"Absolution"

Episode 305
(aired the week of 10/25/1998)
Case # 56-9977

Log line: O.S.I.R. Case Manager, Matt Praeger, is institutionalized after he goes undercover as an arms dealer in order to get close to the arms dealer's son. Before Praeger gets a chance to examine the youth though, he is caught in the middle of a double cross during a drug deal and the boy is slain. Praeger thinks he is responsible and can't cope with the guilt. While he is being hospitalized the team uncovers a secret demonic cult whose members thrive on collecting human souls.

Synopsis: Praeger is institutionalized after a case goes tragically wrong. Working undercover as an arms dealer in order to gain access to a drug dealer's son - a teenager with ESP - Praeger gets caught in the middle of a double cross and in the ensuing shootout apparently fires the bullet that kills the youth.

Devastated by the incident, Praeger is admitted to the hospital until it is determined whether he is capable of testifying. Although the physician in charge, Dr. Simon Leeds, assures Hendricks that his colleague will receive the best care-through antipsychotic drugs and psychotherapy sessions-Praeger continues to spiral toward insanity, torn apart with guilt. Following a group therapy session, Praeger is sought out by Brad Casson, a fellow patient and professor of theosophy who warns him of a demonic cult operating within the hospital and tells him of his plans to break out.

Donner and Donahue visit the now incarcerated Manny Keeler, the drug dealer whose son, Adrian, was killed. Keeler recalls how his partner, Arturo Chavez accompanied Praeger to the rendezvous point where he was to exchange cocaine for firearms. He tells the OSIR investigators that he took Adrian along so the youngster could use his ESP to warn him of any danger. Just as Adrian called out that something was wrong, Keeler was shot by a gunman hiding on a nearby rooftop. As he struggled to his feet, he saw young Adrian die with Praeger standing behind him, gun in hand. It was at this moment that Praeger fell apart, escaping into a state of psychosis.

At the hospital, Praeger tells Dr. Leeds' assistant, Dr. Judith Taggart, that he can't remember shooting Adrian. She advises him that he must come clean and admit to his awful deed before he can hope for any sort of recovery. In another area of the hospital, Dr. Leeds successfully talks a female patient into admitting guilt in the death of her sister. Accompanied by a group of staff members, he gives the woman a goblet from which to drink, assuring her that she will have absolution if she does so. The woman takes a sip and falls to the ground, poisoned. As she dies, the last thing she sees is the face of Dr. Leeds transform into that of a demon.

Back at OSIR headquarters, Donahue informs Donner and Axon that the police have picked up a man named Dominic Dinardi. The man was caught trying to rob a liquor store with one of the guns that Keeler was going to get from Praeger before the shootout occurred. Dinardi admits he was at the rendezvous, hiding on a rooftop to provide protection for Chavez-but he insists it was Praeger who shot Adrian. The OSIR team decides to set a trap for Chavez. They plant a microphone on Dinardi in the hope of getting Chavez to incriminate himself. The plan works. Not only is Chavez the killer but he later admits that he planted the gun on Praeger after the shooting.

Meanwhile, Donner and Hendricks are alerted to what's going on at the hospital when the escaped Casson shows up at OSIR headquarters and tells them of a demonic cult that has taken over the institution. He refers to the cult as The Gatherers, so named because its members thrive on collecting human souls. They were the subject of a research paper he was working on when he admitted himself to the hospital in order to gather more information. The leader of The Gatherers is an ancient demon who over the years has occupied various human hosts in order to perpetuate the cult.

At the hospital, Praeger is finally convinced by the doctors to accept responsibility for Adrian's death. But as he is about to drink from the poisoned chalice, he remembers what happened at the rendezvous. Mustering his strength to resist drinking the concoction, he instead hurls it in the face of the cult leader (Dr. Leeds), bringing stunning results and, hopefully, closure to this draining case.

Starring:
Matt Frewer - Case Manager Matt Praeger
Barclay Hope - Peter Axon
Nancy Anne Sakovich - Lindsay Donner
Colin Fox - Dr. Anton Hendricks
Dan Aykroyd - Host

Guest Stars:
Nathan Carter - Drug dealer's son
Gary Krawford - Dr. Simon Leeds
Donald Burda - Brad Casson
Philip Granger - Manny Keeler
Waiter Alza - Arturo Chavez
Lisa Langlois - Dr. Judith Taggart
Bruce Tubbe - Dominic Dinardi

Written by: Damian Kindler
Directed by: Clay Borris