Rescue Transcript

Transcribed by Jean

Klodno Petrochemical Plant
Eastern Europe
Guards try to ward off the dark grip of night with sweeping searchlights. Nikita cuts a chain link fence, pulls a black mask over her face and penetrates the rent. Michael watches her go then pulls on his own mask and follows her. In the dark holes between arcs of light, other operatives invade with furtive scrambling under rising steel beams and grates. The main spotlight is compromised when a shadowy op silently kills the guard manning it with a wire garrote, then takes the dead man's place. Michael attaches a bomb to a tank of chemicals.
Michael: The charge is set. Pull out.
The agents of Section One begin their retreat. They are discovered and weapons fire is exchanged. The Section op behind the spotlight spears guards one by one with a shaft of light, exposing them to deadly Section One sniper fire. Soon all the operatives converge on the van. Michael activates the remote detonator, but nothing happens. He rips off his mask and presses the button again--nothing. He runs back to the bomb, pries off the plastic cover and quickly remedies the problem. Nikita calls out Michael's name from the back of the van. Guards now have the advantage and advance, firing. Michael is shot and goes down. He activates the bomb, engulfing most of the opposition in hot retribution, staggers on and is shot again. With an unsteady arm he fires back, but one more hit knocks him down. Nikita is restrained at the van by other operatives, crying out.
Nikita: Michael!
The van races off. Michael is left to fend for himself, on the ground and panting.

Section One.
Operations: Congratulations on a successful mission. The chemical weapons plant was completely destroyed.
Nikita: What about Michael?
Operations: Overnight analysis suggests one chance in three that he's alive. And even if he is, one chance in ten of bringing him out. He'll be missed.
Nikita: That's it?
Operations: Yes that's it.
Nikita: "He'll be missed". (Operations turns away, ready to leave the room.) I don't care about the odds. I'll go back for him. I'm sure the others will, too.
Operations: (turns back) I wish I could send you.

Comm. Area
Birkoff sits completely absorbed in his work. Nikita stalks up and contemplates him, her anger under tight control. She unleashes her fury with a kick to Birkoff's chair. It spins around and rockets back.
Nikita: (angry) What's the crap about overnight analysis and ten to one odds?
Birkoff: I . . . did a feasibility study, isolated key factors, ran a sim . . .
Nikita: This is Michael we're talking about. Couldn't you have fudged the sim? Maybe rigged the odds just a little?
Birkoff: I did. Objectively it's a hundred to one against bringing him out. Maybe a hundred fifty. Sorry Nikita. Michael's on his own.

Klodno State Hospital
Eastern Europe
A nurse, Angie Georgiev, leaves the hospital and walks to her car. She slides into the seat and closes the door. A bloody hand reaches out from the back seat and pushes the lock down, alerting her that she is not alone. She gasps. A gun presses into her neck.
Michael: Start the car. (Angie starts the car.) Your place. No tricks.
Angie: (she thinks quickly and forces herself to remain calm) You're hurt. You need doctor.
Michael: A nurse is close enough.
Angie: The police are not always kind to foreigners. Perhaps if you turn yourself in they won't . . .
Michael: Shut up and drive.
Michael presses the gun into Angie's face for emphasis. He is in pain: pale and trembling with fatigue and the loss of blood. He has little reserves left and Angie senses his desperation. She puts the car into gear and drives away.
Petrosian's office.
Frankel: They tell me the weapons factory was completely destroyed. This will be a tough one to explain to the council.
Petrosian: That is my problem, Frankel.
Frankel: Yes. It is.
Petrosian: There's still no sign of the man they left behind?
Frankel: Not yet.
Petrosian: I understood he was badly hurt.
Frankel: Yes but look at the map. The terrain near the factory is full of ridges and gullies.
Petrosian: And excuses. I assume absolute secrecy has been maintained.
Frankel: Of course.
Petrosian: No leaks.
Frankel: None.
Petrosian: Then create one. Make sure the west knows that one of their agents is loose and being hunted down. Have you ever heard of Rambo?
Frankel: (chuckles in amused derision) In the movies.
Petrosian: Don't laugh, Frankel. (He stares hard at Frankel, then walks to the coat rack.) If you understand Rambo, you understand the west. They believe in heroes.
Frankel: You're trying to provoke a rescue attempt.
Petrosian: (snorts) And then we will have the agent and the rescue team both.
Frankel: Very clever.
Petrosian: We may have lost the cold war, but we can still score a point now and then if we use our heads.
Frankel: This is assuming we find the agent first.
Petrosian: Yes, which is why I'm taking charge of the search, personally. Unless you object.
Frankel: Not at all. It will be a pleasure to learn from the best.
Petrosian: Yes. It will.

Angie's apartment.
The door opens and Angie enters. Michael enters behind her, his gun still pointed at her, shaking. She tries to break away and escape, but Michael subdues her.
Michael: If you do as I say I won't hurt you. If you don't I'll kill you. Understand? (Angie stops resisting. Michael draws in a quivering breath.) Sit down. Sit down!

Section One, Systems.
Operations and Madeline are facing each other, talking. Nikita arrives and stands in the door for a moment, listening.
Operations: (to Madeline) I learn what I can about Petrosian's movements but as you know it's never easy, is it?
Nikita: You wanted to see me? 
Operations: I decided to accept your offer to bring Michael out.
Nikita: Why?
Operations: We received information he's still alive and eluded capture. Given the amount of time that's passed, that changes the odds.
Nikita: But the odds still aren't good, are they?
Operations: No.
Nikita: So what changed your mind?
Operations: I want Michael back too, Nikita. I am human.
Nikita: (blinks in disbelief and clears her throat) Of course you are.
Operations: You'll be teamed with Madeline and fly out tonight. In the meantime she'll brief you on the details of the mission. That will be all.
Nikita and Madeline leave.

Angie's apartment.
Michael ties Angie to a chair, then raids the refrigerator. He finds a can of orange juice and downs the contents, his limbs still shaky. He sits at the kitchen table with his eyes half-lidded.
Angie: You are not ordinary criminal. Who are you? Why you are here?
Michael: Be quiet.
Angie: (she is still in control of her fear) Your wounds need treatment.
Michael: Later.
Angie: Untie me. I can help.
Michael pays her no heed. His head nods lower and lower onto the kitchen table. Having made the situation as secure as he can, he is at last overcome and rests.

Madeline's office.
Nikita handles various small packages tucked neatly in a case.
Nikita: Cosmetics?
Madeline: That's right. (she points to various items) Lipstick, gloss, shadows, lotions: the entire line. This describes their properties in detail. Know it by the time the plane lands. They may be expecting a rescue attempt but not by two women selling makeup.
Nikita: Who's Petrosian?
Madeline: Egran Petrosian. He's head of their secret police. He's a very brilliant man . . . and a very dangerous man.
Nikita: Do we have any idea where Michael is?
Madeline: He's badly hurt. There's a hospital not too far from the chemical plant. Our best guess is that he's in it or not too far from it.

Angie's apartment.
Michael is still at the kitchen table, but he has removed his jacket and shirts. His left forearm is covered in blood. A gory wound disfigures the back of his shoulder. He takes two bullets from a clip with one bloody, shaking hand. Rest has given him some strength, but his wounds are still the priority.
Angie: What are you doing?
Michael: The wounds need to be cauterized.
He picks up pliers and grasps a bullet between the pincers. He attempts to twist off the nose of the bullet, but his wounded arm will not permit it. He looks to Angie still bound in her chair, then picks up his knife. He gets up from his seat and staggers, unsteadily advancing on Angie, knife poised. He cuts her bonds and places a hand on her shoulder, controlling her movements and forcing her to sit at the table.
Michael: You do exactly what I tell you. Sit down. Take the pliers. Hold it tight as you can. Tighter.
Angie: There was fighting last night at a chemical plant north of here. We treated some wounded shoulders. They say the plant makes chemical weapons. Our government denies it, so it must be true.
The bullet comes apart.
Michael: Empty the shell on the paper. (He looks up at her when she does not move.) Now. (She dumps the powder as ordered.)
Angie: Are you French? American?
Michael pours the gunpowder into the angry wound on in his forearm. He fumbles for a match and lights it against the side of his handgun. He braces himself as he moves the tiny flame closer to his flesh, then touches the powder on fire. A burst of energy releases smoke into the air and Michael sucks breath through his teeth, in agony. Angie dashes to the phone and dials.
Angie: Get me police.
Michael looks over at her through his rumpled hair, still in the grip of pain.
Michael: Don't. Please.
Angie hesitates.
Angie: It was mistake. Sorry. (She hangs up the phone and picks up a box of first aid materials from a nearby shelf.) Let me take a look at your back. You won't tell me who you are, what you are doing. You can at least tell me your name. My name is Angie. Angie Georgiev.
Michael: You can call me Michael.
A plane lands, signifying Nikita and Madeline's arrival to Eastern Europe. They enter a busy office.
Nikita: What is this place?
Madeline: The import bureau. We need a permit to sell cosmetics. Observing the formalities only strengthens our cover. Afterwards, we'll . . .
Madeline pauses, silent. Nikita turns to her in concern.
Nikita: Madeline? (Madeline drops her case and crumples to the ground.) Help, please, quickly! An ambulance, please! She's having a heart attack! Get an ambulance!

Klodno Hospital.
Petrosian and Frankel walk through the halls, accompanied by soldiers.
Petrosian: Investigate every patient admitted since the attack on the factory including those who have been released. Pay special attention to the emergency room.
Frankel: Yes, sir, but I think we should concentrate our efforts on the wilds above the factory. That is where he was last seen.
Petrosian: When a man is badly hurt, he needs medical care. Whether he wants it or not.
Frankel: As you wish, Colonel.
Medical personnel rush by with Madeline on a stretcher, Nikita anxiously following.
Man: Coming through.

Angie's apartment.
Angie tidies up a dressing on Michael's arm. He is sitting at the table wearing a sleeveless black tee shirt. Much improved, Michael is rested and no longer in unbearable pain. He is eating soup.
Michael: Thank you.
Angie: Hm. It is plain but nourishing.
Michael: I didn't mean for the soup.
Angie: You must think I am fool for helping you.
Michael: I think you're very brave.
Angie: Our government pretends to move to democracy because it wants aid from the west, but old habits die hard. And the nail that stands up still gets hammered. Old expression of ours. My father was nail who stood up--for freedom, for justice, for dignity.
Michael: And he was hammered.
Angie: If you are what I think you are, it is for his sake I help. If that makes me a fool, so be it.
Michael: Are you willing to help again? I need, uh, a laptop computer and a phone.
Angie: I have a phone.
Michael: I need a cellular. You think you could find that at the hospital?
Angie: (reluctant) Ah . . .It's very dangerous! It's not fair.
Michael: I know it isn't.

Klodno Hospital.
Madeline is resting in a recovery room, Nikita enters and stands by her side.
Nurse: Don't worry. She's doing very well.
Nikita: How do you feel?
Madeline: What did you find out?
Nikita: There is a terminal on this floor with only one Nurse but the soldiers are going from room to room.
Madeline: I'll deal with it.
Nikita: You should rest.
Madeline: We have to search the records quickly.
Nikita: (wonderingly) This was a set-up, wasn't it? You took a pill or something to induce the symptoms. You could have warned me.
Madeline: Your reaction had to be convincing, Nikita.
Nikita: You actually induced a heart attack, Madeline?
Madeline: The doctors needed to be convinced, too. We're in: now let's make the most of it.
Nikita leaves and stands in front of the elevator. Madeline buzzes the Nurse, calling her away from her station. Nikita walks over and sits in front of the computer. Cut to Angie in a storeroom, shoving a computer and cell phone into a cloth bag. Cut back to the Nurse station. The Nurse returns, and as she turns the corner, finds Nikita on the floor on her hands and knees.
Nikita: Oh, excuse me, I lost my contact. I just rubbed my eye and it just sort of popped out. My contact. (Nurse moves as if to help in the search.) No, no, no, actually I've got another in my handbag. I don't want to bother you. Thank you very much. Sorry.
Nikita beats a hasty retreat and bumps into Angie at the stairwell.
Nikita: Oh. Excuse me.

Angie's apartment.
Michael bites the plastic coating from a wire and inserts it into a serial port in the back of the laptop. He picks up the old-fashioned cell phone, dials three numbers, then types, one-handed, on the computer. Cut to Section One, the comm. area. We see Birkoff's computer dancing with colorful graphics.
Birkoff: (to Operations standing behind him.) It's Michael. He's uplinked through a DOD satellite. He's all right. He's just a few miles from the hospital. (He reads more information.) Michael will stay put. All we have to do is contact Madeline.
Operations: Begin the sequence.
Birkoff launches into his work.

Klodno Hospital, Madeline's room.
Frankel: Your papers seem in order. You sell cosmetics?
Madeline: (smiling) Yes that's right.
Frankel: A poor country like ours cannot be a very profitable market.
Madeline: In a few years you won't be poor and we'll be in all your stores. My sample case.
Frankel: (reading) "Alive 2000."
Madeline: (she opens the case) It attacks cellulite. It smoothes and retextures the skin.
Frankel: Hm. Does this junk actually do any good?
Madeline: Well, I use them. Judge for yourself. (She offers her arm for Frankel to examine.)
Frankel: (disdainful) Western decadence. Obsession with appearance.
Madeline: (looking at Frankel's hands on her sample case, perhaps at a wedding ring?) Why don't you take some for your wife?
Frankel: I never accept gifts while on duty.
Madeline: These are samples. It's my job to give them away.
Cut to Birkoff typing at his computer as he begins to contact Madeline. Cut back to the hospital room.
Frankel: No thank you. But I wish you a speedy recovery.
Madeline: Thank you.
Frankel leaves. The sample case begins to beep. Frankel returns.
Frankel: You know, Olga's skin does get . . .
He hears the beeping--he has caught Madeline red-handed. He rips open the case, spilling cosmetics all over. He finds the communications device in the bottom of the case and smashes it.
Frankel: I'm afraid you won't be taking calls for quite a while.
Nikita attacks him from behind, kicking his leg and rendering him helpless. Cut to Petrosian in another part of the hospital.
Petrosian: (speaks into a radio) Frankel. This is Petrosian. Come in. Come in, Frankel. Where are you, Frankel?
Cut to Nikita dressed in white medical garb. She is pushing Madeline away on a stretcher under a sheet.
Guard enters Madeline's room, searches around the area and under the bed. He hears a muffled voice and finds a Nurse in her underwear and Frankel bound and gagged. Cut to Madeline and Nikita on a landing.
Nikita: When I was searching the file I noticed a Nurse named Angie Georgiev. She left at lunch yesterday and hasn't come back since.
Madeline: So?
Nikita: So I checked the personnel records. She hasn't been absent for the last three years. It's much safer if Michael kidnapped a Nurse isn't it than entering a hospital.
Madeline: You have her address?
Nikita: Yes.

Angie's apartment.
Michael is sitting on the couch, using the computer. He is completely dressed now.
Michael: It's going to be all right. My people are already in the city. I'll be gone soon.
Angie looks at him, her face full of melancholy.
Michael: You can't be disappointed. This hasn't exactly been convenient for you.
Angie: (slowly, haltingly, and with brutally honesty) Sometimes, a little inconvenience is not such a bad thing. I am in forties. I have no family, no husband, no child . . . Not much chance of either. I have a job, but, uh, a job is not a life. That's not self pity. It's plain speaking. Since you . . . . you have been here . . .I have been, uh, confused, worried . . scared out of my, uh (she puts her hand to her head by way of illustration), wits. But I have lived more in the past twenty-four hours than I have in seven years since my father die. It is not just for his sake I help, but, huh, for mine. I . . . I . . . I am glad you will be safe . . . very glad and pathetic as it sounds I think when you go, life will go with you.

In the hospital.
Petrosian, Frankel, Nurse and other guards stride though the halls to the Nurse's station.
Petrosian: Well, Frankel, now you have something to explain to the council.
Nurse: But Dr. Roche and Dr. Gant examined her thoroughly. The heart attack was real.
Petrosian: I'm sure it was. They are serious people we're dealing with. I want this hospital turned upside down. Report even the slightest hint of anything wrong to me. Missing supplies, absentee workers, anything. You understand?
Frankel: Yes, colonel.
Petrosian notices a stricken look on the Nurse's face.
Petrosian: What is it?
Nurse: Nothing, Colonel, just . . . well, a Nurse Georgiev disappeared yesterday.
Petrosian: Disappeared?
Nurse: Well, did not return from lunch. She has not called in. She has not been answering her phone. She's very responsible. It's not like her.
Outside hospital, troop trucks pass Nikita and Madeline as they search for an open car. Madeline finds one unlocked, sits in the drivers seat and hot wires the car while Nikita leans against the backseat door and watches.
Nikita: (with amused admiration) You have to tell me about yourself someday, Madeline.
Madeline: (smiles warmly) Someday. Get in. (grimaces in pain as she settles against the closed passenger door)
Nikita: You all right?
Madeline: Just a little tired. Go.

Angie's apartment.
Michael looks through the blinds, the clean light of an overcast winter afternoon bringing into detail his pale face, unkempt hair, stubbled face and improving health. Angie watches him gaze out the window from the kitchen, fascinated and confused.
Michael: (joins Angie in the kitchen) Don't worry. They have to be careful. They'll come when it's right.
Angie: Are you hungry?
Michael: No. Go ahead and eat. (pause) The authorities may trace me here eventually. After I'm gone, I mean.
Angie: I will deal with it.
Michael: You don't have to.
Angie: (fatalistically) What choice do I have?
Michael: Come with me. (Angie looks up at him, surprised.) You said it yourself---there's little reason to stay. Not to mention the risk.
Angie: What would I do?
Michael: Be a Nurse. I'll see that you're set up. I'll help you.
Angie: You will?
Michael: Of course.
Angie: I don't know.
Michael: Well think quickly. There's not much time.
Angie nods and sighs. Stunned, yet intelligent enough to process the offer, she walks into the bathroom and rinses her hands. She looks at herself in the mirror, contemplating the choices before her. Someone pounds on her door. Angie rushes out of the bathroom, alarmed.
Police: (from outside the door) Open up! Police!
Angie: What do we do?
Michael: Wait.
Police: Open the door! Police, open the door now!
Michael backs into the bedroom and signals Angie to the door. She waits until he is gone from sight and opens her door. Frankel enters, followed by soldiers and Petrosian.
Frankel: We don't like to be kept waiting.
Angie: I'm sorry. I was in the bathroom.
Frankel: You left work at lunch yesterday and you did not return. Why?
Angie: I was ill.
Frankel: Why didn't you call in?
Angie: I had fever. I was delirious. I was feeling better this morning.
Frankel: You live alone?
Angie: Yes.
Frankel: Had any visitors lately?
Angie: (she remains calm) No. As I said, I have been ill.
Petrosian: Search the apartment.
Angie looks up at him, stricken.

The street outside Angie's apartment.
Madeline and Nikita drive down the street and see the troop trucks and guards.
GUARD 1: Nothing.
GUARD 2: You got a cigarette?
Nikita: (in car) We're too late.
Madeline: Pull into the alley.
GUARD 1: (they ignore Madeline and Nikita when the car drives away.) Pretty good.
GUARD 2: Ja.

Angie's apartment.
Guards search each room, finding nothing. One looks in her bedroom, but misses Michael flattened behind the open door. Frankel gazes askance at two cups on the kitchen table. He picks them up in one hand and shows them to Angie.
Frankel: You said you were alone.
Angie: (with bland scorn) I had two cups of tea. Must I drink from the same cup?
Petrosian circles the apartment for his own survey. He sees the toilet seat is up in the bathroom and smiles knowingly. He marches back into the living area, faces Angie, then slaps her.
Petrosian: A man has been here. Where is he?
Michael emerges from the bedroom, fists first. He bowls over a guard and takes Petrosian hostage with a gun to his head.
Michael: Anybody moves, he dies.
Petrosian: (adamant) Shoot! Shoot!
Frankel: Don't shoot!
Michael: (to Angie) Get the computer.
Angie scurries to fetch the computer and follow Michael as he drags a yelling Petrosian to the door.
Petrosian: Shoot! Damn it, shoot!
Frankel: (to his troops) Don't risk it.
Petrosian: (furious) Shoot, damn it!
A guard shoots at Michael and Petrosian. Michael drops Petrosian and runs out the door, following Angie.
Petrosian: (shooting at Michael, his gun clicks, empty or jammed) Shoot!
Outside the apartment, Michael and Angie quickly walk away as if nothing is wrong. Michael's arm is around Angie's shoulders in a couple's embrace. Guards jump up, excited, and follow them into the street.
GUARD 1: Stop!
Michael and Angie stop, part, and turn around in the middle of the street. From behind the guards charged Nikita and Madeline in the car. Nikita hits the guards, tumbling them away. Angie gets in the car. Michael grabs the machine gun from a fallen guard just in time to deter the troops coming out of the apartment building. He shoots one-handed, forcing Petrosian, Frankel and the others back inside to take cover, then shoots out all the tires on the military vehicles. Nikita picks up the other guard's gun. Michael sits sideways in the car, door open, and covers their escape. The car screeches off. Petrosian and his group spill out into the street. They shoot after the escaping car.
Petrosian: Send for another vehicle and an uplink scanner so we can monitor their communications. They won't get far.

A low bunker, somewhere outside the city.
Sandbags and barbed wire are in evidence. The wind whistles. Inside the structure, Angie is taking Madeline's pulse. Nikita watches out the window, holding her gun. Michael is across the room, tapping on the computer.
Nikita: We've met, haven't we?
Angie: At hospital. I was scared half to death.
Nikita: (smiles) So was I.
Angie: You really didn't look it.
The computer beeps. The monitor shows a connection error.
Nikita: (gets up from window and walks over to Michael) Is there a problem?
Michael: No. I'll have it in a second.
Nikita: How are you feeling?
Michael: I'll be fine.
Nikita: I was worried.
Michael: I'm glad you came back.
Though terse, the conversation between Michael and Nikita yet conveys a degree of caring between them. Angie looks on and listens. She realizes she may have deluded herself a bit about Michael's motives regarding her, and how she might possibly fit into the new life he offered her. Angie glances at Madeline and realizes the dark-haired woman is observing her. Angie looks down, abashed to be caught staring at Michael and Nikita.
Michael: It's working.
The computer completes the connection to Section. In Section One, the same information is displayed on Birkoff's monitor.
Birkoff: They're close to checkpoint two from the original mission.
Operations: Good. Tell them to stay put and set up a meet.

Angie's apartment.
Petrosian and Frankel spy with their own equipment.
Frankel: A signal. We have a fix.
Petrosian: Let's move!

In the bunker.
Angie: How much longer?
Michael: Four minutes.
Outside, a truck full of troops speeds up the road.
Nikita: Michael? (Michael joins her at the window.) They're gonna get to us before the chopper does. We'll need a diversion. I'll draw them away.
Michael: (stops her forward movement) It's suicide.
Nikita: It's the only chance we've got.
Madeline: No. We stay here. Michael, establish an alternative site.
Michael taps on the computer, but seems to get no results.
Michael: The chopper may be on radio blackout.
Nikita: A new site's not going to help us. We can't outrun them. I'll go out there and slow them down.
Michael: No.
While the Section operatives debate, Angie looks on. She is a very smart woman, and although now she is aware of her naiveté. She grasps the gist of the problem: if there is no diversion of some sort, then all of them could be captured or killed.
Nikita: The chopper's still three minutes away.
Michael: Then we'll have to fight. (He looks around; Angie is gone and so is Michael's gun)
Michael: Angie? (to Nikita) Give me your gun.
Angie is outside, running toward the truck. She fires, shattering glass and causing the truck to swerve away. Men leap from the vehicle and someone on the truck manages to bring a weapon to bear on Angie. Michael follows Angie outside into the cold, just in time to see her riddled with bullets and fall. The Section helicopter arrives at last, guns blazing. The soldiers return to the truck and beat a hasty retreat, but the helicopter turns the tide with a well-placed rocket. The truck blows up. Madeline and Nikita join Michael outside. Petrosian walks up. (NOTE: Okay, call me clueless, but just where the heck did Petrosian come from in this scene? Was he on the truck but then didn't get back on before the rocket flew? Did he hide in a ditch? "Left field" is all I can think of!) Michael raises his gun and readies himself for violence. Madeline stops him.
Madeline: Michael! It's okay. (She goes to Petrosian, smiling.)
Nikita: What's going on, Michael?
Michael: I don't know.
Petrosian: It's good to see you again.
Madeline: And you! (He kisses her on both cheeks. Michael and Nikita approach.) Allow me to introduce Igram Petrosian, Chief of Secret Police, member of the National Council and for the last seventeen years, deep cover operative of Section One.
Petrosian: It's good to be on the winning side again. (He walks toward the helicopter arm in arm with Madeline.)
Michael and Nikita follow. Michael still holds his gun. They all board the helicopter. Michael looks over the site as he ascends, his face grim. Angie's body is sprawled in the snow, still and wasted. The truck continues to burn sending billowing black smoke heavenward.

Madeline's office.
Madeline is sitting at her desk. Michael is seated across from her, while Nikita stands behind Michael's chair.
Madeline: Petrosian was an invaluable source of information. In fact, he helped plan the raid on the chemical plant. But there were people that were becoming suspicious. It was time to bring him out.
Nikita: So it was never about Michael at all? It was about Petrosian.
Madeline: Rescuing Michael gave us a way to extract Petrosian without letting the enemy know that he'd been one of us.
Nikita: (She step forward, leaning protectively over Michael.) But if it had to come down to a choice . . . say between him and Michael?
Michael: Leave it alone, Nikita.
Operations and Petrosian enter the room, laughing companionably.
Operations: (to Madeline) Care to join us for lunch?
Madeline: I'd love to.
Petrosian: By the way, congratulations on your brilliant escape.
Nikita: It wasn't brilliant. You weren't really trying to catch us.
Petrosian: Oh, but I was. I had little alternative under the watchful eye of Major Frankel. Your performance was quite extraordinary and I thank you for it. (Petrosian turns to Michael.) I should thank you, too. Your incompetence allowed the rescue mission to take place.
Operations and Madeline leave ahead of Petrosian. They look amused at Petrosian's words.
Michael: Incompetence?
Petrosian: Yes. Or was it part of the plan to get yourself shot? (He leaves, and the door shuts behind him.)
Nikita: Michael, just leave it alone.
Nikita stands in front of Michael and removes the sling from around his neck. Michael looks down, disheartened.
Nikita: (She senses that Michael is contemplating Angie.) I am sorry she died.
Michael: So am I. But I'm glad she lived.
Nikita looks at him, puzzled, then leaves the room. Michael stares thoughtfully into the recent past.

Back to Season 1 Episodes