Mercury Rising (1998) Movie Script
Let`s go down.
- You got some out. How many left?
- Three out, eight left.
- Edgar`s still the man?
- Edgar`s the man.
Edgar, I want to thank you
for letting these people go.
Send out the others, and we can come
to a peaceful resolution.
Get this straight. I don`t trust you or
any agent of your occupation government.
Listen to me
one more time.
I have an order from the Citizens` Court
of South Dakota...
to seize the ill-gotten assets
of this bank.
Move your people away from here or
these bloodsuckers will burn in hell!
They`re gettin` ready
to come in.
Let them come.
- I have to go home.
- Get down!
Please, let me go home.
Please, let me go home.
- Get the fuck down!
- I just need to go home.
When he says ""get down,""
just do it!
Damn!
I sure don`t feel good.
You said we were gonna be in and out of
here before anybody knew what hit `em.
You said they were
gonna back down.
They ain`t backin` down, Edgar.
They got an army
out there.
They`re gonna come in here
and shoot all of us.
God just wants His miracle
to be greater.
God doesn`t want your boys
to get killed, Edgar!
We need more time,
you sons of bitches!
You ain`t in charge here.
So shut up!
- They cut us off.
- We gotta go in.
- We have a man in there.
He wants more time.
- Right.
Undercover agent who isn`t supposed
to be there in the first place.
- We`re goin` in.
- Let me try `em on the bullhorn.
- If they come back to me--
- You`ve got three minutes.
This is Agent Blackwell,
Edgar.
I need you to pick up
the telephone.
- I need to talk with you.
- We can still walk out of here.
You just gotta
stand up to him.
Just tell him you wanna go home.
Can you do it?
Edgar, please pick up
the phone. We can still work this out.
Edgar, please pick up
the phone. We were doing well before.
Sir?
Peter`s right.
It`s not like you said
it was going to be.
I wanna go home.
Edgar,
the boy`s right.
- Traitor.
- Daddy.
- Shut up, lsaac.
- Let me call `em on the telephone.
- We don`t need him.
- We can still walk out of here.
- Do it, Edgar!
For your boys, do it!
Get down! Get down!
F.B.I.!
Get on the ground.
Go, go, go!
Daddy!
Stay down!
Don`t move.
- Don`t move, goddamn it!
- l`m F.B.I. F.B.I.!
Get off me, asshole!
- Tell your men to hold their fire.
- Peter.
- Peter.
- James?
James, keep your head down!
Where are you?
- Peter!
- No! No! No!
Hold your fire!
No! No!
Damn it!
Goddamn it!
Shoot! Shoot!
Get a med tech in here!
Get a med tech in here, goddamn it!
Don`t talk.
Don`t talk.
Come on now, goddamn it!
Get a med tech in here!
He`s dead.
Who said ""go""?
Who`s the S.A.C.?
Hartley.
Hartley!
Special Agent Hartley!
Hartley! Did you hear me ask
for more time?
- Get your hands off me.
- Did you hear me ask for more time?
- You`re out of line, Jeffries.
- l`m out of line? I`m out of line?
Did I just massacre
five fuckin` people? Huh? Did l?
Three seconds, Hartley,
I was gonna walk `em all out alive.
Massacre.
They were just kids.
Just kids.
I report to Washington
just like you do, Jeffries.
Right on Western.
Left on Belmont.
- Hey, Simon, I have a surprise for you.
- Right on Halsted.
- Left on Fullerton.
- You`re giving some good directions.
Look. I have something
very, very special.
You like these puzzles,
don`t ya?
Uh-huh. Okay,
but not yet, Simon.
If I give you the puzzle book,
I want you to join in with
the rest of the class, okay?
That`s great.
It`s time to join
the group now, okay?
Good morning, Simon.
Good morning, teacher.
Look at me.
Good morning, teacher.
I better not beat you.
I only accept cash.
- How are you?
- Well, another day at the office.
- You ready?
- Y eah.
All right,
let`s talk about it.
Agent Jeffries here
to see you, Chief.
The psychologist wrote
""delusional paranoia""...
in capital letters
across the bottom of your file.
- So, am I fired?
- No, you`re not fired.
- But I can`t put you undercover
anymore. That`s over.
- What do they expect me to do?
- To do your job.
- I work undercover. That`s my job.
- You have a new job now.
- And what is that?
Sitting on a wire,
stakeouts, log tapes.
- A little public relations.
- Fourteen years on the job,
and that`s all it means?
I`ve gotta sit
on a wire with some rookie listening
to a housewife order groceries?
- All you had to do
was keep your mouth shut.
- All I did was tell the truth.
- Act like you belong on the
same team as the rest of us.
- What team?
That bunch of suits sitting behind a
desk trying to justify their existence?
- Like me. Is that what you`re saying?
- I don`t know, Joe.
- Why didn`t you say one thing
to back me up?
- Because you were wrong!
- I wasn`t wrong!
- You were dead wrong.
Two teenage kids in cold blood,
and you know it.
- They were goddamn bank robbers,
for Christ`s sake!
- They were kids.
Will you forget
about South Dakota?
Forget who`s right and who`s wrong.
This is one of the best undercover guys.
How could I forget that?
Sit down, Art.
Sometimes...
you got somethin`.
It`s... magic.
Then it goes away.
You had it.
But the magic`s gone.
They told you to break my balls,
and see if you could get me to quit.
I`m not gonna make it easy
for you.
You want me to sit on a wire,
l`ll do it.
You want me to chase
file applicants, l`ll do that.
Take your best shot.
Check your mailbox
for your new assignments.
Hey, Simon, we`re here.
Mommy, Simon is home.
Look at me.
Hi, Mom.
Hi, honey. I missed you.
Come on inside.
Be careful.
It`s very hot.
Sip it slowly.
Daddy`ll be home soon.
And when you finish that,
you can wait for him up in your room.
Congratulations.
You`ve reached the Puzzle Center.
For solving one
of our master puzzles...
you`ve won a subscription
to the magazine of your choice.
Can I please have your name,
address and telephone number?
You are...
a stranger.
Excuse me. This the Puzzle Center.
Where did you get this number?
Puzzle nine-nine.
What did you just say?
Who is this?
Simon,
put down the phone.
Simon, Simon, wait a second.
Please don`t hang--
Come on, come on.
Figures.
See if they correlate.
If they don`t, you may have lost some
bytes in the transfer, lost a keyword.
You won`t be able
to defractionate. Yeah?
- Are you scrambled?
- Give me a break, Leo. I`m busy.
It`s Mercury, Dean. Somebody just walked
on water. You have to get up here now.
- What did you just say?
- You are a stranger.
- Who is this?
- Simon, put down the phone.
Simon, Simon, wait a second.
Please don`t hang--
Who is that?
Listen to the timbre
of his voice.
It`s a child.
That had to be his mother.
Right. It`s just
some rug rat...
drooling over the phone,
punching numbers, like a random thing.
Huh?
We`re not that lucky.
- We have to call Kudrow.
- What? Dean, what?
No, no, no.
We don`t have to call anybody.
All we gotta do is an analysis,
and give him a report when he gets back.
- That`s it!
- Do you understand what just happened?
We have to call him now
or he`s gonna say we tried to hide it.
- Morning, sir.
- Good morning, Marine.
I`ve got an urgent message
for Lieutenant Colonel Kudrow.
Mercury is already
operational in most of our com centers.
And l`m here to confirm
everything you`ve already heard.
Mercury is a quantum leap
in our communications security.
And once we complete its installation
in all of our com centers...
- it`s going to be very hard
for our adversaries--
- And our allies.
And our allies to compromise
our communications.
An urgent message
for you, sir.
If you`ll excuse me.
-Mr. Johnson will continue the briefing.
-All right, gentlemen.
Impossible.
- You`re late.
- I wasn`t when I started.
Traffic was like mud.
I oozed home.
I told Simon
he could wait up for you.
Simon, my man.
I wonder where Simon is.
Time for bed, Simon.
-Send in Pedranski and Crandell, please.
- Yes, sir.
Who needs a fix?
Double tall, double dark, double sweet.
Double everything. I`m so glad I missed
the whole drug thing...
so my body was virgin territory
for caffeine.
It makes me feel so Ricki Lake,
like I can talk to anybody.
What can I say? I`m the Java Queen.
What`s wrong?
Kudrow wants to see me.
Cool! Maybe you`ll get
your own section.
No. I, uh,
I screwed up.
Well, just go in there
and throw him a Bart Simpson.
Kudrow, dude, chill out.
- It was that way when I got there.
- Doh!
Puzzle line?
Puzzle line?
Now, l`ve traveled 10,000 miles
in the past 24 hours.
So l`ve had a lot of time to reflect
on this. Correct me if l`m wrong.
But I believe neither one of you has
ever said the words ""puzzle line"" to me.
Before Mercury went operational,
we ran a standard validation protocol.
The works. Double sets of paired
Cray supercomputers...
fricking velociraptor machines
chewing at Mercury 24 hours a day.
Mercury came out unbent.
Awesome, sir. It was finally a code
that couldn`t be broken.
But there was one last thing
to check out. The, um... geek factor.
Human beings will fool you sometimes.
We thought it important--
We slipped a message
in one of those egghead word games.
We dared amateurs to crack it.
- We were sure nobody would ever call.
- But somebody did.
His name is Simon Lynch. He lives
in Chicago. He is nine years old.
And he has deciphered a message written
in the most sophisticated code...
the world has ever known...
in a geek`s
puzzle magazine.
I don`t recall
ever authorizing...
anyone to put any message...
into any magazine!
That couldn`t just happen.
A kid couldn`t just pop it open.
Not only is he nine years old,
he is handicapped. He is autistic.
Y es, that explains it.
So our $2 billion code
is an open book...
- to people of diminished capacity?
- No, sir.
Autism isn`t synonymous
with diminished capacity.
Autistic people are--
They`re shut off.
But it`s not unusual
for an autistic person to be a savant.
- Oh, a savant!
- He may not be able
to actually decipher the code.
- It might just appear to him.
- Right. He didn`t calculate anything.
He just saw it. Like those stupid
pictures at the mall. You stare at them.
- All of a sudden you`re looking
at the Statue of Liberty.
- Exactly.
This is not a stupid picture
at the mall.
This is national security.
Looking at the best case scenario,
let`s suppose the boy is unique...
and he doesn`t understand
what he`s just done.
Does that solve my problem?
Answer:. No!
Analysis:. All we need now
is for someone else...
who understands his capability
to come along...
and my problems are increased
exponentially.
Then maybe we should talk
to the kid.
- And, uh--
- No.
No. No.
There must be nothing
that connects the boy to this office.
Nothing.
Am I clear?
Y es, sir.
I want you to erase
the tape.
Am I clear?
Y es, sir.
- Honey, will you get that?
- Y eah, I got it.
- Martin Lynch?
- Y eah.
Detective Burrell,
Chicago police.
Sorry to bother you. Can I ask you
a few questions? It`s very important.
-I got your address from Simon`s school.
-Something wrong?
If I drag this out,
it`s only gonna make things worse.
One of the other parents
has made accusations...
against Simon`s driver
of a sexual nature.
- Oh, my God.
- Well, they`re only allegations
at this point.
If I could step inside
and speak with you.
Uh, sure.
It won`t take more
than a moment.
- I don`t want to upset you.
- Well, you`ve already upset us.
- l`m sorry about that.
- Would you like a cup of coffee?
- Or something?
- Yeah. Yeah, that`d be real nice.
911. Emergency operator 562.
911. Emergency operator 562.
What are you reporting?
I have your location on my screen.
Can you tell me what you`re reporting?
Anything while I was gone,
Art?
- Yeah, I think we got
a big break in this case.
- What?
The Attorney General herself
just called in 25 dimes on the Cubs.
What do you think?
Uh--
- Y eah?
- This is 13.
- Cubs ten times.
- Got it.
Dumb bet, 13.
Cubs are in a slump.
Would you mind if I told you
something personal?
Y eah, I would, Roger.
I really would.
Excuse me.
Y eah?
Art, for you.
Yeah?
We`re sending someone to spell you.
We`ve got another assignment for you.
Lomax has another matter
of national security for me?
Check into a possible missing child,
2-1 precinct.
Chicago P.D.
retains jurisdiction.
Y eah. Lacerations.
Nichols.
- You still alive?
- Still here, Art.
- How are ya?
- All right.
What is this?
It`s supposed to be a missing kid.
It is.
These are the parents.
Looks like
a murder-suicide.
So where`s the kid?
Missing, remember?
What are you
doin` here?
Somebody called the F.B.I.
and they sent me. Go figure.
No, I meant,
what are you doin` here?
Workin` my way to the bottom, Jack,
just like you.
The kid`s name is Simon.
Neighbors say he`s retarded.
Guys who kill their families
kill all of `em.
Maybe he did the kid somewhere else.
Didn`t want Mom to see.
Kid like that
costs a bundle.
Maybe Dad got tired of knocking himself
out for a kid who didn`t know better.
Put `em all out
of their misery.
How`s a guy that`s so broke
afford a $1500 handgun?
- Mind if I take a look around, Jack?
- We already did.
- The kid`s not here.
- Does that mean you mind?
- Hey, be my guest.
- Thanks.
By the way, Lomax called.
He said it`s important.
Y eah, I bet.
Got a phone on you?
What do you know?
- Thanks.
- Be sure I get it back.
- How are ya?
- Good.
How ya doin`, champ?
You okay in there?
Come on.
You can come on out now.
Nobody`s gonna hurt you.
I`m not gonna hurt ya.
Okay?
Come on.
Come on.
No, no, no, no!
Simon! All right.
Quiet! Quiet!
Call Concordia.
Get an ambulance
over here.
- Have some badges waiting
for us when we get there.
- For what?
- I want this kid protected.
- How am I gonna justify
the overtime?
Since when you worry
about overtime, Jack?
The coroner says
murder-suicide, they can go.
Anybody asks about the overtime,
put it on Lomax`s Gold Card.
- Straps are just makin` him worse.
- They`re for his own safety.
- Unstrap him.
- They`re for his own safety.
All right. Simon,
we`re gonna unstrap you.
Take it easy. Simon, just calm down.
All right?
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Tell him to turn that off!
Turn the siren off!
Simon, ho. Hey!
Now look. Who`s this? Is that your
mommy right there? Is that your mommy?
- Mommy! Mommy!
- Right there?
Y es, that`s right.
Your mommy. That`s her.
- Is that your daddy?
- Daddy.
Right.
""Do not touch. It may be hot.""
That`s very good advice.
Is that your teacher?
Dr. London?
She`s your friend, right?
My name is Art. I`m your friend too.
Art is a stranger!
Art is a stranger!
Art is a stranger!
Okay, strap him in.
I won`t hurt you.
- Hi. Are you the doctor?
- Um, no, l`m the nurse.
- Is a doctor gonna see this boy?
- Uh, I took care of him.
Is that the best you could do for him,
just give him a shot?
He`s autistic.
- Autistic?
- Uh-huh.
What does that mean?
Nothing gets through?
No, it`s just the opposite.
Everything gets through.
He has trouble with feelings
and emotions.
So he gets very frightened
and confused.
Wait. I`m not gonna be able
to question this boy?
Probably not.
Sorry.
Take care of him.
Why are we doing this, Dean?
Why does he want to see us?
We didn`t do anything wrong, right?
Should I turn around?
- No, he`d kill us.
- He might kill us anyway.
- Are you being serious?
- Relax, Leo, please.
Okay, l`m scared.
I`m gettin` really, really scared.
Leo, stop it. We`re doing this together.
We didn`t break any laws.
No matter what he says or does, we`re
gonna do the right thing. So just relax.
Jesus!
- Okay. Can we go home now, please?
- Y eah, all right.
It`s him.
- Let`s just get this over with.
- Okay.
This changes everything.
- Now somebody else knows.
- Oh, God.
- What happened to the boy?
- He`s alive.
He`s being held in a lockdown unit
in a Chicago hospital.
Why don`t we tell
somebody?
Because we are somebody,
Leo.
We`re the ones that are
ultimately responsible for this.
There isn`t anybody
to tell.
So I want you to keep
the puzzle line open 24 hours a day.
And I want you two to do
your goddamn fuckin` jobs!
Quiet!
Maybe l`m goin` about this
the wrong way.
My wife says my people skills
are like my cooking skills.
Quick and tasteless.
But in the end,
it`s about saving lives.
Isn`t that the point?
- Y es?
- Y es.
I know a man named Rasheed Halabi,
born in Paramus, New Jersey.
Valedictorian of his high school class,
worked his way through M.I.T.
Right now he`s a colonel
in Saddam`s Republican Guard.
We put him there. It`s him
this code is protecting.
There are thousands of other
men and women just like him...
whose identities are protected
by this code.
We can save their lives.
I give you my pledge.
I want you to give me yours.
Diligence, loyalty
and above all...
absolute silence.
This is kind of an interesting story.
The television program 60 Minutes
right here on CBS?
I`ve changed tires doin` 86.
You know what l`m sayin`?
Long ways from home
Can`t sleep at night
Grab your telephone `cause
something just ain`t right
It`s evil
Evil is goin` on
Well, l`m warnin` you,
girl
You better watch
your happy home
Long ways from home
Can`t sleep at all
`Cause another--
Where is everyone?
Where`s the police? Where`s the guard
that was sitting right here?
They were called off half an hour ago.
Told they weren`t needed.
Take me to see Simon Lynch right now.
Unlock that door.
We just transferred him
to pediatrics.
- Where`s that?
- Room 1106. Up those stairs one flight.
- Who authorized the transfer?
- His parents.
I could understand.
They didn`t want their little kid on--
Can I help you?
Hi. I`m with the F.B.I.
I`m lookin` for Simon Lynch.
Do you know where he is?
He suffered a minor head injury.
Nothing serious.
We had to take him
down to X-ray.
Where is the X-ray room?
Radiology.
Seventh floor.
Great. Thanks.
No problem.
Shh. Shh. Shh.
Shh. Ow!
Here we go. Here we go.
Simon, get in the elevator.
- Hi. Yeah.
- A little crowded, huh?
Just made it, Doctor.
You must be new.
Welcome to Concordia.
Thank you.
You`re very kind.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Thanks for the ride.
Good night.
Wait!
What`s going on?
Get up in that seat.
Move it!
All right, leave it off.
Leave it off.
Come on, Simon. We don`t need
any more attention right now.
Leave it alone,
all right?
Keep off the buttons.
Okay, okay, okay!
Leave the buttons alone,
goddamn it!
Please. Please.
""One small step
for mankind.""
Get down!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Let`s go.
Hang on to the fence.
Hang on to the fence.
Hang on to the fence.
Let`s go.
No! No!
Simon! No!
Come on. Let`s go, Simon.
Come on.
""Friends.""
""Mr. Pasquale.""
Bus driver.
Pasqual-ee.
Pasqual-ee? That`s his name,
Mr. Pasquale?
""Do not talk to strangers.""
Is that why you won`t talk to me?
You think l`m a stranger?
Art.
That`s me.
I`m your friend.
- See? Art is your friend.
- No! Art is a stranger!
- Okay, Simon. Okay.
- Art is a stranger!
- All right!
- Art is a stranger!
Art is a stranger.
Motherfucker!
Who are you?
All right.
I`m sorry, Tommy.
Come on, Simon.
What the hell
happened to you?
You kidnapped this kid
from the hospital? Are you crazy?
- What are you talking about?
- Lomax has been calling me
every 15 minutes.
- There`s a warrant out
for your arrest.
- I killed a guy on the C.T.A.
- Oh, Christ!
- I had to. He was trying to kill us.
- How did this happen?
- Somebody pulled the cops off
the kid at the hospital.
It`s not a murder-suicide.
The mom and dad got in the way.
They`re trying to get the kid. If he
hadn`t hidden, they`d have got him too.
- I cannot handle
this paranoid conspiracy crap.
- It is a conspiracy.
Who pulled the cops
off the kid?
Did dead Martin and Jenny say
""Take my kid out of protective
custody""? This is real!
I don`t give a fuck
if it`s real.
If I don`t call Lomax right now,
l`m an accessory to this.
If you don`t get on the phone now, call
Concordia or C.T.A., you`re a dumb cop.
Tell them to bring
a body bag to put the pieces in.
Arthur.
Hi, Dana.
Sorry we woke you up.
- lt`s good to see you.
- You too.
It`s been too long.
Try not to bleed
on my carpet.
His name`s Simon.
Hello, Simon.
I bet you`re hungry.
I have peanut butter and jelly
in the kitchen. How`s that sound?
This is my son T.J.
- T.J., this is Simon.
- Hi.
Why don`t we go
in the kitchen--
T.J., why don`t we go in the kitchen
and make something to eat...
and maybe Simon
will come with us?
Here you go, Art.
It`s still damp,
but at least it`s clean.
- Thanks, Dana.
- You`re welcome.
Simon, I think these
will fit you.
Not my Frank Thomas shirt!
Remember what
I told you about sharing?
I thought you were done
taking those downers.
Y eah. So?
- There`s no body on the El tracks.
- What?
No body. No blood.
No casing. Nothing.
Who could`ve got it cleaned up
that fast?
- Give him up.
- What?
The kid. Give him up.
Take him back.
- Would you give your own kid up?
- lt`s not your kid!
Yeah? Well, right now,
he`s nobody`s kid.
His mom and dad got shot dead
by a real bad guy. Remember?
- Let`s go, Simon.
- Let me get these clothes on him.
I need your car keys.
Let me just walk around
the streets with this kid now? Come on.
-l`m reporting it stolen in the mornin`.
-Thanks.
Daddy is going to sing
Daddy is going to sing
Daddy is going to sing
- Daddy is going to sing
- How can you not be tired?
Daddy is going to sing
- You got some out. How many left?
- Three out, eight left.
- Edgar`s still the man?
- Edgar`s the man.
Edgar, I want to thank you
for letting these people go.
Send out the others, and we can come
to a peaceful resolution.
Get this straight. I don`t trust you or
any agent of your occupation government.
Listen to me
one more time.
I have an order from the Citizens` Court
of South Dakota...
to seize the ill-gotten assets
of this bank.
Move your people away from here or
these bloodsuckers will burn in hell!
They`re gettin` ready
to come in.
Let them come.
- I have to go home.
- Get down!
Please, let me go home.
Please, let me go home.
- Get the fuck down!
- I just need to go home.
When he says ""get down,""
just do it!
Damn!
I sure don`t feel good.
You said we were gonna be in and out of
here before anybody knew what hit `em.
You said they were
gonna back down.
They ain`t backin` down, Edgar.
They got an army
out there.
They`re gonna come in here
and shoot all of us.
God just wants His miracle
to be greater.
God doesn`t want your boys
to get killed, Edgar!
We need more time,
you sons of bitches!
You ain`t in charge here.
So shut up!
- They cut us off.
- We gotta go in.
- We have a man in there.
He wants more time.
- Right.
Undercover agent who isn`t supposed
to be there in the first place.
- We`re goin` in.
- Let me try `em on the bullhorn.
- If they come back to me--
- You`ve got three minutes.
This is Agent Blackwell,
Edgar.
I need you to pick up
the telephone.
- I need to talk with you.
- We can still walk out of here.
You just gotta
stand up to him.
Just tell him you wanna go home.
Can you do it?
Edgar, please pick up
the phone. We can still work this out.
Edgar, please pick up
the phone. We were doing well before.
Sir?
Peter`s right.
It`s not like you said
it was going to be.
I wanna go home.
Edgar,
the boy`s right.
- Traitor.
- Daddy.
- Shut up, lsaac.
- Let me call `em on the telephone.
- We don`t need him.
- We can still walk out of here.
- Do it, Edgar!
For your boys, do it!
Get down! Get down!
F.B.I.!
Get on the ground.
Go, go, go!
Daddy!
Stay down!
Don`t move.
- Don`t move, goddamn it!
- l`m F.B.I. F.B.I.!
Get off me, asshole!
- Tell your men to hold their fire.
- Peter.
- Peter.
- James?
James, keep your head down!
Where are you?
- Peter!
- No! No! No!
Hold your fire!
No! No!
Damn it!
Goddamn it!
Shoot! Shoot!
Get a med tech in here!
Get a med tech in here, goddamn it!
Don`t talk.
Don`t talk.
Come on now, goddamn it!
Get a med tech in here!
He`s dead.
Who said ""go""?
Who`s the S.A.C.?
Hartley.
Hartley!
Special Agent Hartley!
Hartley! Did you hear me ask
for more time?
- Get your hands off me.
- Did you hear me ask for more time?
- You`re out of line, Jeffries.
- l`m out of line? I`m out of line?
Did I just massacre
five fuckin` people? Huh? Did l?
Three seconds, Hartley,
I was gonna walk `em all out alive.
Massacre.
They were just kids.
Just kids.
I report to Washington
just like you do, Jeffries.
Right on Western.
Left on Belmont.
- Hey, Simon, I have a surprise for you.
- Right on Halsted.
- Left on Fullerton.
- You`re giving some good directions.
Look. I have something
very, very special.
You like these puzzles,
don`t ya?
Uh-huh. Okay,
but not yet, Simon.
If I give you the puzzle book,
I want you to join in with
the rest of the class, okay?
That`s great.
It`s time to join
the group now, okay?
Good morning, Simon.
Good morning, teacher.
Look at me.
Good morning, teacher.
I better not beat you.
I only accept cash.
- How are you?
- Well, another day at the office.
- You ready?
- Y eah.
All right,
let`s talk about it.
Agent Jeffries here
to see you, Chief.
The psychologist wrote
""delusional paranoia""...
in capital letters
across the bottom of your file.
- So, am I fired?
- No, you`re not fired.
- But I can`t put you undercover
anymore. That`s over.
- What do they expect me to do?
- To do your job.
- I work undercover. That`s my job.
- You have a new job now.
- And what is that?
Sitting on a wire,
stakeouts, log tapes.
- A little public relations.
- Fourteen years on the job,
and that`s all it means?
I`ve gotta sit
on a wire with some rookie listening
to a housewife order groceries?
- All you had to do
was keep your mouth shut.
- All I did was tell the truth.
- Act like you belong on the
same team as the rest of us.
- What team?
That bunch of suits sitting behind a
desk trying to justify their existence?
- Like me. Is that what you`re saying?
- I don`t know, Joe.
- Why didn`t you say one thing
to back me up?
- Because you were wrong!
- I wasn`t wrong!
- You were dead wrong.
Two teenage kids in cold blood,
and you know it.
- They were goddamn bank robbers,
for Christ`s sake!
- They were kids.
Will you forget
about South Dakota?
Forget who`s right and who`s wrong.
This is one of the best undercover guys.
How could I forget that?
Sit down, Art.
Sometimes...
you got somethin`.
It`s... magic.
Then it goes away.
You had it.
But the magic`s gone.
They told you to break my balls,
and see if you could get me to quit.
I`m not gonna make it easy
for you.
You want me to sit on a wire,
l`ll do it.
You want me to chase
file applicants, l`ll do that.
Take your best shot.
Check your mailbox
for your new assignments.
Hey, Simon, we`re here.
Mommy, Simon is home.
Look at me.
Hi, Mom.
Hi, honey. I missed you.
Come on inside.
Be careful.
It`s very hot.
Sip it slowly.
Daddy`ll be home soon.
And when you finish that,
you can wait for him up in your room.
Congratulations.
You`ve reached the Puzzle Center.
For solving one
of our master puzzles...
you`ve won a subscription
to the magazine of your choice.
Can I please have your name,
address and telephone number?
You are...
a stranger.
Excuse me. This the Puzzle Center.
Where did you get this number?
Puzzle nine-nine.
What did you just say?
Who is this?
Simon,
put down the phone.
Simon, Simon, wait a second.
Please don`t hang--
Come on, come on.
Figures.
See if they correlate.
If they don`t, you may have lost some
bytes in the transfer, lost a keyword.
You won`t be able
to defractionate. Yeah?
- Are you scrambled?
- Give me a break, Leo. I`m busy.
It`s Mercury, Dean. Somebody just walked
on water. You have to get up here now.
- What did you just say?
- You are a stranger.
- Who is this?
- Simon, put down the phone.
Simon, Simon, wait a second.
Please don`t hang--
Who is that?
Listen to the timbre
of his voice.
It`s a child.
That had to be his mother.
Right. It`s just
some rug rat...
drooling over the phone,
punching numbers, like a random thing.
Huh?
We`re not that lucky.
- We have to call Kudrow.
- What? Dean, what?
No, no, no.
We don`t have to call anybody.
All we gotta do is an analysis,
and give him a report when he gets back.
- That`s it!
- Do you understand what just happened?
We have to call him now
or he`s gonna say we tried to hide it.
- Morning, sir.
- Good morning, Marine.
I`ve got an urgent message
for Lieutenant Colonel Kudrow.
Mercury is already
operational in most of our com centers.
And l`m here to confirm
everything you`ve already heard.
Mercury is a quantum leap
in our communications security.
And once we complete its installation
in all of our com centers...
- it`s going to be very hard
for our adversaries--
- And our allies.
And our allies to compromise
our communications.
An urgent message
for you, sir.
If you`ll excuse me.
-Mr. Johnson will continue the briefing.
-All right, gentlemen.
Impossible.
- You`re late.
- I wasn`t when I started.
Traffic was like mud.
I oozed home.
I told Simon
he could wait up for you.
Simon, my man.
I wonder where Simon is.
Time for bed, Simon.
-Send in Pedranski and Crandell, please.
- Yes, sir.
Who needs a fix?
Double tall, double dark, double sweet.
Double everything. I`m so glad I missed
the whole drug thing...
so my body was virgin territory
for caffeine.
It makes me feel so Ricki Lake,
like I can talk to anybody.
What can I say? I`m the Java Queen.
What`s wrong?
Kudrow wants to see me.
Cool! Maybe you`ll get
your own section.
No. I, uh,
I screwed up.
Well, just go in there
and throw him a Bart Simpson.
Kudrow, dude, chill out.
- It was that way when I got there.
- Doh!
Puzzle line?
Puzzle line?
Now, l`ve traveled 10,000 miles
in the past 24 hours.
So l`ve had a lot of time to reflect
on this. Correct me if l`m wrong.
But I believe neither one of you has
ever said the words ""puzzle line"" to me.
Before Mercury went operational,
we ran a standard validation protocol.
The works. Double sets of paired
Cray supercomputers...
fricking velociraptor machines
chewing at Mercury 24 hours a day.
Mercury came out unbent.
Awesome, sir. It was finally a code
that couldn`t be broken.
But there was one last thing
to check out. The, um... geek factor.
Human beings will fool you sometimes.
We thought it important--
We slipped a message
in one of those egghead word games.
We dared amateurs to crack it.
- We were sure nobody would ever call.
- But somebody did.
His name is Simon Lynch. He lives
in Chicago. He is nine years old.
And he has deciphered a message written
in the most sophisticated code...
the world has ever known...
in a geek`s
puzzle magazine.
I don`t recall
ever authorizing...
anyone to put any message...
into any magazine!
That couldn`t just happen.
A kid couldn`t just pop it open.
Not only is he nine years old,
he is handicapped. He is autistic.
Y es, that explains it.
So our $2 billion code
is an open book...
- to people of diminished capacity?
- No, sir.
Autism isn`t synonymous
with diminished capacity.
Autistic people are--
They`re shut off.
But it`s not unusual
for an autistic person to be a savant.
- Oh, a savant!
- He may not be able
to actually decipher the code.
- It might just appear to him.
- Right. He didn`t calculate anything.
He just saw it. Like those stupid
pictures at the mall. You stare at them.
- All of a sudden you`re looking
at the Statue of Liberty.
- Exactly.
This is not a stupid picture
at the mall.
This is national security.
Looking at the best case scenario,
let`s suppose the boy is unique...
and he doesn`t understand
what he`s just done.
Does that solve my problem?
Answer:. No!
Analysis:. All we need now
is for someone else...
who understands his capability
to come along...
and my problems are increased
exponentially.
Then maybe we should talk
to the kid.
- And, uh--
- No.
No. No.
There must be nothing
that connects the boy to this office.
Nothing.
Am I clear?
Y es, sir.
I want you to erase
the tape.
Am I clear?
Y es, sir.
- Honey, will you get that?
- Y eah, I got it.
- Martin Lynch?
- Y eah.
Detective Burrell,
Chicago police.
Sorry to bother you. Can I ask you
a few questions? It`s very important.
-I got your address from Simon`s school.
-Something wrong?
If I drag this out,
it`s only gonna make things worse.
One of the other parents
has made accusations...
against Simon`s driver
of a sexual nature.
- Oh, my God.
- Well, they`re only allegations
at this point.
If I could step inside
and speak with you.
Uh, sure.
It won`t take more
than a moment.
- I don`t want to upset you.
- Well, you`ve already upset us.
- l`m sorry about that.
- Would you like a cup of coffee?
- Or something?
- Yeah. Yeah, that`d be real nice.
911. Emergency operator 562.
911. Emergency operator 562.
What are you reporting?
I have your location on my screen.
Can you tell me what you`re reporting?
Anything while I was gone,
Art?
- Yeah, I think we got
a big break in this case.
- What?
The Attorney General herself
just called in 25 dimes on the Cubs.
What do you think?
Uh--
- Y eah?
- This is 13.
- Cubs ten times.
- Got it.
Dumb bet, 13.
Cubs are in a slump.
Would you mind if I told you
something personal?
Y eah, I would, Roger.
I really would.
Excuse me.
Y eah?
Art, for you.
Yeah?
We`re sending someone to spell you.
We`ve got another assignment for you.
Lomax has another matter
of national security for me?
Check into a possible missing child,
2-1 precinct.
Chicago P.D.
retains jurisdiction.
Y eah. Lacerations.
Nichols.
- You still alive?
- Still here, Art.
- How are ya?
- All right.
What is this?
It`s supposed to be a missing kid.
It is.
These are the parents.
Looks like
a murder-suicide.
So where`s the kid?
Missing, remember?
What are you
doin` here?
Somebody called the F.B.I.
and they sent me. Go figure.
No, I meant,
what are you doin` here?
Workin` my way to the bottom, Jack,
just like you.
The kid`s name is Simon.
Neighbors say he`s retarded.
Guys who kill their families
kill all of `em.
Maybe he did the kid somewhere else.
Didn`t want Mom to see.
Kid like that
costs a bundle.
Maybe Dad got tired of knocking himself
out for a kid who didn`t know better.
Put `em all out
of their misery.
How`s a guy that`s so broke
afford a $1500 handgun?
- Mind if I take a look around, Jack?
- We already did.
- The kid`s not here.
- Does that mean you mind?
- Hey, be my guest.
- Thanks.
By the way, Lomax called.
He said it`s important.
Y eah, I bet.
Got a phone on you?
What do you know?
- Thanks.
- Be sure I get it back.
- How are ya?
- Good.
How ya doin`, champ?
You okay in there?
Come on.
You can come on out now.
Nobody`s gonna hurt you.
I`m not gonna hurt ya.
Okay?
Come on.
Come on.
No, no, no, no!
Simon! All right.
Quiet! Quiet!
Call Concordia.
Get an ambulance
over here.
- Have some badges waiting
for us when we get there.
- For what?
- I want this kid protected.
- How am I gonna justify
the overtime?
Since when you worry
about overtime, Jack?
The coroner says
murder-suicide, they can go.
Anybody asks about the overtime,
put it on Lomax`s Gold Card.
- Straps are just makin` him worse.
- They`re for his own safety.
- Unstrap him.
- They`re for his own safety.
All right. Simon,
we`re gonna unstrap you.
Take it easy. Simon, just calm down.
All right?
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Tell him to turn that off!
Turn the siren off!
Simon, ho. Hey!
Now look. Who`s this? Is that your
mommy right there? Is that your mommy?
- Mommy! Mommy!
- Right there?
Y es, that`s right.
Your mommy. That`s her.
- Is that your daddy?
- Daddy.
Right.
""Do not touch. It may be hot.""
That`s very good advice.
Is that your teacher?
Dr. London?
She`s your friend, right?
My name is Art. I`m your friend too.
Art is a stranger!
Art is a stranger!
Art is a stranger!
Okay, strap him in.
I won`t hurt you.
- Hi. Are you the doctor?
- Um, no, l`m the nurse.
- Is a doctor gonna see this boy?
- Uh, I took care of him.
Is that the best you could do for him,
just give him a shot?
He`s autistic.
- Autistic?
- Uh-huh.
What does that mean?
Nothing gets through?
No, it`s just the opposite.
Everything gets through.
He has trouble with feelings
and emotions.
So he gets very frightened
and confused.
Wait. I`m not gonna be able
to question this boy?
Probably not.
Sorry.
Take care of him.
Why are we doing this, Dean?
Why does he want to see us?
We didn`t do anything wrong, right?
Should I turn around?
- No, he`d kill us.
- He might kill us anyway.
- Are you being serious?
- Relax, Leo, please.
Okay, l`m scared.
I`m gettin` really, really scared.
Leo, stop it. We`re doing this together.
We didn`t break any laws.
No matter what he says or does, we`re
gonna do the right thing. So just relax.
Jesus!
- Okay. Can we go home now, please?
- Y eah, all right.
It`s him.
- Let`s just get this over with.
- Okay.
This changes everything.
- Now somebody else knows.
- Oh, God.
- What happened to the boy?
- He`s alive.
He`s being held in a lockdown unit
in a Chicago hospital.
Why don`t we tell
somebody?
Because we are somebody,
Leo.
We`re the ones that are
ultimately responsible for this.
There isn`t anybody
to tell.
So I want you to keep
the puzzle line open 24 hours a day.
And I want you two to do
your goddamn fuckin` jobs!
Quiet!
Maybe l`m goin` about this
the wrong way.
My wife says my people skills
are like my cooking skills.
Quick and tasteless.
But in the end,
it`s about saving lives.
Isn`t that the point?
- Y es?
- Y es.
I know a man named Rasheed Halabi,
born in Paramus, New Jersey.
Valedictorian of his high school class,
worked his way through M.I.T.
Right now he`s a colonel
in Saddam`s Republican Guard.
We put him there. It`s him
this code is protecting.
There are thousands of other
men and women just like him...
whose identities are protected
by this code.
We can save their lives.
I give you my pledge.
I want you to give me yours.
Diligence, loyalty
and above all...
absolute silence.
This is kind of an interesting story.
The television program 60 Minutes
right here on CBS?
I`ve changed tires doin` 86.
You know what l`m sayin`?
Long ways from home
Can`t sleep at night
Grab your telephone `cause
something just ain`t right
It`s evil
Evil is goin` on
Well, l`m warnin` you,
girl
You better watch
your happy home
Long ways from home
Can`t sleep at all
`Cause another--
Where is everyone?
Where`s the police? Where`s the guard
that was sitting right here?
They were called off half an hour ago.
Told they weren`t needed.
Take me to see Simon Lynch right now.
Unlock that door.
We just transferred him
to pediatrics.
- Where`s that?
- Room 1106. Up those stairs one flight.
- Who authorized the transfer?
- His parents.
I could understand.
They didn`t want their little kid on--
Can I help you?
Hi. I`m with the F.B.I.
I`m lookin` for Simon Lynch.
Do you know where he is?
He suffered a minor head injury.
Nothing serious.
We had to take him
down to X-ray.
Where is the X-ray room?
Radiology.
Seventh floor.
Great. Thanks.
No problem.
Shh. Shh. Shh.
Shh. Ow!
Here we go. Here we go.
Simon, get in the elevator.
- Hi. Yeah.
- A little crowded, huh?
Just made it, Doctor.
You must be new.
Welcome to Concordia.
Thank you.
You`re very kind.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Thanks for the ride.
Good night.
Wait!
What`s going on?
Get up in that seat.
Move it!
All right, leave it off.
Leave it off.
Come on, Simon. We don`t need
any more attention right now.
Leave it alone,
all right?
Keep off the buttons.
Okay, okay, okay!
Leave the buttons alone,
goddamn it!
Please. Please.
""One small step
for mankind.""
Get down!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Mommy! Daddy!
Let`s go.
Hang on to the fence.
Hang on to the fence.
Hang on to the fence.
Let`s go.
No! No!
Simon! No!
Come on. Let`s go, Simon.
Come on.
""Friends.""
""Mr. Pasquale.""
Bus driver.
Pasqual-ee.
Pasqual-ee? That`s his name,
Mr. Pasquale?
""Do not talk to strangers.""
Is that why you won`t talk to me?
You think l`m a stranger?
Art.
That`s me.
I`m your friend.
- See? Art is your friend.
- No! Art is a stranger!
- Okay, Simon. Okay.
- Art is a stranger!
- All right!
- Art is a stranger!
Art is a stranger.
Motherfucker!
Who are you?
All right.
I`m sorry, Tommy.
Come on, Simon.
What the hell
happened to you?
You kidnapped this kid
from the hospital? Are you crazy?
- What are you talking about?
- Lomax has been calling me
every 15 minutes.
- There`s a warrant out
for your arrest.
- I killed a guy on the C.T.A.
- Oh, Christ!
- I had to. He was trying to kill us.
- How did this happen?
- Somebody pulled the cops off
the kid at the hospital.
It`s not a murder-suicide.
The mom and dad got in the way.
They`re trying to get the kid. If he
hadn`t hidden, they`d have got him too.
- I cannot handle
this paranoid conspiracy crap.
- It is a conspiracy.
Who pulled the cops
off the kid?
Did dead Martin and Jenny say
""Take my kid out of protective
custody""? This is real!
I don`t give a fuck
if it`s real.
If I don`t call Lomax right now,
l`m an accessory to this.
If you don`t get on the phone now, call
Concordia or C.T.A., you`re a dumb cop.
Tell them to bring
a body bag to put the pieces in.
Arthur.
Hi, Dana.
Sorry we woke you up.
- lt`s good to see you.
- You too.
It`s been too long.
Try not to bleed
on my carpet.
His name`s Simon.
Hello, Simon.
I bet you`re hungry.
I have peanut butter and jelly
in the kitchen. How`s that sound?
This is my son T.J.
- T.J., this is Simon.
- Hi.
Why don`t we go
in the kitchen--
T.J., why don`t we go in the kitchen
and make something to eat...
and maybe Simon
will come with us?
Here you go, Art.
It`s still damp,
but at least it`s clean.
- Thanks, Dana.
- You`re welcome.
Simon, I think these
will fit you.
Not my Frank Thomas shirt!
Remember what
I told you about sharing?
I thought you were done
taking those downers.
Y eah. So?
- There`s no body on the El tracks.
- What?
No body. No blood.
No casing. Nothing.
Who could`ve got it cleaned up
that fast?
- Give him up.
- What?
The kid. Give him up.
Take him back.
- Would you give your own kid up?
- lt`s not your kid!
Yeah? Well, right now,
he`s nobody`s kid.
His mom and dad got shot dead
by a real bad guy. Remember?
- Let`s go, Simon.
- Let me get these clothes on him.
I need your car keys.
Let me just walk around
the streets with this kid now? Come on.
-l`m reporting it stolen in the mornin`.
-Thanks.
Daddy is going to sing
Daddy is going to sing
Daddy is going to sing
- Daddy is going to sing
- How can you not be tired?
Daddy is going to sing