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113. Gambit
Directed by: Jon Cassar
Written by: Michael Loceff
Guest Starring: Harris Yulin
Transcribed by Jean
[Transcript half dialogue only until updated.]
SHADOWY ROOM
A haunting chorus rises up to a full moon over water. The music continues, and now we see four people in a row, bound in chairs, blindfolded with red cloth. They are in extreme fear. Madeline emerges from the shadows wearing a comm set.
MADELINE: (to the person on the com) I want the information or four innocent people will die.
She chambers a bullet of a large handgun, the metallic noise unmistakable to the hostages.
MALE VOICE: (via comm) We'll do the best we can.
Madeline shoots the man at the far end of the line. He slumps forward.
MADELINE: I want the information or three innocent people will die.
Cut to Nikita. She swings through the halls of Section One wearing clothes appropriate for a hooker. As she walks past Comm, Birkoff looks up from a slice of pizza, surprised.
BIRKOFF: What are you doing here?
NIKITA: Madeline wants to see me.
Cut to Madeline as she shoots the second hostage. The body tumbles to the floor with the chair.
BIRKOFF: Are you sure?
He turns and leans to his right, reading the computer monitor.
NIKITA: Yeah. Why?
BIRKOFF: (frowning) I think she's tied up right now.
NIKITA: (flippantly) Oh…
Cut back to Madeline. In this featureless room, she points her handgun at the final hostage -- a young woman. The woman trembles and gasps, in fear for her life.
MADELINE: (to the man on the com) What's your answer?
MALE VOICE: Okay. We'll give you what you want.
Madeline removes the blindfold from the woman’s face. She looks up at Madeline, calmer now.
MADELINE: Good news. They met my demands.
The young woman smiles tumultuously, then recoils when Madeline’s gun rises again, pointing at her face. Madeline stares at her, unsmiling, and then a knock at the door causes her to turn her head to look over her shoulder. She looks back at the girl, hesitating.
NIKITA: (knocks again) Madeline?
MADELINE: Come in.
Madeline turns once more toward the door…and this time she is wearing a device over her head that covers her eyes. It is a virtual reality simulation device. The door opens and admits Nikita. As she enters the room, Madeline takes the VR helmet off her head and walks over to the desk.
NIKITA: Oh. Are you all right?
MADELINE: I was just doing a VR SIM.
NIKITA: Of what?
Madeline doesn’t answer as she places the VR device down on her desk.
MADELINE: Do you know what it is that I do here?
NIKITA: What do you mean?
MADELINE: My job description.
NIKITA: Well, you tell us what to do...who to kill. (rolls eyes)
MADELINE: (smiles in response to Nikita’s mild cheekiness) My primary function is to get inside the enemy's head. Anticipate his next move whenever possible. (she carefully coils the wires and deactivates the VR device)
NIKITA: So whose head are you getting into now?
MADELINE: You'll find out in the next twelve hours. I want you to study this file.
Madeline walks behind Nikita, fetches a disk and hands it to her.
NIKITA: That's it?
MADELINE: It's going to be a very complicated mission. I'm going to want everyone up to speed. The file should give you a leg up on what we're doing.
Nikita recedes toward the door, then turns and walks back into the room, concerned.
NIKITA: Are you sure there's nothing wrong?
MADELINE: (turns around and smiles ruefully) Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm still strong enough to do this.
NIKITA: Well, you're the strongest person I've ever met.
MADELINE: (chuckles) You've never met Gregor Kessler.
NIKITA: Who?
MADELINE: I'll see you in the morning. Thank you.
Nikita leaves the office. Madeline sinks into a chair thoughtfully.
SECTION ONE: WAR ROOM
Operations leads a briefing. Several operatives including Michael and Nikita sit facing him. The holo-emitter is active, glowing blue around the edges and displaying pictures and text.
OPERATIONS: He calls himself Gregor Kessler, but that's not his real name. (the face in the display changes) This is also Gregor Kessler. (face changes again) And this is Gregor Kessler. His name is not the only mystery. No one has ever seen his real face. He's a master of disguise and moves around the globe at will. We're assuming that he's moving west and we're doing what we can to seal the borders.
While Operations discloses the information about Kessler, the camera jumps back and for the between the briefing, and a crowded airport. People wait in line to pass through security.
NIKITA: How do we know that's him?
OPERATIONS: Each of these men was tracked but never caught in unrelated terrorist incidents. However we did get close enough to gather trace materials. DNA residue showed that they were all the same person.
NIKITA: So what's Kessler done now?
An elderly lady approaches the guard at the airport security checkpoint while we still hear the briefing. She is successfully passed through.
OPERATIONS: Nothing...yet.
MICHAEL: We have advance intel?
Madeline, standing, leans her hands on the table.
MADELINE: A threat was made against the west by a group we've been monitoring, the United Coalition. Unless their demands are met, which will not happen, they say they will contaminate the water supply of a major city with a radioactive agent, cobalt 60.
MICHAEL: We get threats every day. What gives this one credibility?
MADELINE: One of our operatives inside the coalition decoded a communiqué. Confirmation of initial payment to Kessler.
OPERATIONS: If Kessler was hired by the Coalition, the threat warrants priority countermeasures.
MADELINE: We don't know who he is…but we do know what he is. A terrorist with the blood lust of a serial killer and a strategic prowess of a chess master. You don't get many chances with someone like Kessler. We can't miss a beat.
SECTION ONE CORRIDOR
Madeline, Michael, and Nikita walk leisurely through the halls on their way to Comm.
MICHAEL: So Kessler could be anybody?
MADELINE: That's right.
NIKITA: How do we find him?
MADELINE: Follow the cobalt. C-60 is highly controlled. There's been none reported missing, so Kessler hasn't made his move yet.
SECTION ONE: COMM
A glowing map is displayed on a huge monitor, punctuated by red spots. Madeline, Michael, Nikita, and two unidentified operatives sit or stand around Comm while Birkoff explains the technical side of cobalt-60 availability.
BIRKOFF: There are 15 facilities worldwide that manufacture the isotope. Seven of those are in remote locations in the Far East; it would take at least three days to get to them.
MADELINE: He doesn't have that kind of time. Our sources say the incident is expected before the end of the week.
BIRKOFF: Good.
MICHAEL: You can also rule out Brazil and Argentina. They're government facilities, there's too much security. He wouldn't need to take that kind of risk.
BIRKOFF: That leaves six in the Americas and Europe. Three of those are under the direct control of the CIA or NATO. We wish he'd walk into one of them. We're down to three.
Birkoff adjusts the map; only three red indicator spots remain; one in Ecuador, one in Toronto, one in northern California.
MADELINE: What are they?
BIRKOFF: A defense contractor in Toronto. A nuclear medicine company in Ecuador and a chip manufacturer in northern California.
Madeline touches her forehead as if suffering from headache.
MADELINE: Well, forget Ecuador.
BIRKOFF: Why?
MADELINE: He'll be wearing a mask. You ever wear latex in a hundred percent humidity?
BIRKOFF: So, it's California or Toronto.
MADELINE: The receipt.
NIKITA: What receipt?
MADELINE: The one from Kessler. Initial payment for services rendered. How much was it for?
BIRKOFF: (typing, checking data) 772,592 dollars U.S.
MADELINE: Convert that to Canadian dollar using the exchange rate from the date of receipt.
BIRKOFF: Exactly one million dollars, Canadian.
MADELINE: He's in Toronto. Get the plane ready.
ELEGRA CORPORATION
A man in a dark business suit walks into the facility and shows his ID badge; he is Mr. Hayes. He penetrates further into the building, traversing a white hallway populated with people in white lab coats. An older gentleman breaks off from what he was doing and intercepts Mr. Hayes.
LAB TECH: Hello, Mr. Hayes?
HAYES: What is it?
LAB TECH: It's for the new spectrum analyzer.
He hands a pad to Hayes; Hayes continues striding briskly as he reads.
HAYES: Prices are going through the roof. Find another supplier.
He stops and hands it back, dismissing the elder man, then continues on his way. He uses a pass card and pin number to access another area. A janitor ambles along, pushing a cart full of janitorial supplies.
JANITOR: Good morning! Very nice suit, Mr. Hayes.
HAYES: (uninterested) Yeah, hi.
Hayes holds stead for a retinal scan before admittance into a third level of security, passing through a doorway after the heavy door slides up slowly. Cut to the long white hall. The janitor pushes his cart along, and as the camera shortens focus, we see that Michael and Nikita are the security guards at the front desk.
NIKITA: Michael, someone just went into the isotope room.
MICHAEL: This should be Hayes, the project leader. He resets the alarm code every two hours. Green team, confirm identity -- Julian Hayes.
OPERATIVE: (watches as Hayes exits the room and walks by) I have confirmation on Hayes.
MICHAEL: All right.
Time passes. Michael and Nikita continue play-acting as the company security. Eventually, Hayes re-emerges from the bowels of the building and walks back down the white corridor, carrying two slim, metal briefcases. He goes to the parking structure, finds his car, unlocks it and gets in. The Mercedes won’t start. He gets back out of the car and paces angrily when he calls on his cell phone, it, too will not work. Then, the janitor appears, mildly startling him.
JANITOR: What's the matter, Mr. Hayes?
HAYES: Oh, my car won't start.
JANITOR: Why don't you pop the hood? I'll take a look at it for you.
HAYES: Yeah, okay.
Hayes reaches inside his car to release the hood latch and then leans under the hood with the janitor.
Cut to inside Elegra Corporation. A young man shows his pass to Nikita and walks on by. She waits a beat, then watches as he walks further in. Anyone could be Kessler, and something about the young man made her look twice.
Cut to the card-code access point Hayes passed through earlier. It is the janitor who is accessing. He punches the code and the door opens for him. Taking his tote of janitorial cleaners with him, he casts a glance behind him, and enters. As he approaches the tightest security, he reaches into his tote and takes out a human eyeball. Cut to the parking garage…Hayes lies dead, his glasses broken on the ground next to him, and blood pooling under his head where his eye had been ripped out. Cut back to the janitor; he holds the eyeball up to the retinal scanner. Beep. He gains admittance to the isotope chamber.
NIKITA: : (looks at the security screen: nothing but gray static) Michael, the room with the cobalt.
MICHAEL: What about it?
NIKITA: The monitor's out.
MICHAEL: (calmly) Blue team, isotope room. (he nods slightly to Nikita) Go.
Nikita runs down that well-traveled path through the white hall. Blue team operatives run down from the opposite way. Nikita frantically shoves her access card into the slot and punches the code several times without success.
NIKITA: He scrambled the code. Stand back.
She draws her gun and shoots the unit; alarms go off. The other operatives draw their weapons and follow her through the door. As they approach the final door to the isotope chamber, clear doors are descending from the ceiling, cutting them off; it’s an automatic security measure. One operative manages to roll under one before it closes. Before he can stand, the janitor steps on his gun-arm, pinning him and taking his gun.
Nikita and the other operative aim at the janitor as the janitor holds the gun on the other operative’s head. Nikita and the janitor share a look…and Nikita shoots. The glass partition is bullet-proof; the bullets only star the glass. The janitor…Kessler…shoots the kneeling operative without even looking at him, then turns and punches more numbers on the security punch-pad on the wall behind him. Another partition falls down behind Nikita and the operative, imprisoning them.
NIKITA: Michael, he’s out.
MICHAEL: Where?
NIKITA: North side door of the outer office.
MICHAEL: Pursue.
NIKITA: (pushing buttons) We can't. He's put up a barrier. I'm working on it now.
The janitor walks down the hallway with his briefcase. Operatives run past, oblivious that they are running past the target. Michael stops him at the desk, but he drops Michael momentarily with a punch to the chest. Nikita kicks him in the crotch, then Michael rebounds and knocks him unconscious.
In the parking garage, another man – the man who seemed to rouse Nikita’s suspicions earlier – gets into a car. He has something under his overcoat…it’s a metal and glass cylindrical container. It’s the cobalt-60. He escapes.
Nikita peels away latex from the janitor’s face.
NIKITA: Kessler.
MADELINE’S OFFICE
Madeline contemplates her face in a mirror, gently running her fingers over the contours contemplatively. Operations enters.
OPERATIONS: We've got him.
He places a long, slim cigar in his mouth.
MADELINE: Then it's over?
OPERATIONS: Not yet. Somehow he got rid of the cobalt.
Operations lights his cigar.
MADELINE: Were we able to trace it?
OPERATIONS: No. He must not have been working alone.
MADELINE: Where is he now?
OPERATIONS: En route. Kessler's no good to us unless he tells us where to find that cobalt.
Operations snaps shut his lighter and leaves Madeline to her thoughtful contemplations in the mirror.
SECTION ONE: COMM
Operations paces around Comm. Madeline sits, staring into her own computer while Birkoff reads aloud from the main profile.
BIRKOFF: His real name is Norris Gaines. He was born in Germany in 1946. His parents were Polish immigrants; they were murdered in 1952 by a xenophobic hate group. He was taken into a state facility where he stayed for eight years. By all accounts, he was an introvert -- no friends, no special interests. Then without explanation, he tortured and murdered two students. He escaped, went underground where he remained until he surfaced, eleven years later, as Gregor Kessler. Click on the background window, it has details, there might be something there you can use. (turns to Madeline)
OPERATIONS: Did you work up his non-operational profile?
BIRKOFF: (looks back at his monitor for intel) He lived with a woman in Amsterdam for a couple of years in the early 80's.
OPERATIONS: Can we get to her?
BIRKOFF: Died in labor.
MADELINE: (looks up suddenly) The child?
BIRKOFF: We're checking it out.
OPERATIONS: (to Madeline) Are you ready?
Madeline nods. She looks weary.
SECTION ONE: THE WHITE ROOM
Madeline approaches the portal to the White room, punches the access
code and presents her thumbprint. She enters and walks leisurely
into the room, her eyes running up, then down, the figure before her.
She smiles, a sudden silent burst of amusement.
MADELINE: (as she speaks, she circles behind a metal framework: Kessler is restrained to it with leather and chain) If you were our typical guest, you'd have been tortured to within an inch of your life by now. Here's my offer. If you cooperate, we'll assign you to an internment that will be bearable.
Kessler moves the metal contraption to face her with an abrupt squeal of rusty protest.
KESSLER: I'm sorry about your sister.
Madeline’s expression drains of all amusement. Kessler grumbles ‘Hmm…’. Behind one-way glass, Nikita and Birkoff and Operations watch. Nikita lowers her stainless steel mug in surprise at Kessler’s comment.
MADELINE: We'll find the cobalt with or without you.
KESSLER: Must have been so hard on you, huh? You so young and your psyche is so vulnerable….Mmm….
MADELINE: Things would be easier all around if you help.
Kessler sings a children’s song.
KESSLER: I knew a little girl; it was a long time ago, used to sing this song. She's gone now.
Kessler starts singing again.
BIRKOFF: He's getting to her.
MADELINE: On the other hand, we can make things unbearable.
KESSLER: Hmmm. Yesterday, I saw up on a stair, a little girl who was not there. She was not there again today, gee, I wish she'd go away. Hmm?
OPERATIONS: I don't know. It can't be intuition. He researched her. He knows about the Section.
KESSLER: Oh, no, now, why do we need him? Just when we were having such fun, the two of us.
MADELINE: Yes. 10 cc's.
KESSLER: Oh, no, don't do this, don't do this. This information is very complicated. I won't be able to remember it!
MADELINE: That tightening and that pain that you feel in your chest will only get worse. It's caused by--
KESSLER: Mephobarbital. I recognized it right away. You know, what I can't understand is why people don't like this drug because it's so lovely. Is there more?
MADELINE: There's more.
KESSLER: Ah, good.
MADELINE: Another 10 cc's.
KESSLER: Oh, yes, please, don't be shy, yes, do.
MADELINE: Dehydrate him.
KESSLER: Madeline? I'm sorry, what happened to her.
OPERATIONS’ LOFT
OPERATIONS: We found Kessler's daughter.
MICHAEL: Where?
OPERATIONS: Oslo. She's a foreign exchange student at the university. I need you to bring her in.
NIKITA: How do you want us to do that?
OPERATIONS: Birkoff found out that he's been supporting her all these years.
NIKITA: Does she know him?
OPERATIONS: No. All he's allowed her to know is that he exists and he's been taking care of her financially.
MICHAEL: He's protecting her.
OPERATIONS: Yes, even in his tormented psyche, he still loves his daughter.
UNIVERSITY OF OSLO, NORWAY
NIKITA: Hello.
ANNIE: Hi.
NIKITA: Are you Annie?
ANNIE: Yeah. Are you in one of my classes?
NIKITA: Oh, no, I'm not. This is going to sound a little strange, but Annie, I just need you to listen to me carefully. I'm here because of your father.
ANNIE: You're what?
NIKITA: Not your foster father. Uh, your real father. The one that you've never met.
ANNIE: How do you know about that?
NIKITA: Because I know him and I want you to come with me to see him.
ANNIE: No, I don't think so.
NIKITA: Annie, wait.
ANNIE: Who are you?
NIKITA: I can't tell you that. Annie, you're going to have to trust me.
ANNIE: Look, I've spent my whole life looking for him. He didn't want to be found. Now you're saying that all of a sudden he wants to see me?
NIKITA: It's a little more complicated than that.
ANNIE: Look, just give me your number, somewhere where I can reach you, and just let me think about it.
NIKITA: I can't do that.
ANNIE: Well then forget about it. This is too weird. Just leave me alone. Hey! Let go of me!
MICHAEL: I'm not going to hurt you. Please, get in the van.
WHITE ROOM
KESSLER: I was having a most pleasant dream. You were in it. I think. Yes, I think it was you. Two little girls. One had, uh, oh dear, auburn hair, and the other was a little darker. You were playing at the top of the stairs. You both wanted the doll. And then...I can't remember what happened then. Perhaps you can help, Madeline? Hmmm?
MADELINE: We have your daughter. We have Annie.
KESSLER: Well, I've never met Annie. Oh, no.
MADELINE: I doubt she has the same capacity to endure pain as you. In fact, she will suffer from the start. And it won't end for a long time.
KESSLER: Why would you, of all people, want to harm an innocent young girl?
MADELINE: I never said I wanted to.
KESSLER: You won't do this. You cannot do this. Wait! I'll tell you what you want to know. Once I'm convinced it is her.
MADELINE: She's on her way.
SECTION HALLWAY
OPERATIONS: Any exposure?
MICHAEL: No.
MADELINE: Let me see her.
NIKITA: It's going to be fine, trust me.
ANNIE: Who are you people?
MADELINE: I'm sorry for what we're putting you through. Fortunately, it'll be brief, and you'll be back in Norway tomorrow, with an incredible story you'll never be able to confirm.
ANNIE: What are you talking about?
MADELINE: Get ready to meet your father.
WHITE ROOM
ANNIE: You're my father?
KESSLER: Would you let me touch her? I would -- I would like to touch my daughter once and then I'll tell you where you -- where you can find your cobalt.
MADELINE: Let him touch your face, briefly.
KESSLER: Now come closer, I just...yeah. You must not believe anything that these people tell you. Your mother wanted me to tell you…
ANNIE: What did my mother --
KESSLER: Come closer.
MADELINE: Annie, no!
NIKITA: He's opened the jugular! Get help! She's bleeding to death.
MADELINE’S OFFICE
NIKITA: Madeline.
MADELINE: Is she dead?
NIKITA: Not yet. But she won't make it through the night. So we were wrong. She didn't mean anything to Kessler.
MADELINE: On the contrary. He cared enough to kill her. It was an act of mercy, Nikita. He was protecting her.
NIKITA: Protecting her? From who?
MADELINE: From us.
NIKITA: How do you know what goes on inside his head?
MADELINE: I know.
NIKITA: Does he know what's inside your head?
MADELINE: No.
NIKITA: So what was he talking about yesterday? That poem about the little girl and the stair? It seemed to affect you.
MADELINE: Isn't it bad enough that I have to endure the ravings of this lunatic?
NIKITA: I'm sorry. I just thought you might like somebody to talk to, that's all.
MADELINE: We were fighting over a doll. I pushed her; she fell down the stairs and died.
NIKITA: Your sister.
MADELINE: Yes.
NIKITA: But it was an accident, right? You didn't mean to.
MADELINE: I wanted the doll.
SECTION
MICHAEL: We have two candidates, both held in abeyance. Brianne's an ex-junkie, she was recruited after being convicted of a double homicide, drug-related. She scored well in physical and tactical but we believed she would start using again given the chance. Cancellation recommended. Shellen was recalled after incurring excessive collateral in Budapest last month. He's been in psych reconditioning, but his aggressive response has not been contained. Cancellation recommended.
MADELINE: Use Shellen.
TRAINING ROOM
OPERATIVE: That's enough.
MICHAEL: We have a job for you.
WHITE ROOM
SHELLEN: How's it going? I'm sorry. I have this twitch, I can't control it. You see, I have it in both hands.
KESSLER: That's a pity. You should have it looked at.
SHELLEN: Is that supposed to be funny?
KESSLER: Humor is subjective.
SHELLEN: So is pain. I thought you were supposed to be some hard-ass terrorist! You're pathetic. Don't go to sleep on me yet. Let’s dance.
MADELINE’S OFFICE
MADELINE: Do we have him?
BIRKOFF: Yes, the tracker's got him. He's leaving by van access now.
MADELINE: good.
VOICE: Where to Birkoff?
BIRKOFF: Heading 270, 100 meters.
MICHAEL: Nikita and I go in first, team covers.
MICHAEL: OK Kessler, put your hands on your head.
NIKITA: It's the tracker. Kessler's still out there.
COMM
OPERATIVE: We have an incoming.
KESSLER: Where is she?
OPERATIONS: What are you talking about?
KESSLER: Put her on or you will never get what you want.
MADELINE: I'm here.
KESSLER: When you brought Annie to me, you knew what I would do. There was no option. It was already written, yeah, and you knew that too. That's why I never let her know who I was. That's how I protected her. She was my redemption, and you destroyed that.
MADELINE: That's not true. I didn't want her to die.
KESSLER: No of course not, not 'til after you had tortured her. No. We are the same, Madeline, you and I. We have just different agendas.
MADELINE: What do you want?
KESSLER: You made me an offer once, now I will make one to you. This cobalt, it will go in the water supply -- twenty thousand homes. Or I will return it to you.
MADELINE: What's the catch?
KESSLER: I deliver it to you, personally. Then I will tell you.
MADELINE: Where?
KESSLER: Just stay on this channel. You'll receive instructions.
OPERATIONS: I can't allow it. You are too valuable.
MADELINE: Thank you. But you know I have to.
OPERATIONS: Please don't go.
EXCHANGE SITE
KESSLER: There's a pathway to your left. Take it heading due north.
OPERATIONS: Everyone hold your positions.
OPERATIVE 1: Got her in my sights.
OPERATIVE 2: In position.
OPERATIONS: Green team, you have her in sight?
OPERATIVE 3: Got her.
OPERATIONS: Close off the perimeter. Nothing goes in or out.
OPERATIVE: Team leader, check. Perimeter sealed.
OPERATIVE: Move in!
OPERATIVE 2: Go, go!
KESSLER: Well, I guess that should keep them occupied, huh?
OPERATIONS: He's planted mines! Everyone hold your position. Birkoff, where are they?
BIRKOFF: In an underground corridor. It's part of the water filtration plant.
OPERATIONS: Find another way in.
KESSLER: Just for the record I'm a man of my word. Here's the cobalt. And now, now I'll take my payment, huh?
Madeline takes off a mask, revealing Michael beneath. Nikita and Madeline approach.
KESSLER: Oh, I win.
MADELINE: That's an interesting point of view.
KESSLER: Well, think about it, if you pull the trigger, you become me. And if you don't, well who knows what may happen?
MADELINE: I know. Take him in.
NIKITA’S APARTMENT
NIKITA: Madeline.
MADELINE: Can I come in?
NIKITA: Sure. Something wrong?
MADELINE: I've never been here before. It's not what I expected.
NIKITA: Oh yeah, well, what did you expect?
MADELINE: Something darker, more severe. I like it.
NIKITA: Do you want something? I'm just having some tea.
MADELINE: Tea would be fine, yes. This is a beautiful view.
NIKITA: Isn't it? Sometimes I stand here for hours, just looking out over the city.
NIKITA: So why are you here?
MADELINE: To remember
NIKITA: To remember what?
MADELINE: Who I was.
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