The Jack Attack: LAD “5-6 PM”

We’re entering the final half of Live Another Day and things are ramping up considerably as Jack and Kate try to get to Simone and question her while Heller considers Margot’s offer and Steve Navarro becomes a full on second villain.

After killing her sister in law and getting hit by a bus while chasing her niece, Yasmin, Simone ends up at a nearby hospital in critical condition.  Jack and Kate get an update from Chloe on the situation but she gets a warning from someone (most likely Adrian) to get out before she’s arrested by the police.  She takes up temporary residence in a nearby pub.

Jack and Kate arrive at the hospital but Simone is initially in no condition to talk.  Kate manages to find out the family connections from Yasmin before Simone wakes up and Jack busts out some mild “enhanced interrogation” and presses on Simone’s severed finger but she’s still loyal to Margot, despite her chopping off her finger and killing her husband.  Simone finally realizes her mother might not have her best interests at heart when, after killing an assassin sent by Margot, they realize they have 8 minutes before a drone strike.  Jack and Kate manage to get Yasmin and Simone out, but the hospital takes a direct hit, killing dozens.

Jack and Kate then have to elude the drone in possibly the best car chase in 24 history.  It’s a mild commercial for Chrysler but the intensity of Jack having to navigate the narrow streets of London while explosions go off all around them is worth the product placement.  Jack and Kate have to switch vehicles twice to finally force Margot to run out of missiles and they head for CIA HQ to get Simone into the infirmary before she dies and they lose the possible whereabouts of Margot.  Heller calls Jack en route and tells him that he needs to see him, so Jack will have Kate drop him off on the way.

Speaking of CIA HQ, poor techy Jordan is working to recover the partitions hidden on the CIA mainframe that seem to have something to do with Kate’s husband (who sold secrets to the Chinese, in case you didn’t know).  Steve gets another call from his shadowy British contact, who turns out to be *dun dun dun* Adrian, who Steve has been selling information to and framed Adam Morgan to cover himself.  Adrian tells Steve he has to get rid of Jordan and he sends him on a mission in the field to recover a dead drop.  An assassin attacks and clips him in the shoulder, but Jordan is able to stay underwater (they are near the river) and escape.

• Bad Ass Bauer Moment of the Week: Stealing their second vehicle, Jack doesn’t even attempt to show any sort of authority and instead just cold cocks the driver in the face.
• Heller, who decides to resign when they return to the US, seems to want to accelerate things and agrees to turn himself over to Margot, and wants Jack to help him covertly do that next episode.
• I’m getting flashbacks to Paul Raines with what Kate is seemingly going to do to Simone next episode
• If you want to hack like Chloe, you need an Alienware laptop
• Mark is being intimidated by the Russians to turn over Jack in the fourth or fifth ongoing subplot of the season