Original air date: May 2, 1998

Written by: Juan Carlos Coto

Directed by: Scott Lautanen

A kidnapping case Jarod is working on brings back his own long-buried memories of being abducted from his home as a child and taken to the Centre.

Jarod’s Discoveries: 3-D Puzzles, Kooshballs

Jarod’s Occupations: Doctor, Father stand in

Jarod’s Aliases: Jarod Pearce, George Harper

Behind the scenes insights and the Creator’s Take

Official Synopsis

While solving a kidnapping, Jarod recalls his own memories of being abducted by the Centre.

Jarod closes the book on a murder case he helped solve.  As he leaves a hospital, where he has been masquerading as a doctor, a man who was struck by a car is rushed into the emergency room.  Jarod helps stabilize the man, who keeps asking for someone to save “Jeremy.”  Jarod finds a ransom note and a photo of a young boy in the man’s pocket.  Jarod pretends to be the boy’s father, a computer software billionaire, and takes a phone call from the kidnapper, who asks for $1 million by the next morning.  The phone call brings back Jarod’s own memories of being abducted from his home as a child.

Jarod finds the father’s car, and learns he is Michael Harper, a famous computer software billionaire.  Then someone holds a gun to Jarod’s head.  It turns out to be Doug Pearson, Harper’s head of security, who demands to know what Jarod is doing.  Jarod takes Pearson to Harper’s hospital room, where he explains his actions.  Pearson agrees to let Jarod help.

Jarod begins his search at Jeremy’s school, where the boy was abducted a few hours earlier.  Jarod talks with a teacher and a security guard, Martin Bennett.  That night, Jarod calls Sydney and tells him about his memories of being kidnapped.  The next morning, Broots plays a tape of Jarod and Sydney’s conversation to the others at the Centre.  Mr. Raines believes it is proof that Sydney is aiding Jarod’s flight.  Sydney maintains his connection to Jarod is the only thing that keeps him from disappearing entirely.

Back in California, Jarod looks through Jeremy’s things.  A backpack triggers Jarod’s memory of his own old lunchbox…and of the Sweepers who followed Jarod to school one day.  Back in the present day, Harper regains consciousness and, on Jarod’s advice, feigns amnesia to protect his identity.  Meanwhile, Miss Parker finds a newspaper article focusing on the murder Jarod solved earlier.  She realizes he must be in Sunnyvale.

Jarod goes back to Jeremy’s school and notices a comic-book store across the street.  He scans a tape from the store’s security camera and sees a man in a black hood push Jeremy into a white van.  Then Pearson interrupts Jarod’s viewing.  He has discovered that Jarod isn’t the doctor he claimed to be.  He accuses Jarod of being in league with the kidnappers…but Jarod assures him such is not the case.

Jarod gets a call from the kidnapper, directing him to put the money in a garbage can at a specific intersection.  The kidnapper watches Jarod approach the drop, but calls the deal off when he sees “cops” approaching.  The “cops” turn out to be Miss Parker and the Sweepers.  Jarod confirms that Jeremy has not been harmed, and gets the kidnapper to agree to another drop later.  Then Jarod runs, remembering his first, very scary hours as a Centre hostage.  Jarod makes it back to the hospital, where Harper is working on a new computer language he is planning to call “Jeremy.”  Miss Parker, Sydney and Sam also come to the hospital, where they ask for Jarod.  They go to Harper’s room, but both Jarod and Harper are gone (tipped off by a beeper message from a sympathetic doctor).

Later, Jarod reviews the security video again and sees Martin Bennett in the background, watching Jeremy’s abduction.  A short while later, Bennett is grabbed by a masked man, thrown into a van and bound securely.  Jarod removes his mask and gets Bennett to admit he aided the kidnapper for $100,000.  Bennett also states that Jeremy is being held in a warehouse near the ransom drop site.  Jarod calls Pearson and asks if anyone has been looking for him.  Pearson says no…though we see he is being held at gunpoint by Miss Parker.

Jarod goes back to his lair, where he is immediately grabbed by Sam.  The kidnapper calls, but no one believes Jarod’s plea that he must be allowed to answer the phone.  When Willie tries to put a hood on Jarod, he fights his way free.  Miss Parker aims a gun at him, but Sydney aims at Miss Parker, giving Jarod the chance to run away.

Jarod travels to the warehouse and confronts the kidnapper.  A scuffle ensues.  The kidnapper starts to get the upper hand, but Jarod’s years of rage explode and he knocks the kidnapper unconscious.  Jarod finds Jeremy and returns him to Mr. Harper.  Back at the Centre, Mr. Raines accuses Sydney of botching the capture.  But Miss Harper says she will tell her father it was Willie who erred.  Later, though, in private, she too accuses Sydney of wanting Jarod to remain free.  Sydney admits he sees Jarod’s work on the streets as the fulfillment of his lifelong training.

Back in Sunnyvale, Jarod solves a math problem that was the key to Harper’s programming snafu…and Jeremy suggests they name the new computer language “Jarod” instead of “Jeremy.”