[Ashley follows Alexei down the train tunnel. Druitt leans down to Alexei from a station platform, a train comes and Ashley has to dodge it. When the train is gone Alexei and Druitt are gone.]
[He gets out of bed and goes to look at some old pictures across the room.]
MAGNUS
Good. You're awake.
WILL
Considering I'm looking at a photo of you and Joe Louis, ah, I don't think so.
MAGNUS
I apologize for my boldness this evening.
WILL
Woman from earlier, creepy house, wacked photos. Probably working through some childhood stuff, bed-wetting issues, night fears.... Still, this is good stuff, even for me.
[Will gets back in bed obviously thinking he's still dreaming.]
MAGNUS
Doctor Zimmerman, I assure you I am real. As is this place and everything in it.
WILL
No. See, that's impossible. Because if this place is real, and I did pass out here, then that means that --
[Bigfoot enters room with a tea tray.]
WILL
Oh, cr--
[Will faints.]
INT. SUBWAY - STATION - PLATFORM
[Cut to train guard tied up by chains.]
DRUITT
I love the dark. It's such a wonderful feeling, letting the blackness envelope you, hide you, protect you from harm. I know all too well what it is like to be different. To have others hate me, fear me. The way he fears you . Fulfill your desires to your heart's content, hmm? With one condition. I need your help. To find an old friend?
-Former patient, actually. After I removed more than a few bullets from his body, he refused to leave. So I gave him a position on my staff. Although I must say, he brews tea as poorly as a short-order cook.
WILL
-He flushed me out of my shower.
MAGNUS
-Did he use your toilet? Oh, that is so annoying. I'll be sure to have a word with him.
WILL
No, no, it's not the toilet flushing that bothers me. It's the kidnapping. And the fact that he's a....
MAGNUS
Well, he can't help who he is.
WILL
Okay, you know what? This has been great, but I'm overdue for a round of heavy drinking and some tranquilizers, so.... If I could just have my clothes, please.
Hey, no one likes working under Old City. Too many bad memories. What if this guy caught an express? He could be up in Gunns Landing, for all we know, or friggin' Sentinel Green.
TRANSIT COP 2
He was checking the switches on number four line near 149th. -I'm thinking he didn't go far.
You spent eight years of your life studying medicine. For what? So you could practice a profession that has almost nothing to do with the reality of the world around you.
WILL
Whoa. How about a little context with that character assassination?
The purpose of this institute is to find and help the unfortunate creatures of this world. And, Doctor Zimmerman, I believe there is a vital role for you to play here.
I work with sentient beings, each worthy of the same respect that humans, even animals, receive automatically. They are the key to the evolution of our race, and yet we revile them, destroy them, and worst of all, pretend they don't even exist. But they are out there, Doctor Zimmerman. Lost, like children. Misunderstood. Hunted. Are they really so different from the outcasts you treat every day? You knew Mr. Tolson was telling you the truth. And in that one moment, I saw that you were capable of so much more.
WILL
I believed some of his story. That doesn't make me Jekyll to your Hyde. -Or whatever the right combo is.
MAGNUS
-Open your eyes. Good doctors come and go. But the really great ones have always seen beyond the boundaries of science, beyond the known. The great ones dare to believe in the unbelievable.
Well, that's because someone else was down here. Tall dude. Moves faster than me, if that's possible.
[Will spots something and moves away.]
MAGNUS
What did he look like?
ASHLEY
-Bald, trench coat.... Ah, I didn't see much.
WILL
-Uh, guys?
WILL
Hey. Hey, uh.... It's okay. It's Okay.
[Alexei lashes out and Ashley knocks Will out of the way and goes to shoot Alexei.]
MAGNUS
Stop! We need him alive.
MAGNUS
We want to help you. Do you understand me?
[Alexei lashes out at Ashley.]
WILL
Whoa! Hey! hey! Over here. Over here. Yeah, that's it. That's it. Okay. Easy....
WILL
A little help here, please?
[Magnus shoots Alexei with a dart.]
WILL
You okay?
ASHLEY
I'm fine.
MAGNUS
Far from it. This chaos was completely avoidable.
ASHLEY
Give me a break, okay? I've been avoiding cops, ghouls, and God-knows-what else in stinky, dark tunnels all night. I need food, I need a bath. I don't need a lecture.
WILL
Okay, so I'm getting that you two know each other.
