Russian Mafia Makes an Appearance on 24

'24' Season 8, Episodes 3and 4 continued to ramp up the tension and stakes on Jack Bauer's latest bad day. A number of murders, an assassination attempt, a betrayal or two, and the return of former FBI agent Renee Walker occurred.

Spoilers surely followed.

It seems that the Russian Mafia's agent inside the New York Police Department has managed to get a spot in the escort for President Hassan by forcing another officer to switch shifts with him at gun point. Then he killed the officer and his wife. Then Jack Bauer found the corpses, and much to his consternation, he was found with the corpses by two other police officers, one of whom is very much into street justice for cop killers.

The upshot was that the Russian hitter planted a bomb to detonate under President Hassan's limo. Fortunately Jack Bauer was about to persuade the more reasonable officer of his bona fides and warn CTU just in a nick of time, allowing the heroic Cole Ortiz to foil the assassination at great risk to himself.

The upshot of the aftermath is that faithless brother, Farhad Hassan, is unmasked and is forced to go on the run, the Russian Mafia guy is killed, Hassan's reporterette girl friend is set free with apologies all around, and Brian Hastings has one more mistake to smooth over.

Now why would the Russian Mafia want to take out the President of the Islamic Republic. It seems that the Russians would like to sell the Islamic Republic some spent fuel rods that can be turned to weapons grade uranium of which nuclear bombs can be made. President Hassan had demurred. His brother would very much like to work a deal. If this means that President Hassan has to die and little brother take his place, the cause of Jihad sometimes required martyrs.

Thanks to Mark Whittington