The following takes place between 10:00 am and 11:00 am

The following takes place between 10:00 am and 11:00 am

10:00 am – The timer on the bomb continues to count down. One hour and fifty-nine minutes remain until it will detonate.

10:01 am – Audrey calls the Pentagon and orders the Joint Chiefs to issue orders to their commanders on the ground in the Middle East to prepare for a major strike before the end of the day. When asked for details, she refuses to give them just yet. After finishing the call, she sighs in frustration and fights back tears before proceeding with her duties.

10:02 am - Karen Hayes enters the Oval Office to brief the President on the analysis that the NSA think tank and several other organizations have come up with about the possible damage that Fayed's attacks could inflict. When she's finished she asks Wayne if he's at all concerned that Fayed might not follow through on his end of the agreement. Wayne denies that ferverently. Nevertheless, he asks her to make sure that all assets in the LA area remain on standby.

10:05 am – At CTU LA, Chloe is outraged by what is being planned. She argues that they can't allow Jack to just be handed over to murderers. Buchanan tells her that the decision has been made at the highest levels. Chloe suggests calling Audrey and getting her to try and get through to the President. Bill tells her that Audrey has already signed off on the deal, which shocks Chloe enough into backing down for the moment.

10:08 am – Sanders drives away from the district building in the car he stole earlier. He calls one of his superiors and informs them that district has been dealt with. He's proceeding to the next target. On the seat next to him, the access card has again been inserted into the reprogramming device.

10:10 am – Bill and Curtis leave CTU and head out to LAX. The Chinese plane will be landing at an isolated section of the airport in about twenty minutes.

10:11 am – Fayed greets John Greene, an American associate of his, as he arrives at the warehouse. Greene is the man Sanders spoke to earlier on the phone. Fayed assures Greene that everything is on schedule on his end, and Greene assures Fayed of the same thing. They say that at noon this country will begin to burn.

10:13 am – Cheng is informed by his pilot that they're now in American airspace. ETA to landing is fifteen minutes.

10:17 am – Unable to concentrate on her work, Chloe steps away from her station. Morris attempts to comfort her, but she all but runs off before he could say anything. Flustered, Morris returns to his work, only to be interrupted by Greg Peterson, who pulls him aside and orders him to get Chloe back at her station. Greg says that he understands the kind of emotional pressure she's under because of her close friendship with Jack, but she's the best they have and he needs her at her post. Morris asks why Greg is asking him to do this instead of just ordering her, and Greg replies that the forceful approach is a last resort; he's hoping she can be persuaded to return to her station by friendlier means. The best person to accomplish that, in Greg's opinion, is Morris, who is "her ex-husband, and if the rumor mill is right, her current roommate."

10:20 am – After nearly breaking down yet again, Audrey calls the President. She insists that Wayne let her speak to Jack before he's given to Fayed. Wayne is hesitant about the idea until she all but begs for just a few minutes with him. Although it clearly wasn't something that was planned for this operation, he consents to Audrey's request.

10:22 am – Morris catches up with Chloe and speaks to her. She is really upset about what's happening to Jack. Morris points out that Jack's never hesitated to put his life on the line to save innocent Americans. By sacrificing himself here, he'll be doing just that. He'd want it to be done if there was no other way, and the President has to believe that there was no other way if he authorized this. Chloe doesn't get any less upset, but she does accept this explanation.

10:24 am – Bill and Curtis arrive at LAX. They and the agents accompanying them move out onto the tarmac to await Jack's arrival.

10:26 am – Sanders arrives at the main local police precinct. He uses his CTU card to pose as an agent, and his latest reprogramming has left him with a new backstory. He's now viewed as an aid to District Director Williams. He asks to speak with the chief of police, a request that is granted. He's ushered into a waiting room and assured that the chief will be with him in a few minutes.

10:30 am – Fayed leaves the warehouse with a handful of men and moves to a new location. Since he can't risk CTU tracking him back to the warehouse, he's chosen a secondary site with a secure exit. He'll deal with Bauer there, and then vanish before they can even consider coming after him.

10:32 am – The plane lands at LAX, and Cheng hands Jack over to Bill and Curtis. The two of them take Jack into a hanger and brief him on the situation. Jack is silent the whole time. In fact, he's more than just silent: he's completely unresponsive. President Palmer is put on the phone, and Jack says nothing to him. Finally, Audrey is given her chance to speak. The moment she says his name, a tear rolls down Jack's cheek, and he responds in turn. The two have a touching conversation, reaffirming their love for one another and wishing that things could've gone differently for them. When the conversation is over, Jack begins to sob uncontrollably.

10:39 am – Sanders finally gets to meet with the police chief. He immediately hands the man a prisoner transfer form for a woman named Charline Mireau. The chief is surprised by this; CTU had turned her over to his precinct earlier today, and in a few hours FBI will be arriving to claim her. Sanders insists that plans have changed, and that Charline must be turned back over to him. The chief presses for details, and Sanders resists, claiming that it's all classified. Eventually, though, Sanders points out that until recently Charline worked for the United States government, and she made some friends in very high places, including quite a few in the FBI. CTU, Sanders claims, is no longer confident that the bureau can be trusted until a full investigation is made. The chief is troubled and wants to call this in, but Sanders insists that such a thing cannot happen. Once the real prisoner is secured back at CTU, a double will be brought in to replace her and be collected by the FBI. If someone in the bureau tries to break her out, they'll learn who that person is through this way. The chief is still hesitant, but he accepts Sanders' explanation.

10:44 am – Bill and Curtis talk about Jack. Neither man have ever seen Jack get so emotional before, and they are really concerned about it. Before they can get much further in their discussion, Jack rejoins them, having just used a makeshift facility to clean up the best he could. They tentatively ask him if he knows what they want from him, and Jack simply nods. They go into details and ask him if he understands again, and Jack nods a second time. They decide that they can't wait much longer, and so they take Jack out of the hanger and into the car to be taken to Fayed.

10:47 am – Fayed receives a call from President Palmer telling him that Jack is on his way. Fayed gives the President the address of the house he's currently at. Fayed then goes into the living room, which has been redecorated into a makeshift torture chamber. He's looking forward to what's about to happen.

10:48 am – Sanders signs Charline out of the precinct, assuring the chief that he will return within the hour with the double. Once they're both in the car, Charline bursts out laughing, finding it hilarious that the chief bought the double story. Sanders remains professional and insists that they need to get off the grid now. He doubts that it will take more than an hour before they realize that they've been tricked. Once that happens, a great deal of resources will be devoted towards bringing her back in. They need to make sure their trail is long cold by that time.

10:51 am – Back at CTU, Greg gets everyone's attention to announce that he's just confirmed that Jack is being transported to the address Fayed provided them. "If all goes well, this should be over within the next hour or so."

10:55 am – Wayne calls Tom Lennox into his office to let him know that it's officially begun. Tom is glad to hear this, and suggests that the President should "make the call." Wayne agrees and asks for privacy. Tom gives it to him, and he pulls out a special cell phone from his desk. He enters the number saved under speed dial one and waits as it rings.

10:57 am – Bill, Curtis, and Jack arrive at Fayed's safehouse. Fayed greets them personally and assures Buchanan that there will be no more attacks from his end today. Bill demands the intel on Al-Assad immediately, but Fayed refuses, saying that he'll turn that over once he's done with Jack, which will probably be in the next hour or so. Buchanan insists that he's not about to turn Jack over without that intel, but Fayed points out that Bill knows where his safehouse is now, and he has the resources to monitor it. Since Fayed can't escape, his only way out is to keep to the deal. If he doesn't, they can easily bring him down. Bill is still wary about this, but any hesitation he still has is cut off when Fayed informs him that if his men don't receive a phone call from him within the next five minutes they will launch their attacks all across LA. If he doesn't have Bauer by then, he won't be making the call. Buchanan finally caves and hands Jack over.

10:59 am – Back at the warehouse, Green and Fayed's men are surprised when a squad of masked men barge in. There's a standoff between the two groups for a moment until the leader of the intruders reveals himself to be Hamri Al-Assad and demands to know where Fayed is.

11:00 am

A/N: Well, things are moving along a little faster in this chapter. My first one was really all exposition, which may or may not have been a good thing, time will tell.

Once again, I'd like to ask for REVIEWS!! I love reading them, I write for them, so leave them.