Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
The nuclear bomb cannot be disarmed in time, and the available aircraft cannot release it accurately over the chosen desert site. Whoever pilots the plane must remain aboard until impact. Jack accepts the flight himself and rejects Mason's offer to take his place because his illness could make him lose consciousness. After takeoff, Tony connects Jack to Kim, who has borrowed a driver's phone. Jack tells his daughter that he does not expect to survive.
Mason reveals that he stowed away aboard the aircraft and brings Jack a parachute. He argues that Jack still has a life to rebuild with Kim, while his own radiation exposure has left him little time. Jack checks that Mason can finish the flight and gives him the approach instructions. He jumps near the destination. Mason continues alone into the Mojave Desert, where the bomb detonates as Jack takes cover on the ground.
At CTU, an encrypted drive from Syed Ali's belongings yields a recording that appears to link the nuclear attack to officials from three Middle Eastern countries. Tony sends the information to Palmer while authentication is still underway. Palmer questions why Ali would record such a conversation, but allows military preparations to begin under his control. Yusuf Auda, an intelligence liaison from one of the suspected countries, remains excluded from the evidence despite his offers to help.