Nikita (2010–2013): Season 1, Episode 7 - The Recruit - full transcript

NIKITA: Six years ago,
I was taken from prison...

...and forced to become an assassin
for a secret unit of the government:

Black-ops program called Division
that has now gone rogue.

They destroyed my identity
and the man I loved.

Daniel.

I escaped. .. ..

...but there are others
who suffered my fate.

Recruits trained to serve Division
against their will.

My partner, Alex,
has infiltrated their ranks...

...and together
we'll free as many as we can.

Another piece in our plan
to take down Division.



Good morning.

Some of you have been in training
longer than others.

But none
have experienced real-world combat...

...as part of a strike team.

So today, we will be testing your skills
in a simulated close-quarters firefight.

Team Alpha
will be Thom, Ingrid and Luke.

Team Omega, Robbie, Alex and Sara.

During this sim,
while you are trying to survive...

...you only have a second
to decide who is your friend...

...and who is your enemy.

So choose carefully.

Give us courage and the quiet mind.

Spare to us our friends.

Soften to us our enemies.



Why do I have to read this crap?

I need a sample of your voice
for my text-to-speech program.

-So that once you're inside Division...
-Yeah. Can hear me on the thingy. Fine.

Can't I just read Us Weekly
or something?

Poetry's better for the sound.

And you may learn something.

Spare my friends? Kill my enemies?
Pretty clear on that.

If you know who your friends
and your enemies are, yes.

What do you mean?

You think I'm gonna make friends
inside Division?

Going through the program
changes you. Changed me.

The other recruits you'll meet,
they're not there by choice.

They've been abandoned
and abused like you...

...and me.

It's hard not to sympathize.

So I make friends.

That'll make getting intel even easier.
What?

Making friends isn't hard.

Losing them will be.

Trust me.

[Gunfire]

When you're in a group, I want you to look
at the recruit on either side of you.

Before you graduate,
one of them will die.

Okay, I'm gonna lay suppressing fire.

Move to the next cover on three.

-One, two...
-Go!

SARA:
Get down! Take cover!

ROBBIE:
Behind you. Behind you.

Move, move, move!

INGRID:
Duck!

THOM:
Ingrid, over here!

Hey, Sara, cover our 6. Our rear!

INGRID:
GO! GO!

ROBBIE:
Good eye, Alex. Good eye.

THOM:
Cover me!

ROBBIE:
Watch the rear, Sara. Back.

Ally, watch out!

[SUIT BEEPING]

[SIREN SOUNDING]

[sighs]

Team Omega, better luck next time.

THOM:
Way to go, Team Alpha.

Good stuff when you flanked me.
Perfect position.

Ingrid? You can do better.

Good eyes out there.

-Thanks.
-Sara?

-I don't wanna talk about it.
-We have to.

I get it, okay? I suck. I got us killed.

-And you're fine with that?
-Just...

-Hey. Go easy on her, man.
-Her failure is my failure.

-Hey, you're a team leader. You get that.
-Hey. Look at me. Look at me.

Look, everybody knows
how good you are, Robbie.

You're already set
to graduate this program.

Sara can't change that. Okay?

All right, come on.

-I'm sorry I got us killed.
-What? You saved my life out there.

[As SARA]
"Alex, watch out!"

it's just a game.

You know it's not.

Relax.

SARA:
I can't.

I got activated this morning.

ALEX:
What, for a mission?

Yeah. I know.

-Why me, right? Bottom of the barrel.
-Let me help you.

-How?
-After they brief you, come see me.

We can go over the plan together,
help you prep for the mission.

Okay. Maybe.

Thanks.

[ALARM BEEPS]

BIRKHOFF: You know, I pride myself
on keeping Division totally paperless.

Not everything
has to be a video game.

BIRKHOFF: You have an attachment
to things from the past.

Or things that have passed on.

It's okay to miss her, you know.

Niki was one in a million.
Force of nature.

Like a one-woman Michael Bay movie,
only with good acting.

-You miss her, huh?
-I mean, don't you?

Her death hasn't been confirmed yet.

Well, if she was still alive...

...why haven't we heard from her
in two weeks?

Denial is the first stage of grief,
my brother.

The last? Ahem, acceptance.

I guess I've accepted it.

Maybe you should too.

Need to fix the sights on this thing.

[Door BUZZES]

ALEX [OVER COMPUTER]: All I know is
that they're using a recruit. Strange choice.

Strange how?

ALEX [OVER COMPUTER]: She's tough,
but too sweet for Division.

Close to washing out.
Not sure why they picked her.

I think I do.

Your friend doesn't know it yet,
but she may have a suicide mission.

What?

Because I've seen it before.

Recruit, low-ranking, sent out alone.

We have to stop this.

This is a war to save our planet.

In war, people get hurt, people die.

They die for what they believe in.

My name is Tammy Smith,
and I believe.

I'm a child of Mother Earth,
and I will fight to protect my mother.

[CAMERA BEEPS]

Good job, Sara.

I, um...
I tried to put a Southern accent on it.

I noticed that.

Here. This is literature on the cell
you're going to be infiltrating.

They're called Eco-Front,
an environmental terrorist group.

Yeah, I figured with all of that
"fight for Mother Earth" talk.

The video is an important part
of your cover.

And these are terrorists?

On the surface,
they're a nonprofit group...

...but that's just a front
for extremists.

They've fire-bombed factories,
businesses, gated communities...

...and have yet to be caught
in the act.

That's why we're putting you
on the inside.

Their next demonstration...

...will be outside
the corporate headquarters of Texpro Oil.

It's where you'll make first contact.

[Door OPENS]

-This is our operative?
-This is Sara.

It's a very important mission, Sara.

Yes, sir.

Deep cover, minimal contact.

I'm ready, sir.

She's ready.

AMANDA:
Read the material. We'll find you.

I won't let you down.

This the device?

Lightweight
and filled with nanoexplosives.

-Remote trigger?
-Of course.

Client wants us
to minimize the collateral.

It is, after all, their facility.

If all goes to plan,
the only casualty should be Eco-Front.

That's not entirely true.

Sara was already scheduled
for cancellation.

Unless you wanna reverse that.

Let's see her confession.

SARA [ON TV]:
This is a war to save our planet.

In a war, people get hurt, people die.

They die for what they believe in.

My name is Tammy Smith,
and I believe.

Sara.

-So, what'd they say?
-Nothing.

-What? They canceled the mission?
-No.

-So tell me.
-Why do you wanna know so bad?

-I told you, I wanna help.
-I don't need it.

Sara, please.

What's the problem?

Look, I'm sorry, all right?

The mission is top-secret...

...and Percy trusts me,
and I don't wanna screw that up.

I can't.

It's not dangerous,
just a listen-and-learn. No wet work.

-Who's the target?
-I'll tell you when I get back.

Tell Robbie I'm trying not to suck.

ALEX [OVER COMPUTER]: Green and
white logo. Tree with a bird flying next to it.

-That's all I could get.
-Good work.

ALEX:
Nikita, this girl is worth saving.

They're all worth saving, Alex.

I'll let you know when I find her.

-I wanna see Percy.
-Not possible.

-Then I wanna see Michael.
-Why don't you go eat your lunch?

-Do your job and pass on my request.
-You wanna see me do my job?

THOM:
Ahh, Robbie, Robbie, Robbie. Come on.

I wanna know how the lowest-ranking
recruit gets assigned to field before me.

I know how. Sit down.

Look, you're right about Sara.

She doesn't rank with you,
but she's genuine and a good listener.

-What does that have to do with combat?
-Nothing.

Whatever they have her doing, they need
someone that doesn't look like a fighter.

Someone you don't notice.
A female you don't notice.

So they couldn't pick you.

Well, that's your guess, all right?
You don't know.

-I know you're not missing anything.
ALEX: Robbie's right, Thom.

I was sent out on a no-combat mission.
I almost got killed.

-That was different.
-No, it's not different. For any of us.

They can use us because we don't exist.
You told me that.

Doesn't matter if we get killed
because we're already dead.

I wouldn't be in such a rush
to get out there.

CROWD [CHANTING]:
If you spill, you kill.

If you spill, you kill.

If you spill, you kill.

So predictable.

AGENT:
Okay, recruit. Review the steps.

Enter the lobby.
Throw the oil on the artwork. Run.

-Let Security chase me to the protestors.
-I'll be monitoring you from here.

PERCY: Thank you.
Are we up on the security feed?

Texpro Oil, corporate lobby,
as requested.

Anything exciting
supposed to happen here?

You're on a need-to-know basis.

Shutting up.

Package is in play. The bomb is armed.

[CROWD SHOUTING]

BIRKHOFF: Okay, looks like Security
just dispatched another guard. They, uh ....

-Oh, holy night.
-Relax. They're rent-a-cops.

-No. It's Nikita.
-What?

Detonate. Now. Now, now.

-She's not clear of the lobby.
PERCY: Detonate the vest.

I said, now.

My guess is that's not chicken soup.

Nikita.

Oh, they finally showed you guys
a picture of me. That's nice.

I can't trigger.
Someone has jammed the frequency.

-Well, then you un-jam it.
-Tracing the signal.

Help him out.
Do something to detonate that vest!

[ALEX GRUNTING]

GUARD:
We got trouble.

-Stay right there. Back me up.
-Let us work this out.

[GUARDS GRUNTING]

[GRUNTS]

[sighs]

[BONES CRACKING]

MICHAEL: What's going on?
BIRKHOFF: Oh, nothing.

-Just confirming our girl's got 9000 lives.
-"Our girl"?

BIRKHOFF: Nikita.
-Status?

BIRKHOFF: She's probably using
a multi-frequency jammer.

I can't track it. The agent needs to locate
the device and disable it by hand.

CROWD [CHANTING]:
If you spill, you kill.

If you spill, you kill.

SARA:
Open up! Open up! We have to abort!

She's outside the van.
Bring her down.

SARA:
Unh! No!

[BOTH GRUNTING]

Wow.

MAN:
Hey!

[CROWD MURMURING]

[GASPS]

Pay attention, Sara.
That vest was on you a minute ago.

[POLICE SIRENS WAILING]

Cops are coming.
You gonna shoot me?

No, I'm gonna take you.

[FIRE TRUCK HORN HONKING]

Get in.

-Where to?
-What?

-North, south, east, west? Pick one.
-I don't know.

-You better figure it out pretty quick.
-Shut up. Just shut up.

-Division. I wanna go to Division.
-Division.

The people that tried to blow you up
with an explosive vest and then shoot you?

-Good call.
-Look, all I saw was an explosion.

Besides, when I bring you in...

You'll be a hero.
All right, give me directions.

Oh, that's right.
You don't know where they are.

-Yeah, but you do.
-Not anymore.

-I think they've moved since I left.
-I don't believe you. Drive faster.

-So we can get stopped by the cops?
-I said, speed up.

[SARA Grunts]

SARA [ON TV]:
This is a war to save our planet.

In a war, people get hurt, people die.

They die for what they believe in.

I am a child of Mother Earth,
and I will fight to protect my mother.

Amanda told you
you were confessing to a bombing, right?

They used you
to frame innocent people, Sara.

I... I don't... I don't get it.

I'm going to need your help.

I have to make sure
they're not gonna get away with it.

No. I have to go back.

-Please. I made a promise.
-Promise? To Division?

I won't... I won't tell them anything
about you, about this place, I swear.

That's right, you won't.

You walk through that door,
they'll put a bullet in your head.

No. No. They trust me.

You haven't been there in years.
You don't know what it's like.

[BOTH GRUNTING]

I know more about Division
than you'll ever know.

They promise you this life?
You know what you're gonna do?

You're gonna kill,
and you're gonna kill some more.

And one day, if you're very lucky...

...you're gonna remember
what it was like to be a human being.

I don't want you
to go through what I did, Sara.

Wouldn't wish that on anyone.

ALEX:
Nikita, where are you?

-Alex.
-Damn it. Don't creep up on me.

-Why? What are you doing?
-Nothing.

-I'm sorry, I'm just having a bad day.
-Yeah.

This place can drive you nuts
sometimes.

You know,
being down here day after day.

It's like, uh, cabin fever sets in.

Trust me, I know. I've been a recruit
longer than any of you.

How do you deal with it?

I focus on the future,
on the knowledge that I'm gonna get out.

Get out?

You mean break out?

I mean graduate.

I'm to report to my evaluation tomorrow.

Congrats.

Hey, you're looking at this
all wrong, Alex.

We're not expendable, we're important.

Division needs us.

You mean they need us
to kill for them.

[sighs]

I'm guessing you weren't born
with a silver spoon in your mouth, right?

Me...

...I was poor white trash.

That's it. No other word for it.
Before Division, I had no future.

Now I know computers,
languages, trade craft.

When I make field agent,
I'm gonna get to see the world.

Fast cars, fancy hotels,
Europe, Japan, whatever.

It's all stuff that I never dreamt
I'd get to do.

They're training us to be James Bond.

What's so bad about that?

What are you doing?

We are making a new video.

One where Tammy Smith reveals
she was actually paid by Texpro...

...to bomb their headquarters
in order to frame Eco-Front.

After we get this to the media,
I'll introduce you to a friend.

He's gonna set you up with
a new passport, whole new identity.

One you can use
for the rest of your life.

Preferably on a beach
in a tax-free country far, far away.

I can't leave.

NIKITA:
I thought we talked about that.

When I was 16, I had a baby.

My parents said
I was too young to be a mom...

...but they just didn't give me
a chance.

Instead, they took me
to this shady lawyer named Hershey.

They said that adoption
was the best answer.

You know, win-win.

The cash we got kept my parents high
for about a month.

I thought that if I graduated to agent
that I could find my son.

[sighs]

When I said I made a promise,
it wasn't to Division.

It was to my baby.

Did you tell anyone in Division
about him?

No.

Why? Because you knew instinctually
that it'd put him in danger one day?

I wish I would've kept
the person I loved a secret from them.

But I didn't...

...and now he's dead.

Look, Sara, I know it's painful...

...but you have to leave your past
where it is.

You're young enough
to start a new life.

That's the same line Division fed me.

Well, the difference is
I'm trying to help you...

...not control you.

I don't know what more I have to do
to make you believe that.

SARA:
So this guy any good?

Gustav? Yeah.
Couple years ago, he forged a passport...

...for the head of Homeland Security.
Story is the guy's still using it.

-Never noticed the difference.
-So you trust him?

Occasionally.

Government-issued ID,
work papers, student visa.

Everything you need.

-Thanks.
-Don't thank me yet.

-We still have work to do.
-Right.

So we make the video...

...saying I was working for Texpro
and not Eco-Front...

...and then I can go.

-No, then you go to school.
-What?

Takes more than the right papers
to disappear.

You learn to live off the grid
by yourself.

I can teach you, but it takes time.

First, we start by placing you
somewhere remote.

Strip your life down to hare essentials:
food, shelter, water, resupply.

Minimal contact with anyone
the first six months.

Six months?

While you're up there, I'll be looking
for a warmer place to move you to.

In the meantime,
we need to make that video.

Sara!

HERSHEY:
She's stunning. Beautiful baby. Absolutely.

I'll be in touch.

[sighs]

-Can I help you?
-You don't remember me, do you?

Five years ago, I had a son...

...and you said he would be better off
without me.

You were wrong.

Look, I'm sorry,
but I think you're mistaken.

[HERSHEY SCREAMS]

You sold my son.

Now tell me where he is,
or die right here.

[grunting]

You wanna go a few rounds?

Thanks, but I think I'll stick to the bag.

Just to be clear,
we both know I could take you.

Robbie, Amanda wants to see you
in her office.

It's my evaluation.

Good luck.

LOGAN:
Now, recruit.

Not recruit for long.

I can't say I'm gonna miss it
down here.

[Grunts]

Hello, Robbie.

Uh, where's Michael?

Michael's in Communications. Why?

Um ....

So you'll be administering
the evaluation?

There is no evaluation.
You've graduated.

AMANDA:
Congratulations.

I thought I had to go
on a mission to qualify.

AMANDA:
Hmm. l see.

There are different paths
one can take in service to Division...

...besides field agent.

You've been selected
for one of the most important.

An honor not to be taken lightly.

Hello, Guard Robbie.

Me and the other guys
are really excited...

...to welcome you into the family.

BIRKHOFF:
Sara's back on the grid.

-Looks like she's working solo.
-Where?

Surveillance cam caught her
stealing a car...

...outside a 7-Eleven in Cedar Crest,
New Jersey.

Good news is the car had a GPS system.

-Thought you trained them better.
-Just get me a location.

You know, a "please" now and then
would be nice.

-Where you going?
-To find Nikita.

Don't you mean Sara?

[SCOFFS]

-Tell me what you told the girl.
-She tried to kill me.

You'll live. Where'd you send her?

I'm not gonna call Social Services,
Mr. Hershey.

Doesn't matter to me
whether it was legal or not.

I just wanna know
where I can find the boy.

If I have to ask you one more time,
you're gonna wish Sara had killed you.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[Grunts]

Robbie?

-What's wrong?
-They told me that I was graduating...

...and then they gave me that.

They said I was structured.

That I followed orders well.
The other recruits look up to me.

Which is why
I'm perfect for internal security.

-I don't understand.
-A guard, Alex.

They made me a guard.

It means that I'm stuck down here
with the rest of you.

What am I supposed to do now?

Wait.

-What?
-You wait.

Focus on your future.

What future?

A guard has a lot more power
than you think.

They get to see things
no one else sees...

-...hear things no one else hears.
-So what?

So...

...you could use that
to your advantage.

Take what you see and hear,
and turn it into something you can use.

Use how?

You never know.

I do know.

There is no future for me.

This is what I deserve.
And I accept that.

[CHILDREN GIGGLING]

[DOOR OPENS AND GUN COCKS]

-Here we are again.
-I'm sorry.

-I didn't...
-Yes, you did.

You're a lot smarter
than you let on, Sara.

All this time, I'm trying to win your trust
while you're planning on running.

Wasn't a plan.

If it was a plan, you wouldn't have
stolen a car with a GPS.

Division didn't teach you that?

Let's go. They'll be here any minute.

SARA:
Just let me see him. Just once.

-I'm sure he's gonna be home soon.
-We don't have time.

Please.

You didn't come here to see him.
You came to take him.

I'm not gonna let you do it,
for his sake and for yours.

-He's my son.
-You don't even know his name.

If you take him, you'll be on the run,
unable to provide a home...

...always looking over your shoulder,
having to explain...

...why you took him away from
the only parents he's ever known.

Is that the life you want for him?

[CARS APPROACHING]

[TIRES SQUEALING]

Get in.

Hold on.

Nikita, get out of the car.

-How did they do that?
-They hacked the Bluetooth.

Stay low, do what I say.

[GUNS COCKING]

Hold your fire!

Nikita...

...I wanna take you both in alive.

It's too late. Sara's dead.

One of your men just killed her.
it's just you and me now.

This is Michael. Requesting
satellite image on my location.

[OVER RADIO] And get me two extra units
down here ASAP.

BIRKHOFF [OVER RADIO]:
Code 220. Agents respond.

ROBBIE:
I've been a recruit longer than you.

They told me that I was graduating.

I thought I had to go on a mission
to qualify.

AMANDA: There is no evaluation.
ROBBIE: They made me a guard.

THOM:
Everybody knows how good you are.

[VOICES MURMURING]

ROBBIE:
They said that I was structured.

Division needs us.

This is what I deserve.

LOGAN:
Robbie.

Robbie.

Are you deaf?

Pick up that gear, wipe it down,
and get it back to where it belongs.

You dumb-ass.

[GIRL GASPS]

[EQUIPMENT CLANKING]

Was that gunfire?

[Gunfire]

-Birkhoff.
BIRKHOFF: Michael.

Birkhoff, where's my backup?

BIRKHOFF:
Not coming. Division is in a Code Black.

[ALARM BLARING]

[MAN Grunts]

[PEOPLE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Hey. Hey. Don't go that way.

-Let go of me!
THOM: Alex, don't go that way!

[MAN Grunts]

Birkhoff, what's happening?

BIRKHOFF: Michael, you've been ordered
to get back here now.

Keep your head down.

-Head to Division.
AGENT: She's getting away.

Division's under attack.
Get us back there now.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. it's just me.

What happened?

Everything was moving so fast.

It was all closing in on me.
I couldn't do it anymore.

Okay, I'm gonna get you out of here.

There is no way out. This is it.

All right? This is where it ends.

You're wrong.

I know a back way out of Division.

A secret way no one knows about.

-I'm gonna help you escape.
-What back way?

I'll show you.

Come on, we don't have much time.

MAN 1: Go, go, go.
MAN 2: Get the drop on him.

MAN 1: Drop it, Robbie.
-You pull that trigger, and she dies.

Go on! You kill us,
there's more where we came from.

THOM: Robbie, come on. Put the gun down.
-You shut up!

Robbie. I'm sorry.

-You're sorry? You're sorry for what?
-This.

[TASER BUZZES AND ROBBIE SCREAMS]

MAN 1:
Robbie's down. Go. Go.

THOM:
Hey, hey. Come on.

MAN 1:
Let's move. Secure his weapon.

Not an easy week for us.

And Nikita got away again.

You ordered me to return to Division,
remember?

Fortunately,
that situation was resolved.

You confirmed the kill on Sara, right?

Yes. I saw her body in Nikita's car.

We can close the books on her.

Well, good.

Now she doesn't get to join
in Nikita's petty little victory.

What victory?

I recorded this earlier.

Nobody should blame Eco-Front
or any of their people for what I did.

For what Texpro Oil paid me to do.

The responsibility is mine
and mine alone.

I never wanted anybody to get hurt.

Oh.

It's time.

Just one more minute, okay?
it's not like I'm ever coming back here.

One more minute.

Then you have a new life to start.

He's gonna be a forward. Ha, ha.

WOMAN:
Daniel, honey, it's time for dinner.

DANIEL:
One more shot.

SARA:
Daniel.

It's a good name.

ALEX [OVER COMPUTER]:
Sara's safe?

As long as she follows my instructions,
she will be.

I wish she could know
how you helped get her out.

ALEX:
At least she's out.

I heard they executed
the one I told you about, Robbie.

I'm sorry, Alex.

ALEX:
You were right about getting close.

It hurts.

I know.

But if you felt nothing,
you'd be one of them.

You may be asking yourself
why you're here.

I suppose there are others
who would ask the same thing.

That is, if they knew
you were still alive.

I must say, we underestimated
your potential in certain areas.

The way you killed those guards,
no hesitation at all.

What do you want from me?

I told you before, Robbie...

...there are many different paths
one can take in service to Division.

Allow me to talk to you
about our Cleaner program.