Day 3 starts and ends at 1:00 p.m. In Day 3, three years after narrowly averting a war with three middle eastern countries, Jack returns from a one-year deep undercover operation consisting of infiltrating the Salazar drug family. At the same time, a van drops off a dead body infected with a bio-weapon at the National Health Services. CTU then receives a phone call threatening to release the virus if Ramon Salazar is not released from prison in 6 hours. Jack has a new partner, Chase Edmunds, who is also romantically involved with Kim, who has now become an employee at CTU. Jack is also fighting a heroin addiction he developed during his undercover assignment, which close family and friends are unaware of. Ultimately Jack discovers that the mastermind behind the virus is Stephen Saunders, who had worked with Jack years earlier on the Operation: Nightfall assignment. He now seeks retribution against the United States for being left behind and tortured for two years.