Episode 21 (3:00 AM - 4:00 AM)

Preview of Episode 21 (3:00 AM - 4:00 AM)


3:00 A.M.
As Evans prepares to land the plane, Jack calls Karen and tells her he has the recording. He doesn’t want anyone loyal to the President to interfere with his taking it back to CTU. Buchanan assures Jack that a team will be there to escort him.

3:02 A.M.
Curtis comes into the clinic to let Audrey know that Heller survived the car crash and is being treated. She is elated that her father is alive.

3:03 A.M.
Karen orders Curtis to pick up Jack at the Van Nuys Airport. He must make sure that Jack and the evidence are protected from Logan’s militia.

3:04 A.M.
Graham informs Logan that his people can arrange a distress signal from the plane to make it appear that there is a hijacking. This will give the President legal reason to have the plane shot down. Logan is reluctant to kill innocent people, but he knows there is no other choice to protect himself.

3:06 A.M.
Miles is alarmed to see Buchanan and Karen walk out together from the holding room. Karen says that new intelligence has emerged, but she won’t tell Miles what it is.

3:07 A.M.
Novick reports to the President that a hijack distress call came from Jack’s plane. There is a possibility it will target something on the ground.

3:08 A.M.
Logan and Novick are briefed by Admiral Kirkland from the Point Mugu Command Center. Logan feigns shock and horror that Jack would be in control of the plane. Kirkland advises him to bring down the plane. Novick doesn’t believe that Jack would use the plane as a weapon against civilians, but Kirkland insists there is no time to make another decision. Logan overrules Novick and authorizes the Admiral to have his F-18 fighter shoot down the plane.

3:10 A.M.
Karen gets word of the alert to shoot down the plane and she calls Jack. Jack asks Buchanan to find a stretch of freeway to touch down.

3:14 A.M.
Miles watches with mounting dismay as Chloe is brought into CTU. Buchanan and Karen give her the news about Jack’s plane and ask her to find out exactly how much time he has before the F-18 reaches him.

3:16 A.M.
Jack has the flight attendant prepare the passengers for an emergency landing. Buchanan gives him a freeway where he can land. Evans is hesitant to land on the road, but Jack forces him to obey.

3:17 A.M.
Karen calls Curtis and redirects him to the freeway where Jack will land.

3:18 A.M.
Admiral Kirkland patches the President through to the pilot of the F-18.

Chloe taps into the radar feed and finds that the missile from the jet will hit Jack before he can land. Jack orders Evans to descend faster, even if it means the landing will be jeopardized.

3:19 A.M.
The passengers scream when the plane lunges. With the F-18 almost within missile range, Jack makes Evans continue pushing the plane downward. Jack sees the freeway out the cockpit window. He tells Evans to level off, but the plane is not able to pull out of the dive.

3:20 A.M.
Jack demands that Evan lower the landing gear, even though they are at one thousand feet above the ground.

The F-18 pilot notifies Logan and Kirkland that the plane is landing on the freeway. Kirkland recommends to the President that they abort, but Logan is adamant that they shoot it down anyway. Novick implores him to reconsider. Logan realizes that he has been outmaneuvered and agrees to abort. Yet he demands that Marine units apprehend Jack on the freeway.

3:21 A.M.
Although the plane is still going too fast to land, Evans completes the descent and the plane slams down on the freeway. It screeches to a halt just before its wings reach an overpass.

3:22 A.M.
Buchanan tells Jack that Curtis will be there to pick him up. Jack instructs the passengers to exit at the back while he goes to the side door and climbs down from the wing. Jack breaks into a run on the ground.

3:27 A.M.
Graham chides Logan for not following the plan. Logan answers that he had no pretext to shoot the plane, and reassures Graham that Marines will pick up Jack before he escapes.

3:28 A.M.
Jack hides below the overpass and calls Curtis, who is approaching from the opposite side of where the Marines are posted.

3:29 A.M.
Jack gets in Curtis’s car and they hit a roadblock. Curtis identifies himself to the Marines, and he says he is there to apprehend Jack. The Marines have orders to detain everyone, but Curtis claims that they are wasting time. He says they can shoot at him even though he is a federal officer. The Marines wave the car through.

3:30 A.M.
Curtis calls CTU and says he will head in using back streets to avoid more roadblocks. Buchanan is sure that the Marines are under direct orders from Logan.

Miles calls Karen in the conference room and demands to know what’s going on because he is watching her work with two people that were under arrest for aiding a fugitive. He threatens to call someone else for answers. Karen agrees to talk to him. She explains to Buchanan and Chloe that Miles has been loyal to her and she has no choice but to trust him.

3:31 A.M.
Karen tells Miles that Jack retrieved evidence implicating Logan. Miles is hesitant and tries to play devil’s advocate. They are interrupted by an agent informing them that Bierko is ready to be moved. Karen urges Miles to keep this a secret.

3:34 A.M.
A bruised Bierko is brought out in shackles. They are transferring him to a holding facility at District.

3:35 A.M.
Bierko is loaded into a transport van. He nods to the driver, who nods back.

3:40 A.M.
Logan is alarmed to find out that Jack was not taken into custody by the Marines. This hits Logan like a death sentence. Novick notices that this reaction is odd.

3:42 A.M.
Logan sees on his cell phone that Graham is calling. He doesn’t pick up.

3:43 A.M.
Curtis brings Jack to CTU. Jack hands the tape recorder to Chloe so that she can prepare it for the Attorney General.

3:44 A.M.
Jack goes to see Audrey in the medical unit and kisses her. He tells her that they got the evidence. “It’s over,” she sighs. Jack sits with her in silence.

3:45 A.M.
Logan opens a wooden box in his office. Inside is a .45 caliber pistol. He calls Graham and lets him know that Jack escaped. Graham knows that the Attorney General received a call from CTU, so the recording must be in their hands. “I still believe we were right,” Logan says. “I still believe that we acted in the best interests of the country.” Graham notes that the murder trial of a sitting President would devastate the country. Yet there cannot be a trial without a defendant. Logan confirms that neither Graham nor his associates will be implicated in anything. Logan hangs up, explaining that he has some things to take care of. He loads the pistol.

3:51 A.M.
Logan goes to see Martha, who is watching news broadcasts alone. He apologizes for hurting her but she doesn’t respond with sympathy to give him the closure he’s seeking. Martha says that she had no idea he was such a good liar. “If I wasn’t so horrified by the fact that I’m married to you, I might actually be impressed,” she says coldly.

3:55 A.M.
Logan walks back to his office, defeated. He quickly knocks back a glass of scotch for liquid courage and takes the pistol from the box. The office phone rings, and the operator informs the President that he has an urgent call from Miles about Jack. Logan takes the call.

3:57 A.M.
From a darkened corner of CTU, Miles explains to Logan that Jack delivered a recording which could compromise national security. Miles feels compelled to intervene and wants Logan’s approval. Logan smiles like a drowning man who’s just been thrown a safety line. He gives Miles his private number and asks him to keep him abreast of the situation. When Logan says he will not forget this favor, Miles is pleased. Logan puts away his gun.

3:59 A.M.
Miles goes into the conference room where Chloe is working on the tape. He leans on the table next to her and innocently asks if she will be ready for the teleconference. Chloe cannot see that he is holding a black device that flashes next to the tape recorder. Satisfied with what he has done, Miles leaves.

RESEARCH FILE

HIJACK DISTRESS SIGNAL

Pilots use four-digit codes on the plane’s transponder to communicate with air traffic control. Some codes are designated especially for emergencies.

The code “7500” means unlawful interference or hijacking, signaling that the plane needs assistance. If the plane alternates rapidly between the codes 7500 and 7700, the request is for urgent and armed intervention in the hijacking. The pilot may also call in the number during radio transmission. Air traffic control will respond back to confirm that this is what the pilot intended before sending help.