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TRANSCRIPT:
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Act I

Open with a crowd of protesters. They carry signs like "Killer go home" and "Dalack is the Devil" and are pushing against the police line trying to restrain them as a police van drives up. For some reason, the line is being maintained by detectives, too.

Sara (to crowd): Behind the lines, please.

The back door of the van is being opened.

Sara: Oh, man. Please!

A man steps to the van's doorway. He's in his late 30's with light brown hair. He sees the crowd and smiles. He waves to them and blows them kisses. This is the "Dalack" referred to on the signs.

A quick crowd shot shows Lazar there, just standing.

Someone in the crowd throws a fist-sized rock that just misses Dalack. Danny reaches down and comes up with the rock.

Sara (to crowd): All right, everybody. Just ...

Sara sees Danny heading back to the crowd with the rock in his hand. She intercepts him before he gets very far.

Sara: Hey, Danny! Don't fan the flames.

Danny: Just wanna give the guy back his rock so he can try again.

Sara: Hey, Danny, right or wrong, the courts freed Dalack. He's a citizen again. We gotta protect and serve him like everybody else.

Danny: Two minutes alone with him, that's all I want for Christmas.

Sara: Well, "Vengeance is mine," sayeth the Lord.

Danny: Why should He have all the fun?

Danny turns around and comes face-to-face with Dalack.

Dalack: Messy, messy.

Danny: You're mine.

Dalack: Oh, how romantic.

Dalack looks to Sara, who is standing just behind Danny's right shoulder.

Dalack: Who's the little wet dream?

Danny: A little old for you, isn't she?

Dalack: Oh, I don't know. Is she a "piece" officer?

Danny: Hey, watch your mouth.

Dalack (suggestive): I'm watching yours.

Danny surges at Dalack and a uniformed officer comes between him and Dalack.

Danny: {Oh, son of a bitch!}

Dalack: Oh, keep talking dirty.

Someone in the background says "Go, go, go, go" and the police start hustling Dalack into the building. Sara steps in front of Danny.

Sara: OK, girls, girls. You both look pretty. Danny!

Dalack pauses in the doorway of the building.

Dalack: You know where to find me, Detective.

Sara: Danny!

Danny (shout): You like little girls?

Dalack blows one last kiss to the crowd. We see that he has made a bracelet out of a double row of overlapping painted fingernails. He laughs as the police escort him inside. One last crowd shot to see Lazar still there.

Quick cut of Dalack signing some document. The nail of his pinky finger has been painted red.

Cut to a briefing room in the precinct. Dante has Sara, Danny, and half a dozen others in there with him.

Dante: As most of you know, Carl Dalack was released from prison today. Certain of our officers escorted Dalack today as he registered with the city and county of New York as a sex offender. Now, back in '98, Dalack was arrested for the murder and mutilation of eight teenage girls. All the victims were sexually molested. All of them had their fingernails ripped off. Dalack, however, was convicted of only a single count of homicide.

Jake: How come?

Dante: Well, that's because Dalack is smart.

Danny: Because if you love what you do ... you get good at it.

Danny seems rather depressed.

Dante: The technicality for which Dalack was released ... was our fault.

Danny: No, sir ... that's not accurate. It was my fault. I went to Dalack's apartment without a warrant.

We get to see Danny as he was four years ago when he went to Dalack's apartment.

Danny (memory): How you doing, Carl?

Dalack (memory): What?

Danny (memory): What's going on in there? {Having a party?}

Danny tries to look inside Dalack's apartment, but can't see much from the doorway - like the girl bound and gagged nearby.

Dalack (memory): Do you have a warrant?

Danny (memory): You better calm down, Carl.

Dalack (memory, shouting): You can't come in. So get out!

Dalack slams the door in Danny's face.

Back to the present.

Danny: I was sure there was something wrong. I didn't see her lying there behind the door.

Another flash of the past, only nothing that Danny saw. Dalack turns from slamming the door on Danny and pulls a knife. He advances on the girl, who starts trying to scream through her gag. {Why didn't she try this when there was someone at the door?}

Back to the cops at the station.

Danny: I didn't know what he was doing to her.

Flash of then-Danny standing in the street staring up at Dalack's windows.

Danny: After we found the body, after I knew she'd been killed while I was sitting outside in the car ... I kind of lost it. I broke into Dalack's place, collected a lot of evidence ... without a warrant. I figured any price was worth it to save another girl's life. And you cannot let your emotions rule the day ... even when you know you're right. {If this is the "technicality" that got Dalack released, how did he get convicted in the first place, much less do time?}

Dante: All right. We're going to be Dalack's next-door neighbors for a while. Round the clock surveillance, rotating 16/8's. Pezzini, you and Woo, switch off with McCarty.

Jake: How long can we keep that up?

Dante: Until I'm satisfied he won't kill again.

Dante nods a dismissal and the detectives begin filing out. Sara claps Danny on the arm.

{Pause for opening sequence.}

Back to the precinct. Sara and Danny are in their office. Danny holds a framed photo of his little girl.

Sara: How is your daughter?

Danny: She's fine ... magic. It's my niece that's mangling my chi.

Sara: Listen, uh, Mija called me last night.

Danny: Yeah? I'm the evil uncle, right?

Sara (laugh): Apparently.

Danny: Sometimes, I almost wish that I'd told my brother she couldn't stay with me. She's his daughter. But she didn't want to change high schools when he moved. That, I understand. That's all I understand. The other night, Pez, she came home at 3:00 am. I'm not her dad, but I might as well be.

Sara: Yeah, I get it.

Danny: No, you don't have kids, so no offense, you cannot understand. Not really, not until you do.

Sara nods.

Sara: Anyway, I tried to calm her down.

Danny: She looks up to you.

Sara: I'm gonna have to set her straight about that.

Danny: True ... true.

The stone in the Witchblade starts swirling madly.

Witchblade vision: Dalack is holding a hand. In the background, we hear muffled whimpering. Dalack removes a ring from the hand with his mouth. He takes the ring from his mouth with his free hand. Dalack runs the hand down his face.

Dalack (vision): Oh, such beautiful hands.

Danny notices Sara's preoccupation.

Danny: What?

Sara turns her head toward her partner.

Sara: Huh? I, I just got a headache.

Danny: Yeah. Me, too. It's called a teenager.

Sara gives a little laugh.

Cut to Sara and Mija Woo walking down a sidewalk.

Mija: Thanks for seeing me.

Sara: Hey, it got me out of cardboard donuts and rancid coffee.

Mija: Surveillance, you mean?

Sara: Yeah. Now listen, your uncle and I are working this case. It's got him pretty stressed.

Mija: Tell me about it. He's out of control.

Sara: Funny. He says the same about you.

Mija: I'm just trying to be myself, you know ... individuate. I mean, he's against that.

Sara: No, he's not. He's just looking out for you, Mija. Nobody cares more than Danny.

Mija: Hmph!

Sara: And staying out all night, hanging with the bad boys ...

Mija (indignant): He told you about that?

Sara: ... and not copping to stuff that you're doing is not individuation.

Mija: It was only once.

Sara's not buying that.

Sara: Really?

Mija laughs.

Sara: And we learn from experience, right? So, that's what I'll tell your uncle. Maybe there can finally be some peace in the Woo household after all. Knucklehead.

Sara rubs her knuckles across the top of Mija's head and wraps her arm across the girl's shoulders.

Cut to Dalack walking down a crowded sidewalk. Jake and Sara are watching from a parked car.

Jake: Must be hard for Danny to live with the fact that he let a girl die and then helped her killer go free.

Sara: You think?

Dalack seats himself at a table in a diner near their car.

Jake: Hey, fine. That's the way you want to play it then. Let's don't talk about it.

Dalack waves to them. Sara nods back.

Sara: Look, Danny's my partner, Jake. It doesn't make me his shrink or his confessor.

Jake settles back in his seat.

Jake: This could get very boring.

Sara notices a knot of schoolgirls walking down the sidewalk. {I'm not going to cover their chatter.}

Sara: Or not.

Jake perks up again. He watches as the girls enter the diner. Dalack, who had been watching the girls, too, turns to look at Jake and Sara.

Cut to the interior of the diner. The girls stop their laughter and chatter as they spy Dalack sitting there in front of them. Dalack removes his blue-tinted glasses.

Dalack: Yes. I am he. (rises from seat) And what would you little lovelies like to know, hmm? The sounds my victims made in their final moments? (chuckle) I cannot tell you, because I wasn't there. I am an innocent man.

Dalack focuses on one particular girl, taller than most of the others with long light-brown hair. She just so happens to be wearing the ring Sara saw in her vision.

Dalack: What is your name?

Another girl warns her against revealing it.

Girl: Don't tell him.

The girl with the ring looks at her friend then back to Dalack.

Girl with ring: Jennifer Rose.

Her friend cannot believe she actually told Dalack her name.

Dalack: Jennifer Rose. How sweet.

Sara and Jake walk through the front door.

Sara: Excuse me.

Dalack: Ah ... my heavily armed Venus.

Sara: My presence here, not a good thing.

Dalack: Bind me hand and foot like a bond slave. Beat me past the point of bleeding and force me to kneel and, gratefully, kiss your hand.

Sara: Move your ass out of here, Cupid.

Dalack: Why? I'm a free man.

Sara: Don't kid yourself.

Jake: Let's go, Mr. Dalack.

Jake and Sara try to herd Dalack to the door, Sara putting her right hand on his upper arm to get him going.

Dalack sucks in his breath audibly.

Dalack: Ooh ... Detective Pezzini, you have such beautiful hands.

Sara (softly): You get your ass outside, or they're going to look beautiful around your neck.

Dalack chuckles.

Dalack: Ooh, you're too good to be true.

Sara notices Dalack's bracelet of fingernails. She appears sickened.

Dalack: Relax, Detective. I'm sorry to say that they're only acrylic nails.

Dalack turns to the girls once more.

Dalack: Good afternoon, my lovelies.

Dalack leaves the diner.

Sara (to girls): All right, if you ever see him around here again, you call the police immediately, OK? From now on, you walk home in pairs or you take a cab. Got it?

The girls murmur their assent.

Cut to Ian Nottingham dunking a basketball through a rim without a net on an outdoor court. He's in sneakers, black exercise pants, and a sleeveless black tee shirt. His hair is in braids, most gathered at the back of his neck. He hangs from the rim for a moment then drops. When he does, we see Sara on the court waiting for him. The graffiti scrawled on the surrounding wall and the tall buildings in the background place this court in the inner city. Ian retrieves his jacket and follows Sara off the court. Sara turns the corner onto a sidewalk. Ian dribbles behind her and flips her the ball with a grin as he comes up beside her.

Ian: You want to talk about Dalack and how the Witchblade can help?

Sara dribbles the basketball as she walks.

Sara: Well, I didn't come here for a game of round ball.

She passes the ball back to Ian.

Ian: He thinks he's the perfect predator.

Sara: You jealous?

Ian: He offers benign charm, quick wit ... all which belie a homicidal intent. The author your suspect likes to quote? So happens to be one of my favorites. Baron Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, from whence we divine masochism.

Sara: Maybe you two should date.

Ian: What's the Witchblade been showing you, Sara?

Sara: I see Dalack seducing me or seducing his next victim.

Ian: You see the precision of his mania. The exactness of his crimes. The conscience absent of remorse.

Sara: Well, he's a stone killer.

Ian: Remove emotion from the equation, Sara, and what are you left with?

Sara shrugs.

Ian: Nature.

Sara: You miss Irons, don't you?

Ian: I'm learning not to. I'm learning I don't have control of anything. And, as such, may enjoy the chaotic whimsy of fate. And ... I think of you. And it's an endless torrent ... of lust ... and hate. You orphaned me, Sara.

A pained smile appears on Ian's lips for an instant. We get a flash of Irons committing suicide by Witchblade.

Ian: You orphaned me.

Ian heads off down the street, dribbling his basketball. Sara gives a little shake and lets her breath out slowly.

Sara (to the Witchblade): Show me.

Nothing happens. Sara scoffs and resumes walking down the street. She has barely started walking when she gets the requested vision. In the vision, she sees Dalack open a case containing nail polish and some small tools. A girl's muffled whimpering can be heard in the background. Dalack selects a small knife.

Back to Sara on the sidewalk. She looks around for a second, then continues walking.

Cut to Jake and Danny doing surveillance later that night. Jake is sitting in the driver's seat.

Jake: You want to talk about this guy?

Danny: Not really.

Jake: I heard he was all anyone talked about. The killer who painted nails and ripped them off. They say the whole city was looking over its shoulder. You were new in Homicide, right?

Danny: Yeah.

From his window, Dalack gives them a little wave, which Jake returns. Dalack then lowers his shade.

Danny: I traced the polishes he put on the girls, tracked him down through suppliers ... cowboy'd him solo.

Jake: Good for you.

Danny: Yeah. Good for me. Not so good for Janice Cooper, the girl behind the door.

Jake (soft): Yeah.

Jake looks up to Dalack's window to see the silhouette of a man's head and a newspaper being read.

Danny: How do you take your coffee?

Jake: Sweet and black.

Danny gets out of the car.

Cut to Sara's apartment. Mija is visiting and venting.

Mija: He's really pissing me off. Now I'm not even allowed to go out at night. I'm never going to be who he wants me to be.

Sara: Well, you don't have to rip his heart out trying to prove it.

Mija: Hey, you left home when you were 15, right? That's what Aunt Lee said, and you turned out all right.

Sara: Well, not exactly "left." Not exactly "home." After my dad was shot, uh ... there was no family like you have to go home to, at least.

Mija: Well, you were completely free.

Sara: Honey - alone. It's not the same thing.

Mija: Well, all I know is that I'm not afraid of experiencing things. I mean, as long as I learn from them, right? Just like you said.

Sara: Yeah.

Sara brings two cups of tea to the kitchen table.

Sara: Sweetheart, life is going to smack you upside the head, no matter what. And you know I don't usually give advice. But would you trust me? Take your time growing up. The world is still going to be there.

Mija: I don't even want to go home. I hate it there. I feel like I'm always being policed. After all, he is a cop.

Sara: Yep, yeah. Well, so am I. And guess what? If you don't get your little, willful ass back home, I'm going to arrest you.

Mija laughs weakly.

Sara: Oh, come on now. Drink your tea. I'll give you a ride home. In exchange, you'll take it easy on my partner, OK?

Mija doesn't say anything.

Sara: Deal?

They clink mugs together.

Cut to Jake and the surveillance. Danny comes back with two large coffees and gets in the car.

Danny: Has he moved?

Jake: Not a hair.

Danny: Fifteen minutes, and he hasn't even coughed?

Danny leans over Jake and sees the same silhouette on Dalack's window shade as was there before.

Jake: No, man, I've been watching him.

Danny gets out of the car, Jake right behind him. They both draw their weapons and hurry across the street to Dalack's building. They go up the stairs and find Dalack's front door open. They see where Dalack has set up a bird cage wrapped in a scarf and topped with a baseball cap to throw the shadow onto the shade.

Danny: Call an APB. He's on the move. Call it in.

Cut to Mija brushing her hair and walking around her room.

Shift to see Dalack looking in on her from a nearby rooftop {??}.

Mija pauses to look out her window. She turns out her light and returns to looking out the window.

Dalack: Good night, my sweet Mija.

Fade.

End Act I.

Act II

Open with Dalack seated at a table in an interrogation room. Jake is standing behind him. Sara and Danny stand in front of him, on the other side of the table, Danny closer.

Jake: Where were you last night?

Dalack: Why? Was someone killed?

Danny: No one was killed.

Dalack: Then how could it possibly matter where I was?

Danny (stepping closer): How did you get out of the building without us seeing you?

Dalack (childish): I'll never tell.

Sara: Why would you want to get out of the building without being noticed?

Dalack: I was sightseeing. As much as I enjoy the fantasy of being harmed by the three of you, could you ...

Dalack gestures to his left wrist handcuffed to his chair.

Dalack: ... unhook these now?

Sara: We'll be right back, loverboy. Come on, guys, let's go.

Danny still leans against the table staring at Dalack.

Sara: Danny, come on.

They all head for the door.

Dalack runs his free hand through the spot on the table where's Danny's hand rested then sniffs his hand. {Ick!}

Cut to Sara and the guys in the hall.

Sara: Cut him loose.

Danny: What?!

Sara: We got nothing to hold him on.

Danny: So, what? We just wait until he commits another murder?

Sara: Jake, just go unshackle and process him out.

Jake: Your call.

Jake turns back toward the interrogation room. Sara turns the opposite way and starts walking. Danny trails after her, haranguing her.

Danny: So, you wanna wait until we have to knock on another family's door and tell them we didn't do a friggin' thing to keep their daughter alive.

They have entered the room with the observation glass looking into the room with Dalack. Jake's in there with him now.

Sara: Danny, I know what you're feeling ...

Danny (interrupts): No, you don't. I read in his diaries how he gained the trust of his victims. He walks them to school, buys them presents. The last thing he said to each girl, the day he killed them, was "Have a great day at school."

In the background we see Jake escorting Dalack from the interrogation room. Dalack looks back to the glass.

Danny: I want to shoot the bastard dead.

Sara: Look at yourself, Danny. You're over the line ... with Dalack, me, Mija.

Danny: Leave Mija out of this. She's not ... your family.

Sara: Whoa. I did not hear you just say that.

Danny: Yeah? Well, you haven't been hearing much lately.

Sara pauses for a beat and tries to keep her cool.

Sara (strained): Let's go settle this, OK?

Cut to the precinct gym. Sara and Danny have changed clothes and are wearing boxing gloves and headgear. Sara repeatedly punches Danny, but he offers no resistance.

Sara: Fight back, Danny.

But still he does not.

Sara: I can take anything you got, Woo.

Danny lands a hard right.

Sara: That's better. Now at least you're fighting like you got a pair.

Sara lands a couple more punches and Danny starts dancing around.

Danny: I can't do this.

Sara: You have to do this.

Danny: I keep seeing that girl.

Sara: You didn't kill her, Danny.

Danny does not reply. Sara punches him a couple more times.

Sara: You didn't kill her, Danny!

Sara launches a flurry of blows that ends with a kick with her left foot to his right temple that has him staggering for a minute. Danny then attempts (or fakes) a low kick with his left leg that Sara blocks with her right hand, leaving her right side exposed. Danny takes advantage with a sweeping left to her head. While Sara recovers, Danny kicks the heavy bag. He walks off a few feet, stretching his neck. He spins into another kick at the bag that would have landed on a tall man's head. Danny turns back to Sara.

Danny: I didn't keep her alive, either.

Sara: Well, guess what? Your niece is still alive. Come on, Danny. You got to get over your anger. You got to make amends.

Danny: I get the point.

Sara tries to hide her relief.

Sara (nods): Great.

Danny (smile): We should do this again sometime.

Sara (not too enthusiastic): Huh? Yeah ... sure.

Cut to Mija in a bookstore. She has several books in her hands and is looking for another on the shelf in front of her. She puts her hand on one and someone puts a hand over hers. Mija spins around and sees Dalack.

Dalack: Is this the one?

Mija: Yeah, thanks.

Dalack: Isadora Duncan. What a tragic death.

Mija: Really?

Dalack: Such a beauty. So many men loved her. {And } Her scarf got caught in the wheels of a car and almost ripped her stunning visage from her neck.

Mija: Ooh ...

Dalack: That's why I take public transportation.

Mija giggles.

Dalack: Ah, you have such a beautiful smile. I'm Evan. Evan Whitechapel.

Dalack holds out his hand and they shake.

Mija: Mija Woo.

Dalack: Mija Woo. Just casual reading, or ... I mean, the books, I mean.

Mija: I'm doing a report for school. I want to be a dancer.

Dalack moves to another shelf.

Dalack: Oh, then you need to read Salome.

Dalack takes a book from the shelf.

Dalack: Now, there was a dancer.

Mija: Oh, wow. Cool.

Dalack: So, um .. Do you have a phone number?

The look on Mija's face says, "Creep alert."

Mija: Oh, uh ... I, I don't really like to ...

Dalack laughs and shakes his head.

Dalack: No, no, no, no. Mija, I, I'm not trying to hit on you. You see, I teach a study group at Columbia University in the history of performing arts. It includes art, music ... dance.

Mija is clearly interested now.

Mija: Really?

Dalack: Really. {Yeah} We meet once a week at a coffee shop, the library ... my apartment. Whatever the group decides. I'd love to have you.

Mija: Me?

Dalack nods and then gestures to the books in her hands.

Dalack: Give me these.

Mija: Ah, sure, uh ... OK.

Mija hands him her books then digs a small notepad out of her bookbag. She writes on it then pauses before finally tearing the page off and handing it to Dalack.

Mija: Here you go.

Dalack: Great. Anyway, um, I'm late for class. I'll call you soon.

Mija: Great. Thanks.

Dalack: You have such a beautiful smile. Such beautiful hands. Well, we'll talk later.

Mija: All right. Bye!

She smiles and waves as he leaves.

Cut to that night. Danny is riding as Sara drives.

Danny: I was trying to recall the moment that I decided to be a cop. I was relieved to remember it wasn't just 'cause they were hiring.

Sara: I like guns. (shrug)

Danny (little laugh): You know, I never felt safe growing up. I was kind of a little guy, got my ass kicked twice a week just walking to school. That was when my father wasn't whipping on me, trying to teach me how to fight. I must have figured, if I can make others safe, it would even the score. And it hasn't.

Sara: Danny, we win and we lose on this job, and it's having the heart to come back to work after a bad day that makes the difference between being a cop ... and being a police officer. Danny, you got nothing to be ashamed of.

Danny's cell phone interrupts anything he might have said.

Danny (into phone): Detective Woo.

The caller is his wife, Lee Woo.

Lee: Sweetheart, it's me.

Danny: Hi. What's up, honey?

Lee: It's Mija.

Danny: Yeah. I coulda guessed.

Lee: She's not home yet.

Danny: Try her cell phone?

Lee: It's going right to voicemail, which means it's off.

Danny (sigh): She's probably just with her girlfriends. I'll check back in half an hour. Bye.

Danny and Lee hang up.

Sara: Let me guess.

Danny: How old do kids have to be before you can't spank them?

Sara laughs. Until a call comes through on the radio.

Radio dispatcher: 5-5 Baker. Respond to 1837 Riverside. Possible homicide. Young female victim.

A suddenly worried Danny looks to Sara.

Sara: It's not her.

Danny puts the flashing lights on the dash and the siren starts blaring.

Cut to an alley. There are several police cars present, as well as the usual crowd of bystanders. Sara and Danny move to the body and we see that it is Jennifer Rose from the diner. The nail from her right pinky has been removed. The other nails have been painted red. Someone in the crowd behind Sara and Danny makes a comment.

Dalack: Bad color on her, don't ya think?

Danny gets up and turns to Dalack with a fierce look on his face. He starts toward Dalack. Sara tries to call him back, but with no luck.

Sara: Danny. Danny!

Danny has a expandable club in his right hand. He strikes a retreating Dalack in the head with forehand and backhand strokes. Dalack falls, blood falling from his mouth.

Sara closes her eyes and grimaces. Danny collapses his club.

Danny: You're under arrest.

Dalack: Don't be stupid. It was obviously the student, not the teacher.

Danny pushes Dalack back toward the cars. Dalack speaks to Sara on his way past.

Dalack: Don't worry. I'll settle out of court.

Sara gets a vision of Dalack.

Dalack (vision): It was nice to see you again. You have a great day at school.

Danny hustles Dalack off.

Danny: Move it!

Sara gets one last flicker of Dalack's face.

Fade.

End Act II

Act III

Open with Mija dancing about her room with headphones on. A hand touches her shoulder.

Mija: Damn it!

It was Danny who touched her.

Mija: Uncle Dan ... (removes headphones) ... you scared the crap out of me.

Danny: There are so many things wrong with what you just said, I don't even know where to begin.

Mija: Well, then, don't.

Danny sighs.

Danny: I came to give you these.

He holds out two CD cases. Mija takes the CDs and looks at them.

Mija: I already have the new Mac Tone and Mobocracy. {Brat!}

Danny sighs again and leaves.

Mija: Knock on the door next time.

Danny pauses to look back at her then continues on his way.

Cut to Sara and Ian walking down a sidewalk in a park-like area. Ian still (or again) has his hair in braids.

Sara: I need some help.

Ian: Anything you wish, Sara.

Sara: The Witchblade has been speaking to me. It's showing me things. I keep seeing images, through the eyes of at least one of Dalack's victims. And I ... I don't know what it means. They're, they're ... they're different somehow.

Ian: Do these images have feelings?

Sara: Feelings? What do you mean?

Ian: The visions are different. Do you feel seduced, as well as afraid? Do you feel the visions are actually happening to you?

Sara (nods): Yes.

Ian: Sara, you're not looking through the eyes of the dead.

Ian takes off his sunglasses.

Ian: You're looking through the eyes of the living. Possibly seeing things that haven't even happened yet.

Sara: So, I can prevent this murder?

Ian nods vigorously.

Ian: Only if you can decipher whose eyes they are.

Sara nods.

Ian: I'll be near you, Sara. I'll always be near you.

Ian walks past Sara, passing beside a large fountain. When Sara turns and walks past the fountain herself, Ian has already disappeared. Sara just shakes her head.

Cut to Mija walking to school. When she arrives at the school, she sees Dalack waiting there. He hands her a daisy.

Dalack: For you.

Mija: Thank you.

Dalack: Now, those are two words you never have to use with me.

Mija: Cool.

Dalack: So, uh, will you be joining us this evening?

Mija: For the group study?

Dalack: Yes. It's going to be a little cramped. I've got 8 dancers from Alvin Ailey joining the rest of us.

Mija: Alvin Ailey? They're the best! That's where I want to go!

Dalack: Well, then I guess I've made a dream come true for you, haven't I?

Mija: I don't know what to say.

Dalack: Just say you'll come.

Mija (laugh): Definitely.

Dalack: Great. I'll see you tonight.

Mija starts walking into school.

Mija: All right.

Dalack: It was nice to see you again. You have a great day at school.

Cut to Sara in her office on the phone. Jake approaches her open door just as Sara finishes her conversation. Danny is in the office at his desk.

Sara (into phone): Thank you for your time.

Sara hangs up the phone and Jake knocks.

Sara: Yeah.

Jake: Dalack's got an alibi for the murder of Jennifer Rose. And they've already let him out.

Danny gets out of his chair and walks over to Jake.

Danny: How?

Jake: Forensics came up with diddly, and he was seen paying for a lap dance at the time of the murder.

Danny: Where?

Jake: Billy's Topless on Seventh Avenue.

Danny: I don't buy that for a heartbeat. Keep checking.

Jake: Hey, I'm just telling you what they told me.

Danny: Yeah, well, we shoot messengers around here.

Jake looks to Sara with eyebrows raised then leaves. Sara shakes her head with her eyes closed. After Jake leaves, Danny slams the door Jake went through.

Danny (low): Man, I am amping on everybody.

Sara: Really? You didn't hear it from me. How is it going with Mija?

Danny: Nowhere fast. Come on, let's go blow a hole in his alibi.

Another detective comes through the other office door, which is open. The detective has a file folder in his hand.

Detective: Hey, kids.

Sara: Hey, Litvak. How's the bob and weave going with Dalack?

Litvak: The guy's seen Cape Fear five times this week.

Litvak opens the folder.

Litvak: All right. Pick of the litter for the day. He's been running into the same young lady, either by accident or on purpose, the past two days.

Litvak shows Sara a photo of Dalack handing Mija the daisy.

Litvak: Nothing to report, though.

Sara's face shows her fright. The she gets a vision from the Witchblade. Her sight is blocked, as if something is covering her eyes except for a small open area. She sees Dalack in the open area. She also hears whimpering.

Dalack (vision): I love that sound.

Back to Sara staring off into space.

Danny: What?

Sara (scared): We got to roll.

She grabs her coat.

Sara (to Litvak): Thanks.

Sara (low): Now, Danny!

Sara hands Danny the photo on her way past him. Danny's eyes are wide and frightened as he grabs his coat and follows her.

Cut to Sara, Danny, and an assault team going up the stairs to Dalack's apartment.

Sara: I should go in first.

Danny: She's been missing from school since lunch. He's been here with her for over an hour. I am first.

One of the assault team uses a battering ram to open Dalack's door. Another team member tosses a flash-bang into the apartment and closes the door. The three members of the assault team enter, followed by Danny and then Sara. No one is home.

Danny: Where is he?

Sara: He's not home.

The phone rings and Danny answers it.

Danny (into phone): Yeah.

Cut to Dalack driving in his car and calling on a cell phone.

Dalack: Are you scared yet, Detective?

Back at the apartment, Danny picks up a daisy that had been left stuck in the bird cage.

Back to Dalack.

Dalack: Because Mija sure is.

In the background we see Mija, bound, blindfolded and with tape over her mouth, crying.

Dalack disconnects.

Back to Dalack's apartment. Danny can only stare at Sara.

Fade.

End Act III

Act IV

Open back in the briefing room at the police station. Dante has gathered a roomful of detectives.

Dante: At around 1:00 pm this afternoon, a 15-year-old girl named Mija Woo was reported missing from Rodin High School at 110th and Madison. The girl is niece to Detective Woo, and it is believed that she was abducted by the recently-released Carl Dalack. Detective Woo.

Danny: I received a call from Dalack an hour ago at his apartment. The one place we know he isn't. Dalack is a deliberate killer. He needs the exact right surroundings in order to switch on. Since he is not at home, he is probably mobile at the present, looking for that ... suitable locale. I should also mention that he does not seem interested in being taken alive. And although it is a member of my family that is at risk here ... he should be taken alive. And also, we have no time.

Dante: All right, let's hit the streets. Pound all pavement, follow all leads, pressure all sources. Let's go.

The room clears. Danny walks out of the room to see his wife, Lee, approaching.

Lee: Danny?

They embrace then part.

Lee: I took the kids to my mother's house.

Danny: I don't want you going back home until we find him.

Lee: And her.

Danny: Yeah, of course. You stay in my office, OK?

Danny kisses her and begins to walk away.

Lee: Your brother called this afternoon. He called to talk to Mija.

Danny: OK. Thanks.

Cut to Dalack driving. Mija is whimpering in the back seat still. Dalack turns to looks at her. Mija can just see a little bit under her blindfold.

Dalack: I love that sound.

Cut to Danny driving with Sara in the passenger seat.

Sara: It's not going to happen again.

Danny: I don't know what to believe any more.

Sara: What do you mean?

Danny: I just don't have faith. Faith in anything. I got nothing to fall back on.

Sara: They say you can't find an atheist in a foxhole.

Danny: I want to pray, but ... seems wrong to ask Him for help after ignoring Him for so long.

Sara: I never have, but, uh ... I'd pray for you.

Sara gets another vision. She can see Dalack's shoes on a hardwood floor.

Dalack (vision): Honey, we're home!

Danny: What is it?

Sara: Nothing.

Danny's cell phone rings and he answers it.

Danny: This is Danny. Hang on.

Danny puts the phone into a hands-free device so Sara can hear, too.

Danny: Go, Jake.

Jake: We just got a flash that a man fitting Dalack's description rented a car from Okie Rental Cars.

Danny: What was the make of the vehicle?

Jake: 2000 Lincoln. He rented under the name Evan Whitechapel.

Danny: Thanks, man.

Jake: Yeah, no problem.

They disconnect.

Danny: Whitechapel?

Sara: Whitechapel's the district in London where, uh, Jack the Ripper worked.

Witchblade vision: Once again, Sara can see what Mija sees from beneath the edge of her blindfold. She sees Mija's left hand splayed on a table in front of her in some kind of manicurist's contraption {I'm assuming}. She can see Dalack open a case with bottles of fingernail polish and small tools. She sees some of those tools on the table by Mija's hand. Mija's whimpering becomes more frantic.

Dalack (vision): I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt.

Mija lifts her head. Now Sara can see more items in the room, including a small child's bike.

Back to the car.

Sara: Danny, turn left here.

Danny: What?

Sara: That picture on your desk of Una?

Danny: Yeah?

Sara: You bought her a bike for her birthday last year, right?

Danny: Yeah, right. A training bicycle.

Sara: He's in your house.

Danny: What?

Sara: He's in your house, Danny!

Sara puts the flashing lights on the dash.

Sara: Go!

Sara picks up the radio's microphone.

Sara (into mike): All units, all units! Please report ...

Cut briefly to Danny's house. Dalack and Mija arrive just as Sara saw in her earlier vision.

Dalack: Honey, we're home!

Cut back to Danny and Sara in their car. The picture begins to blur like one of Sara's "live" visions. Danny turns his head sideways while driving to look at Sara. We hear the auditory cue for the Witchblade, and the picture becomes an almost total blur. {Is Sara using the Witchblade to speed them on their journey?}

Cut back to Danny's house. Heavy rock music is playing loudly. Mija is in a chair at the kitchen table. She still has the blindfold on and tape over her mouth. Her left hand is on the table. Dalack is standing behind her with his left hand over hers. He's dancing to the music. He hugs her shoulders and kisses the top of her head before drawing back and acting as if he were going to punch her with his right hand. he dances off and then returns to kiss Mija through the blindfold again. Dalack then opens his case with polish and tools. He picks up a couple tools and sets them on the table.

Dalack (softly): Yeah, baby.

He goes back for a couple more tools and puts them on the table, too. He uses a remote to turn off the music. Dalack comes over and kisses the back of Mija's hand lying on the table.

Dalack: I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt ...

Dalack jerks the black bag off Mija's head.

Dalack: ... a lot!

Mija, naturally, is crying the whole time. Dalack strokes her hair back with his hand.

Dalack: Sh, sh.

Dalack: We have a few minutes before we start, though.

Dalack removes his jacket with a shimmy and chuckles. He tosses the jacket aside.

Dalack: Ooh. Look at me. Look at me. Yes.

Dalack pours wine into two goblets on the table. He offers one to Mija.

Dalack: Drink?

She shakes her head, still crying.

Dalack: No? (shakes head)

Dalack: You're going to do this sober, huh? Well, you are your uncle's niece. (little laugh)

Dalack takes a large drink of the wine in his glass.

Dalack: Hmm. Ahhh. I'm impressed.

Dalack comes over and kisses Mija on the tape near her mouth.

Dalack: Don't scream. Don't you make a peep.

Dalack begins to remove the tape.

Dalack: Shh ...

The tape peels away slowly and Dalack lowers his face.

Dalack: Ohh.

Mija: Please.

Dalack: Sh! Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss ...

Dalack kisses Mija. She doesn't respond except to whimper.

Dalack (voice rising): Kiss me harder. Kiss me harder! Harder! Harder!

Dalack: Why not me? Why not me? {Um ... maybe because you're a psycho?}

Dalack puts the tape back over Mija's mouth.

Dalack: Stupid ...

Dalack sits back and picks up a small knife from the table.

Mija (muffled): Noo ...!

Dalack: You wanna close your eyes for this.

He puts the knife to her hand.

Mija (muffled): Please!

Danny and Sara burst in through the front door, Sara with her gun in her hand. Dalack stands. Danny runs to Dalack, launching himself into a spinning kick. His right foot knocks the knife out wide and the left catches Dalack in the chest. Dalack is knocked into the china cabinet behind him. Danny kicks him into the cabinet again. And then Danny's gun is suddenly in his hand and flush against Dalack's chest.

Sara: Danny, no!

Danny: This is for all of them.

Dalack: No. No, this is for you.

Sara: Danny ... you're not a killer. You're a police officer. You remember what that means.

Dalack: Don't listen to her.

Sara: You're a force of order, Danny. Not chaos.

Sara goes over to Mija and comforts the crying girl. Danny looks to them and then back to Dalack. His rage is evident, but also his indecisiveness.

Cut to Sara leading Mija out the front door. Sirens can be heard approaching.

Back inside the house.

Dalack: Please, kill me. Do it!

Dalack (voice breaking): I'm ready to go.

Dalack: Do it!

Danny keeps fighting the urge to grant his request.

Cut back outside to Sara and Mija walking down the sidewalk. They hear a single gunshot. Sara snarls.

Cut to the police station. Danny escorts Dalack to a cell. Sara is right behind them. They put Dalack in his cell.

Dalack: Until next time.

Sara gives him a little wave as the door slides shut.

Danny and Sara start back up the hall.

Sara: You did the right thing.

Danny: I'm glad you think so.

Back in his cell, Dalack punches at the air and grabs his hair, crying.

Dalack: {Don't } Leave me alone!

Cut to Danny and Sara's office. Mija is sitting on one of the desks with a policewoman standing next to her. Danny and Sara walk in and the policewoman leaves.

Danny: You OK?

Mija: You should have killed him, Uncle Danny.

Mija lays her head on his shoulder.

Sara leaves them alone and shuts the door behind her.

Fade.

End Act IV

END OF EPISODE

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