24, Season 1. Episode 21


8:02 P.M.-8:03 P.M.: The polls close in California. A television reporter announces that Palmer appears to have swept the state, as well as all others that
held the Super Tuesday primary. In the company of himself, Palmer soaks up every last drop of the news, no doubt waiting for the right moment to let the
bragging begin. Kimberly, meanwhile, is biding her time in the women's group holding cell. An estrogen-challenged black officer brings Melanie around,
and drops her off so Kimberly can have a familiar face to keep her company. Melanie walks right over to Kimberly, and tells her she's in her seat. Kimberly
says fine, gets up, and sits elsewhere. Melanie then walks over to Kimberly's new seat to tell her that too is her seat. With daggers in her eyes, Kimberly
gets up again and goes to stand by the bars, where she has to contend with a mental patient hopeful who uses her presence to float like a bee and sting
like a butterfly.

8:03 P.M.-8:08 P.M.: Palmer has rejoined the party. He receives a hearty congratulations and toast from Mike for sweeping all 11 states. And to think he
did it all by not listening to a single word his chief-of-staff had to say. But that's not all -- FOX News took a poll, and 83% of the population approve
of the way he handled the Ferragamo crisis. An elated Palmer says that is great, because if FOX News took the poll, then it's agreed it's as fair and balanced
as he is. Changing the subject, he asks Mike if they've heard from Frank Ames or his angry mob. Mike figures they're all laying low, but advises him not
to get cocky. After all that has happened in the last twenty hours and with all that is known about David Palmer, one can't help but think that suggestion
will be heeded as closely as every other one Mike has ever offered. Palmer stops the party to tell the crowd of people that he has to make a speech soon.
And that even though there are a lot more primaries left to deal with, and a lot of rednecks left to win over, he intends to make the speech sound like
a victory speech. The entire crowd cheers wildly -- including Mike, who might have possibly contracted amnesia recently, as this conflicts wildly with
advice he gave Palmer, oh, a minute ago. Palmer continues about how although this has been a difficult day for all involved, he's confident that, just
like they said in the America's Choice polls, being honest was the right thing to do, and he's sure everything will work out for everybody in the end.
He then proceeds to pile on the horn-blowing that he simply could not hold inside him any longer. Over at CTU, Mason preps Nina to handle Division's request
in reassessing the threat, which he presumes is minimal now that Alexis is out of commission. Jack calls asking to speak to Nina, but Mason takes the call
for her. Jack gets Mason up to date on where he is and whose acquaintance he's made and whose acquaintance he's about to make. Mason doesn't have any time
to ponder how Victor Drazen was brought back from the dead, since Jack needs him to send in a field unit now. He doesn't have any time to ponder that either,
but ponder he does before telling Jack that he'll call Division about it. Jack chastises Mason, making it clear that Andre and company aren't going to
sit around and play cards while they wait for the request to go through the proper channels. He leaves Mason with an ultimatum before hanging up. Mason
decides to comply, and orders an assistant to dispatch the field unit, which he'll clear later, and get in touch with Chappelle immediately. When Nina
worriedly wants to know if Jack is alright, Mason sidesteps the question and derides her for wasting her life on a married man (that would be Jack) and
subsequently fooling around with Tony on the rebound. Mason says it in the guise of being a friend, but he walks away from Nina without ever answering
her question. Her attempt to follow him down and beat the truth out of him never comes to pass, as Mr. Rebound in the flesh returns to CTU with Teri. Nina
thanks God out loud that Teri is okay, though this is probably just a formality since she says it with all the conviction of a lobotomized Al Gore. Teri
asks if they've gotten any word on Kimberly. When she hears they haven't, Teri then asks about Jack. Nina lies, and tells her that he doesn't know about
what happened at the safe house because they can't get a hold of him. Teri demands to speak to Jack, but Nina defers to Mason's judgement on the matter.
To help CTU and Jack -- or just to waste time -- Nina requests that Teri join her and Tony in the conference room to go all over she knows, even though
she already did that with Tony on the way over in the car... and there really hasn't been any evidence that she knows something. Teri stops complaining
long enough to say she'll redo the interview, but only if they agree to keep her up to date on Jack and Kimberly. Nina promises she will -- a promise that's
certainly as good as coal.

8:08 P.M.-8:10 P.M.: DeSalvo attempts to contact his men that were stationed outside, but the lack of responses from their end suggests they are no longer
among the living. Jack tells DeSalvo they've got to get out of there this instant, so DeSalvo points him to the exit. At gunpoint, Jack orders Victor to
open the door and step out into the middle of the hall. DeSalvo tries to get some answers out of Victor in regards to both of their men, but Victor keeps
a tight lip. Jack repeats that they need to get out of the hallway because they're too exposed. His words ring prophetic when Andre and the others blast
a hole right through the wall. Jack, DeSalvo, Victor and the couple of guys with them are forced to make a hasty retreat back into the prison.

8:14 P.M.-8:17 P.M.: Mason continues to try to get through to Chappelle, but he's busy. Teri pays him a surprise visit during the time she was supposed
to be debriefed to say that since Nina and Tony won't tell her anything about Kimberly, she hopes he will. Mason says he knows no more than Nina but he's
sure she's safe. Teri doesn't believe him. He clarifies by stating that since Myovic asked where Kimberly was, they're looking for her too. Mason stresses
that Jack means a lot to CTU and he won't rest easy until Kimberly is found. Nina calls Mason, who makes the call private so Teri can't hear what's being
said. She asks him that the unit will be on site in about 15 minutes, and they want to know who's in charge: them or DOD. Mason tells Nina to call back
when they are on site before hanging up. Teri asks if that was about Jack, but all Mason will say is that when they hear from Jack, they'll let her know.
In the meantime, he's going to have his assistant Rebecca look after her. She thanks for him kindness, and leaves. He pays her back by calling up Rebecca
to tell her to keep Teri out of his face.

8:17 P.M.-8:19 P.M.: Palmer goes to see Patty, who's been typing up some changes he requested on his speech. As he looks over her work, she congratulates
him on winning all 11 primaries before noticing that he seems distant. She asks him if he's okay. He says he is; he's just had a ^long day.^ He then asks
her to move the second paragraph -- about party unity -- to the end, as a closing statement. He's about to leave when she stops him, because she has something
important that she's been wanting to share with him in private. That being how much she admires him for doing the unthinkable in standing by his principles.
Palmer is so choked up by her announcement that one of history's firsts happens -- he almost doesn't know what to say. So he smiles and heads off, while
she goes back to the drawing board, all the while grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

8:19 P.M.-8:24 P.M.: The field unit approaches the site. Mason calls one of the men, Barnes, to find out where they are. Barnes tells him that it looks
like the door was blown in. Mason asks if the hostiles are inside. Barnes reckons they must be, since there's no activity outside. But then if they're
outside and dead, there wouldn't likely be any activity. Barnes says they're preparing to go inside. Jack, DeSalvo, Victor and the rest of the crew try
to find a safe haven in near-pitch blackness, but they're surprised by one of the Drazen's men who opens fire on them. While somebody from Jack's team
orders the others to take cover (which they do), Andre calls out for his father (and his father calls out for him). With his gun planted on Victor's back,
Jack walks backwards towards the wall. Andre's guys shine their spotlights on Victor. Andre orders Jack to let his father go, while Jack is ordering Andre
and the others to drop their weapons. Neither side complies. To sweeten the pot, Andre's men corner Jack, and Andre himself steps forward to show Jack
that he's taken DeSalvo as his hostage. And if Jack doesn't let Victor go, he'll kill DeSalvo. DeSalvo shouts out for Jack not to let Victor go. Jack instead
just continues to drone on for the terrorists drop their weapons. Reaching a stalemate, Andre offers up his best impression of The Count to help Jack change
his mind. Hearing those frightening ^one^ and ^two^ numbers puts such a fear into Jack that he instantly drops his weapon, puts his hands high up in the
air, and lets them reclaim Victor. Andre then expresses his gratitude by blowing DeSalvo to smithereens. What a great time for Jack to pick to be a wuss.
Maybe if he'd tried it earlier, not only would DeSalvo still be alive, but Cofell and Gaines would be too. The reunited father and son hug and kiss each
other, leaving new hostage Jack no doubt wondering why he bothered to even try to save a guy he just met an hour ago. Their embrace over and done with,
Victor suddenly remembers how their prisoner yelled at him, and grabs the gun being held by one of his son's teammates to help Jack go join his friend.
Of course, something comes up that stops him -- in this case, Harris telling him that there's at least a dozen well-armed hostiles outside the main entrance.
Victor orders him to collapse the corridor immediately, and for the two guys who were holding Jack prisoner to take him, as they may need him for bargaining.
They all retreat back towards the prison, so that Harris can plant a detonator on top of the ceiling lights, thus blasting the only way out. His fear turning
to smugness, Jack tells them that was a mistake -- now they're trapped. As is he. Victor says he'll see about that. Meanwhile, Kimberly is witness to a
violent fight over a cigarette when the resident bad black girl thinks another inmate is holding out on her. To teach the cig hog some manners, the bad
black girl has her posse kick the crap out of the little liar. Seeing Kimberly cower in the corner of the cell, Melanie confidently strides over and sits
down next to her to cheer her up with some good-natured tom-foolery the likes of, ^When we get out of here, maybe I'll mess you up just like that.^ Kimberly
asks Melanie what her problem is. Melanie tells her she's her problem. Kimberly reminds Melanie that the only reason she's in her with her is because she
told the cops she was part of the deal. Melanie smirks, saying she was a part of the deal. In disbelief, Kimberly wonders how she could have known about
the deal when it's proven time and time again she doesn't know anything about anything. Melanie stands up in a huff, revealing the first real reason she
hates blondie -- because she came over to Rick's house uninvited. Since she's mad at Rick, whom she dubs a loser, Melanie doesn't come right out and admit
it. Instead, she laughs at Kimberly, who doesn't think he's a loser, for defending him when he kidnapped her and almost got her killed. Melanie then reveals
the second real reason she hates blondie -- she's her daddy's little girl, who gets everything handed to her. Having had enough of Miss White Trash USA
to last a lifetime, Kimberly stands up as well to show Melanie she too can be a bad ass. If Strawberry Shortcake were a bad ass, that is. And, yelling
at the top of her lungs so the entire cell-full of people can get a piece of her, Kimberly proceeds to fill a suddenly speechless Melanie in on how her
day went. Just then who should show up but the biggest baddest blackest ass of them all -- none other than the prison guard from before. She runs her flashlight
across the bars as a signal for Kimberly ^Motormouth^ Bauer to sit down and shut up. Strangely, no one else in the room applauds the guard's noble actions.

8:28 P.M.-8:31 P.M.: Harris takes a blowtorch to a wall in hopes of creating a new exit. One of Andre's troopers keeps a rifle pointed at Jack while Victor
uses the opportunity to scold their prisoner for thinking he's a monster because he wants revenge on the Bauer clan. Jack tells Victor he was a monster
long before he met him. The way he treated that cute little moose and squirrel was just beastly. Victor scolds him about that as well, since Jack's background
knowledge on him was amassed by reading biased reports and magazines. Yes, as the spittle flies out of Victor's mouth like a rabid dog, it becomes instantly
clear that what Jack read was propaganda -- there couldn't possibly be a kinder, gentler man on earth. Jack asks Victor when his suffering ends. After
he's killed him and Palmer, their families, and anybody else who was mean to him on the playground. That is when, says Victor. Jack tells him he's insane,
living a psychotic fantasy. Victor has the man with the rifle take it and ram Jack in the stomach. Is that a psychotic fantasy too? Not according to the
insane Victor, who yells out that the fantasy is just about to become reality. Andre walks over with phone in hand. He's got a phone call for Victor. Mason
is on the other end. When Victor learns he's from CTU, he asks if he's the one he'll be negotiating with. Mason replies that they don't do that, but he
is willing to listen to his concerns. Victor tells Dr. Mason that his main concern is Jack Bauer. He then asks if they ever want to see him alive again.
Mason's doubt that Jack still is alive leads Victor to hand the phone over so Mason can talk to his buddy. Jack skips the small talk, and goes straight
to the letting Mason know how many men he's counted and how heavily they're armed. Victor snatches the phone away and signals for a second henchman to
kick Jack to keep him quiet. Mason tells Victor he'll be speaking to his superiors, then he'll get back to him.

8:31 P.M.-8:34 P.M.: Mason breaks the bad news to Nina and Tony. He has Tony fetch the stats on the field unit at his desk, but keeps Nina with him so she
can print out a layout of the facility. Nina asks how Jack sounded over his phone. ^Alive^ is all Mason can muster. He warns her that he's going to be
a long, drawn-out process. She sighs, saying she knows the drill. He adds that she must know then that it may not turn out as they'd like. He offers to
take her off and put somebody else on the job who's less emotionally-involved. She isn't amused with his offer. Mason leaves her presence and goes to see
Tony again to find out if he's managed to get hold of Chappelle yet. He's frustrated that Tony hasn't. Kimberly and Melanie continue to sit and stare at
the walls of their cell. Some of their cellmates pass the kutchie from the left hand side. The sassy black girl with the posse is the one caught with her
hand in the doobie jar when the heavyset female guard returns to make her rounds. Does she A) flush it down the toilet? B) hide it behind her bench? C)
snuff it out under her shoe? No, the answer is D) get up, go over to Melanie and demand that she take it. When, for probably the first time in her life,
Melanie refuses drugs, Queen Lareefer throws the joint in her lap. Melanie jumps up and brushes it off so as not to ignite herself, but her activity only
helps call attention to the guard that somebody was smoking pot. Since the angry guard wants to know who the culprit is, Melanie's new friend decides to
rat her out. Melanie is now ordered to pick the joint that wasn't hers off the floor and bring it to the guard. After doing so, Melanie swears that it
wasn't her, but after confirming that it is marijuana, the guard tells Melanie that she's coming with her. Kimberly decides to do something nice for Melanie
-- now that she's all confident and everything, she blurts out that Melanie is telling the truth. Although the black guard is angry, that ain't nothin'
compared to how mad Kimberly's announcement makes the sassy black girl who had the joint. She warns blondie not to make a liar out of her. Kimberly snaps
back that there's no need, she already is. Sassy gets up, runs over to Kimberly -- who boldly stands up herself, since, hey, it worked on Melanie -- and
with one blow, knocks her right to the ground. The little toker then goes crazy, flailing her arms around wildly, during which time Melanie and the guards
restrain her. While being led out of the cell in handcuffs, sassy promises Kimberly that she'll get her back. Later. Thinking it best not to let Kimberly
experience some alone time with her in the showers, Melanie has her own change of heart -- she calls out to the guard to tell her that she wants to speak
to Krugman about what happened today. She has some new insight to give. The guard takes her out as well.

8:34 P.M.-8:35 P.M.: The two of them now alone, Jack asks Victor about the lookalike of his who went into the building before they blew it up. Victor reveals
his tricks of the trade -- it's all done with mirrors, my son. Jack tells him that since he was using a body double, that means he knew he was a target.
And since he let that target get near his family, he himself put his family in danger. Why, you could almost say he blew up his own family. Victor responds
that they were supposed to be away on a trip that day, but, unbeknownst to him, came back one day earlier than expected. He agrees, though, that he should
have been more careful. Once he's got the saddened and nostalgic Victor right where he wants him, Jack kicks him in the leg, steals his weapon away from
him, and prepares to make his getaway. The great CTU master gets all of two feet before Andre comes up behind him and gives him a taste of his own medicine.
He helps his father regain his footing and makes sure he's alright. Since Jack is preoccupied with lying on the ground in pain to attempt another escape,
Victor shows him what a nerve he hit by stating that he's had to accept responsibility for the death of his family for two years. Now today Jack will have
to accept responsibility too. He then tells his son to make sure Jack does not die. That's Andre's cue to kick Jack when he's down.

8:40 P.M.-8:43 P.M.: Patty brings the revised revised speech to Palmer to see if now it's to his liking. He tells her it's much better now. Palmer's aide,
Elaine, enters the room they're both in to let the senator know that Mike's ready for him downstairs whenever he's ready. He asks Patty if she made a copy
for the teleprompter. She didn't, so he makes that Elaine's next task. Now that they're along again, Patty asks Palmer if he minds if she works in the
room with him. He doesn't. So she sits down, but further work out of her doesn't seem to be forthcoming. What lurks beneath the longing, desirous stares
of the meek campaign manager? Passion? Admiration? Threesomeation? Does anybody really care? She apologizes to him because this day has gone so spectactular
wrong for him. He tells her not to feel bad for him, feel bad for Keith and Nicole. They're the ones who've been suffering. They're the ones who've had
to listen to him give twelve speeches today alone about honesty and integrity and humanity. She tells him he worries about other people too much, takes
care of other people too much. So who takes care of him? Who'll take care of him... on those cold, desolate nights when Sherry is out galavating with the
White House staff. Who'll take care of him when Keith and Nicole fly the coop and the bedroom grows cold? Who'll take care of him under his desk where
no one else can see? He stresses that he's fine and doesn't need taking care of. She chooses to take care of his back with a sensuous, impromptu back massage.
Palmer admits that her careesing touch on his tense back does feel good. Though he may need someone to take care of him, he no longer needs someone to
take him a clue, since it finally dawns on him what her hands want. Before she manages to caress the shirt off his back, he puts an abrupt halt to the
massage, repeats that he is fine, and offers his thanks as a cue for her to skedaddle. On her way out, she tells him that she's off to go handle tomorrow's
briefs. No doubt she'll spend the entire time dreaming of handling the briefs in his pants.

8:43 P.M.-8:45 P.M.: Chappelle finally returns Mason's call. Mason's attempt to lay a guilt trip on him for taking a half hour to call back are overshadowed
by the guilt trip Chappelle lays on him for getting torn a new one by DOD and the Pentagon. Mason's made a bit of a mess in their eyes. But Chappelle thinks
he's managed to clean it up. Mason doesn't even know what mess he's talking about, though, so Chappelle elaborates that he should have kept Jack on a tighter
leash. Mason says he doesn't like Jack either, but at least he gets results. Or kidnapped, as the case were. He tells Chappelle he should be grateful to
Jack for not allowing Victor to escape, thus sparing all of CTU great shame and embarrassment. Chappelle laughs the comment off. How could Victor escape
when he wasn't technically even a prisoner? But, no, Mason had to go bring a field unit in and now everybody's involved and the cops will get wind of it
and the media will have the sixth biggest story of the day. An infuriated Chappelle hands Mason down an order -- end this, and end it within the next few
minutes. Mason asks what about Jack? Chappelle says who cares about Jack; nobody told him to go out there. Chappelle hangs up with an ultimatum: do it,
or he'll find somebody else to. Mason reluctantly calls Nina in and lets her be the second to know that he's ordering a full assault on the field unit
in a few minutes. They'll soon be making their final preparations. He apologizes, leaving Nina crushed.

8:45 P.M.-8:48 P.M.: Tony calls Teri, who's been kept waiting in the examination room, to say they've found Kimberly. Yeah, she's fine. She just got arrested,
but they're bringing her over now. Relieved and elated that her baby girl might now have a prison record, Teri asks if she can speak to her. Tony says
he'll put Kimberly through as soon as that's an option. Nina walks in to sully Teri's good news with the bad. Ten seconds of being happy and Teri's right
back to crying again. Though they were at odds before and Teri might even remember it, Nina holds her, reassuring that Jack can get through anything. The
sappy music kicks in as Nina excuses herself from the room, leaving Teri weeping uncontrollably over the news that Kimberly is alive. Just as the CTU field
unit are about to launch their full-on assault on the detention center, one of them asks Mason what to do about Jack. Mason has no advice on that, his
only order to make sure they get Victor. Nina, privy to the conversation, looks understandably displeased. The unit blasts their way inside the center
via dynamite charges, and the men proceed forward.

8:53 P.M.-8:55 P.M.: Kimberly contends with the evil stares of one of sassy's friends. Krugman rushes over to the holding cell to tell Kimberly they're
releasing her. He didn't get through to Jack, but he did speak with somebody else at CTU. At the same time he lets her out, the female guard leads Melanie
back in. Krugman tells Kimberly that Melanie admitted she lied the first time she spoke with him. Since Melanie's looking quite the grump frump, Kimberly
doesn't bother to thank her or wish her a fond farewell. Krugman, on the other hand, has done an about face from the boorish skeptic Kimberly first came
to know. Now he laughs with her about what a busy day she's had, and cheers her up with the news that he spoke with Teri, who's waiting for her at CTU.
He offers to drive her there himself, presumably to atone for being a jerk before. Palmer and Mike get ready to leave headquarters so Palmer can give his
speech. Mike recommends for one night he smile and forget about his troubles. Palmer says he can't; his troubles are just beginning. Mike explains to him
that in the White House the office comes first and your home life comes second. So he recommends that he find something to help him pull through, whether
it be his wife... or somebody else. Palmer makes like he'll think about it. They both head out.

8:55 P.M.-9:00 P.M.: The CTU field unit storm the hallway and find the bodies of DeSalvo and one of his unidentified men, but don't find any hostiles. One
of the guys, Drake, radios this information to Mason, along with the team's progress. Drake says that the entire staff is dead, but Victor and Jack are
gone. He then unearths a tunnel that the Drazens must have created. Mason orders Drake and team to check it out. Good thing Drake looks before he leaps,
since the tunnel was rigged with laser mines that would have blasted the unit to pieces had he listened to Mason. Mason asks Drake if he can disarm it.
Drake thinks he can, but it'll take about a half hour. Will it be too late by then? Affirmative on that, Houston, as Victor, Andre, Jack and the others
have successfully made it back outside where their getaway vehicle awaits. Time to dump the excess baggage. Andre knocks Jack to the ground, leaving Victor
the honors of offing him. He consoles Jack that Teri and Kimberly will soon be joining him. In a last-ditch effort to spare his hide, Jack tells Victor
that if they don't kill him, Alexis will soon be joining them. But Alexis is dead, snarls Victor. Victor refuses to believe Jack when he says Alexis is
alive and CTU has him -- until Jack reveals key details about the ill-fated meeting he had with Elizabeth that he couldn't possibly know about unless he
were telling the truth. Because it's simply not possible for both Jack to have listened to their conversation and for Alexis to have died afterwards. As
he picks him up off the ground, Victor gets a bit testy with Jack for trying to butter him up with the promise of leading him to Alexis. But in the end
he and Andre decide to bring Jack with them again, this time as their map. Krugman's partner is driving him and Kimberly over to CTU. Kimberly asks to
borrow Krugman's cell phone so she can call her mother and let her know she's okay. Teri and Kimberly each express relief that neither of them was recaptured,
in the best display of knocking on wood seen all day long. Teri asks how Mommy's perfect angel managed to wind up in prison. Kimberly says she'll tell
her all about it when she gets there in a few minutes. Then she returns the phone to Krugman, who apologizes to her for not believing her story at first.
Acting uncharacteristically human, Kimberly manages to crack a smile at him, musing that if she hadn't lived it she probably wouldn't believe it herself.
Other things that are sure to provoke disbelief -- a van smashing headfirst into the side of their police vehicle, knocking out Krugman's partner; armed
terrorists rushing out of another van and shooting Krugman; Kimberly getting kidnapped yet again. Tick, tick, tick...