"Invisible Sword." We have three days
to find and destroy it.
Close your eyes.
[Alex] You said my father was your friend.
I saw what The Department did to him.
[Mrs Jones] The prisoners are in position. Take the shot.
[gunshot]
[Alex] You must've wanted revenge.
[Yassen] You need to move past it.
[Alex] If this isn't personal for you, why do you do it?
- [Yassen] Because it's my job. - [gunshot]
And I'm good at it.
You could be too.
But you need to take emotion out of the equation.
She killed him.
You lied to me.
You killed my dad.
- Say something! - I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Alex.
[Mrs Jones gasps]
[gunshots]
[pensive music playing]
Julia Rothman sent you?
How did you know?
Jack told us.
And Tom. And Kyra.
Don't say their names.
Okay.
SCORPIA told me the truth.
For the first time.
I heard you say it.
I heard you say, "Take the shot."
Are you going to kill me, Alex?
It's okay. It's okay.
It's okay.
- Are you hurt? - Why do you care?
Of course I care.
Not just because you're my agent.
I'm not your agent.
Not anymore.
Sit down.
I'm so sorry.
I know all of this is my fault.
Do you mind if I get a drink?
What a mess.
All the lies and the double-crosses.
Nothing seems real anymore.
Until people die.
Then it's real.
Do you have a panic button?
Yes.
You should press it.
I have. I'm sorry.
Alex, we don't have much time,
but I need you to know one thing.
You could have killed me then, but you didn't.
- Because I'm weak. - No, you're not weak.
You're not a murderer.
You're not like SCORPIA.
You're not like us, I need you to remember that.
You're one of the strongest people I've ever met.
[door crashing]
It's about to get very complicated, Alex.
- [man 1] Stay where you are! - [man 2] Do not move!
On your knees.
[theme music playing]
[suspenseful music playing]
You sure it was here?
Disturbance in one of the warehouses, apparently.
- I thought all these were empty. - Supposed to be.
[thudding]
[into radio] MP from Sierra Lima 4, state 2 on Grosvenor Lane north.
[female officer] Evening.
Sorry to bother you.
Hi. Everything all right?
Yeah, it's just, we thought this place was empty.
Oh, we've only just moved in.
Short lease.
I think Mr McAuley got himself a bit of a deal.
[female officer] You look busy.
- What exactly are you building? - [man] Perhaps I can explain.
[silenced gunshots]
Nikolai, get those out of the way.
And make sure we're ready to deploy within the hour.
He shot to miss.
- [Blunt] You all right? - Fine.
Body bag.
[siren]
[suspenseful music playing]
He didn't kill me.
You don't say.
They showed him the bridge.
To have seen that, and not taken the shot,
he is extraordinary.
He always has been.
Now we have to decide how to handle this. And we need to decide now.
We have less than 48 hours.
I don't mean SCORPIA. I mean Alex.
You think he's not SCORPIA?
He's one of us.
If you don't believe me, you should go talk to him.
We need him and he needs us.
[dramatic music playing]
[woman] Did Lawrence send you the information you needed?
[Nile] Yes. The plans,
engineering calculations, everything's signed off.
We'll be using the 19th-century reclaimed Bath stone for repairs.
Access to the roof is up there?
212 steps.
But you get beautiful views.
You can see the whole city from the tower.
Thank you, Lisa, we'll take it from here.
As of now, this side of the abbey and access to the roof
is off-limits to the public.
Of course.
And you don't think the repairs will take long?
It'll all be over very soon, I promise.
[pensive music playing]
Wait. Wait.
Hey. Get those off him.
Get those off him!
- Sir, we were told-- - Do as he says.
Hey.
You'll be all right, okay?
You wait and see.
So, you're the good cops, then?
We're long past that kind of thing, don't you think?
[Blunt] My office.
They told you about the bridge?
- They showed me the bridge. - I wish there was time to talk about that.
Make time.
Can't.
Hundred thousand lives are at stake, the clock is ticking.
- I need your help. - I'm not helping you.
Then people are going to die.
Invisible Sword...
I can save you some time. I don't know anything about it.
I need the name of the city.
What city?
The city SCORPIA are targetting.
The city they're going to destroy.
I don't know.
Please, Alex.
Please.
You were inside SCORPIA.
Something overheard, something glimpsed.
A name. A map, a picture.
Anything. They must've told you something.
Yeah, they told me the truth.
They told me about my dad.
About the fight in the pub,
the dishonourable discharge,
prison, SCORPIA...
Everything you kept hidden.
You can't help lying, can you?
The truth can be complicated.
I saw what happened on that bridge.
My dad was unarmed, Mrs Jones put a bullet in his back.
Alex.
SCORPIA are 24 hours away from destroying a British city.
It's my job to stop it.
I don't know how.
I know you're angry with me.
That doesn't even begin--
And I also know that you're not a monster.
Eleven innocent people have already died.
- What are you talking about? - A football team.
Young people, barely older than you.
Sacrificed.
As a demonstration of SCORPIA's will.
Hundreds of thousands of lives will follow.
This is bigger than you and me.
This is bigger than one man's life.
Even if that man was your father.
I don't know the city.
I only know the name of the operation. Invisible Sword.
That's all.
I don't know what it is, how it works.
I don't know anything about a target.
[buzzer sounds]
Well, it was worth a try. Long shot.
Thank you, Alex.
Take him away.
Alex?
[suspenseful music playing]
[tablet chiming]
You're supposed to be here by now.
[Yassen] There were complications.
What complications?
- What's your mission status? - Qualified.
Jones is dead.
We had a body bag at the scene.
I compromised computer severs at the morgue
to retrieve the autopsy report.
Two shots to the torso, one to the head.
I'm sending it to you now.
And what went wrong?
Alex was captured.
The Department have him.
Come in. Immediately.
What are we doing here?
Where did you think we were going?
Prison?
Have you actually done anything worth going to prison for?
Blunt said SCORPIA are targetting a city.
- Yes. - And people already died.
I was there. I was supposed to be protecting them.
Get some rest.
If you need us, you know where we are.
[door closes]
- [Jack] Alex! - [Alex] Hey.
[Tom] Oh, man.
We thought, well, I don't even know what we thought.
[Jack] You are never leaving this house again, you hear me?
If you try, I'm gonna staple you to the table.
- [Tom] You okay? - I'm okay.
Jack's squeezing me pretty hard, though.
You'd better be okay.
It's good to have you back, man. Seriously.
Even with the dodgy tatt.
[chuckles]
It's good to be back.
SCORPIA left you alone?
I hope so.
Are they looking for you?
I doubt it.
The Department made sure SCORPIA knew I'd been arrested.
Keeps me off their radar. For now, at least.
[Tom] They arrested you? For what?
What happened?
They let me go.
That was us.
I didn't want to trust them, but Jack was like:
"If you don't help Alex, we're giving you nothing."
You guys are amazing.
It was no stress, bro.
We came in, bang, with the video footage,
and Kyra came through with, "You want the GPS for their base?"
Bang again. You should've seen their faces, man.
[emotional music playing]
Hey, Kyra.
Hey, Alex.
You want some coffee, something to eat?
No, I'm good. I want, um...
I need to tell you guys something.
I let you down.
I'm sorry.
[Jack] It's okay.
Alex, whatever happened, you're home. So it's okay.
No, it's not okay.
We all know it, so let's stop pretending.
You went into Consanto to stop SCORPIA...
and you ended up working for them.
Tell us what really happened.
Have SCORPIA reestablished communication?
No.
[Smithers] We're trying every 30 minutes, keeping the channel open.
No response.
We've hit a problem.
[Mrs Jones] Home Secretary.
What are you doing here?
I work here, in case you hadn't noticed.
[Kellner] You were the subject of an assassination attempt.
You should be relieved of duty pending a psych evaluation--
All of which we don't have time for right now.
SCORPIA are due to strike in one day.
What's your problem?
The PM's met with the Treasury.
He thought we could raise the money
to meet SCORPIA's demands by liquidating overseas assets.
But it's impossible.
There's just simply not enough time.
No.
So I need another option.
I thought other options were off the table.
Not anymore.
What do you have?
You don't like me, that's fine, but I'm not stupid.
You've been pursuing this regardless of instruction.
Of course you have.
I need something I can take to the PM. And I need it now.
We may have one other option.
An agent in place.
An agent in place? How's that possible? Who is it?
Obviously, we can't be specific, but it might give us the edge.
If you will allow us to get on with our work.
Understood.
I'll report back to the cabinet.
- Do we really have an agent in place? - We will.
[Jack] They wanted you to shoot her?
Why? Why would they even think you could do something like that?
At the graveyard, you said you knew who killed your father.
Was that her?
Was that Mrs Jones?
No way.
You said you wanted to be free.
[Alex] I did.
But not like that.
What about the old man? In Malta.
[Alex] I thought we were just breaking in.
Stealing something. One last assignment to get them to trust me.
So I planned it.
Got us in.
Past all the alarms, all the security.
And then Yassen...
Yassen?
[Alex] I couldn't stop him.
- Yassen killed him. - It was my fault. I got us in.
No. Breaking into houses is not killing people.
Different things. Everyone breaks into houses.
- [Tom] Why not talk to us? We were there. - I wanted to, but I was scared.
Scared of what?
What you'd think of me.
They wanted you there, Alex. They wanted you to see that man die.
Wanted you to feel guilty, so you'd think it was your fault.
Why?
[Jack] So you'd think, "I'm part of this now, I must be one of them."
So did it work?
Are you one of them?
No.
If you have any more options, by all means, let's hear them.
I wish I did.
He's never felt more betrayed by us.
You think this is a good moment to use him?
No. Not use him.
Stop treating him like an asset, start treating him like a human being.
Trust your agent.
What about your duty of care?
Our duty of care
would be to have faith in him and support him.
He's much stronger than you think.
He's proven that time and time again.
What would you do in my position?
I would start by telling him the truth.
All of it.
You lost the ink.
Yeah.
It, uh...
washes off.
So it's really you now?
Really me.
Are we sure? Not an evil clone?
I promise. No more evil clones.
And that's it?
You're done with SCORPIA? It's over?
[pensive music playing]
Blunt said SCORPIA are gonna kill a lot of people.
The thing they were making in Consanto is called Invisible Sword,
and it's here, in Britain.
When did we start trusting Alan Blunt?
You know what?
I think this time, he might actually be desperate.
He knows SCORPIA are coming, and he doesn't have a plan.
He doesn't know what to do.
- I think he's scared. - And you want to help him?
After everything they've done to you? What you found out?
- The people who are gonna die don't care-- - I care!
Alex, you know what she did.
You had a gun. You had a chance.
And I couldn't do it.
I wouldn't.
Didn't you want to?
For your father?
SCORPIA tried really hard.
Really hard.
But that's just not who I am.
Why not?
- Why do you always have to be so you? - Kyra, I'm sorry.
No, stop saying sorry. Stop helping people that don't deserve it.
What am I meant to do, just stand around?
Shut up, spyboy.
[emotional music playing]
Okay.
- Mm-hmm. - Yeah.
Move out the way!
What's all this?
Tom has kindly volunteered to cook us all dinner.
Celebration dinner.
Really? We can just order something.
Come on. You survived SCORPIA, you can survive this.
[Tom] Oh, rude.
Both of you. Very rude.
What's up with you?
What do you mean?
- Something's different. - Just good to be home.
I can see that.
Okay. Presenting.
Barbecue pineapple pita pockets.
That's a thing, right?
I'm too young to die.
Oh, and she's back.
I preferred it when you were all quiet and moody.
Thanks.
[knocking on door]
Alex...
It's all right. I'll take a look.
[suspenseful music playing]
Remember, they can't hurt you unless you invite them in.
- That's vampires. - I know.
You don't have to.
I know.
It's okay.
[gentle music playing]
What can I do for you?
Shall we go for a drive?
Where would we be going?
Back to the beginning.
So your little protégé got himself captured.
It's a pity, that. He showed such promise.
Should we blame the pupil? Or the teacher?
So, what happened?
Most likely, she tripped a personal alarm before Alex completed the mission.
It's a shame. I wanted him here.
[Yassen] We can still do that.
We need an extraction plan.
If I'd stayed in London, I could've begun preparations.
No, there's not gonna be any extraction.
He's an asset. We need him back.
Actually, both those statements are wrong.
Julia, I can get him. I know their operational methodology.
They'll interrogate him, then transport him to a secure facility.
There's a window of opportunity there, one we've used before.
- Give me the word, I can get him out. - Listen, Yassen.
Alex Rider's gone. It's too bad, but it's over now.
The truth is, I only wanted him here to see him die.
Why would Alex die if he was here?
Because he's been exposed to the cyanide nanoparticles.
I dosed him with the vapor myself. I told him it was pain relief.
And why would you do that?
So that when he came here, fresh from killing his own handler,
entirely turned, and entirely trusting,
I could watch his eyes when he realised he'd got everything wrong.
So...
does it upset you?
You shouldn't be upset.
You're just upset because you don't understand either.
Sit down.
[suspenseful music playing]
I'm gonna tell you a story.
A story? About what?
About your friend John Rider.
This is the place.
Why'd you bring me here?
Are you gonna kill me too?
I'm gonna tell you the truth.
The fight in the pub.
It was faked.
The death, the prison sentence, all of it.
So, Julia Rothman just made it up?
No, we did.
Your father never worked for SCORPIA.
He always worked for us. Always.
We recruited John when he was 27 years old.
He was already a highly trained, highly decorated soldier.
At that time, we already knew
that SCORPIA were the single most dangerous emergent threat
since the Cold War.
But we knew very little else.
So we desperately needed someone on the inside.
[man] ...kick off in a minute, mate, or I'm gonna kick off in a minute.
- Can't we talk about something else? - Drop it, mate.
What's your problem?
We arranged it very carefully.
John played his part perfectly.
Should never have been in Afghanistan,
and they still got their arses kicked, bunch of cowards.
Fella. You've got rather a big mouth on you, ain't you?
- Oh, yeah? - Yeah.
[men shouting and grunting]
Get out of the way. Get out!
[barman] Break it up, you lot. That's enough, I say.
That's enough!
Break it up. Enough, I say! That's enough!
Leave it!
You're saying...
it was a setup?
Yes.
It had to look genuine.
To everyone.
The public, the police.
Everyone.
You bloody killed him.
[Blunt] We had seven agents in the room.
The victim, obviously.
Six bystanders, to establish the death and to restrain John.
The ambulance crew were ours.
Beyond that, the police, the courts...
We let the system take him.
And we waited.
And SCORPIA were watching.
[Julia] A decorated officer...
dishonoured, discarded.
A proven killer with a grudge against the British government.
He was perfect.
But he was working for you?
Always.
John was embedded inside SCORPIA for three years.
During that time,
we learned a very great deal about their organisation,
about their operational behaviour, and their long-term ambitions.
So why did he stop?
Because the risks were increasing, and John was conscious of that.
And when your mother became pregnant with you,
John had a decision to make.
Be a good agent or be a good father.
He chose you.
So we staged John's capture, brought him home.
Originally, our plan was to announce that he'd been extradited
to Guantánamo or somewhere.
Wait for SCORPIA to lose interest.
Give him a new identity, a new life.
And your mother, and you.
But...
John had a better idea.
[Yassen] This is the operation where they...
set up the trap.
To rescue him?
We saw them kill him.
You saw what they wanted you to see.
[Blunt] He insisted we use his exit
to facilitate the release of another of our people.
[Alex] The hostage exchange.
[Blunt] They arrived right on time.
[suspenseful music playing]
Mrs Jones had tactical control.
It was her first command.
She was very young...
but he trusted her.
[Mrs Jones] How are you feeling?
Like someone should be paying me more.
Well, you know Blunt doesn't approve overtime.
I hear SCORPIA pay really well.
Put your handcuffs on.
Jones to all units.
Prisoners are in position.
We're ready for exchange. Remember...
nobody fires unless ordered.
Tac 1, Jones.
Take the shot.
[gunshot]
[Blunt] It had to be a real bullet from a real gun.
It had to have force.
If we'd used a blank, SCORPIA would have known the difference.
Body armour?
Yes, but only on the back, which was risky.
But he trusted his team.
And it worked.
[gunshots]
[exhales]
It was a setup. An extraction.
They played us.
He was never one of us.
He was never your friend.
He was a British agent all along.
It only took me six months to track him down.
Him, and his wife, and his baby.
The plane crash.
It was a bomb.
If you'd been there...
you'd have been killed too.
Julia Rothman.
We don't know who.
It was Julia.
The intelligence John gathered during that time...
enabled us to strike at the very heart of SCORPIA.
Within months, we'd dismantled their entire operation.
Your father was a hero.
They both were.
Thanks for telling me.
[Julia] So, you see now?
Right?
This is what Max Grendel understood.
It's personal for you.
You're using all of SCORPIA for your own vendetta.
I am SCORPIA.
It's a good story, Julia, but John never deceived me or played me.
But he got his intel from you, right?
So you were played, you were deceived...
it's never personal.
But now, you...
You think you can erase your sense of failure
or humiliation...
by taking vengeance on a child?
It's quite mad, Julia.
Remember your place.
I know my place.
[dramatic music playing]
SCORPIA are here.
Yes.
- And people are gonna die. - Yes.
You said, "Get a body bag."
The first thing you did when you came through Mrs Jones' door,
you said, "Get a body bag."
You wanted it to look like I'd succeeded. Like Mrs Jones was dead.
You had them get a body bag,
and put me in cuffs and a hood, and drive me away.
I thought it best to keep our options open.
You're always eight steps ahead, aren't you?
Bluff, double-bluff, triple-bluff...
Sometimes.
But you can lose yourself.
For example, it wasn't my idea to bring you here.
Mrs Jones.
You've been inside.
You've been one of them.
- I told you everything I know. - I know.
But that's not it, is it?
No.
Three questions and you tell me the truth.
All right.
Am I an agent?
Yes.
- Do you trust me? - Yes.
Can I trust you?
You have my word.
Tell me what you need.
I need to know that you're your father's son.
[upbeat electronic music]
[door closes]
Hey.
Hi.
You waited up.
Tom's gone home.
Kyra's asleep on the couch.
How was your drive?
They need my help.
To do what?
Destroy SCORPIA.
You gonna try and talk me out of it?
Hell no.
I'm proud of you.
You go burn them to the ground.
But make sure you come home.
You got a lot to come home to.
I'm coming home.
I promise.
[closing music playing]