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Hey, here is the thrid episode! I was hoping to get shorter with these as I went along but it seems I'm getting longer. Sad, really. Well, maybe not sad. This is a better recap... okay, the fact that I am even defending this. Yeah, sad.
09.00
The terrorist's van is still burning outside the airport and airport security trying to contain the situation. Diane isn’t helping matters any as she tries to run into the building because Derek is inside. She is grabbed and dragged back, screaming for Derek. The only bright thing she does is shout that she has information for CTU as she is being pulled away from the danger zone, and the cop in charge hears her.
In the terminal, the terrorists are busy locking everything down and blocking the windows and security cameras. When they take off their coats, they reveal that they are wearing explosive vests. This does nothing to reassure the hostages, and one hostage covertly pulls out his cell phone and starts to dial. Beresch watches him do this, then nods to one of his minions who shoot the poor guy. This does even less to reassure the hostages.
However, when Beresch tells them the only chance they have to leave the airport alive, they believe him. He orders them to give him all their cell phones and pagers. As they do that, everyone tries to keep cool, which is especially hard for the mother with a terrified five-year-old boy. However, I have to admit that she is doing a great job. She is, in fact, a whole lot calmer than Diane, who is waiting outside and freaking out.
The terrorists drag the dead body off, passing Chevensky’s office where Jack his hiding, gun out. The terrorists come into the office but don't find Chevensky’s dead body that Jack has pulled behind some shelves or Jack himself who is also hiding. Beresch calls to see if they found Chevensky (oh… good use of split screen here again, with Beresch, terrorists and Jack all in separate boxes), when they tell him Chevensky is gone, he says they have to find him. They head off to look in the other rooms.
Outside fire trucks finally pull up, and McClaren, the airport's head of security (at least I assume he is head of security, it doesn’t say that, but he’s in change), gets a phone call. It’s Beresch, who gives the usual terrorist manta: Do anything and we will kill all the hostages by blowing ourselves up. Actually, he says "If you make any efforts to enter the terminal, you will spend the rest of the day picking up body parts." Which, you know, ick.
Beresch hangs up without waiting for an answer and McClaren quickly moves everyone away from the terminal, having them set up in a hanger out of sight. He also has Diane brought to him because he heard her say that she had information for CTU. I like this guy. He’s smart, he’s quick thinking, and he will most likely die. I fear for people on this show.
Jack, meanwhile, is heading up into the ceiling and taking his Jack-pack with him.
At CTU, everyone is lowering their alert levels because of the successful arrival of President Suvarov. They’ve heard back from Curtis who has verified Chloe’s story about the refinery. Audrey says that goes a long way to prove Jack’s story, but Buchanan argues that Jack still has a lot to answer for. Before Audrey can press the point, the phone rings and some nameless CTU operator announces that Jack Bauer is on the line. Whoever the voice was on the line, she did a great job with the nine words she had. There is just the right amount of stress on Jack’s name to let everyone know that she’s aware of the incredulity of the situation.
When Buchanan tells her to put the call through, Audrey asks him to put it on the speaker phone. He stares at her a minute until she adds "please", then he does so. However, when he says "Jack, this is Bill" he doesn’t say (as they usually do) "You are also on the line with Audrey", which is probably best all the way around.
Jack, who has managed to work his way up to some point overlooking the terminal, cuts right to the point "Bill, I'm inside Ontario Airport. Gunmen have just attacked and taken over Terminal One. They have automatic weapons and they have hostages." When Bill points out that they haven't gotten any reports, Jack goes, "Trust me. You will." I so totally love when Jack says 'trust me'. It's a good thing he's fictional. He goes on to say that Palmer knew of the attack and that's why he was killed.
Just as Jack is talking, Spencer comes in with the information on the Ontario Airport attack. We split screen to Jack taking pictures of the hostages with his super-cool-spy phone. Bill sends men there, including Curtis who is in the air coming back from checking on the refinery. Bill gets back on the phone, says he's got men on the way and then orders Jack to leave. Jack answers, "Understand this, Bill, I don't work for you." Which I suppose is more polite than a lot of other "stuff it" phrases he could have used. He goes on to say that he's staying inside and he'll share intel if that's what Buchanan wants, but that "I'm doing this my way." Buchanan, smarter than a lot of other CTU administrators, takes what he can get.
Jack gives him the low down on what's going on, number of terrorists (10 – 12), weaponry and bombs. He also sends them the pictures of the hostiles that he took and Buchanan sends him a schematic of the airport. Not only do I want the Jack-pack, I want Jack's phone. The last thing Jack does is to tell Buchanan that he sent Diane and Derek to CTU for protection. He doesn't answer Buchanan's question of who they are, but he does say "I don't have time to explain but I'm responsible for them." Audrey looks like she would like to find out more about them, but Buchanan just promised to take care of them and they hang up.
As Buchanan tells Audrey to alert the President and Jack takes a ladder to a new vantage point, Logan and Suvarov are posing for the press. Suvarov extends his condolences over the death of Palmer, and Logan postures that the treaty should be a fitting tribute to David Palmer's memory. Logan doesn't seem to be able to multi-task very well. Suvarov agrees and Logan is all smiles until he sees Cummings and Novick walking toward the conference. He excuses himself from President Suvarov and Novick fills him in on the bad news. In the background, the Russian President is having a conversation (in Russian) that I assume means he is being briefed about the same thing, although that would make Russian intelligence very good at this point.
Logan wants details, but his men don't have any to give him. They say that CTU Los Angels is preparing a briefing and that they should move to the situation room because the attack may be related to the summit. Logan wants to know how and Novick, politely, says that's what they will find out during the briefing. Logan finally agrees to go, and heads over to Suvarov to make his apologies. Suvarov offers to help in any way he can and Logan leaves with a final smile and wave at the cameras.
** Begin sidebar ** Now, I've heard several comments about how inappropriate that smile and wave were and all those comments contained obvious references to Bush's actions during 9-11. Personally, I prefer my President to project calm during times of crisis, but I suppose others would be happier if he displayed obvious signs of distress. I think it would be a lose-lose situation. I was teaching when 9-11 happened and I taught as I normally would. I taught, the kids learned, we laughed, we joked, I answered questions as they came, but I didn't focus on it. I know one teacher went home, unable to continue teaching. I know that I wanted nothing more than to go pick my daughter up from school and go home, but I had a job. That job included making sure that none of the children I was responsible for would be more upset and stressed by my behavior. I've always wondered what the difference was that made it heroism that the band played while the Titanic sank and cowardice that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. And more importantly, how that distinction could be made on one visual rather than an entire perspective.** End sidebar **
At CTU, Buchanan is checking up on everyone. While Spencer is sending Jack the airport schematics, Edgar is having less luck ID-ing the terrorists from the information on the watch lists, despite trying "three different coding arrays". Buchanan wants to expand the parameters of the search, but Edgar points out that it they were any wider, they could be using the phone book. Well, if the phone book had pictures that is. Security just happens to be leading Chloe past at that point, she makes them stop and to ask Edgar if he's done a "NP-safe adaptive search". Instead of answering, Edgar asks how she is. "Thanks for asking, Edgar," she also non-answers, as she tosses a dagger-filled look at Spencer.
Buchanan steps right up to Chloe and states, "You managed to rack up four protocol violations." Chloe, in typical Chloe style, don't blink an eye. "Well," she corrects him, "it's a lot worse than that if you count agency doc codes. It's more like twenty-six violations." Buchanan, like any normal human, doesn't have a response to that, so Chloe continues, "You want me to figure out whose face that is? Or I can just go wait in holding." Buchanan, again displaying more intelligence than is usually allowed in CTU management, defers, "See what you can do."
I love Buchanan. I love Chloe. I love Edgar. I think Spencer is in big trouble.
Edgar, who must have been applying Chloe's NP-safe search, has identified Beresch as a former Army officer in the Russian break-away republics. Buchanan sees a definite link back to the summit, Chloe heads off to "data-mine" the inter-agency servers, and Audrey approaches with word that the terrorists are broadcasting a video feed out of the airport. Spencer brings up the feed and Beresch, in a ski mask, pops on to the screen.
The President, Cummings and Novick are watching the same feed, which has been picked up by the networks at this point. As Beresch monologues about the injustice of the "anti-terrorist" agreement, Jack climbs along the catwalks above the airport hanger. Beresch finally gets to his point: "I have hostages. Unless President Logan and President Suvarov make a joint statement repudiating this accord, I will order their execution. You have exactly ninety minutes."
Needless to say, Logan doesn't take this well. However, it's not the demands that get him upset, it's the publicity. "We have to get this lunatic off the air," he complains to Novick, who calmly reminds him about those pesky first amendment rights.
Back at the airport, Beresch (who must really like the sound of his own voice) is continuing to explain how this really isn't his fault, it's victim's and the government's. I'm sure it's part of "Propaganda 101" at all terrorist universities. Jack has positioned himself directly above the terrorists and watches as Beresch finally concludes with "Terror will be met with terror". I'm sure Jack is thinking the same thing.
At the end of Beresch's diatribe, Logan has one of his own. "We've been preparing for this summit for sixteen months! Every news agency in the world is here. I've staked my entire administration on this day and now these people are demanding that I go on national television and publicly repudiate everything I've done?" When Novick tries to get him to calm down, Logan demands ""I want this handled! I don't care how you do it, I don't care what it takes, FIX IT!" See, now this is proof of fiddling. And from the look Novick gives Cummings, he's thinking that too.
A CTU helicopter with Curtis inside lands at the airport and he gets a call from Jack who gives him the rundown: he can see six hostiles wearing explosive vests, four of whom are guarding the hostages and two of whom are roaming. He also tells Curtis that the two chained security doors on the northeast side of the concourse are currently unguarded. Curtis, accepting Jack even quicker than Buchanan did, says, "Alright, Jack. I'm gonna need you to quarterback this thing from inside there." As Jack is answering, Officer McClaren tells Curtis that Diane Huxley has something to tell CTU. Jack, surprised at over hearing the name, asks to speak to her.
Diane, slightly less hysterical now, tells Jack that she thinks Derek is in the terminal. Jack pulls out a spotter's scope and checks out the hostages. It takes him a few moments, but he finally finds Derek kneeling amid the rest of the hostages. At this point we get our first Jack Bauer "Damn it!" of the season. No one says that better than he does. He reports to Diane that Derek is there, but unharmed.
"Please don't let anything happen to him," she begs. "Jack, I can't loose my son." While I applaud her for remembering to call him Jack rather than Frank, I do wonder just what she thinks he can do about it. For his part, Jack looks less than thrilled about all of this but comes to a typical Jack Bauer decision. "I promise you, on my life, I am gonna get Derek back to you. Do you understand me?" At which point you know it will all go badly. Diane tearfully accepts Jack's promise and hands the phone back to Curtis. Jack asks Curtis to keep Diane with him. Curtis agrees and tells Jack to update him of any changes in the situation. Jack hangs up and emphatically swears, "Son of a bitch". He looks down at the hostages, as if he could will Derek back outstide.
09.16
09.20
Buchanan is updating Logan, Cummings and Novick with the lowdown on Beresch, who is a member of "The Dawn Brigade", a separatist group responsible for terrorist attacks in Russia. Logan reiterates that he's not caving to the terrorist demands and that give Buchanan 90 minutes. "We're already working on that timetable," Buchanan says. When he tries to give a rundown on what they are doing, Logan interrupts with "Spare me the interagency patter. Just get it done." Buchanan goes on to tell the President that they should be prepared to accept more civilian casualties, but Logan won't hear of it. "I'm prepared to accept no such thing. It's your job to make sure people get out of there alive."
Buchanan, doing a wonderful job of not losing his cool, informs the president about the explosive vests and the terrorist's tactical advantage. When Logan patronizes "I'm aware of the situation", Novick steps in and asks if they've been in contact with the terrorists. Logan jumps on the questions and snidely mimics, "Yes, what about talking to them? Have you tried that?" At this point, I'm sure Buchanan is happy that he's not on a video conference call, because his look would tell the President how much of an idiot Buchanan thinks he is. Buchanan explains they are trying to back-trace the phone call that Beresch made the McClaren in order to call him. Logan, despite just demanding an explanation, brushes it aside with "When I put my name on that accord, I do not want to be signing the death warrant of innocent American citizens."
As Buchanan hangs up – without making a snide comment about the idiocy of the President – Chloe comes in with Beresch's number. Chloe dials it and Logan picks up the phone, prepared to talk to whoever is on the other end.
At the airport, Derek tries to calm the panicky woman next to him. "It's going to be okay," he whispers. "It's going to be okay." He's holding up much better than his mother. Beresch's phone rings and although he must not recognize the caller ID, he answers it. Buchanan introduces himself, tells Beresch that he's been authorized to speak on the President's behalf and says that "he hopes they can resolve this peacefully." Beresch wisely understands this to be a stall tactic. "I don't think you understand just how serious we are" he tells the phone, then hangs up.
Buchanan orders Chloe to data-mine the call. Beresch orders a hostage to be brought with him. Jack informs Curtis they are moving one of the hostages, a fact that everyone can see in a second when the unfortunate man is forced to kneel in front of the video feed. Beresch, once more with a ski mask on, stands ready to shoot him. "Please," the man begs, "I have a wife." "So do I," Beresch answers just before shooting him in the head. Okay it doesn't happen that quick, there is enough time for us to flip back to Jack who whispers "no" just before Beresch shoots.
This gets the expected reaction from everyone. The terrorists wait just a minute – barely enough time for us to begin to form an opinion about the great somber music playing across the scene – before they grab another hostage to drag over to the "killing floor". They, of course, choose Derek. Jack panics, tells Curtis they grabbed another hostage, and moves on the catwalk to a position closer to where they make Derek kneel down in the blood of the man they just killed. Derek is terrified and Jack's new position isn't any better than the one he just left. They zip-tie Derek's hands behind his back and Beresch stands menacingly near him, gun drawn.
Diane, standing next to the CTU command post, sees Derek kneeling on the TV and has a melt down, so CTU puts her in a vehicle and (hopefully) locks the doors to keep her there. Beresch looks into the camera and says "In 15 minutes, your President will get another demonstration of our commitment. 15 minutes." I like short deadlines in the middle of the show, it means there will be some sort of closure.
Jack checks in with Curtis wondering how much longer before they move in. Curtis says it will be at least a half an hour because they are still moving personnel in from the summit. Jack tells him that they have to move it up, but Curtis can't. "They're going to kill that kid," Jack says, intelligently not pointing out any personal connection he may have to "that kid". Curtis, however, isn't an idiot. "Jack, I heard that woman, Diane's side of the conversation—" "This has nothing to do with her," Jack insists. "These people are going to continue to kill hostages until the summit deadline." Curtis argues that they can't risk the lives of all the hostages for just one, and Jack knows that. "I'm not going to jeopardize the mission," Jack snarls. "Just tell your men to hurry." End of conversation. I love the emotion Jack puts into that last line, equal parts of sarcasm and desperation.
09.26
09.31
Martha Logan is watching the terrorist on the television. She mutters "It's all connected" and Evelyn thinks Martha has seen enough TV. When she tries to turn it off, Martha explains everything to her – her belief that Palmer called to warn her about the attack, no one believing her and the phone conversation not matching what she remembers. She insists that someone altered the tape and she sounds about as crazy as the Mad Hatter at this point. Evelyn, either humoring her or just curious, asks who would do that, but Martha doesn't know. In a move that only adds to her insanity quotient, she grabs Evelyn by the wrists and announces she leaving and that Evelyn can't tell anyone that she's gone. Martha heads out the door, not bothering to answer Evelyn's question of "Where are you going?"
At the terminal, Jack is scoping out the terrorists as time runs out on Derek. He gets a close up picture of a terrorist's vest and calls CTU. He's confused but pleased to hear Chloe's voice and thrilled that she's back working. He sends her picture he just took and tells her enlarge it to see what the terrorists have in their left pockets. Chloe discovers a secondary detonator, one that can be set off by a cell phone code. Jack agrees that it must be there incase one of the terrorists get cold feet. He asks her to get the detonation code for it and she says she can, but asks if he's cleared it with Buchanan. Jack hesitates a long time and I really think he's debating whether he could lie to Chloe. In the end, he says no and asks her to look at the live feed. She brings it up and immediately recognizes Derek. "I need your help," Jack whispers. "Okay," Chloe caves. "I'll get back to you."
Spencer happens to choose this moment to walk by and she stops him. "I was really worried about you," he says, although he doesn't sound like he means it. Chloe dismisses his apology with a curt "Not now" and she asks his help to reconfigure Jack's phone. He balks at it being off-protocol, but Chloe tries to woo him with flattery: "Spencer you have more knowledge about band-width properties than anyone here". Spencer nervously watches Buchanan and Audrey and Chloe goes in for the kill; "I need you." Spencer gives in and goes to help.
Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce shows up to escort Mrs. Logan to meet the President. Ah, Aaron. One of only five people to still be alive since the first season. Aaron was then-Senator Palmer's Secret Service guard when Palmer was campaigning. He helped President Palmer in the second season by going against orders and giving Palmer his cell phone, which allowed Palmer to contact Jack and consequently save the day. He has a tendency to hang about in the background, all strong, silent, honorable and by the book. But when the chips are down, he does the right thing no matter what the book says. I like this man.
Evelyn stalls and Aaron wants to talk to Mrs. Logan personally. He seems suspicious until Evelyn says that Martha is "in on of her moods", then Aaron says he will wait outside. Meanwhile, Martha is sneaking through the retreat, following a man down the hall and through a door. It takes only a second to realize she's followed him into the bathroom. Two points of interest: First, I like how they make Martha "unbalanced" by having her do simple, crazy things. Plunge her face into the water, switch subtle emotions at the drop of a hat and walk in on a man going to the bathroom. No matter what this woman knows, there is something fundamentally off about her. Second, I'm amused that the first time we get to see someone use the bathroom, and it's not Jack. Obviously some people in the 24 'verse have to go to the bathroom.
Martha doesn't bother to knock or introduce herself. "It's Mr. Burk, isn't it?" she asks. More than startled, Burk quickly tries to wrap up what he's doing and mutters a quick "Mrs. Logan" in hopes she'd get a clue, instead she gets right to the point. "I know that all the phone conversations are recorded. Where do they keep those recordings?" Burk, although he escaped from acute embarrassment by zipping up and edging away from the toilet, is still trapped in the bathroom because Martha is standing in the doorway. As he stammers they are on the central server, she asks if there are any hard copies. Right now, he seems less embarrassed about the situation than he is about the line of questioning. Yes, he admits, the president insists on it because "he's old fashioned that way." Martha nods. "Yes, I know." Ah. So, she's asking him questions that she already knows the answer to. She's unstable, but she's crafty. When Burke finally admits that he has the keycard needed to get in to the transcript room but that he won't help, Martha goes, "Mr. Burk, we can continue this dance if you really want to, but you and I both know that I'm going to get into that room."
Burk tries one more time to say no and push past her. "In three seconds, Mr. Burk," Martha states while undoing her blouse, "I'm going to scream louder than any woman you have ever heard in your life." By now she's moved down and is undoing the stockings that she is wearing. "One... Two..." Burk folds. She thanks him politely, straightens her clothes, promises to return it as soon as possible and leaves. Burk is left standing in the bathroom, probably planning on how he's going to revise his resume now that he's looking to get a new job. I totally love how they are writing Martha Logan and Jean Smart is terrific in the role.
09.37
09.42
Derek is still on his knees waiting for Beresch to shoot him. Jack calls Chloe to see if she's found the detonation code for the vest. Chloe points out that if she gets the wrong code, it could blow all the vests, so it's going to take some time. Curtis is prepping his men for the assault that will take place too late to save Derek and briefing CTU on his 15-minute schedule.
Beresch walks back to Derek, who is doing an admirable job of quietly freaking out. Beresch asks him how old he is (15) and tells him how he can control his breathing – obviously having Derek pass out from hyperventilating before he can be shot on live television would be anti-climatic. Derek uses this little moment of connection to ask Beresch "Please don't kill me". "That's up to your president," Beresch says and walks away.
Back at CTU, Buchanan gets a call from Beresch. Buchanan tries to stall and but Beresch insists that the President must cancel the summit or the boy dies. When it's obvious that's not going to happen, Beresch hangs up saying "This boy's blood will be on his [the president's] hands". He pulls on his ski mask and heads over to Derek.
Jack places a desperate call to Chloe who says that they are narrowing in on the code. Beresch checks the load on his gun and Curtis hustles to set his plan in action. Spencer finds the code and Chloe tells Jack how to input it into his phone. Then, the phone has to reboot and Jack just has to push the star button. While Beresch propagandizes "Your president has abandoned you", Jack's phone flashes 'system reboot' at him. Jack panics that he's not getting a ready message and Chloe says that it takes a while to re-flash the ROM. Derek is terrified, Jack's phone stills say 'system reboot' (at which he orders it "Son of a bitch, come on!"), the terrorist whose detonation code Jack has walks around a corner and Beresch says, "I'm sorry" as he raises his gun to shoot Derek in the head. Jack's phone finally flashes 'system ready'. "I've got it!" Jack rejoices and pushes the star button. The terrorist blows up somewhere behind a corner alarming everyone. Beresch, who didn't accidentally pull the trigger when the explosion happened, leaves Derek, pulling off his mask and demanding what happened.
That is the same question that Buchanan is asking Curtis, who can't tell him anything more than he already knew – there was an explosion in the terminal. Buchanan wants to talk to Jack, who would have been my first choice since he's the only one inside the building. The terrorists are running about checking on everything and Spencer is looking sick that he had anything to do with it. Beresch is told that Ibrim's vest exploded which is the same thing that Jack tells Buchanan, adding only "None of the hostages were hurt". When Buchanan asks Jack if he was responsible for it, Jack takes a long time to decide to answer honestly "They were going to kill another hostage, I didn't have a choice."
Buchanan wisely doesn't say anything because he doesn't have a choice either. He informs Jack that Curtis will be ready in ten minutes. Beresch orders his men to re-deploy and to check their vests and Jack hangs up saying he'll be in touch in a few minutes.
Buchanan is barely off the phone with Jack, when it rings again. This time it's the President demanding an explanation. Buchanan gives him a vague one "We think that our man inside may have been trying to stall the death of a hostage. He triggered the bomb vest of a hostile." Logan immediately wants to know if Buchanan authorized this. Why he wants to know this is uncertain, although I have the feeling he's looking for a scapegoat if things go south. Buchanan must think that too, because he pauses for a very long moment before saying no and then telling Logan that their man inside is Jack Bauer. This news shocks everyone in the room included Novick and Cummings. Logan stammers his confusion about the ever-changing legal status of Jack Bauer. Cummings looks both sick and panicked as Buchanan explains their belief that Jack was set up for Palmer's death. Logan, very unhappy about being kept out of the loop on this despite having no interest in details earlier, demands "You tell me everything and I will decide which details are relevant." Buchanan, who looks as if he'd like to climb through the phone lines and deck Logan, says "With respect, Mr. President, we don't have time." "Then talk faster," Logan snaps. Oh yeah, grace under pressure. Buchanan and Audrey exchange a look that clearly states that they are both going to donate their next paychecks to the campaign of anyone who is going to run against this idiot.
09.48
James Morrison is doing a masterful job of portraying Bill Buchanan here. Most of his conflict (as with a lot of the characters in the show) is with people on the phone and he has to act and react without having someone in the scene to work off of. More than that, he's in the unenviable position of being the head of CTU, which mean that he's the one who will have to be always pitted against Jack. He's in luck this season because Buchanan doesn't have to be Jack's main obstacle, that job goes to Logan. I'm never bored watching Buchanan. He has little hand motions that become more aggravated the longer he has to humor Logan. His little shows of annoyances – the exasperated looks at Audrey, the sharp way he punches the phone buttons, the way he exudes anger in every movement but only occasionally lets that anger reach his voice – make him one of the many pleasures on this show. Of course, I've admired James Morrison's acting ever since he played Lt. Col. McQueen in "Space: Above and Beyond" ten years ago.
09.52
Aaron gets tired of waiting outside the First Lady's room but the door is locked when he tries it. Evelyn, nervously waiting inside, demurs that it will be just a few minutes, but Aaron knows something is up. He pulls out a key saying that it's his job to check to make sure the First Lady is okay. He walks in as Evelyn peevishly says "This is a private residence, how dare you barge in here". Aaron ignores her but can't find Martha anywhere. He finally turns to Evelyn and says " If something happens to Mrs. Logan, the blame will fall on you. We both know that. So I am urging you in the strongest possible terms to tell me where she is." Which is more than a little extreme, but I trust Aaron so he must know what he's doing. And he does, as Evelyn spills the beans immediately
Martha is sitting on the floor digging through boxes of transcripts and Curtis is putting the finishing touches on his assault plan, as Diane frets in the backseat of the CTU SUV. Curtis takes a moment to tell her that Derek is still alive and that they are mounting a rescue right away. Aaron finds Martha sitting on the floor and tells her that they are waiting for her in the garden room. She leaves the mess and goes with him. Outside the door, both Evelyn and Burk are waiting. Martha calmly slides the keycard into Burk's shirt pocket (which is a manipulative power play in the spirit of the most manipulative of all First Ladies, Sherry Palmer), then she takes Evelyn by the arm and walks away. Evelyn apologizes for not covering for her, but Martha to stop because "it's annoying" and that "I got what I came for".
Out on the veranda, Cummings makes a call to Nathanson and tells him that "we have a problem", he goes on to explain that Jack Bauer is in the terminal coordinating CTU's rescue attempt and that it was Jack who detonated the explosive vest. He says that while he can't give them Bauer's precise location, he knows that Jack has a connection with one of the hostages: a 15-year-old named Derek Huxley. Wow, Buchanan must have talked very fast during that commercial break and I have to admit that I'm surprised that they allowed that exposition to happen off-screen. Before Cummings can give him any more information – say perhaps Jack's cell phone number – Aaron comes out to tell him that they found Mrs. Logan in one of the archive room. When Cummings wants to know what she was doing there, Aaron says it's just his job to make sure she's safe, and it's not his business to know what the crazy woman is thinking at any one time and that Cummings should do the same. Okay, he doesn't say it exactly that way, but it's got to be what he's thinking.
Back at the terminal, Beresch checks on his men as Jack calls Curtis to tell him the hostiles' current positions and promises to give Curtis real-time updates on their movements. Curtis orders his men to start the count down as Buchanan and Audrey anxiously listen in to the final plans. "That's it," Buchanan says, as Derek still kneels on screen in the background. Before anything can happen, however, Beresch gets a phone call from Nathanson. After he hangs up, he orders his men to move the hostages which forces Jack to tell Curtis to hold off for a second. Beresch moves to a counter top and opens up a computer. "Hold on," Jack tells Curtis, "Beresch is changing something." Before he can go into any more detail, however, Beresch taps a few keys and a painful, high-pitched squeal rings through the phone. Jack rips the earplug out and Curtis, Buchanan and Audrey all try to reconnect with Jack.
Beresch reaches across the counter and activates the PA. "Jack Bauer," he announces, "Derek is a very brave young man," Beresch waves for a minion to bring Derek over to him. "I will shoot him in the head if you don't show yourself immediately." Jack lets out a deep sigh of desperation and rubs his hands over his face. I love it when Kiefer gets a chance to be subtle in his acting. The quiet moments like this give depth to the intense tell-me-what-you-know scenes.
What Buchanan wants to know is if they can continue the attack without Jack and after Curtis tells him that for all they know the hostages have been moved into the kill zone, he angrily aborts. In the terminal, Derek is made to kneel on the floor in front of Beresch, the hostages are forced to stand 20 feet in front of them and Beresch is telling Jack to "Present yourself, now."
We go to the usual end-of-show split-screen: close up of Derek's panicky face, Diane worrying about Derek, Cummings looking through the archive room where Martha was and Logan staring at the video of the empty space where Derek had kneeled for most of the hour.
"Mr. Bauer," Beresch impatiently repeats over the PA as he points the gun at Derek's head, "Derek has five seconds left to live. Four... Three...."
"Beresch," Jack calls, walking into the terminal, hands and gun held high. He tells them he's lowering his weapon and does so very cautiously. I love the fact that he gives a little reassuring nod to Derek as he does this, although Derek doesn't look at all reassured.
"Secure him," Beresch orders. A masked terrorist approaches Jack, who is standing very still with his hands on his head, and uses zip-tie cuffs to secure Jack's hands behind his back. Jack has the greatest look of anger, frustration and disgust on his face and despite the fact that he's a hostage and being cuffed, there is absolutely nothing about him that suggests that he's defeated. The hostile kicks Jack to make him kneel and we flip to the end clock.
10.00
09.00
The terrorist's van is still burning outside the airport and airport security trying to contain the situation. Diane isn’t helping matters any as she tries to run into the building because Derek is inside. She is grabbed and dragged back, screaming for Derek. The only bright thing she does is shout that she has information for CTU as she is being pulled away from the danger zone, and the cop in charge hears her.
In the terminal, the terrorists are busy locking everything down and blocking the windows and security cameras. When they take off their coats, they reveal that they are wearing explosive vests. This does nothing to reassure the hostages, and one hostage covertly pulls out his cell phone and starts to dial. Beresch watches him do this, then nods to one of his minions who shoot the poor guy. This does even less to reassure the hostages.
However, when Beresch tells them the only chance they have to leave the airport alive, they believe him. He orders them to give him all their cell phones and pagers. As they do that, everyone tries to keep cool, which is especially hard for the mother with a terrified five-year-old boy. However, I have to admit that she is doing a great job. She is, in fact, a whole lot calmer than Diane, who is waiting outside and freaking out.
The terrorists drag the dead body off, passing Chevensky’s office where Jack his hiding, gun out. The terrorists come into the office but don't find Chevensky’s dead body that Jack has pulled behind some shelves or Jack himself who is also hiding. Beresch calls to see if they found Chevensky (oh… good use of split screen here again, with Beresch, terrorists and Jack all in separate boxes), when they tell him Chevensky is gone, he says they have to find him. They head off to look in the other rooms.
Outside fire trucks finally pull up, and McClaren, the airport's head of security (at least I assume he is head of security, it doesn’t say that, but he’s in change), gets a phone call. It’s Beresch, who gives the usual terrorist manta: Do anything and we will kill all the hostages by blowing ourselves up. Actually, he says "If you make any efforts to enter the terminal, you will spend the rest of the day picking up body parts." Which, you know, ick.
Beresch hangs up without waiting for an answer and McClaren quickly moves everyone away from the terminal, having them set up in a hanger out of sight. He also has Diane brought to him because he heard her say that she had information for CTU. I like this guy. He’s smart, he’s quick thinking, and he will most likely die. I fear for people on this show.
Jack, meanwhile, is heading up into the ceiling and taking his Jack-pack with him.
At CTU, everyone is lowering their alert levels because of the successful arrival of President Suvarov. They’ve heard back from Curtis who has verified Chloe’s story about the refinery. Audrey says that goes a long way to prove Jack’s story, but Buchanan argues that Jack still has a lot to answer for. Before Audrey can press the point, the phone rings and some nameless CTU operator announces that Jack Bauer is on the line. Whoever the voice was on the line, she did a great job with the nine words she had. There is just the right amount of stress on Jack’s name to let everyone know that she’s aware of the incredulity of the situation.
When Buchanan tells her to put the call through, Audrey asks him to put it on the speaker phone. He stares at her a minute until she adds "please", then he does so. However, when he says "Jack, this is Bill" he doesn’t say (as they usually do) "You are also on the line with Audrey", which is probably best all the way around.
Jack, who has managed to work his way up to some point overlooking the terminal, cuts right to the point "Bill, I'm inside Ontario Airport. Gunmen have just attacked and taken over Terminal One. They have automatic weapons and they have hostages." When Bill points out that they haven't gotten any reports, Jack goes, "Trust me. You will." I so totally love when Jack says 'trust me'. It's a good thing he's fictional. He goes on to say that Palmer knew of the attack and that's why he was killed.
Just as Jack is talking, Spencer comes in with the information on the Ontario Airport attack. We split screen to Jack taking pictures of the hostages with his super-cool-spy phone. Bill sends men there, including Curtis who is in the air coming back from checking on the refinery. Bill gets back on the phone, says he's got men on the way and then orders Jack to leave. Jack answers, "Understand this, Bill, I don't work for you." Which I suppose is more polite than a lot of other "stuff it" phrases he could have used. He goes on to say that he's staying inside and he'll share intel if that's what Buchanan wants, but that "I'm doing this my way." Buchanan, smarter than a lot of other CTU administrators, takes what he can get.
Jack gives him the low down on what's going on, number of terrorists (10 – 12), weaponry and bombs. He also sends them the pictures of the hostiles that he took and Buchanan sends him a schematic of the airport. Not only do I want the Jack-pack, I want Jack's phone. The last thing Jack does is to tell Buchanan that he sent Diane and Derek to CTU for protection. He doesn't answer Buchanan's question of who they are, but he does say "I don't have time to explain but I'm responsible for them." Audrey looks like she would like to find out more about them, but Buchanan just promised to take care of them and they hang up.
As Buchanan tells Audrey to alert the President and Jack takes a ladder to a new vantage point, Logan and Suvarov are posing for the press. Suvarov extends his condolences over the death of Palmer, and Logan postures that the treaty should be a fitting tribute to David Palmer's memory. Logan doesn't seem to be able to multi-task very well. Suvarov agrees and Logan is all smiles until he sees Cummings and Novick walking toward the conference. He excuses himself from President Suvarov and Novick fills him in on the bad news. In the background, the Russian President is having a conversation (in Russian) that I assume means he is being briefed about the same thing, although that would make Russian intelligence very good at this point.
Logan wants details, but his men don't have any to give him. They say that CTU Los Angels is preparing a briefing and that they should move to the situation room because the attack may be related to the summit. Logan wants to know how and Novick, politely, says that's what they will find out during the briefing. Logan finally agrees to go, and heads over to Suvarov to make his apologies. Suvarov offers to help in any way he can and Logan leaves with a final smile and wave at the cameras.
** Begin sidebar ** Now, I've heard several comments about how inappropriate that smile and wave were and all those comments contained obvious references to Bush's actions during 9-11. Personally, I prefer my President to project calm during times of crisis, but I suppose others would be happier if he displayed obvious signs of distress. I think it would be a lose-lose situation. I was teaching when 9-11 happened and I taught as I normally would. I taught, the kids learned, we laughed, we joked, I answered questions as they came, but I didn't focus on it. I know one teacher went home, unable to continue teaching. I know that I wanted nothing more than to go pick my daughter up from school and go home, but I had a job. That job included making sure that none of the children I was responsible for would be more upset and stressed by my behavior. I've always wondered what the difference was that made it heroism that the band played while the Titanic sank and cowardice that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. And more importantly, how that distinction could be made on one visual rather than an entire perspective.** End sidebar **
At CTU, Buchanan is checking up on everyone. While Spencer is sending Jack the airport schematics, Edgar is having less luck ID-ing the terrorists from the information on the watch lists, despite trying "three different coding arrays". Buchanan wants to expand the parameters of the search, but Edgar points out that it they were any wider, they could be using the phone book. Well, if the phone book had pictures that is. Security just happens to be leading Chloe past at that point, she makes them stop and to ask Edgar if he's done a "NP-safe adaptive search". Instead of answering, Edgar asks how she is. "Thanks for asking, Edgar," she also non-answers, as she tosses a dagger-filled look at Spencer.
Buchanan steps right up to Chloe and states, "You managed to rack up four protocol violations." Chloe, in typical Chloe style, don't blink an eye. "Well," she corrects him, "it's a lot worse than that if you count agency doc codes. It's more like twenty-six violations." Buchanan, like any normal human, doesn't have a response to that, so Chloe continues, "You want me to figure out whose face that is? Or I can just go wait in holding." Buchanan, again displaying more intelligence than is usually allowed in CTU management, defers, "See what you can do."
I love Buchanan. I love Chloe. I love Edgar. I think Spencer is in big trouble.
Edgar, who must have been applying Chloe's NP-safe search, has identified Beresch as a former Army officer in the Russian break-away republics. Buchanan sees a definite link back to the summit, Chloe heads off to "data-mine" the inter-agency servers, and Audrey approaches with word that the terrorists are broadcasting a video feed out of the airport. Spencer brings up the feed and Beresch, in a ski mask, pops on to the screen.
The President, Cummings and Novick are watching the same feed, which has been picked up by the networks at this point. As Beresch monologues about the injustice of the "anti-terrorist" agreement, Jack climbs along the catwalks above the airport hanger. Beresch finally gets to his point: "I have hostages. Unless President Logan and President Suvarov make a joint statement repudiating this accord, I will order their execution. You have exactly ninety minutes."
Needless to say, Logan doesn't take this well. However, it's not the demands that get him upset, it's the publicity. "We have to get this lunatic off the air," he complains to Novick, who calmly reminds him about those pesky first amendment rights.
Back at the airport, Beresch (who must really like the sound of his own voice) is continuing to explain how this really isn't his fault, it's victim's and the government's. I'm sure it's part of "Propaganda 101" at all terrorist universities. Jack has positioned himself directly above the terrorists and watches as Beresch finally concludes with "Terror will be met with terror". I'm sure Jack is thinking the same thing.
At the end of Beresch's diatribe, Logan has one of his own. "We've been preparing for this summit for sixteen months! Every news agency in the world is here. I've staked my entire administration on this day and now these people are demanding that I go on national television and publicly repudiate everything I've done?" When Novick tries to get him to calm down, Logan demands ""I want this handled! I don't care how you do it, I don't care what it takes, FIX IT!" See, now this is proof of fiddling. And from the look Novick gives Cummings, he's thinking that too.
A CTU helicopter with Curtis inside lands at the airport and he gets a call from Jack who gives him the rundown: he can see six hostiles wearing explosive vests, four of whom are guarding the hostages and two of whom are roaming. He also tells Curtis that the two chained security doors on the northeast side of the concourse are currently unguarded. Curtis, accepting Jack even quicker than Buchanan did, says, "Alright, Jack. I'm gonna need you to quarterback this thing from inside there." As Jack is answering, Officer McClaren tells Curtis that Diane Huxley has something to tell CTU. Jack, surprised at over hearing the name, asks to speak to her.
Diane, slightly less hysterical now, tells Jack that she thinks Derek is in the terminal. Jack pulls out a spotter's scope and checks out the hostages. It takes him a few moments, but he finally finds Derek kneeling amid the rest of the hostages. At this point we get our first Jack Bauer "Damn it!" of the season. No one says that better than he does. He reports to Diane that Derek is there, but unharmed.
"Please don't let anything happen to him," she begs. "Jack, I can't loose my son." While I applaud her for remembering to call him Jack rather than Frank, I do wonder just what she thinks he can do about it. For his part, Jack looks less than thrilled about all of this but comes to a typical Jack Bauer decision. "I promise you, on my life, I am gonna get Derek back to you. Do you understand me?" At which point you know it will all go badly. Diane tearfully accepts Jack's promise and hands the phone back to Curtis. Jack asks Curtis to keep Diane with him. Curtis agrees and tells Jack to update him of any changes in the situation. Jack hangs up and emphatically swears, "Son of a bitch". He looks down at the hostages, as if he could will Derek back outstide.
09.16
09.20
Buchanan is updating Logan, Cummings and Novick with the lowdown on Beresch, who is a member of "The Dawn Brigade", a separatist group responsible for terrorist attacks in Russia. Logan reiterates that he's not caving to the terrorist demands and that give Buchanan 90 minutes. "We're already working on that timetable," Buchanan says. When he tries to give a rundown on what they are doing, Logan interrupts with "Spare me the interagency patter. Just get it done." Buchanan goes on to tell the President that they should be prepared to accept more civilian casualties, but Logan won't hear of it. "I'm prepared to accept no such thing. It's your job to make sure people get out of there alive."
Buchanan, doing a wonderful job of not losing his cool, informs the president about the explosive vests and the terrorist's tactical advantage. When Logan patronizes "I'm aware of the situation", Novick steps in and asks if they've been in contact with the terrorists. Logan jumps on the questions and snidely mimics, "Yes, what about talking to them? Have you tried that?" At this point, I'm sure Buchanan is happy that he's not on a video conference call, because his look would tell the President how much of an idiot Buchanan thinks he is. Buchanan explains they are trying to back-trace the phone call that Beresch made the McClaren in order to call him. Logan, despite just demanding an explanation, brushes it aside with "When I put my name on that accord, I do not want to be signing the death warrant of innocent American citizens."
As Buchanan hangs up – without making a snide comment about the idiocy of the President – Chloe comes in with Beresch's number. Chloe dials it and Logan picks up the phone, prepared to talk to whoever is on the other end.
At the airport, Derek tries to calm the panicky woman next to him. "It's going to be okay," he whispers. "It's going to be okay." He's holding up much better than his mother. Beresch's phone rings and although he must not recognize the caller ID, he answers it. Buchanan introduces himself, tells Beresch that he's been authorized to speak on the President's behalf and says that "he hopes they can resolve this peacefully." Beresch wisely understands this to be a stall tactic. "I don't think you understand just how serious we are" he tells the phone, then hangs up.
Buchanan orders Chloe to data-mine the call. Beresch orders a hostage to be brought with him. Jack informs Curtis they are moving one of the hostages, a fact that everyone can see in a second when the unfortunate man is forced to kneel in front of the video feed. Beresch, once more with a ski mask on, stands ready to shoot him. "Please," the man begs, "I have a wife." "So do I," Beresch answers just before shooting him in the head. Okay it doesn't happen that quick, there is enough time for us to flip back to Jack who whispers "no" just before Beresch shoots.
This gets the expected reaction from everyone. The terrorists wait just a minute – barely enough time for us to begin to form an opinion about the great somber music playing across the scene – before they grab another hostage to drag over to the "killing floor". They, of course, choose Derek. Jack panics, tells Curtis they grabbed another hostage, and moves on the catwalk to a position closer to where they make Derek kneel down in the blood of the man they just killed. Derek is terrified and Jack's new position isn't any better than the one he just left. They zip-tie Derek's hands behind his back and Beresch stands menacingly near him, gun drawn.
Diane, standing next to the CTU command post, sees Derek kneeling on the TV and has a melt down, so CTU puts her in a vehicle and (hopefully) locks the doors to keep her there. Beresch looks into the camera and says "In 15 minutes, your President will get another demonstration of our commitment. 15 minutes." I like short deadlines in the middle of the show, it means there will be some sort of closure.
Jack checks in with Curtis wondering how much longer before they move in. Curtis says it will be at least a half an hour because they are still moving personnel in from the summit. Jack tells him that they have to move it up, but Curtis can't. "They're going to kill that kid," Jack says, intelligently not pointing out any personal connection he may have to "that kid". Curtis, however, isn't an idiot. "Jack, I heard that woman, Diane's side of the conversation—" "This has nothing to do with her," Jack insists. "These people are going to continue to kill hostages until the summit deadline." Curtis argues that they can't risk the lives of all the hostages for just one, and Jack knows that. "I'm not going to jeopardize the mission," Jack snarls. "Just tell your men to hurry." End of conversation. I love the emotion Jack puts into that last line, equal parts of sarcasm and desperation.
09.26
09.31
Martha Logan is watching the terrorist on the television. She mutters "It's all connected" and Evelyn thinks Martha has seen enough TV. When she tries to turn it off, Martha explains everything to her – her belief that Palmer called to warn her about the attack, no one believing her and the phone conversation not matching what she remembers. She insists that someone altered the tape and she sounds about as crazy as the Mad Hatter at this point. Evelyn, either humoring her or just curious, asks who would do that, but Martha doesn't know. In a move that only adds to her insanity quotient, she grabs Evelyn by the wrists and announces she leaving and that Evelyn can't tell anyone that she's gone. Martha heads out the door, not bothering to answer Evelyn's question of "Where are you going?"
At the terminal, Jack is scoping out the terrorists as time runs out on Derek. He gets a close up picture of a terrorist's vest and calls CTU. He's confused but pleased to hear Chloe's voice and thrilled that she's back working. He sends her picture he just took and tells her enlarge it to see what the terrorists have in their left pockets. Chloe discovers a secondary detonator, one that can be set off by a cell phone code. Jack agrees that it must be there incase one of the terrorists get cold feet. He asks her to get the detonation code for it and she says she can, but asks if he's cleared it with Buchanan. Jack hesitates a long time and I really think he's debating whether he could lie to Chloe. In the end, he says no and asks her to look at the live feed. She brings it up and immediately recognizes Derek. "I need your help," Jack whispers. "Okay," Chloe caves. "I'll get back to you."
Spencer happens to choose this moment to walk by and she stops him. "I was really worried about you," he says, although he doesn't sound like he means it. Chloe dismisses his apology with a curt "Not now" and she asks his help to reconfigure Jack's phone. He balks at it being off-protocol, but Chloe tries to woo him with flattery: "Spencer you have more knowledge about band-width properties than anyone here". Spencer nervously watches Buchanan and Audrey and Chloe goes in for the kill; "I need you." Spencer gives in and goes to help.
Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce shows up to escort Mrs. Logan to meet the President. Ah, Aaron. One of only five people to still be alive since the first season. Aaron was then-Senator Palmer's Secret Service guard when Palmer was campaigning. He helped President Palmer in the second season by going against orders and giving Palmer his cell phone, which allowed Palmer to contact Jack and consequently save the day. He has a tendency to hang about in the background, all strong, silent, honorable and by the book. But when the chips are down, he does the right thing no matter what the book says. I like this man.
Evelyn stalls and Aaron wants to talk to Mrs. Logan personally. He seems suspicious until Evelyn says that Martha is "in on of her moods", then Aaron says he will wait outside. Meanwhile, Martha is sneaking through the retreat, following a man down the hall and through a door. It takes only a second to realize she's followed him into the bathroom. Two points of interest: First, I like how they make Martha "unbalanced" by having her do simple, crazy things. Plunge her face into the water, switch subtle emotions at the drop of a hat and walk in on a man going to the bathroom. No matter what this woman knows, there is something fundamentally off about her. Second, I'm amused that the first time we get to see someone use the bathroom, and it's not Jack. Obviously some people in the 24 'verse have to go to the bathroom.
Martha doesn't bother to knock or introduce herself. "It's Mr. Burk, isn't it?" she asks. More than startled, Burk quickly tries to wrap up what he's doing and mutters a quick "Mrs. Logan" in hopes she'd get a clue, instead she gets right to the point. "I know that all the phone conversations are recorded. Where do they keep those recordings?" Burk, although he escaped from acute embarrassment by zipping up and edging away from the toilet, is still trapped in the bathroom because Martha is standing in the doorway. As he stammers they are on the central server, she asks if there are any hard copies. Right now, he seems less embarrassed about the situation than he is about the line of questioning. Yes, he admits, the president insists on it because "he's old fashioned that way." Martha nods. "Yes, I know." Ah. So, she's asking him questions that she already knows the answer to. She's unstable, but she's crafty. When Burke finally admits that he has the keycard needed to get in to the transcript room but that he won't help, Martha goes, "Mr. Burk, we can continue this dance if you really want to, but you and I both know that I'm going to get into that room."
Burk tries one more time to say no and push past her. "In three seconds, Mr. Burk," Martha states while undoing her blouse, "I'm going to scream louder than any woman you have ever heard in your life." By now she's moved down and is undoing the stockings that she is wearing. "One... Two..." Burk folds. She thanks him politely, straightens her clothes, promises to return it as soon as possible and leaves. Burk is left standing in the bathroom, probably planning on how he's going to revise his resume now that he's looking to get a new job. I totally love how they are writing Martha Logan and Jean Smart is terrific in the role.
09.37
09.42
Derek is still on his knees waiting for Beresch to shoot him. Jack calls Chloe to see if she's found the detonation code for the vest. Chloe points out that if she gets the wrong code, it could blow all the vests, so it's going to take some time. Curtis is prepping his men for the assault that will take place too late to save Derek and briefing CTU on his 15-minute schedule.
Beresch walks back to Derek, who is doing an admirable job of quietly freaking out. Beresch asks him how old he is (15) and tells him how he can control his breathing – obviously having Derek pass out from hyperventilating before he can be shot on live television would be anti-climatic. Derek uses this little moment of connection to ask Beresch "Please don't kill me". "That's up to your president," Beresch says and walks away.
Back at CTU, Buchanan gets a call from Beresch. Buchanan tries to stall and but Beresch insists that the President must cancel the summit or the boy dies. When it's obvious that's not going to happen, Beresch hangs up saying "This boy's blood will be on his [the president's] hands". He pulls on his ski mask and heads over to Derek.
Jack places a desperate call to Chloe who says that they are narrowing in on the code. Beresch checks the load on his gun and Curtis hustles to set his plan in action. Spencer finds the code and Chloe tells Jack how to input it into his phone. Then, the phone has to reboot and Jack just has to push the star button. While Beresch propagandizes "Your president has abandoned you", Jack's phone flashes 'system reboot' at him. Jack panics that he's not getting a ready message and Chloe says that it takes a while to re-flash the ROM. Derek is terrified, Jack's phone stills say 'system reboot' (at which he orders it "Son of a bitch, come on!"), the terrorist whose detonation code Jack has walks around a corner and Beresch says, "I'm sorry" as he raises his gun to shoot Derek in the head. Jack's phone finally flashes 'system ready'. "I've got it!" Jack rejoices and pushes the star button. The terrorist blows up somewhere behind a corner alarming everyone. Beresch, who didn't accidentally pull the trigger when the explosion happened, leaves Derek, pulling off his mask and demanding what happened.
That is the same question that Buchanan is asking Curtis, who can't tell him anything more than he already knew – there was an explosion in the terminal. Buchanan wants to talk to Jack, who would have been my first choice since he's the only one inside the building. The terrorists are running about checking on everything and Spencer is looking sick that he had anything to do with it. Beresch is told that Ibrim's vest exploded which is the same thing that Jack tells Buchanan, adding only "None of the hostages were hurt". When Buchanan asks Jack if he was responsible for it, Jack takes a long time to decide to answer honestly "They were going to kill another hostage, I didn't have a choice."
Buchanan wisely doesn't say anything because he doesn't have a choice either. He informs Jack that Curtis will be ready in ten minutes. Beresch orders his men to re-deploy and to check their vests and Jack hangs up saying he'll be in touch in a few minutes.
Buchanan is barely off the phone with Jack, when it rings again. This time it's the President demanding an explanation. Buchanan gives him a vague one "We think that our man inside may have been trying to stall the death of a hostage. He triggered the bomb vest of a hostile." Logan immediately wants to know if Buchanan authorized this. Why he wants to know this is uncertain, although I have the feeling he's looking for a scapegoat if things go south. Buchanan must think that too, because he pauses for a very long moment before saying no and then telling Logan that their man inside is Jack Bauer. This news shocks everyone in the room included Novick and Cummings. Logan stammers his confusion about the ever-changing legal status of Jack Bauer. Cummings looks both sick and panicked as Buchanan explains their belief that Jack was set up for Palmer's death. Logan, very unhappy about being kept out of the loop on this despite having no interest in details earlier, demands "You tell me everything and I will decide which details are relevant." Buchanan, who looks as if he'd like to climb through the phone lines and deck Logan, says "With respect, Mr. President, we don't have time." "Then talk faster," Logan snaps. Oh yeah, grace under pressure. Buchanan and Audrey exchange a look that clearly states that they are both going to donate their next paychecks to the campaign of anyone who is going to run against this idiot.
09.48
James Morrison is doing a masterful job of portraying Bill Buchanan here. Most of his conflict (as with a lot of the characters in the show) is with people on the phone and he has to act and react without having someone in the scene to work off of. More than that, he's in the unenviable position of being the head of CTU, which mean that he's the one who will have to be always pitted against Jack. He's in luck this season because Buchanan doesn't have to be Jack's main obstacle, that job goes to Logan. I'm never bored watching Buchanan. He has little hand motions that become more aggravated the longer he has to humor Logan. His little shows of annoyances – the exasperated looks at Audrey, the sharp way he punches the phone buttons, the way he exudes anger in every movement but only occasionally lets that anger reach his voice – make him one of the many pleasures on this show. Of course, I've admired James Morrison's acting ever since he played Lt. Col. McQueen in "Space: Above and Beyond" ten years ago.
09.52
Aaron gets tired of waiting outside the First Lady's room but the door is locked when he tries it. Evelyn, nervously waiting inside, demurs that it will be just a few minutes, but Aaron knows something is up. He pulls out a key saying that it's his job to check to make sure the First Lady is okay. He walks in as Evelyn peevishly says "This is a private residence, how dare you barge in here". Aaron ignores her but can't find Martha anywhere. He finally turns to Evelyn and says " If something happens to Mrs. Logan, the blame will fall on you. We both know that. So I am urging you in the strongest possible terms to tell me where she is." Which is more than a little extreme, but I trust Aaron so he must know what he's doing. And he does, as Evelyn spills the beans immediately
Martha is sitting on the floor digging through boxes of transcripts and Curtis is putting the finishing touches on his assault plan, as Diane frets in the backseat of the CTU SUV. Curtis takes a moment to tell her that Derek is still alive and that they are mounting a rescue right away. Aaron finds Martha sitting on the floor and tells her that they are waiting for her in the garden room. She leaves the mess and goes with him. Outside the door, both Evelyn and Burk are waiting. Martha calmly slides the keycard into Burk's shirt pocket (which is a manipulative power play in the spirit of the most manipulative of all First Ladies, Sherry Palmer), then she takes Evelyn by the arm and walks away. Evelyn apologizes for not covering for her, but Martha to stop because "it's annoying" and that "I got what I came for".
Out on the veranda, Cummings makes a call to Nathanson and tells him that "we have a problem", he goes on to explain that Jack Bauer is in the terminal coordinating CTU's rescue attempt and that it was Jack who detonated the explosive vest. He says that while he can't give them Bauer's precise location, he knows that Jack has a connection with one of the hostages: a 15-year-old named Derek Huxley. Wow, Buchanan must have talked very fast during that commercial break and I have to admit that I'm surprised that they allowed that exposition to happen off-screen. Before Cummings can give him any more information – say perhaps Jack's cell phone number – Aaron comes out to tell him that they found Mrs. Logan in one of the archive room. When Cummings wants to know what she was doing there, Aaron says it's just his job to make sure she's safe, and it's not his business to know what the crazy woman is thinking at any one time and that Cummings should do the same. Okay, he doesn't say it exactly that way, but it's got to be what he's thinking.
Back at the terminal, Beresch checks on his men as Jack calls Curtis to tell him the hostiles' current positions and promises to give Curtis real-time updates on their movements. Curtis orders his men to start the count down as Buchanan and Audrey anxiously listen in to the final plans. "That's it," Buchanan says, as Derek still kneels on screen in the background. Before anything can happen, however, Beresch gets a phone call from Nathanson. After he hangs up, he orders his men to move the hostages which forces Jack to tell Curtis to hold off for a second. Beresch moves to a counter top and opens up a computer. "Hold on," Jack tells Curtis, "Beresch is changing something." Before he can go into any more detail, however, Beresch taps a few keys and a painful, high-pitched squeal rings through the phone. Jack rips the earplug out and Curtis, Buchanan and Audrey all try to reconnect with Jack.
Beresch reaches across the counter and activates the PA. "Jack Bauer," he announces, "Derek is a very brave young man," Beresch waves for a minion to bring Derek over to him. "I will shoot him in the head if you don't show yourself immediately." Jack lets out a deep sigh of desperation and rubs his hands over his face. I love it when Kiefer gets a chance to be subtle in his acting. The quiet moments like this give depth to the intense tell-me-what-you-know scenes.
What Buchanan wants to know is if they can continue the attack without Jack and after Curtis tells him that for all they know the hostages have been moved into the kill zone, he angrily aborts. In the terminal, Derek is made to kneel on the floor in front of Beresch, the hostages are forced to stand 20 feet in front of them and Beresch is telling Jack to "Present yourself, now."
We go to the usual end-of-show split-screen: close up of Derek's panicky face, Diane worrying about Derek, Cummings looking through the archive room where Martha was and Logan staring at the video of the empty space where Derek had kneeled for most of the hour.
"Mr. Bauer," Beresch impatiently repeats over the PA as he points the gun at Derek's head, "Derek has five seconds left to live. Four... Three...."
"Beresch," Jack calls, walking into the terminal, hands and gun held high. He tells them he's lowering his weapon and does so very cautiously. I love the fact that he gives a little reassuring nod to Derek as he does this, although Derek doesn't look at all reassured.
"Secure him," Beresch orders. A masked terrorist approaches Jack, who is standing very still with his hands on his head, and uses zip-tie cuffs to secure Jack's hands behind his back. Jack has the greatest look of anger, frustration and disgust on his face and despite the fact that he's a hostage and being cuffed, there is absolutely nothing about him that suggests that he's defeated. The hostile kicks Jack to make him kneel and we flip to the end clock.
10.00
