"Hold it, Miss Waterston." "No further." "Trip that beam we'll have a couple dozen security boys down here with their guns drawn." "Thanks." "Can you help me, please?" "My security card is stuck in one of the lab doors and...." "Okay." "These things are always getting stuck." "I can't seem to get a good hold on it." "I think I need some pliers." "I have to get back to my lab." "Hey, go ahead." "I'll drop it by in a few minutes." "We have to hurry." "Of course." "I'll meet you at my place in an hour." "I'm afraid not." "The voucher looks to be in order." "Good." "I'll see if I can get Billy to sign it." "Thank you." "I have plans for the money." "You know, maybe I should start, uh, claiming some gas mileage." "I could buy some extra clothes." "With your tastes?" "At 20 cents a mile, you'd have to drive coast to coast to buy a blouse." "Ha, ha." "We have a new fund for our Community Action Committee." "Oh, Community Action?" "Yeah." "A group of us have gotten together to fight pollution and toxic waste dumping." "It's the mothers in our neighborhood, so we call ourselves M.S.E." "It's Mothers for a Safe Environment." "That sounds good." "Yeah, I think it is good." "They've elected me their spokesperson." "Congratulations." "Ha, ha." "Thanks a lot." "Uh, Frank, is Billy busy?" "Scarecrow, Francine, my office, now!" "Crazed might be a better word." "Yeah." "I'll get him to sign." "Don't worry." "Okay." "Thanks a lot." "I'll wait for you." "Good." "You roared?" "Can it, Francine." "Hey, Billy." "What's up?" "This morning at the chemical ordnance facility near Portland a full canister of C-12 was stolen." "C-12?" "What is that?" "Poison?" "Explosive?" "C-12 is one half of CX-12." "Nerve gas." "Here." "'Odorless." "Colorless." "CX-12 attacks the central nervous system entering the bloodstream through the victim's skin." "Blurred vision, numbness, paralysis." "Death in less than 10 seconds.'" "We ran into this nasty stuff about six months ago on a covert antiterrorist operation." "We were lucky enough to get it and bring it here." "Only half was in Oregon?" "For safety, the compound has to be broken down into two component parts and then stored separately while chemists look for a way to destroy the stuff once and for all." "If we can just find the neutralizing agent, this can never be a weapon again." "Where's the other half?" "Here." "Bethesda." "The crystals themselves are dangerous, but together...." "So we can expect a run at the Bethesda laboratories?" "Yes." "And whoever hit that lab in Oregon knew exactly what they wanted and just where to find it." "Which means inside help." "You got it." "And whoever did it is playing for keeps, because they killed their accomplice." "There are only five people who have hands-on access to X-12 crystals here." "I'm assigning an agent to each and every one of them." "I want day and night blanket surveillance." "Francine, I want you to take Dr. Ann Mallory the head chemist at the facility." "And, Scarecrow, you take Leonard Fletcher, Mallory's assistant." "Leonard Fletcher." "Huh." "Says here he lives on Braden Avenue in Arlington." "So?" "That's about a block away from where Amanda lives." "Which gives me a great idea." "Hold on a second." "Amanda, would you come here for a minute?" "Hello, sir." "Yes, sir?" "Good morning, Amanda." "Amanda, is that house at the end of your street still up for rent?" "You mean the Cooperman house?" "I think so." "Why?" "I know someone who wants to rent it for a while." "Who?" "Me." "I wanna get closer to someone who lives there." "What?" "We could go to dinner." "You don't have to move down the street." "Closer to Dr. Leonard Fletcher." "Oh, this is, uh...." "Yeah." "Oh." "This is agency business." "Oh, yeah." "Right." "Dr. Fletcher?" "I know him." "Yeah." "I'm going to need your help." "But I just can't, uh, go barging into his life so we're gonna have to find a way to legitimately and unobtrusively meet him." "It's absolutely no problem." "I know where he'll be at 4:00 this afternoon." "Okay, I think we can start now." "I'd like to welcome you all today." "Even though we're known as the Mothers for a Safe Environment it's awfully nice to see some of the fathers from our neighborhood here as well." "Now, an update on our progress so far." "I'm pleased to report that our door-to-door petition drive has already resulted in over 200 signatures." "And in addition, 41 letters have been sent to the state legislature so far." "And this Sunday, there will be an editorial in the newspaper, written by Jean Kears" "It's not enough!" "No, she's right." "You're right." "When will we realize that petitions and letters are futile?" "We need positive action and we need it now!" "Right?" "Right." "We do need it." "Mrs. Courtney." "Excuse me." "Mrs.--Yes?" "Mrs. Courtney, no one here is against orderly, legal demonstrations." "But there's no need to develop a mob mentality." "Oh!" "Jean!" "Jean, you know as well as I do that angry people get listened to." "Excuse me, ladies." "Excuse me, everybody." "Listen, if we can save our discussions until later I think it'll probably benefit us." "Um, we do have a guest speaker today." "Now, he's someone from our neighborhood who works as a chemist at one of our government targeted complexes Bethesda Ordnance Laboratory." "Boo!" "Terrific." "Now, listen, let's hear from the other side and we'll try to get a better understanding of the problem." "So please, please, uh, let me introduce to you Dr. Leonard Fletcher." "Dr. Fletcher." "Boo, boo." "Hiss, boo." "Now, I assumed that I would not be the most popular speaker for this group." "You're absolutely right." "No." "No." "Certainly there are problems...." "Ahem." "Excuse me." "Hello, Lee." "Hi." "Uh, Jean, this is Lee Sampson." "Sampson." "Sampson." "Uh, Lee, this is Jean...." "Kearsley." "Kearsley." "I'm so sorry." "Ha, ha." "Jean's actually responsible for founding Mothers for a Safe Environment." "A very worthy cause." "Thank you." "I feel it's the most important issue we face now." "So I'm glad you've joined us." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Uh, tell me something, uh what do you think of our speaker?" "Leonard?" "Yeah." "Actually, I felt sorry for him." "I thought they were pretty rough on him." "I've known him for eight years in this neighborhood." "Well, I'd like to meet him." "Oh, sure." "I'll introduce you." "Excuse us, Jean." "Okay." "Jean." "Excuse me." "Yes?" "Mrs. Courtney, uh, Lee Sampson." "Lee, Mrs. Courtney." "How do you do?" "Hello." "Very nice to meet you." "And, uh, Dr. Fletcher." "Dr. Fletcher." "I was impressed with your speech." "That's a welcome compliment compared to most people's reaction inside." "But, uh, I knew what I was getting into." "Well, I thought your arguments were very persuasive, really." "Don't tell me that I've made a convert of a member of this group." "Well, not quite, but, uh, your work does sound fascinating." "I'd love to see your operation." "Well, that could certainly be arranged." "Uh, I'll tell you what, how would you two and a few others, uh, like a tour of our lab?" "I could set it up tomorrow through, uh, Dr. Mallory, my supervisor." "I'd love to." "Mrs. King?" "lt would be interesting." "Yes." "We'll do it." "Thank you very much." "Thank you." "Thanks for being with us today." "Goodbye, Dr. Fletcher." "We are now entering the high-security area of biological testing and experimental chemical analysis." "I am afraid though that we won't be able to go any further." "Ah." "I assume we can't go in because the substances they're working on are dangerous." "Although not technically classified as toxic, they are potentially dangerous." "What exactly are they working on?" "I'm afraid that's classified." "I was impressed with the guards  but how do you treat security regarding the employees?" "What if somebody wanted to steal something?" "Everyone is thoroughly searched each night before leaving." "How about accidental contamination?" "Lab clothes are changed several times a day." "See there." "The lab clothes are then sent to a local cleaner for special treatment." "See?" "Like clockwork." "Twice a day, six days a week." "And we do the cleaning for the X-12 group." "So all Leonard has to do is slip the crystals into the pocket and send it to us." "It's simple and perfect." "Not quite perfect." "There is one problem." "What?" "Oh, never mind." "He's my concern." "And I have a solution." "A little nippy out." "I like warm weather, don't you?" "Love it." "What's up?" "Chocolate?" "No, thanks." "I'm allergic." "That's too bad." "I'd kill for chocolate." "That's good to know." "Why am I here, Castille?" "I need a half a pound of plastique explosive." "Plastique?" "That's pretty volatile stuff." "A half pound would almost take out an entire house." "Maybe a quarter pound would do." "We're not talking hamburgers here, Castille." "What do you need it for?" "I need to blow up a car." "With someone in it." "There's not supposed to be any killing." "His name is Lee Stetson." "You know him as Lee Sampson." "He's a government agent." "No, no." "This is just getting a little too crazy for me." "Bombs, agents." "You think I like this any more than you do?" "Here." "Maybe this will make the craziness a little more palatable." "Take it." "Maybe it'll ease some of those gambling debts of yours." "Good." "Now fill me in on what's happening with the X-12 crystals." "We're working at neutralizing them day and night." "If you and I don't work fast, it'll be too late." "Oh." "We'll just have to work fast, won't we?" "Yeah." "I think we need to build a tiny little village." "That's a good idea." "Yeah, a village." "And when the volcano erupts the lava flows down" "And burns up." "Good idea." "That's terrible." "But it has to be realistic for Jamie to get an A." "Well, sweetheart, there's realistic and there's gory." "And gory sells." "Yeah, Mom." "Just trust me on this." "Sweetheart, we're not gonna build a village that's gonna be burned up by lava." "Marvelous." "Really." "It's good, isn't it, Mother?" "Yes." "Fantastic." "Thanks, Grandma." "Reminds me of when I was in Hawaii." "Ha, ha." "Okay, fellas." "Why don't you put your stuff up and take those dishes into the kitchen." "Here." "I'll get it." "Okay." "Thanks, Grandma." "Okay." "How about a cup of tea before bed?" "Oh, I'd like one." "Thank you." "Come on, fellas." "Hurry up." "Upstairs." "Get in bed." "Good night, Mom, Grandma." "Good night." "Sweet dreams." "Amanda." "Mm-hm?" "Tell me about our new neighbor." "What neighbor?" "Oh, that nice-looking man that rented Mrs. Cooperman's house." "I saw him this morning when I was jogging." "He was picking up his newspaper." "Oh, you mean, uh, Mr. Sampson?" "Oh, yes." "That's a good strong name." "He's not married." "Oh, he's not?" "I checked." "Mm." "I didn't get a very good look at him but he has a very strong profile." "Good." "And very good posture." "Good posture's very important." "Mm-hm." "Very." "Amanda." "Mm?" "Why don't you, uh, invite him over for dinner." "I mean, you know, uh, just kind of welcome him to the neighborhood." "He's probably very busy, Mother." "He has to eat, doesn't he?" "Mm." "He's probably the kind who grabs a sandwich and runs out the door." "All the more reason why he'd like a home-cooked meal." "Okay." "Next time you see him, ask him for dinner." "I will." "You know what I think?" "Mm-mm." "There should be a little village there." "Make it a little more realistic." "You're right." "There probably should be." "Just an idea." "What did you get on Dr. Mallory?" "Ah, yes, the good Dr. Mallory." "Well, I followed her almost all day." "She left the house at 6:07 this morning." "Mm, I bet you loved that." "Oh, yes." "Then she went to the lab." "After that, at 12:14, she had a tongue sandwich for lunch." "Ugh." "At which point I followed her back to the lab and here I am." "Uh-huh." "That sounds very exciting." "Mm-hm." "She didn't do anything suspicious at all?" "Uh, does adding ketchup to a tongue sandwich count?" "No." "I guess not." "She's still our prime suspect." "With disgusting eating habits." "What have you got?" "A rundown on known weapons suppliers in the CX-12 league." "Herschel Demetrios." "Robert Castille." "Morgan Lapin." "I'd say Castille's our best bet." "The Oregon job fits his m.o." "He's bold, daring, preys on women." "Smooth operator and very ruthless." "Heh." "Sounds like my date last night." "Oh." "Go on." "Well, whoever hit the Oregon lab had inside help, or he couldn't have penetrated security." "It's probably the woman who was killed." "We know he's gonna have to hit the Bethesda lab, so the same thing applies." "We just have to keep tabs on everyone who has access to the lab." "Ah." "Uh, where are you going?" "Hmm?" "Where are you going?" "Haven't you heard?" "There's a big meeting at Amanda's community center." "Oh." "Didn't hear about that." "Hi." "I was, uh, thinking of buying one of these." "It's a good family car." "I'm telling you, picketing that factory today was a total waste of time." "And they think they can disregard us." "Who are we?" "Little people." "Well, we'll show them what women can do." "Isn't going very well, huh?" "Oh, no." "What do you expect?" "The picketing today was pathetic." "The company went about their business as usual." "more poison!" "No more poison!" "No more poison!" "No more poison!" "Where are we going?" "I've got some photos in the car." "I want you to look at them, all right?" "But I don't wanna do it here." "I don't want anything to look suspicious." "Here, Amanda, take a look at these photos." "Those men are known couriers and weapons brokers." "If you've seen any of them before, it could be a lead." "Mm-mm." "No." "Oh, wait a minute." "What?" "I just saw this man." "You did?" "Just before I came in the meeting." "He was hanging around this car." "Amanda, get ready to get out and get out fast." "Thank you very much for all your help." "All right, Billy." "I'll be over there as fast as I can." "Right." "I'll talk to you later." "Billy's sending a car for us." "Good." "He's also alerting the teams about Castille." "I'm gonna have to help coordinate that." "Right." "I don't understand though." "If Castille wanted to steal the rest of the X-12 crystals what was he doing hanging around the community center?" "Maybe he's using one of your neighbors as access to the lab." "Dr." "Fletcher?" "Wouldn't surprise me." "Look, his files read he's a man living beyond his means with a compulsion to play the ponies." "Bribery." "Exactly." "Only, there's something about it that doesn't quite track." "Castille always uses women in his operations." "Why would he change a successful plan?" "Dr." "Mallory?" "No." "She's too squeaky clean." "Something in my gut tells me she's a little too high profile for Castille to get involved with." "No, there's got to be some other less direct connection that we've overlooked." "We're gonna really need your help on this." "Sure." "You want me to spy on my neighbors." "I just want you to let me know if you see anything strange or out of character." "Okay?" "Right." "Sure." "Good." "Come on." "Do you have to leave so soon?" "Mm." "Big day tomorrow." "For both of us." "I'll be glad when this is all over." "Then we'll have more time together." "Ha, ha." "Have you got the mothers all ready?" "Mm-hm." "They're up in arms." "You should've seen them." "All the shouting and name-calling." "It's really turning into quite a mob." "The angrier, the better." "Mm-hm." "Fletcher will need that diversion to get the crystals." "Just remember, timing will be the most important element." "Yes, yes." "You should relax." "Oh, I will." "Once we get our hands on that nerve gas." "Robert, when are we gonna give it back?" "We'll let them stew for a few days and then we'll call a news conference." "Look, what do I have to do to convince you?" "The best way to prove how dangerous that stuff is  is to show them how easy it is to steal it." "I know." "I know." "I'm just worried that something will go wrong." "Well, it won't." "Not if you and your friends do your job." "Love me?" "All the way." "I don't believe this." "This was my idea." "It's gotta be over here somewhere." "Where...?" "Aah!" "Hi." "Ah." "Amanda." "You scared the hell out of me." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Now you know what it feels like." "Yeah." "Just what are you doing in my shrubs?" "What are you doing in your shrubs?" "What am--?" "I'm looking for a spigot to turn these sprinklers off." "Did you turn them on?" "No." "They're probably on an automatic timer." "Over here." "Automatic timer?" "Living in an apartment, you wouldn't know about this." "See?" "Just check this." "See, your timer's off." "Have to have that fixed in the morning." "Ah." "I guess I wouldn't know about it." "Huh?" "No." "See?" "Nothing to it." "What did you find out?" "Well, Mother's asleep." "What?" "But I had an idea." "Mm-hm." "What about Mrs. Courtney?" "Mrs." "Courtney?" "Yeah." "I know." "I know." "But listen, she is the one of the leaders of the group." "They're gonna protest at one of the chemical plants." "Do you know which one?" "No." "There's gonna be a vote." "It's gonna be a secret and we're gonna go from the meeting to the chemical plant." "Good." "I'll pass that on to Francine see if she can't dig a little deeper into Mrs. Courtney's past." "She may be able to find something to connect her with Bethesda lab." "Meanwhile" "I'll just go to the meeting..." "...and get a message to you." "Good." "Okay." "Well, uh...." "Oh, uh...." "Thanks for helping me with the sprinklers." "Oh, no problem." "You wouldn't know about a thing like that." "You gotta have a little mechanical ability." "Yeah." "Damn it!" "What's the matter?" "I thought I...." "I guess I just locked myself out." "Look under the flower pot." "Flower pot?" "Probably a key under the flower pot." "It's probably not a good idea, but we do it around here." "Ah." "Ha, ha." "It's a good idea." "Yeah." "Thanks." "Good night." "Good night." "Good morning, Mrs. Dukane." "Oh, morning, Amanda." "Where is everybody?" "They've been here and gone." "Left early." "Wanted to be sure to catch the midnight and day shifts at the plant." "Which plant?" "Uh, the Bethesda." "The ordnance lab." "Thank you." "Goodbye." "Bye." "Billy, that was Amanda." "She says the women are marching on the Bethesda Laboratory." "That's it." "Get right over there." "You got it." "Okay, everybody." "Here we go." "And remember, this is for our children's future." "Right!" "Yay!" "Okay, let's all link arms and show our solidarity." "Let's go!" "Here we go!" "Get me Crawford in security." "We may have a problem coming up." "No more pollution!" "Great." "Here they come." "No more pollution!" "No more pollution!" "No more pollution!" "No more pollution!" "No more pollution!" "No more pollution!" "Crawford says not to use force." "Just don't let them in." "Be polite and no force." "Louder!" "Let them hear it up in the office!" "Crawford says to ask them politely to leave." "Under no circumstances, I repeat, under no circumstances are we to use force." "Come on, ladies." "Come on, please!" "Now, watch it!" "What's all that?" "I don't know." "Looks like some kind of demonstration." "Let them hear us!" "Move it!" "Come on!" "You in charge here?" "Yes, sir." "Seal off all the gates." "Nothing goes in or out." "You understand?" "Yes, sir." "Got it." "Excuse me." "I need to get a message to somebody in the lab." "No, sorry, lady." "No crazy housewives get through here." "Listen, this is very important." "You're with them, aren't you?" "Yes, she is." "All the way." "Do you have some official lD?" "No." "I thought not." "Look, lady, why don't you go home and bake a cake." "What a dumb, insensitive thing to say." "That's a terrible thing to say." "Why don't you ask if she has kids." "Why don't you ask her if she's worried about their living or dying." "I can't believe it." "Are you married?" "I bet you are." "I bet you have kids too." "If you do, you should be on this side." "We're fighting for your lives, for your kids' lives, as well as ours." "Don't you understand that?" "We're not your enemy." "Where's Dr. Mallory?" "ln chemical storage." "Thank you." "Secure the laboratory and account for all personnel." "Doctor, what happened?" "We've had a security breach." "The C-12 crystals are gone." "What?" "All of it?" "Enough to make Washington a major disaster area." "I don't understand how it happened." "There were no unauthorized personnel in there." "No alarm went off." "All right." "Who is authorized?" "On this shift, only myself and Leonard Fletcher." "Where is he?" "He went to check out." "One level down." "Go and find Fletcher and bring him right back here." "Melrose here." "Sir, it's Amanda." "Amanda, where are you?" "Uh, sir, I followed Jean from the protest" "Amanda?" "Amanda?" "Jean is waiting for you." "The two of you can discuss laundry, or whatever it is housewives chat about." "Short day, Leonard?" "You might say." "Why don't you just hand over the crystals now, huh?" "What crystals?" "Dr. Mallory, what's he talking about?" "I've got no" "You know what this is?" "Why, no." "You know what this is?" "He has an unstable compound of HCL." "I see." "Hydrochloric acid." "Very good." "You get an A in chemistry." "Somewhat of a standoff, isn't it?" "Mm." "Somewhat." "You're a little over your head, aren't you?" "There's gonna be a lot of money." "The crystals are gone." "I don't have them." "Let me walk out of here and maybe we can make a deal." "Mm-mm." "Guess again." "Don't!" "Now, you put it down." "Put it down, Leonard." "Don't make me do it." "Nothing personal." "I'll keep that in mind." "Now, you get him out of here." "Leonard, I don't understand." "Who cares, Ann?" "Who really cares?" "You all right?" "Yeah." "Billy, we got Fletcher." "But we lost the crystals." "I just got a strange phone call from Amanda." "It was aborted." "She just got out something about Jean." "Did you cross-reference Jean through the computer?" "Yes." "It took a deep probe to do it." "Only thing we came up with was that she owned Tri-County Laundry." "Laundry?" "Wait a minute." "They service this lab." "That's Castille's connection, Billy, Jean Kearsley." "Wait a second, Fletcher must have been the inside man slipped the crystals out in the laundry, under our nose." "Get over there." "We're right behind you." "I'm already gone." "Amanda?" "Robert." "Robert, what are you doing?" "I thought you might like some company." "What is going on?" "Try not to move or say anything." "Mm-hm." "Robert, what are you doing?" "She knows too much." "About what?" "The crystals." "What about the crystals?" "Look, we've proven our point." "They're not secure." "Now we call the press and we return them." "Robert, we've won." "Wanna hear a funny story?" "You're scaring me." "I used to work in a laundry." "To get through college." "It was my last honest job." "Didn't pay too much." "Tell me about the crystals." "There's a fine art to pressing." "Material has gotta be tight corners down shove in the steam." "The steam is hot." "Very hot." "I like the heat." "I've never seen you like this." "You saw what you wanted to see." "And I gave you what you wanted." "What I wanted?" "A little romance." "A little excitement." "A little tenderness." "Women need love." "And I need money." "It's been a marvelous marriage." "How could I have loved you?" "Good question." "Where are you going?" "To call the police." "Then Mrs. King will die." "I'm gonna miss you." "Great mouth." "You can't leave her!" "You can't leave her!" "You should be more concerned where I'm gonna leave you." "Oh, no." "Amanda?" "Lee!" "Aah!" "Amanda." "Yeah." "Whoa." "Ow!" "He took Jean." "Where?" "I don't know." "All right." "You just stay with me." "Come on." "Lee." "Mm?" "Jean didn't know what he was doing." "Come on." "All right." "Now, Amanda, circle around to the right and distract them, okay?" "You're kidding." "No." "Just go on." "And keep down." "Game's over, Castille." "Jean, move away from him." "I can't." "You have to know how to handle women." "This isn't exactly Rio." "Seems to me we had a similar discussion in Brazil." "That discussion cost three lives." "Yeah." "I was sorry the way it turned out." "I had intended to kill you." "Funny how things come around." "Let her go." "Now." "And then we can be friends?" "I think not." "Did you see Amanda?" "She had a pressing engagement." "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "Get rid of the gun." "In the tub." "Thanks, partner." "This should clean up his act, huh?" "Come on." "You understand how wrong?" "Yes, Mom." "And do you know how upset I am?" "Yes, Mom." "Now, why in the world did you do this?" "We thought an eruption would be gnarly." "Gnarly?" "Well, you understand now that it wasn't?" "Yes, Mom." "What?" "Yes, Mom." "I want you to go upstairs, wash your hands, wash your face, change your clothes." "You're gonna come back down here and clean up every inch of this kitchen." "Move it!" "Oh." "It just goes to show you that playing with chemicals can be dangerous." "Well, I guess after they clean the kitchen they'll have learned a pretty good lesson." "You never know what's gonna pop up around here." "Uh, Mother, uh why don't you go upstairs and check on them." "Good idea." "I'll make sure they don't do something gnarly to the bathroom." "Yeah." "I'll take Vesuvius outside." "Hi." "Hello." "I just wanted to thank you for letting me borrow them." "Ah, you're welcome." "Mm." "Whoa." "Heh." "Mothers For a Safe Environment know about this?" "No, and don't you tell them either." "Heh." "We did get a municipal hearing on the toxic waste issue." "We're pretty proud of that." "Good." "Good." "The news gets better." "Our lab technicians found a way to neutralize those crystals." "Oh, that is good news." "Amanda, I'll be right down." "Okay, Mother." "Well, look, I better get inside and neutralize my kitchen." "Ah." "Wanna toss this for me, please?" "Oh, come on." "Take it." "It's just a volcano."