Episode: 1.04
Air date: April 18, 2003
Cast Members: Desi Stark, Doug, and JD 

We opened the Episode with a "Previously, on Buffy," where we highlighted the elements from the earlier Episode that would have relevance to this one.

Teaser

Long shot of a pudgy, young man sitting in a very large, wooden chair. He's surrounded by a wooden railing. The camera slowly zooms in to a medium shot. The man looks slightly nervous. We'll call him Brian Kelhart. He starts somewhat as a voice booms:

Attorney: So you claim, Mr. Kelhart, that this gentleman--

Cut to a medium close-up of a teenager who, although probably dressed better than he's been in a long time, doesn't seem to be taking things very seriously.

Attorney: --the defendant, was one of the three that you saw running from the A-Plus Mini-Market that night.

Kelhart: (in a firm voice, despite his slightly nervous appearance) Yes, sir, that's correct.

Cut to a medium-long shot of the attorney, who's played by John Houseman.

Attorney: You claim that he and his companions got into an automobile. Can you describe the car?

Kelhart: Yes, sir. It was a Chevy Cavalier. Sedan. Dark green where it wasn't rusted. The left front fender had been damaged prior to that night. As the car drove away, I saw that the right tail light was out. It was difficult to read the license plate, possibly because the plate lights weren't working--

Attorney: Just the facts, Mr. Kelhart. Spare us your conjectures.

Kelhart: I beg the court's pardon.

This brings a titter from some members of the audience. Cut to a side shot of a group of teenagers on the benches. We're looking down the length of the bench at them. They're obviously from the lower socioeconomic classes. We see no signs of Carmín or Lobo paraphernalia, but they all look rough. The farthest of them from the camera (let's call him Goon) is leaning forward, whispering something to his companion to his right. The companion quietly laughs and high-fives Goon. As Goon leans back into his seat, behind him we see Kevin Troxell from Episode 1.03, who's looking in Goon's direction with a stony expression. After a few seconds, Kevin again faces forward.

Kelhart: The license plate was difficult to read, but I was able to make out that the first three characters were BDR.

Attorney: Are you certain of these details, Mr. Kelhart?

Kelhart: Yes, sir, I am.

Medium shot of Kevin from straight on. James Schuler slides into the seat to Kevin's left. The attorney's questioning and Kelhart's replies fade into the background as we focus on Mr. Schuler and Kevin.

Schuler: Thanks for filling in for me until I could get here, Kevin.

Kevin: No, problem. How'd everything go?

Schuler: Not well. The robbery from a few nights ago has taken a very serious turn. How's Brian doing?

Kevin: Fine. Really well, actually. (looks closely at Schuler) Did you get any sleep?

Schuler: A little. There's too much going on right now.

Cut back to a medium shot of Kelhart.

Attorney: How is it that you're certain of these things, Mr. Kelhart?

Kelhart: Mr. Schuler, the owner of Aegis Security, has us take classes in observational skills. He also requires that we file detailed reports immediately after any incident. He insists we record everything we saw. It may occasionally seem like a burden, but it really helps to fix an event in your mind.

Attorney: I see. (beat) Into which side of the car did you allegedly see the defendant enter?

Kelhart opens his mouth. A beat passes. He closes his mouth again.

Attorney: Was the defendant the driver of the car?

Kelhart looks at the defendant. He appears to be about to say something. Then he looks at the attorney.

Attorney: Mr. Kelhart, are you aware that the State's entire claim rests upon the position that the defendant was driving the car in question?

Prosecutor: Objection!

Judge: Sustained. Strike that question from the record.

Attorney: Was the defendant the driver of the car?

Kelhart: I don't remember.

The audience in the courtroom reacts to this with mild commotion. The rough-looking youths laugh openly and congratulate each other. As thing settle down, Kevin looks over at Goon and gives him the once-over. The camera takes Kevin's point of view. It starts at the floor with a shot of Goon's unlaced high top sneakers. The pant leg nearer Kevin is rolled up to the knee. The knee of the more distant leg is against the back of the seat in front of Goon. That pant leg is fully extended. Tilting up, even in Goon's slumped sitting position, it's obvious that his pants are very baggy. Goon's left arm comes into frame. His forearm is bare, except for about a dozen tattoos, obviously home made. He has a gold ring on each finger.

As we continue to tilt upward, we see that Goon's shirt is open to the navel. He's wearing four necklaces from which are suspended a variety of large and gaudy metallic doodads. We can't help but think that this amount of jewelry must be cumbersome. The stubble of Goon's unshaven face finally comes into view. Then we see his whole face. He's looking directly at us. Intently.

Cut back to Kevin. Most people in his position, who have been spotted staring at a ruffian, would be startled and face forward immediately. Kevin blinks, but continues to hold Goon's stare for one beat, two… Now Kevin turns and looks forward.

Cut to an interior scene of the lobby of the courthouse. A set of double doors open and people come filing out. Among them are Kevin, James Schuler, and Brian Kelhart. Mr. Schuler's arm is around Brian's shoulder.

Schuler: Brian, you're holding up very well in there. Their defense attorney is good -- surprisingly so. But you're a professional. I'm proud of you.

Kelhart: (taken aback) But… Mr. Schuler, I feel so bad about what happened in there.

Schuler: Don't be ridiculous, Brian! In our daily lives, we see and hear so much. We have no way of knowing what details will be important five months later. You've remembered a huge amount of data. But much as we'd all love to, we can't remember everything. What matters is that you're performing your civic duty and you're fulfilling your oath before God and this court to tell the truth. That means when you don't know, you say so. No one can ask for more. I certainly don't. You're a good security officer, Brian, and I'm proud of you.

Kelhart: (beaming) Thanks, Mr. Schuler. And thanks for being there, too, Kevin. (beat) Wow, I'm really nervous. I need to find the men's room. (He exits)

Schuler: You don't have to go back in after the recess, Kevin. I'll take it from here. Enjoy your morning. Thanks for being here for Brian.

Kevin: I can stay. Why don't you go get some sleep?

Schuler: Thanks, Kevin, but you have to work tonight. You're the one who should be sleeping.

Kevin approaches a water fountain and takes a drink. As he's bent over the fountain, a passer-by walks into him, shoving him roughly but not enough to cause injury. Kevin straightens, water dripping from his chin, to see Goon looking over his shoulder at Kevin while he heads toward the exit with his posse. Clearly Goon is the passer-by who slammed into him. Goon's cronies all turn, look back at Kevin and laugh. But none of them slows down, and they leave the building. James Schuler steps into frame behind Kevin. He puts his hand on Kevin's shoulder.

Schuler: Did you know that the biggest growth industry in Lehigh County is government? Specifically, judicial government. Because of people like that. They live like animals. They take from society, they burden the infrastructure to the point where entire buildings have to be constructed to support them. They take, and they take, and they take, and they give nothing back. Eventually, the infrastructure just can't take it anymore. If something isn't done, it tumbles to the ground. Keep your eye out for people like that. (after a beat) Sunday is Easter. Your mother tells me you haven't been to church for a while.

Kevin: Oh… Yeah, alright. I guess I'll go on Sunday.

Schuler: That would be nice. That would be very nice. We can all go together, before dinner.

Kevin: Oh, sure. What time?

Schuler: Services start at 10:45.

Kevin: OK. I'll be there.

Schuler: One of the nice things about being your uncle is it puts me somewhere between father figure and friend. I treasure that relationship, Kevin. I really do.

Kevin: Me too.

Cut to black. Roll theme song and title sequence.

The Rest of the Episode (in outline form)

Act 1: Later and Elsewhere

• Doug is eating lunch at Pete's Gyros on 7th St.
  • The place is a bit of a dive. Doug is sitting at the counter next to the cash register, opposite the door. He's being served by a big guy in a stained white t-shirt. Doug asks for extra napkins and is presented with a  napkin dispenser. He pulls out the first napkin to discover that it was the only napkin in the dispenser.
  • On the wall just above counter-level is a strip of decorative mirroring, about three inches tall and running the length of the wall. Through this mirrored surface, Doug sees the door open. The background music changes to something sultry as a very attractive female figure enters Pete's Gyros. Doug can only see her mid-section, basically from hips to shoulders, in the reflective surface. She's wearing an attractively tight black one-piece outfit.
  • She approaches the cash register and stops directly behind Doug. Doug sees the woman's reflection in the decorative mirroring. Of course, since the mirroring is only a few inches tall, the reflection is only a rather short, horizontal cross-section of the woman's black outfit and her bare arms. But even from this small evidence, Doug can see that the woman is very attractive. Doug doesn't turn to look at her, however.
  • She orders a coffee with lots of sugar. The cook has a stupid grin on his face as he hands her the coffee. Cut to a medium close-up of Doug as he hears the coffee cup rattle on the saucer as she takes it. This is followed by loud slurping sound. The back of Doug's neck gets hit by some kind of spray. The cook standing opposite Doug is still attentively watching the woman. The cook is still smiling.
  • Doug suddenly catches a whiff of a foul odor. A combination of dog excrement and rotting meat. Doug's lunch begins to rise in his throat, but he's able to force it back down.
  • In the mirror, Doug can see that the woman is reaching forward for something. To Doug's right, there appears an... arm?... covered with thick, black, bristly hair. It ends in what looks like the clawed foot of an insect. The appendage grabs the container of sugar in front of Doug. A female voice, terrifyingly close to Doug's ear, says, "Are you using this?" Doug says, "No, that's cool."
  • The appendage takes the sugar container. The next few moments are blurry as Doug's hands clamp onto the edge of the counter.
  • Finally, Doug is aware that the woman is leaving. As the door of Pete's gyros closes behind her, the cook, still staring at the spot that the woman last occupied, says grinning to no one in particular, "Wow, what a dame! We don't get people like her in here very often."
  • Doug, composing himself, says, "What do I owe you?" He pays and exits the diner.
    • He steps onto the sidewalk just in time to catch sight of the sultry feminine figure standing a few dozen yards away. She has her back to Doug. She's speaking to someone. It's Ernesto, the leader of the Lobos.
    • Ernesto is looking across the street, so Doug tucks his head down to conceal his outrageously spiked (and easily recognizable) hairdo as he turns and walks away from the woman and Ernesto.
    • As Doug leaves, he overhears a little conversation between Ernesto and the woman.

      Woman: So why exactly did you summon me?
      Ernesto: I have an opening. There's something I want you to do.
      Woman: You know the price. Lots of fresh corpses.
      Ernesto: No need to worry about that.
      
      

    • Ernesto turns, extends his arm, and the woman slips her arm into his. The shot widens and the front of the woman appears in frame for the first time. She's played by Angelina Jolie. She and Ernesto walk toward the camera as, over their shoulders in the background, we see Doug sneaking along the street.
• Cut to JD's hospital room. Desi and JD are playing cards.
  • Desi says, "Do you have any threes?" JD rolls her eyes and says, "Go fish."
  • Mrs. McCulloch in the next bed is still in a coma. On the nightstand next to her bed is a card-holder, holding a hand of cards.
  • Manuel has been moved to a room on JD's floor. Outside JD's open door, a nurse is walking past a uniformed police officer when the officer stops her. He reminds her that when he leaves at the end of this shift, he will not be replaced. There will be no more uniformed officers in the hall. 
  • JD steps out and visits Manuel in his room, where she also meets Nina. JD relates how she was attacked by a janitor in the basement and she's now a patient in the hospital. Nina mentions that Ice would like to see JD over the next few days.
  • When JD returns to her room, Desi has laid JD's school books out and has highlighted all the homework assignments with Post-It flags.
  • Doug arrives for a visit. He sees Kevin in the cafeteria as he heads up to JD's room. JD and Desi bring him up to speed with what's been going on -- ghosts killing people, a demon in the hospital basement, etc. That particular problem has been taken care of. Desi finishes by explaining that Doug and JD have to be careful, they're not trained for combat and they should be careful not to get hurt.
  • Doug explains his run-in with the Fly Lady, and how she met up with Ernesto. He relates the little bit of conversation he overheard between Fly Lady and Ernesto. When Doug says that he chose not to follow the pair, Desi praises his discretion to JD.
  • JD relates their visit to the church (St. Catherine's of Siena) and Doug gives Desi the gift of a PDA.
• Desi and Doug leave JD's hospital room.
  • On the way out, they pass Kevin, who's sitting alone in the cafeteria, talking to a bouquet of flowers. As Desi and Doug approach, it's obvious that Kevin is rehearsing something that he wants to say to Jewel. (JD introduced herself to Kevin as Jewel, so that's the name he knows her by.) Desi and Doug say hi to Kevin and remind him that visiting hours are about to end. It's obvious by Doug's barbs that he doesn't care for Kevin. Kevin excuses himself and rushes up to JD's room. 
  • Cut to the elevator on JD's floor. The elevator doors open. Kevin is alone in the elevator car. He's in mid-conversation:

    Kevin: "Hey, I was thinking that when you get better, maybe if you'd like, we could go see a movie." What if she doesn't like movies? (concerned) What if it's a bad movie? (He walks past Manuel's room. Manuel sees Kevin talking to himself and just shakes his head. Kevin's eyes suddenly widen.) What if it's a movie with a psycho janitor in it?! With a cultivator?! (pantomimes slashing with a cultivator) Eeeee! Eeee! We won't know 'til it's on screen, 'cause it's about a janitor so it'll have "clean" in the title! Jewel will freak out! She'll never speak to me again. What a disaster! Way to go, Kevin! (beat) I had no idea this would be so hard. (Kevin is now panic-stricken. He flattens himself against the wall outside JD's room as he tries to calm himself down.)
    
    

  • JD sees a nurse in the doorway. She's speaking to someone outside the room. "Are you alright, sir?"
  • Finally Kevin composes himself and enters JD's room. An awkward conversation ensues.
• Desi and JD arrive at Tiger Schulmann Karate (TSK) for Desi's training.
  • At one point, Desi asks Michael Chen how much her lessons would cost if Philip Glass' payments run out and they never hear from him again. The answer, which we don't hear, greatly concerns Desi. To her surprise, Doug offers to pay for the next month's lessons. He puts it on his father's gold card.
  • This causes Desi to ask Doug if he lives in Allentown's ritzy West End. Hesitantly, he says, "I live further west than we are now." Desi says, "Your secret's safe with me." They continue their martial arts lesson.
• Back in her hospital room, JD gets restless
  • Kevin has already concluded his visit and left. JD leaves her room and wanders around the floor, just to make sure that there won't be any "weird" activity.
  • She notices there's no longer a policeman outside Manuel's room.
  • When everything appears to be in order, JD returns to her room and half-heartedly looks over her homework. She asks Mrs. McCulloch the questions from the textbook. After a few seconds of silence following each question, JD says, "Yeah, I don't get that one either." Finally JD gives up and turns on the TV. 
  • She flips through several channels. One of the items she briefly pauses for is a news story about a theft at the Agway Home and Garden Store a few days ago. Police still have no leads on the theft.
• Cut Scene
  • Interior shot of a dim, squalid room. Ice is lying on a mattress on the floor. Clothing, blankets, and the like are scattered about the floor. This is the room where JD visited him in Episode 1.03. 
  • Within seconds it becomes obvious that Ice is trying to get to sleep. He can't find a comfortable position because of his recent beating at the hands of the Lobos. He also periodically looks around the room. In the background, we can hear an indistinct murmuring.
  • Ice slowly and painfully raises himself to a sitting position and scans the room. The camera pans about to show that Ice is alone in the room. 
  • Ice begins to move around the room as if he's stalking something. At one point, he stops in one area of the room near the corner. He gets down on the floor and moves aside some of the detritus that covers the floor. This reveals a ventilation grate in the floor. The murmuring gets louder as the ventilation grate is cleared. Ice lowers his head to the grate and begins to listen intently.
  • The point of view passes down through the ventilation grate and the plane of the floor. The camera continues down into a room in which Coyote and Ghost are having an animated discussion.
  • This is the conference room from which we saw Coyote storm in Episode 1.02. Coyote and Ghost are alone here. Although the two are talking, we hear no dialog on the soundtrack. 
  • Ghost is putting on his jacket while they talk. Coyote already has his jacket on. Coyote turns to leave and Ghost grabs him by the arm and pulls him back. Ghost appears to be pleading with Coyote about something. Coyote's face is stern, but he doesn't look Ghost in the eye while Ghost is talking. Finally, Coyote turns and -- perhaps cutting Ghost off, we're not sure -- cuffs Ghost upside the head and grabs Ghost's jacket by the collar. Coyote, with a fierce look, says something to Ghost. He releases Ghost by practically tossing him away, then freezes. Coyote is waiting for Ghost to say something. Clearly an ultimatum has been delivered. 
  • Ghost stares at Coyote for a moment. Then Ghost looks down. Ghost still has only one arm inside a sleeve of his jacket. After a moment, Ghost looks up at Coyote again and puts his other arm in the sleeve of his jacket. This appears to indicate acceptance of Coyote's terms. Coyote turns, opens the door, and walks out of the room. Grimly, Ghost follows.
  • The point of view passes up through the ceiling and returns to Ice's face, which bears an expression of absolute terror. Ice gets to his feet as quickly as he can and begins to hobble across the room. Although Ice isn't moving very fast because of his condition, it's obvious that even this speed is causing him considerable pain. Ice emerges into a hallway.
  • On the street outside the building, Coyote and Ice climb into Coyote's car. The engine of the car starts.
  • Ice has made it to the stairs. He gets down the first two steps and then slips and tumbles down to the landing. He's in agony. Ice yells for something, but there's still no dialog on the audio, so we can't hear what he's shouting. A few seconds later, another Carmín comes up the stairs to Ice and helps him up. There's a window in the wall of the landing. Ice looks out the window just in time to see Coyote's car driving off.
  • Cut to the front door of the Carmines' house. The door bursts open as Ice comes hobbling out, leaning on the shoulder of the Carmín who found him on the stairs. Ice is shouting something after Coyote's car, but we don't hear what he's saying. The car is long gone, and after a moment of this, Ice gives up. He still looks terrified.

Act 2: After the Commercial Break

• Cut back to Doug and Desi. Doug suggests looking for the Fly Lady. But how to find her?   
• Cut Scene
  • Interior shot of a very dark room. A bare overhead bulb comes on. It illuminates the basement room of the Lobo house, which we saw in the Teaser of Episode 1.02. Ernesto and Angelina Jolie are there. Ernesto says, "There's something I want you to see."
  • Ernesto walks over to an old industrial safe that's on the floor. The lock has been blown off. Ernesto opens the heavy safe door and removes something wrapped in canvas. 
  • He puts this package on top of the safe. The camera is looking over the package at Ernesto and Angelina. Only the top of the package is in the frame of the shot. Ernesto unwraps the package. Although he and Angelina can see the whole thing, we see only the top of the item.  

    Ernesto: What do you think?
    Angelina: Oh! Well, that's... (Her face drops) That doesn't look right.
    Ernesto: It's not. 
    Angelina: Then what good is that going to do you for this ritual?
    Ernesto: But it's perfect! Because it's "not right"! (beat) I'll explain it on the way. Follow me.
    Angelina: So where are we going?
    Ernesto: (wrapping the item in the canvas) To the next location. This one's gotta work. Do you know that concrete facility that's out on the east side of town?
    
    

• Cut back to Doug and Desi. They've been driving around, trying to figure out where Fly Lady would be. 
  • At one point, as they're heading from the town landfill to the sewage treatment plant , they pass an industrial area that has no street lights and that's normally very dark at night. But over an embankment, there are eerie, flickering lights, the source of which is not visible from the road.
  • They stop to investigate. As they approach the embankment, they hear the sounds of chanting. In Latin. Peeking over the embankment, they see an unusual landscape, illuminated from several locations within by what appears to be torchlight. (Click the for a 60 KB picture.)
  • Doug and Desi debate what to do. They finally decide to sneak in among the concrete castings to see what's going on. Desi climbs up onto the concrete structures to get a better view. She sees movement between the castings and estimates what row and column the movement is in.
  • Desi and Doug move toward the source of the movement together. Desi is suddenly distracted by the snapping of a twig. She whirls to face her opponent. But after a few seconds, no opponent appears. Desi whispers, "Doug, did you hear that? ... Doug? Doug?" They've become separated! And Desi, with her whirling toward the snapping twig and whirling back to look for Doug, has lost her bearings. From this position, she's no longer sure in which direction lay the movement she saw.
  • Doug comes across people in robes, standing in a  circle. In the center of the circle is a concrete casting with something on it, but with the deep shadows, Doug can't tell what the thing on the concrete is. As the camera shows Doug looking at the people in the circle, someone in a black robe emerges from between the concrete castings behind Doug. Doug is unaware as this person approaches and punches Doug from behind. Doug is in pain, but doesn't go down. His assailant pulls back his hood to reveal Youth #3 (played by Jack Black). "Where's your slug killer now?" Jack asks, referring to the fight at the Home Depot in Episode 1.02. Jack and Doug go at it. The circle of people nearby notices the commotion and stops their chanting. Ernesto pulls back his cowl and motions for some of the larger thugs to canvass the area.
  • Desi hears the chanting stop. She starts to run toward the... um, silence. At one point, she begins crawling through the castings as a shortcut. She comes to a dead end and turns around when she's surprised by three of the large thugs. One of them gets a solid hit on her with his fist, but she leaps to the top of the stacked castings and begins to run across the castings before the other two can reach her. The second thug climbs after her while the third tracks Desi's movement along the ground. The second thug lunges for Desi as she begins to run along the top of the castings. Unfortunately, he misses his mark and tumbles into one of the openings in the castings. Ouch! We probably won't be seeing him again. Desi heads for where she thinks Doug is.
  • Meanwhile, Jack Black is beating the crap out of Doug. For a pudgy, wild-eyed guy, Jack is remarkably good at the spin-kick/punch combos.
  • While all of this is going on, Ernesto grabs the item in the center of the circle , wraps it in canvas, and flees with Angelina Jolie. The rest of the robed figures in the circle disperse.
  • Desi lands at the feet of a robed figure who is poised to strike a prone and helpless person at its feet. Desi swings at the robed figure, who whirls out of the way. His hood falls aside to reveal Youth #2 (played by Clifton Collins, Jr.). From the ground at his feet, a helpless young girl looks up. Clifton reaches into his robe and pulls out (pruning shears? Desi is expecting pruning shears, because of the fight at the Home Depot in Episode 1.02) a switchblade knife. Desi is relieved! Well, maybe not, as he slashes Desi with the knife and follows up with a punch to the face. The girl on the ground screams, which earns a kick from Clifton.
  • Meanwhile, Doug gets some solid hits on Jack, but Jack ups the ante and pulls a knife. Doug takes some serious cuts in the ensuing melee.
  • Desi and Clifton deal some serious damage upon each other. Things take a turn for the worst when the two thugs who had been pursuing Desi finally catch up. Now Desi has three opponents to deal with.
• Cut to JD in her hospital room.
  • There's a commotion in the hall outside JD's room. The nurses are trying to restrain someone. "Sir, you can't be here. Visiting hours are over." JD looks into the hall and sees that it's Ice whom the nurses are scolding. JD tells the nurses that Ice is her brother; she convinces them to let him see her.
  • Ice frantically explains to JD the conversation he overheard in his room at the Carmines' house. Coyote and Ghost stole a truck and several tons of fertilizer from some kind of a store that farmers go to. They've turned the fertilizer into a bomb and they're headed to the Lobo house to blow it up. But Ghost thought they have too much of the stuff, and he was afraid it would take out a whole block, like what happened in that town in Oklahoma a few years ago. Coyote didn't care. Cut to Coyote and Ghost climbing into a large truck and driving down the highway in it. We can barely make out the word "Agway" on the side of the truck.
• Cut back to the combat zone among the concrete castings.
  • Clifton and his two thugs have all just taken a nasty 360-degree spin kick from Desi. With this, Clifton produces from his robes a pair of pruning shears. At least, that's how the two thugs and the girl on the ground see it. That's not what Desi sees, however. From her point of view, Clifton morphs into some kind of bipedal Lobster Man with terrifyingly sharp pincers. Desi screams, but doesn't run. She suffers a terrible slashing from Lobster Guy's pincers and a pummeling from the two thugs.
  • Just outside the concrete facility, a robed figure comes over the ridge. In the dim light, we see it's lugging a large mass in a fireman's carry. The figure tosses the mass into the back of a pickup truck. It falls suspiciously like a human body. Two other figures arrive and hop into the truck, along with the first figure. The truck starts and drives away.
• Cut back to the hospital
  • JD has changed back into her street clothes.
  • JD looks for a hospital room where the patient is sleeping the sleep of the deeply medicated. She wants to use the phone in that room to place a call that can't be traced back to her room. She and Ice find such a room.
    • As soon as JD starts to dial, Ice reaches for her hand to stop her. "What are you doing?" he demands. "You can't drop a dime on Coyote! That's dissing the set."
    • Cut to the interior of a police squad room. Chief of Police Stephen Kuhn is addressing several uniformed officers who are gathered around a table. There are papers scattered all over the table, as if some serious planning has been going on.

      Chief Kuhn: What's the status on that Agway theft?
      1st Cop: Nothing yet, sir.
      Kuhn: If an Agway truck so much as slams its door in Allentown, I want to know about it. We need more people out there checking it. What's the status on that Hispanic guy in the hospital?
      2nd Cop: We've relocated him to a room that's bugged with both audio and video surveillance. We've also removed the uniform that was stationed outside his room.
      3rd Cop: (whispering to 1st Cop) Why did we have a uniform there in the first place?
      Kuhn: Because people are often more willing to talk if you give them a reason not to talk and then take that reason away, than if you never had a reason for them not to talk in the first place. I want to find out everybody who's associated with these low-lifes. I'm gonna bring 'em all in, and I'm gonna take 'em all down.
      
      

    • The phone in the squad room rings. A uniformed officer answers and we recognize JD's voice as she reports that a bomb has been planted in the church that's on the same block as the Lobo headquarters. JD then immediately hangs up. The cop turns and yells, "Chief!"
    • Cut back to JD.

      Ice: Now what do we do?!
      JD: We wait for the bomb squad to show up.
      Ice: But they'll arrest Coyote! They'll arrest Ghost!
      JD: We gotta go get them. Come on.
      
      

  • Cut to a set of elevator doors opening on the ground floor of the hospital. Ice is in a wheelchair as JD zips him out of the hospital into the emergency room parking lot. This is where the ambulances are parked. As luck would have it, one of the ambulances has apparently just made a delivery -- its back doors are open and its engine is still running.
  • JD and Ice hop into the ambulance. Ice points out, "If Coyote or Ghost get arrested, they're gonna kill me and they're gonna kill you."
  • JD, who is no better a driver than she was in Episode 1.02 when she stole her first car, gets the ambulance out of the parking lot after a series of awkward K turns.
  • A few blocks later, Ice says, "I wonder what this does?" as he pushes a button. The ambulance's lights and sirens start up. Ice looks around for a moment, then leans back in his seat, satisfied with the effect.
• Cut back to the concrete casting facility.
  • Desi and Lobster Guy are still going at it. Lobster Guy tries to snip off one of her limbs, followed by a spin kick. Desi easily avoids the blows. As the two thugs are closing on Desi to take their shots, Desi executes a double spin kick to Lobster Guy's face. Both kicks land, and the second one snaps its neck. Or whatever a bipedal lobster has for a neck.
  • Desi stands there for a moment, expecting to see the the same type of phenomenon she saw at the end of the battle in the Home Depot in Episode 1.02. But nothing happens.
  • The two thugs slam into Desi, but don't seriously hurt her. She says to them, "Do you have any melted butter?" In the face of such aplomb, the thugs decide to be elsewhere. They flee.
  • Desi then realizes that the girl lying on the ground is not Doug. Doug is missing!
• Cut to the pickup truck that left the concrete casting facility.
  • Doug comes to in the back of the pickup truck. Someone is sitting on his legs. Through the window in the back of the truck cab, a conversation is in progress between the people in the bed of the truck with Doug and the people in the cab of the truck.
    • Someone asks if we can kill this bastard? Someone else says no, he's not a Carmín, we're not gonna kill him. We're just going to hold him hostage and let Ernesto talk to him. Someone else says, but I want to kill him! One of the earlier voices says maybe later we'll get to kill him, but we're not going to kill him now.
    • During this conversation, the driver is not paying full attention to the road. The pickup truck is slightly over the center line, as is the Agway truck in the oncoming lane. Someone yells look out!
  • The pickup truck swerves. There's a rending of metal as the vehicles sideswipe each other. The glancing blow barely affects the Agway truck, but the lighter pickup is swung around into a telephone pole. The pole snaps as the pickup truck stops dead. A car alarm goes off somewhere nearby.
  • The driver of the pickup truck (Jack Black) exclaims "Cheese and crackers!" and orders everyone out of the truck. "Drag him if you have to. We don't have much further to go."
• Cut back to JD and Ice in the ambulance
  • JD knows where Coyote is heading with the truck. She takes a guess on where he was starting from, figures out what route she would take if she were Coyote, and puts herself on an interception course.
  • While JD is driving, she wraps her head in gauze as some sort of disguise. She tells Ice to stay down so he's not seen.
• Cut to the interior of the Agway truck
  • A frighteningly stone-faced Coyote is driving the truck. Ghost is in the passenger seat. He has a white-knuckled grip on the dashboard.
  • Ghost, without looking directly at Coyote, says, "I think you took that a little wide, don't you?" Coyote doesn't respond. "I think we took a wrong turn a few blocks back. We'll have to circle around." Pause. "It's not too late, you know."
  • There's silence. Coyote doesn't turn to look at Ghost when he finally says, "It's too late."
• Cut back to Doug
  • He's being dragged along by the Lobos. As they pass a church that has a sign saying, "Midnight Good Friday service," one of the Lobos says, "We're almost there. Less than a block to go now." The Lobos drag Doug to their house and handcuff his hands around a pole in the basement. (This is the same pole that Nina was chained to in the Teaser of Episode 1.02.)
  • Youth #4 (played by Fredro Starr) lights a cigarette and begins to interrogate Doug in a most unpleasant manner.
• Cut back to Desi
  • Desi searches for Doug. Perhaps he made his way back to the car?
  • Desi gets to Doug's car (or rather, Doug's Dad's car) and finds it's still locked and intact. Doug is nowhere nearby.
  • As Desi looks around, she notices that in the concrete casting area where she just had her fight, there is no graffiti. None at all. This is unlike the situation at the Home Depot in Episode 1.02 and in the alley ambush in Episode 1.01. However, she sees no sign of Doug.
  • It occurs to Desi that of the three possible directions she could take from here, one leads to a dead end, another to a tenement housing project, and the third back to Hanover Ave, which becomes one of the main drags in Allentown. The most likely direction for Doug to go would be toward Hanover Ave. Desi heads off on foot in that direction, moving at a brisk run.
  • Desi gets out to Hanover Ave. and runs on the sidewalk, alongside traffic, keeping pace with the slower cars.
• Cut to the interior of the police squad room we saw earlier. 
  • A uniformed officer shouts across the room, "We just got a report that an Agway truck has been seen downtown! It sideswiped a car!"
  • Immediately all the uniformed officers scramble out of the squad room. Within moments, only the dispatch officer remains.
• Cut back to JD driving the ambulance.
  • JD slows, but doesn't stop, for red lights since Ice has turned on the ambulance's siren and lights.
  • As JD is approaching a red traffic light, a large truck enters the intersection from JD's left and then turns left. This puts the truck directly in front of JD. When it first appears, JD and Ice clearly see the word "Agway" painted on the side. JD suddenly realizes she hasn't given a lot of thought to what she'd do when she finally caught up with Coyote and Ghost. She decides to pass the truck and run it off the road.
  • JD passes Coyote, who at first assumes the ambulance is simply on a call and passing him to get to its destination. When the ambulance turns to cut him off, he responds by stomping on the gas pedal. This is not the textbook way of handling his current situation. The truck and ambulance collide, albeit at a very oblique angle. Everyone hears the sickening sound of crumpling metal and a tire popping. The truck and ambulance veer to the right as a single mass, scrape the length of a parked car, and come to a stop.
  • Coyote attempts to open his door. His is the side the ambulance is on. His door is bent in the frame and he can't get it open. JD pulls the ambulance away from the wreck as the metal of the two vehicles groans. JD is relieved to find that it's the truck's tire and not her own that blew when the truck's fender was forced into it. The truck is clearly undriveable at this point.
  • Coyote is able to open his door only a few inches, while Ghost climbs out his side of the truck. JD drives to the next intersection with the intention of turning the ambulance around and taking it back to the hospital. That's when she realizes that this is the block that the Lobos' house is on. At the other end of the block is the church where JD called in the bomb threat. It's Good Friday and there's a late service going on. The church is almost filled.
  • Suddenly, three police cruisers turn the corner and block off the street. JD didn't notice their lights and sirens because her own lights and sirens are running. Ice panics. "This won't work! They can't take Coyote, they can't take Ghost, or we're dead! You gotta stop that!"
• Cut to Doug in the basement of the Lobos' house.
  • Fredro's mistreatment of Doug is interrupted by another Lobo. He says, "Yo, there's some kind of commotion out in the street here. Some of the guys said there's some Carmines." Fredro says to Doug, "I'll be back, sport." Doug replies, "Take me with you. I can help." For this, Fredro hits Doug. Very hard. Fredro then heads upstairs.
• Cut back to the street outside.
  • Cops are getting out of the cruisers. JD's ambulance is between the cops and the Agway truck. A cop comes up to the driver's side of the ambulance and knocks on the window. He appears to intend to give the driver a warning of some kind. Then he sees JD, whose head is wrapped in bandages as a disguise. This gives him pause. He takes a step back, levels his gun at the ambulance, and orders JD to step away from the ambulance. JD tosses a blanket over Ice, who's huddled on the ambulance floor, and gets out.
  • The cop demands to see ID. When JD can't produce any ID and claims to be a patient at the hospital, he ushers her back to the line of squad cars. Ice has escaped his notice.
  • Coyote has apparently exited the truck through the passenger door. He's standing at the passenger-side door, leaning into the truck. He's clearly doing something, but we can't tell what. Ghost is trying to pull Coyote away from the truck, but his attempts meet with failure. That's when JD notices the large group of rough-looking guys approaching the truck from the far end of the street. She recognizes them by their colors. They're Lobos.
  • A shot rings out. Ghost spins and drops to his knees. He's been hit in the upper torso. When Coyote sees this, he storms away from the truck and heads directly for the mob of Lobos. As Coyote closes on the enemy gang, the camera pans back to the open truck door through which Coyote had just been leaning. The glove compartment is open. Inside it we see a set of brightly glowing LEDs -- numbers that are counting steadily down.
• Cut back to Desi.
  • She's still running along Hanover Ave. She has no idea where Doug has been taken. Then a police cruiser zooms past Desi, its lights flashing and sirens wailing. It's followed by another, and another. They're all heading in the same direction. "He's very good at getting himself in trouble. It's like a sign," Desi says to herself. She runs down the alley that's parallel to the street the cruisers are on. In each cut shot of a cruiser, Desi is visible in the background as she crosses side streets, leaps fences between backyards, and otherwise keeps pace with the boys in blue.
• Since the scenes are converging, I'll just bounce back and forth between the characters without making each one a major bullet.
  • It's very quiet in the Lobo house, as if Doug is completely alone there.
  • As JD steps out of the ambulance, JD pretends to faint. The police are focused on the gunshot they just heard. Weapons drawn, they take a defensive position behind their squad cars. They shout, "Put down your weapons and put your hands up!" Coyote has waded into the center of the Lobo mob and is fighting like a man possessed. The Lobos are involved in a 20-against-1 brawl with Coyote and either don't hear or ignore the command to drop their weapons. Coyote is taking a beating.
  • Ghost raises himself to his feet. He sees the battle between Coyote and the Lobos. He's a man torn. He wants to help Coyote, he wants to do something about the bomb in the truck -- he has no idea what to do. 
  • JD looks for the bomb squad. She sees them near the church, behind the line of squad cars. JD heads toward the Agway truck, ignoring shouts from the police to get down. However, they don't leave their cover, and they do nothing to stop JD from proceeding.
  • JD removes her bandages as she reaches the Agway truck. Ghost sees her. "JD! This has gotten out of hand. This has gotten way out of hand!" he shouts. He's practically hysterical. When JD asks him how much time is left, he looks at the timer and replies, "Three minutes and twenty seconds." JD sees the timer in the glove compartment. There's a frightening number of wires connected to it. There's no telling which wires have to be cut in order to stop the bomb -- or whether cutting the wrong wire will detonate it immediately.
  • JD asks Ghost how to disarm the bomb. He says, "I've got to help Coyote!" He's too frazzled to be of any assistance.
  • Desi arrives on the scene from the other end of the block. She's standing right outside the Lobo headquarters. She's never seen the Lobos' house before, but she recognizes it by its tags. Ahead, she sees a large fight taking place, and beyond that, the Agway truck and police cars.
  • Doug, in the basement, is loudly singing a Sex Pistols song, primarily in the hope of ticking off any Lobos still in the house so they'll come down and possibly give him a way out. Perhaps they could be goaded into releasing him, for example. However, he doesn't succeed in luring anyone down.
  • From the street, Desi hears Doug's singing. She enters the house. She doesn't come across anyone as she approaches the cellar door.
  • Ernesto and Angelina Jolie have arrived on the scene from the same direction as Desi. Ernesto is carrying something in a cloth bundle. He sees the commotion ahead and says, "Well. This can't be good." He turns to leave. Angelina stops him and says, "Everyone talks about the smell on a battlefield that's noticeable after the battle is over. Not everybody knows that there's a smell before the battle starts. I smell that now. My payment is coming any minute now." Ernesto turns back to watch the crowd.
  • JD has no idea how to disarm the bomb. Ghost says, "On the floor, there's a book... there's some diagrams..." JD points out that she doesn't have the time to read a book. Ghost has to disarm the bomb now! Ghost insists he has to help Coyote. The Lobos are kicking the crap out of him. JD convinces Ghost that if he tells the Lobos that there's a bomb in the truck, they'll run. Ghost climbs onto the hood of the truck and yells repeatedly, "There is a bomb! There is a bomb!" When most of the Lobos are looking his way, Ghost says, "There is a bomb in the truck!" JD gently removes the timer from the glove compartment, moves it as far outside the truck as the slack on the wires will allow, and turns it so that the Lobos can see the numbers that are counting down.
  • The crowd of Lobos gradually stops beating on Coyote. Between Ghost's earnestness and the LED counting down, they buy the bomb story. They begin backing up, stumbling into each other. This quickly turns into a chaotic sprint away from the truck.
  • Ernesto, hearing all this, observes to Angelina that that's a big truck. "This is our cue to leave, lest we become part of what you were just talking about." Angelina says, "You may be right." They turn and run.
  • Desi descends the stairs to the cellar of the Lobos' house, where she finds Doug. She kicks the pole, breaking the top of the pole free from the beam in the ceiling above. They then slip Doug's cuffed hands over the top of the pole, freeing him.
  • JD is swarmed by guys in helmets with lowered faceplates and very heavy jackets. JD almost drops the timer in surprise. Finally, the bomb squad has stepped into the fray! One of them grabs Desi, another grabs Ghost. They turn and begin to march JD and Ghost back toward the line of police cars. JD now notices that Ice has crept up to Coyote, who is lying motionless in the street, where the Lobos abandoned him. The bomb squad doesn't see this.
  • That leaves three bomb squad guys at the truck, with a minute left to disarm the bomb. That's precious little time to analyze the mechanism. As time is running out and the bomb squad guys select a wire to cut, the bells of the church behind them begin to ring. They snip the wrong wire! The timer doesn't stop! They panic! They run! The cops, seeing the bomb squad running, also take flight. Everyone except JD and the Carmines are running.
  • Desi emerges from the rear of the Lobos' house with Doug over her shoulder. She heads away from the action and out of the neighborhood.
  • JD runs up to the timer with seconds to spare. She looks over the uncut wires, selects one , and pulls it free.
  • The numbers on the timer begin flashing. JD backs away before she realizes they're flashing "12:00." It takes her a moment to realize that luck was with her; she pulled the right wire. JD continues backing away anyway.
  • After a minute or two, the cops start peeking out from the various places they've hidden. The bomb squad reassembles. As this is happening, JD and Ghost get to Ice and Coyote and help them out of the scene. After they're gone, the bomb squad approaches the truck and looks inside. They see the flashing timer and give each other a high five. Chief of Police Kuhn pulls up in his car, gets out, and shouts, "Good work, men!"
  • Ernesto and Angelina Jolie stop their running for a moment to catch their breath. Ernesto still has the cloth bundle in his arms. Angelina sniffs the air and says, "Aw! It's gone." Ernesto, looking somewhat relieved, says, "There'll be other days."

Act 3: Denouement

• JD heads back to the hospital to establish her alibi. Ghost, Ice, and JD are carrying the badly beaten and unconscious Coyote. Ice and JD say nothing for most of the trip. This silence weighs heavily on Ghost, who begins to spill his guts to the others.
• Desi drops Doug off at the hospital emergency room and leaves. While Doug is waiting in the ER, JD, Ghost, and Ice arrive with Coyote. The bullet wound in Ghost's shoulder is clearly nonlethal, but he decides to be treated for it while he's here.
• Cut to Desi as she crawls in her bedroom window. She climbs onto the bed and puts her face into her pillow. We can't tell if she's crying or just exhausted.
• Cut to JD later in her hospital room. Doug is sitting in the chair next to her bed, his face stitched up and bruised. They're watching TV. It's a press conference by Stephen Kuhn, Allentown Chief of Police. "Thanks to the diligent efforts of the Allentown police force and the bomb squad, countless lives have been saved. I'd like to thank the men personally responsible for this success." The camera cuts to the three bomb squad members, who stand. Walter, Mrs. McCulloch's son, says, "Thank God for the Allentown police."
• In disgust, JD reaches for the remote control. Her TV screen becomes our audience's TV screen as we hear a click and the image collapses to a single white dot in a black background, then goes entirely black. JD, in voiceover, says, "I'm sorry, were you watching that?" Cut to black. Roll end credits.