"***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "***" "What am I supposed to do now?" "Blessed are the moments in life when the decision is clear... when doubt shrugs and slinks away, ashamed of itself... and resolve embraces you like a long-lost lover." "Sweet certainty, where have you been?" "No matter... no longing... no looking back." "We're about to take out one of the 6 worst companies of our time, you and me, right?" "That's so awesome." "Come here." "Welcome the consequences when your heart is alert and lucid." "What bad can come?" "What are you-- What are you two doing?" "Well, it's official." "I just got the word." "They're letting us all go." "We have till the end of the month, and then it's Kristallnacht." "You want a hit?" "No." "I'm good." "Why didn't you just go to the parking lot where everybody else does it?" "I don't give a fuck." "I'm a dead man walking." "Oh, I got to tell the troops, my people." "Oh, God, I'll tell them tomorrow." "Hey, Tyler, hit this." "I mean, I don't want to smoke alone, OK?" "That's not fair." "This is a direct order from your superior, Tyler." "He's lost it." "Smoke this fucking joint with me." "Hey." "Hey." "So you know this community outreach job you keep talking about at Abaddonn where you can, you know, change the company from within and do good and" "Well, what would you say if I could get you that job?" "What?" "Are you high?" "What if I could get Eileen to get you a meeting with Szidon?" "I mean, because Eileen says she can get me transferred back to I.T." "So I'm thinking Eileen has a lot of sway and maybe she can help you." "Tyler, that would never happen." "This company is never gonna change." "Szidon is a crook." "But the point is to make a difference, right, and to do good, and that's what you've always been saying, and maybe there's a way to do that without all this, you know, like, drama." "You should ask her." "I mean, fine, but it's unrealistic, and--go ahead-- keep working here." "That's great." "You've been brave, Tyler." "You don't have to stay tied to this story anymore, but I have to." "This is my mission now." "I have to stay the course." "OK." "Cool." "Well, I'll talk to her." "Yeah." "So it's stage IV cancer." "It's really sad." "I guess it's metastasized to the liver." "Because you know they've got the 3 really beautiful children, and he just got this job in New York, and they were all just about to all completely move over" "Hi, Amy." "Hi, Janis." "Hey, have you seen Krista?" "Oh, yeah, yeah." "I just saw her." "Oh, OK." "Well, then I guess you know that they're inducing tomorrow." "No." "They're inducing Monday." "No." "They inducing tomorrow." "They moved it." "Oh, my God-- Oh, I'm sorry." "Go ahead." "Well, I'll totally go see her after work." "Oh, no, no." "I wouldn't because I think she just really wants to be with the family." "Next?" "I don't know what I should get them because I've never had get you through this, and, you know, this is part of entertaining." "Sometimes you just have a great time." "Hey, Amy." "My God, Janis told me you're having the baby tomorrow." "Yeah." "I cannot wait another day." "I've just become the crankiest little bitch." "Oh, I'm sure you guys are so excited." "Thank you for all your visits, Amy." "Yeah." "I'm really, really happy we patched everything up." "Me, too, Krista." "You know, I really do consider you a good friend." "You do?" "So do I, Krista... and, hey, listen." "There's something I want to tell you, too, in confidence, but look." "I need you to promise that you'll never, never say this to anyone, you know, like nobody-- Janis, nothing, OK?" "What is it?" "I can trust you?" "Like" "Yes." "You can trust me, Amy." "OK." "So remember I told you about the guy I was dating," "Mm-hmm." "the reporter?" "He's from the "L.A. Times."" "A reporter?" "Oh, that's different." "He's written an expose on Abaddonn, and I'm helping him." "Like, the story is gonna run any day, and it is" "It's gonna blow the roof off that place." "Like, it's gonna cause a firestorm." "An expose on Ab" "What's wrong with Abaddonn?" "What's wrong with it?" "No." "I know." "I just mean..." "really?" "It's a lot." "There's just a lot, and I just didn't want you to think that I'd ever hide anything from you." "You're my friend, and I need you to just please promise me you would never tell anyone this." "Honestly, Amy, I have so much on my mind right now, I" "I just hope you know what you're doing." "I do." "Like, I finally do." "Hey." "Heh." "Look." "Drinking water." "Nice." "God, I don't think I've ever been more hydrated." "And you do look better, so" "Thank you." "So who's the guy?" "Right." "Yeah." "He's a reporter from the "L.A. Times."" "Um, his name is Jeff." "And?" "Uh, and we're dating." "OK." "Levi, that's not why we're not gonna work." "Well, what's that reason?" "I don't think we have the same goals anymore." "I mean, I don't even know what your goals are." "I mean, what about a family?" "I thought you wanted that?" "I did, and I do." "I just-- I want more, too." "I want a bigger life than what we had." "Amy, for 20-plus years, I've been listening to your complaining about how the only thing standing in between you and happiness was me." "So you wanted me to be a better man." "I go off." "Now I am that man, and you're sitting here telling me that you've changed your fucking mind." "Are you fucking kidding me?" "Levi, just calm down, OK?" "Fuck you." "What?" "Yeah, because I got feelings, too." "You got all the answers for everybody all the time, right, Amy?" "So what's the answer for me now, huh?" "What am I supposed to do now, drink water?" "You drink it." "Uh..." "Have a nice, big life." "Oh..." "Sorry." "Jeff Flender." "Hey." "Hey." "Hi." "How did it go?" "Oh, it went great." "I'm really excited." "It's gonna be a huge deal." "Ha!" "Good." "I'm-- I'm excited, too." "How was your day?" "Oh, it's OK." "Just eager for the next stage of my life to start, you know, whatever that is." "I mean, obviously," "Abaddonn is totally over, and my past, you know, is really over." "That's a good thing." "Yeah." "You're right." "It is." "Hey, um, I miss you, and I like spending time with you." "Me, too." "Well, let's talk tomorrow, OK?" "OK." "Yeah." "Um, all right." "Good night, Jeff." "Bye." "Amy Jellicoe." "Hi, Amy." "This is Eileen." "Oh, hi, Eileen." "I'm calling to talk to you about your meeting with Charles Szidon." "My--my meeting?" "To talk about this community outreach job your proposing." "He's interested in speaking with you." "He is?" "Yes." "He is." "Listen." "He's not in the office today, but he said he can meet you for coffee or a drink at about 4:00." "He's at the Lynwood Country Club in Los Angeles." "Today?" "I can e-mail you the directions." "This is neat, right?" "Um, yeah." "It's neat, but, you know, I just don't think" "I can actually-- Listen." "I can meet you for lunch and kind of prep you if you'd like." "He's a real easy hang, though, and I really think you two will hit it off." "Do you?" "Yeah." "OK." "Well, we'll talk about it then." "OK." "Thanks, Eileen." "Bye-bye." "Bye." "What?" "Tyler, what?" "Eileen never asks him for anything." "So when she asked him to meet with you, he said, "Great."" "Tyler, did you tell her about the article?" "Because-- No, no." "She thinks she's just doing us a favor." "She knows we're friends, and" "But the timing is funky, don't you think?" "I mean-- No." "You have to take the meeting." "You have to." "Tyler" "I mean, if Eileen ever finds out what we did, what I did, she's never gonna forgive me." "Can't this have a happy ending for everyone?" "I seriously doubt it." "Cogentiva." "Everybody, hey." "Everybody, this is important, so listen." "It's my sad duty to tell all of you that at the end of the month, we're all being terminated." "Now that the data is in the system, they don't need us anymore." "Maybe this isn't a shock to some of you." "Maybe you knew all along that we were just serfs toiling away down here until we're voted off the fucking island, or maybe you were like me and thought you had a career here, thought that somebody fucking respected you" "or that maybe life was looking out for you." "Well, life is a sneaky bitch, and she'll pull the rug out from under you every fucking time." "Just when you build your castle, here comes the fucking tidal wave!" "You can't count on life for anything." "So fucking be free, Cogentiva." "Be fucking free." "Live for today." "Love each other, you know?" "And for whatever it's worth," "I'm sorry for each and every one of you, and it's been my pleasure and my honor to be your VP, and if you want to talk to me about anything, you can talk to me in my office." "Just be yourself, really, you know?" "He doesn't like phonies." "So be real." "Just speak from your heart." "Yeah, Amy." "Speak from the heart." "Yeah, but he doesn't like negativity." "So don't be too negative." "Come at him from a positive place." "Yeah." "That's good." "Be positive." "Yeah, positive, like how you could help the company, how your ideas are good for everybody." "He loves passion." "You have a lot of passion." "So he'll really respond to that, I'm sure." "Well, this company has, like, a lot of stuff it needs to change." "You know, I'm not gonna pull any punches." "I can really say some things he's really not gonna want to hear." "OK." "Uh-huh." "Just don't be too negative." "Yeah, Amy." "Don't be too negative." "Don't start there." "Slip the negative into all the positive, right?" "Yeah." "I'm sure Amy will make the most of it." "I just don't want you guys to have to leave, so" "Guess where I'm going." "Where?" "To the Lynwood Country Club to meet Charles Szidon." "What?" "Yeah... like, about this community outreach job that I've been angling for for, like, forever." "Uh, ha!" "I don't-- I don't get it." "Well, I mean, I know it's not real." "I just, you know, thought I might as well sit with him and hear what this guy has to say, right?" "Oh, you're not gonna tell him anything, are you, I mean, about the article or about anything you gave me?" "Oh, God, never." "Of course not." "Yeah, because he's gonna find out soon, anyway, right?" "Yeah." "No." "Totally." "No." "I was just curious to hear how he's gonna justify all the corrupt and immoral shit he does, you know?" "Who knows?" "Maybe if somebody finally tells the truth to him, he'll actually see a little light." "You know, Amy, you're in the article, right?" "He's gonna know who blew the whistle on him." "You're walking a tightrope here." "Yeah." "What else is new, right?" "So I'm driving to L.A. now, and I thought" "I'd just come by after, right, give you the blow-by-blow, and it should be pretty interesting." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Good luck." "Thanks." "See you later, OK?" "Wow, that's" " Yeah." "Thank you." "What?" "Hey, Charlie, how are you?" "Hey, John, good to see you." "We got to get together." "I'll get Candy on that." "Hey, Paul, nice to see you." "Mr. Szidon-- Charles, please." "Hi." "Amy." "Eileen sent me" "Amy." "to see" "We know each other." "Yeah." "Well, I said hi the other day." "I told you I appreciated your comments at the TED Conference." "Right." "Yes." "Thank you." "Oh, yeah." "Thank you for coming here." "I'm not going into the office this week, and Eileen felt strongly we should meet." "It's just so nice for her to set this up." "She's very special to me." "She's been with me through many incarnations." "Loyalty is all." "She's very sweet." "You know, it's a tough world." "Everyone scrambles." "Everyone is out for themselves." "Who's loyal anymore?" "Ha ha!" "So, Amy, tell me what you're thinking." "I feel like there's a real need for a position or even a department that helps Abaddonn look at how to be a more conscientious company." "Well, I hear what you're saying." "You know, we do give a lot back to Riverside, to the state, to the country." "We are corporate citizens." "Well, I'm not talking about charitable contributions." "I'm talking about looking fundamentally at how we impact the world in really negative ways and how to change that." "It's about choosing to make ethics a priority." "You know, when you have a job like mine, you are reminded of the bottom line every day." "I took over this company when it was losing money, and now it's in the black." "That's great for now, but if the rain stops falling and the crops die, the king will be killed." "It's very primal." "You're not gonna be killed." "You're gonna get a $50 million parachute and move to Pebble Beach or something." "I mean, you'll be good." "Sorry." "I just-- No." "No." "That's all right." "Aw, thanks." "You want to know what I really think?" "Definitely." "It's a postapocalyptic world, Amy." "The bacteria has exploded, and it is us, and I don't look down from the penthouse and think I'm winning and see my wonderful world." "I see chaos and the end of times, everyone holding on for dear life, you know, and I have my ship." "I'm trying to steer it so everyone survives." "That's my job, to choose a course, and sometimes I'm wrong, and sometimes people get hurt, but I have to decide with confidence and accept what comes." "Wow." "Do you really want to do something good, or are you just tired of feeling powerless?" "I guess both." "I want the power but to do something good." "Well, I will give that to you." "I will make a position for you." "You will?" "Yeah." "Well, I don't know how it's gonna work or what it's gonna look like, but let's try." "You think 100 is fair?" "Wait." "What?" "No." "As a salary-- $100,000." "I don't know what you were thinking, but since there's no precedent here" "Could you excuse me for a minute?" "Of...course." "Certainly." "Oh..." "Oh..." "So what happened?" "Uh..." "He offered me a job." "I mean, how ironic, right?" "It was crazy." "It was crazy." "It was the job I was pushing for all along, you know, that internal watchdog job, which, if I had," "I could bring all this stuff to light, and the company would probably listen and change, and we could change that company." "What the fuck are you talking about?" "Well, he's a real person, you know, and, yeah, he's obviously fucked up." "Fucked up?" "He's a criminal." "Everything he's done is illegal, and you expect him to let that come to light?" "No, maybe not, but the company is really powerful, you know, and it's like, gosh, we just get it to change by--I don't know--making it more conscientious, and not just-- It's a moot point, Amy." "The story is running." "You blew the whistle on them." "Yeah, but here's the question, OK?" "What would be the best thing here, you know?" "What would bring about the most good?" "I mean, isn't that the question?" "I'm sure you're really scared, and it's nice to think we can avoid bloodshed, but there's no decision here." "I'm a journalist." "The story is running next week." "Abaddonn finds out about it over the weekend." "We call for quotes." "You're gonna be a lightning rod." "There's no job for you at Abaddonn anymore." "There's no job for Szidon." "He's going to jail." "Yeah, but it isn't like you just want his head." "What" " Agh..." "What" " Ahem." "What I want is what you always wanted-- to expose what they're doing to the world." "They're not capable of change." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." "You're right." "I just" "You're right." "I got a little idealistic for a second there, and when you finally have access to the person and they're in front of you and they're a thinking, breathing person, you know, you're just," ""He's got to feel what I feel." "I can make him feel what I feel."" "He's a lizard." "He doesn't feel." "I know." "I got seduced by thinking" "I was gonna change him." "It's what I do, thinking I can convert the unbeliever." "Sorry." "There's something we need to talk about, Amy." "Man, this is touchy." "I think it will be bad form if, when the story breaks, that people think we're in some kind of relationship, like a romantic or sexual relationship." "Yeah." "Yeah." "So I think we should put the brakes on that, you know, for a while till the dust settles and then see where we are." "I see." "Yeah." "I mean, I think we both knew all along." "We just gave in to feelings, which, you know, is--ha ha!" "human." "Happens." "OK." "OK." "But I didn't know it all along." "Oh, hey, Amy, I didn't" "Amy, you're amazing." "Goddamn it!" "What the hell are you honking at?" "What are you doing?" "Are you coming or going?" "I don't know what I'm doing." "I don't fucking have a clue, OK?" "All I want is your parking space." "That's all you want?" "That's all you fucking want?" "Lucky you." "Lucky you."