RECOMMENDED ACTORS
Robbie Shiraz: JONATHAN AHDOUT (yes, Behrooz)
Casey Winemiller: Ali Larter
Taj Adesh: Kal Penn (the real Season 6 didn't take place so no Akkkkhhmed)
EPISODE 24
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 9:00 AM AND 10:00 AM
SUMMERLIN, NEVADA
Split screens show an aerial view of the Ridgecrest Manor gated community stretching far out into the western reaches of the Las Vegas Valley, the convoy heading through the gates with the van from Millennium Services, Jack in the helicopter, and the President and his staff in the Pentagon with a screen showing the Mexican army 20 miles outside the Las Vegas area.
"Audrey, I'm almost there," Jack says loudly past the noise of the helicopter. Jack picks up speed and flies high over the clump of office parks including Millennium Services and sees scattered resistance fighters ducking from behind cars and engaging the Chicanos with small arms fire.
Audrey takes out her satellite phone. "Jack, check your PDA, I'm on the DOD satellite code named Icarius, we need to program it so it stays in orbit above Nevada long enough…."
"Audrey, I can't hack into the system. Not with CTU off-line. You're gonna need to make the call now to Davenport…."
"They're not even in business today, everything's…wait…hold on Jack I got it…."
Audrey's kids are tugging at her but she tells them to be quiet, her face showing the intense anxiety. The gated community's gates shut behind them and several soldiers are sent into the guard stations which have been abandoned.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
A handsome Middle Eastern man in his late 20s is shown washing dishes in a neat contemporary kitchen with Fox News in the background in the dining room: "….that Ernesto Cienfuegos was killed by American civilian fighters shortly after he arrived in Las Vegas today. U.S. jets are now forty five minutes away from the city after…"
A cell phone rings on the dining room table which also has a stripped gray cat sitting on it. The ringtone is "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood and the man pets the cat as he takes the phone.
"Hey Case, it's for you!!" he calls out over the sound of the water. She is outside of a sliding door in the lush green backyard and the man quickly dries his hands and takes it. He emerges into a large backyard with neatly trimmed bushes and blooming roses, tulips, and daffodils with an automatic sprinkler going around.
An attractive young woman with long shiny blonde hair wearing a green tank top and cutoff jeans turns around from wiping a lawn chair with paper towels.
"Yeah Robbie?" She has a worried look on her face given what has happened this day.
"It's an unknown number but …"
"Alrighty," she says. "Hello?"
"This is Audrey," Audrey says in a panicked tone, "I…I don't' know how to say this…this is an emergency, we're in Las Vegas….."
"I thought you got out yester…." Casey says panicking for her new friend.
"No we got stuck…we have the Invisible Shield program in its operating vehicle, we need to program it….the militias are closing in on our neighborhood…"
The next shot shows Casey running through their comfortable suburban home past a large fishtank filled with tropical fish and into the den, "Yeah….I worked on that for a bit when I first entered the company, I just need to…yeah, you just have to…."
Suddenly the line goes dead.
RIDGECREST MANOR
"Hello? HELLO?? Are you there?"
"Its no use, the satellite must have completed its pass," Clarkson says.
"NO! We can't wait that long, that's at least an hour there must be a….."
"Audrey," Clarkson says, a grave expression suddenly, "Our jets can relieve us in forty min…"
"Those people will be here in thirty and once they overrun this community its…"
"We're gonna have to fight them off, you and Jack when he gets here need to try to contact…"
"That satellite won't come back in time!!" Audrey nearly screams, "Oh God…."
Jack's helicopter lands in the parking lot of the Ridgecrest Manor Community Center complex consisting of several buildings including a fitness center, indoor-outdoor swimming pool, skating rink, movie theater, and shops.
"Audrey!!" Jack says running over, the two embracing, "What's wrong?"
"I got a hold of Casey, she knows how to guide us through the procedures but we lost contact, she….she has no way of reaching us…."
"Jack! Audrey!" Clarkson calls, "The militias are less than a mile away now, they're approaching the Canyons Crossings Plaza shopping center, we need to get…"
"Give us a sec! Audrey…CTU is offline, they were attacked…they're okay, but you need to try to…"
"They destroyed the cell phone towers in Boulder City, the satellites won't….all the phone lines are down, we're running on emergency generators."
"Good, that means we still have the computers…."
"Not with the landlines or wireless, no Internet, only the videoconference line works but that's through a state-owned telecom firm in Italy and we can't access that without going through both the European Union, Italian government, and the telecom company's servers," Clarkson says, "I'm sorry."
"Okay, get your men around the perimeter, defend the gates at all costs, we'll get the refugees and fall back on the community center, dispatch some men on the ingress routes here."
"Got it!"
Audrey has a terribly hopeless expression on her face.
"Mommy?? Mommy??" Molly asks, hugging her, "Please talk to me. Are we going to be okay??"
"Audrey, come here with me," Jack says softly. He holds her tight. "It's gonna be fine, it's going to be fine, we're together now, that's all that matters."
The two of them take their kids and head into the main community center which is attached to the health club.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – BROOKSIDE ORCHARDS SUBDIVISION
Robbie starts the car as Casey dashes into their garage holding her Dell laptop computer and they quickly back out of the driveway causing a mailman to jump out of the way.
Casey is on her cell phone talking frantically with 411.
"Los Angeles, California….CTU branch….yeah…."
"That number, 212-555-6677 can be…"
"Just charge me!"
Casey turns to her husband. "Weird, they're not answering. Call my office, tell Taj Adesh to drop what he's doing and set up my workstation and open up the defense contracts folders."
Robbie makes a wide turn onto a larger street looking in the rearview mirror for police.
"Got it," he replies.
Casey quickly dials another number.
"CTU-Charlotte, director…."
"Yeah, my name's Casey WInemiller, calling from Davenport Associates. I'm a friend of a Jack Bauer, formerly of the L.A. office, I need to get in contact…"
"Ma'am, we're still dealing with our sting operation in the city with those gangs…"
"Jack and his wife Audrey's life are in danger. Davenport Associates is a subcontractor with his company Millennium Services based near Las Vegas, they're…"
"I have no idea who Jack Bauer is. Everyone in Las Vegas is under threat right now, I…"
"Audrey Heller? Is this some kinda joke?"
"Please you've got to listen to me, Jack can stop the Mexicans, I need you to reposition the Icarius communications satellite back over Las Vegas for another pass so.."
"You're not cleared to know that, that's classified information… with…"
"Audrey told me about it! Jack and Audrey need to communicate with us so we can get a new defense program online so…"
"I don't know who you are but today's not the right day for pranks."
Click.
"Dammit, I'm gonna have to hack into CTU's subnet in L.A. via Davenport after all…I don't know how…somehow CTU-Los Angeles still can't be reached, something must have happened to them, Oh my God!"
"Case, you just gotta focus, there has to be a way, once we get to Davenport you should…"
RIDGECREST MANOR
"This ain't good, we've underestimated their numbers," Travis Clarkson says as he scans the low-rise suburban developments to the east, "We have at least a thousand Chicano militia coming from the east, they're across Interstate 15 already and resistance is faltering in eastern Summerlin."
"The Mexican army is also within view now, they're only 10 miles out, the rocky terrain around Red Rock Canyon might slow them down a bit but it's too close to call. The jets from Colorado Springs still half an hour out?"
"Yeah, that's going to be just a bit too late. The moment the enemy penetrate this neighborhood, it's over."
SUMMERLIN STREETS
A Chicano militia leader is urging his men forward in Spanish, waving a bandana with separatist slogans written on it. The militia splits its forces choosing to attack the gated community at two separate locations.
DAVENPORT ASSOCIATES HEADQUARTERS, CHARLOTTE
Casey is now at her shady workstation typing furiously into her computer with one of her staff, an Indian named Taj, helping her. Taj is also dressed casually in accordance to the company's laid-back atmosphere.
"Ok Taj, we need to hack into the NSA subnet, any links we have, we must access the controls for the Icarius satellite, any…"
"We're short on military contracts but we have the deal on the missile guidance system, the Patriot Strike we cooperated with McDonnell Douglas on…"
"Bring that up now, send everything to my station."
"Right away."
"You think this is gonna work?" Robbie asks her, "I can't believe this is happening again, after everything Jack did for me, for everyone."
"It's got to work…dammit!!" Windows are popping up on her screen. "Jesus, there's got to be a way around all these firewalls. Taj, I need the authentication code and password from our most recent transaction with Fort Detrick and Fort Meade, if the subnet is connected maybe we can find an unsecured back door via our last clearances…"
"It's not, Icarius is a separate program run out of the new Nesconset facility on Long Island, I..I''m sorry I don't think there's any way to access it and trace that call origin."
"No, we need to think harder, it's..." Casey says as Robbie leans nervously over her shoulder looking at her computer screen. Robbie then goes on Casey's laptop and begins typing, whispering nervously to himself.
RIDGECREST MANOR
The Chicano militias begin their push toward the gated subdivision. Several of Clarkson's men head out in several vehicles, going back and forth along the walls, shooting at the jeeps and pickups filled with Chicano insurgents. In a split screen, the American Trailways motorcoaches are being driven to the three separate gates of the community to use as extra barriers.
RIDGECREST MANOR COMMUNITY CENTER
Jack, Audrey and the kids are sitting at a small café overlooking an indoor track and weight room in the fitness center. Audrey is shaking terribly. "Audrey…look at me, it's…"
"Jack…I…I can't die here, we can't die here!! I'm not ready for this!"
Jack's radio crackles. "The militia are less than a half mile away, we're going to go out and intercept them, then fall back to the inner defense ring, but once they get past our secondary barriers…."
"Audrey, you need to do this, if Davenport gets back to you…"
"They CAN'T Jack! They don't know where we are and the sat phone wont' work anymore, each pass takes forty minutes at the very least, they're probably using it over Texas now…"
"Audrey, those people outside are under attack, the enemy is a half mile from here according to Clarkson. I need to do what I can. You need to be prepared to go to the van and get…."
"Jack, please…."
Jack is preparing to join the battle. "Audrey, I…no matter what happens, I will always love you. At…" Jack tears up knowing the hopeless situation, "At least I got to see you one last time."
"Daddy, why are you acting like this?" Molly asks, tears running down her face, "You said we're going to stay alive. You promised us."
Audrey is shaking uncontrollably, crying on the floor, banging her hands on the ground.
Jack hugs both of his kids. "I love you both, just be good, stay with mommy, take care of her."
"Are you trying to get help?" Carl asks.
"Yeah. I'll be back. I'll be back…." Jack says his voice fading with uncertainty as he runs through the lobby of the health club and into the Nevada sunshine, getting into a car and driving toward the main gate.
SUMMERLIN STEETS
"Vamo! Vamo!"
"Senor Commandate," an illegal calls out to the anchor baby leading the charge, "I talked to our friends in Colorado, the jets overflew Grand Junction two hours ago, they'll be here soon…"
"Which means we speed up the charge, once we are inside the neighborhood they won't risk killing their civilian residents!!."
Clarkson dispatches the approximately fifty retired veterans into four squads fanning out into the commercial area outside Ridgecrest Manor with a shopping center, bowling alley, several restaurants and some local government buildings. Jack goes into a bank building and climbs up to the second floor, glancing outside and preparing his machine gun .
FITNESS CENTER
Audrey is now exhausted and hopeless and no longer even bangs. She weakly pulls out her phone again and does not seem to notice the "no signal" message.
"Can you hear me?" Audrey says through tears in a begging tone, "If there's anyone on the other side, please….anyone….we're trapped in the Ridgecrest Manor subdivision, we don't' have much time…please help us, anybody….please…."
Audrey now only has a blank stare.
"Mommy?? Mommy?? Are you okay?" Molly asks but Audrey is not responding, just shaking uncontrollably.
"I hope mommy didn't lose her mind," Carl says.
"AUDREY!!" Erin yells, running over.
"I don't know what happened to mommy," Carl said, "I'm scared."
"Audrey, there's a videoconference for you downstairs… AUDREY!!"
Erin takes a handful of ice from the soda dispenser inside a café and presses the on the back of Audrey's neck, Audrey suddenly jolting wide awake.
"There's a videoconference, some lady from Charlotte, says she can help us."
Audrey quickly gets up and tears down a staircase into the conference room.
"Casey?"
"Thank God at least this other satellite works," Casey says, "Now, since we can't talk over the phone, you're going to need to do it remotely, you need to remove the Sim card, the remote, and the microcomputer from the van, can you do that?"
"Yeah, I'll be back."
Two of the vets go with Audrey and they go into the bright sunlight.
CANYONS CROSSING PLAZA, SUMMERLIN
A view shows a large suburban strip mall located outside the walls of Ridgecrest Manor. General Clarkson is now in the parking lot as several vets are ducking and firing from behind rows of parked cars and SUVs in the parking lot of an Albertson's supermarket. The vets hurl three grenades toward several teams of advancing Chicano militia. The vets lower themselves as explosions appear, blowing apart several cars and leaving charred bodies of rebels and more of them injured and dying.
"McKeldin, move your forces to the south side, they're more…" Clarkson suddenly gasps and he looks down on a red spot on his chest. He touches it and sees blood flowing freely, seeping through his clothes. He looks up and sees a brief flash from the fourth floor of Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Then he falls over. "All teams, we have….snipers…top floor of Barnes and…"
The view changes to a Chicano aiming a sniper rifle, zooming in on Clarkson, and firing a bullet into his head.
Jack sees Clarkson fall and hears the sniper report. "Dammit! They must have outflanked us behind the mall!" he screams to several of the vets.
"We're gonna have to in there and flush there out, buy the folks back in Ridgecrest more time!!"
Several of the vets nod and follow Jack. Two of them drop down with bullet wounds as snipers and gunners open fire from the three stories of the large bookstore. Glass shatters in all the cars around them as the men charge and crouch. Quinn takes his Uzi rapid-fire gun and sprays the second floor, three Chicanos falling through the broken glass but a sniper shoots him through the neck and he slumps against a parked minivan.
RIDGECREST MANOR
Audrey and two Americans rush toward the van with the Millennium Services logo. Suddenly one of them falls dead and a split screen shows one of the snipers from Barnes & Noble. Audrey dives into the van and starting opening up a hard drive from the supercomputer mainframe inside the vehicle with markings of the U.S. Army. The other veteran escorting Audrey turns toward the shopping center and unleashes a hail of bullets but another bullet goes into his forehead and he drops down dead.
CANYONS CROSSING PLAZA/RIDGECREST MANOR SUBDIVISION
Split screens show Audrey desperately removing the high-tech components and getting up a remote wireless system so she can operate it from the videoconference room. The other split screen shows Jack and his men taking fire in the parking lot.
"We gotta make a break for it, at least some of us will make it!"
Jack nods. "We don't have a choice!"
"HOOAHH!! USA!! USA!! REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!"
Jack loads more ammo into his machine and counts to three with the other men.
"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!! USA!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!" the vets shout in unison taunting the Chicano separatists.
Bullet strike the military vehicle Audrey is in and sparks start flying around her.
Three more of the vets drop dead and two jeeps with Chicanos speed toward the front of the bookstore. Jack pulls the pin off a grenade and throws it. The grenade explodes three feet above the first jeep, sending it flying into the second one, a series of explosions going across the storefronts of a Hair Cuttery and a Tommy Hilfilger shop.
"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!" the vets continue to shout as they make their way into the bookstore, glass shattering everywhere. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT BAGHDAD!!" a vet screams, firing at anything that moves, "THIS IS AMERICA! GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!!"
"Viva la Reconquista! Viva Mexico!!" at least three Chicanos shout firing from a staircase. Jack flips over a cashier counter and guns them all down in a row.
"That b will have to come out!!" a Chicano laughs pointing at the van Audrey is in. Jack makes his way to the second floor and kills two Chicanos in the fiction section.
Audrey finishes disconnecting a wire and goes toward the door…..
Jack is now on the second floor. Bullets strike everything around him. Jack kicks over bookshelves, sending Chicanos scrambling. Out of bullets in the Uzi Jack takes his reliable pistol and looks a Chicano straight in the eye as he fires from a reading area. Jack aims the gun and squeezes two shots into the man's heart.
Outside Chicano machine guns are reloading and spraying the parking lot with deadly ammunition. Jack uses the strength he has left and gets to the top floor. He dashes through the side facing the parking lot, mowing down four Chicanos their bodies falling forward into the parking lot.
Audrey gets back up after taking cover and opens the door. A Chicano rebel has her in his crosshairs. The camera zooms in on his hand. The man pulls the trigger.
A bullethole appears in Audrey's clothes near her shoulder but there is no blood…..
………..Jack whirls around after firing backwards, killing an illegal. The anchor baby reloads the sniper rifle and prepares to shoot again….his hand is on the trigger……
"HEY!! GET OUT OF MY TOWN!!" Jack yells firing and running toward the man. The man hesitates and turns toward Jack, who fires three straight into his heart and neck.
"Pull back!!" Greeley radios all the veteran teams.
"Roger," Jack says.
RIDGECREST MANOR
Audrey is shivering as she stumbles back into the conference room in the community center. "Casey, I got it."
Casey visibly breathes a sigh of relief. "Ok, you need to program it via the NSA servers, now I don't have access to it but you should if you're on the contract. After that, you have to run the Mayfield program…
Audrey quickly starts following her directions and another screen shows Casey, Robbie, and Taj watching intently as Casey looks at the procedures in front of her on her desk.
"Audrey, you doing…."
Audrey looks at the bullet hole in her shirt and gasps. "I…I can't believe that…"
"Audrey, just continue the programming, it's okay, you're not hurt."
"I'm …I'm so scared right now," Audrey says crying as she connects the sim card with another computerized device and the remote mechanism as another screen shows the vehicle outside with a special transponder on top.
"Hey Audrey?" Casey says alternating her directions with conversation to keep Audrey calm, "You know what the funny thing is?"
Audrey is following the procedures well. "What?"
"I was a lifeguard all four years of college and never had to save anyone, I was kinda disappointed! So…um…if you do this right it's gonna make me REALLY proud of myself. Okay girl?"
Audrey forces a smile and the procedures seem smoother now. She is slightly calmer now though still trembling but color is returning to her body. "Yeah…"
"Okay, Audrey, I know you can do it, just connect the remote to the primary device, type in the right coordinates for your shield and wait for it to boot up, it's gonna take two minutes at most."
"Ok, done."
"So if this works, you and Jack and your kids are definitely coming to our beach, spending a week at me and Robbie's cottage…."
"Yeah, that would be nice." Life is returning to Audrey's eyes. "Thanks, thanks…." She is whispering on the verge back from losing her mind.
"And if we make it, I'm referring you to CTU, I didn't expect you to be able to reach us, you had to hack through all the firewalls…."
"Actually no," Casey says.
Outside the Americans are in retreat, including Jack and Chicanos are now just several blocks from the neighborhood.
"You can thank Carl. He friended me on Myspace after you told him the story about how I met Robbie. I guess she got shy…"
"Hey that was me!" Molly says, "I was the one…"
Audrey holds her kids close. One minute left before shields up.
"Carl decided to send me a little message, yep, tattling on his sister about how Myspace was her idea, mentioned how he's taking swim classes right after school and that his school's two blocks from his house. Carver Middle School was listed on his profile and with that its just Google maps to get the name of your neighborhood. I figured your community center would have a videoconference facility."
Audrey is speechless. A split screen shows Robbie looking at Carl's Myspace profile.
"Hey, it's all Robbie's idea," Casey says. "Okay, how much time left?"
"Twenty seconds."
Outside the men retreat deep into the gated community. On the west side, Mexican tanks begin lobbing artillery shells into Ridgecrest Manor and other subdivisions.
"9…..6…..2….1………."
The shield boots and a bright electromagnetic field is shown on the computer and moves straight up from the van, then going over the subdivision like an umbrella. The artillery shells are diverted and richochet off the invisible shield, falling back toward the Mexican Army tanks, destroying many of them. The Chicanos caught in the invisible electromagnetic wave are thrown back, some of their guns discharging and others being electrocuted. Several Chicano jeeps explode and the rebels quickly turn back from Ridgecrest Manor.
"We did it!" Audrey says softly, lost of all her strength, "We did it."
At the same time, Casey and Robbie embrace, both of them with tired and happy tears in their eyes.
"Audrey!!" Jack calls, running as fast as he can toward her, the two embracing with the fitness center overlook in the background. "When I was out there and I saw how that sniper almost killed you…I….."
"It's okay, I'm fine…I….." she stammers, "I'm fine."
"I'm glad mommy didn't' lose her mind," Molly says, "You know it happens…."
"Dammit Molly, shut up," Carl says.
"Hey son, you can't use that word."
"You use it all the time, dad."
"Well….well I'll try to stop."
"Promise?"
Jack and Audrey both laugh. "Promise."
PENTAGON
"Good news, sir," Brittany says pointing at the plasma TV screens, "Our fighter wings from Colorado and Utah have now gained control of the skies over the Las Vegas Valley and are engaging the Mexican army. The army is in retreat and the militias are trying to melt back into the city but we're targeting them with relentless pinpoint strikes. I believe the tide has turned on the domestic front."
"Thank you, Brittany. Thank you….thank you….."
"Sir?"
"I'm sorry, it's…it's just been such a long day."
"And Mr. President," Brittany adds, "The cell phone transmissions should be back up in a couple minutes, you can talk to your daughter soon."
CTU-LOS ANGELES
Bill Buchanan, Ray, Shari, and Craig stumble into the daylight as American airborne troops secure the area about CTU and other sections of downtown Los Angeles. All of them look at one another without saying a word. One by one, they board a chopper that lifts up but Ray tears up as they lift off the ground and he looks down at the damaged CTU building. A battered U.S. flag is still flying in front. It is pocketed with bullets but it is still waving in the wind.
"Bill," Ray says, "I hope you'll understand, but I...I don't think this is for me anymore."
Bill puts his arm on Ray's shoulder. "Yes, Ray...I understand. You did well today. I'm proud of you."
"We all are," Shari says, "Chloe meant a lot to me too. When I first came here, she was the only one who stood up for me."
"Thank you, all of you," Ray says softly, "I...I want to go home to Indiana, start over, think about where I want to go from there."
"Whatever you choose, Ray, all the best."
RIDGECREST MANOR/THE PENTAGON
The screen shows an exterior of the Pentagon with Washington, D.C. visible in the background beyond the Potomac River, and then Brittany and Heller walking in the inner-most courtyard of the Pentagon. A split screen shows Heller talking to Audrey but the details of their conversation are not heard.
"Jack?"
Jack excuses himself and walks down the walkway in the community center, heading toward the indoor swimming pool overlook. "Yeah?"
"This is Brittany Parsons, the President's chief of staff. Heller would like to speak with you himself but he's talking to Audrey now and we're seriously pressed for time."
"Tell him I'm just glad it's over."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, what he wanted me to ask on his behalf, Jack."
"What is it, Brittany?"
"It's not over. The President wants you to lead the operation into Mexico to depose Juan Lopez and his leftist regime. It's the only way we can end this crisis. I know the Chinese attack failed and we retaliated, but our enemies aren't going down so easily.
She continues, "We believe the Chinese will send reinforcements to Mexico to help them hold onto LA and heavy guerilla fighting in Southern California will continue for months, if not years. The situation is critical, and we need you on the ground in Mexico when friendly forces move against Lopez. We've already prepped the intel and assembled a team ready to go."
"I'm not sure I can do this, Brittany, I'm sorry."
"Jack, we never would have stopped the Chinese ICBMs without you. David Palmer would have asked you the same thing. We're still far from complete victory and…."
"I'm sorry, tell him I left CTU seven years ago and…"
"The country needs you Jack, we all need you."
"But so does Audrey. So does Audrey and so do Molly and Carl. And you know what? I think what you just said can be kinda insulting. Yes, insulting, to every single American patriot who died today serving his or her country. To men like Travis Clarkson, and Chloe O'Brien, and Tom Baker, and the veterans who fought with me less than an hour ago. I'm not the only person who can do this, Brittany, tell the President I said that. I believe there are others who are just as willing to serve our country, and people who are equally capable, perhaps even more capable than me. And you don't need to look too hard to find them. I've seen hundreds of those people today."
There is a long pause and Brittany smiles and says sweetly, "That's the right answer."
Heller takes the phone. "Jack. I just wanted Audrey to know how much you love her after everything's that's happened today. And you came through."
Jack smile expands. "Thank you, sir."
"Anytime, son. Keith Murphy has already agreed to the assignment. You and Audrey go on home and get some rest. I know you rather it not be this way, but it looks like Millennium Services will be having plenty of contracts in the coming years."
"Yes, Mr. President, my thoughts exactly." Jack breathes out slowly, taking in everything that has happened on this day.
THE SONG "EVERY DAY" BY RASCAL FLATTS STARTS TO PLAY IN THE BACKGROUND
Jack and Audrey share a long kiss, Jack stroking her long beautiful hair.
"I heard everything, Jack, I heard it all."
"I knew you could do it. I knew I wouldn't lose you. Deep down, I knew that somehow we were going to be together again, the way we're meant to be."
The Bauer family slowly walk out of the glass doors of the community center and toward their house. They see Lisa, Greg, Blake, and Chrissie waving. They are all alive too. Erin is talking to someone on her cell phone. She looks shaken after a long ordeal.
"So, how did Casey manage to find us? With everything down…."
"It's quite a story and not what you'd expect," she says with a tired smile, "But I'll tell you everything, that plus everything that's happened when you were gone."
"But??" Jack asks mischeviously.
"But not now. We need a better place to do it. Like sitting on the beach in North Carolina watching the sun rise. How does that sound?"
Jack kisses her again on the cheek. "Sounds wonderful…sounds…perfect."
Jack, Audrey, and their kids go through their undamaged front yard. The kids go in first but Jack and Audrey stay for a couple moments to check the American flag still flying next to the front door. He then goes through the door and closes it behind him.
…….10:00 AM
www.you /watch?vlZoaxjzsJXI
The above link contains the song "Every Day" by Rascal Flatts (a contemporary country band) which plays through the opening credits. Its a good description of Jack and Audrey through the years in my 24 universe. Just take away the space between you and tube.