12:00 P.M. – Gaines and his men search the woods for the Bauers. Teri and Kim head for the water tower alone, with Jack and Rick not far behind.12:07 P.M. – At CTU, Nina is worried because she can’t get through to Jack. Tony comforts her. Alberta Green informs them that Jamey Farrell’s mother had received $300,000 over the last four months. She wants Nina and Tony to question the woman when she comes to pick up Jamey’s son.
12:08 P.M. – Palmer and Mike Novick argue about how to proceed after George Ferragamo’s death. Palmer wants to spill everything to network anchor Maureen Kingsley before confessing to the District Attorney. Novick, however, wants to gather all the facts first before they act. He convinces Palmer to consult with Sherry.
12:09 P.M. – Gaines explains the situation to Andre Drazen, who orders Gaines to deliver Jack’s dead body. Kevin Carroll tells Gaines that Jack had sent his coordinates to someone, and that they should expect the government to arrive very soon. He suggests that they just leave. Gaines informs him that the Drazens will eventually find them. The only way for them to stay alive is to kill Jack.
12:10 P.M. – Jack and Rick arrive at the water tower, but Teri and Kim are not there. Forced to take another route to avoid Gaines’ men, Teri and Kim get lost in the woods.
12:16 P.M. – Palmer speaks to Sherry about Ferragamo, and she agrees with Mike Novick’s assessment to not reveal anything. Palmer and his campaign will suffer if he tries to take on Carl and the men he works for. Sherry believes that once Palmer becomes President, he will have the kind of power it takes to make a difference. Not only will he be able to fight Carl and his people but he’ll also be able to help millions of Americans.
12:20 P.M. – With still no sign of Teri and Kim, Jack calls Alberta Green to inform her of the complication in plans and his intention to go back and look for them. Green sends in reinforcements to pick them up at the water tower.
12:21 P.M. – Teri and Kim find an abandoned miner’s cabin and hide out inside. One of Gaines’ men comes upon the cabin, but is called away by Gaines before he spots the women. Just when they think the coast is clear, the man sees the women in the cabin, but Jack appears and shoots the man dead. Jack grabs the dead man’s walkie-talkie and takes Teri and Kim to the water tower.
12:29 P.M. – Nina and Tony question Erica Vasquez, Jamey’s mother, about the large sums of money in her bank account. Jamey deposited them for her son in case something ever happened to her. Mrs. Vasquez says that Jamey never told her where the money came from.
12:31 P.M. – As Gaines tries to communicate with his men via the walkie-talkie, Jack listens in and figures out how to avoid them.
Palmer tries to come clean to Maureen Kingsley, but she already knew about Ferragamo’s death. She left her network job because the people who are trying to control Palmer had threatened her. The evidence against Keith was destroyed in the fire, and Kingsley is convinced that nothing will stop these people from getting what they want.
12:35 P.M. – Gaines finds the dead body of his man in the miner’s cabin. The radio is missing, and Gaines knows that Jack has been listening to them.
Tony and Nina discover that the money was transferred to Mrs. Vasquez from a holding company based in Belgrade. Nina remembers that Jack thought there might have been a connection to Belgrade related to a previous assignment. Although Nina had originally come up with nothing, she and Tony dig deeper.
12:36 P.M. – Jack, Teri and Kim come upon a lake across from the water tower. There is no sign of CTU. Kim grows impatient and starts to head toward Rick in the water tower. Suddenly, a shot rings out in their direction coming from Gaines. Knowing that he is the primary target, Jack heads towards Gaines alone. Gaines orders Kevin to circle around and come at Jack from another angle. Knowing that Jack can hear him, Gaines taunts Jack. Gaines eventually pins Jack down with a constant barrage of rifle fire. Jack finds a piece of metal garbage in the woods, and uses the glare from the reflection of the sun to blind Gaines as he looks through his rifle scope. In that brief moment, Jack breaks cover and fires, grazing Gaines. The CTU chopper arrives overhead. Kevin hears this and leaves.
12:44 P.M. – Just before Palmer is about to confess to the D.A. Carl shows up at the hotel suite. Carl lets on that there may perhaps be something planted at the Ferragamo fire that would incriminate Keith. If Palmer comes out with the story to anyone, Keith could find himself implicated in two murders. With his back against a wall, Palmer tells Novick that he has nothing to say to the D.A. “I’m running for President,” he declares. “And I’m going to win.” Palmer silently returns to his room. Novick and Sherry trade looks.
12:51 P.M. – The CTU chopper lands to pick up Teri and Kim. Just as they are about to board the chopper, Kim runs toward the water tower to get Rick. Teri follows her, but Rick is nowhere to be found. He has run off onto a nearby highway. In the woods, Jack follows a trail of Gaines’ blood. Gaines tells him over the walkie-talkie that he has no other option but to kill him. Jack asks about the Belgrade connection and why his family was brought into it. Gaines says that the people involved wanted to make it personal. Jack comes up behind Gaines and demands that he drop his gun. Jack offers up immunity for his help. Gaines turns around, still holding his weapon, and Jack shoots him dead.
12:57 P.M. – Jack returns to the water tower to pick up his family. They all board the chopper en route to safety. Rick, meanwhile, gets on a bus, hiding his bloodied wounds from the other passengers.
12:59 P.M. – Green relays the good news about Jack to Nina and Tony. They inform her that they found another wire transfer to an assassin from Belgrade. This second hitman left Yugoslavia earlier in the morning and is already in Los Angeles.