Co-Stars: Nathan Hoppe (Stan Robert); Murray McRae (Dogcatcher); Telmo Miranda (William Carter); Sanjay Talwar (Cab Driver); Kathryn Zenna (Kennel Owner)

Originally Aired: 19-Nov-2001; Written by: Tom Chehak; Directed by: William Fruet

Synopsis: This episode was slower than most, but it gave some more clues about Zin’s aims; Mel is less quirky than usual and there’s good subtle humor throughout with expressions that we take for granted but which still confuse Cole [i.e., Mel telling him about the "song and dance" she had to do for Vic to explain how she found William Carter]. And catch Cole getting caught in the revolving door! He was completely taken by surprise with it and it was truly funny!

This is also the first of the four major Vic episodes, setting up the Cole/Mel/Vic triangle that was never really adequately followed through with in the series.

———————————————————————

Not all of the aliens were able to obtain Human bodies. One of them, Zin’s bodyguard, Mederan, was forced to take the body of a two-year old German Shepherd seeing-eye guide dog named Benny.

In the teaser, aware that Zin needs him, Mederan maneuvers Benny’s new master, Stan Robert, into the middle of an intersection against the light and into the path of an oncoming car, abandoning him there to be run over.

———————————————————————

The next scene, Mel and Vic are just leaving the Pier 10 Storehouse Restaurant on the docks of Lake Michigan.

Vic, offering: "Mint?"

Mel: "No, thanks."

Vic, as he flings it into the Lake: "You didn’t eat anything."

Mel: "You know ... I don’t think I’ve been out to dinner this early since ... the last time I went out with you."

Vic, ruefully chuckling: "Sorry about this surveillance thing. It just ... came out of nowhere."

Mel, lightly, as she opens her umbrella and holds it up over their heads: "It’s okay."

Vic, becoming angry with himself: "No, it’s not. Ya know – it’s not!" He pulls out his cell phone and pager. "I’m tired of my cop life cutting into my social life!"

Mel, chiding: "Funny ... I didn’t know you had a social life."

Mel, gently: "Come on, Vic. You love what you do and you’re great at it. You just wouldn’t be you if you didn’t have a crime scene to investigate."

Vic: "Why do you put up with me, huh?"

Mel, without rancor: "I don’t. That’s why we haven’t been out in six months."

Vic, stepping close to her in a near-embrace: "And I want to change that! All right? I want to change that starting by ... not being a cop on call twenty-four hours a day!" Almost pleading, "I want you back in my life."

Mel, smiling affectionately and patting his chest: "I can feel your heart ... pounding."

Vic, groaning: "It’s not my heart! It’s not my heart!"

It’s his pager. There’s been a hit and run and he’s wanted at the scene. He apologizes to Mel and makes as if to throw his phone into the Lake. She keeps assuring him that it’s okay.

———————————————————————

It’s now night and Mel is sitting in Vic’s car while he’s doing his crime scene investigation stuff, talking on her own cell phone, presumably speaking with Jess.

Mel: "You let him drive!? ... I asked you to come and get me! ... Why isn’t Megan there yet? ... All right! All right! It’s done." She sighs. "You drew him a map ... Let’s hope that helps with his driving ... Nothing. Hold on! I think Vic might be ready to ... Never mind ... See you when I see you."

Vic is still crime scene busy when his cell phone rings. He answers it and it’s Mel.

Mel: "Hey, Vic ... I didn’t want you to worry what happened to me."

Vic, recognizing Mel’s voice, spins around, seeing her by her Mercedes with Cole leaning into the driver’s side and readjusting the front seat for her. Snarling, beginning to walk over towards them: "What’s he doing here!?"

Mel, firmly: "He’s giving me a ride home!"

Vic: "Look, Mel. I’ll just be a few minutes, all right?"

Mel, regretfully: "Vic ... We’ve been here before. You know this is going to take more than a few minutes!"

Vic, knowing she’s right: "I’m sorry..." He thickly swallows. "I’m sorry."

Mel then realizes that Cole has wandered off. He has sensed that one of his prisoners had been here and he’s checking the ground nearby for confirmation.

———————————————————————

Back in his room, Cole spends the night hacking into the police computer system, obtaining an image from the traffic camera on that corner of the car that ran down Stan Robert. The image is very blurred and only shows a 3/4 from-the-side-and-towards-the-rear view but, from a rearview mirror of a parked vehicle, he is able to obtain a front view image. Repeated enlargenings and enhancings, and then a flop, finally supply him with a clear image of the hit-and-run car: a red Chevy, license plate B7N-438.

[Note that Cole’s technological setup is starting to come together. A brief view in the ceiling at the beginning of this scene shows the extensive wiring and cables he’s installed into the building and he’s now working off of three monitors simultaneously. His on-screen images and data make it appear as though he’s directly accessing circuits and a virtual world on a micro level. The keypad he works from is nothing like the computer keyboards Humans use (in "Breach," Mel will refer to it as "the thingamajig") and gives the impression that, as an energy-based being, he himself is directly plugged into the electronics].

———————————————————————

Jess: "Well, you’re obviously working them!"

Mel: "I’m not working anything!"

Jess: "Oh, come on, Mel! Look at you! You’ve got Cole living here ... Vic wining and dining you ... I mean, that’s a great set-up!"

Mel: "That is not a set-up! Cole is just a friend."

Jess: "Who you happen to live with."

Mel: "Who has a room here. He’s just a friend who –"

Jess: "– Who you would like to live with."

Vic, softly: "Hey." He sees that Mel and Jess were about to lock horns over something and wants to forewarn them both of his presence.

Mel, pleased surprise, breaking away from Jess and coming over to him: "Hi! Hey, you here for lunch?"

Vic, awkward: "Actually, I’m here to apologize." He holds out a jeweler’s ring box to her.

Mel, stunned: "What is that?" She becomes very still, eyeing his gift but not making any move to accept it.

Jess, drying glassware off to the side and looking just as stunned, murmurs: "Oh my God!"

Vic: "Now, I know ... there’s no reason for you to believe me, Mel, but ... I’m serious." He takes her hand and places his offering in it, folding her fingers around it and giving them an encouraging squeeze. "I want you to take this ... as a token ... of my sincerest apologies. Not just for last night, but ... for all the other nights I screwed up."

Mel, gently admonishing: "Vic ... You’ve never screwed up. You really don’t have to do this."

Jess, blurting out impatiently: "Just open it!"

All three of them exchange glances. Vic is becoming increasingly anxious, while Jess and (especially!) Mel just seem very nervous. Finally, with a sharp intake of breath and a quick flick of her fingers, Mel breaks the tension by snapping open the lid of the box.

Mel, rapidly blinking several times, her expression surprised and her tone relieved: "It’s a bullet!"

Jess just stares, incredulous.

Vic, nervously grinning, feeling the need to have both of them approve of his gift and realize just how very special it is: "But ... not just any bullet, Mel. It’s a .38 caliber slug dug from the wall of the garage ... of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre."

Mel, chuckling good-naturedly: "Get outta here."

Jess, tone of irritated disbelief: "Yeah. Get outta here!"

Vic: "Uh, I bought it online." More to Jess than to Mel, "And I, uh, I got a, ah, certificate of authenticity."

Mel, gently amused: "Vic, I don’t know what to say..."

Vic: "Say you’ll have dinner with me. Tomorrow night. Nine o’clock. Les Jardine." He notices that Cole has appeared from out of nowhere a few yards behind Mel and seems to be waiting for her to finish her business with him. "Ah ... No phones ... No pagers. I promise."

Mel: "I’m impressed." She turns her head to see what Vic keeps looking at behind her back.

At that, Cole turns to see what’s behind his own back!

Vic, awkward: "All right. Well ... I gotta go. Um ... So, tomorrow night. Nine o’clock. Les Jardine."

Mel, confirming: "Nine o’clock."

Vic, backing away, nearly colliding with the counter: "Yeah." He leaves.

[Vic seems so nice, so sweet ... but he really misses the mark with Mel].

Cole, coming over to Mel: "I need the car, Mel."

Mel: "Why?"

Cole: "Yesterday at the accident there was a car ... on the corner where the man was hit." He shows her his printout of the car that ran over and killed Stan Robert and its close-up inset of the car’s license plate.

Mel: "I’m afraid to even ask how you got this one!"

Cole, cheerfully: "From the police computer system."

Mel: "You broke into the..." She gives a quick look around the lunch hour-filled Watchfire and promptly lowers her voice "... police computer system!?"

Cole: "Yes, Mel."

Mel, scolding: "You say ‘yes, Mel’ like you can just do these things!"

Cole: "I can just do these things."

Mel, exasperated: "I know you can do these things, but you’re not allowed to do these things! You do know that you’re not allowed to do these things?"

[As usual, Cole doesn’t answer when Mel tries to call him on his illegal search activities, just placidly stands there and smiles until she rants herself out. One can tell it’s in one ear and out the other. He can do it and has to do it even though Mel can’t quite see it yet. After all, he’s Tracking dangerous interstellar criminals the police and the Human authorities aren’t even aware of. Sooner or later, she’s going have to realize that he understands exactly what’s going on and what he has to do about it, even though he still can’t express it well enough in her language yet to explain it to her].

Cole: "Can I ... borrow the car, please, Mel?"

Mel shakes her head and gives a snorting, derisive chuckle on the exhale, then goes to get her car keys for him.

Mel: "Just remember to forget everything Nestov taught you about driving, okay?"

Cole, dutifully: "Yes, Mel."

Mel: "And remember everything I taught you about driving, okay?"

Cole, again dutifully: "Yes, Mel."

But now there’s a slightly different edge to his tone of voice, almost making him sound as if he’s the most put-upon man in the universe.

Mel, glaring at him suspiciously for using such a tone with her before reluctantly handing over the keys: "Where are you going?"

Cole, as he leaves: "The car’s registered to William Carter. I found out where he works."

Jess bounces by with an amused grin and Mel closes her eyes with a groan. How much of that exchange had Jess overheard? And if Cole had Tracked down who the car is registered to and where the guy works, then that must mean he’s also hacking into still other computer databases. Like the DMV ... Social Security ... the IRS...

———————————————————————

Cole drives Mel’s Mercedes to the loading dock where William Carter works. He’s still awkward with his steering and nearly runs a guy over, colliding with a stack of cardboard boxes.

Carter guiltily flees as soon as he realizes that this guy is after him, racing up the back steps of the building. Cole catches him on the top landing in a single leap from the ground. Collector at the ready in one hand, sensing with the other, he realizes that William Carter is Human.

———————————————————————

Back in his War Room, Cole is setting up again to re-examine his data when Mel comes in.

Mel: "Vic brought me in for questioning. You should’ve seen the song and dance I had to do when he wanted to know how I found this guy."

Cole: "You sang and danced for Vic?"

Mel, laughing: "No! It’s just an expression."

Cole has Mel turn a knob while he checks out the original police traffic camera tape, finally determining that it’s the black German Shepherd dog sitting between the parked cars that’s probably the host body.

———————————————————————

Mel and Cole visit a dog kennel and training center where German Shepherds are bred and trained for various service functions. While they wait to speak with the owner, they’re watching her work with a well-trained attack dog responding to commands spoken in German.

Mel: "I guess alien dogs aren’t the only ones we have to worry about."

Cole: "I haven’t heard words like that before. Is that the way these creatures speak?"

Mel: "The dogs?"

Cole: "Yes."

Mel: "Ahh ... Not exactly. I mean ... they understand it ... to a degree. But ... it’s German. It’s another language ... I’ll explain it later."

While Mel talks with the kennel owner, Cole curiously kneels and examines a penned dog, studying it.

The kennel owner is upset to realize that Stan Robert is dead, not understanding why such a well-trained dog would leave him. At Cole’s request, she goes to check her records on how Robert received the dog, whether he had picked the animal up or whether it was shipped to him.

Mel, to Cole: "Do you have dogs where you come from?"

Cole: "Yes. Something very similar. They don’t have fur, and ... they don’t have legs or teeth, but they do sound very much the same."

Mel: "That would be a barking snake here."

The owner comes back to tell them that the dog had shipped on the 805 commuter train to Chicago on June 12th. She has to repeat this twice because Cole wasn’t paying attention the first time. He was busy emitting a high-pitched whistle that silenced the barking dogs.

———————————————————————

Meanwhile, a luckless Metro Animal Control dogcatcher has cornered a German Shepherd in an old, abandoned warehouse building. As soon as he manages to snare the beast with his pole noose, something happens. It stands up on its hind legs and starts to grow, shifting its form into a werewolf-like Humanoid, and kills the dogcatcher.

———————————————————————

At City Hall, Zin is trying to force the City Council into accepting his urban renewal re-zoning plan.

Councilwoman Joan Elders: "Mr. Andrews, you are not the only one who wants to address this Committee. I respectfully ask that you step down."

Zin: "Well, Miss Elders, I do not believe I’ve been given adequate time to present my master plan."

Councilwoman Joan Elders: "We feel we have, sir ... Thank you, Mr. Andrews."

Zin: "My proposal will provide better housing, more jobs, safer streets..."

Councilwoman Joan Elders: "Please step down, sir!"

Zin: "... in replacement of a collection of rundown, unsanitary fire traps!"

Councilwoman Joan Elders: "Mr. Andrews! If this Committee decides to accept your hastily thrown together development plan we will do so by..."

Zin: "Oh, I can assure you, Madame, there is absolutely nothing hasty about my proposal..."

Councilwoman Joan Elders: "You are excused, sir!!"

Zin: "... And over the next few days it is my sincere hope and desire that this Committee will see that!"

Councilwoman Joan Elders, standing up in anger: "Mr. Andrews! You will either step down or I will see to it that you are physically removed from these Chambers!!!"

Zin, tightly, after a very long pause: "Thank you."

Councilwoman Joan Elders: "Thank you, Mr. Andrews." He angrily stalks away. "May we have the next speaker, please?"

———————————————————————

Mel and Cole are investigating the warehouse where the dogcatcher was killed.

Mel: "People get attacked by dogs all the time, Cole."

Cole: "Your police scanner came in very useful, Mel."

Mel: "Are you getting anything?"

Cole: "Does Vic like you using it?"

Mel: "No, he doesn’t."

Cole: "Oh." He stands up from sensing the ground by the chalk outline. "There was a lifeforce here."

Mel: "Okay ... But a dog?"

Cole: "Maybe there were not enough Human hosts on that train for all 218 fugitives."

Mel: "So it went into the dog because it had no choice."

Cole: "Mederan."

Mel: "Who?"

Cole: "Mederan was Zin’s bodyguard. A Vardian. He never left Zin’s side. He was probably the last one to go through the wormhole. It has to be him."

Mel: "And he winds up a trained dog? Now, that’s ironic!"

Cole: "And every instinct he has drives him back to Zin’s side."

Mel: "Okay. But if he’s been here since the beginning, why hasn’t he attacked before?"

Cole: "Zin probably didn’t need him until now."

Mel: "Right! So he kills the blind man to escape ... and then the dogcatcher so that he wouldn’t be locked up."

Cole: "And now he’s free to carry out his mission."

Mel: "A Vardian’s best friend." Cole looks at her in puzzlement. "Oh, just another expression. We say ‘man’s best friend’ because a dog will do anything to please his master."

Mel, as they duck under the crime scene tape and leave the building: "So, where do we look? It’s a big city and there are a lot of places to hide."

Cole, showing her a tuft of dog hair: "This might help."

Mel: "Where did you get this?"

Cole: "From the pole inside before they took it away."

Mel: "Cole! That’s evidence!"

Cole: "Yes, it is."

She shakes her head in exasperation as they get into the car.

———————————————————————

That night, Councilwoman Joan Elders pulls into her driveway to find a black German Shepherd scrounging through her garbage can. She coaxes the dog over and pets it, tells it to stay, then pulls out her cell phone to obtain the number of the Oaklawn Animal Shelter. While she’s doing this, the dog rises onto its hind legs and starts to grow and shift its form. She turns around and screams in horror as it attacks her. Scratch a City Councilwoman.

———————————————————————

Zin walks down the steps to the basement of a warehouse to feed his dog, who is hiding, whimpering.

Zin: "Good dog. How are you doing, my friend? ... You even look better. Much, much better ... Be strong, my friend ... I am indeed making progress with the transfer process. You won’t be locked ... in that form ... for very long ... For now, I can provide you with some of ... these small pleasures." He unwraps the butcher paper around a loaf of raw meat and sets it on the floor. "It won’t be long. I promise."

———————————————————————

At the Watchfire, Mel and Jess are in the middle of doing inventory, but Mel’s mind isn’t really on it. She’s kind of dreamily staring off into space.

Jess: "Ahem!"

Mel, focusing: "Miller Lite?"

Jess, checking the bar refrigerator: "One ... two cases..." She hauls another case out from under the bar. "And six in the box ... Did you hear about a ‘collector’?"

Mel, stunned: "What!?!"

Jess, offhanded: "I heard Cole mention it a couple of times. Do you owe money to someone? ..."

Mel, with a shake of her head: "No!"

Jess, pressing the point while Mel is still a bit off-balance: "... Or it could be a code word for one of his..." She leans forward conspiratorially and whispers, "Secret undercover guys."

Mel, recovering: "Um ... You know what I bet it is? That toll-free number. You know. 1-800-COLLECT."

Jess, fast-changing the subject to keep Mel off-balance: "You know what your trouble is? You still haven’t made that list! ... Now! You’ve got Cole..."

Mel: "Stolmann Vodka."

Mel: "Jess..."

Jess: "So, hypothetically speaking..." She tries not to smirk or seem too over-eager, "... Who would you say would be best in bed?"

[Jess irritates a bit sometimes, but she has a real role in helping Mel ‘get a clue’ in terms of the two men in her life. She’s becoming as much a catalyst to the Mel/Cole relationship as she is Mel’s antagonist on multiple levels. Her little discussions with Mel about Cole and Vic are a riot].

Cole, approaching: "Mel..."

[Too bad Cole chose that moment to make his appearance. Jess might have really started to learn something. Maybe they both would have].

Mel, nonplussed: "Cole ... It’s not a good idea to sneak up on two women when they’re ... doing inventory."

Cole: "Okay."

Mel: "Okay."

Jess smiles wickedly and waggles her eyebrows at him and he smiles back.

Mel, realizing he’s still there: "What?"

Mel: "Jess, would you mind checking the scotch inventory, please?"

Jess, with a smug smile: "Done it!"

Mel: "Jess, would you mind double-checking the scotch inventory, please?"

Jess, annoyed but resigned: "Fine!" She heads for the basement.

Mel: "Thank you."

Cole, going behind the bar and running water for a glass: "I analyzed the hair sample. The element mercury ... has recently been introduced into the dog’s system."

Mel: "And?"

Cole: "I want to look for the animal in an area where there’s a high concentration of mercury."

Mel: "Okay."

Cole: "Where would that be?"

Mel: "You’re asking me?"

Cole: "You live here."

Mel: "Mercury-polluted neighborhoods aren’t generally something I keep on file."

Elders’ body was found by a neighbor in her own driveway, apparently the victim of an attack by a dog or a wild animal, "the second such attack in the last 24 hours." The newscaster goes on to say that "the police are describing it as one of the most gruesome crime scenes they’ve investigated in years."

Mel: "Another dog attack!? We should check this out!"

———————————————————————

Mel takes Cole to City Hall to do some basic research.

At the end of the Council meeting, Mel pretends to be a reporter for the Tribune and approaches the new head of the City Council, Councilman Prestin. She asks him if Elders had any enemies, anyone who would’ve liked to have seen her removed from City Council, or if there had been any threats on her life in the last few weeks. Prestin takes umbrage at her suggestions and insists there’s no question that she’d been attacked by some kind of wild dog, not murdered. He then excuses himself in a huff.

Cole, coming up behind her: "Mel! Do you know where 2644 Third Street is?"

Mel: "No. Why?"

Cole: "There is an old ... battery factory. They used high amounts of mercury."

Exiting the building, this time Cole takes no chances with the treacherous revolving door. He takes both himself and Mel through it in a quick burst of hyperspeed.

Mel: "This way ... I think we should keep an eye on Prestin."

Cole: "Why?"

Mel: "Because he’s holding something back."

Cole: "How do you know?"

Mel: "Cole, I may not know how to move in hyperspeed, but I do know when a man is holding back on me ... I’m going to Track him..."

Cole: "I’m going to Track the mercury."

At the curb, Mel does a fingers-in-the-mouth whistle to hail down a cab.

Mel, shouting and gesturing: "Taxi!"

Mel, to Cole as the cab pulls up, "Here’s the cab. You take it. I’m going to need the car." He starts to get in the front seat. "Cole!" She reaches out to touch is arm. "You get in the back."

Cole, smiling: "Okay."

He closes the front door and opens the back door.

Mel: "And tell the driver where you want to go."

Cole, smiling at her: "Okay."

Mel, handing him money: "And Cole ... pay him when you get there."

Cole, taking the money and again smiling at her: "Okay."

Mel, reaching out to touch his arm again: "See you later."

Cole, smiling reassuringly and squeezing her hand: "Yes, Mel."

[One of the things that enchanted about Tracker was the subtle growth of the relationship between Cole and Mel. This is the first time he’s been shown touching her in a reassuring way without using his Cirronian energies. Touches such as these are a Human form of communication that he’s first learning how to use].

———————————————————————

Mel is sitting stakeout outside the City Hall parking garage, waiting for Prestin, when her cell phone rings.

Mel: "Hello?"

Vic, speaking on his cell phone as he drives: "Hey, Mel!"

Mel, puzzled: "Vic! Hi!"

Vic: "Listen, I just finished my shift. I’m going to take a quick shower, and I’ll swing by to get you in about a half hour."

Mel: "Swing by?"

Vic: "Yeah ... We’re still on for dinner, right?"

Mel, hitting her fist on her forehead: "Dinner ... Right."

Vic, chiding: "You forgot, didn’t you?"

Mel: "Why don’t I just meet you at the restaurant?"

Vic: "Why? It’s no trouble. I’ll come and get you."

Mel: "I, ah, have an errand to run. It’s probably better if I just meet you there. Do you mind?"

Vic: "Fine. That’s fine ... Les Jardine at nine."

Mel: "Les Jardine at nine."

Vic: "You got it. I’ll see you there."

Prestin’s SUV then comes out of the garage and Mel follows him in her car.

[Trivia Note: Vic’s license plate number is P73-9L5].

———————————————————————

The cab (Z-Cab Company, #756) pulls up by the old battery factory.

Cab Driver: "This is 2644 Third Street. That’ll be $137.50."

Cole: "I think you must have calculated wrong. You started with one dollar ninety on the meter. It increases by one dollar sixty every mile. We traveled 32.8 miles. That means ... it’s fifty-four dollars and forty cents."

Cab Driver: "Meters don’t lie, pal!"

Cole reaches out a hand and, with a glow, changes the monetary amount on the meter to the proper $54.40.

Cab driver: "You know, I don’t think you heard me..."

Cab Driver, staring at the meter in shocked disbelief: "Yeah, well, guess what? I’m off duty!"

As soon as Cole gets out, the cab takes off. Cole zips into the building.

[Blooper Note: At City Hall, Cole had gotten into Z-Cab Company taxi #52, a different cab with a differently designed logo on the door and a different number].

———————————————————————

Mel has tailed Prestin to a park. She hides in the bushes and watches while he stands on a pedestrian bridge as if waiting for someone. She ducks further back into the bushes when she sees and hears who it is.

Zin, approaching: "I thought our discussions were over."

Prestin: "Did you hear about Joan Elders?"

Zin: "Yes."

Prestin: "And fortunately ... it’s quite convenient."

Zin: "You’ve already been handsomely paid for your vote, Mr. Prestin."

Prestin: "But with Joan gone, my one vote virtually assures you of getting what you want."

Zin: "Yes, it does."

Prestin: "And wouldn’t you agree that ... guarantees come at a ... little higher market value? ... Say, a hundred thousand ... higher? Of course, you could always find someone else to put in your pocket in the next ... ten or twelve hours..."

Zin: "Are you holding a gun to my head, Mr. Prestin?"

Prestin: "I’m a politician, Mr. Andrews."

Zin: "When you pass the re-zoning ordinance and I’m guaranteed that I can begin to tear down ... You’ll have your money."

Prestin: "That would be tomorrow."

Zin glares at him.

In the bushes, Mel’s cell phone begins to ring, alerting Zin and Prestin to her presence. It’s Vic calling from the restaurant, wondering where she is. Zin and Prestin start coming for her and she turns tail and runs. Inasmuch as her phone won’t stop ringing and she can’t seem to find the button to turn it off, she tosses it away as she flees. Zin finds it a few moments before he and Prestin hear her car start and peel away.

[Note: One can assume that Zin has the ownership of this phone traced and, from this point on at least, is well aware of the connection between Mel and Daggon. A case could also be made that he was aware of their connection as far back as "Trust," that it was his idea that Nestov get in good with Cole…].

———————————————————————

Cole is cautiously prowling the old battery factory, sensing Mederan’s presence. Mederan knows he’s there and is stalking him. Finally, the dog leaps out and attacks, shape-shifting into the werewolf-like Humanoid as he does so. He knocks Cole down and then is gone.

[Note: Although one can’t help but jump whenever this creature-thing makes an appearance, it was actually poorly done. It was supposed to have had a horror feel, but the werewolf costume was cheap, hokey and very unrealistic. Fortunately, the camera never really lingered on it for too long or focused on it too clearly].

———————————————————————

Cole is busy in his War Room when Mel comes in.

Mel: "Prestin is taking bribes from Zin ... Zin wants some kind of re-zoning ordinance and Prestin has guaranteed it to him for a lot of money."

Cole: "What is re-zoning?"

Mel: "He wants to develop land! Zin comes all the way down here and he gets involved in real estate! It doesn’t make sense!"

Cole: "The land must have some significance."

Mel: "Yeah. We’ve got to find out what it is."

Cole: "Yes. But first Mederan ... He’s changing his biological host on a molecular level. When he attacks, the dog changes."

Mel: "Changes? Into what?"

Cole: "I’m not sure."

Mel: "Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not good."

Cole: "No, it’s not good, Mel."

Mel, horrified at suddenly seeing his shredded and bloodied shoulder: "What happened!?"

[Blooper: There was absolutely no visible shredding of Cole’s shirt, let alone any injury to his shoulder, in the scene this was supposed to have occurred in].

Cole, glancing at his shoulder: "Mederan."

Mel: "Oh my God!" She holds out her hand. "Come with me!"

Cole: "But, Mel. I have to..."

Mel, more insistent: "Come with me!!"

Cole, taking her hand and following her lead: "There’s ... something wrong, Mel?"

Mel mumbles another "Oh my God!" and leads him into the bathroom.

Mel, taking a washcloth out of the linen closet: "Take off your shirt!"

Cole: "Why?"

Mel: "Because I need to clean the wound."

Cole: "But I like this shirt."

Mel: "Well, it’s damaged ... Besides, it’s about time we got you some new clothes, anyway."

She rinses the washcloth in the sink while he pulls off his shirt.

Cole: "Detective Bruno called earlier."

Mel: "Dinner! ... I don’t believe I completely forgot!"

Cole: "He was very upset."

Mel, gently sponging the blood from his shoulder: "Well, I’ll call him in a minute ... Does that hurt?"

Cole: "I don’t think so."

Mel, rinsing out the washcloth again: "Prestin thinks he’s holding all the cards, pushing Zin back into a corner, asking for more money."

Cole: "You don’t push Zin anywhere."

Mel: "Cole?"

Cole: "Yes, Mel?"

Mel, disbelieving: "There’s no wound."

Cole: "I know. I have the ability to regenerate small amounts of tissue."

Mel reaches out, needing to confirm with touch what her eyes alone don’t believe and her mind can’t rationalize. In wonderment her hand glides over his shoulder, over and down his upper chest, amazed that there’s absolutely no sign of any injury on him at all.

Cole, looking down at her hand: "Yes, you are." He smiles. "It feels good, Mel."

Mel, suddenly shy: "I just wanted to make sure you’re okay."

Cole: "I’m okay."

Mel: "You’re okay."

Cole: "Thank you, Mel..." She hands him the washcloth. "Good night."

Mel, as he heads back to his room: "Good night, Cole."

She stands there smiling secretly to herself, obviously thinking erotic thoughts.

———————————————————————

The next day, Mel and Cole are watching from the gallery as Prestin casts his vote to pass the Andrews and Associates ‘Slaughterhouse District Plan’ and adjourns the meeting. As soon as it’s over, he receives an envelope and leaves via the Council exit to the parking garage.

Cole tells Mel that "it was a mistake," that he’s going to have to try and protect Prestin because "Mederan will be nearby." They’re stopped from following Prestin by a guard, who insists that the exit Prestin used isn’t for public usage and they’ll have to go around to the reception area in the front. Cole simply goes into hyperspeed to get by (pausing to handcuff the guy to a wall rail with his own cuffs), and follows Prestin.

In real time, Mel runs around to the front.

In the garage, Prestin seeks out the white car with Illinois plate K35-499, opens the trunk with the key supplied, and removes a briefcase, heading for his own car as Cole emerges from the stairwell and starts looking for him.

Once ensconced in his own car, Prestin greedily opens the suitcase, but his joy soon turns to rage as he realizes that only the top bill of each bundle is real. All the rest are plain paper.

Then, from the back seat, Mederan rises and attacks. Scratch another City Councilman.

Alerted by Prestin’s screams, Cole comes running.

Cole, yanking open the car door: "Mederan!"

Mederan throws him. Cole scrambles up and tears a ‘Parking Space Reserved for Councilmen’ sign from the wall to battle his opponent with. Warning Mel to stay back as she comes running over, he grabs a chain and collars Mederan with it, dragging him down to the ground where he’s then Collected.

Cole backs up into a pillar and Mel runs up to him, checking the slashes in his shirt: "Are you okay?"

Cole, smiling and nodding reassuringly: "I think I need a new shirt, Mel."

Mel laughs.

———————————————————————

In the tag, Mel and Cole are coming down the apartment stairwell. Loved the whole thing about Mel’s pheromone perfume when Vic comes to pick her up for their delayed dinner date.

Mel: "I don’t get why Zin was willing to murder..." She straightens a picture on the landing. "... to re-zone a couple of old, rundown buildings."

Cole: "Everything Zin does is for a reason." He holds open the door for her to come through. "You smell."

Mel, bewildered: "Thanks!"

Cole, as they walk to the front of the crowded bar: "No, I mean you smell different. Are you wearing cologne?"

Mel: "No. Perfume ... Men wear cologne, women wear perfume. Do you like it?"

Cole: "Yes, I do enjoy the feeling it gives me ... I don’t know why."

[The Human form he’s morphed into is becoming more and more Human as the series progresses. He doesn't know why Mel’s scent makes him feel good, but one can bet he’s going to find out!].

Mel, smiling knowingly, unable to resist quoting the perfume’s advertising slogan: "Pheromones ... Something men have a hard time resisting. Do you think it’s too much?"

[Such a perfume is heavy artillery. Is Mel planning on seducing Vic? Just a few weeks ago (in "Trust") she told Vic that she was uncertain about being ready to resume their relationship yet. Now, she doesn’t seem to have any hesitations. She likely feels that she needs to have a fully-functional relationship with a Human male in order to offset her growing attraction to the devastating alien living with her].

Cole, his expression puzzled and very serious: "Too much for what?"

Mel, rolling her eyes: "Never mind!" She has espied Vic approaching the entrance through the front window’s partially open blinds and has begun to pull on her coat in anticipation.

Vic, coming in: "Hi"

Mel: "Hi."

Vic: "How are you, beautiful?"

Mel, happily: "Great!" The two of them affectionately, if somewhat awkwardly, exchange a brief hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek.

Vic, absently nodding: "Hi there, Jess." He pointedly ignores Cole’s quiet, if sullenly watchful, presence. "So! Are you ready for a nice, quiet, intimate, romantic dinner?"

Mel: "Absolutely!"

Vic, gallantly executing a crisp little bow to his lady-love and gesturing towards the door with a sweep of his arm: "Step right this way..."

Cole, just as they’re leaving: "Do all men have the same feeling when they smell pheromones?"

Mel fondly looks back at him, her eyes warmly dancing with barely suppressed laughter. Vic simply stares at him, his expression eloquently saying, ‘Who IS this bozo?’

Mel, with a bemused smile: "Good night, Cole." She walks out the door.

Vic follows in her wake, but can’t resist turning back a moment to triumphantly give four words of taunting advice and a parting man-to-man snicker to the man all his instincts warn (in spite of Mel’s insistence to the contrary) is a very serious rival: "Don’t wait up, pal."

Cole blinks as the door closes behind them.

Jess: "Hey, Cole!" Then noting the repaired ice crusher Cole had set down on the bar, "Oooh! Thank you! Been waiting all afternoon for this." She puts it into its proper place between the other bar appliances and plugs it in, then notices his troubled expression. "What’s wrong?"

Cole, sitting himself down on one of the barstools: "I don’t know. I smell pheromones."

Jess spares Mel’s handsome if decidedly odd friend a funny look as she works: "Sorry?"

Cole: "I smell pheromones. Something men have a hard time resisting."

Jess nods to herself, quickly accessing the situation and factoring in everything she’d been overhearing and observing all these weeks: "I knew it! She’s got you!"

Cole: "Got me?"

Jess: "You’ve got jealousy written all over you!"

Cole, surprised, surreptitiously peeks down at his hand, not seeing anything: "I do?"

Jess, smug: "Deny it all you want, Cole ... But I see it."

Cole, bewildered: "Where?"

Is Cole jealous, as Jess claims? He seems to be pondering the pheromone thing here but, now that he’s heard the words ‘jealousy’ and ‘pheromones’ together, perhaps he’ll do some research ...

But from the beginning he hasn’t shown any indication of being romantically interested in Mel in the true sense of the word as Humans would know it. And from the start she’s steadfastly resisted any physical or emotional involvement with him. In fact, it seems likely that she’s resuming her relationship with Vic (despite her previous reservations in doing so just a short time ago - ref. "Trust") in good part as a defensive buffer against her attraction to him.

For his part, Cole certainly does have strong feelings for Mel and he is very protective of her, but he probably doesn’t understand why or how he should be so attracted to a female of an alien species, especially one that in no way resembles his own. (And he won’t understand this until "What Lies Beneath"). He’s also rapidly becoming much more independent but, throughout the series, he will consistently accept her over-protective mothering of him, seemingly out of a natural and deep-seated trust and respect for her – and quite possibly because this is how Cirronian females behave with their males (Ref. Lontoria’s line to him in "The Miracle" - "Who’s going to look out for you?") and such is therefore normal and familiar to him.

———————————————————————

Trivia Note: 1-800-COLLECT was either a running gag in the series or, more likely, a blatant ‘internal’ ad. It was specifically mentioned in the dialog in three episodes (here by Mel as she’s doing inventory with Jess, as well as by Zin in "The Miracle" and by Laura in "Fever of the Hunt, Part II") and it showed up on one of the shredded documents Mel was putting into the Digital Pattern Analyzer ("Native Son"), several times as a banner on some of Cole’s on-screen computer displays (three times in "The Miracle" alone, once in "The Dark Road Home"), on the face of one of his gizmos ("To Catch a Desserian"), and on a sign in a phone booth ("A Made Guy").