Synopsis: Definitely one of the better episodes of the series – not just for the script, but for the love, respect, trust and acceptance seen between Cole and Wahote, and for the fact that neither man tries to make their own Tracking methods out as being better than those of the other. Don Francks is particularly memorable as the gruff-voiced Wahote. All in all, Tracker’s story lines, the characterizations and the resulting relationships, are becoming more complex and more intriguing with each passing episode.

———————————————————————

In the teaser, Joshua Keene is in his office at a real estate development company, packing his briefcase while listening to a tape recording of a business meeting. He places a long distance call to New Mexico and leaves a message on his grandfather’s answering machine, saying that he needs to see him and will be flying out that night to see him in the morning. He checks his gun, then leaves his office for the elevator. Instead of going down, the elevator goes up, the doors opening on the top floor of the skyscraper where he’s confronted by a huge and very menacing man.

Panicked, Joshua fires his gun point blank, the bullet passing right through the man’s neck and leaving a big hole. The man just snidely smiles as the wound closes. Joshua flees down the hall and the man gives chase, soon tackling him down. He’s summarily hauled up to the roof where the huge man hangs him by one leg upside-down over the edge, when another man appears.

Joshua: "What do you want!? Who are you!?"

Dunn: "‘What are you’ ... might be a more appropriate question."

Joshua, stuttering: "It’s ... chilly ... up ... here..."

Dunn: "Ever wonder why they call this the ‘Windy City’, Joshua? ... Well, you’re a man who likes to know the facts, so you should find this ... interesting. Well, it’s not on account of the wind velocity, I can tell you that much. Rather, it’s the work of nineteenth century promoters ... publicizing this town as a great place to live! Their detractors said that they were full of wind. They should’ve kept their mouths shut..." He holds up the tape recorder Joshua was listening to. "Why did you do this to me, Joshua? You were supposed to make a lot of money! Isn’t that the American dream? ... I guess to some people not interested in making money, this is good-bye..."

Joshua: "NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

The big man releases his grip and Joshua plummets to his death. Dunn drops the tape recorder and crushes it beneath the heel of his shoe.

[Note: There was something going on with Zin and Chicago real estate, but this aspect of the ongoing plot didn’t start working until the last few episodes in the series. Until then connections were too disparate – and it defied belief that these aliens had to go through such bumbling to secure what they were after, the endless line of petty officials to be corrupted, the people needing to be killed. The few little clues offered in only a handful of episodes were too subtle and unimportant in and of themselves to maintain interest or memories or even to establish any connections].

———————————————————————

In the Watchfire, Mel is handing Jess a brown paper bag.

Mel: "Breathe."

Jess puffs in the bag a moment, then hands it back. "I don’t want to breathe!"

Mel: "Jess, it’s not the end of the world ... Your visa’s just expired."

Jess: "Just!?!"

Mel: "So you’ll ask for an extension."

Jess: "I’ve done that! Twice! This is all they’ve given me."

She hands Mel the papers she’s received.

Mel: "Well, they’re not just going to kick you out of the country."

Jess, upset: "No, it’s more like a gentle nudge. They’ve given me two weeks!"

Mel: "We’ll call Eden Wahl, the UmbrellaGent Guy. He’s an immigration attorney. Maybe he can help."

Jess resumes puffing into the paper bag.

———————————————————————

Joshua’s grandfather, Wahote, an elderly Apache Indian tracker, has come to Chicago’s 27th District Police Station (Vic’s precinct, although he isn’t seen in this episode) to investigate, convinced that his grandson’s death was not the suicide the police have dismissed it as being. Carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows, he attracts some attention as he walks in and approaches the Desk Sergeant.

Wahote: "I’d like to talk to someone about my grandson’s murder."

———————————————————————

Wahote plays the tape from his answering machine for Detective Harper. On it, Joshua is saying that he’ll be flying out that night, that he has a car at the airport, and that he’ll be seeing his grandfather in the morning.

Detective Harper, turning off the tape: "No, Mr. Keene. I’m afraid I don’t hear what you’re hearing."

Wahote: "Just ... listen to it once again..."

Detective Harper: "That’s not necessary."

Wahote: "My grandson didn’t kill himself. He was murdered. He was afraid for his life. You can hear it in his voice. He was ... He was coming to see me!"

Detective Harper, walking around his desk: "I realize how hard this must be for you."

Wahote: "Joshua would never take his own life!"

Detective Harper, trying to hand him a business card: "If you need to talk to someone..."

Wahote, indignant: "I don’t need to talk to someone! I need someone to find Joshua’s killer!"

Detective Harper, sighing: "Mr. Keene ... I was first on the scene, found the body before anyone else. I even wrote this report. And I did not see anything to even indicate there was any foul play."

Wahote, standing: "Maybe you didn’t look hard enough."

Detective Harper: "Did you know that your grandson recently purchased a handgun?"

Wahote: "For self protection, yes."

Detective Harper: "You know that for a fact?"

Wahote: "If he was going to shoot himself, then why did he jump off a building?"

He starts to leave.

Detective Harper: "Wish I knew ... How long you plan on being in the Chicago area?"

Wahote: "I haven’t decided."

Detective Harper, warning: "Chicago’s not Taos. I can order you to turn over that bow until you leave..." Wahote turns at the door. "And I recommend that you think very carefully before doing anything rash."

Wahote, tight: "Uh huh."

[Note: Detective Harper’s name isn’t given in the episode, but it’s listed as being such in the guest cast].

———————————————————————

Cole is scouting the rooftop of the building Joshua worked in on the Track of Marak, a Vardian. He soon discovers a footprint and kneels down, using a wrist-gadget that gives him the shoe size and the approximate weight of the individual who made the print. It isn’t surprising to see this wrist gadget since his technical ability is coming more to the fore as he comes to terms with Earth’s equivalents and existing technology, learning what he needs to do with it to create the level of gadgetry that he’s used to. 

He then notices Wahote looking out over the cityscape and walks over. He immediately knows in his empathetic way that Wahote is grieving. He can read it in the man’s posture, perhaps see it in his aura.

Wahote, nodding: "He was my grandson."

Cole: "What was his name?"

Wahote: "Joshua."

Wahote, bitter but resigned: "You’re the first."

Cole: "The authorities are not looking for the killer?"

Wahote, shaking his head: "They don’t believe it was murder."

Cole: "I found a footprint over there."

Wahote: "Size thirteen shoe, approximately 300 pounds. I saw it, too..." Cole is impressed. "Where are you from? An insurance company or something?"

Cole, bemused: "Insurance ... No."

Wahote: "Then who..."

Their conversation is interrupted by the sounds of the arrival of two building security guards checking out the roof. Cole turns to look and, when he turns back, Wahote is gone.

———————————————————————

Wahote’s next stop is his grandson’s office.

Office Manager: "Sir ... Sir ... Please. You can’t come in here."

Wahote, surveying the room from the doorway: "This was my grandson’s office."

Office Manager: "I understand. But it’s company policy that..."

Wahote: "Where’s your boss?"

Office Manager: "He’s out of the office."

Wahote, entering: "I’ll wait."

Office Manager: "Uh ... He won’t be back until the ... end of the week."

Wahote: "I can’t wait that long."

He moves around behind Joshua’s desk.

Office Manager: "Sir, I’m going to have to call security."

Wahote: "Yeah, you do that, sugar."

As soon as the Office Manager leaves, Wahote begins going through the desk drawers and checking out his grandson’s appointment book, noting a ‘lender conference call’, followed two days later by a dinner date with a man named Logan Dunn. Just as the security guard arrives, he tears off the logo and address for the Logan Dunn Investment Group from the corner of a blueprint and pockets it.

Wahote: "I was just leaving." And he does.

———————————————————————

Wahote then talks to Joshua’s boss, Logan Dunn in his lavish office.

Dunn: "Joshua made me ... and my company ... a lot of money, sir."

Wahote: "What exactly were you two working on?"

Dunn: "A redevelopment project. Joshua was helping me ... negotiate the deals."

Wahote: "What was his frame of mind?"

Dunn: "I’m not sure what you mean."

Wahote: "This is my first time in Chicago, Mr. Dunn. I don’t know anything about Joshua’s life here."

Dunn: "Well ... If you’re asking me if I thought Joshua was capable of taking his own life ... I’m afraid..." He sighs. "My answer would have to be yes ... He seemed extremely depressed lately."

Wahote: "Did he say why?"

Dunn, shaking his head with false sympathy: "I think ... he was having woman trouble ... I mean, he was ... doing fine ... in his career."

Wahote: "If it was a woman, Joshua would have told me."

Dunn: "With all due respect, sir ... You were his grandfather ... I think there may have been some things that ... you know ... Joshua kept to himself."

Wahote, shaking his head: "Not Joshua." He stands up. "Thank you for your time."

Dunn: "I really wish I could be of more help."

Dunn clasps Wahote’s hand for a handshake and the Apache immediately realizes that there’s something wrong, that there’s something major slimy about this guy. And Dunn seems to sense that he knows something’s off.

Dunn, uneasily: "So ... What now?"

Wahote says something in his own tongue.

Dunn: "What’s that?"

Wahote: "It’s Apache. It means ‘an eye for an eye’ ... I’ve spent half my life tracking down men, Mr. Dunn. It’s just a matter of time before I find my grandson’s killer."

As soon as he leaves, Marak comes in and nods reassuringly to a worried Dunn. He’ll handle it.

———————————————————————

Wahote has set up a small camp for himself in a wooded area by a bench in a park. Perhaps awakened by a sense of danger, he stuffs his sleeping bag with leaves to look as though someone is in it and hides. Sure enough, Marak eventually appears with two hand-held clawed boomerangs and viciously stabs at the supposed sleeping man.

Wahote, with drawn bow: "Looking for me?"

Marak throws one of his boomerangs as Wahote releases the arrow. Marak grabs the arrow in midair while Wahote is wounded in his upper left arm by the boomerang. Snapping the arrow in half, Marak snares the returning boomerang and moves to finish the Apache off, but then Cole literally appears from out of nowhere, intervening with a swift spinning kick. It’s a standoff. Realizing that he’ll have to go through Cole to get to Wahote, Marak curtly nods, then runs. It’s one thing to kill a Human, quite another to take on the Cirronian Tracker.

[Although it turns out that Marak, one of the men Wahote is searching for, is the same alien that Cole is pursuing, it’s not so obvious how he came to be there]. 

Cole, turning to Wahote: "Are you all right?"

Wahote: "What are you doing here?"

Cole: "I followed you."

Wahote: "Why?"

Cole: "I was concerned."

[Yet he had no reason to be. Although his entire focus had been on capturing the Vardian, he picked up enough from Wahote to decide that he not only cared about him, but also sensed that he was in danger. One is intrigued to know more about this side of him and the skills which allowed him to actually Track him. Daggon has become more and more integrated into the energy patterns of this world, more skilled at reading the energy flows of our unique signatures. Wahote’s was so strong that Daggon was able in some way (which should’ve become more obvious at a later stage) Track him via his aura. It’s also possible that he used this in combination with his ability to Track the Vardian’s pheromones].

Wahote: "Uh! I can take care of myself."

Cole: "That man is very dangerous."

Wahote: "And stupid, too. He ... proved something by coming here."

Cole: "What’s that?"

Wahote, digging through his medicine bag: "That my grandson was murdered. Otherwise, why would someone come to kill me?"

Cole, looking at his wound: "You need to see a doctor."

Wahote, smearing some stuff on his wound: "I’m fine ... You see? Apache medicine."

Cole: "Apache?"

Wahote, proudly: "That’s who I am ... North American Indian."

Cole: "American Indian. I’ve read of many tribes. Cherokee. Mohican. They were fathers of this land."

Wahote, looking at him curiously: "You’re not from around here, are you?"

Cole: "How can you tell?"

Wahote, holding out his hand: "Wahote."

Cole, smiling and shaking his hand: "Cole ... You can’t stay here."

Wahote: "I’m not going to run away now."

Cole: "You don’t have to. I can take you someplace safe, someplace where you can continue your search."

Wahote: "Why are you doing this?"

Cole: "Because I care."

———————————————————————

The next morning at the Watchfire...

Jess, on the phone: "No way! ... You’re kidding!?! ... Well, thanks for nothing!"

She tosses the phone on top of the bar in disgust.

Mel: "Who was that?"

Jess: "Eden Wahl, the immigration attorney you told me to call."

Mel: "No help, huh?"

Jess: "He gave me two options. I can renew my visa, but it’s going to cost me."

Mel: "How much?"

Jess: "Ten grand!"

Mel: "Ouch!"

Jess: "I just don’t have that sort of money lying around, Mel. I’m financially challenged!"

Mel: "Okay ... Well, what’s option number two?"

Jess: "I can marry an American..."

On cue, Cole returns home with Wahote in tow.

Jess: "Cole!"

She goes running up to him.

Cole: "Hello, Jess."

Jess: "Let’s get married!!"

Cole: "All right. If that’s what you want."

[There are no merit points to be earned here. Cole is happy to do as Jess asks, but it’s obvious that marrying her means nothing to him]. 

Mel, coming up to them: "You ... can’t ... marry Cole."

Jess: "Oh, don’t worry! You can have him back as soon as I’m done getting my Green Card."

Mel: "That’s not what I meant."

Jess: "Then what, then?"

Mel: "It’s just not possible."

Jess: "Why? He’s male, he’s single, he’s American ... What else do I need?"

Cole: "I’m not American."

Mel: "Okay! Now that we’ve cleared all that up." She smiles at Wahote. "Hi."

Wahote: "Oh. Hello." He holds out his hand.

Mel, shaking his hand: "I’m Mel."

Wahote: "Wahote."

Mel: "Nice to meet you ... Can we get you a drink?"

Wahote: "Water would be good."

Mel: "Jess, could you get Wahote a glass of water, please?"

Jess, confused: "Cole isn’t American..."

Mel: "Jess ... Wahote is very thirsty..."

Jess goes to fill the order.

Mel, to Wahote as she extends a hand to Cole to speak with him privately off to the side: "Excuse us."

Wahote: "Sure."

Mel: "Where did you find your friend?"

Mel: "Wahote."

Cole: "His grandson was killed by the Vardian I was Tracking."

Mel: "He doesn’t know that the killer was ... an alien, does he?"

Cole: "No. But he’s not safe out there, Mel. The Vardian came after him, too, and ... He has no place to go."

———————————————————————

Upstairs in the technological surrounds of Cole’s War Room the juxtaposition between Wahote and Cole starts coming to the fore. Wahote cannot relate to all of Cole’s strange gadgetry and electronics. For his part, Cole is intrigued to learn that Wahote is a soul brother, a fellow Tracker.

Wahote: "What is this place?"

Cole: "My room."

Cole: "I don’t sleep."

Wahote, smiling and nodding: "Of course you don’t." He watches as Cole goes about switching on various monitors and equipment. "What’s all this stuff for?"

Cole: "My work. I Track people."

Wahote, looking around: "What are you? A bounty hunter?"

Cole: "Something like that."

Wahote, dubious: "Huh! And all this ... equipment ... helps you track people?"

Cole: "Well, it’s a big planet."

Wahote: "Hmm ... I rely on my senses, not machines."

Cole: "You’re a Tracker?"

Wahote: "I was a scout with the Tenth Calvary."

Cole: "When was that?"

Wahote: "Hmm ... Nineteen hundred nineteen."

Cole: "That would make you almost a hundred years old."

Wahote: "Give or take a decade."

———————————————————————

Cut to Logan Dunn putting golf balls in his office when Marak comes in.

Marak: "We need to talk."

Dunn, holding up a finger: "This game ... requires absolute silence."

He starts cleaning the head of his putter.

Marak, mentally rolling a ball into the cup: "I don’t know why Humans use those things."

Dunn: "I told Zin that we were back on schedule."

Marak: "You should call him again ... The old man got away."

Dunn: "How ... is that possible?"

Marak: "He had help."

Dunn: "The Tracker?"

Marak: "Yeah."

Dunn: "Clean up our mess."

Marak goes to shred documents.

———————————————————————

At the Watchfire, Jess is making up "SALE" signs to sell her belongings when Mel comes downstairs.

[Note the obvious plot hole here: If Jess believed that Cole worked for the INS, why didn’t she just ask him for help with her immigration/visa problem?].

Jess: "Hey ... I didn’t know that Cole wasn’t American."

Mel: "Yeah ... He landed without papers."

Jess: "All this time, I had no idea he was an illegal alien ... Hold on a minute ... A couple of weeks ago, you said he was working undercover for the INS."

Mel: "Yes ... Yep ... I did say that."

Jess stares at her blankly, waiting for an explanation.

Mel: "Well! Who better to look for an illegal alien than another ... illegal alien!?" Jess’ head is spinning as Mel changes the subject. "So! What’s all this?"

Jess: "Garage sale."

Mel: "Yours?"

Jess: "Yeah. I figure if I sell everything I own, then ... I might be able to pull together the ten grand I need to renew my visa."

———————————————————————

Upstairs in the War Room, Cole’s computer system is soon assessed by Wahote as being able to provide information that his senses alone cannot give him

Wahote: "We should be outside."

Cole: "This works. Trust me."

Wahote: "Well, what are we looking for?"

Cole: "Anomalies prior to Joshua’s murder. Things that will help us to locate the killer."

Wahote, thinking: "Can you find Logan Dunn in there?"

Cole: "Who’s Logan Dunn?"

Wahote: "He’s a very well known, powerful man ... Wealthy."

Cole, after a moment: "And friends with some very influential people ... including the Mayor."

Wahote: "Does it say ... he has anything to do with ... Zyodex Properties?"

Cole, checking: "He’s a minority shareholder."

Wahote: "Then we’ve got to back there, find out what Joshua was working on."

———————————————————————

Wahote and Cole break into Dunn’s business offices. Going first to Joshua’s old office, they find that it’s been ransacked. Then they come upon Marak in another room busy shredding documents.

Marak takes one look and flees.

Cole, starting in pursuit, almost pulls out his Collector in front of Wahote but stops himself in time, telling the Apache: "Save the documents."

Cole chases Marak down a stairwell and is suddenly jumped. It’s a dramatic and well-done fight as Cole fends off Marak’s clawed boomerangs with hands and feet. They break apart a moment.

Cole, recognizing him: "Marak."

[Clearly, Daggon is able to recognize individuals regardless of their Human form. There must be some identifying aura or signature that he’s able to read].

Again they engage, then break apart.

Cole: "Still working for Zin, Marak?"

Marak: "This isn’t Sar-Top, Tracker!"

Cole: "Not that much has changed. You couldn’t really take a step without being told to."

Marak: "I don’t see anyone ordering me to kill you! But I’m going to!"

Cole shrugs as if to say, ‘take your best shot’.

The fight starts to become vicious. Cole disarms one of his boomerangs but Marak manages to throw him into a wall, momentarily stunning him. He recovers just in time to get out of the way of a lethal thrust, they engage for a few moments more, and then Cole has him down and his Collector out.

From an upper landing, Wahote witnesses Cole extract the Vardian’s lifeforce, but it isn’t an occasion for fear or loathing. He accepts what he’s seeing because he accepts the man, who Cole is, and he trusts him. 

Cole looks up uneasily after he’s done. He senses that he was observed, but Wahote is no longer to be seen.

———————————————————————

Cole, noting the images appearing on screen: "We got something."

Mel, looking over his shoulder: "These are deal memos ... Looks like some real estate transactions."

Cole: "Zin must be behind this."

Mel: "He’s been involved with real estate since he landed here."

Wahote: "Who’s Zin? And how is Joshua involved?"

Cole: "His name is here."

Mel, studying the on-screen images: "Joshua was the broker ... Wait a minute ... Something’s not right here..."

Cole: "What?"

Mel: "All these properties have loans called in early."

Cole: "What does that mean?"

Mel: "That they’re improper foreclosures."

Wahote: "People were forced from their homes so Logan Dunn could buy the property."

Mel: "Your grandson was helping him do it."

Wahote: "No, Joshua couldn’t have known he was involved in something illegal. That’s not like him."

Cole: "You said he wanted to see you."

Wahote: "For my advice."

Mel: "Well, maybe he did know ... And maybe he was going to tell the police and that’s why he was coming to see you."

Wahote, shaking his head: "Whoever killed him wanted to keep him quiet."

Cole, to Mel: "We can contact your friends in the Police Department."

Mel: "No, Cole. I’m afraid we can’t. We don’t have any evidence. All we have is a theory."

Cole: "What about these files?"

Mel: "These files won’t be admissible."

Wahote: "Why?"

Mel: "Because they were obtained illegally..." She sighs. "I’m sorry, Wahote ... But you’re going to have to find another way to prove that your grandson ... was ... murdered."

———————————————————————

Poor Jess isn’t doing so well with her garage sale, but she’s desperate. Asking $80.00 for a $200.00 fake fur, she accepts $30.00. She even sells the belt she’s wearing, a $300.00 Gucci leather that she went without eating for four days to afford, for $20.00 to a woman who won’t pay $25.00 because it isn’t DKNY.

Mel, coming over: "Are you going to sell the skirt, too?"

Jess, ruefully: "Well, that depends on the offer ... Between this sale, the extra shifts and giving blood, I’m still five grand short."

Mel: "There’s got to be a better way to make money than this."

Jess: "Mmm ... There is, but I’m just not that desperate yet. But give me some time."

Mel: "You need to take a break."

Jess: "Actually, I was hoping you could give me another shift."

Mel: "When was the last time you slept?"

Jess: "Oh, I don’t know ... What day is it today?"

Mel: "I’m going to make you a cup of tea and you’re going to sit down ... For five minutes."

———————————————————————

Upstairs, Wahote is listening to his last tape of Joshua yet again.

Cole: "Can I hear that again?" Wahote replays it as Cole comes around. "There ... Give me the tape."

Wahote, handing it over: "What did you hear, Cole?"

Cole, putting the tape into the hard drive: "Someone else."

Wahote, coming around to look on screen: "What are you doing?"

Cole: "Isolating the voices."

Wahote, as a background voice emerges: "That’s Logan Dunn! ... How did that get on there?"

Cole: "There must have been a tape recorder playing in the background when Joshua called you."

Wahote: "Joshua recorded his conversations with Logan..."

Cole: "He was collecting evidence."

Wahote: "To take to the police! And that’s why ... Logan Dunn had him killed!"

Cole: "We can go to the police now, Wahote."

Wahote, grimly: "No, the system doesn’t work, Cole. I’ve been around long enough to know that!" He goes for his bow and quiver.

Cole: "Mel has friends in the Police Department."

Wahote: "I’m going to do this my way, the old way!"

Wahote, very angry: "I’m not going to sit back and watch Logan Dunn get off because he’s got enough money to hire some high-priced attorney..."

Cole: "He won’t get off ... I promise you that."

He heads downstairs to speak with Mel.

Cole, emerging from stairwell: "Mel..."

Mel, doing paperwork at the bar: "How’s Wahote?"

Cole: "I think I can help him. I have evidence now."

Mel: "You didn’t do anything illegal again, did you?"

Cole: "No. This is..." He smiles. "Admissible."

Mel: "Hmm ... I’ll call Vic." He starts heading back for the stairs when she calls out to him, "Wait a second." He turns back. "Cole ... there’s aliens involved."

Cole: "I’m not sure that the man involved is an alien. Even if he is, the prisons here serve the same purpose as on Sar-Top. This is justice for Wahote."

Mel, nodding: "I’ll call."

Cole: "Thank you."

Cole, back upstairs and opening the door to the War Room: "Wahote, Mel’s calling her..."

Cole, emerging from the stairwell with his jacket and heading out: "Mel, he’s gone."

———————————————————————

Wahote barges into Dunn’s office as he’s sorting through his briefcase.

Dunn: "Mr. Keene!"

Wahote: "I know why you killed Joshua!"

Dunn, with a short, nervous laugh: "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Keene."

Wahote: "My grandson didn’t want to see people cheated out of their homes, so you threatened him. But he decided to fight back! He tape-recorded your conversations! Isn’t that right!?"

Dunn: "Mr. Keene ... Why don’t you sit down ... Have a drink..."

Wahote: "It’s over, Mr. Dunn! I know the truth!"

Dunn, grabbing Wahote by the throat, hissing as he strangles him: "You have no idea of the truth!"

Cole, from out in the hall: "Wahote! ... Wahote!"

Cole opens the door to Dunn’s office, finding Wahote on the floor gasping for breath.

Cole, going to him: "Wahote! ... Did you see him leave?"

Wahote, nods, gasping: "He just ... seemed to go ... through the wall." Realization dawns on Cole. "Disappeared."

Cole, looking around: "He has that ability."

Wahote: "How do we find him?"

———————————————————————

The police are milling around Dunn’s office and Detective Harper is telling the others: "... We’ll search in a forty-mile radius, just to be certain. Okay." He nods and the cops head out, for some unexplained reason leaving Cole and Wahote in the office.

Cole: "The police won’t be able to stop Logan."

Wahote: "I think I know what Logan is."

Cole: "No. I don’t think you do."

Wahote, pulling one of Marak’s clawed boomerangs out of his jacket: "I saw what you did."

Cole: "Then you know you can’t get involved any more."

Wahote: "I’m already involved." He stands up. "I can help you find him, Cole ... But only you can stop him."

———————————————————————

Back in the War Room...

Wahote: "How are you able to Track Logan with a satellite?"

Cole: "His car is equipped with a theft-prevention system that’s linked to an independent satellite ... See?"

The screen shows a road map with a moving red dot indicating Dunn’s car. To a hacker with Cole’s skills, it wasn’t difficult to determine Dunn’s car registration and from there it was a breeze to Track its service record.

———————————————————————

They give chase, Cole driving Mel’s Mercedes

[The same aerial scene of a fall foliaged countryside as will be shown in "The Miracle"].

Cole, pulling behind a pale gray Jaguar parked on the side of the road: "That’s Logan’s car."

Wahote: "All right!"

They get out. Cole is looking around, scanning. Wahote goes to touch the front grill.

Wahote: "Still warm ... Can’t be more than an hour ahead of us."

Cole: "He’s gone."

Wahote: "We’ll see."

He starts searching the ground, after a moment kneeling down.

Cole: "What did you find?"

Wahote, showing him: "Square edges on vegetation ... Dry leaves break when pressure is applied." He slaps Cole’s shoulder. "We’ve got tracks!"

[Wahote’s wilderness tracking skills in his own element, using all of his accumulated knowledge and wisdom, now prove useful. Here Cole learns that, as good as his machinery is, the sharp eyes of a man who’s lived by hunting both men and animals can match, or surpass, his advanced electronics. Cole now allows Wahote to take the lead, making no assumptions about his own Tracking means being more advanced or of more worth. He totally accepts what and who Wahote is and is interested in his methods].

Wahote, as they follow the Track: "He’s travelling west ... Width of stride tells us he’s running ... Here ... He’s trying to cover a lot of ground." He points out a broken twig.

Eventually they reach a river.

Wahote: "What kind of creature are we after?"

Cole: "What do you mean?"

Wahote: "This Logan Dunn ... covers up his tracks pretty good, blends into the landscape ... I’ve never seen a real estate mogul that can do that ... Ah! We’ll rest now."

Wahote: "Two years ago."

Cole: "Why Chicago?"

Wahote: "Oh, he always wanted to live in the big city, make a name for himself, make the Reservation proud." He shakes his head. "I don’t think he ever fit in here."

Cole: "He was very brave to leave his home."

Wahote, fondly remembering: "Nothing could stop Joshua ... Not even ... what people thought of him ... His heritage was always special ... But he always resented how these people ... saw how our people got our land."

Cole: "I don’t understand."

Wahote tells him a little of the history of the exploitation of the American Indian and the high hopes his people had for what Joshua might do for them. Cole says nothing, but one can see his empathy and feel his shared pain for this fellow warrior, this righter of wrongs.

Wahote: "Come, let’s go ... This way."

As they set out again, Dunn emerges from blending with a tree trunk and begins stalking them.

Wahote: "Cole! Look at this! Somebody doesn’t want company."

Cole, examining the trip-wire: "A trap."

Wahote: "Uh huh. Step on that wire and..." He carefully clears some leaves "... Uh huh. You’re liable to get a metal spike in your chest."

Cole, looking around: "With someone like Logan, the danger is likely to come from somewhere else, somewhere less obvious."

Wahote: "A relay trap ... He’s more dangerous than I thought ... And he knows this area well."

Cole: "Wherever Logan’s going, he’s been there before."

Wahote: "Must be careful."

Shortly...

Wahote, puzzled: "The trail ends here..."

Cole senses a force field between two trees that mimics the landscape as if there’s nothing there. First he puts his hand through it, then walks through it, Wahote following.

Wahote, whispering: "What is this place?"

Cole: "It’s where they come ... when they’ve been discovered."

He starts to examine the walls of this futuristic room and they begin to brightly glow, emitting a high-pitched whine. Cole grabs Wahote and runs out with him just before it implodes, the shock wave knocking them down.

Cole: "Are you all right?" He looks around. "He’s around here somewhere. Come on. We’ve got to go."

Just then Dunn emerges from blending in with the leaves and the forest floor. He swings a heavy branch and knocks Cole’s legs out from under him, clobbers Wahote with it, then turns to stab Cole through the left chest/upper shoulder area, staking the sharpened end of it in deep before turning his attention back to Wahote.

Wahote and Dunn grapple while Cole painfully struggles to pull the stake out

Dunn: "You fight better than your grandson, old man!"

Dunn moves to slash Wahote with one of Marak’s clawed boomerangs, but by then Cole has managed to pull the stake free and tackles him. They both go sprawling, and Dunn vanishes again. Cole can’t see him, but his senses say that the Desserian is there and he pursues. Shortly, however, he stumbles into one of the trip-wire traps, which slams a suspended log into him, knocking him into yet another trip-wire which drops a noose around his neck and hauls him up, choking.

[Daggon is genuinely shocked and surprised. He’s never experienced this type of thing in all the fights he’s had. And he’s still getting used to manipulating his Human body. To suddenly be choking means there’s a lot of new information to be processed in a very short time as to what exactly is happening. There’s no reason to assume that he was even fully aware of how much danger he was in. If he’d had the time, he would’ve eventually understood what was happening and he would have metamorphosed into a different entity or into his natural form to escape].

Dunn, appearing from around a tree, triumphant: "Well! Guess you can’t do much Tracking from up there ... And that’s good! We’ve got plans for this place, Tracker ... And it’s a lot easier to get them done without you!"

Dunn moves to slash him to ribbons with the clawed boomerang, but Wahote lets fly with a well-aimed arrow, severing the rope. Dunn’s swipe misses as Cole falls to the ground. Recovering quickly, Cole flattens him and Collects his lifeforce, the old Apache watching. He neither demands an explanation or expresses any wonder or surprise. It appears that this century-old man has seen it all.

Wahote slips the noose off of Cole’s neck while he catches his breath, patting Wahote’s knee in gratitude.

———————————————————————

Later, as Cole and Wahote are heading back to the car...

Wahote: "I’m ... going to walk from here." Questioning, Cole turns. "Oh, don’t worry, Cole. Your secret is safe with me." He smiles reassuringly.

Cole: "What I am ... doesn’t concern you?"

Wahote: "There are many tribes who understand that the universe is composed of ... multiple layers."

Cole nods.

Wahote, gifting him with an embroidered Apache headband: "You honor me with your friendship. You would have made a great Apache scout."

Cole: "Thank you ... I wish I had something for you."

Wahote: "Oh, you’ve already given me so much."

Cole stops him as he begins to turn away and places his hand on Wahote’s chest, over his heart. It’s uncertain what he gave him, but from Wahote’s expression, his satisfied grunt and his smile, it clearly was quite valuable. Perhaps it was the gift of additional years?

Wahote speaks some words in Apache then, to Cole’s questioning look gives the translation: "From one Tracker to another..." 

Cole nods and smiles, the two parting and taking their leave, Wahote hiking off through the forest while Cole continues heading back to the car.

———————————————————————

The tag scene in the Watchfire demonstrates further aspects of Human friendship to Cole when he observes Mel perform an act of great kindness and generosity for Jess. Cole is seated at the bar going through a book. Jess comes around, followed by Mel waving an envelope.

Jess: "Get away from me!"

Mel, trying to hand her the envelope: "Relax, Jess ... Just look inside."

Jess: "It’s the INS. I know it. They want me out tomorrow."

Mel: "Will you take it!?"

Jess: "You open it."

Mel: "I can’t."

Jess: "Sure you can."

Mel: "It’s for you." She puts it in Jess’ hand.

Jess: "Oh. It’s a good-bye letter, isn’t it? It’s gonna be mushy ... Where’s that box of tissues..."

Mel: "Just ... Look at that."

Jess opens the envelope and finds a check made out to her in the amount of $5,000.

[Note: From the face of the check, it’s from the Monument Bank checking account of Melanie C. Porter, 340 Richmond Street, Chicago, Illinois 60643. The number ‘340’ is also, of course, the number on the Watchfire’s awning].

Jess: "Oh my God!"

Mel: "I figured that should cover the rest of the INS expenses."

Jess: "No, Mel. I can’t take this."

Mel: "Yes you can."

Jess: "But you can’t afford it!"

Mel, lightly: "I sold my car." Cole looks up from his book at that.

Jess: "Your car!? Mel, you’re nuts!"

Mel, arranging flowers in a vase: "No, a guy came in here a couple of months ago, said it was a classic and if I ever wanted to sell it..."

Jess: "Then how are you going to get around?"

Mel, breezy: "It was a classic, Jess ... I still have enough money to buy something else and that was what was left over..."

Jess, embarrassed and feeling funny about accepting it: "It’s just a loan."

Mel: "You can pay me back a little each week."

Jess, near tears: "It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Mel smiles and shrugs. They hug.

Cole, who’d been observing: "Does this mean we’re not getting married?"

Jess, coyly: "Well ... We could still have a honeymoon..."

Cole looks as though he’s trying to puzzle that one out when two customers come in and Jess happily goes over to flirt and take their orders.

Cole: "That was very nice what you did for her."

Mel: "That’s what friends are for."

Cole: "You only give money to your friends?"

Mel: "Well, no ... You play with your friends, you live with your friends, you trust with them ... What are you reading?"

Cole: "About my friend." He turns the book around so that she can see the group photograph of the young Apache braves and points one out. "That’s Wahote Keene."

Mel: "Wow!"

************************

Blooper - One must fault the writers for this one. First they have Wahote from Taos. Near Taos there are the "Plains" or Pueblo Indians, not the Apache. His grandson Joshua also said on his tape recording that he was flying into Taos, but this is not possible because Taos has no real airport and only small jets fly in, and those very rarely. Everyone flies into Santa Fe or Albuquerque. Moreover, the Mescalero Apache Reservation is near Alamagordo/White Sands, which is hundreds of miles south down near the Mexican border and Alamogordo. So why would he be flying into Taos at all? If the writers had looked once at a map, they would have seen their mistakes.