Épisode Les démons du passé S01E18 - Mutant X Saison 1

                                                        Ex Marks the Spot

[Opening Scene: The psionic thief Zack Lockhart meets with an old acquaintance, GS agent Artie Hill, in an empty new mutant safehouse to go over their plans to steal a priceless Fabergé egg from a high-scale auction house. As the two stomp down the stairs accompanied by two stoic GS agents, Zack comments on the covert nature of their rendezvous spot.]

Zack: What's with all the secret passages, man?
Artie: We confiscated this place from a gang of freaks.
Zack: What, you mean people like me?
Artie: Your words, not mine. [He pulls the building blueprints from his jacket pocket.] Can we get started?
Zack: Same old Artie. You may have switched teams, but it's still just business as usual, right?
Artie: Mm-hmm. So how long is this gonna take?
Zack (leaning over the plans): Once I get my hands on the vault, 30 seconds, tops. The trick is getting through the vault.
Artie: We'll take care of it.
Zack: These systems are all independent. There's a separate power source for the lasers, touch sensors, heat reactors--I mean the whole works.
Artie: Which part of "We'll take care of it" didn't you understand? [Amused at Artie's annoyed tone, Zack glances at the two GS agent goons briefly before returning to the blueprints.]
Zack: Okay, let's see. There's a four-sided locking mechanism that's gonna be loaded with booby traps. If you cross them, we're never gonna get this box open. Look, Artie, forget it. I mean, this is way out of your league. Look, the last thing I need is more prison time. [He stands.] Thank you for inviting me to the dance, but I'm gonna have to, like, decline. [He starts towards the stairs, but Artie grabs him by the coat.]
Artie: Yo, Zack. You're not going anywhere. Not until you get me in that vault.
Zack: Just because you're a cop now instead of a criminal doesn't mean you can tell me what to do. Anyway, I can still whip your ass. [He punches Artie and dashes up the stairs. Before he can reach the door, however, Jesse and Brennan walk in.]
Jesse: You guys spend more time in our hideouts than we do.
Brennan: I'm getting pretty sick and tired of uninvited guests. Should we ask them to leave?
Jesse: I think we shall. [Brennan zaps Artie into unconsciousness, then Jesse and Brennan work together to knock out the two GS agents. Zack tries to sneak out the door again, but Jesse blocks his path, and Brennan comes up behind him.]
Brennan: What, you don't want to stay and play? [Brennan and Jesse escort Zack into the cloaked Double Helix. Zack looks around, impressed that noone's at the helm.]
Zack: Some kind of ride. So, who's doing the flying?
Jesse: It flies itself.
Zack: Wow. Now this is the kind of getaway car I can live with.
Brennan: Don't have to worry about your wheel man turning yellow and leaving you high and dry.
Jesse (calling Sanctuary over his comlink): Shal, we're pit stopping at safehouse 6 with a new mutant.
Shalimar (at the main computer): Great, you got a name? I can run it through the database.
Zack (smiling in recognition): Zack. Zack Lockhart. [Shalimar's jaw drops in shock.] Hey, Shal, long time between drinks, huh?
Shalimar (muttering): Not long enough. You know, it's a good thing the GSA didn't kill ya, maybe now I can have my shot.
Zack (grinning): Ah, haven't changed a bit. [Jesse and Brennan exchange looks.]

Opening Credits. "Ex Marks the Spot."

[As Shalimar and Adam join Emma in Sanctuary's main room, Shalimar tries to convince Adam to steer clear of Zack.]
Shalimar: Look, I don't care what he told you. Zack is bad news.
Adam: Shalimar--
Shalimar: No! We have to walk away from this one!
Adam: Shalimar, you haven't seen this guy in six years. People change.
Shalimar: Yeah well, Zack's not exactly people. Trust me. Thanks to him I got to spend a week in jail after he stashed some loot from a job in my freezer.
Adam: Still, we gotta find out what this guy has to say.
Shalimar (sitting on the computer ledge): Fine. Then I'll smoke him.
Emma (grinning smugly): I downloaded Zack's file from the database. You sure know how to pick em, don't ya?
Shalimar: Knew. I've gotten a little more selective since then.
Emma: Well, he's definitely cute. In a "this is one you don't want your parents to meet" kind of way.
Shalimar: Well, Zack can charm the pants off of anyone, so you better be careful. [She turns to Adam.] And you'd better be careful too. Keep your eyes open and your hands on your wallet. [She heads towards the stairs.]
Adam: No, woah, wait, where are you going?
Shalimar: Well, like you said, I mean, I haven't seen this guy in six years. I thought maybe it was time for us to get reaquainted.
Adam: Noooo, I need a little objectivity here.
Shalimar (looking at Emma for help, and getting none): I can be objective!
Adam (smiling): You just said you were gonna "smoke him."
Shalimar: Oh, please! What, what am I gonna--I'm gonna smoke him? [She mimics smoking a cigarette.]
Adam: No, no...
Shalimar: Come on, that was .. That was a...
Emma (helping her out): Figure of speech?
Shalimar: Exactly, figure of speech.
Adam: We need to find out what this guy has to say. So you have to keep your emotions out of it.
Shalimar: Absolutely.
Adam: All right? I want it clean, I want it simple, I want it professional. All right?
Shalimar: Okay.
Adam: Okay.
Shalimar (walking away, muttering to herself): Simple and professional.

[Jesse and Brennan bring Zack down the stairs of safehouse six, carrying sandwiches.]
Jesse: Hm?
Zack: This place is exactly the same as the other safehouse, by the bookstore.
Jesse: Well, not exactly. The GSA hasn't found this one, for one thing.
Brennan (mouth full): And for another thing, there's not another safehouse in town that makes a better sausage and pepper sandwich.
Jesse: So, this old pal of yours...
Zack: Artie Hill.
Jesse: Hm.
Zack: He had a crew I used to run with.
Jesse: And you had no idea he was working with the GSA?
Zack: No, I'd never even heard of the GSA. And what am I gonna do, a background check? No, someone pays him, he pays me. No questions asked. The end. [Zack plays with a quarter in his hand, making it disappear and reappear.]
Jesse: What's this?
Brennan (chewing his sandwich): Oh, that's probably his mutant power. Cheap party tricks. How are you with rabbits and hats?
Zack: Funny. This is just a simple slight of hand. This is my mutant power. [Placing one hand on the refrigerator's metal door, he waves the other in the air, showing them a projected image of the refrigerator's contents.] Gallons of bottled water; five cans of pop, three regular, two diet; twelve fruit juices, six grape, six orange; 220 volt multi-air unit, motor model number 32307. [He opens the door to reveal everything as he had predicted, plus one bottle of water.] Missed one. [He picks up the water and opens it.]
Brennan: That must have come in handy in high school.
Zack: Well, I used to charge the guys lunch money to hang outside the girls' gym.
Jesse: It's all right. I phased through a few inconvenient walls of my own in high school.
Brennan: Huh. From lechery to larceny in just a few short years. Wow, imagine that?

[In his office at Genomex Headquarters, Mason is less than amused by Artie's report of recent events.]
Mason: You assured me he was the best safe man in the business. Yet at the first sign of adversity, Mr. Lockhart turns tail and heads straight into the arms of Mutant X.
Artie (touching Mason's desk for emphasis): Look, if I had a clue...[He trails off at Mason's glare, and slowly removes his fingers from the desk before finishing his though.]...that Zack no longer had the stomach for this--
Mason: That's precisely the clue I expect you to have, so I wouldn't be sitting here empty-handed.
Artie: Zack has got a case of cold feet.
Mason: Well then, for both your sakes, between now and tomorrow night, you'd better figure out how to warm them up. [As Artie turns to leave, Mason calls him back.] Not to mention how to get him back from Adam and his people. [The door closes after Artie. Mason rolls his eyes in exasperation.]

[Finishing their meal in the safehouse, Zack continues his talk with Jesse and Brennan.]
Zack: I've changed, but Shalimar doesn't want to belive that.
Brennan (scoffing): Yeah. You're still pulling jobs for a living, aren't you?
Zack: Yeah, but like I told you, that was supposed to be my final one.
Jesse: Zack.
Zack: Yeah.
Jesse: What were they after?
Zack: I don't know, beats the hell outta me. I was supposed to get into the vault, and then Artie Hill and his boys are on their own.
Jesse: Well, I mean, you had to know more than that, right?
Brennan: Yeah, nobody pulls a job blind.
Zack: Well, I did overhear something about an art shipment.
Jesse: Art?
Zack: Yeah.
Brennan: Uh-uh. No, no, there's gotta be something more in that vault than that.
Zack: Look, I'm just telling you what I heard. Why would I lie?
Shalimar (from the balcony): For practice?
Zack (grinning): Hey, Shal! Looking good. [Shalimar's feral eyes glow as she leaps down to the ground. Zack stands, awaiting his hug, but gets a punch to the face instead. Shalimar tosses him over the table and jumps on top of him, punching him repeatedly. Jesse gets up to stop her, but Brennan sits back, nonchalantly eating his sandwich.]
Brennan: Hey, Shal! [She looks up, feral eyes aglow.] Save some for the bad guys, huh? [Her eyes stop glowing, but she gets one more punch in before Jesse grabs her arm.}
Jesse: Hey! Hey. That's enough. Right. [Heeding Jesse, she stops and stands up. Zack covers his eyes in pain.]
Shalimar (to Jesse): Sorry. Lost my temper.
Zack (still on the ground): You always could take my breath away when you came into a room. [Shalimar lunges at him again, but Jesse holds her back.]
Jesse: Hey! Hey.
Shalimar: Yeah, the only problem is your breath keeps coming back. [She kicks him in the groin before stepping away. Brennan shrugs, returning to his food.]

***Commercial Break***

[Zack rests his head on the glass tabletop, an ice pack pressed against his face.]
Brennan: So, Zack. Shalimar seems to think that we shouldn't trust you at all.
Zack: Look, when I hung around with Shalimar, it's not exactly like she wore a halo. I never bailed on her. I never bailed on her! She bailed on me.
Jesse: Huh. The way we heard it, you set her up to take a fall.
Zack: Look, it's convoluted! The facts are always way more complex than they seem.
Brennan: Hm. Spoken like a true jail hustler.

[Emma marches up the dojo stairs to confront Adam, who is meditating by standing on his head.]
Emma: Adam! [He turns right side up to listen.] Looks like Zack was telling the truth. Segal's Fine Art Auction store their pieces at Dombey and Son security. I can't access much more than half their security layout.
Adam (putting on his shoes): Keep trying. Any idea what's in those vaults?
Emma: There's an auction at Segal's tomorrow night featuring one of Heinrich Wigston's Fabrege eggs.
Adam: Fabrege egg?
Emma: They're beefing up their in-house security.
Adam: What would Eckhart want with a Fabergé egg?
Emma: Beats me.
Adam: Well, now we know what they're after. Now the question is, why? Any chance you can trace the egg's ownership?
Emma (pulling up Segal's website on the main computer): Yeah. Just give me a minute. I'll keep you posted.
Adam: All right, do that. [He leaves.]

[Still holding the ice pack to his cheek, Zack is ready to call it a night.]
Zack: You know what? I think I'm just...I'm just gonna fade away.
Jesse: Wait, where're you going? I mean, the GSA is still after you.
Brennan: Not to mention Shalimar is still on the warpath.
Zack: Look, I think I'll take my chances with the GSA. I don't want to cause her any more grief.
Jesse (to Brennan): I don't know about this.
Brennan: Hey, if he wants to go, just let him go.
Zack (on the stairs): Oh, thanks for your help. And if the egg is really what you're after, I wouldn't worry about it. There's only two people in the world that can get into that vault. The guy with the combination...
Brennan: Oh, and let me guess, you?
Zack: Yeah. [Sighing, he leaves.]
Brennan: Yeah. We'll see about that.

[Mason examines the Segal's Fine Auctions website on his computer as Artie excitedly reads the Fabergé egg's description aloud.]
Artie Hill: Oh yeah! The most elaborate and expensive of the Fabergé collection! [His face immediately sobers at Mason's glare.] Encrusted with gold, platinum and laced with rose diamonds.
Mason: It could be made of lead, cut glass and paste for all I give a damn.
Artie: I will get you your egg, Mr. Eckhart. You can count on it.
Mason: Optimism's never been one of my strong suits, Mr. Hill. Do you need Mr. Lockhart to complete the mission? [Extemely uncomfortable, Artie doesn't answer.] I can only presume from your squirming that the answer is yes. Find Mr. Lockhart and persuade him, Mr. Hill. I do not have the time or patience for prima donnas.

[Adam comes downstairs to join Brennan at the main computer.]
Adam: Where's Shalimar?
Brennan: She's licking her wounds in the garden. This Zack guy has really gotten to her.
Adam: Yeah. So what'd you and Emma find out about the Fabergé egg?
Brennan: Well, after the collapse of the Russian monarchy, all of the eggs fell into the hands of private collectors.
Adam: And this one belonged to Sache Kantinski. Sache Kantinski?
Brennan: Why, you know the guy?
Adam (sitting on the ledge): Yeah, he was a biogeneticist. He was the director of the Soviet anti-Genomex program.
Brennan (joining him): Huh. Sounds like Eckhart, but with a fur coat and a vodka hangover.
Adam: Yeah, well, that's closer than you think. No, there's this weird Communist die-hard, right? With a secret nostalgia for the old czarist days. His passion was for Fabergé eggs.
Brennan: So you think Eckhart wants to steal the egg because it was cherished by his rival?
Adam: No. I think it goes deeper than that, but listen. Keep digging.

[Shalimar's sitting by the reflecting pool in the garden, when Emma comes to talk to her.]
Emma: So are you gonna sit here all day and brood? Or are you just practicing intimidating the plants?
Shalimar: I don't know how Adam can take Zack at his word after what I told him. Zack made my life a living hell.
Emma: Then you'll be glad to know that he's gone. I guess he got the message.
Shalimar: Guys like Zack never get the message.
Emma: Maybe he's changed. People do, you know. Look at Brennan. Or me.
Shalimar (sighing): Okay, I'll give you that. And I guess I've changed too, 'cause I'm not gonna let anyone hurt me like that again.
Emma: Wounds that heal are one thing. But building a wall around yourself, that just sucks.
Shalimar: You reading me?
Emma: Don't have to.
Shalimar: Am I that obvious? [Emma nods, smiling.]

[Jesse and Brennan are on the main room computer, consulting Proxy Blue for information. Adam listens in on the conversation from the shadows behind them.]
Proxy Blue: Sache Kantinski was born in 1948 and died in 1994 from what sounds like a diet of coffee, cigarettes, vodka, and fried food.
Brennan: Yeah, baby. The four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Jesse: What was he working on before he died?
Proxy Blue: The usual thing.
Jesse: And that would be?
Proxy Blue: Oh, you know. This and that.
Brennan (rubbing his eyes): Hey, Proxy, you do realize we logged on for your search function, right?
Proxy Blue: Yeah, so? Who says I have to make things easier for you? [Jesse shakes his head.] Okay, okay. But only because you're both so adorable when you're angry. Kantinski was working on genetically manipulating the DNA strand that controls free will.
Jesse: There's a DNA strand that controls free will? How far did he get with that?
Proxy Blue: Since the records were burned when the Soviets went belly-up, your guess is as good as mine.
Adam (unable to keep quiet): Okay, Proxy Blue off. Look, regardless of what Proxy Blue thinks, I wouldn't be surprised if the Soviets poisoned Kantinski.
Brennan: Why, for failing?
Adam: Or succeeding.
Jesse: You're thinking his secret didn't die with him.
Adam: I've got a feeling that he hid a data chip somewhere for safekeeping.
Jesse: And you're thinking that he might have hid that data chip in one of his Faberge eggs.
Adam: Bingo.
Brennan: That explains why Eckhart has a sudden jones for Russian rocks.
Adam: Right. And there's only one guy we know that can get to that egg before Eckhart.

[Adam calls Shalimar into the lab to fill her in. He's barely gotten the words out before Shalimar stomps out in a huff, yelling at the top of her lungs.]
Shalimar: NO!
Adam: Yes.
Shalimar: No, absolutely not!
Adam: Yes, look, we don't have a lot of choice here! He's the only guy who can break into that vault!
Shalimar: And he is also a complete bastard!
Adam: You're just gonna have to put your personal differences aside.
Shalimar: Well, you know what? Don't come crying to me when you find the silverware missing!
Adam: Look, look, look. I have no personal illusions about this guy, but we have to get into that place, grab the egg; we have to steal the formula, and we have to replace it without anybody being the wiser!
Shalimar: Well, that's great, because when it comes to grand theft, Zack is your go-to guy.
Adam: Well, look, fine, I am no happier about getting into bed with this guy than you-- [He stops short, realizing what he's just said. Shalimar glares and stomps off again. Adam follows.] All right, I'm sorry. I'm so--I'm sorry! Look, can I rephrase that, please?
Shalimar (stopping): No, you don't need to.
Adam: Okay, look, I'm sorry. All right? But I've got Brennan, Jesse, and Emma, they're already out there casing the secure facility, making sure that we know what we're getting ourselves into. Now. You have to tell me, are you gonna be okay with this?
Shalimar (angrily): I'll deal with it. [She stalks off, leaving Adam by the lab doors, shaking his head.]

[Brennan, Jesse and Emma fly the Double Helix directly above the Dombey and Son Securities building.]
Brennan (yawning): Well, I still don't know why I'm not the one going in. I'm a reformed professional criminal, right?
Emma (reassuringly): Absolutely.
Jesse (grinning): As soon as you learn to walk through walls, you can go. [He zips up his jacket.] Until then...this one's mine. [Crossing his arms, he phases through his seat and the floor of the Double Helix, floating directly into the building below. On reaching the floor, he solidifies and runs up the stairs towards the computer room.] I'm in.
Brennan (monitoring his progress on holographic computer screen): All right, we've got you on infrared. Okay, about 50 feet ahead of you, there's a T in the
corridor. [Avoiding the notice of two guards, Jesse makes it to the fork in the hallway and waits.] Okay, make a hard left and watch out for the guards who're there on patrol. All right, you're headed towards the mainframe...good. Be careful, huh? [Entering through the sliding doors, Jesse searches until he finds the keyboard he wants.]
Jesse: Keep an eye on those security patrols for me, okay?
Emma: No, you're okay for now. They're on their rounds. [Jesse's computer screen flashes: "Access Denied, Invalid Password." Hearing an alarm over their headphones, the guards head towards the computer room.]
Brennan: All right, head's up, Jess. They're coming back towards you.
Jesse (typing faster): I must have set something off here.
Brennan: Come on, man, you've gotta get outta there.
Jesse: Look, just a couple more seconds. I'm almost through.
Brennan: Come on, Jess, they're almost on top of you, man! [Jesse doesn't answer him.]
Guard #1 (finding noone in the first room): Nothing.
Brennan: You've gotta go, come on!
Guard #1: Go. [Brennan and Emma wait tensely. The guards burst into the computer room, guns at the ready, but Jesse's vanished.] There's nothing here. [As soon as they leave, Jesse phases out of the computer mainframe in which he was hiding and continues his work.]
Brennan: We've got it, Jess. Let's go. [Jesse dashes across the roof into the Helix.]

[Shalimar drivs her motorcycle into Zack's darkened motorcycle garage.]
Shalimar: Come on out, Zack. I know you're here...since I've spent the entire day checking out every other rat hole you like to hide in.
Zack (emerging from the back): Can't get enough of me, huh? [She doesn't answer.] You look great. [She still doesn't answer.] Look. About what happened between us...I behaved like a jerk, I was a jerk, and I'm genuinely sorry. Okay? [She still says nothing.] Look, if you don't believe I've changed, uh...what are you doing here?
Shalimar: Actually, it doesn't really matter what I believe. Adam seems to think you're the only one who can help us get that egg.
Zack (sitting on a couch): Well, that might be right, but I'm not going in there. It's too dangerous.
Shalimar (sighing): We're not talking about ripping off some precious heirloom. The genetic code to manipulate free will is in that egg.
Zack: Amazing what they can do with eggs these days.
Shalimar: You know, if Eckhart gets his hands on that code before we do, he can control any new mutant that he wants, and that includes you. [He looks away.] Please. [He looks up, but doesn't answer her.] Same old Zack. And you have the nerve to tell me that you've changed. [He reaches for her hand, standing, but she yanks away.]
Zack: I never meant to hurt you.
Shalimar: To hell with what you meant! You...you got in me.
Zack: I'm sorry, Shalimar. I mean it. I'd give anything to go back and change things, but...
Shalimar: What do you think I'm offering you here? If you do this for me, then we can put the past behind us.
Zack (nodding): I'm in.
Shalimar: Thanks. [Moving closer, she kisses him.]

[Jesse and Adam are going over the vault's security systems on Sanctuary's main computer.]
Jesse: Now I know why Zack wants to bail on this job. We're screwed.
Adam: No. There's gotta be a way in.
Jesse: Maybe. But even if we can get through to the vault, we still need Zack to crack that safe.
Adam: Well, Shalimar's working on it. She's gone to convince him.
Jesse (grinning): So worse comes to worse, she can beat him into submission.

[Shalimar and Zack lie on the couch in his garage, making out.]
Zack (sitting up): Forgot how much I missed you.
Shalimar: Yeah. Me too. [She pulls him back down for more kissing.] But...
Zack: But?
Shalimar (sitting up): It's time for us to get to work.
Zack: All play and no work makes Zack a dull boy, is that it?
Shalimar: Something like that. [He leans in for another kiss, but she freezes, staring at the door.]
Zack: What?
Shalimar: We've got company. [Getting up, they both hide in the back. When Artie Hill and his two agents walk into the garage, Zack greets them with a congenial smile.]
Zack: Hey! What are you guys doing here? Well, nice of you to drop by, but I got a better offer from the other side. No hard feelings? [Artie sucks his teeth, and the two GS agents start beating Zack up. Shalimar leaps down from the balcony to help out, and the two take all three agents out together. They smile at each other.]
Shalimar: You always did have perfect timing. [He and Shalimar jump on their motorcycles and peel off.]

*****Commercial Break****

[Awaiting word from Brennan and Emma, Adam pops out of his room when Shalimar calls him from Sanctuary's garage, laughing with Zack.]
Shalimar: So, Adam. Zack is on board.
Adam: Good!
Emma (calling from the Double Helix): Adam, we've got a problem.
Brennan: Yeah, the GSA's beating us to the punch.
Adam: What, they're breaking in?
Emma: As we speak. They've bypassed the central alarm system. They're on their way to the vault floor.
Adam (rushing to the main computer): Okay. All right. Now, Brennan, send me the surveillance data from the Double Helix.
Brennan: Okay, it's on the way. They're moving again. They just made it through the quadrant perimeter and circumvented the alarm.
Emma: Yeah, but there's no way they're gonna make it past the laser web, is there? [Inside the security building, Artie and a second agent rappel over the laser web to reach the safe. He uses his electronic controller to search for the safe's combination.]
Brennan: These bastards are gonna get the egg unless we do somthing about it.
Adam: But you've got to stop them without letting him or the security team know that you're on the job.
Brennan (typing at his computer): All right, well, I don't think that's gonna be a problem. Whaddya say we make this hurt a little bit, huh? Just as you're so close... [Brennan waits until Artie's successfully found the code, then triggers the alarm.]
Adam: Good work!
Emma: Are you always this cruel? [Brennan laughs.] Well, it is fun, isn't it?
Brennan: Time to go. [They fly off as Artie and his gang are arrested by Dombey and Son security. Artie calls Mason for help.]
Mason: Arrested?
Artie: I'm afraid so.
Mason: I take it you're in the market for a good lawyer?
Artie: Yeah, you could say that.
Mason (unmoved): Then I would suggest the Yellow Pages. Starting with A. [He turns off his computer, brooding.]

[Adam meets with Shalimar and Zack in Sanctuary's lab.]
Zack: So you and yours are up against it.
Adam: That's right. The only way we're going to get our hands on egg is if we go in as a team. And that includes you.
Shalimar (putting her arm around Zack): Sounds good to me.
Adam (consulting his watch): All right, we have to go in tonight, because the egg goes on the auction block tomorrow morning at 11 am.
Zack: So what are we waiting for?
Shalimar (taking his arm): Come with me. [They leave, and Adam goes to the landing bay as Brennan and Emma return in the Double Helix.]
Adam: Hey.
Brennan: Hey. How's Shalimar?
Adam: She's good. She's with Zack; they're getting ready. [Brennan sighs.] What?
Brennan: Nothing. I'm just...I'm concerned about her and this guy, you know? I don't know Zack at all, but I can read him like a book, if you know what I mean. The guy's just out for himself.
Adam: Yeah, maybe you should cut this guy a little slack. I mean, look at you. Look at who you were; look at who you've become.
Brennan: I'm not saying people can't change, okay? I just don't think Zack's the right guy for Shalimar.
Adam: This is spoken as a friend, of course.
Brennan: Yeah, what else?
Adam (changing the subject): So, what have you got for me?
Brennan: Well, I hacked into the auction house's computer system. They received a seven-figure absentee bid from a guy named Henry Purcell.
Adam: Henry Purcell? [He chuckles.] Henry Purcell was a 16th century composer of the Baroque school. He's Eckhart's favorite composer.
Brennan: Hm. That's funny. I always figured him for a speed metal kind of guy.
Adam: Heh. So Eckhart's our absentee bidder.
Brennan: And where's he get that kind of green from?
Adam: Oh, he's probably just digging deep into the black bag slush fund.
Brennan: He's trying to preempt any other bidders.
Adam: Right. So if we're not successful tonight, the egg's his.

[Mutant X enter Dombey and Son dressed as security guards. Patrolling the second floor balcony, Brennan calls Jesse over his comlink.]
Brennan: Yeah, I'm in. Jess, you make it?
Jesse: Yeah. Shal, you get Zack in okay?
Shalimar: Don't worry about us. Emma, you're on. [Emma walks up to two security guards by the safe and psionically puts them both to sleep standing up. She takes a combination key from one of their pockets and hands it to Jesse when he runs up to her. They grin at each other.]
Jesse: They won't remember a thing?
Emma: Not a thing. I'll take care of things here. You'd better get going.
Jesse: Right.
Emma: Brennan, Jesse's on his way. [Entering the safe's room, Jesse tosses a disk over the laser grid, phases, and drops through the grid to the ground near the safe in time to catch the disk. He turns off the laser grid, allowing the rest of the team to come down and join him.]
Brennan: All right, Zack, show what's in the vault. [Zack uses his ability to show them the contents of the vault.]
Zack: Let me check the other side.
Shalimar: Looks like a series of booby traps built into the system.
Brennan (to Jesse): Why don't you just phase in, grab the egg and then we can get outta here?
Jesse: Well, because it might be a little impossible for me to take anything with me when I phase back through.
Brennan: Ah, yeah, that's right. Oh, so you do need me after all.
Jesse (laughing): We all need you, Brennan.
Brennan: Step aside, son. It's about to get a little hot in here. [Brennan fries the locking mechanism with a tesla coil, and the vault doors slide open. Jesse reaches into the glass box, carefully removing the egg with one gloved hand.]
Jesse (handing the egg to Zack): Here. [Zack fumbles the egg, which slips out of his hands. Shalimar manages to catch it before it hits the ground.]
Shalimar: What would you guys do without me? [Tugging off her glove with her teeth, she opens the egg, removes the tiny information chip, and hands it to Brennan to take to Adam. Still watching over her guards, Emma calls her teammates.]
Emma: Time for security shift to check in, and for us to check out.
Brennan (running upstairs with the chip): All right. We've got the chip. We're on our way.
Emma: I'll meet you all back at the safehouse. [Shalimar replaces the egg in its glass box, and they close the vault and fly away in the Helix.]

***Commercial Break***

[Zack hurries into his garage to grab a suitcase. He's surprised to see Shalimar standing in the shadows. She smiles at him.]
Shalimar: Going somewhere?
Zack: I just pit-stopped here to grab my stuff. I was gonna meet you guys over at the safehouse. [Dropping the suitcase, he goes over to kiss her.]
Shalimar: You know, you are very, very good.
Zack: Thank you. [He kisses her again.]
Shalimar: It's too bad you're the same low-life lying scumbag you always were.
Zack (frowning): What are you talking about?
Shalimar: Well, you might have fooled the others with your little butter-fingers act in the vault, but I have seen you pick a hundred pockets with that same gag. [She reaches behind his ear with one hand, holding up the tiny information chip with the other.] You mind telling me why you have this?
Zack: Shalimar, it's not what you think. What I did, I did it for us. [He kisses her. She caresses his cheek.]
Shalimar: You know, there was a time I would have given anything to believe that. [She punches him. He falls back on the couch.] And if you ever so much as think of me again, you're gonna live to regret it. But I promise you won't live very long. [She leaves.]

[Mason waits in his office as the agent from Segal's appears at his doorway, handcuffed to a small metal box. He places the box on Mason's desk, uncuffs it, and is about to open it when Mason stops him.]
Mason: Thank you. That will be all. [The agent leaves. Mason carefully removes the egg, only to find the tiny internal case empty. In pure frustration, he shatters the egg against his glass wall.]

[In Sanctuary's lab, Jesse and Adam look on as Brennan tosses the tiny chip into the air, destroying it with a single line of electricity.]
Jesse: You really think that was a good idea?
Adam: Trust me.
Brennan: The last thing we want is that kind of power getting into the wrong hands.

[Shalimar and Emma slowly walk down the hallway towards the garden.]
Emma: You okay?
Shalimar: I don't know. I mean, I didn't let Zack pull one over on me this time, but for some reason, I just feel empty inside.
Emma (sitting next to her): Maybe after all is said and done, you're a little disappointed to find out just how right you were about him.
Shalimar: Maybe. Remember when you said that I build up walls to keep people out? [Emma nods.] I think maybe you might be right.
Emma (shaking her head): No. You're not so tough.
Shalimar: Don't you tell anyone.
Emma: Your secret's safe with me. So Zack must have been one hell of a...
Shalimar (laughing): Oh, honey, you have no idea.
Emma (teasing): Actually, I just might.
Shalimar (hitting her playfully): You're in my head? Get outta there! [They laugh together.]