The Hot Zone (2019) s02e06 Episode Script

RMR-1029

1 Previously on The Hot Zone: Anthrax.
Director Mueller just assigned us a major case number.
Investigation has officially been dubbed Amerithrax.
Whoever sent these letters got their Anthrax from an American lab.
We wouldn't be here if we didn't have evidence leading us back to USAMRIID.
Bruce Ivins is our top anthrax man.
Then I wanna talk to him.
They're treating us like we're the enemy.
We're the heroes.
The way in has to be through his heroes complex.
I know most Americans aren't paying attention, but you guys had signs that 9/11 was gonna happen.
And now you can't figure out who sent these letters.
So instead, you are harassing hard working patriots like me.
Bruce, are you considering doing bodily harm to someone? Did you this, Dr.
Ivins? I had obsessive behaviors linked to sororities specifically Kappa Kappa Gamma.
In the fall of 2001, - did you mail letters containing Anthrax? - No.
Looks like he's not your guy.
Our top suspect is Hatfill.
He just happened to be on the ground in Rhodesia during the most deadly Anthrax outbreak in recent history.
Ryker, I'm putting you on Sykes' team.
FBI agents searched the home of Steven Hatfill.
Hatfill has a map.
Looks like it leads to a remote location in the woods.
Still think we got the wrong guy? See the pyramids along the night Such a sweetheart.
Watch the sunrise on a tropic isle But just remember darling all the while, You belong to me Good day.
Hello, Mother.
Hello, Bruce.
Hello, Papa.
What are you doing? Just crushing some chlorpromazine pills - for Mrs.
Bachmeyer.
- Uh-hmm.
She has a hard time swallowing them.
And if she doesn't get enough.
Ahhh! See the jungle when it's wet with rain Press the other side and there, it's called a pharmacist's fold.
It stops the powder from spilling out before someone opens it.
The map we found at Hatfill's spans acres of the place.
But this dog had a real boner for that pond.
Well, I'll give you this, secluded area, good place to toss evidence.
But you still don't believe me, do you? Come on, the guy wrote a book about a biological attack on Washington.
This is our guy, Ryker.
I don't know.
He's got a couple of things stacked against him.
Then again, maybe he's like any of us, made a few questionable judgment calls in life and we're just following the plot of his fictional book.
Agent Ryker, USRT diver found something.
Ryker, you ever seen anything like it? No.
But those holes are large enough for hands to slide in.
With gloves and cuff rings affixed to it, it could be airtight.
A makeshift biosafety box.
Make sure that goes into a bio-case.
If there are any spores left in there, I wanna make sure they don't get shaken off during a bumpy ride to the lab.
Yes, sir.
Copy that, we'll take care of it.
Watch your back.
Right, K-6 we're fgoing to K-6.
Hate to say I told you so.
Well, we'll get to test it right away.
We'll know soon enough.
Did you get pulled onto Sykes' team too? Seemed to avoid the Seventh Circle of Hell for one more day.
I thought you were following Ivins.
I am.
What the hell is he doing here? It can't be a coincidence.
We got a non-secure person at the volunteer tent.
Brown coat, black hat.
Remove him immediately.
Roger that.
Refill for a coffee? Sir, this is a restricted area, you can't be here.
No, no, no, I'm a first aid volunteer.
- Sir, you have to be on the list now please.
- I'm supposed to be here.
- I'm on the list.
- This way.
No, no, this is a mistake.
This, uh, I don't understand.
I got the, I got the high clearance alert.
That means I work for the government, I work for the army.
So they really should have me here, because I'm an expert.
I'm highly qualified to be here.
Why are they? What are you filming? This is a mistake.
I'm Sir, I need to get you in the car.
Sir, in the car now.
Okay.
So you were there? I can't disclose any details, but they brought me in to help because of my expertise.
It was all over the news today.
Uh, did you see anything? Did they have any new evidence? I can't disclose that.
I didn't get the level of clearance I have by being a blabbermouth.
Sounds like you were really essential, Bruce.
Did you feel needed? You know, Dr.
Halstrom, I've come to realize in my life that there are two types of people.
There are people whose job it is to sit in a chair all day and ask questions, and then there are a skilled few of us who find answers to them.
One is clearly more needed than the other.
Good to go.
Thank you.
I appreciate it, my friend, see you soon.
Right in here, please.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
All right, stop there.
Okay.
Do it again with the other one.
Yeah.
Wear the glove.
Yeah.
Uh-hmm.
Yeah.
Whatever you want.
A pen or ? Use the marker.
Keep going.
You see what Sykes is doing? He's making Hatfill give writing samples.
Seems routine to me.
With an oven mitt on? It's not the most accurate, but it can disguise lettering.
Well, we should have that analysis done by the end of day.
What? We just got this back from USAMRIID, sir.
That box from the pond, no Anthrax spores, and for good reason.
That's a turtle trap.
I also tracked down Hatfill's medical records.
The reason he was on Cipro during the attack letters, he just had surgery for a deviated septum.
And your star witness in the case, Tinkerbell and her cohorts, they just got an innocent man thrown in jail in California.
Courts threw out all their evidence.
You are aware that Rumsfeld just marched out in front of America based on our information and pegged Hatfill as the guy.
So you think the person who did this was.
- Ivins.
- Ivins.
Does the science back you up on any of this? Yes.
We finally developed the test that will distinguish one spore of Ames strain from another.
And Ivins' samples came back a match to the attack letters? Oh, no, but an expert of his caliber should have more than just the four samples he submitted.
Look, if I can get the code to the fridge in his labs, I am sure that we will find a stash that he hasn't told us about.
I can't get a warrant based on what you got.
Not without a motive.
You got a motive? I have one of Bruce's friends who is willing to wear a wire.
They fired me.
Do you think it's related? Of course it's related.
The DOJ just happens to yank the grant? You have got to be kidding.
What's happened? They're making my life hell.
Choppers over my place every morning, it's hounding my family.
They can't get away with this.
Look, I've gotta call you back.
License and registration.
How long have you been following me? Excuse me? A little aggressive, are we today? This is the second ticket this week.
Well, sir, you were driving a little erratic.
Have you had anything to drink today? When am I gonna stop for a beer when you guys tail me every second of the day? You know, it sounds you've got something weighing on your shoulders there, sir.
A man's conscience can be a hell of a thing.
Have a nice day.
A year ago, D.
Hatfill was working with the Pentagon contractor when he lost his security clearance.
According to several newspaper accounts, one reason was that he failed a polygraph test regarding that long-ago service in Rhodesia.
Another note of interest here.
The return address on those Anthrax letters sent to both senators Daschle and Leahy was, as you recall, fictitious.
Greendale School.
There is no Greendale School in New Jersey, but there is a wealthy suburb, a present day Harare Zimbabwe, one Salisbury Rhodesia that is called Greendale.
- Ten strangers - IVINS: Ten strangers - playing for up to $1 million.
- playing for up to $1 million.
- Among them, a saboteur.
- Among them is a saboteur.
- A traitor.
The Mole.
- A traitor.
The Mole.
- The Winner? - The Winner? The one who answers the question, "Who is the mole?" Hello? Jody, hi.
Wow, I'm glad I picked up.
Sure.
Okay, I'll see you then.
Okay.
Okay.
Bye.
Bye.
Okay.
How does that feel? - Yeah, fine.
- Okay.
You can button up.
- You good? - Uh-hmm.
Okay.
Okay.
There's no need to be nervous.
This is really just to rule him out.
Do you realize it would be almost impossible to make a batch of Anthrax without anybody noticing? I'm only doing this to convince you he's innocent.
You know, he's peculiar, but I really don't think he's capable of something like this.
He wants to impress you.
So you just start with the usual.
You ask him about work, about stress, projects.
If his ego kicks in, he might slip up - and divulge a reason he could've done this.
- Eyes on target.
He's early.
Yeah.
You just remember we're here.
If you ever feel threatened, you say, "I need to use the restroom.
" And we will be in.
- Hi.
- Hi.
It's good to see you.
Sit.
Thanks.
Sounds kind of stupid but I was afraid you weren't gonna show for a minute there.
Why wouldn't I show? So you must be really busy at work.
- I haven't seen you.
- Yeah.
Really busy, I guess.
You know, with all the FBI around the halls and stuff.
Uh-huh.
What do you think about all that? Them looking around all the time and stuff? You said stuff twice.
I did? Sorry.
Why would you be sorry about stuff? Oh, Bruce, you're such a jokester.
That's me.
Excuse me.
Can she order please? - Uh, just a coffee.
- Sure.
I don't understand why the FBI's hounding us.
It's not like any of us could refine Anthrax like that.
Why would we? I missed you.
Why did you wanna meet me, Jody? It's not so odd, is it? Friends grabbing a coffee? It's just when you called Uh-huh.
I was thinking, "This is too good to be true.
" Good things don't happen every day to Bruce Ivins.
Well, maybe they should.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
It's weird, you know, all I ever wanted to do with my life was help people.
Bruce, what's going on? I guess all of us have two faces, Jody.
Don't we? I'm feeling a little tricky.
I think I have to go.
Bruce.
Damn it! Um, Steve is gonna ask each of us to do something.
The assignments are all quite dangerous.
You have to convince one of the players to stand against the board and have a professional knife thrower throw a knife at them.
Do you remember one of those stories you told about Mr.
? Yes.
- Okay.
That's well.
- Okay.
I can hear knives being thrown in the background.
- Would you do that for me? - I don't think I can do it.
Well, listen, I chose you specifically for this task.
Why would you do that? Your face is going a little red, okay? What I'm asking you to do is I just want you to stand very still and he's gonna throw one at a time, okay? Can you do that? - He's gonna throw.
- Why can't I see him throw? You can see him throw.
How could your stupid aim with that stupid and you picked me for this? Well, I can't tell you what the other ones are but lean up against this.
Okay? I can't do this.
This is everything of interest we got from his trash.
Bruce has been drinking a lot more.
It seems that he's mixing it with his medication, like Diazepam.
- Valium? - Uh-hmm.
- That's a substantial dosage, too.
- Uh-hmm.
That could be why he passed the polygraph.
This many milligrams could mute a body stress response.
Check that out.
The Linguistics of DNA? Yeah.
So we never did really get any traction on the bold writing in the letters since some were incinerated - but I, uh - You think this could be the source of the codex? I've got a cryptologist making headway.
They think the bold letters could be spelling out co-workers names.
Got anything more solid than just could be? Yeah, actually.
I was, uh, scrolling through one of the KKG Magazines that Bruce had.
Guess where they've got an office.
Is that Nassau Street? Yeah, it's literally right behind the mailbox - that tested positive.
- That's not a coincidence, right? Stalk sorority girls, mail anthrax letters, why make two trips? I don't get this guy.
He knows we're watching him and yet he dumps telltale evidence in the trash.
He shows up at the pond and draws attention to himself.
This is from his hometown in Ohio.
Have research pull up the Gazette for that date.
Find out what was so important that it crossed state lines - and then got clipped out.
- I know you'd ask for that.
Here.
It's a hometown-boy-does-good article about Bruce getting the top DOJ civilian honor.
"All I wanna do is help people.
" He said that to Jody when they were in the cafe.
- Hey, Sheila.
- Hi.
I need a favor.
It shouldn't take too long.
So our subject Bruce Ivins was really proud of his work with anthrax vaccines.
In fact, he got a medal for his contributions but what I really can't tell is how much of a stake he had in them.
Contracts like these aren't really my arena but you see them all the time.
His name is on the patent.
What kind of a payday are we talking about here? Could I get the guy a nice vacation? Yeah.
But to retire and put his kids through college? - No.
- So if it's not about the money, this is about how Ivins sees himself as a hero, as a patriot.
You know, in his mind, he's saving tens of thousands of lives by making people beg to be vaccinated.
What better way to kickstart demand and put pressure on the FDA than throwing a country into a panic and making us feel like we need it? I mean, not just the military but average moms checking the mail, everyone's favorite news anchors.
And I'm not surprised that you're the one that found him.
I'm just doing my job.
You still don't give yourself enough credit.
Um, sorry.
But you caught me on my way out.
I screwed this up, didn't I? It was really nice to see you again, Matthew.
Sure.
Thanks for taking the time.
Mama's rump goes bump, bump, bump down the stairs Who cares? Little baby Bruce, in her belly swimming One more bump and he won't be coming Mama climbs back up, Daddy wants a truce, But Mama goes bump, bump, bump, She doesn't want Bruce Okay.
How about we take a seat and get started? What do you want from me, Bruce? Guess.
I want you to stop being a coward.
Say it again.
There you go again, blaming everyone else for your problems.
You're my dad.
You're supposed to protect me! From who? From who? Did you really say from who? Okay.
Let's talk about who.
Hmm, let's see, from the police, from the next door neighbor.
You know exactly who.
If you hadn't have been so weak, maybe she wouldn't have hit you so hard.
What was it today, Dad, huh? What was it? Did she, like, she grabbed the broom and poke you in the eye with the broom again, huh? - Bruce, let's stop there.
- No, no, no, no, I'm not gonna stop.
What was it today? Tell us.
Just tell everybody what was it today, what did she do? Did she stab you in the hand with a fork because she caught you eating a piece of pie, huh? It's true.
You know what you are? You're pathetic.
You're a coward.
You're pathetic! - Bruce, let's stop.
- You're pathetic! - Let's stop there.
- You're not a father! You left me alone with her! You left me alone! You were supposed to be there for me! That's enough.
- You know what I would, you know what I would - Bruce! - You need to get control of yourself! - Fine.
You're a disgrace! Take a break! What are you all looking at? - Bruce, we are here for you.
- I don't laugh at you and listen to her story - about her mother for how many times.
- No one's attacking you.
Bruce.
Bruce.
- This is ridiculous.
- Please.
You know what? Screw all of you.
Screw all of you, I don't care.
I don't care.
You're just like everyone at the base.
Liars and spies.
I'll tell you one thing, those phonies at USAMRIID, they're gonna regret it, they think they're impervious, all buddy-buddy with the FBI.
We'll see how bulletproof they are.
- Bruce? - Jody.
Jody.
Sir.
Sir, we need you to come with us.
What's this about? You're being detained, sir.
For psychiatric evaluation.
I'm not going with you.
It's involuntary, sir.
We need to see your hands.
Show us your hands.
Is this about the FBI? Are you guys all in cahoots with them? I mean, Addie I'd figured but Simon and Jody? No, Bruce.
But the police told me that you threatened everyone here.
Who said that? - Dr.
Halstrom? - Is it true? Don't look at me like that.
Ow! Ow, ow, ow! Okay.
Let me go! Well, that's great.
Everybody knows now? Okay, super.
Poor Bruce goes to therapy.
Has to take pills to feel normal.
It's not like I was gonna hurt anyone! Let go of me! I work here! I am here to confirm my innocence in the anthrax attacks.
I've been berated and victimized in endless leaks and general implications from the United States Attorney General, the FBI, and the media.
I don't know anything about the anthrax attacks.
- You wanted to see me? - Close the door.
I am absolutely not the anthrax killer.
My life is being destroyed by government officials who are pushing baseless claims and half truths - about me to desperate reporters.
- I got your warrant.
Who then broadcast this information wide without any hesitation.
I'll have a team at Ivins's house this afternoon and I will personally search his labs.
It's like watching Richard Jewell all over again.
That is not a guilty man and the American public can see it.
Well, by the time they realize we've been hounding the wrong guy, I promise you, we will have the real culprit in custody.
It is one thing to have your alleged faults and mistakes publicly aired because you are Ivins better be the guy.
But I am a private American citizen.
I'll handle Director Mueller.
Everything is riding on you.
I know, sir.
Agent Ryker.
We don't need just a smoking gun.
We need the bullet.
Under the Patriot Act.
Up to the task are we KKG Come on, everybody sing.
You guys know these words.
Scholarly rigor we cherish All is virtue That was so good! That was so fun.
All right.
Here's another one.
You ready? O, Sisters, all in gold Faces there are to hold.
- What's going on? - How does he know that song? That's not cool, - that's supposed to be a secret.
- Why? - You're not one of us.
- Minnie, - Jenny, Lou, and then.
- Stop it! Come on, stop playing that song.
You hoard behind your face.
- What are you - Look at you.
A total disgrace.
Bruce, you're such a jokester.
That's me.
FBI? The police told me that you threatened everyone here.
Who said that? Dr.
Halstrom? Are you guys all in cahoots with them? I mean, Addie I'd figured.
Boom.
I work here! Greendale.
Like the return address from the letters? It's from before the attacks.
It's about a fourth-grade class at a Greendale School.
Well, I would take those odds to Vegas.
Guys, I need you to photograph this right here and then bag it for evidence.
You think the family's got any idea? No.
Wife and kids are still being questioned at the motel.
Some genius interrogator dangled that million-dollar reward but they stood firm.
They say that Bruce is a loving father and a husband.
Not a killer.
Toretti, Moore, you should see this.
It's a one-man arsenal.
Chris.
Check this out.
And to think all this was brewing under that pencil mustache.
One disturbed individual.
Chris! Yeah? Look at this.
He's written his own list of why he might be a suspect.
"Political reasons made me do it.
Get Patriot Act and other legislation passed.
Financial reasons made me do it, make money off new vaccine.
" He's trying to get in our heads so he can figure out what we're seeing in his.
Every sample Bruce has is in that fridge.
There's gotta be over 40 anthrax slants in here.
How many did he submit? Four.
Why didn't you submit everything you had? Is that what's gonna do me in? You tell me.
I could try to blabber out some excuse, but I'm afraid my memory's a little foggy these days.
Okay.
Well, let me help you.
Thomas Morris, Joseph Curseen, Ottie Lundgren.
Kathy Nguyen.
Robert Stevens.
All innocent.
All dead.
They all deserve justice.
And I'm gonna get it for them.
I'm sorry.
I don't recall anything.
Nothing.
Nada.
Thank you for your time.
Do you sleep much? Rarely.
You? Not without a little help.
Look, I know it doesn't matter if I did it or not, you got a bunch of little pieces, I guess.
But what's the motive? - Vaccines.
- Oh.
Well, a little evil for the greater good, huh? So what, domestic terrorism? Capital murder? Five counts.
At a time when the country's under attack, feeling vulnerable, prosecution will push for the death penalty.
Well, if I did it, I guess I'd deserve that.
Well, I'm sure the jury will think so.
Do you ever experience euphoria, Agent Ryker? Well, if I have, uh, it's been a long time.
I feel that way a lot.
And that's the way you live your life, right? No real lows, no real highs, just right there in the middle.
You mean in control? You, convincing yourself you're in control, how lucky to be so delusional.
The poster child of fortuitous living.
Fortuitous? You know, I was in a car on that stretch of Washington Boulevard, right by the Pentagon when Flight 77 came over.
- You saw it happen? - Uh-hmm.
- All that devastation? - You would think.
But right around the crash site, the grass was perfect.
No one was running out of the building screaming.
The impact was so intense that the plane exploded inward and practically disintegrated, taking the building and all the, all those people with it.
It felt, uh it was pure terror.
But, uh, all the debris, and all the fallout, was forced inside.
Buried.
I take it I'm the imploding building? Well, you're never gonna see what's inside.
I've been trying my whole life.
- He wrote this? - Uh-hmm.
- It's promising.
- Promising? The guy's been lying about how many variants of Ames he had.
Including one that matches the attack letters exactly.
RMR-1029.
Got it.
Albeit slim there's always a chance that someone infiltrated the lab and stole Ivins's stash.
Do you really think that someone just tiptoed in off the street, suited up, got themselves past security at an army base and then found themselves at a bio safety suite? Look, for this to hold water with a grand jury, there can be no other person who could have touched it.
It's next to impossible to prove.
Everyone at USAMRIID who could have gained access to this fridge was vetted.
Rita, it took me a while to see Agent Ryker was on the right track, too.
This guy, Ivins, is guilty.
Ivins originally submitted the vial of anthrax on the right, but he sent it in the wrong slant and so it should have been discarded, and then he resubmitted.
There's a second submission on the left? Yes, it tested negative, but it turns out the lab kept that first sample, had it all this time.
We tested it and it was an exact match to the attack letters.
Just like the mother batch we found in his fridge.
You're saying Ivins switched the spores the second time? We think he realized he could become a suspect and he started covering his tracks.
He also tried to blame that original submission on his assistant, but you can see by the handwriting on both those slants it's the same person.
It is Bruce Ivins.
And that's clear intent to deceive.
We need an arrest warrant.
Bureau needs to put this thing to bed.
This should get us one.
By tomorrow.
Agent Toretti, nice work.
Huh.
You got your guy.
Congratulations.
I've been, I've been, I've been drinking quite a lot and I guess mixed with my medications, I hadn't realized how disconnected I've become.
That can happen when one's reality - is displaced with substances.
- Yeah.
I really want ongoing treatment, but I miss my family.
Shoot, I just wanna hold them in my arms, tell them I'm okay.
This is Dr.
Halstrom speaking.
Listen to you, so perky.
Bruce? I've been sitting here thinking and I realized, all those notes you've been taking, You showed them everything, didn't you? No, I haven't, Bruce.
I was concerned for your safety and those around you.
Those who betray us will pay for their injustices dearly, my dear.
Bruce, what are you talking about? Never dally, my mother said.
She taught me that being prompt is a virtue.
I'll see you soon, Dr.
Halstrom.
Got it.
They let Ivins out of the psych ward.
- What? - He called his therapist, threatened to go after her.
- I'm heading over there.
- I'm coming with you.
Get a cop car over to his house just in case he shows up there.
And alert the MPs over at USAMRIID.
Okay.
You think he might be going after Jody? He could go after anyone.
He knows we're coming for him.
Bruce, I'm hurt, I'm concerned.
You tell me you love me but Over your actions the last few weeks Jumpy and agitated Can you honestly say you're following the plan you developed? Can you honestly say you're following the plan you developed? I have never encountered a mind like his.
I truly cannot get a handle on what his real intentions were.
We had no idea he was on so many anti-psychotics.
Mental illness ran in his family.
What exactly were you treating him for? Paranoia, anxiety, potential schizophrenia, episodes of memory loss.
He'd been blacking out? Sometimes he'd have lost hours at a time, regain cognition with car keys in hand, see he'd driven hundreds of miles on his odometer.
That's enough time to make it to Princeton and back.
Maybe not even know it.
The man struggles deeply.
But you always try to see the version of the person you can connect with, offer the most to.
So Moore says he's not at USAMRIID, Reilly is with Jody, the cops just got to his home, there are lights on.
He went home? Good.
Doctor, do you think Bruce poses any danger to himself? Why do we have to leave the dance so early? No one else will be here for hours.
Mother insisted.
If I would have known that we'd miss all of prom.
I'm sorry.
I really wanted to stay.
I just need to powder my nose.
Dear.
I just wanted one normal day of high school, Mother.
Honestly, Bruce, a girl like that.
She's really nice.
Oh, that is what she wants you to believe.
Mother, not everyone is as bad as you think.
Do you see her over there, Bruce? She's making fun of you right now.
Why did you have to ruin this? You listen to me.
I am the only one in this world who will protect you, okay? Okay.
Darling, you need to learn to accept that people may only ever see a very tiny piece of you and never understand all the good that you've done for them, even when you try to protect those that are weak.
People like your father, they won't appreciate you.
But we are still there for them, helping them anyway because that is who we are.
My beautiful boy.
He's not picking up.
It's happening again.
What are you talking about? If we don't get an arrest, there's no one to hold accountable.
There's no justice for the victims.
It's just like the Pentagon.
You stopped him.
Whatever happens, nobody is gonna get hurt again.
Damn it.
Good evening.
Among tonight's top stories, a deadly suicide bomber strikes in Iraq, and the Securities and Exchange Commission suspends short selling of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
President Bush tried today to reassure the country about the economy.
He said it is growing if slowly - Everyone knows - It's a tough sell after that economic But does anyone really know how to turn things around?
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