superintelligentone
Cadet
Season 5: Episode 4 - "Mockingbird"
10/20/2005
Summary by superintelligentone aka SIO
The show starts with the announcement “Previously on Alias.” We see a recap of Rachel Gibson hurrying out of the café in Istanbul. Sydney announces through her com-link “I got her. Blonde hair, brown jacket.” The scene cuts to Rachel crashing her Mini Cooper after Thomas cuts her off with his Land Rover. He exits the SUV, drawing his pistol as he approaches her car. Pointing his handgun at Rachel, Grace tells her “Hi there.” Cut away to Jack asking “How much does she know about his operation?” Thomas explains from the hotel suite “Dean calls it ‘The Shed’. She was recruited two years ago. Computer specialist. She’s willing to give us everything.” The scene switches to Sydney walking towards Gibson on the hotel rooftop. Rachel asks “What is it?” and Syd replying “We need some help.” As we see the young double agent walking back into the Shed office, we hear Sydney’s voiceover saying “You have to walk back into that office and look everyone in the eye. You can’t let them see that you know the truth.” Gibson is seated at her desk when Gordon Dean calls out “Rachel” and she looks at him as he tells her “I need a prep report by the end of the day.” She nods and replies “Okay. I’ll get right on it.” The scene cuts away to Kelly Peyton in Dean’s office warning him with a reluctant expression “I think we may have a problem.” Gordon asks “What kind of problem?” She responds “Rachel Gibson.” Looking at his computer terminal, he exclaims “She’s copying everything on my server!” Cut to Peyton pressing buttons on the self-destruct device as Dean’s voiceover says “Execute Plan B.” We see Sydney trying to contact Rachel by com-link and Marshall explaining “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 hears the fire alarm sound. The self-destruct time reaches zero and bombs detonate in the Shed office. Rachel is rushing to make her escape, but gets caught in the blast. The 10th floor windows of the building shatters and flames shoot out from the explosion. The scene cuts to Thomas Grace lifting Rachel from lying on the floor into a sitting position. She coughs as she revives. Sydney comes up the stairs 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.
The episode starts with a fade to black and the caption “Monte Carlo”. It is night outside a casino as a silver colour Jaguar pulls to a stop at the entrance. Waiting at the door is Thomas Grace, dressed as a parking valet. He approaches the car as Sydney exits the driver’s side door. She is wearing a reddish brown wig with bangs (fringe), a stylish turquoise c***tail dress with a black pattern and a matching knee-length coat. Grace hands her the parking slip and drives the car to the parking garage.
A doorman opens the door for Sydney and she enters the casino lobby. Stopping to do a quick assessment of her surroundings, Syd then walks ups a short flight of stairs to the gaming area. After having checked her coat, Sydney steps up to a craps table and lays down a large stack of 500 Euro bills. In return for her money, one of the dealers places a stack of three trays of chips in front of her. With a Southern accent, Syd replies “Thank you. Can I have the dice?” The people at the table seem to find it strange that a pregnant woman is playing. The ‘stickman’(person with the hooked stick who is in charge of running the craps game) pushes the dice to Sydney with his implement. Noticing the stares that she is getting, Sydney announces “You guys seem a little wound up. Let’s loosen it a lil’ bit. Come on!” and claps her hands twice. She smiles broadly and shrugs her shoulders, saying “Loosen it up! Get out the kinks” and then rubs the dice in her hands as if to warm them up.
Outside, Agent Grace pulls up to a stop in Syd’s car at the guard booth. Recognizing Tom as a parking valet, the security guard waves him into the garage. Thomas thanks him with a wink and finger point and then drives off to park Sydney’s car.
Back inside the casino, Sydney’s antics as the ‘shooter’ has attracted a crowd, which cheers for her winnings. The stickman announces “Gagnant” (Winner). Syd brags “It’s that easy, it’s that easy! I can’t even help it. Bring ’em back!” She sets her next large wager. The stickman pushes the dice back to Sydney. Taking the dice, Syd smiles and says “That’s right. There we go! Come on!” Rolling the dice around in her hands and then rubbing them on her cleavage, she says “Mama would love a new pair of shoes!” She kisses the dice for luck, then rolls them down the table.
In the meantime, Thomas Grace drives the car into a parking space in the garage and gets out. He does a quick look around as he hurries away.
Back at the craps table, Sydney calls out “Come on” and rolls the dice again. The crowd cheers and the stickman announces “Huit. Elle a gagné” (Eight. She wins). Putting down an additional stack of chips, Sydney arrogantly says “Tell your pit boss we need more money. We’re feeling lucky tonight.” The stickman glances over at the tuxedo wearing ‘boxman’ (the person in charge of the table’s chips & regulator of disputes), who looks suspicious of Syd. Almost defiantly, she rubs the dice on her belly.
Meanwhile, Agent Grace uses a set of lock picks to open a door inside the garage area and goes inside. He walks over to an electrical panel on the wall and studies it.
Back in the casino, Sydney shakes the dice in her hands and says “Ready?” then rolls them. The crowd claps and cheers for her win. She says “How did I win? I wasn’t paying attention. I can’t even help it, I can’t help it! One of the table dealers expression shows he doesn’t like Syd’s winning streak.
Thomas opens the lock to an electrical panel and examines the wiring inside.
A man cheers “Yeah” at the craps table at Sydney’s next win, and she boasts to the crowd “And it is that easy.” Posing as a disgruntled gambler, Marcus Dixon, who is wearing a tuxedo, complains in a French accent “This is disgusting.” In a mocking tone, Syd replies “Can I help you with something, Frenchman?” He explains his objection “You’re pregnant. You should not be a casino. You should be at home.” Looking down at her tummy, Sydney says “Do you feel home, baby?” Looking back up to her critic, she announces “We feel at home.” Taking the dice that the stickman has pushed over to her, Syd says “Thank you” and places her next wager. Marcus places some of his chips down on the craps table. Noting his choice, Sydney comments “Oh, you’re gonna bet against me? Well ... Good luck with that.” She kisses the dice and stares at Dixon with a contemptuous look.
Back in the basement, Agent Grace sticks his head out of the door to check that it is safe, then goes back to Sydney’s car and opens the trunk.
Sydney rolls the dice and wins again. Putting on a look of disbelief, Marcus comments “Bon sang! (Good blood!)”. Syd teases “Don’t give me that look, Frenchie. I warned you.” Dixon leans over to the dealer next to the boxman and says “C’est pas possible! ... Pas trop de chance. (It's not possible! ... Not that lucky.)” The dealer picks up and examines the dice, holding it up to the light. Sydney reaches for her stacked tray of chips and explains “This table’s gone cold” then hurries away. The boxman examines the dice too, and from his glaring expression at Syd, it is apparent that they’ve discovered the dice are ‘loaded’.
We see Sydney glance over her shoulder as she quickly walks through the casino with her coat draped over her left arm, arranging her winnings in the stack of four trays of chips that she is carrying. But then she is blocked by two casino security men. The boxman from her table catches up to her and sternly says in a French accent “Madame, could we please have a word with you?”
Sydney is escorted into a back office by the men, where she protests “Sir, this is insane. Do you have any idea who I am?” The boxman orders her “Sit down.” Syd replies with indignation “I will not! I've done nothing wrong.” As the man reaches over and pulls a pair of dice hidden in Sydney’s cleavage, she gasps at the indignity. The pit boss holds up the real dice to demonstrate that he knows how she was cheating, then repeats his order “Sit down.” As the boxman turns to go behind his desk, Syd discretely reaches for a pistol inside her coat draped across her arm. She keeps it out of sight as she sits down. The casino officer scolds her “I have seen some despicable acts of cheating in my time. But a pregnant woman using her own baby to escape suspicion... I don’t know how you live with yourself.” Sydney replies “What can I say, sir? ...” Reverting to her normal voice, she says “I’m not like other moms” then draws a tranquilizer gun and shoots the boxman in the neck with a dart. Before the guard behind her can react, Syd turns darts him in the neck too. Quickly walking to the door, she opens it and shoots the guard outside the room. As Sydney leaves the room, making her way down the corridor, she says by com-link “Outrigger, I’m on my way to the vault.” She enters a room and then com-links “Sidewinder, I’m approaching the vault. What’s your status?” The steel & glass vault door is unusual because it doesn’t have a handle on the outside. From her purse, Sydney takes out a vacuum equipped hole-cutter meant for glass and attaches it to the glass between the security bars. There is no response from Agent Grace, so she asks “Sidewinder?” Thomas replies “Sidewinder’s gonna need a little more time.” Sydney uses the op-tech to cut a circle through the glass door between the steel bars and removes the cut piece of glass. She reaches through the hole and pushes down on the inside door handle to open the vault door. Once inside, Sydney searches the vault and finds the deposit box she is looking for, so she com-links “I’m at the vault. I need that key code.” Grace has the code written on a newspaper, and replies “Got it. Ready when you are.” When Syd says “Go”, he calls out “9-7-3-2-6-3-4-7.” Sydney enters the numbers into the keypad of the safe deposit box and a beep is heard as the door unlocks. She opens the door and removes a small case from inside. Syd opens the lid to inspect the electronic device, probably a pocket computer, then com-links “I’ve got the package. I’ll meet you at the front.” Tom replies “All right”.
Agent Grace goes back into the car, closes the trunk and drives it to the front of the casino. Sydney steps out of the front door and nonchalantly walks to the driver side of the Jaguar. Tom gets out of the car and assists Sydney with the door. Syd drives away into the night and removes her wig. Inside his office at the APO, Jack hears Sydney through his headset phone, calling “This is Phoenix. We have the archive.” He asks “Any complications?” Syd admits “Well, I think I lost us about $900,000, depending on the exchange rate.” Jack seems unconcerned about the financial loss, replying “Copy that. What’s your location?” She replies “I’m approaching the ferry now.” He wishes her “Have a safe trip” and presses the headset to disconnect the call.
Sydney pulls to a stop at the gate to the ferry. A uniformed guard signals for her to wait, then he takes out a pen and begins writing something into his clipboard. She look in her rearview mirror and sees a large truck pull up right behind her. The guard looks up, so Syd looks up to see what he is looking at. She is startled as a large electromagnet comes down on the roof of her car and then its crane pulls the vehicle into the air. Sydney breathes hard as she looks out the window helplessly as her car is lifted higher and higher off the ground. The Jaguar comes to a stop near the top of the crane and then Syd’s cell phone rings, so she answers “Hello?” A man tells her “You have something of mine.” Sydney has a worried expression as she asks “Who is this?” The man replies “I want my property back. I want Mockingbird.” Seeming not to understand, she says “What?” The man responds “You will have your people deliver Mockingbird to me within the hour, or I will drop you.” Syd implores “There must be some kind of mistake. I don’t know what Mockingbird is.” The man replies “You’re wasting time.” Raising her voice, Sydney pleads “Please! What is Mockingbird?
The scene switches to an aerial view of Los Angeles in the daytime. The caption says 72 Hours Earlier. Inside the APO, Rachel Gibson is writing on a legal pad with the deep concentration of writing an essay. Sydney comes into the room with a concerned expression, carrying a sandwich on a plate and a glass of water. She tells her “Rachel... You should eat something. Sydney sets the food & water down near the young woman, then sits across the desk from her, saying with concern “You need to eat, you need rest. The debriefing can wait.” Not bothering to look up, Gibson replies “No, it can’t.” Syd sympathizes “I know what you’re going through. You need to give yourself time...” With an annoyed tone, Rachel replies “It can’t wait.” Realizing that she shouldn’t have snapped at Syd, she stops and looks up, explaining “I’m held together by a string right now, Ms. Bristow ... A week ago, I had a good job working for the CIA. Now I have the truth ... My job was a front for a mercenary organization, and my boss is a criminal, and my coworkers are all dead... Because I got them killed.” Sydney assures her “It wasn’t your fault.” But the young woman counters “They’d all still be alive if I hadn’t walked into that building.” Syd emphasizes “Your boss, Gordon Dean ... He killed them, not you.” Rachel explains “It doesn’t change the fact that every time I close my eyes, I see their faces ... So I need to give you everything I have, right now, because the sooner I’m finished, the sooner this is over.” Sydney looks down wearily, rubbing her forehead, then says “Rachel, first of all, just don’t call me ‘Ms. Bristow’. It’s Sydney ... Secondly, your information will go a long way towards helping us find Gordon Dean ... We will get the people responsible for this.” With a slight nod, Rachel replies “Then I’d better get back to work” and returns to writing her debriefing. Syd is about to leave, but stops at remembering something else to add, then says “oh, by the way... Uh, a name keeps coming up in your data - ‘Mockingbird.’ We don’t have a base reference for it.” Looking up from writing, Rachel replies “Oh. Sorry. It’s a briefing habit. I take it for granted. It’s, um, my agency call sign. It’s me ... I’m Mockingbird.”
Daytime at Gordon Dean’s current base of operations in some office building, he walks up to his desk and briefs a male operative named Mr. Keach who is seated waiting for him “I have an assignment suited to your abilities. I’ll leave the approach to your discretion. I assume you’re familiar with the target.” The man looks inside a file folder that Dean placed in front of him and then closes it, saying “I am.” Gordon assures him “You’ll have our full resources at your disposal.” Apparently a freelancer unfamiliar with Dean’s operation, Keach glances around the sparsely equipped office and quips “You have resources?” Gordon assures him “Don’t let the appearance fool you. We’re in the midst of a relocation.” The man replies “I’ll keep you updated” then gets up and leaves. Harley Peyton then approaches from her desk with a laptop computer in her hand and says to her boss “I need money.” Dean asks “Where do we stand on the satellite offices?” She recalls “Cleveland, Seattle, Chicago - they’ve all been abandoned. We beat the CIA by about an hour at the St. Louis office.” He nods, then asks “(Did) They find anything?” Harley reports “Just extension cords and surge protectors. (The) Alternate location should be set up by day’s end. We’ve got the account transfers ready across the board.” Sliding her laptop in front of Gordon, she adds “I just need your passcode for the withdrawals.” Dean is about to type in his passcode, then he stops and glares at her for not allowing him the privacy to do it in secret. After he slides the laptop closer to him, Peyton rolls her eyes and steps back, commenting “God, you’re paranoid.” Gordon explains “That’s why I’m still alive.”
Daytime at the APO Briefing Room, a computer beeps a completion alert. Marshall turns and announces with satisfaction “I got him. I’ve been monitoring Dean’s bank accounts based on your intel. Thirty minutes ago, he liquidated every single one of them.” Director Bristow concludes “Our infiltration in Prague must have him concerned. He’s closing ranks, covering his tracks.” Marshall joins in, saying “Right, but not to worry, because I’m a bit of a master tracker myself. I’m kind of like a Comanche Indian.” He adds jokingly “You know... A Comanche Indian who, who tracks data.” Seeing that no one appreciates his attempt at humour, Marshall quickly resumes “Anyway, he consolidated all of his funds. He deposited them into one account designated...” Rachel completes his sentence “1017. It’s the agency fail-safe account in the Cayman Islands. I set it up. 10/17 is my birthday.” Sydney can scarcely believe what she’s heard, saying “Wait. Dean’s money is all in one place? ... If we seize his funds, we can cripple his operation.” But the young Gibson interrupts “You won’t be able to do it. It’s a trapdoor account. It can’t be hacked. You have to be at the bank to access it, and you need the pre-arranged responses to Dean’s protocol questions. The only answer set is on Dean’s server in the Prague office ... which he destroyed. I know how he works. The only copy of his protocol was in that building when he blew it up. There’s nothing left.” Sydney blinks then turns to looks at Jack, who returns her odd look. Noticing their silent exchange, Rachel asks “What?”
A short time later, Sydney is placing a series of photographs from a file folder on the table, saying “Czech authorities have begun their investigations into the bombings. We’ve accessed their site inventories. They have catalogued already several BR-46 servers.” Noticing one picture in particular, Rachel nods and says “That’s them (Dean’s data server equipment).” Syd informs her “Marshall’s designed EM (electromagnetic) recovery software.” Rachel’s eyes widen at the implication, so she turns to look at Sydney, saying “We can reconstruct the protocol.” Syd replies “Ehh... Here’s the problem. The BIS (Czech intelligence service called ‘Bezpecnostni Informacni Sluzba’ which translates as Security Information Service) won’t release their evidence until they finish their investigation. So... I’m going back to Prague. I need you to come with me.” A look of fear comes to Rachel’s face, then she shakes her head, saying “No ... Absolutely not.” Sydney tries to explain “Rachel...” but the young woman knows what Syd wants “You want me to dig through that building...” Sydney points out “If Dean transfers his assets before we can access his account, we lose him entirely.” Gibson insists “I’m not going back there. Those people are all dead because of me. I’m not going to search through their remains.” Using an authoritative tone, Syd says “I wouldn’t ask you to do this if there was another way. Believe me, we need you to do this ... We need you to go back into that building.”
Arvin Sloane has a pensive expression as sits at a table in what appears to be a court room (in Washington). Director Bristow walks past the guard at the door and lightly touches Sloane on the shoulder to let him know that he is there. Arvin turns, and Jack gives him a slight nod, then takes a seat on the right side of the room. Sloane turns back to the front when he hears a door open. Three men walk into the room from an antechamber and take their seats at the dais in front. The man in the middle announces “Mr. Sloane, my name is Boyd Harkin. I’m Special Prosecutor to your case. I’m required to inform you that under National Security Directive 115B, you do not quality for legal counsel.” Arvin replies “I understand.” Glancing at the man to his right, the prosecutor says “This is Deputy Director Miller” then turns to the man on his left and says “Undersecretary Reeves.” Harkin then looks at Sloane and explains “We’ve spent the last few months reviewing your case. The Justice Department is prepared to accept our recommendation for your sentencing. Before we rule, however, we have a few questions for you.” Arvin replies “I’m prepared to cooperate.” The Special Prosecutor begins “Good. Mr. Sloane, a little over a year ago, you signed a pardon agreement with the Justice Department. What were the terms of that agreement?” Sloane testifies “I was asked to oversee a black ops unit for the CIA. In exchange for my participation, I received a pardon for my crimes.” Harkins says “Let’s talk about those crimes” and opens his file on Sloane. Glancing at the pages, the Special Prosecutor notes “Your record reads like a veritable catalog of illegal activity ... Multiple counts of murder, conspiracy, treason...” Arvin squirms in his chair. Taking a hostile tone, Mr. Harkins says “ I have trouble understanding how any pardon agreement resulting in your freedom could be justified.” Calmly, Sloane replies “If you will examine the record of the previous proceedings, you will find the charges against me were carefully considered before they were dismissed.” Then taking a philosophical tone, he adds “As to whether the pardon itself was justified ... I suppose that’s a question for the Justice Department.” With a skeptical tone, the prosecutor replies “Perhaps. But since I have you in front of me right now, why don’t we see if we can suss it out?” Pausing to carefully choose his words, Arvin concedes “Of course.”
On a bright, sunny beach in the Cayman Islands, Marcus Dixon and Thomas Grace are walking, discussing their plan. Dixon is holding his suit jacket over his right shoulder, while Grace wears his. Both aren’t wearing neckties. Marcus comments “We’re scheduled to meet the emissary at 3 (PM). Sydney should have touched down in Prague by now. Give her two hours in and out of the site ... Should have plenty of time to spare.” Thomas asks “We know what this emissary looks like?” Dixon replies “No. He’s got our descriptions. He’ll escort us from the beach ... (It) Helps keep the bank’s location a secret.” The younger agent complains “If he tries to blindfold us, he may have a problem ... I’m not in the mood for blindfolds today.” Marcus nods and replies “Noted.” Grace then asks “What do we do till 3?” “We wait” is Dixon’s reply. The two men arrive at a pair of lounge chairs in front of a resort hotel and then lie back to wait for their contact.
On black screen is the caption “Prague”. We see on the outdoor clock that is near The Shed office, it is 5:50 and daylight is fading. Inside the 10th floor of the office building, Rachel glances at the bodybag being carried out on a stretcher and into an elevator, as she and Sydney walk in. The nervous young agent turns towards her right and says “I can’t do this.” Syd explains “We’ve got the easy job. Once we access the protocol, we feed it to Tom and Dixon. They handle the heavy stuff, we’re out of there.” As they walk down the corridor, Agent Gibson babbles nervously “There’s a reason I wanted to work at a desk. I don’t like pressure... Or death, for that matter.” Sighing at the realization that her protégée needs some inspiration, Sydney stops and turns to Rachel, saying “Listen to me ... I have to do unpleasant tasks all the time. And the best way to do it is to become someone else. Where are the B.I.S. (Bezpecnostni Informacni Sluzba) badges? The young blonde reaches inside her handbag and pulls them out. Syd tells her “I’m not Sydney Bristow. You’re not Rachel Gibson ... We’re Czech Intelligence, Terrorism Unit.” After clipping an ID badge to Gibson’s jacket, Sydney instructs her “When we walk on that floor, we outrank everyone else in the room. Act like it. Nothing in there can rattle us because we see this type of thing every day.” Syd turns and continues walking. Rachel looks unsure, but follows.
Sydney and Rachel walk past a Czech soldier guarding the door and enter the remnants of The Shed’s office. They stop near the entrance to the office and gaze at the devastation. Needing to motivate herself, Agent Gibson says quietly “We see this every day.” Syd looks over at her to see if she is okay. Rachel squeezes her eyes shut for a second, then reopens them and says emphatically “We see this ... every day.” Sydney tells her “They’ve organized the debris according to the building’s floor plan.” Taking out some papers from her bag, Syd adds “Everything in the office should be where it was. You know, more or less.” As Rachel looks at the ruins, a vision of the office as it was appears before her eyes. Looking up from her notes, Sydney asks “Which way do we go?” The young woman replies “Follow me” and leads Syd through the office. As she walks, Agent Gibson has recollections of the room before the blast; full of desks, shelves and computers, but none of her coworkers. As she continues walking, she imagines her coworkers materializing, staring at her as if they blame her for their deaths. Rachel stops and then looks around at Sydney, giving her a nod that she’s okay. She then leads Syd around a corner to Dean’s office and announces “It should be right here.” Sydney replies “Let’s get to work.”
Back at the beach in the Cayman Islands, a woman carrying a briefcase walks up to Dixon & Grace, saying “Excuse me. Misters Taldash and White?” Marcus and Tom sits up from their lounge chairs and nods. The young woman dressed in a white business suit introduces herself “My name is Pierpont. I’m here to escort you to the bank.” Dixon comments “You’re early.” Ms. Pierpont is a bit surprised and explains “I’m merely following your account’s protocol. Is there a problem?” Marcus glances at Thomas momentarily, then both men smile at her. Dixon chuckles “Of course not.” As they rise to their feet, Marcus takes out his cell phone and says “Excuse me” and then makes a call.
Meanwhile in Prague, Agent Gibson lifts a broken piece of ceiling tile from a computer. After brushing the dust off the case with her hand, she turns and announces “Yeah, this is it.” Just then, Sydney’s cell phone rings, so she answers the call. She hears Marcus saying “This is Mr. Taldash, Room 440. I’m going to have to cancel my massage this afternoon. I’m afraid I got my times mixed up. Thank you.” As Dixon ends his coded message, Ms. Pierpont smiles and says “Shall we?” Marcus replies “Yeah” and then the two men follow Pierpont to their meeting.
Sydney has a concerned expression as she tells Rachel “That was Dixon. We don’t have as much time as we thought.” When Gibson turns the server case over, she is stunned to find human remains splattered on the inside, and comments “Oh, God.” Syd gulps at the unexpected sight and watches her protégée’s reaction. Rachel covers her mouth with her left hand for a moment, then says “Oh, God” and backs away. Sydney comforts her “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ll just... I’ll deal with the server.” Syd clears her throat and then taps the young woman shoulder, softly saying “Go on.” But instead of stepping aside to regain her composure as Sydney wanted, Rachel is on the verge of panic, saying “ I have to get out of here” and starts to leave.” Syd catches up with her and says “Rachel.” The nervous agent is beginning to hyperventilate as she stops. Sydney orders “Rachel, look at me. I’ll handle the server, but you have to tell me what to do.” Fighting to regain her composure, the rookie agent replies “You need the hard drive.” Syd glances at the machine and then asks “Which one?” Rachel explains “Fifth. Fifth one down.” Looking over to the side, Sydney orders her “Get the computer ready.” Rachel nods in understanding but is unable to move, breathing with short gasps. Calling out “Rachel...” to get her to work, Syd then goes to retrieve the hard drive. Agent Gibson pushes some wrecked equipment off of the table in front of her, and then places her own laptop computer in its place. She opens up the laptop and readies it as Sydney instructed.
Back on the Cayman Islands, Ms. Pierpont leads Marcus and Thomas from the beach as Grace asks “So how far is the bank?” The woman asks “You’ve never been here before?” Dixon explains “This is our first time in the Caymans.” Pierpont replies “Ah... Well, you’re lucky. The bank’s not far today.” Walking towards a large white tent set up on the beach where two security men dressed in suits await their arrival, she explains “We gave up our fixed location years ago.” Marcus and Tom exchange glances before going inside the tent. The two guards close the flaps to the tent for privacy and step inside. Ms. Pierpont sets down her briefcase on a table and opens it, saying “Technology allows us a certain fluidity. We find our clients prefer our business remain mobile.” Dixon and Grace take their seats in front of the desk as the woman comments “Our clients, as I’m sure you’re aware, are highly security-conscious” and then glances at the security men as she sits. Responding to her cue, the two guards each chamber a round into their silencer equipped pistols. As they point their weapons at Marcus & Tom, the two agents look annoyed, and Grace sighs. Pierpont smiles and says “Welcome to First Cayman Trust.”
Meanwhile in Prague, Sydney pushes a piece of rubble away from the damaged server and then grimaces as she disconnects a bloodied ribbon cable from the hard drive. Sliding the drive out of its bay, Sydney walks over to Rachel and show it to her, saying “Hook it up.” The young woman looks apprehensively at it.
Back at the transitory bank, Marcus complains “Are weapons necessary?” Their banker, Ms. Pierpont replies “They certainly won’t be if you know your account’s protocol” and then grins mischievously. Dixon and Grace chuckle and smile.
Seeing that Agent Gibson is reluctant to take the hard drive, Sydney tells her “Give me your hand.” Rachel stares at the gore-covered hard drive and finally holds out her hand. Sydney places the hard drive in her hand and orders her “Hook it up.” The young woman puts the hard drive next to her laptop computer and readies the cable connections.
Meanwhile, back on the Cayman Islands, Ms. Pierpont tells Marcus and Tom “Gentlemen, there are over 300 possible questions” as she sits behind her laptop computer. Dixon nods and replies “We’ve committed the answers to memory.” Grace joins in “Our boss is highly security-conscious” and Marcus nods in agreement. Ms. Pierpont responds “Of course” and then readies the computer for the test.
Having completed the connection between the damaged hard drive and her laptop computer, Rachel begins running Marshall’s data recovery program.
Ms. Pierpont looks up from her laptop with a smile and announces “Here we go” and starts the random question selection program. Reading from the screen, she gives the first pass phrase, “The select blood runs through...” One of the guards stares in anticipation. Sydney listens in on her com-link, while Rachel downloads the damaged hard drive’s data to her computer. Trying to buy time for themselves, Marcus and Tom act like they are trying to recall the answer. Ms. Pierpont asks “Do you need me to repeat the question?” Dixon replies “No” and looks up in the air like someone trying to remember a faint memory. He repeats “The select blood runs through...” as if struggling to recall the answer. Rachel types the question “The select blood runs through...” and immediately, the answer displays on her screen. Sydney com-links to Dixon “Roquet’s Heart.” Marcus nods as if he just remembered and says “Roquet’s Heart.” Pierpont then types into the computer to generate the next question. She reads from the screen “The future’s history is written in...” Agent Gibson types the question into her laptop and moments later, the answer is displayed on her screen. Syd relays the answer to Dixon “The ink of the past” and then asks Rachel in a hushed tone “What are these questions?” Marcus announces “The ink of the past” and nods for emphasis. Ms. Pierpont then reads out the third question “What the mirror reflects...” Syd com-links “Lives eternal.” Agent Grace acts like he recalls the answer and says “Lives eternal” with a nod of certainty. Pierpont asks the fourth question “If there was never a one, there was ever...” Rachel types in the question, but this time the answer doesn’t immediately appear. Marcus and Tom sit silently, expecting an answer will arrive momentarily.
But Rachel’s computer beeps an error tone and the screen displays “CORRUPT DATA” warning, so she complains “Oh, no.” Sydney asks with a concerned tone “What?” Her protégée explains “The data’s corrupt.” Ms. Pierpont repeats the question “If there was never a one, there was ever...” Hoping to buy some time with a dispute, Dixon looks over at Grace and says “This was yours.” Tom counters “No. No, no. This, this was yours.” Pierpoint raises her head in a questioning way. Agent Gibson struggles to recall the answer from her memory, saying “I’ve heard Dean say this before.” Thomas smiles as he says to Marcus “You had all the questions that rhymed, remember?” Dixon nods and replies “Yes” and then mutters an apology to Pierpont. Impatiently, she announces “Gentlemen, I need an answer.” Rachel mutters to herself with closed eyes “If there was never a one, there was ever...” then she opens them and turns to her mentor, announcing “The Twelve.” Syd com-links the answer “The Twelve.” Marcus smiles and proclaims “The twelve” with a hand flourish. As Ms. Pierpont types into her laptop, Dixon turns to Grace and says “I’m sorry” with a wave. Pierpont then looks up with a smile and announces “Gentlemen, we’re at your service.” She turns the laptop around to face Dixon and Grace. The guards put their guns away. On the screen are series of financial transactions and at the bottom of the screen “Total Balance: $41,378,284.88" and the flashing words “ACCESS GRANTED.” The two agents grin, then Marcus gets up from his seat to use the laptop.
Back in Prague, Sydney closes Rachel’s laptop computer and disconnects the damaged hard drive, then says “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” But the young woman blinks and looks overwhelmed by her situation. Syd assures her “It’s over. Come on.” Rachel nods and gathers her belongings.
Dixon is leaning over the bank’s laptop, accessing Dean’s account when Ms. Pierpont asks “Can I get you something to drink? A cigar?” Grace thinks for a moment, then says “You know what? I’d love a drink” and grins.
Daytime at Gordon Dean’s relocated base, Kelly Peyton stares in disbelief as she sees a series of multi-million dollar withdrawals from the company bank account that ends with a zero balance. She goes to Dean’s office and reports “Someone accessed the 1017 account ... They cleaned us out. We lost everything.” Gordon reacts incredulously and says “That’s impossible.” Peyton explains “They were on-site, transferred from the Caymans.” Dean ponders how that is possible and says “No one can do that. I am the only one with...” He then stops and turns, saying “She’s still alive ... Rachel Gibson’s still alive.” Kelly then concludes “And they’ve got her in custody.” Assessing their course of action, Gordon proclaims “We need to get her back.”
At Sloane’s hearing, Special Prosecutor Harkin announces “I’d like to turn our attention to Omnifam.” Arvin explains “For three years, I ran a world relief organization dedicated to humanitarian causes.” Harkin interrupts “Which you used as a cover for a genetic engineering project that almost caused a global genocide.” Sloane nods slightly and then looks downward as if ashamed, replying “Yes.” With a sarcastic tone, the Special Prosecutor counters “Yes? Mr. Sloane, I just accused you of attempting to murder millions of people. I was hoping for a bit more than a Yes.” Arvin pauses to think, then says in an apologetic tone “For years, I was driven by a misguided attempt to pursue ... A higher power. I will not attempt to deny my wrongdoings. There is no reason to. The government has pardoned me for those actions ...” He then emphasizes “However, I am reformed.” Sloane’s demeanor softens, then he explains “Two years ago, I learned I had a daughter ... She has changed by life ... Since the moment I met her ... I have dedicated my every moment ... every action ... to atoning for my sins.” Prosecutor Harkin counters “Mr. Sloane, four months ago, you betrayed your agency and participated in a conspiracy that caused the deaths of thousands of people in Sovogda. How exactly is that atoning for your sins?” Arvin stresses “I did not betray my agency ... I was forced to go undercover to establish credentials with Elena Derevko. And you should have in front of you corresponding statements from the agents involved.” With a dismissive tone, Harkin replies “Yes, I have the statements ... Your colleagues seem to have bought your hollow justifications, but I find your actions fit a pattern of criminal behavior you have demonstrated your entire life ... Time and again, you explain away your crimes as some sort of necessary evil. I find it shocking people continue to believe your lies.” Sloane seems to be taken aback by the aggressive tone. Prosecutor Harkin reveals “In truth, these proceedings are a mere formality.” Leaning forward for emphasis, he adds “You will atone for your sins, Mr. Sloane.” Arvin looks downward in recognition that he is in a kangaroo court. With a smug satisfaction, Harkin explains “Only you don’t get to decide the punishment ... We do.” Sloane closes his eyes and lowers his head in recognition that Harkin and his tribunal aren’t leaving to consider the evidence, but merely to debate his sentencing.
Sometime later, we hear the slam of prison door slam shut and the buzzing of the lock. We see Arvin is dressed in his prison uniform, being led through the cellblock. In voiceover, we hear Director Bristow explain “Assuming the worst, it will happen fast. You’ll be immediately transferred to a federal penitentiary.” The scene switches to Sloane’s cell where Jack regretfully says “It’s doubtful we’ll have a chance to go over your affairs, assuming they rule against you.” Arvin nods with certainty as he replies “They’re going to rule against me.” Jack looks like he wants to say something encouraging, but he can’t. After an awkward silence, Sloane tells him “Thank you for getting Sydney and Marcus to write statements on my behalf. I’m sure that must have been very difficult.” Shaking his head slightly, Jack explains softly “They volunteered. I didn’t have to ask.” Arvin nods in appreciation and says “Well, thank them for me.” Jack nods. Then Sloane looks off to the side and says “I want to give you power of attorney over Nadia.” Jack replies “Of course” and nods. Arvin stresses “Promise me you’ll do everything you can to save her, Jack ... as if she were your own daughter.” When his old friend vows “You have my word”, Sloane whispers appreciatively “Thank you.”
Inside the APO Briefing Room, Marcus tells the assembled group “He’s scared. The Cayman transfer was a success. We were able to take full control of Dean’s finances. As a result, he’s getting sloppy, making uncharacteristic mistakes ...” Dixon signals Marshall, so he types into his laptop computer and then two surveillance photographs of a bald man appears on the screen. Marcus continues “An hour ago, Echelon intercepted a call Dean placed to Laurent Moreau, a business associate Ms. Gibson flagged in her debriefings. Sydney glances over at her in silent praise, while Dixon nods to Marshall to bring up the next item from the computer. Marshall holds up one finger to indicate ‘Just a moment’ and then plays the audio recording of the conversation. In a French accent, Moreau complains “You lost everything.” Gordon Dean replies “It’s a setback. We’re moving forward as scheduled, but I need to retrieve my operations archives.” Laurent scoffs “You’re planning on blackmailing yourself out of the red?” Impatiently, Dean asks “Where are the archives, Laurent?” The man replies “Relax. They’re safe at Rue L’Or.” Gordon instructs him “I’ll contact you Thursday to arrange transfer.” Syd proclaims “Dean’s going after his archives.” Marcus nods and says “If we can beat him to it, we’d have access to Dean’s entire operation.” Thomas notes “They said they’re being held at Rue L’Or. What’s that?” Performing a search on the computer, Marshall replies “Well, looks like it’s in Monte Carlo. One of Moreau’s fronts. Hey, it’s a casino!” Sydney thinks to herself and then gets an idea. She asks “What did we do with all that money we seized?
Back at the prison, Arvin is writing a farewell note to his daughter that says “Dearest Nadia.” As Sloane ponders what to say, a man standing outside of the cell comments “Having trouble sleeping, Mr. Sloane?” Arvin looks up and sees a man standing in the shadows. It is Mr. Keach, the man Dean tasked with a special mission. Keach says “I don’t blame you. You’d have to count a lot of sheep to erase today’s proceedings, that’s for sure ... I’m guessing they’re gonna put you away for a long time ... Which is, just too bad, really, ‘cause...” He walks up to the bars where the lighting is better and adds “It’ll be awful hard to help that daughter of yours from inside a federal penitentiary.” Sloane looks up at the man, wanting to hear his point. Mr. Keach entices him “Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way ... Huh, Mr. Sloane? ... I work for some very powerful people ... My benefactors may be able to help sway the committee’s decision tomorrow.” Arvin looks back down and says “I see ...” Looking back up at the man, Sloane comments “And I suppose that these benefactors of yours want something in return for their help.” The man nods and smirks, replying “They would at that.” Arvin takes a few seconds to respond, then says softly “Ahh.”
Back at the APO Briefing Room, Sydney spreads out a blueprint over other ones of the Rue L’Or casino on the table and explains to Dixon “We need to tap into the fiber optics. There’s a maintenance station in the parking garage.” Pointing at the blueprint, Marcus notes “Guard checkpoints are here and here. They’ve got the garage locked down. Thomas offers “I can get into the parking garage.” Just then, Marshall comes in to show his op-tech, saying “Hey, guys! Check this out.” He rolls a pair of loaded dice, then announces, happily “Winner - seven! Every time.” Marshall demonstrates again and says with a smile “Seven!” Sydney points out with a hint of irritation “Marshall, you’re not supposed to hit seven.” Not believing Sydney, he says “No, no, it’s ...it... it’s supposed to hit seven, right?” He looks around for support, but Tom stares at his antics. Still unable to believe that he’s made a mistake, Marshall rolls the dice again, saying “I mean... see? Winner - seven” and shows a weak smile. Dixon tells him “You’ve got it backwards. She’s right.” The smile fades from Marshall’s face and replies weakly “Really?” Marcus nods, so Marshall sheepishly takes dice back to work on. Putting another blueprint on the table, Syd says to Dixon “Talk to me about this vault.” Agents Grace and Gibson watches from a distance as Marcus explains “The deposit boxes are in electromagnetic tumblers.” Sydney asks “Can we get around it?” Dixon replies “It’s on a systemic system. The mainframe resets the passcodes daily.” Rachel interrupts “I can get around it.” Syd and Marcus look up at her in surprise. She explains “If... it’s an EM system, I can decrypt the algorithm. I just need access to the building’s network.” Intrigued, Syd asks “Can we do it from a remote location?” Coming closer to look at the diagrams on the table, Rachel shakes her head, saying “It’s a segregated network. I’d have to be there. But... I’ll go.” Sydney looks concerned, remembering how Agent Gibson behaved in Prague. But Rachel nods her assurance and says “I’ll do it.” Syd tries to talk her out of the mission, saying “It’s okay.” The young woman replies “No, I... I mean, I want to...” Seeing that Sydney isn’t convinced, Gibson explains “I had to dig... through my friends (remains) yesterday... because of Gordon Dean. If I can help you stop him, then that’s what I need to do ... There’s not a whole lot that’ll scare me ... Not anymore.” Syd nods slightly.
The scene starts with a black screen with the caption Monte Carlo. As we saw in the opening sequence, a silver colour Jaguar pulls to a stop at the entrance of the Rue L’Or casino. As Sydney exits the driver’s side door, Grace hands her the parking slip and drives the car to the parking garage. At the craps table, Sydney puts down her wager and says mockingly “Tell your pit boss we need more money. We’re feeling lucky tonight” rubbing the dice on her belly. In the maintenance section of the parking garage, Agent Grace unlocks the padlock of an electrical panel, and studies the circuitry inside. The crowd at the craps table cheer as Syd rolls another win with Marshall’s loaded dice. Tom runs back to the car and opens the trunk. This time we see that Rachel is hiding inside the trunk. Grace takes her by the hand and helps her out of the trunk. Back in the casino, Sydney has been stopped by casino security. The boxman tells her “Madame, could we please have a word with you?” Agents Gibson and Grace enter the electrical room. Rachel places her PDA handheld computer on top of the electrical panel and links them together with some connector wires. Numbers scroll on the screen, so she tells Tom “I need a piece of paper.” He leaves to search for some paper. Inside the casino office, Syd fires her tranquilizer gun at the boxman and then turns, shooting the guard behind her. Meanwhile, Agent Grace retrieves a newspaper on a desk in the electrical room and brings it to Rachel, saying “Here, have this.” She puts it against the wall and jots down some numbers.
From the corridor of the casino, Sydney com-links “Sidewinder, I’m approaching the vault. What’s your status?” Thomas tries to rush Rachel to finish her calculations by saying “They’re waiting for us.” Syd wonders why Tom isn’t responding and calls out “Sidewinder?” Agent Grace urges the young woman “We gotta go.” But Agent Gibson stops, then turns with annoyed expression and says sarcastically “Do you wanna come over here and do the advanced binomial calculus? ‘Cause, I’d be more than happy to stand there and watch.” Tom com-links Sydney apologetically “Sidewinder’s gonna need a little more time.” Syd uses her op-tech glass cutter to cut a opening through the vault’s glass & steel door to access the internal handle. Rachel is finishing her calculations when Syd urges “I’m at the vault. I need that key code.” Gibson hands the newspaper to Grace, so he com-links “Got it.” Using the numbers, Sydney opens the safe deposit box and removes a small case from inside. She opens the lid to inspect the handheld computer, then com-links “I’ve got the package.” Thomas opens the trunk lid and then looks around for trouble as Rachel climbs back inside. He closes the lid, backs out of the parking space and then drives the car to the front of the casino. Grace holds the driver-side door for Syd, who gets in the car and drives away. Inside the trunk, Rachel turns on the trunk light. We hear by voiceover, Sydney contact Jack by cell phone “This is Phoenix. We have the archive.” Jack asks “What’s your location?” We see her car arriving at the dock as she tells him “I’m approaching the ferry now.” Director Bristow concludes the call by saying “Copy that. Have a safe trip.” As Sydney approaches the checkpoint, a uniformed guard signals her to stop and then checks his clipboard. A large truck pulls up right behind her and then an electromagnet slams down on the roof of her car. Sydney gasps and Rachel cries out in surprise. The crane then lifts the Jaguar up, high into the air. Agent Gibson looks alarmed, knowing that something wrong is happening. She hears Sydney’s cell phone ring and her saying “I don’t know what Mockingbird is! ... Please... What is Mockingbird? Inside the trunk, Rachel is panting from fright. Syd tells the caller “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you want.” In response, the crane drops the car by a few feet. Sydney gasps in shock and from inside the trunk, Rachel screams. We then see that it is Gordon Dean on the other end of the call and Kelly Peyton running the crane by remote control from her laptop computer. Dean chastises “Ms. Bristow, you’re not exactly in the position to play coy. You know who I am?” Syd replies “Yes.” He then says “You know what I want.” Looking at the handheld computer that she stole, Sydney tells him “You’re not thinking this through, Dean. If you drop me, you destroy your archive. Gordon counters “The laptop’s a fake. There’s nothing on it. Where’s Mockingbird now? ... Ms. Bristow...” Switching to a new tactic, Syd says “All right, all right, you win. Listen...” Rachel listening from the trunk hears Sydney claim “The CIA has her in protective custody. She’s... in a safe...” but unexpectedly, a ship’s horn sounds in the distance, interrupting her with it’s noise. Dean impatiently says “What?” Syd continues “She’s in a safe house in Philadelphia.” Gordon tells her “Listen carefully ... Tell your people to deliver her to the 30th Street Train Station ... They have exactly thirty minutes” then he ends the phonecall. As she puts the cellphone away, Rachel calls out with concern “Sydney... What’s happening?” Syd looks right and left to assess the situation, saying “Rachel, hang on a sec ... I gotta call my Dad.”
At the APO, Jack walks out of his office, talking with Sydney through his headset “Dean doesn’t know Rachel’s with you?” Syd replies “No. He’s expecting the CIA to deliver her in exactly... 26 minutes.” Walking into the Briefing Room where Marshall is just taking a seat with his laptop computer, Jack tells him “Task the satellites. I want full coverage of the area” then he tells his daughter “Sydney, if Dean calls again, route it through us. Don’t worry, we’ll get you down.” With a concerned tone, she says softly “You’d better.” Pressing a button on the table phone to switch channels, Jack asks “Dixon, where are you?” Driving a car at night, Dixon says by cell phone “We’re en route ... Five minutes away.” Thomas is sitting next to him. Jack instructs them “Approach carefully. We don’t know who’s on the ground, but get to that crane. Rules of engagement are at your discretion.” Marcus replies “Copy that. Almost there.” Their car’s tires squeal as they turn left at a corner of the dock area.
Inside the car, Sydney calls out “Rachel, how you doing?” She is frightened, but Agent Gibson replies “I’ve been better. How are you?” Syd is going through her purse, looking anything useful to their predicament, replies with false confidence “Oh, you know. Just another day at the office ... Hey, Rachel, look around back there. Is there anything that might be useful?” Feeling around the trunk, Gibson replies “Uh, well, there’s a, a tire ... and ... a crowbar, and I, and I have my purse ... Are those helpful?” Sydney tells her “No, not really.” After a few seconds, Rachel says nervously “Uh... How high up are we?” Still searching for something useful, Syd replies “Oh, just...” then looks out her left window to check, and continues “couple hundred feet ... Don’t worry, I’ve been in much worse situations than this.” With a frightened voice, the rookie agent replies meekly “You have?”
Elsewhere at the dockyard, Dixon is on foot, looking around a corner. He com-links “Area’s clear so far. We’re approaching the cab (of the crane) now.” Thomas and Marcus scramble to the crane operator’s position with their pistols drawn, but Dixon reports “It’s empty.” Still using his headset, Director Bristow asks “Can you get to the controls?” Marcus slides open the door to the cab and says “Hang on...” Checking the controls, he notes “It’s got some sort of...” He glances up and sees a camera mounted on the ceiling, so he says “Uh-oh.”
Back at his base, Dean sees Dixon through the camera, so he checks his watch and comments “That was fast.” Turning to Peyton, he orders her “Do it.” On her laptop screen are the options: LIFT, RELEASE, MAGNET ON, & MAGNET OFF. Kelly selects “RELEASE” and the Jaguar abruptly drops. The two women shriek as the car plummets. Jack calls out “Sydney?” and Marshall looks worried. The car jerks to a stop, moments later. Sydney gasps for breath and Rachel cries out “Aah!” After a few seconds, Gordon telephones again, demanding “Pull your agents off-site. Right now.” Listening in on the call, Director Bristow orders “Outrigger, get out of there!” Dean sees on his monitor, Agents Dixon and Grace climb down from the cab of the electromagnetic crane. Dean warns “You’re trying my patience, Ms. Bristow. Any further deviations, and I will drop you. I want confirmation that Mockingbird’s en route.” Syd asks “What sort of confirmation?” He replies “Have her call me.” From the trunk, Rachel whispers in disbelief “What?”
Back at the APO, Marshall looks at his computer screen and comments “Dean’s got the place wired. It’s all on remote... If I can isolate the frequency, I might be able to override the crane’s controls.” Jack asks “What do you need from us?” Typing frantically at the laptop, Marshall replies “Just time. Just time.”
From inside the Jaguar’s trunk, Rachel cries “Sydney... I can’t do that, I can’t call him. He’ll know... I’m a terrible liar. That’s why he wants me to call.” Like a teacher, Syd assures her “Rachel, this is easy. This is just like in Prague. You have to become someone else. You have to become the person you used to be. All you have to do is act helpless and scared.” The young woman cries “I am scared.” Syd replies “Yeah, but you’re not helpless. Not anymore ... Look... I’ve spent my life dealing with men like Gordon Dean. They all have a fatal flaw. They always want power... So you just fool ’em into thinking they have it. And you hit ’em when they’re not looking.” Summoning up her courage, Rachel asks “So what do I do?” Sydney explains “Act terrified. Keep him on the phone. We’ll do the rest.” Rachel takes out her cellphone and makes the call. Dean answers the call by speakerphone, saying “Hello.” Agent Gibson informs him “They told me to call you.” Gordon responds “Rachel ... Where are you?” As the sound of the crane creaks in the background, the rookie agent replies in a frightened tone “I’m in a van. I don’t know ... They wanted me... They wanted me to tell you that they’re doing everything you asked ... They’re turning me over to you ... They won’t tell me anything else.”
Back at the APO, Marshall is typing at his laptop trying to pinpoint the radio frequency of the crane control signal. With an apprehensive voice, Rachel asks “What are you gonna do to me?” In an assuring tone, Dean replies “Just come in, Rachel. We need to talk to you.” The young woman tells him with a fearful voice “I didn’t tell them anything. I swear, I didn’t tell them anything.” Gordon assures her “I believe you.” We see that Sydney has a concerned look as she eavesdrops on the conversation. At the APO, Jack wants to know if his technical expert is getting close to finding the control signal by asking “Marshall?” Typing frantically, the nervous Flinkman replies “I’m almost there, almost there. Just give me a sec ... Give me a sec... Almost there.” The young woman worries “What are you gonna do to me?” Dean replies “That depends on how cooperative you are.” Immediately, Rachel replies “ I’ll do anything you want. Please, Mr. Dean. Please. I don’t wanna die.” Unexpectedly, the ship’s horn sounds again, even louder since it is closer than before. The young woman tries to cover the phone, but Sydney realizes that their pretense has been exposed, calling out “Rachel, Plan B.” Agent Gibson hangs up the phone.
Back at his office, Gordon says “What was that?” to Peyton. Syd instructs her protégée “Kick the backseat as hard as you can.” Rachel kicks at the back of the seat, but nothing happens. Sydney urges “Now! Do it right now!” The young woman summons all of her strength and kicks the seat off of its mountings. As Rachel crawls through the opening, Syd tells her “Crowbar!” Dean slams his hands on the table and exclaims “She’s in the car!” Sydney swings the crowbar and smashes car’s sunroof window to pieces. Then she tells Gibson “Give me your hand.” Gordon orders Kelly “Drop ’em!” so she types the command into her laptop computer. At the same time, Syd attaches her vacuum-equipped glass cutter lifter to the electromagnet through the roof opening and grips the handle tightly. Peyton selects the RELEASE command and the car drops down. But Sydney is hanging on to the op-tech device with her left hand, securely attached to the base of the magnet with Rachel hanging on to her right hand. The young woman shrieks as she feels the car drop away. They look at car crash to the pavement. Syd pants and looks down at Gibson’s frightened face. They know that Marcus and Thomas will soon lower them to the ground.
Daytime in Washington DC, Arvin Sloane stands to hear the tribunal’s decision. Special Prosecutor Harkin addresses him “Mr. Sloane, this committee has reviewed your case and is prepared to render its ruling.” Opening up his file folder, he adds with an increasingly angry tone “Before we do so, I’d like to reiterate for the record my extreme disapproval for tactics you have employed while working under the auspices of the United States Government. Your compromised methodology sullies the name of every man and woman who serves this country honorably.” Sloane looks downward with shame. Then looking down at the file, Harkin’s voice softens as he says “However, while I may detest your methods, I cannot deny your results.” Arvin’s demeanor changes to one of suspicion, while Jack looks dumbfounded and then looks at Sloane to study his reaction. The prosecutor continues “After careful examination of the facts, this committee is forced to conclude your recent actions fall within the guidelines of your pardon agreement, and that, in truth...” Harkin pauses and looks to his right before continuing “You have this country’s best interests in mind...” A slight grin appears on Arvin’s face, feeling vindicated. The Special Prosecutor concludes “I find no cause for violation. Arvin Sloane, I hereby order... your release, effective immediately.” Harkin doesn’t look like he takes any satisfaction with the verdict. Jack turns from looking at Mr. Harkin towards Sloane with suspicion. Arvin’s face trembles slightly, then closes his eyes in relief and perhaps silent prayer.
A small private jet flies in a dusky sky. Inside, we see Marcus is sleeping in his aisle seat on the port-side; Thomas in the row behind, also in the aisle seat, sleeping with earphones on. Behind him are Sydney with her eyes closed and Rachel still wide awake, still feeling traumatized. She has moist eyes as she looks over at Syd and asks “How can you people sleep after something like this?” Sydney opens her eyes momentarily, then after a brief grin, says “You just learn to take it where you can get it, I guess.” The young woman thinks for a moment then asks “It’s never gonna be over, is it? ... I’m gonna be with you a while.” Sydney opens her eyes and looks over at Rachel, sadly. The rookie agent explains “In custody, I mean.” With a consoling voice, Syd tells her “You’ll be with us until it’s safe for you to go home.” After a pause to think that over, Gibson asks “When will that be?” Sydney sadly admits “I honestly don’t know... Dean knows how dangerous you are to him. We can’t release you until we’ve brought him in.” Rachel knowingly replies “But it doesn’t end with Dean.” As her mentor, Syd concedes “No, it doesn’t.” The young agent pessimistically says “It’s never gonna be safe.” But Sydney counters “I guess we’ll have to bring ’em all down ... every single one of ’em. The scene dissolves to Arvin Sloane leaving the hearing. As he walks the corridor, he sees Mr. Keach sitting, reading a newspaper. The two men glance at each other as Arvin passes by. Keach rises and puts the newspaper away. Sloane walks with an apprehensive expression towards the bright light of the front door, a free man.
END
10/20/2005
Summary by superintelligentone aka SIO
The show starts with the announcement “Previously on Alias.” We see a recap of Rachel Gibson hurrying out of the café in Istanbul. Sydney announces through her com-link “I got her. Blonde hair, brown jacket.” The scene cuts to Rachel crashing her Mini Cooper after Thomas cuts her off with his Land Rover. He exits the SUV, drawing his pistol as he approaches her car. Pointing his handgun at Rachel, Grace tells her “Hi there.” Cut away to Jack asking “How much does she know about his operation?” Thomas explains from the hotel suite “Dean calls it ‘The Shed’. She was recruited two years ago. Computer specialist. She’s willing to give us everything.” The scene switches to Sydney walking towards Gibson on the hotel rooftop. Rachel asks “What is it?” and Syd replying “We need some help.” As we see the young double agent walking back into the Shed office, we hear Sydney’s voiceover saying “You have to walk back into that office and look everyone in the eye. You can’t let them see that you know the truth.” Gibson is seated at her desk when Gordon Dean calls out “Rachel” and she looks at him as he tells her “I need a prep report by the end of the day.” She nods and replies “Okay. I’ll get right on it.” The scene cuts away to Kelly Peyton in Dean’s office warning him with a reluctant expression “I think we may have a problem.” Gordon asks “What kind of problem?” She responds “Rachel Gibson.” Looking at his computer terminal, he exclaims “She’s copying everything on my server!” Cut to Peyton pressing buttons on the self-destruct device as Dean’s voiceover says “Execute Plan B.” We see Sydney trying to contact Rachel by com-link and Marshall explaining “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 hears the fire alarm sound. The self-destruct time reaches zero and bombs detonate in the Shed office. Rachel is rushing to make her escape, but gets caught in the blast. The 10th floor windows of the building shatters and flames shoot out from the explosion. The scene cuts to Thomas Grace lifting Rachel from lying on the floor into a sitting position. She coughs as she revives. Sydney comes up the stairs 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.
The episode starts with a fade to black and the caption “Monte Carlo”. It is night outside a casino as a silver colour Jaguar pulls to a stop at the entrance. Waiting at the door is Thomas Grace, dressed as a parking valet. He approaches the car as Sydney exits the driver’s side door. She is wearing a reddish brown wig with bangs (fringe), a stylish turquoise c***tail dress with a black pattern and a matching knee-length coat. Grace hands her the parking slip and drives the car to the parking garage.
A doorman opens the door for Sydney and she enters the casino lobby. Stopping to do a quick assessment of her surroundings, Syd then walks ups a short flight of stairs to the gaming area. After having checked her coat, Sydney steps up to a craps table and lays down a large stack of 500 Euro bills. In return for her money, one of the dealers places a stack of three trays of chips in front of her. With a Southern accent, Syd replies “Thank you. Can I have the dice?” The people at the table seem to find it strange that a pregnant woman is playing. The ‘stickman’(person with the hooked stick who is in charge of running the craps game) pushes the dice to Sydney with his implement. Noticing the stares that she is getting, Sydney announces “You guys seem a little wound up. Let’s loosen it a lil’ bit. Come on!” and claps her hands twice. She smiles broadly and shrugs her shoulders, saying “Loosen it up! Get out the kinks” and then rubs the dice in her hands as if to warm them up.
Outside, Agent Grace pulls up to a stop in Syd’s car at the guard booth. Recognizing Tom as a parking valet, the security guard waves him into the garage. Thomas thanks him with a wink and finger point and then drives off to park Sydney’s car.
Back inside the casino, Sydney’s antics as the ‘shooter’ has attracted a crowd, which cheers for her winnings. The stickman announces “Gagnant” (Winner). Syd brags “It’s that easy, it’s that easy! I can’t even help it. Bring ’em back!” She sets her next large wager. The stickman pushes the dice back to Sydney. Taking the dice, Syd smiles and says “That’s right. There we go! Come on!” Rolling the dice around in her hands and then rubbing them on her cleavage, she says “Mama would love a new pair of shoes!” She kisses the dice for luck, then rolls them down the table.
In the meantime, Thomas Grace drives the car into a parking space in the garage and gets out. He does a quick look around as he hurries away.
Back at the craps table, Sydney calls out “Come on” and rolls the dice again. The crowd cheers and the stickman announces “Huit. Elle a gagné” (Eight. She wins). Putting down an additional stack of chips, Sydney arrogantly says “Tell your pit boss we need more money. We’re feeling lucky tonight.” The stickman glances over at the tuxedo wearing ‘boxman’ (the person in charge of the table’s chips & regulator of disputes), who looks suspicious of Syd. Almost defiantly, she rubs the dice on her belly.
Meanwhile, Agent Grace uses a set of lock picks to open a door inside the garage area and goes inside. He walks over to an electrical panel on the wall and studies it.
Back in the casino, Sydney shakes the dice in her hands and says “Ready?” then rolls them. The crowd claps and cheers for her win. She says “How did I win? I wasn’t paying attention. I can’t even help it, I can’t help it! One of the table dealers expression shows he doesn’t like Syd’s winning streak.
Thomas opens the lock to an electrical panel and examines the wiring inside.
A man cheers “Yeah” at the craps table at Sydney’s next win, and she boasts to the crowd “And it is that easy.” Posing as a disgruntled gambler, Marcus Dixon, who is wearing a tuxedo, complains in a French accent “This is disgusting.” In a mocking tone, Syd replies “Can I help you with something, Frenchman?” He explains his objection “You’re pregnant. You should not be a casino. You should be at home.” Looking down at her tummy, Sydney says “Do you feel home, baby?” Looking back up to her critic, she announces “We feel at home.” Taking the dice that the stickman has pushed over to her, Syd says “Thank you” and places her next wager. Marcus places some of his chips down on the craps table. Noting his choice, Sydney comments “Oh, you’re gonna bet against me? Well ... Good luck with that.” She kisses the dice and stares at Dixon with a contemptuous look.
Back in the basement, Agent Grace sticks his head out of the door to check that it is safe, then goes back to Sydney’s car and opens the trunk.
Sydney rolls the dice and wins again. Putting on a look of disbelief, Marcus comments “Bon sang! (Good blood!)”. Syd teases “Don’t give me that look, Frenchie. I warned you.” Dixon leans over to the dealer next to the boxman and says “C’est pas possible! ... Pas trop de chance. (It's not possible! ... Not that lucky.)” The dealer picks up and examines the dice, holding it up to the light. Sydney reaches for her stacked tray of chips and explains “This table’s gone cold” then hurries away. The boxman examines the dice too, and from his glaring expression at Syd, it is apparent that they’ve discovered the dice are ‘loaded’.
We see Sydney glance over her shoulder as she quickly walks through the casino with her coat draped over her left arm, arranging her winnings in the stack of four trays of chips that she is carrying. But then she is blocked by two casino security men. The boxman from her table catches up to her and sternly says in a French accent “Madame, could we please have a word with you?”
Sydney is escorted into a back office by the men, where she protests “Sir, this is insane. Do you have any idea who I am?” The boxman orders her “Sit down.” Syd replies with indignation “I will not! I've done nothing wrong.” As the man reaches over and pulls a pair of dice hidden in Sydney’s cleavage, she gasps at the indignity. The pit boss holds up the real dice to demonstrate that he knows how she was cheating, then repeats his order “Sit down.” As the boxman turns to go behind his desk, Syd discretely reaches for a pistol inside her coat draped across her arm. She keeps it out of sight as she sits down. The casino officer scolds her “I have seen some despicable acts of cheating in my time. But a pregnant woman using her own baby to escape suspicion... I don’t know how you live with yourself.” Sydney replies “What can I say, sir? ...” Reverting to her normal voice, she says “I’m not like other moms” then draws a tranquilizer gun and shoots the boxman in the neck with a dart. Before the guard behind her can react, Syd turns darts him in the neck too. Quickly walking to the door, she opens it and shoots the guard outside the room. As Sydney leaves the room, making her way down the corridor, she says by com-link “Outrigger, I’m on my way to the vault.” She enters a room and then com-links “Sidewinder, I’m approaching the vault. What’s your status?” The steel & glass vault door is unusual because it doesn’t have a handle on the outside. From her purse, Sydney takes out a vacuum equipped hole-cutter meant for glass and attaches it to the glass between the security bars. There is no response from Agent Grace, so she asks “Sidewinder?” Thomas replies “Sidewinder’s gonna need a little more time.” Sydney uses the op-tech to cut a circle through the glass door between the steel bars and removes the cut piece of glass. She reaches through the hole and pushes down on the inside door handle to open the vault door. Once inside, Sydney searches the vault and finds the deposit box she is looking for, so she com-links “I’m at the vault. I need that key code.” Grace has the code written on a newspaper, and replies “Got it. Ready when you are.” When Syd says “Go”, he calls out “9-7-3-2-6-3-4-7.” Sydney enters the numbers into the keypad of the safe deposit box and a beep is heard as the door unlocks. She opens the door and removes a small case from inside. Syd opens the lid to inspect the electronic device, probably a pocket computer, then com-links “I’ve got the package. I’ll meet you at the front.” Tom replies “All right”.
Agent Grace goes back into the car, closes the trunk and drives it to the front of the casino. Sydney steps out of the front door and nonchalantly walks to the driver side of the Jaguar. Tom gets out of the car and assists Sydney with the door. Syd drives away into the night and removes her wig. Inside his office at the APO, Jack hears Sydney through his headset phone, calling “This is Phoenix. We have the archive.” He asks “Any complications?” Syd admits “Well, I think I lost us about $900,000, depending on the exchange rate.” Jack seems unconcerned about the financial loss, replying “Copy that. What’s your location?” She replies “I’m approaching the ferry now.” He wishes her “Have a safe trip” and presses the headset to disconnect the call.
Sydney pulls to a stop at the gate to the ferry. A uniformed guard signals for her to wait, then he takes out a pen and begins writing something into his clipboard. She look in her rearview mirror and sees a large truck pull up right behind her. The guard looks up, so Syd looks up to see what he is looking at. She is startled as a large electromagnet comes down on the roof of her car and then its crane pulls the vehicle into the air. Sydney breathes hard as she looks out the window helplessly as her car is lifted higher and higher off the ground. The Jaguar comes to a stop near the top of the crane and then Syd’s cell phone rings, so she answers “Hello?” A man tells her “You have something of mine.” Sydney has a worried expression as she asks “Who is this?” The man replies “I want my property back. I want Mockingbird.” Seeming not to understand, she says “What?” The man responds “You will have your people deliver Mockingbird to me within the hour, or I will drop you.” Syd implores “There must be some kind of mistake. I don’t know what Mockingbird is.” The man replies “You’re wasting time.” Raising her voice, Sydney pleads “Please! What is Mockingbird?
The scene switches to an aerial view of Los Angeles in the daytime. The caption says 72 Hours Earlier. Inside the APO, Rachel Gibson is writing on a legal pad with the deep concentration of writing an essay. Sydney comes into the room with a concerned expression, carrying a sandwich on a plate and a glass of water. She tells her “Rachel... You should eat something. Sydney sets the food & water down near the young woman, then sits across the desk from her, saying with concern “You need to eat, you need rest. The debriefing can wait.” Not bothering to look up, Gibson replies “No, it can’t.” Syd sympathizes “I know what you’re going through. You need to give yourself time...” With an annoyed tone, Rachel replies “It can’t wait.” Realizing that she shouldn’t have snapped at Syd, she stops and looks up, explaining “I’m held together by a string right now, Ms. Bristow ... A week ago, I had a good job working for the CIA. Now I have the truth ... My job was a front for a mercenary organization, and my boss is a criminal, and my coworkers are all dead... Because I got them killed.” Sydney assures her “It wasn’t your fault.” But the young woman counters “They’d all still be alive if I hadn’t walked into that building.” Syd emphasizes “Your boss, Gordon Dean ... He killed them, not you.” Rachel explains “It doesn’t change the fact that every time I close my eyes, I see their faces ... So I need to give you everything I have, right now, because the sooner I’m finished, the sooner this is over.” Sydney looks down wearily, rubbing her forehead, then says “Rachel, first of all, just don’t call me ‘Ms. Bristow’. It’s Sydney ... Secondly, your information will go a long way towards helping us find Gordon Dean ... We will get the people responsible for this.” With a slight nod, Rachel replies “Then I’d better get back to work” and returns to writing her debriefing. Syd is about to leave, but stops at remembering something else to add, then says “oh, by the way... Uh, a name keeps coming up in your data - ‘Mockingbird.’ We don’t have a base reference for it.” Looking up from writing, Rachel replies “Oh. Sorry. It’s a briefing habit. I take it for granted. It’s, um, my agency call sign. It’s me ... I’m Mockingbird.”
Daytime at Gordon Dean’s current base of operations in some office building, he walks up to his desk and briefs a male operative named Mr. Keach who is seated waiting for him “I have an assignment suited to your abilities. I’ll leave the approach to your discretion. I assume you’re familiar with the target.” The man looks inside a file folder that Dean placed in front of him and then closes it, saying “I am.” Gordon assures him “You’ll have our full resources at your disposal.” Apparently a freelancer unfamiliar with Dean’s operation, Keach glances around the sparsely equipped office and quips “You have resources?” Gordon assures him “Don’t let the appearance fool you. We’re in the midst of a relocation.” The man replies “I’ll keep you updated” then gets up and leaves. Harley Peyton then approaches from her desk with a laptop computer in her hand and says to her boss “I need money.” Dean asks “Where do we stand on the satellite offices?” She recalls “Cleveland, Seattle, Chicago - they’ve all been abandoned. We beat the CIA by about an hour at the St. Louis office.” He nods, then asks “(Did) They find anything?” Harley reports “Just extension cords and surge protectors. (The) Alternate location should be set up by day’s end. We’ve got the account transfers ready across the board.” Sliding her laptop in front of Gordon, she adds “I just need your passcode for the withdrawals.” Dean is about to type in his passcode, then he stops and glares at her for not allowing him the privacy to do it in secret. After he slides the laptop closer to him, Peyton rolls her eyes and steps back, commenting “God, you’re paranoid.” Gordon explains “That’s why I’m still alive.”
Daytime at the APO Briefing Room, a computer beeps a completion alert. Marshall turns and announces with satisfaction “I got him. I’ve been monitoring Dean’s bank accounts based on your intel. Thirty minutes ago, he liquidated every single one of them.” Director Bristow concludes “Our infiltration in Prague must have him concerned. He’s closing ranks, covering his tracks.” Marshall joins in, saying “Right, but not to worry, because I’m a bit of a master tracker myself. I’m kind of like a Comanche Indian.” He adds jokingly “You know... A Comanche Indian who, who tracks data.” Seeing that no one appreciates his attempt at humour, Marshall quickly resumes “Anyway, he consolidated all of his funds. He deposited them into one account designated...” Rachel completes his sentence “1017. It’s the agency fail-safe account in the Cayman Islands. I set it up. 10/17 is my birthday.” Sydney can scarcely believe what she’s heard, saying “Wait. Dean’s money is all in one place? ... If we seize his funds, we can cripple his operation.” But the young Gibson interrupts “You won’t be able to do it. It’s a trapdoor account. It can’t be hacked. You have to be at the bank to access it, and you need the pre-arranged responses to Dean’s protocol questions. The only answer set is on Dean’s server in the Prague office ... which he destroyed. I know how he works. The only copy of his protocol was in that building when he blew it up. There’s nothing left.” Sydney blinks then turns to looks at Jack, who returns her odd look. Noticing their silent exchange, Rachel asks “What?”
A short time later, Sydney is placing a series of photographs from a file folder on the table, saying “Czech authorities have begun their investigations into the bombings. We’ve accessed their site inventories. They have catalogued already several BR-46 servers.” Noticing one picture in particular, Rachel nods and says “That’s them (Dean’s data server equipment).” Syd informs her “Marshall’s designed EM (electromagnetic) recovery software.” Rachel’s eyes widen at the implication, so she turns to look at Sydney, saying “We can reconstruct the protocol.” Syd replies “Ehh... Here’s the problem. The BIS (Czech intelligence service called ‘Bezpecnostni Informacni Sluzba’ which translates as Security Information Service) won’t release their evidence until they finish their investigation. So... I’m going back to Prague. I need you to come with me.” A look of fear comes to Rachel’s face, then she shakes her head, saying “No ... Absolutely not.” Sydney tries to explain “Rachel...” but the young woman knows what Syd wants “You want me to dig through that building...” Sydney points out “If Dean transfers his assets before we can access his account, we lose him entirely.” Gibson insists “I’m not going back there. Those people are all dead because of me. I’m not going to search through their remains.” Using an authoritative tone, Syd says “I wouldn’t ask you to do this if there was another way. Believe me, we need you to do this ... We need you to go back into that building.”
Arvin Sloane has a pensive expression as sits at a table in what appears to be a court room (in Washington). Director Bristow walks past the guard at the door and lightly touches Sloane on the shoulder to let him know that he is there. Arvin turns, and Jack gives him a slight nod, then takes a seat on the right side of the room. Sloane turns back to the front when he hears a door open. Three men walk into the room from an antechamber and take their seats at the dais in front. The man in the middle announces “Mr. Sloane, my name is Boyd Harkin. I’m Special Prosecutor to your case. I’m required to inform you that under National Security Directive 115B, you do not quality for legal counsel.” Arvin replies “I understand.” Glancing at the man to his right, the prosecutor says “This is Deputy Director Miller” then turns to the man on his left and says “Undersecretary Reeves.” Harkin then looks at Sloane and explains “We’ve spent the last few months reviewing your case. The Justice Department is prepared to accept our recommendation for your sentencing. Before we rule, however, we have a few questions for you.” Arvin replies “I’m prepared to cooperate.” The Special Prosecutor begins “Good. Mr. Sloane, a little over a year ago, you signed a pardon agreement with the Justice Department. What were the terms of that agreement?” Sloane testifies “I was asked to oversee a black ops unit for the CIA. In exchange for my participation, I received a pardon for my crimes.” Harkins says “Let’s talk about those crimes” and opens his file on Sloane. Glancing at the pages, the Special Prosecutor notes “Your record reads like a veritable catalog of illegal activity ... Multiple counts of murder, conspiracy, treason...” Arvin squirms in his chair. Taking a hostile tone, Mr. Harkins says “ I have trouble understanding how any pardon agreement resulting in your freedom could be justified.” Calmly, Sloane replies “If you will examine the record of the previous proceedings, you will find the charges against me were carefully considered before they were dismissed.” Then taking a philosophical tone, he adds “As to whether the pardon itself was justified ... I suppose that’s a question for the Justice Department.” With a skeptical tone, the prosecutor replies “Perhaps. But since I have you in front of me right now, why don’t we see if we can suss it out?” Pausing to carefully choose his words, Arvin concedes “Of course.”
On a bright, sunny beach in the Cayman Islands, Marcus Dixon and Thomas Grace are walking, discussing their plan. Dixon is holding his suit jacket over his right shoulder, while Grace wears his. Both aren’t wearing neckties. Marcus comments “We’re scheduled to meet the emissary at 3 (PM). Sydney should have touched down in Prague by now. Give her two hours in and out of the site ... Should have plenty of time to spare.” Thomas asks “We know what this emissary looks like?” Dixon replies “No. He’s got our descriptions. He’ll escort us from the beach ... (It) Helps keep the bank’s location a secret.” The younger agent complains “If he tries to blindfold us, he may have a problem ... I’m not in the mood for blindfolds today.” Marcus nods and replies “Noted.” Grace then asks “What do we do till 3?” “We wait” is Dixon’s reply. The two men arrive at a pair of lounge chairs in front of a resort hotel and then lie back to wait for their contact.
On black screen is the caption “Prague”. We see on the outdoor clock that is near The Shed office, it is 5:50 and daylight is fading. Inside the 10th floor of the office building, Rachel glances at the bodybag being carried out on a stretcher and into an elevator, as she and Sydney walk in. The nervous young agent turns towards her right and says “I can’t do this.” Syd explains “We’ve got the easy job. Once we access the protocol, we feed it to Tom and Dixon. They handle the heavy stuff, we’re out of there.” As they walk down the corridor, Agent Gibson babbles nervously “There’s a reason I wanted to work at a desk. I don’t like pressure... Or death, for that matter.” Sighing at the realization that her protégée needs some inspiration, Sydney stops and turns to Rachel, saying “Listen to me ... I have to do unpleasant tasks all the time. And the best way to do it is to become someone else. Where are the B.I.S. (Bezpecnostni Informacni Sluzba) badges? The young blonde reaches inside her handbag and pulls them out. Syd tells her “I’m not Sydney Bristow. You’re not Rachel Gibson ... We’re Czech Intelligence, Terrorism Unit.” After clipping an ID badge to Gibson’s jacket, Sydney instructs her “When we walk on that floor, we outrank everyone else in the room. Act like it. Nothing in there can rattle us because we see this type of thing every day.” Syd turns and continues walking. Rachel looks unsure, but follows.
Sydney and Rachel walk past a Czech soldier guarding the door and enter the remnants of The Shed’s office. They stop near the entrance to the office and gaze at the devastation. Needing to motivate herself, Agent Gibson says quietly “We see this every day.” Syd looks over at her to see if she is okay. Rachel squeezes her eyes shut for a second, then reopens them and says emphatically “We see this ... every day.” Sydney tells her “They’ve organized the debris according to the building’s floor plan.” Taking out some papers from her bag, Syd adds “Everything in the office should be where it was. You know, more or less.” As Rachel looks at the ruins, a vision of the office as it was appears before her eyes. Looking up from her notes, Sydney asks “Which way do we go?” The young woman replies “Follow me” and leads Syd through the office. As she walks, Agent Gibson has recollections of the room before the blast; full of desks, shelves and computers, but none of her coworkers. As she continues walking, she imagines her coworkers materializing, staring at her as if they blame her for their deaths. Rachel stops and then looks around at Sydney, giving her a nod that she’s okay. She then leads Syd around a corner to Dean’s office and announces “It should be right here.” Sydney replies “Let’s get to work.”
Back at the beach in the Cayman Islands, a woman carrying a briefcase walks up to Dixon & Grace, saying “Excuse me. Misters Taldash and White?” Marcus and Tom sits up from their lounge chairs and nods. The young woman dressed in a white business suit introduces herself “My name is Pierpont. I’m here to escort you to the bank.” Dixon comments “You’re early.” Ms. Pierpont is a bit surprised and explains “I’m merely following your account’s protocol. Is there a problem?” Marcus glances at Thomas momentarily, then both men smile at her. Dixon chuckles “Of course not.” As they rise to their feet, Marcus takes out his cell phone and says “Excuse me” and then makes a call.
Meanwhile in Prague, Agent Gibson lifts a broken piece of ceiling tile from a computer. After brushing the dust off the case with her hand, she turns and announces “Yeah, this is it.” Just then, Sydney’s cell phone rings, so she answers the call. She hears Marcus saying “This is Mr. Taldash, Room 440. I’m going to have to cancel my massage this afternoon. I’m afraid I got my times mixed up. Thank you.” As Dixon ends his coded message, Ms. Pierpont smiles and says “Shall we?” Marcus replies “Yeah” and then the two men follow Pierpont to their meeting.
Sydney has a concerned expression as she tells Rachel “That was Dixon. We don’t have as much time as we thought.” When Gibson turns the server case over, she is stunned to find human remains splattered on the inside, and comments “Oh, God.” Syd gulps at the unexpected sight and watches her protégée’s reaction. Rachel covers her mouth with her left hand for a moment, then says “Oh, God” and backs away. Sydney comforts her “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ll just... I’ll deal with the server.” Syd clears her throat and then taps the young woman shoulder, softly saying “Go on.” But instead of stepping aside to regain her composure as Sydney wanted, Rachel is on the verge of panic, saying “ I have to get out of here” and starts to leave.” Syd catches up with her and says “Rachel.” The nervous agent is beginning to hyperventilate as she stops. Sydney orders “Rachel, look at me. I’ll handle the server, but you have to tell me what to do.” Fighting to regain her composure, the rookie agent replies “You need the hard drive.” Syd glances at the machine and then asks “Which one?” Rachel explains “Fifth. Fifth one down.” Looking over to the side, Sydney orders her “Get the computer ready.” Rachel nods in understanding but is unable to move, breathing with short gasps. Calling out “Rachel...” to get her to work, Syd then goes to retrieve the hard drive. Agent Gibson pushes some wrecked equipment off of the table in front of her, and then places her own laptop computer in its place. She opens up the laptop and readies it as Sydney instructed.
Back on the Cayman Islands, Ms. Pierpont leads Marcus and Thomas from the beach as Grace asks “So how far is the bank?” The woman asks “You’ve never been here before?” Dixon explains “This is our first time in the Caymans.” Pierpont replies “Ah... Well, you’re lucky. The bank’s not far today.” Walking towards a large white tent set up on the beach where two security men dressed in suits await their arrival, she explains “We gave up our fixed location years ago.” Marcus and Tom exchange glances before going inside the tent. The two guards close the flaps to the tent for privacy and step inside. Ms. Pierpont sets down her briefcase on a table and opens it, saying “Technology allows us a certain fluidity. We find our clients prefer our business remain mobile.” Dixon and Grace take their seats in front of the desk as the woman comments “Our clients, as I’m sure you’re aware, are highly security-conscious” and then glances at the security men as she sits. Responding to her cue, the two guards each chamber a round into their silencer equipped pistols. As they point their weapons at Marcus & Tom, the two agents look annoyed, and Grace sighs. Pierpont smiles and says “Welcome to First Cayman Trust.”
Meanwhile in Prague, Sydney pushes a piece of rubble away from the damaged server and then grimaces as she disconnects a bloodied ribbon cable from the hard drive. Sliding the drive out of its bay, Sydney walks over to Rachel and show it to her, saying “Hook it up.” The young woman looks apprehensively at it.
Back at the transitory bank, Marcus complains “Are weapons necessary?” Their banker, Ms. Pierpont replies “They certainly won’t be if you know your account’s protocol” and then grins mischievously. Dixon and Grace chuckle and smile.
Seeing that Agent Gibson is reluctant to take the hard drive, Sydney tells her “Give me your hand.” Rachel stares at the gore-covered hard drive and finally holds out her hand. Sydney places the hard drive in her hand and orders her “Hook it up.” The young woman puts the hard drive next to her laptop computer and readies the cable connections.
Meanwhile, back on the Cayman Islands, Ms. Pierpont tells Marcus and Tom “Gentlemen, there are over 300 possible questions” as she sits behind her laptop computer. Dixon nods and replies “We’ve committed the answers to memory.” Grace joins in “Our boss is highly security-conscious” and Marcus nods in agreement. Ms. Pierpont responds “Of course” and then readies the computer for the test.
Having completed the connection between the damaged hard drive and her laptop computer, Rachel begins running Marshall’s data recovery program.
Ms. Pierpont looks up from her laptop with a smile and announces “Here we go” and starts the random question selection program. Reading from the screen, she gives the first pass phrase, “The select blood runs through...” One of the guards stares in anticipation. Sydney listens in on her com-link, while Rachel downloads the damaged hard drive’s data to her computer. Trying to buy time for themselves, Marcus and Tom act like they are trying to recall the answer. Ms. Pierpont asks “Do you need me to repeat the question?” Dixon replies “No” and looks up in the air like someone trying to remember a faint memory. He repeats “The select blood runs through...” as if struggling to recall the answer. Rachel types the question “The select blood runs through...” and immediately, the answer displays on her screen. Sydney com-links to Dixon “Roquet’s Heart.” Marcus nods as if he just remembered and says “Roquet’s Heart.” Pierpont then types into the computer to generate the next question. She reads from the screen “The future’s history is written in...” Agent Gibson types the question into her laptop and moments later, the answer is displayed on her screen. Syd relays the answer to Dixon “The ink of the past” and then asks Rachel in a hushed tone “What are these questions?” Marcus announces “The ink of the past” and nods for emphasis. Ms. Pierpont then reads out the third question “What the mirror reflects...” Syd com-links “Lives eternal.” Agent Grace acts like he recalls the answer and says “Lives eternal” with a nod of certainty. Pierpont asks the fourth question “If there was never a one, there was ever...” Rachel types in the question, but this time the answer doesn’t immediately appear. Marcus and Tom sit silently, expecting an answer will arrive momentarily.
But Rachel’s computer beeps an error tone and the screen displays “CORRUPT DATA” warning, so she complains “Oh, no.” Sydney asks with a concerned tone “What?” Her protégée explains “The data’s corrupt.” Ms. Pierpont repeats the question “If there was never a one, there was ever...” Hoping to buy some time with a dispute, Dixon looks over at Grace and says “This was yours.” Tom counters “No. No, no. This, this was yours.” Pierpoint raises her head in a questioning way. Agent Gibson struggles to recall the answer from her memory, saying “I’ve heard Dean say this before.” Thomas smiles as he says to Marcus “You had all the questions that rhymed, remember?” Dixon nods and replies “Yes” and then mutters an apology to Pierpont. Impatiently, she announces “Gentlemen, I need an answer.” Rachel mutters to herself with closed eyes “If there was never a one, there was ever...” then she opens them and turns to her mentor, announcing “The Twelve.” Syd com-links the answer “The Twelve.” Marcus smiles and proclaims “The twelve” with a hand flourish. As Ms. Pierpont types into her laptop, Dixon turns to Grace and says “I’m sorry” with a wave. Pierpont then looks up with a smile and announces “Gentlemen, we’re at your service.” She turns the laptop around to face Dixon and Grace. The guards put their guns away. On the screen are series of financial transactions and at the bottom of the screen “Total Balance: $41,378,284.88" and the flashing words “ACCESS GRANTED.” The two agents grin, then Marcus gets up from his seat to use the laptop.
Back in Prague, Sydney closes Rachel’s laptop computer and disconnects the damaged hard drive, then says “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” But the young woman blinks and looks overwhelmed by her situation. Syd assures her “It’s over. Come on.” Rachel nods and gathers her belongings.
Dixon is leaning over the bank’s laptop, accessing Dean’s account when Ms. Pierpont asks “Can I get you something to drink? A cigar?” Grace thinks for a moment, then says “You know what? I’d love a drink” and grins.
Daytime at Gordon Dean’s relocated base, Kelly Peyton stares in disbelief as she sees a series of multi-million dollar withdrawals from the company bank account that ends with a zero balance. She goes to Dean’s office and reports “Someone accessed the 1017 account ... They cleaned us out. We lost everything.” Gordon reacts incredulously and says “That’s impossible.” Peyton explains “They were on-site, transferred from the Caymans.” Dean ponders how that is possible and says “No one can do that. I am the only one with...” He then stops and turns, saying “She’s still alive ... Rachel Gibson’s still alive.” Kelly then concludes “And they’ve got her in custody.” Assessing their course of action, Gordon proclaims “We need to get her back.”
At Sloane’s hearing, Special Prosecutor Harkin announces “I’d like to turn our attention to Omnifam.” Arvin explains “For three years, I ran a world relief organization dedicated to humanitarian causes.” Harkin interrupts “Which you used as a cover for a genetic engineering project that almost caused a global genocide.” Sloane nods slightly and then looks downward as if ashamed, replying “Yes.” With a sarcastic tone, the Special Prosecutor counters “Yes? Mr. Sloane, I just accused you of attempting to murder millions of people. I was hoping for a bit more than a Yes.” Arvin pauses to think, then says in an apologetic tone “For years, I was driven by a misguided attempt to pursue ... A higher power. I will not attempt to deny my wrongdoings. There is no reason to. The government has pardoned me for those actions ...” He then emphasizes “However, I am reformed.” Sloane’s demeanor softens, then he explains “Two years ago, I learned I had a daughter ... She has changed by life ... Since the moment I met her ... I have dedicated my every moment ... every action ... to atoning for my sins.” Prosecutor Harkin counters “Mr. Sloane, four months ago, you betrayed your agency and participated in a conspiracy that caused the deaths of thousands of people in Sovogda. How exactly is that atoning for your sins?” Arvin stresses “I did not betray my agency ... I was forced to go undercover to establish credentials with Elena Derevko. And you should have in front of you corresponding statements from the agents involved.” With a dismissive tone, Harkin replies “Yes, I have the statements ... Your colleagues seem to have bought your hollow justifications, but I find your actions fit a pattern of criminal behavior you have demonstrated your entire life ... Time and again, you explain away your crimes as some sort of necessary evil. I find it shocking people continue to believe your lies.” Sloane seems to be taken aback by the aggressive tone. Prosecutor Harkin reveals “In truth, these proceedings are a mere formality.” Leaning forward for emphasis, he adds “You will atone for your sins, Mr. Sloane.” Arvin looks downward in recognition that he is in a kangaroo court. With a smug satisfaction, Harkin explains “Only you don’t get to decide the punishment ... We do.” Sloane closes his eyes and lowers his head in recognition that Harkin and his tribunal aren’t leaving to consider the evidence, but merely to debate his sentencing.
Sometime later, we hear the slam of prison door slam shut and the buzzing of the lock. We see Arvin is dressed in his prison uniform, being led through the cellblock. In voiceover, we hear Director Bristow explain “Assuming the worst, it will happen fast. You’ll be immediately transferred to a federal penitentiary.” The scene switches to Sloane’s cell where Jack regretfully says “It’s doubtful we’ll have a chance to go over your affairs, assuming they rule against you.” Arvin nods with certainty as he replies “They’re going to rule against me.” Jack looks like he wants to say something encouraging, but he can’t. After an awkward silence, Sloane tells him “Thank you for getting Sydney and Marcus to write statements on my behalf. I’m sure that must have been very difficult.” Shaking his head slightly, Jack explains softly “They volunteered. I didn’t have to ask.” Arvin nods in appreciation and says “Well, thank them for me.” Jack nods. Then Sloane looks off to the side and says “I want to give you power of attorney over Nadia.” Jack replies “Of course” and nods. Arvin stresses “Promise me you’ll do everything you can to save her, Jack ... as if she were your own daughter.” When his old friend vows “You have my word”, Sloane whispers appreciatively “Thank you.”
Inside the APO Briefing Room, Marcus tells the assembled group “He’s scared. The Cayman transfer was a success. We were able to take full control of Dean’s finances. As a result, he’s getting sloppy, making uncharacteristic mistakes ...” Dixon signals Marshall, so he types into his laptop computer and then two surveillance photographs of a bald man appears on the screen. Marcus continues “An hour ago, Echelon intercepted a call Dean placed to Laurent Moreau, a business associate Ms. Gibson flagged in her debriefings. Sydney glances over at her in silent praise, while Dixon nods to Marshall to bring up the next item from the computer. Marshall holds up one finger to indicate ‘Just a moment’ and then plays the audio recording of the conversation. In a French accent, Moreau complains “You lost everything.” Gordon Dean replies “It’s a setback. We’re moving forward as scheduled, but I need to retrieve my operations archives.” Laurent scoffs “You’re planning on blackmailing yourself out of the red?” Impatiently, Dean asks “Where are the archives, Laurent?” The man replies “Relax. They’re safe at Rue L’Or.” Gordon instructs him “I’ll contact you Thursday to arrange transfer.” Syd proclaims “Dean’s going after his archives.” Marcus nods and says “If we can beat him to it, we’d have access to Dean’s entire operation.” Thomas notes “They said they’re being held at Rue L’Or. What’s that?” Performing a search on the computer, Marshall replies “Well, looks like it’s in Monte Carlo. One of Moreau’s fronts. Hey, it’s a casino!” Sydney thinks to herself and then gets an idea. She asks “What did we do with all that money we seized?
Back at the prison, Arvin is writing a farewell note to his daughter that says “Dearest Nadia.” As Sloane ponders what to say, a man standing outside of the cell comments “Having trouble sleeping, Mr. Sloane?” Arvin looks up and sees a man standing in the shadows. It is Mr. Keach, the man Dean tasked with a special mission. Keach says “I don’t blame you. You’d have to count a lot of sheep to erase today’s proceedings, that’s for sure ... I’m guessing they’re gonna put you away for a long time ... Which is, just too bad, really, ‘cause...” He walks up to the bars where the lighting is better and adds “It’ll be awful hard to help that daughter of yours from inside a federal penitentiary.” Sloane looks up at the man, wanting to hear his point. Mr. Keach entices him “Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way ... Huh, Mr. Sloane? ... I work for some very powerful people ... My benefactors may be able to help sway the committee’s decision tomorrow.” Arvin looks back down and says “I see ...” Looking back up at the man, Sloane comments “And I suppose that these benefactors of yours want something in return for their help.” The man nods and smirks, replying “They would at that.” Arvin takes a few seconds to respond, then says softly “Ahh.”
Back at the APO Briefing Room, Sydney spreads out a blueprint over other ones of the Rue L’Or casino on the table and explains to Dixon “We need to tap into the fiber optics. There’s a maintenance station in the parking garage.” Pointing at the blueprint, Marcus notes “Guard checkpoints are here and here. They’ve got the garage locked down. Thomas offers “I can get into the parking garage.” Just then, Marshall comes in to show his op-tech, saying “Hey, guys! Check this out.” He rolls a pair of loaded dice, then announces, happily “Winner - seven! Every time.” Marshall demonstrates again and says with a smile “Seven!” Sydney points out with a hint of irritation “Marshall, you’re not supposed to hit seven.” Not believing Sydney, he says “No, no, it’s ...it... it’s supposed to hit seven, right?” He looks around for support, but Tom stares at his antics. Still unable to believe that he’s made a mistake, Marshall rolls the dice again, saying “I mean... see? Winner - seven” and shows a weak smile. Dixon tells him “You’ve got it backwards. She’s right.” The smile fades from Marshall’s face and replies weakly “Really?” Marcus nods, so Marshall sheepishly takes dice back to work on. Putting another blueprint on the table, Syd says to Dixon “Talk to me about this vault.” Agents Grace and Gibson watches from a distance as Marcus explains “The deposit boxes are in electromagnetic tumblers.” Sydney asks “Can we get around it?” Dixon replies “It’s on a systemic system. The mainframe resets the passcodes daily.” Rachel interrupts “I can get around it.” Syd and Marcus look up at her in surprise. She explains “If... it’s an EM system, I can decrypt the algorithm. I just need access to the building’s network.” Intrigued, Syd asks “Can we do it from a remote location?” Coming closer to look at the diagrams on the table, Rachel shakes her head, saying “It’s a segregated network. I’d have to be there. But... I’ll go.” Sydney looks concerned, remembering how Agent Gibson behaved in Prague. But Rachel nods her assurance and says “I’ll do it.” Syd tries to talk her out of the mission, saying “It’s okay.” The young woman replies “No, I... I mean, I want to...” Seeing that Sydney isn’t convinced, Gibson explains “I had to dig... through my friends (remains) yesterday... because of Gordon Dean. If I can help you stop him, then that’s what I need to do ... There’s not a whole lot that’ll scare me ... Not anymore.” Syd nods slightly.
The scene starts with a black screen with the caption Monte Carlo. As we saw in the opening sequence, a silver colour Jaguar pulls to a stop at the entrance of the Rue L’Or casino. As Sydney exits the driver’s side door, Grace hands her the parking slip and drives the car to the parking garage. At the craps table, Sydney puts down her wager and says mockingly “Tell your pit boss we need more money. We’re feeling lucky tonight” rubbing the dice on her belly. In the maintenance section of the parking garage, Agent Grace unlocks the padlock of an electrical panel, and studies the circuitry inside. The crowd at the craps table cheer as Syd rolls another win with Marshall’s loaded dice. Tom runs back to the car and opens the trunk. This time we see that Rachel is hiding inside the trunk. Grace takes her by the hand and helps her out of the trunk. Back in the casino, Sydney has been stopped by casino security. The boxman tells her “Madame, could we please have a word with you?” Agents Gibson and Grace enter the electrical room. Rachel places her PDA handheld computer on top of the electrical panel and links them together with some connector wires. Numbers scroll on the screen, so she tells Tom “I need a piece of paper.” He leaves to search for some paper. Inside the casino office, Syd fires her tranquilizer gun at the boxman and then turns, shooting the guard behind her. Meanwhile, Agent Grace retrieves a newspaper on a desk in the electrical room and brings it to Rachel, saying “Here, have this.” She puts it against the wall and jots down some numbers.
From the corridor of the casino, Sydney com-links “Sidewinder, I’m approaching the vault. What’s your status?” Thomas tries to rush Rachel to finish her calculations by saying “They’re waiting for us.” Syd wonders why Tom isn’t responding and calls out “Sidewinder?” Agent Grace urges the young woman “We gotta go.” But Agent Gibson stops, then turns with annoyed expression and says sarcastically “Do you wanna come over here and do the advanced binomial calculus? ‘Cause, I’d be more than happy to stand there and watch.” Tom com-links Sydney apologetically “Sidewinder’s gonna need a little more time.” Syd uses her op-tech glass cutter to cut a opening through the vault’s glass & steel door to access the internal handle. Rachel is finishing her calculations when Syd urges “I’m at the vault. I need that key code.” Gibson hands the newspaper to Grace, so he com-links “Got it.” Using the numbers, Sydney opens the safe deposit box and removes a small case from inside. She opens the lid to inspect the handheld computer, then com-links “I’ve got the package.” Thomas opens the trunk lid and then looks around for trouble as Rachel climbs back inside. He closes the lid, backs out of the parking space and then drives the car to the front of the casino. Grace holds the driver-side door for Syd, who gets in the car and drives away. Inside the trunk, Rachel turns on the trunk light. We hear by voiceover, Sydney contact Jack by cell phone “This is Phoenix. We have the archive.” Jack asks “What’s your location?” We see her car arriving at the dock as she tells him “I’m approaching the ferry now.” Director Bristow concludes the call by saying “Copy that. Have a safe trip.” As Sydney approaches the checkpoint, a uniformed guard signals her to stop and then checks his clipboard. A large truck pulls up right behind her and then an electromagnet slams down on the roof of her car. Sydney gasps and Rachel cries out in surprise. The crane then lifts the Jaguar up, high into the air. Agent Gibson looks alarmed, knowing that something wrong is happening. She hears Sydney’s cell phone ring and her saying “I don’t know what Mockingbird is! ... Please... What is Mockingbird? Inside the trunk, Rachel is panting from fright. Syd tells the caller “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you want.” In response, the crane drops the car by a few feet. Sydney gasps in shock and from inside the trunk, Rachel screams. We then see that it is Gordon Dean on the other end of the call and Kelly Peyton running the crane by remote control from her laptop computer. Dean chastises “Ms. Bristow, you’re not exactly in the position to play coy. You know who I am?” Syd replies “Yes.” He then says “You know what I want.” Looking at the handheld computer that she stole, Sydney tells him “You’re not thinking this through, Dean. If you drop me, you destroy your archive. Gordon counters “The laptop’s a fake. There’s nothing on it. Where’s Mockingbird now? ... Ms. Bristow...” Switching to a new tactic, Syd says “All right, all right, you win. Listen...” Rachel listening from the trunk hears Sydney claim “The CIA has her in protective custody. She’s... in a safe...” but unexpectedly, a ship’s horn sounds in the distance, interrupting her with it’s noise. Dean impatiently says “What?” Syd continues “She’s in a safe house in Philadelphia.” Gordon tells her “Listen carefully ... Tell your people to deliver her to the 30th Street Train Station ... They have exactly thirty minutes” then he ends the phonecall. As she puts the cellphone away, Rachel calls out with concern “Sydney... What’s happening?” Syd looks right and left to assess the situation, saying “Rachel, hang on a sec ... I gotta call my Dad.”
At the APO, Jack walks out of his office, talking with Sydney through his headset “Dean doesn’t know Rachel’s with you?” Syd replies “No. He’s expecting the CIA to deliver her in exactly... 26 minutes.” Walking into the Briefing Room where Marshall is just taking a seat with his laptop computer, Jack tells him “Task the satellites. I want full coverage of the area” then he tells his daughter “Sydney, if Dean calls again, route it through us. Don’t worry, we’ll get you down.” With a concerned tone, she says softly “You’d better.” Pressing a button on the table phone to switch channels, Jack asks “Dixon, where are you?” Driving a car at night, Dixon says by cell phone “We’re en route ... Five minutes away.” Thomas is sitting next to him. Jack instructs them “Approach carefully. We don’t know who’s on the ground, but get to that crane. Rules of engagement are at your discretion.” Marcus replies “Copy that. Almost there.” Their car’s tires squeal as they turn left at a corner of the dock area.
Inside the car, Sydney calls out “Rachel, how you doing?” She is frightened, but Agent Gibson replies “I’ve been better. How are you?” Syd is going through her purse, looking anything useful to their predicament, replies with false confidence “Oh, you know. Just another day at the office ... Hey, Rachel, look around back there. Is there anything that might be useful?” Feeling around the trunk, Gibson replies “Uh, well, there’s a, a tire ... and ... a crowbar, and I, and I have my purse ... Are those helpful?” Sydney tells her “No, not really.” After a few seconds, Rachel says nervously “Uh... How high up are we?” Still searching for something useful, Syd replies “Oh, just...” then looks out her left window to check, and continues “couple hundred feet ... Don’t worry, I’ve been in much worse situations than this.” With a frightened voice, the rookie agent replies meekly “You have?”
Elsewhere at the dockyard, Dixon is on foot, looking around a corner. He com-links “Area’s clear so far. We’re approaching the cab (of the crane) now.” Thomas and Marcus scramble to the crane operator’s position with their pistols drawn, but Dixon reports “It’s empty.” Still using his headset, Director Bristow asks “Can you get to the controls?” Marcus slides open the door to the cab and says “Hang on...” Checking the controls, he notes “It’s got some sort of...” He glances up and sees a camera mounted on the ceiling, so he says “Uh-oh.”
Back at his base, Dean sees Dixon through the camera, so he checks his watch and comments “That was fast.” Turning to Peyton, he orders her “Do it.” On her laptop screen are the options: LIFT, RELEASE, MAGNET ON, & MAGNET OFF. Kelly selects “RELEASE” and the Jaguar abruptly drops. The two women shriek as the car plummets. Jack calls out “Sydney?” and Marshall looks worried. The car jerks to a stop, moments later. Sydney gasps for breath and Rachel cries out “Aah!” After a few seconds, Gordon telephones again, demanding “Pull your agents off-site. Right now.” Listening in on the call, Director Bristow orders “Outrigger, get out of there!” Dean sees on his monitor, Agents Dixon and Grace climb down from the cab of the electromagnetic crane. Dean warns “You’re trying my patience, Ms. Bristow. Any further deviations, and I will drop you. I want confirmation that Mockingbird’s en route.” Syd asks “What sort of confirmation?” He replies “Have her call me.” From the trunk, Rachel whispers in disbelief “What?”
Back at the APO, Marshall looks at his computer screen and comments “Dean’s got the place wired. It’s all on remote... If I can isolate the frequency, I might be able to override the crane’s controls.” Jack asks “What do you need from us?” Typing frantically at the laptop, Marshall replies “Just time. Just time.”
From inside the Jaguar’s trunk, Rachel cries “Sydney... I can’t do that, I can’t call him. He’ll know... I’m a terrible liar. That’s why he wants me to call.” Like a teacher, Syd assures her “Rachel, this is easy. This is just like in Prague. You have to become someone else. You have to become the person you used to be. All you have to do is act helpless and scared.” The young woman cries “I am scared.” Syd replies “Yeah, but you’re not helpless. Not anymore ... Look... I’ve spent my life dealing with men like Gordon Dean. They all have a fatal flaw. They always want power... So you just fool ’em into thinking they have it. And you hit ’em when they’re not looking.” Summoning up her courage, Rachel asks “So what do I do?” Sydney explains “Act terrified. Keep him on the phone. We’ll do the rest.” Rachel takes out her cellphone and makes the call. Dean answers the call by speakerphone, saying “Hello.” Agent Gibson informs him “They told me to call you.” Gordon responds “Rachel ... Where are you?” As the sound of the crane creaks in the background, the rookie agent replies in a frightened tone “I’m in a van. I don’t know ... They wanted me... They wanted me to tell you that they’re doing everything you asked ... They’re turning me over to you ... They won’t tell me anything else.”
Back at the APO, Marshall is typing at his laptop trying to pinpoint the radio frequency of the crane control signal. With an apprehensive voice, Rachel asks “What are you gonna do to me?” In an assuring tone, Dean replies “Just come in, Rachel. We need to talk to you.” The young woman tells him with a fearful voice “I didn’t tell them anything. I swear, I didn’t tell them anything.” Gordon assures her “I believe you.” We see that Sydney has a concerned look as she eavesdrops on the conversation. At the APO, Jack wants to know if his technical expert is getting close to finding the control signal by asking “Marshall?” Typing frantically, the nervous Flinkman replies “I’m almost there, almost there. Just give me a sec ... Give me a sec... Almost there.” The young woman worries “What are you gonna do to me?” Dean replies “That depends on how cooperative you are.” Immediately, Rachel replies “ I’ll do anything you want. Please, Mr. Dean. Please. I don’t wanna die.” Unexpectedly, the ship’s horn sounds again, even louder since it is closer than before. The young woman tries to cover the phone, but Sydney realizes that their pretense has been exposed, calling out “Rachel, Plan B.” Agent Gibson hangs up the phone.
Back at his office, Gordon says “What was that?” to Peyton. Syd instructs her protégée “Kick the backseat as hard as you can.” Rachel kicks at the back of the seat, but nothing happens. Sydney urges “Now! Do it right now!” The young woman summons all of her strength and kicks the seat off of its mountings. As Rachel crawls through the opening, Syd tells her “Crowbar!” Dean slams his hands on the table and exclaims “She’s in the car!” Sydney swings the crowbar and smashes car’s sunroof window to pieces. Then she tells Gibson “Give me your hand.” Gordon orders Kelly “Drop ’em!” so she types the command into her laptop computer. At the same time, Syd attaches her vacuum-equipped glass cutter lifter to the electromagnet through the roof opening and grips the handle tightly. Peyton selects the RELEASE command and the car drops down. But Sydney is hanging on to the op-tech device with her left hand, securely attached to the base of the magnet with Rachel hanging on to her right hand. The young woman shrieks as she feels the car drop away. They look at car crash to the pavement. Syd pants and looks down at Gibson’s frightened face. They know that Marcus and Thomas will soon lower them to the ground.
Daytime in Washington DC, Arvin Sloane stands to hear the tribunal’s decision. Special Prosecutor Harkin addresses him “Mr. Sloane, this committee has reviewed your case and is prepared to render its ruling.” Opening up his file folder, he adds with an increasingly angry tone “Before we do so, I’d like to reiterate for the record my extreme disapproval for tactics you have employed while working under the auspices of the United States Government. Your compromised methodology sullies the name of every man and woman who serves this country honorably.” Sloane looks downward with shame. Then looking down at the file, Harkin’s voice softens as he says “However, while I may detest your methods, I cannot deny your results.” Arvin’s demeanor changes to one of suspicion, while Jack looks dumbfounded and then looks at Sloane to study his reaction. The prosecutor continues “After careful examination of the facts, this committee is forced to conclude your recent actions fall within the guidelines of your pardon agreement, and that, in truth...” Harkin pauses and looks to his right before continuing “You have this country’s best interests in mind...” A slight grin appears on Arvin’s face, feeling vindicated. The Special Prosecutor concludes “I find no cause for violation. Arvin Sloane, I hereby order... your release, effective immediately.” Harkin doesn’t look like he takes any satisfaction with the verdict. Jack turns from looking at Mr. Harkin towards Sloane with suspicion. Arvin’s face trembles slightly, then closes his eyes in relief and perhaps silent prayer.
A small private jet flies in a dusky sky. Inside, we see Marcus is sleeping in his aisle seat on the port-side; Thomas in the row behind, also in the aisle seat, sleeping with earphones on. Behind him are Sydney with her eyes closed and Rachel still wide awake, still feeling traumatized. She has moist eyes as she looks over at Syd and asks “How can you people sleep after something like this?” Sydney opens her eyes momentarily, then after a brief grin, says “You just learn to take it where you can get it, I guess.” The young woman thinks for a moment then asks “It’s never gonna be over, is it? ... I’m gonna be with you a while.” Sydney opens her eyes and looks over at Rachel, sadly. The rookie agent explains “In custody, I mean.” With a consoling voice, Syd tells her “You’ll be with us until it’s safe for you to go home.” After a pause to think that over, Gibson asks “When will that be?” Sydney sadly admits “I honestly don’t know... Dean knows how dangerous you are to him. We can’t release you until we’ve brought him in.” Rachel knowingly replies “But it doesn’t end with Dean.” As her mentor, Syd concedes “No, it doesn’t.” The young agent pessimistically says “It’s never gonna be safe.” But Sydney counters “I guess we’ll have to bring ’em all down ... every single one of ’em. The scene dissolves to Arvin Sloane leaving the hearing. As he walks the corridor, he sees Mr. Keach sitting, reading a newspaper. The two men glance at each other as Arvin passes by. Keach rises and puts the newspaper away. Sloane walks with an apprehensive expression towards the bright light of the front door, a free man.
END
