Persons Unknown Episode 1.04 Exit One

Joe watches as a bee circles Janet. She sits quietly, allowing it to get closer and closer, until finally, she catches it with lightning speed, shaking her fist to stun it. Janet explains there's nothing weird about this Italian honeybee, except that it should be in its winter cluster, not flying around outside in the cold. Janet knows a lot about bees because the Bug Lady from the Oakland Zoo was a very popular speaker at her daycare. When Janet puts the bee down, Joe quickly crushes it with his boot - one sting and he's dead.

Charlie finds Bill entertaining himself by frying eggs against the pain wall at the edge of town. Bill's fun seems to have taken a darker turn, resulting in the rotting carcasses of a nearby raccoon and buzzard. When Charlie claims there's something wrong, Bill snorts - it's not like he killed his wife or anything. Charlie takes off, so Bill follows him to the lobby, razzing all the way. The raised voices draw the others. Deciding he's had enough, Charlie declares he's not afraid and starts a shoving match.

The Night Manager puts a stop to the fight, ringing his bell repeatedly, and to announce the delivery of a telegram. One of them will be checking out of the hotel, soon. The Night Manager switches his sign to "off-duty" and heads out. Janet suggests they all swap contact info, so that if one of them gets out, they can contact the others' families. Charlie refuses, claiming he doesn't know any of them, and Joe hangs back. Something doesn't feel right about the whole thing.

Back in San Francisco, Renbe's investigating the playground in Presidio Park, where Janet and Megan were last seen together, when his phone rings. The unknown caller has an Irish accent (and will henceforth be known as The Irishman), and seems to know all about Renbe. Why is he only now showing concern for his wife and daughter? Claiming to care about Renbe's safety, The Irishman tells him to forget his newspaper story and forget Janet if he values his life.

Everyone gathers in the street when a taxi is spotting driving through the pain barrier. The hostages pound on the windows and scream questions, terrifying the cabbie, an Arabic man in his 50s. McNair knows a little Arabic from his time in Baghdad, so he's able to translate. The cabbie has come for Janet and one other person. They must choose the second passenger now, because the cabbie wants to leave immediately. Both Joe and McNair warn Janet not to go - it could be a trap.

Janet doesn't hesitate. She's going and she has no doubt she wants Joe to come with her. Joe reluctantly climbs in the cab. Later, Tori sits on her bed talking to the camera, asking Daddy why he took Janet and not her? How many times does she have to apologize? Tori flashes back to a swank party at the Italian embassy the night she was taken. Drunk, she tells her father she knows the truth about him - he murdered her mother - and threatens to make him pay. The Ambassador has several Marines escort Tori from the party.

Tori gets all dolled up in a sexy red gown and vintage stockings, then saunters into the lobby. She sets her sites on seducing the Night Manager, but he refuses to bite, explaining he can't help her get out of the town. Tori writes a quick message and asks the Night Manager to deliver it to her father, who must be his boss. She wants to leave, just like Joe and Janet did. The Night Manager insists he doesn't accept messages, but Tori persists, telling him to tell her dad she's sorry, and she'll be good.

The taxi drives through frosty, deserted wilderness. Suddenly, a tire blows out. The cabbie grabs a machete and pops the trunk, then hacks the tops off two coconuts and hands them to Joe and Janet. Back in San Francisco, Renbe fears men in blue jumpsuits are following him. Suddenly, Edick snatches the Janet files out of Renbe's hands, and informs he gave videotape of Renbe breaking into his office to Detective Gomez. Renbe asks if Edick knows anything about The Irishman or the guys in the blue jumpsuits. Edick laughs - the men in blue jumpsuits are maintenance workers, and if Renbe's been hearing voices, maybe he should get himself a tinfoil hat.

The cabbie gets to work fixing the flat tire, without noticing a giant black semi truck barreling down the road. Janet and Joe wave at the truck. When they realize it's not going to slow down, they jump behind a berm along the side of the road. The truck barrels into the cab, breaking it in half. The cab blows up, the truck keeps going, and the cabbie is just... gone. When Joe asks Janet what she wants to do, she starts walking, refusing to return to the town.

Bill is smoking a cigar and playing solitaire in the lobby when Tori saunters up in her sexy dress. He's titillated, but wary, since the last time he tried to get busy with Tori, she beat him up. Promising to make it up to him, Tori invites him to her room. When Bill realizes she's been crying, he knows this isn't the right party for him, and leaves. Meanwhile, Janet and Joe agree they'll do whatever it takes to get home.

That evening, Bill plies Charlie (whom he has started to call "Chuck") with a snifter of cognac and a pitch: what do cable TV, bottled water and toll roads have in common? They used to be free, and now they're billion-dollar industries. Bill wants Charlie to fund his startup FreshAirrr, a national chain of private parks. Stinky homeless guys won't pester the kids, and adults will have a special area with a mini Hooters restaurant and bar. It's going to be like getting a piece of Microsoft in 1987! Skeptical and sarcastic, Charlie claims he never makes major decisions while being held captive - and Bill better stop calling him Chuck!

McNair finds Tori drunk and distraught, swilling champagne in the gazebo, and declines her invitation to party. Tori explains her relationship with her father. When he needs something from a business associate, he'll invite them to party with Tori, who has a reputation as a fun and adventurous slut. Her father was the only witness to her mother's drowning (which he swears was an accident), and "entertaining clients" began after her death. McNair advises Tori not to let her father destroy her; the human heart can always heal.

Tori doubts she can return to a happy life, claiming her father destroyed her a long time ago. Crying, she runs off, calling to Daddy and the cameras - Tori just wants to go home. Meanwhile, Bill finds Charlie in his bathroom, drinking herbal tea and soaking his feet. Bill strips off his socks and shoes and joins in the footbath, hoping to brainstorm FreshAirrr. Disgusted by Bill's filthy feet, Charlie leaps out of the tub, declaring they are not in business together. Bill has no experience running a park. This may be true, but Bill does know that Charlie killed his wife. Thus, he's prepared a list of demands. Speechless, Charlie leaves.

It's the middle of the night and freezing cold when Janet and Joe run across an abandoned cabin. After a cautious approach, the cabin turns out to be well suited to their needs, and stocked with gourmet sardines and a delicious bottle of red wine. Wrapped in blankets, they sit under the stars. Janet interprets the constellations to conclude they're still in the Northern Hemisphere. She wants to know the first thing Joe plans to do when he returns home, but he'll only say he doesn't make plans. Janet invites Joe to meet her daughter Megan, whom she imagines is just like Joe when he was a kid.

At dawn, Joe wakes up to find the cabin quickly filling with bees, which are soon crawling on his face. Freaked out, he wakes Janet, who slowly moves to sit astride him, and gently blows the bees off his face. This is the bee's winter cluster, and the giant hive is located in the eaves of the cabin. When the sun rises, the whole room will fill up with bees. Janet instructs Joe to get up slowly, grab his shoes and leave. No sudden movements. Joe's boots are filled with bees, so Janet grabs them. Once they open the door of the cabin, the bees swarm outside in a giant cloud, but both Janet and Joe escape unscathed.

Renbe visits Gomez at the SFPD. Gomez wants to know what Renbe was doing in Edick's office at 3:00 a.m.? Renbe explains he was working on the Janet Cooper story. Already two steps ahead, Gomez produces video evidence that Renbe has been watching his ex-wife and daughter. Later, Renbe pulls Kat aside to inform her he was married to Janet - before they began their affair. Kat pretends not to care, but Renbe continues his apology without excuses, then asks for Kat's help.

Hungry and cold, Janet and Joe's walk leads them back to the road. It's not long before the black truck speeds towards them. They jump behind a berm to hide. The truck pulls up and stops, then quickly pulls away. Janet and Joe run back into the fields, heading in the opposite direction. Later that night, Bill visits "Chuck" to pitch more of his FreshAirrr ideas. Exhausted, Charlie reminds Bill he did promise to present the idea to his board. This plan isn't good enough for Bill, who insists they're partners - that is, unless Charlie wants the world to know he killed his wife.

Looking defeated, Charlie plops down on the bed next to Bill, agreeing to hear him out. But before Bill can finish talking about big screen TVs, Charlie grabs a pillow and smothers Bill to within an inch of his life. Maybe his wife didn't have cancer at all; maybe he was just tired of listening to her stupid ideas. Charlie doesn't want to hear anything more about FreshAirrr, and he definitely doesn't want to be called Chuck. Chastened, Bill runs out of the room with his tail between his legs.

Night falls as Janet and Joe reach the edge of a rise to learn they're right back where they started. Janet cries, refusing to go back to the hotel, but Joe knows they'll freeze to death if they stay in the wilderness. He promises they'll have another chance, and he'll succeed in getting her out. She should do this for Megan. Joe puts his arm around Janet and guides her back to the hotel. They pass wordlessly through the lobby and into the elevator, where Janet finally speaks. Will Joe spend the night with her? It doesn't mean anything, it's just that no one else knows what they went through, and Janet doesn't want to be alone.

From upstairs in her hotel room, Tori spies another taxi driving into town. She runs to meet it, and isn't surprised when the Nigerian driver asks for Victoria Fairchild. Filled with childlike delight, Tori smiles at a surveillance camera, thanks her daddy, and climbs in the cab, which drives out of town without incident.

After a sleepless night, Joe wakes at dawn and proceeds to the Shanghai Palace, asking to order the okra special. Claiming he doesn't know okra, the maitre d' escorts Joe to the walk-in freezer. Once inside, the maitre d' opens a secret door that leads to a safe room, and strips down to his street clothes. The Maitre d' is really Joe's co-worker Tom X, who speaks with a perfect American accent. When Joe demands to know the plans for Janet, Tom X balks; even if he knew, he couldn't say. More to the point, is Joe threatening withdrawal, yes or no? Tom has to ask the question several times before Joe shakes his head no. If Joe believes in "the process," he must accept its results.