La Femme Nikita (1997) s03e12 Episode Script

Threshold of Pain

Want to grab some lunch?
Yeah, I just want to finish looking at this.
Is that a Grunen 412?
Yeah, I've always wanted
to see one of these things up close.
I heard the detonators
are pitch-and-roll sensitive.
- Better get it to Disposal.
- Maybe you're right.
It's jammed.
Stay away from me!
Look out! I've got a bomb!
Out of my way! Get away from me!
All right, stay back!
So, where'd you like to have lunch?
This is the work of a recently formed
group calling itself Black March.
They freelance for various
terrorist organizations.
They appear to be motivated by money
and the sheer joy
of causing pain and destruction.
These are the leaders of Black March:
Simon Crachek and his partner Caroline.
Some sources say
they're brother and sister
others, that they're lovers.
In fact, they're probably both.
In 24 hours, Black March will be meeting
in the suburbs of Bukhara.
Our job is to terminate them.
You leave in one hour.
These new sights read a trifle high.
Don't let them throw you.
Okay. Thanks, Walter.
Real lovebirds?
- You think it's not real?
- It's real.
- What, so you don't approve?
- I approve.
It's just that it'll
end badly, sooner or later.
- It always does in this place.
- They know that.
Miracle is they make it work anyway
and they make it seem so simple.
Good luck, sugar,
and don't forget about those sights.
Yeah, I got it.
Go.
I've got a clear visual.
All operatives, point delta in one minute.
- Birkoff, do you have the hostile?
- Got him.
You're clear.
Angela!
- I'm going to get her.
- Mark!
You can't go!
You're fine. I'm getting you out of here.
Birkoff, we need to extract.
Where are they, Birkoff?
- We lost them.
- What do you mean?
They were taken in some kind of vehicle.
I'm downloading satellite Intel right now.
Standard protocol dictates an abort.
Standard protocol is suspended.
Find them.
Now,
which one should we start with first?
Caroline wouldn't hesitate.
She'd know immediately.
But then, she's an artist.
By comparison,
I'm something of a butcher.
This one will do.
Now, your equipment and tactics
suggest a Section One. Am I right?
You have a substation called S-six.
It's been very active lately.
I've a number of colleagues
who'd pay very dearly
for its precise location.
Give it to me!
What's your name?
My name is Caroline.
We're going to become very well
acquainted in the next few hours.
Let me tell you how it's going to be.
You are going to become my confidante
my sister
my lover.
You will tell me everything I want to know
and much that I don't care about.
I will ask and you will leap.
That's it.
What's it like to feel pain?
I'm incapable of it, myself.
It could be an advantage,
but it could be very lonely.
Don't you think it's sad that I'm so lonely?
Leave her alone.
Stop!
You're lovers.
When you work with bodies
as much as I do
you learn to watch every move,
every twitch, and you two are lovers.
No, we're not.
So I can do anything I want with her
and it won't bother you at all, right?
- No.
- No!
Don't!
Why not? You barely know her.
- All right, I'll tell you.
- Tell me what?
Anything you want.
Substation six?
Yes.
Caroline, time's up.
I've got a vehicle to the south
about 12 minutes ago.
Has to be them.
I'm sending the coordinates now.
How far?
- Fifteen minutes, maybe less.
- Move.
Well, well!
- I can't believe I beat you.
- Her pain threshold is very high.
I'd have broken her eventually,
but you win
- this time.
- I just got lucky. They're lovers.
And, now, as they say, talk.
Eight
kilometers
due east
11 field operatives
upgraded six-over-seven
security package.
Thank you. That's very helpful.
They traced us already.
I thought it would take longer.
Let's go.
No!
- I'm sorry.
- No.
- Where are you going?
- To tell Operations what happened.
- You can't.
- I have to.
- I gave up a substation.
- Shut up. They'll cancel you.
If the substation's hit
they'll figure out what happened
and cancel me anyway.
Look, at least this way, I save lives.
All right. You can save the substation
without giving yourself up.
- What are you talking about?
- I'll tell you later.
But right now
we've got a debrief in about five minutes.
Listen to me. We were captured.
We were tortured. We were rescued.
That's all that happened.
We were captured. We were tortured.
We were rescued. Say it.
We were captured. We were tortured.
We were rescued. That's about it.
The details are fuzzy.
Does that include Angela's death?
- I didn't actually see that.
- Why not?
- I was unconscious.
- From torture?
I was knocked out when I was captured,
and after that I was in and out.
- You and Angela were close.
- Yes.
I'm sorry.
We knew the risks.
Do you have anything to add?
No. I was pretty much
in the same condition.
- So you didn't see Angela die, either?
- No.
That's all for now.
One more question.
Why do you suppose they killed her?
You were both barely conscious.
What did they gain by it?
Maybe they wanted us
to see her dead body
when we came around.
An example of what would happen to us
if we didn't cooperate.
Our Intel indicates
they're usually more direct than that.
I got the impression
that they inflict pain and death
for the sheer fun of it.
You can go, but stand by.
There's going to be a follow-up mission.
She didn't buy it.
Probably not,
but I doubt she suspects the truth, either.
- Not yet, anyway.
- Why?
- Why did he kill her?
- I can't explain that, Mark.
He's insane.
He wanted to see the expression
on my face.
He actually seemed curious.
We can't think about that right now.
We just have to face the future.
Crachek said that there
was more than one group
interested in buying this Intel.
That means it's going
to take time for a deal.
If we can get to him and Caroline
before this goes down
The Intel dies with them.
- Exactly.
- How do we find them?
I'll handle it.
Madeline said there's going
to be a follow-up mission.
- That can be delayed.
- How?
I'll handle it.
I want you to rest and stay close.
Walter, I need you to take a look
at this timer.
- Walter?
- It was my fault.
What?
The Black March mission.
The sights read high.
I warned the team,
but I should have made the adjustment.
- Why didn't you?
- Wasn't time
but I should have made time.
A lot of things went wrong
on that mission.
- The sights had nothing to do with it.
- You don't know that.
Rounds flying, split-second decisions,
the smallest glitch can ruin everything.
What's happening to me?
First, I almost blow everybody up.
And now this.
I need this timer calibrated.
Yeah, just leave it right there, Michael.
I'll get to it.
What's the status
on the follow-up mission?
I've got a probable location.
I'm just waiting to confirm.
Anywhere near Kiev?
No.
Bucharest.
Why?
While I was being held,
I seemed to remember
Crachek saying to Caroline
something about a meeting in Kiev.
Why didn't you mention
this at the debrief?
It just came back to me. I don't know.
I keep remembering
things in bits and pieces.
I'll check it out.
It might delay things for a while.
- Lf you think it's worth it then.
- Yeah.
Walter?
Yeah, sugar.
I need a Beretta 92F and a baby glock.
- I guess I owe you that much.
- Owe me?
The mission went south
because of the sights. Partly, at least.
- Are you in some kind of trouble?
- Yeah.
- Be cool.
- Yeah, thanks.
- You wanted to see me?
- Yeah. I need a favor, Mick.
You know about Black March?
New players, lots of splinter groups.
Out of control.
Good lot to stay clear of
and I plan to stay clear of them.
It's led by two psychotics
named Crachek and Caroline.
I mean, you've got the connections, Mick.
I need to know where they are.
- Do you?
- Yeah. And quickly.
And what is in it for me?
I won't break every bone in your body.
I never could resist a woman in distress.
It's my one weakness, really.
Quickly.
Are you as bored as I am?
I've seen it livelier.
Maybe we should leave.
Just ask
and I shall leap.
We've still got a couple more hours.
- I'm going to call Mick, see if he can try
- Even if we found Crachek again
we couldn't make another hit in time.
- I blew it. It's that simple.
- Yeah, but
I have to tell Operations
the substation's vulnerable.
Do you want me to go with you?
No, I'll go alone.
Thanks. For everything.
- Sorry.
- Yeah.
What is it?
- I need to talk to you.
- It'll have to wait. I'm busy.
A substation's been compromised.
- Which one?
- S-six.
- Degree?
- Location, security, everything.
It happened
during the Black March mission.
Who was responsible?
Nikita.
- You should have come forward at once.
- Nikita begged me to wait.
She had a plan to set things right,
but it didn't work out.
Now it's a question of saving
the substation, so here I am.
She was only trying to help Angela.
If there's any way you can
take that into account
You'd do better to worry about yourself.
You'll be sanctioned
for not informing me earlier.
I understand.
Bring Nikita to Abeyance.
You have to go with us.
Why?
You're in detention.
He was trying to keep Angela
from suffering at the hands
of that butcher.
I don't blame him.
- So he gave up the substation.
- Mark says you did.
He's lying to protect himself.
At the debriefing
you said that neither one of you broke.
- That's right.
- You lied.
- Yes, I did.
- Then why should I believe you now?
Because I was trying to protect him.
Why?
Because I'd just seen him go through hell
and I wanted to make things right.
- Out of the goodness of your heart.
- Out of a thing called friendship.
You should look it up.
Congratulations.
- You passed with flying colors.
- So what's the problem?
So did Mark.
Then he's found
some way to beat the machine.
Or you have.
If you're as good at reading people
as you say you are
then you should be able
to tell that I'm innocent
by looking in my eyes.
Exactly what Mark said.
She said she heard them mention Kiev.
- I had to delay the mission to check it out.
- And?
It was false. Not even close.
Do you think she deliberately misled you?
She was dazed, in pain.
- Who knows what
- Birkoff
do you think she deliberately misled you?
I don't have an opinion on that.
Yes, I think she did.
The guns used
in the unauthorized mission
have been identified.
- They came from your arsenal.
- Mine is the only arsenal in Section.
How did Nikita get them?
I can't keep my eye on everything
every second of the day.
Anybody could have taken them.
How do we know that it was Nikita?
Her prints were found on the guns.
So were yours.
- I handle all the weapons.
- The prints overlapped.
Analysis indicates
they were handled simultaneously.
Labs make mistakes.
Did you give them to her?
- What kind of guns were those again?
- Did you give the guns to Nikita?
No.
Machines aren't perfect.
I've had this cold lately
You handed the guns to Nikita.
Do you deny it?
Yes. I deny it.
I deny it.
The substation's been secured.
We'll incur no damage there.
Good. Now it's only a matter
of internal security.
I tend to believe Nikita.
But you have doubts.
Her flaw is compassion.
Angela's suffering may have
affected her even more than it did Mark.
And she planned
the unauthorized mission.
That suggests she had the most at stake.
Unless her compassion
was allowing her to protect Mark.
You're arguing against yourself.
It's not an easy call.
We've spent enough time on it.
I want closure by the morning.
I'd like to talk to you about Walter.
Yes. He behaved strangely
in the interrogation.
He practically asked to be sanctioned.
He blames himself
for the Black March mission.
He thinks it was partially
an equipment failure.
- Is there any evidence that he's right?
- Not really.
Then he'll have to snap out of it.
- You might be able to help.
- How?
By giving him a pat on the back.
A pat on the back?
A few words of praise or appreciation.
Are you serious?
Walter's older than most.
Works alone, 18 hours a day,
has very few outlets.
An exception to our usual approach
might be appropriate.
All right.
I'll stop by and, pat him on the back.
So who do they believe?
They don't know.
Thanks for coming,
but I don't see how you can help.
They've located Black March.
They're sending a team.
I'll have Crachek brought here alive.
Just tell me what you want him to say.
I want him to tell the truth
that Mark gave up the substation.
Fine.
You don't believe me, do you?
I do believe you.
Hold positions.
- We go active in three minutes.
- Birkoff.
I'm inserting a mission parameter.
- This late?
- Yes.
I want Crachek alive.
- That's not consistent with the profile.
- Then alter the profile.
Does Operations know about this?
Just do it, Birkoff.
All units, listen up.
We have a new parameter.
We need Crachek alive.
Restation Alpha
100 meters to the north.
Birkoff, we can't change the profile now.
It's too late.
We're just going to have to deal with it.
Good.
- Hello, Walter. How's everything?
- Fine.
I want to let you know
how much Madeline and I
appreciate your hard work.
And so does Oversight.
We've commended you to them
many times.
What's this about?
I just wanted to say thank you
for the good work.
Don't patronize me.
All of a sudden out of the clear blue sky
you come down here and say,
"Thanks for the good work"?
What do you want me to do, wag my tail?
If you want something from me,
just come out and say it.
Look, I just stopped by
to give you a pat on the back.
I don't need a pat on the back.
I've been doing this job
since before you came to Section
and I can probably do your job, too.
- Really?
- Really.
One of these days, you're going to carry
this cranky old man act a little too far.
What then?
You won't commend me to Oversight?
Why did I bother?
That's a good question.
Pat on the back. Brilliant.
Birkoff?
What's this about Crachek
being taken alive?
Yeah. They just brought him
into the White Room.
The profile called for elimination.
- The profile got changed.
- Whose authority?
Michael's.
Okay, thanks.
You're here to turn the screws.
If only you knew what a complete waste
of time that was for both of us.
You held two operatives.
One of them told you the location
of a substation.
Who was it, the man or the woman?
- Who would you like it to be?
- Let's start with the truth.
You look like a man with a vested interest.
Who would you be trying to protect?
Bet it's the woman.
Sorry. She was the one who broke.
You're lying.
Prove it.
Thank you.
Well?
We'll know soon.
We've spent too much time on this as it is.
We can't spend any more.
Let me try once more.
Do you want to live?
Not especially.
We could use you.
For my expertise in torture?
Yes.
I might be interested
if I thought I could trust you.
What do you have to lose?
- How will they know I'm telling the truth?
- Give them details.
Tell them everything that happened.
They'll know.
You really want the woman to live,
don't you?
Too bad. She was the one who broke.
No, wait. It's all coming back to me now.
It wasn't the woman who broke.
It was the man. Yeah.
You want details?
The other woman
was strapped to the fence.
I took a scalpel
and began to peel back her face
just above the left eye, I think.
She was in so much agony
she couldn't even scream.
Just made this horrible gurgling sound.
That was when he begged me to stop.
Convincing?
Yes.
Shame it's too late.
It worked.
Congratulations.
I suppose this means the deal's off.
Not necessarily. Take him to evaluation.
You can't be serious.
We have to utilize every resource we can.
Thank you.
I didn't plan it.
When I walked into Operations' office
I wanted to live.
I just need to know one thing.
Did you love Angela?
God, yes.
- Anything wrong?
- No.
Yes, there is.
I think it's wrong that Mark's dead
and Crachek's alive.
Crachek's not alive.
Operations said you might find him useful.
It didn't take long to realize
we couldn't work with him.
The man was a complete monster.
Previous EpisodeNext Episode