02x09 - Passage (part 2)

[destinyros2005]

"The Passage, Part 2"

(Back to last week's episode. Jack hits the button on his watch to deactivate the necklace and Irina takes it off. At the joint task force ops center, a nervous agent watches the monitor. It starts beeping. He gets up and runs to Vaughn, who's talking on the phone nearby.)

VAUGHN: Of course. Of course. Absolutely.

NERVOUS AGENT: Mr. Vaughn--

VAUGHN: Yes, sir.

NERVOUS AGENT: Mr. Vaughn!

VAUGHN: Yes, sir. As soon as we find out.

NERVOUS AGENT: The necklace has been deactivated.

VAUGHN: I'll have to call you back. (hangs up) When?

NERVOUS AGENT: Just now.

VAUGHN: You've confirmed this?

NERVOUS AGENT: Yes. Satellite imagery detected combat.

VAUGHN: Combat?

(Meanwhile, Sydney sh**t at the PRF men. Irina throws the necklace and Jack hits the trigger on his watch. Boom. At the ops center, an expl*si*n is seen on the monitor.)

VAUGHN: What just happened?

NERVOUS AGENT: It's over.

VAUGHN: Can we tell if there's any survivors?

NERVOUS AGENT: Not with this bird.

VAUGHN: We need new satellites.

(Kendall walks through the center with Vaughn at his heels.)

KENDALL: Even if they survive, sending in a team is out of the question.

VAUGHN: Why? They're on an authorized mission.

KENDALL: A clandestine mission! If we start scouring the countryside, the Indian government is going to figure out that Pakistani-supported rebels in Azad Kashmir have acuired nuclear weapons. They're going to launch preemptive strikes. The Pakistanis are going to retaliate, and I'm going to get called in front of a half a dozen congressional committees demanding to know why we screwed up! So the only thing we're interested in right now is how to make this problem disappear. I want an options paper from you in two hours.

VAUGHN: And after that I'd like to look quietly for the Bristows myself.

KENDALL: Nuclear weapons. Nu-cl-ear.

VAUGHN: I understand.

KENDALL: I shouldn't have to define your priorities for you.

VAUGHN: Obviously. I just don't think we should cut them loose.

KENDALL: Listen. Alive or dead, the mission failed. So if the Bristows are out there, they're on their own.

(Kendall walks away. Craig walks up to Vaughn with a sheet of paper in his hands.)

CRAIG: Hey, man. Check this out.

(Vaughn reads. It's a top secret document that says "Nuclear Weapons Activation." As the content of the message, it says, "nukes are prepped... 1700 hours.")

CRAIG: Nothing like more bad news, huh?

(The next morning, the Bristows walk through the countryside.)

SYDNEY: Maybe they were just a roving patrol.

JACK: No. PRF rebels would never be this deep into Indian territory without being dispatched.

IRINA: Your father's right. We had one advantage -- surprise. Now that's gone.

SYDNEY: Just a second.

JACK: Can't stop. More patrols could be in the area.

SYDNEY: Oooh, God.

(She stops and sits down on the ground. Her parents turn around.)

IRINA: What happened?

SYDNEY: Nothing, I just scraped my leg.

(She raises her pant leg to show a big gouge on her leg with blood and scrapes all around. Jack and Irina crouch down beside her with Jack taking off his pack so he can help her.)

SYDNEY: Dad, I can do it.

JACK: I got it. You need to stop the bleeding.

(Irina stands up.)

JACK: Where are you going?

(Irina gets something from the bushes nearby.)

IRINA: These bushes, they have communis berries. Their juice soothes the skin, helps healing. You should put this on first.

SYDNEY: Seriously, I'm fine.

JACK: You're not fine.

IRINA: No, you're not fine.

(They press the juice into the leg with a black cloth.)

IRINA: Jack, I know you're determined to get to Srinagar but my contact in Jaipur is much closer. He's completely reliable, he has good equipment--

JACK: This is a CIA mission. I have operation control. You're a prisoner. Your only function -- sole reason you're momentarily breathing fresh air, is to use your knowledge of the rebels' base to help us steal the suitcase nukes and leave. That's why we're using people I know and trust. We're not having this conversation again.

(He stands.)

JACK: You okay?

SYDNEY: Yeah, thanks.

(He walks away.)

IRINA: This is not a power play. The facility we're headed for, security's tighter than the NSA. If I don't have the right equipment, it's pointless.

SYDNEY: We should move.

IRINA: Okay.

(She helps Sydney up and the three of them continue walking with Jack ahead.)

(Time lapse. They walkto the edge of a hill and see below a train going by, its whistle blowing.)

(On the train, the three of them sit in a cargo car with various crates around them. They've opened some of them to get food and drink -- Sydney eats something that looks like whole wheat flatbread but could be something else and Jack drinks something straight out of the bottle. He looks at Irina. He passes the bottle to her and she takes a drink. Smiling, she looks away briefly.)

JACK: I know what you're thinking.

IRINA: (smiling) Do you?

JACK: The toaster.

(Irina laughs.)

SYDNEY: What are you guys talking about?

IRINA: Ah...

(She takes another drink and passes it back to Jack, smiling. Jack's smiling a little as well.)

JACK: We used to have this toaster at home. It was broken and using it one night, I started a small fire.

IRINA: We had something like this to drink and we both had a little too much.

JACK: I forgot about the toast I was making.

(Irina laughs.)

SYDNEY: When was this?

IRINA: You were... four years old.

(Jack nods.)

IRINA: There was so much smoke, we had to move out for a week. We stayed in that hotel.

JACK: (quietly) The Summit.

IRINA: The Summit.

SYDNEY: W-wait was that the hotel with the sundaes?

IRINA: Mm-hmm.

JACK: Yeah. (smiles) I think you had one every night.

(Irina smiles, laughs. She and Jack make eye contact. He looks down.)

JACK: You should get some sleep.

(He gets up and walks to the edge of the car, looking straight ahead. Sydney smiles.)

(In Srinagar, at a marketplace, the Bristows stand in a tent. Jack's friend comes in and stops.)

FRIEND: Jack?

JACK: I would have called. I need your help.

FRIEND: Yes, yes, of course. No one can see you dressed like this.

(He drops the sari cloths for privacy.)

JACK: That's one of the reasons we're here.

FRIEND: It's good to see you again.

JACK: You, too. You look well.

FRIEND: Well, imagine how bad I looked before, heh heh.

(Sydney smiles politely.)

FRIEND: Are you who I think? Is she yours?

JACK: Yes.

FRIEND: He always brags about you. He showed me a picture once--

JACK: We need to penetrate a class-A target outside Muzaffarabad. We'll need aliases, papers, transpo, a*mo, sat phone, and security penetration.

FRIEND: Yes. Would you like some tea?

IRINA: No, thank you. We also need tactical gear and high-resolution night vision goggles.

FRIEND: Yes. Except no. My main supplier d*ed two months ago.

JACK: Saresh was k*lled?

FRIEND: Heart att*ck. We are old men, Jack. We don't live forever, especially in Kashmir. Of course, um, I can provide aliases, basic weapons, access to satellite phone and transportation. What kind of security?

IRINA: Biometric sensors, dual infrared passive and microwave sensors, fiber optic on the fence.

FRIEND: What's your timeframe?

IRINA: We have none. We're already behind schedule.

FRIEND: Well I can do what I can do, but it might not be enough for you.

JACK: We'll take whatever you've got. Thank you.

FRIEND: Yes. First thing, you need to be looking not like you.

(At the ops center, Vaughn grabs a headset from an agent.)

VAUGHN: Hello?

(At the marketplace tent, Sydney, in her new clothes, speaks on the sat phone.)

SYDNEY: Hi. I'm on a secure line.

VAUGHN: Sydney, we saw the blast. What happened?

SYDNEY: I'll fill you in later but we were compromised.

VAUGHN: I'm so glad you're okay. What about your parents?

SYDNEY: You know, some people go miniature golfing with their parents. We go to India and look for nukes.

VAUGHN: Listen, Sydney, we intercepted a communication. The rebels say they're planning on activating the nukes tomorrow at 1700 hours.

SYDNEY: Activate how?

VAUGHN: We don't know.

SYDNEY: Deploy? Detonate?

VAUGHN: Activate, that's the word they used. Now, it might mean delivery, maybe detonation, we don't know. But we have to assume the worst since they got the control codes through SD-6.

SYDNEY: And I got the control codes for SD-6 which means I can deactivate the nukes.

VAUGHN: If you get there in time.

(Inside the tent, Sydney hangs up and walks back out to Jack's friend.)

FRIEND: Perfect.

(Jack and Irina come down. Jack's wearing a beard and turban, Irina dressed like Sydney but in red.)

FRIEND: Here. My truck is parked on the other side of the market.

JACK: I owe you.

IRINA: What kind of air filter does it have?

FRIEND: A foam filter.

IRINA: That won't work. It'll clog up in the desert conditions.

JACK: We'll return the truck as soon as we can.

IRINA: We cannot use this truck, it'll never get us there.

JACK: Irina--

IRINA: I know you think I'm always second-guessing you--

JACK: I told you--

IRINA: But if we don't get a car with a--

JACK: This is my decision and it is not negotiable!

SYDNEY: Listen to me, both of you! We have a job to do. Your issues are going to have to be dealt with later. Please excuse us.

(Muttering and shaking his head, Jack's friend gives them some privacy.)

SYDNEY: Right now we have six suitcase nukes that are going to be activated tomorrow.

JACK: Is that confirmed?

SYDNEY: CIA doesn't have any details, they want us to deactivate the nukes and steal them.

JACK: CIA needs to get authorization for a preemptive strike now.

SYDNEY: They need confirmation that the nukes are there.

JACK: It'll be too late by then.

SYDNEY: Not if we work together. This is the way it's going to be. Dad will decide how we get to the base. It's his call. Once we arrive, Mom takes over. You were an officer there, you know your way around. You'll lead us into the facility to the nukes and back out. Then you will resume control and get us home. There will be no objections to and no deviations from this plan.

(Outside, Jack stands in the back of the truck and takes a lid off of a big bin.)

JACK: Three of these bins are filled with grain. Irina, you'll be in the fourth.

SYDNEY: You can't be serious!

JACK: She's the most likely to be recognized. The rebels are looking for a three-person team. So we have a better chance of avoiding detection if we alter our configuration.

(Irina doesn't say a word. She walks to the truck, puts her hand on Jack's shoulder for a boost, and swings her leg inside the bin. She kneels down and Jack puts the lid on the bin.)

SYDNEY: Are you sure she can breathe in there?

(Jack gives her a look.)

(Time lapse. Driving. More driving with the bins in the back. The truck is stopped on the side of the road. Inside, Jack wipes off his make-up, now sans beard. He sits there for a moment.)

SYDNEY: Dad, we need to get moving.

JACK: I know. I'm just... preparing myself to let Irina out.

SYDNEY: It will be fine.

JACK: Sydney, I've been doing this job a long time so when you lectured me about continuing the mission and letting down protocol--

SYDNEY: Dad, my point was--

JACK: I know what your point was, and the truth is, I needed to hear it. I'm proud of you, that's all.

(He climbs out of the truck before Sydney can say anything and closes the door. On the back of the truck, he takes the lid off. Inside, a frazzled Irina looks up. She stands, breathing heavily and tries to get out. Jack offers his hand. She takes it. Sydney tosses her a jug of water.)

IRINA: Thank you.

(She takes a big drink and looks around.)

IRINA: What are we doing here? This is not the drop.

(Jack and Sydney both look down.)

IRINA: The filter got clogged, didn't it?

(She looks at Jack and he looks away. She tosses the water jug back at Sydney while Jack starts taking their mission bags out of the bins.)

IRINA: We're still ten miles away from the base. We need to hike to the field where we'll access a sewage tunnel that'll lead us into the facility.

SYDNEY: I thought you said security was heavy.

IRINA: It is on the other side of the facility. At the entry point we're using, the rebels rely on land mines to keep intruders away.

JACK: We don't have the equipment to detect land mines.

IRINA: We don't have the equipment because your contact didn't come through. I know where the mines are planted.

JACK: You want to walk through a minefield you haven't seen in nineteen years?

SYDNEY: Is there another way?

JACK: And assume no new mines have been planted?

IRINA: I just spent five hours in a grain bin. It's my turn now. Let's get to it.

(Sloane's office with Sark and Sloane.)

SARK: I just spoke with Gerard Cuvee, leader of the PRF. He's quite charming, really -- more like a banker than a rebel leader. But then you're a money man too, aren't you?

SLOANE: Is everything in place?

SARK: The nuclear cores will be activated at 1700 hours. As soon as it's done, they'll upload the results to our servers.

(Phone rings.)

SLOANE: Yeah?

SECRETARY: Sir, I have someone calling regarding your wife. They won't identify themselves.

SLOANE: Record the call. (to Sark) I need some privacy.

(He nods and leaves.)

SLOANE: Yeah?

DIGUISED VOICE: Romantic touch, don't you think? Your wife's ring finger. By now your lab's confirmed that despite your best efforts, you didn't k*ll Emily and now I have her.

SLOANE: What do you want?

DISGUISED VOICE: One hundred million in bearer bonds.

SLOANE: This is about money?

DISGUISED VOICE: Everything is about money. Instructions for the drop have been electronically mailed to you. You have twenty-four hours. Fail to deliver the bonds, and the next delivery will go to the Alliance.

(The Bristows, back in their black spy gear, stop at a field with trees. They start walking with Irina leading, then Sydney, then Jack. They follow Irina's steps.)

SYDNEY: Where did the PRF get all these mines?

IRINA: You Americans have the worst inventory controls in the world. So, Sydney, how is school?

SYDNEY: I'm writing my dissertation... supposedly.

(Jack, g*n in hand, looks and stops walking. Birds chirp.)

JACK: Quiet.

(He aims his g*n when three PRF rebels stand in the distance and start sh**ting. Jack starts sh**ting, as does Sydney.)

IRINA: Behind the tree! To your left, Jack!

(They all hide behind trees with Sydney and Jack exchanging fire with the three rebels.)

IRINA: Jack, I need a g*n!

(He pauses for a moment and tosses her his g*n after sh**ting one of the rebels. When he throws it, he's sh*t in the chest. Shocked, he falls back on the ground. Sydney looks over and continues sh**ting. The three rebles are dead. Jack tries to get up, groaning.)

IRINA: Don't move! You're on a mine.

(Irina carefully walks over as Jack remains still. Sydney tries to move.)

IRINA: Sydney, don't move. Five steps forward. Three to your left. And then straight towards us.

(Sydney does as she says and crouches down beside Irina next to Jack.)

SYDNEY: Are you hurt?

JACK: No. The b*llet hit my vest.

(Sydney and Irina move the ground out of the way to uncover the mine. It's next to Jack's left thigh.)

IRINA: It's an M-26 anti-personnel mine. We'll need to pry off the panel and remove the blasting cap.

(Sydney removes the panel. Jack watches.)

JACK: You need to cut the detonator core that leads to the blasting cap.

(Sydney takes out her Kn*fe.)

IRINA: Her Kn*fe's not coated. If she cuts the wire with metal, she'll complete the circuit and set it off. I can do it.

(Jack looks at her with an, "Oh, how wonderful" look on his face. Irina pulls the wire.)

IRINA: It's okay.

(He stands up.)

IRINA: Over that hill is the entrance to the sewer tunnel. We should hurry. Follow closely.

(At the ops center, Kendall walks and once again Vaughn is on his heels.)

KENDALL: Contact the Bristows, tell them to pull out immediately.

VAUGHN: I have no way of initiating. Why?

KENDALL: The Indians found out the Pakastani rebels have acquired nukes. They're launching air strikes in twenty-four hours.

VAUGHN: What? We have to get them to back off!

KENDALL: We're trying, but they're angry that we knew about the nukes and keptit from them. They're insisting on going forward.

VAUGHN: Then let me make a personal appeal.

KENDALL: Vaughn, everybody is working on this already -- state, NSC, DOD.

VAUGHN: Look, you're probably going to say no to this but I want to go to India. I was stationed there for two years, I have relationships--

KENDALL: Go.

VAUGHN: Go?

KENDALL: I'll have a m*llitary aircraft waiting. This is totally back channel.

VAUGHN: You're just gonna--Are you trying to get rid of me?

(Kendall smiles and pats Vaughn on the shoulder. Vaughn runs off to prepare.)

(Inside the building, Irina pops open a vent cover and enters what looks like an office.)

IRINA: Clear.

(Sydney climbs in, as does Jack. Irina immediately steps to a desk and starts drawing a map on a piece of paper.)

IRINA: We're here. The nukes will either be in a sealed R&D lab or a vault located in the sub-basement. The lab's the better bet because its security system is more sophisticated.

JACK: So we check the vault first.

IRINA: Not if we only get one sh*t. The lab has thermal sensors to detect intruders through their body heat. If we raise the room to body temperature -- 98.6 degrees -- the sensors won't be able to distinguish between us and the thermostat level of the lab. Sydney, you'll get to the central heating control panel here. (draws) It's located in a room near the stairwell in the sub-basement. Find the panel for zone three.

SYDNEY: Got it.

IRINA: Jack, the lab door is controlled by a voice recognition system, only Cuvee's voice is programmed to open it. We need to break into the main computer system here to access his file. You'll erase his voice and substitute your own. I'll be in Cuvee's private office.

JACK: You and I are not separating. Not in here.

IRINA: Jack, listen to me. Unless I deactivate the facility's surveillance system from Cuvee's office, we won't get anywhere near the nukes.

JACK: No. You've done good work getting us here. I'm not blind to that. But I'm also far from trusting you. If you want those nukes for yourself, this is a perfect setup. You were an office here in this facility, you've got friends here willing to work with you.

IRINA: Friends? You know what this place was when I was here, Jack? A prison. Where the KGB interrogated suspected traitors and no, I wasn't an office here. I was a prisoner. Why do you think I learned the sewage tunnels or memorized the mine locations? So I could escape, you idiot. We're out of time. We either separate and meet at the lab in five minutes or we're going back. It's your choice.

SYDNEY: Dad, she's right. We don't have any more time.

(Jack nods once, regret on his face.)

IRINA: I'll be in the lab in five minutes. I promise.

JACK: You better be.

(She throws some clothes from the locker at him, hard. He catches it. She tosses Sydney clothes for her.)

(A worker walks down the hall. Jack takes him, twists his arm behind him and holds him hard. Bone snaps. The guy presses his hand against the sensor pad. Jack drops him and enters the office. Elsewhere, Sydney opens the control panel and programs zone three for 98.6 degrees. She closes the panel door and turns. A worker has a g*n raised. The following conversation is in subtitles.)

GUY: Who are you? I've never seen you before.

SYDNEY: Amenah. I'm new.

GUY: Where's your ID?

SYDNEY: Computers are down. They told me to come back tomorrow.

(He puts down his g*n, smiling.)

GUY: About time they sent us something decent to look at.

(In the room, Jack types on a laptop and brings up Cuvee's file. He plays the sound file.)

CUVEE'S VOICE: Mera naam Gerard Cuvee.

(He clicks on erase and records it again.)

JACK: Mera naam Gerard Cuvee.

(He plays it.)

JACK'S VOICE: Mera naam Gerard Cuvee.

(In London at the Alliance headquarters, Sloane sits with Alain Christophe and Ramond.)

SLOANE: Thank you for agreeing to this emergency meeting. Despite my best efforts to comply with your orders to k*ll my wife after she learned the truth about SD-6, someone interfered. And this person is now extorting me for her return. Last week, the blackmailers sent me Emily's finger -- her ring finger. Lab tests confirmed that Emily was alive when they severed the finger.

RAMOND: Blood coagulation tests are not one hundred per cent accurate.

SLOANE: Yes, but they are reliable. And then two days ago security section obtained those.

(He slides an envelope of pictures across the table.)

SLOANE: Those are photos of airport security in Santiago and London. And we have confirmed that Emily was on flight manifests last week.

CHRISTOPHE: Any idea on the men with her?

SLOANE: No. But the blackmailer wants a hundred million in bearer bonds for her return.

RAMOND: Who else knew about your instruction to k*ll Emily?

SLOANE: Only the people in this room.

CHRISTOPHE: You believe one of us may be behind this?

SLOANE: No. But someone has infiltrated our secure communications.

RAMOND: Well, whoever it is, will get nothing.

SLOANE: No, it's not quite that simple. We have to eliminate this leak before more damaging information about the Alliance gets out. So I propose that we put a tracking device on the bonds, that we make this exchange, that we follow the blackmailer and we assassinate him.

RAMOND: You understand, Arvin, after all this, if you get your wife back she will still have to be eliminated.

SLOANE: I understand.

(In a hallway outside the vault, Jack waits. Sydney walks up.)

SYDNEY: The thermal sensors are neutralized.

JACK: Where's your mother?

SYDNEY: I haven't seen her. We got this far. She must have gotten to Cuvee's office and disabled the surveillance system. She'll be here.

(Jack stops at the control panel.)

JACK: Mera naam Gerard Cuvee.

(The door beeps and opens.)

JACK: We're not waiting.

(They go inside. Jack finds the suitcase and Sydney takes it.)

JACK: Use the control codes to begin the deactivation.

(Sydney punches in the code and unlocks it. Once the suitcase is open, she unscrews the cap to find it empty.)

JACK: The plutonium core is gone.

(g*ns cocking, several men enter the room with their g*ns pointed at Sydney and Jack. Among them, at the front of the pack, is Gerard Cuvee. Jack and Sydney freeze. Then Irina walks in. She smiles at Cuvee and puts her hand on his shoulder.)

(In Cuvee's office, he pours them a drink. The following conversation is in subtitles.)

CUVEE: I heard you'd been k*lled.

IRINA: Captured and held by the CIA for three months. I got out by convincing them they needed my help to steal the warheads.

(They chuckle.)

CUVEE: You little witch.

(She smiles. He kisses her.)

(Sloane walks down a sidewalk in the afternoon. He carries a briefcase. Marshall, back in his office at SD-6 speaks to him through a headset transmitter. Marshall is at his computer.)

MARSHALL: Hi, Mr. Sloane, it's me. Marshall. Sorry. You probably already know that, we, uh, planned this. Anyway. The tracer on the bonds is working perfectly.

SLOANE: Good. I'm turning off my comm.

(He goes radio silent. Marshall watches the red dot on his screen tracing the bonds. Sloane walks to a bench and sits down. He puts the briefcase next to him. His cell rings.)

SLOANE: Yeah?

MAN: I see you. Leave the briefcase on the bench and keep walking. Proceed toward the corner while we verify the authenticity of the bonds.

(Sloane walks away from it. The briefcase is already gone.)

MARSHALL: Oh yeah! I got you! Right into my wheelhouse! C'mon!

MAN: Go to the row of vending machines. Take the "City View," fifth from the top.

MARSHALL: I told you, ain't nobody gettin' by Magic Marshall's invisible liquid tracer! Know what I'm sayin'? (does a little dance)

(Sloane opens the newspaper machine.)

MARSHALL: I say, c'mon! Unh! C'mon!

(He dances around his office.)

(Sloane takes out the fifth newspaper. Inside is an envelope. He opens it and sees a few Polaroids of Emily with blood on her temple. He winces.)

MARSHALL: Wait a minute.

(An error flashes on his screen: "SIGNAL LOST.")

MARSHALL: Wait! No! Where did-- Oh, God, no. NO!

(Sydney is in a cell, tears in her eyes. She watches across the way as Jack sits on the bed in his own cell, his hands handcuffed. Cuvee and Irina are in the cell with him, both have g*ns. Sydney tries to listen in, but it's muffled.)

CUVEE: I think you understand the situation you find yourself in...

(Irina smiles. Sydney cries. Inside the cell, Jack looks up at Cuvee.)

CUVEE: Not to brag, but I'm kind of responsible for matchmaking you and Irina. Didn't she tell you? I was a supervisor at the KGB. I was the one who gave her the assignment to go to the US and marry a CIA officer. Now, you weren't the only prospect, of course. But you had the most potential. Ha! I actually thought it would dawn on you that a woman like this would never go for someone like you.

(Irina laughs.)

CUVEE: Luckily for me, your ego was too big for that.

(Jack lunges at him and hits Cuvee. Irina hits him and he falls on the bed, his hands still handcuffed.)

CUVEE: You're a dead man!

(He aims his g*n at Jack but Irina stops him.)

IRINA: No, wait, wait. I want what we came for.

(She aims her g*n at Jack. Sydney watches, horrified.)

IRINA: Sark's made a deal with us. What kind of double cross is he planning?

(Jack doesn't say anything.)

IRINA: Maybe you didn't hear me.

(She steps closer and yanks Jack's head back by his hair. She presses her g*n to his throat.)

JACK: Ugh!

IRINA: We know Sark has a new partner. Who is it?

(A worker enters the cell.)

WORKER: Mr. Sark is on the telephone.

(Cuvee stands close to Irina and kisses her cheek, then near her mouth. He stares at Jack.)

CUVEE: Get the information.

IRINA: Uh-huh.

CUVEE: And meet me in my office.

(He aims his g*n at Jack and imitates a g*nsh*t.)

CUVEE: Pow!

(He laughs and leaves the cell with the worker, leaving Irina and Jack alone. Sydney keeps looking as Irina grabs Jack by the hands and pushes him back.)

IRINA: (whispering) Damn it. I was caught. I had to do this or we'd all be k*lled. They're not detonating the nukes. Here's what you have to do...

(Back in LA, Sark is on the phone.)

SARK: Is everything on target?

CUVEE: We ran into a few problems but, uh...

SARK: What kind of problems?

CUVEE: We've got it under control. We'll proceed as planned.

SARK: Then I'll expect your report on the Rambaldi artifact within the hour.

(Back in the cell, Irina is still holding Jack's hands together, her g*n pointed at him.)

IRINA: Trust me on this. If you don't make it out, I'm sorry this happened.

(She hits him in the mouth with her g*n.)

JACK: Ugh!

(She yells for them to open the door. They do. She flings the door and walks out. Jack groans, sits up. His mouth is swollen and bloody. He opens his hands to see that Irina slipped him the keys to the handcuffs.)

(At an Indian m*llitary base, Vaughn speaks to an army general.)

GENERAL: Mr. Vaughn, good to see you again. But I'm afraid you came a long way for nothing.

VAUGHN: General, we have people at the PRF base right now stealing the nukes.

GENERAL: And if they fail, we'll be the Pakistani's first target.

VAUGHN: They won't fail.

GENERAL: You can't guarantee that.

VAUGHN: General, if you launch those strikes now, you'll be k*lling some of our best assets.

GENERAL: Mr. Vaughn, your govnernment knew the rebels acquired the suitcase nukes and still they said nothing. They placed our whole country at risk.

VAUGHN: At least delay a few hours until we get our people out!

GENERAL: I'm sorry. The air strikes go as planned. You look more like your father every time I see you, you know that?

VAUGHN: My father wrote about you in his journal. He wrote that he trusted you and respected you. And that is why I came such a long way.

GENERAL: I cannot call off the strikes but I will give you a headstart.

VAUGHN: Meaning what?

GENERAL: Meaning a chopper and pilot. But if you are going to try to rescue your friends, you are doing so at your own risk.

(Sydney is on the bed in her cell, her wrists handcuffed, her eyes closed. She wakes up when she hears a key in the door. Jack is unlocking her cell.)

SYDNEY: Dad!

JACK: Shhh, shhh!

SYDNEY: How'd you get free?

JACK: Sydney, your mother was helping us.

(He starts unlocking her handcuffs.)

SYDNEY: What? What about Cuvee? She was torturing you!

JACK: She was putting on a show for Cuvee. Before she left, she put these in my hand. She told me they're using the cores to activate a Rambaldi artifact.

SYDNEY: They're not detonating the nukes?

JACK: Among the things Rambaldi experimented with was self-sustaining cell regeneration. This artifact they're opening today is reported to be Rambaldi's proof of endless life.

SYDNEY: Endless life?

JACK: We have no time to make any meaningful assessments. All I know is that your mother claims to have provided us with an opportunity to contact the CIA for extraction and we should act on it.

(Helicopter in mid-flight. Vaughn leans out, looking around.)

VAUGHN: Can't this thing go any faster?

PILOT: This is it! We're going against the wind!

(At the ops center, Nervous Agent answers the phone.)

NERVOUS AGENT: Operations.

(In a room at the base, Sydney is on a sat phone and Jack types on a computer.)

SYDNEY: Boot camp, this is Mountaineer. Voice ID number Alpha, Charlie, 710. I need to speak with Agent Vaughn.

NERVOUS AGENT: Vaughn's not available. Let me give you Kendall.

(Jack types and gets to the surveillance feeds. He clicks to another one and gets to the lab. He zooms in and sees Cuvee and Irina.)

KENDALL: Agent Bristow, do you have the package?

SYDNEY: We're in process. We'll need extraction within the hour.

KENDALL: Abort. The Indians hve launched air strikes against the base.

SYDNEY: Air strikes? We're not finished, you have to get them to hold off!

KENDALL: Listen to me. Fighter planes are in the sky, you have to leave now.

SYDNEY: Not until we get my mother.

KENDALL: Agent Bristow, I'm ordering you to...

(Jack grabs the phone.)

KENDALL: ...pull out and head for the extraction point, immediately!

JACK: This is Jack. You'll either hear from us again, or you won't.

(He hangs up.)

JACK: Our assignment from the CIA is to bring her back. That's our job.

(In the lab, Cuvee monitors things. His workers remove the cores and put them in cylinders surrounding a large egg-like container. They click the switch, closing the cores inside. Sydney and Jack jog in and hide behind one of the large machines at the edge of the room. They insert another core inside. It starts up. Cuvee watches and nods at one of the workers who starts augmenting the power output via his computer. Cuvee leans in. The container opens and a flower is inside. Irina watches. Jack hears the planes overhead. Outside, the planes drop missiles into the building and on contact, it shakes the building and people start running around, gathering things and running out. Cuvee takes the flower out. Irina looks at him and spins around, kicking him in the stomach. He aims his g*n at her but Jack grabs him and elbows him. He twists Cuvee's arm around and punches him, hard. Jack looks at Irina. He turns to Sydney, who has picked up the flower off the floor.)

SYDNEY: Flower? That's what this is all about?

JACK: We need to get the cores and get out of here.

(He starts removing them. Outside, more planes fly by as Vaughn's helicopter swoops in, right on time. Sydney, Jack and Irina run out of the building with Sydney holding the flower and Jack carrying the briefcase with the cores inside. Sydney stops and looks at the helicopter, sees Vaughn leaning out.)

SYDNEY: It's Vaughn!

(She smiles as the three of them run to the chopper. Vaughn waves them in and helps Irina inside.)

JACK: Got the cores! Tell them to call off the air strikes!

VAUGHN: This is Agent Vaughn! Abort the air strikes! I repeat, abort the air strikes!

(The helicopter takes off and the fighter planes fly away.)

(Back to Irina's cell. Two US Marshals escort Irina down the hall. They enter the cell. Handcuffed, she smiles a little when she sees that there's now a mattress, pillow, and blanket on her bed waiting for her. They undo the handcuffs and leave her. Sydney stands on the other side of the glass.)

IRINA: You must have a lot of questions.

SYDNEY: Yeah.

IRINA: One thing that should not wait any longer is why I sh*t you in Taipei. The rebel leader, Gerard Cuvee... When you were in Taipei, he was in the next room watching to see if I would betray him or you. sh**ting you in the shoulder, giving you time to escape, it was the only way I could think to maintain his trust and keep him from k*lling both of us.

(They smile a little.)

IRINA: We're both tired. You should get some rest.

SYDNEY: You, too...

(Sydney smiles.)

SYDNEY: Mom.

(She leaves. Irina closes her eyes as a tear rolls down her cheek. She opens her eyes and smiles.)

(Upstairs, Sydney walks and sees Vaughn sitting at a desk. She stops.)

SYDNEY: Hi.

VAUGHN: Hey.

(He stands.)

SYDNEY: Any word on the flower?

VAUGHN: Preliminary analysis indicates that it's anywhere from four to six hundred years old.

(Sydney gives him a look.)

VAUGHN: Like I said, preliminary.

(He smiles and gives her something.)

SYDNEY: What's this?

(She looks at the tickets he's given her. Big smile.)

(Sydney, Will and Francie all play mini golf together. Sydney, in pigtails, hits the red golf ball and laughs. She's jogging around, having fun. Vaughn watches from nearby, smiling. Sydney laughs and takes another sh*t. Vaughn leaves.)