The Fear Index (2022) s01e03 Episode Script

1
[theme music]
[foreboding music]
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[baby cries]
[TV chatter in French]
[ominous music]
[woman moans]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[foreboding music]
[panting]
[door closes]
[distant clanking]
- [gasping]
- [footsteps approaching]
[ominous music]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[suspenseful music]
Gib mir deine Hand.
- I can't sp
- Gib mir deine Hand!
- I don't
- Pig!
Deine Hand.
What are you doing?
Who the fuck are you?
Du magst deine Spille?
- I don't understand.
- Take. Off.
Your. Shirt.
- What?
- Schnell!
[breathes shakily]
- Why are you doing this?
- Du hast mich gefragt.
You asked me,
like a little piggy.
What the fuck? I didn't
- Little piggy.
- Fuck
I never asked you
to do anything.
- You contact me!
- No. No, I didn't
Ich werde dich essen.
[foreboding music]
[grunting]
- [screams]
- [thuds]
[breathes deeply]
[clatters]
[panting]
What the fuck?
[Karp groans]
Wake up!
Why do you have pictures
of my wife?
Ich wusste nicht,
dass du verheiratet bist.
In English, you piece of shit!
[laughs]
Du verrücktes arschloch.
It's all for you.
You wanted it, you came to me.
On das computer,
look at the folder,
"Das Opfer."
[panting]
[laughs]
THE VICTIM
You begged me.
Like a little bitch.
You wanted it,
you made it easy for me.
[Alex] Oh, Jesus.
[Karp] You told me exactly
what you wanted me to do.
Du kleines Schweinchen.
It's impossible.
The best piggy yet
[laughs]
Dich zu versprechen,
kleines Schweinchen.
[laughs]
It's fucking
It's fucking impossible!
[eerie music]
[grunting]
It's better when you struggle.
[groaning]
- [yelling]
- For your wife, it will be slow.
It will hurt her.
[screams]
[grunting]
[yelling]
[panting]
[breathes deeply]
[groans]
[knocking]
[man in French]
- [man 1] This is a great meal.
- [man 2] Agreed.
[indistinct chatter]
[Alex's voice]
Leave a message after the tone.
[Hugo] Hello, Alex.
I've got five billion dollars
up here,
asking me what's wrong
with the man
they're about to entrust
said five billion dollars to.
Call me back.
Fuck!
[breathes shakily]
[ominous music]
[knocking]
[knocking continues]
[indistinct chatter]
[eerie music]
[engine roars]
All right, that's it.
I've had enough,
let's get out of here.
- Yeah.
- This is a waste of time.
All right.
Oh, mutiny.
Speaking for all of us, Hugo.
We'd like to hold off
any firm decision
on further investment
until we've spoken to Alex.
We would like some assurance.
Well, I've given you
every assurance
From him.
We need to hear it from him,
or we may be less inclined
to take up your offer.
Okay.
I understand.
So, why don't we flip
this little predicament?
Since we've been
in this restaurant,
our company
has made 30 million dollars.
That puts us up
to nearly 90 million on the day.
It's a lot of money, isn't it?
See, you've all been looking
at this the wrong way.
We offered you the chance
to further invest,
because of the
privileged relationship
you have with us.
Because, let's be honest,
I show those numbers
to anyone else in the world,
and they would bite my hand off
to be part of it.
So, by all means,
take a few hours
to think it through.
Have a stroll around Geneva,
see some sights.
But anyone not back
at our offices
by 5 p.m.
with their checkbooks out,
will not be offered
this opportunity again.
Have a pleasant afternoon.
Hey.
Take me to Dr. Hoffman's house.
I've been assigned to Alex.
Not anymore,
because you fucking lost him,
didn't you?
Yeah. Open the door.
Oui, monsieur.
[panting]
Can you turn
the air conditioning on, please?
It's hot.
[inaudible]
Rue de Village, s 'il vous plait.
Hurry, please.
[birds chirping]
[sighs]
[Gabby] What are you doing here?
[Hugo]
I'm looking for your husband.
Where is he?
I don't know,
I haven't seen him.
You're leaving him, I hear.
- Am I?
- Fuck!
You couldn't have waited
until tomorrow?
You have to be
this bloody selfish?
Wow. That's an interesting take
on the situation, Hugo.
You know, I just watched him
come this close
to joining us
for that bloody lunch.
- And then he ran away.
- I don't know where he is.
Would you tell me anyway,
that's the question?
Probably not.
Because he's not well, Hugo.
And you know that.
Why do you have it in for me?
- I mean, I'd like to know.
- Okay. All right, Hugo.
- You really want to do this?
- Yes.
Right now?
Okay. I don't have it in
for you.
But you must have known
about his previous breakdown.
And you thought it was okay
to send him to the office,
after he'd been attacked.
What is wrong with you?
I didn't send him to the office,
he's a grown man.
[sighs]
The future of our company
is at stake today.
You could have handled it, Hugo,
and you know that.
No, what are you talking about?
Of course not.
He's the genius,
they need to see him.
That's what they want.
I need you to help me.
Because if you don't,
it's highly fucking likely
that this company
will be shut down.
And I know you'd hate to be the one
to have to give him the news
that everything he's been
working on
for the last decade is gone.
Because if anything's
going to cause
another breakdown,
that'll do it.
So, help me.
Please, Gabby.
Fine.
I get it, Hugo.
But I care about Alex,
not the company.
I'll go and wait at the office.
Maybe he'll turn up there.
He comes home, you call me?
Okay. You do the same.
Absolutely.
[reporter]
The explosion on the aircraft
operated by the Swiss airline
Vista Airways
is now being considered
a deliberate act of terrorism.
Families of the victims
gathered near the crash site
to pay their respects,
holding a vigil to pray
for those lost.
There was clearly
a rising sense of anger
at how something
like this could happen.
And whether key intelligence
was missed.
Financial markets
have reacted to the crash,
with Vista Airlines stock
at an all-time low.
Analysts are also concerned
about heavy trading
in direct opposition
to the previous week's market.
I need to know if you've
taken off the position limit?
What?
No, of course not.
But it's been removed.
That's impossible.
VIXAL's just breached the limit,
and trades are soaring.
I thought you must
have authorized it.
This is wrong. It's just wrong.
I mean, the trade's good,
they're going up.
That's not the bloody point.
The limit is there for a reason.
We have to close
VIXAL down, now.
[suspenseful music]
[Alex] Okay. Stop here.
[foreboding music]
[secretary speaking French]
I need to see her urgently.
[speaking French]
My name is Alex Hoffman,
just tell her it's me.
It's extremely urgent.
[in French]
Monsieur! Monsieur?
Dr. Hoffman.
Victor, excuse-moi.
[speaking French]
Alex.
[door closes]
[panting]
Look at this.
I got this off a man
who I supposedly hired
to attack me.
Read it.
I'm begging him to kill me.
[breathes rapidly]
A conversation between two men.
One who dreams of killing
and the other
who fantasizes about dying.
The man who fantasizes
about death, that's me.
The thoughts that are in here,
I remember having them,
when I was ill.
I told you about them.
How did they end up
in this computer?
I have no idea how something
like this could happen.
Then I'm truly losing
my fucking mind.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God!
Alex
[panting]
That means
that I've bought things,
I've met with people,
and I've hired someone to
attack me at my house.
A fucking cannibal.
Why would I do that?
You treated me
Why?
[keyboard clacking]
- Are you looking at my files?
- Yes.
Do you write down what I say?
Can I see them?
Can I see them?
You gave someone my files.
Why would I do that?
How else could the conversation
be in this laptop?
- Word for word.
- [siren blaring in distance]
Alex, I can see you are angry,
and I suggest you calm down.
We can try and work out
what happened.
[siren blaring]
You called the police?
Alex?
Alex!
[suspenseful music]
[shouting]
[rattles]
- [car horn honks]
- [thuds]
- [Lin] Is this an overreaction?
- [Hugo] An overreaction?
- [Lin] Yeah.
- What are you talking about?
Well, pulling the plug.
I mean, I know Alex is off
the radar, but VIXAL's
Lin, Lin, what the fuck
are you talking about?
Shit, sorry, Hugo,
the position limit
has been removed,
risk is growing exponentially,
and Marieme is panicked.
She wants to pull VIXAL offline.
Well, she can't. Where is she?
In her office,
Pieter's there too.
Marieme's seeking approval
from the board,
she's setting up
a conference call.
Fucking hell.
I'm sick of that woman.
Amber, darling,
I'm going to be upstairs
with Marieme.
If Alex calls you, just come
straight in there, all right?
Oh, fucking Clouseau.
Inspector, we couldn't do this
another time, could we?
It's just that I'm rather
up against it today.
Oh, yeah. Of course, Mr. Quarry.
I will telephone
the station immediately
and ask them to put
the investigation
on hold for a moment
while you unfrazzle yourself.
The Swiss discover sarcasm.
Tell Marieme if she does
anything before I get there,
- I'll rip her lungs out.
- See you up there.
Obviously, I would never
actually carry out the threat.
[indistinct chatter]
[in French]
[indistinct chatter]
Have you seen my laptop?
[chatter in French]
Give me that!
[woman groans]
[animated chatter]
[Leclerc] Do you have any idea
who might want
to destroy Dr. Hoffman?
[Hugo] I've no idea.
Alex makes a lot of money
for a lot of people.
They love him.
I understand that you've worked
with him for eight years,
and how did you meet him?
I'd heard about some science geek,
who worked at CERN
who had
some interesting theories
on neural networks.
Ah, and you went to CERN.
Obviously.
But he'd already left by then.
Yeah. Because of the breakdown?
Well, someone's done
their research.
Anyway, I turn up
at his apartment, uninvited.
I gave him the best pitch
I have ever given.
Still said no.
Said he didn't even know
what a hedge fund was.
But making money
appealed to him?
- He was
- God, no.
He's never been interested
in money.
But he needed money
to further his research.
That's how I got him.
[speaks in French]
I mean, sorry,
who works for who?
Excuse me?
Who is the boss?
We're partners, Inspector.
Oh.
But he didn't go
on a mission to find you.
And what the hell
are you getting at, exactly?
Uh, it sounds to me
like you're very in need of him.
He is an investment, no?
[knocking]
Has he arrived?
[Amber]
No, but Marieme just called.
They're waiting for you
in her office.
Right, well I'm afraid
I'll have to cut this short,
Inspector.
Ah, excuse me.
[Alex] Wait!
[groaning]
Centre ville, s 'il vous plait.
[grunting]
[Leclerc]
Mr. Quarry
Mr. Quarry,
I'm sure you really want
to protect your investment.
And if he were, I don't know,
suffering another breakdown,
or delusions,
or possibly becoming a danger
for himself or others,
you wouldn't want
the authorities
to take away that investment,
would you?
It's an interesting theory,
Inspector.
I'm very happy for you,
but I genuinely have no idea
where Alex is.
And I literally have business
to attend to.
All right?
Mr. Quarry.
You seem very agitated.
I think you know
you've lost control.
Amber, will you see
the inspector out?
[in French]
Inspector?
- [cell phone vibrates]
- Inspector?
Baby.
[Gabby] Alex, where the hell
have you been?
[Alex] I'm sorry, I
Hey. Hey.
Alex
I don't want to lose you.
You're not going to.
[Alex]
But something's happened.
What's happened?
Alex, talk to me.
I've done something.
[sighs deeply]
Gabby, listen, I need you
to book us a flight somewhere,
my credit cards
have been frozen.
Can you do that?
Can you book us a flight?
Okay, just come here first
And then
we can talk about this.
Let's go to London.
- Let's go tonight.
- Tonight?
What? No.
Please?
[Gabby sighs] Okay. Okay.
Please, come home.
[Alex]
What the hell?
Alex? Alex, are you there?
There's one more thing
I have to do.
Sorry, I'm so fucking sorry.
[sobbing]
I love you.
I love you too.
- I gotta go.
- Alex? Alex!
What the hell is going on?
- Do you know where Alex is?
- No. Next question?
Hugo, VIXAL has somehow
removed the safety limits.
- That's impossible.
- No. It's true.
I have never seen
anything like this in my life.
VIXAL is making extremely risky,
even reckless calls.
It's also removed the hedge.
- What?
- Yes, it's gone.
We've not merely abandoned
our long position
on S&P futures,
we're actually
shorting S&P futures.
We've increased our position
on VIX futures
to something approaching
one billion,
and we're buying out
of the money puts
that are so extreme,
that I just can't take the
responsibility
We're having a major impact
on the global market.
This doesn't
just affect us anymore,
and that's why we have
to pull the plug.
All right, everyone.
Let's just shut up.
Let's not put on a show
for the fucking geeks out there.
My office.
[foreboding music]
[in French]
Oui?
Bon.
[suspenseful music]
[driver] Here we are,
Hoffman technologies.
[indistinct radio chatter]
No, keep going,
take a right up here.
Fuck!
[Marieme]
And Tropix Pharmaceuticals?
Does Alex know
something I don't?
Because we've taken
a massive chunk of a company
that yesterday meant nothing.
Jesus.
We're not pulling
anything, Marieme.
It's our only option.
Override VIXAL,
and put the hedge back in place.
Bypass VIXAL
without consulting Alex?
I would consult him,
he's not answering his phone.
This is just breathtaking
irresponsibility.
He knew we had a problem.
He knew we were meeting
this afternoon.
Hugo, I wouldn't say this
if it weren't
for the circumstances.
But I believe Alex may be having
some kind of nervous breakdown.
- The signs are there.
- Shut up, Lin.
Go right here.
Stop, slow down here. Slow.
What's going on here?
Laying cables, fiber optics.
For who?
This building.
Keep going, keep going up here.
Keep going straight.
There's an underground carpark
right up here.
Just go up to that
We have to ask the board
for a vote of no confidence.
What? About Alex?
Now you listen to me, Marieme,
any mention of Alex
being mentally unstable
to anyone outside this office
and this company is finished.
If we don't take steps now
and face up to what may be
happening to Alex,
and shut VIXAL down,
the company
is not only finished,
we could all end up in jail.
Well, I'm sure you've covered
your own ass.
If we don't override VIXAL
and put the hedge back on,
what are the brokers
gonna say?
They won't allow us
to trade un-hedged
on our existing terms
of settlement.
So we may have to provide
additional security.
Numbers. How much?
Like half a billion, I'd say.
Fine.
- Each.
- Fuck.
Okay. Stop here. Thank you.
Keep the change.
[suspenseful music]
What does
the P&L say now, Marieme?
Up 77.
Well, there you go.
And yet, you're panicking.
I can't see that a system
that has made
nine million dollars
in the ten minutes I've spent
with you idiots
can be called a failure,
can you?
It's purely theoretical profit.
It could be wiped out
the moment the market recovers.
And is the market recovering?
No. I accept that right now
the S&P 500 is falling.
Maybe VIXAL is a better judge
of the markets than we are.
But VIXAL is malfunctioning.
How? How exactly is it
malfunctioning?
It was right about
Vista Airways, wasn't it?
And now we're looking
at this situation
with Tropix Pharmaceuticals,
aren't we, Lin?
Well, if there's an outbreak,
and that vaccine works,
then we stand to make
a lot of money.
Then at best,
it's completely immoral.
This is a hedge fund,
not a convent.
And at worst, it's bordering
on insider trading.
And blood on our hands.
[car alarm blaring]
[suspenseful music]
Have they found Alex?
No, but the investors are here.
Put them in the boardroom.
I'll be up there in ten minutes.
Well, seems we have
our investment,
and VIXAL is working.
This is wrong,
and I refuse to be a part of it.
Well, then, Marieme,
I accept your resignation.
And I'd like to thank you
for your service.
- Come on, Hugo.
- If it's any consolation,
I was gonna fire you
next week anyway.
But, thankfully,
with your resignation,
you forfeit all bonuses,
settlements, or claims
to anything other than
a fucking box
with which to pack your shit.
I want you gone
by the end of play today.
[ominous music]
Uh?
What?
[grunts]
[Hugo] Ladies and gentlemen,
what a pleasure to see you
all again.
Do you know
Tropix Pharmaceuticals
is going through the roof?
We all want to be involved.
And we want nothing more
than to involve you, Bill.
Any signs of Alex?
[dial tone trilling]
[phone beeping]
[sniffs]
[panting]
Our involvement isn't contingent
on Dr. Hoffman being here.
Of course not, Elmira.
We're up nearly 100 million
for the day.
And all predictions
point towards
that figure
rising 50 percent
by the time the markets close.
[reporter]
Breaking news coming in.
The WHO
Still think I'm overreacting?
in West Africa.
Currently affecting
localized areas
Hugo,
the World Health Organization
has just announced
an Ebola outbreak in Guinea.
They're closing the borders.
So VIXAL works.
We're about to make a fortune.
[reporter] Early sources
suggest that medical teams
are moving quickly
to try to contain the outbreak,
but numbers are high.
[dial tone trilling]
[phone beeping]
[fax machine rattles]
[ominous music]
[gasps]
[TV chatter]
[grunts]
[rattles]
[grunts]
- [thudding in distance]
- What is that?
Would you excuse me
for just a second?
- I'm getting out.
- [Bill] Come on.
Let's go check this out.
I'm being spied on!
I was right. I knew it!
He's got cameras on all of us.
Alex, do you maybe want
to step down off the desk
and we can talk about this
in my office?
He had cameras
in every room.
Genoud is working against us.
I was fucking right!
He's filming fucking everything!
He's trying to destroy me.
[sighs deeply] I was right.
[closing theme music]