"John!" "Hey, sorry I'm late." "Don't have anything to complain about." "Business is good." "How are you?" "Good to see you." "What?" "Who's this?" "Is he here with you?" "Is he here to protect you?" "I'm a little offended." "What are you afraid of, John?" "You know what I'm afraid of, Vincent." "All I know is that I've made you a very good and lucrative offer." "I'm just hoping you make the right decision." "You have to understand." "Globatel's always been in my wife's family." "It's going to be mine someday." "If I leave now, I forfeit everything." "I've made a list to help you out." "Very generous of you." "Tom Hartley did a great job at Sprint." "Oh, yeah." "And Mike McCormick resuscitated Texas Instruments back in the '80s." "You're it." "You're the one." "I picked you." "Mr. Gersham wants you." "That's it." "Hang on." "Don't you see?" "I can't do it." "Hey, Vincent Palmer." "Got great news for you, sir." "John Blakely's accepted the offer." "Omni Davis has its new CEO." "No, Vincent." "Please, l" "He's ecstatic." "I'll be in Washington, D.C. next week." "Maybe we can celebrate." "Okay." "I'll see you then." "Congratulations, sir." "Take it easy." "You shouldn't turn me down." "You fucking push me." "Don't you touch me." "Don't fucking push me." "Don't you touch me." "With all you've given" "Don't you touch me." ""Don't you fucking touch me."" ""Don't you touch me."" "Give me that." "I'm sorry." "It's just...." "Get a hold of yourself, sweetheart." "You know, why don't we get some counseling?" "I want you out!" ""l want you out."" "It's my mother's company." "My money." "Me." "My home." "Oh, God." "Do you know why I don't care?" "How could you do this?" "25 years of marriage to waste away." "How could you do this to me?" "!" "How could you do this to me?" "How could you do this to me?" "You know what?" "Let's fucking settle this." "You've got a large sum of money you have to pay and I have no idea how you'll do this." "Why don't--?" "Somebody shoot this bitch." "Jesus! "Why?" "Why?" "Why? "" "Doesn't get any better than this, I'll tell you." "Stop by the office this afternoon?" "Oh, here's my favorite part." "Oh, that's right." "I thinks he's home." "Just...." "There you go." "John?" "I'm having a drink if you wanna join me." "Here we go." "John, it's Vincent." "Sorry about Madeleine." "Oh, my God." "What have I always told you?" "Breathe for one." "Hold for two." "Exhale for four." "They're going to blame me." "Vincent, I can't go to jail." "John, trust me." "I can fix this for you." "Okay?" "Nothing's going to happen if I don't want it to." "Let me handle everything for you." "John?" "I'm listening, Vincent." "Attaboy." "All right." "Satellite is in position and we are burning rubber." "Square one!" "Until now, satellite tracking had been available only to a select few." "Mostly government agencies but for the first time, we're focusing in on the people and making this service available to everyone." "With a 1 5-minute turnaround time, which means once we get word anyone linked to our system will be found within minutes." "This will single-handedly put federal marshals out of business." "Think about it." "Fugitives won't have a place to hide." "No more missing children." "Now, I'm a practical man and I did not get rich by throwing my money around foolishly but I put my faith and 8.5 million of my own money in this man's hands because I saw a great opportunity." "And, gentlemen, opportunity knocks." "Come this way with me." "Inputting." "We give each subject a unique Kid Trace code." "When the subject absorbs our glucose mixture, it integrates into the blood." "And like DNA, creates a one-of-a-kind plasma code which can then be read by the computer." "The missing person is then identified." "They'll dial up the Kid Trace code on the computer..." "...and they will track him via satellite." "All right." "Search initiate." "Yes, indeed." "We're moving, and triangulating." "All right." "All right, welcome to America." "Next stop, western seaboard." "Here we go." "And zooming in 1 00 times magnification welcome to the Pacific Northwest." "Homing in on downtown Seattle." "He'll be coming in on 5th Street, I believe." "Wonderful Chinese food on that corner." "Fifth Avenue." "Okay." "And there we are." "Go for vector." "Come on baby, come on, come on." "Yes, vec'ed him out." "Okay." "Coming up Finnely here." "Left on Bennett." "Now, you watch the screen." "And, gentlemen, here comes Viztrax, the next leader in modern technology." "ls that really him?" "Yes, sir, it is." "You got it." "You did it." "What did I tell you?" "We are gonna be so huge." "I don't know what else to tell you." "You've won everyone over." "And now we crunch numbers." "Would you excuse me for a second?" "Oh, yeah." "Of course." "Enjoy yourself." "Franklin?" "Hey." "How you doing?" "Okay." "How about you?" "I'm fine." "Just had a little bit too much to drink." "You wanna ride home?" "No, no, I'm covered." "You should be celebrating." "Oh, I will." "I'm gonna meet up with Emily for dinner." "You talked to the counselor again?" "Yeah." "She thought it would be good to have one-on-one time." "There's nothing wrong with that." "Everything went great with Gibbs." "Good." "So that means Emily should be very pleased." "Yes, she will." "Then why don't you go home and give her the good news?" "Good job." "Thank you." "Ben." "Yeah?" "There's a Vincent Palmer on line one for you." "He says it's important." "I don't know him, Sharon." "Take a message, okay?" "Mr. Palmer?" "I'm sorry, he's actually gone for the day." "Ben!" "Yeah?" "Sorry, he says it's important." "He's an executive recruiter checking a reference on Jamie Lockhearst..." "...and he's very insistent." "Yeah, this is Ben Keats." "Mr. Keats, my name is Vincent Palmer." "I understand you're a very, very busy man." "Your time is precious." "I just wanna steal a second of it." "I have a question about Mr. Lockhearst." "He's a good guy." "He's a hard worker." "He worked with us for two years." "Anybody that gets him will be lucky." "That's wonderful news." "Give me another moment, I'd love to discuss you." "I'm afraid I don't have a moment." "ls there a better time I can call back?" "Thanks for your interest." "I'm just not available." "I'll call Emily and tell her that you've left the building." "See you." "Just do me a favor and look at a company packet I put together." "It describes the position." "I think you'll find it very interesting." "How'd you get my number?" "I'm in the info business." "If I didn't have numbers, I wouldn't be doing my job." "Mr." "Palmer, l" "You know what?" "You're breaking up." "I'll send the packet right over." "Mr. Carey." "How's your day going?" "That depends on how your conversation with Ben Keats went." "Then you must be having a spectacular day, sir." "Hey, Jen." "Yeah?" "Ben's here." "Okay." "Bye." "So?" "How'd it go?" "What?" "Come on, how did it go?" "Oh, it went okay." "They loved it!" "Yeah." "I'm so proud of you." "Thank you." "What did Franklin say?" "He was thrilled." "Was he?" "Oh, my baby." "Yeah." "Hey, come on." "Let's go to Pipino's, okay?" "We can go." "We can stay till, like, 9..00." "No." "No." "What?" "No." "Alison is at her new best friend Elly's house talking about horses." "And she's sleeping over." "Nice." "So I was thinking takeout and unbridled, passionate sex." "Not necessarily in that order." "Sounds great." "Hello." "Yeah, this is Ben Keats." "What?" "Maggie, what's happened?" "I think he better tell you." "It's serious." "Come on in, you two." "Maggie, would you give us a moment, please?" "I'm sorry I ruined your guys' evening but Maggie told me to notify next of kin." "I didn't know who else to call." "Listen, I couldn't keep this from you any longer." "I have a brain tumor." "Oh, my God." "Astrocytoma." "And the prognosis isn't good." "I got diagnosed about three weeks ago." "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I figured with everything" "It's okay." "We understand, Franklin." "We're just glad you're letting us in on it now." "Yeah, but no one else can know." "We got a company going public." "We have got to keep my problems under wraps..." "...or this will come back to haunt us." "You got it, Franklin." "We'll work it out." "Maggie?" "Yes, sir?" "Would you V-card Ben..." "...the specifics on SST?" "I'll do it right now." "It's a security outfit run by Bob Langford." "He's the best." "Now, when you going to lunch with Gibbs?" "Lunch." "Tomorrow." "Okay." "Take him somewhere expensive." "I don't care what the cost." "I want this guy thinking that we're rolling in dough already." "Oh, Franklin." "You're gonna pull through this." "I'll beat this." "I've beaten a lot worse." "So lunch is confirmed for 2:00 with Mr. Gibbs at Chardonnay's." "Great." "And Emily called." "Do you want me to confirm the bookings for the hotel this weekend?" "Thanks for reminding me." "I saw some rooms on the lnternet, discounted." "Do you think you can--?" "Thanks." "Done." "Can you sign that?" "Renaldi wants to discuss the infrastructure notes from yesterday." "Okay." "And Mr. Palmer called again." "Not once, not twice, but thrice." "He's quite a character, very charming." "It's his package." "I'll send over yesterday's chemical analysis." "I appreciate that, Ben." "Barring any unforeseen problems we should have this thing wrapped up in the next 1 0 days." "Mr. Keats." "Nice to finally meet you." "I'm Vincent Palmer." "Hello, Mr. Palmer." "Look, I've gotta run." "I've got another appointment." "See you soon?" "Okay." "Bye." "I know, I know." "Just give me a shot, okay?" "If I can't tell my client we met face to face, I'll lose him." "Let me buy you a drink." "I appreciate your interest..." "...but I'm not leaving Viztrax." "Viztrax needs money." "It's a very, very tight market, Ben." "Come on." "Gibbs is a great banker but promises and delivery, two different things." "This is not the '90s." "Excuse me, how did you know where I was having lunch and who I was having it with?" "I try to make it my business to know about the people I'm pursuing." "Have you taken a look at the packet?" "No, I haven't." "I got another one right up here." "Always good to have a spare." "I worked really hard on this thing." "Just take a look." "Please." "Here we go." "Resdat." "That's right." "Now, this is the sweetest, sexiest deal to come along since Netscape." "There's only one problem:" "The management stinks." "They're running it into the ground." "The investors are getting scared." "The CEO, Mr. Carey, he needs you." "I feel you can hit something out of the park with this one, Ben." "Ben." "Dexter." "Big word on the street on Viztrax." "Congratulations." "Thank you." "This is Vincent" "Sullivan." "Hi, Dexter O'Neil." "Oh, Dexter O'Neil." "You're" "Hewlett Packard's ace in the hole, aren't you?" "No, no, I'm just immoral and ambitious." "So you're in the business?" "Oh, God, no." "I'm a financial reporter." "I should've guessed." "Seattle can't keep him secret anymore." "Whatever he tells you, he's just being modest." "Good meeting you." "You too." "Sullivan?" "I'm a firm believer in confidentiality." "Well, listen, Mr. Palmer, Resdat's a great company." "It's a great opportunity for someone else." "Ben, don't you wanna hear the compensation package?" "Look, you're very persuasive, but- 1.5 million salary, 1.1 bonus 200,000 shares vested immediately, another 300 options next year plus payment of 2.1 to cover foregone Viztrax benefits." "This is not a good deal." "This is an outrageous deal." "Excuse me." "Take my ulcer medication." "Just take a look." "Could I get a glass of water, please?" "So, what is it that's making you uncomfortable?" "Is it the salary?" "Is it the options?" "What?" "Look, Mr. Palmer, I'm gonna take this with me, but I've gotta go." "I'll walk outside with you." "In my opinion, this is a great, great opportunity and you deserve this." "But don't make a decision right now, okay?" "Take a couple days, think about it..." "...and I'll be in touch with you." "Okay." "Can I get your car for you?" "I'm right here." "Oh, great." "Could you tell me how you found out where I was having lunch?" "Well, you'd be amazed what a secretary will tell you for 200 bucks." "Have a great day." "Dexter." "Can I buy you a drink?" "Want a quote for your story?" "I'll be honest with you, I'm actually a-- I'm actually a headhunter." "You're a" "Palmer." "Vincent Palmer." "That was professional discretion." "Mr. Keats feels the need to keep this on the q.t." "He doesn't want anybody to know about it." "I'm sorry." "I lied." "He's lying." "Why?" "I don't know." "How did he get the information?" "I have worked for you for six years, Ben." "I'm not gonna betray your confidence for 200 bucks." "I don't know how he got the information." "You gotta give this guy some credit." "I mean, it was a pretty ballsy move." "So, what'd you say?" "What do you think I said?" "Well, I think you said you had to talk to your beautiful wife about it." "No, I said I'd sleep on it but you know there's no chance I'm gonna leave Viztrax." "How much money are we talking about?" "It doesn't matter." "It's a lot, isn't it?" "Ben, we can't even afford to fix our washing machine." "We'll get a new washing machine." "Oh, but look at us." "We can't afford the down payment." "I don't wanna live in a rental all my life." "We'll get two houses if you want it." "But every dollar you make, 50 cents goes right back into Viztrax" "I know we sacrifice so much, but just keep the faith, okay?" "The lPO is just around the corner." "Okay." "Okay." "There you go, sir." "Oh, good." "Morning." "Hey." "ls it true, Ben?" "ls what true?" "Large cappuccino, please." "Got it." "You know what I'm talking about." "Are you leaving Viztrax?" "Of course not." "Who told you that?" "Sharon e-mailed Gloria this morning, okay?" "Sharon?" "Yeah." "Can I get a bran muffin?" "Said you had a big lunch with a headhunter yesterday." "You're defecting, right?" "Who's the lucky company, Ben?" "Who's the lucky company?" "SST security, Bob Langford speaking." "Hello, my name is Ben Keats." "Franklin Westbrook suggested I call you." "Well, very nice." "You got some good taste, Ben." "Everyone is suspect when it comes to corporate espionage." "Now, what right do you have as an employee in making a totally private phone call or writing a completely confidential message into your computer?" "Virtually none." "The Fourth Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure while at home but it can't prevent your boss from rifling through the office equipment that he has let you use." "Or anybody, for that matter, from picking through the garbage invading your computer." "These people can come through the door at any time." "Hey, Jennifer, can you check my balance?" "I need to cash out." "Hey, it's Emily Keats." "Yeah, Alison's mom." "Listen, can you tell her I'm running about 1 5 minutes late?" "Okay." "Thank you." "Emily Keats?" "You...." "You married to Ben Keats?" "Yeah." "What a small world." "I can't believe it." "I've heard so many great things about you." "I'm Vincent Palmer." "Nice to meet you." "I'm sorry." "I'm running late." "Hey, how do I know that name, Vincent Palmer?" "Well, your husband's pretty smooth." "Let me give you a hand with that." "I'm the guy trying to help him put together this big business deal." "So how is he doing, by the way?" "Well, he's doing great." "He's overworked as usual" "Let me get the door for you." "Thanks." "That really bothers me, I mean" "A man as talented as your husband is shouldn't be stretching himself so thin." "If I had a dime for every new tech company vying for public funding..." "..." "I'd never have to work again." "Think he made the wrong decision?" "Well it's not really for me to say but all I know is that opportunities like Resdat they come along once in a lifetime." "So I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that we can work this out." "lt was a pleasure to meet you." "You too." "I gotta take this call." "Thanks." "So, what do you do to protect yourself against outside eavesdroppers especially now when you are going public?" "Vigilance and knowing what you're up against." "Hey, Mr. Palmer." "Yeah?" "Do you know anything about cars?" "Oh, yeah." "What do you need?" "Now, this little device can bring down the strongest company." "Put the most feared executive on his knees." "It's a video bug." "Miniature camera, built-in microphone." "You can hide it anywhere." "A clock, cell phone, even in a pen." "Ben thinks the Auto Club's a waste of money." "That's the kind of judgment-impaired thinking I'm afraid of here." "It's the middle of the night, the car breaks down, you're scared I'm not gonna be there to save you next time." "What will you do?" "It's this house here." "Corporate terrorism kidnapping, industrial espionage embezzlement, theft of trade secrets." "It's a global problem and it's growing." "Why?" "Same old, same old." "Because information is knowledge." "Knowledge is power." "And whoever has the power, they're in charge." "Save damsels in distress." "It's my thing, you know." "Let me give you a hand with these bags here." "My daughter should be home any minute from riding class." "Oh, perfect." "Yeah, I understand she's quite the horsewoman." "Well, she's taking lessons." "You know...." "Thanks." "Well, I used to be kind of a rider myself in my day until I hurt my knee." "Really?" "Oh, my God." "I bet she'd love to talk to you." "Beware the predators outside those doors." "Each and every one of you are their prey." "That was our first date, very romantic." "Yeah, you two look extremely happy." "Here you go." "Thank you." "This is the best tea I've ever had in my life, I'll tell you." "What is it?" "Wow, nothing." "Well, it sounds like something." "No, no, it's-- It's all very, very nice." "Really lovely." "It's really, really" "What is it?" "I should probably keep my trap shut, but I gotta tell you I think Ben is making a huge mistake passing on this Resdat deal." "He's a genius." "He's going places." "You're gorgeous you should be dripping in jewels as far as I'm concerned." "I've said too much." "I should go." "I've got a meeting I gotta get to." "Thank you for the tea." "Mommy." "Hi, honey." "Hey." "Hi." "Hello." "This is Mr. Palmer." "This is my daughter, Alison." "Hi, Mr. Palmer." "You can call me Vincent." "Hi, Vincent." "I see you're a little horse rider." "I used to ride a dappled Appaloosa" "That's my favorite horse." "Do you know how to jump?" "Of course." "I could do it in my sleep." "I love it." "You know, we should all go riding some time." "Please, Mommy, please." "I think that would be okay." "Excellent." "Excellent." "What was Vincent Palmer doing here?" "I told you, the car broke down." "We can't afford the Auto Club now, can we?" "And Alison" "Hey, munchkin..." "...wash your hands." "Okay, Mom." "Why does the Auto Club matter?" "I think you made a huge mistake giving up that job with Resdat." "This is Palmer talking, right?" "No, this is me talking, your wife." "The person you should've consulted before passing up the biggest opportunity of our lives." "Oh, honey." "Come on, sweetie." "But I'm not hungry." "Come on." "You don't have to eat, you just have to wash your hands." "I'm not hungry." "I know." "Hey." "Benjamin, how are you?" "You just caught me." "I was on my way to the airport." "So I'm hoping you got some good news for me." "Well, I wanted to thank you for helping Emily out." "Please." "My pleasure." "Anything I can do." "And I wanted to tell you that I looked over the package." "It was very attractive, but I just can't do it." "Well, I tried." "Listen, it's my job to tell you I think you're making a mistake" "Please don't make this personal." "I'm not gonna do that." "I respect you too much." "It's a pleasure meeting you." "Thanks for taking the time, and...." "I can still catch my flight." "Take care." "You too." "Well, Lena, this is a very impressive resume." "I worked at Highres lnternational before the radars consolidation left us all looking for work." "We're glad we got you." "Pay's low, but the stock options should make up for it." "When can you start?" "How about now?" "Okay, then." "Well, Lena..." "...welcome to Viztrax." "Thank you." "I better get that, I'm on the clock." "The lab's still working on the tagging compound but it's taking longer than expected." "You know who I got a call from today?" "Dexter O'Neil." "Yeah, I just saw him." "Yeah, that's what he told me." "Should I be worried?" "No." "No?" "No, Franklin." "I'm not leaving Viztrax." "Well, tell me, why are you having a meeting with a headhunter?" "I'm not." "The day I was having lunch with Gibbs, this guy came over." "He approached me, made a pitch." "His name is Vincent Palmer." "Palmer." "Who does he represent?" "Resdat." "Oh, I'm impressed." "Go on." "Well, the company's in seriously bad shape and debt rate is skyrocketing." "Stock's at an all-time low." "Oh, trust me, you're the man for the job." "You'll add value to that company just by walking through those doors." "Except I'm not walking." "It was bound to happen." "You are too good at what you do." "And guys like Vincent Palmer they put you right on the endangered species list." "It used to be in this business you rewarded your employees by promoting them raising their salary, giving them a longer vacation." "Not now." "Nowadays, someone does something good and they're automatically the target of your competitors." "And they're so damn afraid." "Not of you, but of what you may do that they will do anything, and I mean anything, to get you." "Oh, here's Mr. Keats now." "Good morning, sir." "Do you mind signing this for me?" "Mr. Westly called." "Twice." "He'd like you to call him back as soon as possible." "Messages on your desk." "The lab sent up some chemical analysis for you." "Great." "Thank you, Lena." "Okay." "Okay." "Yeah." "No, I got it." "I got it covered." "1 00 percent." "Okay." "Give me a double espresso, please." "Hey, you work at Viztrax, don't you?" "Yeah." "Vincent Palmer." "Hey, how's it going, Vincent?" "I'm Wade Steiner." "Pleasure." "Are you multimedia?" "Executive recruiting." "I'm the one brokering Ben Keats' Resdat deal." "His what?" "His Resdat deal." "Hey, hey, it's me." "Listen, I need to talk to you about something." "I'm up here." "What is it?" "Nothing." "Come on, Franklin." "What is it?" "What's going on?" "I did some research on your new friend, Vincent Palmer from Palmer and Associates." "He's the same guy that nabbed John Blakely from DatArc." "I know." "Then you know that Blakely was well-rooted in that company." "Franklin, you don't have to worry about me." "Well, Wade thinks I should." "Wade's wrong." "Tell me, are you going out of town this weekend?" "Yeah." "Alison's got a riding competition." "You're welcome to join us if you want." "No, you go ahead." "I know how important family is to you right now." "Contention management, Ben." "If this is just a rumor, and God, I hope it is force it out, squash it, stop it now." "Lord knows we don't wanna go to the floor with this because this sort of thing will come back and bite us in the ass." "I've seen it happen too many times." "So for me, as your friend handle it." "Lena, I need everyone in the conference room right now." "Okay, two things:" "Number one, I'm not leaving." "Number two, Wade, I need to speak with you." "Why didn't you come to me first?" "Hey, I did come to you first, Ben." "All right?" "But the problem" "You think I'd betray this company?" "There was a time when I would've slapped the guy who suggested it." "But now, I don't know." "If it had been anybody else that I called Franklin about you'd be the first telling me I did the right thing." "If it was anybody else I called Franklin about he'd be walking down that hallway with a box full of personal photos and a fucking philodendron." "This is my favorite horse." "A blue-ribbon winner should have a good horse." "Daddy, I haven't won yet." "But you will." "That was very nice of Mr. Palmer." "Nice like a snake." "Well, if you have his address, I'm gonna send him a thank-you card." "Honey, this looks gorgeous." "Yeah, it is, but I booked us a room on the lnternet." "We're not in the main wing." "Don't be disappointed." "Oh, I won't be." "Mommy, I have to pee." "ln a second." "In a second." "Mr. Keats, I have you and your family booked into our best suite." "Mr. Palmer upgraded your reservation, so it's taken care of." "Emily." "This guy won't get off my back." "Can we please have the room we booked?" "I'm afraid we're completely booked up." "This is all we have left." "Well, once Mr. Palmer changed your reservation, I gave your room away." "Perfect." "It's okay." "Mr. Palmer did leave this for your daughter." "Mr. Palmer's cool." "Wow, look at that." "Mommy, come on." "I wanna show you something." "Hey, Alison!" "Mommy, Daddy, it's Mr. Palmer!" "You're good at jumping." "Thanks, sweetie." "I'm a little rusty, though." "No, you did great." "He's beautiful." "Yeah, he's great." "Great horse." "Hey, Ben." "Hey, Emily." "Hey, good to see you." "Thank you for the upgrade of the room and Alison's crop and the toy horse." "lt was so generous." "Hey, it was nothing." "I got an idea, you wanna have a seat on him for a second?" "Please, Mommy?" "He's really gentle." "I'll just trot her around." "Is that okay with you, Dad?" "Sure." "Good man." "Upsy-daisy." "There you go." "Come here, big boy." "Okay." "All right, sweetie, put that on." "So it's a surprise to see you here." "What are you doing here?" "Oh, come on, Ben, I followed you." "No." "Just kidding around." "I got a client who's got a son who's competing." "And this is a real treat for me, you know." "It's very rare that I get to hang around horses in my line of work." "Yeah?" "I used to ride a lot when I was a kid." "Oh, you did?" "That's great." "Speaking of which, did you like the stuffed horse?" "It's my favorite." "Did you name her yet?" "Her name is Windy." "Windy." "Beautiful." "That's a fast name for a fast horse." "Listen, no funny business up there." "I don't wanna get in any trouble with your mom and dad." "All right." "We'll be careful." "Have fun." "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" "I don't know." "Ben, it's not worth getting worked up over." "He paid for our room." "I mean, the least you could do is be nice to him." "Maybe." "I know you don't like guys like Vincent Palmer." "I don't." "I know." "Why don't you sit down with him, talk to him like a friend." "Buy him a drink." "Let him feel like his efforts have been worthwhile." "I mean, tell him that you've reconsidered the offer but it's just not worth it for you right now." "He's a pretty reasonable guy." "I think he'll understand." "There you go." "Mommy did you know that Mr. Palmer used to be a riding instructor?" "He said that I could work with him any time I want to." "Really?" "That was very nice." "You did great, Alison." "Thank you." "Would you come to dinner?" "Oh, dinner?" "I think I've intruded enough for one day." "You're not intruding." "Please." "I really hope you can come." "Why don't we talk about it later." "Okay." "All right." "Great." "What do you say?" "Thank you, Mr. Palmer." "Oh, it was my pleasure, sweetheart." "Mr. Palmer's cool." "I really think you should take the job, Daddy." "Did you have to beg him?" "Excuse me?" "Inviting him to dinner." "I thought it was the right thing to do." "For who?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "Hey, Alison." "Come on, honey." "We're gonna take this back to the tack room." "Come on." "Oh, Ben." "Nice shot." "What is it?" "I don't know what the hell I did." "This all started out as business but I really thought you and I were becoming friends." "That's what I thought." "If we weren't friends, then tell me this." "How come I have never leaked one word about Kid Trace, huh?" "I've had plenty of opportunities." "What do you know about Kid Trace?" "He speaks." "What do I know about Kid Trace?" "You have invented a LoJack system for human beings." "No child will ever go missing." "It's a brilliant idea." "I applaud you 1 00 percent." "I can't imagine one company that wouldn't want their fingers on that." "Am I right?" "I'm right, right?" "You know what?" "Just forget it." "I surrender." "I'm done." "Life's too short." "Wait." "Let me buy you a drink." "Tell Emily thanks for the invitation..." "...but I don't think" "One drink, okay?" "I accepted your gifts." "I accepted your generosity." "And I've been, well, a shit." "So, come on, let me buy you a drink." "It would make me feel a lot better." "All right." "You really have been a shit, you know that?" "Jesus Christ!" "Like Fats Domino and Eddie Felson, for God's sake." "Is there anything you don't excel at?" "Come on." "This calls for another round, I think." "Vincent, no, no." "I think I hit my limit." "Sky's the limit." "Bring it on, then." "Ladies." "Would you hold on to my staff?" "Hey, where's that drink?" "Thank you." "It's coming!" "Okay." "Let me get two more vodkas." "Hold the vodka in mine, would you." "Hey, Benjy." "Yeah?" "Where the hell did you learn to play like that?" "I used to play at the old rec center." "You're" "I was too poor for tennis and...." "I landed." "And I couldn't jump, so basketball was out." "Cheers." "Cheers." "Cheers, big ears!" "Right?" "Yeah." "But I used to beat my buddies for their cigarettes." "Wasted youth, huh?" "Yeah." "Wasted youth." "Yeah." "You got a great life now." "I do." "You got a beautiful wife." "She is." "Beautiful kid, God bless her." "Oh, yeah." "You know, I was actually married once." "Oh, yeah?" "Oh, yeah." "Yeah." "Bitch left me for my business partner." "Can you believe that?" "Business partner!" "Still, there's plenty of fish in the sea, huh?" "What about Emily?" "You ever cheat on Emily?" "No, no." "Never." "Never." "No." "Come on, spill it." "Tell me the story." "She'd never cheat on you, I'll tell you that right now." "Hey, I got an idea." "I got an idea." "We're gonna have a little adventure." "It'll be fun." "Live on the wild side." "Let's go." "Oh, God." "Hey, horses?" "Vincent, I don't wanna ride horses." "I hate them." "I just want some fresh air." "You want some fresh air?" "I got a trick for you." "You breathe in for one, hold for two, exhale for four." "Come on, let's try it." "Breath in for one." "Hold for two." "Exhale for four." "One, two, three, four." "You see?" "You feel better?" "Do that three times a day, you'll have twice the stamina you have now." "Breath is the foundation of all life!" "I feel pretty good." "I can't believe a smart guy like you has never tried oxygen therapy." "You mean, like, oxygen bars?" "Yeah." "Come on." "They're popping up all over the place." "It's the wave of the future." "You go in there, you shove a little tube up your nose and you feel incredible." "lt does wonders for the body." "Can't believe" " You do that?" "I swear by it, man." "Goddamn ulcers." "How long have you had those?" "I'll tell you as a man who was once faced with similar decisions as you are I made some wrong choices and it cost me everything I care about." "I just don't want the same thing to happen to you." "Sorry that happened to you, man." "I...." "I don't know what to say." "I know what you can say." "You can say yes to this Resdat deal." "How's that?" "Oh, come on, man." "Let's just ride." "All right." "I know, I know." "My mother always said I was as tenacious as a ferret on crack." "God bless her soul." "I like the people I work with." "Hey, listen." "If that's the problem nobody says you gotta parachute into this alone." "Take whoever you want." "Mr. Carey understands the necessity for shorthand." "He does." "I don't wanna talk about it." "No, I know what it is." "It's Franklin Westbrook, isn't it?" "He's the roadblock." "I don't wanna talk about this anymore." "Yeah, I don't mind saying it, Ben, but I am very disappointed." "Very fucking disappointed." "Now, I'm offering you the chance of a lifetime." "You talk about friendship, and you keep pissing all over mine." "I think it's ridiculous." "Hey Vincent, you forgot your pillbox thing." "Hey, Vincent." "Hey, Ben." "You know what?" "This isn't over." "There's nothing you can say that's gonna change my mind." "I haven't even gotten started yet." "You have no idea the lengths I'll go." "I once killed a man's wife to get him to take a job." "What?" "You wanna hear about it?" "Come on." "Hi-ho, Silver!" "Come on." "Let's go." "Come on, baby." "Come on!" "Keep up!" "There you go." "Come on, Ben!" "Keep up, buddy!" "Don't be a little baby." "Oh, Jesus." "Come on, baby!" "Come on!" "Keep up, Ben!" "Go, Ben!" "You go, Ben!" "Yeah!" "The winner!" "Yeah!" "First star to the right, and straight on till morning." "Sleep tight." "Thank God you're okay." "We gotta go." "Right now." "You're mean." "I don't love you anymore." "I would've won." "I hate you." "Alison, just get in the car." "Don't take it out on her." "She's done nothing wrong." "Oh, for chrissake." "Oh, Ben." "I really don't understand you." "I mean, you've ruined the weekend." "You're acting like some idiot." "Baby, listen, you have no idea what" "Yes, I do." "If it wasn't for Vincent Palmer I don't know what would've happened to you." "Where are you going?" "To get the luggage." "Can you please buckle her in?" "Good afternoon, Palmer and Associates." "This is Ben Keats." "Get me Vincent Palmer." "Is he expecting your call?" "Just put him on the phone." "May I tell him what this is in regards to?" "He knows." "Just put him on." "Mr. Keats, he'll be with you in a moment." "Have a great day." "Hey, Ben." "How are you?" "What the hell happened to you Saturday night?" "You left me after I fell, that's what happened." "I don't know what you're thinking." "I went to report you missing." "That's bullshit." "It's the truth." "I could've died out there." "Perhaps somebody's telling you something." "What'd you just say?" "It could be God's way of telling you to slow down, smell the roses." "That's all." "No, no, no." "This has gotta stop!" "Why are you angry with me?" "You crossed the line." "Line?" "What are you talking about?" "Why are you doing this?" "Doing what?" "No more gifts." "No more phone calls." "This has gotta stop." "Do you understand?" "No more threats." "Threats?" ""l once killed a man's wife to get him to take a job"?" "You're pathetic." "Ben." "We need to talk." "Don't call me again." "Listen, I think this lPO has got you all stressed out." "I'm gonna be in Seattle next week." "Maybe I'll swing by the office." "We can play hooky together, get you out of this rut you're in." "I got an open invite to the Sahalee Country Club." "Twenty-seven holes jammed in one of the most" "You're in New York right now?" "Of course." "Ben?" "Is something wrong?" "Mr." "Keats?" "I'm sorry to bother you." "I want to let you know the meeting's been pushed back an hour." "Put him through." "Vincent?" "I've got a call that I need to take right now." "Can I put you on hold for a second?" "Sure." "He's coming." "Ben, idle threats won't accomplish anything." "Oh, I sent everything from the trip to the cleaners." "It's just being pressed right now." "If you wanna wait a few minutes, it'll only take" " Sir." "Please, I'm sorry, you can't go back here." "Customers aren't allowed back here, sir." "There's something I need in my pocket." "Whatever you're looking for isn't there." "We always keep it over here." "Please come over here." "Everything is taken out." "Here, in one of these boxes." "We always put everything away." "ln these little" " There, you found it." "Perfect." "Thank you." "So, what you have here is diafloralperazine, or ziprinex." "This puppy is extremely toxic, but it's not used for treating ulcers." "What's it used for?" "Ziprinex is used to manage psychotic anxiety and agitated depression." "Thank you, Petra." "You're welcome." "Ben." "Yeah?" "Look" " I have a lot invested in this company." "We all do." "So when you leave, don't take Kid Trace with you." "You'll blow it for all of us." "I'm not leaving." "Okay." "Ben, can you come over to my office?" "I really need to talk to you." ""Vincent, forgive the short note, I can't talk here in Seattle." "This weekend I am taking the family to a horse show." "Why not join us there." "There will be plenty of time for us to discuss things." "I'll send over directions." "Sincerely, Ben Keats."" "You think I wrote this?" "lt has your signature on it." "If I did write it, do you think I'd be stupid enough to sign it?" "So now you're saying it's forged?" "Yes." "Where'd you find it, anyway?" "It's been on e-mail as an attachment all morning." "I'm gonna ask you something." "Did Vincent Palmer go with you this weekend to that horse show?" "Because see, I called the hotel after I read this." "Vincent was registered the same weekend..." "...you and your family were there." "He showed up." "Oh, come on, Ben." "Please." "I'm trying to believe you on this thing here." "Everyone's waiting for you in the conference room at Viztrax." "Thank you, Maggie." "Tell them I'm coming right over." "All right, Ben." "You tell me how to handle this." "Tell me what you want me to do." "Everybody else thinks you're leaving." "Their whole future is riding on this lPO, and they think you've lost faith in us." "Maggie." "This is Ben." "Get William Carey from Resdat on the line, please." "Ben, I'm glad you called." "Let me be the first to welcome you aboard." "I'm not taking the job." "I'm calling to tell you to get Vincent Palmer off my back." "Slow down, Ben." "Palmer told me you were just about ready to sign." "Well, he's been misinformed." "That's never gonna happen." "Negotiation's stalled, sir." "But, listen, I know this guy." "He's just playing hard to get, that's all." "Hard to get?" "He was goddamned rude, then he hung up on me." "That's a little extreme, don't you think?" "Listen." "I'm a professional." "I warned you." "These deals tend to get fragile." "Trust me." "He wants the job." "He's just holding out for a better offer." "You've given me room to negotiate that I haven't even used." "Once I present the new offer, I'm sure he'll come around." "Hey, Ben, it's Vincent." "How are you?" "I need to talk to you." "Where are you?" "Ben, it's Vincent again." "Listen" "Ben, I really-- Come on, we need to talk." "Ben, I'm starting to take this personally here, buddy." "Listen, I just want to talk to you quickly about this deal." "Ben, if you don't call me back, we're gonna have a lot of" "Mr." "Blakely." "Yes?" "Ben Keats." "Ben Keats." "Nice to meet you." "I hear good things about you." "I'm late for a meeting." "Vincent Palmer is trying to recruit me." "What does that have to do with me?" "He recruited you, didn't he?" "Yes." "How?" "I don't understand." "I think he's responsible for murdering your wife." "My wife was murdered in a home-invasion robbery, Mr. Keats." "If you'll excuse me" "I don't want what happened to your wife to happen to me." "Let go of my arm." "lf we go to the police together we can get this son of a bitch." "Listen, Mr. Keats." "All he cares about is money and winning." "So you have two options." "Either you can take the job for the well-being of your family or you can kill the son of a bitch." "Excuse me." "Yeah, I wanna get some hot chocolate with lots of whipping cream..." "...and chocolate and marshmallows." "And marshmallows." "And chocolate chips." "Yeah, our special." "Yeah, we can get a hot chocolate." "Emily." "Alison." "Hey." "Hi, Mr. Palmer." "Hey, sweetheart." "Good to see you." "I'm working on a deal with your dad that's gonna get you riding in any horse show in the country." "I wanna ride Windy." "Just Windy." "That's perfect." "It's a done deal." "Listen, I saw a beautiful dress down there." "I gotta talk to your mommy." "Go check it out." "It's gorgeous." "Stay close, honey." "Alrighty, Mommy." "Here, let me give you a hand." "Oh, thank you." "Absolutely." "I wanted to apologize about what happened at the hotel the other day." "He's been under so much stress lately." "I don't know how he handles anything, with his partner." "What do you mean?" "I know Franklin's sick but he's doing the right thing keeping that off the radar." "I mean, that is the right play." "Ben told you about Franklin?" "I've known Ben for a long time." "When he called me in to help him with this deal, I came" "I came right over, you know?" "He contacted you about this job?" "Yeah." "Yeah, we grew up to be that way." "It's okay for Ben to have a friend." "It's not that big of a deal." "Wait." "He contacted you for the job at Resdat?" "Wait a second." "Wait." "Hold the phone." "Are you telling me that you didn't know that he contacted me?" "Hey, that's pretty weird." "That's scary, all right?" "Listen, I've been working my ass off trying to put this deal together." "I mean, his behavior has been so erratic, I can't make heads or tails of it." "I see it, sweetheart." "It's beautiful." "Either he's, like, trying to play some sort of slick business game with me or negotiate for a higher salary or he's got some past issue with what happened with you and Greg." "Wait a second, he told you about Greg?" "But, wait" "Listen." "That was so long ago." "All right, I know." "The phone is ringing." "The thing is, I'm just concerned about this deal, okay?" "The way he's acting, he'll blow it." "The people I'm dealing with are very, very nervous." "All right?" "Hello?" "Hey, sweetheart." "I'm...." "I'm on my way home." "I'm catching the 2:30." "I just gotta get a cab." "Listen, I heard some very disturbing news about Vincent Palmer." "ls that him right now?" "Really?" "Could I speak to him?" "ls that Vincent?" "Yeah." "Let me talk to him." "What is he doing there?" "Can we talk about this at home?" "lf I talk to him" "Put him on." "Put him on." "Okay." "He wants to" "Oh, perfect." "Hey, Ben." "Vincent, you stay away from my daughter." "Ben?" "You hear me?" "You stay away from her and my family." "I can't leave, I haven't fucked your wife yet." "What?" "All right?" "You stay away from my daughter and my family, or I will kill you." "I swear to God, Vincent." "I lost the signal." "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Sweetie!" "Oh, Mommy, Mommy, Daddy's home." "Look at the picture I drew." "What's the horsey's name?" "Westly." "Can you draw a picture of him for me?" "Okay, okay." "It'll be just right." "It'll be better than...." "And it will be even better-- It's gonna be so nice." "You took a shower." "Yeah." "Why?" "What's the matter?" "Did he touch you?" "No." "What kind of a question is that?" "I don't want him near you or Alison." "Oh, Ben, what do you think, I slept with him?" "You're such an asshole." "Listen." "Emily." "Look, this psychopath, he...." "I'm sorry." "Forget it." "He said that you contacted him about the job." "That's crazy." "He knows about Greg." "What?" "He told me you told him about the affair with Greg." "Oh, Jesus." "This guy won't give up." "Well, then, why would he bring it up?" "Because he wants to destroy us." "Hello?" "You're home." "I got you." "Who the hell's calling so late?" "Vincent." "Leave us alone!" "Come on." "Ben?" "What's going on?" "What do you want?" "I just wanted to find out how Franklin was doing." "Brain tumors are very deadly." "Good night, Ben." "Say good night to your lovely wife for me." "What does he want?" "He's crazy." "Come on, let's go to bed." "What happened?" "Someone's outside my window." "Okay, okay, go to your mama." "Outside your window?" "Ben." "That's my phone." "There's nothing sweeter than watching little Alison fast asleep in her snowman nightie." "Sleep tight." "And he's not gonna stop until I accept his offer." "Ben, let the police handle this asshole." "It's the only way to get rid of him." "Yeah, but I'd still like to find out how he knows so much." "It's like he's listening in on us." "Ben." "I'll call you back." "Ben?" "Every step you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you." "Man, you're hot." "Very nice." "Very nice." "Mama!" "The police can't help you." "Not unless there's proof who set those bugs." "It could be anyone." "Your own boss, for that matter." "Until there's hard evidence that it's Palmer, they can't do a thing." "Will you help me?" "Yeah, I'll help you." "You need it." "Nice, cold vodka pineapple, my good man." "I'll be right over here." "Where is my little winner?" "Hey!" "Oh, come on." "You kidding me?" "Look at you." "That's what I love about you, you're a listener." "Not quite cold enough, though, is it?" "Miss." "I tend to take my Seaman's sweeteners arctic." "Thank you." "You got it." "So, what's up?" "How much is it gonna take for you to leave me alone?" "How much is it gonna take?" "You talking about money?" "This isn't about money." "This is about pride." "I never quit a contract, bad for business." "There must be someone else." "There's absolutely nobody else." "You're it." "You're the one." "Once I set my sights on somebody, that's it." "Tunnel vision." "Total focus." "Everything else just fades away." "Excuse me." "Looking for this?" "Hey, my lucky little pillbox." "There you go." "Thank you." "I've been searching all over the place for this thing." "Thanks, buddy." "You know, I'll be honest with you." "This really isn't for ulcers." "But you probably figured that out by now." "If I don't have one of these little beauties, I tend to go a little...." "Well, tend to go a little nutty." "Be my guest." "Thanks, buddy." "Cheers." "Cheers, big ears." "What did I ever do to you?" "What did I ever do to you?" "Come on." "Don't be so goddamn pathetic." "You kidding me." "You sound like a little baby." "You're just a stubborn son of a bitch, that's all." "What the hell does it take to get you to say yes?" "Is it Franklin?" "Is that it?" "The guy is a goner." "He's got astrocytoma, for chrissakes." "I mean, I understand loyalty, but that is a little goddamn ridiculous." "Look, I get it." "You know, you and I, we're not that different." "We're stick-to-it kinds of guys." "I'm just a little bit better at it than you are, that's all." "I never lose, man." "Never." "He's a dead man." "Don't let him take you down with him, all right?" "He didn't take it." "Oh, great." "Watch it." "What?" "We got lucky." "Let's try the old-fashioned way." "He's coming." "That sick son of a bitch." "He has got you covered." "He's got my new secretary on the payroll." "This guy's a piece of work." "Take a look at this." "What?" "That's how he knows about the astrocytoma." "Franklin." "Let's go." "Franklin, it's time to kiss your astrocytoma goodbye." "Oh, my God." "Well, that's great." "I'll send over a company packet." "It includes a description of the position." "Well, I look forward to meeting you." "Take care." "Bye." "I quit." "What?" "I'm leaving Viztrax." "Petra, you can't." "You're the one I trust." "I need you here." "Just give me six months to work this all out, okay?" "I can't." "I just" " I don't believe in it anymore." "I'm sorry." "Ben." "Tragic." "Tragic." "You killed him, didn't you?" "Actually, your stubborn sense of loyalty killed him, but it's good news." "The roadblock is gone." "You can take the job." "It was you!" "He's gonna kill me." "Hold him back!" "Hold him back!" "You wouldn't have thought a big guy like that would've cried so much." "He's not my lawyer." "Ben, take it easy." "I am a lawyer." "And in the halls of justice, it's the easiest place to influence matters." "Jerry and I have become good friends." "Take a seat." "So everything that's happened to me recently, you've orchestrated, right?" "Pretty much." "Yeah." "Running into Emily at the bookstore." "Her car." "I pulled a fuse." "Sharon?" "She was as honest as the day is long." "She had to go." "You killed John Blakely's wife." "Yes." "And Franklin?" "Oh, that's your fault." "There you go, okay!" "I'm gonna have to get you one of my prescriptions." "You're a little nutty!" "Aren't you in enough trouble as it is already?" "Assault and battery." "Attempted murder, for chrissakes." "There is some good news for you." "There is." "I'm willing to drop all the charges if you just say two little words:" ""I'll sign."" "Fuck you." "Wrong words!" "Now, I am through negotiating with you, okay?" "When I leave here, your horse-loving twit of a daughter is finished." "You will never see her again then I go play housey with your little wifey." "Whether she wants to or not." "I am through fucking around with you!" "Jerry, get me out of here." "Vincent, wait." "What is it?" "I'll sign." "What's that?" "I didn't hear you." "I'll sign." "Well, that is music to my ear, buddy." "Come on, Jerry, open up this door." "This man's been through enough." "Get him out of here." "We got a deal." "Watch out for your mother, okay?" "Okay." "I'll see you in a month." "Come on, Ben." "Gotta hit the road." "Start this adventure." "You'll be together soon enough." "You don't wanna keep your new employers waiting, now, do you?" "Ben, there are some details regarding my compensation..." "..." "I need to discuss with you." "My flight's not till 1 :30." "We could grab a drink right now." "Great." "Sounds very civilized." "Hello." "Thank you." "Very nice." "I hope it's cold, sweetheart." "lt is." "Here you go." "That's flight 227, leaves out of gate 1 2, arrives 3:35." "You're in seat 1A." "Call me as soon as you get there, okay?" "I look forward to hearing all the back-slapping merriment..." "...and the swilling of Veuve Clicquot." "I promise I'll call." "So let me tell you how this works." "How it always works." "I convert my recruiting fee into stock which, in this case, will be stock in Resdat." "Now, what's that?" "Fifty, sixty." "So that converts to roughly 20,000 shares." "You observe your contract." "You stick it out there for five years." "You keep the stock moving up, okay?" "Say 1 5, 20 percent a year." "You do that, you never worry about hearing from me." "Sound good?" "No problem." "Excellent." "Everybody is satisfied." "Now, let's make sure we keep that stock above 70, okay?" "Cheers, big ears." "Cheers." "So that's about it." "I don't have any more time to hang out with you, there, Ben." "So many executive positions to fill, so little time." "You got a great future." "Great future!" "Ben." "Get out of the house." "Now!" "Come on, sweetie, we gotta go." "Get your coat." "Morning, sir." "Just get to it, Palmer." "Didn't you tell me to go to any lengths?" "I didn't tell you to make him look like a failure." "You've turned him into damaged goods." "I think you're overreacting." "People rarely fact-check." "We can turn this situation around, make him look like the scapegoat." "Everyone in this business fact-checks, Palmer." "He's worthless." "Besides, he never showed up today." "He's not there with you right now?" "Look, I'm gonna have to put another search firm on this." "A company that's less aggressive." "Listen, before you do something rash, just know I put a lot of time into" "Goodbye, Mr. Palmer." "Sorry, I" "Hello?" "You hang up on me, you fucking--!" "Why aren't you there?" "Okay." "Not onboard!" "Where the fuck are you, you son of a bitch?" "Fucker!" "Fuck!" "Okay." "Here we go." "We got a match." "Triangulating...." "There we go." "Come on, come on." "Come on." "Oh, my God." "He's here." "He's right outside." "He's at the loading dock." "You stay here." "Oh, my God." "Benjamin, you're making me crazy!" "Come on out, Benjamin!" "Don't be scared." "I just wanna renegotiate, that's all." "You are so lucky I only got one good eye, buddy." "What?" "Jesus, I've been LoJack-ed." "Are you kidding me?" "This thing actually works?" "You did it, you little genius." "You crafty son of a bitch." "Hey, Ben." "Listen, the way I see it, we got three ways to handle the situation." "Number one, show up for work tomorrow chipper and happy." "Number two, I hunt you down right now and kill you like the scrappy little dog you are." "And number three, you try to kill me, huh?" "Shit!" "That stings, you son of a bitch!" "I'm really enjoying this." "First, I'm gonna kill you then I'm gonna strap a saddle on your wife and ride her then I'll moonwalk on your daughter." "You like the sound of that, buddy?"