4:48
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The cabinet members each write down their votes. Some quickly, others hesitate. But all 15 members vote, and hand them over to the attorney general.
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Curtis and his team arrive at Ravewood. Security cameras show Hodges' security team leaving the building. It makes little sense that he would dismiss his security after his conversation with Gaines, he must know that CTU will be coming for him. Curtis goes in alone, but tells his team to be ready for anything. Suprisingly Curtis encounters no resistance, Hodges' secretary even escorts him to his office.
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Curtis: Jonas Hodges?
Hodges: Yes.
Curtis: I'm Curtis Manning, CTU, I have some questions for you.
Hodges: By all means?
Curtis: Do you know a man named Ira Gaines?
Hodges: Yes. Gaines is a former navy seal, he has sometimes provided security for me when I go overseas on business.
Curtis: If it's business why have you been paying him from your own private account for three years?
Hodges: This is embarrasing.
Curtis: I'm all ears.
Hodges: Three years ago I was in Mexico on business, and I was kidnapped. My company, rather than pay ransom, hired a hostage retrieval expert, that would be Gaines. He saved my life, and then he threatened to tell my wife and children that I was lured away from my bodyguards by an underage hooker. Not my proudest moment.
Curtis: So you still hire him, even though he's blackmailing you?
Hodges: I prefer to think of this as a bonus, he does good work.
Curtis: Does that include working with Sabzi and Dubaku?
Hodges: Ofcourse not. As I understand it Sabzi is a taliban leader, oppossed to Hekmetyar's peace initiative. And Dubaku is the head of Alqueda in Sangala.
Curtis: He was, he's dead now.
Hodges: Good. Anyway I've never met the men. Gaines provided protection, I always assumed that Gaines might have payed certain people to leave me alone, I never asked questions because he did good work.
Curtis: Gaines is in our custody, he claims that you payed him to recruit those two to carry out an attack against America.
Hodges: You mean the bombings earlier today?
Curtis: Yes.
Hodges: If Gaines had any involvement in that I assure you it did not involve me. I have no idea why he would implicate me, unless ofcourse he'd prefer to not implicate his true employers.
Curtis: We'd like you to come down to CTU and answer some questions.
Hodges: Ofcourse, happy to help.
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Curtis wasn't sure what was happenning. Either Hodges was innocent, or he had one of the best poker faces he'd ever seen.
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Gary kept looking out the window, fearing trouble could come. He knew he had seen Kimberly before, he just didn't know where.
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Willow brings Adaeze to the hospital to see Kristen. Nina Myers watches from a distance, not sure if the girl really is a terrorist or just an innocent bystander.
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The attorney general finishes counting the votes. He has counted multiple times to be safe, and created two piles. One is clearly larger than the other.
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Attorney general: The final vote is as follows. 11 votes in favor of John Donovan remaining president, 4 votes in favor of his removal from office. John Donovan will remain president.
Donovan: Thank you. As for you, mr speaker, I expect your letter of resignation soon.
Haffley: You'll have it before dark.
Donovan: Good.
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Split screens show the cabinet meeting breaking up, Jonas Hodges being taken to CTU for questioning, Adaeze waiting at the hospital for news about Kristen, Jamey Farrell coming home and hugging her son Kyle.
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From her office a woman, Mackensie, watches the news. She then recieves a call.
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Mac: How did the vote go?
Caller: Haffley lost, he's resigning.
Mac: Then we go to the next backup plan.
Caller: Understood.
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Mac silently smiled. Her fellow conspirators didn't neccessarily want this outcome, it delayed their plans. But this worked out better for her, and she would make sure that the war continued and they continued making money, at the cost of many innocent people dying.
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