Individual players only need to know their parts nothing else …
Summary: The FBI races to stop a terrorist attack on the LA water suppy
Original air date: May 4, 2007 (US)
Written by: Andrew Dettman
Directed by: J Miller Tobin
Opening numbers:
16: Extremists
7200: Miles of pipe
2.3: Parts per million
1:Coordinated attack
Family Concepts: (character development)
- Colby doesn’t know Don and Liz are dating until David tells him
- Don doesn’t like Alan helping with FBI cases, he feels it’s too dangerous
- Charlie [to Don]: You don’t seem too worried that I’m involved.
- Alan [to Don]: You’re the son, I’m the father. That’s not gonna change.
- Don: The new attitude is gratitude.
An FBI operation to uncover a terrorist cell falls apart when the suspect starts beating an innocent man and David steps in to stop him. The suspect doesn’t know anything about the rest of the terrorist organization or what the rest of the cell’s plans are because, as Charlie explains, he is only one small part purposely kept in the dark about the rest of the operation.
Assistant Director Wright calls in people from several different departments to help with running down the rest of the cell; included is Captain Adams of Army CID, he has a file in the man recently arrested which leads the team to another part of the cell, Ali al Dossari. The FBI raids his home to find he’s been makes Marine ID’s, unfortunately it’s too late to stop the group from using the ID’s to steal chemicals used in the making of sarin.
Charlie starts to work on how the sarin could be distributed and with Alan’s help finds the best way would be a release into the LA water system. Don isn’t happy Charlie went to Alan for help saying the case is too dangerous for their father to be involved. Before they can investigate further, the LA mayor receives a ransom demand to prevent the attack; along with several political demands, the group wants a total of $8 million, $4 when the location of the sarin is revealed and $4 more when the sarin has been recovered. Don is surprised the federal government is willing to give in.
After two innocent men are poisoned by the gas when renting a truck, Don’s team finds more member’s of the cell, this time in a lab. Before the FBI can arrest the men, they release a vial of sarin and die. They are enough however for Charlie to figure out more of the cell’s organization including the leader,Sharif al Maliki. However, Maliki was killed four months ago in Pakistan. Charlie realizes Maliki’s cell and it’s plan have been hijacked by a new leader. Don puts the pieces together and realizes the new man in charge of the cell is actually Captain Adams.
Adams claims he’s in control and once the money is wired the sarin will not be used. Don then informs him the sarin was not at the location specified and Charlie realizes yet another group is now involved and plans to go through with the original attack. Alan tells Don they would have to use pipes after the water has left the treatment plant otherwise the sarin would be too diluted to do any real damage. Knowing there is just too much pipe to guess where the attack might occur, Don convinces Adams to tell him the rest of the plan. Adams eventually does tell Don where the gas will be released and the FBI is able to stop the group before they can release the poison.