Sydney and Vaughn travel to North Korea to meet with a Covenant defector. Lauren passes this information to The Covenant, who then poison the pilots. En route, the pilots die, Sydney and Vaughn evade North Korean missile attacks, crash land the plane and elude the military. Sydney and Vaughn discuss the difficulty of working together. Sydney reveals that she had slept with Will and has decided to move on. Before Sydney and Vaughn can meet the defector, Sark appears and masquerades as a CIA operative. Sydney, Vaughn and the defector are captured by the military but Sark escapes. The defector informs on Sydney and Vaughn, who are then physically abused. Jack contacts Sydney's mother, Irina Derevko, for assistance and is visited by Irina's sister, Katya, who offers help in exchange for Sloane being killed. Jack visits Sloane but Katya first calls Sloane and warns him to back off Irina, hinting that even Jack would turn against him. Katya then contacts Jack and aborts the assassination. Vaughn admits his feelings for Sydney before they are taken to a firing squad. Instead of being killed, one of the guards kills the other soldiers and they all escape with the defector.
Sydney and Vaughn are in a prison, they're taken outside by some Koreans and forced to stand against a wall. Then one of the guards is shown firing. [SCENE_BREAK] 72 HOURS EARLIER... [SCENE_BREAK] The Rotunda, meeting room. DIXON: Three days ago, the SEC flagged an off-shore brokerage account for a minor clerical violation. An investigation revealed that the account was not backed by any hard currency. SYDNEY: A phantom account. SYDNEY: Yes. And because of its offshore status, it was turned over to Langley, run through channels. DIXON: Encoded in the names and values of the fictitious stocks within the portfolio, cryptography found a message, something the sender wanted us to find. A Covenant official wants to defect. JACK: What are the terms? DIXON: In exchange for his extraction and immunity, he's willing to turn over everything he knows about the Covenant. Considering the means through with he sent us this message, we believe he has top-tier access inside the organization. Sydney, Vaughn, I'm sending you to North Korea, posing as Swiss insurance auditors. You'll meet with the defector in the Gai-Li marketplace. 1200 hours local. The identifying marker will be three sugar cubes placed on the napkin at the edge of the table. We've only got a 15-minute window. SYDNEY: Fifteen minutes? DIXON: Those were his terms. And he offered no contingency. If we don't show up at the meet, there's no guarantee that this opportunity will present itself again. If this defector can lead us to the inner workings of the Covenant, we'll finally have them on the ropes. [SCENE_BREAK] Outside the meeting room... LAUREN: Sydney. I was wondering if you have any plans next Tuesday. It's Michael's hockey night, and I thought maybe we could go out and get some dinner. SYDNEY: Yeah, sure, that'd be nice. LAUREN: Thanks. See you next Tuesday. [SCENE_BREAK] In a cab... ZISMAN: So, the Covenant is in danger of being compromised. This is of great concern to us. We'll send one of our own in North Korea to intercept the defector. Do you know from which airfield agents Bristow and Vaughn will be departing? LAUREN: No, it wasn't mentioned. ZISMAN: I need the name of the airfield in order to eliminate agents Vaughn and Bristow. The Covenant cannot accept even the possibility of the CIA getting their hands on a defector. Lauren looks worried, for what would have been obvious reasons an episode ago. ZISMAN: Explain your hesitation. LAUREN: Give me thirty minutes. I'll get you the information you need. [SCENE_BREAK] Back at the Rotunda, Lauren is about to peek at Vaughn's North Korea file. VAUGHN: Lauren. LAUREN: Do you have the number for Georgios(?) ? VAUGHN: What were you doing... asking Sydney to dinner? Michael, you asked me to give her a chance. I'll drive you to the plane, we can talk about it on the way. VAUGHN: I have to go get my stuff. Dover's five minutes from the house, I'll drive myself. Lauren, I don't want to start socializing with Sydney. We see her enough as it is. LAUREN: Yeah, and for three months it was awkward and uncomfortable. At least if we get to know each other we can be civil. And I actually really like her. Is that really such a big problem? VAUGHN: No, of course not. The number's in my rolodex. LAUREN: Be safe. VAUGHN: 'kay. Lauren calls her Covenant contact. ZISMAN: Did you get it? LAUREN: Dover. [SCENE_BREAK] At Dover airfield, someone shoots both pilots of Sydney and Vaughn's plane with some sort of toxin darts. The shooter types the aircraft registration number into a PDA... NC9746C [SCENE_BREAK] In a garage, the Covenant Goon has a PDA and sees the plane's ID on it. ZISMAN: In the next six hours, a CIA fuselage carrying two CIA operatives will be downed at the Covenant's behest. You are being deployed to North Korean in order to procure a Covenant defector. SARK: If I may ask, who is our source of intel at the CIA, and how do we know he's reliable? ZISMAN: Mr. Sark, don't burden yourself with unnecessary details. SARK: As my liaison to the Covenant, Mr. Zisman, I must say you're a great disappointment to me. You seem to be forgetting one rather large detail. That would be the 800 million dollars of my money, used to fund this organization. An organization that's proven to be ineffective, disorganized, and if you'll allow me to be petty, disrespectful to its benefactors. ZISMAN: Shall I convey your sentiments to my superiors? SARK: If you wish. ZISMAN: You will go to North Korea. Is that understood? SARK: Yes, sir. [SCENE_BREAK] On the plane. The pilots are turning up the AC. One coughs. Sydney is looking at papers. Vaughn is reading Italo Calvino's Mr. Palomar. SYDNEY: What are you reading? VAUGHN: Calvino. SYDNEY: Have you reviewed the file? VAUGHN: Of course I've reviewed the file. The pilots are getting worse. SYDNEY: Okay, this isn't going to work. VAUGHN: What isn't? SYDNEY: What have I done to you? VAUGHN: Nothing. I don't have a problem with you. I don't have anything with you. SYDNEY: Have I offended you in some way? By doing what, coming back, disrupting the perfect little life you had going on? VAUGHN: What are you talking about? I'm just sitting here reading a book. I haven't said anything. SYDNEY: You haven't said anything in weeks. We're supposed to be working together. VAUGHN: If you want to work with someone else, we can make a switch. Is that what you want? SYDNEY: I've done everything that I can to try to make this ridiculous situation work. You, me, and Lauren, working in the same office. VAUGHN: Yeah, and I have tried to walk around with this fake smile on my face, pretending everything was fine, just the way it used to be. That's not working for me anymore. SYDNEY: This is it. When we get back, one of us has to go. The plane starts descending rather quickly. They notice the pilots passed out. SYDNEY: He's dead. VAUGHN: So is he. VAUGHN: We're in North Korean airspace, we have to abort. SYDNEY: Vaughn, we have incoming. Nifty CGI of missiles chasing the plane. SYDNEY: It's still locked on us. It's turning back. VAUGHN: There's another one. SYDNEY: They're both locked on. I'm going to flame us out. VAUGHN: We're going to need the engines to land. SYDNEY: They're heat-seekers. That's the only way we can shake them. I'm shutting off the engines. The missiles get confused and hit each other. Yeah right. Where's the military hardware consultant? VAUGHN: Fire up the air start ignition. SYDNEY: ASI On. VAUGHN: It's not working. SYDNEY: 1500 feet. 1000 feet VAUGHN: We don't have enough juice to restart. Hang on. SYDNEY: Vaughn, Vaughn! [SCENE_BREAK] On the ground, some North Korean soldiers see a plane fly overhead and crash. They get in a jeep and go after it. DIXON: Where the hell's the State Department? WEISS: Sir, I've got DoD on line one. LAUREN: Marshall, what's happening? WEISS: Oh, hey, uh, there's been a... Agent Bristow... LAUREN: What's going on? JACK: Sydney and Vaughn's jet was intercepted by surface to air missiles over North Korea. Their condition is unknown. LAUREN: Who was responsible? JACK: Early echelon reports indicate the North Korean government was not responsible, therefore we suspect the Covenant. LAUREN: If they survived, the North Korean military will no doubt be hunting them. JACK: We're attempting to monitor through satellite. When information comes in, you'll be the first to know. Lauren, what Vaughn and Sydney need now is our strength. DIXON: Jack, Lauren, my office. DIXON: I've just been informed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff that we've been ordered to stand down. Given our tenuous relations with North Korea, their official position on Sydney and Vaughn is to disavow. Jack walks out. DIXON: Unofficially, I say screw 'em. Pool your resources. We don't rest until Sydney and Vaughn are back in our hands. [SCENE_BREAK] Jack is using AIM. JACK: I NEED HELP. IRENA: Long time Jack. What brings you to my door? JACK: OUR DAUGHTER. IRENA: Trouble? JACK: DOWNED IN THE Q-GONG PROVINCE? IRENA: Alive? JACK: ? IRENA: How can I help? JACK: NEED ALIES IN NORTH KOREA. IRENA: I may know someone who can help. I'll be in touch. [SCENE_BREAK] Sydney's trying to get through to someone on the typical TV-style fake-looking sat phone. (Real sat phones need a parabolic antenna. If you want to see a real one, look for one about 20 minutes into "The Rock". They have a real one, or at least a real-looking prop.) Vaughn is looking for weapons in the plane. SYDNEY: Base-ops, this is mountaineer, four-alpha-delta. Do you copy? Base ops, do you copy? VAUGHN: Anything? SYDNEY: Comms are dead. You? VAUGHN: No, can't get to the artillery. The cargo door was jammed. What's your best guess on our coordinates? SYDNEY: We can't be more than forty minutes southwest of our LZ. What happened? VAUGHN: Oh, I'm fine. Okay. We have eight hours until our meet, which means on foot, we're going to miss our window. They hear vehicles. VAUGHN: That's military. They grab a bunch of flares, and using some fuel hoses that happen to be around, they start running the jet fuel out around the plane. They get about 50m away, and find some marginal cover. Two soldiers start poking around after they're 50m away. They toss a flare and blow up the plane and the two N. Korean soldiers, then they continue running away. [SCENE_BREAK] Jack is in a car with his laptop, running KDE of all things as a desktop environment. He gets an email: From: Unable to Determine Sender's Address Sent: Via Satellite To: Jack Subject: Meeting Time SYDNEY'S APARTMENT. 8PM. Then he gets a phone call. It's Sloane. JACK: This is Jack. SLOANE: I heard about Sydney. Has there been any word? JACK: Nothing yet. SLOANE: Well, then let me help. OMNIFAM has strong ties to the Premier of China. JACK: Thank you. If I need your help, I'll let you know. [SCENE_BREAK] Sydney and Vaughn in North Korea... SYDNEY: I think we're clear. VAUGHN: Yeah, for now. SYDNEY: Let me see. Sydney bandages Vaughn's arm. She intentionally hurts him a bit as she tears the gauze. VAUGHN: Ow. SYDNEY: That's for being a jerk on the plane. VAUGHN: Thanks. SYDNEY: We've got seven hours to get to the Gai-Li marketplace. We need to find transportation. What? VAUGHN: Nothing. [SCENE_BREAK] Sydney's apartment. Jack is reading Alice in Wonderland. Someone knocks. He opens the door. KATYA: Jack Bristow. Your daughter is alive. So is agent Vaughn. JACK: Do you mind if I ask who you are? KATYA: What you should ask is what I'll need you to do in return for my assistance. JACK: I was going to get to that. KATYA: I will do everything in my power to guarantee the safe return of your daughter and her associate. But I need something from you. I need you to kill Arvin Sloane. [SCENE_BREAK] Rotunda. WEISS: Lauren, Jack just called. Vaughn and Sydney are alive. LAUREN: Where are they? WEISS: He didn't say, but he's orchestrating an exit strategy now. LAUREN: Thank you. They hug. [SCENE_BREAK] Sydney and Vaughn... on the lam in North Korea SYDNEY: Nothing. VAUGHN: We'll have a better chance of getting a signal once we get to Gai-Li. SYDNEY: Vaughn. They find an abandoned vehicle. VAUGHN: The tires still have air. SYDNEY: There's still some gas. How's it look? VAUGHN: I don't know. Pull me some wiring out of the dashboard. VAUGHN: Thanks. It could still take a charge. Spin the generator pulley. We've got a heartbeat. Keep it spinning, we have to generate enough charge to spark the engine. VAUGHN: Listen, earlier, on the plane... SYDNEY: It's okay. VAUGHN: It's the only thing I could ever count on, the way it felt to be with you, how easy it was. That's all gone now. How are we supposed to get along and be friends? You're right, it's ridiculous. SYDNEY: I slept with Will. VAUGHN: What? SYDNEY: In Warsaw. We got drunk, and we slept together. VAUGHN: How am I supposed to react to that? SYDNEY: However you want to. VAUGHN: Bad enough being a fugitive in North Korea. Now I have to find out that you slept with Will? They both half snicker. SYDNEY: I want you to know that I'm moving on. Not with Will, just generally. If it helps. VAUGHN: Alright, that should be enough. SYDNEY: You're probably right. They start the engine. VAUGHN: Okay. They get in and drive off. [SCENE_BREAK] Rotunda. LAUREN: Your operative in North Korea should be advised that agents Bristow and Vaughn are still in play. ZISMAN: How is that possible? LAUREN: That's what I'd like to know, particularly as I jeopardized my standing within the CIA for an offensive that failed. ZISMAN: I'll pass the news along. [SCENE_BREAK] Koreatown (Los Angeles) Jack and Katya are attempting to visit someone. KATYA: Mr. Cho please. GUARD: We're closed. KATYA: The Black sparrow seeks an audience with Mr. Cho. GUARD: Yes, I'll let him know. KATYA: I prefer to remain unannounced. We shall not be disturbed. They enter. KATYA: Mr. Cho. I apologize for disturbing your meal. CHO: An unexpected delight. I was under the impression that you were never returning to United States. Sit. (He says something to his companion/girlfriend, and she presumably leaves.) KATYA: This is not a social call. You have a debt to pay. CHO: Yes, I'm aware. KATYA: I need an extraction from Q-GONG province, two Americans. CHO: No, I'm sorry. That's more than even I can do. Things get rough. Katya takes two skewers and drives them through Cho's hands. KATYA: This is not a negotiation. Jack has to deal with a guard and gets cut in the side in the process. CHO: The repercussions, they're too dangerous for me. KATYA: I am not concerned of the repercussions. CHO: Yes. Uncle Kwan. Mr. Kwan can help us. She takes out an envelope and puts it on the table. KATYA: Everything you need to know. Don't fail me. JACK: We'll be in touch. [SCENE_BREAK] Gai-Li [SCENE_BREAK] VAUGHN: Never been this on-time in my life. SYDNEY: There he is. VAUGHN: Let's go. SYDNEY: Wait. They see Sark approach the defector. SARK: Mr... I'm sorry, you forgot to give us your name. DEFECTOR: You first. SARK: I'm Agent Hollier. I'm with the CIA. SYDNEY: We have to get in there now. VAUGHN: Any move we make, Sark kills him. SYDNEY: Not necessarily. DEFECTOR: Which field office of the CIA did you say you were from, Mr. Hollier? SARK: Portland office. We have a car waiting, a plane fueled up ready to go. You, sir, are on your way to becoming a God-blessed American citizen. DEFECTOR: Gloria Estefan. SARK: What about her? DEFECTOR: I like her. Four years the Covenant has had me here in North Korea. This culture has no... pep. America, though, lots of pep. SARK: Well, I assure you, the United States will be happy to have you. DEFECTOR: Yes, the Covenant must be stopped. What they are planning keeps me awake at night, not sleeping. SARK: My friend, tonight you'll sleep very soundly. The camera shows Sark pointing a Walther PPK at the defector under the table. Sydney and Vaughn arrive. Sydney holds a knife to Sark's crotch. Sark looks worried. SYDNEY: Stay calm. Nobody move. DEFECTOR: What is this? VAUGHN: Listen very closely. This man is not CIA. He's Covenant. DEFECTOR: Covenant? SYDNEY: We're CIA. DEFECTOR: This was huge mistake. (he starts to get up to leave...) VAUGHN: No no, you have to trust us. SYDNEY: Vaughn... (pointing out that...) N. Korean soldiers arrive. SARK: I believe their army is in search of fugitives from a downed airplane, suspected CIA. VAUGHN: Let's make this easy for each other. Leenid(?) and I are going to walk calmly out of here. Sydney is going to keep the knife exactly where it is until we are clear. Once we are, she will follow us. If you stick to that plan, you might still have children one day. SARK: Except the execution of your threat would tip off our friends over there. It seems everyone has something to lose. DEFECTOR: Everyone except for me. Goodbye. He runs off. Chaos ensues. Sark gets away. The three of them are apprehended. SOLDIER: Hands up. (the rest is in Korean) [SCENE_BREAK] Jack and Katya are back at his apartment. KATYA: It's not deep. But the liver... JACK: I know. I'll need you to check if the tissue's intact. JACK: Tell me, which of Irena's sisters are you, Elena or Yakatarina? KATYA: I haven't been Yakatarina since I was a child. My sisters call me Katya. Which means Irena wasn't the one who told you about me. JACK: Learning that your wife is actually a Russian spy drives you to learn all you can about her true identity. KATYA: The tissue is stable. KATYA: As observant as you are, you were married to my sister for five years without suspecting who she really was. Her love must have been intoxicating. KATYA: Mr. Kwan will insure that Sydney will return home safely. Now you have something to do for me. JACK: And what do you possibly have to gain by my executing Arvin Sloane, and why me? KATYA: I consider the assassination a preventative measure. And why you? It's not for you to ask. We had an agreement. You chose not to deliver, I call off Mr. Kwan. [SCENE_BREAK] N. Korean Prison Guards speak Korean. They start with Vaughn. He doesn't say anything. SYDNEY: (in Korean, subtitles) Sorry, I only speak English. The guard turns to the Covenant defector, threatens him minimally. DEFECTOR: CIA. They're CIA. I will talk. GUARD: Thank you. The defector is taken away. Other guards hit Sydney and Vaughn. [SCENE_BREAK] Alone in the cell. [SCENE_BREAK] SYDNEY: Vaughn. Vaughn: Sydney, come here. Come here, Sydney. They cuddle. As much as two bloody, exhausted people can. [SCENE_BREAK] Zurich. JACK: Jack Bristow. I have a 3 o'clock with Arvin Sloane. SEC: Sir, Jack Bristow's here to see you. [SCENE_BREAK] Zurich... Katya is watching the OMNIFAM surveillance feed. She calls OMNIFAM. KATYA: Arvin Sloane please. SEC: You have a call on line one. ARVIN: Yes? KATYA: Arvin? I assume you know who this is. ARVIN: I do. KATYA: I have a message for you. Back off Irena. ARVIN: I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take that. KATYA: Listen to me carefully. No matter how protected you think you are, you're not, even from your friends. Even the one you're about to see. Your continuing life is a favor from me. [SCENE_BREAK] Zurich. Katya calls Jack. JACK: This is jack. KATYA: Change of plan. I need you to abort. I'll explain later. SEC: Mr. Bristow, he'll see you now. SLOANE: Tell me, Jack. Did you reconsider my offer to help Sydney? JACK: I just want to let you know, I think we're making progress. SLOANE: That's good. So you've extracted Sydney from North Korea? JACK: Working on it. I was able to contact someone on the inside who could help us. SLOANE: And you came all the way to Zurich to tell me this? JACK: No. I had a meeting locally, but I wanted to drop in, tell you in person. You've done a lot for Sydney lately; I felt I owed you the courtesy. SLOANE: I see. Thank you. SLOANE: I remember... years ago, I was working at SD-6. I was on my way to a meeting in Berlin. It was a typical day. Except K-Directorate made an attempt on my life. As I opened a car door, a sniper shot came out of nowhere. Bullet grazed my neck, actually left a burn mark. You never forget what that feels like, to barely escape with your life. JACK: I have a plane waiting. SLOANE: Then you should go. [SCENE_BREAK] N. Korean Prison VAUGHN: We're not going to make it out of here. There's something I need you to know. SYDNEY: Vaughn... VAUGHN: In my life, there is only one person. SYDNEY: Don't do this. VAUGHN: Look at me. SYDNEY: Vaughn... VAUGHN: The only reason I pushed you away... SYDNEY: Please... VAUGHN: The only reason, I didn't know how to be around you. SYDNEY: They're coming. VAUGHN: Sydney... SYDNEY: I know. I know. SYDNEY: (whispering) We'll find each other. We always find each other. They kiss for few seconds, then the guards take them out before the firing squad. They're taken out before the firing squad, with a bunch of AKs. Someone starts firing, but that person is firing at the other guards... KWAN: I'm Mr. Kwan. I'm here to help you. Back in the prison... DEFECTOR: What is happening? I'm sorry for the things I... DEFECTOR: Thank you. Before, I... I hope you did not think I was betraying you in any way. What I was trying to do was I... Sydney hits him. DEFECTOR: Thank you. [SCENE_BREAK] Back at the Rotunda... Everyone... SYDNEY: How did you find me? JACK: Your mother found you. [SCENE_BREAK] Jack meets Katya in the open. JACK: You warned him, didn't you? Sloane. Whatever trust I'd established with him over the last three months has been compromised. What I can't figure out is how will this play to Irena's advantage or your own? KATYA: One day when you least expect it, Irena's intentions will present themself to you. And when that day comes I promise you, it will be unmistakable. JACK: Thank you for helping Sydney. KATYA: Isn't that what family is for? She kisses him. KATYA: That was from Irena. She kisses Jack much more passionately. When she pulls back, Jack looks quite shocked, possibly for the first time ever on Alias. He regains his composure a bit, enough to ask... JACK: And who was that from? KATYA: Too many questions. She walks away.
Crossings