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The following takes place between 9 AM and 10 AM Eastern Standard Time on the day of the Presidential Inauguration:

ACT ONE

FADE IN:

INT. PENTAGON - OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (OSD)

Tony, Audrey, and Secretary Heller continue to stare at Jack.
The phone continues to ring. Finally, Heller picks it up, trying to hide his shock.

HELLER

Yeah?

OPERATOR

Mr. Secretary, I have Mike Novick on line 2.

HELLER

Alright, patch him through.

MIKE

Jim, have you gotten anything out of Tony Almeida yet?

HELLER

I’m working on it…I honestly don’t think he knows anything about the air traffic attack.

MIKE

So you definitely think he’s being framed?

HELLER

Yes, I do. Footage from our security cameras show that he was nowhere near a computer at the time the attack was triggered, his fingerprints don’t match the fingerprints on the keyboard that was used to trigger the attack, and NetOps reported that his login ID was requested by the incoming secretary for a liason to a civilian contractor right before the attack. Based on what he’s told me and other information we have I don’t think he knows anything about it.

MIKE

Mr. Secretary, has he mentioned anything about Jack Bauer?

Heller looks at Jack, who is mouthing “I’m not here.”

HELLER

No, he hasn’t…why?

MIKE

This morning, Cummings told the president he got a call from the Chinese foreign secretary claiming that Jack Bauer is alive and his government knows we lied to them.

HELLER

How could that be? Jack Bauer was killed three years ago…I attended his funeral personally.

MIKE

Mr. Secretary, did you see his body before he was buried?

HELLER

No, why?

At this point, Heller takes the phone call back into his office.

As soon as he is out of earshot, Jack opens his mouth to talk.

JACK

Look, I know you guys probably have a zillion questions, and I promise to explain everything, I just…

TONY

Actually, I don’t, Jack. You needed me to create a diversion so you made it look like I triggered a cyberterrorist attack while you infiltrate some terrorist group and carry out some crazy scheme, fine. Let’s just get one thing clear. When you tell Secretary Heller what happened three years ago, I’m the only one who helped you escape, alright?

JACK

Tony, listen to me. I have no idea what’s going on with the air traffic attack…if the guys I’ve been infiltrating are involved then they never told me about it…I have no idea who’s trying to frame you or why.

Tony looks skeptical.

JACK

Come on, Tony…I spent three and a half months trying to convince President Palmer to let you out of prison…why the hell would I go out of my way to put you back in there? Look, I know that having to keep my being alive a secret has caused a lot of problems for you and Michelle, and I’m really sorry about that. But I specifically told you not to cover for me if it meant risking your lives or your freedom…you should have told Secretary Heller the truth this morning.

TONY

And if I did? That wouldn’t exactly exonerate me, Jack. I helped a prisoner escape three years ago, I withheld information from the government, and I obstructed their perverse definition of justice. So I’m pretty much screwed either way…all I’m trying to do is protect Michelle,
alright?

Audrey, who has been staring at Jack looking haunted and not sure what to think, opens her mouth and speaks softly.

AUDREY

Guys, he’s coming.

JACK

Audrey, can you do me a favor and step outside for a few minutes?

AUDREY

Why?

JACK

Please, just trust me.

Tony gives Jack a disgusted look when he realizes what Jack is trying to do. Secretary Heller reenters the room, still looking bewildered.

AUDREY

I can’t take any more of this…this is all…too much for me. I need to go take a walk, clear my head.

HELLER

Alright, but don’t go too far…we may need your help. (To Jack) Well, I, um…I’m very glad to see you, Jack…you’ll have to forgive my surprise. I thought…

JACK

It’s alright, sir, I understand. I appreciate your buying me some time just now when you spoke to Mike Novick. And I imagine you have a lot of questions, and I promise to answer all of them as best I can, but first I need to ask for a favor.

HELLER

What kind of a favor?

JACK

I gather from what I heard of your phone conversation that someone alerted the president to the fact that I’m alive, am I right?

HELLER

Unfortunately, it looks like he’s not the only one. This morning, before I came in, my successor, Walt Cummings, got a call from the Chinese foreign secretary demanding that you be captured and handed over. Mike just told me about it.

JACK

Alright, look…as soon as this mission is over, I will go to the Chinese Embassy and turn myself in.

Tony looks disgusted.

JACK

But right now, I need you to call the president and tell him that Tony admitted that I’m alive and he doesn’t know where I am but has some information that might help find me. He’s willing to share it, but in exchange,
he wants immunity for himself and Audrey and everyone else who knew I was alive for any and all actions taken to protect me or help me infiltrate Shining Path.

HELLER

How do you expect me to do that, Jack? I don’t know who else was involved or what else was done to protect you and I have no idea what this mission with Shining Path is. From the briefs I’ve been given on your alias,
it’s not even clear to the intelligence community that you’re still on the right side of the law.

JACK

Look, Mr. Secretary, I know it’s asking a lot. I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t trust me right now…I know how suspicious this all looks. But I know that you trust Tony, and he can vouch for me that everyone I’m asking immunity for is on the right side of the law, and that to the best of my knowledge nobody has gotten hurt as a result of any of their actions.
Sir, I have information that could help to prevent a major chemical attack on this country, and I came back, risking my cover, because I want to help. But my friends risked their lives to protect me, and I can’t let them go to jail as a result of my actions.

HELLER

Let’s step back a second here. First, I am assuming that Jose Rodriguez is the name you’ve assumed since you somehow managed to escape three years ago.

JACK

That’s right.

HELLER

And Tony, am I correct to assume that you had nothing to do with the ATCSCC attack, and that everything you’ve lied about this morning has been to protect Jack?

TONY

Yeah. That’s right.

HELLER

Without mentioning anyone who’s involved, can you give me a little bit of an overview of what this threat is and what you’re doing to try to stop it?

JACK

All I can tell you right now is that a Latin American terrorist group called Shining Path, or Sendero Luminoso in Spanish, is planning some sort of a raid on our chemical weapons stockpile at the Edgewood facility in Aberdeen, Maryland, and I believe this is going to occur at some point today. I can’t give you any details of what I have been doing to try to prevent this from happening until I can be guaranteed immunity for the people who have assisted me in this effort and for everyone who helped me to escape three years ago.

HELLER

So what are we talking about, here? I’m assuming falsification of government documents, destruction of evidence, withholding information from the government, interfering in a Secret Service operation,
possibly obstruction of justice, hindering a terrorist investigation by falsely taking responsibility…are there any charges anyone’s going to need immunity from?

JACK

I think that pretty much covers it…you might have to add illegal transporting of a prisoner, communication with a known fugitive,
unauthorized dissemination of information, and doctoring intelligence information to the list. But sir, the agreement should be as broad as possible…as I’m sure you know, there are people in influential positions who were up in arms when Palmer let Tony out of prison…if he isn’t given blanket immunity they’ll find some technicality to get him with. And I had a lot of enemies in Washington when I worked for CTU…I’m afraid they’ll do the same to everyone who helped me escape to get revenge at me.

Heller stares at the picture of Audrey and Richard when they were kids on his desk and furrows his brow.

HELLER

If it encompassed all non-violent crimes, would that be broad enough?

JACK

To the best of my knowledge, yes.

HELLER

Tony?

TONY

Yes, sir, that should cover it.

HELLER

Jack, this morning Tony told me that three years ago, he overheard you on the phone with President Palmer, and from what Tony could make of the conversation, President Palmer warned you that Cummings had instructed his Secret Service agent to kill you instead of taking you into custody. Is that correct?

JACK

I did get a call from President Palmer warning me that the Secret Service agent had orders to kill me, but he didn’t say who gave the order.

TONY

He did to me.

Jack and Secretary Heller look at Tony, bewildered.

TONY

He called me this morning, before he got on a plane in Chicago. He wanted to warn me that the president had summoned him back to Washington because of information he had gotten from Cummings, and he told me that Cummings was the one who ordered Jack killed three years ago. I left that part out before, Mr. Secretary…I wasn’t sure how to explain my conversation with President Palmer without blowing Jack’s cover.

HELLER

I see. Now, the story I was told three years ago was that the Secret Service agent had orders to take Jack into custody, and he used force only after Jack opened fire. Is that not correct?

TONY

No, sir. The Secret Service agent, the same one who interrogated me this morning…he had orders to take Jack out. And President Palmer told me this morning that Cummings is the one who gave the order. I believe he overheard the phone conversation between Cummings and Agent Spaulding.

Secretary Heller processes for a minute, looking deeply disturbed.

HELLER

Well, if this is all true, and we’re going to have to hope that we can reach President Palmer before I have to hand in my resignation in order to verify all this…in light of this new information, I certainly don’t think Tony’s the one who belongs in prison. I’ll call the president now and see about an immunity agreement. Now, should I mention anything about Cummings?

JACK

That’s your call, sir. You know the political dynamics a lot better than I do…I don’t know whether or not we can trust the president, or whether he’d do what he had to to protect Cummings.

HELLER

Tony? What’s your opinion on this?

TONY

Mr. Secretary, I’m the last person you should be asking to gauge the political dynamics of a situation. Audrey tried for the third time yesterday to explain to me why it sometimes takes 50 votes and sometimes it takes 60 votes to confirm a cabinet nominee and I’m still not sure I get it.
But I get the sense that Cummings is pretty close to the president…when Cummings was the head of the NSC I always got the sense the president turned to him first before he consulted anyone here. Besides, I’m not sure how you can provide evidence without blowing Jack’s cover…so I would stick with the original plan and tell the president that I’m demanding immunity for myself and everyone else who helped Jack and in exchange I’m going to help find him.

HELLER

Alright, let me call the White House.

TONY

Sir, I’m going to go try again to reach Michelle and check on Audrey, if that’s alright.

Heller nods.

Jack puts on his hat and sunglasses to conceal his identity and follows Tony into the hall.

INT. PENTAGON - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

TONY

Look, Jack, Audrey’s been having a pretty rough day…right before you came in, she just found out that her fiancee may be involved in framing me for this cyber attack on the air traffic control center in Herndon that happened earlier this morning…I know you’re using her as leverage against her father, but just try not to screw with her heart again, alright?

JACK

I didn’t come here to screw with Audrey’s heart, alright? I didn’t even want her to know I was here, alright? But when Michelle told me about…I mean, when I found out what was going on with the air traffic attack I had to do something to clear your name.

TONY

Wait a second. Michelle told you about it? When did you talk to her?

JACK

Earlier this morning…she, uh, she called me because she thought I had something to do with it.

TONY

So how did you get the footage?

JACK

What footage?

TONY

Don’t play dumb with me here, Jack. Someone uploaded security camera footage that Michelle had requested to Audrey’s station…she told her dad a few minutes ago that nobody who was still alive knew her password…so unless her husband somehow didn’t really die or came back from the dead, you’re the only one who could have uploaded it, which means you know where Michelle is when nobody’s been able to get a hold of her for the past hour and a half. So where is she?

JACK

She’s fine, Tony.

TONY

What do you mean she’s fine? Where the hell is she?

JACK

I’ll tell you, Tony, but you’re not going to like it, so I need you to promise me beforehand that you’re not going to interfere.

TONY

WHAT? What the hell did you do to her?

JACK

Tony, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you unless you promise me.

TONY

Fine, I promise. Now where the hell is my wife?

JACK

She’s in the basement of the consolidated server room in the Army wing.

TONY

So why isn’t she answering her phone or her blackberry?

JACK

Because she doesn’t exactly have use of her hands right now.

TONY

What do you mean?

JACK

I had to tie her up to make it look like I was cooperating with Shining Path…when she told me she had to get the footage to Secretary Heller I uploaded it to Audrey’s screen.

TONY

YOU KIDNAPPED MY WIFE?

JACK

Not exactly, Tony. It’s all an act…I’m supposed to kidnap Michelle and hold her at gunpoint until she uploads the access codes to a chemical weapons facility in Aberdeen, Maryland to the terrorists…but she’s going to change one of the codes so they can’t get in, then she’s going to pretend to knock me out and escape and call for security to apprehend the terrorists at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

TONY

So you’re saying…Michelle knew about all of this? Did she help plan the ATCSCC stunt too?

JACK

No. I told you, neither of us knows anything about that. But yes, she knew what the plan was regarding the chemical weapons in Aberdeen. We staged it to look like a kidnapping so she wouldn’t get in trouble for operating outside of protocol. As soon as I get done securing immunity for all of you and brief Secretary Heller, I’m going to go back downstairs and carry out the rest of the plan…I’ll be with Michelle the whole time, and she won’t be in any danger. Chloe’s monitoring a bug I put in their van this morning, so we’ll be able to pick up what they’re saying.

TONY

Chloe doesn’t speak Spanish…why didn’t you get me to do that? Why the hell did you guys keep me in the dark?

JACK

Because Michelle made me promise not to get you involved.

TONY

WHAT?

JACK

She was just trying to protect you, Tony. We all know there are influential people in the government who would jump at any chance to throw you back in prison. We didn’t want to put you in a position of having to break protocol and risk getting in trouble.

Tony sighs, frustrated. He knows Jack is right but that does not mean he’s happy about it.

TONY

So instead you put her in a position of having to lie to me and put herself in danger of getting in a lot of trouble.

JACK

That’s why I’m pushing the immunity agreement…to make sure she doesn’t get in trouble. Look, I know this is hard for you, Tony, but you’re going to have to trust me.

TONY

Fine. But if anything happens to her…

JACK

If anything happens to her, I’ll load the gun myself, alright?

TONY

Alright. I’m going to go see how Audrey’s doing…call me when we can come back to OSD.

INT. WHITE HOUSE

MIKE

Alright, I just talked to Jim. He said Tony Almeida admitted that Jack Bauer is alive and he doesn’t know where he is, but he has some information that might help us find him. He’s willing to disclose everything he knows, and in exchange, he wants immunity for himself and everyone else who helped Bauer escape or knew he was alive, for all non-violent crimes committed to help maintain his cover.

LOGAN

So let me get this straight. The Secretary of Defense is recommending that I issue a blanket grant of immunity to an unspecified number of people for an unspecified number of crimes, in the hopes that a man who was convicted of treason against the United States and either played a role in the air traffic attack or lied to a Secret Service agent about it will tell the truth and help us find Bauer before we’re dragged into war with a nuclear superpower? How do I know I’m not pardoning him for selling government secrets to terrorists?

MIKE

Mr. President, in all honesty, I don’t think Tony Almeida is the one you have to worry about in terms of honesty and trustworthiness.

LOGAN

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

MIKE

To be perfectly candid, sir, I’m a little concerned about Walt’s distortion of the story.

LOGAN

What, you mean about this Tony Almeida guy? Mike, the bottom line is, the guy let a terrorist escape and committed treason…the fact that he was being blackmailed doesn’t exactly exonerate him.

MIKE

Maybe not, but it does change the story. And this call from the Chinese Foreign Secretary…have you confirmed that this call actually occured?

LOGAN

Walt spoke to him personally this morning…you think he’s lying about that?

MIKE

I think it’s possible. I can’t see why the Chinese Foreign Secretary would have contacted Walt…he would have either contacted you or the Secretary of State. Walt hasn’t even been confirmed by the Senate yet.

LOGAN

Maybe, but that alone can hardly be called proof that Walt’s lying about something. Maybe he has a relationship with the Chinese Foreign Secretary. Is there anything else, or is this just another one of your attempts to discredit Walt Cummings?

MIKE

No, there’s something else.

LOGAN

Well? Let’s hear it then.

MIKE

Mr. President, three years ago, after you reprimanded Walt for suggesting that we have Jack Bauer assassinated, I overheard what I’m fairly certain was a phone conversation between him and a Secret Service agent in which Walt instructed the agent to take Bauer out. He told the agent that you had forbidden it, but wouldn’t be sorry if it happened, and he promised that any investigation into Bauer’s death would be short and superficial.

LOGAN

You overheard Walt saying this to someone over the phone three years ago?

MIKE

Yes, sir.

LOGAN

Well, why the hell didn’t you tell me about it three years ago?

MIKE

Because I knew you wouldn’t listen if it came from me. It’s no secret that Walt and I aren’t the best of friends, and I knew if I told you you’d think it was just a grudge match.

LOGAN

So you told David, didn’t you?

MIKE

Yes, sir. I had hoped that if it came from him you’d take it more seriously.

LOGAN

Don’t blame this on me, Mike.

MIKE

I’m not blaming anyone, sir. I bear as much responsibility as anyone else…I should have come forward directly.

LOGAN

So let’s just assume that this is true, which is a pretty big assumption, given that all of the accusations against Walt are coming from you,
a longtime political rival, and Jim, who’s bitter that he’s being replaced. But let’s just say for a minute that it is true. How is it in the interests of this country to dig up dirt and bring this out? Walt was doing what he felt to be in the interests of national security…he went against my orders, but he probably felt he was protecting me…he probably did what he knew had to be done but knew that I couldn’t condone it.

MIKE

I’m not sure that it is in the country’s interest to bring this to the forefront, especially since doing so would implicate the government in the attack on the Chinese consulate…it would make it obvious that we were trying to cover something up. And that’s exactly why it’s in your interest to sign this immunity agreement. If you prosecute Tony Almeida for anything related to Bauer’s escape, he’ll testify about why he did it. It’ll be in front of a closed court, but that still expands the number of people who know that the government was covering up the attack and that Walt may have ordered the murder of a federal agent.

LOGAN

So what? The guy was convicted of treason against the United States…he doesn’t exactly have a lot of credibility.

MIKE

It doesn’t matter. All he has to do is make the accusations,
and if people want to investigate it, other proof will be forthcoming. Everyone who was at CTU Los Angeles that day knows about the attack on the consulate,
including Almeida’s wife…Almeida’s lawyers could call everyone who was there to testify on his behalf, and they may not be able to prove that Walt ordered Secret Service to take out Bauer, but unless they all lie under oath, they’d have to testify that the government authorized the attack on the Chinese. If that happens, finding Bauer and handing him over will be useless…the only reason they want him in the first place is because he’s taking the fall for the attack to avoid implicating the government.

LOGAN

Well, can we make immunity contingent upon him keeping quiet about everything?

MIKE

That’s not the right move, Mr. President. You do that, you’re admitting you have something to hide. Besides, enough other people know about the consulate attack and about Jack Bauer that keeping Almeida quiet is useless…since he’s refusing to say who else was involved until you grant them immunity, there’s no way we can get them to agree to keep quiet.

LOGAN

Fine. Just show me where I need to sign. But for the record,
I’m against this.

FADE OUT.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

ACT TWO

FADE IN:

INT. OSD - 09:12:25

Secretary Heller is on the phone arguing with the president.

HELLER

I haven’t asked him…I’m saying no. Because it’s just not going to happen. I am not going to allow one of my senior advisors to be escorted out of the building in handcuffs by the FBI. Under no circumstances…Almeida stays here and works with me to find Bauer…the fewer people who know about this, the better…the more people we involve, the more likely it is that the Chinese find out the government authorized the attack…

INT. AUDREY’S OFFICE - 09:15:27

AUDREY

So could I really be prosecuted for not telling anyone?

TONY

No, I don’t think so. Unless the government decides that Jack committed a crime by not dying, you can’t be charged with covering up a crime.
Besides, if defense of another is a valid defense in the case of murder, it certainly should hold up in a case involving withholding information. But your father doesn’t know the extent of your involvement…for all he knows, you helped Jack escape, and Jack was using that to push your father to get us all immunity.

AUDREY

Yeah, that’s what I figured. So…what’s going to happen to Skip?

TONY

It depends. They’re waiting for confirmation of the fingerprints and then they’re going to bring him to OSD for questioning…your father didn’t want PFPA to do it because he doesn’t trust the agent who questioned me this morning, and he was afraid Skip might know something about Jack.

Audrey suddenly becomes worried.

AUDREY

Tony, Jack’s not going to interrogate him, is he?

TONY

I don’t know…we hadn’t really discussed it…your father just decided to call him and ask him to come in and chat instead of having him arrested because if Skip knows anything about Jack, he doesn’t want it to get out. We didn’t discuss who was going to question him.

AUDREY

Tony, please, don’t let Jack near him. Can’t you question him?

TONY

I don’t know…I can try, but I’m afraid that because of what happened this morning it may be perceived as a conflict of interest. Besides,
if he is innocent, there’s no way he’ll tell me anything…he’ll be afraid of disclosing confidential information to the enemy.

AUDREY

What are you talking about?

TONY

Come on…it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he thinks of me.

AUDREY

Do you…did someone tell you about our fight yesterday?

TONY

No…I didn’t know you had a fight yesterday. But it’s obvious that Skip thinks I’m a traitor and I can’t be trusted…haven’t you ever noticed how every time he’s saying something related to DOD business and I come over he stops short, as if he’s afraid of revealing something he’s not supposed to talk about?

AUDREY

Now that you mention it, yeah. I always kind of brushed it off, I guess…I’m sorry, Tony…it’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that…

TONY

Hey…don’t worry about it. I’m used to it, alright. It’s nothing I can’t handle, and I certainly don’t blame you for it…it’s not your job to play referee. So what happened yesterday?

AUDREY

Oh, it’s nothing…don’t worry about it.

TONY

Alright…what happened between you and Skip is between you and Skip and I’ll only pry if I think it’s relevant to figuring out what the hell is going on. But if you want to talk, you know I’m here.

AUDREY

Yeah, I know. Thanks Tony.

They are interrupted by a knock on the door.

AUDREY

Come in.

Jack enters hesitantly, exerting a shyness we have never seen before.

JACK

Can I come in?

Audrey sighs.

AUDREY

Yeah.

TONY

You know, I think I’m going to go back to OSD and see what new crimes I’ve been accused of in the last ten minutes. Call my cell if you need anything.

Tony excuses himself. Jack timidly approaches Audrey’s desk,
asking nonverbally if it’s okay for him to sit in the chair Tony vacated.
Audrey nods.

JACK

Hey.

AUDREY

Hey.

An awkward silence hangs in the air for a minute, neither of them knowing what to say.

AUDREY

So, um…how are you?

JACK

Alright, look, we could spend all day sitting here making small talk, but there’s some things I need to say to you, so I think I’m just going to go ahead and say them.

AUDREY

Jack…

JACK

Just let me get this off my chest, alright? I just want to say how sorry I am for everything…I’m sorry for everything that’s happened today and for everything that happened three years ago. I’m sorry I had to use you as leverage against your father…given the circumstances, I didn’t feel like I had a choice…I had to protect Tony. There are people who would jump at anything to throw him back in prison and I can’t let that happen, not because of me. I made you leave the office so you wouldn’t be put in a position of having to lie to your dad.

AUDREY

You don’t need to apologize for that, Jack. Tony’s my best friend…I’d have told my father I was involved in your escape if it came down to it. And as for three years ago…it’s in the past…I’ve worked hard to put it behind me…you can’t change it and neither can I so why dwell on it?

JACK

You’re right. I know that you’re engaged and you have a new life now and I’m happy for you…I really am…I honestly didn’t want you to know I was even here today…but when the whole thing went down with Tony, I had to step in…I just didn’t want to be shipped off to China or go back into hiding without you knowing how sorry I am for hurting you.

AUDREY

I’m sorry, too, Jack…I’m sorry for giving up on us and for not understanding.

JACK

Audrey, you have nothing to apologize for. The things I did were necessary to protect the country but that doesn’t make them right. You had every right to react the way you did.

AUDREY

Jack…

They are interrupted when Jack’s phone rings.

JACK

Yeah?…alright, hold on a second.

He turns to Audrey.

JACK

Audrey, is there somewhere I can go where I can talk privately without worrying about anyone coming in or overhearing?

AUDREY

Just stay in here…I’ll go see what’s going on with the immunity agreement.

JACK

Alright, thanks. I’ll be back in there in a few minutes.

Audrey leaves and locks the door.

JACK

Chloe, can you call me right back? It’s been close to a minute…alright.

Jack hangs up and his phone immediately rings again.

JACK

Chloe, is that you?

intercut with:

INT. CTU LOS ANGELES - 06:18:05 LOCAL TIME

CHLOE

Yeah.

JACK

Alright, what’s the status?

CHLOE

I’m still trying to translate what I got. Look, Erin’s getting suspicious…I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this without her realizing something’s up.

JACK

Is there a way you can forward the audio feed to Tony securely?

CHLOE

I thought Tony wasn’t supposed to be involved…and Erin told me he was being held in custody for some attack on the air traffic control center…I’m supposed to be working on looking for ties between Tony and Sindero Luminoso right now.

JACK

Yeah, well, the air traffic attack changed things a little bit. I had to talk to Secretary Heller in order to clear Tony’s name for the air traffic incident.

CHLOE

So he knows you’re alive?

JACK

Yes. He’s on the phone with the president right now trying to secure immunity for Tony and everyone else who helped me escape. As soon as he does that, I’m going to brief him and Tony and Audrey on the plan.

CHLOE

Wait, how does the president know you’re alive? Did Secretary Heller tell him?

JACK

No…apparently the incoming Secretary of Defense got a call this morning from the Chinese foreign secretary…as soon as we apprehend the terrorists in Aberdeen and get the legal mumbo jumbo sorted out I’m going to go to the Chinese embassy and turn myself in.

CHLOE

Jack, you can’t…

JACK

It’s how it’s gotta be, Chloe. Otherwise we could find ourselves at war with a nuclear superpower. I just want to finish this mission and make sure that nobody else get hurt or gets in trouble for helping me, and then I’m going to go.

Chloe starts to protest but Jack stops her.

JACK

Look, we can’t focus on this right now. I need you to figure out a way to get this audio over to Tony without it being intercepted…he can understand what they’re saying, and if Erin’s getting suspicious of you then you need to get back to pretending to dig up dirt on Tony so she doesn’t start asking questions.

CHLOE

I might…I can encrypt the voice files and send them, but that’ll take too long. I may be able to encrypt the live feed if I have some information about the security configuration at DOD.

JACK

You need the individual password for the system and the user to uplink it to a system here…I have Michelle’s access codes for the system and I’ll go ask Tony for his password.

CHLOE

What kind of encryption do the DOD servers use?

JACK

That I couldn’t tell you…I think it may have been DES when I worked here, but that was three years ago, and I don’t know what kind of cables or routers they use.

CHLOE

Can Michelle answer her phone?

JACK

No, but I left an RF radio right next to her…she can hear it, and she may be able to figure out a way to push the button without having use of her hands. But she’s got tape over her mouth so it’s kind of hard to understand her. I’ll hook my phone up to the walkie-talkie and you can see if she can tell you what you need to know…if not I’ll see if Tony or Audrey can help you. I’ll go get Tony have him call you with his password when he’s set up…I’m hanging up now…call me back and I’ll patch you through to Michelle.

Jack takes a small RF radio out of his pocket and pushes the inversion button to encrypt the transmission.

JACK

Michelle, come in.

A split screen shows Chloe setting up the uplink, Driscoll looking down at Chloe with eagle eyes, Jack in Audrey’s office, and Michelle,
still tied up with tape over her mouth, trying to respond. Michelle eventually manages to kick the RF radio close enough that she can use her feet to push the button.

MICHELLE

Mmmm

JACK

Alright, I’m going to patch Chloe through to you…she needs you to explain to her how to uplink the feed of Pedro and Alejandro to Tony’s system.

Michelle shakes her head frantically.

MICHELLE

Mmm…uh-uh…NUH-UMMM!

JACK

Michelle, it’s alright. Secretary Heller knows Tony didn’t attack the air traffic servers…and Tony knows about the plan. Chloe doesn’t speak Spanish and she’s having a hard time understanding them…and Erin Driscoll is starting to suspect that she’s up to something.

MICHELLE

Mmmm…Tny i-em naht ekur.

JACK

What?

MICHELLE

Um-un aah Tny’s asswuh. Um-uh ood is asswuh ooh uh-tu da ai raffi ente, aah ernt waz tsunt oo evryun in duh epor dis mornig. Um-uh may ee monitrig.

JACK

Are you saying someone may be monitoring Tony’s system?

MICHELLE

Mmm…Mmm-hmm.

JACK

Of course…someone had to have his password to commit the attack this morning…how could I be so stupid? Alright, I’m in Audrey’s office now…I’m going to have Tony come in here and listen to the feed…I’m going to patch Chloe through to you and try as best you can to explain to her the security configuration of the servers here.

MICHELLE

Oo-ay

INT. OSD

Heller is in the enclosed part of his office talking to the Senate Majority Leader, but he is yelling loudly enough that Tony can hear from the lobby area.

HELLER

Even if he really thought it was just to monitor his activity, he still had no right to authorize the disclosure of his password for that purpose without a warrant and without probable cause of any wrongdoing…it’s a violation of DOD protocol, not to mention the US constitution…no, something that happened four years ago does NOT constitute probable cause that an offense was committed today…he’s already been prosecuted and imprisoned, he was granted an unconditional pardon restoring all of his rights as a citizen, including his right to protection under the Fourth Amendment. For crying out loud, Frank, he’s undergone more background checks than probably anyone else in the District…how does that justify…

Audrey rejoins Tony and hears her father yelling.

AUDREY

What’s going on?

TONY

Your father got the president to agree to give us immunity.
The president wanted to have me taken into custody by the FBI but your father convinced him that the fewer people who know Jack’s alive, the better, so the president reluctantly agreed to let me stay here…technically, I’m under house arrest for helping Jack escape custody three years ago.

He points to the shackle binding his leg to the desk.

AUDREY

Did my father put that on you?

TONY

He didn’t have a choice, Audrey…someone came by from Pentagon Security Forces to ensure that I was being held in compliance with the president’s orders.

AUDREY

Geez…I’m really sorry, Tony. We’ll find a way to clear this up somehow…I…I won’t let them put you back in prison.

TONY

It’s alright, Audrey…hopefully we’ll be able to make it look like I helped find Jack and then I’ll get immunity…although I’m not letting him turn himself into the Chinese if I can help it.

HELLER

You’re telling me his actions don’t even raise an eyebrow?

AUDREY

Who’s he talking to now?

TONY

The Speaker of the Senate.

AUDREY

You mean the Senate majority leader?

TONY

Yeah, that’s what I meant. Ah, now that makes more sense.

AUDREY

What?

TONY

Well, I thought your dad was talking to the speaker…but I could have sworn the Speaker had a heart attack last week and they didn’t have a new one yet.

AUDREY

You mean the Speaker of the House? The Speaker of the House had a heart attack…the guy my dad is talking to is the majority leader of the Senate…for the next few hours at least…after that all bets are off.

TONY

You know, if you hadn’t changed your mind about quitting yesterday, I might have actually had to learn the difference. What do you mean all bets are off in the next few hours?

Audrey rolls her eyes and shakes her head smiling.

AUDREY

Just that it’s not clear which party will have a majority in the Senate after the inauguration…way too complicated to explain to someone who doesn’t know the difference between the House Speaker and the Senate majority leader. So what’s going on?

She glances into her dad’s office, where he is still on the phone.

TONY

Your dad told the majority leader about Cummings authorizing the disclosure of my login, and tried to make the case that even if Cummings didn’t know it was going to be used to attack the air traffic center, it’s still a violation of my rights to spy on me without notice or cause.

AUDREY

And the majority leader is trying to justify it by talking about what you did four years ago?

TONY

Yeah, it sounds that way…your dad closed the door after he said that it was a violation of my rights, so I couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation until your father started yelling. Hey, is this the same schmuck who told me that I deserved the electric chair when I testified before the Intelligence Committee?

AUDREY

Yeah, I think so.

Secretary Heller slams the phone down and rejoins Tony and Audrey, catching the last bit of their conversation.

HELLER

Who told you that you deserve the electric chair?

TONY

The guy you were just talking to, I think. The speaker or majority whip or whatever the hell his title is.

When Tony does not offer any more information, Heller looks to his daughter for an explanation.

AUDREY

The first time Tony had to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Helmstrom, who was the chair of the committee at the time before he became majority leader, started questioning Tony about his background…he said he didn’t feel comfortable discussing confidential information in front of him…Tony pointed out that he held an active Top Secret Clearance and therefore the senator had nothing to worry about.

TONY

And then he said it’s too bad I’m not from Texas because if I was he’d have made sure I got the electric chair for what I did.

Secretary Heller shakes his head in disbelief.

HELLER

And this happened the first time you testified before the committee?

TONY

Yeah. It was a few weeks after I started.

HELLER

Tony, why did you never tell me about this? I sent you back to testify in front of that committee several other times…I’d have sent someone else if I had known.

TONY

Because it’s my job, sir. It’s not somebody else’s job to testify before Senate Intelligence on technology matters.

HELLER

But if I’d known that he was going to insult and humiliate you…I could have easily reassigned…

TONY

Mr. Secretary, when I first accepted this job, you promised me that my conviction would never be an issue as far as you were concerned,
that you would never treat me any differently because of it. That meant a hell of a lot to me, sir, and I figured it went both ways. You’ve always treated me with the same respect and trust you’ve treated all of your other employees with, and I didn’t think it was right to ask for special treatment because of my record.

Secretary Heller nods, clearly impressed by what Tony said.

HELLER

Well, I give you props for your integrity, Tony. You’re a braver man than most. Now, I spoke to the Senate majority leader, and as you could probably tell, he’s refusing to postpone the vote on Cummings…in fact,
he may move it up now that he knows we may find a red flag before 11. I believe that if he’s confirmed it’ll be effective immediately, even if it’s before noon…so we may not have the three hour window we were counting on before I have to resign.

TONY

With all due respect, sir, we can’t allow that to happen…if Cummings is allowed to take over…

HELLER

I understand what’s at stake here, Tony, but I don’t know if there’s anything we can do.

AUDREY

Dad, didn’t you tell me last week that a few Republican Senators who served with you on House Armed Services were quietly absenting themselves from the vote out of courtesy to you?

HELLER

Yeah, but Cummings has enough support from Democrats in the Senate to be confirmed without their votes.

AUDREY

Hold on a second.

She picks up her cell phone and calls Jack’s cell. When he doesn’t pick up, she tries her office phone. A split screen shows Jack looking at the caller id on Audrey’s phone. When he recognizes the number, he picks up his cell phone, which is hooked up to the RF radio.

INT. AUDREY’S OFFICE

JACK

Chloe, I need my phone back for a sec…I’ll call you back in a minute and reconnect you to Michelle.

CHLOE

No, you can’t…don’t call me, I’ll call you.

JACK

Fine.

He disconnects the phone from the RF and calls Audrey.

split with:

INT. OSD

JACK

Hey, what’s going on?

AUDREY

Do you know if the emergency number you gave me for President Palmer will work when he’s on an airplane.

JACK

It should…I’ve talked to him before when he was on Air Force One.

AUDREY

Yeah, but he’s flying commercial.

JACK

Why the hell is he doing that? Never mind, it doesn’t matter…give it a try…I would guess that a former president of the United States would have a way of being reachable at all times. If the number I gave you doesn’t work, try paging his Secret Service detail at 202-555-6225,
passcode ukli645967. Why do you need to reach him?

AUDREY

I’ll explain later.

JACK

Alright. Hey, is the password for your workstation the same your NetLogin?

AUDREY

Yeah, why? What are you doing with my system?

JACK

I’ll explain later…I’ve gotta call Chloe back right now.

AUDREY

Alright…just don’t mess anything up or do anything illegal using my login.

JACK

Audrey, can you send Tony in here?

JACK

Should I take the fact that you ignored my warning to mean that you’re going to use my system to do something that’s against protocol if not completely illegal?

JACK

Chloe’s on the other line…please, just send Tony in here.

END SPLIT - STAY WITH AUDREY

Audrey sighs and hangs up, frustrated.

AUDREY

Tony, Jack needs you in my office…I have no idea what it’s about, but it sounded urgent.

TONY

Mr. Secretary, I really need to go help Jack…he just told me what he’s doing a few minutes ago and he’ll brief you and Audrey as soon as he gets back in here.

HELLER

What’s he doing in your office?

AUDREY

I don’t know…he just came in to talk to me, but then he got a call from someone named Chloe…I think that’s someone he worked with at CTU…and he needed privacy, so I came back in here.

Heller looks at Tony.

TONY

I don’t know either, but I’m guessing he needs my help monitoring two members of Shining Path at Aberdeen Proving Ground who are trying to access the chemical arsenal…he’s been infiltrating the group and he planted bugs all over their van and their clothing.

HELLER

Good g-d…when is this attack supposed to take place, and why don’t we have any intelligence on it?

TONY

I don’t know, sir…look, I know I’m supposed to be under house arrest, and you can escort me to Audrey’s office…you can handcuff me if you have to and chain me to the desk there…but I’ve gotta go in there and help Jack.

HELLER

Alright, I’ll escort you down there and then Jack can tell me what the hell is going on. Audrey, why are you calling President Palmer?

AUDREY

Last time I talked to the Republican Conference liason, they only had about 6 or 7 Democrats supporting Cummings, and there were three Republicans from House Armed Services who were planning to skip the vote, plus one or two who vote like Democrats and can’t be trusted to tow the party line.
So if President Palmer convince one or two of the Democrats to change their votes or even skip the vote, we can stop the confirmation. Four of the Democrats who are planning to vote for Cummings served with Palmer when he was in the Senate, and two of them were close political allies.

HELLER

Alright, I guess it’s worth a shot. How are you going to get a hold of him…he’s on a plane circling in the air.

AUDREY

Jack gave me an emergency number three years ago, when he called to tell me he was alive. He said if I ever sensed that anyone was onto him, I should call President Palmer at that number…so far it’s not working but Jack just gave me the pager for his Secret Service so I’m going to try that also.

HELLER

Alright. See if you can get a hold of him and then come to your office…I’m going to take Tony there now.

Tony sticks his hands out, waiting to be cuffed.

HELLER

Forget it. I’m not escorting you through the halls like a prisoner.

TONY

Mr. Secretary, with all due respect, I don’t think you have a choice. If someone from DSS sees me walking around freely they’re going to have me turned over to the FBI, and if that happens we’ll have to let more people in on the fact that Jack’s alive and we won’t be able to make it look like I helped find him, which would void the immunity agreement. If that happens and if we can’t prove the Cummings authorized the Secret Service agent to kill Jack, I could be charged with treason again for helping a prisoner escape…and this time I’ll almost surely get the death penalty. So I can’t say being paraded in front of my colleagues in handcuffs four years ago was an experience I’m eager to repeat, but I don’t see any other choice right now.

Secretary Heller sighs and reluctantly pulls a pair of handcuffs out of the drawer and puts them on Tony.

HELLER

I’m really sorry, Tony…you know I don’t want to have to do this.

TONY

I know, sir. But there’s no other way.

HELLER

We’re going to get this cleared up, Tony. I don’t know how,
but I’m going to do everything I can to get this resolved as soon as possible.

As they are leaving, the phone in the office rings.

HELLER

Yeah? Are you sure? And you’re absolutely positive this is the right workstation? Alright…no, not yet…just let me handle this…make sure he doesn’t leave the building, but don’t take him into custody yet. No,
I’m not protecting anyone…I know him personally and would like to see if I can get information out of him myself, but I can’t do it right now. Those are my orders…I’ve gotta go.

AUDREY

Was that about Skip?

Secretary Heller doesn’t answer.

AUDREY

Dad, please, tell me the truth…what’s going on?

HELLER

Alright. Someone from Pentagon Force Protection just called and told me that they found video footage of Skip on the workstation from which the attack was activated.

AUDREY

No…there’s gotta be some mistake.

HELLER

There may be an explanation, but for right now, we’re going to have to have him brought in here and questioned…I told PFP to hold off on picking him up because I want to make it seem like I’m just calling him in for a chat…I’m going to wait until I talk to Jack, just to make sure Skip isn’t somehow part of this elaborate scheme he has going. I’m going to escort Tony to your office now…do you want to come with us, or are you up for calling President Palmer first?

Audrey wipes her eyes and tries to pull herself together.

AUDREY

I can call him first.

TONY

I’d offer to make the call, but Jack needs me, and I’d rather not have to admit to a former president of the United States that I have no idea how the hell Congress works.

This causes Audrey to smile a little.

HELLER

Come join us when you’re done…whatever you do, do not use your cell phone…use the phone in my office…I’ll have someone get you a clean phone as soon as possible.

AUDREY

How come?

HELLER

Because given what we know, we have to assume your phone might not be secure.

Audrey suddenly looks really frightened, but she turns away so her father and Tony can’t see.

fade out.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

ACT THREE

FADE IN:

FOUR WAY SPLIT:

BOX 1:
INT. CTU - 06:33:53 AM LOCAL TIME

Chloe redials Jack’s number.

BOX 2:
INT. PENTAGON - OSD

Audrey is on the phone with President Palmer.

BOX 3: INT.
PENTAGON - HALLWAY

Secretary Heller escorts Tony down the hall to Audrey’s office, Tony looks down to avoid the stares from some colleagues passing by.

BOX 4: INT. PENTAGON - CONSOLIDATED SERVER ROOM

Michelle, still tied up and muffled, struggles to reach her phone, which is lying on the floor just a little too far away.

INT. AUDREY’S OFFICE

Secretary Heller escorts Tony in. He is surprised to hear Michelle’s muffled voice on the RF.

TONY

What’s going on?

JACK

Michelle’s walking Chloe through how to uplink the audio feed of the guys from Shining Path so you can monitor them. She’s almost done explaining and then you’ll be able to talk to her.

Tony nods.

Jack speaks quietly so Michelle can’t hear his next question.

JACK (CONT’D)

Why are you wearing handcuffs?

HELLER

I had to place him under house arrest until we “find”
you…it was that or let the FBI take him into custody.

JACK

Argh…I’m really sorry, Tony.

TONY

Whatever…just show me what you need me to do.

JACK

Alright, hang on a second. What’s that, Chloe? I have it…the access code for the system is z4fv6hg838s28838a6, and her password is jeanvaljean24601. Yeah, she loves Les Mis…did that work? How long? Alright,
Tony’s ready when it comes through…I’m going to disconnect you from the RF and let him talk to Michelle, alright? Call back with the decryption code when it’s done with the uplink.

TONY

Jack, tell her to use the same code as her secret login at CTU.

JACK

Chloe, Tony says to use the same decryption code as your secret login…can you do that? Just in case…

Jack goes to hand Tony the RF but realizes he’s still handcuffed. Secretary Heller uncuffs Tony and hands him a shackle.

HELLER

Here…put that on at your leisure. Jack, as soon as Tony’s off the RF and Audrey comes back in here, you can explain what the hell is going on.

Jack nods. Tony sits down at Audrey’s desk, chains his leg to the bottom, and picks up the RF.

TONY

Honey, it’s me…are you okay?

MICHELLE

Aa I fi. Ah oo sti i tuvu?

TONY

No, sweetheart, it’s going to be okay…Secretary Heller knows I didn’t attack the air traffic center.

MICHELLE

Du ee no aou ak?

TONY

Yeah, he knows about him too…it’s okay. As soon as Audrey gets back in here he’s going to explain everything.

HELLER

How the hell does he understand what she’s saying.

JACK

He doesn’t need to. In the three years when we all worked together, I can remember several occasions in which Michelle and Tony would finish each other’s sentences or be able to tell me what the other was thinking without even asking.

HELLER

What they have is pretty special, from what I can tell.

JACK

Yeah. It definitely is.

Secretary Heller shakes his head, smiling.

HELLER

Jack, step outside with me for a sec, would you?

Jack follows Secretary Heller out into the hall and unlocks a vacant conference down the hall from Audrey’s office.

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Jack and Secretary Heller go in and sit down, and Heller types in a code on the wall to deactivate the security camera and sound monitor.

INT. AUDREY’S OFFICE

TONY

Look, the feed’s going to come through any minute…I’ve gotta monitor these guys in Aberdeen. Just promise me you’ll be careful,
alright? If there’s any sign of trouble I want you to call me right away and get out of there, okay?

MICHELLE

Oh-ay. I lub ooh.

TONY

I love you too.

Audrey comes in and seems surprised.

TONY

Your dad asked Jack to take a walk so I could talk to Michelle through the RF…I think they probably went to the conference room.

AUDREY

Alright, I’ll go check.

TONY

Hey Audrey?

AUDREY

Yeah?

TONY

How are you holding up? Are you alright?

AUDREY

Yeah, I’m okay. I mean, I’m just trying not to think about Skip right now…we don’t know what’s going on for sure and if I start thinking about it I’ll fall apart. And seeing Jack after all this time is kind of awkward, but I’ll survive. I feel a little better knowing that Jack’s no longer using my computer for illegal activities.

TONY

Nah, now he’s got me doing that.

AUDREY

Tony! What the hell are you…

TONY

Relax, Audrey, I’m kidding. As far as I know there’s nothing illegal about monitoring a wiretap…I can’t promise that the wiretap was put in place legally, but since Jack never gave me any reason to believe otherwise,
I’m going to assume it was.

He winks and Audrey rolls her eyes.

TONY

I’m sorry, though…that probably wasn’t a good thing to joke about at the moment.

AUDREY

You really think he’s been monitoring me?

TONY

I don’t know, Audrey…I think we have to take every precaution until we know how badly our information’s been compromised. I need you to refrain from using your cell phone until we can check it out…ask your dad for two clean phones, one for you and one for me. And be careful with your office phone too…and check your purse and your shoes for bugs.

AUDREY

Oh g-d…I can’t believe this…how could he…

TONY

I know you’re in shock, Audrey, and it’s probably not be as bad as it looks, but right now you have to act on the assumption that anything of yours he had access to could be compromised. You need to think about anything you may have said to anyone since you met Skip that could have tipped him off to Jack being alive, because I am pretty certain at this point that I was framed for the attack in order to try to make me talk about Jack. Look, if it makes it any easier, I…I know what you’re going through.

AUDREY

No, you don’t, Tony. I know you’re trying to help, but please, just leave me alone, ok?

TONY

No. I’m not leaving you alone right now. Look, I’m in just as much shock about Jack being here as you are, and I know what it’s like to discover that people aren’t always who they seem.

AUDREY

What are you talking about?

TONY

Did Jack ever tell you about the woman who killed his wife?

AUDREY

Yeah, Nina, I think her name was.

TONY

Yeah. But I guess he didn’t tell you that I was going out with her at the time we all discovered what she was up to.

AUDREY

No, I don’t think he mentioned that…what did you do when you found out?

TONY

There wasn’t much I could do. One minute I was working with her upstairs and the next minute a bunch of us go down to the parking garage and I find Jack holding her at gunpoint. Next thing I know, we’re all trying to convince Jack not to kill her right then and there and then she’s taken away in handcuffs. Ten minutes later I walk into a room at CTU and find out she killed Jack’s wife. After that night I was a mess…I felt a mixture of guilt and anger and hurt…most of all I just felt like a total idiot, for allowing myself to be played like that. I had to have my entire apartment and just about everything I owned searched for bugs and incriminating evidence against Nina,
and they even questioned me and basically put the burden on me to prove I had no idea she was a double-agent. They discovered from security camera footage that she had killed someone else inside CTU that morning, and they practically accused me of covering it up.

AUDREY

Oh my g-d…are they going to think…

TONY

No. I don’t think anyone in any way considers you a suspect.
I certainly don’t, and neither does your father…the reason they considered me a suspect was because I was at CTU when the first murder took place, and I was in the room with Nina right before she did it…honestly, I’m not even sure how she managed to do it and make it look like a suicide without me knowing…I don’t remember ever letting her out of my site. You may have to have your house searched if it comes to that, but it’s premature to even think about that…we don’t even know yet the extent of Skip’s involvement.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I am in no way suggesting that Tony actually covered up Jamie Farrell’s murder, but if you go back and look at the episode in season 1 where she was killed, you’ll see that Tony was either with Jamie or with Nina for the entire time between when Jamie was given time to think about whether or not to tell the truth and when Nina killed her…I am attributing this to the writers deciding way after filming this episode to make Nina a mole and to make her responsible for Jamie’s death.

AUDREY

So had she been spying on you?

TONY

Sort of. She hadn’t bugged my house or anything, but I think her whole purpose in going out with me was to get close to me for information and so that I would trust her and wouldn’t suspect anything, and that hurt. I mean, we caught another mole earlier that day who I’m pretty sure had started out with the right intentions but became compromised when the terrorists offered her some money…I’m not excusing her behavior, but she was a single mother struggling to support her son. I felt like if that’s what happened with Nina it would have been easier to deal with…but knowing that the whole time we were together, she was just using me, that she never cared about me or our relationship…that hurt. Is that what you’re wondering right now about Skip?

AUDREY

Yeah, kind of. I mean, I keep replaying our conversations and trying to figure out when he started trying to get information from me. I know this morning, he played with my cell phone for a minute before leaving for work…that’s probably how they got your number. I’m trying to figure out if he ever meant anything he said about how he felt about me, or whether it was all just an act. But mostly I’m just angry. He knows that you saved my life three years ago. If he ever cared about me, how could he participate in a conspiracy to frame you for a terrorist attack? What is his motive? Who does he really work for? Why is he doing this? Is he being paid by somebody? Does he want your position? What is his deal?

TONY

I’ve learned the hard way that you can never know for sure. I mean, we determined that Nina had sold information to a whole bunch of terrorist groups, so I guess the simple answer is she was motivated by the money, but I feel like there was more to it than that. What good is having all that money if you’re constantly having to live under the radar, can’t ever let anyone know who you really are, can’t ever live a normal life. I remember four years ago, when they brought Nina back to CTU when she was discovered to be involved with the plot to release the virus, and I was in charge of interrogating her.

AUDREY

So are you as scary as Jack when you do that?

TONY

Not really. I mean, I can be tough when I need to be, but I generally try to reason with people…Jack tries to scare them. But there’s nobody like Jack when it comes to getting hostiles to talk…I’ll give him that, hands down.

AUDREY

Putting aside issues of legality, morality, and human decency, I’d have to say I agree.

TONY

Yeah. He chuckles. So anyways, Nina noticed my wedding ring and made some snide comment about how I had come second place to Jack when it came to her, and I asked her what her deal was. I asked her what she was hoping to accomplish by betraying everyone she knew, killing Jack’s wife, helping terrorists bring a nuclear bomb into the country, and helping to unleash a weaponized virus. I told her that if she didn’t talk soon she’d probably go back to prison for life or be executed as a traitor…and I asked her what she was hoping to get out of all of this. She just sat there and smirked. To this day, I’ll never know exactly what drove her to do the things she did. Her eyes were just so empty, so devoid of emotion. Of course, 12 hours later I was the one going to jail for treason…if Jack hadn’t killed Nina she might have been able to cut a deal.

They both chuckle bitterly.

AUDREY

I just feel so…betrayed…and so stupid and helpless.

TONY

I know…it’s a horrible feeling…but whatever you do, you can’t blame yourself. You can drive yourself crazy replaying every conversation you and Skip had, revisiting every little comment or action that seemed out of the ordinary and wondering why you didn’t pick up on it at the time, but all it’s going to do is make you nuts. Having gone undercover before myself, I know that people who do this are trained to completely fool people…unless you’ve had special counterintelligence training and even if you have, the chances of you picking up on any of the tiny little signs that might now seem so obvious are incredibly slim.

AUDREY

You know, it’s funny. For the past four hours, I’ve counted at least 11 instances in which I’ve heard you referred to as a traitor…you’ve been accused of attacking the air traffic center with a virus and of communicating with terrorists…but right now, other than my dad, you’re pretty much the only person I trust.

TONY

Believe it or not, right now you’re just about the only person besides your dad whom I trust too, so that makes two of us.

AUDREY

What are you talking about?

TONY

Michelle’s been lying to me for what sounds like quite a while. She knew Jack was coming here today and she’s been helping him with his crazy mission.

AUDREY

Oh my g-d…so did she know that you were going to be framed for the air traffic attack?

TONY

Jack says she didn’t…he says he didn’t have anything to do with that either, and I believe him. I don’t think either of them would do anything deliberately that would put me back in prison…I know Michelle’s been doing whatever she’s been doing with the best of intentions, and she didn’t tell me because she was trying to protect me, but somehow right now that doesn’t make it a whole lot easier.

AUDREY

Tony, Jack has a way of getting people sucked into his crazy schemes…and the fact that he’s usually right and usually ends up saving a lot of lives makes it pretty hard to say no when he asks you to help him with something.

TONY

I know…I’m trying hard not to be mad at Michelle for this…I mean, I did the same thing to her when we worked at CTU.

AUDREY

The Mexico mission?

TONY

Yeah. So I really have no right to be mad at her, and I’m trying not to be…I’m trying to direct all my anger at Jack for getting her involved…

AUDREY

Somehow that’s hard to do, isn’t it?

TONY

Yeah.

AUDREY

I know what you mean. I mean, you know better than anyone that for the past three years I’ve dealt with my grief over Jack’s quote-on quote death by blaming him for everything and building up a wall of anger…

TONY

But now that you see him in person it’s a lot harder to do that, isn’t it?

AUDREY

Yeah.

Tony’s phone rings.

TONY

Ah…I’ve gotta take this…Jack needs me to monitor these guys who may be attempting to access a chemical weapons arsenal…do you have headphones in here by any chance?

AUDREY

Yeah, second drawer. I’m going to go find my dad and Jack…get me on one of their cell phones if you need anything.

Audrey exits and walks down the hall, looking for Jack and her father.

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM

HELLER

So let’s start back at the top. Tony’s already given me an overview of the plan.

JACK

Sir, he had nothing to do with it…what he told you I had just told him five minutes earlier.

HELLER

I know that, Jack…don’t worry, I know Tony’s on the right side of the law and I’m going to do everything I can to prevent him from being prosecuted for helping you. Now, Tony was starting to explain why Michelle’s tied up in the basement when the Senate majority leader returned my call.

JACK

Michelle’s tied up in the basement because I grabbed her this morning while she was on her way to meet Audrey with the footage and tied her up there.

HELLER

That’s what Tony said…mind if I ask why you would do such a thing?

JACK

I’d have been surprised if you didn’t, sir. I tied Michelle up in the basement because I needed her to protect the codes to the Aberdeen Proving Ground chemical arsenal, where I believe two members of the Peruvian terrorist group Shining Path, or Sendero Luminoso in Spanish, are planning to attempt to break in and steal what remains of the chemical weapons supply there. What I’m having Michelle do falls outside of DOD protocol, so I had to make it look like a kidnapping to maintain my cover with the terrorists and make it look like she was acting under duress so she wouldn’t be prosecuted if anything went wrong.

HELLER

What exactly do you mean by operating outside of protocol?

JACK

I haven’t told Tony this yet, but the whole thing started when I was staying with some family of his in Peru. One night, I was hanging out with his cousin and some of his friends, and I told them I was a friend of Tony’s from the Marines, and they started talking about him…they said that he was a traitor for marrying a woman who wasn’t Peruvian and for serving in the US military, and they started talking about getting her…at first it sounded like a joke, but then one night Tony’s cousin Victor got a visit from two guys who were believed to be members of Shining Path. They sat on the porch talking,
and I was still learning Spanish at the time, so I couldn’t completely make out what I heard through my window, but I heard them say something about Michelle,
and then I heard them say something about the Pentagon, so I tuned in. From what I gathered, they were offering Victor an opportunity to teach Tony a lesson by kidnapping him and forcing Michelle to hack into the Pentagon server.
So the next day, I took Victor aside and I told him that I had a better idea. I told him I used to work at the Pentagon and could easily get in there. I also told him that Tony might be willing to help us…I distorted Tony’s story and said that Michelle’s kidnapping four years ago was all an act, that Tony knew about it in advance and had helped make it happen so that it would look like he was only helping Stephen Saunders to protect her.

HELLER

Good g-d, Jack. Why would you say such things?

JACK

Because I knew Tony would want me to do anything I could to keep them from going after Michelle. But I couldn’t contact him directly,
because we all knew that people were probably monitoring him. When I couldn’t convince Victor to leave her out of it and let me handle it, I called Michelle,
and asked her to have Tony contact his cousin and offer to help, figuring that we could then fabricate a source for the information and alert the intelligence community to the plan. But Michelle refused…she said she would do anything she could to help but she didn’t want Tony to get involved…she was afraid that anything he did would be picked up and she knew that if he were suspected of anything they’d jump on the chance to put him back in prison, and that even if he could prove he was innocent, he’d end up having to admit that I was alive and he helped me escape, which could also land him back in prison. So I told Victor that I would kidnap Michelle myself, since I still had a Pentagon ID that I was pretty sure hadn’t been deactivated. They were dead set on kidnapping her, so I figured the only way I could protect her was to do it myself. What we didn’t know was that someone else was going to pick this very same day to frame Tony for something else, thus putting him in exactly the situation Michelle and I wanted so desperately to avoid.

HELLER

Do you think the two could be related?

JACK

It’s possible, but I don’t see how. These guys are pretty small potatoes…Shining Path had been thought to no longer even be active in Peru…and Michelle checked for connections to other terrorist groups or individuals and to the Chinese…we thought this sounded too easy and it could have been a plot to lure me back here…but we couldn’t find any evidence of either.

HELLER

So what exactly is Michelle doing that could get her in trouble?

JACK

Mr. Secretary, when we planned this mission, we were operating without the resources of any government behind us. If I were still working here or at CTU, we could have had the military on standby ready to apprehend these guys, but we didn’t, and we had to work with what we had. Chloe O’Brien at CTU Los Angeles created a general warning related to the Aberdeen facility, and Michelle confirmed this morning that she and the NetOps department spent most of last night backing up and then removing the server with the codes. I’m hoping that because of the threat advisory, they’ve beefed up security at the facility. But in order to keep them there long enough,
Michelle is going to release the codes to the plant with me holding her at gunpoint, enabling them to get through the first three levels of security to buy us time. As they do that, she’s going to shoot me in the leg and knock me out, then call and alert the military to a serious breach in security, and then change the code to the last two checkpoints to ensure that they can’t get in.

HELLER

Well, now that I know what’s going on, you won’t need to do that. I’ve already ordered the 27th Squadron of the Marines to go secure the facility.

JACK

Mr. Secretary, that’s not the right move. With all due respect, sir, I have a feeling that these guys are the sacrificial lambs who are supposed to get caught to divert our attention from a larger plot. That’s why I didn’t just try to capture them myself when I was pretending to work with them. I knew that if I did that someone else could go after Michelle and the chemical arsenal, and we would miss the opportunity to find out if they have any additional plans.

HELLER

So what are you suggesting?

JACK

I think we should have the Marine squadron in concealed positions, with air support and FBI on standby. Michelle can monitor when they input the codes from CSR…when they enter the first level, she can alert the marines…after they go through each door, she’ll change the code so they can’t get out, effectively trapping them between the third and fourth checkpoint. The marines should stand down for a little while, to see if anyone else arrives.
Meanwhile, Tony can continue to monitor their conversation…I put bugs in their goggles, their phones, and the soles of their shoes…so hopefully even if they discover the bugs they won’t find all of them. If the feed goes dead or if Tony can’t pick up anything from the wiretap, that’s when the marines go in and apprehend them.

HELLER

But don’t we run the risk of them breaking into the arsenal if we let them mill about inside the facility?

JACK

Yes, but it’s unlikely they’d be able to penetrate the security for the fourth and fifth checkpoints without the right codes…we researched the configuration, and the doors and walls are pretty close to impenetrable. I’m actually more worried that when the code to the fourth level doesn’t work they could have someone on standby inside this building ready to go after Michelle.

HELLER

I thought that’s your job.

JACK

It is, but something tells me they’ve got backup…I have a feeling they don’t completely trust me.

HELLER

Alright, I’ve had Pentagon Security Forces searching the building for her for the last hour…I’ll alert them to her whereabouts and have a few agents go join her, just in case.

JACK

Mr. Secretary, they need to stay outside the room…it’s possible that whoever’s behind this could have gotten a feed of the security cameras in the room…if they see security personnel it could compromise the operation.

Secretary Heller glances nervously at Tony, who is struggling to pick up dialogue from the staticky audio feed.

HELLER

Does he know about this?

JACK

He knows that I tied Michelle up in the basement and that she’s helping with the operation…he’s not happy about it, but he promised not to interfere. He doesn’t know that she’s been targeted or about his cousin’s involvement, and I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not to tell him…for the sake of the operation, I think it’s better if he doesn’t know,
but eight years ago, when my wife and daughter were targeted by terrorists,
Acting CTU Director George Mason ordered everyone at CTU not to tell me that they had been attacked and were missing while I thought they were at a safehouse being protected…if I’d known, I probably could have prevented my wife’s murder…after everything Tony and Michelle have risked to protect me, I could never live with myself if anything happened to her that could have been prevented if Tony knew the truth.

Audrey comes in before Secretary Heller can respond to Jack.

AUDREY

Tony said you guys were in here. Jack, here’s your old Pentagon ID…you, um, you left it in my hotel room that morning in LA (She blushes, shy about saying this in front of her father)…I did the best I could to doctor it…hopefully nobody will scrutinize it too closely.

JACK

Let’s see…Donovan Alastair…I like it.

AUDREY

Donovan means “Dark Hero” and Alastair means “defender of mankind”…I thought both were appropriate. So what’s Tony doing?

JACK

He’s monitoring two terrorists who are preparing to attempt to access an arsenal of chemical weapons at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

HELLER

I thought you said there were three of them. The two members of Shining Path plus Tony’s cousin.

JACK

No, um, Tony’s cousin’s not with them.

HELLER

Where is he?

JACK

He’s dead. Last night, he got cold feet…it was one thing for him to talk about teaching Tony a lesson, it was another to actually take action to hurt his wife…Pedro and Alejandro decided that if he wasn’t going to cooperate he had to be disposed of. I can’t go into the details right now.

He glances at Audrey, who is giving him a disgusted look that says “do I even want to know?”

HELLER

Audrey, did you get a hold of President Palmer?

AUDREY

Yeah. He said he’s already quietly lobbied some of the Democrats to try to get them to vote against Cummings, and he can’t call them now because he’s on a civilian aircraft and he can’t risk other people overhearing his conversation. He told me to contact his son.

JACK

I don’t understand…what does his son have to do with anything?

HELLER

Keith Palmer’s a freshman senator from Maryland…he was just sworn in a few weeks ago. But I thought he was already voting nay?

AUDREY

He is, but President Palmer thinks that if we tell his son that he said it’s urgent, we can get him to mount a fillibuster.

JACK

Is that the thing where a senator takes the floor and talks for hours and hours to block a vote?

AUDREY

In theory, yes. Most fillibusters these days are silent though…senators can block legislation with the threat of a fillibuster,
although in this case, Senator Palmer may need to resort to the old-fashioned kind if his party leadership doesn’t get behind him.

HELLER

Alright, why don’t I give him a call? How much can I reveal?

AUDREY

Palmer said tell him anything as long as it won’t put him in danger. So I guess it’s up to you whether or not to tell him about Jack or just stick with what you told the Senate majority leader.

HELLER

Jack, that’s your call.

JACK

Since he’s President Palmer’s son I think we can trust him…but telling him that I’m alive and certainly telling him that I’m here could put him in danger. I say start with the same case you made to the Senate majority leader, and then if that doesn’t work, tell him what Cummings authorized the Secret Service agent to do…but use that only to convince him of the need to mount a fillicruncher…filli…whatever the hell you call it…but if you say anything about me, make sure he knows not to use that publicly as part of his justification.

HELLER

Alright…do you have a phone number for his Senate office?

AUDREY

Yeah, right here…here’s the main office number, and here’s the number for his chief of staff.

HELLER

Alright. I’m going to go to my office to call him…I’ll arrange for security for Michelle while I’m there…page me if there’s any progress on the guys at Aberdeen.

JACK

Yes, sir.

AUDREY

Why do we need security for Michelle? I guess that means they finally found her…is she okay?

JACK

Yeah, she’s fine…she’s in the consolidated server room in the basement.

AUDREY

So why does she need security?

JACK

Just a precaution…she’s been helping me infiltrate these guys for the past few months, and I’m afraid that when they realize she’s working against them they could have people inside the Pentagon ready to go after her.

AUDREY

Does Tony know about this?

JACK

Sort of…he knows she’s helping to protect the arsenal by changing the access codes from CSR, and he knows that I tied her up to make it look like a kidnapping.

AUDREY

You did WHAT? You know what, forget it - I don’t even want to know. But how the hell could you…

Jack hears fuzz on his radio.

JACK

Michelle, is that you?

fade out.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

ACT FOUR

FADE IN:

INT. PENTAGON

Jack and Audrey reenter Audrey’s office, where Tony is still shackled to the desk monitoring the audio feed as well as the Consolidated Server Room security camera, which shows Michelle tied up in handcuffs with tape over her mouth.

JACK

Tony, have you picked up anything?

TONY

Not much…they’re just driving around…Pedro got pissed off because Alejandro spilled soda in the van…Alejandro asked if they had gotten the codes yet…he wanted confirmation that you kidnapped Michelle…Pedro showed him pictures you sent of her tied up…they mentioned something about someone named Victor…you might want to look that up, see if that leads anywhere.

JACK

Alright. You’re still monitoring the video I set up in CSR,
right?

TONY

Of course…she’s still sitting right there tied up.

His voice cracks when he says this.

JACK

Michelle tried to buzz a minute ago…I couldn’t quite figure out what she was saying…can you give it a try? I’ll monitor the audio feed while you do that.

TONY

Fine.

JACK

Audrey, do me a favor and listen for my phone…don’t answer it…just signal to me if it vibrates, ok?

AUDREY

Yeah.

Jack hands Tony the RF and puts on the headphones. Tony wheels his chair as far away as possible given the fact that he is confined to the desk in order to give Jack enough room to use the computer.

TONY

Michelle, what’s going on?

MICHELLE

Aa ack if I cun burk ut uv des hucus nor.

TONY

Jack, she wants to know if she can break out of the handcuffs yet?

JACK

Tell her not just yet…I’m going back down there in five minutes…when I’m getting close I’ll buzz, and then she can break out and start escaping so I can catch her.

TONY

Then what happens after you catch her?

JACK

We uplink the codes, change them so they can’t be used again and make sure the terrorists can’t get through the two levels we’re giving them phony codes for, and then I bring her back to her office or OSD and we’ll all monitor the status of the Marines who are on standby at Aberdeen ready to apprehend the terrorists.

Tony presses a button to talk into the RF.

TONY

Michelle, you still there?

MICHELLE

Mmnr

TONY

Jack says to wait a few minutes…he’ll buzz when he’s on his way to come “catch” you…can’t let you really escape, now can we?

She can hear the sarcasm in his voice.

AUDREY

Tony…

TONY

I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean it to come out like that.
It’s just been really hard…(A lump forms in his throat) watching you tied up like that again has just brought back some memories that I’d have rather not had to rehash.

MICHELLE

I oh. I rury suey, foey.

TONY

Don’t be. You’re doing what you thought was right…I would have done the same thing. Talking to you right now is helping…if you were really being held by terrorists they wouldn’t let you keep talking to me…I just wish you could hear how funny you sound.

MICHELLE

Sup muing fuov me.

TONY

Alright, I’ll sup muing fuov you. Just be careful, alright?

MICHELLE

Oh ay, I frumus.

Tears form in his eyes as he looks at her trying unsuccessfully to wave at him through the security camera.

JACK

You alright, Tony?

TONY

(Sarcastically) Oh yeah, I’m fine. Besides the fact that I’m technically under house arrest, I’ve been accused of executing a cyberterrorist attack on our country’s air traffic infrastructure, my wife’s been lying to me for g-d knows how long, I’m worried sick about her doing all this, I’ve been called a traitor more times than I care to count in the past 24 hours, and I the sight in front of me is something (His voice changes from indignant sarcasm to a whisper as he fights back tears)…something I never ever wanted to see again, even if it’s just pretend.

JACK

I know, Tony, and I’m really, really sorry. I have no idea what the air traffic attack is about or why you’re being blamed for every terrorist threat on the radar this morning…if it has to do with me I’m sorry…we went to great lengths to prevent this from happening…and I know that you’re upset about Michelle keeping this from you and that the image on the screen in front of you is upsetting, but I had to do it to protect her.

TONY

You kidnapped her because you wanted to protect her? What the hell kind of perverse logic is that? If you hadn’t gotten her involved in the first place she wouldn’t need protecting.

JACK

That’s not exactly true, Tony.

TONY

What are you talking about?

Before Jack can answer, his cell phone rings.

JACK

Yeah?

Audrey walks over to her desk and squeezes Tony’s arm gently.

ANGLE ON JACK

intercut with:

INT. CTU LOS ANGELES

CHLOE

I think Erin’s onto me…my screen looks like the signal I’m sending to Tony is being split…I have to lock down the system.

JACK

If you do that will Tony lose the feed?

CHLOE

Yeah but I don’t have a choice. Otherwise they’ll all be able to see and hear everything.

JACK

Is there a way to route it through another system?

CHLOE

Yeah, but I don’t have time…she’s coming in now…I’ve gotta go.

Chloe frantically hangs up and types some codes into her computer, resulting in a screen that says “LOCKDOWN“.

She finishes right before Erin approaches.

ERIN

Chloe, what the hell is going on?

CHLOE

I’m just…

ERIN

Deciphering the audio feed? Uh huh. So why are you using a personal cell phone? And why is that cell phone calling a Mexican number associated with the terrorist you’ve been pretending to help find all morning?

CHLOE

Ms. Driscoll, I know this looks really bad…but I’m not a mole, I swear. I need to speak to Secretary Heller…I swear I’ll tell him everything I know…but I can’t talk to anyone else about this.

ERIN

Well, unless you want to be interrogated in a room with Richards and sent to jail, you’d better start talking to me.

INT. AUDREY’S OFFICE

TONY

Damn it, the feed went down.

JACK

I know. Chloe had to lock down her system…Driscoll’s onto her. Audrey, come with me to OSD…we’ve gotta get your dad to call CTU and find some way to convince Erin to let Chloe continue her work in private without telling her what’s going on. Tony, see if you can get the password from Michelle and hack into Chloe’s system in the interim. Also, she should have uplinked some archived files from earlier, stuff she was listening to but didn’t quite understand. See if you can find anything useful on those.

TONY

Alright.

JACK

Audrey, can he access SATCOM from there?

AUDREY

Yeah, let me write down my access code.

TONY

I can just use my own.

JACK

No, you can’t. When I talked to Michelle earlier she said something about how she thought someone might be monitoring your system,
because of the attack this morning. Where’s the key to that shackle on your leg?

TONY

I think Secretary Heller took it with him.

JACK

Alright, I’ll bring it back here in a minute…I want to make sure you can get up and move if you need to. Here are the GPS coordinates for the arsenal…I need you to monitor that and the server room simultaneously until we can get Chloe back in play.

TONY

Alright, got it.

AUDREY

What…

JACK

I’ll explain later…Audrey, come on.

Audrey follows Jack reluctantly, looking completely confused.
When they are out of Tony’s earshot, she grabs him and pulls him into an empty conference room and locks the door.

JACK

Audrey, what are you doing? I need to…

AUDREY

No. You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on.

JACK

Audrey, I promise I will explain everything to you later…I explained everything to your father earlier…right now I need you to trust me.

AUDREY

Fine, spare me the details of the operation. But just look me in the eye and tell me that you’re not withholding information from Tony that Michelle could be in danger, and tell me that you didn’t kill his cousin.

JACK

Audrey…

AUDREY

Damnit, Jack, how could you…

JACK

I didn’t have a choice, Audrey. Pedro and Alejandro wanted to test my loyalty…if I didn’t kill Victor they’d have known I was playing them.
It’s not something I’m proud of, but it had to be done.

AUDREY

You always have some justification, Jack. You always have some cockamamie logic to try and rationalize killing innocent people, but you know what?

JACK

The guy was hardly innocent, Audrey! He helped terrorists devise an elaborate plot to kidnap Michelle and force her to disclose top secret information to enable terrorists to gain access to chemical weapons.

AUDREY

So did you, Jack. You’re the one who got her involved in the first place.

JACK

No, I didn’t, Audrey. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you…Victor was always telling me about how they angry he was that Tony married outside of the Peruvian community and served in the Marines…and then I heard him talking to a few members of Shining Path one night…they were plotting to teach Tony a lesson by kidnapping Michelle and forcing her to uplink the codes to the Edgewood facility.

AUDREY

And this is what you were telling my dad that you weren’t sure whether or not to tell Tony?

JACK

Yes, exactly. But before I had the opportunity to make up my mind you came back in to report on your conversation with President Palmer and then Chloe called…

AUDREY

Well, I’ll make it real simple…I’ll make the decision for you…I’m going to tell him the truth.

JACK

If that’s what you think the right move is, I’m not going to stop you. At this point you probably know Tony as well as I do if not better…it’s your call. But just consider how frustrating it would be to be shackled to a desk knowing that the person you love might be in danger.

AUDREY

If you’re implying that he can’t be trusted because of what happened…

JACK

That’s not what I’m implying, Audrey. There are few people in this world I trust as much as I trust Tony.

AUDREY

Then why are you doing this?

JACK

Because I know from experience what it’s like to be held under house arrest while my family was in danger…right now, there’s nothing Tony can do to protect Michelle besides what he’s already doing…your father requested Pentagon security to patrol the hall outside the Consolidated Server Room, and as soon as you’re done holding me hostage in this room I’m going to go check on her.

Audrey sighs.

jack

Now, I know you don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you, but unless you think Tony can’t be trusted and should be tied up until the operation’s over, I need you to go ask your dad if he got Chloe back in play yet, and get the keys to unlock Tony’s shackle. Can you do that for me?

AUDREY

Alright. But what should I tell him, if he asks about Michelle?

JACK

Tell him that Pentagon Security is protecting her and I’m on my way down there. Whatever else you tell him is up to you, but if he tries to come down there, remind him that she could be in a lot more danger if nobody’s monitoring the audio and video feeds.

AUDREY

Alright.

Jack’s phone rings just as he is reaching for the RF radio.

JACK

Yeah?

TONY

Was Chloe controlling the security camera feed from CSR?

JACK

No, why?

TONY

It just went down…it says “source unavailable”.

JACK

Damnit! Alright, hang on.

He hangs up and pulls out the radio.

JACK

Michelle, come in. Michelle, are you there?

He grabs his cell phone again and dials a number as he runs to the elevator.

JACK

Audrey, it’s me…we’ve got a problem…the video feed of CSR is down and Michelle’s not answering the RF…I need you to get that key as fast as possible and get Tony a military uniform with as much concealment as possible to prevent him from being stopped by PFP. I need you and Tony to grab a few guns and get down to the Consolidated Server Room in the Army wing of the basement…can you do that?

AUDREY

Alright, yeah.

JACK

Tell Tony to stand down until I give him instruc