Firewalls On Top Of Firewalls

The magnificent castle. Marlena watches Roman sleep. She flashes back to their lovemaking. Oh, the guilt. Roman wakes and stares at her.

John is on the computer. Kate brings coffee and flashes back to you-know-what. No guilt here, through. Breakfast for John. Kate says, “About last night...”

“We’re going to find Phillip,” says John, “It’s a guarantee. Thank you for everything, Kate. How did I get so lucky?”

Rex is in on the deal. He shakes hands with Shawn. The girls come back from the hospital. Shawn is glad he has an alibi. If the cops knew about this summer he would be a suspect. Belle, too. “I guess we all could be suspects, couldn’t we,” asks Shawn.

Brady says, “With this ring, I thee wed. We will be together all the days of our lives until we are reunited in heaven.” Nicole bolts.

Nancy tells Brady, “That was a wonderful sentiment. If Chloe were alive, what would you do?”

Nicole and Chloe bump into each other in the hallway. “It can’t be,” says Nicole, “You’re dead.”

“Why would you ask me that,” asks Brady.

“Just answer me,” says Nancy, “Humor me.”

Brady relents, “OK, if she were still alive, of course I would want to be with her. She was the love of my life, but she’s dead and I need to move on.”

Nancy asks, “With Nicole?”

“Nicole has been wonderful to me.”

“She’s a liar, manipulator and a whore,” says Nancy.

“She’s changed,” says Brady. She used to be a liar, manipulator and a whore, but that was yesterday.

“People like Nicole don’t’ change,” says Nancy, “Beautiful women can have ugly souls. Plain women can be beautiful beneath the surface.”

“Chloe had both kinds of beauty,” says Brady.

“Yes she did, says Nancy, “Which kind meant more to you?”

Brady says, “I loved all of her. Nicole is a beautiful person underneath, too. I don’t owe you an explanation. Nicole has been a godsend. She has always been there for me.”

“Brady, you can’t commit to her,” says Nancy, “You will be betraying Chloe.”

Nicole has fainted after seeing Chloe. Chloe wonders, “Was it the shock of seeing me alive or my hideous face?” Nicole comes to. She sees Chloe and goes under again.

Roman asks how long Marlena has been awake. A while. She didn’t wake him because he had a long night. He must have been exhausted. Roman reminisces about last night. It meant a lot to him. It meant a lot to her, too, but it can’t happen again.

Kate was on the phone with Basic Black while John was down here playing computer games. He thinks she’s amazing. Keeping Basic Black going and caring for him as well. John found something on the computer. He goes to show her. He squints at the screen, “Kate, Roman and Marlena are alive. Look at this!”

It turns out to be a tape John shot a long time ago. Another low-down, filthy writer’s trick. They’re celebrating Marlena being named Physician of the year. John stops the playback.

Shawn ‘splains, “When someone is attacked as brutally as Jan was the cops will suspect anyone who didn’t like her.” Mimi makes a snide remark about Jan. Rex says Jan didn’t’ deserve this. Mimi asks what if it was an accident or self-defense. Rex says in that case the person who did it would come forward. Belle doesn’t want to talk about Jan any more. She has info about Phillip.

Brady tells Nancy he will never get over losing Chloe, but these ‘what if’ questions will drive Nancy crazy. He has accepted Chloe is gone and Nancy must do that too. They hug, “I hope today brings us the closure we need.” He offers her a ride, she declines. They leave.

In the hallway a nun is attending to Nicole. “I saw Chloe,” says Nicole. She points. Brady ruses out.

Brady sees a hooded figure, “Chloe wait!” The figure turns around. Brady reels. You're not being sucked in by this, are you?

John had the video on the computer so he could edit it, then forgot about it. They watch more of the party. Marlena blows out the candles. Marlena wishes they could all be friends forever and be as happy as they are today.

John turns off the tape, “God we were happy back then.”

Kate says, “I don’t know if we’ll ever be that happy again. How could we with Roman and Marlena gone?”

Roman can see the guilt, “Please don’t feel guilty. I am married to Kate and under normal circumstances I would feel guilty as hell, but this is not normal.”

Marlena says, “We crossed a line. We are in dangerous territory.”

“If we hadn’t had each other,” says Roman, “I’m not sure we could have survived this.”

Belle says John has come up with a new way to rescue Phillip. It will be a smaller operation. Shawn wants to hack in. Belle doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Rex dives in. Mimi and Belle go to get a soda.

Rex hacks. Hack Rex hack. See Rex hack.

Brady, of course, apologizes. He thought the figure was someone else. Chloe watches from the bushes.

Nicole is feeling better. Brady comes in. He says it wasn’t Chloe. “Yes it was,” says Nicole, “and she was scarred. She looked like she did in the closet.” Brady isn’t buying it. Nancy has to go. She thanks them for coming – both of them.

Outside Nancy calls for Chloe. “Why didn’t you show yourself to Brady? Did you see the ring?” Chloe says she saw it. “How could you let him put it in this urn? It should be on your finger.” She should be wearing it. She urned it. Groan.

Nicole tells Brady, “Don’t look at me like I’ve lost it. Is it possible for the dead to come back to life?” Happens every day in Salem.

Roman says they didn’t do anything wrong. Marlena disagrees. Marlena doesn’t know how they will explain this to John and Kate, “It’s different with them. They think both of us are dead. They didn’t break their marriage vows. Not knowingly, anyway.”

Roman says, “It’s been hell on both of us. I’m not going to apologize. I don’t’ see a damn thing wrong with us comforting each other. I needed you and you needed me.”

“We needed each other in the moment. But I don’t know how we will explain it.”

Roman gives her a look that says are you nuts, “We won’t.”

Marlena asks, “Are you saying you want me to lie? Are you planning to lie to Kate?”

Like a couple of cheap rugs.

“Your heart still belongs to Marlena, doesn’t it,” asks Kate.

John says, “And your heart still belongs to Roman, doesn’t it?”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t have a future together. They were a big part of our lives. And that’s not going to change, is it?”

Rex hacks, “John’s good. He’s got firewalls on top of firewalls. I’ll get in, but it will take time.”

Mimi and Belle talk. Mimi asks if Belle thinks the cops will find out that was her nail. If the police find out Jan knew about Mimi’s abortion, they will look at Mimi as a suspect.

Roman isn’t asking her to lie. When they get back, “Our loved ones won’t be asking what we did in the castle. And they won’t be eager to tell us what they did. We put this nightmare behind us and move on with our lives.”

Marlena asks, “And you think we can do that?”

Roman hesitates, “Do you hear that?” Scraping.

John says he deals in facts. Hmmm... like the fact he’s a tripped out junkie? No. Like the fact Roman and Marlena are gone and they have to find Phillip. He has a new strategy to find Phillip. It’s a smaller operation. Kate asks if Shawn is going to try something.

“He’d be a damn fool if he tried.” Well, I guess that means he’ll try something for sure.

Kate says, “That doesn’t answer my question. He doesn’t care about Phillip, he just wants Belle back.”

Nicole asks, “Can the dead come back to life?”

“No,” says Brady.

“Then how do you explain me seeing Chloe? I saw her. When I came to, she was leaning over me,” Nicole flashes back to seeing Chloe.

Brady says, “Nicole, it’s your mind playing tricks on you and it’s my fault. I saw your face when I put my ring in the urn.”

Nicole says, “Yes, you’re right. That hurt.”

“I don’t mean to hurt you,” says Brady, “It’s just that Chloe and I have a very deep connection. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be a future for us.”

“Are you sure about that,” asks Nicole.

Nancy washes the ring off. She wants to make sure Brady has it when it’s time to put it on Chloe’s finger. There is nothing more Chloe wants that to marry Brady. And she knows how to make that happen. The doc comes in. Chloe tells him she wants the radical surgery. He wants to go over the details, there are serious risks involved, “There is risk of infection, and, once we start, there is no turning back. Are you sure you want to proceed?”

Chloe stares through her hideously scarred and deformed face.

Brady tells Nicole he is glad she was there today. Now she can see he is ready to put Chloe behind him.

“Yeah, until you meet up and marry her in heaven. I’ll take my chances about what happens in heaven, but I’m more concerned about the here and now.” Heaven is a longshot for Nicole, anyway.

Brady might be able to make that commitment soon.

Dr. Weiss explains the surgery. The risks are considerable. Chloe wants to proceed. Nancy advises caution. No, Chloe wants to start as soon as possible.

Roman moves to the wall, “Doc, come here. Somebody’s digging. Listen. It’s getting louder and closer. I think this could be it. I think we are finally gonna get out of here.” Oh, Joy.

Mimi says only her mom, Belle and the creepy guy knew about the blackmail, “You don’t think I did this do you?”

Belle says she doesn’t believe Mimi did it, but Mimi is so worried about Rex finding about the abortion, it’s warping her judgment, “Jan is gonna want the police to find the real attacker. So she will have to tell them the truth. Besides, you have an alibi so you don’t have anything to worry about.”

Rex hacks. Click, click, click. Shawn asks how much time they have. Rex says, “It depends. If John Black is not online, we’re OK. If he is, he could notice there has been a break-in, and we’re toast.”

John tells Kate his plan is foolproof. Which means they don’t have to worry about Shawn getting in the way. John checks the computer to see if he has something from the ISA. “What the hell,” he says, “Something’s going on.” FF on the hack-off.


Previews
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Mimi says, “No, Mom I’m going to confess.” Bonnie says, “I couldn’t live if my baby girl was in jail.”

Marlena and Roman pull the wall out revealing a tunnel, “Oh my gosh,” yells Marlena.

John says, “The kid’s a hothead. You never know what he’s gonna do.”

Belle asks, “Are you comparing Shawn to Tony DiMera?”

Shawn tells Rex, “Excellent work. We are going to get Phillip out of that hell hole.”

“Bo has to make a choice – me or his ex. He can’t have us both,” says Hope.