'24: Live Another Day' recap: Hostage standoff leads to unexpected alliance

Morgan On A Mission: Yvonne Strahovski as Kate Morgan on '24' (FOX)

When Jack Bauer has a goal, you shouldn’t get in his way.

Just minutes after starting a full scale riot, Jack’s entered the U.S. Embassy, knocked out an FBI agent, stolen security credentials and tracked down Chris Tanner. His scene with Tanner is one of the few in this week's episode where Jack comes off as something more than just a ruthless hero. He connects with the wrongfully accused soldier in a matter of minutes, assuring him that he knows he’s being set up and will bring him justice. Jack gets a hold of Tanner’s flight key, but it turns out that while getting into the Embassy was easy, getting out is a whole other story.

Kate Morgan makes embassy security aware that Bauer is in the building and has the entire place locked down. Soldiers march down each floor, searching for our Jack, who looks like he may be out of options. Knowing the clock is ticking, he grabs some hostages and barricades himself inside the Embassy’s communication room to upload the data from the flight key. But because nothing ever goes according to plan on “24”, the key ends up being encrypted and it will take some time before the information can be successfully retrieved.

Jack’s solution? Once he has confirmation that the marines hunting him down are wearing bulletproof vests, he fires shots at them, to prove he means business.

This act does not go unnoticed. President Heller has delivered a successful speech to Parliament, but there’s no time to celebrate his victory. Mark is instead forced to tell Audrey and Heller the truth: Jack is Back. The duo are shocked that Mark kept Jack’s return from them, but before he gives permission for the marines to take Bauer out, Heller insists on speaking to Jack.

Jack informs the president via phone call of Margot’s plans to take control of American drones in order to assassinate Heller. The president is skeptical at first, but while Jack may have caused his daughter to have a nervous breakdown, he reminds Heller that he’s never lied to him. Jack asks for just fifteen more minutes to finish decrypting the key, promising he will turn himself over once he has the evidence he needs.

Both Audrey and Heller believe Jack but Mark doesn’t buy it. He informs the president that Jack was responsible for breaking out Chloe O’Brian, whose ties to Open Cell make Mark surmise that this is all part of a bigger plan for Jack to leak government secrets. This is enough for Heller, who gives the marines the OK to take out Jack. The decision doesn’t sit well with Audrey, who is very upset by her husband’s decision to keep her in the dark.

Kate, who has met with Tanner and is starting to trust Jack’s story, catches wind of the plan and breaks into the communication room via air vent before the soldiers barge in. Jack holds Kate at gunpoint but she insists she believes him and wants to help. Before the marines blow the door and bust in Kate convinces Jack to give her the flight key so that she can finish uploading the information. Kate stops the Marines from firing at Jack by declaring him her prisoner and leading him out of the room in handcuffs.

It took a few hours, but Jack has reluctantly found a new ally. It’s clear Kate doesn’t play by the rules, but can she really be trusted? Jack had better hope so because Margot Al-Harazi is proving just how evil she really is.

Naveed’s second thoughts about piloting the drones haven’t faded and he asks his wife Simone to run away with him. It takes a little convincing, but Simone eventually seems to agree to betray her mother. Margot confronts her daughter, knowing all about Naveed’s plan because of the surveillance cameras she had set up in the bedroom. It’s unclear whether Simone spills the beans out of loyalty or fear.

Margot confronts Naveed who tells her there is nothing he can do to convince her to pilot the drones. Naveed’s defiance leads to Margot telling her henchmen to cut off Simone’s finger while he looks on in horror. He relents before another digit can be removed and the episode ends with Margot telling her crew to take control of the ten drones closest to London.