" What is this?" "|" " It's the number table you wanted." "Are you an idiot?" "I want you to cycle it through.|" "Don't give it to me." " Sorry.|" " Bonehead!" " How about this?" "|" " No!" "We already tried those." "What's wrong with you people?" "Why don't you just go home?" "Worthless." "I mean it!" "Get out of here!" "How many people does it take|to reprogram..." "I've been as accommodating as I can be.|" "This has got to stop." "We've come this far." "Another few hours|won't make any difference." "Why can't he hand it off|to somebody else?" "We've tried." "Birkoff is the only one who has any idea|how to approach this thing." "It's an unusual code." "But is it worth holding up a dozen|other operations that need his attention?" "We've tried for two years|to get sourced into this group." "These people are extremely careful." "We were lucky to even intercept|a communication." "Fine." "But when does it end?" " Give him until tomorrow morning.|" " No more than that." "Yeah!" "Larry seems to be okay." "Everything rolls off him." "But it's my daughter I'm worried about.|" "She doesn't want to talk about it." "And it concerns me, because I'm|a big believer in communication." "How often do you get to see them?" "A couple times a month." "Unless Denise goes out of town|with the new boyfriend." "So how long have you been separated for?" "Let's see, I lost my job in September... so since October." "What now?" "I'm gonna get a job." "And then I'm gonna get Denise back." " That sounds crazy, doesn't it?" "|" " At least you have a plan." " Did you want some tea?" "|" " Oh, no." "I've got to get back.|" "I've got tons of boxes to unpack." "If you need any help, just give us a shout." "Is everybody in this building|as nice as you are?" " I don't really know anybody else.|" " Well, you do now." "Thanks for this." "I'll get it back to you." " See you, Barry.|" " Bye." " Thanks.|" " You're welcome." "An explosion at a soccer match|in Manchester, England." "A car bomb at a Lima, Peru embassy.|" "A charter plane down in Japan." "Relatively small incidents,|seemingly unrelated." "Linked only by the fact that we have been|unable to source them." "Birkoff?" "I cross-correlated the data on each act." "I discovered that each of the detonations|resulted from a trigger communication... from a DoD satellite." " Department of Defense?" "|" " That's right." "Someone drilled into a friendly satellite|and was using it for terrorist acts." "Why such small incidents|if they can control DoD computers?" "That's the scary part." "Someone's beta testing the software,|working out the kinks." "And when they do, we can assume the|actions will be much more devastating." "Why don't we just take out the satellite?" "We have, but the same techniques|can be used on others." "In the meantime,|" "Birkoff has exacted a location... from the group's|" "last encoded command set." "Work up an approach strategy." " What mode?" "|" " Bring back as many as you can." "Let's find out who these people are." "The building is stand-alone,|4,500 square meters, mostly space." "Birkoff, how many bodies are you reading?" "Right now, I see 12.|" "Plus transmitters and computers." "It'd be nice to bring|some of that stuff back intact." "Assume a high-density defense.|" "We'll strike quickly." "Teams 2 and 3, stay outside.|" "Cover the retreat." "Team 1, report." "There's no one here." "I'm picking up twelve bodies.|" "Someone's there." "I just sent you a mark." "Check it out." "What is it?" "It's a trap." "What does analysis have to say about|what they found on site?" "Everything was state of the art.|" "No expense was spared." "Red Cell?" "No, it doesn't have their signature." "Red Cell wouldn't go to the trouble|to fully automate an operation." "They'd use personnel." "It was a bogus code." "Probably a decoy." "Not according to our friends from the NSA." " What did they say?" "|" " That the information was in the code." "The data you extracted|was simply an outer shell." "A protective mechanism." " Could they get at it?" "|" " No." "They've tried.|" "It's beyond their capabilities." "This is unacceptable." "There's got to be someone|who can do this." "Can you find us someone?" " From the outside?" "|" " Yes." "There's probably no more than|a handful of mathematicians... who work in this area at this level." "Find them." "Yes, sir." "Emil Ondruska." "The world's leading specialist|in non-linear key theory." " Where does he do his work from?" "|" " The University of St. Petersburg." " Government affiliations?" "|" " Many." "He's owned by Moscow." "Sung-Hee Park.|" "A professor at a think tank in North Korea." "She was the brains behind|the J-MEV algorithm." "How about somebody accessible?" "Like I told you, it's a pretty select group." "I did pull one match from the West|who might be able to do it." " But there are constraints.|" " What kind of constraints?" "He's young." "His name is Greg Hillinger." "Graduated high school at 11, college at 13." "He received his Ph. D. after six months." "Wrote his thesis|on non-linear principal components." "Because he's the youngest tenured|professor in the history of the University..." " he's highly visible.|" " What makes you think he can do this?" "He's written several papers|on statistical L-trees." "Exactly the kind of approach|that's needed." "Family?" "Actually, he still lives with his mother." "Would he cooperate with his government?" "He's turned down NSA and other agencies|who have tried to enlist him." "His mother doesn't want her only child|designing weapons." "Then we'll have to take him|against his will." "That shouldn't be too difficult." "The University sends a van|to pick him up every morning." " Where are your gloves?" "|" " I don't need them." "I don't want you getting sick." " Okay?" "|" " Don't you get smart with me." " Boy, do you need a haircut.|" " Mom, I gotta go." " We're having spaghetti for dinner.|" " Thanks." "Keep your hands warm." "What's going on, Jake?" "Who the hell are you?" "Hi, Greg." "I'm Nikita.|" "We're not going to hurt you." "We just need your help.|" "You'll be back home in 24 hours." " No-|" " Greg, I'm sorry." "24 hours, you'll be back home.|" "Before you know it." "Just take it easy." "You can't do this!" "|" "I happen to be a really important person!" "People will look for me,|and not just the police!" "I'm sorry we had to do this, Greg." "We need your assistance for a short time.|" "Then you'll be safely returned." "Go to hell.|" "I want to talk to the man in charge." " I am the man in charge.|" " You couldn't be in charge of my crotch." "Why hasn't he been sedated?" "That's real smart.|" "What are you going to do?" "Fill my brain with beta-blockers|and get me to solve a problem?" "Where am I, exactly, Stupid City?" "Take him to his room.|" "Tell Madeline he's here." " No.|" " Come on, Greg." "Easy." "Do you want to calm down for one second|so I can take your hood off?" "Yes, great." "Take the hood off." "Good.|" "Finally, I get to see this pathetic..." "What's that?" "That's not a Unix C shell.|" "I've never seen this OS before." "Are you running on some derivative|of the Korn interface?" "I don't know.|" "Birkoff will get into that with you." "Birkoff?" "Sounds like a Nazi." "No, you know what?" "|" "You're all Nazis!" "And don't tell me to calm down.|" "Because I'm not gonna calm down." "I'm not gonna do anything for anybody|until somebody lets me talk to my mom." "Go tell that to the guy with the bullfrog|in his throat who thinks he's in charge." "Thanks." "What do you think?" "I'll observe him for a couple of hours." " Then we'll have a talk.|" " Tolerate only so much from this kid." "If he doesn't cooperate, wear him down." "Hold on." "Barry, you're up late." " I'm sorry." "Did I get you up?" "|" " It's okay." "What's up?" "I've been in my apartment|going through the classifieds and..." " Any luck?" "|" " Not yet." "But I'm gonna make some|phone calls tomorrow, so..." "Good." " Do you want to come on in?" "|" " No, I really can't." "I just..." "Is there something wrong?" "Yes and no." "Not really." "But there's a favor I'd like to ask of you." "Sure, what is it?" "Could you hold on to this for me|just for a couple of days?" "What's in it?" " Jewelry, heirlooms, that sort of thing.|" " I don't understand." "Denise is sending over|a couple of lawyers tomorrow." "They're gonna do a discovery.|" "They're gonna search the whole place." "This divorce is really getting crazy." "I'd really rather not." "Yeah, I know what you mean.|" "You can't be too careful." "But really there's nothing|that spectacular in here." "It's just... some stuff." "It's my Dad's coin collection." "This ring." "My grandmother brought it|from Russia in 1897." "She never sold it,|even when things got tough." " It's very pretty.|" " Yeah." "I don't even know if it's worth anything,|but it means a lot to me." "I'd hate for those lawyers|to end up with it." " All right.|" " Great." "I'll come back tomorrow... after the lawyers are finished sniffing|around, and get it again, okay?" "Yes." "Good night." "I see you've made yourself at home." "I couldn't care less about this crap.|" "I'm just bored." "We don't want that." "Is somebody ever going to tell me|what I'm doing here?" "In a bit." "Okay." "What about..." "Birkoff." "Seymour Birkoff." "Age 21. 135 pounds. 20/80 vision." "Sys Admin for every host on this|" "LAN." "Should I continue?" "We've let you roam through an outer|non-secured area of the network... to give you something to do." "Gee, thanks." "You think I can't dig deeper?" "If you did... and by some fluke... happened onto something classified... you would never go home again." "Never see your mother again." "Your life would be over." "We've gone to a great deal of trouble|to protect you." "Don't work against us, Gregory." "Who are you guys?" "Secret Service, Interpol?" "We need you to break a code." "That's it?" "Just break a code?" "Why didn't you just ask me?" "We couldn't take a chance|that you or your mother might object." "It needs to be done immediately." "What if I don't do it?" "You'll do it." " He's ready.|" " Great." "Remember, this is not about|who's smarter than whom." "Yeah, I know." "He'll challenge you." "Stay above it." "We have an objective and a deadline." "It's Birkoff!" "Come on in." "How's it going, Birkoff?" "Good." "I wish you guys would let me in deeper... because there's really not|too much more I can fix here." " Fix?" "|" " Yeah." "You had some bad modification dates|in your master symbol table." " Which one?" "|" " Don't worry, I fixed them." "Let's just get to work, okay?" "Then you can go back home|to your mommy." "Sure." "So, you're the guy|who couldn't break the code." "Yeah, I haven't devoted my entire life|to one obscure corner of technology." "Non-linear principal components?" "|" "Yeah, I remember that." "Six months, actually." "It was fun." "Did it at UCLA.|" "I learned to surf that summer." "Here it is." "Let's take a look." "It's got an outer shell.|" "It's a big decoy if you're six years old." "So what is this place?" "Just work." "What's the matter?" "Can't you chew gum|and walk at the same time?" "What'd they do, kidnap you, too?" "Okay." "Watch this." "You like that?" " That function wasn't in the program.|" " I know." "So what do you want to do now?" "What do you mean, you're done?" "Of course not, Einstein.|" "It's got to cycle through." " How long is it gonna take?" "|" " On that piece of crap?" "I don't know, 12 hours." "Can it go any faster?" "Not unless you've got a multi-threaded OS|hanging around the bat cave." "We've got one." "I can't take you there." "Patch me in." "Read only." "I can't touch anything." "You'll have your code in two hours." "I can't give you that kind of access." "You're right." "It's safer to have a guy like me|outside the firewall." "It's not like we're in a hurry or anything." "All right, I'll go up, open a channel." " Good." "Then maybe I can get out of here.|" " That'd be nice." "We just heard from Birkoff.|" "Greg was successful." "He broke the code." "What did it tell us?" "The transmission was sent from|a small village in South Africa." "Prepare a team." "Hey." " So I hear Boy Wonder came through.|" " Yeah." "Don't mope, Birkoff." "It doesn't become you." "You know what really bugs me?" "I was just like him when I was his age.|" "I thought I had all the answers." " But he does.|" " No, he doesn't." "He's got everybody fooled.|" "He's a one-trick pony." "Okay." "So when's the pony going home?" " That's your job.|" " I'm not on Team 1?" "You're Greggie's ride home." "Don't worry.|" "You're still my favorite overachiever." "I've got good news, Greg.|" "You'll be going home..." "I thought you said he was in his room." " Did someone else come pick him up?" "|" " No." "Why?" " Is everything okay?" "|" " Yeah, he's here." "Never mind." "Listen to me carefully.|" "Has anyone seen you?" "Yes or no?" "Here's what we're gonna do.|" "I'm gonna put this hood on your head... and we're out of here." "If anybody had found out|you'd seen this place... you'd never leave here, ever." "Do you understand?" "I don't want to leave." "Have you seen that stuff?" "|" "They've got ten times more resources... than any think tank|they've wanted me to work at." " You're not hearing me.|" " I'm hearing you just fine." "I'm never going to get out.|" "Blah, blah, blah." "But you forget who I am." "Computers control this whole compound.|" "Who controls the computers?" "I do." " What about your mother?" "|" " If I miss her, I'll leave." "I can find a way, believe me." "But that's gonna be a while,|'cause I like it here." "Do you know what this place is?" "|" "Do you have any idea what they do here?" "I don't know.|" "Intelligence gathering for some MNC?" "Who cares?" "Whoever you are,|those are some really expensive toys." "You've got enough R and D dollars|to do some really serious damage." "You're going home." "Aren't you forgetting something, Barbie?" "|" "I've seen this place." "I'm gonna tell somebody|and they'll make me stay." "If you say a word, I'll break your neck." "Got it?" "Good." "Walk slowly, boy." " Where are we going?" "|" " I want to show you something." "Oh, God." "Do you like that?" "Because you better get used to it|if you want to hang here." "It happens every day." "What is he?" "Some kind of criminal?" "No." "That's Dave." "He works here." "Why are they doing that to him?" "He made a mistake." "He had lunch with an old girlfriend|in London." "I don't get it." "They thought maybe he told her|about this place." "He probably didn't,|but they wanted to make sure... before they kill him." "Now we're going to go back to your room,|and we're gonna get your things." "And then we're gonna leave." "And you'll never tell anybody|about any of this." "Right?" "Bring the boy." "No!" "Leave me alone!" "What the hell are you doing?" "|" "I'm gonna see stuff." "You already have." "I tried to warn you, Greg." "Take him." "What do we do about you now?" "He's a teenage boy|with an extraordinary mind." "Who knows what he will accomplish or|how many people will benefit if he lives?" "You want to lock him up|because that's what the rule book says?" "Your point is well taken." "But these aren't easy decisions.|" "I don't enjoy making them." "I think you do." "I think you go home to bed every night... hoping someone will screw up|so you can make your hard decisions." "I'll overlook this incident for now." "But we will be watching you more closely." "Birkoff, are you there?" "Are you seeing it, too?" "Why is the beacon moving?" "I don't know." "I thought we were|supposed to be locked on." "Could the target be moving?" "Not three times the speed of sound." "What does it mean?" "It means the sequence Greg extracted|from the code is self-modifying." "A virus?" "Could be." "Maybe Amadeus didn't catch it." "I'll see ifl can separate out some|clean data." "Give me a minute here." "No, you got it wrong." "You got it all wrong.|" "I went right from the bar to Rod's place." "If you like, just talk to Rod, not me." "We'll be back in an hour.|" "You better have it, Barry." " Thank you.|" " Yeah, thanks." "That was a stupid thing you did, Greg." "Unfortunately... this place cannot tolerate mistakes.|" "You've seen that." "Spare me the lecture, old folks.|" "Are you gonna let me go or not?" "No, we're not." " You might want to reconsider that.|" " And why would I want to do that?" "Ask Birkoff." "Sir, I'm sorry, we're in the middle of|a multiple anomaly." "What's wrong?" "The decoded sequence is generating|a virus that's bleeding into the system." " The entire system?" "|" " Yeah." "I might be able to fix that for you." "Team 3, come in.|" "We're not receiving." "Are you there?" " Use analog.|" " But it's not secure." "It doesn't matter." "All our digital channels|are being corrupted by this thing." "That's a non-essential process." "Kill it." "Call NATO Comm, find out if we can|borrow some of their bandwidth." "It's getting worse." "Our communication|integrity is down almost 80%." " How many places are we mid-mission?" "|" " Three." "I'm trying to work around it." "And Michael?" "He's in a holding pattern|outside Johannesburg." "I'm trying to figure out if the location|" "Greg extracted from the code is real." "He says he can make|the problem go away if we let him go." "I should have seen this coming." "This is just a game for him.|" "We can't let him win." "Can you get us out of this?" "No." "He's too good." "Hi, Barry." " Hi, Nikita." "I need that thing back.|" " Come on in." " I'm in really a hurry.|" " Sure." "So why are you in such a hurry?" "It's just been a crazy day." " Thank you.|" " I'm listening." "It's just personal stuff." " It's not important.|" " So how's the kids?" "Or was that a lie, too?" "No." "If you want the box back,|maybe you can tell me what's going on." "What are you talking about?" "What are you doing|with half a kilogram of heroin?" "Look, it's not what you think.|" "I've never done this before." "I've lost my job and my family." "If I can just get enough money|to get back on my feet..." "I can get us back together again." "Selling drugs?" "Just this once.|" "Just till I get back on my feet." "Then why am I holding it for you?" "Okay." "I got greedy and I skimmed a little,|and I didn't think anybody would notice." "But they did." "It doesn't matter.|" "I'm gonna give it back to them now..." " and that will be the end of it.|" " That's crap." "I guess I was wrong about you.|" "I thought you were my friend." "I am." "That's them, okay?" "I gotta go now." "Guys, we're in here!" "We got your heroin." "What's going on, Barry?" "Yeah, I forgot." "I left it in here." " Where is it?" "|" " I flushed it down the toilet." "She's kidding." "Right?" "No, I'm not." "See, a lot of people who sell drugs,|sell them to kids." "They use them, they get addicted." "Really." "I don't know who you are... but you better come up|with those bags right now." " Okay?" "|" " Sure, okay." "Put down the gun, please." "Barry, will you tell him|to put down the gun?" "Leave!" " Where?" "|" " Just pack up your things and go, now." " What's gonna happen-|" " Go!" "Three, five, seven, black.|" "I've been exposed." "Send housekeeping." "Guess you heard." "They're letting you go." "There's a surprise." "Okay, I've eradicated most of the virus." "I'm not gonna kill it all until I'm safe." "Sure." "And I suppose I don't have to tell|a smart boy like you... that if the virus is left unattended,|it's gonna come back worse than before." "I know, Greg." "It's your world.|" "We just live in it." "You know what..." "I never thought about it like that,|" "Seymour, but you're probably right." "Thanks." "Your cover story will be that you were|kidnapped and later recovered by the fbi." " Who were the kidnappers?" "|" " Bulgarian nationalists." "That's not bad." "Okay, all right, they wanted me to... help them develop a system|for the Gamma Project." "That'll fly with the NSA." "Before we can release you... you will need to sign several|non-disclosure statements." "Then take a binding oath|in the presence of an international officer." "Do you have a problem with that?" "It just depends on|what's in the statements." "I'm sure if the language|is not to your liking... you won't have any difficulty... in suggesting alternatives|we can both live with." "Sure, I'd be happy|to help you out there, too." "Birkoff will be going with you." "As soon as you're back home,|you'll give him the correction." "No problemo." "It's okay, Mom." "I'm right here, okay?" "It's so simple,|when you know what you're doing." "That's it." "Not yet." "Roberta, it's me." "Check out the file N6-dot-BAK.." "Yeah, I can read it." "And our line to Johannesburg?" "We're on." "Okay, you're up and running." "He's clear." "See you later." "Yeah, it's too bad you're stuck here.|" "I could always use another assistant." "Okay, Roberta, it's me again." "I want you to do a warm boot|on the entire system." "The entire system?" "If we're not clean,|we'll lose too much data." "It's the only way we'll know for sure." "Okay." "...they didn't hurt me or anything.|" "One of them..." " We're up and running.|" " Okay, we're done." "It paid off." " What are you guys still doing here?" "|" " You're going with them." "I'm sorry, Greg." "You should have listened." " What are you going to do with me?" "|" " We're gonna take you back." "For how long?" "Oh, God." "What about my mom?" "Where's my mom?" "She won't even know we were here." "Am I ever gonna see her again?" " Michael just got back from Johannesburg.|" " And?" "The location was destroyed." "We've brought back hostiles." " What about the hardware?" "|" " They stripped it." "It's being reverse engineered." "Who was behind it?" "Just another group of insane misfits|empowered by technology." "Another day at the office." "What about Hillinger?" "I'm working on an integration program." " What's his survival likelihood?" "|" " Over 92%, actually." "He's a surprisingly good match."