"Oh my God," Jack breathed as he saw Taylor with a bullet in his chest. He yelled to Renee to get an ambulance.

Jack tried to stop the bleeding as they waited for the ambulance. At one point, Taylor looked like he was going to try to speak.

"Mr. Taylor, don't try to speak," Jack instructed. "I need you to save your energy."

When the ambulance arrived, Jack stepped back to let the paramedics work. He needed to inform the president.

"Mr. Bauer, this is President Taylor," she answered.

"Madam President, we have your husband," Jack informed her. Audrey could hear in the breathiness of his voice and knew something was wrong. "He is alive, but he sustained a gunshot wound to the chest."

"How bad is it?" Taylor asked, tears coming to her eyes.

"EMTs are stabilizing him. They're getting ready to transfer him to West Arlington Hospital."

"Mr. Bauer, be more specific," she requested firmly. "Is my husband going to be okay?"

"We're not going to know anything until the doctors see him. But, ma'am, I have to warn you. He has lost a lot of blood."

"Jack, it's Bill. Do you have Dubaku?"

"Negative. He was gone before we got here," Jack said. "Madam President, since your husband was the only leverage that Dubaku had left, it's safe to say that he is trying to leave the country now."

"Have you any idea how he intends to do that?" Taylor questioned.

"Not at this time. Unfortunately, all his men were killed during the assault. Agent Walker and I will stay behind. We'll continue to search the area. We have to assume that Dubaku has an exit strategy already in place. Whatever we're going to do to find him, we're going to have to do it fast."

"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Bauer," President Taylor offered. "Please keep me apprised of everything."

Jack apologized for what had happened to her husband and hung up.


"I am so sorry, Madam President," Kanin offered sympathetically once they were off the phone.

Taylor insisted that she go to the hospital to be with her husband. At first, Kanin advised her against it, but the president insisted.

"Madam President," Audrey spoke up. "We've already seen today that members of the Secret Service are working for Dubaku. There's no way to ensure your safety if you go to the hospital."

"I don't give a damn!" Taylor scolded. "I am not going to be held prisoner in this office while my husband is fighting for his life. Now, either find someone to take me to the hospital or I'll drive there myself."

Audrey looked at Bill who nodded.

"Madam President, you know my record of service," Bill offered. "If it's acceptable to you, I am willing to assume responsibility for your security."

"Bill, you're no longer credentialed," Kanin reminded him. "You don't have the authority."

"Until we capture Dubaku and interrogate him, we have no idea who in the government is working for him," Audrey said plainly.

"You do not know who you can trust," Bill agreed.

"But I can trust you?" President Taylor asked, pointing out the irony of his statement.

"I brought this conspiracy to your attention, Madam President. I would hope that I've earned it," Bill replied.

"What do you need from me?" Taylor asked.

"Reinstate mine and Audrey's government clearance. Allow us to vet the White House staff. And allow me to bring one of my people into the FBI to provide Larry Moss with tactical support."

"Who is it that you want to bring in?"

"Chloe O'Brian," Bill explained. "I can vouch for her; she's the best there is."

"Her clearances were also revoked when CTU was decommissioned," Kanin stated. "Isn't there anyone capable of handling these duties without our having to reinstate her?"

"Someone in the Bureau is on Dubaku's payroll," Bill said. "Until we find out who it is, Larry Moss can't take the chance of bringing his own people into a manhunt for Dubaku."

"All right," Taylor relented. "The Director of White House Secret Service Operations is Agent Hovis. I'll order him to turn over security protocols to you. You have your provisional appointment, Mr. Buchanan and Ms. Raines, under the authority of this office."

"Thank you, Madam President," Bill and Audrey said simultaneously.

"You can thank me by getting me to the hospital."

"We'll make the arrangements," Bill said. He walked out of the room and Audrey followed him. Audrey and Bill went onto a computer and pulled up the security protocols for the Secret Service, looking to see who was trustworthy of taking Taylor to the hospital and how they could do so safely.

"This guy, Sweeney," Audrey said, pointing to an agent. "He was on my father's security detail before. I trust him."

"Maybe," Bill said, moving on. Audrey could see that he was not considering him.

"Bill, we don't have the luxury of time to get Taylor to the hospital. Her husband could be dying as we speak," Audrey said, confused. "We will never be 100% sure of any of these agents until we find Dubaku. So when we find one that we trust, we need to get on board."

"You trust him," Bill said. "I didn't say I did."

"And since when do you not trust my judgment?"

"I don't know, Audrey," Bill scolded harshly. "Maybe when you went to China alone without a plan. Maybe since you've been teetering on the edge since your return, needing extensive psychiatric help. Maybe when I learned you gave classified files to a terrorist."

Audrey bit her lip and rubbed her wrist. "If you don't trust me, why did you ask for me to be reinstated? Why let me come here? Why not turn me in?"

"Because Jack didn't want to," Bill argued. "I trust Jack. As for the reinstatement, I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't have."

Audrey sighed, hurt by Bill's words. "Fine. I should go then."

Audrey stood and Bill turned to her. "Sit down. You know I can't let you leave agitated. I don't have time to be your keeper right now."

"Then, what would you like me to do?" Audrey asked, irritated.

"Just sit over there and wait," Bill instructed.

"Fine," Audrey said. She sat in a chair on the other side of the room, thinking about how disappointed Bill was in her. How he didn't feel he could trust her after everything they had gone through. She felt terrible.

Bill got the team together and went with them and President Taylor to the hospital. He asked another agent to keep an eye on Audrey at the White House. Audrey promised she would stay right where she was.


Jack was finishing going through the basement where Henry Taylor had been held looking for clues when he overheard Renee on the phone.

"I didn't say that it didn't bother me, Larry," Renee said into the phone. "Of course it bothers me. I can see that woman's face. She and her child staring at me with such… She had no idea that her husband was a killer, a traitor to his country, and she looked at me like I was the monster."

Jack felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Of course Renee felt badly over what had happened to Vossler. Jack knew that guilt was the price to pay for saving so many lives. Renee seemed to be learning that very quickly today. He felt bad for her, knowing that it wasn't easy to come to grips with what this job entailed. The way the guilt slowly eats away at you until you become numb to it. Jack was completely numb to the fact that he had killed a man. That he left a baby fatherless. He wondered when he had lost his last shred of empathy. Of humanity.

"Agent Walker," Jack interrupted, getting out of his thoughts. There were more pressing matters. Renee put the phone down for a moment to listen. "I cross-referenced the information on these PDAs. I came across some banking transactions. All from a series of accounts registered to the same address."

"You think it's a safe house?"

"It's worth a shot."

Renee picked the phone back up and filled Larry in on what was going on. She hung up.

"You sure you're okay?" Jack asked her again, knowing that the answer was no but hoping that she would suppress her feelings enough to finish this job.

"I'm fine," Renee said coldly. Jack saw the way she looked at him like he was a monster. Jack didn't disagree.

They drove to the address that Jack had found. When they got to the apartment, they burst through the door.

"FBI, don't move," shouted Renee, both her and Jack with their guns drawn. There were two women inside the apartment who looked beyond scared and confused.

"Get on your knees, now!" Jack ordered the younger woman who was standing. The other woman was older and sat in a wheelchair. "Both of you, put your hands behind your head, interlock your fingers."

Jack moved through the apartment to check for others but found nothing. "We're clear."

"Where is Dubaku?" Renee asked the two women.

"Who?" the younger one asked.

"Don't play games with me!" Renee insisted. "Ike Dubaku. We traced bank accounts to this address. Now where is he?"

"We don't know who you're talking about?" the older woman answered.

"We'll try to make this easier for you," Jack said, sensing that the woman was being truthful. He took out his phone and showed the young woman a picture of Dubaku.

"You know this man?" Jack asked.

"No."

Jack could see in her face that she was lying.

"You're lying to me. Why are you lying to me?" Jack asked.

"Let me see," the older woman insisted. Jack showed her the picture. "That's him. We know him! He calls himself Aboa. Samuel Aboa."

"Rosa, shut up!" the younger one called out.

"She was going to meet him to leave me," Rosa informed them.

"Where were you gonna meet him?" Jack pushed. "Where were you going?"

"I don't know!"

"How do you know him? You work for him?"

"No."

"You know what he's doing here in this country?" Jack questioned, knowing that she must not know. "Do you have any idea what this man is?"

"He's everything to me," the woman cried. Jack knew it would take some convincing to get this woman on their side. To make her understand that the man she was apparently in love with was a terrorist who was responsible for thousands of deaths. A traitor to his country and a murderer. Many of them children. Some of whom he had manipulated into fighting for him. Dubaku had killed Carl Benton, his friend, who had protected the whereabouts of the children from the school he ran.

He sat the younger woman, Marika, down on the couch, and Renee used her phone to show her photos of Dubaku in Sangala in his military uniform, after having killed innocent people.

"Please, no more," she begged after seeing several photos and hearing about what he had done. "What did you say his real name was again?"

"Dubaku," Jack answered. "Ike Dubaku. I've seen first hand what he is capable of. I was in Africa a few months ago. He was responsible for murdering a friend of mine."

Marika burst into tears, unable to handle the news.

"I know this is a shock. And, I'm sorry. I really am," Jack comforted. "But, here's the situation. We need your help and we need it now."

"What kind of help?" Rosa asked, speaking up for the first time since she had identified Dubaku.

"We need to put this man in custody before he can leave the country," Jack explained.

"She already told you," Rosa replied. "She doesn't know where he is."

"But, you said earlier that you were going to meet him. Where?" Renee urged.

"He didn't say," Marika promised. "Just told me to go home and pack and wait for his call."

"Give me your phone," Jack said, getting an idea. She handed it over to him, confused. "When he calls, I want you to answer it."

"No, no, no," Marika denied. "I can't. I can't."

"Yes, you can," Jack encouraged. "Listen to me. Just listen to me. It's over. The man you thought you knew, the man you had feelings for, doesn't exist. All you've been left with are his lies and betrayal."

The phone rang in Jack's hand. Marika began to panic at the thought of answering the phone.

"Marika, please," Jack begged. "All I want you to do is answer the phone and talk to him so that we can find out where he wants to meet you. Please, you can do this. Please just try."

She reluctantly took the phone and answered. "Hello."

"Marika?" Dubaku asked on the other end of the phone. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Marika insisted. Jack could hear the nervousness in her voice and hoped that Dubaku would still give her a location. "What took you so long to answer the phone?"

"I was in the bedroom packing," she answered flawlessly. "Where are you?"

"What's wrong?" Dubaku asked, still hearing that she had been crying. "You sound strange."

"It's-" Marika started, knowing she needed a good explanation. "It was Rosa. She caught me packing and we argued."

"Is she going to be a problem for us?" Dubaku questioned.

"No," Marika insisted firmly. "I'm sorry, Samuel. I had to tell her everything. It was the only way. But, uh, she understands now."

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine. Now that she knows she and I will be together again in a few days."

"Hmm, she should thank Heaven she has such an angel for a sister," Dubaku complimented. "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost."

"Hurry up then. I've had a car sent for you. It should be there very shortly. Go downstairs and wait for it."

"Where is it taking me?" she asked, as planned.

"Don't worry. The driver will know," Dubaku assured her. "I just want the woman I love to get downstairs as quickly as possible."

"Okay," Marika agreed. They hung up the phone and Marika broke into tears.

"It's alright. It's alright. You did great," Jack told her.

"Did we get the rendezvous point?" Renee questioned.

"No, he's sending a car with a driver," Jack answered. He looked at Renee. "Come here."

Renee followed him to a corner of the apartment to talk privately.

"We could grab the driver. Get him to tell us Dubaku's location," Renee suggested.

"There's no guarantee we can get him to talk," Jack reasoned. "And, if we take too long, Dubaku's not gonna wait around."

"Then what do we do?" Renee asked, sensing that he had another idea in mind.

"We can get her to go meet with him."

"What?" Renee seemed horrified by the idea.

"We could track her. Use her cell phone as a transponder."

"You want to send that girl to Dubaku?" Renee asked angrily.

"We don't have another choice. You want to get Dubaku, this is our shot."

Jack didn't leave it up for more discussion. He went over to Marika and explained the plan, trying to get her on board. Rosa was particularly against this idea but Marika agreed to it. Jack took her phone and got the number from it to track her cell phone. He explained to her that they would be right behind her, ready to move in if need be.

As Marika said goodbye to her sister, Jack called Larry Moss who put him on speaker.

"Jack, it's Chloe. What do you need?"

Jack was happy that Chloe was working with Moss now. There was nobody else he would want monitoring this mission. Jack explained what was happening and asked her to set up a satellite to track Marika's phone.

"Marika, we got to go," Jack told her, knowing that she was expected to be downstairs when the car arrived for her. Marika hugged her sister goodbye and Marika left the apartment. Jack was still standing in the doorway when Rosa spoke to Renee.

"You. FBI. You keep her safe, you hear me?" Rosa begged almost threateningly.

"We will," Renee promised.