24: WTF?!

  

Greetings, Gasmii! 24 throws us all for a loop this week, and I for one throw my hands in the air in confusion. I have no frickin’ clue what’s going on anymore!

Let’s try and make some sense of it all…after the JUMP!

It’s 1AM and Tony is still wandering around the Starkwood Compound solo. He spies Stokes and some other dude greeting a fuel tanker and calls into Jack to find out WTF is going on?! What happened to the whole ‘Kaboom-y’ thing that was supposed to happen?

Jack informs Tony that the President called off the air strike because she didn’t seem to think their “intel” was strong enough. Tony looks legitimately upset by this, especially since he saw the canisters with his own eyes! Jack feels his pain, but they are under orders to “extract” him from the compound ASAP and tell him to head to a rendezvous point along the SouthWest perimeter.

Renee asks Tony to confirm this, but he is distracted by something and tells them to hold their freakin’ horses. He moves in a little closer and peeps the fuel tanker that arrived. An orange triangle on the tanker is conveniently labeled “RP-7″, which immediately connects the dots for Almeida. He tells Jack and Renee that he might know why the Prez suddenly became a chicken-shit…and it has something to do with possible surface-to-surface missiles, the pathogen, and the tanker of RP-7 fuel that is being pumped underground next to the bunker. Jack gets a worried expression and Renee speaks for the audience when she wonders aloud WTF RP-7 is. Bauer informs her it’s a fuel that’s used ONLY in surface-to-surface missiles.

Jack asks Tony if he has any C-4 explosive charges on him and can gain access to the underground fuel depot? Tony, of course, has a few charges and is totally game for another insane suicide mission. Why not?! Jack tells him to sit pretty while he and Renee storm off to get the go-ahead from President Taylor.

In the Oval Office, Madame Prez is brooding over her pansy-pants “giving in to terrorists” thing from the end of the last episode when Tim Woods comes in. He informs her that the Joint Chiefs are not happy campers and are starting to think Team Good Guy has lost a golden opportunity (based on strong intel) to take out the bio-weapon. Ma Taylor gets all defensive and reminds him that her orders were “No air strike, No military action of any kind!” Sounds like a good plan, eh? She tells Tim to “handle” the Joint Chiefs. He tells her he’ll do his best, but would also like to know what IS the new plan? The Prez informs him that Jonas Hodges is on his way to the White House to meet with her, and he’s of course immediately skeptical and wants to know WTF for?! She tells him to stop asking so many questions and be a good little helper monkey, mm’kay? Tim gets the “wounded puppy chastised by the President” face that we are more accustomed to seeing on Ethan Kanin. Ma Prez, of course, feels bad and tells him he can still help her out by sneaking Hodges in through the SouthEast service entrance and keeping it all quiet.

As Tim scurries off with his tail between his legs, Intercom Chick pipes in and informs the Prez that Jack and Renee are on the horn and would like a word with her. She stops Tim on his way out of the office, and asks if he spoke with the FBI about calling off the air-strike. He informs her that he did…but, like the Joint Chiefs, they were skeptical! She nods and tells him to go get ready for Hodges while she takes the call.

When Jack and Renee finally get the President on the line, he tells her that they need to talk. Madame Prez gets all defensive and tells him that they don’t need to talk, he needs to listen! She goes into a mini-spiel about how appreciative everyone is of their work, but their just isn’t sufficient intel to launch an air strike on private property. Jack, whose balls must be the size of mangos, tells her that “with all due respect” he thinks she’s full of shit. He confronts her with the whole surface-to-surface missiles ready to spread the pathogen theory (and by “theory”, of course…we mean straight-up truth!). He elaborates, telling her that he thinks Hodges is black-mailing her withe the capability to launch the pathogen and that Tony witnessed the tanker of “RP-7″ fuel…the only purpose of which is to fuel missiles! The Prez listens to all this with head in hand and a trace of regret for being such a big pansy!

After an uncomfortable silence, the Prez informs Bauer and Zombie Spice that they are, indeed correct. Hodges has 13 Python missiles aimed at various cities on the Eastern Seaboard and threatened to use them if she didn’t meet him face to face in the Oval Office. Jack gets a little pissed off that she agreed to meet Hodges, as the only reason he could possibly want to speak with her is to lay out his demands. The Prez knows all this, and assures Jack she’s going to let Hodges speak his mind and then gently bring him down to Earth and explain how futile whatever he’s trying to accomplish is. Jack, who in theory and practice has seen how “reasoning” with traitors and terrorists can be…calls “bullshit!” again. Madame Prez goes defensive and tells Jack she’s no Spring Chicken and can take care of herself, and furthermore…there’s not another option.

“And after I gently explain the error of their ways to them, they’ll apologize! Then we’ll all hug, and say the Pledge of Allegiance. What do you think about a choir of DC school children singing We Are the World? Too much?”

But WAIT! Jack has another option. He informs the Prez that Tony is on the compound (despite her order to get him out of there!) and can totally take out everything with a few well-placed C-4 charges! Madame Prez wonders aloud about the weapons, and Jack informs her that RP-7 burns at 5,000 degrees (just like whatever the F-18s were going to use) and it will be destroyed. Renee pipes in that Larry and crew are standing by and can move in on the compound as soon as they see the big Kaboom! The Prez notes that Hodges and his Evil Bastard Underlings threatened to launch an attack at the first detection of any government interference whatsoever…which would result in the death of thousands of Americans. Jack knows there’s a risk, but BEGS her to consider their option.

The Prez pauses for a moment, shifts her tone, and asks Jack how long the doctors are giving him to live. He tells her the crack FBI medical team has no idea WTF is going on with him, and that the pathogen has already taken effect. She is sorry to hear that, and says “there’s nothing I can threaten you with. I trust you’ll do what’s right.” Jack, relieved, totally takes this as a go-ahead for their crazy mission. Renee, however, is confused! She wants to know what the hell that meant, and Jack tells her it means they got unspoken permission to blow shit up! Renee plays devil’s advocate and notes the Prez didn’t explicitly give them an order. Silly Renee, covering one’s ass is all about plausible deniability! Jack fills her in that the Prez needs to be able to swear under oath that the FBI crew was working on it’s own, just in case something goes wrong, the missiles launch, and a bunch of people die. In short: This is a covert Op! As he leaves the room, he tells her to call Larry and bring him up to speed.

Back in the White House, Hodges and Seaton have arrived and are strutting down a hallway toward their big meeting with the Prez. Hodges boasts a little to his helper monkey Greg that he promised he’d get him to the White House some day…although getting there as international murderers/terrorists was unexpected. Jonas prattles on about how super brilliant/awesome Seaton’s misdirection with Almeida was, and that he owes him a debt of gratitude for putting himself in harms way. The whole time, Seaton has a look on his face that seems to indicate he knows he’s working for an unhinged madman, but it’s the best opportunity in front of him at the moment. As they reach the Oval Office, Hodges confesses that he’s a little nervous, and Seaton tells him he’ll be fine as Tim Woods shows them the door.

Meanwhile, we cut to Renee and Larry touching base via a split-screen cell phone call. Zombie Spice fills her boyfriend in on the the new intel and “indirect” order from the President to blow the crap out of the weapons while she takes the meeting with Hodges. Renee asks Larry if he has a “problem” with these oh-so-unprotocol plans. Larry’s response: “As a matter of fact, no!…Those Starkwood bastards drew on my men.” Larry is officially a convert to the Church of Bauer and all those special “off-book” operations being a believer entails. Zombie Spice is super happy to hear that, and tells Larry to wait for the Big Boom, and then move in.

Withe the President’s unspoken blessing and Larry on board, Jack calls back in to Tony and tells him they are a “go” for the covert operation. Tony is pleased to hear this, and Bauer tells him it’s SUPER important that he go undetected, as Hodges has given the order to launch the missiles at the first hint of government interference! Tony is pretty confident he can do it, so Jack wishes him “luck” and Tony gets back to spying on the tanker.

The driver of the tanker is affixing a hose to a tank underground while Stokes and an unnamed Baddie stand watch. The nameless dude tells Stokes he’s going to do another “perimeter check”, and Stokes is all WTF?! You just did one! The dude tells him he doesn’t think they can be too careful, and goes to do another perimeter check anyway.

Underground, Doc Tommy is eyeing the missiles anxiously when Stokes calls him to let him know the tanks are filled up and he’ll be down in a few minutes. No sooner has he hung up, then Tony emerges from behind the tanker with the driver at gunpoint! Stokes grumbles “Almeida” and Tony orders him to drop his weapon and kick it away. When the task is accomplished, Tony pistol whips/knocks out the driver and orders Stokes to drag his unconscious body under the truck! Stokes asks Tony WTF he thinks he’s doing, and Tony tells him he’s going to lead him to the fuel tanks. As Stokes leads the way underground (with Almeida’s gun at his head!) we cut to break!

Five minutes later, Jonas Hodges and Greg Seaton are led into the Oval Office. No sooner have they entered, then Hodges introduces his “associate” Greg Seaton to the President. He tells her Seaton is a remarkable man, that he “doesn’t look remarkable…but is a genius!” The President acknowledges him dryly and Seaton just kinda nods. I wonder if Hodges hurt his feelings? Hodges starts to ramble about how cool it is to visit the Oval Office as it “smells of history”. When they are seated, he starts rambling some more about how he hasn’t been in the Office since Ma Taylor took office, that her predecessor Daniels used to have him over all the time to talk about what was “really going on in the world.”

President Taylor wonders aloud if Hodges is feeling “excluded” and that’s why he’s acting out with all this terrorism and blackmail stuff. Haha. Jonas assures her it’s not about his hurt feelings (yeah, right!) but rather about Starkwood serving it’s purpose to defend the country. Prez Taylor takes the opportunity to remind him that he’s been ATTACKING the country, and that he and the Sangalans have killed hundreds of people…including her son! Busted!

Jonas does a slimy denial routine, saying his heart breaks for the lost lives and all…but he had nothing to do with it! Prez Taylor tells him they have evidence he’d been working with Juma, and Hodges goes into one of his fist-shaking tirades about how the intelligence is wrong! He angrily tells her he would have done everything in his power to stop the attacks if he’d known about them. While the Prez looks on with disgust/anger, he tells her to put aside the “baseless” accusations and maybe they can get down to business! She tells him to go ahead with his crazy-pants self…she’s listening.

Hodges goes into a sales pitch…invoking the history of private armies in US history, and yada yada. He tells her the country is vulnerable since it’s “so easy to get bio-weapons in” for example. Uh…WTF?! Hodges…YOU snuck them in! The Prez asks specifically what he is suggesting, and he tells her he wants “a seat at the table” shaping military policy worldwide. Ma Taylor astutely notes that it sounds more like he wants a seat at the HEAD of the table. Hodges denies this and tells her he doesn’t want to supplant her authority. More accurately, he wants Starkwood to become the “fifth branch” of the military. That’s it! Easy Peasy! He and Seaton came prepared with a packet of “protocols” outlining everything and suggests they all sit down and review it together. WTF?!

The Prez tosses the packet away in disgust, and tells the Starkwood boys that she invited them in to hear what they had to say, but is only hearing “blackmail.” Hodges says “Well, that’s putting it in the worst possible light.” Haha. While Seaton kind of calmly/silently observes, The Prez angrily reminds him he’s threatening to kill thousands of people. Crazy Ol’ Jonas tells her he’s not “proud” of this chapter, and thinks it’s time they move past it by working together. While she gives him the stink-eye, he gently tells her to pick up the packet.

Back at the Starkwood compound, Tony has just finished placing his last explosive charge on the fuel tanks as Stokes (chained to a pipe) watches angrily. Tony grabs his detonator and is about to leave, when he decides to take pity on Stokes and unchain him. Nobody is more surprised than Ol’ Stokesy, and Tony tells him to hustle or he’ll be left underground! They head back above ground, with Stokes still at gunpoint, and pass the tanker with the “unconscious” driver under it. However, when they pass the dude, he jumps up and surprises Almeida by doing some kind of football block move into his back! Oh-No! Tony drops the detonator into a drainage grate! He gets back up and beats the shit out of the driver dude, but it gave Stokes time to sound an alarm! Ruh-Roh! Tony starts to beat the shit out of Stokes.

Underground, Doc Tommy and crew hear the alarms and note that it’s Code 363, which means government breach. As per their orders, they start the launch sequence.

Tony is straddling stokes, who looks up at him with glee and says “too late!” Tony knocks him out cold and scurries over to the drainage grate. The good news: He can see the detonator. The bad news: Its JUST out of reach! He starts fumbling with his arm in the grate trying to retrieve it.

Thankfully, underground, one of Doc Tommy’s men is hesitant about launching the weapons. When the Doc orders him to enter the codes, he asks if they should get some kind of confirmation from Hodges. Doc Tommy tells him their standing orders are to launch! The dude is all “We’re about to kill thousands of people. I think we need to get someone on the phone first.” Doc Tommy angrily tells him to enter the codes again, and he says “No, sir!” Doc Tommy literally tosses him out of his seat and enters the codes himself!

Luckily, the little delay gave Tony time to keep after the detonator, and he’s a lot closer! We cut back and forth to the bunker and the missiles starting to fire up (target Clarksville, MD)…and Tony grasping at the device. Just as the missiles start to ignite, Tony gets ahold of the detonator! He blows the shit out of the tanks and dives for cover!

Larry sees the big Kaboom Renee told him to watch for, and tells his men it’s time to move in! They jump in their SUVs and peel out.

Meanwhile, back at FBI HQ, Jack notices the giant explosion on the satellite feed and notes that it’s “done.” He’s oddly joyless when he says this. Renee starts trying to contact Tony, while Plum Puddin’ Janis watches nervously. Jack tells them that an explosion of that magnitude would have knocked Tony’s Comm. device out, so they’ll have to wait for Larry and Crew to confirm if Tony’s OK.

Back in the Oval Office, Prez Taylor is reviewing the documents supplied by Seaton, and notes that Starkwood is asking for “Active Status” in the Pentagon’s Strategic Planning Group. Seaton says “that’s correct”, and the Prez notes it would give them access to “level 6″ classified data that even the Vice President isn’t privy to. Crazy Old Hodges tells her the points of the contract are non-negotiable. Seaton pipes in that they should move on to the next section, which concerns Senate oversight of Starkwood field operations. Before they can, Tim Woods comes in and pulls the President out of her “meeting”. Hodges eyes her suspiciously as she exits.

Outside the office, Woods informs the Prez that he doesn’t know how the heck it happened, but there was a huge explosion at Starkwood and all the weapons were destroyed. Currently, the FBI is moving in! The Prez is super happy to hear this, and tells him that she wants to speak with Jack Bauer when it’s over.

In the Oval Office, Hodges turns to Seaton and expresses some anxiety that they might be “reaching.” Seaton assures the old man he’s handling everything perfectly. (Is SEATON the master-mind? Recent events seem to point that way. Hmmm) Anyhoo…their little pow-wow is interrupted when the Secret Service storm in with Prez Taylor. Hodges indignantly wants to know WTF?! is going on, and the Prez orders the two men taken into custody and their little “agreement” package filed as evidence. Jonas demands to know what’s up, and the Prez gleefully informs him the missiles have been destroyed and he’s being arrested for Terrorism/Murder/Etc..

Crazy-Pants Hodges totally lunges at her (and is restrained by the Secret Service)! He start ranting about how he’s only guilty of trying to protect his country. He also rants about how he’s only a “small cog” in a much bigger machine! That totally makes sense, if you ask me…there’s still six episodes left! The Prez gets a little nervous and that statement, and tells the Secret Service to hold up. She asks Hodges what he’s talking about, and he tells her she really has no idea what she’s up against! She asks again what he means, and he ominously states that she’ll “find out.” Ooooh. As he’s led away, the Prez anxiously stares into space, and we cut to break!

Five minutes later, Jack is bracing himself against a desk and wincing, when Renee comes up and informs him that the advance team detected no traces of the bio-weapon! Yay! Jack gives a rather muted response of “good” and immediately asks about Tony. Renee tells him that Larry is searching the compound and will hopefully have news shortly. Just then, one of the nameless agents informs Jack she’s got the President on the horn for him, and he asks to take the call in the conference room.

Bauer braces himself on the table, still wincing, and takes the call. The Prez happily informs him that Hodges is under arrest, and Jack manages a smile. Ma Taylor expresses his gratitude to him and his team for providing her with an “option” and totally saving the entire country’s ass! Jack passes the credit to Tony, telling her he’s the hero and reminding her he’s facing arrest for things that were done “leading up to today.” He starts to ask for some kind of clemency/leniency, but suddenly loses his train of thought and gets confused! He asks the President what he was talking about, and she gently tells him he was talking about Tony, and her answer is “yes” she will take his heroism into consideration. With genuine concern, she asks Jacks what’s going on. He tells her that he has no freakin’ clue! She apologizes that he has to go through this and tells him she wishes there was something she could do to help. Stoic Jack tells her he appreciates the phone call…but has to go.

Outside the conference room, Jack tells Renee the good news about Hodges and asks to be informed when they find Tony, before hurrying out into the hallway. In split-screen, we see the Prez ask her secretary to get Ben Landry at CDC on the phone and that she wants real-time updates on Jack’s condition. Aww.

Back at the compound, the Feds are swarming, closing the missile hatches, and arresting all the Baddies. We catch a glimpse of Tony being led toward Larry in handcuffs while Boss Moss calls in to Renee. They discuss the operation, and Larry tells her it’s all going fine and they aren’t meeting resistance of any kind (we see Stokes getting checked for lice, or something). Renee asks about Tony, and Larry mentions they found him and he’s ok with the exception of a few scratches and bruises. Renee tells Larry Jack will be super happy to hear that!

Larry shifts topic and starts talking about how long they’ve known each other and the WACKY shit that happened today. Renee acknowledges that they have a lot to “talk about.” Just then, the nameless Fed chick informs Renee that “she’s here in the waiting area.” Renee tells Larry she’s gotta go because Kim Bauer is there. Larry mentions aloud “his daughter?” which prompts a sideways glance from Tony. Renee tells Moss about the experimental treatment and yada yada…it’s a long shot but their only hope! Larry tells her to keep him posted and they hang up on each other.

Tony immediately asks what’s up with Jack’s daughter, and Larry tells him about the experimental treatment. Tony wants to know if that means Jack is going to be OK, but Larry doesn’t think it sounds promising. He also informs Tony that, even though it’s hard for him in light of everything that’s happened, he’s under orders to take him into Federal custody. Larry states, for the record, that he knows Tony saved thousands of lives and doesn’t necessarily agree this is how he should be repaid. But rules are rules. Tony is pretty cool about it, and Larry tells him a chopper is on the way to take them both back to the FBI before ordering the handcuffs removed. Aww…sweet Larry.

At FBI HQ, Jack is meeting with Dr. Macer to find out WTF is going on with him. The Doc tells him that memory loss is consistent with the disease, but she wouldn’t have expected it that quickly. Jack tells her it’s something more…that he feels like he’s losing “a part of himself.” Aww. She tells him it’s a weaponized pathogen and they don’t really know much about it, but the crack team at CDC are working on it. He reminds her of the anti-shaking drugs and asks if there’s something he can take that’ll help with this part. She sadly informs him that there isn’t. He thanks her and sadly leaves her office.

In the hallway, Jack tries to compose himself when Renee comes up and asks if he’s OK. He lies and tells her yes, and also mentions they need to get him on record about everything that happened today. The sooner they do it, the better, since he might not be able to remember much before long. Renee agrees, but also mentions there’s something he needs to know first. He’s all WTF?! Renee tells him that Kim is there…that she told her how he was sick and she might be able to help.

Jack gets super pissed off and drags Renee into a holding room by the arm. He asks her who the hell she thinks she is!? As Renee remains silent, he lights into her for bringing Kim into this. Afterall, he was OK with dying, but now she’s making it unbearable by bringing Kim into the mix (we agree!). Renee tries to interject something, but he shuts her down and angrily chastises her for “dragging” his daughter into this since he doesn’t want her to see him this way. Renee tells Jack that nobody dragged Kim into it, she’s actually been trying to reach him all day long. In fact, she flew in from LA to attend the Senate Hearing, but the Feds dragged Jack away before Kim got a chance to see him. Apparently, she’s been leaving messages with the Feds all day that Renee JUST received…thereby making her interloping a moot point! This shuts Jack up a little, and Renee tells him she’ll inform Kim he can’t see her and send her away if he wants. He sadly notes they can’t do that and asks to see her, as we cut to break!

When we return, Renee brings Jack to the waiting room where he stares sadly at the back of Kim’s head through the glass wall. Renee takes off and Jack pauses to compose himself before entering. Kim stands to greet him, and calls him “Daddy.” Awww. It’s interesting that they don’t hug, or anything. She asks if he’s in pain, and he lies and tells her he isn’t. He sits next to her and his body language is weird and uncomfortable. Kim takes the lead in the conversation and asks if Agent Walker mentioned she’d been trying to reach him all day? She tells him she’s been doing everything she could to find him, using the State Department and Private Investigators, but everytime she got any bit of information, he was already gone. He tells her he’s sorry about that, but thought it was best for her safety/sanity if he stayed away.

Elisha Cuthbert meets with her agent:

Things take a sweet turn when Kim tells him how much she’s missed him, and Jack admits he’s missed her too. He apologizes for everything she’s had to live through because of him (and the show’s crazy writers). Kim 2.0 actually sounds like a well-adjusted adult when she tells him not to apologize, that she pushed him away and blamed him for all the mistakes she made in her life, which was “stupid and immature.” She is sorry for all the time they’ve lost. Jack sits silently, so Kim brings up the treatment and his refusal to ask for her help. Jack tells her it’s “experimental” and he doesn’t really think it’ll work. Kim wonders aloud if that’s true of if he’s just afraid to ask her. Jack tells her there’s a risk to her, and she totally tells him it’s a “small” one and worth taking! He tells her that any risk is too much and he really doesn’t want her to have to deal with the pain of watching him die.

Kim implores him to reconsider, telling him she doesn’t want to lose him. It’s all very sad and melodramatic. She starts to cry, and they FINALLY embrace! Jack tells her it’s going to be “alright”…meaning what? His death? WTF?! They both kinda cry and embrace until Jack recoils in pain! Kim wants to know what’s going on, and he tells her she needs to leave. He begs her to go…calling her “baby” and “honey”. Kim tells her daddy that she loves him “so much” and he tells her that he loves her too…now will she PLEASE get the F out of there? With a kiss on the cheek and a few sniffles, she finally leaves. When she’s out of eye-sight, Jack breaks down in the waiting room and starts sobbing, head in hands! Awww…

Back at the compound, a nameless Fed calls in a “clear perimeter” message and gets into his SUV. But wait! That nameless Baddie that left Stokes to go on a “Perimeter Check” earlier pops up and shoots him dead! The Baddie is about to steal the SUV, when another agent comes around the corner and orders him to freeze. The second Fed calls in a Code Red, disarms the Baddie, and searches his bag. The Baddie watches as the G-man totally (bad habits die hard) discovers a canister of the bio-weapon in his bag and calls Big Larry! Ruh-Roh!

The second Fed, Davis, informs Larry that he’s got a Starkwood Op in custody that killed an agent and has a canister of the Bio-Weapon on him. Tony looks interested in that little message. Larry starts to ask Davis if he’s “sure”, when the nameless Baddie karate kicks Davis in the face, steals his gun, shoots him dead, and takes off with the bio-weapon and SUV! WTF?!

Larry calls Renee and brings her up to speed on the Escaped Baddie with germies in a government vehicle thing! She’s surprised to hear this, because she hadn’t factored in the six remaining episodes this season. Larry tells her to shut down all the access roads, alert the DC police, and yada yada…he’s going to pursue the vehicle by chopper as well. Renee asks if this is another attack, and Larry says he doesn’t know, but there’s enough prion variant in a single canister to take out a small city! Holy Moly! The chopper, with Almeida in it, fires up and we cut to break!

When we return, Larry’s chopper is in hot pursuit! Tony sits silently while Larry orders the pilot around and asks for intel.

Back at FBI HQ, Renee and Janis huddle around a computer trying to find the SUV via GPS. Renee asks how long it’ll take, and Janis tells her the satellite needs to reposition. This give Janis an opportunity to ask WTF?! is going on? Renee tells her that a dude got away with a canister. Janis is all: But Tony destroyed all of the bio-weapons. Renee says “apparently not!” Janis asks how he got away, and Renee mentions the two murdered agents and stolen vehicle. There has to be a reason they showed nosy Janis asking all these questions, right? I mean Renee basically just recapped the scene we all watched, so it couldn’t have been for our benefit.

Anhoo…Janis gets the signal from the vehicle, and Renee immediately sends out one of the “inter-agency” bulletins that the Baddie has turned off Highway 42 into the Smoketree Industrial Corridar. Larry pipes in that they just happen to be flying over Smoketree now and will tighten their pursuit! As Renee redirects the SWAT teams there, Larry’s pilot spies the SUV!

The Fed Helicopter shines it’s lights on the SUV and starts to follow it. Nameless Baddie pulls off the road and jumps out of the car. Larry tells Renee the suspect is now on foot, so they can’t wait for the SWAT team and need to land/pursue. She tells him to be careful, and Almeida keeps giving weird shifty looks left and right.

No sooner have they landed, than Baddie Boy shoots the pilot dead! Whoa! Larry tells Tony to follow him and that he’ll cover them both. They run, Larry’s gun blazing, from the chopper and take cover behind a dumpster. Larry and the Baddie keep shooting at each other from behind their SUV/Dumpster respectively. Finally, the Baddie gets a rifle out of the back seat of the SUV and shoots Larry from behind! Oh Crap!

Larry lays on the ground gurgling blood, and Tony says “Sir, relax” with a creepy voice. Larry tries to say he’s OK, while Tony keeps telling him to breathe/relax. The Baddie starts approaching them from behind the SUV, rifle drawn, and Larry tries to warn Tony. But Tony doesn’t seem worried. In fact, he raises his hand to the Baddie giving the signal to “stand down” and the Baddie does! WTF?! Larry asks just that, and Tony says “I’m sorry Larry” before covering his mouth and frickin’ suffocating him! Larry struggles, and Tony makes mean murder faces!

We see Larry take his last breath in split-screen while Jack prepares to give his statement and Hodges/Seaton stew in a jail cell.

When Larry is dead dead dead, Tony tells the nameless Baddie to let him “see it”, meaning the bio-weapon! As he inspects the canister, the other dude asks how they are going to get out of there. Tony orders him to take the canister and hide. He’s going to wait on the Feds and try and figure out a way to sneak him out with the weapons. Tony is definitely the alpha here, as he barks at the dude who then goes running away. Almeida looks down at Dead Larry and sighs…and Larry doesn’t even get a silent clock!

All together now…WTF?!

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There you have it, Gasmii! It was quite a strange episode, I thought! So many questions! Who is Tony working for? Is there more to Seaton than meets the eye? Now that Larry’s out of the picture, will Jack and Renee finally hook up? Will nameless Baddie get a name? I guess we need to tune in next week to find out!

See you then…

DS