Synopsis: This is by no means a great episode, but it’s a fairly interesting one that well serves to advance the overall storyline. Another artifact is found; Cole finally discovers the existence of the metal triangle from "Breach" (and it seems rather unobservant on his part not to have noticed it hanging above the bar’s cash register all this time!) and Mel’s grandmother’s possible relationship to it (it has Ancient Vardian writing on it). And Vic, in the third of his four major episodes, is finally told the "truth truth" about who and what Cole really is. Naturally, he thinks Cole is just yanking his chain and toying with him, his attitude being, "You’re an alien? Oh! Yeah, right!"

———————————————————————

In the teaser, a mysterious alien breaks into the closed and empty Watchfire through the front door during a heavy winter snowstorm and makes his way upstairs to the War Room, scanning with a gadget that in "What Lies Beneath" will be called the Ankh. His search is interrupted when Mel and Cole return home from an evening at the opera.

[Note: Several scenes are briefly shown through this alien’s eyes. He’s apparently color-blind on the green/blue end of the spectrum, seeing everything in yellows, oranges and reds. Perhaps infrareds as well since he also leaves red heat prints of his hand (through his gloves!), which take a few moments to cool and vanish].

Mel: "Oh, what a night!"

Cole, all bundled up: "Oh, this city b-b-blows! ... Am I wrong?"

Mel: "Technically, no, but ... we usually call it the ‘Windy City’."

Cole: "Like I said ... It blows!"

Mel, rubbing his cold hands and unbuttoning his coat like a fussy mother hen: "You’ve been very quiet. Did you like the opera?"

Cole: "It surprised me."

Mel: "Well, what did you think?"

Cole: "It was ... very loud."

Mel: "Oh, it’s supposed to be loud, Cole! It’s how the singers express their emotions ... Oh, didn’t you feel it, the passion? ... It’s there! Oh!"

Cole, going to toast his hands on the hot coffee machine: "It was very nice."

Mel: "Glad you liked it." She then notices the bulb flickering in one of the bar’s 1950’s Panther Lamps. "Can you believe that lamp!? I’ve had that thing fixed three times and still there’s this mysterious short."

Cole: "I’ll take a look at it."

Mel: "Okay, but ... I’d still like it to resemble a lamp when you’re finished."

Cole: "What do you mean?"

Mel, teasing: "I mean ... don’t ... turn it into a ... radar tracking system ... or something..."

Cole, innocently teasing back: "Who? Me?"

Mel: "I’m going to check my messages. Be right back ... Keep an eye on you."

She heads upstairs for the answering machine in her bedroom while the alien, who had moved to the landing at the top of the stairwell to listen to them talk, hurriedly ducks back into the War Room.

Cole, calling from downstairs just as Mel is finished listening to her messages: "Fixed it!"

Mel, calling back: "Already!?" To self, "You’re kidding me!" She goes back downstairs.

[Note: Mel now has a collector’s poster hanging at the bottom of the stairwell for ‘Battle of the Blues ‘89 featuring Willie Kent and Band, Howling Wolf, Charlie Love and the Hot Mix, Buddy Scott and others on Saturday, October 21st at Robert’s 500 Room’].

Mel, coming over to look: "You’re amazing."

Cole: "Thank you."

Mel: "How did you fix it so quickly?"

Cole, holding up and crooking his right index finger: "I gave it the finger."

Just then, there’s a power failure and all the lights go out.

Mel: "Uh oh ... I think we’re really in for it..."

Cole: "I don’t think I can fix this one, Mel."

———————————————————————

In the next scene, Mel and Cole have just lit some candles when the lights come on again.

Mel: "Oh! I guess we don’t need them after all!"

They both lean in to blow out the candles and there’s a brief moment that seems to sizzle, almost ignite between them, especially in the way Cole is looking at her, nonplussed by their proximity.

Mel, chatty, putting some distance between them: "I remember a snow storm like this when I was a kid. Our front door was blocked by snow for three days. We used a second story window to get in and out of the house."

Cole: "We didn’t have snow on Cirron."

Mel: "So before this winter you’ve never seen any?"

Cole: "Well, I spent time on Enix." He hangs up his coat and scarf. "Half the planet’s covered in ice."

Mel: "Oh, I’m so glad that lamp is finally working! Thanks, Cole."

Cole, indicating the second Panther Lamp: "What about this one?"

Mel: "Oh, I’ve given up on that one. I’ve just held onto it because they were a matching pair."

Cole, muttering as he starts to repair it: "Of lamps that don’t work..."

[Note blooper: A moment ago, Cole had hung up his scarf; now it’s draped around his neck and shoulders where it will mysteriously disappear and reappear a few times].

Mel: "They were my grandmother’s ... I can’t help it if I’m a little sentimental ... Like hanging up the triangle..." She looks up to the molding above the cash register. "Where did it go?"

Cole, talking about the lamp: "There’s your problem right there..."

Mel, searching the counter: "Oop! There it is! ... I’m sure it’s not worth anything, but I just can’t bring myself to throw it away, you know? ... It could definitely use a good polish..."

[Mystery Note #1: How did the triangle get on the counter in the first place?].

Cole turns on the now repaired lamp and an astonished Mel puts the triangle down on the counter by the coffee machine, coming over to take a look at it.

Mel: "Let me guess ... You used a finger?"

Cole, packing up his leather tool case and returning it behind the bar: "No. The terminal wires for the grounding cable, one of the prongs was reversed ... So I ... ah ... snipped it."

Mel: "I knew that ... I was just testing you." She wipes some spilled pretzels from the counter into a snack bowl. "This place is such a mess!"

———————————————————————

From upstairs, the mysterious invader hears someone else arrive.

Mel: "Nestov! What are you doing out on a night like this?"

Nestov: "Freezing my cojones off! I was headed for this phat club over on Michigan, but got caught up in this storm."

Cole: "What were you doing at a club for overweight people?"

Nestov: "P-H-A-T, not F-A-T ... Never mind!" He flings his arm around Mel’s shoulders and pulls her close. "I’ve got an interesting business proposition that I want to discuss with you..."

Cole, quickly: "We’re not interested!"

Nestov: "Was I talking to you? Thank you!"

Nestov: "See, along the way I noticed that - that the public transport is out, right? And - and people are stranded at the bus stops, the ‘L’ ... Then a Human saying I heard hits me, that there’s always opportunity in adversity ... Other people’s adversity, as it turns out ... I bring you thirsty people, you get them out of the storm ... You make money and I - I - I ... Well, I’m just a good-looking guy and I just..."

Mel: "Wait a second! ... You said there’s people standing outside in the snow?"

Nestov: "Freezing! Freezing in the snow!"

Mel: "Of course they can come in!"

She hurries to open the door.

Cole, to Nestov: "What do you get out of this?"

Nestov: "The satisfaction of helping my fellow man."

Cole: "They’re not your fellow men! You’re a Desserian!"

Nestov: "Details! Details!"

The intruder begins to sneak downstairs as a crowd of people start filing in, handing Nestov money.

Cole: "What are you doing?"

Nestov: "As I said, a business proposition ... Something for Mel." He waves a bill. "And something for me." He happily waves another bill.

Mel: "Nestov! Give these people back their money!"

Nestov: "I can’t be responsible if they want to show me a little gratitude ... It’s something I learned from Earthlings! It’s an insult to refuse their offerings!" He laughs.

The invader joins the crowd.

Mel, to Cole: "Why is it he always turns up at the worse possible time and then ... manages to turn it into his own benefit!?"

Cole: "It’s part of his charm ... He’s a Desserian. He likes to blend into different situations."

Mel: "Well, he’s blending into my bar and bilking these people out of their money!"

Nestov: "Bilking? Bilking? I am not bilking!"

Cole, puzzled: "Bilking? What’s..."

Mel, explaining: "Bilk ... It means ‘con’." She whirls on Nestov, "And yes you are!"

Cole, nodding in agreement: "Oh, yeah..."

Nestov, mealy-mouthed: "You see, this is the difference between you and us, you know ... The difference is in our idea of perfectly reasonable business opportunities ... while you’ve got this paranoiac vision of bilking!"

Bar Patron (Harry Spinelli, the soon-to-be-dead bond trader): "Hey! Who do you have to pay off to get a drink around here? It’s a bar, isn’t it?" The crowd unanimously agrees.

Mel: "Ah ... Technically, the bar is closed." Moans all around. "But, under the circumstances, I’d like to now announce that the bar is ... open!" Unanimous cheers and clapping. To Nestov, "Give me a hand, would you?"

Cole, stopping him from leaving: "We’d love to, wouldn’t we?"

———————————————————————

Soon, Mel is behind the bar serving accountant Sydney Berkin a ginger ale, no ice; Cole is busy mixing and pouring drinks; and Nestov is playing waiter.

A local news crew is also there, a cameraman with the pushy, obnoxious, full-of-herself Gina Newcastle.

Mel, hardly paying attention: "Uh ... Okay." She moves off, busy behind the bar.

Gina, following, pushing people out of her way: "Uh ... Normally, Gina Newcastle, the Channel Six Windy City Breaking News Girl-On-the-Street, gets a lot of individualized attention."

Mel: "Wow, uh, I can imagine you’re ... like, ah, a celebrity."

Gina, with no modesty at all: "I know ... Listen, I got a great angle on a story. Strangers pulled together by chance, taking shelter in a bar called ... the Watchtower..." All while she’s talking, Nestov is looking her body up and down. "It’s so perfectly poetic."

Mel: "Cole, we need some more beer."

Cole: "Okay."

Gina: "Just like Bob Dylan."

Mel: "It’s called the Watchfire."

Gina: "What’s that?"

Mel: "Ah, the name of the bar."

Cole, putting some change on the bar for a customer: "Change."

Customer: "Thanks."

Nestov, swiping and pocketing the money: "Thanks."

Cole, to Nestov: "What are you doing!?"

Nestov, shrugging: "A tip. For me."

Cole, with a sigh: "You meet me over there. Get some more beer."

Mel, repeating to Gina: "The name of the bar is the Watchfire."

Gina, becoming heavy-handed to obtain Mel’s permission to conduct interviews: "Yeah, whatever. The angle still works. Don’t you worry about a thing ... We’ll do it on the fly ... Ultra real."

Mel: "I don’t think so."

Gina: "Consider it a free publicity."

Mel: "Now that you put it that way..."

Gina, snickering: "Yeah. You’ll be the talk of the town."

Although no one really wants to talk to her, she’s soon in everyone’s face.

———————————————————————

Cole has dragged Nestov down to the basement to bring up the cases of beer Mel had requested.

[Funny how Cole is carrying only one case while Nestov is burdened with three!].

Cole: "Would you stop complaining? Think of it as another tip."

Nestov: "I’m here, am I not?"

As they walk past the open stairwell door, Cole senses something is off and pauses to glance up the stairs, but then dismisses what he’s feeling, closes the door, and continues helping out in the bar

Harry Spinelli: "That guy’s amazing! Twenty a pop, he’s beating everybody!"

Cole: "Oh, really?"

Love all the Nestov/Cole interactions. Cole’s frustration comes across incredibly well, especially considering that he doesn’t even really raise his voice in any of them.

Cole: "Excuse me, Nestov. Can I talk to you alone, please?"

Nestov: "Hey, baby! Not right now! I’m on a roll! ... Hey, hey, hey now..."

Cole merely leans over Nestov’s shoulder with his hand resting on the game machine. And of course Nestov’s ‘roll’ then comes to an abrupt end.

Nestov, now seeing the on-screen message: "‘Fatal Error’!?"

Cole: "Yes, but not as ‘fatal’ as it could be."

Nestov: "I was in a zone!"

Cole: "Mmm."

Nestov: "I was a big winner here!"

Cole: "Now would be good."

Nestov, disgruntled: "All right. Fine." He goes to grab the $20.00 wager on top of the machine, but the man he was betting grabs it first.

Cole, to the man Nestov was betting: "Oh, he’ll be right back."

Nestov: "Yeah, you keep it warm."

Cole: "Or not. Let’s go." He leads Nestov off to the side, both brushing off Gina as they go. "What are you doing? You need to help us in the bar."

Nestov: "I was making money!"

Meanwhile, Harry Spinelli is hitting on Val, a pretty woman who has no interest in him at all. He’s being quite obnoxious about it, insisting on buying her a drink when she doesn’t want one and she has to get a little rough, crunching his knuckles a bit before he gets the message and leaves her alone.

In a bit of female bonding, Mel gives her a club soda on the house.

While this is going on, Cole and Nestov are arguing.

Nestov: "... No, no, no! Don’t even try! Okay? Real point of this now, I saw on that screen ‘Fatal Error’ just when you happened to show up. Now, you wouldn’t have happened to have zapped me now, would you?"

Cole: "Oh, well, now ... you wouldn’t have happened to have rigged it, would you?"

Nestov: "Who? Me?"

Cole: "Uh huh."

Nestov: "Rigged?"

Cole: "Rigged."

Nestov: "Me?"

Cole: "Mmmm."

Nestov: "Uh uh! It’s all skill! All skill! Hand/eye coordination. Extraordinary reflexes. I mean, come on, now! Look at me! Does this look like the face of a cheat? Huh?"

Cole: "You look like a con man! You’re a con man!"

Nestov: "Oh, okay! Okay! Maybe in the past I may have shaded the truth, cut a few corners ... But, hey! That was the old me! Cole, you are looking at the new me! I would rather die before I rig that game!" He starts to move away, as if that’s the end of it.

Cole: "That can be arranged."

Nestov, quickly coming back: "Okay! Okay! Maybe ... Maybe I don’t want to die, but you’re talking about some ... some sophisticated electrical wiring thing and you know that’s not my field of expertise!" He starts to move away again, but Cole grabs his arm.

Cole: "Hmm ... Wait a minute! You picked up on the game’s binomial sequence, didn’t you?"

Nestov: "Oh, I have no idea what you’re..."

Cole: "A simple mathematical analysis for a Desserian ... You knew what was coming before it happened!"

Nestov: "So, I had a tiny advantage! What’s the big whoop?"

Cole: "You’re a cheat! A con..."

Just then there’s another brief power outage and the lights go out for a few moments. When they come back on, Harry Spinelli is lying dead on the floor by the pool table, a gash on his forehead.

Cole, handing Nestov his serving tray: "Don’t move!"

Cole begins to examine the body.

Mel: "I gotta call an ambulance."

Cole: "I wouldn’t bother. He’s dead."

Nestov has his hands full trying to keep Gina back from the story. While the crowd mills about, the intruder sneaks back upstairs to continue his search.

Mel: "He’s dead? Are you sure?"

Cole: "He has no pulse."

Mel: "Well, what, did somebody just smack him on the head?"

Cole: "No, he probably hit his head when he fell ... That smell..."

Mel: "Smells like roasted chestnuts."

Cole soon finds the source: a very bloody and raw bruise/burn mark behind Spinelli’s left ear.

Mel: "Any idea what it is?"

Cole, said like he has a good idea: "I’ll have to run some tests..."

Mel: "I’ll see if I can get the police."

Cole: "I’ll be upstairs ... Okay, everybody back, please. Everybody back, back..."

Having a blood sample on his handkerchief, Cole heads upstairs to do some tests, admonishing Nestov to make certain that no one goes near the body. (Nestov does, however, accept a bribe of $20.00 to allow Gina her news report, although he declines her on-camera interview and she declines his advances).

———————————————————————

While Mel is on the phone trying to get through to the Police, Gina manages to corner her for an interview. A howl how slack-faced poor Mel becomes in front of the television camera as Gina does what she does best: hog the limelight.

Gina: "So, you risked your own safety, facing the danger of freezing to death or maybe getting struck by an out-of-control vehicle to open your bar for others who might have been in need."

Mel, to the microphone thrust at her: "Actually, I don’t think it was quite that dangerous."

Gina, encouraging: "Uh huh, uh huh."

Mel, putting down the phone: "Well, I was just on my way home. I live upstairs ..."

She suddenly realizes that she’s on camera and freezes.

Gina: "But you were closed for the night."

Mel: "Uhhh ... Yes, we were ... but under the circumstances with the weather ... I couldn’t turn the people away ... so I decided to reopen..."

Gina, to the camera: "They may have been perfect strangers, but she couldn’t turn them away. It’s the kind of thing that makes Chicago truly a great place to live ... And, of course, a great place to die."

———————————————————————

The intruder slips out of the War Room into Mel’s bedroom as he hears Cole coming upstairs. Again Cole gets the sense that something is off, and again dismisses it.

———————————————————————

Trying yet again to phone the police station, Mel can’t get through because all the circuits are busy, then who should come walking into the Watchfire but Vic.

Mel: "Vic? ... That’s weird."

Vic: "Okay, thanks." He cups her face and gives her a quick kiss on the mouth. "It’s nice to see you, too."

Mel: "No, I meant, I was just trying to get through to the police station on the phone and I couldn’t."

Vic: "Well, I picked up on your psychic vibes ... Actually, I saw your lights on and thought I’d come by to see if everything’s all right." He looks around a moment at the crowd. "Aren’t you supposed to be closed?"

Mel: "Yes, but..."

Vic: "Wait a second ... Why are you trying to call the station?"

Mel: "We got ourselves a little a situation..."

Vic: "What kind of ‘situation’, Mel?"

Mel: "A dead guy kind of situation."

Vic: "Come again?"

Mel: "A customer. I think he had a heart attack or something."

Vic: "Well, where is he?"

Mel: "He’s over here..."

She leads him back to the pool table where the body is covered with a jacket.

Vic quickly ascertains that Spinelli is indeed dead, then flashes his badge and officially declares the area a crime scene until the coroner can arrive to determine the cause of death. Meanwhile, nobody can leave because he’s going to take statements from everybody.

———————————————————————

While Cole is working on chemically analyzing the blood sample from his handkerchief, Vic is questioning Val about Spinelli’s behavior with her, about whether he threatened her or she him. She assures him that he wasn’t her type, that he hit on her and she blew him off, that it happens all the time, that he was just a jerk, and that she’s "not about to kill every socially-challenged man in Chicago."

Vic has to agree with her reasoning.

Mel: "Look, Vic, while you’re playing Sherlock Holmes, what am I supposed to do with the body?"

Vic: "I’m not playing here. This is what I do."

Mel: "I know."

[Wonder what the health department would say?].

Mel: "My freezer!? No way!"

Vic: "Got to keep the body cool until I can get a meat wagon in here ... Otherwise it’s going to get a little ... pungent." He turns to another customer to obtain another statement.

Mel, with a sigh, to herself: "Oh, why did I ever open the door?" She marches over to Nestov.

Nestov: "Oh, no, no, no, no! I’m not going anywhere near that body!"

Mel: "Oh yes you are!"

Nestov: "Why me?"

Mel: "Because you dragged them in here, so you can drag them out!"

———————————————————————

Upstairs, data on the blood sample is starting to appear on Cole’s computer screen: ‘Blood Analysis Positive for Alien Toxin Zoocalamine’ (which is a zinc carbonate or hydrous zinc silicate). Unbeknownst, however, he has alien company up there as well and, while he’s engrossed in his data, the intruder sneaks up to the open door of the War Room and zaps him unconscious.

Cole comes to a few minutes later, hearing the apartment door open and close. Staggering into the recess near the War Room door, he springs out and grabs Mel as she enters, badly startling her.

Mel: "What are you doing!?" What happened!?"

Cole, pained and gasping: "The killer..."

Mel: "The killer?"

Cole, still reeling: "He was here ... I was analyzing ... the victim’s blood sample on the computer ... The killer must have seen it ... As soon as the blood sample came up toxic, he hit me with an electricity drain."

Mel: "What!?"

Cole: "Well ... It’s like a taser gun but reversed ... It’s ... It’s not powerful enough to stop my life functions, but it certainly packs a punch."

Mel: "I don’t like this at all, Cole! This is way too close to home! ... Wait a second ... How could a fugitive get into the bar ... into my apartment ... without you sensing its presence? I thought you could sense their presence!"

Cole, obviously worried: "I can ... Or I could ... Time and acclimation to Earth’s atmosphere must have caused them to ... blend in, give off much less of a trace ... I sensed something earlier on this evening but ... I couldn’t be certain ... It was so faint."

[Note: Cole was also having this problem with Sheriff Dawson/Dreakos in "The Miracle"].

Mel: "Do you know which one it is?"

Cole: "It must be one of those that came in with Nestov ... I’m going to have to adjust to a much lower level of sensitivity to feel their presence..."

Mel: "Yes, well ... Assuming we’re safe enough to be talking about this now, what does he or she want?"

Cole: "I’m not sure ... But I’m going to have to identify them..."

Mel: "How?"

Mel: "What?"

Cole: "I’ll need some extra parts for the computers ... And, oh ... tell Nestov that I want to see him."

Mel, just remembering what she’d come upstairs to tell him: "Oh! Vic’s downstairs ... He’s treating Mr. Spinelli’s death like a homicide and he’s interrogating the crowd."

Cole: "I doubt he’ll find a killer from another planet." He takes a hair dryer, then heads for the hall closet for the vacuum cleaner. "Or know that the murder weapon’s a crazz."

Mel: "A crazz!?" To herself, "Why not?" To Cole, "What’s a ‘crazz’?"

Cole: "It’s a pistol-shaped laser device. Deadly to Humans."

Mel: "And produces the smell of roasted chestnuts and that implies the symptoms of a coronary."

Cole: "Yes, but faster. Much faster."

Mel: "I’ll send Nestov right up."

———————————————————————

Downstairs, Nestov is hitting on Val – and she’s even less interested in him than she was in Spinelli.

Nestov: "Playing hard to get, huh? Oh, I love that in a woman ... Look at this face. Honestly, doesn’t it just drive you wild with desire? Your heart’s going pitter-patter, pitter-patter, huh?"

Mel, coming up to him: "Could I see you?"

Nestov: "Not now." Val promptly vacates her barstool and walks away, Nestov calling after her, "Oh! Now, don’t go! Don’t..." He turns to Mel, "Oh, now look what you’ve done!"

Mel: "Cole needs to see you upstairs."

Nestov: "He does? Why? There’s not another dead body, is there?"

Mel: "Go!"

Val then blows off Gina as Nestov heads upstairs.

———————————————————————

Nestov, knocking on the half-open War Room door and walking in: "Mel said you wanted my expertise..." He looks around. "Whoooa! What happened here?"

Cole, busy stripping and splicing wiring: "Nothing that can’t be fixed."

Nestov: "Let’s just understand this ... We Desserians are useless when it comes to fixing things. We are handy men, not handymen, so to speak."

Cole: "Good. So you can collect DNA samples from all the guests downstairs."

Nestov: "What kind of DNA samples?"

Cole: "Anything you can get ... Saliva, tissue, hair samples..."

Nestov: "Saliva? See, now, that’s disgusting ... Ugh! There are so many germs in saliva..." Cole hands him a bunch of plastic bags. "Okay! I’m on it!"

Cole, calling out as he leaves: "And don’t forget who they’re from!"

———————————————————————

Nestov is swiping and bagging straws, swizzle sticks and sucked-on orange and lemon slices as Vic interviews Sydney Berkin, who badly wants to leave, claiming he’s a claustrophobic and it’s too close in there. Nestov plucks a lock of his hair after Vic moves on to interview another, saying he was doing the guy a favor by brushing off a big black hairy spider. He also gets caught trying to steal Gina’s hairbrush and smoothly talks his way into getting her to give it to him (autographed) because he’s a fan who only wants a lock of her hair.

Meanwhile, the intruder’s gloved hand finds, then swipes, the metal triangle from off the bar’s counter.

———————————————————————

Upstairs, Cole is busy connecting up wiring to his computer when Nestov comes in.

Nestov: "All right! Something just doesn’t make any sense..."

Cole: "Did you get the samples?"

Nestov: "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He pulls them from out of his pants pockets and puts them on the worktable. "Here they are. DNA samples from the whole crowd. I numbered them perfectly, except from that guy Vic."

Cole, rolling up his sleeves and sitting down: "Good ... What were you saying?"

Nestov: "Well, if the fugitive wanted something, why murder a perfect stranger?"

Cole: "Well, assuming he wanted to get into this room, I’d say that murder was the perfect distraction ... Wait a minute..." He holds up a few of the sample bags. "You numbered these, but who are they from?"

Nestov: "You’re never happy with my work, are you? Next time you want something done, do it yourself!"

Cole: "Nestov! I can’t tell who..."

Nestov: "Look! You figure out which one it is and I’ll tell you who it belongs to!"

Cole: "Nestov..."

Nestov: "I got a mind like a steel trap, baby! Okay? I know what I’m doing! I got it!" He leaves and closes the War Room door.

Cole, mumbling to himself in frustration: "Oh, what I have to work with..."

———————————————————————

Now Cole and Vic have their first real face-off of the series. Vic heads upstairs as he investigates the place. Cole has obviously heard the front door open and the two square off in the doorway of the War Room, them saying each other’s names ("Cole!" "Vic!") almost simultaneously.

Cole, blocking Vic’s entry with his arm on the doorjamb: "Oh..." False smile. "What are you doing up here?"

Vic, stern: "Part of the investigation."

Cole: "Uh..."

Vic, pushing Cole aside and entering the War Room: "I gotta check the whole place out." He looks around a moment, hands on his hips. "What is all this stuff? Looks like a kitchen blew up in here."

[Note: Vic doesn’t seem to realize that there isn’t a bed in Cole’s room whereas Wahote (in "Native Son") noticed that little detail immediately].

Cole, lightly: "Oh, it’s just a computer with a few modifications."

Vic: "That’s an understatement ... I don’t think I’ve ever seen a PC tied into a ... What exactly is this?"

Cole: "I believe it’s called a ‘no-fat grill’."

Vic: "A no-fat grill?"

Cole: "Uh huh."

Vic: "Okay ... What do you do with a no-fat grill and a computer?"

Cole: "Uh ... It’s kind of complicated ... Excuse me." He walks out of the room, heading for the kitchen.

Vic, following: "Hey, listen, Cole. You know, I have never understood the arrangement between you and Mel, but let me tell you something right now ... You put her in any kind of danger whatsoever, I will shoot you dead!"

[Note what this nice homicide Detective is swearing he’ll do to his romantic competition. Mel and Vic are still seeing each other, if Vic calling her ‘sweetheart’ and his kisses on her lips in greeting and departure are any indication. Vic knows, despite all Mel’s assertions and assurances to the contrary, that Cole is a serious rival. And while Cole hasn’t been Human all that long, he certainly knows a rival when he sees one!].

Cole, very seriously and honestly, knowing that Vic means it: "I wouldn’t do that."

Vic, hands on hips in doorway of kitchen: "Good! So come clean. What’s going on?"

Cole, starting to take apart a food vacuum-sealer while Vic moves to the kitchen/living room pass-through: "You know, you’re right. We’ve known each other for a while now and had some experiences together and ... I don’t feel good with Mel telling you these lies and making up all these stories ... We’ve discussed telling you the truth before but ... Perhaps now is the right time."

Vic, sarcastically: "Well! Finally I get to be part of the ‘Secret Club’."

Cole just looks at him with bemusement.

Vic: "Oh, well, look, I’m sorry ... Just tell me ... You can trust me."

Cole, with a smile: "I’m a Tracker."

Vic, a bit puzzled: "All right ... You’re a Tracker. What do you Track?"

Cole: "Escaped criminals."

Vic: "Escaped from where?"

Cole: "A prison called Sar-Top."

Vic, not sure what to believe: "Hmm ... I’ve never heard of Sar-Top."

Cole: "Well, you wouldn’t have. It’s on a moon over a planet called Cirron."

Vic, trying to digest this: "Cirron ... Cirron..." He smacks his lips. "Let me guess ... Cirron is about a hundred million light years away?"

Cole: "No, actually, it’s a hundred light years away."

Vic: "Oh. Well. Pardon me. You get there in a UFO ... Never..." He explodes with anger. "Never mind! You know, I actually thought you were going to be serious for a moment, all right? But obviously I was wrong!"

Mel, just coming in: "Vic! ... What are you doing up here?"

Vic: "Well, I was just talking to Cole here and he was explaining to me exactly what he does."

Mel, cautious, entering the kitchen and eyeing Cole as he goes into the living room through the other door to disassemble something else for a part: "What he does? ... Oh, you mean ... How he freelances ... for technical support on the internet..."

Cole, reaching through the pass-through for one of the vacuum-sealer parts: "No. I told him the truth."

Mel: "Oh! So you ... actually ... told him that ... you’re working undercover for the INS?"

Cole: "No, I told him the truth truth."

Mel: "You told him the truth truth?"

Vic, arms crossed, taking in all their by-play: "Oh, yeah. He told me the ‘truth truth’." He nods. "Let me tell you something ... I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night! ... Now, what is going on here!?"

Mel: "Vic, it’s complicated."

Vic, still angry: "Look! The two of you can continue to play your little game, all right? But do not interfere with my investigation!"

Cole: "There’s something you should know about the murder."

Vic: "How do you know it’s a murder!?"

Cole: "Spinelli was killed by one of my fugitives."

Vic, loudly sighs/groans: "Here we go again!"

With Mel, he follows Cole back down the hall to the War Room.

Mel: "Vic, you might just want to observe."

Vic, snide, to Cole: "I’m all ears, Rocket Man."

Cole, attaching the parts he scavenged into his computer array: "I collected DNA samples from everyone. Once I reboot the computer, I can analyze the data. Then I’ll know."

Vic: "You’ll know what?"

Cole: "Who the killer is."

Vic: "And you do this how?"

Cole, explaining as he reboots: "One of the people downstairs has been inhabited by ... an alien ... So his DNA structure will be altered."

Vic, sarcastic: "Of course!"

Mel: "It’s amazing, isn’t it?"

Vic, incredulous: "Don’t tell me you believe all this stuff!?!"

Cole is running his program, eliminating suspects as one after another turns up "100% Human." But then, just as Numbers 14 and 15 start to come up, there’s another power outage.

———————————————————————

Nestov, bursting into the War Room with a flashlight: "Cole! Cole! Cole!" He shines his light in Vic’s face. "Whoa! What’s he doing here?"

Vic, shining his light in Nestov’s face: "Who the hell are you?"

Nestov: "Who are you?"

Cole: "It doesn’t matter! Shine your light over here, Nestov."

Mel: "Vic, I know it sounds weird but ... Okay. Maybe he’s from another planet, maybe he’s not. But you give him a microwave and a toaster and he turns it into –"

Cut to Cole and Nestov.

Nestov: "If the killer was Human, he would’ve stolen a toaster or something, which he did not ... Which means ... he’s one of us!"

Cut back to Vic and Mel.

Mel: "I just think we should be open minded."

Vic, grudgingly, for her sake: "I’ll try."

Cut back to Cole and Nestov.

Cole, holding up bags 14 and 15: "All right ... Here they are ... Who did you take these samples from?"

Nestov: "All right ... Okay ... This one over here’s hair and this one’s a straw."

Cole, patiently: "Yes. I can see that ... But who are they from?"

Nestov: "Oh. Okay ... Give me a second, okay? ... Uh, you know, I can’t work under this kind of pressure..."

Cole: "Nestov..."

Nestov, innocently: "What?"

Mel, to everyone: "You know, I’m going to go turn on the emergency generator..."

Cole: "Well, we all are." He hustles everyone out of the War Room.

———————————————————————

In the darkened bar, Vic is reassuring everyone.

Vic: "All right, everybody! Just calm down. The lights should be back on in a moment, all right?"

And with those words, they are. Vic turns his attentions to Nestov.

Vic: "Okay. What’s your name?"

Nestov: "Jesus."

[And Vic falls for it! Upstairs, he twice heard Cole call him ‘Nestov’. Maybe he was under a lot of stress?].

Vic: "Last name?"

Cole, coming up to Nestov: "Okay. Whose are they?"

Nestov: "I have no idea who the hair sample’s from." He points out Val. "But the straw’s from the hot chick at the end of the bar."

[Note how Nestov has conveniently forgotten who the hair sample is from].

Cole: "There’s a 50% chance she’s our killer."

They promptly split, Cole moving to the table aisle, Nestov to the bar aisle with Vic following him.

Vic: "Hey! Hey! I want you to tell me what’s going on here!"

Nestov, playing dumb: "What?"

Vic: "I want to know what’s going on here!"

Val, the ‘hot chick’, the pretty woman both Spinelli and Nestov hit on earlier, knocks over her purse, the contents spilling on the floor. She bends down to pick everything up.

Nestov: "There’s nothing going on here."

Vic, persistent: "What’s going on with you and Cole?"

Nestov, still playing dumb: "Huh?" He then notices that Val is holding what appears to be a gun and freaks. "She’s got a gun! She’s got a gun, man!"

It’s a tense few moments as Vic draws his gun and demands that she drop it while Nestov freaks some more and Cole slowly glides towards her from the side. It turns out to be only a gun-shaped cigarette lighter.

Cole, to Vic: "She’s completely Human."

Vic: "What the hell are you talking about?"

Cole: "It’s not her."

Vic, exasperated: "How do you know that?"

Cole: "Because she gave off no trace aura."

Vic, not really knowing what Cole’s talking about: "Well, of course she didn’t!"

Cole: "I sense the presence of their auras and it’s not her. Trust me. The killer is someone else." He heads back for the stairwell as a blustering Vic warns Val not to go anywhere.

Vic, to Cole: "And where are you going!?"

Cole: "I’m going to reboot the computer ... See if I can run some additional scans."

Still blustering, Vic warns everybody not to go anywhere.

———————————————————————

Cole goes back upstairs and there suddenly confronts the Vardian intruder, one Sydney Berkin, supposed accountant, busy scanning along the walls of the living room and hall with his gadget. He’s so engrossed that it takes him a few moments to realize that Cole is watching him like a cat eyeing a mouse within pouncing range.

[Mystery Note #2: Berkin already had the triangle Key ... So what else could he have been looking for?].

Just then, an angry Vic barges in: "All right, Cole! Enough of this crap!"

Cole motions to Vic with his eyes about the bad dude behind him. As Vic turns to look, the Vardian draws a weapon to shoot them. Cole does his fast stuff, shoving Vic into the bathroom and out of harms way, then does a dodging thing with the shots being fired at him as he works his way down the hall. He fights the weapon away from the Vardian and then takes out his Collector, captures his lifeforce, and pulls the triangle out of the Vardian’s hand.

Mel, rushing up from downstairs: "Cole!"

Cole, nonchalant: "Found the killer." He examines the triangle.

Mel: "It’s my grandmother’s."

Cole: "It’s got Vardian writing on it."

Mel: "What!? ... Where would my grandmother find a Vardian artifact?"

Cole: "Maybe it found her..."

Then a loud thump and a groan are heard.

Mel: "What was that?"

Cole: "Vic."

Cole goes to drag the body out of sight deeper into the living room while Mel rushes over to help Vic.

Mel: "Vic! Are you all right?"

Vic: "Oooh ... I’ve been better ... Oh, man!"

———————————————————————

In the tag, the coroner is wheeling Spinelli’s body out on a gurney and Vic is just leaving. Cole is sitting at the bar working off of a pad of paper, trying to translate the symbols on the triangle.

Vic: "Mel, it was so strange. I mean, one minute the guy was going to take a shot at me and then ... Zip! I ... can’t remember anything. I must have hit my head or something."

Mel: "Well, that’s exactly what happened to Cole! ... Right?"

Cole: "Uh ... Right! Yeah! ... He pulled a stun gun on me and ... Whoosh! Pooha! Pow!"

Vic: "Yeah, well, I’ll put an APB out on Sydney Berkin and, if that’s his real name, we’ll find him."

Mel: "Thanks for everything, Vic."

Vic: "No problem, sweetheart." He kisses her. "I’ll see you ... Oh, uh, Cole ... Let me know when the..." He points two fingers above his head and wiggles them. "... rest of your friends arrive."

[Vic’s been handed the "truth truth" on a silver platter and he still doesn’t believe who and what Cole really is. The poor nit! He’s now surer than ever that Cole is a mental case!].

Cole, wiggling a finger above his own head: "Okay." Then when Vic is out of earshot and going out the door, "You know, Mel. It’s interesting how telling the truth here is ... often the least effective way of being believed."

Nestov, coming in from the kitchen and all bundled up: "Oooo! Nasty business. Those guys from the coroner’s office took forever to get that Spinelli stiff out of the freezer!"

Cole: "What did you do with the body?"

Nestov: "What you told me to do. Once Spinelli checked out of the Frigidaire Motel, Berkin checked in."

Mel: "You know ... it’s really not good for my business to have dead bodies in my freezer."

Cole: "We’ll dispose of the body, Mel, once things settle down."

Nestov: "Well, good-bye. I hope you mean you and her because I’m outta here! I’m going to hook up with that Val chick tonight because she was all over me, baby!" He starts dancing towards the door.

Cole, exchanging an amused look with Mel: "See you in a couple of hours, Nestov."

Nestov pantomimes a frustrated ‘dammit!’ and leaves.

Mel: "So! How’s the translation coming?"

Cole: "Well, my Ancient Vardian’s pretty rusty ... Seems to say something about ... ‘faith in the Key’..."

Mel, making the connection: "My grandmother’s diary!"

She retrieves it from the wooden carton underneath the bar.

Mel: "Cole, listen to this: Circles of stones, Keepers of light; miles below where day becomes night; Darkness descends from skies up above; Faith in the Key protects those we love."

Cole takes the diary from her and starts to look through it.

Mel: "How is it possible that my grandmother could’ve translated what’s on that triangle?"

Cole: "Well, maybe she had some help."

Mel: "What do you mean ... like ... that she was hanging out with Vardians?"

Cole, thinking: "Or Cirronians..."

Mel, with a nervous laugh: "This is getting way too crazy..."

Cole: "Why? There are many mysteries on your planet that it may help explain."

Mel: "Like?"

Mel, following, notices something on the floor and bends down to pick it up.

Mel, calling out: "Oh, Cole ... You dropped your pen ... or ... something."

The phone then rings and it’s Jess (although she isn’t seen or heard), who is still in London.

As Mel chats with her distant friend, she relegates the Vardian’s scanning gadget to a glass in the bar area with other pens, markers and pencils (camera close-up of said gadget in the glass).

But it really isn’t a pen.

And it’s going to be important in the near future...

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