1-01 Pilot

1-01 Pilot

Pilot

The Centre wants him alive.

Preferably.

Sydney & Miss Parker

Pilot

The Centre wants him alive.

Preferably.

Sydney & Miss Parker

Original air date: September 19, 1996

Written by: Steven Long Mitchell & Craig W. Van Sickle

Directed by: Rick Wallace

Having just missed Jarod on a tanker ship in Alaska, Miss Parker and Sydney track him to a hospital where he plans on exposing an alcoholic surgeon who crippled a young boy.

Jarod’s Discoveries: Ice Cream, Wheel of Fortune

Jarod’s Occupations: Freighter Captain, Wall St Broker, Fireman, Pilot, Surgeon

Jarod’s Aliases: Dr Jarod Russell

Behind the scenes insights and the Creator’s Take

Official Synopsis

Jarod, an extraordinary individual capable of assuming anyone’s identity, escapes from a mysterious corporation called The Centre, which isolated him at an early age and exploited his genius.  Now, Jarod aids those who have been wronged.  In this episode, he gives surgeons who crippled a young boy a taste of their own medicine.

 

Inside a simple hotel room, Jarod watches a DSA of himself as a young boy, when he was a prisoner inside the Centre.  Young Sydney looks into the camera and remarks that Jarod has demonstrated more talent than any of the other Pretenders.  Shortly thereafter, Young Jarod asks Sydney about his mother and father.

In the present day, on the deck of the Martha Cook, Miss Parker and Sydney quiz the first mate about Jarod, who had been impersonating a sea captain in his effort to expose a company that contaminated an Aleut village by dumping chemicals at sea.  Meanwhile, inside Queen of Angels hospital, Jarod, now Dr. Jarod Russell, comes to the aid of a young girl who swallowed a marble.  He performs an emergency tracheotomy, saves the girl’s life and wins the respect of Gwen, a head nurse.  Later, Jarod meets with Dr. Miles Hendricks, who runs the hospital, and Dr. Alan Trader, Chief of Surgery.

Back at the Centre, Miss Parker tells Sydney that Jarod’s ATM account is being monitored, and as a result, the Centre will be able to pinpoint his whereabouts when he makes a transaction.  While searching Jarod’s quarters, Miss Parker happens upon an origami figure, which Jarod deliberately left behind as a clue to his motivation.  Miss Parker identifies the figure as Onisius, the Greek god of retribution, who defends the weak and abused.  Parker realizes Jarod sees himself as a vigilante out to protect the weak.

At the hospital, Jarod asks a young nurse, Nicole, to run a complete diagnostic test on a vial containing his own blood.  Later, he also befriends an elderly Greek woman, Mrs. Nikkos, who suffers from constipation and hates hospitals and doctors.  Jarod cancels Mrs. Nikkos’ surgery and has her drink some herb tea instead.  At the Centre, Miss Parker grows excited when the head technician informs her that Jarod made an ATM transaction in Sante Fe, New Mexico.  But it soon becomes clear that Jarod scrambled the ATM tracking system, making it impossible to pinpoint his whereabouts.

At the hospital, Jarod asks Dr. Grimes to look at a set of x-rays.  Grimes reacts with confusion, as the x-rays are of Kevin Bailey, a young patient of Dr. Trader’s who is confined to a wheelchair.  It becomes apparent that the pre-op and post-op x-rays are identical: Both show a severing of the boy’s spinal cord.  Grimes finds this puzzling, as it means that someone copied the post-op x-ray and labeled it “pre-op.”

While relaxing with Hendricks and Trader at a fitness club bar, Jarod notices that Dr. Hendricks takes medication for a heart condition.  The topic of conversation shifts to the hospital’s malpractice problems.  Jarod mentions the Kevin Bailey case, which Trader quickly labels a “witch hunt” on the part of the media.  Later, Jarod contacts Sydney by phone.  He tells him he fled the Centre after he learned that his simulations were being used for nefarious purposes.  As a result, many innocent lives were lost.  Sydney claims these were military contracts…and he had no way of knowing their ultimate application.

With his ATM account frozen, Jarod manipulates the stock exchange and makes off with five million dollars of the Centre’s money.  Later, Jarod approaches Trader and tells him he may have made a serious error during surgery and inadvertently left a hemo inside a patient.  Trader describes a solution that will allow Jarod to remove it without informing the patient, saving the hospital from potential litigation.

Jarod stages a phony fire inside the hotel where Sydney and Miss Parker are staying.  During the confusion, Jarod, disguised as a fireman, approaches Sydney.  He gives him instructions on how to retrieve the five million dollars…but demands he be told the truth about his parents.  Sydney assures Jarod that both his parents died in a plane crash.  But Jarod informs him that a lab test shows a genetic anomaly in his blood…something not present in his parents’ blood.  As a result, it is impossible that he is their son.  Sydney then claims he has only repeated the story the Centre fed him…and he has no idea who Jarod really is.  Suddenly, Miss Parker appears.  Jarod escapes via an elevator.

Jarod discovers that Gwen has a prison record.  He confronts her for the truth about what happened to Kevin Bailey.  It turns out that Trader, an alcoholic, severed Kevin’s spinal cord when he moved him.  Dr. Hendricks covered up the incident and threatened to expose Gwen’s past if she didn’t go along with the story.  Gwen gave the pre-op x-rays to Hendricks, who made her promise to keep quiet about there existence.

After spiking Dr. Hendricks’ bottled drinking water with a substance that simulates a heart attack, Jarod arranges to play racquetball with Hendricks.  When the doctor complains of chest pains, he is rushed to the emergency room, where Jarod pages Dr. Trader.  Meanwhile, Miss Parker informs Sydney that she managed to pinpoint Jarod’s location at Queen of Angels Hospital.

Fearing that Trader is too inebriated to perform the operation, Miles begs Jarod to step in.  Jarod agrees to do so, with the proviso Trader reveal the location of Kevin Bailey’s pre-op x-rays.  Once Jarod learns their whereabouts, he turns the operation over to a drunken Trader.  A terrified Miles protests.  When Jarod exits the room, he reports Trader as being drunk and asks security to step in.  Miss Parker and Sydney arrive at the hospital and begin searching the hospital rooms.  Mrs. Nikkos tells them that a man just ran up the fire escape.  Miss Parker gives chase…not knowing Mrs. Nikkos lied.  Jarod escapes and, impersonating an airline pilot, flies to San Diego.

1-01 Pilot

Pilot Transcript

 

 

Young Jarod   Kri kraw toad’s foot, geese walk barefoot. Kri kraw toad’s foot, geese walk barefoot. I finished my building. I’m finished!
Sydney   This one has only been with us for only thirty-six hours and he’s already demonstrating more talent than any of our others.
Young Jarod   Hey I’m finished.
Sydney   Hi Jarod. I’m Sydney. I’ll be taking care of you for a while.
Young Jarod   Why? Where’s my mom and dad?
     
     
    There are extraordinary individuals among us known as PRETENDERS. Geniuses with the ability to insinuate themselves into any walk of life, to literally become anyone. In 1963 a corporation called the Centre isolated one such PRETENDER, a young boy named Jarod. Locked in a controlled environment they exploited his genius for their “unofficial” research. Then one day, their PRETENDER ran away.
     
     
Sailor   Ma’am, the materials on board are highly explosive.
Miss Parker   So am I.
Sailor   I never agreed with the company about flushing our tanks at sea. I knew those chemicals had to be doing something nasty. Yeah, I’m glad Captain Jarod turned us in. You know I, uh, kind of miss the guy. Although, uh, he was a little weird. Everything with him was always twenty questions. And always the same subject.
Miss Parker   Which was?
Sailor   People.
Miss Parker   This belong to Curious George?
Sailor   Yeah. Everything’s just as he left it. The company made sure of that. Say are you pulling my cork about Jarod not really being a captain?
Miss Parker   Thank you for your help.
Sydney   What is it?
Miss Parker   Articles about that Aleut village where everyone was getting sick from the contaminated fish.
Sydney   Hmm.
Miss Parker   He must have been in quite a hurry leaving all this behind.
Sydney   It’s got to be intentional. A breadcrumb. He’s trying to keep me close.
Miss Parker   Your little monster needs his teddy bear, huh Syd?
Sydney   Jarod is not a monster.
Miss Parker   Call him what you want, Dr Frankenstein. Just tell me where he is.
Sydney   I don’t know where he is Miss Parker but I’m afraid I know what he’s up to.
     
     
Nurse   Sir, don’t do this. Lie down.
Son   Excuse me. Excuse me. My mother’s here for her exploratory.
Gwen   You’re in the wrong place. You want admitting. Speak English honey.
Son   She won’t speak English.
Jarod   She says she doesn’t want to be cut open. She doesn’t trust doctors. I don’t blame her.
Gwen   End of the hall.
Paramedic   She swallowed a marble! BP’s 80 over 40! Pulse is 110. Rapid and thready. She’s cyanotic.
Gwen   Okay! Get Doctor Shapiro.
Nurse   He’s in OR 3.
Gwen   Then page Doctor Trader! Okay, hold on sweetie, you’ll be fine. Nicole get ENT. Stat! Alright fellows let’s go. Let’s go. Move it.
Nicole   Dr Trader to OR 3!
Gwen   1 .. 2.. 3 Hyper extend her head. Where the hell is Trader?
Nicole   I’ve paged him but he’s not answering.
Nurse   Her pressure’s falling.
Jarod   Get me a 3cc size syringe and a size A ET Tube.
Gwen   Get security to get this man out of here! What the hell do you think you’re doing?
Nurse   She’s going into respiratory arrest.
Jarod   She’s not breathing. Would you like to do the trach?
Nurse   O2 set right down.
Jarod   Prepare to ventilate.
Gwen   NO! Get security!. Get a doctor!
Jarod   I am a doctor.
Security   What’s the problem Gwen? . . . Gwen?
Gwen   Leave him be.
Jarod   Give me the syringe, remove the plunger. Give me the top of the et tube. Bag.
Hendricks   What the hell is going on here?
Nurse   Air entry on both sides of the chest. She’s pinking up.
Jarod   Now that’s a nice sound.
     
     
Jarod   Well, I hope I didn’t cause too much confusion this morning.
Hendricks   You don’t have to apologise You saved her life.
Gwen   Oh, Dr Hendricks, I need your signature on lines ten and fourteen please.
Hendricks   FYI Russell. If you need anything done around here ask Gwen. I may run this place but she is the boss.
Gwen   Thank you doctors.
Trader   Miles. Sorry. I’m late.
Hendricks   Dr Jarod Russell, Dr Alan Trader, Chief of Surgery.
Jarod   Nice to meet you.
Trader   I hear I missed you in action this morning doctor.
Hendricks   Never seen a trach done like that before. Is that a new procedure they’re teaching at Hopkins?
Jarod   Well, actually I read it in a book.
Hendricks   Well, wherever you learned it I appreciate you standing in for me like that. I don’t know what happened to my damn beeper but uh, it won’t happen again. Brand new. Even takes messages.
Hendricks   Please, sit down. Well your record at Hopkins was impeccable. We are honoured to have you on board.
Trader   Not many doctors with your credentials come to a hospital as small as ours. Why Queen of Angels?
Jarod   Well I could tell you that it was for the career opportunity but the truth is that you’re the only hospital offering stock options. And rumour has it that you might be purchased by an HMO.
Hendricks   We’ve been talking to some people.
Trader   Don’t worry Russell. Stick with us and you’ll be driving a new Lexus in no time.
Hendricks   But onto more important business. Do you play racquetball?
Jarod   I’ve heard of it.
Hendricks   Good. Good. We’ll have a game. Well welcome to Queen of Angels. We’re are thrilled to have you.
Jarod   It’s a pleasure to be here.
     
     
Miss Parker   Imagine my excitement at being recalled from Corporate. Only you could have created a mess big enough to put me back in the field.
Sydney   I am thrilled to be working with you as well.
Miss Parker   Hmmm, not for long. We’ve tagged Jarod’s account in Anchorage. He uses an ATM anywhere, and he’s ours.
Sydney   Don’t underestimate him. If we’re to catch him we need to be patient.
Miss Parker   Look Syd, you may be satisfied in your laboratory probing small minds for solutions to big problems but I have career goals that do not include schlepping across the country chasing after Boy Wonder.
Sydney   You were such a happy little girl. What happened to you?
Miss Parker   I grew up Sydney. So should you.
Sydney   This is a waste of energy. I’ve been through Jarod’s room a thousand times.
Miss Parker   I haven’t.
Sydney   What are you hoping to find?
Miss Parker   He left a breadcrumb on the tanker and I’ll bet he left one here. Run the SIM.
Sydney   This is Jarod’s last project. When the black box on this aircraft wasn’t recovered he simulated the final moments of the crash. And in using his innate pretender skills Jarod effectively became each member of the cockpit crew and pinpointed the cause of the crash for our clients.
Miss Parker   Hell of an environment you keep him in, Syd. And with input like this we will find him masquerading as a postal worker.
Sydney   He doesn’t masquerade. He’s a pretender. He becomes anything he wants to be.
Miss Parker   Well the Centre should have stuck to computers for their simulations. They don’t run away.
Sydney   But they’re not human. They can’t tell you how the crew was feeling as the aircraft lost power, how their emotions contributed to their fate. Jarod can.
Miss Parker   Very very clever. Do you know what this is?
Sydney   An origami angel but I haven’t figured out the emotional connection to him yet.
Miss Parker   Miss Parker PilotIt’s not an angel. It’s wings are bent. It’s Onisius. The Greek god of retribution. He defends the weak and abused.
Sydney   I’m impressed. How do you know so much about Greek lore?
Miss Parker   I did a lot of frat boys in college. Here’s your breadcrumb Sydney. Your sociopath thinks he is some kind of vigilante getting even for the little guy.
     
     
Jarod   St Andrews Middle School, Queens.
     
     
Ice cream vendor   It tastes better before it melts.
Jarod   Oh right. This is good. This is really very good! Do they whip air into it to fluff it up?
Ice cream vendor   I don’t make it pal. I just serve it.
Boys Playing   Come on! Shoot it! Shoot it!
     
Jarod   Now, this is fascinating. They, they win money by guessing word puzzles?
Homeless Man   You’ve never seen Wheel of Fortune? What rock you been living under?
Jarod   Uh, I’ve been busy. The Courtship of Miles Standish?
Homeless Man 2   Hey! We got ourselves a little situation here. Uh, the ATM says that your bank account in Alaska has been frozen. No pun. Now maybe you’re happy but I’m out a Benjy for my efforts.
Jarod   Did you do what I asked?
Homeless Man 2   My friend, it was an Oscar winning performance.
Jarod   Thank you.
Homeless Man 2   You give me a c-note for finding out you’re broke?
Jarod   We had an agreement.
Homeless Man 2   Hey, whatever sends you. Say, you know where to find me if you need me, huh?
     
     
Jarod   Just a second! Come in.
Nicole   Morning Dr Russell. Sorry to bother you. But could you go and talk to the Greek lady. She yells at everyone that goes into her room. No one understands what she’s saying.
Jarod   Okay. I’ll be right there. Nicole. Do me a favour. Have the lab run a complete diagnostic testing on this. Put a rush on it.
Nicole   Sure.
Jarod   Thank you.
     
     
Mrs Nikkos   You a doctor?
Jarod   I am today. You speak English.
Mrs Nikkos   When I feel like it. And I don’t need no operation. Hey.
Jarod   This hurts doesn’t it?
Mrs Nikkos   Hell, yes. I haven’t gone for weeks.
Jarod   Well you need to relax.
Mrs Nikkos   How can I relax with all these tests? And now they want to cut me open.
Jarod   Okay if you don’t want surgery, I’ll cancel it.
Mrs Nikkos   No surgery?
Jarod   No, we’re going to try something else.
Mrs Nikkos   You’re no doctor. You are human being.
Jarod   Mm-hmmm.
     
     
Miss Parker   Sandy, make my day.
Sandy   Well, we have an ATM hit on Jarod’s Anchorage account.
Miss Parker   Some genius.
Sandy   Satellite feed should be up in two seconds. He’s in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Miss Parker   Call the hangar and get the jet ready.
Sandy   Hold it! He’s not in Santa Fe. He’s in Rome, no, Luxembourg. Chicago, New York.
Miss Parker   The little S.O.B. has scrambled the ATM system.
Tech   Miami, Philadelphia, Barcelona.
Miss Parker   Hello Jarod.
     
     
Gwen   You cancelled Mrs Nikkos’ surgery.
Jarod   Yes I did.
Gwen   Fine. You’re the doctor. As long as I don’t get blamed for anything.
Jarod   And now I would like to try her on a herb tea called Cassia Senna.
Gwen   Doctor, this is Queens. We don’t do tea.
Jarod   We do now. And I would like the key to radiology please.
Gwen   Well, Andy’s out to lunch but…
Jarod   I know.
Gwen   There
you are. Hey!
Boy   Hi Momma.
Gwen   How you doin’ little sugar baby? Ohhh, there he is. Bring Mommy lunch today?
Boy   Guess what it is.
Gwen   I’m hoping for tuna fish or peanut butter.
     
     
Jarod   I could use a hand with these, that is if you have one free.
Nicole   Oh God. It’s Doctor Russell.
Andy   Who’s Dr Russell?
Jarod   I’m new.
Andy   I’m, uh, embarrassed but ah, but always happy to help doc. Uh now. Uh, I don’t understand. Kevin Bailey is Doctor Trader’s patient. Any special reason you’re looking at these?
Jarod   Any special reason that you’re in here half naked? I can be forgetful if you can.
Andy   All right. Your problem is right here at the T-eighth. The eighth thoracic vertebrae was crushed severing his spinal cord. The kid never had a chance.
Jarod   That I understand but look here.
Andy   Yeah?
Jarod   Now this it the pre-op and this is the post-op x-ray.
Andy   Yeah.
Jarod   But both of them are identical. How is that possible?
Andy   It’s not. Someone must have made a duplicate of the post-op x-ray. You see that fogging in the corner there. The old processor we keep in the basement does that. I spilled some soda on it when I first started working here. The new processor’s fog-free.
Nicole   Why would someone make a copy of a post-operative x-ray and label it pre-op?
Jarod   Makes you wonder.
     
     
    DSA 31 Oct, 70
Young Jarod   I’m on the last flight of stairs terrified of what I am about to do. My heart’s pounding. My hands sweating. I can hardly hold onto the package I told everyone was curtain rods… Sydney is it possible for kids to forget their parents?
Sydney   Keep your mind focused Jarod. Concentrate on the simulation.
Young Jarod   As I near the window I can here the sounds of the crowd rising from below. I can see them coming. How fast are they travelling Sydney?
Sydney   Forty miles per hour Jarod. You know that.
Young Jarod   My mouth’s dry. My hands are shaking. I raise the Mannlicher carbine. I can’t fire enough shots before the car goes under the overpass. I can’t. I can’t do this alone. He wasn’t alone.
     
     
Jarod   He had to have help. Trader wasn’t alone either Sydney.
     
     
Jarod   Good one.
Hendricks   Good game.
     
     
Trader   Don’t let it bother you. He never lets anyone win.
Hendricks   At least Jarod’s competitive.
Trader   He’s young.
Hendricks   And you’re lazy.
Trader   Yeah, well, there is that.
Jarod   Calsix. You have a heart problem?
Trader   Miles is a type A time bomb. Two heart attacks. One more and its bypass time.
Hendricks   Which is why I play racquetball. And I need a refill.
Trader   So do I. It’s my day off. You exercise your way. I’ll exercise mine.
Hendricks   So, Jarod does Queen of Angels get a passing grade?
Jarod   Absolutely. Frankly I expected there to be more fallout from the malpractice problems.
Hendricks   Well, unfortunately that’s the cost of doing business. We’ve had  our share of difficulties but I would put the Queen of Angel’s record up against any hospital in the country.
Jarod   Are you sure there’s no hidden land mines? Even with the Kevin Bailey case?
Hendricks   That was a tragedy, but lets face it an orphan boy in a wheel chair make for sensational headlines.
Trader   It was a damn witch hunt!
Hendricks   Yes, but once the frenzy died down the truth took over and we were exonerated. That is all behind us now.
     
     
Kevin   Get serious.
Jarod   It’s good.
Kevin   Hasn’t anyone ever told you? You talk to strangers you end up on milk cartons.
Jarod   My name’s Jarod. It tastes better before it melts. Your hands still cramp up when you wheel?
Kevin   What would you know about it?
Jarod   I have a good imagination. It’s going to get better, I promise.
     
 
Secretary   Sir, there’s a Shreve Harmon calling on line seven..
Sydney   Shreve and Harmon built the Empire State Building. Put him through and trace the call. Very clever Jarod. Are you alright?
Jarod   I’m broke. You froze my bank account.
Sydney   I must have just missed you in Cincinnati. The flowers were still fresh.
Jarod   Well my parents had been dead for thirty years, I figured it was time to say goodbye.
Sydney   I want you to come home.
Jarod   Well that’s an interesting way of putting it. Home.
Sydney   Why d/tr /td td class=”what” /tdid you leave?
Jarod   You’re the shrink Sydney. You want the truth? It’s because of the lies. Your lies.
Sydney   What lies?
Jarod   I found out the real application of my simulations Sydney. South Pacific Fleet simulation 118. You took my results and blew a ship out of the water. 133 people were on board. My outbreak simulation? You used it in the field. 46 people died from the Ebola virus Sydney! Simulation 27. Simulation 16. Simulation 42!
Sydney   Jarod these were military contracts. I had no way of finding out about their ultimate application.
Jarod   How many people died because of what I thought up?
Sydney   You need to come home. I’m worried about you. I’ve been walking around your room and it feels… empty.
Jarod   Well I can’t say I miss it. And by the way, ice cream is good.
Sydney   Jarod this is getting serious. They brought in Miss Parker.
Jarod   Uh oh. Well you’d better watch your back too Sydney.
Sydney   What are you doing Jarod?
Jarod   Using the skills you taught me.
     
     
Techie 1   I’m completely locked out here. I got nothin’.
Techie 2   Are you getting anything at all?
Techie 1   No, let me try a new access code.
Miss Parker   Talk to me.
Sandy   We’ve been locked out. Our client hired us to see if the Stock  Exchange was vulnerable to manipulation.
Sydney   Jarod spent four months on this simulation.
Miss Parker   What’s the problem?
Sandy   The client gave us 5 million to test Jarod’s results.
Sydney   Jarod knew today was the day of the test.
Techie 1   Everything was going to plan until someone on the floor started to manipulate the markets. He’s stolen our five million.
Miss Parker   Gee I wonder who that could be?
Sydney   Well at least we know where he is.
     
     
Mrs Nikkos   That’s some kind medicine you got there. I’m likely to laugh myself dead before I poop.
Jarod   Laughter is very good medicine and so is reflexology. Nicole, massage these marks would you please. Thanks.
Mrs Nikkos   You gonna tell me the truth?
Jarod   What truth?
Mrs Nikkos   A man who gives me the sun, who massages my feet and who gives me stinky tea. Who are you? Oh so much sadness . . . and so much joy.
     
     
Miss Parker   Comforting to know there are only 137 hospitals in the Metropolitan New York area.
Clerk   Your rooms have been prepaid Miss Parker.
Miss Parker   Prepaid?
Clerk   In cash and the gentleman left this.
Miss Parker   Not a word.
     
     
Jarod   Alan. Hey!
Jarod   Make that two ginger ales.
Denise   Okay.
Trader   Well, either you’ve just been mugged or it’s been one hell of a shift.
Jarod   Four gun shot wounds, a lobectomy and a ruptured spleen. And I’m only half way through. Alan, I think I might have screwed up today. Really screwed up.
     
     
Homeless Man 2   Hey! How you doing? Yeah! I’m okay. Hey look, is this Trader’s exchange? Good. I’ve gotta get a message to him. Yeah!
     
Trader   So, what’s the trouble?
Jarod   The lobectomy. I think I left a hemo inside when I sewed her up.
Trader   No problem.
Jarod   No problem? Do you think that’s going to make the HMO happy?
Trader   Check her chart. If the white count is spiked you found your hemo.
Jarod   Well, then what?
Trader   Take it out. Tell her you found some internal bleeding. Hey, you’re the doctor. Ah! Always count on it happening on your lunch break, huh? Ah. I’ve gotta get back.
Jarod   Well thank you for the advice Alan.
Trader   Yeah.
     
     
Jarod   Come in.
Nicole   Oh good you’re still here. The lab report on that blood workup you asked for.
Jarod   Thank you.
Nicole   Sure.
     
     
    DSA
Sydney   This one’s been with us for only thirty-six hours and he’s already demonstrating more talent than any of our others.
Young Jarod   Hey I’m finished.
Sydney   Hi Jarod. I’m Sydney. I’ll be taking care of you for a while.
Young Jarod   Why? Where’s my Mom and Dad? Where’s my mom and da….
     
     
Announcement   Please evacuate the building.
Jarod   Keep moving. Please remain calm. Keep moving. Please remain calm. Thank you.
Miss Parker   Sydney down stairs.
Jarod   Please make your way to the emergency exits. This way. Just one minute sir.
Announcement   Please exit your room and proceed to the nearest stairway exit.
Sydney   My God!
Jarod   Sorry to wake you Sydney, but I needed to speak to you, face to face.
Sydney   You look well. What’s this?
Jarod   Instructions. For retrieving the Centre’s five million. Less my commission. Don’t look so surprised. I don’t want money. I want the truth.
Sydney   What are you talking about?
Jarod   Who am I? Did the Centre adopt me? Was I bought or was I stolen? And where are my mom and dad.
Sydney   Jarod we’ve been over this a thousand times. Your parents died in a plane crash.
Jarod   Yes I know the story Sydney. It’s been burned into my brain for the thirty years. You see. I did a little checking. There’s this genetic anomaly that’s in my blood that should be in my supposed parents. But it’s not. Therefore it’s impossible that I’m their son. So the truth, for once.
     
     
Sweeper   I thought you quit.
Miss Parker   Shut up. Where were you going Sydney? Damn it!
Sweeper   What?
Miss Parker   No smoke. Outta my way!
     
     
Sydney   I’m sorry Jarod I didn’t know. You have to believe me. But it doesn’t matter.
Jarod   It matters to me. I am not going to be your little science experiment anymore, Sydney. I can be anything I want to be. You trained me well. I can be a doctor, I can be an engineer, I can be an astronaut for God’s sake.
Sydney   And so much more.
Jarod   But I don’t know who I am! Tell me who I am.
Sydney   I don’t know either. At the time I had no reason to question what the Centre told me. I swear.
Jarod   Then prove it. Give me tomorrow’s code to the Centre’s mainframe. The truth about who I am has to be in there.
Sydney   You know I can’t do that.
Jarod   Sydney you stole my life! Please give it back to me.
Miss Parker   Sydney! Shoot him.
Sydney   7512. Go! No! No guns.
Miss Parker   Let me go! Make up your mind Sydney. Be a scientist or a mommy. You can’t be both.
     
     
PA   Your attention please. Final call for all passengers departing on the Atlantic Special to Washington DC with stops in Trenton, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Now boarding on platform 12. All aboard please.
Jarod   Excuse me. Gwen! Gwen!
Gwen   Dr Russell.
Jarod   Can I speak to you for a minute?
Gwen   Is there a problem? You’re not supposed to have that.
Jarod   I knew that Trader was involved. What I couldn’t figure out was why anybody help him cover it up.
Gwen   I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Jarod   I didn’t either until I found this. It’s a printout of your record. Who else knew that you were in prison besides Trader?
Gwen   Who the hell are you?
Jarod   Someone who doesn’t think that what happened to Kevin Bailey was fair.
Gwen   And you thing that I do? You don’t know what it took to get back on my feet. I’ve got a job, I’ve got a good man, I’ve got a beautiful baby boy. I don’t want to lose them.
Jarod   I don’t want you to lose anything. Just tell the truth.
Gwen   What would you do if your wife came home and told you that she’d been a crack head and a convict?
Jarod   I’d say that she’d paid her debt and I’d ask her why she didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth. At least I think that’s what I would do.
Gwen   You don’t know how scared I am.
Jarod   I think I do.
Gwen   I had to page Dr Trader that night at the Silver Rail. We all knew he drank but nobody wanted to admit it. I showed him the x-rays. Even I knew that the boy should have been stabilised. But he insisted I was wrong and.. .
Jarod   He was the doctor.
Gwen   He severed the little boy’s spinal cord when he moved him. But it was Dr Hendricks who covered it all up and threatened to expose my past if I didn’t go along. See, when Trader realised what he’d done he gave me the pre-op x-rays and told me to burn them. But I couldn’t. I went to Dr Hendricks instead. I don’t know why I thought it would do any good. He’s been covering fro Trader for years. He took the x-rays and he made me swear that I wouldn’t tell anybody that he had them. He said he might be able to use them for insurance.
Jarod   Thank you.
Gwen   Dr Hendricks isn’t going to give you that film. He’d rather die than risk that hospital sale.
     
     
Trader   Dr Trader.
Jarod   Alan? It’s Jarod. We need to talk.
Trader   About what?
Jarod   Uh, not on the phone. Can you meet me today at the Silver Rail. At noon?
Trader   I’ll be there.
Jarod   Thanks Al an.
     
Jarod   Miles, Jarod Russell.
Hendricks   Jarod! What can I do for you?
Jarod   How about another game of racquetball?
Hendricks   Why would you want another game so soon after I crushed you Russell?
Jarod   To return the favour. How about today, at noon?
Hendricks   Well, It’s your funeral.
Jarod   Well, we all have to go sometime.
     
     
Hendricks   Point, game, match. Toss me my water will ya?.
Jarod   Sure Miles.
Hendricks   So Jarod, why this self torture?
Jarod   Well you know, I figure I let you win a few games, I earn your pity, you cut me a better stock option.
Hendricks   But my pity doesn’t come cheap. Let me tell you something. You ran me all over that court today.
You are getting better.
Jarod   I’ve been practicing.
Hendricks   Ah. But I won.
Jarod   Are you okay Miles?
Hendricks   Jarod.
Jarod   Miles? Could somebody call an ambulance.
     
     
Denise   Doctor Russell says he’s running a bit late.
Trader   Show me a doctor who isn’t, huh? I’ll have another quick one.
     
     
Jarod   Get OR three set. Dr Hendricks is having a heart attack.
Nurse   Roger that.
Jarod   Pulse is 112 and thready. BP is dropping from 75 to 60. I want you to start him on a nitro drip and get him prepared for surgery, stat!
     
     
Miss Parker   You lied to me. Last night you told me that Jarod came here to return the five million. All he really wanted was the mainframe code.
Sydney   It was the least I could do. He was lied to about his parents. So was I.
Miss Parker   Stop pouting. It was need to know. You didn’t. Anyway you’ve done us all a great favour. You see I tagged Jarod’s file. He logged on this morning.
Sydney   Where is he?
Miss Parker   Queen of Angels Hospital. They’re bringing the car around now. Let’s go.
Sydney   The Centre wants him alive.
Miss Parker   Preferably.
     
     
Jarod   Miles, we were unable to bring in a cardiologist fast enough. But don’t worry, I’ve paged Dr Trader.
Hendricks   No.
Jarod   He’ll take care of you Miles. He took care of Kevin Bailey.
Hendricks   No. Please. You do the operating.
Jarod   Okay. Okay, o-okay Miles. No problem. But first… you tell me where Kevin Bailey’s pre-op x-rays are.
Hendricks   Behind the Punjab painting in my office. Now you do the operation Jarod.
Jarod   I-I-I’d like to Miles, I really would but that wouldn’t be ethical. You see I’m not really a doctor and you’re not really having a heart attack. Trader, he’s all yours.
Trader   Okay. Let’s do this.
Hendricks   Jarod. Jarod!
     
     
Miss Parker   We’ll start on the first floor and work our way up. Jarod does not leave.
     
Jarod   Nicole? Would you page Security and have them stop Doctor Trader from operating. He’s drunk.
Nicole   Oh my God!
Jarod   Yeah!
     
     
Miss Parker   You take that side.
     
     
Sydney   Jarod!
     
Mrs Nikkos   Guess what? Guess what I did today?
Jarod   Oh! Oh well that’s great.
     
Miss Parker   Sorry! He’s got to be in one of these rooms.
Mrs Nikkos   Arghhhhhhh!
Miss Parker   Let’s go!
Mrs Nikkos   Hey! A man! He went up the fire escape.
Miss Parker   He’s heading for the roof.
     
     
Sydney   Jarod!
     
     
PA   Your attention please, flight 1428 to San Diego will be departing from gate 12. Please have your boarding passes ready.
Attendant   You’d better board sir. You don’t want to miss the flight.
Jarod   Don’t worry. They’re not going anywhere without me.

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