Ahh, where would 24 be without the liars, turncoats and traitors that make the world such a paranoid place? Whether it's for money, power, duty, or sheer convenience, it's always fun to see a character pull the wool over the eyes of somebody who trusts them. That being said, here's our list of the best backstabbings of all three seasons, from minor to major.

24) Mandy betrays Bridgit. The classic betrayal in the name of self-survival. Mandy chooses to sacrifice Bridgit so that her greedy demands won't get them both killed. Though Mandy sheds a tear for her fallen lover, Gaines says it best when he assures her "You had no choice."

23) George Ferragamo betrays Keith. "Hmmm, there's a chance that my psychiatric patient might have killed somebody out of anger... I hope I can help him... no wait, I'm gonna call the press!" I'm not sure if even the most evil 24 villains can beat this complete and utter disregard for ethics. Ferragamo, you sleaze!

22) Jonathan Wallace betrays the Coral Snake group. "Three of the commandos definitely knew who the shooter was; their wounds were front entry at close-range." There are few men as ice-cold and unrepentant as Wallace. Murdering your own strike team and thus allowing a nuke to be detonated over L.A. is about as dispassionate as you can get. Way to go, bud.

21) Palmer betrays Mason. "Within the first month of my term, I will instate you in a high-level position in Washington. You'll bypass 5 years of middle management!" To a political animal like George Mason, this sounds too good to be true... and it is. Season 2 finds George still demoted, unshaven and bitterly wondering why he's not in Washington yet. I guess Palmer's reputation as a man of his word is about as true as Jack's.

20) Claudia betrays Hector. In a notably heroic effort to save her family, Claudia goes behind her vicious boyfriend's back in order to free Chase, steal a pickup truck and escape with her father and brother. Sadly, good girls don't last too long in this show, and ol' Claudia catches a bullet in the head.

19) Jack betrays Wald and his crew, for the second time. You wouldn't think an agent who's already been undercover with a group of criminals and sold them out could re-integrate AGAIN in a matter of hours, but Bauer's got mad skills. The look on Eddie's face alone as Jack tells him he's (duh) a federal agent makes this betrayal a truly delicious one.

18) Sherry betrays David. As if conspiring with Carl wasn't enough, Sherry decides to take matters into her own hands when she destroys an incriminating audio tape that Senator Palmer wanted to give to the District Attorney. David, however, has already caught on to his wife's sceming ways, and it turns out he planted a fake tape in order to test her! "It breaks my heart that I was right," he says in a heart-wrenching scene, and we know that Sherry has learned her lesson.

17) Nina betrays Jack. "Sure I'll help you.... help you destroy CTU with a worm, that is!!" Though Jack of all people should've seen this trap coming a mile away, something in him still trusts his wicked soulmate enough to follow her instructions. He can choke her and threaten her all he wants, but we know deep down he still loves the good Nina of season 1. (Unfortunately for Nina, Jack's done playing games.)

16) Amador betrays Nina. You gotta hand it to Michael. The whole virus auction and exchange in Mexico was all just a scheme to make a little extra cash. Switching the real vial with an explosive-rigged one was ingenius, and luckily Ramon ended up paying the price, not our dark heroine. When Nina learns that Amador screwed everybody over, all she can say is "sonofabitch!"

15) Prescott betrays Palmer. In the biggest power play of 24 history, the Vice-President plots to overthrow his boss... and succeeds! During the "trial of David Palmer", Prescott makes embarassing and exaggerated accusations against Palmer's moral and mental stability, after lying right to the President's face about not having anything to say to him! Jerk! The most incredible thing about this betrayal is that David (showing Almeidan levels of compassion) forgives Prescott and lets him stay on as VP.

14) Sherry betrays David again. After she tries to put another woman in his bed, Palmer trusts his wife about as much as he was actually attracted to Patty. But, when he decides to leak a story that he was assassinated in order to save Kim Bauer's life, he lets Sherry out of his sight, thinking a stern finger-wag will keep her at bay. But no! Lo and behold, word of his survival is leaked to the media, and David doesn't even have to consider who is responsible. Furious, he becomes the Incredible Hulk and terrorizes Sherry in their hotel bathroom, yelling "God help you if that child dies!!" Sherry, genuinely frightened, knows that she has crossed the line for the final time.

13) Saunders betrays Amador. Possibly the most ironic death of the entire series. After besting his fellow criminals in Mexico with the old "bomb in the medical vial" gag, Amador himself falls victim to the even older "bomb in the briefcase" trick, and spontaneously combusts before Jack's eyes. Apparently Stephen doesn't like loose ends.

12) Marie betrays Reza, Kate and her Father. Who would've guessed that the sweet little bride-to-be would turn out to be a psycho bitch from hell? Dark Marie wins points for using her father's company as a terrorist conduit, and then brutally executing her devoted fiance, but fails to secure a place as an elite 24 villain when she can't manage to kill her annoying older sister.

11) Nina betrays Jack. "Yeah, I've got your back.... with this fully-loaded assault rifle, that is!!" Jack and Nina are working so well together after the plane crash in season 2 that for a moment, he forgets who he's dealing with. Nina, of course, takes full advantage of this slip and tries to secure a pre-arranged pardon for his murder while she holds him at gunpoint. As Jack kneels on the ground with his hands behind his head, he can't help but wonder why he didn't cap her back at Mahmoud Faheen's place.

10) Jack betrays Claudia. As Jack's storyline collides with the Las Nieves thread, we learn that Jack and Claudia were lovers while he was undercover with the Salazars. Claudia is furious that he left her there after promising to take her away. Jack convinces her that he was sincere and that he was planning on coming back, but in retrospect, given Jack's stone-cold devotion to the mission and the fact that he never mentions Claudia again after her death, why do I suddenly get the feeling that he played her like a fiddle, twice? This betrayal is perhaps one of the most disturbing, as by using love to get his job done, Jack has essentially become what he despises. (Need I specify?)

9) Ramon betrays Hector. It takes a certain kind of sliminess to be able to shoot your own brother in the back over money. But in the end, Ramon was purely business, and as he stands over Hector's lifeless body, we are reminded of a line from the season 3 premiere: "He doesn't care about another living soul, including his own children."

8) Sherry betrays David, AGAIN. Fuck! When Palmer divorces Sherry, she loses any chance at getting the power she craves, and instead becomes the epitome of a woman scorned. Though she enters the scene in season 2 claiming to want to help David, we learn by the end that she was in fact a key member of a cabal trying to bring down his presidency by bringing a nuclear bomb into the country! Her betrayal again shocks David, but she is redeemed after she risks her life to bring down Kingsley. We know that we can trust Sherry to do the right thing in the end.

7) Peter Kingsley betrays Sherry, Roger Stanton, Jonathan Wallace, Alex Hewitt, AND the hot girl he literally stabs in the back for no reason. Damn, Kingsley's a pro! He betrays everyone involved in the season 2 conspiracy, just for the sake of the Almighty Dollar. You have to respect convictions like that.

6) Jamey betrays CTU. Ah Farrell, the quintessential mole. For a mere $300,000, Jamey sells out her friends and co-workers by bugging CTU's surveillance system, helping Gaines catch Teri and lying her ass off to Jack, Nina and Tony. Fortunately, Nina puts her out of her misery before she can play the victim any longer.

5) Nina betrays Tony. Though this was vastly overshadowed by her backstabbing of Jack, Nina's final emergence as the evil superspy of the first season HAD to have stung Almeida pretty hard. Considering what an ethical, patriotic man Tony is, finding out your girlfriend is a traitor and ruthless mass murderer who was only sleeping with you to gain your trust is a damned tough blow. As Nina is hauled away by security, she casts a cold, dismissive glance to the man she's been working alongside all day, and all Tony can do is hang his head in disbelief.

4) Tony betrays Jack, CTU and his country to save Michelle. The things we do for love. In one of the most surprising twists of fate in the series, Almeida finds himself lying non-stop to Jack and the rest of his CTU family as he deletes satellite frames, diverts orders, traps Chloe in Tech One, assaults two guards and finally escapes the premises with Jane Saunders in tow. Oh, Tony!

3) Sherry betrays David, YET AGAIN. Christ, dude. After Palmer covers up her part in the death of Alan Milliken, Sherry turns on him, using Keeler to blackmail David into completely giving up his presidency. If he refuses, he'll go to jail as an accessory to murder. While the stakes are higher than ever for Palmer, at this point we've almost lost all sympathy for him. I mean, come on, man! Wayne doesn't call it "pulling a Sherry" for nothing!

2) Mike betrays David. Et tu, Novick? Palmer's long-time best friend and chief-of-staff flips on him when Mike finds himself no longer being able to support delaying the war. Instead of expressing his opinion like an adult, Mike locks Lynne Kresge in a storage room and plots with Prescott to have David removed from office! The peak of his sliminess occurs as they're about to load a half-dead Lynne into the ambulance: she tries to point him out, and he covers up her hand with faux-affection, saying "It's alright, Lynne. They're going to take good care of you." Mike, you creepy bastard! While Palmer forgives Prescott and the rest of the cabinet who voted against him, Novick's betrayal is absolutely inexcusable, and the painful look on his face is priceless as the President tells him to fuck off.

1) Nina betrays Jack. "Hey, you know you can trust me... to fuck up your entire life, that is!!" Nina's betrayal of Jack Bauer is without a doubt the most significant moment of the first season, and it totally sets the tone for seasons to follow. Trust is the most important thing for Jack, and so his best friend / former lover / loyal second-in-command lying to him for God knows how long is more than he can handle. Top this off with the cold-blooded murder of his wife, the woman Nina swore to protect, and Bauer is done like dinner. He is never the same after that night, and spends the next year and a half lying on his couch, curled up in a ball, a shell of the man he was before Nina Myers ran her game on him. And even though he's back in action now, and has killed the woman who caused all this pain, we know he'll never get over the effects of the betrayal completely. Ahh, Nina.

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