Episode 82: "Deus Nolens Exitus” – The Sheridan Tapes
CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of police corruption and gun violence, character betrayal, paranoia, and loud noises.
02052020: As fresh obstacles present themselves at the Oslow site, a new lead spins the investigation in an unexpected direction.
Starring Leah Booth as dispatch, Mike Kennedy as Edgar Morrison, Zane Schacht as Seb Jenkins, B. Narr as Drone Control, Josh Beard as Coordination, Athena Lee as Imaging, Mike LeBeau as Security, Dontae Majors as Sensors, Kris Allison as Dana Caldwell, Brandon Jenkins as Transport, Van Winkle as Sam Bailey, Ezra J. Wayne as Ned Leroux, Virginia Spotts as Kate Sheridan, Sam Taylor as Ren Park, and Amitola Lomas as Maria Sol, with original music by Jesse Haugen. Written by Van Winkle and produced by Virginia Spotts, with dialogue editing and sound design by Van Winkle.
This episode was made possible by our supporters at Patreon.com/homesteadcorner, ko-fi.com/homesteadcorner, and our backers on Seed&Spark.
For more information, additional content, and episode transcript, visit thesheridantapes.com
Script
Transcript
CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of police corruption and gun violence, character betrayal, paranoia, and loud noises.
[Inside a quiet police cruiser, rolling down an empty highway]
[Chatter on police radio in the background]
[The radio crackles to life–Beep]
Dispatcher
Dispatch to Greyhound, come in Greyhound.
[Edgar picks up the receiver–Beep]
Edgar Morrison (younger)
This is Greyhound, go ahead dispatch.
Dispatcher
Edgar, that you?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Affirmative, dispatch.
Dispatcher
Is Seb there with ya?
Seb Jenkins
Uh… yeah, dispatch, I’m here.
Dispatcher
Just wanted to make sure everything went alright with that house call — owner sounded pretty shook up.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Yeah, everything’s fine out here. Just some animal roosting in the attic… managed to scare it off and remove the nest.
Dispatcher
10-4, Greyhound. Figure we should call animal control out, just to be sure?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Negative, dispatch… should be taken care of, they know to call us back if it finds another way in.
Dispatcher
Roger that — get home safe you two.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
10-4, dispatch.
[He hangs the receiver back up]
Seb Jenkins
You didn’t need to lie about it.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Oh come on Seb, I’d hardly call that lying—
Seb Jenkins
—that wasn’t an animal we found in there, Ed.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Of course it was — it was alive, it had teeth and fur, what else would you call it—
Seb Jenkins
—Animals don’t make noises like that, Ed. They don’t move like that, and they definitely don’t beg you to spare them in English.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
What do you think it was, then?
Seb Jenkins
I don’t know. But I know you shouldn’t have killed it like that.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Oh come off it, Seb—
Seb Jenkins
You know I’m right. Otherwise you wouldn’t have lied to dispatch just now. You wouldn’t have hidden the body from that family.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
And you think they would’ve reacted well if they saw it? You think they’d be able to get any sleep tonight if they knew?
Seb Jenkins
It’s not right. It just isn’t right.
[Moment of quiet]
[Morrison leans forward and switches off the radio]
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Listen, Seb… I know it’ll be hard to accept, but you have to trust me when I say that I did the only thing I could in that situation. This isn’t my first encounter with… things like this.
Seb Jenkins
What are you talking about?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
I’ve been in Oslow for a while now. You know that. But I didn’t come here to join the PD. When I was younger… well. I can’t really get into that, but suffice to say I… saw some things. Things that made me question what I thought was possible. And I realized that things that go bump in the night aren’t only real… they’re dangerous. And they have to be destroyed if we’re to maintain the peace.
Seb Jenkins
So this isn’t the first time you…
Edgar Morrison (younger)
First time I wasn’t alone when it happened. I didn’t think this was one of those calls.
Seb Jenkins
And Chief Wallace… does he know?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
He knows as much as he needs to know — which is nothing.
[Seb turns slightly to look at him]
Seb Jenkins
Ed, if these things are as much of a danger as you’re saying, then shouldn’t we tell him?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
And you really think that idiot would do anything about it? He’s a politician, not an officer… he’s too busy campaigning to worry about what we actually do out here.
Seb Jenkins
That’s not your decision to make, Ed.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Oh come on, Jenkins…
Seb Jenkins
We have to tell someone. We have to report this.
[Morrison doesn’t answer, but turns on his blinker]
[Tires on dirt road]
Seb Jenkins
Why are you turning off here?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
There’s something I need to show you… shouldn’t take too long.
[The scene fades out, then back in]
[Two sets of feet on metal rungs as Edgar and Seb climb down into the tunnels]
[Their voices echo]
Seb Jenkins
What is this place?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Where I learned the truth about the world. [sound of movement] Here… put these on, [the sound of velcro] there are still some hazardous materials being stored down here. Don’t want to get them on your skin.
[Seb slips the gloves on]
Seb Jenkins
This is where you worked before the PD?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
For about a year, yeah. I was an army brat straight out of officer training… My dad made sure I got assigned here, hoped it would keep me out of trouble.
[Stepping around old rubble, machinery]
Seb Jenkins
How the hell have I never heard of this place before?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
Nobody has. And neither one of us knows about it either, if you know what’s good for you.
Seb Jenkins
How far do these tunnels go?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
I’m not really sure… I still get lost in them sometimes, even after all these years.
Seb Jenkins
What are these markings on this door—?
[Morrison lunges forward, grabbing Seb’s gun]
[They struggle, Morrison gets it loose and fires]
[Seb grunts in pain and collapses]
[Morrison tries to catch his breath]
Seb Jenkins
You… why?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
You… you forced my hand, Seb, you left me no other choice.
Seb Jenkins
You won’t get away with this, you bastard.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
I think I will, actually. Nobody in the PD knows about this place, and no one else is going to risk saying anything. Besides… even if they do find you, the bullet came from your gun, not mine. And these gloves mean that the only fingerprints on it are yours.
Seb Jenkins
So that’s it then. You’re just gonna shoot me in the gut and leave me here to die!?
Edgar Morrison (younger)
I was hoping you might see reason. I didn’t want it to come to this.
Seb Jenkins
Oh, fuck off Morrison… don’t pretend this is anything but a way to save your own hide.
[Edgar steps closer]
Edgar Morrison (younger)
I have to keep Oslow safe. And I can’t do that if you spill the beans to Chief Wallace.
Seb Jenkins
Then kill me.
Edgar Morrison (younger)
I… what?
Seb Jenkins
If you want to keep your secret, then you’d better not leave me down here like this, because mark my words, I will find a way out. I will drag myself up that ladder if I have to. I will tell anyone who will listen about what you did and what you’ve done. I will make sure you can never show your face in this town again. And if no one believes me, then I will hunt you down like a dog and make you pay for all the lies you’ve told, and I’ll make sure it hurts like hell before I—
[BANG-Morrison fires again]
[Seb collapses]
[The echoes die off down the tunnels]
[Pause]
[Morrison retrieves something from a storage cache off the main hall]
[He walks to Seb]
[He pours gasoline on Seb’s body]
[He returns the gasoline]
[He strikes a match and drops it on Seb]
[The fire ignites, crackling]
[Morrison watches him burn]
[Cassette noises]
[Click]
[Main Theme]
Recording Begins
[Typing on a keyboard, Beep, digital static fades away]
[Radio communication and beeping between ISPHA personnel]
[Muffled talking in deep background]
Drone Control
Drone 6-1-8, approaching target.
Coordination
Copy that drone control — imaging, are we getting anything yet?
Imaging
Picture should be up in about… ten seconds.
Coordination
Security, are you and your team ready?
Security Chief
Ready and waiting, Coordination — just get us eyes on and we’re ready to roll.
Imaging
We have picture, coordination.
Coordination
On screen one.
Drone Control
What the hell… where’s the city?
Coordination
Sensors, are we getting anything else?
Sensors
Negative, coordination… there’s nothing there.
Drone Control
Hold on… I’ve got eyes on what looks like, uh — four people down in the basin.
Coordination
Security, can you confirm that’s—
Security Chief
—Affirmative coordination, those look like our missing assets.
[Pause]
Coordination
Director Caldwell?
Dana Caldwell
I’m here, Coordination. Status?
Coordination
We believe we have a visual on Park, Bailey, Sheridan, and Leroux exploring the Oslow site.
Dana Caldwell
Any visible anomalies on site?
Coordination
Negative, Director… there’s still no sign of the city, though. Looks like the satellite images were correct.
Dana Caldwell
Understood. Prepare the convoy to move in.
Coordination
Roger that — transport leader, you are clear to proceed.
Transport
Copy that Coordination — rolling out.
Dana Caldwell
Get security on site first… I don’t want any surprises when we arrive.
Security Chief
Copy that, sir.
Coordination
And the rogue assets? What do you want to do about them?
[Digital beep]
[Silence]
[Cassette noises]
[Click]
[Static fades]
[Slight wind on the desolate desert plain]
Sam Bailey
Sam Bailey, personal investigation – February 5th, 2020 at 9:36am Pacific Standard time.
Not much to report, unfortunately. The Oslow investigation is still ongoing… and fruitless. We’ve been going over the site with a fine-tooth comb, but besides that message Morrison left, there seems to be no sign of where in the Source he took Oslow or how to get it back.
Ned’s still a problem — if anything, he’s getting worse the longer we wait. He asked me not to tell Kate and Ren about him sneaking off into the tunnels or what happened down there. I probably would’ve told them anyway, but honestly we all have enough to worry about already without telling them about Amanita’s warning.
It’s not like it’s changed Ned’s mind, anyway — he’s still insisting I need to go find Bill and Rob while refusing to offer any help whatsoever. I keep telling him we need to work together and gather more intel if we’re going to figure this out, but he just has no interest in working as a team. I’m honestly not sure he knows how. I know that he’s genuinely worried about Bill and Rob, but I can’t shake the feeling that he might just be using us to get what he wants…
[Rapid footsteps approaching]
[Ned is breathless]
Ned Leroux
We need to go, now.
Sam Bailey
What? We just got out here—
Ned Leroux
Do what I say Bailey! We need to get the others and get back to Jerry’s as fast as we can.
[Kate approaches]
Kate Sheridan
What’s going on?
Ned Leroux
We need to get out of the open — I just saw a military drone do a high-altitude flyby.
Kate Sheridan
Military?
Ned Leroux
Military-grade, at least… it doesn’t matter! Someone with a lot of resources is close enough to be doing reconnaissance flights, and if they know about Oslow, then we’re all in danger—
[Ren walks over, walkie-talkie in hand]
[ISPHA chatter can be heard over it]
Ren Park
Uh… what’s going on?
Ned Leroux
What is that?
Ren Park
It’s my old ISPHA radio… I kept it in my bag, and it just started going off a few minutes ago.
Sam Bailey
Oh shit… it’s Caldwell.
[Distantly, truck engines revving and driving their way]
[The radio chatter and beeps continue]
Dana Caldwell
Get security on site first… I don’t want any surprises when we arrive.
Security Chief
Copy that, sir.
Coordination
And the rogue assets? What do you want to do about them?
[Brief pause]
Dana Caldwell
Contain them for now. I’ll deal with them myself.
Security Chief
10-4, director.
[The radio chatter stops]
Kate Sheridan
She knows we’re here.
Ned Leroux
That convoy’s still a ways out… we may be able to get back to the van and slip away before they get here—
Ren Park
And what good would that do? They’d just follow us to the house.
Sam Bailey
And we are not dragging Jerry back into ISPHA’s bullshit.
Ned Leroux
Easy for you to say! They probably don’t want to dissect you three!
Sam Bailey
Speak for yourself.
Kate Sheridan
If they wanted to do that, they wouldn’t have let all of us escape so easily last time. Caldwell isn’t stupid… she must have something else planned.
[She approaches Ren]
Listen, Ren — she’s probably going to talk to you first, and we need to know what she’s planning. Here—
[Kate grabs Sam’s recorder and hands it to Ren, switching it off]
[Click]
[Silence]
[Click]
[Ren starts the recorder, slips it into his pocket]
[He’s in a small, temporary office]
[Noises of construction outside]
[The door opens]
Coordination
Director Caldwell is ready to see you, Doctor Park.
Ren Park
Uh… thank you.
[Ren takes a deep breath, then walks in Caldwell’s office]
[Caldwell taps away on her laptop]
Dana Caldwell
Ren. Take a seat.
[Ren takes a seat]
[Caldwell sniffs]
Dana Caldwell
Have you been smoking again?
Ren Park
…yeah. It’s just… what happened at Meriwether… the things I’ve learned since… it’s a lot.
Dana Caldwell
And the weed makes it less so?
Ren Park
It… keeps me from being so scared. Most of the time, at least. Helps me think.
Dana Caldwell
That’s understandable. Although I do expect you to get psychiatric help and stop self-medicating before you return to work.
Ren Park
You — you still want me to come back?
[Caldwell pauses, then closes her laptop]
Dana Caldwell
Doctor Park — you abandoned your post at Meriwether and absconded with several high-value ISPHA assets and a stolen vehicle. You have been absent without leave for the past five days, and I know you’ve been receiving at least some of my messages — don’t bother denying it. Unless you’ve forgotten, your mobile phone is still ISPHA property. Despite your best efforts, we were still able to see what you were looking for on the servers before you left. If you hadn’t copied that last transmission from Tyler and Quincy, we probably wouldn’t have known what happened to Oslow.
I could have helped, Ren. I still want to help. I don’t believe in disposing of useful assets in times of crisis, and despite everything that’s happened, I still believe you have something to contribute to ISPHA. To our mission.
[Slight pause]
Ren Park
And what if… What if I don’t believe in that mission anymore?
[Click]
[Silence]
[Typing at keyboard]
[Dial tone before Maria picks up]
[Beep]
Kate Sheridan
Maria? Maria, can you hear me?
Maria Sol
Yeah, I can hear you Kate… what’s wrong?
Security Chief
Ma’am? Ma’am, you can’t use your cell phone here.
Ned Leroux
Oh really? You gonna try to detain us? Because far as I can see, y’all are just rent-a-cops on land your boss doesn’t actually own… you can’t even hold us for trespassing.
Security Chief
Watch your tone, mister…
Ned Leroux
Leroux. Deputy Chief Ned Leroux, Oslow County Police Department. Now back OFF.
[The Security Chief doesn’t respond]
[Kate turns back to her phone call]
Kate Sheridan
Are you still there, Maria?
Maria Sol
What’s going on? Who was that?
Kate Sheridan
ISPHA. They turned up this morning… looks like they’ve taken an interest in Oslow as well.
Maria Sol
Shit… is everyone okay?
Sam Bailey
We’re fine, Maria… I don’t think they can actually do anything to us. Not legally, at least.
Maria Sol
What about illegally?
Sam Bailey
Caldwell’s talking to Ren right now… I have a feeling that she wants us on-side for whatever she has planned next.
Ned Leroux
So that’s what we’re hoping, is it?
Kate Sheridan
We’ll be fine, Maria. What were you calling about?
Maria Sol
It’s about the manuscript. I don’t want to over-promise, but… I think I may have found something.
[Digital beep]
[Silence]
[Click]
Dana Caldwell
And what part of that mission do you disagree with? Advancing the sciences? Saving lives? Doing whatever is necessary to protect the world and its future from threats beyond our current understanding? I thought you and your buddies out there were all on board with saving the world?
Ren Park
We are! I still am, but it’s just…
Dana Caldwell
Just, what?
Ren Park
I know you push people. I know you’re doing everything you’re doing from a good place, but lately, things have just been too… “ends justify the means” for me. And the worse things get out there, the more you crack down on anything and anyone in your way.
Dana Caldwell
We’ve had this conversation already, Park. Several times. You’ve never let your moral compunctions keep you from doing your job before.
Ren Park
You didn’t listen to the tape Kate and Sam brought back, Dana. You didn’t hear Morrison’s voice calling through the veil. You don’t know what he’s capable of now… hell, I don’t even know. Not for sure. And ISPHA…
[He scoffs] Even with all our research and preparations, we couldn’t save our own research facility from being torn apart by two lesser powers. What hope do any of us have of stopping Morrison that way, if he can make an entire city disappear just like that?
Dana Caldwell
I fail to see your point, Doctor. If Morrison is as dangerous as you believe, then that means we need to double down. We need to match Morrison’s power with power and be ready if he comes knocking again. And we need to know everything we can about what he’s done here.
Ren Park
You’re just trying to play Morrison’s games by his rules! You can’t win like this — you have to see that, right?
Dana Caldwell
I don’t see anything of the sort, Park. There are still too many unknowns for me to make that call.
Ren Park
Director, with all due respect — ISPHA has never been able to contain a single supernatural threat it’s encountered. Paul Payne escaped. Foribus Oraculi got out into the world because of our meddling. The Ouroboros not only got into our systems, but came back after we thought it was deleted. And Morrison… we didn’t even treat him like a threat until he pulled an entire city out of reality like it was nothing! We can’t stop these things, not if we keep trying to use the same tactics over and over again. All we’ve ever been able to do is slow them down, cage them, put stopgaps in place and hope for the best, and it’s never worked. And now you’re trying to fight someone with powers we can’t even comprehend with nothing but a couple of porta-cabins and your own god complex. You’re smarter than this… why don’t you get that?
Dana Caldwell
Because I don’t know what else I can do.
[Brief pause]
Ren Park
Dana… how long has it been since you last saw your parents?
Dana Caldwell
What does that have to do with anything?
Ren Park
We’re trying to find a way to stop Morrison already, Dana… me and Kate and Sam and… yeah, I guess Ned too. We’re figuring it out. You don’t need to put yourself in the line of fire this time.
Dana Caldwell
No.
Ren Park
Dana, please—
Dana Caldwell
—It’s becoming abundantly clear that this new team is just as dysfunctional as the Searchers were, if not more so. I refuse to leave the fate of the world in the hands of such a group again — I’ve more than learned my lesson there.
Ren Park
I know they’re a bit… unorthodox, but I really do think they have a chance—
Dana Caldwell
—Enough, Park. Your position at ISPHA will remain open to you as long as the situation in Oslow is ongoing, but you are not welcome here as long as you continue operating as an outside factor. As far as I see it, you have two options: get back on board with us… or stay out of my way.
[Click]
[Silence]
[Digital beep]
[Audio from Kate’s phone continues]
Sam Bailey
What is it? What did you find?
Maria Sol
It’s not much, and honestly it could be a coincidence, but… on page 108, there’s a small section in the corner that actually looks like it’s in English.
Kate Sheridan
…well? What does it say?
Maria Sol
It’s a name, I think… Amy Sterling, written over and over again in two concentric circles. I’m not really sure what it means.
Kate Sheridan
Does that name mean anything to either of you—
Sam Bailey
—That’s the person who created the manuscript, Maria — the one we talked to at Anna’s house. She’s an old friend of Anna’s who was deleted from history and ended up in the Source.
Maria Sol
Oh shit… right, I think Anna mentioned her a few times… I think. Something about a well?
Wait… now that I mention it, those circles do kind of look like the top of a well… do you think that’s important?
Kate Sheridan
Wait… I think Ren might have seen that well — or at least a… vision of it, or something.
Sam Bailey
What? Where?
Kate Sheridan
Outside the campsite, in Arizona. Granted he was high on mushrooms at the time, but…
Maria Sol
Oh, I would pay money to see that…
Sam Bailey
So it could have just been a hallucination?
Kate Sheridan
…I’m not really sure. I don’t think we can really discount anything as happenstance right now, though.
Maria Sol
And it’s the only part of this thing that I can even vaguely read, Sam. I think Anna’s trying to tell us something here.
Sam Bailey
Kate, you know where to find that well, right?
Kate Sheridan
I mean… I know how to find the school. I don’t remember any well out there, though.
Ned Leroux
Now hang on — we’re out here looking for a way to save Bill and Rob, and you want us to pack up and drive to fucking Iowa?
Sam Bailey
I know it’s a stretch, but it’s the only lead we have. Plus… I really don’t think ISPHA’s going to let us keep exploring freely if we stick around.
[The door to Caldwell’s office opens, and Ren steps out]
Kate Sheridan
Oh thank god, it’s Ren… Ren! How did it… Oh.
[Ren’s footsteps]
Ren Park
Yeah.
Sam Bailey
How bad is it?
Ren Park
We’re free to go, but… Caldwell wants us out of her way.
Ned Leroux
More than fine by me.
Kate Sheridan
Oh for god’s sake, Ned.
Sam Bailey
Maria’s on the phone, Ren… she has a lead from Anna’s manuscript.
Ren Park
What is it?
Sam Bailey
We’re not sure yet, but it looks like it has something to do with Amy, and the well. In Iowa.
Ren Park
At least it will get us out of ISPHA’s hair again.
Ned Leroux
Just wait a goddamn minute, nobody said we’re actually going all the way out to—
Kate Sheridan
I think you’re right, Sam. You’re right. I can take you there… you, and whoever else wants to go.
Ren Park
Sure. I think I’m about done with the desert for now, anyways.
Sam Bailey
…and uh… you, Ned?
Ned Leroux
What, you want me to choose between abandoning my friends to the Source, or staying here alone with the scientists who want to put me in jars? Not much of a choice, is it?
Kate Sheridan
It’s not a good situation for any of us Ned, but we’re not going to find any answers out here. If we can figure out what happened to Anna, then maybe we can find out where Bill and Rob are too.
Ned Leroux
Fine. But just remember — if you three don’t find a way to save them soon, then I’ll find my own way.
[End call sound]
[Digital beep]
[Silence]
[Typing on keyboard]
[Beep]
[Radio chatter, beeping throughout]
Security Chief
Director Caldwell? This is site security.
Dana Caldwell
Go ahead, security.
Security Chief
Sir, we just spotted Doctor Park and his associates leaving the site in a stolen ISPHA vehicle, heading east on Route 50.
Dana Caldwell
So he decided to fly the coop. Again.
Security Chief
Do you want us to detain them, sir?
Dana Caldwell
No. No, we’re spread thin enough as it is without chasing cats. Doctor Park can make his own decisions, and we have more important matters to address.
Do keep an eye on the Price homestead, though… I have a feeling they’ll be back soon.
[Beep]
Homestead on the Corner 