Truth Takes Time

Episode Number: 2.18

Original Air Date: March 16, 2003

Summary:
The episode begins with Syd crying over the body of a woman whose face we can't see. Is it Irina?

We flash back a few days to pick up where the last ep left off. Jack took out the tracking device as per Irina's request and we thought Jack had gone soft. But it's revealed that Jack, despite sleeping with Irina, never trusted her. He replaced her first tracking device with another one while they were making love. Sneaky! He knew Irina was going to betray them and let her go so that they could trace Sloane's movements and go after him when he least expected it. Becauseof this, Jack is given Kendall's job. They go after Irina.

Because Vaughn's suspicions were correct, he's only given a slap on the wrist for using the ICE program. He still has to go through and investigation but he's sure everything will be fine. He and Sydney go to dinner with Will and Francie, and Francie presents Vaughn with a tie, which sort of creeps everyone else out. Sydney also finds it suspicious when they discuss guys they've dated and Francie seems to have forgotten about a guy that Francie loved. Syd can't believe she'd ever forget. But she blows it off.

Meanwhile, Sark realizes that the CIA must be onto them, and Irina realizes right away that Jack must have implanted another tracking device in her. She rips open her shirt and orders Sark to zap her with a defibrillator to short out the device. He does. The CIA infiltrates the building she and Sark are in and Sark shoots Vaughn. Syd stops to help him but Vaughn tells her to go after Sark. Thankfully, Vaughn was wearing a bulletproof vest so he's okay and joins her again later. They follow Sark and Irina, and Irina sees Sydney and calls out to her. She tells her to get out of the building because it's going to blow up. They chase her and get out of the building just in time.

Sloane is in Italy with Emily and she realizes that he's still being a bad guy, which he'd promised her he would stop. He'd promised her it was all over and she realizes he's lying to her again. Emily walks into CIA headquarters and agrees to bring him down. Syd goes to meet her and is shocked to see her still alive. Emily apologizes but tells her it was the only way. She agrees to wear a wire, but the only way she'll set up Sloane is if she gets Sydney's word that they won't seek the death penalty for him.

Sloane brings Irina back home and she sees Emily for the first time in years. Emily is shocked to know Irina is alive. Later, Emily is wearing a wire and waiting for the CIA to infiltrate. She's very nervous. She eventually can't go through with it. She tells Sloane that she's wearing the wire and apologizes. She was just so scared. Sloane forgives her and they take off together.

Syndey chases after Irina. Vaughn warned her earlier in the ep that eventually she'd have to face Irina again, and she couldn't hesitate or she'd be killed. Syd promised she wouldn't hesitate. She'd been betrayed in the worst way and she would never forgive Irina. But Syd does hesitate for a moment, only for a moment, then shoots Irina in the arm. Irina still manages to get away.

The CIA is watching Sloane, Emily and Irina trying to escape and they tell Dixon to shoot Sloane at the first chance. Dixon fires, but hits Emily on accident. Sloane is furious. Irina manages to get him back into the helicopter. Sydney runs to Emily's body completely devestated. We see that this is the body Syd was leaning over at the beginning of the ep.

Back at Syd's apartment, Vaughn and Syd are in bed when they hear a clicking sound. syd looks around and realizes it's coming from her mother' earrings. It's morse code. She uncodes the message, which says, "Truth Takes Time."