Painkiller Jane

My name is Jane Vasco.

I could use you on my team.

I work for a secret government agency that hunts Neuros.

People who can do dangerous things with their minds.

On my first assignment...

something a little weird happened,

okay, something really weird.

Until I get some answers I'm getting on with my life,

doing my job...

stocking up on aspirin...

because I gotta tell ya,

pain's a bitch!

Well, I guess I'll see you all in a couple of weeks.

Where you headed, Doc?

Medical convention, seminars, training. My usual vacation.

Lot of trout running at the seminar, Doc?

- Well, I thought if I had the time... - You casting or using flies?

I'm afraid I haven't perfected the use of flies. Not that I haven't tried.

- Seth, you fish? - I've caught a few in my time, yes.

- Flies? - Fish.

Why? Does that surprise you?

Well, you just don't strike me as the outdoorsy type.

Perhaps you don't know me as well as you think you do.

- Perhaps I don't. - Well, enjoy your time off.

That's my prescription. You all need it. Badly, I might add.

Always a barrel of laughs that one.

Looking forward to Maui?

Still haven't told us who you're going with?

Why do you assume I'm going with anyone?

Who goes to Maui alone?

Unless, of course, you're meeting someone there.

You're going to be in St. Thomas with Brian.

I don't think you should be concerned about what I'm up to.

What are you looking at?

Actually, I'll be at home reading.

Got stood up, darlin'?

No, Brian got handed another assignment.

He's heading off to Houston in the morning.

And who goes to St. Thomas alone, right?

Yeah, something like that.

I can always use some time to myself, right?

Catch up on my reading, watch some old movies...

Houston.

I'm going to be here the whole two weeks, workin' on the bike.

I could always use a hand, you know, cleaning plugs, applying torque...

Done. Everything's backed up.

I've got redundant image files stored offsite.

Security's secure.

Gentlemen and neighbors, I bid you farewell.

I am out of here. Comic book convention?

If only you knew.

- Breach? - No, it couldn't be!

It's Simon Connolly. I'm picking up his ankle bracelet.

If you leave we'll know about it, don't leave.

He's left the house and is on the move.

What do we care, the old bastard's chipped.

Wait, not yet.

That chip gun, you put a blank in it.

Don't read too much into it.

You take one step off these premises,

I will kill you.

- Any idea where he's headed? - He's moving too fast to be on foot.

We'll have to triangulate. Connor, you'll ride with me.

You'll go solo. Don't lose him, Riley. Let's roll.

Ok, he's moving out of the city. I've got him on highway 52, heading East.

Don't know whether he'll stick to that or pick up 4 West in another two miles.

- I can cover on the West fork. - Yeah, you can.

Ok, take the turnoff on 15 and start South.

If he does take 4 you can get ahead of him.

I will pick him up on 52 if he keeps on course.

Jane. He has turned off on 4 West and you're in point position.

Copy that.

Andre, you can pick up I-12 and cut over. Five miles ahead.

I thought that S.O.B. was dying.

Yeah, well, he's not doing a very good job of it at the moment, is he?

Jane, I've got him turning off 4 at Seminole road.

He's about a mile in front of you.

Seminole road?

What the hell's down there?

It seems like I suffer from an epidemic of bad timing,

interrupted intimate moments with boyfriends.

Getting shot 16 times wearing a really cool new dress.

Brian's business trip coinciding with our planned vacation.

And now Simon playing hide and seek,

just when I was going to get some time off.

- Simon? - Come to make good on your promise?

- You gave me your word. - My word lasts as long as I do.

Which, as you can see, won't be much longer.

- You knew we'd follow you. - I wanted you to.

- Where are the others? - They're on their way.

Then we don't have much time.

There's something I want to give you.

Call it a return favor for what you did for me.

What is it you want to give me?

The truth, Jane.

Take my hand.

He was downstairs all the time, he wasn't in the elevator.

Not when I got to the lobby anyway.

It's Jane, it's Jane!

Ahhhh!

How do you know these things?

My memory of other people's experiences is extensive.

I'm offering these to you.

Why? What does it mean?

They will make you join them, Jane.

You are part of them now.

I don't understand. Who will make me join them?

Andre?

That already happened. He made me join the team.

Simon!

Simon!

- Where are the others? - They're on their way.

Then we don't have much time.

There's something I want to give you.

Take my hand.

From the first time I met Simon,

he insisted we shared some kind of bond.

I resisted at first, but deep down I sensed he was right.

I wasn't going to let Andre ship his body to Nico to be dissected and studied.

I'd see to it he got a proper burial,

especially since he used his last breath to give me those memories,

memories that would change my life, again.

A dozen deaths traced directly to Vono-tek.

He's on the express elevator.

Whatever the hell is going on with me, I really need to know what it is.

You are part of them. They will make you join them, Jane.

You are part of them now.

Simon!

Hey, it's okay.

You're all right, sweetie? You had a bad dream?

Yeah, I guess.

What time is it?

Almost 7:00.

Here, I made some coffee.

Wanna tell me about it?

Yeah, it's too strong, like always.

I meant the nightmare.

I think it had something to do with...

lying on a hot, sunny beach in St. Thomas...

and then all of a sudden I woke up and I was in Houston.

- Blech! Frightening! - Ok, I get it.

I owe you big time for this, but...

the "apologizing" was definitely worth it.

Perfect as always.

You know, you could've come with me.

Oh, I don't know...

White sand, palm trees, virgin islands...

or Texas.

I don't think so.

Yeah. Ok, I gotta go, babe.

Hey...

just so you'll know what you're missing.

Yeah, I know.

I'll call you later.

Simon told me he wanted to give me "the truth. "

Whatever he meant by that, it all seemed to come back to the Emerald City.

Letting Andre know about the knowledge Simon gave me,

would be admitting I had faked chipped him.

And I certainly wasn't about to involve Brian...

in something that would probably have to bend the rules, and might cause trouble.

So my trip to Vono-tek would be a one-woman mission.

But then again,

I'm not your average woman.

This was my first assignment as part of Andre's team.

The first I ever heard of Neuros.

You are part of them now.

Report to security on floor 114.

Take the express elevator.

I'm in their climate control system.

I'm monitoring Hyde's movement through his heat signature.

Just landed on the 46th floor.

Steve, no!

He's entering the express elevator now.

- You said the lobby, right? - Yeah.

- Hyde was not on the elevator. - He had to be.

There was no where else to get off.

He's got to still be in the building.

Hyde must be jamming his security tag.

Wherever he went, he obviously doesn't want anyone watching, or the neuro doesn't.

- You're sure it was Hyde? - I watched him get on that elevator.

It's an express directly from 114 to the lobby, no stops in between.

He was downstairs all the time. He wasn't in the elevator.

Not when it got to the lobby, anyway.

Is that even possible?

Hey, I'm the new one on the team, remember?

I've still got a lot more questions than answers.

Right, so how do you like pushing carts?

Probably about as much as you like cleaning toilets.

I'm having a bowl.

- What is it? - The truth, Jane.

I'm afraid you'll have to come with us, miss.

She had no formal ID, no driver's license.

Claimed she was a reporter working on a story.

We're running her now since you said not to report her to the police.

It's all right. I know who she is.

Thank you.

My life took a huge turn the day I met Andre McBride and his team.

That was the day that Neuro became a regular part of my vocabulary.

The Vono-tek case killed two of his agents,

and I would have been the third if it hadn't been for my healing.