24

Right now,

terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate.

My wife and daughter have been targeted.

And people that I work with may be involved in both.

I'm Federal Agent Jack Bauer,

and today is the longest day of my life.

The following takes place...

between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m....

on the day of the California presidential primary.

No! No! No!

No! No! No!

No!

Move!

No! [ Man Muttering In Foreign Language ]

[ Man Speaking Foreign Language ]

[ Man Speaking On Phone In Foreign Language ]

[ Continues In Foreign Language ]

And now I proudly present the future president of the United States--

Senator David Palmer!

Palmer!

Congratulations, Senator.

Hey, we did it.

You know, this is our victory.

And when we started out,

they said the country wasn't ready.

They said it couldn't be done, that it would never happen.

Well, here we are. Still standing tall.

And when we look back at this amazing time,

we can all say that we were a part of history.

We can all say that we did our part to make this world a better place.

And God willing, our children and our children's children...

will reap the benefits of the seeds we sow right now.

C.T.U. Myers. Nina, it's me.

Jack, where are you?

I'm with Andre and Victor Drazen. What do you mean? Where?

Nina, just listen to me. I'm being held hostage.

The reason why I'm calling is Victor wants confirmation...

that his son Alexis is still alive.

He's in the hospital. I can try to get through to his room.

Okay. Do it. Okay, hold on.

Tony. Get me the hospital. I need Alexis Drazen on line two.

Guys.

I just spoke to the backup team. Drazen escaped.

I want a net over that entire area.

I want one-mile, three-mile and five-mile mobile barriers.

George, we know. We've got Jack on the line. He's with Victor Drazen now.

- What? - Hey, Nina. I got Alexis Drazen.

Transfer it.

- Who is this? - Hold on.

Alexei.

Father.

Where are-- Where are you? Did you get out?

Alexei, what happened? What have they done to you?

You-- You always said that...

I would get in trouble with women.

You were right.

Forgive me, Father. I failed you.

You have not failed. You are alive. I am free.

Free. Hold on.

Alexei, we will be together soon.

No, Papa. You go without me.

I'm not going to make it.

You will make it. Be strong.

Tell me you could do this.

Yeah, Papa.

Now I have something to say to the rest of you.

I am willing to trade the life of Jack Bauer for that of my son.

Mr. Drazen, this is George Mason again.

I'm acting head of the C.T.U., but I don't have the authority to make that trade.

If you do not have the authority, you are not the head of anything.

Talk to your superiors. We will call back in 15 minutes.

Be ready to respond without qualification.

And let me remind you,

that when I was 10 points behind in the polls,

I told you I had a plan-- that on this date,

we were gonna celebrate, party nomination in hand.

Well, promise delivered.

This campaign has been an uphill battle. Patty.

Hi. I, uh--

I'm not gonna be able to go to Dallas with David tomorrow.

Why not?

I, uh, committed to a National Youth Service Day event here in L.A.

That's okay. I can reschedule that. No, Patty, I don't--

I don't want you to reschedule.

David and I could use a couple of days apart,

but I don't want him to feel alone, okay?

We will not relent. Whatever you want.

Because for us, doing the right thing is the only thing to do.

Have you talked to Chappelle?

Yeah. No trade.

What?

This whole Victor Drazen thing is a big embarrassment to them.

If they do a trade,

it's an admission he's alive, that the D.O.D.'s been keeping him here secretly.

Then on top of that, they let him escape.

So they're just gonna sacrifice Jack?

He's like all the rest of us-- expendable.

Is that what you think? It doesn't matter what I think.

I don't think he walks on water the way you do,

but I don't wanna see him hung out to dry either.

Nina, I tried.

George, without the trade, how are they gonna locate Drazen?

My guess is they won't even try. They'll let him get out of the country...

and pick him up in Europe somewhere down the line.

If we do the trade, then we know exactly where he is.

You're preaching to the choir. That's exactly what I just got through saying to Chappelle.

They don't want to draw attention to the situation.

End of story.

So that's it. We just go back to work and let Jack die.

What can I say?

Nothing.

Nina. Shouldn't Kim be here by now?

Well, they just left the police station.

She should be here soon.

I never did hear what happened with her.

She was arrested by mistake.

Listen, Teri, Kim's fine. That's not the problem.

What do you mean? What's going on?

It's confirmed.

Jack's been captured. He's being held hostage.

We're doing everything we can to bring him back, but--

Wait.

What do they want? It's hard to say.

Well, tell me what you know.

This guy, Drazen, wants to trade Jack...

for his son Alexis who we have.

Well, then he'll be okay, right?

No. The government won't make the trade.

What do you mean they won't make the trade? How are they gonna get Jack back?

They're not. Jack's on his own.

I'm sorry.

There can be no flaws, and it must be done soon.

I don't care how much it costs or how many men you need.

- We're out of here by midnight. -

Call me back. Let me know.

There.

Victor!

Ah! My good, good friend.

I never thought I would see you again.

How is your family? Well. They're eager to see you.

Ah, soon. Is everything prepared? Yes. Please, come in.

Victor, I would like you to meet my daughter, Mila.

Mila. Right. Hello.

How beautiful. Thank you.

- Just like your mother. - Yes, but she got my temper.

Oh! No good. That is no good.

We have some fresh clothes for you, whenever you're ready.

You and your family have--

[ Chattering Continues In Foreign Language ]

- Would you like something to eat, Jack? - No.

[ Chattering In Foreign Language ]

Doesn't make any sense. How does letting a senior C.T.U. agent die...

help keep Victor Drazen out of the news?

Uh, Teri, I'm busy. Can Nina help you now?

No. I'm talking to you right now.

Yeah. I'll call you right back, all right?

You are not gonna let my husband die.

No one is gonna let Jack die.

We just can't go through with the trade right now.

There's no difference. Without your help, he doesn't have a chance.

With an ordinary agent, I'd agree with you.

Jack's got a Special Forces background. I've seen him do the impossible.

Stop patronizing me, Mr. Mason. You've been doing it all night.

Just tell me what you are prepared to do to help my husband.

Fine. I'll stop patronizing you.

I'll tell you exactly what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna call up Division. I'm gonna ask them to reconsider one more time.

And they're gonna say no, and that'll be the end of it.

Anything else?

Nina. I'm asking you as someone who cares about Jack--

We cannot just stand by and watch him die.

I know. I agree. I'm already doing something about it.

What do you mean? What are you doing?

I think there's someone who could help Jack.

It's not exactly procedure, so I can't talk about it.

You're just gonna have to trust me.

Okay. Okay.

I can't take all the credit for the speech.

Patty. Now, see, this is the lady you should be complimenting.

We were just talking about you. Oh, really?

Yes. They loved the speech tonight.

Now, among other things,

Patty's the brain trust behind most of my public addresses.

Excuse me. Senator, Nina Myers at C.T.U. Okay?

Would you excuse me? I have to take this. Sure.

So nice to meet you. This is David Palmer.

Senator, thank you for taking my call.

What can I do for you, Ms. Myers?

Jack's in trouble. He needs your help. What kind of trouble?

There's no time to catch you up with everything that's happened.

Let me just give you the headlines. Victor Drazen is alive.

Whoa. Whoa, whoa. What do you mean he's alive?

That's all we know. He was being held prisoner by the U.S. government...

up until about an hour ago.

Okay.

What happened an hour ago? He escaped, and he's taken Jack hostage.

He's willing to trade Jack for his son Alexis.