I only need one of you.
Did Nikita send you...
or Michael?
Where is your hit team?
Or is it their precision strike squad?
Or does Division not believe in that kind of killing anymore?
Ah, I'd heard they'd gone soft--
redemption, forgiveness.
Whatever stooge the president put in charge has no clue
what Division is about.
You want forgiveness?
- Sir, do you need help? - [Grunts]
I forgive you.
[Neck cracks]
[Thud]
[Speaking Russian]
Yeah.
[Cheers and applause]
Thousands gathered to celebrate
the special election of Alexi Markov
as President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
His swift rise to power came on the heels
of the sudden death of former President Zelensky last month.
[Beep]
This guy was Division?
To the world, he's Alexi Markov.
To us, Edward.
Sent into deep cover six years ago to infiltrate
the People's Liberty Movement--
Uzbekistan's main opposition party.
- How the hell did he become-- - Master of his domain?
A little luck, a lot of cojones.
He carved out a role for himself as the party's enforcer.
He wormed his way up the ranks,
then when the PLM rose to power last month,
he found himself a heartbeat away.
He made sure that heart didn't beat very long.
One of the dirty thirty is the leader of a foreign country.
My God, this is a disaster.
We talked about these rogues being loose cannons.
This one's a loose nuke.
At least we know where he is. We head to Uzbekistan.
You and what army?
'Cause this guy literally has an army.
He already wiped out our advance team.
He's gonna be on high alert.
This can't be an away game.
He's got a White House state visit on the books
for next week.
That's our window-- when he's in our backyard.
Tricky. If a leader dies on American soil,
whether real or if we fake it, it'll look suspicious.
That's why he's not going to die.
We take him and swap him with a double.
Then we plot his death on our own timeline.
Look, I have read the files.
I know Division's done this before.
Yeah, with carefully selected assets,
months of vetting, and plastic surgery.
We don't have the time.
Unless you ask the president to delay the meeting.
The President?
And what do I tell her when she asks why?
That she'd be helping us get one of our targets.
I'm not telling the president that a rogue Division Agent
is currently running Uzbekistan.
Now, we intercept Markov after he arrives in the states
but before he gets to the White House.
I want conops and mission breakdown on my desk
by close of play.
I'm just gonna say it.
There are lots of brands of decaf that are just as tasty
as the real thing.
I say we make the switch.
You know, there is still a little piece of my head
you didn't bite off,
in case you want to go for seconds.
[Sighs] I know. I'm sorry.
But this is a volatile situation.
We realize that.
We all know how high the stakes are.
You need to trust that we know what we're doing
and we're not gonna let you down.
Can you do that?
- Of course. - Okay.
But, I mean, based on how tightly wound
you've been lately, I'm not so sure.
I'm not just talking about today.
[Sighs]
Birkhoff and Sonya came to me with something.
Looks like Amanda knew exactly when the attack on medical
went down.
- Knew how? - [Sighs]
The bad version-- somebody told her.
A mole.
Well, I guess we shouldn't be surprised.
Probably too much to hope that this was one big, happy ship.
The Titanic was a happy ship right until the end.
Let me put Alex on it. She's experienced with this.
Right.
It takes a mole to catch a mole.
You sure that's all?
The Markov situation isn't helping.
I knew these rogues would be trouble.
I had no idea how much. Don't worry about it.
We'll catch this guy.
Talk to Birkhoff and Sonya.
They can get you access to the entire network.
Keep it quiet. Right. Sneakysneak.
You're authorized to question anybody
you think is of interest.
Yeah? Where are you going?
Except me.
Ryan Fletcher. [Buzzer sounds]
[Lock clicks]
Did anyone see you enter the tunnels?
Nope. Maybe someday I'll get to use the front door.
Madame President.
Gentlemen, let's make this quick.
This PDB highlights an incident at Senator Herek's rally
as a matter for concern.
The briefing before that flagged the theft
of an experimental explosive from...
Fort Granville.
Fort Granville as the work of possible coverts.
Madame President, in both cases, we--
I have thrown them off the scent.
I told them that we had more important work to do,
which we do.
We are making progress.
We brought down some serious threats.
We have strong leads on several others.
My priority is the running of this country.
This week I am hosting a delegation from Uzbekistan
because they finally have a president who is willing
to work with us.
That is the work that this administration
needs to be doing.
I can't let the specter of some rogue Black Ops group
overshadow that.
If the public gets even a hint of what Division has done,
my entire agenda becomes an afterthought.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Yes. Yes, I do.
And we are working on improving our containment strategies.
We are scrubbing the place clean of Percy's legacy.
Was Percy really the problem?
Excuse me?
Or is Division the disease itself?
Evan.
Ma'am, you have to be politic. I don't.
What does that mean?
You know damn well what it means.
Special Forces have been placed on ready alert.
We made a deal.
Commander Danforth is not saying this has to happen.
But you need to know that it will happen if necessary.
Within minutes of the scramble order,
they will raid your compound and scrub it clean.
The objective was to shut Division down discreetly.
The objective is not being met.
So you go the other way...
with an attack so loud it can't be covered up?
The cover story's pre-written.
Dead assassins can't contradict it.
Okay, Evan, stop.
The only person that can give that order is me,
and I'm not giving it yet.
The purpose of this meeting was to get on the same page
and to get our priorities clear.
Fletcher is promising to color within the lines.
Danforth is saying keep your junk in your pants,
or we'll cut it off.
Is that politic enough?
The next time we hear of Division in a negative light
will be the last time we hear of Division.
♪ Nikita 3x05 ♪ The Sword's Edge Original air date on November 30, 2012
== sync, corrected by elderman ==
How the hell are we gonna get this guy?
His security profile's pretty solid.
Once his personal guards turn him in to the Secret Service
he's basically untouchable.
So the White House is the end zone.
We can't let him in.
The most secure building in the world?
That's kind of a nonstarter. That leaves his hotel.
He's gonna be there one night
before he meets President Spencer.
Even if we grab him there, how are we gonna replace him?
Ah, the miracle of science.
It's an electro-active polymer.
It changes shape when you run a current through it.
DARPA's been developing it to create artificial muscle
for wounded soldiers.
If you have detailed enough data,
you can achieve...
[Computer beeping]
A mask.
Is that you? Mmhmm.
It's pretty, ain't it? The perfect replica--
same tone and consistency as real skin and muscle.
So who's gonna wear it?
Someone the same height and build as Markov,
someone who speaks Russian and has experience
in cover missions.
- You. - Da.
Only hitch is, we need ultra-detailed measurements
to get this thing to work, which means a laser scan
of Markov's face.
Should take about two hours.
So we need to build in a two-hour gap
between grabbing Markov and replacing him--
I mean, me.
So I can see how we get to him, but extraction?
It's not gonna be easy transporting him out of there,
not quietly.
We don't have to transport him.
He's gonna transport himself.
[Siren wails]
[Cheers and applause]
[Camera shutters clicking]
Da.
How's whack-a-mole? Ryan brought me up to speed.
Mm. I'm glad. I could use your help.
I've been scanning server traffic.
Find anything?
No. I've been checking for incursions,
but all of the packet filters are intact.
If anyone hacked in, they've covered it up really well.
Look for a protocol-wrapped tunnel.
A shell program? First thing Seymour had me do.
I told him it would be pretty obvious, and he got all huffy.
I don't know what's worse for Birkhoff--
the fact that someone pulled one over on him
or that it was me and Nikita. [Computer beeping]
Someone's breached an internal firewall.
Are they contacting someone on the outside?
[Computer beeping and whirring]
No, they're on an older server--
archived records, low-level data.
The access point is medical.
Whoever's doing this is there right now.
Nikki's on approach.
Detaching from glider...now.
Ops, Nikita. Touchdown.
Copy that. Target's in the zone.
Okay, you're looking for the H-VAC unit.
It's at the southeast corner.
Tap the number three line.
Got it.
All right.
Is he ready for room service?
Almost.
Hey, bring me back some of those chocolates, will you?
They'll be on your pillow tonight.
[Computer beeping]
[Device beeping]
[Hissing]
[Gun cocks]
[Breathing heavily]
- Thanks. - Sprucing the place up?
Making it homier.
No, they're retrofitting the place
with new biocontainment safeties.
Because of Amanda's Sarin gas attack.
It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Hey, guys, you want to give us a couple minutes?
Thanks.
What's up?
Still having problems with your memories?
No change, if that's what you mean.
It must be really frustrating
knowing Amanda's got all the answers.
Probably very tempting to try and reach out.
What are you talking about?
A restricted server was breached
coming from this location.
Did anyone ask you to go looking for something?
I don't know what you're talking about,
but, yeah, I was hunting... For information on my past.
The file Nikita gave me had nothing,
so I figured I'd search the archive.
Yeah, on a classified volume. How did you break in?
Just 'cause I was a cleaner
doesn't mean I didn't go through the rest of the training.
I didn't realize you were watching me.
Hey, hey, hey.
Why are you asking about Amanda? Can't be too careful.
If you're worried about her getting into the system,
why are you monitoring internal traffic?
You think she has a mole.
That's it, isn't it? Let me help you find him.
Hey. Wake up.
Yeah, there's a com in your ear. That's why you can hear me.
In your mouth is a modified M67 frag grenade...
[Grenade beeping] Which is now armed.
Do exactly as I say,
or you're gonna have a very, very unhappy dentist.
Ah, no, no, no.
I wouldn't do that if I were you.
There's a bag next to you. In it is a rappelling harness.
There's a line already outside the window,
get yourself down to the street and don't let security see you.
Oh, also...
you have three minutes.
Hands!
You stupid bitch.
Do you even know what you've done?
Taken a murdering psychopath with delusions of grandeur
out of commission-- am I in the ballpark?
This could lead to Amanda.
I can't talk to you about this.
You said it yourself.
Amanda has answers about my past.
- Shut up. - Look, I'm not gonna let you--
No, no, seriously shut up.
You hear that? [Device beeps]
Get in the car.
You have ensured the destruction of Division.
[Device beeps]
[Rattling]
[Fire extinguisher hissing]
- Is everyone okay? - Yeah.
Owen and Alex were the only ones here--they got clear.
I'm fine.
How long do we have before we have to get Markov back?
Four hours, tops.
Let's get him to Birkhoff. Start the scan.
We got to get you changed.
I still have to sample his vocals.
Traces of corrosive on the edge.
This was planned. You sure?
I know my acids.
That mole does not want to be found.
You weren't supposed to say anything.
I didn't tell him. He guessed.
Why do I get the feeling you all think I'm an idiot?
[Sighs]
Okay, pull all the duty rosters, find out who had access,
and start questioning them.
If anybody asks, this was an accident.
Everyone's jumpy already.
Go to the arms locker, get a sidearm.
The mole knows you're on the hunt.
All right, once the mapping's done,
it shouldn't take long to shape the polymer.
Sampling of his vocals are complete.
How's the hair going? [Computer beeping]
I'm on it.
[Computer beeping]
[Whirring]
All right.
So...
How long are you going to be in cover?
A couple of weeks--
just long enough to go to Uzbekistan
and arrange for a nice, natural death.
I got to say, I'm not really crazy about you
leaving for so long.
We've been apart before.
Well, not since we've been engaged.
It makes a difference, huh?
- Surprisingly, yes. - Ah.
Pitiful.
Percy gave you a gift,
a new life, a chance to serve you country.
And what did you do?
Could you stop him from moving?
He's gonna screw up the scan. You betrayed him.
You turned your back on your duty, and for what--
to play house?
Division used to stand for something.
Now what do they do?
They hunt down and kill their own.
You had a chance to do the right thing
and turn yourself in. I did the right thing...
With a little help from Amanda.
Amanda?
Yeah, she helped me craft a message for you.
What message?
You know me as Alexi Markov,
duly-elected President of Uzbekistan.
But for ten years, I was an undercover operative
with a covert American Black-Ops group known as Division.
My public background and my life--it's a lie.
I was placed in this country
to spy on and disrupt local government through murder,
torture, and violence.
Just like I spied on and disrupted other governments--
some of them U.S. allies.
The file has a text attachment--
names, dates, places.
This video gets released to every major media outlet
unless I give my people a password every morning.
Let me go, or in a few hours,
Division will be exposed to the world,
and the full force and fury of the U.S. military
will be turned on you.
That's a nice bluff.
I think he knows it's not a bluff.
Ryan?
That's not gonna happen, is it?
How did you find out?
Amanda assumed that the president
would have a kill contingency in her back pocket.
What the hell is this guy talking about?
It's okay.
I don't want that video out there any more than you do.
How would I go back to being president?
So I'm gonna make you a deal.
Once I sign this military aid agreement
with President Spencer,
billions of U.S. dollars will be flowing into Uzbekistan.
Once I skim my fair share off the top,
you'll never hear from me again.
So let me go.
And hurry up, eh?
I got to clean up before I meet the Prez.
[Sighs]
Get him ready for transport back to the hotel.
You can't be serious.
[Sighs]
Tell me this isn't true,
that you're playing some kind of con.
Nikita.
What does he mean that the government
will destroy Division?
The president has made it clear she can't let Division
become a liability to her administration.
If it does, Special Forces will come in here
and wipe us out.
And unlike the Marines who were set to attack last time,
these troops are fully prepped, with complete floor plans
and a full roster of every agent and where they live.
Plans and rosters-- how could they get them?
I gave it to them.
It was the price for sparing this place the first time.
Look, the president had to have a contingency.
A contingency?
You're talking about mass murder.
How could you keep this from me? Because that's my job!
Do you want to do it?
I didn't think so.
We will get Markov another day.
I'll give your best to the president.
Uzbekistan's army-- how big is it?
'Cause you're gonna need every last man to stop me
from getting you.
Those are big words. And for what?
Your pathetic new Division is not worth saving.
[Tires squealing]
Now, if we have any more questions, we'll be in touch.
[Sighs] This is going nowhere.
Anyone could have gotten to that oxygen tank.
[Groans]
Don't they restrict access to the sublevels anymore?
No. We let people roam around more freely now.
Oh, good...
'Cause I may move, you know, get out of here.
- [Chuckles] - Gas attacks, explosions--
I was safer in a Russian prison.
Well, if you hadn't been there today,
I would be dead.
Actually, I wasn't supposed to be there today.
How could anyone have planned for that?
You weren't the target.
- Who would want you dead? - In here?
Who wouldn't?
I was a reaper.
I killed agents and their loved ones.
That's why Percy kept me out of here for so many years.
What are you doing?
Cross-referencing your mission files with the duty roster.
Do you recognize any of these names?
Yeah.
No, I'm telling you, I can find the source video.
We still have the cryptograph we nabbed from Amanda.
Now, I can get into any system-- Birkhoff-
No! I can get into any system in the world with that thing!
Okay? We delete all the copies of the video,
neutralize the threat, huh?
And Markov makes another video.
- You got a better idea? - There aren't any better ideas.
Yes, there is.
We run...
Tell everyone in here that their government
is trying to kill them, and then we open the barn doors.
You can't be serious.
And have 300 agents panic and go rogue?
Or what-- wait to be slaughtered?
It's not gonna come to that.
Can you guarantee that?
Are you giving me your word, Ryan?
I got another idea.
We can go public, and we can tell our story to the press.
If we go loud enough,
the government wouldn't risk touching us.
There'd be too much scrutiny. No.
- Why not? - It won't work.
Well, why not?
Because we're criminals, Michael.
There's a reason the president doesn't trust us.
Most of us are ex-prisoners.
Some of us are convicted killers.
If we go public, they send us right back to where we were.
And for me, that's death row.
Maybe they're right.
Maybe we can never change who we are.
No, Nikita, you have to trust--
You have lost the right to ask for my trust!
Nikita. Nikita!
Let her be...
For your own safety.
I ain't going back to prison, man.
I'm just putting together an accident report.
Okay.
Uh, you've been working in medical this week, right?
Yeah, I've been upgrading the biofilters.
Right. Do you know Owen?
- Excuse me? - Owen, the patient in medical.
No.
Owen used to carry out what Percy called
"internal sanctions,"
which basically means killing other agents.
And I had Owen look through some old files,
and he remembered your name from a mission profile
a few years ago.
There was something about you having a relationship
with another agent.
[Sighs] I can't remember her name.
Um...
I don't know. Was it, um...?
Julia. Her name was Julia.
Right. Julia.
I canceled her.
Owen, we agreed I would handle this.
Percy gave the order, but I carried it out.
You were right to target me.
Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Carl, drop it.
Owen, move. Drop the knife, now!
Drop the knife!
- Alex? Alex-- - Nikita, stay back.
What the hell?
Carl's the one who sabotaged medical.
- Do you know what he's done? - Yes, I do. Believe me, I do.
Then you know why he has to die.
Carl, listen to me. Owen's a different person now.
No, he isn't. He's Division.
That part of you-- that never changes.
You want to kill me? Go ahead.
Owen.
'Cause if we really can't change and you're right,
I don't deserve to live.
There's a lot of my past that I don't remember,
and some people say I should be able to live with that.
But I can't.
I need to remember...
The good...
And especially the bad.
Otherwise how am I going to make up for my sins?
So, yeah...
I remember Julia.
I remember her apartment.
She wore a blue shirt with yellow flowers.
[Sniffles]
She fought.
She fought so hard.
[Sniffles]
It should have been me.
She didn't deserve that.
She didn't deserve it.
No one does.
[Cries]
I'm sorry.
[Knife clatters on ground]
The last head of Division lied to me too. He's dead now.
Percy was lying to protect himself.
I was trying to protect all of you.
And you lost everyone's trust,
and you let the bad guy get away.
[Sighs] We've still got another shot at Markov.
We've got time until he gets his money,
time to figure out how to bring him in.
No, we don't.
I used the cryptograph to get into Markov's personal server.
I found this. [Computer beeps]
By now, the world knows that President Spencer is dead.
What you don't know is why I had to kill her.
It was her fear and cowardice that lead directly to the murder
of a truly great leader.
Percy was a patriot and a visionary.
He took me from the gutters and made me into one of the elites--
someone who could do anything.
I owe my life to Percy.
He's the greatest man I've ever known.
We got a die-hard Percy loyalist on a suicide run.
[Computer beeps]
It's scheduled to hit in six hours.
He pre-recorded this.
He could snap her neck at any second.
He became president of Uzbekistan
just to get into range.
Where's Markov now?
Motorcade already left the hotel.
White House itinerary calls for the greeting ceremony
in three hours.
What are you doing?
[Phone beeps] Warning the president.
Whoa! Whoa! No, no, no.
You tell her the truth about Markov,
she triggers the attack on Division.
Tell him, Mikey.
Birkhoff, we have a duty to our country.
Screw the country. I'm not becoming seal chow.
Then I suggest you join Nikita and start running.
No one's running. You're right, Birkhoff.
Damn straight.
You tell her the truth, they'll kill us.
- We say nothing, he kills her. - No.
We are going to stop Markov.
Division is going to save the president's life
without her even knowing her life was in danger,
because she is wrong about us.
We have changed.
Not that I haven't seen you do the impossible,
but how exactly are we planning on doing this?
Same as before--
we grab him, make the switch, fake his death later.
But he's headed for the White House now.
So are we.
Okay. I am in the White House security system,
courtesy of the cryptograph.
I'm gonna miss that little beauty.
You sure we gotta give her up?
Unless you've got a better idea on how to get an audience
with the president on short notice.
Ryan Fletcher. [Buzzer sounds]
Okay, here we go.
Guys, another 500 yards, then turn east.
That will dump you out in the main artery.
It's a good thing I mapped out this level
during the underground nuclear reactor situation.
"Yes, Birkhoff. Good job, Birkhoff."
Shut up, Birkhoff.
Birkhoff, we clear? Good to go.
- Anyone on the radar? - No.
[Device beeping]
What's Markov's 20?
Markov is approaching the diplomatic reception area.
This is Rover 1.
V.I.P. has arrived. He's in the D.R.R.
President Markov.
On behalf of the president of the United States,
I'd like to welcome you to the White House.
Thank you.
I, uh, am most eager to meet the president.
She is very eager to meet you.
- Madame President. - This is gonna have to wait.
I'm sorry but this is a matter of national security.
[Air hisses] I'm gonna be a few minutes.
This...
This is the cryptograph. Division recently recovered it.
How's it look?
Heh. So cool.
Okay, Mikey...
Secret Service office is just up to the right.
[Computer whirring]
Rover 1, do you have a visual on V.I.P.?
Affirmative.
Did you give him clearance to blue sector?
Negative.
Bring him here. We need to sort this out.
Excuse me, sir. Would you come with me?
Are we going to see the president?
Not just yet.
With its ability to hack
into any computer system in the world,
the cryptograph can be an incredibly powerful weapon.
That's great. Get it over to NSA.
I also believe that recovering the cryptograph
is proof of Division's benefit
and not just with regards to the rogue agents.
This isn't high school, Fletcher.
You don't get extra credit.
Just pointing out we're on the right path.
- We can discuss this later. - Sorry, Madame president.
But we have an ongoing security incident.
You're gonna have to stay here.
President Markov, thank you for coming.
What is this about?
You understand we need to investigate
any uncleared incursions into the restricted sections
of the White House.
What does this have to do with me?
I was just wondering how you got into this area.
What?
Okay, Markov is with the Secret Service.
I'm gonna draw them away with a distraction.
You should have a 30-second window of opportunity.
Copy that--30 seconds.
I've wiped your images off the cameras.
If it was due to a breakdown in our security,
we need to make sure it's addressed.
This is ridiculous.
Take care of your business on your own time.
Sir, if you don't mind--
Oh, no, that's not good.
Killer in the White House! Killer in the White House!
- What happened? - He just took out the agents.
He's making tracks to the Oval Office, and he's armed.
So, whatever you're gonna do, do it now.
We just brought an assassin
within 50 yards of the president.
Hey, Eddie.
I think I saw him down this corridor.
No. No sign of him.
President Markov, there you are. Get away from me.
Get away from me!
They're coming back this way.
Go. I got him.
He's down this way.
I think there's something wrong with him.
They dragged me into a room. It was like the refugee camp.
Come on, Nikki, get out of there.
Come on. Come on.
What happened?
Where am I?
[Breathing heavily]
Security has contained the situation.
Apparently President Markov
had some kind of post-traumatic stress episode.
He attacked two agents, but it's under control now.
Things are, uh, not clear.
- How is he? - I should leave.
Guys, Nikita's in the northwest corridor.
[Keys clacking]
Birkhoff...
We're clear.
[Sighs]
Copy that.
Only ten days after his first visit to the U.S.,
President Alexi Markov of Uzbekistan has died
from a ruptured brain aneurysm.
His unexpected death brings a dramatic end
to a growing scandal regarding his recent election.
Last week multiple reports of voting improprieties surfaced,
calling into question the results
that swept him into power.
The scandal was a nice touch.
I figured it would deter anyone
from looking too closely into the death.
Was it hard to find the evidence?
Not when you're the president.
[Computer beeping]
You guys can count the video as dead and buried too.
I fed a worm into Markov's servers.
Anything with even a whiff of that guy is gone.
There might be a few side effects, though.
[Clears throat] The entire country's
gonna be without Internet for the next couple of days...
possibly Afghanistan too.
Apply the ointment for two weeks
and let me know if there's any pain.
Thanks.
You're lucky scars are sexy.
Yeah? 'Cause I could go find Carl
and ask him to grab his knife again.
No, that's just being greedy.
[Grunts] Okay.
- Can I ask you something? - Yeah.
What you told Carl about Julia...
Do you remember that much about all of your victims?
If I don't remember them, who will?
What's the butterfly?
I don't talk about that one.
Some memories I like to keep for myself.
Or maybe I used to catch bugs as a kid.
I don't know. Who knows? My memory's shot.
Right. [Cell phone beeps]
I got to go. Try and stay out of trouble.
I will.
When I agreed to run Division, I told the president
that I couldn't do it without you...
All of you, and that is still true.
So, if I no longer have your support,
I will step down immediately, no questions asked.
This was never about our support.
This is about trust, Ryan.
You didn't have to carry this burden alone.
If I told you when we started this
that the president had a gun to our heads,
how would you have reacted?
The real question is,
how would everyone else in Division react?
Exactly.
Under Percy, it was obey or die.
I come in and promise a way out.
Then people learn there's one small catch.
There'd be no predicting their actions.
A lot of people in here are still volatile.
Tell me about it.
So what, we're just supposed to keep this on the low?
For now.
I know we're not all one big, happy family,
but we are in this together...
for better or worse.
I need to believe it's for the better.
If we continue hunting the dirty thirty,
we have got to do it smarter, quieter.
Forget small footprint. It's got to be no footprint.
So can we do this?
Let's find out.
== sync, corrected by elderman ==