Season 5 Descriptive Summary Ep 5.03 - The Shed

Season 5: Episode 3 - "The Shed"
10/13/2005
Summary by superintelligentone aka SIO

The show starts with the announcement “Previously on Alias.” We see a recap of what happened to Nadia in Sovogda, Russia. She is running down the subway tracks trying to catch up with the moving train, calling out “Sydney!” Syd is leaning out of the last car, extending her arm and shouting encouragement “Nadia! Come here, come here!” Just as the sisters are about to grasp each other’s hand, a man infected by the Mueller device’s effect tackles her from the side. The next scene shows Nadia being injected in the neck through her Rambaldi brand and we hear her agonized scream. In the next scene, we see that Nadia has the red eyes of the diseased and Sydney’s voiceover say “It’s Nadia. She’s infected!” A quick fade to and from black shows Arvin Sloane in his prison cell talking through the bars to Jack, saying “My daughter is being kept in a coma. She’s suffering from a condition that no one understands. It is a condition that I am responsible for with no hope for a cure.” The scene cuts to Arvin cradling Nadia on his lap after he had to shoot her and his voiceover saying “I’ve hurt the most precious thing in my life.”

Another quick fade to and from black shows a smiling Gordon Dean presenting himself to Sydney at Stafford Naval Hospital after the car crash. He holds up his credentials and says “Gordon Dean, Office of Special Investigations.” The scene cuts to Dixon walking through the APO tunnel, using his cellphone, saying “Dean wasn’t Special Investigations. He went off the grid two years ago.” The next cut shows Gordon Dean exiting his car at the railyard and then of Vaughn looking at Ivan Curtis moments before getting shot by his submachine gun. Sydney in voiceover says “These people killed my fiancé.” The scene cuts to Vaughn’s casket being brought out the church by his APO colleagues. Another quick fade to and from black shows Sydney’s post-debriefing conversation with her father where she says “We lost our only lead on Gordon Dean.” Jack assures her “We’ll get another lead.” Syd nods and replies “Yeah.” The recap ends with a fade to black.

The scene fades in to show that it is daytime in a seaside port city. In the foreground is a pair of minarets and the sound of Moslem call to prayer is heard. The caption says Istanbul (Turkey). The camera pans to show a computer screen displaying what appears to be a representation of blood cells. The camera continues to pan, showing two laboratory mice inside a plexiglass isolation box. A man wearing a hazardous materials protective suit opens a sealed box and carefully removes one of the large vials containing a yellow fluid. He looks nervously at his fellow scientist coworker, and says something in Turkish to him.

We see from an overhead view that the biohazard room that they are working is not far from a guard sitting at the security desk in the lobby of the building. A woman dressed in a burqa arrives at the entrance and presses the door buzzer. The guard presses the intercom and asks in Turkish “Can I help you?” The woman responds in Turkish “I’m here to see Ramal.” The man tells her “Ramal’s busy, come back later.” The woman explains “]Please, his son is ill. I must speak with him.” The guard looks indecisive at first, but then buzzes the woman in. The woman enters and walks towards the guard station, saying “Thank you. Thank you.” The man holds up his hand and says “I need you to stop here. I’ll call for Ramal.” As the guard reaches for the telephone, the woman pulls out a silencer-equipped pistol gun and fires three shots into him. She lowers her hood and facecovering scarf, revealing that she is a westerner. The woman is Kelly Peyton.

Peyton walks up to the biohazzard room, unnoticed by the workers inside whose backs are turned. She attaches an electronic probe to the keypad of the locked door, then com-links to her associates “I’m patched in. Going for the hack.” The status light of the keypad changes from red to green and then the sealed door slides open. The men turn in surprise as Kelly walks in. Pointing her pistol at them, she says in Turkish “Against the wall! Now!” The scientists raise their hands up and back away. Keeping them at bay with the gun in her right hand, she retrieves two vials with her other hand. As Peyton picks up the remaining one, the first scientist warns “Please, be careful. That vial ... the seal is already broken (on that one). Backing away, Kelly replies “That’s okay. I only need two.” The men stare in disbelief as she tosses the vial in the air and then rip their air hoses from the ceiling. Peyton exits the room and presses the door button to seal the men in. The vial shatters, releasing a yellow mist. Immediately, warning alarms sound. Kelly pulls her hood back over her head as she heads for the exit. The scientists shout and pound on the door frantically, trying to get out of the room. The scene switches to show that two men have hemorrhaged to death. The two lab mice inside their plexiglas cage seem unaffected by the airborne pathogen.

Morning in Sydney’s house in Venice, California. Syd is chewing her breakfast as she is sorting her mail for that day. She stops when she sees the magazine, Hockey Trends. It is the November 2005 issue , addressed to:
Michael Vaughn
2541 Zephyr Ave.
Venice, California 90291
She gets a pensive expression and then walks over to the telephone. On the table is a framed photograph of Michael. After she dials the telephone number, Sydney hears a man answer her call “Thank you for calling. For the purposes of training, this call may be monitored. My name is Roger. How may I help you?” Syd says “Hi, uh... Roger. I’d like to cancel a subscription, please. The customer rep replies “Certainly. Can I have the name on the account, please?” Sydney informs him “Michael Vaughn. V-A-U-G-H-N.” Roger responds “Got it. I see it right here. May I ask why you’re canceling the subscription?” Syd sighs and gets a sad expression momentarily, then after a few seconds, composes herself and explains “Mr. Vaughn died.” The rep is taken aback momentarily, then says apologetically “I’m sorry ... I’ll take care of it right away.” Softly, Sydney replies “Yeah” and presses the button of the cordless phone to hang up. She holds the handset for a few seconds and then returns it to the base, sighing “Okay” to compose herself. Syd rises from her seat, picks up the magazine and puts it into the wastebasket. She begins to walk away, but then turns to look back at it for a few seconds. Then after wiping her left eye, Sydney bends down, takes the magazine back out, and places it into the desk drawer for safekeeping. She gently touches the cover of magazine again as if hoping that Vaughn will come back someday, then closes the drawer.

Later that day in Marshall’s lab, he tells the assembled group “When your wife tells you it’s a waste of time having a pen pal, she’s wrong. ‘Cause, uh, two days ago, there was a theft in an R&D (Research & Development) facility in Istanbul. The Turks have done a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps, but, my friend Ali... forwarded me this.” He pulls up surveillance video still images of the bio-hazzard lab onto his computer screen and continues “Now take a look right there. You see that, those vials? Right there? That’s a nerve agent called Substance 33. It was developed by the Russians during the Cold War. Remarkable stuff.” Realizing that he is praising a deadly menace, he adds in an apologetic way “You know, in an end-of-civilization ... sort of way.” Sydney asks “What makes you think they worked for Dean?” Marshall corrects her “Well, they don’t. As far as we can tell, they’re independent.” Turning to Agent Thomas Grace “he tries to explain “Gordon Dean, he’s a....” Grace interrupts “Former CIA. Disappeared two years ago. Infiltrated this office. Compromised one of your men ... I’m up to speed, thanks.” Marshall sheepishly replies “Sorry, right, um ... new guy. I just assumed that maybe, uh…” Clearing his throat, Marshall continues “Anyway…” He brings up a picture of the woman shooting the guard and points, saying “This woman right here ... That’s who I think works for Dean.” Jack asks “You think? Based on what? Your pen pal?” Marshall is momentarily confused and says “Who, Ali? No ... See, this woman had help ... A hacker who remotely accessed the security system using the same computer as a hack on the NSA a few months back, which we know was ordered by Dean.” Taking out a map and unrolling it, Marshall explains “So, two hours ago, I traced this computer to Prague (Czech Republic), within these 5 square miles. But, you see, if I can go to Prague, I can narrow it down to like, 2 feet. And then we can grab this hacker and get him to tell us where the Substance 33 is.” Syd objects “But if we do that, we lose Dean. Once he realizes his hacker is missing, he’ll disappear as well.” Marshall agrees pessimistically “Right.” Jack tells Sydney and Thomas “Okay, I want you both accompany Marshall to Prague.” Syd’s eyebrows rise in surprise at hearing that she is being teamed with the new agent. Jack instructs them “Follow the signal, locate Dean’s operation there. But don’t do anything to reveal yourself or to engage his men. Once we’ve done that, we’ll reassess our options.” Sydney has a questioning look on her face and asks “Shouldn’t Dixon be going with me?” Agent Grace looks at her with a questioning expression, disappointed in her rejection. Jack explains “I’ve tasked Dixon to another assignment. Marshall will brief you on your op-tech. Let me know when you’re ready to leave.” Sydney nods but has her eyes lowered in disapproval. Jack leaves and when she looks up at Thomas, he has a little smirk for her.

Sydney leaves Marshall’s lab in a hurry to catch up with her father and calls out “Dad ... You’re making a mistake.” When she catches up, Jack tells her “Sydney, I understand you’d be more comfortable taking Dixon with you, but that was inappropriate (to contradict him as her superior).” Syd points out “This is not the time to break in a new agent.” Jack counters “Agent Grace has extensive field experience.” Sydney immediately says “And I have a history with Dixon. What is so important, Dad, that he can’t come with me on this mission?” As they enter his office, Jack replies “Your sister.” Sydney is surprised at that revelation and then asks “What about my sister?” He tells her “You know that Sloane has been searching for a cure for Nadia. He may have found one” and hands Syd a sheet of paper. Reading it aloud, she says “Conditional Release of Arvin Sloane”? Jack explains “Sloane cultivated a lead who will only meet with him face-to-face in Russia. I was able to convince the attorney general to let him out of prison for 72 hours. I’m sending Dixon as a security detail.” Bewildered and reading the sheet further, Syd asks “When was I going to find out about this?” Jack hesitates, then reveals “I didn’t want to raise your hopes until we knew what Sloane had.” Fighting to regain her composure, Sydney says “Well, in that case, I prefer to go to Marshall by myself.” Looking exasperated, Jack says “Sydney...” Interrupting him, Syd points out “It’s not that complicated a mission.” But her father counters sternly “In fact, it’s very complicated ... Recovering the nerve agent without tipping Dean…” Seeing that she is avoiding eye contact with him, Jack asks “What aren’t you telling me?” Looking back up, Sydney admits “I read his file.” Looking disappointed in her, Jack nods and says “Agent Grace’s?” Syd raises her eyebrows a little bit, as if to say ‘Of course I did.” Her father rebukes her “You had no authority to do that.” Feeling justified, Sydney points out “In the last three years, he has turned down half a dozen team assignment. Instead, taking long-cover operations by himself ... He’s a loner.” Jack counters “He’s a superior agent, and he’s agreed to be on this team ... Which is good enough for me.” Syd nods and there is an awkward silence, but it gets broken by Marshall uncomfortable interruption, saying “Um, sorry, didn’t mean to ... It’s just that you said to let you know when...” Agent Grace then appears at the door and says “We’re ready to go.” Marshall nods and says “Yeah” to confirm that’s what he was going to say. Sydney looks at Thomas as if she is still unsure about working with him. He can see the doubt in her eyes and leaves. Syd continues looking that way even though he is gone.

Daytime at Sloane’s cell, Dixon asks him “Tell me about your contact, Alexander Dolzhenko.” Arvin replies “Dolzhenko was an undersecretary in the Politburo (Soviet Executive Committee). I had been working with him for the past decade.” Marcus looks up from his note-taking and asks “Trustworthy?” Sloane pauses to think, and then clarifies that the contact is merely “Reliable.” Dixon then asks “Why is he insisting on meeting with you in person?” Arvin replies “For his protection. After the Sovogda incident (people turned savage by the Mueller device at end of Season 4), we believed that the Russians killed all the infected. But according to Dolzhenko, they’ve kept some of them alive, and they’re pursuing treatment ... Of course, the Russians deny that Sovogda ever occurred .... So by passing the cure to me, Dolzhenko is risking his life.” Marcus suggests “Suppose Dozhenko has been found out by the authorities. This could be his way of cutting a deal.” Sloane replies “And you’re suggesting that I might be walking into a trap? Hmm? No ... No. About the Sovogda incident, the Russians have no idea that I’m responsible.” Dixon then asks “Then why has he agreed to meet with you at all?” Arvin explains “(For the) $300,000.” Dixon lowers his eyes and nods. He looks back up and explains to Sloane “My job is to make sure, in three day’s time, you return to this cell. I intend to do exactly that. When we’re in the field, you’ll follow my instructions explicitly. No questions. It’s my show.” Agreeing to the terms, Arvin replies “Great.”

The next scene starts with the caption “Prague.” It is daytime in the Czech capital where Thomas Grace, Sydney and Marshall are sitting inside a Ranger Rover parked across from a café. Marshall is using his computer trying to locate the hacker. Thomas turns around from the driver’s seat and asks him “Sure you’re reading that right?” Marshall makes a “Ehh…” sound, so Grace points out “Seems like an unlikely place to hide an operation.” Studying the computer, Marshall replies “It’s definitely him. I mean, the signal I’m getting is weak, but clean. The hacker’s right inside that building.” Sydney suggests “Wi-Fi hotspot?” Marshall replies “Yeah. Must be using a laptop off-site. Know what? That’s okay. I got an idea.” Marshall opens up his toolbox and prepares an electronic device. As he works, he says “Okay ... Okay ... Got it. Here’s what we do.” Showing them a small round tin can, he announces “Pack of mints, right?” He shakes the tin to demonstrate the sound of the candies rattling around inside. Flipping the tin over to show them the bottom, Marshall proudly says “Microprocessor on the bottom of the case. It’s a relay. Get it within 5 feet of the hacker’s computer. It should allow me to clone the hard drive - might even tell us where the nerve agent is.” Remembering an additional idea, he holds up his index finger and adds “Even better ... Offer him a mint. Inside each one is a tracking device. Don’t worry. He won’t die or something if he swallows it - just get a little sick, a little nausea. If Gordon Dean has an operation here, chances are the hacker will lead us right to it.” Thomas announces “Got it” but both Sydney and he have extended their hands, each wanting the task. Realizing that they need to settle who should handle the assignment, Syd says something in Czech to test his language skills. Perplexed, Grace asks “What’s that?” Sydney replies with annoyance “That was Czech.” Unconcerned with his inability to speak the local language, he tells her “I’ll fake it. It’s all sort of Germanish, right?” Thomas’ arrogant smirk shows that he is joking, so Sydney smiles a little bit. He then hands the tin over to Syd and tells her “Go for it.” Sydney takes the mints and then turns to show Marshall that she’s rolling her eyes. Marshall raises his eyebrows as if signaling that he knows but doesn’t want to get involved. Thomas turns to smirk at Marshall.

Sydney walks into the café, and then asks via her com-link “Okay, who am I looking for?” Checking his computer, Marshall instructs her “A far window, back to the wall.” Spotting her target, Syd announces “Baseball cap on backwards. Got it.” She walks up to the young man working on his laptop computer and says shyly in Czech accented English “You are American?” The man looks up at her with a confused expression and replies in Czech “No.” Switching to speak in Czech, Sydney acts embarrassed as she explains “I just assumed ...” Pointing at his Boston Red Sox baseball cap, she continues “Your hat ... The Red Sox.” The young man smiles in understanding and replies “Oh.” Sydney gives him a shy smile and says “I like them, too.” Back in the SUV, Marshall smiles as he com-links “Great, Syd. That’s perfect. I’m starting the clone now.” Hearing Sydney say “Care for a mint?” to the young man, Marshall smile broadens and he nods as he comments “Nice.” Syd opens the tin and laughs “They’re very good.” The hacker accepts with a smile and pops a mint into his mouth.

Marshall becomes alarmed and announces “Hold on a second. Wait a minute.” As He types frantically into his laptop computer, Agent Grace asks “What is it?” Marshall explains “Well, I’m not the only one accessing this computer. Syd ...” Back in the café, the young man asks “So, you’re pregnant?” but Sydney is listening to Marshall ask “Does your guy have two laptops networked together?” She answers “No” to Marshall, but the young Czech thinks that she is answering him. He is surprised and asks “No?” since Sydney is obviously pregnant. Realizing what she’s done, Syd explains to the young man “A joke. Of course I am.” They laugh. Marshall com-links to explain “Syd, we have a problem. Someone beside me is piggy-backing off this computer. They’re trying to steal the bandwidth. Which means the hacker doesn’t have a laptop at all, maybe a PDA (pocket computer) or cell phone?” Syd turns to look for the culprit and notices a young, blonde woman hurrying past the window holding something in her hand. Marshall is frustrated as he tells her “Great, the (other) signal just went dead.” Sydney announces “I got her. Blonde hair, brown jacket. She just left. She’s coming your way.”

Outside, Thomas spots the young woman heading to her car and announces “There she is.” The blonde woman is Rachel Gibson, an associate of Gordon Dean. She looks around nervously as she enters her silver Mini Cooper. Grace turns to Marshall and advises “You’re going to want a seatbelt.” Rachel drives down the street in the opposite direction that the Range Rover is parked, so Agent Grace drives in a quick 180 degree turn and speeds after her. Buckling his seatbelt, Marshall complains “Wh- what are you doing?” Thomas replies “Following her.” As Rachel makes a right turn, a yellow sports motorcycle inadvertently heads towards the Range Rover. Marshall points and shouts “Watch out!” The motorcycle honks its horn and manages to swerve out of the way. Turning towards the motorcycle, Marshall apologizes to the rider “Sorry!” Grace squeals the tires of the SUV as he takes a hard right into traffic, which Rachel hears. She turns her head and sees the Range Rover speeding after her. Hoping to lose the larger vehicle, Rachel puts her car into a sliding left turn into a narrow alley. Thomas announces “She made us. Hold on” and turns down a wider parallel alley. They both drive at breakneck speed. As Rachel’s car emerges from the alley and takes left turn back onto a street, Thomas’s Range Rover emerges from his alley and blocks her way. Her Mini Cooper comes to a stop on the sidewalk. Grace steps out of the range rover and quickly approaches the car. Pointing his pistol through the open driver’s window, Thomas says to Rachel “Hi there.” Pausing to consider her options, Rachel finally puts her hands up in surrender.

Daytime inside a Prague hotel room serving as the APO team’s base of operations, we see that Rachel has her hands strapped to an upholstered arm chair. She struggles with the restraints, but Sydney is unconcerned. Syd leaves for the adjoining room and slides the door shut. Approaching Marshall, she says “Hey, did you get anything from her cell phone?” Seated, working on their prisoner’s cellular phone, he replies “No. The SIMM (memory) card is completely shattered. She says the phone broke when we hit her car.” Now sitting across from him, Sydney says “Well, more likely, it was a countermeasure.” Turning to look at Agent Grace, she continues “She smashed it when she realized you were chasing her. And if her people realize she’s gone, if there’s some protocol to check in that she misses, they’ll disappear as well.” Apparently offended, Grace replies “Maybe under the circumstance, you’d have done something different.” Syd looks surprised at hearing such insubordination. Marshall eyes widen and turns towards Thomas as if the man has lost his senses. But Grace gives a slight smirk to show that he was mischievously testing her patience. Looking back at Sydney as if he is concerned that she’ll lash out at their new team member, Marshall defuses the tension by saying “O-kay. Um, uh, you talked to your father, right, Syd? I mean, what’s he want us to do?” Sydney regains her composure and tells them “I’m going to talk to her (Rachel Gibson) again, see if I can get her to give up Substance 33 while there’s still time ... Can you rig a voice-stress analyzer?” Marshall replies “Yeah. Uh, sure. Just give me ten minutes.” As Sydney gets up, she gives Thomas a warning glance. The rookie agent looks like he knows that he went too far with her patience.

The next scene starts with a black screen with the caption “Omsk (a Russian city in southwest Siberia).” Nighttime in a warehouse district, Sloane and Dixon are standing next to their car, waiting to hear from their contact, Alexander Dolzhenko. Arvin comments “Dolzhenko is typically a few minutes late.” Marcus replies “Half an hour is more than a few minutes.” Just then, Sloane’s cell phone rings. Dixon tells him “Here we go” and then the two men active their earpieces to listen in on the call.

Arvin answers the phonecall “Alexander.” The man on the other end of the call is unhappy as he says “You deviated from my instructions. I told you to come alone.” Sloane calmly explains “He’s backup. He’s only here for my safety.” Apparently satisfied with why Marcus is there, Dolzhenko asks “Do you have the money?” After Arvin signals him, Dixon opens the back door of their car and takes out a briefcase. Sloane tells his contact “It’s all here, Alexander. $300,000.” Marcus places the briefcase onto the trunk of the car and opens it to show the money to the man they assume is watching from a distance. Explaining where to meet, Dolzhenko says “Our last job, where we parted company ... Be there by 8. Alone this time.” Dixon shakes his head, so Arvin tells the man “I can’t do that, Alexander.” Refusing to compromise, Dolzhenko replies “Then the deal’s off, and you lose your daughter’s cure.” Realizing that Alexander won’t yield, Sloane pleads for Dixon to agree to his terms, saying “Marcus...” Realizing what this will mean to Nadia, Dixon sighs and says “No” and closes the briefcase. Arvin explains “If you’re concerned that this is a trick, an escape, you have my daughter. She’s all the insurance you need (to keep me from running away).” Marcus realizes this and explains another reason for his refusal “Could be a trap. Russian police could be waiting for you.” Sloane stresses “It doesn’t matter to me. I have to see this through.” Appealing to him as one father to another, Arvin asks “What if it were your daughter, Marcus?” Dixon pauses to consider, then sighs and hands the briefcase to Sloane, saying “Call me when you’re ready to be picked up.” Marcus turns off his earpiece, enters his car and drives away. Arvin then slowly walks to his appointment.

Back in the Prague hotel room, we see that Rachel Gibson her fingers hooked up to a polygraph (lie detector) that Marshall is monitoring as Sydney interrogates her “Three days ago, you hacked into a security system that facilitated the theft of a chemical weapon, Substance 33.” Syd looks at her, waiting for an answer. Shaking her head slightly, the young woman responds “I want to contact the American Embassy. I’m a U.S. citizen, I have rights.” Sydney informs Rachel “You committed an act of terrorism. You forfeited your rights.” Taking a new tact, Rachel says “Honestly, I, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Suddenly there is a knock on the door. Agent Grace walks in and says to Syd “Hey. (She is) Rachel Gibson, traveling on a student visa issued two weeks ago.” Turning to address their prisoner, he asks “So what are you studying?” Pausing for a moment, Rachel replies “Architecture. The Gothic influence.” Sarcastically, Thomas responds “Well, that’s fascinating.” Maintaining her cover story, she says “It is.” He then notices Rachel is flexing her wrist against her restraint, making her watch emit a clicking sound. Grace lunges toward her, so Sydney asks “What are you...” Then she sees he is struggling to take the wristwatch from their prisoner. Rachel struggles and protests “Get off! Let go of me now! No! Don’t! Let go!” Examining the watch, Thomas asks “What is this?” Abandoning her guise as a student, Rachel angrily warns “Whoever you people are, you’re making a big mistake.” Marshall calls out to Grace “Can I see that?” The young woman continues “Pretty soon, there will be a ton of U.S. agents swarming this place looking for me.” Syd asks “U.S. agents? In disbelief. Defiantly, Rachel replies “That’s right.” Marshall tells them his preliminary analysis of the watch “It’s an ELT - Emergency Location Transmitter. She was trying to send a distress signal.” Thomas asks “Do we need to worry?” Studying the device further, Marshall replies “Well, looks like it’s still intact. The signal didn’t go out.” Rachel’s defiance fades at the realization that she won’t be getting help. Noticing the fear in her face, Sydney tells her “You’re scared? ... You should be. No one’s coming to rescue you.” Regaining her courage, Rachel tells them “I’m an operative for the U.S. Government, so unless you want to start a war with the CIA, I would suggest...” Syd interrupts “ Here’s your next problem, Rachel. We’re CIA.” Stunned into silence for a few seconds, Rachel slowly says “Well, then this must be some ... big misunderstanding. If you’re CIA, we’re on the same side.” Sydney then looks over to Grace and says “Call Langley. Verify her story.” Giving a slight nod, Thomas walks away to make a call. Rachel gets depressed, saying “You can’t ... We’re off-book. Black Ops ... Langley won’t verify us.” Rolling her eyes at her companions, Syd responds “That’s convenient.” The young woman protests “Well, that’s the truth!” Losing her patience, Sydney leans forward, saying “I’ve had enough” to her. Marshall interrupts, saying “Syd...” She looks over with surprise at him. Marshall has a concerned expression and looks toward the polygraph display on his laptop computer.

Back at the APO a short time later, Jack hears from Marshall “The stress analysis indicates she’s telling the truth.” Jack replies “That may be, but the more likely scenario is that she’s practicing a form of self-hypnosis to convince herself that what she’s saying is true.” Marshall disagrees, saying “Well, I triple-checked my readings and filtered them against every known method of duping. She believes what she’s saying.” Thinking to herself, Sydney suddenly gets an astounded expression, then looks over to Grace. Thomas asks “What?” Syd turns and says “Marshall, you and my father said the same thing ... That Rachel believes what she’s saying. She believes she works for the CIA.” Marshall nods, but doesn’t understand her point, saying “Yeah, I think so. That’s right.” Sydney gets a concerned expression, then says “I need to talk to her.” Sydney goes back into the other room to speak with Rachel.

Watching on a monitor, Grace and Marshall sees Sydney in the next room say to their prisoner “I want to tell you a story. Just...stop me if I get something wrong. You were approached in college, someplace public, in the quad or walking to class. A man asked you if you wanted to serve your country. When he told you it was for the CIA, you just... You couldn’t believe it ...” The view switches to inside the room as Syd continues “But you took the tests ... and they were easy for you. It made you feel good about yourself ... You probably started work at a false front, some phantom company that had you doing entry-level analysis.” Rachel’s expression indicates that Sydney is correct. Syd sighs and shakes her head, then continues “Maybe you wondered why you were never sent to Langley. Maybe you wondered why you weren’t being trained with other recruits.” Rachel stares with captivation, her eyes getting moist with tears. Syd then says “Then you got promoted. You met the director of your division, Gordon Dean. He...offered you a position on his team. Dean took you under his wing. He convinced you that ... you were so important, you just had to be out there ... helping him save the world.” Rachel raises her eyebrows. Sydney then asks “How am I doing?” The young woman rationalizes “You read my file.” Immediately, Syd replies “No, I didn’t. Thirteen years ago, the same thing happened to me. Only I had been lied to ...What I was told was the CIA was, in reality, a criminal organization. I think you’ve been told the same lie.” Seeing that the young woman is shaking her head, Syd says “I know that you don’t believe me, Rachel. You think this is another interrogation tactic. It’s not ... I think I can prove it.” Thinking for a moment, Rachel says skeptically “You can prove it ... that I work for a criminal organization?” Sydney nods slightly and replies “Your transmitter ... Where does the signal get received?” The young woman replies “CIA Headquarters ... Langley.” Syd leans forward, saying “You’re sure of that?” Rachel replies “I designed it myself.” Sydney instructs her “I’d like you to build a trace program, one that piggybacks onto the signal your watch sends out ... If I’m right, it won’t go to Langley.” Rachel looks like she doesn’t know whether she should do the test.

A short time later, Rachel finishes working on the program on the laptop computer and announces “Okay. It’s ready.” Marshall walks over to the laptop and Sydney says “Let’s do it.” He explains to the young woman “Okay. I’m going to send out a test signal. Whoever receives this will just assume you’re checking the system, okay? Here we go, and...” Flipping open the watch, Marshall then presses a key on the computer. In response the watch emits a red glow. He explains “Testing.” On the computer screen, a global map shows the signal originating from Prague traveling over to Langley, Virginia. Marshall comments “Yep. (The signal) Went to Langley.” Sydney looks over at Rachel, who smirks and looks relieved. Marshall’s expression changes to surprise as the computer beeps an alarm. The display indicates “Alert: Re-Router Detected. Re-calculating path...” He announces “Wait a minute. No, it isn’t.” Marshall determines “That ping was just a ghost signal. It was meant to throw us off. It’s not going to Langley at all.” Thomas asks “Where’d it go?” The map traces the signal from America back to the Czech Republic and then zooms in to a city map. Marshall reads the display “Prague. Vlasska Street.” Rachel has a disappointed expression. Sydney asks “What’s on Vlasska Street?” The young woman responds “Our office. It’s temporary so that Dean can oversee the transfer of Substance 33.” Astounded, Syd says “ Wait. Gordon Dean is in Prague?” Rachel nods and replies with tears in her eyes “Yeah ... He’s right around the corner.” Sydney and Dean exchange glances about what they should do.

We see on an outdoor clock that it is 5:50 and daylight is fading in Prague. On the rooftop of the hotel, Rachel stands with her arms crossed, sadly looking out over the city, contemplating what she just learned and what she should do now. She sighs sadly as we hear in voiceover, Jack asking by telephone “How’s she doing?” Agent Grace replies “About how you’d expect. She was told (by Dean) Substance 33 was developed by a terrorist cell and was being transferred to U.N. weapons inspectors.” Jack speculates “Most likely, it’s being sold to the highest bidder ... Does she know when the exchange is to be made?” Thomas replies “Tonight, but she says she doesn’t know where. She said it’s all classified, and all classified intel is stored on Dean’s own dedicated server.” We see that Jack is talking via a headset in his APO office as he asks “What else? How much does she know about his operation?” Grace informs him “Dean calls it ‘The Shed’. She was recruited two years ago; Computer specialist. She’s willing to give us everything - mission history, suppliers, contacts ... the works.” Quickly assessing the situation, Jack says “Without more background, it’s too risky to move on Dean. He could destroy his data before we have time to secure it ... Marshall, can we access that server?” Marshall replies “Well, according to Rachel, Dean uses an encryption key that changes daily. But if I could get inside, I could crack the key and maybe download the entire hard drive.” Jack points out “Obviously, that’s too dangerous ... What about the girl?” Shaking his head, Thomas objects “She’s not a field agent ... And her whole world is coming apart right now.” We see Rachel is still thinking on the rooftop as Jack says in voiceover “I don’t see another option. We have to recover Substance 33 before it trades hands.” Rachel turns as she hears the sound of the door opening and sees that it is Sydney coming to speak with her, so she asks apprehensively “What is it?” Syd reluctantly explains “We need some help.”

Back inside the bedroom, Marshall and Rachel are sitting on the edge of a bed as he explains “All you have to do is copy the encryption key and then bring it back to me, okay? Shouldn’t take me more than a couple of minutes to crack the code. Then go back inside, all right? You think, maybe, you can open a remote access port to Dean’s server?” She replies “Yeah, from my workstation. Rachel then worries “Dean’s server has about a terabyte of data. I mean, that’s going to take you, what, an hour at 20 gigs a minute?” Marshall smiles and assures her “Don’t worry. I can hop RAM while the data’s being transferred ... I mean, unless they know where to look, it can’t be detected.” Rachel points out another concern of hers “The encryption key is pretty massive. I mean, I don’t think I have anything big enough to copy it to.” Smiling, Marshall replies “That’s okay. Got a little present for you. Okay? Just a little something I picked up.” Reaching into his jacket pocket, he shows her a credit card and says “Looks like a normal credit card, right? But... Look closely.” Marshall slides up what looks like the magnetic strip portion of a credit card and explains proudly “(It) actually holds 240 Gigs of memory. Yeah... And it’s a working credit card. Just don’t go shopping with it because it’s already at its limit. My wife... Crazy with the clothes, Mitchell...” Studying the op-tec credit card, Rachel marvels “It’s clever.” Looking embarrassed at hearing her compliment, Marshall replies “Yeah ... I, I wanna tell you that I’ve been admiring you, too.” Seeing her look up at him with suspicion, Marshall clarifies “Not, you know, in anything kind of creepy, weird, just... Totally professionally. I mean, your hack on the NSA? Genius! ... Too bad it was being used for evil. Though, been there myself.” Rachel lowers her eyes, nods her head and says softly “Thanks.” Offering encouragement, Marshall tells her “Hey, listen. You’re gonna be okay. All right? I have been through stuff way scarier. I’m still here.” Rachel appreciates the pep-talk and gives him a brief grin.

Nighttime in Moscow, Sloane arrives at the meeting place where the Kremlin is seen in the background. A silver Audi A6 sedan pulls up and as its driver exits with a friendly grin, Arvin greets him “Alexander.” Alexander Dolzhenko replies “Old friend” and then the two men embrace. They then take a step back and Sloane says “So I did ask you asked ... It’s just you and me.” Dolzhenko apologizes “I’m sorry for my precautions. I’m sure you understand.” Arvin replies “Of course.” Alexander tells him “I’m eager to get this over as well.” Handing over the briefcase of money, Sloane tells him “You can count it.” The Russian smiles and shakes his head, saying “No. Please.” Waving his hand for emphasis, he adds “We’re friends. I trust you.” After Dolzhenko finishes placing the briefcase in the backseat of the car, Arvin says “So you have the cure.” Alexander explains “As I told you, it’s still experimental ... But, uh, yes. So far the patients have made a full recovery.” Sloane replies “Good.” Pointing to the trunk of the Audi, Dolzhenko walks towards the back, saying “Come. It’s right here.” The Russian unlocks the trunk of his car with his remote control and waves for Arvin to open it. Sloane lifts the trunk lid, but doesn’t find anything useful inside. As he steps back in disappointment, he hears the sound of a handgun being c***ed beside him. Arvin turns to see Dolzhenko pointing a pistol at him, so he says “Alexander, please.” The Russian shakes his head and says “No. Begging will not help you.” Sloane faces the man, saying calmly “Whoever wants me dead ... Let me reason with them. I’ll pay them.” Dolzhenko seems surprised and replies “Whoever? ... But, Arvin ... It’s me who wants you dead.” Sloane looks astounded at hearing that. Then he asks “Sasha, why are you doing this? ... I’ve never done anything to you.” The Russian has tears in his eyes as he shakes his head, saying “Oh, yes ... Yes, you have ... I had a daughter in Sovogda myself ... Because what you released, I didn’t even have a chance to bury my own child.” Arvin looks shocked. Alexander explains “I lied to you ... Besides your daughter, there are no other survivors ... No experiments, no cure.” Seeing how devastated Sloane is feeling, Dolzhenko rejoices “Yeah! ... It’s worse than dying, isn’t it? ... Knowing there’s nothing you can do to save your own child.” With his gun trembling, Alexander orders “Turn around.” Arvin immediately stares at him, and defiantly says “No.” Trembling with rage, Dolzhenko yells “Turn around!” Not intimidated, Sloane tells him “NO ... If you’re going to shoot me, I’m not going to make it easy for you.” The Russian can scarcely believe how events aren’t following his plan. Arvin tells him in an authoritative voice “I know your pain, Sasha ... Killing me won’t heal it ... You’re not a killer ... Don’t become one now ... Don’t make this your daughter’s legacy. Alexander’s trembling increases as he debates whether to shoot, then his lips quiver and puts the gun down. With tears in eyes, Dolzhenko gives Sloane a hateful look and slams the back door in anger. Perhaps he knows his daughter wouldn’t approve of him murdering Arvin, or perhaps he wants Sloane to suffer living with the knowledge that Nadia can’t be cured. Arvin closes his eyes in relief as Alexander gets into his car and drives away.

Daytime in Prague inside a parked surveillance van parked outside of The Shed, Sydney is giving last minute instructions to Rachel Gibson, saying “I’ll be able to hear anything you say, even if it’s barely a whisper. If anything goes wrong, if you even sense that you are in jeopardy, we’ll pull you out. We’ll call off the mission.” Rachel nods and says “Okay”, not sounding very confident. Syd continues “Okay. That’s the easy part. The hard part ... You have to walk back into that office and look everyone in the eye - Your co-workers, Gordon Dean. You can’t let them see that you know the truth ... When you’ve copied the encryption key, let me know. We’ll brush pass in the lobby like we said.” The young woman replies “Okay” but still looks nervous. She then asks “How many of them know? How many of them are in on it?” Sydney responds “It’s impossible to say. In my case, it was half a dozen out of fifty agents.” Rachel looks concerned that so many of her co-workers have also been deceived. Sydney thinks to herself and then passes a small photo to the young woman, saying “Have you ever seen this man?” Rachel studies the picture of Michael Vaughn for a few moments, then nods, saying “Yeah. Dean said he was a CIA agent who turned... That he’s in custody outside Los Alamos.” Seeing Sydney lower her eyes with sadness, Rachel concludes “That was a lie, too.” Taking the photo back, Syd explains “His name is Michael Vaughn ... He was a U.S. agent ... But he was good man ...” Seeing that she has turned her head and is upset, Sydney says “Rachel, look at me. The reason I’m telling you this is because right now, you are our best chance at seeing Gordon Dean pay for what he’s done.” She emphasizes “He used you, Rachel ... He used you to murder U.S. agents.” Seeing that the young woman looks overwhelmed at her situation, Syd encourages her “I believe in you.” Rachel takes a moment to compose herself and then nods that she is ready. She slides the van door open and then gives a final look to Sydney before exiting.

Inside the office building, Rachel steps out of an elevator and into the Shed office. She sees familiar faces as if in a daze as she walks towards her desk. The Gibson woman regains her composure without anyone noticing, then hears a friendly female voice call, out to her “Hey.” It is Kelly Peyton, the woman from the raid on the Istanbul R&D lab. Rachel turns in surprise and says “Peyton. Hey.” The young brunette woman walks up to her and says “ I thought you weren’t due in until tonight.” Hesitating for a moment, double agent replies “Yeah, I have... have some reports to clean up.” Sensing something seems unusual with her friend and colleague, Harley asks with concern “You okay?” “Rough weekend” is Rachel’s explanation. Peyton smiles “Well, if you wanna take a nap on the couch, I can hide you.” Rachel replies “Thanks. I’m good, though. I’m gonna get to work.” Kelly smiles and says “Okay” then leans forward and then says confidentially “Oh, don’t let Dean see you, or he’ll make you translate surveillance footage.” Rachel nods and says “Yeah, you’re right” then heads for her desk.

Rachel arrives at her workstation and takes off her coat. No one seems to notice her looking around and being jumpy when a man passes behind her, saying “Hey, Rachel.” She gives him a quick grin and then logs into her computer terminal. The nervous double agent takes the op-tec credit card from her coat pocket and plugs it into a port behind her keyboard. After it beeps, Rachel begins running a program. The screen displays “Firewire Drive Detected” as she works to copy the Shed encryption key.

Inside the surveillance van, Marshall sighs and wiggles his fingers nervously, then asks Sydney “How long has it been?” Syd stops keying into her laptop computer and replies impatiently “Since the last time you asked, 30 seconds. Look, she’s been in there 10 minutes.” Marshall tells them “I’m sure she’s fine.” Agent Grace looks at Marshall and then to Sydney. Sydney looks at Thomas and then resumes working at her laptop.

Nervously watching her computer as Marshall’s device copies the encryption key, Gordon Dean calls out “Rachel” as he approaches her desk. Discreetly sliding one of the optical media disks off of a stack situated behind her keyboard to conceal the op-tec credit card, she turns and greets her former boss with a friendly “Hey.” Dean tells her with a grin “I don’t know whether to thank you or curse you.” Rachel gives him a puzzled expression. He explains “The book you recommended - Devil in the White City. I’m addicted ... Truly! I was up all night reading. I never would have thought I’d be so, uh, fascinated by a serial killer.” Gordon smiles “Somehow I find myself even...” and chuckles “sympathetic.” After a brief pause, Rachel nods and gives a weak smile as she says “Yeah, I guess.” Getting back to business, Dean says “So, listen. Intel suggests that Iran is trying to buy a nuclear core from the French. But we’ll be in Paris next week. I need a prep report by the end of the day.” She nods and replies “Okay. I’ll get right on it.” Gordon smiles, saying “Thank you” and then leaves. Rachel looks upset, then removes the op-tec credit card out of the USB port and leaves her desk.

Stepping into an elevator, the rookie agent com-links the team in the van “I’ve got it. I’m on the way down.” Sydney replies “Great. I’m coming to meet you. We’ll brush pass just outside the door to your building.” Unexpectedly, Kelly Peyton calls out “Hey, hold the elevator!” Stepping into the elevator, Peyton asks “You going for coffee?” Hearing the conversation, Syd sits back down and gives a worried expression to Agent Grace and Marshall. Rachel tells her friend “Yeah. Last time I’m going to see the sun for a few hours.” Kelly replies “Perfect. I’m dying for a smoke” then searches through her purse. Sydney com-links her protégée “Rachel, listen to me. We can still do this. We’ll do the pass right under her nose. Just follow my instructions. I’ll talk you through it.”

Inside the surveillance van, Agent Grace puts on his jacket, so Sydney asks “What are you doing?” He explains “I’m going with you.” Shaking her head, Syd replies “No, you’re not.” The young agent stubbornly counters “Yes, I am. If Gordon Dean can recognize you on sight, so can any of his agents.” Reluctantly, Sydney gives her silent consent, so Thomas then asks “How do you say, ‘You’re welcome’ in Czech?”

Rachel and Peyton are seen walking down the sunny sidewalk. As the brunette takes out a pack of cigarettes, Agent Gibson criticizes “I thought you quit.” Kelly explains “I did ... In the U.S. But here, everyone smokes. It’s a social necessity.” We see Thomas Grace is walking a discreet distance behind them. Sydney, who is wearing sunglasses, com-links the plan “Rachel, have the credit card ready in your left hand ... I’m ten seconds away. Palm the credit card down by your side. Don’t look at me.” The two young women have stopped walking so Peyton can light her cigarette. Thomas walks up with a cigarette lighter to Kelly and lights her cigarette. Kelly smiles coyly at the stranger and says “Thank you” in Czech. Taking advantage of the distraction, Sydney walks by Gibson and takes the credit card. Grace replies in Czech “You’re welcome” then walks away. The nervous Rachel can’t help but stare after Sydney walking away. Walking closer to her colleague, Peyton smiles and gestures with her head “See? Social necessity.” The young blonde turns to look at who she is talking about. Kelly explains “If I didn’t smoke, that never would have happened. But I suppose he’s not your type anyway, is he?” Rachel agrees and says “No” with a small grin.

Marshall is already working with the downloaded information from the card. His laptop computer displays “Dismantling Firewall Security” as Agent Grace returns to the van. After sliding the door closed, Thomas says to Sydney “Remind me to ask her what that means - ‘not her type.’ Glancing at him momentarily, Syd resumes looking at the computer. Grace then turns to Marshall and asks “How’s it going?” He replies “Um, good ... What kind of idiots don’t double-encrypt their firewalls? I could do this stuff in my sleep ... Okay ...” The computer screen then indicates ‘Access Granted’ so Marshall announces “We’re in. Let Rachel know.” By com-link, Sydney informs her “Rachel, Marshall’s decoded the key. You can open the access ports now.” Rachel and Peyton are just getting out of an elevator, each carrying a large cup of coffee. As they walk back into the office, Kelly continues their conversation “That’s what I love about our friendship - no competition.” Agent Gibson sounds preoccupied as she replies “Yeah.” Peyton looks at her friend strangely, then asks “You sure you’re okay?” Rachel replies “Of course. It’s nothing a little caffeine won’t fix.” Her colleague doesn’t look convinced, but she smiles “Okay” and leaves.

Returning to her computer terminal, Gibson keys in to open the access ports. Her screen shows ‘Access granted’ and then ‘Downloading files’. Marshall perks up and announces “Got it. She’s in.” By com-link, Sydney informs her “Rachel, good job. We’re in. This shouldn’t take too long.” The young double agent finds it hard to conceal her anxiety, but fortunately, Gordon Dean walks by on his way to his office without noticing. As Dean closes the door to his office, he is surprised to see Kelly is waiting for him. He asks “Peyton. What is it?” Reluctantly, she approaches him and explains “I think we may have a problem.” Intrigued, Gordon asks “What kind of problem?” When Kelly replies “Rachel Gibson”, Dean turns and looks at the blonde working at her desk, then back at her accuser.

Gordon Dean uses his computer terminal to check Rachel’s computer activity log. He shakes his head doubtfully and tells Peyton “I don’t know ... She hasn’t done anything unusual from her terminal.” Dean then comes up with an idea and checks something on the computer. The display shows ‘Excessive RAM usage’ warning. He grunts “Hmm ... She’s brilliant.” Kelly asks “What?” and leans forward to see what he’s found. With admiration, he explains “She’s hopping RAM. She’s trying to stay undetected.” Gordon checks his computer further and then exclaims “She’s copying everything on my server!”

Inside the van, Marshall is watching the files that are downloading. He notices one of interest and types to access the information, saying “One sec here ...” He reads from the display “Substance 33. Shipping tonight. Budapest (Hungary). Shipping container 1147 ... Great. I’ll let Mr. Bristow know.”

Back in Dean’s office, he rises from his chair and says “She’s compromised everything.” Peyton suggests “I can eliminate her. She trusts me.” Going to his shelf to retrieve important items, Gordon replies “No, it’s too late for that. Execute Plan B” and hands her a key card. Kelly frowns and asks “Are you sure that’s necessary?” Dean orders her “Just do it quickly. I’ll meet you in the parking garage.” He leaves with his belongings as Kelly kneels to access an electronic device in the desk. She inserts the key card into the machine and pushes a series of buttons that powers up a self destruct device. A countdown displays 30:00 and then Peyton gets up and leaves. Rachel and her colleagues are working at their desks, unaware of what is happening.

Sydney is monitoring the download, when Marshall returns into the van and announces “Okay, I spoke to Director Bristow. He contacted the Hungarian authorities.” With satisfaction he adds “Once again, these bad guys picked the wrong dude to mess with.” Looking to check on the progress of the download on his computer, he sees static on the display and says “Huh. What’s that?” Thomas responds “What?” Marshall replies “There’s some RF interference. I should be able to compensate for it.”

Back inside the Shed, the lights go out and the computers shut down. The worker look around in confusion. At the same time, two black cars screech out of the building’s parking garage at high speed. Concerned with the cars leaving in such a hurry, Thomas says “Contact Rachel. See how she’s doing.” Sydney tries to com-link, saying “Rachel, it’s me. Do you copy? Rachel? Rachel, if you can’t talk, cough.” A hissing static sound is heard and Marshall alerts them “Oh, hell. The server’s down.” Syd tries again “Rachel, listen to me...” Marshall interrupts “It’s no use. They set off an EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse). They fried the electronics (of the building).

Agent Grace hurries out of the van and runs to the Shed. Rachel and her co-workers are unsure of what to do. Unseen by the workers, the countdown timer indicates 00:55 seconds left. The young double agent worries that something is wrong, so she leaves hear desk and tries to com-link to the van, saying “Are you there? ... Can anybody hear me?” Not hearing a response, Rachel decides to leave in a hurry. There are 20 seconds are left on the timer. She presses the elevator button, but it’s failure to light, shows that it is not working. Thomas runs into the lobby of the building and pulls the fire alarm, which surprisingly is still working. Hearing the fire alarm, Rachel heads towards the stairwell. Agent Grace is making his way up the staircase as the timer goes down to 7 seconds remaining. The countdown reaches zero and the bombs throughout the Shed’s level explodes, sending flames shooting out the windows of the entire upper floor of the office building. Thomas and Rachel get knocked down by the blast. Sydney is shocked and as she starts to rush out of the van to help, Marshall calls out “Syd, Syd. No!”

Inside the building, Agent Grace revives and then heads up the dust and smoke filled stairwell. When he reaches the top level, Thomas stares in amazement at the destruction. He then hears a woman’s groan and sees her legs under the debris, one shoe is blown off. Grace pulls the wreckage off and sees that it is Rachel. He sits her up, and then she begins coughing. Sydney reaches the 10th floor and stops when she sees them, worried about Rachel’s condition. Thomas tells her “She’s okay. She’s gonna be okay.” Syd looks relieved. The young woman revives and looks weakly towards her mentor.

END
 
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