Earth: Final Conflict s04e05 Episode Script
Motherlode
Previously on Gene Roddenberry's Earth Final Conflict: Volunteer investigations.
They want you at central, Augur.
I need a new place to live.
I need to change my name Everything.
I'll take care of it, don't worry.
Street, you're the best.
And I'm counting on you to take care of my friends.
That's the finest compliment I can give you.
How did the Taelons amass such a fortune? 3 trillion dollars in gold doesn't just disappear.
- Your desire for wealth is degenerate.
- I do not desire wealth.
I desire to control this planet for our fight against the Jaridians.
Such lust for money is blasphemy.
One day I will possess this species.
All I must do is buy them.
Welcome! You've been consigned to sensory deprivation prison 3380.
I'm Warden Worshky.
And I'm about to speak the last words you'll hear in my prison, so listen carefully.
Under license of the US government, and by authority of the Sino-Indian War Powers Act, Correct Pro Corporation hereby suspends your civil rights.
While admitted here, you will be relieved of all sensory stimuli.
This form of penology is deemed both cost effective and best for your protection.
Take this one first.
I'll come back for you.
Halt! Be shoot to kill.
Alright, bag this one and take him over to reclamation.
Put a hold on the other one while I call for pick up.
Alright, let's get this one wet.
Then I want order and quiet restored.
Please, I don't know who you are.
I told you, my name is Worshky.
I apologize for the delay.
That was unfortunate.
No, listen Listen to me.
You're making a very big mistake.
I haven't been convicted of anything.
Look! There's been a mistake! No, don't! I'll drown! No, you won't.
That's not water.
It's oxygenated breathing fluid with a nice narcotic spike to keep you quiet.
Just get a deep dope and get it over with! Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
Did you find him? Must've got our signals crossed.
He was supposed to meet us here.
That inspires confidence.
When the President's Chief of Staff gets his signal crossed, bad things happen, small countries get nuked.
Yeah, well, let's give him a break, ok? Hubble Urich has the domestic agenda and the entire Atlantic National Alliance to deal with.
I'm surprised he has time for half of it.
Time is a river.
We must learn to flow with it or we will drown.
Who said that? Buddha.
I am but a humble messenger.
Why don't we just go to the man's office? Random holograms are more secure.
And besides, officially I work alone.
This way Hubble can deny you.
- That's an ego booster.
- Deal with it.
Friend Urich sends me to impart his wisdom.
But my words only have meaning if you trust your descramblers.
Ok, we're in scramble.
You've got a message for us from Hubble? Yes.
He wishes me to tell you the President is troubled by some vague rumors.
It would be deemed a great favor if you would seek the truth.
Can you be a little less mystical? You got it.
Word has it there are abuses of power from inside the executive branch.
False imprisonment, widespread infringement of civil rights Doesn't the FBI investigates the civil rights? FBI may be part of the problem.
The President has reason to think there may be a black ops group inside justice working off the books.
So, what's keeping the President from cleaning his own shop? The War Powers Act, a throwback to the SI War.
It's never been fully dismantled, and we can't find two lawyers that will agree on what's illegal.
But if this task force does exist, it works in the shadows looking for amoralists.
And they're looking for your friend, Augur.
Augur? But he's not an amoralist.
There are shadows everywhere.
Yeah, well, thanks for clearing that up.
You sent for me, Zo'or? There were thieves on the gold deck again last night trying to steal my bullion.
Some may be gone.
The gold is exactly as you left it yesterday, Zo'or, and the day before.
No one but you ever enters that deck.
No one you know of.
You no longer seem to be aware of half the threats to me or care.
I spend most of my time on these threats.
None are genuine.
If I may be permitted, only my certainty that you are a Taelon keeps me from thinking that you are a human with an aberration we call gold fever.
I admit, my research into human passion has given me a taste for gold.
It is power in material form.
Like the atom, I seek to unleash it.
You seek to acquire it, that much is evident.
What is this new threat? One, Swiss banking laws favor you the bearer, Zo'or.
Two, your gold will be safe in our bank.
And three, our company can increase the 3 trillion dollars.
This was recorded on my data stream earlier this morning.
How did a Swiss bank found out the exact amount of my gold? I have no idea, but I'm not surprised.
Your banking scheme ruined too many people, they want their money back.
Precisely.
Why do I feel you are not sufficiently alarmed? I can only do what I can do, Zo'or.
Humans are aboard the mother ship constantly.
It might be safer to move the gold to another star system.
Out of the question.
Go! Do something useful.
Find these Swiss people and remove them.
If what Hubble says is true it's propaganda heaven for the Taelons.
No matter what we charge them with they charge us with abuse of power.
Ah, here we go.
Someone did put a blind trace through the NCIC, tracking Augur by his real name Marcus Deveraux.
Who has authority for a blind trace? Only an agency that doesn't exist.
Ex secret service, FBI, US Marshalls Top people based in Atlanta.
Ah, the federal prosecutor is the same one who tried the government's case against Augur 5 years ago.
Heather North, about my age, retired last year.
Must be nice.
Retired? Yeah, to work behind the scenes.
Makes sense.
It's the only way the Italians could beat the Mafia.
Yeah, a lot of good it did them, the amoralists just took over.
Well, at least, your buddy Max Pratt is off the board, but looks like he left a protege.
Declan Connors.
And what's with this 3380? Augur's added it to all of these dossiers.
Pull up Connors'.
Sorry, but Connors' dossier dropped off the computer two days ago.
More data drops off all the time.
Dropped off like deleted, lost? Deleted.
I think we've got a cyber visitor who hacks in through a digital trapdoor.
I've been trying to close him out with a firewall.
Now, who could hack into these machines? Only one person.
Augur himself.
We'll detank this area so you can drain it.
How long? Oh, we'll have you back online in about two hours, three top, Warden.
It's all about saving nickels with them, isn't it? And they don't care if I have to put two in a tank.
Well, I don't suppose this little performance bonus a new deal.
The pump room is down there, but you're done and gone by the shift change.
You got it? If there's a task force hidden in this place, they don't use a front door.
Can't find a single name form Augur's files.
They tell Heather North hasn't worked here for three years.
Well, if she's here, her name's not gonna be on the door.
I've got the blueprints in my global.
Let me take a look around.
I think I'm in sub-basement Not possible.
You're two level down directly under me and I'm on the sidewalk.
They must've confused the blueprints on purpose.
I'm caught in the perceptual vortex.
It's all an illusion, but a good one.
Where am I, Renee? According to this, you're in an elevator shaft on the sixth floor.
I'm Heather North.
I hear you're looking for me.
Fingerprints and cranial scans both confirm that you are Liam Kincaid, Companion Protector Service, so maybe I believe you.
Thank you.
That about this? What about it? Your DNA came back positive, but with unrecognizable data.
Haven't seen that before.
You're surprised there's an error in my personnel file? Don't we both work for the same government? Do we? - We are in the Federal Annex.
- No.
You're in the facility so far off the map it doesn't have an address.
That's why until I know the reason, you're not leaving.
My Companion Da'an expects me to go with him to the opera tonight.
Well, he better find another day or he'll miss it.
It'll be a little hard to explain, don't you think? I don't have to.
Explain, that is.
Look, I was in the parking garage.
You guys pulled the rug out with some kind of sensory distortion technique.
Here I am.
I was meeting someone, a snitch.
Tips me off to threats against the Taelons.
He didn't show.
What's his name? Marcus Deveraux.
You expect me to believe that you don't know that I know him? Five years ago I gave him a completely new identity.
It's the last I heard of Augur.
How is he? He's had his problems.
Could be he's mixed up with amoralists.
- You know, Declan Connors.
- That would be a mistake.
I'm not sure the detail has something to do with that 3380 business.
You take the cuffs off of him now.
Thank you.
I wanna make a global call.
I'm invoking the Companion Cooperation Decree.
I am commandeering this facility.
Well, I guess you could do that if it existed, which it doesn't.
And if I was certain you're a Protector, which I'm not.
You can't keep me here without due process, without representation, without charging me with a crime.
Remember my civil rights? Since the War Powers Act, you don't have any.
So, when you remember what you know about 3380, we'll have another civics lesson.
You're gonna have to take these chains off me eventually.
So, you don't wanna make me too angry.
If you ever do get to be a president, Hubble, the secret service will make you vary your routine.
Was it necessary to risk a coronary? You tell me, I've been calling since 10.
They've got Liam.
He's vanished.
I can't find him.
So, you have to.
I'd lie to, I really would I mean, normally, I just phone the Attorney General, but I can't have the office of the President anywhere near this matter.
You're scared.
You're scared of them.
Not scared, just not equal to it.
Who knows how big, how many? The black ops budget last year was estimated to be 80 billion.
And nobody controls that? Not even the President? No Senate oversight? Not since War Powers Act.
And the worst part is this is not the Taelons, it's us, humans abusing humans.
And it's out of control.
What are we supposed to do exactly? I was hoping you'd figure that out.
Of course, they're resisting.
Nobody gives up power without a fight.
They snatched a Companion Protector.
Think about the arrogance of that.
They won't kill him, Renee.
You hope.
Why not shut them down before now? The SI War is history.
You want my opinion, this is because of the Taelons, a side effect of their presence.
We've been so busy worrying about them, we forgot to worry about ourselves.
Listen, all I know about 3380 is that it's a number I saw on a file.
You can't keep me in here.
- Liam.
- 3380.
Tell me what you know.
You've got to get me out of here.
It's me Augur.
- Help me.
- Augur.
Augur.
- Get me out.
- 3380.
I need to know.
Are you going to help him? - 3380.
- Help me, please.
How do you feel? I can't feel anything.
Help me! Can he find his way back to you? I kept him a little doped.
He won't remember much.
All of a sudden, you want him sprung.
I can't find out what he knows that way.
Why so jittery, Ronald? Eventually, his Companion's gonna be looking for him and I don't want the Taelons prying into this.
I recommended you for this job, Mrs.
North.
I can unrecommend you just as fast.
You provide intel for me.
That's it.
End of your concern.
Understood? I'm trying to help you.
We know there's an amoralist bank scheme, we just don't know the details.
I used the facial recognition program to compare the banker Draxler to billions of faces.
His real name is Declan Connors.
- An amoralist.
- And a banker.
La Vie Banque de Zurich.
It's a real bank.
And it's their bank.
They bought it last year.
They obviously plan to steal Zo'or's gold, but you don't know how.
Not yet.
But Augur's my best bet to find out.
He'll crack.
No light, no sound, nothing but his own body tickling him for a feeling.
Any feeling.
I'd crack, wouldnt you? There's 3380 on nearly every block, every street in America.
We'll never find it this way.
Eat it all.
Even the Taelons don't know why, but chicken soup works.
I am not gonna get sick.
Close to hyperthermia.
You were hallucinating.
I'm telling you Sandoval was there.
It's a black ops task force.
Not a black ops unit in the world he doesn't know about.
Why don't you just ask him, huh? Good idea.
I should've thought of this before.
Couple of years ago Augur uncovered the source code for Sandoval's own data file.
We can only use it once, then it's worthless.
Was he saving it for a rainy day? I think it's here.
Let's see if Sandoval's personal data file has 3380 on it.
It's the sensory deprevation prison.
A black ops prison.
They can do anything they want to anyone.
Probably paid for with a discretionary account through Bureau of Mines or some such organization.
Untraceable.
They got Augur in there? Still on the map as Fallbrook State Prison, right? That's it.
Build 1970-something.
Correct Pro bought it and revamp it for sendep.
We've got the same base operational unit in 17 old prisons now.
Listen, did you ah Did you take them up in that stock option? Sure, why not? It's good deal.
It's hell of a deal.
They didn't use the barcodes in my last prison.
Is that new? Ah, it's unique to 3380 on, kind of, our federal contract.
Didn't they brief you in that? I just go where they send me, do what I'm told.
That's a good plan.
The way this company growing, you could be a warden of your own sendep one day.
As long as the feds pay on time I stay out of their details and so do you.
We just tank them and forget them.
Got it? Loud and clear, Warden.
Ok! We need to get you physical and then back to my office.
I've got insurance forms and all that.
Then I'll issue you a sidearm and work you into the rotation.
The infirmary is through there to your right, about 200 yards.
Ok, I met the warden.
He's a shareholder in misery.
You can't believe this place, Renee.
Did you find Augur? I found him half-alive.
They've got him floating in a tank in liquid the temperature of his own blood.
Standby for ID coordinates.
Hold it.
I'm picking up a second portal carrier frequency.
Strong.
It's nearby.
Does the prison have a portal? No, not that I saw.
Here I sent it to you.
Use Augur's portal to track it down.
The signals overlap, who knows where we'll end up.
Alright, the second carrier is less than 200 yards south of you.
And it's tuned to abandoned portal in the French zone of San Francisco.
- But no overlap with your signal.
- Good.
- Forget about it.
- Well, wait.
I opened up a half-power ID tunnel.
Im' gonna take a look.
Why take the risk? Come on, someone's got abandoned portal inside a secret federal prison.
I'd say that worth knowing more about.
Besides, if I don't step through, I'm safe.
Then do it fast.
From the looks of him, Augur's gonna need more than a cup of chicken noodle.
I've got to drive one off to the doc.
Here's the order.
Augur, it's ok.
Listen to me, it's life or death, Augur.
Life is where I'm taking you, death is if anyone hear you screech for them.
Augur! Stop! Let him go! That new man hasn't been issued a weapon.
He's with them.
Go! Go! Timing's what life is all about, isn't it? If I didn't need your brain, you'd still be in the federal spa.
You know, the old cons tell me that after you've been in there awhile, your skin gets all droopy like a dog that's been in the rain too long.
My brain? Why do you need my brain? For the biggest heist in history, for the most fabulous theft that's ever been conceived.
How do you like how I broke in for a little recon? Were you surprised when I said I'd be back? That was you.
I'm not going to help you, Declan.
If you did all this because you thought I would, I'm sorry.
So am I.
What's this? That's 10cc of amputoxin in an autosyringe and I can trigger it to inject you in whenever I want.
Have you ever seen that at work, amputoxin? That's 60 seconds you'd rather avoid.
Very effective and final.
And this This monitors my heartbeat.
If my heart stops, so does yours.
So, I guess we're partners.
I traded a sendep to be wired to amoralist.
Well, life's also a series of trade-offs.
Look over here.
Nine months ago somebody stole 3 trillion dollars worth of gold from a syndicate of banks, that's still missing.
Do you have any idea who's got it? - Zo'or's got it on the mother ship.
- That's very good.
I'm not disappointed.
Not many people know that.
How do you know that? I was downloading from a computer in New York bank when it happened.
There.
Do you see? That's why I need you.
I was also told that you actually hacked into mother ship's database, right? - Who told you that? - Max Pratt told me.
Your old partner, my mentor.
He also told me that you have a full diagram of every deck.
I don't have them.
They're in my computer, that is if the police haven't shut them down already.
They haven't.
Your central processor's still online.
I've been going in through the trapdoor.
- Then why do you need me? - Somebody put up a firewall.
But I bet you've got another way in.
Cheer up! Max said you don't like Taelons.
Zo'or is sitting up there hoarding all that gold like King Midas.
And we're gonna steal it from him.
It's the motherlode and we're gonna take it.
And we're gonna hurt him he never thought he could be hurt.
Yes.
Got some answers.
Well, at least, one.
Andrew Pritry, hydraulic engineer for Correct Pro was killed in his home two days ago.
So, that's how Connors got into 3380.
Connors stages a prison break, but doesn't get a single amoralist.
He came for Augur.
- Why? - Part of the amoralist bank plot? Obviously.
I need you to find something I don't know.
Even with the War Powers Act I can only push the limits so far.
That's the problem with limits.
I haven't had any caffeine in two weeks, so that jolt would sure help my concentration.
This should be all the concentration that you need.
So, what have you got? What is? At today's prices, 3 trillion worth of gold would weight 300,000 lbs.
and would have a volume of 400 m3.
What's you point? It's not like knocking off a stage coach, Declan.
How are you gonna move it? Leave that to me.
You concentrate on getting the plans to the mother ship.
And let the games begin.
I don't believe it.
I thought Augur drew the line at working with killers.
You don't know that.
Maybe he's a victim.
Maybe.
But we both saw the way Max Pratt was able to twist him.
Max taught Declan Connors.
It's Augur.
He's opened up a trapdoor link from Connors' loft.
See if he can hear us.
Come on, quit pushing data! I can't get through.
He's overloading the interlink.
Oh, he's working it so Connors can't see us.
He's being forced to do this.
- He's protecting us.
- Told you he wouldn't give in.
And now we know what Connors wants.
That's his diagram of the mother ship.
We should've guessed.
Connors wants Zo'or's gold.
No.
You keep losing this.
I didn't lose it.
I left it for you.
Sit down.
Look, I was hoping to throw on a steak, get outside some scotch and crash.
Instead I found that on my kitchen table.
Now, you wanna tell me how you found my place? Your address was in Augur's dossier.
You're here.
Sit down.
I found out why Declan Connors needs Augur.
I'm gonna give it to you.
Make you career.
And for this little gift I give you?.
.
Augur's freedom, a clean slate.
They're gonna steal 3 trillion in gold from the mother ship.
- I'm gonna help you catch them at it.
- That has possibilities.
The gold goes back to the Alliance countries it was stolen from, and you shut down your task force.
Don't overplay your hand.
I've been inside 3380.
Forced sensory deprivation without due process.
Someone called that down right on America.
- It's the way things get done.
- It's going to stop.
You're destroying our system.
You got a bad law and you're exploiting it.
I'm fighting the amoralists.
They fight dirty and I need to fight back.
They're wreaking our system, not me.
Ok, you give me credit for the bust and Declan Connors, you have a deal.
Good.
One more thing.
No, two, maybe.
First I need the classified ID coordinates to Fort Knox.
- And second, keep Sandoval out of this.
- Who says I work with Sandoval? There we go.
Good.
I took into consideration the weight that you dropped in sendep.
Try that on.
Why? I gave you what you wanted.
I need you to descramble a rolling portal access code.
On the mother ship? Where? Oh, I'll tell you when we get there.
And remember, we're partners.
Well, if we're partners, how about showing a little trust and removing the cuff? One step at a time.
If you do a good job you might even join the amoralists.
You know, I don't even think we'll make it to the mother ship portal deck.
Sandoval revamped security when the gold came aboard.
I don't even think I can fake a password.
You don't have to.
They're gonna give us one.
Right about now.
You're cleared for interdimensional portal transit aboard the Taelon mother ship.
Your pass is good until 03:30.
You better put your coat on.
Welcome aboard, Mr.
Drexler.
And now let me introduce my associate from La Vie Banque de Zurich, Mr.
Augusteen.
I will escort you to, Zo'or.
Stop right there, Mr.
Connors.
Special Agent Sandoval.
I assumed you'd be waiting for us.
I assumed you knew I would be.
Don't shoot him! This is filled with amputoxin.
It's connected to a heart monitor around his neck.
Someone should've taught you to pick you friends more wisely, Mr.
Deveraux.
- Search them.
- What? I have a mental intervention team waiting for both of you.
They will burrow through your brains for what will seem like forever.
What I don't understand is why did you walk right into my arms? Well, how else was I gonna get on the ship? I assumed you could resist such a blatantly transparent ruse.
Stun gun implant.
You can get the operation done in Brazil.
Virtual glass shield.
Hand to hand combat in Taelon age.
Pass me that.
- Impressive.
- We'll get you a set.
I need to remap the inner ship transport grid and get us onto the gold deck.
Two guests.
Sandoval and a portal guard on C deck.
Guests are moving but the guard's kind of stationary.
DNA match on Connors and Augur.
They just made a transit from his portal on the mother ship.
Sandoval's chasing, but we're closer.
Leave us.
Zo'or, where are the guards? We need protection.
There's a robbery in progress.
Impostor.
Liam, don't shoot, it's me.
It's Augur.
I don't believe it, but I hear you, Augur.
We need more troopers.
I'm gonna get them now.
Excellent.
And when they arrive they may arrest this fraud.
You presume to call me fraud? He's got 10cc of amputoxin in an autosyringe.
You kill me, you kill him.
- Program the portal, Augur.
- What portal? The whole deck.
It's one big portal.
How do you think Zo'or got the gold here in the first place? It's got a rolling code that resets every terasecond.
It's why you're here, Augur.
You let me down now, I don't need you.
- I think I can grab it.
I'll try.
- Do it.
- I'll get rid of this people.
- Declan, no! Sandoval, no! Agent Sandoval.
Zo'or? Sandoval, stop him! You dare to imitate me.
Liam I only have 60 seconds.
Liam, I'm sorry, I should've killed him before.
You cut that too close, Augur, now just don't die.
Don't die! Signal the medbay.
make it fast, we've only got 60 seconds.
We need to seal the deck, Zo'or.
I wish to remain with my gold.
No, this energy fire may have punctured a hole.
You can come back.
I'll admit Connors had an excellent taste.
You know he imported these beans from a little coffee bar right off Via Veneto in Rome.
Forget the coffee and the biscotti.
We've got to give Heather North the address to this place today.
So, pack up what you want and let's go.
Ah, she's been busy counting that gold.
Should've impounded it already.
Oh, I certainly hope not, 'cause I could've used most of it.
Legally, of course.
You think that Zo'or will ever find it? The gold, I mean.
Well, let's hope not.
I mean, I doubt he's gonna look in Fort Knox.
And that gold makes all the difference for the smaller countries in the ANA.
Yeah, well, all I really wanna hear is that they've drained those sendep tanks.
My first cup of coffee in months without looking over my shoulder.
Heather North wiped your slate clean.
You can go anywhere.
Of course, we'd like you to stick around DC, we kinda missed you.
Sure.
I might come back.
It's just that a few days in sendep made me realize just how much I simply haven't lived.
And that's my only ambition right now.
But dry, some place dry.
You know, like ah Maybe ah Death Valley or or the Sahara Desert, or maybe Morocco.
Good coffee in Morocco.
Axarion
They want you at central, Augur.
I need a new place to live.
I need to change my name Everything.
I'll take care of it, don't worry.
Street, you're the best.
And I'm counting on you to take care of my friends.
That's the finest compliment I can give you.
How did the Taelons amass such a fortune? 3 trillion dollars in gold doesn't just disappear.
- Your desire for wealth is degenerate.
- I do not desire wealth.
I desire to control this planet for our fight against the Jaridians.
Such lust for money is blasphemy.
One day I will possess this species.
All I must do is buy them.
Welcome! You've been consigned to sensory deprivation prison 3380.
I'm Warden Worshky.
And I'm about to speak the last words you'll hear in my prison, so listen carefully.
Under license of the US government, and by authority of the Sino-Indian War Powers Act, Correct Pro Corporation hereby suspends your civil rights.
While admitted here, you will be relieved of all sensory stimuli.
This form of penology is deemed both cost effective and best for your protection.
Take this one first.
I'll come back for you.
Halt! Be shoot to kill.
Alright, bag this one and take him over to reclamation.
Put a hold on the other one while I call for pick up.
Alright, let's get this one wet.
Then I want order and quiet restored.
Please, I don't know who you are.
I told you, my name is Worshky.
I apologize for the delay.
That was unfortunate.
No, listen Listen to me.
You're making a very big mistake.
I haven't been convicted of anything.
Look! There's been a mistake! No, don't! I'll drown! No, you won't.
That's not water.
It's oxygenated breathing fluid with a nice narcotic spike to keep you quiet.
Just get a deep dope and get it over with! Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
Did you find him? Must've got our signals crossed.
He was supposed to meet us here.
That inspires confidence.
When the President's Chief of Staff gets his signal crossed, bad things happen, small countries get nuked.
Yeah, well, let's give him a break, ok? Hubble Urich has the domestic agenda and the entire Atlantic National Alliance to deal with.
I'm surprised he has time for half of it.
Time is a river.
We must learn to flow with it or we will drown.
Who said that? Buddha.
I am but a humble messenger.
Why don't we just go to the man's office? Random holograms are more secure.
And besides, officially I work alone.
This way Hubble can deny you.
- That's an ego booster.
- Deal with it.
Friend Urich sends me to impart his wisdom.
But my words only have meaning if you trust your descramblers.
Ok, we're in scramble.
You've got a message for us from Hubble? Yes.
He wishes me to tell you the President is troubled by some vague rumors.
It would be deemed a great favor if you would seek the truth.
Can you be a little less mystical? You got it.
Word has it there are abuses of power from inside the executive branch.
False imprisonment, widespread infringement of civil rights Doesn't the FBI investigates the civil rights? FBI may be part of the problem.
The President has reason to think there may be a black ops group inside justice working off the books.
So, what's keeping the President from cleaning his own shop? The War Powers Act, a throwback to the SI War.
It's never been fully dismantled, and we can't find two lawyers that will agree on what's illegal.
But if this task force does exist, it works in the shadows looking for amoralists.
And they're looking for your friend, Augur.
Augur? But he's not an amoralist.
There are shadows everywhere.
Yeah, well, thanks for clearing that up.
You sent for me, Zo'or? There were thieves on the gold deck again last night trying to steal my bullion.
Some may be gone.
The gold is exactly as you left it yesterday, Zo'or, and the day before.
No one but you ever enters that deck.
No one you know of.
You no longer seem to be aware of half the threats to me or care.
I spend most of my time on these threats.
None are genuine.
If I may be permitted, only my certainty that you are a Taelon keeps me from thinking that you are a human with an aberration we call gold fever.
I admit, my research into human passion has given me a taste for gold.
It is power in material form.
Like the atom, I seek to unleash it.
You seek to acquire it, that much is evident.
What is this new threat? One, Swiss banking laws favor you the bearer, Zo'or.
Two, your gold will be safe in our bank.
And three, our company can increase the 3 trillion dollars.
This was recorded on my data stream earlier this morning.
How did a Swiss bank found out the exact amount of my gold? I have no idea, but I'm not surprised.
Your banking scheme ruined too many people, they want their money back.
Precisely.
Why do I feel you are not sufficiently alarmed? I can only do what I can do, Zo'or.
Humans are aboard the mother ship constantly.
It might be safer to move the gold to another star system.
Out of the question.
Go! Do something useful.
Find these Swiss people and remove them.
If what Hubble says is true it's propaganda heaven for the Taelons.
No matter what we charge them with they charge us with abuse of power.
Ah, here we go.
Someone did put a blind trace through the NCIC, tracking Augur by his real name Marcus Deveraux.
Who has authority for a blind trace? Only an agency that doesn't exist.
Ex secret service, FBI, US Marshalls Top people based in Atlanta.
Ah, the federal prosecutor is the same one who tried the government's case against Augur 5 years ago.
Heather North, about my age, retired last year.
Must be nice.
Retired? Yeah, to work behind the scenes.
Makes sense.
It's the only way the Italians could beat the Mafia.
Yeah, a lot of good it did them, the amoralists just took over.
Well, at least, your buddy Max Pratt is off the board, but looks like he left a protege.
Declan Connors.
And what's with this 3380? Augur's added it to all of these dossiers.
Pull up Connors'.
Sorry, but Connors' dossier dropped off the computer two days ago.
More data drops off all the time.
Dropped off like deleted, lost? Deleted.
I think we've got a cyber visitor who hacks in through a digital trapdoor.
I've been trying to close him out with a firewall.
Now, who could hack into these machines? Only one person.
Augur himself.
We'll detank this area so you can drain it.
How long? Oh, we'll have you back online in about two hours, three top, Warden.
It's all about saving nickels with them, isn't it? And they don't care if I have to put two in a tank.
Well, I don't suppose this little performance bonus a new deal.
The pump room is down there, but you're done and gone by the shift change.
You got it? If there's a task force hidden in this place, they don't use a front door.
Can't find a single name form Augur's files.
They tell Heather North hasn't worked here for three years.
Well, if she's here, her name's not gonna be on the door.
I've got the blueprints in my global.
Let me take a look around.
I think I'm in sub-basement Not possible.
You're two level down directly under me and I'm on the sidewalk.
They must've confused the blueprints on purpose.
I'm caught in the perceptual vortex.
It's all an illusion, but a good one.
Where am I, Renee? According to this, you're in an elevator shaft on the sixth floor.
I'm Heather North.
I hear you're looking for me.
Fingerprints and cranial scans both confirm that you are Liam Kincaid, Companion Protector Service, so maybe I believe you.
Thank you.
That about this? What about it? Your DNA came back positive, but with unrecognizable data.
Haven't seen that before.
You're surprised there's an error in my personnel file? Don't we both work for the same government? Do we? - We are in the Federal Annex.
- No.
You're in the facility so far off the map it doesn't have an address.
That's why until I know the reason, you're not leaving.
My Companion Da'an expects me to go with him to the opera tonight.
Well, he better find another day or he'll miss it.
It'll be a little hard to explain, don't you think? I don't have to.
Explain, that is.
Look, I was in the parking garage.
You guys pulled the rug out with some kind of sensory distortion technique.
Here I am.
I was meeting someone, a snitch.
Tips me off to threats against the Taelons.
He didn't show.
What's his name? Marcus Deveraux.
You expect me to believe that you don't know that I know him? Five years ago I gave him a completely new identity.
It's the last I heard of Augur.
How is he? He's had his problems.
Could be he's mixed up with amoralists.
- You know, Declan Connors.
- That would be a mistake.
I'm not sure the detail has something to do with that 3380 business.
You take the cuffs off of him now.
Thank you.
I wanna make a global call.
I'm invoking the Companion Cooperation Decree.
I am commandeering this facility.
Well, I guess you could do that if it existed, which it doesn't.
And if I was certain you're a Protector, which I'm not.
You can't keep me here without due process, without representation, without charging me with a crime.
Remember my civil rights? Since the War Powers Act, you don't have any.
So, when you remember what you know about 3380, we'll have another civics lesson.
You're gonna have to take these chains off me eventually.
So, you don't wanna make me too angry.
If you ever do get to be a president, Hubble, the secret service will make you vary your routine.
Was it necessary to risk a coronary? You tell me, I've been calling since 10.
They've got Liam.
He's vanished.
I can't find him.
So, you have to.
I'd lie to, I really would I mean, normally, I just phone the Attorney General, but I can't have the office of the President anywhere near this matter.
You're scared.
You're scared of them.
Not scared, just not equal to it.
Who knows how big, how many? The black ops budget last year was estimated to be 80 billion.
And nobody controls that? Not even the President? No Senate oversight? Not since War Powers Act.
And the worst part is this is not the Taelons, it's us, humans abusing humans.
And it's out of control.
What are we supposed to do exactly? I was hoping you'd figure that out.
Of course, they're resisting.
Nobody gives up power without a fight.
They snatched a Companion Protector.
Think about the arrogance of that.
They won't kill him, Renee.
You hope.
Why not shut them down before now? The SI War is history.
You want my opinion, this is because of the Taelons, a side effect of their presence.
We've been so busy worrying about them, we forgot to worry about ourselves.
Listen, all I know about 3380 is that it's a number I saw on a file.
You can't keep me in here.
- Liam.
- 3380.
Tell me what you know.
You've got to get me out of here.
It's me Augur.
- Help me.
- Augur.
Augur.
- Get me out.
- 3380.
I need to know.
Are you going to help him? - 3380.
- Help me, please.
How do you feel? I can't feel anything.
Help me! Can he find his way back to you? I kept him a little doped.
He won't remember much.
All of a sudden, you want him sprung.
I can't find out what he knows that way.
Why so jittery, Ronald? Eventually, his Companion's gonna be looking for him and I don't want the Taelons prying into this.
I recommended you for this job, Mrs.
North.
I can unrecommend you just as fast.
You provide intel for me.
That's it.
End of your concern.
Understood? I'm trying to help you.
We know there's an amoralist bank scheme, we just don't know the details.
I used the facial recognition program to compare the banker Draxler to billions of faces.
His real name is Declan Connors.
- An amoralist.
- And a banker.
La Vie Banque de Zurich.
It's a real bank.
And it's their bank.
They bought it last year.
They obviously plan to steal Zo'or's gold, but you don't know how.
Not yet.
But Augur's my best bet to find out.
He'll crack.
No light, no sound, nothing but his own body tickling him for a feeling.
Any feeling.
I'd crack, wouldnt you? There's 3380 on nearly every block, every street in America.
We'll never find it this way.
Eat it all.
Even the Taelons don't know why, but chicken soup works.
I am not gonna get sick.
Close to hyperthermia.
You were hallucinating.
I'm telling you Sandoval was there.
It's a black ops task force.
Not a black ops unit in the world he doesn't know about.
Why don't you just ask him, huh? Good idea.
I should've thought of this before.
Couple of years ago Augur uncovered the source code for Sandoval's own data file.
We can only use it once, then it's worthless.
Was he saving it for a rainy day? I think it's here.
Let's see if Sandoval's personal data file has 3380 on it.
It's the sensory deprevation prison.
A black ops prison.
They can do anything they want to anyone.
Probably paid for with a discretionary account through Bureau of Mines or some such organization.
Untraceable.
They got Augur in there? Still on the map as Fallbrook State Prison, right? That's it.
Build 1970-something.
Correct Pro bought it and revamp it for sendep.
We've got the same base operational unit in 17 old prisons now.
Listen, did you ah Did you take them up in that stock option? Sure, why not? It's good deal.
It's hell of a deal.
They didn't use the barcodes in my last prison.
Is that new? Ah, it's unique to 3380 on, kind of, our federal contract.
Didn't they brief you in that? I just go where they send me, do what I'm told.
That's a good plan.
The way this company growing, you could be a warden of your own sendep one day.
As long as the feds pay on time I stay out of their details and so do you.
We just tank them and forget them.
Got it? Loud and clear, Warden.
Ok! We need to get you physical and then back to my office.
I've got insurance forms and all that.
Then I'll issue you a sidearm and work you into the rotation.
The infirmary is through there to your right, about 200 yards.
Ok, I met the warden.
He's a shareholder in misery.
You can't believe this place, Renee.
Did you find Augur? I found him half-alive.
They've got him floating in a tank in liquid the temperature of his own blood.
Standby for ID coordinates.
Hold it.
I'm picking up a second portal carrier frequency.
Strong.
It's nearby.
Does the prison have a portal? No, not that I saw.
Here I sent it to you.
Use Augur's portal to track it down.
The signals overlap, who knows where we'll end up.
Alright, the second carrier is less than 200 yards south of you.
And it's tuned to abandoned portal in the French zone of San Francisco.
- But no overlap with your signal.
- Good.
- Forget about it.
- Well, wait.
I opened up a half-power ID tunnel.
Im' gonna take a look.
Why take the risk? Come on, someone's got abandoned portal inside a secret federal prison.
I'd say that worth knowing more about.
Besides, if I don't step through, I'm safe.
Then do it fast.
From the looks of him, Augur's gonna need more than a cup of chicken noodle.
I've got to drive one off to the doc.
Here's the order.
Augur, it's ok.
Listen to me, it's life or death, Augur.
Life is where I'm taking you, death is if anyone hear you screech for them.
Augur! Stop! Let him go! That new man hasn't been issued a weapon.
He's with them.
Go! Go! Timing's what life is all about, isn't it? If I didn't need your brain, you'd still be in the federal spa.
You know, the old cons tell me that after you've been in there awhile, your skin gets all droopy like a dog that's been in the rain too long.
My brain? Why do you need my brain? For the biggest heist in history, for the most fabulous theft that's ever been conceived.
How do you like how I broke in for a little recon? Were you surprised when I said I'd be back? That was you.
I'm not going to help you, Declan.
If you did all this because you thought I would, I'm sorry.
So am I.
What's this? That's 10cc of amputoxin in an autosyringe and I can trigger it to inject you in whenever I want.
Have you ever seen that at work, amputoxin? That's 60 seconds you'd rather avoid.
Very effective and final.
And this This monitors my heartbeat.
If my heart stops, so does yours.
So, I guess we're partners.
I traded a sendep to be wired to amoralist.
Well, life's also a series of trade-offs.
Look over here.
Nine months ago somebody stole 3 trillion dollars worth of gold from a syndicate of banks, that's still missing.
Do you have any idea who's got it? - Zo'or's got it on the mother ship.
- That's very good.
I'm not disappointed.
Not many people know that.
How do you know that? I was downloading from a computer in New York bank when it happened.
There.
Do you see? That's why I need you.
I was also told that you actually hacked into mother ship's database, right? - Who told you that? - Max Pratt told me.
Your old partner, my mentor.
He also told me that you have a full diagram of every deck.
I don't have them.
They're in my computer, that is if the police haven't shut them down already.
They haven't.
Your central processor's still online.
I've been going in through the trapdoor.
- Then why do you need me? - Somebody put up a firewall.
But I bet you've got another way in.
Cheer up! Max said you don't like Taelons.
Zo'or is sitting up there hoarding all that gold like King Midas.
And we're gonna steal it from him.
It's the motherlode and we're gonna take it.
And we're gonna hurt him he never thought he could be hurt.
Yes.
Got some answers.
Well, at least, one.
Andrew Pritry, hydraulic engineer for Correct Pro was killed in his home two days ago.
So, that's how Connors got into 3380.
Connors stages a prison break, but doesn't get a single amoralist.
He came for Augur.
- Why? - Part of the amoralist bank plot? Obviously.
I need you to find something I don't know.
Even with the War Powers Act I can only push the limits so far.
That's the problem with limits.
I haven't had any caffeine in two weeks, so that jolt would sure help my concentration.
This should be all the concentration that you need.
So, what have you got? What is? At today's prices, 3 trillion worth of gold would weight 300,000 lbs.
and would have a volume of 400 m3.
What's you point? It's not like knocking off a stage coach, Declan.
How are you gonna move it? Leave that to me.
You concentrate on getting the plans to the mother ship.
And let the games begin.
I don't believe it.
I thought Augur drew the line at working with killers.
You don't know that.
Maybe he's a victim.
Maybe.
But we both saw the way Max Pratt was able to twist him.
Max taught Declan Connors.
It's Augur.
He's opened up a trapdoor link from Connors' loft.
See if he can hear us.
Come on, quit pushing data! I can't get through.
He's overloading the interlink.
Oh, he's working it so Connors can't see us.
He's being forced to do this.
- He's protecting us.
- Told you he wouldn't give in.
And now we know what Connors wants.
That's his diagram of the mother ship.
We should've guessed.
Connors wants Zo'or's gold.
No.
You keep losing this.
I didn't lose it.
I left it for you.
Sit down.
Look, I was hoping to throw on a steak, get outside some scotch and crash.
Instead I found that on my kitchen table.
Now, you wanna tell me how you found my place? Your address was in Augur's dossier.
You're here.
Sit down.
I found out why Declan Connors needs Augur.
I'm gonna give it to you.
Make you career.
And for this little gift I give you?.
.
Augur's freedom, a clean slate.
They're gonna steal 3 trillion in gold from the mother ship.
- I'm gonna help you catch them at it.
- That has possibilities.
The gold goes back to the Alliance countries it was stolen from, and you shut down your task force.
Don't overplay your hand.
I've been inside 3380.
Forced sensory deprivation without due process.
Someone called that down right on America.
- It's the way things get done.
- It's going to stop.
You're destroying our system.
You got a bad law and you're exploiting it.
I'm fighting the amoralists.
They fight dirty and I need to fight back.
They're wreaking our system, not me.
Ok, you give me credit for the bust and Declan Connors, you have a deal.
Good.
One more thing.
No, two, maybe.
First I need the classified ID coordinates to Fort Knox.
- And second, keep Sandoval out of this.
- Who says I work with Sandoval? There we go.
Good.
I took into consideration the weight that you dropped in sendep.
Try that on.
Why? I gave you what you wanted.
I need you to descramble a rolling portal access code.
On the mother ship? Where? Oh, I'll tell you when we get there.
And remember, we're partners.
Well, if we're partners, how about showing a little trust and removing the cuff? One step at a time.
If you do a good job you might even join the amoralists.
You know, I don't even think we'll make it to the mother ship portal deck.
Sandoval revamped security when the gold came aboard.
I don't even think I can fake a password.
You don't have to.
They're gonna give us one.
Right about now.
You're cleared for interdimensional portal transit aboard the Taelon mother ship.
Your pass is good until 03:30.
You better put your coat on.
Welcome aboard, Mr.
Drexler.
And now let me introduce my associate from La Vie Banque de Zurich, Mr.
Augusteen.
I will escort you to, Zo'or.
Stop right there, Mr.
Connors.
Special Agent Sandoval.
I assumed you'd be waiting for us.
I assumed you knew I would be.
Don't shoot him! This is filled with amputoxin.
It's connected to a heart monitor around his neck.
Someone should've taught you to pick you friends more wisely, Mr.
Deveraux.
- Search them.
- What? I have a mental intervention team waiting for both of you.
They will burrow through your brains for what will seem like forever.
What I don't understand is why did you walk right into my arms? Well, how else was I gonna get on the ship? I assumed you could resist such a blatantly transparent ruse.
Stun gun implant.
You can get the operation done in Brazil.
Virtual glass shield.
Hand to hand combat in Taelon age.
Pass me that.
- Impressive.
- We'll get you a set.
I need to remap the inner ship transport grid and get us onto the gold deck.
Two guests.
Sandoval and a portal guard on C deck.
Guests are moving but the guard's kind of stationary.
DNA match on Connors and Augur.
They just made a transit from his portal on the mother ship.
Sandoval's chasing, but we're closer.
Leave us.
Zo'or, where are the guards? We need protection.
There's a robbery in progress.
Impostor.
Liam, don't shoot, it's me.
It's Augur.
I don't believe it, but I hear you, Augur.
We need more troopers.
I'm gonna get them now.
Excellent.
And when they arrive they may arrest this fraud.
You presume to call me fraud? He's got 10cc of amputoxin in an autosyringe.
You kill me, you kill him.
- Program the portal, Augur.
- What portal? The whole deck.
It's one big portal.
How do you think Zo'or got the gold here in the first place? It's got a rolling code that resets every terasecond.
It's why you're here, Augur.
You let me down now, I don't need you.
- I think I can grab it.
I'll try.
- Do it.
- I'll get rid of this people.
- Declan, no! Sandoval, no! Agent Sandoval.
Zo'or? Sandoval, stop him! You dare to imitate me.
Liam I only have 60 seconds.
Liam, I'm sorry, I should've killed him before.
You cut that too close, Augur, now just don't die.
Don't die! Signal the medbay.
make it fast, we've only got 60 seconds.
We need to seal the deck, Zo'or.
I wish to remain with my gold.
No, this energy fire may have punctured a hole.
You can come back.
I'll admit Connors had an excellent taste.
You know he imported these beans from a little coffee bar right off Via Veneto in Rome.
Forget the coffee and the biscotti.
We've got to give Heather North the address to this place today.
So, pack up what you want and let's go.
Ah, she's been busy counting that gold.
Should've impounded it already.
Oh, I certainly hope not, 'cause I could've used most of it.
Legally, of course.
You think that Zo'or will ever find it? The gold, I mean.
Well, let's hope not.
I mean, I doubt he's gonna look in Fort Knox.
And that gold makes all the difference for the smaller countries in the ANA.
Yeah, well, all I really wanna hear is that they've drained those sendep tanks.
My first cup of coffee in months without looking over my shoulder.
Heather North wiped your slate clean.
You can go anywhere.
Of course, we'd like you to stick around DC, we kinda missed you.
Sure.
I might come back.
It's just that a few days in sendep made me realize just how much I simply haven't lived.
And that's my only ambition right now.
But dry, some place dry.
You know, like ah Maybe ah Death Valley or or the Sahara Desert, or maybe Morocco.
Good coffee in Morocco.
Axarion