Zachary Quinto

Brad Hammond (Randle Mell) arrives at CTU, and takes Tony (Carlos Bernard) into custody, charging him with treason. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) has Saunders (Paul Blackthorne) in custody. Saunders tells him that the 11 other vials of the virus "are in the hands of true believers." He offers to call them off, if Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) will let him escape to North Africa. Jack has a different idea. He asks Jane Saunders (Alexandra Lydon) to try to convince her father to call off the attack. When her impassioned pleas fail to reach him, Jack brings Saunders to the Chandler Plaza Hotel, and threatens to send Jane inside, so she'll be infected with the virus. When Saunders sees that Jack's serious, he relents. He's taken back to CTU, where he helps them begin tracking down the vials, using GPS locator chips he's planted on each one. All the vials are accounted for except for the one in Los Angeles. When CTU finally gets a location on that vial, they realize that the terrorist who has it is on the subway. Palmer invites Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald) to meet with him to discuss her blackmail scheme. In exchange for turning over the evidence of her involvement in Milliken's murder, she demands a prominent role in the president's administration...and in his life. Palmer is really just trying to keep Sherry busy while Wayne (D.B. Woodside) and Foxton (Mark Rolston) break into her house to look for the incriminating prescription bottle. Their efforts are slowed by, among other things, a desperate call to Wayne from Julia Milliken (Gina Torres), who seems on the edge of a breakdown, fearing she'll go to jail for Alan's murder. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth) has captured Alvers (Lothaire Bluteau), but despite Gael's (Jesse Borrego) best efforts, the virus has been dispersed in the Chandler Plaza Hotel. Michelle calls Tony (Carlos Bernard) to tell him the bad news, and he's horrified to realize that she's calling from inside the hotel. He tells her to leave immediately, but she refuses, understanding that she might already be infected. Chappelle (Paul Schulze) tells Michelle that she's to shoot to kill if anyone tries to leave. She gets the hotel security chief, Phillips (Doug Savant), to help her keep everyone inside and maintain order. Alvers, knowing he's going to die, tells Michelle he'll tell her everything he knows if she promises to kill him once he starts showing symptoms of the virus. There are 11 other vials in play, and the virus has been modified, as they soon discover when Gael starts showing symptoms within an hour of being exposed. One hotel employee, Margolis (J.D. Cullum), overhears Michelle and Gael talking, and tries to escape. When that fails, he sets off the fire alarm, bringing a crowd of hotel guests down to the lobby. The guests demand to know why they can't leave, and Michelle tells them there's a toxic substance in the air outside the building. This story falls apart when a few people in the lobby start to get nosebleeds, and a full-scale panic breaks out. Meanwhile, Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) reluctantly lies to the police to back up Sherry's (Penny Johnson Jerald) alibi. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chase (James Badge Dale) allow Amador (Greg Ellis) to escape, hoping he'll lead him to the mastermind behind the virus plot, but their plans backfire, and Jack gets a call from an old friend. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Tony (Carlos Bernard) helped Saunders (Paul Blackthorne) escape CTU's clutches because he is holding Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth) hostage. Now Tony tries to cover his tracks, deleting the satellite imagery of the CTU team being moved. Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) realizes that the video is missing, and suggests to Tony that Saunders might have someone helping him inside CTU. Tony has her work on tracing Saunders' last call to him. Tony and Saunders seem to be at a stalemate, because Tony has said he'll kill Jane (Alexandra Lydon) if anything happens to Michelle, but when Saunders finds out CTU is tracing his call, he orders Tony to put a stop to it, and he does. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland), who has just gotten back to L.A., overhears Tony shutting down the trace, and demands to know what's going on. Tony admits to screwing up, and tells Jack he'll resign once the crisis is over. Jack points out that Tony didn't just screw up; he lied to cover his "mistakes." Jack relieves him of duty, forcing Tony to take even more drastic action. Meanwhile, Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald) goes to Palmer's (Dennis Haysbert) opponent, Keeler (Geoff Pierson), and offers him evidence that Palmer lied to cover up her involvement in Alan Milliken's death. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

While Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and Ramon (Joaquim de Almeida) go after Nina (Sarah Clarke), Claudia (Vanessa Ferlito) helps Chase (James Badge Dale) escape. Chase manages to get away, and arranges for a Delta team to pick him up, but Claudia is shot as they drive off. When Amador (Greg Ellis) goes to get the virus for Nina, Jack makes his move, dispatching a couple of her men. But then he gets distracted, and Nina gets the jump on him. Jack desperately offers her a lot of money in hopes of convincing her not to kill him, but she can't believe he's betrayed his country. Back at CTU, Chappelle (Paul Schulze) catches Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) hiding an infant under her desk. He wants to send her home, but he can't because they're in the middle of a crisis. Alan (Albert Hall) uses his political influence to punish Palmer (Dennis Haysbert). After his offer to resign is refused, Wayne (D.B. Woodside) meets with Julia (Gina Torres) to try to convince her to help, but Palmer decides to fight back. "We have to lower ourselves to his level," he says. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) has been given his next command by Saunders (Paul Blackthorne). Saunders wants Ryan Chappelle (Paul Schulze) dead. Palmer tells Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) the bad news, and then it's a race against the clock to find Saunders before the deadline for delivering Chappelle's body, at 7:00 a.m. Jack tells Tony (Carlos Bernard), who realizes that they need to change Chappelle's security clearance. Jack then takes Chappelle aside and tells him the shocking news. Since Chappelle has no past connection to Saunders, Jack realizes that the demand must be due to Chappelle's work on the money trail. He has Chappelle transfer those files to Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub), who finds an encrypted bank account. Chappelle tries to leave CTU, and when Jack stops him, he claims he was just going outside to smoke. As Chloe cracks the code and finds a Los Angeles address for Saunders, Jack takes Chappelle to the trainyard where his body is to be delivered, just in case the CTU team, led by Chase (James Badge Dale) and Tom Baker (Daniel Dae Kim), doesn't get to Saunders in time. Back at the Chandler Plaza Hotel, Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth) has an emotional phone conversation with Tony. She then offers the suicide capsules to the infected guests. One guest, Kathy McCartney (Brigid Brannagh), comes forward to tell Michelle that the man she spent last night with is no longer in the hotel, and Michelle realizes that he must have left after the virus was released, but before CTU arrived to seal off the building. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) learns that Nina (Sarah Clarke) is the other buyer in the Mexico deal. "My father couldn't even pretend to work with her," she surmises. Meanwhile, Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) is tied up, with Nina on his lap smooching him. She senses his hatred, and doesn't quite believe he's turned his back on CTU, but Jack manages to get loose anyway. He and Ramon (Joaquim de Almeida) threaten Nina to get her to cooperate. Hector (Vincent Laresca) learns of Claudia's sad fate, and calls his brother, urging him to call off the deal because Chase (James Badge Dale) got away. Ramon insists on going through with the deal. He's concerned about their reputation. The brothers' argument eventually ends in bloodshed. Chase stays in Mexico to be the forward observer for the Delta team, which is ready to move in once the virus changes hands. Back at CTU, Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) gets Kim to watch the baby, but Kim proves an inept babysitter once again, and Chappelle(Paul Schulze) again considers sending Chloe home. Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) brings in Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald) to help him in his "street fight" with Alan (Albert Hall), though Wayne (D.B. Woodside) disapproves. Sherry assures her ex-husband that she has the dirt. "If you play this card," she warns Palmer, "you and Alan Milliken will be enemies for the rest of your life." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) is battling heroin addiction after going undercover to bust Ramon Salazar (Joaquim de Almeida). Chase (James Badge Dale) is the only one who knows that Jack is going through withdrawal as CTU addresses the biological terror threat. Wayne (D.B. Woodside) tells Tony (Carlos Bernard) that the president will not give in to the terrorist demand to free Ramon, but promises that CTU will have all the resources they need. Wayne tells David (Dennis Haysbert) that he might be able to get a copy of their opponent's playbook for that night's debate. David rejects the offer, but Wayne does it anyway, and later tells David that the opposition intends to use some new information about Anne (Wendy Crewson) against him. Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), going against Chase's wishes, decides to tell Jack about their relationship. Jack later expresses his displeasure to Chase. Jack explains that the job has ruined every relationship he's ever had. Later, Jack sends the resentful Chase back to CTU to conduct a routine interrogation, in order to keep him out of harm's way. CTU discovers that the virus might be in powder form, which leads them to pursue Kyle Singer (Riley Smith), who has just returned to Los Angeles from Mexico with what he thinks is a bag of heroin. And, in a surprise twist, Hector Salazar (Vincent Laresca), running the operation from Mexico, and his brother have an inside link to CTU. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Beset by domestic problems, Piper (Holly Marie Combs) finds herself unable to control her magical powers. In an effort to help her sister, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) consults a marriage counselor -- but when the counseling session proves to be too slow and laborious for Piper, she impulsively casts a spell to speed up the proceedings. The result: Phoebe and Paige (Rose McGowan) are hurtled back in time, where they are forced to experience all the memories, both good and bad, of Piper and her husband, Leo (Brian Krause) -- enabling the series' producers to superimpose new footage upon clips from previous episodes! Complications ensue when a malevolent warlock hitches a ride on Phoebe and Paige's foray into the past. ~ All Movie Guide

A body covered in lye is found in a Las Vegas park. Grissom (William L. Petersen) and Sara (Jorja Fox) try to build a case on what is left of the rapidly decomposing corpse, but it isn't easy. Meanwhile, Nick (George Eads) wrestles with an even more baffling mystery: It seems that the body of a hiker has been found in the middle of the desert -- and the victim had died of drowning. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide