"All right." "Red Team, we're ready." "Knock out your primaries." "Move up to final." "Go!" " What's our coverage?" " Nothing on the first floor." "Okay, hold." "Get me scenarios three and five." "Make sure they're synched tight." " Victor, what's going on?" " It's going to be tight." " They're heavily armed." " Blue Team, back up Victor on the north." "We're ready for the interface." "Grandmaster's whining about a rematch... because my program beat him in 19 moves." " You have..." " The interface, Greg." "We're in mid-mission." "Right, the interface." "Didn't do it." " What?" " You have really nice eyes." " I've got live ops out there." " Chill, Seymour!" "Do you mind?" "Thank you." "What channel are they on?" " What are you doing?" " I'm going to walk them through it." "How?" "You haven't worked up the interface yet." "I haven't practiced tying my shoes yet today, either." "Victor." "Where are you?" "Same place." "I'm pinned." "No problem." "Blue Team, I need you split." "Three in the east, one in the hole." " Two, stay on the perimeter." " You idiot!" " Birky, please." " I need you to cycle the egress." "That's how it stays protected." "That's why I needed the interface." "Comm., we're losing feed." "Where's our coordinates?" "My God!" "Everybody hold." "Victor... we are saturated two clicks over." "What's your call?" "Cut me off." " You won't make it out alive." " Can't be helped." "It's the only way to save the team." "Everyone abort." "All teams back to your exit points now." " Go on." "Get out of here." " Come on!" "It was an unfortunate incident, but it was only a stutter step." " We've already begun..." " Since when do you redefine... failure as a stutter step?" "This mission was critical to the entire Near East hub." " It'll be taken care of, George." " You don't even know why it happened." " We're working on it." " Not good enough." "Stop deflecting and start listening." "I am not happy with One, and more to the point, Paul..." "I am not happy with you." "I want all Third Column Operations sent here for redirect." "That's half our load." "And I want the remainder piped through my controllers." "You will not sharpen a pencil... without my approval." "This is your fault." " I beg your pardon." " Tactical falls under your purview." "When they screw up, I look bad." " I'll find the source." " Yes, you will." "If you paid as much attention to this as you do to your idiotic plants... this wouldn't be happening." "I don't think that's fair." "I don't care what's fair, and I don't care what you think." " What are you working on?" " Just stuff." " It's a mission evaluation, isn't it?" " Yeah." "You're not going to hang me out, are you?" "Come on." "I didn't have enough information." " It was on your panel." " I never read my panels." "You know that." "I don't need to." " This time you did." " Birkoff... they'll cancel me." "Probably not, with my luck." " You're too valuable." " Wrong." "They just recruited a stats analyst from OSI." "And a privacy coder from Moscow." "Between the two of them, they can cover everything I do." "Yeah." "But not as fast." "Faster." "I need answers, Birkoff." " I'm just finishing it up now." " Tell me." "The profile was downgraded on site... and there was no contingency to cover it." "That's the job of the mission head." " Right." " Yeah." "Victor screwed up, but in a way, it's... poetic justice." "You just would have had to cancel him anyways." "Send it to me when you're done." "Yeah." "Some quick thinking, Seymour." "I owe you one." "What are you working on?" "Where's that smile?" "So, you thought about what I said?" "'Cause I was serious." "As you know, two days ago we were closing in on Pierre Brulois... when the strike team went down." "Brulois is on the Pentagon red list... the member of a highly-placed... naval intelligence group who's gone rogue." "All the agencies want him taken out because of the damage he could cause... if his knowledge were peddled to the terrorist community." "We've been using satellites and broad-spectrum tags... to get a position on Brulois." "So far they haven't yielded up enough data." "We'll go after him by degrees." "We'll start with this woman here, Francine Chu, one of his mistresses." "Michael will head the team." "Nikita will assist tactical." "I'll initialize the notes and get them over to Walter." " It's already been done." " By who?" " Me." " What?" "He's been bumped to active." " You're needed on site." " Wait a minute." " He's not ready to run a mission." " Why?" " He's just not." " If you have specifics, tell me." "If not, get to work." "I guess he'll be fine." "No mistakes this time." "Got that information on that mission you were asking about." "It's on the computer." "I can download it and bring it to you later." " Madeline." " In a minute." " Now." " Excuse me." " Yes." " George called again." "He's not satisfied with the Bucharest debrief." "What is it he objects to?" "I don't know." "Get on with him and take care of it." "One other thing." " Yes?" " I'd like to see you in the Tower." "What is it you want me to be?" "Your whipping post or your whore?" "I'll see you tonight. 11:00." "All right, Seymour." "The surveillance loop is in place now." "Michael, hold." "There's two on the north rim." "Come in from behind." "See the unit?" "Yes." "N-85, late model." "You got it, Hillinger?" "You're in." "Big challenge." "Michael, we've disabled security." " Hi." " Good evening." "Okay, Michael." "I got it." "They're in the next room." " What's this?" " What?" "Looks like a sensor's gone down on the van." "Check the base system." "Make sure everything's clean." "There's something in the alley." "Why don't I have synch on the exterior vid?" "It looks like a sensor." "I'd get on it." "Can you leave the van?" " Michael, are we clear?" " Yes." "Okay, Hillinger, I'm going out." "Let's go." "Nice try." " What, are you talking to me?" " You're the one who tried to kill me." " What are you talking about?" " What am I talking about?" "It's called black track." "It shows what you tried to do." "Right here." "You cut the surveillance loop... gave away my position." "You knock out my monitor." "Then you send me out to get killed." "Didn't know we could do that, did you, Resident Genius?" "He's the one who screwed up in Bucharest." "I covered for him." " I want this to stop." " I don't." "I'm tired of being needed by you." "Need someone else." "It doesn't work that way." "On the outside this would be sexual harassment." "We're not on the outside." "No, not yet." "Give them another 48 hours." "Yes, if the force doesn't hold, then we'll call on NATO." "Fine." "In an hour." "So, Rubin, how's the mess at One coming along?" "We've assimilated almost 60% of their current projects." " Good." " But there's something else." "Are you still interested in removing Operations?" " What have you found?" " A weak link." "Continue, Greg." "Look, I'll cop to this interface thing." "All right, fine." "But the rest of this stuff is completely bogus." " Birkoff is just jealous." " Of what?" "Are you saying you didn't intentionally put Birkoff at risk?" " Absolutely not." " What about the black track?" "It was a glitch." "You overwrote the bounds of the array." "You shouldn't have declared it a char pointer." "Shut up." "Birkoff?" "The transmission was Alpha secure." "What's "Alpha secure"?" "You can go back, Greg." "Wait a minute." "What are you going to do to me?" "Nothing." "Just get back to your post." "No." "Tell me what "Alpha secure" means." " I can explain this." " Now." "We're running three domestic missions, 27 on the outside." "Can we replace Hillinger and not slow that down?" "Not really." " Not unless I can use the new recruits." " What new recruits?" "The ones from OSI and Moscow." "Who?" "Never mind." "I'm mixing them up with some of our contacts." "Which contacts would they be?" "I can cover all the missions." "I don't need Hillinger." "Then get to it." "Cancel Hillinger." " We could do that, or..." " Why do I need to hear that every time?" "Why do I need two alternatives when I give an order?" "Or we could use him on the Brulois maneuver." "He'd make a valuable Abeyance operative." "Fine." "Do it." "And do something about that perfume." "It smells cheap." "Why'd you lie to me about the new recruits?" " There aren't any." " What do you think?" "You were going to blow me out of the water." "Birkoff, really, what are they going to do with me?" "I wouldn't make any long-term plans." "Excellent." " You wanted to see me?" " Francine Chu is ready." " I'd like you to transfer her." " Is something the matter?" "Once we get a location from her, put a team together..." " make sure Hillinger's on it." " And if I don't need him?" "Make sure you need him." " Do you have a moment?" " No." "I will not tolerate this kind of treatment from you." "I'm sorry if George is undermining you, but I am your ally, not your enemy." "You're neither." "You obey me and will continue to do so until I'm done with you." "If I've done something to upset you..." "I assure you, it was unintentional." "Now, let's talk about it." "It's bad enough your people aren't performing up to standard... but to have to stand here and listen to you grovel... is totally pathetic." "I wish you could see yourself." "This is Madeline." "I've considered your offer... and I'm ready to meet you." " Hello, George." " Madeline." "Good to see you." "It sounds like things are deteriorating over there." "It's a difficult time." "Stressful situations often bring out the true nature of the beast." "He's been under pressure his entire life... but he's never been like this." "It happens more often than you think." "Especially with men his age." "If we don't do this exactly right..." "With my resources and you inside... he won't know what hit him." "And when it's all over... will I run the Section?" "When it's over, you'll run all Sections." "Why are you not in prep?" "I was looking over the profile." "Is it right?" "Yes." "Why?" "How could Hillinger be in Abeyance?" "He made a terminal sequence of mistakes." "Can I change with someone?" "I don't feel comfortable about ushering him into the black." "You were selected because of your relationship with him." "The profile stands." "When you get to the perimeter, go silent." "Retrieve Brulois." "Nikita and Hillinger will set the charge." "Everything within 200 meters will be red zoned." "Make sure you're out." "I'm setting a frequency that will get you to the target." "You'll pick it up when you enter the parking lot." "Got it." "Go." "Did you double-check the numbers?" " Yeah, why?" " When I run this device... it says I have 30 seconds to get out." " So?" " So I just did a calculation in my head." "Nikita, this thing's going to go off as soon as I hit return." "Greg, it's your first time out." "They installed a new delay." "There wasn't time to include it." "When we get to our final mark, just do what I say." " You'll be all right." " Thanks." " All set." "Are you ready?" " Just give me a couple of seconds." " What's that?" " It's nothing." " I'm just doing a parity check." " Parity check?" "Now?" "The second part of the frame buffer had some bits that were fragmented." "I had no time to replace them, so I added a new pathway to DACS." "Don't try to snow me, Greg." "What are you doing?" "Nikita, go." "Okay, Greg, the south egress is secure." "That'll be your exit point." "Stand by to start the clock." "Come on, guys." "Okay, Greg." "Go." "Wait!" "The delay, it's a lie." "It will blow five seconds after you enter." " What about you?" " I should be out of here." " What's going on?" " Greg, you're in Abeyance." " Set it at neg 40, now." " Yeah, I already did." "Let's go!" " Did we get Brulois?" " No." " Why not?" " He wasn't on site." " But it wasn't a loss." " Meaning what?" "When we took out his substation... we picked up a communication from a survivor." " It went directly to Brulois." " That's a confirm?" "Yeah." "He's been tagged." " He's in London." " Prepare a team." "Actually everybody's assigned." "Oversight took practically all our people." "Use Michael's team." " They're not prepared for a piggyback." " Damn it, be a little creative." "Think." "Have them reset through Stockholm." "Predate it so it looks like Q1." "We're going through some changes." "If you can't keep up, you're not needed." "What are you doing here?" "I wanted to let you know that Hillinger sustained the mission." "That's all right." "I can use him for one more, anyway." "You didn't need to come here to tell me that." "That's true." "I thought you might want to relax a little first." "I realized I haven't been as accessible... as you need me to be." "That's going to change." "You can use me anytime, day or night." "If I'm what you need to stay focused on your work... then you can have me." "Thank you, Madeline." "What is it?" "You won't believe what I just got from One." " What?" " A back channel list." " Paul?" " Validated." "He came directly from his office." "Madeline was able to flush it out." " Did you look at it?" " Yes." "It's perfect." "He's working with Brulois." "That's why the Section's missed him the last two attempts." "Paul's sending him intel." "That's not going to be enough." " What should I do?" " Nothing." "This one's mine." " I can get that information you wanted." " I need it as soon as possible." " I can't get out again for another 38 hours." " That's not soon enough." "Then I'll messenger it over." " When?" " This afternoon." " Is this someone we can trust?" " Of course it is." "All right." "One thing." "I want the company key file." "The key file." "Why?" "I want the visibility." "It's too risky any other way." "You know I can't let that out." "Fine." "Then let's call it off." "Goodbye, George." "Madeline." "Okay, Greg." "The unit should be directly in front of you." "I got it." "I got to ask myself, Seymour... why did you have to bring me along for this?" " Even you could have found this out." " Just do it." " It's done." " Michael, you've got entrance." "What are you doing?" "All right, easy, mac." "Target secure." "Okay, let's go to post." "Hillinger, go to 'B' channel." ""B" channel?" "Well, now the party's really started." "All teams exit." "Incineration in 60 seconds." "Comm." "Is down." "What was that?" "Sorry, we were jammed." "Seymour... what are we timing?" "Greg!" " What?" " If you can hear me, Greg, get out." "No, Nikita!" "I can't hear you!" " Greg, can you hear me?" "Get out!" " What?" "If you can hear me, Greg, get out!" " Greg!" " We have to go." "What?" "I can't hear you!" "Nikita!" " You're a very lucky man, Mr. Brulois." " Really?" "How do you figure that?" "You should be dead by now." "In other words, you'll keep me alive till you get what you want." "Actually, we know which group you sold your intel to." "I have a much better offer for you." " How you doing?" " Let's have it." "First, the key file." "Here." "Great." "This is for you." "What is this?" "You've just committed high treason against the agencies... and your government." "Why are you doing this?" "I want my people returned." "All my files and resources... released by the end of the day." " It's going to take a lot longer than..." " Excuse me." "Are you interrupting, George?" "I'm sorry." "Please go on." "I want your resignation." "I beg your pardon?" "Accompanied by your recommendation that I succeed you at Oversight." "And what reason should I give for leaving?" "Cite failing health." "I'll be by your office first thing in the morning... to approve the document before you hand it over to the board." " It will be done." " Good." "Paul." "George." "So you knew we were watching all this time." "Yes, we did." "It was quite a play." "Two years pretending to have a relationship with Madeline... for the sole purpose of advertising a vulnerability... that never existed." "The document, George." "Just so I'm clear." "There was never anything between the two of you?" "Not that it matters now, but, no." "There was never anything." "Adrian and I often spoke of it." "Marveled at it, actually." "Your almost superhuman ability... to detach yourself from feeling anything." "You're trying my patience, George." "Let me see what you've written up." "That's why I became suspicious a few months ago." "Wanting someone, needing someone... it wasn't your style." "That's when I committed to a course of action." "What are you saying?" "Send him in." "Hillinger." "Everything you did was calculated." "Even getting Birkoff... to put you in Abeyance, so you could escape." "Yes, he's got quite the makings, hasn't he, Paul?" "Young Mr. Hillinger proved his brilliance... in extricating the Gemstone file." "I now know everything that happened." "With Adrian, your insatiable quest for power..." "You have my motivation wrong, but, yes... my power base is considerable." "Yes, I know." "And what do you want?" "You know what I want." "The key file." "You know I can't give you that." "So... here we are."