Episode 104: Face Off

Face Off
Air Date	October 17, 2007
Written by	Robert Rovan and Jon Cowan
Director	Paul Shapiro
Next episode	"The Education of Jaime Sommers"

Jaime goes on a mission to Paraguay, and learns the secret of her Bionic lifespan.

Synopsis[]

Jaime runs fast down an alley and jumps over a tall metal-wire fence. However, she injures her right foot's innermost toe when she lands on a manhole cover. She opens the door to the a parked car and finds her sister about to makeout with a guy in the back seat. Jaime pulls her off of him, and asks her if this is what she calls studying at Rachel's house. Jaime continues that Becca is only 15 years old, and asks what she thinks she was doing? Becca says she was trying to live her life and that it is none of Jaime's business. Jaime replies that it is her business, and asks the guy if he knew Becca's age, and he claims Becca said she was 18. Jaime tells Becca they are going home.

Later at the Berkut Group's bionics facility, Nathan asks Jaime what she did to his toe. Jaime replies that it is her toe, and what happened to the self-healing anthrocytes. Nathan notes that Jaime's bionics are still prototypes and not everything is going to work always as it is supposed to. When he keeps staring at her toe, Jaime asks if Nathan has a foot fetish, but he responds that he is a boob man. Jaime admits she injured herself while surveilling her sister after realizing she lied to her face, and Nathan says that's what teenagers do. Nathan shocks Jaime's toe with electricity in order to get it working again. He claimed Jaime shouldn't feel any pain, but she did. Jaime realizes it's really the lieing that bothers her. Jaime says she really doesn't care that much what Becca does, she just doesn't want her to lie to her cause then she can't help her. When Jaime asks Nathan to keep her injury between them, he says "sure thing".

Jaime goes to see Jonas, and he tells her she owes him $27,269.31 for the new toe. Jonas continues that her bionics were not developed to spy on her delinquent sister, and then Jonas walks in and asks how is her toe. Jonas plays a video tape of American CIA analyst, Dr. Mark Stevens, who was taken in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay by an organization calling itself the Sons of the Red Sand. Jonas explains that Mark has some sensitive information and that the organization will behead him in 48 hours unless the CIA admits he is theirs, which they won't. He continues that since Paraguay never passed any anti-terrorism laws, the US military can't go in to get him, so it is up to Antonio and Jaime to rescue him. Jonas says that Becca will be watched 24/7 by their surveillance team, but it is up to Jaime to come up with a story as to why she is going away.

The next morning, Jaime tries fruitlessly to make breakfast for Becca. When the eggs she is cooking catch fire, Jaime grabs the hot frying pan with her hand and drops it into the sink to extinguish the flames. The anthrocytes heal Jaime's burnt hand. Becca wakes up and enters the kitchen, surprised that Jaime tried to make breakfast. Becca apologizes for lieing to Jaime, saying the guy was a creep anyway. Becca then teases Jaime that usually those internet room chatroom guys turn out to be pretty cool. Jaime then tells Becca that Carly invited her up to Napa to celebrate her getting into law school.

Jaime then talks to Antonio at the bionics facility. Antonio explains that they will land on an airstrip, and that he has an asset, a local cop there, who will help them find Dr. Stevens when they arrive. Antonio adds that they are not flying in a little Gulfstream. Jaime says she is okay with that, then asks if he has any anti-anxiety meds. Before Antonio can answer, Sarah is wheeled by on a stretcher by three Berkut agents. Sarah, strapped down such that she can't move, asks Jaime how Becca is. Antonio tells Jaime they have to get going, and that Jonas will take care of Sarah.

On board the Berkut Group's Gulfstream, Antonio and Jaime are flying to Paraguay. Jaime gets jumpy when there is some turbulance, and tells Antonio she is scared of flying, that she couldn't find any drugs, and that she thought getting wasted before a mission was a bad idea. Antonio says for them to talk about something else, and Jaime mentions she is upset about having to lie to Becca. Antonio tells Jaime she isn't lying, just protecting her. He notes that trust and full disclosure is not the same thing, and that Jaime can trust Antonio even though he has not told her everything—that all that Jaime needs to know is that they are a team and he has her back. When there is some more turbulance, Jaime holding Antonio's hand for comfort, squeezes it a little too tight.

Jaime and Antonio meet their asset, a local police officer, in a parking lot. Jaime and Antonio are inside a rental car, and the officer tells them through the window where he suspects they can find Dr. Stevens, and notes that all of the perimeter and doors are alarmed except for the ventilation system, but that is blocked by an exhaust fan that will take your head off before you can get in. The officer adds that he thinks it's suicide to go in there, that he will deny knowing them if they are caught, and that his police will not help them.

At the terrorist's facility, Jaime uses her bionic arm first to peel back a metal-wire fence, and then her bionic eye to stop and bend one of the large exhaust fan's blades so they can get inside. Once inside, Antonio purposely sets off one of the many laser beam alarms and kneels down, putting his hands behind his head. He suggests Jaime follows his lead or she'll be shot. At least seven kidnappers respond to the alarm and storm in and take Jaime and Antonio to their leader. When they arrive, their leader takes them to meet Dr. Stevens and threatens to harm them unless he begins cooperating and decoding the flash drive. Antonio tells Jaime now would be a good time to start fighting and she and Antonio are able to kill or knock out the men in the room.

Antonio instructs Jaime to tie up the remaining guard who isn't dead and take him back to the fan room. Jaime responds by asking when Antonio and Dr. Stevens are going to do. Antonio says that Dr. Stevens has to stay here, that he deciphered the flash drive and must be killed. Dr. Stevens tells Jaime that the flash drive contained everything there is to know about bionics, including about Jaime. Antonio says the drive was given to him to decipher, not to read, and that they would have saved him if he hadn't read it. He continues that Dr. Stevens must die since he would be able to give up the information if caught. Jaime responds by shoving Antonio into the wall and instructing Mark to run to the fan room, that she would meet him there. Antonio says that if Dr. Stevens talks, Jaime would be in the cross hairs and wouldn't last a month. Jaime replies then she won't, and takes off for the fan room. On the way there, more of the terrorist group arrives and begins shooting at Jaime. She makes it to the fan room, but one of the kidnappers shoots her in her right shoulder. Jaime escapes with Mark through the exhaust fan, and restarts it so the kidnappers can't follow.

Jaime and Dr. Stevens break into a store called Bodega Muchas Cosas in order to hide. Jaime uses her bionic arm to remove the lock and her eye in infared mode to see the numbers pressed on the alarm keypad. Jaime tells Mark the numbers 2569 and he enters them highest to lowest saying that is the most probable code. The code works and the alarm is disarmed. Mark answers Jaime's questions and explains that he doesn't know his contact, just a voice on the phone, and that when he needs help he tells him where to pick things up. Marks also notes that he thought it was just them, and someone tipped them off to what he was doing. He notes that Jaime is in shock, and tells Jaime that he went to medical school and spent two years at Walter Reed. As for the decoding, Mark claims he was always a kind of savant at word games and puzzles. Mark continues that he was showing off one day at Walter Reed and the CIA recruited him. Mark examines Jaime's gunshot wound and tells her he has to take it out now, that her anthrocytes work to incorporate foreign material into her body instead of expelling it. He notes that if it doesn't come out, the anthrocytes, which are moving the bullet, could damage other organs.

Mark works on getting the bullet out of Jaime's shoulder. When Jaime asks how he lives with the lieing, he says you don't. Mark recounts the events of three years ago, when a lie he deciphered led to a bombing raid in Iraq. Mark continues that 87 civilians were killed and another 113 were injured, so he came to Triple Border to atone, doctoring people who have nothing. He adds that the CIA still calls on him from time to time, but he only deciphers information now that he can live with. Mark says he couldn't give them the information to save himself, as he knew that was too dangerous. Mark finished removing the bullet and Jaime's bionic arm has a tremor. Mark explains that the tremor is a side effect of her bionic interface failing and being reset. When Jaime says it keeps happening, Mark continues that it is inherent in the system, that the anthrocytes become fatigued over time until bionic systems cease to function within a projected five years. Mark clarifies that means Jaime is going to die.

When morning arrives, Jaime hears someone coming and ushers Mark into a storage area in the back of the store. She gives him the flash drive, tells him to wait there, and pulls down the vertically-closing wooden door. Antonio enters the bodega and asks Jaime where Dr. Stevens is, but Jaime will not say. Antonio tries to convince Jaime that Dr. Stevens is collateral damage, since killing him saves her, but she is not convinced and tells Antonio he is going to have to go through her in order to get him. Jaime fights with Antonio and sends him flying across the room with a powerful kick. Jaime then tests with two fingers on her bionic hand to see if Antonio is dead or just unconscious. She runs back and opens the door to where she left Mark, but he isn't there.

Jaime sits alone quietly in Jonas's office until he arrives. Jaime asks Jonas if he didn't think she had a right to know that she only had five years to live. Jonas claims that five years is a lifetime in technology, and that he was just trying to protect her. Jaime is still upset demanding that he will not lie to her, that it is just disgusting. Jaime expresses concern for her sister, and Jonas says they will find a way to fix this, that he will fix this.

Becca washes dishes as Jaime arrives home to their apartment. Jaime tries to claim everything went okay with Carly, but Becca tells Jaime she knows she is lieing cause Carly returned a pair of Jaime's shoes while Jaime was away. Becca asks Jaime to explain where she went, but Jaime says that she can't and that Becca just has to trust her. Jaime tells Becca that she loves her the most, a saying that their mom used to always say. Becca tells Jaime that trust is a two-way street, but Jaime can only tell her that it is her new job and that it's complicated. Becca says that she needs to know that Jaime is never going to leave her, and Jaime confirms that for her.

Cast[]

Regulars[]

Special guest star[]

Isaiah Washington: Antonio Pope

Guest starring[]

Brain Hallisay: Dr. Mark Stevens
Kevin Rankin: Nathan
Katee Sackhoff: Sarah Corvus

Co-starring[]

Lara Gilchrist: Carly
Chris Gauthier: Geek

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"Sisterhood"	"The Education of Jaime Sommers"