Previously on 24.

I truly never get tired of Sean Callery’s theme. And here we go.

Hastings updates Rob that he has no update on the Reed sitch. They’re in her laptop, but she says she’s innocent. Rob says the peace process relies on CTU. Everything in the world relies on CTU.

Ortiz asks Danabuck about the encrypted file. She’s still 40 minutes away, and Ortiz is starting to think there’s something to Jack’s theory that Reed is being framed. Dana knows Chloe is behind that theory, but Ortiz thinks Dana’s file may be irrelevant and that Chloe may be right. Dana keeps going on the file.

Jack is at the corner where the Russian was dropped off. Chloe doesn’t have more info, so Jack has to go house to house looking for him. Meanwhile, inside the house, Mikhail won’t tell his coworker who he really is, and the coworker gets mad and starts yelling at him until Mikhail aims the gun at his chest, point blank. Everyone gets all wimpy when they’re tied up and at the business end of a suppressor. Wusses! Meanwhile, the wife gets all girly and cries a lot. Mikhail makes Jim tell the police captain that he’s sick and that Mike has offered to take over for him. Captain says to tell Mike to get on it.

Jack finds two security cameras on a run-down basketball court at the park across the street from the corner. Because, you know, run-down urban basketball courts always have those. Chloe starts trying to intercept the camera feed. While she’s doing that, the punks playing basketball start harassing Jack about being on their turf, because Jack needs something to do while he’s waiting for Chloe. He says he doesn’t want any trouble. “I guess you didn’t hear what I’m saying, did you?” So Jack shows the guy his gun, and the guy backs off. Jack offers a hundred bucks to anyone who gives him a location, and the kid says he saw the Russian go over to a light blue house. Jack goes over there, busts into the house, and finds the cop and his wife both dead. Cops show up, and Jack calls Chloe and inexplicably hides from the cops. Eventually he confronts one outside the house and points his gun at him, since that’s the best way to get cops on your side. He says he can’t trust the cops since the cop inside the house is dead. CTU logic, yo.

Jack gets tazed from behind by another cop, who has automatically assumed that Jack is a cop killer–understandable, considering that Jack was aiming a gun at his partner. The first cop insists that they have to call it in, and the other one insists on taking Jack back inside the house. I guess he wants a sandwich while they wait for backup.

6:17 p.m.

Starbuck still only has half the decryption key, but they’ve found a keycard in Reed’s things issued by the United Nations issued to Hassan and his family. It accesses their private residence.

Starbuck’s B+ plot has shown up for a visit at CTU. Outside, Kevin is asking the security guard questions, whether it’s some sort of government thing, whether Dana is in law enforcement. He wants to pick up where they left off, and she’s so over him and tells him she’s not that person anymore. He asks if she stole a dead girl’s birth certificate, and she offers him money and tells him he’ll leave her alone if he really still cares about her.

“Say my name.” Who does this guy think he is? Beyonce? Do you also want her to put a ring on it? “If you’re gonna beg, I wanna hear you say it. Out loud.” “Vampire!” He wants a place to crash, she says no, and he offers to tell her coworkers her dirty little secret. She gives him a key and says he can stay the night, but he has to leave tomorrow. Joke’s on him, because she’ll be working all night. He doesn’t need her address, because he already has it. I’m considering not even blogging about this subplot. Snore.

Hastings is promising Reed the death penalty if Hassan dies. He gets all tough and starts yelling, and Reed says Hassan gave her the key. “Why would he do that?” Um… two guesses, stupid. Hastings calls the U.N. to talk to Lady Prez so he can interview Hassan about his girlfriend.

Chloe tells Hastings she’s lost Jack and tells him to send for backup. He says no, because… no one knows why. Chloe also notes that the affair explains why Reed’s biometrics went wacky when she was interviewed. She asks if Hastings will send people after Jack if Hassan corroborates Reed’s story. He says yeah, and I’ll have someone alert you when Hassan calls me back and says Reed’s lying. “Is that good enough?” “No, but it’s better than nothing. And stand up straight.” [Yes, snarkies, I do see it now that y’all point it out. Slouchy McSloucherson.]

Cueball the Cop is beating Jack up, and his rookie partner is telling him to stop. Cueball tells Rookie that if he has a problem, he can go upstairs until he’s done abusing the prisoner. Also tells him not to call it in. “UNTIL I SAY SO!” Woo.

Mikhail is at the U.N. now, where Ortiz is briefing the security detail, which includes Mikhail. He says, “Whoever he is, he’s a professional.” Mikhail says, “Thank you, I like to be recognized for my professionalism.”

6:31 p.m.

Taylor and Hassan are negotiating. Hastings is on the phone for Hassan, so he goes off to the other room, and Farhad urges him to throw Reed under the bus for the sake of the peace process. Slouchy McS asks if Hassan knows why Reed has a keycard to his residence and says that Reed says the relationship is more than professional. Hassan confirms the romance and tells Slouchy to keep it a secret. He says he’s certain that Reed is not involved. Farhad is pih-hissed.

Chloe is standing by while Hastings talks to Hassan, and when he gets off the phone, she starts in on him about sending backup to Jack’s location. “I said I’d think about it, but since I don’t have a brain, I can’t.” Slouchy still thinks Reed could be guilty and insists that Jack isn’t missing. “He’s just not that into you, Chloe.” She says, fine, I’ll go myself, and Slouchy says no. She gives him the Chloe Glare. In an effort to be clear and direct, he says, “You leave the building, you’re fired.” Chloe Glare intensifies.

Farhad tells Mikhail that the frame might not hold, but Mikhail tells him to stick to the plan. He promises Farhad that his brother will be dead before the hour is out. Hey! That’s before the end of this episode!

6:41 p.m.

Jack’s still being abused in the basement of the light blue house. OR IS HE? Cueball Cop comes back to hit Jack again, and wuh-oh! Jack springs on him and tackles him until his pants are on the ground. Then he smashes his very fragile, thick wooden chair against the wall and busts loose. He starts to beat Cueball Cop’s butt, because he’s got nothing better to do, and Rookie Cop comes in with a gun, so Jack has to stop. He tells Rookie to call Chloe at CTU and confirm his story. I bet they’re gonna do this stupid bit where Cueball gets suspended, so he has a vendetta against Jack and comes after Jack at like the worst moment possible. When he’s saving Lady Prez’s life or something. And Rookie will have to kill Cueball to save Jack. You watch, it’ll happen. Anyway, Rookie decides he’s gonna call it in, and Cueball says no, and Rookie has to point his gun at Cueball, it’s a whole thing. He talks to his lieutenant, and Jack’s like a pesky little kid in the background. “Say this. Now say this. Now ask him this.” At Jack’s urging, Rookie asks what Dead Cop’s assignment was today, because he’s sure that Dead Cop is somehow connected to the U.N.

Arlo tells Dana that she screwed up, and I really hope Katee Sackhoff will do something about her lip-puckering/pressing problem. It was Renee Zellwegger’s downfall–no one takes her face seriously anymore. Katee, I critique because I love. Arlo says Dana forgot to upload a RJINDAEL filter to his system, and without it, he can’t break the last layer of encryption on the file. Um, according to this guy I’m sleeping with, RJINDAEL is the encryption algorithm that became AES, and there is no filter that allows you to break RJINDAEL. Aw, yeah. Fact-checked by a cryptography expert. Your pants are on the GROUND, 24! He takes over Dana’s station (he’s the mole!), and while he works on the file, he tells her that Ortiz is not her intellectual equal. They crack the file.

Dana tells Slouchy that the file contains construction plans for work at the U.N. eight months ago. Chloe gets up to watch the show. Then there’s also a schematic for a bomb big enough to destroy the Security Council. Dude, evacuate the building, and watch it burn. And when you rebuild, rebuild it elsewhere and don’t send anymore American dollars to that useless anti-American tiny-fist-shaking club. Slouchy calls for an evacuation of the U.N., and Chloe tells him he should consider whether the intel is fake and why the fakers wanted them to find the info. He won’t take any chances. He talks to Cole (Ortiz), who is at the U.N. and tells him that there’s no way there’s a bomb in the U.N., because the building’s been swept a bajillion times. Slouchy says they missed it, obvs! He tells Manners (U.N. security guy) to evacuate and Cole to protect Hassan.

Manners evacuates the conference room, and Cole takes Hassan with him. Outside, Mikhail is in position on the evacuation route. He enters a code on his phone to activate a bomb that’s under a manhole cover in the street. Dundundunnnnnnn.

6:52 p.m.

The U.N. building is evacuated, and Cole leads Hassan to his car. He says he won’t leave without his family, and Farhad offers to wait and go with them. Weaseling out of martyrdom! Farhad calls to tell Mikhail which car Hassan is in. Hassan’s family shows up.

Rookie Cop finds out the name of the cop who took Dead Cop’s place on the security detail. He lets Jack out of the car and his handcuffs and tells Jack Dead Cop had been on the security detail. Jack tells Rookie that Mikhail is the assassin and that he needs to talk to CTU. Rookie agrees to drive Jack to the U.N., and Cueball Cop objects, but nobody cares.

Jack gives Chloe the skinny, and she tells Jack about the evacuation. Cole calls in, and Jack tells him the assassin is part of the detail, and he needs to stop Hassan’s car before it hits the street. It’s too late, and Cole takes off after Hassan. He plants his car in front of Hassan’s just as the bomb goes off. Cole’s car goes rolling from the explosion.

Beep, boop. Check back later today for the 7 p.m. hour and tomorrow for 8 p.m.