Nightfall 1

David Palmer authorised the Nightfall mission, and Jack Bauer's Delta Strike team land in Serbia. They meet up with their first contacts, David and Anna Petrovic. Victor Drazen is alerted of the situation, and sends some men to take out Bauer's team. However, the latter are one step ahead.

Episode guide

6:00pm ET / 12:00am local

Senator David Palmer reads a file titled "Operation Nightfall". He asks Mike Novick if he has heard back from the President, to which the latter replies that he is on the line. Securing information from the President, Palmer tells Novick to get Robert Ellis on a secure line. He tells the man to go ahead with his operation.

Evans explodes

In a CIA safehouse in Belgrade, Robert Ellis, known as Savoy Seven during the mission, contacts Jack Bauer, who is known as Savoy Six. In a plane over Serbia, Jack Bauer and his Delta Strike Team prepare to parachute out of the jet. He informs his team that they have to hit the drop point in three minutes. After the team make their final preparations, Bauer instructs them to leave the plane. After they all land, Bauer questions where one of his men, Dave Evans, is. As he sees Evans, known as Savoy One, parachute to the ground, Bauer tells him not to move. However, as soon as he hits the barren surface he is killed by a landmine. Without reacting to the death, Bauer begins to send out orders; he tells Bill Kendall to check on the body of their fallen comrade, and Stephen Saunders to find out what Evans was carrying. He also tells Al Crenshaw and Ronnie Pope to take up positions to monitor the road. Jack calls Robert Ellis and tells him that Savoy One is down. Ellis tells the team leader that if anyone runs him, there will be no connection to the mission; he deletes all files about the man.

Saunders returns to Bauer, and tells him that everything was duplicated by all the other team members, apart from the Serbian military band radio. Bill Kendall reports back to Bauer, letting him know that they could not cross the field; it was too open and unmarked. Bauer comments that someone probably has already reported the explosion, as there are farms nearby. Ellis agrees to increase monitoring local radio after Bauer reports in that they had lost it. He also says that he has uploaded their rendezvous with their first contact, but to be careful due to lots of hostiles.

Drazen complains about being awoken

7:00pm ET / 1:00am local

Victor Drazen complains about being woken up. He jokes that girl scouts have invaded their base. His son, Andre, explains that there has been a death in the minefields, and that the man who was killed had a parachute, and no identification. Drazen instructs his son to awaken everyone and begin to work out who the man was.

7:45pm ET / 1:45am local

Whilst traversing through a forest as an alternate route, Ronnie Pope and Al Crenshaw discuss their favourite sniper rifles. As they talk, Bauer notices some approaching tanks, and tells his men to find cover. Once the tanks pass, the men come out from the places of hiding, and decide to pick up their pace.

8:55pm ET / 2:55am local

After a while of walking through the forest, the team reach the destination of their first contact; a barn converted to be used as accommodation. Bauer tells Crenshaw to check the barn. After he declares it safe, Bill Kendall and Ronnie Pope move into the barn whilst Bauer remained in a sniper position in case of an attack. He radios in to the Belgrade basecamp with Ellis, who agrees with Bauer that it is strange that there have been no responses to the explosion.

Savoy Three and Savoy Four enter the barn, and Bauer comes down to join them. The two people inside the barn reveal themselves to be David and Anna Petrovic, the siblings who are the team's first contact. Anna welcomes the team into the house, and Jack instructs Savoy Two, Al Crenshaw, to hold his position whilst the rest of the team meet in the barn.

9:17pm ET / 3:17am local

The team has settled into the location. David Petrovic tells Bauer that the contact had to move, so they were going to go to another location to see him. Anna reveals that the man is part of Drazen's inner circle, and is willing to help the team get close. Bauer tells the team to prepare to leave once they get the all clear from Savoy Seven.

9:37pm ET / 3:37am local

David Harris Jones helps Robert Ellis

Robert Ellis calls the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia to request a European Sector Monitoring Desk. David Harris Jones responds, who helps them to position a satellite over the team's location. That allows them to see if any hostiles approach the area. After Jones finishes the call, he is contacted by his superior, and Langley's Deputy Director, Tony Webster. Webster asks him why he retasked one of the satellites over Yugoslavia without sufficient authorization. Jones replies that he received that authorization for retasking the satellite, stating that that is standard protocol. Webster agrees, and ends the call. He then calls one of Drazen's men, informing them of the ground team in Serbia. Soon after, Webster meets with Southwest Regional Director of CTU Richard Walsh and Director of CTU Los Angeles Christopher Henderson to discuss task forces for the next day. They greet, and shake hands.

Ellis tracks the impending hostiles.

Ellis reports to Bauer, telling him that they now have satellite coverage of his location. He checks the image, and counts six friendlies in the area. He tells Bauer to wait whilst he increases the sweep of the area. Meanwhile, Andre Drazen tells his father that they have identified the remains of the dead body found in the minefield. Using their tap into the FBI database, they identify him as Dave Evans, a data programmer who was also a part-time personal trainer: quite normal with no military history. Andre goes on to explain that that means the man allied with either American Special Forces or one of their intelligence services, as it is very unlikely an ordinary American citizen is going to parachute into a minefield in the middle of the night. Drazen agrees to increase the alert level and the patrol frequency, as the man certainly did not come alone.

Savoy Seven confirms eight hostiles heading for the barn, approximately 500 meters away. Crenshaw informs Bauer that eight Serbian Regulars are approaching his location. They turn the lights off and prepare for battle. Guns at hand, the men ready themselves. Andre asks his father what he thinks these men are planning for the day. Victor responds by saying that they will know soon enough, then they will be killed.

...10:00pm ET / 4:00am local

Dramatis personae

Washington, D.C.

• Senator David Palmer
• Mike Novick

Langley, Virginia

• Deputy Director Tony Webster
• Southwest Regional Director of CTU Richard Walsh
• Director of CTU Los Angeles Christopher Henderson
• David Harris Jones

Belgrade, Serbia

• Andre Drazen
• Victor Drazen
• Anna Petrovic
• David Petrovic

Delta Strike team

• Savoy One: Dave Evans
• Savoy Two: Sgt. Al Crenshaw
• Bill Kendall
• Ronnie Pope
• Savoy Five: Stephen Saunders
• Savoy Six: Jack Bauer
• Savoy Seven: Robert Ellis

Background information and notes

• This is the first in the five issue comic series of 24: Nightfall.
• The events in this comic take place over four hours.

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