Remember.....you asked
The staff of CTU watches the mushroom cloud
billow on a monitor, while the President sees the
glow in the distance from Air Force One. From
the deserted road, Kim is certain that her father
died in the explosion. She cries to herself.
Safe from the blast in the desert, Jack lights
flares to signal the chopper that will pick him up.
Once inside, he asks the pilot to connect him to
Tony at CTU so that he can contact his daughter.
However, radio transmissions and cell phones
are down because of the nuclear blast.
Tony tells his staff at CTU that George Mason
thanked them in advance for their hard work.
Tony encourages them to continue working even
though it has been a hard day already. Yusuf
Auda, the visiting Arab liaison, approaches Tony
after the speech to question why he has yet to be
allowed to participate in the investigation. Tony
manages to brush him off. Since Michelle is still
interrogating Syed Ali, Tony asks Carrie to
handle the audio verification of Ali's tape that
confirms three Middle Eastern countries hired
him.
Michelle plays the tape for Ali, but he denies that
the Cyprus conversations ever took place. He
claims to have been in Berlin at the time, saying
that he never met the men on the tape. The
bomb was a Second Wave operation only.
Tony consults with the audio techs about the
tape. Their findings indicate that the voices are
real and have not been spliced together. The
evidence shows that it is a genuine and accurate
record of a conversation. Michelle enters the
meeting and informs Tony of what Ali is claiming.
She thinks that they should investigate further
because there is some possibility that the tape
has been doctored. Carrie interjects in
disagreement, saying that physical evidence
trumps the word of a terrorist. She then questions
Michelle's limited abilities as an interrogator.
Tony says he will present both sides to the
President for his decision.
Novick debriefs Palmer on the detonation and its
lack of casualties beyond the pilot. The President
learns that Jack Bauer was not the one who
manned the plane. Lynne informs them that CTU
confirmed the Cyprus tape, providing proof that
the three Arab countries' ministers gave Syed Ali
support for the bomb. She tells them that, as
expected, Ali denied the conversation ever took
place. Given the evidence, Palmer has no other
choice but to respond militarily. He gives an order
to issue a statement about the nuclear blast. He
then calls for an emergency session of Congress
in which he will ask for a formal declaration of
war.
Tony asks Michelle about the tension between
her and Carrie. He agrees that Michelle does not
have the proper training to handle Ali.
Regardless, Michelle still believes that there is
reasonable doubt warranting the pressing of Ali.
Tony says that Ali will be further interrogated
when he is shipped to Guantanamo, but Michelle
thinks that will be too late.
Palmer meets with his Joint Chiefs of Staff via
videophone from Air Force One. General
Bowden, who is aboard the plane with the
President, informs him that they can be ready to
begin a rolling start with surgical strikes that
same day. It will take eight to ten weeks to get
the ground troops into the Middle East. Lynne
interrupts to tell Palmer that Deputy Prime
Minister Barghouti is calling for the second time
since the bomb exploded. He does not know that
the United States is planning to invade his
country, and Lynne advises Palmer to speak with
him or else the man may jump to his own
conclusions. The President exits the briefing
room to take the call. The Deputy Prime Minister
pledges his country's full support against Second
Wave because they have been trying to capture
Syed Ali for years. He asks the President to not
rush into a response against his country. Palmer
says they are merely gathering evidence at this
time.