Episode 16: Firebomb
2/23/2003
Sydney
and Sloane leave the bank while Vaughn works to disarm the
C-4 in the bank's basement. While Syd drives Sloane's getaway
car, she tells him that he's on the CIA hit list. Sloane,
having learned that the C-4 is disarmed, jumps from the car
to a speeding van that eludes Sydney. Later at the CIA, Kendall
and Syd argue about Sloane, with each saying the others efforts
are sub par.
Vaughn
receives a call from Weiss while at Sydney's apartment. The
phone call triggers one of the hidden bugs, which replays
a previous conversation. They locate the bug in a wall. At
the CIA, Marshall says that he had made the bug while at SD-6.
The bug, he says, periodically transmits to a receiver, which
is why Vaughn heard it over his cellular. Jack orders Marshall
to reverse engineer the bug to find to whom the conversations
are going.
In Switzerland,
as Sloane views a Rambaldi page with a hole in the center,
Sark informs him that Caplan's tests are complete. The artifact
is ready, and Sark will now prepare to test it. Sloane flies
to Kandahar and meets Ahmad Kabir, a Pashtun warlord, hoping
to recruit him as a partner in his nefarious plans. He wins
over the reluctant Kabir with a gift — a pen once belonging
to a 17th century Afghani warrior-poet.
At Syd's
place, Francie tries to get Syd to talk, saying they've grown
apart recently. But Syd receives a phone call from Vaughn
and leaves immediately. Francie realizes that the bugs have
been discovered and calls Sark, who tells her that they'll
be looking for an L.A. asset so she should simply give them
one. She later kills and frames Sydney's plumber.
The bug's
feed proved to be untraceable, but Kendall has info placing
Sloane with Kabir. In discussing a way into Kabir's compound,
Sydney reveals that Dixon had infiltrated his operations and
stolen a missile shipment. Kendall orders Sydney to recruit
Dixon. She tries, but is rebuffed. Vaughn then tells Will
to present his analysis of Kabir to Kendall.
In Kandahar,
Kabir observes Sloane admiring a 16th century Buddhist statuette
of an ahrat, a destroyer of the enemy. He asks for proof of
Sloane's power. Sloane asks him to choose a target.
At the
CIA, Will recommends that they contact Aliyah Kazabi, Kabir's
ex-wife, who hates him so much that she escaped from his tyranny
with their son. She's married to an administrator at the Vatican
Embassy in Mexico City. Vaughn and Sydney immediately leave
to find her. Sark, meanwhile, has been dispatched to Mexico
City, where he hides the Rambaldi weapon in a van outside
the embassy. He sets it at 20 percent of its capacity.
Sydney,
disguised as an old woman, tracks down Kazabi, who refuses
to get involved. Weiss informs Vaughn of a plot to blow up
the embassy. He alerts Syd, who knocks Kazabi unconscious
to take her with them. As they speed away, those in the embassy
and its church burst into flame. Weiss notes a hot spot on
his infrared monitor, although Syd and Vaughn see nothing.
Upon returning, however, they find dozens of charred bodies.
It's enough to sway Kazabi, who decides to help.
A very
pleased Kabir, believing his ex-wife to be dead, gives Sloane
the ahrat as a gift, as well as $40 million. The CIA traces
Sark from Mexico City to Kabul and assumes the operation involved
Sloane. Sydney's mission is to enter Kabir's compound and
disable the weapon. Marshall explains that the weapon acts
like a neutron bomb, emitting high energy, microwave-like
pulse. It also knocks out electricity, meaning it can down
planes, and there is no defense against it. He shows Sydney
a cold suit that she'll wear in order to shield herself from
the heat-sensitive cameras at the Helmand base.
Sydney
successfully enters Kabir's base but her intel is bad, and
she's detected and captured when her mask is knocked off during
a fight. Vaughn asks for assistance but Kendall refuses to
take the chance. Unless they find another way in, no one will
save Sydney. A desperate Vaughn turns to … Dixon.
In Kandahar,
Kabir tortures Sydney. As he is about to destroy her knee
with a hammer and chisel, he's shot — it's Vaughn and
Dixon. They take the device, fight their way out and return
home. Syd thanks Dixon, who says that he can't judge her for
not telling him about SD-6. At her apartment, Sydney relates
to Vaughn that every time they think they have seen the worst,
it is far from over.
Sark wonders
why Sloane left the weapon with Kabir, who ultimately lost
it. Sloane breaks the ahrat, revealing the missing piece of
the Rambaldi manuscript page. He places the piece in the missing
center, completing the page.
- description
from ABC.com
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