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Buchanan and Chloe rush out to the construction site just in time to dig up Agent Walker, who's nearly suffocated by the time they arrive. Buchanan brings her into the loop, and tells her in no uncertain terms that she needs to stay dead to protect their little freelance operation. When Tony and Kiefer arrive at the hangar where they're supposed to hand over the Matobos to Nichols, things go wrong. Tony ends up killing Litvak and mortally wounding Emerson, and feeling really bad about it. Kiefer manages to convince the Matobos to go through with the trade and allow themselves to be handed over to Dubaku.
Ethan is still trying to talk President Taylor into calling off the invasion, but she stands firm until Dubaku crashes a couple of jetliners into each other right outside the Oval Office window. And then she continues standing firm, even when her Secretary of State walks off the job in protest. Ethan decides to call on her husband Henry to talk sense into her, but Henry's a little busy right now. Specifically, Henry's sitting paralyzed while Agent Gedge murders Samantha in front of him. He recovers his gross motor control just in time to drag Gedge over the railing with him, and now neither man can walk, because Gedge is dead. The corpses do pile up around Henry, don't they?
At the rendezvous point, Walker and Kiefer make an uneasy truce while Chloe plants a bug on Matobo. Nichols and three goons show up to take Matobo and kill Tony, but they only accomplish the latter task, thanks to some tactical support from Kiefer. The whole mini-agency makes ready to follow Motobo to wherever he's being taken. Where, seeing that Taylor isn't giving in, Dubaku is planning a follow-up attack. Let's just say that if he pulls it off, Taylor probably shouldn't count on getting Ohio's electoral votes in the election.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Tonight's previouslies feature "Prime Minister Ule Matobo" (good to know how to spell his first name), Samantha Roth, Henry Taylor, FBI Agent Renee Walker, and Jack Bauer. One of those people now has less than an hour to live. Oops, is that a spoiler?
At the FBI's Washington Field Office, Boss Moss is rallying the assembled troops, and tasking Janis with coordinating operations with the NSA. "I'll do what I can," she answers, totally interrupting his flow. She tries to explain how hard it is to work with the NSA, and he cuts her off, telling her nobody's having a slack day today. "Just make it happen." He reiterates that they're expecting another attack from Dubaku at any time. "The only way to stop it is to find Almeida and Bauer and take control of the CIP device." Emotionally, he breaks the news that Walker has been abducted. Everyone but Janis and Sean shifts uncomfortably, because they already knew, but nobody else says a word. They're not getting paid speaking rates, after all. "We're the only chance she's got," Moss concludes. He heads over to Sean, who now has a cleaner recording of the call fragment in which Walker was ordered to be killed. He plays it back yet again, almost slipping some of the required early-episode exposition past us without our noticing. But unfortunately for the effort to find Walker, that's all he has. "I'm sorry about Renee, Larry," Sean says. "She was a good agent." Oops, was that past tense? Moss yells at Sean that they don't know she's dead yet.
Well, it won't be long; judging from how that ditch at the construction site looks. Kiefer and Tony didn't exactly do a half-ass job of burying her. Really, you guys, you could have just sprinkled a thin layer on there and Emerson wouldn't have noticed. Fortunately for her, a familiar blue molester-van has just arrived. Buchanan and Chloe hop out. "Tony said near the backhoe," Buchanan says. When did he say this? I guess we're expected to fanwank that Tony was live on a hidden comm device with Chloe and Buchanan the whole time, and gave them directions to find Walker while he was outside of the van. And we should also assume that Buchanan and Chloe didn't wait to leave their HQ until Emerson and his crew got to the construction site, because that was a half-hour trip last week and Homemade CTU couldn't be much closer. But of course, this isn't the last or most egregious timeline violation we'll see tonight, so let's hurry up and get to some of the other ones. Buchanan quickly finds the ditch and jumps down into it, somehow avoiding crushing Walker in the process. He uncovers the dirt from Walker's face, then rips open the plastic like she's a big bag of chips. After listening at her mouth for a moment, he says she's not breathing and asks Chloe for the adrenalin needle that she just happens to have in her bag, like every fully prepared mother of a toddler should. While Chloe gets the shot ready, Buchanan begins chest compressions. I bet Kiefer wishes he were here to do the mouth-to-mouth. A moment later, Walker gets her shot in the chest Pulp Fiction-style (only less, you know, Pulp Fiction-y), and gasps back to life. "Who are you?" she chokes out in a voice filled with dirt. "We're working with Jack," Buchanan says. "He told us where to find you. You're going to be okay." I suppose there's no reason they wouldn't tell her they're with Kiefer; she's still three-quarters buried, so it's not like she can run away right now.
Meanwhile, in shotgun seat of the yellow prisoner van carrying the Matobos (and Kiefer and Tony and Litvak, of course), Emerson is on the phone with Nichols, firming up their rendezvous plans. Once he's off the phone, he goes back to sit with the ex-CTUers. "Nichols is on his way with the diamonds," he reports. They're getting paid in jewelry? Who knew Emerson was such a girl? He asks Kiefer, "Is something bothering you, Jack?" Besides just having fake-killed his not-girlfriend, that is. Kiefer says he was just wondering why Emerson never told Tony how he got him out of CTU. Suddenly Tony is curious about that as well, as though it never would have come up in the years he's been working with Emerson. "Christopher Henderson," Emerson "explains." Kiefer reminds everyone that Henderson tried to kill Tony, but Emerson straightens him out on that. "He purposely missed the artery when he injected him." With a syringe that had been filled by Tony, mind you. "It was just enough to slow his heart to the point where you'd think that he was dead." Right after waking up from brain-death, in fact. So it was all part of Henderson's plan, except the part where Kiefer killed Henderson before Tony could be put back into play. "My team went dark," Emerson says. Which explains all the black clothing they wear now. Too bad we didn't get to meet them in Season Five; I bet Emerson could rock a pair of khakis and a Tommy Bahama. Kiefer asks why Emerson didn't let Tony go when Henderson went down, and Emerson says that staying was Tony's choice. "He was consumed with hatred and anger over what the government had done to Michelle." And he still looks pretty sad about it, between you and me. Emerson says he was just a friend to Tony. And Tony adds that he realized, "The rules had changed. That there was no thing such as honor left. That we would have to take care of each other. Like brothers." Wow, it's almost like Emerson suspects something and is trying to guilt a confession out of Tony or something. But before anything like that can happen, Litvak calls up that they're almost there. Way to blow the moment, Litvak.
By this point, the van is driving across the tarmac at what looks like an abandoned airport. In the back, Kiefer quietly makes sure that Tony is ready to do what he has to do, even after that emotional little display Emerson just put him through. Emerson sees this exchange in his visor mirror, but doesn't visibly react. Litvak drives the van through the open door of an aircraft hangar at 1:08:53. The place is already set up with a sports car, a big black van, some work tables, and a brace of motorcycles, all of which is just going to go to waste. Don't get all geared up for a motorcycle chase later in the episode, is what I'm saying. As Emerson and crew climb out of the van, Emerson sends Tony to help Litvak close the hangar door, and Kiefer to get the Matobos out of the van. Then, with the two old friends separated and their backs to him, Emerson makes his move, drawing his gun and grabbing Kiefer from behind. Tony hears the commotion and turns back, then remembers just in time to turn forward again and shoot Litvak before returning his attention to Emerson, who's now shielding himself behind Kiefer. I've never seen Kiefer not be able to bust out of a hold like this before, so Emerson must be using some hardcore Special Forces-fu on him right now. Either that or the show just wants to put Tony in a difficult position for a couple of minutes. "You better tell me what the hell's going on," Emerson growls at them. While Tony keeps telling Emerson to drop the gun, Emerson says he suspected all along, but just couldn't figure out how Tony and Kiefer were planning to steal the diamonds from him. "It's not about the diamonds," Tony says without lowering his gun. "It's about killing innocent people. I can't let you finish this." Ten seconds of this passivity is about all Kiefer can stand, so he tells Tony to take the shot. Everyone's yelling, and Emerson's about to shoot Kiefer in the head, but before he does, Tony fires a shot that tags Emerson in the shoulder. Kiefer rolls clear. Emerson glares at Tony in disbelief, but when he's about to return fire, Tony shoots him again, this time in a place that sends blood spattering up Emerson's neck. Gross. He goes down, making noises like he's trying to swallow an eel. Tony slides Emerson's gun away while Kiefer checks on Litvak, who was taken down by a clean headshot. From much further away, no less. Good shootin', Tony. At first, there.
Buchanan and Chloe have now dug Walker all the way out, and are tending to her neck laceration in the open back of the molester-van. She's being brought into the loop as we speak, and is just learning about the part where they're working on their own, without any agency support. "Okay, I need to contact my boss," Walker says. "He needs to know that I'm okay." Yeah, more than she knows. Buchanan nods, and then says, "You can't do that." It'll blow the whole thing, see, because if anyone at the FBI hears that Walker's little dirt nap is over, it'll get back to Dubaku and blow Kiefer's cover. Assuming of course that Dubaku even knows that Kiefer is in Emerson's crew, which remains very much in doubt. Walker tries to insist that she be allowed to call Moss, but Buchanan assures her that they're almost done, as soon as they get to Dubaku, who is the key to everything. And who I'm also sure will be only too happy to allow himself to be taken alive and then to provide a bunch of freelance counterterrorists with a full, annotated list of which government employees are on his payroll. But I guess we'll worry about that when the time comes. "Luckily," Buchanan says, "we have something he wants." "Matobo," realizes Walker, showing that she wasn't deprived of air long enough to suffer much brain damage. Buchanan confirms, "He's our best chance to locate Dubaku, reacquire the CIP device, and get to the bottom of the government corruption. Until all that happens, you have to stay dead." I'm still wondering: was all that other stuff worth letting Emerson deliver the CIP device to Dubaku in the first place? I guess what I'm saying is that this government corruption had better be pretty damn big.
Buchanan's cell phone rings; it's Kiefer, all concerned about whether they found Walker. Buchanan assures him she's fine, and Kiefer tells them they're at Northwoods airfield, whose existence I can't seem to verify. There must not be an abundance of abandoned warehouses in the D.C. area, so the bad guys are branching out to abandoned airfields. I'm hoping that future episodes will reveal hideouts in abandoned homeless shelters, abandoned lobbying firms, and abandoned conservative think tanks. Kiefer reports, "Litvak is dead, Emerson's been wounded, Nichols is en route. I need you to get over here now." Buchanan reminds Kiefer that they need to have Matobo agree to go along with their plan. I don't see why; it might be easier to just let them assume they're still kidnapped. There aren't as many kidnappers now, but they still have the same number of guns. Even so, at 1:11:44, Kiefer promises to secure Matobo's buy-in. After glancing over to where a clearly upset Tony has parked the badly wounded Emerson on a couch, Kiefer opens the cage holding the Matobos, trying to be all friendly and reassuring now that the real kidnappers are out of the picture. "We are here to help you," says the man who nearly gassed them to death an hour ago. Kiefer says they're working on stopping Dubaku, but will need the Matobos' help.
At Dubaku's command center, Nichols reports to Dubaku that he's off to pick up the Matobos. I don't know why there's a separate spot for the handoff. It can't be for security reasons; Emerson has already been to this command center once this very morning, so it's not like he doesn't know where it is. I guess it's just another one of those things that have to happen a certain way for plot purposes. Oh, and maybe this: "Once you have Matobo, you know what to do," Dubaku tells Nichols. "Emerson's team is now a loose end. Tie it up." Nichols balks, but smoothly. "We may need their services again," he warns. "I would rather keep my diamonds," Dubaku insists. "And Almeida has proved to be a liability." Plus there's the thing about how one of Emerson's team killed Dubaku's brother, but maybe that's just water under the bridge. Dubaku changes the subject to what they've heard from the White House, and Nichols says there's been no sign of the troop withdrawal Dubaku has demanded. Dubaku's getting frustrated with President Taylor's stubbornness: "She will only respond when there are dead Americanns." Nichols just wants out of this conversation, so he takes his leave, giving Dubaku the comm. A guy with a headset asks Dubaku in a businesslike tone where he wants to target, sounding for all the world like a phone sales rep but without an Indian accent. "Washington, D.C," Dubaku says. The digital map zooms in on the familiar gnawed-diamond shape. It's 1:13:54. You think Dubaku will remember in time that he's in Washington, D.C.?
At 1:18:04, Ethan enters the Oval Office to find President Taylor on the phone. She tells him that another firewall breach has been detected by the NSA, which probably means that there's about to be another attack, and she adds that this time people are going to die. She says she wants to talk to all the first responders across the country, personally. Is this really a good time for a speaking tour, Madam Prez? Fortunately, Ethan kind of shoots that idea down: "Instead of preparing for it, maybe we should be trying to preempt this attack." He suggests an immediate pullback, as per Dubaku's demands, but Taylor is still standing fast. He reminds her that there can't be an invasion of Sangala without Matobo anyway. "Why are we risking American lives?" He says they're out of options. Taylor insists that they're not; she's still holding out hope that the NSA will be able to localize the threat, or that the FBI will be able to find Matobo. Hey, let's not write off the USDA, or the MPAA, or OAR, for that matter. Ethan has no choice but to let it go for now.
At 1:20:22, Tony is trying to tend to the wounds of a resistant Emerson. He repeats that it wasn't about the diamonds. "You crossed a line I wasn't willing to cross," Tony says. I'm sorry." Emerson doesn't exactly accept the apology. "Go to hell," he invites. But Emerson will get there first. "You live with it," he spits. Because Emerson isn't going to be living with anything for much longer. And with that, he gets properly started on dying.
Over on the other side of the hangar, Matobo is making sure he understands what Kiefer's telling him: "You're asking us to risk our lives to be delivered into Dubaku's hands, based on nothing but what you have told us." Kiefer insists it's all true, even though he hasn't seen a scrap of evidence for Buchanan's conspiracy himself. "You have as much at stake as we do," Kiefer reminds him. "He's attacked both our countries." That's one way of putting it. But then, so has Kiefer, sort of. Mrs. Matobo has decided that Kiefer is telling the truth. "He has no reason to lie." Matobo looks at Kiefer, who's doing his best "honest man" face. You know, that one he perfected way back in Season One while trying to convince David Palmer to let people think he was dead. He just sort of stands very still, looking you straight in the eye, with a completely neutral but respectful expression on his face. It continues to be quite effective, to the point that Matobo agrees to go to Dubaku -- but alone. Kiefer says that Dubaku wants both of them. "He wants your wife as leverage. If I don't deliver both of you, he will back out." Really? He won't just pay half the diamonds? Matobo isn't thrilled about the idea of his wife getting tortured. "And we won't let that happen," Kiefer insists. "We'll be following you." Matobo asks Kiefer if he can promise his wife will be safe, and that honest-man demeanor breaks down as he has to admit that he can't. Which means Matobo is not on board. Until that is, his wife speaks to him privately. She tells him that she wants to go through with it. "I am ashamed that I opened the door to the safe room," she says, even though if she hadn't, Kiefer wouldn't have a way to get to Dubaku in the first place. "I want to do what is right for our country." Matobo still hates the idea, but she talks him into it. They call Kiefer back over, and Matobo says they're in. "You are both very brave," Kiefer informs them. Thanks for the update.
Kiefer crosses over to Tony, who is now sitting over Emerson's rapidly cooling corpse. As gently as he can, Kiefer says they need to get ready to go. Tony eventually pulls himself together enough to stand up and say, "Let's get the bodies out of sight." Go, team?
At Dubaku's command center, he orders his fake air traffic controller to reroute a couple of planes in midair, then has someone else get the White House on the line for him. On the big electronic map, a couple of vectors turn so that they intersect. The flashing green circle at the point where they meet is probably the international ATC icon for "You are going to be so fired."
At 1:24:13, Ethan reports to Taylor that the NSA has gotten nowhere in terms of predicting where Dubaku's attack will be, and the FBI is still nowhere on finding Matobo. But the RIAA has found any number of illegally downloaded Peter Gabriel songs on his computer. Tim from Homeland Security is also in the room, and he gets up to take a call on his cell phone. While Ethan again leans on Taylor to call off the invasion, Tim can be heard asking, "Can it be traced?" A moment later, Tim tells Taylor that it's Dubaku on the line. He switches his cell to speaker and sets it on the desk so everyone can join in.
Dubaku tells Taylor, "I'm disappointed that you have not taken my demands seriously." Taylor assures him that they haven't exactly been talking in funny voices and mocking Dubaku's side-parted afro over there. "The deadline for your forces to begin your withdrawal has passed," Dubaku says. "Go to the window." Well, that's ominous. "Look to the southwest, Madam President. See what you have done." Ethan's already at the window, while Taylor is making empty threats at the phone. "Oh, my God," Ethan says over a muffled roar. Taylor joins them, and sees what Dubaku wanted her to see: low in the intermittently cloudy sky, not far from the ubiquitous Washington Monument, an orange fireball is hanging in the air. Again, is it really that easy to crash two planes directly into each other on purpose? Especially on a clear day like today? It's not like causing a railroad collision; you have to have two aircraft traveling at high speeds meet in the same spot at the same altitude at the same time. You'd have to be the best air traffic controller ever, it seems to me. "You son of a bitch," Taylor mutters. "Comply with my demands within the hour," Dubaku says. "Or 10,000 more Americans will die." Give or take. After a few seconds, Taylor and Ethan get tired of watching debris leaving smoky contrails on its way to the ground, and turn away. After a long, painful silence, Taylor asks if the cabinet is still assembled. Ethan tells her it is. Taylor walks out of the Oval Office at 1:26:57. I still don't think she's going to give in.
At 1:31:12, one of the splitscreen windows is already showing a live CNB report of fire crews at the crash site. They certainly got there fast. In the White House basement, Taylor and her entourage enter the Situation Room, with Tim reading the vital stats off his phone. It was a flight from Chicago with 250 people versus a commuter jet with 21on board, plus a good chance that any number of people on the ground were squished by falling debris. Oh, and this just in: a congressman and his wife may have been on the flight from Chicago. Will the fun ever start? "How many planes are still in the air?" Asks Secretary of State Stevens. "Over 1,300," Tim says. Make that over 1,298. Stevens takes the floor to say they have to withdraw the invasion force from Sangala. "I'm forced to agree, Madam President," Tim agrees. Taylor sits, and all the suits in the room follow suit. In the Sit Room. She asks Tim to say his piece. He says the country is just not prepared to deal with the potential damage Dubaku could inflict. "The tragedy we just witnessed is nothing compared to what could happen if they begin targeting more sensitive installations. Power grids, nuclear facilities. We're talking deaths in the hundreds of thousands." Stevens chimes in again: "All in support of a policy that cannot possibly succeed without Matobo." Taylor takes her time before speaking, and when she does, she says there's still a chance to get Matobo back. "And while that chance exists, I'm not giving in." But how stupid is she going to feel if Matobo turns up dead later? Stevens stands up from his chair: "Madam President, you are guaranteeing another attack on our country." Taylor insists that she refuses to let the country be blackmailed or held hostage. "This country does not negotiate with terrorists," she repeats. "Tell that to the families of the dead!" Stevens retorts. "Do you have any idea what the public reaction will be when word gets out that these are acts of terrorism? Brought about by your reckless foreign policy? I can guarantee there will be a call for your impeachment." Ethan tries to shut Stevens down, but Stevens insists, "I will not stand by and let this happen." And with that, Taylor follows through on her earlier threat to ask for his resignation. "Now sit down or leave." Everyone waits to see which option he'll go with, and after a long moment, he shakes his head. "You people think about what you're doing here," he tells the room. "About the price you're willing to pay." After he clears out, Taylor looks around at all the grave faces staring at her. I'm a little disappointed that her first words aren't, "So who wants to be Secretary of State?" Instead, she begins a speech. "I know there are many of you here who agree with Secretary Stevens." That's ex-Secretary to you, Madam President. "If I can't alleviate your doubts, I can at least help you to understand my reasoning. When I took the oath of office, I swore to myself and the American people that this country would continue to be a force for good in this world. We're a nation founded on ideals. And those ideals are being challenged today. Now how we respond will not only define this administration but an entire generation. Not just Americans, but Sangalans, and anyone else who looks to us for guidance and strength. I wont fail them. And neither will you. We're in for some tough times ahead. Let's make sure we're ready." With that, she gets up and leaves as the triumphant music swells. Although the music seems to be the only one that's impressed, as all of the actual people in the room simply stare at her stone-faced. In the hallway, she leans against a wall, looking exhausted and devastated and hungry for a nice, juicy Emmy. It's 1:36:28. And while I agree that this scene was dramatic enough to merit a whole act to itself, I think it kind of screwed up the timeline on some other stuff that was supposed to be happening at the same time. As we'll see.
Starting now: at 1:40:42, Buchanan's molester van arrives at the airfield, having taken almost a half hour to make a trip that Emerson's prisoner van made in less than ten minutes. Buchanan must have hit the lights wrong. Anyway, Kiefer directs Buchanan where to park in the hangar, and he and Chloe hop out. Without preamble, Kiefer points Chloe to where the Matobos are waiting, and instructs her to get a wire on Matobo toot-sweet. Chloe runs off, leaving Kiefer to face Walker alone when she climbs out of the back, in a complete change of clothes. Buchanan and Chloe really did think of everything. Or maybe the reason they were late is that they stopped at Filene's Basement on the way over. "You okay?" he asks her. "What do you think, Jack?" she says coldly. "You shot me and buried me alive." She says it like it's a bad thing. Kiefer says it was either that or let Emerson kill her. "I'm sorry we had to keep you in the dark, but we didn't have a choice," he grumps. Walker protests that he could have trusted her. Kiefer asks if she would have believed him had he told her everything at the FBI. Walker doesn't have an answer for that. Actually, what happened is that Kiefer wanted to bring Walker in, but Buchanan warned him that doing so would put Walker in danger. Obviously she was much safer this way.
Over by one of the work tables near where the Matobos are standing, Chloe gloves up, and then uses her latex-covered hands to move a dirty stool into place for Matobo to have a seat. Nice sterility procedures there, O'Brian. She produces a pair of tweezers, and a tiny transmitter from inside a vial. "I'll be affixing it to one of your teeth, "she explains to Matobo. Well that should give him something to chew on. He asks her, "Are you with the FBI?" "No, I'm a stay-at-home mom," she answers. Open wide, Mr. Prime Minister.
Over at Buchanan's molester van, Kiefer's loading himself up with a sniper rifle and displaying an exquisite lack of reaction to Buchanan's news that according to some data that Chloe pulled off of the FBI server in her copious free time, Dubaku just killed over 270 people in a midair collision and has threatened to kill 10,000 more in the hour. Walker asks how long they have until Nichols arrives, and Kiefer tells her ten minutes. Buchanan hands him a comm earpiece and wanders off, leaving Kiefer to pop it into his ear. He does a double-take when he sees Walker is still standing behind him, kind of zoning out. She confesses to being a little dizzy (which, the Walker I know is anything but), and Kiefer gets her to sit down, looking all concerned. "I've devoted my life to the Bureau and you just expect me to believe that it's corrupted?" she says. "That the entire government's been corrupted?" Kiefer says not everyone, but they can't trust anyone until they find out who. "The four of you really think you can stop this?" she asks, because she's new. "We have to," Kiefer says. "It's as simple as that." Okay, well, now that I know how it ends, I guess we'll see you season.
In the hallway outside the Situation room, Tim catches up to Ethan at 1:43:46 and says they have to talk some sense into the president before she gets more Americans killed. Ethan agrees with Tim. "There is someone she'll listen to," he says. "Maybe we can convince him to help us."
Except he can barely help himself right now. Henry Taylor is still parked on Samantha's sofa, right where Agent Gedge plunked him after spiking his coffee with a paralytic in the hour. Gedge is quite busy, going around the apartment with jacket off, knife in hand, tie tucked in shirt, and clear plastic gloves all the way up to his biceps. He looks like a demented pharmacist. Henry watches him cut Sam's Ethernet cable, powerless to stop Gedge from stranding her in meatspace.
Meanwhile, on the street below (which the camera takes pains to show us is D Street at 8th, Sam gets out of Agent Vossler's car and walks toward the entrance to her building. I can't read the whole awning in this shot, but a little research tells me it's "The Residences at Market Square." Thank you, Google Maps Street View. Vossler dials his cell phone. Inside, Gedge rolls up a length of cable, looking purposefully up at Sam's loft high above. He pauses to answer the call from Vossler reporting that Sam's on her way up, and says he'll call back when it's all over. He hangs up and gets back to work winding up the cable. By this time, it's 1:45: 27, and Sam is walking down the hallway from the elevator to her door. She pauses to retrieve the key from under her mat, because she really is that stupid. I was actually holding out hope that she hadn't left it there herself, that the evil Secret Service had somehow used their resources to make a copy of her key and plant it there just for Gedge to use it in front of Henry during the last hour, but no; she really is that stupid. She lets herself in obliviously. Seeing her enter from his perch on the couch, Henry starts trying to telepathically warn her of the danger she's in, but she's so busy checking her mail she doesn't even see him on her sofa until she's well inside. Obviously she jumps in surprise, and asks how he got in. Maybe it had something to do with the KEY under the MAT, you moron. She keeps prattling away, completely failing to understand the significance of the intense faces he's barely able to make at her. And completely unaware that behind her, Gedge has stepped out from behind her potted plant, knife at the ready. Sam is finally figuring out that something's wrong with Henry by the time Gedge sticks the blade in her back. Twice. She tries to crawl toward Henry for help, but he can't do a thing for her as Gedge steps on her back, rolls her over, takes one more look at Henry like this is all his fault, and stabs her noisily in the chest. So what have we learned? Don't leave your key under the mat.
Sam has just finished expiring when Gedge's cell phone rings. Rolling his eyes, Gedge answers, "Yes, Mr. Kanin?" Ethan wants to talk to Henry, and he's pretty pissed off when Gedge tells him that they're at Samantha Roth's apartment. Or, rather, that Henry's in the apartment and Gedge is waiting outside. "Just pull him out of there and have him phone me as soon as possible," Ethan snaps before hanging up. Imagine how much more pissed Ethan's going to be when Henry turns up dead. But Gedge gets right back to work, pulling the knife out of Sam's chest and putting the handle between Henry's limp fingers long enough to leave nice, clear prints. "Don't try to speak, sir," Gedge tells his former protectee. "Nothing left to say." As Gedge steps away with the knife, Henry's eyes widen as he realizes he can almost -- almost -- make a fist. The paralytic must be wearing off. At this rate, by the end of the episode he might actually be able to challenge Gedge to a duel to the pain. It's 1:48:38.
At 1:52:53, Tony is reinstalling the Matobos back into the prisoner van. From a vantage point near a window in the hangar's top level, Buchanan sees a black SUV approaching over the tarmac and reports, "They're coming. One car from the service road." Although he can't tell how many people are in it, since the windows are tinted. "Copy that," Tony responds through his own comm unit, sounding pretty relaxed. Meanwhile, inside that black van that's now been moved outside the building, Chloe operates her laptop while Walker looks over her shoulder. Good call, keeping the ladies away from the action. The Escalade carrying Nichols and three goons pulls into the hangar, and all four men get out. Nichols approaches Tony all friendly-like and asks where Emerson is. Tony says he's dead, as are Litvak and Bauer. "I got 'em in a back room. You want to say hi?" Okay, I'm sorry to keep harping on this, but now we know that Nichols knew Jack Bauer was working with Emerson, but not Dubaku. The longer this is left unresolved, the more curious I am about it. Which I'm sure is not what the writers intended.
Anyway, Nichols is suspicious, and Tony says he decided not to split the payment. "I don't understand, I thought you and Emerson were friends." "That was before he left me to rot with the FBI," Tony snits, as though he hasn't been out of custody longer than he was in it. "You want Matobo or not?" Nichols does, but Tony doesn't want to say where Matobo is until he sees the diamonds. Nichols gestures to one of his henchmen, who sets the case he's holding on the hood of the Escalade and opens it up. Tony comes over and examines them. Satisfied, he tosses a set of keys to one of Nichols's men and says the Matobos are in the back of the prisoner van. Good hiding place. They never would have looked there. As soon as the handcuffed Motobos are presented, Nichols tells Tony, "Keep your tracks clean. We might call on you again." Then he nods at the henchman standing behind Tony, who nods back and produces a gun, which he levels at Tony's head. But before the man can fire, he goes down, courtesy of a bullet from Kiefer in a sniper perch overhead. Tony then elbows the henchman nearest him to the floor, and shoots the one who's standing right to the Matobos before he can even draw. Good thing Tony didn't hit them, or this little operation would have been over in a hurry. Even Nichols reaches for a gun, but Kiefer shoots the ground near his foot before it's fully drawn, and Nichols lets it drop. Tony puts the case of diamonds down, collects Nichols's weapon, checks on the guy who's still crouched on the floor with a hand to the elbow-print in his ribs, and utters this awesome line: "Okay, then. Let's put that behind us." Hee. He tells Nichols and his surviving goons to take the Matobos and get out. They're loaded into the back of Nichols' Escalade, which is a lot less crowded now than it would have been otherwise, and the driver quickly ferries them and Nichols out of there at 1:56:54. "Clear," Buchanan intones. A radar blip tracking Matobo is now on Chloe's laptop screen. You'd think she would have wanted to check that before the Matobos left "Get everyone ready to move out," Kiefer orders.
Back at Sam's apartment, Gedge has dragged Henry all the way up to the loft. Plopping him in a chair, he gets busy looping that Ethernet cable over one of the exposed rafters beyond the railing. "Gedge," Henry manages, giving away the fact that he's beginning to recover. Way to tip your hand. Especially now that we can see that his hand is almost tippable. But Gedge ignores him, even as Henry manages to make not one but two fists. Having secured one end of the cable to the railing, Gedge lifts Henry up to put his head through the noose he's fashioned. And that's when Henry manages to lock his hands around Gedge's throat. They grapple for a moment, then both go over the railing, crashing through Sam's dining room table with Henry on top. Looks like Gedge ended up giving his life to protect Henry after all. Now if only Henry could move. Well, at least I'm sure Agent Vossler will be along shortly to help him out.
Splitscreen. Henry gazes around from the floor; Taylor watches the news, which is now speculating that the pane crash was the work of terrorists; the Matobos ride in the back of Nichols's Escalade; Sean and Janis look worried about the shrinking role of the FBI in this episode, and Buchanan's crew is on the road.
At Dubaku's command center, he's on the phone with Nichols. "I think this president is not just stubborn," Dubaku says. "She's insane." Probably wise to keep pissing her off, then. Nichols nervously asks Dubaku what's . "Exactly what we promised," Dubaku says. "I'll see you in a moment." Or the better part of an hour, give or take. Sounds like Nichols is waiting until he gets back before breaking the awkward news that he's returning with two fewer henchmen and one fewer case of diamonds than he left with. After hanging up, Dubaku returns his attention to the big board, where his operator has pulled up a map of Kidron, Ohio, population 30,000. "The processing facility is located two miles west of the town center," the calmly helpful assistant-terrorist reports. "Casualties will be high. About 18,000." Dubaku enjoys a dramatic pause and finally says, "Begin." It's 2:00:00.
M. Giant is a Minneapolis-based writer with a wife, a son, and a number of cats that seems to have settled at around two. Learn waaaay too much about him at Velcrometer, follow him on Twitter (mgiant), or just e-mail him at M.Giant[at]gmail.com
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