Sydney walks down a subway, opens a secret doorway and enters an office. Director Chase is there and welcomes her. She explains Langley approved this black ops division only months ago. Dixon, Jack, Vaughn are all there -- a team handpicked by Sloane. Chase privately tells Syd that they need Sloane's contacts -- and the team is a safeguard against Sloane's potential treachery.

Sloane explains that their covert unit is like the CIA's own SD-6, called APO -- Authorized Personnel Only. Their first mission targets a Russian scientist named Yuri Kamarov, who wants to sell an isotope to an unknown buyer on a Belorussian train. Vaughn will act as the buyer while Syd grabs the isotope. She's openly disdainful toward Sloane.

On the train, Syd barges in to Kamarov's room claiming that it's her room. Vaughn poses as Kamarov and meets the buyer, who works for a Mr. Vadik, while Sydney occupies the real scientist. The buyer recognizes Vaughn and puts a thug on him as he leaves. Vaughn signals Syd, who swipes the isotope. Vaughn beats the thug and races to save Syd. He throws her assailant off the train. They make love. After, he asks Syd what happened at Wittenburg. Syd flashes back -- she's reading a top-secret document as Jack enters.

Sloane plans for Syd to talk to Nadia about Vadik, whom she once tracked. Sloane says that Nadia quit the intelligence business and returned to Argentina after they found a Rambaldi artifact and handed it over to the US government. In Argentina, Nadia won't return but tells Syd that Vadik's right hand is Tomazaki.

At home, Syd tells Vaughn about Wittenburg -- she learned that day that her father had killed her mother, Irina Derevko.

Tomazaki has disappeared. They learn that five years ago he unsuccessfully tried to steal the Shintaro sword from a London museum. Sloane suggests they steal the sword as bait. At Dixon's suggestion, they enlist Marshall. In the museum, Syd triggers the alarms but manages to steal the sword and, with Jack's help, escapes the police.

Later Jack tells Sloane that he didn't tell Syd everything in Wittenburg.

Dixon arranges to sell the Shintaro sword to Tomazaki in Rio de Janiero. Tomazaki's jailed thug tells Jack that Vadik is Tomazaki. At the agreed meeting, Tomazaki kidnaps Syd. Vaughn asks Nadia for help. Tomazaki asks a perplexed Syd how she found out about the hit. He tortures her. He says he was supposed to assassinate her but the day before the hit, his client was killed.

Nadia steal a key card from a Tomazaki associate and saves Sydney from drowning during the water torture. Tomazaki knocks her out. He attacks Syd with the sword but she runs him through. Before he dies, he says that Irina Derevko hired him to kill her.

Sloane announces that Nadia has joined APO. Syd tells Jack that Tomazaki had the contract. He doesn't know why Irina wanted Syd dead. Vaughn comforts a shaken Syd.

Nadia and Syd travel to Moscow, where Syd had Irina interred. Syd tells Nadia she has no idea who killed her. Nadia swears that she'll kill whoever murdered their mother.