Bloody Situation

"**Bloody Situation**" is the seventh episode of Season 1, the first episode of the Blood-born Assault story arc, and the seventh episode of the show overall.

## Plot

*Marked by The Widowmaker, Lee is forced to go into hiding. Polly comes across Isiah. The Anti-Vampire Department gears up for a large-scale assault.*

## Synopsis

### Part One

#### Flash-Back

During the events of We Tell Ourselves, Isiah sits alone at his desk at the university, the screen of his computer lighting up the room. Jill appears at the door, not long after she found Lee, and tells him that "Henka's dead. He attacked Gray, but some guy saved him and turned him." Isiah's surprise is only contained to his eyes. He asks her why she told him this, to which she shrugs and says that she "figured you'd want to know." He shakes his head and tells her to come with him before getting up from his chair.

#### Present-Day

Some time after the party has finished and most of the guests have left, Lee peers out of the window, searching the street for a sign of Nils or any member of the Blood-born. In the background, Isiah talks with Jack the Ripper. The two discuss possible ways out of the building without being detected. Though he doesn't fully understand the situation, he agrees to help them get out. Meanwhile, Nynaeve pulls Lee away from the window and sits him down on one of the sofas. Lee asks "is this bad?" to which Strepp tells him that "it won't be long until he knows your name. Then, you'll be marked, Lee. There'll be a reward out for you. Probably a lot, considering who'll be doing the marking." Lee remembers his sister, saying that they'll be after her, too. Isiah then tells him that he will handle it before addressing everyone. He says that "we can get Lee out of here safely, but first, we need a distraction to throw them off the scent for a while. Lee watches on as Strepp, Isiah, and Heracles all volunteer themselves. Jill tries to, as well, but Isiah says that she must go with Lee and Nynaeve to Paperback. Lee stands up and says "I can't ask you to do this for me, you'll be risking your lives, too." But Strepp tells him that "there's no way in hell we're letting those bastards get you. Besides, we'd do it for anyone else here."

Outside, Isiah, Heracles, and Strepp—wearing Lee's coat with the hood up to conceal his face—step into the street, the darkness swallowing them. As they walk, they hear footsteps behind them and eventually, Nils appears a few steps in front. They stop and he says once more that he will be taking "the boy" Isiah and Heracles stand in front of him, with the former asking if he is "absolutely sure that you want to do this?" When Nils does not answer, he sighs and says "so be it." He and Heracles go for Nils and immediately, two other vampires appear behind Strepp. He darts into action, dodging a strike from one and kicking the other in the shin. The second goes down for a moment and the first goes to hit him again. Strepp grabs the arm as he swerves away and twists it sharply. The bone snaps and a scream rips through the air before Strepp slashes at the man's throat, killing him.

Heracles and Isiah battle Nils, slashing at one another and each time only barely missing. Nils leaps over Heracles and almost hits him, if not for Isiah, whose kick sends him flying into the wall on the side of the street. Nils regains his composure, but looks on at him with shock. Isiah gives him a look of warning, but he runs towards Strepp. He is blown back once more before he even reaches halfway there.

Strepp tries to fight off the second vampire only to get cut on his arm and yelp in pain. In retaliation, he punches him across the jaw, but he isn't strong enough and the other vampire pushes him over and onto the ground. The hood then falls off and he sees Strepp's face. He tries to pull it back up but it is too late and the vampire yells back to Nils. After a moment of hesitation, he and the other vampires flee.

### Part Two

As the sun rises, Polly sleeps in the same chair where she was watching Lee from the night before when she is woken up by a knock on the door. She opens it to find Isiah on the other side. He introduces himself and tells her that he is Lee's teacher at the university. She immediately asks him where Lee is, to which he says that he is "okay. He's staying at a friend of mine and I, well, wondered if you would be up for a coffee? We have much to discuss."

Lee and the others are at Paperback, where Nynaeve brings them all some hot food in paper bags. She tells them that the mark is out and that they are offering a 100,000 Neo-Euro award for him being brought in. Still in the same clothes from the night before, he thanks them all for helping him, but insists that "if they come for me and you all get in the way, they'll kill you too." Heracles tells him that it doesn't matter and Lee apologises for his behaviour earlier, to which he shrugs and says nothing.

Strepp, at home, is on the phone with Mei's carer. He asks for them to come in for a couple of days, saying that "something's come up and I'm going to have to be away for a bit." After a moment, he agrees to their rate and says he'll pay it. When he hangs up, he sighs and goes to his grandmother, who sits watching TV. He sits beside her and tells her that he's "going to be away for a few days, so treat the nice lady well, okay?" When she doesn't respond, he kisses her on the forehead and watches the TV with her.

At the AVD, Harriet tells Valerie about the passage under the church as they look at a map of the area on a large screen on the wall. She shows her the direction they went and the general location of where the room they were hiding in was. Valerie suggests that "if their base is under this abandoned factory here, they could be using the church as an escape route." Harriet agrees with this just as Valerie gets a ping on her phone. She tells her that The Scalpel is here and they leave the room, entering the main office space and seeing Deacon Min as he enters. He shakes Valerie's hand awkwardly and she welcomes him. The other members, including Harriet and Boris, stand to attention and he speaks to them all, saying that "I know that my being here might cause some disturbance, but we are very close to something big here. Please don't let me get in the way of it." Deacon tells Valerie to give her all the information they have so far, and she informs him that "we may have located their base" before taking him to her office. Harriet sits down next to Boris, who marvels at The Scalpel. She comments, however, that "he's just a kid."

At Paperback, Lee looks out of one of the windows, moving the blinds just a little so that the can see. Jill sits on the floor next to him, leaning on the wall, and tells him not to bother and that "if anyone had followed us, they'd be here by now. There's no point." He says that he's "not looking for Nils." After a moment of silence, she tells him that "you're sister'll be fine. No-one's gonna fuck with Isiah. He's kind of a badass." Lee frowns and she elaborates, telling him "he was a big deal, back in the day. Fought in World War Three, killed *a lot* of people. Guy like that doesn't really get forgotten around here. At least, not by us, anyway." He sits back in his seat and says that "I had no idea." She says that it's easy to forget how long vampires can live and during that time, they can do some pretty bad things to survive. He asks her if she has done anything like that, and it takes her a few moments to say that "my mother...after she turned me, I...I was so angry at her. My dad left her before I was born, so it was just us. She worked all day and all night to provide for us. It brought her so close to dying so many times. I told her to slow down and let me share some of the work, but she...she wouldn't let me. Then, some guy went and offered her...eternal life. No exhaustion, no real *need* to sleep all that much. When she accepted it, she loved it. It gave her so much to do that she didn't notice that she was murdering people. Then, she thought I would appreciate it, too. I didn't know what she was at the time and...one cup of tea. One was all it took.

"Eventually, it got to her. All the killing and the thirst for blood. She just kept going and I knew that sooner or later, we'd be caught. So, I did what I had to. I have to this day." The two don't speak for a while.

### Part Three

At Jack the Ripper's apartment, Kosminski stares out of his window when he hears someone at the door. He calls for them to come in and Nils steps inside. He tells him that The Widowmaker sent him. Kosminski asks what he wants with Lee as Nils brushes his hand on one of his pillows, feeling its softness. He says that "that's his business, not mine. I'm just the middle-man who gets the leftover blood." When he asks if Nils even knows "who he is? What he comes from?" he shakes his head. Sighing, he makes Nils promise not to hurt any of the others before telling him that he is at the library.

Polly sits in Heirloom. While she isn't looking the owner, Kop, looks at her suspiciously, smelling that she is human. Isiah gives her a coffee and sits across from here, when she once again asks where Lee is and why they aren't going to him immediately. He tells her that he "wanted to talk with you first. About you and your brother's family." Wearily, she tells him about their mother and how she was overprotective, particularly of Lee, though she is unable to tell him why. She remarks that they didn't really know their father as he was rarely at home, and they never met any of their grandparents. When she asks him why he wants to know about this, Isiah shakes his head and says "no reason" but his face looks deep in thought. Polly asks her if Lee is in any trouble, to which he says that "it's hard to explain. It's also something you should discuss with him."

At Paperback, Lee, Jill and Strepp are practising fighting, with Lee having improved since last time. Suddenly, the door is broken down and multiple vampires storm inside, Nils leading them. Everyone springs into action, with Strepp, Heracles, and Nyneave fighting two back each and Jill rushing towards Nils. Lee ducks as one tries to grab at him. He sweeps their feet and they fall to the floor when another lunges at him, forcing him to the floor. Lee kicks them in the crotch and manages to overpower them, rolling over and going to punch him. He stops, however, when he looks up and sees Jill being held up by the throat by Nils. Strepp and Nynaeve, though not injured, are out of breath and Heracles has been knocked to the floor, a large cut on his face. Nils demands that he surrenders, saying that "I'm not playing, boy. Give up before I kill anyone of these fine people."

For a moment, nobody moves save for Jill, who writhes as she tries to breathe. Nils tells him that "she'll pass out sooner or later. Best choose soon." Jill looks at him and shakes her head, her face turning red. Nils yells that "I'll do it! You don't think I won't? After all of this? Do you seriously think I won't? Surrender. Now. Or I will kill these people and you will come with us anyway!" Strepp tries yelling at him not to do it, but it is too late and Lee has his hands up. He says that "I'll go, just...just let her go. Please. Don't hurt anyone." The vampire he was on top of gets up and Nils nods at him, making him grab Lee and push him closer to Nils. He throws Jill towards Strepp and they both fall to the ground. She gasps for air and coughs loudly, but tries to get up. Strepp holds her back with Nynaeve coming to check on her, they both tell her that she can't do anything now. She tries to call out as they lead Lee out, but her throat hurts too much and she can only croak. He looks back as he leaves, nodding at them, before the door is shut.