5:00 A.M. – Jack watches from a hidden alcove in Alex Hewitt’s loft as Sherry Palmer instructs her bodyguard to look for Hewitt.
A military advisor briefs Prescott on the bombers’ location. Prescott orders the advisor to proceed with the attack as planned. “Yes, Mr. President,” the man responds. Meanwhile, Novick enters the room where Palmer is detained and asks his ex-boss for the war key codes. Palmer hands over a small wallet with a key card. The military officer known as the “Football” takes the card and slides it into a portable scanner. The codes are confirmed.
5:04 A.M. – Chappelle calls the CTU staff into a meeting to bring them up to date on the presidential transition. Tony questions whether Palmer was taken out because of his stance on the attack, suggesting that what Jack is doing has now become even more relevant. Chappelle orders him not to expend any more resources on Jack. Tony secretly tells Michelle that he’s going to reach out to someone on Prescott’s staff in the instance Jack does get the proof he’s looking for.
5:06 A.M. – Jack hears Sherry tell her bodyguard that Peter Kingsley’s people must have removed anything important from Hewitt’s loft. Jack knocks out the bodyguard and handcuffs him. He pushes Sherry to the couch and asks what she is doing there. She says that she is working on Palmer’s behalf, but Jack doesn’t believe her. Although she knows that Jack is looking for Hewitt because he created the tapes, Sherry refuses to answer any of his questions. Jack fires his gun at her and hits the wall. Sherry admits that she knows that Hewitt is an audio technician who was hired by Kingsley to fabricate the Cyprus recording. Kingsley wants the United States to start a war with the Middle East because of his oil interests there. Jack realizes that his bullet hole in the wall let a stream of light into the darkened room. He goes over to the hole and fires more rounds, calling out to whomever is inside to come out. A frightened Hewitt emerges with his hands in the air. Hewitt pleads with Sherry to help him, and she advises him to not say anything in front of Jack. Jack sticks the barrel of his gun to Hewitt’s neck. “You’re going to talk to me now,” he says.
5:14 A.M. – Jack tries to get Hewitt to admit that he forged the Cyprus recording, but he won’t reveal anything. Hewitt will only speak to Sherry because she promised to help him. Jack turns to Sherry seeking the truth. She acknowledges that she wants to protect herself because she will be incriminated on Hewitt’s tapes. Sherry had wanted to enact revenge on her ex-husband by bringing down his presidency. Kingsley only coveted money, and told Sherry that the bomb would never go off. She sought out Hewitt in order to remove herself from the connection to Kingsley. Sherry demands immunity from Jack, and says that the only criminal that needs to be prosecuted is Hewitt. Jack gets Hewitt from the other room so that Sherry can deal with him.
5:19 A.M. – In his confinement room, Palmer explains his situation to Secret Service Agent Pierce. Alluding to Pierce’s son being in the Navy, Palmer asks for help in contacting Jack.
5:21 A.M. – Michelle assigns Carrie to work on one of her duties and won’t explain to her why she is doing so. Carrie believes she is really trying to help Jack behind Chappelle’s back. Tony comes up to inquire about the situation between the two women, and he persuades Michelle to explain herself. Michelle admits to doing a task for District. After Carrie walks away, Tony tells Michelle that Carrie probably doesn’t believe her lie. Carrie then approaches Chappelle and tells him her suspicions. She feels that Tony is unfit to run CTU because he and Michelle are working with Jack.
5:27 A.M. – Jack phones CTU and Tony brings him up to speed on Prescott pushing Palmer out of office. Jack asks him for a helicopter to pick up Hewitt. Although Chappelle is breathing down his neck, Tony agrees to send a chopper. Sherry, meanwhile, promises Hewitt that she will get him full immunity for his crimes and assures him that she will protect him from Jack. Sherry notifies Jack that Hewitt will testify by demonstrating the audio technology.
5:30 A.M. – Tony tells Chappelle that Jack has captured the guy who created the Cyprus recording and that he needs a helicopter to bring him in. Chappelle refuses, and Tony attempts to argue Jack’s case. Chappelle informs Tony that he is being reassigned because he has become a liability to their mission with the start of the war. Chappelle orders Tony to be out of the office in fifteen minutes.
5:31 A.M. – Hewitt gets his computer full of audio software ready to go. He plans to do a another sample of the Cyprus recording to prove that the previous one was a fraud. Jack guarantees Hewitt that he will be fine, and Hewitt becomes suspicious. He questions whether Jack and Sherry made a deal together to set him up. Hewitt asks to speak to Jack privately and Sherry becomes defensive. Hewitt is curious about Sherry’s intentions, but Jack reassures him that she only wants to help him.
5:39 A.M. – Accompanied by a police officer, Kim enters the Matheson house to get her things.
As Tony begins to pack up his office, he gets a call from a satellite phone secure line. Palmer requests that he be connected to Jack, and Tony patches him through. Jack tells Palmer that he found the man who engineered the Cyprus recording and that Sherry is there with him. Jack does not explain further, and Palmer cautions him not to trust her. He asks to speak to his ex-wife. Sherry tells Palmer that she is merely trying to help him, and that she and Jack are his only hope in preventing this war. Palmer warns her to stay out of Jack’s way.
5:42 A.M. – After Palmer hangs up, Jack demands that Tony quickly get him the helicopter. Tony turns to Michelle and asks for her help.
5:43 A.M. – Gary Matheson is in his house when he sees a police officer outside. Gary does not realize that Kim is also in the house.
Novick comes into the holding room and takes the satellite phone away from Palmer. He has Agent Pierce placed under arrest.
5:44 A.M. – Kim packs clothes in her room. She does not know that anyone else is there. Gary creeps up the stairs to his bedroom with a holster he apprehended from the police officer. He packs money, a passport and a stash of drugs. Kim hears noise from the house and calls out for the officer. She walks up to the master bedroom but finds it empty. She goes back to her packing. Gary hides in a corner, realizing that Kim is in the house.
5:46 A.M. – Michelle and Tony make a plan. She calls Chappelle to tell him that someone is waiting for him in a holding room. Chappelle goes into the room, but only Michelle is there. Suddenly, Tony comes from behind Chappelle and puts a chloroform rag over his face. Chappelle falls unconscious, and Tony sends Michelle off to dispatch the helicopter. Tony takes out a syringe to drug Chappelle.
5:51 A.M. – As they wait for the chopper, Sherry tells Jack that she is trying to clear her name in order to protect Palmer’s public image. Jack informs her that Palmer has been stripped from the Presidency and that Prescott is now in power. Sherry is shocked. Tony phones Jack’s cell with news that the chopper is on its way. Jack asks for the Attorney General to be brought in because Sherry wants to cut a deal when Hewitt’s testimony incriminates her. Sherry hears this and confronts Jack because they had discussed another scenario. When she tries to go to Hewitt, Jack forcibly grabs her and orders her to stay away from him.
5:54 A.M. – Kim exits her room and sees through the window that the police officer is lying face down in the outside bushes. She grabs her bags and spots Gary downstairs. Kim panics and darts into another room. Gary comes up the stairs and points the gun at the closed door. He opens it, but Kim is not inside. Gary sees the door for the attic and climbs up the stairs. When he gets to the attic, Kim smacks him in the head with a can and Gary drops down unconscious. Suddenly, the attic floor gives way and Kim falls through to the bedroom. She grabs Gary’s gun and cell phone.
5:56 A.M. – Kim calls CTU and begs Michelle to put her through to Jack. A frightened Kim tells her father that Gary Matheson killed the police officer that brought her there. Jack instructs her to get out of the house, but when Gary starts to stir to consciousness Kim becomes terrified. Jack tells her to shoot Gary. She fires one shot into him, and Jack tells her to shoot him again. She does, and Gary is killed. Then Jack has Kim go downstairs because he is going to send someone to get her. Kim obeys and hangs up the phone. Jack calls Kate, asking her to phone the police and pick up his daughter. Meanwhile, in the loft, Hewitt tries to leave. Sherry stops him. Jack orders them to separate, but phoning CTU preoccupies him. Hewitt goes to escape again and Sherry steps in his path. Hewitt stabs her with a screwdriver and makes a run for a hidden door. Sherry lies on the ground, bleeding, but Jack goes after Hewitt instead. He follows him into a darkened tunnel.