" It's me." " You're there." "Come over." "Later." "I'm taking stuff to Joshua's." " I got a situation." " What kind of situation?" "It's an emergency." " Oh, God." "No!" " Logan!" "Logan!" "Logan!" "Oh, Max." "Thank God." " Are you OK?" "What happened?" " Eyes Only met his match." "Uncle Logan!" " Hi." "What's your name?" " Go away." "Nice name." "I'm Max." " Brittany, say hi." " No." " Max is here to help me take care of you." " No." " Took the word right out of my mouth." " Wait, Max, no." "Wait." "You gotta help me out here." "My cousin Bitsy called." "Some rigamarole." "She needs to drop her off for the day." "Bitsy?" "Where's husband Biff?" "Where's the nanny?" "I don't know." "Maybe Biff ran off with the nanny." "Who cares?" "I'm exhausted." "She won't take a nap or eat anything I give her." "She doesn't like bruschetta with a crisp Sauternes?" " I'm begging you." " Look, I'd love to, but she doesn't like me." "Oh, no, she's just saying that." "She does like you." "I can tell." "Please help me." "Mm." "Can I have one?" " Depends." " On what?" " On whether you read a story with me." " OK." "Logan, you got any kids' stories?" "Uh..." "As a matter of fact..." "I think I do." "This oughta do it." "Hans Christian Andersen." "I've been looking for this stuff." "Oh, look, a mermaid." " There's no such thing." " How do you know?" "They're just stories." " You want me to read this or not?" " OK." ""Once upon a time, in a splendid palace on the bed of the bluest ocean, lived the Sea King with his five daughters, beautiful mermaids," "Sirenetta, the youngest of them all."" " She's pretty." " She had a beautiful voice too." ""When she sang, the fishes flocked to listen."" ""She'd sing and gaze up, seeking the sunlight that barely managed to filter down into the depths."" ""Nothing pleased the mermaid more than to hear about the world above the sea."" ""She made her grandmother tell her everything she knew about ships, towns..."" ""Oh, how I'd love to go up there and see the sky, which everyone says is so pretty, and smell the scent of the flowers and hear the voices of the humans."" "Which one of you idiots left the rig out?" "Ow." " We've been dragging the net all this time." " Sorry, Jack." "I could've sworn I pulled this thing up." "Just a bunch of crap." "Let's get it off." "Oh, my God." "We snagged a floater." " Oh, crap." " Great, all we need." "Whoa!" "She's alive." "What the?" "Looks like some kinda gills." "Gills?" "What the hell is she?" "A mermaid." "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." "Thanks so much." "Do I owe you anything?" " Me?" "No, it was fun." " She's a friend, Bits." "Oh." " There you go." " Thank you." " See ya, sweetie." " Kiss, Max?" "How about a kiss for Uncle Logan?" "We never got to finish the story." "Because you got sleepyheaded." "We'll finish it next time." "Did the mermaid ever get to see her family again?" "Yeah, and they all lived happily ever after." " Thanks again, you guys." " No problem." " Oh, and Max, it was nice meeting you." " You too." "I don't think that's how it ends, actually." " What?" " The Little Mermaid." "I think she falls for a prince, but then he blows her off for a real girl." ""Real"?" "Just because someone happens to have a tail doesn't mean they're not real." "You know what I mean." "God, it's like this exoskeleton weighs a ton." "Why do writers always go for the tragic endings?" "What's wrong with a happy ending once in a while?" "I prefer the Disney version myself." " Is it hot in here?" " Are you OK?" "I think I might be getting a cold." "It feels like I have a fever." " Oh, my God." " What?" "Your wrist." "Oh, God, it can't be." "I mean, we didn't touch." " No, we didn't." "Did we?" " No." " Take it easy." " We both touched Brittany." " That's not how it works." " We don't know." "It's one thing for Manticore to give you a retrovirus to kill me, but I doubt they factored a six-year-old into their evil plan." "She kissed both of us." "Me first." " Logan, your face." " It's nothing." " We gotta get you to a hospital." " I just need a nap." " Can you get into your chair?" " No." "I can't touch you!" "You have to do it yourself!" "We need someone to help." "Who do I call?" " Speed-dial six." " Speed-dial six." "Who's this?" "Asha, we need you to get over here right away." " What do we got?" " BP 60/40 and falling." " What's his temp?" " Came in at 105." "OK, start IV Naprosyn." "100cc's of methicillin." "Logan?" "Get me a chem-7, stat." "What's his temp?" " 105.5 and rising." " OK, get him on ice." "Logan, buddy, can you hear me?" "Need some ice." "Let's move, people." " Sam, please do something." " Manticore planted the virus in you?" "Targeted to his DNA." "We don't know how much contact it takes to transmit." " No antidote?" "No drug therapy?" " Only at Manticore." "OK, whatever it is, there's nothing you can do to help in here right now." "Why don't you go out with your friend and wait?" "Please." "How you doin'?" "Logan, it's Sam." "Can you hear me?" "Logan, hey." "Let's get that IV moving." "Come on, we gotta get his temperature down." " Is that IV coming?" " It's open full." "Excuse me, sir." " What's the rule on fitness time?" " No interruptions." " Then what are you doing here?" " We've got a lead on a possible code red." "Some fisherman came into dock, showing off their catch." " And how is that a code red?" " Apparently they netted a girl." "With gills." "Gills." "Huh." " They think they have a mermaid." " Idiots." "What'd they do with it?" " We're trying to find out." " Let me know when they confirm code red." " Could be some drunks telling fish stories." " Yes, sir." "Gills." "Please don't let him die." "I know I don't have the right to ask for a miracle... because I haven't really been much of a believer in anything." "But I'm asking now." "I'll do anything." "Please don't let him die." "Max." "He's gonna be OK." "It's chickenpox." "Can you believe it?" "The doctors couldn't figure it out because he had it when he was a kid." "Anyway, he's gonna be fine." "No, it's no problem." "You just came in under the wire." "I'll have somebody out there in a jiffy." "You're welcome." "Thanks for using Jam Pony." " Right, stud, you ready?" " Ladies, here we come." "Hey, hey!" "I got a pickup, Sector 12." "Here's the address." "What?" "Last run's at seven and it's seven." "It's not seven for another seven seconds." " Now scram." " But..." "The customer called before closing." "They're getting their pick-up." "If I go out to Sector 12, I'll miss twofers." "If you don't go out to Sector 12, you'll miss working here!" "Now bip!" " But twofers..." " Stop saying that." "There's no such word." "Actually, there is." "You know, twofers." "Two dances for the price of one." "Or two fine ladies dancing simultaneously for the duration of one song." "Or you can do it that way." "I understand you're going to a, uh, burlesque hall?" " A strip club, yep." " And you're coming with us." " Me?" "You're inviting me?" " That's why we came over here." "Really?" " Really?" " Really." " We'll put a rush on this in the morning." " That's what I'm talkin' about." "Normal, get ready to live." "All right, boys, here we go." " It's all right." "These guys are with me." " Hey, nice to meet you." "Alec, where've you been?" "I've missed you." " You know her?" " Yeah, Virginia." "Or Veronica." "Something with a V. Get a dance." "No, we just got here." "Besides, I wanna check out some other chicks first." "Yeah, check her out." "That's what I love about the girls in this place." "Always coming up with new acts." "That's amazing." "How does she breathe in there?" "Must be some kind of trick." "I don't see any breathing tubes, though." "Trick or no, she's the smokin'-est babe here." "Am I right, or is she not your type?" "Yeah, she's my type, all right." "Logan's cousin told me her daughter just got over a case of chickenpox." "He must've picked it up from her." "He should have immunity from when he got it as a kid, but, hey, let's take the win, right?" "Anyway, I'm putting him on antivirals." "He should be feeling fine by morning." "Thanks." "Gave you a scare though, huh?" " Yeah." " Just be careful, all right?" "If it'd been this bug Manticore gave you, I doubt I could've helped him." "That place knew what it was doing." "Whatever they cooked up must be pretty nasty." "I'll be careful." "Hey, Max." "Hey." "Why don't I pull the car around?" "I'll meet you guys downstairs." "OK." "You all right?" "Am I all right?" "Come on." "It was just a false alarm." "We got lucky this time." "I gotta go." "You don't have a ride." "We came together, remember?" " I'll walk." " What, now we can't even be in the same car?" "I need to clear my head." "Chickenpox?" "Thought that went out with Starbucks and Madonna." "Yeah." "Cheer up." "This is good news." "If I tell you something, promise not to laugh?" "Yeah." "At the hospital, I kinda came across a chapel they got there and sort of sat down for a minute and, I don't know, prayed, I guess." "Nothing wrong with that." "Original Cindy prays from time to time." "But, see, I sort of asked for a miracle, and I know this sounds crazy, but..." "I think I sort of got it." "What do you mean?" "It was chickenpox." "Yeah, but how did Logan pick it up again?" "I mean, what if it was me that got him sick, and, I don't know, something happened?" "Like a miracle." " You promised not laugh." " I am not laughing." "Either way, it's a second chance, and those don't come along too often." "I don't wanna risk hurting him again." "But that means not seeing him at all." "What am I supposed to do?" "Give him up?" "Hey." "Is this a bad time?" " What do you want?" " I need you to come somewhere with me." "Can't you see I'm getting ready for a bath?" "Women in water seems to be the theme of my evening." "Come on." "Sir, code red's been confirmed." "She's got a Manticore bar code." " Where did our fisherman take their prize?" " Sold her to a bar in Sector Nine." " You gotta be kidding me." " She's on display." "Drawing quite a crowd too." "Oh, that's great." "I don't want to attract any more attention to the situation." " This has to be clean." " We already have someone in place." "Take a look at the Blowfish beauty, real mermaid from the deep, 100% guaranteed." "They're passing these out all over." "White's probably onto it." " We gotta get her out of there." " No ladies allowed inside." " Not unless they're working." " What?" "There's a line around back." "Girls show up and the management picks the good ones." " No way." " Come on, don't sell yourself short." " You got a decent shot." " Forget it." "Fine." "Be a prude." "We'll just leave her in there for White." "Step up." "Don't be shy." "Your wife ain't inside." "Come on, take a look." "Let's go, fellas." "Don't be shy, step up." "Check it out." "Splish, splash, mermaid takin' a bath." "Won't believe your eyes." "Come on in." "Get a look at the catch of the day." "You ain't never seen seafood this fresh." "No, not tonight, not tonight, not tonight." "Scram, scram." "Get lost." "Show me what you got, girls." "Turn around, turn around." "Nah, nah, come on, scram." "That's it, go home." "No more." "Go home." "We got all the girls we need." "You." "Great, sweet." "All right, ladies, get lost." "Time to go home." "That's it for the night." " That's good, sweetie." "Thank you." " But the song isn't over." "You're just so beautiful, I can't take it." "Why don't you go give my buddies a dance?" "Sure." "This is how you rescue a mermaid?" "Hey!" " White's got someone here." " Where?" "Two o'clock." "See him?" "No drink, no girls." "He's been casing the place the entire time." "Yep, looks pretty shady to me." "OK, now would be a good time to look like we belong here." " Wow, Max." "You done this before?" " Shut up." " Why isn't he making his move?" " Too many people." " He's waiting for closing." " Or backup." "Either way, we're not getting her out of here alive with him around." " How'd she end up in a dump like this?" " I heard fisherman snagged her." "Once we get her out, we're gonna have to get her back to the ocean fast." "Maybe the ocean's not the way to go." "What are you doing?" "Fitting in." "She's Manticore." "She won't let that happen again." "A beautiful girl, alone in the ocean..." "She's gonna get lonely." " Can we concentrate on a plan?" " I'm thinking." "I can talk and think." " I doubt that." " You just lost your tip." " It's a shame." " It's sick is what it is." "I mean her all alone out there in the ocean, nothing but fish to talk to." "Give it up, Alec." "The two of you would never work." "Yeah, you're right." "I always do this." "I always go for the ones I can't have." " Figures." " You should talk." " Hello?" "You, Logan, the virus?" " Don't." "Don't even." " Hey, guys." " Oh, my God." "Max." "I didn't know you worked here." " Actually..." " Just once a week." " Anyway, we gotta go." "We're outta money." " Already?" "Yeah." "Normal went kinda nutty with the honeys." "He spent it all." "Anyway, see you later." " Could this night get any worse?" " Something's going on." "Come on, dance!" "Easy, easy." " Shake it up!" " Come on!" "He's making his move." "OK, go get him." "Hey, pal!" "He touched my ass!" "Get him outta here!" "That's it, you're gone." "That's right!" "This is a decent place!" "Little help here!" "What the hell is that?" "What the hell are those?" "Gills." "This isn't one of White's guys." "He can't breathe!" "Help him!" "The welts are gone." "Yeah." "I feel OK." "Now your fever's gone." "Are you hungry?" " I am, actually." " I'll make you something to eat." " I'll hit you back in a sec." " Sorry." "Can you last like this for a little while?" "We're gonna find her." "Don't worry." "It's gonna be OK." "Keep an eye on him." "Hi." "So, the girl in the tank, she's just a friend, right?" "We thought he was White's guy, but he was there to get her out." "We jammed him up." " You couldn't have known that." " Either way, White's got her." " Where do you think he took her?" " He must have some base in the area." "He's gotta be thinking Seattle's become Transgenic Central." "And it is his job to kill them." "Even if we track down where he took her, it might be too late." "He'll wanna study her first." " Take her to headquarters for analysis." " Wherever that is." "You can't put a mermaid on the next plane to Des Moines, which means he has to arrange some sort of special transport." "That'll buy us some time, but not much." " What sector was this bar in?" " Nine." "Why?" "Maybe I can see if there's any police record of a military convoy entering or leaving the area." "Maybe they left a trail." " Hey." " Hey." " Can I see this?" " Yeah." " I think I got an idea how to fix this tear." " Cool." "I'm sorry about last night, baby." "I had a situation here at work." "Yeah, I love you, too." "Sure, put him on." "Hey, big man." "You did?" "Well, that sounds like fun." "Yeah?" "Yeah, me too." "All right, I'll see you tonight." "I promise." "OK." " How long can it stay alive out of water?" " No way to be sure." " We arranged to ship her out tonight." " Keep it alive as long as you can." "The boys in Forensics will wanna study it before they take it apart." "I wonder what the hell they were smoking when they cooked this up." "Probably designed for amphibious sabotage." "Laying mines, that kind of thing." "I don't understand how it made it out of the fire and all the way to the ocean." "There's a stream near Manticore, dumps into the Duwamish River." "English!" "Manticore probably used a computer interface to communicate with her." "Whatever." "I'm not that interested in what you have to say anyway." " Sorry about the smell." " No, this is a really good idea." "There." "Let's just let it cool a bit, huh?" "Thanks for your help yesterday." " I'm just glad I was there when you called." " Me too." "Somebody wanna help with the merman?" "The guy has nothing to say." "I'm bored." "Come on, help me put this on him." "Find something?" "Three identical vans left Sector Nine after the raid on the bar." "They passed through the checkpoint of Sector Eleven, and then moved on to Sector Twelve a few minutes after that." " No record of them leaving Sector Twelve?" " Nope." "They're in there somewhere." "A lot of industry was there before the Pulse." "Could be White set up his operation in an abandoned factory." " It'll take time to narrow things down." " We don't have time." "I'm doing the best I can, but to tell you the truth, I'm not so sure this is a good idea." " I won't let White have her." " He could end up with all of you." "That's a risk I'm willing to take." "Help me with this, Logan." "I want this story to have a happy ending." "Yeah, well, you're welcome." " What's going on?" " He wants out." " Why?" " Maybe he wants to be in the water where he can breathe and no one wants him dead." "Maybe he knows where White's got her." "Come on." "Doesn't look like White's secret facility to me." "Hey, where you going?" "What's it look like?" "I told you." "He's not gonna die for anybody." "He's going back into the water, swim away, meet a nice flounder somewhere." "Now what?" " What are those?" " Eggs." " He's not gonna eat those, is he?" " No, they're hers." "She's your mate, right?" "We're gonna get her back." "Yeah?" "Logan." "Uh-huh." "I'll say one thing for you:" "you got great timing." " He found White's place?" " Of course." "He always does that stuff." "Come on." "Let's go get your girl." "It's me." "Are you sure this is the place?" "Yeah." "It's a steam-generating plant, still operational." "White must've bribed somebody to let him set up shop." "How do we get in?" "Even if you get past the perimeter guards, gotta figure White's got guys posted at the entrances." "Guess we go in through the roof." "Can't." "Steel fire doors, only open from inside." " Great." " Turn around." "There should be an underwater drain pipe." " I see bubbles." " That pipe leads up into the building." "And you got a merman with you, remember?" "Right." "Time to get wet." " Bring the planks over." " Think she'll last the whole trip?" "It's a freezer car." "She'll do as well as any other fish." "Seal her up." "Come on." " Don't move." " Hey." " Pay attention." " Got us a gun." "Yippee." " Tell me you brought a rope." " Just shut up and climb." " He should be inside by now." " Oh, well, we tried." "Come on." "This place is huge." "She could be anywhere." " That's her." " All right, but where's it coming from?" "Charlie Six Bravo, report." "Report, Charlie Six Bravo." "Charlie Six Bravo, report." " What's the problem?" " No response from Charlie Six Bravo." "Call up his eye-cam feed." "Play back the last few minutes." "Freeze it." "Wait a minute." "That's 494." "He's supposed to be dead." "And that's 452." "She's in that crate." "We gotta get her out." "Come on." "We gotta get out of here." "Not without them." "It's no use." "They're penned." " Cover me." " What are you doing?" " I'm going for the Disney version." " Great." "Come on!" "Let's go!" "They're getting away!" "We'll meet you there." "Go back to sleep." "Agh..." "We've gotta get this thing cleaned out." "Thanks." "For, you know, helping out today." "Wanna go say goodbye?" "I think we need to get this thing cleaned up." "Well, you got the ending you wanted." "They're together." "That's the way it should be." "Yeah." "That's the way it should be."