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309. Outside the Box
Written by Jim Korris
Transcribed by Christine
[Note: Transcript dialogue only until updated.]
IN A SEEDY BAR
MAN: One drink. I’m buying.
NIKITA: No thanks. I like drinking alone.
MAN: C’mon. You’ll see me in a whole new light.
NIKITA: I said no.
MAN: What are you looking at?
KRUGER: How much do you weigh?
MAN: What’s it to you?
KRUGER: I’m just curious.
MAN: Two-twenty. So, what?
KRUGER: Wow. I didn’t realize they could pile that much crap on a barstool.
KRUGER: Whoa. Really glad you did something like that.
NIKITA: And, if I hadn’t?
KRUGER: Then, I would be where he is, and he’d be back at the bar hitting on you, which is something I figured you didn’t want.
NIKITA: Well, can I buy you a drink?
KRUGER: No, no, no, no. I don’t much feel like being around when he wakes up.
NIKITA: I’ve got a place a few blocks from here. We could go there for a drink.
NIKITA: This way.
KRUGER: You new around here?
NIKITA: No, not really.
KRUGER: That’s weird. I thought I knew this side of town pretty well.
NIKITA: Well, life’s just full of surprises, isn’t it?
OPERATIVE: Get in the van, Mr. Kruger.
WHITE ROOM
KRUGER: Who are you people?
MADELINE: We’re called Section One, and we need to make use of your special talent.
KRUGER: My memory.
MADELINE: Yes.
KRUGER: And, if I don’t cooperate?
MADELINE: You’ll be killed.
KRUGER: But, if I do, I’ll be set free when you don’t need me anymore.
MADELINE: You had a confrontation with this man.
MADELINE: last night in a bar in front of several witnesses.
KRUGER: Yes, so?
MADELINE: You murdered him twenty minutes later in a nearby alley. Traces of skin with your DNA were found under his fingernails. This is the murder weapon. It has your fingerprints on it, and a clerk at a hardware store distinctly remembers selling it to you. If you were on the outside, we estimate you’d be taken within twelve hours. Your chances for acquittal are nil. You’d be imprisoned for life or executed. The point is, Mr. Kruger, there’s no escape. Accept that, concentrate on doing what we tell you, and maybe we’ll let you live.
WAR ROOM
OPERATIONS: This is the manifesto of a group which calls itself Par Epistemen Taksis. Loosely translated, “Through Science, Order”. They have access to a broad range of destructive technologies, and they have the will to use them. Our objective is the CICL, their “Cover Ident Correlation List”. It contains their leaders, their agents, their entire network of local contacts. Acquiring it presents certain unique difficulties.
BIRKOFF: The file is guarded by an advanced digital sensor system. Any attempt to copy or download it will trigger a self-destruct mechanism.
MICHAEL: What about photographs and video?
BIRKOFF: No. If the system detects any electromagnetic activity, it shuts down.
OPERATIONS: We have to put technology aside. Think outside the box. The CICL can’t be copied, can’t be filmed, but it can be looked at. The man you picked up last night will do the looking. Benjamin Kruger.
BIRKOFF: A high school drop-out. Drifts from job to job. Lives alone. He has a genetic mutation that occurs roughly in one in fifty million individuals. He has a perfectly developed, photographic memory.
OPERATIONS: The CICL is moved periodically. When we find its current location, Kruger will provide the human download. In the meantime, you’re all on close quarters standby until further notice. Any questions?
NIKITA: Yes. Will Kruger be joining the Section permanently?
OPERATIONS: No. It’s a shadow recruitment. If he behaves and performs, he will resume his old life after the mission. Such as it was. Any other questions?
COMM
BIRKOFF: What’s this for?
TATYANA: For getting me out of Data hell and giving me a chance to work in Comm, as your assistant no less.
BIRKOFF: Well, you earned it.
TATYANA: I promise I will not let you down.
BIRKOFF: I know you won’t.
TATYANA: And, don’t worry about the plant. I’ll water it for you.
BIRKOFF: Thanks.
TATYANA: Thank you.
OPERATIONS: You remember Greg Hillinger?
BIRKOFF: I remember him.
OPERATIONS: He’s going to help you find the new location for the CICL.
BIRKOFF: I don’t need any help.
OPERATIONS: It’s not a criticism, Birkoff. It’s a question of time. I want everyone on board for this one, and I expect you two to fully cooperate with each other. Understood?
HILLINGER: So, what’d you screw up this time, Seymour?
BIRKOFF: Everything’s on here. Study it carefully. We’ve narrowed the possible locatoins to three cities - two in Europe, one in Asia.
HILLINGER: And, that’s what this is?
BIRKOFF: That’s right.
HILLINGER: How long did it take you to get this far?
BIRKOFF: Couple of days.
HILLINGER: You’re kidding.
BIRKOFF: We have ten other projects on the go at the same time.
HILLINGER: Yeah, well, that’s as good an excuse as any.
TATYANA: The backups you wanted.
BIRKOFF: Thank you.
HILLINGER: Hello, hello, hello! Who’s this?
TATYANA: Tatyana.
BIRKOFF: My assistant.
HILLINGER: You have an assistant? That’s very impressive. Hi. I’m Greg Hillinger, resident genius. They call me ‘Lifeguard’.
TATYANA: Lifeguard?
HILLINGER: Yeah, I’m always saving people’s asses.
TATYANA: Yeah. Nice to meet you, Greg.
HILLINGER: You missed me, didn’t you?
HALLWAY
NIKITA: I just saw the mission debrief. Kruger was framed for murder.
MICHAEL: He’ll be more focused knowing escape is pointless.
NIKITA: The frame was real. Dobbs is dead.
MICHAEL: He was in abeyance.
NIKITA: I thought Operations said this was going to be a temporary recruitment?
MICHAEL: Further analysis indicated that we might need Kruger in the future.
NIKITA: Oh, so we just took him off the street? An innocent man? Do we do this kind of thing often, Michael?
MICHAEL: No, not often.
MUNITIONS
WALTER: What’s up?
NIKITA: How do I get a hold of my file?
WALTER: You don’t.
NIKITA: All right. Then, how do you get a hold of my file?
WALTER: I don’t know anyway, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.
NIKITA: I have to see it, Walter.
WALTER: Why? It’s too risky.
NIKITA: The crime that got Section’s attention… the reason I’m here? I didn’t do it.
WALTER: Well, that may be true, but what the hell difference does it make now?
NIKITA: Suppose I was framed in the first place, because they wanted me here?
WALTER: Why?
NIKITA: Yeah. Why?
COMM
BIRKOFF: It’s doing well.
TATYANA: Mmm. Helps when you have someone around to care for it.
BIRKOFF: I’m glad you’re around.
TATYANA: Thanks. You know what? I’ve got to go. I’m running a filter program.
BIRKOFF: The one you designed yourself?
TATYANA: Uh-huh.
BIRKOFF: Do you want me to have a look at it?
TATYANA: You wouldn’t mind?
BIRKOFF: No.
TATYANA: Oh, thank you.
VOICE: The debrief is starting in Systems.
BIRKOFF: Right. I’ll be back in an hour.
HILLINGER: Tatyana? I know about filters. You can run that program from this station.
TATYANA: From Birkoff’s station?
HILLINGER: Yeah. You know he’s got all the best software. You want to do a good job, don’t you? I mean, think how impressed he’s going to be… he gets back, it’s all done.
TATYANA: I’ll need a password.
HILLINGER: Oh, yeah, right. I’ll give it to you. No problem.
TATYANA: He won’t mind?
HILLINGER: Um… no. I mean, he gave it to me, told me to use it at my discretion. I trust you.
TATYANA: Wow. Thanks. I’m flattered.
NIKITA’S FORMER HAUNTS
MAN: Hey, kid, want to earn five bucks? It’s nothing like that. I just need you to dump these in the alley down the street here. I can’t leave; I’m the only one here. It’ll be easiest five bucks you’ll ever make.
NIKITA: Excuse me?
MAN: Yeah?
NIKITA: Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were somebody else. I’m looking for a man, maybe he worked here? He’s about six feet tall, blonde hair, scar on his left cheek.
MAN: Nobody like that worked here.
NIKITA: Would have been years ago.
MAN: Lady, I’ve been here ten years. There’s never been anybody with a scar, all right?
NIKITA: Yeah. Thanks.
UNAUTHORIZED AREA
NIKITA: Gotcha!
MADELINE'S OFFICE
MADELINE: Kruger isn’t working well with his trainer. I want you to take over.
NIKITA: And, what makes you think he’ll be different with me?
MADELINE: You connected with him at the bar.
NIKITA: Yeah. Right before I betrayed him.
MADELINE: Nevertheless, the connection was real. So, re-establish it, and use it.
NIKITA: Whatever you say.
HOLDING ROOM
KRUGER: What do you want?
NIKITA: I still owe you a drink.
KRUGER: You owe me a lot more than a drink.
NIKITA: Is that how it’s going to be?
KRUGER: In fact, I ought to break your neck for what you did to me.
NIKITA: You won’t.
KRUGER: Oh, because you’re some kind of martial arts-type chick, like every other freak in this place?
NIKITA: Some kind.
KRUGER: Figures.
NIKITA: Bad boy.
KRUGER: That was worth it.
NIKITA: I heard you’ve been a bad boy.
KRUGER: Look, the memory thing I can do, but the rest of the stuff they’re putting me through, forget it.
NIKITA: They’re just trying to help you stay alive, Kruger.
KRUGER: Well, it’s a waste of time. I’m no fighter, as you saw, so why don’t you just kill me, get it over with.
NIKITA: All right. Just take this pill. Drop it in your drink. You’ll be dead in ten seconds.
NIKITA: Oh, so we’re not so anxious to die after all?
KRUGER: Maybe not.
NIKITA: Then, I suggest that you stop playing games and behave yourself. I’ll help you.
KRUGER: Why would you help me?
NIKITA: Because I owe you, and, because I might need your help. Until then, I suggest we concentrate on keeping you alive. Deal?
KRUGER: Deal.
MICHAEL: Is he progressing?
NIKITA: I think so.
MICHAEL: We’ll need him as soon as Birkoff and Hillinger locate the CICL.
NIKITA: He’ll be ready.
MICHAEL: What were you doing in the System node without clearance?
NIKITA: I needed to take a look at Kruger’s psyche file. There wasn’t time for clearance.
MICHAEL: You didn’t know he was going to be assigned to you until Madeline told you.
NIKITA: Well, she made it official, but I knew before she told me.
MICHAEL: How?
NIKITA: I’m a veteran here, Michael. I have my own sources, you know.
MICHAEL: Did you find anything useful?
NIKITA: Yeah, I think I did.
MICHAEL: Good.
MADELINE'S OFFICE
NIKITA: Do you have a minute? It’s about Kruger.
MADELINE: I thought he was making progress.
NIKITA: He is. It’s just that he only has a few days to acquire a year’s worth of knowledge.
MADELINE: That can’t be helped.
NIKITA: I think it can.
MADELINE: What do you have in mind?
NIKITA: A live sim. The machines have been useful, but I think Kruger needs to get out in the field. Get a sense of what he’s going to be in for during the real mission.
MADELINE: You’re certain he won’t make an attempt to escape?
NIKITA: I’m certain.
MADELINE: Have you picked a location?
NIKITA: Mission profile hasn’t been set yet, but it seems likely this CICL’s going to be somewhere in Europe. So, it should be somewhere typical of what we might expect. Vienna, maybe. Belgrade, perhaps?
MADELINE: Which do you prefer?
NIKITA: Belgrade.
MADELINE: All right. I’ll suspend the standby for four hours.
BELGRADE
KRUGER: So, you going to explain this live sim thing to me? This isn’t about training, is it?
NIKITA: What do you mean?
KRUGER: We’re not here because of me; we’re here because of you.
NIKITA: You’re very perceptive?
KRUGER: Where do I fit in?
NIKITA: Right here.
KRUGER: No.
NIKITA: Get in.
BAR
SCARRED MAN: My wallet’s in my back pocket, left hand side. Take it.
NIKITA: I don’t want your company.
SCARRED MAN: What do you want?
NIKITA: Look at my face. Take a good, long look at my face. Remember? Three years ago? ‘You want to earn five bucks, kid?’
SCARRED MAN: I don’t follow.
NIKITA: An assignment three years ago. You were pretending to be an employee at a pizza shop.
SCARRED MAN: Lady, you’re making a big mistake.
NIKITA: I was just a kid! That night ruined my life.
SCARRED MAN: I sell medical equipment.
NIKITA: Section One is a secret government organization that fights terrorism. They have a station here in Belgrade, just off Slovakia Square.
SCARRED MAN: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
NIKITA: If you really don’t know what I’m talking about, then I’ve already said too much. Under the rules that I have to live by, I’ll have to kill you.
SCARRED MAN: All right, all right, all right, all right.
NIKITA: You’re an operative?
SCARRED MAN: Yes.
NIKITA: And, that night? Three years ago?
SCARRED MAN: I did what I was told.
NIKITA: There must have been a profile saying who I was, why I was needed.
SCARRED MAN: I only saw what I needed to do my job.
NIKITA: You work in Admin?
SCARRED MAN: Yeah.
NIKITA: Good. So, can you get me the file?
SCARRED MAN: It’s too risky. For both of us.
NIKITA: I need to know why I’m here, why they picked me out off the street. You take all the time you need. Take as many precautions. Just do it.
SCARRED MAN: Why should I?
NIKITA: Because you’ll have a friend for life, that could prove useful some day.
SCARRED MAN: Then, lose the knife. What makes you think you can trust me?
NIKITA: Because you’re just like me. And, we’re not animals. We have to treat each other like human beings when we get the chance.
SCARRED MAN: Even in Section?
NIKITA: Especially in Section.
SCARRED MAN: I’ll need twenty-four hours. I’ll surface your file and all the cross-referenced files. There may be a lot of data.
NIKITA: I’ll be ready.
SCARRED MAN: Sub-channel Six. Code key 7-John-4-Zulu. And, don’t stay on more than thirty seconds. Learn what you can and get off.
NIKITA: Hey, thanks.
OUTSIDE BAR
NIKITA: Get out. Come on, gotta go.
KRUGER: Thirty minutes!
NIKITA: Here’s a summary of the sim you supposedly just went through. Memorize it. You’re going to be debriefed on it.
KRUGER: I got it.
NIKITA: All of it?
KRUGER: All of it.
COMM
BIRKOFF: Look at this.
HILLINGER: What?
BIRKOFF: Come here. Someone’s running a piggyback on one of my programs.
HILLINGER: What? Are you kidding?
BIRKOFF: How is that possible? No one has access but me.
HILLINGER: What about Tatyana?
BIRKOFF: She doesn’t have access.
HILLINGER: No, she does have access. I saw her while you were in Systems.
BIRKOFF: How’d she get the password?
HILLINGER: I have no idea. I thought you gave it to her. That’s why I didn’t say anything.
BIRKOFF: I’ve never given it to anyone. Why would she do it?
HILLINGER: Money? Who knows? Maybe she’s got a grudge against Section. Birkoff… um, you’re going to have to talk to her.
BIRKOFF: It’s too late. The shield’s been penetrated. They’ll be onto this in no time, if they aren’t already.
HILLINGER: Whoa! You’re going to turn her in?
BIRKOFF: I’ve got no choice.
HILLINGER: Uh… look, Birkoff, uh… maybe we can give her another chance? Come on.
BIRKOFF: I have to tell Spec Ops. Let them look into it. I have to do it now.
MADELINE'S OFFICE
OPERATIONS: I saw something in the wrap sheets about a live sim for Kruger.
MADELINE: Yes. Venchik just finished debriefing him an hour ago.
OPERATIONS: And?
MADELINE: He appears to have done well.
OPERATIONS: Good. We’re getting close to locating the CICL. We’re just waiting for confirmation.
MADELINE: The team will be ready.
OPERATIONS: There is another problem. A data shield has been compromised.
MADELINE: Is anything missing?
OPERATIONS: A few files have been read. That’s all, so far.
MADELINE: Have you put Birkoff on it?
OPERATIONS: The problem originated from Birkoff’s sector.
MADELINE: We need to call Spec Ops.
OPERATIONS: They’re already on it.
MADELINE: I’d hate to think Birkoff’s turned.
OPERATIONS: So would I. On the other hand, Hillinger’s coming along quite nicely. I’ll keep you posted.
MICHAEL’S OFFICE
NIKITA: You wanted to see me?
MICHAEL: I saw Kruger’s debrief. His answers seemed memorized, not experienced.
NIKITA: Well, his mind is different. You have to expect some irregularities, Michael.
MICHAEL: I’d like to see the tapes of the live sim.
NIKITA: I didn’t make any.
MICHAEL: Why not?
NIKITA: I didn’t think it was necessary. If that was a mistake, then I apologize.
MICHAEL: Stop playing games, Nikita. What’s really going on?
NIKITA: I need to know why Section chose me.
MICHAEL: What do you mean?
NIKITA: They brought me in, Michael. Just like they did Kruger.
MICHAEL: It’s been three years. If you were brought in here for some other reason, you’d know by now.
NIKITA: Maybe, maybe not. If you won’t help me, will you at least not interfere? Would you do that much for me? Please?
MICHAEL: Yes.
MICHAEL: Nikita? What if you don’t like what you find?
NIKITA: Anything’s better than not knowing.
WAR ROOM
OPERATIONS: We’ve located the CICL. The target is on the second floor. Michael’s team has secured the perimeter. Nikita, you’ll stay with Kruger. Guide him to the target.
NIKITA: How long will be on site?
OPERATIONS: The actual download window will be a few minutes at most, depending on the exact security configuration in effect when we make penetration. That’ll be all.
NIKITA: Are you all right?
KRUGER: Nope. I’m scared to death.
NIKITA: Don’t be. Your job is to memorize. My job is to keep you alive. I plan to do my job very well. Let’s go.
MISSION
BIRKOFF: I’ve created the video loop. Camera’s are blind, and I’m triggering the alarm in the southwest sector now.
NIKITA: Let’s go.
NIKITA: We’re in.
BIRKOFF: I can only divert the alarm vector for four minutes. You have to be out by then.
KRUGER: Four minutes? That’s…
NIKITA: Come on!
NIKITA: All right. Go!
BIRKOFF: Three minutes. We have an anomaly. Hostile in the hall.
NIKITA: Is he coming here?
BIRKOFF: No way to tell.
NIKITA: The screen!
KRUGER: Sorry.
BIRKOFF: Nikita, are you okay?
NIKITA: Yeah.
BIRKOFF: You got thirty seconds.
KRUGER: Done.
NIKITA: You sure?
KRUGER: Yeah, I’m sure. Get me out of here.
DEBRIEFING
KRUGER: Hector Jiminez, 69 Montezuma, Mexico.
NIKITA: How’s he doing?
MADELINE: Very well. We estimate in seventy-two hours that Par Epistemen Taksis will no longer exist.
NIKITA: I’d like to work with him a little more.
MADELINE: On what?
NIKITA: On the future. Keep his concentration under live fire. There was a minor lapse or two. I’m sure I could smooth it out in a few days.
MADELINE: All right, fine.
COMM
OPERATIVE: Let’s go.
TATYANA: Excuse me?
OPERATIVE: Come with us.
TATYANA: What’s going on?
HILLINGER: Birkoff. You did what you had to do.
BIRKOFF: I just don’t get it. She’s not good enough to hack my password.
BIRKOFF: But… but, you are. You set her up!
HILLINGER: Wait a minute, Birkoff, wait a minute. Yes. Yes, I set her up, okay? Look. Because she was setting you up. I did not trust her from the start. Miss Sweetness and Light in a place like this? I don’t think so. So, I hacked her station. She had a sub-channel to the outside. She was going freelance.
BIRKOFF: Why didn’t you just tell me?
HILLINGER: I couldn’t tell you, Birkoff. You hate me, you had the hots for her. Would you have believed me?
BIRKOFF: I don’t believe you now.
HILLINGER: Birkoff, look… check her terminal now. See for yourself.
BIRKOFF: That won’t prove anything. You could have put in a sub-channel without her even knowing it.
HILLINGER: See. This is what I’m saying. You’re blaming me. This is why I couldn’t tell you. Birkoff, she was a shark in disguise. Face it, I saved your butt.
BIRKOFF: Why?
HILLINGER: Why? Why? Because an unauthorized sub-channel is a big deal. If they found it, they might have blamed both you and me for not catching it. I could not take that chance, so I framed her for something smaller. Birkoff, I don’t know… they might not even cancel her. But, I’m telling you, it was her, not me. I swear it.
BIRKOFF: All right. I swear something, too. If I find out you’re lying to me, I’ll kill you.
OPERATIONS: Am I interrupting something?
BIRKOFF: No. We’re fine.
OPERATIONS: I wanted to let you know that as soon as Hillinger has completed his training, he’ll be taking Tatyana’s place as your assistant. Congratulations.
HILLINGER: Thanks.
HILLINGER: Well, we’re going to make a great team.
HALLWAY
KRUGER: You sure this is okay? I thought I wasn’t supposed to leave my cell.
NIKITA: I have authority to remove you for training purposes.
KRUGER: That’s fine. Can we use a car with a bigger trunk this time?
NIKITA: We’re not going to leave Section. I told you once I might need your help. Well, this is it.
KRUGER: You want me to memorize something?
NIKITA: A file. Maybe several. You’re only going to have thirty seconds. I need to know everything, and I mean everything.
KRUGER: Okay.
NIKITA: Dead?
KRUGER: Who?
NIKITA: The man who was helping me.
KRUGER: When?
NIKITA: This morning. Doesn’t say how.
COMM
HILLINGER: Birkoff? The Galloway file.
BIRKOFF: Is it formatted for the C9?
HILLINGER: No. The system’s going to do that automatically.
BIRKOFF: I like to pre-format.
HILLINGER: There’s no point.
BIRKOFF: Do it.
HILLINGER: Yeah, well, you’re the boss… for now. Joking.
NIKITA: Birkoff. You all right?
BIRKOFF: Yeah, I’m fine.
NIKITA: A friend of mine was killed yesterday in Belgrade. I want to know how it happened. Key is 7-J-4-Z.
BIRKOFF: According to this, no such key was ever assigned.
NIKITA: It’s like he never existed.
BIRKOFF: Not under that key code.
NIKITA: He was there yesterday.
BIRKOFF: Not according to this.
NIKITA: My mistake.
NIKITA: Good night, Michael.
OPERATIONS' LOFT
OPERATIONS: She wants to know why she’s really here.
MADELINE: It was inevitable.
The End
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