4-15 Junk

Junk

You’re the only person that I trusted. You were like a… You should have stopped them, Sydney!

Jarod

Junk

You’re the only person that I trusted. You were like a… You should have stopped them, Sydney!

Jarod

Original air date: March 25, 2000

Written by: Harry Dunn

Directed by: Michael Zinberg

Jarod poses as a drug addict to save the daughter of a man who years earlier worked as an orderly at the Centre – and who tried to protect a young Jarod from a horrible drug experiment.

Jarod’s Discoveries:

Jarod’s Occupations: Junkie

Jarod’s Aliases: Jarod

Behind the scenes insights and the Creator’s Take

Official Synopsis

Posing as a drug addict, Jarod infiltrates a disreputable drug rehabilitation center to rescue a young mother fighting for custody of her young son.

As part of a sinister Centre experiment to perfect a synthesized narcotic that enhances mental performance without producing brain damage, a young Raines injects a struggling, young Jarod with drugs. Raines leaves young Jarod in the care of a horrified orderly, David Arnold. In the hours that follow, David never leaves young Jarod as he battles drug withdrawal and pleads with David to give him little doses of drugs to make the pain go away. David refuses, but remains to comfort the boy. Young Jarod screams for his family, and when he confides in David that he does not know their whereabouts, David pulls out a photo. The photo reveals a happy David with his young daughter, Jill. David tells Jarod to hold onto the photo and consider his family his own. When Raines reappears, David tries valiantly to protect Jarod from harm. Days later, Raines arranges to have David drowned in his own swimming pool. Young Jarod holds onto his new “family” photo into his adult life.

In the present day, in a slum tenement, police officers and paramedics roust a collection of addicts. One junkie, a gaunt-looking Jarod, resists help. The next day, an officer transports a trembling Jarod to a run-down building that houses a state-run drug rehabilitation center called “The Vista Center.” The officer hands Jarod over to Garrett Mohr. Later, Jarod meets with Dr. Jason Earl, the center’s clinical psychologist. Earl has Jarod sign a consent form empowering the center to place him in lockdown.

As Garrett escorts Jarod down the halls, Jarod observes a battery of surveillance cameras. Later, a patient named Huey deliberately runs into a nurse pushing a pharmacy cart. As the nurse picks up the spilled medication, Huey tries to grab some pills. Two orderlies tackle Huey, giving Jarod eerie insight into the recovery methods implemented at Vista. Later, inside his barren room, Jarod opens his overnight bag and removes a false bottom. Inside are newspaper headlines reading, “Women’s Quest for Custody Ends in Heroin Overdose,” and “Missing Mother Found Unconscious In Park.” The photo of the mother is Jill Arnold, David’s daughter.

Dr. Earl leads a therapy session with six patients in the rehab lounge. Jill Arnold, 36, looks like she hasn’t slept in days. Jill reveals that as a result of a mysterious binge, she lost custody of her son the previous week. Dr. Earl tells Jill she must admit that she does have a drug problem. With the session over, Jarod initiates a conversation with Jill. Jarod tells her that he intends to help her as a favor to her father. Jill looks incredulously at Jarod, as her father has been dead for some 20 years. Before Jarod can explain, Garrett interrupts their moment to announce that Jill’s son has arrived for a visit.

Chris Moffett, a sweet but sad five-year-old, sits at a courtyard table. With Chris is his father and Jill’s ex-husband, Todd Moffett, and Hillary Strick, Todd’s blonde fiancée. When Dr. Earl brings Jill to the courtyard, Chris runs to his mother and embraces her. The twosome have a tearful conversation about their painful separation. Jarod watches the emotional reunion from a video surveillance room.

Jarod enters Jill’s room and is able to continue their previous conversation. Jarod gives her David’s photograph, showing an innocent 16-year-old Jill with her father at a swim meet. Jarod explains how he met her father. Jill confesses that as teenager she developed a drug problem, but her father got her clean. Then she married Todd and had Chris. She mysteriously relapsed. So Jill got clean again, obtained her teaching credentials and the court was ready to give her custody of Chris. However, the day before her final hearing, drugs somehow got into her body. Jill has no idea how narcotics entered her system. All Jill remembers is that she came to the Vista for her weekly drug test. Three days later, she awoke strung out in the park. Jarod hides when Dr. Earl enters the room. Earl attaches a patch to Jill’s neck to help her sleep. After Earl leaves, Jarod checks the content of this patch and finds it is laced with heroin.

Jarod yells at Garrett for forcing drugs on Jill, but Garrett insists he did not doctor her patches. The only person with access to the patches is Dr. Earl. Subsequently, Jarod learns that Earl is a closet junkie himself, and that someone is paying Earl to keep Jill drugged. Jarod discovers a college connection between Dr. Earl and Hillary, Todd’s fiancée. Hillary, it turns out, has induced Dr. Earl to keep Jill drugged.

Jarod lures Hillary to Dr. Earl’s office. Donning orderly scrubs, he offers an impatient Hillary bottled water…which has been laced with drugs. Jarod has already sabotaged Dr. Earl’s ever-present Evian bottle with the same substance. Later, at a darkened warehouse, Jarod straps Dr. Earl and Hillary to recliner-like chairs. Jarod accuses Hillary of marrying a rich man, divorcing him and getting a big payday…along with his son, Chris. Consequently, she could gain custody by turning the mother into a repeat junkie. As the two weaken and writhe in pain from the drugs Jarod gave them, Hillary begins to break. She admits that they needed money to pay for Dr. Earl’s gambling debts. Dr. Earl relents and admits he gave Jill the final heroin patch to ensure that she would lose custody of Chris. Upon that admission, a stoic Todd Moffett steps out of the darkness. Later, Todd, Chris and Jill leave the facility together, as Jill tells Jarod she plans on taking one day at a time.

Movies

Junk Transcript


		Teaser Scene 1
Scottsdale, Arizona. Daytime		Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots walk up a set of very seedy stairs.


Broots		It’s Jarod’s last lair, we know that much.
Sydney		How long since he left?
Broots		It’s about twenty-four hours. We got a clean-up crew taking the place apart as we speak.
Miss Parker		Same old song and dance.
		[They enter a very grimy and decrepit room, where a number of people in white coats are at work. Miss Parker looks around, sees a man in a wheelchair speaking to someone, and does a double take.]
Parker		Who’s the egg-head in the go-cart?
Broots		That’s Dr. Guchi Tuchen.
Sydney		The new head of the Centre’s clean-up unit. Credentials impeccable.
Broots		Yeah, he’s from Calcutta
Parker		Remind me to cancel the frozen steaks for Christmas.
		[Dr. Tuchen sees them and guides his chair toward them, smiling.]
Broots		Dr. Tuchen, this is—
Dr. Tuchen		Ah, the infamous Miss Parker. Excuse me for not standing.
Parker		Not a problem. So, what did our little genius leave us to clean up this time?
Dr. Tuchen		I’m afraid it’s a bit disturbing in nature.
Sydney		How so?
		[Dr Tuchen wheels around to the table and picks up a long, hand-rolled cigarette from the debris of vials of drugs, syringes, matches, razors, and tourniquets on the table and hands it to Sydney, who smells it.]
Sydney		PCP.
Parker:		Ridiculous! Jarod wouldn’t use drugs.
Dr. Tuchen		I’m afraid I will have to disagree. We ran a series of field tests on the blood residue of the syringes, and it matched Jarod’s perfectly.
Sydney		[looking at everything on the table] With what Jarod’s been through, addiction is a distinct possibility.
Broots		Jarod’s a junkie?
Dr. Tuchen		We also found this.
		[He hands Miss Parker a notecard with 101776A22 written on it.]
Parker		It’s Jarod’s writing.
Broots		You think he left it here by accident?
Parker		Maybe he really is caught up in some kind of drug haze.


		Scene 2
A filthy corridor in a city building. Nighttime.		Policemen, firefighters, and paramedics make their way amid drug debris, filth, and rats.
Policeman		got one over here already in the building. I don’t know what he’s one, but you’re gonna have to lock him down. How’s your personal injury insurance?
Paramedic		Paid in full. Alright, no one’s gonna hurt ya. We just wanna make sure you’re OK. [He kneels by the drug addict huddled on the floor.] Let’s do this easy, OK, pal? Come on.
		[The drug addict rolls away, flailing, and we see that it is Jarod.]
Policeman		Easy. Easy.
Paramedic		OK, let’s go. Nice and easy.
		[They pull Jarod to his feet. He struggles, and they all collapse. They rush him, and he fights them, screaming.]
Jarod		No—no! Mommy—no! No! Mommy! Dad! No!
Policeman		Grab his feet!
Jarod		Mommy—Dad—don’t let them take me! [He screams as they handcuff him.]
		Intro, credits.


		Act 1 Scene 1
Vista House Drug Rehabilitation Center, Scottsdale.		An ambulance and police car pull up outside the rehab center. Two cops drag Jarod, struggling, inside. He is wearing a red t-shirt and is very scruffy. They push him down into a seat. An orderly and a security guard approach.
Orderly		What do we got?
Policeman		Better keep both eyes on this one.
		[The orderly stares at him. Jarod is twitching and grunting.]


		Scene 2
Vista House; an office.		Jarod is sitting in front of the desk, no longer handcuffed but still twitching. Dr. Jason Earl is with him, and the orderly is standing behind him.
Dr. Earl		Welcome to Vista House, Mr. Jones. I am Dr. Earl; I am your staff psychologist; I am here to help you with your recovery. Understand that no one can stop you from using but you. [Jarod laughs at him.] Check his bag. Now, Mr. Jones, I need you to sign this. [Holds out a clipboard.]
Jarod		What is it?
Dr. Earl		It is a consent form empowering us to place you in lockdown.
Jarod		Lockdown? I don’t like being locked up.
		[The orderly is looking through his duffle bag.]
Dr. Earl		We need to take control during the initial period of your withdrawal. Now, I know that may sound extreme, but I believe our success rate speaks for itself. [Jarod signs.] Thank you. What do you got, Garrett?
Garrett		A change of clothes, bathrobe, wallet, forty-eight dollars cash, red notebook, blank.
Jarod		I keep a journal.
Dr. Earl		Excellent. Part of your recovery will be writing down a searching and fearless moral inventory.
Garrett		Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. [He holds up a small bag of white powder. Jarod becomes agitated.]
Dr. Earl		[taking the bag with an annoyed look] We have a code of ethics around here. It’s called the circle of trust. You gain our trust, it comes back to you in the way of privileges. Betray that trust, and the circle is broken. [Jarod, deeply agitated, tries to snatch the bag.] Consider this a warning.
Jarod		I don’t feel so good.
Dr. Earl		Get him a bucket.


		Scene 3
The Centre, Blue Cove, Delaware. Daytime.		Miss Parker is in her office, reading a newspaper with her feet up on her desk. Broots is standing in front of her sheepishly, and Sydney is sitting against the wall.
Parker		[reading] I am searching for a special man. If you are handsome, emotionally secure, and have learned some of life’s harder lessons, we might have something in common. [Broots chuckles.] How does it feel to be the mayor of Loserville?
Broots		I—I—I read that for entertainment.
Parker		[With a sarcastic wink] Right.
Sydney		What did you find out about Jarod’s latest clue?
Broots		The ten-seventeen-seventy-six clearly relates to October 17, 1976. The A-22 part has me stumped, though. It’s either August or April 22, and it could relate to SL-22.
Parker		Maybe if you stop reading the want ads and—I’ll be damned.
Broots		What? What is it?
Parker		My lucky day, apparently. [She picks up the newspaper and looks at the top right-hand corner, where it says A-22.] A-22. Section A, page 22. Broots, go get the microfiche from the Blue Cove paper dated October 17, 1976. [Broots hurries away.] Maybe we can find out why Jarod is hopped up on heroin. [Sydney does not respond to her satisfaction.] Sydney? You alright?


		Scene 4
Vista House		Two orderlies pull Jarod down a corridor.
Jarod		OK, I’m cured. Let me out of here.
Garrett		This is how to plays: the doctors are like the generals: they’re sitting up there on the hill, they’re watching the battle. Alright, but I’m the grunt: I’m down there in the field, I’m looking out for my buddies. You gonna be my buddy there, Jarod?
Jarod		Sure, why not?
Garrett		Good answer. OK, I bring you your meals, I supervise your drug tests, I clean your clothes, I will even mop up your puke, man. The only thing I ask in return is that you don’t give me any trouble. This ain’t easy, what you’re gonna be going through, but I can help make it a whole lot more productive, OK?
		[They pass Huey, a thin young man with brown hair leaning against the wall. He watches for the nurse passing with her cart of medications, rushes toward her, runs into the cart, and snatches a few pills.]
Huey		Sorry. [Walks away nonchalantly.]
Garrett		Rusty!
		[Two orderlies rush Huey and grab him, force him to the floor.]
Huey		Hey hey hey! I’m sick! I need something!
Garrett		See that guy? He’s not my buddy. Alright, come on. We’re gonna make a pit stop. [Picks up a small cup and ushers Jarod into the men’s bathroom.] In here. Fill it up, unleaded. [Gives the cup to Jarod.]
Jarod		I need some privacy.
Garrett		[shrugging] You’re holding the cup, aren’t you?


		Scene 5
Vista House		A security guard and an orderly let Garrett and Jarod into the Detox Wing.
Garrett		Well, not exactly the Four Seasons, but let’s face it: you couldn’t afford the Four Seasons.
		[He lets Jarod into a locked room with a bed, a chair, a bedside table, a small table, a tall wardrobe, a sink, a toilet, and a very high ceiling. Shaking violently, Jarod huddles on the floor by the bed.]
Jarod		It’s so cold in here…
Garrett		Yeah, well, you won’t think so once the hot-flashes kick in. Alright, you got a bucket for whatever comes up, and it will come up, alright? Trust me.
Jarod		I don’t think I can do this. I just, uh, need a little something—you know, to carry me through—you understand, just something for tonight, please! [He grabs Garrett’s leg.] I can’t do this!
Garrett		Get your hands off me, man!
Jarod		Come on! Don’t leave me in here! Don’t leave me in here don’t leave me in here come one don’t leave me in here!
		[Garrett leaves, and the door locks behind him. When he walks away, Jarod calms down instantly. He rolls up his pant leg and pulls a bottle of ipecac from his sock.]
Jarod		Well, bottoms up.
		[He drinks it and makes a face, hides the bottle again. Garrett, talking in the corridor with two other orderlies, hears him throwing up and goes to peer in the window in his door. Making a face of his own, he returns to his friends. Jarod watches him through the window and watches another orderly escorting a short, dark-haired young woman past his door. Sitting in the corner between the door and the bedside table where he can’t be seen from the window, he takes everything out of his duffle bag and removes the bottom. Underneath that he has an electronic device for unlocking doors and a red notebook. He looks in the notebook at a newspaper article that says, “Mother loses custody after drug charges,” then at a second that says, “Missing woman found unconscious in park,” with a picture of the dark-haired young woman and the name Jill Arnold.]


		Scene 6
Vista House, a meeting room.		A number of people sit in a circle, including Jarod, Huey, Jill Arnold (who is smoking), and Dr. Earl.

Dr. Earl		We have a new member of our group. This is Jarod.
Huey		Welcome to Heroin Hilton, Jarod.
Dr. Earl		Thank you, Huey. Jarod, why don’t you tell the group what brought you here?
Jarod		[smoking and turned away from the others] A large cop with bad breath.
Dr. Earl		Very clever. Perhaps you could be a little more specific.
Huey		You know, man, there’s nothing you can tell us we haven’t already heard or seen.
Jarod		Let’s just say I’m going through a slight identity crisis.
Dr. Earl		OK. Today I want to talk about responsibility. About how we refuse to take responsibility for our addiction. Instead we blame everybody and everything else.
Huey		Well, I’ll tell you this, Doc. You know, if I fall back into my habit, I’m blaming Jill.
Jill		Shut up, Huey.
Huey		She’s driving me nuts. Crying every five seconds, yammering on about her smack binge last week. “I’m clean, I didn’t use, I don’t know how it happened—”
Jill		It’s the truth. I don’t know how it happened.
Huey		That’s wack, baby.
Jarod		Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a support group.
Huey		She tested positive for opiates, dude. Her denying she even used is a lie. You’re a liar!
Jill		I’m not a liar.
Huey		[whispering]: Liar liar liar.
Jarod		You don’t know that.
Huey		Well, OK, new meat. Maybe the smack just kinda floated down from the heavens and landed right in your bloodstream!
Jill		I lost custody of my son last week. Why would I jeopardize the most important thing in my life to use?
Huey		Because you’re a junkie?
Jill		I’m not a junkie anymore, Huey. I don’t want him seeing me in here like this.
Dr. Earl		Have an attitude of gratitude, Jill. Hmm? You’re blessed. Your son is going to get to see you again, clean and alive. What Huey is saying is that you need to accept the fact that you have a problem.
Jill		I know I have a problem, Dr. Earl. I lost my son.


		Scene 7
The Centre. Evening.		Sydney, Miss Parker, and Broots are in Sydney’s lab looking at a paper.

Broots		Section A, page 22 had five obituaries, so I ran the names through the database, and one of them, a guy named David Arnold, used to work here.
Parker		When?
Broots		Doesn’t say. And there’s no other information on him, which is really strange, because you know how this place is about background checks.
Parker		Which makes your presence here even more of a mystery.
Sydney		This is ridiculous! What if something happens to Jarod while we’re chasing ghosts?
		[They stare at him. He turns and strides away.]
Parker		Broots, keep working the number codes. And stay on this David Arnold lead.
Broots		Sure, no problem.
Parker		And, Broots? You report only to me.
		[Broots gives a half-shrug and leaves.]


		Scene 8
Vista House		Jill Arnold sits smoking and looking at a picture. Jarod approaches with a covert glance at the security guard.

Jarod		[holding out a cup of coffee] That’s a fine-looking little boy you have there. I never actually knew my mother, but I always imagined how great our relationship would be.
Jill		Look—Jarod, right? I appreciate you defending me in here, but please, leave me alone, OK?
Jarod		Sorry, I can’t do that. [He sits down next to her, speaking quietly.] You see, the reason I’m in here is to help you, as a favor to your father.
Jill		My father’s been dead for over twenty years.
Jarod		Jill, I know.
Garrett		[entering] Jill, your little boy’s here. He’s waiting for you in the visitation lounge.
Jill		I can’t let him see me like this.
Jarod		You’re his mother. Nothing can change the way he feels about you.
		[Jill stares at him, then gets up and leaves. Garrett follows. In the security room, a security guard is watching the security monitors and drinking coffee. Suddenly he doubles over, holds his stomach, and rushes from the room. Jarod slips in with his handy ipecac bottle and sits down at the monitors. He turns up volume on one of the cameras so he can hear the conversation between Jill’s little boy and his father.]
Todd Moffett		Hillary and I have a lot to do with you today, sport. We’ve got to pick up your tux for the wedding, I’ve got to get the plane tickets, so you just say hi to Mommy, and then let’s get going, OK?
Hillary Strick		Todd, honey, the tuxedo shop is open late, and the travel agent can messenger you the tickets.
Chris		Please, Daddy?
Hillary		Chris, you spend as much time with your mommy as you want, OK?
Chris		OK.
Hillary		[turning him around with a smile] Guess who?
		[Jill comes out considerably cleaned up. Chris runs to her.]
Chris		Mommy!
Jill		Hey! It’s you! Oh, I missed you so much!
Chris		I missed you, too. Why are you shaking, Mommy?
Jill		Mommy’s been sick, baby.
Chris		Are you gonna get better?
Jill		Yes! And guess what? If Dr. Earl says it’s OK, I can come home in a couple of days.
Chris		Does that mean I get to live with you?
Jill		Oh—honey—no.
Chris		Don’t you love me anymore?
Jill		Yes, of course I do! I love you with all my heart!
		[She hugs him close. Hillary and Todd walk away holding hands. Jarod gazes at the viewscreen.]
Dr. Earl		Garrett!
		[Jarod jumps. Dr. Earl is standing in the doorway behind him.]
Dr. Earl		The circle of trust, Jarod. Whatever you’re doing in here, you just broke the circle. Get him back to his room.
		[Garrett enters, frustrated. Moments later he shoves Jarod onto his bed. Jarod acts tough; Garrett dares him to try something.]
Garrett		Come on! [Jarod subsides.] Yeah. [He closes and locks the door.]


Act 2		Scene 1
Vista House		Jarod is in his room. He checks the security camera outside his door, then pulls his electronic lock pick from his bag. It deciphers the numerical code to his door, and he slips out of his room while the security camera is pointed in the opposite direction. At Jill Arnold’s door, he deciphers her code and slips in before the camera comes in that direction. Jill is painting her fingernails.

Jill		What are you doing here?
Jarod		I just want to talk to you. This is the only place that we can talk unmonitored. Please trust me.
Jill		Just leave me alone.
Jarod		[pulling a picture from his pocket and holding it out] I don’t think he would have wanted that. [It is a picture of a young Jill holding a large swimming trophy with an older man standing with her.]
Jill		Where did you get this?
Jarod		Your father gave it to me. I was taken from my family when I was a boy. That photograph was your father’s way of giving me a family when I needed one. [He sits down.] I realize that all this sounds crazy, but it’s the truth. You don’t belong in here, and I know you never would have done anything to jeopardize the custody of your son.
Jill		[smiling faintly and nodding] I remember when this picture was taken. I was a Junior in high school. That was the year everything went crazy. I met this great guy—a dealer. I got strung out so fast…
Jarod		And your father got you clean.
Jill		[smiling] No guilt trips. Just unconditional love. Then he died. I stayed clean through the whole thing. I was clean for a long time. That’s when I met Todd. We got married, had Chris. It was such a good life.
Jarod		And then you started using again.
Jill		Yeah. I don’t have an excuse for it. I screwed up. By the time I realized what I had done, Todd had left. He took Chris. Then Todd met Hillary. I knew if I was ever going to get my boy back, I could never use drugs again. So I got clean again. I got my teaching credential. Everything was fine. The court was going to give me custody. And the day before the final hearing…I swear to God I don’t remember using. So I lost any chance of getting my little boy back.
Jarod		There is always a chance.
Jill		Not for me. Once Hillary and Todd get married, she can legally adopt him, and that’s the end.
Jarod		Tell me about this day that you say you don’t remember using.
Jill		I remember the morning. I was clean. I came here for my weekly drug test. I woke up three days later strung out in the park. I wouldn’t have thrown it all away, not my life! Not my family!
		[Someone begins to unlock the door. Jarod motions to Jill to be quiet and slips behind the wardrobe. Dr. Earl enters.]
Dr. Earl		Hello, Jill. How are we feeling today?
Jill		OK.
Dr. Earl		Good. Nurses tell me you’ve been having a little trouble sleeping. Would you like a clonidine patch?
Jill		Yes, please.
		[He pulls a wrapped package from his pocket and applies a small patch to the back of Jill’s neck, gives her a friendly squeeze of the shoulders.]
Dr. Earl		There. That should help you relax.
Jill		Thank you.
Dr. Earl		Jill, I just want to let you know, if all goes well, I think I can have you out of here by Friday.
Jill		Really?
Dr. Earl		Really. We just want to make sure that you’re ready, and there aren’t going to be any setbacks, OK?
Jill		I’m ready. I promise.
Dr. Earl		Good. Get some sleep, and I will check in on you later, OK?
		[He leaves. Jarod comes out from his hiding place with a sigh of relief.]


		Scene 2
The Centre, Miss Parker’s office.		Parker, Broots, and Sydney are in a meeting.

Broots		The Delaware cartographer’s office is emailing me a map coded 10-17-76. A-22 should be the coordinates that lead us to Jarod.
Parker		Good work.
Sydney		Will you let us know the minute it comes in?
Broots		Oh, yeah, yeah. [Begins to leave with Sydney.]
Parker		Broots? I want to review your G-4 report with you.
Broots		[reluctant] I’ll catch up with you, Sydney.
		[Sydney nods and leaves.]
Parker		What do you got?
Broots		OK, you know Winky, the old guy with the facial tics that works down in the infirmary?
Parker		We haven’t had the pleasure.
Broots		OK, anyway, he remembers this David Arnold used to work there as an orderly like twenty years ago, so I cross-referenced Arnold’s name with the infirmary’s DSA database, and I came up with two matches. The only problem is, they’re missing from Winky’s archives.
Parker		Somebody’s really gone to some trouble erasing this guy from the history books around here.
Mr. Raines		[entering with his oxygen tank and a Bible] You’ve been making unauthorized entries into the infirmary’s database. If it’s David Arnold you want to know about, I can tell you he was one of the kindest, gentlest men I ever had the pleasure of knowing. What’s he doing these days?
Parker		Pushing up daisies. [Mr. Raines looks very shocked.] Arnold is deader than your hair follicles.
Raines		[looking grieved] Tell me then, Miss Parker, how does David Arnold get you any closer to finding Jarod?
Parker		We pursue all avenues in pursuit of Jarod. Even the dead ones. [Mr. Raines leaves.] He wouldn’t be bugging us about a database hit unless he had something to hide. The answer lies in those missing DSAs, which are most likely in Raines’ private collection.
		[She gives Broots a meaningful look. He sighs, resigned.]


		Scene 3
Vista House, the courtyard.		People are exercising. Others are standing around watching. Huey works on a motorcycle. Jarod wanders over to him.

Jarod		Hey, nice ride, dude. What are we waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of here.
Huey		Even if I could start it, they don’t let me ride it. You know anything about motorcycle maintenance?
Jarod		Well, I read a book on it once. Nothing to do with motorcycles, however. [He puts his hands on the handlebars.] Does it flood when you hit the throttle?
Huey		Yeah.
Jarod		[picking up a loose part] The tabs from your float bowl are disconnected from the needle, see?
Huey		[takes it and looks at it] I’ll be damned. Hey, thanks.
Jarod		Cool shirt. What’s “Skint-Rabbit”?
Huey		It’s a rock and roll band. We had a big hit in the ‘80s. “Bloody Love Bones”?
Jarod		I was kind of out of it in the ‘80s. And the ‘70s. Most of the ‘90s, for that matter.
Huey		Yeah, who wasn’t? But I was their head roadie. We went everywhere. Toured with the biggest. Stones, Allman Brothers. Then we released two lame albums. Next thing you know we were warming up high school gyms for Air Supply.
Jarod		Were they having trouble with their ventilation system?
Huey		[stares, then grins] Exactly! [Gives him a high-five.]
Jarod		[who has begun shaking again] Hey, listen, brother, um—I really need to score.
Huey		I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Jarod		Come on, your clammy skin, your beady little pupils—I think you know exactly what I mean. Come on. Help me out.
Huey		Garrett’s your man.
Jarod		Garrett?
Huey		Unless he got busted again.
Jarod		Again?
Huey		Earl nailed him a few weeks ago dealing smack to an out-patient.
Jarod		How does an orderly in a drug rehabilitation center get away with that?
Huey		Hey, man, if there’s stuff going on around here, none of us will ever know about it.


		Scene 4
Vista House, a sitting room.		Jarod enters the room and finds Jill lying on a couch, clammy and out of it.

Jarod		Jill? Jill! Jill! [He checks her eyes: they are rolled up into her head.] Somebody get in here! She’s OD-ing! [Dr. Earl and Garrett rush in.] Jill!
Dr. Earl		I will take care of this. I will take care of this!
Jarod		[as Garrett hauls him out] Check her respiration!
Dr. Earl		I need an airway and some O2, stat!
Garrett		[shoving Jarod into a room across the hall] Get in there! Get in there!
Dr. Earl		Jill! Jill? Jill, how did you do this to yourself?


Act 3		Scene 1
The Centre, Miss Parker’s office, evening.		Broots hurries into Miss Parker’s office.

Broots		Raines almost caught me. I had to hide under his couch for over an hour! Then his masseuse came in and rubbed him down with oil while they were singing “Shall We Gather At the River?”
Parker		[plugging one in] You are not going to believe this.

		Scene 2
Vista House, Jill’s room		Jarod hurries in. Jill is sitting huddled in a corner of the room.
Jarod		Jill—
Jill		[sobbing and shaking] Jarod, I swear, I don’t know how this happened!
Jarod		It doesn’t matter. What matters now is getting you through this. Come on! Let’s get you into bed. Come on. [He helps her up and into bed and grabs some extra blankets.]
Jill		I’m beginning to think maybe I’m doing this. I can’t remember what’s happening to me anymore! I can’t go through this again! I don’t have the strength.
Jarod		You’re going to have to find the strength, for your son.
Jill		I’ve lost him!
Jarod		No! You haven’t. [He gets her a bucket as she throws up.]
Jill		Why are you doing this?
Jarod		I owe your father.
Jill		[coughing and crying] For what?
		[Jarod sighs, remembering.]

		Scene 3
The Centre, Miss Parker’s office		Parker and Broots watch the DSA.

Young Jarod		Somebody help me!
		[Young Jarod is lying on his bed, writhing and screaming, holding his stomach, kicking, clutching his pillow.]
Young Jarod		Somebody help me!
Parker		So, he had a bad flu.
Broots		This isn’t the flu, Miss Parker. Watch.
		[The DSA shows Mr. Raines bending over Young Jarod as he lies on his bed tapping his fingers against his leg. Mr. Raines prepares a syringe and plunges it into Jarod’s arm. Jarod relaxes, his eyes rolling up a little.]
Parker		The self-righteous son of a bitch got Jarod hooked on narcotics.

		Scene 4
Vista House, Jill’s room		Jarod pours Jill a cup of water. She is huddled on her bed swathed in blankets.

Jarod		Here. [He sits next to her and holds out the cup.] You have to drink, stay hydrated. [He helps her drink.] One more. One more.
Jill		No. [She drinks.] Why would that place—why would the Centre give a child drugs?
Jarod		Because to them I was never a child. [Gives her more water.]

		Scene 5
The DSA.		Young Jarod is huddled on his bed, clutching a pillow, Mr. Raines standing over him. David Arnold enters.

David		You called for me, Doctor?
Raines		I need you to clean up the room. The boy’s sick.
David		Yes, sir. Hey, kid, I’m one of the orderlies.
Jarod		Help me. Please.
David		What’s wrong with you?
		[Jarod holds out his arm and shows him the needle tracks.]
David		Oh, my God. Who did this to you?
Jarod		Please…help me.
David		Just hang in there, buddy. I’m going to help you through this, OK? Everything’s going to be fine.
Broots		That’s David Arnold.
Parker		There’s the connection to Jarod. Arnold helped him get through detox.

		Scene 6
Vista House, Jill’s room		Jarod wipes Jill’s forehead with a wet cloth.

Jill		I’m so hot—I feel like I’m burning up.
Jarod		Just hang tough. It’ll pass.

		Scene 7
DSA		Young Jarod huddles in bed while David Arnold wipes his face with a wet cloth.

Jarod		I hurt all over.
David		Hang tough. It’ll pass.
		[Jarod throws up.]

		Scene 8
Vista House, Jill’s room		Jarod holds on to Jill

Jill		I don’t think I can do this.
Jarod		Yes, you can. Just stay focused on me. Come on, come on.


DSA		David Arnold holds on to Young Jarod

Jarod		Just a little bit to make the pain go away.
David		I can’t do that, Jarod.
Jarod		I can’t do this!

		Scene 10
Vista House, Jill’s room		Jarod hold’s Jill

Jill		You’ve got to get me something. Please—please—get me something!
Jarod		[picking up the picture of Jill and her son]<br How about him? Is he enough?
		[Jill holds the picture close and sobs. Jarod holds her close.]

		Scene 11
DSA		David Arnold holds Young Jarod close.

Jarod		I need my family here to help me.
David		Where is your family?
Jarod		I—I don’t know. I can’t remember.
		[David pulls out his wallet and removes the picture of himself and his daughter.]
David		Here. You hang on to that. Let my daughter Jill and I be your family.
Jarod		I don’t know—how I’m ever going to repay you for this.
David		Don’t worry about it. One day you will.

		Scene 12
The Centre, Miss Parker’s office		Miss Parker, watching the DSA intently, turns it off.

Broots		Oh, OK, Miss Parker, you have to see the next DSA. [He puts it in.]

		Scene 13
DSA		Mr. Raines and David Arnold are in Jarod’s room.

Raines		Mr. Arnold.
David		Yes, sir.
Raines		You’re to be commended. [Leads David out of the room, where two sweepers are waiting.]
David		you. I don’t mean to overstep my position here, but what possible reason did you have to get this kid hooked on drugs?
Raines		That’s not your concern.
David		Well, I’m making it my concern, sir. [He tries to go back in the room, but the sweepers stop him.]
Raines		You will be amply rewarded for your efforts.
David		You know, you can keep your money. I don’t want anything to do with this place.
		[Raines smiles at him as he walks out, then speaks to one of the sweepers.]
Raines		We have a problem.

		Scene 14
		The Centre, Miss Parker’s office

Broots		This is dated October 17, the day before David Arnold accidentally drowned in his own swimming pool.
Parker		Raines had him killed to keep him quiet.
Broots		I can’t help wondering, where was Sydney during all this? He was Jarod’s protector. How could he let this happen?
Parker		That’s a good question.

		Scene 15
Vista House, Jill’s room		Jill looks at the picture of Chris, lying with her head on a pillow on Jarod’s legs as he gently strokes her hair.

Jill		I deserve to lose him. Hillary will make a much better mother. I just don’t know how this happened.
		[Jarod, stroking back the hair from her neck, sees the clonidine patch and picks up the wrapper out of the garbage.]
Jarod		Well, it’s about time we found out.


Act 4		Scene 1
Vista House		Jarod slips out of Jill’s room and breaks into the storage room the old-fashioned way, with lock picks. He performs a chemical test on a clonidine patch. The results make him take on his familiar dark look. He leaves the storage room and strides down the corridor, making sure the security camera sees him. A security guard sees him on the monitors.

Guard		[in his radio] Garrett! We got a patient loose.
		[Garrett enters Jarod’s locked room. Jarod is there.]
Garrett		What the hell were you doing out of your room?
Jarod		Are you afraid I was going to find your drug stash?
Garrett		Alright, you son of a bitch.
		[He attacks Jarod. Jarod punches him and easily subdues him.]
Jarod		How could you do that? How could you give drugs to a woman who was trying to turn her life around?
Garrett		What the hell you talking about?
Jarod		I’m talking about Jill Arnold! I’m talking about doctoring her clonidine patch with pure heroin!
Garrett		I didn’t!
		[Jarod punches him again. He falls to the floor, and Jarod grabs his head and pushes his face into the toilet.]
Jarod		Do you want to deal with me, or should I call the police?
Garrett		Go to hell!
Jarod		You’re the drug supplier here. Why did you do it?
Garrett		I swear—I swear—I don’t even have access to the clonidine patches! Only Dr. Earl could have laced them with heroin!
Jarod		Heroin he got from you! [Pushes Garrett’s head back in the water.]
Garrett		Alright! Alright—alright. He caught me dealing to Huey. He threatened to have me arrested unless I scored for him. Alright? I had no idea he was going to use it on a patient.
Jarod		Why is Dr. Earl keeping Jill Arnold on drugs?
Garrett		I don’t know—I don’t know! I swear that I don’t! But I can get you into his office.

		Scene 2
Vista House, Dr. Earl’s office		Jarod looks at Dr. Earl’s diploma from the Syracuse College Department of Psychiatry. He gets on the computer and looks up Syracuse College online, clicks on Outstanding Alumni, and sees Dr. Earl’s photo among others. Then he sees Hillary Strick’s photo as well.
Jarod		[on the phone]<br Hello, Hillary. I’m calling for Dr. Earl. It seems a situation has come up regarding Jill Arnold. He needs you to come down here right away.

		Scene 3
Vista House		Jarod goes to work, preparing a substance and adding it to a bottle of water. Outside Dr. Earl and some others jog around the courtyard while Jarod sits nearby in his junkie persona. He pulls the water bottle from his pocket and replaces Dr. Earl’s with it. Dr. Earl stops and takes a drink.

		Scene 4
Vista House, Dr. Earl’s office		Jarod, dressed as an orderly, pours a glass of water for Hillary Strick.

Jarod		Uh, Hillary, right? Dr. Earl said he was running just a little bit late. Can I offer you a glass of water while you wait?
		[She takes it and drinks.]

		Scene 5
The Centre, Broots’ tech room		Miss Parker and Broots show Sydney the DSA of Jarod’s drug withdrawal.

Parker		Sydney, how could you let this happen?
Broots		He was just a boy, Syd.
Sydney		In those days the Centre was working with people who were trying to perfect a synthesized narcotic that might enhance mental performance.
Parker		So you let them experiment on Jarod?
Sydney		It was Raines’ decision. I guess the idea of a great mind like Jarod’s becoming greater still was just too exciting to walk away from. The drug, of course, it turned out, had pretty serious side-effects: rapid addiction, devastating withdrawal…
Parker		So, Raines turns Jarod into a junkie lab rat, and you bury your head in the sand, Sydney? Why?
		[Sydney takes out a DSA and hands it to Miss Parker, then slowly leaves the room. Miss Parker shoves it at Broots, who puts it in the player. The DSA shows the young Sydney on the floor of his office, writhing in the same withdrawal symptoms as Jarod.]
Broots		They turned Sydney into an addict.

		Scene 6
Vista House, the supply room.		Jarod watches as Hillary Strick and Dr. Earl groan, unconscious, in a crib-like structure, their hands bound to the rail. He shakes it, and they wake up.

Hillary		Oh, my God! Where am I?
Dr. Earl		What’s happening to me?
Jarod		I would imagine that Jill Arnold must have asked herself the very same question. Dr. Earl: Jarod…
Jarod		I think we should have a little group therapy session. Only this time the two of you get to be the patients. [He sits down with a grin.]
Dr. Earl		What are you talking about?
Jarod		The circle of trust, Doc. You give Jill Arnold drugs against her will, I do the very same thing to the two of you. Only this time I used a hybrid narcotic that chemically tricks the brain into thinking that you’ve been addicted for years. What you’re experiencing now, physically and mentally, that’s what’s known as “cold turkey.” Gobble, gobble.
Hillary		You’re sick!
Dr. Earl		You son of a bitch.
Jarod		Now, that is not expressing an attitude of gratitude, Doc, but not to worry. I’ve brought along some clonidine patches to help take that pain away. [Waves three packets in front of their faces.]
Dr. Earl		Please—you—give me a patch.
Jarod		First we should talk about investigating our moral self-inventory, to decide which of you actually deserves a patch.
Dr. Earl		Give it to me!
Hillary		Who the hell are you?
Jarod		I’m somebody that can help end your torment. Just tell me the truth.
Hillary		Come on, I can’t take this.
Dr. Earl		Don’t give it to her—give it to me!
Jarod		[gently to Hillary] Just—just talk to me.
Hillary		[sobbing] I can’t!
Jarod		OK. OK!
Dr. Earl		Please—you—give me a patch.
Jarod		I guess you can look forward to the next eight hours with your head in a bucket. [Mimes throwing up.]
Dr. Earl		Jarod, just give me a patch—please.
Jarod		[lighting one of the packets on fire with a lighter] One clonidine patch down.
Dr. Earl		Jarod—Jarod, give it to me!
Hillary		OK—OK. He did it. He needed the money.
Dr. Earl		Don’t, you stupid bitch!
Hillary		Oh, please, come on. You said nobody would find out.
Dr. Earl		No—no. You’re the one that needed that stupid kid! You’re the one that—
Jarod		Whoa, whoa! Hey!
Hillary		Please give me one of the patches!
Jarod		Let me guess. It went something like this: Todd Moffett is a very rich man. So rich, in fact, that if you two were to get divorced, you would stand to make one hell of a payday! Especially if you were to adopt his son. And what better way to ensure custody than to turn his biological mother into a junkie? And who better to help you than your ex-college-sweetheart.
Hillary		How did you know that?
Jarod		Let’s just say that I took a little peak into the Doc’s college yearbook. [Holds up a photograph of Hillary and Dr. Earl with their arms around each other.] You two make such a cute little couple. Seems so sad that college sweethearts such as yourself are going to have to experience such horrific pain. [He sets fire to the other patch.] You see, I’ve had my experience with the little devil you’re on, and let me tell you, it’s a bitch. Only one clonidine patch left. It would be a shame to have to white-knuckle it through such a terrible detox.
Dr. Earl		OK! I did it. I drugged Jill Arnold so she would lose custody of her son. Now could I have that patch, please? Please?
Hillary		No—he did it. Please, give me the patch.
Jarod		Like you say, Doc, recovery starts when an individual admits that he or she has a problem. Isn’t that right, Todd? [Glancing up at Todd Moffett, who has just entered.]
Todd		That’s right.
Hillary		Oh, God.
Jarod		Let me tell you, the two of you have one hell of a problem. [Lights the last patch on fire.]

		Scene 7
Outside Vista House		Todd Moffett arranges Chris’ jacket while Jarod and Huey walk toward them. Jarod is neatly dressed.

Todd		Listen, sport, we’re going to see Mommy in just a few minutes.
Chris		OK.
Huey		So Jill was telling the whole truth after all. I feel like a real punk, laying into her the way I did.
Jarod		Hey, you live and you learn.
Huey		Yeah, but I’ve decided, you know, I’m going to finish up my time here. You know, the right way. I’ve just been kind of going through the motions. I’m gonna start thinking about my future.
Jarod		[clasping hands with him] Good for you.
Huey		Thanks a lot, Jarod. Something for you. [He hands him a CD.]
Jarod		Hey, what’s this?
Huey		Skint Rabbit.
Jarod		Oh, wow.
Huey		“Bloody Love Bones”! But don’t listen to it backwards. You’ll end up here for real. [He walks away.]
Todd		[coming up and offering his hand] Thanks, for everything. I—I hope I can make this up to Jill.
Jarod		Now’s your chance. [Turns him around.]
		[Jill comes out of the building, nicely dressed. Chris runs toward her.]
Chris		Mommy!
		[She picks him up, smiling broadly. Todd walks toward them with a smile.]
Chris		Mommy, are we going home now?
Jill		We are going to go home in two seconds, OK? [She goes to Jarod.]
Jarod		You look good.
Jill		I’m starting to feel good.
Jarod		So, what now?
Jill		One day at a time. Jarod, I don’t know how I could ever repay you for everything you’ve done.
Jarod		[pulling out the picture of her and her father and holding it out to her] The debt’s already been paid.
Jill		Thank you.
		[She hugs him and walks away to her family. Jarod, left alone, turns and walks away.]

		Scene 8
The Centre and a payphone outside Vista House; nighttime.		Sydney answers his phone in his office.

Sydney		Sydney.
Jarod		I didn’t think you’d still be working.
Sydney		Good of you to call. I was getting really worried.
Jarod		Because you thought I might have slipped back into my childhood drug addiction? Just tell me why. Why did you let them do that to me?
Sydney		: Jarod—
Jarod		You’re the only person that I trusted. You were like a… [He pauses, struggling.] You should have stopped them, Sydney!
Sydney		Jarod, I couldn’t.
Jarod		Why not?
Sydney		Because I was a test subject myself.
Jarod		What are you talking about?
Sydney		I asked Raines—rather, I demanded—that you be left out of the drug testing and that they use me instead, and Raines agreed. It was only when I came out of detox that I realized what had happened, that he’d lied.
Jarod		So you sacrificed yourself to protect me. [Sydney is silent.] Why didn’t you ever tell me that?
Sydney		I never wanted you to feel obligated to stay here at the Centre, if you had a chance to get away. I’m sorry, Jarod. I’m really sorry. [He hangs up.]
		[Jarod hangs up the phone and stares blankly at two men pulling a resisting junkie from an ambulance into the Vista House. He picks up his bag and walks slowly away into the darkness.]