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Wiretaps
Vaughn Transcript


2.16 Firebomb

February 23, 2003


Thanks to Susan and Lori at Vartanetc. Used with permission.

Setting: The Amcorp Bank, Switzerland. A swat team positions itself around the bank as Sloane, with Sydney as a hostage, walks out the front doors. Sloane displays the remote trigger to the Swat officers. Meanwhile, Vaughn has moved to the bank's basement where he consults with a Swat bomb specialist on how to defuse the explosives set by Sloane. Vaughn is communicating with the Swat team via two-way radio.
Vaughn: (to Swat officer) Stand down.
[The officer responds in German]
Vaughn: Let Agent Bristow leave with the suspect.
Swat officer: He's holding the detonator and we have a clear shot.
Vaughn: No. You make one move and one of his operatives will detonate the explosives. He's got the area under satellite surveillance. That means let Sloane go and don't tail him until we get this stuff defused.
[Speaking in German, the lead Swat officer orders his team to lower their guns. As Sloane and Sydney walk toward her car, we see Sark monitoring them. Setting: Basement of the Amcorp Bank. Vaughn and the bomb specialist continue to assess the explosives.]
Swat: There's a current running though here. If we clip the wire, we'll break the circuit. There's a fail-safe. The only way to take this out is to disrupt the electronics. We need a water cannon.
Vaughn: If the remote detonator works on a radio frequency, wouldn't it be faster to find out what that frequency is and just jam it? Sydney: Yes, but accessing that frequency might trigger an explosion.
Vaughn: There's got to be a way to block it.
Sydney: Not unless you have some way of encasing the detonator in concrete.
Vaughn: (speaking into the two-way radio) This is Agent Vaughn. Get me the bank manager now.
[The scene changes to the Sloane and Sydney in the Focus. Sloane reminds Syd that if she got in his way, he would kill her. He tells her that his plans surpass SD-6, the CIA, and the two of them deceiving each other.]

Setting: Basement of the Amcorp Bank. Vaughn is attempting to shield the detonator in a concrete safe and consults with Marshall over the two-way radio to determine if it will succeed.
Vaughn: The safe,. . . . .it's a Friedlin model 42-C.
Marshall: Okay. Friedlin. Friedlin, Friedlin number 9. Friedlin. . . . okay, got it.. Constructed with three inches of high-density concrete. Surrounded by heavy gauge steel. Will it block the signal?
Vaughn: I don't know. That depends on the detonator.
Marshall: How big is the antenna?
Vaughn: An inch, inch and a half.
Marshall: That probably means it's transmitting at, uh. . . . divided by the speed of light times ¼.
Vaughn: Marshall!
Marshall: Three gigahertz, which means that you should have enough shielding so the signal can't get through.
Vaughn: Should have or have?
Marshall: Have.
Vaughn: Thank you. Tell Kendall to start tracking Sydney in five minutes. She'll be in a Ford Focus.
Marshall: You know what model?
Vaughn: ZX5
Marshall: What color?
Vaughn: Blue. Why?
Marshall: Uh, oh. Just curious. I was thinking of getting one myself, you know.
[Vaughn hangs up]
Marshall: Lower it a little. . . .get some big tires, rims. . . .gold rims, and . . . hello?
[Back at the bank, a detonator is placed inside the safe. Vaughn speaks to Sydney through an audio link in her ear.]
Vaughn: Syd, we shielded the detonator. The bomb cannot be triggered. A team will intercept your car in five minutes.
[Sydney continues driving. Scene cuts to Sark who receives notification that the detonator signal has been lost and tells Sloane that there has been a change in plan; the E.T.A. is five minutes. Back in the car, Sydney smugly brings up the fact that Sloane is on the CIA's hit list of 35 people agents are allowed to kill and that when she kills him, she won't be breaking the law. Sloane moves toward the passenger door and opens it. Sydney tells him that he'll die jumping out. Suddenly, an SUV sideswipes the car, bending the back passenger door. With guns pointed at Sydney, Sark assists Sloane as he transfers from the car to the SUV. The men in SUV take a couple shots at the car. The hood flips up, the car spins out of car, and comes to a stop at the side of the road. Sydney is uninjured but once again frustrated that Sloane has escaped.]

Setting: CIA ops center. Kendall, Sydney, and Vaughn are assessing the events that have transpired.
Kendall: Officers with Amcorp are hiding behind Swiss banking laws to avoid telling us what Sloane stole from the bank. For the moment, his trail's gone cold.
Sydney: In other words, we don't have a plan.
[Vaughn looks over at Sydney]
Sydney: I mean, that's true, isn't it? We've got nothing.
Kendall: May I remind you Ms. Bristow that Sloane was last seen in your custody.
Sydney: I was in his custody. He was holding hostages.
Kendall: You had the option to take him out and you chose not to exercise it.
Sydney: I chose not to incinerate 300 innocent people! Are you telling me you think I made the wrong choice?
Vaughn: Okay, I think we should stick to what we know. Sloane is holding Neil Caplan hostage for the purposes of building some sort of a weapon. And presumably what he took from Amcorp is helping him do that.
Sydney: But, see, we don't know that because we lost Sloane. And the reason we lost Sloane is because he had something we didn't-satellite surveillance. And if we had tasked one bird to follow him after we diffused the bomb, we would have had him by now.
Kendall: Our satellites were tasked elsewhere at the time.
Sydney: That's my point. We didn't take advantage of the situation…..
Kendalll: No, we prioritized.
Sydney: What's the point of strategizing if we're not willing to…..
Kendall: We're doing everything we can do!
Sydney: No we're not! Not even close.

[Scene changes to a warehouse. Sloane meets with Sark for an update on the construction of the Rambaldi device. Sark informs him that Caplan is nearly finished and that he (Sark) will conduct the first test himself. Sloane demands that it done by the following day before he leaves on a business trip.]

Setting: Sydney's apartment. Sydney and Vaughn return home from a hockey game.
Sydney: (laughing) I love the zamboni.
Vaughn: (laughing) The zamboni is your favorite part?
Sydney: No, coming home with you after the game is my favorite part.
[Vaughn leans in and kisses Sydney]
Sydney: (smiling) The zamboni was a close second.
[Vaughn smiles, then takes hold of and kisses her hand. His cell phone begins to ring. He answers]
Vaughn: Hello
Weiss: Hey, Kendall has something he wants to show you.
[Sydney rests her chin on Vaughn's shoulder; Vaughn mouths to Sydney that Weiss is on the phone.]
Vaughn: Uh, can it wait?
Weiss: Apparently not. He wants to see Sydney too. Are you with her?
Vaughn: Uh, no, I haven't seen her.
[Sydney walks over to the refrigerator and takes out a beer]
Weiss: You're in bed with her right now, aren't you?
Vaughn: I'm trying. Just find out what he wants.
Sydney: Kendall?
[Vaughn nods, looking slightly annoyed that their evening together has been interrupted. Suddenly Vaughn begins to hear his and Sydney's conversation played back through his cell phone. He motions to Sydney to remain silent.]
Weiss: Could you at least try and pay attention?
[Vaughn moves slowly through the apartment trying to zero in on where the interference is originating from. He moves toward the light switch on the wall and bends in toward it. The interference becomes more apparent. He looks over at Sydney with concern.]
Vaughn: (to Weiss) We'll be there soon.
[We then see Sydney and Vaughn standing near the light switch. As Vaughn holds a flashlight, Sydney removes the panel and pulls out the wiring to discover a bug. She and Vaughn look at each other with worry on their faces.]

[Scene changes to the ops center. Jack informs Sydney that a cleaning crew will be sent to sweep her apartment. Sydney is stumped as to how the apartment could have been bugged when countermeasures were put in place. Jack then tells Sydney that she needs to make a list of everyone she has spoken with, what was said, and what intel may have been compromised, in addition to every service person that has been in the apartment. Jack then takes the bug found in her apartment to analysis.]

[Scene changes to a computer room at the ops center. Marshall informs Jack that the bug is one that he himself designed special for Sloane when he was at SD-6. He tells Jack that the bug was specifically designed to be undetectable by bug killers and to periodically transmit what it has recorded to a receiver. Jack requests Marshall to try reverse engineering the signal to determine where the conversations were being transmitted.]

[Scene changes to the warehouse with Sloane and Sark. Sloane is holding a page of the Rambaldi manuscript, which has an irregular shape cut out of the center, presumably a missing piece. Sark approaches Sloane and informs him that Caplan has completed the assembly of the Rambaldi device. He goes on to say that it has been tested and that Sloane should be pleased with the results.]

[Scene changes to Kandahar. A truck pulls up in front of a private residence and Sloane steps out blindfolded. He is then led into the residence where his blindfold is removed and he meets with Ahmad Kabir, a Kandahar businessman. Kabir immediately informs Sloane that he does not do business with American. Sloane responds saying that he is a man with no country and few alliances, and explains that he is looking for investors for a business enterprise that will impact the existing world order which he believes to be corrupt. To encourage Kabir's participation, Sloane presents him with a sentimental gift of the Kandahar culture. Kabir is impressed and inquires about Sloane's business venture.]

[Scene changes to Sydney's apartment. Sydney is in her bedroom doing sit-ups when Francie walks in. They both comment that they thought the other had been acting strangely. Francie comments that Sydney doesn't talk to her anymore and Sydney responds that she sometimes gets too wrapped up in work. Francie reminds her that they used to be best friends and that she is there for Sydney to talk to. The phone then rings.]
Sydney: Hello.
Vaughn: Get in here now.
Sydney: Okay. (hangs up)
[Sydney tells Francie that there is a problem at the bank with an international client and that she has to go to work. While Sydney takes a shower, Francie calls Sark and tells him that the bugs had been discovered and asks for further instructions. Sark tells her they will be looking for an L.A. asset and to give them someone.]

Setting: CIA ops center. Sydney meets up with Vaughn on the way to a briefing.
Sydney: Vaughn, is it Sloane? Did Marshall get a location by reverse engineering the bug?
Vaughn: It works on an encrypted feed. It was untraceable. But we got a lead on Sloane another way.
[Scene changes to a conference room where Kendall is holding a briefing. Agents are seated around the room with flat screen monitors in front of them. Jack, Sydney, and Vaughn are present.]
Kendall: An asset outside Kandahar reported seeing someone matching Sloane's description in the company of men loyal to Ahmad Kabir, the Pashtun warlord who played footsie with the Taliban.
[Kabir's picture appears on the flat screen monitors.]
Kendall: When they ran, so did he, except we don't know exactly where.
Jack: We believe Kabir's men took Sloane somewhere in the Helmand Valley. Last year, Sloane assigned an SD-6 agent to infiltrate Kabir's Helmand operation and intercept routing information regarding a shipment of Soviet surface-to-air missiles.
Vaughn: Sloane stole a shipment of missiles from Kabir but now they're meeting. What am I missing?
Sydney: Kabir has no idea who Sloane is. The agent he assigned got in and out undetected.
Vaughn: Who was the agent?
Sydney: Marcus Dixon.
Kendall: None of the records that we acquired from SD-6 detailed that mission. And everything Jack knows, now you know. The only person who can help us is Dixon.
Sydney: Who has made it clear he has no interest in cooperating with us.
Kendall: Well you're just going to have to change his mind. I want a full briefing on Kabir by our analysts.
Syndey: I don't think you appreciate Dixon's sense of betrayal.
Kendall: Correct me if I'm wrong, Agent Bristow, but only yesterday you were standing here complaining that we're not doing enough to find Sloane. If you do nothing and we lose him this time, you only have yourself to blame.

[Scene changes to Dixon's house. Sydney stands on the porch talking to Dixon, trying to convince him that his assistance is needed. Syd tells Dixon about Sloane and Kabir and that she simply need to know where Kabir's point of operation. Dixon refuses to cooperate.]

Setting: L.A. - A warehouse/storage facility. Vaughn and Will meet.
Vaughn: Do you own a suit?
Will: A suit? Yeah, uh, one.
Vaughn: Put it on.
Will: Why? Why? What's going on?
Vaughn: You've only been doing analysis a short time but you're written briefs are good. . . . one of them on Ahmad Kabir. The Director wants an oral presentation.
Will: Wait, wait. An oral. . . .like in person?
Vaughn: Yeah. Just give him talking points.
Will: I'm a writer.
Vaughn: It's not a request.
Will: I don't talk . . . I write.
Vaughn: It's part of your job. (pause) Do you know Sammy's Red Hots?
Will: Sure, on Santa Monica and 17th.
Vaughn: Be there in an hour. Order the special, no pickles.
Will: I like pickles.
Vaughn: You'll be led out back where a windowless van will be waiting to take you to operations.
Will: I'm going to be talking to the Director. Is that a big deal?
Vaughn: (grinning) Yeah.
Will: Oh, God.

[Scene changes back to Kandahar. Sloane is admiring a small 16th century statue and begins telling Kabir that it has Buddhist roots. Kabir questions how Sloane knows so much. Sloane responds that he is a collector and that the statue is quite special. Kabir continues on to say that Sloane's proposed enterprise is quite risky and requests some reassurance that Sloane will deliver. Sloane responds that he is prepared to give him a demonstration and tells Kabir to choose his target.]

Setting: CIA Ops Center. Vaughn and Will walk in the door from an outer hallway. Will is dressed business casual.
Vaughn: No suit, huh?
Will: Well, it's been a while since I tried it on or worked out. . . . . . apparently. Which makes me overwhelmed and fat.
[They meet up with two other meeting attendees.]
Vaughn: Will Tippin, Professors Joyce and Fleming. They flew in last night from the Kennedy School. I'll go tell the others we're ready.
[Vaughn walks away. Will asks one of the professors where the Kennedy school is located. The professor smugly responds "Harvard". Will attempts to save face by responding "that's right" but then looks away slightly flabbergasted.]

Setting: A briefing room at the ops center. Kendall addresses a group including Jack, Sydney, Vaughn, Will, and the two visiting professors. Will is visibly nervous, tapping a pencil on the table. Sydney, who is seated next to him, puts her hand on this hand in a reassuring manner.
Kendall: Our objective today is simple. To identify a person or persons who can give us an exact location of Ahmad Kabir's Helmand Valley operation.
Male Professor: Despite the American-backed government, the geopolitical reality of Afghanistan is that it's still defined by ethnic rivalries. The simplest way to find a Pashtun like Kabir is to first find an enemy willing to sell him out.
Female Professor: Sharif Rabani is on record as accusing Pashtun's supporters of engaging in ethnic cleansing. I'm sure we'll have no problem getting him to lead us to him.
Will: Then why hasn't he? Well, the point is, yeah, they hate each other. But they probably hate us more. I mean since 911, haven't we paid guys like this millions of dollars for information and gotten almost nothing in return.
Jack: Are you prepared to make an alternate recommendation?
Will: Yes, actually I am. All I have are these photographs. Sydney.
[Will hands a picture to Sydney]
Will: This woman's name is Alia Gizabi. She's married to an administrator with the Vatican embassy in Mexico City. Alia Gizabi used to be Alia Kabir. She's Kabir's ex-wife. Since the Taliban got booted, a woman can have her marriage annulled if it's determined that she was forced or sold into that marriage against her will, according to court records.
Vaughn: You found court records?
Will: Yeah, they were published on the net.
[Vaughn appears surprised but impressed]
Will: I realize that there is nothing geopolitically correct about my analysis. But in the hell hath no fury department, I figure this woman would pay us to mess with her ex. I mean, she hates him so much, she sent her son into hiding with her relatives. (speaking to the professors) I'll get you that web address. You should check it out.
[Sydney smiles]
Kendall: Okay, I'll alert our station chief in Mexico City. Vaughn and Bristow, you'll leave in one hour. We need to protect this woman. No one can know the CIA has contacted her.

[Scene cuts to Sloane on the phone to Sark. Sloane tells Sark that Kabir has chosen his ex-wife as the target of the Rambaldi device. Sark seems somewhat surprised. Sloane orders Sark to leave for Mexico City at once. - Scene changes to the Vatican Embassy in Mexico City. Sark is positioned in a van outside of a church with the device. He contacts Sloane and confirms that Kabir's ex-wife is in a building adjacent to the church. He tells Sloane that there is enough wattage to cover the entire embassy including the adjacent building. An almost hesitant Sark then comments that if Caplan's measurements are even the least bit off, it could spell catastrophe. Sloane is unaffected and tells him to proceed. Sark appears troubled but activates the device as ordered.]

Setting: still at Vatican Embassy in Mexico City. Vaughn is positioned in a surveillance van near the church. Sydney is communicating with Vaughn via an audio link and heads toward the church disguised as an elderly woman.
Sydney: I'm approaching the steps.

[She enters the church]
Sydney: I'm in.
Vaughn: All right. Gizabi works on the first floor.
[Sydney walks around a corner and is now inside the adjacent building. She begins checking rooms for Gizabi. The camera cuts to the van containing the Rambaldi device. The timer is counting down and nearing the two-minute mark. The camera cuts back to Sydney who locates Gizabi. Sydney identifies herself as American intelligence and tells Gizabi she needs some information. A fearful Gizabi reaches for the phone but Sydney stops her. Sydney tells her not to worry about retribution. She explains that no will ever know that they have spoken and that she simply needs to know that location of Kabir's residence.]

Setting: The surveillance van outside the church. Vaughn is monitoring Sydney when a hyper Weiss contacts him.
Weiss: (via an audio link) Vaughn? Can you hear me Vaughn?
Vaughn: Yeah, what is it? What's wrong?
Weiss: We just had an Echelon intercept. Key words were picked up. . . .terrorists, weapons of mass destruction. Are you ready for this . . . . . .Rambaldi.
Vaughn: Did you get coordinates?
Weiss: Yeah, yours. We don't know when it's happening but you're not waiting there for us to find out. Get out now!
[Camera cuts to the Rambaldi device, which has counted down to the1-minute mark. Camera cuts back to Sydney and Gizabi. Gizabi is still refusing to cooperate.]
Vaughn: (via an audio link) Sydney, we have to get out of here now. There's going to be some kind of an attack. . . .a car bomb, a suicide bomb, I don't know. But I'm alerting the embassy. They're going to start an evacuation. There's a door at the end of the administration corridor; meet me there.
[Sydney tells Gizabi they she needs to come with her for her own safety. Gizabi refuses to listen and attempts to leave the office. Sydney knocks her unconscious in order to get her out of the building. Meanwhile, the church begins its evacuation. Vaughn and Sydney head to van with Gizabi. Camera cuts to the van with the Rambaldi device, which is emitting light. The camera cuts to the church where several people who have not yet exited become engulfed in flames, from the inside out. The church itself remains unaffected.]

Setting: The surveillance van with Vaughn, Sydney, and Gizabi. Vaughn is speaking to Weiss over a comm link. Weiss is simultaneously monitoring a satellite link.
Weiss: Are you seeing this? We picked up a hot spot.
Vaughn: Where?
Weiss: It's directly behind you. It's huge.
Sydney: (removingf her mask) What? What is it?
Vaughn: Some kind of a fire or something burning.
Weiss: No, listen to me, listen to me. It's this inferno and it's right behind you. You don't see it?
Vaughn: (looking back) There's nothing.
Sydney: Is he seeing people. . .buildings. . .what?
Weiss: Wait. . . . wait. . . . wait. . . .woah. . . woah. . .woah! It disappeared. It's gone.
Vaughn: Gone? What do you mean gone?
Weiss: I don't know. It just disappeared.
Sydney: Let's go back.
[Vaughn looks at her, concerned. The scene cuts back to the church as Sydney and Vaughn walk in. As they walk up the aisle, they see the incinerated remains of the victims. They are horrified. Gizabi then enters the church, sees the devastation, and agrees to cooperate.]

[Scene changes to a television airing news coverage of the church attack. The camera pans over to Sark, Sloane, and Kabir who are watching the coverage. Sark informs Kabir that although positive I.D. of the victims is impossible, his ex-wife has been included among them as she was in the building at the time. Kabir is pleased and, in appreciation for supposedly destroying his enemy (his ex-wife), Kabir presents Sloane with a gift: the small statue he admired. He then informs Sloane that 40 million dollars will be promptly wired to an account of his choice.]

Setting: CIA Ops Center. Kendall is briefing Jack, Sydney, Vaughn, and Marshall.
Kendall: Video surveillance places Sark at the scene of the attack in Mexico City. Subsequent to the attack, intel tracked him as far Kabul. Here's what we can assume. Sloane dispatched Sark to carry out his mission. Now that it's complete, Sark has returned to his master. Thanks to Ms. Gizabi, we now know where that is.
Jack: The plan is for you to lead a tactical unit into Helmand. You'll parachute into the compound, affect a roof access, steal the weapon, and signal for back-up.
Sydney: You know how people are describing it, don't you? They are calling it a doomsday device, saying it's the first sign of the coming Armageddon. Like the devil himself rose up to attack that church.
Marshall: Uh, excuse me. If I may offer a scientific explanation. I think it , uh, might help the, uh. .. . . . Hi everybody. It's good to be--- (looks at Kendall's jacket) that's a really . . . . . .
Kendall: Okay. Come on.
Marshall: Right. What we're dealing with is a high-energy pulse weapon. Thanks to an Echelon intercept, we were able to re-task a KH-12 satellite over the area and this is what we found.
[Marshall projects the satellite coverage onto the flat screen monitors around the room.]
Marshall: Okay, the blue dots. Those are the people in the church before. And this is what infrared picked up after. The body temperature of everyone in the affected area increased by over 2,000 degrees. They literally melted from the inside out.
Sydney: Nothing else in the church was affected.
Marshall: Well that's because it works like a microwave. It excites water and fat molecules, which don't exist in inorganic material and converts them into atomic motion, or heat.
Vaughn: You said everyone in the radius was affected, even the people who were taking cover?
Marshall: Yeah, well, there's no defense against this kind of energy. It goes through walls, concrete, steel, everything.
Kendall: There's no shield?
Marshall: No. Sorry.
[Marshall begins to sit down.]
Marshall: Oh, um, I should probably also tell you that this kind of energy knocks out computer circuitry, which means that if it's pointed at the sky, it could take down planes.
[Camera cuts to Vaughn who looks stunned. He then looks over at Sydney who looks completely discouraged.]

[Scene cuts to Sydney and Jack after the meeting. They are approached by Weiss who tells Sydney that the cleaning crew sent to her apartment not only discovered audio equipment, but video equipment as well. When she questions the video equipment, Weiss elaborates that it was found in the T.V. in the bedroom. Looking at Weiss, she realizes that he has seen footage of her and Vaughn. She drops her head, looking humiliated and violated. Jack, unaware that Vaughn spent the night, tells her that everyone who has been to her apartment has turned up clean. Sydney then calls" Francie" to tell her that she has to work late and must cancel their plans for the evening. We then see "Francie" standing in the back room of a plumbing business. The plumber sits nearby, bound and gagged. Francie replies that she could not make it anyway and Syd tells her she'll call her later. Francie then shoots the plumber and plants the bugs in his locker.]

[Scene cuts back to the ops center where Marshall is showing Sydney a body suit and mask that she will wear on her mission to Kandahar. He explains that Kabir's security cameras read heat signatures and the suit she will be wearing will drop her body temperature down to room temperature, effectively making her invisible to the cameras.]

Setting: Kabir's residence in Kandahar. Sydney has infiltrated the complex and is wearing her body suit and mask. She communicates with Vaughn at the ops center via an audio link.
Sydney: Okay, I am on the eastern stairs.
Vaughn: Go right at the bottom. According to his ex, Kabir keeps weapons and ammunitions in a storage room at the end of the hall.
[Sydney runs down the stairs and turns at the corner. She sees nothing but a brick wall.]
Sydney: There's no door
Vaughn: What?
Sydney: Work has been done. Maybe this place was bombed in the war and had to be reconfigured.
Vaughn: Meaning our intel is worthless.
Sydney: There has to be another way in.
[Sydney walks back around the corner and encounters a guard. A fight ensues and Sydney takes out the guard, but not before her mask is ripped off. As she looks up, she sees a security camera pointed at her.]
Sydney: I've been made!
[Sydney turns to run up the stairs but is trapped by three armed guards.]

Setting: L.A. - CIA ops center. Vaughn is demanding that Kendall send a tactical unit in to rescue Sydney.
Vaughn: Sydney's been compromised. You have to order the tac unit in after her.
Kendall: Did she diffuse the weapon?
Vaughn: What difference does that make?
Kendall: Kabir has been alerted. If he's got the weapon, he'll use it..
Vaughn: Issue the order!
Kendall: You heard Marshall. There's no defense against it.
Vaughn: If you don't issue it, I will!
Kendall: The tac unit wouldn't stand a chance.
Vaughn: We can't just leave her there!
Kendall: If we can't find another way in, I'm afraid that's all we can do.
[Vaughn's face fills with fear, anger, frustration, etc.]

Setting: Dixon's house. An emotional and desperateVaughn stands on Dixon's porch, pleading for his assistance in rescuing Sydney.
Vaughn: I don't think we've been formally introduced. My name is Michael Vaughn. I work with Sydney.
Dixon: I'm out.
Vaughn: Sydney's in trouble.
Dixon: Respect my decision.
Vaughn: (eyes watering) I can't do that. Not when your decision may cost Sydney her life. You wouldn't tell Sydney how you infiltrated Kabir's. So she found an alternate way in, which turned out to be faulty intel.
[Dixon appears stunned and worried.]
Vaughn: (on the verge of tears) She was captured and unless we find another confirmed access point, no one will be sent in to get her out.
Dixon: It's not that simple.
Vaughn: Yes it is. You will either help save Sydney's life or you won't.
[Dixon's wife then appears.]
Wife: Please leave.
Vaughn: I can't do that. Not until I get your answer.

[Scene changes to an interrogation/torture room at Kabir's residence. Sydney is strapped into a chair with a bright spotlight pointed at her face. Kabir begins interrogating her, telling her that if she "talks", she will be spared. Sydney refuses Kabir's requests to cooperate. Kabir then prepares to drive a metal stake into Sydney's kneecap. Sydney winces, preparing for the pain, when a gunshot is heard. Kabir falls to the floor. Sydney, blinded by the spotlight, squints to see a man in a baseball cap and work clothes rushing toward her: it's Vaughn.]
Vaughn: Are you okay?
[Vaughn begins to unstrap her from the chair.]
Sydney: I don't understand. How. . . . .
[Sydney puts her hand on Vaughn's head]
Sydney: How did you find a way in?
[The light switch is turned on and Sydney sees Dixon, dressed in the same garb as Vaughn, standing in the doorway.]
Dixon: Let's go.
[Sydney is overcome with emotion and puts her hand up to her eyes.]
Dixon: Let's go. We've got the device.
[Vaughn helps toward the door where they briefly stop.]
Sydney: Sloane?
Vaughn: No.
Dixon: This way.
[Sydney, Vaughn, and Dixon make their way to an exit. They exchange gunfire with several guards enroute to their truck but safely escape and head back home]

[Back at the ops center, Jack congratulates Sydney on a job well done and welcomes her home. Sydney is discouraged that Sloane is still on the run. Jack then tells her that while bugging devices were found at the plumbing shop, the plumber had been murdered, which leaves them at a dead end. Sydney then walks over to Dixon, who is sitting nearby, and thanks him again for his help. Dixon tells her that he no longer harbors resentful feelings toward her, that he understands her reasons for not telling him about SD-6. He also admits that the future of his marriage is up in the air.]

Setting: Sydney's apartment. Sydney is soaking in bubble bath in a candle lit bathroom as Vaughn walks in and hands her a glass of wine. He sits down next to the tub. They look at each other with a quiet sadness. She takes a sip of wine and hands the glass back to Vaughn.
Vaughn: (trying to lift her spirits) The Kings are in town Friday night. (subtle grin) You could watch the zamboni.
[Sydney smiles for just a moment but remains silent. Vaughn, reading the despair in her eyes, turns melancholy as well and takes a sip of wine.]
Sydney: What we saw . . . . . in the church. Every time we think we have seen the worst . . . .
[Sydney slides down slightly in the tub, resting her head against the edge. Vaughn reaches over and gently caresses the side of her face. She closes her eyes. He looks at her with love, concern, and sadness in his eyes, as though he would like to take her in his arms and right all of the wrongs.]

[Scene changes back to a warehouse where Sloane and Sark are meeting. Sark is baffled that Sloane left the Rambaldi device in someone else' hands and questions how it could be anything but bad news for them. Sloane then takes the ancient statuette given to him by Kabir and smashes it on a table. A piece of paper falls out and Sloane places it on the manuscript page with the missing center. The two shapes match perfectly, completing the page.]


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