Snowman

Episode Number: 1.19

Original Air Date: April 14, 2002

Written By: Jesse Alexander & Jeff Pinkner

Directed By: Barnet Kellman

Summary:
Sydney wakes up to find Noah gone from their makeshift bed, only to be surprised when he sneaks up behind her. He tells her they've been found and they have to leave. They dress quickly and barely escape being shot. They get on a motorcycle and, later, are extracted by a spy-plane that carries them off to safety in a very cool rescue scene.

Back in LA, Sydney and Vaughn go over what she pulled out of the super computer. They learn that Khasinau is really unpopular, being hunted by SD-6, CIA, and K-Directorate. K-Directorate has hired an assassin named "Snowman" to kill Khasinau. Back at SD-6, Noah tells Sydney that he's got money stored away. That he wants out of the SD-6 life, and he wants her to run off with him. Sydney promises to think about it, but she can't tell him the truth about why she's still with SD-6. Plus, she's on a warpath to find her mother.

Francie and Will go through some theories as to why Sydney would lie to them about going to Boston. They decide to confront her about it when she gets home.

Sloane doesn't trust Noah. He finds Noah's hidden accounts, with millions of dollars in them, and thinks Noah could possibly be working for the man. They take Noah off to be questioned. Sydney and Jack talk about the files recovered from the super-computer, which included information about her mother. Video feeds were found, and she plans on watching them. But Jack couldn't, or wouldn't, watch them. Sydney does, and sees her mother, after she'd been presumed dead, being interrogated by her superiors at the KGB. Sydney watches as one of the men questioning her turns around… and it's Khasinau. The other man questioning her mother was FBI Agent Calder who had been killed in the car chase…or so we thought.

Later, Sydney and Jack meet up and talk about going after Khasinau themselves, and Jack tells Sydney about Noah's off-shore accounts. Jack tells her Sloane doesn't trust him and wants him killed. Sydney begs her father to talk to Sloane, that she knows what that money is for and from. But Jack refuses, thinking she's foolish. She's not thinking straight and she can't trust Noah. He tells her she reminds him of himself, when it came to Laura.

At the CIA, Vaughn meets up with an informant he believes knows the whereabouts of "Snowman." The man has been viciously attacked and covered in scars. He wants nothing more than to help Vaughn find him. Back at SD-6, Jack goes against his own advice, and talks to Sloane about Noah. He tries to convince Sloane that Noah's bank accounts are circumstantial, and that he could be an asset in bringing down Khasinau. Later Sydney walks through the SD-6 offices and sees Jack. He points to the side and she sees Noah is talking to Marshall. The look in her eyes conveys thanks and love to her father. She goes and joins Noah and Marshall, while Jack looks on concerned. He doesn't want her heart broken. Sloane gives them the go-ahead for Sydney's plan to bring Khasinau down. Sydney and Noah sneak into a room holding the files, and they use a nice Marshall-gadget that mutes any sound around them. Unfortunately, they can't hear each other either, and when Sydney is dangling in the air on a wire, and the wire begins to fall, Noah can't hear it. If she touches the floor, the alarms will go off. Luckily, just before Sydney hits the floor Noah catches the wire, slashing his arm severely. Later we see Noah's arm all bandaged up.

Back at Sd-6, Jack can't fight the temptation to watch the video tapes. Laura/Irina says some harsh things about Jack on the tapes, and we can almost hear his heart breaking as he watches them. Jack goes to meet with the CIA shrink…voluntarily. Sydney arrives home to Francie and Will, who stare at her, not knowing what to say. Finally Francie hands her the ticket and asks what's up. Sydney, thinking quickly, tells them that her company sends her all around the world to rich clients who don't want to be found. It's legal, but it's just not something they want to advertise. Francie and Will breath a sigh of relief as Sydney goes off into the bathroom. She hates lying to them.

Sloane assigns Noah on another mission that would take him away for years. But Sydney overhears and tells Sloane it's not a good idea, obviously wanting to keep Noah close to her. But Noah says he volunteered, and Sydney realizes he's going to disappear. They meet each other later on a beautiful beach to talk in private, and Noah tells her he's basically running away from SD-6. He's getting her a plane ticket and wants her to go with him. He tells her he'll help her find her mother. Marshall finds out some information on Calder in the recovered files, and Sydney is sent on a mission to Australia with Dixon. Before she goes, she meets with Vaughn, who knows something is wrong. She can't tell him.

In Australia, Sydney breaks into Calder's house, but there doesn't seem to be anyone around. She finds the "Snowman" killing Calder and they begin to fight. Eventually, Sydney beats the Snowman and he lands on a knife she's holding. He falls to the floor in pain. He's going to die. Sydney looks closer and sees the man has a bandage wrapped around his arm. She realizes right away who it is, but can't believe it. Snowman allows her to take off his mask, and we see it was Noah all along. She cries and he tells her he tried to keep her "from all this." Dixon enters the room, astonished to see Noah, as Sydney cries over his body.