EPISODE 13
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 10:00 PM AND 11:00 PM
SHERATON HOTEL, CENTURY CITY
Jack continues pointing the gun at Lynne Kresge when Baker interrupts him.
"Yarnal's guys are almost here, we gotta go."
Jack nods. "Let's get back on the roof, make sure the chopper's ready for extract."
"Let's go," Jack says gruffly to Lynne. "You're coming back to CTU with us."
They get into the elevator and the elevator races toward the rooftop penthouse level just as Yarnal's men burst into the lobby and spray the entire place with bullets, destroying a water cooler and sending water splashing and bullets tearing chips off an indoor palm. The mercenaries curse and try to get into a different elevator.
Jack loads Lynne into the helicopter and Yarnal's mercenary teams burst through the stairwells. "Get this thing up!" Baker shouts. Baker and Jack pulls out their weapons and layed down volleys of withering gunfire. All the windows in the penthouse shatter and bullets tear through several of the mercenaries. A mercenary takes a Bazooka and aims it at the helicopter just as it lifts off.
Bullets hit the CTU gunner and the man falls out of the chopper screaming into the abyss below. Jack grabs the heavy machine gun and fires it without hesitation. The bullets the Bazooka man and everything around him, sending him flying off the roof along with part of a railing. The helicopter flies out of range and the other CTU helicopter follows.
"What are we gonna do to this b," Baker says. "Waterboarding?"
"You don't scare me, you pig," Lynne spits with pure hatred.
"You're disgusting, Kresge," Jack says. "You sold out the greatest country in the world just for some personal vengeance. You can lie to yourself all you want but deep down you know its not about supporting Yarnal's policies. You wanted to help the Communists take over the U.S. economy. You were involved in the plot to assassinate James Heller and Suz Novick. Because of that, one of my oldest friends, Aaron Pierce, lost his life. Well you're not getting so far today."
"Oh I've gone pretty far, Bauer," she says with a chilling smile. "This country is going to pay for all its crimes against the people of the world. America is a cesspool of corruption and evil."
"And to think David Palmer trusted you," Jack says.
"I thought he was a force for change, but I was wrong. He was a coward and an imperialist, just like you. You know what I call Teri's death? It was justice. Justice for what you did in Kosovo to put Serbian puppets in power."
Jack grabs Lynne's hair and yanks it hard, pulling out several strands. She screams an ear-splitting scream.
"That's it, I'm not going to wait until we get to CTU." Jack takes his gun and shoots her in the foot. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Jack then grabs her other foot and asks Baker to help him, dangling Lynne outside the helicopter by her other leg. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! JAACKKK!! NNOOOOOOO!" Jack then ties a rope on her leg to the gun mount with the chopper door open.
"Agent Bauer, what the hell are you going?" another CTU agent asks.
"I'm doing my job. Now shut up and do YOUR job, fly the damned chopper the way I tell you to."
"But…."
Jack glares at him. "NOW. Now follow the coordinates Baker is going to give you, maintain the exact altitude."
"Yes, sir," the man replies and takes the control back from autopilot.
There is an earpiece in Lynne's ear and she can hear Jack as she dangles from the helicopter. "Ms. Kresge, I know you can hear me. We're gonna do it two ways. CTU is five minutes out. You have these five minutes to start talking and to tell me what I want to know. Answer our questions without any bullsting, or I will cut the rope and drop you into onto the CTU rooftop."
OVER THE LOS ANGELES AREA
"You…..you cowardly, piece…." She passes out. Jack pulls the rope back up and injects her with some chemicals to wake her up. "You're NOT passing out on me, I'll make sure of it. You have four and a half minutes."
Jack steps away from the ledge and goes to the pilot. "Maintain same coordinates heading but lower altitude," he says steely. The pilot complies and the helicopter flies lower descending on a wide avenue between buildings. "Lower!" Jack repeats. The pilot nervously nods.
Lynne's dangling body bumps against a parked car and she screams as glass shreds penetrate her. "Go up." She sees herself going straight toward a KFC sign then crashes through that, electric sparks flying. "AAAAAAHHHHHH!! OKAAAY!! STOP! I'Ll TALK!!"
"Three minutes," Jack says. "Pilot, pull up."
Lynne's face is mixed with rage as she twists her bloodied body. "Who are you working for? Who is behind today?" Jack demands.
"I….I am working with Senator Yarnal, you're right…"
"Where is he?"
"He….he…." her feet continue dangling over the mid-rise buildings of the San Fernando Valley. "He went to Van Nuys Airport, he's on his plane, I think going to Canada."
"Baker, pass that onto CTU, make sure Chalker alerts the Pentagon," Jack says then turns back to Lynne. "Keep talking! What more is planned for today?"
"Please, Jack….Yarnal and Graham only told me part of the plan, they wanted some secrecy, I could understand…"
"Graham who?"
"I DON'T KNOW I SWEAR, PLEASE DON'T DROP ME!" she is crying hysterically now. "He was the one behind Logan, who told the Chinese about you. The Chinese are involved with Yarnal I know that."
"HOW??"
"They….the beacons they found with the Chicanos…the Chinese and Iranians are helping. The Chinese imported military weapons through diplomatic shipments registered to Yarnal and the Washington State government!! They……" A split screen shows the rope breaking. "Please, I'll tell you more, the Mexican government, Ernesto Cienfeugos is helping the Hijos de Aztlan and the separatists."
"We know that. Tell me something else we don't know yet," Jack says without sympathy.
"Just follow the Hijos de Aztlan, they will lead you…." The rope snaps and Kresge drops down into the rooftops far below in the burning city.
"Dammit!" Jack shouts, slamming his hand against the door of the chopper and then sliding it shut.
CIENFUEGOS'S COMMAND POST, MEXICALI / IMPERIAL COUNTY AIRPORT
"What in blazes is this?" Cienfuegos demands, his eyes glaring.
"This is Major Herrera," a Mexican officer says from the burning wreckage and surrounding aircraft at Imperial County Airport. "It was a decoy, we are still looking for Biancos."
"And you have already ordered teams out?"
"Only one team. But the Chicano militia in the area have been notified and they are already in control of almost all the towns in Imperial County. If the Americans find there are Mexican soldiers on their soil….or…" he hesitates and corrects himself, "…on the soil they control, it will get ugly."
"I trust you will find him because everything we have done today can fall apart if Biancos escapes to the American authorities. Captain Limon has failed me. I hope you can redeem your unit."
"Si, Senor General."
IMPERIAL COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
The escape pod with the seal of Mexico on it opens up and Biancos steps out along with his family and some of his advisors into a dark, flat field. They hear talking in Spanish and the sihoulette of a pickup truck with gun-toting militamen driving along a road beside the field.
"Shhhh, get down," Fernando whisphers and they all lower themselves in the cabbage plots which unfortunately offers little cover. They crawl into an drainage area for an irrigation canal and watering hole.
"Start the tracker," Biancos says and Fernando goes back into the escape pod, taking out a small electronic device with Spanish and English markings. Fernando tries to turn on the transponder but it is not responsible.
"The batteries were damaged in the impact," Fernando says.
"Just great luck we have," Biancos mutters, "This area is crawling with naco separatists loyal to Cienfuegos."
"Don't worry, Senor Presidente, we will find a way."
CTU-LOS ANGELES
Chalker and Ray were already on the main floor as Jack and Baker go through the cavernous entrance along with the members of the CTU Tac team. Jack looks utterly defeated and hopeless.
"Jack, I think we got something," Ray says. "Sam Giron made contact with us again. It's a good ploy and it might work."
"What do you have in mind?" Jack asks, open to anything now at this point.
"Domingo Suarez is a sociopathic, egotistical maniac," Chalker says. "Sam used it against him. We worked something out already and you and Baker have to head out now."
"I'm listening," Jack says.
"Domingo isn't a classical terrorist, he sees himself as a rebel insurrection leader and wants to be known. Thanks to Sam, he's allowing for embedded foreign reporters to operate with his rebel forces in their upcoming operation to overrun Santa Monica. We've come up with fake credentials for the both of you."
Different camera angle and split screens. "We're cleared it with the newspapers. Jack, you will be with the Australian Brisbane Courier Mail, and Baker, you will be from the Seoul Daily News in South Korea."
Jack nods. "I'm impressed."
Suddenly Baker's phone rings. It is his wife STACY.
"Tom, I'm so scared," Stacy, a beautiful African American woman, says shaking. She has two kids with her. "The Chicano rebels crossed Wilshire half an hour ago. I talked with Neil on the phone, he said that his son was killed defending the neighborhood."
"Oh my God," Baker says.
"The Chicano rebels are conducting mass executions of blacks, whites, and Asians. Men, women, even little children are being rounded up and shot in firing squads."
"Stacy, honey, I'm doing everything I can from here. We're doing what we can against the rebels."
"Tom, please, I'm so scared, I don't know what to do."
"You remember how to use the guns, right?" Baker says, clenching the phone.
"Yeah."
"Fight them off only if you can. Remember what we discussed this morning with Dale and his guys. Meet up with them in Griffith Park along with…"
"I know what we talked about earlier, but Dale…."
"I know his past, Stacy, I know about his gang's past affiliation with the skinheads but today puts everything in perspective. Stacy, some of his closest friends sacrified themselves defending a black neighborhood alongside the Cripes when the Chicano death squads went in. It's a shame it took something like today for them to realize it. We were all born on this land, this is both our country, and we are being assaulted by traitors and foreigners. That should mean something."
"Okay, Tom. I'll stay strong, I promise. I'll see you soon."
Tom is unsure after hanging up. "I can't leave my family out there like that."
Chalker looks up. "I know you're worried, but you have a job to do. We all do."
"I…." Tom is panicking now, losing his composure. "I might not see my wife again. Did you hear that, the Chicanos overran the military defenses. The illegals and anchor babies are dragging soldiers through the streets and lynching American troops on lampposts in East LA."
"Tom," Jack says, going close to him. "The best thing you can do for Stacy and the kids is to keep on fighting. Stop what's going on today. We're the only ones who can make a difference."
Tom hesitates some more then nods slowly. "Alright, Jack."
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE
Carl and Molly Bauer are sitting around their room at Nellis, Carl playing on Audrey's computer as Audrey is talking to someone on the phone. "It's my turn!" Molly says.
"Wait just a sec, I'm almost finishing this game up." Carl is playing an online game linked through Myspace and also watching William Hung videos and laughing.
Molly frowns impatiently and just gets up from the couch and goes over.
"I said wait a sec!" Carl shouts.
"No, I'm gonna tell mommy!" Molly whines and forces her way there, taking control of the mouth. Carl quickly clicks the back button and brings them back to Casey Winemiller's page. The two struggle for the mouse and Molly forces Carl accidentally clicks on the "add to friends" option.
"OOOOOOOO," Molly teases it. "You're in trouble."
"It's all your fault, when mom finds out I'm gonna tell her you made me do it."
"Shut up!!" Molly says, "It's my turn to use the computer."
"KIDS!" Audrey says sternly walking through the door. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Molly says sweetly.
"Nothing? Are you sure?" Audrey asks.
"Yeah," Carl says. He turns to Molly. "Now thanks to you we have to try to find a way to fix this. Mom's gonna think we're stalking her friends."
Molly is not paying attention and instead takes out her cell phone again. "I'm gonna try to reach Chrissie again."
"And after that, you're gonna help me find out how to unsend that message on Myspace," Carl says back.
"Okay!" Molly says, "Jeez. You are such a crybaby." She dials Chrissie's number. Still not picking up. "I hope she's okay," Molly says.
"Don't worry, she's fine," says Carl.
SANTA MONICA
Jack and Baker's van drive along the now-dangerous streets of Santa Monica past overturned cars but are waved through a checkpoint manned by Chicano militiamen. Jack takes two pills from the driver and his one to Baker following Chalker's orders.
"These are electronic tracking devices and microphones," Chalker says, "CTU can monitor us using these. They lose their functions and disintegrate in approximately two hours, like it's never been there before."
Jack puts the "pill" in his mouth and swallows it with a gulp of water, Baker following his lead. The van pulls up at the edge of a wide avenue in Santa Monica where a large group of Chicanos are gathered. Domingo Suarez is there, and the gang of rebels parts to allow him to pass. Jack and Baker get out of the van.
"Alto!!" several of the Chicanos shout raising their guns and surrounding them. "Hands in the air."
"We were given permission to…."
"Cajate! Shut up!" a rebel shouts. They frisk the two men very roughly and then ransack the interior of the news van. "Esta bien, they're clean," he replies to Domingo who nods.
Domingo waves his AK-47 violently at the news van. "Vamos! Get out! Ahora!" The van quickly drives away its tires squealing on the slick roadway. There are fires burning in the distance and the crackle of gunfire.
"Australia, Mr. Clayton, si?"
"That's correct," Jack replies in a fake Aussie accent. "Brisbane News Courier. It was just luck we were closeby, actually in Yosemite doing an environmental story, when this broke."
"Hopefully your people will see our struggle," Domingo says, "And you," he says at Baker thinking he is a South Korean journalist. "Your people have chosen the wrong friends, you will see when we rip America apart."
"Forgive me for being direct," Baker says feigning his story, "But the Communists tortured and killed my grandfather in a labor camp."
"Some things you never understand, mi amigo," Domingo says, "But there is a reason it happened, I know it. Estoy seguro de esto."
PENTAGON
"Mr. President," General Bernstein says as yet another briefing begins.
"General, so what's the confirmation?"
"It's true, sir. Three of the Mexican Mirage fighters crossed into Arizona and one was shot down just north of the town of Bisbee. They fired missiles at a U.S. air defense site, an Arizona Air National Guard facility just outside Tempe. It's clear the intentions of the coup forces are violent and hostile. Which is why I am recommending a new response."
"This also follows my assessment, Mr. President," Brittany says nodding to Bernstein. "This response is unconventional and irreversible, but we believe that current developments in the Mexican theater warrant it."
Heller looks concerned. "What are you proposing, Brittany, General?"
Bernstein takes a laser pointer to draw attention to the Mexican forces deployed on the entire U.S. border as part of the operation by Biancos to stop a mass crossing by the leftists. "Mr. President, we now have five entire combat battalions of the Mexican Army arrayed on America's borders. CTU has mounting evidence that Cienfuegos and his people planned everything today, from manipulating the USDF into attacking their own consulate, the execution of Consul Fuentes and the uprising by the Hijos de Aztlan."
There is silence around the room and Bernstein breaks it. "Every single tragedy that took place today has been an act of war by Cienfuego's regime against the United States, launching terrorist attacks against our people, promoting sedition, treason, and secession among the Chicano population. We have come to believe that Cienfuegos's regime has direct territorial designs against our country. The threat is imminent. After careful consideration with the Joint Chiefs and your chief advisor, we recommend that battle plans be drawn up against…"
"What?" Heller almost spits out his words. "You are advocating an invasion?? This is unprecedented in…."
"It's not unprecented, sir," Brittany says, "In 1967, the Muslim armies amassed on the borders of Israel and the Israelis launched a preemptive strike, preserving their nation."
"That's correct, Mr. President," Bernstein says, "If we act now, events will transpire on our terms."
"This is crazy," Heller says, McDaniels not even needing to talk, "There's no way the Mexicans are planning to INVADE the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!"
"It's not so crazy if they have other countries behind them," Vice President Ricardo-Sanchez says, conceding partially. "We still don't know the full extent of Iranian and Chinese involvement, particularly China, which has long harbored hostile intent toward this nation and what happened down there was a textbook coup straight from the Cold War."
"No, this is preposterous," Heller thunders, getting up. "I am NOT going to order an American attack on Mexico."
"With all due respect, Mr. President," Bernstein says, "Our response would be justified even as retaliation for the terrorism and sedition the Mexicans sponsored…"
"Our response will be in kind," Heller says, "And this is final. I've made my decision."
Split screens show Brittany, Bernstein, and Pete with suspicious looks on their faces.
SANTA MONICA STREETS
Jack and Baker crouch behind some cars and mailboxes as Domingo and his men open fire against U.S. soldiers. "Aqui!" Domingo orders and then radios Rodrigo. "The ambush is set….si, I'll talk to you later."
"Rodrigo and his men are converging on Santa Monica too," Domingo says, "We're going to meet up in the middle and clean the house." He then orders his men to prepare IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and unload more RPGs.
"We are going to attack a high-level target of the occupational government," Domingo says.
Jack hides his shock as does Baker. "It's going to be heavily defended."
"I have enough men," Domingo replies with a crazed look. "Now matter how many I lose, there will always be more ready to die for Aztlan."
CTU
"That's gotta be Division, located along where Santa Monica Boulevard meets the ocean." Chloe says into Jack's earpiece. "Bill Buchanan's still in there. His people are still decoding all the data from this morning."
"Whoever's cooperating with the Chicanos must be feeding them that info," Craig decides, "They want to protect whoever the data incriminates. What are their chances?"
"There are at least three bands of Chicano insurgents and they're mining the roads and setting up snipers nests and ambush points, in addition to looting and burning the area."
SANTA MONICA STREETS /UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
"Senor Suarez," Jack asks in his Australian accent, preparing to be a reporter. "My country is also facing a serious problem with illegal immigration, mostly from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. There are fears that your rebellion will embolden them, especially with the riots we've seen in Cronulla Beach…"
"In fact I hope our actions inspire them and other oppressed around the world," Domingo replies, still brandishing his guns. "Australia, like America, is a racist country build on the rape and pillage of the natives and one day, your own history will…"
Domingo's phone rings and it is Graham.
"Who are you those men with your unit?" Graham asks.
"They're reporters embedded with our unit from Australia and South Korea," Domingo replies. "They will tell the world about our bravery and determination."
Graham goes to a different workstation and brings up a feed from CTU then plays back the past hour's recording from CTU being flagged for certain words, including "embed" and "Australia".
"I will tell you who they really are, Domingo," Graham says.
The screen splits and we see Jack and Baker in one screen, Pete and Brittany leaving the room together in another, Bill Buchanan in his office in a third, and President Biancos near the escape pod in the fourth.
Domingo hangs up the phone and walks toward Jack.
"So, Jack Bauer," he says. "Smart." Domingo takes out his gun. At that moment Jack takes a hidden vial and cracks it on the pavement and tear gas explodes from it, Jack and Baker fleeing. Tracers of gunfire appear and Jack returns fire, killing several of Domingo's men.
"Dammit, our cover's blown," Jack says.
"How close are you to Division?" Chalker asks.
"A few blocks," Jack says fleeing down an alleyway with Baker. Two more Chicanos appear behind them and open fire along with three from the front end of the alley on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Jack ducks behind a dumpster and Baker into a basement stairwell. The two groups of Chicanos fire down the alley and hit each other, three of the falling dead. Jack and Baker burst from their hiding places and fire down the alley, killing the others.
PENTAGON
"I can NOT believe he disregarded my advice in such a fashion," Bernstein says going down the hallway in the Pentagon's E-Ring with Brittany and Pete following him.
"Heller means well but today is NOT an ordinary day," Brittany says. "With every minute that passes, our enemies grow stronger and our element of surprise lessens."
"There's only one way," Pete the Vice President says. "Jack Bauer. Today we need him to help start a war instead of prevent one."
……11:00 PM