A FATEFUL ENCOUNTER PART 2

Day period for episode: still late July 2001 (Before Season 1 of Alias)

Buenos Aires

Back at the cantina, we pick up at Tom's shocked face. Nadia looks at Tom for a second a little strangely, then asks "Are you ok?" Tom suddenly exhales and flashes Nadia a startled smile. "Sorry...I just wasn't expecting someone like...uh..." Nadia looks a little offended. "Like what, a woman?" Tom shakes his head quickly. "Oh no! I meant...uh...I wasn't expecting someone as pretty as you! Most female agents I've run into are more manly." Nadia thinks for a moment, then laughs. "I get it. And thanks!" Tom and Nadia look into each other's eyes for a little while before they're interrupted by the bartender. "Your mojito and cervezas." Tom and Nadia both look at the bartender and say "thanks" at the same time. The fact they did that at the same time forces them to look at each other again curiously. Then, Nadia grabs two beers and her mojito. "You get the other three..." Nadia walks away as we see Tom look at her for a bit, then grab his beers. As Tom is walking over, we see Nadia hand beers to Mike and Pedro and keep the mojito for herself. Tom, still rattled, gets to the table and hands beers over to Mitch and Eddie, then sets his beer at his spot. Nadia takes her seat, but notices Tom sort of hunched over. "You alright?" Tom looks at Nadia. "Excuse me..." Tom makes a beeline for the bathroom next to the bar. Eddie, Pedro, Mitch and Mike look at Tom strangely. Nadia looks away from the table, thinks for a while, and then smiles, but doesn't say anything. Mike says "I'll go check up on him." Pedro and Nadia get up to let Mike out. Mike walks to the bathroom and sees Tom splashing water on his face. Mike asks "What the hell is going on?" Tom quickly checks the stall next to him and then reaches over and locks the bathroom door. "That girl that Pedro is with..." Mike, waiting him for him to answer, says "...and what about her?" Tom says "When she turned around and made eye contact...something...happened." Mike asks "What do you mean?" Tom goes back to looking at the sink. "We didn't eat anything since we got to Argentina, right?" Mike says "No..." Tom then says "And we've been drinking nothing but bottled water since we got here, for safety..." Mike says "What are you saying?" Tom says "I feel like I've been drugged somehow, like my hormones just exploded when she turned and faced me." Mike rolls his eyes and looks distraught. "What the hell, Tom? You've got the hots for that girl?" Tom shakes his head. "Mike, come on, you know me better than that. I have a wife and I've never betrayed her and I'm not about to start now." Mike nods his head. "I know..." Tom looks up at Mike. "I mean...I've looked at a beautiful woman before, but I could contain myself with no problem whatsoever. This time was different. She didn't even look at me seductively...just made eye contact...and I...it was weird..." Mike pats Tom on the back. "I'll go tell them that you had a bit of indigestion." Tom pats Mike on the back. "Thanks bud. I'll be out in a bit." Mike walks out as we see Tom look in the mirror, still befuddled at what went down before.

A little later, we see Tom walk out of the bathroom, looking much better than before. As he gets to the table, Pedro asks "You alright, man?" Tom looks at Pedro and laughs, then looks at Nadia, who has a curious look on her face. Then Tom looks back at Pedro. "Yeah, I forgot you can't trust every food vendor you run into here. Just a little indigestion is all." Pedro laughs. "Ah, foreigners." Tom, sitting down, says "Oh no, I've been here before. Just had a moment of weakness when I smelled something cooking." Nadia says "Well, thankfully it wasn't anything else." Tom looks at Nadia for a second and smiles. "Yeah." Tom then looks over at the group. "Well, we're all gathered now, so we can start talking about our plan." Pedro leans over to Nadia. "He tried to scope out the Conquistadores compound earlier today and things..." Tom cuts him off. "...didn't go according to plan, I know. But, my man Eddie..." Tom points to Eddie on his left. "...sniped Armando Santino Junior. His funeral is tomorrow at noon, and the compound will be less guarded as the gang attends his funeral." Nadia shakes her head. "We'll still be..." Tom cuts her off. "...outnumbered. Yeah, your partner said the same thing. That's where the Los Magistrados come in." Pedro and Nadia both look shocked at that comment. Pedro leans forward infuriated. "Los Mags? Are you insane? Why would they ever agree to help you!" Tom leans forward and looks serious. "As you probably know, the Buenos Aires Carnicerias were shut down a few years ago by the Los Mags and a small group of CIA agents. Guess who those agents were?" Pedro leans back. "Ahh...I see. So, you know Hector Villejas, huh?" Tom smiles. "Better than you might think. Last I checked, Los Mags were still the big dogs in Argentina." Nadia asks "Why do you work WITH them instead of going after them?" Tom looks at Nadia and grins. "A fair question. Villejas is a smart guy. He knows that he's on top, and he doesn't need to do risky things for capital like shipping weapons to dictators or holding important people for ransom. But, if there is one thing I know about him, I know that he doesn't like competition. What I don't know is if HE knows there will be a golden opportunity for him to cut the head off the Conquistadore snake tomorrow." Pedro leans back and doesn't appear sold, but Nadia still looks intrigued and asks. "What's your plan?" Tom says "I'll make contact with him tonight. I still remember the protocol. I'll talk with him face to face, present him with the facts, and get him to supply troops to raid the facility tomorrow. Meanwhile, we'll sneak in amongst the troops and get our doctor. Villejas will be happy because he'll have captured their home base, Argentine Intelligence will be happy with one less gang in business, and we'll be happy because we'll have gotten our doctor." Pedro laughs a bit, then leans back forward. "Tom, if you get Villejas to supply you with ground forces, and this all works out as you planned, then I'll make sure your boss gets a glowing commendation of you and your crew." Tom leans back and looks at Pedro. "You don't think I can do it?" Pedro says "I didn't say that. I'll just believe it when I see it." Tom smirks, then looks at Nadia, then back at Pedro. "Tell you what, you give me that commendation when this is all done, and I'll see about giving your director a glowing report of your training partner here. I understand she's about ready for a bump." Nadia laughs. "Yeah, finally!" Pedro looks at her a little amused, then back at Tom. "We have a deal. When are you going to contact Villejas?" Tom says "After I finish this beer. I'll go alone." Nadia then nonchalantly slides her empty glass over to Tom. "And after you buy me a drink to replace that one." Mitch, Mike and Eddie each look at Nadia, and then Tom a little funny. Tom, not noticing them, says "I thought you said your agency had a tab here?" Nadia leans forward with a cocky smile. "Well, you were right at the bar. The women don't buy the drinks for the men. It's the other way around." Tom looks at her with a bit of a smirk, then looks at the rest of the group. "Anyone else's drinks running empty?" The rest of the table slides their bottles towards Tom mockingly. Nadia laughs. Tom just looks at everyone shaking his head. "Damn vultures..." Tom gets up and walks out to the bar. This time, the bartender remembers him and takes his order. Tom walks back with a tray full of drinks. He takes each beer down one at a time and slides them towards their recipients, then takes Nadia's mojito and looks at it. Nadia asks "What is it?" Tom looks at Nadia. "It'd be a shame if I suddenly dropped this..." Nadia gets up quickly and grabs the drink. "DON'T YOU DARE!" Tom chuckles a bit as Nadia takes a sip. He then sets down the tray at his seat, grabs his beer, and chugs the rest. Nadia asks "In a hurry?" Tom sets down the empty bottle and slides it at her. "I'm going to see Villejas before I get shaken down again!" Nadia just smiles and shakes her head as Pedro takes a drink. Tom looks at the rest of his team. "Mike, Mitch, Eddie...meet me at the hotel room. Pedro, what's your cell number? I'll call you and let you know if Villejas is in or not." Pedro pulls out a business card and hands it to Tom. Tom looks at it, then puts it in his pocket. "Look forward to working with you..." Tom then veers his gaze at Nadia and looks at her with a suspicious smirk. "...and you too...I think." Nadia picks up her drink, sips on it, and then closes her eyes and says "Ahh! Likewise!" Tom just gives her a little smile, then shakes his head as he walks away.

Play theme: youtube dot com /watch?v=22Vz-ngNomA

Buenos Aires- Magistrados cantina

We see Tom walk into another cantina, this time in a less than savory neighborhood. Tom surveys his surroundings for a bit, which is nothing but Magistrados gang bangers and whatever female tail they have with them or whatever card game they have going. Tom then looks forward and sees a man guarding a doorway. Tom strolls right up to the man. The man asks "This area is restricted." Tom smirks. "Not for old friends of Hector Villejas it's not." Some of the Mags in the cantina turn to give him a look, but the man looks unamused. "What would he want with a guy like you?" Tom tells the man "Go to Hector. Tell him...the Falcon is back, and he's bearing a mighty gift." The man walks into the door. As he's in there, Tom takes a look at some of the gangbangers that are starting to get awfully curious about his visit to the cantina. Tom just looks at them all with a cocky smirk until the doorman comes back out. "I have to check you for weapons." Tom spreads his arms out and his legs wide. "Go ahead. I've got nothing to hide." The man gives him a thorough patdown. Satisfied, the man opens the door. "Hector will see you now."

Buenos Aires- Hotel cantina

Back at the hotel cantina, Mike, Mitch, and Eddie say their goodbyes to Pedro and Nadia. After they walk out, Mitch turns to Mike. "What the hell is going on with Tom, flirting with that agent?" Mike shakes his head. "Mitch, he'd never cheat on Kate..." Mitch cuts him off angrily. "I don't care about that! I care about Tom having his head in the mission!" Eddie looks at Mike. "I'm with Mitch. I don't like this." Mike says to the both of them "Tom will be there for us. If he was that torn up about Nadia, you think he'd have made it a point to rush out like that to make contact with Villejas?" Mitch smirks. "Tommy Patriot...running away from a problem before it consumes him. Yeah, like that hasn't happened before." Mike throws his hands up in disgust, but Eddie asks "What do you mean?" Mitch looks at Eddie. "His grandparents raised him and when his grandmother died, he hit the bottle hard." Eddie shrugs. "Who hasn't gone on a bender over something bad that happened? I did that when my sister got gunned down over a gang misunderstanding when I was a teen, man. You can't indict a man for that." Mike, looking relieved, says "Thank you, Eddie. Besides, Tom took the time off and didn't let it affect his work." Mitch looks unsatisfied. "When he gets back, we need to make sure he's got his head screwed on right. I'm not going to risk my life because of a crush." Mike thinks for a bit, then says "Mitch, he was having a major internal struggle in the bathroom when I checked on him. He says his lust for Nadia just hit him..." Mike snaps his fingers. "...just like that, and the fact it did scared him because he's been loyal to Kate. He'll be fine." Mitch gets in Mike's face. "Well, let's make damn sure." The three then leave the bar.

Buenos Aires- Magistrados cantina

Back at the Villejas cantina, we see Tom stroll up casually to an older Argentinian man sitting behind a desk. He's a little heavy set with black hair, a black goatee, and dresses with style. He looks happy to see Tom. "Tomas! The Carniceria Killer!" Tom laughs, and then points at the man. "Come on, Hector. You guys did all the dirty work, I just pointed you in the right direction!" Hector puts his hand on Tom's shoulder. "I was wondering if I'd ever see you again. Last time when you came by, you had great news for me. Hopefully this time is no different. Have a seat, can I get you a drink?" Tom says "Let's hold off until you hear me out, then we'll decide whether we should have that celebratory drink." Hector was walking over to a liquor cabinet, but after hearing what Tom said, changed course to his desk chair. "Very well. What do you have for me this time?" Tom leans back in his chair. "Well, very similar to the deal we had before, with a bit of a twist." Hector looks uneasy. "What's the twist?" Tom smiles. "Oh no, the twist is a good one. See, the Los Conquistadores..." Hector slaps his hand on the table. "Those freaking cockroaches!" Tom looks a bit surprised. "Ok, what did they do?" Hector breathes deeply, then looks at Tom. "Those bastards have a lot of nerve, fighting over territory on a daily basis, stealing my contracts...I hate them worse than the Carnicerias." Tom grins, seeing as his ruse is working so far. "Well, how would you like to help overtake their compound tomorrow?" Hector gets a suspicious look. "That compound is impossible to crack. One way in, one way out, and a shitload of guards. You'd need an..." Tom cuts him off. "...an army, I know. Well, I'm sure you heard about Armando Junior getting a bullet in the brain earlier today." Hector laughs. "That little shit...I'm glad he's gone. You know, I heard there was some tactical team that did him in. Do I have you to thank for that?" Tom simply says "No comment." Hector looks at Tom for a bit, then laughs. "Haha! It WAS you!" Tom laughs back. "I wish I could take the credit, but my crack sniper did him in." Hector finishes laughing, then says "Tell him 'good shooting' for me, will ya?" Tom leans forward. "Junior's funeral is tomorrow at noon." Hector starts to nod. "Good. I knew he died. I didn't know when the funeral was." Tom continues. "And because of his most unfortunate demise, I would guess that compound will be at 50-75% staff max." Hector leans back in his chair a bit. "I see where this is going. You want me to send a ground attack into the weakened compound during Junior's funeral." Tom nods his head. "Yup." Hector leans forward. "What's in this for you?" Tom looks away for a bit, then back at Hector. "They're holding a doctor for ransom. My CIA division wants him pretty bad." Hector chuckles a bit. "Yeah, ransom is their trademark, those rotten cockroaches." Tom continues. "Me and a team of five others will ride along with whoever you send, then after we enter the compound, we'll sneak back and extract the good doctor. We would kindly ask for the temporary use of one of your vehicles for the getaway, but I assure you, you'd get it back." Hector thinks for a bit, then shakes his head. "Too risky." Tom looks taken aback. "What?" Hector says "Even with the depleted forces, they still would have a defensive position in a well-fortified area." Tom looks disgusted. "I thought you said you wanted to kill those cockroaches! You know as well as I do that you take a gang's home base, you'll cripple them. They'll be disorganized like a ship without a sail, and then you can pick them apart and sort through the ashes. Come on, Hector, we do good work together, you know this." Hector looks down at his desk. He thinks for a few seconds, then stands up and walks to the liquor cabinet. Hector grabs two shot glasses and pours some tequila in the glasses. He then walks over and hands Tom a glass and extends his glass out. "Let's go crush the Conquistadores!" Tom stands and touches Hector's glass, then both gulp down their shot. Hector says "We'll gather at 11 in the empty lot about two miles down from the main street from the compound." Tom nods his head. "I know which lot you're talking about. We'll be there." Tom starts to walk out. Hector asks "Do you need a ride back to your hotel?" Tom looks back at Hector. "If it wouldn't be too big of a problem, sure. I can't say I'm a fan of the taxis in this city." Hector laughs. "I know. Stand out front, there will be a guy to pick you up." Tom nods his head and walks out as we see Hector pick up a phone.

Out front, Tom doesn't stand by the curb too long before a red car pulls up. The driver, an Argentinian man looking like part of the gang, reaches over and opens the front passenger door. Tom gets the hint and enters the car. The driver asks "Which hotel you in?" Tom says "Hotel Colon." The driver nods his head and takes off. After he drives away, we see another car tail behind them. Tom looks in the passenger's mirror and notices the car behind them. "Is it custom for you guys to provide an extra support car for your transports?" The driver looks in the mirror. "No, but that does look like a tail. Not one of our own. Not Conquistadores either probably." Tom gives the driver a look. "What do you mean?" The driver says "Conquistadores only drive green cars. That's a blue car behind us." Tom asks "Who could someone driving a blue car be representing?" The driver shakes his head. "Neutral color. Could be anyone." Tom and the driver head further down the road. The driver looks back in the rear-view mirror again. "Looks like an older lady is driving that car. That can't be a tail." Tom shakes his head. "No, that car took off near the cantina when we did, and she's been on our ass since we left. This might be a contract job." The driver looks over a Tom and smirks. "I'll shake her." We see the driver floor it. The tail follows suit. The driver then turns sharply to the left down a business district, then makes a quick right. The tail follows suit. The driver then cuts down an alleyway and makes a quick left and then a quick right into a garage. The driver shuts off the car and turns off the light. We see the tail go speeding behind them. The driver waits a few seconds. "Ok, you're good. We're near your hotel." Tom looks over at the driver and smiles. "Nice work. Hector hires quality, that's why I deal with him." The driver just chuckles a bit as he backs out of the garage. Eventually, Tom makes it to the hotel.

Buenos Aires- Hotel Colon

Tom gets off an elevator and pulls out a key and uses it to open a hotel room. He's all smiles at first until he sees the angry faces of Mitch, Mike, and Eddie. Tom looks a little confused. "What's going on? I got some good..." Mitch gets in Tom's face. "You and the girl. Knock it off. You have a wife." Tom gets an angry face and shoves Mitch to the floor. "HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF WANTING TO CHEAT ON MY WIFE! WHAT GIVES YOU THE DAMN RIGHT?" Mitch scrambles back to his feet. "You were awfully flirty with Nadia in the cantina. We just want to make sure you have your head screwed..." Tom grabs Mitch, but is broken up by Mike and Eddie. "You have a lot of damn nerve! You know me better than that!" Mike, holding Tom back, says "Look, we're just looking out for your best interests." Tom gives Mike a look. "First of all, YOU should know me better than that. And second, it was HER that was being flirty when we were at the table. You saw her slide me that empty glass, wanting me to buy her a drink. I was being facetious at the bar when I asked her if the women bought the drinks for the men in the country when she bought us that first round. For christsakes, guys, I was kidding around." Mitch, looking a little more relaxed, says "Ok, ok. Just make sure she knows that you're off the market at the end of the mission. Got it?" Tom nods his head. "Of course. I was going to talk to her anyway if she did good on the mission." Mitch nods his head as civility returns to the room. Tom then says "Ok, can I give you guys the good news and bad news now?" Eddie says "What's up? How did your meet go?" Tom smiles. "Most excellent. Villejas is in. We'll meet in that big empty parking lot about two miles down from the compound we saw on the way in. They'll break into the compound, we'll sneak around back and infiltrate that way. They're providing us with a getaway car when we extract the good doctor." Mike says "So, Villejas was receptive. Good call." Tom looks at Mike. "No, he wasn't just receptive. You should have seen him literally froth at the mouth when I even mentioned the word Conquistadores. He wants them blown off the map, and this will cripple them." Mitch nods his head in agreement, but doesn't say anything. Eddie looks a little leery. "You don't have any reservations about helping out a gang?" Tom looks over at Eddie. "I know about your history growing up, growing up a gang-infested barrio in Mexico City. I understand your reservation. But, Mitch and Mike can attest that we don't deal with gangs that don't go about pissing off us Americans, and we don't deal with gangs that go about their business the wrong way, like dealing weapons to dictators or holding people for ransom. One thing I've learned in the past 10 years of working Latin America is even the worst of enemies can find common ground if they both want something bad enough. Thankfully, Villejas runs his gang in just about the most conventional and under the radar way that I've found south of the Rio Grande. That right, guys?" Mitch thinks for a bit. "That's about right." Eddie thinks for a bit, then nods. "I understand. Sorry if I overstepped my boundaries here, I don't have as much experience in Argentina as you guys do." Tom laughs a bit. "No need to apologize. If I were in your position, I'd ask the same thing." Mike then says "Ok, you said you had bad news?" Tom looks down. "I had a tail on me when I left Hector's and came back here." Mike gets an uneasy look, but Mitch keeps a straight face and asks "Who was it?" Tom says "That's the thing, it was just an older looking lady in a blue car." Mitch laughs. "So, you were being chased by grandma? That's a first!" Tom shakes his head. "No, when my driver took off like a bat out of hell, she followed suit. We eventually shook her, but her following confirmed that she was very interested in where I was going." Mitch sighs. "So, how do we deal with this?" Tom thinks for a bit. "Ok, it's 11 PM. We have twelve hours until we have to be at the parking lot. We have two hotel rooms with two beds and two people to each room. One person in a room will stay up for another five hours keeping watch while the other will sleep. Then, at 4 AM, we switch. At 9 AM, we'll all be up and getting ready for the big dance number. That sound ok?" Eddie shrugs. "That's cool with me." Mike says "That's fine." Mitch sighs. "I was looking forward to a full night's rest..." Mike says "You bunk with me, I'll stay up for the first five so you can get your beauty rest." Mitch just chuckles and shakes his head. "Ok, whatever." Tom then looks at Eddie. "So, you guys are leaving me with the crack shot? I appreciate it!" Mike and Mitch laugh as Eddie shrugs and looks down a little embarrassed. Tom then tells Eddie "I'm still a little wired from tonight's activities. I'll stay up and you can get some sleep. I'll let you know when we rotate." Eddie nods his head, and then grabs his bag. Tom does too, then tells Mitch and Mike "Good night. Just bang on the wall if you hear or need anything."

It's now 3:59 AM in Tom's hotel room. We see Tom looking out the window as Eddie sleeps behind him. Tom looks up at the full moon. Just as he does, we see Nadia from her apartment window looking up at the full moon. She's looking at it almost in a trance just like Tom is. Back at the hotel, Tom then shakes Eddie awake at 4 AM and then crawls into bed himself. We see Eddie walk towards the window as Tom is lying on his side looking the other way. We hear him whisper "What did you do to me, Nadia?" At the same time in her apartment, Nadia is also lying on her side and asks "There's something about you, Tom..." Both then decide to go to sleep.

Buenos Aires- Vacant parking lot outside Conquistadores compound

It's 11 AM in Argentina and we see Tom, Eddie, Mitch, and Mike in the big parking lot surrounded by a large contingent of Los Magistrados gang members. Tom is surveying the crowd that has gathered when he sees Hector Villejas step out of a car. Tom walks up to Hector. "Well, look at this. The leader on the field of battle with his troops!" Hector, who has a big cigar in his mouth, laughs. "Tomas, I wanted to be present when those cockroaches get exterminated. You attacked their heart when your man killed Junior, and now we're here to break it." Tom smirks and nods his head. He turns back and notices a car pull up to his other two team members. Tom then turns back to Hector. "Who will we be tagging with?" Hector points to a humvee. "That will be the rear of the assault. We'll start fighting and you guys can assault the rear of the facility as you have planned." Tom reaches out to shake Hector's hand. "Hector, good luck out there. We might not meet again after this, so I just want to thank you for the help today." Hector reaches out and shakes Tom's hand. "Tomas, if this works out, if you need anything...ANYTHING, don't hesitate to reach out to me. If you think I have it, I probably do or I can get it." Tom smirks and nods. "I might put you to the test on that one of these days." Tom turns away to go back to his team members.

As he gets to them, he sees Pedro and Nadia get out of the car that just arrived. The car takes off as Tom and Nadia each exchange a smile for a few seconds. Tom then looks at Pedro. "Morning, comrade." Pedro reaches out and shakes Tom's hand. "Morning." Tom looks over at Nadia again. "What, no hello from you?" Nadia folds her arms in mock frustration. "The men always say hello first in this country." Tom fires back "Just like how they buy the drinks, right?" Nadia nods her head and gets a wide smile on her face. "Very good! You're learning!" While this exchange is taking place, we see Mitch gives Mike a bit of a look and shake his head in disgust. Tom looks back at Mitch as he's finishing shaking his head at Mike. Tom gives Mitch a glare, then sighs a bit. Then, he composes himself and addresses the team. "I just talked to Hector. We're to tag along on the humvee over there..." Tom points right. "...that will be the rear of the attack. Hector and his men will start the fighting, we'll sneak out and head towards the back of the compound." Mitch takes over. "Despite the attention to the front, don't be surprised to see a force still in play in the back. I think the numbers might be closer than we were looking at before, but we still could be outnumbered. It's hard to know how the Conquistadores will react." Pedro adds "The Conquistadores have been making headway lately with their ammunition strength. Our intel reports that they're now up to fully automatics now, but they might still be a little green with their operation. Still, use caution in there." Tom says "According to Mitch's schematics, the area we'll be focusing on isn't all that large. Lots of hallways and smaller rooms, but the overall square footage isn't great, so we'll split into two teams of three. Mitch, Mike, Eddie, when we enter, we'll will have the option of going either left or right. Mitch, you take point over your crew and head left. Me, Pedro, and Nadia will go right. That reminds me..." Tom looks at Pedro. "You didn't happen to bring radio equipment with you, did you?" Pedro shakes his head. "That was to be supplied by you guys." Mitch raises his hand. "That's my fault, we brought equipment, but when I tested it this morning, it wasn't functional. I don't know what happened, guys." Pedro shakes his head, but Tom sticks up for Mitch. "It's not his fault, it was mine. I should have tested it before we left. Anyway, AS SOON as your side is clear, Mitch, rendezvous with us on the right side. We believe that's where they're holding the doctor." Mitch nods his head. "Got it." Nadia asks "You guys did bring weapons at least?" Mitch gets snappy. "YES WE DID, LADY!" Tom gives Mitch an angry look, then walks up and whispers tersely in Mitch's ear "This nonsense with you, me, and Nadia has to stop. I'm taking care of it, so ease the hell off. Besides, you're in no position to be flapping your gums, it was YOUR job to test the radio equipment back in Baltimore." Mitch gives Tom a look as Tom steps away. Tom looks over at the rest of the team. "Ok, our ammunition is in the trunk. Let's get locked and loaded." Everyone still looks a little uneasy after Mitch and Nadia's exchange. Tom notices. "Guys! This is the day we say goodbye to a piece of crap Argentinian gang and save the life of a doctor. Look up!" The speech appears to have some effect on the crew as they head towards the back of Storm Crew's car. Tom then reaches out to Nadia and grabs her arm gently. Nadia asks "What is it?" Tom looks as the rest of the team is walking towards the car. "After this is over, we need to talk." Nadia gets a concerned look as Tom lets go and goes to the back of the car. Nadia eventually follows.

Later, we see the team in the back of the humvee. They're situated all the way back towards near the driver. On one side is Mitch, Mike, and Eddie and the other is Tom, Pedro, and Nadia, in that order. A gang member looks over at Tom. "What are you guys doing here?" Tom looks over at the man. "Well, as your boss says, we're here to squash some Conquistadore cockroaches and free a doctor that's being held hostage for ransom." The man nods his head. "They killed my brother two months ago." Mitch asks "What for?" The man says "My brother was just driving in the city. He was wearing neutral colors, but somehow, the Conquistadores knew who he was...they pulled up along side of him at a stop sign and started blasting. Manny had no chance." Pedro asks "What did Manny do to upset them?" The man looks at Pedro. "Nothing in particular, but they knew he was a lieutenant in the gang. I think they just wanted to send a message." Tom nods his head, then says "I'm sure your brother will be looking down on you today out there." The man smiles. "He's here already. I can feel him." Tom smirks a bit as the humvee starts going.

The first of the Magistrados convoy reaches the main gate. Mag soldiers pile out of the back of their humvee and open fire on the troops guarding the gate. After they succeed, one of them opens the electric gate. Their humvee veers off to the left inside the compound and the rest of the convoy advances. In their rear humvee, Tom and the crew can hear the fighting go on. Then, their humvee comes to a sudden stop as they hear an explosion ahead. Outside, we hear "Everyone out! We're stuck!" Tom looks at everyone. "Ok, that's our cue." The crew piles out of the car. As they get out, they see they're 5 cars back from the gate. They see one car in the convoy ahead is on fire. Tom is positioned to the right taillight of the humvee looking ahead while Mitch is opposite him on the left tailight. Everyone else is in between them. Mitch says "Wow, we're a ways back." Tom says "Everyone! Hold until I give the go-ahead!" Mitch looks at Tom. "Come on! They're distracted, let's go!" Tom looks at Mitch. "No! We're way back. We need to give the Mags time to advance!" Mitch says "It's ok! All of the fighting is focused on the front side, we can sneak back behind the car convoy and go around back!" Tom looks ahead and thinks for a bit before turning back to the team. "Mitch is right. Pedro, Nadia, follow me around the front. Mitch, Mike, Eddie, you follow behind us. Single file formation. Once we get in, hug the walls of the main building until we're inside!" Mitch gives the thumbs up and Tom takes off, with Pedro and Nadia following behind. They circle in front of the humvee and Mitch and his team follows as ordered. The crew get to the front gate as Tom takes position to the left side of the gate. Tom looks at the fighting that's going on off the right of the entrance, which is the front of the facility. Tom then reaches his head around and looks left and finds nothing going on. Tom looks back at everyone. "Ok! Go!" Tom takes off and crosses the alleyway towards the outside wall of the main building. The team follows quickly along the edge of the building until they reach the end of the wall. As they stop, Mitch takes the lead from Tom and looks around the corner. He studies what he sees for a bit, then looks back at the team. "No one outside of the back entrance! They must have joined the fighting up front." Mitch goes back to his position between Nadia and Mike. Tom then motions to go ahead. Like before, they skim the wall up until they get to the door, which is actually wide open. Tom looks in and looks left, then right, then gets back into position and looks at Mitch. "Coast is clear from what I see. Go!" Mitch, Mike, and Eddie proceed in and go down the left hallway. om, Pedro, and Nadia follow and go right. Tom gets to the end of the hallway before it turns left and posts up on the corner wall. Pedro and Nadia follow suit. Tom pulls out his long mirror and extends it out to look at what's down the hall. He sees two troops stationed outside a door to the right and a door at the end of the hallway that looks unguarded. Tom then puts away his mirror and looks at Pedro and Nadia. "Ok, there's two guards that are positioned outside a door to the right. I bet you they're protecting something valuable..." Pedro smiles. "...like a doctor, perhaps?" Tom smiles. "Perhaps!" Nadia asks "What's the plan?" Tom says "We take out the guards. There's another door down the hallway. You two go make sure there's no surprises down that way." Pedro and Nadia nod. Tom tells them to "Get into position to the front of me." Pedro and Nadia stand out in front of him as Tom holds up three fingers...then two...then one. Tom, Pedro, and Nadia then turns the corner and opens fire on the unsuspecting guards. One goes down right away while another is hit in the leg. The guy screams as he falls over and Tom rushes over. Pedro and Nadia follow as Tom kneels down in front of the downed guard. "Donde esta el doctor?" ("Where is the doctor?" in Spanish) The man lets out a smile amidst the pain. "Arder en el infierno!" ("Burn in hell" in Spanish). Tom, unamused, cooly shoots the guy in the head, much to the surprise to Nadia. "You didn't have to kill him!" Tom looks back. "You're right, I should have left him alive so he could scream to the rest of his amigos down the hallway that we're here." Nadia asks "What hallway? There's another door right there!" Tom looks over and sees a metal door about 10 feet away that looks reinforced. "Oh...well, he's dead now. Go check down the long hallway, I'll work on the door." Pedro and Nadia sprint off down the hallway as Tom examines the door.

Meanwhile, Mitch, Mike, and Eddie face some resistance. After dispatching of the Conquistadore troops, each one of them splits off to check the rooms over in their portion of the compound, but can't find anything. Mitch then says "Ok, to the right side of the building, guys!" They start to go back the way they came.

As that is happening, Tom is trying to kick down the door to no avail. Then, he finds a crowbar nearby. He picks it up and tries to wedge it in the door and pry it open. As he's pulling back, he doesn't hear two Conquistadore troops come up behind him. One of them says "Alto! Suelte el arma!" (Stop! Drop your weapon!) Tom's eyes bug out after the guard says that. Tom stands there for a moment and thinks. The guard says "SUELTE EL ARMA!" again. Tom gets a defeated look on his face, then lifts up his machine gun that he was carrying on a shoulder strap and tosses it to the ground. The other guard pats Tom down and takes out a pistol that he had on his ankle. Tom then says "Asi que, cuanto dinero el rescate que valgo?" (So, how much ransom money am I worth?). Just as he says that, the metal door that Tom tried vainly to open flies open. We see an older man walk up to him casually. Behind him is Doctor Gregory Simonich tied down to a chair. He's got numerous bruises and cuts to his face, signs of abuse during his captivity. Tom looks at him, then at the man walking towards him. The man says "Ponte de rodillas" (Get on your knees). Tom smirks and asks "Que pasa si no?" (What if I don't?) One of the guards kicks Tom's right knee forward, forcing Tom to his knees. Tom looks up at the older man in front of him as the man pulls out a pistol and points it at his forehead. Tom, showing little signs of nerves, says "Es posible que desee tomar el seguro, el novato." (You might want to take the safety off, rookie) The man chuckles a bit as he clicks the safety off and says "Como usted quiera, el hombre muerto." (As you wish, dead man.) The man then pulls back on the hammer on the revolver. Tom, now resigned to his certain fate, closes his eyes and mutters "So this is it." Just as he says that, he hears...

POW!

POW POW!

Tom opens his eyes and is surprised to see the man who had the gun to his head now down on the floor, lifeless. Simonich looks on, but he can't say anything because his mouth is taped shut. Tom, breathing heavily out of shock, turns around and sees the two men behind him dead in a heap, as well as a pair of legs that don't look like they belong to a man. Tom scans up the body to see Nadia's face and a smoking pistol. Tom, in pure shock, starts to move his mouth to speak, but no words come out at first. Nadia, noticing Tom's disbelief, says "In this country, women are known to save the lives of the men they have a crush on." Tom laughs in surprise, then says "Where have you been all my life?" As he says that, Pedro shows up, along with Mitch, Mike, and Eddie. They all see Tom on his knees with the dead guards around him and him looking in absolute astonishment at Nadia. Mitch asks "What the hell happened?" Tom looks over at Mitch. "Nadia...she just saved my life. I was dead to rights and...she saved me. She killed all three of these men with one of them holding a gun at my forehead." Tom gets up to his feet slowly and composes himself for a bit. Mitch looks over at Nadia. "Nice shooting." Nadia looks over and says "Thanks." Mitch extends his hand towards Nadia. "Sorry for being rough on you earlier." Nadia reaches over and shakes his hand. "No, you were right, that was tasteless of me." Mitch smiles. "Well, you redeemed yourself and then some." Tom notices the exchange and smiles, then turns in and walks towards the doctor. "You ready to get the hell out of here?" Tom slowly takes the tape off of the doctor's mouth. Simonich, in a thick Russian accent, says "Yes! Who are you guys?" Tom says "We're CIA. We're interested in your mutation research." Simonich hangs his head. "Are you going to kill me?" Tom laughs. "You know, I just had a guardian angel drop down from the Argentinian sky and save my life just a minute ago. I may not be as pretty as my angel is..." Nadia blushes a bit. "...but, in this case, you're just going to have to accept me as your guardian angel, here to save you from the Covenant AND the Conquistadores." Simonich nods his head. Mike goes and cuts the rest of Simonich's restraints. Tom asks "Can you walk?" Simonich says "Yes, I think so." Tom looks at Mike. "Hang back with him and follow us out."

The team, with Simonich, walks out the back entrance of the compound building and heads towards the front gate. As they reach the gate, they hear a roar of celebration to their left. Tom stops to look as Hector Villejas pumps his fist to the sky with the victorious troops. Hector looks over to the right and sees Tom and the rest of the crew with the doctor. Tom gives Hector a thumbs up. Hector returns the thumbs up. Then, Hector points outside of the gate and then to the right. Tom, getting the message, gives another thumbs up and leads the crew out. They see a Hummer H2 parked near the abandoned building Eddie set up shop at when he killed Junior. The team enters the car and heads off.

Somewhere along the coast in Buenos Aires

A little later, we see the Hummer pull down a road, which dead ends overlooking the ocean. The Hummer stops at the end of the road. Everyone gets out of the Hummer except for Simonich. From a distance, we look through a camera lens as Tom gets out of the Hummer, then the camera snaps like a picture is being taken. We hear an older Latino woman's voice. "That HAS to be him!" As Nadia gets out, we see the screen look like it's taking a picture again. We hear the voice again say "Nadia! They're together!" Tom walks around to the passenger's side of the Hummer where everyone is gathered. He starts to address everyone. "Everyone, heck of a job today. We went in and did just what the doctor ordered!" Everyone laughs a bit. Tom looks at Mitch. "How much resistance did you guys face?" Mitch shakes his head. "Nothing we couldn't handle!" Mike and Eddie laugh at that, as does Tom. Tom then looks over at Pedro and Nadia. "I want to thank you two for all your help. This mission might not have been a success without your aid." Pedro shakes Tom's hand. "It was our pleasure. It'll be interesting to see the fallout with the Conquistadores, but I get the feeling their days are numbered." Tom then looks over at Nadia. "Would you care to take a walk with me for a second?" Mitch and Mike look at each other as Nadia smiles widely. "Sure!" Tom looks over to the right and sees a woman with a camera ducking into the alleyway. He then walks over to Mitch. "Mitch, I think my tail from last night is over in the next alleyway over. Go around back and take care of it." Mitch nods his head. "Got it." Mitch then heads down an alley directly behind them. Tom then walks off with Nadia as Pedro, Mike, and Eddie congratulate each other.

Tom and Nadia stop about a half a block away on the railing overlooking the ocean. Nadia notices that Tom is looking rather uneasy. "Hey, what is it?" Tom leans over the rail and looks at the ocean. "Nadia, I owe you my life. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead now. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." Nadia puts her hand on his shoulder. "No problem!" Tom smiles, then goes back to looking out at the ocean. "I hear you're due for a promotion. I'll write your director a letter with a commendation of your work today. You're good in a pinch." Nadia grins wide. "That would be wonderful, thank you." Tom turns towards Nadia, starts to talk, but then looks down. Nadia looks concerned. "What is it?" Tom, still looking down, says "I have a confession to make." Nadia's mouth opens a bit as Tom starts to speak. "When I first saw your face in the bar, something...washed over me from the inside." Tom looks up at Nadia, who's listening intently. "It's like I just gazed into the eyes of the most beautiful creature to ever walk this earth." Nadia, now looking flattered, looks down and smiles as Tom continues. "I got this...crazy feeling that I didn't understand...and still don't really...that's why I had to run to the bathroom...I was just so awestruck and I did not see it coming at all. It was...weird." Nadia looks up suddenly and puts her hand over her mouth. "You felt the same way as I did!" Tom looks surprised. "What?" Nadia continues. "Something happened to me too when I first looked at you...that same kind of crazy, bizarre feeling...like I just met my destiny or something." Tom laughs a bit. "Well, you certainly hid it a lot better than I did!" Nadia laughs a bit and so does Tom. After a bit of awkward silence, Nadia asks "So..." Tom looks back out to the ocean. His face looks pained. "Nadia, I would just love to ask you out on a date. Everything inside of me is just longing for me to do that. But I can't." Nadia goes from smiling to disappointed. She says nothing as Tom looks at her. "Nadia, I'm married. I have a wife that's been in my life for going on 12 years now, and we've been married for four of them. I can't betray her." Tom looks down and almost looks like he wants to cry. Nadia notices Tom's look of remorse. She reaches out and puts her hand on Tom's chin and lifts his face up. Tom looks at Nadia with a troubled look. Nadia smiles a bit. "I have a boyfriend myself. It's ok. I understand." Tom exhales in relief. "Really? Well, that helps...a little." Tom chuckles a bit at the end of that sentence. Nadia smiles and hugs Tom, then gives him a peck on the cheek, then whispers in his ear "You're a good man. We'll work together again someday. I know we will." Tom hugs Nadia and says"We will. After all, I now have a life debt to you that I need to pay off." Nadia laughs a bit as they release the hug. They look at each other for a few seconds. Tom then looks over Nadia's shoulder at Mike, Eddie, and Pedro, who are just standing around looking on. Tom looks back at Nadia. "Ok, I think we've left our team hanging long enough." Tom and Nadia start to walk back over to their gang.

Meanwhile, from the vantage point of where the camera shots were being taken a little earlier, we hear the voice from earlier say "Oh no, is this it? Come on Nadia, this is the Caretake..." Just then, she's cut off by Mitch saying "Don't move!" We see Mitch pointing a gun at the back of the head of the black-haired woman. The woman is frozen. Mitch says "Turn to me slowly." The woman turns and for the first time, we see her face. It's Elena Derevko. She's grinning at Mitch. "Ah, Tom's loyal servant!" Mitch looks confused. "How do you know his name?" Elena keeps her smile. "I know a lot about you guys...Mitchell." Mitch is still bewildered. "Who do you work for? The Conquistadores?" Elena smiles. "Oh no, I serve a much higher purpose." Mitch asks "The Covenant?" Elena laughs. "The who?" Mitch says nothing and looks unamused. Elena asks "Why is the teacher being led by the student?" Mitch still says nothing. Elena continues. "It must be eating you up inside having to take Tom's orders when you taught him everything you know." Mitch, in a first sign of weakness, goes to talk, but doesn't say anything. Elena nods her head. "Thought so." Mitch shakes his head. "Tom bailed me out of a life of desk work when he brought me on to Storm Crew. I owe him my allegiance." Elena steps forward, but Mitch keeps the gun pointed at her. Elena isn't fazed as she says "He's the one that owes you. We both know you would have gotten back on your feet eventually. Time heals all CIA wounds." Mitch cocks back the hammer. "Ok, enough of this. WHO ARE YOU?" Elena just smiles. "Tom is reckless. He almost got you killed when you got here, and he almost got himself killed if it wasn't for...that female agent." Elena stops to let the words sink in. Mitch, still looking exasperated, says nothing. Elena pulls out a business card and extends it out to Mitch. Mitch looks at it a bit, then back at Elena. Mitch then reaches out for the card, but as he does, Elena swipes Mitch's gun like a cat and points it at him. Mitch holds his hands up with the card in his right hand. Elena then releases the magazine from the handle and takes the remaining bullet out of the chamber. "Mitch, I'm going to let you live today. But, look at that card. When you're ready to reclaim the throne from Tom, just let me know. Even if you decide not to call me...we'll be in touch." Elena pockets the magazine and bullets and hands Mitch back his empty gun. Then, Elena walks down the alleyway and disappears. Mitch, looking confused, looks down the alleyway where Elena left for a long time. Mitch then walks the other way and heads towards Tom and the rest of the crew.

Mitch stares Tom down as he walks towards him, still processing what Elena told him. Tom then gives Mitch a headnod. Tom then looks at Pedro and Nadia. "Well, this is where we part ways. Your ride is coming soon, I hope?" Pedro says "Yes." Tom shakes Pedro's hand again. "Thanks again for your help. I'm writing your director a commendation for Nadia. She truly was excellent today and deserves that promotion." Pedro smiles and looks at Nadia. "Yeah, I think it's time." Nadia grins at Tom and Pedro. Tom returns the grin, then both Tom and Nadia share a bit of a disappointed look. Tom eventually breaks the stare. "Ok, thanks guys." Tom gives both of them a sheepish wave and then walks to the Hummer. He gets in the front seat, Mitch in the front passenger's seat, and Eddie and Mike join the doctor in the back seat. Tom starts the car and fixes his gaze on Nadia. Her gaze is fixed on him as he swings the car around. Then, when she disappears from view, Tom looks ahead with a disappointed look. Mitch looks over at Tom, who looks noticeably crestfallen. "Did you talk to her?" Tom, focused on the road, says "Yeah. It's over...it's all over." Mitch just turns away and looks out the window. "You know you couldn't..." Tom cuts him off. "Shut up, Mitch. I don't want to talk about it." Mitch kind of gives Tom a bit of a look, then looks back out at the road. Tom then asks "So, what did our spy have to say?" Mitch looks out at the sidewalk. He then spots Elena walking along the sidewalk. Tom, noting Mitch hasn't said anything, asks "Mitch?" Mitch snaps out of it and looks at Tom. "Conquistadore spy. Just keeping tabs on you...us." Tom notices Mitch's indecisiveness. "Well, which is it?" Mitch says "Us! Anyway, she won't be bothering us anymore, I set her straight." Tom gazes at Mitch a bit, then goes back to looking at the road. In the back seat, Mike and Eddie both take note of the tension between the two. Tom pulls out a cell phone and punches a number.

Back at CIA Dark Cover, James Lennox answers the phone. "Tom! What's your status?" Tom, rather blankly, says "The mission was a success. We have the doctor. The Argentine agents were very helpful and the Mags held up their end of the bargain. We probably won't be hearing about the Conquistadores anymore." Back at Dark Cover, we see James turn around to Vandenburg and give him a thumbs up. Vandenburg then claps his hands in excitement, then takes the phone from James. "Well done, Tom! Sounds like everything went according to plan." Tom lets that comment soak in for a bit. (Quick flashback to Tom and Nadia's conversation by the beach just moments ago) Vandenburg, noticing the line is silent now, says "Tom? Did I lose you?" Tom snaps out of it. "No, no. Yes, everything went smoothly. Is our plane ready?" Vandenburg says "Yes. It'll be ready as soon as you get to the airport. I can't wait to hear the final report back here in Maryland." Tom says "Good. See you then." Tom hangs up the phone before Vandenburg can respond. Vandenburg looks a bit surprised, but just sets the phone down. He looks at James, who's looking at Vandenburg a little curiously now. Vandenburg smiles. "Must have been in traffic."

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean

On the plane, we see Doctor Simonich seated in a booth. Over on the other side, Tom is sitting with Mike, Mitch and Eddie. Mike, Mitch and Eddie are all smiles, but Tom is not exactly on the same page. Mitch then gets up and walks to the fridge. "Mike, beer?" Mike says "Absolutely!" Eddie says "Me too!" Mitch looks over at Tom, who's just staring a hole through their table. Mitch asks "Tom?" Tom looks at Mitch and says plainly "Sure. See if the doctor is thirsty." We look over a the doctor, who holds up his hands. "Ah...no thanks! I am fine with my water!" Mitch grabs four beers from the fridge, then walks over to the table and hands the other three their beers. Tom takes his a little reluctantly and Mitch takes notice, but doesn't say anything. Mike and Eddie also look over at the remorseful-looking Tom. Finally, Mike asks "Tom, are you ok?" Tom looks up at Mike, then Eddie, then Mitch, then stands up. He holds out his beer over the table, and the other three follow suit. Tom, in a less-than-triumphant voice, says "When we set out on this mission, we made a vow to set the bar for others to follow. Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, and thus, our dynasty still waits to be written into legacy. But, the longest journeys are always started with one step. And today, we took that step. I'm proud to have been out there with you guys. You all performed admirably. Cheers." The four tap their bottles. Tom takes a swig off the bottle as Mitch takes a seat next to Mike. Tom remains standing, still looking crestfallen. Mitch finally says something. "Tom, you've had this down look on your face since we left Pedro and Nadia." Tom stands there just staring into space, then says "You guys were the reason we succeeded. If I hadn't nearly gone and nearly gotten myself killed, this would have been a lot smoother." Mike says "That's nonsense. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten the Mags to give us the diversion we needed!" Eddie adds "And if you hadn't had us scout the place before, I wouldn't have shot the Mag leader that led to our success." Tom looks at the Mike and Eddie. "I guess things did click into place for us. Sometimes...fate just has a funny way of working itself out, I guess." Mitch gets up and pats Tom on the shoulder. "You said it best back in the car yesterday. You know how many pickles I was in like the ones you got in during this mission? You worked your way out of the first one and the second one...well, sometimes you just get lucky." Tom smiles and looks at Mitch. "It's not luck when you're surrounded by good people." Tom pats Mitch on the shoulder, then looks out at the rest of his team. "It's good to work with friends." Tom then sits down with the rest of the team and enjoys the rest of his drink.

Edgewood, MD- CIA Dark Cover headquarters

Back in the Dark Cover elevator, Doctor Simonich is standing in between Tom and Mitch on the elevator while Eddie and Mike stand behind. Tom looks over to Mitch. "I want you to handle the debrief with James." Mitch looks over surprised. "Really? Why?" Tom says "Just do it. You'll have a more objective eye in terms of what happened than I will. Remember, it was ME that stepped on the twig. Oh, and let's keep this Nadia business amongst ourselves, including where she saved my life. Ok?" Mitch nods. Tom looks back and Eddie and Mike each nod their heads. The elevator door opens and the five walk out of the elevator to a round of applause from the rest of Dark Cover. At front and center of the celebratory group is Vandenburg and Lennox. Tom and Mitch walk up to them with Simonich. Tom says "Before you guys get nervous, the good doctor had these cuts and bruises BEFORE I got to him. I swear!" Lennox and Vandenburg laugh. The doctor even chuckles a bit. "These guys saved my life. I'll tell you anything you need to know." Lennox walks off with the doctor towards the interrogation room. Tom then walks up to Vandenburg. "I need to talk to you for a moment in private." Tom and Vandenburg walk off as the rest of the team gets pats on the back from the rest of Dark Cover.

In Vandenburg's office, Tom takes a seat in front of Vandenburg's desk. Vandenburg closes the door and sits behind his desk and notices the troubled look Tom has. "You seem a little down. This is a great thing you guys did, you should be proud." Tom lets out a small smile. "I am. But..." Vandenburg looks confused as he waits for Tom to continue. Tom says "I need to speak to a psychiatrist about something. Mitch will handle our debrief." Vandenburg sits back. "Did something happen during the mission?" Tom shakes his head and looks down. "It's personal, I'd rather not say." Vandenburg nods his head. "I hope it doesn't involve a rift with a teammate." Tom shakes his head. "No. Everyone did their job well. This is all me." Vandenburg asks "How soon would you like to talk to someone?" Tom looks up at Vandenburg. "As soon as possible. And PLEASE, keep this under wraps." Vandenburg nods his head and opens up a binder. "I'll see if I can get you someone this afternoon." Tom stands up. "Good. Just let me know, I'll be with my team."

Downstairs, Tom opens the doors to the Storm Crew office and receives a small ovation from everyone, including the the team that joined him in Argentina. Tom holds up his hands and shakes his head. "No, no, no, this was truly a team win for us. Mitch, Mike, and Eddie...ESPECIALLY Eddie, deserves the applause. Without Eddie capping that Conquistadore leader, we'd still be in a pickle." The team surrounds Eddie and gives him pats on the back and rubs of the head. As the team is celebrating around Eddie, Vandenburg walks in and hands Tom a slip of paper and walks out without saying anything. Tom looks down at the paper as the rest of the team takes notice. Tom looks back up. "It's nothing guys, just something for me." Chris asks "You joining all of us for drinks later?" Tom shakes his head nonchalantly. "No, I have some business to take care of. You guys have fun and make sure Eddie doesn't pay for a single drink, got it? If anyone has any questions about the mission, Mitch is handling the debrief, you can talk to him. Later guys." Tom then walks out of the office as the rest of the team goes back to enjoying the win.

Langley, Virginia- CIA Headquarters

A little later, we see Tom sitting in a waiting room in a small office. He looks like he's deep in thought until he's interrupted by a door opening. It's Judy Barnett, the CIA psychiatrist (You might remember hear at various points from Seasons 1 thru 3). "Tom?" Tom looks up and smiles. "Yes?" Barnett says "I'm Judy Barnett, come on in." Tom stands up and enters the office. Tom has a seat on the couch as Barnett walks behind her desk and has a seat. "Your director, Harold Vandenburg, says you wanted to see me about something, but he didn't say what." Tom looks down at his feet. "I feel ashamed that I'm even in this seat right now, seeing as I just led the first successful mission of our new group." Barnett nods her head and smiles a bit. "I know. He told me. I also read your file before you arrived." Tom looks up a little surprised. Barnett notices. "Everything that is said in here is confidential, I assure you." Tom nods his head. "Sorry, I just never did this before." Barnett sits back. "What's troubling you?" Tom starts twiddling with his fingers. "As you know, I'm married. I've been with my wife for 12 years, and married for four of them. I love her. She's been loyal to me and I've been loyal to her." Barnett says "Loyalty is important to you." Tom nods his head. "Which is why I'm here. During the mission I just got back on...I met a woman." Barnett nods her head. "Go on." Tom goes back to looking down. "When our eyes met, I...something happened to me internally that I still don't understand." Barnett says "Describe what you felt." Tom says "I started to almost hyperventilate. I felt excited, yet scared. Nervous...yet, never so sure of anything in my life." Barnett says "Do you believe in love in first sight?" Tom laughs. "Oh come on, that's fairy tale stuff." Barnett asks "Did you feel like this when you met your first wife?" Tom thinks for a bit, then shrugs. "I thought she was cute at first, and I liked her and all, of course. But, I didn't feel this feeling of...DESTINY with her." Barnett asks "Destiny? Explain that." Tom smiles and shakes his head. "It was almost like I was looking into the rest of my life. I could almost see myself growing old with this woman, having kids...and just living the good life. A happy life." Barnett asks "What's a good and happy life for you?" Tom looks down. "A peaceful one. One where my problems are behind me, and I can just focus on living and loving life with someone I love and raising a child or two. Only, I was picturing that with this woman and not my current wife." Barnett says "I see. And you don't feel you're living a good life now with your current wife?" Tom shakes his head. "No, because I still have to do these missions where I risk my life. Eventually, I've dreamed of retiring early and raising a family with my wife, but it still seems so far away." Barnett asks "When you were having these...feelings, did you feel you were doing something wrong?" Tom says "Yes, and yet, at the same time, no. I love my wife, but when I looked at this woman, I felt this electricity run through me." Barnett nods. "Was this woman you met an agent?" Tom nods. "Yeah, she was one of two agents Argentine Intelligence sent to help us." Barnett leans forward. "What else happened between you two during the mission?" Tom says "Well, she saved my life. I was dead to rights and she saved me by killing my captors." Barnett says "How did that make you feel?" Tom says "It just made me want her more and more, like fate was reaching across and giving me a slap on the face and telling me that this is the woman I'm going to be with for the rest of my life. That's what made it so hard when I had to tell her I was married and I couldn't do anything about these feelings. My heart told me that my desire for the woman was right, but my conscience was telling me otherwise." Barnett says "How did she take it when you told her you couldn't pursue a relationship with her?" Tom says "Oddly, when I told her about the feelings I had at the bar, she told me she felt the same way at the bar. But, after I broke the bad news, she seemed to understand. Still, when I left, it hurt. It hurt me bad to leave her there. My heart longed for her, but I couldn't do anything about it..." Barnett finishes his sentence. "...because you love your wife." Tom nods his head. "Yeah..." Tom looks down. "And as much as I hate myself for not acting on these feelings about that woman, I hate myself just as much for even thinking about betraying my wife." Barnett says "You know, it's funny you mention this conflict of feelings. When I read your file, it was like I was reading the profile on two different people." Tom cocks his head quizzically. "What do you mean?" Barnett says "On one hand, your former directors say you walk the fine line of morality when you go on your missions. But, on the other hand, morality guides your decisions in your personal life and you don't veer from those moral obligations, and when you do, just as you did in this mission, you feel a sense of failure." Tom says "Failure?" Barnett continues. "In this case, your CIA life and your personal life crossed paths. The personal life told you that your sudden attraction for this woman as a weakness. But, you still were able to walk away in the end, loyal to your wife. That's not failure. Sticking to your guns isn't failure. You just were challenged in your personal life in a way you've never experienced before. And you passed the test. Many husbands and wives don't pass that test." Tom looks away for a bit. "I've almost gone out of the way in life to resist temptation." Barnett says "And as you said, it just reached across and slapped you in the face this mission. It happens. And you didn't back down." Tom looks at Barnett and smiles. "That's a good way of looking at it." Barnett says "Have you seen your wife since you got back?" Tom shakes his head. "No, I haven't." Barnett stands up. "Go be with her. I won't schedule another appointment because I think, when you walk in the door tonight, and see her for the first time in days, you'll remember why you stood up for your morals." Tom stands up and shakes her hand. "You could be right. Thank you for seeing me." Tom walks out of the office feeling better than he did when he left.

(The end of episode song I'd like played starting now is "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones)

Towson, MD- Tom's apartment

We see Tom pulling into his parking spot at his apartment. Tom steps out of his car and opens his trunk and grabs his luggage, then walks up the stairs to his apartment. Tom pulls out his keys and unlocks the door to his apartment, then opens the door. There to greet her is Kate, who leaps from the couch and runs into his arms. "Oh baby! I'm so glad you're home!" As Tom is holding on to Kate, we see him make quick flashbacks to Nadia in Argentina. Then, he steps back and looks at Kate's face. He then leans over and plants a long kiss on her lips. Tom pulls back and looks into Kate's eyes for a while. Kate says "What is it?" Tom smiles. "I just missed this face." Kate smiles. "I made some spaghetti..." Tom lifts Kate up and into his arms. "Spaghetti can wait. My sex drive can't." Tom then kicks the door closed and carries Kate into their bedroom and shuts the door. We stay outside of the room as we hear various moans and kissing sounds. Then, we hear Tom say "Oh Nadia..." (Stop the song with the sound of a record suddenly stopping in it's tracks) We hear Kate scream "WHO'S NADIA?" We hear Tom say "Uh, no one!" (Resume playing song as credits roll)

END OF EPISODE