superintelligentone
Cadet
Season 4: Episode 5 - "Welcome To Liberty Village"
1/26/2005
Summary by superintelligentone aka SIO
It is nighttime outside a secure facility in Russia. A man watches the three guards in front from inside a black SUV. He looks through his binoculars, then reports via his headset in Russian that he sees the delivery truck has arrived. The man starts up his Chevy Suburban and speeds towards one of the guards, running him over. He draws a silencer equipped MAC-10 submachine gun, shooting the truck driver and the remaining two guards. The man exits the SUV with a carrying case and approaches the truck. Rolling up the back door, the man keys in the combination to the vault inside. He opens the door and removes a briefcase-size electronic device, placing it into his carrying case. The man drives off and sometime later turns up a driveway to a nice house in a suburban neighbourhood. A woman greets him “Honey, you’re late. I was getting worried.” The man exits the SUV and responds “I’m sorry, beautiful. I got hung up at work.” They exchange kisses, then head into the house.
The scene switches to Los Angeles at night. We hear Nadia’s voice say “It doesn’t make any sense.” We see Weiss respond “What is so hard to understand? Take a ball, right? You roll it. You knock over some pins. And then everyone cheers for you.” Vaughn cuts in with a smile, “Or in your case, everyone laughs.” Weiss admits “That’s true.” We see that Weiss and Nadia are having dinner with Vaughn and Sydney at her house. Everyone enjoys a good laugh. Nadia continues “How is that fun?” Sydney smiles and looking towards Vaughn says “How could she even ask such a thing?” as she rises to take the some used dishes away. Weiss says “You know what? I think I know what your problem is. You’ve never had a true bowling experience.” Nadia protests in mock insult “We have bowling in Argentina, you know!” Weiss replies “Yes, but you don’t have, like, glow-in-the-dark pins. You don’t have all-you-can eat hotdogs after 10:00.” Nadia rises and clears the table of the remaining used dishes. Weiss continues ”Or bad disco music pumping through the stereo ... You know what? Why am I still talking about this? Let’s just do it. We’re going bowling. Come on.” Nadia is handling her sister the dishes, when she turns and asks “Really?” Weiss gets up from the table, saying “Yeah, yeah. Come on, We’re all going bowling.” Sydney thinks that it is a bad idea, saying “Now?” Weiss replies “Yeah, there’s a 24 hour bowling alley.” Vaughn objects saying “That’s not the point.” Sydney joins in “We have work tomorrow.” Weiss replies “Guys, you don’t have to analyse everything you do. You can just decide to have fun. It’s okay.” Sydney protests “We’re fun.” Weiss wisecracks “Yeah, you guys are about as spontaneous as my grandparents ... And they’re dead.” Vaughn says “Look, it’s Wednesday night.” Sydney has made up her mind and says “We’re not going bowling.” Weiss teases “All right, well suit yourself. Big kids are going out.” Nadia jokes “How can I resist all-you-can-eat hotdogs after 10:00?” Weiss half-jokingly says “Don’t wait up.” Nadia says “Let’s go” and they leave. Sydney has a worried expression as she asks “We don’t analyse everything we do? Do we?” Vaughn replies with a bit of doubt “No, no ... We don’t. And besides, we agreed to take things slow.” Sydney takes comfort in his explanation and says “Right. We’re choosing not to be spontaneous.” Vaughn replies “Exactly”. Just then, both of their cell phones ring, so they look at their caller ID. Vaughn quips “And that’s why they call us when something’s wrong.” They are being summoned to the APO.
A short time later at the APO, Sloane is heading for the conference room with Jack and Dixon following from one end of the corridor. Sydney and Vaughn approach from the other side. Inside Marshall is waiting for them next to a wall of monitor screens. Sloane starts the briefing by saying “Six hours ago, an electromagnetic weapon was stolen from a warehouse in Kostroma (Russia). Marshall continues “Now this thing's a prototype, really bad news: repeatable core, amplified radius ... I mean, you guys know what an electromagnetic pulse does, right?” Sydney replies “Destroys electronic equipment, melts circuitry.” Marshall says “Right. Now, if this baby goes off, anything within a ten mile radius that contains electronic parts, like computers, radios, cars, radar ... everything would be fried.” Jack points out “If a terrorist were to detonate this in a major metropolitan city, the casualties would be extreme.” Marshall adds “Hospitals would lose power, traffic grids would be destroyed, airplanes would fall from the sky ... I mean it's really ... Oh, and the most impressive thing about this particular device is its repeatable core.” Dixon uses the example “You could black out Los Angeles and then use it to take down San Francisco in the same day.” Sydney asks “Who's the thief?” Sloane presses a wireless remote control at the bank of monitors on the wall to display a series of images and says “His name is Yuri Kurelko, former KGB officer, currently reported to have ties with an extremist group known as the October Contingent.” Vaughn says with recognition “The Russian Ultra-Nationalists.” Sloane says “That's right. They're largely ex-military, but they're looking for new recruits.” He press the remote to shows a new series of images, saying “Three days ago, German authorities picked up a man and a woman attempting to smuggle weapons through a customs checkpoint. Subsequent interrogation revealed them to be Dimitri and Ilyana Tabakov, suspected Chechnyan mercenaries. Jack adds “Under duress, they disclosed that the October Contingent has made back channel overtures toward them to join their group.” Sloane orders “Sydney and Vaughn, you will impersonate the Tabakovs, infiltrate the Contingent. Your mission is twofold: you will identify the group's objective, and retrieve the electromagnetic weapon. Sydney, Vaughn ... You know that any attempt to communicate to you from our end might jeopardize your lives.” Vaughn concludes “So we're on our own.” Sloane says “Not quite.” He looks towards their technical expert and says “Marshall?” Marshall stands up and opens a small case in front of him, then says “What I have here is ... a normal, everyday wristwatch. Now, under normal uses, it won't alarm any countersurveillance scans, but once activated, it will give us GPS coordinates to triangulate your position. Oh, and its also capable of short burst transmissions. Dixon adds “You can send images, and ... we'll monitor you as best we can.” Sloane concludes the meeting by saying “And if we detect your cover is in jeopardy, we will send the abort signal. I want you to extricate yourselves immediately. Your plane leaves in an hour. I wish you well. Good luck.” Sydney gives Vaughn a slightly doubtful expression as the meeting adjourns.
Sometime later in Moscow, we see a couple sharing an umbrella as they walk in the rain. A van on the street pulls to a stop in front of them to ask directions. The passenger window rolls down and from inside we see Sydney and Vaughn approach. Their contact, Yuri Kurelko, speaking to them in Russian asks them “Will this road lead me to Red Square?” Ilyana/Sydney responds in Russian “Keep driving. Eventually all roads lead to Red Square.” Having heard the proper counter-phrase to his pass-phrase that only Dimitri and Ilyana Tabakov knows about, Kurelko says “You are aware of our project?” Dimitri/Vaughn responds in Russian “We're aware you pay good money.” Kurelko warns them “We require quite a commitment.” Dimitri/Vaughn relies “We require quite a payment.” Kurelko pauses at hearing such bravado then continues “How is your English?” Ilyana/Sydney replies in English with a thick Russian accent “We are able to get by. Yeah.” Kurelko asks in Russian “Can you speak without the accent?” Ilyana/Sydney replies in her normal voice “What would you like me to say?” Kurelko responds in an American accent “I think that'll do just fine.” He gets out of the van and opens the sliding side door for them and says “I gotta tell you, if you two are half as good as rumoured, we're really in for a treat. Come on, hop on in. Let's get you out of the rain. My name's Tom, by the way.” Ilyana/Sydney and Dimitri/Vaughn climb inside the back of the van, then Tom/Kurelko joins them and closes the door.
Inside Marshall’s equipment cluttered office back at the APO, he shows Jack satellite data from his computer. He says “NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) retasked a Keyhole satellite (3D satellite imaging service) for infrared flyover. Picked them up on the M-8 (North highway out of Moscow) shortly after Sydney began transmitting.” We see on the monitor a world map that zooms in on an area of northwest Russia, then an infrared terrain map showing roads. Jack asks “Destination?” Marshall keys into the computer and we see that he has cross-referenced the area roadmap. One road in particular, M-18 is highlighted leading to a city. Marshall then says “Well, the closest city in that area is ... Petrozavodsk. It's about twelve hours away.” Jack asks “What else is in the area?” Marshall replies “Nothing really: farmland, tundra ... turnips” and lets slip a small smirk. Jack instructs him “Let me know the moment that van stops moving.” Marshall replies “You got it, boss” as Jack leaves the room. Marshall returns to track the blip that is moving on the satellite infrared road map.
The scene switches to inside of the van transporting Sydney and Vaughn. Tom/Kurelko points to the man sitting next to him saying “This is Nick. He's going to take some photos of your for our project.” Ilyana/Sydney says “And this project...requires us to speak English, like Americans, for some reason.” Nick is working from a computer using Syd and Vaughn’s passport photos to insert them into fake identity documents. Tom/Kurelko explains “Well, first order of business. We need to establish some new identities for you two, and something tells me that ...” He reaches over for the two fake passports that Nick hands him. Tom reads the names from them and continues “‘David and Karen Parker’ don't exactly spend a lot of time speaking in the Russian tongue.” He hands Syd and Vaughn their fake passports, then assures them “Don't worry. We'll go over everything once we get to Liberty Village. In the meantime, just sit back and enjoy the ride.” Tom adds with a wink “You just became Americans!” Sydney and Vaughn exchange concerned glances. On Nick's computer screen, we see him photo-manipulate Sydney’s passport photo into a headshot that he inserts into a vacation photo of a woman in a bathing suit carrying a wakeboard. Next, Nick takes a headshot of Vaughn and manipulates it over a picture of a black man wearing a wetsuit. Vaughn and Sydney exchange uncomfortable glances.
Back at the APO, Jack walks into Sloane's office. Sloane tells him “I want to know more about this group Sydney and Vaughn have infiltrated. So Jack, I'm recommending you reach out to Alexei Vassilyvich. Any objections?” Jack’s expression indicates that he doesn’t like this idea. He sighs then says in an impatient tone “He'll want something in return.” Sloane nods then says “Yeah ... Look, Jack, I can task another agent if you feel this is something...” Jack interrupts “I simply question whether it is prudent to involve him at this point considering...” Just then, Sloane's phone on his desk rings. He answers the call, saying “Yes, Marshall?” Marshall's worried face appears on the videophone and he says “Uh, Mr. Sloane? You're gonna want to come see this.” Sloane replies “Okay.”
A short time later, Marshall walks into the briefing room with his hands full of photographs moments before Jack and Sloane enters. Laying his photos on the table, Marshall explains to them “I think I found something. About an hour ago, the van left the highway. They followed access roads to this facility, Suberov 13. It was supposed to have been abandoned in the late 70's.” Studying the aerial surveillance photos Jack notes “Perimeter patrols, manned gun emplacements along the access roads, active airfields...” Sloane comments “It certainly doesn't look deserted.” Jack asks “Marshall, can you put that onscreen?” Marshall replies “Yeah. Just let me...” ands types into the computer. On the monitors, we see the aerial surveillance photo zoom into a high resolution, 3D infrared Keyhole satellite image of a what looks like an American style suburban neighbourhood. Marshall announces “There it is.” Sloane walks closer to scrutinize the viewscreen and asks “Is that military housing?” Jack replies “Not like any I've seen.” Walking up for a closer look too, he notes “Russian base housing resemble barracks ... Those are single family homes with lawns and cul-de-sacs...” Marshall points at the screen and asks “Wait ... Is that a swingset? Hmm, it looks like my neighbourhood.”
Nighttime in the Russian neighbourhood, the van turns up the driveway of a house. Tom gets out of the passenger door and helps Sydney and Vaughn out of the back. They look surprised upon studying the replica of an American neighbourhood.. Tom closes the back door and says “I hope you guys like your, ah, new house. Leading them to the front door, Tom adds “I love mine. It's almost exactly the same, I just hope the guests haven't trashed the place.” ‘Karen’ asks “We have guests?” He doesn't answer and keeps walking towards the front door, so Sydney turns and gives Vaughn a concerned look.
Inside the house, we see Tom opening the door, turning to say “This shouldn't be too long. We just have to a, well, an initiation of sorts. Don't worry; shouldn't be too painful.” Sydney and Vaughn look around nervously. Tom enters the living room where a small group of seemingly friendly suburban Americans are throwing a welcoming party. He announces “Everyone ... guys? Allow me to present, David and Karen Parker.” The four couples greet them warmly with smiles and glasses raised in toast: “Hey, welcome guys.” “Glad you’re here.” “Nice to meet you.” “Welcome to the neighbourhood.” Karen/Sydney smiles, waves and says “Hi.” David/Vaughn smiles, nods and says “Hello. Thank you.”
We see a refrigerator door covered with fridge magnets and a pair of photo manipulated pictures of Syd and Vaughn dressed up at a party and cute one of them showing the fish that they “caught”. They have the same serious expressions as from the source passport photos! Tom takes out a large plastic bottle of cola and explains “The town's officially known as Training Center 56B, but students started calling it "Liberty Village" sometime during the mid-80's, trying to capture that, uh, American sense of irony, I suppose.” ‘Karen’ says “So, this is a government operation.” Tom corrects her “It was a government operation, Karen. But it's a private enterprise now, which is fine with us because it gives us the freedom to do our job.” He hands ‘Karen’ two glasses of cola and she hands one to ‘David’. She asks “What exactly is our job, Tom?” He replies “Well, right now your job is to prove that you belong. You're under evaluation. We need to be sure you can portray Americans convincingly. From this point on, assume everything is a test, you understand?” Sydney nods. Tom says enthusiastically “Excellent. Now, let's go do some formal introductions so you can get to know your new neighbours” and leaves to rejoin the ‘welcoming party’. The smile leaves Vaughn’s face and he turns to look at Syd. Simultaneously, Sydney turns to look at Vaughn and gives him a slight nod. He heads off to meet the ‘neighbours’. Using the slight delay, Syd checks her wristwatch, pushes a button which beeps, then set off to the living room again.
Meanwhile, back at his office, Sloane is picking up a crystal pitcher of water and bringing it to his desk. Marshall stops at his doorway and tells him “They're transmitting.”
Back at the party, the first couple are chatting with ‘Karen’ and ‘David’. The wife says “It is so nice to finally meet you” and shakes hands with her. Syd then extends her hand to the husband who smiles, shakes hands and says “We've been looking forward to this for quite some time.” ‘Karen’ is charming as she replies “Believe me, we have been too.” Sydney is pointing the face of her watch at each guest as she has her glass of cola near her mouth.
At APO briefing room, Sloane is observing the party from the photo feed that Sydney’s watch is sending. He turns and says “Marshall?” Marshall is typing on the computer and replies “Working on it. Hang ... on ... a ... sec. Come on ...” He zooms in on the couple, then uses a facial recognition program. Intently looking at the screen, Marshall says “Got it. Sergei Danislov and Elena Vasya.” We see that Jack and Dixon are also present. Marshall continues “Weapons, drugs. Suspected terrorist affiliations include the Novgorod Authority...” Sloane cuts in “They're responsible for the Grozny (Chechnyan capital) bombing in '98. They killed 47 people.
Back at the party, the first couple are still chatting. The unnamed woman is excited to tell ‘Karen’ “I went ahead and did a little of shopping for you. You have a bunch of clothes in your closet upstairs you need to go through.” Sydney reacts in pleasant surprise, but before she can thank her, the unnamed man tells his ‘wife’ “Honey, please. There'll be plenty of time to talk about shopping later.” They giggle and walk away. Tom walks up to introduce another couple, saying “And this is Bill and Donna Johnson. They live in the house just next to you.” Sydney extends her hand and says “Hi there.” The Johnsons both say “Hi” and shake hands ‘Karen’ and ‘David’.
Looking at ‘Johnsons’ onscreen in the APO briefing room, Jack recognises them, saying “Anatoli and Tatiana Sedova.” Dixon adds “Formerly GRU (Glavnoye Razvedovatelnoye Upravlenie - Russia’s military intelligence agency). They're wanted by British authorities in connection with a bank robbery that left 7 dead.”
Back at the party, Tom introduces the third couple “And of course, Ken and Linda Taylor.” Everyone smiles and shakes hands.
Looking at their true identities onscreen, Marshall reads their records “Raisa Tupakov and Nikolai Brekev. Contract killers, Russian mafia ties. Known murders in the double-digits.”
Back at the party, Linda says “We just moved in a few days ago. You are going to love it here. ‘David’ smiles and replies “That's good to know.” “Karen’ adds “Great.” As the ‘Taylors’ walk away, Tom leads the woman that we saw after the theft of the EMP device forward and introduces her “And of course, my lovely wife, Dianne.” Dianne smiles, extends her hand and says “Hello. Good to meet you”. ‘Karen’ smiles, shakes hands and says “Hi. Nice to meet you.” ‘David’ shakes hands with her next, also saying “Nice to meet you.”
Looking at her true identity on screen, Dixon reads out her record “Marina Avdin, former chief interrogator at the Markova detention center.”
Back at the party, Dianne comments on the framed photo that she picked up “I was just looking at your photo. Tom and I just adore Rome. How long ago were you there?” She hands the picture to ‘Karen’ who sees that it is another photo-manipulation of Vaughn and her serious looking passport photos inserted over some tourist couple standing in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Sydney looks back at them and is caught at a loss of what to say. ‘David’ quickly jumps in, saying “Oh, what was it? Five years ago?” ‘Karen’ quickly replies “Has it been that long?” ‘David’ explains “Yeah, we were going to go for the Millennium, but you didn't want to fly because of Y2K.” ‘Karen’ explains to them enthusiastically “Yeah, at the time it was a big deal.” ‘David’ quickly adds “So we decided to go in the Spring.” ‘Karen’ continues enthusiastically “Loved it; no crowds, no tourists. We even got to hear the Pope speak”. ‘Karen and David’ smile at each other like happy newlyweds would. Tom/Kurelko nods in satisfaction, saying “Yeah, yeah. That was pretty good.” Dianne/Marina smiles and nods in agreement, saying “Yeah, I liked the part about Y2K.” But then Tom adds “They can do a lot better, though.” Dianne agrees “Oh, without a doubt.” Tom quickly adds “But don't worry, we're not gonna kill you over a bad story.” Dianne assures “Not on the first night, anyway” with a warm smile. They all chuckle at the joke. We see Sydney’s smile fades as she looks downwards, aware of the danger they are in.
Sloane turns from the monitors and asks the others “What’s the connection? Why is the Contingent associating with terrorists, thieves, contract killers? Marshall adds “More importantly, why are they all dressed up like ‘the Cleavers’? (from the old suburban TV show ‘Leave It To Beaver’). Dixon hypothesizes “They must be using the facility as a training ground for some impending operation.” Jack points out “It is unlikely a terrorist group could gain unlimited access to a Russian military base without some kind of state sponsorship.” Sloane says gently “Jack ... Talk to Alexei. I'll leave the negotiations to your discretion.” Jack’s expression indicates that he doesn’t like it, but realises that it must be done. Dixon asks “Do we hold off on the abort code?” Sloane says in a determined tone “For now. But be ready. This situation could deteriorate rapidly.
Back at the house, the party is ending and the guests are lined up to say goodnight. The first unnamed woman hands ‘David’ a casserole dish wrapped in plastic wrap, then says proudly “This is my three-layer casserole.” He replies “Oh, thank you.” She continues “Just enjoy” then leans toward Sydney to confide “We'll later go over the recipe.” Sydney’s smile drops and she notes the other guests reaction to the misphrased sentence. Kurelko clears his throat in disapproval, which alerts the woman to her transposed sentence error. The woman’s eyes widen and corrects herself with an with an embarrassed smile “We'll go over the recipe later. Syd takes the dish from Vaughn's hands and says with a smile “I can't wait.” Everyone says goodnight and three of the couples leave. Sydney pleasantly calls out “Good night. Thank you”. Tom and Diane remain behind to talk things over. Dianne says with a smile “So ... It's a lot to take in, isn't it?” ‘Karen’ admits “It's different ... from our usual jobs.” Dianne assures them “Not to worry; you guys are doing great”. Her ‘husband’ makes a “Mmm” sound in agreement. They start to head away, but Tom stops for a few additional comments. He advises “Just, a ... couple things to keep in mind. We recruited you because you're a couple; embrace it. Americans love to show affection for each other. (But) You two? You seem a little cold.” ‘Karen’ objects “We're not, cold.” Tom assures them “I know, I know ... First night's a common problem. Don't sweat it.” Diane returns, holding a pie plate with aluminum foil covering the top. Seeing her there, back with the pie, Tom adds “Oh, and just one more thing. We have a little homework for you”. Dianne hands her the pie. ‘Karen’ asks in confusion “You want us to eat this pie?” With his ‘wife’ cuddled up to him, Tom explains “It's a little welcome gift. Open it up.” Syd removes the cover and finds a small, disassembled, semi-automatic pistol in foam packing. He asks “Are you familiar with the new Tokorev?” (handgun). Vaughn shakes his head no. Tom advises “Get familiar. You'll need it tomorrow. Make sure you can assemble it in under 20 seconds.” Dianne smiles as she says “And don't forget to put Tammy's casserole in the fridge. That third layer is tuna.” The couple laugh, but barely a smirk appears on Syd’s serious expression. He says “All right, well ... We'll see you tomorrow” and his wife says “Sleep well”. ‘Karen and David’ both say goodnight to them. After they are gone, Sydney turns to Vaughn and says “Huh?” He looks back with equal confusion say replies “Yeah.”
Assuming that the house is being monitored, Syd and Vaughn turn on the water to the shower and the sink in the bathroom in order to drown out their frantic discussion inside. She turns to Vaughn and asks “What the hell is going on?” He agrees “Yeah, it's like a weird nightmare...” Syd interrupts “That we’re trapped in. Did you see the security when we arrived?” Vaughn says “Yeah, it's like an entire military division.” She asks “Why would they go to this much trouble?” He reasons “They must be planning an attack.” Syd contradicts his idea sarcastically “On what, Surburbia?” Realizing that his idea was wrong, Vaughn says “Well, maybe some long-term infiltration.” Sydney asks “Why steal the EMP if it's long-term?” Vaughn counters “Well, why train operatives to be American if it's short-term?” She doesn’t have an answer, so she says “Well I'm not saying it's logical. They asked us to play charades with them!” Vaughn points out “But that's an act. They're well organized, they're professionals. It's part of their test (to see if they make a convincing, married American couple).” She replies with concern “Which apparently we're failing.” He contradicts her “No, come on. That was ridiculous!” Sydney replies sarcastically “What, did they expect us to do, just drop and go at it on the floor?” Vaughn agrees “If one more person calls us boring...” Syd corrects him “He didn't call us ‘boring’. He called us ‘cold’...” Sydney gets a worried expression and asks insecurely “Who thinks we're boring?” Vaughn’s eyes dart about for a moment (recalling Weiss and Nadia wanting them to join them for latenight bowling), then replies defensively “Nobody...That...that's not the point. So, what's our next move?” Sydney returns to focus on their mission, saying “We have to assume they're tracking our every move. We maintain (our) cover.” Vaughn agrees saying “Yeah, so just act like we have nothing to hide.” Syd says “I'll do some reconnaissance; see if I can locate the EMP.” He nods and says “Okay, in the meantime, one of us should start on our homework. (Practice assembling the pistol in less than 20 seconds).
The next scene is a montage of a ponytailed Sydney dressed in a powder blue jogging outfit, running through the neighbourhood, and Vaughn removing the lid from the pie pan, practising putting the handgun together as fast as he can. She is checking out the neighbourhood and stops in front of places of interest, supposedly to take the pulse in her neck while checking with her special watch. The first time Vaughn checks his time with a stopwatch, it takes him 35 seconds to assemble the semi-automatic. The second time, he can do it in 24 seconds. The third time he cuts it down to 19.8 seconds. Sydney slows to take her pulse and looks to her right then left. There she sees something of interest, so she sneaks up to a tree in front of a house to look inside. She sees Dianne/Marina seated at a desk, reading some paperwork. Sydney has barely been in position for a few seconds, when she hears Tom’s voice coming from behind saying “Can I help you with something?” Sydney is startled and turns to see Kurelko staring at her with suspicion, but smiles and replies “You scared me” and chuckles in embarrassment. She explains “I thought you might still be up. I, uhm...wanted to thank Dianne for that bath salt kit she left us. That was really nice.” After a few seconds of him staring at her in silence, he asks coldly “How'd you know this was our house.” Syd comes up with a good explanation after a momentary pause, saying “Your name's on the mailbox” with a smile. A smile comes to Kurelko’s face, more for admiring her being able to come up with a feasible lie than for believing her. He asks “Were you out for a jog?” Sydney nods and says with a smile “I needed to clear my head.” The fake smile drops from his face and he says perceptively “Good chance to do some reconnaissance as well ... I'd imagine.” Sydney seems taken aback for a moment, then tilts her head as a ‘You’re right. So what’, realising that it would be expected for skilled mercenaries like the Tabakovs to get to know their surroundings. Kurelko smiles and says with pride “So what's your assessment of our little town?” After a few moments of thought, Karen/Sydney replies “Strong military perimeter. Armed guards, rotating patrol. Not a lot of people getting in ... or out, if you don't want them to. Lack of obvious security presence within the town itself suggests heavy surveillance...security cameras in all the streetlights. And in this immediate area, judging by all the power lines, I'd say that one of those houses is probably a guard station. Kurelko admires her perception, saying “Yeah. First sign of trouble, we lock down the streets, give the snipers the go ahead to fire at hostiles. It's our version of the Neighbourhood Watch program. Helps everyone sleep well at night.” He gives a slight smile to which Sydney just nods her head. After a few moments of silence, Kurelko says “Anyway ... Don't stay up too late, okay? You've got a big day tomorrow.” Syd smiles and gives a chuckle, but after he turns to leave, she has an expression that conveys ‘that was a close call’. Tom heads back to his house, then turns to add “Oh, um... I'll be sure to tell Dianne about the bath salts. ‘Karen’ smiles warmly “Thank you, Tom.” He replies “You're welcome, Karen.” They exchange goodnights.
Back inside the ‘Parker’ house Vaughn is still practicing on the Tokorev pistol, when Sydney returns. He asks “How was your run?” She replies “Great. Ran into Tom.
Dianne/Marina is watching them on closed circuit monitors from her house. ‘Karen’ tells him “Tom says that we can sleep well at night.” ‘David’ replies “Well, that's a relief.” She asks “How’s it going here?” and he answers “Good”. Kurelko comes in to check on the surveillance. Marina reports in Russian “They're well trained, guarded with their communication. He replies in Russian “The woman showed initiative. And she managed to keep her composure.” Watching them on the monitor, Marina says in Russian “We may have found some promising prospects.” Kurelko replies in Russian “We'll find out tomorrow.” Marina turns to look at him and says “Da” in agreement.
It is raining at nighttime at Griffith Park Observatory. An older man wearing a sloped-front, leather cap is smoking a cigar when someone approaches from behind. The man in the cap says without looking around “Hello, Jack.” Sydney’s father, Jack, comes around to speak face-to-face, but looks at him reluctantly before saying “Alexei.” The man in the cap is Alexei Vassilyvich, Jack’s contact. Alexei asks “What can I do for you?” Jack explains “There's a military facility 300 miles southeast of Petrozavodsk. I assume you're familiar with it.” Alexei replies as a mater of fact “We train some of our best operatives there.” Jack is caught off guard that the implication includes Irina, but moments later collects himself to ask “I need to know if the government is still running active operations out of it.” Alexei puffs on his cigar and is evasive as he says “Well, it depends how you define ‘government’, I suppose.” Jack explains “I have assets in play within the facility. We may require assistance with their extraction.” Alexei pauses before saying “This is not some fringe group we're talking about, Jack. The people who control that base may not have official sanction, but there are many in power who look upon their actions...favourably.” Jack says forcefully “You would have my gratitude for any assistance rendered.” Alexei replies coyly “While that does warm my heart, I'm afraid the reward does not outweigh the risk.” Jack is unwilling to play games so he asks “What do you want, Alexei?” He replies slyly “Well...now that you mention it...perhaps there is something you can do for me.”
It is a bright sunny morning in Liberty Village as Tom/Kurelko dressed in a light blue Polo shirt, charcoal grey dress pants and carrying a matching jacket walks down the sidewalk. He smiles and waves to a neighbourhood woman. She says “Morning, Tom” and he replies “Morning, Cheryl.” Kurelko walks with a spring in his step up to the front door of a house and rings the doorbell. He knocks on the door, and says cheerfully “Rise and shine! Got ourselves a big day!” The door opens and we see it is Sydney wearing a white collared shirt under a pink argyle sweater. Kurelko is very pleased with her ‘suburban housewife’ look, saying with admiration “Karen...” She replies “Hi, Tom.” He continues “Aren't you just the picture of radiant?” and leans forward to give her an affectionate hug and a kiss on the cheek. Syd looks like she doesn’t like it momentarily, but she returns the hug and gives an air kiss. She clears her throat in discomfort when they separate, so Tom reiterates “Morning.” Seeing ‘David’ approaching, Tom calls out “Oh, how'd you sleep, Dave?” Vaughn replies “Like a baby.” Noticing that he is also wearing a light blue polo shirt, Tom says with delight “Hey look at that! We're wearing the same shirt. You'd be amazed how often that happens here. Guess ah...guess we'll be twins today. Shall we head out? ‘Dave’ asks “Should I bring the gun?” Tom replies “Nah, you'll be provided with one.” Syd and Vaughn exchange glances as they leave the house.
The next scene has them walking down the street, where Kurelko is pointing out the amenities of Liberty Village. He tells them “We have a working gas station, a movie theater...” A man passing by on the sidewalk calls out “Hi, Tom.” Kurelko returns the greeting “Oh, hey!” and then continues to list the amenities “... supermarkets, bowling alley...” ‘Karen’ asks “Why would the government need a bowling alley?” He explains “Too many agents were getting burned in the 50's. Soviets couldn't grasp the (American) culture, so they immersed themselves in it. Found out there's no substitute for the real thing.” Tom stops and snaps his fingers, remembering something. “Oh! Hey, that reminds me ... I uh...” He pulls a ring box out of his pocket, then continues “... have another little gift. If you two are going to be a couple, you might as well be dressing the part.” Kurelko hands a mildly unhappy ‘Karen’ the box, which she opens to see a mens and ladies wedding band and engagement ring. Tom says helpfully “I just figured that might help with your little...you know, your intimacy issues.” He pats ‘Dave’ on the back and then walks off in ahead of them. Sydney stares at him walk away with an insulted expression, then hands Vaughn his ring.
It is twilight in Los Angeles at the APO. Jack opens a metal strongbox and hands Marshall an ornate leatherbound book decorated in gold leaf. Marshall smiles and jokes “Oh, Mr. Bristow. You shouldn't have” and examines the contents. Jack doesn’t react to Marshall’s quip and explains “Irina Derevko collected 19th century literature. There was a small bookstore in Prague that stocked rare first editions.” He starts leafing through another book and says nostalgically “Whenever I was in town, I'd buy one for her as a gift.” Marshall looks up, touched by what Jack said and says sincerely “Aww, that's sweet.” Jack looks up, informing him “The KGB encoded assassination orders in these pages.” The smile drops from Marshall’s face and comments “Oh. Well that's...not as...sweet.” Jack continues “The NSA (National Security Agency) deciphered all the codes in these books, but Irina's former resident chief just asked for them back. Which means there's something in here the NSA overlooked. Find it.” He turns and walks away, leaving Marshall to investigate Irina’s books.
Back at Liberty Village, Tom is leading the ‘Parkers’ through a used car dealership and saying “It's not a novel concept. Trust me, somewhere in America, CIA agents are sitting around in a fake Peroskovia practicing their Russian table manners.” ‘Karen’, who is holding Dave’s arm like an affectionate wife would, looks around the building as she asks “You built a used car dealership?” Kurelko explains “(This is) Training station 327F. Home of the Krilov scenario. Your objective is simple. You have to buy a convertible.” He gestures to the Cadillac XLR convertible on a turntable. ‘Dave’ says in surprise “What?” Kurelko continues to explain “You'll be evaluated on characterization, reflex analysis, emotional response and physical endurance.” ‘Karen’ questions “Physical endurance?” Just then, a salesman calls out to them saying “Welcome to Liberty Village Automotive.” Kurelko walks away and wishes the ‘Parkers’ “Good luck.” The salesman is wearing a name tag that says “Phil” on it as he walks up saying “You folks must have heard about our Democracy sale. We've got 0% financing for 72 months, and a mind-blowing selection of pre-owned step-sides (SUVs). ‘Dave’ says “Uh, well, actually, Phil...We're here to buy a convertible.” Phil replies “You sure about that? Because we only have one convertible, and...hah, it's a pretty fast car.” ‘Karen’ deadpans “That's how we live, Phil. Fast.” The salesman nods and submits to the determined customers wish, saying “Okay.”
The next scene has the three of them standing on the turntable, next to the Cadillac XLR convertible. Phil does his salesman’s pitch “Few things scream freedom like a brand new convertible. You put the top down and excitement blows through your hair.” ‘Dave’ opens up the driver door and sits behind the wheel, saying “What's it gonna take to get us over the curb in this baby, Phil?” The salesman smiles and comments “You guys are first time buyers, aren't you?” ‘Karen’ smiles coyly as she says “Is it that obvious?” Phil boasts “Well, you don't get to be regional sales associate of the month four times in a row without knowing how to read people. Newlyweds, right?” Vaughn looks up at them as she replies Relative newlyweds.” The salesman requests “Let's see that ring.” Sydney has a hesitant expression before she puts out her hand to show her wedding band and engagement ring. Phil whistles, impressed with the ring, then asks in curiosity “How'd he pop the question?” Vaughn looks at Sydney, ready to help with the cover story she’ll use. The usually quick witted Sydney is caught off-guard and fumbles “He...took me to...” Seeing her in distress, Vaughn cuts in “Santa Barbara, actually” and gives her a little smile. Syd smiles back to convey her thanks for the save. ‘Dave’ explains with a fond smile “I had this whole romantic weekend planned. Presidential Suite at the Biltmore (hotel). Candlelit dinner on the cliffs overlooking the ocean ... So we went into town, and she wouldn't stop talking about the zoo. So, we went to the zoo. Figured I'd get it over with.” We see that Syd is touched with what she’s heard. David/Vaughn gets out of the car so he can stand and look her in the eyes, and he continues “And then I saw how happy it made her. It made me forget about all my stupid plans. And here we had this personal chef making this unbelievable meal at the hotel, and ... I proposed on one knee in sawdust in front of a giraffe with a crooked neck. Vaughn gives Sydney a wistful look, letting her know this is what he would have done back then. She stares back at him, enthralled with what might have been. The salesman Phil laughs in amusement and says “Now, how can I resist the charms of young love? Tell you what, let's sit down, and we'll talk deal.” Vaughn and Syd exchange brief, weak smiles.
A short time later Syd and Vaughn are quietly sitting alone in Phil's office, waiting for him to return. She turns looking at him, not knowing what to say. Vaughn feels her gaze, so he turns and softly asks “What?” Sydney has a sad, hesitant expression, not knowing what to say. But as she opens her mouth to speak, the salesman walks in the room. Phil claps his hands and sits down at his desk, saying “Good news, guys. I had to butt heads with my sales manager, but it turns out I'm going to be able to offer you...the newlywed rate. There's just one small problem. Another couple is interested in the car. You guys know Ken and Linda, right?” pointing. ‘Karen’ replies “We met them last night.” Noticing that the salesman isn’t really pointing at them, they both turn around and see across the showroom floor, Ken/Nikolai Brekev and Linda/Raisa Tupakov are sitting in another office. The couple grin and wave in a friendly manner. ‘Karen’ waves back as Phil continues “Well, they arrived in Liberty Village a few days before you did, and they're under evaluation as well. We're only going to let one couple join our family here, and, this being America...” Phil reaches under his desk, and continues “We thought we'd decide things with a good old-fashioned...” He retrieves a metal briefcase and places it on his desk, finishing his sentence “... competition. The winning couple gets to move on in our program, oh, and a brand-new convertible ... While the losing couple, well ... dies.” Phil stands up and opens the case, revealing a disassembled Tokorev semi-automatic pistol, like the one Vaughn practiced assembling. Now I should probably, get on out of the way before I get myself shot. Oh, and it looks like Lloyd (the other salesman) gave them a bit of a head start.” Syd and Vaughn whip their heads around and see the other couple have already started on their pistol. Phil apologises “Sorry about that. Good luck to you guys” and hurries away.
Sydney and Vaughn get up and start assembling their weapon as they keep track of Ken and Linda across the way who are ahead of them. The ‘Taylors’ are watching them too as they work on assembling their weapon. Ken finishes first and hands the weapon to Linda, but the rotating car on the turntable prevents her from shooting. Sydney spots the woman armed with a handgun headed to a better firing position. She warns Vaughn “Get down!” as Vaughn finishes assembly and chambers a round. Syd flips their table over and the two of them take cover behind the shield. Linda fires 3 or 4 shots in quick succession, which shatters the window of Phil’s office. Linda heads towards the right and Ken heads to the left with their briefcase. Vaughn rises with his pistol, looking for the Taylors. Seeing that they have gone, Syd and Vaughn head in opposite directions looking for them. Vaughn leaves the office, but gets hit in the head by Ken swinging his metal briefcase. His gun slides across the floor, while he gets hit in the back and hit in the head a second time, dropping him to his knees. Vaughn tries to throw a punch from the floor, but he gets kneed in the head, sending him flying. Meanwhile Sydney hides behind one of the cars as Linda shoots at her. She spots Vaughn’s gun midway between the rotating Cadillac XLR convertible and her position. After a moment, Sydney scurries across the floor, scoops up the pistol, rolls over the trunk of the convertible and into the front passenger seat as Linda fires at her. Linda takes cover behind a car. Sydney raises her pistol and fires 3 shots at Linda, but she is safely behind the car. The scene cuts away to Vaughn, who is on his back on the floor, kick with both feet at Ken. As he stumbles backwards, Vaughn rushs forward to throw a left punch, but Ken blocks it with his right arm and throws a counter punch with his left. Vaughn blocks it with his right arm and connects with a right handed palm strike to Ken’s jaw. Back in the convertible, Sydney is hiding in the car as it rotates on the turntable. She shifts to the drivers seat and sees Linda trying to sneak around a car. The moment Linda emerges from behind cover, Syd shoots her twice in the chest. Satisfied that she poses no threat, Sydney turns to sees Vaughn punching Ken in the face with his right hand and to the gut with his left hand inside Phil's office. She searches the Cadillac for the car’s ignition keys, as the two men wrestle. Hearing Syd start the car and rev the engine distracts Vaughn, which allows Ken to punch him in the right side of his head. Sydney puts the car in gear, spins the tires and drives down the ramp. From the floor Vaughn grabs the briefcase and whacks Ken in the left shin, which doubles him in over in pain. Vaughn follows up with a backhanded swing of the briefcase, hitting Ken in the face which sends him flying out of the room and conveniently right into the XLR’s path. Sydney hits him with the car and sends him flying up over the hood and windshield, landing hard on the concrete floor. Sydney stops the car and yells “Get in!” to Vaughn. He comes running out of the office and enters the car. They exchange concerned stares and then drive away.
Later that night, we see the XLR parked in front of the ‘Parker’ house. Syd and Vaughn are having another discussion in the bathroom, concealed by running water. We see that the crystal of Sydney’s special watch is shattered and hear her say regretfully “It's dead.” Syd is sitting on the edge of the bathtub and passes the watch to Vaughn, who is sitting on the floor. He says “Well, protocol dictates we contact APO. Let them know what's going on.” Sydney points out “We might have access to communications, now that we've joined the ‘Liberty Village family’”. That makes Vaughn react with disgust “They tried to kill us over a car. I mean, if we stay, they might send us to... the supermarket and launch grenades at us.” Syd points out “Well, we can't just leave. This place is like a prison! Our best bet is still to maintain cover.” Vaughn gives a slight nod of agreement and says “Yeah, well next time we go on one of his tests, I'm bringing our gun. I don't care what he says.” He leans his head back wearily against the divider wall behind him and lets out a sigh. Syd calls out to him gently “Vaughn, come here” and extends her hand. He takes her hand and sits down beside her. Sydney examines the cut on his head that he got from fighting with Ken and he flinches a bit. He asks “Is it bad?” She replies “You've looked better.” Sydney strokes his hair, then takes his face in her hands and kisses the area near his injury like a mother would for a child’s injury. But she doesn’t stop kissing him. He puts a hand on hers to stop her, but he doesn’t pull her hand away as he intended. Syd stops kissing him and they look each other in the eyes to see if they should stop or continue. Vaughn leans over and they kiss on the lips. He cups his right hand to Sydney's cheek and then cradles her head, running his hands through her hair.
The scene dissolves to them caressing in the shower. Sydney pulls back and says “The story you told at the dealership...” Vaughn nods silently. She continues “We were supposed to go to Santa Barbara three years ago.” He leans forward and gives her a quick peck on the lips. Syd continues “. ..and we never made it.” Vaughn shakes his head ‘no’ and says softly “Karen and Dave did.” She smiles and they resume kissing. Sydney wants to know if what Vaughn talked about in the car dealership was really what he had planned for them in Santa Barbara years ago, but he has dodged her question and avoided answering her need for clarification.
Nighttime at the APO, Marshall is in his office telling Jack what he’s discovered in Irina’s books. He says “Well, I started by eliminating the more obvious: Sequence book codes, Steganography, Invisible ink. Maybe the watermark... But then I realized it was right in front of my face the entire time. The inscription. Take a look, right here... Ahem, ‘Laura, all my love, forever and a day. Jack’ That’s really sweet! I mean that’s a side of you I never really get to see, Mr. Bristow. I have to, I have to say, I like it.” Jack doesn’t like hearing that and impatiently says “I fail to see the relevance.” Marshall apologises “Right, sorry. So did the NSA. Anyway, I ran a chromatographic analysis of the ink, and check this out. One of the periods in the ellipses contains ink that was different than the inscription did itself. It was added after you wrote it. Irina encoded it with a microdot.” Marshall goes to his computer and displays a magnification of the microdot, saying “So, I magnified it with a digital microscope, and look at this. It's a protocol Irina used to contact one of her operatives. Someone important, considering how detailed it is.” Jack looks concerned and asks “Any idea who she was communicating with?” Marshall replies “Well, all that's there is a codename: Sentinel.” Jack still looks concerned as he then asks “Do we have copies of everything inside?” Marshall replies “Well, yeah...but you're giving it to the Russians?” wondering why they are still giving them Irina’s books. Jack puts Irina’s book back inside the strongbox and closes the lid, explaining “Sentinel's a deceased operative. It's a dead end. The Russians can have it. Our priorities are Sydney and Vaughn.” Jack picks up the strongbox and leaves, with Marshall staring after him.
Back in their Liberty Village home, Sydney is curled up in Vaughn’s arms in bed. Both are sound asleep. The bedroom door creaks open and ray of light shines across Vaughn's chest. The shadow of the intruder enters the room. Suddenly, Sydney startles awake and Vaughn springs from the bed, pushing the intruder against the bedroom wall and throws left handed punch. The intruder is Kurelko and he catches Vaughn’s fist, stopping it from striking him. He is pleased that his latest recruits were able to react effectively, and says in satisfaction “Good!” Tom drops Vaughn's fist, then puts on his friendly voice saying “You're awake. We need to get you packed: We're going to America.” Vaughn and Sydney have surprised reactions.
It is a rainy twilight at Griffith Park Observatory where Alexei and Jack are having their return meeting. Alexei looks inside a paper bag then complains “The agreement was for all of the books.” Jack assures him “That's the one you're looking for.” Alexei pauses and swallows, surprised that Jack knows what they were looking for. He changes the subject by saying “We haven't heard from Irina in quite some time.” Jack says evasively “She's a difficult woman to keep track of.” Alexei nods “That she is. She always spoke quite favourably of you. Her attachment made her work...problematic at times.” He says that with a sly grin. Jack pauses for a moment and then says with sarcasm “I hope I didn't cause you too much inconvenience.” Alexei continues “We have an aircraft waiting at Chezniev airstrip. A support team will provide transport for your assets once they have left the facility's perimeter. Jack nods his approval. Alexei says “Goodbye, Jack” with a slight nod of wary respect. Jack replies “Alexei” and returns the slight nod of wary respect. But after the man leaves, Jack shows a stare indicating that he doesn’t like Alexei.
It is pre-dawn at the ‘Parker’ Liberty Village home. Sydney is sipping a large cup of coffee alongside of Vaughn as they are sitting around the dining room table with Tom/Kurelko and Bill/Anatoli Sedova for their mission briefing. Tom says “1526 Glenbury Lane: Three bedroom, two bath, hardwood floors. They've even got a breakfast nook” as he pushes a file folder towards ‘David and Karen’ for them to look at. ‘David’ asks “What, we're moving to Chicago? Kurelko explains “You're Chicago;” handing a folder to Bill, he continues “they’re (Anatoli and Donna/Tatiana) Atlanta; Diane and I are New York. You have a meeting on Tuesday with Pierce Financial. We've prepared extensive backgrounds for you. Human Resources should flip out over a young, upstart couple like yourselves, provided you ace the interview, of course.” ‘Karen’ asks “We're attacking an investment firm?” Tom replies “No, we just need access to their servers. At some point in the near future, an unfortunate incident is going to befall the New York Stock Exchange. If we have access to these servers of America's financial institutions at that time, we'll be in prime position for a massive redistribution of wealth.” Bill adds “Think of it as, uhm ... aggressive Marxism.” ‘David’ nods, then asks “What's the casualty projection for this...unfortunate incident?” Tom says with amusement “Are the ‘Gladiators of Liberty Village Automotive’ having a sudden crisis of conscience?” ‘Karen’ warns “Civilian deaths mean repercussions.” ‘David’ expresses concern “We'll need an exit strategy.” Switching to Russian, Kurelko assures “You'll be long gone before the bodies are cold, Dimitri.” ‘David’ nods and looks down, not wanting to make trouble. Kurelko resumes his Tom the American persona, saying “That reminds me...We should go over the op-tech in case we have to reroute you guys through New York. What do you know about electromagnetic weapons?” Vaughn and Sydney exchange uncomfortable looks.
It is daytime in Los Angeles. Marshall is using a soldering gun on a circuit board when he hears beeping coming form his computer. He looks up and sees ‘INCOMING DATA ALERT - Russian Consulate Update: Germans have transferred the Tabokovs to a maximum security prison in Havel’. His jaw drops, then he hurries down the corridor to Sloane's office. He says in a breathless, near panic “Mr. Sloane...the Tabakovs...the couple that Sydney and Vaughn are impersonating? The Germans just moved them.” Not grasping the reason for Marshall’s panic, Sloane says calmly “...to a maximum security prison in Havel. The Consulate informed me of the transfer a few minutes ago” and returns to his paperwork. Marshall clarifies “The Consulate informed everybody of the transfer a few minutes ago! They sent the order over an unsecured line. If the October Contingent have the Tabakovs' names flagged...” Sloane gets up and says grimly “Send the abort code. Get Sydney and Vaughn out of there now.” Marshall points at Sloane indicating ‘I’m on it’ and then hurries away.
The scene switches to the master bedroom of the Parker house where we see Sydney’s broken watch on the bedside table. Bill demonstrates a special suitcase to ‘Dave’, saying “Now, underneath you have a secondary compartment with your meet protocol, your exit field documents... We even threw in the backgrounds of all your new neighbours. (It) Should help you make small talk at barbeques.” Bill pats ‘Dave’ on the back and they chuckle.
Still in the dining room, Tom is demonstrating how to operate the Electro-Magnetic Pulse device to ‘Karen’. Showing her the procedure, Tom says “Disengage the failsafe device, lift the cover, flip the switch... You don't wear a pacemaker, do you? ... I'm kidding.” Tom’s cell phone rings as they both smile and laugh. Tom looks at the caller ID and then answers “Hi, honey. Yeah, yeah...no, things are right on schedule.” He pauses to listen, then says “Mm, hmm?” Tom’s voice turns more cheerful as he says “Yes... Yes, no. They're very excited about their breakfast nook.” Dianne/Marina has a serious expression as she forcefully says in Russian “Kill one. Keep the other for interrogation.” Tom turns back to look at ‘Karen’, who is studying the EMP schematics at the table, and continues “Yes, I'll be sure to tell them ... I love you, too.” Sydney gives Tom a sideways glance upon detecting the strange tone of his end of the conversation. She hides her concern by looking back at the schematics.
Tom hangs up his cellphone and says to ‘Karen’ “That was Dianne. She said to pack warm. Chicago's cold this time of year. She gets a little obsessed when we travel.” ‘Karen’ looks up at Tom with a pleasant smile and sets the schematics aside. Tom offers “You want some more coffee?” She says “I'd love some, thanks” with a smile that fades when he walks towards the kitchen with her cup. Walking towards the kitchen, Tom chuckles “Watch. I’m...I'm telling you. It's amazing. It’s just like clockwork. As soon as we'll be outside of Vologa, she'll um, think that we left the stove on.” Kurelko draws his pistol, checks it and then spins around, ready to shoot. But Sydney is no longer sitting at the table and is nowhere in sight. He walk around, pointing the gun at every possible hiding spot.
Upstairs in the master bedroom, Bill tells ‘Dave’ as he packs “So we had to do our initial evaluation at the Liberty Village Fried Chicken. I got burn marks all over my back from the fry machine.”
Downstairs, Kurelko is still searching for Syd. His cellphone rings so he answers it with his left hand, while pointing his pistol in the other hand. Expecting Marina to provide him with surveillance help, Kurelko asks in Russian “Where is she?” Just then Sydney comes up from behind and smashes him in the back of the head with a ceramic table lamp.
Back upstairs, Bill and Vaughn hear the commotion. They look at each other with suspicion. Bill reaches for his gun but Vaughn grabs his wrist and forces Bill to drop the pistol. Bill throws a shoulder block to Vaughn’s chest and drives him against the bedroom wall. Bill drives his right fist into Vaughn’s gut, punches Vaughn in the face with his left. Vaughn counters with a left to the face, but misses with his right. Bill connects with a left punch to Vaughn’s head and then grabs him by the back of the neck, throwing him across the room which causes him to tumble through a full length floor mirror.
Downstairs in the living room, Sydney does a jumping kick at Kurelko with her right foot which connects his head. He manages to block left kick and her right punch. She connects with a left punch to the head and a right punch to the gut. Kurelko blocks her spinning backhand punch and counters with a kick that sends her backwards. Syd falls forward into the fireplace mantle, which allows Kurelko to punch her in the left kidney. He turns Syd around and tries to strangle her. She throws a right elbow strike to his face and uses her left foot to hit him in the abdomen with a forward heel. Kurelko falls back onto the sofa, which Sydney to pick up a fireplace poker and catch her breath. She sees Kurelko rushing for his pistol on the floor, so she uses the poker to bat the gun from his hand. Sydney hits him in the gut with the poker and then to the right side of the head, which knocks Kurelko to the floor. It is unclear whether he is unconscious or dead. Sirens and a helicopter can be heard as Syd picks up his pistol. She hold the gun at the ready position and heads towards the stairs. Vaughn comes down the staircase with Bill’s gun at the ready. They see each other and lower their weapons. Syd says “They're on to us” and heads for the EMP device. Vaughn wisecracks “Yeah, I figured that part out.” Sydney retrieves the device from the dining room table and says “I don't know what happened, but we got to get out of here.”
Vaughn leads the way as they head out the front door. A helicopter’s searchlight tracks them in order to illuminate them for the machine gunner on board. Bullets whizz by, striking the ground around them. They head for their Cadillac XLR, but the gunfire forces them to take cover behind Tom's Mercedes 420 SEL sedan parked at the curb. They look up and sees that the helicopter shining the searchlight at them is hovering over the house across the street. Vaughn yells over the noise of the chopper and the approaching sirens “Set it off! Set off the EMP!” Sydney lifts the safety cover, charges up the EMP device, and then flips the trigger. The searchlight goes black, the lights of an approaching military jeep shut off and the vehicle comes to a stop in front of the house across the street. From the air, we see all of the electric lights of Liberty Village fail. The powerless helicopter crashes through the roof of the house across the street, and erupts in a huge fireball. The guards from the jeep run scatter and run for their lives. Sydney turns to Vaughn and says “Maybe it's time we move out of the suburbs.” He nods and she picks up the EMP device.
Daytime in his office at the APO, Sloane says “Russian authorities officially deny an American training ground ever existed within their borders. However, off the record, they have expressed gratitude for our assistance with their takedown of the October Contingent.” The scene cuts to the viewpoint of watching Sloane via videophone. We see that it is Sydney and Vaughn, onboard a military transport plane, that he is talking with. Sloane continues “We'll debrief in detail upon your arrival, but for now...good work.” Sydney nods and says “Thank you”. From his videophone, Sloane sees Vaughn say “Thank you”. Sloane ends the transmission and then turns his attention to Jack who is sitting across the desk from him listening in on the call. Sloane says “Alexei made good on his promise (to provide transport). Jack says “Which means our suspicions regarding Sentinel are accurate. The Russians are searching for Elena Derevko.” Sloane replies “Well, we will have to move up our timetable.” Jack nods in agreement.
We see a C-130 Hercules transport flying at in the night skies. (Apparently the Russians have access to American planes through the black market). Inside, Sydney says to Vaughn “It's strange, but I'm not exactly excited about returning to America...for some reason”. Vaughn nods and notes “Well, it was kind of nice not to have to be us for a while” as he removes the wedding ring and sets it down next to the laptop computer that they were using for the video-conference. Sydney removes her rings and holds them as she says “Well, I happen to like us...even if we are a little cold.” Vaughn smiles and adds “And boring...don't forget boring”. Syd chuckles “How could I?” and sets her rings down on the other side of the computer.” Vaughn notes “You know, we have operational command of this aircraft. The pilot could take us anywhere we want.” Syd smiles and then puts on a mock serious tone “Our orders are to proceed with our extraction.” Her voice softens as she continues “If we were divert this aircraft for our personal use... we would get into a lot of trouble.” Vaughn nods several times as he says “Yes.” Sydney nods in agreement and says softly “Yeah”, turning her head away in disappointment. Vaughn immediately asks “You want to have dinner with me in Paris?” Sydney turns back and says “Absolutely.” They both lean in and have a long kiss. The camera zooms in on the engagement and wedding rings.
END
1/26/2005
Summary by superintelligentone aka SIO
It is nighttime outside a secure facility in Russia. A man watches the three guards in front from inside a black SUV. He looks through his binoculars, then reports via his headset in Russian that he sees the delivery truck has arrived. The man starts up his Chevy Suburban and speeds towards one of the guards, running him over. He draws a silencer equipped MAC-10 submachine gun, shooting the truck driver and the remaining two guards. The man exits the SUV with a carrying case and approaches the truck. Rolling up the back door, the man keys in the combination to the vault inside. He opens the door and removes a briefcase-size electronic device, placing it into his carrying case. The man drives off and sometime later turns up a driveway to a nice house in a suburban neighbourhood. A woman greets him “Honey, you’re late. I was getting worried.” The man exits the SUV and responds “I’m sorry, beautiful. I got hung up at work.” They exchange kisses, then head into the house.
The scene switches to Los Angeles at night. We hear Nadia’s voice say “It doesn’t make any sense.” We see Weiss respond “What is so hard to understand? Take a ball, right? You roll it. You knock over some pins. And then everyone cheers for you.” Vaughn cuts in with a smile, “Or in your case, everyone laughs.” Weiss admits “That’s true.” We see that Weiss and Nadia are having dinner with Vaughn and Sydney at her house. Everyone enjoys a good laugh. Nadia continues “How is that fun?” Sydney smiles and looking towards Vaughn says “How could she even ask such a thing?” as she rises to take the some used dishes away. Weiss says “You know what? I think I know what your problem is. You’ve never had a true bowling experience.” Nadia protests in mock insult “We have bowling in Argentina, you know!” Weiss replies “Yes, but you don’t have, like, glow-in-the-dark pins. You don’t have all-you-can eat hotdogs after 10:00.” Nadia rises and clears the table of the remaining used dishes. Weiss continues ”Or bad disco music pumping through the stereo ... You know what? Why am I still talking about this? Let’s just do it. We’re going bowling. Come on.” Nadia is handling her sister the dishes, when she turns and asks “Really?” Weiss gets up from the table, saying “Yeah, yeah. Come on, We’re all going bowling.” Sydney thinks that it is a bad idea, saying “Now?” Weiss replies “Yeah, there’s a 24 hour bowling alley.” Vaughn objects saying “That’s not the point.” Sydney joins in “We have work tomorrow.” Weiss replies “Guys, you don’t have to analyse everything you do. You can just decide to have fun. It’s okay.” Sydney protests “We’re fun.” Weiss wisecracks “Yeah, you guys are about as spontaneous as my grandparents ... And they’re dead.” Vaughn says “Look, it’s Wednesday night.” Sydney has made up her mind and says “We’re not going bowling.” Weiss teases “All right, well suit yourself. Big kids are going out.” Nadia jokes “How can I resist all-you-can-eat hotdogs after 10:00?” Weiss half-jokingly says “Don’t wait up.” Nadia says “Let’s go” and they leave. Sydney has a worried expression as she asks “We don’t analyse everything we do? Do we?” Vaughn replies with a bit of doubt “No, no ... We don’t. And besides, we agreed to take things slow.” Sydney takes comfort in his explanation and says “Right. We’re choosing not to be spontaneous.” Vaughn replies “Exactly”. Just then, both of their cell phones ring, so they look at their caller ID. Vaughn quips “And that’s why they call us when something’s wrong.” They are being summoned to the APO.
A short time later at the APO, Sloane is heading for the conference room with Jack and Dixon following from one end of the corridor. Sydney and Vaughn approach from the other side. Inside Marshall is waiting for them next to a wall of monitor screens. Sloane starts the briefing by saying “Six hours ago, an electromagnetic weapon was stolen from a warehouse in Kostroma (Russia). Marshall continues “Now this thing's a prototype, really bad news: repeatable core, amplified radius ... I mean, you guys know what an electromagnetic pulse does, right?” Sydney replies “Destroys electronic equipment, melts circuitry.” Marshall says “Right. Now, if this baby goes off, anything within a ten mile radius that contains electronic parts, like computers, radios, cars, radar ... everything would be fried.” Jack points out “If a terrorist were to detonate this in a major metropolitan city, the casualties would be extreme.” Marshall adds “Hospitals would lose power, traffic grids would be destroyed, airplanes would fall from the sky ... I mean it's really ... Oh, and the most impressive thing about this particular device is its repeatable core.” Dixon uses the example “You could black out Los Angeles and then use it to take down San Francisco in the same day.” Sydney asks “Who's the thief?” Sloane presses a wireless remote control at the bank of monitors on the wall to display a series of images and says “His name is Yuri Kurelko, former KGB officer, currently reported to have ties with an extremist group known as the October Contingent.” Vaughn says with recognition “The Russian Ultra-Nationalists.” Sloane says “That's right. They're largely ex-military, but they're looking for new recruits.” He press the remote to shows a new series of images, saying “Three days ago, German authorities picked up a man and a woman attempting to smuggle weapons through a customs checkpoint. Subsequent interrogation revealed them to be Dimitri and Ilyana Tabakov, suspected Chechnyan mercenaries. Jack adds “Under duress, they disclosed that the October Contingent has made back channel overtures toward them to join their group.” Sloane orders “Sydney and Vaughn, you will impersonate the Tabakovs, infiltrate the Contingent. Your mission is twofold: you will identify the group's objective, and retrieve the electromagnetic weapon. Sydney, Vaughn ... You know that any attempt to communicate to you from our end might jeopardize your lives.” Vaughn concludes “So we're on our own.” Sloane says “Not quite.” He looks towards their technical expert and says “Marshall?” Marshall stands up and opens a small case in front of him, then says “What I have here is ... a normal, everyday wristwatch. Now, under normal uses, it won't alarm any countersurveillance scans, but once activated, it will give us GPS coordinates to triangulate your position. Oh, and its also capable of short burst transmissions. Dixon adds “You can send images, and ... we'll monitor you as best we can.” Sloane concludes the meeting by saying “And if we detect your cover is in jeopardy, we will send the abort signal. I want you to extricate yourselves immediately. Your plane leaves in an hour. I wish you well. Good luck.” Sydney gives Vaughn a slightly doubtful expression as the meeting adjourns.
Sometime later in Moscow, we see a couple sharing an umbrella as they walk in the rain. A van on the street pulls to a stop in front of them to ask directions. The passenger window rolls down and from inside we see Sydney and Vaughn approach. Their contact, Yuri Kurelko, speaking to them in Russian asks them “Will this road lead me to Red Square?” Ilyana/Sydney responds in Russian “Keep driving. Eventually all roads lead to Red Square.” Having heard the proper counter-phrase to his pass-phrase that only Dimitri and Ilyana Tabakov knows about, Kurelko says “You are aware of our project?” Dimitri/Vaughn responds in Russian “We're aware you pay good money.” Kurelko warns them “We require quite a commitment.” Dimitri/Vaughn relies “We require quite a payment.” Kurelko pauses at hearing such bravado then continues “How is your English?” Ilyana/Sydney replies in English with a thick Russian accent “We are able to get by. Yeah.” Kurelko asks in Russian “Can you speak without the accent?” Ilyana/Sydney replies in her normal voice “What would you like me to say?” Kurelko responds in an American accent “I think that'll do just fine.” He gets out of the van and opens the sliding side door for them and says “I gotta tell you, if you two are half as good as rumoured, we're really in for a treat. Come on, hop on in. Let's get you out of the rain. My name's Tom, by the way.” Ilyana/Sydney and Dimitri/Vaughn climb inside the back of the van, then Tom/Kurelko joins them and closes the door.
Inside Marshall’s equipment cluttered office back at the APO, he shows Jack satellite data from his computer. He says “NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) retasked a Keyhole satellite (3D satellite imaging service) for infrared flyover. Picked them up on the M-8 (North highway out of Moscow) shortly after Sydney began transmitting.” We see on the monitor a world map that zooms in on an area of northwest Russia, then an infrared terrain map showing roads. Jack asks “Destination?” Marshall keys into the computer and we see that he has cross-referenced the area roadmap. One road in particular, M-18 is highlighted leading to a city. Marshall then says “Well, the closest city in that area is ... Petrozavodsk. It's about twelve hours away.” Jack asks “What else is in the area?” Marshall replies “Nothing really: farmland, tundra ... turnips” and lets slip a small smirk. Jack instructs him “Let me know the moment that van stops moving.” Marshall replies “You got it, boss” as Jack leaves the room. Marshall returns to track the blip that is moving on the satellite infrared road map.
The scene switches to inside of the van transporting Sydney and Vaughn. Tom/Kurelko points to the man sitting next to him saying “This is Nick. He's going to take some photos of your for our project.” Ilyana/Sydney says “And this project...requires us to speak English, like Americans, for some reason.” Nick is working from a computer using Syd and Vaughn’s passport photos to insert them into fake identity documents. Tom/Kurelko explains “Well, first order of business. We need to establish some new identities for you two, and something tells me that ...” He reaches over for the two fake passports that Nick hands him. Tom reads the names from them and continues “‘David and Karen Parker’ don't exactly spend a lot of time speaking in the Russian tongue.” He hands Syd and Vaughn their fake passports, then assures them “Don't worry. We'll go over everything once we get to Liberty Village. In the meantime, just sit back and enjoy the ride.” Tom adds with a wink “You just became Americans!” Sydney and Vaughn exchange concerned glances. On Nick's computer screen, we see him photo-manipulate Sydney’s passport photo into a headshot that he inserts into a vacation photo of a woman in a bathing suit carrying a wakeboard. Next, Nick takes a headshot of Vaughn and manipulates it over a picture of a black man wearing a wetsuit. Vaughn and Sydney exchange uncomfortable glances.
Back at the APO, Jack walks into Sloane's office. Sloane tells him “I want to know more about this group Sydney and Vaughn have infiltrated. So Jack, I'm recommending you reach out to Alexei Vassilyvich. Any objections?” Jack’s expression indicates that he doesn’t like this idea. He sighs then says in an impatient tone “He'll want something in return.” Sloane nods then says “Yeah ... Look, Jack, I can task another agent if you feel this is something...” Jack interrupts “I simply question whether it is prudent to involve him at this point considering...” Just then, Sloane's phone on his desk rings. He answers the call, saying “Yes, Marshall?” Marshall's worried face appears on the videophone and he says “Uh, Mr. Sloane? You're gonna want to come see this.” Sloane replies “Okay.”
A short time later, Marshall walks into the briefing room with his hands full of photographs moments before Jack and Sloane enters. Laying his photos on the table, Marshall explains to them “I think I found something. About an hour ago, the van left the highway. They followed access roads to this facility, Suberov 13. It was supposed to have been abandoned in the late 70's.” Studying the aerial surveillance photos Jack notes “Perimeter patrols, manned gun emplacements along the access roads, active airfields...” Sloane comments “It certainly doesn't look deserted.” Jack asks “Marshall, can you put that onscreen?” Marshall replies “Yeah. Just let me...” ands types into the computer. On the monitors, we see the aerial surveillance photo zoom into a high resolution, 3D infrared Keyhole satellite image of a what looks like an American style suburban neighbourhood. Marshall announces “There it is.” Sloane walks closer to scrutinize the viewscreen and asks “Is that military housing?” Jack replies “Not like any I've seen.” Walking up for a closer look too, he notes “Russian base housing resemble barracks ... Those are single family homes with lawns and cul-de-sacs...” Marshall points at the screen and asks “Wait ... Is that a swingset? Hmm, it looks like my neighbourhood.”
Nighttime in the Russian neighbourhood, the van turns up the driveway of a house. Tom gets out of the passenger door and helps Sydney and Vaughn out of the back. They look surprised upon studying the replica of an American neighbourhood.. Tom closes the back door and says “I hope you guys like your, ah, new house. Leading them to the front door, Tom adds “I love mine. It's almost exactly the same, I just hope the guests haven't trashed the place.” ‘Karen’ asks “We have guests?” He doesn't answer and keeps walking towards the front door, so Sydney turns and gives Vaughn a concerned look.
Inside the house, we see Tom opening the door, turning to say “This shouldn't be too long. We just have to a, well, an initiation of sorts. Don't worry; shouldn't be too painful.” Sydney and Vaughn look around nervously. Tom enters the living room where a small group of seemingly friendly suburban Americans are throwing a welcoming party. He announces “Everyone ... guys? Allow me to present, David and Karen Parker.” The four couples greet them warmly with smiles and glasses raised in toast: “Hey, welcome guys.” “Glad you’re here.” “Nice to meet you.” “Welcome to the neighbourhood.” Karen/Sydney smiles, waves and says “Hi.” David/Vaughn smiles, nods and says “Hello. Thank you.”
We see a refrigerator door covered with fridge magnets and a pair of photo manipulated pictures of Syd and Vaughn dressed up at a party and cute one of them showing the fish that they “caught”. They have the same serious expressions as from the source passport photos! Tom takes out a large plastic bottle of cola and explains “The town's officially known as Training Center 56B, but students started calling it "Liberty Village" sometime during the mid-80's, trying to capture that, uh, American sense of irony, I suppose.” ‘Karen’ says “So, this is a government operation.” Tom corrects her “It was a government operation, Karen. But it's a private enterprise now, which is fine with us because it gives us the freedom to do our job.” He hands ‘Karen’ two glasses of cola and she hands one to ‘David’. She asks “What exactly is our job, Tom?” He replies “Well, right now your job is to prove that you belong. You're under evaluation. We need to be sure you can portray Americans convincingly. From this point on, assume everything is a test, you understand?” Sydney nods. Tom says enthusiastically “Excellent. Now, let's go do some formal introductions so you can get to know your new neighbours” and leaves to rejoin the ‘welcoming party’. The smile leaves Vaughn’s face and he turns to look at Syd. Simultaneously, Sydney turns to look at Vaughn and gives him a slight nod. He heads off to meet the ‘neighbours’. Using the slight delay, Syd checks her wristwatch, pushes a button which beeps, then set off to the living room again.
Meanwhile, back at his office, Sloane is picking up a crystal pitcher of water and bringing it to his desk. Marshall stops at his doorway and tells him “They're transmitting.”
Back at the party, the first couple are chatting with ‘Karen’ and ‘David’. The wife says “It is so nice to finally meet you” and shakes hands with her. Syd then extends her hand to the husband who smiles, shakes hands and says “We've been looking forward to this for quite some time.” ‘Karen’ is charming as she replies “Believe me, we have been too.” Sydney is pointing the face of her watch at each guest as she has her glass of cola near her mouth.
At APO briefing room, Sloane is observing the party from the photo feed that Sydney’s watch is sending. He turns and says “Marshall?” Marshall is typing on the computer and replies “Working on it. Hang ... on ... a ... sec. Come on ...” He zooms in on the couple, then uses a facial recognition program. Intently looking at the screen, Marshall says “Got it. Sergei Danislov and Elena Vasya.” We see that Jack and Dixon are also present. Marshall continues “Weapons, drugs. Suspected terrorist affiliations include the Novgorod Authority...” Sloane cuts in “They're responsible for the Grozny (Chechnyan capital) bombing in '98. They killed 47 people.
Back at the party, the first couple are still chatting. The unnamed woman is excited to tell ‘Karen’ “I went ahead and did a little of shopping for you. You have a bunch of clothes in your closet upstairs you need to go through.” Sydney reacts in pleasant surprise, but before she can thank her, the unnamed man tells his ‘wife’ “Honey, please. There'll be plenty of time to talk about shopping later.” They giggle and walk away. Tom walks up to introduce another couple, saying “And this is Bill and Donna Johnson. They live in the house just next to you.” Sydney extends her hand and says “Hi there.” The Johnsons both say “Hi” and shake hands ‘Karen’ and ‘David’.
Looking at ‘Johnsons’ onscreen in the APO briefing room, Jack recognises them, saying “Anatoli and Tatiana Sedova.” Dixon adds “Formerly GRU (Glavnoye Razvedovatelnoye Upravlenie - Russia’s military intelligence agency). They're wanted by British authorities in connection with a bank robbery that left 7 dead.”
Back at the party, Tom introduces the third couple “And of course, Ken and Linda Taylor.” Everyone smiles and shakes hands.
Looking at their true identities onscreen, Marshall reads their records “Raisa Tupakov and Nikolai Brekev. Contract killers, Russian mafia ties. Known murders in the double-digits.”
Back at the party, Linda says “We just moved in a few days ago. You are going to love it here. ‘David’ smiles and replies “That's good to know.” “Karen’ adds “Great.” As the ‘Taylors’ walk away, Tom leads the woman that we saw after the theft of the EMP device forward and introduces her “And of course, my lovely wife, Dianne.” Dianne smiles, extends her hand and says “Hello. Good to meet you”. ‘Karen’ smiles, shakes hands and says “Hi. Nice to meet you.” ‘David’ shakes hands with her next, also saying “Nice to meet you.”
Looking at her true identity on screen, Dixon reads out her record “Marina Avdin, former chief interrogator at the Markova detention center.”
Back at the party, Dianne comments on the framed photo that she picked up “I was just looking at your photo. Tom and I just adore Rome. How long ago were you there?” She hands the picture to ‘Karen’ who sees that it is another photo-manipulation of Vaughn and her serious looking passport photos inserted over some tourist couple standing in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Sydney looks back at them and is caught at a loss of what to say. ‘David’ quickly jumps in, saying “Oh, what was it? Five years ago?” ‘Karen’ quickly replies “Has it been that long?” ‘David’ explains “Yeah, we were going to go for the Millennium, but you didn't want to fly because of Y2K.” ‘Karen’ explains to them enthusiastically “Yeah, at the time it was a big deal.” ‘David’ quickly adds “So we decided to go in the Spring.” ‘Karen’ continues enthusiastically “Loved it; no crowds, no tourists. We even got to hear the Pope speak”. ‘Karen and David’ smile at each other like happy newlyweds would. Tom/Kurelko nods in satisfaction, saying “Yeah, yeah. That was pretty good.” Dianne/Marina smiles and nods in agreement, saying “Yeah, I liked the part about Y2K.” But then Tom adds “They can do a lot better, though.” Dianne agrees “Oh, without a doubt.” Tom quickly adds “But don't worry, we're not gonna kill you over a bad story.” Dianne assures “Not on the first night, anyway” with a warm smile. They all chuckle at the joke. We see Sydney’s smile fades as she looks downwards, aware of the danger they are in.
Sloane turns from the monitors and asks the others “What’s the connection? Why is the Contingent associating with terrorists, thieves, contract killers? Marshall adds “More importantly, why are they all dressed up like ‘the Cleavers’? (from the old suburban TV show ‘Leave It To Beaver’). Dixon hypothesizes “They must be using the facility as a training ground for some impending operation.” Jack points out “It is unlikely a terrorist group could gain unlimited access to a Russian military base without some kind of state sponsorship.” Sloane says gently “Jack ... Talk to Alexei. I'll leave the negotiations to your discretion.” Jack’s expression indicates that he doesn’t like it, but realises that it must be done. Dixon asks “Do we hold off on the abort code?” Sloane says in a determined tone “For now. But be ready. This situation could deteriorate rapidly.
Back at the house, the party is ending and the guests are lined up to say goodnight. The first unnamed woman hands ‘David’ a casserole dish wrapped in plastic wrap, then says proudly “This is my three-layer casserole.” He replies “Oh, thank you.” She continues “Just enjoy” then leans toward Sydney to confide “We'll later go over the recipe.” Sydney’s smile drops and she notes the other guests reaction to the misphrased sentence. Kurelko clears his throat in disapproval, which alerts the woman to her transposed sentence error. The woman’s eyes widen and corrects herself with an with an embarrassed smile “We'll go over the recipe later. Syd takes the dish from Vaughn's hands and says with a smile “I can't wait.” Everyone says goodnight and three of the couples leave. Sydney pleasantly calls out “Good night. Thank you”. Tom and Diane remain behind to talk things over. Dianne says with a smile “So ... It's a lot to take in, isn't it?” ‘Karen’ admits “It's different ... from our usual jobs.” Dianne assures them “Not to worry; you guys are doing great”. Her ‘husband’ makes a “Mmm” sound in agreement. They start to head away, but Tom stops for a few additional comments. He advises “Just, a ... couple things to keep in mind. We recruited you because you're a couple; embrace it. Americans love to show affection for each other. (But) You two? You seem a little cold.” ‘Karen’ objects “We're not, cold.” Tom assures them “I know, I know ... First night's a common problem. Don't sweat it.” Diane returns, holding a pie plate with aluminum foil covering the top. Seeing her there, back with the pie, Tom adds “Oh, and just one more thing. We have a little homework for you”. Dianne hands her the pie. ‘Karen’ asks in confusion “You want us to eat this pie?” With his ‘wife’ cuddled up to him, Tom explains “It's a little welcome gift. Open it up.” Syd removes the cover and finds a small, disassembled, semi-automatic pistol in foam packing. He asks “Are you familiar with the new Tokorev?” (handgun). Vaughn shakes his head no. Tom advises “Get familiar. You'll need it tomorrow. Make sure you can assemble it in under 20 seconds.” Dianne smiles as she says “And don't forget to put Tammy's casserole in the fridge. That third layer is tuna.” The couple laugh, but barely a smirk appears on Syd’s serious expression. He says “All right, well ... We'll see you tomorrow” and his wife says “Sleep well”. ‘Karen and David’ both say goodnight to them. After they are gone, Sydney turns to Vaughn and says “Huh?” He looks back with equal confusion say replies “Yeah.”
Assuming that the house is being monitored, Syd and Vaughn turn on the water to the shower and the sink in the bathroom in order to drown out their frantic discussion inside. She turns to Vaughn and asks “What the hell is going on?” He agrees “Yeah, it's like a weird nightmare...” Syd interrupts “That we’re trapped in. Did you see the security when we arrived?” Vaughn says “Yeah, it's like an entire military division.” She asks “Why would they go to this much trouble?” He reasons “They must be planning an attack.” Syd contradicts his idea sarcastically “On what, Surburbia?” Realizing that his idea was wrong, Vaughn says “Well, maybe some long-term infiltration.” Sydney asks “Why steal the EMP if it's long-term?” Vaughn counters “Well, why train operatives to be American if it's short-term?” She doesn’t have an answer, so she says “Well I'm not saying it's logical. They asked us to play charades with them!” Vaughn points out “But that's an act. They're well organized, they're professionals. It's part of their test (to see if they make a convincing, married American couple).” She replies with concern “Which apparently we're failing.” He contradicts her “No, come on. That was ridiculous!” Sydney replies sarcastically “What, did they expect us to do, just drop and go at it on the floor?” Vaughn agrees “If one more person calls us boring...” Syd corrects him “He didn't call us ‘boring’. He called us ‘cold’...” Sydney gets a worried expression and asks insecurely “Who thinks we're boring?” Vaughn’s eyes dart about for a moment (recalling Weiss and Nadia wanting them to join them for latenight bowling), then replies defensively “Nobody...That...that's not the point. So, what's our next move?” Sydney returns to focus on their mission, saying “We have to assume they're tracking our every move. We maintain (our) cover.” Vaughn agrees saying “Yeah, so just act like we have nothing to hide.” Syd says “I'll do some reconnaissance; see if I can locate the EMP.” He nods and says “Okay, in the meantime, one of us should start on our homework. (Practice assembling the pistol in less than 20 seconds).
The next scene is a montage of a ponytailed Sydney dressed in a powder blue jogging outfit, running through the neighbourhood, and Vaughn removing the lid from the pie pan, practising putting the handgun together as fast as he can. She is checking out the neighbourhood and stops in front of places of interest, supposedly to take the pulse in her neck while checking with her special watch. The first time Vaughn checks his time with a stopwatch, it takes him 35 seconds to assemble the semi-automatic. The second time, he can do it in 24 seconds. The third time he cuts it down to 19.8 seconds. Sydney slows to take her pulse and looks to her right then left. There she sees something of interest, so she sneaks up to a tree in front of a house to look inside. She sees Dianne/Marina seated at a desk, reading some paperwork. Sydney has barely been in position for a few seconds, when she hears Tom’s voice coming from behind saying “Can I help you with something?” Sydney is startled and turns to see Kurelko staring at her with suspicion, but smiles and replies “You scared me” and chuckles in embarrassment. She explains “I thought you might still be up. I, uhm...wanted to thank Dianne for that bath salt kit she left us. That was really nice.” After a few seconds of him staring at her in silence, he asks coldly “How'd you know this was our house.” Syd comes up with a good explanation after a momentary pause, saying “Your name's on the mailbox” with a smile. A smile comes to Kurelko’s face, more for admiring her being able to come up with a feasible lie than for believing her. He asks “Were you out for a jog?” Sydney nods and says with a smile “I needed to clear my head.” The fake smile drops from his face and he says perceptively “Good chance to do some reconnaissance as well ... I'd imagine.” Sydney seems taken aback for a moment, then tilts her head as a ‘You’re right. So what’, realising that it would be expected for skilled mercenaries like the Tabakovs to get to know their surroundings. Kurelko smiles and says with pride “So what's your assessment of our little town?” After a few moments of thought, Karen/Sydney replies “Strong military perimeter. Armed guards, rotating patrol. Not a lot of people getting in ... or out, if you don't want them to. Lack of obvious security presence within the town itself suggests heavy surveillance...security cameras in all the streetlights. And in this immediate area, judging by all the power lines, I'd say that one of those houses is probably a guard station. Kurelko admires her perception, saying “Yeah. First sign of trouble, we lock down the streets, give the snipers the go ahead to fire at hostiles. It's our version of the Neighbourhood Watch program. Helps everyone sleep well at night.” He gives a slight smile to which Sydney just nods her head. After a few moments of silence, Kurelko says “Anyway ... Don't stay up too late, okay? You've got a big day tomorrow.” Syd smiles and gives a chuckle, but after he turns to leave, she has an expression that conveys ‘that was a close call’. Tom heads back to his house, then turns to add “Oh, um... I'll be sure to tell Dianne about the bath salts. ‘Karen’ smiles warmly “Thank you, Tom.” He replies “You're welcome, Karen.” They exchange goodnights.
Back inside the ‘Parker’ house Vaughn is still practicing on the Tokorev pistol, when Sydney returns. He asks “How was your run?” She replies “Great. Ran into Tom.
Dianne/Marina is watching them on closed circuit monitors from her house. ‘Karen’ tells him “Tom says that we can sleep well at night.” ‘David’ replies “Well, that's a relief.” She asks “How’s it going here?” and he answers “Good”. Kurelko comes in to check on the surveillance. Marina reports in Russian “They're well trained, guarded with their communication. He replies in Russian “The woman showed initiative. And she managed to keep her composure.” Watching them on the monitor, Marina says in Russian “We may have found some promising prospects.” Kurelko replies in Russian “We'll find out tomorrow.” Marina turns to look at him and says “Da” in agreement.
It is raining at nighttime at Griffith Park Observatory. An older man wearing a sloped-front, leather cap is smoking a cigar when someone approaches from behind. The man in the cap says without looking around “Hello, Jack.” Sydney’s father, Jack, comes around to speak face-to-face, but looks at him reluctantly before saying “Alexei.” The man in the cap is Alexei Vassilyvich, Jack’s contact. Alexei asks “What can I do for you?” Jack explains “There's a military facility 300 miles southeast of Petrozavodsk. I assume you're familiar with it.” Alexei replies as a mater of fact “We train some of our best operatives there.” Jack is caught off guard that the implication includes Irina, but moments later collects himself to ask “I need to know if the government is still running active operations out of it.” Alexei puffs on his cigar and is evasive as he says “Well, it depends how you define ‘government’, I suppose.” Jack explains “I have assets in play within the facility. We may require assistance with their extraction.” Alexei pauses before saying “This is not some fringe group we're talking about, Jack. The people who control that base may not have official sanction, but there are many in power who look upon their actions...favourably.” Jack says forcefully “You would have my gratitude for any assistance rendered.” Alexei replies coyly “While that does warm my heart, I'm afraid the reward does not outweigh the risk.” Jack is unwilling to play games so he asks “What do you want, Alexei?” He replies slyly “Well...now that you mention it...perhaps there is something you can do for me.”
It is a bright sunny morning in Liberty Village as Tom/Kurelko dressed in a light blue Polo shirt, charcoal grey dress pants and carrying a matching jacket walks down the sidewalk. He smiles and waves to a neighbourhood woman. She says “Morning, Tom” and he replies “Morning, Cheryl.” Kurelko walks with a spring in his step up to the front door of a house and rings the doorbell. He knocks on the door, and says cheerfully “Rise and shine! Got ourselves a big day!” The door opens and we see it is Sydney wearing a white collared shirt under a pink argyle sweater. Kurelko is very pleased with her ‘suburban housewife’ look, saying with admiration “Karen...” She replies “Hi, Tom.” He continues “Aren't you just the picture of radiant?” and leans forward to give her an affectionate hug and a kiss on the cheek. Syd looks like she doesn’t like it momentarily, but she returns the hug and gives an air kiss. She clears her throat in discomfort when they separate, so Tom reiterates “Morning.” Seeing ‘David’ approaching, Tom calls out “Oh, how'd you sleep, Dave?” Vaughn replies “Like a baby.” Noticing that he is also wearing a light blue polo shirt, Tom says with delight “Hey look at that! We're wearing the same shirt. You'd be amazed how often that happens here. Guess ah...guess we'll be twins today. Shall we head out? ‘Dave’ asks “Should I bring the gun?” Tom replies “Nah, you'll be provided with one.” Syd and Vaughn exchange glances as they leave the house.
The next scene has them walking down the street, where Kurelko is pointing out the amenities of Liberty Village. He tells them “We have a working gas station, a movie theater...” A man passing by on the sidewalk calls out “Hi, Tom.” Kurelko returns the greeting “Oh, hey!” and then continues to list the amenities “... supermarkets, bowling alley...” ‘Karen’ asks “Why would the government need a bowling alley?” He explains “Too many agents were getting burned in the 50's. Soviets couldn't grasp the (American) culture, so they immersed themselves in it. Found out there's no substitute for the real thing.” Tom stops and snaps his fingers, remembering something. “Oh! Hey, that reminds me ... I uh...” He pulls a ring box out of his pocket, then continues “... have another little gift. If you two are going to be a couple, you might as well be dressing the part.” Kurelko hands a mildly unhappy ‘Karen’ the box, which she opens to see a mens and ladies wedding band and engagement ring. Tom says helpfully “I just figured that might help with your little...you know, your intimacy issues.” He pats ‘Dave’ on the back and then walks off in ahead of them. Sydney stares at him walk away with an insulted expression, then hands Vaughn his ring.
It is twilight in Los Angeles at the APO. Jack opens a metal strongbox and hands Marshall an ornate leatherbound book decorated in gold leaf. Marshall smiles and jokes “Oh, Mr. Bristow. You shouldn't have” and examines the contents. Jack doesn’t react to Marshall’s quip and explains “Irina Derevko collected 19th century literature. There was a small bookstore in Prague that stocked rare first editions.” He starts leafing through another book and says nostalgically “Whenever I was in town, I'd buy one for her as a gift.” Marshall looks up, touched by what Jack said and says sincerely “Aww, that's sweet.” Jack looks up, informing him “The KGB encoded assassination orders in these pages.” The smile drops from Marshall’s face and comments “Oh. Well that's...not as...sweet.” Jack continues “The NSA (National Security Agency) deciphered all the codes in these books, but Irina's former resident chief just asked for them back. Which means there's something in here the NSA overlooked. Find it.” He turns and walks away, leaving Marshall to investigate Irina’s books.
Back at Liberty Village, Tom is leading the ‘Parkers’ through a used car dealership and saying “It's not a novel concept. Trust me, somewhere in America, CIA agents are sitting around in a fake Peroskovia practicing their Russian table manners.” ‘Karen’, who is holding Dave’s arm like an affectionate wife would, looks around the building as she asks “You built a used car dealership?” Kurelko explains “(This is) Training station 327F. Home of the Krilov scenario. Your objective is simple. You have to buy a convertible.” He gestures to the Cadillac XLR convertible on a turntable. ‘Dave’ says in surprise “What?” Kurelko continues to explain “You'll be evaluated on characterization, reflex analysis, emotional response and physical endurance.” ‘Karen’ questions “Physical endurance?” Just then, a salesman calls out to them saying “Welcome to Liberty Village Automotive.” Kurelko walks away and wishes the ‘Parkers’ “Good luck.” The salesman is wearing a name tag that says “Phil” on it as he walks up saying “You folks must have heard about our Democracy sale. We've got 0% financing for 72 months, and a mind-blowing selection of pre-owned step-sides (SUVs). ‘Dave’ says “Uh, well, actually, Phil...We're here to buy a convertible.” Phil replies “You sure about that? Because we only have one convertible, and...hah, it's a pretty fast car.” ‘Karen’ deadpans “That's how we live, Phil. Fast.” The salesman nods and submits to the determined customers wish, saying “Okay.”
The next scene has the three of them standing on the turntable, next to the Cadillac XLR convertible. Phil does his salesman’s pitch “Few things scream freedom like a brand new convertible. You put the top down and excitement blows through your hair.” ‘Dave’ opens up the driver door and sits behind the wheel, saying “What's it gonna take to get us over the curb in this baby, Phil?” The salesman smiles and comments “You guys are first time buyers, aren't you?” ‘Karen’ smiles coyly as she says “Is it that obvious?” Phil boasts “Well, you don't get to be regional sales associate of the month four times in a row without knowing how to read people. Newlyweds, right?” Vaughn looks up at them as she replies Relative newlyweds.” The salesman requests “Let's see that ring.” Sydney has a hesitant expression before she puts out her hand to show her wedding band and engagement ring. Phil whistles, impressed with the ring, then asks in curiosity “How'd he pop the question?” Vaughn looks at Sydney, ready to help with the cover story she’ll use. The usually quick witted Sydney is caught off-guard and fumbles “He...took me to...” Seeing her in distress, Vaughn cuts in “Santa Barbara, actually” and gives her a little smile. Syd smiles back to convey her thanks for the save. ‘Dave’ explains with a fond smile “I had this whole romantic weekend planned. Presidential Suite at the Biltmore (hotel). Candlelit dinner on the cliffs overlooking the ocean ... So we went into town, and she wouldn't stop talking about the zoo. So, we went to the zoo. Figured I'd get it over with.” We see that Syd is touched with what she’s heard. David/Vaughn gets out of the car so he can stand and look her in the eyes, and he continues “And then I saw how happy it made her. It made me forget about all my stupid plans. And here we had this personal chef making this unbelievable meal at the hotel, and ... I proposed on one knee in sawdust in front of a giraffe with a crooked neck. Vaughn gives Sydney a wistful look, letting her know this is what he would have done back then. She stares back at him, enthralled with what might have been. The salesman Phil laughs in amusement and says “Now, how can I resist the charms of young love? Tell you what, let's sit down, and we'll talk deal.” Vaughn and Syd exchange brief, weak smiles.
A short time later Syd and Vaughn are quietly sitting alone in Phil's office, waiting for him to return. She turns looking at him, not knowing what to say. Vaughn feels her gaze, so he turns and softly asks “What?” Sydney has a sad, hesitant expression, not knowing what to say. But as she opens her mouth to speak, the salesman walks in the room. Phil claps his hands and sits down at his desk, saying “Good news, guys. I had to butt heads with my sales manager, but it turns out I'm going to be able to offer you...the newlywed rate. There's just one small problem. Another couple is interested in the car. You guys know Ken and Linda, right?” pointing. ‘Karen’ replies “We met them last night.” Noticing that the salesman isn’t really pointing at them, they both turn around and see across the showroom floor, Ken/Nikolai Brekev and Linda/Raisa Tupakov are sitting in another office. The couple grin and wave in a friendly manner. ‘Karen’ waves back as Phil continues “Well, they arrived in Liberty Village a few days before you did, and they're under evaluation as well. We're only going to let one couple join our family here, and, this being America...” Phil reaches under his desk, and continues “We thought we'd decide things with a good old-fashioned...” He retrieves a metal briefcase and places it on his desk, finishing his sentence “... competition. The winning couple gets to move on in our program, oh, and a brand-new convertible ... While the losing couple, well ... dies.” Phil stands up and opens the case, revealing a disassembled Tokorev semi-automatic pistol, like the one Vaughn practiced assembling. Now I should probably, get on out of the way before I get myself shot. Oh, and it looks like Lloyd (the other salesman) gave them a bit of a head start.” Syd and Vaughn whip their heads around and see the other couple have already started on their pistol. Phil apologises “Sorry about that. Good luck to you guys” and hurries away.
Sydney and Vaughn get up and start assembling their weapon as they keep track of Ken and Linda across the way who are ahead of them. The ‘Taylors’ are watching them too as they work on assembling their weapon. Ken finishes first and hands the weapon to Linda, but the rotating car on the turntable prevents her from shooting. Sydney spots the woman armed with a handgun headed to a better firing position. She warns Vaughn “Get down!” as Vaughn finishes assembly and chambers a round. Syd flips their table over and the two of them take cover behind the shield. Linda fires 3 or 4 shots in quick succession, which shatters the window of Phil’s office. Linda heads towards the right and Ken heads to the left with their briefcase. Vaughn rises with his pistol, looking for the Taylors. Seeing that they have gone, Syd and Vaughn head in opposite directions looking for them. Vaughn leaves the office, but gets hit in the head by Ken swinging his metal briefcase. His gun slides across the floor, while he gets hit in the back and hit in the head a second time, dropping him to his knees. Vaughn tries to throw a punch from the floor, but he gets kneed in the head, sending him flying. Meanwhile Sydney hides behind one of the cars as Linda shoots at her. She spots Vaughn’s gun midway between the rotating Cadillac XLR convertible and her position. After a moment, Sydney scurries across the floor, scoops up the pistol, rolls over the trunk of the convertible and into the front passenger seat as Linda fires at her. Linda takes cover behind a car. Sydney raises her pistol and fires 3 shots at Linda, but she is safely behind the car. The scene cuts away to Vaughn, who is on his back on the floor, kick with both feet at Ken. As he stumbles backwards, Vaughn rushs forward to throw a left punch, but Ken blocks it with his right arm and throws a counter punch with his left. Vaughn blocks it with his right arm and connects with a right handed palm strike to Ken’s jaw. Back in the convertible, Sydney is hiding in the car as it rotates on the turntable. She shifts to the drivers seat and sees Linda trying to sneak around a car. The moment Linda emerges from behind cover, Syd shoots her twice in the chest. Satisfied that she poses no threat, Sydney turns to sees Vaughn punching Ken in the face with his right hand and to the gut with his left hand inside Phil's office. She searches the Cadillac for the car’s ignition keys, as the two men wrestle. Hearing Syd start the car and rev the engine distracts Vaughn, which allows Ken to punch him in the right side of his head. Sydney puts the car in gear, spins the tires and drives down the ramp. From the floor Vaughn grabs the briefcase and whacks Ken in the left shin, which doubles him in over in pain. Vaughn follows up with a backhanded swing of the briefcase, hitting Ken in the face which sends him flying out of the room and conveniently right into the XLR’s path. Sydney hits him with the car and sends him flying up over the hood and windshield, landing hard on the concrete floor. Sydney stops the car and yells “Get in!” to Vaughn. He comes running out of the office and enters the car. They exchange concerned stares and then drive away.
Later that night, we see the XLR parked in front of the ‘Parker’ house. Syd and Vaughn are having another discussion in the bathroom, concealed by running water. We see that the crystal of Sydney’s special watch is shattered and hear her say regretfully “It's dead.” Syd is sitting on the edge of the bathtub and passes the watch to Vaughn, who is sitting on the floor. He says “Well, protocol dictates we contact APO. Let them know what's going on.” Sydney points out “We might have access to communications, now that we've joined the ‘Liberty Village family’”. That makes Vaughn react with disgust “They tried to kill us over a car. I mean, if we stay, they might send us to... the supermarket and launch grenades at us.” Syd points out “Well, we can't just leave. This place is like a prison! Our best bet is still to maintain cover.” Vaughn gives a slight nod of agreement and says “Yeah, well next time we go on one of his tests, I'm bringing our gun. I don't care what he says.” He leans his head back wearily against the divider wall behind him and lets out a sigh. Syd calls out to him gently “Vaughn, come here” and extends her hand. He takes her hand and sits down beside her. Sydney examines the cut on his head that he got from fighting with Ken and he flinches a bit. He asks “Is it bad?” She replies “You've looked better.” Sydney strokes his hair, then takes his face in her hands and kisses the area near his injury like a mother would for a child’s injury. But she doesn’t stop kissing him. He puts a hand on hers to stop her, but he doesn’t pull her hand away as he intended. Syd stops kissing him and they look each other in the eyes to see if they should stop or continue. Vaughn leans over and they kiss on the lips. He cups his right hand to Sydney's cheek and then cradles her head, running his hands through her hair.
The scene dissolves to them caressing in the shower. Sydney pulls back and says “The story you told at the dealership...” Vaughn nods silently. She continues “We were supposed to go to Santa Barbara three years ago.” He leans forward and gives her a quick peck on the lips. Syd continues “. ..and we never made it.” Vaughn shakes his head ‘no’ and says softly “Karen and Dave did.” She smiles and they resume kissing. Sydney wants to know if what Vaughn talked about in the car dealership was really what he had planned for them in Santa Barbara years ago, but he has dodged her question and avoided answering her need for clarification.
Nighttime at the APO, Marshall is in his office telling Jack what he’s discovered in Irina’s books. He says “Well, I started by eliminating the more obvious: Sequence book codes, Steganography, Invisible ink. Maybe the watermark... But then I realized it was right in front of my face the entire time. The inscription. Take a look, right here... Ahem, ‘Laura, all my love, forever and a day. Jack’ That’s really sweet! I mean that’s a side of you I never really get to see, Mr. Bristow. I have to, I have to say, I like it.” Jack doesn’t like hearing that and impatiently says “I fail to see the relevance.” Marshall apologises “Right, sorry. So did the NSA. Anyway, I ran a chromatographic analysis of the ink, and check this out. One of the periods in the ellipses contains ink that was different than the inscription did itself. It was added after you wrote it. Irina encoded it with a microdot.” Marshall goes to his computer and displays a magnification of the microdot, saying “So, I magnified it with a digital microscope, and look at this. It's a protocol Irina used to contact one of her operatives. Someone important, considering how detailed it is.” Jack looks concerned and asks “Any idea who she was communicating with?” Marshall replies “Well, all that's there is a codename: Sentinel.” Jack still looks concerned as he then asks “Do we have copies of everything inside?” Marshall replies “Well, yeah...but you're giving it to the Russians?” wondering why they are still giving them Irina’s books. Jack puts Irina’s book back inside the strongbox and closes the lid, explaining “Sentinel's a deceased operative. It's a dead end. The Russians can have it. Our priorities are Sydney and Vaughn.” Jack picks up the strongbox and leaves, with Marshall staring after him.
Back in their Liberty Village home, Sydney is curled up in Vaughn’s arms in bed. Both are sound asleep. The bedroom door creaks open and ray of light shines across Vaughn's chest. The shadow of the intruder enters the room. Suddenly, Sydney startles awake and Vaughn springs from the bed, pushing the intruder against the bedroom wall and throws left handed punch. The intruder is Kurelko and he catches Vaughn’s fist, stopping it from striking him. He is pleased that his latest recruits were able to react effectively, and says in satisfaction “Good!” Tom drops Vaughn's fist, then puts on his friendly voice saying “You're awake. We need to get you packed: We're going to America.” Vaughn and Sydney have surprised reactions.
It is a rainy twilight at Griffith Park Observatory where Alexei and Jack are having their return meeting. Alexei looks inside a paper bag then complains “The agreement was for all of the books.” Jack assures him “That's the one you're looking for.” Alexei pauses and swallows, surprised that Jack knows what they were looking for. He changes the subject by saying “We haven't heard from Irina in quite some time.” Jack says evasively “She's a difficult woman to keep track of.” Alexei nods “That she is. She always spoke quite favourably of you. Her attachment made her work...problematic at times.” He says that with a sly grin. Jack pauses for a moment and then says with sarcasm “I hope I didn't cause you too much inconvenience.” Alexei continues “We have an aircraft waiting at Chezniev airstrip. A support team will provide transport for your assets once they have left the facility's perimeter. Jack nods his approval. Alexei says “Goodbye, Jack” with a slight nod of wary respect. Jack replies “Alexei” and returns the slight nod of wary respect. But after the man leaves, Jack shows a stare indicating that he doesn’t like Alexei.
It is pre-dawn at the ‘Parker’ Liberty Village home. Sydney is sipping a large cup of coffee alongside of Vaughn as they are sitting around the dining room table with Tom/Kurelko and Bill/Anatoli Sedova for their mission briefing. Tom says “1526 Glenbury Lane: Three bedroom, two bath, hardwood floors. They've even got a breakfast nook” as he pushes a file folder towards ‘David and Karen’ for them to look at. ‘David’ asks “What, we're moving to Chicago? Kurelko explains “You're Chicago;” handing a folder to Bill, he continues “they’re (Anatoli and Donna/Tatiana) Atlanta; Diane and I are New York. You have a meeting on Tuesday with Pierce Financial. We've prepared extensive backgrounds for you. Human Resources should flip out over a young, upstart couple like yourselves, provided you ace the interview, of course.” ‘Karen’ asks “We're attacking an investment firm?” Tom replies “No, we just need access to their servers. At some point in the near future, an unfortunate incident is going to befall the New York Stock Exchange. If we have access to these servers of America's financial institutions at that time, we'll be in prime position for a massive redistribution of wealth.” Bill adds “Think of it as, uhm ... aggressive Marxism.” ‘David’ nods, then asks “What's the casualty projection for this...unfortunate incident?” Tom says with amusement “Are the ‘Gladiators of Liberty Village Automotive’ having a sudden crisis of conscience?” ‘Karen’ warns “Civilian deaths mean repercussions.” ‘David’ expresses concern “We'll need an exit strategy.” Switching to Russian, Kurelko assures “You'll be long gone before the bodies are cold, Dimitri.” ‘David’ nods and looks down, not wanting to make trouble. Kurelko resumes his Tom the American persona, saying “That reminds me...We should go over the op-tech in case we have to reroute you guys through New York. What do you know about electromagnetic weapons?” Vaughn and Sydney exchange uncomfortable looks.
It is daytime in Los Angeles. Marshall is using a soldering gun on a circuit board when he hears beeping coming form his computer. He looks up and sees ‘INCOMING DATA ALERT - Russian Consulate Update: Germans have transferred the Tabokovs to a maximum security prison in Havel’. His jaw drops, then he hurries down the corridor to Sloane's office. He says in a breathless, near panic “Mr. Sloane...the Tabakovs...the couple that Sydney and Vaughn are impersonating? The Germans just moved them.” Not grasping the reason for Marshall’s panic, Sloane says calmly “...to a maximum security prison in Havel. The Consulate informed me of the transfer a few minutes ago” and returns to his paperwork. Marshall clarifies “The Consulate informed everybody of the transfer a few minutes ago! They sent the order over an unsecured line. If the October Contingent have the Tabakovs' names flagged...” Sloane gets up and says grimly “Send the abort code. Get Sydney and Vaughn out of there now.” Marshall points at Sloane indicating ‘I’m on it’ and then hurries away.
The scene switches to the master bedroom of the Parker house where we see Sydney’s broken watch on the bedside table. Bill demonstrates a special suitcase to ‘Dave’, saying “Now, underneath you have a secondary compartment with your meet protocol, your exit field documents... We even threw in the backgrounds of all your new neighbours. (It) Should help you make small talk at barbeques.” Bill pats ‘Dave’ on the back and they chuckle.
Still in the dining room, Tom is demonstrating how to operate the Electro-Magnetic Pulse device to ‘Karen’. Showing her the procedure, Tom says “Disengage the failsafe device, lift the cover, flip the switch... You don't wear a pacemaker, do you? ... I'm kidding.” Tom’s cell phone rings as they both smile and laugh. Tom looks at the caller ID and then answers “Hi, honey. Yeah, yeah...no, things are right on schedule.” He pauses to listen, then says “Mm, hmm?” Tom’s voice turns more cheerful as he says “Yes... Yes, no. They're very excited about their breakfast nook.” Dianne/Marina has a serious expression as she forcefully says in Russian “Kill one. Keep the other for interrogation.” Tom turns back to look at ‘Karen’, who is studying the EMP schematics at the table, and continues “Yes, I'll be sure to tell them ... I love you, too.” Sydney gives Tom a sideways glance upon detecting the strange tone of his end of the conversation. She hides her concern by looking back at the schematics.
Tom hangs up his cellphone and says to ‘Karen’ “That was Dianne. She said to pack warm. Chicago's cold this time of year. She gets a little obsessed when we travel.” ‘Karen’ looks up at Tom with a pleasant smile and sets the schematics aside. Tom offers “You want some more coffee?” She says “I'd love some, thanks” with a smile that fades when he walks towards the kitchen with her cup. Walking towards the kitchen, Tom chuckles “Watch. I’m...I'm telling you. It's amazing. It’s just like clockwork. As soon as we'll be outside of Vologa, she'll um, think that we left the stove on.” Kurelko draws his pistol, checks it and then spins around, ready to shoot. But Sydney is no longer sitting at the table and is nowhere in sight. He walk around, pointing the gun at every possible hiding spot.
Upstairs in the master bedroom, Bill tells ‘Dave’ as he packs “So we had to do our initial evaluation at the Liberty Village Fried Chicken. I got burn marks all over my back from the fry machine.”
Downstairs, Kurelko is still searching for Syd. His cellphone rings so he answers it with his left hand, while pointing his pistol in the other hand. Expecting Marina to provide him with surveillance help, Kurelko asks in Russian “Where is she?” Just then Sydney comes up from behind and smashes him in the back of the head with a ceramic table lamp.
Back upstairs, Bill and Vaughn hear the commotion. They look at each other with suspicion. Bill reaches for his gun but Vaughn grabs his wrist and forces Bill to drop the pistol. Bill throws a shoulder block to Vaughn’s chest and drives him against the bedroom wall. Bill drives his right fist into Vaughn’s gut, punches Vaughn in the face with his left. Vaughn counters with a left to the face, but misses with his right. Bill connects with a left punch to Vaughn’s head and then grabs him by the back of the neck, throwing him across the room which causes him to tumble through a full length floor mirror.
Downstairs in the living room, Sydney does a jumping kick at Kurelko with her right foot which connects his head. He manages to block left kick and her right punch. She connects with a left punch to the head and a right punch to the gut. Kurelko blocks her spinning backhand punch and counters with a kick that sends her backwards. Syd falls forward into the fireplace mantle, which allows Kurelko to punch her in the left kidney. He turns Syd around and tries to strangle her. She throws a right elbow strike to his face and uses her left foot to hit him in the abdomen with a forward heel. Kurelko falls back onto the sofa, which Sydney to pick up a fireplace poker and catch her breath. She sees Kurelko rushing for his pistol on the floor, so she uses the poker to bat the gun from his hand. Sydney hits him in the gut with the poker and then to the right side of the head, which knocks Kurelko to the floor. It is unclear whether he is unconscious or dead. Sirens and a helicopter can be heard as Syd picks up his pistol. She hold the gun at the ready position and heads towards the stairs. Vaughn comes down the staircase with Bill’s gun at the ready. They see each other and lower their weapons. Syd says “They're on to us” and heads for the EMP device. Vaughn wisecracks “Yeah, I figured that part out.” Sydney retrieves the device from the dining room table and says “I don't know what happened, but we got to get out of here.”
Vaughn leads the way as they head out the front door. A helicopter’s searchlight tracks them in order to illuminate them for the machine gunner on board. Bullets whizz by, striking the ground around them. They head for their Cadillac XLR, but the gunfire forces them to take cover behind Tom's Mercedes 420 SEL sedan parked at the curb. They look up and sees that the helicopter shining the searchlight at them is hovering over the house across the street. Vaughn yells over the noise of the chopper and the approaching sirens “Set it off! Set off the EMP!” Sydney lifts the safety cover, charges up the EMP device, and then flips the trigger. The searchlight goes black, the lights of an approaching military jeep shut off and the vehicle comes to a stop in front of the house across the street. From the air, we see all of the electric lights of Liberty Village fail. The powerless helicopter crashes through the roof of the house across the street, and erupts in a huge fireball. The guards from the jeep run scatter and run for their lives. Sydney turns to Vaughn and says “Maybe it's time we move out of the suburbs.” He nods and she picks up the EMP device.
Daytime in his office at the APO, Sloane says “Russian authorities officially deny an American training ground ever existed within their borders. However, off the record, they have expressed gratitude for our assistance with their takedown of the October Contingent.” The scene cuts to the viewpoint of watching Sloane via videophone. We see that it is Sydney and Vaughn, onboard a military transport plane, that he is talking with. Sloane continues “We'll debrief in detail upon your arrival, but for now...good work.” Sydney nods and says “Thank you”. From his videophone, Sloane sees Vaughn say “Thank you”. Sloane ends the transmission and then turns his attention to Jack who is sitting across the desk from him listening in on the call. Sloane says “Alexei made good on his promise (to provide transport). Jack says “Which means our suspicions regarding Sentinel are accurate. The Russians are searching for Elena Derevko.” Sloane replies “Well, we will have to move up our timetable.” Jack nods in agreement.
We see a C-130 Hercules transport flying at in the night skies. (Apparently the Russians have access to American planes through the black market). Inside, Sydney says to Vaughn “It's strange, but I'm not exactly excited about returning to America...for some reason”. Vaughn nods and notes “Well, it was kind of nice not to have to be us for a while” as he removes the wedding ring and sets it down next to the laptop computer that they were using for the video-conference. Sydney removes her rings and holds them as she says “Well, I happen to like us...even if we are a little cold.” Vaughn smiles and adds “And boring...don't forget boring”. Syd chuckles “How could I?” and sets her rings down on the other side of the computer.” Vaughn notes “You know, we have operational command of this aircraft. The pilot could take us anywhere we want.” Syd smiles and then puts on a mock serious tone “Our orders are to proceed with our extraction.” Her voice softens as she continues “If we were divert this aircraft for our personal use... we would get into a lot of trouble.” Vaughn nods several times as he says “Yes.” Sydney nods in agreement and says softly “Yeah”, turning her head away in disappointment. Vaughn immediately asks “You want to have dinner with me in Paris?” Sydney turns back and says “Absolutely.” They both lean in and have a long kiss. The camera zooms in on the engagement and wedding rings.
END