Act 4
AERIAL SHOT shows congestion.
FOLLOW a BLACK MERCEDES SUV, which, in a daring move, cuts out of the congested lane into the carpool lane and starts speeding up.
INSIDE THE CAR
TONY
Michelle, are you crazy? The carpool lane is for cars with three or more passengers.
MICHELLE
And according to Virginia state law, there are three of us.
TONY
WHAT?
MICHELLE
Someone was telling me the other day that under Virginia state law, someone who kills a pregnant woman is charged with two murders. So, according to that logic, we should be entitled to ride in the carpool lane.
TONY
That’s not funny, Michelle. Please, get back over before we get stopped by a cop.
MICHELLE
Alright, alright. I just wanted to get you to work faster so you can figure out what’s up with your phone. Why are you so angry?
TONY
I’m not, I’m sorry…not at you. It’s just…I’ve seen that happen.
MICHELLE
What do you mean?
TONY
The day Jack’s wife was murdered, she had found out she had another child on the way. Jack never talked about it after coming back to CTU, but I know that he felt like he had lost two members of his family, even though he’d only found out an hour earlier that she was expecting a baby.
MICHELLE
Oh my g-d…I had no idea.
TONY
I know…it’s not your fault. And I know that you see the law as a backhanded way to give legal rights to a fetus that would impede the legal rights of the mother, and philosophically, I agree with you. But I know that if anything ever happened to you, I’d probably feel the same way Jack did.
Tony and Michelle’s car pulls into the Pentagon.
TONY
Are you sure you’re up for going to work today?
MICHELLE
Yeah, I’m fine. Do you want to meet me for lunch at noon at the Ground Zero Cafe?
TONY
Definitely. So does anyone at work know yet?
MICHELLE
No, and I’d like to keep it that way as long as possible.
TONY
How come?
MICHELLE
The job of federal information sharing executive for the Chief Information Officer is not one that’s traditionally held by women. My office is pretty male-dominated, and I’ve had a hard enough time getting them to take me seriously without them knowing about the baby. If they know I’m going to have to take an extended leave of absence they’ll shut me out now.
TONY
You won’t have to, Michelle.
MICHELLE
Look, I know you offered to be the one who stays home, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.
TONY
Well, it looks like I might not have a choice.
They get out of the car, close the doors, and begin walking into the building, hand in hand.
MICHELLE
What do you mean?
TONY
As you know, today’s Secretary Heller’s last day. And it seems his successor isn’t too thrilled at the prospect of having a convicted traitor as a special assistant.
MICHELLE
(sympathetically, with pain in her voice)
Tony…
He looks away, embarrassed. She stops walking and reaches over and cups his chin, pulling his head in to face her. He looks down with his eyes.
MICHELLE
Tony, look at me.
He continues to look down.
MICHELLE
Look at me!
He reluctantly obliges.
MICHELLE
Sweetheart, you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. You saved my life…you gave up everything you had to make sure I was okay, and in my eyes, you’ll always be a hero. I am so proud of you…proud of what you did that day, proud of the fact that you quit drinking, proud of how you’ve turned things around and proud of how you’ve served your country. I’m proud that you’re my husband and proud to be carrying your child…and nothing anybody says or does will ever change that. So I want you to go into work today and hold your head up high and promise me that no matter what they do or say to you, you won’t let them make you feel like anything short of a hero. Promise me, Tony.
He sits there silently for a moment, gripping her hand tightly, clearly moved by what she said. Finally, he opens his mouth, speaking no louder than a whisper.
TONY
I promise.
Michelle leans in and kisses him firmly on the lips, as if to emphasize how much she means what she said and how much she cares. He wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly.
TONY
(softly)
I love you so much.
MICHELLE
I love you too.
After a minute, he reluctantly breaks their embrace and they continue walking into the building. He kisses her gently before they part ways and head toward different corridors.
As Tony walks down a hall, his PHONE RINGS.
TONY
Almeida.
SPLIT SCREEN
PALMER
Mr. Almeida, this is David Palmer.
TONY
(A little flustered)
Mr. President…um, what can I do for you, sir?
PALMER
I just got a phone call from a source I believe to be trustworthy indicating that some people at DOD are suspicious of your activity.
TONY
Yes sir, Secretary Cummings is nervous about having me on staff because of my record.
PALMER
Mr. Almeida, I am unable to elaborate, but I have reason to believe this may not be about what happened four years ago.
TONY
What are you saying?
PALMER
I am saying that you need to be careful. Check your phone and your computer carefully for any kind of bugs or monitors. Be wary of Secretary Cummings. He was the one who ordered Jack Bauer killed, and he may be nervous because you know that his secret service agent killed him.
TONY
Mr. President, are you saying?
PALMER
I don’t know what he knows and doesn’t know, or what he believes to be true. All I know is that you and everyone else who was at CTU that day need to be careful. I’m on my way back to Washington now to meet with President Logan. After that I will call and give you an update. Can you get your hands on an encrypted phone?
TONY
(clearly freaked out)
Yeah, I can do that.
PALMER
Alright, call 202-424-4884 with your new number when you get a clean phone. Please keep me posted on any new developments.
TONY
Will do. Thank you sir.
INT. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE’S OFFICE
Skip knocks on the door.
CUMMINGS
Good morning, Skip. What can I do for you?
SKIP
I figured out how we can put a filter on Almeida’s communications without him knowing it. I just need access to his login information.
CUMMINGS
Alright, I’ll have someone get that for you. Good work, Skip.
SKIP
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Did you get any information from the number I got you this morning?
CUMMINGS
Yes, thank you very much. I’ll get you that information shortly.
SKIP
Thank you, sir.
Skip goes and sits at his computer. A few seconds later, the phone rings. Skip picks it up.
SKIP
Taylor.
IT PERSON ON OTHER END OF LINE
Mr. Taylor, I have the login information you requested. The username is ta9756a and the password is cubskickass.
SKIP
Thank you very much.
He hangs up the phone and logs into the computer with this information.
He types “ATCSCC” into the command prompt and gets a warning message.
ON SCREEN:
The action you have requested may not be secure and may leave both systems vulnerable to attacks. Are you sure you want to access this file?
He types “yes” and enters another password.
INT. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM COMMAND CENTER
JONG
Stephanie, what’s going on?
STEPHANIE
I don’t know…did your screen go blank too?
JONG
Yeah…and I tried rebooting the computer but I can’t get back into the monitoring module.
STEPHANIE
Same here…Dave, is your system down too?
DAVE
Yeah, just went down a minute ago.
She does a quick round of the room and finds that everyone is having the same problem.
JONG
Alright, we need to alert the White House now. If we can’t get these up and running in a few minutes, we are going to have to ground all air traffic. Stephanie, I want you to look at the log and see if anyone tried to access our server from a remote location. Dave, check the server for bugs. I’ll be in the office calling the appropriate agencies. Everyone else, keep trying to get your computers back up and running.
1) Air traffic controllers frantically trying to get their systems up and running.
2) President Logan is alerted to the situation.
3) Michelle gets a message on her blackberry.
CLOSE UP of blackberry screen:
TRANSITION MEETING MOVED UP TO 8 AM.
4) The two Chinese guys receive a message that says “Action Completed Successfully” on their screen.
WRITTEN: 07:00:00
FADE OUT.
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