Bull (2016) s02e17 Episode Script
Gag Order
1 (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING) (SOFT THUMP) Seven, six, one, six, three, nine, one, six, two, four, five, six, eight, seven, two, nine.
(LOCK BEEPS, CLICKS) (LOCK BEEPS, CLICKS) (BEEPING) Seven, six, one, six, three, nine, one, six.
Two, four, five, six, eight, seven, two, nine.
(EXHALES) MAN: Freeze! Don't move! Hey, boss.
I'm headed to the airport.
My daughter's flight gets in in less than an hour, so She's coming for her campus visit.
Okay, I'm gonna hop in a cab.
Be back this afternoon.
Got my cell if you need me.
Okay.
Hey, you want to take my car? Well, you want to impress Anna, don't you? You want her to be so impressed that she moves here in the fall so you can be a bigger part of her life? Take my car and driver.
It's very impressive.
Thank you, Dr.
Bull.
How are you guys doing, by the way? Me and Anna? Fine.
(CHUCKLES) Why? Well, for the first 18 years of her life, you were Uncle Chunk, Mom's best friend.
And then at Thanksgiving, you tell her you're actually her dad.
That's a lot to throw at an 18-year-old.
That's funny.
She's been really difficult to reach lately.
I figure she's just really busy with senior year stuff.
But I'm hoping once we actually get to spend some time together, be in the same place, things will things will get back to normal.
Your mom sent me the itinerary from your university, and since you don't have anything scheduled for tomorrow night, I made us a dinner reservation at a really cool Italian spot downtown.
7:00 p.
m.
That okay with you? Guess so.
And my offer still stands.
My place isn't a palace, but if you have any issues staying in the dorms, you know That's kind of the whole point, isn't it? It is.
I'm so proud of you.
So impressed.
So, what's first on your agenda today? I'm meeting with Chloe Tomlin.
Chloe Tomlin.
I know that name.
Maybe you've read her.
She's an investigative journalist for the New York Ledger.
She's also an adjunct professor here, and she's the one who recommended me - for the scholarship.
- (KNOCK ON DOOR) Uh, Ms.
Tomlin? I'm Anna Baker.
I'm a prospective freshman.
Okay.
Uh, you recommended me for the scholarship? And did you get it? Yes.
You're welcome.
W-We had an 11:00 a.
m.
I'm sorry.
I would have called to cancel, but they really do only give you one call from jail, and I used it to ask my editor to bail me out.
You were in jail? Sure was.
Probably should only discuss that with a lawyer, which I don't have and need to find and can't really afford.
Maybe you can help her, Dad.
I don't really have the authority to (SIGHS) Here you go.
Now, I'm not sure how my boss is gonna feel about your case.
I'm not sure how you're gonna feel about my boss.
But give me your card, and we'll see if we can at least put together a meeting.
I feel obliged to point out that you are flirting with an enormous liability risk here.
Quiet, you two.
Don't distract him.
Let the man do his work.
Seriously, this is how you conduct a job interview? Absolutely.
When I'm interviewing someone for a job I don't understand, asking him to do something I don't know how to do.
Okay.
Give it a try Dr.
Bull.
You sure? Ripley, double macchiato.
(MECHANICAL WHIRRING) (QUIET BUZZING) Ah.
Hmm.
Two shots.
Dab of milk.
Piping hot.
Mmm.
It's delicious.
Hire this man.
What'd you say your name was again, son? Isaiah.
I-I know it's a little unusual.
Oh, relax.
The woman you're replacing is named after wire, and we got a guy around here named after a kind of peanut butter.
You'll fit right in.
CHUNK: Dr.
Bull.
This is Chloe Tomlin, the young lady that I spoke to you about yesterday.
CHLOE: About six months ago, this woman let's call her Meg looked me up and told me a story about a date with a guy she met on Spark4U.
Mm.
Spark4U is the most popular dating app in all of North America.
What? That's just a known fact.
So, this woman Meg Meets this dude at a restaurant.
They have a few drinks, but she's not feeling it, so she decides to go.
The guy must have followed her out, because before she knows it, he has pushed her into an alley, and he's on top of her.
You can guess the rest.
So did she go to the police? Yes, but there wasn't much they could do.
The only information she had about her rapist was from the Spark4U app.
BULL: And let me guess.
The entire profile was fake.
Plus, the I.
P.
address he used to make it was public.
Turns out Spark4U's lauded security features do next to nothing to actually vet their users.
So the police never found the guy.
BULL: Okay.
Let's jump to the part where you break into their headquarters.
Turns out several of the women in Meg's online sexual assault survivors forum had also met their assailants on Spark4U.
So she broke into Spark4U to get proof so that she could publish her exposé.
How'd you know what you were looking for? Or where to find it? How'd you even get in? I had a source.
Someone inside the company; they sent me a key card and codes to access the file.
The irony is no one would have known I was there if the security protocol hadn't changed that afternoon.
Well, there's our defense: it's not burglary if someone with lawful authority gave her the key.
âOurâ? Does that mean you're taking my case? It'd be a real shame to let a little legal snafu derail such a promising career.
Especially when that career is I don't know cornerstone of any functional democracy.
Thank you, Dr.
Bull.
Thank you, Mr.
Palmer, and thank you, Mr.
Colón.
Can I see the paperwork from - your arraignment? - Yeah.
(RINGTONE PLAYING) Oh.
It's my editor.
May I? Yeah.
Hey, Tom.
Hey, uh, guys? I-I don't get this.
If Chloe's being charged with burglary, why is her arraignment in federal court? BAILIFF: The court calls Chloe Tomlin in the matter of United States v.
Chloe Tomlin.
AUSA Hartman.
She's tough, smart.
BULL: Who's Mr.
Skinny Tie? Garrett Gatewood.
He's the CEO of Spark4U.
Never trust a man in a skinny tie.
Ms.
Tomlin, you are charged with the burglary of Spark4U Enterprises Incorporated, as well as economic espionage and the theft of trade secrets.
How do you plead? I-I don't understand.
What does that mean? (SIGHS) They're accusing you of stealing proprietary technology.
The penalty for that is over 30 years in federal prison.
But I didn't do that.
That doesn't make any sense.
My client pleads not guilty, Your Honor.
Take a breath.
We'll figure this out.
Your Honor, because Ms.
Tomlin was apprehended with privileged company information, I'm requesting a gag order for the duration of trial.
Your Honor, my client is a journalist.
She has an article, and she has every right to publish it.
Prior restraint for fear of harm or libel to Spark4U is a direct violation of the First Amendment.
I hear your concerns, Counselor, but given the charges, I'm inclined to agree with the AUSA.
I'll grant the gag order.
I don't understand.
What just happened? You just lost the right to publish anything that has to do with Spark4U.
But th-they can't.
I gave those women my word.
I'll just publish it under a pseudonym or-or leak it someplace.
No, no, no, no, Chloe.
You can't do that.
Benny's right.
The only way your story sees the light of day now is if we win this case.
It's super basic, you know? Programming a drone to sync up to an espresso maker.
Good for him.
I'm glad somebody has a job.
Now I'm sorry I told you about it.
So, how's your job hunt going? (CHUCKLES) Who would have thunk it? Turns out an FBI arrest is a barrier to employment in the world of cybersecurity.
Go figure.
You know what I really miss about TAC? I mean, other than you guys.
The work really felt like it meant something.
ISAIAH: I don't get it.
If all she stole were client complaints and e-mails from the company saying how sorry they were and that they were working on the problem, what's all this encryption about? Exactly.
Bull is betting that once we have this decrypted, it'll prove that Chloe took this file for her story, not so she could sell trade secrets.
(COMPUTER CHIMING) Oops.
I don't get that this has anything to do with her story.
Wow.
What are we looking at? ISAIAH: Looks like in-app advertising.
Two people swipe and âspark,â and the app suggests nearby places for them to meet.
I get it.
These places pay to be featured.
It's some kind of new revenue stream.
And since it hasn't gone to market yet, it is definitely proprietary.
But what did Chloe want with it? I have no idea.
(ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES) I can't believe that the AUSA got the judge to agree to a closed courtroom, on top of the gag order.
You know, they're acting like Spark4U's âtrade secretâ" are the damn nuclear codes.
The worst part is closed court means empty gallery.
Empty gallery means no mirror jury.
We really need to nail this voir dire, 'cause once the trial starts, we'll be flying blind.
What about whistle-blowers? We cast Chloe's source at Spark4U and by extension, Chloe herself as a whistle-blower.
MARISSA: Excuse me, gentlemen.
I hate to interrupt, but I have bad news and worse news.
Go easy.
Let's start with the bad news first.
Isaiah and I have been through everything in the file that Chloe was apprehended with, and the contents in there can, in fact, reasonably be classified as trade secrets.
(SIGHS) Excellent.
What could be worse? None of it appears to have anything to do with Chloe's story.
Well, you were right.
That Chloe Tomlin is an impressive lady.
I did some prep with her this afternoon.
Smart, poised.
I bet we have her back at that school for you in no time.
Just promise me you'll never go on that Spark4U app.
Don't.
Don't what? Don't do that.
Don't try and act all dad-ish.
(CHUCKLES) Okay.
I wasn't.
And by the way, there's no âishâ about it.
I am your dad.
Yeah, well, you don't get to not be my dad for 18 years and then just turn it on now because I happen to be in the neighborhood.
Is that how you think it went down? What am I supposed to think? You were my mom's gay best friend for my whole life, and now suddenly you're my father? Look I get how it could be confusing.
It was confusing living through it.
And I know, at 17, 18, you think you know exactly who you are, but you don't, you just you don't.
Where your mother and I grew up, not being like everyone else was not even something I considered.
I was good at football.
And your mother, she was just like you.
Curious and wicked smart and so beautiful.
We really did love each other.
And then I got my scholarship, and your mother decided that she was gonna go to school close to home, just like a half a dozen other couples in high school.
I never knew she was pregnant.
She didn't tell me.
If I had known, I never would have left you both.
What I don't understand is, when you quit football, when you found out I was yours, why didn't you come back? You were in the first grade when I saw your birth certificate, when I did the math.
And by then, you and your mother, you had your own routine, your own way of Look, we talked about it.
We just didn't want to confuse you.
So we decided that I would stay in New York for work and be Uncle Chunk when I flew down every few months.
You decided.
It wasn't your decision to make.
Come on, Anna, you were six.
You know what? I really ought to be going.
Anna.
(SIGHS) (CHUCKLES) Coffee.
Black, one sugar.
Thanks.
When did I tell you how I take my coffee? You didn't.
I read that series you wrote about the rise of the coffee shop and the death of the neighborhood diner.
That was a long time ago.
Hmm, nonetheless, I see you sipping your coffee.
I've been reading a lot of your writing the past couple days.
You strike me as someone who's fairly pure of heart.
Okay.
So I need your help reconciling something.
If you went into Spark4U looking for proof that the company was trying to silence its victims, why were you caught with plans for an exclusive advertising feature, plans Spark4U's competitors would pay mightily for? What? That that's not possible.
That's not what I did.
Well, it may not have been what you intended, but we decrypted the files you stole, and that's what they contain.
I don't know.
Maybe I-I transposed some of the digits on the file number.
I memorized it really fast.
Or maybe they changed the filing system and my source didn't know.
Somewhere along the line, there must have been a mistake.
I'm a journalist, Dr.
Bull.
Why would I risk my career, my reputation, to steal tech I can't use and don't understand? I believe you.
Now we just have to find a jury that does, too.
BENNY: If you discovered your best friend's boyfriend or husband was cheating on her, - would you let her know? - That's a tricky question.
(CHUCKLES) Well those are the only ones worth asking.
What does that have to do with anything? It will help us predict how much a person values the truth over the possible consequences of reporting that truth.
WOMAN: Well, the problem with that is, that could really crush my friend.
Plus, it's not really my business, right? So you wouldn't tell her? We'd like to thank and excuse juror number one, Your Honor.
I got to tell him.
What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell him? You may think you know, but you don't know.
Unless you're in the bedroom with them, you don't know.
Some things, it's better not to know.
The truth is not always pretty.
MARISSA: That puts us down to our final strike, Bull, and I'm seeing two potential problems.
- Talk to me.
- Juror number 19, Steven Whitaker, 42.
He is a programmer who blogs about conspiracy theories.
And therefore distrusts the mainstream media.
But juror number four, Megan Palowski, happens to have met her husband on a dating app, so will likely be sympathetic towards Spark4U.
Last one.
What are you thinking, boss? Strike number four.
It's gonna be hard to get her to distrust Spark4U.
And maybe our conspiracy theorist will latch on to a corporate cover-up.
Your Honor, we move to strike juror number four.
Juror 19 is acceptable to the defense.
Juror four, you are excused.
And we have our jury.
That seems like it went well.
It went fine.
If I were speculating, I'd say half the jury's inclined to see things our way and half isn't.
But I suppose, when the system is doing what it's supposed to be doing, that is what you hope for.
The truth is, no matter what (SIGHS) we've got our work cut out for us.
HARTMAN: Mr.
Colón.
Dr.
Bull.
Fellas.
An updated witness list.
Only one change.
Who the hell is Jamal Bardsley? He's an old boyfriend; we broke up two years ago.
Why would they call him? Well, according to this interview transcript, he works for Spark4U's biggest competitor.
I had no idea.
I swear I haven't talked to the guy in two Christmases.
And back then, he worked for a telecom company.
Well, be that as it may, prosecution's gonna offer this up as proof that you had motive and means to benefit from stealing corporate secrets.
But that's not true, and Jamal is an honest guy.
He will tell them that on the stand.
Well, just because he says it doesn't mean the jury's gonna believe it.
How do we fix this? What do we do? Your source inside Spark4U.
That's the only person who can verify what you were really after and how you got in.
Look, I would share my correspondence with you, but we communicated through an app called ChatErase.
It automatically deletes messages once they've been viewed.
Then I need a name.
We need to put this person on the stand.
I don't have name.
They reached out to me anonymously.
They must have given you evidence to verify they were who they claimed to be within the company.
And if I can give that to my investigator, then she can No, Dr.
Bull.
My source could go to jail.
That person trusted me to protect them.
As a journalist, I am only as good as my word.
My career would be over if No.
I can't reveal my source to you.
Even it means spending the next 30 years in prison? Yes.
That is exactly what I mean.
You asked to see me, Dr.
Bull? What do you know about ChatErase? ChatErase? It's a ephemeral messaging app.
End-to-end encryption.
The messages self-destruct as soon as the recipient sees them.
Why do you ask? So they just disappear? There's really no record of them anywhere? The messages just vanish? Oh, well, it's the Internet.
I'm guessing there's a vestige of it somewhere, just not anywhere you would expect to find it.
So it is possible to locate them.
They're out there, somewhere.
Theoretically.
But the point of the technology is to make sure that doesn't happen.
You would have to be an amazing cyber sleuth to even begin Aren't you an amazing cyber sleuth? I need those messages our client exchanged with her source.
Dr.
Bull (SIGHS) I got to be honest Really? Why you? Why now? No one else is.
I need it done.
Go, Isaiah.
HARTMAN: Mr.
Hill, what is your relationship to the accused? HILL: I am, uh uh, was her editor at the New York Ledger.
When'd you stop working for him? I didn't know I had.
HARTMAN: Now, the defense is claiming that Ms.
Tomlin broke into Spark4U in pursuit of a story.
Is that something that your newspaper condones? Breaking into a private business and stealing its trade secrets? No.
That's why she's been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of this trial.
Is this the first you've heard of this? HARTMAN: Ms.
Tomlin is accused of stealing proprietary code.
Could you explain to all of us what that could possibly have to do with her alleged Spark4U exposé? Objection! Speculation.
Sustained.
Let me rephrase.
What was Ms.
Tomlin's story about? I-I actually never assigned Chloe a story about Spark4U.
- (SCOFFS) - And, uh, she never mentioned to me that she was interested in pursuing one on her own.
He's lying.
He's just lying.
We were gonna publish it three days ago.
I don't understand.
HARTMAN: So is it possible that she made the whole thing up as an excuse for committing this crime? - Objection! - Sustained.
Ms.
Hartman.
Withdrawn, Your Honor.
(SIGHS) BENNY: I don't need a mirror jury to know that this is killing us.
Chloe? Who are you? You don't understand.
I had no choice.
It came down from the masthead.
They threatened to lay off half the department.
Once this blows over Go to hell, Tom.
Wait a minute.
You're saying that the publishers of the New York Ledger told you to perjure yourself? I'm not saying anything of the kind.
BULL: As I recall, one of the owners of the Ledger made his fortune in tech startups and apps.
I have no idea.
I just work there.
Ah, money the enemy of truth.
Ah, truth.
Yes, I remember truth.
It existed a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Come on, Yoda.
Let's head back to the office.
I'm sorry, sir.
Perhaps you didn't hear me.
I announced last call an hour ago.
Leave me alone.
I'm pondering.
I'm sure you are, but friends don't let friends ponder drunk.
Hmm.
God, the world stinks.
Her boss actually got on the stand and told a boldface lie, sold her right down the river, then went to Chloe and admitted it.
I don't know which was worse watching him ruin her life under oath, or watching him crush her spirit with the truth, 'cause he thought that'd make it all better.
I don't know what to do for this girl.
I mean, she won't tell me her source.
The people she works for won't stand up for her.
It's like that movie with George Clooney, the one where he's on a boat and everything that can go wrong - The Perfect Storm? - Right.
Except I can't decide if I'm George Clooney or Mark Wahlberg.
I just had a crazy thought.
Ooh.
I love crazy thoughts.
This closed courtroom is making me nuts.
No mirror jurors, no way for me to help.
But then it occurred to me, if the courtroom is really closed, maybe the victims that reached out to Chloe would be willing to testify on her behalf.
I know they're embarrassed about what happened to them.
I'm sure they'd rather stay anonymous, but under the circumstances, maybe they would be willing to talk about how they went to her to help try and expose this thing.
Young lady, has anyone ever called you a genius? (CHUCKLES): No.
I don't think so.
Well, wait till it happens.
You'll see.
It's a great feeling.
And that is a terrific idea.
Jury keeps looking at Chloe as a criminal 'cause we can't get anyone to testify otherwise.
But if the jury gets a look at who she was really fighting for, we got a shot at changing their minds.
You're a genius.
Man, that feels great.
I'm gonna make some calls and see if I can round up some of the girls.
Now that I know you're not closing the place up, I'm gonna do some more pondering.
See how that worked out? (DOORBELL BUZZING) It's 2:00 in the morning.
Why do you keep ringing my buzzer? I'm sorry.
My name is Isaiah.
You don't know me, but I'm the guy who got your job at TAC, and I really need your help.
You the flying coffee guy? You know what a cheap trick that is, right? Is that Chloe's laptop? All right, give me a second.
Near as I can figure, there are two ways we can do this.
One is to find the ChatErase encryption key on Chloe's computer.
The other is to locate a covert third-party app that spies on ChatErase in the hopes of profiting from leaking secrets.
One has to exist.
We just have to find it.
That's I hadn't thought of that.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY) You know if this works, I'll tell Dr.
Bull it was you.
The hell you will.
Do you know how many people use that Spark4U app every day? No.
16 million.
That's 16 million people every day who might be setting up a date with someone who's going to hurt them.
So you will not tell Dr.
Bull it was me, okay? I don't want him to miss the message because he's mad at the messenger.
Just too important.
BRIDGET: At a certain point, I just stopped fighting, 'cause he was bigger than me.
It was like I was floating above myself, like I wasn't even there.
And when the assault was over, did you go to the police? No.
Probably should have.
But I couldn't think.
I just wanted him off me.
Wanted it done.
(SIGHS) I ran home.
Took a shower.
Hottest shower.
I got in bed, I crawled under the covers.
I just wanted to die.
Your Honor, I would be remiss if I didn't object on relevance.
Sit down, Ms.
Hartman.
You may continue.
BRIDGET: That's it really.
By the time I went to the police, his profile was off the app.
And the people at Spark4U claimed they had no way of finding him.
There wasn't much anybody could do.
And that's when you decided to seek Ms.
Tomlin, - the defendant? - BRIDGET: Yes.
Um, I had heard from another girl that she was writing an article on Spark4U about the people who use the app, and about how the company was turning a blind eye to the assaults, so I thought, âI have to share this.
â And this was after you approached the company? Well, after the police approached the company, after the police hit a dead end.
And after I talked to Ms.
Tomlin, I took one more shot.
I personally went to Spark4U for help.
But they didn't seem very interested.
They just wanted my word that I would stop going online onto the victims' forums, and that I would stop talking to Ms.
Tomlin.
How do you mean? Um I know that signing a nondisclosure agreement means you can't discuss certain things, but am I allowed to discuss the NDA itself? Objection, Your Honor! BENNY: Are you testifying that - Spark4U had you sign an NDA? - Your Honor? - In return for what? - Your Honor! They paid me.
(JURORS MURMURING) Marissa, I ever tell you you're a genius? Oh, wait.
That's right.
You're not here.
HARTMAN: Objection! Your Honor, I request to be heard.
Order! Counsel, sidebar.
Your Honor, Bridget Means signed a binding nondisclosure agreement as part of a settlement with Spark4U.
Now, however much this might frustrate the defense, she is not legally allowed to discuss her dealings with the company.
Your Honor, this is a criminal proceeding.
Any civil contract should be voided if it's preventing the court from hearing the truth.
All well and good, Mr.
Colón, but the witness's dealings with the company are not on trial at the moment.
BULL: No, but they are material in explaining our client's actions.
Your Honor, this NDA was meant to protect Spark4U from defamation.
This courtroom is closed at Spark4U's request.
Bridget Means's testimony is not public, and therefore can't harm the company.
Dr.
Bull makes a very good point.
I will allow testimony.
The witness may discuss her settlement and other dealings with Spark4U.
BENNY: Good day.
Important day.
Her idea.
Oh, shucks.
You're making me blush.
Well, stop blushing.
We're not there yet.
Bridget's testimony was helpful, but it doesn't disprove the prosecutor's version of events that Chloe broke into their place of business to steal proprietary information.
ISAIAH: Dr.
Bull? (SIGHS) Uh, sorry to interrupt, but I had a kind of breakthrough.
These are the printouts of Chloe's text messages with her anonymous source.
You got them? MARISSA: Well, how? I thought you said it was impossible.
Uh, I don't know what to tell you.
I really thought it couldn't be done, either.
Turns out I was wrong.
Well, this is great.
All right.
Introduce them into evidence tomorrow.
This will support our theory that Chloe didn't break in, someone from Spark4U let her in.
Well, actually, that's not true, either.
- What do you mean? - I mean, her source wasn't someone inside Spark4U; it was someone with a computer registered to a company called GoldLark.
GoldLark? They're a private security firm.
Paramilitary, spies, fixers.
Why would a whistle-blower from Spark4U hire a private security firm to leak information? They wouldn't.
Doesn't make sense.
But what does make sense What if Chloe's source wasn't a source? What if Spark4U got wind of Chloe's story and hired a fixer from GoldLark to impersonate a concerned whistle-blower to entrap her, ensure she was caught with trade secrets so they could get a gag order and lock her up, keep the story from ever seeing the light of day? Wow, that is really dark.
What kind of a mind thinks that way? Well, I just did.
So they set her up? Looks that way.
And now it's our job to knock 'em down.
We were able to track the messages from GoldLark to a woman named Jessa Northrop.
She's ex-CIA.
Now she works as a fixer.
My guess is, after she delivered the key card, she had Spark4U change the security protocols so you'd get caught.
So, the numbers were never for the files I wanted.
They were always gonna lead me to data that was gonna make it look like I was there to steal ideas.
How did I let this happen? I vetted that source for weeks.
What did I miss? Maybe nothing.
Maybe it was next to impossible.
I mean, my team barely detected the ruse.
And this Jessa Northrop person was clearly being fed real information from someone within the company.
They were willing to throw me in jail to shut me up? The good news is we got a subpoena for Jessa Northrop.
And I'm hoping, after she testifies, the jury will start to see that this wasn't about a crime you committed.
It was about a cover-up you were trying to expose.
BENNY: Ms.
Northrop, do you work for the private security firm, GoldLark? I do.
Does GoldLark contract out to private companies in all manner of investigative and intelligence work, covert and otherwise? Yes.
And can you confirm for me that Spark4U Enterprises has contracted with GoldLark in the past? I can't speak to the past.
I only began working there six months ago.
In the time that you have worked at GoldLark, has Spark4U hired you to do a job for them? Your Honor, I'd like to exercise my Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
Ask another question, Mr.
Colón.
BENNY: Ms.
Northrop, did Spark4U hire you to impersonate an employee and reach out to my client, Chloe Tomlin, and convince her to break into Spark4U? I plead the Fifth.
Is it your intention, ma'am, to take the Fifth on all further questioning? It is.
Then you're excused.
(SIGHS HEAVILY) We were so close.
We got her on the stand.
The jury knows she's guilty of something.
They just don't know what.
Unless we can find a way to prove that Chloe was set up, to explain what really happened, all we'll have is a jury filled with a lot of doubt and confusion.
And doubts and confusion won't keep Chloe out of jail.
So, I had a crazy thought.
- Another one? - I just keep thinking about that key card.
The one that Chloe used to get into Spark4U.
- What about it? - Well, if her source wasn't an actual Spark4U employee, how did this fixer get the card? Someone had to give it to her, right? Someone from inside the company.
Marissa.
Anyone ever told you you're a genius? No.
Never.
Not once.
Not ever.
Do you solemnly swear or affirm Like I told you, never trust a man in a skinny tie.
- to the best of your knowledge? - I do.
Mr.
Gatewood.
So, you are the founder and CEO of Spark4U, the dating app? - Yes, I am.
- If I may ask, what's your company worth at the moment? In round numbers.
- In round numbers? - Mm-hmm.
Our IPO last year was valued at approximately $3.
3 billion.
Wow.
(CHUCKLES) Who-who knew that matchmaking could be so lucrative, huh? Please keep your musings to yourself, Mr.
Colón.
I apologize, Your Honor.
Now, Mr.
Gatewood, did you know that the defendant, Chloe Tomlin, was working on a story about the alleged cover-up regarding your company's response to sexual assaults? I did not, but I can assure you that we take all such incidents very seriously.
The safety of our users is the company's primary concern.
That's very admirable.
Mr.
Gatewood, is it true that your assistant had a new key card made for you on the day that Ms.
Tomlin allegedly broke into Spark4U? I don't remember the exact date, but I do recall losing my security card around that time and needing another one made, yes.
So, presumably, you've been using this replacement card to get into your office for the last several weeks, is that correct? I would assume so.
I mean, my key card is not something I pay a lot of attention to.
It's a simple question, Mr.
Gatewood.
Yes or no? Answer the question, Mr.
Gatewood.
No.
I lost the replacement card you're referring to as well.
On the very day I got it, as a matter of fact.
That's interesting.
Because your security department records indicate that no additional key cards were made for you since the day of the break-in.
So, if you lost your replacement card, then how are you getting into the building? I've been using my assistant's card.
Then how has he or she been getting into the building? I see you're struggling with this, Mr.
Gatewood.
Let me give you a hand.
Is it possible that you never actually lost your key card? That this replacement card you had made was so that you'd have one to give to Jessa Northrop? Objection! Your Honor, argumentative.
Speculative.
And the defense is badgering the witness.
- So she'd have one - Mr.
Colón! to deliver to my client, - who thought - Mr.
Colón! She was a whistle-blower, when, in fact, this was all a plan to incriminate her - so she could never publish - Mr.
Colón! - Her damning story about your company? - (GAVEL BANGS) Mr.
Colón! I will have order.
Mr.
Colón, you are dangerously close to being in contempt.
Ms.
Hartman's objections are sustained.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are to disregard the defense's assertions.
(QUIETLY): 'Cause that works.
This is normally the time I ask Marissa back in TAC what the jury is telling us, but Stevie Wonder could read this jury.
We, the jury, find the accused, Chloe Tomlin, not guilty on all counts.
Oh.
(EXHALES) Thank you.
I can't thank you enough.
(CHUCKLES) I know I talk a big game, but I was terrified of prison.
(CHUCKLES) Glad we could help.
How do I ever make this up to you? How do I ever repay you? You publish that article, someplace you feel good about, someplace that feels good about you, and then you write a few thousand more.
Deal.
(CHUCKLES) (SIGHS) There she is.
Hey.
I was reading about everything.
It's pretty exciting, huh? Thanks for making it happen.
You're welcome.
Actually, I think Chloe has you to thank more than anyone.
If it weren't for you, TAC would have never gotten involved.
I don't know.
Oh, I do.
Besides, if you end up deciding to go to NYU, I think you're staring at an âAâ in her class.
(LAUGHS) Yeah, well, I haven't made a decision yet.
Listen, I get it.
I know you're angry.
And I'm sorry about that.
I know you don't agree with the way your mother and I handled things all those years.
But don't turn your back on this city, on this amazing opportunity, on this fantastic university, just because this is where I live.
We can work on things and keep talking.
We can not keep talking if your heart is not into it.
But just don't close any doors.
Not yet.
I'm not closing any doors.
And I'm not turning my back on the city.
Or NYU.
It's just Mom overnighted me this yesterday.
What's this? Columbia? You got accepted at Columbia? (LAUGHING) And another scholarship?! Baby, come here.
I am so proud of you.
This doesn't mean we're okay.
'Cause I'm coming back to see Columbia next month, and I need a place to stay.
And I find this car and driver very impressive.
I'll be sure to tell my boss.
(KNOCKING) BULL: Good afternoon.
I'm your wake-up call.
It's 4:30 in the afternoon.
Hi, Dr.
Bull.
You went behind my back once and ended up in jail.
Why on earth would you think it's a good idea to do it again? I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about.
You're a very bad liar, Cable.
It's actually one of your more endearing qualities.
You figured out how to recover Chloe Tomlin's text messages, didn't you? I told him not to tell you.
He didn't.
But you just did.
- You want to come back? - Yes.
- You want to think about it a minute? - No.
Nice pajamas.
I'll see you in the morning.
(LOCK BEEPS, CLICKS) (LOCK BEEPS, CLICKS) (BEEPING) Seven, six, one, six, three, nine, one, six.
Two, four, five, six, eight, seven, two, nine.
(EXHALES) MAN: Freeze! Don't move! Hey, boss.
I'm headed to the airport.
My daughter's flight gets in in less than an hour, so She's coming for her campus visit.
Okay, I'm gonna hop in a cab.
Be back this afternoon.
Got my cell if you need me.
Okay.
Hey, you want to take my car? Well, you want to impress Anna, don't you? You want her to be so impressed that she moves here in the fall so you can be a bigger part of her life? Take my car and driver.
It's very impressive.
Thank you, Dr.
Bull.
How are you guys doing, by the way? Me and Anna? Fine.
(CHUCKLES) Why? Well, for the first 18 years of her life, you were Uncle Chunk, Mom's best friend.
And then at Thanksgiving, you tell her you're actually her dad.
That's a lot to throw at an 18-year-old.
That's funny.
She's been really difficult to reach lately.
I figure she's just really busy with senior year stuff.
But I'm hoping once we actually get to spend some time together, be in the same place, things will things will get back to normal.
Your mom sent me the itinerary from your university, and since you don't have anything scheduled for tomorrow night, I made us a dinner reservation at a really cool Italian spot downtown.
7:00 p.
m.
That okay with you? Guess so.
And my offer still stands.
My place isn't a palace, but if you have any issues staying in the dorms, you know That's kind of the whole point, isn't it? It is.
I'm so proud of you.
So impressed.
So, what's first on your agenda today? I'm meeting with Chloe Tomlin.
Chloe Tomlin.
I know that name.
Maybe you've read her.
She's an investigative journalist for the New York Ledger.
She's also an adjunct professor here, and she's the one who recommended me - for the scholarship.
- (KNOCK ON DOOR) Uh, Ms.
Tomlin? I'm Anna Baker.
I'm a prospective freshman.
Okay.
Uh, you recommended me for the scholarship? And did you get it? Yes.
You're welcome.
W-We had an 11:00 a.
m.
I'm sorry.
I would have called to cancel, but they really do only give you one call from jail, and I used it to ask my editor to bail me out.
You were in jail? Sure was.
Probably should only discuss that with a lawyer, which I don't have and need to find and can't really afford.
Maybe you can help her, Dad.
I don't really have the authority to (SIGHS) Here you go.
Now, I'm not sure how my boss is gonna feel about your case.
I'm not sure how you're gonna feel about my boss.
But give me your card, and we'll see if we can at least put together a meeting.
I feel obliged to point out that you are flirting with an enormous liability risk here.
Quiet, you two.
Don't distract him.
Let the man do his work.
Seriously, this is how you conduct a job interview? Absolutely.
When I'm interviewing someone for a job I don't understand, asking him to do something I don't know how to do.
Okay.
Give it a try Dr.
Bull.
You sure? Ripley, double macchiato.
(MECHANICAL WHIRRING) (QUIET BUZZING) Ah.
Hmm.
Two shots.
Dab of milk.
Piping hot.
Mmm.
It's delicious.
Hire this man.
What'd you say your name was again, son? Isaiah.
I-I know it's a little unusual.
Oh, relax.
The woman you're replacing is named after wire, and we got a guy around here named after a kind of peanut butter.
You'll fit right in.
CHUNK: Dr.
Bull.
This is Chloe Tomlin, the young lady that I spoke to you about yesterday.
CHLOE: About six months ago, this woman let's call her Meg looked me up and told me a story about a date with a guy she met on Spark4U.
Mm.
Spark4U is the most popular dating app in all of North America.
What? That's just a known fact.
So, this woman Meg Meets this dude at a restaurant.
They have a few drinks, but she's not feeling it, so she decides to go.
The guy must have followed her out, because before she knows it, he has pushed her into an alley, and he's on top of her.
You can guess the rest.
So did she go to the police? Yes, but there wasn't much they could do.
The only information she had about her rapist was from the Spark4U app.
BULL: And let me guess.
The entire profile was fake.
Plus, the I.
P.
address he used to make it was public.
Turns out Spark4U's lauded security features do next to nothing to actually vet their users.
So the police never found the guy.
BULL: Okay.
Let's jump to the part where you break into their headquarters.
Turns out several of the women in Meg's online sexual assault survivors forum had also met their assailants on Spark4U.
So she broke into Spark4U to get proof so that she could publish her exposé.
How'd you know what you were looking for? Or where to find it? How'd you even get in? I had a source.
Someone inside the company; they sent me a key card and codes to access the file.
The irony is no one would have known I was there if the security protocol hadn't changed that afternoon.
Well, there's our defense: it's not burglary if someone with lawful authority gave her the key.
âOurâ? Does that mean you're taking my case? It'd be a real shame to let a little legal snafu derail such a promising career.
Especially when that career is I don't know cornerstone of any functional democracy.
Thank you, Dr.
Bull.
Thank you, Mr.
Palmer, and thank you, Mr.
Colón.
Can I see the paperwork from - your arraignment? - Yeah.
(RINGTONE PLAYING) Oh.
It's my editor.
May I? Yeah.
Hey, Tom.
Hey, uh, guys? I-I don't get this.
If Chloe's being charged with burglary, why is her arraignment in federal court? BAILIFF: The court calls Chloe Tomlin in the matter of United States v.
Chloe Tomlin.
AUSA Hartman.
She's tough, smart.
BULL: Who's Mr.
Skinny Tie? Garrett Gatewood.
He's the CEO of Spark4U.
Never trust a man in a skinny tie.
Ms.
Tomlin, you are charged with the burglary of Spark4U Enterprises Incorporated, as well as economic espionage and the theft of trade secrets.
How do you plead? I-I don't understand.
What does that mean? (SIGHS) They're accusing you of stealing proprietary technology.
The penalty for that is over 30 years in federal prison.
But I didn't do that.
That doesn't make any sense.
My client pleads not guilty, Your Honor.
Take a breath.
We'll figure this out.
Your Honor, because Ms.
Tomlin was apprehended with privileged company information, I'm requesting a gag order for the duration of trial.
Your Honor, my client is a journalist.
She has an article, and she has every right to publish it.
Prior restraint for fear of harm or libel to Spark4U is a direct violation of the First Amendment.
I hear your concerns, Counselor, but given the charges, I'm inclined to agree with the AUSA.
I'll grant the gag order.
I don't understand.
What just happened? You just lost the right to publish anything that has to do with Spark4U.
But th-they can't.
I gave those women my word.
I'll just publish it under a pseudonym or-or leak it someplace.
No, no, no, no, Chloe.
You can't do that.
Benny's right.
The only way your story sees the light of day now is if we win this case.
It's super basic, you know? Programming a drone to sync up to an espresso maker.
Good for him.
I'm glad somebody has a job.
Now I'm sorry I told you about it.
So, how's your job hunt going? (CHUCKLES) Who would have thunk it? Turns out an FBI arrest is a barrier to employment in the world of cybersecurity.
Go figure.
You know what I really miss about TAC? I mean, other than you guys.
The work really felt like it meant something.
ISAIAH: I don't get it.
If all she stole were client complaints and e-mails from the company saying how sorry they were and that they were working on the problem, what's all this encryption about? Exactly.
Bull is betting that once we have this decrypted, it'll prove that Chloe took this file for her story, not so she could sell trade secrets.
(COMPUTER CHIMING) Oops.
I don't get that this has anything to do with her story.
Wow.
What are we looking at? ISAIAH: Looks like in-app advertising.
Two people swipe and âspark,â and the app suggests nearby places for them to meet.
I get it.
These places pay to be featured.
It's some kind of new revenue stream.
And since it hasn't gone to market yet, it is definitely proprietary.
But what did Chloe want with it? I have no idea.
(ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES) I can't believe that the AUSA got the judge to agree to a closed courtroom, on top of the gag order.
You know, they're acting like Spark4U's âtrade secretâ" are the damn nuclear codes.
The worst part is closed court means empty gallery.
Empty gallery means no mirror jury.
We really need to nail this voir dire, 'cause once the trial starts, we'll be flying blind.
What about whistle-blowers? We cast Chloe's source at Spark4U and by extension, Chloe herself as a whistle-blower.
MARISSA: Excuse me, gentlemen.
I hate to interrupt, but I have bad news and worse news.
Go easy.
Let's start with the bad news first.
Isaiah and I have been through everything in the file that Chloe was apprehended with, and the contents in there can, in fact, reasonably be classified as trade secrets.
(SIGHS) Excellent.
What could be worse? None of it appears to have anything to do with Chloe's story.
Well, you were right.
That Chloe Tomlin is an impressive lady.
I did some prep with her this afternoon.
Smart, poised.
I bet we have her back at that school for you in no time.
Just promise me you'll never go on that Spark4U app.
Don't.
Don't what? Don't do that.
Don't try and act all dad-ish.
(CHUCKLES) Okay.
I wasn't.
And by the way, there's no âishâ about it.
I am your dad.
Yeah, well, you don't get to not be my dad for 18 years and then just turn it on now because I happen to be in the neighborhood.
Is that how you think it went down? What am I supposed to think? You were my mom's gay best friend for my whole life, and now suddenly you're my father? Look I get how it could be confusing.
It was confusing living through it.
And I know, at 17, 18, you think you know exactly who you are, but you don't, you just you don't.
Where your mother and I grew up, not being like everyone else was not even something I considered.
I was good at football.
And your mother, she was just like you.
Curious and wicked smart and so beautiful.
We really did love each other.
And then I got my scholarship, and your mother decided that she was gonna go to school close to home, just like a half a dozen other couples in high school.
I never knew she was pregnant.
She didn't tell me.
If I had known, I never would have left you both.
What I don't understand is, when you quit football, when you found out I was yours, why didn't you come back? You were in the first grade when I saw your birth certificate, when I did the math.
And by then, you and your mother, you had your own routine, your own way of Look, we talked about it.
We just didn't want to confuse you.
So we decided that I would stay in New York for work and be Uncle Chunk when I flew down every few months.
You decided.
It wasn't your decision to make.
Come on, Anna, you were six.
You know what? I really ought to be going.
Anna.
(SIGHS) (CHUCKLES) Coffee.
Black, one sugar.
Thanks.
When did I tell you how I take my coffee? You didn't.
I read that series you wrote about the rise of the coffee shop and the death of the neighborhood diner.
That was a long time ago.
Hmm, nonetheless, I see you sipping your coffee.
I've been reading a lot of your writing the past couple days.
You strike me as someone who's fairly pure of heart.
Okay.
So I need your help reconciling something.
If you went into Spark4U looking for proof that the company was trying to silence its victims, why were you caught with plans for an exclusive advertising feature, plans Spark4U's competitors would pay mightily for? What? That that's not possible.
That's not what I did.
Well, it may not have been what you intended, but we decrypted the files you stole, and that's what they contain.
I don't know.
Maybe I-I transposed some of the digits on the file number.
I memorized it really fast.
Or maybe they changed the filing system and my source didn't know.
Somewhere along the line, there must have been a mistake.
I'm a journalist, Dr.
Bull.
Why would I risk my career, my reputation, to steal tech I can't use and don't understand? I believe you.
Now we just have to find a jury that does, too.
BENNY: If you discovered your best friend's boyfriend or husband was cheating on her, - would you let her know? - That's a tricky question.
(CHUCKLES) Well those are the only ones worth asking.
What does that have to do with anything? It will help us predict how much a person values the truth over the possible consequences of reporting that truth.
WOMAN: Well, the problem with that is, that could really crush my friend.
Plus, it's not really my business, right? So you wouldn't tell her? We'd like to thank and excuse juror number one, Your Honor.
I got to tell him.
What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell him? You may think you know, but you don't know.
Unless you're in the bedroom with them, you don't know.
Some things, it's better not to know.
The truth is not always pretty.
MARISSA: That puts us down to our final strike, Bull, and I'm seeing two potential problems.
- Talk to me.
- Juror number 19, Steven Whitaker, 42.
He is a programmer who blogs about conspiracy theories.
And therefore distrusts the mainstream media.
But juror number four, Megan Palowski, happens to have met her husband on a dating app, so will likely be sympathetic towards Spark4U.
Last one.
What are you thinking, boss? Strike number four.
It's gonna be hard to get her to distrust Spark4U.
And maybe our conspiracy theorist will latch on to a corporate cover-up.
Your Honor, we move to strike juror number four.
Juror 19 is acceptable to the defense.
Juror four, you are excused.
And we have our jury.
That seems like it went well.
It went fine.
If I were speculating, I'd say half the jury's inclined to see things our way and half isn't.
But I suppose, when the system is doing what it's supposed to be doing, that is what you hope for.
The truth is, no matter what (SIGHS) we've got our work cut out for us.
HARTMAN: Mr.
Colón.
Dr.
Bull.
Fellas.
An updated witness list.
Only one change.
Who the hell is Jamal Bardsley? He's an old boyfriend; we broke up two years ago.
Why would they call him? Well, according to this interview transcript, he works for Spark4U's biggest competitor.
I had no idea.
I swear I haven't talked to the guy in two Christmases.
And back then, he worked for a telecom company.
Well, be that as it may, prosecution's gonna offer this up as proof that you had motive and means to benefit from stealing corporate secrets.
But that's not true, and Jamal is an honest guy.
He will tell them that on the stand.
Well, just because he says it doesn't mean the jury's gonna believe it.
How do we fix this? What do we do? Your source inside Spark4U.
That's the only person who can verify what you were really after and how you got in.
Look, I would share my correspondence with you, but we communicated through an app called ChatErase.
It automatically deletes messages once they've been viewed.
Then I need a name.
We need to put this person on the stand.
I don't have name.
They reached out to me anonymously.
They must have given you evidence to verify they were who they claimed to be within the company.
And if I can give that to my investigator, then she can No, Dr.
Bull.
My source could go to jail.
That person trusted me to protect them.
As a journalist, I am only as good as my word.
My career would be over if No.
I can't reveal my source to you.
Even it means spending the next 30 years in prison? Yes.
That is exactly what I mean.
You asked to see me, Dr.
Bull? What do you know about ChatErase? ChatErase? It's a ephemeral messaging app.
End-to-end encryption.
The messages self-destruct as soon as the recipient sees them.
Why do you ask? So they just disappear? There's really no record of them anywhere? The messages just vanish? Oh, well, it's the Internet.
I'm guessing there's a vestige of it somewhere, just not anywhere you would expect to find it.
So it is possible to locate them.
They're out there, somewhere.
Theoretically.
But the point of the technology is to make sure that doesn't happen.
You would have to be an amazing cyber sleuth to even begin Aren't you an amazing cyber sleuth? I need those messages our client exchanged with her source.
Dr.
Bull (SIGHS) I got to be honest Really? Why you? Why now? No one else is.
I need it done.
Go, Isaiah.
HARTMAN: Mr.
Hill, what is your relationship to the accused? HILL: I am, uh uh, was her editor at the New York Ledger.
When'd you stop working for him? I didn't know I had.
HARTMAN: Now, the defense is claiming that Ms.
Tomlin broke into Spark4U in pursuit of a story.
Is that something that your newspaper condones? Breaking into a private business and stealing its trade secrets? No.
That's why she's been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of this trial.
Is this the first you've heard of this? HARTMAN: Ms.
Tomlin is accused of stealing proprietary code.
Could you explain to all of us what that could possibly have to do with her alleged Spark4U exposé? Objection! Speculation.
Sustained.
Let me rephrase.
What was Ms.
Tomlin's story about? I-I actually never assigned Chloe a story about Spark4U.
- (SCOFFS) - And, uh, she never mentioned to me that she was interested in pursuing one on her own.
He's lying.
He's just lying.
We were gonna publish it three days ago.
I don't understand.
HARTMAN: So is it possible that she made the whole thing up as an excuse for committing this crime? - Objection! - Sustained.
Ms.
Hartman.
Withdrawn, Your Honor.
(SIGHS) BENNY: I don't need a mirror jury to know that this is killing us.
Chloe? Who are you? You don't understand.
I had no choice.
It came down from the masthead.
They threatened to lay off half the department.
Once this blows over Go to hell, Tom.
Wait a minute.
You're saying that the publishers of the New York Ledger told you to perjure yourself? I'm not saying anything of the kind.
BULL: As I recall, one of the owners of the Ledger made his fortune in tech startups and apps.
I have no idea.
I just work there.
Ah, money the enemy of truth.
Ah, truth.
Yes, I remember truth.
It existed a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Come on, Yoda.
Let's head back to the office.
I'm sorry, sir.
Perhaps you didn't hear me.
I announced last call an hour ago.
Leave me alone.
I'm pondering.
I'm sure you are, but friends don't let friends ponder drunk.
Hmm.
God, the world stinks.
Her boss actually got on the stand and told a boldface lie, sold her right down the river, then went to Chloe and admitted it.
I don't know which was worse watching him ruin her life under oath, or watching him crush her spirit with the truth, 'cause he thought that'd make it all better.
I don't know what to do for this girl.
I mean, she won't tell me her source.
The people she works for won't stand up for her.
It's like that movie with George Clooney, the one where he's on a boat and everything that can go wrong - The Perfect Storm? - Right.
Except I can't decide if I'm George Clooney or Mark Wahlberg.
I just had a crazy thought.
Ooh.
I love crazy thoughts.
This closed courtroom is making me nuts.
No mirror jurors, no way for me to help.
But then it occurred to me, if the courtroom is really closed, maybe the victims that reached out to Chloe would be willing to testify on her behalf.
I know they're embarrassed about what happened to them.
I'm sure they'd rather stay anonymous, but under the circumstances, maybe they would be willing to talk about how they went to her to help try and expose this thing.
Young lady, has anyone ever called you a genius? (CHUCKLES): No.
I don't think so.
Well, wait till it happens.
You'll see.
It's a great feeling.
And that is a terrific idea.
Jury keeps looking at Chloe as a criminal 'cause we can't get anyone to testify otherwise.
But if the jury gets a look at who she was really fighting for, we got a shot at changing their minds.
You're a genius.
Man, that feels great.
I'm gonna make some calls and see if I can round up some of the girls.
Now that I know you're not closing the place up, I'm gonna do some more pondering.
See how that worked out? (DOORBELL BUZZING) It's 2:00 in the morning.
Why do you keep ringing my buzzer? I'm sorry.
My name is Isaiah.
You don't know me, but I'm the guy who got your job at TAC, and I really need your help.
You the flying coffee guy? You know what a cheap trick that is, right? Is that Chloe's laptop? All right, give me a second.
Near as I can figure, there are two ways we can do this.
One is to find the ChatErase encryption key on Chloe's computer.
The other is to locate a covert third-party app that spies on ChatErase in the hopes of profiting from leaking secrets.
One has to exist.
We just have to find it.
That's I hadn't thought of that.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY) You know if this works, I'll tell Dr.
Bull it was you.
The hell you will.
Do you know how many people use that Spark4U app every day? No.
16 million.
That's 16 million people every day who might be setting up a date with someone who's going to hurt them.
So you will not tell Dr.
Bull it was me, okay? I don't want him to miss the message because he's mad at the messenger.
Just too important.
BRIDGET: At a certain point, I just stopped fighting, 'cause he was bigger than me.
It was like I was floating above myself, like I wasn't even there.
And when the assault was over, did you go to the police? No.
Probably should have.
But I couldn't think.
I just wanted him off me.
Wanted it done.
(SIGHS) I ran home.
Took a shower.
Hottest shower.
I got in bed, I crawled under the covers.
I just wanted to die.
Your Honor, I would be remiss if I didn't object on relevance.
Sit down, Ms.
Hartman.
You may continue.
BRIDGET: That's it really.
By the time I went to the police, his profile was off the app.
And the people at Spark4U claimed they had no way of finding him.
There wasn't much anybody could do.
And that's when you decided to seek Ms.
Tomlin, - the defendant? - BRIDGET: Yes.
Um, I had heard from another girl that she was writing an article on Spark4U about the people who use the app, and about how the company was turning a blind eye to the assaults, so I thought, âI have to share this.
â And this was after you approached the company? Well, after the police approached the company, after the police hit a dead end.
And after I talked to Ms.
Tomlin, I took one more shot.
I personally went to Spark4U for help.
But they didn't seem very interested.
They just wanted my word that I would stop going online onto the victims' forums, and that I would stop talking to Ms.
Tomlin.
How do you mean? Um I know that signing a nondisclosure agreement means you can't discuss certain things, but am I allowed to discuss the NDA itself? Objection, Your Honor! BENNY: Are you testifying that - Spark4U had you sign an NDA? - Your Honor? - In return for what? - Your Honor! They paid me.
(JURORS MURMURING) Marissa, I ever tell you you're a genius? Oh, wait.
That's right.
You're not here.
HARTMAN: Objection! Your Honor, I request to be heard.
Order! Counsel, sidebar.
Your Honor, Bridget Means signed a binding nondisclosure agreement as part of a settlement with Spark4U.
Now, however much this might frustrate the defense, she is not legally allowed to discuss her dealings with the company.
Your Honor, this is a criminal proceeding.
Any civil contract should be voided if it's preventing the court from hearing the truth.
All well and good, Mr.
Colón, but the witness's dealings with the company are not on trial at the moment.
BULL: No, but they are material in explaining our client's actions.
Your Honor, this NDA was meant to protect Spark4U from defamation.
This courtroom is closed at Spark4U's request.
Bridget Means's testimony is not public, and therefore can't harm the company.
Dr.
Bull makes a very good point.
I will allow testimony.
The witness may discuss her settlement and other dealings with Spark4U.
BENNY: Good day.
Important day.
Her idea.
Oh, shucks.
You're making me blush.
Well, stop blushing.
We're not there yet.
Bridget's testimony was helpful, but it doesn't disprove the prosecutor's version of events that Chloe broke into their place of business to steal proprietary information.
ISAIAH: Dr.
Bull? (SIGHS) Uh, sorry to interrupt, but I had a kind of breakthrough.
These are the printouts of Chloe's text messages with her anonymous source.
You got them? MARISSA: Well, how? I thought you said it was impossible.
Uh, I don't know what to tell you.
I really thought it couldn't be done, either.
Turns out I was wrong.
Well, this is great.
All right.
Introduce them into evidence tomorrow.
This will support our theory that Chloe didn't break in, someone from Spark4U let her in.
Well, actually, that's not true, either.
- What do you mean? - I mean, her source wasn't someone inside Spark4U; it was someone with a computer registered to a company called GoldLark.
GoldLark? They're a private security firm.
Paramilitary, spies, fixers.
Why would a whistle-blower from Spark4U hire a private security firm to leak information? They wouldn't.
Doesn't make sense.
But what does make sense What if Chloe's source wasn't a source? What if Spark4U got wind of Chloe's story and hired a fixer from GoldLark to impersonate a concerned whistle-blower to entrap her, ensure she was caught with trade secrets so they could get a gag order and lock her up, keep the story from ever seeing the light of day? Wow, that is really dark.
What kind of a mind thinks that way? Well, I just did.
So they set her up? Looks that way.
And now it's our job to knock 'em down.
We were able to track the messages from GoldLark to a woman named Jessa Northrop.
She's ex-CIA.
Now she works as a fixer.
My guess is, after she delivered the key card, she had Spark4U change the security protocols so you'd get caught.
So, the numbers were never for the files I wanted.
They were always gonna lead me to data that was gonna make it look like I was there to steal ideas.
How did I let this happen? I vetted that source for weeks.
What did I miss? Maybe nothing.
Maybe it was next to impossible.
I mean, my team barely detected the ruse.
And this Jessa Northrop person was clearly being fed real information from someone within the company.
They were willing to throw me in jail to shut me up? The good news is we got a subpoena for Jessa Northrop.
And I'm hoping, after she testifies, the jury will start to see that this wasn't about a crime you committed.
It was about a cover-up you were trying to expose.
BENNY: Ms.
Northrop, do you work for the private security firm, GoldLark? I do.
Does GoldLark contract out to private companies in all manner of investigative and intelligence work, covert and otherwise? Yes.
And can you confirm for me that Spark4U Enterprises has contracted with GoldLark in the past? I can't speak to the past.
I only began working there six months ago.
In the time that you have worked at GoldLark, has Spark4U hired you to do a job for them? Your Honor, I'd like to exercise my Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
Ask another question, Mr.
Colón.
BENNY: Ms.
Northrop, did Spark4U hire you to impersonate an employee and reach out to my client, Chloe Tomlin, and convince her to break into Spark4U? I plead the Fifth.
Is it your intention, ma'am, to take the Fifth on all further questioning? It is.
Then you're excused.
(SIGHS HEAVILY) We were so close.
We got her on the stand.
The jury knows she's guilty of something.
They just don't know what.
Unless we can find a way to prove that Chloe was set up, to explain what really happened, all we'll have is a jury filled with a lot of doubt and confusion.
And doubts and confusion won't keep Chloe out of jail.
So, I had a crazy thought.
- Another one? - I just keep thinking about that key card.
The one that Chloe used to get into Spark4U.
- What about it? - Well, if her source wasn't an actual Spark4U employee, how did this fixer get the card? Someone had to give it to her, right? Someone from inside the company.
Marissa.
Anyone ever told you you're a genius? No.
Never.
Not once.
Not ever.
Do you solemnly swear or affirm Like I told you, never trust a man in a skinny tie.
- to the best of your knowledge? - I do.
Mr.
Gatewood.
So, you are the founder and CEO of Spark4U, the dating app? - Yes, I am.
- If I may ask, what's your company worth at the moment? In round numbers.
- In round numbers? - Mm-hmm.
Our IPO last year was valued at approximately $3.
3 billion.
Wow.
(CHUCKLES) Who-who knew that matchmaking could be so lucrative, huh? Please keep your musings to yourself, Mr.
Colón.
I apologize, Your Honor.
Now, Mr.
Gatewood, did you know that the defendant, Chloe Tomlin, was working on a story about the alleged cover-up regarding your company's response to sexual assaults? I did not, but I can assure you that we take all such incidents very seriously.
The safety of our users is the company's primary concern.
That's very admirable.
Mr.
Gatewood, is it true that your assistant had a new key card made for you on the day that Ms.
Tomlin allegedly broke into Spark4U? I don't remember the exact date, but I do recall losing my security card around that time and needing another one made, yes.
So, presumably, you've been using this replacement card to get into your office for the last several weeks, is that correct? I would assume so.
I mean, my key card is not something I pay a lot of attention to.
It's a simple question, Mr.
Gatewood.
Yes or no? Answer the question, Mr.
Gatewood.
No.
I lost the replacement card you're referring to as well.
On the very day I got it, as a matter of fact.
That's interesting.
Because your security department records indicate that no additional key cards were made for you since the day of the break-in.
So, if you lost your replacement card, then how are you getting into the building? I've been using my assistant's card.
Then how has he or she been getting into the building? I see you're struggling with this, Mr.
Gatewood.
Let me give you a hand.
Is it possible that you never actually lost your key card? That this replacement card you had made was so that you'd have one to give to Jessa Northrop? Objection! Your Honor, argumentative.
Speculative.
And the defense is badgering the witness.
- So she'd have one - Mr.
Colón! to deliver to my client, - who thought - Mr.
Colón! She was a whistle-blower, when, in fact, this was all a plan to incriminate her - so she could never publish - Mr.
Colón! - Her damning story about your company? - (GAVEL BANGS) Mr.
Colón! I will have order.
Mr.
Colón, you are dangerously close to being in contempt.
Ms.
Hartman's objections are sustained.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are to disregard the defense's assertions.
(QUIETLY): 'Cause that works.
This is normally the time I ask Marissa back in TAC what the jury is telling us, but Stevie Wonder could read this jury.
We, the jury, find the accused, Chloe Tomlin, not guilty on all counts.
Oh.
(EXHALES) Thank you.
I can't thank you enough.
(CHUCKLES) I know I talk a big game, but I was terrified of prison.
(CHUCKLES) Glad we could help.
How do I ever make this up to you? How do I ever repay you? You publish that article, someplace you feel good about, someplace that feels good about you, and then you write a few thousand more.
Deal.
(CHUCKLES) (SIGHS) There she is.
Hey.
I was reading about everything.
It's pretty exciting, huh? Thanks for making it happen.
You're welcome.
Actually, I think Chloe has you to thank more than anyone.
If it weren't for you, TAC would have never gotten involved.
I don't know.
Oh, I do.
Besides, if you end up deciding to go to NYU, I think you're staring at an âAâ in her class.
(LAUGHS) Yeah, well, I haven't made a decision yet.
Listen, I get it.
I know you're angry.
And I'm sorry about that.
I know you don't agree with the way your mother and I handled things all those years.
But don't turn your back on this city, on this amazing opportunity, on this fantastic university, just because this is where I live.
We can work on things and keep talking.
We can not keep talking if your heart is not into it.
But just don't close any doors.
Not yet.
I'm not closing any doors.
And I'm not turning my back on the city.
Or NYU.
It's just Mom overnighted me this yesterday.
What's this? Columbia? You got accepted at Columbia? (LAUGHING) And another scholarship?! Baby, come here.
I am so proud of you.
This doesn't mean we're okay.
'Cause I'm coming back to see Columbia next month, and I need a place to stay.
And I find this car and driver very impressive.
I'll be sure to tell my boss.
(KNOCKING) BULL: Good afternoon.
I'm your wake-up call.
It's 4:30 in the afternoon.
Hi, Dr.
Bull.
You went behind my back once and ended up in jail.
Why on earth would you think it's a good idea to do it again? I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about.
You're a very bad liar, Cable.
It's actually one of your more endearing qualities.
You figured out how to recover Chloe Tomlin's text messages, didn't you? I told him not to tell you.
He didn't.
But you just did.
- You want to come back? - Yes.
- You want to think about it a minute? - No.
Nice pajamas.
I'll see you in the morning.