Project Blue Book (2019) s02e02 Episode Script

1 Previously on "Project Blue Book" I want Project Blue Book to formally close the Roswell incident.
Run! You put Blue Book in that position and they fail, those guys won't be the only ones to lose their jobs.
Somebody left us a message.
Tomorrow at 9:00 a.
m.
, I will show the world proof of what really happened in Roswell, New Mexico.
Yeah, I'm actually calling to cancel.
I'm out of town for a couple days.
Don't be gone too long.
I'll miss you.
There were two separate crash sites.
Recovered its remains buried under a big dead tree on my land.
What is that? - Gentlemen, fire them up and move it out.
- - I want that crash site fully contained.
- Sir, yes, sir! Sir, what's the situation? - Something crashed.
- Again? Middle of town.
The whole street's on fire.
Move it out.
Let's go.
Doc? Your guess is as good as mine.
Let's get some lights out here and set a perimeter.
50-foot radius, 2-man posts, and let's sweep these buildings.
I don't want anyone near that thing.
Professor, what do you suggest Professor.
- Professor! - It's okay.
- I know what this is.
- Doc.
Stand back.
Stand back.
It's for your own safety.
Duncan.
Hello, General.
Duncan's claimed responsibility for the entire stunt, the letter, - the whole damn thing.
- Here you are, sir.
To go through all that trouble and turn himself in before the deadline doesn't make any sense.
Well, he doesn't want it to, not yet.
He brought you here for a reason, General.
Whatever he's doing, he's not done yet.
Well, he's in my custody now.
Trust me.
He's done.
Duncan Booker.
It's been a while, hasn't it? According to this, you were a troublemaker back then as well.
Is that what the Air Force thinks of me? Well, spreading lies, trying to create a panic, am I missing something? You? You're missing a lot, General.
Oh, don't get cute with me now.
What exactly did he miss? The reason you created all this chaos - I'd like to know.
- Doc.
General, the public is going to want to know what all this was about.
Hearing it allows us a chance to counter his narratives.
Strategically, it makes sense.
Now, I'm assuming you have a story to tell.
Okay, Duncan.
Regale us.
Well, when you came to see Judy and I and asked what we saw, I thought we were supposed to tell the truth.
Sign it.
- Sign it.
Fucking sign it! - Get that out of my face! I did.
Every detail.
They'll kill us, Duncan! Just sign it! They're not gonna kill us.
This is all bullshit.
You told me to - never - Repeat that story again.
And if I did, there'd be consequences when I asked why.
Sign it! - Why would I be punished - Take her in.
Just for telling the world what I saw? That's when Get the hell off of her! Things took a turn.
You remember that, General? You know what I remember? I remember you signing a statement claiming that what you saw was a weather balloon.
So do me a favor Cut the bullshit 'cause every word out of your mouth has been a lie.
You get everyone in D.
C.
to sign the same thing? You were both there, weren't you? When the saucers flew over the Capitol? See, I saw you on TV that weekend, and I thought, "Bastard's doing it again ruining more peoples' lives".
Just couldn't stomach it anymore.
So that's what this is about revenge? This is about getting the truth out there! If these things really exist it's about making sure more people like me don't get beat down over it, 'cause the world needs to know what's really going on.
We're done here.
I still have a piece of the saucer! Yeah.
I may have made those stunts up just to get your attention, but the part about the evidence, that's true.
That's what you want the world to see tomorrow morning? Unless the general here goes on TV and tells the truth about what really happened here in Roswell.
See, the plan's already set in motion.
I'm just giving you a chance to do the right thing here and come clean.
Either way, truth is coming out.
I told you the people in this town are nuts.
- So what are we gonna do with him? - Search his place first.
- What for? - Oh, I don't know, Professor.
Maybe he's hiding Santa Claus in the attic.
Look, just go to his house and report back to me what you find.
We've only got a few hours to shut this down.
I want no stone unturned.
Understood? home, whiskey Let me walk out the door I've got orders from my baby - Can you stop that, please? - What am I doing? Your brain is, like, in overdrive right now.
I can hear what you're thinking.
The man built a shrine in his house.
He dumped a flying saucer in the middle of town.
- He is crazy.
- You know what's crazy? The Air Force paying people to be quiet, then beating them up if they don't.
That's crazy.
This is our turn.
What are you doing? Harding gave us an order.
He can give you an order.
I'm a civilian.
- I don't have to listen to him.
- Oh, stop the car.
Doc.
Stop the car.
Great.
Doc.
What are you doing? We need to get to the bottom of what really happened here tonight.
Booker just confessed to faking the whole thing.
Yeah, not the crash six years ago.
Harding already confirmed it was a cover-up.
You forgetting that? Project Mogul? If you're under orders, then by all means, go.
I'm not stopping you.
But Stewart's house, it's just up there, and I want to check out his story.
About aliens? On his property? You're not very good at this, you know the whole undercover thing.
Harding is expecting us at Booker's.
- We do not show up - It'll take 20 minutes if you help.
20 minutes to know the truth.
What'd he say, again? A dead tree on the hill near the house.
Just about done digging holes, Doc.
Just keep digging.
This is ridiculous.
Hang on.
Something there.
Help me out.
What is that? You got to be kidding me.
Jim Tell me you found something at Booker's house.
Whole lot of nothing.
Every square inch? Ah, we could still burn it down, dig through the foundation if it'll make you feel any better.
He turned himself in.
He knew we would search the house.
He's screwing with us.
He's been screwing with us.
I need to get a hold of the captain.
Quinn? Why? He wasn't there.
At least he wasn't when I left.
Was he supposed to be? You're going to wake the dead.
Ha ha.
Very funny.
It is, actually.
Hello.
Sorry for the late hour.
I'm Dr.
Allen Hynek.
This is Captain Michael Quinn.
United States Air Force.
We have a bit of an emergency and need use of your facilities.
Um - someone die? - Yes.
We're just not sure who.
Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit down.
You know, six years ago, I brought 200 men down here.
We combed through every square inch of the desert.
We pulled metal out of trees, under rocks, places you wouldn't even think to look.
We even found a horse that swallowed some.
When we finished, I had them start all over again.
So do you really expect me to believe that I missed something? You'll find out tomorrow morning.
You okay? Hey.
I need you to know I don't really enjoy this, but you have to understand what's at stake here.
So I'm gonna ask you one more time.
Where is it? Where is it? Okay.
I'll tell you.
First, you need to write me a check.
So this is all about money? Mike Connors got a brand-new car two days after he changed his story.
Half of Roswell got checks just to keep quiet.
I want mine.
Let him go.
So all this stuff about trying to embarrass me or expose the truth You hurt me back then.
Destroyed this town.
I'm sorry, son.
I truly am.
Let's say I do pay you.
How do I know you're not gonna try this again? I had an idea about that.
Something to set your mind at ease.
Where'd you get this? That's classified.
They're definitely not human.
You're sure? I'm just a mortician, not a doctor.
I-I don't really do this.
Tell me again what this is about.
Uh, you ever hear of Project Blue Book? That's the Air Force program to investigate flying saucers.
I don't trust the Air Force.
Neither do we.
We don't work for them.
We work for you, the people.
That's why we're here to find out what really happened here in Roswell six years ago.
That what all the commotion's been about? The checkpoints and whatnot? That's right.
Yeah, someone's out there spreading more lies.
And we're doing whatever we can to get to the truth.
I like that.
You know, you tell us what you know maybe you can be a hero.
Are these part of those things that flew the ship? Flew the ship? Yeah.
There were five of them.
Five of what? You know Aliens.
And how do you know that? Because the night of the crash, I got a call.
Hello? Base was asking if I had five child-sized coffins I could deliver to them ASAP.
Ask yourself what would a military base need with five child-sized coffins? Hmm? And how did you wind up on the base that night? I double as the ambulance driver in Roswell.
One of the captains got into a motorcycle wreck, needed a transport.
When I got there, the place was crazy with activity, like we were under attack or something.
I asked what was going on.
No one would talk to me.
So I went looking for someone who would.
Wound up running into a nurse.
She told me You need to leave, or they'll throw you in jail.
Copy that, sir! And what was going on in there? From what I could see It looked like an alien autopsy.
I don't know, Doc.
Second-hand account, six years ago, and he wasn't even in the room.
I wasn't in the room when my son was born, but I'm pretty sure Mimi had something to do with it.
You know, if we can find this nurse and she confirms his story What then what? Go to Harding? If he really did cover this up, we can't come to him with this.
Where have you been? I gave you an order to supervise a search of Booker's.
Blackstone said you didn't even show.
- Yeah, about that, sir - I took a wrong turn.
Uh, the roads out here are so poorly marked, so it was my fault.
We're going home.
Booker's changed his story.
He's agreed to make a public confession at the local TV station in a couple of hours.
In exchange, we won't press charges.
What? We had a talk, came to an understanding.
And I apologized.
Honestly, I think that's all he ever wanted from the beginning.
And he's going on TV? We both are.
To make light of the whole thing, kind of like that Orson Welles thing.
The name of the game is "control the narrative".
Thought you two would've learned that by now.
That doesn't really make sense.
- That's great news, sir.
- Yes, it is, Captain.
The kind worth celebrating.
I'm thinking scotch.
Got a little time before I have to be at the station.
"Yes, General.
That sounds great".
I just feel like we've got more important Yes, General, that sounds great.
See you in my office in 10 minutes.
And a little attitude adjustment, Professor.
I'm not opening up a good bottle if you're gonna be sour about it.
The "Enola Gay" she was based out of Roswell.
Bet you didn't know that, Professor.
509th bomb squadron.
I arranged to have her shipped to the Smithsonian after her service.
History like that needs to be preserved.
Over 70,000 Japanese died in Hiroshima.
Shouldn't that history be preserved as well? We were at war, Professor.
Many more would've died, Americans and Japanese, had we not taken the decisive action to end it.
Oh, well, in that case, I'm sure it was a painfully difficult choice to make.
It was the only way to protect the world from chaos.
And it requires a special kind of man to do that The kind of man who knows where the line is drawn that separates the unthinkable from the necessary the kind of man that has a job to do and gets it done.
That's what makes a hero.
To men like that.
To men like us.
I know there are hard calls to make, General, but I also recognize the way some men call their inhumanity necessary.
In my eyes, that doesn't make a hero.
It makes a coward.
Maybe lay off the scotch, Doc.
Did you just call me a coward? Yes, I suppose I am.
- All right, let's get you - You see, because deep down, that's exactly what you are, General.
You know it, and you won't do anything to try to change it, so you tell me this.
Between men like us, how long can you pretend to believe in something that you know is not true? I need to urinate.
Well, now, there's a man who cannot handle his liquor.
Sir, permission to see if he's okay.
Yeah.
And, uh tell Professor Hynek that tonight is his last night as a member of Project Blue Book.
I think I've had quite enough of that son of a bitch.
Sir, yes, sir.
What the hell was that? Do you realize what you just did? Just come on.
We don't have much time.
Hold on.
You're not drunk.
Yes.
Undercover, remember? He'll never suspect a thing now, and we both got out of that performance.
What, you thought calling Harding a coward was a good way to get us out of the room? Yeah.
He told me to tell you you're fired.
Well, I guess I have nothing to lose now.
- Confound it! - Doc.
Look, just don't try to talk me out of this now, okay? I've seen too much, and I've got to get to the bottom of this.
Earlier, I checked with the guard.
I was just gonna wait till we're done, but you had to go and get all dramatic.
So you do believe Duncan's story? What I believe in is finding out the truth.
And we made a pact.
I don't go back on my word.
I'll look for the duty roster of '47.
You grab a phone book.
We'll cross-reference in the car.
- How many more? - Four.
I don't know if we'll have time for that, Doc.
Harding's due on TV in under two hours.
The next one's close by.
Says here she subbed in the night of the crash.
Her address is Oh.
- What is it? - This nurse her last name it's different in the phone book.
- Shit.
- Yeah.
It's about a half a mile up here on the left.
Imagine that.
Looks like someone's headed out.
Got here just in time.
Judy.
Hey, sorry for the scare, miss.
That your name? Judy? Yes.
Who are you? Well, I'm Captain Michael Quinn.
This is Dr.
Allen Hynek.
We're from Project Blue Book.
United States Air Force.
Uh, maybe we could talk inside.
I was just heading out, so if you could move your car.
Uh, it's about your husband.
I don't have a husband.
That's funny because he said he wasn't married either.
The military record only lists your maiden name, but the phone book that had your married one.
Booker, isn't it? Hold on.
It's okay.
We're friendlies.
Wait, where you going? Hey.
Give me that back! You just assaulted a captain in the United States Air Force.
Oh, my God.
They're real.
Captain.
How did she even get that film? - Captain.
- Doc, Doc.
That is not just highly classified government property.
That's that's Do you even realize what kind of trouble you're in right now, huh? Stealing a piece of sensitive material like that? T-t-that's worse than the Rosenbergs.
- Captain.
- It's just This is the final piece.
Where were you going with this when we pulled up? TV station? Right? This is what Duncan wanted all along it's what he planned.
What are you talking about? He was telling us the truth first time.
He wants revenge.
And he was gonna get it by showing this to Harding on live TV.
Showing it to the world.
Is that true? So the station, they need to be prepared for something like this.
Which means that they are in on it, too.
What are you going to do with it? - The film? - What, what? The cinematic evidence of alien fucking life? I don't know.
How about you tell me if there's any goddamn bourbon in the house? And we'll go from there.
Did they put it through? Yes, sir, he should be on the line.
Ah.
What is it with this town? It's like the gates of hell.
Are you drunk? Oh.
Jim you've got to be on live TV in less than an hour.
You can't screw this up.
Look, if I can pull myself together after ditching a plane over Guadalcanal during the war, I sure as shit can do a ten-minute interview on live TV after a couple of drinks.
I called the station.
It's patched in nationwide.
I'm just making sure that you're okay.
- That's all.
- You you You're welcome.
The State Department called.
This got on their radar.
You blow it, Blue Book goes away.
You go away.
Look I fixed it the last time, didn't I? Didn't I? Yes, you did.
Yes, you did, Jim.
Yeah.
Yeah, I did.
So what do we do? Right now she stays here till we sort this all out.
- Am I under arrest? - Why, you, uh you leaving? Got to keep an eye on her.
Unless I'm under arrest, you can't force me to stay here.
Being under arrest would be a vacation for you right now.
Trust me, you're staying here.
Oh, no, don't.
What are what are you planning on, uh on doing with this? That is Air Force property.
What, so you're gonna show it to Harding? Really? After all that we've seen? Look, you do know what we saw, right, and what that means for the world? Doc, come on, don't do this.
Give me the film.
Come on.
Okay, um, I understand.
You know, um, I don't want you to get in trouble or to have to put you in that position.
Have another drink.
Why don't we both have another drink? - Sorry.
- Okay.
- General.
- Where'd you go, Captain? Where is the professor? Sir, I need to speak with you.
In private.
It's urgent.
Sir, we need to get going.
This won't take long.
Excuse us.
If you're trying to talk me into saving his job Was it really a spy balloon that crashed in '47? Oh, for Pete's sake.
Because I've seen evidence to the contrary tonight.
Captain, I'm in no mood.
What is this? That's, uh You need to see it, sir if you haven't already.
And, uh, I might add that, given what's on there, I will need to be briefed at the highest levels.
Is this a joke? - General? - I'm coming.
What the hell is this, Captain? You know what? When I get back, you and I are gonna talk.
Let's go.
How far did you get? All the way.
You know, I really thought, at the end of the day, we had each other's backs.
You were making a rash decision.
So, when it comes down to it, you'll just do what you got to do for you, not us.
Where's Judy? Doc where's Judy? Headed to the TV station.
And the film? It was never ours to begin with.
I just didn't want to be the one responsible for hiding the greatest Phone's not working.
Can't get through to the TV station.
You won't make it on time.
Not if I take the main roads.
I'm not going to.
- What are you doing? - I'm coming with you.
- No, you're not.
- Yes, I am.
No, you're not.
Damn it! General, nice to see you, sir.
Pleasure's mine.
Thank you very much.
- Uh, so where we doing this? - Uh, right this way, sir.
We're just getting set up for you now.
Can we get some makeup on the general, please? Come on through, guys.
How are you? - Uh, well.
Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
Is she here yet? No, we still got time.
We still got time.
Uh, right through here, gentlemen.
Right through here.
No, no, no, no.
It's like putting lipstick on a pig.
Captain.
Michael.
The least you could do is not talk right now.
I'm sorry.
Well, a lot of good that'll do me at court martial.
If this film gets broadcast, everything changes.
For better or for worse? You have no idea.
You do not know what's gonna happen.
But someone is gonna take the fall.
Guess who they'll be looking at now.
Yeah, you're right.
I don't know.
And if they do blame you, I'll say that you had nothing to do with it.
Oh, but I did.
I did have something to do with it.
Yes, so imagine that.
Imagine that.
Imagine a world with the truth out there and your name associated with that.
There is no one truth, Doc.
Not with anything.
It's just like what went on here six years ago.
No one's ever gonna know what really happened.
You know why? 'Cause maybe the world isn't ready to hear that aliens exist.
And this is your camera here.
You can look directly into it.
Duncan, yours is that one.
You don't have to raise your voices.
The mics up here will pick everything up.
Thank you very much.
Just cue me for the countdown.
You want to review what you're gonna say first? Oh, yes.
Thanks.
Don't worry if you miss a few words.
I'll make sure that we stay on track.
30 seconds, guys.
Hey.
Don't be nervous.
There's her truck.
Hey.
We may never get this chance again.
A man needs to know where the line is drawn that separates the unthinkable from the necessary.
Ten seconds, everyone.
Nine eight seven six five Good evening.
I'm General James Harding from the United States Air Force, and we're here tonight live in Roswell, New Mexico.
I want to talk to you people about a rumor that's been circulating again about a mysterious crash that's happened here in the desert of New Mexico.
And I want to tell you, the people of America, that it's just a hoax.
And the hoaxer is here with us this evening.
Duncan, why don't you tell the good people about the stunt that you pulled? The stunt yes, let's talk about the stunt I pulled.
Six years ago, this man, General Harding, came into my house and threatened to kill me and my fiancée if we didn't lie about what we saw.
He even wrote me a check earlier today to make sure I stayed quiet.
That is your signature, isn't it, General? Why would you do this? But I won't stay quiet.
Not anymore.
Roll it, Fred.
You son of a bitch.
What are you doing? How you gonna cover that up, huh, now that the whole world's seen it? How did you get that? How did you get that? Are we still live? Turn that off.
Turn off that film.
Turns those cameras around.
Turn them around! You have no idea what you've just done, you son of a bitch.
It's okay, General! It's okay! Professor? No one outside of this room saw anything.
I had the, uh switchboard disabled before any signal was broadcast.
The film is a fake, sir.
No one gets in or out of here, understood? Everyone needs to be questioned.
Round them up.
You, uh you overexposed the negative to wash out any detail, but it didn't hide the pattern of the studio lights.
And it does have a very distinctive pattern.
You'll see the same when you check back over the film.
The clock there as well.
The film was shot right here by Duncan, his wife, Judy, the help of the station manager, and a couple of other actors.
It's over, Duncan.
You may as well come fully clean now.
Judy was there that day.
Everything in that film she saw with her own eyes.
- It's still the truth.
- Take him back to the base.
This doesn't change anything.
You still tried to cover up the existence of alien life.
Now! Get him out of here! - Yes, sir.
- Don't you touch her.
- You can't do this! Duncan! - It's the truth! You saw them! They're real! The truth has to get out there! You know it! You saw them! You saw them! How did you know? Captain Quinn figured out the connection.
He raced here with me to help stop it, so he deserves all the credit.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome, sir.
The light grid pattern, huh? I'm surprised you didn't notice it, too.
Only you would notice that, Doc.
Duncan, Judy, Connors a lot of people went through a lot of trouble to see Harding ruined.
I know what you're saying.
What am I saying? Why not just let the film play? Fake or not, the attention it would've got, the press Sooner or later, the truth would've come out.
Can't expose the truth by using a lie.
Do that, we'd be worse than Harding.
You accepted my invitation.
I thought I was under orders, Captain.
You know, I don't usually move this fast.
Well I'm the one who showed you where the spare key was.
Can I ask you a serious question? Absolutely not.
Allen, you're home.
I am home.
Come here.
How did you know I needed that? How'd it all work out? Well, I'll give them credit.
Quality was impressive.
Jim, what you saw in '47 It's what the Soviets wanted us to see, I know.
They wanted us to panic.
And we didn't.
But what we found on that craft Was the sick work of Dr.
Mengele.
What he did to those children's bodies, disfiguring them, making them look inhuman, was unconscionable.
Jim you didn't fall for it then.
Don't fall for it now.
Of course not.
And I'll take care of that.
Put it in the vault with the rest of them? Sure.
Maybe in 10 years' time, we'll release it.
Give the masses a little more to chew on, huh? Hmm.