[Story opens at Sydney's apartment. She is filling Will in on the Echelon system including her and Marshall's mission to London to shut down Cuvee's access and keep the program out of SD-6's hands. She goes on to tell him about the CIA's plans to pull Marshall out of SD-6 and expresses her relief that he's safe and will be given the opportunity to live a "real life." -The scene then cuts to a torture room in Mexico City where Marshall is being held. "Suit and Glasses" threatens to fill Marshall's throat with a chemical solution that will cause suffocation unless he tells them the location of the Echelon program. -Cut to Francie's restaurant where Syd and Francie are at a table sipping coffee. Syd confesses to Francie that she has a crush on a guy at work that she's known for a year and that his name is Michael. She describes him as smart, funny, and so cute…."hot cute". Francie asks why she hasn't met him. Syd tells her that he has a girlfriend, which is ultimately irrelevant because the "bank" has a policy against coworkers dating. Francie responds that Sydney works too hard and that she hasn't heard her sound that upbeat in a long time. She suggests that one of them could quit and that maybe they are "destined." Syd tells Francie that she has to take off.]

Setting: Los Angeles-CIA Operating Center. Sydney, Vaughn, Kendall and Jack meet. Sydney is not yet aware that Marshall was been abducted on the way home from the airport.
Sydney: What's wrong?
Vaughn: Marshall was abducted.
Sydney: What?
Kendall: Our plan was to intercept him on his way home from LAX.
Sydney: I know what our plan was.
Jack: The extraction team was about to move in when they saw this.
[They watch footage of the abduction on a monitor.]
Vaughn: We ran the plates on one of the SUVs. It was rented by Charles Williamson. We put his photo ID through a facial recognition database. It matched a known associate of Gerard Cuvee.
Sydney: What steps are being taken?
Jack: CIA's got one team radiating out from the abduction point and another one in London retracing his steps.
Sydney: Our steps. The mission in London was my op, Marshall was my responsibility.
Vaughn: Before being captured, Marshall e-mailed Cuvee's copy of the Echelon access program to SD-6.
Sydney: We took away Cuvee's access to Echelon and gave it to SD-6?
Jack: Yes, but when SD-6 downloaded the program, they discovered a problem.
[Scene cuts back to Jack and Sloane meeting in Sloane's office. Sloane tells Jack that Marshall's e-mail to SD-6 was broken up into data packets. Due to a malfunction in Vietnam, several of the data packets were not transmitted and, without them, Echelon cannot be accessed. He tells jack he is sending Dixon and Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City to retrieve the data packets. Jack then inquires about the team sent to recover Marshall. Sloane responds that Marshall's access codes had been changed and therefore presents no threat to SD-6. Jack comments that Marshall will be tortured and/or killed. Sloane, with little remorse, concurs with Jack but tells him that a new op tech will arrive the next day to replace Marshall. Scene cuts back to the CIA ops center.]
Jack: That was the extent of his concern. It was as though someone had overcooked his steak.
Sydney: I know what Cuvee's going to do. He's going to try and get Marshall to reverse-engineer the software and get it back on-line.
Jack: Yes, but you need two things to get onto Echelon. The software and an access point.. Software is like a map, it leads you to the doorway of the system. The access point is the door, most likely a satellite. If we can find the door Cuvee went through and lock it, he won't get on, not even with Marshall's help.
Kendall: The problem is diagnostics has run a comprehensive, systems analysis and they can't find the breach.
Vaughn: Your mother thinks Cuvee may have used a Russian network to make contact -- another version of Echelon called Swarm.
Sydney: She told you that?
Jack: I spoke to her. She thinks she can find the back door but she has... terms.
[Scene cuts to Irina's cell. Jack briefs Irina on the Echelon breach. Irina responds that she thinks she can locate a back door into the program but that she has her terms: full, unrestricted access to the network. Jack replies that Kendall will never agree. Irina tells Jack that the tech assigned to the job will discover it is like "quicksand." Scene changes back to the CIA ops center.]
Kendall: Your father was correct. I declined the offer. Second to only Arvin Sloane, Irina Derevko is the last person I want having access to the U.S. government's secure network.
Sydney: She'd be watched. I mean, if she tried anything unusual, we could just shut the system down.
Kendall: No. Access to computers and telecommunications equipment is specifically prohibited by your mother's immunity agreement.
Sydney: I think we might be wasting time.
Kendall: Agent Bristow, we hire qualified technicians around here. What do you say we give them a shot?
Vaughn: Your counter mission is simple. In Vietnam, you'll download the data packets SD-6 is looking for and switch it with this.
[Vaughn hands her a device]
Vaughn: It's corrupted data. We'll have what SD-6 needs and they'll never be able to access Echelon. And Syd, we'll find Marshall.

[Back in Mexico City, Marshall is offered one last opportunity to reveal the location of the Echelon software before being suffocated. When Marshall claims to know nothing, "Suit and Glasses" threatens Marshall's mother as incentive for him to cooperate. Marshall concedes and tells them that although the software has been sent to SD-6, he is capable of rewriting the program and pleads with them not to hurt his mother. "Suit and Glasses" agrees to his request. - Scene cuts to SD-6. Jack finds that Ariana Kane has taken over his office, She informs him that pending the outcome of her investigation of Emily's murder, she has downgraded Jack's network privileges and revoked his security clearance. Being a senior office, he attempts to defend himself. Ariana threatens him, saying he has no rights or protections and she asks not to be disturbed again. Jack storms out of the office.]

Setting: CIA Ops Center-Jack walks hurriedly into the ops center and approaches Vaughn and three other agents standing nearby.
Jack: (to one of the agents) Get anyone you can from op tech now. Notify SS in Istanbul, Taipei and Azerbaijan. We'll need immediate assistance in forging hard evidence of my being in each of those locations on specific days and times. (turns to Vaughn) We have a situation. Ariana Kane-head of Alliance counterintelligence. She's investigating me in connection with the murder of Emily Sloane.
Vaughn: She's, what, checking your aliases, places you've been through the agency? You're covered for that.
Jack: Yes, passport stamps, plane tickets, enough to withstand a cursory inquiry. This is anything but cursory. I did not kill Emily Sloane, but I do have secrets and the last thing I can afford, the last thing Sydney can afford, is someone discovering that my loyalty does not lie with SD-6.

Setting: CIA Ops Center-Jack, Vaughn and four agents are pulling together evidence needed to protect Jack's cover.
Agent: Got the prints for Istanbul... This goes with the care you rented in Taipei.
[They hand Jack a steering wheel and shifter, which he places his fingerprints on]
Jack: We back dated phony charges through my credit card to these locations?
Vaughn: Restaurants, rental car agencies, hotels...
Agent: Room charges. They'll be on file with the respective concierges by morning.
Jack: Good.
[Jack and the agents walk away; Vaughn's colleague, Craig, approaches]
Craig: Bad time?
Vaughn: Yeah.
Craig: What else is new? (hands Vaughn some paperwork) You left word with analysis when Tippin's psych profile came back, you wanted to be informed?
Vaughn: Yeah.
Craig: Anything I should know?
Vaughn: Just run protocol and bring him in.
Craig: You got it.
Vaughn: Thanks.
[Vaughn joins Jack and they approach an op tech sitting in front of a computer]
Jack: What about surveillance?
Op Tech: I thought about rotoscaping you out of some other surveillance feed, but if they slow down the frame rate, they'll know it was altered. That's why we went with the green screen. This is the original surveillance feed from the Istanbul intercontinental.
[On one monitor, people walk through a lobby]
Op Tech: And this is the footage that we filmed earlier.
[On an adjacent monitor, Jack , dressed in a suit jacket and slacks, walks past a green backdrop]
Op Tech: Do some pixel masking and we get. . . . . . .
[Using the green screen, Jack is now super-imposed into the original surveillance feed and is shown walking casually through the lobby]
Op Tech: Look, I even gave you a shadow.
Vaughn: We've got your fingerprints on rental car keys, seat belt buckles, hair samples stitched into pillow cases...
Jack: Good. I want to review everything.
Vaughn: Jack, I think you're good-
Jack: Thinking isn't sufficient. I want to know.
Vaughn: (nods) You're right.
Jack: I want to see the plane tickets.
[Vaughn, looking a bit shot down, follows Jack.]

[The scene chamges to Ho Chi Minh City, where Sydney and Dixon are on their mission to recover the lost data packets. Sydney cannot locate the data packets in the server room and learns from Dixon that the drive containing the information has been moved to room 147 for repairs. Dixon beats Sydney to the repair room and locates the hard drive before Sydney can make the switch and upload the corrupted data. They head home, Sydney reluctantly. Back at SD-6, Sloane congratulates the two. Syd and Dixon are untouched by Sloane's word of congratulation and immediately express their concern about Marshall; Sloane, showing little concern, responds that there is no news but that their "efforts and prayers" continue.]

Setting: L.A.-Warehouse/storage facility. Vaughn and Sydney meet. Sydney has informed Vaughn that she failed in her mission to upload corrupted data to Cuvee's back up server. Dixon successfully acquired the data and SD-6 is now in possession of it.
Sydney: So now SD-6 has everything it needs to access Echelon.
Vaughn: Any idea on how long before it's up and running?
Sydney: Midnight tomorrow at the latest. You should've seen the look on Sloane's face when we got back. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy about a mission.
[Vaughn drops his head in disappointment]
Sydney: He said he was praying for Marshall.
Vaughn: Listen, about Marshall -- one of our teams traced Cuvee's unit that abducted Marshall to a safe house outside London.
(Flashback: an armed security team enters the safe house.)
Vaughn voiceover: By the time they got there, it was abandoned. It was wired with four pounds of C-4.
[One of the officers hits a wire, subsequently triggering the bomb]
[Back to the warehouse]
Vaughn: They never had a chance.
[Vaughn and Sydney look at each other in discouragement]
Vaughn: It gets worse. In light of the tragedy, the director has ordered a halt in the search. So for the moment, Marshall's on his own.
[Sydney looks defeated]

[Back in Mexico City, Marshall types on the computer, supposedly rewriting the Echelon program- Scene changes to Francie's restaurant, where Will and Francie are talking. Francie expresses her concern over Syd's demanding work schedule and then begins to tell him about Sydney's crush on Vaughn and how happy Sydney sounded. Will is caught off guard by the news and curiously asks if they're dating. Francie responds that they can't date because of strict work policies but that Sydney is "pining" for him. Francie then hands Will a package pick-up notice from the post office.]

Setting: Back room of a post office. Will arrives at the post office and enters the back door to find Vaughn waiting for him.
Vaughn: Hey, Will. I got your psych report back. You did well.
Will: I'm not a sociopath.
Vaughn: Well, I didn't say that.
Will: Do I have a job?
Vaughn: Yes.
Will: A paying job?
Vaughn: Yes. As an analyst. You'll be asked to review classified documents and file reports. Think of it as writing articles only now your source material is classified. In fact, your cover is a journalist.
Will: What does that mean? Am I an agent?
[Vaughn laughs and looks down]
Will: What?
Vaughn: Agents are field-trained. You're an analyst. You're desk-trained. You sit at a desk.
Will: That's cool.
Vaughn: The agency operates a monthly travel magazine called "Trade Roads." There's a small LA office. Go there when we page you. The material we'll need analyzed will be there when you arrive but don't remove them from the building.
[Vaughn hands Will some paperwork]
Vaughn: When you're done filling out the paperwork just give it to Bill, he'll make sure it's processed.
[Will glances at the paperwork]
Will: (with a surprised look on his face) I get health insurance?
[Vaughn smiles]
Vaughn: Welcome to the CIA.
Will: Thank you.
[They shake hands]
Will: Listen... obviously, you're a good guy and I can't tell you how much I appreciate this job and what I'm going to say is inappropriate.
[Caught off guard by Will's remark, Vaughn looks at him apprehensively]
Will: Sydney cares about you. And what you guys have, or don't have, means a great deal to her. I want to make sure you respect that.
[Will looks intently at Vaughn; Vaughn stands silent]

[Back at SD-6, the recompilation of the Echelon software is 58% completed.-Scene then cuts to the CIA ops center, where Kendall addresses a group of agents including Sydney, Vaughn, and Jack. He informs them that SD-6 is approximately 12 hours away from accessing Echelon and that Marshall could already have Cuvee up and running again. Kendall goes on to say that they have been unsuccessful in locating the back door access point. An op tec is then forced to shut down the network when the system spits out a "quicksand" virus. Sydney angrily interjects that her mother predicted this and that they should allow her access to the network. Jack agrees. Kendall gives the go ahead. Irina is then led upstairs to the ops center where she begins her work on the system.-The scene cuts to SD-6 where Kane and an agent are reviewing surveillance footage of Jack; they detect nothing suspicious. Another agent walks in and hands Kane a forensics report. -Scene cuts to Sloane's office where he's monitoring the Echelon recompilation. Kane shows Sloane the forensics report, which reveals the presence of brain matter on one of Jack's service pistols. She tells him the gun was discharged the same day Emily was murdered and that a DNA profile was in process. -Scene cuts to Marshall who is typing on the computer and trying to make casual conversation with two guards.-Scene cuts back to SD-6 where Dixon enters the server room and tells an agent that he cannot get online. The agent informs him that an intruder has been continually pinging them, thereby slowing down the network. Suspicious from the start, Dixon catches on and he and Sydney head to Sloane's office to tell him that the pinging is coming from Marshall, that they have traced his location through the IP address, and that they would like permission to conduct a rescue operation. Sloane, more concerned with the Echelon recomplilation, gives them the okay.]

Setting: CIA Ops Center- Irina has been allowed to access the network in order to find the breach in the Echelon system. As Vaughn keeps watch in the background, Kendall approaches her.
Kendall: Are you making any progress here?
Irina: Like Echelon, Swarm has access points. If I can locate the directory we will know if there are any accessible points.
Vaughn: That way we could keep SD-6 and Cuvee off the system.
Irina: I'd like a coffee please.
[Kendall looks at Vaughn]
Vaughn: (looking a bit irritated) Cream or sugar?
[Irina turns and gives him a look]
Vaughn: Black.
Irina: (smiling) Thank you.
[Vaughn walks away]

Setting: CIA Operations Center-Jack hangs up his cell phone and turns to Vaughn.
Jack: Kane called a meeting.
Vaughn: Does she know anything?
Jack: Unclear. But I'm told she has two units from security section prepared to take me in. I have to be ready for anything.

Setting: An outdoor café-Jack and Ariana Kane are seated at a table. Jack looks at his menu.
Ariana: I have to admit, I'm impressed. I've rarely found a record as well documented as yours. You couldn't have been more thorough if you tried.
Jack: If I may ask, what is it you're looking for?
Ariana: There are only two pieces of evidence I haven't been able to corroborate. Help me with them, and we're finished.
[Scene changes to Vaughn and Craig who are stationed in a surveillance van nearby and monitoring the conversation]
Craig: Damn. She's got the place wired.
Vaughn: (via a headset) Jack, we make six agents from security section.
Kane: Every time you make a phone call on your STU, the SIM card on your cell phone communicates with the local cell tower. Those communications are recorded on the card's memory chip. It's kind of like a mini travelogue.
Jack: Yes, I'm fully aware...
[Jack's voice fades out as the scene reverts to Vaughn and Craig. The look at each other nervously.]
Vaughn: (to Craig) We'll need the cell tower signal codes for Istanbul, Karachi, and Taipei! (via his headset) Jack, listen to me. What pocket is your phone in? If it's the left jacket pocket, hold up one finger. In the right pocket, hold up two.
[Jack pulls a menu in front of him, effectively blocking Kane's view, and places one finger against his cheek]
Waiter: You two ready to order?
[The waiter quickly slides Jack's phone out of his pocket]
Jack: Not yet. Thanks.
[The waiter leaves]
Jack: You have my phone records.
Ariana: Which we both know could easily be forged. So, I'd like your phone.
[She reaches across the table for the phone]
Jack: You said there were two things.
Ariana: Who is Steven Haladki?
Jack: He was a CIA agent loyal to Irina Derevko.
Ariana: Whom you murdered.
[Back in the surveillance van, Craig and Vaughn are stunned by Ariana's statement]
Ariana: We found brain matter in the gun you fired on the day Emily was murdered. I admit, I thought DNA tests would prove that you killed her but instead they proved you killed Haladki.
Jack: We had reliable intel that Derevko was accessing information through the CIA. Her source turned out to be Haladki. He was crucial to her operation and had to be removed.
[In the van, Vaughn is still in shock, not paying attention to the business at hand]
Craig: I got the tower codes. We can't wait for Bristow's phone. Give me yours.
[Vaughn's mind is elsewhere and does not respond]
Craig: Vaughn! Give me your phone.
[Vaughn snaps out of it and hands Craig his phone]
Craig: The card's been reprogrammed, I'll stamp Jack's serial number on your SIM card. You'll have to switch them out. Here you go.
[Craig stamps the card and hands it back to Vaughn. Vaughn gets out of the van to make the switch.]
Kane: If Haladki worked with Derevko, why hide is death from Sloane?
[As Jack and Ariana continue their conversation, Vaughn and the waiter quickly switch cell phones.]
Jack: The death of a CIA agent draws unwanted attention and focus. When it happens, the safest recourse is to say nothing... ever.
[Jack once again puts his menu in front of him. The waiter drops the new phone into Jack's pocket and pours water for them. He leaves.]
Jack: Are we through?
Kane: As soon as I get your SIM card.
Jack: Yes. Of course.
[He takes the phone out of his pocket and hands the SIM card to her]
Kane: I'll be in touch.
[Jack gets up and walks away. As he's walking, he looks down at his hand and notices that the ink from the stamped SIM card has rubbed off on his hand. He knows he's in trouble and starts walking faster. Back at the table, Ariana also notices the smudged ink on the SIM card. She realizes she's been duped and calls in her security team to arrest Jack. Several agents come running out. They look around for Jack but he is nowhere to be found. The surveillance van then drives by. In the back, Jack and Vaughn sit across from each other. Vaughn looks at Jack in utter disappointment. Jack silently looks back at him.]

[Sydney and Dixon arrive in Mexico City and begin their search for Marshall-The scene cuts back to SD-6. An agent walks into Sloane's office and informs him that they will be uplinked to Echelon in two minutes-The scene cuts to Marshall in Mexico City. Marshall tells the guards that he's finished writing the program. "Suit and Glasses" comes in and signs on to Echelon. The Echelon window pops up, but then a game of Pong appears on the screen. Marshall had written a program for Pong, not Echelon. Marshall laughs outrageously and tells "Suit and Glasses" to go to hell. Suit and Glasses" orders the guards to kill Marshall. Sydney arrives not a minute too soon. After knocking out a couple of the guards she and Marshall run down a hallway. They find themselves trapped in an exchange of gunfire. However, unbeknownst to Sidney, Marshall is equipped with a parachute. Strapping themselves together, they parachute out of the window of the building and safely escape. -The scene changes to the CIA ops center where Irina has successfully located a back door into Echelon. An op tec takes over for her, closes the access points that Irina has pinpointed, and confirms that SD-6 has been shut out.-The scene cuts to Sloane's office at SD-6 where an agent gives him the bad news that they have lost access to Echelon.]

Setting: Warehouse/Storage Facility-Sydney and Vaughn meet. Sydney has since returned home safely with Marshall in tow.
Sydney: So Marshall saved our lives. How did I return the favor? By bringing him back to SD-6.
Vaughn: We had to, Syd. Bringing Marshall into the CIA didn't make sense anymore, not after Sloane got the Echelon program.
Sydney: I know. It's just... Marshall has no idea who he's really working for.
[The scene momentarily changes to SD-6, where Marshall is patted on the back by coworkers. He hugs Dixon. Sydney walks by, stops, and observes from a distance. Marshall talks to Dixon, then acknowledges Sloane, who shakes Marshall's hand and gives him a hug. Sydney appears disgusted by Sloan's false affection and concern. The scene reverts back to the warehouse]
Sydney: It won't always be like this, right?
Vaughn: (with a subtle smile) It will end.
Sydney: I should go.
[Vaughn watches her leave]

[The story ends with Jack showing up at Sloane's house. Sloane tells Jack he should not have run from Ariana. Jack tells him he had no choice. He explains that he did not kill Emily but will be framed for it if he does't find the real killer. He gives Sloane a list of leads and asks Sloane to follow up on them. Sloane agrees and assures Jack that he can be trusted. Howver, after Jack leaves, Sloane notifies Ariana Kane that Jack has been to see him.]


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