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Leverage Main | When Darkness Falls

3x03 The Inside Job
[Wakefield Agricultural]

(alarms are blaring as Parker runs down a hall followed by lots of security guards. She hides around a corner, then runs again)

Charlie: This way!

(the men turn a corner and find nothing)

Charlie: Infrared, now!

(one of the men hold up a sensor which shows a heat signature)

Charlie: Good. Go! Spread down left. You two, right!

(the men take off down the hall and split up)


[Leverage Headquarters]

(Nate is cooking while watching the news)

Lin (on screen): Then we'll meet a man with proof that some of the founding fathers were a lot racier than we thought. But first, Dr. Thomas swift defends his theory that...

(Sophie walks in)

Nate: Well. Hey....

Lin: Vikings were the first settlers in New England. I'm Janet Lin reporting live, Channel 6 News.

Sophie: You know, technically, these are our offices.

Nate: Well, you know, I sleep upstairs. What am I supposed to do, cook on a hotplate? (offers her a bite of food) Try this. Yeah. (she takes a bite) Oh, yeah.

Sophie: Mmm.

Nate: Prison kitchen, six months.

Sophie: I should've had you cook me breakfast a long time ago.

Nate: Are we ever gonna talk about that kiss?

Sophie: Kiss?

Nate: Yeah.

Sophie: Oh. I don't remember a kiss. I remember a slap. You're still working off the slap.

(Nate’s phone rings, he picks it up, leaning close to Sophie)

Nate (into phone): This had better be good.


[Roof]

(Archie walks out of a door onto the roof)

Archie: Parker's in trouble.


[Leverage Headquarters]

Nate: Who the hell is this?


[Roof]

Archie: No time for that, Ford. She went in without me. She's alone, and they have a Steranko security system. You of all people know what that means.


[Leverage Headquarters]

Nate (putting on his coat): A-a Steranko? Parker tried to crack a Steranko?


[Roof]

Archie: You've got to help her, Ford. I can't get to her. I'm on the building across the street.

Guard: Okay, let's fan out. Check the roof.

(Archie turns to look behind him)


[Leverage Headquarters]

Sophie: What? Parker took an outside job?

Nate: All right, listen.

Sophie: Without us?

Nate: Okay. I'll call Eliot. You call Hardison. Tell him to meet us at Parker's place right now.

Sophie: Is she in trouble?

Nate: Way more than trouble.


[Wakefield Agriculture Hallway]

(Parker opens a door and runs down a hallway into another room. Security closes in)

Charlie: No sign yet, but we're close.


[Steranko Control Room]

Vorhees: It's only a matter of time.


[Exterior Storage Facility]

(Nate and Sophie rush up in a car and park)

Sophie: This can't be Parker's place.

Nate: Oh, the address on, uh, Central Square? That's a dummy. She's got six of 'em.

Sophie: What?! She still doesn't trust us?

Nate: Well, yeah, she took an outside job without telling us. I don't think any of us knows what goes on in that girl's head. (they approach the door) Oh, great, a keypad.

Sophie: Oh, wait. This is Parker's place. Parker picked the code.

(Sophie moves to the keypad and types in a code that opens the door)

Nate: Unbelievable.

Sophie: Maybe I do know her after all.

Nate: You're not gonna tell me what it is, are you?

Sophie: Sure. It's my real name.


[Parker’s Place]

(As Nate and Sophie enter, the lights over the central part of the room turn on. In the middle is a bed, surrounded by boards, filing cabinets, tables covered with tools and racks for her climbing gear. The bunny is on the bed)

Sophie: Oh, my god. I didn't expect this. (bends to look at tools) This is surreal. She lives here?

Nate (looking at board): "Archie"? Who the hell is Archie?

(Hardison and Eliot run into the room)

Hardison: Parker! Okay. This is a little freaky.

Eliot: Really? This is exactly what I expected.

Nate: What happened to you guys? You should've beaten us here.

Eliot: We went to the wrong address.

Sophie: Oh, the Central Square address?

Hardison: Yeah, yeah, the central...


[Flashback]

(Hardison and Eliot stand in front of a porn shop looking at a man dressed like a school girl. They turn and walk away)


[Parker’s Place]

Hardison: Yeah, the Ce-Central Square... I tracked your phone.

Nate: All right, listen. She left timetables, security codes, schematics. Now, let's look at all this stuff and see where she went and what she's after.

Sophie: God, this is so well-organized. She's got everything laid out just so. This is as clean as one of your plans.

Eliot: Yeah. Maybe you're rubbing off on her, Nate.

Nate: Well, I doubt I'm rubbing off on her. She would have never tried to beat a... (hands Hardison an overhead slide)

Hardison: Steranko? A Steranko. On her own? Has she lost her mind?!

Sophie: Okay, please, please. Somebody explain to me what the hell is a Steranko?

Hardison: Steranko's the toughest security system in the world, in the universe, in the multi--whatever.

Eliot: How do you not know this?

Sophie: I am a grifter. If I'm doing my job right, then the mark just turns off the alarm for me.

Hardison: Look, Soph, you take one of those computers that can beat like 100 people at chess, it's got a brain the size of a building, you hook it up to military-grade, infrared, ultrasound, motion sensors...

Eliot: Yeah, and then give it the personality of a pissed-off Rottweiler. That's a Steranko.

Hardison: It has a heuristic algorithm. Okay? It adapts to your moves and evolves a strategy based on your response. It learns.

Eliot: It hunts.

Nate: Can you crack it?

Hardison: Can I crack -- Nate -- Steranko's like mount Everest. You don't just jump on it. You -- you gotta train, muscle up.

Nate: No, no, no, no. Hardison. No, no. For Parker, can you crack it?

Hardison (hesitates): Yeah, I-I can... Even if I tried -- just tried -- I can't do it remote. I'd have to get in that building.

Nate: Okay, so, we get you in, you open the doors for Parker, she goes out.

Eliot: Through what? Where? I mean, we don't even know where she's at.

Nate (takes a picture from the board): The Wakefield building, downtown. So... Let's go steal a Parker.

(they exit, Hardison taking some of the papers from the bed)


[Exterior, Wakefield Agriculture]

Hardison: Wakefield Agriculture, Worldwide Incorporated. Now, Wakefield’s a big player in the world cereal market, and by "Cereal" I mean wheat, corn, rice – (hands Sophie a file)

Sophie: So it's a grocery store.

Hardison: Yeah, if Godzilla’s a gecko. They do $200 million a year in biotech research and third-world infrastructure.

Sophie: All right, so it's a massive grocery store.

Hardison: Yeah, but even they weren't immune to the financial crunch. The last two years, they did a bunch of bad investments, research that turned up empty.

(Nate looks up at the building through binoculars)

Hardison: This guy right here, CEO Charles Rushing? The board's after his head. Now, he avoided two takeover attempts, but he's running scared.

Eliot (walking up): I just swept the perimeter. Lobby's the only point of entry. Everything else is locked down. And I gotta tell you, man, I ain't big on taking this place in broad daylight, on the fly.

Hardison: What you mean you ain't big on taking -- No, no, no. You just want to throw Parker under the bus?

Eliot: Take it easy. I didn't say that.

Hardison: Yeah, but you are saying just walk.

Eliot: That's not what I said. I'm saying, "What happened to having a damn plan?" Hardison!

Nate: Okay, guys, guys. Listen. If you're gonna do a job like this, you'd need a... a base camp, right? Something kind of private with good visibility?

Eliot: And a partner, 'cause I ain't insane.

Nate: Yeah, exactly. You'd want a partner, right? But, I mean, all the shots from Parker's place, they were taken from a single location up high.

Eliot (looking at pictures): It’s the south side. Look at the way the sun's going off the windows there. According to this height --

Nate: Wait. "On" The building. He said "On -- on the building across the street." Not "In." All right, Eliot, you're gonna come with me. Sophie, walk Hardison into Wakefield so you can get your hands on the Steranko.

Sophie: That's the plan?

Nate: It's all I got.

(Nate and Eliot walk away)

Hardison: Nate, I keep telling you, man, this -- Fine. Whatever. Forget it. Forget it. It's fine. We can do this.

Sophie: Parker's gonna be okay.

Hardison: Yeah, I know. Quiet and sneaky -- standard.

(Sophie reaches into the van)

Sophie: Quiet and sneaky is fine if you're thinking like a thief. Thieves find entrances, but grifters? We make them.

(Sophie holds up two outfits and hands one to Hardison)


[Steranko Control Room]

(Vorhees and Rushing are looking at the monitors)

Rushing: This thing was supposed to be foolproof.

Hannity: This intruder made it all the way up to my laboratories before he tripped an alarm.

Vorhees: Mr. Rushing and Dr. Hannity, please. The Steranko has got the intruder trapped, here between the 25th and the 40th floor in the biotech levels. Now, if I can lock the entire building down –

Rushing: No. This company is bleeding red ink. We're being audited every week. I have bankers calling me from countries I've never even heard of.

Hannity: Do you know what'll happen to our stock prices if there is even a rumor of a break-in?

(Rushing looks at his phone)

Rushing: Great. I've got two more from the London office downstairs. Get this done, Vorhees, quietly -- no alarms, no panic -- not while these auditors are here.

Vorhees: I can have my men go floor to floor. Match retinal scans with I.D. Badges. Once a floor is clear, we lock it down. There is no way out.

Hannity: How long will it take?

Vorhees: 50 minutes.

Rushing: Do it. Quietly. (walks away)

Vorhees: It's all under control, Dr. Hannity.

(Hannity walks away. Vorhees continues to watch the monitors)


[Lobby]

Rushing: Why is this happening today of all days? The board promised to give me a fair warning. This is not fair.

Sophie: Hello! Charles Rushing. Emily Peal, J and L Resource Consultants.

Hardison: Jonathan Steed, financial review analyst.

Sophie: We're here to see who gets fired today.


[Roof]

(Nate and Eliot walk around the roof)

Nate: It's got to be the right roof.

Eliot: Well, you got a clear line of sight to the Wakefield tower.

Nate: Good place to supervise a heist.

Eliot: Nobody can get past us --

Archie: Nate Ford.

Nate: Lisbon.

Archie: I think... Florence.

Eliot: You know this guy.

Archie: Mr. Ford and I once moved in similar spheres. It was Majorca.

Nate: Right. White doves. Eliot, I'd like you to meet Archie Leech, the world's greatest thief.

(guards move into sight and come up behind Nate and Eliot, guns drawn)

Guards: Don't move! Don't move!

(Eliot looks at Nate, who nods. Eliot explodes, disarming one man before beating the other)

Nate: You're pretty, uh, spry for a dead guy.

Archie: You mean the car crash in Paris? Nobody fell for that one. What color is that hat of yours these days, white or black?

(the first guard stands up and Eliot gestures for him to come forward)

Eliot: Come on, boy.

Archie: Pardon me, sir!

(hits the guard on the back with his cane. The guard turns around, Archie takes him down with his cane)

Nate: Well...

Eliot: Nice.

Eliot: Those guys weren't with you?

Archie: Don't be ridiculous.

Eliot bends to knock the first guard out)

Archie: They're here to make sure I get the job done. I'm their hostage. Barely got away from them long enough to call you.

Nate: Parker's your partner.

Archie: Parker... is rescuing me.

Eliot: Why would she rescue you?

Archie: Because I'm her father.


[Wakefield Conference Room]

(Sophie walks in, followed by Rushing, his secretary and Hardison)

Sophie: Yes. This will do nicely. Now... I'm gonna need all your senior executives and heads of departments in five minutes. Mr. Steed here is gonna need computer access, somewhere private, where he can take an endoscopic look at all your records.

Rushing: Is that really necessary? I mean, there's a certain order --

Sophie: This company is on the brink. It is hemorrhaging money. Now, someone will be blamed. Now, I can either be your white knight or the angel of death, your choice.

Rushing: Yes, of course. Anything to help, Miss Peal. Anything at all. (to secretary) Get Mr. Steed any office he wants.

(Secretary pins a badge on Hardison and leads him out of the room)

Sophie: Good.


[Roof]

(Eliot is dragging the guards away as Archie and Nate walk along a walkway)

Archie: Of course, I'm not her real father. New York city, 12 years ago. The little scamp lifted my wallet. When I first met her, she was wild, dangerous to herself and to others. But she had the gift.


[Training Room]

(Archie and Parker stand at one end of a room with lasers crossing and moving. Parker uses gymnastics to get through the lasers to a sundae sitting on a pedestal at the other end. When she picks up the sundae, she realizes there is no spoon. Archie is holding it at the other end of the room. Parker holds the sundae and travels back through the lasers without spilling it or tripping the lasers)


[Roof]

Archie: I made her, honed her -- My perfect thief.

Nate: She was your legacy.

Archie: Just so. I taught her everything I know and unleashed her on the world.

Nate: You know, she was broken. You understand that? Parker was broken, and you had no -- You should have taken her in --

Archie: What? Taken her home like a real daughter?

(Archie puts his cane down on a table in front of a display of the plans and information on Wakefield, takes out a wallet and shows Nate a picture) This is my wife, Marilyn. My grandsons. I love them dearly. They think I'm an accountant. What was I supposed to do? You know Parker. You know she wouldn't fit in. God, she doesn't fit in anywhere.

Eliot (joining them): Yeah, but she was good enough to send into a deathtrap, huh?

Archie: I didn't send her anywhere. I was retired. They found me, whoever they are. Told me to break into Wakefield and steal some canister from the labs there. Or they would kill my family. My grandchildren.

Nate: You couldn't beat a Steranko even in your prime.

Archie: Which I'm long past. Thanks for the reminder. But my employer gave me these blueprints and most of the codes. So I thought I could break the bloody thing! I called Parker for help, just to plan. Next thing I know, she jumps the gun and goes in herself. No idea what she was thinking.

Nate: All right. Listen. (to Eliot) I need you to get in position. When Hardison finds a door, I'm counting on you to get her through it.

(Eliot walks away)

Nate: Okay, Hardison, are we on yet?


[Wakefield Office]

(Hardison opens his briefcase to show a variety of tools)

Hardison: On and cracking.


[Roof]

Hardison: I'm in the main company system.

(Nate hands Archie an earbud)

Nate: Put this in your ear.

Archie: Ah. (puts earbud in his ear)

Nate: Now, you get that back to me.

Hardison: I'm downloading all files...


[Wakefield Office]

Hardison (types on keyboard): Now.


[Roof]

Nate: Okay, and what about the Steranko?


[Wakefield Office]

(Hardison is using his phone to check for wires in the wall, holding a drill)

Hardison: All the alarm systems are run through shielded cable, which means I can't hack it through Wi-Fi. But if you find the actual cable...

(Hardison drills into wall and inserts a tool on a wire, hooking that up to his laptop)

Hardison: Okay. All right. All right. I'm in. Uh, don't know how far, though.


[Roof]

Nate: Okay. Get what you can and fast. Sophie.


[Conference Room]

Sophie (to comm): What are we doing here?

(Sophie is at one end of the conference room while the table is surrounded by employees arguing)

Nate: We want to create some chaos. All right?


[Roof]

Nate: Get them to focus on you, on each other, but just get them off Hardison's back.


[Conference Room]

Sophie (to room): I know what I'm doing here. Someone has to cut $90 million of putrid dead weight from this flabby company. And that putrid dead weight is you all.

Rushing: Now, see here, Miss Peal. There's no call for rudeness.

Sophie: Wakefield agriculture is teetering. I know it. Your board knows it. Your shareholders know it. The only people that don't seem to know it are here in this room, which is why you are all fired.

(talk buzzes in the room)

Sexting Man (on phone): It's happening. They're laying everybody off right now. (exits room)

Hannity: You're just a consultant. You don't have the authority to fire us.

Sophie: I think you'll find that I do... Dr. Hannity. Silver lining. Anyone that can convince me, right here, right now, that their job is necessary will be rehired.

(everyone begins talking at once, with the exception of Hannity)

Sophie: Um... just... well, one at a time. I -- what?


[Office]

Hardison: Okay, guys, uh... I got bad news and not-so-bad news. The not-so-bad news is that Steranko's only running at a level one.


[Roof]

Nate: How many levels are there?


[Office]

Hardison (looking at monitor): Okay, uh, level one, passive lockdown. Two, fire. Three, terrorist takeover. And four, Hazmat containment breach. Now, if it stays at a level one, she just needs to stay away from doors, cameras, uh, security key cards, even actual security guards, and she'll be cool, for a while.

Nate: So she's safe as long as she stays in, but if she tries to get out --

Hardison: Boom. Game over. And that's the bad news.

Eliot: It's a lobster trap.


[Exterior Street]

(Eliot is walking on the sidewalk in front of the building)

Eliot: It's easy to get in, but there's no way out.


[Office]

Hardison: And this helps me how?


[Roof]

Nate: And what about the perimeter?


[Exterior Street]

Eliot: Perimeter's locked down tight. It's a solid grid. Right? You got sensors. You got cameras on everything. (looks up at the building) You want to make a bet these suits don't like giving up their privacy? You're gonna find a blank on one of these offices.


[Office]

Hardison: That's actually not... bad.


[Roof]

Nate: All right, guys. So it's a party. But before we rescue Parker, we got to find out where she is.


[Office]

Hardison: Nate, you do realize the entire building is looking for Parker. I mean, the actual, physical building is looking for her. Look, a-any cameras that I piggyback, any sensors that I access, anything I do to find Parker could lead the bad guys right to her.

Nate: All right, so what’s your play?

Hardison: What's -- what's my play? Nate, I'm hacking a security system that the pentagon calls "Overkill" with a laptop I found in the back of my car!


[Roof]

(Nate is pacing restlessly)

Hardison: Look, man, honest answer -- we can't find Parker.


[Office]

Hardison: We just have to wait for her to send up a signal and hopefully, we get to her first.


[Ventilation Shaft]

(Parker climbs through ductwork. She sees sensors built into the wall and sprays something that shows the lasers plainly.

Parker: Laser tripwires. In a ventilation shaft?! (she looks around) I'm in trouble. (begins crawling the other way)


[Hallway]

(Parker exits an air grill and drops to the floor. Coming out into the main hallway, she sees a security guard checking a woman’s identity)

Guard: State your name and the floor you work on.

Woman: Dr. Enzen, 4.

(The guard scans the woman’s badge)

Guard: Look up here, please. Thank you.

(the guard uses a retinal scanner on the woman, while Parker goes into a closet and grabs a lab coat, putting it on and walking away))

Guard: Okay. You're clear. She's clear. She can go.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

(Parker swipes a pair of glasses and a badge as she walks through, heading for an empty cubicle. She puts on the glasses and sits down in cubicle 49. She pulls her hair back in a pony tail and checks her cell phone, but there is no signal. She picks up the phone and makes a call)


[Office]

Hardison: Speak.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: Hardison, listen. I screwed up. I'm downtown in a building, and I --


[Office]

Hardison: We are already here, mama.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: You are? All of you? (looks around)


[Office]

Hardison: Wait. Parker, are you calling me from a company landline?


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: Yeah. But it's okay, 'cause I have an I.D.


[Office]

Hardison: No, no. Not okay. Parker, they are matching IDs to retinal scans. If a security guard scans your I.D., you're busted. (looks at monitor) And now that you're calling me, Steranko knows exactly where you are.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: What?! Why?! Make it stop!


[Office]

Hardison: No, no. Okay. You got a 30-second window. Right now you're at 20. You need to hang up. Get to cubicle 27. Wait there.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Hardison: Go now.

(Parker hangs up the phone and leaves the cubicle)


[Roof]

Archie: You find something?

Nate: Guys, what would you say if I told you that all of Mr. Leech's schematics are watermarked with the Wakefield logo?


[Office]

Hardison: Sounds like original documents. Probably from the company's hard-copy files.


[Roof]

Nate: Yes, the kind of files that are restricted to high-level company personnel.


[Office]

Hardison: Head of security or above.


[Roof]

Nate: Okay, Sophie, I need you to do me a favor.


[Conference Room]

Sophie: Anything. It's not as if there's anything going on where I am.


[Roof]

Nate: I want you to take a look around the room. I mean, really take a good look.


[Conference Room]

Nate: Uh, anything standing out to you?

(the room is in chaos, everyone talking and arguing. Only one person is not freaking out)

Sophie: Dr. Hannity is awfully calm.


[Office]

Hardison: Hannity, Hannity, Hannity. "Dr. Anne Hannity." She's the senior vice president in charge of the research and development department.


[Roof]

Hardison: She runs the biotech division.

Nate: Yeah, and she has access to the Steranko and the vault that Parker's hitting on the biotech level. (to Archie) Let me ask you something, you ever have contact with a client, I mean, face-to-face?

Archie: The client insisted on complete discretion.

Archie and Nate: She's in on it!

Archie: Why didn't I see it before?

Nate: Okay. All right, Archie.

Archie: Ford, an inside job like this only works if --

Nate: If they've tied up loose ends. Yes.

Archie: If they find Parker, they're not gonna arrest her. They'll kill her!

(Archie moves to leave the roof, Nate moves to stop him)

Nate: Archie, wait, wait. Slow down. Slow down.

Archie: Look, we got to warn her. They're gonna kill her.

Nate: I got my people on it. All right? Hardison?


[Office]

Nate: Talk to me. Where's Parker?

Hardison: Yeah. Yeah. Um...


[Roof]

Hardison: I already took care of it.


[Flashback]

(Hardison puts an earbud into an envelope and gives it to one of the inner office mail people for delivery.)


[Office]

Earbud's going hot In 5...


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

(mail guy is delivering mail throughout the room, to people who are crying, packing, etc)

Hardison: 4... 3... 2... 1.

(Parker gets the envelope and puts the earbud in)

Parker: Okay, I got it. I'm on. Come get me.

Archie: Parker!

Parker: Is Archie there?


[Roof]

Archie: Yeah. Parker.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: Archie. Are you okay?


[Roof]

Archie: Yeah. Right as rain, kiddo.

Nate: "Kiddo"?


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: I'm sorry. I couldn't get the canister. The transcription codes were --


[Roof]

Archie: Parker, what the hell were you thinking, going in there?


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: They would've caught you, Archie. They would've hurt you or your family. Y-your real family. I couldn't let that happen.


[Roof]

Archie: Well, it's all right. J-just stay focused.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker: Yes, sir.


[Roof]

Nate: "Sir"?

Archie: Kiddo, I want you to stand up and have a look around. Tell me what you see.


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

Parker (stands up and looks around): A bunch of people stealing stuff -- staplers, paper... They're pretty bad at it.

Sexting man (approaches Parker): Oh, thank god. I was dying.

Parker: Who is he? Who are you?

Sexting man: Uh, it's -- it's me. Me? Marketing. Cubicle 135. Cubicle 27.

(Parker smiles and laughs)

Sexting man: Listen, I know we said we'd just keep sexting each other and keep it all online, but with these layoffs coming, I just had to see you! Oh. You're hot!

Woman: Let's go.

Sexting man: Oh, I'm -- gee, is it time for Shelly’s severance party?

(a group of people move in and herd Parker and Sexting man along with them)

Parker (under her breath): Come get me. Come get me. Come get me!

Archie: We're on it. Hang tight.


[Roof]

Archie: Your young man.

Nate: Hardison.

Archie: Hardison. Have you got a way out for our girl yet? You don't mind if I --

Nate: No, no, no. Go. Go ahead.


[Office]

Hardison (looking at Monitor): I have a hole in the grid on the 38th floor. CEO's office. No cameras, no sensors of any kind. Eliot, that was a nice call, man.


[Roof]

Nate: All right. So, Rushing wants his privacy. Eliot, you're on.

Eliot: Wait a second.


[Exterior Street]

Eliot: You want me to climb a 40-story building in broad daylight?

Nate: Yes. And I want you to do it now. We're up against the clock.

(Eliot pauses near a van for a window cleaning company. He looks up and sees a window cleaning rig on the side of the building)


[Office]

Hardison: Oh, Dr. Hannity, you've been a bad girl. Nate, Hannity blew through $60 million last year and didn't make Wakefield a dime. Some kind of, uh, super wheat that nobody wants. She should be on the front line, begging to keep her job. I swear. I'd fire her.


[Roof]

Nate: Hannity is our inside man. Okay, Sophie, you can let everybody go except Hannity, and I want her angry. I mean steamed.


[Conference Room]

(room is empty except Sophie on one side of the table, Hannity on the other)

Sophie: Shall we, Dr. Hannity? (opens a folder and looks at the empty contents) Oh, dear. It's a bit thin, isn't it?

Hannity: PhD in agronomy from Stanford. MBA from Harvard.

Sophie: Mm-hmm. Yes. Tsk. Oh, dear. Graduated middle of your class at both. Published just... Here and there.

Hannity: I'm vice president of a Fortune 500 Company. I'm head of research.

Sophie: I know. It's surprising, isn't it? And with-with such weak credentials.

Hannity: I make one call, and you are finished, Miss Peal.

Sophie: Let's both make calls. You whine to your CEO About my bad manners, and I'll remind the board that your division has spent $60 million developing, what was it? Wheat.

Hannity: "Wheat"? Okay. You're an accountant, and you're out of your depth.

Sophie: A bit full of ourselves, aren't we?

Hannity: You want to know what I've spent the last two years working on? (moves to display information on monitor) Five companies -- five -- control all the world's agriculture. Trillions of dollars. They do it through wheat. The world's entire food supply is founded on wheat.

Sophie: I didn’t know that.

Hannity: Of course you didn't. Now, do you know what this is? (changes display) Of course you don't. This is a blight called UG99. It's a variant of the black stem fungus native to Russia. Modern wheat has no immunity to it. So this is what happens if UG99 ever came to America. The blight kills every wheat field, anywhere it spreads. Half the world's food supply rotting in the fields.

Sophie: That's a famine.

Hannity (laughs): No. It's an opportunity. If UG99 ever hit, those five companies that control the food supply will spend billions to beat it. Whoever comes up with the solution--

Sophie: Will save lives.

Hannity: Will increase market share. I'm getting Wakefield ahead of the curve. My team has bred a strain of wheat that is totally immune to the UG99 blight and all its variants.

Sophie (looks at empty file): This company hired you to make money, not "Super wheat" For some famine that may never happen.

Hannity: What if we knew, in advance, exactly what strain of UG99 would attack the food supply, where it would hit, and Wakefield agriculture had the only wheat in the world to survive it? So you make your calls, Miss Peal. And I'll make mine. Six months from now, we'll see who's still looking for work. (walks out)

Sophie: Nate. I lost her. She's gone. Nate, are you there?

Archie: Okay, just--just wait, wait.


[Roof]

Archie: Are you telling me this woman paid us To steal her own wheat?

Nate: Worse. To steal the blight. Okay, now, she develops this super wheat to go against the UG99, the blight. How does she do that? By testing it over and over again against the blight. To test a vaccine, you need the infection.

Archie: But she says her wheat's immune. How does she know that?

Nate: Because she's got a big canister of it in her lab that she uses over and over again to test her little project.

Archie: But why steal something you already own? Why?

Nate: Because she wants it to get out.


[Office]

Hardison: That is very crazy and absolutely right. Nate, I'm sending you all the data that Hannity has on that project. Okay, look, I just punched into the laboratory storage database. Not only does Dr. Frankenstein have some of that UG99 nightmare fungus stored in a biohazard vault here at the Wakefield, but, like you said, she's keeping it in a canister that matches the schematics that Archie was given. Looks like somebody was trying to jump-start an outbreak.


[Roof]

Archie: Oh, this -- this virus, this what-do-you-call-it, gets out and kills the normal wheat.

Nate: That's right. And famine everywhere. I mean, it's a multibillion-dollar market ready for Wakefield to dominate.

Archie: It's so arcane, brutal. She'd have to be a monster.

Nate: Yes. Yes, she would.

Nate: We got to take her out.

Archie: We have to get Parker out of there. No, no, no, Parker gets out.

Nate: You got to let me think this through. Got to let me think.

Archie: You've got three people trapped in there, an outside man who can't get in. So what now? You gonna actually call the police?

Nate: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Leech, just shut up! Shut up.

Archie: While you’re dreaming up your comic book fantasies, Parker is in there, waiting for a bullet in the head.

Nate: Yeah, and you put her in there.

Archie: And I'm gonna get her out. Parker. It's Archie. You've got to leg it. Run for the front doors now.

Nate: No. No, Parker. You're not going anywhere.

Archie: Your friends botched it, Parker. Just listen to me, and I'll get you home.

Nate: Parker, do not go anywhere near the entrance. There's 100 people there. It's a bottleneck.


[Break Room]

(Sexting guy is reading some note to the people gathered)

Sexting Man: And this one's from Amy to Jeff. "Don't sell yourself short. 40 is the new 25." And that's very true.

Man: Thanks so much.

Woman: Good luck, Shelly.

Man: You're gonna be just fine.

Sexting Man: And, finally, last but not least, from me to a certain special someone...

(several people look at Parker)

Sexting Man: "I know this seems like the end, But I want you to think about all the good times and always remember that I have been and forever shall be... your rocket man."

Parker: Somebody tell me what to do.


[Office]

Yeah, and fast. I got codes to all the doors, but Steranko is rewriting. The bastard is quick -- and smart.


[Break Room]

Hardison: Okay, your next open door is two cubicles up and down to the right.

Nate: You heard the man.


[Roof]

Nate: Now, go.


[Break Room]

Parker: Going. (exits room)


[Exterior Building]

(Eliot is riding the window cleaning rig upward)


[Office]

Hardison: Come on. Come on. Do not lock me out.


[Stairwell]

(several guards are moving down stairs)

Guard: Cubicle 27. We're on our way.

(once they pass, the door lock beeps and Parker comes into the stairwell, moving upward)

Hardison: Good. Now, up the stairs, down the hall, left.

Parker: Can't grab me an elevator?

Hardison: No.


[Office]

Hardison: Elevators are a kill zone. Buildings this tall, nobody uses the stairs, so they're wired for fire safety, not security. They're the better choice. (looks at monitor) Uh, you are on the executive floor. Okay, so that means less electronic countermeasures. I can spoof those. But that also means more human guards, which are attached to retinal scanners and guns. Homestretch, mama.


[Conference Room]

Sophie: I get it. We're here to get Parker out. But this Hannity woman is a piece of work. There must be something we can do to bring her down.


[Hallway]

(Parker joins two people in the hall, smiling and acting as if she belongs with them)

Hardison: All right, Parker, you're at the office. Break left.

(Parker moves left)


[Roof]

Nate: One thing at a time. Eliot, she's coming out hot. Are you in position?


[CEO’s Office]

(Eliot is on the window cleaning rig outside the window, pacing and twirling a crow bar)

Eliot: Yeah, I'm in position. She's the one that –

(Parker enters the room)

Eliot: Never mind. Scratch that. There she is.

(Parker smiles and moves across the room, taking off the lab coat. Halfway across the room she stops)

Eliot (knocks on glass): Move away.

(Parker looks back toward the door, hesitating)

Eliot: Parker, move!

Parker: No. No, I can't.


[Roof]

Archie: Parker, what are you doing?


[CEO’s Office]

Eliot (knocks on window): This is no time for crazy! All right?! We got to get the hell out of here!

Parker: I have to go back! The Steranko has a record of the break-in. Hannity can walk the blight out on her own and blame it on me. She's gonna get away with it. We need proof.

Eliot: What proof?

Parker: I have to go back and steal the blight.


[Roof]

Archie: Parker, this is not what I taught you.


[CEO’s Office]

Parker: Archie?


[Roof]

Archie: We do not get involved. We get out.


[CEO’s Office]

Parker: Archie!


[Roof]

Archie: This is not what we do!


[CEO’s Office]

Parker: No, this isn't what you do! Okay, Hannity is bad. She's gonna hurt people, a lot of people. You've taught me a lot of things, Archie, but... this is what we do.


[Conference Room]

Sophie: She's right, Nate.


[Office]

Hardison: Well, somebody better decide something, 'cause Steranko is whupping my ass.


[Roof]

Archie: You're not actually considering this?

Nate: Parker, last time you went to the vault --


[CEO’s Office]

Parker: No, I couldn't, but I was alone then. I'm not alone now. Okay? Hardison, just clear a path to the vault. I know what I did wrong before. I can do it!


[Roof]

Nate: Okay. It's your show.


[CEO’s Office]

Nate: Go for it.

(Parker smiles and looks at Eliot, who is not happy. She exits the office)


[Office]

(Hardison looks at the monitors, stunned)


[Conference Room]

(Sophie picks up her briefcase and exits the room)


[Roof]

Archie: Of all the sanctimonious-- She was home free. She was out! And now you've got her playing hero?

Nate: She was right. It's what we do.

Archie: What you do. You've killed her. That's what you've bloody done. You've killed her.


[Hallway]

(Parker walks into the hallway only to be seen by Charlie, who pulls his gun and levels it at her)

Charlie: Security office, this is Charlie. I'm on the executive level. We got the intruder.

(Parker circles around Charlie, turning his back to where she came into the hallway)

Parker: Intruder? Me? No. I'm just bringing the figures for the thing up on the... Not working for you, huh?

(Eliot taps Charlie on the shoulder, then hits him twice, knocking him out. He and Parker look at each other. She smiles, he gestures that she should continue. She turns and heads down the hall)

Parker: Hardison. Options.


[Office]

Hardison (checking monitor): Stairwell. Opening the doors... Now.


[Stairwell]

(the door beeps, and Eliot comes through, followed by Parker. They begin moving downward, but several security guards are headed up)

Eliot: Damn it, Hardison! What the hell, man? You're supposed to keep these guys off of us.


[Office]

Hardison: Hey, man. Do -- do you want my job?


[Stairwell]

Eliot: You want mine?

(Eliot takes out the first man, breaking his wrist)


[Office]

Hardison: Look, you guys need to get to the biotech level, because Steranko is locking me out.


[Stairwell]

(Parker runs upstairs)

Eliot: Parker, upstairs is the wrong way!

Parker: I know what I'm doing.

(Eliot growls and jumps down the stairs)



[Security Control Room]

(Vorhees is on the phone looking at the monitors while Hannity paces behind him)

Vorhees: Yeah. All right, Phil. Thanks. I owe you one. (hangs up) Just like you thought. They're fake. J and L has never even heard of 'em.

Hannity: I knew it. This is Leech, pulling a double-cross.

Vorhees: I can't reach the other guys I had sitting on him.

Hannity: All right. It's fine. We get Steed and Peal first. Keep them on ice until after we catch the thief. Then get rid of them all at once.

Vorhees: I'm on it.


[Office]

Hardison: Oh, look, I am not trying to rush y'all, but y'all need to put some pep in your step.


[Stairwell]

(there is the sound of fighting as Parker fastens a line to the stair railing)

Parker: Where's the next open door?

Hardison: Biotech floor, 10 floors down from your last location.

Parker: Okay, thanks. Eliot, how much do you weigh?

Eliot (fighting a guard): Are you kidding me? Is she kidding me?!

Parker: I'm really not.

(Parker throws the line over and lowers herself to the level Eliot is on, still fighting one of the guards))

Eliot: I ain't riding that thing.

Parker: Fine. See you on the biotech level.

(Parker lowers herself quickly. Eliot bangs the head of the guard on the railing)

Parker: And bring one of those scanners!

(Eliot searches the guards for a scanner then heads downstairs)


[Office]

Hardison (typing): Okay. I got you an elevator and an open door on the vault-level floor, but now I am officially locked out.


[Roof]

(Nate and Arching are walking toward a door that heads inside)

Nate: All right. Get Sophie and get going.


[Office]

(grabs his things and heads for the door)

Hardison: What about Parker?

Nate: Not your problem.


[Roof]

Nate (dials phone): Get going.

Archie: This is never gonna work.

Nate: Not now, Leech. I'm on the phone.

(Nate puts the phone to his ear and opens the door)


[Conference Room]

(Hannity walks in to find the room empty. She opens the folder Sophie had been holding to find it filled with blank paper. She tosses the folder angrily in the air and exits)


[Office]

(Vorhees and his men walk into the room to find Hardison gone)

Vorhees: Damn it!


[Hallway]

Guard: Copy that. We're on our way.

(Eliot rounds a corner and knocks the first guard out, then slides down the hall to knock a second off his feet. Parker follows him, but is stopped by Sexting Man)

Sexting Man: Hey. It's you. Hey, we should probably exchange all our numbers, right?

(Eliot comes back and slams Sexting Man against the wall)

Parker: He's okay. He's okay.

(Eliot reluctantly lets him go and moves away)

Sexting Man: Who's that guy?

Parker: Boyfriend.

(Parker moves as if she’s going to kiss him, but stops and follows Eliot)

Sexting Man: Oh, this day sucks!

Parker: What's "Sexting"?

Eliot: I'm not having this conversation with you, Parker.

(they come to a stop at a doorway. Eliot points at a scanner)

Eliot: It's a retina scanner.

(Parker holds her hand out to him)

Parker: Only way to beat the Steranko... (pulls up a retinal scan on the scanner and uses it to open the door) ...is with the Steranko.

(they enter the storage room)


[Storage Room]

(Parker moves to the lockers and kneels before one)

Parker: Not an ASCII code. It's a shellcode.

(Parker enters a code that opens the locker and takes out the container)

Eliot: That's great. You're awesome. Let's go!

(alarms blare. A screen on the wall shows that the Steranko has moved to a level 4 Hazmat Containment Breach)


[Exterior Building]

(fire engines and police cars surround the building. People are milling everywhere, including news crews. Nate moves through them and reaches into the back of an ambulance for a Hazmat suit. He turns to find Archie standing there, holding a gun on him)

Archie: That building's completely locked down. They're gonna catch her. And it's all at your door. She was perfect. You ruined her. If you'd left her alone--

Nate: I didn't put her in there, Leech.

Archie: She stayed up there to service you and your pathetic Robin Hood fantasy. I made her unique. What is she now?

Nate: I-I have no idea what Parker is now. I doubt she knows. (looks down at gun) You're a thief. You're not a hitter.

Archie: You know nothing about me.

Nate: What I do know is that we’d both die to protect her. Now, if you're gonna
shoot me, do it. I got work to do. (turns back to the ambulance)

Archie: You're going in after her?

Nate: Always was, Leech. (hands Archie a suit)


[Security Control Room]

(displays are showing Sophie and Hardison grabbing Hazmat suits, and others in suits moving through the crowded hallways)

Vorhees: Hazmat suits - they're using 'em for cover.

Hannity: We're at alert four. Aren't the elevators locked down?

Vorhees: Elevator three is still active. Steranko doesn't have control of that one.

Hannity: This is Leech. These people are with Leech.

Vorhees: I can't stop the elevators, but I can activate the call buttons. We can catch 'em in the lobby.

Hannity: Bring your gun.

(Vorhees cocks his weapon and follows Hannity out)


[Lobby]

(people are exiting the building while others in Hazmat suits enter)

Rushing: All right, folks! No need to panic! Everything's under control! Just let the Hazmat people do their jobs!

(Hannity and Vorhees push the call button for elevator three and wait. When the door opens, Vorhees pulls his gun and points it at the people inside, one of which is carrying the container)

Hannity: We need to talk.

(Hannity and Vorhees enter the elevator)



[Cubicle-Filled Office]

(the four in Hazmat suits walk ahead of Hannity and Vorhees at gunpoint)

Hannity: It's safe up here?

Vorhees: The entire floor has been evacuated. We're alone.

(Archie takes off his mask)

Hannity: We had a deal.

Archie: We did, until you breached our original contract. After all, you did want to kill me... and my partner.

Hannity: Business is business.

Archie: Yes. And so the price has gone up. If you want your property, you'll now pay double.

Hannity: I've heard your proposal. Now here's mine -- I take the blight now. Mr. Vorhees kills all of you and feeds your bodies to the very expensive incinerators we have in the sub-level.

Archie: And the police outside?

Hannity: They're perfect. With all those eyes on the break-in, the Hazmat spill, it'll be easy to blame the theft on, well, you people. Six months from now, when the famines make news, Wakefield will be the only company with a fix. So, how do you want it? Straight on, back of the head? Mr. Vorhees is flexible.

Archie: Oh, neither, I think. (looks at the woman beside him) Is that enough for you, young lady?

Lin: That's plenty.

(the other three take off their masks)

Lin: Janet Lin, Channel 6 News. I'll just need to follow up on your little conspiracy to commit murder.

(Lin raises a microphone, and one of the others raise a camera)

Lin: Any comment, doctor? We're live.

(Hannity is speechless)


[Flashback]

Nate: Hardison, can you get the Steranko to trigger a fake hazmat alarm?

Hardison: I was just busting my ass so this thing won't go defcon four. (typing) Okay. I got you an elevator and an open door on the vault-level floor, but now I am officially locked out.

Nate: All right. Get Sophie and get going.

Lin: I don't know what you told my producer on the phone, but I am not sneaking my crew inside a hazmat evacuation just because you say a Wakefield V.P. is dirty. Do I look stupid?

Nate: You look like someone who would rather have a Pulitzer -- Right? -- Than a local Emmy.

(Eliot and Parker run into an elevator with Archie, Lin, Nate and the others inside. Hardison reaches down and pulls Nate upward through the hatch in the elevator ceiling. Hannity and Vorhees enter the elevator seeing only four people in Hazmat suits and the container)


[Cubicle-Filled Office]

(Hannity looks confused and trapped, Lin looks satisfied. Outside, the window washing rig is moving downward with Eliot, Parker, Sophie, Nate and Hardison on board)


[Under Bridge]

Archie: All right. You did it. I have no idea how something so slipshod could have worked, but it did. Cheers.

Nate: You have no idea how warm that makes me feel.

Archie: No love lost here, huh?

(Nate shakes his head)

Archie: Fair enough. End it like gentlemen. Hmm?

Nate: Works for me.

(they shake and Nate walks away. Archie walks over to Parker, who smiles at him)

Archie: You, uh... you have a topflight crew.

Parker: They’re good. A little undisciplined.

Archie: Well, you can work with that. Parker, I know you did this because my family was in danger. For what it’s worth, there are times now when I wish I had… well…

(Parker hugs him)

Parker: It’s okay. I wouldn’t fit in with the real family.

Archie (pulls back): You didn’t need it any how. You went out and made your own.

(they both try not to cry. Archie holds out his hand)

Archie: Parker.

(Parker takes a deep breath and shakes his hand)

Parker: Archie.

(Parker walks past him, going after Nate)

Archie: My wallet, Parker.

(Parker stops and turns around with a smile, holding up his wallet. She tosses it to him. He catches it and winks at her, she salutes him and goes to join Nate. Archie gets in the car and drives away)

Nate: You okay?

Parker: Yeah.

Nate: What’d he talk to you about?

Parker: Ah, you know. Thief stuff.

The End

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