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204. Approaching Zero
Written by: Michael Loceff
Directed by: Rene Bonniere
Guest Cast: Bruce Payne, Farzad Sadrian
Transcribed by Jean
[Note: Transcript dialogue only until updated.]
NIKIT'A APARTMENT
NIKITA: Something's bothering me.
JURGEN: What's that?
NIKITA: Your past, your life before Section. Michael said what you told me wasn't true. That you were dangerous before and still are now.
JURGEN: What do you think?
NIKITA: I don't know. That's why I'm asking you.
JURGEN: There's nothing I can do or say to prove to you who I was or who I am. I guess you'll have to ask yourself. why would either of us lie to you?
NIKITA: Maybe you both just want something from me.
JURGEN: I know you were not a hostage for the six months you were out. I also know that Michael had something to do with your return. That alone is enough to extort anything I would want from you…or him.
There is a knock at the door.
NIKITA: Michael.
MICHAEL: I was in the area. I thought I'd drop in to see how things were going.
NIKITA: It’s good.
MICHAEL: Smells like you're cooking.
NIKITA: Yes, I am.
MICHAEL: Can I come in?
NIKITA: Of course.
MICHAEL: Hi.
JURGEN: Hi, Michael.
NIKITA: We were just sitting down to have some dinner. Would you like to join us?
MICHAEL: No, I have some things to do. I just wanted to see how you were doing.
NIKITA: You're sure?
MICHAEL: Yes.
SECTION: BRIEFING AREA
OPERATIONS: As you know, most satellites have a nuclear power source, a material that could be used as a weapon. Normally this doesn't pose a security threat, as these orbiters burn up when they re-enter the atmosphere. Yesterday, however, while a Norwegian satellite was on the way up, a booster exploded, causing the payload to fall into the North Sea intact.
MICHAEL: What about their recovery team?
OPERATIONS: Three choppers went down: no survivors. There was a naval ship in the area that was sent in to investigate. We've lost contact with them. Someone wants that satellite.
MICHAEL: Was there a beacon?
OPERATIONS: It was destroyed. Mr. Birkoff is in the Systems preparing a spreadsheet. Every hour that passes, chances of recovering the satellite are reduced by a factor of two. Get on it. Birkoff's running the numbers now.
COMM
BIRKOFF: There's a ship in the North Sea where the satellite fell. We've hailed them but they haven't responded.
MICHAEL: Start running the numbers, I want you to get me on that vessel.
BIRKOFF: It’s too far off-shore, if anything goes wrong out there, you're alone. There's a NATO carrier three hundred kilometers away. Let them take it.
MICHAEL: No. Orders are to work autonomously.
BIRKOFF: I'll see what I can do.
Walter joins them.
MICHAEL: Did you pull something?
WALTER: There are two connections we backed into through the satellite's manufacturer. Both are soft, but one of them we know to have an interest in acquiring nuclear capability.
MICHAEL: Do we have location or personnel?
WALTER: They are working on that now.
BIRKOFF: What do you want to do?
MICHAEL: Prepare a chopper and a zodiac.
WALTER: You want to use abeyance ops?
MICHAEL: No. I'll use my team.
NORTH SEA
BIRKOFF: They're approaching target. They're at the ship.
MICHAEL: No one's on deck. We're going down.
BIRKOFF: Keep looking. The signal's coming from somewhere.
MICHAEL: Anything else?
JURGEN: No, just this.
BIRKOFF: Something's out there. I'm picking up something in the air.
OPERATIONS: What?
BIRKOFF: I'm not sure yet. Probably a commercial airline. I'll check. Nikita, give me a visual; forty degrees to the southeast.
NIKITA: Looks like a vapor trail.
BIRKOFF: A vapor trail? Whatever this is, it’s getting closer. Could it be a NATO plane on maneuvers?
OPERATIONS: Not on that trajectory. Get them off the ship!
BIRKOFF: Michael, get your team to exit point now!
MICHAEL: We have an abort condition.
BIRKOFF: Looks like you have a hostile Sukhoi thirty kilometers and closing. We've got a live warhead aimed at you. Get out of there, Michael!
The three operatives leap from the ship into the ocean before it explodes.
VAN ACCESS
OPERATIONS: Birkoff tracked the Sukhoi -- he'll fill you in. Did you get any debris from the ship?
MICHAEL: Jurgen's off-loading it.
OPERATIONS: Good, let’s work up an analysis.
JURGEN: This is all I got from the satellite.
OPERATIONS: Take this to Walter. Play back the data on the assault, tear it apart, rebuild it until we get a clear picture.
MICHAEL: Jurgen, go help Walter run down the hardware.
JURGEN: It'll take him a couple of hours. I'll get to it in the morning.
NIKITA: How'd you get away with that?
JURGEN: I don't answer to Michael.
NIKITA: And Operations? He was standing right there.
JURGEN: If it was important, I would've done it.
NIKITA: So how do you get to decide?
JURGEN: It's...its complicated. Let's go.
MADELINE’S OFFICE
MADELINE: How was your visit to the North Sea?
MICHAEL: Brief.
MADELINE: How did your team hold up?
MICHAEL: There were no incidents.
MADELINE: And Jurgen and Nikita?
MICHAEL: They're forming an attachment.
MADELINE: Good. Stay close to it. Let me know when it’s time.
CORRIDOR
NIKITA: What's up?
MICHAEL: We're going out again.
NIKITA: My panel up to date?
MICHAEL: No. Comm's finishing up the sequences. You weren't home when I called.
NIKITA: I went out for dinner. Why, is that a problem?
MICHAEL: No.
NIKITA: All right, Michael, so what is this? So I went out to dinner. Why do you care?
Michael says nothing.
NIKITA: Patented Michael answer; the blank stare. If you're jealous, just be jealous. Tell me not to see him.
MICHAEL: Is that all it would take?
NIKITA: Maybe. Maybe not. But at least it would be something real, an emotion instead of this cryptic game of twenty questions.
MICHAEL: You're right. I shouldn't have asked.
NIKITA: So that's where we stand? You really don't care if I see Jurgen?
Michael says nothing.
NIKITA: See you upstairs.
WAR ROOM
OPERATIONS: We've distilled all the current data from the ambush attempt. Tactical must have originated from within Norway. This matches up with one of the two groups we backed into: the Fifth Order.
MICHAEL: Russian Mafia?
OPERATIONS: They have been underwritten by various organized factions inside the former Soviet Union, but we still don't know specifically who is motivating the action.
WALTER: If they're so well financed, why go to all the trouble to steal some fuel rods?
OPERATIONS: That's not what they're after. Birkoff.
BIRKOFF: This wasn't a LAN sat orbiter, after all. It was a military communications satellite. It has the hard-wired decryption codes of the main command and control lines to the Pentagon.
OPERATIONS: If the Fifth Order can figure out how to leverage these codes in time, it would become a global security emergency.
MICHAEL: How much time before the Pentagon can reprogram?
OPERATIONS: Not fast enough. We have to recover that satellite. Mr. Birkoff is triangulating a location. We're on close quarter standby. (to Nikita) Madeline wants to see you in her office.
MADELINE'S OFFICE
MADELINE: How are things going?
NIKITA: Fine.
MADELINE: I never got a chance to congratulate you on your full return to status. A lot has changed for you.
NIKITA: Has it?
MADELINE: You tell me. Want to hear it in your own words.
NIKITA: Well, all I wanted to do back then was get out.
MADELINE: And now?
NIKITA: I won't lie to you; I'm not happy to be here. But, it’s not about getting out anymore.
MADELINE: What is it about?
NIKITA: Having a better life.
MADELINE: Has Jurgen helped you come to this point?
NIKITA: Actually, yes. He seems to be able to do things that you said weren't possible.
MADELINE: Like what?
NIKITA: He makes his own choices.
MADELINE: Jurgen is an unusual case.
MICHAEL: We're ready.
MADELINE: Birkoff's got location?
MICHAEL: It's a twin location. We'll have to use parallel teams.
MADELINE: Who's running point?
MICHAEL: I'll be using Nikita.
MADELINE: Then get her wired.
MUNITIONS
MICHAEL: Birkoff's going to be pulling off a transmission frequency. Cover as much space as you can.
NIKITA: And if I'm detected?
MICHAEL: We'll be in the basement. You'll have to cover the first ten seconds alone, after that look for us, and stay out of line of fire. Finish her up and get her to access.
WALTER: Yeah, okay. How's that feel?
NIKITA: Tight.
WALTER: It'll loosen up. As long as you can breath.
COMM
BIRKOFF: Sir.
OPERATIONS: What?
BIRKOFF: There's a mission loading. I don't have a location yet. What's going on?
OPERATIONS: Don't worry about it. Keep working.
VAN ACCESS
Before Nikita and Michael can leave the access area, the phone rings.
MICHAEL: Yes. Are you sure? Okay.
Michael hangs up.
MICHAEL: Advance team just arrived on site. Target's been abandoned.
NIKITA: Mission's off?
MICHAEL: Yes.
NIKITA: I thought advance team already confirmed.
MICHAEL: No.
MUNITIONS
WALTER: Nothing should surprise you about this place.
NIKITA: Oh, it's just we've never aborted during egress.
WALTER: I remember once, heading to Italy. We were on a plane we did a mid-game abort. I had it all planned, too. I was gonna take out an armory Friday morning and then have the weekend to see Selendra.
NIKITA: Where's that?
WALTER: Not where is it: who is it?
NIKITA: Oh.
WALTER: She was a Section op by Rome, and we had...
MADELINE: Walter, come to my office please.
MICHAEL: Go. I’ll finish up here.
WALTER: Put the stuff on here.
Michael continues removing comm devices from Nikita’s back.
NIKITA: So, are we still on close quarter standby?
MICHAEL: No. You can leave.
Michael pretends to remove the last circle, but does not.
NIKITA: Is that it?
MICHAEL: You're all set.
NIKITA: I'll do it.
JURGEN'S HOUSE
NIKITA: What a beautiful house.
JURGEN: I was surprised to get your call.
NIKITA: Yeah. It was an early abort. They lost the location.
JURGEN: I'm glad. Can I get you anything?
NIKITA: No, thank you.
JURGEN: What's up? You seem distracted.
NIKITA: I wanted to tell you that you were right. There was something between Michael and me.
JURGEN: Is there still?
NIKITA: I spoke with him today.
JURGEN: And?
NIKITA: It's over.
JURGEN: For him...or for you?
NIKITA: For both of us.
JURGEN: Can I fix you a drink?
MADELINE: Let me know when you get a lock.
JURGEN: You know, it wasn't easy for me to train you.
NIKITA: Really? Why was that?
JURGEN: Sometimes, to get trainees across the line, I have to become their enemy.
NIKITA: Well, I guess it just didn't work this time.
NIKITA: You know, I'm just a little...
JURGEN: No rush. You...you're not ready.
NIKITA: It’s not that.
JURGEN: We can wait.
NIKITA: N-no, come here.
MICHAEL: Birkoff, you have synch yet?
BIRKOFF: Almost.
MICHAEL: Hurry.
BIRKOFF: It runs at five hundred mega-hertz; I can't change that. Okay, there it is.
MICHAEL: Is that all we need?
BIRKOFF: We still need to cycle the combinations, but we can do that on site.
MICHAEL: Good.
Michael makes a call on his cell.
NIKITA: Hello?
MICHAEL: Josephine.
NIKITA: Now?
MICHAEL: Yes.
NIKITA: Okay.
WAR ROOM
OPERATIONS: Lieutenant Commander Ronald Arka. We believe he's the pilot of the Sukhoi that bombed the freighter. He's been on leave for two weeks. Birkoff connected him to a paymaster for the Fifth Order.
JURGEN: Where is he now?
OPERATIONS: He's stationed in Nova Scotia. He's due to return tomorrow.
JURGEN: Why do we think it's him?
OPERATIONS: There were twenty-three Sukhoi pilots unaccounted for at the time of the incident. Birkoff worked them all up, found linkage between Fifth Order and Arka. Any questions?
JURGEN: Is Michael leading the team?
OPERATIONS: No, he won't be going. It’s just the two of you and back ups. Michael's needed elsewhere.
JURGEN'S HOUSE
BIRKOFF: We'll go in here. Here's the carrier of his backup system. I just got to invert it and wait. Got it.
OPERATIONS' OFFICE
MADELINE: I just heard from Michael. It's done.
OPERATIONS: Thank you.
HOTEL
AKRA: What? Who are you? What do you want? I haven't done anything!
Nikita and Jurgen take Akra and leave.
VAN ACCESS
JURGEN: So.
NIKITA: So?
JURGEN: Shall we continue where we left off?
OPERATIONS: Has he offered up anything since our last transmission?
JURGEN: No. He'll need to be squeezed.
OPERATIONS: Before you leave, Jurgen, I'd like you to debrief.
JURGEN: I'll do it tomorrow.
OPERATIONS: You'll do it now. You heard me. From now on you'll follow orders without question.
Jurgen runs to the exit.
NIKITA: Jurgen, wait! Is everything all right?
JURGEN'S HOUSE
NIKITA: I don't understand.
Jurgen looks at his computer monitor.
JURGEN: I'm dead.
NIKITA: What'd you have in there?
JURGEN: You asked how I could live like this, on my own terms? I had damaging intel that I could have used against them.
NIKITA: Who? Operations?
JURGEN: It doesn't matter. It kept everyone off my back.
NIKITA: Why didn't they just cancel you?
JURGEN: They couldn't. I had a fail-safe. I distributed the damaging intel among services around the world. If I didn't refresh the codes every few days, it was scripted to automatically upload to the Agency.
NIKITA: But you still have all the data, don't you?
JURGEN: It's too late. They've done damage control. The only people who could corroborate the allegations are probably dead by now. It doesn't make sense. I had a one-sided security hold on the house, a dynamic carrier frequency. The only way you could tap in without detection was from the inside. You were the only person I allowed in. They broke in hours after you were here!
NIKITA: No. I don't understand. I don't understand!
Jurgen removes the small disk from Nikita’s back and shows her.
NIKITA: The mission.
JURGEN: What mission?
NIKITA: I told you about it yesterday. The early abort. They wired me to go out. Walter got called off; Michael finished.
JURGEN: They used you.
NIKITA: Jurgen...
JURGEN: Get out.
NIKITA: Let me help you through this. They can't take everything away from us.
JURGEN: Us? There is no us. There's not even a me -- not any more.
NIKITA: Will they cancel you?
JURGEN: No. I never posed a malicious threat. I just wanted to be treated like a human being. I think they understood that.
NIKITA: It’s how we all feel.
JURGEN: I can't live that way -- I never could.
NIKITA: It won't be exactly as it was. I'm here.
JURGEN: Please, leave me alone now.
COMM
MADELINE: Did you get it all?
BIRKOFF: The name Arka gave us connected to a software firm in Brussels. The firm is a cover.
MADELINE: Cover or not, do they have the technology to recover the codes from the satellite?
BIRKOFF: Definitely.
MADELINE: Go.
MICHAEL'S OFFICE
MICHAEL: This is never an easy job. Sometimes unbearable, for all of us. I respect Jurgen for who he is and what he tried to do. But, there are certain that are absolutes. Jurgen could not be allowed to hold the Section hostage.
NIKITA: How could you do this, Michael?
MICHAEL: I just told you.
NIKITA: Not to him -- to me.
MICHAEL: It was never my intention to hurt you.
NIKITA: Oh, so that makes it okay? How far back does it go? My training with Jurgen or…when you brought me in? The night we had together?
Birkoff knocks and enters.
BIRKOFF: Everyone's been contacted. Walter needs you in inventory.
MICHAEL: In a minute.
NIKITA: Well, that's the first time you've had the Section wait for me.
MICHAEL: When you were in his house, I was listening. I had to keep my feelings separate. That's how I live my life, Nikita, split in two. I never let anyone see the other half, but its there, always part of me.
NIKITA: Well, it’s just too little, too late. I'm going to help Jurgen through this, if he lets me. Oh. And become part of his life.
PLANE
MICHAEL: Remember, we're not looking to retrieve the satellite, just the onboard computer. Only signal Birkoff when you get visual confirmation. It's on your panel.
BIRKOFF: Whoever gets it, hold your position; I'll need to do a scan.
MICHAEL: Once we have get a positive ID, you'll be given a second burst. We'll do a surgical.
BRUSSELS LAB
BIRKOFF: Magnetic sensor deactivated. Proceed. Sensor circuit is closed. You're cleared to enter.
MICHAEL: Read it, Birkoff. What are they doing in there?
BIRKOFF: Give me a zoom on the main console. Yeah, that's it. They're cycling codes. Can you get it?
MICHAEL: I can't get to it.
BIRKOFF: Well, you better do something quick, because it looks like in about ninety seconds they're gonna be uploaded. Whoever's on the receiving end is going to have those codes.
MICHAEL: Everybody out. I'm arming.
Michael arms an explosive device. The Section operatives exit the building and climb into the van.
MICHAEL: When's the detonation?
BIRKOFF: Five seconds.
MICHAEL: What's wrong?
BIRKOFF: They jammed the remote. It's not activating the detonator.
MICHAEL: We'll have to rearm. How much longer before we lose our window?
BIRKOFF: Less than a minute.
MICHAEL: Can you fix it?
BIRKOFF: It has to be done manually.
JURGEN: Stop. Let me do it, Michael. I'm not going to make it anyway.
NIKITA: Jurgen, no!
MICHAEL: Put down the gun and stay in the van.
Michael leaves to deal with the detonator; Jurgen shoots him in the leg.
BIRKOFF: You got twenty-one seconds.
Jurgen runs back into the building and detonates the bomb.
MADELINE'S OFFICE
MADELINE: You've had to endure a number of difficult things since you've come back to us. We all have to come to terms with our personal losses, look into our souls, find a way to cope. We can't help you with that. But I know you and know you'll be able to find that inner strength.
OPERATIONS: Although we rarely do this with such a young operative, we're willing to make an exception in your case.
MADELINE: We want you to take some time for yourself -- anywhere in the world you'd like to go.
Nikita says nothing.
MADELINE: That will be all, Nikita.
Nikita leaves.
COMMON AREA
MICHAEL: Nikita. Some of the things I said about Jurgen are not true. I tell you this in case you have any doubt as to what kind of man he was. I'm sure you don't. Jurgen trained me when I first came to Section. I'll miss him.
NIKITA: So will I.
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