The following takes place between 8:00 am. and 9:00 am.
Episode 5.02: 8:00-9:00
Written by: Evan Katz
Directed by: Jon Cassar
Jack, Chloe and poor Derek take the killers' gear and head off to the apartment building where Palmer was shot so that Jack can look for clues as to why Palmer needed to be assassinated (and, also, why he is being set up for it). Chloe logs in from the parking garage, Jack overpowers an FBI agent, and heads in.
CTU finds a video showing Jack breaking into the building the shots were fired from, before the shooting. After a bit of “I thought he was dead” goggling, Ferret-face, Audrey, and Curtis decide that Jack is the prime suspect. The President is informed, and is again encouraged to postpone his summit with the Russian. Again, he demurs, citing image as the reason. Weenie.
Jack finds an empty room in Wayne Palmer's apartment—the room with the computer in it, of all rooms. Why is THAT room empty? And for that matter, why didn't they search Chloe's van thoroughly before allowing her inside the garage? Answer, because Jack and Derek were there. Ah ha!
Anyway, Jack has an insane amount of time to himself in the computer room and finds an encrypted file. Chloe uploads a decrypt program just as Wayne Palmer walks in the room. He confronts Jack about his brother's death, and Jack begins the “I didn't do it!” portion of our show. Wayne buys it long enough for the file to decrypt and they find a clue just as CTU realizes Chloe is logged in and everything goes to hell.
Meanwhile, Martha Logan had told her husband about a phone call from David Palmer the night before. She is convinced that Palmer was trying to tell her something, and that the assassination was related to it. He has the call brought up on audio archive, and it is an innocuous call, Palmer asking her to attend a charity event. Logan tells her she's having hallucinations because she's off her medication. He's such a sensitive soul.
Jack beats up a couple of agents on his way out of the building. A dramatic chase out of the parking garage ends with Chloe being arrested and telling Buchanan on the phone that Jack didn't do it! He orders her brought back to CTU and detained.
Jack and Derek, meanwhile, follow the clue from the computer to the Ontario Airport. On the way, Jack and Derek have a heart to heart. They meet Diane, Jack tells her his real name, and it's a moment; it's very nice. Jack sends them to CTU, then heads into the airport.
Mysterious terrorists are afoot as well, driving about in a panel truck. We are led to believe they are up to no good concerning the Russian president, who arrives at the summit unimpeded, scuttling that little theory. Of course, they show up at the Ontario Airport just after Jack has gone inside to terrorize one of the baggage chiefs at the airport, a man whose name was on Palmer's computer. Of course, Derek, who was about to get out of this healthy, realizes something is going on and bails on his mom, going inside the airport to “warn Jack” just as the thugs blow up their truck and start shooting holes in the airport ceiling (not to mention its security force).
When the noise distracts Jack, his victim cracks a poison pill and once again, Jack loses a suspect before he can get any information. Nice to see 18 months off hasn't ruined his game. The thugs announce that there will be no trouble as long as the President meets their demands. Mysterious Terrorist Leader with the Bluetooth headset calls...President Weenie's aide Walt! We have our first mole of the season! Walt tells Bluetooth that he had altered the tape so that the warning Palmer tried to give Mrs. Logan was erased.
Wow! Two hours in and we already have a hapless innocent, a mole, and Jack off the leash. They're into it early this year. Ooh boy, here we go!
8:59:59
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it wonders why Jack can't just tell them he was at Diane's house when Palmer was shot. It seems like a good alibi to him.
