Suspect Zero (2004) - full transcript

When Dallas FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway violates serial killer Raymond Starkey's civil rights during an unorthodox arrest, Starkey goes free and Mackelway is demoted to a remote branch of the agency in Albuquerque. His first day on the job, Mackelway investigates the murder of traveling salesman Harold Speck, which turns out to be the first of three seemingly random killings. Perhaps they are not random at all. The last to die is Mackelway's nemesis, Raymond Starkey. The assignment consumes him, his past mistakes haunt him, and his head throbs constantly as he tries to find the link between the victims that will lead him to their killer while the case becomes increasingly gruesome and patently personal. This does not go unnoticed by his unflappable partner Fran Kulok, who knows of Mackelway's past and the demons that afflict him. Like Mackelway, she becomes drawn into the labyrinth of chilling clues, all of which point to the enigmatic Benjamin O'Ryan. O'Ryan clearly has a connection to the murders, a connection he flaunts. Quite possibly, he may also harbor a sinister link to Mackelway.

( wind whistling )

( ominous theme playing )

, ,
( thunder rumbling )

( raindrops spattering )

( jazz music playing softly
over speakers )

Top that off
for you, honey?

There you go.

( indistinct talking )

( sighs )

, ,
What's in the case?

I'm sorry?



You're always lugging
that case around.

I'm curious,
what do you sell?

I'm in restaurant supplies.

I'm sorry,
I didn't get your name.

You must travel a lot, huh?

Whole country
or just hereabouts?

I don't mean
to be rude, but--

How's your wife feel about it?

What?
She must get lonely.

You gone all the time. Does she?

Look, I--
Do you get lonely?

You miss fucking her,
Harold?

Look, I don't know who you are,
but you can't just sit down--

Did it myself.



Kind of a hobby.

Take a look
at these pictures, Harold,

and you tell me if you see
anything you want.

I've got lots more.

Would you like to see them?

Tell me, those jokes
about the traveling salesman

and the farmer's daughter,
are they true?

Here. This one's
my favorite! Ha!

Really says it all.

Wouldn't you agree?

You are sick.

( knocks over cup )

It's a matter of opinion.

( eerie theme playing )

( door lock engages )

( sighs )

( horn blares )

( sighs )

( eerie whistling )

( engages door lock )

( glove snaps, Harold gasps )

( tires squeal )

MAN: There's a rest stop
next off-ramp.

Pull into it.

Look, I have money.

It's not a lot.
Nobody wants your money, Harold.

Just pull in.
Why?

Because I wouldn't want
to do this at 70 miles an hour.

It could be dangerous.

( Harold gasps )

( typing, computers beeping )

WOMAN:
Right. I'll get back to you.

MAN: Agent Mackelway?

Welcome to Albuquerque.

Rick Charleton.

Miss Payton's the nice girl
at the front desk.

She puts together a package
for all the new agents.

Everything you need
to know about the area,

help with finding
apartments and such.

This one's yours.

Okay.

I'm gonna get it
all set up for you.

All right.

Not that different
from Dallas, is it?

No, sir.

If you need anything, just yell.

Thanks.

( phones ringing,
people speaking indistinctly )

I'm Tom, guys.

Nice to meet you, Tom.
Don here.

Hello.

Oh...

I'm Bill.

Hey, Bill. Tom.

Tom, do you like
Frito pies?

I don't know, Bill.
I don't know what they are.

Welcome to the minors.

( sighs )

,
( sighs )

( ominous theme plays )

( door closes )

WOMAN: Uh, here.

Let me do that.
Ah, thank you.

Sure.
Don't know how to make coffee.

That's okay.

It takes some experience.

( chuckles ):
Yeah.

Isn't there a Starbucks
around here?

That's a joke, right?

( laughs ) Yeah.
Yeah, that's a joke.

So... you're Mackelway?

Yeah, Agent Mackelway.

Katie Payton.

( eerie sound echoes )

Hi.

A fax is coming in for you.
It's the room next door.

Really? Fax for me?

Yeah.
Okay.

Thank you.
No problem.

Nice meeting you.
Yeah.

( eerie sound echoes )

( line ringing )

CHARLETON: Mackelway!

You gonna stand around all day,

or you wanna do something?

No, sir.

( men conversing indistinctly )

,
MAN: Afternoon, Rick.

Looks like
a robbery-homicide.

Body's back
over there.

You run
the plates?

Fella's named
Harold Speck.

Traveling salesman
from T or C.

T or C?

Truth or Consequences.

It's a town, slick.

Gotta write that down.

,
( winch motor whining )

Hey!

What the fuck are you doing?

What's it look like, bud?

You ever heard
of evidentiary procedure?

MAN ( on tape player ):
Icarus case number 690.

Physicians in charge,

Dr. Galin J. Peterson
and Dr. Ferdinand Kovoskis.

Theta-wave entrainment
for RV subject O'Ryan

to be used with GPS
for target management.

Session to commence

in five, four,
three, two...

one...

( chirping, warbling sounds
from tape player )

Target number, write it now.

Focus.

Stay objective.

Smells like clove.

( thunder rumbles )

Okay.

( warbling sound continues )

Describe. Describe it.

Short.

One word.

One word.

( mysterious theme playing )

( camera shutter clicking )

Draw the environment.

One target at a time.

One target at a time.

Draw the environment.
Draw the environment now.

Sir.

I'm sort of a stickler
for procedure.

I imagine you would be.

Christ!

See it.

See it. Draw it now.

Draw it now.

Draw it now.

MACKELWAY: The shoes are
on the wrong feet.

All American Diner,
Gallup,

New Mexico.
CHARLETON: Passed that

on the way here.

Well, he had breakfast there
this morning.

( crashing sound echoes )

( warbling dies out )

( crashing sound echoes )

( dog barking,
children playing in distance )

( O'Ryan sketching )

MAN ( on radio ): Starting off
the bottom of the inning,

Barry Matthews.

Got on base
with a line-drive single

his last at bat.

And he takes the first pitch
high and inside for ball one.

Looked like Leonard
was trying to get

the breaking pitch inside,

but it just didn't have any
break on it that time.

( shuts off radio )

CHARLETON:
Agent Mackelway.

We're over here.

I was gonna introduce you two,

but I understand
that won't be necessary.

Seems your former office

decided we could use
a little help,

so they sent us Agent Kulok.

Hey, Tom.

Hi, Fran.

I guess we're gonna skip
the tearful reunion.

Have a seat, Tom.

How are things back in Dallas?

Wouldn't really know.
I've been chained to a desk.

Okay. What do we know?

Picked up a footprint
in the back seat of Speck's car.

A size and a half
bigger than Speck's.

CHARLETON: Okay.

Wounds on Speck's throat

indicate he was strangled
from behind.

I think our guy was waiting
for him in the back seat,

sprung this on him
once the car was moving.

Lab picked up talcum traces
along the edges of the paper

consistent with
powdered gloves.

So he gets this dropped
in his lap,

it spooks him,
car ends up in the ravine.

That car was pushed
to the state line.

The depth
of the tire tracks.

Footprints near
the embankment.

That car wasn't going

more than three miles an hour,
and it stopped,

quite literally,
on the state line.

Guy must've used GPS.

Why would he do this? Why would
he push it to the state line?

Same reason
he did everything else.

To get the FBI's
undivided attention.

There's
an association here.

You have a circle...

and a lidless eye...

that's always open.

Seeing.

Seeing.

Or making sure
that we're seeing.

It's just a feeling.

WAITRESS:
He was a normal guy.

You know,
kinda quiet.

He liked to read
fishing magazines.

And he wasn't much
of a tipper.

Is that a lousy thing
to say?

No, it's fine.

What can you tell us
about the other man?

Like I said,
I never really saw him.

Harold came up
complaining about the guy,

but by the time I turned around,
he was gone.

Can you desc--?
Desc--

Can you describe
him, ma'am?

WAITRESS: Oh, sure.

You could just tell he wasn't
from around here, you know?

Did you happen to see
what he was driving?

You know,
now that you mention it,

there's a Torino

out in the parking lot

with a real crappy paint job.

It's been here
since last night.

We really need a protocol
for interviewing witnesses.

Fine. I'll handle it
from now on.

Oh, I see how it is,
always in control.

I'll tell you something, Tom,
I want my life back.

So I want this over quick.

So, what happened?

Your ring.

It didn't work out.

Just like us.

So why
are you here?

You vacationing in Albuquerque?

Oh, Tom, you sure haven't
changed in six whole months.

Keys are in the car.

I don't need a babysitter,
so if we're gonna do this,

let's do it right this time.

Well, then don't make things so
unnecessarily complicated again.

Trunk's ajar.
You listening to me?

You think
I wanna be down here?

I'm not interested
in hanging out with you.

And I'm not your babysitter.
I'm your partner.

I didn't put you here. Remember.

And I'm not going through this
again with you.

Holy shit!

MACKELWAY ( whispers ):
A circle with a slash.

WOMAN ( on radio ): Dispatch.
I need help down here.

What's your 20?

The All American Diner
in Gallup.

( camera shutter clicking )

( police siren wailing )

KULOK: Hey, Tom,
got an ID on our body.

Barney Fulcher, age 50,

sixth-grade teacher
from Boulder, Colorado.

These plates
aren't gonna help us.

Forget them. This guy
started in Oklahoma.

Left these for us.

( eerily tranquil theme
playing )

( people conversing
indistinctly )

O'RYAN: Mrs. Speck.

I just heard.
I'm-- I'm so sorry.

I didn't know him well,
but I think Harold was

a much more complex person
than people realize.

MRS. SPECK: He was,
wasn't he?

I'm really sorry
for your loss, ma'am.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

KULOK:
So it wasn't
Fulcher's car?

MACKELWAY:
Uh-uh. Car was registered
to a Daniel Dyson.

Runs a halfway house
in Oklahoma City.

( piano music playing )

( people speaking indistinctly )

( door slams )

( piano playing grows louder )

Dyson?

Daniel Dyson?

( man plays "chopsticks"
on piano )

Hello?

MAN ( yelling ): Fucking freak!

What a fucking freak!

What a fucking freak.

Can I help you?

Why didn't you report it
as stolen?

Truth is
I always hated that car.

Nobody but Benjamin could ever
make it run right anyway.

Is that his name?
Benjamin?

That's hard to say.

That's what he liked
to be called.

( metal clanks )

Oh, this bad wiring!

KULOK: I think we've got
an obsessive-compulsive here.

I'm gonna call Grieves,

get him to work up a list of
behaviorists for us to talk to.

Okay. Give me that.

Excuse me.

MACKELWAY:
This came from Benjamin?

DYSON: He used to spend hours
down here.

It was like-- Like his office.

What are these?

With those numbers
and pictures,

he said he could
find anybody.

Benjamin O'Ryan?

Special Agent Benjamin O'Ryan,

FBI.

It was his fantasy.

( eerie theme playing )

( whispers ):
Oh, fuck.

( hinges creak )

PROSECUTOR:
Agent Mackelway, what the fuck
were you thinking?

He's got nine murders
in his back pocket

and he's gonna walk.

( crumples paper )

( girl screams )
( laughs )

( distorted voices )

( brays )

( woman shrieks )

Hey, Starkey.

( wind howling )

( groans )

PROSECUTOR:
What made you think

that you could cross the border
into Mexico

without an extradition order?

I knew he was gonna buy off
a magistrate

and disappear into Mexico.

PROSECUTOR: You knew?

Agent Mackelway, you have
shamed and vilified this bureau

with your unorthodox methods.

I'm afraid I have no recourse

but to recommend
that you be suspended

for a period of six months,

during which time

you will undergo mandatory
psychological evaluation.

Let the record show

that the case against
Agent Fran Kulok is pending.

O'RYAN:
Turn it off!

DYSON:
I guess you guys are never
unaccounted for, huh?

Wow.

This guy really likes you.

DYSON:
This is O'Ryan's room.

Tom.

You got it?

Wait.
Yeah, I got it.

Yeah, hey, it's Agent Kulok.

Can you run this number
and ID the subscriber for me?

MAN ( on phone ):
You're breaking up, Fran.

Okay, hold on a minute.
Let me get outside. Hold on.

Thank you.
Yeah.

( gentle piano music playing )

MAN: Ever see
a 50-foot shark?

I'm sorry?

A 50-foot shark.
You ever see one?

No.

Doesn't mean
there aren't any.

Excuse me, sir,
did you know him?

The guy with the Torino?

O'Ryan,
the guy who lived upstairs?

Why? Is he dead?

I don't know.

You said "did."
Is he dead?

Uh, no, no.
I'm sorry. I misspoke.

You ever seen
this before?

It's a circle
with a slash through it.

It's not a circle.

It's a zero.

Oh.

It's a zero.

And how do you
know that?

( whistling )

Did he
tell you that?

( whistling )

Why are you
whistling?

What does that mean?

Have you seen this, sir?

A circle with a slash
through it? Take a look.

Have you seen that? Sir?

Have you seen that? A circle
with a slash through it?

( O'Ryan sketching, warbling
sounds on tape player )

( man calls out )

( woman screams )

MACKELWAY:
A circle with a slash
through it.

Take a look.
Have you seen that, sir?

Have you seen that, a circle
with a slash through it?

Benjamin O'Ryan? Sir?
Excuse me, have you seen this?

A circle with a slash
through it?

Benjamin O'Ryan.
He was here seven years.

Tom.
What?!

We got a trace.

Faxes and Things,
Sleeper, Missouri.

Come on.

Come on.

( warbling on tape player )

( shuts off player,
warbling dies out )

( disembodied voices echoing )

,
( "Flirtin' With Disaster"
by Molly Hatchet playing )

...flirtin' with disaster ♪

You all know what I mean ♪

You know, the way
We run our lives ♪

It makes no sense to me ♪

I don't know about-- ♪

( camera shutter click echoes )

What you plan to be ♪

When we gamble with our time ♪

We choose our destiny ♪

Yeah, we're travelin' down ♪

This lonesome road ♪

Feel like I'm dragging
A heavy load ♪

Don't try to
Turn my head away ♪

Ba ba-ba, yeah ♪

I'm flirtin' with disaster
Every day ♪

( "The Beginner" by Miranda
Lee Richards playing )

I'll have a 7&7, please.

Got some ID?

It's in the car.

No one's asked me for it
for a couple of years now.

Nothing personal, honey.

I don't know where
I'm going ♪

But I've got
No reason to fear ♪

I've got no reason to fear ♪

( "The Beginner" continues
playing in distance )

MAN: Excuse me.

You forgot this.

Oh, I don't--

( muffled screaming )

( dull thud )

( crickets chirping )

( woman whimpering,
man grunting )

MAN: Kiss it!

( grunts )

( thud )

( panting )

( belt buckle clinking )

( eerie whistling )

( man mutters indistinctly )

( man screams )

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

( O'Ryan kicks )

( man groans )

( spits )

( grunts )

Fuck you.

You fuck.

( groaning )

( man coughs )

Hi.

( withdraws knife )

Turn around.

Turn around!

( thunder rumbles )

Ma'am?
FBI.

Excuse me.

( indistinct whispering,
camera shutter clicks )

Do your parents know?

( sighs )

Tom.

You got an ID?

What?
Raymond Starkey.

Starkey did this?

Tom, Starkey's
the guy on the ground.

( distorted noises )

( chatter over police radio )

( eerie theme playing )

( dog barking )

MACKELWAY ( whispering ):
You son of a bitch.

Why are you baiting me?

( sighs )

You want me to see
what you see.

You want me to see.

( sighs )

I'm trying to see it.

I'm trying to see it.

( sighs )

He opens up an old wound.

Yeah.

What does he want?

I don't know.

Maybe he's got something against
the bureau or law enforcement,

like the Zodiac.

"You're welcome, Tom.
You're welcome, Tom."

Not FBI. Tom.
He's baiting me. He wants me.

Why?

What does he want?

Okay.

Tom, I want you
to take me through this.

Explain this to me.

Okay. See if this makes sense
to you, okay?

Each of the 45 abduction dates
on these faxes

correspond to one of the GPS
coordinates on O'Ryan's map.

What about the two bodies
we just ID'd?

Okay, well,
let's find the faxes.

Here we go.

Male victim.
Last seen, Trenton, New Jersey.

Okay.

Found in Dyersville, Iowa.

Okay. Female.

Last seen, Dayton, Ohio.

Found in Brownsville,
Texas.

So we have two bodies

that were found a thousand miles
from where they were last seen.

What's this?

That's Tucumcari,
New Mexico.

Why blue?

That's the only city
where the date on the fax

and the date on the map
didn't correspond.

Date of disappearance:
Christmas.

On O'Ryan's map,

8-27.

CHARLETON:
The only thing we know

is there never was
a Benjamin O'Ryan, FBI.

That's too bad. He would've
made a hell of an agent.

Autopsy reports just arrived
for both the new positive IDs.

Bruises?
No. They're burn marks.

We've got them here, too,
on our female from Dayton.

CHARLETON: And these marks
relate to the marks found

on Fulcher
and Speck how?

They don't.

There are no burn marks
on Speck, Fulcher or Starkey.

And we have no slash-circles
here on these bodies.

CHARLETON: Right.

My office, as soon as someone
finds something useful.

( Mackelway sighs )

GRIEVES: No luck

on the behavioral specialists.

But I do have
a couple other leads

that I'm following up on,

and I'm really hopeful
they're gonna pan out.

Great. Thank you.

PAYTON: Um, a professor
of criminal biology,

Professor Daitz
just called.

He says he's got time
for you on Saturday.

Thank you, Katie.

MACKELWAY: You'll have to
forgive me, professor.

I've been operating
under the assumption

that O'Ryan was somebody's
delusional fantasy.

DAITZ: Oh, no. He's real.

He was a student of mine.
That fax you sent me,

this circle with
a slash through it?

That's his construct,
his theory.

He called it "Suspect Zero."

Suspect Zero?

He posited a theory
that a serial killer

could cross the entire country
without ever getting caught.

Look, what makes
a killer catchable?

Patterns, repetition
of behavior.

He imagined someone
with no patterns,

no telltale fetishes,
no rituals,

just a random killing machine
that never leaves a clue.

Yeah, but a serial killer,
by definition,

is condemned to repetition,
isn't he?

I mean, isn't that
what he's all about?

Well, he is until he isn't.

And this Suspect Zero,

is that something
that you believe in, doctor?

It's something
O'Ryan believed in.

I mean, he swore
guys like that existed,

only we couldn't see them

because, uh, they didn't obey
the usual laws,

like cancer doesn't,
or the HIV virus

that tricks your immune system
into thinking it isn't there.

So now you're saying
a guy like that could exist?

Do you know the definition
of a black hole?

Not precisely, no.

It's a celestial body

with a gravitational force
so strong

that nothing escapes it,

not even light.

Well, then, how do you find
something you can't see?

Well, it was there
and we found it.

So why do you think
O'Ryan is so convinced

a person like that's
really around?

In this time,
in this place.

I mean, what about
a split personality?

Could you have
a stone-cold killer on one hand

and a thoughtful man
with a conscience on the other?

I mean, could O'Ryan
possibly be this Suspect Zero?

Yeah.

That's a viable theory.

I mean,
the point is,

I don't think you're gonna
know until you find O'Ryan.

( ominous theme playing )

, ,
DAITZ:
The point is, I don't think
you're gonna know

until you find O'Ryan.

, ,
DAITZ:
Just a random
killing machine

that never leaves a clue.

( "I Come to the Garden Alone"
playing on church organ )

FEMALE GOSPEL SINGER:
I... ♪

Come to ♪

The garden... ♪

MAN: Yeah, yeah!

( people clapping )

Alone... ♪

While the dew ♪

Is still on ♪

The roses ♪

( congregation shouting,
clapping )

And the voice ♪

I hear ♪

Falling on ♪

WOMAN: Thank you, Jesus!
My ear ♪

( cheering, clapping )

The son of... ♪

Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord.

...God discloses ♪

MALE GOSPEL SINGER:
And... ♪

FEMALE GOSPEL SINGER:
And he... ♪

MAN: Sing it!
CONGREGATION: Walks with me ♪

And he talks with me ♪

And he tells me I am his own ♪

And the joy we share ♪

As we tarry there ♪

None other has ever known ♪

He walks with me ♪

And he talks with me ♪

And he tells me I am his own ♪

And the joy we share ♪

As we tarry there ♪

None other has ever known ♪

( thunder rumbles )

And he walks with me
And he talks with me... ♪

BANDLEADER: Hey!

Everybody inside.

Come on. Hup two.
On the double, let's go.

Come on.
Keep moving, keep moving.

Storm's coming.

Get inside. Move.

...ever known ♪

And he walks with me
and he talks with me ♪

MOTHER: Come on in, right now!
Girls!

And he tells me
I am his own ♪

Come in now!

It's starting to rain, and I
don't want you out there alone.

( girls giggle )

( "I Come to the Garden Alone"
fades out )

( eerie theme plays )

( thunder rumbling )

( fax machine whirring )

( suspenseful theme playing )

, ,
( voices echoing )

O'RYAN: Turn around!

( grinding sound )

( horn blaring )

( eerie theme playing )

( insects chirping,
birds warbling )

( warbling continues
on tape player )

,
( gunshot )

( fax machines whirring )

( thunder rumbling,
rain falling )

( sighs )

( thunder rumbling )

( police sirens wail
in distance )

Fran.
Hi.

Fran.

I need somebody to talk to.

You're so wet.
Are you okay?

Yeah. Fran, I need
somebody to talk to.

( whispering ):
It's driving me crazy.

Listen to me.

There's Speck,

a small-town New Mexico
traveling salesman.

Fulcher, a schoolteacher
from Boulder.

And then Starkey.

I think I got a lock on it,

but there's just
something missing.

There's something missing,
and I can't--

Okay. Okay.
It's okay.

Why don't you come in.

No. Come out.

Get dressed. We're right
on the edge of this thing.

Come on!
Hey.

Come here.

Come here.

It's okay. It's okay.
It's okay.

You gotta keep calm, okay?

Fran?

I've been having
these dreams.

I've been
seeing things again.

And I don't know
what they mean.

Come inside, Tom.
Come in.

No. I can't.

I almost have it, Fran.

I'm worried about you.

I love you, Fran.

I love you.

( soft, mysterious theme plays )

MACKELWAY:
Mrs. Speck, did your husband
keep any kind of chemicals?

Did he have
any unusual hobbies?

Did he, uh...?
Was he an avid photographer?

Did he have
an interest in sewing?

No. Why?

I'm taking your time.

I'm sorry to ask you
these questions.

I'm sorry I don't have
more time, Agent Mackelway,

but it's my PTA day.

I'm sorry.
I should have called.

( sink running )

I wish I could have
helped you.

, , ,
( car doors closing
outside )

( people speaking indistinctly )

( suspenseful theme building )

( gasping )

( footsteps approaching )

I'm FBI.

Yeah, I'll bet.

OFFICER: What the hell is that?

MACKELWAY:
We managed to identify

the remains
of 10 of the 21 victims

found in the attic
of Harold A. Speck,

the traveling salesman

from Truth or Consequences,
New Mexico.

They were mostly teenagers.

More than half were runaways.

The revelation that Speck
was a serial killer

led us to examine
Barney Fulcher,

the victim that
Agent Kulok and I found

at the All American Diner.

After an extensive search
of his home and property,

we found the remains
of nine people,

mostly boys between
the ages of 9 and 14.

The last victim,
Raymond Starkey,

who vanished after
his acquittal six months ago,

we all know about.

Sir, for some reason,

this man is identifying
and targeting serial killers.

CHARLETON:
Not necessarily.

We got two other bodies
from Santa Fe,

so it looks like killers
aren't his only victims.

MACKELWAY:
But we don't know

that those bodies had anything
to do with O'Ryan.

Let's stick
to what we do know.

He's a transient with
a history of mental illness.

He also happens to think he's
a former agent of this bureau.

I want this man
apprehended now.

( announcer on radio
speaking indistinctly )

ANNOUNCER ( on radio ):
Swung on and missed.
Strike two.

Slipped on that one.

( siren wailing in distance )

Next one up.
Here's the wind-up.

Swung on and missed.
Strike three.

( siren approaching )

Even though he did
hit over .300

his previous three seasons,

it wasn't until last year
that he made the all-star team.

( announcer continues
speaking indistinctly )

Just misses on the outside
corner. Ball two.

MALE OFFICER ( on radio ):
Sergeant, copy that.
Possible stolen vehicle.

We are checking NCIC right now
for wanted warrants.

( female officer on radio
speaking indistinctly )

Good afternoon.

Afternoon, officer.

See your
driver's license, sir?

Of course.

Is there a problem?

Could I see your
registration, please?

Sure.

( glove compartment unlatches )

( papers rustling )

You mind stepping out
of the car, please?

( closes glove compartment )

Officer,
I'm carrying something

that could be construed
as a weapon.

I'd like to hand it over
voluntarily

so you won't think I'm trying
to conceal anything.

Would that be all right?

What kind of weapon, sir?

A hunting knife
right here on my hip.

I'm on my way to the woods.
My gear's in the trunk.

Would you like me
to hand it to you?

I don't know what the procedure
is for something like this.

Take the weapon
off your hip,

place it on the ground,
kick it towards me.

Happy to.

,
What exactly were you
planning on hunting?

A 50-foot shark.

You know, I used to be
in law enforcement too.

Is that right?
Uh-huh.

FBI. Course, that was
some years ago now.

Psy ops.
Strictly classified.

Are you on any type
of medication,

or have you been drinking
this afternoon?

Sir.

I'm sorry.

I just found myself wondering
what was inside that truck.

Sir, I'm gonna ask you

to hand me the keys
to your vehicle, please.

( thunder rumbling )

,
( thunder rumbling )

( gasps )

( sighs )

, ,
Fran!
Yeah?

O'Ryan was here.
Damn it, O'Ryan was here.

He left that
in my jacket.

Don't do this again,
Tom. Don't!

Tom! Don't do this!

( suspenseful theme playing )

( tires screech )

( film projector running )

O'RYAN:
You're gonna help me.

You're gonna help me
turn it off.

Nobody told me
how to turn it off.

And you're gonna help me
turn it off.

You're here.

Help me turn it off.

MAN: Icarus began

as a means of gathering
military intelligence,

but its applications
in the world of law enforcement

are proving
extremely promising.

The reason you men
are sitting here

is because you all fit
into the personality profile

that best suits
a remote viewer.

You've been selected
and evaluated

based on recurrent symptoms

of elevated dream activity,

migraine headaches,

tinnitus

and your psy test results.

MAN 2:
Target reference number.
One-seven-four-six.

Go.

Don't close your eyes.

Don't think.

Focus on the target.

MAN 3: So everyone involved
is gonna wind up

with severe
psychological trauma.

MAN 1: You're high
or genius-level intelligence,

unmarried, with no record of
long or serious relationships.

MAN 2:
The fear.

MAN 1: And you're all
obsessive in nature.

MAN 2:
Describe the person. Go.
A beautiful little girl.

MAN 1:
Don't stop the pen from moving.

( man 4 gasping )

MAN 2: This girl's afraid.

She's afraid. Afraid.

Afraid.

You're becoming emotionally
entrained with the victim.

Stay focused.
--collection process.

It is not meant to be
an experience.

O'RYAN:
You're gonna help me.

You're gonna help me
turn it off.

Nobody's told us
how to turn it off,

and you're gonna help me
turn it off.

Help me turn it off.

You're gonna help me.

You're gonna help me.

Turn it off.

MAN: Icarus began

as a means of gathering
military intelligence,

but its applications
in the world of law enforcement

are proving
extremely promising

in several different areas.

These are areas which you will
be involved in your studies,

and, as you've been advised,

they're classified
top-secret and confidential.

( breathing heavily )

( tape play button clicks )

MAN ( on tape player ):
FBI profile 6765031.

Icarus case number 754.

Physicians in charge,

Dr. Galin J. Peterson
and Dr. Ferdinand Kovoskis.

Audio enhancer
for remote viewer O'Ryan.

Session to commence

in five, four, three, two, one.

( chirping, warbling sounds
on tape player )

,
( whispering ):
Yeah.

( distorted voices echoing )

MAN ( on tape player ):
Focus.

Target number. Write it now.

( distorted voices echoing )

Focus.

( truck horn honking )

One target at a time.

( sound of O'Ryan sketching )

( hand tapping repeatedly )

( chain creaking )

Stay objective.

Do not identify
with the victim.

Do not identify
with the victim.

( hand tapping quickly )

Charlie?

Charlie?

Charlie!

( voice distorted ):
Charlie?

Charlie!

( screaming ):
Charlie!

Charlie!

( screaming ):
Charlie!

Charlie!

Charlie!

( O'Ryan retching )

, ,
( distorted sounds echoing )

O'RYAN ( whispering ):
Here they are, Mackelway.

Look.

Look.

Look.

WOMAN:
No! Please, I won't tell!

Please, please! No!

No, no, no!

( voices echoing indistinctly )

O'RYAN:
Shut it off for me!

( gunshot )

You got one of those pins
in Deming yet?

O'Ryan was spotted there
yesterday.

Took a squad car and a side arm
off a highway patrolman.

About an hour later,
a 5-year-old boy was abducted

roughly a mile
up the interstate.

We also found the bodies
of two unidentified females

in a Dumpster
off the highway.

Your boy's been busy.

We're establishing a perimeter
around the city now.

Well, was the patrolman hurt?
What's the difference?

He wasn't, was he?
No, he was fine.

But the girls
in the Dumpster

had a fatal injury
or two.

O'Ryan's not the guy.
He's chasing the guy.

Or that patrolman
would be dead.

Is there any chance I can
ship this guy back to Dallas?

O'Ryan was FBI, Charleton.

You ever heard of a project
called Icarus?

No.

Have you?
No.

It's agents trained
to see distant locations

using nothing but the mind.

They call it remote viewing.

Army stole it from the Soviets,
bureau stole it from the Army.

They use it to track down
serial killers. What?

You don't believe me,
do you?

It's bullshit, huh?
It's voodoo?

Except it worked.
They made a science out of it.

That's how he drew this.

He'd never been
in this house before.

He just saw what was in there.
The bureau taught him how.

Now he's using it
to track down Suspect Zero.

CHARLETON:
You know what, Tom?

I'm extremely tired
of that term.

Profile the guy.

He's straight out of Quantico.

He's working a case,
just like we would.

He's not kidnapping
these little kids.

He's chasing the guy
that's doing the kidnapping.

Look at the map.

Okay.

What you're telling me
is that all these abductions

are the work of one guy.

Yes.

Mack,
do you realize

how insane that is?

Fran, please help me.
He's not listening to me.

Tom, I'm not sure

that you're seeing things
very clearly right now.

CHARLETON: Tom.

Let's just try something
that actually makes sense.

This guy sends in
these faxes.

He picks off three scumbags.

Why? So that we will think
exactly what you're thinking.

That we got a friend
out there,

somebody who's willing
to take out the trash

for the rest of us,
and it's all horseshit!

And what if it isn't?

What if there really is
a Suspect Zero out there

and O'Ryan is the one guy
who's got a shot at him?

For fuck's sake, Mackelway.

When did you start
buying into this guy?

( scoffs )

Well, he's smarter
than we are.

CHARLETON:
Speak for yourself.

I'm going to Deming.

You can take
the rest of the day off.

( horn honking )

( indistinct voices on radio )

MAN ON RADIO: I'll be damned.

( The Wonder Kids Choir's
"Bingo" playing on radio )

There was a farmer
Who had a dog ♪

And Bingo was his name-o ♪

B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O ♪

( sighs )

( sighs )

( horn honking )

( telephone rings )
Kulok here.

MACKELWAY: Hey.
Where are you?

I'm headed towards Tucumcari.

Listen.

Those marks
on the bodies,

could they be
freezer burns?

Let me get into this.

( horn honking )

( horn honking )

( horns honking )

( driver yelling indistinctly )

( cell phone ringing )

MACKELWAY: Yeah?

There's crystallization

because the blood never clotted
in the wounds.

Freezer burn. You're right.

What, so he keeps the bodies
in a freezer

and buries them
a thousand miles apart?

Hey, Tom, what's going on?

I got a possible suspect.

( disconnected signal beeping )

( performers chanting,
jewelry jangling )

( riders screaming )

Hey, baby.

MAN: That kid's been
a brat all morning.

I could turn
around...

See what you caused?

I gotta go.

Are you afraid?

It'd be customary
at this point to start praying.

I see a lot of that.

Haven't heard
too many answers, though.

You're alone.

Come on!

Are you afraid?

Where's the boy?
My, my!

Must be extremely satisfying

to hear yourself
say something so heroic.

I'm almost envious.

The boy's in pieces
under the bed.

Now are you afraid?

I know what you're thinking.

"Pain is coming.

Will I take it
like a man?"

Well, let me
put you at ease.

You won't.
None of them do.

Men, women, children.
They all weep. They all beg.

They pass out.
They piss themselves.

They attempt negotiation.

You wouldn't believe
how many men I've seen

lying right where you're lying
right now.

Grown men, with wives
and children at home,

offering all kinds
of sexual gratification

for a five-minute reprieve.

It's pathetic.

Are you afraid?

Then at that moment
when they realize

there's nothing left
to negotiate,

they're just mine
and they're helpless,

the look in their eyes,
the level of surrender,

it's almost pornographic.

I put that mirror here because
I didn't want you to miss it.

Are you afraid?

Look in the mirror, O'Ryan.

Are you afraid?
Look in the mirror.

Are you afraid?
Look in the mirror, O'Ryan.

Hey, you, fucking Mackelway.

Look at yourself. Look in
the mirror. Look at yourself.

Are you afraid, Mackelway?!

Look at yourself, O'Ryan!
Are you afraid?!

No, I'm not afraid of you.
Open your eyes!

Open your eyes, goddamn it, or
I'll cut the fucking lids off!

Then cut
the fucking lids off!

( panting )

O'RYAN:
The initiation
used to be more civil.

I'm sorry about that.

You're part of it now.

There were five of us,
you know.

The most skilled
technical remote viewers

on Project Icarus.

You come in in the morning,
have a cup of coffee,

talk about
the Yankees.

Then you go to your room with
your pen and your pad of paper,

always alone.

You try and lock in,
you crank out an ideogram.

Son of Sam. John Wayne Gacy.
Ted Bundy.

He might be driving his car,
having a beer,

brushing his teeth,

cutting someone's eyes out.

If you did it right,
you got it all.

The way it sounded,
the way it smelled.

And those people
were looking right up at you,

begging you for mercy.

It was like being God.
But, of course, you're not God.

Can't do a thing for them.

They wired us into this current,
the five of us.

Darkness. The pit itself.

We were
plugged right into it,

and no one taught us
how to turn it off.

We saw things
men shouldn't see.

Agony. Torture.

Evil.

It never shut off.

I checked once

with all the guys that
had been on the project

when it was just used
for intel.

You know, finding...

gun-runners and drug lords,

Soviet missile sites...

even the Iran hostages.

Anyway...

I checked with them,
they're all okay.

But the five of us...

plugged into the brains and
nervous systems of human beings,

that's when we lost it.

We're all either dead
or institutionalized.

After a while,

those conversations about
the Yankees became impossible.

( engine cuts off )

( mysterious theme playing )

( voices whispering eerily )

,
MACKELWAY: O'Ryan.

Those faxes...

the missings...

how many of them are his?

O'RYAN: All of them.

You were the missing piece,
Mack.

Now everything's in place.

All you have to do
is finish it.

, ,
( air brakes hiss )

( starts engine )

( tires squealing )

( dialing )

This is Mackelway.

I'm traveling north,

approaching I-54 in Tucumcari.
Request immediate backup.

I'm pursuing a possible suspect
in a refrigerated truck.

Brake!

( grunting )

, ,
KULOK: Hey, Tom!

Tom!

Get the trailer open!
There's a kid in the trailer!

Hi. Hey.

Hey, buddy.

You okay?

I got you, okay?

Okay, come here. Oh.

I got you.

( police sirens approaching )

Get an ambulance.
Yes, ma'am.

( officers speak indistinctly )

( suspenseful theme playing )

, ,
( both grunting )

( Mackelway groaning )

, ,
( grunting )

( yelling )

( panting heavily )

WOMAN: I won't tell!

( overlapping voices echoing )

( panting )

I knew I was right about you.

No. No, that wasn't me.

Of course it was you.

It wasn't me.

It wasn't
the wind.

You beat him to death.

Now all you have to do
is finish it.

Finish it!

You have to understand,
none of this was arbitrary.

We were chosen, you and I.

It's not a bad start, Mack!

We made the world
a little safer. We made justice.

No, this wasn't justice.
Of course it was!

And so is this.

No. I'm not gonna
kill you, O'Ryan.

You already have.

I've seen it
a thousand times.

No, you saw wrong.
That's impossible!

I saw us here.
I saw all of it.

Me baiting you,
testing you.

Look at him!

You've arrived.
You're cursed.

Like me. Only you keep
running from it.

You hear things.

You see things.
That's why you can't sleep.

Why your head always aches.

Get up.

Get up!

There is no Zero.

You're a confused old man.
Can't you see that?

You think we did
something mythical here today?

You think we put an end to evil
or something?

We killed a deviant, that's all.

There are thousands of them
out there.

O'Ryan, you're a guy
with a skill.

You're not God.
You can't see everything.

You don't decide
what's justice.

KULOK: Freeze!

Please, Mack.
I can't sleep anymore.

I keep seeing
all those faces.

The ones I couldn't save.

All those missings.

You know, they never blink.

And they're all in here.

I want you to
shut it off for me.

Please, Mack,
I'm so tired.

I just want you
to shut it off for me!

Shut it off for me.

I can't.

I'm not you.

( scoffs )

Yet!

( cocks gun )

( gunshot )

( mystical theme playing )

So tired.

So tired.

Thank you.

( mystical theme
continues playing )

( wind whistling )

( mystical theme
continues playing )

( wind continues whistling )

( mystical theme fades )

( mysterious theme playing )