Mutant X Transcripts: Ep 214 "Hard Time"
Mutant X Episode Transcripts
Mutant X Episode #214 Transcript: " Hard Time"
[Opening Scene. Mid-day, the back street outside a group of garages. In one of Mutant X’s black convertibles, Brennan drives Jesse down the street, stopping near an old garage. They get out.]
Jesse: You know what? This is the fifth place we’ve been to. If you ask me, we’re not gonna find him.
Brennan: We’ve gotta find him, before the cops do, man. I gotta convince him to turn himself in.
Jesse: Yeah, I know.
Brennan (walking with Jesse down the street): Man, if you’re bored, you can go home.
Jesse: Nah, I’m just saying, you know, when a guy breaks out of jail, he’s gonna want to put some distance behind him.
Brennan: Not Denny, man. He’s gonna go where he feels safe, you know? The chop shop we used for years.
Jesse: Chop shop? Well, you rob banks, steal cars, any crimes you didn’t commit?
Brennan: Uh, yeah. I didn’t wear docksiders and chinos to prep school every day.
Jesse (wagging his head): Funny.
Brennan: Look, I’m not proud of what we did, okay? At least we didn’t hurt anybody.
Jesse: Tell that to the people you robbed.
Brennan (chuckling): No, physically, smartass. Geez, Denny was huge. One look at him and they gave us whatever we wanted.
Jesse: You know, you know this guy so well, what’s he doing breaking out of jail six months before he was gonna be paroled?
Brennan: I don’t know, man. He must’ve had a good reason. [Jesse stares at him.] Okay, we got history, okay? Denny’s a real good friend of mine and I owe him.
Jesse (pointing to a car behind them): Hey, is this the car?
Brennan: Yeah. Fits the APB description. Hey, look, he’s gotta be here. I’m gonna go find him. If he sees you, it’ll spook him, so just chill out. [He starts walking into the garage.]
Jesse: All right. You sure you don’t want some backup?
Brennan: No, man. Denny wouldn’t hurt a fly. [He disappears into the garage, calling out for Denny.] Yo, Denny! [Jesse’s waiting outside when he’s suddenly knocked to the ground by a punch in the face. He looks up to see Denny towering over him.]
Jesse (putting up his hands): Hey, man, I’m with Brennan! I’m with Brennan! [Not listening, Denny knees him in the stomach and tosses him several feet away.]
Brennan (running up, grabbing Denny by the shoulder): Hey, hey, what are you doing, man? Hey, it’s me! [He stops, realizing that Denny’s covered in cuts in bruises.] What happened to you? [Not answering, Denny punches him in the stomach and knocks him down. Brennan stares up at him in shock.] What the hell are you doing?
Denny: Finally. Somebody’s gonna give me a good fight before I kill him.
Brennan: What?
Denny (hearing sirens approaching): We’ll finish this later. [He starts to run down the street.]
Brennan (going over to Jesse, helping him up): Hey, you okay?
Jesse: Oh, yeah.
Brennan: Come on, let’s go. [Hearing a loud honking noise, they look up. A large truck comes barreling down the street towards Denny, runs him over and keeps going. Brennan rushes to his side, but he’s dead.] Denny! Denny! Denny, no! No!
Opening Credits. “Hard Time”
[Back at Sanctuary, Brennan’s pacing around the main room in front of Adam and Jesse, who’s holding an ice pack to his black eye. Emma’s working on the computer.]
Brennan: No, see, the Denny I saw this morning was a completely different guy. I mean, he was never a boy scout, but he was never violent.
Jesse: Yeah, well, jail changes people.
Brennan (darkly): What would you know about that? No, Adam, it was something totally different.
Adam (to Emma): Did you find the toxicology report?
Emma: Straight from the medical examiner’s office. [She turns to Brennan.] You were right. He was clean for street drugs.
Adam: All right, so what do you think is going on?
Jesse: Well, maybe he was psychotic. Now, look, he would have killed both of us.
Brennan: No, there was something more to it than that. You saw him, he was covered in cuts and bruises.
Adam: Well, he could’ve got that in a prison fight, you know, when he tried to escape.
Brennan: No, see, that’s what I thought until I saw this. Look. [He goes over to another computer and pulls up a list of inmates.] All right. Hillview State Penitentiary has had 14 fatalities in the last six months.
Emma: And noone’s investigated?
Brennan: Well, the state board of corrections investigated, but surprise! They found no misconduct.
Adam (nodding): And you think what?
Brennan: Well, somebody’s covering something up. 12 of these 14 fatalities were from severe trauma, like they were beaten to death. Okay, there’s something going on in this place, and I’m gonna find out what it is. [He starts to walk away.]
Adam (grabbing his arm): Yeah, okay, but wait, we--
Brennan: Adam, the only way to find out what’s going on is from the inside.
Adam: Look, I appreciate your determination--
Brennan: Look, a friend of mine died today, okay? And somebody in that prison is responsible, okay? Now either you find a way to get me in there, or I’m gonna get myself in. The hard way. [He stalks off. Adam sighs.]
[Scene: Hillview State Penitentiary. Warden John Wallington watches unperturbed through a one-way window as three guards drag a prisoner into a small observation room and start beating him up.]
Warden Wallington (straightening his tie): That’s quite enough, Mr. Kearns. [Acknowledging the order, the head guard takes the other two out of the room.]
Dr. Nigel Rigas (coming up to stand next to Wallington): Just got the word on Dennis Logan. He was killed this morning.
Wallington: Well, I guess that’s a sign justice is on our side.
Dr. Rigas: You realize the threat he posed in his condition?
Wallington: You worry too much, Doctor.
Dr. Rigas: He was able to escape because of what we did to him.
Wallington: Trust me. The guards will not let that happen again. Anything else?
Dr. Rigas: My work wasn’t meant to be used this way.
Wallington: You can’t rehabilitate these animals. I know, I’ve been dealing with them for 20 years.
Dr. Rigas: So what do we do? Just forget these men?
Warden Wallington: These men are getting what they deserve.
Dr. Rigas: While we make money off them.
Wallington: I’ll be glad to cut your profits if that will ease your conscience, doctor.
Dr. Rigas: No, no. That’s not my problem.
Wallington: I didn’t think so. We put our lives on the line every day by being in the same cages with these animals. Let’s just...call it compensation for work no one else wants to do, shall we? [Inside the room, the inmate repeatedly smashes his fist against the glass.] Well, thank you for getting this one ready on such short notice. You must have work to do. [Dr. Rigas takes the hint and leaves.]
[In Sanctuary, Brennan’s beating a boxing bag within an inch of its life. Emma stands behind him, watching.]
Emma: That’s quite a workout.
Brennan (taking off his gloves): Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away.
Emma (hands on her hips): You wanna talk about it?
Brennan (sitting down in front of her): Nah, it’s just, uh... I don’t know. I feel responsible for Denny’s death.
Emma: No, you’re not. Jesse told me what happened.
Brennan: No. You see, a few years back, some guys and I were planning a diamond heist, right? It was gonna be worth a hell of a lot of cash. You know, something came up for me, and I hooked Denny up with the job. And I found out later that it was all a setup and everybody was arrested. Now if I hadn’t talked Denny into doing it, then he wouldn’t have gone to Hillview and he’d still be alive today.
Emma: Denny made the choices he made.
Brennan (rubbing his face with a towel): No.
Emma: You can’t blame yourself. [She touches his shoulder, then makes a face as her hand comes away sweaty. She wipes it on her leg.] Look, Adam thinks he’s found a way to get you and Jess into Hillview.
Brennan (looking up at her): Jess?!
[Having showered and dressed, Brennan sits in the main room shaking his head as Adam outlines his plan.]
Adam: Both of you guys will join the prison population, and I’m trying to get Emma on the prison staff as backup. [Walking by, Jesse stops in the doorway when he hears them talking.]
Brennan: No, Adam, that’s not what we talked about. I’m going in alone.
Adam: No, you’re not. We work as a team.
Brennan: Adam, he’s gonna get eaten alive in there!
Jesse (coming in): What are you talking about? You’ve seen me kick some major ass in my time.
Brennan: That’s exactly the kind of attitude that’s gonna get you killed.
Jesse: Look, I’ve taken care of myself in much tougher situations than that.
Brennan: To survive in there, you blend in. You don’t get noticed. Personally, I don’t think you’re capable of doing it.
Adam: Guys, guys, guys.
Brennan: No, no, Adam, I’ve been to jail. I know what to expect. Hillview scares the hell out of me.
Jesse: So I’ll be there to watch your back.
Brennan: Jess, you can’t be Mr. Molecular in there.
Adam: All right, that’s true. You can’t use your powers publicly, because you’d risk exposing Mutant X. He knows that.
Brennan: That, and you’re from the suburbs, man. This job is all about the street.
Jesse: Give me a break!
Adam: All right, so that’s why you have to teach him what he needs to know.
Brennan: Come on, Adam.
Adam: No, no. There’s no, no discussion here. You guys go as a team, or you don’t go at all.
Brennan: Okay, fine. You know what? We’re going in, we’re playing by my rules. You’re not gonna know what I’m talking about until we get in there.
Jesse: It’s hell. You’ve made your point. [Jesse follows Adam to the lab, where Shalimar and Emma are waiting.]
Brennan (to himself): Right.
Adam: All right, so Shalimar’s gonna stay here at Sanctuary with me in case the team needs help from the outside. Emma, you’re gonna pass yourself off as a graduate student working under a Dr. Nigel Rigas. [Shalimar clips an ID badge to Emma’s jacket.] Okay, so, Dr. Rigas is an accomplished behavioral psychiatrist. He’s been at the prison for a little over a year and that file has some of the papers that he’s published. [Shalimar hands packets to Emma, Jesse and Brennan.] I want you to read him; I want you to get close to him; I want you to get me anything you can about him.
Emma: Okay.
Adam (to Brennan and Jesse) You guys are going in under armed robbery charges. [Grinning at Brennan, Jesse mimics shooting a gun at him.] I have created very long rap sheets for both of you; I want you to become familiar with them, all right? Now this is where you’re going. [He pulls up a picture of Hillview on the computer.] The Hillview State Penitentiary. It’s a maximum security prison. A little over 900 inmates, it’s the kind of place where the state sends its most dangerous criminals. Once you’re inside, you’re gonna get treated like every other prisoner. Your comlinks are gonna be confiscated like every other piece of jewelry; you’re gonna have no contact with the outside world, except through Emma. [As Adam talks, the scene fades into Hillview Prison as Jesse and Brennan, wearing gray uniforms, join a line of new inmates filing into the holding area. Warden Wallington strolls in, followed by Kerns.]
Guard: Come on, guys, get in line. Come on, hurry up.
Adam (voiceover): Now the warden is a man named John Wallington. He used to be a reformer until he was almost killed in a prison riot. Now he knows everything that goes on in his prison. He runs things with an iron fist. Above all, remember, trust no one. You only have each other in there.
Wallington (standing in front of the line of prisoners): A week ago, a man by the name of Dennis Logan made a foolish mistake. [Hearing the name, Jesse glances quickly at Brennan, who maintains a poker face.] Trying to escape justice, he broke out of my prison. He did not succeed. You cannot escape your sentence, gentlemen. Justice will always prevail.
Jesse (muttering to Brennan): Is this guy for real? [Kearns hits him in the stomach with his nightstick. Jesse doubles over on the floor, coughing.]
Wallington: Welcome to Hillview State Penitentiary. Enjoy your stay. [Brennan waits until the warden’s gone before hauling Jesse up by the back of his collar.]
Brennan: Nice work. [He walks off. Wincing in pain, Jesse follows him.]
******Commercial Break*******
[Brennan and Jesse enter the prison break room.]
Brennan: So you beginning to get the picture or what?
Jesse: Beware of boys with big sticks. That’s an easy rule to remember.
Brennan: Yeah, that’s the least of your worries.
[A big bald inmate, Terry McMullen, gets up from his table, bumping into Jesse’s shoulder on his way to the door.]
Jesse: Pardon me.
McMullen: You trying to start something with me? [Jesse keeps walking.] Yo, I’m talkin’ to you, meat! [At the insult, Jesse starts to turn around; Brennan grabs him by the shirt and keeps him moving.] Yeah, that’s all right. I’ll catch up with you later. [McMullen heads out the door.]
Brennan (stopping to talk to Jesse): You have guys like that trying to break you in here 24-7.
Jesse: Yeah, I know, I’m supposed to take it.
Brennan: That’s right. You’re supposed to take it; you’re supposed to ignore it, and you walk away. Don’t give him any reason to stick a shank in your kidney, okay?
Jesse: I got it covered. Back off. [He walks away.]
[Across the building, Emma, wearing glasses and carrying a briefcase, trails after Dr. Rigas as he goes down the hallway.]
Dr. Rigas: As I told the state people, Miss deLauro, I don’t need a trainee.
Emma: Well, it’s really not up to us, Dr. Rigas. The Department of Corrections assigned me. Our hands are tied.
Dr. Rigas: I’ll call DOC and deal with that. Thank you very much for your time. [He heads through the door.]
Emma (following him): But...the truth is, I worked hard for this assignment. I really admire your work. I interned at Med Tech because that’s where you started.
Dr. Rigas: I spent very little time there; they wouldn’t fund my research.
Emma: Your studies of the effects of cadmium on violent behavior surpassed everything I saw at Dartmouth.
Dr. Rigas (slowing down): I was way ahead of Dartmouth!
Emma: That’s why I’m here. The basis of my thesis was your articles on neurotoxicity.
Dr. Rigas (finally stopping): Yes. The foundation of my research. Reverse the negative effects of the toxins and dial down aggressive behavior. Of course, it’s still all theoretical.
Emma: Please. I know I could learn so much having you as my mentor.
Dr. Rigas (relenting): Well, um...there are new inmate case files that need processing. Why don’t you start by examining their blood panels and record your findings. [He starts down the hall.]
Emma (calling after him): You won’t regret this!
Dr. Rigas (turning): That remains to be seen. [She gives him a brilliant smile and heads back down the hallway.]
[Outside in the prison yard, Brennan and Jesse come together to compare notes.]
Brennan: Hey.
Jesse: So what’d you find out?
Brennan: Well, not much. Except the fact that your tattooed buddy over there’s name is Terry McMullen. Found out he’s in for double homicide. He’s the real deal, so stay away from him.
Jesse: Well, I found out that your buddy Denny got in a fight with some guy a few weeks back. Warden sent him off to solitary. After solitary, nobody ever saw him again.
Brennan: All right. Keep digging.
Jesse: Yeah. [Brennan leaves. Seeing that he’s alone, McMullen comes over to Jesse; Jesse starts to walk away from him.]
McMullen: Hey, where are you going?
Jesse: I got no problem with you, man.
McMullen: I think you do. You and me, we got big problems.
Jesse: Let’s not do this, okay?
McMullen (grabbing his arm): Why not?
Jesse: Back off.
McMullen (gripping his neck): What are you gonna do about it? [Shrugging him off, Jesse tries to leave, but McMullen grabs his arm again.]
Jesse (shoving him away): I said, back off!
McMullen: Oh, you’re gonna pay for that. [The other inmates crowd around excitedly as they fight. McMullen soon gets the upper hand, knocking Jesse to the ground. Hearing the commotion, Wallington and his guards gather on the balcony above the prison yard. Kearns moves to go down, but Wallington holds him back.]
Wallington: Not yet. [McMullen is standing over Jesse when Brennan rushes up.]
Brennan (punching him in the face): Mind if I cut in? [Two inmates hold Jesse back as the crowd shouts encouragement to Brennan and McMullen, who appear to be evenly matched. Wallington smiles at Kearns.]
Wallington (coming down the steps): All right, break it up. That’s enough! [The guards pull Brennan and McMullen apart.] McMullen! This is the third time we’ve caught you fighting. You like fighting so much, you’re gonna get your wish. Take him to solitary.
McMullen: Chump, I’m gonna kill you!
Wallington: Get him out of here! [He disdainfully wipes some dirt off his suit before turning to Brennan.] You keep this up, you’re next. Get this scum out of my sight. [The guards drag Brennan off.] All right, the rest of you, break it up! I mean now!
[That evening, Dr. Rigas comes out of his laboratory to find Emma hard at work at her desk. She looks up as he punches a code into the security lock by the door.]
Dr. Rigas: I’ll come back and check up on you. [She gives him another bright smile, and he heads out. As soon as he’s out of sight, she takes a compact out of her bag and opens it to reveal a small digital scanner, which she hooks up to the door lock. Reading the combination off the scan, she punches in the numbers and enters the lab with a flashlight.]
Emma (into her comlink): Adam? I’m in.
[Meanwhile, Brennan and Jesse rest quietly in their cell until the night guard passes by.]
Brennan: I’m not in here to save your ass.
Jesse (groaning in pain as he sits up): I didn’t ask you to. I could have taken McMullen.
Brennan: I told you to stay away from him.
Jesse: What was I supposed to do?
Brennan: Okay, what did I tell you? Huh? The people who survive in here are the ones who don’t get noticed. One more move like that and this mission is over.
Jesse (getting up to look out the bars): What the hell are we doing this for, anyway? Just a bunch of lowlife criminals.
Brennan: Okay, you know, that’s exactly why I didn’t want you here in the first place. [The lights go off overhead.]
Jesse (stuffing his pillow under the sheet on his bed): All right. I’m going to find Emma.
Brennan: What are you talking about? There’s a bed check in a half hour, Jess!
Jesse: Well, we’ve gotta know what she found out.
Brennan: What are you--
Jesse: I’ll be back.
Brennan (getting up): What are you doing? [Jesse phases out of the cell. Brennan calls after him.] Where are you going? Jess! Jesse!
[In Dr. Rigas’ lab, Emma’s searching through the medicine cabinet.]
Adam (over her comlink): Emma, did you find anything?
Emma: Well, I found nothing. I can’t get into the computer files, security feeds are a dead end, and Rigas’s cabinets are just filled with your standard psych meds.
Adam (standing at the computer): All right, now listen to this. According to Denny Logan’s autopsy report, his dopamine, his serotonin, his epinephrine levels were through the roof.
Emma: Meaning?
Adam: Meaning that the reason that he was so violent was because somebody was using his own body’s chemicals to alter his behavior.
Emma (opening another cabinet): And who else in here would know how to do that but Rigas? [She spills a bottle of pills on the floor and leans down to pick them up.]
Adam (as Shalimar walks up behind him): Emma? Still there?
Emma: Hold on. [She gasps as a guard walks past the room, but he doesn’t look in. Turning her head, she sees a safe in the wall next to her.] Adam, I found a wall safe. [She hooks up the compact/decoder again and opens the electronic lock.] It’s full of bottles of some kind of serum. There’s a notebook. [She opens it.] It’s all about tests of something called ST1277. Looks like it’s some kind of steroid.
Adam: A steroid. All right, now that makes sense. Maybe they were affecting the somatosensory cortex with a steroid.
Emma (examine a vial of the green liquid): Okay, you lost me.
Adam: The brain regulates its chemistry with neurotransmitters, right? Now remember how Rigas said that he could dial down somebody’s aggression.
Emma: Yeah.
Adam: Well, this stuff would allow them to dial up the aggression.
Emma: Yeah, but that doesn’t make any sense. He spent his whole life researching the opposite effect.
Adam (looking back at Shalimar) Well, I know, but this would explain the levels of the chemicals that we found in Denny that would cause the violence. Listen, I need you to get me a sample of this stuff back here to the lab as soon as possible.
Emma: I’m on my way.
Shalimar: Why? I mean, why would somebody want to make dangerous criminals even more dangerous?
Adam: I don’t know. That’s what we’re gonna find out.
[Exploring the prison grounds, Jesse finds a back room which opens onto a large arena. Dozens of shouting men stand on the balcony waving fistfuls of cash, watching a bare-chested Terry McMullen beat up another inmate in a cage below them. Kearns and Wallington look on from a booth at the end of the balcony as McMullen snaps the man’s neck. Two guards pull McMullen back as a third checks the body for a pulse. Finding none, he smiles up at Wallington.]
Wallington: Gentlemen! We have a new champion! [The crowd goes wild, exchanging money. Jesse sneaks out.]
*******Commercial Break*********
[Sitting in his cell anxiously waiting for Jesse, Brennan hears the guards approaching for a bed check. He quickly stuffs another blanket under Jesse’s sheet and lies down on his bed. When the guards shine their flashlights into the cell, he throws a shoe at the bars.]
Brennan: Get outta here, I’m trying to sleep! Get outta here!
Kerns (calling from down the hall): Ramirez, McGreazy! Back down to solitary! [Heeding his order, the guards leave. Sitting up, Brennan sighs in relief.]
[Emma’s looking around Rigas’s outer office when she hears a noise outside the door. She gasps when she sees a man standing by the wall, but her light reveals that it’s Jesse.]
Emma: Jesse. [As he comes over to her, she reaches out to touch the new bruises on his face.] Oh my God.
Jesse: Hey. Nice glasses.
Emma (smiling): Thank you. But I’m assuming you didn’t come here to check my wardrobe.
Jesse (shaking his head): I wish. I found out what’s going on in this place.
[Meanwhile, the guards return to check Brennan’s cell again. He hastily lies back down as Kearns opens the door and comes in.]
Kearns: Mulwray!
Brennan (pretending to wake up): Man, I told you, I’m trying to sleep. Go away!
Kearns (smashing his nightstick on the foot of the bed): Get up!
Brennan (getting up): What’s your problem, man?
Kearns: Warden wants to see you.
Brennan: Relax.
Kearns (grabbing his collar): Try pushing again. [He shoves him out of the room; the other guards escort him down the hallway. Kearns is about to leave the cell when he notices the odd shape of the covers on the other bed. He pulls back the sheet to see that Jesse’s not there.]
[In Rigas’s office, Emma stands next to Jesse as he sits on a desk, describing the fight he witnessed.]
Jesse (into his comlink): There was a bunch of high rollers watching the whole thing. Lots of cash changing hands. Adam, it’s...it’s like a human dog fight.
Shalimar (listening with Adam in Sanctuary): Well, that explains all the bruises and cuts on Denny and the other dead inmates.
Adam (nodding): They take these inmates and they amp them up, throw them in the ring and let them fight to the death.
Emma: And the warden, the guards, Rigas, they’re all in on it.
Jesse: They’re making a fortune. [Overhead, an alarm begins to blare.]
Emma: What’s that? [She runs to the computer and pulls up the alert.] There’s a prisoner missing from cell 13-A.
Jesse: 13-A? That’s me, they’re onto me.
Emma: Adam, we’ll get back to you.
Jesse: I’m gonna phase back and grab Brennan.
Emma (hurrying back to him): No, you won’t make it back during this. We can just wait here. [Behind them, a door slams.] No...we can’t.
Jesse (thinking quickly): Handcuffs. [He grabs a pair of handcuffs out of a desk drawer, hastily puts them on, and sits back down on the desk. Emma grabs a notebook, turns on the light over the desk and stands next to him just as Dr. Rigas, Kearns and two armed guards burst into the room.]
Emma: Well, it’s about time you got here. I’ve been waiting for you to escort this prisoner back to his cell for almost two hours now.
Dr. Rigas: Is this the missing prisoner?
Kearns: Yes. Ma’am, I apologize. [To Jesse, through his teeth.] Get up. Get him out of here. [They escort Jesse out of the room.]
Dr. Rigas (to Emma): Why didn’t you report that this prisoner hadn’t been returned to his cell?
Emma: I’m so sorry. You’re right. I just got carried away. I’m just so anxious for you to get the data you need.
Dr. Rigas (impressed): Well, you’re done for the day. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? [Smiling, Emma nods and leaves.]
[Kearns removes Jesse’s handcuffs and shoves him back into his cell, closing the bars behind him.]
Kearns: Move inside!
Jesse (realizing that Brennan’s gone): Where is he? [Kearns walks away.] Hey! Where is he?
Kearns (shouting over his shoulder): Solitary! [Realizing what that means, Jesse slams his hand against the bars in frustration.]
[The next morning, Brennan’s waiting in the tiny solitary room when Dr. Rigas enters, accompanied by two guards.]
Dr. Rigas: Hello, I’m Dr. Rigas. How are you feeling this morning?
Brennan: Fine, if you answer some questions for me. These other stiffs wouldn’t tell me anything.
Dr. Rigas: Try to relax.
Brennan: What the hell is going on?
Dr. Rigas: It’ll all be over in a second. [The guards pin Brennan down on a chair as Dr. Rigas injects him with a vial of ST1277.]
Brennan: What is that? Get off me! Get off!
[Walking towards Dr. Rigas’s office to begin work for the day, Emma passes the solitary room and catches a glimpse of Brennan convulsing on the floor with Dr. Rigas standing over him.]
Emma: Brennan. [Entering Dr. Rigas’s office, she rushes to his computer and pulls up the security video feed from the solitary room, where Brennan lies on the floor, unconscious.] Oh my God. [Leaving the room, Dr. Rigas stops when he hears Wallington behind him.]
Wallington: Looks like we have an adversary for McMullen in tomorrow’s bout.
Dr. Rigas: This was the last one. I won’t be a part of this any more.
Wallington: You’re a failure, Doctor. No one on the outside will allow you to continue.
Dr. Rigas: I won’t sentence another man to death. This last one was in for robbery. He doesn’t deserve to die.
Wallington (walking up to him): Clear your conscience. They’re all the same. But if that doesn’t help you sleep well at night, here’s your cut from tonight’s fight. [He tosses a packet of money at Dr. Rigas, who catches it.] You can’t leave, Rigas. There’s nowhere for you to go. [He walks away, leaving Rigas hugging the money tightly.]
Emma (over her comlink): Adam, they’ve done something to Brennan.
Shalimar: We’ve got to get them out of there.
Adam (grabbing her arm): No, wait, I’m still trying to figure out what kind of effect Rigas’s serum is gonna have on Brennan.
Shalimar (heading off): Well, you know what? We don’t have time to wait around and find out.
Adam (grabbing her arm again): No, but I do know that without some kind of neutralizing compound, we’re not gonna be able to control him. Wait. Emma? When’s the next fight?
Emma: Jesse said tomorrow night.
Adam (walking towards the lab with Shalimar): Okay, then, good, that buys us some time. Emma, I got the materials you sent. I’m already working on formulating a neutralizer. Now I want you to find Jesse. I want you to tell him to stay away from Brennan, all right? [To Shalimar.] Come on, I need your help.
Emma: Okay.
[Inside his cell, Jesse holds a mirror out of the bars to look down the hallway. Seeing no guards around, he pushes some blankets under the sheet on his bed again and phases through the back wall of the cell. Finding the solitary confinement room, he phases inside and finds Brennan sitting on the chair, rocking back and forth.]
Jesse: Okay, you were right, I should have kept my cool. I’m sorry.
Brennan (shaking his head): You shouldn’t have come in here.
Jesse: Yeah, I know. I’ll get you out of here, and Adam will fix you up. [Brennan lights up a telsa coil.] What are you doing?
Brennan (lunging out of the chair): Making sure you never screw up again! [He shoots an electrical arc at Jesse. Jesse phases to avoid being electrocuted, then stares at Brennan in shock. Brennan punches him in the stomach, dropping him to the floor.] I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle it! Sick and tired of having to watch your back!
Jesse (holding his stomach, looking up at him): Brennan, what?
Brennan (picking up the chair): So much weaker after you use your powers. I’ll be so glad when I don’t have to look at your pathetic face anymore! [He hurls the chair at Jesse, who phases back out of the room to get away from him.] You’re dead, Jess, you hear me? You’re dead! [Jesse sags against the wall outside the room as Brennan pounds on the walls, screaming in a blind rage.] You’re dead! Do you hear me, Jess? You’re dead! DEAD!
********Commercial Break*******
[A little while later, Kearns and another guard escort Emma towards Jesse’s cell past the cat-calls of the other inmates in their cells.]
Emma (turning to Kearns): I’ll be okay from here. Thank you. [He lets her go on alone. Hearing her coming, Jesse rushes up to the bars. She sees fresh bruises on him.] You found Brennan.
Jesse (nodding): It’s too late, they’ve injected him.
Emma: I know.
Jesse: Emma, he tried to kill me.
Emma: Look, I took the steroid over to Adam last night. He’s working on some kind of antidote, a neutralizer.
Jesse: What if it’s not ready by tonight? What if it doesn’t work? If he gets into the ring with McMullen, he could die.
Emma (shaking her head): Adam said to just sit tight.
Jesse: I’ve gotta stop the fight. I’ll take McMullen’s place.
Emma: Jesse, that is crazy! Brennan’s gonna do everything he can to try and kill you.
Jesse: That’s a chance I’m gonna have to take. I got him into this; I’m getting him out.
Kearns (coming up to her): Ma’am, you’re gonna have to leave.
Emma: I need more time with the prisoner.
Jesse (returning to his bed): No you don’t. I got nothing else to say to you. [Taking one last look at him Emma leaves with Kearns. Jesse puts on his shirt and phases out the back wall of his cell again.]
[Elsewhere in the building, McMullen presses up against the gate of his cage and yells for a guard.]
McMullen: What time is it? I wanna know what time it is!
Jesse (appearing behind him): Time for me to set a few things straight.
McMullen (surprised): How did you get in here?
Jesse: That’s not important. What is important is that I’m gonna finish what you started in the yard.
McMullen (smiling): You wanna bet? [Jesse masses as McMullen throws a fist at his stomach; McMullen howls in pain.] What are you?
Jesse: I’m somebody you shouldn’t have messed with. [Jesse drops him with one swift chop to his head.] Your fighting days are over. [Phases his fingers into the lock, he opens the cage door to set off the alarms, then leans against the cage to wait, Kearns runs up with two guards.]
Kearns: How the hell did you get here? [He sees McMullen lying on the floor inside the cage.] What the hell did you do to him? [Jesse shrugs.]
[Wallington leads two rich businessmen down the hallway towards Brennan’s cell, telling them about the contestants for the night’s fight.]
Wallington: He’s an impressive fighter with a long list of felonies. He and last night’s winner have a bit of a history. Should make tonight’s death match quite interesting. [He calls to Brennan through the window.] These gentlemen have paid a small fortune to watch you compete, Mr. Mulwray. I trust you won’t disappoint them.
Brennan (leaning against the glass): Why don’t you come in here so we can give them a preview, Warden, huh? Come on in, Warden!
Wallington (chuckling): Let’s go, gentlemen. [He’s turning away when Kearns comes around the corner.]
Kearns: Warden!
Wallington: Yes?
Kearns: We need to talk.
Wallington: Gentlemen, if you will excuse me, I will be right with you. [The businessmen go back down the hall. Brennan leans on his chair, listening.] What is it?
Kearns: McMullen’s out.
Wallington: What do you mean, McMullen’s out?
Kearns: He was knocked unconscious by another prisoner. No idea how he got in there, but he completely destroyed McMullen.
Wallington: What’s his name?
Brennan (coming up to the glass): Jesse Kilmartin. And I want him. I want him.
Kearns: He’s already being prepped.
Wallington: Let’s go. [He walks over to the next room and looks in. Dr. Rigas is injecting Jesse as the two guards hold him down.]
Jesse: What are you doing? What are you doing? No! [He falls to the floor and starts to convulse. Emma’s watching the scene from Dr. Rigas’s computer.]
Emma (over her comlink): Okay, so far so good. I was able to substitute a harmless fluid for Dr. Rigas’s serum, but Jesse’s still a long way from being safe.
Adam: Well, we’re just gonna have to hope that he can hold his own until we can help him out.
Emma: How close are you from finding the neutralizing agent?
Adam (glancing at Shalimar next to him): Well, not as close as I want to be. I can’t get it to stabilize.
Shalimar: We’ll get it to you as soon as we can, Emma.
Emma: Yeah, well, Jesse’s in solitary. I’m not gonna be able to get to him anymore.
Adam: All right, then, Emma, we’re gonna have to slip it to him during the fight. And you have to find a way to get us in.
Emma: I’ll see what I can do. [She tries to pull up information on the computer, but it denies her access.] Damn it.
Dr. Rigas (walking in, seeing her without her glasses): Who are you?
Emma (hurridly donning her glasses): Dr. Rigas! I was just...um...
Dr. Rigas: Cut the act. I’m gonna call security.
Emma (shooting a psionic blast at him): I know you didn’t want your research to come to this. I can sense it.
Dr. Rigas (dazed): My research wasn’t markable enough. When the warden offered me another option, I took it.
Emma: But you don’t want to do it anymore. I can help you.
Dr. Rigas: It’s too late for that.
Emma: On your computer, there’s a list of people invited to the fight. I need to get my friends on that list. [Nodding, he sits at the computer.] The names are Adam Kane and Shalimar Fox. [Entering the names, he looks up at Emma for further instructions.] Okay, well, thanks very much for your help, but I’m afraid you’re gonna have to sit this round out. [She blasts him again, and he slumps over the desk. Emma leaves.]
[Later that night, Brennan waits in his cell, hearing the regular stomping of feet coming from the arena. Adam, Shalimar, and Emma join the crowd on the balcony and look up at Wallington in his booth as he starts the proceedings.]
Wallington: Welcome one and all! Behold! [He raises his arms, and two guards escort Brennan and Jesse into the arena, closing the cage doors behind them. Adam and Jesse nod to each other.] Not since Cain and Abel has there been such a battle. Friend on friend, brother on brother. One will live, one will die. Place your bets!
Brennan (spotting his teammates in the balcony): Guess who decided to show up?
Wallington: Ladies and gentlemen, let the fight begin! [Brennan delivers a spinning kick to Jesse’s face, pushing him back against the cage. Jesse blocks his blows until Brennan grabs his wrist, electrocuting him. Jesse falls to the floor, and Brennan raises his arms, holding up a tesla coil between his outstretched hands. The crowd roars.]
Kearns: What was that?
Wallington (frowining): I don’t know.
Kearns: No one gave him a weapon!
Wallington (grinning): It must have been a byproduct of Rigas’s treatment. Look at this. They’re going wild! They’re gonna bring the house down!
*******Commercial Break*********
[Brennan prances around the ring, holding up a tesla coil. Getting up, Jesse grabs him around the waist and punches him in the back. Brennan elbows him to the floor again.]
Brennan (kicking him in the leg): Get up! Go mass, come on, Jess! Go mass, come on! [Getting up on his knees, Jesse starts to mass one fist, then stops.] Should’ve massed. [He socks him in the face, sending him back to the ground.] Get up!
Shalimar (screaming from the balcony): Jesse!
Brennan: Get up, come on! [Jesse crawls away from him and begins climbing the cage towards Shalimar. She reaches down to hand him the neutralizing serum.] Come back down here and fight! [Creating a tesla coil, Brennan electrifies the metal cage, sending Jesse flying into the middle of the arena. The bottle of serum falls onto the ground. Sitting on top of him, Brennan pummels Jesse’s face and smashes his head against the floor. Jesse bites him in the leg and rolls away, but Brennan grabs him and relentlessly continues to beat him up.]
Adam (to Shalimar): What do you mean?
Shalimar: He dropped it! [Brennan picks Jesse up by the hair and hurls him against the cage. Wincing in pain, Jesse stretching out his arm and grabs the serum.]
Adam: He’s got it!
Brennan (picking him up by the neck, smashing him up against the cage): We both know you can’t phase if you can’t breathe, right, Jess? [Choking him with one hand, Brennan creates a tesla coil with the other. As he starts to bring it towards Jesse, Jesse plunges the vial of serum directly into his stomach. Eyes rolling up, Brennan pitches backwards to the ground. Jesse gasps for air, then kneels beside him, holding his head.]
Wallington (to Kearns): Get down there. Find out what’s going on. [He suddenly notices Emma in the crowd.] You! [Emma shoots him with a psionic blast at him, and he falls to the floor. Entering the cage below, Kerns aims his gun at Emma.]
Emma: Shal!
Adam: Shal! [Shalimar somersaults down from the balcony, knocking Kearns to the ground.]
Adam (Grabbing Emma’s hand): Emma, come on! [They race towards the balcony stairs.]
Shalimar (rubbing Jesse’s shoulder): You okay?
Brennan (waking up): Oh, man, I got a wicked headache.
Shalimar (rolling her eyes at Jesse): Come on.
Jesse (helping Brennan up): Come on.
Shalimar (ripping down one of the cage walls): You boys just made parole. [She runs out; Jesse follows, carrying Brennan.]
[Back at Sanctuary, Shalimar and Emma are sitting across from one another at the computers when Adam emerges from the lab to join them.]
Adam (looking very serious): Well, I just did a full analysis of Brennan. [They look at each other, waiting for the bad news. Suddenly, Adam cocks an eyebrow and grins.] He’s fine, he’s perfect.
Shalimar (chuckling): Well, I’m glad we’re not going to be living with a psychopath.
Adam: Yeah.
Emma: Speaking of psychopaths, Wallington and Rigas have been arrested by the Feds.
Adam: Good.
Shalimar: And the FBI is calling this the biggest corruption and homicide bust in state history. [Adam gives them a thumbs up.]
Emma: Looks like they’re gonna get a taste of prison life from the other side.
Adam: Yeah. Couldn’t happen to nicer guys. [Shalimar nudges him.]
[In the lab, Brennan’s sitting on the biobed putting on his shirt when Jesse walks in, covered in bruises.]
Brennan (coming over to him): Oh, hey. Look, man, I’m glad you’re here. I just wanna say sorry, huh? I don’t even know if I’d be here if it wasn’t for you.
Jesse (staring at him): Right. [He walks out.]
Brennan (following him down the hall): Wait, man, you okay?
Jesse: How much do you remember from when you were amped up?
Brennan: Well, not much. Everything’s all hazy like when you wake up from a dream.
Jesse: ‘Cause you said some things.
Brennan: I don’t remember saying anything. I’ll tell you what I do remember, though, man, you put up a hell of a fight. You can definitely hold your own in any situation, and I’m sorry. And I apologize for giving you all that attitude before.
Jesse: Ah, no you’re not.
Brennan: What?
Jesse: You’re not sorry. You gotta give me a hard time. That’s your job.
Brennan (laughing): Yeah, well.
Jesse (hitting his shoulder): Hey, I forgive you.
Brennan: Thanks, man. Thanks for bringing me back, pal.
Jesse: Hey, forget about it. I look out for my friends.
Brennan (hugging him): That’s a good thing.
Closing Credits.
Mutant X Episode #214 Transcript: " Hard Time"
[Opening Scene. Mid-day, the back street outside a group of garages. In one of Mutant X’s black convertibles, Brennan drives Jesse down the street, stopping near an old garage. They get out.]
Jesse: You know what? This is the fifth place we’ve been to. If you ask me, we’re not gonna find him.
Brennan: We’ve gotta find him, before the cops do, man. I gotta convince him to turn himself in.
Jesse: Yeah, I know.
Brennan (walking with Jesse down the street): Man, if you’re bored, you can go home.
Jesse: Nah, I’m just saying, you know, when a guy breaks out of jail, he’s gonna want to put some distance behind him.
Brennan: Not Denny, man. He’s gonna go where he feels safe, you know? The chop shop we used for years.
Jesse: Chop shop? Well, you rob banks, steal cars, any crimes you didn’t commit?
Brennan: Uh, yeah. I didn’t wear docksiders and chinos to prep school every day.
Jesse (wagging his head): Funny.
Brennan: Look, I’m not proud of what we did, okay? At least we didn’t hurt anybody.
Jesse: Tell that to the people you robbed.
Brennan (chuckling): No, physically, smartass. Geez, Denny was huge. One look at him and they gave us whatever we wanted.
Jesse: You know, you know this guy so well, what’s he doing breaking out of jail six months before he was gonna be paroled?
Brennan: I don’t know, man. He must’ve had a good reason. [Jesse stares at him.] Okay, we got history, okay? Denny’s a real good friend of mine and I owe him.
Jesse (pointing to a car behind them): Hey, is this the car?
Brennan: Yeah. Fits the APB description. Hey, look, he’s gotta be here. I’m gonna go find him. If he sees you, it’ll spook him, so just chill out. [He starts walking into the garage.]
Jesse: All right. You sure you don’t want some backup?
Brennan: No, man. Denny wouldn’t hurt a fly. [He disappears into the garage, calling out for Denny.] Yo, Denny! [Jesse’s waiting outside when he’s suddenly knocked to the ground by a punch in the face. He looks up to see Denny towering over him.]
Jesse (putting up his hands): Hey, man, I’m with Brennan! I’m with Brennan! [Not listening, Denny knees him in the stomach and tosses him several feet away.]
Brennan (running up, grabbing Denny by the shoulder): Hey, hey, what are you doing, man? Hey, it’s me! [He stops, realizing that Denny’s covered in cuts in bruises.] What happened to you? [Not answering, Denny punches him in the stomach and knocks him down. Brennan stares up at him in shock.] What the hell are you doing?
Denny: Finally. Somebody’s gonna give me a good fight before I kill him.
Brennan: What?
Denny (hearing sirens approaching): We’ll finish this later. [He starts to run down the street.]
Brennan (going over to Jesse, helping him up): Hey, you okay?
Jesse: Oh, yeah.
Brennan: Come on, let’s go. [Hearing a loud honking noise, they look up. A large truck comes barreling down the street towards Denny, runs him over and keeps going. Brennan rushes to his side, but he’s dead.] Denny! Denny! Denny, no! No!
Opening Credits. “Hard Time”
[Back at Sanctuary, Brennan’s pacing around the main room in front of Adam and Jesse, who’s holding an ice pack to his black eye. Emma’s working on the computer.]
Brennan: No, see, the Denny I saw this morning was a completely different guy. I mean, he was never a boy scout, but he was never violent.
Jesse: Yeah, well, jail changes people.
Brennan (darkly): What would you know about that? No, Adam, it was something totally different.
Adam (to Emma): Did you find the toxicology report?
Emma: Straight from the medical examiner’s office. [She turns to Brennan.] You were right. He was clean for street drugs.
Adam: All right, so what do you think is going on?
Jesse: Well, maybe he was psychotic. Now, look, he would have killed both of us.
Brennan: No, there was something more to it than that. You saw him, he was covered in cuts and bruises.
Adam: Well, he could’ve got that in a prison fight, you know, when he tried to escape.
Brennan: No, see, that’s what I thought until I saw this. Look. [He goes over to another computer and pulls up a list of inmates.] All right. Hillview State Penitentiary has had 14 fatalities in the last six months.
Emma: And noone’s investigated?
Brennan: Well, the state board of corrections investigated, but surprise! They found no misconduct.
Adam (nodding): And you think what?
Brennan: Well, somebody’s covering something up. 12 of these 14 fatalities were from severe trauma, like they were beaten to death. Okay, there’s something going on in this place, and I’m gonna find out what it is. [He starts to walk away.]
Adam (grabbing his arm): Yeah, okay, but wait, we--
Brennan: Adam, the only way to find out what’s going on is from the inside.
Adam: Look, I appreciate your determination--
Brennan: Look, a friend of mine died today, okay? And somebody in that prison is responsible, okay? Now either you find a way to get me in there, or I’m gonna get myself in. The hard way. [He stalks off. Adam sighs.]
[Scene: Hillview State Penitentiary. Warden John Wallington watches unperturbed through a one-way window as three guards drag a prisoner into a small observation room and start beating him up.]
Warden Wallington (straightening his tie): That’s quite enough, Mr. Kearns. [Acknowledging the order, the head guard takes the other two out of the room.]
Dr. Nigel Rigas (coming up to stand next to Wallington): Just got the word on Dennis Logan. He was killed this morning.
Wallington: Well, I guess that’s a sign justice is on our side.
Dr. Rigas: You realize the threat he posed in his condition?
Wallington: You worry too much, Doctor.
Dr. Rigas: He was able to escape because of what we did to him.
Wallington: Trust me. The guards will not let that happen again. Anything else?
Dr. Rigas: My work wasn’t meant to be used this way.
Wallington: You can’t rehabilitate these animals. I know, I’ve been dealing with them for 20 years.
Dr. Rigas: So what do we do? Just forget these men?
Warden Wallington: These men are getting what they deserve.
Dr. Rigas: While we make money off them.
Wallington: I’ll be glad to cut your profits if that will ease your conscience, doctor.
Dr. Rigas: No, no. That’s not my problem.
Wallington: I didn’t think so. We put our lives on the line every day by being in the same cages with these animals. Let’s just...call it compensation for work no one else wants to do, shall we? [Inside the room, the inmate repeatedly smashes his fist against the glass.] Well, thank you for getting this one ready on such short notice. You must have work to do. [Dr. Rigas takes the hint and leaves.]
[In Sanctuary, Brennan’s beating a boxing bag within an inch of its life. Emma stands behind him, watching.]
Emma: That’s quite a workout.
Brennan (taking off his gloves): Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away.
Emma (hands on her hips): You wanna talk about it?
Brennan (sitting down in front of her): Nah, it’s just, uh... I don’t know. I feel responsible for Denny’s death.
Emma: No, you’re not. Jesse told me what happened.
Brennan: No. You see, a few years back, some guys and I were planning a diamond heist, right? It was gonna be worth a hell of a lot of cash. You know, something came up for me, and I hooked Denny up with the job. And I found out later that it was all a setup and everybody was arrested. Now if I hadn’t talked Denny into doing it, then he wouldn’t have gone to Hillview and he’d still be alive today.
Emma: Denny made the choices he made.
Brennan (rubbing his face with a towel): No.
Emma: You can’t blame yourself. [She touches his shoulder, then makes a face as her hand comes away sweaty. She wipes it on her leg.] Look, Adam thinks he’s found a way to get you and Jess into Hillview.
Brennan (looking up at her): Jess?!
[Having showered and dressed, Brennan sits in the main room shaking his head as Adam outlines his plan.]
Adam: Both of you guys will join the prison population, and I’m trying to get Emma on the prison staff as backup. [Walking by, Jesse stops in the doorway when he hears them talking.]
Brennan: No, Adam, that’s not what we talked about. I’m going in alone.
Adam: No, you’re not. We work as a team.
Brennan: Adam, he’s gonna get eaten alive in there!
Jesse (coming in): What are you talking about? You’ve seen me kick some major ass in my time.
Brennan: That’s exactly the kind of attitude that’s gonna get you killed.
Jesse: Look, I’ve taken care of myself in much tougher situations than that.
Brennan: To survive in there, you blend in. You don’t get noticed. Personally, I don’t think you’re capable of doing it.
Adam: Guys, guys, guys.
Brennan: No, no, Adam, I’ve been to jail. I know what to expect. Hillview scares the hell out of me.
Jesse: So I’ll be there to watch your back.
Brennan: Jess, you can’t be Mr. Molecular in there.
Adam: All right, that’s true. You can’t use your powers publicly, because you’d risk exposing Mutant X. He knows that.
Brennan: That, and you’re from the suburbs, man. This job is all about the street.
Jesse: Give me a break!
Adam: All right, so that’s why you have to teach him what he needs to know.
Brennan: Come on, Adam.
Adam: No, no. There’s no, no discussion here. You guys go as a team, or you don’t go at all.
Brennan: Okay, fine. You know what? We’re going in, we’re playing by my rules. You’re not gonna know what I’m talking about until we get in there.
Jesse: It’s hell. You’ve made your point. [Jesse follows Adam to the lab, where Shalimar and Emma are waiting.]
Brennan (to himself): Right.
Adam: All right, so Shalimar’s gonna stay here at Sanctuary with me in case the team needs help from the outside. Emma, you’re gonna pass yourself off as a graduate student working under a Dr. Nigel Rigas. [Shalimar clips an ID badge to Emma’s jacket.] Okay, so, Dr. Rigas is an accomplished behavioral psychiatrist. He’s been at the prison for a little over a year and that file has some of the papers that he’s published. [Shalimar hands packets to Emma, Jesse and Brennan.] I want you to read him; I want you to get close to him; I want you to get me anything you can about him.
Emma: Okay.
Adam (to Brennan and Jesse) You guys are going in under armed robbery charges. [Grinning at Brennan, Jesse mimics shooting a gun at him.] I have created very long rap sheets for both of you; I want you to become familiar with them, all right? Now this is where you’re going. [He pulls up a picture of Hillview on the computer.] The Hillview State Penitentiary. It’s a maximum security prison. A little over 900 inmates, it’s the kind of place where the state sends its most dangerous criminals. Once you’re inside, you’re gonna get treated like every other prisoner. Your comlinks are gonna be confiscated like every other piece of jewelry; you’re gonna have no contact with the outside world, except through Emma. [As Adam talks, the scene fades into Hillview Prison as Jesse and Brennan, wearing gray uniforms, join a line of new inmates filing into the holding area. Warden Wallington strolls in, followed by Kerns.]
Guard: Come on, guys, get in line. Come on, hurry up.
Adam (voiceover): Now the warden is a man named John Wallington. He used to be a reformer until he was almost killed in a prison riot. Now he knows everything that goes on in his prison. He runs things with an iron fist. Above all, remember, trust no one. You only have each other in there.
Wallington (standing in front of the line of prisoners): A week ago, a man by the name of Dennis Logan made a foolish mistake. [Hearing the name, Jesse glances quickly at Brennan, who maintains a poker face.] Trying to escape justice, he broke out of my prison. He did not succeed. You cannot escape your sentence, gentlemen. Justice will always prevail.
Jesse (muttering to Brennan): Is this guy for real? [Kearns hits him in the stomach with his nightstick. Jesse doubles over on the floor, coughing.]
Wallington: Welcome to Hillview State Penitentiary. Enjoy your stay. [Brennan waits until the warden’s gone before hauling Jesse up by the back of his collar.]
Brennan: Nice work. [He walks off. Wincing in pain, Jesse follows him.]
******Commercial Break*******
[Brennan and Jesse enter the prison break room.]
Brennan: So you beginning to get the picture or what?
Jesse: Beware of boys with big sticks. That’s an easy rule to remember.
Brennan: Yeah, that’s the least of your worries.
[A big bald inmate, Terry McMullen, gets up from his table, bumping into Jesse’s shoulder on his way to the door.]
Jesse: Pardon me.
McMullen: You trying to start something with me? [Jesse keeps walking.] Yo, I’m talkin’ to you, meat! [At the insult, Jesse starts to turn around; Brennan grabs him by the shirt and keeps him moving.] Yeah, that’s all right. I’ll catch up with you later. [McMullen heads out the door.]
Brennan (stopping to talk to Jesse): You have guys like that trying to break you in here 24-7.
Jesse: Yeah, I know, I’m supposed to take it.
Brennan: That’s right. You’re supposed to take it; you’re supposed to ignore it, and you walk away. Don’t give him any reason to stick a shank in your kidney, okay?
Jesse: I got it covered. Back off. [He walks away.]
[Across the building, Emma, wearing glasses and carrying a briefcase, trails after Dr. Rigas as he goes down the hallway.]
Dr. Rigas: As I told the state people, Miss deLauro, I don’t need a trainee.
Emma: Well, it’s really not up to us, Dr. Rigas. The Department of Corrections assigned me. Our hands are tied.
Dr. Rigas: I’ll call DOC and deal with that. Thank you very much for your time. [He heads through the door.]
Emma (following him): But...the truth is, I worked hard for this assignment. I really admire your work. I interned at Med Tech because that’s where you started.
Dr. Rigas: I spent very little time there; they wouldn’t fund my research.
Emma: Your studies of the effects of cadmium on violent behavior surpassed everything I saw at Dartmouth.
Dr. Rigas (slowing down): I was way ahead of Dartmouth!
Emma: That’s why I’m here. The basis of my thesis was your articles on neurotoxicity.
Dr. Rigas (finally stopping): Yes. The foundation of my research. Reverse the negative effects of the toxins and dial down aggressive behavior. Of course, it’s still all theoretical.
Emma: Please. I know I could learn so much having you as my mentor.
Dr. Rigas (relenting): Well, um...there are new inmate case files that need processing. Why don’t you start by examining their blood panels and record your findings. [He starts down the hall.]
Emma (calling after him): You won’t regret this!
Dr. Rigas (turning): That remains to be seen. [She gives him a brilliant smile and heads back down the hallway.]
[Outside in the prison yard, Brennan and Jesse come together to compare notes.]
Brennan: Hey.
Jesse: So what’d you find out?
Brennan: Well, not much. Except the fact that your tattooed buddy over there’s name is Terry McMullen. Found out he’s in for double homicide. He’s the real deal, so stay away from him.
Jesse: Well, I found out that your buddy Denny got in a fight with some guy a few weeks back. Warden sent him off to solitary. After solitary, nobody ever saw him again.
Brennan: All right. Keep digging.
Jesse: Yeah. [Brennan leaves. Seeing that he’s alone, McMullen comes over to Jesse; Jesse starts to walk away from him.]
McMullen: Hey, where are you going?
Jesse: I got no problem with you, man.
McMullen: I think you do. You and me, we got big problems.
Jesse: Let’s not do this, okay?
McMullen (grabbing his arm): Why not?
Jesse: Back off.
McMullen (gripping his neck): What are you gonna do about it? [Shrugging him off, Jesse tries to leave, but McMullen grabs his arm again.]
Jesse (shoving him away): I said, back off!
McMullen: Oh, you’re gonna pay for that. [The other inmates crowd around excitedly as they fight. McMullen soon gets the upper hand, knocking Jesse to the ground. Hearing the commotion, Wallington and his guards gather on the balcony above the prison yard. Kearns moves to go down, but Wallington holds him back.]
Wallington: Not yet. [McMullen is standing over Jesse when Brennan rushes up.]
Brennan (punching him in the face): Mind if I cut in? [Two inmates hold Jesse back as the crowd shouts encouragement to Brennan and McMullen, who appear to be evenly matched. Wallington smiles at Kearns.]
Wallington (coming down the steps): All right, break it up. That’s enough! [The guards pull Brennan and McMullen apart.] McMullen! This is the third time we’ve caught you fighting. You like fighting so much, you’re gonna get your wish. Take him to solitary.
McMullen: Chump, I’m gonna kill you!
Wallington: Get him out of here! [He disdainfully wipes some dirt off his suit before turning to Brennan.] You keep this up, you’re next. Get this scum out of my sight. [The guards drag Brennan off.] All right, the rest of you, break it up! I mean now!
[That evening, Dr. Rigas comes out of his laboratory to find Emma hard at work at her desk. She looks up as he punches a code into the security lock by the door.]
Dr. Rigas: I’ll come back and check up on you. [She gives him another bright smile, and he heads out. As soon as he’s out of sight, she takes a compact out of her bag and opens it to reveal a small digital scanner, which she hooks up to the door lock. Reading the combination off the scan, she punches in the numbers and enters the lab with a flashlight.]
Emma (into her comlink): Adam? I’m in.
[Meanwhile, Brennan and Jesse rest quietly in their cell until the night guard passes by.]
Brennan: I’m not in here to save your ass.
Jesse (groaning in pain as he sits up): I didn’t ask you to. I could have taken McMullen.
Brennan: I told you to stay away from him.
Jesse: What was I supposed to do?
Brennan: Okay, what did I tell you? Huh? The people who survive in here are the ones who don’t get noticed. One more move like that and this mission is over.
Jesse (getting up to look out the bars): What the hell are we doing this for, anyway? Just a bunch of lowlife criminals.
Brennan: Okay, you know, that’s exactly why I didn’t want you here in the first place. [The lights go off overhead.]
Jesse (stuffing his pillow under the sheet on his bed): All right. I’m going to find Emma.
Brennan: What are you talking about? There’s a bed check in a half hour, Jess!
Jesse: Well, we’ve gotta know what she found out.
Brennan: What are you--
Jesse: I’ll be back.
Brennan (getting up): What are you doing? [Jesse phases out of the cell. Brennan calls after him.] Where are you going? Jess! Jesse!
[In Dr. Rigas’ lab, Emma’s searching through the medicine cabinet.]
Adam (over her comlink): Emma, did you find anything?
Emma: Well, I found nothing. I can’t get into the computer files, security feeds are a dead end, and Rigas’s cabinets are just filled with your standard psych meds.
Adam (standing at the computer): All right, now listen to this. According to Denny Logan’s autopsy report, his dopamine, his serotonin, his epinephrine levels were through the roof.
Emma: Meaning?
Adam: Meaning that the reason that he was so violent was because somebody was using his own body’s chemicals to alter his behavior.
Emma (opening another cabinet): And who else in here would know how to do that but Rigas? [She spills a bottle of pills on the floor and leans down to pick them up.]
Adam (as Shalimar walks up behind him): Emma? Still there?
Emma: Hold on. [She gasps as a guard walks past the room, but he doesn’t look in. Turning her head, she sees a safe in the wall next to her.] Adam, I found a wall safe. [She hooks up the compact/decoder again and opens the electronic lock.] It’s full of bottles of some kind of serum. There’s a notebook. [She opens it.] It’s all about tests of something called ST1277. Looks like it’s some kind of steroid.
Adam: A steroid. All right, now that makes sense. Maybe they were affecting the somatosensory cortex with a steroid.
Emma (examine a vial of the green liquid): Okay, you lost me.
Adam: The brain regulates its chemistry with neurotransmitters, right? Now remember how Rigas said that he could dial down somebody’s aggression.
Emma: Yeah.
Adam: Well, this stuff would allow them to dial up the aggression.
Emma: Yeah, but that doesn’t make any sense. He spent his whole life researching the opposite effect.
Adam (looking back at Shalimar) Well, I know, but this would explain the levels of the chemicals that we found in Denny that would cause the violence. Listen, I need you to get me a sample of this stuff back here to the lab as soon as possible.
Emma: I’m on my way.
Shalimar: Why? I mean, why would somebody want to make dangerous criminals even more dangerous?
Adam: I don’t know. That’s what we’re gonna find out.
[Exploring the prison grounds, Jesse finds a back room which opens onto a large arena. Dozens of shouting men stand on the balcony waving fistfuls of cash, watching a bare-chested Terry McMullen beat up another inmate in a cage below them. Kearns and Wallington look on from a booth at the end of the balcony as McMullen snaps the man’s neck. Two guards pull McMullen back as a third checks the body for a pulse. Finding none, he smiles up at Wallington.]
Wallington: Gentlemen! We have a new champion! [The crowd goes wild, exchanging money. Jesse sneaks out.]
*******Commercial Break*********
[Sitting in his cell anxiously waiting for Jesse, Brennan hears the guards approaching for a bed check. He quickly stuffs another blanket under Jesse’s sheet and lies down on his bed. When the guards shine their flashlights into the cell, he throws a shoe at the bars.]
Brennan: Get outta here, I’m trying to sleep! Get outta here!
Kerns (calling from down the hall): Ramirez, McGreazy! Back down to solitary! [Heeding his order, the guards leave. Sitting up, Brennan sighs in relief.]
[Emma’s looking around Rigas’s outer office when she hears a noise outside the door. She gasps when she sees a man standing by the wall, but her light reveals that it’s Jesse.]
Emma: Jesse. [As he comes over to her, she reaches out to touch the new bruises on his face.] Oh my God.
Jesse: Hey. Nice glasses.
Emma (smiling): Thank you. But I’m assuming you didn’t come here to check my wardrobe.
Jesse (shaking his head): I wish. I found out what’s going on in this place.
[Meanwhile, the guards return to check Brennan’s cell again. He hastily lies back down as Kearns opens the door and comes in.]
Kearns: Mulwray!
Brennan (pretending to wake up): Man, I told you, I’m trying to sleep. Go away!
Kearns (smashing his nightstick on the foot of the bed): Get up!
Brennan (getting up): What’s your problem, man?
Kearns: Warden wants to see you.
Brennan: Relax.
Kearns (grabbing his collar): Try pushing again. [He shoves him out of the room; the other guards escort him down the hallway. Kearns is about to leave the cell when he notices the odd shape of the covers on the other bed. He pulls back the sheet to see that Jesse’s not there.]
[In Rigas’s office, Emma stands next to Jesse as he sits on a desk, describing the fight he witnessed.]
Jesse (into his comlink): There was a bunch of high rollers watching the whole thing. Lots of cash changing hands. Adam, it’s...it’s like a human dog fight.
Shalimar (listening with Adam in Sanctuary): Well, that explains all the bruises and cuts on Denny and the other dead inmates.
Adam (nodding): They take these inmates and they amp them up, throw them in the ring and let them fight to the death.
Emma: And the warden, the guards, Rigas, they’re all in on it.
Jesse: They’re making a fortune. [Overhead, an alarm begins to blare.]
Emma: What’s that? [She runs to the computer and pulls up the alert.] There’s a prisoner missing from cell 13-A.
Jesse: 13-A? That’s me, they’re onto me.
Emma: Adam, we’ll get back to you.
Jesse: I’m gonna phase back and grab Brennan.
Emma (hurrying back to him): No, you won’t make it back during this. We can just wait here. [Behind them, a door slams.] No...we can’t.
Jesse (thinking quickly): Handcuffs. [He grabs a pair of handcuffs out of a desk drawer, hastily puts them on, and sits back down on the desk. Emma grabs a notebook, turns on the light over the desk and stands next to him just as Dr. Rigas, Kearns and two armed guards burst into the room.]
Emma: Well, it’s about time you got here. I’ve been waiting for you to escort this prisoner back to his cell for almost two hours now.
Dr. Rigas: Is this the missing prisoner?
Kearns: Yes. Ma’am, I apologize. [To Jesse, through his teeth.] Get up. Get him out of here. [They escort Jesse out of the room.]
Dr. Rigas (to Emma): Why didn’t you report that this prisoner hadn’t been returned to his cell?
Emma: I’m so sorry. You’re right. I just got carried away. I’m just so anxious for you to get the data you need.
Dr. Rigas (impressed): Well, you’re done for the day. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? [Smiling, Emma nods and leaves.]
[Kearns removes Jesse’s handcuffs and shoves him back into his cell, closing the bars behind him.]
Kearns: Move inside!
Jesse (realizing that Brennan’s gone): Where is he? [Kearns walks away.] Hey! Where is he?
Kearns (shouting over his shoulder): Solitary! [Realizing what that means, Jesse slams his hand against the bars in frustration.]
[The next morning, Brennan’s waiting in the tiny solitary room when Dr. Rigas enters, accompanied by two guards.]
Dr. Rigas: Hello, I’m Dr. Rigas. How are you feeling this morning?
Brennan: Fine, if you answer some questions for me. These other stiffs wouldn’t tell me anything.
Dr. Rigas: Try to relax.
Brennan: What the hell is going on?
Dr. Rigas: It’ll all be over in a second. [The guards pin Brennan down on a chair as Dr. Rigas injects him with a vial of ST1277.]
Brennan: What is that? Get off me! Get off!
[Walking towards Dr. Rigas’s office to begin work for the day, Emma passes the solitary room and catches a glimpse of Brennan convulsing on the floor with Dr. Rigas standing over him.]
Emma: Brennan. [Entering Dr. Rigas’s office, she rushes to his computer and pulls up the security video feed from the solitary room, where Brennan lies on the floor, unconscious.] Oh my God. [Leaving the room, Dr. Rigas stops when he hears Wallington behind him.]
Wallington: Looks like we have an adversary for McMullen in tomorrow’s bout.
Dr. Rigas: This was the last one. I won’t be a part of this any more.
Wallington: You’re a failure, Doctor. No one on the outside will allow you to continue.
Dr. Rigas: I won’t sentence another man to death. This last one was in for robbery. He doesn’t deserve to die.
Wallington (walking up to him): Clear your conscience. They’re all the same. But if that doesn’t help you sleep well at night, here’s your cut from tonight’s fight. [He tosses a packet of money at Dr. Rigas, who catches it.] You can’t leave, Rigas. There’s nowhere for you to go. [He walks away, leaving Rigas hugging the money tightly.]
Emma (over her comlink): Adam, they’ve done something to Brennan.
Shalimar: We’ve got to get them out of there.
Adam (grabbing her arm): No, wait, I’m still trying to figure out what kind of effect Rigas’s serum is gonna have on Brennan.
Shalimar (heading off): Well, you know what? We don’t have time to wait around and find out.
Adam (grabbing her arm again): No, but I do know that without some kind of neutralizing compound, we’re not gonna be able to control him. Wait. Emma? When’s the next fight?
Emma: Jesse said tomorrow night.
Adam (walking towards the lab with Shalimar): Okay, then, good, that buys us some time. Emma, I got the materials you sent. I’m already working on formulating a neutralizer. Now I want you to find Jesse. I want you to tell him to stay away from Brennan, all right? [To Shalimar.] Come on, I need your help.
Emma: Okay.
[Inside his cell, Jesse holds a mirror out of the bars to look down the hallway. Seeing no guards around, he pushes some blankets under the sheet on his bed again and phases through the back wall of the cell. Finding the solitary confinement room, he phases inside and finds Brennan sitting on the chair, rocking back and forth.]
Jesse: Okay, you were right, I should have kept my cool. I’m sorry.
Brennan (shaking his head): You shouldn’t have come in here.
Jesse: Yeah, I know. I’ll get you out of here, and Adam will fix you up. [Brennan lights up a telsa coil.] What are you doing?
Brennan (lunging out of the chair): Making sure you never screw up again! [He shoots an electrical arc at Jesse. Jesse phases to avoid being electrocuted, then stares at Brennan in shock. Brennan punches him in the stomach, dropping him to the floor.] I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle it! Sick and tired of having to watch your back!
Jesse (holding his stomach, looking up at him): Brennan, what?
Brennan (picking up the chair): So much weaker after you use your powers. I’ll be so glad when I don’t have to look at your pathetic face anymore! [He hurls the chair at Jesse, who phases back out of the room to get away from him.] You’re dead, Jess, you hear me? You’re dead! [Jesse sags against the wall outside the room as Brennan pounds on the walls, screaming in a blind rage.] You’re dead! Do you hear me, Jess? You’re dead! DEAD!
********Commercial Break*******
[A little while later, Kearns and another guard escort Emma towards Jesse’s cell past the cat-calls of the other inmates in their cells.]
Emma (turning to Kearns): I’ll be okay from here. Thank you. [He lets her go on alone. Hearing her coming, Jesse rushes up to the bars. She sees fresh bruises on him.] You found Brennan.
Jesse (nodding): It’s too late, they’ve injected him.
Emma: I know.
Jesse: Emma, he tried to kill me.
Emma: Look, I took the steroid over to Adam last night. He’s working on some kind of antidote, a neutralizer.
Jesse: What if it’s not ready by tonight? What if it doesn’t work? If he gets into the ring with McMullen, he could die.
Emma (shaking her head): Adam said to just sit tight.
Jesse: I’ve gotta stop the fight. I’ll take McMullen’s place.
Emma: Jesse, that is crazy! Brennan’s gonna do everything he can to try and kill you.
Jesse: That’s a chance I’m gonna have to take. I got him into this; I’m getting him out.
Kearns (coming up to her): Ma’am, you’re gonna have to leave.
Emma: I need more time with the prisoner.
Jesse (returning to his bed): No you don’t. I got nothing else to say to you. [Taking one last look at him Emma leaves with Kearns. Jesse puts on his shirt and phases out the back wall of his cell again.]
[Elsewhere in the building, McMullen presses up against the gate of his cage and yells for a guard.]
McMullen: What time is it? I wanna know what time it is!
Jesse (appearing behind him): Time for me to set a few things straight.
McMullen (surprised): How did you get in here?
Jesse: That’s not important. What is important is that I’m gonna finish what you started in the yard.
McMullen (smiling): You wanna bet? [Jesse masses as McMullen throws a fist at his stomach; McMullen howls in pain.] What are you?
Jesse: I’m somebody you shouldn’t have messed with. [Jesse drops him with one swift chop to his head.] Your fighting days are over. [Phases his fingers into the lock, he opens the cage door to set off the alarms, then leans against the cage to wait, Kearns runs up with two guards.]
Kearns: How the hell did you get here? [He sees McMullen lying on the floor inside the cage.] What the hell did you do to him? [Jesse shrugs.]
[Wallington leads two rich businessmen down the hallway towards Brennan’s cell, telling them about the contestants for the night’s fight.]
Wallington: He’s an impressive fighter with a long list of felonies. He and last night’s winner have a bit of a history. Should make tonight’s death match quite interesting. [He calls to Brennan through the window.] These gentlemen have paid a small fortune to watch you compete, Mr. Mulwray. I trust you won’t disappoint them.
Brennan (leaning against the glass): Why don’t you come in here so we can give them a preview, Warden, huh? Come on in, Warden!
Wallington (chuckling): Let’s go, gentlemen. [He’s turning away when Kearns comes around the corner.]
Kearns: Warden!
Wallington: Yes?
Kearns: We need to talk.
Wallington: Gentlemen, if you will excuse me, I will be right with you. [The businessmen go back down the hall. Brennan leans on his chair, listening.] What is it?
Kearns: McMullen’s out.
Wallington: What do you mean, McMullen’s out?
Kearns: He was knocked unconscious by another prisoner. No idea how he got in there, but he completely destroyed McMullen.
Wallington: What’s his name?
Brennan (coming up to the glass): Jesse Kilmartin. And I want him. I want him.
Kearns: He’s already being prepped.
Wallington: Let’s go. [He walks over to the next room and looks in. Dr. Rigas is injecting Jesse as the two guards hold him down.]
Jesse: What are you doing? What are you doing? No! [He falls to the floor and starts to convulse. Emma’s watching the scene from Dr. Rigas’s computer.]
Emma (over her comlink): Okay, so far so good. I was able to substitute a harmless fluid for Dr. Rigas’s serum, but Jesse’s still a long way from being safe.
Adam: Well, we’re just gonna have to hope that he can hold his own until we can help him out.
Emma: How close are you from finding the neutralizing agent?
Adam (glancing at Shalimar next to him): Well, not as close as I want to be. I can’t get it to stabilize.
Shalimar: We’ll get it to you as soon as we can, Emma.
Emma: Yeah, well, Jesse’s in solitary. I’m not gonna be able to get to him anymore.
Adam: All right, then, Emma, we’re gonna have to slip it to him during the fight. And you have to find a way to get us in.
Emma: I’ll see what I can do. [She tries to pull up information on the computer, but it denies her access.] Damn it.
Dr. Rigas (walking in, seeing her without her glasses): Who are you?
Emma (hurridly donning her glasses): Dr. Rigas! I was just...um...
Dr. Rigas: Cut the act. I’m gonna call security.
Emma (shooting a psionic blast at him): I know you didn’t want your research to come to this. I can sense it.
Dr. Rigas (dazed): My research wasn’t markable enough. When the warden offered me another option, I took it.
Emma: But you don’t want to do it anymore. I can help you.
Dr. Rigas: It’s too late for that.
Emma: On your computer, there’s a list of people invited to the fight. I need to get my friends on that list. [Nodding, he sits at the computer.] The names are Adam Kane and Shalimar Fox. [Entering the names, he looks up at Emma for further instructions.] Okay, well, thanks very much for your help, but I’m afraid you’re gonna have to sit this round out. [She blasts him again, and he slumps over the desk. Emma leaves.]
[Later that night, Brennan waits in his cell, hearing the regular stomping of feet coming from the arena. Adam, Shalimar, and Emma join the crowd on the balcony and look up at Wallington in his booth as he starts the proceedings.]
Wallington: Welcome one and all! Behold! [He raises his arms, and two guards escort Brennan and Jesse into the arena, closing the cage doors behind them. Adam and Jesse nod to each other.] Not since Cain and Abel has there been such a battle. Friend on friend, brother on brother. One will live, one will die. Place your bets!
Brennan (spotting his teammates in the balcony): Guess who decided to show up?
Wallington: Ladies and gentlemen, let the fight begin! [Brennan delivers a spinning kick to Jesse’s face, pushing him back against the cage. Jesse blocks his blows until Brennan grabs his wrist, electrocuting him. Jesse falls to the floor, and Brennan raises his arms, holding up a tesla coil between his outstretched hands. The crowd roars.]
Kearns: What was that?
Wallington (frowining): I don’t know.
Kearns: No one gave him a weapon!
Wallington (grinning): It must have been a byproduct of Rigas’s treatment. Look at this. They’re going wild! They’re gonna bring the house down!
*******Commercial Break*********
[Brennan prances around the ring, holding up a tesla coil. Getting up, Jesse grabs him around the waist and punches him in the back. Brennan elbows him to the floor again.]
Brennan (kicking him in the leg): Get up! Go mass, come on, Jess! Go mass, come on! [Getting up on his knees, Jesse starts to mass one fist, then stops.] Should’ve massed. [He socks him in the face, sending him back to the ground.] Get up!
Shalimar (screaming from the balcony): Jesse!
Brennan: Get up, come on! [Jesse crawls away from him and begins climbing the cage towards Shalimar. She reaches down to hand him the neutralizing serum.] Come back down here and fight! [Creating a tesla coil, Brennan electrifies the metal cage, sending Jesse flying into the middle of the arena. The bottle of serum falls onto the ground. Sitting on top of him, Brennan pummels Jesse’s face and smashes his head against the floor. Jesse bites him in the leg and rolls away, but Brennan grabs him and relentlessly continues to beat him up.]
Adam (to Shalimar): What do you mean?
Shalimar: He dropped it! [Brennan picks Jesse up by the hair and hurls him against the cage. Wincing in pain, Jesse stretching out his arm and grabs the serum.]
Adam: He’s got it!
Brennan (picking him up by the neck, smashing him up against the cage): We both know you can’t phase if you can’t breathe, right, Jess? [Choking him with one hand, Brennan creates a tesla coil with the other. As he starts to bring it towards Jesse, Jesse plunges the vial of serum directly into his stomach. Eyes rolling up, Brennan pitches backwards to the ground. Jesse gasps for air, then kneels beside him, holding his head.]
Wallington (to Kearns): Get down there. Find out what’s going on. [He suddenly notices Emma in the crowd.] You! [Emma shoots him with a psionic blast at him, and he falls to the floor. Entering the cage below, Kerns aims his gun at Emma.]
Emma: Shal!
Adam: Shal! [Shalimar somersaults down from the balcony, knocking Kearns to the ground.]
Adam (Grabbing Emma’s hand): Emma, come on! [They race towards the balcony stairs.]
Shalimar (rubbing Jesse’s shoulder): You okay?
Brennan (waking up): Oh, man, I got a wicked headache.
Shalimar (rolling her eyes at Jesse): Come on.
Jesse (helping Brennan up): Come on.
Shalimar (ripping down one of the cage walls): You boys just made parole. [She runs out; Jesse follows, carrying Brennan.]
[Back at Sanctuary, Shalimar and Emma are sitting across from one another at the computers when Adam emerges from the lab to join them.]
Adam (looking very serious): Well, I just did a full analysis of Brennan. [They look at each other, waiting for the bad news. Suddenly, Adam cocks an eyebrow and grins.] He’s fine, he’s perfect.
Shalimar (chuckling): Well, I’m glad we’re not going to be living with a psychopath.
Adam: Yeah.
Emma: Speaking of psychopaths, Wallington and Rigas have been arrested by the Feds.
Adam: Good.
Shalimar: And the FBI is calling this the biggest corruption and homicide bust in state history. [Adam gives them a thumbs up.]
Emma: Looks like they’re gonna get a taste of prison life from the other side.
Adam: Yeah. Couldn’t happen to nicer guys. [Shalimar nudges him.]
[In the lab, Brennan’s sitting on the biobed putting on his shirt when Jesse walks in, covered in bruises.]
Brennan (coming over to him): Oh, hey. Look, man, I’m glad you’re here. I just wanna say sorry, huh? I don’t even know if I’d be here if it wasn’t for you.
Jesse (staring at him): Right. [He walks out.]
Brennan (following him down the hall): Wait, man, you okay?
Jesse: How much do you remember from when you were amped up?
Brennan: Well, not much. Everything’s all hazy like when you wake up from a dream.
Jesse: ‘Cause you said some things.
Brennan: I don’t remember saying anything. I’ll tell you what I do remember, though, man, you put up a hell of a fight. You can definitely hold your own in any situation, and I’m sorry. And I apologize for giving you all that attitude before.
Jesse: Ah, no you’re not.
Brennan: What?
Jesse: You’re not sorry. You gotta give me a hard time. That’s your job.
Brennan (laughing): Yeah, well.
Jesse (hitting his shoulder): Hey, I forgive you.
Brennan: Thanks, man. Thanks for bringing me back, pal.
Jesse: Hey, forget about it. I look out for my friends.
Brennan (hugging him): That’s a good thing.
Closing Credits.