10:24

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Jack Bauer nears the address that Gaines gave to him. Tony led the tail away, but hopefully Tony will arrive in time to provide backup. Hopefully. Gaines said he could help stop the next attack, and reveal who was behind everything. If that's true, Jack will do whatever he can to get Gaines to talk.

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Tony Almeida is still trying to lose the tail, but they're better than he thought. He decides he needs to get help from the inside, so he calls George Mason. Mason is still in CTU Medical.

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Tony: Everything okay George?

Mason: I'm a free man, I supposse I have you and Jack to thank for that.

Tony: You can pay us back right now.

Mason: How?

Tony: Jack is about to meet with the mercenary Ira Gaines, he claims to have intel about who exactly is behind the attacks. I need to provide Jack with backup but I can't lose my tail. If Gaines sees other agents he might get spooked.

Mason: I'll see what I can do.

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It occurs to Mason that if Gaines testifies, they might not need Chapelle as much. If asked Mason can say he is merely trying to help Jack get reliable intel. That is part of it, but Mason also hopes Chapelle will get the death penalty.

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Rebecca Allen goes to Dave's house. Her Secret Service agent stays outside, lets her talk to this friend. It's only 10:30 in the morning, but Dave has clearly been drinking.

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Rebecca: You're Dave right?

Dave: Yeah. Aren't you the president's daughter?

Rebecca: Yeah. You heard what happenned to my brother?

Dave: Yeah, he killed himself.

Rebecca: Because he was blackmailed. And if my hunch is right, those same people are blackmailing you and acting president Keaton.

Dave: That sounds about right. They wanted to make certain that, whoever is in power when the dust clears, that they control that person.

Rebecca: What are they blackmailing the vice-president over?

Dave: Because of what I did. I've always been a screwup. When i was 18 I got involved in some stupid stuff, it wasn't long before I was before a judge. She gave me a choice, incarceration, or the military. I chose door number 2. My only distinction was that I served under a truley great man, Warren Keaton. He said that a lot of young men made mistakes, but that the military helped them turn their life around. I'm sure he'd seen other people become better people though service. But then, his daughter was raped, and he did what any father would do, he asked an old friend to scare the bastard straight. He specifically asked me to chose good men who would not get carried away. Keaton;s plan was we would force the man to take half a million to leave town, and we would be paid another half million. But then me and the others decided that he shouldn't get the same amount that we had to split. So we murdered Lyle Gibson, and took the whole million. I haven't lost much sleep over killing a rapist, but I tried being a stockbroker, and I got involved in insider trading. When I was caught I got desperate, so I let certain people know I had information about the vice-president. That's when Carl Web came to me. He said we could blackmail him, force the president to pardon me. I didn't know they were blackmailing your brother.

Rebecca: Can you get Carl Webb over here? I want to confront the man who killed my brother.

Dave: Sure, why not?

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Jack Bauer arrives at the abandoned office building. An economic downturn caused this decay, and Gaines must have figured they wouldn't be interrupted. Gaines is waiting for him.

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Jack: You're Ira Gaines?

Gaines: Yes. You're certain you weren't followed?

Jack: I'm sure. What intel do you have?

Gaines: A computer chip. It details the people involved, money trails, recorded conversations, it will stand up to scrutiny.

Jack: What are the next attacks?

Gaines: Baseball games. Reverend Adam wants to attacks baseball games all over the country.

Jack: Which games?

Gaines: He didn't say, the operatives were likely given some discretion about specific games. However, I made certain that the bombs have tracking chips. My little computer chips will help CTU find them. Now my terms. The Skeleton Key, it's a program to relocate and protect valuable witnesses. The people who protect these fugitives don't even know their real identity. I want in.

Jack: Fine. Give us the chip and I can get you into the program.

Gaines: No. Give me access, and once I'm safe I'll give you the location of the chip.

Jack: No, first give us the chip, let us verify it's authenticity, and I give you access to the Skeleton Key.

Gaines: You have less than four hours before the terrorists strike. I've got nothing to lose and I don't care if innocent civilians die. But can you live with their deaths on your conscience?

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10:35