Deputy Green and Larry Trilling are sitting across from each other in one of the booths. The place is moderately busy and noisy.

Green throws some bills on the table and gets up. Larry does the same.

They head for the door. As they are walking out, a man (the same Hispanic man from Independence Day and Sexual Healing) looks around from the booth that was directly behind them and watches them exit.

Cut to:

The door bursts open and Michael and Max enter, arguing. Isabel, Liz, Maria and Alex follow; Alex closes the door behind them.

Everyone smiles at this, even Michael. The tension is relieved somewhat.

The others look at her, intrigued.

Isabel shudders a little as if the thought of that gives her the willies.

Dissolves show Michael unearthing a sketch pad and drawing a plan of the Crashdown with the others looking over his shoulder and making suggestions. We see a close-up of the completed sketch; different hands appear drawing lines and arrows over it. Each time, Michael uses his powers to erase them as they are rejected until:

Click here to see finished diagram

Cut to:

play "Origins (Jungle Morning)" by Joe Thurber (streaming audio):
MP3

Michael is standing outside the perimeter of the range, looking around, checking for security. When he's satisfied that there is no security guard nor watch dog around he proceeds towards the pistol shooting range. He picks up a stick from the ground, hesitantly reaches out to check the surrounding fence for an electric shock, then climbs the fence to get into the shooting range. The moon is not yet full so Michael cups his hands and uses his power to provide enough illumination to check the field for spent bullets. Dissolves show a passage of time as Michael searches the field looking for the right caliber, picking up and discarding various bullets. We sense he is being watched and at one point so does he. He stops and looks around, doesn't see anything, so he shakes it off and continues searching the ground. Finally he finds the one he's looking for, holds it in his fist briefly to distort it and alter the markings.

Cut to:

Michael is standing by the sink. He removes the modified bullet from his pocket, reaches for a paper towel from a roll on the counter and wipes off any incriminating fingerprints. Holding the bullet by the towel he drops it down the sink drain. We hear a clink as it hits the trap. He turns and heads for the kitchen doorway, tossing the towel in the trash as he passes it. The camera follows him to the back room, through the swinging door and over to the counter in the main dining area. He climbs onto the counter, checks the trajectory, and reaches up towards the fan. His hand glows red and when he lowers it there is a ricochet mark on the fan.

Cut to:

Max is at his locker. Michael approaches looking self-satisfied.

Cut to:

The evening rush has ended and things are starting to quiet down. Max is in his usual booth in the seat facing the front door, doing his homework, occasionally sneaking glances at Liz and exchanging smiles with her as she helps customers. There's a lull and she slips into his booth across from him. Maria comes out from the back room wearing her jacket and approaches Liz. In the background we see that Ricky is at the pass-through window waiting for his next order and Jen is bringing the check to her customer.

Cut to:

Maria is parked in the Jetta. She appears to be rehearsing a speech and keeps repeating "Michael, we need to talk" in different ways, emphasizing different words. She sees Michael approach his apartment, takes a deep breath and gets out of the car. As Michael gets to his door, Deputy Green steps out of the shadows. Maria stops short.

Cut to:

Liz is locking the front door and Max is still working on his homework. Jen goes through the swinging door, on her way to the kitchen. Through the pass-through window we can see Ricky carrying plates towards the sink and then Jen following. Liz heads for the kitchen but her path is blocked by Nancy and Jeff coming in from the back room. Nancy signals to Liz to precede her and she and Liz approach Max's booth. Liz looks apprehensive as she peers over her shoulder to see what Jeff is up to. Jeff walks over to the pass-through window.

Cut to:

Ricky turns on the faucet and starts cleaning the sink, preparing to wash the pots. Jen reaches above him to get some cleaning supplies off the shelf above the sink. She then heads towards the exit.

Surprised, Ricky looks over his shoulder at Jeff while continuing to wipe down the sink counter.

Ricky turns off the water and places the strainer in the sink. Jen heads back to the sink to replace the cleaning supplies. In the meantime, Ricky removes his apron, throws it on the counter next to the sink.

Cut to:

Max's stricken look is unseen by Nancy but not Liz as she slides in next to him; she shares his panic. Nancy then slides into the booth across from Max, as Jeff approaches them.

Max and Liz stare at Nancy, then Jeff as he slides in next to Nancy; both look like deer caught in headlights.

Cut to:

Maria is sitting in the Jetta in the Sheriff's Dept. parking lot. She is just hanging up her cell phone when the back door to the car suddenly opens and Isabel and Alex slide in.

Isabel stops in mid-sentence, focused on a man who is entering the Sheriff's Dept.

Cut to:

Cut to:

Cut to:

Cut to:

At that moment, Hank exits the Sheriff's Dept. Isabel nods. They stare at the door to the Sheriff's Dept. expectantly but no one else emerges.

Isabel opens her car door; Alex opens his.

Isabel and Alex get out of the car. Isabel heads for the Sheriff's Dept. and Alex follows Hank, who is walking down 5th St.

Cut to:

Maria comes through the back door and without taking her jacket off she heads straight for the swinging door. She hesitates there and peers out the window. Max and Liz have their backs to her so she can't see their faces but she can see the serious expressions of Jeff and Nancy. She opens the door a crack to hear what is being said. Jeff and Nancy do not notice.

Maria backs away, letting the door close slowly. She leans against the lockers, trying not to have a panic attack by doing her breathing exercises (from Blind Date) and giving herself a pep talk in whispered tones.

Cut to:

Maria suddenly appears at the pass-through window. The tension in Liz and Max's faces relaxes somewhat.

She starts to head for the sink but is forestalled by Jeff's voice.

Liz and Max's faces fall. Maria hesitates, looking down at her hands as she nervously fingers her own ring.

Maria turns away from the window and reluctantly heads towards the back room. As she opens the swinging door the back door opens.

Max and Liz perk up. Jeff and Nancy look puzzled. Jen rushes past Maria on her way to the kitchen, giving Maria a quick "Hi" as she passes.

Jen comes up to the pass-through window.

She disappears from view as she heads towards the sink. In the meantime, Maria has entered the dining area and reached the booth. Nancy indicates that she should pull a chair over to the booth, which she does.

Cut to:

Hank is walking toward Scotty's; Alex is following surreptitiously. Hank enters. Alex looks around for a place to wait.

Cut to:

Jeff, Nancy, Liz, Max, Maria and Jen are in the kitchen. Things on counters are disarranged; clearly they've been searching for the ring. Jen looks distraught.

Nancy and Jeff move to leave the kitchen. When the kids don't move, Jeff looks pointedly at them.

Max, Liz and Maria look astonished.

Jeff gives Liz a surprised look and she shrugs.

Jeff looks reluctant.

Dissolves as Jeff turns off the water, puts a pail under the pipes, and disconnects the P-Trap, getting wet in the process, despite his better efforts. He stands up with the P-Trap in his hand and dumps its contents into a disposable plate that Liz provides. A gob of gunk and food particles drops onto the plate and everyone backs up from the sight and the stench.

Jeff uses a fork to sift through the gunk and uncovers the ring. Jen smiles ecstatically then gingerly picks up the ring with just the tips of her fingers and thumb.

Jen exits the kitchen. Max, Liz and Maria are using surreptitious signals to determine who should bring up the bullet. They look on in horror as Nancy takes the plate and starts walking towards the exit with it.

Suddenly Maria screams, causing everyone to jump and Nancy to drop the plate. The gunk on the plate splatters on the floor. Maria, Max and Liz watch apprehensively as the bullet skids across the floor towards the grill; it looks like it might go under it.

Nancy heads towards the sink

Nancy has stepped on something that hurt her foot and stops to examine it.

Jeff stoops and picks up the object Nancy is pointing at, then holds it in the palm of his hand to examine it. The others gather around.

He looks around then heads towards the pass-through window.

Cut to:

Liz is sitting in her lounge chair, writing in her journal.

Cut to:

Max is sitting in the Jeep, resting his hands on the steering wheel. He waves one hand over the hand with the ring, revealing the healing symbol. He looks at it, changes it back, then gets out of the car to head into the house.

Cut to:

Alex is lurking in the shadows outside Scotty's, watching the front door. Suddenly the door opens and Hank walks out and up the street. Alex follows at a safe distance.

Hank continues walking down the street with Alex following at a safe distance. Hank turns a corner down an alley. Before Alex can get there, a bright light shines out from the alley; then a man walks out, the same Hispanic man from Independence Day and Sexual Healing. He pops something into his mouth, pockets the small container, and continues down the street.

Alex notices the man, but is curious about the light and turns down the alley. It's a dead end and no one is there. Alex looks back in the direction the Hispanic man went (which is now empty), then back to the alley. He starts looking around, behind trash bins, etc. to see if Hank is hiding, but finds nothing. Alex ends up standing in the middle of the alley looking baffled.

Fade Out.

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