4-17 Meltdown

Meltdown

I’m not exactly who I pretend to be.

Jarod

Meltdown

I’m not exactly who I pretend to be.

Jarod

Original air date: April 29, 2000

Written by: Ethan Lawrence

Directed by: Krishna Rao

Jarod enlists the help of the FBI to trick a group of small-time criminals into revealing which one of them murdered a young girl during one of their previous robberies.

Jarod’s Discoveries:

Jarod’s Occupations: Thief, FBI Agent

Jarod’s Aliases: Mr. Abraham

Behind the scenes insights and the Creator’s Take

Official Synopsis

Jarod joins a collection of small-time criminals to expose the murderer of a young girl.

Jarod assists an unruly group of small-time criminals who break into the headquarters of Magna Tech Unlimited. His accomplices are Mr. Job, Mr. Cain, Mr. Cain’s younger brother, Mr. Abel, and Miss Eve. Dressed in jumpsuits, the criminals enter the building and, after successfully passing themselves off as janitors, crack the security system. They then locate mysterious canisters that their boss, Elijah, has instructed them to steal. Later, at a warehouse, the group collapses in fits of coughing and stumble out of a van as they drag out a frosted stainless-steel container. The container bursts open, sending everyone, including Jarod, back on their heels. Jarod reseals the container and then wipes away the frost, uncovering a label that identifies the contents as nerve gas. Parading as the so-called science expert of the group, Jarod faces the panicked faces of the crew. He tells them they have been exposed to nerve gas and, barring a miracle, they will die in less than six hours.

As one of the Centre’s low-level employees, Leonard, tosses “burn bags” of Centre documents into an incinerator, the word “mirage” catches his eye. Leonard tears open the bag and grabs the “mirage” document. Leonard, who fondly knew Miss Parker’s mother, Catherine, years ago, tells a Sweeper that Miss Parker must see the document. Raines and his Sweepers shoot and kill Leonard as he attempts to phone Miss Parker. However, Leonard was able to leave a message, explaining how he saved the burned “mirage” memo, which concerns an e-mail intercepted from Miss Parker’s computer. The author turns out to be Edna Raines, who sent the message on the day she escaped from a mental institution. Broots finds a video attachment on the message. In the video, a very lucid Edna tells Miss Parker that it is time for her to learn everything about her mother and “mirage.”

The sickly crew wonders if the $100,000 Elijah promised them is worth it. Suddenly, a laptop transmits a video image of Elijah’s face. Jarod explains to Elijah that one of the canisters sprang a leak. Elijah explains that the warehouse contains chemicals from which Abraham (Jarod) can concoct an antidote for the poison. Job demands to know when Elijah plans to pay them the money. Elijah assures Job that his men are one the way. The laptop goes dark, and Jarod goes to work, taking blood samples from each member of the group except Eve. Eve pulls out her gun and states that she will take her chances at the hospital. She heads for the door, but is stopped by voices of police officers. Immediately, Jarod dims the lights and everyone cowers in the shadows. Officers Argus and Belllini enter the warehouse, their flashlights cutting through the darkness. Finally, the cops move out to another part of the warehouse. Jarod then returns to work on the antidote. Job happens upon a news report about the heist. It turns out that a security guard, was found nearly strangled to death near the crime scene. Job turns to the group and angrily asks who attacked the guard. No one confesses. It is then revealed that during a previous robbery, someone in the group snuffed out a little girl named Brittany Tate.

Nerves continue unraveling at the warehouse. Eve tells Jarod that she was resistant to him taking a blood sample because she is pregnant and is worried about harm to her unborn baby. Meanwhile, Abel finds a toy chest in the shadows and opens it. Inside is a photo of Brittany Tate and some of her personal effects. Brittany’s body, it is revealed, had been discovered in a toy box. Suddenly, Officer Argus and Officer Bellini return. The group aims their guns at the officers.

Officer Bellini reveals that he and Officer Argus are Elijah’s messengers and were sent to pick up the gas. When Job asks about their money, Officer Argus throws an envelope on the floor. The envelope only includes $10,000—not the $100,000 promised each person. Officer Bellini explains that Elijah was not satisfied with the violent way the Magna heist transpired. Jarod pulls his gun and shoots Argus point blank in the knee. Argus drops to the floor, screaming in pain. A bleeding Argus screams that the murder of the little girl angered Elijah. Abel screams, clutching the picture of the dead girl. Eve rips the photo in Abel’s hands…and announces it isn’t the girl’s picture. Jarod looks up at her. He then fills syringes with the antidote, but Job grabs Jarod, smashing one of the syringes in the process. Jarod announces that there is not enough antidote for everyone. Eve tells him to leave out the one who killed the little girl. Jarod agrees and distributes the remaining syringes to everyone but her.

Jarod tells Eve she implicated herself when she pointed out that the photograph was not of the little girl. Eve pulls her gun on the group, ready to take anyone out who approaches her. She admits to killing Brittany. Eve fires at Jarod when he refuses to give her the remaining antidote and everyone starts firing at each other with their guns. However, Jarod has loaded all the guns with blanks. Argus rises from the dead and aims a gun with real bullets at the group. Jarod reveals that he is an FBI agent, and is working with Agent Argus to find out who did kill Brittany Tate. Jarod then reveals that the gas was not poison, but a twelve-hour intestinal virus stain. The back wall suddenly opens and reveals a sound stage with a dozen FBI agents. Elijah sits handcuffed in front of the laptop. Jarod says that Elijah cut a deal with the FBI to minimize his involvement. Eve looks around the warehouse and realizes nothing was real.

Jarod hugs Brittany’s parents. As the criminal crew is escorted into waiting FBI cars, Argus turns to Jarod and asks if he is coming back to the office. Jarod responds that he has family business to attend to and walks away playing a tune from Brittany’s music box.

Movies

Meltdown Transcript

	Teaser Scene 1
Blue Cove, Delaware. The Centre. Evening.		Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots are in Miss Parker’s office.


Broots		Raines’ estranged wife Edna escaped that mental hospital just to tell you about your mother and Mirage? Why?
Miss Parker		Edna Raines said Mirage was my mother’s work, work I’m supposed to finish.
Sydney		Well, no one seems to remember any Centre project by that name. Could it be one of her delusions?
Miss Parker		You didn’t see her eyes. Syd, in that moment she was as sane as you and I. [Sydney chuckles.] Broots, you been downloading porn again? My email server is wacked. [She gets up, and he sits down at her computer.] Someone around here has heard of Mirage. You can bet on it.
		[A tall black man in a brown suit enters the office.]
Leonard		‘Scuse me, ma’am. I’m here to collect burn bags for incineration.
		[Miss Parker gives him a document in a clear, plastic bag and takes his clipboard to sign the paperwork.]
Leonard		I…knew her.
Miss Parker		Excuse me?
Leonard		Catherine. She was a special person.
Miss Parker		You knew my mother?
Leonard		She always seemed like a bright and shining spirit, even in the darkest hours. Sorry for the interruption.
Miss Parker		Maybe we could talk again, if you wouldn’t mind, Mr.—uh—
Leonard		Name’s Leonard. And it would be my pleasure.


		Scene 2
The Centre. SL-26 Incineration Chamber.		Leonard and another sweeper named Don toss burn bags into the incinerator. Leonard picks up one with a file labeled, “For Centre use only. Mirage.” He tears it open and pulls out the file.

Don		What the hell you doing? Everything burns.
Leonard		Miss Parker will want to see this.
Don		I said everything burns.
Leonard		But Miss Parker must see this.
Don		[grabbing his arm] That’s a big mistake.
		[They struggle. Leonard pulls out a gun.]
Leonard		I have to talk with Miss Parker!


		Scene 3
Dallas, Texas. Dorsey’s Dept. Store Warehouse, the warehouse district.		Saturday, 8:25 pm.

Reporter’s voice		Details are sketchy, but after the robbery, the five suspects, posing as janitorial staff, fled Magna Technologies in a brown van. A hazmat team has been dispatched, and the warehouse district has been quarantined. We’ll keep you updated as the story unfolds. Reporting live from the warehouse district. Now back to you in the studio.

		A van pulls into Dorsey’s Department Store Warehouse and screeches to a stop. People inside are shouting to be let out. The doors burst open, and four men (including Jarod) and one women launch themselves out, coughing.

Abel		I think my lungs are on fire. I can’t breathe!
Eve		Something is very wrong here.
		[Jarod brings a box out of the van and opens it up, coughing.]
Job		Hey, what’s this?
Jarod		It’s what we stole.
		[He pulls out a frozen canister labeled, “Biohazard Soman Nerve Gas Magna.”]
Jarod		Oh, my God. [He quickly closes the box up again.]
Job		Hey, Science Guy, you make me nervous. What is it?
Jarod		Soman nerve gas.
Eve		That stuff could kill us, couldn’t it?
Jarod		It already is.
Cain		What do you mean, is?
Jarod		Is! Is! Barring some miracle, we’re all going to be dead in less than six hours!

		Intro, credits.


		Act 1
The Centre, evening.		Miss Parker and Sydney walk through the atrium. Broots runs up to them.

Broots		Miss Parker!
Miss Parker		Good night, Broots.
Broots		That guy went postal down in SL-26, started shooting up the place.
Miss Parker		That guy?
Broots		Leonard, the clerk! The burn bag guy that knew your mother!
		[Miss Parker stares at him, then dashes for the elevators, Sydney and Broots following. They burst into the SL-26 Incineration Chamber, where a group of people is at work, two wheeling a body out on a bed. Mr. Raines is presiding. Miss Parker runs up to the body and strips back the white sheet to see Don the Sweeper. Replacing the sheet, she turns to a body on the floor. Sydney pulls aside the sheet to reveal Leonard, with a gun in his hand.]
Mr. Raines		We tried to negotiate with him. He wasn’t interested.
Miss Parker		So you traded the olive branch for an Uzi! Is that your Christian way, Raines?
Mr. Raines		He was armed and out of control. He tried to kill one of my men.
Sydney		There must have been another way.
Mr. Raines		I will not tolerate unstable behavior from Centre employees.
Miss Parker		I thought that was a job requirement. [Raines only stares at her and turns away. Miss Parker stalks out.] Broots! I want the surveillance footage of what just happened here, and quick.


		Scene 2
Dallas, Dorsey’s Department Store.		8:45 pm. The thieves are stripping off their brown janitors’ uniforms.

Job		Ain’t bad enough there’s cops searching for us everywhere, now you’re telling us we got six hours to live? Well, who the hell are you to be pronouncing us dead on arrival?
Jarod		I don’t have to, Mr. Job. You can already feel it, can’t you? You all can. It’s on your skin, it’s in your lungs, and it only gets worse.
Eve		Elijah never said anything about stealing nerve gas.
Job		Poindexter here is probably talking out of his ass. I mean, us, we know each other, right? Him? Who the hell is he? For all we know he’s some out-of-work pharmacist. I think we should call Elijah.
Cain		He’s right. We were supposed to steal computer chips.
Job		Yeah, not to mention a hundred thousand each for our efforts, thank you very much! I say we call!
Jarod		[fixing a television in the warehouse] Elijah said the target was a box. That’s all he said.
Job		What difference does it make? He owes us anyway, right? Screw it. I’m gonna call Elijah.
Cain		No! Elijah calls us! He always has, he always will.
Eve		Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not gonna just sit around here and wait to die. There must be something we can do about this Soman gas.
Jarod		It affects the chemical structure of the brain. It’s only a matter of time before our paranoia turns into psychosis.
Abel		What—what do you mean, we all go crazy?
Jarod		Exactly. It breaks down our tissues. First we’ll feel nauseous. Then the tremors, and then our internal organs will liquefy. Our insides will look something like—well, something like that. [He points to where Abel is pouring soured, lumpy milk into a glass.] Then your nose will start to bleed, and it just won’t—
Abel		No—stop. OK? I just—stop, alright—I can’t. [He coughs and hacks.]
Job/td>		Look! Look, it’s Elijah’s laptop! He’s gonna help us.
Eve		And what? We wait for his call and surf the web, Mr. Job? I hear Bleedout.com has some real interesting graphics.
Job		You know, you’re really turning into one sarcastic bitch, you know that?
Eve		Ooh! You really do have issues with women! What was it, trauma with training pants, or did Mommy have Stoli with her Corn Flakes every morning?
Job		Shut up!
Eve		Or what? You wanna smack me around a little?
Jarod		OK, that’s enough. As sick as we’re going to get, we need to stick together. [He types on the laptop.] This is Elijah’s laptop. The question is, why hasn’t he tried to contact us?
Job		He used us as guinea pigs is why!
Abel		[to his brother Cain] Look, are we really gonna—are we gonna die?
Cain		No, brother, we’re not gonna die, I promise you that, OK? I’m gonna take care of you. Don’t I always take care of you? Man, I don’t know about the rest of you, but me and my brother, we’re getting the hell out of here. Come on. Let’s go.
Jarod		And exactly where do you think you’re going?
Cain		[pulling a gun on him] To a hospital!
Jarod		Use your brains, Mr. Cain, what’s left of them. The way the black-and-whites are circling around outside, you and your little brother won’t get a block before they pick you up. Eve: Abraham’s right. Our best chance is if we stick together and wait for Elijah to contact us.
Cain		[putting his gun away] Alright. But if things get out of hand, the last rational thought I’m gonna have is putting a .38 slug in the back of your head.
Jarod		If this gets out of hand, I will consider that a favor.
		[Job has been fiddling with the television and manages to get a fuzzy picture. A red-suited reporter stands near a news van to make her report.]
Job		Hey, I’m getting something!
Reporter		The robbery occurred in Dallas’ industrial district. Now, for unknown reasons the area’s been cordoned off, and an emergency evacuation order has gone out to clear the area of all non-emergency personnel.
Eve		Evacuation? The cops already know what we stole.
Cain		If they know, then Elijah knows.
Abel		Yeah—well, Elijah’s gonna want his stuff, so he’s gonna come down and get us out of here, right?
Job		Right, maybe he’ll send a flock of flying monkeys, moron.
Cain		Hey! Leave him alone. Now!
Job		Ease up, Tarzan.
Eve		You know, I knew I should have cut and run when I realized you thought Groundhog Day was a national holiday.


		Scene 3
Flashback to one week ago		Job sits in a booth in a restaurant with Cain, Abel, Eve, and Jarod. They are all wearing suits. A laptop with webcamera faces them.

Job		I’m not saying it’s a major holiday. It’s, you know, right up there with Secretaries Day.
Cain		Secretaries Day isn’t a national holiday either, Job.
Eve		And like you’ve ever had a secretary, anyway.
Job		I had a secretary once. And then lunch was over, we put our clothes back on, and she went back to her typing.
		[Cain and Abel laugh. Jarod and Eve do not.]
Job		Hey, speaking of secretaries, hotshot, what are you, some kind of a…entry expert?
Jarod		The name Mr. Elijah gave me is Mr. Abraham. And yes, breaking and entry is one of my specialties.
Job		I bet you robbed a girl of her virginity once. Which I find impressive.
Jarod		Well, you should. She was your sister.
		[Cain and Abel laugh.]
Job		What the hell you laughing at, half-wit? Your mama is your sister.
Cain		Hey!
Jarod		How did you people pull off twenty scores in the last three years?
Eve		I’ll tell you how. We don’t know a damn thing about each other. Rule Number 1 in the book of Mr. Elijah.
		[The laptop rings like a phone, indicating an incoming call.]
Computer		You have a video phone call.
		[Mr. Elijah pops onto the screen.]
Elijah		Good morning, campers. I assume you’ve all met and bonded with Mr. Abraham here. He’s a strong addition to our team. He’s an expert in many areas, mostly the sciences.
Job		What, like we’re mopes or something?
Elijah		It’s good to see you again, too, Job.
Cain		You know, I gotta agree with Job on this. We’ve done fine on our own, Mr. E.
Elijah		Have we? I’m putting Mr. Abraham in charge of this one.
Job		What? I gotta take orders from Science Guy here? You know, we made a lot of scratch for you in the last few years, pal. I don’t have to sit here and take this crap! [He gets up.]
Elijah		Well, then I guess the others will have to split up your hundred thousand.
Job		[sitting back down] We get a hundred grand each?
Elijah		It’s big. But let’s see if we can do this one without any blood on it. Deal?


		Scene 5
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse.		Return to present.

Job		What deal doesn’t have blood on it?
Eve		[reading a newspaper] Isn’t this cute?
Jarod		What is it?
		[An article reads, “Child Murdered in Robbery. Young Brittany Tate Smothered to Death in Robbery”.]
Jarod		Brittany Tate? Who’s Brittany Tate?
Eve		Last job we did? Three months ago. A kid was murdered.
Jarod		[reading] “Brittany Tate, age nine, was smothered to death during a robbery at a Westbrook area estate. Only evidence found at the scene were a pillow used in the suffocation, a spilled bottle of perfume, and a broken music box.” Well, I guess that’s what Elijah meant when he said “one without blood.” Which one of you geniuses did her?
Job		None of us knows. Nobody’s talking.
Eve		Mr. Cain’s gone strangely silent.
Cain		So?
Eve		So, you killed that little girl.
Cain		[laughing at her] Lady, your brains already beginning to melt.
Job		What difference does it make who did it? It’s done!
		[The laptop rings. Everyone rushes toward it.]
Computer		You have a video phone call.
Elijah		Tough evening, eh?
Job		Tough? We’ve all been exposed to nerve gas!
Elijah		Which means you’ve accomplished your mission. Well done.
Eve		You set us up! You knew what we were stealing was deadly!
Elijah		Would you have taken the assignment otherwise?
Cain		Assignment? We’re dying in here!
Jarod		One of the canisters leaked! We’ve all been exposed to the gas.
Elijah		I realized that that might be a possibility. Check the dispatcher’s office. I’ve left the materials in there for you to work a little chemistry, Abraham. Now, I’m sending a couple of my men over to pick up the canisters. They should be at your location within the next few hours. Just know the contingency plans are being implemented.
Job		Forget about contingency! What about currency?
Elijah		Patience, Job. Patience. My men are on the way. [His image fades on the screen.]
Job		No—no—wait. Wait! Dammit!
Abel		Oh, God, he’s—he’s leaving us here to die.
Eve		Shut him up, or I will.
Cain		Elijah will not leave us high and dry, OK?
		[Jarod brings out chemistry equipment from another room.]
Job		What’s this stuff?
Jarod		Elijah left me everything I might need to create an antidote.
Job		What, you think you can save us?
Jarod		Now don’t you wish you’d been nicer to me?
Cain		Hey, how long?
Jarod		Five hours, maybe less.
Eve		How do we know you can do this?
Jarod		I was an Army medic in Desert Storm, I know a few things about chemical weapons. I’m gonna need a blood sample from each one of you.
Eve		[pulling a gun] Hey, screw this! This guy could be a wacko for all we know! I agree with Cain. I’m gonna take my chances with the hospital.
Jarod		You won’t make it, and even if you did, they won’t have the antidote you need.
Eve		You got all the answers, don’t you? I’m out of here.
		[As she goes to the door, a sound outside is heard.]
Eve		Someone’s coming!
		[Everyone ducks down behind furniture.]
Jarod		[turning off the lights] Cops!
		[The door opens, and two cops with flashlights come in. Two others look in.]
Officer Argus		Hey, come on! Let’s get moving.
		[The police leave.]
Jarod		[turning on a lamp] They’re gone. We’re clear. [Holding up a syringe.] We have to do this before it’s too late.


		Scene 6
The Centre, Broots’ tech room.		Broots, Parker, and Sydney watch a surveillance video of the SL-23 Incineration Chamber from the time Leonard found the Mirage file. Holding a gun on Don the Sweeper, Leonard dials a number on the phone on the wall. Two sweepers burst in and shoot Leonard, then Don. Raines stands outside the door watching.

Broots		Leonard didn’t kill anyone.
Sydney		My God, they just mowed them down.
Miss Parker		Rewind, Broots. Before they get shot. [Broots rewinds so they can see Leonard dialing again.] Who’s he calling?
Sydney		Can’t tell. The image is too small.
Broots		Maybe if I enhance the video, I can isolate his hands and match the motion.
Miss Parker		You can do that?
Broots		Well, yeah—it would take about an hour.
Miss Parker		Clock’s ticking.


		Scene 7
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse.		Saturday, 10:30 pm. Abel plays “Mary Had a Little Lamb” with one finger on a piano in the warehouse.
Abel		This song reminds me of when Mom used to sing it.
Job		[looking at the television] The signal’s coming back.
Reporter		The latest report is that the security guard, a father of six, was found nearly strangled to death in the robbery at Magna Technologies, Ltd. His condition is considered to be life-threatening. Police are still combing the area for the suspects.
Job		Who did it? Which one of you idiots strangled the guard?
Cain		What difference does it make?
Jarod		Might make a big difference, if we survive. Question is, which one of you has the itchy trigger finger?


		Act 2 Scene 1
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse		Abel is still playing the piano, badly. Jarod works on his antidote, Eve coughing nearby.

Jarod		Tell me something. What does Elijah see in that one? [Nods at Abel.]
Eve		It’s like a horse race entry. You want Cain, you get Abel.
Abel		[coughing and disoriented] I gotta get out of here. I gotta get out of here.
Cain		Hey, calm down!
Abel		I gotta get out of here.
Cain		Calm down. Calm down.
Abel		Please!
Cain		[struggling with him] Calm down. Calm down.
Jarod		You know something? I thought I was a really good judge of people. I guess I was wrong.
Cain		What’s that supposed to mean?
Jarod		I thought I was working with professionals, and I find out you snuff out a little girl, now a rent-a-cop? Did you do it? What about you, Mr. Job?
Cain		[laughing shrilly] Yeah, he’s got the guts.
Job		Oh, yeah, killing a little girl, that takes a lot of guts. Face it, you know: it coulda been any one of us.
Eve		Speak for yourself!
Abel		It wasn’t—me.
Jarod		Well, one guilty, all guilty. I’ll tell you one thing. Mr. Sparky and his twenty-two hundred volts of death—he doesn’t much care.
Eve		What about you, huh?
Cain		Yeah! You coulda popped that guard just as easy as any one of us
Job		Yeah, we all know each other. We been doing this a while. You—we don’t even know you.
Jarod		No, you don’t.


		Scene 2
Flashback to three days ago.		Jarod bends over a blueprint of Magna Technologies outside the building itself. The others gather around him in their nice suits.

Jarod		Job will access the main security panel and break the various door codes and control panels to the security cameras. Eve, Cain, and I will take the upper floor, with Eve manning the infrared thermo-sensor, and me securing the target.
Eve		You’re sure the target’s on the upper floor.
Jarod		Supposed to be. What I do know is that it’s kept in cold storage. That’s where the infrared thermo-grid comes in.
Job		What about him? [Points to the security booth on the blueprint.]
Jarod		We walk in past the security guard.
Cain		The janitor uniforms are already set.
Job		[laughing] Janitor? Hey! A guy like me is gonna be hard-pressed to pass for a bucket jock.
Jarod		You have a better idea, Mr. Job?
Job		Yeah, I do. I, for one, wanna know who the hell you are, Mr. Peabody.
Jarod		You know Elijah’s rule. Total anonymity. No names, no pasts, nothing.
Job		I already broke that rule.
Cain		What? What are you talking about?
Job		I swiped your glass from the coffee shop last week. I had a friend of mine run the prints. There ain’t squat on you out there. Know what I’m saying? I mean, hell, every decent criminal I know has got some kind of sheet. What’s the matter, you never broke the law before?
Jarod		I broke plenty. I’m just too damn smart, too damn good, and like my freedom too damn much to ever get caught. But you, Mr. Job, on the other hand— [Laughs.]
Job		What’s so funny?
Jarod		Well, let’s just say I ran a little fingerprint check on you as well. Would you mind telling me exactly what determines a lewd act at a kennel?


		Scene 3
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse.		Abel is still playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” with two fingers.

Eve		Hey, Simple Simon! Fini!
Job		Why is, uh, this guy so much worse than the rest of us?
Jarod		Each one of us is different. We’ll all unravel at our own genetic pace.
Job		Oh. Well, he’s definitely bringing up the rear.
		[Abel coughs and throws up on the piano.]
Job		[applauding] Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Abel and his five-piece concerto. Well, six, if you count the green bean.
Cain		[attacking Job and shoving him against a wall] Leave him alone.
Abel		I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Momma’s gonna be so mad. [Tries to clean the keys with his sleeve.]
Cain		Come on. Don’t do that.
Abel		I’ve gotta clean this up. I’ve gotta clean this up.
Cain		Don’t do that!
Abel		I’ve gotta clean this up before Momma gets home! She’s gonna—
Cain		Get out of there! Mom’s dead! [Shoving Abel away from the piano and onto the floor.] You idiot! You stupid idiot! She’s dead! Has been for ten years! Wake up!>br /> [Clutches his head.] I’m gonna kill the next person who says a word.
Eve		[going to Jarod] How’s it coming already, huh?
Jarod		I’m working on it.
Eve		Yeah, well, hurry.
Jarod		You should sit down. It will slow the effects of the toxin.
Eve		Look, I, uh—I didn’t give you my blood before because I was worried.
Jarod		About what?
Eve		I’m pregnant. Four months.
Jarod		Do they know?
Eve		Yeah, sure. They’d give me a perfect little baby shower, don’t you think? So, what’s this gas gonna do to my baby?
Jarod		Airbornes—they can’t pass through a placenta. Actually, your baby’s safer than you are.
Eve		OK. You can take my blood, as long as it’s safe for the baby.
Jarod		I promise.


		Scene 4
The Centre. Broots’ tech room.		Miss Parker enters with two mugs.

Miss Parker		Got it?
Broots		Got it. But you’re not going to like it. [He shows her the enhanced video of Leonard dialing the phone.] He’s dialing two-seven-two-five.
Miss Parker		My extension. My God.
		[They hurry to her office. She dials her voicemail. Broots gets on her computer.]
Leonard’s message		Miss Parker, this is Leonard. I saw something I probably shouldn’t have. Something meant to be burned. Memo B4-37. Something about an email file intercepted from your computer. Miss Parker, you should see this. [Gunshots. Leonard cries out.]
Broots		Someone broke into your computer. That’s why your email wasn’t working.
Miss Parker		Doesn’t the Centre’s system keep a—uh, duplicates of—of all incoming and outgoing emails?
Broots		Yeah, but they’re in the file allocation dump, and none of us have clearance to get in there.
Miss Parker		Get me that email, Broots. Or someone might find all of us in the dump.
		[She shoves him away toward the door, and he hurries out.]


		Scene 5
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse.		Sunday, 12:15 am. The brothers are huddled together on the floor against the wall, Jarod kneeling near them.

Abel		You know, I’m gonna die because of Mark Beyer’s bike.
Jarod		Come again?
Abel		First thing I ever stole. You know, it had this speed shift in it, this banana seat. It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. You know, it was almost worth the cops chasing me so I could ride that thing down Arlington Hill.
Eve		Where’d Elijah recruit these two, the Boy Scouts?
Job		[finding and opening a wooden chest with painted designs in a corner] Hey, look at this. That Brittany girl—her body was found stuffed in a toy chest just like this, wasn’t it?
Eve		What the hell is going on?
Job		I mean, the paper’s one thing, but this? This is Elijah! He’s messing with our minds!
Cain		What difference does it make? We need to keep our minds in the here and the now. Who cares what happened months ago?
Job		I agree! The here and now! Like—like how I want my hundred grand here and now! Where’s the pay, huh? Where? We did the job! We did the damn job!


		Scene 6
Flashback to Saturday, 7:45 pm.		The crew in janitors’ uniforms push cleaning supplies into Magna Technologies. The security guard waves them through. Job takes a laptop upstairs. The others go into the elevator. Job enters a room marked “Authorized personnel only,” accesses security panels. The others line up in a hallway near a security camera.

Job		[into the radio microphone at his ear] Here we go, boys and girls. Ready to loop signal on Security Camera 1.
		[The guard notices a blip in his security feed but thinks nothing of it.]
Job		Clear.
Jarod		Go!
Job		The door code is eight-eight-six-five-six.
		[Jarod enters the code, and he and Eve enter the laboratory. The second security camera goes out.]
Job		You’re clear.
		[Eve opens a laptop attached to her infrared thermo-scanner.]
Eve		I have infrared readings. I’m getting extreme temperature drop in Room 2108. [Nods at the door nearest them.] That one.
Job		Security camera…clear. Security door code is six-one-six-eight-four.
		[Jarod enters Room 2108 and goes through several sets of doors.]
Job		You’re in the clean room.
		[Jarod puts contacts in.]
Job		The cold room chamber door code is two-zero-two-zero-one-eight.
		[Jarod puts his eye to an optical scanner and enters the code. He is opening the door when Cain rushes in with janitorial supplies and startles him.]
Jarod		Next time, knock.
Cain		Your limo awaits.
		[Jarod opens the door and pulls out the Soman gas canisters and puts them in a box hidden amongst the supplies.]
Cain		Job, are we clear? Job? Are we clear to come out? Job!
Jarod		Come on.
Cain		Wait! Job, are we clear?
Jarod		The hell with it! Come on!
		[They hurry out and back down the elevator, past the security booth.]
Cain		There’s no guard. Where’s the guard?
		[Job meets them.]
Job		My communication pieces shorted out. Sorry.
Eve		[grabbing his arm] Don’t you ever leave me hanging out like that again, you understand?
		[A security alarm sounds.]
Jarod		Come on, move! Let’s get out of here! Move!


		Scene 7
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse.		Everyone is very uncomfortable.

Eve		Oh, my insides are starting to boil!
		[Jarod catches her as she collapses.]
Jarod		Come on. It won’t be long now.
Eve		I don’t wanna lose my baby!
Jarod		[helping her to a seat] You won’t. Not—not if I can help it.
Eve		Thank you. There’s not a lot of love in this room, you know?
		[Abel goes to the toy chest, opens it, and sees toys and a picture of a little girl with black hair.]
Abel		Oh, my—it’s her stuff! [Drops the lid.]
Jarod		Whose stuff?
Abel		Brittany Tate! The dead girl’s stuff—it’s her stuff!
Job		What?
Abel		Her stuff!
Job		What are you babbling about? [He opens the chest.] There’s nothing in there.
Abel		[looking again] No—no! I—I saw a doll and a pillow, a picture, music box! Listen, I smelled perfume!
Job		Guy’s starting to lose it here!
Abel		I don’t wanna die! I don’t wanna die! Not like this!
Eve		[scratching frantically] Oh, my skin’s on fire!
Job		Come on, Science Guy! What’s taking so long?
		[The warehouse door flies open, and two cops enter with guns.]
Officer Argus		Freeze!
		[All the thieves pull guns and point them at them.]


		Act 3 Scene 1
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse.		Everyone points guns at each other.

Officer Bellini		Elijah’s not going to like it if you execute his messengers.
Jarod		Elijah?
Argus		He sent us to pick up the gas.
Cain		Dirty cops as messenger boys? Typical Elijah.
Job		Hey, man, you got our money?
		[Argus pulls out an envelope and throws it on the floor. Jarod, Job, and Cain bend to reach it; Job gets it first.]
Job		What is this, a joke?
Eve		What? What is it?
Job		There’s like ten grand here.
Jarod		Hey! The deal was one hundred grand each.
Bellini		Mr. Elijah is less than satisfied with the way the job went down. He’ll be in touch. Until then, if you just give us the canisters, we’ll be on our way.
Jarod		[standing up and pointing his gun at them again] Not for ten large.
		[The laptop rings again. Job rushes to it.]
Jarod		Get over there! Move! [Urges the cops over to the laptop with his gun.]
Computer		You have a video phone call.
Cain		Where’s the damn money you promised us?
Elijah		It’ll be much harder to sell the gas now that it’s become such a sought-after commodity. Somebody’s going to have to pay for that, and that somebody is you people.
Job		You’re scum, you know that! I’m going to find you, pal! I will!
Elijah		Even if you knew where I was, Mr. Job, you’d never have the nerve.
Jarod		Well, maybe not him, Elijah, but you forgot about me! [He shoots Argus in the leg, then grabs Bellini by the collar and points his gun at him.] Now, I’m going to send your healthy messenger back for our money. If he isn’t here in two hours, the police get the canisters. Is that clear?
Elijah		Clear enough. I just hope you all live long enough.
Jarod		Oh, by the way, this now ends your broadcast day. [Aims and shoots a hole through the laptop.]
		Scene 2
The Centre, Broots’ tech room.		A weary Parker, Broots, and Sydney are gathered around Broots’ computer as it tries to decrypt Miss Parker’s emails. Something emerges.

Broots		Wait a minute! Mirage. [He pops open an email from Edna Raines with a video attachment.] The email was from Edna Raines.
Miss Parker		That’s impossible. She could barely speak.
Sydney		It seems she had another moment of clarity.
Broots		That’s not all. It was Mr. Raines who stole it.
Miss Parker		How would Mr. Raines know what was in my email?
Broots		Looks like they’ve been monitoring your mailbox since last Tuesday, Miss Parker.
Sydney		Tuesday. That’s the very day Edna escaped from the institution. They must have anticipated her contacting you.
Miss Parker		What was in the email?
Broots		Well, the text field was empty, but there was a video file attached.
Miss Parker		Play it.
Broots		Huh uh. The only way to access the actual file is from the computer it was transferred to…in…Mr…Raines’…office.
Miss Parker		Then what are we waiting for?


		Scene 3
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse.		Sunday, 4:15 am. Officer Argus lies on the floor clutching his bloody knee.

Argus		I’m bleeding to death. Like any of you care. Shouldn’t have killed that little girl. That’s what made Elijah’s so angry. Now there’s the guard. Which one of you dirtbags is into suffocation, huh? [To Job.] Was it you? What happened that night?;
Job		Ah, what the hell. You’re gonna bleed to death anyway. This huge estate in Westbrook. Inside were intelligence documents. Worth a fortune. Elijah hired us to get ‘em. Whoever found them was supposed to bring them back to the van. But somebody got greedy, decided to take a little side trip into the guest house.
Eve		The caretaker’s daughter wasn’t supposed to be there.
Job		I think Cain did her.
Cain		Shut up!
Argus		All for a few extra bucks?
Cain		[stomping on Argus’ wounded leg] Shut up! Shut your mouth!
Abel		[hallucinating] Mark? Mark—Mark, is that you? Hey! Look, I’m really—I’m really sorry about your bike. [Starts playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” again.]
Eve		[sniffing] What’s that smell? Smells—smells like perfume. Cut it out, green bean! [Cocks her gun against Abel’s back.] I don’t want to hear that song again! Oh, go ahead. Play it again, Sam, just one more stinking time, I dare you. [Abel hurries away from the piano.] What is that smell? Is that the antidote?
Jarod		No. It’s Champs de Nuit. [He sits at the piano and begins playing Debussy’s “Clair de la Lune,” speaking somewhat manically as he plays.] My mother wore it. I could smell it when she tucked me in bed at night. [He half laughs, half sobs.] Maybe that’s a lie. Because I can barely remember even if I had a mother. The ingredients in perfume, they’re known as notes, did you know that? The perfumer, he acts as composer. Now me, I always went for the heart. Some people, they could only smell the top notes. I went deeper, searched for the soul. Perfume. Sparkling citrus notes like lemon! Dark, resonant notes like balsam.
		[Cain, annoyed, strikes a lamp, and it flies into the television, jarring it into working again.]
Reporter		And the medical report just handed to me states that the Magna Technologies, Ltd., security guard has died from injuries sustained during the robbery.
		[Cain shoves the television off its table and breaks it.]
Eve		Well, that was smart.
Cain		He’s dead! Didn’t you hear that? He’s dead!
Jarod		He ain’t the only one. [Takes a sheet and lays it over Officer Argus.]
Eve		Great. That’s one more corpse on our hands.
Cain		[putting his hand to his nose] Oh, my God. I’m bleeding. Oh, my God. You’ve gotta finish the stuff. I’m gonna die—you’ve got to finish that stuff! [Grabs Jarod.]
Jarod		I’ll finish it!
Cain		You’ve got to finish it!
Jarod		[tearing away] Let go of me!
		[Abel goes to the toy chest and opens it again. It is empty except for the picture of the black-haired little girl.]
Abel		Oh my. Look at that—it’s her—it’s the dead kid!
Job		[snatching the picture] So what? That’s her! So what? She’s dead! Just like we’re gonna be!
Abel		I didn’t kill her.
Job		I didn’t say you did!
Eve		[taking the picture and staring at it] That’s not even her picture.
Abel		I didn’t kill her!
		[Jarod picks up five filled syringes and drops one on the floor. It shatters.]
Jarod		Oh, dammit! Now there’s only enough antidote for four of us.
Eve		So what does that mean?
Jarod		I guess that means that one of us is going to die. The question is, who?


		Act 4 Scene 1
Dallas, Dorsey’s Warehouse		The thieves gather around Jarod and his antidote. Everyone is shivering, itching, and becoming delusional.

Eve		So how do we decide who gets the antidote?
Jarod		We’ll leave out the one who killed Brittany Tate.
Job		The only problem is we don’t know who the killer is.
Jarod		No, we do.
Cain		What are you talking about?
Jarod		Process of elimination. I mean, it couldn’t have been me because I wasn’t there, right?
Cain		I didn’t kill her. I swear, I didn’t kill her, I didn’t kill her!
Jarod		Well, I know you didn’t. [Gives him a syringe of antidote.] And I know you didn’t. [Gives one to Abel.] And I know you didn’t. [Gives one to Job.]
Eve		What’s going on? Give me the antidote!
Jarod		You don’t deserve it.
Eve		Wh—why?
Jarod		Because… [He stops being sick and drops the persona.] You killed Brittany Tate.
Eve		Mr. Abraham, I don’t know what you think you know, but you’re wrong.
Jarod		Am I? For starters, you’re not really pregnant, are you? That was just a fabrication so no one would believe you could ever possibly murder a child. And I checked your blood for the pregnancy hormone HCG. [Makes a buzzer sound.] Thanks for playing.
Eve		The gas is making you crazy.
Jarod		The most convincing evidence is Brittany herself. No one saw her that night except for the killer. Her picture wasn’t in the papers, it wasn’t on the news. You were the only one who recognized that photograph as a fake, because you remember what she looked like the night you killed her!
		[Eve pulls a gun and aims it at him. Jarod pulls his and aims it back. Everyone pulls their own and aims at everyone else.]
Cain		Woah! Hey! Put your gun down! Put your gun down!
Job		Look, if she killed the kid, then she’s the ticket to our money from Elijah.
Eve		You shoot me, I take at least two of you with me. Starting with little brother. [She rubs her nose and stares at her hand.]
Jarod		Uh oh. Bloody nose. You know what that means. You tell me the truth, I’ll give you half my dose. The disintegration of your internal organs, the complete meltdown of your psyche—it isn’t pretty.
Eve		The little girl wasn’t supposed to be there.
Jarod		Well, she was there! And you killed her in cold blood just to assure her silence!
Eve		I can’t breathe!
Jarod		It doesn’t have to be this way. Just tell me the truth, and I’ll give this to you.
Eve		Yes! I killed her! I killed her! Now give it to me!
		[Jarod holds it out and deliberately drops it on the floor, where it shatters.]
Jarod		Whoops.
		[Eve screams in anger and shoots him, starting everyone else shooting at everyone else. Nothing happens, and they stare at their guns.]
Cain		Blanks.
Jarod		Yes. Uh, except for mine. [Turns and shoots at his chemistry equipment, which shatters.] Oh, and his. [Gestures at Officer Argus, who pushes aside the sheet and gets up, gun in hand.]
Argus		I thought you’d never end this. I almost sneezed.
Eve		What the hell’s going on?
Jarod		I’m not exactly who I pretend to be. I’m an agent with the Texas Bureau of Investigation. I purposefully exposed you all to find out who killed Brittany Tate.
Cain		But you were going to get killed by the gas, too.
Jarod		There was no Soman gas. It was just a twelve hour intestinal virus, with a little kicker to weaken the sinus cavity and constrict breathing. Not to mention a mild herbal hallucinogen. It’s completely harmless.
		[The brick wall behind Eve suddenly opens up, revealing a large room with the reporter in red standing in front of the news van, Elijah sitting at a desk wearing handcuffs with two policemen behind him, the parents of Brittany Tate, and a group of FBI agents with computer equipment.]
Eve		I—I don’t understand. The reporter—the cops!
Argus		It was all a hoax. Mr. Elijah cut a little deal to help us and to shorten his stay in prison.
		[Jarod shoves the toy chest up behind her, opens it. It has the toys in it.]
Jarod		Now you see them. [Closes it and opens it to reveal it empty.] Now you don’t. These were all the last things that Brittany saw before you killed her.
Eve		None of this was real?
Jarod		Nothing. Except your confession. And that’s a lifetime of real.


		Scene 2
The Centre, Mr. Raines’ office.		Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots gather around Mr. Raines’ computer.

Broots		I’m into Raines’ hard drive. There’s the email. But the video attachment’s been deleted.
Miss Parker		Dammit.
Broots		Hang on. Deleting emails is sort of like losing your car keys. They’re not gone, just lost. Faint magnetic traces of the original could still linger where they were stored. I just have to link all the pieces. There! I got it! It’s Edna Raines! She sure doesn’t look crazy there.
Miss Parker		Maybe she’s not. Play it quickly.
		[Broots plays the video.]
Edna Raines		Miss Parker, I need to talk to you. It’s time that you learned everything about your mother and Mirage. Please answer this message as soon as possible, and I’ll send you the where and when. It could be a matter of life and death.
Miss Parker		For Leonard it already is. Let’s just hope it’s not too late for the rest of us.


		Scene 3
Dallas, outside Dorsey’s Warehouse, early morning.		The thieves are being taken away in handcuffs. Officer Argus in an FBI jacket talks to Jarod.
Argus		If anyone finds out how we pulled this off, some heads are gonna roll, starting with mine.
Jarod		We caught a baby-killer, didn’t we?
Argus		Right. [Shakes Jarod’s hand.] I’ll see you back at the office. We’ll book these animals.
Jarod		Uh, don’t wait for me.
Argus		You have other business?
Jarod		Family business.

		[Argus pats him on the shoulder and gets into his car. Jarod pulls the music box out of his pocket and opens it. It plays Debussy’s “Clair de la Lune.” He imagines blonde Brittany Tate listening to it and dancing around the bedroom in the guesthouse. He turns and walks away to the haunting strains of “Clair de la Lune.”]