"Captain!" "Captain!" "Captain, my crates." "Have you loaded my crates?" "They can't go." "They have to come off." " Who the hell are you?" " My name is John Whitney." "The crates, they're consigned to the Natural History Museum in Chicago." " Just tell me if they're onboard." " Crates is all we have onboard, senor." "No, they have to come off." "This is extremely important." "Nothing comes off after customs has been on, senor." " That's more important." " Look." "Look, I'll take care of you, all right?" "If you'll just get the manifest." "The Natural History Museum in Chicago." " Please, compadre." " I don't have time for this." "I have to get my ship out of the harbor." "I'm eight hours late, and there's weather coming in." "Don't worry, senor." "We'll take good care of your crates." "6 WEEKS LATER" "Morning, Lieutenant." "Coast Guard found it early this morning." "Don't really know how long it's been there or how it got there." " What are those?" " The old coal tunnels." "There was a time when 30 coal barges a day would come into this slip." "I'm touched." "Who the hell is onboard?" " Hollingsworth." " Wonderful." "Morning, Lieutenant." "Just been to the front of the boat." "I got something to show you." "It's a ship, Hollingsworth, not a boat." "And the pointy end is the bow." "Custody hearing went badly?" "I don't want to talk about it." "She got Jerry?" "What part of "I don't want to talk about it" is unclear?" " Oh, shit." " His ex-wife got custody of his son?" " His dog." " His dog?" "Yeah, he really loves that dog." "The ship's registered out of Brazil." "Came down through the seaway." "Paperwork looks legit." "It's blood." "Lab's checking it for type." " Any bodies?" " Nope." "Not a one." "When the Coast Guard found it, it was floundering in the middle of Lake Michigan." "So they towed it in, and nobody knows how long it had been like that." " You checked the manifest?" " We're doing it now." " Bring in the dogs?" " The drug unit's been over the whole thing." "I told them it was a waste of time." "I mean, this was obviously a drug hit." "Whatever they came for, they found." "Now, I figure they came aboard at night, they killed everyone, and they threw the bodies overboard." "You figured all that out by yourself?" " Holy shit!" " What?" " What?" " Cat." "Nearly gave me a heart attack." " Was it a black cat?" " No." "What's that smell?" " Is the bilge below here?" " I think so." "Give me that." "Give me a hand here." "What a stink!" "Jesus Christ." "1 WEEK LATER" " Let's all stay together." "Please walk!" "Walk!" "Walk, children." "Walk!" "Walk." "Please, walk." "Walk." "Let's all stay together." " I say we go." " Wait a minute." "Let me get this straight." "We finally cut school and you wanna go to a museum." "Maybe afterwards we could go to a library." "They've got mummies in there, eyeballs in jars, dead stuff." "See, man, I don't know about this stuff." "Look, we can go in with them, check it out, split." "I mean, we can't go to an arcade yet anyway." "We'd be noticed." " So, what are you, scared?" " No, I'm not scared!" "Hey, didn't your parents teach you not to stare?" "Didn't yours teach you not to get dressed in the street?" " Good morning, Dr. Green." " Good morning." " Doctor?" " What kind of a doctor are you?" "I'm an evolutionary biologist." "What's that?" "Someone trying to figure out where our tails went." "Your teacher's gonna be looking for you." "Oh, yeah." "Come on, Eugene." "Kids, do not run." "Walk." "Walk." "Easy." "Do not run, walk." "Walk, kids." "Walk." " Walk." " Good morning, Dr. Green." " Good morning, Fred." " These kids are driving me crazy." "Careful." "They're our future benefactors." "Margo, I need to speak with you about your grant." " You've heard already?" " I've heard something." " I didn't get it." " No." "It's not that bad." "It's just that the Blaisedale Foundation has decided to delay their decision." " Delay?" "Why?" " Greg Lee is applying for the same grant." "Greg?" " I thought he had his grant." " Well, he's going after another one." "Can he do that?" "Another one?" "I mean, doesn't he realize that I have to shut down my work" " if I don't get that money?" " I don't suppose he's thought about that." " Slimy bastard." " Margo, have a little faith in yourself." " You're better than he is." " Faith?" "Come on." "It's not the end of the world." "It's just a little competition." "You've got the gala coming up night after next, and the Blaisedales are going to be here." " You know?" "The Blaisedales." " Yes." "So put on your party dress, and I'll introduce you, and you show them just how bright you are." "I just want to do my work." "You know, Greg will be there, attaching himself to the Blaisedales like a crustacean." "Donna, did you get the gecko and lizard samples loaded?" "It's through the replicator." "We got a big sample." "Great." "Hey, Charlie." "Did we get the database back online?" "It's online, but I don't know for how long." " Good." " Hello, Greg." "How nice to see you!" " Margo." " How's the old research going?" " Fine." "I'm just a little bit busy." "Could there be anything special that you'd like to tell me?" "Of course not. 'Cause if there was, you would've just come out and told me." "I have every right to apply for any grant." "So you go behind my back and apply for my grant?" " There's nothing wrong with that." " It's not your grant until you get it." "If I don't get it, I'm out of work." "My staff is out of work." " You shouldn't take it so personally." " You really are a gerbil." "Margo." "Well, this is a surprise." " I was just..." "I thought..." " I asked Margo to join us, Ann." " I hope you don't mind." " Oh, no." "Of course not." "No word from John yet, but these crates arrived this morning." "They were supposed to be on a ship except there was some mix-up in Brazil, and they never made it." "They were sent by air freight." "Here, here." "Take a look at this." " The Kothoga." " Could be." "And what does this god specialize in?" "South American tribe, the Zenzera, long thought to be extinct." "They made a deal with satan to vanquish their enemies." "So, Kothoga was born, son of satan." "You have that look again, Margo." "Why do we keep financing John Whitney's expeditions, as if superstition were the same thing as science?" "Anthropologists are permitted to believe in myth." "It's part of their job." "In any case, our superstition exhibit is excellent box office for this museum, and that benefits you, as well." "Using superstition to bring people to the museum is like hiring topless ushers for the Bolshoi Ballet." "Well, if they did, I might go to the ballet." "Do you really think the restoration department can do something with this?" "Certainly." "Possibly even for the opening." "What was in this other crate?" "Except for the packing leaves, it was empty." "Empty?" "Well, was there a packing list?" "There must've been something in here." "Crates were nailed shut when they arrived." " Strange." " What?" "Do you think these are eggs?" "More like fungus." "Probably parasitical." "Best not to take any chances." "Quite right." "Let's see to having those leaves and crates incinerated." "Of course you can, Margo." "Attention, please." "The museum will be closing in 15 minutes." "Thank you." "Hey, man, this stuff is so cool." " I don't think we're supposed to be here." " Don't be such a wuss, Eugene." "Attention, please." "The museum is now closed." "Attention, please." "The museum is now closed." "We're gonna get in big trouble." "What do you think they're gonna do?" "Put us in the museum jail?" "Johnson?" "Davis?" "That you?" "Dr. Green, I've worked myself to the bone." "Please let me go home." "I need to rest." "All right, you guys." "You can finish tomorrow morning." "Go on." "Take a hike." "Why don't we just start yelling?" "Someone will show us the way out of here." "And call our moms and let them know that we cut class." "Great idea, butt wipe." "Hey, man, there's a really cool staircase back here." " No, let's just get out of here." " What are you, scared?" "Hello?" "Is someone there?" "Josh?" "Josh, where are you?" "Josh." "Josh, come on." "This isn't funny." " You goofball." "You almost wet your pants." " Josh." "Quiet." "Do you hear something?" " What is it?" " I don't know." " Let's just go." " Yeah." " You smell something?" " You farted, didn't you?" "No, not lately." "Let's get out of here." "That's terrific." "Hang on to your fucking hat, Lieutenant." "I want to interview every employee whether they worked yesterday or not." "If they did work, I want the hours, what part of the building, if they saw the victim, what time and where." "Who was the last person to leave the building yesterday?" " A Dr. Green." " Good." "I want to talk to him." " Did you hear?" " No." " I'm guessing you're gonna tell me." " Someone's been killed." " Murder." " Oh, my god." "They're not telling us who." "All I know is they cut off the whole basement level." "Murdered?" "I'm betting it was Colonel Mustard with a candlestick." "What?" "What are you thinking?" "You think I'm an asshole, right?" "Is that it?" " Are you Dr. Green?" " Yes, I am." "Could you come with me, please?" " It's okay, honey." " I understand..." " It's gonna be all right." " All right, that's good." "All right." "Take them both to the 15th." "I want detailed statements in the presence of a psychologist." "Museum security wants to know if they can open the doors." "No." "Check to see if they got anything on video." "I did that, sir." "They don't have surveillance cameras down here." " Can I help you?" " Lieutenant D'Agosta wants to see me." " He does?" " This is Dr. Green." "Yeah." "Dr. Green, I'm Lieutenant D'Agosta." "I wanted to ask you some questions, but I'm fresh on the scene here." "Can I find you later?" " Can I go to my lab?" " Not yet." "We'll clear the work areas as soon as we can." " What am I supposed to do?" " Enjoying your mochas, gentlemen?" " The smell!" " Take it outside, Martini." "I'm okay." "I'm okay." " This look familiar to you?" " Yep." "This is not good." "Never thought there was a worse way to die than a shark attack." "Having my head ripped off never occurred to me." " Where is his head?" " It's over there by the sink." "Lieutenant D'Agosta..." "Oh, my god!" "Get her out of here." "Lieutenant, over here." "No, don't step over it." "It's bad luck." "Jesus Christ." "There's a half-burnt joint on the floor." "Seems our boy was having a little pot on the potty." "Pot's a misdemeanor." "Decapitation seems a bit severe." "I want the blood on the walls." "Get a ballistic analysis." "Pinpoint source, speed, force, full splatter pattern." "Sweep in teams of two." "Nobody goes in alone." "This place is not gonna open until every room is clear." "Now, go." "Now, the question is, what does a museum guard have to do with a drug hit on a South American ship?" " I don't know." " The answer is, maybe nothing." "Dr. Cuthbert." "Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta, Chicago homicide." "Lieutenant, this is Tom Parkinson, our director of security." "Have you identified the victim, Lieutenant Augustino?" "D'Agosta." "Victim's name is Frederick Ford." "Freddy Ford?" "What a terrible, terrible thing." "Yeah." "I'd say somebody was really pissed off at him." "Any thoughts on who that might be?" "No." "He was a very sweet man." "I have no idea." "I hardly knew the guy." "Lieutenant, I don't mean to downplay the horror of this tragedy or the urgency of your investigation, but what about the museum?" "I'm going to do this in layers." "You'll be allowed in your offices once we've been through the building and determined that there is no danger." "But what about our exhibition space?" "When will that open?" "We have a major exhibit about to open." "The board is hosting a gala preview here tomorrow night." "It's so vital to us." "I can't tell you exactly when." "Lieutenant, we've invested so much in this." "It would be a disaster for us if we had to postpone." "We're checking your offices and labs first so you people can go back, do your work." "It won't take long." "Now, as far as the areas open to the public, we may have somebody on our hands who makes Jeffery Dahmer look like a Cub Scout, and I've got to be sure he's not here." "Dr. Green." "I'd like to ask you a few questions." "Okay." " What's that stuff you were looking at?" " DNA strands." "Did you come all the way down here to learn about DNA?" "No." "I hope you don't mind walking." "I have to return these samples." "Well, if I get tired, I'll let you know." " What's the soup today?" " Rhinoceros megarhinus." "He's making rhinoceros soup?" "It's a maceration tank." "Skin them, toss them in the warm water, wait until the meat and flesh fall off, and then give them to the beetles." "Beetles as in bug beetles?" "Domestic beetles are a fairly common insect." "They eat the flesh off almost anything." "They pick the bones clean." "Better watch yourself." "Someone left the glass case open last night and a bunch hit the highway." "Well, they know better than to head for the cafeteria." "I'm sorry you had to see all that at the crime scene." "I said hello to that man every day for the past six years." "You could have closed the door." " Did you know him well?" " No." "Wait." " Is it face up?" " Down." "Don't touch it." "Face down's bad luck." "Don't tell me you're superstitious." "Sorry, but around here, every penny counts." "What the hell's all this?" "This is one of six storage areas for the collection." "The museum has something like 3 million specimens." "Exhibition areas only show about 2% of what the museum owns." "It doesn't look like a good place to light a match." "According to museum security, you were the last one to leave last night." " Did you see or hear anything strange?" " No." "Well, I thought I heard something as I was leaving, but it could have been anything." "I was tired." "What can you tell me about John Whitney?" "You know him?" " Unfortunately." " His office was vandalized last night." "Sir." "Do you have any idea what might have been in this office that someone would want so damn bad?" "I have no idea why anyone would want anything of John Whitney's." "But I've been told mine's a subjective opinion." "You ever see John Whitney with Fred Ford?" "Were they friends?" "No." " Does John Whitney use or sell drugs?" " I don't think so." "John Whitney's not in Brazil shipping drugs, just insignificant relics." " Brazil?" " Yeah, a couple of crates came in yesterday." " What was in them?" " One had a smashed relic." "The other was empty." " So there was nothing inside?" " That's what empty means." " Could it have been pried open?" " It was nailed shut." "Could it have been pried open and then nailed shut?" "I suppose so." "What are you suggesting?" "That there were drugs in the crate?" "I don't suggest." "Where are those crates?" "They were burned, but the relic's in the restoration department." "Perri Masai, our restorative genius, Lieutenant D'Agosta." "Hi." "Well, this is John Whitney's relic or what's left of it." " Any idea what it looks like?" " With black stone, it's difficult." "It's a chimera of some kind." " What's a chimera?" " It's a combination of creatures that superstitious people see as god or enemy." "What kind of superstitious people?" "Here's my card." "If you think of anything else..." "You're welcome." "Lieutenant D'Agosta, it's lovely to see you under such alarming circumstances." "Seven decapitations in one week." "Don't you just hate someone who only takes head and never gives it?" "You're bad, Matilda, real bad." "Autopsy attended by Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta, Chicago homicide." " I heard your ex got custody of the dog." " What, it's on the goddamn Internet?" "You shouldn't have been late on your Alpo payments." "We have an African American male, probably age 55 to 60." "Height, 5'4", with his head, maybe 6'1"." "Weight, 160, give or take, if you know what I mean." "There are an undetermined number of lacerations preceding from the left anterior pectoral region downward through the sternum, terminating at the right anterior abdominal region." "The pectoralis minor and pectoralis major are separated to a great degree." "And there is spontaneous dehiscence." "The sternal process has been split and the rib cage exposed." "Now for the head." "The head is decapitated between the axial process and the atlas." "The entire occipital portion of the calvarium and half the parietal process has been crushed or rather seemingly punched through and removed, leaving a hole perhaps 5 inches in diameter." "The skull is empty." "The entire brain appears to have fallen out or been extracted through this hole." " Any idea about a weapon?" " Something big." "The brain is severely traumatized and appears to have been severed at the medulla oblongata." "The pons Varolii is intact but separate." "The cerebrum has been completely severed from the mesencephalon." "And..." "Wait a minute, this brain's light, even for a man." "Something's missing, Lieutenant." "Where's the rest of it?" " You got everything we found." " There is no thalamic region." " There is no pituitary gland." " What are you talking about?" "The thalamus and hypothalamus regulate body temperature, blood pressure, heartbeat, it regulates hundreds of hormones into the bloodstream." " Don't you agree, Fred?" " Yes." "He never shuts up." "That was fast." "Glycotetraline collagenoid, Weinstein's thyrotropic hormone." "Tenascin, oxytocin, monoxytocin, suppressive hormones." "This fungus is loaded with hormones, animal hormones." "What kind of fungus is this?" "Hollingsworth, I hope I'm interrupting your dinner." "Listen, dig up whatever records we have on those bodies from the ship." "If there were any autopsies done, check and see if any part of the brain was missing from any of the heads." "I don't care how long it takes." "Let me ask you something." "How the fuck does somebody get custody of a dog?" " Good night." " Good night, ma'am." " Morning, Lieutenant." " Pretty fancy." "It only took seven months planning." "I really hope you can have your party tonight." "So do I." "We may have a majorly crazy person somewhere in this building and I don't think you'd want him showing up tonight." "No, we can't have that." " This is a big deal, isn't it?" " Very big." " This party will raise a lot of money, right?" " A lot of money." "Very high profile." "The Mayor is coming, the media, big companies that give lots of grants," " limousines, the whole schmeer." " Tell you what, we'll find this guy so you can have your party." "Lieutenant, do you like smoked salmon on those little round toasty things?" " I don't think I've ever had it." " Well, if you don't catch your man, there's going to be about 300 pounds of it." "Yeah, but have you tried the lattes with the whole milk?" " Very smooth." " I like espresso." "Forget smooth." " What the fuck do you know?" " I know I like espresso." " Yeah, but have you tried lattes?" " No." "There's supposed to be a door around here someplace." "Here it is." "Here it is." "Jesus." "Come out, come out, wherever you are." "I don't know where the hell we are." "Maybe I'm reading this map wrong, I don't know." "Look at this!" "Jesus." "Is that a footprint?" " He's got to be over 7 feet tall." " Looks like blood." "I think it is blood." "Good morning, Lieutenant." "How are you today?" " What have you got?" " Right." " Well, we checked on that hypo..." " Hypothalamus." "Right." "Anyway, what heads we were able to salvage from the Santos Morales were pretty decomposed." "But they were all missing their hypothalamuses." "Why thank you, Hollingsworth." "It's the consistent repetition of sequences of three that are unique to each individual." "But before you begin DNA testing, you have to be able to identify the specimen." "With your financial grant, the complicated, tedious task of specimen identification will become a quick, certain, analytical technique." "Procedure." "Mode?" "System." "Just give me the goddamn money." "Shit." "One of the kids i n your lab told me where to find you." "Well, I was just rehearsing." " You were really good." " Yeah." "Right." "Really good ending." "Hold on." " So, what's your field exactly?" "Biology?" " Evolutionary biology." " Are we still evolving?" " Some of us." "Look, Lieutenant, I'm really busy right now, and I don't have time to be socializing," " so if you don't mind." " I'm not here to ask you out, Dr. Green." "I just thought there might be something else you could tell me about John Whitney's work." "Well, I'll take you to Dr. Frock, our curator." "He could probably explain John Whitney better than I can." " It's Margo." " Who have you brought me?" "A policeman." "Lieutenant D'Agosta." "Well, how goes the gradual extinction of the human race, Lieutenant?" "I'm doing what I can to keep it orderly." "You and the lieutenant are kindred spirits." "He's very superstitious." " I don't know about "very"." " Well, you must excuse Margo, Lieutenant." "She believes that science must destroy myth, and as a consequence, she has very little patience with superstitious people like us." "Margo, did I ever tell you about my experiences with the Khoe tribe in Botswana land?" " Yes, more than once." " Haven't told him." "The Khoe tribe, Lieutenant, believed that headaches were caused by sorcery and the pin poke of the headache victim would identify the sorcerer, and then go off and murder him." "Of course, the kinfolk of the sorcerer would feel they had to avenge his death, so they'd go and in turn kill the headache victim." "And I'm sure you can imagine how it eventually all turned out." " What's that?" " Well, it's a medical miracle." "Everybody stopped having headaches." "Lieutenant, what would a superstitious police officer possibly want with an old fossil like me?" " He wants to know about John Whitney." " You think there's some connection between the vandalism in John's office and the murder?" "Maybe." "What's John Whitney doing in Brazil?" "Well, John's an anthropologist." "He's in Brazil studying ancient tribes, their rituals, their environmental and social relations, their culture." "When was the last time you heard from him?" "I haven't had actual contact with him for months, but just yesterday, we received a wonderful artifact." "Yeah." "I took a look at it." "That artifact's rather important to me, Lieutenant, because it may help to illuminate a scientific theory" "I've been expounding for some time." " The Callisto Effect." " What's that?" "It's a commonly-held belief that life evolved gradually by natural selection." "Dr. Frock argues that sometimes there are sudden evolutionary changes that create a grotesque and short-lived aberrant species." "Okay, so, John Whitney's down in Brazil studying ancient tribal rituals." "Could any of these rituals have anything to do with, say, ripping out the human hypothalamus?" " I beg your pardon?" " Human hypothalamus?" "Never mind." "You smell that?" "It's that same stink from where they found that guard." "Better get some backup down here." "2-4, 2-4, this is 2-6, you copy?" "Shit!" "We're under too much concrete." "What the fuck was that?" " Was that in front of us?" " It's hard to tell." "The guy was a convicted rapist." "He's a suspect in a couple of murders, two terms of hard time, and he fits the description given to us by the two boys." "Those kids didn't see him commit the murder." "Lieutenant, come on." "This place, it could've been anything." "He attacked McNally with a fucking ax." "You know, you wanna take somebody's head off," " an ax is a pretty good way to do it." " I know." "I know, I know, I know, I know." " So what's the matter?" " Something's not right." " What's not right?" " Something." "Something what?" "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?" "Here comes the rent-a-cop." "Sorry." "Sorry." "Sorry." " Can I get a little help here?" " Congratulations, Lieutenant." " Looks like you've got your man." " Maybe." " Maybe?" " Maybe." "The man was covered in the dead guard's blood." "He was carrying his wallet." "He tried to cut his head off with an ax." " What do you need?" "A videotape?" " That'd help." " This is nuts." " Something's wrong." "We got a homeless ex-con who gets his jollies from ripping out people's hypothalamuses?" "What's he doing?" "Starting a hypothalamus collection?" "This guy gets on a boat sailing from Brazil, he kills everyone onboard, then he catches a cab to the museum, where he hides in the closet in the sub-basement." "I don't know anything about boats from Brazil, but it's obvious to me that this man killed Frederick Ford." "Two plus two, Lieutenant, in my book, that's four." "You have to let the gala go on tonight." "I don't have to let anything go on tonight." "Asshole." " Lieutenant." " What's this?" "We found this under the guy's bed." "Jaime Martinez." "He was one of the victims on the Santos Morales." " Shit." " This has got to be our guy." " Lieutenant, it's for you." " Who is it?" " Hello?" " This is Mayor Owen." "What's your first name, Lieutenant?" " Vincent." " May I call you Vincent?" " Sure." " Good." "You can call me Your Honor." "Tell you what, Vincent." "Looking forward to this gala tonight." "My wife is, too." "She bought a killer dress that shows off her cleavage." "Have you ever seen my wife's cleavage?" "It's in all the papers." "I can't say that I have, Your Honor." "Well, you're one of the few people in the city of Chicago who hasn't." "That cleavage helped get me elected." "I'll bet you don't know what to say." "No, sir, I don't." "So the thing is, Vincent, this gala tonight is very important." "It's important to the museum, it's important to my wife, it's important to the city, and it's real important to Mr. and Mrs. Blaisedale." " You know who they are?" " No." "Well, they're good friends of mine, real good friends." "They're good friends of the city." "Real good friends." "I was so upset when I thought they would be disappointed tonight until I heard the wonderful news that you caught that murderer." "Terrible business." "Anyway, I called to congratulate you on a job well done." "I'm so happy we'll be having that gala tonight." "I'm gonna call the chief and tell him just how happy I am." "Nice talking to you, Vincent." "I'm going to clear the wings of museum personnel and open only the central exhibition area." "And I'm going to maintain police presence throughout." "How much police presence?" "As much as I goddamn deem necessary." " Tell Bert..." " What?" "I want to make a final sweep while the wings are still closed." "Get me a team of dogs." "But we already swept with dogs, Lieutenant, right after we found the body." "So get better dogs." "I'll take them down myself, and you're coming with me." "Dermestes vulpinus." "That's the dermestid beetle." "Match with 33% Hemidactylus turcicus." "Hemidactylus turcicus?" "What the hell is that?" "Have you seen Greg?" " He's down there." " Thanks." "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Blaisedale." "How wonderful you look this evening." "I'm Greg Lee." "I'm Greg Lee, Mr. Blaisedale." "How rich you look this evening." "Good evening, Mr. Blaisedale." "I didn't know you have a daughter." "Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt your little meeting." " You not going to the party?" " I'm going." "Don't get your greedy little hopes up." "Can you identify these species?" "Now you want my help?" "Look, can you identify them or not?" "Hemidactylus turcicus." "That's a Turkish gecko." " Gecko?" " Yeah, a lizard." "Yes, I know what a gecko is." "But reptilian and beetle DNA on the same strand?" "Well, maybe your source is contaminated." "It's not contaminated." "I scraped the cells myself." "Then it's your software." "Of course, I'd be shocked to think that it may not be 100% accurate." "You can get back to the Blaisedales now." "Well, it looks to me as if we're just about as ready as we're going to be." "You know, they're closing down the wing soon." " I wouldn't want you to miss the party." " I'll be there." "We'll head down to the basement to our storage level here and work our way east to west." " Make sense to you?" " Yeah, I think it'll work." "You got something for the dogs?" "Pollux." "Castor." "Hello." "Hello." " Margo, are you here?" " I'm at the electron microscope." "Come on, girl." "It's party time." "Wait." "You're not even dressed yet." "I need you to take a look at this." "I'm not gonna take a look at anything until you get dressed." "That parasite Greg Lee is gonna steal your grant right out from under you" " unless you get in there and start pitching." " All right." "All right." "Try and guess what that is." "I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this before." " It's a dermestid beetle." " Dermestid?" "Are you sure?" "Remember the leaves from Whitney's crate?" " Yeah." "That beetle ate part of one." "I ran some cells through the interpolator searching for a match." "It came back "dermestid beetle"." "But the analysis also revealed a large percentage of reptilian DNA." "Reptilian?" "Well, there must be some mistake, Margo." " I ran it through three times." " There must be something in the leaf." "Take a look at that printout." "Hormones." "Lots of them." "Gammaglobulin AXY, left positive, reverse transcriptase." "That's an enzyme almost always found in association with viruses." "This plant is heavily infected with a virus." "So it's taken over some of the plant cells and inserted its own genetic material into the plant's genes." "But why would a virus code for animal proteins?" "Mr. Mayor." "Your Honor, how do you feel about the exhibit?" " Very, very proud." " Are you superstitious?" "Only around election time." "Let's go, Castor." "Come on, Pollux." "Come on, boy." "Come on." " Anything?" " No, nothing yet." "There's a lot of foreign smells down here, which might knock off their olfactors." "We'll have to take it slow." "Come on, boy." "Attaboy!" " Looking very dapper tonight." " You think so?" "'Cause I don't see too many other guys wearing these ruffles." "You look cool." "Your Honor, so pleased to see you." "So excited about being here." "What you got?" "What you got?" "That's right." "Come on." "What you got?" "What you got?" "What you got?" "What you got?" "We know these hormones are responsible for growth, bone structure, exoskeletal physiology and skin maintenance." "A huge influx of these could easily cause it to change." "Of course it could." "Do you think Whitney knew about the properties of these leaves before he sent them?" "Maybe he wasn't just using them as packing material." "Maybe there was nothing missing from the crate." "Maybe the leaves were the shipment." "But why?" "I don't get it." "Margo." "The hormones listed in this analysis of the leaf, they're all produced by the human hypothalamus." "Of course, it's a much more concentrated form here, and one milligram of this material is equal to more than 100 milligrams of the hormone produced by the hypothalamus." "Wait, wait." "Remember when the Lieutenant said something about the human hypothalamus?" "Yeah." " Do you think this is somehow connected to Fred Ford's murder?" "Well, if it is, whoever killed Fred Ford really needs the hormones on that leaf." "We better find Lieutenant D'Agosta." "Where the hell is Margo?" "He's absolutely correct." "Harriet, George, I'm so pleased to see you." " Hello." " This is wonderful." "Wonderful." " Thank you." "Come with me." "I have someone I want to introduce you to." "Thank you." "Michael, Candice, I want you to meet the Blaisedales." " Harriet and George." " Hello." "Come on." "What've we got?" "Detective!" " Run." "Find, find!" " I've got you." "Johnson, Parkinson here." "It's time to shut down the outer cells." "Do you read?" "Right, sir." "Still checking the lab area." "Lab area?" "Everyone was supposed to be out by 6:00." "I just came from the lab, Mr. Parkinson." "I was the last one out." "You sure?" "It could be a long night for anyone locked in down there." "It's completely deserted." "It's clear." "Shut it down." "Shutting down." "Done." "If he's not upstairs, one of the other officers will probably know how to find him." " It's locked." " Well, it seems that that imbecile Parkinson made good on his promise." "He sealed off the entire wing." " Come on, Professor." " Where?" "Down the fire stairs and across the sub-basement." " Down the stairs?" " I hope your brakes work." " Champagne." "How lovely." " Yes." " Thank you very much, Mister..." " Lee." "Greg Lee." "And may I say how enchanting you look this evening, Mrs. Blaisedale." " We've gone off the map, Evans." " This is the old coal tunnel." " Lieutenant." " Yeah?" " The scent seems to be getting stronger." " What the hell is this?" "Electric trams hauled coal right into the basement from the old barges." " That's how Chicago stayed warm." " How far does it go?" "This one goes all the way to Lake Michigan." "At least that's what they say." "No one really comes down here." "Let me ask you something." "Could somebody get off a ship docked at the lake and go through these tunnels all the way to the museum without being seen?" " Sure." " We're moving now, guys." "Let's go." " What in god's name is that smell?" " I don't like this." "Okay, we can do this." "Bradley and I go together." "Evans, you're behind me." "Hollingsworth, stay here." "If I call you, get that cannon up there." "Let's go." "Come on, Castor." "There's something moving right in front of us!" "Castor, Pollux, heel!" "Heel!" "Hollingsworth!" "Hollingsworth!" "You okay?" "Castor?" "Pollux?" "Holy shit!" "Jesus Christ!" "Jesus Christ!" "What the hell did this?" "Castor?" " Oh, dear god!" "Pollux!" " Bradley, no!" " Pollux!" " Bradley!" "Pollux!" "Hollingsworth." "Hollingsworth!" "Take Evans and get your ass upstairs." "Find Cuthbert, Parkinson, whoever the hell's in charge, and clear out the museum." "Go!" "Now!" "Bradley!" "Bradley!" "Bradley!" " Are you lost, Margo?" " Of course I'm lost." "Just checking." "Pollux!" "Pollux!" "Pollux!" "Pollux!" "Pollux!" "Come on, boy." "Come on." "Let's go." "Come on." "What's the matter with you?" "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome and thank you very much for being here." "I'd like to introduce to you one of this museum's best friends and staunchest supporters, the mayor of our city, the Honorable Robert Owen." "Thank you, Dr. Cuthbert." "Ladies and gentlemen," "I am so excited and honored to be here at this wonderful museum this evening." "As we march forward with fragile footsteps into the sunset of the last few years..." " Is he speaking English?" " I don't know." "Bradley!" "Bradley!" "Here, boy." "You scared me." "You scared me." " This coffee's terrible." " It's bitter." "Very bitter." " What do you think, darling?" " The telling moment." "Not for me." "Not today." "...the beginning of superstition, really..." " Excuse me." "Excuse me." "Thank you." " ...in Egypt very early about 50,000 B.C." "But here's the "piece de résistance"." "This is a very rare sacrificial palette from Mesoamerica." " The priests would sacrifice their victims..." " Excuse me." "Excuse me." " ...by cutting out the beating heart." " Excuse me." " That's pleasant." "Then what?" " Well, then they would eat it." "You know, I think I could use one of these things down at City Hall." "Shall we?" "Primordial forest." "There's Pan." "And here we are in Brazil." "We're with the spirits of the Amazon now." "And here is the great devil god, the Kothoga, sitting on the skulls of his dead victims." " Look out." " Out of the way." "Look at this." "You know, I wonder what..." "What the..." "What in the hell..." "Come on." "Come on." " Dr. Cuthbert." " Wait." " Oh, god." " Mr. Mayor!" "Excuse me!" "May I ask what you think you're doing?" "My name's Hollingsworth, Chicago homicide." "We have to get everybody out of here now." "We got a very dangerous situation, Your Honor." "What the hell..." "Come on." "Let's go!" "Holy shit, look at this." "We got a robbery alert in the new exhibition space." " What the hell is going on?" " I have no idea, but I'll find out." " Keep moving." " Come on, let's go." "Five, six, seven." "The whole board's going down." "Code 27." "It says we're having an earthquake!" "This is Chicago." "We don't have earthquakes in Chicago." "Johnson, Wootton, we've got problems up here!" "The computer's forcing down the last cell doors." "Jesus!" "This diorama wall, can't we override manually?" "Not in code status, I can't." "We're gonna have to reset the whole system." "That's impossible." "Somebody's fucking with us." "Shit." "We're shut down." "Everything is shut down." "Wootton, Johnson, what the hell's going on up there?" "The fire doors are down." " Shit!" " Wootton, Johnson, it's Parkinson." "Where the hell are you?" "Phones are out." "And all the power's out all over the museum." "Well, what about the emergency generator?" "It's only for the lab area to keep their computer systems and refrigerators going." "It's over in the east wing." "It's about a mile from here." "What about the backup batteries for the security system?" "Maybe we can reboot, then get it back online." "It's over in the power room somewheres." "I'll go." "Excuse me, sir." "May I ask you a few questions?" "Can I ask you a few..." "Don't lock the door." "I hate when you do that." "What the hell did that?" "Control, this is Parkinson." "What the hell is going on down there?" "Would you answer me, for Christ's sakes?" "Someone fucking trashed the backup system." "Wootton, Johnson, it's Parkinson." "Where the hell are you?" "Hey, asshole." "Aren't you gonna answer the man?" "I can't reach the damn control room." "All right." "McNally, help me get a count." "Let's figure a way out of here." "We can't lift the fire door until we get the computer restarted." "The fire stairs only lead to the basement." "Then maybe that's what we'll do." "Heel." "Heel." "What is it?" "What is it?" "This is absurd." "Every police officer in the city of Chicago is gonna be on the other side of that door in five minutes trying to figure out a way to get through." "We wait here." "You ready?" "I don't think you understand how this works." "You're a junior detective." "You don't order the Mayor to do anything." "All I know is I've been ordered to get everybody out of this building." "Now someone or something is in here." "You saw what it can do." " Sorry, but I'm not budging." " Is anybody there?" " Wootton?" " No, D'Agosta." "Put the Mayor on." "Put him on!" "It's for you, Your Honor." " Put this over your head." " This is Mayor Owen." "Mayor Owen, this is Lieutenant D'Agosta." " Lieutenant D'Augusta." " D'Agosta, sir." "Vincent." "Badge number 14173." "We spoke once before." " Do you remember?" " I want you to consider very carefully..." "With all due respect, sir, you can fire me on Monday." "But right now, I want you to shut your fucking mouth and listen." "I'm putting Sergeant Hollingsworth in charge, and you're going to do exactly what he tells you to do." " Or what, Lieutenant?" " Or none of you are gonna live to see election day." "Hollingsworth." " Hollingsworth, are you there?" " Excuse me, Your Honor." " I'm here, Lieutenant." " Take the fire stairs back down to the sub-basement and head west into the service area." "Go through the passageway for the old coal line." "You'll come up across the street from the museum." "Now you go slow." "You go quiet." "You stick together." " You understand?" " I got it." "I'm not walking through some filthy crawl space..." "Shut up, Tom!" " Let's go." " Let's move." "Excuse me, but I don't care what the Lieutenant, whatever the hell his name is, says." "I'm staying!" "I'm afraid my wife and I will be staying, as well." "Mr. Blaisedale, we must stay together." "But she won't physically be able to go downstairs or through tunnels." "It's best if we stay behind." " One of us can carry her." " It's out of the question." "We'll be fine here." "Okay, officer, I'll stay behind and protect Mr. and Mrs. Blaisedale." "Give me a break!" "We're not going." "What are you gonna do?" " Shoot us?" " All right." "All right." "One of you stay here with them." "Now who's it gonna be?" " I'll stay." " I'll stay." "McNally, you're staying." " You got plenty of ammo?" " I'm loaded." "Okay, let's move." "Dr. Cuthbert." "Dr. Cuthbert." "I'm sorry, but I don't think you should do this." "Bullshit, Tom." "You're fired." "I'll lead with the shotgun." "Bailey, you stay at the back." "The rest are single file." "Now, it's gonna be dark." "We go slow, we go quiet and we stick together." " Inside." " Thank you." " I got you." " You all right?" "Come on." " All right, stay close and watch your step." "Let's keep it going." "Keep it going." "Can I get you a drink?" "What is it, boy?" "Let's go." "Oh, god, Lieutenant D'Agosta!" "We've been trying to find you!" "You got to get out of here." "Oh, my god!" "No!" "Oh, my god!" "Oh, my god!" "Somebody want to tell me what in god's name that was?" "I think it's the Kothoga." "John Whitney must have found it somewhere, somehow and sent it back to the museum." "But, for god's sake, why wouldn't he give us warning?" "How big were those crates that John Whitney sent back?" "Not very big." "How the hell does something like that fit inside one of them?" "In those crates that Whitney sent back, the artifact was packed in a leaf specimen that carried a parasitic fungus." "The fungus was loaded with hormones, animal hormones that are produced in the thalamoid region of the human brain." " You mean the hypothalamus." " I know this is crazy, but maybe this animal started out as something else, a chameleon, a lizard, maybe even a dog." "It ate those leaves, and it changed into whatever it is now." "Into what we just saw." "You're not crazy, Margo." "Don't you see, girl?" "It's the Callisto Effect." "It's really true." "The Kothoga myth was based on fact." "People of the Zenzera tribe, when they were threatened by an enemy, they must have fed some of those hormonal leaves to some animal, and it caused a riot in its DNA, and it was transformed into" "some horrific beast, but the beast needed those hormones to stay alive." "So when it was big enough and deadly enough, they stopped feeding it." "So it would have to find some other way to get the hormone." "Their enemies." "Yes, and when the enemies were dead, it had no more hormones, it would eventually die and the Zenzera would come out from hiding." "Well, we don't have time to wait for eventually." "So, here's my question." " How the fuck do we kill that thing?" " I have to figure out what this is first." "We need to get back to my lab." "I'll never make it up those stairs." "You leave me here." " I'll carry you." " Don't be ridiculous." "You have more important things to do." "I'm staying here." "Right here!" "All right, it's Martin." "I'm here on the ground." "Let's clear this area." "Clear the steps." "First I liquefy and purify my sample." "Then this machine will amplify the DNA strand, and finally scan the created gel image." "Then it's matched against a huge database we've compiled over the last three years." "Very impressive." " How long is this gonna take?" " A little while." " That's terrific." " What have you got there?" "Good luck bullet." " Superstitious." "I remember now." " Yeah." " So, does your bullet have a story?" " I was on the beat my rookie year, and I saw this guy who'd locked his keys in his car with his motor running." "He's got a clothes hanger and he's trying to get the lock off." "So I go over, try to help him out, and what I didn't know was that he'd just robbed a liquor store a block away." "So, he's concentrating so hard, you know." "He doesn't see me till I'm right up on top of him." "I surprise him." "He turns and..." "Point blank range." "It doesn't pop, though." "Doesn't go off." "This bullet." "So, what did you do?" "I took the gun away from him and beat the shit out of him." "Anyway, the forensics told me later that the bullet's perfect." "It should have fired." "I should be dead." " So, in other words, a miracle of physics." " Maybe just plain old-fashioned good luck." "This is Martin." "Has anybody seen the Mayor?" "Give me a location on the Mayor." "What people don't realize is that molecular biology is the science of the future." "You know what I mean?" "If people were just given..." "I'm not taking the fall for this fiasco, I can tell you that." "Come Monday morning, everything will get straightened out." "And whatever prankster created this miasma, I swear to god, when I get my hands on him..." "God!" "There's no exact match here." "Surprise, surprise." "4%. 2%..." "Wait a minute." "Hemidactylus turcicus 45%?" " It's a gecko, same as the beetle." " What are you talking about?" "Well, whatever this thing was, it ate those leaves and is rapidly evolving into something reptilian." " You mean it's still changing." " It's quite possible." "Help!" "Pull me up!" "Pull me up!" " We got you!" " We got you!" "Pull me up, man!" "Pull me up!" "Help me!" "Help!" " Help me!" " Hold on!" "Hold on!" "Please!" "God!" "Help me!" "Help!" "Help me!" " It can't be." " What?" "What is it?" "33% homo sapien." " Are you telling me that thing's part human?" " No, I'm saying more than that." "According to this data, that thing started out as a human." "I'm gonna keep scanning." "There must be some error." "Lieutenant." "Hollingsworth." "Where are you?" "I'm just about to take them into the coal tunnels." "Shit." "I think that thing is following us, Lieutenant." "I think it knows where we are." "Okay, now, listen." "Those tunnels lead right across the street." "Just keep going." "Get those people out." "We're gonna follow you and decoy the fucker away." "Hollingsworth." "I'll see you out on the street." "Where are those leaves with the hormones that thing likes to eat?" "Okay, we know this thing is part reptilian, probably ectothermic, so it can't handle extremes of hot and cold." "Maybe if we can change its temperature by 30 to 40 degrees..." " What do you mean "maybe"?" " We can freeze the son of a bitch." " Come on." " Here." " Dr. Frock?" " Let me go first." " Don't look." " No, no, no!" "I'm really sorry." "Let's go." "Get me more guns, god damn it!" "Hollingsworth, you read me?" "Hollingsworth, you read me?" "Yeah, Lieutenant, I'm here." "Scared shitless." " But I'm here." " Just keep moving." "We're on our way." "You hear me?" " You read me?" " Yeah." "I got it." "I hope you know what we're doing." " What was that?" " Just keep moving." "Just keep moving." "Hang on." "Hang on." "Okay." "Let's go." " Bailey!" " Yeah?" "It's not getting any deeper, so keep them moving." " All right." " And watch your back." "Okay." " Bailey." " Yeah?" "You hear something?" "No." "Bailey!" "Bailey!" "Bailey!" "Move out of the way." "Move!" "Stay back!" "Move!" " Bailey!" " What do you see?" "I can't run." "This way, everybody." "Go." "Listen up." "Now, whatever that was, something made it go the other way." "So stay close to me and I will get you out of here." "Give me the leaves." "I'm gonna take them and tie them on that grate over there." "I think the draft will blow the smell down the tunnels." "Come on." "Go!" "Hurry!" "I found it." " Good." "Go!" "Go!" " Oh, thank god, we're out!" "We're out, thank god." " All right." "All right." "Everybody." " Hurry." " Let's go." "All right." " Come on, don't panic." "I'll need some help for Dr. Cuthbert." "Give me that." "Get inside the lab and lock the door." " What about you?" " Just get inside." "I'll hold it off." " Hold it off?" "You've seen that thing." " Yeah, I've seen it." "Look, I know if we keep going, we can find a way out." "I don't want a way out." "We've got to stop it." "I'll stay with you." " Get inside." " This is crazy." " Get inside!" "Now!" " This is..." " This is stupid!" "Don't do this!" " Lock the goddamn door!" "This is so stupid!" "John Whitney?" "Oh, my god!" "Lieutenant!" "Dr. Green!" "Dr. Green!" "Open the door!" "Open the goddamn door!" "Come on." "Oh, god!" "Oh, god!" "Come on." "Oh, god!" "Just keep coming." "Oh, god!" "Just keep coming." "Attaboy." "Oh, god!" "Look, I..." "I know who you are." "Oh, god!" "You go to hell!" "Captain, we finally got through that door." "We found two more bodies inside the main room." " Not the Mayor." " I can't tell, sir." " They're pretty badly messed up." " How about the others?" "Well, we got the power up, trying to get into the other levels," " but it's a big place." " When I get my hands on that D'Agosta," " he'll be back in a fucking squad car." " Captain." " Are you in charge here?" " Mr. Mayor." "How'd you get out?" "It's a long story, Captain." "Look, these people are cold and tired." "I'd like to get them under a roof as soon as possible." " Yes, sir." " And leave De Augusta alone." "Or else you might be back in that squad car." "Lieutenant!" " Jesus!" "You all right?" "You okay?" " I'm okay." "Get me up." " Get me up." " All right." " Let's go!" "Let's go!" " Go, go, go!" "Get in there." " Have you seen Dr. Green?" " No." " Did you get those people out?" " Most of them." " Lieutenant, over here." " You did well." " There's somebody inside." " Open it up." "Open it up." "That's all we got here." "Keep it." "Let's go."