OK, so maybe it wasn't on a par with Air Force One going down or the assassination of David Palmer in terms of shock value. But Monday's events certainly did change the landscape of Day Eight.
After Hastings briefs CTU associates on the kidnapping he asks Chloe to run point with NYPD. But she defers to Dana, citing the latter's qualifications. Why on earth is Chloe being so supportive of Dana? At the other end of the spectrum we have Arlo, who kvetches about all the changes.
Kayla, alerted by her mother to Tarin's treachery, looks to the bathroom window as a possible means of escape, but the cold realization of being five stories up puts an end to that. Tarin gets a call from his ally Samir, who warns that Marcos gave him up. After seeing cops approaching Tarin realizes there's no more time and breaks down the bathroom door.
Sergeant Amos, the officer in charge of the NYPD contingent, sends his men into the hotel over Bauer's objections. After disabling the security cameras and taking out a couple of cops, Tarin uses the last name and walkie-talkie of one of them to direct the others to the fire escape. Jack quickly sees through that ruse and orders all exits covered. With the help of a sympathetic cabbie Tarin and Kayla get away, and the empty cab is found outside an underpass.
Dana decides this is a fine time to leave her post yet again to meet with Bill Prady. One of his cop buddies told him about the break-in at the evidence warehouse and what a coinky-dink, Nick's prints were all over the bat used to beat the security guard. For someone who's been lying daily for years, Dana sure doesn't have much of a poker face. She agrees to answer all Prady's questions once the emergency is over.
At the terrorist hideout Kayla is trussed up in the universal hostage pose, blindfolded in front of a flag. Samir calls her parents to tell her they can have Kayla back as soon as Omar turns over File 33. Denying knowledge of such a thing, he demands to speak to his daughter. Samir does better than that, streaming live footage of himself holding a plastic bag over her head. He tells Hassan this will be his last image of Kayla unless he turns over the file in 15 minutes.
Q'est-ce-que c'est File 33? From the look on Omar's face it's big. Bauer's jaw hits the floor as he watches extensive details of U.S. anti-nuke defenses unscroll on the screen. Hassan says your country threatened us for years, were we supposed to sit by and do nothing? Jack endears himself to the Hassans by telling them their little princess is not worth the lives of thousands of Americans.
Arlo has managed to suck it up long enough to isolate subway noises in the background of the video feed. When transit timetables help them pinpoint the location to the Willamsburg Bridge, CTU prepares a dummy file to give the terrorists to buy time.
Meanwhile, Prady is wandering the halls of CTU like a tourist in Times Square. When Dana tries to corral him he asks again about the break-in. Seems the security cameras went out for that precise length of time. Doesn't CTU keep back-ups? And this handy-dandy interagency data request I just happen to have compels you to turn them over. Dana knows when she's licked and calls Cole to tell him she's turning herself in.
Omar's 15 minutes are up and still no file, so Tamir prepares to execute Kayla when he grabs her hand and they make a run for it. They hop into a car where he gives her a cell phone and urges her to call CTU. Samir catches up with them and Tamir takes a bullet in order to give Kayla the chance to escape and head to CTU headquarters.
From Kayla's description Chloe is able to determine the bank where she was being held. Aerial surveillance spots the terrorists exiting. But can that really be Tarin? The one who gave his life protecting Kayla? The pieces all fall into place for Jack when he realizes the plan all along was to use Kayla as a courier. Hastings frantically calls for everyone to shut down as the car arrives, and sure enough they find an EMP inside. A CTU guard thinks he can get the car out of the tunnel in time, but as the hour ends the bomb goes off and CTU goes dark. Next week Jack is forced to go it alone. But hey, he's Jack Bauer ... he don't need no stinkin' CTU.