Deliver Us

"**Deliver Us**" is the fifth episode of Season 1, the second episode of The Book Club story arc, and the fifth episode of the show overall.

## Plot

*Finding it difficult to maintain a normal life, Lee tries to bond with his sister. Jill contacts someone from her past. Harriet and Valerie track down a vampire from the Blood-born.*

## Synopsis

### Part One

#### Flash-Back

Jill remains silent as Isiah hands her a clean set of clothes. Still covered in blood from before, he advises that she clean up. They are in a large apartment overlooking the city. Jill remains silent, looking on at the clothes in her hands. Isiah sighs and asks her what her name is. She tells him that it is Jess, or "it was, before I..." He asks her if she knew who turned her, to which she says that it was "my mother. Right before the police found her." She tells him that she "tried to turn myself in, but the guy just tried to kill me, and I..." After a moment, she admits that she liked the taste. She then tells him that she "hate[s] them. All of them."

#### Present-Day

A week has passed since Lee's first meeting at Paperback. Though he is getting used to life as a vampire, he finds it difficult to be in class and resist the urge to kill. As such, he has been spending some more time with Jill or at the flat. Jill, though understanding of him, has still been acting disconnected and most of the time, the two are silent to each other, neither of them able to talk about anything.

After class on a Friday, Lee tells Isiah that he is going away for a few days with his sister, to which he asks if Lee will be okay on his own. He nods, saying that it feels easier to be with Polly than other random humans. Jill overhears this, telling him to be careful and that "it's easier than you think to give in." Lee nods and leaves. Isiah watches Jill for a moment and then says that "something's bothering you and it's not whether or not Lee will kill his sister over the weekend." Jill looks away, looking annoyed. He leans into her eyesight and she reluctantly tells him about Boris recognising her on the night Lee went missing. When he asks if she knew who he was, she nods silently before telling him not to worry and that "he only knows my old name." Isiah raises his eyebrows, a silent question passing over them. She says that "I'm not stupid. I'm not going to...reveal myself. But I need to, I don't know, say something. I'll be careful." Isiah sighs, telling her that he doesn't advise it, but won't stop her.

As she looks over some files, Harriet's eye keeps catching a photo of Lee on the security camera footage. Boris, noticing this, quietly tells her that "staring at that guy won't bring him through the doors. If he was turned that night, he has a week left to turn himself in." She nods as Valerie calls out to her. Speaking alone, she says that she got word about a member of the Blood-born in Lambeth and suggests that they investigate it together, saying that she needs to talk with her. Harriet agrees and goes to grab her things. Boris asks her what's up and she tells him before commanding him not to "do anything stupid while I'm away."

Lee gets back to the flat, where Polly is waiting for him, a couple of backpacks by her feet. She asks him if he's ready to go, and the two make their way to the nearest underground station.

### Part Two

Out in the countryside, Lee and Polly are dropped off by a taxi at a campsite entrance. Past its gate is a large forest with multiple tents already erected at various spots. The two appear to be in high spirits and begin walking through the trees, talking. Polly asks him about this "book club you've been on about. What's it like?" He tells her that he enjoys it and that they mostly just talk about the books they're reading. He tries his best to avoid the subject, but Polly misinterprets this and teases him, asking him if he's "going so you can be with some girl?" Lee brushes her off, laughing.

At the AVD, Boris is down at the morgue, where the doctor, Dante, tells him that Henka's body has finally been disposed of. He asks if there is anything else that he found, but Dante shakes his head, saying that he was "just your regular junkie vamp addicted to pain." Boris sighs and thanks him before leaving the room. On his way back to his desk, a postman calls to him and hands him a letter before moving on. He sits down in his chair and opens it. Inside is a piece of paper with an address on it and the word "ALONE" in capital letters. Boris checks to see if anyone is watching, then folds the paper up and leaves.

Valerie and Harriet talk as they stroll down a street, with the former asking how Boris is as a partner. She tells her that he is "a good officer. Maybe a bit too green, though. Everyone's still calling him 'blood sack' so they don't exactly inspire any confidence in him." Valerie laughs reminding Harriet that she was called that for at least three months. Harriet then asks her what she wanted to talk about, and her smile fades. She tells her that she knows she has still been investigating into Henka's death. Harriet grows quiet and lets her talk, a hard look on her face. Valerie says that "I know that it's not easy for you to let something like this go, but...we are on the cusp of something great here. The removal of the Blood-born is something that's just too big to pass up. Harriet, the board is bringing in Deacon Min to help us bring them down. The god-damned Scalpel is coming back from the UEE for this. I can't have you going against my orders while we're trying to organise something like this. It's just...too important." Harriet says that she understands, quietly shocked at the prospect of The Scalpel coming to New London.

At the campsite, Lee and Polly are making their tent when Polly brings up their mother. She says that she has been receiving messages from her for months now, asking how the two of them are. Lee grows quiet until she explains that she finally answered one of them. He asks her why she would do that, citing that "you were the one who cut ties with her in the first place!" Polly says that she was worried about him and that "maybe if you would talk to her, you'd feel a bit better" but he doesn't like the idea. He asks her why she would think he would want to talk to her after so long and that "she wouldn't let me play outside, or go to school, or anything. I did nothing the whole time after dad died because of her. It was like I wasn't alive." Polly puts her hands up, surrendering and saying that she just thought it would have been good for him. He snaps that it wasn't and continues making the tent.

As they reach the end of the street, they see Nils, who Harriet recognises, leaning against a wall with two other men and one woman. She points them out to Valerie just as they see them. Nils, a look of panic on his face, motions for the woman and one of the men to after them while he and the other man run. Valerie and Harriet pull their guns out ordering them to surrender, but they don't back down. The woman lunges at Harriet and she just manages to dodge it as the other goes for Valerie. She pulls her stake from her belt and holds it in her other hand. The woman tries to slash at Harriet with sharpened claws, but continuously misses. Eventually, she grabs the vampires arm and uses it to flip her over, staking her in the heart and killing her immediately. Valerie fairs the same, managing to shoot the man in the throat. She nods at Harriet and they chase after Nils.

### Part Three

Boris walks into Paperback, where Nynaeve greets him, asking if he's looking for anything in particular. He shakes his head, and keeps walking in. Nynaeve's smile fades as he walks past. She watches him out of the corner of her eye, her claws out and ready on one hand. Boris looks at some of the books for a moment before the door at the back of the room opens. He walks through the doorway, where Jill is stood waiting for him, the blinds are closed so no-one can hear them. He calls her Jess, but she immediately interrupts him, telling him not to call her that. He laughs, asking if she'll tell him the name she is now going by, but she shakes her head. She tells him to leave his phone and weapons on the floor, which he does. He then asks her why she ask him to come, to which she says that she doesn't know, but that "I guess you're technically the last thing I have from before I was turned." They talk for a while, the conversation tense. Jill barely looks at Boris, but he keeps trying to find out what happened, telling her that he only heard "bits" about what happened. Eventually, she tells him that "it was my mum, okay? She turned me and died. When I tried to turn myself in, one of *your* guys tried to kill me." Shocked, Boris apologises. He then says that he can help her, saying that "I can probably pull some strings, take you to the TVCs." This only upsets Jill more and she tells him that he should leave. Reluctantly, he gets up and picks up his things, telling her that he'll see her around, to which she says that "you won't. If I ever see you again, I'll have to kill you. It's just how it is."

Valerie and Harriet chase down Nils, only barely keeping up. Eventually, he enters an apartment building and begins climbing up the stairs, leaving the other vampire at the bottom to defend him. Harriet tries to shoot the man, but he moves out of the way and in front of Valerie, grabbing her by the shoulders and hauling her at a wall. He goes for Harriet next, but she moves out of the way, pulling out her stake and stabbing him in the back. When he twists around and grabs her, Valerie shoots him in the head. They both climb the stairs until they reach the roof. The sun is setting, basking all three of them in an orange glow. Harriet and Valerie have their guns up, cautiously approaching Nils and telling him that there's nowhere to run. Nils comments that he is impressed by how fast they managed to take out three of his men before he tells them that "there's always another place for us to run. Believe me, we'd know best." He then turns and leaps onto the next building over, both of them firing bullets at him, but all missing.

At the campsite, Lee sits awake while Polly sleeps in the tent. He puts out the small fire they made and climbs into the tent. Before he can lie down, however, he notices Polly's neck exposed as she sleeps. Unable to control himself, he leans in closer, sniffing the air a little before catching himself. He leaves the tent, his breathing heavy, and begins sobbing softly. In the tent, Polly wakes and calls out to him, asking what's wrong. He says it's nothing, but as he climbs in again, he avoids her gaze. She watches for a moment, a worried look on her face, but lies back down and says nothing. Lee squeezes his eyes shut as he faces away from her.

At the library, Jill sits in the back room still, with Nynaeve joining her. She asks what happened with Boris, but she shrugs it off, saying that it was a mistake. Nynaeve goes to make them a cup of tea, leaving Jill alone. In silence, she hugs her legs, staring into space for a moment before closing her eyes tight.

The next day, the book club meets once more. Lee and Jill remain quiet, their drinks untouched, as the others talk to each other. That is, until Heracles notices this and asks them how their weekends have been. Lee says that he "almost killed my sister last night, so if anyone else has had a bad weekend, please let me know." He looks at Jill expectantly. She then tells them that she "tried to contact an old friend. It...didn't go too well." Isiah gives her a look, but she just shakes her head. After a moment of silence, Strepp decides that "Lee probably wins, then." They laugh a little before the conversation shifts once more.

## Trivia

* First mention of Deacon Min.
* First mention of the United European Empire.
* This is the first episode in which part of it is set outside of New London.