'Miracle Day' Part 6: 'The Middle Men' by John Shiban

At PhiCorp Central in Los Angeles, Chief Operating Officer Stuart Owens attempts to gather information on his masters; identifying that PhiCorp used shell companies to purchase land in Shanghai, China, he contacts an agent in the vicinity and orders him to investigate. After sneaking down the backstreets of Shanghai, the agent enters a secure PhiCorp compound; sometime later, he telephones Owens and reports a dead end – and then throws himself off a high-rise building… In San Pedro, a distraught Rex continues to record his report on his video camera; disavowing the C.I.A. and U.S. government, he resolves to expose the horror of what he has just witnessed - the murder of Doctor Vera Juarez, and the burning of the Category Ones - and then resolves to find Vera’s murderer and burn him. Elsewhere, Ralph questions Colin Maloney about what happened at the Module; insisting that he was just following orders, the supervisor convinces himself that Vera’s murder was “a legal death”. Meanwhile, Esther grows increasingly worried about Vera; noting that Maloney has returned to his office alone, she pulls a double shift and finds an excuse to see him, but can learn nothing of Vera’s whereabouts. Concerned about the attention Vera’s disappearance is now drawing, Maloney instructs Ralph to hide the doctor’s car and then places the compound on a ‘Condition One’ lockdown drill. At Cowbridge Overflow Camp, Gwen tries to get her father downgraded to Category Two; when the doctor in charge, Alicia Patel, refuses to change the paperwork Gwen is furious, declaring that the woman is working in what amounts to a concentration camp. Storming outside, Gwen meets up with Rhys, who has just quit his job after hearing the truth behind the Module. Promising to help Gwen rescue her father, Rhys sets off to steal a truck... In L.A., Jack enters a bar and approaches Owens’ assistant, Janet Ray Tanner; after informing the woman that he knows of her affair with her boss, he tells her that Owens is planning to have her transferred to Cincinnati; furious at being cast aside, Janet agrees to help Jack get the information he wants from Owen’s files. Finding Owens at an expensive restaurant with his wife, Jack exposes the man’s affair and then uses a phone call from Janet to trick the man into believing his assistant is being held hostage. Jack demands to know the truth behind PhiCorp, only to learn that Owens is just a middle man; the C.O.O. has been trying to find out the truth too, but the cover up has been too good: the real power behind PhiCorp is hidden, and although the company’s drug operation began five years ago, planning for the Miracle began a very long time ago. But Owens did find one thing of interest, a reference to a phrase used in the 1990’s, which was quickly covered up: “They have found the Blessing”… Back at San Pedro, Rex overpowers a guard and steals his uniform, using it to gain entry into the main compound; unfortunately the other soldiers see through his disguise, and Rex is immediately taken captive. Chained up and questioned by Maloney, Rex vows to expose the supervisor for the murders of his patients; but when Maloney insists that he was only following orders Rex takes him for just a middle man, and implores him to help find Vera’s murderer, offering him his video camera as proof. When Maloney sees the footage he breaks down in tears – then takes out a pen and begins stabbing Rex in his chest wound. With horror Rex realises that Maloney was responsible for Vera’s death. As Maloney continues to torture Rex he is interrupted by Esther, who has learnt from Ralph about the supervisor’s new captive; Maloney turns on her, but the agent fights back and a struggle ensues; Maloney is about to throttle Esther when he is shot by Ralph, who has finally had enough of the lies. In Cowbridge, Rhys drives a stolen truck past a suspicious gate supervisor, while Gwen moves her father on a gurney through the compound, even gaining some assistance from a guilt-ridden Doctor Patel. After getting her dad into the truck, Gwen sends Rhys on his way while she stays behind to deal with unfinished business; with armed soldiers closing in on him, Rhys drives the truck through the electrified gate and off into the night. In Venice Beach, Jack’s research into ‘the Blessing’ is interrupted by a call from Gwen via her contact lens camera feed; she tells him to record her transmission, as she recounts the truth behind the Overflow Camps. Gwen then uses some explosives taken from a supply room to blow up the compound in a series of massive fireballs, before speeding off on a stolen motorbike – Torchwood has sent a message of defiance to PhiCorp’s masters… Sometime later, news reports across the world carry Gwen’s story of the horror behind the death camps and the murder of Doctor Vera Juarez; however, a statement from the White House declares that the U.S. stands by its disaster response, and will not be shutting down the camps. Arriving at L.A.X., Gwen is worried that Rhys is not answering her calls; receiving a page, she takes a call at a courtesy phone and hears one word: “Lenses”. Rushing to a toilet Gwen puts on her Torchwood lenses and watches with mounting dread as a message appears on her retinas: “We have your father. We have your husband. We have your child. Bring us Jack.”

John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Mekhi Phifer (Rex Matheson), Alexa Havins (Esther Drummond), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Ernie Hudson ( Chief Operating Officer Stuart Owens), Fred Koehler (Ralph Coltrane), Marc Vann (Colin Maloney), Jason Brookes (Press Secretary), Ciera Payton (Janet Ray Tanner), Jonathan Spencer (Tony), Eric Steinberg (Zheng Yibao), Alexis Delarosa (Young Guard),Brittnee Garza (Worker), Brendan Hughes (Pidgeon), Liz Jenkins (Rachel), Lena Kaur (Doctor Alicia Patel), Janice Kent (Female Psychiatrist), Isaac Stephen Montgomery (Stern Soldier), William Patrick Riley (Hat Check Boy), Marty Ryan (Older Guard), Inger Tudor (Mrs Owens), William Thomas (Geraint Cooper)

Directed by Guy Ferland
Produced by Brian Minchin and Kelly A. Manners
Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter and Bharat Nalluri
A BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Worldwide and Starz Entertainment production

TX:
US (Starz): 12th August 2011 & 10.00 pm
UK (BBC1 & BBC 1 HD): 18th August 2011 @ 9.00 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Rex Matheson and Esther Drummond