(Cut to Black. MOSCOW. Push through the M. A sunny day. Russian sounding piano plays over the sound in the scenes. People are playing dominoes. Cut to a wide angle shot of a park with a lake (supposedly Gorky Park). The spires of Red Square is in the near distance. A man and a woman sit on a blanket on the grass. People playing chess. Another man and woman are laughing and talking. Then suddenly, we hear a whooshing sound over take the piano. The man looks over his shoulder toward the sound. Other people turn and look up also. Cut to aerial view of the park as something that looks like a meteor shoots toward the ground. The man that was playing chess looks up. We see the fireball shooting downward reflected in his sunglasses. People get up and start fleeing. The "meteor" lands, a fireball erupts. Screen whites out from the brightness of the flames to: Black screen. LOS ANGELES. Push through the 1st E. Night skyline of LA at a short distance from the air. A Patsy Cline song (She's Got You) starts playing and continues in the background of the next two scenes. Cut to a hand pouring tequila in a shot glass. Cut to Weiss, drinking down a shot. Sydney giggles.)
Weiss: That's good! (muffled)
(Cut back to Sydney, drinking the shot she just poured.)
Sydney: But the truth is...
(Cut to Weiss, sucking on a lime)
Weiss: You are insane!
(Sydney giggles again. It appears that both she and Weiss are partially or completely drunk. They've had many shots, as evidenced by the ten or twelve used lime quarters on the glass coffee table.)
Sydney (still giggling): Wait a minute...the truth is...
Weiss: Oh, the truth is... (Weiss downs another shot)
Sydney: The ever evasive truth...
(Cut to a wider angle shot. Syd and Weiss are in her new living room, sitting on the floor in front of her coffee table, leaning up against her L shaped sofa. A mostly-empty large bottle of tequila is prominently displayed on the table.)
Sydney: ...is that there are advantages to losing all your stuff in a fire.
Weiss (sucking on a lime): How's that?
(Sydney pours another drink.)
Sydney: To dying and coming back to life...
(Sydney starts to pour more tequila in Weiss's shot. He starts to protest.)
Weiss: No, no, no...I'm good, I'm good...
(Sydney keeps pouring.)
Weiss: Okay, all right... a little one...just a...
Sydney: Think about it... all the paper...
(Cut to Weiss as she continues...then back to Sydney.)
Sydney: Newspaper clippings from high school, yearbooks, and sweaters I was never gonna wear again, ever, and...pictures, and...(there is a definite change of tone when she says this, as if she's just realized...) picture frames...
Weiss (not noticing Sydney's face as he says this): Yeah, but there's gotta be something that you had that...that it just kills you that you don't have anymore...
(Sydney reacts. It's obvious what or, more correctly, who she's thinking about here. Weiss glances at her, realizing belatedly what she must be thinking about.)
Weiss: I mean like a thing...like a thing, like...
Sydney: I know what you mean... (sadly, then, she looks up and replies) I used to have a first edition Alice in Wonderland...my mother gave it to me for my 5th birthday...
(Cut to and from Weiss as he listens.)
Sydney: Despite my roller coaster relationship with her...wherever she is...that was one of the things I sort of loved...
(Weiss sits for a moment, thinking about that, then grabs the tequila bottle, pouring another drink.)
Weiss: Okay, this is it. The bar is closing...(he pours the rest of the bottle into his and Sydney's glass)...last drink. The...elephant in the room...
Sydney (snickering): Which one?
Weiss: Aw, come on...tomorrow...you and Vaughn...working together...
Sydney: With Lauren...
Weiss: With Vaughn's wife, yes. And, let me just...say for the record that I'm gonna be your friend in there, and if you need someone to talk to, or if you need someone, like, a shoulder to cry on...I just want to be there for you.
(Sydney smiles, truly happy and touched.)
Sydney: Oh, tomorrow's going to be fine.
(They clink glasses. Weiss downs his. Sydney waits a beat, then" src="http://foreverdreaming.org/images/smilies/flash.gif">
Sydney: Hmmm... (under her breath) Damn it... (drinks her drink)
(Weiss gets up, putting his hand on the top of Sydney's head as he climbs over her. It's obvious Sydney is now sad and thinking...)
(Cut to a blurry hallway in the JTF. The screen focuses as it pans to show us Sydney, walking through the office. She's obviously looking around for Vaughn and Lauren. The camera watches a blond woman walking with a man from the back, but it's obvious to us it's not Vaughn, so we cut back to Sydney as she heads toward the briefing room. She rounds the corner... and there are Vaughn and Lauren. They notice her; she puts on a brave face and smiles back. (Song ends here) )
Vaughn: Hi.
Sydney: Hi.
Vaughn (he's tense...everyone is): You've met Lauren?
Sydney: Yes.
Lauren: Hi.
Sydney: Hello, again.
Lauren: Sorry again about yesterday. I should have said something...
Sydney: No, it was my fault. You had no idea; I was the one that stormed in
Lauren: Anyway
Sydney: Sorry.
(There is an uncomfortable silence growing between them. From behind Sydney we hear approaching footsteps. Sydney turns and it's Marshall.)
Marshall: Syd.
Sydney: Marshall Hi.
Marshall: Uh, listen, I made you a, um, mixed CD of all of the most popular songs over the past few years. (Sydney looks over at Lauren with an embarrassed smile. We can see that the look on her face when she turns back to Marshall says she so wishes that Marshall wasn't doing this here in front of Lauren and Vaughn.)Not so you can listen to all the impossible boy bands they keeps churning out with except for J.T..Timberlake that guy can move (cut to Vaughn. He doesn't look amused) whatever But more importantly, because it's scientifically proven that sounds trigger the CA3 region of the Hippocampus in the, you know long-term memory.
Sydney: Thank you.
(Sydney uncomfortably fingers the CD case while Lauren and Vaughn also look tensely at Marshall. Marshall leans in toward them as if he's telling a secret and says with a singsong voice)
Marshall: Awkward!
Sydney: Marshall (shakes her head slightly, as if to say "Now is not a good time...")
(Dixon and Weiss enter the conference room. Dixon's talking, signaling the start of the meeting.)
Dixon: Earlier today, 4:47pm Moscow time, Russia's early warning system was activated.
(Dixon crosses to his chair at the conference table and sits. Everyone else moves to sit also. Vaughn sits next to Lauren who sits next to Marshall on one side of the table; Sydney sits between Dixon and Weiss on the other.)
Dixon: They assumed it was an incoming missile attack. It wasn't a missile. It was a satellite that had fallen from orbit. As a result of the perceived attack, the Russian president activated his nuclear briefcase, initiating a countdown to a prelaunch sequence. With two minutes to spare, they attained visual ID, and scrubbed the launch. Ten minutes later, Echelon picked up a call from a secure line between Sark and this man (cut to photo of a man in a military uniform that was appearing on their computer screens) Colonel Boris Oransky; dishonorably discharged in '96 from Russia's military space command. Since then, he's worked for a privately held French contractor. It was their satellite.
Vaughn: Oransky brought down his own satellite? Do we have any idea why?
Dixon: Not yet but on the phone call, he and Sark discussed meeting to move on to Phase Two'. We've tracked Sark to Mexico City. We've ordered a team of local agents to surveille him.
Sydney: If we're gonna grab Sark, I'd like to be on that team.
Dixon: It isn't our intention to grab Sark.
(Sydney's eyes widen at this news. She can't believe it.)
Lauren: The NSC believes we may learn more about the Covenant by tracking Sark's movement in the hope he'll lead us to the Covenant's key players.
(Sydney is not thrilled with this plan and it shows on her face.)
Sydney: That's fine in theory, except that I guarantee that within five minutes of that meeting, we will have lost Sark. It's happened before.
Lauren: You know, within that last two years, our surveillance capabilities have become far more sophisticated.
Sydney: I may have missed a lot in the last two years I mean, quite a bit but the fact that Sark is already aligned with an organization outwardly hostile to the United States, and apparently Russia indicates
Lauren (starts to speak over Sydney): As I was going to explain to you, (Cut to Weiss, starting to look uncomfortable with the developments between Sydney and Lauren) our optical satellite resolution has increased dramatically. We have real-time face recognition Sydney (cutting Lauren off, starting to get angry.): All the technology in the world can't and won't fix our problem. It's the people we need to stop! (Cut to Vaughn, who looks really uncomfortable now) Sark, for example Now, I'm familiar with the strategy you're suggesting the CIA employed it against SD-6, and I saw that
(Even Dixon is now looking uncomfortably between the two women.)
Lauren (Cutting Sydney off, she's pretty heated now): The risks you are describing have already been factored into our analysis. And as for SD-6 the Alliance doesn't exist anymore Sydney (with an okay, that's it!' attitude): Well, the only reason that SD-6 and the Alliance broke down is because Arvin Sloane, a man the White House pardoned by the way, wanted them to! So, do me a favor, and don't revise history that I lived through!
Vaughn: All right, enough! Sark was an inch away from initiating a nuclear exchange and that was only Phase One. Capturing Sark, while it might put a smile on my face, will do nothing to shut down the Covenant.
(Sydney looks down, not happy, but quiet for the moment. Lauren also is quiet, assessing Sydney unhappily from across the table.)
Dixon: For the moment, Sark remains free. Sydney, Weiss I want you to track Sark to that meeting with Oransky. (Vaughn and Lauren exchange a look) Standard surveillance operation let's see if we can get some info on their Phase Two. You leave in an hour.
(Cut to Lauren stalking out of the conference room and around the corner into a hallway, Vaughn following close behind. It's obvious from the look on her face that Lauren is really riled up from her confrontation with Sydney.)
Lauren: I hate her!
Vaughn: Just remember, she's been through a lot.
(Lauren turns and stops. Vaughn stops, facing her. Vaughn's defense of Sydney doesn't make Lauren any happier.)
Lauren: I've been on eggshells for two weeks since Sydney came back: trying not to say the wrong thing, trying to imagine what it's like for her I am done!
Vaughn: Lauren
Lauren: Sydney Bristow is self-righteous and arrogant!
Vaughn: She just lost two years of her life.
Lauren: Was she any nicer two years ago!? Because she's the most condescending person I have ever met!
Vaughn: I understand why you have a problem with her.
Lauren: No she's the one with the problem! I'm not going to apologize because I remember the last 24 months, or because I'm married to the man that I love!
Vaughn: You're reacting emotionally.
Lauren: No, I'm reacting intelligently, as I expected Sydney to. She's been gone two years, you'd think she'd listen to someone instead of talking all over them! She's horrible!
Vaughn (moving closer, taking hold of Lauren gently by both forearms): Okay, stop. (letting go) This was Sydney's first briefing. Give her a minute! I mean, the way things are, no one would blame you if the two of you hated each other But I actually believe that you'll end up respecting her you might even like her.
(Lauren appears to be considering what Vaughn has said. Her anger has been diffused. Vaughn leans in and kisses her lightly on the mouth.)
Vaughn: Just remember that I love you.
(Lauren smiles.)
(Cut to Sydney leaving the conference room down a different hallway. She's approached by Jack, who falls into step with her.)
Jack: How was the first briefing with Lauren?
Sydney (sarcastically): Wonderful.
Jack: I'm not asking because I'm a fan of interoffice gossip; tell me how it went.
(Sydney looks at Jack, worried, wondering where he's going with this.)
Sydney: Why?
Jack: Did she seem aggressive toward you?
Sydney: Yes as I'm sure I did to her. What is this about?
Jack: In here (bringing her into the flirting corner) Now that Lazarey's murder has been linked to the Covenant, the NSC has convened their own investigation into his death.
Sydney: You don't think they know?
Jack: That you're the murderer? Not yet. But they've just received some footage, apparently of the crime.
Sydney: How?
Jack: Another camera security, from across the street. And as our current bad luck would have it, the NSC's assigned this investigation to Vaughn's wife.
Sydney: I know what you're thinking, but the longer we withhold this information from them, the more guilty I seem The NSC and the CIA are going to learn that I killed Lazarey
Jack: And when they do, the NSC will not hesitate to subject you to every available procedure in order to capture your memory
Sydney: So let them. Dad, I am losing my mind not knowing what happened to me, and if someone out there, someone has the answer
Jack: The techniques that would be employed to stimulate your memory are invasive surgical, dangerous procedures that could leave you with permanent brain damage. That is not happening to you; not as long as I'm alive. Sydney, we've discussed this. You need to stay focused; you have to do your job. Reintegrating into the CIA is the only way you're going to get the answers you're looking for. I've already talked with Lauren; I told her I might be able to help the investigation. She's agreed to let me see the footage. You'll go to Mexico City; I'll do what I can to ensure this remains our secret.
(Jack turns and walks off. Cut to black. Cut to credits. End of Act One.)
(Flyover of LA by day. Cut to Marshall's gadget room. He's sitting in front of his workbench. He's just reached over and grabbed a coffee cup and drinks from it. Behind him, the door swishes open. The camera pans to it. It's Jack and Lauren.)
Jack: Marshall any luck?
Marshall: Uh, yeah, actually (he slides his rolling chair over to a computer terminal) And considering it's from a Russian security camera, you know I was expecting static, instead it's pretty good.
(Cut to Lauren and then to the monitor. There is a view from the outside of the building into Lazarey's office. The video sharpness is grainy and poor. Blond Sydney has her back to the camera. They watch as Sydney attacks Lazarey from behind. Then, for a split second, Sydney's face is visible to the camera.)
Lauren: Can you loop that?
Marshall: Yeah.
(He hits a key on the keyboard and the video replays. It gets to a certain point and then .)
Lauren: Freeze there.
(Marshall freezes the feed at the moment that Sydney's face is visible to the camera.)
Lauren: Blow up that frame, please.
(Marshall hones in on Sydney's face and enlarges it. Her face is just a large mass of enlarged pixels. She is not recognizable.)
Lauren: Not enough to make a positive ID, is it?
(Jack looks apprehensively at Lauren.)
Marshall: Well, not like this. I'm not surprised that the Russians haven't made a match. Their imaging programs generate pixel interpretation using Bayesian analysis.
(Jack gives a worried sideways glance at Marshall. Lauren smiles at what Marshall says and then looks back at Jack.)
Lauren: Really
Marshall (shaking head): Russians
Jack: You can do better? (Jack delivers this as if it's a statement instead of a question.)
Marshall: Me? Please I, uh, there's a lot of things I can't/I] do in life, you know, um smoking a cigarette, uh, playing basketball, I never oh, chin ups I could never, uh, you know there were always kids laughing at me but this? I was [i]born for this.
Lauren: How long will it take you?
Marshall: These Eigin values are a mess Give me 72 hours; I think I can ID this woman.
(Close in on Jack. He looks very worried (for Jack).)
Lauren: Good. Thank you.
(Jack and Lauren walk away, leaving a pleased Marshall at his desk. Jack opens the door for Lauren, she walks through. He lets the door close behind him, and then looks back for a long moment, worried.)
(Cut to black. MEXICO CITY. Push through the I in Mexico. A city street with a tan Econoline van. (They are using the same sort of yellow filtering technique on the camera as last week, but this has more orange tint in it.) Cut to the inside of the van. Weiss is sitting in front of the comms, typing on a computer. Sydney is sitting behind him, dressing in her costume: Pigtail braids on either side of her face, a colorful poncho and a cowboy hat like a female gaucho.)
Sydney: I'm gonna kill Marshall. This is the worst disguise yet!
(Weiss turns around to look at her.)
Weiss: Oh! Viva la revolution! I'm serious look at that! (makes a face)
(Sydney finishes her disguise by putting on the hat and adjusting the chin strap.)
Weiss: Okay, uh (holding up the arm of a pair of sunglasses) This chip has a gig of memory in it, or as they say here, la memoria. That's enough memory to transmit full resolution photos. (He puts the arm of the sunglasses back together and hands them to Sydney to wear.)
Sydney: What's this?
Weiss: What?
(Weiss turns toward Sydney and she takes his picture with the sunglasses.)
Weiss: Oh, okay, that's bad that's double chin angle for me (gesturing with his fingers at his chin) Not good
(Sydney blows on the glasses as if to clean the lenses.)
Weiss: Audio's workin'. Syd, we're here for surveillance only nothing tricky.
Sydney (sliding open van door): Here we go.
(Sydney climbs out into the street and enters a marketplace. As she's walking by a set of tables, we see Sark, sitting at a table in a small restaurant in the market, in a grey button down dress shirt and sunglasses.
Sydney: Sark's here.
(Sark idly looks Sydney's way and she turns to keep her face out of sight. She looks over again. Sark is shaking the hand of a bald man. It's Oransky.)
Sydney: Oransky just got here.
(She walks, taking pictures as she goes. Cut to Weiss receiving photos.)
Weiss: Retriever to base, I am uploading the photos
(The photos appear on Marshall's computer. Dixon, Lauren, and Vaughn stand over him, looking. Cut back to the market. Our view changes as Sydney continues to circle Sark and Oransky. Oransky opens a briefcase and takes out some photographs and hands them to Sark.)
Sydney: I need to move closer to get a look at those pictures.
Weiss: Don't get too close.
(Sydney continues to walk closer, snapping pictures as she goes. Cut back to JTF. Vaughn is staring at the screen. Lauren looks at him. Cut to Dixon.)
Dixon: Be careful, Mountaineer. They most likely have backup.
(A man with a scar down the side of his face stands at a counter near her smoking a cigarette and reading the newspaper. He pans to our right as Sydney walks past him to a revolving stand of sunglasses behind him. It's quite close to where Sark and Oransky are. She takes more pictures. She walks around to the front of the sunglasses display, idly turning to display, pretending to look at glasses.)
Sark: Well, it appears they've revealed themselves.
Oransky: As I told you they would. Codes are changed twice a week (he hands Sark a piece of paper. Sydney watches them from a mirror mounted on the sunglasses stand.) These go into effect the day after tomorrow.
(Sark picks up two black and white aerial photographs.)
Sark: This is our target, correct?
Oransky: Correct.
(Sydney snaps pictures of the photographs reflected in the mirror.)
Sark: By the way, I like the name Medusa. It's clever.
(Cut to Marshall, looking at the images Sydney just sent.)
Marshall: The images are good, sir.
Dixon: Okay, we've got it, Mountaineer. Now, get out of there!
(Oransky removes his glasses, looking at Sydney.)
Oransky: That woman was watching us
(Oransky gestures toward the eyeglass stand, but she's no longer there. Cut to Sydney quickly sneaking off. She hides behind a counter and removes her hat.)
Sydney: Retriever, I think I've been made.
Weiss: Mountaineer, stay put. I'm comin' in.
Dixon: Negative, Retriever. They've got your exits blocked; they'll see you on the way in.
(Cut back to Dixon, Lauren and Vaughn. Vaughn's biting his thumb worriedly.)
Sark: If she's CIA, we should be going.
(Oransky puts an earpiece back in.)
Oransky: She might have seen the photos.
Sark (walking away with the briefcase): Then I suggest you make sure she didn't.
(Cut to JTF. Vaughn picks up a spare headset from the counter and puts them on.)
Vaughn: Mountaineer, there's a freight entrance at the back of the market, northeast corner. You should have a straight shot out.
(Lauren watches Vaughn closely. Cut to Sydney, her gun drawn now, as she makes her way to the back of the market. Cut to Oransky. He grabs a young girl from her mother and wraps his arm around her neck. He waves off the girl's mother.)
Oransky: Get away! Get away! Hey! Gringo in the poncho! Senorita in the poncho! You know who you are! Reveal yourself or the girl dies!
(Mother and daughter are screaming. Sydney runs closer, hiding behind a display, trying to get a look at Oransky and his hostage.)
Oransky: You've got five seconds! Four!
(Cut to Sydney hiding and then to Weiss, listening on comms.)
Oransky: Three! Two!
(Sydney comes out, gun raised and pointed at Oransky.)
Sydney: Let her go I'll let you walk out of here.
(Two guards come up behind Sydney, guns trained on her.)
Oransky: I'll be giving the orders, thank you very much. Drop the gun. (Oransky tilts the girl's head to the side, aiming the gun at her temple.) I said, drop it.
(Cut to Lauren, her hands cupped to her face. She's clearly worried about the outcome of this situation. Vaughn breaks into action.)
Vaughn: Marshall, pull up her photos.
(Cut back to the marketplace scene. The mother and daughter are still both crying.)
Oransky: Shut up!
Sydney: Don't hurt her!
Girl's mother (pleading to Sydney): Senora! Senora, por favor!
(Sydney slowly lowers to one knee, placing her gun on the ground.Cut to Weiss in the van. Cut to Marshall's screen. A picture of Oransky taken moments before is there.)
Vaughn: His earpiece is different that ours. Marshall, we need his RF signal now!
(Marshall shoves away from the desk, his rolling chair zooms across to another computer.)
Vaughn: Sydney, the mission in Thailand, Chai San Get ready I'll tell you when.
(Lauren watches Vaughn closely, not sure what to make of this side of her husband. He pulls off his headset and walks over to where Marshall is.)
Vaughn: Marshall, what frequency are those guys transmitting on? Retriever, patch us through to the RF scanner
(Cut back to marketplace. We are focused on Sydney's gun on the ground.)
Oransky: Kick it over.
(Sydney does, her hands raised over her head. He picks up her gun and holds it in his other hand.)
Oransky: Okay now your surveillance equipment. Give it to me.
Sydney: Not until you let her go.
Oransky: No! No! No!
(Cut to Marshall.)
Marshall: Got it. 418.5 megahertz.
Vaughn: Can you boost a feedback loop?
Marshall: How loud?
(Cut to Dixon and Lauren.)
Vaughn: 180 dbs.
Marshall: Oh, yeah
Vaughn: Do it.
(Cut back to marketplace. Oransky forces the girl to sit on the ground. He aims the gun at the top of her head.)
Oransky: Please stop trying to negotiate. (Cut to the other two thugs with Oransky. Both have guns trained on Sydney.)
Sydney: The camera's in my glasses.
Oransky: Give them to me.. Toss them to me.
(Slowly, Sydney removes them from her face.)
Oransky: Now!
(Sydney tosses the glasses to him. They land on the ground in front of him.)
Oransky: Good.
(He steps on them, shattering them.)
Oransky: We're gonna walk out of here You, me
(Cut to JTF. Vaughn is still over Marshall's shoulder.)
Vaughn: Almost there
Oransky: and the girl
Vaughn: Now!
(Cut to Oransky as his face registers the blaring sound in his ears. Sydney looks around and sees the guards reacting also. She grabs the guy closest to her and punches him. Oransky has let go of the girl and she runs back to her mother. Sydney uses the gun still in the thugs hand and shoots Oransky in the leg. He starts to limp away. The second thug comes over and kicks at Sydney. She kicks him back, hits the first thug in the face, roundhouses the second thug, grabbing his gun and then turns on the first thug, shooting him. The girl and mother are off to the side hugging and crying. She turns back to look at the thug she roundhoused. He's still out.)
Sydney: Oransky got away.
(Cut to Weiss, taking off his earpiece and sighing in relief. Cut to Vaughn from behind, who does the same thing. Cut to Dixon and Lauren, both looking relieved. Vaughn looks over at Lauren, not sure how she'll take what he just did. She smiles at him. He smiles back, nodding his head.)
(Cut to aerial view of LA at night. Cut to Weiss in Sydney's kitchen, making pizza dough.)
Sydney: So, Sark was looking at a satellite photo with a three mile radius centered around the Kremlin. We don't know why.
Weiss: Yeah, but we know it has something to do with Medusa, whatever that means.
Sydney: When I was at SD-6, I think I heard Sloane mention something about a project called Medusa
Weiss: You're kidding me? You know what it is? What Medusa even means?
Sydney: No, all I know is the myth: a woman so ugly that if you looked at her, you'd turn to stone.
Weiss: Sounds like the myth of my college girlfriend. She actually dumped me for a roadie at a Duran Duran concert. How embarrassing is that?
(Sydney starts to look upset again. Weiss turns and looks at her.)
Weiss: Oregano, please
(Sydney turns and walks over to the other counter, but not before Weiss sees the look on her face.)
Weiss: Syd, come on, don't do that You weren't dumped; you were dead!
(Sydney turns back, but doesn't look up or speak right away. When she finally does, she has a sad, wistful look on her face.)
Sydney: I haven't even asked anyone how they met
Weiss: Are you asking me?
(Sydney nods slightly, but she looks almost as if she doesn't really want to hear the answer.)
Weiss: The NSC was wrapping up the case on your mom uh, we were all deposed Lauren was the one asking the questions. They hit it off.
Sydney: Tell me about their wedding
Weiss: It was fine Her parents' farm in Virginia You know, she's Senator Reed's daughter, so
Sydney: No, I didn't.
Weiss: Yeah. They have like, 900 acres it's pretty crazy.
Sydney: Was everyone there? Dixon? Marshall?
Weiss: Syd She's a good person. I'm not trying to rub it in, but...I I don't want to be dishonest.
(Cut to helicopter flying over a tall glass building in downtown LA, daytime.)
Marshall (Voiceover): I should've thought of it before I mean, come on, isn't it obvious?
(Cut to Marshall and Jack in Marshall's techie room.)
Marshall: A prior image model with 3D surface reconstruction. I don't know what I was thinking
Jack: Have you made a positive identification or not?
Marshall: Well, no, not yet. Now, this is where we started (the blurry pixel picture of Sydney's face appears on Marshall's computer screen) Okay, now after an application of my 3D reconstruction genius this is where we are now (the picture becomes much clearer, yet still not clear enough to identify anyone)
(Lauren walks into the room.)
Lauren: How's it going?
Jack: Marshall's ahead of schedule.
Lauren: When do you think you'll be finished?
Marshall: Oh, I don't know, I'd say what maybe, uh, noon tomorrow?
Lauren: Good. Thank you.
(She walks toward the door.)
Lauren: I'd like to feed the image into our face recognition database as soon as its complete.
(She pulls open the door to Marshall's office and leaves. Close up on Jack's face as he looks at the clearer image of Sydney on Marshall's screen. Cut to black. End of Act Two.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
(Shot of LA, daytime, from helicopter, but not flying over the buildings. Cut to JTF conference room.)
Dixon: Sydney was right. The Medusa project was flagged in the SD-6 database. It's an anti-satellite pulse weapon. (Dixon is handing out folders to each person at the table.) Once operational, it can cripple our network of satellites, DOD, NSA, you name it. We'd be blind to a potential attack.
Marshall: You see, that's what's so genius about this weapon It beams a microwave at one satellite in the chain, which then relays a pulse across the entire network.
Vaughn: You're talking about hundreds of satellites most with classified orbital rotations
Lauren: How does this tie in with the Covenant?
Dixon: The man Sark met with
Weiss: Oransky.
Dixon: He supervised the development of Medusa for the Russian military; only he was discharged before it was completed. He never knew where it ended up. Until now.
(Cut to big screen and a blown up copy of one of the pictures Sydney took of the aerial view of Moscow. It zooms in on one part of the picture.)
Dixon: This is the satellite photo Sark and Oransky were looking at. According to the time stamp, it was taken by a satellite exactly four minutes after Oransky sent that other satellite of his crashing into Gorky Park.
Marshall (shaking his head, impressed): Hmmm. He sends one bird down so the other can photograph Russia's nuclear reaction protocol in action. (shakes head again) See, what happened was, they thought they were under attack, so among other things, they evacuated several high-level government officials to several continuity of government bunkers designed to survive a nuclear attack.
(Cut to enlargement of aerial photo again.)
Dixon: This is what Medusa photographed. (A small circle on the picture is lit up; the rest of the picture gets darker. In the circle, there appears to be five cars in a row.) See these motorcades entering the Science Ministry? There must be a bunker underneath. According to the SD-6 database, Medusa is stored in that bunker.
Sydney: And now Oransky and Sark are planning to steal it. (Sydney appears to be staring right at Lauren when she says this, but we never get a reaction shot from Lauren to know for sure.)
Weiss: Just a shot in the dark but, why don't we call the Kremlin and let them know what's up?
Dixon: The Russians claim to oppose anti-satellite weapons. They're not about to admit having one. Bottom line we have to access the bunker and steal it before Sark gets it. I'll have Strategic Services list our options. Meet back here in one hour.
(Cut to a clock shop. Clocks are everywhere. Jack is standing at the counter with Pierre Lagravanese, a computer expert who apparently specializes in creating viruses and worms.)
Lagravanese: No problem; I can corrupt that image, but the terms of my parole prohibit me from using a computer. You should know that, Jack, I believe you wrote them
(Jack takes a white envelope from inside his jacket and holds it out for Lagravanese. He opens it. There's a wad of cash inside. Lagravanese's eyebrows raise a little. Still looking at the money, he asks: )
Lagravanese: How's it rendered?
Jack: 3D surface reconstruction.
Lagravanese: Is the workstation part of a network?
Jack: Yes.
Lagravanese: Okay, well give me a few days I'll see what I can cook up.
(Lagravanese sticks the envelope in his back pocket and starts to turn away.)
Jack: I need it by noon, tomorrow.
(Lagravanese turns back, looking a bit shocked.)
Lagravanese: I have an IQ of 170, Jack I'm not David Copperfield.
(Jack just stares at him with a withering look. Lagravense sobers.)
Lagravenese: I'll do what I can.
Sydney (voiceover): We have to do better than this.
(Cut to the JTF conference room. Sydney is rounding the table to stand inside the half-circle it forms.)
Sydney: An hour running scenarios and the best we can come up with is Sloane!
(Cut to Vaughn, standing on the outside of the table at about 11 o'clock.)
Vaughn: Well, through his cancer research, Sloane has developed a relationship with the Science Ministry.
(Pan to Dixon and Lauren, also standing in the circle inside the table, at about 2 o'clock.)
Lauren: If we can get into the Ministry, we can access the bunker and destroy Medusa before Sark and Oransky can steal it.
Sydney: I don't want to be the voice of dissent every time I walk into this room. I know we're all qualified to make decisions here, but to me Sloane is still a criminal.
Dixon: As we've discussed, Sloane is a necessary evil.
Lauren: We need access to the bunker; Sloane can get it for us if we can use him, I don't see why we
Sydney: Maybe you haven't been lucky enough to have first-hand experience with that psychopath
Vaughn: She brokered his deal.
(Sydney looks at Vaughn, shocked.)
Sydney: What!?
Lauren: I was part of the team that arranged for Sloane's pardon.
Vaughn: Look, none of us are any illusions about Sloane. The only reason he was given a pardon is because he provided us with intel that led to the destruction of terrorist cells
(Sydney is nodding her head, angry )
Sydney: Of course he did! He used you to wipe out his competition. Let me guess so far his intelligence has been accurate
Lauren: Yes and the first slip he makes, his pardon will be revoked.
(Sydney is still nodding her head, not believing they could be that trusting of this man she knows so well.)
Dixon (to Lauren): When is your next scheduled briefing with Sloane?
Sydney: You have regular meetings with him!?
Dixon: Sydney
(Dixon puts his hand out toward Sydney, asking her to stop.)
Lauren: Twelve days.
Dixon: All right. Move it up. See if Sloane can get us access to the Science Ministry. (turning toward Sydney and Vaughn) I want both of you to go in as well. If Sloane can help us infiltrate the bunker, I don't want to waste a minute Is that clear?
(Sydney's still not thrilled, but she nods. Vaughn looks pretty unthrilled about the idea of a mission with Syd, but nods also. Dixon starts to walk out of the room. Cut to an opposite angle shot. In the background, we see Dixon leaving the conference room. In the foreground are Sydney, Lauren and Vaughn, literally standing in a triangle. Sydney is looking at Vaughn, Vaughn is looking at Dixon's retreating back, and Lauren is looking down.)
(Cut to a small jet flying at night. Cut to Sydney, sitting alone on the plane. Sydney looks up as she realizes someone is standing next to the aisle seat (she's next to the window). It's Lauren.)
Lauren: Do you mind?
Sydney: Of course not.
(Sydney moves a file folder off the seat next to her. Lauren sits. They sit for a second in silence, both looking very uncomfortable.)
Lauren: This is a difficult situation for all of us. I thought I'm not sure how exactly, but I thought we should at least acknowledge that.
(Sydney makes eye contact and then looks down. Lauren looks down also.)
Lauren: No one would blame us if we hated each other but I hope that doesn't happen.
Sydney (looks uncomfortable, trying to hold it together): I don't hate you or Vaughn.
(Lauren gives Sydney a tiny smile.)
Sydney: That's what makes it so difficult. (She sighs heavily, looking at her lap again.)
(Sydney and Lauren look as if they are about to start a conversation when Vaughn comes up the aisle behind them.)
Vaughn: We just got intel from NSA. They tracked Sark onto a plane from Berlin, headed to Frankfurt, only when it landed, he wasn't on board.
(Both women react to this news. Sydney looks resigned; she knew this would happen. Lauren looks shocked, then worried.)
Sydney: Which means, if Sloane doesn't help us today, Sark will get to Medusa before we do.
Sloane (voiceover): I'm sorry.
(Cut to Sloane sitting behind his desk in his office.)
Sloane: I can't help you.
(Cut to Sloane's point of view. Across the round conference table sit Sydney, Vaughn, Lauren.)
Lauren: You work with the Science Ministry all the time. How difficult is it for you to add the names of two of your employees to the guest list of an awards banquet?
Sloane: Actually, it's not difficult at all. It's what you plan to do once you're inside the Ministry that concerns me.
Vaughn: We made it clear that topic is not open to discussion.
Sloane: Pursuant to my pardon agreement, I am under obligation to pass along intel as appropriate. However, I am under no obligation to assist you, or anyone else, to break the law. Now, as you know, millions of people rely on relief that this company provides. I couldn't possibly endanger that by exposing Omnifam, or myself, to criminal charges.. Certainly not with my history
Sydney: You've made your obligations clear; now let me clarify mine I am obliged to extract immeasurable pain from you the moment you are no longer a valuable source of intel for the CIA. Personally, I hope you don't help us out
Sloane (a bit amused): I've missed you, Sydney. I really have. Well, it shouldn't be too difficult. I'll simply tell the Ministry that you're high-level donors and you're looking for a new investment.
Lauren: You know where to contact us. I'll expect to hear from you within the hour.
(She stands up.)
Sloane: Mr. Vaughn You know, I remember how close you were with Sydney.
(Sydney gives Sloane a really dirty look.)
Sloane: I'm sure you share my relief in having her back
(Lauren looks down. Sloane's remark has hit a nerve with Vaughn; it shows on his face, because his expression hardens.)
Vaughn (nastily): Just get us on the list.
(Vaughn shoves himself out of his chair and stalks out of the room, his hand on Lauren's back. Sydney looks disgusted with Sloane. She gets up and leaves. Cut back to a close up of Sloane's face. He looks supremely pleased with himself very Cheshire catlike as if he knows something he's not telling.)
(Cut to black. End of Act Three.)
(Black screen. MOSCOW. Push through the C. Scene of Red Square at night. Cut to Vaughn, dressed in a black tuxedo, looking in a full length mirror, trying to tie his bowtie and not being particularly successful. Pan away from Vaughn across the room to an approaching Lauren.)
Vaughn (back still to her): Are we on the list?
Lauren: Under the names Tomas Quintera and Sabina Milan, Omnifam investors.
(Camera follows Lauren's progress toward Vaughn until we see her face reflected behind Vaughn's in the mirror, where he's still trying to tie his tie.)
Vaughn: Got it.
Lauren: Here.
(She places a hand on his arm, signaling for him to turn around. He does, muttering under his breath in frustration at not being able to tie his tie.)
Vaughn (under breath): Ugh. Geez
(Lauren unties what he's done and starts fixing it. As she does, she smiles as if she has a memory.)
Vaughn: What? (There's a hint of a laugh in his voice. He grins at her.)
Lauren (also smiling, amused): I was just thinking of that party at the embassy in Prague
(Vaughn laughs a little and looks down as if a bit embarrassed, then looks back up.)
Vaughn: God, that was a good third date
(Lauren is very amused now, having fun with the memory.)
Lauren: Yeah, it was When you spilled your drink on the ambassador?
Vaughn (still grinning): What was I supposed to do? He was staring down your dress all night long
(Lauren finishes tying his tie. She tucks the collar tabs in behind it. As she does, Vaughn's look goes serious, as if he's realized all over again why he loves her. She gives him a little nervous smile.)
Lauren: Look how handsome you are
(Vaughn gets that soft I love you so much' look on his face and puts a hand on the side of Lauren's cheek, staring at her for a long moment before sliding his hand down to her arm. Cut to a wider angle shot. Lauren is fiddling with his suit jacket. He's still staring down at her. Behind them, across the room, Sydney moves into view in the gap between them. Cut to a close up of Sydney. Her hair is up with soft spiraling tendrils draping near her face. Her dress is a Grecian-inspired dress, deep red, thin spaghetti straps. She wears a small red bead necklace with a large golden pendant draping from it, and dangling earrings. She's stunningly beautiful.)
Sydney: Ready.
(Cut to Vaughn and Lauren. Lauren acknowledges Sydney's presence and then looks back at Vaughn's chest, not meeting anyone's eyes. Vaughn stares at Sydney.)
Lauren (to Vaughn): Be safe.
(Vaughn looks back at Lauren when she speaks to him. There is a touch of sadness and apology in his eyes.)
Vaughn: You too.
(Lauren and Vaughn lean in for a small kiss. Sydney is smiling at them, but when they kiss, she looks down as if she can't watch. Cut to a closeup of Lauren and Vaughn as they disengage from the kiss and again we see Sydney between them in the gap. Lauren looks a little self-conscious.)
Lauren (appears to be addressing both of them): Dixon's expecting a call from me. I'll see you in Los Angeles.
(She nods to Sydney and walks past her out of the room. Sydney smiles uncomfortably back at her. When she's gone, she raises her eyes to Vaughn's. They both look nervous about the prospect of being alone together, but neither can stop looking at the other. Vaughn walks toward Sydney and she turns to fall into step with him. Vaughn puts up his hand as if he is going to place it on her back to steer her, but doesn't actually touch her. He stops part way and drops his hand as if realizing halfway through the gesture that he doesn't have the right to touch her that way anymore.)
(Cut to Pierre Lagravanese in his clock shop, holding up a CD in a clear plastic case.)
Lagravanese: It's a polymorphic worm.
(Cut to different, wider angle to reveal Jack standing on the other side of the counter.)
Lagravenese: Upload it onto the network; it singles out the files you're interested in and corrupts the data so the image can't be fully rendered. (pause) I know, you can kiss me.
Jack: How long will that take?
Lagravanese: I can't say it depends on the size of the network.
(Jack, looking frustrated and impatient, turns to leave.)
Lagravanese: Jack
(Jack turns back to look at him.)
Lagravanese: There is one catch. When you make the upload, it has to be at a terminal with administrative privileges.
(Jack nods once and leaves.)
(Cut to an overhead shot of the party at the Science Ministry. Cut to a woman playing the cello. Pan upward to the back of a receiving line. Sydney and Vaughn, arm in arm, pass by a woman in a black evening gown and a man in dress military uniform. They stop in front of two men, both in tuxedos, wearing red sashes and medals around their necks.)
Man: Minister, Tomas Quintera and Sabina Milan.
Vaughn (in Russian): Arvin Sloane sends his regards.
Minister (in Russian): Mr. Sloane is an amazing man. And a great friend of science. Welcome.
(Vaughn smiles and then nods toward Sydney. She wears her most engaging smile and puts out her hand to shake with the Minister.)
Sydney (in Russian): Good evening.
Minister (in Russian, off screen): Good evening.
(Sydney places her other hand over their clasped hands, squeezing them together for a moment before letting go. Vaughn takes her arm and they walk away.)
Sydney (sarcastically, unbelieving): Arvin Sloane is an amazing man'!?
Vaughn (a note of warning in his voice): Sydney
(They stop walking near an exit to a hallway, and turn towards each other.)
Vaughn (aside to Sydney): The guards are about to change shifts; we have about a minute left.
(While Vaughn is looking away, Sydney looks at him, then straightens her shoulder and sighs, as if telling herself Come on, Sydney you can do this ' She sees a waiter holding a tray of champagne glasses and starts to walk toward it. As she's walking, Vaughn turns his head to watch her. Sydney approaches the waiter, obviously speaking to him, but we don't hear what she's saying. Vaughn turns to watch for the guards, then turns back and finds himself staring at Sydney. She's just procured two glasses of champagne, giving the waiter a brilliant smile. As the waiter walks off, she looks up, meeting Vaughn's eyes. He's staring at her as if he can't take his eyes off her. Sydney's face mirrors this. A slow smile spreads across her face, touching her eyes. This is a real smile, just for him. He's still staring back, their gaze unbroken. A smile starts to grow on his face as well. For a moment, it seems as if time has slipped away for them and nothing has changed. Vaughn rocks on the balls of his feet just slightly as he continues to stare. Sydney approaches him, their eyes still locked on each other. She holds out one of the glasses, he takes it. The attraction and sexual tension between them is thick and palpable. Vaughn takes the glass and then looks down, as if just realizing what he was doing and feels guilty about it. Sydney senses the change in him, her face hardens slightly. Their eyes meet again, resignation on both their faces. Vaughn looks away, checking for the guards again. He's definitely uncomfortable being this close to Sydney at the moment. Sydney takes a drink from her champagne glass, looking off over Vaughn's shoulder. Their body language practically screams denial.)
Vaughn (looking back at Sydney, back in the game): The guards are gone.
(Sydney immediately goes into spy mode.)
Sydney: Let's do it.
(Vaughn hands Sydney his glass; she takes it. He reaches into an interior pocket in his jacket, pulling out a small object. He looks back toward the room to see if anyone is watching them and then casually slips around the corner. Sydney stands semi-blocking his view, holding both glasses and drinking a sip from one. With a last glance over his shoulder, Vaughn bends down and plugs the small device into an electrical outlet and activates it. Lights blink on it as he steps back around the corner. He just reaches Sydney's side when the lights flicker, go out and then come back on. Sydney and Vaughn are gone. Cut to Vaughn and Sydney striding down a hallway. As they approach an elevator, Sydney starts peeling a thin layer of latex from her hand.)
Sydney: I've got the minister's prints (she examines the latex, holding it up to the light) The thumb's the clearest.
(Vaughn removes a cufflink, which has a cutting device on it. He cuts the print from the piece of latex. He places the latex piece over his own thumb and uses it on the recognition pad by the elevator. It recognizes the fingerprint and the elevator doors slide open.)
Vaughn (gesturing in a gentlemanly fashion): After you.
(Sydney and then Vaughn enter the elevator. Vaughn heaves a sigh of relief as the doors close on them.)
(Cut to Jack, entering the JTF rotunda area, carrying a folder. He notices Dixon standing over Marshall's computer with Marshall in his gadget office. Cut to inside the office.)
Marshall: The NSC's on a real time hookup, so whatever we see, Lindsay sees.
Dixon: And the face recognition database?
Marshall: Ready to kick in As soon as I get the image rendered, we're ready to roll.
(Dixon nods, waiting. Cut back to Jack, striding toward Dixon's office. As he approaches the office, Dixon's assistant exits, meeting Jack in the hallway.)
Assistant: Mr. Bristow What can I do for you?
Jack: Is Director Dixon in?
Assistant: No he's over with Marshall. Is there something I can help you with?
Jack: No, thanks. I'll just drop these off on his desk (gesturing with the file folders).
Assistant: Okay. (She walks away.)
(Jack pushes open the door to Dixon's office and walks inside.)
(Cut to Sydney and Vaughn in the elevator. Vaughn is ripping open a vacuum-sealed bag. Sydney is shaking the wrinkles out of a military jacket. She gets ready to undo her dress to change. Vaughn stares at her. With a pained expression, Sydney turns her back to Vaughn and unzips her dress. Vaughn continues to stare until he hears her zipper, which somehow spurs him into action. He turns his back to her, removing his tuxedo jacket. Sydney peeks over her shoulder at him. Vaughn yanks off his shirt, pulling it off his arms. A bare-backed Sydney peeks over her shoulder at him once more and then we cut to )
(Dixon's desk. Jack lays the file folder on the desk and extracts the disk case from it. He removes the disk and puts it in the CD-ROM of Dixon's computer. Jack begins installing the worm.)
(Cut to Sydney and Vaughn walking down a hallway, both dressed in Russian military gear. They pass random soldiers and guards. No one looks twice at them. They reach the end of the hallway that is now deserted. Sydney opens a metal box on the wall and pulls open the access panel. Vaughn starts attaching clamps to wires in the box.)
Vaughn: Okay, lets see how many guards are on the floor.
(Sydney looks back over her shoulder to make sure they're still alone.)
Vaughn: We're almost into their video surveillance feed.
(Vaughn looks at the small screen on his device, frowning.)
Sydney: What?
(Vaughn shows her the screen. Cut to the screen.)
Vaughn: These are the cameras for the control room level
(As Vaughn pans through the cameras, all the guards they see are unconscious/dead.)
Sydney: Sark must already be here.
(Vaughn nods, still flipping through cameras. With the next view, we see a gunman shooting the guards, followed by Sark and Oransky. Sark shoots the last guard himself.)
Sydney: Oh God He's with Oransky.
(Vaughn quickly disengages their security feed and Sydney puts the panel back together and shuts the door. Vaughn wraps the cord around the screen and shoves it back into his pocket and starts to walk down the hallway.)
Vaughn: Come on.
Sydney: Wait a minute we have no idea how many men Sark brought with him.
Vaughn: Yeah and he doesn't know we're coming
(They walk to another elevator and push the button. It dings and the door opens. A lone guard stands in the elevator, holding a machine gun. It's one of the thugs from the Mexico City op that Sydney fought with. She and Vaughn, grimfaced, enter the car on either side of him.)
Vaughn (to guard in Russian): Good evening.
Guard (in Russian): Good evening.
(As the doors close, the guard takes a sideways glance at Sydney as if perhaps he just realizes that he recognizes her. She tries her best not to look at him, as if she doesn't notice his staring. Cut to black. End of Act Four.)
(Panning shot of LA by day. Cut to close up of Dixon's computer screen and the worm installing. A running tally of percent installed runs in the bottom 15% complete and counting. Cut to Jack watching the progress. Cut to Marshall.)
Marshall: The program will be ready to render in a minute. Uh I was curious Lindsay briefs the President, right?
Dixon: Mmmhmm.
Marshall: You think maybe you know, assuming this all goes well that he could, uh, request one of those White House tie clips for me?
(Dixon gives Marshall a droll, yet slightly amused look.)
Marshall: Or uh, peanuts from Air Force One because I love peanuts and you figure they'd get top quality being as you're um the President. Oh, here we go.
(Cut to view of computer screen with Sydney's blurry face on it. The program zooms in on her face and brings up a blank grid.)
(Cut to an automatic screwdriver removing a screw. Cut to Oransky, removing the screw from a terminal he's sitting in front of. He removes a panel to reveal a Plexiglas plate, and a device beneath it. He begins to remove the Plexiglas.)
Sark (voice over as the scene pans across the control room and then cuts out the window overlooking the rest of the level): Until Mr. Oransky gets the Medusa core, no one enters the control room and this entire level should be locked down.
(Cut to Sark, speaking to a guard.)
Sark: I need you to secure all the access points with
(Sark stops talking and looks toward the elevator bay as the bell dings, signaling the arrival of the elevator car. As the door opens, we see the thug from Mexico City. His body slides down the wall of the car. The guard pushes Sark out of the way as Sydney and Vaughn erupt from the car, shooting. Sark flees to the steps leading to the control room as Sydney shoots at him. Vaughn has the guard's machine gun and is firing at the guards, taking one down. Sydney takes down another with her handgun. Vaughn turns and fires in another direction.)
(Cut to Jack, still watching the progress of the installation, which is now 30% complete. Cut to Marshall's computer screen as the picture of Sydney slowly begins to render, a random grid square at a time. Marshall smiles and grabs a plastic jar off his desk, opening the lid and offering it to Dixon.)
Marshall: Oh, uh, gummybear?
(Dixon shakes his head, not taking his eyes off the computer screen. Marshall reaches his hand in the jar, pulling out a gummybear and eating it. Cut back to closeup of Jack's tense face, watching the installation. It's almost 50 % complete. Jack looks up tensely as he hears the door to Dixon's office open.)
Assistant (voiceover): Find everything you need?
(Cut to Assistant, leaning just inside the door. Cut to Jack, holding up a pen, an innocent expression on his face.)
Jack: Yes, thanks. I'm just leaving him a note. (He smiles at her.)
(The assistant studies him for a moment and then leaves. Jack looks after her, wondering if she believed him.)
(Cut to Sark entering the control room. Oransky is still at work trying to remove the Medusa core. Sark walks over to the window. Cut to him standing in the window, visible from below. Cut to Vaughn and Sydney sneaking along below. Cut back to Sark as he turns on the PA system.)
Sark: I was wondering if you might show up. I looked for you upstairs at the party.
(Sydney takes aim at Sark and fires two rounds at him, but the bullets glance away harmlessly from the bulletproof glass. Sark looks almost as if he enjoyed her response'.)
Sark: I've taken the liberty of discontinuing the elevator service.
(Sydney glances over at the elevator bank as we hear it being locked down. Sydney grimaces.)
Sark: And unfortunately, Mr. Oransky, Medusa, and myself won't be here when the guards arrive, but I'm certain when they discover you, the Russians will be more than hospitable hosts
(Sydney gives Sark one of her **** you and the horse you rode in on' looks and turns away.)
(Cut to Dixon's computer screen. The program is now 73% installed. Jack waits. Cut to Marshall, putting away his gummy bears, watching his rendering program as little blocks of image continue to appear on the screen.)
Marshall: I think we got it.
(Cut to Vaughn and Sydney running through the lower level.)
Vaughn: There's no way we can steal Medusa.
Sydney: We can't let Sark get it, either. We'll have to destroy it .
(They stop running. Both are panting, out of breath.)
Sydney: We could still rig the generator to blow.
(Vaughn looks around.)
Vaughn: We do that, this whole sublevel's going with it, we won't have a way out.
(Then he points with the rifle up a metal rung ladder to another platform.)
Vaughn: That could be an intake vent. We could crawl inside and get out. We might not make it
(Vaughn's still panting, out of breath, looking worried. Sydney leans toward him.)
Sydney (comforting, hopeful): We might make it.
(They look at each other. He nods almost imperceptively. A wave of determination passes between them.)
Sydney: I'll activate the transfer switch.
(Both of them put their guns down. Sydney turns a valve while Vaughn opens a door to an electrical box next to it. Cut to Oransky, pulling off one of the pieces holding the Plexiglass keeping Medusa in place.)
Oransky: We'll have the Medusa core in 30 seconds
(Pan to Sark as he looks at a control panel on the opposite wall, studying the readouts. Cut back to Sydney and Vaughn as they short out the electrical box, overloading the system. Cut to Oransky as he pulls his hands away from his work, as if he got a shock. The lights in the control room flicker. He shoves away from his chair over to the wall where Sark is standing and begins checking the readouts.)
Sark: What the hell was that!?
(Oransky pushes buttons on the control panel, still holding his walking stick.)
Oransky: That generator powers the contol system they've overloaded the voltage Medusa is fried.
(Cut to Sydney and Vaughn running across a catwalk to the intake vent. Cut to Sark, cocking his pistol.)
Sark: We have to go.
(He walks to the control room door. Oransky reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a pistol, also cocking it.)
Oransky: No way. This bitch shot me in my leg
(Oransky heads back out of the control room in the other direction, toward the sublevel floor. Sark continues to leave in his direction to escape.)
(Cut to Dixon's computer screen. The worm is now 83% installed. Cut to Jack looking tense. Cut to Dixon watching as the image slowly renders. Cut to the screen. The photo continues to render. Cut to Dixon's computer. 95% 96% 97% Cut to Jack, watching with apprehension. Cut back to rendering picture. One more grid fills in and then the computer beeps and the message Render Complete. appears. The photo has just about all of the blond hair rendered, along with Sydney's forehead and one eye. The rest of the face is not there at all, just black grids. Marshall's computer continues to beep. Shock registers on Marshall's face, and he starts typing on the keyboard, as if trying to get the image to continue rendering. Cut to Dixon.)
Dixon: What's happening?
Marshall: I'm not sure
Dixon: It's not rendering
Marshall (can't believe it): According to the program this is as good as it gets sir.
(Marshall looks up at Dixon, surprised and shocked.)
(Cut to control room panel in Russia, showing power output reaching toward 200%. Sparks start to fly in the sublevel. Cut to Sydney and Vaughn (Sydney in front) crawling through the access vent as smoke fills in behind them. Cut to Oransky, hobbling through the sublevel, looking in vain for Sydney. As the generator starts sparking, he's yelling her name in anger.)
Oransky: Sydney Bristow!
(Cut back to Syd and Vaughn crawling as fast as they can through the access vent. Cut back to Oransky in the smoky sublevel.)
Oransky: Sydney! Sydney Bristow!
(Just then, the generator explodes. A fireball starts shooting up the vent. We see it growing behind Sydney and Vaughn. They're close to the exit. The fireball races at them. From the outside, we see the access vent cover fall off and Sydney, then Vaughn jump out, down about a height of two flights a split second before the fireball rages out the opening. They land on the ground hard as the light flashes above them.)
(Cut to Jack entering Marshall's office.)
Jack: Anything yet?
Dixon (seriously not happy at the moment): Not what we hoped.
Marshall: On the picture side not on the technical side the picture's not in focus
Jack (cutting Marshall off): So, no positive identification of Lazarey's killer?
Dixon: Unfortunately, no. (Dixon walks out.)
Jack: Too bad. (to Marshall) We'll keep looking.
(Cut to Marshall. He can't believe his program didn't work He runs his hands over his face, not able to believe it.)
(Cut to Vaughn and Sydney, just sitting up after their jump. They look at each other, as if assessing if the other is all right. Something passes between them, not sexual, but more a realization that they saved one another's life they survived and now they have to go back to their lives as they are. They get
Plan: A: Sydney; Q: Who accompanies Vaughn and Lauren as they meet with Sloane? A: Vaughn; Q: Who does Sydney reunite with to stop Sark from destroying the nation's satellite communications system? A: Jack Bristow; Q: Who must find a way to stop Marshall from uncovering the identity of a familiar murderer? A: a favor; Q: What does Sydney ask Sloane for? Summary: Sydney and Vaughn are reunited again as a team to prevent Sark from destroying the nation's satellite communications system. Meanwhile, Jack Bristow must find a way to stop Marshall from uncovering the identity of a familiar murderer. Sydney accompanies Vaughn and Lauren as they meet with Sloane to ask for a favor.