Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT I Want You
By M. Giant | Season 8 | Episode 18 | Aired on 04.26.2010
today, and you were afraid of losing me as well." Kayla admits that she still is, and Dalia hugs her. Kayla wonders, "This peace agreement father died for -- how could so many people be so violently against it?" I've decided I like Kayla better when she's away from her parents. With them, she's written like a naïve teenager. Without letting go, Dalia lectures, "Some people are so invested in their fear and hatred, peace is the most threatening thing they can imagine." Is that in her speech?I'm sure it's just a coincidence that from there we cut to Kiefer, peering and sneaking through a chain link fence and privacy hedge across the street from the fake safe house at 10:43:12. I should also mention that this 141 Juniper Valley Road looks completely different from the one in Google Street View, probably because it's really in L.A. Kiefer has traded his man-purse for a giant duffel strapped to his back, and we can see him casing the site through his scope from behind the cover provided by an overfilled Dumpster. Even if they can't see him coming, they'll be able to smell him. He calls Chloe to say he's there, and she advises him to sneak in via the side entrance north of the loading dock, which should be out of the sentry's line of sight. Chloe tells him that Dana must be in a room in the southwest corner of the building. Of course Kiefer has no way of knowing that Chloe's talking to him about this allegedly illegal operation from the middle of the main floor where everyone can hear her, but he should really notice that she doesn't sound as stressed out as she usually does when he puts her in this kind of position. Kiefer hurries to disconnect, because he's making his move, running alongside a passing truck to conceal his approach to the building. Chloe switches lines to tell Cole that Kiefer's on his way in, and Cole can already see him from an upstairs window. Cole in turn alerts his men by earpiece, and they take up positions on either side of the open warehouse corridor that they expect Kiefer to enter by. Best-laid plans, right?
But Kiefer's not in yet. Before entering, he unshoulders his giant duffel to unload and strap on an assault rifle, then pockets a tear gas canister or something before stashing the duffel between some parked trucks, where the duffel's size will allow it to blend in nicely. So why'd he need all that other crap from Jim in the first place? Just to show him who's boss? Using a dental mirror, Kiefer sneaks around another truck and scopes out the sentry on that side of the building. Then he bangs on the side of the truck to lure the guard over. This works, and the CTU agent cautiously approaches, gun drawn. But he's not cautious enough to avoid getting socked unconscious the moment he comes around the corner. Kiefer quickly takes the agent's pulse to make sure he's alive, then tells Chloe he can see the room. "No hostiles in sight. I'm going to try and grab her." She tells him to be careful, and he copies. Then he pulls out his earpiece and heaves the agent up over his shoulder before entering the building, grunting with the effort. Come on, Kiefer, that little dude can't be heavier than the duffel you were carrying. Break his arms and use them as shoulder straps if you need to.
There's a moment where we see Chloe communicating with Cole, who's stalking the building with the Handsome Black Agent, hoping to close off Kiefer's escape route. But Kiefer's not where he's supposed to be. Instead, as everyone watches, a giant hanging sack of laundry comes coasting along the motorized rack overhead, with the unconscious sentry draped over it. "Son of a bitch," one of the agents mutters. No shit -- CTU has been holding on to people's laundry for a whole year? Now they all have to break cover and start sneaking around trying to find Kiefer, which doesn't work. And not because Kiefer's hiding inside the laundry sack, as I initially suspected, but because he's sneaked around another corner. When one of the agents comes around, Kiefer disarms and grabs him, then holds his rifle to the man's neck, ordering Cole and the other three to put down their weapons. He doesn't seem all that surprised to see Cole. Cole says he can't comply, until Kiefer threatens to kill his hostage. Cole isn't about to let his guy die for a fake safe house, so he gives the order, and all three CTU men toss their guns on the floor. Kiefer pushes his hostage toward them and covers all four with his gun, telling Cole to make them get down and then come towards him, kicking the dropped guns towards him as he goes. "How did you know?" Cole asks. "I know Chloe," Kiefer says. Oh, so he was aware of this all along. Looks like he was right about Chloe not wanting to go against him. He tosses Cole a phone and tells him to call CTU. "You're gonna tell her that her plan worked and you've got me locked down and ready for transport." Cole dials and puts it on speaker so they can all hear Chloe as Cole says Kiefer's caught, and unhurt, and Cole's men are fine too. And apparently CTU has given up on the use of duress codes, because Cole doesn't seem to make any attempt to use one, as far as I can tell. Not that Chloe would know them all, having been back on the job for only a month. "I know I should feel relieved, but I just feel worse," she tells Cole. Cole reminds her it's for Kiefer's own good, like she said. Then he hangs up and tosses the phone back. Oddly, Kiefer doesn't immediately throw it away. I'm not at all sure why Kiefer didn't have Cole use his own phone for that call; that seems less risky than potentially alerting Chloe by having his call come from an unfamiliar number. Not that that happened either, of course. Kiefer tells Cole to secure his men at 10:48:13.
10:52:32. Cole's been taking his time because he's just now finishing up, leaving his men lying facedown on the floor with their wrists and ankles secured with zip ties. CTU's HR department is going to be hearing about this, you can be sure. Cole asks Kiefer what's next. "Follow me," Kiefer says, and leads Cole into the next room. There, he tells Cole to sit down and lowers his weapon. "You're why I'm here, Cole. I knew Chloe would send you. You're the only reason I risked it." Wow, and with Walker not even cold yet. Oh, he's saying he wants Cole's help with this. "I know you well enough, Cole, that I know you don't want to be part of this cover-up." After nineteen hours, they're likethis. Cole asks how Kiefer knows Taylor's lying. "Because she told me to my face," Kiefer spits. "Why the hell do you think she came down to CTU to talk to me?" Because you don't break up with someone over the phone? "She didn't want me to get the evidence from Dana," Kiefer says. "She wanted to shut me up and lock me down." He reminds Cole that he's not clean either, having protected Dana earlier. "You lied for her. Which enabled the Russians to provide nucular materials to Hassan's opposition." Of course, Kiefer still doesn't know the half of that. "They facilitated his assassination, and what, you lost four of your men today, right?" Four? Is that all? I guess I can't think of any besides Owen and King at the dockyards, and then the two agents on the rooftop at the end of the first hour. That's actually a pretty good day, considering. Kiefer says he's offering Cole a chance to make things right. Cole doesn't say anything, and Kiefer tells him he has a decision to make. "What if you're wrong?" Cole wonders. "I'm not!" Kiefer snaps. Which he knows, because he never is. "Look, I can't do this on my own," Kiefer says, dropping a handgun on the table in front of Cole. That's a pretty trusting gesture, but if what Kiefer says is true, refusing to help Kiefer and arresting him are effectively the same thing. "Your call," Kiefer says, looking as vulnerable as he possibly can. Cole picks up the gun, still thinking about it, and finally shows what side he's on by holstering it. "Chloe says she's in a safe house a few miles from here," Cole tells Kiefer, and let's hope for their sake that she let the actual address slip at some point we didn't see. Kiefer says Cole's men need to think Kiefer took him hostage, so he levels the gun again and yells at him to start moving at 10:54:46. Cole rises, his hands spread, and lets Kiefer lead him out past his zip-tied men.
It's official: "Dalia Hassan to address United Nations as new IRK head of state," reads the onscreen headline in the TV. Which is correct even though it's Fox News. Watching in his temporary office, Logan is surprised to see that Ethan has just drifted silently in behind him. Logan, who has already heard about Ethan's resignation