COCO DUTCH EPH FEELER_POV FET JOSHUA NIKKI NORA PALMER PATRICK QUINLAN ROMANI_FATHER SENATOR_SERTORIUS SETRAKIAN STONEHEART_SECURITY_AGENT THE_MASTER WORKER ZACK FET Hey. DUTCH You watching me dream? FET Waiting for you to wake up. DUTCH Sorry I wasn’t around last night. Still working through things. Fitzwilliam... poor bastard. Finally tried to do the right thing and got stung. FET Yeah, that’s too bad. He could’ve been helpful to us. DUTCH I don’t want to get dressed. FET Me neither... DUTCH I’ve been wearing the same three outfits for days. Maybe I should get the rest of my things. FET You should! Clear out of your old place. Move everything in here. DUTCH I’m moving my things in. It’s not like... a commitment or anything. FET No, of course not. SETRAKIAN Where could they have gone so early in the morning? Fet knew I wanted to leave at first light. NORA Leave for where? SETRAKIAN The factory Fitzwilliam told us about. I don’t know how it fits into Palmer’s plan, but I intend to find out. Fitzwilliam shall not have died in vain. Fitzwilliam died saving them from Kelly and the Feelers. NORA Kelly got close last night. SETRAKIAN You were very wise not to allow her to follow Zack back here. NORA She looked horrible... and yet not like a normal strigoi. SETRAKIAN I fear the Master has given her higher powers. Like Eichhorst. To hunt her Dear One. Using Zack as a beacon to get to us. NORA And those things with her? Those animal-like children...? SETRAKIAN They are called “Feelers.” They’re his bloodhounds. Or, more aptly, hyenas. He’s used them before... in Chernobyl. NORA Chernobyl? SETRAKIAN Long story. Nora still sees images from the previous night’s attack. NORA It may be some perversion of love that brings her to Zack... but I swear I felt her hatred toward me. Think I’m projecting? SETRAKIAN You were in her way. Keeping her from her loved one. Nothing will stop her unless she is destroyed. When is Dr. Goodweather due back? NORA I’m not sure he’s coming back at all. SETRAKIAN Then we must band together to safeguard the boy. For his sake... and for ours. NORA I want to kill that bitch. SETRAKIAN Stay close to Zack. You will get your chance. DUTCH What about the furniture? Most of it is Nikki’s. Paid for by her mother. FET Leave it. Someone else will take it. FET Wrong key? DUTCH It’s deadbolted. From the inside. DUTCH I don’t smell vamp shit. FET Vamps don’t lock doors. Squatters, most likely. Show yourself! DUTCH Nikki!! NIKKI Omigod... Omigod... DUTCH You’re alive... COCO Everything all right, Mr. Palmer? PALMER I’m sorry, I was just thinking... Looks like an absolutely gorgeous day. Maybe I’ll take a ride later. Perhaps you’d like to accompany me? COCO That sounds wonderful. JOSHUA Mr. Palmer, excuse me. I have an update on Goodweather. You’re not going to like it... Joshua picks up on Palmer’s attempt to silence him in Coco’s presence. PALMER Coco, could I trouble you for a cup of that wonderful herbal tea you recommended? COCO Certainly, Mr. Palmer. JOSHUA I’m sorry, sir. You said you wanted to be updated immediately PALMER Yes, yes. What happened? JOSHUA Leavitt’s dead, sir. Goodweather shot him and got away somehow. PALMER Has Leavitt’s body been found? JOSHUA No, we took care of that. PALMER And Goodweather’s bioweapon? JOSHUA In friendly hands. It’s contained. PALMER For now. He certainly could reformulate it. How soon until he’s taken care of? JOSHUA That’s the thing, sir. We’ve lost his trail. We don’t know where he is. PATRICK Everything okay? EPH Couldn’t be better. Do you have any chilled bourbon? PATRICK I have bourbon. I have ice. EPH Bourbon straight. Double. PATRICK Some people like to sip and enjoy. EPH Maybe some other time. DUTCH After we got out of the convenience store, I came back here looking for you. NIKKI I didn’t come back, not right away. I was scared out of my mind. Those creepers at the gas station gave up on me pretty quickly FET They weren’t there for you. They were there for the old man. NIKKI And you stayed with them? Those strangers from the store? DUTCH I didn’t have a choice at first. And then... yes, I stayed with them. FET She joined the fight. She’s a hell of a fighter. Where have you been, Nikki? This closet the whole time? NIKKI I strained my ankle, falling, running from those things. Thought it was a fracture. I tried to go to the ER, but it was scarier than the store. I stayed over at Ron’s for two nights, his building was safe... but then he didn’t come home the third night, and I got really scared. I’ve been holed up in here every night since. DUTCH I’m so glad you’re alive. FET This is all great... very heartwarming... but the old man is waiting on us, Dutch. You wanted to get your clothes together so you could move them into DUTCH Why don’t we both get our things. It’s a safer place than here. NIKKI I’d be totally fine with never coming back here ever again. FET We have company. NORA Are you...? From the convenience store? DUTCH This is my roommate, Nikki. She’s got a bad ankle. FET She hurt it running away. NORA Tell me where it hurts. Setrakian very impatiently turns to Fet. SETRAKIAN I’ve been waiting for you all morning. We need to go. FET Okay, just a minute. Dutch, can I have a word with you? DUTCH How about later? FET How about now? FET So? DUTCH So? FET Aren’t you going to ask her about all your money that mysteriously disappeared from your apartment? And your laptop? DUTCH None of that is important now. She’s been through a shock. FET Is that why you seem a little reluctant to tell her about us? DUTCH She’s dealing with so much right now. Just give her time. And me. Fet is de-fanged at first. Then FET Give you time? What for? DUTCH I’ve got to get back to her... FET Dutch. Setrakian needs us. He wants to go to the factory Fitzwilliam told us about. DUTCH I can’t leave Nikki here like this. You understand. You go. SETRAKIAN Mr. Fet! FET I’m coming! SETRAKIAN Why so much security for a construction site? FET “She’s dealing with so much right now.” Dealing with what? Leaving her apartment closet? A twisted ankle? SETRAKIAN Mr. Fet. FET “She’s been through a shock.” Join the club, sweetheart. SETRAKIAN Mr. Fet. Your romantic worries have no relevance at this moment. None at all. FET Thank you for your concern. SETRAKIAN I have a very strong instinct about this. FET Let’s take a closer look. FET What’s a school bus for blind kids doing at a Stoneheart factory? SETRAKIAN This way. FET Lots of muscle around. SETRAKIAN We need to get inside that building during daylight. FET During daylight...? Why? What are you not telling me? SETRAKIAN I’m just trying to ensure the odds are somewhat in our favor. I trust you came prepared. FET Oh, I’m always prepared. Stoneheart Agent raises his wrist mic to his mouth to report this... STONEHEART SECURITY AGENT Control, this is ! SENATOR SERTORIUS General Quintus Sertorius. I believe you are just in time... QUINLAN Senator. SENATOR SERTORIUS How goes the battle? QUINLAN I persevere. SENATOR SERTORIUS You shall outlive us all. Tell me, General. I am eager to know. What have you learned? Quinlan thinks before answering. QUINLAN That human life is brutally short. SENATOR SERTORIUS Indeed. QUINLAN And that blood and shit are the only profits of war. SENATOR SERTORIUS Rome will rule forever. QUINLAN I think not, Senator. NIKKI What about the big guy? The Russian. DUTCH What about him? NIKKI What’s his deal? DUTCH He doesn’t really have a deal. Kind of the nice thing about him is that what you see is what you get. NIKKI What are the sleeping arrangements here? Where’s your room? DUTCH Dr. Goodweather, I presume. How’d it go in D.C.? DUTCH Total success by the looks of it. EPH Do I know you? Because I think I do. DUTCH Yeah, we all met that fateful night at the convenience store. EPH The track star. Of course. Welcome back. Where’s Fet? DUTCH Out. With Setrakian. EPH Zack here? DUTCH In his room. DUTCH Why don’t you sit first? Before you fall down. EPH Maybe a little shut-eye would do me good. DUTCH Nora’s napping up there. DUTCH She’ll be happy to see you. He’s too drunk to talk to Nora now, too sloppy. EPH Maybe I’ll just lie down in yours and Fet’s room. FET These critters. Dead. Necks snapped. SETRAKIAN Culled from the herd. FET A mass grave? SETRAKIAN The opposite. A nursery. FEELER POV Only -- we think it’s Quinlan again. FET Blind kids? That’s just not right. FET Professor? SETRAKIAN I hear it. FET They’re too fast! SETRAKIAN And too many! QUINLAN Hello, Professor. QUINLAN The Ancients gave me your name, Professor Setrakian. I followed you here. SETRAKIAN But... who are you? QUINLAN My name is Quinlan. We have something very much in common. SETRAKIAN What is that? QUINLAN We are both hunting the Master. FET Hey, Professor, you wanna clue me in here? SETRAKIAN You know the Ancients? FET Who or what are the Ancients? And what is this guy? QUINLAN If you discharge that weapon in my direction, I shall come across the room to tear you in half. FET Fair enough. QUINLAN I see you have been hunting the Master for some time. SETRAKIAN Most of my life. You? QUINLAN All of mine. ROMANI FATHER Sire... this home is abandoned. This entire village... forsaken. Accursed. QUINLAN And so you Romani have no strictures against defiling the land of the dead? ROMANI FATHER Not dead, sire... QUINLAN Tell me. ROMANI FATHER Master Sardu, sire. The village lord. A giant. On a hunting trip to the dark forests, he was taken by a great beast. Possessed, sire. When he returned, a pox was laid upon his village. First, it was the children. Drawn out of their beds, taken in sleep. The next night they returned to spread the sleeping sickness to their kin. Soon after, the healthy fled for their lives. The ghosts still come down after nightfall. QUINLAN The giant in the castle, is he still about? ROMANI FATHER You know of this tale, sire? QUINLAN This tale is what brought me to this place. But now I fear I am too late. ROMANI FATHER Too late for what? QUINLAN So it is “Sardu” now? Your new host body no longer has any use for this fine cane... QUINLAN You knew I would hear of the strange tale of the possessed giant, and come for you. You think you left these two behind to taunt me. But your vigilance belies a deeper concern. Your fear. QUINLAN If it is treasure you seek, this should fetch a sum fair enough to feed your brood for months. ROMANI FATHER Are you a demon, sire? QUINLAN No. I am merely damned. SETRAKIAN You know this cane. The Sardu legend. QUINLAN That cane is proof that it is not a legend. I should know. There are no myths, professor. Only exaggerations. SETRAKIAN Or hidden truths. Such as the Ancients. What did they tell you? QUINLAN They told me about a mortal who succeeded in hunting down and wounding the Master. The dark lord has taken various forms over the centuries, but always by choice. No one has ever forced him to transform. Until now. SETRAKIAN He has taken on a new form? QUINLAN And yet your first victory was a minor one compared to now. SETRAKIAN What’s that? QUINLAN You have led me to his nesting place. SETRAKIAN His... his what? Here? FET Okay, what the hell just happened? SETRAKIAN He is here. In this building. The Master is here. FET No, I got that part, but who was that thing? SETRAKIAN We can’t let the Master escape. We must expose him here. Drive him out from the sheltering darkness. Weaken him again. SETRAKIAN We must bring down this structure on the Master. FET Okay. We can do that. Gonna be messy, though. And what about your friend, Mr. Myth, there? SETRAKIAN No one and nothing matters more than destroying the Master. Go. As fast as you can. FET Okay. You stay close. SETRAKIAN No. Do not wait for me. FET Hey, Professor... FET Suicide mission. COCO And to think I was looking forward to a nice car ride... PALMER Perspective, Coco. Difficult to maintain but critical for success. COCO I’ve never been this high above the city before. God, it’s dizzying. COCO Sir, I have to ask you... earlier today, your head of security mentioned a “Dr. Goodweather.” Isn’t he PALMER The disgraced CDC epidemiologist? Yes. Apparently he found his way down to Washington D.C. and caused quite a bit of trouble. Murdered three people, including his former boss, Dr. Everett Barnes. Everett was a dear friend of mine. Joshua was breaking the terrible news to me. COCO Oh, I’m so sorry... PALMER Tragic, really. Senseless. Goodweather is a desperate man. PALMER As terrible as this plague has been for New York City, there is something to be said for regeneration. Yellowstone National Park, for example. Much of it burned in a massive wildfire and was thought destroyed forever. Ten years later the landscape was completely renewed, teeming with * new life. And while no one would ever wish for a catastrophe such as this... complacency is the enemy of empires. Just ask the Romans. COCO Is that today’s lesson? Always be sure to be on the winning side of history? PALMER The lesson, my dear, is to recognize change when it is inevitable... and to seize the opportunities that arise from it. WORKER Hey, what are you doing? FET You guys have an emergency alarm at this site? WORKER Sure do. FET Better tell them to hit it. Someone just reported a bomb threat. WORKER Who? FET Me. WORKER Hey, we got a maniac with a bag of dynamite here. Evacuate! Evacuate! Off which DUTCH Nikki’s ankle is already much better, thanks. NORA Oh... good. DUTCH What’s wrong? NORA I didn’t sleep well. I’m worried about Eph. Wondering why he hasn’t called. DUTCH I think I can answer that. NORA Why didn’t you wake me? NORA My god, what happened? EPH I’m so sorry I wasn’t here. I know I should have been. NORA Kelly got close, Eph. Setrakian thinks the Master has made her one of the more sentient strigoi. EPH Jesus Christ... NORA I’m pretty sure Zack saw her. You need to talk to him. EPH Maybe he didn’t. NORA Don’t downplay this, Eph! They nearly got us. She’s not going to stop. EPH I’m sorry. You were right, Nora. About everything. Going to D.C. It was too soon. It all looked so good at first, like it was going to come together... EPH And then it was all taken away. NORA You’re sure? EPH He murdered Rob. His man did the one he sent to kill me. Palmer’s tentacles are everywhere. He’s been five steps ahead of us this entire time, Nora. From the plane landing through right now NORA He hasn’t beaten us. We can grow more of the bioweapon ourselves. Maybe now we can take more time, make it even more lethal EPH Sorry, right now I’m all out of optimism. SETRAKIAN What are you now? QUINLAN Show yourself. THE MASTER I’ve been expecting you. QUINLAN Then reveal yourself. THE MASTER Welcome to the new world. QUINLAN I see you had little time to prepare your new vessel. THE MASTER I chose this host for its loyalty. Something you would know nothing about. QUINLAN It lacks intimidation. THE MASTER You hoped to find me weakened. As ever, you are too late. QUINLAN What is this? Your new lapdog? QUINLAN I am curious about one thing. Your power depends on darkness, invisibility, obscurity. Yet this siege exposes you. It leaves you vulnerable. What is it you’re after? SETRAKIAN You. QUINLAN And now it is a proper duel... complete with seconds. QUINLAN Agghhhh!!!! QUINLAN You want this? SETRAKIAN He ran. QUINLAN Of course he ran. He never liked a fair fight. QUINLAN I had him. He was here, and you cost me a chance to destroy him once and for all. Now he will shore up his defenses... QUINLAN This is my fight. I will take it from here. FET What happened? Did we get him? SETRAKIAN They’re gone. FET The Master? And the other guy? FET We gotta get outta here, now. ZACK Dad...? Dad! ZACK What happened? EPH Things didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. At all. ZACK But why not? You said you had a solution. EPH Sometimes having a solution isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to break down a lot of doors before you find the right way in. Anyway, that’s all over for now. I’m back now. And here to stay. ZACK Okay. Good. EPH Nora told me about last night. That must have been really scary. ZACK I think I saw Mom. Was it Mom? EPH I wasn’t there. I don’t know. ZACK Nora saw her. Tell him, Nora. NORA I already did. EPH I do know that your mother loved you very much. And it seems that, after people turn, that bonding instinct becomes a source of attraction... ZACK The “dear one.” Mr. Setrakian already told me about it. EPH I’m going to keep you safe. That’s a promise, okay? You hungry? It’s almost dinner time. ZACK Dad? Maybe you shouldn’t promise? You know what happens every time you promise...? EPH Cool. No promises. I promise not to promise. DUTCH Hello... DUTCH I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but you should really call your mother. DUTCH These were up all over. She’s worried sick. NIKKI Have you been carrying that around? FET Hey. What a day. You’re not going to believe what we saw... DUTCH This guy was loading up his car to leave. He was giving away fresh tomatoes... FET Yeah... that’s great. DUTCH So tell me, what happened? What did you see? FET It can wait. People are hungry. EPH Hey, how goes the battle for New York? FET Huh. Look at this, the prodigal son returns. Back so soon? So when do the fighter jets appear? EPH I see you’re still blowing up New York City. FET I like to think I’m doing my part. More than my part, in fact. We saved your boy last night. I guess it does take a village to raise a kid. Especially when his father isn’t around. EPH Where the hell is this coming from...? EPH I guess a lot of things have changed since I left. FET Drink up, Doc. Everybody, make yourselves right at home! DUTCH Fet! DUTCH Are you happy? EPH I’m not the one he’s running from. PALMER Ah, reinforcements. COCO That was amazing today. PALMER It is rather nice to have a helicopter. They drink. COCO Yes. Somewhat. I am learning so much from you. PALMER As am I from you. COCO From me? Like what? PALMER As absurd as this may sound, I had no idea how isolated I was... how alone. It is so reassuring to have someone to talk to. COCO I know you never married... No long-term relationships? PALMER No short-term relationships. COCO None at all? PALMER My dating record makes Cardinal MacNamara look like Casanova. COCO A man of your success... your reach... your power? PALMER Good health makes all the difference, my dear. Even this late in life. COCO It’s not that late... PALMER Forgive me. I am not in the habit of opening up. Or of having two cocktails. COCO Me neither. How about a third? PALMER It would put me right to sleep. COCO Speaking of which... where do you sleep? PALMER Oh, my bedroom is right above this room. COCO Can I see...? PALMER This was more of a hospital room than a proper bedroom for most of my life... Coco smiles at her double entendre before she even utters the words. COCO Needs a woman’s touch... COCO You are a one-of-a-kind person, Eldritch. PALMER My dear... you are simply exquisite. But I am certain I would only disappoint... COCO Shut up. PALMER I beg your pardon? COCO Shut up, Eldritch. SETRAKIAN “...his disappearance coincided with the fall of the Roman Empire. While his immediate fate was unknown, sightings persisted throughout Eurasia over centuries. Yet to this day, no record exists to explain where he came from... nor how he was created. Perhaps a clue lies in the nickname given to him by his sponsor, Senator Sertorius: ‘The Born.’” ZACK I don’t understand. Is that a legend, or is it real? SETRAKIAN The answer to both questions... is yes. FET You okay there, doc? EPH Fine. Bartender made me promise I’d sip this. But booze isn’t meant to taste good. It’s meant to make you feel good. FET D.C. was that bad? EPH Worse. EPH So Dutch’s roommate, Nikki, huh? FET “I specialize in passionate, destructive relationships.” Dutch’s own words. Me? I specialize in being alone. So maybe it was never meant to be. EPH Funny, you don’t strike me as a quitter. FET I’m not. But sometimes other people quit on you. FET Okay, so going to Washington D.C. didn’t work. So what are you going to do now? EPH I’m going to kill Eldritch Palmer.