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Transmissão .::. Transcripts .::. Terceira Temporada .::. #3.04 A Missing Link

Thanks to RocknVaughn at SD-1.

(We see the black and white video footage Jack had of Sydney killing Lazarey. As he falls to the ground, Lazarey turns to look at her. He appears to say something to her.)

Sydney: There…you see that?

(Cut to Sydney sitting at the breakfast bar in her apartment, watching the footage on Jack’s laptop. Jack stands looking over her shoulder.)

Jack: No.

(Sydney backs up the video slowly, replays the part after she’s slit Lazarey’s throat.)

Sydney: What do you mean? L…look there…he’s saying…he’s saying “Jule…or Julie…”

Jack: He could be saying any number of things. Sydney, I have already subjected this video to the most intense technological scrutiny available to the CIA.

Sydney (almost whispering…to herself): Maybe Julia…

Jack: If you want me to a reanalysis, fine, but you have to stop punishing yourself.

Sydney: There’s gotta be something in there that can lead us to…

(Jack slams the lid closed on the laptop.)

Jack: Sydney, no good will come from doing this.

Sydney: I committed a murder I have no memory of; this isn’t about punishment!

Jack: I understand this haunts you, but you have to stop…

Sydney: Yes, it haunts me! I lost two years! I do not have one memory of that time; all I have is this. (She’s emotional about this, but not out of control. Her eyes look slightly watery.) I killed a man…I killed a defenseless man in cold blood. What was I thinking? Did I know it was Sark’s father? What would compel me to do something like this!? Did someone condition me? If they did…what else did they have me do?

Jack (being strong and supportive for Sydney): I’ve been living with these same questions of over a year. We have no answers yet. When you compelled the NSC to release me from prison, you told me you’d done so because…you needed your father; that you needed my strength. Twelve months in solitary would have an effect on anyone; something that allowed me to stay focused was your…strength. Don’t lose it now…

(Sydney looks at her father, teary but grateful for his support and belief in her. Her cell phone rings. She answers it, wiping a tear from her cheek.)

Sydney: Hello?…Yeah. I’ll be right there.

(She hangs up the phone and pauses a minute.)

Sydney: That was Lauren…

(She looks up and meets her father’s eyes.)

Lauren (voiceover): Twenty hours ago in Cannes…

(Cut to Sydney and Lauren walking in step through the JTF Center.)

Lauren: A four man team broke into an epidemiology lab. The place did cutting edge vaccine research into viruses like West Nile, HIV, and Ebola.

Sydney: What were they after?

Lauren: They took four vials containing strains of Ebola. The 5th was damaged during the heist, infecting one of the team members…

Sydney: The one we’re questioning?

Lauren: Laszlo Bogdan, a Hungarian national. He’s an expert at cracking high-end security systems. He’s in isolation at the Stafford Naval Hospital.

Sydney: And the French just handed him over to us?

Lauren: Apparently they share our desire to learn more about the Covenant.

Sydney: Why did the NSC want me in on this?

Lauren: I wanted you…

(Sydney looks at Lauren with a “The what? With the who?” look)

Lauren: …Michael said you were the best.

(Lauren walks off. Sydney stops in her tracks, watching her go, still shocked at this new turn of events.)

(Cut to helicopter landing at Stafford Naval Hospital. Cut to Lauren opening a vacuum-sealed door. Sydney walks in behind her. The doors shut as the two woman stare at something. Lauren takes a few steps forward. The camera pans to reveal Bogdan, severely infected with Ebola, close to death, behind a sealed plastic curtain. Sydney walks up to stand next to Lauren.)

Lauren: Mr. Bogdan, can you hear me?

(Bogdan turns his head slightly to look at her. Sydney watches from the side as Lauren speaks.)

Lauren: My name is Lauren Reed; I work for the United States Government. I’ve been sent here to find out whom you were working for. Who is responsible for putting you in the condition you’re in now?

Bogdan: Leave!

(Lauren looks disappointed. She looks over at Sydney, who nods once. They exchange places. Sydney pulls up a rolling stool and sits down next to the curtain.)

Sydney (soft-toned, sincere, convincing): Mr. Bogdan, I don’t know what your beliefs are…if you have a faith…if you expect that something follows this life… You might have none. But if there is a chance that there is something else…that we face the consequences of our actions in this lifetime, Mr. Bogdan… This is your last chance…to do what’s right.

(Bogdan turns his head to look at Sydney.)

Sydney: There’s no one left to be afraid of…

(Cut to Lauren, looking from Sydney to Bogdan, not sure if Sydney’s tactic is working, but hoping it is…)

Sydney: …no one to be loyal to. There’s only yourself. Whoever it was who stole this virus that’s eating through your body needs to be stopped.

(Bogdan is making unbroken eye contact with Sydney. She’s reaching him.)

Sydney: Please…

Bogdan: I never met…the man who hired us…I…cannot help you stop…the second job…

(Sydney’s eyes widen, she turns to look at Lauren in shock. Lauren looks back, just as stunned.)

(Cut to LA by day…helicopter flying over a building. Cut to Lauren, leaning against the Conference room table, talking. The others sit at the table, listening: Dixon, Marshall, Weiss and Vaughn on one side, Sydney and Jack on the other (Lauren’s empty seat is on this side, next to Jack.)

Lauren: Agent Bristow got Bogdan to admit there is a second heist in the works. While we believe the stolen samples have already been delivered to the Covenant, Bogdan says they will not be used until after this second job.

Sydney: He said they were planning to modify the virus.

Vaughn: Why is that?

Jack: We can assume what they’ve stolen is merely a precursor agent requiring further synthesis.

(Lauren sits down.)

Weiss: Okay, does…everyone here speak Science?

Marshall (duh): Yeah…

Weiss: No…Marshall… they don’t…

Marshall: Oh…sorry…I could…help…explain…

Weiss: That’d be great…

Marshall: Okay… (he stands up) Okay, well, um…what they nabbed, we’ll call that…um, peanut butter…you know… yummy, nutty, creamy deliciousness (this elicits a droll look from Dixon)…on its own, but you, um, mix something else in equally tasty…oh! Perhaps chocolat…

Dixon (warning): Marshall…

Marshall: Sorry…they’re most likely going after the means to mutate the virus to make it even more infectious…

Sydney: Ebola is a level 4 pathogen; that’s the highest classification…How could it be any worse!?

Marshall: They could…make it…airborne…

(Sydney reacts to this news.)

Sydney: And we have no idea what the Covenant’s endgame is.

Dixon: No. But we do know who the team is they hired for these jobs…Simon Walker…point man on the Damascus armory job in 99…and the 2002 break-in at Vector. Cold-blooded contract guy; only uses other freelancers. This time his team included Javier Perez, former Lieutenant in Cuban Special Forces; munitions expert and tactical advisor to the group. Avery Russet, acquisitions…vehicles, equipment, weapons. Finally, Laszlo Bogdan, security…deceased as of twenty minutes ago…

(Cut to a shared look between Lauren and Sydney)

Dixon: We know there’s another heist in the works; Mr. Walker will need a replacement.

(Dixon gives a telling look to Sydney.)

Sydney: You want me to take Bogdan’s place on their team.

Lauren: Walker’s already been picked up on Echelon. We know he’s in the market…

Dixon: It’s deep cover. The risks are obvious…but this is an opportunity. The Covenant will take possession of whatever the team steals. If you can place a tracking device on that, we believe it will lead us to their center of operations. Walker’s in Sevilla; you’ll go in as a freelance security expert (hands Sydney a file folder). Vaughn and Weiss, you’re on backup. Lauren, I want you to go see Sloane; have him use his contacts…find out what they’re after. (Looks back at Sydney.) You leave in two hours.

(Jack looks at Sydney.)

(Cut to Lauren, sitting at her terminal at the JTF, apparently working on some sort of report. Vaughn comes up from behind her, bends over and places a hand on her upper arms from behind. She smiles.)

Vaughn: I’ll come by after op-tech.

Lauren: Okay…

(Vaughn kisses her on the temple, while Lauren kisses the air at him (this seemed very natural, a very ‘married, couple-ish’ thing to do, not at all as obnoxious as it sounds). Vaughn straightens up and turns to leave.)

Lauren: Oh, hey, real quick. The report you wrote on the infiltration of the COG bunker? You didn’t give any details on the weapons that Sark was using…

Vaughn: Uh, no I didn’t…but that’s not really the point of the report.

Lauren (this wasn’t the response she’d expected): Well…

Vaughn (eyebrows raised, slightly sarcastic): That’s the point of the report!?

Lauren: Well, it’s not the point…but it’s important…

(Lauren stands and faces Vaughn now.)

Vaughn: How is it important? We broke into the bunker and destroyed the facility…

Lauren: Honey, you know how much I depend on the details…its how I form my questions I need to…

Vaughn (cutting her off… He’s annoyed imagine the face he made when Sydney asked him what he was hiding (the incident with the key to his apartment…) and that’s the face he has now): Who cares about the weapons!?

Lauren (eyes wide, she can’t believe he’s being so defensive about this): I care!

Vaughn: I’ve been doing this for a long time!

Lauren: All I’m asking is that you be more specific…

Vaughn (controlled annoyance): I’ve never gotten notes on my reports before…

Lauren (now also controlled annoyance): The better you do your job; the better I’ll do mine…

(Vaughn looks like he’s fighting to control his temper. He’s very tense. He looks down; his jaw is tight. Finally, he meets Lauren’s eyes again.)

Vaughn (tense pause, then stiffly): It was a CZ 100 9 millimeter.

(Lauren nods, looking slightly apologetic. Vaughn feels badly, too, but appears to still feel he was right…that it was an unimportant detail. He walks off.)

(Cut to CIA jet, flying at night. Cut to Weiss, sound asleep with operation notes spread on his lap. Pan to Sydney in the seat behind him, studying her op notes. Vaughn sits down in the seat opposite Sydney.)

Vaughn: We can’t risk them picking up any stray radio transmissions, so I’ll be monitoring you with a laser mic; I’ll be able to hear you, but you won’t be able to communicate with me.

(Vaughn holds out a white tube he’s been fingering. Sydney takes it from him.)

Sydney: What’s this?

Vaughn: That’s the tracking device. Marshall put a transmitter chip there on the back. There’s an adhesive. Now, assuming Simon accepts you into the group, you’ll use that to tag whatever it is you’re gonna be stealing, and we’ll track it back to the Covenant.

(Sydney removes the cover and rolls up the lipstick to check its color. She looks at it and then…)

Sydney (deadpan): You know, peach isn’t really in this season.

Vaughn (playing along): I heard peach was the new green.

(Vaughn smiles softly.)

Sydney: I thought beige was the new green…

(Sydney smiles even wider.)

Vaughn: No, beige is the new peach.

(Vaughn smiles wider, too Sydney nods, a big grin on her face.)

Sydney: Okay…

(They stare at each other, and the smiles slide off their faces, and their looks turn nostalgic. The camaraderie that came so easy to them is replaced by the realization of how different their life is now.)

Vaughn (quietly): You’ve got a lot of reading to do…

(With a polite half-smile, he gets up and leaves her to her work. We focus in on Sydney’s face; her eyes show us this pains her.)

(Cut to black. SEVILLA. Push through the I. A club. Men and women flamenco dance to the sound of a man playing upbeat Spanish guitar music. We slide over to the entrance where Sydney, dressed in long wavy brown hair (halfway down her back…think Elektra from Daredevil), a black sleeveless top, leather pants and black high heels, strides in. She struts her stuff as she walks by the camera. We slide to the upstairs, where a private party is going on. People mingle, drink, sitting at small tables. We pull in on a man in black, sitting at the bar with his back to the camera. He’s watching a black and white monitor. We see Sydney appear on the screen, speaking to the guard at the bottom of the stairs. The man turns on the audio so he can hear their conversation.)

Guard (in Spanish): You can’t go up. Private party.

(Cut to Sydney and the guard.)

Sydney (in Spanish): Let me make it worth your while.

Guard (in Spanish): No, the gentlemen inside already have.

(Slide across a bar to reveal Vaughn and Weiss on surveillance, watching Sydney speak to the man at the bottom of the stairs. Vaughn has his hand up to his ear, as if listening to a headphone.)

Vaughn (irritated): I’m losing the signal!

Weiss: I’m aiming the mic right at her…

Vaughn: I should have worn the ring…

Weiss: Get over yourself, okay? No one aims the mic like I do…

(Close up of Weiss’ hand where he aims a ring that obviously contains the mic.)

Guard (voiceover, in Spanish): Please, walk away for your own good…

(Cut to guard, who opens his coat to reveal a handgun.)

Guard: …or I’ll have to accompany you.

(Sydney holds up her hand in a “Fine, whatever” sort of gesture and starts to walk away. Suddenly, the guard puts a hand to his ear, listening on his comms. He grabs Sydney’s arm to keep her from leaving.)

Guard (in Spanish): Excuse me, ma’am. Mr. Walker would like to speak to you.

Sydney: Gracias.

(Sydney climbs the stairs to enter the private party. Walker stubs out a cigarette at the bar and starts walking toward Sydney. She walks toward him.)

Sydney: Hello…

Walker: Hello…

(Walker continues to walk closer and gives Sydney a long kiss. When he pulls back, we momentarily see the surprise in Sydney’s eyes.)

Walker: Good to see you, Julia.

(Sydney takes a beat, letting this sink in. She was right about Lazarey calling her Julia, because this man has also. He obviously knows her from her missing two years.)

Sydney: Good to see you, too.

(Walker smiles at her. Sydney smiles back. Cut to black. Alias theme. End of Act One.)

~ ~ ~

(Slide across the bar to Weiss and Vaughn at the bar downstairs.)

Weiss: Who the hell is Julia!?

Vaughn: Hell if I know…

Weiss: It’s not an alias she’s ever used with us before…

Vaughn: There’s no mention of a Julia in her SD-6 files…

Weiss: Right. Which means, last two years, when she was supposedly being held by the Covenant…

Vaughn: What… You think she was operational!?

Weiss: I think this guy just called her Julia…

(Cut to Walker and Sydney)

Walker: Where in the bloody hell have you been?

Sydney: Isn’t that the question of the day?

Walker: Oh, come on, I know you can do better than that…

Sydney: A girl’s gotta have some secrets…

Walker: All right, look, all right, at least tell me what’s with the new look… I barely recognized you…

Sydney: I hope you weren’t disappointed…

Walker: No. No…but I’ve missed you…Julia…

(Cut to Weiss and Vaughn. Neither of them look happy. Vaughn looks worried. Cut back to Walker.)

Walker: Uh, you know…I’ve missed working with you…

Sydney: Why do you think I came back?

Walker: (laughs) You’re a right nutter, you are…

Sydney: I heard about Bogdan…

(Walker looks off, wiping his eye. He looks like he actually cared what happened to Bogdan.)

Walker: Yeah….that was too bad. Now, you never met Bogdan? (this is half question and half a statement)

Sydney: No…

Walker: Yeah, you’d have liked him.

Sydney: I wanna take his place.

Walker: Well, as it happens, we do have a job coming up…but Bogdan was security…

Sydney: I know.

(Walker takes a drink from his glass and then teases…)

Walker: What? No future in murder?

Sydney: I am…a girl with many talents…

Walker (nodding): Yeah…

Sydney: And I’m your man.

Walker: Hmm.

(Cut to dusk in Zurich.)

Lauren (voiceover): Tell us what you know about Simon Walker.

(Cut to Lauren and Sloane. It appears as if it could be the same table she, Vaughn and Sydney sat at last week.)

Lauren: We know he’s on a job for the Covenant, but we don’t know what he’s after. This details the first of what we believe to be two related heists. (shoves a file folder across the table at Sloane.) We think that whatever the Covenant has hired Mr. Walker to obtain will in some way augment the virus they stole earlier this week.

(Sloane studies the files with a smirk on his face.)

Sloane: I must admit, I was concerned for you when Sydney resurfaced…

(Cut to Lauren. She really doesn’t want to discuss this with Sloane.)

Sloane: I remembered seeing her with Vaughn…their relationship reminded me my own with my wife… It was the kind of…bond…that even death cannot sever. Hmmm. Well, apparently I misjudged.

Lauren (tightly): Whatever information you can uncover will be greatly appreciated…

Sloane: Ah, Ms. Reed…you shouldn’t doubt yourself. You’re very good at what you do…despite how you got the job…

Lauren (she doesn’t want it to, but this jab affects her.): What does that mean?

(Sloane takes a renewed interest in the files she gave him, studying them as if she hadn’t said anything to him.)

Sloane: I’ll see what I can do, hmm?

(Cut to Sydney sitting at the bar. Simon walks up with the other two team members.)

Walker: Meet the fellas…Avery, Javier…this is Julia.

Avery: I can see why you wanted her along…

Javier: There’s no time for small talk.

Walker: Oh, I know… (to Sydney) Are you ready?

Sydney (feigning indifference): For what?

Walker: Look, you used to say you were ready for anything…

(Sydney turns to look at him. Cut to the four of them stalking through the bottom level of the club. As they turn the corner to head outside, right past Weiss and Vaughn, we see Walker place his hand on Sydney’s behind and squeeze it. Slide over to Weiss and Vaughn for reaction. Vaughn does not look happy.)

Vaughn (to Weiss): Let’s go.

(Cut to a black Hummer pulling up in front of a hotel. Cut to Simon and Sydney as he puts the Hummer in park.)

Walker: Princess Demetria is in town on holiday…

Sydney: How nice for her…

(Cut to Weiss and Vaughn in the van, listening on comms)

Walker: Mmm…The Spanish royal family is throwing a party in her honor tomorrow night…

(Cut back to Walker)

Walker (snickering): …and in typical Demetria fashion, she plans on sporting a hundred and fifty carat diamond necklace…(Walker looks at Sydney) Pity really, because it’s up in the penthouse with her right now, gathering dust in a safe…

Sydney: You want me to steal it…

Walker: Well, consider it your interview…

(Cut to Vaughn and Weiss in van. Vaughn gives Weiss a look. Worry is etched all over Vaughn’s face.)

Walker: I’d like to see you wearing that necklace…

(Cut to Sydney in the Hummer)

Sydney: Just the necklace, right?

Walker: Mmmmm.

(Perez hands her a case from the back seat. She opens it. There is only a tranquilizer dart gun in it. She pulls it out, then gives a sideways glance at Simon.)

Sydney: You want me to steal the necklace with this!?

Perez: We have…something else for you…

Russet (speaking on cell phone, in Spanish): Get me the police.

(Sydney looks exasperatedly at Walker.)

Walker: Well, look…they don’t trust you yet…and I’m not sure I do, either…

(Cut to Weiss and Vaughn in van, exchanging another anxious look.)

Russet (in Spanish,voiceover): There’s a robbery in progress at the Hotel Sevilla.

(Cut back to Hummer)

Perez: The police will be here…in about 7 minutes…

(Sydney gets out of Hummer. She enters the lobby of the hotel. Cut to her in a hallway. She comes across the maid’s closet. She pulls a bobby pin from her hair and picks the lock to the room and steps inside.)

(Cut to Russet in the Hummer, leaning forward to speak to Walker.)

Russet: You really think she’s that good?

Walker: Oh yes…well, she used to be…

(Cut to an elevator door opening on the 15th floor. Sydney comes out, dressed like a maid, carrying three thick, fluffy folded towels. She turns the corner and reaches the entrance to the Princess’s suite. There is a guard next to the door, reading a newspaper.)

Sydney (in Spanish): Turn-down service?

(The guard looks at her for a moment over the top of his paper, then resumes reading.)

Guard: No.

(Sydney slides the tranq gun out from under two of the towels and shoots the guard in the neck. He passes out and Sydney reaches out to steady him in his seat. Cut to Weiss and Vaughn, watching the police cars appear on their monitors.)

Weiss (nervous): We should call ‘em off!

Vaughn: We do that, they’ll know Syd’s got a tail…there’s nothing we can do.

(Cut to Sydney accessing the suite. She looks around and then enters the Princess’s bedroom. She is asleep in the bed. Sydney finds the safe: an ordinary turn-dial combination safe. Cut to the lobby of the hotel. The police arrive and speak to the front desk clerk.)

Clerk: Una problema?

Police (in Spanish): We received a call that you’re being robbed.

Clerk (in Spanish): Please have a look around.

Police(in Spanish): We’re going to investigate.

(Cut to Sydney. She takes the telephone off the bedside table. She unscrews the mouthpiece and removes it from the headset, using it as a stethoscope to hear the tumblers in the safe as she cracks it. Cut to the police arriving on the penthouse floor. Cut back to Sydney, cracking the safe. Cut back to the police. They find the guard passed out at the door. Cut to Sydney. She’s gotten the safe open and removes the diamond necklace. The door to the suite breaks open as the police enter. The noise wakes the princess.)

Sydney (to princess as she tranqs her): Sorry…

(Princess passes out. Sydney locks the door to the bedroom. She opens the slider and gets onto the balcony. She looks around desperately for an escape route and then looks down to see a large pool in the courtyard below the balcony. The police are yelling for the princess to speak to them, then begin breaking down the bedroom door. Realizing she’s run out of time, Sydney rips open the maid’s outfit, revealing a black bra and matching underwear. Sydney puts herself over the side of the balcony, just standing on the ledge and holding on. The police break down the door and find the tranquilized princess. They start to look toward the curtain billowing in front of the open balcony door…Sydney lets go and dives down into the pool. She climbs out and a man holds out a white terrycloth robe for her. She smiles at him, dries her face with it and puts it on. Cut to Vaughn and Weiss’ security feed. They see Sydney, barefoot, in white robe exit the hotel and get back into Walker’s Hummer. Pan over to Weiss’ face. He’s clearly impressed.)

Weiss: Whatever she just did, man…She’s good…she is really good…

(Cut to Vaughn’s face. He lets out a tense breath and his shoulders drop with relief. Intense worry and relief are all over his face. Cut to Sydney, getting into the Hummer. Looking back at the men in the back seat, she says…)

Sydney: I had time for a swim…

(The camera pans from Sydney, still panting with exertion, to the dashboard. Sydney puts her foot up and the diamond necklace is double wrapped around Sydney’s ankle.)

Walker: Right…I’ve got a meeting in Paris tomorrow night; we’ll meet at the safehouse on Thursday to spec out the mission…(Walker hands Sydney a folder) Here’s the tech you’ll need…

(Sydney smiles at him and grabs the folder.)

Walker: Well, welcome to the team…

(Walker and Sydney look at each other. Cut to black. End of Act Two.)

~ ~ ~

(CIA jet, flying, evening. Cut to Sydney and Vaughn facing each other in the seats. Sydney is studying the info about the heist given to her by Walker. Vaughn watches her, looking pensive.)

Sydney: I need to learn how to crack an S305 safe…

Vaughn (a bit tense, something’s bothering him): Weiss is on with Marshall, approving the specs for you…

Sydney (not looking up, still studying mission info): Thanks.

(Sydney looks up and meets Vaughn’s eyes. He doesn’t look happy. Sydney tries a tiny smile at him, but his expression doesn’t change. Finally, she looks aside and sighs.)

Sydney: Okay, I know you think this op is too dangerous for me to continue…

Vaughn: Yes, I do… (He looks at Sydney for a long moment) …but that’s not what I was gonna say.

(Sydney leans forward, resting her elbow on the desk in front of her and rest her chin in the palm of her hand, fingers curled upward…a very Irina-like pose…)

Sydney: So…What?

Vaughn: I’ve never worked with anyone who can improvise better than you can…but when Simon called you Julia…your reaction…you didn’t seem surprised.

Sydney: Vaughn…

Vaughn: No…tell me what’s going on.

(They look at each other for another long moment. Sydney’s eyes say she wants to tell him, but she knows she can’t. Vaughn takes her hesitation as something else. He leans across the table toward her and says earnestly…)

Vaughn: Look, I know we’re not where we were…but even before then, professionally, we never kept secrets from each other. I’m still on your side…

Sydney: You’re right…we’re not where we were. And trust me when I tell you, I am doing you a favor by keeping you out of it.

Vaughn (annoyed by her answer): No, that is not gonna work with me…

Sydney: It’s gonna have to… I can’t afford to make a distinction between professional and personal; not in my life. I mean, this job took two years from me. Everything is personal.

(Vaughn sits back. He is clearly unhappy and unsatisfied with her answer. Sydney looks down, not meeting his eyes. Her voice isn’t quite so hard now.)

Sydney: As much as I wish I could trust you…the responsibilities you have now require me not to.

Vaughn: Responsibilities!? What the hell does that mean!? What…Lauren!?

(Sydney gives a hint of a bitter smile for an answer and looks back down. Vaughn takes the hint.)

Vaughn: What, because she’s NSC, or because she’s my wife!? Or is that distinction irrelevant!?

(Arguing with Vaughn pains her; we see it in her eyes. She shakes her head slightly.)

Sydney: I’m not punishing you… You think I am…I’m not.

(Sydney and Vaughn are giving each other hurt, angry, annoyed looks. The tension between them is thick. Then Weiss comes out from another part of the plane holding a little cup of peanuts, snacking from it. He walks up and sees the two them.)

Weiss: What? Somebody die?

(Cut to PAMPLONA…the safehouse. Walker walks into a main room where Perez and Russet are working on specs.)

Walker: He pumped my contact…apparently

Walker: Yeah!? Yeah!? Who’s this!?

(Walker shows Sydney one of the photographs of her with Vaughn.)

Sydney (whispering): It’s my supplier.

(Cut to Weiss and Vaughn in the van. Cut back to Walker and Sydney. Walker grabs Sydney, turns her over so she’s lying on her back and holds her down with a hand around her neck.)

Walker: Your supplier? What’s his name? You lie to me again and I will kill you…

(Walker points the knife in Sydney’s face.)

Sydney: That’s Michael Vaughn…He’s my supplier…

(Cut to Vaughn.)

Vaughn: Oh my God, that’s a picture of me…

(Cut back to Walker and Sydney.)

Sydney: Come on, Simon! What the hell!? What, you don’t believe me!?

Walker: No! No, sweetheart, I don’t!

(Cut to black. End of Act Four.)

~ ~ ~

(Camera pan across Marshall’s tech room. Marshall is sitting in front of his computer. The phone rings; he answers it.)

Marshall: Flinkman residence…

(Cut to Vaughn. He has the same intense face he had when Sydney was on the mission in Mexico City.)

Vaughn: Marshall, this is Vaughn. Listen to me very carefully. I need you to upload to Interpol database immediately a criminal record with my name and photograph with at least 20 charges, all of them security based.

(Cut to Marshall.)

Marshall: Got it, got it, got it… Security stocks or security alarm systems?

(Cut to Vaughn.)

Vaughn: Alarm systems…

(Cut to Walker and Sydney.)

Walker: Why did you head to the States!?

Sydney: Because the alarm system you’re asking me to disable is from Chicago…That’s Illinois…That’s the United States! Milan wasn’t gonna help us, you freak!

(Walker seems slightly taken aback with her answer. He pauses for a second and then gestures to the photograph with his knife.)

Walker: That’s your supplier?

Sydney: Check his records. Security is all he does…

(Cut to Marshall. He turns around in his chair and addresses Carrie, who is on the other side of the room.)

Marshall: Do a search for a criminal profile with someone with security-related felons!

(Carrie gives Marshall a dirty look.)

Carrie: Please would be nice…

(She walks toward the computer anyway.)

Marshall: Uh, sorry… Please? My love?

(Cut to Walker as he begins to access Interpol. Sydney stands behind Walker, watching, full of attitude. Cut back to Weiss and Vaughn in the van.)

Weiss: Is Marshall gonna be able to do this in time?

Vaughn (to Marshall): We gonna be able to do this in time?

(Cut to Marshall, working furiously at his computer.)

Marshall: We’re doing the best we can…

Carrie: Got it. Transferring now.

(The record is on Marshall’s computer. He superimposes Vaughn’s face on top of the one attached to the record and begins changing the name to match Vaughn’s.)

Marshall (to himself): That’s good…change that…Okay…almost there…one second, one second…

(Cut to the van; a close up of Weiss’s fingers tapping the table nervously. Vaughn looks over at Weiss.)

Vaughn: Stop bouncing!

Weiss: Sorry.

(Cut to Marshall.)

Marshall: Hang on, uploading. Okay, done!

(Cut to Walker’s computer. His search is done. Vaughn’s face and “profile” appears on his screen. Walker starts scrolling down, look at his record. Walker half turns to Sydney, very embarrassed and apologetic.)

Walker: Um…babe… (looks over his shoulder at her)

Sydney: Now I remember why I left…

(She grabs her coat and stalks off. Cut to Weiss and Vaughn in the van. Vaughn takes off his headset and lays it on the table. He’s relieved but still really worried.)

(Cut to the dining room of the safehouse. The other two men are seated at the table along with Sydney. Walker walks into the room. Perez shares a pointed look with Walker.)

Walker: She’s good.

(Perez rolls his eyes as if he doesn’t quite believe this.)

Walker: Okay. We’re hitting a storage facility 35 miles outside of Saragosa run by the Disease Control Ministry. Now, to get in, we have to cut the power, which is gonna trigger an off-site security response. This gives us five minutes to get in, get the package and get out. Our target’s a biological agent.

(Walker’s cell phone rings.)

Walker: Hello? Good…yeah, come in. (To Perez) Take over…

Perez: Inside the box is a small canister the size of a fist, which we’ll be transferring to portable cooler. Now, keep in mind, once you’ve opened the safe, you only have one minute to remove the canister before it self-destructs, which means the transfer should be smooth…and instantaneous.

(Behind them, Walker returns, accompanied by Sark.)

Sark: The shift rotation’s been changed. We’ll have to adjust our timetables accordingly.

(Sydney reacts to hearing Sark’s voice. Slowly, she gets up and walks closer to Perez, bending over the specs to completely obscure her face.)

Sark: But that shouldn’t change any of our plans.

(Sark takes a sparing glance in the direction of the team and then back to Walker.)

Sark: Is your team aware of the fragile nature of the item?

Walker: Yeah.

Sark: By my calculations, we’ll have to move everything up three hours…

Sydney (leaning over Perez): Can I study these?

Perez (quietly, so that no one will overhear): I know you’re hiding something…

(Sydney doesn’t reply, trying to remain stoic, listening to Sark’s conversation with Walker.)

Sark: When you recover the item, contact me, and we’ll exchange it for the remainder of your fee.

Walker: Now that’s sporting…

Sark: Good luck.

(Sark walks out. Cut to evening scene, Zurich.)

Sloane (voiceover): I think I have the information you asked for.

(Cut to Lauren, leaning on her elbow as she listens to Sloane.)

Lauren: Good.

(Cut to Sloane, sitting at the conference table, sipping from a glass of water. This scene cuts back and forth between Sloane and Lauren.)

Sloane: The second job…what the Covenant was trying to acquire. It’s an artificial pathogen. If they combine this with the virus they stole last week, they will be able to genetically tailor a biological weapon for specific targets.

Lauren: A designer bomb that would be effective against only the targets they chose…

Sloane: Precisely.

(Lauren makes notes while Sloane pours himself more water.)

Sloane: I suppose I should come clean with you…that thing I said the other day; that comment I made about…how you got the job… I was referring to the Senator…your father.

(Lauren looks up from her writing to stare at Sloane.)

Lauren: What about my father?

Sloane: Well, he knew how badly you wanted to become field rated, and he thought it was too dangerous, so he made sure it didn’t happen.

(Cut to Lauren’s shocked face. We see pain and a touch of betrayal there, too. This comment clearly affects her. Sloane takes a drink out of his water glass and says, almost gleefully…)

Sloane: But you knew that…didn’t you?

(Lauren seems to pull herself back together, but there is still a touch of the pain and betrayal in her eyes.)

Lauren: I know what you’re doing…the way you manipulate people…

(Cut to a shot of Sloane with another one of his mysterious smiles.)

Lauren: …don’t do it to me.

(Cut back to Sloane, still meeting her gaze head on.)

(Cut to a delivery truck pulling up to the entrance of the storage facility at night. They stop as the guard comes out of the shack. Simon is driving, Sydney sits next to him and Perez sits on her other side.)

Guard (in Spanish): You’re not on the list.

(Walker hands a clipboard out the window. The guard takes it and starts looking at it.)

Guard (in Spanish): What are the inventory numbers?

(Walker pulls out a pistol and shoots the guard in the neck. Sydney pulls out a clipboard like item that has a large touchscreen.)

Sydney: It’ll take me a minute to hack into central security…Shutting the power off…We have access to building three.

(Walker restarts the truck.)

Walker: We’ve got five minutes before their guards show up.

(Walker’s group and Sydney enter the facility. They search and find a specific cooler.)

Walker: Julia, you’re up.

(Sydney walks forward and sets her stuff up, a laptop and Marshall’s device. She cuts two wires on the cooler safe’s keypad and attaches them to the device. She attaches the other part of the device to the cooler door and then turns to the computer and types. The readout says “Access Denied”. )

Walker: Babe, what’s the problem?

Sydney: Standard Algorithm Decryption should have worked, I’ll need to map their security.

Walker: How long will that take?

Sydney: I don’t know.

Walker: You only have thirty seconds left…

(Sydney gives a glance at Perez. He looks very unhappy, as if he’d been expecting this. She goes back over to the combination panel and cuts another wire.)

Perez: I knew we couldn’t rely on her…

Sydney: Keep your mouth shut and maybe we’ll walk out of here…

(Sydney takes the cut wire and splices it onto the keypad, then rushes back to the computer.)

Walker: Julia…three seconds…

(As time almost runs out, Sydney is able to break the code. The safe opens. She looks up at Perez defiantly.)

Sydney (to Perez): They customized the hardware…not exactly factory condition. (to Walker) Nothing I couldn’t handle…

(She opens the door to the safe, revealing a metal canister. Simon removes the canister and stores it in a special cooler they’ve brought with them. They pack up their gear.)

Walker: Security will be here in two minutes…let’s go.

(Cut to the truck driving down a deserted dirt road. It stops; they get out. Walker carries the cooler.)

Sydney: What’s this?

Walker: Switching vehicles…in case we’ve been followed…

(Sydney pulls out Marshall’s lipstick and starts applying it. Walker sees this and stands to watch her, amused. She notices him watching her and she smiles. They watch as a jeep rounds the corner toward them and stops. Sydney rubs her lips together and gives Perez a little smirk as he walks toward the jeep. We see that Sydney has palmed the tracking device. She looks up as Russet gets out of the jeep.)

Russet: We’ve a little surprise for ya…

(Sydney is looking down, putting the lipstick back in her pocket. As she looks back up we see two other men pulling a beaten and bloody Vaughn out of the back seat. His hands are handcuffed in front of him.Their eyes meet for a moment before Sydney breaks eye contact, her face a mask.)

(Cut to someone wading through a pile of papers. Weiss grabs a headset and puts it on.)

Weiss: Vaughn’s missing!

Dixon: What happened?

Weiss: I was doing an overlook, I planted a mic…I got back and he’s gone!

Dixon: You’re scheduled to meet Sydney at the extraction point.

Weiss: No, I am not leaving my partner!

Dixon: A tac unit based out of Barcelona has already been deployed; you will meet Sydney at the extraction point!

(Weiss whips off his headset, pissed off and worried for Vaughn.)

(Cut to Perez, standing next to the men holding Vaughn.)

Perez: This is what I meant! He’s got CIA issue equipment!

Sydney: Simon, I swear to you this man is my supplier!

Walker: Not anymore… (Walker stalks over to Vaughn, grabs him by the jacket lapel, dragging him forward.) Come here… (He marches Vaughn to the side of the road and forces him to kneel.)

Perez: You’ve got to get rid of them both!

Walker: That’s enough out of you! Julia’s with us. It’s this one who’s the problem, not her…

(Walker cocks his pistol, preparing to shoot Vaughn in the head execution style.)

Sydney: Wait!…Wait…

(Walker turns to look at Sydney.)

Sydney: If he’s been lying to me all this time…he’s put me in danger! I wanna do it. (more fervently) I wanna do it!

(Walker grabs Vaughn by the lapels again, pulling him back up to a stand.)

Walker: Get up…

(Sydney looks around and then grabs a switchblade from Perez’s waist, flicking it open as she walks back toward Vaughn. Sydney grabs Vaughn’s coat lapels roughly, yanking him toward her.)

Sydney (menacingly): You never should have betrayed me…

(There is a moment here where they look into each other’s eyes as she says this. It’s clear that Vaughn knows she’s trying to save his life, even though he understands what she’s about to do. Sydney’s eyes are wide, as if she can’t believe she’s about to do this…doesn’t know if she can, and asking him to understand, trying to draw strength from him. Resignation sets in on Vaughn’s face. He closes his mouth and sets his jaw to prepare himself. Sydney stabs Vaughn in the lower torso, a clean in and out motion. Vaughn gasps and doubles over, his face clearly registering the pain. He groans as he slides to the ground. Sydney purses her lips tightly, struggling to keep her emotions in check. We hear gurgling noises coming from Vaughn. Once Vaughn’s on the ground and Sydney steps away from him, Walker comes forward and kicks Vaughn roughly, and Vaughn tumbles end over end into the ravine. Sydney stares down the hill into the ravine, watching Vaughn’s body as it tumbles and comes to a rest down near the bottom. The others start to move, but she still stands there staring. Now that they’ve moved away from her, we can see she’s gasping for air, stricken, as she looks down at Vaughn’s unmoving body.)

Walker: Julia…let’s move.

(She turns and climbs into the jeep with the rest of the crew. She stares out the front window, unseeing as they move and one of the other henchmen drives off in the opposite direction with the truck they used for the heist. Cut and then pan across the brush to Vaughn’s prone, unconscious body as it lies in the ravine, his handcuffed hands flung up over his head. The camera pulls up and away and fades to black. ALIAS. End of Act Five.)