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Novick comes into Palmer's office. The President
asks him if Prescott is avoiding him, but Novick
blames his unavailability on the events of the
past eighteen hours. Palmer wants Lynne to go
over his statement, and Novick says that he will
deliver it to her. He exits and goes into another
office.
Novick dials Prescott from a satcom phone and
asks if he is still moving forward. Novick warns
him that Palmer is becoming suspicious because
the Vice President hasn't returned his calls.
Prescott says that he will call Palmer. He tells the
anxious Novick to keep things together on his
side.
Jack takes O'Hara's phone and walks through
the clinic. He dials CTU and gets Michelle.
Although Jack tries to tell her about the chip,
Michelle only hears static. Michelle notifies Tony
that Jack called but that the signal was lost. He
instructs her to trace the source of the call. Tony
gives Chappelle the news, but Chappelle does
not want Jack distracting their resources. Tony,
however, is siding with Jack.
Novick listens as Palmer speaks to Vice
President Prescott over speakerphone. The
President offers Prescott the chance to
personally address the military attack with him.
Prescott acknowledges that, if he had something
to say, he would come to the President first. After
he hangs up, Palmer admits to Novick that he
doesn't trust Prescott. Agent Pierce comes in to
notify Palmer that Lynne is in critical condition
after falling down stairs. He takes the President
to her. A look of panic washes over Novick's
face.
Michelle tells Tony that Jack called from a cell
phone somewhere between Studio City and
Encino. They check a map to see where he might
be headed. Tony does not want Michelle to use
the satellite for fear of raising flags with
Chappelle. He has her monitor police channels
instead. Carrie secretly watches them speak.
Jack takes O'Hara's car and drives to where he
was supposed to meet Yusuf and Kate. He spots
Yusuf near the payphone. Although he is
bloodied and battered, Yusuf manages to tell
Jack that someone took the chip with Kate to her
house. Yusuf dies before Jack can rescue him.
Kate leads the men with the chip to her house.
They open the door and the security alarm rings.
They order her to shut it off, and she gives them
the code. The men demand the money she
promised.
Palmer and Novick run outside the federal
building where Lynne is being taken away on a
gurney. She has suffered a concussion. Lynne
tries to form a word but nothing coherent comes
out. She raises a weak hand and points toward
Novick. Novick steps forward and takes her
hand, pretending to comfort her. The EMTs whisk
her into the ambulance.
Carrie warns Tony that Chappelle will find out
that he and Michelle are wasting time looking for
Jack. She says that she won't tell Chappelle if
Tony gives her Michelle's job. Tony calls
Chappelle over and announces that Carrie is
trying to use extortion to get a promotion. She
argues that Tony and Michelle are still searching
for Jack Bauer against orders. Chappelle
dismisses Carrie, then admonishes Tony. Tony
makes it clear that, as acting CTU Director, he is
trying to garner all the facts. He gives Chappelle
the opportunity to relieve him of his duties if he
does not agree with his decisions. Chappelle
says that there is no one else to fill in at the
moment. "I don't like insubordination," he tells
Tony.
Kate opens the safe in her closet, and the men
pull out some cash and a diamond bracelet. Kate
asks for the chip as promised, but they are
reluctant to let her go. Kate runs off as they fire at
her. The men catch up to her and throw her to
the ground. Jack appears and shoots one of the
fleeing guys. She tells him that they have the
chip, and Jack pursues the other two through the
house. He calls out to them through a bathroom
door asking for the chip. The men are afraid, but
refuse to hand it over. One of them says that if
Jack comes in he will smash the chip.
Novick watches via videophone as Prescott
gathers the Cabinet members in the White
House. Prescott tells the group that the meeting
will be closed from the President. The purpose of
the meeting is to decide whether Palmer is unfit
to continue as President of the United States
based on his response to the day's events.
Jack pleads with the men in Kate's house
through the bathroom door, telling them what is
on the chip and why he needs it. One of the men
implores the other to give up the chip, and his
friend accidentally fires his gun. Jack breaks
down the door and enters the bathroom. He
holds the guy and grabs the chip. Jack has Kate
get something to tie the men up.
Palmer tells Novick that he just learned that the
bombers did not return to their bases as he
ordered. Novick sullenly invites the President to
join him in the conference room. Palmer senses
his aide's unease, and asks Novick what is going
on. Novick finally admits that the cabinet
members are questioning whether Palmer is fit to
continue as Chief Executive of the country.
Palmer enters the conference room to find a
video screen with panels of feeds. A group of
cabinet members, lead by Vice President
Prescott, is assembled in the White House
bunker, with the Secretary of State filmed on a
plane and the Secretary of Agriculture in a limo.
Prescott tells Palmer that they are invoking the
25th Amendment, which states that the Vice
President and a majority of the cabinet can
determine whether that the President can be
discharged of powers if he is not capable of
performing the duties of his office. He says that
they have decided Palmer's actions over the day
warrant such a query. The Secretary of State
interjects to state that they are all not in full
agreement just yet. Palmer explains that the
Amendment was designed to deal with the
situations where the President is ill or
incapacitated. Prescott informs him that their
interpretation is backed by the Attorney General.
He insists that Jack Bauer has not turned up the
evidence to disprove the Cyprus recording, and
that waiting will only risk tens of thousands of
American lives. Although they do not agree with
his policy decisions, Palmer maintains that he
can not be labeled disabled. Prescott intends to
show that the President's refusal to authorize
military action is a symptom of his erratic
behavior. The Secretary of State says that
Palmer should be given the chance to explain
himself in order to answer their questions.
Palmer consents to this, on the condition that, if
he is exonerated, then Prescott should resign as
Vice President. Prescott agrees.
Tony informs Chappelle that a source told him
that the President called off the military offensive
more than an hour ago. Chappelle acknowledges
that he was aware of this, but says there is a
strong possibility that the White House will
reinstate the attack order.
Michelle gets a call from Jack at Kate Warner's
house, and she grabs Tony. Jack informs them
that he has the chip but that he can not read
what is on it. Michelle attempts to access it over
the server. Jack then asks Tony to run a
background check on Peter Kingsley and to
cross-reference it with oil industry players. Tony
tells him that, although Palmer called off the
military strikes, for some reason the order may
get reversed.
Prescott brings the reporter Ron Wieland into the
proceedings. Wieland recounts that he was
detained by Secret Service after he investigated
the possibility of a terrorist attack. Although he
understands the reason he was held captive,
Wieland feels it was a violation of his First
Amendment rights. He says that Sherry Palmer
came to visit him and offered to give him access
to the O.C. if he sat on the story. Wieland got the
sense that Palmer was not in control of the
situation. The President calmly explains that he
was balancing the need for public safety, and he
tried to rectify the situation with a remedy that
had legal precedent.
Michelle walks Jack through overriding the chip's
access, but he only gets a screen full of numbers
and symbols. He checks the hardware and
realizes that the chip has been damaged. He
sends whatever data he pulled up to Michelle so
that she can run it through a retrieval program at
CTU. Meanwhile, Tony gets a call from Kim
looking for her father. She is in a police car on
her way to the Matheson house to pick up her
belongings. Tony puts her through to Jack. Kim
tells Jack that she misses him, and Jack assures
her that he will see her soon.
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