Bull (2016–…): Season 2, Episode 17 - Gag Order - full transcript
Bull agrees to help Chunk's daughter when her journalism professor faces jail time for stealing proprietary information from a dating app developer.
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Seven, six, one, six,
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Seven, six, one, six,
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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.
OK, I'm gonna hop in a
cab. Be back this afternoon.
Got my cell if you need me. OK.
Hey, you wanna take my car?
Well, you wanna
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. 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.
It'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 p.m. That OK 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 have a 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.
She's the one who recommended
me for the scholarship.
[KNOCKING]
Miss Tomlin? I'm Anna Baker.
- I'm a prospective freshman.
- OK.
You recommended
me for the scholarship?
- And did you get it?
- Yes.
You're welcome.
We had an 11 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...
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.
OK. Give it a try, Dr. Bull.
You sure?
Ripley, double macchiato.
[WHIRRING]
Ah.
Hmm.
Two shots. Dab
of milk. Piping hot.
It's delicious.
Hire this man. What'd you
say your name was again, son?
Isaiah.
- 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.
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.
And let me guess. The
entire profile was fake.
Plus, the IP 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.
OK. 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.
Our? 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,
the 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.
[PHONE RINGS]
Oh. It's my editor. May I?
Yeah.
Hey, Tom.
Hey, guys, I don't get this.
If Chloe's being charged with burglary,
why is her arraignment in federal court?
CLERK: 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.
Miss 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 don't understand.
What does that mean?
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.
- Take a breath. We'll figure this out.
Your Honor, because Miss
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 they... they can't. I
gave those women my word.
I'll just publish it under a
pseudonym 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?
- 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 emails 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.
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 spark
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.
I can't believe that the AUSA got the
judge to agree to a closed courtroom
on top of the gag order.
They're acting like Spark4U's trade
secrets are the damn nuclear codes.
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.
Excuse me, gentlemen,
I hate to interrupt,
but I have bad news
and worse news.
Go easy. 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.
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.
OK. I wasn't.
And by the way, there's no
"ish" 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 wanna 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.
- I really ought to be going.
- Anna.
- 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.
Nonetheless, I see
you sipping your coffee.
I've been reading a lot of your
writing the past couple of days.
You strike me as someone
who's fairly pure of heart.
OK.
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 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.
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.
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 gotta 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.
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 onto 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.
I suppose when the system is
doing what it's supposed to be doing,
that is what you hope for.
Truth is, no matter what,
we've got our work cut out for us.
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.
That's not true. 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.
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 a 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.
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 'em anywhere?
- The messages just vanish?
- 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, I gotta 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?
I am... was... her editor
at the New York Ledger.
- When'd you stop working for him?
- I didn't know I had.
Now, the defense is claiming
that Miss 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?
Miss 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 Miss
Tomlin's story about?
I... I actually never assigned
Chloe a story about Spark4U.
And 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.
So is it possible that she
made the whole thing up
as an excuse for
committing this crime?
- Objection.
- Sustained.
- Miss Hartman.
- Withdrawn, Your Honor.
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.
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.
MARISSA: 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...
- 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?
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?
[DOOR BUZZER]
It's two 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.
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, OK?
I don't want him to miss the message
because he's mad at the messenger.
It's just too important.
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.
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, Miss Hartman.
You may continue.
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 Miss Tomlin, the defendant?
WOMAN: Yes.
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, "I
have to share this."
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 Miss
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 Miss Tomlin.
How do you mean?
Uh...
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.
Are you testifying that
Spark4U had you sign an NDA?
- Your Honor?
- In return for what?
- Your Honor.
- They paid me.
Marissa, I ever tell
you you're a genius?
Oh, wait, that's
right. You're not here.
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.
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.
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.
Dr. Bull. 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?
Well, how? I thought
you said it was impossible.
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.
- 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.
Miss 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.
Miss Northrop, did
Spark4U hire you
to impersonate an employee and to
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.
- 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-hm.
Our IPO last year was valued
at approximately $3.3 billion.
Wow. [LAUGHS]
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 Miss 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 she was a whistle-blower,
when in fact this was all
a plan to incriminate her...
- Mr. Colón!
- So she could never publish
her damning story
about your company?
Mr. Colón!
I will have order. Mr. Colón, you are
dangerously close to being in contempt.
Miss Hartman's
objections are sustained.
Ladies and
gentlemen of the jury,
you are to disregard
the defense's assertions.
'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, God. Thank you.
I can't thank you enough.
I know I talk a big game,
but I was terrified of prison.
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.
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 A in her class.
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, 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?
And another scholarship?
Baby, come here.
I am so proud of you.
This doesn't mean we're OK.
'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]
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 wanna come back?
- Yes.
- You wanna think about it a minute?
- No.
Nice pajamas. I'll see
you in the morning.
Seven, six, one, six,
three, nine, one, six.
Two, four, five, six,
eight, seven, two, nine.
Seven, six, one, six,
three, nine, one, six.
Two, four, five, six,
eight, seven, two, nine.
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.
OK, I'm gonna hop in a
cab. Be back this afternoon.
Got my cell if you need me. OK.
Hey, you wanna take my car?
Well, you wanna
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. 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.
It'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 p.m. That OK 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 have a 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.
She's the one who recommended
me for the scholarship.
[KNOCKING]
Miss Tomlin? I'm Anna Baker.
- I'm a prospective freshman.
- OK.
You recommended
me for the scholarship?
- And did you get it?
- Yes.
You're welcome.
We had an 11 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...
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.
OK. Give it a try, Dr. Bull.
You sure?
Ripley, double macchiato.
[WHIRRING]
Ah.
Hmm.
Two shots. Dab
of milk. Piping hot.
It's delicious.
Hire this man. What'd you
say your name was again, son?
Isaiah.
- 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.
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.
And let me guess. The
entire profile was fake.
Plus, the IP 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.
OK. 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.
Our? 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,
the 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.
[PHONE RINGS]
Oh. It's my editor. May I?
Yeah.
Hey, Tom.
Hey, guys, I don't get this.
If Chloe's being charged with burglary,
why is her arraignment in federal court?
CLERK: 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.
Miss 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 don't understand.
What does that mean?
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.
- Take a breath. We'll figure this out.
Your Honor, because Miss
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 they... they can't. I
gave those women my word.
I'll just publish it under a
pseudonym 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?
- 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 emails 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.
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 spark
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.
I can't believe that the AUSA got the
judge to agree to a closed courtroom
on top of the gag order.
They're acting like Spark4U's trade
secrets are the damn nuclear codes.
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.
Excuse me, gentlemen,
I hate to interrupt,
but I have bad news
and worse news.
Go easy. 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.
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.
OK. I wasn't.
And by the way, there's no
"ish" 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 wanna 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.
- I really ought to be going.
- Anna.
- 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.
Nonetheless, I see
you sipping your coffee.
I've been reading a lot of your
writing the past couple of days.
You strike me as someone
who's fairly pure of heart.
OK.
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 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.
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.
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 gotta 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.
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 onto 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.
I suppose when the system is
doing what it's supposed to be doing,
that is what you hope for.
Truth is, no matter what,
we've got our work cut out for us.
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.
That's not true. 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.
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 a 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.
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 'em anywhere?
- The messages just vanish?
- 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, I gotta 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?
I am... was... her editor
at the New York Ledger.
- When'd you stop working for him?
- I didn't know I had.
Now, the defense is claiming
that Miss 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?
Miss 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 Miss
Tomlin's story about?
I... I actually never assigned
Chloe a story about Spark4U.
And 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.
So is it possible that she
made the whole thing up
as an excuse for
committing this crime?
- Objection.
- Sustained.
- Miss Hartman.
- Withdrawn, Your Honor.
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.
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.
MARISSA: 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...
- 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?
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?
[DOOR BUZZER]
It's two 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.
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, OK?
I don't want him to miss the message
because he's mad at the messenger.
It's just too important.
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.
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, Miss Hartman.
You may continue.
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 Miss Tomlin, the defendant?
WOMAN: Yes.
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, "I
have to share this."
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 Miss
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 Miss Tomlin.
How do you mean?
Uh...
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.
Are you testifying that
Spark4U had you sign an NDA?
- Your Honor?
- In return for what?
- Your Honor.
- They paid me.
Marissa, I ever tell
you you're a genius?
Oh, wait, that's
right. You're not here.
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.
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.
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.
Dr. Bull. 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?
Well, how? I thought
you said it was impossible.
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.
- 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.
Miss 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.
Miss Northrop, did
Spark4U hire you
to impersonate an employee and to
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.
- 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-hm.
Our IPO last year was valued
at approximately $3.3 billion.
Wow. [LAUGHS]
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 Miss 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 she was a whistle-blower,
when in fact this was all
a plan to incriminate her...
- Mr. Colón!
- So she could never publish
her damning story
about your company?
Mr. Colón!
I will have order. Mr. Colón, you are
dangerously close to being in contempt.
Miss Hartman's
objections are sustained.
Ladies and
gentlemen of the jury,
you are to disregard
the defense's assertions.
'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, God. Thank you.
I can't thank you enough.
I know I talk a big game,
but I was terrified of prison.
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.
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 A in her class.
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, 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?
And another scholarship?
Baby, come here.
I am so proud of you.
This doesn't mean we're OK.
'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]
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 wanna come back?
- Yes.
- You wanna think about it a minute?
- No.
Nice pajamas. I'll see
you in the morning.