Previously

A weaponized virus has surfaced on US soil, planned to be used against American citizens. Former federal agent Adam Black was brought back from prison to help the anti-terrorist agency ATC to locate and secure the virus from the market. This attempt was successful, and the virus ended up in the hands an unknown terrorist who is now using it as leverage against the President, who he appears to have a personal grudge with. It's been a long day with no end in sight.

November 1st, 2023. 9:30pm Los Angeles, California

Maria and Paul's Apartment

Bruce is waiting for Maria to pack her things so they can head back to ATC, but Maria starts to have second thoughts.

"Dad, you know what. I think I'll stay."

"Why?"

"The situation with Paul... Adam... Honestly, I think I'd rather stay out of it. You gonna be okay?"

Bruce gives his daughter a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, I hear you. I'll try to solve things out; I'll give you a call."

"Thanks for doing this, dad."

"Anything, sweetheart."

Bruce leaves the apartment.

Maria is then left alone to ponder. It all goes back to the phone call she had with Bruce earlier today. She knows Bruce is right about Adam. No matter what happens, there will never be a normal life between her and Adam. No matter how much Maria still loves Adam.

But how is she supposed to just abandon him, after everything?

---

Dietrich's Hideout

Dietrich is holding a vial of the virus in his hands, planning something, and Gwen is keen to learn what it is that he has in mind.

"So, what are you planning?"

"You'll see."

"I don't appreciate being kept in the dark, Dietrich. I went through hell getting that virus for you."

"And I paid you a rather large sum of money to do so, so maybe you're the one who should show some appreciation."

"You and I both know this is not about money."

"No, it's not. It's about the information stored in the SG-6 file. But it's also about what the American government took from me."

Gwen is all but ready to stop listening to Dietrich's melodramatics, but maintains her patience, hoping she doesn't have to do it for much longer.

"Yeah. I know. But what are you going to do with Adam?"

Dietrich decides to stop beating around the bush and asks her directly.

"What is your fascination with Adam Black, exactly?"

Gwen senses that this may be a problem, so she plays it carefully.

"Nothing particular. But I don't think it's necessary to kill him."

"I decide what's necessary. You secured the virus, but I've spent years putting this together. Ever since the American government took away my family, I've planned for this day. To get back at those responsible for taking away everything I loved from me. You would not be getting SG-6 if it wasn't for me. So don't you forget that. Adam Black is an enemy; he works for our enemy, Gwendolyne. And he's becoming a nuisance."

"I understand."

"Good."

Dietrich starts dialing the President's number.

"Now it's time to give our friend a call."

---

The White House

The President is discussing the situation in his office with Palmer Collins, and immediately gets the call and puts it on speaker. He's been waiting to hear from Dietrich for a good while now.

"You have my attention."

"Good day again, Mr. President. I hope, at this point, that I no longer need to remind you that I am better than ATC, and you should do as I say - unless you want hundreds of thousands of Americans to be fatally infected by the Azrael virus. All attempts made to stop me so far have failed, and they will continue to fail, so you should simply do as I say."

"What is it that you want now?"

"This time is going to be a little bit different. We're done doing practice runs. Your next assignment will be in two phases. Here's phase one. Within the last year, ten unauthorized Israeli outposts were retroactively legalized by the Israeli government in the West Bank."

A look of terror forms in the President's eyes, as he is terrified of what he is going to hear next.

"I also know for a fact that American drones are in place to be used in said area. You will use the full force of your drone army in the region to bomb these outposts off the face of the earth."

The President can't even reply at first, he stands up in shock and tries to form some semblance of thoughts.

"You seriously can not expect me to go along with that!"

"Oh, yes I do. You know what will happen. You know I have several vials of the Azrael virus at my disposal, and if you fail to comply with my wishes, hundreds of thousands of Americans will die a painful death."

"There's no way I can authorize this."

"So your government can find it within itself to authorize the bombing of certain innocent people, including women and children, but not others?"

"The world is more complicated than that."

"Well, your assignment is not complicated, Mr. President. I will call you back within the hour, and if you have successfully completed phase one, you will get the instructions for phase two. I will be in touch."

"This is out of the que-"

Dietrich hangs up the call.

The President is left mortified. Palmer Collins immediately steps in and urges the President not do anything stupid.

"Surely you can't be considering this, Mr. President? The ramifications of his request would be unfathomable."

"He has more of the vials left. He's shown us that he's more than willing to release the virus and kill American civilians."

"But bombing Israeli outposts in West Bank..."

"I know, Palmer. I know."

"I urge you to think this through, Mr. President. This will lead you to a slippery slope."

"I need to call ATC."

The President makes a call to Corey Simmons.

"Is ATC any closer to finding the man in possession of the Azrael virus?"

"We've managed to get close to his location, but haven't been able to pinpoint it. We're still looking into it, sir."

"If and when there's a new development, no matter how small, I demand that it's brought to my attention immediately."

"Yes, sir. Of course. Agent Douglas is on his way to bringing Adam Black and another suspect into custody as we speak. We will interrogate the suspect when he gets here."

"Thank you, Corey. Find this man."

"We're doing everything we can, sir."

Palmer takes the opportunity to approach the President about Adam.

"I will now take it upon myself, Mr. President, to remind you that had Adam Black not gotten involved the way he did at the mall, this could have been avoided hours ago."

The President doesn't enjoy it, but he must admit that Palmer is not exactly wrong.

"I don't completely disagree. Adam showcased an admirable amount of courage in saving those people, but he might have sentenced many more people to certain death. Let's hope that it's not the case."

---

ATC Headquarters

Adam and Kevin are brought into ATC by Paul.

Most of the staff members don't recognize Kevin, but there are a few veterans who know who he is and have worked with him in the past.

Kevin is the last person any of them expected to see today. He hasn't said a word since been captured by Adam at the roof, and he doesn't look cooperative at all.

Theodore and Kevin exchange brief eye contact but pretend as if they don't know each other.

Richard steps out of his office and sees Kevin. They had a close working relationship years ago. Richard has heard different stories about Kevin's involvement in the terrorist incident in Washington 18 months ago, Richard knows that Kevin went off the deep end after his wife Jessica died, but Kevin being involved in today's events is something that is difficult for him to comprehend.

Richard remembers the Kevin who loyally served his country for years.

"What the hell happened to you, Kevin?"

Kevin doesn't respond and doesn't even look Richard in the eyes.

"I'm talking to you."

Before Richard can press Kevin further, Simmons orders both Adam and Kevin to be placed into holding cells.

"I want both of them placed into holding. Make sure Adam doesn't lay a hand on him."

He then turns to Richard.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, that's Kevin Reese."

"Kevin Reese? That's Kevin Reese?"

"I haven't seen him in years, but that's definitely him. I don't understand this. Kevin was a patriot. I don't see how he could be involved with what's happened today. He took it hard when his wife died five and a half years ago, but a terrorist? Not the Kevin Reese I knew."

"Well, maybe he's not the Kevin Reese you once knew. You need to accept that, he doesn't deserve special treatment. Are we clear on that?"

"Yeah, we're clear."

"Good."

Before Adam is taken to holding, Richard wants to exchange a few words with him. He tells Paul to give them a second alone.

"Give me a moment with Adam."

Paul leaves the two alone.

"What is it, Richard?"

"What do you make of this? How is Kevin involved?"

"I don't know, Richard. I wish I did. They should let me question him."

"They'll never do that."

"I know Kev. I can talk to him, I can get through to him without the use of force. He's trained to withstand interrogation anyway. He went through the same training I did, you know that. I know when he's lying, I know how he thinks."

Richard knows Adam is right, but it's out of his hands.

"I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't have the authority to make that decision right now. Besides, that may not be the Kevin you knew."

"Well, he's in there somewhere, and no one else here can get through to him in time. Talk to Simmons."

Richard doesn't have to talk to Simmons, though as Bruce steps into the ATC HQ.

Bruce immediately asks to speak to Richard.

"Richard. What's the situation?"

"We just brought in a suspect."

"Well, that's good. What do we know about him?"

"Bruce, it's Kevin Reese."

The name hits Bruce like a ton of bricks. The name of the man who almost had his daughter killed a year and a half ago - as well as the name of a man who his daughter once considered as close as a brother.

"What? Are you sure this is not a mistake? I heard Kevin's dead."

"It only appeared that way. I guess he just went invisible after the incident in Washington."

"How is he involved?"

"We don't know that. Adam wants to question him and... I think he's the best man for the job. They were best friends."

Bruce agrees, but understands how that may not be feasible.

"Well, I agree. I'll have a chat with Mr. Regional Director."

Bruce takes Simmons to the side.

"I need to talk to you."

Bruce is the only person who Simmons treats with a semblance of respect. It was actually Bruce who, through his connections, had a significant role in Simmons landing his job in the first place.

"Sure thing, Mr. Miller. What is it?"

"I came here to see my daughter. I was surprised to learn that she wasn't working here right now. Apparently, you let her go. Is that true?"

"Yes. Yes, that is true. She was interfering with our investigation. With all due respect."

"I think you made a mistake. I'm willing to let that slide, but I do need you to listen to me. It's my understanding that the virus was already in Adam Black's possession earlier today, but a dirty agent named Gwendolyne DuClare, who worked for ATC for months, was able to secure it and get it in the hands of the man responsible for the day's events. Now, I'm sure you realize that as Regional Director, that falls on you."

"With all due respect, Mr. Miller, Richard..."

"No, no, Corey. It does fall on you. You go through all the hirings that take place. Someone has to take the fall, and the buck stops at you. Now, I have the power to convince agent Douglas to invoke Section 29 under these circumstances, but if you want to keep working here and help your case by leading ATC through this crisis, I'm going to need something from you."

For the first time in a long time, someone has gotten the better of Simmons, and he agrees to cooperate.

"What do you need?"

"I believe Adam Black is the best man to conduct an interrogation on Kevin Reese. The two were best friends for years. No interrogation technique is more powerful than the relationship those two share."

"I don't like this, but I'll agree to this."

"Thank you, Corey."

Simmons orders Adam to be released from holding in order to interrogate Kevin.

An agent opens the door to Adam's cell.

"Simmons ordered you to interrogate the suspect."

Adam doesn't understand what has happened to convince Simmons to make a good decision, but he gets up from the bed and out of his cell, as the agent enters the number combination on the keypad next to Kevin's cell. Before Adam steps into the cell, Bruce has a few words with him.

"Adam."

"Bruce. What are you doing here?"

"Long story. Right now you need to get something out of Kevin, ATC is running out of options. But I'm telling you: don't do anything stupid. I can make things happen around here, but there are things I can't justify."

"Yeah, I gotcha."

Adam enters the holding cell. He and Kevin stare a hole in each other.

Kevin sits behind a desk with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Adam takes a chair, turns it around and leans his body on the back of the chair, ready to begin the interrogation.