" You say something?" " No." "It's all right." " What you working on?" " Blowback from the Islamabad mission." "Find anything?" "Birkoff, you ever think about going out for a little walk?" "You can stretch your legs a little bit." "Get a few rays on that pasty mug of yours." "Would you hand me that thermo-enhancer there?" "Sure." " Find somebody?" " Yeah." "Who?" " What are you looking for, Birkoff?" " That's a Red Cell thread." "How high does it go?" "All the way to the top, I think." "Well, think again." "The head of Red Cell wouldn't be..." " on a relocation profile." " It's possible." "All you got here is a little hunch... and a cold cup of coffee." "Better think about that walk outside." "Might help you see things just a little clearer." "Later." " Where's Operations?" " He's in the Tower." " Get him." " He's not to be disturbed." "I told you I was not to be disturbed." "What is it, Birkoff?" "I found the Cardinal." "Do you see what I mean?" "I mean, look at this foyer." "Sparse, airy, but inviting." "Where are my manners?" "Nikita, Monique." " Monique, Nikita." "Kiss, kiss and all that." " Hi." " Hello." " Monique is my new interior decorator." "I told her you wouldn't mind me showing her around your flat." "Actually, I'm right in the middle of something, Mick." "We won't be long, doll." "We'll be gone in a jiff." "See, it's the flow." "A little bit of nouveau Feng Shui, don't you think?" " You did a really nice job in here." " Thanks." " Mick, this really isn't the right time." " Cozy, though... very cozy." "And with this look, I can have the best of both worlds." "Like a rock and roll." "Like high energy, urban exterior... and a relaxed, casual interior." "And look at what she's done to this kitchen space." "I mean, that is handsome." "Very handsome." "Allow me." " Hello?" " Josephine." "It's for you." " Hey!" " Look alive, sugar." " What's going on?" " Birkoff thinks he's found the Cardinal." "The head of Red Cell?" "Twenty years we've been looking for this guy and then suddenly he surfaces." "What do you think?" "I don't know." "It could be anyone down the Red Cell food chain." "Maybe it's a misread." "Birkoff hasn't slept in days." "Hell, what do I know?" "I'm just the boy with the toys." " How's Albania?" " I was called back." "I haven't seen you for a while." "You've all been pre-briefed, so I'll short the details." "The mission is twofold:" "Extract the Cardinal, eliminate the base camp." "What do we have on him?" "Nothing." "He's never been photographed." "All we have to go on is a partial." "A balaclava he once wore." "This image was taken during his evac of a temporary outpost we raided." "It's the closest we ever came to eliminating the target." "He was alerted, we were ambushed." "I used a pinpoint diagnostic to create the profile." "This is all we have." "We're going to layer this six deep." "Michael's team will have point." "Birkoff?" "Because of the target, it's extreme wetware and hard defense." "Each team will need stealth gear, tripwire detects." "Tactical details will be on your panels." "We move in one hour." "That's all." "Get me George." "What is it, Hillinger?" "Sir, there's been a convergence at Section One." "They're pulling back from all active assignments..." " tunneling their manpower." " Why?" "Well, it would seem that Birkoff thinks he's found the Cardinal." " Has he?" " No, sir." "He has not." " Then what has he found?" " Well... the Cardinal dropped the tags." "A diversion." "Red Cell does this routinely every six months or so." "I guess nobody told Seymour it's nothing to get excited about." "Are you quite sure?" "Yes, sir." "Quite." " Have we assigned the new contingencies?" " Davenport is handling it." " Evac points?" " Birkoff is downloading the new positions." "Sir, George is on the line." " Hello, George." " Paul." "Tell me about this Alpha team you have going into Northern Europe." "I'm sending a recon team into the new borders." "The mission has a Q-status attached to it." "Because of the political situation in that region... we felt dark approach was best." "I know about the Cardinal, Paul." "Hillinger looked at the data and came to a different conclusion than Birkoff." "It's a trap." "I want the mission scrapped." "We've been after this man for 15 years, George." "This is the closest we've ever come to getting him." "The Cardinal mission is grounded." "Hillinger thinks you're wrong." " I'm not." " Hillinger is the best there is... at surfacing intel, and he didn't find the Cardinal." "That's his problem." "You disagreed with him on Madagascar." "It resulted in significant casualties." " This has nothing to do with Hillinger." " Good." "Then initiate mobilization and bring back the Cardinal." " You're okay?" " What happens if I'm wrong?" "You can't think that way." "Ever since Hillinger came to work here, I've done nothing..." " but second-guess myself." " Yeah, he's good." "So are you." "You found the Cardinal." "Hillinger didn't." "Yeah." "And now I'm wondering why he didn't." "What if I overlooked something?" "I'm about to deploy on the single most important mission... that Section has ever moved on..." " and I can't give the command." " Forget Hillinger." " I can't." " You have to." " He's better than me." " Yeah." "He's brilliant." "It takes more than analyzing raw data to do this job." "What's that?" "Instinct." "What does your gut tell you, Birkoff?" "Is it the Cardinal or not?" "Bring all teams in." "We're operational." "Operations hasn't recalled the Cardinal mission." "Initiate the Protocol Five against him." "Effective immediately." " He has to be taken out of play." " No." "I wouldn't do that if I were you." "Operations has already sealed his fate by sending his men into a trap." "He has to proceed, or you have nothing." "All you have to do now is sit back and watch him hang himself." " How does it look?" " Empty." "Does that make sense?" "Shouldn't we be encountering some form of defensive recon?" "Why?" "Birkoff superseded Hillinger's assessment." "We could be sitting ducks." "That's always a concern." "First team's approaching entry point." "And what entry point would that be?" "Hillinger." " How did you get on this channel?" " Hey, Seymour." "I'm in the middle of a mission." "First team launch tactical." "Go." "You ignoring me?" " Get off this channel." " Relax." "I'm just here to watch the show." "What show?" " Well, you're about to crash and burn." " That's what you think." "Sorry, pal." "It's a fact." "You're going after someone who ain't there." "Michael, outer layer is clean." "Go, let's go!" "Move!" "You know, when all's been said and done, the blood's been mopped up..." "Section will finally see you for the hack I've always known you to be." "You didn't do your homework, Greg." "The relocation orders were sent..." " on a Gaffa signal." " I know that." "Yeah." "But did you know Red Cell layers them?" "You probably didn't recycle twice before you decoded." "Greg?" "Greg, are you still there?" " Sir?" " Not now!" "He did it." "First team is in play." "I just spoke with Mr. Jones." "He agrees with your assessment." "After this is over, I want you to prepare a co-opt order on Section One." "Operations will be removed." "Well done." "Oh, God." "This just came in." "Where did this come from?" "We're not sure." "It was put over one of the open channels we monitor." "Has it been analyzed for integrity?" "It's clean." "But we're trying to back-channel it now." "We believe the message to be valid." "Course of action, sir?" "Okay, you're clear." "Birkoff, what's your thermo read?" "Thermo's frosty." "It could be a structural deflect." "Move to your final mark." "Come on." "They're there." "I know it." " Where are we, Birkoff?" " One minute, sir." "Michael, proceed." "What's the problem?" "Go on, Seymour!" "Tell him you screwed up!" "I have Michael combing the perimeter." "He'll find him." "Birkoff, the Cardinal's not here." " First team?" " First team engaging hostiles." "Second team in." "Advance to your mark and engage." "Periphery teams, move forward and tighten." " Where are they coming from?" " Move it!" "Move it!" "First team, respond." " Anyone!" " Second team engaging hostiles under..." "First team?" " You've buried us." " No." "Someone tipped off Red Cell." "They evacuated before we got there." " I'm sure of it." " Sure of it doesn't count anymore." " I can find the Cardinal." " It's too late." "I satellite-tagged the Red Cell base as soon as I detected it." " Anyone going in or out will be marked." " How many tags?" "206." "Hillinger was right." "It was a Red Cell plant..." " meant to cripple us." " No." "I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to make you pay for this." "What..." "If you just give me some more time..." "I can find the Cardinal." "You don't have any more time." " What happened?" " Someone sabotaged the mission." "How can you be sure?" "We detected residual thermo in the Cardinal's war room." "He sent a tactical command minutes before we got there." "The embassy bombing in South Africa this morning." "The order came from the location Birkoff sent us to." " Goodbye, Seymour." " No, don't." "Please." "Sir, you can't do this." "Don't!" "Stop!" "Sir, I can find him!" "Don't!" "Don't! "Don't..."" " The Cardinal may have been on-site." " How do we know this?" "We can trace a command that went out." "It had his tactical signature." "That's enough!" "I need to run those thermos and analyze all movements." "We will assemble a small field team." "Birkoff... you have one last chance." "The mission is simple." "I want Operations and all sympathizers." "A Type One Directive is in effect." "Opposition will be dealt with." "Any questions?" "Good." "Secure Section One." "George is on his way." " Has the team been assembled?" " They're on standby." "We should go." "You've run the numbers." "What are our chances of finding the Cardinal?" "Less than 5%." "You've been by my side for the past 17 years." "This time, I don't want you coming with me." "You're going to need my help." "Remember this place?" "The old van access." "I remember the first time I came through that door." "Things were much clearer then." "We all came in that way." "How did we get here?" "In less than an hour, Section One will be forcefully relieved... of its authority by Oversight." "Do not resist." "Effective immediately, I am relinquishing my command." "There will be inquiries." "There will be a purge." "Anyone closely associated to my leadership will be tainted." "Profess your loyalty to George, and you might survive." "Thank you for your efforts on my behalf." "You're aware we're going to need a mobile unit to pursue the Cardinal." " I would like you two to lead the cell." " Is that a request or an order?" "It's a request." "She's asking us to do a favor?" "When was the last time you did one for us?" "If you don't want to do it, just tell me." "This will keep you off their satellites." " How's your head?" " I'm fine." "You're not fine." "Take a look at yourself." "You're 1,000 miles away from here." " I have to find this guy." " I've seen the numbers, pal." " They don't look good." " I don't care about the numbers." " Lf I don't find him, Hillinger will." " Stop obsessing about Hillinger." "There's always going to be someone who's going to do something... better than you." "If Hillinger wasn't around..." "Operations never would've strapped me in that chair." "Wrong!" "They don't care any more about Hillinger... than they do about you." "They just want to get the job done." "All these years I've seen it happen to so many people." "Never thought I'd be marked for cancellation." " Why are we doing this?" " We wouldn't survive under George." "You need this place, don't you?" "No." " We need confirmation on that first." " You have it." " I have it up now." " I've jammed the satellite." "Dark cover initiated." "Dark can certainly help." "The target is class-one priority." "We're on our own." "We're gonna need clear passage into the northern territory." "Section One secured." " Why haven't you found him yet?" " I'm narrowing it down, sir." "Birkoff just went online." "But he knows I'm looking... so he's piggybacking a couple dozen servers." "If the Cardinal is out there..." "Operations will not find him before we do." " Is that understood?" " Yes, sir." "Damn it." "Read it back to me." "No." "Hold positions." "No word." "Yes." "NT scope is clean." "So are the regional thermos." " I got him." " Hold it." "You're sure?" "The Cardinal never moves without a cluster shadow." " Location?" " East grid." "I'm downloading to the panels now." "We can go to tactical as soon as you give the word." "We're moving." "Hello, Seymour." " Sir?" " You found them?" "You bet I found them and the Cardinal." "That's where they're headed." "If we move now, we can get them both." "Dispatch a team." "Oversee it personally." "Yes, sir." " Sir, there's no one here." " What do you mean?" " There's no resistance." " I'll be right there." "We're spread pretty thin in that region." "We don't want to move on Dushanbe until the intel is confirmed." "Where's the Cardinal, bitch?" "Get back to me when your team is in position." "Thank you, boys." "That will be all." "What is this place?" "Who the hell are you?" "We've been following you and Mr. Birkoff's recent activities." "I must say, I'm a little surprised you were so badly outmaneuvered." "What are you talking about?" "The man in the next room is not the Cardinal." "He's Mr. Jones." "George's boss." "Welcome to the Center." "It's rather disappointing that Hillinger didn't turn out to be... the operative we thought him to be." "Perhaps Mr. Birkoff would better suit our purposes." "Perhaps." "The Cardinal." "Congratulations." "Stand down." "Tell me about Cyrus Norasti." "He's dead." "Before that." "He was born in a small village in Iraq." "At 17, after witnessing the murder of his father by... death-squad soldiers, he formed a small... paramilitary organization that opposed... the hard-line government." "March 12, 1978." "What can you tell me about that date?" "He met Kim Min Jung." "So Norasti supplied the soldiers." "Kim gave them weapons." "And you gave them?" "I gave them direction." "Direction." "Both men started working for me in 1981." "The new alliance became known throughout the antiterrorist community... as Red..." "Cell." "Red Cell." "Red Cell." "Two days ago, when we attacked your base camp, you were tipped off." "By whom?" " Our security picked up movement." " That's impossible." "We were on dark approach." "We received a message." "What did it say?" "It told us to evacuate." "Origins?" "We traced it... to the Oversight branch of... the Center." "He's lying." "He has no reason to now." "We found this on him." "It took us some time to decode it." " What is it?" " A communiqué from his base camp." "It came from your office, George." "The communiqué was back-channeled, bumped off two C-Comm satellites." "There's no telling who at Oversight leaked the information to Red Cell." " All right." "Keep looking." " We will." "Center called several times." "Mr. Jones wants to know who's responsible." "Hello, Seymour." "You know, I'm glad it's you taking care of this... instead of one of the others." "After all we've been through, it really couldn't end any other way." "Go on." "Pull the trigger." "Bang, bang." "Come on, Seymour." "This is a big step in your evolution from boy to man." "If it was me holding that gun, I'd be eating a sandwich right now." "Did you tip off Red Cell?" "Just pull the trigger, you coward." "What is it, Birkoff?" "Hillinger was never supposed to be recruited." "We broke profile only because... he can do things no one else can." "He's better than I'll ever be." "We need him alive." "I'll take it under advisement." "Now, did I show you the fabric for my pillowcases?" "Purple gabardine." "Monique says that's my fabric." "It speaks to who I am." "You know, strong, bold, yet traditional." "It also matches my new silk bathrobe." "Sounds like this Monique's really working out for you." "She is not just a decorator, Nikita." "She is a spiritual modifier, you know?" "You really should give her a ring for a consultation." "She'll change your life." "I promise." "Heard Section jumped through a few hoops last week." "Things back to normal?" "Yeah." "That's good." "Hello?" "Yeah." " I gotta go." " Yeah." "Me, too." "No prob." "I've got business to attend to, things to rearrange." "Yeah." "Bye, love." "If things were "reversed..."" "Yeah." "That's good." "What's up?" "Hillinger's dead." "He was just cancelled." "They didn't have to do that." "Davenport's team just crossed the border into Karachi." "Tell them to hold their position until I sweep the perimeter." "What channel is he on?" "Comm command online." "The perimeter looks clean." "Davenport..." "I'm sweeping it now."