Episode Report Card Kim: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Abduction
By Kim | Season 2 | Episode 10 | Aired on 12.14.2002
Cut to the Situation Room, where Sloane describes something called "The Echelon Satellite System," which filters communications from around the world and flags them based on words on an NSA watch list. Sloane says that it's been very successful in discovering threats to national security, but now Sark claims that a U.S. enemy may have access to the satellite. Syd shoots Sark a death look, which Sark ignores. Marshall smiles at Sark nervously. Sloane punches up a picture of Cuvee, and identifies him as "the former leader of the People's Revolutionary Front, a crime syndicate whose headquarters were raided by Indian authorities last week." Sark says that Cuvee once showed him an Echelon access terminal stolen from the NSA, which is kept at a front company in Paris. Sark explains that because of the recent raid, Cuvee thinks that Sark betrayed him, and will move the terminal as soon as possible. Sloane says that they intercepted a message indicating an armored transport in Paris tomorrow, which is when they believe Cuvee will move the terminal. Sloane tells Syd that she and Sark will head to Paris, intercept the transport, and bring the terminal back to SD-6. Sark looks at Syd, who looks like she wants to throw up.
Flashback to Vaughn explaining that if Sloane gets the terminal, "the Alliance will be able to eavesdrop on corporations, law enforcement, political campaigns," and thus "the potential for blackmail and insider trading would be unlimited." Syd asks what her countermission is. Vaughn promises to provide her with a program to upload to the terminal that will wipe the hard drive clean. Syd figures out that Sloane will think Cuvee installed a fail-safe to prevent unauthorized access. Syd says she'll do it on the return flight, because she and Sark are traveling separately so that no one can connect him to SD-6. She starts to walk off, and Vaughn tells her that he's meeting with Will tomorrow to prep him for the psych evaluation. Syd genuinely thanks him, and adds that she likes his new suit. Vaughn says that it's not new, but he just doesn't wear it very often, and adds that he just came from a funeral, like, way to bring down the room, Vaughn. Syd looks to him for an explanation, and Vaughn says, "The Plot Device That Is The Only Thing Preventing Me From Doing It With You Up Against This Chain-Link Fence Right Now's father died." Or he might have said, "Alice's father died." Either way, Syd looks down and then offers her condolences and asks how Alice is doing. Vaughn says she's doing okay, or as well as can be expected. Unlike that other Sunday night show, he doesn't add, "What are you gonna do?" Syd says to let her know if he needs anything. Oh, he needs something all right.
Syd walks down a hallway at SD-6 and is stopped by Marshall. He runs up to her and stammers that he knows she has a plane to catch, but he needs to ask a favor. Syd agrees, and he hands her a camera and asks her to take some pictures around Paris. Marshall explains that his mother thinks he runs global IT for the bank, so he Photoshops himself into travel pictures to show her. He pulls out a picture of himself in front of the Sphinx. Marshall adds, "Of course, I've never really left Southern California, but every once in a while I like to show my mom all of the places I've never really been to." Aw. Syd agrees to do it. Marshall tells her to have a safe trip, and says that he doesn't like to fly personally. After going on a bit too long in typical Marshall fashion, he takes off. Syd, like most of us watching at home probably, looks amused.