Original subtitles

My name is Thomas Vail, or at least I thought it was.

I'm a photographer.

I had it all, a wife, Allison, friends, a career,

and in one moment it was taken away, all because of a single photograph. I have it,

they want it, and they will I'm keeping this

diary as proof that these events are real.

I know they are. They have to be.

I find myself 1,500 miles away from where my story began,

when I sat in a county mental hospital, wearing a straitjacket, facing Dr. Bellamy.

It's hard to say just where I'm headed.

It might be easier to say, away.

Away from them.

Okay, I got this one here, it's $40 a night,

and I got this other one here, it's $55.

What's the difference?

Hey, this one you can hear the highway a lot better.

The other one's fine.

All right, it's going to be two doors down past the ice machine.

All right, thank you. Have yourself a good night, Dr. Bellamy, huh?

Hey, Greg, it's me.

Yeah?

Hey, buddy, it's Tom.

I think you've got the wrong number. What number were you dialing?

What are you?

What do you want from me?

You're not the easiest man to find, Dr. Bellamy.

The local brew.

I think you'll find it quite good.

What is this place?

Clear Springs Sanitarium.

A house for healing, a home for the mentally distressed.

Less euphemistically, the neighborhood hatch.

It's also headquarters for Western operations.

I hope my men weren't too rough on you, Doctor.

I'm sure you can appreciate the need for caution.

We had to make sure that you were who we thought you were.

And are you sure?

Considering no one in Western operations knows

you by sight, yes, I'd say it all tracks.

So, how did you, uh...

How'd you find me? We got a call from Central City's operations three days ago.

They told us that one of their chief operatives had

disappeared after an explosion in a photo studio.

And once you'd rented a car and used your credit cards, well, you know the system.

The system is people.

People make mistakes.

Well, if you have a problem with the way we've handled things... No, no, it's...

It's just important to know you were thorough.

You're here, aren't you?

I guess I am. Yeah.

So now that you've found me, what are you supposed to do with me?

Debrief you, try to find out about the subject whose life you erased,

and just generally roll out the red carpet.

It seems you're a classified VIP.

We've been told to extend you every courtesy until the director returns.

Good.

May I? Oh, please, by all means.

Who are they?

They're healers.

The sanitarium operates from their monastery.

The church permits that?

There is no church.

They're non-denominational.

That's an unusual arrangement.

I suppose we all have to answer to a higher authority.

When did you say the director was returning?

Well, I'm not sure he's out of the country at the moment.

A week?

Ten days?

And how much do you know about the subject I was erasing?

That's an odd question.

You know quite well that each branch of operations functions autonomously.

Need to know.

Isn't that the credo we live by?

But I'm your guest.

I'm not from this division, so I'm sure that under

the circumstances, exceptions can be made.

The name of my subject is Thomas Vail. I want to see his file.

Everything we've got. Or does your red carpet roll out just so far?

I want my life back. I want my life back.

Who is she?

Ellen Combs.

She's been with us for almost two weeks.

Her erasure has been, well... Let's just say that Dr.

Hayne has found her less than cooperative.

She's one of those poor misguideds who still

believes that there is a high moral road. You should learn.

Come with me.

I'll show you her case history.

Captain! The crew! Prepare to dive!

Ah, the green monster! Hold on, guys!

You should have come with us.

What's that smell?

Sorry.

Here you go, Mac.

Mac, where are Peter and the kids?

Peter? And who?

Peter, my husband, and the kids. They were riding in the car.

This car?

Yes, of course, this car. Why are you acting this way?

Lady, I don't know who the hell you are,

or if you think this is some kind of a joke, but

if you look really close, I'm not laughing.

Why are you talking to me this way? Mac!

All things considered, I thought she would have been an easy nut to crack.

Are you all right, doctor? Yeah, I'm fine, fine. It's just that it's hot in here.

So what exactly do you want from her?

What do we want from anyone?

Cooperation.

Surrender?

I put her file in your room. I'm sure you'll find it interesting.

I can't tell you how enthusiastic we all are that you're here.

You wanted to see me?

I just got off the phone with the director.

I told him how anxious you were to get your hands on the Thomas Vail file.

Yeah, is he sending it?

Well, he's still somewhat concerned that you left

Central City's region without contacting him.

He feels there might be some question of... loyalty.

In any case, he's very pleased you've signed on with us during his absence.

He said any doubt he may have had would be mollified once you've broken the woman.

The file?

Quid pro quo, Doctor.

When you've broken Mrs. Combs, he'll send you the veil file.

They say that to really appreciate how something feels,

you have to go through it yourself.

And as I looked through Ellen's file, I felt my stomach turn over.

I was so close, though.

Close to the answer.

Close to understanding just what brought me here and why.

But at what price?

Can anybody hear me?

Hey!

Open the door!

Open the damn door!

It's rainy season.

The humidity makes them stick sometimes.

Yeah, I guess they just don't make them like they used to.

God be with you, brother.

I've already told them everything I'm going to, Doctor.

My name is Ellen Combs.

I was born in Hanover, New Hampshire.

I'm married. I'm 34 years old. I have one husband, two children,

and all my own teeth, and I am not out of my mind.

Then why do you think you're here?

I don't know. You're the doctor. You tell me.

Where's Dr. Hank?

I'm Dr. Bellamy.

I'll be sitting in for a while.

Well, it's gonna be a long while.

Are you always this defiant?

I want my life back.

I want to see my family.

Oh, that's right, I keep forgetting you don't think I have a family.

Did I say that?

You've all said that.

Well, I'm not part of the all.

Let me help you with this.

Now what's supposed to happen?

Am I supposed to reward this act of kindness

by telling you everything you want to hear?

Well, why don't you start by telling me what you think has happened to you?

That's great.

What's happened to me?

All right, Doctor, since you seem to be more in the dark than I am,

someone has taken my life.

Your husband and your children?

They are my life!

They were my life.

Just tell me one thing.

Am I ever gonna make it?

Well, just what do you know, Doctor?

You certainly knew how to get me into this place.

You knew how to completely erase a person's life.

I had a family, damn it!

Please, please.

I'll do anything you want, say anything you want.

I just want to see my family.

Ellen. Ellen.

Just what the hell do you think you're doing?

Well, it's interesting. I guess we have very different definitions of VIP.

You know, maybe the next time the director calls,

we should just both speak with him.

Uh, I'm sorry. It's just that we've spent the last nine

days trying to make some headway with that woman. You failed.

We were getting close.

I didn't realize we were playing horseshoes.

Yeah, cooperation. I mean, look, it needs to be elicited.

Not extorted, not coerced.

And as for you observing my session, the price of admission is silence.

Is that all?

Yes.

Why did you bring me here?

Well, this is where you said your kids go to school, right?

Yes.

But why did you bring me here? What are you trying to prove? I don't know.

Oh my God!

Let me go! I'm your mommy!

Let us go!

Mommy, help!

Oh, no! I'm your mommy! Let me go! I'm your mommy!

Let us go! Adam! Jessica! Let us go!

I'm your mommy!

I can't. I don't wanna die.

Where's Ellen Combs? Why isn't she here?

Dr. Haynes signed her out and took her downstairs for treatment.

Treatment? What kind of treatment?

She's phase four, doctor. ECT.

Electroconvulsive therapy.

She's ready, doctor.

Very good.

Hey, no, no, don't, don't.

Dr. Bellamy. Well, it's an honor, sir.

Alan, hey, we're just about to get started. No, get her out of here.

She's phase four, doctor. She's already sedated and prepped.

Well, then, un-prep her. She's not ready. But I personally supervise this case,

and I don't think you're in any position to judge whether she's ready. Hey,

you've had two weeks, no results.

Her case has been turned over to me. Yes, well, I was told you're consulting here,

Doctor. No one said anything to me about you taking over my cases. Listen,

you have a problem with this.

Take it up with the management.

But if we don't induce the amnesia... Did you hear what I said?

She's my case now. Nobody asked you if you liked it.

Nobody asked you if you approved.

Well, well, well.

You've overstepped your boundaries, Doctor.

Just how much longer do you think you really can delay this?

Well, about as long as it's going to take you to clean this place up.

Yes, sir.

Yes, that's exactly what happened.

He completely disrupted our phase four procedure and threatened Dr. Hayne.

From all appearances, he's making every attempt to reassure the woman.

Yes. Yes. I'll take care of it.

No, there won't be any problems.

Yes, sir.

I think you're gonna get lucky tonight.

I've never seen him before in my life. He's insane!

Alf.

Well, you're looking better than when I saw you last.

Well, electrodes taped to the forehead don't do much for a girl's appearance.

Sit down.

I just wanted to say thank you.

Well, I have my own opinion on how things should be conducted around here.

Can I be honest with you?

That's up to you.

You scared the hell out of me.

How's that?

Well, until I met you, I was convinced I wasn't crazy.

No matter how hard they came at me, no matter how hard they tried,

I just kept telling myself that what I knew to be real was real.

Well, that's not always easy to hang on to.

Maybe.

At least till you showed up.

I'm not sure I follow you.

Well, don't you see? I had convinced myself that it was me against them.

But you're nothing like them. You're kind to me.

And that disturbs you?

Yes, it disturbs me. I mean, I had to stop and think that maybe there is no them.

Maybe there is no enemy. And if there is no enemy, Doctor,

then the possibility exists that I have created all of this Paranoia.

And if that's true, then I really have lost my mind.

To tell you the truth, I don't know where I am anymore.

If I am sick,

If I have imagined all of this, I need your help, doctor,

because you're the only one that I trust here.

I owe you a very sincere apology, Dr. Bellamy.

Oh, how's that?

For doubting you.

For suspecting your loyalty.

That little rescue you staged in the ECT room was perfect.

I tell you, you... You had Dr. Hayne damn near hysterical.

What are you talking about?

Mrs. Combs.

I have to hand it to you. Everything they've said about you is an understatement.

I just got back from her room. She's confused, disoriented, helpless,

completely unsure of herself.

She trusts you implicitly and is perfectly prepared

to accept the reality we presented her.

You know, I give myself a lot of credit, but frankly, you had me fooled.

For a moment there, I actually thought that you'd betrayed the organization.

But instead, in one brilliant move, you broke her.

To the master.

What's the status of the Thomas Vale file?

I spoke with the director just a short while ago.

He was thrilled when I told him the progress you were making with Mrs. Combs.

He promised to send it right out.

I should be here first thing in the morning.

It looks as if you've taken to our little garden spot.

Yeah, it's very peaceful. I spoke with Dr. Hayne.

Mrs. Combs is being prepped for final erasure.

No, it's too soon. She needs a couple more days, at least.

Yes, well, unfortunately, it's just not possible.

We're dealing with a time factor here.

I'm telling you, she needs a few more... Doctor, we simply have no choice.

But I thought seeing as how you've become the source of her trust,

the fulcrum for her confusion,

it'd be useful if you could be there for the treatment.

I'm sure that seeing you will help expedite things.

Fifteen minutes.

Dr. Haney.

She was sedated in her room. We're ready for the chemo induction.

Dr. Bellamy.

I am so sorry about what happened last night.

If you'd clued me in, perhaps I would have been, uh... What?

Less convincing in your performance?

It was perfect. It was theater at its best.

She's ready, Doctor.

Good.

Level six. Get closer where she can see you.

Do you recognize this man?

Yes.

Oh, it's Dr. Bellamy.

And you trust him?

Yes.

Do you know where you are?

Clear Spring Sanitarium.

Do you know who you are?

I'm not.

Sure.

You realize you suffer from delusions? From fantasies?

Yes.

I think so.

Do you have a husband?

No.

No, not husband.

And what about children?

You feel this overwhelming desire to cooperate.

I know how uncomfortable it makes you feel to resist.

Easier.

Cooperation makes you feel good.

Resistance creates anxiety.

Feels better to cooperate.

And you want so much to tell us what you saw that day.

And who you told about it.

I didn't tell very many people.

The first person I told... No, Ellen, no.

Wait a minute. What the hell do you think you're

doing? Putting a stop to this. Step back.

Uh-uh.

Get down, get down.

Maybe you should pull over and let me drive.

Wake up, wake up.

Okay, I'm okay.

I'm awake.

I'm awake. Okay. I'm okay.

I'm okay. I'm okay.

You know, at least you could be worth digging up my clothes.

You're just gonna have to sleep this off, okay?

I knew you were trying to get me on the bed.

It's easy for me, are you?

No, absolutely not.

You want me in bed? You're gonna have to work for it.

Dr. Bell.

Oh, bad idea.

Where are we? What is this place?

It's called Hawthorne House. You told me about it last night.

I did?

Yeah.

What else did I tell you?

Oh, don't worry. You were on your best behavior.

Why did you bring me here?

Well, it's a long story, but to get you away from them. Why would you do that?

Look, my name isn't Walter Bellamy. I'm not a doctor.

I don't have anything to do with those people.

Right.

My name is Tom Vail.

Whoever those people are,

they're trying to do the same thing to you as they did to me.

Now I see what's happening here.

Sorry, Doctor. But you just took this one step too far.

Excuse me?

You're good.

You had me going there for a while, but...

But you can't really expect me to buy all of this.

Okay.

You've been asleep for four hours.

They are gonna be looking for us.

I mean... How long do you think it's gonna be before they catch up to us?

I don't know. As soon as you tell them to move in.

Look, I know how this feels.

I had a career, a wife, a wife.

I know what it feels like to have it all ripped

away, but at some point, you... What?

Trust you?

Tell you everything I wouldn't tell them?

No, I'm open to suggestions. What's it gonna take?

I don't know.

You're the doctor.

Or you aren't the doctor.

Which is it?

I told you, listen, I've been through this.

Dr. Bellamy was the man responsible for my erasure.

Erasure?

That's what they call it.

Bellamy was killed at my studio. Before that, I took his driver's license.

I took his credit cards. That's how they found me.

Through the computers, they think I'm him. And I went along with it, I mean,

hoping I could get some answers.

And they were going to bring me my file.

Who's Tom Vail?

I'm a photographer.

I'm a photojournalist.

They stole one of my photos, and I think they think I know something.

Must have been a hell of a picture.

Okay, let me ask you this.

If you're such a risk to them, so valuable,

why didn't they just kill you? I don't know.

I don't know.

I'm not sure. I mean, maybe like you, they think I knew too much.

Or more importantly, they're not sure just who I might have told.

How much do you know?

I don't know what I'm supposed to know.

I just know it's taken everything I've got to get away from them.

How am I supposed to trust you, Tom?

I mean, after everything that's happened,

how can you expect me to believe anything that you say to me?

I guess maybe I can't.

If there were only something real,

some tangible way that I could know that this isn't

just another one of those games they play.

The photograph, the one that you said they stole from you,

you must have other copies.

Decide to have the negatives, that's all.

Well, can I see them?

Ellen, that's not a good idea.

Oh, I get it. I get it. It's perfectly all

right for me to put all my trust into you, tell you anything.

Here's my story. Ellen, now just jump on for the ride.

I'm confused, Tom, but I'm not stupid.

Okay, just give me 15 minutes.

Where are you going?

I'll get the negatives.

Very fancy. Hell of a way to protect precious cargo.

Well, it's just making it not look like precious cargo.

Good answer.

Hey, you know, by this time this morning, I would have had my hands on my file.

I didn't have to do this, so if this is just an exercise... No, look, I'm sorry.

It's just hard to know who to trust anymore.

Why are you doing this for me?

I mean, if the director had really sent your file... What'd you say?

Just that giving up the chance to get your hands on your file... No,

you said if the director had really sent my file, how'd he know about the director?

It's going down.

I'm sure that's what you said.

No, I never mentioned the director.

Well, I'm obviously not making it up.

No, you're not.

Well, now who's being paranoid?

It's okay, I'm getting used to it.

I thought we were supposed to trust each other!

Let's get him!

You failed. No!