The following takes place between 1 am and 2 am

01:00:01 --- 01:00:02 --- 01:00:03 --- 01:00:04

George's Office
"Come on, Jack, what do you think you're doing? Disobeying orders is one thing, waving a gun around is another and doing it not too long after your wife's death doesn't look good."

Jack's demeanor tells George it's not time to play games. He probably shouldn't be playing since the man has a gun pointed at him.

George sighs heavily as he puts his head in his hands, then faces Jack. "I don't know who it is. But I know they have Michael and are threatening to kill him. I did some checking and I know that you sent Michael with Lisa. Where was Lisa going, Jack? She was going to find Kim. So what are the odds that these men grabbed Michael without knowing where Lisa is? Huh? Tell me that! You ask me who I'm working for?" He pauses. "Right now, I'm working for you. The longer Michael stays alive, the longer these people are willing to negotiate."

George is right. Whoever got to Michael is probably after Lisa and Kim as well. The news are very alarming to Jack. But Jack doesn't let the worry show. He has to finish this up first. He eyes George carefully. He doesn't touch the gun on the desk, but only glances at it briefly, but yet long enough to make his point. Then he glares at George again.

"It doesn't look like they're negotiating with you, George." This sounds exactly like the situation he has been in this morning. "What do they want you to do besides keep me out of CTU?"

the road
In a matter of seconds, Lisa and Kim are pulled out of the car, tied up and thrown into the back seat of the car. John moves to the front seat and the car drives off again.

In the trunk, Michael is awake. He has carried a laceration from the crash and it's bleeding. He hears female voices from the inside of the car. Could it be Lisa? And is that Kim?

CTU - IT
"Look, we'll only be a minute. Rich tells Catherine."

"Yeah. Whatever." Catherine is bored. To Jennie: "Look, I didn't come to work today to be babysitted. You gave him clearance, I was here, I don't feel like waiting around. I'm outta here. He doesn't need us standing around here waiting."

"No, I don't think so." Jennie jumps infront of Catherine. "We have to have your ID and thumbprint to finalize clearance codes. You know we can't just send them to your system. As soon as Rich is ready, he'll let you know. Until then, we wait. Here. What's the big deal? I'm running back up. It's not like you're going to be fired."

"Yeah like hell I'm not! And you're gonna swallow my job as well like you did back then and get paid twice what you get now. Good plan."

Catherine glares at Jennie for a while, then, since Jennie won't move out of her way, she turns around with a loud sigh and heads back to Rich. "You wanna wait. Fine. We'll wait." She checks her watch. "Damn, won't this day ever end?"

outside the Miramar compound
Nick and Mick are heading up two teams, that are closing in on the compound, but still are far enough not to be noticed from the inside. Noiselessly, they move across the ground, getting into position.

inside
Karen is now being led down the hall by the RAdm, cuffed, but grinning.

"I'm moving the prisoner. Direct orders from the Admiral.", he tells the guard.

"Yes Sir.", the guard at the compound door answers. He wouldn't dare question his authority. As they reach a dark area surrounded by the trees, he uncuffs her and hands her a package and her weapons. "Twenty minutes. East exit."

"I'll be there.", Karen replies.

"Of course you will." He turns around and disappears in the coppice.

George's office

"You don't know everything, Jack.", George sighs. But neither does he. There hasn't been another phone call for a while and he has no indication there will be. "They want the Miramar mission stopped. No one goes into the naval base. You see what's going on here?"

George leans forward, "The day starts with me being left out then suddenly I've got agents in danger, threats being made, and I'm still left out. Now why did I just send orders to have the Miramar team stand down? Because it's done. Just as you walked in I transmitted the orders."

"WHAT!" Jack is bewildered. "You're calling it off? George you can't do that, we're about to close in on the Petrovs."
And then it hits him. "But of course they knew that. How did they find out about the mission in the first place?"

Jack and George stare at each other for a second, they both know they're having the same thought. "Catherine." Jack picks up George's phone and dials downstairs. "Tony. Bring Catherine up to George's office. Now."

"Jack's asking for Catherine." Tony whispers to Michelle before heading to IT. They both know this isn't good.

The Road
Kim is crying loud enough to irritate the men in the car. "Shh," Lisa tries to calm her down but it fails to work - not that she is doing any better.

"I'm a Federal Agent, you've committed a federal crime. You let us out now and we'll work out a deal, okay? You won't gain anything by taking us!" Lisa squirms so that her feet are propped against the back of the driver's seat and begins to kick forcefully. "STOP THE CAR! STOP NOW!"

Lisa can't do this on her own. Kim turns her crying into ear piercing screams. She was in a police car this morning, she'll do what she did. Turning around in the seat, she pounds her feet against the window sending sharp pain shooting through her ankle. But there's a crack. She pounds again. And again. Suddenly the window shatters.

John turns around pointing the gun at Kim but calmly looking at Lisa. "Stop it, both of you. Now. You're a Federal Agent, you'll do as you're told or Kimberley gets a bullet in her head. I don't think that's what you want, is it?"

Kim is very still and stares at the gun pointed at her. Everything in the car seems to be on hold. Even Lisa.

Lisa brings her feet back down to the floor. She is not in a position to dare this man to try anything. Not yet. She watches him very carefully and tries to pay attention to his placement of the gun. "What are you going to do? You can't get a ransom paid for federal agents. The government doesn't negotiate."

"That's right. The government doesn't negotiate. People negotiate. And most importantly, people do what they're told to do if you have the right cards in your hand. Besides, I'm sure you know this isn't about ransom. Now be two good girls and just sit tight."

John sighs. They should have just picked up Kim and gotten rid of this woman before...

CTU - IT
A knock at the door catches Jennie's attention. Tony pulls her out after she opens it. "How much has been done in here?"

Jennie shakes her head, "Um...we're updating her clearance codes but nothing more. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you but you've been a great help. Go back to your desk and don't say anything to anyone. Take over Catherine's work, okay?", he whispers.

Tony enters the IT room, "Hey, Rich, can you give us a minute?" After Rich exits, Tony doesn't smile when he addresses Catherine. "George has a problem with one of his directories and he wants you to get into it for him. He said you knew the passcode and it was urgent."

Catherine is suspecting this isn't about the passcodes. George would never get her to do it, he'd ask someone with more experience. She was just a rookie... "Well why don't he get that lil bitch over there to do it, I'm sure she'd be glad to suck up some more."

Car

Lisa decides that she needs to try and get Kim out. "Alright, you want to negotiate with people?" Lisa glances at Kim, "Let her go. You don't need her, just pull over and let her out. You don't even have to untie her arms, just her legs so she can walk." Silence. "Hey! I'm talking to you! You want to negotiate! Here I am! Or... don't you have a plan?"

Listening to Lisa it's easy for Kim to understand how her dad could work with this woman. They don't give up. As unbelievable as it seems, she is glad to be in this position with Lisa.

John glances towards the back and grins. "A plan? Uhm... let me see. We've just kidnapped two government agents and the daughter of the only man who can cross our intentions. But no, I don't think we have a plan."

He laughs hysterically. "Okay, I'll admit, you and your colleague weren't intended to come along for the ride, but as it turns out, it worked even better for us. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a call."

Two government agents? Lisa immediately understands they've got Michael, too. So she was right to leave the hospital immediately. They must have followed her to Kim. She curses herself for not being more careful.

CTU IT
"He didn't ask for Jennie, he asked for you. Come on, the boss asks you to do something, you do it." Tony takes her arm, "Rich will wait to finish the codes but George won't. You don't want to get fired do you?" He edges her out the door but he can feel her holding back.

"Fine." Catherine furrows her brow, but follows Tony to the main office, then walks upstairs to George's office. Opening the door, she's shocked to see Jack inside and starts backing off, but finds that Tony is still behind her and there's nowhere to run.

"What is Jack doing here? This isn't about the codes, is it George? I guess we can cut the Mr. Mason crap now, right?"

"Tony, stay by the door and keep it shut." George walks up to Catherine, "You've been quite the busy one today, haven't you? Running back up, doing cross-checks for us... Tell me, Catherine. Who has Michael and why do they want Jack off the case? Don't even try to say you don't know anything because we know you do. We have phone logs and security camera footage that proves it! So talk!" He knows Jack knows he's lying. But maybe he can pull the bluff with her.

"No, no, you have nothing on me... You can't." Her mind is racing. She's been so careful, they can't have anything. "I've done nothing wrong."

"We're running out of time here, Catherine." Jack pushes himself between her and George. "Catherine. Help us stop these guys, I'll help you cut a deal."

"You don't even work here any more, Jack. You don't have that kind of power."

"Of course I do."

"Forget it Jack. I talk, they'll kill me."

Car

Lisa edges across the seat to Kim. "You're going to be okay. Just stay quiet and calm like you have been."

Kim barely looks at her, "You think this is calm? These guys are going to kill us. I've been in situations like this before. They don't care."

"Right now we have to think differently." Lisa pointedly addresses the man now on the phone. "Let me guess... calling the boss? That means you have to take orders from someone? Wow. How sad."

John sighs. He's visibly annoyed by Lisa's chatter. "Shut up... You're starting to get on my nerves. I take orders. You take orders. And we're calling your boss right now."

George's office / Car
The phone rings. Catherine is startled, Jack and George exchange glances.

From his cell phone, Jack calls up Michelle to set up a trace quickly. When she's done, he nods at George to pick up. "Go ahead."

George answers quickly, "George Mason."

Her boss... George... Lisa yells as loud as she can, "George! Two men!" Bill pulls the car over quickly as she screams. There's no telling what's going to happen next.

George looks directly at Jack as he hears Lisa's voice mixed with the sounds of squealing tires. "Let me guess," George attempts to remain calm and focused like he would tell his agents to do, "you have new demands?" While speaking, he jots down a note and passes it to Jack: Lisa.

Lisa? Jack is suddenly panic-stricken. If they have Lisa, they have Kim again as well. This was much worse than he thought.

Miramar, San Diego
Karen is waiting by the east exit, hidden between the trees. After a while, the Rear Admiral shows up. "Annabelle.", he utters silently.

She walks out of the hiding. "I'm here."

"Are the charges in place?"

"Of course. Everything is ready."

"Good. Let's go."

The RAdm leads her through the bushes until they get to a small military vehicle, covered from view. She lifts the back seat and reveals a big enough space for her to hide in. When she's in, he drives off towards the gate.

car / CTU
Bill gets out of the car and walks over to the trunk. He opens it. Michael's awake, but feeble and on the verge of passing out. There's a streak of blood across his face from the laceration, and the air inside the trunk has been scarce. "Get out.", he is ordered, but he doesn't move. Whether he can't or won't is not completely clear.

John: "Mr. Mason, the mission is under way again. What happened, did Bauer get to you?.."

John doesn't give George time to reply, it is as if he knows what's going on. He gets out of the car and walks to the back. In the meantime, Bill pulls Michael out of the trunk and forces him down on his knees.

John keeps talking as he approaches Michael and Bill. "...in which case, you would have violated both of our agreements and I have no choice but to show you how serious we are about our demands."

Michael knows this is the end. He closes his eyes as he feels the gun barrel touching his head.

Jack can hardly manage not to scream when two shots are heard through the telephone. Although he's trying not to show it, his mind is racing. What have they done? What have they done!

With his foot, Bill turns Michael's body over, to make sure he's dead. Moving away from Michael's corpse, the two guys head back to the car. John speaks to George again.

"Now there's only the two girls left. Don't make me have to repeat myself."

As the shots ring out, Kim squeezes her eyes shut and buries her head in her knees. Who did they shoot? Who was in the trunk? "What are we going to do!", she whispers to Lisa.

Lisa has just enough time to glance behind her and see Michael fall. The men are coming back. She won't have time to react to anything. "We're not going to do anything. You're going to simply stay quiet and let me do the talking, okay? Don't do anything else, don't say anything else. If I don't get out, I don't care." She looks hard at Kim. "Focus on staying alive."

As the men enter the car, Lisa and Kim are quiet though Kim is still crying softly. "They need to know we're okay," Lisa states calmly, "Let us each say something."

George's office
"No! NO! NO!" George slams his fist onto the desk. "You didn't have to do that! I assume the mission is continuing because the orders didn't get to the leaders on time! You didn't even give me a chance to respond!"

Still by the door and feeling like an outsider, Tony is watching these two men and Catherine. Their reactions are hard to judge but one thing is clear - nothing is going as expected.

"You want Bauer off the case? Well, I want something in return. Bauer is removed permanently once I speak directly to both of your hostages. If I don't, he stays and the mission goes forward. You have one minute."

George slams down the phone then faces the incredulous looks of the individuals in his office. "We can't play their games forever."

"What are you doing George! That's my daughter out there!" The words sputter out before he can think them through.

But he suddenly realizes George is right and gives in. "Come to think of it, I probably would have done the same thing. You can't let them have the power for too long... They'll call back." He hopes. He motions for Tony to come inside.

Jack gives a call to Michelle. "Did you get anything?"

"No, it's a scrambled cell."

"Dammit... Okay, thanks." Jack hangs up. The President had told him so, but it was at least worth a try.

Gun in hand again, Jack now faces Catherine, giving her a menacing look and speaking straight to her face: "Catherine, I wanna know right now what these people are up to and don't give me any more excuses."

"Jack, you don't know them, they'll kill me-"

"Right now, they should be the least of your worries. I'm here, they're not. Whoever it is you're working for, they are holding my daughter hostage and unless you start talking right now, I'll kill you myself."

Catherine glares at him, then glances at George, and back at Jack. She's clearly contemplating the lesser of two evils. Jack or the people she is working for?

the car
"He hung up on me." John turns to Lisa and Kim. "I guess your boss doesn't really care about the two of you that much."

John leans back in the seat, thinking about whether to call back or not, while the car continues down the road.

CTU
Catherine sighs. It will take all of her courage to admit to Jack what she did. He's not joking and she knows it.

"Fine, Jack... Alright." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "I was supposed to give them the data on the undercover agents and make it look like we lost back up last night. And I know that the disc that was exchanged between Mills and the CIA agent contained a file on a secretly continued government program, it concerned something called SSBN. I was ordered to make disappear everything we had on that, so it wouldn't appear on the list. That's why we never came across it and it didn't raise any red flags with anyone."

Jack: "And that's all you did?"

"Except for keeping them up to date about what's going on here, yes."

Jack stares into her eyes for several seconds. He decides she could be telling the truth this time, she is scared.

The phone rings again. George picks up. "Okay, we'll do this your way. You can speak to them." John holds the phone to the back of the car.

George motions for Jack to get on the other line as the phone is passed on the other end.

John holds the phone to Kim's ear first, "Dad? Dad?"

"Kim, it's George Mason, your dad is on the other line. We don't have much time. Are you okay?"

"I'm scared and just want to go home..." her voice is soft and a whimper escapes, "They killed someone and-"

The phone is jerked away and passed to Lisa, "You're going to have to work quickly and carefully." She stares down the man with the gun, "These guys mean business. Jack... there's so..." If she lets herself go now she may never regain her composure. "They've got us tied up. We can't move- "

"Lisa? Kim?" George hears shuffling in the background but nothing worse. "If someone's there, answer!"

Tony to Michelle
Tony grabs his cell and calls Jennie, "Immediately lock down Catherine's system and intercept all outgoing and incoming correspondence for the last year. Send it to Michelle's system."

"Got it. Anything specific I should look for?"

"Just get everything but keep an eye out for any information concerning abandoned government projects and SSBNs."

Tony ends the call with Jennie and contacts Michelle. "We've got a serious security breach on our hands. Initate an internal lock down until we figure out how far Catherine got into things. We'll have to determine what information was compromised concerning undercover agents. She's the one who got into my system."

"Done." Michelle types away on her keyboard. "You mean Jack got through to her? That's good. Okay, the lockdown is in place... Tony, I'm receiving data streams from Jennie. I'll get back to you."

Miramar
The RAdm steps out of the car, the gates are visible through the trees, far behind him. The ocean is right across the road.

He lifts the back seat and 'Annabelle' crawls out. "Nice how that worked." She checks her watch. "Soon."

CTU

John is back on the phone again. "We've done our part. Now you do yours. We'll be in touch." The line disconnects.

01:59:57 --- 01:59:58 --- 01:59:59 --- 02:00:00