REPORT: FLESH AND BLOOD
FILE #: 308

AT THE TEACHER’S COMPOUND IN MERRIL’S CROSSING, APPALACHIAN HILLS Sydney’s son Nicholas is talking to his father on the phone, holding in hand a golden compass that Sydney has just sent him. Apparently, it used to belong to Sydney’s father. Nicholas has called to say thanks, but he still calls his father “Sydney”. When their conversation ends, Sydney is just about to tell him “Oh, Nicholas, don’t call me Sydney, call me…”, but Nicholas has already hung up the phone. “…Dad” Sydney continues by himself.

Just a few minutes later, men with guns appear at the compound, taking Nicholas and the other teachers as hostages.

IN HIS MOTEL ROOM Jarod comes home from his last job at the “Brinkley Oil Company” [By the way, wearing a sleeveless, oily top showing his biceps…mmmm]. He looks at a newspaper headline saying “Brinkley Oil Shut Down – Worker Exposes Toxic Waste in Bay”. Lying on his bed and eating pieces of cold pizza, he watches a news report on TV which shows a picture of Nicholas and says that four teachers have been abducted by a violent local militia. Jarod recognizes Nick immediately and gets on his way.

AT THE CENTRE Miss Parker, Sydney, Broots and Mr. Lyle are just examining Jarod’s most recent prank, a bird covered in oil. When Lyle leaves, Sydney gets a call from Michelle, who’s very upset and tells him about Nick’s kidnapping.

IN THE APPALACHIAN HILLS, Jarod has joined the ATF Rapid Response Extraction Team as special agent Jarod Minor, a tracking expert of that region.

AT THE CENTRE Sydney is at his computer writing an e-mail to Jarod, asking him for help. We learn that Nicholas had been in the Appalachian hills as volunteer for fighting illiteracy. Sydney asks Broots to cover for him while he’s gone, The Centre cannot know that Sydney has found his son. Miss P. says she’ll take care of Lyle.

AT THE TEACHER’S COMPOUND, the ATF questions the locals, but they are too afraid to talk. Jarod finds a dead rattle snake with its tail cut off. He says it’s the trade mark of an organization called the “Appalachian Freedom Militia (AFM)”, their leader being a man called Aldrich Haley. Jarod assumes that the abduction was a retaliatory gesture, because the ATF had confiscated a pile of weapons from the AFM two months ago. Jarod’s attention is drawn to a little boy, who is, as we know, friends with Nick. When he asks the boy if he knows where Nick is, he points to the hills and says they were taken there. Then he gives Jarod a picture of Nicholas and his mother, as well as the compass he had gotten from his father.

IN THE MEANTIME, AT THE ATF FIELD OFFICE IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY Sydney and Michelle have arrived in hope to find out news about their son. Sydney says he wants to help with the search but is told to be patient.

SOMEWHERE in what appears to an old mine shaft, we see Nick and the other hostages, scared but alive. Nicholas tries to comfort his female colleague, but Haley warns him that he’ll go first if he doesn’t shut up.

AT THE CENTRE Mr. Lyle freaks Broots out by talking about his lost thumb. We see a very nervous Broots telling Lyle that Jarod was located working at some oil refinery in California. While they’re talking, Raines’ sweeper Willie comes in with an urgent message for Lyle. Lyle reads it casually and leaves for California to find Jarod.

ELSEWHERE IN THE CENTRE: Miss Parker is very pleased that Lyle bought the fake story about the oil refinery, which was meant to distract Lyle from Sydney’s search for his son. Broots tells her he’ll get an ulcer if she makes him keep lying like that.

AT THE ATF FIELD OFFICE Sydney is getting nervous because there is no news about Nicholas; he feels helpless. Michelle tries to comfort him.

IN THE APPALACHIAN HILLS Jarod and the search team are getting a satellite video transmission from the kidnappers. Haley wants one million dollars by dawn, or “further action will be taken as demonstrated”. Then he takes Nicholas and apparently shoots him in front of the camera. But we don’t see if Nick has even been hit by the bullet.

Sydney AND MICHELLE have seen the transmission as well, from the field office. Sid calls Broots to get more information about Aldrich Haley. The news isn’t good: Haley has served ten years for voluntary manslaughter. Later he killed twelve people in a bombing and has been committing violent crimes ever since.

JAROD AND THE TEAM have been able to locate the source of the satellite transmission 12 miles south west from where they are now. They get on their way immediately.

AT THE FIELD OFFICE one of the officers marks the map on the wall, but no one will tell Sydney what’s going on. Losing his patience, he grabs the map and leaves. Sydney calls Miss Parker and tells her to pay the kidnappers with the money from his bank accounts. But Miss P. has a better idea: Let the Centre pay…

Miss Parker is worried about Sydney’s safety, but Broots suggests that he may not be alone: Jarod. Miss P. wants Broots to find out if Sydney has e-mailed Jarod before leaving The Centre.

IN THE MORNING, IN THE APPALACHIAN HILLS the ATF team has located the kidnappers in an abandoned mine shaft and are preparing their attack. Suddenly Sydney shows up. He walks up towards the entrance of the mine, shouting “Haley! The money is being wired into your account!”. Haley comes out carrying a gun. He aims at Sydney, but Jarod saves Sydney from the bullet. Haley runs and the ATF enter the mine; inside they find bodies. They belong to the rest of the kidnappers. Apparently, the hostages have been led out before the blood bath. The team catches the injured Haley, but he passes out before they can question him. As he is taking care of Haley, Sydney thanks Jarod for responding so quickly to his e-mail, but Jarod doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

AT THE CENTRE Broots has found Sydney’s e-mail, but says that it could have easily been intercepted by anyone at The Centre: The memo that Lyle had gotten the day before.

AT THE MINE Jarod and Sydney are trying to make sense of the incidents at the mine. The three other kidnappers were literally executed, while Haley was only injured, left alive in order to talk: to Jarod. Haley wakes up and describes a crazy man with nine fingers: Lyle.

AT THE CENTRE Miss Parker gets the jet ready and leaves together with Broots.

IN THE HILLS Jarod and Sydney find out that Lyle has taken the hostages west, but Jarod tells the ATF team that they were taken 5 miles east by a rival militia group. He knows that Lyle is using Nicholas as bait to capture him. Jarod says he needs to stay with Haley, being the only team member with medical training, when in reality he plans to follow Lyle. Sydney and Jarod disagree over whose “fight” this is. Jarod wants to keep Sydney out, but Sid says he would have to shoot him to keep him out.

ELSEWHERE in the hills, Lyle leads the hostages into a cabin. They think that Lyle saved them from Haley; they have no idea that their “hero” killed all of Haley’s men. Lyle tells Nick that an extraction team will meet them at the cabin.

ON THEIR WAY WEST Sydney asks Jarod if he thinks that revenge will put an end to the pain in his life. Jarod just answers “He killed my brother”. Sydney starts wondering about his own life. Having worked his entire life for a corporation that took his son away from him, and when he gets him back, they kidnap him. “What does that say about me?” he asks Jarod. Jarod gives Sydney the picture and the compass that the little boy at the compound had given him. He says that Nicholas is a good man and that it is important to know who your family is and who you are. When Sydney replies that he knows how much Jarod has missed all these years, Jarod replies by a simple “Let’s go”.

SOMEWHERE EAST the ATF find out that they’ve been misled, but they don’t know by whom: Haley or Jarod.

NEAR THE CABIN WHERE THE HOSTAGES ARE, Sydney and Jarod see three sweepers outside the building. Before they can go any further, Sydney knocks Jarod out with his gun: He doesn’t want him to risk his life for him.

Sydney enters the cabin. Nick is very surprised to see him there and doesn’t understand the following conversation between him and Mr. Lyle, because he still thinks Lyle is some kind of FBI agent. Outside, Jarod wakes up. First, he calls his team for backup, then he knocks out one sweeper after the other.

MEANWHILE, Broots and Miss P. have arrived at the airport and take The Centre helicopter from there.

BACK AT THE CABIN Jarod gets the other three hostages out of the attic first, then he enters the cabin. Sydney and a very confused Nicholas leave Jarod alone with Mr. Lyle.

ELSEWHERE IN THE HILLS, the ATF team gets Jarod’s message and heads for the cabin.

BACK AT THE CABIN, Jarod wonders how Lyle knew where to find the hostages. Lyle: “The Centre has strange bedfellows”. Mr. Lyle tries to cut a deal with Jarod, so he won’t kill him. Obviously that doesn’t work with Jarod. He asks Lyle to step to the center of the room, to turn around and to get on his knees. Lyle gets really scared now and begs Jarod not to do this. He tells him he knows things about Jarod’s family and about who he is. He says those answers will die with him if he dies. Just then, he hears the Centre helicopter arrive and says “How’s that for karma?”. “Bad”, Jarod replies, and then “Ready?” as he releases the safety catch of his gun. “Jarod…” Lyle whispers. Right next to his ear, Jarod then screams at the top of his voice “Fire!”.

When Miss P. and Broots come in, Jarod is gone and we see Mr. Lyle lying on the floor, covering his head. When he hears Miss Parker, he gets up, his face covered in sweat, desperately trying to hide his fear. “He’s here! He went out that door!” he shouts. But Jarod is nowhere to be seen. “Well, find him!” Lyle screams. That’s when Miss P. realizes that something is wrong with him. “What did he do to you?”, she asks. “Nothing. And I had it with those idiots outside who let him escape”. “Whatever you say Lyle, but now it’s time to go”. They have to leave because the ATF is arriving and would want explanations. Before leaving the cabin, Miss Parker looks around, mumbling “Weird sense of justice, Jarod”.

Taking off in the helicopter, Lyle, Miss P. and Broots are watched by Sydney, Nick and Jarod, who’s hiding in the trees. AT THE TEACHER’S COMPOUND Sydney and Michelle are visiting Nicholas and Sydney returns the compass and the picture to his son. To his friend and student, the little boy we’ve seen at the beginning of the episode, Nick presents Sydney as…his father.

IN HIS LAIR Jarod talks to Sydney on the phone. Sydney thanks him for everything he’s done and apologizes for hitting him. Jarod replies maybe it knocked a little sense into him. He asks about Nick. When Sydney tells him that his son has invited him and Michele to come visit again, Jarod says “That’s nice. I mean, that will be very nice…for you family” – “Hardly a family”, Sydney replies “the boy barely knows me”. “He knows”, Jarod says, looking at the mirror, “he knows you love him” and hangs up the phone. In the dark, by himself, Jarod repeats “You love…him” and leaves.