Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–1987): Season 4, Episode 8 - Photo Finish - full transcript
A class assignment ends in a frame up for Amanda as she investigates a company that's building a satellite weapon.
- Here on a Saturday, Mr. Williamson?
- That's the way it goes, Blake.
You must have put somebody's
nose out of joint upstairs.
I thought you guys with the
suits played golf all weekend.
Hey, tell me about it. I'll be glad
when they get this bird put together.
But you know engineers...
one speck of dust and we've got to
scrub down the whole place again.
Oh. Will you clear these guys
through to the assembly area?
BLAKE: Mm-hm.
- Come on, guys.
[BEEPING]
[CHUCKLES]
[CHUCKLES]
Uh, don't forget to punch out
the laser grid in section Z-12.
- Okay.
- Have a good one.
You too, sir.
- Mr. Adams.
- Spot security check, Blake.
- You know the procedure.
- Go right ahead.
What the hell are those
bozos doing in Z-12?
One of those bozos is
our facility supervisor.
- Sir, he's cleared.
- I don't care if he's Caspar Weinberger.
He's not authorized to bring
un-cleared personnel here.
It's done all the time,
senior officer's prerogative.
I logged him in.
Nobody moves.
This is a top-secret
satellite project.
Okay, raise them. I
wanna see two of each.
Relax, Dutch. They're with me.
This is a restricted area, sir.
I'm ordering these men out of
here and filing a report on this.
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING]
[ADAMS GROANING]
[PHONE RINGS]
- Melrose here. MAN [OVER
PHONE]: Morning, Billy.
Yes.
- Seen the morning news?
- What?
Concerns one of your freshmen.
Okay, I've got last night's
flash status summary.
- Forget your doughnut and read it, okay?
- What line?
The 11th on page
nine looks like our
Internal Revenue
Committee is doing its job.
Found it yet?
That's impossible.
[PHONE RINGING]
LEE: Scarecrow. BILLY [OVER
PHONE]: Got a problem, Lee.
LEE: Yeah, what is it?
- Review board's ready
to give Amanda a letter.
- What?
- You heard me. Amanda's getting a letter.
What are you talking about? That's
gotta be a mistake. I don't believe it.
Why would they
give her a letter?
I don't know. I want
to see her in my office.
She's out in the field all day. She's
on assignment at Statik Aerospace.
The review board's meeting at 10 and
I want Amanda there to defend herself.
- Billy.
- Don't argue with me, Scarecrow.
- Just get a hold of her.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'll try to catch her, okay?
I want you there too.
Amanda's gonna need support.
All right.
[PHONE RINGS]
- Hello. LEE [OVER PHONE]: Hi.
- Hi.
- I'm glad I caught you.
- What's the matter, you miss me?
- Yeah, sure. I miss you.
AMANDA: What's up?
Uh, Amanda, something's come up.
They need to see you
down here this morning.
- Really? What is it?
- They're giving you a letter.
What do you mean,
they're giving me a letter?
Amanda, it's an expression.
They're downgrading your security
clearance, they're putting limits on it.
Kind of like putting a condition
on your driver's license...
saying you can't drive at night.
Wait a minute now. It sounds
a little more serious than that.
- Okay, it is.
- Okay, what is it? What did I do?
I don't know, yet.
But the security review board
wants to see you down here at 10.
So please get down
here as fast as you can...
- so we can figure this thing out.
- Heh.
If they do this to you,
they could chain you
to a desk in Purchasing,
make you a gofer.
We might not be able to
work with each other anymore.
Okay, okay. I'll be right there.
After I eat my pancakes.
Call in some favors, talk to
people who owe you money...
make some promises, something.
Just get me something, all right?
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
I thought by the time you got
here I'd have the inside track...
but, uh, it's still a
deep dark secret.
Well, look, don't get aggravated,
all right? I haven't done anything.
I know. I can't help it, I hate review
boards. They make me nervous.
Spies for spies.
Well, they just
have a job to do.
Yeah, and they're going to
do it in above five minutes.
You're right. There's no
use in getting nervous.
We have to just sit down
and think this thing through.
- Right.
- What could be behind this?
- I don't know.
- Where did you cross security?
Well, all I've been doing is the Statik
Aerospace review and nothing else.
They're running a
background check on me.
Not just another background check. I
remember you were worried about it.
I wasn't worried about it.
I mean, you always wonder a little
bit about that but I wasn't worried.
- Hey.
- Hi.
What's got you so preoccupied?
Oh, Security's doing another
special background on me.
I've already
passed one of those.
I know. It's an albatross hanging
around the neck of every full-time agent.
They hit me every three or
four years. Same old dirt. Listen.
AMANDA: Hm?
If you had any deep dark secrets,
they'd have found them by now.
- I don't have any secrets.
- Oh, yeah?
- I can think of one or two.
- I'm late for class.
LEE: I never told you
but I really admire...
the way you threw yourself
into all the agent candidate work.
- She has a knack for it, it seems.
- Thank you.
This week we tackle facilities
clearance procedure hands-on.
We certify an actual defense
contractor with site security officer.
Yes.
I can't take this one,
I've already done it.
Then why don't you thumb through
these files and find one you haven't done?
Why don't I just take,
um, Statik Aerospace?
Fine.
Thank you. Ahem.
AMANDA: It was a
typical class assignment.
LEE: You went after it
with typical enthusiasm.
MAN: We at Statik Aerospace...
consider our affiliation with the
government a true partnership.
Everyone working for
the good of the country.
The semi-annual security check we go
through is rigorous, but we welcome it.
Two years ago, your people found
a tiny little speck under my desk.
Ran it through every test they've
got until they were convinced...
Convinced it was a button.
Yes, I know, I read the report.
Heh-heh. Uh, the latest Agency Review calls
us "a model of defense plant security."
Well, nevertheless, it's
my assignment to conduct...
a complete security
review of your facilities
just according to
normal agency policy.
Now, that could
take several weeks.
I know. That's why
I'd like to get started.
I'd like to start
with Purchasing.
Of course, Mrs. King. I hope
you wore comfortable shoes.
Let's see, Purchasing,
Accounting, Grounds, Food Services.
And our next stop is
Facilities Maintenance.
Jake Williamson's
the supervisor.
Among his other duties, Jake
oversees our outside contractors.
Well, I thought security
cleared the outside contractors.
Both my department and your agency,
and then Jake sends a list of names to ID.
- Uh-huh.
- It's foolproof.
I see.
Thank you.
You know, the last time we talked
about this, Harry, we were talking a dozen.
What do you need, Sam?
I'm on a long-distance call.
We need to look at your
outside contractor files.
OSHA citations, workman's comp, and you'd
better throw in the accident report...
and insurance settlement
on Dutch Adams' death.
Well, help yourself. It's
right in the top drawer.
Oh, sorry, Harry,
now where was I?
Oh, yes. And it was right
after that, things went haywire.
Well, these should
keep you busy for a while.
AMANDA: Mm-hm.
Let me know if you
need more, huh?
Well, I'll have these
back to you in a few days.
Next time you're in town
we'll get together. Yep, bye.
LEE: You were so caught up in that
assignment, I started getting jealous.
AMANDA: You did? LEE: I
told you, you weren't listening.
What plans do you
have for the weekend?
Oh, I have three inches of
paperwork to do for Beaman's class.
He's got me doing
a full security review.
Boring, boring, boring.
I have something much
more intriguing in mind.
Such as?
Crump is in Argentina and
I have the key to his cabin.
- You, me, moonlit nights...
- Oh, stop.
- Crackling fires, barbecued steaks.
- Stop.
Stop, I have to work.
Amanda, Crump's cabin is
a once-a-year opportunity.
And for us, it's a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, if you know what I mean.
- I know what you mean.
- Great, I'll get Beaman to spring you.
No, no, I don't want you to
get Beaman to spring me.
I really wanna do a
good job in the class.
Amanda, you have been at the
agency for three years. What's to prove?
Well, I've been there three years, but
everything I've done, I've done with you.
I'm doing this on my
own and it feels good.
[SIGHS]
- All right. What's this assignment?
- Statik Aerospace.
- Piece of cake.
- Big place.
Statik is a great outfit. I
know, I did the original review.
Trust Tanner and you can have
this thing wrapped up by Friday.
I don't know, there's some
things about it I just don't like.
Their, um... Their
security-badge system's outdated.
They have video cameras in some
places they really don't do any good.
And they buy too much floor wax.
Shadow shock.
- Shadow shock?
- Mm-hm.
- Definitely, shadow shock.
- What is shadow shock?
Just the way med students come
down with every disease they study...
new agents become suspicious
of everyone and everything.
You need a rest and a
guy with a healthy sex drive.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Not this week.
- There goes the cabin.
- The cabin's not going anywhere.
[CHUCKLES]
LEE: I wasn't the only one who
thought you were going overboard.
AMANDA: I was being
thorough. LEE: As only you can.
CURT: Every Fourth of July.
DOTTY: Wait a minute, don't talk to
me unless it's over a bottle of wine.
- Good evening, Amanda.
- Hello, Captain Curt. Hi, Mother.
What are you doing? Looks like
you're marking off parking spaces.
Those are airplane
tie-downs. Pay attention.
- It's really not as strange as it looks.
- Of course, it isn't.
Everybody waxes their floor
at 10:30 on a Saturday night.
No, Mother. You see, uh, we're
doing a documentary at IFF...
and I'm trying to
prove the theory...
that the average person uses 1.4 ounces
of wax per 10 square feet of kitchen floor.
DOTTY: Mm-hm.
When you get done, if you got leftover,
I got a Monte Carlo out in the driveway.
- She could wax that, it'll go faster.
- Don't encourage her.
Captain Curt came by to help
me, uh, study for ground school.
I think that's great.
Ten-thirty Saturday night.
- Good time to study.
Mm-hm. DOTTY: Yeah.
- Ahem. I'll get the wine.
CURT: Get the good stuff.
Chances are the review board is
not gonna bust you for floor wax.
I still haven't figured
that out either.
They buy too much, it
sits in their warehouse.
Yeah.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
Well, come on, we'd
better get down there.
Thank you.
Overall, we've been
quite pleased with your
performance here at
the agency, Mrs. King.
Certainly no one can
point to any problems
of security while you've
been employed here.
You've had two full-scale special
background security checks, right?
That's right.
The first one was when
Mr. Stetson first recruited me...
and then, uh, there was
another one about a year ago.
Ahem. Yes. I ran my own field checks
when we started working together.
Habits, haunts, the usual.
- You did? FRAMPTON:
Well, it's all here in the record.
A superb record, I
think we all agree.
I'm not trying to prolong
the mystery, Mrs. King...
but I think that you can
understand why we were surprised.
Surprised about
what, Mrs. Frampton?
Educational records are
standard in any background check.
And we had been through yours
from the University of Virginia twice.
The third time we found this.
That's a March 4th, 1972,
edition of The Skwak...
which was an unauthorized,
ultra-left publication that's now defunct.
Why did it just show up?
Apparently, the official campus
newspaper just donated their collection...
of radical off-campus sheets
like these from the good old days.
And UVA security put any
interesting clips in the students' jackets.
Now, would you just read
the top column, please?
[CLEARS THROAT]
"'Let's light the fuse and see what
happens, ' says campus activist..."
Me.
"As hundreds of students set fire
to the UVA Administration Building."
- I never said that.
- Is that your picture on the top right?
It looks like me, but it can't be.
I wasn't there. This is a mistake.
Yeah, see? That's it. That's
it, it's a mistake. Heh, heh.
Amanda King doesn't lie.
Mrs. King, we're all grown-ups
here, we don't come down too hard...
on the occasional peccadilloes, since
our agents are rather spirited people.
But there's certain kinds of
conduct we can't overlook.
Not when our country's
secrets are at stake.
So, what do we have here?
Incitement to riot, destruction of
private property, and trespassing.
That's a little over the
line, don't you agree?
I didn't do that.
Mrs. Frampton, I think
you have a bad lead.
- Billy, we're checking it out.
BILLY: I stand by my evaluation.
Amanda King is a top-notch agent
candidate and a class-A security risk.
Were she anything else,
I would've known by now.
Well, you certainly should have.
We have a proposal on the table to
downgrade your security status to a stop S.
LEE: What?
Subversive tendencies?
That's absurd.
All right.
Since Mrs. King denies all of this, and
you support her so vocally, we'll wait.
But until this is proven
one way or the other,
I'm putting Mrs. King
on a D-15 suspension.
Sorry, Amanda. I'm going
to have to clip your wings.
[STAMMERS]
It's ridiculous. Amanda King
burning flags, whipping up riots.
Give me a break, will you?
When they give you a letter
around here what color is it, scarlet?
Blue. It's a blue
S on your file.
The campus newspaper suddenly comes up with
an attic full of underground newspapers.
- I don't believe it either.
- It is a naughty skeleton...
for the housewife of the
year to have in her closet.
Francine, would you
just take my keys, please?
I'm sorry. I'm just trying
to lighten you up a little bit.
Relax, Amanda. Look, anybody
can see that you missed the revolution.
I meant that as a compliment.
Can we stop kicking
the verbal ball around?
This is serious. It's a suspension
and it is damn hard to get reinstated.
So get to the bottom of
it, but keep a low profile.
If Frampton thinks that you're in
her way, she'll put us all on ice.
I'll, uh, need your
agency ID too.
But you get a visitor's pass.
And you'll have to be accompanied
by cleared personnel at all times.
- All right, Francine. All right.
- I'm sorry.
Amanda, this is as hard
for us as it is for you.
Yes, sir. Thank you,
sir. Will that be all?
Thank you.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
[AMANDA CLICKING TONGUE]
- Well, what are you doing?
- Nothing.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
Come on, Amanda, let's go.
- Go where?
- Anywhere we have to go.
- What are you gonna do? Just sit there?
- Yes. I'm gonna just sit here.
I've got a visitor's pass
and that's all I can do.
I wouldn't scare you
if I didn't have to...
but you can't just sit there
and wait for this to blow over.
Lee, the security
board will clear it up.
Did you hear what I
said in Billy's office?
Yes, I heard what you said.
I can't give you the exact box
score but I can tell you this...
not many suspensions
are cleared up, period.
Listen. A suspension is gonna be
cleared up if the charge isn't true.
- No.
- Yes.
Amanda, it happens.
Sure they can give you a week of
their time, and then they move on.
But if they can't get
any more breaks...
if they start running out of
leads, it is goodbye, Amanda.
Are you serious?
I told you before, didn't I?
We might not be able to work
with each other, see each other.
- Are you sure?
- Heh. Yeah.
- Okay, what do we have to do?
- I don't know.
Damn it. Let's make a start.
AMANDA: That's me.
But I wasn't at that riot.
So it's a mistake.
I mean, a rag like The Skwak didn't make
a dime being meticulous with its facts.
They put in the wrong picture.
Is there any other way to prove
that this photo wasn't taken at the riot?
No, no, no. Not
by the picture itself.
You see, all these shots here could've been
taken months, maybe even years apart...
but the shadows are
all the same length...
which means they must have been
taken about the same time of day.
- So if it's a fake, it passes that test.
- Any other test?
Well, a complete analysis
is going to take a long time...
but this is what I
can tell you now.
The newsprint is the same
as they used back then.
The ink is Hobs 970 which is unusual
because it contains a hazardous substance.
DPA suspended
its use back in '75.
So it looks real.
The last ready check of
the detonator for the HK-86...
will be completed
within 48 hours.
They'll lock it in a clean bin,
as usual, for final assembly.
However, the timetable will be
tighter than with the other components...
one or two days at most.
- How long do you need?
- Don't worry about it.
We'll have it photographed and
back in a bin before they can miss it.
What about the agent that's been
nosing around here? Amanda King?
King's a first-year agent.
I've thrown her security review board a
bone, that's all she'll be worried about.
Besides, I'm keeping
a close watch on her.
If Amanda King
winds up in our hair...
I'll make absolutely certain
that she never bothers us again.
LEE: I hear the campus cops kept pretty
extensive files on '70s demonstrations.
Let's see what else they have.
Mr. Sims, I'm Lee Steadman.
This is Amanda Keen.
We're from the State
Comptroller's Office.
Part of the budgetary task
force I'm sure you've heard about.
Always glad to help out the
folks that write the checks.
- Ooh. Mm.
- We don't write them, we stop them.
And the task force intends
to downscale this operation.
Downscale? What is that?
Well, it's part of the
basic laws of economics...
fewer students, higher cost,
fewer parents able to pay tuition.
What she means to say is you
can't squeeze blood from a stone.
AMANDA: Absolutely.
Well, you're looking in
the wrong place to cut back.
We are overworked
and understaffed as it is.
Now, we got 15, 20 balls
in the air simultaneously.
Uh, come over here.
Now, look at this.
That's a daily log of campus
activities. We got them back to the '50s.
Check it out. We're
always busy with something.
And that's just
the past 48 hours.
LEE: Uh, what's this one here?
Uh...
That'd be R.D. Frampton from
IFF. It's a document film company.
LEE: Uh-huh. I see.
SIMS: We get a lot of those.
You know, I'm thinking that a computer
would save us a bundle around here. Hm.
You don't understand, these
things have to be done in person.
Now, we verify every signature to
make sure nobody gets nothing...
they shouldn't ought to have.
Look, off the record...
how many of my boys
you think I stand to lose?
My friend, here's the deal.
The retirement fund is killing us.
We wanna lose some people.
Lose them? Hey, you're
talking about guys like me.
You can't do that.
We are a union.
- We'll put that in our report.
Yes, we will. LEE: Heh.
- What'd you come up with?
- A list of demonstrators.
Some of them were ID'd by
surveillance photos from '71, '72.
I didn't recognize know any of the
names except the Green Dragon.
- Green Dragon?
- Yeah, that's all anybody ever called him.
He was the campus agitator.
He might be the guy to say
you never had any part of this.
How do we find the Green Dragon?
I don't know, maybe
the editor of The Skwak.
Sparkman Publications, huh?
- Hello.
- Good afternoon. What can I do for you?
- Well, we're looking for Abbe Sparkman.
- Yeah.
How can I help you?
You're the Abbe Sparkman
who used to publish The Skwak?
With the beard and
the hair. That's me.
I traded in the dreadlocks
and earrings for this.
- But inside, I'm still the
same Abbe. AMANDA: Uh-huh.
Please, have a seat. You want a
jellybean? My favorite's tequila sunrise.
No, thanks. Uh...
We're Steadman and Keen of
the law firm Steadman and Keen.
We recently won an important
decision against the Sendrex Corporation.
- The napalm boys?
AMANDA: Yes, and tear gas.
They used to use a lot of it on some of
the more radical campuses in the '60s.
Yeah, that's right.
Now, Abbe, we're looking for some
more names of possible victims.
All you had to do was even be touched
by that tear gas, you know what I'm saying?
- Hefty...
- Settlement.
- Yes.
- Right on.
We were wondering if we could look
at some back issues of the newspaper.
You gotta be kidding.
When I was working on
that paper, we didn't
think there'd be a future.
Nobody thought
about back issues.
I think a guy named Wide
Body Banks has them in his van.
Okay. Do you happen to know
where we might be able to find a guy...
called the Green Dragon?
Do you remember him?
No. He's been
underground a long time.
Oh, that's too bad. We're
paying a substantial finder's fee.
- You're not cops, right?
- No.
I could make a few
calls, see if he's around.
If he is and if he's interested,
I could set up a meet.
- You could do that?
- For a substantial finder's fee.
Wait in front of the Beaux
Arts Theatre on 5th, all right?
Yeah, sure.
AMANDA: I saw my
first Truffaut film here.
Well, I wonder if Leather
Kittens is Bergman or Truffaut.
Come on in. He wants to have a
look. If he likes what he sees, he'll talk.
He said I can tell you
his name's Darrell Perry.
[DISCO MUSIC PLAYING ON SCREEN]
[AMANDA SIGHS]
Listen, why don't you have a
seat? Enjoy the film, I'll be right back.
MAN 1 [ON SCREEN]:
What? Ha, ha, ha.
We're gonna have to handle
this guy Perry very carefully.
He's been underground for 14 years, so
we're gonna have to win his confidence.
[WOMAN SPEAKS
INDISTINCTLY ON SCREEN]
MAN 2 [ON SCREEN]: Interesting.
[LEE GRUNTS]
All right. Ahem. Let's get him out of
here. Get him back to Sparkman's office.
AMANDA: Thank you very much.
- Yeah.
WOMAN [ON SCREEN]: Oh, yes.
MAN 3: Welding? WOMAN: Ha, ha.
He just has a changeover
to make, he'll be right out.
If you need me, you know
where to find me, right?
Right.
[MOVIE PROJECTOR WHIRRING]
[CROWD SCREAMING]
MAN 1: What happened? MAN 2:
There's a fire! Let's get out of here!
LEE: Are you all
right? AMANDA: Yeah.
Get to an outside phone.
Call the Fire Department,
then call the agency.
Yeah.
MAN 3: Over this way.
MAN 4: The back, hurry up.
[COUGHING]
Why are your people, one
of whom is on suspension...
interfering with
my investigation?
Actually, we weren't
there on your investigation.
We have been after Darrell
Perry for a long time now.
FRAMPTON: Fourteen years.
Except that the Justice
Department and the FBI...
suspended him from
their active list in '81.
They did? Let me see that.
It's all right, Lee.
Mrs. Frampton, I went to
talk to Mr. Perry unofficially...
because I thought he could
clear me. I take full responsibility.
More precisely, I ordered Mrs.
King to accompany me as a backup.
- I take responsibility.
- No...
BILLY: Hold it, people.
I take responsibility
around here, remember?
Now, what started out to be
just an internal agency review...
has turned into a murder investigation,
that makes it agency business.
We'll keep you fully
informed, Mrs. Frampton.
All for one? Well,
that's normal.
I admit that there's a hidden
agenda behind all this...
which makes the case against
Mrs. King even more disturbing.
You're on the spot.
I'm not unsympathetic, but don't step
on my tail again. Do you understand me?
I'm trying to help you,
Amanda, just don't trip me up.
All right, what do we have?
That newspaper was
no mistake, it was a plant.
- Why?
- To suspend her, to distract us.
She is onto something
and doesn't even know it.
That means someone would have to know that
you were up for review. Who might that be?
Statik Aerospace is the only thing I'm
working on, sir. It's a class assignment.
BILLY: They have contracts to
monitor a number of spy satellites.
They're also building the HK-86.
Yes, sir. The first
space weapon of the 21st
century. It's a
hunter-killer satellite.
She has stuck her finger into
somebody's pie over at Statik Aerospace...
and they have started a smear
campaign to get her out of the way.
All right. You find
out who they are.
If they're inside the hunter-killer
space project, we've got big trouble.
- Do it.
- Yes, sir.
This is Jake. It's
set for tonight.
I'll need about, uh,
four hours of overtime.
What about the woman from the agency?
You should've put her out of our misery.
Did you ever hear the expression,
"Setting the cat amidst the pigeons"?
Well, you kill an
agent, the roof falls in.
This way, they're more
confused than ever.
What are they gonna
do in the next 24 hours?
I leave the strategy to
you. We're ready at this end.
Well, we'll wrap it up
tomorrow and be on our way.
Effrom, I want the Statik
Aerospace files, come on.
It's just busy work
for your protégé, why?
Because that busy work just
turned into a full-scale flap.
I still need an E-15 requisition filled out
in triplicate and signed by our superior.
She's suspended, you recall?
Thursday at 10:15 p.m., you and Roxanne
from Accounting in the copier room...
the lights off, your tie off...
and your shoes off.
Tell you what...
I'm going down the hall to get a cup of
noodle soup out of the vending machine.
My office is unlocked.
[SCOFFS]
LEE: Okay, Billy.
It was worth a try.
Yeah, I'll talk to
you later. Bye.
Their security guy, Tanner, did a
top-to-bottom at Statik Aerospace.
AMANDA: Mm-hm.
- Tight as a drum and nothing missing.
- Oh.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
[AMANDA GROANING]
- You are tight.
- Yeah, right here.
You know, in some circles I have
what are referred to as magic fingers.
In fact, the same neck rub once prompted
a member of a particular royal family...
into making me
an indelicate offer.
- Look at this.
- What?
I think I see a pattern here.
All right. We have a dead security guard,
a lot of floor wax and janitors, right?
LEE: Mm-hm.
Now, the security guard was
killed with a piece of equipment...
that janitors use to wax floors.
- He was electrocuted, right?
- Mm-hm.
Okay, uh, plant maintenance.
You determine your plant maintenance
by the number of men who work...
plus the hours that they work.
Ah, we're back to the floor wax.
That explains this.
Okay, Grime Busters is billing
Statik Aerospace for 57 janitors.
Statik personnel has been
carrying 60 for the past three months.
You've got three extra men and
I don't know what they're doing...
but I don't think
they're waxing floors.
Here we are, gentlemen,
the heart and brains
of the world's first
hunter-killer satellite.
Now, handle this
with extreme care.
It's the down payment
on the rest of our lives...
which I might add should be
spent in the East. Way East.
Once the Warsaw pact
gets a hold of this baby...
the Western space defenses won't be able to
keep out a mad parrot, let alone an ICBM.
There have been three more janitors coming
in here than Grime Busters contracted.
- Who makes up the schedule?
- Jake Williamson.
Ah, two months ago we began
final ready check of the HK-86.
We check each
subassembly and then we lock
it away in a clean bin
until final assembly.
Until then, no one
rechecks the components?
No.
Get one of your tech people
to give us the cook's tour.
Francine, find Williamson.
I wanna talk to him.
- Yes, sir. I'll put the trappers on it.
- Let's go.
I sealed the detonator subassembly
in there myself on Friday, where is it?
They've been
smuggling the parts out...
and bringing them back
before anyone missed them.
- Let's hope they bring this one back.
- They don't have to.
The detonator was the
last piece of the puzzle.
- They've got the whole enchilada.
- I'd better notify State.
DOUGLAS: What's missing is the
proximity bomb. It's our doomsday option.
We can snuggle the HK-86 up
close to the target, and then poof.
How do you track it?
It's designed to be tracked by
commanders in the field with mobile gear.
- That could find it for us.
- None of it's been assembled yet.
Great. That takes us right
back to square zero, doesn't it?
Not necessarily.
All I need is this little circuit
board. This row of LED's.
I could use this power supply.
I could jerry-rig something.
- Okay. We don't have much time.
- Can you afford five minutes?
WILLIAMSON: Coming soon
to the Bulgarian Embassy.
Complete photographs of the
prototype hunter-killer satellite.
We're not in the pizza
business, we don't deliver...
you do, and you buy the beer.
Upstairs. Keep a lookout.
I don't know how
this is gonna work,
particularly in D.C.
with all the microwaves.
Then again, if it's
outside the D.C. area,
there's no way you're
gonna pick up the signal.
My guess is they
haven't taken it out of D.C.
This is like a coat-hanger
antenna on a car radio.
When you get close, you're gonna
have to fine-tune it with the keyboard.
We don't really have the time to
memorize a lot of complicated codes.
No problem. I'll
copy these for you.
But whatever you
do, don't enter 267.
That's the destruct sequence.
There's no fail-safe in a unit like this.
Okay.
I guess we should probably start working
out from the plant in concentric circles.
It's a million-to-one chance,
but we're gonna have to take it.
- Two-six-seven. Thank
you. LEE: Thank you.
LEE: They've gotta be close by.
I'm sure they want as much time as possible
to put those parts under a microscope.
All we can do is keep
working this pattern.
Yeah.
- I can't raise them.
- Don't expect to.
Uh, I didn't have time to
shield the field transceiver.
It's probably blocking
the cellular signal.
I hope they know
they're on their own.
[DEVICE BEEPING]
I got something
right over there.
Hey, we've got company.
WILLIAMSON: That's
the guy from the agency.
[SIGHS]
Damn phone.
Frequency is out again.
You stay put, keep trying
to get us some backup.
Wait a minute. You
can't go in there alone.
[LEE SIGHS]
You're fond of quoting
me the rule book, right?
- Chapter 11, sub-chapter four.
- No.
Without tactical backup, an agent team must
not risk both members in the same action.
If one of us gets in
trouble, the other can cover.
I wish you wouldn't
take all the chances.
- I'm not taking all the chances.
- What do you mean?
I'm going in there alone and
you're staying out here alone, okay?
- Yeah, right.
- Remember, the destruct code is 267.
Two-six-seven.
That thing is not to go
over to the other side...
- no matter what, understand?
- It won't. I got it.
- Ah. Okay. Let's do it.
- Be careful.
[LEE SCOFFS]
Get outside.
[GRUNTING]
[GUNSHOTS]
[GROANING]
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
LEE: Damn it.
- You cut that pretty close.
- I didn't wanna have to do that.
Yeah.
[WILLIAMSON GROANING]
He's alive.
Mrs. King, I'm well
aware of the events that
have happened over
the last couple of days.
You handled yourself with
great poise and professionalism...
under harrowing circumstances.
And from what I hear,
Mr. Stetson would agree with me.
Oh, yes.
And now it is my pleasure to
announce our unanimous decision...
to reinstate Amanda
King's security clearance.
Oh, and please forgive us for
our earlier misunderstanding.
Thank you, Mrs. Frampton.
Yeah. Ahem.
- Well...
- Yeah.
Now that the smoke has cleared, what
do you say we take that day off, huh?
We've lost the cabin but, uh, I think
we can find some trouble to get into.
I still have a lot of work
to do at Statik Aerospace.
Oh. Come on.
Okay, suit yourself. I don't wanna be
accused of putting ideas in your he...
Ooh.
- You gave up too easily.
- Oh, yeah?
[English - US -SDH]
- That's the way it goes, Blake.
You must have put somebody's
nose out of joint upstairs.
I thought you guys with the
suits played golf all weekend.
Hey, tell me about it. I'll be glad
when they get this bird put together.
But you know engineers...
one speck of dust and we've got to
scrub down the whole place again.
Oh. Will you clear these guys
through to the assembly area?
BLAKE: Mm-hm.
- Come on, guys.
[BEEPING]
[CHUCKLES]
[CHUCKLES]
Uh, don't forget to punch out
the laser grid in section Z-12.
- Okay.
- Have a good one.
You too, sir.
- Mr. Adams.
- Spot security check, Blake.
- You know the procedure.
- Go right ahead.
What the hell are those
bozos doing in Z-12?
One of those bozos is
our facility supervisor.
- Sir, he's cleared.
- I don't care if he's Caspar Weinberger.
He's not authorized to bring
un-cleared personnel here.
It's done all the time,
senior officer's prerogative.
I logged him in.
Nobody moves.
This is a top-secret
satellite project.
Okay, raise them. I
wanna see two of each.
Relax, Dutch. They're with me.
This is a restricted area, sir.
I'm ordering these men out of
here and filing a report on this.
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING]
[ADAMS GROANING]
[PHONE RINGS]
- Melrose here. MAN [OVER
PHONE]: Morning, Billy.
Yes.
- Seen the morning news?
- What?
Concerns one of your freshmen.
Okay, I've got last night's
flash status summary.
- Forget your doughnut and read it, okay?
- What line?
The 11th on page
nine looks like our
Internal Revenue
Committee is doing its job.
Found it yet?
That's impossible.
[PHONE RINGING]
LEE: Scarecrow. BILLY [OVER
PHONE]: Got a problem, Lee.
LEE: Yeah, what is it?
- Review board's ready
to give Amanda a letter.
- What?
- You heard me. Amanda's getting a letter.
What are you talking about? That's
gotta be a mistake. I don't believe it.
Why would they
give her a letter?
I don't know. I want
to see her in my office.
She's out in the field all day. She's
on assignment at Statik Aerospace.
The review board's meeting at 10 and
I want Amanda there to defend herself.
- Billy.
- Don't argue with me, Scarecrow.
- Just get a hold of her.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'll try to catch her, okay?
I want you there too.
Amanda's gonna need support.
All right.
[PHONE RINGS]
- Hello. LEE [OVER PHONE]: Hi.
- Hi.
- I'm glad I caught you.
- What's the matter, you miss me?
- Yeah, sure. I miss you.
AMANDA: What's up?
Uh, Amanda, something's come up.
They need to see you
down here this morning.
- Really? What is it?
- They're giving you a letter.
What do you mean,
they're giving me a letter?
Amanda, it's an expression.
They're downgrading your security
clearance, they're putting limits on it.
Kind of like putting a condition
on your driver's license...
saying you can't drive at night.
Wait a minute now. It sounds
a little more serious than that.
- Okay, it is.
- Okay, what is it? What did I do?
I don't know, yet.
But the security review board
wants to see you down here at 10.
So please get down
here as fast as you can...
- so we can figure this thing out.
- Heh.
If they do this to you,
they could chain you
to a desk in Purchasing,
make you a gofer.
We might not be able to
work with each other anymore.
Okay, okay. I'll be right there.
After I eat my pancakes.
Call in some favors, talk to
people who owe you money...
make some promises, something.
Just get me something, all right?
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
I thought by the time you got
here I'd have the inside track...
but, uh, it's still a
deep dark secret.
Well, look, don't get aggravated,
all right? I haven't done anything.
I know. I can't help it, I hate review
boards. They make me nervous.
Spies for spies.
Well, they just
have a job to do.
Yeah, and they're going to
do it in above five minutes.
You're right. There's no
use in getting nervous.
We have to just sit down
and think this thing through.
- Right.
- What could be behind this?
- I don't know.
- Where did you cross security?
Well, all I've been doing is the Statik
Aerospace review and nothing else.
They're running a
background check on me.
Not just another background check. I
remember you were worried about it.
I wasn't worried about it.
I mean, you always wonder a little
bit about that but I wasn't worried.
- Hey.
- Hi.
What's got you so preoccupied?
Oh, Security's doing another
special background on me.
I've already
passed one of those.
I know. It's an albatross hanging
around the neck of every full-time agent.
They hit me every three or
four years. Same old dirt. Listen.
AMANDA: Hm?
If you had any deep dark secrets,
they'd have found them by now.
- I don't have any secrets.
- Oh, yeah?
- I can think of one or two.
- I'm late for class.
LEE: I never told you
but I really admire...
the way you threw yourself
into all the agent candidate work.
- She has a knack for it, it seems.
- Thank you.
This week we tackle facilities
clearance procedure hands-on.
We certify an actual defense
contractor with site security officer.
Yes.
I can't take this one,
I've already done it.
Then why don't you thumb through
these files and find one you haven't done?
Why don't I just take,
um, Statik Aerospace?
Fine.
Thank you. Ahem.
AMANDA: It was a
typical class assignment.
LEE: You went after it
with typical enthusiasm.
MAN: We at Statik Aerospace...
consider our affiliation with the
government a true partnership.
Everyone working for
the good of the country.
The semi-annual security check we go
through is rigorous, but we welcome it.
Two years ago, your people found
a tiny little speck under my desk.
Ran it through every test they've
got until they were convinced...
Convinced it was a button.
Yes, I know, I read the report.
Heh-heh. Uh, the latest Agency Review calls
us "a model of defense plant security."
Well, nevertheless, it's
my assignment to conduct...
a complete security
review of your facilities
just according to
normal agency policy.
Now, that could
take several weeks.
I know. That's why
I'd like to get started.
I'd like to start
with Purchasing.
Of course, Mrs. King. I hope
you wore comfortable shoes.
Let's see, Purchasing,
Accounting, Grounds, Food Services.
And our next stop is
Facilities Maintenance.
Jake Williamson's
the supervisor.
Among his other duties, Jake
oversees our outside contractors.
Well, I thought security
cleared the outside contractors.
Both my department and your agency,
and then Jake sends a list of names to ID.
- Uh-huh.
- It's foolproof.
I see.
Thank you.
You know, the last time we talked
about this, Harry, we were talking a dozen.
What do you need, Sam?
I'm on a long-distance call.
We need to look at your
outside contractor files.
OSHA citations, workman's comp, and you'd
better throw in the accident report...
and insurance settlement
on Dutch Adams' death.
Well, help yourself. It's
right in the top drawer.
Oh, sorry, Harry,
now where was I?
Oh, yes. And it was right
after that, things went haywire.
Well, these should
keep you busy for a while.
AMANDA: Mm-hm.
Let me know if you
need more, huh?
Well, I'll have these
back to you in a few days.
Next time you're in town
we'll get together. Yep, bye.
LEE: You were so caught up in that
assignment, I started getting jealous.
AMANDA: You did? LEE: I
told you, you weren't listening.
What plans do you
have for the weekend?
Oh, I have three inches of
paperwork to do for Beaman's class.
He's got me doing
a full security review.
Boring, boring, boring.
I have something much
more intriguing in mind.
Such as?
Crump is in Argentina and
I have the key to his cabin.
- You, me, moonlit nights...
- Oh, stop.
- Crackling fires, barbecued steaks.
- Stop.
Stop, I have to work.
Amanda, Crump's cabin is
a once-a-year opportunity.
And for us, it's a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, if you know what I mean.
- I know what you mean.
- Great, I'll get Beaman to spring you.
No, no, I don't want you to
get Beaman to spring me.
I really wanna do a
good job in the class.
Amanda, you have been at the
agency for three years. What's to prove?
Well, I've been there three years, but
everything I've done, I've done with you.
I'm doing this on my
own and it feels good.
[SIGHS]
- All right. What's this assignment?
- Statik Aerospace.
- Piece of cake.
- Big place.
Statik is a great outfit. I
know, I did the original review.
Trust Tanner and you can have
this thing wrapped up by Friday.
I don't know, there's some
things about it I just don't like.
Their, um... Their
security-badge system's outdated.
They have video cameras in some
places they really don't do any good.
And they buy too much floor wax.
Shadow shock.
- Shadow shock?
- Mm-hm.
- Definitely, shadow shock.
- What is shadow shock?
Just the way med students come
down with every disease they study...
new agents become suspicious
of everyone and everything.
You need a rest and a
guy with a healthy sex drive.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Not this week.
- There goes the cabin.
- The cabin's not going anywhere.
[CHUCKLES]
LEE: I wasn't the only one who
thought you were going overboard.
AMANDA: I was being
thorough. LEE: As only you can.
CURT: Every Fourth of July.
DOTTY: Wait a minute, don't talk to
me unless it's over a bottle of wine.
- Good evening, Amanda.
- Hello, Captain Curt. Hi, Mother.
What are you doing? Looks like
you're marking off parking spaces.
Those are airplane
tie-downs. Pay attention.
- It's really not as strange as it looks.
- Of course, it isn't.
Everybody waxes their floor
at 10:30 on a Saturday night.
No, Mother. You see, uh, we're
doing a documentary at IFF...
and I'm trying to
prove the theory...
that the average person uses 1.4 ounces
of wax per 10 square feet of kitchen floor.
DOTTY: Mm-hm.
When you get done, if you got leftover,
I got a Monte Carlo out in the driveway.
- She could wax that, it'll go faster.
- Don't encourage her.
Captain Curt came by to help
me, uh, study for ground school.
I think that's great.
Ten-thirty Saturday night.
- Good time to study.
Mm-hm. DOTTY: Yeah.
- Ahem. I'll get the wine.
CURT: Get the good stuff.
Chances are the review board is
not gonna bust you for floor wax.
I still haven't figured
that out either.
They buy too much, it
sits in their warehouse.
Yeah.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
Well, come on, we'd
better get down there.
Thank you.
Overall, we've been
quite pleased with your
performance here at
the agency, Mrs. King.
Certainly no one can
point to any problems
of security while you've
been employed here.
You've had two full-scale special
background security checks, right?
That's right.
The first one was when
Mr. Stetson first recruited me...
and then, uh, there was
another one about a year ago.
Ahem. Yes. I ran my own field checks
when we started working together.
Habits, haunts, the usual.
- You did? FRAMPTON:
Well, it's all here in the record.
A superb record, I
think we all agree.
I'm not trying to prolong
the mystery, Mrs. King...
but I think that you can
understand why we were surprised.
Surprised about
what, Mrs. Frampton?
Educational records are
standard in any background check.
And we had been through yours
from the University of Virginia twice.
The third time we found this.
That's a March 4th, 1972,
edition of The Skwak...
which was an unauthorized,
ultra-left publication that's now defunct.
Why did it just show up?
Apparently, the official campus
newspaper just donated their collection...
of radical off-campus sheets
like these from the good old days.
And UVA security put any
interesting clips in the students' jackets.
Now, would you just read
the top column, please?
[CLEARS THROAT]
"'Let's light the fuse and see what
happens, ' says campus activist..."
Me.
"As hundreds of students set fire
to the UVA Administration Building."
- I never said that.
- Is that your picture on the top right?
It looks like me, but it can't be.
I wasn't there. This is a mistake.
Yeah, see? That's it. That's
it, it's a mistake. Heh, heh.
Amanda King doesn't lie.
Mrs. King, we're all grown-ups
here, we don't come down too hard...
on the occasional peccadilloes, since
our agents are rather spirited people.
But there's certain kinds of
conduct we can't overlook.
Not when our country's
secrets are at stake.
So, what do we have here?
Incitement to riot, destruction of
private property, and trespassing.
That's a little over the
line, don't you agree?
I didn't do that.
Mrs. Frampton, I think
you have a bad lead.
- Billy, we're checking it out.
BILLY: I stand by my evaluation.
Amanda King is a top-notch agent
candidate and a class-A security risk.
Were she anything else,
I would've known by now.
Well, you certainly should have.
We have a proposal on the table to
downgrade your security status to a stop S.
LEE: What?
Subversive tendencies?
That's absurd.
All right.
Since Mrs. King denies all of this, and
you support her so vocally, we'll wait.
But until this is proven
one way or the other,
I'm putting Mrs. King
on a D-15 suspension.
Sorry, Amanda. I'm going
to have to clip your wings.
[STAMMERS]
It's ridiculous. Amanda King
burning flags, whipping up riots.
Give me a break, will you?
When they give you a letter
around here what color is it, scarlet?
Blue. It's a blue
S on your file.
The campus newspaper suddenly comes up with
an attic full of underground newspapers.
- I don't believe it either.
- It is a naughty skeleton...
for the housewife of the
year to have in her closet.
Francine, would you
just take my keys, please?
I'm sorry. I'm just trying
to lighten you up a little bit.
Relax, Amanda. Look, anybody
can see that you missed the revolution.
I meant that as a compliment.
Can we stop kicking
the verbal ball around?
This is serious. It's a suspension
and it is damn hard to get reinstated.
So get to the bottom of
it, but keep a low profile.
If Frampton thinks that you're in
her way, she'll put us all on ice.
I'll, uh, need your
agency ID too.
But you get a visitor's pass.
And you'll have to be accompanied
by cleared personnel at all times.
- All right, Francine. All right.
- I'm sorry.
Amanda, this is as hard
for us as it is for you.
Yes, sir. Thank you,
sir. Will that be all?
Thank you.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
[AMANDA CLICKING TONGUE]
- Well, what are you doing?
- Nothing.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
Come on, Amanda, let's go.
- Go where?
- Anywhere we have to go.
- What are you gonna do? Just sit there?
- Yes. I'm gonna just sit here.
I've got a visitor's pass
and that's all I can do.
I wouldn't scare you
if I didn't have to...
but you can't just sit there
and wait for this to blow over.
Lee, the security
board will clear it up.
Did you hear what I
said in Billy's office?
Yes, I heard what you said.
I can't give you the exact box
score but I can tell you this...
not many suspensions
are cleared up, period.
Listen. A suspension is gonna be
cleared up if the charge isn't true.
- No.
- Yes.
Amanda, it happens.
Sure they can give you a week of
their time, and then they move on.
But if they can't get
any more breaks...
if they start running out of
leads, it is goodbye, Amanda.
Are you serious?
I told you before, didn't I?
We might not be able to work
with each other, see each other.
- Are you sure?
- Heh. Yeah.
- Okay, what do we have to do?
- I don't know.
Damn it. Let's make a start.
AMANDA: That's me.
But I wasn't at that riot.
So it's a mistake.
I mean, a rag like The Skwak didn't make
a dime being meticulous with its facts.
They put in the wrong picture.
Is there any other way to prove
that this photo wasn't taken at the riot?
No, no, no. Not
by the picture itself.
You see, all these shots here could've been
taken months, maybe even years apart...
but the shadows are
all the same length...
which means they must have been
taken about the same time of day.
- So if it's a fake, it passes that test.
- Any other test?
Well, a complete analysis
is going to take a long time...
but this is what I
can tell you now.
The newsprint is the same
as they used back then.
The ink is Hobs 970 which is unusual
because it contains a hazardous substance.
DPA suspended
its use back in '75.
So it looks real.
The last ready check of
the detonator for the HK-86...
will be completed
within 48 hours.
They'll lock it in a clean bin,
as usual, for final assembly.
However, the timetable will be
tighter than with the other components...
one or two days at most.
- How long do you need?
- Don't worry about it.
We'll have it photographed and
back in a bin before they can miss it.
What about the agent that's been
nosing around here? Amanda King?
King's a first-year agent.
I've thrown her security review board a
bone, that's all she'll be worried about.
Besides, I'm keeping
a close watch on her.
If Amanda King
winds up in our hair...
I'll make absolutely certain
that she never bothers us again.
LEE: I hear the campus cops kept pretty
extensive files on '70s demonstrations.
Let's see what else they have.
Mr. Sims, I'm Lee Steadman.
This is Amanda Keen.
We're from the State
Comptroller's Office.
Part of the budgetary task
force I'm sure you've heard about.
Always glad to help out the
folks that write the checks.
- Ooh. Mm.
- We don't write them, we stop them.
And the task force intends
to downscale this operation.
Downscale? What is that?
Well, it's part of the
basic laws of economics...
fewer students, higher cost,
fewer parents able to pay tuition.
What she means to say is you
can't squeeze blood from a stone.
AMANDA: Absolutely.
Well, you're looking in
the wrong place to cut back.
We are overworked
and understaffed as it is.
Now, we got 15, 20 balls
in the air simultaneously.
Uh, come over here.
Now, look at this.
That's a daily log of campus
activities. We got them back to the '50s.
Check it out. We're
always busy with something.
And that's just
the past 48 hours.
LEE: Uh, what's this one here?
Uh...
That'd be R.D. Frampton from
IFF. It's a document film company.
LEE: Uh-huh. I see.
SIMS: We get a lot of those.
You know, I'm thinking that a computer
would save us a bundle around here. Hm.
You don't understand, these
things have to be done in person.
Now, we verify every signature to
make sure nobody gets nothing...
they shouldn't ought to have.
Look, off the record...
how many of my boys
you think I stand to lose?
My friend, here's the deal.
The retirement fund is killing us.
We wanna lose some people.
Lose them? Hey, you're
talking about guys like me.
You can't do that.
We are a union.
- We'll put that in our report.
Yes, we will. LEE: Heh.
- What'd you come up with?
- A list of demonstrators.
Some of them were ID'd by
surveillance photos from '71, '72.
I didn't recognize know any of the
names except the Green Dragon.
- Green Dragon?
- Yeah, that's all anybody ever called him.
He was the campus agitator.
He might be the guy to say
you never had any part of this.
How do we find the Green Dragon?
I don't know, maybe
the editor of The Skwak.
Sparkman Publications, huh?
- Hello.
- Good afternoon. What can I do for you?
- Well, we're looking for Abbe Sparkman.
- Yeah.
How can I help you?
You're the Abbe Sparkman
who used to publish The Skwak?
With the beard and
the hair. That's me.
I traded in the dreadlocks
and earrings for this.
- But inside, I'm still the
same Abbe. AMANDA: Uh-huh.
Please, have a seat. You want a
jellybean? My favorite's tequila sunrise.
No, thanks. Uh...
We're Steadman and Keen of
the law firm Steadman and Keen.
We recently won an important
decision against the Sendrex Corporation.
- The napalm boys?
AMANDA: Yes, and tear gas.
They used to use a lot of it on some of
the more radical campuses in the '60s.
Yeah, that's right.
Now, Abbe, we're looking for some
more names of possible victims.
All you had to do was even be touched
by that tear gas, you know what I'm saying?
- Hefty...
- Settlement.
- Yes.
- Right on.
We were wondering if we could look
at some back issues of the newspaper.
You gotta be kidding.
When I was working on
that paper, we didn't
think there'd be a future.
Nobody thought
about back issues.
I think a guy named Wide
Body Banks has them in his van.
Okay. Do you happen to know
where we might be able to find a guy...
called the Green Dragon?
Do you remember him?
No. He's been
underground a long time.
Oh, that's too bad. We're
paying a substantial finder's fee.
- You're not cops, right?
- No.
I could make a few
calls, see if he's around.
If he is and if he's interested,
I could set up a meet.
- You could do that?
- For a substantial finder's fee.
Wait in front of the Beaux
Arts Theatre on 5th, all right?
Yeah, sure.
AMANDA: I saw my
first Truffaut film here.
Well, I wonder if Leather
Kittens is Bergman or Truffaut.
Come on in. He wants to have a
look. If he likes what he sees, he'll talk.
He said I can tell you
his name's Darrell Perry.
[DISCO MUSIC PLAYING ON SCREEN]
[AMANDA SIGHS]
Listen, why don't you have a
seat? Enjoy the film, I'll be right back.
MAN 1 [ON SCREEN]:
What? Ha, ha, ha.
We're gonna have to handle
this guy Perry very carefully.
He's been underground for 14 years, so
we're gonna have to win his confidence.
[WOMAN SPEAKS
INDISTINCTLY ON SCREEN]
MAN 2 [ON SCREEN]: Interesting.
[LEE GRUNTS]
All right. Ahem. Let's get him out of
here. Get him back to Sparkman's office.
AMANDA: Thank you very much.
- Yeah.
WOMAN [ON SCREEN]: Oh, yes.
MAN 3: Welding? WOMAN: Ha, ha.
He just has a changeover
to make, he'll be right out.
If you need me, you know
where to find me, right?
Right.
[MOVIE PROJECTOR WHIRRING]
[CROWD SCREAMING]
MAN 1: What happened? MAN 2:
There's a fire! Let's get out of here!
LEE: Are you all
right? AMANDA: Yeah.
Get to an outside phone.
Call the Fire Department,
then call the agency.
Yeah.
MAN 3: Over this way.
MAN 4: The back, hurry up.
[COUGHING]
Why are your people, one
of whom is on suspension...
interfering with
my investigation?
Actually, we weren't
there on your investigation.
We have been after Darrell
Perry for a long time now.
FRAMPTON: Fourteen years.
Except that the Justice
Department and the FBI...
suspended him from
their active list in '81.
They did? Let me see that.
It's all right, Lee.
Mrs. Frampton, I went to
talk to Mr. Perry unofficially...
because I thought he could
clear me. I take full responsibility.
More precisely, I ordered Mrs.
King to accompany me as a backup.
- I take responsibility.
- No...
BILLY: Hold it, people.
I take responsibility
around here, remember?
Now, what started out to be
just an internal agency review...
has turned into a murder investigation,
that makes it agency business.
We'll keep you fully
informed, Mrs. Frampton.
All for one? Well,
that's normal.
I admit that there's a hidden
agenda behind all this...
which makes the case against
Mrs. King even more disturbing.
You're on the spot.
I'm not unsympathetic, but don't step
on my tail again. Do you understand me?
I'm trying to help you,
Amanda, just don't trip me up.
All right, what do we have?
That newspaper was
no mistake, it was a plant.
- Why?
- To suspend her, to distract us.
She is onto something
and doesn't even know it.
That means someone would have to know that
you were up for review. Who might that be?
Statik Aerospace is the only thing I'm
working on, sir. It's a class assignment.
BILLY: They have contracts to
monitor a number of spy satellites.
They're also building the HK-86.
Yes, sir. The first
space weapon of the 21st
century. It's a
hunter-killer satellite.
She has stuck her finger into
somebody's pie over at Statik Aerospace...
and they have started a smear
campaign to get her out of the way.
All right. You find
out who they are.
If they're inside the hunter-killer
space project, we've got big trouble.
- Do it.
- Yes, sir.
This is Jake. It's
set for tonight.
I'll need about, uh,
four hours of overtime.
What about the woman from the agency?
You should've put her out of our misery.
Did you ever hear the expression,
"Setting the cat amidst the pigeons"?
Well, you kill an
agent, the roof falls in.
This way, they're more
confused than ever.
What are they gonna
do in the next 24 hours?
I leave the strategy to
you. We're ready at this end.
Well, we'll wrap it up
tomorrow and be on our way.
Effrom, I want the Statik
Aerospace files, come on.
It's just busy work
for your protégé, why?
Because that busy work just
turned into a full-scale flap.
I still need an E-15 requisition filled out
in triplicate and signed by our superior.
She's suspended, you recall?
Thursday at 10:15 p.m., you and Roxanne
from Accounting in the copier room...
the lights off, your tie off...
and your shoes off.
Tell you what...
I'm going down the hall to get a cup of
noodle soup out of the vending machine.
My office is unlocked.
[SCOFFS]
LEE: Okay, Billy.
It was worth a try.
Yeah, I'll talk to
you later. Bye.
Their security guy, Tanner, did a
top-to-bottom at Statik Aerospace.
AMANDA: Mm-hm.
- Tight as a drum and nothing missing.
- Oh.
[AMANDA SIGHS]
[AMANDA GROANING]
- You are tight.
- Yeah, right here.
You know, in some circles I have
what are referred to as magic fingers.
In fact, the same neck rub once prompted
a member of a particular royal family...
into making me
an indelicate offer.
- Look at this.
- What?
I think I see a pattern here.
All right. We have a dead security guard,
a lot of floor wax and janitors, right?
LEE: Mm-hm.
Now, the security guard was
killed with a piece of equipment...
that janitors use to wax floors.
- He was electrocuted, right?
- Mm-hm.
Okay, uh, plant maintenance.
You determine your plant maintenance
by the number of men who work...
plus the hours that they work.
Ah, we're back to the floor wax.
That explains this.
Okay, Grime Busters is billing
Statik Aerospace for 57 janitors.
Statik personnel has been
carrying 60 for the past three months.
You've got three extra men and
I don't know what they're doing...
but I don't think
they're waxing floors.
Here we are, gentlemen,
the heart and brains
of the world's first
hunter-killer satellite.
Now, handle this
with extreme care.
It's the down payment
on the rest of our lives...
which I might add should be
spent in the East. Way East.
Once the Warsaw pact
gets a hold of this baby...
the Western space defenses won't be able to
keep out a mad parrot, let alone an ICBM.
There have been three more janitors coming
in here than Grime Busters contracted.
- Who makes up the schedule?
- Jake Williamson.
Ah, two months ago we began
final ready check of the HK-86.
We check each
subassembly and then we lock
it away in a clean bin
until final assembly.
Until then, no one
rechecks the components?
No.
Get one of your tech people
to give us the cook's tour.
Francine, find Williamson.
I wanna talk to him.
- Yes, sir. I'll put the trappers on it.
- Let's go.
I sealed the detonator subassembly
in there myself on Friday, where is it?
They've been
smuggling the parts out...
and bringing them back
before anyone missed them.
- Let's hope they bring this one back.
- They don't have to.
The detonator was the
last piece of the puzzle.
- They've got the whole enchilada.
- I'd better notify State.
DOUGLAS: What's missing is the
proximity bomb. It's our doomsday option.
We can snuggle the HK-86 up
close to the target, and then poof.
How do you track it?
It's designed to be tracked by
commanders in the field with mobile gear.
- That could find it for us.
- None of it's been assembled yet.
Great. That takes us right
back to square zero, doesn't it?
Not necessarily.
All I need is this little circuit
board. This row of LED's.
I could use this power supply.
I could jerry-rig something.
- Okay. We don't have much time.
- Can you afford five minutes?
WILLIAMSON: Coming soon
to the Bulgarian Embassy.
Complete photographs of the
prototype hunter-killer satellite.
We're not in the pizza
business, we don't deliver...
you do, and you buy the beer.
Upstairs. Keep a lookout.
I don't know how
this is gonna work,
particularly in D.C.
with all the microwaves.
Then again, if it's
outside the D.C. area,
there's no way you're
gonna pick up the signal.
My guess is they
haven't taken it out of D.C.
This is like a coat-hanger
antenna on a car radio.
When you get close, you're gonna
have to fine-tune it with the keyboard.
We don't really have the time to
memorize a lot of complicated codes.
No problem. I'll
copy these for you.
But whatever you
do, don't enter 267.
That's the destruct sequence.
There's no fail-safe in a unit like this.
Okay.
I guess we should probably start working
out from the plant in concentric circles.
It's a million-to-one chance,
but we're gonna have to take it.
- Two-six-seven. Thank
you. LEE: Thank you.
LEE: They've gotta be close by.
I'm sure they want as much time as possible
to put those parts under a microscope.
All we can do is keep
working this pattern.
Yeah.
- I can't raise them.
- Don't expect to.
Uh, I didn't have time to
shield the field transceiver.
It's probably blocking
the cellular signal.
I hope they know
they're on their own.
[DEVICE BEEPING]
I got something
right over there.
Hey, we've got company.
WILLIAMSON: That's
the guy from the agency.
[SIGHS]
Damn phone.
Frequency is out again.
You stay put, keep trying
to get us some backup.
Wait a minute. You
can't go in there alone.
[LEE SIGHS]
You're fond of quoting
me the rule book, right?
- Chapter 11, sub-chapter four.
- No.
Without tactical backup, an agent team must
not risk both members in the same action.
If one of us gets in
trouble, the other can cover.
I wish you wouldn't
take all the chances.
- I'm not taking all the chances.
- What do you mean?
I'm going in there alone and
you're staying out here alone, okay?
- Yeah, right.
- Remember, the destruct code is 267.
Two-six-seven.
That thing is not to go
over to the other side...
- no matter what, understand?
- It won't. I got it.
- Ah. Okay. Let's do it.
- Be careful.
[LEE SCOFFS]
Get outside.
[GRUNTING]
[GUNSHOTS]
[GROANING]
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
LEE: Damn it.
- You cut that pretty close.
- I didn't wanna have to do that.
Yeah.
[WILLIAMSON GROANING]
He's alive.
Mrs. King, I'm well
aware of the events that
have happened over
the last couple of days.
You handled yourself with
great poise and professionalism...
under harrowing circumstances.
And from what I hear,
Mr. Stetson would agree with me.
Oh, yes.
And now it is my pleasure to
announce our unanimous decision...
to reinstate Amanda
King's security clearance.
Oh, and please forgive us for
our earlier misunderstanding.
Thank you, Mrs. Frampton.
Yeah. Ahem.
- Well...
- Yeah.
Now that the smoke has cleared, what
do you say we take that day off, huh?
We've lost the cabin but, uh, I think
we can find some trouble to get into.
I still have a lot of work
to do at Statik Aerospace.
Oh. Come on.
Okay, suit yourself. I don't wanna be
accused of putting ideas in your he...
Ooh.
- You gave up too easily.
- Oh, yeah?
[English - US -SDH]