Numb3rs (2005–2010): Season 3, Episode 18 - Democracy - full transcript

Numbers #055 DVD "Democracy"
CLOSED CAPTIONED

CHARLIE: So, yeah,
uh, remember that

the fluid dynamics class
has been moved this week

to Friday at 10:00.

So, it's not at its normal time.

Okay, see you then. Bye-bye.

Charlie.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to startle you.

Rachel? Yeah. Hi, Charlie.

What-What are you doing
here? Aren't you supposed to be



doing that Geospatial project

over at Stanford? No, I...

This is a list of names

of people I know,

that I've worked with recently.

Three of them are now dead.

Did you say dead? Yeah.

I think they found out something

they weren't supposed to know.

They were killed,

even though it
doesn't look like it.

And I think they're
going to kill me as well.

How did they die, Rachel?

It's complicated.
Look, I can't...



I can't explain it right
here. Not... not now.

Have you gone to the police?
No, no, no, I can't trust them.

But you can trust me?

I know you.

I know

you're who you say you are.

If you take me to your brother,

I'll believe he's your brother.

All right.

I'll take you to see
my brother Don,

tomorrow, at the FBI.

Thank you.

I'll meet you here
in the morning.

And I'll bring
documentation, just, please,

look at those names.

They shouldn't be dead,

but they are.

Rachel...

A conspiracy, huh?

I guess so, I mean,

with this woman Rachel
Lawton, it's always something,

you know? Wacky, is she?

Uh, maybe a little yeah.

She was into these
odd ideas in grad school.

Like for instance, uh,

she once posed that
certain top scientists

were actually aliens
sent here to help mankind.

She probably knew Larry.

That's the thing about Rachel,

she was always
quite a brilliant thinker

and she was usually a
lot of fun to hang out with.

So, uh, what's her field?

She's a statistician...
Specializing

in demography. Oh.

There are some crazy
conspiracies, you know.

Sometimes it takes a brilliant,

nutty thinker to spot one.

The only trouble is,

usually the kind of
people nobody believes.

MAN: Subject suffered
a cardiac arrest.

A result of a massive
absorption of acetaminophen,

hydrocodone and alcohol.

My preliminary finding
is Rachel Lawton died

of a non-accidental overdose
of prescription medication.

Hey, thanks very much.

All right?

She was scared, upset,
and maybe a little erratic,

but, uh, she didn't
seem suicidal.

Look, I got a quick
background here.

I mean, you know, she was going

to a therapist for two years.

For what?

For depression.

The employment records show she,

she had emotional outbursts,

questionable
stability, you know...

So, that's, that's
the end of it then?

No, I mean, we'll
do a basic follow-up,

but, I mean, I don't
think it's going anywhere.

Come on, let's get out of here.

OSWALD: Hey, Charlie.

Oswald.

Thanks for stopping by.

I mean, don't thank me yet.

I figured you wanted
to talk to me more

about enrolling or whatever.

Yeah.

Specialized program.

For people like you.

High school dropouts that are
obsessed with fantasy baseball?

Gifted people

who lack traditional educations.

Ah. That's a nice
way of putting it.

But, Charlie,

I'm just not a Cal Sci guy.

I'm horrible at tests.

Like, the worst.

I can't talk to professors.

You talk to me. Yeah,

but we met over baseball stats.

That's the one thing I know.

Oswald,

with some training, man, you,

you really could work in
any field you wanted to.

What is this? Ten
million to one?

It's the odds of a woman

and three people she worked with

dying in a two week period.

I knew her.

I identified her body this
morning at the morgue.

Oh, Charlie,

that's awful.

I'm sorry. Yeah.

She claimed that
these people were killed

because of something they knew.

What about this guy
that's not checked off?

Still alive, I guess.

RECEPTIONIST: Berkeley
Political Science Department.

Hello. Uh...

I'm trying to reach
Dr. Robert Reynolds.

I, um... I'm sorry.

Dr. Reynolds is
no longer with us.

Are you a friend or
a family member?

That's okay. Thank you.

Charlie, what are the odds
that these five people would die

in a two week period?

About 700 million to one.

Which means Rachel
was telling me the truth.

DON: So five people

all mid-20s to 40s,

all in good health,

and all dead within two weeks.

David.

Teresa King,

computer scientist.

Rebecca Ortega, Sam
Chambers statisticians.

And Robert Reynolds,

political scientist.

No known connections.

Heart attack, asthma...

Conditions that can
be mimicked by drugs.

DAVID: Yeah, we also
have the classics here.

Slipped in the bathtub,

car accident, self-
administered drug overdose.

What about doing a second
autopsy on Rachel Lawton?

Yeah, we already requested it.

COLBY: And if Charlie's wrong,

and these are five
random deaths?

Well, that's why we got
to find something solid.

Otherwise, I mean,
you know, I don't want

to waste our time here.

Hey...

am I losing you?

Pardon?

Some memo from DC
about a special detachment

to the D.O.J.?

No, uh...

they called and I said
it probably isn't for me.

Probably...

Isn't.

Okay.

Hey, I found some
more journals with articles

by Rachel Lawton. Oh, thank you.

Yeah.

Any idea what she's
currently working on?

No, not yet.

She published a lot,
on a variety of topics.

You know, she, she
came to a seminar

that I taught in San Diego.

Really? Yeah.

She was a bright girl,
you know, creative thinker.

It's just a shame. You
know, it's just a shame.

Who kills a statistician?

You know, one of our stats
guys got a death threat once.

Yeah.

For doing expert testimony

in a water rights case.

Isn't that what got your

special admissions
candidate guy into trouble...

Baseball stats, huh?

Yeah.

Actually he may not be applying.

Hmm?

He's scared that he may
not be able to handle it.

Well, we've all been there, huh?

Except for maybe you.

You know, when we have
students who lack confidence,

sometimes we get them interested

in a really good problem.

You know, just
get them obsessed,

and then they forget

that they're afraid. Hmm.

Like what's this
guy into? Girls.

Skateboarding.

Baseball.

Statistics.

(fast, hip-hop music plays)

CHARLIE: You know,

you just broke the
law with that little trick.

The law of conservation
of angular momentum.

Ah. Wait, is that

Sir Isaac Newton going
to come and bust me?

Charlie, you're not gonna

hard sell me on this
college thing, are you?

No. Actually, I, uh...

I kind of need your help.

We searched the hotel room
where Rachel Lawton died,

but we didn't find any

of the documentation
she told Charlie about.

Now we have to go through what
she had on her when she died.

Well, that's everything, so...

COLBY: This is it, huh?

Hey, man, check
the bag for pens.

Pens? What for?

You didn't get that memo
on corporate espionage?

Yeah, they make pens
where they can put

the flash drive on the inside.

Well, what else can
they put flash drives in?

Key chains, rubber duckies.

Rubber ducky flash drive?

I want one of those.

Yeah.

How 'bout a watch?

OSWALD: This is
about those five people

that died, isn't it?

Well, Oswald, they must
have known something

and were killed
to keep it a secret.

This problem's
becoming a bit dangerous.

That being said, I have
already been shot at once.

Oh, hey.

Hey, Professor.

COLBY: Perfect
timing. DAVID: Oswald.

Good to see you. Fellas.

Um...

maybe I should step out.

Uh, you know
what? If it's all right

with the FBI, I would love

to utilize Mr. Kittner's

statistical analysis
skills on this case.

Mr. Kittner?

So what do you guys got?

You've got a watch.

It's Rachel Lawton's.

Ah, yeah, it's a flash drive.

Here.

Yeah, you just open this

and all you need is a USB cable.

USB. Perfect.

Plug that in there.

That plugs directly
into your computer.

That I do know about.

This is some sort of
statistical raw data,

pertaining to what
I'm not exactly sure.

Oswald.

I have no idea what
those headings mean.

This is going to be tough.

The best problems always are.

DAVID: One connection

between Rachel Lawton
and the other dead people...

They all worked in
statistical analysis.

And statisticians usually

work freelance... They
go from project to project.

Hired by corporations,
governments,

political campaigns.

I found a more
specific connection

to three out of five of them.

DAVID: J. Everett Tuttle.

The billionaire?

Yeah, he's a hedge fund manager,

he's into philanthropy
and politics.

Three of the people

on Rachel's list worked
for one of his companies.

That's not much.

I mean, a financial
wiz hiring statisticians.

"Not much" is all we have.

I finished the forensic
autopsy on Rachel Lawton.

It was smart to
request a second one.

Why? What do you got?

Apparently, her killer
didn't have a lot of patience.

Although she had a
potentially lethal dose of alcohol

and painkillers in her, Rachel
Lawton died of asphyxiation.

How?

She had traces of cotton fiber

in her lungs, likely
suffocated from a pillow

or towel after she
was unconscious.

Sort of thing that,

in the absence of
suspicious circumstances,

might be missed.

So we're not talking
about five random deaths.

We've definitely have
one murder on our hands.

We're gonna need forensic
autopsies on the other victims.

I'll get it started.

We might be looking
at five murders.

Yeah.

But we have no idea
what they're about.

Five deaths, but so far you
can only prove one was murder.

It's mathematically improbable

that these deaths
are coincidence.

Well, to make a case,
we need a motive.

And live witnesses.

You say three of the dead

did consulting work
for J. Everett Tuttle?

Right, and what do
you know about him?

Got a rep for playing
dirty on Wall Street.

SEC made a run
at him, got nowhere.

The New York AG
indicted him on fraud,

but two of the
witnesses disappeared,

and couldn't make a case.
Witnesses disappeared?

One was later found in Greece.

The other never turned up.

You think he's
capable of murder?

They think so in New York,
but they had no evidence.

The guys are off to
see Tuttle, let's see what

they come up with, all right?

It's a great cardio workout.

Great way to get
some firewood, too.

Yeah.

Well, you end up
with something useful.

Sit on those exercise machines,

you got nothing
when you're done.

So, how can I help the FBI?

We're here to talk to you about

three people who
used to work for you.

Let's see.

Well, Sam Chambers
did research for me.

And, uh...

I don't know the other two.

They were researchers as well.

I hire a lot of consultants.

I don't meet them all in person.

Well, these three all died
within the last few weeks.

I'm sorry to hear that.

What were they
hired to do for you?

I'm not sure.

Would you check on that?

I'll get back to you.

Mr. Tuttle, do you
know a Rachel Lawton?

Doesn't sound familiar.

What business
do you actually do?

I retired a year ago.

Well...

I manage a hedge fund.

I serve on corporate boards.

Try to put more time into
public service, that sort of thing.

And why do you employ

statisticians and
computer scientists?

To test stock market systems.

See, I'm still
dreaming about finding

that magic formula
for striking it rich.

Some people would say
you've already found it.

Take it from a guy
with more than enough,

it ain't never enough.

So, it looks like
this Oswald kid

bit pretty hard on
the FBI hook, huh?

Yeah, yeah, no,
he's really into it,

but he still won't
apply to Cal Sci. What?

He doesn't quite grasp all the
things he could accomplish here.

And I just don't know how
to get that across to him.

Well, that's because your
whole life is math and science,

same with your students.

I mean, what, you were
raised in the church here

and you preach to the converted.

Just have to figure out a way

to convert the heathen.

Yeah, well, here he comes.

Oswald.

Hey, Charlie.

Speak of the devil.

There's something off

about Rachel's numbers.

Hi there. Hi, hi.

Go ahead.

I did what you said.

I printed them out without
headings to search for patterns.

Didn't find any patterns,

but there's definitely
something off about her numbers.

I just can't put my
finger on it, you know?

Let us take a look at it.

Here you go.

Thanks.

You know what? That's a
very good observation, Oswald.

Because there are
too many sevens.

And threes. Too many for what?

Too many for this
list to be random.

MILLIE: Yeah.

For some reason,
when people make up

reports with numbers in them,

they always put in way
too many threes and sevens

and not enough ones and twos.

Me, I think I'd use
too many fours.

I mean, this way, you can not
know what the numbers describe,

but you can tell if
someone's lying.

Mm.

And on that note, I
have to go to work.

Bye-bye, Millie.
Nice to meet you.

You, too. Thank you.

She was pleasant. Who's that?

That's Dr. Mildred Finch.

She's the chair of our math,
physics and astronomy division.

Really?

She's easy to talk to.

Yeah, she is, a little bit.

So, anyway, how do
we figure out what this is?

Well, we have applications
that can help analyze

unlabeled sets of numbers.

It's called meta-data.

It's information about data.

For instance, the numbers

one, two, three,
four and five are data.

They may refer to anything.

But let's say you found out
that they refer to a zip code.

Well, then they mean
something specific...

In this case,
Schenectady, New York.

So we use that to figure out

what Rachel's numbers
are talking about.

Yeah, and then we may be
able to figure out why she died.

If you want a spooky guy
to mastermind a conspiracy,

J. Everett Tuttle is your pick.

Why do you say that?

We told him that three of
his former employees died

in the last couple of weeks,

didn't seem to care,
didn't even ask how.

No concern for them,
nothing for the families?

Not at all. No, in
fact, the only time

he expressed any interest
at all... Don't tell me.

Was when you asked
him about himself.

Yeah. You got
it right. All right,

he could have a self-absorbed,

Type-A personality, or
he could be a sociopath.

You got something new?

I do.

But I don't know
what it means yet.

Four of the five dead
people have consulted

on political campaigns.

(typing)

Mostly high-end
polling analysis.

But...

I'm still working
my magic on that.

OSWALD: Hey, Charlie,

what about the lottery?

Could we just be
looking at Lotto numbers?

I mean... Watch your head.

New category. Oh, great.

Megan says that
four of the researchers

consulted for
political campaigns.

Oh, so you think
we're looking at, like,

like, polling data

or, uh, campaign contributions?

Maybe votes.

Lets see what happens

when we compare Rachel's
numbers to election returns.

ALAN: Hey, Donnie.

Do you ever think of
moving back home?

Yeah, no thanks.

Well, I mean, you're
here all the time lately.

You know, there's
plenty of room.

Yeah, look, I like having
somewhere else to go.

You know, my own
little piece of privacy.

I yearned for that once,
too, if you remember.

I remember.

Guess I thought I'd
miss you guys too much.

(door opens) Hey.

So, Rachel's data
might be election results.

We're gonna compare it

to local and state returns.

ALAN: It wasn't suicide,

it was a murder.
Yeah, looks that way.

This Rachel girl you
met at grad school,

were you guys close?

Yeah, a bunch of us used
to hang out... she had a van.

So we'd all pile in, we'd go
to movies, go to concerts or...

It's funny... she'd always say

we could spend our
whole lives studying,

but we'd only be
young for a short while.

What are you... You're
not worried about

how I'm handling this, are you?

Uh... yeah.

To be honest, I'm
kind of concerned

that it's not bothering me more.

It's all this FBI
stuff, you know?

After a couple dozen

murder cases,

just isn't hitting me
the same as it used to,

even when I know the victim.

And that's, um...

that's an unsettling
realization.

Yeah, tell me about it.

Oh, so now I got

two jaded, world-weary sons.

Yeah. This one's got
a shrink to prove it.

CHARLIE: Hey.

So I ran Rachel's data
against election returns,

and this brute force data
search found a match.

To an election here in L.A.?

Yeah, to the most recent

county supervisor's election.

I think it's the sixth district.

Jason Brasher won, beat
a three-term incumbent.

Big upset. What, he stole it?

CHARLIE: Well,
I'll tell you this:

those vote totals
should be random,

and they aren't. All right,

this is starting to make sense.

J. Everett Tuttle was
Brasher's largest contributor.

He was the driving force
behind the campaign.

Rachel Lawton, she worked
on Brasher's campaign.

Says that she did

demographic analysis, Charlie.

MEEKS: Teresa King
did freelance work

for a computer company.

That same company had a contract

with the Brasher campaign.

That's all five victims.

Oh, man, do we have
to ask, you know?

The odds that this would be
random, it's like the four of us

getting hit by lightning
on the way home tonight.

And it's not even raining.

So, Tuttle...

Yeah, I'm with you.

Now, California Elections Code

requires an audit
of five percent

of touch-screen voting machines.

And here it is.

A preliminary audit
indicated discrepancies,

but the final report
said the race was clean.

The auditor changed his mind?

We should talk to him,

find out why.

That the house? That's the one.

Hey, hold on.

FBI. What happened here?

Guy who lives here, looks like

he slipped by the
pool and hit his head,

fell in and drowned. Get
everybody out. It's a crime scene.

Get everybody out right now.

Hey, everybody,
we got to clear out.

Arman Cuthbert,

auditor with the
County Registrar.

There's no
evidence of foul play,

but, I mean, what do you think

Charlie would say
about those odds?

Why kill somebody over a
county supervisor's seat?

L.A. County
Supervisors are powerful.

Each reps over
two million people...

More than many U.S. Senators.

They control a
budget worth billions.

You think Tuttle

rigged the election for Brasher?

It's looking like it.

The county's using these
new electronic voting machines.

We'd better find out

how secure they are.

A political conspiracy,

complete with dead witnesses.

We need a live witness.

If there's any left.

Doubt you're here for my darts.

Nope.

But I am winning.

Yeah, Charlie, we need
your help finding witnesses

these guys haven't
gotten to yet.

I'll certainly try... Using
organizational theory.

Because every organization

can be analyzed mathematically.

And in this case, there's
the extra added parameter

of secrecy.

So you could
mathematically analyze

the JFK assassination?

CHARLIE: Oh, sure.

Look, JFK conspiracy
theories require the cooperation

of the CIA, the FBI.

That number of

people involved, mathematically,

makes keeping the
secret impractical.

OSWALD: Yeah, which is

why we all know about it.

But can your
analysis help us find

the role of any
remaining witnesses?

Here's what I'm
gonna do for you.

I'm gonna look at the
employees at Brasher's campaign,

as well as at Tuttle's firm,

and match them against
who you'd need to pull off

an election fraud.

I guess the FBI could do that.

I can do it faster.

Election irregularities? I
thought that got looked into.

The county conducted an
audit of the election, am I right?

Well, there you go.

MEEKS: Superintendent Brasher,

what was your connection

to J. Everett Tuttle?

Everett is my good friend.

We go way back.

He is the one that talked me

into running for public office.

Everybody else said no
way, impossible, can't win.

They sure look like idiots now.

Sir, do you know this woman?

Nope. No, never seen her.

Cute girl.

She worked for your campaign.

She was murdered.

Uh...

I... I don't even know what her
job was; never met the woman.

What's this about?

Are you saying that
there's some connection

between this woman's death

and my campaign? Was there?

What the hell...?

No... This can't be
happening to me.

I will talk to you after
I've gotten a lawyer.

But before I do,

I'm gonna make some phone calls

and find out what the hell

you people think you're doing.

Wonder how much
Tuttle's told this guy.

My guess... nothing.

I know Tuttle's our guy,

but I still don't
know how he did it.

And we don't have any evidence
I can put in front of a judge.

It's like prosecuting
the Mafia...

Everybody knows
something's going on,

but nobody will talk about it.

We just need some
time, you know?

I mean, how about you
pressuring him on Brasher?

They might lay low, give us
time to find some witnesses.

Worth a try.

My company has met or surpassed

every security requirement.

Our machines
create a paper trail

that can be audited.

They're actually more
secure and easier to use

than any paper ballot system.

How's the software
actually protected?

All machines

are kept in a guarded
facility until an election.

Access to the unit's
hard drive is locked.

But poll workers can open it.

Even if one machine was hacked,

they don't link up.

And there's no way
to dial into them.

Mr. Dockins, you're confident

that these machines
performed as intended

during the recent
election cycle?

What if I told you the
results were fraudulent?

Whatever the problem was,

it wasn't in these machines.

CHARLIE: So I've identified
two job profiles necessary

to the conspiracy that
don't match the dead people.

Uh, what are we looking for?

Okay, one would be a
demographer specializing

in statistical analysis
of L.A. elections.

Someone well experienced
with precinct data.

And the other one? A
computer programmer

someone exceptionally
innovative and smart.

Probably makes a lot of
money and consults extensively.

You have no evidence of any
wrongdoing on my client's part.

MEEKS: Mr. Tuttle
is at the center

of an intensive
federal investigation.

I've been investigated
dozens of times.

Resulting in no convictions.

We ain't talking about
stock fraud here, guys.

We'll look at your
businesses, your contacts,

your political involvement,

particularly the
Brasher campaign.

And we're going to get into
everything, you understand

what I'm saying? Hmm.

I own two dozen companies,

with numerous subsidiaries,

I serve on 15
boards of directors

and I employ

four major law firms.

Even a cursory

investigation of my holdings

is going to put quite a strain
on the FBI's limited resources.

But... good luck, fellas.

Oh, yeah, he's scared.

So, you found some people

that fit the profiles
we came up with?

DAVID: Actually,
Megan found two.

Austin Parker and Jane Aliano.

He was the head researcher
on Brasher's campaign.

And she did
software security work

on one of Tuttle's
stock management firms.

Yeah, the kicker is
they're both missing.

Why am I not surprised?

Rachel Lawton's
phone records show

that she called both of them

day before she was murdered.

She must have
tried to warn them.

Yeah, now Parker's still alive.

We got four hits on his
credit card in the last two days.

So, assuming he's moving around,

hiding out. OSWALD:
When I tried that...

you guys found me.

DAVID: Yeah, he
left his car at home.

Could have borrowed
one, might be living in it.

If he'd rented, we'd have found

a record of that by now.

Yeah. All right,
we'll try to figure out

what he's using for a car.

I'll chart some rough ideas
on where they might be,

based on those
four credit card hits.

Using the theory that he's,
uh, avoiding his usual hangouts.

So...

I'm assuming that she's
our computer scientist.

That's right. She
told her sister

she was heading out of town,
expected back on Monday,

but we haven't heard
anything, there's been no calls,

no activity on the credit
cards, so, she might be dead.

OSWALD: Now, forgive me

for stating the
obvious, but, uh...

it seems Austin Parker

is your last hope.

Whoa! Whoa! What are you
doing? What are you doing?

What's going on? What's
going on? It's all right.

We're FBI. We're here
to protect you, okay?

Hold on! Hold on!

We know that Rachel
Lawton called you.

She told you what's going on.

We also know that this is
about the Brasher election.

Whatever life I have left

has become about
the Brasher election.

What was your involvement?

I was asked to make
up a list of precincts

where the vote would be closest.

And that's what I
did. Is that unusual?

Winning precincts doesn't count.

All that matters is
the overall vote total.

But guess what?

Brasher won all the
precincts on your list.

Somebody used my list to
decide where to hack the vote.

They figured it'd look
less suspicious if they did it

in precincts where the
votes were closer. Yep.

There was a mandatory audit,

due to the use of
electronic voting machines.

Now the auditor's dead.

Mr. Parker, we'd like you
to come with us, okay?

We need you to make a statement.

Wait, wait. You can't
make a case yet.

Until you can, I'm
not cooperating.

We have witness protection.

These people rigged an
election, I think they can

hack witness protection.

Get some indictments,
then maybe I'll testify.

All right. Who do you
think is behind this?

Brasher's an idiot.

But his old friend Tuttle...
He had a hand in everything.

Okay, gentlemen,

that's what I know. Now get
out of my car. Now, Mr. Parker,

you're gonna be safer
if you come with us.

None of us is safe. Get out.

We'll find you again.

If I'm around to find. Get out.

We need unmarked
units for surveillance

on a vehicle license 4-D-Q-S...

You okay? Yeah.

I didn't think I'd be this
close to a car bomb again

after Afghanistan,
but, yeah, I'm fine.

Could have been
detonated remotely.

Might have been a timer.

Could have been any one

of about half a dozen
different fusing techniques.

MEGAN: Well that's
a change in tactics.

I mean, this is an
obvious murder.

It's not a staged

accident anymore.
We confronted Tuttle

and he put it right
back in our faces.

So it's gonna come
down to Jane Aliano.

Agent Reeves, the
Director's Office is on line two.

I'll call him back.

Okay.

What, you're ducking
calls from the Director?

Only when I have
to tell him something

he doesn't want to hear.

I'll take the Aliano interview.

All right.

I take care of Pico, Jane's dog,

when she's out of town.

Do you know what's
happened to my sister?

No. But we're
trying to locate her.

She does a lot of consulting...
Travels all the time...

But she's never just
not shown up like this.

Is there any possibility
she might have spoken

to another family
member or a friend?

No. No, not that I've heard.

And that's what's
really scaring me.

She's never gone
this long without

calling Mom and Dad.

And how was she the last
time that you spoke to her?

Distracted.

But, but that's Jane...
one of those brilliant people

always processing
four things at once.

(laughs): I know the type.

She wanted to be sure
I'd have time for Pico.

Feed him, take him for a walk

in his favorite park.

I told her of course. I know
how much he means to her.

She even made him
a Christmas stocking.

This dog is like a child to her.

(whines)

FBI. Jane, it's okay.

We're the good
guys. We have her.

DISPATCH: Roger
that, Agent Sinclair.

I got a call from Rachel Lawton,

and what she said scared me.

But even before that, I knew

something was hinky
about the whole thing.

What you know could
really help us, Jane.

Yeah, but then
what happens to me?

Look, if we were
able to find you,

it would've only
been a matter of time

until they did, too.

But we will

protect you every
step of the way.

And we need a witness

who's willing to take them down.

I'm... I'm just so damn scared.

I know you are.

But you're angry, too.

They picked the wrong
computer geek to mess with.

DON: Come on, there just,

there can't be that
many possibilities.

In general, no, it's
power/control, power/wealth.

Well, it all comes back
to money, doesn't it?

People get money to get power,

or power to get money.

There are fanatical
idealists, you know.

He shoots, he scores!

Oh, Oswald Kittner.

Mercy rule?

It's got to be a
Canadian hockey table.

If they can rig
a local election,

why not a larger one?

Uh, because the bigger election,

the bigger the conspiracy.

If it's too big, it can't
sustain secrecy, you know?

It's like Watergate.

It's like Iran-Contra
or something.

Unless there's a self-
perpetuating element involved

like, uh... nano technology.

Okay, you know when you
stack up champagne glasses

and fill them with champagne?

You only pour the
champagne into the top glass

and then it overflows
to the others.

Requires resources applied
in one location, then it spreads.

Oh, good God, another one?

(chuckles)

What he means is, is
that the conspiracy starts

at a single source
but can then spread.

ALAN: That's right,

because the supervisors
oversee the county budget.

I mean, they oversee
everything the county buys,

which includes...

voting equipment.

Brasher could
definitely make sure

the county only
buys their machines.

Yeah, and with L.A.
County's huge population,

rigged voting machines
here could make the difference

in a statewide election.

You know what they say...

As California goes,
so goes the country.

This Tuttle...

wants to be a kingmaker.

Hey.

Megan just got a report
from Tru-Poll Systems.

That's the company that makes

the electronic voting machines.

Uh-huh, and?

Tru-Poll just updated
all the motherboards

on their machines in California.

Now, the motherboards
are made in Taiwan

by a company based here in
the States: SDKG Electronics.

And the really interesting part

about SDKG... it was
founded by this entrepreneur

named Paul Prescott
two years ago.

Tuttle approached him
about buying out his company

and Prescott says no.

Prescott died in a
rock-climbing accident.

Really?

It happens to a lot of people
that get in Tuttle's way.

Who owns that firm?
A holding company

that Tuttle sold one year ago.

COLBY: Well, Aliano

was hired to design a
stock analysis program,

but she was told that it should
also be able to alter prices.

Right. Now, she didn't
really see the point,

but Tuttle was
paying her well, so...

So, what, it changes votes?

Apparently, to a computer,

votes and stocks
are the same thing.

They're just a
bunch of number...

If he's going after Jane Aliano,

that's a problem.

Yeah, for us and for him.

Aliano studied at UCSD.

They say she's brilliant.

Supposedly, she told the FBI

that "they picked the wrong
computer geek to mess with."

Not the most threatening
statement I've ever heard.

Her code must be hidden

in the machine's
legitimate coding,

probably in the
operating system.

Oh, well, here.

That's easy. Tell
you what you do.

You need to look for the
computer code that looks like Jane's.

This all looks exactly the same.

Well, all I have to do
then is write an algorithm

to isolate her
code from the rest.

Hey, do me a favor.

Go find Dr. Finch.

Tell her we need a priority
run on the supercomputer,

and, you know, be convincing.

I'll tell her the fate of
democracy is at stake.

I like that.

Jane's code is embedded

in the operating system
on the motherboard

of the Tru-Poll machines.

And you can prove that?

Mathematically incontrovertible.

Well, how do the rigged
machines pass all the testing

they go through? Ah.

Why don't you
think of, of voting

on a voting machine as a man

reading instructions

to assemble a model car,

but you want the man to
build something different

than this car.

The easiest way is to
rewrite these directions.

These re-written
instructions then become

evidence of tampering.

However, if you can
alter the operating system,

the way the man interprets
the correct instructions,

step one becomes step five,

four wheels become two,
and red becomes green.

See, the voting machine
makes illegal alterations, but only

within the operating system,

so there's no evidence.

Mess with the operating system,

you can make that
machine do anything.

Right, well, Jane
Aliano can testify to this

unless Tuttle gets to her
first. Yeah, we'd better get her

someplace safe, okay, guys?

FBI! Get down!

Get down!

Down on the ground!
Put the gun on the ground!

Drop the gun! Drop the gun!

(engine roaring)

(tires screeching)

Drop the gun.

Hands behind your back.

Mr. Dawkins, we just
arrested three men trying

to assassinate Jane Aliano.

They're Tru-Poll Security
on your company payroll.

Yeah, we also
cracked your coding.

You conspired
with J. Everett Tuttle

to tamper with the
voting machines

and fix the election.

As well as killing six people.

You will cooperate
with the investigation

or you're going to
face the death penalty.

Maybe you don't quite understand

what you're up against here.

No...

I do know.

I know exactly
what I'm up against.

I intend to fully cooperate.

You'll give us Tuttle?

No.

Tuttle wasn't part of this.

This was my plan.

My people. My machines.

Tuttle had absolutely
nothing to do with any of it.

He won't change his story.

Yeah, his goons all back him.

They took orders
directly from him,

never even heard of Tuttle.

Yeah, but I say Tuttle's
got something on him.

Whatever it is,

it's scarier than
multiple murder charges.

He's smart.

Played it perfect.

If Tuttle kills Jane Aliano,

we got no case... or this guy

takes the fall.

Agent Eppes.

You know, I may be retired,

but I still have
appointments to keep.

Election fraud,
conspiracy and murder.

(laughs)

You're constrained by limited
funds and inadequate manpower,

and you've got a suspect
who's made a full confession.

He's lying and
I'm gonna prove it.

You're going to spend bureau
resources pursuing a case

that's already been solved?

And your superiors
are going to call that

selective prosecution.

You know that.

And especially when the
congressmen start calling

and complaining about you,

which they will.

You're just one man.

Just like you, pal.

Don.

Hey. The Times has the story.

The Brasher campaign,
Tru-Poll, Tuttle, all of it.

The governor wants an
investigation; there's demand

for a special grand jury.
How'd they even get it?

That's what I'm wondering.

Well, it wasn't me.

DON: I can't talk to the press

about an open investigation,

and I wouldn't, I
mean, not without proof.

Well, who... who do you think
gave the story to the press?

Uh... they might have seen

an advance copy of an article

set to run in the Journal
of Political Science.

Really, Charlie, you did this?

What I did was

I submitted an article
detailing my recent research.

Charlie, you can get
into a lot of trouble.

Yeah, it's possible,

but it's unlikely because,
look, I-I used information

that's in the public record.

And the organizational theory

I performed
linking Tuttle's firm

to Brasher's
campaign to Tru-Poll,

th-that's all
mathematically solid.

The Journal leaked it? Yeah.

They sent out a summary

to the general press.

It's extremely difficult
to prevent a scientist

from publishing his research.

Academic freedom
is big in this country.

Yeah, apparently so.

Yeah, so Tuttle wasted his time.

He wasted all that money
trying to devise his little scheme.

It was all useless...

(doorbell rings) because
now the voting officials

will know what to look for.

You did good, Chuck.

But Tuttle's still not in jail.

Hey, I'm not done

with him yet, don't you worry.

(door opens)

What's up?

Hello, Don, Mr. Eppes.

Hi. Oswald.

Hey, did you see the news?

Yeah, it's pretty wild.

It's on CNN and stuff.

I got to tell you, man,

this is like nothing
I've ever felt before.

I, it's really big, you know?

Yeah, it was, it was,
it was important work.

Was, was that your plan, to
show me the powers of math

in fighting evil?

Because it, it
worked. You got me.

I'm applying to Cal Sci.

Dude, that's, that's awesome.

You're right, another one.

Well, we can
always use one more.

Are you kidding?

They're taking over here.

You're right.

(phone ringing)

Reeves.

Yes, sir.

I... I have given it a
lot of thought actually,

and I don't think I can do it.

I understand, but...

So I don't actually have
a choice in the matter?

Yes, sir.

♪ I don't remember
much, if anything ♪

♪ Of those years,
kinda strange ♪

♪ Kinda sad, considering ♪

♪ All the laughs and all ♪

♪ The tears. ♪