"Let's go down." " You got some out." "How many left?" " Three out, eight left." " Edgar's still the man?" " Edgar's the man." "Edgar, I want to thank you for letting these people go." "Send out the others, and we can come to a peaceful resolution." "Get this straight. I don't trust you or any agent of your occupation government." "Listen to me one more time." "I have an order from the Citizens' Court of South Dakota... to seize the ill-gotten assets of this bank." "Move your people away from here or these bloodsuckers will burn in hell!" "They're gettin' ready to come in." "Let them come." " l have to go home." " Get down!" "Please, let me go home." "Please, let me go home." " Get the fuck down!" " l just need to go home." "When he says "get down," just do it!" "Damn!" "I sure don't feel good." "You said we were gonna be in and out of here before anybody knew what hit 'em." "You said they were gonna back down." "They ain't backing' down, Edgar." "They got an army out there." "They're gonna come in here and shoot all of us." "God just wants His miracle to be greater." "God doesn't want your boys to get killed, Edgar!" "We need more time, you sons of bitches!" "You ain't in charge here." "So shut up!" " They cut us off." " We gotta go in." " We have a man in there." "He wants more time." " Right." "Undercover agent who isn't supposed to be there in the first place." " We're goin' in." " Let me try 'em on the bullhorn." " lf they come back to me" " You've got three minutes." "This is Agent Blackwell, Edgar." "I need you to pick up the telephone." " l need to talk with you." " We can still walk out of here." "You just gotta stand up to him." "Just tell him you wanna go home." "Can you do it?" "Edgar, please pick up the phone." "We can still work this out." "Edgar, please pick up the phone." "We were doing well before." "Sir?" "Peter's right." "It's not like you said it was going to be." "I wanna go home." "Edgar, the boy's right." " Traitor." " Daddy." " Shut up, Isaac." " Let me call 'em on the telephone." " We don't need him." " We can still walk out of here." " Do it, Edgar!" "For your boys, do it!" "Get down!" "Get down!" "F.B.l.!" "Get on the ground." "Go, go, go!" "Daddy!" "Stay down!" "Don't move." " Don't move, goddamn it!" " l'm F.B.l. F.B.l.!" "Get off me, asshole!" " Tell your men to hold their fire." " Peter." " Peter." " James?" "James, keep your head down!" "Where are you?" " Peter!" " No!" "No!" "No!" "Hold your fire!" "No!" "No!" "Damn it!" "Goddamn it!" "Shoot!" "Shoot!" "Get a med tech in here!" "Get a med tech in here, goddamn it!" "Don't talk." "Don't talk." "Come on now, goddamn it!" "Get a med tech in here!" "He's dead." "Who said "go"?" "Who's the S.A.C.?" "Hartley." "Hartley!" "Special Agent Hartley!" "Hartley!" "Did you hear me ask for more time?" " Get your hands off me." " Did you hear me ask for more time?" " You're out of line, Jeffries." " l'm out of line?" "I'm out of line?" "Did I just massacre five fuckin' people?" "Huh?" "Did I?" "Three seconds, Hartley, I was gonna walk 'em all out alive." "Massacre." "They were just kids." "Just kids." "I report to Washington just like you do, Jeffries." "Right on Western." "Left on Belmont." " Hey, Simon, I have a surprise for you." " Right on Halsted." " Left on Fullerton." " You're giving some good directions." "Look. I have something very, very special." "You like these puzzles, don't ya?" "Uh-huh." "Okay, but not yet, Simon." "If I give you the puzzle book, I want you to join in with the rest of the class, okay?" "That's great." "It's time to join the group now, okay?" "Good morning, Simon." "Good morning, teacher." "Look at me." "Good morning, teacher." "I better not beat you." "I only accept cash." " How are you?" " Well, another day at the office." " You ready?" " Yeah." "All right, let's talk about it." "Agent Jeffries here to see you, Chief." "The psychologist wrote "delusional paranoia"... in capital letters across the bottom of your file." " So, am I fired?" " No, you're not fired." " But I can't put you undercover anymore." "That's over." " What do they expect me to do?" " To do your job." " l work undercover." "That's my job." " You have a new job now." " And what is that?" "Sitting on a wire, stakeouts, log tapes." " A little public relations." " Fourteen years on the job, and that's all it means?" "I've gotta sit on a wire with some rookie listening to a housewife order groceries?" " All you had to do was keep your mouth shut." " All I did was tell the truth." " Act like you belong on the same team as the rest of us." " What team?" "That bunch of suits sitting behind a desk trying to justify their existence?" " Like me. ls that what you're saying?" " l don't know, Joe." " Why didn't you say one thing to back me up?" " Because you were wrong!" " l wasn't wrong!" " You were dead wrong." "Two teenage kids in cold blood, and you know it." " They were goddamn bank robbers, for Christ's sake!" " They were kids." "Will you forget about South Dakota?" "Forget who's right and who's wrong." "This is one of the best undercover guys." "How could I forget that?" "Sit down, Art." "Sometimes..." "you got somethin'." "It's... magic." "Then it goes away." "You had it." "But the magic's gone." "They told you to break my balls, and see if you could get me to quit." "I'm not gonna make it easy for you." "You want me to sit on a wire, I'll do it." "You want me to chase file applicants, I'll do that." "Take your best shot." "Check your mailbox for your new assignments." "Hey, Simon, we're here." "Mommy, Simon is home." "Look at me." "Hi, Mom." "Hi, honey. I missed you." "Come on inside." "Be careful." "It's very hot." "Sip it slowly." "Daddy'll be home soon." "And when you finish that, you can wait for him up in your room." "Congratulations." "You've reached the Puzzle Center." "For solving one of our master puzzles... you've won a subscription to the magazine of your choice." "Can I please have your name, address and telephone number?" "You are... a stranger." "Excuse me." "This the Puzzle Center." "Where did you get this number?" "Puzzle nine-nine." "What did you just say?" "Who is this?" "Simon, put down the phone." "Simon, Simon, wait a second." "Please don't hang" "Come on, come on." "Figures." "See if they correlate." "If they don't, you may have lost some bytes in the transfer, lost a keyword." "You won't be able to defractionate." "Yeah?" " Are you scrambled?" " Give me a break, Leo. I'm busy." "It's Mercury, Dean." "Somebody just walked on water." "You have to get up here now." " What did you just say?" " You are a stranger." " Who is this?" " Simon, put down the phone." "Simon, Simon, wait a second." "Please don't hang" "Who is that?" "Listen to the timbre of his voice." "It's a child." "That had to be his mother." "Right. lt's just some rug rat... drooling over the phone, punching numbers, like a random thing." "Huh?" "We're not that lucky." " We have to call Kudrow." " What?" "Dean, what?" "No, no, no." "We don't have to call anybody." "All we gotta do is an analysis, and give him a report when he gets back." " That's it!" " Do you understand what just happened?" "We have to call him now or he's gonna say we tried to hide it." " Morning, sir." " Good morning, Marine." "I've got an urgent message for Lieutenant Colonel Kudrow." "Mercury is already operational in most of our com centers." "And I'm here to confirm everything you've already heard." "Mercury is a quantum leap in our communications security." "And once we complete its installation in all of our com centers..." " it's going to be very hard for our adversaries" " And our allies." "And our allies to compromise our communications." "An urgent message for you, sir." "If you'll excuse me." "Mr." "Johnson will continue the briefing." "All right, gentlemen." "lmpossible." " You're late." " l wasn't when I started." "Traffic was like mud." "I oozed home." "I told Simon he could wait up for you." "Simon, my man." "I wonder where Simon is." "Time for bed, Simon." "Send in Pedranski and Crandell, please." " Yes, sir." "Who needs a fix?" "Double tall, double dark, double sweet." "Double everything. I'm so glad I missed the whole drug thing... so my body was virgin territory for caffeine." "It makes me feel so Ricki Lake, like I can talk to anybody." "What can I say?" "I'm the Java Queen." "What's wrong?" "Kudrow wants to see me." "Cool!" "Maybe you'll get your own section." "No. I, uh, I screwed up." "Well, just go in there and throw him a Bart Simpson." "Kudrow, dude, chill out." " lt was that way when I got there." " Doh!" "Puzzle line?" "Puzzle line?" "Now, I've traveled 10,000 miles in the past 24 hours." "So I've had a lot of time to reflect on this." "Correct me if I'm wrong." "But I believe neither one of you has ever said the words "puzzle line" to me." "Before Mercury went operational, we ran a standard validation protocol." "The works." "Double sets of paired Cray supercomputers... fricking velociraptor machines chewing at Mercury 24 hours a day." "Mercury came out unbent." "Awesome, sir. lt was finally a code that couldn't be broken." "But there was one last thing to check out." "The, um... geek factor." "Human beings will fool you sometimes." "We thought it important" "We slipped a message in one of those egghead word games." "We dared amateurs to crack it." " We were sure nobody would ever call." " But somebody did." "His name is Simon Lynch." "He lives in Chicago." "He is nine years old." "And he has deciphered a message written in the most sophisticated code... the world has ever known... in a geek's puzzle magazine." "I don't recall ever authorizing... anyone to put any message... into any magazine!" "That couldn't just happen." "A kid couldn't just pop it open." "Not only is he nine years old, he is handicapped." "He is autistic." "Yes, that explains it." "So our $2 billion code is an open book..." " to people of diminished capacity?" " No, sir." "Autism isn't synonymous with diminished capacity." "Autistic people are-- They're shut off." "But it's not unusual for an autistic person to be a savant." " Oh, a savant!" " He may not be able to actually decipher the code." " lt might just appear to him." " Right." "He didn't calculate anything." "He just saw it." "Like those stupid pictures at the mall." "You stare at them." " All of a sudden you're looking at the Statue of Liberty." " Exactly." "This is not a stupid picture at the mall." "This is national security." "Looking at the best case scenario, let's suppose the boy is unique... and he doesn't understand what he's just done." "Does that solve my problem?" "Answer:" "No!" "Analysis:" "All we need now is for someone else... who understands his capability to come along... and my problems are increased exponentially." "Then maybe we should talk to the kid." " And, uh" " No." "No." "No." "There must be nothing that connects the boy to this office." "Nothing." "Am I clear?" "Yes, sir." "I want you to erase the tape." "Am I clear?" "Yes, sir." " Honey, will you get that?" " Yeah, I got it." " Martin Lynch?" " Yeah." "Detective Burrell, Chicago police." "Sorry to bother you." "Can I ask you a few questions?" "It's very important." "l got your address from Simon's school." "Something wrong?" "If I drag this out, it's only gonna make things worse." "One of the other parents has made accusations... against Simon's driver of a sexual nature." " Oh, my God." " Well, they're only allegations at this point." "If I could step inside and speak with you." "Uh, sure." "It won't take more than a moment." " l don't want to upset you." " Well, you've already upset us." " l'm sorry about that." " Would you like a cup of coffee?" " Or something?" " Yeah." "Yeah, that'd be real nice." "911." "Emergency operator 562." "911." "Emergency operator 562." "What are you reporting?" "I have your location on my screen." "Can you tell me what you're reporting?" "Anything while I was gone, Art?" " Yeah, I think we got a big break in this case." " What?" "The Attorney General herself just called in 25 dimes on the Cubs." "What do you think?" "Uh" " Yeah?" " This is 13." " Cubs ten times." " Got it." "Dumb bet, 13." "Cubs are in a slump." "Would you mind if I told you something personal?" "Yeah, I would, Roger." "I really would." "Excuse me." "Yeah?" "Art, for you." "Yeah?" "We're sending someone to spell you." "We've got another assignment for you." "Lomax has another matter of national security for me?" "Check into a possible missing child, 2-1 precinct." "Chicago P.D. retains jurisdiction." "Yeah." "Lacerations." "Nichols." " You still alive?" " Still here, Art." " How are ya?" " All right." "What is this?" "It's supposed to be a missing kid." "It is." "These are the parents." "Looks like a murder-suicide." "So where's the kid?" "Missing, remember?" "What are you doin' here?" "Somebody called the F.B.l. and they sent me." "Go figure." "No, I meant, what are you doin' here?" "Workin' my way to the bottom, Jack, just like you." "The kid's name is Simon." "Neighbors say he's retarded." "Guys who kill their families kill all of 'em." "Maybe he did the kid somewhere else." "Didn't want Mom to see." "Kid like that costs a bundle." "Maybe Dad got tired of knocking himself out for a kid who didn't know better." "Put 'em all out of their misery." "How's a guy that's so broke afford a $1500 handgun?" " Mind if I take a look around, Jack?" " We already did." " The kid's not here." " Does that mean you mind?" " Hey, be my guest." " Thanks." "By the way, Lomax called." "He said it's important." "Yeah, I bet." "Got a phone on you?" "What do you know?" " Thanks." " Be sure I get it back." " How are ya?" " Good." "How ya doin', champ?" "You okay in there?" "Come on." "You can come on out now." "Nobody's gonna hurt you." "I'm not gonna hurt ya." "Okay?" "Come on." "Come on." "No, no, no, no!" "Simon!" "All right." "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Call Concordia." "Get an ambulance over here." " Have some badges waiting for us when we get there." " For what?" " l want this kid protected." " How am I gonna justify the overtime?" "Since when you worry about overtime, Jack?" "The coroner says murder-suicide, they can go." "Anybody asks about the overtime, put it on Lomax's Gold Card." " Straps are just makin' him worse." " They're for his own safety." " Unstrap him." " They're for his own safety." "All right." "Simon, we're gonna unstrap you." "Take it easy." "Simon, just calm down." "All right?" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Tell him to turn that off!" "Turn the siren off!" "Simon, ho." "Hey!" "Now look." "Who's this?" "is that your mommy right there?" "is that your mommy?" " Mommy!" "Mommy!" " Right there?" "Yes, that's right." "Your mommy." "That's her." " ls that your daddy?" " Daddy." "Right." ""Do not touch. lt may be hot." That's very good advice." "is that your teacher?" "Dr. London?" "She's your friend, right?" "My name is Art. I'm your friend too." "Art is a stranger!" "Art is a stranger!" "Art is a stranger!" "Okay, strap him in." "I won't hurt you." " Hi." "Are you the doctor?" " Um, no, I'm the nurse." " ls a doctor gonna see this boy?" " Uh, I took care of him." "is that the best you could do for him, just give him a shot?" "He's autistic." " Autistic?" " Uh-huh." "What does that mean?" "Nothing gets through?" "No, it's just the opposite." "Everything gets through." "He has trouble with feelings and emotions." "So he gets very frightened and confused." "Wait. I'm not gonna be able to question this boy?" "Probably not." "Sorry." "Take care of him." "Why are we doing this, Dean?" "Why does he want to see us?" "We didn't do anything wrong, right?" "Should I turn around?" " No, he'd kill us." " He might kill us anyway." " Are you being serious?" " Relax, Leo, please." "Okay, I'm scared." "I'm gettin' really, really scared." "Leo, stop it." "We're doing this together." "We didn't break any laws." "No matter what he says or does, we're gonna do the right thing." "So just relax." "Jesus!" " Okay." "Can we go home now, please?" " Yeah, all right." "It's him." " Let's just get this over with." " Okay." "This changes everything." " Now somebody else knows." " Oh, God." " What happened to the boy?" " He's alive." "He's being held in a lockdown unit in a Chicago hospital." "Why don't we tell somebody?" "Because we are somebody, Leo." "We're the ones that are ultimately responsible for this." "There isn't anybody to tell." "So I want you to keep the puzzle line open 24 hours a day." "And I want you two to do your goddamn fuckin' jobs!" "Quiet!" "Maybe I'm goin' about this the wrong way." "My wife says my people skills are like my cooking skills." "Quick and tasteless." "But in the end, it's about saving lives." "Isn't that the point?" " Yes?" " Yes." "I know a man named Rasheed Halabi, born in Paramus, New Jersey." "Valedictorian of his high school class, worked his way through M.l.T." "Right now he's a colonel in Saddam's Republican Guard." "We put him there. lt's him this code is protecting." "There are thousands of other men and women just like him... whose identities are protected by this code." "We can save their lives." "I give you my pledge." "I want you to give me yours." "Diligence, loyalty and above all... absolute silence." "This is kind of an interesting story." "The television program 60 Minutes right here on CBS?" "I've changed tires doin' 86." "You know what I'm sayin'?" "Long ways from home" "Can't sleep at night" "Grab your telephone 'cause something just ain't right lt's evil" "Evil is goin' on" "Well, I'm warnin' you, girl" "You better watch your happy home" "Long ways from home" "Can't sleep at all 'Cause another" "Where is everyone?" "Where's the police?" "Where's the guard that was sitting right here?" "They were called off half an hour ago." "Told they weren't needed." "Take me to see Simon Lynch right now." "Unlock that door." "We just transferred him to pediatrics." " Where's that?" " Room 1106." "Up those stairs one flight." " Who authorized the transfer?" " His parents." "I could understand." "They didn't want their little kid on" "Can I help you?" "Hi. I'm with the F.B.l." "I'm lookin' for Simon Lynch." "Do you know where he is?" "He suffered a minor head injury." "Nothing serious." "We had to take him down to X-ray." "Where is the X-ray room?" "Radiology." "Seventh floor." "Great." "Thanks." "No problem." "Shh." "Shh." "Shh." "Shh." "Ow!" "Here we go." "Here we go." "Simon, get in the elevator." " Hi." "Yeah." " A little crowded, huh?" "Just made it, Doctor." "You must be new." "Welcome to Concordia." "Thank you." "You're very kind." "Eight." "Seven." "Six." "Five." "Four." "Three." "Two." "One." "Thanks for the ride." "Good night." "Wait!" "What's going on?" "Get up in that seat." "Move it!" "All right, leave it off." "Leave it off." "Come on, Simon." "We don't need any more attention right now." "Leave it alone, all right?" "Keep off the buttons." "Okay, okay, okay!" "Leave the buttons alone, goddamn it!" "Please." "Please." ""One small step for mankind."" "Get down!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Mommy!" "Daddy!" "Let's go." "Hang on to the fence." "Hang on to the fence." "Hang on to the fence." "Let's go." "No!" "No!" "Simon!" "No!" "Come on." "Let's go, Simon." "Come on." ""Friends."" ""Mr. Pasquale." Bus driver." "Pasqual-ee." "Pasqual-ee?" "That's his name, Mr. Pasquale?" ""Do not talk to strangers."" "is that why you won't talk to me?" "You think I'm a stranger?" "Art." "That's me." "I'm your friend." " See?" "Art is your friend." " No!" "Art is a stranger!" " Okay, Simon." "Okay." " Art is a stranger!" " All right!" " Art is a stranger!" "Art is a stranger." "Motherfucker!" "Who are you?" "All right." "I'm sorry, Tommy." "Come on, Simon." "What the hell happened to you?" "You kidnapped this kid from the hospital?" "Are you crazy?" " What are you talking about?" " Lomax has been calling me every 15 minutes." " There's a warrant out for your arrest." " l killed a guy on the C.T.A." " Oh, Christ!" " l had to." "He was trying to kill us." " How did this happen?" " Somebody pulled the cops off the kid at the hospital." "It's not a murder-suicide." "The mom and dad got in the way." "They're trying to get the kid. lf he hadn't hidden, they'd have got him too." " l cannot handle this paranoid conspiracy crap." " lt is a conspiracy." "Who pulled the cops off the kid?" "Did dead Martin and Jenny say "Take my kid out of protective custody"?" "This is real!" "I don't give a fuck if it's real." "If I don't call Lomax right now, I'm an accessory to this." "If you don't get on the phone now, call Concordia or C.T.A., you're a dumb cop." "Tell them to bring a body bag to put the pieces in." "Arthur." "Hi, Dana." "Sorry we woke you up." " lt's good to see you." " You too." "It's been too long." "Try not to bleed on my carpet." "His name's Simon." "Hello, Simon." "I bet you're hungry." "I have peanut butter and jelly in the kitchen." "How's that sound?" "This is my son T.J." " T.J., this is Simon." " Hi." "Why don't we go in the kitchen" "T.J., why don't we go in the kitchen and make something to eat... and maybe Simon will come with us?" "Here you go, Art." "It's still damp, but at least it's clean." " Thanks, Dana." " You're welcome." "Simon, I think these will fit you." "Not my Frank Thomas shirt!" "Remember what I told you about sharing?" "I thought you were done taking those downers." "Yeah." "So?" " There's no body on the El tracks." " What?" "No body." "No blood." "No casing." "Nothing." "Who could've got it cleaned up that fast?" " Give him up." " What?" "The kid." "Give him up." "Take him back." " Would you give your own kid up?" " lt's not your kid!" "Yeah?" "Well, right now, he's nobody's kid." "His mom and dad got shot dead by a real bad guy." "Remember?" " Let's go, Simon." " Let me get these clothes on him." "I need your car keys." "Let me just walk around the streets with this kid now?" "Come on." "l'm reporting it stolen in the mornin'." "Thanks." "Daddy is going to sing" "Daddy is going to sing" "Daddy is going to sing" " Daddy is going to sing" " How can you not be tired?" "Daddy is going to sing" "Daddy's not here right now, Simon." "Daddy is going to sing I told you, your daddy is not here now!" "Oh, God." "How am I supposed to explain this?" "Daddy is going to sing" "Daddy is going to sing" "Daddy is going to sing" "Just going to close my eyes for a minute." "Damn!" "Shit!" "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" "Come on, Simon." "Where the hell are you?" "Simon?" "Simon." "Let's go for a ride." "Left." "Left on Kenwood." "Left." "Okay." "We are going left." "Howard Avenue to "J" Street." "That's right." ""J" Street... to West Twenty-Third Street." "You know where we're goin'?" "Simon is going home." "Yeah." "Simon is going home." "Come on, come on." "Mommy, Simon is home." "Mommy!" "Simon is home." "Simon is home." "Want this?" "Very hot." "Sip it slowly." "Get it, please." "Congratulations." "You've reached the Puzzle Center." "For solving one of our master puzzles... you've won a subscription to the magazine of your choice." "Can I please have your name, address and telephone number?" "You are... a stranger." "That's him!" "He's calling from his own house." "We have to call Kudrow." " What are you doing?" " ls that you, Simon?" " Simon, is that you?" " Let me have the phone." "Who is this?" "Answer me!" "Who is this?" "Hello?" "This is the F.B.l. We have this number and we will trace it." " Who is this?" " No, you won't." "You can't trace this number." "Who is this?" "What agency do you work for?" " Answer me." " Dean, do not tell him who we are." "Please don't tell him my name." "I need some more time, all right?" "Don't call this number again." "I'm gonna set up an E-mail address." "Einstein." "Check it in the morning." "No, no, don't hang" "Mommy, Daddy." "Come on, Simon, let's go." "Come on." " Mommy, Daddy." " Let's go." "Come on." "That's it." "Come on." " Dean, please don't do this." " lf he did it once, he can do it again." "You think this F.B.l. agent is smart enough to figure out what you're doing?" " He better be, because that boy's life is at stake." " This is bad." "It's not fair to me, because he'll assume I was in on it too!" "I don't think they can hear you on the moon." " Listen." " l don't want to listen to you." "You're scaring me." "If anything happens to me, you're gonna know who did it." "I expect you to do what you're supposed to do." "No." "You will." "I know it." "Try C.l.A." "Nope." "Let's try F.B.l." " Good, good." " Mm-hmm." "Um..." "Albert." "Try "E" equals "M-C" squared, all caps." "Mm-hmm." " l'll give you some privacy." " Thanks." "Hey, partner... I need your help with something." "It's a puzzle." "Can you help me with a puzzle?" " Puzzle." " That's right." "A puzzle." "It's right over here." "Come on." "All right. I'm gonna lift you up now, okay?" "Let's put you up on the chair." "Can you read that?" "Simon, what does it say?" ""Today." ""12:00." "The Wrigley Building."" "Good boy." "I'm gonna start to take this personally if you don't" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Oh!" "Oh, I'm sorry, sorry." "Are you okay?" "I'm fine, really." "I'm sorry." "It was my fault. I should've watched where l was going." "No, I shouldn't have had it there." "The way my day's going, I'm lucky you didn't trip and sue me." "What do you got in there?" "Plumbing supplies?" "Look, this is gonna sound crazy, but I have a little problem... and I was wondering if you could help me out." "You see that little boy sitting over there?" "Do you think you could watch him for a couple of minutes?" "You didn't just accidentally trip over the case, did you?" "He's autistic." "And I'm his Big Brother." "Not his real big brother, you know?" "Big Brothers of America." "It's going really well, but I need to get a prescription filled for him." "Normally I'd take him with me, but I don't like to disturb him when he's sitting so calmly." "You don't have to do anything." "Just sit here and be your lovely self." "Please." " Okay, yeah." "What's his name?" " Simon." " You sure this is okay?" " Yeah." "If I can handle a district manager, I can handle anyone." "Thank you. I will be right back." "Oh!" " What's your name?" " Stacey." " Stacey" " Sebring." "Stacey, thank you so much." "I'll be right back. I promise." "Would have done it without the flattery?" "Hey, Simon." "Just keep walking." "Keep walking." " Jeffries?" " Just keep walking." "I wasn't sure you'd be here." "Simon's read the code twice." "That's really incredible." "Also very dangerous." " Who do you work for?" "The C.l.A.?" " No." " The Defense Department?" " l'm afraid you're not that lucky." "I think the F.B.l. likes to call us "No Such Agency."" " Why does the N.S.A. want a 9-year-old autistic boy?" " The brain is still a mystery." "What?" "The Reagan administration mandated the National Security Agency... to generate a new code to protect American informants working for foreign governments." "We developed a super code at huge expense." "Named it Mercury." "We thought it was impenetrable." "You're telling me a kid cracked a government super code?" "It doesn't matter." "He can read it." "He might even be able to recreate it." "That's why his life is in danger." " N.S.A. is willing to have this boy killed to protect a code?" " We may have already tried." "I think my division chief may have given orders-- l'm a cryptographer, a nerd." "I don't know what these people do." "Maybe it's routine killing kids, or maybe my boss is an aberration." "Call an ambulance!" "Get an ambulance!" "Move it!" "Move it!" "Get out of the way!" "Move it!" "Excuse me." "Watch out!" "Watch out!" " Get out of the way!" " Watch out!" "Watch out!" " Move it!" "Goddamn it, move!" " Move!" "Move it!" "Get out of the way!" "Look out!" "Look out!" "Move!" "Get out of the way!" "Get down!" "Get down!" "Goddamn it." "Excuse me." "F.B.l. Where's your security office?" " Through the door to the right." " Thank you." "Hi." "Special Agent Jeffries with the F.B.l." " Can I help you?" " l hope so." " Where's the tape for this camera?" " Um, here it is." "No, um..." "look, it's my ass if you take that." "Then don't tell anyone." "Thank you." "Damn it." "Excuse me, excuse me please." "Excuse me." "Whoa!" "Hey!" "Come on." "We gotta go." " Sorry." " What happened?" "He almost got away." "You didn't tell me I have to watch him every second." "Sorry. I shouldn't have left the coffee shop." "No!" "No!" "All right, all right." "Don't scream, don't scream." "All right." "Oh, my God." "He doesn't see things like other people do." "Where did you just go?" "Rob a bank or something?" "I gotta get him out of here." "Let's go, Simon." "Thank you, Stacey." "Thanks for all your help." "Come on." " My dad will kill for this." "How much?" " One hundred." "Get real." "Hey!" "Have you ever thought, what are we gonna collect when we get old?" "Plaid shirts and Kramer dolls?" "What's the matter?" " Dean is dead." "He's been shot." " What?" "He wanted to go to Chicago." "I said, "Don't go."" "He wanted me to go with him and help him." "Someone shot him?" "Who would shoot him?" "I can't tell you." "Leo, I want to help you, but you have to let me in." "Tell me what's going on." " He'll find out." " Who?" "You mean Kudrow?" "I don't have the capabilities to E-mail over his head." "I can't use the phone because everything gets recorded." "Everything is connected to everything." "There is nothing I can do." "Low-tech rules." "Congratulations." "As of this morning, you made it to the very top of our own perp board." "I don't have to tell you how profoundly pissed Lomax is." "He's keeping a lid on it to cover his ass, but you don't have much time." "Yeah." "Did you find out who the shooter is?" "Whatever happened to, "Good morning." "How are you?" "Sorry about your car." "It got impounded." "You won't be able to get it for two weeks."" " Did you get in trouble?" " No. I told them you stole it." "Found him in the Defense Department data banks." "His name is Peter Burrell, Special Forces." "So, let's bring him in." "Can't." "Unless you want to dig him up." "He's dead." "He's listed as killed in Beirut in 1982." "You still think I'm paranoid?" "I don't know, man." "Who knows?" "But if you are, then I guess I'm paranoid too." "We're in over our heads." " We can't fuck with the N.S.A." " So?" " We find somebody to talk to about this." " Lomax?" "He's a Company man." " The N.S.A. could've gotten to him too." " Fine. I'll go above Lomax." "I don't want you to do anything else." "You got a wife and kid to take care of." "Go do that." "Really." "All right then." "What are you gonna do?" "I don't know." "Why are you doing this, Art?" "That kid isn't your responsibility." "Whose responsibility is he?" "Look at him." "He looks like a regular kid, right?" "One little circuit gets crossed." "Zap!" "He should've been smart, go to college... meet a girl, get married, have some kids, be cool." "Are we talking about him, Art, or are we talking about you?" "Thanks for getting this together for me." "Be careful." "Yeah." "Jesus!" "Who the fuck are you?" "Oh." "Oh." "Please." "Please" "Okay!" "Oh." "You." "What do you want?" "It's 2:00 in the morning, and you don't know me this well." " l need to talk to you." " You're gonna wake up my neighbors." "Oh, man." "We need a place to stay." " How'd you get this address?" " l looked it up." "No, it's not listed." "The name of your company was on the side of your sample case. I called them." "Right." "Call my company, ask 'em for my address, they give it to you?" "Nope." "Please." "Stacey." "I'm an F.B.l. agent." "Yeah. I bought one of those for my little brother, $5." "I saw you hiding from the police today." "I'll give them a call." "Listen." "I really am an F.B.l agent." "Please help us." " Hello, Simon." " Hello." "Please." "Move your foot." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "Would it be stupid to ask why you don't call the F.B.l. for help?" "The F.B.l.'s looking for me too." "Oh, great." "So, how does this work?" "You murder me now or you wait till I'm asleep?" "Simon needs to get a little sleep." "He's been up for a long time, and you seemed like a nice person." "Come on, Simon." "I'll show you where your bed is." "Come on." "Are you thirsty?" "He gets the guest room." "You get the couch." "There's food in there." "The bathroom." "You can wash up after yourself." "Let's take this off." "That's good." "Now lie down." "Okay?" "Let's take these off, all right?" "One." "Two." "Okay." "That's good." "You okay?" "Good night, Simon." "Look... I have to be up in a few hours." "I have to fly to Des Moines in the morning." "If I don't make a sale there tomorrow, then I don't pay my rent." "So, unless there's anything else you need, I'd like to get some sleep now." "No, there's nothing else." "Thank you." "I promise you we'll be out of here first thing in the morning." "Leo, you won't believe the morning." "Did I leave my" "Leo?" "Oh, my God!" "Tom, there's a woman downstairs asking to see Art Jeffries." " Bring her up." " She won't talk to anyone except Art." "Do me a favor." "I haven't logged it in... yet." "Good." " How ya doin', man?" " Anybody else with you?" "No." "This is Emily Lang." "Emily, why don't you have a seat?" "Go ahead." "Are you Art Jeffries?" "Yeah, I'm Art Jeffries." "My boyfriend's last will and testament." "I worked with him at N.S.A." "The other voice on the line." "His name was Leo." "He was gonna mail one letter to you." "The other was addressed to the Senate Oversight Committee." "The letters are gone." "This is all that's left." ""lt has come to my attention..." ""that my section director and immediate superior, Nicholas Kudrow..." ""was directly involved in the deaths of Martin and Jenny Lynch..." ""the parents of Simon Lynch... and the death of Dean Crandell, my colleague and friend."" "They killed Leo too right after he wrote that letter." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Thank you for coming down, Emily." "I'm sorry about Leo." "You said you were gonna be out before I went to Des Moines... where hopefully I was gonna sell enough shoes to make the rent." "Only I didn't go to Des Moines and I didn't make the rent because you had an emergency." "It was an emergency." "Maybe you're one of those guys that has constant emergencies." "Everything has to be about excitement." "There are guys like that." "Yes, I know, but I don't happen to be one of them." "Listen to me." "Look at me!" "This is not about me." "It's about that little boy." "And he needs some help." "As far as I can tell, you are a decent, caring person." "I promise you we will be out of your life as soon as possible." "Okay?" "Look, if for some reason there is an emergency" " Oh!" "You mean a different emergency!" " Yes, a different emergency." "Do not call the police, okay?" "You call this guy." "He's with the F.B.l." "I call the F.B.l., not the police?" " Right." "The police can't protect Simon." " Right." "Look." "Simon is only in danger if they know where he is." "They don't know where he is, so he's not in danger, so you're not in danger." "All right?" "Right." "Unless there's an emergency." " lt's good to see you're keeping your sense of humor about this." " Yeah." "I promise you I will be back in this apartment at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon." "And I don't know how yet, but I will make this up to you." "Okay?" "Thank you." "Take care." "I don't know if it qualifies as a plan. I'm gonna fly there and show them Leo's letter." "Here's the bad news." "You gotta get Simon into the Witness Protection Program right away." "Art, I'm not even supposed to be talking to you." "How do you expect me to authorize a move like that?" "Lie, cheat. I don't give a shit." "You don't do it, that kid's as good as dead." "Has it occurred to you that maybe Kudrow would shoot you on sight?" "Yeah, that has occurred to me." "If that happens, you know what to do with these." "Hope I see you later." "Sandy!" "So glad you could make it." "Heard Ted had back surgery." "Did you have anything to do with that?" "Excuse me." "Can I help you?" "Excuse me." "Nick, my good friend!" "I want you to know that your Mercury thing is a goddamn triumph." " l mean that." " l appreciate that, Senator." "A feather in your cap." "The Oversight Committee is singing your praises." "You're getting a reputation as the "can do" guy." " Thank you. I do appreciate that." " There's a guy outside." " Who?" " Says he's with the Bureau." "Would you excuse me one moment, please?" "If he wasn't Bureau, I wouldn't have bothered you." "I would've lost him, but I didn't know, sir." "No, Ted, you used good judgment." "I'd like to see him." "He's not very presentable." "Bring him in the back way." "Take him to the wine cellar. I'll be down." "Nick, I can't believe you look so good for someone so old!" "How do you do that?" "Drugs, my dear." "Massive doses of drugs." "Please don't handle the wine, Mr. Jeffries." "Yes, I've read your file." "A deeply troubled F.B.l. agent with a lousy record... kidnaps a nine-year-old boy." "Nice goin'." "You come to my home in the middle of a social function carrying a gun... to confront me with this fabricated unsigned accusation... allegedly written by Leo Pedranski... who was killed the day before yesterday by you, for all I know." "What do you want from me?" "I'd like to get back to my guests." "Unsigned accusation was typed on carbon paper." "Who uses that anymore?" "The late Leo Pedranski's fingerprints were all over it." "The Pomerello's a little corky." "I'm sure the Senate Oversight Committee won't have any problem connecting you to the murder." "But you haven't given the carbon to the Senate Oversight Committee." "If you had, you wouldn't be here right now." "You've got your precious carbon tucked away... guaranteeing your safety, etcetera, etcetera... so you can come here and demand what?" "Untold millions in unmarked bills?" "I asked you not to handle the wine, please." "You know, it's good to see you got your priorities in order." "That's better." "You're not worried about murdering a nine-year-old boy... but you're worried about this fucking wine?" "Here's the deal." "I don't give the Senate Oversight Committee the carbon." "They don't waste three years with their investigation, wailing and moaning..." ""How could this happen in America?"... while you have one of your spooks whack Simon Lynch." "Or?" "Or you do the only thing that'll guarantee Simon Lynch his safety." "You or one of your superiors or the president of the United States... I don't give a fuck who... but someone is gonna go on national television and tell America... that your billion dollar, uncrackable code... has been cracked by a nine-year-old autistic boy." "Then you get your carbon back." "You know what I think, Mr. Jeffries?" "I think you've seen too many of those four-wheel drive commercials on TV." "The ones where you get to drive fast and be a renegade." "Let's talk about the real world... where you're not some wonderful lone wolf hero, but you're part of a team." "And you play your position because that's what America is." "It's one big team." "This might be difficult for you to grasp, but I am a patriot." "And a patriot is one who makes the right moral choice." "Sometimes it takes a strong man to make that choice." "One boy who cannot survive on his own, one of nature's mistakes... weighed against the lives of thousands of our people." "Think about it." "You worked undercover." "How many of our agents will be put in harm's way if this code is compromised?" "Members of your team." "Men like Rasheed Halabi... an lraqi-American and a great patriot." "A man, who as we speak, is undercover in Saddam's Republican Guard." "A man who has not seen his family" "That's for Simon's parents, you piece of shit." "You got 36 hours." "Should be enough time to get your undercover people out of harm's way." "Oh, by the way." "Happy birthday, Nick." " Hello?" " Hey, it's me." "Yeah." "You all right?" "Yeah, I'm all right." "How'd it go with the witness protection thing?" "Everything's set." "Tomorrow night, 8:15..." "U.S. marshalls are gonna meet us with a chopper... at the heliport on top of the G.E.X. building." "I took your advice." "I lied." "All right." "Good." "See you then." "Bye." "That was recorded on passive V.O.X... at Agent Jordan's residence at 11:58 p.m." "As to the pickup, since we can assume the boy will not be alone... I suggest we wait until we get him on the chopper." "Saw them do this in the movies." "How are you, laddie boy?" "Oh, damn!" "Simon, turn it down, please!" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "How much I owe you?" " Twenty dollars, sir." " Here." "Thanks a lot." "Stacey?" "Stacey?" "Shit!" " Hello?" " Tommy, where are they now?" "Relax." "Simon and the girl are fine. I talked to 'em." "She said she got spooked." "Someone called." " When she picked up the phone the line was dead." " lt was me from the airplane." " Told 'em when Witness Protection is gonna pick 'em up?" " Absolutely." "She's gonna meet us there." "Everything's set." "Listen, I gotta go." "Agent Jordan." "Lieutenant Colonel Kudrow of the N.S.A." "What am I looking at here, Tommy?" "You forged documents to obtain witness protection under false pretenses." "Don't listen to anything this guy tells you." "This guy is dangerous." "Tommy, sit down, and don't speak." "Agent Jordan... regardless of what you think of me... I only want to resolve this situation to rescue a young boy... from a delusional kidnapper." "We will proceed with the pickup as planned." "As of this moment, the F.B.l. will stand down... and the N.S.A. will take over from here." "Gentlemen." " Chief, take a look at this." " l'm not taking a look." "You have to look at this!" "Leo Pedranski worked for Kudrow." "He wrote that letter." "He was also killed after he wrote it." "I ran it through the lab." "And the fingerprints on it are an exact match for his." "Up." "That's where we're goin', Simon." "Come on." "is that you, Art?" "I'm a United States marshall with the Witness Protection Program." "How do you do?" "Good." "You must be Simon." "Chopper on approach, sir." "Why don't you come with me, son?" " No!" " He doesn't like to be touched by strangers." "I'll take him." "Come on, Simon." "Let's go see the helicopter." " l thought Art was supposed to meet us here." " There's been a change in plans." "But I want to assure you that your country owes you the greatest debt of gratitude." "Chopper coming in!" "Don't have much time!" "For the safety of the boy, you should go home now and forget you were here." "Okay, Simon, you're gonna go for a ride in the helicopter." "Good-bye, Simon." "You can go with him." "Tommy." "They're on the helipad, and the chopper's coming in." "You have a green light." "Go, go, go, go!" " lt's a go." "Let's move." " Go, go!" "Hold them back!" "Stay down!" "Stay down!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Simon!" "Let me go." "Come on!" "No!" "No!" "No, Simon, no!" "Get up." "Get up, get up." "That's right." " Tommy, no!" "Hold 'em back!" " Hold your fire!" "Keep 'em back now!" "No!" "Where's the team leader?" " Right here, Agent Jeffries." " lt's Kudrow's piece. I got a nine-millimeter on the sidewalk." "I'll take care of it." "Let's see what you got." " l want you to say "bug."" " Bug." "Can you look at me?" "Bug." " Bug." " That's very good." "I like that very much." "Can I help you?" "I'm Art Jeffries, a friend of Simon Lynch." "Yes, I know." "His foster parents told me all about you." "How's he doing?" "He's fine." "He's adjusted very well." "Do you want to say hello?" "He probably wouldn't remember me." "I was told..." "not to expect too much." "I brought him some puzzles." "He likes puzzles." "Do you think you could give these to him, please?" "Sure, but I think it would be better for Simon if you did." "It's okay." "Come on." "Thank you." "Hey, Simon." "How you doin', partner?" "I brought you some new puzzles." "You might like those." "Hey, Simon, look at me." "Look at me, Simon." "Look in my eyes." "Look in my eyes." "It's me, Art."