01x20 - The Solution

[destinyros2005]

"The Solution" episode #1.20

(Flashback: Sydney sits on a stool, tears in her eyes, staring numbly at nothing while a trainer wraps her hands with gauze. He slaps at her hands to feel if they're wrapped.)

TRAINER: Good.

(SD-6. Sydney sits at her desk. Jack approaches.)

JACK: I heard about Noah... I'm sorry.

(She just sits there, staring at nothing.)

(In the weight room, Sydney hits the punching bag.)

TRAINER: Come on, come on. Hit the bag!

(In the blood donor van parked on campus, Sydney and Vaughn chit chat.)

SYDNEY: I k*lled a man... someone I cared about.

VAUGHN: Noah Hicks was an assassin. If you hadn't k*lled him, he would have k*lled you.

SYDNEY: Maybe. But I was the one who forced the fight.

VAUGHN: Hicks was a bad guy.

(Sydney works out, hitting the bag even harder.)

TRAINER: Work that jab! Work it! That's it, work that thing! That's it! Nice combination! Work that jab!

(Sydney kicks the bag and the trainer stumbles back from the force.)

(Blood donor van.)

SYDNEY: But the truth is, it affects me. Never knowing who to trust, learning to expect betrayal, plotting in secrecy and hatred and anger.

(Punching.)

TRAINER: That's it!

SYDNEY: (voice over) It's becoming a part of me. I am becoming what I despise.

(Blood donor van.)

SYDNEY: I tell myself I got into this to bring Danny's K*llers to justice. The truth is, I'm more interested in revenge.

(Sydney is starting to lose it; punching the bag without much control.)

SYDNEY: (voice over) I thought I could stay in control. It's just gotten so twisted.

(Blood donor.)

SYDNEY: Like with Khasinau. The one tangible goal is to find him so that I can find my mother. But if I do that, if I can find his trail and track him down, it'll strengthen SD-6.

(In the training room, Sydney is now breathing hard and sweaty. Hair is stuck to her face with sweat. She takes off her glove to see that blood has seeped through the bandage. Bright red blood soaks through the white bandage.)

SYDNEY: (voice over) I got into this to bring them down and now I feel like I'm on their side.

(In the blood donor van, Vaughn looks at Sydney for a moment, not knowing how to explain. He suddenly gets up and moves to the counter. He gets out the map he revealed to her in episode two and spreads it out in front of her once again.)

VAUGHN: This is the world of SD-6 when we started. Remember?

(Sydney can only nod with tears in her eyes. Vaughn flips over a transparent cover that reveals who's been taken out since he first showed it to her. Little red circles with a slice through it are over the map.)

VAUGHN: And here is what it looks like today. And this doesn't even take into account things like Badenweiler or stealing page forty-seven from Sloane's vault. Or the way you kept Khasinau from getting his hands on that ampule. Sydney, these are incredible accomplishments.

SYDNEY: Khasinau is out there somewhere.

VAUGHN: Yes.

SYDNEY: My mom is out there.

VAUGHN: (sighs) We will find them.

SYDNEY: I have to go to class.

(She smiles helplessly and gets up to leave. When she walks by him, he stops her by taking her hand.)

VAUGHN: Wait.

(He gets up and takes out a first aid kit from one of the cupboards. He takes out an ice pack, breaks it up to react it, and places it on her bruised and bloody knuckles.)

VAUGHN: Take care of yourself.

SYDNEY: Thanks...

(Francie and Sydney's house. Will is on his hands and knees in the kitchen while Francie stands back at the counter.)

WILL: Where was it?

FRANCIE: Behind the fridge.

WILL: You say you saw it?

FRANCIE: No, I didn't see it. I heard it. Scratching.

WILL: Okay, I'm going to go to the hardware store. I'll go get some traps.

FRANCIE: No, no, no. We need a professional. We need a hit man. If there's one, there are a thousand. Rats breed hourly.

(Will's cell rings.)

WILL: Hello?

DEEP THROAT: You disappoint me, Mr. Tippin.

WILL: (to Francie) It's Litvack. Uhh...

(He walks outside through the patio doors for some privacy.)

DEEP THROAT: You have enough to publish. You have nothing to fear.

WILL: I was kidnapped! The lives of the people I care about were threatened!

DEEP THROAT: It's a bluff to scare you off the story.

WILL: Well, you know what? It worked. I'm off it.

(Will hangs up and looks in at Francie, who is flipping through a phone book innocently. The cell rings again.)

WILL: Just go away! Don't call me again!

DEEP THROAT: Mr. Tippin--

WILL: Don't call anyone else again unless you want more people to die!

DEEP THROAT: It was Jack Bristow.

WILL: What? What? Wait, what's Jack Bristow? Hello? Hello?

(Sydney comes home after her classes.)

FRANCIE: We have rats.

SYDNEY: What?

WILL: Hi.

(Tape screwed up.)

SYDNEY: Hi. Mice are better than rats.

FRANCIE: There's no way that they're mice. They're rats, and they're huge. The exterminator is coming between noon and three. Think you can be here?

SYDNEY: No, I've got work.

FRANCIE: Well, I have to cater a lunch for thirty.

(They both look at Will.)

WILL: I don't live here.

SYDNEY: Then why are you always here?

FRANCIE: Yeah, I mean, it's not like you pay any rent.

WILL: What is this, att*ck on Will? My God.

SYDNEY: Please, just do this for us.

(She smiles at him.)

WILL: Okay, fine, I'll do it.

FRANCIE: See, the thing about rats is they're clever. You have to out think them. You can't really just leave out cheese. You have to leave the good stuff. The heavy-duty stuff. The stuff that they want. It's the only way they're going to come out. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time.

(Self-storage. Sydney and Vaughn have a pow-wow.)

SYDNEY: I can't believe I didn't think of this before. We can make Khasinau come to us.

VAUGHN: What are you thinking?

SYDNEY: The vial of liquid. The Rambaldi solution.

VAUGHN: The one the CIA now has?

SYDNEY: That's why Khasinau had a team to break into SD-6. He wants that solution.

(Director Devlin's office at the CIA. Vaughn enters.)

VAUGHN: Sir, with respect to Alexander Khasinau, I'd like to suggest a course of action.

DEVLIN: Quickly. I've got a meeting with the senior review team from NIC.

VAUGHN: Remember the ampule? The vial of liquid we got from SD-6 that allowed us to read page forty-seven of the Rambaldi manuscript?

DEVLIN: Uh-huh.

(Back to self-storage.)

SYDNEY: What I'm suggesting is a black market sale. Third party.

VAUGHN: Hold on. Khasinau still thinks that vial is in the SD-6 vault.

SYDNEY: Yes. So we say there's another one.

VAUGHN: What? You think we can make Khasinau believe that?

SYDNEY: Yes.

VAUGHN: You're going to have to make it sound pretty legit.

SYDNEY: I think I know how to do that.

(Flashback: Sydney, Dixon, Sloane, and two unidentified agents sit in the conference room. Sloane gives the two unknown agents folders for a mission.)

SYDNEY: (voice over) Last year, Sloane sent a team of agents into the Carafu Art Museum in Algiers after an Opec minister donated a collection that Sloane believed might contain Rambaldi artifacts.

(Self storage.)

VAUGHN: Wait. Why don't I know about this?

SYDNEY: Because the mission failed. The agents were caught.

(Flashback: The two agents are being dragged, handcuffed, to another van for transport. A car drives by and a masked man -- who, IMO looks kind of like Jack -- leans out the passenger side with a machine g*n and blasts away.)

SYDNEY: (voice over) Before they could even be questioned, SD-6 had them k*lled.

(Self-storage.)

SYDNEY: Say there was a break-in at that museum this week. It would be widely publicized. Khasinau would start to hear rumors of what was taken.

VAUGHN: Including rumors of an existing second ampule.

(Devlin's office.)

DEVLIN: Are you suggesting that I approve the theft of priceless works of art?

VAUGHN: You see, sir, we would just be borrowing them.

(Self-storage, continuing.)

SYDNEY: We'd return everything we steal through back channels, but not until after we've made contact with Khasinau. The whole point is to get noticed.

(Devlin's office.)

DEVLIN: "We"? You're proposing to go with her?

VAUGHN: I-I know I'm not a field agent, but SD-6 isn't in on this and Agent Bristow will need backup. She trusts me. Now, the plan is to go in as insurance agents offering to lower their premium. Naturally, we would have to inspect their security system thoroughly before we commit any coverage.

(SD-6 archives. Sydney sits a laptop, typing.)

SYDNEY: (voice over) I downloaded the mission specs from the SD-6 archives. Alarm types at the museum, action point, blueprints...

(Self-storage.)

SYDNEY: ...Everything.

(Devlin's office.)

VAUGHN: Sir, this is our best sh*t at Khasinau.

DEVLIN: Do it.

(Self-storage.)

SYDNEY: You'll deal with the op tech.

VAUGHN: I'll take care of it.

SYDNEY: I have to stop by the hospital. Emily. She's not doing well.

VAUGHN: Yeah, she's sick from the chemo.

(Sydney looks at him.)

VAUGHN: We heard that from the bug in Sloane's study. I'm sorry.

SYDNEY: Yeah. Thanks.

(Francie and Sydney's. Will's alone and on the phone.)

WILL: Can I get the number for Druzinsky's Pest Control? Sure, yeah. D-R-U--Yeah. Hold--let me just get a pen.

(He opens a drawer, looking for a pen.)

WILL: Hold on. Yeah, hold on just a sec.

(He pulls out a black marker.)

WILL: Okay, got it. Yeah. 323--

(Knock.)

WILL: Naturally the guy shows up. Right, sorry.

(He hangs up and answers the door.)

WILL: Hi.

PEST CONTROL: How you doing?

WILL: Good. Good.

PEST CONTROL: Where's the problem?

WILL: Uh, well, we got rats over here. Behind the refrigerator.

PEST CONTROL: Let me see your rats.

(In the kitchen, he bends down and takes out a flashlight.)

PEST CONTROL: Not wood... droppings...

(Will looks at the open drawer and sees a picture of Jack in there. It's an old picture.)

PEST CONTROL: Yeah, these are rat droppings.

WILL: Well, uh, k*ll 'em. Please.

PEST CONTROL: You got kids?

(Will opens another drawer to find the aluminum foil and plastic wrap. He opens the wrap and rips off a sheet.)

WILL: No...

PEST CONTROL: Household pets? Dogs, cats? Hello?

(Will's busy. He puts the sheet of plastic wrap over Jack's picture and then takes the black marker he had. He draws a mask with the marker over Jack's face.)

WILL: What? No. I don't have any pets.

PEST CONTROL: Then I'd skip traps and go right to bait.

(Will stares at the finished product -- and has a flashback of his kidnapper.)

MAN: This will be your only warning.

(Will looks at Jack's covered face, and the eyes. They're the same as his kidnapper.)

WILL: Holy...

(Emily's hospital room.)

EMILY: Sydney...

SYDNEY: I don't know if you feel well enough to eat these but... total contraband.

(She shows a box of chocolates and sits down.)

EMILY: Thank you.

SYDNEY: I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

EMILY: Oh, Sydney, tell me something happy.

SYDNEY: Happy.

EMILY: Yeah.

SYDNEY: Well... I've got the week off from work. Which is nothing, considering your husband owes me, like fifty comp days. But I've been working really hard lately, so...

(Emily covers Sydney's hands with her own.)

EMILY: Can I give you some advice?

SYDNEY: Please.

EMILY: When you look back... family, your friends... that's what matters. Work, your job. It wouldn't seem that important.

(Sydney nods a little, curious.)

EMILY: Even your job... even working for SD-6.

(Sydney's shocked.)

(In a control room at the hospital -- clearly this is the SD-6 hospital Dixon was admitted to -- an agent sits behind a counter with monitors everywhere. He watches the monitor on Emily's room.)

EMILY: Sydney, I know you can't talk about it and I wouldn't have mentioned it except I know how easy it is to lose perspective on things...

(Back in the hospital room.)

EMILY: And I don't want to see that happen to you.

SYDNEY: When... when did Arvin tell you?

EMILY: He didn't. Over the years, I'd overhear things. Find clues that he never really left the world of intelligence. And I know he... he keeps me from the truth to protect me. To keep me from worrying. My only regret is not being able to tell him how... how proud I am.

(In the control room, the agent starts typing.)

(Conference room at SD-6. Jack sits alone. Sydney walks in and sits down next to him. Jack takes out his magic pen -- the frequency jammer -- and flips the lid.)

JACK: We're good for two minutes.

SYDNEY: Dad, it's Emily. She knows about SD-6. I'm just worried about her.

JACK: I know. It's too late. Your coversation was recorded.

SYDNEY: The Alliance knows?

JACK: Yes.

SYDNEY: And?

(Sloane's office. He sits behind his desk when the phone rings. He answers.)

JACK: (voice over) Information about SD-6 must be treated like a virus.

SLOANE: (on phone) Who?

JACK: (voice over) There is only one response: containment.

SLOANE: (on phone) What did you say?

(Conference room.)

SYDNEY: Sloane won't let this happen. They won't k*ll Emily.

JACK: The final decision will not be made until after Sloane has met with the head of Alliance security. He is the only one who can save her now.

(Sydney walks out of the conference room and looks in at Sloane's office. He looks depressed. She walks in.)

SYDNEY: The time off I asked for last week... I'd still like to take it. Would that be all right?

SLOANE: Where are you going?

SYDNEY: The desert.

SLOANE: Yeah. Yes. Of course.

SYDNEY: Thank you.

SLOANE: The desert... (sighs) Hmm.

(She turns and leaves.)

(Algeria. Sydney and Vaughn who both harbor French accents, walk with two museum officials and a translator.)

SYDNEY: To make a risk analysis, we will need to test your security system.

(He translates into Arabic.)

SYDNEY: ...See how it operates during a shutdown of your primary generator, heating, electircal, and ventilation system.

(He translates.)

(Flashback. On the plane to Algeria, Sydney and Vaughn go over the plans.)

VAUGHN: Once we're in, we'll need to separate. You'll go inspect the alarm grid in the exhibition space. I'll handle the shutdown from the control room with this frequency jammer. It'll keep the security cameras off for three minutes. A hundred and eighty seconds is all you got.

(In the control room, Vaughn is with the translator and one of the museum heads.)

VAUGHN: Please shut down the primary generator.

(Translates into Arabic. They shut it down. Vaughn takes out the jammer. The cameras go down as well. He starts timing it on a digital watch he wears while the men start questioning why the cameras went down.)

TRANSLATOR: He says he can't understand what happened. The second generator has always kept the security monitors online before.

(Plane.)

VAUGHN: And when I close out the ventilation system--

SYDNEY: The turbine in the shaft will shut down, allowing me to gain access to the vault room on "E" level.

(Control room.)

VAUGHN: Now shut down the ventilation.

(Translates.)

(In a hallway somewhere in the museum, Sydney is walking with the other museum head. She throws her briefcase at his neck and he stumbles back. She kicks him twice. The man goes down. Sydney runs. She takes off her jacket and pulls out a power screwdriver from the briefcase and starts taking off the vent cover.)

(Vaughn checks his watch nervously -- twenty seconds has gone by.)

(Sydney takes off the vent cover. She takes out a sh**t, arms it, and points it skyward. The sh**t's wire flies up. At the end of the wire, it has a series of prongs on it. The wire attachs itself to the fan blades high above. Sydney, down below, feels the tension, knows it's tight, and attaches it to her belt. She looks down. It's a long way down the shaft. She jumps out into the shaft and hangs on as the cord attached to the fan blades lets her dangle way below. She hits a switch on her belt and starts dropping down.)

(In the control room.)

VAUGHN: And now keep the heating system offline.

(Translates. Vaughn looks at his watch -- forty-nine seconds.)

(Sydney drops down, looking at a meter on the wire in front of her that tells her how many feet she's going down.)

(Plane.)

VAUGHN: The vault room is located through a shaft on the east wall, sixty-seven feet below the main level.

(The meter beeps at sixty-seven. Sydney stops dropping and kicks the vent cover in. She stands in the hallway outside the vault room, loosens the wire to get some slack so she can walk in the vault room and still remain tied up to the fan.)

(Plane.)

VAUGHN: According to the document you gave me, the vault is a third-generation Handvalova.

(Sydney reaches across him and picks up a cell phone.)

VAUGHN: Careful with that. It's full of plastique expl*sives in case this doesn't work.

(He picks up a silver bracelet and puts it around Sydney's wrist.)

VAUGHN: Now, in theory, not only should this cr*ck the safe...

(Sydney puts it on the vault door.)

VAUGHN: (voice over) It should short the circuitry for two minutes, giving you enough time to get back to the main level before the alarm goes off.

(Sydney opens the vault door and starts taking stuff and putting it in her bag.)

(In the control room, Vaughn looks at his watch -- a hundred and twenty seconds.)

VAUGHN: And electrical.

(Translates. All of a sudden, a man bursts into the room shouting in Arabic.)

VAUGHN: What is going on?

PRESIDENT: I agreed to a system analysis...

TRANSLATOR: Mr. Algazabia is the president of the museum.

PRESIDENT: ...Not to a shutdown.

VAUGHN: We are testing the security system. So far, everything is okay.

TRANSLATOR: He has ordered the power restored.

VAUGHN: No, no, no, wait, wait, wait. My partner and I flew in from Paris because we were assured the possibility to make a complete offer! Now, to do that, we must run a thorough analysis! Si vous alliez pas nous laisser faire notre travail, il fallait nous le dire avant qu'on fasse tous les préparatifs pour venir venir, hein!

PRESIDENT: When the system is offline, essential services go down, including fire protection. That is a risk I cannot take!

(In the vault, Sydney takes a few more things.)

(Control room. Vaughn is panicked.)

VAUGHN: I'm warning you, I will file a formal complaint with the legal department!

PRESIDENT: (speaks Arabic) Take him. Find his partner. Show them the way out.

(Angrily, Vaughn grabs his things and is escorted out. The president orders the man sitting at the desk to restore the power. In the shaft, the fan blades start to whir. Sydney, in the vault, turns when she feels tension. As the fan starts up, the cord that was attached starts tightening around the blades and Sydney is pulled in the shaft by her waist because she is still attached as well. She flies in the shaft and bangs against the shaft wall. She looks up, terrified, to see that she'll be heading toward the fan blades because she can't stop it when the power is on. She sees the opening is coming up where she entered the shaft. As she is pulled up, she grabs on to the edge of the entryway while she is still being pulled up. She hits a button and the belt lets go. Sydney bangs into the wall, still hanging on to the ledge. Her hip hits the wall of the shaft and the phone riddled with expl*sives falls from her belt and falls to the bottom of the shaft. It explodes. The fire is hurdling up the shaft with Sydney still hanging on inside. She finally gets inside and falls into the hallway of the museum as the fire goes up the shaft. She grabs her jacket and her things and leaves.)

(In the lobby of the museum, Vaughn is being escorted out as Sydney meets up with them, back in her costume.)

SYDNEY: What's going on?

VAUGHN: We're being kicked out. I didn't have time to finish my system analysis. Did you?

(The alarms go off.)

SYDNEY: Barely.

(In the newspaper offices, Will's friend Abby types on her laptop while listening to some music from her stereo next to her. Will walks up, and turns up the music.)

ABBY: Excuse me!

WILL: (whispers) Listen to me, listen to me. I really need your help, okay?

(Outside the newspaper, Will holds a manilla envelope.)

ABBY: Wait a minute. You've got to give me more details than that!

WILL: No, no, no, no details.

ABBY: You were kidnapped?

WILL: Here, just--

ABBY: By a man who turns out to be someone you know's father?

WILL: Yes, yes--

ABBY: What is this?

(She takes the envelope.)

WILL: This is an article I've written. Abby, you've got to do this for me. Make sure you keep it sealed, and don't mention this to anyone. And you got to promise me you're not going to open it, unless something happens to me. And if something happens to me, you got to publish it.

ABBY: Why would something happen?

WILL: Because I'm going to see my kidnapper.

ABBY: Oh, Will, you've become insane!

WILL: I have enough information that maybe I can write a story that might raise some questions, but I don't have anything that's going to put this guy away!

ABBY: Well, publish the story now. That's your insurance policy!

WILL: Yeah, but then I'll never get his cooperation! I mean, there's got to be a bigger story here. I want to find out what it is. Abby... you got to promise me you're not going to open it.

ABBY: Promise me I won't have to.

(That night, Jack comes out of Credit Dauphine and walks to his car. Will starts up his truck.)

(At a fancy bar, Jack sits and takes a drink. Will sits down next to him.)

WILL: (sighs) There are a few things we need to talk about and, quite frankly, you scare me, so I'd rather talk about them in a public place. Can I have a beer, please?

JACK: You want to talk to me? About what?

WILL: Let's start with Sydney. Does she know?

JACK: I don't know what you're talking about.

WILL: Does she know that you kidnapped me?

JACK: (laughs) I think you have me confused with someone else.

(The bartender sets a beer down in front of Will.)

WILL: Thanks. (looks at Jack) No, I don't. I wrote a story. No one's seen it yet, but if I die, it's going to get published. It's a story I don't even want to work on anymore.

JACK: Will, you seem very upset.

WILL: Yeah, I am, 'cause it just won't go away! This source who told me about you, won't let it. I don't even know where he lives. I don't know where he works, so you can't b*at it out of me. But he knows. He knows everything. I mean, he gives me hints and clues and he's never wrong. Now, I don't... I don't know if you work for SD-6, or if you're responsible for the deaths of Daniel Hecht and Eloise Kurtz. I don't even know if you're protecting Sydney, or if she needs to be protected from you, but just tell me what you know. Convince me that you put Sydney's interests first. That in some sick, bizarre twist of fate, you and I are on the same side.

JACK: My concern for Sydney is not yours to judge.

WILL: Convince me by helping me put a stop to what's going on and uh, in return, I'll... uh, I'll help you find out who my source is because I got a feeling that he's somebody that you'd like to meet.

(He lays down his card and walks out. Jack takes a big drink.)

(That night, a man brings Jack to the back door of Devlin's home. Devlin wraps a robe around himself and opens the door.)

DEVLIN: Thanks, Ethan.

(Ethan leaves.)

JACK: There's been a breach. Without containment, our entire operation could be compromised.

DEVLIN: What's the source?

JACK: Best guess, a whistle-blower well placed within the Agency with access to omega seventeen files. He's been talking to a reporter. You should put counterintelligence on it right away. They should start with Steven Haladki.

DEVLIN: Haladki?

JACK: He fits the profile. Agent rising in rank. Opposed to company policy regarding SD-6. Internal efforts to change policy thwarted. So he takes it out on the building.

DEVLIN: That's a pretty big charge, Jack.

JACK: The source is putting Sydney's life at risk.

DEVLIN: Haladki filed a report on the prophecy. He said you threatened him at gunpoint to get information on where the bureau was holding Sydney.

JACK: Yes. And then I used that information to hold other FBI agents at gunpoint in order to free my daughter from a witch hunt. You need to get CI on this tonight.

DEVLIN: I want you to stop. I hear your concerns and I will choose how to respond to them myself. You're a good agent, Jack, but lately, I find your methods reprehensible. If I hear of one more instance of you acting off book, you're done.

(He closes the door in Jack's face.)

(At Francie and Sydney's, Francie sits at the counter while Sydney sits on the sofa, thinking.)

FRANCIE: I'm gonna send flowers to Will for babysitting our rodents. What do you think the card should say?

SYDNEY: I had sex with someone.

FRANCIE: (laughs) Seriously.

(Sydney looks at her. Francie realizes she's serious.)

FRANCIE: What? When?

(She comes around and sits next to Sydney.)

SYDNEY: About a week ago.

FRANCIE: When were you going to tell me?

SYDNEY: I know, I just... it was Noah Hicks.

FRANCIE: Oh.

SYDNEY: I know how you feel about Noah.

FRANCIE: So, what, did he just call you up?

SYDNEY: No. It was a trip. It was a business trip. We just sort of picked up where we left off.

FRANCIE: Well, how is he?

SYDNEY: He is... it didn't end well.

FRANCIE: Well, I'm not surprised. He was never good enough for you. I mean, anybody who would just dump you like that and walk away? He doesn't deserve a second chance.

SYDNEY: People change.

FRANCIE: No, they don't. I mean, what if I started dating Charlie again?

SYDNEY: No, I know...

FRANCIE: Hey, you're really down about this, aren't you?

SYDNEY: A little. There's nothing to be done about it. I mean... it's over. I just wanted to let you know.

FRANCIE: Well, maybe you're right. Maybe I am being a little too tough on Noah. Hey, if he calls, I'll try and be nice, okay?

(Marshall's office. Marshall is at his desk, drawing an intricate pattern on an paper house. Sloane enters.)

SLOANE: Marshall, get me the last bioscan profile on Edward Poole.

(Marshall closes the book and the house. Sloane stares at it for a second.)

MARSHALL: Sure, right away. That's a pop-up book. Making them clears my mind. It helps me--feel free to dock me any amount you feel is... oh, here you go. This is interesting. When he came through the scanning room, he was carrying two phones.

SLOANE: Can you locate them?

MARSHALL: Yeah. (types) There.

SLOANE: Good. I have one phone number on Poole. I ran a tap on it but I couldn't find...

(He looks out the window of the office and sees the head of security for the Alliance walk through and enter his office.)

SLOANE: ...Any leads on Khasinau.

MARSHALL: Well, I can probably track down the second one.

SLOANE: Just get me the other number right now.

(Sloane walks out and enters his office.)

SECURITY: Let me begin by saying I know how difficult this is and that if there was any other way--

SLOANE: My wife is dying.

SECURITY: I understand.

SLOANE: She has lymphoma.

SECURITY: Yes. We have both video and audio. This isn't an issue of confirmation.

SLOANE: No. No, this is an issue of decency.

SECURITY: The time and date have been set--

SLOANE: She is my wife! I am not just going to sit back and allow you to eliminate her!

SECURITY: When I first came into the Alliance, my closest friend was Jean Briault. He took me into his confidence. He guided me. He was my mentor. But when Briault was m*rder*d at point-blank range, I didn't ask any questions. I didn't talk of decency.

SLOANE: Jean Briault was my friend, too. His m*rder was a tragedy. I'm just trying to prevent another.

SECURITY: The Alliance knows you disregarded their policy and pursued Khasinau. They're going to want to see evidence that your priorities are in order.

SLOANE: (stands) Are you suggesting that I allow you to k*ll my wife to enhance my standing within the Alliance?

(Newspaper. Mail call. The mail guy drops an envelope on Will's desk. He looks at it. Written on the front is only his name, and no address. He pulls out a sheet of paper.)

(At a clearing, Will drives up where Jack is already there in front of his own car, waiting. Will gets out, looking a little wary and scared.)

JACK: I work in intelligence. That is all you need to know.

WILL: So, the bank, Credit Dauphine, that's, like a front company?

JACK: You and I meet only when and where I decide. Never contact me.

WILL: Okay, when you say intelligence, you mean SD-6, right? It's like some off-the-books division--

JACK: We go after the source first. Everything else comes later. Are we clear?

WILL: (sighs) Does Sydney know?

(Pause.)

WILL: Jack? Is your daughter a part of this?

JACK: No, she's not. Now... are we clear?

(Will breathes a huge sigh of relief.)

WILL: Yes.

JACK: Do you have a way of contacting your source?

WILL: Yeah, yeah. I have a transmitter. It's a pin. I found it in a box of stuff belonging to Eloise Kurtz.

(Jack bristles.)

WILL: What?

JACK: I planted that pin on Eloise Kurtz.

WILL: Of course, that's right! Neville said it was government issue. So... you hired her to play Kate Jones so she could lie to me and when she said too much... you had her k*lled!

(Horrified, Will backs up against his truck.)

JACK: I did not k*ll her. But I bear some responsibility for her death, as do you. Focus, Mr. Tippin! Do as I insist or more people will die!

WILL: Okay, why don't I contact Deep Throat and I'll insist upon a meeting, and then--

JACK: He told you about me. If you ask for a meeting, he'll know it's a set-up. You will contact him. Tell him you know I was the one who kidnapped you and that you are terrified. Then tell him you are back on the story. This meeting never took place.

(Jack gets in his car and drives away, tires squealing.)

(Conference room with Dixon, Marshall and Sloane.)

SLOANE: Edward Poole was a friend, a visitor to this office, a former operative with MI-6. Recently, I was shocked to learn he has become an ally of Khasinau. So, I asked Marshall to examine his scanning room profile to see if he can come up with any leads. Marshall?

MARSHALL: Thanks. Now, this is really good.

(Self-storage. Sydney walks in.)

VAUGHN: I take it you've seen the news?

SYDNEY: It's sort of perfect, right?

VAUGHN: So far, so good.

SYDNEY: Have you contacted the broker?

VAUGHN: Yeah. I stopped in Lisbon on my way back. I told him I was hired by the men who pulled off the robbery.

SYDNEY: Who?

VAUGHN: A splinter group of the Raslak jihad.

SYDNEY: How much did you say you wanted for the solution?

VAUGHN: Ten million. And I gave him the sat phone and said we would only field offers during that agreed upon window.

SYDNEY: Good. My father disabled the SD-6 satcon intercept so there's no way Sloane can find out about this transmission.

(Conference room.)

MARSHALL: Okay, based on RF transmissions, we were able to intercept the signal between Pool's cell and the com tower. From that, we were able to set up a wire tap on his STU -- secure telephone unit.

(Marshall hits a button on a remote to play the sound of the phone dialing.)

MARSHALL: See, then we were able to get Khasinau's number, and run a tap on him.

(Self-storage.)

VAUGHN: We heard from the broker this morning. Apparently, Khasinau is willing to pay double our asking price in diamonds.

SYDNEY: Is Khasinau going to meet us?

VAUGHN: No. He's sending Sark.

(Conference room.)

SLOANE: This is a text of a conversation our tap picked up this morning between Khasinau and Mr. Sark. You will recall the ampule that McKenas Cole stole from us on behalf of Khasinau. At the time, we believed there was only one ampule in existence. This conversation indicates the existence of two.

DIXON: It says here that Sark and a splinter group of the Raslak jihad have agreed on the number of men and materiel each side can bring to the meeting.

(Self-storage.)

VAUGHN: The deal allows for each side to have only one principal and two backups located in the marketplace.

(Conference room.)

SLOANE: If they bring two, we bring four.

(Self-storage.)

VAUGHN: Now, when you and Sark meet, you will actually be able to test each other's merchandise, which is why we need to give him the real Rambaldi solution. After he confirms thta the liquid is authentic, you'll make the deal, then switch the vial with an identical one containing colored water and a radioactive isotope we can track via satellite.

SYDNEY: So when Sark brings the solution to Khasinau, he'll be bringing us along as well.

(Conference room.)

SLOANE: Our pursuit of Rambaldi is incomplete without that ampule so in order to recover it, you are authorized to use all necessary force. Is that understood?

DIXON: Yes.

SLOANE: Good. You leave tonight.

(Self-storage.)

VAUGHN: Now this guy Sark might've seen you in Moscow--

SYDNEY: He didn't. And even if he did, he won't recognize me this time.

VAUGHN: You saw what he did there and in Hong Kong, too.

SYDNEY: If you're suggesting we bring someone else in, no way. This is my op.

VAUGHN: Okay. We leave for Denpasar tonight.

(Denpasar. A plane lands and Dixon walks through the airport, carrying his luggage.)

(Will's desk at the newspaper. He stares at the flower pin which is sitting next to his cell phone.)

WILL: Hi. I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I've thought about it... I'm back on the story.

(Emily's hospital room. Sloane enters and watches her for a moment.)

EMILY: Hi...

(He walks to her and sits on the bed. She puts a hand up to his face.)

SLOANE: (whispers) How do you feel?

EMILY: Better... now that you're here.

(He kisses her palm lovingly.)

EMILY: Dr. Levin stopped by earlier. He said the biopsy is scheduled for next week.

(Sloane lets out a little sob. He breaks down.)

EMILY: Sweetheart... it's going to be okay. We have to believe that.

SLOANE: Yeah. You are so beautiful.

EMILY: I know, I must look wonderful.

(She laughs a little, crying.)

EMILY: Hold me?

(Crying, Sloane takes her in his arms.)

EMILY: I am so proud of you.

(He cries and buries his head on her shoulder.)

(Marketplace. Sydney is sitting down wearing full make-up and wearing a costume that covers her face except her eyes, is being carried into the meeting room. Vaughn sits on top of a building nearby, watching with binoculars.)

SYDNEY: What have you got?

VAUGHN: Sark's already in place.

SYDNEY: How many men?

VAUGHN: One inside, and one at the gate next to one of ours.

SYDNEY: He stuck to the plan.

VAUGHN: So far. If anything changes, we're ready.

(At the entrance, they come to a stop. Sydney puts her hand up. They nod. Vaughn watches as she goes inside.)

VAUGHN: After you both test the merchandise, and make the switch, you'll go your separate ways.

(Sark stands. They both speak Indonesian to each other and take their seats.)

SARK: I thought we had an agreement that neither side would have the advantage.

SYDNEY: That is the agreement.

SARK: Then you have not lived up to it. You can see me, I cannot see you.

SYDNEY: You know who I represent.

SARK: Well, according to the broker, you are affiliated with the Raslak jihad.

(Sydney nods.)

SARK: A noble cause, to be sure. And a group I respect for its dedication to the principles of ancient Kunta. When I heard of this, I volunteered for the assignment because as it turns out, I'm quite familiar with the Kunta use of the latajang. If you are who you claim to e, your skills with latajang should be unsurpassed.

VAUGHN: A latajang? Sydney, stick to the plan!

(Sark screws his latajang together.)

SYDNEY: The agreement was clear. We meet and trade.

SARK: And we will, if you are who you say you are.

VAUGHN: Sydney, is he asking you to fight him?!

SARK: I've already instructed my guard to stand down. If you want the diamonds, you'll do the same.

VAUGHN: Sydney, don't do this! Sydney!

(She stands and takes the latajang. They step aside.)

VAUGHN: Sydney!

(They bow. And they fight. He kicks her and tries to hit her with his latajang. She holds up hers and blocks him. He kicks her. She gasps in pain, her eyes tearing up. He holds the latajang close to her face, the blade about to cut her. She pushes him and kicks him. She protects herself by blocking him again. She flips him by sweeping his feet out from under him with her latajang and points the blade at his throat.)

SARK: Excellent.

SYDNEY: Let's test the merchandise.

SARK: Let's.

(He gets up and they sit down, open the cases. She looks at the diamonds. He looks at the vial and tests it. She takes the duplicate vial and hides it in her hand. She covers it with a green material and puts a diamond on top of it, looking at him. He tests the liquid. Vaughn scans the crowd.)

VAUGHN: Sydney, it's Dixon! He's here!

(Silenced g*nshots can be heard as Dixon and his men approach the gate to the meeting room. Sark's guard and Sydney's guard fall to the ground.)

VAUGHN: Both guards are down! I repeat, both guards are down!

SYDNEY: I am satisfied. Do we have a deal?

VAUGHN: He's at the gate! Make the switch! I repeat, make the switch!

SYDNEY: Enough. Either we have a deal, or--

SARK: Yes. We have a deal.

(He puts the real vial on the table and extends his hand. Sydney is about to shake his hand and is about to make the switch when Dixon enters, his g*n pointed at them.)

DIXON: Hands in the air!

(Sark takes the REAL vial and puts it in his jacket. Sydney didn't have time to make the switch. He raises his hands. Sydney does the same.)

DIXON: Where's the vial? I said, where's the vial?

(He looks at Sydney, a flicker of recognition comes across his face. Sydney looks away, hoping he didn't recognize her.)