My name is Sydney Bristow.
Seven years ago, I was recruited by a secret branch of the CIA called SD-6.
I was sworn to secrecy, but I couldn't keep it from my fiancé.
And when the head of SD-6 found out, he had him killed.
That's when I learned the truth. SD-6 is not part of the CIA.
I'd been working for the people I thought I was fighting.
I went to the only place that could help me take them down.
Now I'm a double agent for the CIA. My handler is Michael Vaughn.
Only one other person knows what I do,
another double agent inside SD-6.
Someone I hardly know.
My father.
There's an FBI tribunal flying in.
They'll question Sydney about the prophecy and decide the next move.
- It was just a question. - No, it was an accusation.
You are questioning my honour, my loyalty,
based on a prophecy in a book you wouldn't have if it weren't for me.
Look at this. There. "This woman will have had her effect,
never having seen Mount Subasio."
According to Rambaldi, the woman,
the subject of this prophecy, will have never seen Mount Subasio.
If Sydney were to go there and see it...
- She couldn't possibly be the woman. - That makes sense, doesn't it?
We'll have to extract her.
The plane is ready to take you to Italy.
Dad, I just drove a car into the ocean.
I knew the police were waiting for me.
I used the air from the tyres. I was underwater for ten minutes.
And as that car started to fill with water,
I knew what my mother had done in the same situation.
- Sydney... - Mom's alive.
I know it.
- Agent King. - Agent Otley, please.
Tell him it's about a fugitive the FBI has been looking for.
The fugitive is me.
I don't know how to thank you for helping me.
Don't thank me. Devlin said the FBI is focusing their investigation
where it should have been all along.
Instead of persecuting you, they should have searched for your mother.
But they were convinced she was dead.
No. While you were in Italy I did something I've never done before.
I violated the CIA's trust.
I broke into Langley's classified archives.
I pulled the operational file on your mother,
to see if I could find anything that might prove your intuition correct.
Apparently, after her accident, an internal commission was formed
to assess the damage she'd done to US intelligence.
The commission was comprised of people I'd worked with at the agency,
but one name stood out in particular.
20 years ago, back at the CIA,
you were on a commission that investigated Laura's death.
When I heard that, I couldn't imagine why you never told me.
Unless the commission discovered something
it didn't want me to know about.
Laura didn't die in the accident, did she?
Given my state at the time, they thought it best that I wasn't told.
They don't know what happened to her, where she went.
She could still be in this country for all they know.
Dad...
I'm gonna find her. I have to.
Searching for that woman will accomplish nothing.
- I need to know where she is. - We're not sure she's alive.
- And it doesn't change what she did. - Dad, I know.
- You expect her to say sorry? - I don't know what to expect!
You'd better know exactly what to expect!
What could she ever say that would satisfy you?
I have this memory of my father.
I was maybe five years old.
We were camping with my mother.
I broke my leg.
And he picked me up and carried me miles back to the car.
I remember looking up at him
and thinking he was the strongest man in the world.
Seeing him there in the car, looking so damaged.
I'd never seen him like that.
The idea that I wanna find my mother, it scares him.
Well, I don't have a neutral point of view, but your father's got a point.
I know, and maybe I'm being reckless or selfish or masochistic.
But if my mother is alive, then I just have to know that.
Can you help me get everything the CIA has got on her?
I can't. All information on her has been classified Omega 17 by the FBI,
including her connection to the prophecy.
Dozens of agents must be looking for her.
They won't let me be part of that.
I know you need help, but this time I just don't have it to give.
I'm sorry.
Apologise to Emily for me if I woke her.
Emily is used to the phone ringing in the middle of the night.
You've been avoiding me.
When I found out that my mother might still be alive,
I just needed some time to sort it out.
I understand.
And now you want to know how I could have hidden the truth from you.
No. I don't want an explanation.
I came here because I need you to help me find her.
Sydney...
...how much do you remember of the year
after you were told that your mother died?
I remember just feeling disconnected from everything.
My father was away on business.
No.
Your father spent six months in solitary in a federal prison.
He was suspected of being in collusion with Laura.
The FBI almost tried him for treason.
And even though he was eventually vindicated,
the damage was done, and he began to unravel.
- Unravel? - He drank.
He started taking unnecessary risks.
Come on, Sydney. You know the father he was to you all those years.
He took a long time to fully recover.
I was under direct orders from the DCI
not to let him know that Laura had survived the accident.
Unfortunately, that also required lying to you.
Now that I know the truth, I am removing myself from active duty
until I find out what happened to her.
And I am in no position to allow you
to go off on what appears to be a rogue operation
that would compromise the agency.
Every day you send me on operations that could compromise this agency,
but as long as it's for SD-6, the risk is acceptable.
It is time that SD-6 took a risk for me.
A daughter has a right to know her mother.
I'll help you find her.
OK, we do not put chocolate chips in the pancakes.
I got news for you. Yes, we do.
- Hey, guys. - You still live here?
- I know. - That finance seminar took a week?
Any questions about offshore tax shelters, I'm your girl.
What are you doing today?
Francie's gonna take me to look for a new tuxedo. For the awards thing.
- Can we come? - Not a chance in hell.
- He's too embarrassed. - We're definitely coming.
My God! What happened to your arm?
On the flight back from Seattle,
this guy hit me with his carry-on, pulling it from the overhead.
- Are these chocolate chips? - Thank you very much!
We've identified Alexander Khasinau as the person referred to
in underground intelligence circles as The Man.
He controls more assets than the Russian Mafia
and, thanks to his old Cold War connections,
he has the legitimacy of a fledgling government.
Sorry I'm late. And sorry that I have hives.
I'm developing a dermal pigmentation capsule and...
Not quite right... react...
Never mind. Should be gone in a couple of hours.
Excuse me.
For five years we've had two deep-cover agents
in the Russian embassy in Vienna.
One of them is this man, Kyle Wexler.
We recently received a communiqué from Wexler,
indicating that Khasinau has just converted
250 million dollars' worth of assets into cash.
We need to know what he's spending that money on.
He's acquired evidence of Khasinau's transactions
which he's encoded onto a microchip.
He's scheduled a brush pass at the embassy.
They're holding their annual Maslyanitsa celebration.
We've arranged for you to attend.
I told you, I can't focus on...
Khasinau has become this agency's top priority. It will become yours.
- What I have to do can't wait. - I understand.
What does Khasinau have to do with my mother?
He has everything to do with your mother.
He was her superior.
When you identified him as The Man
I recalled his name from your mother's investigation.
I thought, "This has to be coincidence."
I did some checking.
He was her superior back in his days at the KGB.
This is the only clue I have to offer you.
Get the microchip.
The more we find out about Khasinau, the closer you get to your mother.
Sydney!
- I saw you with Sloane. - I was gonna tell you.
You asked Sloane to help you find your mother?
Yes.
I thought you'd know not to ask him for a favour.
You'll spend more time than you care to paying it back.
- What choice do I have? - You can choose not to go.
Dad, Khasinau was Mom's superior.
- May I have this dance? - With pleasure.
- I'd like to talk to you. - Il y a un problème.
Of course. What's on your mind?
Interesting development about Khasinau.
I see. So you spoke to Sydney. You have every right to be angry,
but... I was under orders to keep the commission's findings confidential.
That I understand. I don't understand why you agreed
to help Sydney find her mother without consulting me.
She was gonna pursue this with or without our blessing.
She'll only find disappointment.
That depends on what she's expecting.
You are different people, Jack.
Is this affecting you more than you admit?
I assure you, my concern is only for Sydney.
Your assurances notwithstanding,
it would be best if you took a break from active duty.
Just, what, a few days. Clear your head.
I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Sydney alone right now.
If she were your daughter, I'm sure you'd understand.
You should know by now that my interest is in protecting Sydney.
It's always been my pleasure to fill in for you when you were indisposed.
- You ready? - Ready.
These earrings'll make you look radiant.
And I mean that literally, because once you activate them,
they emit an infrared pulse invisible to the naked eye.
But thanks to our SOP for high-visibility brush passes,
the agent you're meeting will know to wear IR-capable contacts.
That's how he'll ID you.
- Excuse me. May I cut in? - Of course.
But I should warn you, she likes to lead.
That's good. Maybe I'll learn something new.
Listen to me carefully. Wexler's dead.
It's only a matter of time before my cover's blown, too.
- Who are you? - Wexler's partner.
That's my ring you feel on your neck. It's a jet-injector for a neurotoxin.
- I gave you the oral bona fides. - How do I know this isn't a setup?
Credit Dauphine is SD-6's front company.
Marshall runs the op-tech division.
And Sloane is a humourless son of a bitch.
Dixon, Wexler's dead. He may have talked. I'm going for the microchip.
I'll have the car brought around front.
- Is the ring one of Marshall's toys? - I was bluffing.
- Were you recruited out of college? - Yes, Berkeley.
- My God. - My God.
This is a restricted area.
How you been?
- I can't believe it's you. - Yeah.
What are we doing here?
Wexler was undercover as executive secretary.
The ambassador is on Khasinau's payroll.
- What are we looking for? - This.
Khasinau ships everything through the embassy to avoid inspections.
It's Wexler!
The ambassador did not know he had the chip. I guess he stashed it.
Or he swallowed it.
OK, what...?
Sydney, abort. They knew we were coming. I'll meet you out front.
We need another minute. We almost have the microchip.
- Dammit. His stomach's empty. - It could be in his oesophagus.
You wanna give me a hand here? You spread.
A little bit wider.
- So, you've been good, generally? - You know, work.
- There it is. See it? - Got it.
- Get in. - I'm not gonna ask.
- Dixon? - Noah?
Let's go.
I'm not real anxious to see Sloane's face
when he hears we had to pull Noah out.
What choice did we have?
Do me a favour. Until he goes through debriefing, don't get too friendly.
That's ancient history. It was five years ago.
Does anybody have change?
There's a lady back in coach who's about to kill me.
- I was gonna stretch my legs anyway. - Really? Thanks.
I should get some sleep.
Syd, if you're mad, that's fine. I understand.
You don't wanna talk, it's OK. You don't have to be polite.
But I'm not mad any more and I don't think you should be either.
You're not mad? What did you ever have to be mad about?
It must have been hard when I left, but you didn't even put up a fight.
What kind of fight was I supposed to put up?
I waited for six hours. You didn't show up. You didn't even call.
Sloane told me you were transferred abroad.
- I wrote you. I wrote. - What?
I told you to meet me in San Pedro.
- I never got a letter. - I didn't send a letter.
I couldn't discuss my reassignment. I encoded a message in a junk email.
You should have picked it up from the subject line.
I always set my computer to filter out junk email.
This constitutes a major setback.
Extracting Agent Hicks has squandered five years' work.
- We didn't have a choice. - It's not her fault.
Your investment was burned.
The same thing that happened to Wexler would have happened to me.
The fact that we got the microchip means he didn't die in vain.
I'll hear your report after you've been evaluated by security section.
Dixon, would you escort Agent Hicks to McCullough, please?
Now, I have done you a favour, Sydney.
So should the need ever arise...
...l'm sure that I can count on you to return it.
In '97 I was admitted as a graduate student
to the Moscow Institute for International Relations.
Worked as a courier for the Russian embassy in Baghdad.
On the visa desk at the consulate in Cape Town.
In November of 2001 I was put on as an attaché at the Viennese embassy
and given a low-level clearance.
While under alias as a member of the Russian diplomatic corps,
were you approached by any other agency for recruitment?
- Yes. - Which agency?
- K-Directorate. - Did you accept their offer?
Yes, I did. They're listening to this conversation right now.
Please answer the question truthfully.
Of course not.
Why did you volunteer for prolonged undercover assignment to begin with?
I fail to see how my motives are relevant. My reasons are my own.
Unfortunately, Agent Hicks, they are not.
OK.
Because I was in love, and I was afraid to admit that to myself.
I saw that as being a sign of weakness in this work, so I left.
The only reason I can speak with any perspective about that now
is that I've had five years to regret my mistake.
May I have the name of the person to whom you are referring?
Absolutely not.
You are aware that I have the authority to take steps
that will compel you to answer?
Yes, but the only other deep-cover agent near Khasinau is dead,
which makes me a valued commodity.
So I suggest we limit the questions to subjects SD-6 needs to know about.
Besides, where I come from, a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.
Our station chief got your dead drop.
I read your debrief. Sorry you had a rough time.
Thanks. If anything turns up on the microchip, I'll let you know.
The agent you extracted, Noah Hicks.
You mentioned him in your report when you made contact with the CIA.
We met when I was a trainee.
We actually dated for a while.
- Really? - We kept it under the radar.
SD-6 discourages fraternisation among agents.
So does the CIA.
One more thing. Do you know where your father's been lately?
I talked to him an hour ago. Why?
Kretchmer's left two call signals for a meet. Is he OK?
Club soda, please.
- How'd you find me? - Your car was still in your garage.
I thought you might have walked somewhere close.
It's the fifth place I looked.
Mike, can I get the check?
Dad, it's two o'clock in the afternoon. What are you doing here?
I think you might wanna talk to someone.
Noted.
Six months ago I wasn't...
I didn't even know how to talk to you.
But now at least I feel like I can come to you and say...
What's happening between us, Sydney, is temporary.
I'm not suggesting the person you talk to should be me. It shouldn't.
But the CIA has counsellors.
- I think you should see one of them. - You are not responsible for me.
It's not irrational for me to be worried about you.
Keep your voice down.
I didn't think you'd listen to my advice,
so I made it official.
I came here to pass along an order from Devlin.
You're going to see a counsellor for trauma evaluation.
I'm sorry you had to come down. It's my fault really.
We're uploading the microchip.
There's 10,000 files, 14 different languages.
Linguistics needs all the help they can get.
- So you're cleared? - Yeah.
You survived the debriefing.
Yes, I did. And I forgot how much I missed McCullough.
Let's get started.
- So how long are you staying? - I'm not exactly sure.
It's somewhat complicated.
- Why? - Long story.
Remember when you had just got back from endurance training,
before you were sent out as a field op,
and you came back and you had this incredible glow?
I remember thinking, "Man, this girl is really having fun."
I remember being worried about that
because I knew inevitably one day you would not feel that way.
You were not aware of what you were getting yourself into.
You thought I'd get myself killed?
Maybe.
Is that why you left?
No.
You were right about one thing.
I'm not having fun any more.
- We're gonna be late. - I can't find my jacket.
- I don't wanna miss the previews. - I'm just gonna borrow one of Syd's.
- You think I bought the right tux? - For the amount of money you spent.
What's that supposed to mean? What?
- Didn't Syd say she went to Seattle? - Yeah. So?
There's a return ticket from Italy in her pocket.
- Probably from another trip. - It's dated last week.
Why wouldn't she tell us about a trip to Italy?
You are looking at a schematic of a Westbury 23 supercomputer.
It's capable of making 500 trillion calculations per second.
- Khasinau bought two of them. - What for?
They are ideal for simulating theoretical engineering design.
So, for example, if Khasinau has acquired enough Rambaldi artefacts,
he may be able to assemble these artefacts correctly
and extrapolate what missing pieces remain from the overall design.
And that's why you need to steal the data core. How are you?
May I? Thank you.
Thanks to the microchip, we have an image of the data core,
and trust me, this core, hardcore!
It's a photo-refractive crystal cube. It acts like a sponge.
It has enough capacity to serve as a backup archive for both computers.
But it's gotta be kept in a cryogenic chamber halfway to absolute zero.
It is cold enough to freeze your skin to stone in under a minute,
even if a millimetre of it is exposed.
Khasinau's computer complex in Arkhangelsk is a mile underground.
The surrounding forests are patrolled by private security.
Given this high level of security surrounding this computer network,
it is likely that Khasinau is using it as his primary archive.
Account numbers, old contacts,
every agent who's ever worked for him.
This is a two-person operation.
You've been on assignment a long time. I'll go.
I know the area pretty well. I did a lot of recon there as a courier.
Noah's right. We need every advantage on this one.
You leave in an hour.
My feet hurt.
Can we stop? I gotta take my boots off.
Leave them on, or your foot will swell up.
We're Americans!
You were speculating that perhaps Sydney's desire to find her mother
could be interpreted as criticism of you as a father.
I suppose it's understandable.
Much like a normal family after a divorce,
when parental jealousy is stirred over a child's affection.
And how would you define a normal family?
I suppose it's one in which the family members
aren't under orders to lie to each other.
I see what you're getting at.
Maybe there's no such thing as a normal family.
Well, OK, Mr Bristow. I guess we can call it a day.
I prefer Jack.
One more thing, Jack.
I don't believe a single word you've said to me over this past hour.
Don't get me wrong. I think you're a master.
You have all your subconscious tells under control.
You're smart enough to struggle with words.
But I think you told me what I wanted to hear so you could get out of here.
I also think that someone so skilled at deception
is in danger of deceiving himself.
I am going to recommend that you see me once a week.
You haven't got a clue...
what's required to lead the kind of life I lead,
to maintain a balance between two lives
and protect my daughter in the process.
The kind of person who does that, the kind of person I have to be,
is not the kind of person who would come in here and talk to you.
Then I guess we're making some progress.
See you next week.
Is there any chance we can contact the American embassy?
- What were you taking pictures of? - Just the scenery, I swear it.
Why don't you just take the film and give her back the camera?
Just the scenery.
Keys. Take 'em.
Let's go.
Move!
- Let's go, Syd. - I'm disengaging the core.
I'm in.
Don't forget to keep that core temperature constant.
Got it.
- How are we doing? - Almost there.
Got it.
- Noah, I'm freezing. - Hang on. The system is in lockdown.
Wake up.
Come on.
Good girl. Come on. Up!
Syd, come on, baby. Move.
It's weird, I don't know. Italy.
What if she met somebody on a business trip?
- Why would she keep that a secret? - Maybe she's embarrassed by it.
Why?
What?
The bruise. What if he's beating her?
Are you kidding me? Sydney would never put up with that.
Maybe she's sleeping with her boss.
Sloane? No.
Should we just forget that we even found the ticket?
- You think she's in trouble? - When she gets back from...
- Where did she say she went? - San Francisco.
Which I'm sure she did. We're blowing this out of proportion.
There's an explanation.
We'll ask her when she gets back from... San Francisco.
- Did you get through? - Yeah.
It was hard to get a signal, but we've got an extraction set at 0800.
- That's what, six hours? - Yeah.
We should prepare in case Khasinau's men show up.
The floorboards over there lift up. This safehouse has saved me before.
You know what would be great right now? A fire in that fireplace.
I heard a chopper. If it's thermal-equipped,
it'll pick up the heat signature.
What were you looking for in that database anyway?
It's a long story.
We've got six hours, so that's good.
I was looking for information about my mother.
- Your mother? - A lot's happened since you left.
I wanna fill you in, but I don't know if I feel comfortable doing that yet.
Fine.
You're still mad.
No.
When you left, and you just disappeared,
it was a kick in the stomach,
and I carried that around for a long time.
You were the last person that I ever wanted to see again. Ever.
And you were the only person that I ever wanted to see again.
Wait.