24

The following takes place between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

America has been victimized again.

Last night's terrorist attack in San Antonio

is now the latest in this series of bombings...

that began 11 weeks ago in 10 different cities.

Over 900 people have been killed thus far.

And while no one is claiming responsibility for this wave of death,

evidence points to Islamic militants.

Here in Los Angeles, the mood can only be described as tense and fearful...

as the Department of Homeland Security is urging all citizens...

to report, without delay, any suspicious persons or activities.

We spoke with a department spokesperson who says, quote,

"We don't want to start a witch hunt,

but we would rather err on the side of caution than become the next target."

He then went on to say that the vigilance of the public...

is our best line of defense against attack.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Hey! Stop! Stop! Stop! Open the doors!

Please. I have to get to work.

I'll be late for work. Please, open the door.

Come on, man. Open the door.

Open the door! I can't believe you!

I can't believe you didn't open the door!

I have as much right to be on the bus as you!

Our country is under siege.

Now, you're the national security adviser, Karen.

Frankly, I'm surprised by your resistance.

These places that you keep building...

They're nothing more than concentration camps. Detention facilities.

And the criteria for determining who shall be detained are very reasonable.

Reasonable? This revised plan of yours...

justifies locking up every American who prays towards Mecca.

That's a ridiculous exaggeration, and you know it.

Right now, the American Muslim community is our greatest asset.

They have provided law enforcement with hundreds of tips,

and not a single member of that community has been implicated in these attacks.

So far. Mr. President,

the people are losing faith in our ability to protect them.

We've got to do something about this now.

And locking up more Muslims will not make them safer.

No, Karen, but it will make them feel safer.

What about the cost of the civil unrest that your plan will create?

There will be riots, demonstrations... Security has its price.

So does freedom, Tom.

Listen, I just don't see how I can sign off on something like this.

I mean, wasn't it just three months ago...

that I took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution?

And what about preserving, protecting and defending the American people?

All of these measures are legal.

Blake has been all over this thing with the attorney general.

There is a precedent, sir, especially in wartime.

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. Roosevelt signed Executive Order...

Yes, Blake, I know this. And Roosevelt

imprisoned over 200,000 Japanese-Americans...

in what most historians consider to be a shameful mistake.

Well, I would ask those historians how many of those Japanese-Americans...

were thus prevented from perpetrating acts of sabotage in this country.

I realize that what I'm proposing has its challenges,

but we cannot continue to keep our heads buried in the sand.

Mr. President. Yeah?

- Another attack? - Los Angeles. A bus.

How many casualties?

Twenty-three so far, including the suicide bomber.

And we're still certain this man Assad is behind all these attacks, right?

Yes, sir. We confirmed he arrived in the United States...

three days before the first bombing in San Antonio.

And let us not forget, Assad has been calling...

for the destruction of the United States for the last 20 years.

Mr. President, my analysts believe that Assad's organization...

cannot survive without him, and once he's dead, these attacks will stop.

So this assumes the success of the operation to terminate Assad?

C.T.U. estimates successful probability at 75%.

Oh, I think that's very generous.

You know, it... it... it sounds to me like you're anticipating failure, Tom.

I fully acknowledge, sir, that this is our only option,

but I am fervently advocating contingencies.

Contingencies are well and good, Tom.

But C.T.U. needs to eliminate Assad. That's all there is to it.

God knows we're paying a steep enough price to get him.

I've told you 20 times, you don't send out a report without a certified header on it.

Well, this makes 21. You should update your count.

Do you... and I'm just curious...

Ever open your mouth without sarcasm just spilling out of it?

Sorry, are we done here? Look, I'm just telling you to be careful.

Otherwise you will find yourself back selling ladies shoes in Beverly Hills.

You're really settling well into the whole middle-management thing, aren't you?

What's your problem with me? I liked you fine as an analyst.

Actually you were very good. As a boss, bit of a bore.

Right.

What's going on?

Talk to your boyfriend. The guy's on self-destruct.

You promised me you'd get along with Milo.

I'm sorry, darling. That's a promise I just can't keep.

Morris. Morris.

You know, I had the same problem with department heads...

when I first started, and I learned how to fit in.

There's no reason why you can't. Except I don't happen to be a pretty lady.

What are you talking about? You're a hottie.

No, I'm not. Yes, you are. Deal with it.

Morris, we're at work. So?

It's unprofessional. Are you saying you don't like it?

No, I'm not saying that. I just came to see if you got a request from Homeland...

on the priority channel. No.

Well, why did they send it only to me?

I don't know. Just try to get along.

Because you asked, I will.

Nadia, I just got a weird request from Homeland Security.

They want to set up a channel, and I wanted to clear it with you first.

Consider yourself cleared.

They want it formatted according to military specs.

We're coordinating an assault with the Cobra

attack helicopters from Camp Pendleton.

When? Thirty minutes.

- An assault on who? - Assad.

What are you talking about? We don't even know where Assad is.

We will. We have a lead. No, we don't. If we did, I would know about it.

We found a way to get Assad's location.

How?

Jack Bauer. Jack's in a Chinese prison.

Not anymore. The president negotiated his release two days ago.

Jack's coming back? Yes.

Well, why did the Chinese let him go? Why today?

Does this have something to do with the attacks?

How do we think Jack's gonna lead us to Assad?

Chloe, I can't talk about this. Not yet. Why not?

Can Bill Buchanan talk about it? He's

meeting Jack at Point Mugu Naval Air Station.

Now open that military channel and put it through to the conference area.

The president must have given up a lot to make this happen.

I wish he were coming back under different circumstances.

We don't know what his state of mind will be.

If he doesn't cooperate, we need to be prepared.

Mr. Buchanan, I need your signature on this release document.

Take those cuffs off him.

Jack. It's okay. Come with me.

Please convey to your president that Mr. Bauer never broke his silence.

He hasn't spoken a word in nearly two years.

Your president has paid a high price for Mr. Bauer's freedom.

What he wants from him must be very important.

President Palmer wants to speak to you himself as soon as we debrief.

I'm sorry, Jack. How could you know?

Wayne Palmer is president.

He's the one who negotiated your release.

I can't even begin to imagine what you went through over there, Jack.

But there's a reason you're here now.

The last 11 weeks, our cities have been targeted by a series of terror attacks.

Buses, trains, shopping malls.

The last one was 15 minutes ago here in Los Angeles.

Here's Hamri Al-Assad.

Assad's here, Jack.

Four days ago, one of Assad's men contacted us.

He said he'd give up Assad for $25 million.

But he's demanding something more than money.

He wants you, Jack.

He wants you dead.

It's Abu Fayed.

He wants his pound of flesh for what happened in Beirut.

We offered him other alternatives. We did everything we could think of, Jack.

But he would only agree to give us Assad in exchange for you.

He's demanded our surveillance protocols,

which means we can't risk an extraction.

Once he has you, you'll be on your own.

You understand what this means, Jack?

We're asking you to sacrifice yourself,

so we can eliminate Assad.

I can't hear you, Jack.

Audrey?

Audrey doesn't know you're back.

My daughter?

Kim doesn't know either.

You keep it that way.

I know what's being asked of me, Curtis.

You don't need your firearm.

Before we do this,

I would like to clean up.

We've got an area set up for you,

and brought you some new clothes.

Bill?

We have Jack. Good.

I thought I was prepared, but he's worse than I expected. Much worse.

I know how hard this must be for you,

but everything depends on this operation.

I understand.

I know you do.

I wish I were there with you.

You're where you need to be.

I miss you.

I miss you too.

I have to take Jack to the drop point now.

Bye.

Los Angeles has now been added to

the list of major cities hit by terrorist attacks.

The Department of Homeland Security has raised the threat level to red...

The highest level since the department was formed.

F.B.I. will handle all the field searches outside the city,

so just focus on the main grid. Yes, ma'am.

Nadia, I need to talk to you.

Right. Finish that up and check back with me. Okay.

Did you open that military channel and put it through to the conference area?

Yeah. I've been trying to locate Bill or