“What Lies Below” is episode twelve of season two of Fringe.
At Vitas Petrol in Boston, a bike messenger gets in a lift with another man. He tells the other they don’t look so good. Blood drips from the older man’s nostril. Both get out on the same floor and as the messenger speaks to the receptionist, she tells the other man he needs to sign in. The man collapses, the messenger goes over to give him CPR and the receptionist calls for an ambulance. The man is dead, his veins pronounced, and his mouth opens and a mist of blood sprays from it.
Astrid is at the Boston Children’s Science Centre. A member of staff asks what child she’s looking for; she’s looking for Walter. The staff member assumes Walter is a special needs individual. Astrid tells him he has no idea. Walter is telling children about the first circumnavigation of the Earth and scaring the children in the process. Another staff member asks Walter if he works there. No; he has a season pass. On the way out, Walter is grumbling about his season pass being revoked when Astrid gets a call from Olivia.
Olivia and Peter meet Detective Kassel at Vitas Petrol. The dead man, Vandenkemp, has a Dutch license. Kassel has never seen anything like it. Peter tells him he’s lucky. Olivia speaks to the witnesses; no-one knows Vandenkemp or where he was going. Broyles rings from downstairs; he will run Vandenkemp. Olivia says this is not the sort of business you just walk into. One person who was helping Mike, the messenger, Vincent Ames, wants to know what’s going to happen. The receptionist mentions Mike, but he’s gone. Mike is in a bathroom, blood dripping from his nose.
Broyles greets Walter and Astrid as they arrive outside; Walter starts speculating as to what happened. They approach the doors as Mike arrives and tries to get out, but Walter keeps them shut. Mike sprays blood from his mouth. Walter tells Broyles the building needs quarantining, no-one in or out, just as Peter and Olivia come into view.
The CDC arrive as Walter is on the phone with Peter. The staff are arguing, worried, as the air flow shuts down. Olivia tells them it’s protocol, and wants to separate out those nearest to Vandenkemp.
Arnold McFadden, field director of the CDC, introduces himself to Broyles. He wants samples from Mike, and Walter wants those as well. And Astrid tells Broyles that Walter was arrested. Walter wants to get a sample back to the lab; he’s rather impolite to McFadden, which Broyles tells him isn’t helping. Walter apologises and explains that his son is inside. Broyles assures McFadden that Walter is a valuable asset and McFadden assigns another, Hubert, to go to the lab with Walter and the samples.
Olivia can’t find any meetings with Vandenkemp, but Ames cleared his schedule for the morning yet still came in. Kassel tells them they have a problem; the receptionist is now bleeding from the nose. She’s made comfortable in another room. The others are worried, as she was nowhere near Vandenkemp. Peter is reassuring them as Olivia speaks to Ames privately. She knows Vandenkemp was meeting Ames. Vandenkemp worked form a competitor and wanted to sell something from a recent reserve find. He doesn’t know who or where. Ames knows he broke federal laws, but he’d rather go to prison than die here. Olivia tells him it may be too late for one or the other.
Walter is in the lab, telling Astrid about the personality of viruses. Hubert tells them the strain won’t isolate. Walter says the good news is the virus isn’t airborne; if it were, there would be more infections.
Olivia and Peter are talking when Olivia sees the receptionist. They follow her, she runs at Peter, knocking him down into Vandenkemp’s blood, then she jumps out the window, landing on a car below and spraying blood. Olivia finds Peter in the bathroom, washing probably contagious blood down the drain. He then decides to search Vandenkemp, as he may already be infected, and finds rental car keys. Peter says to never take anything into a negotiation that could land you in jail.
The rental car contains a briefcase along with a core sample. Walter says the virus is trying to get out of the building, citing the behaviour of Mike and the receptionist, seeking to spread. The virus seems to have a fair degree of control over those it infects. The CDC is planning something terminal to stop the spread.