7.16: 11:00pm -12:00am - Unhappy Camper

7.16: 11:00p.m. -12:00a.m.

~ Unhappy Camper ~
2009.03.30

11:00

Jack Bauer is unceremoniously stripped of his items. He empties his pockets into a plastic bag held out by a worker in a HazMat suit. He pulls his gun off his belt and drops it in the bag as well. He looks worried. Another man in a red HazMat suit calls Jack sir and says that they are ready for him. They have placed a square plastic container on the ground and Jack wipes his nose and follows the CDC worker. Around him people work getting items out of cases and checking the container for contamination.

Dr. Sunny Macer from the CDC introduces herself and tells Jack they need him to get undressed. Jack starts to comply, first taking off his jacket and tossing it in the bag and then he crouches to untie his boots. While he does she asks him about the bio-weapon, she spoke to Larry Moss already. Jack relays what he knows about the bio-weapon. It was developed in Sangala and reports that he heard from the village it was tested on said that all the victims suffered from dementia and paralysis. Macer tells her worker to check neurological vectors and pathogens. She asks how much was released and Jack, tossing his shoes in the bin now, says he’s not exactly sure. He explains that it was stored in a pressurized canister; it was breached for at maybe two minutes before he was able to shut it off. Jack pulls his shirt over his head and Macer as well as her assistant gape at his chest. Jack has numerous scars covering much of his chest, torso and arms. They have been there a while bit are still slightly grotesque. Jack looks puzzled for a second and then gazes down and back to Macer before telling her, ‘This is not a reaction, I’ve had these scars.’ He trails off and bags his shirt. Macer tells Jack that they have a full spectrum anti-biotic. It should counteract a wide range of known pathogens. The assistant jabs a needle into Jack’s bicep and he winces. Jack is standing on the street in his white boxers and the assistant tells him to step inside the plastic. Jack runs his thumbs around the band of his boxers and delays for a second before pulling them down and taking a few steps into the plastic. Another man with a brush tells him to raise his arms and closes his eyes. They start spraying and brushing off Jack with what looks like an oversized broom and power washer.
  

Moss comes near Janice and they talk about the road closures. CDC is on site and Moss explains that the weapon container was breached and Jack was exposed. Janice has the ‘Oh my God’ reaction and Moss says that Starkwood took the weapon back to their compound in Virginia along with Tony Almeida who has been working with Jack. He thinks he is being held captive. Janice tells Moss that Starkwood is an enormous military base but Moss isn’t going to do anything until he gets concrete evidence from the CDC. He will inform the President and let her decide how to proceed.

A chopper lifts the weapon and puts it down at Starkwood on the back of another truck. Hodges comes over to it and Greg watches closely. Stokes arrived and gets out of the car and then opens the back door and releases Tony from there. Two thugs take an arm each and lead Tony toward the building. He eyes Greg all the way in. Hodges heads to Greg and tells him that Almeida is not going to talk, he’s not the type. He’s the brave type. He spouts, “Know the psychology of your subject. It’s in our manual.” He waves his finger, ‘In we go.’ Greg walks away.

A tech, Tom, calls Hodges and says that there was a breach but it has been isolated, they got lucky. Hodges thinks they were not so lucky, the government knows. It’s going to take the tech 2 hours to get the weapon ready but that’s too long for Hodges. They don’t know what the government knows and they are going to be coming with everything they have and the only thing that’s going to stop them is getting the weapons ready to deploy. Tom will do his best, Hodges knows he will. They move the weapon out on the back of a truck, men standing holding onto it.

Inside, Stokes is laying into Tony hard. He hits Tony in the stomach against a chain link fence while two men hold him up. Stokes asks what the FBI knows, “I’m not gonna ask you again.” Tony breathes hard and just looks at Stokes. Stokes winds up and hits him again, this time Tony doubles over and coughs. Hodges enters and Tony is flung back up against the fence. Hodges steps in and calls Stokes off saying ‘okay’. They still hold onto Tony as he looks stonily at Hodges. He has a cut on his head and blood coming from his ear. Hodges tells him quietly, ‘You’re a good man Tony. I’ve read your file, you have had some heart breaks.’ His eyes look down over Tony and he continues, “I don’t want to see you hurt. So you just tell me what the FBI knows about what we’re doin’ here and I can’t say you’ll walk away smiling, that would be unrealistic.” Tony slightly nods and looks at Hodges when he finishes, ‘But you’ll be alive.’ Tony’s breathing has calmed down somewhat and he looks down. Hodges gets into his sightline, ‘You hear me?’ He nods and so does Tony. Tony shakes his head and starts a few times before the words come, “But I don’t know anything.” He looks directly at Hodges as he finishes meekly, “Mister Hodges.” Hodges brings his hand up and puts it on the side of Tony’s face. He pats him a few times and then it evolves into a few light slaps. Tony’s head goes back onto the chain and Hodges leans in again, “I’m giving you a way out, Tony.”

 

Greg calls Hodges, he wants to speak to him for a moment. Hodges stays with Tony for a few seconds before going over to Greg, clearly unhappy about it. He asks what it is and Greg says that they are supposed to be part of a covert operation and now the government knows about the weapon, they are not going to sit on that information. Greg is suggesting that maybe they destroy the weapon while they still have the chance. Tony is close enough to hear everything. He tries to not be too obvious about the fact that he is listening. Hodges can’t believe he is hearing this from Greg. Greg claims to be trying to help, he cares about this company as much as Hodges does. Hodges doesn’t think he does, ‘We’ve invested a lot of blood and treasure to get these weapons and I’m not going to give them up.’ Greg checks on Tony and asks Hodges to think about what he is risking, everything he has built. Hodges accuses Greg of worrying about his own ass. Hodges turns and tells the others, “Get him out of here and do what you have to do.” One of the thugs grabs the front of Tony’s jacket and they pull him off the fence and lead him away. He calls to Tony’s back, “Think about what I said young man.” Hodges follows Tony for a few steps and continues to talk to Greg saying for him to keep his doubts to himself, he’s not going to tell him again. Hodges walks away. Tony is led out while he tries to see Hodges and Greg.

Jack now sits with his feet hanging over the edge of a stretcher wearing white scrubs with a white shirt underneath. Macer’s worker takes a blood pressure monitor off Jack’s arm while she says they’re going to need to take more blood and saliva samples and she’d like to collect a spinal fluid specimen. Jack focuses on the worker who shines a pen light into each of his eyes. Until they know what they are dealing with they need to keep Jack under quarantine. Jack nods and asks how long it’s going to be until they know if he’s infected. Macer says they should have the preliminary reports in the next 15 minutes. The worker does something to Jack’s wrist while another comes and says that they detected trace amounts of airborne pathogen, it’s concentrated near the truck and they’re picking it up at lower levels in the surrounding areas. Jack looks back and forth between Macer and the man. He asks if they can identify it. They can’t but they’re analyzing a sample now. She looks at the information he gave her and says that this is not a lot but she still wants atmospheric monitors set up. He leaves and she turns to Jack, “It’s a good thing you sealed off the canister, Mr. Bauer. You saved a lot of lives.” Jack deflects the praise while looking around quickly. He says that she will have to transport him back to the FBI, “I’m still material evidence in an ongoing terrorist threat.” Those were Macer’s orders; they can run the tests from there. She leaves Jack sitting and he takes a second, sighs and looks at the ground.

Taylor works with Olivia going over the names of her possible next Chief of Staff. They discuss people from the inside versus those from the outside. Olivia has someone in mind from the outside, Rick Burman. He has made his fortune and she thinks he’ll jump at the chance to serve his country. She realizes that it could take weeks to find Ethan’s replacement and asks Olivia to do the job in the interim. She doesn’t get to answer before the phone rings. The voice says that Tim is there. Taylor wants a minute first. She wants someone she can trust to be her Chief of Staff. She presses her, ‘You’re not going to say no to your mother are you?’ Olivia says of course not.

Tim comes in and says he has Moss on the phone from the FBI, it’s to do with an imminent Homeland threat. Tom pauses before putting Moss through looking at Olivia. Taylor gives him the okay, Olivia is her interim Chief of Staff. Tim is sceptical but he does what he is told. Moss is put through and the first thing he says is that Jack Bauer didn’t kill Ryan Burnett or Senator Mayer, he was framed. Taylor claims to have known it, she asks who framed him. Moss explains about Starkwood after Taylor asks why they would frame Jack. He tells her all about the connection to Juma and Sangala. Taylor is devastated at the news and paces around. Olivia wants more information on the weapon but they don’t know yet, it’s some kind of neurological pathogen that they are analyzing now. The shipment has gone to Starkwood, Tim says it’s in Virginia. Olivia asks if they intend to attack the country but Moss doesn’t know. He does ask, given their actions, to move immediately on Starkwood. Tim leaves it up to the President and she wants the Joint Chiefs assembled. Tim will do it.

11:13

11:17

Renee still waits in holding and Moss buzzes himself in. She leans casually against the window and Moss tells her that Jack was right about Starkwood. Moss sighs and she asks if they found evidence they were supporting Juma. Moss, still in his bullet-proof vest, steps forward to the table and says quietly, “Yeah.” Renee asks if they found out why, what could Starkwood get from Juma? Moss explains about the bio-weapons. Renee takes this and asks where Jack is. Moss flicks his head away from her as he says awkwardly, “He’s on his way over here.” Renee assesses him and seeing his expression closes in on him. She walks up right next to him and says his name. Moss tells her, “He managed to secure the weapon but then, ah,” he looks down, “Starkwood got ‘em back, and when that happened, um.” Renee starts to shake her head knowing what’s coming from Larry, he pushes out the last part of the sentence, “Jack was exposed.” He shakes his head and Renee turns square on the table and leans on it as well. Moss says that he may have been infected, he is on his way back there and he’s in quarantine. Moss needs to find out everything he learned about the weapons and he thinks she should be the one that debriefs Jack. Renee lets her head drop forward and back up, Moss continues, “And I owe you an apology.” From the other side, we can see a tear fall from Renee’s eye. She stares forward while Moss stutters that he let his prejudice about Bauer get in the way. He continues, ‘Renee, you should have kept me in the loop.’ Another tear falls and Moss says, “You should have trusted me.” She looks at him and says sadly, “I know. I should have.” They are close and she looks down. She finds her voice and asks, “When are we moving on Starkwood?”

Aaron Pierce walks by still in the White House with his arm in a sling and his jacket in his hand. Olivia stops him and comes over. She wants to speak with him and he says of course. He has been debriefed and is on his way out. Olivia tells him about her new position and she asks for him to be the head of her security. Aaron is flattered but he is retired. She can have him reinstated but he says there are plenty of fine agents in the service. She wants him to do it. She can’t get into details but say the threat is not over. They are in the middle of a crisis and she needs people around her she can trust. She can’t say that about a lot of people. She is about to go into a meeting with the President but she is going to assume his answer is yes. She leaves and he thinks and then smiles.

The Joint Chiefs are meeting and Olivia arrives and sits next to the President. She tells them to keep reading if they haven’t finished their packages. She and Tim tell them all about the bio weapons and Starkwood. The Starkwood compound is large, 259 structures. Ben from CDC says that the pathogen is a preon variant indigenous to the east Congo. It’s a form of Critzfeld Yakow Disease and it attacks the brain and the nervous system. It causes dementia, physical deterioration and ultimately death. The standard CJE kills in months but this one may be faster, a day, maybe two. There is no treatment and no cure. This could be catastrophic. They discuss the options, they can’t allow a private military to have a WMD. Taylor wants to arrest those responsible but the force at Starkwood is 1500 highly trained mercenaries. They talk about an air strike but they don’t know where the weapon is. They might miss and release it. They are not lawfully allowed to disperse military on US citizens. Taylor concedes that there are no good options. She won’t consider the option of another attack.

Tony sits in a chair, still bleeding. His hands are bound behind his back. Stokes comes in and asks Tony has given any more thought to Hodges’s offer. Tony says nothing, he looks at the ground. Stokes wants to know why he has this loyalty to a government that screwed him over. Stokes doesn’t get it, if Tony tells them what the FBI knows, he will walk. Tony tries for a shrug and looks uncomfortable but stands his ground in silence. Stokes talks about a Redskin ticket bet he made with Hodges before drawing his gun and cocking it. Tony looks at it and Stokes raises it level with his chest. Two shots ring out and Stokes goes down revealing Greg with a shaking hand holding a gun. Tony quietly says, ‘Hey’ and then repeats himself a little louder before asking what the hell is going on. Greg comes in and says he needs Tony’s help. He pulls the keys from Stokes and says that they have to stop this. Greg goes behind Tony and uncuffs him but Tony says he’s not going anywhere until he tells him why he’s doing this. Greg frees Tony’s wrists and he rubs them while Greg goes to the door and tells him, ‘I’m not going to spend the rest of my life in prison because Jonas Hodges has lost his mind. Tony asks if he knows where the weapons are, and Greg does. ‘Then you better tell me right now.’ Greg wants immunity but Tony shakes his head, he can’t promise anything. He can call the FBI and negotiate a deal, immunity in exchange for Greg’s help in recovering the weapons, that’s the best he can do. Greg hands the gun over to Tony to takes it eagerly. Greg can set up a secure landline in his office. They leave.

The Haz-Mat bus is escorted by a few cop cars. Jack sits in an isolation room inside the bus, still in white, hands on his thighs. Macer receives a radio transmission and says they are pulling up to FBI, they have to put Jack in an isolation suit to transfer him inside. Jack understands. Macer asks, “How are you feeling?” Jack shakes his head and tells her, “No different.” He pauses and looks away. One of the CDC guys is handing out PDA’s, he has the results of Mr. Bauer’s blood work. Jack looks and Macer checks the PDA and then looks to Jack. He looks away and sighs. In the reflection of the glass, we can see him look down. Macer wants the door opened. They open it up and Macer hands the PDA to Jack. He takes it and reads it quickly. His expression is unreadable as he leans his head back and scoffs. He hands the PDA back to Macer and quietly says, ‘Thank you.’ She walks away.

11:26

11:30

Renee wanders around the FBI and Janice comes over and says the CDC has arrived with Jack Bauer. He is not in quarantine. Renee wants to know more but that’s all Janice knows, he is clearing security and on the way up.

Jack stands in the elevator with Macer. He looks up and swallows as the elevator stops. He steps off and Renee is right there waiting. She asks if Jack is okay. He tells her, “My bloodwork came back positive. I’m infected.” She stares at him while the other CDC man tells him that there’s a room for him to change. Jack thanks him and Renee says nothing. She stares at him with huge eyes and he insists, “It’s fine” before walking away. She watches him go and turns to Macer, ‘But he’s not in quarantine.’ Macer explains that he is not contagious it was engineered that way to prevent blowback on the people deploying it. Renee is grasping, ‘Okay, but there has to be something you can do to help him.’ Macer explains, “There’s no cure. But he’s patient zero. Whatever we learn from the pathogen will come from the tests we still need to run.” Macer’s phone rings and she steps away to answer it leaving Renee with her thoughts. Macer tells whoever is on the other end that, ‘He’s stable.’ Renee stares at the door where Jack went.

Inside, Jack is tying his shoes. He has pants on but is still shirtless. A knock comes at the door and Jack, still bent over, says yeah. Renee comes in and puts her hand on the counter, “Jack, ah, I don’t know what to say.” Jack is done with his boots and sits up saying, “You can tell me that Agent Moss followed up on Starkwood.” Renee looks even sadder when she sees Jack sit up revealing his many healed wounds. Jack looks down and grumbles, “Sorry.” He grabs his shirt and she says Moss debriefed the White House and they are waiting on a decision. Jack says that’s good and asks if there is any word on Tony. He pulls his shirt over his head and she says not yet. Jack shrugs into the long sleeved shirt as she says she needs to debrief him on the canisters, ‘You okay with that?” Jack says yeah. They are quiet for a second before Renee says, ‘I read the statement from the port authority cop, he said you risked the mission to save his life.’ Jack looks down, anywhere but Renee. She stares at him and finishes, “You did the right thing.” Jack evades and says a quick thanks. He doesn’t meet her eyes and she abruptly turns and leaves, closing the door behind her. Jack sits in the semi-dark room alone, he leans back in his chair resting his head on the wall.

 

Tony and Greg make their way through Starkwood. They stop and wait for two commandos to pass. Tony follows Greg upstairs and into a room. Tony is carrying something that looks like a tissue but he still has blood on his year. Greg’s phone is ringing when they get to his office and he says it’s the lab, probably Hodges. Tony looks out the blinds and says to talk to him on speaker. Greg does and Hodges asks where he has been. Greg is checking on Almeida, Stokes is still working on him. Hodges reminds Greg, ‘I told Stokes to put Almeida down if he didn’t start talking.’ Greg says a few more minutes and Hodges says they are busting their asses to get this weapon ready before the government makes its move. He needs all hands on deck. Greg will be there soon. When he hangs up Tony says to call FBI. Greg has to set up the secure line first. Tony comes to the desk and watches while Greg talks about Hodges, he never thought he would take it this far. He’s a patriot that founded Starkwood to protect the country. Tony asks dryly why he is attacking it. Greg says it’s complicated. He doesn’t understand it himself but he should have done more to stop this. Tony looks back at Greg and he says that he should have called FBI months ago. Tony nods and reassures him that he is doing the right thing now.

Janice has pulled everything on Starkwood, Moss wants everything on the interagency servers. Renee comes by and Moss stops her saying he heard about Jack, he’s sorry. She’s still debriefing him but brought Moss a full description of the canisters. She hands it over and Moss takes it. Moss asks, “How’s he doing?” She answers, “Hard to tell.” She tells him that so many people have died today, they cannot let their deaths be for nothing. Larry won’t.

Janice calls and has Tony on the phone, he is inside Starkwood. Moss gives the okay to put him through. Tony asks who he is talking to and Moss ID’s himself. Tony explains what’s going on, ID’s Hodges and tells him about Greg and the deal. Moss needs to run it by the President and goes to hang up but Tony stops him, “Do you know what happened to Jack?” Moss pauses and tells Tony, “He’s here, he’s in medical.” Tony seems surprised and asks, “Was he hit?” Moss says no, “One of the canisters was breached, he’s been infected.” Tony is unhappy and Moss has to go and call the President. He asks Janice to set up a secure connection with Tony and the President.

11:36

11:40

Taylor watches people on her television that are obviously dying while soldiers in gas masks walk around. Olivia comes in and stops, asking what this is. Taylor explains that it’s footage from Sangala showing the effects of the bio-weapon. It was smuggled out of a lab 45 minutes ago. The people were suffering from a weaponized preon variant. Taylor says that’s what they allowed Starkwood to bring into this country. Olivia doesn’t think they allowed this, especially her mother who voted against them at any chance and has tried to limit their power since she took office. Taylor thinks she didn’t move fast enough and now it might be too late.

Tim Woods and General Smith show up in Taylor’s office and put Moss through. He explains about Tony and how he was working with Jack and was taken captive. He tells them about Greg and they all agree that this is their best chance. Taylor wants a SEAL squad ready as well to move on Starkwood. They agree that the AG will not be happy about that but they will deal with him later. She gives her authority to move on Starkwood. They have the pardon ready and they set up in what feels and looks like a giant Cisco commercial. Taylor digitally signs the paperwork while Greg and the FBI both watch separately. Taylor leaves the conversation and then tells her other people that they are to keep working on other options as well. Greg tells the FBI where the weapons are, in the North West quadrant. He gives the GPS coordinates and Moss finds them on the map. Moss could use someone on the ground and Tony thinks he can get there with Greg.

Moss’ teams are there and he sends them off to get ready. Jack comes up from the hall and comes right to Moss. He observes that the teams are mobilizing, where are they going? Moss says they got a call from Tony, he is working with an informant and has the location of the weapons. Jack wants to go. Moss understands why but he can’t allow it. Jack works on Larry, ‘I can help you with this, I’m the only one that’s seen the canisters, I know exactly what you’re looking for.’ Moss shakes his head, he read Jack’s debrief and he gave them everything they need. Jack stares intently at Moss, “Larry, please, I’ve earned this” he whispers. Uncomfortable, Moss explains sheepishly, “Jack, I know what you’ve done today, the sacrifice you’ve made, under any other circumstances, I’d want you out there with us, but you’re sick. And I have no idea when you’re going to start showing symptoms.” Jack’s face falls and he backs off. He turns his back to Larry as he continues, “And I can not risk that happening out in the field. I need my best men for this operation.” Jack turns a half circle and perches himself on the edge of a desk. He leans over and Moss says, “I hope you can understand that.” Jack looks up and tells Moss, “You’re right.” He looks at Renee, “You’re right.” Jack just stares toward the floor and Moss watches. He says nothing and then quietly grumbles, ‘Yeah.’ He actually smiles as he says, “I always knew eventually we’d agree on something.” Jack looks down again and Moss says quietly, “I’m so sorry, Jack.” He walks away. Renee is left with Jack who gets up and heavily walks away. He slides his jacket off his shoulder and trudges down the hall.

 

11:46

11:51

Greg drives up to a compound in a Jeep. The man knows him calling him Mr. Seaton. He says he needs to check something but before it matters, Tony knocks him out from behind. He takes the radio and Greg takes out his pass card and opens the gate. Tony closes it behind them. They head forward and Greg points out a warehouse where he says the weapon is. There are men outside and Tony wants to know how many are in there. Greg says 12 or more, including Hodges.

The men work where the weapon is, wearing safety glasses. Hodges asks Tom how much longer. The FBI is on the way, they intercepted a transmission. Tom hasn’t run the checks yet. Hodges tells him to do it.

The choppers are flying in and Moss asks for the ETA. Its 2 minutes. He contacts Tony who is 50 yards from the north side of the warehouse. He describes the entrances to Moss and the men inside. Moss wants Tony’s eyes on the ground in case they have any resistance. Tony copies, he is ready to go. All the FBI feeds are live and Moss is told that Starkwood’s air tower wants to talk to them. Moss will do it. He tells the controller that he is with the FBI and he has an executive order to search one of their buildings. The controller wants to get authorization but Moss says they have a digital copy. That’s all he’ll need. Moss warns him to make no attempt to intervene or they will have to arrest him. The controller understands. Moss gives his people a good to go. Renee is working at FBI and says there’s nothing on the ground. 3 choppers come in, 1 FBI and 2 Navy.

Inside, Hodges can hear the helicopters and he looks at the ceiling.

The SEALS deploy via a rope and from hanging out of the chopper. The FBI chopper lands and Moss is the first one out. Tony leads Greg to Moss who looks at Tony and asks, “You alright? We got a medic.” Tony grumbles he’s fine and Moss turns to Seaton and tells him to stay behind them. The SEALS lead the FBI toward the warehouse and Moss and all the others have their guns on the two guards. Moss yells for them to stand down, they had orders. Moss wants them to lower their weapons and get on the ground. Once they comply he sends commandos in to lock them down.

At the FBI, Jack arrives and watches the monitors with interest.

At the compound, the door is locked and Moss says to blow it. Jack appears to see something as the SEALS prep to blow the door. Everyone turns away as they door is blasted open and once they are in, Moss says to go. They all pour in and quickly find themselves inside an empty building. Moss turns to Seaton and asks angrily, “Where are the weapons.” Greg clams not to know. Tony turns to him and asks, ‘What do you mean, you don’t know?’ Seaton recites, “Almeida was threatening to kill me, I told him what he wanted to hear.” Tony is angry and quickly closes the gap between them. He grabs onto Greg’s coat and calls him a lying son of a bitch. “You came to me, now where are the weapons?” Tony has his gun to Greg’s throat and shakes him screaming, “Where are the damn weapons?” Greg appeals to Moss to have Tony take his hands off him. Moss calls Tony and when he doesn’t move, he calls louder. He comes behind him and grabs him by the jacket, he needs him to stand down. Tony uses his gun to point at Seaton, “You’re not getting away with this.” Moss wants Seaton secured and he is put in cuffs. Tony whispers, “He’s lying, Larry. He played me.” Tony stares at Greg and Moss agrees, ‘It looks that way.’ Seaton is on his knees and cuffed. Tony takes a step closer and they meet eyes for a few seconds before Seaton raises his eyebrows and looks away.

Hodges is safe where he is and says coyly, ‘Well, what do you know. Our old Seaton bought us some time on the other side of the compound.’ Now they have to keep them there.

In the split screen we see SEALS, Olivia, Tim, Greg, Jack and then Tony.

Moss is updated that there is nothing there. He tells Renee that Tony’s informant sent them to the wrong location and everything was a diversion. Jack thinks aloud that the weapons have to be there somewhere, they couldn’t have got them out that fast. Renee tells them to keep looking. Moss gives the order to move outside and Seaton is led out, followed by Tony. He is angry and looks around. Moss wants them to do a point by point search of the compound. Jack says that’s good and starts to walk away. Moss deploys 4 teams to sweep every structure on the property. Jeeps show up from a distance and pull up surrounding them. The FBI and SEALS arm, as well as Tony. At FBI Renee calls Jack back to see this and he turns to come back.

Moss gives the order for them to hold, but say in position. Jack asks no one in particular what they are doing, he wants Larry to tell his men to stand down. Renee asks, ‘Are you kidding me? They just drew on Federal Forces.’ Jack warns her, if Larry doesn’t want to lose his men, he will have them stand down. Moss again gives the hold order.

Another vehicle shows up and Stokes gets out. He meets eyes with Tony as he slams the door. Moss raises his gun some more and says that’s far enough as Stokes comes to him. Stokes puts his arms up and Tony recognizes him and then looks to Seaton. Stokes says they cooperated with the search of the building but now they are asking them to leave. Moss says there’s biological weapons on site and they’re not going anywhere without them. Moss wants Stokes’ men to stand down. Stokes laughs that those charges are absurd. Moss toys with his gun and Stokes continues that they’re not going to let him keep searching, he’s on private property, and they’re prepared to defend it if necessary. Moss tells him that he is threatening Federal Agents. Stokes accuses Larry of bringing false charges in order to shut them down. He doesn’t want any bloodshed, ‘but if you advance any further you will be fired upon.’ Moss looks around considering his options, gun still at the ready.

12:00

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

-Wow, that was fast – 2 minutes 30 seconds and Jack goes from being alone completely to HazMat there, suited up with lights and the whole nine.

-I’m going to be honest with you guys, it’s just us, right? Okay, this is how much I care about the character of Jack Bauer. When he was stripped down and hosed down in the middle of the street, I cried. Like real tears. This episode was one of the saddest in the history of 24, starting with the first few minutes. I felt terrible when it was over, just sad.

-Although, I think there were some people that were crying because of that strategically placed finger on the bottom part of the camera lens.

-That gun came off with some force. Don’t poke an eye out there, Jack.

-That must be a very lonely feeling, being the only one when everyone else around you is in a HazMat suit. Jack hasn’t been on this side of it before, that’s for sure.

-Pelican Case spotting. When Jack walks over to where he is going to be hosed down, he walks past someone prepping a giant (and I mean GIANT) Pelican case. They are the best cases around (and no I don’t get commission – but I should look into it)

-In case you don’t remember, we have seen Dr. Macer before. She was in Season 3 when they were dealing with the threat of a virus. She spoke with Tony and worked with Michelle at CTU. It seems as though Jack didn’t know her, which is a little suspect since Tony seemed to know her relatively well, but whatever.

-So, I guess they just transported everyone that ever lived in LA to Washington. Maybe with Jack gone LA finally got blown up.

-Wow, this is just super convenient that this entire day ended up revolving around Sangala, where Jack just was, after he was brought in to help find Tony.

-I think that dementia is scarier than paralysis for some reason.

-Jack’s chest, torso and upper arms look pretty rough, but not as bad as they did after he got back from China. He might have had some work done because his back and his hand both have improved immensely.

-The scars he does have look terrible, though.

-I wish they would decide which of Kiefer Sutherland’s tattoos they are going to allow Jack to have. It seems to change rather frequently. They used scar makeup to cover some of the ones on his biceps but left some of the other ones that we haven’t seen before. In Season 1 Jack had a couple but in Season 2, he had none.

-Wow, it was that easy to get Jack undressed. Are there people taking notes?

-It’s so sad that Jack didn’t or couldn’t explain where he got the scars. He sounded like he was going to say, “I’ve had these scars since (probably China).” Instead he just gives up.

-Could they have found a bigger syringe to stick Jack with?

-Poor Jack, he’s shy. I understand, but if I looked like him, I don’t think I’d be all that shy.

-So if 24 is the “Jack Bauer Power Hour” this gets to be, partly at least, the “Jack Bauer Shower Hour.”

-That broom looks like the one my grandparents used to have to sweep the driveway, and now they are using it on Jack.

-Who starts hosing in the middle?

-I’m not into politics, (I wouldn’t know a republican from a democrat if they were on my doorstep and the only left and right wings I can decipher are in hockey) so don’t use that as the reason, but I really don’t think I like Janice. They are really trying hard to get her some lines and really, it’s just annoying.

-Moss is pretty fast to take Jack’s word about Tony working with him and making the leap to appearing to actually care about him.

-I guess Tony saw weakness with Greg from the second he laid eyes on him, that’s why he was following him.

-You know, in retrospect, I’m a little disappointed with myself that I didn’t see the ‘Greg is really actually bad’ twist coming. They set it up so obviously when I go back and see it again. Especially the little pep talk Hodges gives Greg.

-So after the truck thing goes sideways, the weapon is put down on a more exposed truck. Nice job, folks.

-Interesting that Hodges knows so much about Tony. I guess that’s the deal when you’re a mercenary.

-I’d be interested to read Starkwood’s manual. I’m interested to know how they look on paper, ‘cause they look crazy through the eyes of Jonas.

-Is standing on the back of a truck with a bio-weapon really a good way to be travelling?

-Here is another example of Stokes being a little over anxious as an actor. He is really working Tony and hitting him hard. In fact, he’s out grunting him.

-The Hodges’s line to Tony, I’m still not convinced it wasn’t “hard breaks” instead of “heart breaks”. Either way works well for Hodges and really is the truth.

-This is the first time we’ve really had this for Tony. He can’t be feeling great after this.

-I’d be interested to know what they did first to Tony, since he is bleeding from the ear and above the eye.

-Tony’s trying to do something that will help him here with Hodges. He appears pathetic and somewhat broken to Hodges by telling him he doesn’t know anything in that tone of voice. Hodges has shown him that he cares, that he is interested in Tony as a person so Tony tries to exploit that by appearing weak and pathetic.

-I wanted to smack Hodges after he hit Tony like that. It was almost worse than Stokes because it was the situation and that it was meant to be disrespectful and degrading.

-This was a lot of orchestration from Hodges to get what he wants out of Tony.

-Interesting how Hodges calls Tony ‘young man’. Not so young, really. I guess it’s all relative.

-Is there anything Jack doesn’t look good in? Even the white scrubs are great.

-Ooh, a spinal fluid specimen? That’s gonna hurt.

-For a change, Jack is actually being a cooperative patient, not rushing them and letting them do what they need to.

-There’s something about the pen light into the eyes that really got me. I don’t know, it just makes me sad.

-Jack still can’t take the praise for saving lives, even when he is on the verge of sacrificing his own.

-Well, that clears up the question early if the canister that was released really was the toxin. It’s in the air, there’s a good chance it in Jack.

-Ugh, SO done with Olivia. So finished. What happened to the whole ‘Jack is innocent, Kanin doesn’t look like an ass anymore, lets hire him back’ thing?

-Why, why, why, why, WHY would Taylor ask Olivia to be her Chief of Staff? Are you serious? She has no experience; she has shown in the past (to Taylor) that she makes bad decisions under pressure. She’s letting her emotions cloud her judgement. She’s so happy to have her back that she doesn’t care what’s right; she just wants her daughter with her. Its crap, because that means we have to suffer too.

-Tim is NOT HAPPY that Olivia is the Chief of Staff. It’s pretty obvious from his expression when Taylor tells him.

-Line of the week contender: Taylor re: Jack: “I knew it” If you knew it why didn’t you fix it?

-Moss’ bullet proof vest wasn’t on straight when he was in with Renee.

-Renee takes it pretty hard that Jack has been exposed. She’s known the guy what, like 16 hours?

-Maybe, though, it’s guilt. Jack wouldn’t have been there at all if it wasn’t for Renee. Granted, he would be in prison, but I digress.

-I think Moss’ reaction is a little more realistic. Some sadness and almost regret but he’s not exactly going to pieces.

-Moss had the facts wrong when he told Renee about Jack getting infected. He was infected before Starkwood got there to reclaim the canister.

-Do we think Renee heard really any of what Moss had to say after he told her Jack was exposed?

-I was really hoping for Moss to make a move on Renee there, or at least give her a hug.

-Well, Renee recovered pretty quickly from the news about Jack for someone that just a few hours ago was basically inconsolable over a stranger’s death.

-I honestly didn’t expect to see Pierce again. I was extremely happy when I saw him saunter by, jacket in hand.

-That was a long debriefing for Pierce. CTU used to get those done in minutes. In fact, the FBI does Jack’s in no time.

-I don’t think I really like where this is going. If Olivia causes Pierce to get killed, I’m gonna be SO angry.

-Although I’m happy to have him back, Olivia didn’t really leave Aaron any kind of choice. She basically told him he was doing it. In the end, though, he seems rather happy.

-Wow, I don’t think I realized what kind of force they were dealing with in Starkwood until they started taking about their base. That’s a big space.

-So, 1500 highly trained mercenaries. How many cops and federal agents are in DC and Virginia? They sound like they can’t possibly get past 1500 people, IF they decide to resist. Even if they don’t want to move the military in I think that they could do it. It might not be pretty, but they could do it.

-This is the second time today that Tony has been tied up in a chair. The first time almost ended worse than this one because it was at the hands of Jack.

-Was that little mini-monologue about Redskin tickets really necessary from Stokes? I was sitting there thinking, ‘Is this going anywhere’ and then he “dies”, ‘so, no.’ What a waste of time.

-You know, Kiefer Sutherland as ‘the caller’ in Phone Booth was right. The sound of cocking a gun is scary. When Stokes did it and levelled it at Tony, my heart was in my throat.

-I love Tony’s reaction to Stokes getting shot. Just shock, basically. ‘Hey’? What kind of greeting is that for someone that just saved you’re life? How about ‘Thanks, now let’s get the hell out of here.’

-After that beating that Tony took, I think his wrists would have been the least of his worries. How about the blood coming from your ear, Tony? Think that’s a good thing?

-I can’t believe Tony threatens to not leave with Greg unless he tells him what’s going on. What’s his other option? Wait there for someone to actually kill him?

-The Hodges has lost his mind line was great. Too bad it had no bearing on anything in the end.

-What would have happened if Tony checked on Stokes and found him still alive? Would he have shot him again?

-Interesting little thing here. Jack is the man of busy hands. Well, actually, Kiefer is that way. He very rarely keeps them still when he’s acting and it’s noticeable when he is reciting lines from many different movies and in 24. It works for Jack because he is a mover, rarely still anyway. There’s always something going, and it’s usually his hands. When Jack waits for his test results in isolation, his hands are on his thighs and they are still. He is completely still. I was wondering if this was purposeful by Kiefer to show the gravity of the situation and that Jack is not himself here. I think he’s scared. I would be.

-Jack is still being the helpful patient. Macer asks him how he feels. His usual answer would be ‘fine’ (even when he’s really not) but to help the doctor, it’s “No different.”

-That was such a well done scene with Jack’s results. There were no signs of either direction from anyone. Macer is unreadable; Jack even can’t be read with certainty. He almost looks happy as he does his little cough-ey-laugh-ey thing he does all the time. And then he thanks her, THANKS HER? For telling him that he’s infected. That’s the Canadian coming out I think.

-I guess the whole environmentally friendly thing for the show (they are carbon neutral this year) means that they can’t actually print off everything. It all comes in on PDA’s.

-If we weren’t sure before the break, Jack’s body language in the elevator told me that he was infected.

-Ah, there’s the Jack we know, “its fine.” Yeah, not so much, Jack.

-Although I was on the fence about Renee’s reaction in holding with Moss, her questioning of Macer was very well done.

-Not that I’m complaining, but who gets changed that way, especially in a foreign place. Jack must have taken everything off and then put regular clothes back on. Wouldn’t you change your pants (and shoes) first and then your shirt? I don’t know, it just seems weird, but like I said, I’m not complaining.

-Okay, there were a few things in the scene with Jack and Renee that really bothered me and it was all writing, not acting. First of all, Jack’s acknowledgment of his scars and reaction of “Sorry.” Sorry? Sorry! Like it’s his fault? Like he did this to himself? Like he could do anything about it? I don’t think so! W.T.F.? What a bunch of garbage. I realize that Jack isn’t going to be walking around shirtless and parading this around, but he shouldn’t feel the need to apologize. If anything, he should feel a little bit of pride that he survived the causes of those scars and didn’t give up, didn’t talk. And, if Renee is such a humanist, she shouldn’t have let him get away with that. She should have called him on it instead of just letting it pass.

-Also, this whole port authority cop line. “You did the right thing.” You can’t possibly be serious. Really, you can’t. Okay, first off all, if Jack hadn’t saved him, he and Tony would have been able to take down the shipment quietly and it would be in the hands of the FBI right now. Instead, they have this giant clusterfuck at Starkwood that is jeopardizing millions of lives. Then there’s the whole, ‘Why did she need to say that’ question. Does she think Jack wants or needs her approval? Because it’s pretty obvious from his reaction that he doesn’t. The only approval he is looking for ever it seems it he President’s, and that’s not even all the time. Does she really believe he did do the right thing? If she does, then she shouldn’t be around. Tony went to jail for putting Michelle’s life ahead of national security and Renee is supporting the idea of putting the port authority cops life ahead of national security as well. It’s insane. Maybe she’s been exposed and has dementia. Or, did she know Jack really did make the wrong choice and lie to him to try and help? Well, that doesn’t fly either. We all know that Jack is based on truth. Truth all the way, from the very first episode of the very first season. No compromise. Who is writing this stuff? I shouldn’t have to get mad about this shit.

-Phew, okay, this is calm down space. We now return to our regular programming.

-Jack doesn’t take praise well, from Macer and from Renee; it seems like hearing someone say ‘good job’ makes him really uncomfortable.

-Renee’s exit was pretty abrupt. I got the feeling that she couldn’t be there anymore or else she was going to have a meltdown.

-There’s something really poetic abut Jack sitting there in the semi dark room with no one else around coming to grips with his mortality.

-Was Tony really carrying a tissue? That was pretty funny, actually. Could you see him asking Greg for one? Maybe he just supplied it without asking.

-I’m trying really hard not to be offended on Tony’s behalf about the putting him down comment from Hodges.

-I was left wondering if the chat about calling the FBI months ago by Greg was part of Hodges’ plan or if was just a lucky coincidence since Tony was on the wrong side and had to decide to go against his friend as well.

-Speaking of plans, that is one elaborate plan that Hodges came up with to get this whole Tony/FBI thing to work.

-Why is Janice sorry to Renee about Jack?

-See, Renee got the canister description from Jack in about 3 minutes.

-Well, at least Tony cares about Jack. He has a reaction when Moss says he’s in medical and again when he’s told Jack is infected.

-Actually, the question about Jack getting hit came with surprise only born from someone that has worked with Jack for a long time. Jack rarely gets hit, with a bullet that is.

-I don’t know about you but I would WAY rather be watching Jack getting tested in medical while debriefing Renee than this giant Cisco commercial that is the signing of Greg’s immunity agreement. I thought we just had commercials.

-I think the only time we’ve ever really seen an immunity agreement paperwork session was when Logan pardoned Mandy in Season 4. But that was only interesting because Mandy had tried to kill Palmer and he was standing in the room.

-To be perfectly honest, I felt that all the White House stuff, particularly this whole thing, really slowed down the pace of the show and frustrated me. Between that, Olivia and the Joint Chiefs I was starting to get very disappointed. Couple that with the poorly written Jack/Renee scene that was one of the 5 Jack scenes all hour and I am one unhappy camper.

-When they showed that scene with Jack and Moss partially on the FOX site last week, I figured, ‘Yeah, Jack will convince Larry, of course he will.’ I didn’t see the sick angle coming, and I don’t think Jack did either.

-Jack’s reaction to the word ‘sick’ was great. He looked like someone hit him, he just backed off.

-If Larry wants his best ‘men’ for this operation, why isn’t Renee out in the field with him?

-Jack ALWAYS knew he and Moss would agree on something EVENTUALLY? Ah, always as in for the last 16 hours? The writers were really out to lunch on this one.

-And, that was time number 1 and a half in this episode that I cried. Almost. In that scene Jack is just so sad. We’ve always seen him ready to go, no matter what, but now he has no control over it. He can’t go out in the field, which really has defined him up until now. Basically, you can’t be anything other than a field agent if you are one. Can’t be a boyfriend, husband, father, friend, as Jack said before, you have to stay detached. Now he is so detached, he has nothing. Nothing but a virus that just might kill him.

-If they think that we are happily going to sit around and watch Jack sit at FBI for the next 8 hours, they’re nuts. As this episode proves, Jack is necessary for this thing to work.

-Well, did Tony happen to notice that the lights are off inside the warehouse where they are supposedly working on the weapon?

-We should be taking death bets here because any time Jack can’t/doesn’t go out in the field for whatever reason, that assignment ends badly, ultimately in large amounts of death and destruction. I’ve already made it clear that I’ll be mad if they kill Tony, but now I’m starting to like Moss – which essentially is a death sentence for him as well.

-Safety first. You know, you should always wear safety gasses when working on a bio-weapon that’s an inhalant. Great work guys. You’re eyes will be just fine, but everything else will be in serious trouble.

-Those are real Navy SEALS, by the way. They use this as a training exercise.

-I was hoping to see Larry go down the rope too.

-Tony is nice and loud there. Very dynamic since he’s usually a low talker. We haven’t seen him yell like that in a long time, that might be a new record loud for him.

-Geez, I don’t think I’d mess with Tony either. The yelling combined with the gun makes for something I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of.

-Larry believed Tony pretty quickly.

-Tony can hold a grudge, but we know he won’t kill Seaton when he gets the chance, because that’s who Tony is. OR at least, who he was. Hmm.

-You know, they are doing a great job keeping us guessing about Tony. Is he really on the good side here? There are glances where sometimes I wonder. He better be good.

-Here we go not listening to Jack again. I think we’ve been over this. At least Tony lowers his weapon.

-God, that guy playing Stokes is a bad actor.

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