Alias s03e09 Episode Script

Conscious

Previously on "Alias.
" Ms.
Bristow, we know you know how to read this code.
Decipher the text, and we won't have to Don't bother negotiating with me! - [Electricity crackling.]
- Aah! - Sydney.
- Dad.
You're all right, sweetheart.
He's with us.
Get in.
You made it, Sydney.
You made it.
[Lauren talking indistinctly.]
At least we'll be able to get to Sydney's coordinates.
SLOANE: Where's the That was the other map.
VAUGHN: Okay, according to the geosynchronous orbital position, - Our entrance is here and here.
- [Door closes.]
We've got to secure this Sweetheart, you're okay.
How do you feel? Better, thanks.
- What's going on? - You should know.
Sloane was instrumental in orchestrating your escape.
I suppose I owe you a thank you.
Sydney, as long as you're alive, you'll never owe me a thing.
Not just you.
Breaking me out of that facility was dangerous and selfless.
Thank you.
All of you.
At the moment, we're fugitives, but we're working on a plan to frame The Covenant for your extraction.
Have you mapped the coordinates that Lindsey found in Rome? They point to a desert near the San Andreas Fault less than an hour from here.
If there's something waiting for us, it's most likely buried.
I'm gonna check it out.
In the meantime, we have a lead.
Something that might help us retrieve your lost memories.
Sydney, my foundation gives grants to various researchers.
One of these men has in development a non-invasive therapy for treating long-term severe amnesia.
If this therapy works, why didn't you mention it before? Well, Sydney, up until now, I didn't think that you'd be willing to accept my help.
Dad, I want to go with you.
- You should rest.
- I've rested enough.
So I was an idiot.
Michael tried to warn me about Lindsey, but I didn't listen.
I couldn't believe what he was telling me, so I did what I always do.
I followed the rules.
JACK: We should go.
You said when Lindsey forced you to break the code, you gave him false coordinates.
Where did you send them? I don't know.
I think somewhere in Simi Valley.
[Sirens wailing.]
- [Telephone rings.]
- Yeah? MAN: We've checked the location.
It's clean.
It's a liquor store.
I want you to check it again.
I think we've been played.
Check it again! What if what we're looking for isn't metal? Then we're screwed.
Not an unfamiliar situation.
Listen, Sydney, while I remain skeptical of Sloane's alleged rehabilitation, the man jumped in front of a bullet to save my life.
I've been through too much.
I don't trust that man.
I can't believe you don't feel the same.
What I'm feeling is irrelevant.
In conspiring to save you from the NSC, Sloane's given us all the ammunition we'd ever need to invalidate his pardon agreement.
He's put his life in our hands.
And as far as breaking you out, yours was in his.
Hike! Nice catch, Steven.
Hey, Robin.
Sweetie, come here.
Steven, come here! Special Agent Reims, FBI.
You're under arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to impede a federal investigation.
Your children will be looked after through the duration of your custody, unless you find a family member.
You're gonna have to come with us.
Is this familiar to you? No.
I don't know if I buried it myself, or if it was left for me to find.
And that symbol? It symbolizes membership in the Magnific Order of Rambaldi.
Whoever that person was, he made a vow to safeguard Rambaldi's prophecies.
When you get back, you'll ask Marshall to run a DNA test.
- Right.
- S YDNE Y: What's your alibi? I'll return to Lindsey, tell him I was abducted by The Covenant, and that you're being held hostage.
What are we saying they want? How about the Rambaldi device? - You'd like that, wouldn't you? - I know what you're thinking.
If the device was so valuable to me, why did I let it go? For your freedom.
You traded it for your pardon, and here's your chance to get it back.
It is something the CIA might believe The Covenant would take in exchange for you.
Once we make the exchange, the device will be destroyed.
No one will have it.
I'll contact Bob Lindsey and tell him my sources have confirmed The Covenant is responsible for your breakout.
As soon as I hear from Dr.
Brazzel, I'll let you know.
He's the neuro-researcher.
Works out of Yale.
What about you? We're saying your father and I were investigating your disappearance.
We're setting up a paper trail, rent-a-cars.
There's something else that just occurred to me.
If Lindsey's to believe I was held by The Covenant, there needs to be evidence of mistreatment.
- No.
- She's right.
I was gonna bring that up at the last moment.
I am not gonna let you be beaten.
I'm the only one Lindsey will listen to.
If I don't go, he's gonna think I'm party to this.
- This is insane.
- This situation's a problem.
We need physical evidence to help sell the idea that The Covenant was responsible.
You should do it.
Whenever you're ready.
Just get it over with.
I know how difficult this must be.
That was for turning me in to Lindsey.
This is for helping me break out.
Now let's get this over with.
Where's Sydney Bristow? You covered for her once, and it cost you your job.
Do it again, this cell will be your home for the next 10 years.
My lawyer's name is Shelly Byrd.
Your only play is to tell me where Sydney Bristow is and who broke her out.
Was it her father? What I know here is that sending agents to arrest me in front of my children is the last mistake you'll ever make as Senior Director of the NSC.
I've known men like you.
Men who pretend to be patriots.
You are always revealed.
What? Sir, it's Lauren Reed.
She's here.
She was thrown from a van in front of the building.
- Drove by and dumped her.
- When? Five minutes ago.
She refused medical services.
Said she needed to speak with you.
That was The Covenant's only demand? Yes.
"You want Sydney Bristow.
We want the Rambaldi device.
" That's what the man said.
The voice? Yes.
You don't find the timing curious? That Sydney Bristow was taken from a Black Ops U.
S.
facility, that they took you as well, that you've since been released, and meanwhile, your husband and Sydney Bristow's father are M.
I.
A.
searching for a Covenant cell? Curious? No.
Logical, appropriate, lucky as hell for me, yes.
I don't know why The Covenant is willing to make this exchange, but Sydney is depending on your making this happen.
Since when did you and Bristow become so close? Or is that about sharing the same man? This is a woman's life.
Protect it, or I will report everything you've done to your superiors.
Need I remind you your husband helped her flee the country when she was wanted by the NSC? In the wrong hands, that information could be damaging.
One more thing.
At 6:30 this evening, you are to press redial.
The person who answers will give you the details of the exchange.
Hello? MAN: [Distorted.]
The Rambaldi device for Sydney Bristow.
Do we have a deal? Yes.
Keep this phone with you at all times.
You will be notified as to time and place.
Lauren did well.
I never thanked you for helping extract Sydney.
- You don't have to thank me.
- Yes, I do.
Especially given your history.
I used to think you didn't have much of a spine.
And has that assessment changed at all? No.
Dr.
Brazzel's expecting us.
This is where he works? Wow.
Say something else.
May we come in? Professor! There are some beautiful people here.
You know, I was thinking just now, I wasn't expecting you until Tuesday, and, um, hi.
And then I realized that it is.
It's Tuesday.
And You know, you've come to me at a really awkward time.
I'm not nearly finished, so I can't promise you anything.
Still, your research in memory retrieval sounds promising.
Oh, well, that's Well, it's really a trip.
Can I Do you mind if I [Whispering indistinctly.]
Oh, she likes to hug people.
This is Kaya.
She's one of my students.
Capable, but she's all about hugging.
All about hugging.
You know, I'm starving.
Anyone else? - VAUGHN: You have to be kidding.
- I can't do this.
We're not here because we have other options.
Facon? Oh, no, thanks.
- Facon? - I'm fine.
Thank you.
You? No? Facon.
Processed soy protein shaped and colored to resemble the essence of smoked pig flesh.
We live in an age of simulations.
But facon is only one of many illusions of the postmodern world.
I don't know anything about you.
Except that I'm not supposed to know anything about you.
Suffice to say there are people who are under the impression my daughter has committed a crime.
Her memories are the only things that can exonerate her.
I see.
So there's pressure.
Pressure that the therapy should work.
Real stakes.
And how does the therapy work? Tell them how you got the idea, but not the long version.
I began in the neurosciences.
Background in philosophy.
Treated head-trauma patients for 12 years until one night on l-95, I became one of them.
A head-trauma patient.
I drove into the highway median.
Totaled my pickup truck.
So I spent the next 18 months in various forms of traction.
Now, that's not the torture you'd expect, not moving for a year and a half.
It's liberating, oddly.
Well, in any event, one night, month 11 of my motionlessness, something obvious occurred to me.
Our dreams are both a priori and a posteriori.
Which means that our dreams contain our memories.
Which means that there's a shared reservoir.
So, I began to consider ways to consciously enter the subconscious.
Ways to convince the brain that it was truly experiencing the dream/memory state.
So, I turned to the one thing that I really knew.
Drugs.
Ergo, I totaled my pickup truck.
What are the drugs? Oh, well, the cocktail's a happy combo of synthetics and organics.
I mean, it won't kill you, but depending on what they are, your dreams just might.
I say we get this party started.
Kaya will show you where to change.
Come with me.
When most people are asleep, they don't realize they're dreaming until they're awake.
But you, you're going to have to become lucid in the dream state itself.
How do I do that? The drugs I'm gonna give you will do most of the work.
But I will be monitoring your neural activity.
And when I know you're in REM, I will give you a verbal cue over the headphones.
Tell me, what was the last thing you remember before your missing time? Being knocked unconscious in my apartment.
Oh.
I see.
Well, once you're aware that you're in the dream state, your objective will be to pick up the thread of your last memory in as much detail as you can.
How? Well, you're just gonna have to feel your way back.
It's like using a muscle that you never used before.
If you can get to that point, just stay with it, because, ultimately, you will become aware of what happened next.
I don't really understand.
I know.
You will.
Just be aware that if you encounter a new memory, it might be traumatic.
But it won't necessarily be real.
Oh, it will be to you.
Here are your headphones.
I'm putting them on you.
And good luck.
Sydney, I'm going to count down from 10.
By the time I reach one, you will be asleep.
[Siren wailing.]
- Hey.
- Vaughn.
- Yeah, it's me.
- Don't move.
You suffered a severe head trauma.
Any nausea or dizziness? - No.
Where am I? - On the way to the hospital.
You have a mild concussion.
You'll be okay.
We'll run a C.
T.
scan to check for bleeding.
- Listen, Will's gonna be okay.
- What? Will? He lost a lot of blood, but we got him in time.
Will's in Witness Protection.
This is normal, gaps in memory leading to the injury.
The woman you were living with was not Francie.
We found a file Will was compiling.
Her name is Allison Doren.
I know.
She was the second double.
- It's coming back to you.
- You need to lie down! Wait.
The Covenant.
Have you ever heard of The Covenant? Yeah, they were listed on S.
I.
T.
report as an emerging threat.
Why? Are they involved in this? Has Sloane been pardoned by the State Department? Pardoned? You're not wearing a wedding ring.
I thought we'd go to Santa Barbara first and see how that went.
You're not married.
You really did hit your head, huh? I thought you gave up on us.
When I walked in your apartment and saw you lying there, I thought, "God, don't let me miss a chance to tell her how much I love her.
" [Crying.]
I love you.
[Gasps.]
Aah! - BRAZZEL: Sydney? - Get away from me.
Sydney, you're dreaming.
If you can hear me, then you're in a dream state.
You need to use it to get back to where you were.
To get to the last memory you have.
Now, remember, you said it was in your apartment.
You were knocked out.
You must try to go back to that place.
You must try to find that place.
Sydney, you are in control of your environment.
Go now.
She's out of REM, and she exists now in actual memory.
She was unconscious after the fight.
How can she remember anything that happened after that? Because unconsciously, the mind can still establish transhistorical accounts of the real world.
Meaning even with her eyes closed, her other senses were alert.
Yes.
Thank you.
And based on those senses, her brain will construct an accurate but incomplete memory of the events that followed.
The barbecue chips.
Please, could you pass me those? Thank you.
[Laughter.]
[Indistinct whispering.]
S YDNE Y: I see them.
They're taking me away, but BRAZZEL: Who, Sydney? I can't see their faces.
What did she say? Someone without a face.
It's not that uncommon.
[Distorted voices talking indistinctly.]
Don't.
ALL: Happy birthday! Happy birthday, Sydney.
Hmm.
She's extrapolating.
Meaning what? Brain activity indicates her memory centers aren't active.
She's in a tangent.
I was in a tangent once.
How nice for you.
Happy birthday, honey.
Make a wish, Sydney.
Time to cut the cake.
It's all right.
- [Gasps.]
- Sydney.
Sydney.
Sydney, listen to me.
You have to concentrate.
It's the only way you're gonna get back on track.
I don't know how.
Focus on the last detail you remember.
There I am.
Excuse me.
I have to go.
Sydney.
[Indistinct whispering.]
This is very, very unusual.
Very unusual.
VAUGHN: What? Well, she's still in Beta.
But she's dreaming.
That just doesn't happen.
Sydney.
You know better.
You were part of this.
- Kill the power feed! - What the hell's happening? She's in V-tach! Get the epinephrine.
It's on the tray.
Get these off her.
- She's flatlining! - We need to resuscitate her now.
Get the defibrillator paddles.
Clear! We need 300.
Sydney, wake up.
Clear! Hey.
Vaughn.
Help me up.
Syd.
I can't help it.
I just miss you.
I do.
You know we can't do this.
Oh, give me a break.
It's a dream.
We can do whatever we want.
At least I can.
Syd [Door opens.]
Your vitals are normal.
You're gonna be fine.
I assume he's told you.
God, I It's okay.
Ms.
Vaughn! Lauren! Ms.
Reed! Hey.
Whoa.
I had too many jelly doughnuts.
Are those the DNA results? Not exactly.
I checked the sample against all available data banks.
I wasn't able to find a match.
But I did run some other forensic tests, and, well, hope this helps.
Yes, I understand.
That was Lauren.
No match on the DNA.
We still don't know who the hand belongs to.
In my dream, it was my birthday.
I was 7.
When I cut the cake, I looked down, and I was cutting off this hand.
Whose hand? Did you see his face? Yes, I did.
Who was it? Lazarey.
Why would I dream I was cutting the hand of a man I murdered? Forensic analysis leads Marshall to believe that whoever this hand belonged to was alive as recently as four months ago.
It couldn't have been Lazarey.
I killed him last year.
Unless you didn't.
What? I was on the videotape.
It was me.
I slashed his throat.
Unless you didn't.
It could have been a performance.
Lazarey was a Russian diplomat.
The Russians must have typed his DNA.
Lauren's worked with them.
I'll call her, have her get a sample, see if it's a match.
BRAZZEL: You know, this really was something.
Whatever you experienced elevated your heart rate to the point of ventricular tachycardia, which sent you into cardiac arrest, which almost sent me into cardiac arrest.
- Are you okay? - Yeah.
I mean, I feel great, actually.
What other details do you remember? After my fight with Allison, these men came into the room.
I couldn't see their faces.
They were wearing black.
They took me to a building.
I was on a gurney.
They wheeled me through the door, and I lost them before I could see where they took me next.
Lauren strangled me.
Well, that was a dream.
It must have been a dream, right? It's unclear.
You know, this is not an exact science.
At that point in your life, you had never met Lauren.
You know, this would probably be a representational figure.
Which is also not uncommon, by the way.
Masked figures, shapeshifters.
They first appear as one character.
Your mother, an old classmate.
In my case, a parrot.
A parrot.
But they're really just physical manifestations of someone else.
I want to go back.
JACK: Sydney, that's a mistake.
They were taking me towards a room.
It was room 47.
That's where I was.
That's where I was being held.
I have to go back and see what happened to me in there.
[Kaya scoffs.]
You're the greatest.
Once you're under, you'll most likely begin in a dream cycle.
Again, no matter where you are, try to pick up the thread of your last memory by focusing on a detail you remember, something vivid.
There was hanging plastic in the building where I was taken.
Well, whatever it is, you're looking for a link.
A portal back to your memory state.
Back to the door you described.
KAYA: Good luck.
Thanks.
Okay.
Here's the headphones.
I am gonna put them on you.
Good luck.
When I received the call for this meeting, I assumed it would be with a low-level agent.
You have confirmation of The Covenant's demands.
My sources have confirmed they are holding Sydney Bristow.
They're asking for the Rambaldi device in exchange for her release.
This is an awkward conversation.
How so? Because of what I'm asking of you.
To use your contacts.
Why come to me? Because you can give me untraceability.
I'm looking for someone trained in wet work.
In particular, dead shot with a long-range rifle.
I plan on making the trade.
During the exchange, I want Sydney Bristow taken out.
Why make the trade? It's very simple.
Have The Covenant end her life.
Because I want assurance that Sydney Bristow is eliminated.
Ah, I see.
She has something on you, does she? If she's hit by a sniper, it'll appear as if it's a Covenant double-cross.
Well, with all due respect, Mr.
Director, what guarantee do I have that this isn't some form of entrapment? Because I know what you're up to, Mr.
Sloane.
I can see your big picture.
I know your endgame.
I even have proof.
Once I arrange the trade, I'll call you with the details.
The DNA you got from the Kremlin.
I matched it.
The hand belongs to Lazarey? Yeah.
I mean, it belonged to Lazarey before the Thank you.
Sure.
You're sure the DNA matched Lazarey? Yes, which means Sydney didn't kill him.
Lindsey has nothing on her.
She can come home.
Thank you.
# I only meant to love you # # Didn't you know it, babe? # # Didn't you know it? # # Why didn't you? # You still asleep? I think so.
# I gave you my heart # # You wanted my mind # I've never heard of a St.
Aidan.
They're hard to find.
# Your love scared me to death, girl # # Oh, it's the chokin' kind # Don't forget the case.
Syd, you made it.
Hope you're ready for an expensive lesson in gambling.
- I'm looking for that building.
- Check the kitchen.
Kitchen.
Thanks.
BRAZZEL: Okay.
She's in.
VAUGHN: Is she all right? She's Alpha.
Her serotonin levels are still increasing.
And see? Her heart rate's up.
She's on track for another vivid one.
You shouldn't have come back.
Who the hell are you? I'm telling you, you don't want to be here.
You're not Lauren.
- I know you're not Lauren.
- It doesn't matter who I am.
All that matters is that you leave.
You get the hell out of my way.
I can't do that.
You are so stubborn! You idiot.
We want to stay away.
We know The Covenant had us.
We suspected it all along.
It was The Covenant.
We think it's an accident we don't remember anything? - Then what happened to me? - Trust Lazarey.
What does he have to do with it? That's enough questions.
What's in room 47? JACK: Pull her out.
I'm not gonna risk her life.
Her heart rate's all right.
Let's give her a chance.
Leave, you idiot! Oh, my God.

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