[24] The Following Takes Place Between 3:00 and 4:00PM

I cannot believe how much action this show can pack in 5 mins! The head Irissian, Erwich, is killed by the real mastermind Bierko! And they aren’t Irissian, they’re Englissian! Bierko makes it clear that the nerve gas was acquired for the sole purpose of attacking Mother Russia. Erwich is punished for wasting it on a handful of people in an American mall. Bierko wants his people to track down Nathanson, who is the sole surviving double-crosser, and kill him. But Nathanson is one step ahead and is already on the move. TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK.

Lynn is on the phone pleading with his junkie sister to return his key card, which, yeah, I thought was a strange place to keep a security pass. Shouldn’t it be on one of those geeky retractable belt clip thingys or on a string around his neck?? But this show relies on “convenience,” so junkie pleads with her junkie boyfriend to give it back but he seems to have other plans. Lynn gets a phone call, thinking it’s his sister, but it’s really Pres. Wienie chewing him out for making him make a decision and then not sticking to said decision, even though it was a bad one. Passing the buck and needing someone to blame, Lynn orders that Jack be brought in and detained for disobeying a direct order. Audrey jumps to Jack’s defense and Lynn finally realizes that she’s been doing that a lot in the last few hours. Me thinks the hobbit is suspicious….

Curtis is reluctant, but he’s no renegade like Jack, so he’s in the process of taking Jack back to CTU like the good robot soldier he is when Audrey gets a call from Nathanson. He wants to be patched thru only to Jack and is using Audrey b/c he knows about their relationship. She doesn’t want to screw up the lead so she puts him thru. Pretending it was a personal call from Audrey, Curtis lets him take the call. Nathanson wants protection and doesn’t trust anyone but Jack to actually keep their word. In exchange he has information that may lead Jack to the gas. They arrange to meet at an abandoned building. On the way to CTU, Jack sucker punches Curtis and then puts him in a sleeper hold, “Don’t fight it.” Easy for you to say! He pulls Curtis out of the car and takes off. Lynn finds out about the escape and officially begins his meltdown. He grills Audrey who claims no knowledge, but he doesn’t believe her and decides to check-up on her actions. Audrey surreptitiously calls Chloe, who is literally 5’ away, and asks her to dump her call log. She does, for Jack’s sake b/c this show could just as well be called “Bauer,” but not before Lynn sees it disappear on his screen.

Bierko calls Pres. Wienie on Walt’s phone. Bierko makes it clear that the gas is meant for Russia alone, however, b/c he’s been stopped from transporting the gas back to Russia he wants the President to give him the visiting Russian President’s cavalcade route. Novick want to know if he’s crazy or cowardly enough to give into those demands, and Wienie answers with a resounding YES!

Lynn forces Bill to tell him about Audrey’s personal relationship with Jack. He tells him that he knows Audrey’s covering for him, but he doesn’t know they are covering up. Meanwhile, Jack is on his way into the building when he sees hostiles storming the building. He warns Nathanson and tells him to meet Jack on the roof. Audrey tells Bill what’s going on, Lynn sees them whispering, and now he’s suspicious of everyone. Meltdown in T minus a shoot-out and 6 commercials….

Nathanson makes it to the roof and just as he’s about to be executed guess who saves his life? But all is not safe, because a helicopter is raining bullets down on them. But a mere heli and machine gun is no match for Jack and a semi-automatic hand pistol. He shoots down the helicopter! Nathanson manages to squeak out, “In my pocket,” before he takes his last breath and Jack finds a chip. The hostiles call Bierko to tell him about Jack’s superpowers. Jack calls Audrey, who’s being monitored by Lynn, so she patches him thru to Chloe. Quiet on the set. Cue “hobbit suspicious face.” Jack sends the information to Chloe and tells her to call him back when she’s decoded the chip. Chloe realizes she needs Audrey’s security level clearance and asks Bill to distract Lynn. He tries to, but Kaboom! Nuclear. Meltdown. Lynn spits out that he can’t do anything to Audrey b/c Daddy’s Secretary of Defense (nana nana nana!) but he can put Bill in the brig! Chloe is too weird for Lynn to deal with, so she’s left free to call Jack back and tell him that the gas is made by Terrodyne – a subsidiary of Omarchron. Jack recognizes the name and asks Chloe to confirm that Christopher Henderson works there. Turns out he’s the VP of R&D and Jack knows him.

The First Crazy finds out what Pres. Wienie wants to do and freaks out. He convinces her it’s the only course of action while Novick rolls his eyes and daydreams about how he’d make such a kick-ass President if he were so damn weird looking. Pres. Wienie and the First Crazy make their goodbyes to the Russian President and his wife. They are the nicest people, making the Americans look absolutely detestable as Wienie gives Novick the nod to give Bierko the route. As a last ditch attempt, the First Crazy decides to ride with the Russians to the airport in their Limo, and sweet luffable Aaron if he weren’t such a cool secret service agent who always looks like he knows what’s really going on even if he doesn’t mean to, gets in after her. They leave word for Wienie who doesn’t even have the guts to stick around and wave the limo off. TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK.

Originally Posted by Highbrow