"They took the white kid to the hospital." "He's in a coma." "Officer, you should check in with the family." "Whatever you're selling, I am not buying." "Okay, guys, take off." "Yes, sir." "Coffee's free for friends of the press." "I heard Metro ballistics was just here." "Who told you that?" "You just did." "You got the names of the victims for me?" "You got to be kidding me." "You know I'm going to find out anyway." "Not from me." "Okay." "You want to play a little confirm or deny?" "I'm not playing this game with you, Cal." "Look, Don, I got a living to make, all right?" "I got mouths to feed, goldfish." "No names, no quotes, all right?" "Okay." "Two victims, one shooter?" "Confirm." "One dead, one in the hospital?" "Confirm." "Drug related?" "Confirm, but deny later if I have to." " Good morning." " Good morning, sir." "Okay, I'm late." "I know." "I don't need to be reminded of it." "I've been over the briefing notes 1,000 times." " Stephen." " Yes?" "Metro Police just called." "What?" "Sonia Baker was killed in an accident on the Metro this morning." "They identified her by her staff badge." "Horrible news for all of us." "But, Stephen, we're scheduled to start now." "What do you want to do?" "Morning, Pittsburgh." "Yinzer." " Cal." " Morning." "Talk to me about this shooting." "You know, one guy's still alive." "Deshaun Stagg?" "No, he's dead." "The other guy on the bike, Vernon Sando." "Hey, Gene, did you read the guinea pig piece I filed?" "Yeah, I'll get to it, Ferris." "Because it's a great human interest story." "Yeah, human interest." "So what's the deal?" "Stagg's drug deal goes wrong, and this guy just rides by?" "Yeah, something like that, I think." "That's a remarkable feat of survival." "Well, at least it's got a little bit of a zip code to it." "Georgetown's the angle, right?" "No, no, the angle is that this guy Vernon Sando has got an MBA from Duke." "What's he doing on a bike?" "He's buying a pizza franchise." "You know, they make you ride the bike for the first six months, learn the ropes." "He's got a wife, two kids, mortgage, total citizen." "What's his condition?" "Critical, non-reactive." "Paragraph 3." "He's in a coma." "Okay, let me know." "I will." "Good morning." "Good morning." "Welcome to our hearings with private security contractor Point-Corp, part of the inquiry into the Defense Department's privatization and outsourcing practices." "Before we begin, I've just received some terrible news." "Sonia Baker, who was the lead researcher for this committee and a valued member of my staff, died this morning." "The circumstances of her death are not yet clear." "Well, I'd like to send my condolences to her family." "Oh, my God, are those tears?" "50 bucks says he's balling her." "50 bucks?" "Wait, you owe me 50 bucks." "Bad Congressman!" "Bad." "What a scum ball!" "Somebody get me a picture of the girl." "Let's hope she's not 5'2" and 300 pounds." "Gene, Gene, what is your obsession with fat girls?" "If you want to have sex with Pete, you should just say it." "Not tonight, I got a headache." "Say it." "Say it, Gene." "Say it." "Picture!" "Picture!" "Reaction to the tragic death was initially, and understandably, one of shock, yet questions immediately began to surface as soon as Ms. Baker's death was announced." "Hey, Joe, Cal McAffrey over at the Globe." "Just calling about that shooting in Georgetown last night." "I heard the dead kid had a couple of priors as a purse snatcher." "Got any more details for me?" "Call me back?" "Yeah, yeah." "You, too." "Hey, I got a question for you." "Stephen Collins." "He's an old friend of yours, is that right?" "Yeah." "I'm Della." "Della Frye." "I write the Capitol Hill blog." " All right." " On line side." "Uh'hu." "I'm a big fan of your work." "So, I'm writing this piece on personal relationships in the political sphere," ""single girl in the corridors of power" kind of thing, and as you probably know, there was this incident this morning on the Hill, at your friend's hearing." "Is there a question on the horizon?" "Yeah." "Have you spoken to him today?" "Are you trying to make me part of your story?" "No." "I'm trying to get a little context." "Context, re:" "Dirt?" "Well, do you think he was having an affair with that girl?" "Gee, Della." "Yeah." "I don't know." "I'd have to read a couple of blogs before I could form an opinion." "Okay." "Thanks for your help." "Anytime!" "Capitol Hill may be rocked with another bombshell." "Speculation is rife that Stephen Collins may have been romantically linked with the young aide found dead this morning." "His spokesmen call this another political cloud..." "The timing couldn't be worse for Collins." "He needs all the political leverage he can get as he begins looking into the Defense Department's outsourcing practices." "Called mercenaries by some and saviors by others," "Point-Corp, the controversial private military contractor, is said to be the biggest beneficiary in the Defense Department's outsourcing in Iraq and Afghanistan." "Collins, who'd been married for 10 years to his college sweetheart, is thought to have refused to leave his wife for Miss Baker." "Brass tacks." "Were you having a relationship with this girl?" "Yes, and I can't tell you how sorry I am about all of this." "Okay." "I've asked Andrew here to help us handle things from a media point of view." "If anyone can steer us through this, he can." "Well, the next 72 hours are going to be brutal." "You ought to brace yourself for that." "For a while, you're going to be everything that's wrong with politics." "You're still a star, Steve." "The party takes care of its stars." "You just have to lay low for a while." "How low?" "Low." "Nothing that would bring any undue attention to yourself." "At the hearings, for instance." "We're not finished with Point-Corp." "No, but you are." "If you open up fire on those guys right now, that's not going to look like good governance, just a calculated distraction." "Is your wife speaking to you?" "No, not right now." "Then that's job one, isn't it?" "Yinzer!" "She knows you got the message, and she knows you're in the building." "Yes." "Morning." "So, where are we?" "Was he knobbing her or not?" "Morning, Cam." "It's funny about you." "Every time your friend runs for reelection or conducts a hearing, you drop his name to me until we give him some coverage." "But he finally does something that actually might sell some newspapers, you're rendered mute." "It's incongruous." "No, it is not." "It's inconsistent." "Don't be an ass." "What do you think?" "Those are the ideas for our face lift." " I know." "I know." " It's crap." "Our new owners have this odd idea that we ought to be turning a profit." "Yeah, well, I hear our on line side is doing great." "I mean, not like I'm the kind of guy who would notice that sort of thing, but I've been here, what, 15 years?" "I use a 16-year-old computer." "She's been here 15 minutes, and she could launch a Russian satellite with the gear she's got." "Yeah, she told me you behaved like a pig." "That's too strong." "Well, piggish." "I showed her a little snout." "Well, I happen to like Ms. Della Frye." "And, yes, I did send her down there to winkle something out of you." "She's hungry, she's cheap, and she churns out copy every hour." "Yeah, I know." "I'm overfed, I'm too expensive, and I take way too long." "Yes, you do." "I was Stephen Collins' roommate in college." "I don't live with him now." "Well, that's a shame, isn't it?" "Yeah, 'cause that could sell some newspapers." "Miss Baker died this morning in an apparent accident on the D.C. Metro." "Suicide has not been ruled out." "It appears to be a suicide." "People close to the case say that Congressman Collins, quote, "took advantage" of this young girl, resulting in today's suicide." "Suicide." "Suicide." "So, I know you're thinking," ""This guy's got to be pretty desperate to show up here"." "No, I was thinking I can finally give you back that Roxy Music CD you left in my car." "Is that where that one went?" "I was looking for that." "I got three dozen reporters camped in front of my place." "I'd go somewhere else, but I don't have anywhere else to go." " Come in." " Thanks." "I see you redecorated." "Yeah." "I moved that couch a couple of feet." "Looks good." "Aren't you going to ask me how I could be so stupid?" " In a minute." " Okay." "You know, I co-sponsored two bills in the last three years." "I'm in the middle of co-authoring another one, and this is what I'm going to be remembered for." "I'm going to get more coverage on this than anything else I do for the rest of my life." "The nature of the beast, public office." "Okay." "Look, Cal," "I know the last time I saw you, I said a few things." "Hey." "I deserved it, all of it." "Annie and I were having problems in the marriage, obviously." "You're the only real friend I got." "I'm in trouble, man." "You know?" "This whole thing with Sonia, what happened, it just snuck up on me." "She was an amazing woman, beautiful and really funny, smart, and she, you know, she adored me." "That was nice, you know, for a change." "Have you called the parents?" "No, I haven't called the parents." "You should." "Tomorrow, you're going to make a condolence call." "The first thing the attack dogs will pick up on, you know," ""He never so much as called after our daughter's suicide. "" "She didn't kill herself." "How do you know that?" "Hey, baby, I just want to wish you good luck." "I want you to give them hell, and I can't wait for this weekend." "I love you." "Bye." "That's this morning." "Look like someone who's about to go out and commit suicide?" "No." "You show this to anybody?" "Well, I thought about firing it up on YouTube." "Hey, you know what?" "This is the moment where I ask you how stupid could you be." "This changes everything." "It'll bring it all back your way." "How are you going to do that?" "Because we're going to fight back with our own facts." "All we have to do is, we have to build a plausible alternative story, all right?" "Now, look." ""Unfortunately, it appears that Sonia Baker" ""has met with a tragic accident on a subway platform." ""So questions have to be asked about transit safety"." " Okay?" " Cal." "Now, Stephen, you got to be proactive, okay?" "If you're not, then you're just letting the bloodsuckers and the bloggers have another free shot at you." "The bloodsuckers and the bloggers." "Have you seen the Globe's website tonight?" "No." "Hello?" "Miss Capitol Hill Blog?" "It's Cal McAffrey." "Do you have a pen?" "What?" "Sonia Baker, right?" "I have a source, and you need to talk to him." "Well, why?" "Do you have a pen?" "Yeah." " Lieutenant Leon Comey." " Pen, pen, pen." "Write that down." "C-O-M-E-Y." "C~O~M~E~Y." "202-555-0167." "He's going to show you an off-the-record preview of the security camera tapes from the Metro station." "What, you mean..." "Do you mean, like, now?" "Yeah, like now." "Sorry." "Who am I calling?" "I was trying to get Della Frye the reporter." "Oh, gee, I'm sorry." "I thought that I was talking to the guy who wouldn't give me the time of day this morning." "Look, I am just trying to help you get a few facts in the mix next time you decide to upchuck on line." "What?" "I'm not doing it." "I'm not." "Wake up." "Does anybody know where Room 514 is?" "514A or 514B?" "It doesn't say." "Is there a big difference?" "Big enough." "You looking for Uniform Squad or Investigation?" "I don't know." "Cal McAffrey sent me." "Why didn't you say so?" "You Cal's new assistant?" "No, I'm not." "Hey, can I see that?" "Yeah, it's right down the hallway here." "Thank you." "Like a police escort?" "No, I'm okay." "Thank you." "Hey, no trouble." "I'm just grabbing some dinner here real quick." "So, how long have you known Cal?" "Too long." "What's your title?" "Okay, Sergeant." "I can file a public records request and get the information anyway." "You got nothing?" "No." "They've got 56 cameras covering the track platforms." "There are three blind spots in the entire system, and Sonia Baker went down in one of them." "You got copy for me, Cal?" "The shooting delivery guy, what are we doing?" "I'm on it." "Well, I got Marty lined up to take some pictures of the family." "If you'd like, I can send somebody out there with him." "He can do the crying, you can do the nuts and bolts." "No." "No need." "I'm on it." "You'll have it tonight." "You're on it." "Okay." "You know what you got to do?" "Call Leon, all right?" "Just sort of push him for the details." "Ask him a few more questions." "You know... 9 suicides in 20 years." "There were 5 accidental deaths, three from people trying to get their stuff off the tracks before the train came and two of the psycho-on-stranger pushing attacks." "Did Collins sleep at your place last night?" " What?" " Hmm?" "I was just trying to get my facts straight." "Excuse me." "Della here." "Yeah, just a sec." "He's right here." "Hang on, hang on, hang on." "It's Anne Collins." "Hey, I'm not at my desk at the moment." "Can I call you back?" "Yeah." "You know, look into the two psycho-on-stranger cases, see if anything correlates or anything connects." "Mmm-hmm." " Hello?" " Hey." " You okay?" " No." "There are paparazzi on my lawn, so I guess that entitles me to half off on Us Weekly." "I've been trying to call you." "I had my phone off." "You talk to Stephen yet?" "No." "They want me to come down for a press conference." "Well, you know if you don't, they're going to toss him on the bonfire." "You know, I'm not that hurt." "I'm not even that surprised." "It's just so humiliating, you know." "Tell me you didn't know about her." "I didn't." "I did not know about her, okay?" "I'll take the train down." "Will you buy me a drink after?" "Of course." "Hey, just call him, all right?" "Just call Stephen." "Thanks." "Deshaun Stagg." "Be nice if they could spell his name right." "No one is even come to get his stuff yet." "It's appalling." "Never happen to a white man." "Skip it." "I'm not in the mood." "What, no love, no politics?" "What are we going to talk about?" "We're not." "You got to get out of here before we both get into trouble." "They're saying it was only one shooter." "What do you think?" "No idea." "What about drugs?" "It's a good bet." "Come on, Cal, leave that shit alone." "Close your eyes." "I'm just checking out his cell phone." "Watch, this will be the moment they decide to come and pick all this shit up." "Then what are you going to do?" "Write some articles, get me my job back?" "You know I will." "Cal?" "Cal, for Christ's sakes, what do I tell Jack if he walks in?" "Nothing, 'cause I'm done." "I'll give you a hug next time, all right?" "Bye." "Buy me a soda?" "Not diet." "Thanks." "Yo, yo, if you want to leave a message for Kippy, make sure you leave your number, all right?" "That way I can call you back." "Later for you." "We're sorry." "Your call cannot be..." "Yo, who this?" "It's me, man." "Who that?" "Me who?" "Bitch, you the one got your number blocked!" "Don't be fronting me, man." "It's Deshaun." "Come on." " No." " Where you at?" "Who the hell gave you my number, fool?" "I was just talking to Kippy." " Skippy?" " Kippy, man." "This shit isn't funny, trick." "Hi." "You've reached Sonia Baker." "I can't take your call right now, but if you leave your name, number, and the time you called, I'll be sure to get back to you." "Thanks." "Hi." "You've reached Sonia Baker." "I can't take your call right now, but if you leave your name, number, and the time you called, I'll be sure to get back to you." "Thanks." "Excuse me." "Sonia Baker." "We got any kind of drug angle on her?" "She ever arrested or rehabbed or anything like that?" " Who's asking?" " Me." "You're not on the story." "I gave you the Metro tapes idea, right?" "Yeah." "So are you trying to ruin what's left of her reputation?" "Are you doing this for Collins?" "A little context on Sonia?" "You got to be kidding." "Hey, Maurice." "Hey, Cal, you getting your regular?" "Yeah." "Sure." "Hey, Jay!" "I need a chili cheeseburger, a chili cheese fry, and a chili half-smoke." "I got the burger on!" "Anybody get you yet?" " All right." " You're a hungry man, eh?" "Yeah." "How's it going, Happy?" "That's a long way to go for another soda." "You want to buy something from the last bag Deshaun ever stole?" "I need 500 bucks." "Did you get the train okay?" "What?" "Did you get on the train all right?" "Get through?" "Everything okay?" "You're going to make small talk?" "I will go check on the arrangements." "I'm sorry." "It doesn't have to be a detailed statement." "Short and dignified, and we'll be out of here." "Dignified." "Got it." "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us here today." "Mr. And Mrs. Collins would like to give you a brief statement." "Deshaun boosted this metal briefcase from some guy outside of Starbucks." "That's what we did, you know?" "Grab a guy's bag and sell it back to him." "Usually we just got, like, people's business papers and shit." " This one?" " This one was different." "There was a gun in there, too, and a little bag of these weird-looking bullets." "Did you see the guy that owned the bag?" "No." "I told Deshaun we shouldn't sell this bag back." "I mean, you know, what about the girl?" "But he needed a fix real bad, and he and this guy figured out a time and place." "And that was it." "My boy never came back." "You took these out of the briefcase first, and then you called her from Deshaun's phone." "Her number was there, too." "I figured someone had to warn her that this psycho was following her around." "She just didn't pick up." "Mr. Collins moved to staunch a growing tide of hostility towards him this afternoon when he appeared together with his the long line of politicians' wives." "We've had triumphs and disappointments, and we've both made mistakes that have caused..." "Apologize for his affair and offer an apology to his constituents." "Can you believe this?" "We're on six channels simultaneously." "Who might have wanted Sonia dead?" "What?" "Is there something in her history, you know, something you haven't told me about?" "Some connections that might have got her in trouble?" "No." "No, no." "Wait, who..." "Am I talking to my friend now, or am I talking to a reporter?" "I got to be both." "You ever heard of a guy called Deshaun Stagg?" "No." "Was a kid." "Minor criminal." "Drug addict." "Got shot and killed the night before Sonia died." "Cal, Sonia didn't have anything to do with drugs." "Look, Stephen, I'm telling you things that I haven't even discussed with the paper." "Okay, you got to think about this." "Who might have wanted Sonia dead?" "Who is this man here in all the photographs where she's crying?" "We don't know that yet." "And what was her background before she started working with Collins?" "Well, she has some very random moments in her resume." "She was..." "She waitress-ed a couple times." "She had a string of bad debts." "Shoplifting conviction two years ago." "Don't they do background checks on the Hill?" "She wrote position papers for Collins about bank regulations and the SEC." "I mean, a lot of people thought she was a star." "She was also the lead researcher on the Point-Corp hearings." "So?" "Stephen represents the loss of a lot of money for those guys." "Look, what if all of this is just an attempt to marginalize Stephen Collins?" "You've got to love him for it, haven't you?" "I mean, you give him 24 hours, body in the alley, and this geezer will turn it into a full-blown corporate conspiracy." "You don't see any connection?" "No." "All right." "Let's go through what we know, okay?" "The guy that was stalking Sonia Baker, he shot Deshaun Stagg and Vernon Sando." "Deshaun Stagg, of no fixed abode, he boosts a briefcase." "Now, in that briefcase are these photographs, and according to our source, a little baggie of weird bullets." "Metro PD ballistics tell me the casings at the crime scene were reloads, untraceable." "The slugs were hand cast at twice the weight of store-bought bullets," "X'ed for expansion." "So that means that the shooter intended to kill." "Stagg and Sando were both double-tapped, one bullet in the spine, one in the head." "That is the mark of a pro, or at the very least, somebody with a military background, perhaps even Special Forces." "Point-Corp founded by, staffed by 100% ex-military." "I think that's a connection we can't ignore." "Chris, how long before we have to hand these over?" "Time to verify, consult relevant case files, outside counsel, 48 hours, tops." "But if this is evidence, don't they need to see it now?" "How's he doing?" "Hey, you going to let me know if I got to call the ID team, right?" "I'll let you know." "Walter Schroyer, Army buddy of your libidinous friend, gives his moving tribute to Stephen Collins in that ass-wipe excuse of a paper and not to us." "Why?" "Platitudes, padding and fluff." "I'm a journalist." "I'm not a publicist." "I want to bring some more people in to work with you on this, Cal, on the political side, people with real experience." "I'm thinking Ted Moody." "I mean, Ted's perfect for this." "Are you taking me off the story?" "No, no." "Not off, just off point." "If this is as big as he says it is, a big "if,"" "then it's going to be good for you." "How?" "How is that good?" "Well, watching seasoned reporters that work on a big story, you know, being a part of it all, you'll learn a lot." "So, Ted Moody, what do you think?" "Don't let her do it." "And, Cal, if you're on this, I want this to be clean through and through." "Tell her to forget it." "It's your gig." "You got it." "Get loud now." "Excuse me." "You're defending her now?" "She's fine." "I can work with her." "But, Cal, she's inexperienced." "Inexperience isn't fatal." "I'm not giving up the story!" "I just..." "Sorry." "I just..." "If I could just have a few more days with it," "I promise you I'm not going to let you down." "For Christ's sake." "Don't throw those dewy cub reporter eyes at me." "It's nauseating." "And fuck you very much." "Pleasure." "This is Nurse Leif and myself..." "The lab work's back." "It's the panel 13 you ordered?" "Yeah, well, we called for a neurologist a half hour ago." "You can't use that phone here, sir." "Hey." "What's up, Carnes?" "How you doing?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Looks like that Sando guy's waking up." "You sending anyone over?" "You ever been to D.C. Hospital?" "No." "Don't worry about it." "It's easy." "All right, there's a uniformed officer on the third floor ICU." " Okay." " Write it down." "Got a pen?" " Yes." " Here." " I have a pen." " Okay." "The uniformed officer's name is Brown." " Okay?" " Brown." "Third floor ICU." "Tell him that Detective Bynes," "B~Y-N~E~S, Joe Bynes..." "Okay." "All right, he cleared you for access." "Access for what?" "Vernon Sando, the pizza guy, looks like he's coming around." "That's your side of the story." "Excuse me?" "You heard me." "You want me to go and sit around in some hospital, waiting for a guy who looks like he might be coming out of a coma, while you clean up the rest of the story?" "I mean, is that what that was all about in there?" "Look, this is a real story." "It's not open for interpretation." "It does not require opinion." "We got two dead bodies, and we got a guy in a coma, and we got us with a lead that nobody else has got." "So you got to make a decision, because I have to follow another lead tonight, and I cannot be in two places at one time." "So, are you going to be okay slumming it to find out if Vernon Sando's coming around or not?" "Good." "If we're going to work together, we got to work together." "Yeah?" "Deal?" "All right, see you later." "Excuse me." "Don't tell me you're still lost." "Hey, what are you doing here?" "Working." "You're Officer Brown?" "You're who I'm looking for." "I knew you'd come around." "How about Sando?" "Is he coming around?" "Yeah, yeah, it looks that way." "They're sending a detective over right now." "Maybe get an ID." "Really?" "I got to take this." "Yeah, go ahead." "Yeah, Officer Brown." "No, sir." "You okay?" "My dad did warn me about politicians." "The only people he hated more was journalists." "Smart man." "I'm making you nervous." "You always did." "Well, they say sex is the best way to ruin a friendship." "They do, do they?" "And who's they?" "What, Cosmopolitan magazine?" "Teen Beat?" "Come on." "Tell me, please, it didn't ruin ours." "It hasn't ruined anything." "Pulse is 82." "BP is 105 over 79, O2 sats 94." "He seems stable." "Okay, let's do another blood work-up, CBCs..." " Miss, you cannot be in here." " I'd just like to" " ask him a couple of questions." " Miss, please!" " No, I'm sorry." " Come on." "Look." "You know you're not supposed to be in here." "I know." "I just..." "Get on the ground!" "Stand back!" "Stay down." "That's a colleague of mine." "I'm going to have to go." "I'm really sorry." "I'll see you soon." "Alright." "Let him through." "Blockade, let him through." "Hey, Ricky!" "Let him through." "Della!" "You okay?" "You all right?" " Della, tell me it's not yours, right?" " What is it?" "It's just a little bit of blood." "It's all right." "I got it, I got it, I got it." "It's okay." "It's okay." "It's all right." "It's all right." "It's all right." "Oh, my God, Cal, we could have stopped this!" "What, by being psychic?" "No." "We should have given the police that file." "What if there were fingerprints on the photographs?" "God, Cal, we can't just let people get hurt like that." "Look, it's over." "It's all right." "It's okay." "We can't just keep letting people get killed." "No, it's not okay." "It's okay." "It's over." "It's over." "It's over." "All right?" "It's okay." "You're sitting on evidence in an execution homicide." "How do you think that's going to play with the family of the guy that just got shot last night?" "Chris, let's be productive." "Hold on, I'm actually not done." "Our reporter made a full statement last night." "What, you had these when?" "Cam, don't answer that!" "When did you have these?" "You want subpoenas?" "I'll get on the phone right now." "We called you!" "We called you before we called outside counsel." "A little late." "It's a little late." "Give me a break." "How you doing, Don?" "I'm hanging in, Cal." "You?" "Good." "Good." "This source have anything else I might need to do my job?" "Wait a minute." "Nothing, all right?" "This was it, and we've kept it for less than a day." "Detective, until last night, we didn't actually know what we had here." "Bullshit." "Who do you think I am, Bambi's baby brother?" "No, sir." "You knew exactly what you had." "You just decided that your need was greater than ours, and now you have blood on your hands." " Hold on." " Detective, look." "The thesis that we are pursuing involves a certain company that Congressman Collins is investigating." "What, this is corporate conspiracies that threaten the highest levels?" "All my years on the job, I've only ever seen that on TV." "All the years I've known you, you've only ever watched sports on TV." "So, Detective, in exchange for our cooperation, can we be assured that you will open your books to us?" "Quid pro quo?" "If we decide to go public with this, we'll give you six hours, but that's the end of it." "This is an open homicide investigation." "You slow us down, endanger the public any more than you already have, it won't be pretty." "For the record, I'm still not happy the way you presented the evidence." "I'm just going to put that out there." "Police gossip being what it is," "I'm guessing that even Entertainment Tonight will know as much as we do within 48 hours." "So we've got to have something solid today." "That means no assumptions, no unnamed sources." "Not fast and loose." "I want this thing wrung out." "Damned if we can't do a better job of it than those cops." "Della, how are you?" "I'm good." " Yeah?" " Mmm-hmm." "Good, okay." "Well, you take Sonia Baker, okay?" "I want to know everything that we can about her, who she knew, who she blew, the color of her knickers." "Got it." "Point-Corp?" "Okay." "Hank and Pete, you work with Cal." "Cool." "The rule on this one is discretion." "This is not a good subject for gossip over drinks at the Monocle, or spliffs in the stationery cupboard, you." "I'm..." "I'm offended, truly." "Well, be offended." "Go downstairs, get your stuff, bring it in here, because this is your new home." "Go on!" " Okay!" "Yes, yes, yes." " Speed of light." "Cal?" "Any conflict of interest here?" "Nope." "Perhaps this is a good opportunity to address another issue that's been discussed during these hearings, your price structure." "Surely, and I thank you for giving me an opportunity to touch on that today." "Our price structure follows the Defense Department model as established in the first Gulf War, adjusted, of course, for inflation." "Happily, what's costing us so much this time around are some incredible advances in on-field medical care." "But, simply, we're now keeping more..." "Sir, I'm sorry." "Just... when..." "When you were in the military, did you see any combat duty?" "No, sir, I did not." "No." "Do you think if you had, you might see things differently?" "We're all aware of your war record, Congressman." "I'm not talking about my record." "I'm talking about the numerous allegations of atrocities committed by Point-Corp and its subsidiary contractors against the civilian population in Iraq and Afghanistan." "Those are unsubstantiated allegations." "Okay." "This is straightforward." "Since a war on terror was declared, has your personal net worth gone up by more than $250 million?" "Straightforward question." "Excuse me, I was told that personal financial data would not be addressed in open session." "Adapt." "Isn't that your slogan?" ""Adapt and Achieve?"" "It's on the brochure here." ""Commoda et Confice"." "You have it in Latin." "Your point being?" "Putting war in the hands of mercenaries and those who consider it a business is a contradiction in terms in any language." "May I remind you, sir, that the wars this country fought, that defined it, were fought despite what they cost, not because of it." "I didn't come here for a lesson in morality, Congressman." "No, I expect you didn't." "Well, especially from you." "The men who work for Point-Corp, the men you dishonor by calling them mercenaries are, by and large, retired American military personnel." "It's a great system, isn't it?" "We pay to train these men, and you get rich by killing them." "Point-Corp, well, they're on a roll." "They just bought 60,000 acres to expand their facility." " 60,000 acres?" " Yeah." "Where?" "In Conway, North Carolina." "The locals call it Little Baghdad." "Not so little." "They've also got some interesting real estate locally." "Offices at the Watergate building." "Check that out." ""Medal of Freedom Initiative"." "What's that?" "It's a lobbying interest." "Yeah, according to the website," "MOFI, Medal of Freedom Initiative, is an umbrella group for a bunch of these private defense contractors." "You know, they lobby a little, party a little, kill things." "MOFI!" "Hello?" "We went down there." "The place is totally empty..." "Like they're just waiting for all their new recruits." "Did they outsource to Mumbai or something?" "Or are they just getting ready for an expansion?" "Hello?" "This is Della Frye." "I'm a reporter over at the Globe." "You were Sonia Baker's attorney on her shoplifting case, correct?" "Did Dominic give you my number?" "Yes, how do you know Dominic?" "Well, I'm sorry." "This really isn't appropriate." "I just..." "Hey, Michael, I need someone to help me dig a little deeper into Point-Corp." "I need somebody on the inside, somebody who knows the way they operate." "She owed everybody money." "Oh, God, that's how she always walked around, in her underwear." " I win." " Yeah!" "But you moved." " You can't move." " Oh, yes, yes..." "I moved." "Who is this?" "He looks familiar." "Dominic Foy." "He's a friend of Sonia's." "Dominic." "Hey, Michael, it's Cal." "So what did you find out?" " Hi." "Mr. Statler?" " Yes?" "Yes, I'm from the Globe." "I'm writing an article on the death of Sonia Baker, and I just wanted to..." "And he was, like, high up in Point-Corp?" "Hi." "Della Frye from the Washington Globe." "I..." "Could I speak to you?" "Please don't..." "Yes, I'm still holding 'cause that's what I do." "That's what I like to do." "Sonia Baker's ex-roommate, Rhonda Silver." "Nobody has got her yet." "She changed her name a couple times in the past year." "How did you get it?" "I had to agree to go on not one, but two dates with a sweaty guy named Vic." "Don't even ask me." "Hey, Bob, it's Cal." "Want to run a Social Security number for me?" "Rhonda Silver's number." "Did we just break the law?" "Nope, that's what you call damn fine reporting." " Your pen." " Keep it." " You're welcome!" " Thank you!" "Hi." "Is Rhonda there, please?" "I'm actually an old friend of Rhonda's from school." "I'm in town for the day, and I thought maybe I'd stop by and see her." "Do you think I could show up at her work?" "Would that be all right?" "Actually, sir, can I call you back?" "That page and the next page." "This guy, Jerry Symes, local politician, he campaigns against the expansion, and then he dies in a freak car accident." "All right, what does "freak car accident" mean?" "Middle of the day..." "He's driving on the open road..." " No witnesses." "Perfect weather, - 30 miles an hour..." " No skid marks..." " Car turns over..." "Oh!" "And the police think it might be sleep apnea." "Cal." "Sorry, I really need to talk to you." "What do you got?" "So, I was looking for images of Sonia in the Metro security footage, right?" "And 20 seconds after she went into the blind spot, this guy appears." "Okay?" "I think that I saw him last night at the hospital." "Are you sure?" "Michael, it's Cal." "Your Point-Corp insider, I need to meet him, now." "I want you to know something." "I love my country." "I love the military." "My aim here is to save them." "You understand my terms?" "I will not give you my name." "I will not give you my rank in the Point-Corp military structure, or the in and out dates of my service." "Understand." "I'm looking for a guy that Point-Corp are using on a covert operation." "Total deniability." "Our mutual friend at DOD thought you might be able to help us find him." "I don't know." "I'll check it out." "So, what's your understanding of the Point-Corp MO?" "Their MO?" "They do whatever the hell they want." "These soldiers are answerable to no one." "They're loyal to nothing but a paycheck." "It's the Muslim terror gold rush." " You've been watching these hearings?" " Yeah." "So, the head of the committee there, Stephen Collins..." "He's finished." "They'll just keep knocking him down until he goes away." "Do you have any idea what he's threatening here?" "This is $30 or $40 billion annually." "That's wrath of God money." "The hearings are saying 3 or 4." "Overseas." "The real money is what Point-Corp stands to make in its domestic operations." "I wasn't aware that they had any." "Who was sent in for crowd control after Hurricane Katrina?" "Us." "Private security contractors deputized to shoot at American citizens." "Who's training Chicago police on new interrogation techniques?" "Soon, Point-Corp will take over from the NSA on phone taps, terrorist databases, all of it." "It's a fundamental restructuring of domestic intelligence policy." "It is the privatization of Homeland Security." "Billions and billions of dollars." "Now you really think they're going to forfeit all that because some hero from the seventh district of Pennsylvania thinks that they should?" "Hey." "I just got told by a former Point-Corp employee that they have a plan to monopolize domestic security that's worth about $40 billion a year." "Is that true?" " Yes." " How?" "You cannot connect anything that I tell you back to me." " You understand?" " Of course." "Okay." "Last year, 47 companies bid on major Homeland Security contracts." "Of those, 16 companies were granted the bids." "Of those, I could make connections between 14 companies, and I'm not just talking about someone leaving one company and go work for another." "I'm talking about shared banking practices." "I'm talking about collusive behavior." "Now, my belief is, when all is said and done and when the veil is pulled away, you will not see 14 individual companies." "You will see one company." "You understand?" "And you've been digging around trying to make those connections clear." "Yeah." "That's right." "And Sonia was working on that?" "She was my lead researcher." "She was involved in everything we did." "They're going to get you, Stephen, one way or another." "They got 40 billion good reasons to want you out of the way." "You got to go on the record." "Swing the spotlight back on them." "You got to protect yourself, man." "You go out there and find me evidence linking Sonia's death to Point-Corp." "I will go on the record." "I will shout this thing from the rooftops." "I can do that." "Alright." "I got to get back." "I'll be in touch." " Stephen." " Yeah?" "Just watch your back." "You, too." "Hi." "Is Rhonda here?" "Yeah, she's just right over there." "Yeah!" "Cal, you're not going to believe what Sonia's old roommate just told me." "You're right." "I don't believe a word of it." "You got no corroboration, no independent witness, and she obviously has a financial motivation." "We've got Sonia Baker's roommate claiming she had a threesome with Stephen Collins, and you want to ignore that?" "I am not saying ignore it." "I am saying consider it." "Consider how it impacts everything else we have, and consider that she is full of shit!" "Yeah, but, Cal, she's also saying that Stephen paid off Sonia's $40,000 credit card debt." "That is a story." "Somebody is going to put that on the front page." "Okay, is that the right thing to do?" "Look, it's your half of the story." "It's your scoop." "Your decision." "Do whatever you want." "But I do know that Stephen and I have been through far too much together to make this one moment the thing that defines us forever." "The political future..." "I tried to call." "I mean, I actually did call about 12 times, but I hung up every time." "Well, you know, I'm glad you dropped by, 'cause I've been wanting to talk to you." "Remember you brought that girl from Humboldt?" "Soleil, or whatever her name was." "Luna." "Luna." "That's right." "And you two were stoned the whole time." "Yep." "You managed to flip the boat, and we lost everything." "We had to walk the rest of the way..." "We flipped the boat?" "You did." "It was an adventure." "That's what you kept saying." "Irish wine." "Whiskey?" " Cheers." " Slainte." " So..." " So..." " I've been..." " I wanted to ask..." " Sorry." " You first." "I was wondering, do you think Stephen could have pulled together $40,000 without you knowing?" "What?" "Well, it's a story that might break that basically accuses Stephen of doing something that would require his having access to a large amount of cash." "I was just wondering, could he do that?" "A story that might break?" "You mean something that you're involved in?" " Indirectly." " Who're you doing?" "I'm trying to help Stephen." "I'm trying to protect you." "Bullshit!" "You always do this." "Sometimes I feel like we all made this deal, and it works out great for you and Stephen, and not for me." "And instead of us just figuring it out, you guys are just fine walking around as if nothing ever happened." "Okay." "Okay, let's start over." "I come here to tell you that I'm thinking about walking away from my marriage, and you say what?" "I say it's too late." "We're way past this." "You made your choice." "Because you wouldn't step up." "What do you mean?" "Not then, not now, not in college." "I'm saying that you're asking me for something that's not real." "That's what I'm saying." "Annie..." "We have two mortgages." "We have the place in Virginia." "We've got the apartment here." "Basically, we spend everything we make, so there's no way Stephen could have given anyone $40,000 without me knowing about it." "Annie..." "It's okay." "Now I'm just a source, so the pressure's off." " Hello?" " Who's the great-looking blonde, Cal?" "Who's this?" "Across the street." "I like your style, man." "I got something for you." "And you couldn't just ring the doorbell?" "Precautions." "The guy in the photo, I asked around." "He's definitely a grunt." "Buddy of mine used to see him at security trade shows." "Never knew his name, but he worked for an old-timer called Fred Summers." "Does alarm installations, shit like that." "Here's Fred's address." "Crystal City." "Thanks." "Mr. Summers?" "Hey." "Who you looking for?" "Fred." "Fred Summers." "Do you know him?" "Fred's not here." " Oh, yeah?" " Uh-huh." "You live here." "You're his roommate." " Sorry." " Okay." "Do you know where he might be?" "He's overseas." "He shipped out last week." " Overseas like..." " Look," "I don't really know what Fred's into, okay?" "He ships out, and he comes back." "Okay." "Could you pass a message?" "Take it easy." "All right." "Okay." "Hey, Joey?" "Cal McAffrey." "Yeah, yeah, shut up." "Listen!" "Listen!" "Tell Bill he's got to send some cops to 566..." " So?" " No sign of the guy." "Did you get a name?" "How about the apartment?" "You find something?" "Nothing?" "Place belongs to a guy named Fred Summers, except Fred passed away last March." "Neighbors say that his nephew stays there from time to time while the probate is being worked out." "Except he doesn't have a nephew." "You're catching on fast." "Cal, I thought we had an understanding." "You were supposed to share your information with us." "Do you remember that?" "Don, I went there to talk to a guy named Fred Summers, right, who I now find out is deceased." "Do you think I would've gone there if I knew what I was going to be walking into?" "Just happened to be there, huh?" "Yeah." "Now, do you mind if I get back on with my story?" "It's not a story." "It's a case!" "And..." "And just so you know, a girl by the name of Mandi Brokaw, 16, junkie, turned up dead tonight." "Probable homicide." "She look familiar?" "We got her fingerprints off of those surveillance photos you so kindly gave us." "Hello, I'm Rhonda Silver." "Like I said, that's what he called "being in committee"." "I know you got shot at last night, and I know I should be making you a nice cup of cocoa, but I'm just so bloody angry!" "I mean, the decision, I'm assuming, was that this was not news." "We..." "Look, we didn't..." "We were worried that..." "It was my call, Cam." "All right?" "I didn't, and I don't believe her." "She's not credible." "She was just trying to sell us her sexy scrapbook photos of her friend, Sonia Baker." "Her dead friend." "Yeah, well, why the hell couldn't we have printed that?" "A waitress comes forward with a claim about a sex scandal." "Great, that's an A-1 story." "Then he denies it." "There's another story." "And then..." "And then one of them cracks, and there's another story." "Meantime, people are reading about it, and they're reading us about it, because we had it first!" "Except we didn't, did we?" "No, no, no, 'cause some wanker decided it was beneath us." "Look at her, come on!" "Look at her!" "She's a sideshow!" "It's a smear campaign." "It's exactly what these companies do to destroy people who get in their way." "The true story here, the real story here, is Point-Corp." "The real story is the sinking of this bloody newspaper!" "Christ!" "We have new management to answer to now, Cal, and they are interested in sales, not discretion." "And how am..." "How am I going to tell them that we are now behind a story we were once in front of?" "Well, we're running with what we've got today." "No!" "No." " You can't do that." " Why not?" "We've got more than enough to go with." "You run with it, and you're going to frighten off the wildlife." "And we haven't got the rest of the story." "I do not give a shit about the rest of the story!" "We're going to press..." "tonight." "You've got eight hours." "You look tired." "Want some coffee?" "Yeah, that's nice." "Can you hold on for one second?" "George, a word with you for a minute?" " Sure, Steve." " Thanks." "Listen, I just wanted you to know my speaking up in the hearings the other day was not meant in any way as a gesture of disrespect to you or a lack of gratitude for the support that you've shown me." "No, no." "Not at all." "It was a very impressive performance." "You have your passions, I understand that." "All right, good." "Well, that's a relief to know." "You have your show horses, and you have your work horses." "I'm sure we can all find a way to get along." "There's no way." "There is no way we can meet that deadline." "Yes, we can." "All right, guys, we're getting our balls busted." " What have you got?" " All right, the guy you had us check out," "Dominic Foy, turns out he's a gold mine." " Dominic?" " Foy." " Right." " He's a guy I keep hearing about." "A friend of Sonia's in all the surveillance photos where she's crying." " And he's in Rhonda's cell phone shots." " Mmm-hmm." "Okay, so, is this Halloween," " Or is he some kind of freak?" " Freak." "He runs a legitimate PR business." "Handful of corporate clients." "Just likes to party on the weekends." "Special parties." " Tell him the good part." " Yeah, mostly works out of the Daily Grill, but guess where his registered office is?" " Where?" " Guess." "Where?" "The Watergate." " Oh." " Not only that, Suite 413." "Same suite as the Medal of Freedom Initiative, which is..." "The lobbying subsidiary of Point-Corp." "Let's get him on tape." "You want me to call Rodney and get the gear?" "Yeah, same place." "What..." "I'm sorry." "You want to put him on tape?" "Yeah." "What are we, cops now?" "That's totally illegal." "If Dominic Foy can connect Sonia Baker to Point-Corp, he's going to be under a lot of pressure to recant anything he might tell us, all right?" "So we put him on tape." "That's our insurance." "And why do you think he's even going to talk to you?" "Because he's scared." "How do you know?" "Because I'm going to scare him." "Hey, is that your Cadillac out there?" "Yeah." "V-8 XLR, 320 horsepower, adaptive cruise control, heads-up display?" " That's the one." " That's a hell of an impressive car." "Yes, I know." "What do you got in your gay-rage?" " Excuse me?" " Your gay-rage." "Your garage." " Alright." " You drive the same thing?" " No, I don't." "I have a 1990 Saab." " Oh." "Yeah." "I got velor seats." "The passenger side one is ripped, but... huh, it gets me from A to B, you know." "Sorry to hear that." "If only I could get a job in PR, right?" "Who the hell are you?" "Do you read the newspapers, Dominic?" " Sometimes." " Okay." "I got something I want to run by you, all right?" "It isn't finished." "I'm still working it up." "Let's see how you feel about this." ""Dominic Foy, a D.C. Public relations figure with known ties to defense contractor Point-Corp was yesterday linked to the death of a Capitol Hill staffer "Sonia Baker"." "Alright, come on, what..." "Who're you a reporter?" "This is not cool." "This is definitely not cool." " Very unprofessional." " I'm just sitting here..." "Cal McAffrey from the Globe." "Congratulations." "Keep it." "That's going to run tomorrow unless you can tell me what I need to know today." " I don't think so." " I got a car out the back." "I got a nice, safe place where you and I can talk." "Hey, hey, Saab." "I don't know anything about anything, alright?" "I'm a PR guy." "Got it?" "Be that as it may, there's two ways this article can run, Dominic." "Without your name or with your name, and maybe even a photo from your website." "Now, who knows who that's going to piss off and how badly?" "I'm trying to be your friend, Dominic, all right?" "I'd hate to see you end up under a train like Sonia Baker." "And you promised never to use my name, right?" "Yes, I did." "This place is nice?" "It's classy?" " I'm going to be comfortable?" " Uh-huh." "What kind of dump is this?" "Where have you brought me?" "No booze in the mini-bar." "There's no On Demand on the TV." "What kind of hotel is this?" "Little bit more of a motel, I'd say, isn't it?" "Nobody is going to find you here, Dominic." "How are your beer-getting skills, sweet pea?" "You want to go get Uncle Foy a nice frosty?" "I'll time you." "Christ." "So, let's start from the beginning." "Where did you meet Sonia Baker?" "Why don't we start with a little compensation?" "This guy's stoned off his face, and now he wants a beer." " Can I have one?" " Yeah." "What's he taking exactly?" " Dude, downers." " This guy's losing his shit." "For what?" "For what?" "Me helping you out." "Me losing my business." "Me..." "This bed's disgusting." "Compensate me, okay?" "Okay, so you want to be paid to help solve Sonia's murder?" "Save it, all right?" "I'm in PR." "I know a little bit about phrasing questions." "Why don't you try phrasing it like this?" "Would I like to be paid for helping you get a book deal?" "Nobody is here for a book deal." "Really?" "Everybody wants a book deal." "And I'd like my cut, okay?" "That's just fair." "When did you meet Sonia?" "Compensation, compensation." "You came here to talk, Dominic." "You know, mouse, I'm the talent and I don't like the vibe." "So why don't you change that up, okay?" "It's a non-smoking room." "It's under your name." "He's a douche." "I love this guy." "I want to call my lawyer." "I think you should think that through." "Can we get a signal in this rat hole?" "Why don't you think it through?" "Hmm?" "Dominic, let me just lay this out for you one more time, because I don't think you're getting it!" " So I'll lay it out for you!" "Okay?" " Relax." "I'll lay it out for you nice and clear!" "The newspaper can slant this any which way they want to, and they can make you the one and only principal source." "How do you think that's going to go down with your friends" " At Point-Corp?" " Not great." "And anybody else you're connected to?" "Don't do that." "Please don't do that." "The more you talk, the more you give us, the more protected you are." "That's the way we work." "And your compensation is your anonymity, and that is all you're going to get from us." " Okay?" " Yeah." "Great." "Okay, how's it going in here?" "Sounds frigging great." "We're just about ready." " Let's do it." " Great." "Good." "Come on." "I'm not going to do it." "I'm going to open the door, and I'm going to let you say it." "You have to talk to her." "Cal is asking us to push the deadline." "We really can't afford to keep doing this type of thing." "Where the hell are they?" "You saying that as if I should know?" "Yeah, well, you just spoke to him." "Yeah, well, they didn't tell me where they were." "$20,000 an hour." "Yeah..." "All right!" "Bugger off!" "Shit." "It was just this guy, okay, that I knew from the clubs, alright?" "And he worked for a PR firm, a very big one." " Name?" " And..." "No, I'm not going to give you... his name, he's a friend, okay?" "He had this, uh..." "He had this..." "Well, the company that he worked for had a client," " A very special client." " Name?" "I'll give you that one." "Point-Corp." "And they wanted a special employee." "They needed a girl." "I thought of Sonia." "You got that?" "I'm sorry, are you saying that Sonia was working for Point-Corp?" "Like a steel trap, this one." "Don't lose her to another paper." "Yeah, that's what I'm saying." "Turn it up, turn it up." "She was a perfect fit." "She had balls." " She was smart." " She was in debt." " And she was in debt, exactly." " Yeah." "They paid her $26,000 a month." "Whole hell of a lot more than they gave me." " They paid me a flat 20." " It's big." "Did they tell you what the job was?" "No, they did not." "She told me what it was, though." "She told me about Collins." "She told me about spying on him." "And did they want Sonia to sleep with Collins?" "No." "She got on her back all by herself and screwed everything up, didn't she?" "How did they get her onto Collins' staff?" "That I'm not going to tell you." "You can forget it." "You can kidnap and torture someone else for that toughie." " We have a deal." " Yeah." " I've done my work." " Nobody is here to screw you, but we need to know who was working this on the Hill." "Mmm-hmm." "From the Hill, huh?" "Well, from the Hill, they found a guy to fix it." " Name?" " No." " Who?" " Leave it." " Who?" " Come on." "What, are you not hearing me?" "Forget it." "I'd be afraid to start that sweet ass Caddy every morning." "I mean, keep in mind if I was driving that wheelbarrow Saab of yours," "I'd probably blow it up myself with me in it." "You seen that thing?" "It's like a lawnmower." "I'm going to get you another beer." "Hey." "Oi." "Are you sleeping with that guy?" "I mean, what are you doing here?" "Are you sleeping with him?" "Hmm?" "Or you got a guy." "You got a guy, right?" "Donna?" " Della." " Della." "I got a guy." "Got a girl, too." "Right?" "I don't want to eave anybody out." "Hey, Stephen." "How did you find Sonia?" "What?" "How did she come to work in your office?" "Was somebody..." "Did somebody recommend her?" "Who're you talking about?" "I think you've been played." "Really?" "Who gave you her name?" " What is this about?" " Don't dick around about this," "Stephen, all right?" "Two questions." "How the hell did she come to work in your office, and the name of the individual who recommended her?" "Fergus." "George Fergus." "Said she was the daughter of an old family friend." "Doug Sponder's bachelor party." "You remember that hotel, the Americana?" "Yes." "Get here now, alone." "I'm in Room 408." "I'll meet you at the office." "Stephen, we're late already." "I'll call in." "Stephen, we are late already." " I'll call in." " Okay." "Don't check your voice-mail." "Cameron's going on a rampage about this deadline." "So, did you cue it where I asked?" " Close enough." " Okay." "So, guys, I'm going to need you to clear the room." " That means you, too." " What?" "I got Stephen Collins coming in here." "It's going to be a lot more comfortable for him if you're not here, alright?" "Tell me you're kidding." "Since when does the subject of an investigation get his own private preview of another subject's interview?" "That's crazy!" "You're polluting the story!" "Special circumstance." "What?" "What?" "Is it that he's a congressman, or that he's your friend, or that you have a crush on his wife?" "Could you fill me in here?" "All of the above." "Oh, my God, you're such a hypocrite!" "This is my story, too, and you are about to kill it forever by letting him come in here." "I'm going to bring him in." "I'm going to sit him down, show him this." "I'm going to get him on the record, then we've got both sides of the story." "Hey." "Stephen Collins, Della Frye." "Congressman." "You know this guy?" "No." "You don't recognize him at all?" "I don't know." "Maybe." "Is this in here?" "No, no, it's next door." "He's sleeping it off." "Sit down." "Okay." "Point-Corp wanted to plant someone on your staff." "This guy, Dominic Foy, he finds Sonia." "He takes a fee." "George Fergus does the rest." "No." "That's not possible." "They paid off her debt, and they paid her monthly to report back every single thing that you were doing." "And when she went dry, they killed her for it." "How do you know this?" "And so I get a call, I got to go down to a street corner." "I got to buy a magazine." "I got to meet some new guy." "This guy, you know, he's some hardcore, thick-neck, corn-fed," "Navy-SEAL-looking guy, you know?" "And he's all up in my face, scaring the hell out of me because he's pissed off and..." " When was this?" " This is like a month ago." "You know, he's pissed off because" "Sonia's not giving him anything anymore." "And what did he want you to do about it?" "He wants me to fix it." "He wants me to fix it, like one of my hair dryers." "And did you?" "I tried." "I tried." "I called." "She wouldn't take my call." "I go over there." "I try to talk to her." "She's crying." "Why is she crying?" "She's scared somebody is after her?" "No, she's crying because of Collins." "She was in love with him, and she was pregnant," "and she didn't tell him." "She didn't tell him, and, you know, she was petrified that he's going to find out what she did, and then he's not going to want her, and he's not going to want the baby..." "She got so wrecked about it that she burned thousands of dollars worth of paychecks." "Who does that?" "And I tried to get her to just relax and to think about the publicity, or think about an abortion, or think about, you know, her word." ""Just keep your word." "And what about how" ""your decisions are going to affect me?"" "And then she's dead, you know?" "I hear it's a murder, and so I don't want anything more to do with this thing, you know?" "I'm just terrified, and I want to go someplace warm, and I want to come back to a clean slate." "And you guys write your article and just get them off me." "I'm nothing." "I'm nothing to those guys." "So you were right, man." "Okay?" "And now we can prove it." "I get you on the record." "We can nail these mothers to the wall!" "Sliberty?" "We can nail them to the wall, all right?" "We win!" " Yeah." "Just..." " All right?" "Just..." "Will you just give me a minute?" "Okay." "He just needs a minute." "Shit!" "Get off..." "Get off of me!" "You fucking..." "Help!" "Stephen!" "Get up!" "Who're you doing?" " Hey, stop!" " No!" "Come on, man!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Get off!" "What the hell are you doing to him?" "Stephen!" "Stephen!" "Stephen!" "Stephen!" " Hey, I'm trying to help you, man." " Yeah." "She was pregnant, Cal." "Did I need to hear that?" "Yeah." "Huh?" "You couldn't tell me yourself?" "You had to do it like that?" "Was that important to you..." "I thought you'd want to hear the truth." "That's right." "You were just seeking the truth, that's all." "You're just..." "You're a truth seeker." "That's all." "You can't help it." "It's who you are." "You're such a hypocrite." "You're not interested in me." "Me coming here was all about you and getting your story." "I trusted you." "You're my friend!" "You were supposed to be my friend when you were screwing my wife!" "You're my friend, Cal." "I never would've done this to you!" "I'm sorry, Stephen, okay?" "I'm sorry about all of it." "Please, look, I've been an asshole, and I can understand why you hate me for it." "You've just got to put aside how you feel about me and stay with this." "We're so close." "Every single part of this, I have put myself on the line." "Stephen." "Stephen!" "I need a minute with Congressman Fergus." "Tell him it's Cal McAffrey from the Globe, and I'm on a deadline." "Fuck him." "Asshole." "It's all right." "I saw that." "Just give him this card and tell him it's an issue that directly concerns him." "Sir?" "He asked me to give you this." "Excuse me." "Congressman." "That Cal McAffrey." "What's up?" "How did you find me?" "I followed the trail of crumbs, Congressman." "I need a confirmation from you for an article that we're running tomorrow." "I have been told that you recommended to Greer Thornton to hire Sonia Baker, is that correct?" "So?" "So if it turns out that Sonia Baker was, in fact, gathering information on Stephen Collins' committee findings and passing that information back to the very company that was being investigated and that company is complicit in her murder," "well, Jesus Christ, it's not going to look too good for you, is it, Congressman?" "One, never use the Lord's name in vain with me." "Two, how could you even assume that a bright, naive, 25-year-old girl was what, a double agent?" "Mr. McAffrey, I went to bat for a young girl whose family I met and respected, a family that seemed like the wholesome ideal upon which this country was founded." "And Sonia Baker's mother's first name is?" " Pardon me?" " You heard me, family friend." "Do you really think that your new owners, these responsible corporate citizens, are going to allow you to publish this speculative drivel?" "You are going to be out of a job before the devil can even say your name, son." "Janine." "Sonia's mother's first name is Janine." "You're missing the point." "You didn't see his face." "I saw his face." "Fergus is at the heart of this story." "This story is dead, Cal." "One way or another, Point-Corp pushed" "Sonia Baker in front of that train." "Oh, really?" "The trouble is, our new corporate owners won't let me print any of this unless I have one of the major players on the record." "On the record, Cal!" "And the only person who could do that won't." "Would you like to tell me why?" "Or is it just that you shagged his wife?" "Maybe you'd like to explain to me how, when and why MediaCorp chopped off your balls." "This is as big and as connected as it gets." "You follow any fissure of this, it's a massive story." "You got Fergus, you got Point-Corp, and now you got MediaCorp, all connected, all in collusion, all playing for the same country club." "I didn't realize you'd taken up the game." "Oh." "Oh, Cal, if there's any corruption involved here, it's coming from you." "You have injected yourself in this story right from the beginning, and we all know why." "It's over, Cal, as far as you're concerned." "I can't protect you anymore." "And right now, I'm not too sure I'd want to." "You want the story?" "Yeah." "Come on." "I was first introduced to Sonia Baker in April of 2007." "She was hired as a research assistant on my staff." "She was recommended by the Majority Whip," "Congressman from West Virginia, George Fergus." "Three months into her time there, Sonia and I began a romantic relationship." "I have e-mailed copies of documents to you, which show beyond doubt the corruption between members of my own party." "I now know that she had been placed in my office as a spy." "Point-Corp's tentacles reach into every corner of the ever-growing private security industry, both at home and abroad." "Not only does this pose a great..." "But it is a violation of our laws." "A monopolistic business... obstruct and otherwise destroy my investigation into Point-Corp." "Sonia was paid to make regular reports to Point-Corp..." "Left unchecked, I believe that within five years," "Point-Corp will have its own standing army on US soil." "into their fraudulent practices..." "It will control our intelligence-gathering apparatus..." " What happened in committee?" " She had access to everything... we were doing and effectively crippled our investigation." "It is a frightening vision and one which must be stopped." "However, when my relationship with her grew, she ceased her spying on their behalf, and I believe they killed her for it." "For people like this, who I've spent the last year and a half of my life investigating..." "Innocent civilians are really little more than disposable lives, thought of as collateral damage." "And I believe it was simply the public nature of my position that saved me from a similar fate." "So, as political suicides go, how was that?" "Thank you, Congressman." " You okay?" " Yeah." "He was set up." "She was sleeping with him for $26,000 a month." "I mean..." "Sliberty." "Cal." " You all set?" " Mmm-Hmm." "Okay." "Let's go." " You still here?" " Yeah." "I thought you would've been down at your desk blasting it on line." "Well, you know, a piece this big, people should probably have newsprint on their hands when they read it, don't you think?" "I'll do Collins, Fergus, Point-Corp, and corporate and government malfeasance." " Okay." " You do Sonia Baker..." "The murder, Mandi, Rhonda Silver." " And the Dominic Foy connection, alright?" " Yeah." " Retire to the neutral corner." " Okay." " Gentle." " Got it..." " Thank you." "Sir, it's Robert Bingham." "I'm sorry to call you directly." "I want to assure you that I'm ready to finish what we started." "Goodbye." "I won't be more than an hour." " Hey, guys." " Evening, sir." "How you doing?" " Hello." " Is it a night for it?" "Oh... uh, yeah, yeah, I think it is." "So, how old are you?" "Actually, don't... tell me." "It would just make me sick." "You never ask a girl her age." "Well, see, I look at you, and I don't see a girl." "I just see a reporter." " At last." " Anyway, back to the story." " Yes." " So I had this... uh," " English teacher in high school." " Mmm-hmm." "He was a kind of a long haired hippie kind of guy." "Mmm-hmm." " He had a pen problem." " Yeah." "Oh." "He solved it by having a piece of leather string around his neck, and that's where he'd keep his pen." "Smart." " So I started thinking," " Mmm-hmm." ""My friend Della's got a pen problem." ""How do I solve it?"" " And I came up with this." " What is it?" "I call it the "Della Frye Nubian Princess," ""'I'm never without a pen"' celebratory necklace." "Oh, it's beautiful!" "I always wanted one of these." " Cheers." " Cheers." "You know, I wanted to tell you something about Anne Collins." "Okay." "I was just talking to her." "How does Anne Collins know that" "Sonia Baker was earning $26,000 a month?" "What?" "How does she know how much Sonia Baker was earning?" " We know that." " Yeah." "How does Anne Collins know that?" "Well, I mean, Stephen must have heard it in the Foy interview." "We played him a specific part of that tape, and that figure is never mentioned." "Cal." "Wait, what are you doing?" "What arre you doing?" "Cal?" "Uh... you going to fill me in?" "Just tell Cameron, "Hold the story"." "What?" "Cal?" "Cal!" "Shit." "Who's Robert Bingham, Stephen?" "Who is Robert Bingham?" "Are the police outside?" "No." "I saved Robert Bingham's life in Kuwait in '91." "He was a 17-year-old kid." "He was a good soldier." "He was proud of what we did." "The Army was his life, and he had problems when he got discharged." "So you had a guy that you knew to be unstable do what, exactly?" "Scare her?" "Maybe beat her up a little?" "No, Cal." "I had him follow her." "Why?" "Because I knew she was hiding something from me." "Because when I'd..." "I'd be at her house and a fax would come in, she'd get nervous." "Because there were phone calls late at night." "I was suspicious." "I asked Bingham to observe her and report back to me." "That's all." "You're a liar, Stephen." "He was more upset about what she was doing than I was." "You have to understand what the military means to Bingham." "He hates Point-Corp for what they're trying to do to it." "In his mind, she just had to stop." "But she did stop, right?" "She tore up her paychecks, and she put her life at risk for you." "Yes, but I didn't know that." "I didn't know that he was going to kill her." "I didn't know he had killed her." "When I found out, my thought was just the same as yours." "I thought Point-Corp had done it." "And when you did find out?" "What was I supposed to do?" " Tell someone." " I tried." " When?" " When I came to your house, and I wanted to talk to you about it, and all you cared about was the story." "No, Stephen, I cared about helping you." "Bullshit." "Bullshit." "All you cared about was clearing your conscience over this little soap opera" " You have with Annie." " So you used me." " No, Cal." " The same way as you used Bingham." "I was suspicious of her." "I brought him in." "That's all it was!" "It was a mistake!" "It's my responsibility." "I should never have done that." "But I never asked him to kill her." "He owed you his life!" "That's why you called him." "You called him, and you used him, like you've been trying to use me." "One to kill, and one to cover it up." "If Point-Corp and Fergus hadn't hired her," " None of this would've happened!" " No." "This is not about Bingham and Point-Corp and Fergus, man!" "It's about you and the decisions that you have made that have led to four people being killed." "One of them was delivering a pizza, Stephen." "Cal..." "Who're you going to do?" "You know what I'm going to do." "You know... it's laughable, your sense of your own self-worth." "Why is that?" "'Cause..." "nobody reads the papers anymore?" "Is that it?" "It's just another story, a couple days of shitstorm, and it's wrapping paper?" "You know, in the middle of all this gossip and speculation that permeates people's lives," "I still think they know the difference between real news and bullshit." "And they're glad that someone cares enough to get things on the record and print the truth." "Cal." "Please, Cal, don't do this." "Please." "I'm asking you as your friend." "You got about three minutes before the cops get here." "I thought you said you didn't call 'em." "I lied." "A good soldier fights for his country and his friends." "But these guys, they want to make it all about the money." "You want to live in a world like that?" "Drop the weapon!" "The story about Stephen comes out, whether I write it or not." "Drop your weapon!" "Drop it!" "I'd rather be nothing." "I repeat, drop your weapon!" "Well, aren't you going to send it?" "I've only been holding the front page for 4 hours, after all." "You send it." "Good night, everybody." "See you tomorrow." "Good night." "Good night."