Épisode Amour mortel S05E08 - Alias Saison 5

Sibérie, la nuit. Un train roule entre les montagnes enneigées. Un homme blond portant des lunettes pénètre dans un wagon et ferme la porte derrière lui. Il s'arrête à proximité de deux hommes qui jouent aux échecs. Il se baisse pour ramasser une pièce du jeu et conseille l'un des deux joueurs sur la stratégie qu'il devrait adopter. Il se relève et poursuit sa marche vers l'autre coté du wagon. On remarque par terre un système électronique activé sous un fauteuil (c'est une bombe à micro pulsation). L'homme va s'asseoir dans le wagon suivant et regarde sa montre. Soudain une lumière bleue rayonne du wagon précédent. L'homme à lunette revient dans le wagon des joueurs d'échec où toutes les personnes sont maintenant carbonisées (tout le reste du wagon est intact). Il se baisse pour récupérer son système et poursuit son chemin.

A l'APO, Marshall annonce à Rachel, Tom et Dixon qu'il a réussit à intercepter des données du MI6 précisant qu'ils cherchaient à acquérir un MPB (Bombe micro pulsée). C'est une bombe qui peut brûler des gens, mais uniquement eux : tout le reste (bâtiment, meubles) demeure intacte. Dixon mentionne l'incendient en Sibérie qui s'est déroulé dans un train il y a deux jours. Tom ne pense pas que ce soit les services secrets anglais qui aient testé cette bombe dans un train car cela casse tous les protocoles. Dixon leur explique que depuis leur dernière découverte ils ne peuvent plus croire personne. Jack et Sydney sont en Angleterre pour en apprendre plus. Dixon demande à ses agents de fouiller toutes les transmissions que Marshall a pu enregistrer avant que le réseau soit coupé.

A Yorkshire en Angleterre : Sydney et Jack sont dans une très belle propriété à la campagne. Sydney prend le thé avec une anglaise et observe en même temps tous les invités. Elle repère une femme et fait signe à son père. Elle se dirige à une table de victuaille et glisse un papier dans la main de la femme. A l'intérieur de la maison, la femme rejoint Jack qui est en train de jouer quelque note au piano. Elle lui fait remarquer qu'il n'aurait pas du rentrer en contact avec elle ici. Jack lui explique qu'il soupçonne quelqu'un du MI6 d'essayer d'acquérir une MPB. A priori elle ne soupçonne personne de son entourage comme étant un double agent. Il lui demande si elle connaît prophet5. A l'extérieur un ambassadeur français est à la recherche d'Elizabeth. Sydney arrive à le retenir en faisant mine de vouloir pratiquer le français avec lui. Jack continu d'expliquer que prophet 5 a infiltré de nombreuses organisations gouvernementales. Il lui demande de mener une enquête au MI6. Jack lui explique ensuite qu'elle vient juste de rencontrer sa fille Sydney et qu'il va bientôt être grand-père. Jack et Elizabeth semblent être de vieux amis car elle a connu Sydney bébé. Il lui explique que Michael Vaughn était son fiancé et que prophet 5 l'a éliminé.

A l'APO, Jack annonce à l'équipe que sa source lui a confirmé que le MI6 allait effectivement faire l'acquisition secrète d'une MPB. Elizabeth n'a pas identifié de double agent mais est parvenue à trouver qui avait créé cette bombe. Cet homme s'appelle Lucas Basarov (c'est l'homme à lunette qui a testé la bombe dans le train. Il est né le 28/11/1959, il est membre de l'université de St PetersBourg et est diplômé en physique et thermonucléaire. Il est en route pour Sao Paulo au brésil pour une conférence. Il recevra là bas un appel (A priori sur son ordinateur portable) lui spécifiant les lieux de la vente de la MPB. C'est Rachel qui est envoyée en mission à la grande déception de Marshall qui souhaitait voir les bikinis. Juste avant que Rachel ne parte, Sydney lui fournit un petit gadget de Marshall et lui demande d'être moins stressée et de prendre plus de plaisir lors de ses missions.

A Sao Paulo, Rachel arrive à son hôtel. Elle s'enregistre à l'accueil et remarque un américain très bruyant (c'est la voix de Sark) derrière elle qui semble ne pas être content de certains services. Sark se précipite dans l'ascenseur avec Rachel et lui pose des questions. Il se décide à la suivre lorsqu'elle sort de l'ascenseur. En fait il possède la chambre en face de celle de Rachel. A l'intérieur de sa chambre Rachel commence à percer un trou dans un mur et y place une fibre optique pour observer les faits et gestes de Basarov. De la même façon Sark observe la chambre de Basarov. Il en communication avec un certain Benjamin.

Rachel arrive à intercepter Basarov alors qu'il descend dans le hall de l'hôtel. Elle lui demande de signer un de ses articles qu'elle a beaucoup apprécié. Celui-ci se fait un plaisir de le signer. Plus tard Rachell scanne la feuille pour y récupérer les empreintes du scientifique. Elle utilise ensuite un gadget permettant de créer une fausse peau comportant les empreintes.

Dans sa chambre, Sark passe commande pour manger et observe Basarov prendre sa douche. Au même moment Rachel utilise un système pour rentrer discrètement dans la chambre de Basarov. Alors qu'elle allait utiliser l'empreinte sur l'ordinateur portable, une personne de l'hôtel frappe à la porte. Rachel disparaît alors que Sark fait son entrée dans la chambre, déguisé en serveur. Il fait glisser un plateau repas dans la chambre. Il aperçoit la carte permettant l'ouverture de la porte de la chambre. Il passe un produit dessus pour récupérer des empreintes. Rachel quant à elle se trouve à l'extérieur. Ses talons reposent sur une fine plateforme en béton, sur laquelle elle essaye de rester en équilibre. Sark arrive à faire une empreinte et télécharge des fichiers du portable. Il referme l'ordinateur et sort de la pièce. Rachel retourne dans la chambre et effectue le téléchargement des données alors que Basarov termine de prendre sa douche. Au moment ou la porte de la chambre de Basarov se referme celui-ci sort de la douche et semble agréablement surprit de voir un plateau repas qui l'attend.

Rachel tient informé Thomas par téléphone qu'elle a récupérée les fichiers. Il lui demande de tout transmettre à Marshall, de garder son PDA avec elle et d'avertir Marshall quand le contact enverra des informations à Basarov. En attendant il lui dit d'en profiter pour se détendre.

Rachel se trouve au bar de l'hôtel et prend du bon temps. Sark s'approche d'elle et commence à discuter. Il se fait passer pour un certain Bob (un trader freelance) et Rachel pour une certaine Lydia. Après avoir discuté et trinqué, ils retournent à leur chambre. Ils s'embrassent finalement fougueusement dans les couloirs et Rachel lui demande s'ils peuvent aller dans sa chambre (elle ne veut pas qu'il voit son équipement). Après leur nuit ensemble, Sark part prendre sa douche et Rachel en profite pour fouiller dans ses affaires. Elle remarque qu'il a un billet pour Nassau aux Bahamas. Son PDA se met à sonner spécifiant que le contact de Basarov et en train de l'appeler. Elle prépare ses affaires pour quitter la chambre. Sark est étonné de la voir partir si tôt. Rachel trouve une excuse, mais Sark semble ravi qu'elle parte car il voit que son ordinateur portable qui détecte la transmission. Il regarde étrangement Rachel quitter sa chambre. Arrivée dans sa chambre, Rachel téléphone à Marshall (en pleine partie de Tetris) pour l'avertir que la transmission a lieu.

A l'APO, Sydney discute avec Rachel et lui explique que Marshall est en train d'analyser la transmission. Elle lui demande comment s'est déroulée sa mission. Rachel lui avoue finalement qu'elle a rencontré un certain Bob. Jack arrive et leur explique que Marshall a décodé la transmission. Le double agent du MI6 va rencontrer Basarov en Espagne. Jack se charge de cette mission durant laquelle il sera avec Elizabeth. Il demande à sa fille de tout coordonner de l'APO.

A Malaga, dans un bâtiment de nuit. Elizabeth et Jack sont en position. Ils placent une caméra pour observer la scène d'un peu plus haut par rapport à la rue. Sydney reçoit les images au APO. De nuit, un camion arrive, Basarov et un autre homme descendent et sous une couverture dévoilent une énorme MPB. Deux voitures arrivent et s'approchent d'eux. Sydney remarque un homme noir portant une moustache se nommant Benjamin Masari (un terroriste pour lequel travail Sark). Elle avertit son père que ces hommes ne sont pas du MI6. Jack comprend que c'est un piège, mais il est trop tard, Basarov et son homme sont tués. Jack et Elizabeth sont alors menacés par deux hommes armés. Sydney s'affole lorsqu'elle ne reçoit plus de vidéo et que son père ne répond plus aux communicateurs.

A l'APO, c'est l'affolement général. Dixon essaye de mettre toute l'équipe dessus. Sloane arrive dans le bureau de Sydney qui lui montre la vidéo. Après déduction il pense qu'une personne travaillant pour Masari a pu intercepter le signal envoyé à Basarov. Du coup il ne sera pas possible de coincer le double agent du MI6 qui ne se montrera pas.

Un peu plus tard Sloane montre une photo de Sark sur un écran provenant de l'hôtel de Sao Paulo. Rachel réalise que Bob n'est autre que Sark un dangereux criminel " freelance ".

Rachel discute ensuite avec Sydney et lui explique que Sark devait aller aux Bahamas. A Nassau, Rachel attend Sark à la descente de l'avion. Lorsque Sydney surgit derrière Rachel, Sark comprend que Rachel est un agent de l'APO. Sydney lui explique que son père est prisonnier de Masari. Sark lui explique que Masari l'a payé très cher pour qu'il disparaisse et se taise. Sydney lui explique qu'elle est là pour le capturer et le cacher.

En Tunisie, Masari avance dans les couloirs d'un bunker. Il se rend à la cellule où sont détenus Jack et Elizabeth. Il leur demande où étaient envoyées les vidéos de Malaga. Elizabeth tente un mensonge mais Masari lui envoie une balle dans la main. Jack essaye de se débattre, mais il est maîtrisé par des gardes. Masari place son arme sur la deuxième main d'Elizabeth et lui demande pour qui il travaille. Masari est finalement interrompu par un appel téléphonique. C'est Sark qui se trouve en compagnie de Sloane à l'APO. Sark lui dit qu'il est au courant pour Malaga et pour les deux agents qu'il détient : un de la CIA et l'autre du MI6. Masari apprécie les informations. Sark lui explique que des gens payeraient des sommes exorbitantes pour avoir ces agents. Masari propose de faire un échange dans 24H en Tunisie. Dixon a une conversation avec Sydney et lui demande de rester en arrière pour le bien du bébé. Sydney lui répond qu'elle ne veut pas perdre son père.

En Tunisie, Dixon conduit un camion avec Tom. A l'arrière Rachel est avec Sark. Il est essaye d'être charmant mais cela ne prend pas avec Rachel. Tom ouvre la porte arrière du camion, Rachel semble soulagée d'être arrivée.

Syd et Marshall sont à l'APO et attendent des nouvelles des autres. Sydney est très anxieuse.

Dixon se fait passer pour le chauffeur de Sark et conduit le camion à l'intérieur du bunker. Rachel et Tom sont attachés sous le camion. Sark est emmené à l'intérieur et rejoint Masari avec une mallette. Masari regarde l'argent puis sort son arme prétextant que l'échange ne va pas être possible. A l'extérieur, de la fumée sort du capot du camion et Dixon demande de l'eau à un garde. Ce dernier refuse et reçoit un appel de Masari. Dixon en profite pour sortir une arme du capot et lui tire dessus. Rachel et Tom sortent de dessous le camion. Tous les trois entrent dans le bunker et maîtrisent de nombreux gardes. Ils arrivent à la cellule de Jack et Elizabeth. Rachel de son coté part à la recherche de Sark et Masari. Elle arrive dans un bureau, ouvre la porte et regarde avec étonnement quelque chose.

Sydney reçoit un appel. C'est Rachel qui lui annonce que son père est sain et sauf mais qu'ils ont un autre problème. Sark est menotté à la MPB et un compte à rebours indique 8'30''. A priori ils n'ont pas le temps d'évacuer. Marshall aide Rachel en la guidant pour désamorcer la bombe. Elle en profite pour taper la discussion avec Sark. Après avoir ouvert un compartiment, Rachel refait des branchements sous le regard de Sark. En coupant un dernier câble, la bombe s'éteint. A l'extérieur une équipe d'extraction vient chercher Elizabeth qui échange quelques mots avec Jack. A l'intérieur, Sark est devant Dixon et Tom. Ils lui demandent le numéro de compte qu'il a utilisé pour pouvoir traquer les gens pour qui il travaille. Sark leur dit qu'il a utilisé son propre argent et il les quitte en lançant un regard d'affection à Rachel qui se trouvait derrière.

A l'APO, Sydney appelle son père pour lui demander s'il a besoin de quelque chose. Jack est chez lui dans le noir. Elle semble déçue de ne pas avoir participé à la mission. Jack est content qu'elle ne soit pas venue pour préserver le bébé. Après avoir raccrochée, elle saute ensuite dans les bras de Dixon pour le remercier d'avoir sauvé son père.

Seul chez lui, Jack joue une magnifique mélodie au piano.

Ce script appartient au site twiztv.com

***

(EXT. SIBERIA – NIGHT)

A passenger train travels through snowy Siberia. A man opens a door and enters one of the passenger cars, closes the door behind him, and looks around cautiously. He carries a newspaper wrapped around something as he walks down the aisle. As he passes a couple of old men playing chess, a bishop piece gets knocked over into the aisle. The man kneels down and picks up the piece for the old man.

OLD MAN: Thank you, sir.

The man studies the chess board for a moment before getting up.

MAN: Just a suggestion.

The old man looks curiously at his helper.

MAN: Try… Knight to C-5.

The old man looks back at the chess board and tries the move.

OLD MAN: You are right.

The man looks pleased and moves on, continuing down the aisle. As he leaves, we see that he has left a device under one of the seats. The row of lights on the device increase with each second. The man enters the next car and closes the door. He takes a seat and begins reading the newspaper. He checks his watch.

At that moment, in the previous car, the old man is about to win the chess game.

OLD MAN: Checkmate.

A bright light flashes inside the car. The man walks back into the previous car. The car is not damaged, but charred bodies are all that remain of the passengers inside. The man retrieves his device and leaves.

(INT. LOS ANGELES – NIGHT)

RACHEL: Did you crack Dean’s encryption?

MARSHALL: Well, I was working on it, but… I got a little sidetracked. I intercepted a string of MI-6 transmissions. They’re all about the testing and sale of a prototype MPB.

TOM: That’s impossible.

MARSHALL: Yeah, I thought so, too.

RACHEL: What’s an MPB?

MARSHALL: Sorry. It’s a micropulse bomb. These things – super nasty. Incinerate the people, leave everything else intact.

DIXON: There was an incident aboard a train in Siberia two days ago. Information’s leaking out slowly, but –

TOM: You think that’s the test…? There’s no way the Brits are pursing an MPB. That breaks every arms treaty known to man.

RACHEL: Well, have you notified the Director General?

DIXON: Until we know who we can trust, we can’t approach MI-6 officially. Jack and Sydney are in England trying to find out more. In the meantime, we’re going to go over every single transmission Marshall pulled off the server to see if we missed something. I’m working on these.

RACHEL: Okay.

TOM: I’ll take these.

Each member takes a stack of file folders to analyze.

YORKSHIRE

(EXT. AN ENGLISH MANOR - DAY)

At an outdoor party, Sydney sits a table outside and has tea with an older woman.

WOMAN: You should see my youngest grandchild Daisy – four years old and already a master of the computer.

Sydney feigns amazement.

WOMAN: Have you chosen a name? I myself have always been partial to “Rupert” – such a distinguished name.

Sydney scans the party attendees and watches a blonde woman, Elizabeth Powell. Jack is also at the party, chatting with someone. He seems to nod to Sydney.

WOMAN: A shame it fallen out of favor. Wouldn’t you agree, dear?

SYDNEY: Rupert – it’s classic.

JACK: Will you excuse me?

SYDNEY: Can’t seem to get enough of that Devonshire clotted cream. We don’t have it in the States. If you’ll just pardon me…?

WOMAN: Yes, of course.

SYDNEY: Thank you.

Elizabeth Powell is getting pastries at one of the tables as she talks to someone.

ELIZABETH: I prefer the cinnamon, but the blackberry is also very good.

Elizabeth turns around just as Sydney walks up.

SYDNEY: Excuse me, ma’am. You forgot a napkin.

Sydney hands Elizabeth a napkin.

ELIZABETH: Oh, thank you.

SYDNEY: You’re welcome.

The woman reads the note on the napkin and turns back to look at Sydney.

Inside the house, Jack Bristow idly plays a few notes as he stands and waits by the piano. Elizabeth Powell walks into the room.

ELIZABETH: Do you still play?

JACK: No, gave it up years ago.

Jack pulls off his glasses.

ELIZABETH: You shouldn’t have approached me here.

JACK: I take it Joseph still doesn’t know what you do for a living.

The woman raises her eyebrows.

ELIZABETH: How would it look for the French Ambassador to have a spook for a wife? Besides, this is where I get my best intelligence.

JACK: I already talked with the Minister of Finance. He’s a dimwit.

ELIZABETH: What’s this about, Jack?

JACK: We believe someone operating within MI-6 is attempting to acquire a micropulse bomb.

ELIZABETH: Well, that’s outrageous. MI-6 would never sanction it.

JACK: I agree. More likely, whoever it is represents some corrupt element.

ELIZABETH: Are you suggesting we have a double agent?

JACK: Yes, but it goes much deeper than that. Have you ever heard of Prophet Five?

Outside, Joseph Vachon, the French Ambassador, looks for his wife.

JOSEPH: Have you seen Elizabeth?

MAN: No. Sorry.

SYDNEY: (using a Southern accent) Excuse me! Pardonnez-moi. Are you Joseph Vachon, the French Ambassador?

JOSEPH: Why, yes, I am.

SYDNEY: I knew it! Hey, I’ve been taking French classes at night, (nodding to her belly) ‘cause little ones are supposed to pick up so quickly, you know?

Joseph slowly nods.

SYDNEY: I was just wondering if I could just practice a little bit on you.

Joseph looks around uncomfortably, but agrees.

JOSEPH: I suppose so, yeah.

SYDNEY: Great. Okay. All right.

Sydney closes her eyes and breathes. She proceeds to speak in a very heavily-accented French.

SYDNEY: Quand votre famille… part en vacances, qu'est-ce que vous préférez? Une plage de soleil… ou de montagnes glacés? [When your family goes… on vacation, what do you prefer? The sunny beach… or the frozen mountains?]

AMBASSADOR: Très bien! Mm-hmm. [Very Good.]

SYDNEY: (excited) Très bien! Great. Okay. Um…

Sydney continues her diversion as Jack continues to explain the situation to Elizabeth.

JACK: The network behind Prophet Five is far-reaching. They appear to have infiltrated multiple intelligence agencies, not just MI-6.

ELIZABETH: And you think that following this weapon will give us the key to finding out more? You want me to investigate my agency from the inside?

JACK: I wouldn’t be coming to you if it didn’t also involve Sydney.

ELIZABETH: Sydney? Is she all right?

JACK: She’s fine. You just met her, in fact.

ELIZABETH: Oh, my goodness. (smiles) It has been a long time. And unless she’s wearing a very convincing disguise…

JACK: I’m going to be a grandfather – a very young grandfather.

ELIZABETH: Jack… she’s lovely.

JACK: She is. The agent I told you about, Michael Vaughn – he was her fiancé.

ELIZABETH: Oh. I’m sorry. What you’re asking me to do, to investigate my own agency – that’s treason.

JACK: What’s a little treason between old friends?

(INT. APO – DUSK)

JACK: My source got back to me. She confirmed what we suspected – the acquisition of the MPB weapon is strictly off-book. MI-6 has not sanctioned it.

TOM: Could she identify the double agent?

JACK: No, but she was able to identify the engineer who designed the weapon – this man, Lukas Basarov.

A profile of Basarov is shown on the screen. He is the man who set off the device on the train in Siberia.

JACK: Tenured faculty, University of St. Petersburg. Holds advanced degrees in physics and thermonuclear engineering.

DIXON: Apparently, he has a side business.

JACK: Basarov is currently en route to a conference being held in São Paulo, Brazil. He’s scheduled to give a talk on theoretical microdynamics.

MARSHALL: Wow. Sounds awesome.

Everyone looks sat Marshall questioningly.

MARSHALL: Well, Brazil. Isn’t that, you know, the place where they have the um, string – you know, what are they called? Not bikinis, but, um…

JACK: Thongs.

MARSHALL: Yes.

JACK: My source found evidence which indicates that within approximately 48 hours, Basarov will receive a transmission regarding where and when the sale is taking place. We can presume he’ll be receiving this one at the conference via his laptop.

MARSHALL: (eagerly) Well, that’s easy. We just access the laptop, upload the bugging software – piece of cake. I could definitely do it!

JACK: You need to be here to decrypt the transmission.

Marshall’s face falls.

JACK: Rachel’s perfectly equipped to do the work in the field. Wheels up in two hours.

Marshall is still clearly disappointed when he leaves the table. Rachel begins packing for her mission. Sydney comes to see how she’s doing.

SYDNEY: Hey.

RACHEL: Hey.

SYDNEY: Here’s your program. It’s a Flinkman special.

Sydney hands Rachel a USB drive.

RACHEL: Thanks.

SYDNEY: You’re sure you’re okay with this?

RACHEL: Yeah. I’m actually glad that I’m going – anything to keep the investigation moving.

SYDNEY: (laughs) When’s the last time you did something just for fun?

RACHEL: Hitting Gordon Dean on the head with a shovel – that was fun.

SYDNEY: Okay.

RACHEL: Okay, it hasn’t been high on my list of priorities.

SYDNEY: But… you have to have a life.

RACHEL: I know. Okay. I’ll work on it. I promise… after Brazil.

SAO PAULO

Rachel walks into a hotel wearing glasses and a dress with a matching blazer. She wheels her luggage to the front desk.

RACHEL: (using a British accent) Hi, I’m checking in. Lydia Sand.

CLERK: The room you requested is available. I see you’re here for the conference?

RACHEL: Yes.

CLERK: Let me get your information packet.

Behind Rachel, another guest is making a commotion with another hotel clerk.

MAN: I don’t care what sort of geek conference you have here! I was told an upgrade wouldn’t be a problem.

RACHEL: (sighs and rolls her eyes to the clerk) Americans.

Rachel gets into the elevator to go to her hotel room. Just as the doors are about to close, someone jams their briefcase into the door, forcing the doors open again. It is the rude American hotel guest, Mr. Sark. He gets on the elevator. On their way up, Sark looks over at Rachel and notices her name tag.

SARK: (still using an American accent) So Lydia, you here on business?

RACHEL: (still using a British accent) Yes. The geek conference.

SARK: You heard that, huh?

RACHEL: I did.

The elevator doors open. Rachel steps out and goes to her hotel room. Sark follows behind her. Rachel finds her hotel room – and Sark’s room is right across from hers.

SARK: What are the odds, huh?

They open their doors and go inside their respective rooms. Rachel opens her luggage and takes out her op-tech. She drills a hole into the wall and feeds a fiber optic camera into the hole. She monitors Basarov’s room. Meanwhile, Sark is preparing in his room.

SARK: I’m in place. Yes, I’m looking at him right now. I’ll have the details of the trade by tomorrow. Don’t worry, Benjamin. For what you’re paying me, I won’t let anything stand in my way.

< ALIAS – Title Sequence >

Lukas Basarov comes down the stairs of the hotel with a colleague. Rachel has been waiting in the lobby and approaches him.

RACHEL: Dr. Basarov? Hi. Sorry to interrupt. I was just reading your article, and well, I was wondering – would you mind signing it?

Basarov smiles and takes the journal from Rachel.

BASAROV: (to his colleague) Look. I have – what do you call them? Groupie.

RACHEL: Hmm. Thank you.

BASAROV: You’re welcome.

Basarov and his colleague continue on. Back in her hotel room, Rachel scans the back of the journal she asked Basarov to sign. She lifts his fingerprints from the scan and creates a duplicate fingerprint tip.

In his room, Sark is calling for room service.

SARK: I would like the shrimp stew, the pork and beef skewers, and also the tomato salad. I’m trying to lay off the carbs.

Sark looks on his monitor and sees that Basarov is about to get into the shower.

SARK: Get it here in ten minutes, and I’ll triple the gratuity.

Rachel cautiously steps out of her hotel room and walks next door to Basarov’s room. She inserts a device into his room’s door lock, which decrypts the lock sequence and opens the door. She slips into the room and closes the door behind her. Basarov is in the shower. Rachel puts the device into her inside jacket pocket. She quickly moves to Basarov’s laptop and boots it up. She takes out her duplicate fingerprint, but suddenly, there is a knock on the door.

SARK: Room service.

Rachel quickly closes the laptop and hides. Sark opens the door and wheels in the cart of food he had ordered. He goes to the laptop, finds an access keycard on the table, and sprays something on the card. Rachel is hiding outside on a ledge next to the window, pressed tightly against the wall with her eyes closed.

Sark puts his fake fingerprint into the biometric scanner. He inserts a PC card into the laptop and uploads a program onto Basarov’s laptop. After the upload is compete, Sark removes the PC card, closes the laptop, and leaves the room.

Finally, Rachel is able to get back into the room. She breathes a sigh of relief. She hears Basarov get out of the shower. She hesitates, but decides to finish the job. She moves quickly to the laptop, inserts the USB drive with Marshall’s program, and scans her fake fingerprint. She quickly uploads Marshall’s program and leaves, just as Basarov comes out of the bathroom and finds the cart of food. He checks it out, interested.

Rachel quickly goes back into her room and closes the door behind her. She stands in front of the door for a moment to calm down.

(INT. APO – DAY)

A phone rings. Tom Grace answers.

TOM: Agent Grace.

RACHEL: Hi. It’s me.

TOM: How’d it go?

RACHEL: It went fine – Great.

TOM: Good. I’ll notify Jack and Marshall.

RACHEL: So… uh, what do I do now?

TOM: Keep your PDA with you. It’ll alert you as soon as it intercepts Basarov’s transmission. Then go ahead and send it to Marshall. Till then, it looks like you got the night off. Just relax.

RACHEL: All right.

Rachel is enjoying a martini in the hotel restaurant at the bar. Sark arrives at the bar a few seats down from her.

SARK: Lydia?

Rachel looks over warily.

SARK: Right? I’m sorry about the crack I made earlier. Twelve hours on a plane next to a screaming toddler. You know how that can be. Of course, that’s no excuse.

RACHEL: Don’t worry about it.

SARK: (to the bartender) Whatever beer you have on tap, please. (to Rachel) The name’s Bob Brown.

RACHEL: Lydia… but you already knew that.

SARK: (to the bartender) Thank you. (to Rachel) Conference that bad?

RACHEL: No. It’s just, you know, tough day. Sometimes at these work events, I feel like I’m in over my head. I just started in a new division. It’s a lot more responsibilities, more risks.

SARK: Sounds like you need to rethink your perspective a little bit.

Sark moves over a couple of seats and sits next to Rachel.

SARK: Anything in life worth doing has an element of risk. It’s what makes life interesting.

RACHEL: I can definitely say my life has been interesting lately. And I did manage to do what I came here for, so…

SARK: Well, then good for you. As you say, cheers.

RACHEL: Cheers.

They clink glasses.

RACHEL: So, Bob, you here on business as well?

SARK: Yep. I’m in international trade.

RACHEL: What do you trade?

SARK: Whatever my clients pay me to trade.

RACHEL: Do you like it?

SARK: Hell, yeah. I work freelance, so I get to travel, meet all sorts of fascinating people – present company included. Last year, I tried something a little different – something more conventional, stable.

RACHEL: How’d that work out?

SARK: It didn’t. I was terrible at it. I was so bored that I wanted to blow my brains out. So I decided to take less drastic measures and do something I know best.

RACHEL: I just moved. Left my entire life behind, actually.

SARK: Well, new starts are good, right?

RACHEL: And the new people I work with are great.

SARK: You don’t sound too convinced.

RACHEL: No, they are. That’s part of the problem. They’re so good at what they do. I mean, there’s this one woman – she’s amazing, and she’s about to have a baby. I’m not sure I could manage work and a goldfish.

SARK: Well, aquariums are overrated. Remember that.

RACHEL: Okay. (laughs)

SARK: You want another one?

RACHEL: I would love one.

SARK: Okay.

Later, the two walk back to their respective hotel rooms.

RACHEL: So, um… thank you for keeping me company.

SARK: It was my pleasure.

They stand in the hallway for a moment before Sark gives Rachel a brief kiss.

RACHEL: Good night.

SARK: Good night.

Sark seems to step back slightly, but they both move in for longer, lingering kiss.

SARK: Do you have your key?

RACHEL: Oh, no, we can’t go in my room. There are clothes all over the place. Can’t we go to yours?

Sark hesitates.

RACHEL: Please?

SARK: Uh…

RACHEL: (whispering in Sark’s ear) Please.

Sark kisses Rachel.

SARK: What the hell.

Sark unlocks the door. The two step inside, still kissing as they make their way to the bed.

Afterwards, Sark cradles Rachel in his arms. Rachel runs her fingers along Sark’s chest.

RACHEL: Mmm. Just so you know, I don’t usually do this.

SARK: Well, I appreciate you making the exception. You should know that gorgeous engineers have a way of throwing themselves at me, so…

RACHEL: I did not throw myself at you.

SARK: Okay, okay. If that’s what you need to believe.

Rachel leans in for a kiss.

SARK: Want something to drink?

RACHEL: Yes, that’d be lovely.

SARK: Okay.

Sark kisses Rachel again before getting out of bed. After he leaves, Rachel moves over to the nightstand and looks at Sark’s passport. It bears the name he gave as his alias, Bob Brown, and lists his date of birth as April 15, 1968 and birthplace in Chicago. She opens the airline ticket envelope and finds a ticket going to Nassau, Bahamas. Suddenly, her cell phone rings from her purse. She quickly gets out of bed. Sark returns to the room after a bit.

SARK: We’re in the tropics, so how about some rum?

He is surprised to see that Rachel has already gathered her belongings and is dressed and ready to leave.

SARK: Okay, so you hate rum.

RACHEL: Sorry, I forgot how early my flight was.

SARK: What are you talking about? We got a couple of hours, right?

RACHEL: Seriously, I’ve got to meet with my boss, and I’m completely unprepared.

SARK: Well, I hate to be the one –

Sark notices a device in his room is flashing.

SARK: - to make you lose your job.

Rachel gives Sark a kiss on his cheek.

RACHEL: Bob, it’s been –

SARK: Yeah, it has.

Rachel leaves the room. Sark goes to his laptop.

(INT. APO – NIGHT)

Marshall is playing Tetris when his cell phone rings.

MARSHALL: Carrie, honey, listen, I’m into something really huge right now, okay?

RACHEL: No, no, no, Marshall, it’s Rachel. The transmission’s coming in early.

MARSHALL: Oh, okay. Uh, give me a sec.

RACHEL: Transferring now.

MARSHALL: I’ll get right on it.

The next day, Rachel is back at APO and talks with Sydney.

SYDNEY: Rachel, you did great. Marshall’s almost done analyzing the transmission. It won’t be much longer.

RACHEL: I’m glad.

Sydney studies Rachel.

SYDNEY: You’re in a good mood. Anything you’re not telling me?

RACHEL: I… nothing. I just – the trip was really relaxing.

SYDNEY: What did you do? Spit it out.

RACHEL: (embarrassed) I met a guy at the hotel. Some business guy, which is not at all my type. We were just talking at the bar, and well, one thing led to –

SYDNEY: Another, obviously. Are you going to see him again?

RACHEL: He thinks I’m Lydia, a British engineer.

SYDNEY: Oh, rats. Yeah.

RACHEL: So no, I guess.

SYDNEY: Guess what happens in Brazil stays in Brazil.

JACK: (walking in) What happened in Brazil?

SYDNEY: Oh, Rachel got food poisoning.

JACK: Sorry. Marshall decrypted the transmission. The double agent is due to meet Basarov in Spain in 14 hours. I’m leaving now to surveil the exchange.

SYDNEY: You taking anyone with you?

JACK: My MI-6 contact is joining me.

Sydney raises eyebrows.

JACK: You’ll coordinate from here.

SYDNEY: Yeah.

JACK: Okay.

MALAGA

Inside an old building, Jack and Elizabeth wait to monitor the exchange.

ELIZABETH: Well, this is charming.

JACK: (smiling) I knew you’d like it. I could have spared you the trip, handled this alone.

ELIZABETH: Someone from my agency is involved. You can’t expect me to stand on the sidelines.

JACK: I figured as much. Why don’t you start with the cameras?

Jack hands Elizabeth a small video camera mounted on a tripod. Elizabeth smiles and goes to set it up.

SYDNEY: (comms) This is Phoenix. How are you doing?

JACK: We’re almost set up.

ELIZABETH: (checking the camera) Connection’s good.

JACK: Okay. You should be getting visuals.

Sydney monitors the footage from APO, along with Marshall and Tom.

SYDNEY: Got it. We’re standing by.

Jack opens a weapons case and takes out a device.

JACK: We can tag the weapon with this tracker. Once they –

Elizabeth’s cell phone rings. She checks the caller.

ELIZABETH: Joseph.

JACK: Where does he think you are?

ELIZABETH: Developing nations summit. (silences her cell phone) You were saying?

JACK: Once the weapon’s in transport, we’ll notify the CNA so they can recover it without tipping the double agent.

ELIZABETH: Sounds good.

Outside, a vehicle arrives at the meeting place.

ELIZABETH: Looks like they’re ahead of schedule.

Lukas Basarov gets out of the truck and motions for his assistant to uncover the weapon loaded on the truck bed.

SYDNEY: Do you see that?

MARSHALL: Yeah. Given the size, I’m assuming it’s got a least a twenty-mile blast radius.

Sydney looks concerned. A car pulls up next to the truck.

JACK: I thought he was showing up alone.

ELIZABETH: So did I.

Basarov is surrounded by a group of men. One man approaches Basarov.

SYDNEY: That man – Can you get a better image?

MARSHALL: Yeah. I’m on it.

The man seems to look straight up into the camera.

SYDNEY: Oh my God. That’s Masari.

MARSHALL: Who?

SYDNEY: (comms) Dad, those are not MI-6 agents. Repeat – those are not MI-6 agents. That is Benjamin Masari.

MARSHALL: Wait a minute. Who’s Masari?

TOM: Sudanese head of the RLF – terrorist squad responsible for bombing Western targets in Africa.

JACK: This is an ambush.

The men open fire on Basarov and his assistant.

ELIZABETH: The bomb!

Elizabeth quickly moves to load her weapon. They hear a noise close by. Suddenly, Sydney’s video feed turns to static. Another team of men have found Jack and Elizabeth.

SYDNEY: Dad, can you hear me?

MARSHALL: It’s no good, Syd. They’re jamming our signal.

SYDNEY: Oh, God. Dad. Dad, do you copy? Dad, can you hear me?

The APO team scrambles to figure out what happened.

TOM: I want intel from anybody who’s ever done business with Masari. I don’t care if they crossed the street next to him… find out what they know.

DIXON: (walking up to Marshall) Anything yet?

MARSHALL: Well, I’m indexing passenger manifests to and from Malaga. So far, nothing.

DIXON: Find something.

Dixon walks down the hallway, where Rachel briefs him on what she’s found.

RACHEL: The head of Interpol is on the line.

DIXON: Any trace from the signal?

RACHEL: No. They must have disabled the tracker.

DIXON: I want everything we have on the RLF.

RACHEL: Right away.

Arvin Sloane quickly walks straight to Sydney Bristow’s office.

SLOANE: I came as soon as I heard.

SYDNEY: I’m sorry to pull you away from Nadia.

SLOANE: How did it happen?

SYDNEY: They were surveilling a weapons trade. An MPB was supposed to be delivered to a double agent within MI-6. Masari and his men showed up instead. I’ve been reviewing the footage.

SLOANE: What time was the meet set?

SYDNEY: 2:30 am, local time.

SLOANE: Masari and his men?

SYDNEY: Showed up at 2:17.

SLOANE: The double agent never had a chance. They beat him to it.

SYDNEY: You think it’s unrelated?

SLOANE: Micropulse bomb – it’s the kind of weapon that would be coveted by most criminal organizations. Masari must have found out.

SYDNEY: How?

SLOANE: How did you get your intel, Sydney?

SYDNEY: Rachel intercepted a transmission.

SLOANE: Well, maybe she wasn’t the only one.

SYDNEY: Someone else was in that hotel.

Sloane finds a familiar face from the video surveillance at the São Paulo hotel. He displays a photo of Sark on the screen.

SLOANE: Say hello to an old friend – Julian Sark.

Rachel recognizes Sark immediately and looks worried.

SLOANE: Footage places him at the hotel in São Paulo at the same time that Rachel intercepted the message, which makes it likely that he did the same.

DIXON: I thought he was out of the game.

MARSHALL: Apparently not.

DIXON: He must have been working for Masari. He was probably paid for the information.

TOM: Who is this guy?

SYDNEY: Kidnapper, extortionist, murder, the list goes on. Formerly tied to SD-6 and the Covenant. He mostly works for himself.

RACHEL: (softly) Freelance.

Rachel looks over at Sydney, who realizes something is up.

CUT TO Rachel meeting with Sydney privately to discuss Rachel’s run-in with Sark in São Paulo.

RACHEL: I had no idea. I will do anything.

SYDNEY: I have to ask – did he use you for information?

RACHEL: No. There’s no way. We were never in my room. He never even had access to the transmission.

Sydney nods.

RACHEL: I can find him.

SYDNEY: He’s probably halfway around the world by now.

RACHEL: No, when I was in his room, I saw a plane ticket. He’s going to the Bahamas.

NASSAU

(EXT NASSAU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – DAY)

As Sark leaves the airport, he finds Rachel waiting for him.

SARK: (using an American accent) Lydia.

RACHEL: (using her normal accent) How nice. You remembered my name.

Sydney walks up to the two.

SYDNEY: Do you remember me?

SARK: (dropping his American accent) Sydney. I suppose a congratulations is in order.

Sydney gives Sark a wry smile.

SARK: I’m warning you, if you’re planning on arresting me, I’m not gonna make it easy on you.

SYDNEY: My father and another agent have been taken captive by Benjamin Masari. We need to find his base of operations.

SARK: My clients pay handsomely for their privacy. It would be unprofessional of me to give that information to you.

SYDNEY: Which is why we aren’t here to arrest you. We’re here to hire you.

Sark nods.

TUNISIA

(INT. MASARI’S COMPOUND – DAY)

Jack and Elizabeth are being held in a room inside Masari’s bunker-like compound. Benjamin Masari pays them a visit.

JACK: I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten about us.

MASARI: I imagine for you this cell seems somewhat inhuman. You Westerners, so accustomed to your indulgences.

JACK: Why are we here?

MASARI: You were transmitting a video feed when you were found. Where was it going?

Elizabeth and Jack are silent for a moment, but Elizabeth decides to boldly answer.

ELIZABETH: Holiday photos. Costa del Sol in winter. As you say, we do like our little indulgences.

Masari motions for a guard to take Elizabeth.

JACK: Do not touch her!

The guards pick her up and put her elbows down on the low table in the room, forcing her hands down flat on the table.

MASARI: If you want to spare her, answer me!

Masari cocks his gun and points it at Elizabeth’s hand.

MASARI: Where was the transmission going?

Elizabeth shakes her head at Jack.

JACK: Take me.

ELIZABETH: I’m not easily frightened.

MASARI: You should be.

Masari shoots Elizabeth through her left hand. She screams in pain and falls backwards away from the table. Despite his handcuffs, Jack delivers hard blows to two guards. Eventually, the guards force Jack back down and hold a gun to him.

MASARI: The right one.

The guards force Elizabeth back to the table, with her right hand pressed down on the table this time.

MASARI: If you want to spare her, answer me.

Masari cocks his gun.

MASARI: Perhaps we should try this again. Who do you work for?

JACK: Wait.

ELIZABETH: Don’t tell him!

MASARI: Clearly, you don’t work with your hands, huh?

Elizabeth looks at Masari with desperation. A guard interrupts, whispers something to Masari, and hands him a phone. Masari leaves the room to take the call. The guards release Elizabeth momentarily.

MASARI: What is it?

SARK: My sources tell me things got complicated in Spain.

MASARI: What do you know about it?

SARK: Everything.

Sloane is in the room with Sark, monitoring the call.

SARK: You’ve kidnapped two agents – one’s CIA, the other’s British Intelligence. There’s an international search underway.

MASARI: I appreciate the information. You’ve saved me some time and a few bullets.

SARK: Perhaps I could do more. I have a proposition.

MASARI: Always the businessman.

SARK: Well, those agents you’ve kidnapped are quite valuable. I know some people that would pay an exorbitant amount of money to get their hands on them.

MASARI: Best kill them and be done with it.

Sloane presses a button and mutes the phone.

SLOANE: Do whatever it takes.

SARK: Benjamin, you have many enemies. Given what I know, I imagine I could broker a pretty lucrative deal for myself.

Masari looks incredulous at Sark’s audacity.

MASARI: Are you threatening me?

SARK: As you said, I’m simply a businessman. When opportunity knocks…

MASARI: I’ll expect you within the next 24 hours.

SARK: Where should we make the exchange?

MASARI: Tunisia. My compound.

(INT. APO – DAY)

Dixon and Sydney discuss using Sark to get Jack and Elizabeth back from Masari.

DIXON: Can we trust him?

SYDNEY: He is telling the truth. I’ll arrange for transport.

DIXON: Sydney, getting your father from Masari... we need to go in tactically.

SYDNEY: How am I supposed to sit here and do nothing? It’s my dad.

DIXON: We both know he wouldn’t want you to go.

SYDNEY: I can’t lose him.

DIXON: You won’t.

(EXT. TUNISIA – DAY)

Dixon is driving a truck with Tom in the passenger seat. Inside the back, Rachel briefs Sark. She hands him a watch.

SARK: A gift?

RACHEL: A locator. We need to know exactly where Masari’s holding them. We can’t risk tipping him off.

SARK: You haven’t done this before, have you?

Rachel gives Sark a look.

SARK: Look, I imagine you feel somewhat to blame for all this, but you’re not. I’m very good at what I do.

RACHEL: When you’re with them, press the winding stem on the watch. We’ll do the rest.

SARK: I must admit, you’re quite fetching in black.

RACHEL: I will gag you.

The truck stops. Tom gets out and walks toward the back of the truck.

SARK: Does this mean we can’t be friends?

Tom lowers the tailgate of the truck.

TOM: Time to switch.

RACHEL: Thank God.

Rachel quickly gets out of the truck. Sark pauses for a moment and follows Rachel out of the truck.

(INT. APO – DAY)

Sydney hangs up the phone.

MARSHALL: (walking by in the hallway) Hey, heard the phone ring.

SYDNEY: Wasn’t them.

Marshall walks into Sydney’s office.

MARSHALL: Um, you want some company? You know, while we wait?

SYDNEY: I’d like that.

(EXT. MASARI’S COMPOUND – DAY)

Dixon drives into the compound, with Sark in the passenger seat. The engine compartment of the truck is smoking as Dixon pulls to a stop. Sark steps out of the truck holding a briefcase, as Masari’s guards walk up to the truck to make sure everything is safe.

SARK: Masari’s expecting me.

Dixon steps out of the truck. One guard goes to the back of the truck and opens the tailgate. The back of the truck is empty. The guards pat down Sark and Dixon. Rachel and Tom are hanging to the underside the truck, hidden from view.

GUARD: (to Sark) I’m sure Colonel Masari will be very pleased to see you.

SARK: (to Dixon) If you expect to be paid have this wreck fixed before I’m done with my business.

DIXON: (speaking Arabic) He still thinks he’s living in the colony.

The guard chuckles. Dixon opens the hood of the truck to check the engine. Another guard leads Sark into the compound. Inside, Sark is taken to Masari’s office.

MASARI: How was the trip?

SARK: Exhausting, as usual. Have you ever thought about moving somewhere more accessible?

MASARI: Remoteness is a virtue.

SARK: Yes, and it’s also time-consuming. So I’m afraid we’re gonna have to cut this visit short.

Sark opens the briefcase and shows Masari the money inside. Masari takes a stack of money and flips through it.

SARK: If you could take me to the prisoners, I can be on my way.

MASARI: Why the rush?

SARK: I need to be in Tunis by nightfall.

MASARI: I’m afraid that, uh…

Masari cocks his gun and points it at Sark.

MASARI: ...won’t be possible.

Outside, Dixon tries to get some help from a guard to repair the truck.

DIXON: Can I get some water? It’s overheated.

GUARD: I can’t leave my post.

The guard’s walkie talkie beeps. He answers it.

GUARD: Of course. Right away.

As the guard reaches for his weapon, Dixon pulls a gun out of the engine bay and shoots the guard in the leg, who falls to the ground. Tom and Rachel roll out from under the truck. They approach the downed guard with their guns drawn.

DIXON: (holding a gun to the guard) Where are the prisoners?

Dixon and the team approach the door to Masari’s compound.

DIXON: I need help!

When the guard inside opens the door to respond, Dixon quickly shoots him.

DIXON: (to Rachel) Cover the entrance. (to Tom) Come on!

Tom and Dixon approach a short hallway where three of Masari’s men are guarding the prisoners’ room. At the corner, Tom throws a flashbang grenade toward the guards, stunning them and allowing Tom and Dixon to take the guards out. Tom opens the door and finds Jack and a wounded Elizabeth.

JACK: She needs medical attention.

TOM: You don’t look so good yourself. (to Elizabeth) You okay?

ELIZABETH: Yeah.

DIXON: An extraction team is standing by. I’ll call for them.

RACHEL: Yeah.

TOM: We’ve got them.

RACHEL: And Masari?

TOM: He and Sark are still missing.

Rachel draws her gun and goes to look for them. She opens the door to Masari’s office and finds something beeping. She calls APO.

SYDNEY: Yeah.

RACHEL: Sydney, it’s me.

SYDNEY: Oh, thank God. How’s my father?

RACHEL: He’s alive, but we’ve got another problem.

Rachel has found Sark handcuffed to the MPB. The timer on the bomb is at 8 minutes and 30 seconds.

SYDNEY: Can we evacuate?

MARSHALL: No. There’s not enough time. They won’t get very far.

SYDNEY: Rachel, we’re gonna talk you through this.

Rachel walks up to the bomb. Sark looks up at her dubiously.

MARSHALL: Okay, Rachel, there should be a front panel. Do you see that?

RACHEL: Uh… (examining the bomb) Yeah. It’s screwed in.

Sark continues to try to undo his handcuffs.

MARSHALL: Great. Just unscrew it.

RACHEL: Unscrew it? With what?

SARK: Might I suggest something sharp?

RACHEL: Hold on.

Rachel looks around and find a letter opener on Masari’s desk.

RACHEL: Here.

Rachel uses the letter opener to unscrew the panel.

RACHEL: (to Sark) So what happened?

SARK: I underestimated my friendship with Masari. He assumed I was betraying him, and he took the money and he left.

RACHEL: Oh. So then he knows you pretty well.

SARK: Mmm.

Rachel lifts the panel off. A control board with wires slides out from the side of the device.

RACHEL: Okay, I unscrewed the front panel. Now what?

MARSHALL: Okay. If this bomb works on microwave energy, it should have a coaxial capacitor bank. Do you see that?

RACHEL: Uh, maybe. I don’t know.

SYDNEY: It should be attached to a power source.

RACHEL: Okay, I found it.

MARSHALL: Okay, great. You need to jam the pulse.

RACHEL: How?

MARSHALL: Reroute the wires to a neutral bank.

Rachel disconnects and reconnects a couple of wires. Sark watches Rachel work, concerned. She picks up a pair of scissors to cut a wire.

RACHEL: Okay.

SARK: Wait.

Rachel looks over at Sark.

SARK: If that’s the wrong wire -

RACHEL: I thought you liked risks.

SARK: I also like my body. As I recall, you do, too.

Rachel cuts the wire, but the timer continues to count down.

RACHEL: It’s still armed.

MARSHALL: That’s okay. It’s okay. Um. You just need to disable the compression generator. Look for a wire running to the microwave antenna.

RACHEL: Okay.

SARK: Don’t you want to get Dixon? No offense, but you haven’t had the best judgment lately.

RACHEL: Okay, I got it.

MARSHALL: Cut that. That should work.

SYDNEY: Should or will?

MARSHALL: Should.

Rachel gets ready to cut the wire. Sark closes his eyes.

RACHEL: Just so we’re clear –you approached me. You were the one that was stupid enough to let me into your room. And afterwards, you were the one that wanted to cuddle.

Rachel cuts the wire. The bomb shuts down.

RACHEL: It’s disarmed.

SYDNEY: That was spectacular, Rachel.

RACHEL: Thank you.

SYDNEY: (to Marshall) About what you just heard…

MARSHALL: Don’t need to know, don’t want to know.

Outside the compound, a medical team has bandaged Elizabeth’s hand.

JACK: I’ve spoken with the driver. There’s a plane waiting in Tunis. You’ll be in a London hospital by nightfall.

ELIZABETH: Wish Sydney well for me.

JACK: I’m sorry, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH: Don’t be.

Jack takes Elizabeth’s hand. Elizabeth holds his hand tightly for a moment before she is wheeled away into the ambulance. Inside, Dixon and Tom meet with Sark.

DIXON: About your payment…

SARK: You’d love to arrest me right now, wouldn’t you?

DIXON: Next time.

TOM: Give us the account number, we’ll wire you your fee.

SARK: Don’t bother. This one’s a freebie.

On the way out, Sark nods to Rachel, who seems pleased.

(INT. APO – DAY)

SYDNEY: (on the phone) You sure you don’t need anything? I could stop by on my way home.

JACK: I’m fine. I’m just… exhausted.

SYDNEY: That’s understandable.

JACK: Why don’t we meet for breakfast? I’ll come by and pick you up.

SYDNEY: That’d be great. Dad… if anything had happened, and I couldn’t have been there…

JACK: Sydney, you did exactly what I would have wanted. You and the baby are all that matters.

SYDNEY: I love you, Dad. Sleep well.

Sydney hangs up the phone just as Dixon walks into her office. She gets up and gives Dixon a hug. Meanwhile, Jack plays the piano alone in his house. Despite what he told Elizabeth, clearly, he still plays.