Numb3rs (2005–2010): Season 6, Episode 6 - Dreamland - full transcript

Hey.

No flash.

Sorry.

This is it.

Locals have seen the
lights twice from here,

including last night.

Reports on ConspiracyNet
say Goathart is housing

- a reverse-UFO technology project.
- Yeah,

I've also heard it's
a reinvent of a Nazi

superweapons program.

Others think it's ghosts...



Spirits of World
War Il test pilots.

Whatever's going on,

this is where it's happening.

Welcome to the new Dreamland.

The new Area 51.

4:20.

Only two more
hours till sunrise.

Prime time for
covert military activity.

I'm going to need more coffee.

You hear that?

Hear what?

That.

Mother Mary of...

Look!



Hey, buddy.

Death by UFO?

Should be interesting.

Yeah, we're hoping for a
more terrestrial explanation.

Uh, victim here was
badly burned, so it's going

to be a while before
we can identify.

What have we got
here, some targets, huh?

Yeah. Thought this base
was shut down a long time ago.

Well, Goathart Air Base

was officially
decommissioned in 1986.

It was established in 1938

as a proving ground
for new aircraft.

Taking its name
from the local Goathart

mountain range.

It's really just a
monogenetic volcanic field

created about seven and
a half million years ago.

Well, 7.6. Let's be fair.

Right, and-and you are?

Oh, I'm sorry. Of course.

I'm, uh, Floyd Mayborne.

I'm from Department 44.

Department 44?

Pentagon.

- You got some I.D. there?
- Oh,

I'm afraid Department
44 personnel

are not allowed to
carry identification.

For reasons that cannot
be specified at this time.

I can give you

a number to call
for verification.

What exactly is Department 44?

Oh, I'm not allowed to describe

or to share our
current responsibilities.

For reasons that cannot
be specified at this time.

I can tell you, however,
Department 44 was originally

established in 1863...
During the Civil War...

In response to
widespread profiteering

of military property.

The theft and black
market sale of rations,

boots, cannon wheels,
that sort of thing.

So, why are you here?

Well, this incident
involves military property.

I was hoping you'd be so kind

as to allow me to monitor
the FBI investigation.

We're going to have to
get back to you on that one.

We're talking alien heat rays,

or maybe ghosts.

Souls of dead pilots.

Sounds like there's no
shortage of irrational theories.

Oh, in my line of work,
I often find it difficult

to stay strictly within
the bounds of rationality.

Yeah, I bet.

Your weird friend was right.

The base was shuttered in 1986.

There haven't been any
military operations authorized

at the base the entire time.

Who were all these people?

UFO and paranormal buffs.

They've been
tracking Internet reports

about strange lights.

They camp out along
the perimeter, hoping

- to collect evidence.
- Of what?

Secret government
UFO technology.

Nellis has to deal

with these kinds of
people all the time.

- Nellis?
- Air Base. Area 51.

Oh. So these are really
reliable people, right?

Look, short of getting access

to the X Files, we're not going
with any kind of alien death ray

- theories, period.
- Guys.

Processed the
photos and the video

from these
witnesses at Goathart.

Nothing Pulitzer-prize-winning,
but we did get something.

What the hell was
that? Let me see it again.

You were saying, Agent Mulder?

The Air Force has reverse-
engineered crashed UFOs.

It's beyond imagination.

That's why they call
places like Goathart

and Area 51 "Dreamland."

Okay, but why

was your group out at
the air base last night?

Locals been seeing strange
lights out there for a week.

We'd been out twice before

trying to get
something on camera.

- Last night, we got lucky.
- Lucky?

Someone was killed.

I know. It's a... tragedy.

But you got to understand.

This is the first confirmed

observation of alien
weapon technology.

All right, how can
you be so sure

that what you saw wasn't
a natural phenomenon?

Good point.

Could have been,
uh, spiritual energy.

Angry ghosts of dead pilots.

It would help if you
took these questions

a little more seriously.

Giant balls of energy
raining down from the sky?

Does that seem natural to you?

Everything you know is wrong.

Oh, guys, wait. Here, excellent.

I want you to meet
Floyd Mayborne.

He's, uh, Department
44 of the Pentagon.

Department 44?

Yeah, DC requested
that, uh, Mr. Mayborne

observe our investigation.

Extraordinary high-pressure
day you're having here, hmm?

Weather-wise.

The buildup of air pressure
in the high-altitude Great Basin

between the Sierra Nevada
and the Rocky Mountains,

creating adiabatic winds

which are propelled
gravitationally

toward the Southern
California coastline.

I'm sorry, what?

Hot, dry conditions otherwise
known as the Santa Anas.

Sounds like he'd
enjoy talking to Charlie.

- Ooh, yes, Professor Eppes.
- The one and only.

I would enjoy that.

I really like working
with numbers.

Oh, yeah, that's a
good idea, Colby.

Why don't you run him over
to, uh, Cal Sci, would you?

Colby?

That's my grandmother's name.

- Come on.
- Hey, Don.

You got a second?

- Yeah. What's up?
- Now that I'm at

a supervisory level,
I... I'd love some advice

on what assignments to go after.

You know, like, "Where do I
go from here?" kind of thing.

You have two tracks:
fieldwork and management.

Well, you've managed
to keep your feet

- in both worlds, though.
- Yeah,

but, I mean, I never
thought about it.

You're saying you didn't
know what you wanted to do?

Nah, look, I knew I
wanted to be active.

I knew I wanted
to be doing things,

not filing reports.

And, you know, eventually,

I-I knew I wanted to run a team.

Okay... why?

Why?

Well, look, you know
what they say, right?

"Once you had a boss,
you want to be a boss."

And-and, you
know, like yourself,

you see enough things
done wrong around here...

Don't say anything.

And then, they see
you can manage people,

and you get yourself a desk.

It's not like I... I
made a decision.

I just... I kind of played
the hand I was dealt,

then, I mean, that's
the way it worked.

You know what I'm saying?

Think so.

I mean...

I guess I didn't
really have a plan.

How did that work out for you?

I'm going to have to get
back to you on that one.

We're pulling dental records,

but so far, no
positive I.D. match.

Can you tell us anything
about the victim?

Female. Late 20s, early 30s.

Likes take-out Chinese food.

At least that was her last meal.

Bit of a weekend
warrior, tennis or softball,

moderate tendon strains
in the knee and right elbow.

- Cause of death?
- Coronary arrest.

From what, I'm not sure.

These massive
burns indicate contact

with a serious energy source.

The only time I've
seen something like this

was with a lightning strike.

There were no thunderstorms.

Just a shower of
alien death rays.

Yeah, that or killer ghosts.

The only other
thing of note is this.

I've indicated what looks
like the burn impression

of a long necklace
or I.D. badge.

Where is it?

Could've just burned up.

Or maybe someone took it
before the cops showed up.

High-density toroid?

Otto Bahnhoff.

Dr. Waldie said you were
looking for an engineer

- with experience in plasma physics.
- Yes.

Thank you for coming by
so quickly, Dr. Bahnhoff.

Uh, please, Otto.

- My friends call me Otto-Bahn.
- Oh.

Ah, that's fascinating.

Uh, where's this from?

Uh, this is from the FBI.

But, uh, Dr. Waldie said

you have a security
clearance, right?

Oh, yes, yes. I have two
current projects with Raytheon.

Now, what are the dimensions?

It's hard to judge the
scale on this video.

You know, I don't
have the dimensions.

I have to assume that
the objects are anywhere

from one to three
meters in diameter.

But, uh, Otto? Otto?

Otto-Bahn?

Listen, the important thing here

is that one of these
things killed someone.

Uh-huh. Do you know the source?

- No.
- Oh, good, good... a mystery.

- Hello.
- Hello.

Hi. Come in.

Floyd Mayborne
from the Pentagon.

This is Dr. Otto Bahnhoff.

He's Cal Sci's resident
plasma physics expert.

Oh, the Pentagon.

I'm sure we must know
some of the same people.

Actually, I'm quite
sure we don't.

Uh, have you
considered the possibility

that this was ball lightning?

Uh, ball lightning was
never definitively proven.

Tell that to Georg
Wilhelm Richmann.

- Yes, yes.
- Who?

An 18th century physicist.

While conducting experiments
during a thunderstorm,

he was struck in the
head and killed by...

A pale blue ball of fire.

Well, witnesses
described these objects

as being aimed or
directed at targets.

Well, there-there's
a reason why it's...

it's really difficult
to aim lightning.

In a thundercloud,

frozen raindrops
bump each other,

the collisions creating
an electric charge.

The positive charges, protons,
form at the top of the cloud,

and the negative charges,
electrons, form at the bottom.

And, since opposites attract,
that causes a positive charge

to build up on the
ground beneath the cloud.

The charge coming
up from these points

will eventually
connect with the charge

reaching down from the
cloud, and... zap! lightning.

And so, it's like
static electricity.

I could rub my
feet on the carpet,

but that doesn't mean I can
shoot the electrons at you.

Yeah, the trick is
creating lightning

- that you can aim.
- Exactly.

Hasn't stopped
people from trying.

The Air Force's ongoing
SHIVA Star program

- has been attempting to create plasma projectiles.
- Ongoing?

Well, officially, they say
they killed the project, but...

Please stand by.

Hmm.

I have confirmed that SHIVA
Star is no longer operational.

How?

Cell phone.

I've been the caretaker
here at Goathart

ever since it closed.

Make weekly rounds, check locks.

Make sure nothing is
vandalized or stolen.

Look around all you like,

but I haven't seen anyone
on the base for years.

Were you here last night
when our victim was killed?

No reason to be
out here at night.

You ever hear or see anything
out of the ordinary on the base?

Like what, ghosts
of dead test pilots?

Why do I feel like I'm in
a Scooby-Doo cartoon?

Jinkies, Fred, I don't know.

Well, have at it.

I'll open up the next hangar.

What's that?

Sucralfate.

Isn't that for ulcers?

Yeah.

And cancer patients,

when they get ulcers
from radiation treatment.

Expires November 2011.

Someone was out here recently.

What does a ghost
from outer space want

with stomach medication?

I didn't know the desert
got so cold at night.

Well, somebody just had to go

and find evidence to warrant
a stakeout, didn't they?

I'm just going to shut
up and drink my coffee.

How about we look
out for something

that will justify
this little field trip.

Hold on.

- What do you got?
- Yeah, I saw it, too.

Light over the ridge.

C-34 clear.

How do we look, John?

We're good.

You guys hear that?

Yeah.

Is there anyone inside?

I can't tell.

Firestrike, prepare
for target acquisition.

Your skin feel weird?

Kind of tingly?

Yeah.

CQ-Conquest, this is Firestrike.

P.E.P. frontier at two,

two megajoules at 150 kV.

People, we're
outside the envelope.

If someone in that
van could get hurt

or is doing something they
shouldn't, we have to go in.

Firestrike, CQ-Conquest.

- Recommend evacuation of target zone.
- Got it.

Got it!

Evacuate the vehicle.

The M.E. has the bodies.

We're hoping to find I.D.
on at least one of them.

- Well, what's the problem?
- They're in pretty bad shape.

It's going to take some
time to figure out what's flesh

and what's clothes, you know.

What's in the van?

Uh, it's high-tech gear.

It's all pretty fried, though.

Well, this is a
strange development.

Yeah? What do you know about it?

Agent Eppes, I am as
mystified as you are.

Perhaps we're
looking at some form

of high-energy weaponry.

Thanks for that, Floyd.

My brother could
have told me that.

Charlie is an
excellent resource.

I'm hoping he can
tell me something

about the contents of that van.

Think he's holding out on us?

I don't know what the
deal is with this guy.

Ooh.

Looks like diagnostic equipment.

Serious computing power.

So, what do you think,
more UFO hunters?

No, no, no, this is...

this is, like,
special equipment.

It's very sophisticated
and expensive.

Designed to do what?

I don't know.

Something complex.

Oh, this is... this is some sort

of viscous material here.

Charlie, yeah, actually, I
think that's part of a guy.

Oh. Well, okay.

Uh, whoever was in this van

had some cutting-edge equipment,

and some of it's capable of,
uh, monitoring and tracking.

Okay?

We've I.D. 'd all three bodies.

Each had an employee I.D.

for a company...
Neox Industries.

Daniel Stymeyer, John
Evans, Richard Zezwitz.

Do we know what killed them?

Being blown up.

There were burns...
Radiation burns.

Maybe an intense X-ray exposure.

What, X-rays can
cause a van to explode?

They're powerful
when concentrated.

Between this and the
Jane Doe that died earlier,

there's some intense energy
source operating out there.

Well, we need to find out

what kind of work
Neox Industries does,

and if they're missing
a female employee.

Cynthia Abbott, employee
of Neox Industries,

reported missing two days ago.

Her size matches the
body we found at the airfield,

so we just need some
DNA for final confirmation.

She worked at the same
company as our three toasted guys.

All four were engineers.

Neox Industries' Web site says

it develops "specialized
preventative applications."

That sounds like weaponry to me.

I wonder why they haven't
reported four missing employees.

I can't wait to ask them.

John, Dan and Rich weren't
even working last night.

How can they be dead?

Well, they were identified

by, uh, personal effects
and their dental records.

Oh, my God, this is horrible.

I'll have to notify
people... families.

I suppose I should ask how.

Only if you don't already know.

What were your three
employees working on out there?

I signed a
confidentiality agreement

with the government.

I can't discuss that.

Well, we have top
security clearance.

That says I can't discuss
our federal contracts.

Not with the FBI,
not with anybody.

If I do, I'm violating
national security laws.

You understand
we can't walk away

when four people are dead.

Four? You said three.

We found another body

in a separate incident
that we also believe

to be one of your
employees... Cynthia Abbott.

Cynthia?

No, no, no. That's impossible.

She wasn't even
working on the...

This project.

Cyndi and I have been

living together for
about six months.

What's happened to her?

We don't know yet.

What can you tell us
about Cynthia's work

at Neox Industries?

Uh, she didn't talk about it.

Only that it involved
her specialty.

- And what was that?
- Plasma physics.

She did say something

about being
dropped off a project,

but she didn't say what it was.

And do you have a
recent photo of Cynthia?

Yeah.

She volunteers as a tutor.

She donates her time
to Habitat for Humanity.

She... cares about things.

I can't see why
anybody would hurt her.

Does she have a
computer at home?

Yeah, you need to see it?

Yeah, we do, and
we also need a sample

of her DNA... a toothbrush,

- for instance.
- Why?

Did you find something?

No, it's just routine.

Well, Neox has a government
defense contract, so...

Well, that explains the secrecy.

Oh!

- Floyd?
- Floyd?

I have an important
question I need to ask you.

Have you had the pie at the
restaurant down the street?

You mean Pie 'N' Burger?

Is that the name?

That's a good name.

Because it's astounding pie.

Yes, it is.

You came all the
way out here for pie?

No, but putting
all talk of pie aside

for a future time, I
have new information.

Due to the deaths
of the engineers,

I was able to get certain
data released to me.

It might help you
with your work.

Well, you work at
the Pentagon, right?

So, Neox has a defense project.

I would think you would
know what it's working on.

Department 44
is only responsible

for verifying that these
projects come in on time

and on budget.

So, you're some sort of auditor.

Uh... some sort,
Dr. Ramanujan, yes.

I'm sorry.

Have... have we met?

No, but I am familiar
with your work,

particularly that pertaining
to satellite telemetry.

Nifty stuff.

Thank you.

Hey, listen, Floyd, we need

to know as much as possible

if we're going to get
anywhere with this investigation.

At this point, all I know

is that the Neox
Industries contract

involves "less lethal" weaponry.

As opposed to nonlethal.

Devices that
frighten or disable.

Less lethal would mean

directed energy weapons,

like microwaves,
particle beams, lasers.

Makes more sense

than ETs or ghosts.

The Pentagon has
no contract with aliens

or with afterlife entities.

That I'm aware of.

At this time.

The FBI has located this laptop.

Belongs to Cynthia Abbott,

plasma physics engineer
employed by Neox.

Agent Eppes has asked
that Dr. Ramanujan

examine its contents.

The FBI also
believes that Dr. Abbott

was the first person killed.

Is there a problem?

Uh-uh. Working on a
dead person's computer?

Hardly my first time.

No, I imagine it's not.

I don't know, Donnie.

I'm not quite sure what
you're getting at, though.

I'm just saying, the major
turning points in your life...

Were they actually decisions,

like, planned out?

Oh.

Well, let's see.

Uh...

I chose to go to college.

I met your mom,
which I didn't choose.

I chose to marry her.

She got pregnant.

I chose to study
architecture, but, uh,

I needed a job,

so I took a job with the city.

Well, like having two sons.

You know, I mean,
you didn't choose that.

Oh, I chose to have children.

Had to take what
I got, didn't I?

What is it,

you're second-guessing
about some decisions?

I don't know. I just...

It's like... I feel,
with all the big ones,

really, it was by default.

FBI was just a fallback

'cause I didn't have the
goods to play pro ball.

Well, maybe you have to
make some plans of your own.

Yeah, well, it never
really occurred to me

that I-I wasn't doing that.

I'm afraid

you're gonna
have to ask yourself

what you really want in life.

Want a lot of things, Dad.

I got into Cynthia
Abbott's laptop.

There's no Neox
Industries work on it,

but she did send a couple
e-mails that mentioned it.

She says that Neox was going

to field-test a system
that wasn't ready.

She knew where the test was

- and planned to watch.
- Well,

she was struck by a plasma
toroid device from above,

which would indicate an
aircraft delivery platform.

Well, here's information
about a new type of aircraft...

A small military drone

capable of supporting
directed-energy weaponry.

Whoa. Is this some
top-secret government site

you've hacked into?

No. It's Wired magazine online
discussion board Otto IM'ed me.

What about the van with

the three engineers? What
type of weapons platform

was used?

I don't know, but
we can find out.

Well, we've got David
and Colby's report,

and we've got these track
marks on the ground here,

so I'm thinking we can use
those to calculate the force

that struck the vehicle
and possibly the direction.

Yeah, I think we've
got a good shot.

- Hello.
- -Oh!

Floyd, you got to stop
materializing like that.

Oh. Sorry.

May I inquire what
you're doing out here?

Just trying to get an idea

- of where that energy burst came from.
- Mmm.

What are you doing here?

Oh, I thought I'd try to
experience the ambiance

of the scene at night.

Your idea sounds
much more practical.

Can I help?

Sure. You, uh...
you got a flashlight?

There's something here.

It's a sheep.

What could have done this?

Chupacabra?

Legendary bloodsucking
creature from South America?

Seriously?

No. I'm joking.

Much more likely
explanation is that it was killed

by some high-energy weapon.

Well, look here.

Engineering shorthand
scribbled on a washing machine.

These are targeting coordinates.

Oh, yeah.

- There's another one.
- Well, how about that?

They were testing the weapon

against live
animals and objects.

Ooh, I just saw
a flash over here.

What is that?

Looks like an unmanned drone.

Ah, MK-15 Shadow Hawk.

National Aeronautical Dynamics.

First flight, February 2, 2008.

Principal user...
United States Air Force.

Unit cost 12.5
million U.S. dollars.

Sensors included.

What is it doing here?

I have no idea.

This is some sort of laser.

A laser-induced plasma channel.

It creates a channel in the
air that allows the system

to fire a bolt of
electricity along it.

A bolt of lightning you can aim?

We've found our murder weapon.

Okay, so this thing
killed four people?

And several sheep.

The question is,

why would they
leave it out there?

Well, maybe it
malfunctioned and crashed,

and whoever was
operating it got scared

- of being caught and took off.
- Hey, we got turned down

by a federal judge for the
Neox Industries subpoena.

Yeah, a Defense
Department lawyer

cited the project's
classified status.

Well, that's not optimal.

Wh-what? You work
for the Pentagon.

- What do you mean?
- Oh, different department.

Although, I can
understand how it looks.

No, no, no, I'm tired of this.

Here's the deal...
Either you fix it,

- or you're out of here.
- Well,

I guess that's a clear mandate.

- What was that?
- I have no idea.

Four dead people, we
can't cut any red tape.

This experimental weapons

system must have some
serious money behind it.

Ah, these government
contracts usually involve billions.

Cynthia Abbott knew
something was wrong at Neox.

- And now she's dead.
- That was David.

The woman killed at Goathart
was not Cynthia Abbott.

DNA match came up negative.

Okay, if that's not
Abbott, then who is it?

- And where the hell is Abbott?
- And what do we

really know about
Mr. Department 44?

I can report some progress.

- What are you doing?
- Uh, please stand by.

Again with the
invisible cell phone.

Floyd, this better be useful.

Oh.

Yes, it is... very useful...

And if I may say,
quite unexpected.

FBI! Open the door.

Go!

I want to see I.D.s.

Cynthia Abbott?

What if I am?

It's not illegal

to stay in a hotel
without telling anybody.

How did you know she was here?

Well, she's a scientist

with expertise in
plasma physics,

employed by a firm with
government contracts

for classified weaponry.

She's been implanted
with a microchip

so that she can be
located at any time.

A microchip?

Are you serious?

Do I appear not to be serious?

If she has a locator in her,
why is she trying to hide?

The microchip was implanted
without her knowledge.

I wanted to watch
the field test.

I didn't know they were
going to kill somebody.

You saw the murder?

It was horrible.

Could you identify the body?

I was too far away
to see her face.

Well, why run? Why
not go to the police?

Police can't protect me.

The contract's worth billions.

And I know they can't deliver.

Did your boyfriend lie for you?

Herbie has no idea.

I figured it was safer
for him that way.

What kind of weapon
is Neox developing?

It's a laser-induced
plasma channel gun.

Um...

a lightning gun.

You work for a government agency

that puts microchips
in people's heads.

I mean, you can
understand if we think

that maybe you've
been holding back on us.

Well, Department 44 did not
perform the actual implantation.

You know more
than you're telling us.

I told you everything
I knew to be true

when I knew it to be true.

- What does that even mean?
- Have you ever heard

of the Bronson Infantry
Fighting Vehicle?

Yeah. The tank?

Well, the initial design
contract was for $40 million,

but after 17 years,

there was no working design,

and the cost hit $14 billion.

Billion?

"B." Billion.

Tests were faked,
results falsified...

By the contractor, but also
by generals at the Pentagon

who were overseeing the project.

You're saying that
Pentagon officials

that know about Neox aren't
telling you what's going on?

We know from experience

that that is the
likely scenario.

Floyd, you're going to tell
us everything you know.

If I know it.

Again, what does that mean?

I want a list of Neox
employees, all right?!

Well, then, I shall reach out.

- Hey, Amita.
- Hey.

Oh, thanks for coming over.

Sure. I don't have
a class until 3:00.

Good. Uh, it's just that, um,

I-I have something for you.

Alan, you promised...
No engagement gifts.

No, it's not a gift.

It's, um... it's just something

that somebody wanted
me to give to you.

It was, uh,

my wife, Margaret's.

Actually, it was given

to her great-great-grandmother
for her 21st birthday.

Alan, I...

Well, we never had a daughter,

so Margaret wanted me

to give it to our
daughter-in-law.

I'm not married to Charlie yet.

You've been a member of
our family for quite a while.

Um, why today?

Well, um...

it's Margaret's birthday.

So, it's my present to her.

Thank you.

What's this guy up to?

List of Neox
Industries' employees.

Hey, that woman killed
at the airfield that night?

Finally got a possible I.D.

Alison Williams, vice
president of Neox Industries.

Was she reported missing?

No, but I checked
with her neighbors.

They heard her cat crying.

They said she would
have never left it

without having
someone to feed it.

All right, what do
they say at Neox?

That she's on leave.

She's not a scientist.

She's a contract liaison.

In other words,
head salesperson.

She could be the
body from the field test.

One way to find out.

Let's get to her
apartment, get some DNA.

Hi, boys.

Come to witness my defeat?

I bet you wish Larry
was still in town.

She's a lot harder to beat.

Well, I enjoy the challenge.

Fleinhardt's a good man,
but a mediocre chess player.

I miss Larry.

Oh, he'll be back. He
always comes back.

Well, one of the nice outcomes

of Larry leaving is
that you and Amita

seem to be spending a
lot more time together.

You know one of my true regrets

in life is not
having a daughter.

But you know something?

Daughter-in-law is just as good.

Well, you got the daughter
you always wanted, see?

So, things do
work out in the end.

And with any luck, I'd
have two daughters-in-law.

Well, isn't the cliché that
people hate their in-laws?

You get along better with
her than you do with him or me.

Yeah, what's that? Just
'cause she's prettier?

- Mm-hmm.
- Well, it's easy

to like other people's parents.

It's your own parents
that present the challenge.

Hey, this is Otto. He's
got something. Come on.

Hey, keep me posted, - Aah!

Here, I'll take over.

So, Cynthia Abbott was able

to provide us with files
on the Neox project.

Yes, yes, I've
analyzed test data

from the dense plasma driver

here under the magnetic coils.

A lot of problems.

It looks like it's designed

to create a toroid of
high-density plasma.

Yes, yes, uh, one
that is supposed

to shower a target with
X-rays to disable electronics...

Or an electrical field that
stops a person's motor controls.

Yeah, well,

instead, it killed four people.

Uh, the plasma driver adjusts
itself to be way too powerful.

It adjusts itself?

It's automated, intended
to identify its targets

and calibrate its energy output

without requiring
human intervention.

Yes, yes, uh, the
military developed

a device for us in
Iraq called a C-RAM...

A computerized
counter-rocket artillery mortar...

To shoot down incoming rockets

that are coming too
fast for humans to react.

- Huh. Does it work?
- Well, it does now,

but the first time
they powered it up,

it fired on an
American helicopter.

Luckily, the pilot was
able to evade the C-RAM.

Dr. Eppes, I've just received
word of Internet chatter

referencing a
ghost plane sighting

near Goathart Air Base.

We've been out here four hours.

Internet chatter is
not always reliable.

That's a bit of an
understatement.

You, uh...

you getting another call
on your invisible cell phone?

No, just listening to the
sounds of the desert at night.

You hear something?

You hear it, too?

I think that's what
we were hearing.

Yeah, you think?

Uh, I think it's safe to
say that they've spotted us.

Is it similar to the
drone we found?

I would say it's...
it's quite similar.

So, there's a good chance

that this one's also armed
with high-energy weaponry.

You hear that? What is that?

If you feel a
tingling sensation,

that's the plasma
channel opening up.

Run sideways, not backwards.

Okay, good to know.

Why are you so calm?

Panic won't do us any good.

- Sinclair.
- Hey, hey, David,

we-we sighted the drone.

Can you give me a direction?

NSA has a track on it.

So, yeah, we've
got an exact track.

Uh... wow, it's headed for the
hangars at Goathart Air Base.

That's 21.3 miles from here.

Now, listen, you need to
get there as fast as possible.

Yeah.

Gently, guys, gently.

- Got it?
- Yeah.

Get this drone
out of here, guys,

gently, gently.

Let's go. Turn around.

Darren Drew. FBI.

FBI. Stop.

You can keep walking all the way

to Bullhead,
Arizona, if you want.

But we'll have called ahead.

I am supervising a
legitimate test here.

- I am not a criminal.
- Then, come on over here

and get yourself handcuffed
like a good person.

You know what?

You can't do this.

This is a top secret
federal project.

You don't have
the authority to a...

No, no, no. Hey,
you cannot do this!

Look, we just need more time.

We can fix it.

This is not how it
is supposed to work.

Who killed your three
employees in that van?

It was an accident.

Well, we've talked to
people on your team.

There's a lot of
finger-pointing going on.

The engineers are
blaming the programmers.

The coders are
blaming the designers.

Yeah, but mostly,
they're blaming you,

saying you wouldn't admit
that the project was in trouble.

No, that... that is not true.

We were very close.
We were days away.

Not according to your engineers.

They don't see
the whole picture.

There is so much at stake.

Really?

Enough to kill for?

No, of course not.

Then, why are four people dead?

Four people who were
my friends. All right?

We're a small company.
We're like a family.

I don't know what
happened out there,

but I know none
of my people did it.

It's possible he's
telling the truth,

that he doesn't understand
what went wrong.

He knows.

I mean, it's his project.

Right?

- Hey.
- Hey.

So, Otto's analyzing
the Neox data

from the field tests.

Nobody at Neox seems
to know what happened.

Isn't it here in their records?

That depends on if we
can interpret their data

better than they could.

Yes, yes, no doubt,
this could work.

- It needs tweaks, for sure.
- Excuse me?

Uh, magnetized target fusion.

Compress a smaller plasma load

with imploding metal foil.

Yes, yes.

Uh, what's he talking about?

- Hey, Otto.
- Huh?

What if I told you we needed
a working prototype in...

two weeks?

Yes, yes, uh, no problem.

Uh, large team, uh,
MJ capacitor banks,

new magnetic coils,

some high-z metal,
redo the calcs.

Uh, maybe a few risks involved.

A few? Is he serious?

He's an engineer.

Many of them are like this.

Like what? Many
of us are like what?

Convinced that in two
weeks, you can take

a problematic, mistake-ridden,
advanced technical project

to a working prototype stage.

Why not?

Oh. I see your point.

You know, that's how I got
my nickname, Otto-Bahn...

'cause I'm always going,
like, 160 miles an hour.

Dr. Eppes, are you suggesting

that this is a case of
confidence and drive

overwhelming practical judgment?

Not murder?

Just... the
unrestrained ambitions

of brilliant engineers.

But unrestrained ambitions

are the only way to accomplish

anything truly
challenging, right?

Oh, dear.

I see your point.

Oh, it's almost like...

I did it.

Not you, but...

people like you.

Your engineers
were working too fast.

They took too many chances.

Which is why
everybody got killed.

We needed more time,
but the Feds got impatient,

- so Ali...
- Alison Williams,

your Pentagon liaison.

Ali wanted a live human test.

Because it was
supposed to be nonlethal.

It was supposed to be safe.

She figured, if
we could do that,

we'd get more funding

and more time.

She volunteered to
be the test subject.

So, why the cover-up?

Because, if anybody found out

what we were doing,
we'd get shut down.

I took the I.D. off her body.

I figured...

that would keep it a
mystery just long enough to...

Alison believed in this project.

Okay? I don't want
to let her down.

- And the engineers?
- They went out

to test on their own.

They didn't tell me.

They thought I would say no.

- Would you have?
- No, probably not.

I believed

in this project,
damn it. I still do.

Well, that's what they told me.

Field supervisor, inspections,
two-year stint in DC.

L.A. isn't big enough?

Hey, if you want management,
you got to go to DC.

All right, thanks.

Appreciate you talking to
the assistant director for me.

Okay, so if you were me,
what would you do next?

What do you keep
asking me this stuff for?

Well, come on, man,
you're like a mentor,

and, you know, you're
a good agent, so...

Look...

I made my share of mistakes,

and you, of all people,
know that, you know.

I mean, I've taken
the wrong jobs,

I've-I've quit the right ones.

I've broken rules
I've regretted,

and I've followed rules
I should have ignored.

Even when I'm doing
what I should be doing,

sometimes it feels like
it's for the wrong reasons.

You know what I'm saying?

I think I do.

I don't even know if I should
be in the field anymore.

Ah, don't start talking crazy.

Right.

Well, let me give
you some advice.

Stop being so hard on yourself.

Seriously.

For a Jewish guy, you sure
like getting up on the cross.

Yeah?

Yeah, you know, I haven't
seen this thing in years?

Floyd.

- Why do you keep doing that?
- Doing what?

Materializing out
of empty space.

I cannot do that.

However, there are contractors

who have been
developing an incredible s...

Sorry.

Not really supposed
to talk about that.

Uh, I just wanted to let you
know that Department 44

really appreciated your
help on the Neox case.

I convey to you the
thanks of a grateful nation.

You speak on behalf
of the whole nation?

A project that wastes
national resources

damages national security.

You know, Neox could
have spent billions more

without solving the underlying
problems in its systems.

Neox was backed by
Pentagon procurement

and military officials
and a system built

on denial and greed.

And they would have
gotten away with it, too,

if it weren't for
you meddling kids.