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The staff of CTU watches the mushroom cloud
billow on a monitor, while the President sees the
glow in the distance from Air Force One. From
the deserted road, Kim is certain that her father
died in the explosion. She cries to herself.
Safe from the blast in the desert, Jack lights
flares to signal the chopper that will pick him up.
Once inside, he asks the pilot to connect him to
Tony at CTU so that he can contact his daughter.
However, radio transmissions and cell phones
are down because of the nuclear blast.
Tony tells his staff at CTU that George Mason
thanked them in advance for their hard work.
Tony encourages them to continue working even
though it has been a hard day already. Yusuf
Auda, the visiting Arab liaison, approaches Tony
after the speech to question why he has yet to be
allowed to participate in the investigation. Tony
manages to brush him off. Since Michelle is still
interrogating Syed Ali, Tony asks Carrie to
handle the audio verification of Ali's tape that
confirms three Middle Eastern countries hired
him.
Michelle plays the tape for Ali, but he denies that
the Cyprus conversations ever took place. He
claims to have been in Berlin at the time, saying
that he never met the men on the tape. The
bomb was a Second Wave operation only.
Tony consults with the audio techs about the
tape. Their findings indicate that the voices are
real and have not been spliced together. The
evidence shows that it is a genuine and accurate
record of a conversation. Michelle enters the
meeting and informs Tony of what Ali is claiming.
She thinks that they should investigate further
because there is some possibility that the tape
has been doctored. Carrie interjects in
disagreement, saying that physical evidence
trumps the word of a terrorist. She then questions
Michelle's limited abilities as an interrogator.
Tony says he will present both sides to the
President for his decision.
Novick debriefs Palmer on the detonation and its
lack of casualties beyond the pilot. The President
learns that Jack Bauer was not the one who
manned the plane. Lynne informs them that CTU
confirmed the Cyprus tape, providing proof that
the three Arab countries' ministers gave Syed Ali
support for the bomb. She tells them that, as
expected, Ali denied the conversation ever took
place. Given the evidence, Palmer has no other
choice but to respond militarily. He gives an order
to issue a statement about the nuclear blast. He
then calls for an emergency session of Congress
in which he will ask for a formal declaration of
war.
Tony asks Michelle about the tension between
her and Carrie. He agrees that Michelle does not
have the proper training to handle Ali.
Regardless, Michelle still believes that there is
reasonable doubt warranting the pressing of Ali.
Tony says that Ali will be further interrogated
when he is shipped to Guantanamo, but Michelle
thinks that will be too late.
Palmer meets with his Joint Chiefs of Staff via
videophone from Air Force One. General
Bowden, who is aboard the plane with the
President, informs him that they can be ready to
begin a rolling start with surgical strikes that
same day. It will take eight to ten weeks to get
the ground troops into the Middle East. Lynne
interrupts to tell Palmer that Deputy Prime
Minister Barghouti is calling for the second time
since the bomb exploded. He does not know that
the United States is planning to invade his
country, and Lynne advises Palmer to speak with
him or else the man may jump to his own
conclusions. The President exits the briefing
room to take the call. The Deputy Prime Minister
pledges his country's full support against Second
Wave because they have been trying to capture
Syed Ali for years. He asks the President to not
rush into a response against his country. Palmer
says they are merely gathering evidence at this
time.
A battered Syed Ali is carried out of CTU. Jack
enters the facility, and Ali curses at him as he
passes. Tony gives Jack the phone number of a
San Jose sheriff who is waiting for Kim at her
aunt's house. Michelle then approaches Jack to
ask for his help. She believes that the President
is planning a major military action based on what
was found on Ali's recording. From what Ali told
her, she is not sure whether he isn't telling the
truth. Since Jack was effective at breaking him
once before, she wants him to try interrogating
Ali again. Jack has Michelle track down Kim with
the San Jose number, and he goes off after Ali.
Carrie witnesses this exchange from the other
side of the room.
Jack catches up with the CTU agents taking Ali
outside the complex. He admits to Ali that they
staged the killing of his son, and Jack promises
that he will be allowed to speak to his family
when he arrives at Guantanamo. Jack then asks
about the validity of the Cyprus recording. Ali
says that what he told Michelle was true. Jack
thanks him and walks away. Suddenly, a single
shot rings out. Ali falls dead from a bullet wound
to the head. Jack and the CTU agents scan the
surrounding area to discern where the gunshot
came from.
Tony and Jack discuss who would have known
that Syed Ali was being transported. The leak
could have come from anywhere because the
whole intelligence community knew Ali was
captured. Tony suggests that the shooter is from
one of the three countries implicated on the
recording, but Jack is convinced that this incident
makes it even clearer that Ali was telling the truth
about the audio being faked. They argue over
this, and Tony thinks that Jack is implying that he
is not fit to run CTU. He tells Jack to worry about
Kim and let them handle the situation alone. Jack
moves off, realizing he's going to have to get
involved himself.
Kim walks up to a closed convenience store sees
a payphone. She attempts to make a call but all
the circuits are busy. When she hangs up, a man
who works there comes up behind her. Frank
Davies allows Kim to use the store's restroom.
When she goes in, he locks the two of them
inside.
Palmer resumes his meeting with the Joint Chiefs
as Bowden briefs them on the possible
scenarios. He predicts ten to thirty thousand
American casualties. Palmer gets a call from
Jack and takes it in the next room. Jack informs
the President that Ali has been assassinated,
which suggests that the Cyprus recording is not
genuine. Palmer tells Jack that he needs hard
proof immediately.
Jack calls Michelle, and she mentions that an
intelligence officer is in the office from one of the
target countries. He goes to look up Yusuf's
background when Kate spots him as she is
brought into CTU. She is surprised to see him
alive, but is relieved because the bomb has been
detonated safely.
Novick comes to Palmer to give him the good
news that Bowden downgraded his casualty list.
The President is not fazed. He has more
pressing matters on his mind, and relays his
fears to Novick that they may be acting too
hastily in starting a war. Novick wants to side with
the facts, but even he is unsure whether the
proof is not a lie.
Jack enters the men's room where Yusuf is
washing up and he introduces himself. Yusuf is
resistant because he has been excluded from the
investigation. Yet Jack asks whether it is possible
that the tape found in Ali's house may have been
compromised. Yusuf wants to learn what it is that
Jack knows because it most likely incriminates
his country. Jack is not at liberty to say anything,
hoping that Yusuf will help without receiving
information in return. Yusuf leaves in a huff.
Jack's cell phone rings. An unknown man
identifies himself as the one who planted the
bogus tape and shot Ali. The man demands Kate
Warner, and he instructs Jack to take her from
CTU and bring her to a specific warehouse.
Kim is in the convenience store restroom when
she hears someone banging on the door to be let
in to buy supplies. Davies tells the man named
Garcia that the store is already closed, and he
calls the police when Garcia becomes
threatening. "It's starting," Kim says. Davies
presses her to find out what that means, but
before she can answer, the door shatters. Garcia
smashes a shopping cart through the glass. He
lunges at Davies and grabs his throat. Kim pulls
out her gun and fires into the air. She orders
Garcia to let go of Davies and leave. Yet when
faced with having to actually shoot him, Kim
relents. Garcia takes the gun away from her and
fills the cart with food and supplies.
Jack calls Michelle from inside CTU. He thinks
that there may be another way to prove that the
Cyprus tape was faked, and he asks for her help.
Garcia offers to pay for the goods in the store. He
is not a criminal, but wanted to fend for his
pregnant wife waiting in the car outside. He tells
Davies to turn on the news, and they see reports
that a nuclear bomb has exploded. Davies asks
Kim if she knew about this all along. Suddenly,
the police arrive and draw their weapons on
Garcia's wife in the car. Garcia calls to them, and
Davies reaches for the gun in Garcia's hand.
Garcia accidentally discharges Kim's gun and
Davies falls down bleeding. The cops order
Garcia to exit the store, but he grabs Kim as a
hostage.
Michelle goes into a CTU holding room where
Agent Baker is debriefing Kate. Michelle tells
Baker that one of his files needs to be attended
to, and she follows him out of the room. Jack
slips into the holding room and tells Kate that he
urgently needs her to come with him. Yusuf
watches this occur. So does Carrie, who
immediately picks up the phone to notify Tony.
Tony blocks Jack from leaving the building at
gunpoint. Jack asks him to put the weapon down.
When Tony doesn't comply, Jack takes it away
forcefully and Tony is knocked out cold. Jack
grabs Kate's arm and ushers her roughly through
the exit door.
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