Numb3rs s05e10 Episode Script

Let's go! Get on the ground, all of you! Do not move! - Go! - Go! - Go! ?? ??? ?? Drop the bag! Get on the floor now! Hands above your head! ?? - Hey, you ain't cops! - No.
We're not cops.
What the hell you doing? Protecting the innocent.
Punishing the guilty.
Now this, I have not seen before.
Say, Nikki, your boys at LAPD couldn't handle a little B&E? B&Es they can handle just fine.
But they do need help tracking down a group of vigilantes.
Vigilantes-- might explain the message on the wall.
Yeah, fifth incident in two months.
Similar situations, same type of victims.
What, these mooks are victims? Yeah, got five subjects-- ages 16 to 19.
White, Latino, black.
No gang affiliations.
They were found with lock picks, crowbars, cable cutters, and backpacks full of school computer equipment.
Wrapped up like Christmas presents for the police.
Yeah, the vigilantes ambushed them.
High-powered lights.
Improvised flash-bangs.
Plastic restraints.
What about "Vanguard?" That come up on any of the databases? ?? Nada.
So you don't have anything? No, just got this cell phone.
Found it here on the floor.
Dropped by a vigilante, robbers? Yeah, or a student.
I mean, it could be anybody.
If they can't tell us anything, this might.
Someone scraped out the MIN and the ESN.
Translation.
The MIN's a phone number; the ESN's the electronic serial number.
So, this wasn't dropped on the floor by a student.
Well, getting rid of the phone number is easy.
Getting rid of the ESN is supposed to be impossible.
You guys know math? Well, you can add, right? Well, add up the cost of the equipment you were trying to steal, and that's grand larceny.
It's first offense.
We won't do time.
Oh, yeah? Who told you that? You know, I'm looking at the two of you, and I just don't see masterminds.
But you knew where all the computers were, and you knew how to get past an alarm system.
So, I'm thinking you had some help.
Keep your mouth shut.
Maybe you and I should have a talk alone.
You know what'll happen.
I don't know nothing.
It's the third round with these guys.
Never figured the FBI couldn't get a bunch of kids to talk.
They're scared to death of someone.
Well, the lobby's filling up with parents and lawyers.
We're running out of time.
"Cold-boot attack?" Yeah, also known as a "cold ghosting attack," "iceman attack.
" Normally, when I remove the memory chip, all the data stored in it will be lost instantly.
But if I freeze it first the data remains readable, for sometimes as long as several minutes.
You got it.
Wow.
That actually worked.
Of course.
Just match that to a cell carrier's ESN and We get the name and address, and we go get him.
?? Thanks a lot.
??? Have a good day.
Put it down! Put it down now! What the hell is going on? Are you Bai Lan Zhou? What? No! Bai Lan? Where is he? He? You don't know what you're talking about.
We know Bai Lan owns this phone.
And it's registered to this address.
Hey, Grandma.
The FBI has your phone.
No, I got it.
Uh, Bai Lan Zhou? And that's her phone.
It never leaves her sight.
Texting charges are through the roof.
Someone must have cloned her number.
Sorry, uh, for the inconvenience.
Inconvenience? If you need to file a complaint, just The truck's stolen.
There's a crew unloading electronics off of it.
The driver said it was a bunch of kids.
One of these vigilantes kids.
Two shotgun slugs to the chest.
Someone decided to fight back.
Check this out.
Looks like we got ourselves a feud.
NUMB3RS S05E10 ?? Peter Hathaway.
Thesis candidate in systems engineering.
Talked to the parents, said they never heard of "Vanguard" or vigilante activity.
Need to find the rest of these guys before they get themselves killed.
All right, friends, students, teachers-- and who is running the crew? Where are they based? And how did this war start? Hey, can I show you something? Yeah.
Now, the kids we arrested at the school robbery? They all live in the same general neighborhood.
Atwater Village, just over the 5 Freeway, aka Toonerville.
Aka what? It's LAPD nickname, because of this guy-- Vic Tooner.
Suspected in dozens of crimes, including murder.
LAPD hasn't been able to get anything on him.
Witnesses, informants-- they all turn up dead.
This guy's got an entire neighborhood terrified.
Now, he runs his crew military-style, you know, organized.
Posts sentries to watch out for cops 24-7.
He's smart, but he's also crazy.
He once murdered one of his own lieutenants just for driving the same kind of car he drives.
And he's got the kids working for him.
Yeah, he uses kids because he knows if they get caught, they'll be back on the street in a few weeks.
It's like old Fagin.
Yeah, explains the murdered vigilante.
Tooner wouldn't tolerate anyone messing with his operation.
Cell phones can be cloned using a DDI-- Digital Data Interpreter.
Yeah, cellular thieves sit by busy roads and pick up radio wave transmissions.
So, serial numbers, and phone numbers of people passing by are captured and recorded.
?? Now you tell me.
Can they monitor me if all I'm doing is playing Tetris? So, can we trace these DDI devices? Unfortunately, they don't emit enough of a signal.
All right, so this is a dead end.
Actually, maybe not.
Can I see this? Yeah, you know, Vanguard has advanced engineering skills.
So maybe they're getting access to the robbery crews' communications And if we figure out how, maybe it'll give the FBI a lead on where the next robbery will happen.
Okay, how do you go about doing that? That's a a difficult problem.
Three words: Deep.
Current.
Sets.
And the expert on them is guest lecturer at CalSci at the moment.
Marshall Penfield? He's your friend, right? Friend? Um, more like a "frienemy.
" Oh, yeah.
That's that guy you're always having those math fights with.
The guy who calls Charles "Eppsy.
" Well, I mean, he did help out with that home invasion case a couple years ago.
Tangentially.
Well, Charlie, we gotta get this thing figured out before anybody else gets killed, okay? - So - I know.
I know.
Professor Fleinhardt, a word? You know, actually, I'm expecting to hear from a colleague at CERN and you know how wounded particle physicists get when-when their calls go to voicemails.
Anywayciao.
Robert Santos.
I want to talk to you about your roommate, Peter Hathaway.
Like I told the police, I didn't know him very well.
And though you shared a room with him for nearly a year? We didn't hang out.
What do you know about him? He was lonely.
You could see it.
Sometimes he tried to talk to me about classes, something he was reading.
But, you know, I'm so busy with classes and tutoring.
Did his behavior change recently? Well, he used to be here every night, but starting about three months ago, he went out a lot.
And did he indicate where? And maybe mentioned a group called Vanguard.
No, never said a word.
And I never asked where he was going, so.
What? What is it? I don't know.
Maybe if I'd tried to talk to him a little, invited him to hang out with me and my friends-- he wouldn't have gotten mixed up in whatever he was doing when he died.
Look, I gotta go.
Peter's parents are coming today.
And I have no idea what I'm going to tell them.
From set theory's inception, some have argued that it's a game that includes elements of fantasy.
Wittgenstein questioned how Zermelo.
Fraenkel set theory handled infinities.
Errett Bishop dismissed it as "God's mathematics, which we should be left for God to do.
" Next week's discussion will be on the spectral theory of non-Hermitian random matrices, okay? You're welcome.
I'll see you next week.
You math geniuses.
Where's the glasses? Where's the hair? You know, these CalSci students really can appreciate an incisive discussion from a guest lecturer.
How can they resist your charms? Yes.
It is impossible, isn't it? Speaking of which, how is Amita? Are you two still dating? Yeah.
Really? Well, good for you, Eppsy.
Marshall.
Yes? I'm going to ask you something, Okay.
and if it's at all possible you can manage not to launch into your smirky world of glee, it'd be appreciated.
Moi? I've been working on a case, you know, for the FBI, and, uh, it might benefit from your work in deep current set theory.
So Charlie Eppes is asking for my help a second time.
What too gleeful? Sure.
Be fun.
Yeah, I can't sleep either.
I've got this ratio-of-green-space problem for CalSci landscaping I can't get out of my head.
What is this? Non-FBI math? Not for long.
"Professor Marshall Penfield?" He's working on a case with you? Hey, so, this Saturday, you want to have Amita and Don and Robin over for brunch? Better make it dinner.
I got golf and Don's going to temple.
Since when does Don go to temple? I don't know.
A few weeks ago, I guess.
The LAPD responded to an alarm at an auto sound shop about five weeks ago.
Found three teenagers in restraints, like at the school.
Back then, they didn't know they had an ongoing problem.
So maybe something got overlooked? Good thinking, Granger.
They did miss something.
What are you showing me, the gang signs? I spent a year on LAPD gang task force.
I never seen nothing like that.
Mean anything to you? Uh, not immediately, but there might be a subset within the superset.
And for those of us who don't speak math? I'm talking about set theory.
Let say this circle represents objects visible in the night sky.
And this circle represents objects that generate light.
Where they overlap is a subset.
Objects visible in the night sky that generate light, like a star.
How do you not have your own show on PBS? The big question in this case is, obviously, how do the vigilantes know where the robbery crews will strike? And that's where Marshall's deep current theory comes in.
It looks for undetected sets.
Think of patterns in crowds.
Crowds move in general patterns, but relatively minor events in specific areas can change the overall pattern for everyone, even if most never see what created the change.
This approach allows us to deduce information about the hidden nodes from the anomalies in the observed behavior of the visible network.
Is that an accurate assessment, Marshall? Huh? Oh, I'm sorry.
I must've dozed off during your riveting monologue.
I was stating the problem.
Yeah,your approach to the problem.
Using your method.
Being as though it's my method, shouldn't I be the one leading this inquiry? Well, this isn't a seminar, Marshall.
It's a criminal investigation.
So, uh so then you have, uh, handcuffs? Oh, yeah.
That'll get you there.
I like the sound of that.
Well, don't.
Okay.
Where'd you find this? At a business where the vigilantes caught some thieves.
It's a computer code.
Why would anyone use a few random computer code symbols? Unless it isn't random.
Yeah.
What about that? It would take pages of code to say anything meaningful.
What if it's not a computer code, but a cipher code? It could take months to figure out.
No, they painted it on a wall.
I doubt they made it hard to crack.
Well, maybe it's a simple Vigenere cipher.
Well, then match the first to those 13 code symbols.
And what if the keyword is "vanguard"? Is that a Web site? I don't know.
Let's find out.
Vanguard's Web site.
Those are robberies the vigilantes stopped.
They even have the exact times that each robbery was supposed to happen.
And look at the last one.
Appliance warehouse downtown.
And the date? That's today.
"Vic Tooner.
" Who's that? That is trouble.
Well, he doesn't look friendly.
Daytime robbery.
Tooner is looking to flush out Vanguard where he can see 'em.
They're taking the stuff.
Yeah, I'm watching.
It's just the robbers.
There's no sign of Tooner.
Vanguard isn't showing either.
You got anything? Negative.
All zones are clear.
Done.
The crew's moving out.
We got to move in.
All right.
Let's go.
All units, move in.
Take 'em.
Get up against the wall! None of Tooner's kids looked armed for a showdown.
Let's check out these people here.
Let's check out all these people here.
You want to look at the crowd? See if anyone's wearing a Vanguard symbol.
Yeah.
That we found.
The east perimeter found him on the rooftop with this, filming the robbery.
They kill one of yours, you show up with a camera? My mission was to gather evidence, not to intervene.
What mission? Who is a part of this mission with you? I was there to record the incident, nothing else.
Is that against the law? Prior knowledge of a crime? Yeah, that's a problem.
Who are you working with? We don't use names.
We use code names.
If we're captured, we can't compromise the operation.
Do you know him? We call him Bars.
His code name.
Bars? Yeah, you know, like on a cell phone? He's a phreaker.
A phone expert-- could do stuff with cell phones.
How do you know which places to rob? There's a Web site, or you get a phone call or a guy comes to your house.
That's how you get the word, where to go, what to steal.
And who gives the word? Nobody talks about that.
You're gonna take the full weight for stuff you didn't plan or control.
It's worth it to do what's right.
And what's that? Doing what needs to be done.
What the cops haven't been able to do.
Do you know a guy named Vic Tooner? Never heard of him.
Not ever.
Tooner seems to have a deep supply of kids, all of them too scared to talk.
The guy from Vanguard was stonewalling us also, but he's not scared.
What's that about? Maybe someone inspired him.
He speaks like a covert op on a mission.
They both have the same methods.
Only one is pure damn evil and the other one's trying to play hero.
You're wrong.
Its structure lacks originality or integrity.
It's a classic organization, based on tested and proven elements.
It's a chain.
It's a chain with irregularities that come with maintaining complex matrices.
Oh, so you propose that a single point mechanism ?? Enough.
Surely, two eminent mathematicians can find ways to calmly discuss theory.
We're not discussing theory.
No, we're talking hamburgers.
Pie 'n' Burger's the best, man.
There's no question about it.
In 'n' Out is far superior.
I remember a day, not long ago, when you were both under grads, working together on a topology problem.
That's only because you assigned us to work on it together.
And we preferred working alone.
Which is my point.
Neither of you is gifted at the art of collaboration, which is most crucial in science.
Who is this? Is this one of our students? No.
It's a grad student at Harvey Mudd College.
The FBI arrested him in connection with the vigilante.
No one else in his circle seems connected to vigilante activities.
But this student is defined by the same deep current as the other vigilantes.
So we should look at the super sets as they define this student.
Like that the fact that he is a student.
Precisely.
When there is a finite number of grad students in the region.
Even fewer with the computing and telecommunication skills required.
Yeah, they hide the organization, so you need to refine the search by eliminating people openly linked to identified Vanguard members.
So we work up an algorithm that does that, and We just set it loose in grad school databases.
Ah, the sweet sound of collaboration.
This will ID students who fit the profile of Vanguard members.
The results will be based on probability, so you can't just arrest people whose names pop up.
I get it.
You don't want us making life miserable for innocent grad students.
That's what professors are for.
You guys work with bright kids.
Why do you think these Vanguard guys would risk their lives going up against a violent criminal.
Why do you think these Vanguard guys would risk their lives going up against a violent criminal.
A hazard of being smart.
You figure you can outthink anybody.
You look at life like a chess game.
Make smart moves, you win.
This isn't a game, or a classroom problem.
Everybody knows our name, but nobody's glad we came.
I've never seen a neighborhood this scared.
Hey, these are for you.
Thanks, little guy.
Who sent them over? I heard you guys were looking for me.
He used to pull this with LAPD.
Walk up to officers on the street, come in for interviews.
He knows we don't have anything.
I own a tattoo parlor.
Legal, licensed business.
What do you know about robbery teams run out of your neighborhood? Well, I hope the police can do something about that.
Well, somebody's trying to do something about that.
Well, I understand why people do that.
I'm a concerned citizen, like anybody else.
I know how difficult it is to police an urban area with a gang subculture and a black market economy.
You'd have to spend years working to infiltrate highly secretive groups that are paramilitary in their operation.
So, we got ourselves a concerned citizen.
I studied police sciences.
I took classes at City College.
Hey, maybe I'll apply to the academy.
You know, I bet you I could ace that obstacle course.
What do you know about a group called Vanguard? Just what I hear on the street.
And what's that? Smart guys.
In over their heads.
Over their heads? How so? Oh, you know, emotionally.
Living in a dreamworld.
What do you think's going to happen to them? What happens to anybody? Some will quit.
Some will have accidents.
Accidents? Accidents.
Car accidents, whatever.
Also, depression's a problem for college kids.
You, uh you might find one of them way in the back of a library, note pinned to his chest, hanging from a rafter.
What does it matter? One by one, sooner or later, everybody dies.
Where are you going? This is a noncustodial interrogation.
I can leave whenever I want.
You ruined it.
Look at it-- you flattened the tip, and now it's completely out of ink.
How was I supposed to know that you like to use scented markers and that your favorite flavor is strawberry? Well, listen, you know, the next time, do me a favor and just bring your own markers, okay? Here's another thing.
Your idea about the analysis of Vanguard's previous attacks, it totally ignores the cardinality of the union of sets.
You know, it's funny, Marshall, it's my idea, so I think I know how it's supposed to work.
Oh, who is the expert on deep current sets here? Huh? Me.
Why does he always negate my proposals? Why are you so dismissive? Why are you so competive? Boys, don't make me pull the math car over.
This isn't about math, is it, Eppsy? Maybe it's about you calling me Eppsy.
Anyway I was thinking that if someone at Vanguard is that familiar with the computer source code, I should probably take a closer look at the browser code on the Web site.
Yes, programmers often use distinctive object-oriented symbols, uh, statements, method calls.
Exactly.
My comparative analysis shows the Vanguard code is very similar to a code found at the intrauniversity astrophysics project.
Note that success results not from the Eppes method nor from the Penfield approach, but from the Ramanujan scan.
All right, well, Amita, can you find the name of the person who wrote this code? 'Cause that might be the leader of Vanguard.
Why do I let Marshall get to me? He's a rival.
Look, everybody has one, and frankly, who they are says a lot about who you are.
Yeah, what does Marshall hating me say about me? He doesn't hate you.
What is that word that Amita uses? - "Frienemy.
" - There you go.
Colleagues as well as rivals.
I think you just remind each other of a time in your careers when you were both less secure in your reputations.
What about you? Who sets you off? Al McNabb.
Guy in my car club.
He absolutely covets my Ford roadster, yet he always says the leather is not restored to 1931 period standard, the color's all wrong.
He is just one jealous bastard.
You know who doesn't have a rival? Don.
Seriously, I've never heard him talk about anyone like that.
Well, Don questions and challenges himself.
He's like his own frienemy, so to speak.
You know, maybe that's why he's going to temple.
What is it that Rabbi Abraham Heschel said? "The primary task of the philosophy of religion is to discover those questions to which religion is an answer.
" Now, did my dad tell you that? About Don going to temple? No, Don did.
He told you? He didn't tell me.
What's up? Uh, nothing much.
It's just something Tooner said about, um, the Vanguard members having accidents, you know, a suicide in a library.
Maybe we should call the local colleges.
All right.
So, what did Nikki say about Tooner? Smart, but crazy? Looks like the crazy part.
Mason Spellman, 19.
Physics major.
ME thinks he was dead about ten hours before his body was found.
In the engineering library, pretty much like Tooner said, in general terms.
Robin's gonna definitely say we need more than this.
Especially since Spellman had a problem with depression.
No other fingerprints at the crime scene except for his.
The note's in his own handwriting.
So, we think we know how Tooner's been able to locate those vigilantes.
The deep current set analysis reveals that he's found some way to reverse engineer their technology.
Right, so we're gonna try to duplicate Tooner's math.
All right, that sounds good.
None of the dead kids have a connection to Tooner that we can find, but I'm thinking somebody in Vanguard, they must have crossed paths with him somewhere.
Right, hey, see if you can find out any of those college courses that he ???? you know? Tooner audited courses at Occidental and Whittier, as well as City College.
And while at City College, LAPD had him as a person of interest in the rape and murder of a student, Lori Sanchez.
Never met her, but I heard she died.
How did you hear that? It was a topic of discussion.
With who? I told you.
I don't know names, but a lot of people care when an innocent person dies.
You really think that this is all revenge for one murdered girl? Let's find out more about her.
- HEY.
- What's up, kid? On my way to school.
Got to get through that analysis for you.
You and Marshall really set each other off, huh? Yeah, I know.
I know, we're, uh, frienemies.
Where is Dad? He's around.
- Hey, Don.
- Yeah? So, you started going to temple? Did Dad tell you that? And Larry.
There some reason you didn't tell me? I don't know, you know, it's just like that thing you're always saying about not contaminating experiments.
Yeah.
Charlie, I don't know where I'm going with any of it.
I just I can't get into a scientific debate with you about whether it's logical or not.
Since when did you listen to everything I say? You know, you can be pretty intimidating.
To you? To everybody.
I- I think going to temple is an interesting choice.
I have nothing negative to say about that.
Okay, cool.
At least it's not a monastery.
All right, see you at dinner, all right? Yeah.
What, you were standing there listening? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard every word, yeah.
Okay, so let's have it.
I think you did a good job all these years hiding any sign that he intimidates you.
- Well, that's what I think.
- All right.
So, the vigilante who wrote the coding he was involved in this astrophysics project? Yes.
Similar phrases and styles.
Who do you think killed Lori Sanchez? That Vic Tooner creep.
But the police said there was no evidence.
There was no mention in the file about a boyfriend.
She didn't have one.
Was there anybody special, some guy that maybe liked her? There was this guy, didn't go to school here.
Okay, I have it down to one programmer.
So, that's the person behind Vanguard's computer network.
He worked as a tutor.
Super smart, had a huge crush on Lori.
His name was Clayton.
Here's his personal Web site.
And now we think this is the leader of the vigilantes.
Clayton Caswell, studying for his master's in computer engineering, tutored Lori Sanchez.
Been missing three days, so he's either hiding out or Tooner got to him and we just haven't found his body yet.
No, we'd have found him.
Tooner would make sure of that.
All right.
Well, run down every place he can can be.
I'll see if I can get Charlie on it.
Takes a nerd to catch a nerd, huh? All right, enough of the "I don't know names" crap.
I know you know Clayton Caswell.
What does it matter now? He's gonna die-- that's why it matters-- and the rest of Vanguard with him because Tooner has figured out how to get to them.
Clayton can handle it.
He can't handle it.
He's gonna get a lot of people killed.
So, where is he? I don't know, okay? I wasn't told where they'd hide if it came to this.
This is all about a girl who died.
I get why Clayton wants revenge against Tooner for Lori Sanchez, but what about the rest of you guys? Clayton's the type of guy when he wants you to do something, he makes you feel like you can make a difference, like you're part of something important and special.
So, you guys want to be heroes? Yeah.
Don't you? God, why am I so stupid? Do you want answers one through 50, or 50 through a hundred? The regional cell matrix.
That's the deep current.
Tooner mines the regional cell phone matrix for data on the movement of merchandise.
Vanguard mines Tooner's cell matrix subset.
You know, if we set up derivatives What, for all regional cell calls? You realize that'll take days on the supercomputer.
Like you have a better approach? Yeah, we'll just narrow down the data set.
It's quite logical.
Why are we fighting about it? Well, I'm not fighting.
What else would you call this? I don't know.
You started it.
- I did not.
- Yes, you did.
What was that? It's an ongoing analysis of the robberies and past possible targets.
That's a computer repair store.
Vanguard's data said Tooner hit that.
There's no police report of a break-in, so that's an anomaly.
Maybe it wasn't reported.
I mean, we need this information for the data grid.
Maybe Vanguard left its graffiti symbol.
Want to go on a field trip? So, where are the wonder twins? Oh, they probably started arguing, forgot all about food.
Oh.
Oh, man, I'm starving.
Looks open.
- Hello? - Hello? Hello.
Is anyone here? Hi.
We're looking for an owner or maybe a manager.
Just whoever's in charge.
That would be me.
you are here about a computer? Yeah.
We, uh We were expecting a call about when to come pick up our system.
It's a, um, compact supercomputer.
It's very valuable.
Supercomputer? Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Uh, eight serial CPUs, uh, vector processing.
It's got a liquid-cooled H- vak system.
It's our baby.
It can even calculate the path of, uh, subatomic particles.
Or play 300 versions of Halo at the same time.
Yeah, I think I remember that one.
My partner processed that work order.
I'd have to look for it.
Oh.
Maybe that's him.
Hello? Hey, listen, uh, we can find it if you don't know what you're looking for.
Oh, feel free to look around.
After all, it's your supercomputer.
As they say, mi casa es su casa.
All right.
Guys, I got to get.
- Got to be here somewhere.
- Yeah.
Uh, well, uh, this This isn't it.
Um, I think maybe Colby, Charlie's on my cell.
I need you to get a location and meet me there with LAPD.
You got it? ???What's up, Don? I think he might be with Tooner.
Uh, did you change, the, uh, decorative shell? - No.
- Guys.
Sorry I can't wait around for you to find your computer.
Yeah.
No, no, that's fine.
We'll just, uh We'll just come back in the morning.
Thanks.
Don't you want to wait around for your brother, Professor Eppes? Here's a math problem for you.
Take the number of people who've seen me at crime scenes.
Subtract the number who've testified.
He's gone.
He was just here.
In all of his sociopathic glory.
LAPD is running traffic checks.
I don't understand how you guys ended up here.
Well, we thought it was an old crime scene, and it turned out to be a currently active one.
- You okay? - Yeah.
Adrenaline makes my skin itch.
In a world where mathematicians go mano a mano with a killer This time, it's personal.
We got to get this guy.
All right, he made me itch in front of strangers.
Oh, he told me he was gonna kill me, you know, in so many words.
It's no wonder the Vanguard kids hate him.
He's quite hate-able.
Yeah, if he killed one of my friends, I'd go after him.
Clayton Caswell and Tooner-- they hate each other.
They want a confrontation.
It sounds like they created a classic game theory scenario, doesn't it? Yes, it does, Johnny Von Neumann.
The old three-man gunfight.
Mathematical gunfight, huh? Ooh.
Imagine a duel between three people, okay? Now, I'm the worst shot.
I hit the target once every three tries.
One of my opponents is better.
Hits it twice every three shots.
The third guy is a dead shot.
He never misses.
Come on.
Now each gets one shot.
As the worst, I go first.
Then Charlie, then Colby.
Who do I aim for for my one shot? I guess me, 'cause I'm the biggest danger, right? I shoot Eppsy first, but not for the obvious reasons.
Chances are two to one I'm gonna miss.
And now it's my turn.
And logic says I shoot Colby.
Right, 'cause if I'm still standing, I'm gonna shoot you, and I don't miss.
Exactly.
As the worst, I use the two better shooters against each other.
Vanguard and Tooner know their communications skills better than we do.
We can use that against them.
We insert our info into their systems, and make it work for us.
We created a target that Tooner can't resist, and we made sure that Vanguard knows about it.
A setup? That's not onna be obvious? Oh, not the way we're doing it.
They'll both think that they've got data that the other side doesn't know they have.
Well, these guys are gonna come ready for war, so we better gear up.
We're using their hate against each other.
That's kind of ironic.
Hey, I don't hate you.
What? You hate me? Only when you call me Eppsy.
Well, I guess it's just a way of dealing with who you are.
What do you mean, who I am? Charles Eppes.
The guy everyone talks about.
You know, you're a pretty intimidating person.
It's the second time today I've gotten that.
Only the second? Well, you're fairly challenging yourself there, Marshall.
No, seriously.
Every time I come up with something new, in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Penfield's gonna tear this apart.
" No.
You're just saying this to be nice.
How about a truce? Is this some game theory trick? If it was, I would be using a fourth-level altruism ploy, right? Yeah, it's a truce then.
All right.
How does it look? All clear.
Oh.
Okay.
Like going to a supermarket.
Okay, let's get to work.
Get these things open, Come on.
Now! Well Well, that had to be disappointing.
What, you're fighting us with bombs you cooked up in chem lab? Well, how did you think this was going to end? What, you college boys can do what the LAPD and the FBI can't? Huh? Huh? FBI.
Put the detonator down.
Tooner, drop it! Tooner, drop it right now.
Don't move, put you on the ground!??? Tooner! Eat it! We killed you.
He's-He's done.
We killed you.
You're done! So, Marshall, how do you like your second taste of FBI work? Oh, it's terrific, with the exception of meeting the psychotic killer face-to-face.
- I didn't like that.
- That wasn't optimal.
No, it was not.
You two don't seem to be fighting as much.
Is that on purpose, or did you just get tired of it? Oh, no, it's on purpose.
I never tire from an argument.
Yes.
Well, that's all too apparent.
Marshall and I found that we can actually get along, huh? Yes.
I should have stopped calling you Eppsy years ago.
That's all right.
I've been called worse.
Hey, everyone.
What do you say, Chuck? Like that.
Chuck.
Yeah.
I like that.
I can work with that.