7. Prelude

Complete story — includes the ending

Sydney accompanies Sloane on a Covenant assignment to steal a maser OS from the Chinese Defense Minister's office. Marshall uses a camouflaged remote-control car to disable security, allowing Sydney to break into a safe. Discovered, Sydney overpowers guards, scrambles the OS and escapes. Sloane gives Sydney a key and coded message in Sydney's handwriting, leading to Julia Thorne's Rome apartment. Jack explains it was encoded with Irina's method, suggesting they might've had recent contact. In Mexico, Vaughn and Lauren try to extradite Javier Perez, who claims to know about Lazarey's murder. They are taken hostage en route, giving Jack a chance to kill Perez, making it appear as a suicide. Claiming to be interested in avenging his father's death, Sark provides Lauren evidence that Julia Thorne is really Sydney, who killed Lazarey. Vaughn helps Sydney escape before being arrested by the National Security Council. Lauren tells Dixon that he is no longer in charge of the task force due to obstructing her investigation. Sydney enters the apartment in Rome. She recognizes an angelic statue outside her window – the same recurring figure in her nightmares. But before she can recall more, Sydney is suddenly arrested by Italian policemen.