Synopsis:
As Mandy parachutes to earth, Jack and Tony get word of the plane crash. Tony asks Jack why George Mason was limping out of Jack's office earlier, and when Jack dodges the question, Nina makes up a story about Mason seeking revenge for charges Jack brought against some friends of Mason's last year. Back in the desert, Mandy burns her clothes, then places Belkin's ID in a steel case, presses a button to activate a homing beam, and buries the case in the sand. A moment later, a Jeep pulls up. Mandy gets in, and as they drive off, a leather-clad figure pulls up on a motorcycle. About the same time, Teri and Alan York arrive at a furniture store, where Janet's car has been found. No one's there, but empty beer cans and a used condom hint of recent activity. Meanwhile, in an office corridor, CTU agent Richard Walsh meets a man named Baylor, who gives him a magnetic-striped key card containing an encoded data file on David Palmer. Baylor tells Walsh that he's scared and wants out, but Walsh convinces him to hold on for another 24 hours. Just then, however, two silenced gunshots hit Baylor, killing him and Walsh runs. Back at the CTU, Tony asks Nina what really happened between Jack and Mason, but Nina won't say. Walsh calls Jack and reports Baylor's shooting. Jack promises to be there in 10 minutes, but then another gunshot sounds and Walsh's phone goes dead.In a hotel suite, Palmer and Sherry watch news reports of the plane crash. Palmer seems distracted, but tells Sherry it's nothing serious. In Dan's van, Janet, who's unconscious, starts to go into convulsions, but Rick jerks her head up, and she stops. Meanwhile, Jack calls Teri at the furniture store, and she says she and York are going to wait there, hoping someone comes back for Janet's car. Mandy arrvies at a house in the desert, where Ira Gaines gives her a briefcase full of cash, points to a man who's a near double for Belkin, and asks for Belkin's ID card. Mandy dials her cell phone and tells the person on the other end to bring the card. Jack arrives at the office building and calls Nina, who provides an entry code for the security system. Nina gives it to him and Tony, sitting nearby, peeks at a record of their call. A few moments later, Jack arrives on the roof of the building and finds Walsh, who's injured but alive. They start back down the stairs, but hear footsteps below... and realize the gunmen are still there.At the furniture store, Teri finds a staff list and learns Dan works at the store. She calls Nina, hoping Jack can help them find Dan's phone number. Nina says Jack's out, but offers to help. In the office building stairwell, Jack wraps Walsh's wound. Then they exit a service door and see a gunman standing nearby. Jack and Walsh drop to their bellies and crawl across the mezzanine, but a shot rings out. Jack returns fire, killing the man, then slices off his thumb for identification. Meanwhile, Nina calls Teri back with the name and number of the furniture store owner. Teri calls immediately, and leaves a message with her cell phone number. Out in the desert, the motorcyclist, a woman named Bridgit, arrives and hands Gaines a photocopy of Belkins' ID. Both Gaines and Mandy are upset Bridgit doesn't have the real thing, but everyone realizes Gaines can't kill her until he has the real ID card. Meanwhile, Palmer gets a call from a man named Carl, who says he got a call from Maureen Kingsley. Carl says they can deal with it in the morning, but Palmer insists they do it now. At the CTU, Tony asks Nina who she was talking to, and when Nina reminds him that she's his boss and doesn't have to tell him, he reminds her that, away from work, they're “something else” to each other, and she softens. A few minutes later, four secret service agents arrive at Palmer's hotel room and ask Sherry if they can speak with Palmer. She goes to get him, but finds the bedroom empty... and one of the agents, Pierce, tells Sherry about the threat on Palmer's life. As she reacts, we see Palmer, in the parking lot, get into his car and drive away.On their way out of the office building, the gunmen shoot at Jack and Walsh again. Walsh is hit and gives Jack the key card, asking him to give it to Jamey. Then the shooters fire again, killing Walsh, and Jack rushes to his Jeep. On another street, Dan orders Kimberly to call her mother. When Kimberly refuses, Dan smashes Janet's hand and Kimberly dials. When she answers, Teri asks Kimberly where they are, but Kimberly just says “I love you,” and hangs up. Teri knows something's amiss, however, since Kimberly never says “I love you” under normal circumstances. Meanwhile, Jack calls Jamey and runs the key card through a mobile scanner. A moment later, Jamey transmits back the identity of the person who encoded the card: Nina... who's now watching Jamey. Finally, back in the desert, Gaines' thug, Jonathan, practices his rifle technique