
Episode:
1.10
Air date:
September 5, 2003
Cast Members:
Desi Stark and JD
Previously on Slaying Here in Allentown
- Ghost is
shot by the Lobos outside the Agway truck. Coyote
then wades into the Lobos and is severely beaten by them. [Episode
1.04]
- A mob chases two Carmines from Dorney Park while James
Schuler watches from his office window. He asks no one in particular,
"What’s happening to my city?" [Episode 1.09]
- James Schuster tells Desi, "You’re the kind of person that Aegis
would be proud to have as an employee." [Episode
1.08]
- Kevin
tries to drag the injured JD to safety, and he gets shot. [Episode
1.08]
Teaser
- Interior of a hospital room
- The camera pans across the room. Number 322 is on the door. Everywhere
the camera looks, there's lots of medical equipment. Finally the camera
tilts down to the hospital bed. Coyote is on the bed, connected to all of
the medical equipment. He's on a ventilator.
- Ghost is there, holding Coyote’s hand. He whispers to Coyote, "No
tengas miedo, hermano mío. Nunca no estás sólo. Siempre estoy contigo.
Somos juntos siempre."

- The door opens and a doctor enters. He looks at Ghost.
- Doctor: Are you a blood relative of the patient's?
- Ghost: (looking away, speaking weakly but defensively): Who
needs to know?
- Doctor: (gently) I do. I’m his doctor. I need to know for
the paperwork.
- Ghost doesn't reply.
- Doctor: Can you at least tell me his real name?
- Ghost: (stands, wipes his eyes, and turns toward the door. His
voice cracks slightly as he says:) It's Coyote.
- Ghost leaves the room without looking back. Medium shot of the doctor as
he watches Ghost go.
- The camera slowly tilts down from the doctor to Coyote. It zooms in on
his face, which we see in profile. A single tear emerges from his closed
eye and slowly trickles down the side of his face.
- Cut to black. Roll theme song and title sequence.
Act 1: Elsewhere
- Exterior establishing shot of Aegis Security.
- Cut to an interior shot of the office area of Aegis. This area is a
cubicle farm where office workers and (presumably) unassigned security
officers are fulfilling their administrative duties.
- Desi is in a cubicle, reading from a book entitled Security
Procedures. As the camera zooms out, we see that this book is one of
a collection, stacked on Desi's desk, that makes the Oxford English
Dictionary look like a set of Cliff Notes.
- Outside Desi's cubicle, two coworkers meet in passing. One says to the
other, "TGI Friday's for lunch, right?" Desi glances over at
her little brown-bag lunch, then looks hopefully at her coworkers, who
have not noticed her. "Right! Of course!" says the second.
They part and go on their respective ways without so much as glancing at
Desi.
- A few seconds later, we hear a different voice from outside Desi's
cubicle say, "I'll return his call after we get back from
Friday's." We get the impression that everyone in the office
is going to TGI Friday's for lunch except Desi. Desi, feeling left out,
continues reading.
- Jim, an unassigned security officer, steps up to the opening of Desi's
cubicle. She hasn't noticed him. He's smiling and looks as if he's about
to ask her something, then he sees Desi's bag lunch. Jim makes a small
motion with his hand that says, "Shucks, missed it this time,"
turns, and walks away from Desi's cubicle just as she becomes aware that
someone was there. Desi perks up at the prospect of being visited, but
then deflates again when she sees it's a false alarm. She goes back to
reading her procedures. "Rule 14.5.3..."
- A phone rings in the background. There's a murmur of conversation,
followed by a more discernible, "Hold on, I'll find out."
Then, addressed to the entire room, "Is there a Desi here?"
Desi identifies herself and Jim, the man who called out, asks what
extension she's sitting at. Desi replies, "227." Jim says
thanks, repeats "227" into his phone, and then says,
"Yeah, any time," and hangs up.
- Desi glances at her phone, which has quite a few buttons and lights.
Nothing happens. The seconds tick by. Still nothing. Desi wonders
whether she misinterpreted the number on the phone and is about to turn
to ask someone when suddenly the phone does ring and it startles
her. As she reaches for the phone, she sees that there are several
lights glowing steadily or flashing. She picks up the handset and says
hello. Nothing. She pushes one of the buttons and says hello again; this
time, Desi's greeting is broadcast over the PA system. Several heads
prairie-dog over the sides of cubicles. Desi anxiously puts the handset
down again.
- Jim appears at Desi's cubicle opening. He picks up the handset, pushes
a button, and hands the handset to Desi. Desi timidly says hello into
the handset. It's Kevin. He says he'll be working this evening, so he's
off right now. He asks if Desi is going to lunch at TGI Friday's. The
whole office goes to lunch at Friday's on... well, Fridays. Desi says
she's planning to read her procedures through lunch. Kevin says, "Ooo,
wait till Section 16. It's a killer. I'm
coming into the office to join the crew for lunch. Why don't you come
along?" Pleasantly surprised, Desi knocks her brown bag into the trash
can and accepts Kevin's invitation. 00:12:20
- Cut to JD
- She's sitting on a futon in rather Spartan surroundings. We take this
to be her bedroom. JD is filling out an employment application. She gets
to the section where it asks about the applicant's criminal record. JD
pauses for a moment as her face darkens. Then she crumbles up the
application and tosses it into the garbage.
- There's a knock on the door. A man's voice says, "We need to
talk."
- Cut to a close-up of JD's shoes. As the camera slowly zooms out, we
see another pair of shoes walking in a circle around JD. The camera
zooms out further to reveal JD seated on a chair in the middle of a
lower-class living room. JD is looking down at the floor. Pacing back
and forth behind her, vaguely reminiscent of a vulture, is her foster
father. He's holding a letter in his hand. He announces that the
agency isn't very happy with him right now because of the things that
have happened to JD. From now on, she has a 9-pm curfew. No questions.
No excuses. When he dismisses JD, they both make a bee-line in opposite
directions and exit the frame. The camera remains focused on the empty
chair in which JD was sitting.
- Back to Aegis Security, Inside Mr. Schuler's office
- He's listening to someone on the phone as he sips from his coffee cup.
He puts the cup down as he begins to speak. "We can do that. You'll
find our bids to be competitive." He rises and strolls over to his
window and looks out. "Yes, I'm familiar with the process.... No,
I'll have no difficulty submitting a bid by that deadline."
- As he turns from the window, the phone cord pushes his coffee cup to
the edge of the desk. He notices this just as the cup topples over the
edge. He reflexively reaches for the cup, but he's much too far away to
have a chance of catching it before it hits the floor --
- -- when the cup instantaneously changes direction and catapults into
Mr. Schuler's open hand. The coffee that was in the cup splashes onto
the window behind him. Stunned, Mr. Schuler lowers his hand holding
the phone and stares incredulously at the cup in his other hand. He
looks back and forth between the cup and its last position on his desk
when there's a knock on his door. He starts, instinctively hides the coffee cup
behind his back (and without thinking, the phone handset as well) and says,
"Come in."
- Marcie opens the door and steps into his office. "Your 11:30
appointment is here," she says. Mr. Schuler stares back at her,
dazed. "OK," he finally says. Marcie sees the phone cord
trailing from his desk to a point behind Mr. Schuler's back. She stands
there for a moment, looking at him, concerned. She says nothing,
however. And after a few seconds, when it's obvious that Mr. Schuler
isn't going to say anything, she smiles nervously, leaves, and closes the door behind her.
- Mr. Schuler takes his hands from behind his back and resumes staring
at the coffee cup. Then he starts when he notices the phone in his hand.
He puts it to his face. "Can I call you back?" He hangs up,
puts the coffee cup down on his desk, looks over at the coffee splashed
on the window, and moves to his office door. As he opens the door, he
turns one last time to look at the cup, then heads out and closes the
door behind him.
- The camera zooms in on the coffee as it drips down the window. Through
the window and the dripping liquid, we see the gates of Dorney
Park across the street. 00:18:30
- Outside Mr. Schuler's office
- Kevin enters Aegis Security. He smiles and waves at Mr. Schuler, who
walks right past Kevin, practically oblivious. Kevin picks up Desi and
the entire office goes out for lunch. Along the way, Desi notices that
Kevin isn't wearing his sling.
He explains that he has an appointment with the doctor in two days and
he's confident he'll be given the OK to stop wearing the sling. They
talk a little about the agony of having to read security procedures. 
- On the way to his car after collecting Desi, Kevin sees his uncle (Mr.
Schuler) talking to a business contact in the lobby. Mr. Schuler has
apparently regained his senses. Realizing this, Kevin hides his injured arm (and lack of sling) behind
Desi so as to avoid his uncle's wrath.
- In the parking lot, Desi meets another security officer, Kyle,
as she attempts to get into Kevin's car. Apparently, Kyle traditionally sits next to Kevin on the ride to TGI
Friday's.

- The camera moves from the parking lot, through the coffee-stained
window, into James Schuler's office. Mr. Schuler enters his office to
discover someone is waiting here for him, sitting in the guest chair.
Mr. Schuler is surprised, and not at all happy, to see Ernesto.

- Cut to Coyote's hospital room
- JD walks into the room to discover a man in a white lab coat listening
to Coyote's heart through a stethoscope. As she enters, the man looks up
at her hopefully. He introduces himself as Dr. Ross, Coyote's
neurologist. He asks if JD is a relative or if she knows his name. She
replies no and Coyote, respectively. The doctor is disappointed.
- Dr. Ross explains that he desperately needs to speak to a blood
relative of Coyote's. JD offers to try to find out if he has a relative
in the area. Dr. Ross is grateful for the offer. He takes a business
card from his wallet and hands it to JD. That's when JD catches a
glimpse of a photograph in the doctor's wallet of a smiling girl,
perhaps 8 or 9 years old. Dr. Ross asks if JD is a close friend of the
patient's. JD, perhaps misinterpreting the question, replies that the doctor
is not likely to find anyone closer. Based on that information, the
doctor shares Coyote's prognosis with JD.00:31:40
- It's not good. Coyote has suffered swelling of the brain as a result
of the beating for which he was brought here [Episode
1.04]. The swelling caused the pressure inside Coyote's skull to
build, to the point that it resulted in a cerebral hernia. This is a
very serious condition in which part of the brain is squeezed out
through the foramen magnum, the hole at the base of the skull where the
spinal cord comes out of.
- JD asks if Coyote is going to die. She points out that he's a fighter.
Dr. Ross concurs. Dr. Ross shows JD that Coyote's pupils are fixed and
dilated. That's a sign of severe brain damage. The parts of the brain
that best survive a cerebral hernia are actually the ones that got squeezed
out through the skull. That part of the brain controls the most basic of
functions. Coyote can breathe on his own, his heart beats. But all
higher functionality has been lost.
Dr. Ross just discovered recently that Coyote has lost his swallow
reflex. If he weren't fed continuously through the tube in his throat,
he'd choke on any amount of food or liquid because he wouldn't
automatically swallow.
- JD asks how long Coyote has to live. Dr. Ross replies that because
Coyote is a fighter and because his most basic vital functions are
working, he has forever. He'll remain alive for as long as he's fed,
until he dies of some other cause, such as disease. No one has ever
recovered from neurological damage as severe as Coyote's. Dr. Ross is
looking for familial permission to unplug Coyote's life-support
equipment. JD asks what will happen if they can't find a relative of
Coyote's. Dr. Ross says that in the absence of a living will, a request
by his next of kin, or a court order, the hospital must continue to
provide treatment to the patient. There are no grounds to request a
court order and he doubts the patient left a living will. So as things
stand, they have to keep him alive. Like this. Indefinitely.
- JD understands. Dr. Ross asks her to call as soon as she has any
information and leaves JD alone with Coyote.
- JD takes Coyote's hand and hangs her head. Cut to a commercial break. 00:58:10
- Interior of a very squalid building
- In the shadows, several people are gathered in a knot, speaking in
conspiratorial whispers. We recognize this place as the interior of the
Lobo house.
- Ernesto passes by. Suddenly the talk stops, and the people break up
into more casual-looking poses. When this happens, one of the people who
emerges from the knot, and who looks directly at the camera as he
glances toward Ernesto, is Pedro.
Pedro then drops his gaze and looks away.
- Ernesto approaches the group and speaks to them. We don't hear the
dialog, but by Ernesto's body language, it was clearly a question. The
people that Ernesto addressed look around, perhaps a bit too
enthusiastically. One of them (not Pedro) points off in the distance.
Ernesto looks in that direction, nods, and then heads that way. He
reaches the goal of his quest: Priscilla.
Ernesto takes her aside. His serious facial expression contrasts with
Priscilla's bemused look. He takes Priscilla into the first-floor
"conference room" that we've seen several times before and he
closes the door.
- Ernesto gives Priscilla an assignment: to kill the Slayer.

- Cut to the interior of Kevin's car
- Kevin, Desi, and two other security officers are inside the car,
returning from lunch. Kevin and the other two officers are merrily
talking shop talk. Desi's present, but not participating in the
conversation. Clearly, much of the jargon is beyond her, and the stories
are based upon an unspoken history which she does not share. Desi isn't
being deliberately excluded from the conversation, but she can't
meaningfully join in. We conclude that Desi has been suffering this
behavior not just on the ride back from lunch, but through lunch
as well.
- In the parking lot, Kevin explains he's not coming back into the
office. He's going to head home right away so he can get some sleep
before his assignment at a factory tonight. Kevin and Desi agree to get together
Sunday, when they're both off-duty. Kevin will call later to work out
the details.
- Inside the office, conversations from lunch are continuing among the
cubicles. There's a lot of camaraderie in the air. Desi slinks back to
her little, gray cubicle, and starts reading again, at the top of the
page. 01:06:00
- Cut to JD, wandering around town
- She's near Lobo territory, looking for Pedro. She wants to find him
when Ernesto isn't around.
- She finds Pedro and a few Lobo friends in a run-down park. They've got
a conspiratorial demeanor to them. JD knows the body language of a drug
trade, and it's definitely not that. Someone is posted as sentry. As she
watches, a cop car goes right past, and the sentry doesn't sound the
alarm. No, whatever it is that these Lobos don't want to be caught at,
it's clearly not the cops that they feel they have to hide their actions
from.
- JD catches Pedro's eye. He takes a few seconds to excuse himself from
his friends and approaches JD alone. Pedro makes sure he stays within
sight of his friends as he talks.
01:13:25
- Cut back to a close-up of Desi.
- She's staring at the camera, glassy-eyed. As the camera slowly zooms
out, a large paunch enters the frame. As the camera continues to zoom out, we
see that Kyle has trapped Desi in her cubicle by blocking the doorway.
Kyle continues: "So I wrestled him to the ground. And I held him
down till the cops came. And they said, good job, Mr.
McLaughlin...." Kyle pauses, and during this lull, Desi finally
snaps to consciousness. She notices it's her quitting time. She
extricates herself from Kyle's confinement and prepares to leave.
- Desi still has quite a bit of reading to do. She decides to take the
procedures home with her. She's about to head out of the building when
Mr. Schuler stops her and points out that the Aegis' security procedures
cannot leave the building.
He explains that they're proprietary
information that, in the wrong hands, could be used to foil the
operations of Aegis security officers. In fact, if an officer's
adversaries knew the contents of those books, the officer could be hurt
or killed. Desi apologetically surrenders the books and Mr.
Schuler graciously offers to return them to the office library. Desi
decides she'll work late one day next week to catch up on the
procedures. Mr. Schuler says that the reading will probably get easier
for Desi as time goes on, but if she needs more time with the books,
staying late would be the best way to address that need.
- Out in the parking lot, Desi is unlocking her car when she becomes
aware of a dull, droning sound. As the sound stops, Desi turns around
and Priscilla is standing there. An ominous conversation follows.

Act 2: The Binds Tighten
- Interior shot of the Carmines' house
- The house is filled with the usual level of activity. Nina
is watching something across the room. We see that it's Ghost, talking
among a group of his ganstas. Nina is watching intently, as if she's studying
Ghost.
- JD enters the frame. She's looking for a Carmina because she believes
that the boys won't know or care about Coyote's real name or next of
kin. JD interrupts Nina's surveillance. JD explains that Coyote's not
doing well and the doctors want to talk to his family. Does Nina know
his family? Nina says she thinks Coyote's aunt is still in Puerto Rico.
She'll ask around for a name.
- Ghost is holding an opened pack of cheese crackers -- the kind you can
get from vending machines. Ghost is gesticulating with one of the cheese
crackers, but when he finally brings it to his mouth, his facial
expression changes to one of disgust and he puts it down again. The
other five cheese crackers are still in the pack. Nina says to JD,
"Will you get him to eat?" Then Nina heads off to find the
information about Coyote.
- JD approaches Ghost. By the time she reaches him, he's brought the
cracker to his mouth once more, and again put it down. JD tells Ghost
that she talked to Coyote's doctor and learned about his condition.
Ghost confesses that he doesn't like to talk to people in white coats.
Suddenly there's a squeal of several sets of tires outside in the
street. Several people yell, "Cheese it! Cops!" Without a
thought, Ghost grabs JD and runs out one of the back doors, along with
several other Carmines. There are several cut shots of Ghost and JD running
down alleys, narrowly avoiding police cars, officers on foot, and at one
point, a resident's chained Rotweiler.
- Cut to a nurse's station inside a hospital. One of the monitors begins
to beep much faster. As the nurse looks up, there's a digital read-out
for the heart rate of one of the patients. The numbers are climbing as
we watch: 70... 74... 78... 83... She nurse shouts down the hall,
"Get Dr. Ross! There's a problem in 322."
- We have a few more cut shots of Ghost and JD running. Then finally,
they end up inside a Dumpster. In the dim light inside the Dumpster,
Ghost pants, "What the hell's going on? This town's nuts! We'll go
back as soon as the coast is clear." JD tells Ghost that Nina will
try to get the information about Coyote's family.
- Cut back to the hospital. Dr. Ross is standing over Coyote. He's
looking at the heart monitor, which is displaying a pulse rate of 96 at
this point. He looks down at Coyote and says, "What, are you
running a marathon in there?" Dr. Ross opens Coyote's eyelid.
- Cut back to the interior of the Dumpster. JD says, "Coyote's
apparently not going to get any better." Ghost is about to reply
when he suddenly screams "Ow!" and covers his eyes. As far as
we can tell, the interior of the Dumpster has not changed. "What is
that?" Ghost shouts.
- Cut to a shot of the camera looking directly into a very bright light.
The light moves off to one side, then moves back, moves off to the other
side, moves back, and finally just goes out. As the glare fades, we see
Dr. Ross standing there, holding his penlight. This is apparently from
Coyote's point of view. After a second, Dr. Ross puts the penlight into
his coat pocket. To someone off-camera, he says, "We'll just keep
him under observation."
- Cut back to the interior of the Dumpster. JD asks if Ghost is alright.
Did he get something in his eyes? He says no, he just saw light. Very
bright light. How could JD not see it? After a moment, they go back to
talking about Coyote. JD asks if Coyote would want to be kept alive like
he is now. Ghost reminds JD that after the Lobos beat Coyote, Ghost told
her that Coyote would kill him for not letting the Lobos finish him off.
JD explains that the hospital can't take him off the machines unless a
family member requests it. She also points out that Ghost needs to think
about taking permanent leadership of the Carmines. Ghost replies that
he's been thinking about that every day.
- Ghost is about to say something, but instead erupts into a spasm of
coughing. We cut to an exterior shot of the Dumpster with a voice-over
of the coughing fit. The lid of the Dumpster flies open as Ghost
emerges, still hacking. Finally, the coughing subsides. Ghost spits onto
the pavement in the alley. JD asks if Ghost is sure he's OK. The
conversation reveals some oddity about Ghost's health.
Then they head back to the Carmín house to see who they can round up.
JD checks the time to make sure she's got plenty of time to get home
before curfew.
- Turns out the raid collected only three or four Carmines, and they
were all Extras.
They
find Nina, who has managed to find someone who knew Coyote's real name
and the name and address of his aunt in Puerto Rico. The aunt is
Coyote's nearest living relative. Ghost exits to talk to the rest of the
gang. Nina confesses her concern about how Ghost will handle Coyote's
death if it occurs. He's been down to see Coyote every day for the last
three or four weeks. She thinks on some level, Ghost knows that Coyote
won't recover. As JD leaves, Nina says she'll try to stop down at the
hospital later. 01:38:05
- Cut to Desi and Priscilla seated inside a Perkins
- Priscilla is eating a large slice of cake. Desi says, "I really
don't know which part to be more shocked at: that you've been ordered to
kill me, or that you've asked me not to take it personally."
Priscilla also reveals to Desi something that Desi has not known about
herself: that she's a Slayer. Priscilla doesn't go into a lot of detail
about what a Slayer is, but she does offer a word of advice: Don't let
Aristartes -- the guy with the teeth in his hands -- find out that Desi
hasn't been trained to be a Slayer, or he'll have a tremendous advantage
over her. He's much more powerful than he looks, especially now that the
veil is lifted. Priscilla says the veil was more than just cosmetic; it
suppresses supernatural effects as well as masks them. When Desi asks
why Priscilla convinced her to bring down the veil, Priscilla protests,
"Technically, I didn't convince you to drop the veil. I
pointed out that there was a ritual going on that you might be
interested in. I pointed out that shattering the box would destroy the
veil. I never deliberately convinced you to do anything."
- Desi asks if Priscilla would lead her to Ernesto (who we realize is
also Aristartes). Rubbing her cheek where Ernesto struck it, Priscilla
says that she doesn't plan on returning to Ernesto anytime soon. Even
so, she would recommend against Desi confronting Aristartes until she
knows more about herself. Priscilla also reveals that she has power over
normal houseflies and she uses them as spies. They're not smart, but
they're numerous, and they have a great sense of smell.
- In parting, Priscilla points out that if she tries to kill Desi next
time they meet, it's because Aristartes has finally paid up. "But
don't expect that to happen soon," she says. In a chipper tone, she
adds, "Until then,
let's be friends!" 01:50:30
- Cut to the interior of the Allentown Public Library
- With the help of the librarian, JD uses a computer there to look up
the phone number for Coyote's aunt in Puerto Rico. She calls Dr. Ross
and relays the information to him.
- Cut to a shot of Dr. Ross at a nurse's station. He's taking down the
information as JD gives it. He's writing this directly in Coyote's
chart. At one point, he suddenly stops writing and says under his
breath, "Why didn't I notice that before?" When JD asks what
the problem is, Dr. Ross says, "Um... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have
said that out loud. It's nothing related to his diagnosis. In fact, I'm
sure it's an error in his chart. His fluid output is almost twice his
input. That's just not possible, especially for the length of the
interval that this has been going on. His fluid output has been elevated
for the last three weeks."
- Dr. Ross dismisses this anomaly, gets the rest of the information, and
promises to get in touch with the aunt right away.
- JD points out that her friend Ghost has been having health problems
over the last three weeks. Dr. Ross tells JD to have Ghost stop in at
the clinic. JD asks if they wear white coats there, because Ghost has a
problem with people in lab coats. After a beat, Dr. Ross gives JD his
receptionist's number and tells her to schedule an appointment for him
to see Ghost personally.
- After the phone conversation, the camera stays on Dr. Ross. He says to
a nurse, "I'm going to need an interpreter, for Spanish, down in
the social services office in 10 minutes." Then he heads
purposefully down the hall.
- Cut to Desi on the phone
- She's talking with Doug, asking him to look up information about
Aristartes, and Slayers. From what we hear on this end, Doug seems
unwilling to leave his band's rehearsal. Desi says that Father Sullivan
isn't answering the phone.
Maybe she'll go down to Doug's friend Abe Solomon to see if he can help.
Desi warns her parents she might be a little late and heads out.
- Cut to the interior of the Occult Emporium as Desi enters. Abe Solomon
is behind the counter, looking at Desi. When the only other customer in
the shop concludes his business and leaves, Desi identifies herself as a
friend of Doug's. She says that Doug is occupied and could Abe possibly
look some things up for her? He consents, and she asks him to look up a
demon named "Aristartes." He gathers up a few books from
various (seemingly random) areas in the store. Together, he and Desi
begin to search through the books.
- Cut to an interior shot in a conference room inside the hospital.
- Dr. Ross is seated across from a woman who's on the phone. The woman
is speaking Spanish. The woman (an interpreter) pauses. We hear nothing,
but we assume she's listening to someone speak.
- Dr. Ross: Ask her for the name and number of a doctor she trusts. I’ll
fax him all the test results. He'll agree with my conclusion. (Interpreter relays this)
- Interpreter: She wants to know how you can ask her to do this thing.
- Dr. Ross: For mercy’s sake. We’re human beings; we define
ourselves by our relationship to others: mother, brother… (chokes
slightly as he looks down at the photo of the little girl in his wallet)
father. Nothing is stronger than the connection between two people. Yet
sometimes we have to break those bonds and move on. It’s the hardest
thing to do, and it hurts like hell, but it’s the best thing for
everyone. Trust me, I know. I beg you, let him go.
- Cut back to an exterior shot of a street.
- JD is heading home. It's after sundown. She checks her watch --
still plenty of time to get home before her 9 p.m. curfew.
- Suddenly, from around the corner of a nearby building, Ice emerges and
races past JD at full speed. He doesn't seem to notice her, but then
about 20 feet later, he skids to a halt and turns. There's a look of
absolute terror on his face. "JD!" he shouts. "RUN!"
- The camera is looking at JD from Ice's point of view. Over JD's
shoulder, we can see a mob of citizens running this way. Many of them
are armed with makeshift weapons that they're waving in the air. They
look very angry. One of the vigilantes in the fore points at Ice and
yells, "There he is!" Then spotting JD, "And he's got a
friend!"
- Cut to a staccato of shots of Ice and JD running before the crowd.
Periodically, each pulls the other into an alley or along a side street.
The shouting of the mob indicate that our heroes aren't gaining
appreciably on them. In one shot, a beer bottle shatters on a brick wall
next to JD. These people are out for blood!
- Cut to a uniformed security guard who's shining his flashlight about
as he patrols the outside of an industrial-looking building. He verifies
that the doors are chained and secured with a padlock. He goes off-frame
and a few seconds later, we can see him inside the building through one
of the windows. It appears to be a factory, but the equipment isn't
running. The guard -- whose face we have not seen clearly -- makes his
rounds and heads down a flight of stairs into the factory's basement.
- Cut back to Ice and JD, who have run up to the double-doors of an
abandoned-looking industrial facility. The doors are chained and locked!
They run along the length of the wall to see if they can find another
door when part of the crowd emerges from around the corner ahead. The
rest of the crowd is behind them. Ice then realizes that he and JD are
standing in front of a louvered window that's open. "In here!"
he shouts as he thrusts her through. Ice barely gets in through the
window himself just as a pair of arms reaches through and grabs him. Cut
to commercial break.
Act 3: Trapped!
- Picking up where we left off:
- Ice is inside the building, but has been grabbed through the
window by the mob on the outside. JD
sees that the windows have heavy, roll-down shutters. She hits the
button to lower the shutters. As the shutters descend slowly on the arms
holding Ice, they release their grip and are pulled back unharmed through the
window. Outside, JD and Ice hear the crowd cursing and banging on the
walls and shutters.
- The building can't be completely abandoned because there are a few
lights on inside. Ice, panting, explains that he didn't do anything.
Some residents on the street saw him in his gang colors and started
chasing him. With each block, the crowd that was chasing him grew in
number. Then he saw JD. "Come on," he says. "Let's find another
way out of here."
- As Ice and JD cautiously make their way between pumps and piping, they
can here the townfolk outside, trying to get in. When they hear a sound
like a pick against the side of the brick building, they decide to take
the first means of escape that presents itself -- a ventilation grate
that's set in the wall, about 7 feet off the floor. Ice says, "I'll
hoist you up; you get the grate off."
- Ice grabs JD by the waist and lifts her up. She only has a small
pocket knife to work with and it takes a while to loosen even a single
screw on the grate -- a job made more difficult by the fact that Ice's
grip is weakening. JD keeps sliding down in Ice's arms; with a grunt, he
hoists her back up, but within seconds, she slides down again. With
another grunt, he hoists her up again. Just as JD is about to suggest
that she get up onto Ice's shoulders, JD sees a flurry of movement as
someone slams into Ice and knocks him into a nearby electrical panel,
shouting, "Get your hands off her!" JD falls to her feet and
Ice's attacker turns to her and says, "Jewel, are you OK?!"
It's Kevin.
- Kevin moves toward Jewel and says, "Are you hurt --" Kevin
never gets to finish the sentence because Ice slams into him at this
point. Kevin sails into a pump and slams his left shoulder (the one that
was shot) against the equipment. He shouts in pain and drops his
flashlight, which rolls slowly across the floor. Ice and Kevin end up
rolling around the floor, clanging against equipment and piping as they
tussle. But by the time we can figure out exactly what's happening, Ice
gets the upper hand -- Kevin's on the floor and Ice is straddling him
and holding Kevin's flashlight over his head, poised to deliver the
final blow. That's when JD, who has been yelling for the boys to stop
fighting, grabs the flashlight so that Ice can't swing it. "Don't
hurt him! He's my friend!"
- Ice looks at JD, then looks down at Kevin. We've never seen Ice angry
before. He demands an explanation from Kevin.
After he gets it, he lets Kevin rise. As we cut away, Ice is eyeing
Kevin's security-guard uniform, while Kevin takes in the gang trappings
of Ice's wardrobe.
- Cut to a close-up of a fax machine that's spitting out pages.
- Dr. Ross gathers the pages and reads over them. We're obviously inside
a hospital. Cut to Dr. Ross as he
hands sheets of paper to a nurse at a nurse's station. "For the
John Doe in 322: DNR... durable power of attorney... We'll need a
court-appointed witness for when I unplug him. Usually that's Dan
Bolinsky. If you can call and make the arrangements, he might still be
in. Let him know I'll be here until 10 p.m. Any time he can come over,
we'll do it then." The nurse acknowledges all of this.
- Dr. Ross leaves. When he steps away from the counter, we see Nina in
the background, down the hall. She looks stunned at what she's just
heard. After a few moments, she comes to her senses and goes running off,
down the hall. 02:21:00
- Cut back to Desi in the Occult Emporium.
- Desi finds a woodcut picture of Aristartes' mouth-in-hand in one of
Abe Solomon's books.
The book lists him as "Aristartes the Opener." She shows the
entry to Abe. He looks over the writing and understands now why he
didn't find anything about Aristartes on his earlier search. He thought
that the demon the Cast Members described was a kind of demon. It
turns out that Aristartes is the name of an individual -- this
individual -- not a species. Abe says that a demon with an individual
name is much more powerful than an unnamed demon. And if the
demon has a title, like "the Opener," it's more powerful
still. In general.
- Desi also looks for information on a demon called a
"Slayer," but finds none.
- Abe begins reading carefully through the book that Desi found.
- Cut back to Ice, JD, and Kevin.
- JD formally introduces Ice and Kevin to each other. As she explains to
Kevin that there's an angry mob outside and they need to get out, Ice's
cell phone rings. It's Nina; she tells Ice that the doctors got the OK
to unplug Coyote. They expect him to last for at least a week. Nina's
there with Coyote now, but she doesn't want to be alone. She asks if Ice
could please come to the hospital to keep her company after he tells
Ghost about the situation. Instead, JD agrees to go to the hospital to
stay with Nina while Ice goes to the Carmines' house to tell Ghost
what's happening.
Kevin says there's a tunnel in the basement that leads to one of the
other buildings in the complex. He can take JD and Ice out that way.
- Everything's looking good (all things considered) until Ice takes a
step and practically collapses. It turns out that during his tussle with
Kevin, he banged his knee against something. He's been concealing his
discomfort (and preserving his pride) by standing still while keeping
his weight on his other leg. JD looks at the knee. It's very swollen.
She thinks it's sprained. Kevin says, "I'll give you a hand."
He offers his left shoulder for Ice to lean on -- no, wait, he switches
sides so Ice leans on Kevin's right shoulder, the one without the
recovering bullet wound -- and helps Ice hobble along. The three of them
walk off-camera.
- Cut to an exterior shot. The camera pans across the factory that's
surrounded by the mob, continues across the parking lot, and stops on a
small auxiliary building. A door in this smaller building opens. JD
steps out, verifies the coast is clear, and Ice and Kevin hobble out
after her. Kevin says to JD, "I'll get your friend here where he
needs to go. You go where you need to go." JD thanks him and takes
off while Kevin radios for back-up, explains that he needs to step away
from the scene, and reports the mob. He suggests calling the police to
restore order.
Then they shamble off.
- Close-up on Abe Solomon as he reads from a large book:
- "Aristartes the Opener is invariably summoned by powerful
sorcerers... (mumble, mumble) is itself a sorcerer and can summon
other demons... capable of using foul magicks." But there's no
explanation why he's called the Opener. The book doesn't list his
weaknesses, either. Nor specifically what his powers are. No, wait,
here's a vulnerability: "Cannot enter sanctified ground." Like
a church. Or an older graveyard.
- Desi tells Abe he has to do more research. Abe begins gathering books.
- As Desi gathers books to hand to Abe, one of them falls open,
revealing its frontispiece. There's a label on the frontispiece,
rendered in a beautiful, calligraphic hand. It reads, "Ex libris
Philippus Vitreus." The ornate design catches Desi's attention,
even though the words have no meaning for her. She closes the book and
hands it to Abe.
- Desi asks Abe where he gets his books; as they don't appear to come
from Barnes and Noble. Abe explains that he gets them from auctions,
collectors, estate sales, antique stores. Those sorts of events. He'll
travel throughout the tri-state area to acquire paraphernalia. He
invites Desi to come along with him on such a trip sometime; an
invitation Desi politely evades. She asks Abe to call her as soon as he
has more information on Aristartes the Opener. Desi then leaves.
- JD enters Coyote's hospital room.
- The doctor looks up. It appears he was expecting someone else. Nina is
sitting quietly in the room. Like JD, Nina isn't a Carmina, although she
hangs with them. Unlike JD, Nina has never been terribly close to
Coyote, so she feels really awkward about being the only person here
with him. JD's arrival is a great relief to Nina.
- Dr. Ross thanks JD for getting him the information about Coyote's
family. She replies with, "I see you didn't waste any time."
Dr. Ross gently, but unapologetically explains that he considers the act
of keeping Coyote in this condition to be an affront to his dignity. JD
counters that some of Coyote's friends may not get the chance to say
goodbye. Dr. Ross pauses. After a moment, he says he didn't think of
that and he apologizes. He gives JD a few minutes alone with Coyote.
After the doctor leaves, JD says to Coyote, "Life really sucks,
doesn't it? I figure this is how you'd want it. The others are on their
way. I'm sorry about how this whole thing turned out."
- Dr. Ross reenters the room with an older gentleman. He says to JD and
Nina, "This is Dan. He works for the court system. He needs to
witness the procedure. I really can't keep him. I'm sure you'll have
time afterward to say your goodbyes." JD elects to remain in the
room as Dr. Ross begins powering down the life-support equipment. 02:42:47
- Ice, propped up by Kevin, has gotten to the Carmines' house
- Several of the Carmines, including Spyder, are outside. They see the
duo approaching. Concerned by what they see, they approach. Kevin asks
Ice quietly, "Are you sure this is where you want to go?" Ice
assures Kevin that it is. The Carmines ask Ice to explain why he's
hanging around a guy who's dressed kinda like a cop.
They let Ice and Kevin pass.
- Inside the house, Ice and Kevin approach Ghost. Ice tells Ghost that
they're pulling the plug on Coyote. Ghost listens, then addresses the
entire house in a firm and loud voice: "Everybody! The doctors say
that Coyote is dying. Anybody who wants the chance to say goodbye needs
to do it soon. I'm going over there now." Murmured conversations
ripple throughout the house.
- Back in the hospital, Dr. Ross finishes turning off all the
therapeutic machines. He then starts unplugging them. When he's finished,
only the diagnostic equipment is still connected to Coyote and running.
One of the machines begins to alarm, surprising Dr. Ross. "His
blood pressure is dropping fast. I didn't expect this to happen so
soon."
- In the Carmines' house, Ghost turns to Ice and says, "OK, let's
go." Then his eyes flutter and roll back into his head. He drops to
the floor.
- Kevin immediately slips into security-guard mode and takes charge.
"Step back, give him air!" he shouts. Kevin check Ghost's
vitals while Ice quietly assures the anxious Carmines that Kevin is on
the up-and-up. Kevin realizes that Ghost is in shock -- his blood
pressure is dangerously low and he feels clammy. Ghost has to get to a
hospital immediately or he'll die. Most unnerving to Kevin is that there
is no logical explanation how Ghost could go from standing and speaking
to this condition in a matter of seconds. Usually, it would take the
loss of a lot of blood to induce this state. "He needs a hospital
now!" Carmines with cars step forward and volunteer to drive.
- Cut to a scene of the Carmines getting Ghost into a car. Kevin is
seated right next to Ghost. He's asked for and been provided with
blankets to keep Ghost warm.
- Back at the hospital, Nina's pager goes off. She excuses herself. A
few minutes later, she returns to Coyote's room and tells JD, "That
was Ice. Something's wrong with Ghost. There's some guy with them who
said he's in shock; his blood pressure's really low." JD reflexively
looks up at the monitor at Coyote's blood pressure, which is falling
rapidly. "They're bringing Ghost in to the hospital. They're on
their way now."
- Dr. Ross says somberly to Dan Bolinsky, "I don't have an
explanation for this. Nothing that I turned off controls his heart rate
or blood pressure." JD asks what will happen next.
02:53:15
- Kevin calls ahead to the hospital to notify them that they're bringing
in a patient in shock. Because in TV land, there's only one doctor on
duty in a hospital at any given time, a nurse notifies Dr. Ross that
there's a patient who's on his way into the emergency room. She rattles
off a short list of the incoming's vital signs. JD looks up and sees the
exact same values on Coyote's read-out. Dr. Ross doesn't notice this. He
excuses himself to head down to the emergency room. Dan says he's
finished here and heads out as well. Nina goes with them to wait for
Ghost's arrival in the emergency room.
- JD is now alone in the room with Coyote. She takes his hand and tells
him, "Like I said before, I know it sucks. I know it's not what you
wanted. But I don't know if the outcome would have been much different.
At one point, the two gangs [Carmines and Lobos] were equal. But there's
something supernatural going on out there now. And there's nothing you
could have done. There's nothing you can do now. You have to let Ghost
handle things now. I know you would want what's best for the Carmines. I
swear to you I'll make sure that the head of the Lobos pays for
this."
- Cut to the car that's taking Ghost to the hospital. Kevin is on the
phone with the hospital. In mid-sentence, Kevin is startled by Ghost
suddenly and loudly drawing in breath, like a man who was on the verge
of drowning and who broke the surface of the water just in time. In
contrast, Coyote's blood-pressure values and pulse rate continue to
decrease on the monitor. Coyote doesn't squeeze JD's hand. There's no
evidence at all that he's aware of his surroundings. JD brings Coyote's
hand up to her face. As the camera slowly zooms in on JD, the shot stays
on her for about three or four seconds. We notice, but JD does not, that
her watch says 9:15 p.m. Then, off-camera, we hear the steady tone that a
heart monitor makes when the patient flat-lines.
- The Carmín car pulls up at the hospital. Carmines pour out of it,
making it almost reminiscent of a clown car. Paramedics in white coats
are standing there to treat the victim, as soon as they can identify
him. Finally, the only ones left in the car are Ghost and Kevin. Kevin
calls to the paramedics, "Right here!" Ghost's eyes are open,
but he looks as if he's run a marathon. The paramedics load Ghost onto a
gurney and take him into the hospital.
- As Ghost is wheeled through the corridors, the audio is only music, no
dialog. Ghost is obviously responsive, but very weak. Nina takes Ghost's
hand and brings it to her face, in an eerie parallel of JD's posture with
Coyote. Ghost smiles weakly. Although he looks exhausted, just the
fact that he's conscious is very encouraging.
- Cut to Abe Solomon inside the Occult Emporium.
- It's after hours. He's
reading a book on necromancy. He rubs his eyes and closes the book for a
moment. To himself he says, "Well, I didn't really expect to find the
answer in this one. But every once in a while, people reach across from one
side of the grave to the other in an attempt to be helpful." He flips through
the pages of the book one last time, quickly. Nothing catches his attention,
and within a few seconds, he's at the frontispiece. The camera holds on the
label on the frontispiece: Ex libris Philippus Vitreus. In
voice-over, Abe says, "It's always worth a shot, though." Cut to
black. Roll end credits.
Director's Commentary on this
Episode.