"Southeastern Airways Flight 152 now arriving at Gate 14." "Southeastern Airways Flight 152 now arriving at Gate 14." "Mr. John Thayer, please report to the ticket-reservation counter, please." "Mr. John Thayer, please report to the ticket-reservation counter." "Flight 19 for Phoenix departing on schedule at Gate 4." "Nicholas Varsi?" "The locker was only for the purpose of identification." "Passport." "So careful?" "It's kept me alive." "Flight 31 for Los Angeles now boarding at Gate 2." "Your new identity." "Social Security card, driver's licence, money." "What were you told about my next assignment?" "Nothing, except to get you these." "Federal Intelligence Service." "You're both under arrest." "That was stupid." "I'm Nicholas Varsi, an enemy agent in the United States illegally." "I'm making a complete confession." "I wanna defect." "And I have a lot of valuable information I can give you." "Hey, you won't get much reception with that kind of rig around here." "What do you know about it?" "I used to work for Station KBEX." "Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "Nicholas Varsi, a top-grade assassin, was captured eight days ago." "He claims to be a defector, but he's refused to reveal his mission to the Federal Intelligence Service unless he is guaranteed safe asylum." "But we cannot prove that he is a defector, that he's not here to feed us false intelligence." "Unfortunately, we cannot trust the FIS in this affair." "There's a strong possibility that they have been infiltrated by a deep agent." "Your mission, should you agree to undertake it, will be to determine if Varsi is a genuine defector." "You will have to kidnap Varsi from the FIS without their cooperation and get the truth out of him." "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." "Good luck, Jim." "This is the Bancroft Apartment Hotel, built in 1927, condemned in 1971." "The FIS took it over as a temporary interrogation centre." "They've been holding Nicholas Varsi there for six days." " We have a schedule of all the patrols." " Are we positive that Varsi's inside?" "Interesting." "He was drafted into the KGN Assassination Bureau four years ago." "He's now their top professional killer." "Gets his orders from a Colonel Kemmer, a man that he's never met." "Now, Kemmer is the head of Assassination Operations for the KGN in this country." "But he is an invisible man." "So that one of his trained killers doesn't take a crack at him?" " That's right, Andrea." " What about your identity, Jim?" "I'll be Mr. Smith, head of KGN Espionage Apparatus in North America." "Now, Casey has managed to infiltrate their European communications centre." "She managed to get their current recognition code." "It's a Q-A-Q system." "I'll use it with Varsi." "The ambulance is all set." "And I have the uniforms: one doctor, one attendant, and three police." "Good." "Mask?" "I figure four bombs should do it, Jim." "Each has its own timing mechanism." "Now, this is a psychological stress evaluator." "It reads the human voice." "It registers both truths and lies." "Unless, of course, a trained agent like Varsi can control his voice well enough to fool it." "Maybe." "Or maybe he is a genuine defector." "That's the question." "We have to find the answer from Varsi." "Now, we can play imaginary chess forever, Nelson, except that I'm not playing." "Guarantee me safe asylum in the U.S., and I'll talk in detail." "Otherwise, no." "Well, you're asking us to buy your story on blind faith, Nick." "You don't mind if I call you Nick?" "I don't mind what you call me, as long as you say something meaningful." "Well, I can give you a guarantee." "If your information is real, if your story checks out, we'll see that you're all right." "Well, with that guarantee and $5 in American cash, I can..." "I could retire, right?" "Look, Mr. Nelson..." "Say, are you getting all this?" "Yes, Mr. Varsi." "Well, let's all be polite." "I..." "I want $200,000 deposited in a numbered Swiss account, identification by thumbprint." "I want a U.S. passport." "I want the FIS to sponsor me for citizenship before a federal court." "I want it on the records." "An identity." "A good one." "Somewhere obscure, say, Colorado, Montana, the Dakotas." "Look, Nelson, when I talk, I'm dead." "And the only reason I'm doing this is because I wanna make something human out the rest of my life." "I need those guarantees." "You need." "But I need some hard evidence before I try to manoeuvre through anything like what you want." "We could argue about the shape of the table." " We'll work it out." " I hope so." "Because my colleagues, or my ex-colleagues, in the KGN are probably out looking for me." "Well, that's why you're here instead of in the federal building." "That's why you'll stay here, Mr. Varsi, until you're ready to cooperate." "Well, all I have is the rest of my life, Mr. Nelson." "How about you?" "Well, I think I'll take a nap." "Whoever wants a coffee break, now is the time." " He's not gonna give away anything." " We could make it rougher." "No." "There's a possibility he honestly wants to defect." "Besides, I don't think pressure would work." "You better get yourself something to eat." "It's gonna be a late night." "Jameson, check the basement." "Cover the third floor." "We spotted a couple prowlers outside just before whatever that was blew." " We'll hold down the lobby, sir." " Good." " What was it?" " We don't know yet." " See that the roof's covered." " Right." " What are you doing up here?" " Well, your outside man sent us up." "There isn't any outside man." "Cover these rooms." "And nobody gets upstairs or down without my okay." " You got that?" " Yes, sir." " Who are you, mister?" " A guest." " Yeah, very funny." " Look out." " There's nobody outside." " Nobody downstairs." "Get up there." "I want reinforcements here pronto, and with backup ready." "I want the building and the block sealed off." "I don't care where you find them, just get them here." "My partner's been shot." "I've just called an ambulance." "He's hurt bad." "Varsi." "Give me a hand with him, will you?" "Where's the man who was in that room?" "Well, I didn't see anybody." "I didn't even see who shot Callahan." "Well, he just couldn't disappear into thin air." " Come on, let's get him out." " Wait a minute." "Where was he hit?" "All right, go ahead." "He's in shock." "Get him to the ambulance." "I'll be right up." "Hold the fort." "I checked the roof, the entire third floor, nobody." "The basement's clear, and nobody's gotten out, except that police officer who was shot." "The ambulance." "Coleman." "Head off the ambulance." "We're being followed." "Jim, he's right on our tail." "Right." "Damn it." "They shook Coleman on the west side." "We'll start from there." "If necessary, we'll search half the city." " All right, let's go." " Oh, no." "Well, you're perfectly correct, gentlemen." "Model prisoner knows his place." "Carry on." "Sit down." "No questions?" "No curiosity?" "Well, would you answer any questions?" "Well, I think we're both gonna have to answer some questions." "I am Mr. Smith." "I'm in Operational Control of our North American organisation." "Code group: aleph-null, aleph-iota." "You're Nicholas Varsi." "Your superior is Colonel Kemmer." "Recognition code:" ""to be or not to be."" " That's the answer." " No, my lord." "That is the question." "All right." "Now what?" " Why'd you defect?" " What?" "Come on, we pulled you out of an FIS interrogation headquarters, trying to bargain with them." "I call that defection." "That's moronic." "They arrested me." "Of course I told them I was defecting." "I needed their cooperation to help carry out my assignment." " You have proof of that?" " I don't have to give you anything." "I take my orders from Colonel Kemmer." " What orders?" " This is my assignment." "I control it." "You people are here to assist me, not interfere with me." "Nicholas Varsi, I am responsible for North American operations." "I understand Colonel Kemmer's practice of secrecy, but in this case, I'm afraid you will have to cooperate with us." "I can't take risks." "I have to sign reports." "A bureaucrat." "Just a paper-shuffling bureaucrat." "Come on, Mr. Smith, you know what my assignment is." " In general, yes." " I'll make it specific." "I operate alone, hit and run." "Your job is simple:" "just stay out of my way." "No, not this time." "Either we evaluate your assignment in detail, or I can only conclude that you're refusing supervision because you really are a defector." "I can't give you every move of my plan without gambling my life on your security." "And I have to have assurances." "You prove your loyalty, or I'll terminate your assignment." "How?" "I'll simply hold you here until you're ready to cooperate." "Of course, in the meantime, if I find that you really are a defector..." "Well?" "I tell you, I'm loyal." "I posed as a defector to carry out my assignment." "Proof." "What if this is a trick?" "Don't be paranoid, Varsi." "I have to think." "Of course." "I'm a patient man." "Let's go." "We set up a search grid of the city, concentrating on the area where the ambulance was last seen." "We're pulling men out of traffic, and we have full cooperation of the highway patrol." "There should be, oh, a hundred officers searching." "Good." "We appreciate the help, Captain Douglas." "We want him as much as you do, Mr. Nelson." "Nicholas Varsi." "You have the advantage of me." "Well, it's certainly not any secret." "Federal Intelligence Service." "You see, they took me when they raided FIS Interrogation to get you." "Then we're both prisoners." "Sure." "And, see, now we prisoners can have a friendly little chat." "We can exchange confidences and all that kind of thing." "Sure." "Unless you wanna test the microphone in this rat hole." "Look, all right." "We're both professionals, and we know the rules." "I don't trust you, you don't trust me, okay?" "That sounds reasonable." "And neither of us trusts Mr. Smith." " I asked who you were." " I told you, I'm an FIS agent." "And I'm a professional killer for the KGN." "Except they're holding you prisoner." " You really did intend to defect, right?" " Of course." "And you really are an agent for the FIS, or is it the KGN?" "I told you." "And naturally, I believe you." "You know, when I was a small boy," "I had a hopeless fantasy for surprise packages." "You know, at the carnival, you buy an unlabeled box and hope there's a hidden treasure inside." "Never was." "I'm convinced." "You don't trust me." "Speaking as a defector, all I can say is that you're lovely." "You know, it would be nice if we were really alone on that desert island." "There aren't any desert islands anymore." "They blew them all up testing bombs." "See, all we've got is one cellar, a lot of mutual distrust, and not a whole lot of time." "That's clear." "We're more than halfway through the area." "And still nothing." "This is one cute character, Jim." "He's selling: killer or defector, whatever you'll buy." "Maybe." "But he sure sold me." "He may be a genuine defector." "What's the reading on the lie detector, Barney?" "Indecisive." "As you can see, the graphs are borderline." "Either truth or a very good set of lies." "Now, we still have all the questions." "We have no hard answers." "And a full-scale police search to worry about." " We'll have to gamble on you, Andrea." " I'm ready." "We've decided to believe in your loyalty to the KGN, Mr. Varsi." "I'm deeply touched." "We gave you a lie-detector test." "You passed it." "However, she will provide absolute proof." "See, after tonight, you won't be able to defect." "The FIS would have you executed on sight." "Because, you see, you will have shot one of their agents." "Kill her." "Go ahead." "Sorry." " A blank, huh?" "Of course." " It was a test." "You passed it." "You wanted to see if I would kill on order." "Make a list of whatever supplies you need." "You're letting me carry out my assignment?" "Yes." "Well, by now, we've searched approximately 80 percent of the area." " Well, how much longer?" " Oh, three hours, maybe more." "Well, how about a little less?" "Identification, money." "You sure you don't want help with this assignment?" " Very positive." " All right, that's it, then." "One more thing." "That girl, the FIS agent." "I might need a hostage in case there's any trouble." "What if there isn't?" "I'll dispose of her." "We're down to roughly four square blocks." "Warehouses mostly." "Some light manufacturing." "An empty winery." "You drive." "I'd like to keep an eye on you." "Good luck." "Yeah, I hope I won't need any." "What do you think?" "Still up in the air." "If he's a defector, he'll turn Andrea in to the FIS as proof." "And if he's KGN, he'll use her and kill her as proof." "That's right." "Let's get going." "He's heading east on Commonwealth." "Right." "If you really are a defector, I know the way to the local FIS office." "I thank you very much, but I'll find my own way." "Turn right at the light." "They've stopped." "We'll stay just in range." "Get in." "Yes, sir." "Nice and clear." "Nicholas Varsi." "This detects electronic devices." "It should sound like a Sousa march." "They're still sitting there." "Clean." "Do you really think I'm planted on you?" "That I'm KGN?" "I'd rather apologise for a mistake than die for one." "I apologise." "They've been standing still too long." "He must've found the bug." "Okay." "Stop at the next gas station." " We're half-full." " Half-empty." "I don't wanna have to stop on the way." " Fill her up." " Yes, sir." " They're on South Maple." " We're on our way." "Okay, 3.85, 95, 4 and 1 is 5." "And we thank you, sir." "Sure." "Say, is that a metal detector?" "No, no, that's the electromagnetic detector." "I once saw one of these advertised." "Do they really work?" "Hey, it really sounds off." "Yeah." "It certainly does, huh?" " Hey." "Hey, well, have a nice day, now." " Thanks." " I didn't know it was there." " Clever." "Who do you work for?" "Or maybe the question is who does Mr. Smith work for?" "FIS or KGN?" "We've lost them." "Let's hope he really is going to defect." "Or else he's going through with his assignment, and then kill Andrea." " They set you up nicely." " Yeah." "Only the best." "Food, clothing." "Weapons." "Who's your target?" "Somebody I don't know." "Of course, the blame will go to a native fanatic." "A bucketful of gasoline tossed on the fires of domestic hatred." "It's getting late." "Late for what?" "I'm expecting a visitor." "Visitor?" " Oh, yes, your chief." " Yeah, I'm meeting him here." " I hardly know what he looks like." " I don't understand." "Well, it's my price for this assignment." "Yeah, I insisted on getting out alive." "So I demanded that Kemmer himself get me away." "I..." "I suggest you remain quiet." "He might insist on killing you at once." "He's a very cautious man." "Okay?" "Andrea will try to communicate with us if she can leave a signal, get to a phone, reactivate that bug, something." "So you cover the south side, we'll take the north." "Right, Jim." "Maybe we better contact Barney now." "Yeah?" "It's Andrea." "Two." "Two." "Seven." "What are you trying to do?" "Whatever it is, it's not very smart." "I warned you about Kemmer." "She's at 227 North Fargo." "Got it, Jim." "I'm on my way." "Mr. Nelson." "Well, not really." "Colonel Oleg Kemmer." "And you conducted my interrogation." "Well, I had to make sure you weren't really a defector." "Of course." "I'll tell you something, colonel." "You were wrong." "I wanted to give the Americans something valuable:" "You." "Of course, it occurred to me when you insisted on meeting me here." "That's why I replaced the firing pin in your rifle with a defective one." "Who is she?" "I'm not sure." "Allow me to introduce Colonel Oleg Kemmer." "Tape his ankles and wrists." "He's hurt." "Nicholas?" "Oh, he's an enduring man." "Someday he'll have to tell you what happened to him in Vienna." "Hey, Nicholas?" "He ran for three miles with a bullet in one lung." "A man does what he has to." "Now, tape him." "Otherwise, I'll blow off his kneecap to keep him secured." "No, wait." "Wait." "I'll do it." "I've altered the plan, Nicholas." "The assassin will be a foreign agent, a fanatic." "One Nicholas Varsi." "He will kill his target, then the girl he took as a hostage." "Then I'll burst in, and I'll have to execute you." "I'll probably get a medal." " You take the back." " Right." " You'll be all right." " Sure." "Well, at least now we know you're for real." "Well, that answers one question." "We know who I am." "But who are you?" "We just have to leave it a question."