Layla, however, tells a different side of things; Zack was the NOC agent, not James, and her mission was testing Agency security, hence appearing to take sensitive information that was actually junk. James demands answers from Burke, only to be told Zack is fine; James' gun is loaded with blanks and this is all just part of his training. Then Burke tries to shoot James, revealing the gun is loaded with real bullets and he was actually setting James up to take the fall for his own crimes, betraying his country for his own greed. But James — no fool himself, if a little naive — appears to have been transmitting their conversation to Langley using Spartacus. A tactical team shows up and trains their laser sights on the duo; Burke, thinking his goose is cooked, goes on a rant. It turns out Burke isn't the only one who can pull a fast one; James reveals that Spartacus never connected and Burke actually ratted himself out via monologue before dying in a hail of gunfire.
So, what just happened? Layla was telling the truth; Zack was really the NOC agent and is now really dead. She really was on-mission in her attempted theft, the computer virus was actually real, and Burke was really a traitor. Did James actually wash out of his training? Yes and no; it remains to be seen whether or not he would have if Burke didn't need it to happen to further his crooked agenda. But James really is a spy now, and he finds out his father was too, as an agent tells him it's "in his blood"; despite at one point claiming to have lied about his father being a spy to prey on James' emotions, it turns out that was the one thing Burke was being honest about.
