(Sydney, wearing a long black wig and black clothes, runs down a hall. Panting. She's being chased by two men.)
MAN 1: Arretez!
MAN 2: Arretez!
(They shout at her in French. Sydney flies behind a corner, flings open a door and runs down a flight of stairs. The men are right on her tail. She runs down a hall, gunshots fly. She dives in an elevator as bullets riddle the insides. The doors close. She hits floor twenty-eight. Men shout in French. Inside the elevator, Sydney slaps a device on the wall of the elevator that makes the video of her in the control room scramble. She stares at the video camera in the upper corner of the elevator for a minute, climbs up to the ceiling of the elevator and pops out. On top of the elevator, Sydney takes out a metal object, clamps it on the cable next to the elevator, jumps across and slides down as the elevator goes up. The elevator dings at floor twenty-eight, with the two men waiting for her to come out... only to find the elevator empty.)
(In the basement, Sydney runs. She runs into a guard, beats him. Outside, a stretch limo screeches to a halt. Door opens, Sydney jumps in. As the limo pulls away, we see the Eiffel Tower in the background. Inside the limo, Sydney pants and gives a small box to a large man smoking a cigar across from her.)
(Cut to inside a van. Sydney and Vaughn sit at a table. He takes notes.)
SYDNEY: That was three years ago when I met him for the first time. Leonard Dreyfus -- he helps bankroll SD-6 operations. This guy is very hands-on. Not just in his business. He's a real slime. He runs a division in Geneva. Go-to guy for transport. He'll get anything, anywhere, fast. Sloane relies on him. He's a big target.
VAUGHN: Okay, good, listen--
SYDNEY: Also, there's a crew just outside Memphis. They provide firearms. Custom stuff -- graphite, titanium, plastics.
VAUGHN: Memphis?
SYDNEY: Memphis, Egypt.
(Cut to Memphis, flashback. Inside a warehouse, Sydney and Dixon sit in front of a desk while two men stand behind it.)
SYDNEY: (voice over) I know I just started working with you guys at the C.I.A., but listen to me. If we're gonna bring down SD-6, we have to eliminate their source of arms -- Anini Hassan.
HASSAN: Three of her majesty's favorites.
(He gives a large gun to Dixon; he admires it.)
HASSAN: (gestures to other man to get other gun) And now, the new design, as I promised. I named it "Abenni." That's my son's name. It holds twelve rounds and it's semi-automatic.
(He tries loading it; looks to man.)
HASSAN: What the hell is this?
(They begin to speak in Arabic, then shouting. Sydney tries speaking to them in Arabic to calm them down. Dixon looks nervous. Hassan pulls a gun on the guy.)
DIXON: NO!
(Too late. Hassan shoots his worker a few times in the chest. Sydney turns her head so she won't see. Hassan turns to them; his cheek splattered with the man's blood.)
HASSAN: That was -- uh, sorry. I'm sorry you had to see that.
SYDNEY: (voice over) That was six months ago. I have friends from the Middle East. Hassan's not one of them.
(In the van.)
VAUGHN: I don't blame you. Listen--
SYDNEY: There's more. We need to go after a geneticist in Kuala Lumpur. He's involved in--
VAUGHN: Okay, stop. You have to listen to me, okay?
SYDNEY: You said you wanted to talk about the plan. I'm giving you the plan.
VAUGHN: It's not your job to give me the plan. I'm giving you the plan. Tomorrow's your first day back at SD-6. Now, nothing should change. When you get your assignment, you'll detail your mission on a paper bag. (picks one up, showing her) Bag. Then you'll call this number. (gives her card) Memorize it. After three tones, press the appropriate digit -- one through six. Each corresponds to a trash can in a specific location. Now we'll review your information, create a countermission, and we'll contact you posing as a wrong number. Joey's Pizza. Any questions, so far?
SYDNEY: Yeah. Can you show me what a bag looks like again?
(Vaughn rolls his eyes.)
SYDNEY: Now, you listen to me, Mr. Vaughn. I appreciate what your job is here, even though I think you're a little young to be doing it, to establish a protocol between the C.I.A. and their latest double agent. But I'm not sitting here to pick up the ins and outs of Langley procedure. I am sitting here for one reason only, and that is to destroy SD-6!
VAUGHN: Hey!--
SYDNEY: After which I am out! I want no more of this spy crap, that's why I went to you in the first place. So, listen to me and I will hand you, in record time, the people who will render SD-6 useless.
VAUGHN: Record time.
SYDNEY: Two months. Tops. And then I am out. I walk.
(Pause. Vaughn takes a pad of paper and gives it to her.)
VAUGHN: Draw me a map. Draw me a map of SD-6 and all it's allies. How far you think it reaches.
SYDNEY: Do I look like I'm in Junior High?
VAUGHN: (raising voice) Just draw me a SD-6 family tree!
SYDNEY: Braces on my teeth...
VAUGHN: (overlapping; shouting) How far you think it goes!
SYDNEY: ...Headgear? Do you see a retainer?!
VAUGHN: Just DO IT!
(She stares at him and takes the pen and paper. Within ten seconds, she has a simple map with about a dozen names.)
SYDNEY: I don't know what your problem is with me. Maybe it's that I'm a woman, or maybe you just don't like my attitude, or something, and I'm sorry about that. But I really dont feel like wasting time here. Three's only one way we can immobilize SD-6, and that's MY way. So, forgive me for being forthright or... female, but this is how it's gonna be.
(He nods slowly, stands and gets a map. He spreads it out in front of them. Hundreds, perhaps a thousand, names are affiliated with SD-6 on the map. Sydney looks amazed at how deep this goes and how little she knew.)
VAUGHN: Since I've been at the C.I.A., I've only seen this map grow. This is what you're in the middle of, Sydney. If shutting down the Los Angeles cell was all we were after, we would have raided that office three years ago. This is not about cutting off an arm of the monster. This is about killing the monster. And the work you have ahead of you -- the work your father has been doing -- it's complicated, it's political, and it is long term.
(Sydney's shocked.)
VAUGHN: (shows card) Here, memorize this.
SYDNEY: I did.
VAUGHN: Okay. I guess we'll wait to hear from you.
(She stands, gets ready to leave.)
VAUGHN: Hey, wait.
(He gets a bright yellow sticker from the above counter and sticks it on the inside of Sydney's arm. She puts on her bookbag; he smiles.)
SYDNEY: Thanks.
VAUGHN: You're welcome.
(Sydney leaves the van. Outside, we see that the van has "L.A. County Blood Donor Drive" on it. It's parked at the university. A guy walks past Sydney, who still looks stunned.)
GUY: Hey, see you in class.
SYDNEY: For sure.
(She starts walking to her class.)
(Francie and Charlie -- Francie's boyfriend -- are helping Sydney move into her new house. Francie unwraps a plate.)
FRANCIE: Oh, look. This one's chipped.
SYDNEY: Oh, that's okay. Those were my mom's.
FRANCIE: Oh.
CHARLIE: (entering, carrying a box) Okay, these are heavy.
SYDNEY: Oh. (laughs) Put that down right... right here.
CHARLIE: No problem.
SYDNEY: Thank you.
CHARLIE: Como si. (to Francie) I need a massage later.
FRANCIE: Okay, good to know.
(Will enters with a bag of food.)
SYDNEY: Hey, finally.
WILL: I know, I'm sorry. Litvack called; I had to rewrite a whole piece in the parking lot. (to Charlie) They didn't have any horseradish.
CHARLIE: No, that's cool.
SYDNEY: That's annoying.
WILL: Yeah, no kidding. There's a woman in Marina Del Ray who's eating newspapers.
FRANCIE: She's eating it?
WILL: She's pregnant and apparently it's a condition some women get before they-- (motions to stomach)
SYDNEY: Eating newspaper's a condition?
WILL: Yeah, yeah. This is what I write about. This is how I make a living. And Lintback says my writing's too judgemental and I'm like, "Well, who cares? She's not gonna read it anyway, she's gonna swallow it."
(They chuckle.)
FRANCIE: Hey, what are you doing on Thursday?
WILL: Probably rewriting this piece again.
SYDNEY: Charlie got an offer.
WILL: Hey, that's great! Where?
CHARLIE: Leming Letterman. That's corporate law. Downtown office.
WILL: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I heard of that.
FRANCIE: We're doing a dinner thing on Thursday and you are required.
WILL: Totally, totally there. Congratulations!
(They shake hands. Will pauses and follows Sydney into her bedroom with a sandwich and drink in his hand. She hangs up some clothes.)
SYDNEY: Hey.
WILL: Do you want your-your food?
SYDNEY: Yeah, I just want to get the closets done first so I feel like I live here.
WILL: Well, here.
(He takes some clothes from a box and helps her hang some up.)
SYDNEY: Thanks.
(Pause.)
WILL: Syd, I'm sorry. I can't take it.
SYDNEY: Will, please. Let's not do this again.
WILL: C'mon, you know me. You know I can't let this go!
SYDNEY: Will, come on!
WILL: You took Amy's passport!
SYDNEY: I know!
WILL: You took her credit card!
SYDNEY: I know what happened!
WILL: You disappeared!
SYDNEY: I know!
WILL: Syd, I can't--
(Her pager goes off. Sydney looks at it.)
SYDNEY: It's the bank.
WILL: What was going on with Danny? Because he must've been in some kind of trouble--
SYDNEY: I need you to do something.
WILL: You need me to shut up, I know!
SYDNEY: I need you to accept what I've already told you.
WILL: You haven't told me anything, you're being so vague!
SYDNEY: I lost my mind a little. I started imagining things.
WILL: Whatever the hell you're talking about, maybe you're not imagining it. Syd, this is what I do. I might be able to find something that the police overlooked!
SYDNEY: Stop it! Please. I'm trying to move on here. I need your help to do that. Okay?
(Credit Dauphine. Sydney gets off the elevator, enters the white room. It lights up red. She enters the room, but it's different now. All these people she sees every day, and now she's lying. Marshall comes up to her.)
MARSHALL: Oh, hey, Miss Bristow.
SYDNEY: Hey, Marshall.
MARSHALL: Hey, listen, I don't normally get overly personal. I don't like to cross that line. You probably don't know this about me, but I'm really not much of a social peson. I don't like--I like myself, I mean, I enjoy myself, I just don't feel that kind of pressure when I'm by my--you ever feel that?
SYDNEY: You can say anything you want to me.
MARSHALL: Okay. I just wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry about your fiance, and it's nice to have you back.
SYDNEY: Thanks.
(He smiles and walks away.)
(Meeting. Dixon, Sloane, Marshall and Sydney sit in the board room.)
SLOANE: Let's start with what we know. We've received two pieces of intel. The first is this internal memo from G.R.A. headquarters. It seems that certain files were reported missing last week from the seventh floor of The Aquarium.
DIXON: Seventh floor? That's foreign intelligence.
SLOANE: And we acquired the second piece. Abul Hassein Navour. Military attache from Sudan whom you'll fondly remember from last year. He's on his way to Moscow to meet these two gentlemen. Kazimits Chebekov and Luri Kapochev. Both ID'd as members of the Russian mafia. We think these are the men who stole the documents because the codes identified that these lost documents pertained to the Soviet-American nuclear arsenal during the Cold War.
SYDNEY: Navour's buying twenty year old intel records. Why?
SLOANE: That's the part we don't know. So, you are leaving tomorrow morning.
(He gives black envelopes to Dixon and Sydney.)
SLOANE: Your job is to prevent the transaction and retrieve the stolen files. Marshall, tell us what you got.
MARSHALL: (stands) Okay. Who here has trouble falling asleep at night, hmm? (raises hand) No one else does? OKay. Well, anyway, myself, on occasion, I find it difficult to nod off -- mind racing, ideas, et cetera. So, this kind of pertains to the whole sleeping thing. Now, I created this just for Navour.
(He puts on really big, black gloves and takes out a blue dot from a container with the help of a pair of pincers.)
MARSHALL: Now, you just take this kind of little round thing here. Pretty cool. You just touch it, just with your finger, your hand, you know, just barely touch it and you're knocked out completely. It's like freebasing Thorazine. Boom. Now, you only get two times on this thing. It only works twice, so you don't want to use it three times 'cause...
DIXON: Do we need to use those gloves?
MARSHALL: Oh, no, we can make a nice ring, or-or perhaps an attractive cuff-cuff link. The reason why I'm wearing the gloves, I accidentally touched this the other day and I fell and kncked my head on the desk and was out cold for twenty minutes. You guys should see this.
(He turns to show a Band-Aid that is on his neck. Sydney and Dixon try not to laugh. Sydney, smiling, makes eye contact with Sloane who is staring at her intently.)
MARSHALL: That's not, um, I'm trying to be kind of Pavlovian about these puppies. No pun intended.
(Outside the board room, Dixon and Sydney walk to their desks.)
DIXON: They keep coming back, don't they?
SYDNEY: Who? You mean Navour?
DIXON: How is that man still able to walk after our apparel?
SYDNEY: If it weren't him, it'd be someone else.
DIXON: Then let it be someone else. We kill ourselves to do the right thing, meanwhile the bad people keep coming back.
(Sydney stares at him.)
SLOANE: Sydney, do you have a minute?
SYDNEY: Yes, of course.
DIXON: I'll be in Tech Ops. (leaves)
SLOANE: I know it's gonna take you some time to adjust to being back. I just want to make sure you're all right.
SYDNEY: I'm fine. Thanks.
SLOANE: Good. I need to show you something.
(Sloane opens an office door; Sydney looks surprised.)
SLOANE: I'll leave you two alone. (leaves)
MR. BRISTOW: It's all right, the room's clean. No one's listening. Hello, Sydney.
SYDNEY: What is this?
MR. BRISTOW: I'm here to tell you what you already know. That I work for SD-6, or so they think. I asked Sloane to do this.
SYDNEY: Why?
MR. BRISTOW: Because it'll facilitate what we're doing if they know that you know. It wouldn't hurt if you acted surprised when you left the office.
SYDNEY: Since I've known the truth about you, I've asked myself questions. Thousands of questions. But this one I have to ask you now. When Danny was killed... Dad... did you know? Did you know that's what they ewre going to do?
MR. BRISTOW: Yes.
(She slaps him.)
SYDNEY: Don't you ever speak to me again.
(She leaves.)
(In a mall food court, Sydney writes on a paper bag.)
SYDNEY: (voice over) Abul Hassein Navour is attempting to purchase files stolen from the Russian government. Sloane is sending us to Moscow to prevent Navour from getting the files.
(Cut to a phone booth. Sydney presses a button and hangs up.)
SYDNEY: (V.O.) Dixon will impersoonate Navour. My job is to break into Navour's hotel room and take the money for the buy. So, what's next?
(Sydney walks by a garbage bag and throws the crumpled up bag in the can.)
(In Sydney's new place, she unpacks a box and stacks books on a shelf. She takes out a framed picture and smiles. The phone rings. She puts the picture on the shelf -- it's of her and Danny, both are smiling.)
SYDNEY: Hello?
VOICE: Joey's Pizza?
SYDNEY: I'm sorry. You've got the wrong number.
(Convenience store. Sydney enters, wrapping her cardigan sweater tighter around her body. Vaughn stands nearby, looking at cereal. She goes behind him and opens the cooler door, looking at a bottle of V8 Splash.)
SYDNEY: It's me.
VAUGHN: How you doing?
SYDNEY: How I'm doing? I'd say things have been better. I'm working with friends who have no idea who they're really working for.
VAUGHN: I heard Sloane had you meet your father.
SYDNEY: Yes, he did. So, what's my counter-mission?
VAUGHN: Navour's been on our short list for the past six months. In August, he attempted to purchase a nuke from Libya.
SYDNEY: You already knew about Moscow?
VAUGHN: No, we didn't. So, thank you for that.
(Sydney closes the cooler door and moves beside him in the cereal aisle.)
SYDNEY: Don't mention it. (shivers) That was cold. So, what's my move?
VAUGHN: Carry out your assignment. Get the documents. When you get back, make sure YOU are holding the stolen files. We'll execute two brush passes at the airport terminal.
(He gets a slushie.)
VAUGHN: First, one will take place at the gate. We'll intercept the materials and make a duplicate copy and then return them to you in a second pass to be executed at the airport curb.
SYDNEY: That's it?
VAUGHN: That's it. Want a Slusho?
SYDNEY: No, thank you.
VAUGHN: They're delicious.
SYDNEY: No, thanks. I said I was cold.
VAUGHN: (looks at her) Good luck.
(Newspaper office. Will is at his desk, on the phone.)
WILL: I can imagine, that must've been devastating. Did he say anything to you after he drove over your cat?
(A pretty girl, Jenny, stands at his desk and smiles. He looks at her in recognition.)
WILL: Uh huh. Did he ever make any threats to you, or your cat? Sure. No, I--okay. You have my number at the paper. All right. Bye-bye. (hangs up) A man ran over his cat.
JENNY: I understand.
WILL: We're in a world where people drive over people's cats.
JENNY: You didn't answer my question.
WILL: Which-which one?
JENNY: What are you doing for dinner?
WILL: Jenny, you're nineteen years old.
JENNY: I'm twenty. You know I turned twenty--
WILL: We're not having this conversation. I'm ancient compared to you. Look. Look at me. Look how red my eyes are.
JENNY: (smiles) You don't look too bad.
WILL: Do me a favor. Can you pull me that file on Daniel Hecht?
JENNY: What, that murder? Your friend?
WILL: Yeah. Do you mind?
JENNY: No, no.
WILL: Thanks.
(She starts to walk away, turns.)
JENNY: You don't take me seriously, do you?
WILL: No, I don't.
JENNY: Hmm.
(Moscow. In a hotel lobby, Sydney walks in wearing a long blonde wig that's braided. She wears glasses and speaks to Dixon who stands near the counter via an earpiece.)
SYDNEY: Dixon, do yo copy?
DIXON: Wow. That's loud.
SYDNEY: (walking to elevator) You told Marshall you wanted it louder. I was there.
DIXON: Okay. My headache and I are 1017.
SYDNEY: (in elevator) Break a leg.
DIXON: You, too.
(Upstairs, the elevator dings and Sydney gets off. She wears a maid's uniform and carries towels.)
(At a bar, Dixon -- impersonating Navour -- looks around.)
SYDNEY: I'm on fifteen.
DIXON: Get the cash quickly.
[SCENE_BREAK]
(Upstairs, outside the hotel room.)
SYDNEY: That is the plan.
(She knocks. A man inside speaks Russian, she speaks Russian back. He opens the door and lets her in.)
(At the bar, Dixon walks around and sees two Russians. They wave at him.)
DIXON: Chebekov and Kapochev just showed up.
(Upstairs, in the hotel room. Men speak Russian.)
DIXON: Stand by on the call.
(Sydney makes the bed. The men leave. She goes to the suitcase, removes the case on her ring to show the blue sleeping dot. She turns the ring so it's on the inside of her hand. She goes to the bodyguard who is sitting down and shakes his hand, speaking Russian. He knocks out immediately.)
SYDNEY: Wow. Bodyguard's out. Navour's in the shower, I'm going in for the money.
(Downstairs at the bar. The men wave at Dixon.)
DIXON: Move fast. They spotted me.
(Upstairs, Sydney takes off her glasses and uses the arms as a lock picking device. She starts on the suitcase.)
(Downstairs at the bar.)
KAPOCHEV: Are you my Sundanese friend?
DIXON: Uh, Mr. Chebekov? (shakes hand)
KAPOCHEV: Kapochev. I am the handsome one.
(They chuckle.)
CHEBEKOV: No protection with you?
DIXON: Why, should I not feel safe here?
KAPOCHEV: Here, here you feel very safe, yes.
(They get a table.)
(Upstairs, Sydney picks the lock. An elevator dings. A man gets off and walks to Sydney's room.)
(At the club.)
KAPOCHEV: I know the guy who owns this club. (gestures to Chebekov) He thinks I brag too much. It's true, I do... I brag too much.
(They chuckle. Dixon takes a drink.)
(The man from the hallway speaks Russian; Sydney keeps picking the lock.)
(At the bar.)
KAPOCHEV: That's the problem with Sudan. There's no place for fun.
DIXON: It's a nice change, being out of the Sudan.
CHEBEKOV: I thought you said you travel often.
DIXON: Yes. Not often enough. (laughs)
CHEBEKOV: So, I can see you don't have the money with you, is that correct?
DIXON: No, not at the moment. But the money's very close.
(The man from the hallway walks in, sees Sydney at the briefcase. He shouts in Russian, pulls a gun. She throws the suitcase at him, the money empties across the floor. She punches and kicks him. He throws her across the room, twice, the second time she lands on top of a dresser. On her back, she kicks him hard. Pushes himm. Kicks him. Elbows him in the head. Navour comes out of the shower, she puts him to sleep while speaking Russian with her ring. She turns and sees the money -- all blank sheets spread out on the floor.)
SYDNEY: (to Dixon) I got bad news. This wasn't a buy. This was a hold-up. They were going to steal the files. There's no money here.
(Bar.)
DIXON: Fantastic!
CHEBEKOV: What?
DIXON: ...Vodka. (downs it)
(In the hotel room, she takes out her braid and rips off the maid uniform. Underneath, is a light blue latex dress. She goes to a mirror and applies dark red lipstick.)
SYDNEY: Dixon, don't panic. I'll be there in two minutes.
(In his office, Vaughn twirls a half dollar coin between his fingers, looking worried and impatient. Agent Weiss walks in. Vaughn sighs.)
WEISS: Any word from her yet?
VAUGHN: No. I don't expect to hear anything 'til she gets back.
(Beat.)
WEISS: Your girlfriend's name is Alice, right?
VAUGHN: Would you shut up?
WEISS: I'm just checking to see--
VAUGHN: (good-naturedly) Get out of my office!
(At the bar, Sydney enters wearing her blue dress.)
SYDNEY: I'm in the bar. I can see you.
(The Russians give Dixon an envelope.)
SYDNEY: Are those the files? If they are, cough.
(He coughs.)
SYDNEY: Are they documents? Are they on disk?
(He coughs.)
SYDNEY: How many?
(He puts two fingers up against his cheek, pretending to think.)
SYDNEY: Get ready to make the switch.
(She walks to a table and takes some playing cards. She smiles at a man sitting there, takes his drink from him. She starts to walk over to the table.)
KAPOCHEV: Just like a drug deal. Would you like to taste the coke?
(Sydney walks over, holding the drink.)
DIXON: How do I know you haven't made copies?
CHEBEKOV: Those disks are encrypted.
(Sydney pretends to fall and spills her drink. The Russians stand, she makes the switch. She apologizes to the men in Russian and walks away with the disk.)
CHEBEKOV: Okay, enough! Now where's the money?
DIXON: You'll stay here. I'll go get it. (gets up)
KAPOCHEV: Sounds good.
(Dixon stands, Chebekov stands and points a gun at his stomach.)
CHEBEKOV: At first, I thought maybe Navour sent you. But now I don't even think that.
(Sydney, walking away, looks over her shoulder to see the gun stuck in Dixon's chest. She walks over to help. She kicks the chair that Kapochev's sitting on, he falls. Dixon beats Chebekov up, elbowing him on the back. She beats up the other guy. Kicks him several times.)
(Los Angeles. At the gate, Sydney walks with Dixon behind her. Vaughn, posing as a janitor, walks by Sydney. She drops the disk into his tray of cleaning supplies. Continuing on, he goes into a room filled with C.I.A. agents, strips off the uniform and gives the disk to an agent sitting at a computer.)
VAUGHN: Okay! We got two three-and-a-halfers here. We gotta move fast!
AGENT: Let's use the third and fourth copies. Take about ninety seconds.
VAUGHN: They're moving into customs, we're talking seconds, not minutes!
AGENT: I hope they're not corrupted.
(Sydney and Dixon walk through customs. She looks around nervously.)
(In the C.I.A. room.)
VAUGHN: They're moving to the main terminal! How long is this gonna take?!
AGENT: Relax! We know these disks aren't normal, we're moving as fast as we can!
(Outside, Dixon and Sydney get to a black car waiting for them at the curb. She looks around for Vaughn. The dirver puts their bags in the trunk.)
(C.I.A. room, mass hysteria. People talk over reach other.)
AGENT: Let me see that data as soon as it comes up! I'm not seeing it! I'm not seeing it!
(At the curb. Sydney looks for Vaughn.)
(In the room.)
AGENT: Get me the other one! I'm not seeing it!
(At the curb, Vaughn comes out. She stares at him. He walks quickly to her, almost jogging. Drops the disk in her bag as Dixon moves to let her in the car.)
(Sydney's new home. She rushes in, moves to her bedroom, opens a drawer and takes out her engagement ring from Danny. She puts it on her finger and sighs. Later, Sydney sits in a bathtub, staring at the ring. She's on the verge of tears.)
(Restaurant. Francie, Charlie, Will and another girl -- possibly Will's date? -- sit together at a table.)
FRANCIE: So, he says to me, "Hey, honey? I asked for butter, like, an hour ago." And I'm sitting there thinking, "Uh, no, you asked the other black girl for buter, you rich entitled son of a bitch."
GIRL: Some people go out to eat -- and this is just my theory -- in order to abuse waiters.
FRANCIE: No question.
GIRL: Creepy, isn't it? There are some bad people in this world.
(Sydney enters carrying a bottle of wine. She puts it in front of Charlie.)
SYDNEY: Hello!
FRANCIE: Hey.
SYDNEY: Sorry I'm late. This is for the offer, and for helping me move.
CHARLIE: Thank you. Wow. Look at this.
FRANCIE: Well, now we'll have something to drink when you guys come over.
WILL: (to Sydney) Hey, can I talk to you for a second?
SYDNEY: Sure. I'll be right back.
(Will gets up and they leave for privacy.)
(Near the bar...)
SYDNEY: What's going on?
WILL: We've known each other for three years. Just confirm that.
SYDNEY: Yes. Three years.
WILL: But it feels like a lot longer than that, right? I mean, we know each other pretty well.
SYDNEY: Yeah, we do.
WILL: And you know I would never do anything to hurt you and you know I'm a curious guy.
SYDNEY: Will, what did you do?
WILL: You never gave me any information on Danny--
SYDNEY: Oh, God, Will...
WILL: So, I looked around a bit and I found out one piece of information which you might not know but maybe you do.
SYDNEY: What?
WILL: The night Danny was killed, did you know he was booked on a flight from L.A.X. to Singapore?
(Sydney furrows her bow, confused, then recovers.)
SYDNEY: Yeah. I know that.
WILL: You did? You knew that?
SYDNEY: Danny had a conference. A medical conference. He wanted me to fly out and meet him afterwards. Have a week in Bali. (starts to fake cry) I spend all day, every day, trying not to see him the way I found him. And I know you mean well, and I love you for that, but please, please, let this go. Please.
(Will has tears in his eyes.)
WILL: Syd, I'm sorry--
SYDNEY: It's okay.
WILL: I get it. I won't bring it up again.
SYDNEY: Okay. I just need a minute.
WILL: (crying) Syd, I feel horrible.
SYDNEY: I'm okay. I swear to God. I'm okay. I'll be right there, okay?
WILL: (sniffles) Okay.
(He leaves her. Sydney recovers and stares ahead, having no idea about the ticket.)
(Sloane's office at SD-6.)
SLOANE: Doomsday Six. That's the name of the operation. It seems that during the Cold War, six fully armed nuclear weapons were smuggled into and buried within the United States. December '89 that information was disclosed to the U.S. government. Needless to say, the bombs were quickly recovered and disarmed.
SYDNEY: And that was the information on those disks.
SLOANE: No. They realized a seventh nuke buried still right now somewhere in the United States.
SYDNEY: Where?
SLOANE: We don't know yet. Those disks were encoded with a sectional encryption. Analysis is still working on it. This is what we got so far.
SYDNEY: (reads) "Milovich Ivanov. Buckingham, Virginia." Who's he?
SLOANE: We assume he's the man Navour was looking for. We have no file on him.
SYDNEY: You think he's babysitting the nuke.
SLOANE: Yes. I do. I want you to go to that address, report back on Ivanov any aliases, where he lives, where he works, the type of coffee he drinks. The whole deal.
SYDNEY: Thanks.
(She leaves.)
(Vaughn's office. The phone rings.)
VAUGHN: Yeah?
SYDNEY: I'm going to see Ivanov.
VAUGHN: Who?
(She hangs up.)
VAUGHN: Sydney! Sydney!
(Later, Vaughn and his boss walk to Vaughn's office.)
BOSS: We have a name, and an address. We are not gonna sit on our hands here!
VAUGHN: Sir, I know, I understand that but we cannot move on that information!
BOSS: We can and we will!
VAUGHN: Then we are risking Sydney Bristow's placement in SD-6 and perhaps her life!
BOSS: That maybe the case and yes, we might lose a double in the process--
VAUGHN: Sir, she's going to see him! She's on her way!
BOSS: We are talking about a nuclear weapon here. What do you expect me to do? Wait until Bristow contacts us?
VAUGHN: Read her file, sir! Have you read her file?
BOSS: Bristow's--
VAUGHN: Do it! Then you will learn what I have! She's an asset! She's doing our work!
BOSS: She was supposed to contact you, and--
VAUGHN: There was a good reason she couldn't! She is on her way to Virginia right now. If we send a team, we risk blowing her cover! We cannot afford to do that! Read her file!
BOSS: I've read it! What do you want?
VAUGHN: Five hours. Give her five hours.
BOSS: Five hours.
VAUGHN: Thank you.
(Boss leaves. Weiss, from the adjoining office, comes in, having overheard everything.)
WEISS: Whooo. Impressive.
VAUGHN: (scoffs) Yeah.
WEISS: Balls of steel!
(Vaughn laughs.)
WEISS: No, that's what I'm gonna call you from now on. (to agent walking by) Hey. Have you met Balls of Steel?
(Virginia. Sydney drives up in a car. She looks at the address -- 1936 Lake Road. She verifies it in her notepad. The address is a cemetary. Curious, she walks around in between the tombstones and notices a grave that has dead grass on it. She inches closer. Milovich Ivanov 1927-1974.)
(Shed. Sydney kicks down the door and grabs a shovel. Hours later, Sydney's digging the grave. She hits something and brushes away the ground on a coffin. She opens the lid. The nuclear bomb, wired to the lid, activates and starts ticking. She has two minutes left.)
(Later, Sydney is on her cell phone talking to Marshall.)
SYDNEY: We've got a red wire, a yellow, a blue, a blue-white! There's a white wire, a yellow-red, and orange-red. A black, a white-black, an orange, a purple, a purple-white, a green, a green-white, red-white, green, blue, a light blue--
MARSHALL: Okay! Okay! Cut the blue-white wire!
SYDNEY: Okay, cutting the blue-white wire!
MARSHALL: Oh, hold the phone! (fumbles with sheets)
SYDNEY: DON'T TELL ME TO HOLD THE PHONE! I'M SITTING ON A TICKING NUCLEAR BOMB!
MARSHALL: Are there two timer panels, or one?
SYDNEY: Just--I only see one!
MARSHALL: All right! Try the blue wire!
SYDNEY: "TRY IT"?!
MARSHALL: No, cut it! Cut it!
SYDNEY: Okay!
(She does. The timer stops at eleven seconds left. She cries out, sighs and drops the phone.)
MARSHALL: Hello?
(Inside the van.)
VAUGHN: You called SD-6 instead of the C.I.A.! That is unacceptable! You should've called me!
SYDNEY: YOU! What would you have done?
VAUGHN: The C.I.A., Sydney! You know it has access to nuclear sciences!
SYDNEY: Give me a break, I had two minutes!
VAUGHN: And going to Virginia without contacting us?!
SYDNEY: I DID contact you!
VAUGHN: You are over-eager, you are being irresponsible!
SYDNEY: You know what? Yes, SD-6 happens to have a nuclear weapon and yes, that happens to be my fault. After I called Marshall, SD-6 knew I'd found the bomb, but you know what? We're going to track it and steal it back!
VAUGHN: It's in Cairo.
SYDNEY: What?
VAUGHN: When SD-6 picked up our nuke, they put it on a plane bound for Egypt. And are you ready for this? They sold the thing to Anini Hassan.
(They sit down.)
SYDNEY: Hassan...
VAUGHN: Yeah. Reflected on both our records, FYI.
(She looks at him.)
VAUGHN: What?
SYDNEY: I told you I've been there. Hassan's. I can go back.
VAUGHN: No. Can't do it.
SYDNEY: Why not?!
VAUGHN: Hassan knows you. If you're spotted, it'll get back to Sloane.
SYDNEY: Then we'll just have to make sure they never see me.
(Middle of nowhere. Sydney's father drives up.)
SYDNEY: Thanks for meeting me here. I'm sorry about hitting you.
MR. BRISTOW: You're going to Cairo. Devlin told me.
SYDNEY: Yeah, that's why I had them call you. I need your help. SD-6 can't know that's where I'm going.
MR. BRISTOW: I'll take care of it.
SYDNEY: Dad... it was you, wasn't it? Who bought the ticket to Singapore?
MR. BRISTOW: You were in Taipei. I had arranged a flight for you as well, from Singapore. You cold have gone anywhere. I went to Danny's apartment except it was too late. Just minutes too late.
SYDNEY: Thank you. I have to go, obviously. (smiles)
(Sydney drives off.)
(Vaughn's office. He talks to a secretary.)
VAUGHN: Tell Weiss I'm in operations and if Alice calls, just--
(Boss stands in the doorway.)
BOSS: I need you.
VAUGHN: Yeah, I know. (to secretary) Just call me if there's anything. (to Boss) Let me just say this, about Bristow--
BOSS: Don't bother. Don't apologize. You're not in any trouble. Virginia was my call.
VAUGHN: She's intimately familiar with Hassan's base, she's going to get in, disable the weappon. We are all over it.
BOSS: Well, you don't have to be. That's what I'm here to tell you. You're being pulled off the Bristow case.
VAUGHN: What? Why?
BOSS: Devlin wants a more senior officer. Apparently you were right; this girl is pretty important to us.
VAUGHN: Yeah, I know...
BOSS: He wants you to oversee the office presentation at the D.C.I. non-proliferation meeting, which under the circumstances is pretty ironic.
(Sloane's office. Telephone rings.)
SLOANE: Yeah. Yeah. Send him in.
(He walks to the door.)
MR. BRISTOW: You hear from Sydney?
SLOANE: Yeah. What's wrong with her?
MR. BRISTOW: She went up north. I think she just needed to get away.
SLOANE: Is she okay?
MR. BRISTOW: She will be. I think it's hard for her, that's all. Accepting the news about what I do.
(Pause.)
SLOANE: Are you all right?
MR. BRISTOW: Yeah, of course. Why?
SLOANE: I don't know. You seem a little...
MR. BRISTOW: What?
SLOANE: Nothing, nothing.
MR. BRISTOW: I'll see you tomorrow.
SLOANE: Yeah, okay.
(He closes the door.)
(Cairo. Sydney peers down the hall, wearing a black burnoose. She talks to the C.I.A. operative over an earpiece.)
SYDNEY: I'm in.
(Sydney takes down a guard in the hallway. Throws him to the ground. Another one comes out of a room. She elbows him in the stomach with the gun, throws him back in the room and tosses the gun in there. She enters a bigger storage room and eyes a rectangular box.)
SYDNEY: I think I found it.
OPERATIVE: Copy.
(She opens the lid. It's a nuke.)
SYDNEY: Yeah, I found it.
OPERATIVE: Copy. Commence disabling.
(Sydney unzips a package of tools and a diagram; unscrews timer panel.)
SYDNEY: I've got it open. I'm going in for the core.
OPERATIVE: Copy. Radio silence until task complete.
SYDNEY: (unscrewing it) Listen, I know we just met on the flight over, but do you have to talk like such a robotron?
OPERATIVE: Radio silence requested.
SYDNEY: I guess you do.
(She opens the casing and takes out a gold ball -- the core. A gun is pointed at her head. Her eyes glance tpo the right... it's Hassan.)
Plan: A: Sydney; Q: Who is assigned to travel to Moscow to retrieve some stolen files? A: a double agent; Q: What is Sydney's new job title? A: Marcus Dixon; Q: Who is Sydney assigned to travel to Moscow with? A: a nuclear weapon; Q: What does Sydney accidentally give SD-6 access to? A: Cairo; Q: Where does Sydney have to travel to fix the nuclear weapon? A: a deadly foe; Q: What does Sydney have to face in Cairo? A: Will Tippin; Q: Who is Sydney's close friend? A: a journalist; Q: What is Will Tippin's profession? A: the circumstances; Q: What does Will Tippin question about Danny's death? A: weird details; Q: What does Will Tippin discover about Danny's death? A: the night; Q: What time of day did Will Tippin discover that Danny was murdered? A: Singapore; Q: Where was Danny's flight booked to? A: terms; Q: What does Sydney still have trouble coming to with her father's insincerity? A: a certain extent; Q: How much does Sydney reconcile with her father? A: plane tickets; Q: What did Sydney's father buy for Daniel and her? Summary: Sydney returns to SD-6 as a double agent and is assigned with Marcus Dixon to travel to Moscow to retrieve some stolen files. In the process, however, she inadvertently gives SD-6 access to a nuclear weapon, which makes her travel to Cairo and face a deadly foe in order to fix things. Meanwhile, Will Tippin (a journalist and a close friend) driven by pity and a secret devotion for her, begins to question the circumstances surrounding Danny's death. He discovers weird details about the night of the murder, one being that someone had tried to help him escape by booking him a flight to Singapore. Sydney, who still can't come to terms with her father's insincerity, reconciles with him to a certain extent when she discovers he was the one who bought plane tickets for Daniel and her.