All language subtitles for Numb3rs.S05E02.720p.AMZN.WEBRip.x264-GalaxyTV_Subtitles03

*

* I'm walking
on the southern street *

* Cut to the river
'fore I run too low *

* I'm walking
on the southern street *

* Cut to the river
'fore I run too low *

* Old gypsy woman spoke to me

* Said, "You're a wolf, boy,
get out of this town" *

* Old gypsy woman spoke to me

* Said, "You're a wolf, boy,
get out of this town" *

* "You're a wolf, boy,
get out of this town" *

(gunshots, screaming)

*"You're a wolf, boy, get out of
this town" *

* "You're a wolf."

So, wideband

mixer-circulator
retro-reflector.

Obviously not.

Obviously.

How about
ternary computing?

- Nah.
- No.

Nanometer fabrication using
sacrificial spacer layers.

- Nah...
- You've got to be kidding me.

Nanometer fabrication!

Hey, nobody kids
about nanometer fabrication.

(laughs) You guys still
going through

Cal Sci's consulting projects?

Oh, yeah.

My NSA clearance
is suspended,

so, all really get to
do now is... look.

My next paper's going
to be titled

"Our Friend the Triangle."

Actually, John Conway
and Steven Sigur

already wrote a great book
about that subject.

LARRY:
You know, it is surprising

to see how much of our work
actually intersects

with top-secret
government research.

You know, Cal Sci
has even limited

his access to the
supercomputers.

ALAN:
Am I going to sound too much

like your father, Charlie,
when I suggest that, um,

after time for principle,

there be occasion
for a strategic,

insincere apology?

I wish it were that simple, Dad.

I... I have to petition to get
my security clearance back.

Step one of that

is an interview
tomorrow at the FBI,

with someone called
a security officer.

AMITA: Charlie, you do have a
connection

or two at the FBI.

I don't want
to drag Don into this one.

The facts are on my side.

None of the information
I sent to Pakistan was a threat

to national security.

ALAN: Listen, Charlie, when
you're dealing

with the government,
it doesn't hurt

to have more than just the facts
on your side.

(siren whooping,
indistinct chatter)

What do you say, Nikki?

Alice DeMaire, 33.

An I.T. worker at a small day
trader office off Figueroa.

Two in the back--
a .38 or a nine.

Oh, yeah? The lab boys
been here?

No, but I know
bullet holes.

Yeah, perp was described
as male, white, 30s,

dark suit and
sunglasses.

Fled in a brown truck.

And the witnesses say, a
flower truck, bread truck.

You know, like that.

So it was stolen, right?

Unless we're looking at
a gang of rogue bakers.

ATM is this way.

NIKKI: You know you're not in
East L.A. when $20 bills

hit the ground
and stay there.

What do you
say, Colb?

This is our best photo
of the shooter.

He slid back
in line twice.

Staying out
of camera?

This guy might have known
where to stand,

but he wasn't so careful
about where he ran.

Parking garage right here

has a camera pointed
toward the street.

Give that to LAPD?

- Yeah, ten minutes ago.
- NIKKI: New guy question.

But what are we
doing here?

I mean, this seems
like a straight-up LAPD shoot.

DON: You got a woman who's

kidnapped 23 hours ago,
and her husband was told

to make sure he has $3,000

in his bank account.

DAVID: They're called express
kidnappings.

I saw a few of them when
I was stationed in Tel Aviv.

People are grabbed
off the street, and held

for a couple of days;
they're forced

to drain their bank account
before they're released.

(phone rings)
Our victims' families

are scared,

but the dollar amounts
are so small,

they pay up, and, uh,
report it after the fact.

It's the fifth
in seven weeks,

and they're all middle income
working women,

raped, assaulted,
and then dumped off.

It's the first time
they've killed.

First time anyone ran.

NIKKI: You run from somebody
with a gun,

maybe you figure
they're going to use it anyway.

New guy,
you're with me.

Why do I have a feeling
that's going to stick?

A male, white,
NFD dumped the truck.

A gray four-door
picked him up and took off.

Where'd they see it from?

Far side of the roof.

Hence the "no
further description."

Firemen found evidence
of a Molotov in the cabin.

Another new guy question.

Yeah.
How bad are the bad guys

that kill their own partner
for screwing up?

NIKKI: Joey Herman-- frequent
flyer

with the California
Department of Corrections.

Discharged from
Chino last May

after a three-year bid for
hitting a jewelry exchange.

Guy's a high-end thief,
but no mastermind.

Might explain the bullet
in the head.

It matches the Suspect Three
description and composite sketch

the other victims gave us.

Only three more to go.

Whoever was on the other side
of the gun knows their business.

Lab says the inside of the van
was washed down

with bleach
before it was torched,

so, whatever
forensic evidence

we do recover
probably won't work for us

until after we catch them.

All right, in
five robberies,

these guys have pulled
down less than 20 grand.

Kidnapping, two homicides--
that's a lot of exposure

for not a lot of money.

In East L.A., people get stabbed
over a six-pack.

COLBY: Yeah, but this isn't East
L.A.,

and these guys aren't meth heads
on a tear.

M.O. says it's a serious crew.

DAVID:
These express kidnappings--

they make sense
south of the border,

or in Third World countries

where a little
bit of money's

gonna take you
far, but, uh,

nobody moves
from six-figure jewelry hits

to low-take thugging
for no reason.

We're missing some pieces.

But a guy like this--

there's always an ex-cellmate

or a known associate

somewhere in the picture.

Yeah-- it sounds like
a lot of grunt work.

Yes, it does.

I wonder
who's gonna get stuck with that.

DAVID:
It'd probably be

a seniority thing, I think.

Hmm.

That's going to get old fast.

Yeah, maybe for you it will.

MAN (on TV):
The facts of the shooting

are still
under investigation

at this point in time,

but it appears
to be connected to...

Hey, hey, I'm glad
you're here.

So, I'm watching the news
here, and I see these...

I mean, is this your case?

DON:
Yeah.

I know you can't
talk about it.

Just what you see there.

It occurred to me--

and-and, you know,
it's just an idle thought--

that a point-by-point

analysis, using the math

that I've already
refined for you guys...

You just plug that data in

and-and run with it.

- Yeah, we're already on that.
- You are?

- Mm-hmm.
- Good.

I mean, they aren't
leaving us much.

We're gonna have to get
them on the street.

Doesn't that mean
that you're waiting

- for another victim?
- Or a decoy.

I mean, we could put ten,
20, 30 women out there.

See if maybe they pick one up.

You know, in marketing,

there's something called
the decoy effect.

It's like when
you went out

to buy that watch
you got on there.

You had a choice between
a more expensive,

higher-end, waterproof,

scratch-resistant watch
with a tachometer,

and a less expensive watch
that does nothing but tell time.

And you made your choice

by how you balance function
and cost.

But let's say, a third watch
is put on the market.

More expensive,
but no tachometer.

Most buyers will gravitate
toward the original,

higher-end product, regardless
of their prior preference.

So, that third watch
is the decoy.

It exists solely

to steer buyers to
the bigger sale.

And that's called asymmetric
dominance.

So, how...?

Well, you can't just put
targets out on the street

that you want
kidnappers to attack.

You can create conditions
that make them more desirable.

A distribution
of police patrols,

inspection points--

I mean, this is stuff you
would normally do anyway,

except funneled through a series
of algorithmic...

You think it's something
Larry or Amita could do?

Well, yeah. No, sure. I...

Sure. Larry and Amita
are very, highly skilled...

I just... I'm just saying
that I could come up

with some very loose expressions

and give them a push
in the right direction.

Hey, so, what do you know

about this FBI
Security Officer,

uh, McGowan?

Carl?

Yeah, Carl McGowan.

He's tough, but-but he's fair.

More tough, more fair?

(sighs)

You know, you'll be fine.

That's not an answer.

(phone ringing)

Yeah.

Eppes.

We put out a five-county alert

for any missing persons reports
that match our victim profile.

I started with today's,
figuring these guys

don't snatch more
than one vic at a time.

(computer chirps)

Popped Janet Gerber,

office manager at an HMO
in Hollywood.

Left her job at 4:30,
reported missing at 8:00.

That's pretty fast.

News has everyone on edge.

She is right in the sweet spot
of our profile.

Female, 25, middle income.

- Still...
- Yeah, I wouldn't have

dragged you back here

in the middle of the night
if there wasn't more.

Oh, damn.

Their M.O. holds up,

they'll dump the van, switch

to a delivery truck again.

Right, sure. Blends in more,
easier to control, or...

I'm thinking,
press conference, right?

Put her face on the news.

Maybe these guys get rattled,
let her go.

Only when things went bad
before,

that's exactly
what they didn't do.

What am I looking for?

Credit card bills,
bank statements--

anything that might
help us track her.

She's never home past 6:00.

But when I called the police,
I was hoping...

Then they told me
they'd kill her if I called you,

but I already had.

They're going to tell you
what helps them,

not what's going to help Janet.

You did the right thing.

(crying):
Janet isn't reckless.

She's careful
about where she goes.

She pays attention
to everything around her.

(sniffles)

If they can just grab you
off the street,

no rhyme or reason...

(sniffles)

...how do you protect yourself
from that?

The woman on the TV--
they killed her.

The ones before--

they beat them,

they raped them.

We're going to do everything
in our power

to bring Janet back here safely.

Hey, guys, thanks
for stepping up here, huh?

Yeah, well, we're still
getting up to speed.

Um, asymmetric dominance
is pretty basic stuff.

Yeah, but Charlie's
applications of it

are anything
but basic.

DON: Well, we're in the middle
of a kidnapping right now,

so it may end up being
for nothing, but thanks.

AMITA: All right. I would remind
you

that the planet known
as rho-1 Cancri e

was discovered
purely by accident,

when scientists were modeling
the motion of its home star.

What?

There is no wasted work.

Right.

Nikki, what do we got?

Uh, the National Bank Network
gave us access to SPIDER--

a tracking program
for ATM usage

that they use to detect fraud.

Almost every ATM in the country
is on the system.

It provides real-time
transactions

at 400,000 cash machines

nationwide--
check this out.

It even shows
how much cash

is available
in any machine

at any one time,
and that's how they know

when they have
to be refilled.

Okay, so...

Every time you use an ATM card,
SPIDER calls the bank

to make sure you have
enough cash available.

We have three hits already
on Janet Gerber's cards.

Here, here, and here.

The last one was two hours ago.

You get units in there?

I notified LAPD.

Colby and David
are cruising the area.

Do we have any shots of her?

We're running
facial recognition

for the other customers.

Oh, what's that?

Right there.

Staying just outside
of camera range.

That's the guy.

We got a hit.

Someone's using
one of her cards at...

COLBY:
It's Fifth and Alameda.

(engine revving,
tires screeching)

COLBY:
In one piece, please.

Hey, you know the rule:
you complain, you drive.

Too late?

Unless that's him.

Doesn't look like any
of these sketches.

Do they ever?

DAVID: That matches the
description

of the kidnapper's van.

(engine roaring,
tires screeching)

(tires screeching)

(tires screeching)

(horn honking,
tires screeching)

Hey, look out!

(tires screeching)

FBI!

Stay in the truck!

Yeah, I didn't see him.

(panting)

He's pretty damned dead.

Van's empty.

That leaves two at large.

And they still
have Janet Gerber.

WOMAN: I've already told you
everything

that I remember.

There have been new
developments, Ms. Mooney.

We've got another victim
out there.

I'm sorry.

I've been trying
to forget what happened.

This one.

He'd get out of the van with me

when they told me
to get money.

He had a gun.

He didn't...

he wasn't a part
of the rest of it.

You recognize anyone else?

No.

You're sure?

I spent 38 hours with those...

Yes, I'm sure.

NIKKI: In the report, you said
there

was a fourth man,
one they met in the parking lot?

He just talked to them
for a few minutes,

and then he left.

They called someone
every few hours after that.

I got the sense
that it was him.

What did they talk about?

Which banks to go to, maybe.

I think... I...
I don't remember.

They had me on the floor
most of the time.

This woman,
the one that they have now...

We're gonna do everything
we can to get her back safe.

NIKKI:
Zack Talling.

He was in County
on a drug charge,

during three
of the five kidnappings.

DON: Okay, so they do Herman for
screwing up,

and then they bring in Talling.

NIKKI: The minivan was scrubbed
clean,

and we figure Talling
was supposed to dump it.

He decided to stop
and buy a case instead.

He pockets one
of Janet Gerber's ATM cards,

decides to skim
a little cash for himself.

Definitely hit the
discount rack with Talling.

Liquor stores, carjackings...

There's no
more activity

- on her other cards?
- No, they've gone cold.

When Talling doesn't come back,
they gotta be nervous.

They should have closed up shop
when they lost Herman.

Herman didn't participate
in the rapes.

Maybe he was the alpha dog,
then they turned on him.

That's the alpha.

He doesn't ride with them,

he tells them where to go,
he tells them what ATMs to hit.

And he doesn't care
what his guys do

to the women,
but he's meticulous enough

to scrub down
the evidence.

He makes
their ransom calls

from burner phones,
kills off his weak link.

So why is this
professional

pulling high exposure
for pocket change?

They don't even max out
the withdrawals.

It's all these
weird amounts--

$420, $340.

Best guy to answer
a strange digit question...

Can't do that.

Okay.

(knocking on door)

Agent McGowan?

Have a seat, Professor.

So, um...

Just a second.

You didn't bring
an attorney with you?

I didn't realize I needed one.

All the charges were dropped.

To avoid a black eye, I know.

Black eye?

An FBI consultant
sends classified

and potentially
dangerous information

to an unauthorized
foreign group.

I assume that a multiple Ph.D.

can infer the potential
for embarrassment.

That information
was for growing crops.

An embarrassment
to the Bureau,

the United States
Government,

and to your brother.

- My brother...
- He probably committed

a slow-acting career suicide

the day he brought you in
to work on that first case.

But that's on him.

You know, I get the impression

that your mind
is already made up.

The FBI's guidelines
very specifically prohibit me

from applying my personal
opinion to the review

of a suspended
security clearance.

And I wouldn't
be so unprofessional

as to ignore agency guidelines.

You know, I've given
a lot of my time

and work to the FBI.

But that isn't
why you're here, is it?

You're here because a loss
of clearance

keeps you from making money

off some big government
research projects.

Just saying that betrays
how little you know about me.

Maybe not yet,
but I'm going to.

Your life's going
to become transparent to me.

I'm going to ask you
about things you're going

to think I have no
business asking you about.

And given the slenderness
of the thread

on which your professional
future hangs,

it will behoove you
to answer every one of them

completely and honestly.

Then I will talk to my lawyer.

(indistinct radio communication)

Hey.

Couple of homeless guys

were doing
their weekly scrounge.

We didn't get her home.

One bullet
to the back of the head.

No signs of assault,
no indications of rape.

They were trying to get
rid of her in a hurry.

They're getting sloppier.

And more violent.

Check this out.

Techs say these and these
are fresh.

Two sets.

They dump one truck,
have a backup ready.

They're not done.

Using asymmetric dominance,

we built a consideration set
on the framework

of the prior abductions,

and then we filtered
all of that

through a very powerful
regression analysis.

What?

You'll say that
for about three or four months,

then learn
to go along with it.

AMITA:
Let's call it decoy math.

It's a way of building
optimal conditions

for an off-the-street
kidnapping

by the strategic placement
of not only the decoy,

but of additional
police patrols and checkpoints.

We begin with
the police patrols

and the presumed boundaries

created
by those patrols,

and then we factor in
all of this publicity

surrounding
the kidnappings,

and then we can factor
all of that

onto the target pool.

Most women
are being more careful now.

So, the red zones
are optimal,

with the orange zones
as secondary targets.

And all of this presupposes
that you will be following

our methods of shaping
these target zones:

disabling street lights
to create darkened conditions

and diverting traffic

to isolate
certain streets...

Yeah, but you got
like 50 places there.

Uh, no, we... actually 43.

You got a favorite?

A favorite?

No, but I tell you what.

I would incorporate,
in any distribution,

the corner
of Wilshire and Grand.

That's based on...?

A hunch, I guess.

Guess I'm on the corner
of Wilshire and Grand.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, who
said you're anywhere?

You need 43 decoys.

There more than 42
other female 20s agents

hanging around the office?

(sighs)

CHARLIE: You see it in academia
all the time.

A petty bureaucrat mired

in 20 or 30 years
of mindless habit,

an axe to grind.

And that axe is what, exactly?

Any non-traditional
investigative technique

or any alternative
point of view.

Who the hell knows?
Who the hell cares?

Well, you should,
you should care.

What did your lawyer
have to say?

Same thing as McGowan,

in that I have no real option
but to cooperate.

He's gonna go
through the motions,

but he's already
closed the book on me.

Well, even if
that's true,

you have to fight it
as if it isn't.

Yeah, you know what he said?

You know what he said?

Actually,
he pretty clearly implied

that I'd ruined Don's career.

What does Don have to say
about that?

I don't know, I haven't talked
to him about it yet.

Besides, you know, he'll just
grunt and change the subject.

When I sent that research
to Pakistan,

I was well aware of what it
might do to my future.

I didn't stop to think
of what it would do to Don's.

Not really.

Hey.

You got to love
that federal budget.

LAPD Comtecs are the size
of a small brick.

That's right,
you're in the majors now.

(chuckling)

Look, you know
all that "new guy" stuff's

- just part of...
- Being the new guy?

Yeah.

It's when they stop
busting your ass,

that's when you really
better start worrying.

Nah, I'm not sweating it.

I... I was just out
of Quantico,

and they sent me
to Detroit.

Right? So I gotta answer
phones for three weeks,

which felt
like three months.

One day, they...

they're shorthanded,
so they sent me out

on this no-knock warrant
to these biker outlaws, right?

The Ugly Bastards.

I, uh, volunteered
to take point.

Yeah? So how'd that
work out for you?

I got my ass handed
to me pretty damn good.

I was right back on the phones.

Wild guess-- there's a point
in there somewhere?

You got a long career here
hopefully, so, you know,

you don't have to prove
everything in the first month.

My straight out of the Academy?

Some Parker Center genius

decides to dump me
in Knickerson Gardens,

doing buy and busts.

You know, he figured fresh face,
no cop habits--

I'd be the perfect undercover.

Never mind that
I hadn't learned

to find my ass
with both hands yet, you know.

Day five, citizen named
Latwan Rivers

sticks a .22 in my face.

Tries to stick
something else somewhere else.

After medical leave,
psych evaluation,

and a piece of paper that has me
promising not to sue the city

- for stupidity.
- Ah.

they offer me
any assignment I want.

Next day, I'm back
in Knickerson Gardens

doing buy and busts.

This is a wild guess-- is there
some point there somewhere?

Yeah, I know there're a lot
of answering phones

and DMV checks
in my immediate future.

You give me a chance
to get dirty, I'm there.

All right, noted.

MAN (over radio):
Decoy Nine, we're turning

the starting point.

Decoy 18 heading north
on Euclid.

DAVID (over radio):
Decoy Five taking another pass.

(softly):
And around the block again.

You can back off
a little, guys.

You're ghosting me
a little tight.

All right, thanks
for that, new guy.

- Aw, you know how it is.
- Yeah.

I know Betancourt can notch it
back a little bit.

Right, 'cause it was

somebody else who nearly
got me shot his second week

showing tough
to a Vietnamese biker gang?

Decoy Five is moving south

- on Grand.
- DON: Hey, Billy,

you better
tell Hollywood patrol

to back off another block,
all right?

And Joan, have 14 slow down
on the next pass.

- Okay. Hey, 14?
- Copy that.

Guys, I think we got a bite.

(typing rapidly)

(beeping)
Plates come back

to a Volkswagen Beetle.

COLBY:
So what do you think?

I say we take that right.

Not a sound.
(grunts)

Get into the van,
you might get out again.

We have a hit; we're on.

Five is active.
I repeat, Five is active.

I want units rolling to Broadway
and Ninth, await further.

Get me eyes and ears.

MAN: Down on the floor!
You do not look up!

NIKKI:
I'm not going to fight.

Keep your mouth shut!

Take whatever you want (grunts).

I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I'm scared!

There're two of you. You have a
gun.

You deaf, bitch?

Hear that, everyone?
Two in the truck.

Surveillance Five,
what's her distress word?

Mexico.

You gave her our
distress word?

DAVID:
Truck's pulling over.

(door opens and closes)

- One and Two.
- We have visual

confirmation
on Suspects One and Two.

AGENT:
S.O.G. Eight is two blocks away.

S.O.G. 22 is four.

All right, everyone stand by.

MAN 2: Lisa Hillman,
2527 Tujunga Ave--

818-555-0189.

(over radio):
460,

340, 280,

480, 120.

(truck engine starts)

DAVID (over radio):
We're moving.

All right, you better break off
and run parallel.

Got it.

And Eight,
pick it up at Grand.

AGENT (over radio):
S.O.G. Eight, we've picked up

the subject.

(phone ringing)

Quiet, everyone.

Hello?

MAN (distorted):
We have your wife.

Lisa Hillman, driver's license
V72533849.

(normal voice):
Don't do anything stupid,

we drop her off
in 12 to 15 hours.

Can I...
let me talk to her.

(distorted): Being stupid would
be calling the police,

(normal):
canceling all her credit cards.

Just make sure there's $5,000

(distorted): in all three of
your bank accounts.

$5,000? I don't have that

kind of money.
Please let me talk to her.

(beeping)

Disposable phone, calling
from a two-mile tower zone

in West Los Angeles.

All right, push the three
nearest units in that direction.

And Five, you copy that?

Affirmative.
You're hoping they lead us

to the alpha.

Right, unless Nikki
calls it off.

(engine roaring)

(brakes squeaking)

MAN: You are going to go take
out $460.

You are going to walk back
to this truck.

You are not
going to talk to anyone.

- $460...
- You are not going to make

eye contact with anyone.

Nod yes.

Get up. Get up!

Have you tried revisiting
the Yukawa potential?

The exponential gives the
interaction finite range.

Oh, and then you're back
where you started.

Charles, as much
as we appreciate your help...

Oh, please, non-collider related
Higgs-Boson physics,

one of my few pleasures
these days.

(whiny):
I'm just so tired.

I want to go home.

(lilting flute ringtone
playing)

Okay, that's me.

I thought you got rid
of your cell.

Yeah, I did.

But your brother
shoved another one at me.

(ringtone continues)

Yes, Don?

I am on my way.

(phone beeps off)

What is that,
the ATM kidnapping case?

Uh...

(sighs)

You know,
I suspect we're looking

at a combinatorics problem--
would you mind?

Sure. Uh, do you...?

No. Of course.

Don't wait up.

(door opens and closes)

Third bank,

still no sign
of our alpha.

DON (over radio):
All right, keep it tight.

(Nikki gasping)

If you have,

have the Internet, I can just
transfer you the money.

MAN 1:
Get back down!

NIKKI:
You have a laptop.

(gasping)

Spider something...

(grunt, clattering)

Can we just do this one
and get another?!

- Don, we've got to go.
- On my signal! On my signal!

Sorry, really.

Sorry. I got $15,000.

What?!

$15,000

that my husband
doesn't know about.

It's in a safe deposit box.

I can get it for you
when the bank opens.

You wouldn't lie to me

just to keep yourself alive,
would you, babe?

I would.

But I swear I'm not.

(laughs)

All right.

Buckle up.

DON:
All right, stand down.

Everyone just stand down,
but stay tight.

Mirror everything
into the Tech Room for me.

AGENT:
Yes, sir.

SPIDER...

Is a real-time ATM tracking
program. Yeah.

Yeah, Charlie
and I did work

on its Distributed
Neural Network

along with half the Cal Sci
Math and Computer Department.

And Nikki tells me they can run
the thing on a laptop.

Yeah. And they're taking odd
amounts.

Instead of like
a hundred or $200,

it's like $460 or $340.

That's right,
atypical amounts,

but combined
with specific knowledge

of both nodes
of the transaction.

The Hall effect.

He's tapping off

a gold leaf, he's applying
a magnetic field

perpendicular
to the electrical current

in order to uncover
the potential difference

on opposite sides
of the conductor.

Hold on, I don't have a clue
what you're talking about.

Okay, I have lost you.
Help me out here.

Okay, by knowing the amount,
the card, the ATM, the bank--

he's able to watch the way
money flows through SPIDER.

- Okay.
- He's trying to find a way

- deeper inside the program.
- To divert the flow, I suspect.

- And also, it does refills.
- Yeah, sure.

Every four or five days,
when the ATM gets low,

SPIDER sends a message to the
armored car servicing it,

telling it
to deliver a refill.

Okay, so if he can

jack his way
into the program...

He could schedule
the delivery of large sums

of money to the most
vulnerable of locations,

and at a time
of his choosing.

Then what's the possibility

of us hacking our way to him?

It's not easy.

All right, well, then...
get working on it, okay?

DAVID:
Fifth and last one, Don.

They've maxed out her cards.

MAN 1:
What time you got?

MAN 2:
Almost 4:00.

We're supposed
to dump her before dawn.

Doesn't give us
much time, does it?

COLBY:
This is going bad.

Don.

NIKKI:
Bank opens in four hours.

$15,000.

I swear to God.

You're right about that.

You will swear to God.

(grunts)

(gunshots)

Go, go, go,
everybody get in there!

Let's go, move!
(tires screeching)

FBI!
Give me a damn reason.

- FBI! Don't move!
- Show us your hands.

MALE AGENT:
Get 'em in the air!

Got one on the
right side!

AGENT:
Turn around.

AGENT 2:
We got both!

She okay?

Yeah, she's okay.

AGENT (on radio):
Two suspects under control...

(elevator bell dings)

DON:
What's the distress word?

- Mexico.
- Why didn't I hear it?

We didn't have the alpha,
and I had everything under...

Took me five seconds
to send them in,

just enough time for you

to get your very
undisciplined head

shot off at least
five times!

- Boss, I was...
- Get changed and start writing!

And when you're done writing,
you can start

getting to know the P904!

That's the telephone.

That's the only
piece of equipment

you're going to be
using for a long time!

Morning.

It's too late for
breakfast, but...

- there's still some coffee.
- No, thanks.

I owe Amita these lesson plans
for our CBME seminar.

She's probably already waiting
for me at Cal Sci.

Actually, when
I left her

at 4:00 a.m. this morning,
she was still at the FBI.

Yeah?

Was there a break on that case?

A break, yes.
A conclusion, no.

Okay, well, then I'll probably
drop these off

on the way to campus.

(door closes)

Now, he sure seems
to have lost a step or two

off his stride.

Yeah, it's this
NSA clearance thing.

I guess there were more eggs
in that basket than he realized.

Well, than any
of us realized.

You know, as scientists,
we tend to take our relationship

with the government
pretty much for granted...

tend to forget just how much our
work depends on their wallet.

Charlie's struggle

is nothing short
of existential.

Well, I guess we have
nothing to worry about, then.

Charlie's always at his best

when his back's
against the wall.

So two more
off the low end.

Gang affiliations,
petty crime jackets.

Chaney, the one in the middle,
did time with Talling.

These guys were prepped.

They both lawyered up as soon

as we got bracelets
on 'em.

Yeah, we got
a death penalty here.

You tell Robin we want
to cut a deal to get the alpha.

COLBY: It's in the works; it's
just going to take some time.

DAVID: Rape, kidnappings, now
two murders.

This guy has got to be rolling
up his operations by now.

Or skipping ahead.

So Joey Herman
screws up.

He kills him,
replaces him.

Zack Talling goes
down, he powers

through the two guys
he's got left.

Changes up his M.O.,
ramps up the timetable,

only makes contact by phone.

I mean, he's smart, but
I don't see him going this far

and not getting paid.

AMITA: There's no indication of
intrusion into the system.

SPIDER's administrators
have changed the pass codes,

locked up the back doors.

It could take him days,
weeks even,

to find a new way in.

But he could still be watching?

Passively? Sure.

So Alpha Dog sees
every ATM reorder in the city.

AMITA:
In the country.

It's a real-time
shopping list

for armored car robberies.

Hey, wha-what...? Look, I got
the visitor's badge.

Jimmy walked me over.

These are for you.

How's it going, guys?

- Thanks.
- And SPIDER is an independently

owned and operated program,

so there's
no clearance issue there.

At a glance,
I can tell you

that the ATM
kidnappings are a way

to map into the
program by locating

known transactions--
a back door, by the way,

we mentioned to the
programmers two years ago...

Charlie, stop.
Come on, you can't.

Y-You can't do this.

No, I can help,
all right?

And McGowan-- McGowan can go
to hell if he doesn't get that.

Look, you don't understand
the politics here.

I'm beginning to.

You have a guy
who's kidnapped

and murdered
and facilitated rape.

He's smart,
he's going to do it again.

If it were you,
would you let the rules

get in the way
of stopping him?

(chuckles)

Let's do this.

All right,
he's gonna move fast.

He's gonna hit once
in the next day or two.

That is if he can put together
another crew that fast.

Yeah, but maybe
he already has one.

I mean, Herman was
the only high-end guy.

DAVID: Maybe that's why he
brought in Talling.

I mean,
after losing Joey Herman,

he wasn't willing to risk
any more of his real talent.

But why
risk Herman

on the kidnapping
in the first place?

CHARLIE: He's probably running
his own version

- of a scheduling algorithm.
- Yeah, computers use them

to weigh the duration or
difficulty of certain tasks

against the system's resources

and then allocate them
accordingly.

You know,
your Alpha Dog

has finite resources--

weapons, money,
vehicles, manpower.

Now, some of these resources can
be used for more than one job

and others only have
one function.

Because time is
his greatest enemy,

he's going to try to
schedule his tasks

for maximum efficiency,

so that no resource sits idle
if it doesn't have to.

All right, so...

The interesting thing
about scheduling algorithms

is no one has come up
with a perfect one yet.

AMITA:
No, there are thousands.

The Smith rule,
the O2, the Beam search.

Any programmer can design one,
test it, and name it.

CHARLIE: And just like
a programmer's design

or a guitarist's
signature riff or

a painter's
brushstroke,

a scheduling algorithm is
the expression of a unique mind.

It not only shows us the choices
that have been made,

but it hints
at the choices to come--

how he'll play that next chord,

what brushstrokes will follow.

MAN:
Faster, come on, go!

(tires screeching)

Where's the money?!

Get down
on the ground!

FBI!
Don't move!

(over radio):
All units, move in.

AGENT:
Get your hands up now!

Drop your weapon!

(indistinct radio
communication)

Get down
on the ground!

(shouting)

- Let me see your hands!
- Drop it!

AGENT (on radio):
All units, stand down.

Suspects in custody.
Over.

How'd it go?

Should have been there--

bullets flying, cars crashing.
(phone ringing)

(phone ringing)

FBI, Betancourt.

Yeah, one minute, please.

(phone buttons beeping)

So how long am I in trouble for?

Well, um, pre-therapy Don, I
think about three months, easy.

You got post-therapy Don, so...

Yeah, then ten weeks-- 11 tops.

(sighs)

Listen, figure out
how to forward

the calls
to the switchboard

and we'll take you out
for a beer.

(knocking)

- Hey.
- Hey, Don.

Didn't think you came up
to the 11th floor

without an ADIC directive.

Actually, I want to talk to you
a little about Charlie,

if that's okay.

No kidding.

But I think it'd be better if we
wait for the formal interview.

I'm not here to defend him
or anything,

but you know what I mean,

what the guy does
for us around here...

A lot of people
can do.

Not as well, maybe, but...
maybe more reliably.

Yeah, Carl, you've been
out of the field a long time.

And you've been in it
a long time.

Meaning?

Just because it isn't papered

doesn't mean
I don't know about it.

Some questionable tactics,
bureau-mandated therapy,

one of your agents
quitting her job.

Now this thing
with your brother.

I kind of have to wonder what
the hell is going on down there.

Well, an 85% clearance rate.

By any means necessary,
because that's the Eppes way.

Don't think
I didn't hear

about you and your brother
playing cute

with the rules today--
and last week.

But the rules are
for everyone else, aren't they?

You know, Carl, you want to come
after me, fine, come after me,

but just don't make it
about my brother, okay?

Nothing's ever about
one thing, Don.

If you can't see that, maybe
that's where the problem begins.

I could write.

Yeah.

My, my publisher's
been bothering me

to do a follow-up book
anyway, so...

(Amita chuckles)

You hated every minute of it.

Not every minute.

Yesterday, when you and Larry
left me to go work on that case,

it felt like
when I was a little kid,

and I stayed home
sick from school.

(sighs)

I always liked
sick days.

Game shows, soap operas,

chicken soup.

Chicken soup?

Really?

Yeah, really.

(chuckles)

You worked with Don for
four years, Charlie.

You know, of course it's gonna
feel a little bit weird.

Yeah.

I used to-- I've always
looked at my work for the FBI

as... an avocation,
you know?

An occasional detour from...

that grand destiny
that people have been

predicting for me
since I was seven years old.

I even suspected
that it was my excuse

for not fulfilling
that destiny.

I honestly never thought...

I'd miss it so much.

You're gonna get
your clearance back.

I know.