7.12: 7:00pm - 8:00pm - Stress

7.12: 7:00p.m. - 8:00p.m.

~ Stress ~
2009.02.02

7:00

Juma’s men have made a nice hole in the concrete and they pull themselves up out of the water. They take off their masks and tanks and inspect their equipment. Juma gives the order to move out.

Olivia is in a room with Aaron Pierce. She wants to see her mother. Pierce assures her that she will be with her as soon as she is able to get away. That’s not good enough for Olivia, she is going to the hospital to be with her father. Pierce wants her to talk to her mother. His orders are for her to remain in the White House. She asks, ‘So, what, if I try to leave you’ll actually physically restrain me?’ Pierce knows that will never happen, ‘I know you have too much respect for your mother and her office to let things get that far. Olivia smirks and tells Aaron, ‘Well done agent.’ Pierce lets out a small smile himself and she asks him, ‘You’ve been doing this a while.’ He answers with a hint of pride, ‘Five administrations, ma’am.’ There’s a knock at the door and Pierce lets Kanin in. He is holding his briefcase and jacket. He came to fill Olivia in at her mother’s request. Olivia gives him the due respect but he is the last person that she should be sending. He tells her that there is going to be another attack on the city, she is supposed to remain there. Olivia asks if he is talking about more planes but Kanin doesn’t know. Whatever happens, it will happen soon. Kanin is going to the Pentagon. On top of all of this he has the invasion to deal with. He asks her to bear in mind that her mother is under tremendous pressure right now.

Taylor meets with her press secretary and they discuss the media picking up on what she is doing. She wants the public to hear the truth, they deserve it. She will raise caution but tell them to be calm. Tim enters and says Moss is calling, they have a lead on the attack. Taylor identifies herself and Moss explains he found a staging area near the shipyards, one of the men involved in this is General Juma. Taylor is shocked, she asks disbelievingly if Juma is in DC. Moss answers her affirmative, there are at least 12 others involved in the attack and they are armed for a small war. He has no evidence but they have a search team out. He explains about Agent Walker, she was the one that identified Juma but they lost contact with her. They have every reason to hope she is still alive and in pursuit of Juma. If she is out there, they will find her.

Renee runs out of a tunnel and over some ground. She gets higher and someone calls for her to hold it right there. She turns to find a friendly, a Ranger by the name of Thompson. She identifies herself to him and spills that she knows what the threat is. They need to call Larry Moss and tell him there is going to be an attack on the White House. Thompson starts his radio transmission but is quickly shot and killed. Renee takes off leaving the dead agent behind. Laurent runs after her, he sees the radio for Thompson but leaves it there and goes after Renee.

Buchanan comes into the holding area where Jack waits with one guard. Buchanan comes to the bars and tells Jack that the attorney general wants Jack moved into his custody so he can file criminal charges. Jack asks if they learned anything else about the attack. Buchanan reached Tony who couldn’t get any more information from his guy. He tells Jack about Renee following the lead on her own and that she got a visual on a commando unit led by Juma but she has gone missing. Jack approaches the bars and asks, ‘What do you mean went missing?’ Buchanan is not sure, the FBI is searching the area but there’s no sign of her. They don’t know anything about where the target might be. Jack tells Bill that Burnett knows. Buchanan knows this but the President offered him immunity but he turned it down. Jack is frustrated; Burnett was talking when they stopped Jack. He wants Bill to put him in a room with him for five minutes and they can stop this thing from happening. Buchanan answers, ‘Jack, even if I was willing to release you, he’s being transported to Kennedy Memorial. You couldn’t get access to him.’ Jack sees another way, he wants Bill to do it, he can get access. Buchanan shakes his head, he’s not trained in coercive techniques. Jack presses, ‘This is not a maybe, Ryan Burnett is an accessory to a terrorist attack, if you don’t do this people will die.’ Buchanan isn’t arguing what needs to be done but, he stutters, “I can’t do that, I don’t do that, it’s not me.” Jack tells him quietly that’s not good enough. Buchanan starts another protest but Jack tells him more forcefully, ‘Dammit, Bill, that’s not good enough. You were the one that told me that people that stand by, they might as well help them plant the bomb.’ Buchanan looks away from Jack but Jack encourages him, ‘You can do this. Bill, you have to do this.’ Buchanan doesn’t look at Jack, but looks away and then back, “I can’t Jack. I’m sorry.” Buchanan steps back and reclaims his gun from the guard. He steps away and Jack calls him again. Buchanan pauses and faces Jack, “I can’t.” He leaves Jack to ponder.

Under the White House Juma’s men work on getting into the building. One of them opens up a laptop and says that this is it. Another man gets out a torch and starts to burn though the grate.

Inside the White House basement, one of Juma’s men on the inside speaks to him on the phone. He is ready for Juma. Another man comes in wearing the same uniform. He asks what that was, he thought he heard something. The man says he was talking to himself. He tells the operative that he and his wife are having people over on Saturday and they are ordering Chinese. He asks if he can make it this time. The operative pulls something sharp out of a cupboard and heads toward the other mans back saying that he was looking forward to Sheila’s cooking. He stabs the worker in the back and he falls to the ground. He tosses the weapon aside and looks kind of unhappy as he locks the door and then moves a cabinet that is along the wall revealing a large hole exposing the brick. He radios Juma and gives him the all clear. The men with Juma have gotten themselves through the grated bars and they are pulled off. Inside there are laser detectors. The man with the laptop says they should have access in 10 seconds. They have 2 minutes until proximity alarms are back on. He counts down from 5 seconds and the lasers go out. They move through and kick the bricks out of the wall where his inside man is. The man inside is given clothes that match the other operatives and Juma wipes his hands on his cammo as he waits for his men to all file in. The one with the laptop gets it out and accesses the secret service tracking grid. They see the President glowing red in the Oval Office. Juma is ready to go. They move out.

A Secret Service Agent walks through the corridor. He turns his back and a knife appears in his chest. Juma’s men have moved in and they shoot the other agent as well. Computer commando gives directions from his laptop. He shows Juma and says they will meet resistance but they will take them out quickly and silently. It is 9 minutes before the next secret service roll call. He needs to find the President.

7:11

7:16

Coming back from the commercial, one of the boxes we see Jack pacing around his cell.

Juma’s men work though the White House and they kill 2 more secret service agents. They head into a room where the Press Secretary is on the phone. Juma demands that she let go of the phone and then shoots her. They are 5 minutes from Secret Service roll call. They kill two more agents on the way out.

Moss leads the chase through the bushes to find Renee. They emerge where Thompson was killed and his body and walkie are still there. Moss looks around.

Renee runs into an old structure and tries the door. She has no luck and when she turns, Laurent is there. Renee thinks fast and blurts that she knows that Dubaku is his father and Juma lied to him, his father is dead. Laurent argues he’s alive but Renee tells him Juma wanted to make sure he didn’t talk. He sent a man named Udo to murder him. He doesn’t believe her but Renee was there when he did it. Juma betrayed him. Renee turns and finds a shovel which she turns onto Laurent. They fight, Renee having the upper hand but he kicks her off of him. He easily picks her up and she lands a punch before he shoves her against the wall choking her. She fights him but isn’t winning. She is struggling to stay conscious when shots ring out and Laurent goes down. Renee drops and Moss comes around the corner. She is choking and gasping but tells him, “I know the target.”

Buchanan leads Jack in his handcuffs to 2 agents. One of them hands Buchanan a file saying its warrants and order for transport. Jack looks around and Buchanan signs the paperwork. He looks at Jack before handing them back and apologizes. Jack says nothing and just looks concerned. Buchanan’s phone rings and he answers it while the agent in charge of Jack leads him the same direction as Buchanan. Moss is calling Buchanan and says that the target is the White House. Buchanan asks how good the intel is and Moss has it first hand, they are using a subterranean access. Buchanan stops and turns back to face Jack and the agents. He is going to initiate a lockdown and tells Moss to alert CIRG. Buchanan tells the agents in front of him and his comm. unit that the White House is a target, they are in condition red, they need to secure the President. He dismisses the agents in front of him to their posts which leaves him with Jack. Buchanan could use Jack’s help but he needs to do exactly what he says. Jack gives Bill his word. Buchanan moves around to Jack’s back and frees his hands. The President is in the oval office.

An agent enters the oval office where the President works. She asks what the meaning of this is and he rushes the President saying the White House is under attack. She tries to get clarification but he says they need to go.

Pierce rushes to Olivia and says they need to go. He calls in saying he has the President’s daughter and he is on his way to the lock down. Buchanan trots around the corner where 2 agents are with Taylor. He says men are down, there’s no safe path out, he wants to secure her in the first floor lockdown. Jack comes around the corner saying they are clear. Taylor, with agents behind her with guns out, asks what the hell Jack is doing there. Buchanan says simply, ‘He’s with me.’ Jack finishes, ‘Madam President, right now you need all the help you can get.’ Taylor wants to know how this is happening and where her daughter is. Jack says she’s with Agent Pierce heading to lockdown as they speak but they need to move. They are moving and Buchanan tries to raise agents in other zones. We see dead agents and Buchanan lets them know he can’t reach anyone in the quadrant. Juma’s men are headed straight for them. Jack looks back to Bill and realizes they know where she is, ‘They’re tracking her, Bill.’ Buchanan goes to the President and asks her to see her tracker. The President rolls up her sleeve and Buchanan takes the tracker on her upper arm. Jack asks what the most direct route to the lockdown is and Buchanan says from the east. He explains to the President that he will head west with the tracker, he sends Taylor with Jack. She and the remaining agents approach Jack who tells the lead one, ‘This is your house, I’ll follow.’ Jack lets the agents and the President pass and follows them, Taylor tossing an intriguing look at Jack on the way by. Outside, Agent Hovis and others close in on one of the doors. They head into the White House.

Juma’s team works through the building and the man with the laptop is giving directions based on what he sees. He informs them the President has left her office. Juma divides up his men and sends some down the west corridor. They are going to trap her between them.

Buchanan gets around his corner, leading with his weapon. Juma goes into a room searching.

Buchanan runs down a hall and finds a dead agent. Juma’s men appear in a top screen. Buchanan runs around the corner and down another hall. They each work around the hallways until Buchanan comes out running and Juma’s men come around the corner. When he sees Juma’s operatives, Buchanan puts his hands up, gun facing the ceiling. Men have come from the other side as well and men come behind Bill. They take his gun and find the President’s tracker. One of them kicks hits Bill in the back and he crumples to the floor. Juma says that they know they’re here. They need to find the President. Juma points his gun at Buchanan’s head for a few seconds but instead hits him in the face causing him to go down again. Juma tells them to take him, they need hostages, start gathering them.

Secret Service is trying to find Juma’s men led by Hovis. They find some of them and engage them. Hovis radios that they have no visual on the President; they are 2 minutes away from the lockdown.

More of Juma’s men enter a room where people are hiding on the floor, mostly in business suits. They get them all out and shove and prod them to where they want them to go.

Jack radios that he is with the President on the way to the lockdown. Pierce is upstairs still. He peeks around the corner and sees Juma’s men moving people nearby. He has shooters in control of the floor but he is looking for a way past them to the lockdown. Jack is there and gives Pierce about 30 seconds before he is going to have to seal the doors. Taylor hears this and refuses to go until her daughter is there. Jack lays it out for her, ‘Madam President, your life is a priority, whether you like it or not.’ He asks her to please step inside. Behind them Juma’s men start to fire. Taylor ducks into the room while the 3 agents, Jack included, fire back. One of them pushes the button to close the door and Jack steps inside as well facing the closing doors with his gun. Outside, the agents who were with Jack and Taylor have been shot.

Jack asks Taylor if she is alright and Taylor nods. Jack gets on the comm. and ID’s himself to Pierce. He explains he had no choice but to seal the room, they were under attack. Pierce admits that they couldn’t have made it anyway. He looks at Olivia. They will try and find a way out. Jack copies and calls Aaron getting no response. Aaron also tries to raise Jack with no luck. Jack tells Taylor that Juma cut off their communication. Taylor needs to know if her daughter is safe. Jack plays with the controls near the door and the security camera angles saying he can’t answer that yet.

Outside, Juma is there and they shoot at the door to the safe room. Inside, Taylor is scared but the door holds. One of the men goes to the wooden paneling on the outside and rips it off revealing metal underneath.

Agents engage Juma’s men and they let Juma know they are pinned down. They don’t know how much longer they can hold them off. Juma says to stand by. He asks if the Secret Service knows that the President has been secured. The only ones that know are the two who saw her go in, and they’re dead. Juma asks to be put onto their comm. channel. Once it’s done he ID’s himself and lies that they have the President. They are to evacuate or she will die. Hovis asks for proof but Juma doesn’t give it, he only orders them out. Hovis has no choice, Juma wants them beyond the fence line or he will kill the President. After some thought, Hovis agrees and gives the order to fall back. Slowly, the agents from all the hallways back out of the White House. Juma confirms with his men that they are retreating. Hostages are brought in to the hallway in front of the lockdown. The agents wait outside.

One of Juma’s men walk and from inside a grate we can see him. Pierce and Olivia are inside watching as he confirms the retreat in his area to Juma. Pierce whispers that the only reason the Secret Service would retreat was if Juma had the President. Olivia heard that man, Bauer, say he got her mother into the lockdown. Pierce thinks he’s bluffing. They need to get the information out and let them know so they can retake the White House. Olivia wants to know how they are going to do this but Pierce shushes her because the commando is returning.

The hostages are brought into the hall in front of the safe room. There are many women and we can see Buchanan, bleeding cut on his cheek, being brought in ahead of the pack. They are all told to get down and they do in a big mass. Buchanan eyes Juma and they are all told to turn around. One of Juma’s men works on the entry pad to the room where Jack and Taylor are. He puts an ID card in the slot and hooks it up to his computer. Juma asks if he can open it and he says yes assuming the specs that Hodges gave them are correct. It will be 15 minutes. Buchanan watches.

7:27

7:31

An FBI chopper lands and Renee and Moss get out. Hovis comes to them and tells them what’s been going on. He didn’t have a choice to retreat. Juma’s men were killing civilians and agents. It looks like there are 53 people left inside and as far as they know there are no agents alive. Hostage rescue is ready to storm the building as soon as the order is given. The Vice President is on route to a secret location. Moss hands the folder he was given to Renee and asks for an infrared scan. Renee looks down the list in the folder of ‘High Priority Targets’ in the White House. She sees the last one on the list: Jack Bauer. She asks Moss why he didn’t tell her Jack Bauer was in the White House. Moss tells her that he was under arrest and under guard when the siege took place. He was caught torturing someone in the White House; he almost killed him before he was stopped. Moss is handing Renee ID and weapons as he makes clear to her that the President is the priority, not Jack Bauer. Renee is clear.

Taylor watches the camera feed as more hostages are brought in. She tells Jack this as he searches the cupboards nearby. They are ordered to get down with the others; one of the new hostages is Senator Meyer who gets down near Buchanan. The President tells Jack that she doesn’t see Olivia. Jack comes over to her and says that’s good news. He tries to reassure her, ‘I know Aaron Pierce, he will do everything in his power to make sure she is safe.’ Taylor doesn’t seem to believe what’s going on, ‘This is the White House for God’s sake.’ She wonders how this could be possible. Jack stands next to her and says that they got help from the inside. She asks him ‘From Whom?’ but Jack is unable to answer that question. He just looks at Taylor and then back at the camera feed. She gets his meaning and then says that this is insane. Taylor realizes that Juma knows there’s no way to get out of there alive. Jack knows, it’s making a statement that he is ready to die. As soon as the rescue teams realize that Taylor is secure they’ll move in, it’s only a matter of time. Jack sees the man outside working on the panel and Taylor asks what he is doing, if it’s some kind of explosive. Jack says no before we hear a beep and Taylor says, scared, ‘Mr. Bauer.’ Jack whispers, ‘Oh my God.’ Jack realizes that they have the access codes, Jack needs to get into that panel. Taylor offers if there’s anything she can do. Jack goes to a lamp and unplugs it as he tells Taylor to get the toolbox from the cupboard and put it on the table. Taylor does and Jack brings the cord and takes a screwdriver from the box. He quickly starts to unscrew the key panel as more numbers fall into place. He lets a quiet ‘Dammit’ go and he manages to get the panel off the wall. He instructs Taylor to plug the cord into the wall. She complies and Jack sparks the two ends together and then shoves them into the key panel. Taylor smiles when she sees it worked, the numbers have disappeared.

Outside, Juma’s man working on the keypad calls Juma over when he sees it has gone dead. They must have disabled it from the inside. Juma wants them to use C4 to get into the door. They would have to put some in every one of the 11 locking rods. It would take too long and depending on if it was hardened, it might not work. Juma thinks they’ll have to find another way. Juma looks around at his counterparts who are watching. He says they will find another way, they have no room for doubt. They have the President trapped and once they open that door they will become part of history. They will find another way. Buchanan watches and listens to what’s going on around him. Juma gets out his phone and dials.

Jonas Hodges, who we last saw in 24 Redemption plotting the death of the President’s son, is eating Chinese takeout from a cardboard box. His phone starts to ring and his assistant says it’s a call on the dedicated uplink. Hodges hears it and reluctantly gets up and tells his man to answer it. Juma is put on speaker and Hodges says he didn’t expect to hear from him again directly, he asks what he can do for him. Juma has a problem, the President has made it into the lockdown. Hodges prepared Juma for that possibility, he sent him the specs for the locking mechanism but Juma says it was shorted out from the inside. He needs another way in. Buchanan continues to listen carefully to the conversation of Juma. Hodges part in this is over and Juma walks a few steps and threatens that Hodges doesn’t have the shipment yet. Hodges is angry, he kept his part of the deal and he expects Juma to keep his. Juma threatens to destroy it before it arrives unless he helps him. Hodges tells Juma to hold and asks his assistant what he thinks, should they do what he says? The shipment is not due in the port for another 2 hours, that’s plenty of time to destroy it or render it useless. Hodges gets on his computer and then gets Juma off hold. He asks who else is in the lockdown with the President. Juma’s men saw her enter with another man. Hodges is looking at the White House manifest and according to it Olivia Taylor is in the building with him. Juma wants to know if he’s sure and Hodges says they log in and out electronically, if it says she’s in there, she’s in there. If they find Olivia Taylor, they will get the President to open that door. Juma says Hodges’ shipment will arrive as planned. Hodges sits back in his chair and tells his worker, ‘Stress. Stress is the fertilizer of creativity.’ He wanders over to his dart board and says casually, ‘Let’s play some darts.’

Juma tells his commandos that the President’s daughter is in the White House. They are to find her. Juma goes to the hostages and wants them to look up; he wants to see their faces. He slowly walks around observing each person. Once they pass Buchanan and Senator Meyer, he asks Buchanan what is going on. Buchanan simply ignores Meyer until he says, ‘I asked you a question Mr. Buchannan.’ Buchanan continues to ignore him and looks away. Meyer tells Buchanan, ‘You think I made the wrong call with Bauer,’ Not sounding like he agrees, Meyer continues, ‘You think if I signed off on the torture of Ryan Burnett all of this could have been avoided.’ Buchanan doesn’t even look at him when he says, “You don’t know what I’m thinking, Senator.”

Juma concludes that Olivia is not there. He assigned commandos to go find her and bring her to him.

Pierce checks around a corner with his gun and Olivia Taylor is behind him. He nods for her to wait where she is as he checks another corner. He is unhappy as he sees that it’s guarded. They are going to have to find another way out. There are three exits and they are all covered. Also, the windows are unbreakable. Pierce figures that their only option is to get a signal out. Pierce wants to leave Olivia in a secured area while he signals and then he will come back for her. She argues that she is not going to sit and hide. Pierce is concerned, it’s a long way and they are going to encounter more of Juma’s men. It is dangerous. Olivia stands firm, she is going with Pierce and tells him not to try and argue, they don’t have the time. Reluctantly, he agrees but warns her to stay behind him.

7:41

7:45

Hovis works from the trailer outside and checks the satellite scan. They can see the cluster of hostages but it’s not that clear. They discuss boosting the resolution but the White House is one of the most heavily shielded buildings in the world. Moss and Renee are told that the Vice President is ready to talk with them and they head into the trailer clearing the room. The other 4 agents get up and leave with no argument. Vice President Hayworth and his advisor, Derek, are on a monitor. Moss ID’s himself and Renee to the VP and updates that they have no further leads. They ran infrared and found the hostages in the hallway outside the Roosevelt Room which is good news for the President. That space is not very defensible and it makes no sense to choose it as a base location other than it is adjacent to the ground floor lockdown and they know that the President was in route to that lockdown. They are not positive that she is in the lockdown but it’s the best explanation they have for the hostages being there. They need Hayworth to authorize an attack before they can penetrate the area. Hayworth wants more evidence to support their theory. Moss tells him that Juma couldn’t produce the President when they asked to speak to her. The Vice President clarifies, “Couldn’t, or wouldn’t?” Moss cannot be entirely certain as to if the President is in the lockdown or not but he urges the VP to allow them to launch. He wants to know what happens if Juma has the President. He directs them to hold off until they are certain of the President’s situation. Renee argues, ‘Mr. Vice President. Terrorists are in control of the White House. Prudence may not be the appropriate response in this situation.’ Hayworth obviously doesn’t appreciate Renee’s forwardness and curtly thanks her for her response but until they have more intel they are to refrain from any action. He wants to be kept apprised of further developments. He hangs up and Renee complains, ‘All he’s interested in is covering his own ass.’ Moss doesn’t disagree but says he’s the Vice President and he’s calling the shots.

On Heyworth’s side, Derek assures him he made the right choice. He can’t order an operation that results in the Presidents death and results in his own rise to power, it’s politically untenable. The Vice President looks down and then tells him quietly, ‘Don’t ever let anyone hear you talking like that Derek, you understand?’ Derek says yes and the VP gets up.

Pierce leads with his gun around a corner and then nods Olivia to follow. They are heading down the centre of the hallway slowly when one of Juma’s men comes around the corner. He sees them and Pierce immediately gets himself between Olivia and the gunman while she tries to shield herself behind a desk. They both shoot and Pierce and Juma’s man go down. Juma’s man is dead and Pierce is hit in the right shoulder. He uses his legs to slowly push himself up against the wall. Olivia crawls to him and pulls open his jacket revealing a large red patch on his pinstripe shirt. He tells her quickly that Juma’s men will have heard those shots, she needs to get the sign out before they get here. He breathes hard and tells her there’s a security kit in the bureau behind the door and it’s got first aid and a flashlight. He wants her to use Morse code out the window. He adjusts and tells her to reach into his jacket, he has a pen. He pulls open the left side of his jacket so she can see it. Olivia takes the pen and he tells her to give it to him. He winces and pulls himself up higher as he says for her to give him her hand. He grabs her wrist with his left hand and painfully uses his right to write the code onto her hand. Explaining as he writes he says it’s called Code Green. A dash is a long blink and a dot is a short one. Code green will signal them to move in. She hesitates next to him and he says, ‘Go!’ She gets up, steps over him and heads into the room. Quickly she starts searching the many drawers on the bureau. The third one is lucky and she pulls a large first aid kit from a cupboard. She puts it down on the top and opens it up finding the flashlight. She heads to the window and holds up her hand. Smiling she starts flashing the light. Outside, a few blinks are seen but before she completes it, one of Juma’s men has arrived behind her. She fights a bit but he leads her back out into the hall. Pierce is flanked by a few others and initially we don’t see him move. The angle closes in on him looking to Olivia, fresh blood on his chin. Olivia shakes her head no and Pierce winces. The man with Olivia says to bring him and they drag Aaron to his feet. One of them has a hold of his arm as they lead the pair of them down the hallway.

7:50

7:55

Hodges has settled down to watch TV about the White House takeover. He looks somewhat worried.

The computer thug comes to Juma and points out that there are cameras embedded throughout the White House. Juma looks up and sees one above him. Olivia Taylor is brought to join the rest of the hostages as well as a struggling Pierce. Juma says to put him down with the others and get him a chair.

Taylor paces around the room while Jack searches the cupboard. Taylor lets Jack know it looks like they’ve spotted the cameras. Juma looks directly into the camera as Taylor watches.

Juma wants to be put through to the Secret Service channel and computer guy does it for him. He speaks directly to Taylor saying he knows she has been watching him, there’s something else that she should see. Juma waves the others over and Jack stops inside and looks on as Olivia is brought over and put in the chair in front of the camera. Juma gets a knife out and threatens that if she doesn’t open the door he is going to cut Olivia’s eyes out one by one and then cut out her tongue and then her head. Olivia tries to tell her mom not to listen but her mouth is covered. Juma claims to know what Taylor is thinking, how does she know if she opens the door he won’t kill Olivia. All she needs to know is that he certainly will kill her if she doesn’t.

Taylor tells Jack to open the door, he tries to say he can’t and she nearly becomes frantic telling him to do it. Jack finally has to yell, ‘I can’t!’ Upset, Taylor tries to convince him, it’s her daughter out there and Jack needs to understand, she has already lost her son. ‘Do you have any idea what it’s like to lose a child?’ She asks. Jack is genuinely sorry but he can’t let them take her, ‘There’s nothing you can do for her now.’ She looks into his eyes and asks, ‘Do you have children, Jack?’ Jack pauses and admits, “I have a daughter.” Taylor asks him, ‘Could you do what you’re asking me to do, just stand by and watch her butchered?’ Jack answers solemnly, ‘No ma’am, but I am not the President of the United States.’ Taylor is the President and she orders him to open the door. Jack turns back and looks at the video feed, thinking.

In the split screen we see Jack, then Taylor watching him, Juma playing with the knife on Olivia’s face, Chloe in cells, Buchanan, Meyer, Pierce and other hostages.

Juma says she is running out of time. He puts his hand over Olivia’s mouth and says that this will make her decide more quickly. Suddenly the fractured wood parts and then the metal doors slowly start to open. Jack is the first thing seen, his hands on the back of his head but standing in front of the President. The hostages watch as he steps out and Juma’s men frisk him taking his walkie and roughly searching him. Jack is led aside. Taylor is held lightly by one of the men and led forward. Olivia calls to her mother and she tries to lean in saying that she wouldn’t let them hurt her. She is pulled away.

Jack is led to the hostages and gets on his knees between Buchanan and Meyer. Meyer leans over and asks, ‘Dammit, Bauer, what have you done?’ Jack looks away. Juma heads to the President and she sighs. She tells the General that he has her now so he has no reason to hold anyone else hostage. She wants him to let them go. Juma slaps her and the hostages are heard reacting in quiet shock. She turns back and pushes her hair back revealing a cut in her lip. Juma tells her coolly, ‘You don’t give orders.’ He instructs one of his men to get the camera ready for her statement. When she asks what statement, she is told the last one she will ever give. There’s a gun on Olivia and she looks upset. Jack watches looking angry.

800

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

-That was the fastest hole drilling ever. It was a pretty sizeable hole they put there in a couple of minutes.

-For the record, the producers have said that this whole ‘White House underwater entry’ thing is their IMAGINATION. You know, that thing that works in your mind when you’re creative. So, before you go getting all offended that this wouldn’t actually happen, check with yours first.

-Quick question - Where is Tony during all of this? Just hanging out in the car with a bag of chips and a beer watching it all unfold? If he’s a wanted felon and every law enforcement agency in the DC area is there to try and save the President, you would think they would have noticed an out of place looking man sitting in a car a couple of blocks away.

-I am swinging wildly between loving and hating Olivia. I love her little confrontation with Pierce at the beginning of the hour. Ultimately, he wins but she does a good job too.

-I think Pierce has been around longer than 5 administrations. If I remember right, he told Palmer he came in on Reagan’s second term meaning that David Palmer would have been his 5 th administration and he was on until at least Logan.

-What an extremely convenient time for Kanin to head off site. As much as I see him doing good things, I still don’t trust him. Obviously, Jack is rubbing off on me, too.

-Very very curious about the history between Olivia and Kanin. I’m sure it’s ugly.

-That was a good use of Jack’s concise explanation to Buchannan of what’s been going on – in the previously. Gives basically the whole hour previous in a few words.

-It’s been a while since we’ve seen Tim. I think I like him but I wonder where he’s been? Also, where did he end up in all of this? Hope he survived to be a hostage.

-Renee is doing some great running in those heeley shoes she had. I’m impressed. Let’s see Jack do that. Actually, check that. I don’t want to see Jack do that because he’d probably kill someone with the heel. “Now THOSE are practical shoes.”

-Where exactly is mini-Dubaku’s post? I think he’s left it.

-Also, who DOESN’T take the radio to track where they are looking for him? Not the sharpest Dubaku in Sangala.

-I’m surprised that Buchanan is so ready to turn Jack over to the AG. I guess he’s bitter that he didn’t bring him into the loop so now he has to pay for it. Buchanan was willing to help, but Jack didn’t bring him in.

-Jack looks so sad and lonely behind bars like that. If things keep going this way, he’s going to have to get used to it.

-it’s hard to tell if Jack is concerned that Renee has gone missing or if he’s concerned that Renee has gone missing with the information.

-Poor Buchanan. He can be the man of steel, the voice of reason, Mr. Do-the-right-thing from the helm of CTU, but put him in Jack’s place and he turns into a stuttering, unsure, scared agent. I was shocked how reluctant he was to pull a Jack and try and get Burnett to talk, especially since he’s always willing to support Jack (and Tony) when they have to do it. You know, I think I respect him more for that.

-Line of the week contender: Buchanan to Jack re: torture: “It’s not me.”

-Interesting for Jack to toss one of Buchanan’s own quotes back at him. And the ‘helping plant the bomb’ thing is very pertinent at the current time. Nicely done.

-Jack looks pretty shocked that Bill, someone he obviously looks up to and respects, can’t do what he does. Too distasteful for him to be a part of.

-Juma’s man with the computer is like bad guy Chloe. He’s a serious tech.

-The guy that killed his buddy there for Juma actually looked like he was sad to be doing it, for like, a millisecond.

-So, who is turning the laser sensors off? Did Juma’s tech man hack the system or is there someone else helping them out?

-There’s something really wrong with needing a laptop with directions for every single turn you make during a siege.

-They should have put a GPS voice into that computer. Soothing female voice says, ‘Turn left in thirty feet.’

-Renee had the right idea trying to stall Mini-Dubaku by saying that Juma betrayed him. Problem being, that’s not going to stop him from killing her. It’s not like she’s offering him something to trade or a way to get his father back, she’s creating an emotional reaction. I guess she’s betting that he won’t want to kill for Juma once he has betrayed him like that.

-Renee gets a 10 for her shovel form. Nice job.

-Renee is having kind of a rough day for breathing.

-Jack looks so sad there in cuffs. The only thing sadder is Buchanan looking like he’d rather be doing anything but this.

-It tends to feel like Jack is humoring people when he lets them lead him around in cuffs, because we all know he could get away if he really wanted to.

-Bill’s apology to Jack was a really nice touch and for me, reminded me of what they’ve been through. Particularly, how torn up Buchanan was when he had to leave Jack for dead at the beginning of Season 6. He handcuffed him to that grate and apologized.

-I guess Buchanan asking Jack to do ‘exactly what he says’ it to make sure he’s not going to run off right this second and try to zap Burnett some more. I think Jack knows there are bigger fish to fry right now.

-Has Taylor even read Jack’s file and his past? If I was in her shoes the first words out of my mouth would have been, ‘Where is Jack Bauer? Get him here NOW!’

-This should be a very big clue to Taylor. Even though she is about to be part of sending Jack to jail for the rest of his life, he is still there willing to put his life on the line to ensure her protection, no questions asked.

-The whole time Buchanan was running around with the President’s tracker I was thinking, “Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die!” I love Buchanan.

-Interesting when it comes down to it, things don’t even really need to be said. Buchanan takes the tracker and leads the commandos away from the President. Jack stays with the President to protect her. If there was anyone that would be able to get away with the tracker, it would be Jack. Instead, though, he stays with the President because he is also the one that has the best chance to protect her. Even though Jack is ‘expendable’ (not to the show, though), like all agents, he us better served protecting the highest value target they have.

-If Hovis and his team are coming from the outside, where have they been? Working the perimeter or were they on a meal break? ‘Gotta go, the White House is under attack.’ ‘What? My burger just got here! Dammit!’

-Buchanan looks good with that gun. I guess it’s just that we haven’t seen him in this situation that often so the novelty hasn’t worn off yet.

-When they had the operatives in the top screen and Buchanan in the bottom, I wanted to yell, “They’re right on top to you Bill! Literally!”

-Buchanan is smart about surrender. He doesn’t try to fight since he’s seriously outnumbered, just surrenders and whatever will be will be.

-I actually had a physical reaction when they hit Buchanan. If I’m remembering right, this is the first real contact he’s had in 4 years with the show (other than Jack last episode, but that doesn’t count really). He’s worked in the field before but generally, he’s not a fighter and tends to stay out of these areas. Poor Bill.

-At first I was surprised that Jack ducked into the lockdown with the President but when I thought about it, it made sense. She needs someone in there to protect her and work from the inside. It just seemed sad that he left the other agents out to die.

-And, as soon as Buchanan was safe, my focus became Pierce, “Don’t die, Aaron, don’t die, Aaron!”

-Jack’s original answer to the President about her daughter was a bit surprising in its tone.

-The ‘dead’ agent outside the door changed position. If you watch when he goes down he’s pretty sprawled out but then when Juma’s man fires at the door, his arm is over his face. It can pass, though, because it’s actor safety. They were shooting holes in the wood right above him so I don’t blame the guy for needing to cover his eyes and face up.

-It’s also kind of sweet that Jack immediately goes back for his gun and gets a little more in front of the President when they are shooting at the door. No misplaced loyalty here.

-To be honest, originally I was very angry that they retreated so fast without knowing for sure that the President was in fact a hostage. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that it was the right call. They can’t afford to call out the bluff with the life of the President on the line.

-If I could pick someone to protect me in a situation like this, Pierce would certainly be in my top 3. Jack, Tony, Pierce, Bill in that order.

-Hodges is one evil dude.

-Interesting List of ‘High Priority Targets’. Here it is for you guys:

1) President Allison Taylor

2) Taylor, Olivia
3) Kanin, Ethan
4) Mayer, Blaine
5) Buchanan, Bill
6) Nelson, Angela
7) Burnett, Ryan
8) Pierce, Aaron
9) Bauer, Jack

The only rank specific one is the President but Mayer is a Senator and of course Kanin as well is important but not listed with his rank. Also, I thought Kanin was going to the Pentagon, did he not get out? Below this on the page is a list of staff members mostly unreadable. It’s a little bit shocking to me that Buchanan and Aaron are ‘high priority targets’. Jack, well, we can’t really account for Jack in any way but it just seemed weird to me to see them on the same list as all these importants.

-If only Moss knew the circumstances surrounding Jack torturing someone he might not be so fast to judge. He would be in his nice cozy staff room if Jack had been allowed to do his thing.

-As Taylor reasons out this whole thing with Jack at her side and realizes that if he had been allowed to complete his ‘interrogation’ of Burnett, they wouldn’t be here, it really makes me wonder if she will change her stance somewhat. So far she has really tried to do what she sees as the right thing. It’ll be interesting to see if her definition of ‘the right thing’ changes after this.

-It just sounds funny for Taylor to call Jack, “Mr. Bauer”. I’m surprised he hasn’t asked her to call him Jack but I guess he feels that she’s the President and he would answer to ‘shithead’ if it was what she called him.

-That’s about the weakest little toolbox I’ve ever seen.

-Good thinking, Jack. He and Taylor make a pretty good team.

-Hodges is not helping my craving for Chinese Food right now.

-Upon second glance, though, maybe he is. He just looks gross eating that.

-It will be interesting when (and if) Hodges finally gets revealed for what he is and the President finds out what he’s been up to – including killing her son.

-Speaking of the President’s family, I know this isn’t the time but I’m curious how Henry Taylor is doing in surgery.

-Are they going to tell us what’s in the mystery shipment from Juma to Hodges or is this going to be the next threat?

-As evil as Hodges is, I think I like him. I think he’ll be an interesting evil-doer. He already has had a couple of choice lines, including the darts one.

-Line of the week: Buchanan to Meyer: “You have no idea what I’m thinking.” I think we know Buchanan well enough to read his thoughts – and they’re not pleasant right now. Unfortunately, reactions like that aren’t going to win him or Jack or Tony any points in the ‘get out of jail free’ scenario.

-Meyer sounds like just maybe he gets it when he talks to Buchanan. If he had let Jack do his thing, they would have been able to stop this, or at least do something about it like evacuate the President and other ‘important’ people like him.

-I know Pierce is a very respectable agent and wouldn’t ever do this, but I would have knocked Olivia Taylor’s ass out and hidden her to get her to be safe. Instead, she gets to pull a Kim Bauer.

-Vice President Hayworth. Do they deliberately choose names that are hard to type?

-Renee tires to argue like Jack, unfortunately, she just comes off sounding disrespectful. It probably hurt their chances of the VP agreeing with them.

-Although I don’t agree with the VP’s choice, I think I like him. That little scene where he tells Derek off for plotting his ascension to power tells us a lot about his character. Or maybe it’s just the accent.

-Pierce is such a great Secret Service agent. Confronted with a man with a gun and a split second to react, what does he do? Get down? Take cover? No, he gets himself in between the gunman and Olivia. Courageous.

-That was such a well acted scene as well. You just can’t help but feel terrible for Pierce.

-That has got to be the biggest first aid kid I’ve ever seen. And it wasn’t even close to full when Olivia opened it. She could have practically hidden in there.

-Rule number 1 of evasion, Ms. Presidential Daughter? ALWAYS lock the door! Are you serious?

-I wonder if that little blinking will be enough to deduce that they are safe. I mean, ‘Code Green’ didn’t seem like it was all that long when Pierce was writing it out.

-I think Olivia should have made shadow puppets in the light.

-Am I the only one that seriously panicked when we saw the outside camera and Pierce wasn’t moving? I was like “NO! YOU CAN’T KILL AARON!” There were seriously almost tears for a split second.

-We’ve seen quite a few different camera angles looking out of the lockdown. Suddenly it seems to be a really close one, I wonder if that’s a side effect of shorting out the panel.

-Juma skeeved me out the way he was toying with the knife on Olivia’s face. That was almost worse than actually doing anything.

-Jack should seriously get Juma’s computer guy a job after this is all over. He’s a great tech.

-As much as it sucks for Taylor, Jack was right. He shouldn’t be opening the door. She’s the President, game over.

-‘There’s nothing you can do for her now.’ That line is a Season 5 throwback when they gassed CTU. It was really haunting to me how, Jack, Audrey, Chloe, Kim and a bunch of others were locked in the Situation Room at CTU a woman tried to get in before the gas killed her. The room had been sealed and Jack told the others exactly that, ‘There’s nothing we can do for her now.’ Then she died basically hanging onto the glass wall. It was very unnerving.

-Taylor must know damn well that Jack has a daughter. Seeing him admit it though, is very stirring for the audience.

-So, we finally found something Jack can’t simply write off, killing the President’s daughter while he stands beside the President. Unless he can get them out of this, I firmly believe that this was the wrong choice but it’s easy to be a front of the screen driver. I think Season 5 Jack would have let it happen.

-That was quite the image, the doors parting and Jack standing there with his hands on his head. He’s one skinny man.

-I saw the thugs take a walkie off of Jack, but not a gun. Did he arm the President? They didn’t search her.

-Oh, I just LOVE how Meyer is all for blaming Jack for this. Brilliant. Now he has someone else to blame other than his sorry self. Jackass.

-Interesting that Buchanan has no words for Jack. I bet he’s mad that Jack let her out and to be taken.

-Dude, Juma just slapped the President. I’m not even American and I’m shocked.

-I would like to ask Pierce what he is thinking right now? Senator Meyer, care to ask?

-Jack looks disappointed in himself for letting this get this far.

-This was a very stressful 2 hours of television. Wow. I love 24.

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