24- Season 4
Date: July 4, 2004 Start Time: 3:00 AM
The following takes place between 3 AM and 4 AM.
LOCATION: CTU, Counter-Terrorist Unit WEATHER: Calm wind, nighttime.
(Kim Bauer sits at her station, impatiently, as she awaits word from Tony Almeida about her dad, Jack Bauer. Her partner, Adam, glances over at her a few times without saying anything. After a long time of waiting, he finally says something to her.)
ADAM: Kim?
(Kim looks over at him.)
ADAM: You okay?
(Kim sighs, and then answers him.)
KIM: Yeah, Adam. I'm fine. Thanks.
ADAM: Okay, just wondering.
(Chloe O'Brien, another employee at CTU, is typing at her desk when a message on her screen alerts her about a new e-mail. She waits for a moment, unsurely, and then she clicks on it.) A window with all of her emails shows up, and then the e-mail appears on the screen.)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
In approximately 45 minutes, a virus will slowly begin to eat away at the files belonging to a number of government agencies, FBI, CIA, CTU, NSA, and the White House. The only way to stop this from happening is to call the number below and follow all of the instructions given. This message is no personal threat to you or any one of your co- workers. This is just simple payback for a life of hell that CTU burdened me with.
CALL THIS NUMBER: 555-7431
END OF FILE (Immediately after reading the email, Chloe quickly picks up the phone and presses a number on speed dial. Tony's phone in his office then rings, and he answers it.)
TONY: Almeida.
(Chloe's voice seems very worried.)
CHLOE: Did you just get an e-mail, Tony?
TONY: What?
CHLOE: Tony, just answer me. Did you just get an e-mail?
TONY: No.
(Tony waits a moment.)
CHLOE: I'm forwarding it to your monitor now.
(Chloe types something on her computer then clicks SEND on the e-mail. The e-mail then shows up on Tony's screen. Tony looks down at Chloe, who gets up and walks away from her desk.)
LOCATION: Unknown
03:06:35
(Michael Amador is still in the basement talking with the men from other countries.)
AMADOR: And you get all of this, if you can afford it.
(The representative from Vietnam stands up and questions Amador.)
VIETNAM: How can we be sure of this? What if this technology fails? Would you be willing to suffer the consequences of failure?
(A cold look falls upon Amador's face.)
AMADOR: It won't.
(The Vietnamese man sits down.)
AMADOR: I can guarantee you the power to multiply your country's oil supply, effectively making you a very rich country. Without any flaws. (His eyes shoot towards the Asian and give him a cold look.) I'm sure a country like Yemen would appreciate this offer. (He then looks at the Yemen representative. He then stands up.)
YEMEN: This does not make sense though, why do it? What do you get from it?
AMADOR: What does any man with money want? More money. I will start the bidding at one-hundred million dollars. And once the deal is made, it is final. You then do what you need to if you want it. I'm sure some countries would do whatever it takes. (Smiles Weakly.)
03:12:46
LOCATION: CTU
03:18:13
(Tony leaves his office and stand on the landing at the top of the stairs. He puts his hands on the rail, leans forward and takes a deep breath. He then yells to get everyone's attention.)
TONY: Can I have everyone's attention please? Can I get your attention?
(Everyone pauses at their workstations and looks up at Tony.)
TONY: Okay. I need all files backed up and locked down immediately. Everyone has to be on this; it has to get done as soon as possible. Thank you.
(When Tony gets done talking, Chloe looks up at him. She then follows him into his office.)
CHLOE: What are you doing?
TONY: You read the letter didn't you?
CHLOE: But you don't know anything about this. It could just be junk mail or a bluff of some sort.
TONY: Well, once you've worked here as long as me you'll learn that you always expect the worse scenario.
CHLOE: But you're putting CTU on standby! It's July 4. If something were to happen today it would take forever to get everything fully operational again!!
TONY: Watch it, Chloe!! I know exactly what I am doing. That's a risk we are going to have to take. That letter could mean everything.
CHLOE: Or nothing.
(Tony walks behind his desk, sits down and starts writing. He then talks to Chloe without lifting his head.)
TONY: I need those files backed up Chloe.
CHLOE: But—
TONY: Now.
LOCATION: Washington, D.C.
03:22:45
(The Man infiltrating the White House opens a window and crawls into an office in the West Wing. He goes up to the desk and sits in front of a computer. He opens up a window of emails and clicks on one that says "New Activation Code". Then he takes out his cell phone and calls the mystery woman he was talking to earlier.)
MAN: Ok, I'm in.
VOICE: About time.
MAN: Yeah, but it's gonna take a while to decode the message.
VOICE: What?
MAN: The code is actually in the email, but it's encrypted to prevent people like you from getting into it. Luckily, we're working from the inside.
VOICE: How long will it take?
MAN: I dunno. Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.
VOICE: Ok, hold on...
MAN: What?
VOICE: Dammit, I'm getting a video feed from the hallway camera. There's security headed your way. Looks like the president's main agent from what I can see of his face.
MAN: Aaron.
VOICE: Take care of him. Anything he knows can be used against us. Anything. MAN: Gotcha.
VOICE: And James, be careful.
(James hangs up the phone and puts it back in his jacket, which he then takes off and puts on the back of the chair. The ID tag on his suit says Bourne, J. The sign on the desk he's using has the same name.)
JAMES: Showtime.
(Aaron walks down the hallway and stops to look at James' door. He then slowly opens it and walks in. When he does, James opens a drawer to his desk and takes out a stun gun. He puts it on his desk and stands up to greet Aaron.)
AARON: Mr. Bourne, I didn't realize you were here.
JAMES: Please, call me James. I checked in about twenty minutes ago. It's on the record.
AARON: What exactly are you doing here so early, anyway?
JAMES: I needed to get some more security stuff done before the morning. Of course, I am Head of Security of the White House.
AARON: (Smiles.) Of course. You can get back to work now.
JAMES: Thank you.
(Aaron turns around to walk out and James follows him, picking up the stun gun on his desk. Right before Aaron reaches the doorway, James grabs him into a chokehold from behind. He then takes the gun, thrusts it into Aarons back, and fires it. Once he is sure Aaron is out, he slowly drops his body to the floor and catches his breath.)
03:30:56
LOCATION: CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia
03:36:34
(Jack is seated at a table in a conference room with four other men. Sitting Next to him is Chase. Across from them are two other agents. Gael Ortega is in the front of the room debriefing them. On the screen behind him the profile of an agent shows up.)
GAEL: This man is Kyle Bates. He is an agent sent from MI5 to help with security.
CHASE: MI5? What's going on?
(The agent sitting across from Jack then speaks.)
AGENT 1: Why bring London?
GAEL: Why bring Jack?
(Jack stands up and moves to the front of the room. Gael hands him the remote to control the screen and sits down.)
Jack: This is Michael Amador.
(He pushes a button to changes slides. Amador's profile then appears on the screen.)
JACK: Amador escaped from prison 3 months ago with the help of ex-MI6 Agent Michael Bradford, who was thought dead after a failed mission. Amador then killed Bradford to cover his tracks.
AGENT 2: He did what?
JACK: Amador and Bradford worked as partners when he left jail. Bradford had men posted all over Europe and, naturally, Amador feared being discovered. He wanted to leave, But Bradford wouldn't let him, and so he set him up and killed him.
(Gael's cell phone rings and interrupts Jack. Gael sees who is calling, then gets up and leaves the room. Once he is outside the room, he answers. Tony is on the other end.)
GAEL: Ortega.
TONY: Gael, we just received a threat e-mail from an anonymous person who claims to be an ex-agent of CTU. I need you to find out where it was sent from.
GAEL: I'm in a meeting, why can't you get someone on it?
TONY: I've shut down CTU for the time being.
GAEL: What?
TONY: I don't have time to explain now, but we need to do all of our work from the outside.
GAEL: Okay, forward the e-mail to Ralken and—
TONY: I can't do that. The sender is watching the all the major agencies. When I say we need to work from the outside, I literally mean the outside.
(Gael pauses for a moment then looks around nervously and sighs.)
GAEL: I'll get one of our informants on it.
TONY: Okay thanks. Once we find out who sent this we can get moving, but we're stuck until we do. Hurry.
GAEL: Got it.
(Tony hangs up and Gael opens a speed dial menu on his phone. He chooses a number then put the phone to his ear. Gael begins to walk down the hallway and goes into a conference room where he can be alone.)
GAEL: Wesley. It's me.
WESLEY: Hey, Gael! Long time, no talk, buddy.
GAEL: Yeah, I need some help.
WESLEY: Of course you do.
GAEL: I need you to check the most recent e-mail received by CTU. I need to know where it came from.
WESLEY: One sec, lemme check.
GAEL: It's not that easy. CTU's on standby so all of their files are locked down tight.
WESLEY: Damn. Well in that case, I'll have to get back to you on that, I'm busy decoding a—
GAEL: No. I need it done now. We don't have any time.
WESLEY: (Sighs.) Okay, sure. I'll cal you once I get somewhere.
GAEL: Thanks.
(Gael hangs up and leaves the room, looking around cautiously. He walks back down the hall and returns to the meeting.)
LOCATION: CTU
03:44:35
(Tony is sitting at his desk when he picks up the phone and dials a number that is written on a piece of paper. The name next to the number reads Wayne Palmer. He dials the number and then Wayne, who is on a plane headed back to D.C., answers his cell phone.)
WAYNE: Hello, Wayne Palmer.
TONY: Mr. Palmer, This is Tony Almeida. Sorry to bother you, but I need to tell you something important. We received an e-mail threatening the security of the White House.
WAYNE: What?
TONY: I need to make sure nothing happens, but I can't just give the order to shut down all systems there. All I need you to do is watch it carefully.
WAYNE: Okay. I'll notify Aaron.
TONY: Thank you.
WAYNE: I should be back within the next two hours.
TONY: I'll check back with you then.
03:48:20
Date: July 4, 2004 Start Time: 3:00 AM
The following takes place between 3 AM and 4 AM.
LOCATION: CTU, Counter-Terrorist Unit WEATHER: Calm wind, nighttime.
(Kim Bauer sits at her station, impatiently, as she awaits word from Tony Almeida about her dad, Jack Bauer. Her partner, Adam, glances over at her a few times without saying anything. After a long time of waiting, he finally says something to her.)
ADAM: Kim?
(Kim looks over at him.)
ADAM: You okay?
(Kim sighs, and then answers him.)
KIM: Yeah, Adam. I'm fine. Thanks.
ADAM: Okay, just wondering.
(Chloe O'Brien, another employee at CTU, is typing at her desk when a message on her screen alerts her about a new e-mail. She waits for a moment, unsurely, and then she clicks on it.) A window with all of her emails shows up, and then the e-mail appears on the screen.)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
In approximately 45 minutes, a virus will slowly begin to eat away at the files belonging to a number of government agencies, FBI, CIA, CTU, NSA, and the White House. The only way to stop this from happening is to call the number below and follow all of the instructions given. This message is no personal threat to you or any one of your co- workers. This is just simple payback for a life of hell that CTU burdened me with.
CALL THIS NUMBER: 555-7431
END OF FILE (Immediately after reading the email, Chloe quickly picks up the phone and presses a number on speed dial. Tony's phone in his office then rings, and he answers it.)
TONY: Almeida.
(Chloe's voice seems very worried.)
CHLOE: Did you just get an e-mail, Tony?
TONY: What?
CHLOE: Tony, just answer me. Did you just get an e-mail?
TONY: No.
(Tony waits a moment.)
CHLOE: I'm forwarding it to your monitor now.
(Chloe types something on her computer then clicks SEND on the e-mail. The e-mail then shows up on Tony's screen. Tony looks down at Chloe, who gets up and walks away from her desk.)
LOCATION: Unknown
03:06:35
(Michael Amador is still in the basement talking with the men from other countries.)
AMADOR: And you get all of this, if you can afford it.
(The representative from Vietnam stands up and questions Amador.)
VIETNAM: How can we be sure of this? What if this technology fails? Would you be willing to suffer the consequences of failure?
(A cold look falls upon Amador's face.)
AMADOR: It won't.
(The Vietnamese man sits down.)
AMADOR: I can guarantee you the power to multiply your country's oil supply, effectively making you a very rich country. Without any flaws. (His eyes shoot towards the Asian and give him a cold look.) I'm sure a country like Yemen would appreciate this offer. (He then looks at the Yemen representative. He then stands up.)
YEMEN: This does not make sense though, why do it? What do you get from it?
AMADOR: What does any man with money want? More money. I will start the bidding at one-hundred million dollars. And once the deal is made, it is final. You then do what you need to if you want it. I'm sure some countries would do whatever it takes. (Smiles Weakly.)
03:12:46
LOCATION: CTU
03:18:13
(Tony leaves his office and stand on the landing at the top of the stairs. He puts his hands on the rail, leans forward and takes a deep breath. He then yells to get everyone's attention.)
TONY: Can I have everyone's attention please? Can I get your attention?
(Everyone pauses at their workstations and looks up at Tony.)
TONY: Okay. I need all files backed up and locked down immediately. Everyone has to be on this; it has to get done as soon as possible. Thank you.
(When Tony gets done talking, Chloe looks up at him. She then follows him into his office.)
CHLOE: What are you doing?
TONY: You read the letter didn't you?
CHLOE: But you don't know anything about this. It could just be junk mail or a bluff of some sort.
TONY: Well, once you've worked here as long as me you'll learn that you always expect the worse scenario.
CHLOE: But you're putting CTU on standby! It's July 4. If something were to happen today it would take forever to get everything fully operational again!!
TONY: Watch it, Chloe!! I know exactly what I am doing. That's a risk we are going to have to take. That letter could mean everything.
CHLOE: Or nothing.
(Tony walks behind his desk, sits down and starts writing. He then talks to Chloe without lifting his head.)
TONY: I need those files backed up Chloe.
CHLOE: But—
TONY: Now.
LOCATION: Washington, D.C.
03:22:45
(The Man infiltrating the White House opens a window and crawls into an office in the West Wing. He goes up to the desk and sits in front of a computer. He opens up a window of emails and clicks on one that says "New Activation Code". Then he takes out his cell phone and calls the mystery woman he was talking to earlier.)
MAN: Ok, I'm in.
VOICE: About time.
MAN: Yeah, but it's gonna take a while to decode the message.
VOICE: What?
MAN: The code is actually in the email, but it's encrypted to prevent people like you from getting into it. Luckily, we're working from the inside.
VOICE: How long will it take?
MAN: I dunno. Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.
VOICE: Ok, hold on...
MAN: What?
VOICE: Dammit, I'm getting a video feed from the hallway camera. There's security headed your way. Looks like the president's main agent from what I can see of his face.
MAN: Aaron.
VOICE: Take care of him. Anything he knows can be used against us. Anything. MAN: Gotcha.
VOICE: And James, be careful.
(James hangs up the phone and puts it back in his jacket, which he then takes off and puts on the back of the chair. The ID tag on his suit says Bourne, J. The sign on the desk he's using has the same name.)
JAMES: Showtime.
(Aaron walks down the hallway and stops to look at James' door. He then slowly opens it and walks in. When he does, James opens a drawer to his desk and takes out a stun gun. He puts it on his desk and stands up to greet Aaron.)
AARON: Mr. Bourne, I didn't realize you were here.
JAMES: Please, call me James. I checked in about twenty minutes ago. It's on the record.
AARON: What exactly are you doing here so early, anyway?
JAMES: I needed to get some more security stuff done before the morning. Of course, I am Head of Security of the White House.
AARON: (Smiles.) Of course. You can get back to work now.
JAMES: Thank you.
(Aaron turns around to walk out and James follows him, picking up the stun gun on his desk. Right before Aaron reaches the doorway, James grabs him into a chokehold from behind. He then takes the gun, thrusts it into Aarons back, and fires it. Once he is sure Aaron is out, he slowly drops his body to the floor and catches his breath.)
03:30:56
LOCATION: CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia
03:36:34
(Jack is seated at a table in a conference room with four other men. Sitting Next to him is Chase. Across from them are two other agents. Gael Ortega is in the front of the room debriefing them. On the screen behind him the profile of an agent shows up.)
GAEL: This man is Kyle Bates. He is an agent sent from MI5 to help with security.
CHASE: MI5? What's going on?
(The agent sitting across from Jack then speaks.)
AGENT 1: Why bring London?
GAEL: Why bring Jack?
(Jack stands up and moves to the front of the room. Gael hands him the remote to control the screen and sits down.)
Jack: This is Michael Amador.
(He pushes a button to changes slides. Amador's profile then appears on the screen.)
JACK: Amador escaped from prison 3 months ago with the help of ex-MI6 Agent Michael Bradford, who was thought dead after a failed mission. Amador then killed Bradford to cover his tracks.
AGENT 2: He did what?
JACK: Amador and Bradford worked as partners when he left jail. Bradford had men posted all over Europe and, naturally, Amador feared being discovered. He wanted to leave, But Bradford wouldn't let him, and so he set him up and killed him.
(Gael's cell phone rings and interrupts Jack. Gael sees who is calling, then gets up and leaves the room. Once he is outside the room, he answers. Tony is on the other end.)
GAEL: Ortega.
TONY: Gael, we just received a threat e-mail from an anonymous person who claims to be an ex-agent of CTU. I need you to find out where it was sent from.
GAEL: I'm in a meeting, why can't you get someone on it?
TONY: I've shut down CTU for the time being.
GAEL: What?
TONY: I don't have time to explain now, but we need to do all of our work from the outside.
GAEL: Okay, forward the e-mail to Ralken and—
TONY: I can't do that. The sender is watching the all the major agencies. When I say we need to work from the outside, I literally mean the outside.
(Gael pauses for a moment then looks around nervously and sighs.)
GAEL: I'll get one of our informants on it.
TONY: Okay thanks. Once we find out who sent this we can get moving, but we're stuck until we do. Hurry.
GAEL: Got it.
(Tony hangs up and Gael opens a speed dial menu on his phone. He chooses a number then put the phone to his ear. Gael begins to walk down the hallway and goes into a conference room where he can be alone.)
GAEL: Wesley. It's me.
WESLEY: Hey, Gael! Long time, no talk, buddy.
GAEL: Yeah, I need some help.
WESLEY: Of course you do.
GAEL: I need you to check the most recent e-mail received by CTU. I need to know where it came from.
WESLEY: One sec, lemme check.
GAEL: It's not that easy. CTU's on standby so all of their files are locked down tight.
WESLEY: Damn. Well in that case, I'll have to get back to you on that, I'm busy decoding a—
GAEL: No. I need it done now. We don't have any time.
WESLEY: (Sighs.) Okay, sure. I'll cal you once I get somewhere.
GAEL: Thanks.
(Gael hangs up and leaves the room, looking around cautiously. He walks back down the hall and returns to the meeting.)
LOCATION: CTU
03:44:35
(Tony is sitting at his desk when he picks up the phone and dials a number that is written on a piece of paper. The name next to the number reads Wayne Palmer. He dials the number and then Wayne, who is on a plane headed back to D.C., answers his cell phone.)
WAYNE: Hello, Wayne Palmer.
TONY: Mr. Palmer, This is Tony Almeida. Sorry to bother you, but I need to tell you something important. We received an e-mail threatening the security of the White House.
WAYNE: What?
TONY: I need to make sure nothing happens, but I can't just give the order to shut down all systems there. All I need you to do is watch it carefully.
WAYNE: Okay. I'll notify Aaron.
TONY: Thank you.
WAYNE: I should be back within the next two hours.
TONY: I'll check back with you then.
03:48:20