"THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU" "Let's welcome our favorite alumnus, and the next senator from the state of New York," "David Norris!" "Thank you." "Thank you." "Well, hi, there." "My name is David Norris, and I'd like to be the next senator from the great state of New York." "Look at you." "What's your name?" "I'm going to go through Yonkers, door to door" " and take the city that way." " We love you." "The recent endorsement by the fire fighter's union is another boost to Norris who already had a six-point lead over his opponent, Roger Linfield." "Whenever I see you on C-Span, and you stand," "I always think you're about to go, "Chug!"" "Congressman, you certainly started your career off, eight years ago, with a bang or should I say, a bust." "For the last eight years," "David Norris has represented Brooklyn, New York City and America." "This is my campaign chairman, Charlie Traynor." "These are voters." "Latest polls have you up 10 points." "We're 10 points up?" "This is not going to be easy getting there." "I have some real opposition, and what they're saying about me is that I'm too young to hold this office." "Win big, but run like you're 20 down." "Okay, you got it." "Thank you, Gary." "But that's okay because these are the same people who say that young people don't vote, young people don't care about politics, but I'm here to tell you, your future is about your choices, not theirs." "So, today I'd like to put them on notice because come November, I want them to know that it was young people like you, who kicked their asses." "David!" "David!" "Thank you." "Charlie." "What's wrong?" "Yeah?" "Any ideas?" "I'm working on it." "Keep me posted." "Yeah." "David Norris, until recently, he was way ahead in the polls." "Mary Matalin and James Carville are here." "Mary, this is a surprise." "It is a surprise." "Such political promise." "This compelling story, he grew up in a rough neighborhood in Brooklyn." "He overcame the loss of his entire family, his mom and his brother when he was 10, his father before he got to high school, he got over that." "He had such promise." "And he was the youngest person ever elected to the House of Representatives." "Yeah, he was elected when he was actually 24, but he gets in a bar room fight the night that he's elected." "I like this, all right." "Then you have this photo coming out of the New York Post." "I think the accretion of this stuff was just too much for the voters." "It reeked of some level of immaturity here, of impulsiveness." "People want maturity, they want adults in Congress." "Big night for us, gentlemen." "Everybody ready?" "You look exhausted." "You should take a vacation when all this is finished." "You've earned it." "I'm not sure the kind of tired I am can be fixed by a vacation." "Everybody needs a vacation, even us." "All right, let's get him back on track." "Mary, over the past couple of weeks since the photo came out, they thought people..." "Why are you still watching CNN?" "That it wasn't such a big deal, but clearly it was." "They called this way too early." "Come on." "Put on your pretty little tie and let's go." "Suffolk County numbers," "Linfield, 415,120." "Norris... 370,233." "Wow." "I really thought we'd win Suffolk." "Kings County just came in, too." "Well..." "I didn't win Brooklyn." "It's going to be a blow out." "NBC has us up next." "I'm going to go work on my speech." "David..." "David." "Hey!" "I'm sorry I wasted your time, Charlie." "NBC news is now calling the election for Roger Linfield." "After a shockingly poor showing at both Suffolk County, and his home county, Kings, it now appears David Norris will lose this election badly." "Hello?" "Hello?" "I grew up in Red Hook, and I don't want to surprise anybody, but I got into a few fistfights along the way." "It's not whether or not you get knocked down, it's what you do when you get back up." "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here tonight to tell you" "I will get back up." "But tonight is not about me." "It is about coming together and welcoming the newest senator for the great state of New York," "Roger Linfield." "Shit!" "Shit, shit, shit." "Hello?" " It's the men's." " Yep." "Sorry about that." "I didn't mean to eavesdrop." "I just didn't know what to do." "I heard you come in and say, "Hello,"" "and I probably should have said, "Hi,"" "but then I thought that would be weird because it's the men's." "Then you started talking to yourself and it was obviously very personal." "So I was stuck in no man's land, and then it all got to be too much, so I came out." "What are you doing in here?" "Just..." "I'm hiding from security." "Why?" "I crashed a wedding upstairs." "People still do that?" "It was a dare." "Who dared you to crash a wedding?" "Me." "Oh." "I crashed a wedding once." " Did you?" " Yeah, in high school." "Oh." "But I got caught." "I spent the night in jail." "I think that happened more than once from what I heard." "You're that guy running for Senate, aren't you?" "Yeah, I am that guy." "And judging from your speech, you're not winning?" "No." "Oh." "That's too bad, the other guy is such a tool." "He is a tool." "I wish I could have made that clearer in the campaign ads." "Personally, I think mooning your friends at a college reunion is no big deal." "The Post did not have to run the photo." "At least not a full page." "God, no." "It was my favorite moment of your whole campaign." "Really?" "I could have used you on my team a couple of months ago." "I could help poll test every word that comes out of your mouth before you say it." "Oh, you like politicians?" "I like it when they do stuff I can relate to." " Like pull their pants down?" " I love that." "See, that kind of candidate wouldn't even get elected to the student council." "My guy would know how to tie his own tie." "It's a clip-on." "Oh, I wish." "That would have been my other favorite moment of your campaign." "Do you still have a chance?" "Is it over?" "He crushed me." "Sorry." "Well, losing has its advantages." "Like what?" "For one thing, as a politician, you're never really alone unless you're asleep, or in the bathroom usually." "That gets old." "Really?" "Yeah, I guess I'm mostly just looking forward to having some time by myself." "I don't buy it." "I think you love it." "Do I know you?" "I guess I could have been more convincing." "Okay." "You don't have to worry about being convincing till the next election." "Are you a registered New York voter?" "Do I sound like I am?" "Holy shit." "David." "Oh." "Wow, sorry, guys." " Sorry." " I got to go." "Sorry." " Wow." " Hang on." " You going to give your speech?" " Hang on." "Hey!" "Hey." "Ma'am." "I got to go." "Ma'am?" "That is so much better." "She's on the move." "Southwest staircase." "Excuse me?" "Ma'am." "What was that?" "I don't know." "Are you ready?" "Yeah, yeah." "All right, go do the speech." "Come on." "Congressman David Norris." "I grew up not far away from here, in Red Hook." " Brooklyn!" " I love you, David!" "I love you more!" "I love you both." "But we had a rule in my neighborhood." "When you got in a fight, it wasn't whether or not you got knocked down, it's what you do when you get back up." "And I came here to tell you tonight, that I will get back up." "It's bullshit." "We didn't have that saying in my neighborhood." "It's just one of those phrases that had some traction with the focus group and so we kept using it, but it's not true." "In 1998, I did a cover story for GQ." "The title was "Youngest Congressman Ever."" "And since then, every story has tried to explain how I got here so fast." "And the word that people kept using was "authentic."" "But here's the problem." "This isn't even my tie." " Go get Jim for me." " This tie was selected for me by a group of specialists in Tenafly, New Jersey who chose it over 56 other ties we tested." "In fact, our data suggests that I have to stick to either a tie that is red or a tie that is blue." "A yellow tie made it look as if I was taking my situation lightly, and I may in fact, pull my pants down again at any moment." "A silver tie meant that I'd forgotten my roots." "My shoes..." "You know, shiny shoes, we associate with high-priced lawyers and bankers." "If you want to get a working man's vote, you need to scuff up your shoes a little bit." "But you can't scuff them up so much that you alienate the lawyers and the bankers because you need them to pay for the specialists back in Tenafly." "So, what is the proper scuffing amount?" "Do you know we actually paid a consultant $7,300..." "Was it $7,300, Charlie?" "Nice." "What an asshole." "$7,300, for a consultant to tell us that this is the perfect amount of scuffing." "He has to spill his coffee on his shirt by 7:05." "7:05 at the latest." "I'll get him as soon as he enters the park." "Can't imagine being on this guy as long as you have." "...for energy efficient technologies." "RSR Venture Capital announced yesterday that former Congressman David Norris, would become a senior partner." "Norris led an unsuccessful bid for Senate last month." "But his concession speech was considered, by many, to be electrifying and has made him the obvious front runner in the 2010 Senate race." "Investment banker Charles Traynor founded RSR, one of the country's most successful venture capital firms." "Traynor is a childhood friend of Norris' and was the Chairman of his Senate campaign." " Hey!" " Hey." "Tom Frankel from The Journal is calling you in five minutes." "I just gave him this number." "Give him 3-2-2-7." "I'm not used to this phone yet." "No, I can't." "He's going to ask you about joining the firm." "All business calls have to be done on a company Blackberry." " Really?" " Sarbanes-Oxley, you voted for it, pal." "In fact, you co-sponsored that one." "Yeah, I remember." "Hey, I just saw you on TV." " Really?" " Yeah." "What did they say?" "You're bald." "Nice." "Yeah, it was weird, too, because it was a financial show." "But they were really captivated by your receding hairline." "I got to go, you jack-off." "Bye." "Congressman." "I have to tell you, I really admire what you did last month." "Thank you." "I appreciate it." "I wish there were more politicians like you." "Thank you." "I'm retired now." "I had to go get a real job." " You'll do well." " Thank you." "Hey!" "You got a guy running for the bus." "There is another M6 right behind me." "Hey!" "No way." "Sorry." "Oh, my God." "Have we met?" "You look vaguely familiar." " Waldorf men's room." " You got it." "Were you just staring at my legs while I slept?" "I was defenseless against the small dress." "It's a skirt." "It's a belt." "What is it with you and the argyle?" "What is the deal with you and the boring shades of blue?" "My clothes match." "Did your team pick that out for you?" "No team." "Team is gone." " Wow." " I did it all by myself." "I saw your speech." "Yeah, the speech." "Something must have got into me." "Wow, that is something." "Really augments the moment." "Nice ring, asshole." "Hello?" "Hello?" "It doesn't even work." "Could that ringer get louder or do you have that maxed out?" "It's a new phone." "Are you going to run again?" "Don't know." "I'm starting a new job today." "You have to run again." "You can't do that." "The country will end up being run by tools like Linfield." "It kind of is." "Oh, shit." "Sorry." "I don't know what just happened." "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." "Can you hand me that?" " You sure you okay?" " Yeah." " I'll pay for the dry cleaning." " No, it's really fine." "Please don't." "Wow." "Seven bucks will probably cover it." "You keep that, you might need it." "You know what?" "Here." "You write your number down then I can call you and come pick up your skirt." "Oh, my goodness, me." "That is very smooth." "Oh, shit." "Why don't you let me spill some on you and then we'll be even?" " That's a terrible idea." " I think it's a great idea." "Just one bit because that's not fair." "You actually are crazy." "No, now it all makes sense." "Okay, hang on." "Oh, jeez." "He's not here." "I know, I'm sorry." " Who was that?" " I don't know." "Who cares?" " It'll be on the..." "Can you just..." " No." "Okay, now we're in the third grade." "This is great." "It's a sturdy little fucker, isn't it?" "I'm sorry." "I don't know what happened, it just happened." "Okay." " Okay, that was a new phone." " Let's wipe it off." "I'm Elise, by the way." "I'll remember that." " That's my number." " Terrific, thank you." "I'll call you." "The morning after the election," "I woke up thinking about you." "Hey, man, what's up?" "You're not going to believe who I just ran into." "Who?" "The girl from election night." " The one you kissed?" " She kissed me." "You still sticking with that story?" " It's the truth." " Whatever, dude." "They're ready for you in the main conference room." "What are the odds?" "It's amazing." "That's great, man, just don't take her advice on speeches anymore." "First time worked, it's not going to work again." "You're just jealous because it's the best speech I ever gave and you didn't write it." "Just so you know, I think I'm coming down against your solar panel thing." "Why?" "I just don't think the research is there and the price point is too high on these things." "Of course, it's too high." "But if our company doesn't get involved with stuff like this, who will?" "Convince me in the meeting." "I will." "See you, buddy." "Hey, Janet." "Hey, Susan." "We just got approval for a recalibration on the Lasalle case." "Two minutes." "Hey!" "What the hell are you doing?" "Grab him." "9-1-1, Janet!" "9-1-1!" "Oh." "You can't get away, David." "David, I really wish you'd just listen to me." "All right, I'll handle it." "David, you really are making this harder than it has to be." "All right, take it easy, guys." "Take it easy." "Take it easy." "It's okay, David." "No." "No, sir." "It's being taken care of." "Yes, sir." "It's being taken care of." "Yes, sir." "No, sir." "No, sir." "Yes, sir." "I understand." "I'll take care of it." "What a goddamn mess." " Donaldson?" " Yes." "What do you want to do?" "We have to reset him." "Call for a briefcase." "You kidding?" "It's going to take a signed order from the Chairman." "Get legal on it." "Legal just arrived." "There's no way the Chairman approves a reset." "This is your fault." "There is no way you get a briefcase." "Hey." " What are my options?" " Hey." "Just bullshit him." "Bullshit this guy?" "Hey!" "What's going on here?" "Look at this." "Questions will burn in him till the day he dies." "He won't stop searching for answers." "He won't quit." "We have to watch him forever, make sure he doesn't talk." "Endless ripple effects." "You remember the Torres case 40 years ago?" "It's not that bad, is it?" "In the end, they just leveled with him." "Completely?" "Looking at that, I don't see you have a choice." "Who the hell are you guys?" "We are the people who make sure things happen according to plan." "My name is Richardson." "Oh." "You really think I couldn't see that coming?" "I can read your mind." "Yeah, really." "Pick a color." "Blue." "Pick a number." "Seventeen." "Now, why are you still thinking about running?" "I don't really know what's going on here." "You've just seen behind a curtain that you weren't supposed to know existed." "Must be jarring." "It's not your fault." "Your path through the world this morning was supposed to have been adjusted." "You were supposed to spill your coffee as you entered the park this morning." "You would have gone upstairs to change, you would have missed the bus, and you would have arrived at work" "10 minutes later than you did, and we would have been gone." "I was supposed to spill my coffee?" "We call that an adjustment." "See, sometimes, when people spill their coffee or their Internet goes out or they misplaced their keys, they think it's chance." "And sometimes it is." "Sometimes it's us nudging people back on plan." "Sometimes when nudging isn't enough, management authorizes a recalibration." "We deploy our Intervention Team and they change your mind for you, like we did with your friend Charlie." "He's fine, by the way." "You don't need to worry about him." "Now..." "There is something I need you to understand if I'm going to let you go." "Okay." "Very few humans have seen what you've seen today, and we're determined to keep it that way." "So, if you ever reveal our existence, we'll erase your brain." "The Intervention Team will reset you." "Your emotions, your memories, your entire personality will be expunged." "Your friends and family will think you've gone crazy." "You won't think anything." "You understand?" "Not one word about us." "Okay." "Oh, one more thing, you bumped into a woman this morning on the bus." "Elise?" "What does that have to do with anything?" "You were never supposed to see her again." "What does that matter?" "Because it matters." " It's in his wallet." " Hey, hey." "God!" "Hey!" "What's with you guys?" "Jesus!" "Oh, come on." "No!" "No!" "What the hell?" "Really?" "What the hell?" "Okay." " Okay." " Take him back." "Enjoy the rest of your day." "I can walk." "I'm capable of walking." "Dude, what are you doing on my floor?" "You know, I called you like 10 times, you could have picked up." "Christine, I found him." "He's in my office." "What the hell are you doing?" "Round up the guys, we're going to do the meeting now." "You have a headache?" "What is wrong with you?" "Hey, we're in the big conference room on 17." "Let's go." "Morning, Congressman." "You sure you're okay?" "Yeah, you?" "I'm great, why?" "You don't have a headache or anything?" "No, I feel fantastic, man." "Is it me or this an odd conversation?" "On David's solar panel deal, our tech guy has serious doubts about the efficiency ratings they're claiming." "They'd need a 20-fold improvement over anything anyone else has been able to manufacture at that price point to really be a game-changer." "You're opposed to this anyway, Charlie." "And with these financials..." "Whoa, whoa." "I know it's a risk, but if our company doesn't take a chance on something like this, then who will?" "I mean, I'm willing to take a fire on something that could change the world." "Not to mention, be incredibly lucrative." "David?" "Yeah, I mean, it's why I took the job here." "All right." "Let's do it." "Come into my office for a second." "Something is wrong." "A couple of hours ago you miraculously reunite with the girl of your dreams." "Explain to me why you don't have an ear-to-ear grin right now." "I lost her number." "What?" "The woman on the bus." "I lost her phone number and all I had was her first name, so," "I'm never going to see her again." "I'm sorry." "Wow, I'm really sorry." "Your entire world is turned upside down and you're thinking about a woman." "Even if you could remember the number, you'll never get through." "Lost cell phone, changed numbers, whatever creates the fewest ripples." "My name is Harry, by the way." "The fewest ripples?" "You freeze people." "You froze my friend." "We need special authorization to..." "Poke around in people's brains." "You make them think whatever you want..." "Be quiet, David." "Can I get you something?" "Just some water, please." "Your friend will be fine." "Recalibrations make tiny changes in the way people reason." "It doesn't work on emotion or personality." "That's too intrusive." "You said authorization." "Authorization from who?" "The Chairman." "The Chairman?" "That's just a name we use." "You use many other names." "We can't talk here." "Meet me on the 4:00 p. m. boat and I'll answer what I can." "If you reveal us, even if it's unintentional..." "I know." "You'll bump me on the head." "Richardson has automatic authority to reset you." "You mean lobotomize me?" "Try not to forget it." "Be on the 4:00 p. m. boat." "Ask your questions, I'll tell you what I can." "What were they doing to Charlie?" "Just changing the way he weighs investment risks which will subtly shift the direction of his company in the way upstairs wants." "So, Richardson could read my mind?" "Richardson was trying to scare you." "No, he knew the number I was thinking of, the color." "Because he set it up as a choice." ""Choose a color, choose a number."" "We can't read your mind or hear your thoughts." "When you make a decision, your mind weighs options." "We can perceive them." "We know when you're going to go off the plan or not because if we're close enough, we can sense when it's going to happen." "We're just here to keep you on plan." "That's all we're authorized to do." "Are you allowed to be telling me this stuff?" "Are they following me now?" "We have to monitor the entire world." "We don't have the manpower to follow everyone all the time." "And there is something about water." "It blocks our ability to read your decision tree." "Are you an angel?" "We've been called that." "We're more like case officers who live a lot longer than humans." "Why are you helping me?" "I have my reasons." "And why won't they let me be with Elise?" "All I know is the amount of resources they've used keeping you from her is pretty damn important to them." "You're going to look for her, aren't you?" "You won't find her." "They'll make sure of it." "Even if they weren't trying to stop you, there are nine million people in this city." "You'll never find her." "Forget about her." "Move on with your life." "Stop!" "Stop the bus!" "Elise?" "Elise, hi." "David." "You know, I rode the M6 to work every day for three years hoping that I'd bump into you." "Listen, is there a place we could go and talk?" "Don't you have to get to work or something?" "I just got sick." ""I haven't seen you in three years, you make me sick."" "That's not an ideal come-on, just so you know." "What are you looking for?" "I felt like someone was watching us." "Hey, Charlie, I'm going to have to skip breakfast, and I probably have to postpone the speech, too." "I just bumped into Elise." "You just hung up on your friend." "We've known each other since we were kids." " What speech?" " It doesn't matter." " You want to take a walk?" " No." "We have a lot to catch up on." "I don't think you should cancel your speech." "What if I don't like you at the end of our walk?" "I'll take my chances." "Seriously, my number hasn't changed, just call me like you didn't last time." "Look, if you take a walk with me, I'll explain why." "It's been years." "How do you know I don't have a nice boyfriend?" "Do you have a nice boyfriend?" "Would it matter if I did?" "Yeah." "So you don't have any real conviction then?" "Okay, it wouldn't matter at all." "So, you don't mind being a home-wrecker?" "Congressman!" "How are you doing, man?" "I'm from Red Hook." "You're the best." "Thank you." "Good to see you." "If you were married, then it would bother me." "But now you're just saying what you think I want to hear." "I'm single." "Now let's hear your bullshit excuse for not calling me." "I didn't have your number." "I gave it you on the bus." "Handed it to you." "I was mugged." "It was taken from me." "No, come on." " My wallet was taken." " Come on." "Why else would I fawn all over you on a bus three years ago and then never call you?" "Because, I don't know!" "You have a girlfriend and you felt terrible." "Listen, I swear to you that I did not have your number." "All right." "No, on my parents' graves." "That's heavy." "That's too heavy, I know, but it's true." "I didn't have your number." "And I didn't even have a last name to go by." "If you google just "Elise,"" " you get 757,000 hits." " You did not." "And none of them are you." "We have a problem." "What?" "David Norris is off plan." "Son of a bitch." "How did he find her?" "Chance." "Just spotted her on the street." "We never should have let him meet her in the first place." "We followed protocol to the letter." "Guy rides the same bus every day for three years." "Who does that?" "Three years later, I'm still cleaning up your mess." "Let's cut the power at her dance studio." "I'm a dancer." "Oh." "Not like that, you pervert." "I'm in a contemporary ballet company." "I think you have the wrong idea about me." "No, I think that was the first thing that crossed your mind, actually." "I think you should invite me to one of your performances." "The company is called Cedar Lake, and there is actually a show tomorrow night, if you want." " Is that an invitation?" " No, it's information." "We're covering the girl's artistic director and we're still working on Charlie Traynor." "This whole thing will be over in an hour." "Hi, how are you?" "Paul, right?" "How did you remember that?" "I'm a politician, I'm good with names." "Her decision tree is diverging from our models." "It's just the two of you?" "Yes." "Thirty-six hours without contact, she'll never speak to him again." "Look at her file." "It's the last thing in the world she'll put up with." "No, something's wrong." "I'm already seeing inflection points." "You okay?" "Yeah." "We're in motion on changing the location of her rehearsal." "You have to be born with the right body like very flexible hips and shoulders and long neck." "And you weren't?" "No, I was." "I was lucky." "But after 15 years of that precision and the training..." "How is everything over here?" "It's great." "Thank you." "It's good, thank you." "So, I wanted to try something else just on my own, open-ended and human, I guess." "What do you mean?" "Look." "What's this?" "If they kiss." "A kiss?" "That's all it takes?" "A real kiss." "If that happens, every possible adjustment strong enough to break them up will cause ripples over your limit." "I think that everything you go through in life should come out in the way that you dance." "I haven't found that to be the case with my dancing." "It's a shame." "David, hate to interrupt." " Hi." " Hi, nice to see you again, Elise." "How did you find me?" "Does it matter?" "Nice work." "There's a crowd of people waiting for your announcement speech at the Brooklyn Bridge right now." "You're announcing today?" "You can't skip this for me." "I know." "I told you I'm not going to let you out of my sight." " David, what the hell?" " Do you want to come?" "Do you want to watch?" "No." "I can't, I have to go and rehearse." "Actually, I just heard that they're moving my rehearsal to Pier 17, right next to the bridge." "You know what, why don't we just postpone it?" " We'll do the speech another time." " No, David, come on, you can't do that." "Thank you." " You have to go." " Check." "David, she's rehearsing so close." "It'll take you three minutes to get there after the speech." "All right." "Just come over when you're done." "Keep the change." "Thank you." "Have Charlie's aide call him now." "Are you sure you don't want a ride?" "No, I have to go home and change." "You're so late." "Your friend is about to cry." "I'm wrangling him right now." "Yeah, I know." "Shifting her rehearsal to Pier 17 was a genius move." "We're not out of the woods yet." "Come over when you're done." " David." " Okay." "Sorry, the TV crew is there." "We got to go, man." "We're okay." "Look, whatever happens," "I'm not going to let anything come between us again." "Okay." "I'll see you soon." "Hey, how you doing?" "Thank you." "Appreciate it." "How are you?" "Thanks a lot." "Good to see you, too." "Thank you." "I have to say, it's good to be back in Brooklyn." "There's been a lot of speculation" " as to whether or not..." " It's done." "...I would run for a Senate seat here in the state of New York." "I came here today to put an end to that speculation and to tell you, unequivocally," "I will seek the Senate seat for the great state of New York." "David!" "David!" "Shit." "Don't forget, I added the bankers' group after The Daily Show tomorrow." "Are you listening to me?" "David?" "I cannot get a break on this case." "Okay." "I got to get to Pier 17." "Do the interview and you can do whatever you want." "Just handle the interviews for me." "I'll talk to those guys..." "This has got to go on the nightly news." "I got to see Elise right now." "Every time we get close, you do something to mess this up." "This is different." "City, please?" "Manhattan." "What listing?" "Cedar Lake." "It's a dance company." "Connecting." "He's going to ask the parking attendant to use the hard line." "I already killed it." "Excuse me, can I use your phone?" "I have an emergency." "Restaurant across the street." "Mmm-hmm." "I took out everything for three blocks." "This guy is a pain in the ass." "Come on, let's go talk to him." "There is a whole world of women out there." "I thought we established this one was off limits." "It's been a while, I must have forgotten." "Doesn't change the fact." "You put us together three times." "That wasn't us, that was just chance." "Why do you want to keep us apart?" "Because the plan says so." "Then you misread the plan." "There is no misreading the plan when it comes to you and Elise." "Then the plan is wrong." " Do you know who wrote it?" " I don't care." "You should." "You should really show a little respect." "If I'm not supposed to be with her, how come I feel like this?" "It doesn't matter how you feel." "What matters is what is in black and white." "You don't know why I'm not supposed to be with her, do you?" "That's why you can't tell me." "You don't know." "Who is this guy?" "Uh-oh." "Excuse me, everyone." "Sorry to disturb your lunch." "It's an emergency." "Has anyone here ever seen a performance at the Cedar Lake Ballet Company?" "The Cedar Lake Ballet Company?" "Yeah, I have." "Where is it?" "Son of a bitch." "Hey, taxi." "Hey!" "Taxi!" "Hey!" "Taxi!" "Maybe you should try the subway." "Don't all these taxies you're diverting have plans, too?" "How long you going to keep that up?" "Twenty minutes?" "An hour?" "Wow, the ripples must just be endless." "I don't care what you put in my way, I'm not giving up." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Taxi!" "Hey!" "You all right?" "You okay?" "What happened?" "You got hit." "Are you okay?" " I think so." " Don't move." "You all right?" "Hello, I just witnessed an accident on the corner of Water and Dover Street." "Unfortunately, you're the only witness, Congressman." "But we did this three times already." "I just need a few more details." "Oh, I see." "You're not even a cop, are you?" "You're one of them." " Calm down." " Okay." "Someone could have been killed." "Sir, if you would just calm down." "Hey, Sergeant." "Hi." "Sorry, excuse me, I know you need a statement from me, but do I need to stay here or can I do it over the phone?" "No, sir, we know how to get in touch with you." "Okay." "Now, is this man under your command?" "Never mind." "Thank you." "Hey, hey, hey!" "You want to make a quick 100 bucks?" "You're going to have to break a couple of traffic laws." "All right, 26th and 10th." "It's a ballet company called Cedar Lake." "Go through that." "Look out!" "Watch it." "This is going to keep happening, just go through." "Son of a bitch!" " Set a traffic jam on Broadway." " Too many ripples." "He's getting out of range." "I don't know what to do with this." "You're reaching your limit." "Hey!" "Excuse me." "Two down." "Two down." "Oh, shit!" "Next one." "I hate downtown." "Sorry." "I've got inflection points." "All he needs to do is see her dance and you're at your ripple limit." "What?" "All right, block the door." "He's already through it." "Not that one, the next one." "Excuse me." "David Norris, I'm here to see Elise." "I'm blocking them all." "Hat!" "Hat!" " Is she here?" " Yeah, she's in the studio." "It's too late." "He's already seen her." "You hit your ripple limit." "Celebrate now." "They're just going to kick it upstairs." "It's Donaldson." "He has no idea what he's up against." "Let's take a walk." "The intense chemistry between them, the constant inflection points, and the kicker, you pulling them apart twice only to have chance put them back together." "Yeah, all that seemed a little much." "So, I asked Burdensky to do some research this morning." "Have you been in here before?" "No, of course not." "It seems like David Norris and Elise Sellas were meant to be together because they were meant to be together." "Wait, what?" "In the '70s when he was born, they were meant to be together, same thing in the '80s, '90s." "Wasn't till 2005 that the plan changed and she was supposed to stay with Adrian." "The problem here is there are remnants from all those old plans that keep pushing them together." "They still feel like they belong with each other even though they don't, and we're about to tear them apart again." "You spend your whole career hoping, someday, you'll get a red-letter case." "Something you can really make a name for yourself with." "Finally you get one, and it's booby-trapped." "What?" "I'm saying, it wasn't your fault." "They were meant to be together." "What?" "Were." "In an earlier version of the plan." "Actually, a dozen earlier versions." "I always wondered how we had such bad luck that she was on that particular bus on that particular day." "How could a plan just change like that?" "I don't know." "It's above my pay grade." "So, we're going operational." "This is exciting." "It's been a while." "We're not going operational." "No one ever made it to my job by taking stupid risks." "So, what are we going to do?" "We're going to kick this case upstairs to someone with the latitude to clean up this mess without breaking into a sweat." "We're going to bring this to Thompson." "Thompson?" "When he was in the field, his nickname was..." ""The Hammer," yes." "He'll crush this little romance with a flick of his hand and force them back on plan again." "I want to go to a club." "Oh!" "Why ruin a really nice day?" " Come on." " No, I don't dance." "Everyone can dance." "You just feel the music." "Well, I've been told that I have trouble feeling." "Who told you that?" "A long list of women." "That's gross." "You know what?" "Let's race to that lamppost." "You win, I dance for you." "I win, you dance for me." "On the pole?" "If you like, yeah." "This is serious." "What are the rules?" "There are no rules." "Oh!" "You bastard!" "Oh, my gosh!" "You challenged me in those shoes?" "Okay, fine." "I can't." "You're right." "These are the wrong shoes." "I'm going to twist an ankle." " You said, "No rules."" " I avoided them." "Ow!" "You said you had trouble feeling." "Great." "Hey, David." "You're even cuter in person." "Hey, it's David Norris." "How you doing?" "How are you?" "How are we feeling about this tie?" "Hey, David Norris!" "Hey, how you doing?" "Maybe I should go home and get my tux." "Definitely don't do that." "It's good." "I should never have come back here again without my backup dancers." "I voted for you." "How are you?" "Norris, you're a rock star!" "Did you grow up over here?" "Yeah, three blocks over that way." "Pioneer Street." "My whole childhood." "What were you like as a kid?" "I've spent about half my time in the principal's office up until the sixth grade." "Wow." "Yeah, that was when my mother and my brother died within a month of each other." "I'm sorry." "No, it's fine." "You know how I always tell that story about how I got inspired to go into politics because my dad took me to the Senate Gallery and we sat together and that's true." "But what I leave out is he did that right after they died." "And I was bottoming out." "So, he wanted to get me out of here for a little while and he planned this road trip to DC, and I think it's because JFK was his idol." "And we went and sat in the gallery." "I remember watching him watch them, and I knew that that's what I wanted to do." "I wish they were here to see all this." "I was..." "Didn't expect to tell you any of that." "David?" "David?" " Hello?" " It's Adrian." "Hey." "What are you doing?" "Why are you calling?" "Hi." "No, I was..." "Because I was sleeping." "No." "No, it's not." "Why are you calling?" "Okay, well, I got to go." "No, I got to go." "Okay." "I'm so sorry." "It's all right." "Everything okay?" "Yeah." "Oh, my God." "That was so weird." "I woke up and you weren't here." "And then the phone rang and it was my ex which is just so strange." "Sorry, I guess we hadn't gotten to any of that stuff yet." "Right." "You know, we broke up a while ago, and it's over and then he calls four times in one morning." "He called you four times this morning?" "Mmm-hmm." "How long have you guys been broken up?" "Um..." "Three months." "It's like he knew I was with someone else." "Was it serious?" "We were engaged." "So, not really that serious?" "Right." "Well, what happened?" "Do you want to know this?" "Yeah." "He was a great guy." "Brilliant choreographer and dancer, and we had the same group of friends." "We had known each other a long time." "Well, he sounds great." "Why didn't you marry him?" "Because of you." "I'm not some hopeless romantic." "I've never allowed myself to be that way." "But once I felt, even for a moment, what I felt with you." "You ruined me." "I didn't want to settle for less." "I know the feeling." "It scares the shit out of me." "I'm not going to hurt you." "You don't need to say that." "I'm not going to hurt you." "This is the first time in 25 years that I don't feel like I'm by myself." "That's a lot of responsibility for me." "I don't know if I'm quite comfortable with that." "Well, too late." "You know, I'm supposed to go to an interview right now." "What if I told you I wasn't ready to let you out of my sight quite yet?" " Sounds good." " You want to go?" " Yeah." " All right." "Are you handsome or is it that Washington is so populated by" "I don't want to say, hideous abnormalities..." "This is getting a little weird." "David Norris, everybody." " Excuse me, ma'am." " Yes?" "Congressman Norris asked me to give you a message." "He was just called into a meeting." " He says it's urgent." " Okay." "He said he'll call you as soon as he's out and he'll see you at the show tonight." "Okay, thank you." "Thanks." "This way, Congressman." "Hello?" "Frustrating, isn't it?" "My name is Thompson." "Whatever happened to free will?" "We actually tried free will before." "After taking you from hunting and gathering to the height of the Roman Empire, we stepped back to see how you would do on your own." "You gave us the Dark Ages for five centuries until finally we decided we should come back in." "The Chairman thought that maybe we just needed to do a better job with teaching you how to ride a bike before taking the training wheels off again." "So, we gave you the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, scientific revolution." "For 600 years we taught you to control your impulses with reason." "Then in 1910, we stepped back again." "Within 50 years, you had brought us World War I, the Depression, Fascism, the Holocaust, and capped it off by bringing the entire planet to the brink of destruction in the Cuban missile crisis." "At that point a decision was taken to step back in again before you did something that even we couldn't fix." "You don't have free will, David." "You have the appearance of free will." "You expect me to believe that?" "I make decisions every day." "You have free will over which toothpaste you use or which beverage to order at lunch." "But humanity just isn't mature enough to control the important things." "So, you handle the important things?" "The last time I checked, the world is a pretty screwed-up place." "It's still here." "If we had left things in your hands, it wouldn't be." "Tell me why I can't be with Elise?" "Because the last guy didn't know." "Meeting Elise at the Waldorf three years ago wasn't chance." "That was us." "We knew she would inspire you to give that speech." "That speech that brought you back from the edge of oblivion and overnight made you the frontrunner in this coming election." "What are you saying?" "You want me to win the election?" "This one and four more after it." "And I'm not just talking about elections for Senate." "You can matter, David." "Really matter." "What your father wanted when he took you to the Senate Gallery when you were 10." "What your brother wanted when he made you promise the day before he overdosed that you wouldn't be like him." "Why do you think you have that yearning to be in front of people?" "That terrible emptiness when you're not." "Don't do that." "David, you can change the world, but that doesn't happen if you stay with her." "Why do you people care who I love?" "It's not about her, it's about you." "What being with her does to you." "What it does to me?" "I'm better when I'm with her!" "Even you said it." "The speech." "In small doses, Elise was the cure." "But in large doses, she rubs off on you." "Stop." "David, the president can't be a loose cannon." "Stop talking." "It's not working." "Why do you refuse to accept what should be completely obvious by now?" "You've seen what we can do." "You can't doubt we are who we say we are." "Look, it's not about who you are, it's about who I am." "Can't outrun your fate, David." "I just disagree with you about what my fate is." "I know what I feel for her and it's not going to change." "All I have are the choices that I make." "And I choose her come what may." "It's 6:20." "If you leave now, you can make Elise's show." "She's a beautiful dancer." "I thought I made myself clear." "There is one more piece to this I haven't mentioned." "I guess I just didn't have the heart." "If you stay with her, it not only kills your dreams, it kills hers." "What?" "Elise is about to become one of the most famous dancers in the country and eventually one of the world's greatest choreographers." "If she stays with you, she ends up teaching dance to six-year-olds." "When you look back at all this, David, just remember" "we tried to reason with you." "I always hear people saying," ""You can't blame yourself for what happens to other people,"" "but in this case, really, you can." "This is what you do, David." "This is what you did getting into a bar fight the night you first got elected." "What you did to get that embarrassing photo in The New York Post." "We give you opportunities other people would kill for and you squander them with impulse." "It doesn't take a genius to see Elise isn't exactly helping you with this." "It's a sprain, David, but if you stay with her, you'll take away the only thing she ever cared about." "It's up to you." "It's just a sprain." "Yeah." "The doctor said it's going to be better in a month or less." "That's totally unexpected." "I'm so relieved." "Great." "Great." "You're such a great dancer, and you'll heal up and just get better and better." "I'm going to go make a couple phone calls." "Okay." "Okay." "I'm so happy for you." "It's done." "Thompson finished it." "I know." "You can't let it get to you like it did with his family." "This is the job." "You ever wonder if it's right?" "I mean, if it's always right?" "Not like I used to." "Look, Chairman has the plan." "We only see part of it." "I was talking to some friends of ours over in Monroe County this morning, and I said something to them that I think a lot of you may have heard me say before but it bears repeating." "David Norris, who has spent the last two days campaigning in the Tri-Lakes area received some welcome news yesterday when the latest New York Times poll gave him a 16-point lead over his opponent less than a month before election day." "Since his announcement 11 months ago," "Norris has had a significant lead..." "Hi." "Thanks." "Thanks a lot." "Yeah, thank you." "I need it." "Thank you." " Who should I make it out to?" " My nephew, Miles." " There you go." " Thank you so much." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure." " Thank you." " My pleasure." "Pleasure." "Can we get a picture with you?" "Sure, come on." " Thank you." " Thanks." "Hey." "I want to show you this, because you would find out eventually." "I want to be here when you do." "She's getting married to that guy she was engaged to." "You okay?" "I think I'm going to..." "Take a day off." "Hell, take a couple." "We're 16 points up." "Yeah, even I can't blow a lead that big." "Congressman, good to see you again." "Your friend just left you this." "He said you would be stopping by." "Why would you want to see me?" "Thompson was lying when he said you couldn't be with Elise because she brings out your reckless side." "Then why?" "Why do they care so much?" "Because she's enough, David." "If you have her, you won't need to fill that void inside of you with applause and votes and dreams of one day making it to the White House." "That's important, but it's not the only thing that matters." "Why are you so different from them?" "Your dad was a very smart man." "He could have been a lot more." "Wanted to be." "Your brother, too." "But the plan didn't call for it." "What about my mother?" "That wasn't me." "That wasn't us at all." "It was just chance?" "I'm sorry." "You know, Thompson is not lying." "They're already talking about me being a presidential candidate." "I'm phoning in my speeches and I'm 16 points up." "The public loves you." "Before I met Elise, that's all I cared about." "I don't even notice it now." "I can't stop thinking about her." "Do you know where she's getting married?" "In front of a judge tomorrow morning." "Is she happy?" "Thompson won't let you anywhere near her." "Not tonight, not tomorrow, not ever." "Harry." "Is she happy?" "I got to try and get her back." "Will you help me?" "Will you just help me get to her?" "They'll sense you coming a mile away." "What if I could move as fast as you?" "Teach me about the doors." "The rain will stop in the next hour, and that's the only thing keeping them from seeing us right now." "If we're going to do this, we'll need all night to do it and a place surrounded by water to do it in." "Always turn the doorknob clockwise." "What happens if I turn it the other way?" "You don't want to do that." "That's only for us." "Put your hand on my shoulder and don't let go until we cross the threshold." "Are these ever locked?" "Not when you're wearing one of our hats." "Keep moving, David." "Is this..." "It's the Museum of Modern Art." "Yeah." "Close the door." "This is the city's main pumping station for downtown Manhattan." "We're 10 blocks from the courthouse." "Wait here." "Hi, is the floor open?" "You okay, sweetie?" "Yeah, I just..." "I just feel like being on the floor." "Lower Manhattan is layer upon layer of substrate." "That's what we call the doors that have been added over time." "Makes it a lot more complex to navigate downtown than it is uptown and a lot slower." "Your destination, 60 Centre Street, Courtroom 300." "There are thousands of different ways to get to the courthouse using the doors." "I want you to learn how to stay in the substrate so Thompson won't be able to get a fix on you." "Okay." "Just south of the diner, it's a red door." "I come out on Broadway, right by Leonard Street." "That's good." "Keep going." "From Leonard, half a block down." "Okay, suppose Thompson's there?" "Okay, I go east to Lafayette." "No, it's Crosby Street there." "Eight doors?" "I'm zigzagging all over the place." "That will take me too long." "But every time you go through a door, their plan books will lose track of you, so it's safer." "Look, I need you to understand this has never been done before." "So, the minute you go through that first door, all hell will break loose." "Assume everyone with a hat on is a threat." "I don't care if it's a Yankee cap, a bowler, or even a yarmulke." "Assume everyone in a hat is working with Thompson." "Even you guys can't get through the doors without your hats on, right?" "Right." "It's one of the ways the Chairman limits our power." "Water is another way." "And you said before, what if Thompson's in front of me on Crosby Street?" "Right." "Why don't I just knock the hat off his head and then run by him before he has time to pick it up?" "That's good, improvisation." "We have trouble with that." "The fastest way is actually if I go right for the blue door." "Yeah, but then you're exposed the entire way there." "That's a lot more dangerous than leapfrogging through doors." "But if I make it, I'll take them completely by surprise." "If you make it." "Come on, we have a lot more to get through." "Whatever it takes." "Your father used to say that." "I guess you're not supposed to identify with your subjects." "You're not supposed to feel guilt." "We're not built to lead with our emotions like you are, but that doesn't mean we don't have them." "Some more than others." "You're lucky, it started raining again." "We need to get going." "The wedding is in 10 minutes." "We have time." "Being early is just as bad as being late." "Is your fiancee here?" "She's on her way in." "Courtroom 300." " You okay?" " Yeah." " This is it." " Okay." "I'm going to go for the blue door." "Of course." "Here is your way through it." "Don't lose it." "Thanks, Harry." "Good luck." "Okay." "It looks like Mr. Norris is using the rain to make a run for it." "Call the proctor at the wedding." " What's wrong?" " Nothing." "I'm just nervous, I guess." "I just need a minute in the bathroom, okay?" "Sir, he's got a hat." "He's in the substrate." "He just went into the substrate." " Whoa, whoa." " No, no, no." "It's an emergency." "Sorry." "Docket number 22, please come forward." "We're next." "Will you go check on her?" "Yeah." "You're David Norris!" "Yeah, I got to go." "Nothing in the hat." "Go ahead." "She's not even in there." "Where is she?" "Where is she?" "Elise." "You're not marrying that guy." "I'm so sorry, and I don't know what you must think of me, but you can't marry him." "You don't love him." "I've been terrible, I know." " I'm getting married." " No, you can't." "Don't touch me!" "What are you doing?" "Do you know that no one has ever hurt me as much as you did?" "I'm so sorry that I left you the way that I did." "David, you know what?" "You left me in a fucking hospital." "What are you doing?" "I know it seems terrible but there was a reason." "You don't know anything about me and what makes me happy." "I'm sorry that I hurt you." "Oh, my God." "Don't worry about him, he's with them." " Just listen to me." " Oh, my God, what did you do?" " Forget about him." " What are you doing?" "Look at me, I know that you love me." "Okay, this says that you love me and that I love you and that we're not supposed to be together." "Because of this book." "But I know that I'm supposed to be with you because of the way I feel." "I love you and I don't care what happens." "I want to spend the rest of my life with you even if it's only a little while." "He just revealed us." "Call the Intervention Team." "Tell them it's a square-one reset." "Mr. Thompson has deployed the Intervention Team." "He's requesting an emergency Reset Authorization." "I'll carry it in." "Why are they chasing you?" "They're going to reset me." "What are you talking about?" "I never lied to you." "Down here." "He's down here." "I love you, Elise." "I'm going to show you something." "You deserve to know." "What's going on?" "We got to keep moving." "There is another door here." "Got them." "Sixth Avenue." "Contain this." "Oh, my God." "What's happening to me?" "All you need to know, we're being chased." "I need you to trust me." " Okay." " Okay, come on." "Door, door, door!" "Find another door!" "What the hell is going on?" "What the hell is going on, David?" "Okay, I'm sorry." "How did we just do that?" "I'm so sorry." "These doors belong to the people who are chasing us." " Who are they?" " I don't know what to call them, but they want to take you away from me." "Why do they care about us?" "They hurt your ankle, Elise." "Everything you've worked for your entire life, it doesn't happen if you stay with me." "That's why I left you in the hospital." "I don't understand." "I don't understand." "This can't be wrong." "This can't be wrong." "Why do they think it's wrong?" "The book..." "Their book." "But what if I can find who wrote it?" "Okay, I can go through this door alone." "You'll never see me or the people chasing us again." "Or you could come with me, and I don't know what's on the other side, but I know you would be next to me, and that's all I've wanted since the minute I met you." "I'm coming with you." "Okay." "Take the other one." "Turn it to the left." "To the left." "Oh, my God." "Hey!" "You can't be in here." "Stop, sir!" "Hold them up!" "Come on." "Stop them!" "Harry Mitchell, they want you in the Chairman's office." "Immediately." "Come on." "Hey!" "Hey!" "How did you get in here?" "Search the room!" "Shit!" "Go back." "No." "Oh, my God." " I love you." " I love you." "Did you really think you could reach the Chairman?" "And change your fate if you did?" "Or write your own?" "It doesn't work like that and I told you why." "I've got a message for you." "I understand." "Even Thompson has a boss." "Harry?" "You're the Chairman?" "No." "You've met him though, or her." "Everybody has." "The Chairman comes in a different form to everyone so people rarely realize when it happens." "Is this some sort of test?" "In a way, it's all a test, for everybody, even the members of the Adjustment Bureau." "David, you risked everything for Elise." "And Elise, when you came through that door at the Statue of Liberty, you risked everything, too." "But you inspired me." "It seems like you inspired the Chairman, too." "Is that about us?" "Yes." "What does it say?" "It says that this situation between the two of you is a serious deviation from the plan." "So, the Chairman rewrote it." "Okay." "Now what?" "Now..." "You can take the stairs." "Most people live life on the path we set for them." "Too afraid to explore any other." "But once in a while, people like you come along who knock down all the obstacles we put in your way." "People who realize free will is a gift you'll never know how to use until you fight for it." "I think that's the Chairman's real plan that maybe one day" "we won't write the plan." "You will."