- Virus bitch going down? - I'm working on it.
Max and Logan gettin' busy?
I just want to be able to shake his hand without killing him.
Why do doctors always have such lousy handwriting?
I paid that Manticore creep five grand for a cure, and what do I get?
A bunch of scribblings I can't even read.
Joshua, what are you doing?
Helping.
You want to help?
Get me another pencil.
Pencil!
I've read about the work you've been doing and I thought you might be able to help...
A virus...
Genetically targeted to a specific gene sequence...
Yeah. It's mine, actually...
Because someone wanted me dead...
Doctor, please don't hang up. I am not a nut and I am willing to pay you a lot of money... Hello?
Pencil... pencil... pencil...
Burnt sienna...
Chocolate mousse.
Candy. Trick and treat.
Pretty wack.
Joshua?
You down here?
Pencil.
- What's up, big fella? - Nothing. Uh... no pencil. Not - not anywhere.
- What's that? Let me see. - Nothing.
Come on.
Wow. Did you do that?
It's good. What is it?
Father.
Oh. I - I see the...
... guess he was an art fan. Maybe when Father was mixing you together, he put some Picasso in your DNA.
Picasso in my cocktail.
- This is good. A hobby. Keep you out of trouble. - Lay low... dangerous out there.
- That's right. - People afraid of things that are different.
We're not sure yet if he's specifically purposed for something or just an experiment.
So, what is it you're meant to be?
Besides ugly.
I'm talking to you.
Sir!
- Are you all right? - Arrange for transport.
The boys at forensics have been itching to take one of these transgenics apart alive.
They just got their wish.
Yes, sir.
This is Carson. White wants this guy transported ASAP.
Don't shoot!
No!
Never turn your back on them.
They designed her to be the perfect soldier - a human weapon.
Then she escaped.
In a future not far from now,
in a broken world, she is haunted by her past.
She cannot run; she must fight
to discover her destiny.
You've reached the cellular voice mail for Donald Lydecker. Leave a message after the beep.
Hey, it's me.
Haven't gotten one of your mysterious phone calls in a while.
I was hoping, uh, maybe you could hook me up with one of your doctor friends.
Last one left town in a hurry;
said your former employers were looking to terminate his contract.
Anyhow... really like to hear from you.
Here, boy!
- Anybody home? Hey. - Hey. Max had to blaze.
Oh, that's okay. Actually, I came to see you. I, uh,...
... scored a sweet deal on some ham hocks. My buyer fell through on me. You want `em?
- I don't have any money. - Oh, that's all right.
Take it as an "I'm sorry" for trying to kill you that one time.
Hey, man, this is nice digs. This, uh...
...oh, wow. This is real nice.
It's mine.
- Joshua, this could be worth some serious coin. - It's good?
Oh, yeah, you kidding me? I mean, look at that attention to detail.
You don't see that kind of work anymore.
Take it.
- No, no, those ham hocks aren't worth that much. - I want you to.
- Well, all right. Thanks. - Wait.
Joshua!
- All right. - Okay.
- Enjoy your ham hocks. - Ham hocks. Bye.
- Hey. - Hey.
Was wondering if I could raid your library.
Go ahead. Listen, I was gonna give you a call.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Organic chemistry? - Bedtime reading.
So what did you want to talk to me about? - I've been trying to get in touch with Lydecker.
Lydecker? Why?
The last time we talked, he said something mysterious about tracking down some kind of lead.
Sounds like Lydecker.
I thought it was kind of weird that he never got back to me, so I did some checking around.
Police pulled an SUV from the river about a month ago.
The plates were registered to Lydecker through a holding company.
- He's dead? - Well, they never found the body.
Police say no one could have survived the crash.
- They don't know Lydecker. - You sound like you're almost hopeful.
Yeah, well, you spend ten years of your life running from someone, you kind of miss not having him around.
- At least you still have White. - Good old Ames.
Somehow it's not the same with him.
Anyway, I had Matt Sung pull the police report. Check it out -
some pictures they found near Lydecker's car. Looks like some kind of dig site.
I figure I'll run `em through a few archaeological databases and see what turns up.
- Might as well. - Anyway, I gotta go see somebody.
Business or pleasure?
A woman contacted Eyes Only.
Her son was kidnapped. Six years old.
Sucks. Didn't know Eyes Only did missing persons.
She reached out through an informant I've known for a long time. The police have dead-ended.
The Olsens are desperate. Plus her husband's a big-time ad exec
and she's offered to make a sizable donation to the Streaming Freedom Video Foundation.
- Oh, how the mighty have fallen. - Hey, even Eyes Only's gotta pay the bills.
I like it.
Great. Let me just get this out of the way for you.
Yes, please do. It's hideous.
Astounding.
Look at the use of color. - Gold? My favorite.
Well, some gold, yes, but it's the...
... broad strokes of cerulean and crimson commingled with...
... found objects and palimpsests that make this work of art so unique and exciting. Don't you agree?
Oh, yeah.
I'll give you six grand.
Six grand?
Fine, seven.
Agents. Enzo! Draw seven thousand from the safe and lock this up.
No - on second thought, you leave it here.
I want to bask in its organic energy,...
... feast my eyes on its heroically gargantuan impasto strokes.
Yeah, well, grab some beer and some ham hocks, and you've got yourself a party.
I must meet this artist.
I must meet... Joshua.
Hello, little boy? - Yeah, yeah. He's - he's shy.
Listen, my clients don't just want pictures to hang on their walls.
They want the opportunity to engage with the artist,...
... to interact with minds more creatively fertile than their own.
Well, what can I say? I mean, he's fertile, but he's - he's a homebody.
Well, at least tell me he's prolific.
Thank you.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's - he's painting night and day.
Can't get enough palimpsests and, uh, cerulean paint to keep up with his bursting organic energy.
That's it, Josh, that's it. Come on. Get ready. Show me what you got. Show me what you got now.
Beautiful! Beautiful! Hit it up on the left corner there. Left corner.
Oh, it's great, Josh. It looks great. Keep going. Show me what you got. Be one with the paint.
She liked it?
Oh, she loved it. You know what she loved? She loved the color. Use some of that yellow.
There you go. There you go. Toss it on there.
Oh! Ooh, ooh - you know what? The big gargantuan impasto strokes - loved `em.
Get crazy. Go on. Do it up. Do it up.
Get crazy, dog-boy. Joshua, get crazy.
Oh, it's pretty! It's pretty. Hit it!
Oh, it's beautiful.
- Joshua... - What's the matter, Josh?
- ...has a new face. - Oh, yeah?
My work is my face, Alec!
- Yes! - Good!
Okay, you know what she liked? She liked the palimpsests, the - the papers with - that are written on.
Boom!
These are the ones right here. Ooh...
... oh, Josh, these are great. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. These are winners. These are winners.
Look at that. Look at that. What do you got for me? What do you got for me? What do you got for me?
I need some help. I need some help. I need some - help me! Help me!
I got a headache.
They took him in the middle of the night. Right out of his room. We didn't hear a thing.
- Police find any forensic evidence? - Nothing. They think it was a professional job.
We have a video security system at the house. Caught a glimpse of someone, but...
... nothing anyone can make out. - I'd like to see it.
There's a copy of it in here.
Who could have done this?
We're not anybody important. We're new here to Seattle.
You haven't heard anything from the kidnappers? No ransom note?
I may need to come by the house - take a look around myself.
It'll have to be during the day, when my husband's at work.
He doesn't know that I'm here.
Truth is, he doesn't care much for Eyes Only.
Thinks what you people do is... subversive.
It's okay.
Tried to dig up anything that would be of use to you.
Birth certificate, medical files, school records...
He's such a smart little boy.
He won a spelling contest when he was four. Can you believe it? The word was "chasm."
- I can't even spell that. - That's him when he was three.
He's a good-looking boy.
We, uh...
... lost our first two at childbirth.
He's our whole world. Our miracle.
There's something I don't understand. On the birth certificate, it says...
Uh, yeah, that. Um...
... I go by my maiden name, Olsen. Ray goes by my husband's last name, which is White.
- Ames White? - That's us.
Happier times.
Please... find him. Find our son.
Said she loved it even more than the first.
Said she wants to get together and discuss your "blossoming artistic sensibility",...
... or something. I don't know. Here you go.
- Rita wants to meet me? - Yeah. That'd be pretty wild, huh?
Joshua wants to meet Rita. Discuss my...
... blossoming. - Bad idea.
Good idea. Good for my career.
Look, Josh, you're a great artist, apparently.
But you're also, to be frank, a dog-boy.
Listen to me. Listen to me. One look at you,...
... and your benefactress is gonna go runnin' in fear for her life.
That's gonna cut a blossoming career off right at its knees, not to mention future sales.
People afraid of things that are different.
Well, what are you gonna do? All right, now, come on. Show me some of that bursting organic energy.
Josh, don't be like that. Come on.
Good morning, Joshua. What are you doing here?
Just paying a friendly visit to the artist-in-residence.
Just stopped by to grab my papers.
- Focus. Focus. - That's weird. They were right here.
- What'd they look like? - White grid paper with scribblings all over it.
Palimpsests!
Uh... what... uh... "Pal upset"?Pal upset. He's just worried about you, the big lug.
- Maybe they're down in the basement. - Yeah.
It's Logan.
Oh, well, you know, that could be important. Why don't you go find out what that's about?
Michelangelo and I will find your papers for you, huh?
Okay.
They gotta be around here somewhere, right?
- Gotta help Max! Gotta find virus bitch papers! - Okay, okay. Easy, easy, Josh.
- It's him. - So what do you think?
Bad things happen to bad people too.
- She's not a bad person. - Married to him, isn't she?
She doesn't know what he does.
What, she doesn't see the blood on his shirts when she does the laundry?
If she knew, she wouldn't have come to Eyes Only.
She's scared, Max. She's desperate to get her son back.
Yeah, well, maybe if White wasn't so busy trying to kill me and mine, he could do something about it.
- You got that look. - What look?
Like you know more than I do and you're about to tell me.
From the Whites' security system. This is the feed from the camera covering the backyard.
Whoever took the boy must've spotted the cameras - figured if they timed it right, they could...
... get in without being seen. What they didn't figure on was this.
- White's bad taste in landscaping? - Hang on.
I can correct for the spherical distortion.
There.
Transgenics.
My guess is they couldn't get to White, so they went after his kid as payback.
White brought it on himself.
Yeah, but the boy's innocent. He can't help who his father is.
Now, look, I'm not asking you to get involved. Just wanted you to know what was going on.
Wendy could be the next target. I'm gonna warn her, and do what I can to help her get her son back.
- How? - You see this?
- What is it? - Some kind of badge or I.D.
I'm running the image through an enhancement filter. It's gonna take a while, but with any luck,...
... it'll clear up enough to be readable. In the meantime,...
... I'm gonna go see Wendy before the man of the house comes home for dinner.
- I'm coming with you. - You don't have to.
Yes, I do. Otherwise I'm no better than he is.
You've gotta be kidding.
Alec, I'm so glad you dropped by. I have something to show you.
Joshua has been reviewed in the Artist's Weekly.
"A staggering work of raw genius?"
"Joshua #1 gives voice to the angst of expressionism
while still reveling in its spectacular ambiguity.
The medium is truly the message."
Well, that just about sums it up. Uh, listen, Rita, about #2...
- Oh, when they get a chance to view it... - Rita, whoa - we're gonna need Joshua #2 back.
Well, I'm afraid that's not possible.
- You sold it? - No. No, it's part of my private collection.
Oh. Um, well, it - it's at the artist's request. He, uh...
... sentimental value, you know.
Yeah, should be all there. - I couldn't bear to part with it.
Perhaps if the artist was willing to explain the situation in person...
That's not possible. Listen, Rita,
what's it going to take to get that painting back?
Oh...
Two more?
Straight trade. Said she'd give us the old one back.
Come on, come on, come on, come on. Burning daylight. Start flinging fuchsia, huh?
Can't paint. What about Max?
You want to help Max? Get your ass in gear. Come on. Gotta get you started.
Come on. What do we need? A little paint? Is that it?
This oughta work.
See? It's all in the wrist.
Good.
Genetic engineering? Government cover-up?
I mean, even if any of this was true, Ames has nothing to do with it.
He's been lying to you. He's not who he claims to be.
- I don't believe you. - I'm sorry, but it's true.
The people who took your son did it to hurt your husband because he hurt them.
- My husband is a good man. - He put your son in danger.
- No. - And as long as you stay here, you're in danger too.
Get out. Both of you.
- We just want to help you. - Ames loves me. He loves Ray. He...
...wonders what the hell are you doing here, 452.
Don't. Don't even think about it. On your knees. Do it now, both of you.
- Ames, what's going on? What's happening? - They didn't hurt you, did they? Are you all right?
- Ames... - What are you doing here?
- I was about to ask you the same question. - What the hell are you doing in my house?
You're supposed to be at work. You know, killing people.
It's - it's not true. Tell me none of it's true.
What did they tell you?
That you - that - that Ray...
You've known all along, haven't you?
You knew that these -
these transgenics took our son. You never told me?
Ames!
- You son of a bitch. - You animals took my son.
I should take you out - break your miserable neck and pretend you never existed.
But I'm not that kind of animal.
- Ames. Oh, God. Ames. - I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Let's get out of here.
Wait.
We've got a lead on who took your son. We can find him for you.
- You'd do that? Why? - I'm not doing it for you.
You deserve whatever pain life can give you, but your wife and son don't.
They shouldn't have to suffer for what you've done. We'll keep in touch.
No. No, there's no passion here.
The contextualization is poor; the juxtapositions are haphazard and lack focus.
- They look just like the other ones. - What?!
These two canvases put together could never equal the power and majesty of Joshua #2.
No, this happens sometimes.
An artist burns bright for an instant, and then extinguishes like a scrape of phosphorus.
Well, call it his Blue Period. It'll be worth a fortune.
Now if I could only, um, talk to him,
I might be able to help him find his muse again.
That's not gonna happen.
Well, then I'm afraid the deal's off.
Can't quite make it out yet, but shouldn't be too much longer.
- You okay? - Just thinkin'.
I don't know what I was expecting to see when we went over there...
but it wasn't the Hallmark card house, or the pictures on the mantel,
or the barbecue in the backyard. It all seemed so normal.
We dropped a pretty big bomb over there today.
I'm guessing things won't be so normal anymore.
But who knows? Maybe you doing this will
force White to get his head on straight - make him feel different about his calling in life.
- You're just the eternal optimist, aren't you? - That's my nature.
Yeah.
Well, where White's nature is concerned, I wouldn't count on it.
Lost Max's papers... lost my muse...
lost everything. - No, Josh, your career's not over. Okay?
Let me give you a little advice from my, uh, brief sojourn in the art scene.
It's all about supply and demand. You know? Rare doesn't just apply to meat, my friend.
Look, you need to kick back. You know, you need to kick back,
you need to stop painting, you need to make `em wait. All right?
Before you know it they'll be busting down your door for a - a Joshua.
No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Virus bitch going down. Need to get Joshua #2 back.
Steal it.
Steal it. Yeah. Can we, uh, crack one of these windows open?
`Cause I think the paint fumes in here are turning your brain into oatmeal.
- Sneak, sniff, steal it, huh? - Listen. Listen to me, okay?
If we jack that painting, Rita's gonna know it was us.
`Kay? That's a career-ender. Not the plan.
Now, look, as soon as we start selling paintings again, you can get Max a new doctor.
Heck, you can buy her a whole hospital, okay? You know, but just, uh, tell her you lost the papers.
Tell her, uh, I don't know, tell her your dog ate `em. Tell her you ate `em.
Max will get over it, all right? You know why? Because underneath that -
that sadomasochistic leather and that - that tough-girl image, she's nothing but a big softie.
- Joshua? - Okay, I gotta go.
- What's up, big fella? - Uh...
Any luck finding my papers?
- I'll take that as a no. - Uh... Alec, uh, sold my paintings, and...
- Your paintings? - They rocked. Uh, for a while.
Wow. That's great.
Max and Joshua have to talk about paintings. Now.
Hold on.
Yeah. - Max? Got the whole image completed.
It's an I.D. badge for an outfit called RCF Environmental Cleanup and Disposal.
I got an address for a site they're working on downtown.
Fifth and Grand. - Got it.
I gotta go. Um, we can talk later. I promise.
It's okay, I'm Manticore. X5-452.
I know you took White's kid. I saw the surveillance footage.
Look, I don't like the guy myself, but you can't just go around grabbing up people's kids.
Let me guess. You're with him.
Who the hell are you people?
Some pictures they found near Lydecker's car...
Looks like some kind of dig site.
The Manticore symbol.
They didn't have barcodes. They fought differently. They're not transgenics, Logan.
I couldn't hurt them - how strange is that? - It just got more strange.
The place you found was a Kiloma burial ground from the early 1800s.
- 1800s? What was the Manticore symbol doing there? - Good question.
Found another one in a Mesopotamian burial chamber, 5000 B.C.
Another one in an Andean tomb in Atacama, Chile, 2000 B.C.
Second-century Etruscan catacombs.
Seventh-century Northumbrian Celtics. On and on. It's like a virus down through history.
- What does it mean? - All I can figure is that Manticore,
or some precursor to Manticore, has been around a lot longer than we ever realized.
They weren't doing genetic engineering back in Mesopotamia. Didn't exactly have the hardware.
Maybe not,
but you just got your ass handed to you by a couple of guys hanging around an Indian burial site.
What's Lydecker's connection to this whole thing?
I don't know.
But he was driving around with pictures from the same place the kidnappers were holding the kid.
You don't think he's behind all this?
We don't even know if he's still alive. Been trying to hack into his voice mail account.
Maybe something will turn up there.
In the meantime, I'm gonna pay White a surprise visit.
Could be he knows a lot more than he's telling.
- You scared me. - I'm sorry.
Didn't hear you come in.
Wendy...
I better get that.
Hello?... Yes?...
My son? Who is this? - Ames! Is it Ray?
Don't make them mad! Don't... - How much do you want?...
How do we even know he's alive?...
Ray? Ray? - Ray, honey, it's Mommy!
Don't worry, pal, we're coming... Hello? Hello?...
Yes...
We'll be there.
Should we call the police?
No. They said for us to come alone. If we don't, they'll kill him.
Wen... you know I love you, right?
I know.
- What's up? - Where are you?
I followed `em. They left the house in a hurry. I think they're gonna meet the kidnappers.
Listen to me. I got into Lydecker's voice mail.
There's a message there from some archaeologist he'd been talking to.
Something's wrong. Where are they?
They're not coming.
What do you mean? How do you know?
- I staged this whole thing. - What? You did this?...
- Where's Ray? I want my son! - He's not your son anymore.
There was some kind of genetic breeding going on for generations.
Selected women were forced to have children.
You were chosen for me. It's the early ones who did the smart thing and they...
they got rid of the breeding host right away.
But I made one mistake -
I fell in love with you.
But you... you just couldn't leave things alone.
When I had Ray taken, you couldn't accept it.
You had to go out and find him on your own.
Always in threes. They kill the first two newborns.
Max, the Whites had two miscarriages before Ray.
I didn't want it to end like this, but now I don't have a choice.
As far as the police will be concerned, we came to meet the men who took our son.
They double-crossed us, and you were killed.
When they're through, they kill the mother.
I took a bullet myself.
What are you?
I am the future.
Goodbye, my love.
Haven't you done enough?
Surprised? You think you and your little Manticore progeny are special?
Transgenic scum.
You think those geeks with their chemistry sets and their gene banks
and their greasy little paws are the future?
You have no idea what you're up against.
I should've canceled your ass when I had the chance.
You couldn't because you're too weak.
Pain is a phantom of the mind.
Hold it right there!
That's a pretty expensive and important piece of artwork you've got there, mister.
I know.
Joshua? Is that you?
My painting. Joshua #2.
I told your representative you could have the painting back if you'd just ask for it in person.
Here I am, in person. Give it back!
Yeah, but can't I see you?
Oh! Sorry!
Joshua! Just let me see you, and you can take the painting back, and -
and I'll square it with the cops. - Cops?!
Yeah, you tripped the - you tripped the alarm. They're on their way.
Oh, very wack.
Joshua! It doesn't matter to me what you look like.
Screaming... running for your life.
Joshua, it doesn't matter.
I promise you.
It all makes sense now.
Your work... your early paintings...
they were the expressions of an artist literally seeing the world for the first time,
a joyous celebration of life and freedom.
But now you've realized you can't be a part of this world, not really.
People afraid of what they don't understand.
You're too good for us, Joshua.
Paint for yourself. Create, because that's what your soul must do to survive.
But don't do it for us; we don't deserve you.
You're special. - Special... first.
You... are...
the one... and only...
Joshua.
She's not safe here anymore. We have to get her out of town.
What about White?
I called Matt Sung again, had him check out the house. Big surprise -
no sign of him. - So tomorrow he goes back to his secret
government job for the secret government agency nobody's ever heard of. Untouchable.
Whoever this group he's involved with is, they know how to cover their tracks.
They've had practice. Looks like they've been doing it for a couple of thousand years.
Question is, what's this breeding program all about? Who's behind it?
And what do they want with Ray?
- Did I do good? - You did real good, Ray. Real good.
Your mom didn't suspect a thing. - I wish she would understand.
Me too. But it had to be this way.
It's time for you to be with other people like us.
- Will you come visit? - When the time comes.
I love you.
And I'll think about you all the time.
You be good now.