Sydney crawls out of the underground tunnel and finds Dixon seriously wounded. She uses a satellite phone to call the CIA. A CIA helicopter flies Dixon to a nearby hospital, though Sydney conceals the truth from Sloane. Sydney is scared, as she thinks that Dixon may have heard her talking to the CIA. At SD-6, Dreyer tells Sloane that he believes 

Sydney is the mole because she scored too well on the lie detector test. Sloane is reluctant to agree, though he insists that he will "take care of Bristow." For her next assignment, Sydney is sent to Tuscany to steal information from Ineni Hassan's accountant. Despite Hassan's previous alliance with SD-6, he is now their enemy, and Sloane wants the numbers to Hassan's bank accounts so they can freeze his assets. After Sydney leaves, Sloane sends a message to his colleagues in SD-4. 

He orders Sydney's assassination, though the CIA intercepts the order. Vaughn quickly assembles a team to rescue Sydney. Jack learns of the kill order and, with Marshall's aid, discovers that the message was deliberately sent over the unsecured server previously infiltrated by Vaughn's team. Sloane is tempting the CIA, trying to draw them out. Jack argues with Vaughn, and prevents the CIA from interfering. The assassination attempt never occurs, and Sloane now believes that Sydney is loyal to SD-6. 

       In Italy, Donato explains that the symbol on the clock, <0>, is the mark of the Magnific Order of Rambaldi. When Sydney asks about a date engraved on the clock, Donato says that Rambaldi never told him what it meant. The old man returns the repaired clock, and a K-Directorate sniper, aiming for Sydney, kills Donato instead. Back at home, Sydney reads a book that her father had given to her mother. She uncovers a Russian code embedded on each page. At SD-6, Marshall discovers that the glass disc from the church in Malaga fits into the clock. When the artifacts are together, a star chart is revealed. Marshall deduces that the chart was made from a specific location on Mount Aconcagua, near the border of Chile and Argentina. 

Before Sydney and Dixon can travel to the mountain, Agent Dreyer gives Sydney a functional imaging test. He doesn't reveal the results to her, but he later 
confides to Sloane that "we've found our mole." At Mount Aconcagua, Sydney and Dixon discover a tunnel marked with the <0> symbol. Sydney goes in alone, leaving Dixon on the surface. Once underground, she discovers a book with designs from Rambaldi. Before Sydney can retrieve the book, Anna appears and grabs the book. As Sydney pursues her arch-rival, she falls from the rickety ladder and plunges into the darkness.

Copyright © March 2003