Michael Amador

Michael Amador was the seller of the Cordilla virus during Day 3, which he acquired from rogue Ukrainian scientists. He had arranged to sell the virus directly to Stephen Saunders, but took an unauthorized sojourn into Mexico, where he staged an auction between Ramon Salazar and a different bidder represented by Nina Myers, where he would trick the buyer into purchasing a bomb. After his bid in Mexico, Amador returned to Los Angeles, and was captured; angry that Amador put Saunders at risk and fearful he might reveal information to the authorities, Saunders dispatched Dorman to kill him.

Day 3

On Day 3, Amador was to meet with Ramon Salazar and Jack Bauer in Mexico to sell the virus -- Jack, who was working undercover as part of a sting op, had been the middleman between the Salazar cartel and Amador. While in Mexico, Amador contacted Yuri, one of the scientists whom he was representing. Jack, Ramon and Hector all met with Amador at a high-security tent he was staging the deal in; however, these plans were changed when Nina Myers appeared, looking to purchase the virus for a different buyer. Amador held an auction for the virus, with Myers' bid of $240 million besting Jack's $225 million.

Amador inspects the virus upon its arrival.

The Salazars and Jack later forced Nina to retrieve the virus, and the exchange between Amador and Myers was completed. Amador's henchman confirmed the transfer of funds. Amador presented Myers with a vial containing the virus; the vial passed the testing device Myers had. After the successful test, Myers returned the vial; Amador intentionally allowed Nina to test the vial before paying because it would give him the pretext to swap the vials during this time period. The "vial" Amador provided Myers after she successfully paid him off looked identical to the actual virus, but it had actually been a hidden bomb, as he had already previously sold the virus Stephen Saunders in Los Angeles.

After the transaction, the Delta Force and Chase Edmunds moved in on Salazar, now in possession of the virus, after he tried to kill Jack. When Jack and Chase pursued Ramon, the fake vial went off and killed Salazar. Amid this chaos, Nina almost escaped, and Amador was apparently trapped. However, Amador's own team of concealed marksmen took out the Delta-3 team and he escaped.

Amador greets Nina Myers, the proxy of a virus bidder.

Amador then traveled to Los Angeles, where he met with his longtime associate Marcus Alvers and his actual buyer, Stephen Saunders, at a Go parlor in Chinatown. It was here revealed that Alvers had modified the virus to not only minimize the incubation period, but also to make it much more lethal by aerosolizing it, allowing Saunders to spread it via gas dispersal devices he had stolen from Ukraine. As Amador handed the virus off, it was revealed that Amador's actions in Mexico were not in any way connected to the 'real' terrorist plan, but simply to gain extra money for himself. Saunders berated Amador for his selfishness and for his believing that Jack Bauer had switched sides, and delayed his full payment until Alvers dispersed the virus at the Chandler Plaza Hotel. As Alvers left for this task and Saunders departed, Jack and Chase closed in on Amador's location. Jim Wong, an undercover agent sent by a SWAT captain, was discovered by one of Amador's guards, so Amador executed him. CTU then ambushed Amador and took him into custody.

Still in the Go parlor, Amador was interrogated by Jack and Chase demanding to know the location of the virus and the identity of the man behind the terrorist plot. Amador delivered a cryptic warning to Jack, saying that he "has no idea" what he's up against (Amador was speaking of Saunders, who was previously involved in Operation Nightfall with Jack before Day 1, whom he knew to have known Jack as he referred to Bauer by name). Jack offered Amador protection for himself and his family, but he still refused. Chase then slit Amador's hand while Jack restrained him, and he passed out.

The Chandler Plaza Hotel's entire security layout was discovered on Amador's laptop, which allowed CTU to close in on the Cordilla virus. The virus was dispersed in the hotel; Gael Ortega and most of the hotel's occupants were lost, but CTU and the CDC were able to contain it within.

Amador resists interrogation

Amador awoke and again refused to tell who he was working for. While Jack and Chase went to analyze an incubator found at the Go parlor, Amador was hand-cuffed to a pipe in the adjacent room. Amador managed to release himself from the pipe and escape, but unbeknownst to him his escape was a setup and Kim Bauer at CTU was tracking Amador with a device planted in his bandage. Kim informed Jack and Chase, who began to follow Amador, running parallel to his location via car.

Amador called Saunders, reporting himself being detained but escaping from CTU agents. Saunders, curious, asked if Jack Bauer was one of the agents, which Amador confirmed. Amador then took evasive actions at Saunders' request, attempting to throw off Jack and Chase.

Amador met with one of Saunders' men, Dorman, for transportation and funds to escape the country. Dorman gave Amador a briefcase, supposedly containing his money and travel papers. However, the case was loaded with explosives which detonated immediately after Amador opened the briefcase. Amador and the henchman were immediately killed, as Saunders had figured out that if he was freed under Jack's watch that it must've been a setup. Shortly after arriving on the scene, Saunders called Jack to initiate his plan to hold the entire country hostage, beginning with presenting his demands to President David Palmer.

Background information and notes

• In 24: The Game, when Nina Myers makes her cameo appearance when she is told about the attack on CTU, we see the computer she is working on and close up we see her highlighting the name Michael Amador on a list of various people.
• His nationality and his background were not specified. It was mentioned that Amador had a family, but they were not named or shown on-screen.
• Stephen Saunders' actor, Paul Blackthorne, mentioned that he had originally auditioned for Amador's role before taking Saunders'.
• According to the audio commentary for Day 3: 1:00am-2:00am, Amador was named after Joel Surnow's tennis coach when he was eleven.

See also

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