" Well, how did it go?" " The guy never showed." " Then you didn't use the Beta unit?" " Nope." "Well, that's too bad, I was really hoping to field test this baby." "Oh!" "Don't worry, Walter." "There'll be other days." " Other living things to kill." " Yeah!" "I guess you are right." "Good night." "We just got confirmation." "He never left Athens." " We'll try again next week." " Whatever!" "Where do you go when you leave here?" "Very good!" "It usually takes the new ones several years to ask me that question." "So how many years does it take to get an answer?" "I don't know." "I haven't yet." "No!" "Kill all the non-essential processes, now!" "Unlayer everything but the system volume." " Birkoff!" "What's happening down there?" " Someone is running a program." "What are you saying?" "The system's been breached?" "I don't see how." "We've been totally off line." "I've been running in stand alone mode." "What the-?" "Oh, no." " Is someone tunneling in?" " It can't be." "We're not connected." "OK, Birkoff, then what is the problem?" "Are we OK?" "It must've been a runaway process." "But we're OK, right?" "You weren't on line." "No." " It was contained." " Nikita, call the agency." "See if there is any similar activity in their computer." "Nikita, don't!" "Oh, no." " Damn, it Birkoff, what is this?" " It was a drone program." "A few minutes ago when I was off line it was collecting data." "When Nikita dialed out it used a digital telephone to send." "Send what?" "The directory." "Oh, my God." "The directory is a file containing the identity and cover of everyone in the Section." "If we don't get it back, each of us becomes an unprotected target." "We swiched operatives to alter the cover wherever possible." " Why don't we bring all the operatives in?" " Because they have a job to do." "And if they stop doing it we'll leave the civilian population unprotected." "Have all our people been contacted?" "We've reached everyone but Porter and Lang." " Could they be implicated in this?" " We're looking in to it." " What do you have?" " Whoever broke in knew our system." "Probably someone we've communicated with in the past." "He left us a message." "All communication channels are open for incoming only." "We're on close quarter stand-by until we receive." "It's incoming!" "Sir, this is it." " Hardin!" " Sorry to cause so much trouble." "The small flaw in your security system came to my attention, and I couldn't resist." " The file's encrypted" " I've broken it." "Prove it!" "You are missing two operatives, named Porter and Lang." "You'll find Porter's body at the bottom of the canal of Broad Street." " I turned Lang over to Illia Benko." " Who?" "Don't pretend to be unaware of one of the most vicious terrorist on the planet, specially since he regards Section One as being the chief impediment" " to the spread of his ideology." " Why did you give Lang to him?" "I know he'd require proof." "Just as you do." "After all, you know, fair is fair." " Should we get down to business?" " What do you want?" "An auction." "Two bidders:" "the Section and Benko." "Send an operative to Prague immediately." "Instructions will follow." "If you try to sabotage me in any way, the directory goes straight to Benko." " Birkoff, trace?" " The signal is scrambled." "Verify the body in the canal." "You leave for Prague tonight." " How much am I authorized to bid?" " Whatever it takes, Michael." " Have you met Mr. Benko?" " I know him by reputation." "And I went through a lot of trouble of bringing you a present." "Knowing how concerned you are about your operatives," "I took the opportunity of returning Mr. Lang- what's left of him." "Thank you." "Ooops!" "Well, shall we begin?" "The procedure is simple." "Each of you writes a figure on the sheet of paper in front of you." "The winner gets the prize." "Interesting problem, isn't it?" "You don't wanna overbid, yet if you underbid, well, the consequences could be drastic." "I suggest pulling out all the stops." "Gentlemen." "We have a winner." "Who is it?" "Let's not risk any unpleasentness discussing that now." "I'll be in touch." "The winner will wire my account and the directory will be delivered." "If the directory ends up in his hands, we'll hunt you down." "There is not enough money in the world to protect you." "If he gets the directory, you'll be to busy running for you lives to hunt anything down." "Besides, never underestimate the power of money." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some arrangements to make." " Thirty millions was too low." " He knows we have limits." "A higher bid won't have been creditable." " We should have heard from him by now." " It doesn't mean we've lost." "The directory is valuable." "He has to be cautious." "Congratulations!" "The streets won't be littered with Section One bodies after all." "Where's the directory?" "I've downloaded account numbers to your Comm division." "I want the money divided equally among them." "As soon as I have confirmation," "I'll be leaving Prague immediately and bring in the directory to you personally." " How do I know the file hasn't been copied?" " Oh!" "Come on!" "Why would I jeopardize such a rewarding relationship by double crossing you?" "You'll have the money within the hour." " Anything?" " Nothing." "He doesn't have the disk." "Hardin had the directory when he called, and a few minutes later it was gone." "What about the bus?" "It's been reduced to a pile of molecules, we found nothing." "And the passengers?" "There were eighteen, we think Hardin may have planted the disc on one of them," " hoping to retrieve it later." " Are you saying he has a partner on the bus?" "No." "Most likely, he chose someone at random." "So, are we going to pull all eighteen people off the street?" "No." "We will work on them covertly." "We had little time to prepare profiles." "But we've done what we could." "An approach has been tailored for each passenger." " Gray Wellman?" " That's right." "I'm officer Dennis Larsen." "I wonder if I could ask you to come down to the station?" " Why?" " We need to ask you a few questions." "My daughter." "Has something happened to my daughter?" "There is nothing wrong with anyone you know, and you're not under suspision." " We just need your assistance." " I get my coat." "Thank you for coming down to the station." "No problem." "You were on a bus yesterday on Ninth Street." "That's right." "A man bordered at Aldon, right by the museum." "Do you know him?" "Uhm, no." " I saw him get on, tough." " What did he do after he bordered?" " Is he some kind of criminal?" " Yes, he is." "He got on, he sat down, he rode for a while, and he got off." "I need details Mr. Wellman." "Anything you can remember." "Wellman will be with Madeline for no more than an hour." "Oh, he's an architect." "The directory may no longer be in a conventional disc form." "It may be on a micro disc, easy to hide and the data can be transfered to a disc in seconds." "It might even be in print." "Ignore no possibilities, however remote." " Did he sit with anyone?" " No he sat alone." "He stayed on for a stop or two, then he got off." " Any signs of stress?" " No more than you'd expect." " Did he talk to anyone?" " Not that I saw." "On his way up the aisle he did brush up against one of the passengers." " Who?" " Me." " Did he try and give you anything?" " No." "Do you think he could have slipped something in a pocket?" " I would have noticed." " Were you carrying a bag," " or a briefcase of any sort?" " No." "I've checked the pictures." "I was just wandering what to do if his wife came home." "She's dead." "And his daughter is spending the weekend with his grandparents." "Just one more question, Mr. Wellman." "You're a fairly successful man." "Why were you taking the bus?" "It gives me a chance to look at old buildings." "I'm an architect." "What do you think?" "I think he's an architect who likes to ride the bus." "Great." "Yes?" "OK." "He's on his way." "Let's put it back together." " How much time have we've got?" " Fifteen minutes." "We canitiesed the passengers, torn the bus apart..." " The directory has to be somewhere." " Unless Banko's already found it?" "Doubtful." "Our people haven't started dying yet, but they sure damn well will if he gets to it first." "The only one on the bus who had any contact with Hardin at all," " is the architect Wellman." " You think he's a player?" "No." "We checked him out." "He's clean." "Yes, but maybe we can use him." "Banko has his own intelligence network." "By now he knows as much about the passengers as we do." "We'll make him think Wellman has the directory." "If we can't get the directory," " let's atleast bring down Banko." " How do we get the information to Banko?" "We know someone he does business with." "Mick Schtoppel." "Call Nikita." "QH13576..." "Oh, I'm so sorry." "Excuse me." "Thank you." "Are you still using Kickletter's book for Design 101?" "Uhm, yeah, I guess so, I just started like a week ago." " You go to City?" " Yeah" "Word of warning." "Keep away from professor Sealer." "She's viscous." "Thanks." "You went to City?" "Ah, yeah for two years and then I went to Pauli." "Really, Pauli?" "Wow!" "I'd like to go Pauli." "Yeah, actually that's a great book on history of post modern architecture." " The white one." " Oh, this one?" "This one isn't bad either, I mean..." "Banko!" "We got Mick Schtoppel on the line." "Coming." "What's up, Mick?" "Well I just received an interesting phone call." " From whom?" " A woman." "She says she's a friend of Gray Wellman's." " A passenger on the bus." " She claims to have the directory." " How much does she want?" " She wouldn't talk price on the phone." "But she did say she would like to meet you in person." "This church is one of the finest examples of what they were doing ...at the turn of the century." " It's beautiful." "I'd bring my daughter by here, once in a while." "What happened?" "Did she get bitten by the bug?" "No." "The only architecture she's into is Barbie's dollhouse." " I should really get going." " I'm sorry if I kept you." "No, not at all." "Actually if you wouldn't mind walking with me I'd like to hear some more." " I'm not boring you?" " No!" " Sure." "Oh my..." "I don't believe it." "It's an old friend of mine I haven't seen for years." "Could you just wait for one second?" "I'll be right back." " Where's Benko?" " How did you know to contact us?" "We were partners with the late Mr. Hardin." "Oh!" "Really!" "I didn't think Hardin had any partners." "Really." "There's a lot you don't know." "Does this Wellman always let a woman do the talking for him?" "Look, you're dealing with me." "Do you want to play 20 questions, or do you want the directory?" "Ok, here's the offer." "You give us the directory, we let you live." " I told you I wanted to meet Benko." " That's not possible." "I'll bet it is." "You tell him that when he's really to meet me to give me a call." "That was hysterical!" "Let's go and eat." " Hello?" " Tomorrow, at noon." "City Central park." " It's a big park!" " We'll find you." "Bring your friend." "You leave him out-!" "Tomorrow, at noon." "City Central park." " It's a big park!" " We'll find you." "Bring your friend." "You leave him out-!" "She was about to say 'Leave him out of it'." " Yes, she was." " Why are we still at this point with her?" "It's just that he's a civilian." "He's done nothing wrong." "It's completely irrelevant, and you know it." "Doesn't she understand what's at stake here?" "She understands." "I know Wellman is a widower, with a young child." "But I don't want any sentimentality on Nikita's part to get in the way of the mission." " Is that clear?" " Of course." "You've done a good job with Nikita." "She still lacks perspective, that's all." "You don't think she's formed any attachment to Wellman?" "They've only seen each other a couple of times." " That's not what I asked." " I don't think she has." "Good!" "But sooner or later, she will." "Whether it's with Wellman or someone else." "And when that situation happens, will you be able to handle it?" " Why wouldn't I be?" " That's a question only you can answer." "Well, the first year was the toughest." "I mean, Casey kept asking when is mommy coming home, and..." "It's a little tricky to explain death to a three-year-old." " So how's she doing now?" " She's good." "Of course I think she misses having a mother." " I'm sure you're doing a great job." " Mr. Mom, that's me." "They're leaving the rink." " Heading south across the square." " Got them." "Not that smooth, am I?" " Carrying on about my wife." " You're not carrying on about your wife." "You're carrying on about your daughter." "It's charming." "Stay int the grid, Nikita." "A few degrees south." "Who's idea was it to take a walk in sub zero temperature?" " It was mine." " Good idea." "I thought so." "Nikita, check out the blue windbreaker to your left." "See if it's Banko." "You know it's weird." "I haven't been to that library for months." " Funny how people meet." " Sorry." "Sorry, what did you say?" "Nothing." "I was just babbling." "Michael, he's over an hour late." "When do you want to call it?" "OK, everyone in." "We're terminating." "Nikita, I'll see you back at the section." "Ah listen gray." "I got to go." "I believe I got a lot of homework tonight." " You need help?" "I got a home." " Not tonight." "Thanks." "Listen Nikita." "I don't mean to scare you, but..." "What?" "I like being with you." "It takes a lot more than that to scare me." " Now I'm scared." " Come on." " No sign of Banko at the perimiter?" " Nope." "OK, let's go." "I sort of fell into architecture." "There's lots of stuff I want to study." "I mean, I studied dance for a while." "You know, it's still working out, it's" " What's wrong?" " Nothing." "Do you mind if we take a cab?" " Taxi!" " Sure." "Listen, do you mind if we take a rein check?" "I got some stuff to do." "Things to pick up." " Is there something wrong?" " No, nothing's wrong." "Not at all, I just got stuff." " Ok, so dinner later and I got your number?" "Absolutely." "It'd be fantastic." "I'd love it." "Thanks." "Michael, are you with me?" "Michael?" "Hello darling, how are you?" "Just remember, OK?" "You asked for this." " Hello." "Do you have the directory?" " No, not on me." "Why did Wellman leave?" "Well, we thought it might be a little healthier to separate." "By the way I've never thanked you for killing Hardin." "You increased our profit by a third." "That's all you think about isn't it?" "Profit." "You people disgust me." "Oh, I can live with that." "Shall we talk price?" "Yeah." "The price is your life." "Take me to the directory now." " I can't do that." " And why is that?" "Well, because there's been instructions sent." "If I don't return to Wellman on my own, the directory gets destroyed." "You were right, Mick." "She's a real live wire." "Get her in the van." "Killing me is not gonna get you the directory." "Fifty million dollars will." "Get in!" "Open it." "What are you doing?" "Do you see that statue?" "It's wearing a necklace just like yours." " How far away from here is the directory?" " What?" " Miles!" "How many miles?" " Three." "Maybe four." "The necklace is equipped with a microphone." "Everything you say or do, including any efforts you might make to remove it, will be heard." "If for any reason we don't like what we hear..." "Now, I will see you in the center of the square." "You'll be there in two hours." "Get out." "Can Walter defuse plastique?" "He says it's too risky." "Benko might hear it." "We have to give Benko a scenario that he's comfortable with." "How do we do that without involving Wellman?" "We don't have Wellman but we have his voice from the interrogation." "Birkoff says we can simulate a conversation." " How much longer?" " The sonogram is training ...the voice program now" " How much longer?" "Two minutes." "We should be able to generate short sentences." " And the other effects?" " They're all ready." " We're just waiting on this." " OK." "What the hell is she doing?" "Why aren't we hearing anything?" "It's sending and we're receiving." "Here we go." "Where've you been?" "Did you have the meeting?" "Yeah, I had the meeting." "Where is the directory?" " What about the money?" " Forget the about the money." "I'm gonna die." " What are you talking about?" " You see this thing around my neck?" "It's plastique." "Benko pushes a button, I'm history." "Give me the disc." " Let's stick for a minute." " We don't have a minute." "I have to meet Benko in less than an hour." "And he's listening to every word we say." " It's in the top left drawer." " Stay here till I get back." "There she is." "Go get the disc." "One of you stays with her until I've checked it out." "You lost again, Benko." "Section One." "What are you waiting for?" " Why don't you shoot me?" " You might be worth something to us alive." "Your girl." "She's still alive." "Oh, yeah!" "Very much alive." "Come on, Mr Benko." "Push the button." "Nikita!" "Neither one of us has very much to lose." "Go on." "Thank you." "I knew he didn't have the guts." "I see you lost your necklace." "Well, I prefer my own jewelry." " So the directory is still at large?" " I'm afraid so." "So some of us continue to walk around with a sort of Damocles over our heads." "Where are you going?" " To dinner." " With Mr. Wellman?" " Yes." "Is that a problem?" " That depends." " Is it about dinner or something more?" " I don't know yet." "Your relationship with us is the only real relationship you'll ever have." "If knowing that, you still want to proceed, ...I just hope he's a good cook." " I'm sure he's a fabulous cook." " Hi." " Hi." " Take your coat?" " Yeah." "Thank you."