recovered. Moss will talk to Homeland. Sean thinks there’s something going on behind their back. Moss will talk to them. His cell phone rings and Larry asks to be excused. He steps into a conference room and Renee says she is on her way to where they figure Taylor is being held. Moss concludes that they got Vossler to talk. Renee says it gave them their only chance to rescue the President’s husband. Moss wants to send a team but Renee says no, they can’t. Renee needs him to do something else. Keep an incident quiet until what her and Jack are doing goes down. He asks what the incident is and she says with regret, the death of Vossler. Jack killed him at a Hotel on Regan. Moss is furious and asks if that’s what he told him. He asks what she is doing with this guy, they are supposed to bring suspects in not murder them. Renee needs it to be kept quiet until they get Dubaku. Moss pauses and then says he has a guy at DC Metro he can trust. He will get him to deal with Vossler. She thanks him.

One of the workers at Dubaku’s place hangs up after hearing that Matobo just left. He tells Dubaku and also that the invasion has backed off. Dubaku’s phone rings and its Marika’s sister Rosa. Dubaku says that Marika is not with him. She is looking for him. She says she checked with a friend at immigration and there is no record of Samuel Aboa immigrated from Sangala in the last year or the last 15 years. She wants Dubaku out of her sisters’ life. Marika doesn’t know about this and she will keep it that way as long as he breaks up with her. If Dubaku ends the relationship tonight there will not be a problem. Dubaku hangs up the phone and then looks around. He appears to make a decision and then say she has to take care of a problem. He wants them to call him when they have Matobo.

3:50

3:54

Renee drives up to the store where they are holding Taylor. Inside, the clerk behind the counter reads the paper. She waits in the car as Jack speeds along in his stolen car weaving in and out of traffic. Jack’s phone rings and its Buchanan calling. He says that the vehicle is arriving at the power plant. Jack needs them to delay; he asks how much time they have. Buchanan doesn’t know. Jack will keep him posted.

Agent Smith, the driver, ID’s himself saying they have a visual on Dubaku’s men. Buchanan, Kanin and Taylor watch them on the satellite. They wait at the site until a Hummer pulls up. With little movement Smith draws his gun. The men get out of the Hummer and yell for them to bring Matobo to them. They don’t move and Dubaku’s men watch. After a short wait one of them gets his phone out. He makes a call and Smith tells Buchanan that they told them to get out of the car and now they are making a call. Buchanan tells them to hang tight. The guy on the phone tells Dubaku what is going on and Dubaku gives the order for them to destroy the vehicle, they’re playing them. Taylor, watching the monitor, tells Buchanan to get them the hell out of there. Buchanan tells the speakerphone that they are to retreat. Dubaku’s man makes a motion in front of them. The agent tosses the car into reverse and starts to move but immediately a missile is fired from nearby. At the White House they see the satellite light up in one spot, an orange fireball emerging. Taylor is horrified and Buchanan looks away.

Jack squeals to a stop next to Renee’s car and he leaves his in the middle of the road. He jumps out of the car and asks Renee if she is ready. She is and hands Jack a bag. He puts it on and they run across the street to the market. When they get into the store Jack yells for the clerk to get out from behind the counter. He pushes him to the door that Dubaku had gone down before and tells him to unlock it and ask them what they want to eat. Jack threatens that if he does one thing Jack doesn’t like he will blow his head off. Jack asks if the clerk understands, to which he nods. The clerk opens the padlock and goes over the threshold. He calls down if they want anything to eat. They answer no and the clerk says okay. He heads back and Jack hits him knocking him out. Jack leans from the landing and then sees a place to get a visual. Using a hole in the wall as a place to look Jack sets himself up and pulls out a small mirror. He uses it to look around and see how many men are there. They are sitting around watching TV and Jack sees what he needs and puts the mirror away. He mouths and motions with his hands that there are 4 of them. He wants her to cross him and she nods. He motions her to walk downstairs. She gets her gun out and moves, Jack is ready to cover her if necessary. Renee prepares to climb.

Dubaku talks on the phone to one of the thugs and tells him to kill Taylor. The thug doesn’t think it’s a good idea because then they would have no leverage but Dubaku says Taylor is willing to let him die, they have none anyway. They are done there, he needs to pack everything up. The man comes out into the main area and walks right past Renee. Jack shoots him and gunfire erupts. The thugs turn the couch over and use it for cover. Jack and Renee use supplies for the store as their cover. Renee and Jack both manage to kill thugs and one of them is wounded. The wounded one hobbles his way down the hall toward where Taylor is bound with his gun still out. Taylor sits in the chair still and looks wide eyed at the thug. Jack appears at the end of the hall in a slide and he shoots the thug. The thug starts to go down but on the way he unleashes a shot and hits Taylor square in the chest. His chair keels over with him still tied to it. Jack comes in the room, sweeping with his gun until he sees the chair. He whispers ‘No’ and puts his gun away quickly moving to the First Gentleman. ‘Oh my God.’ Jack puts his hand on Taylor’s knee and gets no response. He gets down on his knees and pulls at Taylor’s tie and shirt. He tries to reassure him, “Gonna get you help, just stay with me” and Jack starts CPR. Renee comes in and sees Jack leaning over Taylor. Jack hears her enter and screams at her, “Get an ambulance!” Renee backs off and leaves, Jack tries to bring Henry around.

4:00

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

-This is the last episode they shot before the writers strike and the long break in filming. It will be interesting to see what changes story wise and also if the actors look any different.

-So, having another look at the previouslys and the things that they showed, here’s an update on what I think the CIP and Tony. They showed Tony pick up the destroyed CIP in the recap. Upon pausing and analysis, it does look somewhat broken. On the other hand, when Matobo is speaking to Taylor on the phone in the recap, Tony is skulking around in the background looking guilty. If he’s evil, I’m gonna be pissed.

-Right before the show they showed a preview that said this was “The most gripping 24 yet”. After this hour, I might buy that, at least for this season. I think the only one that tops this for me is episode 3.

-So, Dubaku is wanted, they’re all looking for him and he’s loitering around in front of a Starbucks. I guess when 24 went carbon neutral they decided not to give terrorists cars anymore.

-Does anyone else find it kind of weird that Jack hasn’t mentioned to a single soul yet that he just spent a bunch of time in Sangala and just barely got out of there before the US bailed? I would think he would use that as ammunition, especially when interrogating Tony.

-If anything, the padlock on the outside of the door is at least a fire hazard.

-Dubaku’s thugs are hilarious. They basically are getting paid to sit around and do jack all. There’s pizza laying around, the TV’s on. I’m sure the biggest tragedy for them was that in the shootout at the end the TV got shot.

-Taylor’s pretty brave for a politician.

-At least Vossler seems somewhat distraught by the situation when Dubaku congratulates him.

-I really try not to get too worked up about repeating ideas, but when Dubaku asked Taylor if his wife loves him enough to do what he wants, I found it pretty repetitive for the Michelle kidnapping and then the reversed Tony kidnapping.

-I’m not sure that podium that Taylor speaks from is high enough. She practically needs a ladder to get up onto it.

-I found it an interesting parallel while Taylor asked for prayer for those who put their lives on the line for the country, that they showed Jack, Buchanan and Renee in the split.

-So Taylor has a history with Buchanan. That’s interesting. Curious how long CTU has been disbanded for.

-Anyone else think it’s hilarious that Matobo calls Chloe “Mr. Buchanan’s people.” People? How about person. And that person isn’t even a field agent.

-Jack is still Jack, wants to do right by the President, no matter how bad it gets. Here he is looking guilty while Taylor talks about Matobo’s ordeal

-Kanin is very against the invasion. He’s doing it on the sly but he is getting every chance he gets to try and get them out of Sangala. It’s suspicious.

-Nice to know there’s no hard feelings with Matobo. He really does respect Buchanan, Jack, Tony and Renee, even after everything.

-It’s sweet that Jack, even though this isn’t his fight really, steps forward and is the first one to explain to the President about it all. He was in on the tail end of this but he takes the flack.

-I can’t believe that Taylor expected Buchanan to come to her with this. She doesn’t believe them now and they just save the Prime Minister of Sangala. She would have laughed him out of the office if he went to her cold.

-I love how they neglected to let Taylor know that Tony was supposed to be with the CIP device the whole time and that he wasn’t was a giant screw up.

-For a super-secret meeting with people who aren’t supposed to be around, there seem to be a lot of random people around.

-Now, I kind of like Henry. At first he was annoying but the fact that he’s strong grows on me.

-That was not a sharp knife they used to cut the finger off. They might as well have used a spoon.

-And, here we are with Kanin promoting holding off on the invasion.

-Taylor is making right choices so far. Very Palmer-esque. She is willing to sacrifice Henry based on the same scenario she sacrificed civilians.

-You can see Jack forming respect for Taylor too as she makes the decisions.

-Oh, classic Jack trying to get the President to trust him. I love this Jack.

-Jack looks as if he’s been slapped when Taylor tells him that he is regarded as a renegade agent. That hurts after all he’s been through.

-Line of the Week – Jack to Taylor: “With all due respect, Madame President, ask around.”

-Buchanan’s expression when Jack says the above line, Priceless.

-Buchanan and Co. are getting serious respect at the White House. Jack and Renee are being catered to by Kanin and Buchanan by the President. Wow.

-That was the fastest request answer when Jack wanted the info on Gitch. That was literally seconds.

-Larry is definitely not the type to work outside the system. Personally, I’m shocked he did.

-Renee seems unhappy by the fact that her an Larry ‘know each other pretty well.’ Maybe it’s because next to Jack, Larry looks like the biggest weenie of all time.

-Larry’s reactions to Renee being alive were awesome and spot on. Nice work, nice writing, nice acting.

-Worst place ever to say the name of the supposedly dead agent you are talking to on the phone – the hallway when some random comes around the corner.
-Larry’s contempt for Jack is great.

-I can’t believe that Jack followed Renee without question when she says they have to go. Very un-Jack-like.

-What is very Jack-like though was him trying to snoop in on the conversation that Renee is having on the phone.

-Done with the FBI love triangle. You can pick who you would like to be in the triangle, Sean-Erica-Sean’s Wife or Sean-Erica-Janice.

-Sean is exhibiting class 1 mole behaviour. Due to that, I can’t believe that they would make him the mole.

-Erica = whore. Sean = Man whore.

-It was very (unusually) polite of Jack to hang back and let Renee and Moss have their reunion.

-Renee’s internal struggle is very interesting. She bounces back between Jack and Moss in who she wants to side with. She needs to make a decision and stuck with it. Stat.

-Jack’s rant is spectacular to Larry and Renee about what needs to be done. The only thing that kind of made me laugh was the whole ‘either tell the President that you won’t do what’s necessary or do what’s necessary.’ Not very creative, that’s for sure.

-It seems like everyone’s worst fear is ending up like Jack. Larry makes it very clear that he doesn’t think Jack has led a good life judging by where he is currently. How soon we forget that Jack has saved, like, everyone. Multiple times.

-Jack’s totally challenging Moss to a fight and it’s kind of disappointing that he didn’t take it ‘cause I would love to have seen Jack kick the absolute shit out of Larry. Instead, Larry whips the keys at Jack like a freaking 15 year old. Classy.

-When Moss is not just talking to be a pain, does make a good argument and clearly states the ‘other side’ to Jack, the antithesis. Interesting.

-How did Moss get back to the FBI that fast? He drove to the meet and made it back in record time with no car.

-Blowtorch!? That is not a very friendly way to cauterize a wound. Ouch.

-Nice to see Dubaku is so compassionate. Brutal.

-I find the Dubaku – Marika plotline to be a little bit of a dichotomy to what we know about Dubaku. He’s working and doing all this ruthless stuff and then suddenly he has time to smile and talk to his girlfriend. It just doesn’t fit.

-So, I was wrong about us knowing Marika’s sister. She is, though, trouble. Not to mention the entire plotline is slightly annoying.

-It’s so great that Taylor respects Buchanan’s opinion and she and Kanin are willing to give him a seat at the table.

-It was somewhat surprising that Moss would still help Jack after the whole speech.

-In case your wondering, Jack worked in DC before, for Heller. So, he could certainly have good knowledge of the streets.

-Moss’ overprotectiveness of Renee is cute, but there is also something to Jack’s ability to let her do what is necessary.

-Vossler has one big kid.

-Good thing Vossler’s wife can’t smell fear, ‘cause she’d be all over Renee.

-Yes, we know. Renee is struggling internally with her decisions to go along with Jack. We don’t really need Mrs. Vossler reminding us that she is not happy about her choices. Unfortunately, she doesn’t paly it as convincingly as Jack.

-Great idea, chain the wife to the glass coffee table. Because that can’t be used as a weapon or anything. Most of the time you can take the glass out and you are left with a light frame. Very useful.

-How many times has someone ‘copied’ in 8 hours? Is Jack trying to make up for lost time or what?

-It’s great how we get to see another glaring example of the differences between Jack and Moss when Moss tells Jack it’s a one way street. Jack doesn’t seem to care.

-Jack is doing some nice dodging and weaving in that SUV. He also gets a 10 for the hit on Vossler.

-Vossler’s wife bought perfectly into what Jack and Renee planned. Renee didn’t even have to touch the kid, all she had to do was block Vossler’s wife’s view while the kid cried.

-Renee has to be the most comforting post (non) torturer that I’ve even seen. She’s all reassuring to Vossler’s wife, she could have mentioned she didn’t actually do anything to the kid.

-It’s nice for Jack to be interrogating someone who thinks the same as he does. He doesn’t have to waste words, he can speak in field jargon and get the answers he wants.

-For some reason, I always get more tense when there are knives coming at Jack than guns. I guess it’s just that they’re more personal, and pointy.

-So, 3 seasons running, it looks like Jack’s injury du jour is ribs. We already saw some reaction in that area when he drove the car out of the parkade and now Vossler has made it worse.

-That is the sorriest looking Jack we’ve seen in a while when he tries to leave the entry way. He’s literally pulling himself up leading with his head.

-That’s a pretty sweet car for Jack to commandeer. Cadillac STS V Series, 469 HP V8 does 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. Retails for $83,835-$84,880 USD.

-I can’t decide if the guys who were checking out Jack’s truck were trying to help or steal.

-Can we really be sure Vossler is dead? He wasn’t really bleeding that much… yet.

-Anyone else find it absolutely hilarious seeing that guy grooming his beard when he’s getting ready to be Matobo?

-It’s actually nice to see how someone who is not super-CTU agent material (i.e. Renee) deal with the emotions of a regular person while being in Jack’s world.

-And, Jack takes it very well that she may be bailing out at this point. No pressure and whatever choice she makes, it’s good. Although, I do like her answer, “Tomorrow.”

-Wow, it’s the 10-15 minute party for Taylor. Conveniently, the episode is also 10-15 minutes from being over.

-Either Sean is a mole or he’s going to start thinking Larry is.

-Is Moss really stupid enough to think that they can send a team in?

-If that was a hotel that Jack was at, it sure was doing a good job of pretending to be an apartment building. Also, the open gate door thing would not work in Washington, it’s too damn cold. I’m thinking this was filmed in LA.

-Moss’ reaction to Vossler’s death is predictable for him. Again, showing the other side. At the same time, we know he doesn’t like Jack and his methods.

-Done with Rosa and Marika. Boring. But I’m glad they didn’t get any more screen time then they already did.

-I have little faith in the idea that Dubaku, man on a mission, leaves the First Gentleman bound in the basement to go and deal with his girlfriend. It’s not like Rosa’s is threatening to go to the police or something.

-Nice job showing the explosion on the monitor. I liked that we got to see the reactions of Taylor, Kanin and particularly Bill.

-I’d just like to stop and say that I love Buchanan. He’s so compassionate about everything. He does the agent thing but does really care for people. He’s grounded, makes good choices and knows when he needs to kick ass. He, Jack and Tony make a great team because they all have different strengths and weaknesses and compliment each other nicely in the way of operational decisions.

-I think that Dubaku’s men have had enough to eat judging by the remains of what’s laying around that hideout.

-The most horrifying thing I have ever seen on 24 was this episode. DON’T SHOOT THE BEER! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NO!

-Was it Jack or Renee that failed to kill the guy that shot Taylor.

-Jack’s reaction to Taylor being shot is so classic Jack. No matter what the country wants to do to him he is still looking out for the good of it. He is so upset at Taylor getting shot that he moves from near inability to speak to screaming at Renee so fiercely that she is obviously scared. Nice ending.

-It should be interesting to see Jack tell Taylor about this and if he will keep his shit together.

-This episode was great and exactly what I’ve been screaming about. More Jack, less other crap. It’s good for this hour because the White House storyline and the Jack storyline are working directly together so combined it worked out to lots of screen time.

-I’m interested to see where Tony is and how his extra mission will affect everything else.

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