1-03 Flyer

1-03 Flyer

Flyer

Well if it makes you feel any better I’m not really a pilot.

Jarod

Flyer

Well if it makes you feel any better I’m not really a pilot.

Jarod

Original air date: October 19, 1996

Written by: Juan Carlos Coto

Directed by: James Whitmore, Jr.

Jarod goes undercover as a test pilot to prove a defence contractor’s new computer system was defective, casuing the death of another pilot.

Jarod’s Discoveries: Pez, Silly Putty

Jarod’s Occupations: Test Pilot, Symphony Conductor

Jarod’s Aliases: Jarod Wright

 

Behind the scenes insights and the Creator’s Take

Official Synopsis

Jarod attempts to clear the name of a pilot blamed for the crash of a jet plane.

 

At the Soledad Wind Power Research Area in Baja, California, Miss Parker and Sydney speak with a man named Kendall, who befriended Jarod before he last disappeared.  Kendall describes Jarod’s fascination with the air currents and updrafts that move the windmills.  Meanwhile, Jarod puts a jet airplane through some impressive maneuvers as another pilot, Matthews, a defense contractor, observes.  Jarod’s performance is so impressive that Matthews offers him a job with his company, SkyVionics.

On the ground, Jarod, now Jarod Wright, points out that SkyVionics’ stock has risen some 17 percent in the last quarter alone, bucking the trend of most ailing defense contractors, who were badly hurt by the end of the cold war.  Matthews hopes to have his new Scimitar system, which is attracting interest from buyers around the world, approved in a short period of time.  He instructs Jarod to show another pilot, Dixon, how to beat the system’s gauntlet.  By week’s end, Matthews will then choose which man—Jarod or Dixon—will be the wingman for an upcoming Pentagon test.  Shortly thereafter, Jarod speaks with a man named Lawson, who explains that the Scimitar chip makes any plane’s onboard computer run ten times as fast as anything offered by the competition.  During their conversation, however, Lawson hints that there may be some quality control problems still to be resolved.  Later, Jarod meets with Lieutenant Janice Gant, a special projects officer sent to keep tabs on the company.  It doesn’t take long for Gant to realize that Jarod is Ronald Collins’ replacement.  A short time later, Dixon warns Jarod to stay away from Clearview Ridge, which is dominated by dangerous wind shear.

Jarod returns to his trailer, where he views DSAs.  His work is interrupted by Mr. Hollis, an old-timer and conspiracy buff who believes that people working for Skyvionics are “merchants of death.”  Meanwhile, inside the Centre’s tech room, Broots shows Sydney and Miss Parker evidence indicating Jarod has discovered the existence of Mr. Raines, a mysterious figure operating inside the corporation.  Sydney realizes Jarod found Raines’ image by scanning through DSA disks.

Inside a toy store, Jarod discovers the wonders of Silly Putty.  Later, Jarod makes his way to the Tailfin bar, where Gant admonishes him for flying over Clearview Ridge.  Jarod explains that he was simply retracing Ronald Collins’ last flight.  Gant tells him that Collins had been spotted drinking inside the Tailspin on the night of the crash.  Two SkyVionics employees, Lawson and Tom Matthews, testified to this fact.  Later, Matthews tells Jarod that the residual alcohol in his blood caused him to lose consciousness when he pulled too many G-s.

Broots tells Sydney that an executable program was attached to the Mr. Raines photo that Jarod sent to the Centre.  The program allows for direct communication with Jarod…something Sydney wishes to keep secret from Miss Parker.

Jarod befriends Ronald Collins’ widow, Lindsay, and young son, Ronny, by telling them Collins saved his life during a battle over Baghdad.  Meanwhile, satellite imagery alerts Sydney and Miss Parker to Jarod’s movements at an airstrip outside Washington, D.C.

Jarod listens to an audio recording of transmissions sent by Collins shortly before his crash.  Using his Pretender skills, Jarod recreates Collins’ fatal flight…and realizes Mattthews sent Collins into the skies in an unsafe jet.

With some help from the Clearview Institute for the Deaf, Jarod learns how to read lips.  He uses his skills to determine what Mr. Raines says in the DSA.  After reading Raines’ lips, Jarod realizes that Raines told a doctor to tell him that his father died in a plane crash.  Later, Jarod contacts Sydney via the executable program to discuss what Mr. Raines said.  Sydney confirms that Jarod’s father was an aviator.  But Miss Parker has the conversation terminated before Jarod can learn more.  Shortly thereafter, Broots tells Parker he managed to trace Jarod’s transmission and pinpoint his location.

Jarod approaches Lawson inside a hangar.  He tells him that Collins wasn’t out drinking at the Tailfin on the night of the murder, but was instead out stargazing with his young son, Ronny.  Lawson states that he told Matthews about the 3.1 percent failure rate of the Scimitar chip…but Matthews insisted the ratio was acceptable.  With Mr. Hollis’ help, Jarod incapacitates Dixon and takes his place testing the Scimitar for the Pentagon.  As Jarod and Matthews stage the mock dogfight as a general observes from the ground.  But during the mission, Matthews radios that he has lost flight control.  Jarod relays word that the Scimitar chip failed, just like it had on Ronald Collins’ plane.  When Matthews realizes he cannot eject, Jarod tells him he must first divulge the truth about what happened to Collins.  After Matthews complies (his words broadcast over the radio), Jarod gives him instructions on how to enable the ejection mechanism.  He then presses a button on a TV remote control…safely ejecting Matthews from the plane.  Later, a relieved Lindsay learns that she will be receiving payments from her late husband’s pension.

When Miss Parker arrives at the Tailfin, she is handed some Silly Putty, on which is embedded some newsprint.  Parker holds the message up to a mirror…and realizes it’s a newspaper headline announcing that Collins’ name was cleared.  Outside the bar, Miss Parker promises the shadowy Mr. Raines that she will capture Jarod.

Meanwhile, Jarod impersonates an orchestra conductor.

1-01 Pilot

Flyer Transcript

 

Soledad Wind Power Research Area Baja, California  
Man   Oh man what did he say? A natural heat vortex. That’s what he called it. And he was right. See out there? The cool breezes from the ocean mixing in with the steaming desert air make like a big… wind collision thing and that’s what runs the windmills.
Miss Parker   You figured that out by yourself?
Man   Not me. Jarod. Did it by watching them. Without moving a muscle they can just hover in the vortex.
Sydney   He just sat in this spot all day?
Man   Just eating PEZ and taking in the hawks.
Miss Parker   I’m surprised your Dr Dolittle didn’t try talking to them.
Man   Well i t wasn’t just the birds he was into. He really dug these. He’d, like, be throwing dust at ’em all day. Sayin’ he was figuring the updraughts and air currents and stuff. Righteous huh?
Miss Parker   Lovely!
Sydney   Oh Jarod, what are you up to?
     
     
    In Fighter Aircraft
Jarod   Wha hoo. Ha ha ha ha ha. That was great!
Matthews   Congratulations you just beat the gauntlet.
Jarod   This is so cool.
Matthews   Well Jarod the audition’s over. You want the job, it’s yours.
Jarod   Want it? I could stay up here forever. Hee–hee!
     
     
    intro
     
     
    Skyvionics, Arizona
Jarod   Well Mr Matthews, for an ex-fighter jock you’ve done pretty good for yourself.
Matthews   Well Yaeger sells batteries. I’ve got Skyvionics. A buck’s a buck.
Jarod   The end of the cold war nearly killed most of the defence contractors yet your stock is up, what, seventeen percent last quarter alone?
Matthews   Eighteen.
Jarod   Whoo, maybe I should buy me a little.
Matthews   Well with the Scimitar chip about to be approved maybe you should buy yourself a lot.
Jarod   Is that a Draken?
Matthews   Yeah. Uncle Sam’s not the only one with a shrinking purse. We’re testing the Scimitar in for planes from the RAF, the Israelis. Hell, even the frogs sent over a Mirage. Have you seen Dixon?
Mechanic   Yeah. There’s the wild man now.
Matthews   He’s a good pilot but punctuality’s not his thing. He’d probably miss his own funeral. You’re late.
Dixon   Yeah but what an entrance. So how’d he do?
Matthews   Only took him one week to do three weeks worth of tests. That makes him the new king of the mountain.
Dixon   You serious?
Matthews   He scored thirty-four percent.
Jarod   Ah it was no big deal.
Matthews   Oh it is when Dix here only scores thirty-three. Even so, I want you to shadow this hot shot, he’ll show you everything you need to know about the new system. Then you can teach him how to beat the Gauntlet. At the end of the week I’ll decide who gets to be my wing man for the Pentagon test. No pressure.
Dixon   So Jarod I heard you ran some flights for the agency. Who was your point man?
Jarod   Andrew Sterling.
Dixon   Original secret agent man. Yeah I ran some TR-1 re-cons over Singapore for him back in the eighties.
Jarod   North Korea.
Dixon   Right.
Jarod   Well I can’t believe that I’m actually flying for Manhunter Matthews.
Dixon   Yeah! He’s the second best pilot I’ve ever seen.
Jarod   And who’s the best?
Dixon   You’re looking at him.
     
     
Lawson   How does it feel up there?
Jarod   Ah, smooth. I can’t wait to get this baby back up.
Lawson   Body by F-16, brains by yours truly. The Scimitar chip makes any plane’s on board computer work ten times as fast as the others.
Jarod   Well, in this game, speed means life.
Lawson   Glad to see Tom’s found himself some A-1 jocks to keep up.
Jarod   Quality control problems?
Gant   Mr Lawson!
Lawson   It depends on who you ask.
Gant   I’d appreciate the latest hydraulics specs.
Lawson   You’re becoming to sound like a broken record, Lieutenant.
Gant   Quick way to fix that.
Lawson   Yes Ma’am.
Gant   Stereographs. They say there’s a picture in there somewhere but I’ve never been able to see one.
Jarod   A penguin at the Sphinx, a penguin riding a camel and a penguin on a Nile barge. Now that’s something you don’t see very often.
Gant   I could look at these things for a week, but nothing.
Jarod   Well i t’s all in the ocular muscles. The key is you focus on the poster but move your primary eyesight eight degrees to the left.
Gant   What did you do, invent these things?
Jarod   Not officially. Jarod Wright.
Gant   You’re Ronald Collins’ replacement. Lieutenant Janice Gant.
Jarod   Nice to meet you.
Gant   Penguin huh?
Jarod   Penguin.
Dixon   I see you’ve met Miss Congeniality. Toughest SPO in the field.
Jarod   Hmm. So she’s the Special Projects Officer.
Dixon   Blue suiters sent her to keep tabs on us. Which reminds me, Clearview Ridge. Natural heat vortex. Wind shear up the wazoo. You lean on the throttle anywhere near it and she’ll blow a gasket.
Jarod   Clearview Ridge. Thanks for the tip.
     
     
    Airplane Graveyard
     
     
    DSA 14 Jan, ’69
Sydney   Don’t tell me what you see Jarod tell me what you feel. Tell me what you feel.
Young Jarod   I feel tired. My legs hurt.
Sydney   Push with the pain. Focus. We need details.
Young Jarod   This helmet’s too tight. It’s hot. I don’t like this. Why can’t I get a bike that actually goes somewhere? Sydney. Sydney!
     
     
Jarod   Just a minute. Hello Mr Hollis. How are you?
Hollis   Fine. Super. Great.
Jarod   Can I help you with something?
Hollis   Why do you need a second phone line?
Jarod   It’s for my modem. I’m up loading something.
Hollis   Oh. One of those.
Jarod   One of those?
Hollis   Sheep. People who don’t mind giving up their privacy. Baa.
Jarod   Excuse me?
Hollis   It’s too late. They know.
Jarod   They?
Hollis   The black helicopters. The grey men. Like those Skyvionics people. I’ve been on that place. It’s been out there since World War Two, doing some very cockamamy things. What’s in the case?
Jarod   Memories.
Hollis   Pictures?
Jarod   Something like that.
Hollis   Why would you want a computer if I gave you a perfectly good TV. See, universal remote even. Runs everything but your life.
Jarod   Yes, but they could be watching you through the TV.
Hollis   No reverse imaging device. I inspected it. I also took the liberty of programming this to skip channels with subliminal mind control.
Jarod   Well, that was very considerate of you Mr Hollis.
Hollis   You aren’t up loading filthy pictures are you?
Jarod   Well that depends on how you define filthy.
     
     
    The Centre
Tech Room Sub-Level 5
Broots   It came down the line just a few minutes ago.
Sydney   Jarod.
Miss Parker   This had better be good Syd… Mr Raines? How did he find out about him?
Sydney   Must be the disks from the digital simulation archives.
Miss Parker   Do you think he realises what it means?
Sydney   We’re talking about Jarod. If he doesn’t now he soon will. He is a genius.
     
     
    Store
Jarod   You can stretch it, bounce it and copy newsprint with it and it comes in its own plastic egg.
Girl   Yeah. See the egg is like a symbol of this stuff’s birth. You know? It’s being. It’s not just putty. It’s whatever you want it to be.
Jarod   Oh. Well why would they call something this versatile silly?
Girl   Would you buy something called versatile putty?
Jarod   I don’t know. But I’ll buy this. I’ll buy one hundred.
Girl   Cool.
     
     
    Clearview Institute
Deaf Woman   Hello! You must be Jarod.
Jarod   Signing: I want to learn how to lip read.
Deaf Woman   We will be very happy to help you with that.
     
     
Jarod   The view is better from the inside.
Hollis   I thought I smelt some smoke. Everything seems to be A okay.
Jarod   Good.
Hollis   Never figured you for a pilot.
Jarod   Well if it makes you feel any better I’m not really a pilot.
Hollis   Oh right and I’m Jimmy Hoffa. Could have told me. Man likes to know when he’s about to have his throat ripped out and fed to him.
Jarod   It didn’t seem important.
Hollis   Important? Does that look important? Fleets of these behemoths, like crazed flying monkeys, terrorising US citizens from Seattle to Miami.
Jarod   Terrorising?
Hollis   Halcion gas. CIA created it in 1971.
Jarod   1969.
Hollis   I knew it! You’re one of them.
Jarod   Will you stop please? This is a mass hallucinogen. This is pretty potent.
Hollis   Not any more. I cut it with 50% oxygen. Hell your dentist has stronger stuff. Even so I caught an accidental whiff. Thought I was Eleanor Roosevelt for the best part of an afternoon.
Jarod   Your point being?
Hollis   Remember the medfly? No such thing. Lock your doors and bolt your windows amigo, the exterminator’s coming and his name is Skyvionics.
Jarod   Skyvionics?
Hollis   Merchants of death. Trust me. I’ve been a clown in that circus. It’s anything but the greatest show on earth.
     
     
     
    The Tail Fin Bar
Jarod   That’s quite a collection.
Bartender   The only thing we have now to hang up there is you, the Skyvionics boys since we don’t have a base anymore. What’s your poison?
Jarod   Excuse me?
Bartender   What’s your drink?
Jarod   I was raised on optimised nutritional supplements, hearts of palm, wheat grass, asparagus mixed with tomato.
Bartender   Virgin Mary, celery garnished.
Jarod   Could you make it two please. I’m expecting company.
Bartender   Hmm hmm.
     
Gant   What the hell do you think you were doing up there?
Jarod   Practice makes perfect.
Gant   You know what I’m talking about Wright.. Clearview Ridge.
Jarod   I was re-tracing Ronald Collins’ last flight.
Bartender   Two Virgin
Mary’s.
Jarod   I hope this is your poison.
Gant   You knew I’d come after you.
Jarod   Toughest SPO in the field, at least that’s what they tell me.
Gant   Ha ha.
Jarod   So, Lieutenant Gant, why is the Airforce so concerned with a
civilian flier?
Gant   You’re testing a system that’s designed to protect military pilots. It’s my job to make sure it’s safe.
Jarod   And when I’m up for wingman on Friday’s test I don’t fly avionics I’m not familiar with. It’s my job to know what I’m getting into.
Gant   True.
Jarod   And from what I understand Collins had plenty of time to eject.
Gant   Time yes, ability no.
Jarod   His record in the Gulf says otherwise.
Gant   Well, between me and you and that hall of fame, Collins didn’t eject because he blacked out.
Jarod   What are you saying?
Gant   Put it this way. His drink of choice was not a Virgin Mary.
Jarod   Is that true?
Gant   You can take my word for it or steal my report from Special Projects Office in D.C.
Jarod   Now that would be impossible.
Gant   Look, not even his wife fought the allegations and they cost her his pension. Two Skyvionics employees placed Collins right here in this very bar the night before the crash.
Jarod   Who?
Gant   Lawson for one.
Jarod   Who else?
Gant   Tom Matthews.
     
     
Matthews   Nice flying Jarod. Bring her on home.
     
     
Matthews   You weren’t kidding when you said you were a quick study.
Jarod   Ah. Beginners luck.
Matthews   We’re making a big announcement after the test. Scimitar’s going commercial. By the year 2000 that Scimitar chip’s going to be on every airliner in the country.
Jarod   I feel safer already.
Matthews   well, I just want you to know that I’ve been talking to the corporate types about you. You’re our best flier, hands down.
Jarod   But?
Matthews   But I gotta to give the test to Dixon on Friday.
Jarod   I understand. You don’t want a repeat of the last test.
Matthews   We won’t. This time no test pilot is going to let me down. Ron Collins could have flown circles around you two.
Jarod   Instead he hit the bottle. I’m surprised you missed that.
Matthews   I called him on it the morning of the test. He said he was fine.
Jarod   So it wasn’t a mechanical failure?
Matthews   The residual alcohol in his blood caused him to black out when he pulled too many G’s. Collins was flying a safe plane.
Jarod   I’m sure he was.
     
     
    Ron Collins Residence
Jarod   Is your Mom home?
Ronny Collins   Mom!
Lindsay Collins   You were with Ron in Saudi Arabia?
Jarod   Your husband. He saved my tail on the third night over Baghdad. When I heard about the accident I, well I tried to make my way here as soon as I could. I want to tell you how sorry I am. Me and a couple of the guys we petitioned the CNO’s office about getting Ron a posthumous Gulf War Commendation.
Ronny Collins   What’s wrong Mom?
Lindsay Collins   Nothing. That’s great, really great. Have you had supper yet?
     
     
    The Centre
Sydney   You’re saying Jarod left this for us?
Broots   When I tried to save this picture of Mr Raines it unzipped an executable that created this program.
Sydney   And I’ll be able to communicate with him and see him?
Broots   Through his encryption, yes.
Sydney   I don’t want Miss Parker to find out about this.
Broots   Uh, wait…Wait a minute! Uh, you want to play political Parcheesie with the ice queen you go, you go right ahead. But I’m not dancing in that minefield, no way.
Sydney   You are afraid of losing your job.
Broots   I’m afraid of losing my life.
     
     
    Ron Collin’s Residence
Jarod   Hey! You get hotdogs and macaroni for dinner every night?
Ronny Collins   I wish.
Jarod   It’s quite a view huh?
Ronny Collins   That’s Orion, the hunter. And that one’s Pegasus.
Jarod   The Winged Horse.
Ronny Collins   That was Dad’s favourite. I can name a lot of stars. Dad and I studied them. We went to see ’em in the desert the night before he left.
Jarod   Really? Just you and your dad?
Ronny Collins   Shh. Mom never liked it when we snuck out late. We never told her.
     
     
    Jarod’s Lair
     
     
    Skyvionics Hangar
Matthews   Hey Jarod! Don’t forget! Tomorrow I need you to play bogey in the Draken.
Jarod   Where is it?
Matthews   They’re prepping it in number 27. That’s two hangar’s
down.
Jarod   Thanks.
Matthews   How many hours have you logged in one of those?
Jarod   Well actually this’ll be my first.
     
     
    The Centre Tech Room
Broots   Looks like Jarod’s been busy. This image was taken last night by one of our KH-11 satellites.
Miss Parker   That’s Le Grange.
Sydney   La Grange?
Miss Parker   One of the Centre’s private unmarked airstrips. It’s somewhere in Virginia, right?
Broots   Right. Mmm. It’s just outside of D.C. This shot’s just before two a.m. Nothing up the sleeve right? And presto a Draken jet.
Miss Parker   Draken.
Broots   Oh. Parked there for three hours until . . . poof.
Sydney   He landed there in the middle of the night undetected?
Miss Parker   And three hours gives him perfect time for a visit to D.C.
Sydney   Why Washington?
     
     
    Jarod’s Lair: Watching Video
Gant   Lieutenant Janice Gant reporting. SPO video record. Collins/Matthews dogfight simulation.
Matthews   Scimitar two. Come in. Do you copy Hammer?
Collins   Uh, roger that Manhunter. System is hot and working great.
Matthews   Let’s try that again at Mach one point eight, throw in a shoulder roll for good measure.
Collins   Come and get me Manhunter.
Matthews   Coming in for the kill. Say your prayers Hammer. Pull out of the roll Collins. Pull out of the roll. You’re heading down. Level off, Collins! Collins! Punch out! Level off Collins! You’re going down. Get out of there. Punch out. Punch out! Collins! Collins!
     
Jarod   You couldn’t punch out because Matthews sent you up in an unsafe plane.
     
     
    Clearview Institute
Deaf Woman   If you don’t understand we’ll just try again. Okay?
Jarod   Okay.
Deaf Woman   Whispering: Jarod please hand me the cup. Very good.
Jarod   Whispering: I owe it all to you.
     
     
    Jarod’s Lair, DSA
Jarod   Listen to me doctor. Listen to me doctor. The kid asks about his father again tell him daddy loved him very much and daddy died in a plane crash. That’s not exactly a lie. Are we clear? Ha! Are we clear?
Hollis   Ahhhh ahhhh!
Jarod   Mr Hollis? Mr Hollis?
Hollis   Argh!
Jarod   Mr Hollis. It’s okay. It’s Jarod. It’s Jarod.
Hollis   Jarod?
Jarod   Are you alright?
Hollis   Nightmare. Shouldn’t you be uploading something?
Jarod   Hiroshima. This is you.
Hollis   The greatest show on earth. I was part of something that should’ve never happened. I helped do this.
Jarod   You couldn’t have known.
Hollis   Ignorance is a poor excuse for murder.
     
     
    Jarod’s Lair
     
     
    Skyvionics Hangar
     
     
Jarod   140 channels. Nothing on.
Lawson   Yeah, my wife says I’ll die with one of those things in my hand.
Jarod   Hmmm.
Lawson   Broke?
Jarod   Defective. Hey, you’re the mechanical whiz. The specs say that there is a failure rate of zero point four percent.
Lawson   So?
Jarod   So I’ve done my own calculations and I’ve come up with a failure rate of three point one percent.
Lawson   Sounds like a bad chip.
Jarod   You’re the expert.
Lawson   That’s a Scimitar chip.
Jarod   Hm mm. And when it fails, whole plane’s affected. Altitude controls, infrared sighting, ejection systems. Ronald Collins didn’t punch out the night of the crash because he couldn’t. 3.1%. Is that what a man’s life is worth at Skyvionics? He wasn’t at the Tail Fpin bar drinking the night before the crash. He was out in the desert. He was star gazing with his son. Why did you lie?
Lawson   I ah, I warned Matthews about the chip but he said the ratio was acceptable. Three point one is nothing against the bottom line.
Jarod   Is that why you doctored the voice recorder?
Lawson   Yeah. Matthews wanted to keep Gant out of the loop. He said we’d all be raking it in once he closed the commercial contracts. Jarod, put yourself in my shoes.
Jarod   I already have.
     
     
    DSA
Young Jarod   Who is that man?
Sydney   It’s no one Jarod. It’s no one.
     
Jarod   Answer the question Sydney. Who is he? And what does he know about my father?
Broots   Sydney, I’m not here.
Sydney   I’m glad we can finally talk again.
Jarod   The plane crash is not exactly a lie. What did he mean by that?
Sydney   I only know him as Mr Raines. Listen Jarod I’ve been searching here and I’ve discovered one thing. Your father was an aviator, an aviator who had flown with . . . Jarod? Jarod!
Jarod   Sydney. Sydney, Sydney. Damn.
Broots   Well, somebody inside cut us off.
Miss Parker   That’s right. Come with me.
     
     
Jarod   Lieutenant Gant, it’s Jarod Wright. There’s something you really should see.
     
Jarod   Uniforms R Us? I need a rush job.
     
     
    The Centre
Miss Parker   I thought we had an understanding, and now… this.
Broots   Well he talked me into it. He forced me.
Miss Parker   He’s not that good.
Broots   I can make it up to you.
Miss Parker   And how do you propose to do that?
Broots   Jarod’s transmission used an old ARPA connection from the early Internet days when it was still a Defence Department System. I’ve zeroed in on his location.
Miss Parker   Hmm. It’s a beginning.
     
     
    Skyvionics
General   Lieutenant?
Gant   Sir? We should be starting in about 30 minutes, Sir.
General   Good. I’ve been waiting six years for this Scimitar system to impress us. Better be now.
Gant   Trust me sir, after what I saw last night, it’s going to be a real eye-opener.
     
     
Matthews   What do you mean you can’t find Dixon?
Mechanic   I’m sorry sir, there’s no answer at his home. He’s probably on his way.
Matthews   Alright. You tell control to confirm that all systems are on line.
Mechanic   Yes sir.
Matthews   And call Dixon’s house again.
     
     
Mechanic   Nothing.
Jarod   The natives must be getting restless.
Matthews   You up for a dogfight?
Jarod   Me? I was born for this moment.
     
     
Matthews   Alright you know the drill.
Jarod   Just like we practiced. Don’t break Mach 1 and don’t get fancy.
Matthews   We’ll be opened miked into the tower so remember we’re on the air and everything’s on the line.
Jarod   Wouldn’t have it any other way.
Matthews   Alright. Here we go. Scimitar Two. Why don’t you make like a bandit.
Jarod   Roger that Manhunter.
Matthews   First off, radar reflection. Scimitar’s advanced avionics will enable Eagle RWR to initiate lock up twice as fast as competitive systems. As he evades, Scimitar will predict angle off tail and lock on a real missile. In the air speed is life and Scimitar is speed. Bang! You’re dead eagle.
Jarod   I always wondered what that felt like. Okay, let’s try this again at Mach one point eight. Let’s really test this system.
Matthews   Roger that! Alright Jarod we’re off the speakers. What the hell do you think you’re doing?
Jarod   Well you want to look good in front of the brass, now don’t you?
Matthews   You follow my lead.
Jarod   I really couldn’t do that. You see there’s a failure rate of three point one percent on any promise I make. Ronald Collins wasn’t so lucky. Come and get me Manhunter.
Matthews   Alright General. Watch and learn.
     
     
Gant   Sir.
General   What the devil is this all about?
Gant   The truth General.
     
     
Matthews   I’ve lost flight control. Eagle, repeat. I’ve lost flight control!
Jarod   That’s because your Scimitar chip has failed just like the one on Ronald Collins’ plane. Scary isn’t it Tom.
Matthews   I can’t punch out. I can’t punch out!
Jarod   I’ll tell you how if you tell me the truth.
Matthews   What the hell are you talking about?
Jarod   Well then you’re going to have to suffer the same fate as Ronald Collins. Do you copy, Manhunter?
Matthews   I had to make good on the quarter.
Jarod   You killed a good man. And then you blamed it on him.
Matthews   I didn’t want that to happen. I’m sorry. He was a friend of mine. I didn’t want that to happen. Get me outta here.
Jarod   Enable your infrared sighting.
Matthews   It’s done.
Jarod   Disable your radar warning system.
Matthews   Set.
Jarod   Pull the eject handle.
Matthews   It won’t work. It still won’t work!
Jarod   Oops, I almost forgot. Cool! Ladies and Gentlemen. Skyvionics Radio has reached the end of another broadcast day. This is Eagle, signing off.
     
General   Let’s go.
     
     
Jarod   Yee haaaa! This is so cool!
     
     
General   Matthews. The Government wants a refund.
     
     
Ronny Collins   Oh….Yes. Mom! Mom! Come look at this.
     
     
Hollis   Well I guess it’s not easy living next to a nutcase.
Jarod   You’re not crazy Mr Hollis. I believe everything you told me. I’m still not sure about the Eleanor Roosevelt thing. There is another piece of information that I’d like you to keep your eye on.
Hollis   What’s that?
Jarod   It’s in Delaware, Blue Cove, a place called “The Centre”. That’s the only map you’re ever going to find it on. It’s a dangerous place. People should be made aware. If you know what I mean.
Hollis   Oh yeah. This is real ripe. I’ll spread the word.
Jarod   I’m counting on it. Good luck.
Hollis   You too. Uh Jarod I don’t know what it is you’re after but I hope you find it.
     
     
    Tail Fin Bar
Sam   Miss Parker.
Bartender   You’re Miss Parker?
Miss Parker   That’s right.
Bartender   Hmm.
Sam   What is it?
Miss Parker   Silly Putty. Do you have a mirror. “Late Pilot Cleared of Error”
     
     
Miss Parker   Nothing.
Raines   I’m beginning to dread that the Parker killer instinct wasn’t hereditary.
Miss Parker   I’ll find him, sir.
Raines   Let me be perfectly clear. Jarod is not some minor inconvenience for you to pad your Centre expenses with.
Miss Parker   I understand Mr Raines.
     
     
    Concert Hall
Stage Manager   We’re ready for you sir.
Jarod   Help yourself.

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