Neil’s Bunker Somewhere in Chicago (Neil is sitting at a desk in a dark room in an abandoned warehouse. He has headphones on and is talking into a microphone. We hear a listener’s voice through speakers.) Neil: That my friend is Grade A American-made bear squat! Listener: But I got an airforce fax. It says the Trilateral Commission was inside Area 51 on June 10th 1974. Neil: Right, and MJ is still bringing the ball up at the United Centre. Now listen my little misguided friend, I may be working at the tiniest radio station in the city of Chicago but our microphones work! A fax is not an original. Listener: Well it could be. Neil: Survey says BZZZZZZZZ MORON! Folks please, come on. We’re smarter than that. What is my credo? Never stop questioning. This is the Neil Robert’s program broadcasting live from the bunker somewhere deep inside the loop. My own little corner of anonymity. Now if somebody has a real conspiracy out there….something worth firing my synapses over please do give me a call. Angela: We’ve got a listener on a cell phone with a comment on that last call. Neil: Ah, that would be the voice of my lovely and talented producer Angela Sommerset who’s in our main studio back at the corporate highrise. Angela: It’s an old friend on line one. The Middle Man. Neil: Double M! Hit me! (It is night. Jarod is driving his car, cell phone in his hand.) Jarod: There’s no way the Trilateral Commission was in Area 51 that day. They were in Delaware! Neil: How do you know that? Jarod: We had brunch. I sat on the other side of a two-way mirror eating optimised nutritional supplements. Neil: Eating what? Jarod: It’s a long story. Neil: you still running from the PTB’s? Jarod: PTBs? Neil: Ahhhhh you’re slipping Middle Man. The Powers That Be. What’d they do to you anyway? Jarod: They separated me from my family when I was a little boy. I barely remember my mum and dad. I’ve been searching for them for a long time now. Neil: (His tone softens, more conciliatory than sarcastic.) Well, I have no sardonic response to that, only to say that that kind of dedication comes from deep within. I kind of envy you. I don’t have anyone that close with the exception of one person and ah she doesn’t even know I exist. But that my friend is a very long story and I know you’ve gotta run. Jarod: As always. Neil: Take care, and as always a very enlightened call from our friend Double M. (Jarod disconnects, smiling.) Let’s now go to a disgruntled caller on a mobile phone. Hit me! Disgruntled caller: Hey squealer, you get my postcard? Neil: (Neil is disturbed by the familiar voice but quickly recovers.) Well you know my friend I get bushels of fan mail every day. Pavlov: I sent a package this time. Express. Neil: Well here it is, the package. (Jarod continues to listen to the radio station as he drives.) You hear me opening it on the air. Here we are. Pavlov: Hope it’s not over the top. Neil: (Neil opens the package and drops it in shock onto the desk. It’s a large dead rat in a rat trap, accompanied by a photo.) Oh my God. Disgruntled Caller: Yeah it’s a dead rat. Sort of symbolises your status in life – choices made, choices to live with, or die from. (Neil looks at the photo; it is of a young woman with blonde hair. At the bottom are the words “TIME’S UP”.) Like the song says, this is the end my friend. Watch out for that cheese Neil. (Neil pins the photo onto the inboard behind his desk. It is the last in a large collection of photos all the same, except the others read either “TICK” OR “TOCK”.) Neil: I’m sorry Patty. Pavlov: Hey Neil, you still there? I don’t hear anything. (Neil picks up his phone and dials quickly.) What’s the matter Neil, rat got your tongue? I’d love to see the expression on your face right now. In fact that’s just what I’ll do. (Neil looks up in fear to a rifle blasting a hole in the door above. A man kicks in the door. Neil ducks away but the shooter keeps firing. He pulls a pin from a grenade and throws it towards Neil.) Die rat! (The grenade explodes. Jarod hears it on his car radio and does a 180 on the road. He speeds back into Chicago, 27 miles away.) OPENING CREDITS WLNJ Building Chicago, Illinois Listener: If Neil was attacked how come the police aren’t all over it? Angela: Because Neil broadcasts from an unknown location in the city. Neil if you’re listening, please call. (Jarod appears behind her and slips past unnoticed.) It’s been thirty-seven minutes, we’re worried about you. Listener: Cut the crap Lady, it’s another one of Neil’s damn publicity stunts. Jarod: Hey moron! (Jarod has donned microphones and is sitting at a microphone, assuming Neil’s place.) Listener: Who’s this? Jarod: If Neil’s mission in life is to expose conspiracies and lies do you think he’d create one? Listener: Ha! Hell yes. Jarod: Then go back to the village pal, the one missing the idiot. (Angela flicks a switch starting up a pre-recorded station identification message before removing her own headphones and striding angrily into the broadcast room to confront Jarod.) I can explain. Angela: Explain it to the police. (She picks up the phone and starts to dial.) Jarod: You would have called them after Neil was attacked if you wanted them involved. Angela: Who the hell are you? Jarod: Someone running from the PTB’s. Angela: Middle Man? Jarod: My name is Jarod. I know you’re very afraid for Neil, I could hear it in your voice. Look I know this sounds crazy but trust me. Let me use this show to help you find Neil. (Angela considers his request and decides to allow him to stay. She puts down the phone and walks back to her station. Jarod resumes speaking into the microphone.) Jarod: We’re back and you’re listening to ………….the Middleman. While we wait for word from Neil I’m going to tell you a little story that’s ah both near and dear. It’s about a boy that was raised by an organisation shrouded in secrecy. A Delaware corporation unlike any other. Weird, I know, but the truth often is. Thomas’ Residence The Bedroom (Thomas reaches for his watch and checks the time before sitting up and pulling on his jeans. Parker stirs and rests her head on his shoulder, smiling.) Parker: Hmm. You’ve got to learn to sleep in. (They both smile and she pulls him down onto the bed again.) Downstairs Later (Miss Parker, dressed in robe and with her piled on top of her head is preparing a morning cup of coffee. Thomas is behind her in the dining room, talking on the phone. He hangs up and comes into the kitchen.) Thomas: That was the realtor. Parker: So are they going to buy the place? Thomas: They already did. I was going to tell you earlier but I was waiting- Parker: You don’t have to clear it with me. (She sits down.) Thomas: There’s something else. I, ah, bought a new house for us to restore. Together. It’s in Portland. Parker: I love Maine. Thomas: Oregon. (The smile slips from her face. She stands and turns her back to him in a pretence of doing something at the kitchen bench.) Come with me Parker. Parker: Oh! To Oregon? Why not? Well first of all I have a career. Thomas: Oh right, right. The same career that gave you an ulcer and nearly killed you. Parker: (She turns and faces him.) It’s not just the job. My family. Thomas: You buy a plane ticket, you visit. Parker: You don’t know my family. Look it’s just not a decision I can make right now, here, in my bathrobe. (She starts to walk away.) Thomas: What are you scared of? Parker: (She turns back to him.) Nothing. You’re just asking a lot. Thomas: I need to leave soon. (Parker nods and walks away, thinking.) WLNJ Underground Car Park (Jarod sits in his car playing a recording on a microcassette player.) Replay of tape Pavlov: Your status in life. Choices made, choices to live with or die from. Like the song says, this is the end my friend. (Jarod hears Neil dialling a phone on the tape. He rewinds it and listens to the tones of the number again. He memorises the sequence. Angela emerges from an elevator and her cell phone rings. She answers it quickly.) Angela: Neil where are you? I’m coming to your place, right now. Jarod: (Jarod’s voice answers.) Neil called you before he was attacked didn’t he? (Jarod appears in front of her with his cell phone. They both disconnect.) You wanted to call the police but he begged you not to. He insisted. Angela: He told me to keep up appearances until he called again, and to stay away from his place. It’s life and death he said, and not just mine. And then he said…. Jarod: What? Angela: He said, “Ange, if you don’t hear from me tomorrow, I’m gone . . . forever.” Jarod: Then we don’t have much time. Neil’s Lair (Jarod pushes the damaged door open. It’s dark inside. Jarod descends into the room. Angela appears behind him.) Angela: Nobody heard a thing. I told him not to live in an abandoned building. Jarod: They’re the best places to hide. (Jarod sims the sequence of events in his mind, “seeing” what happened as he speaks.) He shot through the door. He fired at Neil. Chased him along this wall. The grenade landed over there. Neil’s only escape was through this door. (He opens a singed door. Inside they find a smear of blood on the wall.) Angela: My God – Neil’s blood. Jarod: He got out alive. The Centre Sim Lab (Broots wrestles a large swinging sign into place. It reads ‘For Sale by Owner’ and a telephone number.) Broots: Jarod left this sign for us outside his place in Chicago. Mr Lyle: But this house is in Blue Cove. Parker: Traffic was a bitch. Mr Lyle: Or you slept in. Isn’t that your plumber’s house? Parker: Thomas is a carpenter, and yes he sold it. So? Jarod can read the classifieds. Mr Lyle: Is your boy leaving town? Parker: Oregon, maybe. Mr Lyle: Now, that commute is a bitch. Call me when the cleaners are back from Chicago. (He walks out leaving Sydney and Broots standing watching Parker silently. She’s facing away but she knows what they’re doing.) Parker: Don’t give me that look, Syd. Sydney: Thomas is moving, isn’t he? (She turns back to face them.) He wants you to go? To leave Blue Cove? Broots: Leave the Centre? Your father’s going to freak. Parker: Thanks for pointing that out. (She turns to go up the stairs to the office.) Sydney: Parker, (She stops.) a long time ago I lost a family because the Powers that Be chose my path. Don’t let them dictate yours. Neil’s Bunker (Jarod removes one of the photos of the young blonde woman from Neil’s pinboard. He turns it over, briefly looks at the postcard on the back, then puts it back on the board.) Angela: Who is she? Jarod: Someone this psycho knows is important to Neil. Angela: Neil’s daughter? Jarod: Maybe. One thing’s for certain, she means the world to him although they never met. Angela: You got all that from a postcard? (Jarod plays his microcassette player in answer. Neil’s voice is heard.) Neil: I don’t have anyone that close with the exception of one person and uh she doesn’t even know I exist. Jarod: We have to think like he thinks, feel what he feels. . . . ‘Never stop questioning.’ Angela: Neil’s signoff? Jarod: Albert Einstein once said ‘The most important thing is to never stop questioning . . . (He looks through Neil’s small collection of books and finds a very thick hardcover titled ‘Einstein’s Relativity and Other Theories’. He opens it. A rectangular cavity has been cut into the pages. Inside is a photo of a little girl and several newspaper clippings….’Disabled Student Graduates Cum Laude’…’Handicapped Teen Receives Achievement Award’. There are another two photographs, both of the same girl, one recent.) Angela: This stuff is all about the girl on Neil’s bulletin board. Jarod: He’s documented her entire life. Her name is Patricia Maree Loren. She’s nineteen years old. She’s had a degenerative nerve disorder since she was a little girl. We find her, we may find Neil. Angela: Or the guy who’s chasing him. This psycho’s not going to let up is he? Jarod: No. He’s going to keep following him, hunt him down like an animal. Keep him from the people he loves. (He looks into a broken mirror behind him, realises he’s also talking about what is happening to himself.) Make his world a living hell until it ends….one way or another. WLNJ Building (Jarod is again being a DJ.) Jarod: I mean come on. What kind of low forehead sends dead rats through the mail? Listener: It’s the television, Double M! It makes us do things. Jarod: Tsk tsk tsk, only if you let it. Listener: Well I’ve got to go. Uncle’s sending me a secret message. Jarod: (Jarod and Angela smile at each other, amused.) My next caller please. Disgruntled Caller: They can replace that son of a bitch but Neil can’t hide. Jarod: And why should he have to? Pavlov: You’ll have to ask him. He forced this, he put his own ass in my crosshairs. Jarod: How did he do that? Pavlov: (He’s sitting in a car. It’s dark. An elevated train passes overhead, a bell ringing.) He ambushed my life, a sucker punch. But actions have consequences and this time around I’m in control. Jarod: Control, like ringing a little bell. Pavlov: (He closes a plastic box with a syringe and bottle of insulin inside.) It’s not the bell; it’s who’s ringing it. Jarod: I guess that’s you, Pavlov. It is okay if I call you Pavlov, isn’t it? Pavlov: (He gets out of the car.) Maybe you should call me PTB. Jarod: Oh. Are you one of the Powers That Be? Pavlov: I’m the only one. (He looks at a photograph. It’s a picture of Patty.) Jarod: Pavlov are you still there? You haven’t disappeared on me have you? Pavlov: (He watches Patty walk on crutches to a wheelchair and lower herself into it. Neil is also watching Patty from another car, his radio tuned to the station and listening to Pavlov and Jarod speak. Pavlov is behind Neil’s car.) Neil took away what was important to me. Maybe I’ll return the favour. Jarod: If you’re such a powerful PTB why not tell us who you are? Pavlov: No no. Anonymity, that’s where the real power is. Even Neil, the coward, would tell you that. He had to get me with my back turned. Now I’m the shooter in the book depository. I’m the bullet you don’t see coming. Jarod: We all have the right to face our accusers. Pavlov: (Patty’s wheelchair, with her in it, is raised mechanically into a special van and the door closes behind her. The words “Olympia Apartments, Assisted Living” are painted on the door.) Oh what a lovely thought. Maybe you could write that in Neil’s eulogy huh? Recorded: You’re listening to WLMJ, Talk Radio for Chicago. (Angela walks into Jarod’s sound room. The van pulls away from the curb.) Angela: You hear that? Jarod: He’s near the El-train. Angela: As long as he’s nowhere near Neil. (Neil picks up his phone and dials. Pavlov get his gun out and waits for other pedestrians to pass.) Angela: (Angela answers her cell phone.) Neil! Neil: Angela. Angela- Angela: Neil, thank God. Where are you? Neil: That was him on the air. The son of a bitch isn’t gonna quit. Angela: I found someone who could help. (She passes the phone to Jarod.) Jarod: Neil, this is the Middle Man. You have to stop running. Neil: Stay out of this. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. Jarod: I know about Patricia Maree Neil: No. Not Patty. You stay away from her, you hear me?! (Pavlov walks towards Neil. His gun has a silencer on it. A train passes again, ringing its bell noisily enough for Jarod to hear on the cell phone.) Listen it’s hard enough with one- Jarod: Neil, listen to me. Get out of there right now! Just go! Neil! (Neil drives away as Pavlov begins firing at the vehicle.) Neil’s Bunker (Jarod is at Neil’s desk working at his computer.) Angela: I can’t reach him and the police don’t know anything. It’s over Jarod. Jarod: It’s encrypted. I forgot who I was dealing with. Angela: Even I don’t know his password. Jarod: (He picks up Patty’s photo, looks at Angela who nods. He enters “Patty” as the password and it’s accepted.) Yes! (Information appears on the screen.) The New Vista Foundation. Angela: Neil never mentioned anything about it. Jarod: He’s made some sizeable donations. It supports research for nerve disorders. It also pays bills for Patricia’s At Home care. Angela: According to this he had her moved to a new apartment about six months ago. Jarod: Right after the threats started. Mr Parker’s Office (Mr Parker is hanging his recent wedding picture on the wall, humming as he does so.) Mr Parker: Angel. I was just admiring how well you turned out. Parker: Daddy I…. Mr Parker: Damn. Parker: We need to- Mr Parker: Need some help from that friend of yours, what’s his name? Tom? (He has trouble getting the picture straight and Parker helps.) Parker: Actually I’m glad you mentioned Thomas. He’s…. Mr Parker: Got a new project, I know. Oregon. That’s kind of far away isn’t it? Parker: How do you know? Mr Parker: Your brother’s a damn gossip. I could not imagine my daughter hanging wallpaper. Parker: Who knows, I might be good at it. Mr Parker: Ah, trust me, renovating an old house is like pounding sand down a rat hole. It never ends. Besides, what would I do without my Angel? Hey, did I ever tell you why I call you that? Parker: No. Mr Parker: Ah. Well, you were about three and a half years old. We were at the Summer place. Parker: My place. Mr Parker: Hmm. I was high up on a ladder. I was trying to fix a leak in the skylight over your mother’s studio. I was about to take the last step when suddenly you screamed ‘Daddy! Broken!’ Sure enough if I’d taken that last step I would have fallen thirty feet down onto the rocks. You saved my life. Your mother said you were my guardian angel. (They laugh.) You leave me……I might as well be dead. (Her smile fades.) Patty’s Apartment Olympia Apartments Olympia Fields, Illinois Patty: My parents were killed in an accident at Fort Bragg when I was little. I don’t know what I would have done without the New Vista Foundation. It wasn’t the money either, it was the tapes. (She opens a book containing plastic folders of audio tapes.) They’ve been sending these every month for years. Some are philosophical, some are inspirational, some just stories. Always the same voice. These books helped me learn, get focused, opened up the world for me. Helped me see the possibilities I’d given up on. I write for websites now. For the longest time I tried to find out who was funding the foundation but never got close. Jarod: Do you mind if we listen to a little bit of the tape? Patty: Sure. (She plays the tape in her cassette player.) Neil: Hannah and Baronsky found themselves alone in the square, waiting for the snow to fall. It had been several hours since their last meal. Patty: (She stops the tape.) All I had was him. Jarod: It’s a nice voice. Patty: I know he’s just their reader, you know? But he sounds so….real, you know? I rejected a lot of people but irony of ironies I couldn’t reject him. I don’t know him. I think of him as a guide. He’s kinda the reason I’m still fighting, still alive. (Angela and Jarod leave the apartment and walk down the corridor.) Angela: Neil dedicates his life to her. Now he’s in danger because of her? Jarod: She doesn’t even know who he is. Angela: It’s another dead end. Jarod: Not exactly. Pavlov is still out there. We just have to get him talking again. (They leave, but a figure appears near Patty’s door and it’s holding a silenced gun.) WLNJ Building (Jarod is at the microphone again.) Jarod: I’ll tell you about the powers that be. When they can’t get to you they go after the people that you love. That what they did to Neil. The PTB’s try to rip these people out of your life, your guts right along with them. But that’s where they make their mistake ‘cause the people that you love may be your weakness, but they’re also your strength. (The photos of his parents are on the table in front of him.) They keep you fighting. They keep you one step ahead of the demons who breathe fire into your soul. Angela: Line one. It’s him Jarod. Pavlov. Jarod: Go ahead line one. Pavlov: (From a car) You got me in tears over here. Tears of laughter. Jarod: (As he speaks Angela is using a program on Jarod’s laptop to triangulate Pavlov’s phone signal.) Why don’t you stop hiding behind your phone? I’ve been inside your head. I don’t just see a tortured maggot, no I see a lonely, pathetic man whose only companions are his rage and the power of his anonymity. Pavlov: (He prepares a syringe.) You sound a lot lonelier than I’ll ever be. What, not enough love from Mom and Dad? Yeah, I’ve been listening to your kidnapping sob story. Jarod: My parents aren’t exactly the issue here. Pavlov: No I’m guessing they’re your whole life. The life you’re desperately looking for night and day. Those little doubts, they’ve got to be gnawing in your gut right now. Jarod: And what doubts are those? (Pavlov’s words make him angry and his tone has firmed.) Pavlov: Maybe my folks wrote me off? Maybe they think that their little boy is dead? Maybe they’re dirt napping and here you are running all over creation searching, and they’re nothing but worm food. Jarod: (Angrily) You know something Pavlov when I find you- Pavlov: You’re never going to find me. I’m one of Neil’s secrets. A contradiction inside a paradox wrapped up in an enigma. The kind of conspiracy that even he can’t reveal. You forgot something orphan boy. Jarod: What’s that? Pavlov: I know where you work. (He disconnects just as the program was about to zero in on his location.) Recorded: You’re listening to WLMJ, Talk Radio for Chicago. Angela: The trace is no good. (Jarod sweeps the items from the desk in frustration.) Thomas’s residence (Thomas can be seen through the windows working inside. Outside Miss Parker sits in her car, remembering what people have recently said to her.) Flashback Sydney: Parker, a long time ago I lost a family because the Powers that Be chose my path. Don’t let them dictate yours. Broots: Your father’s gonna freak. Mr Parker: Your mother said you were my Guardian angel. If you leave me, I might as well be dead. (She makes a decision and goes inside. Through the front they can be seen talking, arguing. Finally Miss Parker leaves, touching his shoulder as she goes. She stands on the front porch briefly. Thomas stands at the window watching her leave.) WLNJ Building Parking Garage (Jarod sits in his car working at his laptop. He pulls up the U.S. Army Military Database and enters a search for “Roberts, Neil Michael”. It quickly finds a photograph of him and some details: Staff Surgeon, Army Hospital, Fort Bragg.) Jarod: Fort Bragg. That’s where Patty’s parents died. (He hears a noise outside the car and he gets out to investigate. Someone sticks a silenced weapon in his back, making him stop. He’s pushed into a wall then turned around. Neil holds him to the wall with one arm, the gun held to Jarod’s body.) Jarod: You’re making a mistake. Give me the gun. Neil: You’re working for him? Jarod: Pavlov said that he was one of your secrets. What does that mean? Neil: None of your business. You stay away from Patty. Jarod: He’ll kill her. Neil: You were in her apartment. Why? Jarod: I was trying to find you so I could help you. She’s not your daughter; who is she? (Neil lets him go but still holds the gun.) Neil: She’s someone I don’t deserve. Jarod: That’s not true. You made her a fighter. Neil: Oh God. She should never have had to fight! I was a doctor. Jarod: In the army? How did you hurt her? Her disorder in congenital. Neil: Spare me the official line of crap! (He turns away.) Patty’s mother was a patient. No. She . . . she was a subject. Jarod: An experiment? Neil: (He turns and leans weakly against the wall.) Government sponsored. Oh, half of me wishes it was just one big conspiracy and I could just laugh it off on my show. I thought we were just testing vaccines on soldiers, very routine stuff. Or so I thought. We knew Patty’s mom was pregnant. When some test results came back suggesting she might have an adverse reaction I was told to let it go. So I did. I was a coward. I convinced myself that my superiors knew better. I got transferred across country and I ignored the consequences…….. until I heard about the car crash. Jarod: That’s when you found out about Patty’s disorder and that’s when you started providing for her. Neil: (Crying he slides down the wall.) I didn’t speak up. Jarod: (He crouches beside him.) Never stop questioning. You’ve dedicated your whole life to speaking up. Neil: To everybody but her. Pavlov is right. I’m a fraud. I mean I bitch about telling the truth but the ironies of ironies is the one person I care most about will never hear the truth from me because I don’t have the guts to tell her. The Centre The Sim Lab Mr Lyle: (Reading from a transcript) “The Powers that be are everywhere. They take your loved ones away from you.” Who wrote this drivel? Broots: Nobody. A talk show host said it. Our Chicago monitors picked it up. Parker: WLNJ Radio has a new talkshow host. Sydney: He’s railing against us, Calls himself The Middle Man. Broots: Hmm. The middle – The Centre. Mr Lyle: (Sarcastically) You think? I want a sweeper team out there. Parker: Already dispatched two. Mr Lyle: So, we back? Parker: Meaning? Mr Lyle: Oh, I just heard that you were making plans with the shop teacher. (The phone rings. Sydney reaches for his phone but Lyle beats him to it.) Lyle. Yeah she’s right here. (Miss Parker holds out her hand but Lyle hangs up.) Security on Concourse four. Shop Teacher’s here. Concourse Four (Parker finds Thomas, accompanied by a sweeper, waiting for her at the bottom of a large sweeping set of stairs. A cascade of water splashes down beside the stairs which are bathed in natural light although it is obviously still indoors. Once on the bottom step she dismisses the sweeper.) Thomas: This place is locked up like Alcatraz. Parker: What are you doing here? Thomas: You didn’t mean what you said. That wasn’t you talking, that was your father, it was this place, whatever the Hell this place is. Parker: It’s so easy for you isn’t it? Waltz into somebody’s life, rip it apart like it was some damn remodelling job? Keep your favourite parts but throw out the rest. No consequences, no commitment. Thomas: This is a commitment. Can’t you see that? Parker: I see someone who’s only connection to the world is an empty house, a box of nails and a rusty pick truck. I don’t have that luxury. I have obligations, I have relationships. Thomas: (He laughs but without humour.) Obligations? Relationships? You make it sound so personal, so warm. All your mail is stamped Occupant. Your phone number is unlisted and I have yet to meet even one of your so-called friends. Parker: I have a life. Thomas: Which you refuse to share. That’s not a life Parker, it’s a life sentence. (She starts to walk back up the stairs.) Parker. (She stops as his voice echoes her name.) Please don’t make me leave part of my life here. Please. (She goes. Thomas’s head droops in sadness. Above them Rains has been watching. He draws back.) Miss Parker’s Residence (The phone is ringing. She waits many rings before finally answering it.) Parker: I’m sorry, I…… I don’t want to hurt you Tomboy. Jarod: No. It’s me. (Jarod is sitting outside on a bench. He is wearing a suit and carrying a brief case. There are others standing around, some in military uniform. Miss Parker puts the phone down briefly before speaking to him.) Parker: Jarod. You’ve got another clever message for me? Jarod: I only wanted you to know that Thomas was selling. From the sound of your voice you’ve already discussed it. Parker: Yeah. He’s moving to Oregon. He wants me to go with him. Jarod: So go. Parker: (She laughs softly) You’d like that wouldn’t you? It’s too late anyway. Jarod: You picked a fight with him, didn’t you? This isn’t what you want Miss Parker. Parker: Why does everybody suddenly know what I want? Jarod: Your mother always knew. She was trying to leave the Centre the day that she was killed. She wanted to take you as far away from there as possible. That’s what Thomas wants. It’s no coincidence. (They both hang up. Tears well in Miss Parker’s eyes. Jarod pins an id badge reading “US Army Advanced Research Project” to his jacket, picks up his briefcase and enters the Federal Building.) Neil’s Bunker Jarod: The federal archives were a gold mine. Pavlov is Colonel Willaroo Spence. Neil: (He picks up the folder Jarod has given him.) Spense? He was one of my superiors. Jarod: And after he got you transferred he intensified his drug experiments. Neil: I did a bunch of shows on the subject when I first got on the air. How the army was pumping these soldiers full of potentially lethal experimental drugs without telling them. Jarod: Well your shows got the army nervous. They shut Spense down. Some families tried to sue but of course they lost. The brass conducted an internal investigation. They convicted Spense and locked him up in Levenworth for seven years. Neil: That’s a long time. Jarod: Time enough to develop a heck of a grudge. (He picks up the dead rat in a plastic bag) He blames you and your radio show for ratting him out. Neil: Jarod, his parole office is on Olympia Field – that’s close to Patty. Jarod: We’ll find him. Neil: Army Intelligence. A very clever contradiction in terms. I suspect you’re a very clever man. (He goes to his filing cabinet and selects a file) You know I’ve been tracking reports of another clever person, very mysterious. Shows up at unexpected spots. Always there to help the needy and the abused. (He hands the file to Jarod. Jarod looks through the newspaper clippings inside: “Mystery Surgeon Uncovers Hospital Fraud”, “Stranger Infiltrates Haz Mat Unit – Solves Murder”, “Parole Officer Taken Down by Mysterious Ex-Con”, “Anatomy Professor Unearths Deadly Conspiracy”, “Mystery Bounty Hunter Exposes Tribal Scandal”, “Who is Jarod? Good Samaritan Disappears”) Well you didn’t think I’d tell my secrets to any shmoe did you? Jarod: Why didn’t you expose me on the air? Neil: Nah! No, I only go after bad conspiracies. (Jarod nods, smiling. Angela enters) Angela: Neil? Neil: (They embrace.) Hi! It’s good to see you. Angela: You too. I’m so glad that you’re okay. There were some people down at the station. They asked for Jarod. Guys in suits, one answering to the name Sam. Jarod: Sweepers. Neil: Who are they? Jarod: The powers that be. The Centre Aircraft Blue Cove (The jet sits at the end of a runway, waiting to take off. Inside the jet, Lyle paces impatiently while Broots and Sydney look on.) Mr Lyle: So the sweeper team’s already in place at Chicago and we’re still stuck waiting in Blue Cove? Broots: No one at the Centre has seen Miss Parker and she’s not answering her cell phone. Mr Lyle: Well that’s it. We’re out of here. Sydney: Lyle… Mr Lyle: She made her decision doctor and I’m making mine. (He speaks into a phone) Yeah this is Lyle. Let’s go. (The plane takes off.) Chicago (Pavlov sits in his car listening to the radio.) Jarod: It’s another deep dark night out there and you’re back for another session with the Middle Man and my guest Neil Roberts. Neil: Thanks for subbing for me Middle Man. Jarod: Well I’m just glad that our wacko friend Pavlov wasn’t able to hurt you. WLNJ Building Parking Garage (Lyle, Sydney and Broots arrive and are met by Sam.) Sam: Mr Lyle, Jarod must have gotten upstairs through another entrance. The show’s already started. (They move up the stairs. From outside the studio Jarod’s voice can be heard.) Jarod: Oh look who’s on line one. Go ahead Pavlov. Pavlov: (He’s driving while talking.) You shouldn’t have done this. Jarod: Why not? Neil’s ready. Come down to the studio and get your revenge. Pass your sentence PTB. Pavlov: I will, but not where you expect. Jarod: Oh that’s right. You’re an enigma wrapped up in a paradox, or is it the other way around? (Lyle and his team step out of the lift on WLNJ’s floor. They can hear Jarod’s voice over speakers.) The Powers that Be don’t call the shots any more. Pavlov: We always call the shots Orphan Boy that’s why they call us The Powers That Be. (Lyle’s team force their way into the broadcast room and are surprised to find not Jarod, but Neil.) Neil: Well look here, the powers that aren’t. Patty’s Apartment (Pavlov prepares his gun before kicking the door to Patty’s apartment in. He fires shots into the dark but is grabbed from behind by Jarod, who is wearing a headset with microphone attached. As he holds a chloroform?-soaked cloth to Pavlov’s mouth, Jarod’s voice is heard by Lyle and the others in Neil’s studio.) Jarod: The show’s all yours Neil. Now it’s time for a commercial break. Don’t go away! (Some time has passed. Pavlov wakes to find himself taped to Patty’s wheelchair. Jarod removes the blindfold and Pavlov is shocked to find the dead rat in the trap on his lap.) Jarod: A funny thing about traps. They don’t discriminate between the hunter and the hunted. Sorry to have stolen your metaphor but it really is perfect. (He holds up the grisly rat and trap.) Rat – Trap. (He indicates Pavlov and the chair.) Rat – Trap! Gotcha. Pavlov: Let me out of here! Jarod: (Drops the rat in the rubbish) You really stepped into this one didn’t you Pavlov? Or should I call you Doctor? Doctor Willard Spence? Pavlov: Let me out! Jarod: I wonder how many times Patricia Maree said that to herself. She was one of your victims. You just trapped her in a different kind of way. (He looks through a file) Pictures of human lab rats. People that you decided didn’t deserve to know the truth! (He throws the photos at Pavlov) Lab rats, guinea pigs. Human experiments! People! Pavlov: I went to prison for that! Jarod: (He allows his anger to boil over, his voice raised.) You don’t know the first thing about prison! Sometimes the worst kind of prison is the kind you have to wake up to every morning, when you think you’re out free in the world and you’re being hunted and stalked! That’s what you did to Neil Roberts isn’t it? Just because he told the truth. You look a little pale Doctor. It’s a good thing I read your file. Diabetes, what a shame. And it’s about time for your insulin shot. (He sets a tray of three syringes before Pavlov then releases one of his arms from the tape. Pavlov grabs one of the syringes.) Ah before you do that I should warn you. Only one of those syringes contain insulin. The other two a potentially lethal experimental drug. But whatever’s good enough for Doctor Spence’s subjects is good enough for him. (Pavlov has stopped, horrified. Jarod takes a large chocolate bar and bites it.) Hmm Sugar. Yum. Pavlov: You’re crazy. Jarod: You could try that “Eeny meeny minie mo” thing but I got to tell you, as a probability quotient it kind of sucks. Good luck picking. (He starts to go) Pavlov: No wait! Wait! I’ll die! Jarod: I’m giving you a better chance than you gave Neil Roberts. Have fun playing spin the syringe. Pavlov: Okay! Okay! I stalked him. I wanted to kill him. He ruined my life, I swore I would ruin his. Which one has the insulin? Jarod: Actually all three of them do. Enjoy the cheese. (He brings out a micro cassette player and plays it. Pavlov’s voice emerges.) Pavlov (on tape): I stalked him. Jarod: Neil’s next show. Pavlov(on tape): I wanted to kill him. Jarod: It’s going to be a real doosey. Outside Neil’s Sound Studio (Patty enters in her wheelchair, Jarod beside her. They can hear Neil’s voice over the speakers.) Neil: Good evening Chicago. Uncle Neil is back and in one piece I’m happy to say….Once again I’d like to thank the Middle Man for filling in for me during my absence…. Patty: Hey! That voice. That’s him isn’t it? Jarod: And he’s expecting you. Neil: ……….but before we get to the phones I need to take care of some very personal business. There is something that I’ve been wanting to tell a special someone for a very long time now. (Jarod opens the door for her and she smiles as she finally sees Neil, still talking on the microphone but looking to her.) Patty I only hope that once you’ve heard the truth, you will forgive me. Thomas’ Residence (Thomas is sitting on his bed flicking absently-mindedly at a page of a book which he is holding but not reading. He’s surprised when Parker walks in, places her gun in its holster on the bedside table, and sits on the bed.) Thomas: Is that a yes? Parker: There are things about me, things that you need to know before you make me a part of your life. Thomas: Parker there are . . . (She places a hand on his chest, stopping him.) Parker: You were right. It wasn’t me talking. I haven’t been me for a long time, not since. . . I think you made me realise that. There are places in me Tommy, dark ones. Thomas: Are you afraid that if I see them, that I will reject you? Parker, if something is not right we’ll deal with it . . . together. I’m a fixit man, remember? (They laugh softly.) Parker: I guess that makes me your new project. Thomas: And this one I’ll never sell. (They kiss and then he hugs her to his chest.) (Neil is back in his studio talking into his microphone.) Neil: Sooner or later we all hit a crossroads. As some of you know I recently hit one, a big one. But I made it through, thanks to a new friend. I know you’re out there listening Middle Man. You watch your back and don’t ever quit because somewhere up ahead you’ll find your crossroads. (Jarod is driving into the night again. He smiles, lifts his mug in a toast.) Goodnight Chicago. CLOSING CREDITS
