"The E.S.P. Spy"
(Original air date 03/02/75)
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Steve teams up with a young telepath to find the people responsible for stealing
confidential information
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Writer: Lionel E. Siegel
Director: Jerry London
At the OSI Malibu Research Center, Research Engineer Harry Green (Dick Van Patten) works on an equation for a new laser weapon, unaware that a few feet down the road, renowned Yugoslavian telepath Jarecki (George Patton) is reading his every thought and unwillingly conveying the information to his abductors, Dr. Randolph (Philip Bruns) and his associate, Pierce (Paul Cavonis).
Back in Washington in the middle of the night, a paranoid Harry meets with Steve in private in an underground parking lot to ask for his protection against the men pursuing him.
When the two show up, Steve stuns them with the hood of a car, unaware that they are Federal agents assigned to apprehend Harry on suspicion of selling top secret documents to the enemy. More men converge on the scene to lend a hand, one of which is Director of Investigation George Vant (Bert Kramer) who orders his men to haul Harry off to detention.
Oscar is roused in the early morning hours with the news of Green's apprehension and chides Steve for interfering in government affairs. Although Oscar holds evidence of Harry's treason, Steve won't admit that his friend is guilty. One solid proof is the satellite picture of a Ukraine-based complex for a laser pulse regulator. Only Harry was privy to the project, one he assured was never written down on paper.
Steve brings forth the theory of telepathy to explain the reason why Harry's mental notes could have been stolen, but Oscar is skeptical.
In order to sway the disbeliever's opinion of E.S.P., Steve takes him down to Charlie Lund's (Alan Bergmann) laboratory to meet with Audrey Moss (Robbie Lee), a young telepath who, much to Steve's amusement, stuns Oscar with her incredible ability to read his mind.
Oscar is convinced and requests a list of all the world-renowned telepaths in order to begin the investigation.
According to tests conducted on his subjects, Lund found that two telepaths can communicate within a two-mile radius. It is possible to broaden the spectrum with an electronic boaster, one that can result in brain damage in the long run.
Oscar shares the latest developments with Harry. He asks that for the next few days he disregard the project and concentrate on the bogus equations that the computer put together. This in order to throw the enemy off the track while Steve and Audrey scour the Malibu area for the culprits.
Unbeknownst to Oscar, the man assigned as Steve's backup is a double agent working for Randolph. As secret informant, Vant informs his boss of Green's release and Austin's investigation of the security breach.
Steve meets with Audrey on Malibu beach where she spent the last few hours mentally sweeping the area. When Steve wonders at her extrasensory abilities, she gives him a sample by reading the thoughts of three approaching surfers. She is shocked to learn that they were paid to get rid of them.
Steve quickly disposes of the three thugs and runs back to the car with Audrey.
Steve reports the incident to Oscar. He's also frustrated at the lack of progress in locating the spy, to which Oscar brings an explanation. Lund discovered that famous Yugoslavian telepath Jarecki once experimented with electronic boasters to increase his ESP. With it he can read minds further past a five-mile radius. He suggests to Steve to extend his search perimeter.
Steve switches cars and continues his drive down Malibu Road with Audrey. On the way, she can't help tease him with her mind reading and admits knowing about his bionic nature.
She giggles over people's thoughts that she reads along the way until they reach 900 Starvista Road. There she begins scribbling down equations that Steve compares with Harry's notes.
He drives his young partner to a phone booth where he instructs her to phone Oscar with their findings, after which she is to go to her grandmother's house, pick up her belongings and have the taxi drive her down to the airport to take a flight back to Washington. She flashes him an exaggerated pout, saying she would much rather stay to share the excitement of cracking the case.
Unfortunately for Steve, Oscar contacts double agent Vant to gen him up on the latest developments.
Meanwhile, Steve sneaks onto the premises of Randolph's mansion and manages to knock one guard out before he proceeds to break open the back door to slip inside.
There, Vant and Randolph’s men surprise him. When Steve fails to provide them with truthful answers, Randolph ties him up and injects him with a drug to render him unconscious while Jarecki reads his every thought.
Unbeknownst to Randolph, the drug was injected in Steve's right arm and therefore has no effect. Steve feigns unconsciousness and concentrates on a phoney story of his having been sent to temporize while Oscar and his men converge on the mansion.
Quickly, they pack up the instruments and head out to the van with Jarecki, while Randolph and Vant perform one last task of electrocuting Steve, but that too fails. Steve knocks the gang out and hurries out to find the last man surrendering.
The next day, Steve meets with Audrey on the beach where he chastises her for disobeying orders. She is sorry for having missed the flight, but admits she couldn't return to Washington without speaking to Steve about his special nature. She herself feels isolated from the world and wonders how Steve manages to cope with being a unique individual. He confesses to sharing her solitude, one he chases away by repeating to himself that he is a person of merit and that he likes who he is.
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