Downstairs, Malcolm reminds Ethan that he has asked him to accompany him to Africa. Ethan’s had enough of Malcolm’s war stories and accuses him of running away. Malcolm snipes back that the sensation is something “you know intimately,” which he bristles at. “I have a father and I don’t need another one,” Ethan growls. “You had a son and you killed him. Am I missing anything?” That’s got to sting. Malcolm levelly tells him that the reason he’s going to Africa this time around is actually to retrieve the body of his son Peter – but Ethan isn’t buying it.
Meanwhile, the devil’s presence in Vanessa’s room has upped the ante on her psychological torture. We see engorged blood vessels all over her body and what looks like a brand in the shape of an Egyptian hieroglyph. Of course, it’s all in Vanessa’s head. Victor, Malcolm, Ethan and Sembene only see her clawing at her own wrists, trying to end it all, and they’re just able to sedate her in time.
Needing a release of his own, Victor shoots up with morphine. When he goes to the window, he’s none too surprised to see Caliban waiting, but he doesn’t go to his murderous creation. Instead, he converses a little with Ethan, admitting that he thinks they may have to just let Vanessa die. Ethan, for his part, isn’t sure Malcolm’s being honest about why he needs to keep Vanessa alive. As he points out, the relationship between the two is definitely not one of a father and his daughter. Victor asks Ethan to teach him to shoot, and the two head down to the basement to blow off steam by shooting bottles. Intriguingly, Victor’s not bad for a first-timer – though Ethan quickly bests him by hitting every other bottle in one steady line of fire. Is this a bromance I sense forming? It could be an interesting one – Ethan the rough-and-tumble gunslinger, and Victor the intellectually skilled scientist. Together, even without Malcolm and Vanessa, they could make quite the team.
Ethan heads up to Vanessa’s room and gives Sembene some food, hoping to get to know Malcolm’s faithful servant for more than just him being that. Unfortunately, Sembene is hardly forthcoming with information. All Ethan is able to really glean is that Sembene owes Malcolm his life – though, as he admits, “We all owe each other in the end.”
Back in Vanessa’s room, Malcolm has snuck up to her bedside and asked to her to try to make contact with Mina. Seeing as Vanessa is between life and death, Malcolm thinks that Mina’s probably quite close to her in spirit. “All of this, you wanted,” she accuses, horrified. “You allowed this to happen.” He doesn’t get a chance to answer her before Ethan finds him and quietly growls, “Get the fuck away from her.”
Outside, Ethan, Victor and Malcolm debate over what should become of their friend. Ethan and Victor believe it’s time to give her what she wants and let her die, but Malcolm isn’t willing to give up – though his reasons are obviously less than saintly. “You’ve got a girl dying in there, not a monster with fangs,” Ethan says, calling Malcolm out for interrogating Vanessa. “You want a daughter – there she is.” Reluctantly, Malcolm agrees to summon a priest for last rites.
As they await the arrival of the priest, Malcolm tearfully tells Victor about the death of Peter, noting that he was actually away from base camp when his son finally succumbs to the disease he picked up. Malcolm pressed on with his travels, but when the time came to name the territory he had found, Peter’s dying wish – for Malcolm to to name a mountain after him – was not on his mind. Instead, Malcolm named the mountain after himself. So no, “I haven’t a shred of decency left,” he concludes.