Sami implores him to look at the disk, predicting that it might be really helpful to him. He takes it from her and inserts it into his laptop. John reluctantly plays the disk and finds it to be encrypted. Sami offers to call her dad and have him send it over to the ISA and have it decoded. John doesn’t want to deal with the disk right now and expresses his appreciation to her for being brutally honest. Sami notes that he’s not half bad when one gets past his weird behavior. “I think the same thing about you,” he responds. John questions how he first got to Salem. Sami reveals that he was discovered by Victor Kiriakis when he was “The Pawn” living under Victor’s protection. We see a flashback to Victor sitting with a bandaged John rambling off names such as Alex Marshall, Roman Brady, and Stefano DiMera. Sami explains how he escaped from Victor and wandered into a mission near the riverfront. We see a flashback of John fingering the name “John Black” off of a Vietnam War Memorial plaque. John asserts that his days of being a victim are over.
Sami later comes back from checking on Allie. John notes what a cute kid Allie is and remarks what a lucky woman Sami is. They discuss Belle and how good John was with her before he even knew she was his daughter. Sami confesses that she did something horrible a long time ago in regards to Belle. She recounts how she snuck into the hospital lab and changed the results of Belle’s paternity. We see a flashback of Sami doing this many years ago and Marlena revealing to John that Roman was Belle’s father. This broke John’s heart as well as Marlena’s. Sami confesses how she kidnapped her own sister and was going to give her away for adoption after she was born. We see more flashbacks of Marlena confronting Sami over this. Sami is surprised to realize that John isn’t mad about this, especially since Belle is his daughter. “And I have no connection to her, to any of you,” adds John. Sami implores him not to tell Marlena that she spilled this to him. John grins and admits how good the drama is, agreeing not to tell “Blondie.” He admits he likes the way she handled the situation with Belle, which takes Sami by surprise. She admits she was starting to like him, then he says something completely heartless. John says he just calls it like he sees it, adding that sometimes superheroes have a dark side. Sami notes that sympathizing with his child’s kidnapper is a pretty cold thing to say. “Well maybe it’s easier to be that way,” suggests John. “Or maybe I just figured you out,” responds Sami. She theorizes that when he starts to feel real emotion, he makes a comment guaranteed to keep a person at arm’s length. “And how much do I owe you for this brilliant analysis?” he quips. She surmises that he has real feelings for Marlena and asks him if he loves Marlena. John claims he doesn’t even know what love is and leaves the room to go to bed. Sami deduces that she struck a nerve. She then hears Allie crying via the baby monitor and goes upstairs. Meanwhile, someone mysterious sneaks into the mansion and takes the disk.
EJ meets Nicole in an alley, where he hands her a wad of cash for “services rendered.” As she counts the money, EJ assures her that it’s all there. “No offense baby-cakes but I’ve heard that before,” remarks Nicole, who admits she would make Sami squirm for free if she didn’t need the cash. EJ clarifies that it’s not why he asked her to speak to Mr. Burke. Nicole chuckles how priceless the look on Sami’s face was when she arrived at the hearing. EJ affirms that he paid her to speak to Mr. Burke, not to toy with Sami. Nicole relays how she told Mr. Burke that he and Sami are truly, madly, and deeply in love with each other. She jeers how she can’t believe she just said that. Nicole notes how she and EJ are a lot alike, recalling how there was a time she did crazy things for the people she loved and wasn’t even paid for it. EJ brings up Eric as an example. “And Brady,” adds Nicole, who recalls how she even thought she had a chance with Austin at one point but was smart enough to realize that he belonged with Carrie. EJ predicts she’ll meet a nice guy soon enough. Nicole admits she would go after him if he wasn’t so in love with Sami. She notes how ethics aren’t high on his list, since he paid her to lie for him. “That is why I like you so much,” she smiles.
Nicole recalls how he mentioned she was his only client. EJ suggests maybe he’s taken on more clients and warns her that nobody will ever find out about their deal, especially Sami. He asserts that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that Sami loves him. Nicole admits she’s starting to dig the dark and shady side of him, coyly saying it’s got her all tingly inside. She comes on to him, which prompts him to admit he’s tempted. He admits that when he first met her, he knew he could use her for his own purposes. Nicole refers to him as smug and an incredibly charming man. He admits he finds her sexy, sarcastic, bad girl act very entertaining. “So what is the real Nicole like?” he questions. Nicole hopes to dig her up when she gets her settlement. She rehashes how love only means trouble for her, since every man she’s loved she’s lost. She questions if he really wants to drag himself through the mud for Sami. “I love Sami,” he confesses. “But Sami loves Lucas,” counters Nicole. EJ points out that Lucas is in prison. Nicole theorizes that even if Sami fell out of love with Lucas and in love with EJ, she will always side with Lucas, since he went to prison defending her honor.
EJ implies that he has a plan regarding Lucas, but can’t share just yet. Nicole wishes him luck. EJ believes that Sami will be his. He then questions what Nicole’s plans are, other than taking Victor for all his money. She states her intentions to stay in Salem once she wins her settlement and reveals that she has her sights set on Philip.
