Episode 12: The Orphan
3/23/2005
It's 1992. A man sneaks into a Buenos Aires orphanage in
the middle of the night and tries to kidnap one of the girls.
A young Nadia resists him and escapes.
Vaughn shares his father's journal with Sydney. He asks her
for access to the Operational Archives. Later, Vaughn decodes
an address in Lisbon that may help reveal the mystery of his
father's life.
At APO, Sloane says that the Belorussian Institute of Science
had developed a next gen optical component, called the Amplifying
Glass, which can boost a laser pulse. It can enable a CD player's
laser to shoot a plane from the sky or slice a tank in half.
A Jakarta faction has employed Cesar Martinez, an Argentine
resident, to acquire it for them. Nadia knows him - she recalls
stealing from a restaurant owner with him as her accomplice.
Nadia reports that Martinez is a freelancer, and he earned
his reputation with the execution of former Argentine intelligence
officer, Roberto Fox. Their mission is to outfox Martinez
and obtain the Amplifying Glass at a party held in the Minsk's
Institute of Science. As the team left the room, Nadia admits
to Sydney that she knows Martinez.
A blonde Sydney arrives at an elegant party in the Institute
of Science. She charms an architect, whose Blackberry holds
the building's blue prints and project files. After scanning
and decrypting his PDA with Marshall's help, Syd waits for
Nadia, who has stolen a key from one of the scientists.
Later, Nadia spots Cesar Martinez. Nadia again flashes back
to her teenage years. She's crying in the corner of a jail
cell. Roberto Fox recruits her to work in espionage for the
government. Nadia consults the headmistress of the orphanage,
who encourages her to take the job. At the party, gunmen open
fire as Martinez follows Sydney's path.
In the lab, Syd cracks the safe and retrieves the Amplifying
Glass. When Martinez and his thugs enter, Syd surrenders the
Glass. Martinez asks Sydney who she works for, Nadia arrives
and says, "She works with me." He recognizes Nadia,
and ties her and Syd up.
Back at APO, Sloane reprimands Nadia for not sharing her
past regarding Martinez. Nadia insists she can get the Glass
back from Martinez. She doesn't tell them that she actually
worked with Martinez under Roberto's tutelage.
In Buenos Aires, Nadia sits at an outdoor restaurant while
Sydney and Weiss observe from a van. Martinez arrives and
although Nadia convinces him to sell the glass to her, he
demands that she accompany him back to his office without
-- tracking and backup. Nadia agrees despite Syd's reservations.
Martinez asks Nadia if she still thinks about Roberto Fox.
Nadia recalls finding her dying partner, who says that Roberto
Fox is a criminal who had them steal government intelligence.
Nadia thought she'd been working for the Argentine government.
Martinez says he didn't kill Fox. It was Nadia who shot the
traitor in the chest. When Nadia says she'd do it again, Martinez
points a gun at her. She knocks it away and hits him. Nadia
grabs the gun and points it at him. Sydney arrives with Weiss.
Nadia tells them that the Amplifying Glass is in the safe
and Weiss takes Martinez away. Sydney and Nadia embrace.
In Lisbon, Vaughn finds the address mentioned in his father's
journal. The door opens to reveal Nadia's headmistress at
the orphanage! She says the only time she met Vaughn's father
was when he came to her, covered in blood with a baby in his
arms - the baby was Nadia. Pressed for further details the
headmistress says she heard his father mention one particular
word during a phone conversation - "nightingale."
- description from ABC.com
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